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Carney and Trump hold secret talks on framework trade and security deal
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney is secretly holding direct talks with US President Donald Trump to work out a framework for a trade and security agreement.
The talks between the leaders and top Cabinet ministers are being held discreetly to ensure a positive outcome, the report said, citing the US Ambassador to Canada Pete Hoekstra.
The talks include Canadian Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc and US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, the newspaper said, adding that a deal could be reached before September.
“The indications that they are talking
India leads in remittances - but Trump's tax could deal a blow
Tucked deep in Donald Trump's sprawling "One, Big, Beautiful Bill Act" is a clause that could quietly take billions from money sent abroad.
It proposes a 3.5% tax on remittances sent abroad by foreign workers, including green card holders and temporary visa workers such as those on H-1B visas. For India - the world's top remittance recipient - the implications are serious, say experts. Other major recipients include Mexico, China, the Philippines, France, Pakistan and Bangladesh.
In 2023, Indians abroad sent home $119bn (£88bn) - enough to finance half of India's goods trade deficit and outpace foreign direct investment, according to a paper by Reserve Bank of India (RBI) economists. Of this, the largest share came from the US. For millions of migrants, that includes the money wired to cover a parent's medicine, a nephew's tuition or a mortgage back home.
A blunt levy on remittances could skim billions from migrant workers, many of whom already pay taxes in America. Continued on Page 15...
and in communications regularly is a clear indicator to me that both sides recognise the importance and the urgency of moving this forward,” Mr Hoekstra told the Globe and Mail.
Mr Carney's office declined to comment and the US Embassy in Ottawa did not immediately respond to Reuters' request for comment.
The Canadian government has proposed a bill to restrict some asylum claims and give authorities more power to halt the processing of immigration applications.
Canada's immigration minister Lena Diab said the Strong Borders Act is meant to curb organised crime and the flow of illegal drugs and weapons, while boosting the "integrity" of the country's immigration system.
It includes provisions that would give police more power to monitor Canada's shared border with the US.
It could also bar those who have been in Canada for more than year from filing a claim for asylum. But critics said the bill, which seeks to expand authorities' ability to open and inspect mail, would breach civil liberties. The proposed legislation comes amid increasing pressure on Canada, which has historically been open to newcomers, to restrict immigration as the country deals with strained public services and a housing crisis. Continued on Page 10...
Southern British Columbia is bracing for its first serious bout of hot weather of the season.
Environment Canada has issued special weather statements for most of southern B.C., stretching from southern and eastern Vancouver Island through to Revelstoke, the Okanagan Valley and Grand Forks.
“A ridge of high pressure is bringing high temperatures to the region. Daytime highs are expected to be in the high 20s to low 30s with overnight lows in the low- to mid-teens,” on the South Coast, the weather and climate agency warned. The high temperatures are forecast to persist into next week, with the latest forecasts showing the heat peaking on Sunday and Monday.
Continued on Page 10...
Former PM Harper calls for renewed ties with India, and asks Govt to shun Khalistan supporters
Former prime minister Stephen Harper is calling on Canada to move past its dispute with India, arguing in a speech on Saturday that the country is an indispensable partner in a volatile world.
He also said Canadian political parties -- including the Conservative party he once led -- should cut all ties with activists calling for a new Sikh nation to be carved out of India.
Harper spoke at an event in Brampton, Ont., where an attendee recorded his speech and provided the video to The Canadian Press, as well as part of a discussion with a moderator. In his speech, Harper did not mention the RCMP linking the government in New Delhi to widespread acts of murder, extortion and coercion across Canada.
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Peel police have arrested a man after he allegedly sexually assaulted someone who was cleaning his home in Mississauga last month.
Peel Regional Police (PRP) say the victim went to the accused’s home on May 6, after she was contacted to “provide cleaning services” through an online platform.
Once inside, the victim was allegedly sexually assaulted and threatened.
PRP say investigators from the Special Victims Unit (SVU) arrested
Ravinder Dhaliwal, 27, of Mississauga on May 7. He is charged with assault, sexual assault–strangle, forcible confinement, and uttering threats to cause death or bodily harm.
Dhaliwal was held for bail hearing and appeared at Ontario Court of Justice in Brampton.
Investigators believe there may be other victims and are urging anyone with information to contact the SVU at 905-453-2121, ext. 3460, or Crime Stoppers anonymously.
The BC Wildfire Service says the Kiskatinaw River wildfire is exhibiting aggressive fire behaviour on Thursday.
The fire continues to move towards Kelly Lake and the service describes it as a “high-risk situation.”
Crews are activating sprinkler systems in Kelly Lake to defend homes and structures but the wildfire service says residents should not wait until they see smoke or fire to evacuate the area.
Road access may become compromised quickly and conditions can change quickly.
There are three evacuation orders and two evacuation alerts in place due to the Kiskatinaw River fire. As of Thursday morning, the fire is about four km from the Alberta border on the south flank and around one km from Kelly Lake to the north.
The fire has now grown past Kelly Lake Road and wildfire officials will be keeping a close eye on the winds, which are expected to gust up to 60 km/h and will remain elevated overnight. On Friday, an incoming weather system will generate very strong winds gusting up to 70 km/h, shifting from west south-westerly in the morning to west
late in the afternoon, then veering northwest in the evening as a cold front arrives.
The wildfire service says winds will ease slightly on Saturday before increasing on Sunday again. Extreme fire behaviour is anticipated under these conditions,” the service said in an update.
Highway 52 East remains closed in both directions and drivers should check Drive BC for the most up-to-date information.
In One Island Lake, northwest of Kelly Lake, crews are setting up structure protection equipment on properties as a precaution.
The wildfire service says that while the fire continues to move east and current forecasts do not indicate it will head directly north, the presence of both southerly and northerly wind components means movement toward the northeast and southeast remains possible.
Canada's trade deficit in April widened to an all-time high of a whopping C$7.1 billion ($5.2 billion), data showed on Thursday, as tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump sucked out demand for Canadian goods from the United States. Canada's exports to the rest of the world rose, but could not compensate for the drop in exports to the U.S., data from Statistics Canada showed. Exports to the U.S. shrank by 15.7%, a third consecutive monthly decline, Statscan said, adding that exports south of the border have fallen by over 26% since the peak seen in January.
Analysts polled by Reuters had expected the trade deficit to widen to C$1.5 billion in April. Statistics Canada also made a big revision to the trade deficit recorded in March to C$2.3 billion from C$506 million.
Canada shipped 76% of its total exports to the U.S. last year and trade between the two countries exceeded a trillion Canadian dollars for a third consecutive year in 2024.
But a barrage of tariffs from Trump on Canada and its C$90 billion worth of retaliatory tariffs on
B.C.’s highway patrol officers are celebrating the long weekend last month after it ended with not a single road fatality, the first time that’s happened in at least six years.
