B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
Former South African President Jacob Zuma has been released from prison on medical parole due to ill health, the government's correctional services department said Sunday.
Zuma, 79, has been serving a 15-month prison sentence since July for contempt of court after defying a summons to appear at an inquiry into corruption during his time in office.
"Medical parole placement for Mr Zuma means that he will complete the remainder of the sentence in the system of community corrections, whereby he must comply with a specific set of conditions and will be subjected to supervision until his sentence expires," South Africa's Department of Correctional Services (DCS) said in a statement on Sunday.
Last month, Zuma was admitted to an outside hospital where he underwent surgeries for an undisclosed ailment, according to prison authorities.
The DCS said it was "impelled" to grant Zuma medical parole after receiving a medical report.
"Apart from being terminally ill and physically incapacitated, inmates suffering from an illness that severely limits their daily activity or self-care can also be considered for medical parole," the statement said.
The DCS appealed to South Africans "to afford Mr Zuma dignity as he continues to receive medical treatment."
Deadly violence erupted in South Africa in July after Zuma handed himself in to custody, triggering widespread protests and looting as soldiers and police struggled to restore order. It was some of the worst violence the country had seen in years.
Zuma's successor, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, said the unrest was "instigated" and that that he would not allow "anarchy and mayhem to unfold in the country."
Zuma served as president from 2009 to 2018 and was once widely celebrated as a key figure in the country's liberation movement. He spent 10 years in prison with anti-apartheid hero and former President Nelson Mandela.
But his nine years in power were marred with allegations of high-level corruption, which he has repeatedly denied.
Zuma is accused of corruption involving three businessmen close to him -- brothers Atul, Ajay and Rajesh Gupta -- and allowing them to influence government policy, including the hiring and firing of ministers to align with the family's business interests. The Guptas deny wrongdoing but left South Africa after Zuma was ousted from the presidency.
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
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.
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
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.
An Ontario man who took out a loan to pay for auto repairs said his car was repossessed after he missed two payments.
Donald Trump's defence team attacked the credibility Friday of the prosecution's first witness in his hush money case, seeking to discredit testimony detailing a scheme between Trump and a tabloid to bury negative stories to protect the Republican's 2016 presidential campaign.
An American Airlines flight attendant was indicted Thursday after authorities said he tried to secretly record video of a 14-year-old girl using an airplane bathroom last September.
Devastating tornadoes tore across parts of eastern Nebraska and northeast Texas Friday as a multi-day severe thunderstorm event ramped up in the central United States.
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.