Trudeau acknowledges charges in Nijjar killing, calls for commitment to democracy
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has acknowledged the charges laid Friday in relation to the murder of B.C. Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
The Russian capital on Thursday started a nonworking period intended to stem coronavirus infections as new daily cases and deaths from COVID-19 surged to all-time highs.
The government coronavirus task force reported 1,159 deaths in 24 hours, the largest daily tally since the pandemic began. The country's official death toll from the pandemic, by far the highest in Europe, now stands at 235,057,
To slow the spread of the virus, Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered a nonworking period from Oct. 30 to Nov. 7, when most state organizations and private businesses are to suspend operations. He encouraged the most affected regions to start sooner, and some ordered most of their residents off work earlier this week.
Moscow followed Thursday, shutting kindergartens, schools, gyms, entertainment venues and most stores, and allowing restaurants and cafes to only provide service for takeout or delivery. Food stores, pharmacies and companies operating key infrastructure remained open.
Access to museums, theaters, concert halls and other venues is limited to people holding digital codes on their smartphones to prove they have been vaccinated or recovered from COVID-19, a practice that will remain in place after Nov. 7.
Putin has also instructed local officials to close nightclubs and other entertainment venues, and ordered unvaccinated people older than 60 to stay home.
The number of new daily cases in Russia rose by 40,096 on Thursday, topping a previous record reached earlier this week. The government hopes that the nonworking period will help curb the spread by keeping most people out of offices and public transportation.
But many Russians quickly sought to take advantage of the time for a seaside vacation ahead of the long winter season.
The worried authorities in southern Russia moved to shut down entertainment venues and limit access to restaurants and bars to prevent a spike in infections. The sales of package tours to Egypt and Turkey also jumped.
Authorities have blamed the surging contagion and deaths on the laggard pace of vaccination. Only about 49 million Russians -- about a third of the country's nearly 146 million people -- are fully vaccinated.
Russia was the first country in the world to authorize a coronavirus vaccine in August 2020, proudly naming the shot Sputnik V after the first artificial satellite to showcase the country's scientific prowess. But the vaccination campaign has slumped amid widespread public skepticism blamed on conflicting signals from authorities.
Putin has deplored Russians' vaccine hesitancy. "There are just two options for everyone -- to get sick, or receive a vaccine," he said last week. "And there is no way to walk between the raindrops."
Regional officials have made shots mandatory for certain categories of workers, but Putin rejected proposals to make them compulsory for everyone, emphasizing that they should remain voluntary.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Thursday that authorities would continue efforts to persuade Russians to get immunized until the goal of attaining collective immunity is achieved.
"This is an ongoing campaign that must and is being carried out on a permanent basis," Peskov said, dismissing a newspaper report alleging that authorities plan to relaunch a campaign promoting vaccination. "We need to persuade everyone."
Asked if the Kremlin might eventually make vaccines mandatory, Peskov said only that authorities would closely monitor the numbers.
"We will see how the situation evolves," Peskov said during a conference call with reporters. "For now, the numbers don't give grounds for optimism."
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has acknowledged the charges laid Friday in relation to the murder of B.C. Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
A man was denied a $5,000 payout from his brother after a B.C. tribunal dismissed his claim disputing how many kittens were born in a litter.
Three bodies recovered in an area of Baja California are likely to be those of the two Australians and an American who went missing last weekend during a camping and surfing trip, the state prosecutor’s office said Saturday.
Princess Anne paid tribute to veterans buried at a cemetery in British Columbia today, laying a wreath to honour the more than 2,500 military personnel and family members buried there.
Mystik Dan won the 150th Kentucky Derby in a photo finish, edging out Forever Young and Sierra Leone for the upset victory.
A man accused of arson in a January Old Strathcona apartment fire is expected to be charged with manslaughter after a body was discovered in the burned building late last month.
Quebec provincial police handed out hundreds of fines to Hells Angels members and other supporting motorcycle clubs who met for their 'first run' in a small town near Sherbrooke, Que.
A lockout notice issued by WestJet to a union representing aircraft maintenance engineers could result in a work stoppage next week.
Almost a week after all London Drugs stores across Western Canada abruptly closed amid a cyberattack, they began a "gradual reopening" on Saturday.
Alberta Ballet's double-bill production of 'Der Wolf' and 'The Rite of Spring' marks not only its final show of the season, but the last production for twin sisters Alexandra and Jennifer Gibson.
A British Columbia mayor has been censured by city council – stripping him of his travel and lobbying budgets and removing him from city committees – for allegedly distributing a book that questions the history of Indigenous residential schools in Canada.
Three men in Quebec from the same family have fathered more than 600 children.
A group of SaskPower workers recently received special recognition at the legislature – for their efforts in repairing one of Saskatchewan's largest power plants after it was knocked offline for months following a serious flood last summer.
A police officer on Montreal's South Shore anonymously donated a kidney that wound up drastically changing the life of a schoolteacher living on dialysis.
Since 1932, Montreal's Henri Henri has been filled to the brim with every possible kind of hat, from newsboy caps to feathered fedoras.
Police in Oak Bay, B.C., had to close a stretch of road Sunday to help an elephant seal named Emerson get safely back into the water.
Out of more than 9,000 entries from over 2,000 breweries in 50 countries, a handful of B.C. brews landed on the podium at the World Beer Cup this week.
Raneem, 10, lives with a neurological condition and liver disease and needs Cholbam, a medication, for a longer and healthier life.