Over the Victoria Day weekend, an enforcement campaign on B.C. roads led to over 1,900 speeding tickets and the impounding of 79 vehicles for excessive speed. It was part of a month-long crackdown on high-risk driving that saw nearly 10,000 tickets written in May. The violations were evenly distributed across the province: 2,200 in the Central/Okanagan region, 1,500 on Vancouver Island, 1,200 in the Kootenays, 1,900 in the B.C. North and 2,500 in the South Coast/Lower Mainland.
“We had a lot of positive public feedback about the impact of B.C. highway patrol’s high-visibility enforcement, and we’re very happy to do our part to reduce deaths on our roads,” said Supt. Mike Coyle. However, “we still find too many examples of irresponsible driving.”
Among the major infractions during the awareness and enforcement campaign:
• Week of May 12: A Tesla Model S was stopped
U.S. imports have started disrupting cross-border trade.
Total exports in April plunged by 10.8% to C$60.4 billion, the lowest level seen in almost two years, Statscan said, and the strongest percentage decrease in five years.
While exports to the U.S. led the drop, lower crude oil prices and a stronger Canadian dollar also contributed.
"The 11% fall in exports in a single month across almost every single sector signals the critical challenge that Canadian exporters are facing," said Ross Prusakowski, Deputy Chief Economist, Export Development Canada, adding that this would likely persist as tariffs have been implemented now.
The Canadian dollar was trading up 0.17% to 1.3651 to the U.S. dollar, or 73.25 U.S. cents. Yields on the two-year government bonds were down 0.4 basis points to 2.613%.
Exports to the rest of the world were up 2.9% and in volume terms total exports registered a big decline of 9.1% in April.
doing 191 km/h in a 100 km/h zone on Highway 1 near Golden. It was the 24-year-old Alberta driver’s third ticket for excessive speed in two years, earning him a five-month driving prohibition, an excessive speeding ticket of $483, a seven-day impound and a notice for a licence suspension in Alberta.
• May 17: A driver on Highway 3/95 in the East Kootenays was stopped doing 166 km/h in a 100 km/h zone. The driver was also impaired and was hit with a 90-day roadside prohibition; the vehicle was impounded for seven days.
• May 18: A driver blew a warn on breathalyzer after a stop on Highway 21 near Creston, and she was hit with a three-day suspension. When her husband arrived to pick her up, he didn’t pass a breathalyzer either, and they had to be picked up by their parents.
• May 19: A motorcycle hit 152 km/h on radar in a 90 km/h zone on Highway 1 in Burnaby. The rider had a Class 6 (learner’s) licence and was driving contrary to restrictions; police issued $673 in fine and was also billed for the tow and sevenday impound.
Massive outdoor Bhangra festival returns to Metro Vancouver
An annual festival celebrating South Asian culture returns to Vancouver and Surrey from June 12 to June 14, 2025.
5X Fest returns with multiple events honouring 20 years of the Vancouver International Bhangra Celebration (VIBC) and its evolution as a festival welcoming over 5,000 fans yearly.
Organizers say this year's festival will feature a "bold new stage layout," a new beer garden with alcohol-free options, and a "hot lineup" of Panjabi artists. The festival began as a celebration of bhangra, but organizers say it has evolved into "a global movement rooted in community, creativity, and cultural pride."
The flagship 5X Blockparty celebrates all things Panjabi culture and music. The outdoor event will
be hosted by Parmvsthewrld and Neeti Sharma and feature several artists including: Blockparty VIP access offers perks like complimentary drinks, snacks, games, gifts, and "the best view in the house." The VIP space also has an area to mingle with top South Asian artists and influencers.
The 5X Art Party brings emerging South Asian artists and creators together in an immersive experience combining art and live music, featuring Raediamendz, Mrii, and Kokaheena.
The 5X All Access Pass offers admission to events such as the 5X Art Party, 5X Blockparty VIP, and the 5X Afterparty, and includes a commemorative 5X t-shirt. Passes are limited and available for $150 (must be 19+ to purchase).
Why so many US motels & hotels are owned by Indian-Americans
The Global Hyatt Brand is owned by the Pritzker family. What eventually became Marriott International was started and is still run by the Marriott family. Although it has changed hands a few times, the Hilton brand of hotels was founded by the Hilton family in the early 20th century.
All three of these large, well-known hotel brands were started by American citizens who were white. But if you start looking at smaller, lower cost hotels and motels, such as Super 8 and Motel 6, and especially the privately-owned ones that aren’t chains – the “mom and pop” places – you discover that a lot of them are owned by Indian-Americans, many of them first, second, or even third-generation immigrants. How that came to be is pretty interesting… The New York Times ran its piece about the Patel Hotel Cartel in 1999, and it goes into much more detail than the
video. The video mentioned HHM Hospitality. You can look at their website yourself if you wish (the company has since changed names to HHM Hotels), but what impressed me was the diversity of their leadership. The President & CEO, Naveen Kakarla, is, of course, Indian-American. However, the rest appear to include a team whose appearance and last names are in line with those of the United Nations. Just as our Great American Melting Pot is supposed to be (emphasis on “supposed”).
Oh, and best of all? A hotel in Kodak, Tennessee, was voted as “Nicest Place in America” in 2021. It’s owned and run by one Sean (Vishant) Patel.
Frankly, I find the story of how so many Patels came to run hotels and motels charming. It’s a prime example of living the American dream –working hard, ignoring the haters, and ultimately being successful – and I just love that!
BC health officials were warned of problems nine months before Kelowna hospital pediatric ward closure
Health Minister Josie Osborne scrambled last week to account for the most shocking hospital closure yet under the NDP, a six-week shutdown of the pediatric ward at Kelowna General Hospital.
“It is clearly a very stressful situation for families in Kelowna and the surrounding region to know that the pediatric unit inside Kelowna General Hospital is going to be unavailable for about six weeks,” Osborne conceded. “It’s a very difficult decision that Interior Health has undertaken.”
Also, the decision was undertaken behind a veil of secrecy. There was next to no advance public notice from either the Interior Health region or Osborne’s own Ministry of Health. Instead, Kelowna doctors broke the news on the eve of the pending closure.
Only then did Interior Health confirm the 10bed ward would be out of service from May 26 until the first week of July — and perhaps longer
— to preserve pediatric coverage for the neonatal intensive care unit and high-risk deliveries.
Article content
“We had no other option but to protect the other pediatrician physicians that we have at the moment,” Dr. Hussam Azzam, executive medical director at Interior Health, told reporter Klaudia Van Emmerik of Global News. “We’re hoping six weeks will be it, but there is a possibility it will extend beyond the six weeks.”
The closure spilled onto the floor of the legislature last week, through questions from Kristina Loewen and Macklin McCall, two Conservative MLAs from Kelowna.
