BREAKING Orca calf that was trapped in B.C. lagoon for weeks swims free
An orca whale calf that has been stranded in a B.C. lagoon for weeks after her pregnant mother died swam out on her own early Friday morning.
The International Monetary Fund urged China on Wednesday to boost COVID-19 vaccination rates and give more robust support to its troubled property sector to restore confidence and reduce risks from a global economic slowdown and high energy prices.
In a statement following virtual meetings for its annual review of China's economic policies, the IMF said it was maintaining GDP growth forecasts issued in October. These envision growth of 3.2 per cent in 2022 and 4.4 per cent in 2023, assuming a gradual lifting of China's strict zero-COVID strategy in the second half of next year.
"Although the zero-COVID strategy has become nimbler over time, the combination of more contagious COVID variants and persistent gaps in vaccinations have led to the need for more frequent lockdowns, weighing on consumption and private investment, including in housing," IMF First Deputy Managing Director Gita Gopinath said in a statement.
"Going forward, a further recalibration of the COVID strategy should be well prepared and include boosting the pace of vaccinations and maintaining it at a high level to ensure that protection is preserved," Gopinath added.
The comments come as Chinese authorities are grappling with a spike in COVID cases that has deepened concern about the economy and dimmed hopes for a quick reopening.
The IMF said economic risks for China were tilted to the downside, due to headwinds from a global slowdown, higher energy prices and tighter global financial conditions.
Longer term, the Fund said rising geopolitical tensions risk fragmentation of the global economy, with China facing potential financial decoupling and limits to trade, foreign direct investment and technology access.
The IMF recommended that China's fiscal policy should be neutral in 2023 after strong support this year, but should protect the recovery and facilitate rebalancing toward more domestic consumption. It said China's monetary policy should remain accommodative and rely on interest-rate based measures.
The Fund applauded authorities' recent support initiatives for China's slumping property sector, including a loan program to help complete unfinished homes and allowing forbearance on troubled property loans.
"Building on these efforts, additional robust and well-funded mechanisms are needed for completing troubled unfinished projects and protecting new presale buyers from the risk of non-completion, while forbearance measures should be phased out," Gopinath said.
"These measures will help restore homebuyer confidence and facilitate market-based restructuring," she said, adding that in the medium term, structural reforms in the sector and new savings models can help transform the market to a more sustainable size.
The IMF also renewed its longstanding call for more market-based reforms in China, including ensuring "competitive neutrality" between private and state-owned firms.
An orca whale calf that has been stranded in a B.C. lagoon for weeks after her pregnant mother died swam out on her own early Friday morning.
The federal minister of Crown-Indigenous relations is calling on Air Canada to 'make things right' with the national chief of the Assembly of First Nations, who said her headdress was removed from an airplane cabin during a flight this week.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
Health Canada issued recalls for various items this week, including kids’ bathrobes, cribs and henna cones.
A pair of Montreal designers' work has now been viewed over 41 million times. Taylor Swift dons a Victorian throwback black gown in her latest music video, 'Fortnight', designed by UNTTLD due Simon Belanger and Jose Manuel Saint-Jacques.
Breast cancer rates are rising in Canada among women in their 20s, 30s and 40s, according to research by the University of Ottawa (uOttawa).
A CSIS officer's allegations that she was raped repeatedly by a superior in agency vehicles set off a harassment inquiry, but also triggered an investigation into her that concluded the alleged attacks were a “misuse” of agency vehicles by the woman.
An Ontario man who took out a loan to pay for auto repairs said his car was repossessed after he missed two payments.
Charlie Woods failed to advance in a U.S. Open local qualifying event Thursday, shooting a 9-over 81 at Legacy Golf & Tennis Club.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
A property tax bill is perplexing a small townhouse community in Fergus, Ont.
When identical twin sisters Kim and Michelle Krezonoski were invited to compete against some of the world’s most elite female runners at last week’s Boston Marathon, they were in disbelief.
The giant stone statues guarding the Lions Gate Bridge have been dressed in custom Vancouver Canucks jerseys as the NHL playoffs get underway.
A local Oilers fan is hoping to see his team cut through the postseason, so he can cut his hair.
A family from Laval, Que. is looking for answers... and their father's body. He died on vacation in Cuba and authorities sent someone else's body back to Canada.
A former educational assistant is calling attention to the rising violence in Alberta's classrooms.
The federal government says its plan to increase taxes on capital gains is aimed at wealthy Canadians to achieve “tax fairness.”
At 6'8" and 350 pounds, there is nothing typical about UBC offensive lineman Giovanni Manu, who was born in Tonga and went to high school in Pitt Meadows.