The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has lowered India's GDP growth forecast for the current year by 60 basis points to 6.8 per cent. However, despite the slowdown, India would maintain its position as the fastest-growing major economy in the world. In its latest World Economic Outlook report, the IMF noted, "The outlook for India is for growth of 6.8 per cent in 2022, a 0.6 percentage point downgrade since the July forecast, reflecting a weaker-than-expected outturn in the second quarter (April-June) and more subdued external demand." In its July 2022 report, the IMF had pegged India's GDP g

The new leader of Alberta's United Conservative Party is to be sworn in as the province's 19th premier today. Danielle Smith won the leadership race to replace Premier Jason Kenney last Thursday. Smith is scheduled to hold a media availability with reporters this afternoon following her first cabinet meeting. She has said a new cabinet will be announced October 21st. Smith doesn't have a seat in the legislature but announced over the weekend that she will run in a byelection in Brooks-Medicine Hat. That seat became vacant when the constituency's current representative, Michaela Frey, resigned

Surrey RCMP is updating the public that one man has been arrested in relation to a September incident in the Strawberry Hill business complex. Police are requesting the public’s assistance to help identify two additional suspects. On September 11, 2022, a Surrey RCMP officer was surrounded by a group of males in the parking lot of the Strawberry Hill business complex, after he served a violation ticket to one of the individuals. (Initial media release 2022-09-12). Earlier this week on October 4, 2022, a 22 year-old man was arrested for intimidation of the justice system participant and obstr

The federal government has not bowed to demands to designate Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist organization. But Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says it is going to permanently bar about 10,000 members of the Guards from entering Canada. Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland had a message for all Iranian-Canadians. Iranian police have violently cracked down on protests across the country following the death of 22 year old Mahsa Amini last month. She died two days after she was arrested by Iran's morality police for allegedly wearing her hijab too loosely.

Provincial officials say shipments of Pfizer's new COVID-19 vaccine targeting the Omicron variant are expected in British Columbia soon, after Health Canada approved the shot. A joint statement from B.C.'s provincial health officer, Dr. Bonnie Henry, and Health Minister Adrian Dix, says the Pfizer-BioNTech bivalent vaccine will be available to people aged 12 and older from next week. They say B.C. is set to receive 1.7 million doses of the newly approved shot, which will be available in health authority clinics and pharmacies across the province. Approved last month, Moderna's equivalent biva

A pink diamond was sold for $49.9 million in Hong Kong on Friday, setting a world record for the highest price per carat for a diamond sold at auction. The 11.15-carat Williamson Pink Star diamond, auctioned by Sotheby’s Hong Kong, sold for $392 million Hong Kong dollars ($49.9 million). It was originally estimated at $21 million. The Williamson Pink Star draws its name from two legendary pink diamonds. The first is the 23.60-carat Williamson diamond which was presented to the late Queen Elizabeth II as a wedding gift in 1947, while the second is the 59.60-carat Pink Star diamond that sold f

Former India cricketer Harbhajan Singh is also a member of the Rajya Sabha. Harbhajan has requested to stop the illegal activities immediately to restore the integrity of the Punjab Cricket Association. "For the last week or ten days, I have been receiving numerous complaints from cricket lovers in Punjab and several stakeholders that the PCA under the present President is resorting to a lot of illegal activities which is against transparency and the spirit of cricket administration. I learnt that yesterday, complaints in this regard have been lodged with the Ombudsman," Harbhajan Singh wrote

Danielle Smith will become Alberta's new premier after winning the leadership of the United Conservative Party. Smith, a former leader of the Wildrose Party, captured nearly 54 per cent of the vote on the sixth round of the preferential ballot, defeating second-place candidate Travis Toews (TAVES) and five rivals. ``I'm back,'' Smith told a cheering crowd last night at the B-M-O Centre in Calgary. She says it is time for Alberta to take its place as a senior partner in building a strong and unified Canada, and that Alberta will no longer ask permission from Ottawa to be prosperous and free. Th

Vancouver Police have launched an investigation after the Komagata Maru memorial was vandalized for the second time in 14 months. "Detectives from a number of VPD specialized units are working together to collect evidence and identify the suspect(s) in this troubling incident," says Constable Jason Doucette. "This investigation will take time, but we’ll leave no stone unturned in our attempts to solve this senseless crime."VPD initiated an investigation on October 4, after learning from a social media post that the glass on the front of the Komagata Maru memorial had been shattered. The memo