In response, the health minister tried to play down the staffing crisis that had led to the closure of a specialized ward in a major, tertiary care hospital.
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Court ruling on Indigenous title threatens private property rights
Legal experts warn of growing tensions between Indigenous title and private property rights
By Joseph Quesnel
Recent legal developments suggest that Indigenous rights and private property interests may soon collide. However, governments and the parties involved can take steps to prevent these values from competing.
A case in point is the 2024 Chippewas of Saugeen First Nation v. South Bruce Peninsula ruling by the Ontario Court of Appeal. The court upheld a decision confirming that the constitutional rights of the Chippewas of Saugeen First Nation take precedence over the fee simple property rights of private landowners. Fee simple, the most common form of property ownership in Canada, offers significant economic flexibility, allowing land to be sold, leased or used as collateral. In this case, the court’s ruling presented a challenge to the traditional view of private property ownership, particularly where Indigenous rights are concerned. Indigenous groups and mainstream Canadians could reach agreements to avoid conflicts between Indigenous rights and private property rights. As Justice La Forest said in the landmark 1997 Delgamuukw v. British Columbia ruling, “Let us face it, we are all here to stay.” His call for mutual understanding and pragmatism remains just as pertinent today as it was then.
The dispute centres around a two-square-kilometre stretch of Sauble Beach, which forms part of the Saugeen Reserve in Ontario. The land was excluded from the reserve boundaries when surveyed by provincial land surveyors. The Chippewas sought a court order, claiming that the Crown breached its fiduciary duty by not granting the beach as part of the reserve land. In the initial trial, the private landowners argued the “bona fide purchaser” defence, meaning they purchased the land in good faith, believing that the previous landowners held valid title to the property. The appeal resulted in a ruling that the bona fide purchaser defence was not absolute. The judge declared that there was no reason why a First Nation’s treatyprotected reserve interest should, in every case, give way to private property interests, even those of an innocent goodfaith purchaser. This sweeping statement left private property interests vulnerable, particularly when Indigenous interests are involved. It suggested that Indigenous rights may supersede private property rights, which raises concerns about the future of private land ownership in these cases.
New report finds wait times in BC emergency rooms continue to climb No
A Metro Vancouver Transit Police officer won’t be charged after he fired seven rounds at a suspect during a 2022 confrontation, the B.C. Prosecution Service says.
The non-fatal shooting on Nov. 28 of that year was investigated by the Independent Investigations Office of B.C., and the chief civilian director ruled that there were reasonable grounds to think the officer might have committed an offence.
But prosecutors decided there is “no substantial likelihood of conviction” after a followup investigation, and no charges will be laid.
A detailed explanation of the incident released Thursday outlined the reasons for the decision.
On that night, a couple called 911 reporting a “deranged guy” carrying a knife in Gastown who they’d seen punch someone. Other callers said the same man attacked people outside a bar on Abbott
Street and that he took off with a broken pool cue in hand as a bar staffer chased him with the other half.
Two transit cops heard from Vancouver police that he was walking west on West Cordova Street. It was reported to be a knife or a sword but turned out to be the broken pool cue.
VPD officers told the man to drop the weapon and shot him five times with a beanbag gun after he failed to comply.
“These rounds had no apparent effect on the (man’s) behaviour,” according to the officers.
As they tried to block him with a police car, he stumbled briefly then continued to advance on the officers, weapon still in hand. B.C. prosecutors considered charges of aggravated assault and assault with a weapon, but prosecutors failed to find evidence to warrant them.
British Columbians are waiting longer to get care in emergency rooms and the situation is the worst it’s been in the last five years, according to a new national report looking at emergency room wait times across the country.
The report by the Montreal Economic Institute found that the median length of stay in a B.C. emergency room — calculated from the time a patient registers to when they are discharged or are admitted to the hospital — was four hours and 13 minutes in 2024, up from just over three hours in 2019. “Throughout the years, B.C. has remained somewhere in the middle of the pack, never the worst, never the best,” said report author and economist Emmanuelle B. Faubert on Wednesday. “But while they’re not doing the most poorly out of the provinces, there’s still improvement that can be done.”
submitted data. Reports of long waiting times at emergency rooms in B.C. are not new.
A patient visiting Eagle Ridge Hospital in Port Moody shared a photo of a handwritten sign posted at the ER early Tuesday morning that said the wait time to see a doctor was 12 hours.
Fraser Health said the sign was not made or posted by the health authority, although it acknowledged the emergency department saw “higher-than-normal patient volumes” and “unexpected staffing challenges.”
The median wait time indicates that 50 per cent of patients waits more and 50 per cent waits less.
The longest waiting times in the country were in Quebec, where ER patients’ median wait was nearly 5 1/2 hours and shortest in Newfoundland and Labrador, where the median wait time was two hours and 45 minutes. Saskatchewan and Nova Scotia were not included due to lack of
A “significant” number of patients did not require urgent care, and many of them had to wait longer to get care, it said in a statement.
This isn’t the first time rogue signs have appeared at Eagle Ridge, which has consistently reported some of the longest ER waiting times among Metro Vancouver hospitals. It placed 20th out of 29 emergency rooms in B.C. with a median wait time of four hours and 24 minutes, according to the report from the Montreal think-tank.
Late last year, photos of signs saying the hospital’s ER was closed due to overcapacity circulated on social media. The sign was false Fraser Health said at the time.
Premiers heap praise on meeting with Carney, but no specific projects identified
Ontario Premier Doug Ford said Monday’s gathering of the country’s premiers to talk over nation-building projects with Prime Minister Mark Carney was the “best” they have had in the last decade.
The comments amount to a lightly veiled jab at former prime minister Justin Trudeau, who frequently had frosty relations with the group, especially prairie premiers looking to build out their energy sectors.
Ford said the premiers, and the whole country along with them, stand united as Canada comes under attack from U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs -- even as some in the group scrapped over well-worn pipeline politics.
Provincial and territorial leaders sat down with Carney in Saskatoon on Monday and each premier came armed with wish lists of major projects they hope the federal government will deem to be in the national interest, then fast track for approval.
“The point is to build the certainty, the stability and the ambition that builders need to catalyze enormous investment -- investment to make Canada into an energy superpower,” Carney said at the closing news conference.
While the group mulled over a number of potential “nation-building” natural resource and infrastructure developments in private, they did not release a final list afterward that would show
they accomplished something concrete.
Still, Ford said there is no reason to take that as a bad sign.
“Nothing was carved in stone at this meeting,” he said, adding he had no expectations the prime minster would approve specific projects at this meeting.
“I described him today as Santa Claus. He’s coming and his sled was full of all sorts of stuff. Now he’s taking off back to the North Pole and he’s going to sort it out and he’s going to call us.”
The federal Liberals have yet to reveal in Parliament their promised legislation to speed up approvals for select projects to a maximum of two years. That could be tabled as early as this week.
When he was pressed on the lack of specifics after the meeting, Carney told reporters he could name lots of examples of contenders.
He then rattled off a list that included the Grays Bay Road and Port, which would connect southern Canada to the Arctic by road, along with the Ring of Fire mining project in northern Ontario. Notably, he name dropped the Pathways Alliance oilsands project, though he did not commit to any. Carney said the group would refine what should count as priority projects over the summer months and touted that as “private proponents become aware of the opportunity here, we’re going to see more projects coming forward.”
Australian police say industrial cooler filled with huge volume of methamphetamine came from Vancouver
Two Canadian men are in jail in the Australian province of New South Wales following a complex drug investigation involving methamphetamine from Vancouver, cocaine from Panama and cigarettes from the United Arab Emirates.
According to the Australian Federal Police, in September 2023 a police and government task force began investigating a 42-year-old Australian man who it believed was importing large quantities of prohibited drugs and tobacco using a freight forwarding company in the suburb of Punchbowl in Sydney’s westside.
In July 2024, police located an industrial cooler that had been imported from Vancouver and contained 280 kilograms of liquid meth — the same weight as a grand piano — allegedly imported by the 42-year-old man. Police didn’t make any arrests at the time or seize the cooler and instead waited until the following month (Aug. 5)
when two men — aged 43 and 31 — were seen accessing the cooler and preparing to extract the liquid it contained.
That night, police arrested the 43-year-old man at a fast-food restaurant and subsequently searched a nearby home where police seized gel blasters, a meth cookbook and “other items consistent with drug manufacture and supply.”
The 43-year-old man was charged with possession of drugs, possession of an unregistered firearm and participating in a criminal group, while the 31-year-old was also arrested and charged with participating in a criminal group.
“Police continued to investigate the 42-year-old man, who allegedly continued to use the freight forwarding company to import three separate consignments, containing more than 20 million cigarettes from the United Arab Emirates,” the police statement read.
Vicious attack in Langley caught on security video
In the video, a man can be seen shoving a woman into the street, then repeatedly kicking and punching her before she escapes.
It happened in the 20100 block of Fraser Highway around 6:17 a.m. on Sunday.
Soon after the attack, Langley RCMP arrested 34-year-old Hugh Mason, who has since been charged with assault and assault causing bodily harm. “We recognize that this violent incident was not only traumatic for the victim but is also deeply concerning to the community as a whole,” Langley RCMP Sgt. Zynal Sharoom said on Monday. Opposition public safety critic Elenore Sturko said the video was disturbing.
“It’s absolutely horrific to see an individual standing minding their own business suddenly attacked by someone that they don’t know,” she said. “This was a relentless beating on a member of the community. Frankly, I felt sick seeing this.”
Mason is well known to police and has a long list of court appearances for assault and breach.
“The premier and the attorney general need to go to Ottawa and insist that there are changes made to bail conditions and to the Criminal Code of Canada that can help see people involved in this type of activity kept in custody for the protection of the public,” Sturko said.
Canada proposes sweeping immigration and security bill
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The previous government of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau relied on ambitious immigration targets to fuel economic growth, and oversaw a sharp increase in people entering Canada as temporary workers and students.
At the same time, Canada saw a spike in asylum claims, with applicants waiting up to two years for their case to be heard due to the backlog.
Prime Minister Mark Carney, who won April's federal election, has promised to address Canada's "unsustainable" immigration levels.
Under current law, refugees can claim asylum in Canada either when they arrive at a port of entry, like an airport, or when they are already in Canada, with no restrictions on how long they can be in the country before claiming asylum. The new rules would bar asylum claims from those who have been in Canada for over a year, potentially making them subject to deportation.
They would also require people entering Canada from the US under the Safe Third Country Agreement - a long-standing deal requiring migrants to seek asylum in the first "safe" country they reach, whether it is the US or Canada - to file a claim in Canada within 14 days for it to be considered.
Those who fail to adhere to those deadlines would still be able to undergo a risk assessment that would determine whether their safety is at risk if they are sent away. The law also gives the government power to outright suspend processing new applications "for matters of public health and national security."
The wide-ranging 127-page measure would also expand the government's power to open mail to advance a criminal investigation.
And it would introduce restrictions on cash transactions above C$10,000 ($7,300; £5,400) and cash deposits by one individual into another's account.
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“This will be the first prolonged heat event of the year,” Global BC senior meteorologist Kristi Gordon said.
Temperatures will be five to 10 degrees above average across the South Coast for six days, through Tuesday. On Saturday, Sunday and Monday, many areas away from the water in Metro Vancouver and through the Fraser Valley will be approaching 30 C.”
Gordon said the Southern Interior will also see hot weather through next Wednesday, with daytime highs int eh 29 C to 35 C range. That’s about seven to 12 degrees above the seasonal average.
deadly peaks British Columbia has seen in serious heat events like the 2021 Heat Dome, Environment Canada said they can still be dangerous. “Early season heat can be significant due to the lack of acclimatization to elevated temperatures,” the agency warned.
“Keep your house cool. Block the sun by closing curtains or blinds. Watch for the effects of heat illness: heavy sweating, rash, cramps, fainting, high body temperature and the worsening of some health conditions.”
While the temperatures won’t come close to the
Gordon said the coming hot weather isn’t expected to be extremely dangerous, but it is a good time to begin thinking about ways to prepare for more extreme heat that’s expected later in the summer.
$5M earmarked to fight crime in B.C. downtowns 'pitiful,' Surrey critic says
Surrey Conservative MLA and former Surrey Mountie Elenore Sturko is slamming the provincial NDP government for earmarking a "pitiful" $5 million province-wide toward new policing technology and stepping up patrols to fight crime in downtown B.C.
"It's like putting up curtains when the house is burning down," she said.
"It's targeted enforcement, right, the kind of boost-and-bust operations that people in Surrey would commonly see police doing around the holidays targetting shoplifters and that type of thing," Sturko told the Now-Leader on Monday, "and it's not that those can't be effective programs but when we look at what the core of the issues are that we're dealing with in British Columbia, there's nothing
to address the root cause."
The MLA for Surrey-Cloverdale and opposition public safety critic says $5 million is "basically a drop of water in a vast ocean of problems" like open drug use, theft, robbery, vandalism, public indecency and the "wielding of weapons now seen on the streets in nearly every city and town in B.C."
But Public Safety Minister and Solicitor General Garry Begg, NDP MLA for Surrey-Guildford, says "she's missing the fact that it is the beginning of us concentrating on areas in the province that are under siege by some groups.
"I think $5 million is nothing to scoff at. It's something the RCMP is going to apply across the province and I trust it will take the necessary steps to curb what we're seeing," he told the Now-Leader on Monday.
Police seek to identify alleged YVR luggage thief
Richmond RCMP is asking the public to help identify a man suspected of stealing luggage at Vancouver International Airport (YVR) in mid-January.
RCMP received a report of stolen luggage on Jan. 14. The complaint described the luggage as a carry-on size bag with purple and white dots. A Richmond RCMP frontline officer at YVR reviewed video surveillance and saw a man allegedly taking the bag and trying to cover it with a sweater while leaving the area with it. The man is described as South Asian, between 25 and 35 years old, five feet 10 inches tall, with a medium build.
He was wearing all black clothing and white shoes at the time. He is believed to have arrived at the airport on a domestic flight.
The man was seen leaving the airport via the SkyTrain. Anyone with information regarding this investigation is asked to contact Richmond RCMP at 604-278-1212 and quote file number 2025-1573.
BC RCMP undercover officer posing as postal employee breached rights of accused
A judge has ruled that Kelowna RCMP violated an accused’s Charter rights by sending an undercover officer posing as a Canada Post carrier to deliver a package rigged with an alarm and a dye pack during a weapons investigation.
Police devised a plan to deliver the package to Thomas Troy Dill after Canadian border officers in Vancouver alerted Mounties in 2022 to a shipment from China containing two silencers, which are illegal in Canada. Dill’s lawyer alleged his Charter rights were breached and a fourday hearing was held in B.C. Supreme Court in Kelowna in April and May to determine whether the evidence was admissible, according to a judgment released on Monday.
Justice Edlyn Laurie ruled the delivery of the package constituted an illegal search, even though Dill invited the officer posing as a mail courier into the building.
She ruled police overstepped their authority because the general warrant “did not authorize the controlled delivery of the package by the (undercover agent) to Mr. Dill.”
The officer who sought the warrant, identified only as Const. Riley, testified he included that an undercover officer would pose as a postal carrier, but he wasn’t aware of details of how that would be done. He said he didn’t believe the delivery constituted a search.
Dill’s lawyer argued it was a search because the undercover officer’s purpose in being at the door was to gather evidence, according to Laurie’s decision.
The Charter protected Dill in his suite but “the point of contention here … is whether Mr. Dill had a reasonable expectation of privacy in observations made of him and in his interactions with the (undercover officer) at the doorway of the unit. In my view, he did,” wrote Laurie.
Dill’s privacy interest wasn’t “extinguished simply because he opened the door,” she wrote.
“Courts have found that Section 8 of the Charter protects individuals from unauthorized police surveillance inside residential buildings where it interferes with the person’s reasonable expectation of privacy,” she wrote.
House and EV engulfed in flames in Cloverdale
Surrey resident George Mah was watching the news shortly before 9 p.m. on Monday when his daughters heard a commotion next door and came running down the stairs.
“They heard a pop from the garage, and then glass shatter,” said Mah. “So they looked out the window and they saw the flames. It was very quick, within two minutes it was up in flames.”
The neighbours’ house on a quiet Cloverdale cul-de-sac, the 18000-block of 66A Avenue, was suddenly on fire, and an electric SUV in the driveway was also burning.
Mah said a police officer was on scene almost instantly, knocking on neighbours’ doors and checking on people. As they watched anxiously from across the street, where they could still feel the heat from the blaze, Mah said “it seemed like forever” for fire crews to arrive — although it was likely less than 10 minutes. “But once they got here they did a fantastic job.
“At one time before the fire trucks came, it was rising, and I thought, ‘It’s going to jump.’ I literally thought it was going to jump to our house,” said Mah.
Richmond councillor fined $1,200 for 'prohibited' election donation
A Richmond city councillor has been fined $1,200 by Elections BC for accepting “prohibited contributions” during the 2022 municipal elections. Coun. Bill McNulty said he’ll take his “medicine” and pay the fine, although he has the option to dispute it.
Elections BC found McNulty accepted two cheques written by the same person. The contributions of $1,200 each were meant to be from a husband, wife and their child.
McNulty thought the cheques were coming from a joint account, but, in fact, they were both from one individual account, according to the enforcement notice from the agency that oversees elections in the province.
McNulty told the Richmond News he’ll pay the fine, saying, “the rules are the rules.”
Elections BC stated in its enforcement notice that accepting prohibited contributions “gives a candidate an advantage in that they had access
to money during the campaign period that they were not entitled to.” But Elections BC also noted McNulty was responsive to the investigation and gave information in a “timely manner.”
Furthermore, the Elections BC investigation didn’t “identify any evidence that would suggest a deliberate attempt to circumvent the legislation.”
The contributions in question were returned in October 2023.
McNulty said that, while going through the investigation process with Elections BC, he learned “an awful lot,” for example, everything should be in writing. He wants to pass what he’s learned onto his colleagues. “Mistakes made but I don’t want anyone else to make (the same) interpretive mistake,” he said. McNulty acted as his own financial agent during the municipal election.
This is the first time McNulty has had a penalty from Elections BC since first being elected as a city councillor in 1993.
Family of BC Mountie who took own life angry officer she was involved with now with Surrey Police
The family of a Richmond RCMP officer who took her own life four years ago is upset the senior officer with whom she was involved in a relationship has now been hired by the Surrey Police Service. Const. Jasmine Thiara died by suicide on Richmond’s Moray Bridge on Feb. 21, 2021, shortly after texting a colleague that she was being bullied by a senior Mountie she was involved with.
“She had so much life to live, and she was so ambitious; this wasn’t a person with suicidal ideation, this was someone planning for the future of herself and her unborn child,”
Raven Thiara, Jasmine’s sister, told Global News on Wednesday.
Investigations Office concluded there was no evidence of bullying or criminal harassment that led to her death.
The officer faced a separate internal RCMP code of conduct investigation, the results of which the force will not release, citing the Privacy Act. However, the RCMP did confirm he voluntarily resigned earlier this year.
“We weren’t just robbed of my sister’s future and her turning 30, but also of my niece or nephew, who now would be growing into a toddler.”
A subsequent probe by the Independent
Raven said the force hasn’t disclosed the results of that probe to the family either. “The issue with that is transparency and accountability are the two things we’ve been exploring and imploring the RCMP for since the onset of my sister’s loss. These issues that have gone on are not isolated, they’re systemic, as we also saw with the death of (Vancouver police Const.) Nicole Chan, who also passed after being bullied to death,” she said.
Former PM Harper calls for renewed ties with India, does not mention murder probe
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“There is no reason why countries like Canada and India cannot be those enlightened voices working together, which we can do and should do by putting our recent disputes behind us,” Harper said.
Harper made the comments this past Saturday at the IMEC Canada-India Charity Gala in Brampton, where he accepted an award from a group that focuses on doing business with India. He called on Canada’s parties to “sever” ties with Sikh separatists who have for decades campaigned for a separate country called Khalistan to be carved out of India.
Relations between Ottawa and New Delhi have been in a deep freeze since fall 2023, when then-prime minister Justin Trudeau said his government had seen “credible allegations” linking agents of the Indian government to the murder of Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar near Vancouver.
A year later, Ottawa expelled six Indian diplomats after the RCMP alleged that New Delhi was behind widespread and violent criminal acts across Canada. The allegations have not been proven in court. The Canadian Press has reached out to Harper’s office to explain why he didn’t mention the allegations against India in his speech, and has not yet received a response. Harper has said in the past he can’t speak to the details of those cases. India has said the Khalistan movement threatens its national security. Ottawa has long said that it upholds India’s territorial integrity but won’t crack down on freedom of expression in Canada.
Harper said Sikh separatists “have a right to their democratic views” but he suggested those views have no place within the Canadian government.
“Those political parties cannot have a strong relationship with India unless they sever relations with those who seek to bring the battles of India’s past to Canada, and sever relations with those who seek to divide the great country that is modern India,” he said.
Harper also revealed that his government’s 2006 decision to open a trade office in Modi’s home state of Gujarat in 2009 was made “completely contrary to the advice of Global Affairs Canada.”
The Canadian Press has also asked Harper’s office why this decision went against public sector advice but has not yet received a response. Modi has been accused of failing to prevent sectarian violence between Hindus and Muslims in 2002 during his term as chief minister of Gujarat. Harper’s Saturday comments come as New Delhi and Ottawa signal a desire to repair relations.
Modi congratulated Prime Minister Mark Carney shortly after his April election victory.
Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand said she had a “productive discussion” with her Indian counterpart on May 25 about “deepening our economic co-operation and advancing shared priorities.” Those comments alarmed Sikh organizations, which accused Ottawa of putting economic concerns ahead of human rights.
The Sikh Federation has called on Ottawa to break with a five-year tradition by not inviting Modi to the G7 summit this month in Kananaskis, Alta. Vina Nadjibulla, research vice-president for the Asia Pacific Foundation, said Canada can get relations with India back on track by creating a mechanism for law enforcement in both countries to allow them to discuss security concerns without overwhelming the bilateral relationship.
Court throws out couple’s civil action
Two former acting department heads of Sabeto College who challenged the Ministry of Education and its former permanent secretary, Dr Anjeela Jokhan, for revoking their positions had their civil action dismissed.
Alvin Raju headed the Maths and Physics departments while his wife, Nazeem, was in charge of the Social Science department.
Mrs Raju had written a letter of complaint to the permanent secretary on October 3, 2019, alleging the acting principal, Shelly Chand, had been treating her unfairly. Her husband also wrote a letter of complaint against Ms Chand a few days later for allegedly discriminating against him.
The ministry, in response, appointed a panel to
investigate the allegations where various people including the complainants were interviewed.
The panel found the allegations were unsubstantiated and that the couple had personalised certain professional issues.
The panel also observed that the couple had been insubordinate and disrespectful towards Ms Chand. Acting on the panel’s report, Dr Jokhan issued a warning letter to the complainants and transferred them to another school in Lautoka.
Their acting appointments were revoked and reverted to their respective substantive positions.
The couple sought for their positions to be restored to their respective acting appointments among other remedies.
PM says find opportunities as we are challenged by geopolitics and inflation
Global trends will continue to challenge us — geopolitics, inflation, energy costs, and digital transformation among them but in these challenges, we also find opportunities to diversify our economy, to upskill our youth, to attract sustainable investment and to build institutions of integrity and innovation.
Those are the comments of Prime Minister, Sitiveni Rabuka as he opened the 50th Annual Congress of the Fiji Institute of Chartered Accountants in Nadi today.
Rabuka says the government is doing its part to harness these opportunities but no government can do this alone. He says they need partners who understand scale and sustainability.
Rabuka says the government needs trusted advisors, like the professionals in the room, who will hold the line on ethics and champion transparency in every ledger, every audit and every boardroom. The Prime Minister also said to the young professionals attending the Congress for the first time that they are the present and
future of the profession.
Rabuka says their ideas, energy, and values will define the next 50 years.
He called on them to be bold, ethical and curious. He adds they are more than accountants, they are nation-builders.
Rabuka says for 53 years, Fiji Institute of Chartered Accountants has played a defining role in Fiji’s national development, building not only a profession, but a community of trusted professionals who have helped shape institutions, policy, and public confidence in financial governance.
Alarming statistics show 1,583 new HIV cases recorded, out of which 90% are iTaukei
Recent statistics have revealed a concerning rise in HIV cases in Fiji, with 1,583 new diagnoses recorded between January and December 2024 - and of these, a staggering 90.3% are iTaukei which is equivalent to 1,430 individuals. This was shared by Minister for Health, Dr. Ratu Atonio Lalabalavu, during a round-table discussion on Fiji’s HIV outbreak response with development partners at the Grand Pacific Hotel.
Dr. Lalabalavu says 8.4% of the new cases were among Fijians of Indian descent, while 1.3% were from other ethnic groups.
The Health Minister is reminding the people that the outbreak is no longer a looming threat but it is a current and urgent crisis. He adds that the statistics also include 32 newborns diagnosed with HIV through motherto-child transmission and the new cases span all regions of Fiji, with the Central Division
reporting the highest number at 1,100 cases (69.49%, the Western Division followed with 427 cases (26.97%), while the Northern and Eastern Divisions reported 50 (3.16%) and 6 (0.38%) cases, respectively.
Dr Lalabalavu says the majority of infections were found in young adults aged 20 to 29, with 815 cases representing 51% of all new diagnoses and men accounted for 70% of the overall cases.
He says he is grateful to the United Nations Aids Program for stepping in during this time of need and working together with the Government and other stakeholders to address and scale up measures in the fight against HIV.
He urged the public to take proactive steps, get tested, and know their HIV status.
Dr Lalabalavu says this is not business as usual and the moment to act is now.
Sugarcane farmer urges Govt. to deny bail for drug offenders
A sugarcane farmer from Yalalevu, Ba, Arvind Singh is urging the government to increase the budget allocation for the Fiji Police Force to help strengthen safety and security nationwide.
He is also calling for individuals involved in drugs, especially those caught in major drug busts, to be denied bail to send a strong message and for people to understand the consequences of doing such criminal activities.
Singh says that more allocation in the budget
will enable the Police Force to conduct more regular patrols and address major crimes, particularly drug-related cases.
The 75-year-old says this has gone beyond streets and entered safe locations such as schools.
He adds that the government must take strict and decisive action to punish offenders involved in the drug trade.
The 2025/2026 National Budget will be announced on the 27th of this month.
SOUTH ASIA
Bilawal hails US Prez, urges him to facilitate Delhi talks
Pakistan PM Shehbaz Sharif and Pakistan Peoples Party chief Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari have both praised US President Donald Trump for his role in what they described as “de-escalating the tension” during the recent military confrontation with India.
The leaders also talked about renewed bilateral ties with the US and urged Washington to facilitate a comprehensive dialogue between the two nuclear-armed neighbours, India and Pakistan.
Sharif was speaking at an event at the US Embassy in
Monday-Friday - 12:00pm - 9:30pm & Saturday-Sunday - 12:00pm - 10:00pm
Islamabad while Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari was speaking with US-based Pakistani journalists in Washington on Wednesday.
Bilawal said, “We should pay attention to what the US president is saying. On 10 different occasions, he has taken credit for facilitating the ceasefire between India and Pakistan — and rightly so,” he said. “So, if the US is willing to help Pakistan in maintaining this ceasefire, it is reasonable to expect that an American role in arranging a comprehensive dialogue would also be beneficial for us,” Bilawal added.
"Generals of Pak run that country with help of military terrorist coalition": Ravi Shankar Prasad
BJP MP Ravi Shankar Prasad, who is leading an all-party delegation to key global capitals to refocus attention on terrorism following operation Sindoor, said they raised strong concerns about terrorism during their visit to Brussels and generals of Pakistan "run that country with the help of a military terrorist coalition", which is a "threat" to democracy and humanity.
He also called India the "voice" of the victims of terrorism and described the visit very "satisfying" Prasad said, "Today, our visit to Brussels is ending. I congratulate Ambassador Kumar and his entire team for the whole arrangement... The way terrorism is growing in the European Union, we raised this topic and also raised that India is an economic powerhouse and the generals of Pakistan run that country with the help of a military terrorist coalition, which is a threat to democracy and humanity. We also spoke about what human rights, whether the victims of terrorism have human rights or not, and India is their voice; they
appreciated it very much, so it was a very fruitful visit. I would consider it a very satisfying visit."
Former Deputy National Security Advisor Pankaj Saran, who is part of the same delegation, stated that the European Union understands India's evolution into a "major economic geopolitical force." He also rebuked Pakistan and said that India is facing a military dictatorship and ruled out any negotiation with that country.
"So they clearly understand that India is the 4th largest economy, that the future relationship between India and the European Union is actually fundamental, and the second underlying thread of all the discussions was the commonality of democracy, diversity and plurality...
What Pakistan is trying to do is to destroy the social and democratic fabric of India, of Europe and therefore of the anti-democratic world. So we are here pitted against a military dictatorship, and therefore there can be nothing negotiable with them," Saran said.
Ropar IIT gets Rs 311-cr project to develop AI-based agri tech Development
The IIT, Ropar, has got a grant of Rs 311 crore from the Union Ministry of Education to set up a centre of excellence for developing artificial intelligence (AI)-based solutions in the field of agriculture.
Director of the IIT, Ropar, Professor Rajiv Ahuja told The Tribune that the project aimed at taking AI-driven innovations to the grassroots level and empowering farmers with cutting-edge tools for better farm management. The institute would work for leveraging AI for sustainable agriculture and food security in the country, he said.
The institute has already developed some AI-based solutions to assist farmers in animal husbandry and beekeeping. Digital Bee Sence technology has been developed by the institute to monitor bee health using AI. It helps in ensuring effective pollination, resulting in higher crop yield.
The institute’s other innovative projects include
a solution for AI use in livestock management, a smart tag to monitors the health of livestock that sends alerts on the mobile phones of farmers, an AI tool for precision farming that helps in optimising nitrogen levels in the soil etc.
He said these innovative projects were a significant step towards shaping the future of Indian agriculture. “We are committed to building a future where AI and technology become integral part of farming, ensuring food security and sustainability,” he added.
Clamour by Sikh bodies against Gargaj address grows ahead of Bluestar event
Uncertainty prevails over Akal Takht’s officiating Jathedar Kuldeep Singh Gargaj’s address to the community during a programme to mark the 41st anniversary of Operation Bluestar on Friday, as the SGPC is yet to take any decision on the issue. Various Sikh organisations, including the Damdami Taksal, have announced their decision to oppose his address on the occasion.
The police and security agencies are on high alert and in regular contact with the SGPC and the other Sikh organisations. It is learnt that police officers on Thursday held a meeting with the SGPC in this regard. Damdami Taksal head Harnam Singh Dhuma had announced their decision to oppose the
during the programme, which is held on June 6 every year to pay tributes to those killed during the Army operation in 1984. He had expressed his reservation, claiming that the officiating Akal Takht Jathedar had not been appointed after taking approval from the entire Panth and as per the maryada. Apart from the Damdami Taksal, Sikh Students’ Federation, Dal Khalsa and Nihang Sikh organisations have also expressed their disapproval of the officiating Jathedar conducting the religious ceremony on June 6. Ishar Singh and Inderjit Singh, both sons of Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, had announced not to accept the felicitations from the officiating Jathedar
In the wake of the boom in the realty sector, the government on Wednesday substantially hiked the development charges for real estate promoters, ranging from 50 per cent to 100 per cent across the state. To boost the state’s revenue, the Cabinet had recently decided to increase the development charges.
The maximum hike has been for areas around Chandigarh, like Mohali, Kharar, Zirakpur and Dera Bassi, that are witnessing large-scale urbanisation with a number of residential and commercial projects being approved under the Punjab Apartment and Property Regulation Act1995 and mega projects under the Mega Project Policy.
Now, the promoter of a residential colony in Mohali would have to pay development charges of around Rs 1.28 crore per acre against Rs 67 lakh paid as per the previous rates, implying that the enduser would also have to pay more to buy property.
Similarly, the promoter of a group housing project in Mohali would have to pay around Rs 3.65 crore as development charges against the previous rate of around Rs 1.66 crore per acre. In the case of commercial projects in Mohali, a promoter would have to pay nearly Rs 4.60 crore against Rs 2.50 crore charged earlier.
In Ludhiana and Jalandhar, the hike varies between 52 per cent and 65 per cent. In towns like Sunam and Bathinda, the increase varies between 50 per cent and 65 per cent.
The rise in the development charges, which include the external development charges (EDC), change of land use (CLU), licence fee besides other levies, is required to be paid by the promoters for approval of their projects. According to the orders issued by the Principal Secretary, Housing and Urban Development, the new charges would be applicable to new projects and extensions to the ongoing projects with effect from April 1.
Tesla is 'not interested' in producing cars in India
Elon Musk-owned electric vehicle (EV) giant Tesla is "not interested in manufacturing in India", the country's heavy industries minister has said.
The remarks were made on Monday as the Indian government issued detailed guidelines for a scheme to promote EV manufacturing in the country.
This is the first time that India has publicly admitted that it has not been able to lure investment dollars from Musk, even after unveiling incentives for global EV giants last March.
Minister HD Kumaraswamy confirmed that Tesla would open two showrooms in India and have a retail presence.
"Mercedes Benz, Skoda-Volkswagen, Hyundai and Kia have shown interest [in manufacturing electric cars in India]. Tesla - we are not expecting from tem," Kumaraswamy said.
Another official told the Press Trust of India news agency that a Tesla representative had participated in the first round of stakeholder discussions for the manufacturing scheme but "was not part of the second and third round".
The comments come on the back of US President Donald Trump saying in February that it would be "unfair" for the US if Tesla built a factory in India. Over the years Tesla has had several rounds of negotiations to enter India.
US Vice President Vance totally supportive of India's stand on Pahalgam and aftermath: Shashi Tharoor calls meeting "excellent"
Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, who is leading an all-party delegation to the US, called the meeting with US Vice President JD Vance "excellent." He said that Vance was supportive of India's stand on Pahalgam and its aftermath and accepted India's right to respond. Tharoor stated that delegation and Vance discussed areas of future collaboration in other areas, including Artificial Intelligence (AI). He mentioned that Vance was very warm and had warm memories of his visit to India.
On delegation's meeting with Vance, he said, "We had a wonderful meeting with Vice President Vance. He was warm, welcoming, had warm memories of his visit to India, totally supportive of our stand on Pahalgam and the aftermath and accepting our right to respond as we did. Then we talked about areas of future collaboration in other
Modi slams Mamata in early Bengal push INDIA
Principal rivals in West Bengal sounded an early poll bugle on Thursday, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi declaring that the people of the state were keen to oust a ruthless dispensation and ruling TMC chief Mamata Banerjee hitting back with a dare, “We are ready for elections tomorrow.”
Speaking in Bengal’s Alipurduar, where he laid the foundation stone for a city gas distribution project, the PM unveiled the BJP’s poll slogan for the 2026 Assembly elections and declared that Operation Sindoor was not over yet.
“The people of Bengal have lost faith in TMC’s governance. Courts are being forced to intervene in every matter because the state government has failed to uphold justice. The voice of Bengal is loud and clear, ‘Banglar chitkar, lagbe na nirmam shorkar’ (Bengal’s war cry is: We reject a ruthless government),” he said in the Bengal’s strategic city, which has the Chicken Neck corridor on one side and northeastern states on the other.
With over 5 million IT workers and a growing focus on artifical intelligence (AI) in education, Indiaseems to be in an ideal position for what is shaping up to be a global race in AI technology. But while the US set the AI standard with ChatGPT in 2023, and China quickly closed the gap with its powerful chatbot DeepSeek, India has yet to produce an equivalent Large Language Model (LLM) that can mimic human communication.
And it's not for lack of ambition. According to data from market intelligence firm Tracxn, the Indian AI sector includes 7,114 startups that have collectively raised $23 billion (€20.15 billion) in equity funding so far. Last year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Cabinet approved the IndiaAI Mission initiative with a budget of nearly $1.21 billion, aiming to "undertake the development and deployment of indigenous Large Multimodal
areas, including AI, and very positive vibes as it were throughout the meeting. So, I would say that we got our messages across. I would not want to go into the details. Equally, we got back a tremendous amount of positive energy from him, so it was an excellent meeting from our point of view."
Indian Embassy in the US stated that the discussion between two sides focused on strengthening the India-US partnership, including cooperation in counter-terrorism.
"The All Party Parliamentary Delegation led by Dr. @ ShashiTharoor called on Vice President JD Vance @VP this morning. The conversation focused on strengthening the India - US partnership including cooperation in counter-terrorism domain," Indian Embassy in the US posted on X.
The PM, visiting Bengal for the first time since the 2024 LS elections, criticised the TMC government for “fomenting communal violence in Malda and Murshidabad in the aftermath of the Waqf Amendment Act passage” and said the state was simultaneously grappling with multiple crises. He listed five crises afflicting Bengal: Rampant violence and lawlessness, growing insecurity among women, rising youth unemployment, deep-rooted corruption and plummeting public trust, and TMC’s self-serving politics that deny the poor their rightful benefits. Recalling communal tensions after the Waqf Act passage, Modi said, "Look at what happened in Murshidabad and Malda. These were clear examples of the government's cruelty. In the name of appeasement, lawlessness was allowed to flourish. Hooligans had a free run. Members of the ruling party marked out homes and set them on fire, while the police stood by as mute spectators and did nothing."
Models (LMMs) and domain-specific foundational models in critical sectors."
This week, IndiaAI Mission CEO Abhishek Singh said Indian startups need to think beyond their home turf to compete and succeed against global giants.
"They will have to ultimately compete with the best in the world," Singh said at the Accel AI Summit in Bengaluru. "Initial levels of support may come from the government, but that will not sustain them in the long run."
"They will have to have a global vision in mind when they are training models," Singh said. "Brains are plenty in India. GPUs are on the way and our multilingual data is waiting to be shaped. Give this talent, patient capital and clear problems and a compact, world-class LLM can be launched in two, three years," Vaishnav told DW.
FIR registered against RCB, event management firm for stampede near Chinnaswamy stadium
A case was registered against RCB, event management firm DNA Entertainment Private Limited and Karnataka State Cricket Association on Thursday in connection with the stampede near Chinnaswamy stadium here that claimed the lives of 11 people and injured 56, police said on Thursday.
Following a complaint by a police inspector, the case was registered at Cubbon Park police station, they said.
In the FIR, RCB franchise has been listed as accused 1, DNA Entertainment Private Limited as accused 2 and Karnataka State Cricket Association Administrative Committee as accused 3, they said. The case has been transferred to the criminal investigation department for inquiry.
According to the police, the case was registered
under Sections 105 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder), 115 (voluntarily causing hurt), 118 (voluntarily causing hurt or grievous hurt by using dangerous weapons or means), 121 (voluntarily causing hurt or grievous hurt to deter public servant from his duty), 190 (every member of unlawful assembly guilty of offence committed in prosecution of common object), 132 (assault or criminal force to deter a public servant from discharging their duty) and 125 (12) (acts endangering life or personal safety of others) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
Eleven people died and 56 were injured in the stampede that broke out near the stadium as a special felicitation ceremony was organised by the Karnataka State Cricket Association to honour the RCB players.
Bid to buy peace by giving Indus water proved costly to nation, says Chouhan
Union Minister for Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare and Rural Development Shivraj Singh Chouhan today targeted the Congress saying its “attempt to buy peace by giving Indus water to Pakistan proved costy for India”.
“Our nasty neighbour Pakistan kept irrigating the crop of terrorism and unleashed terror on our motherland,” he said as he targeted first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru over the Indus Waters Treaty.
The minister was visiting the state as part of the Viksit Krishi Sankalp Abhiyan. He engaged with farmers of Patiala to promote sustainable and progressive farming practices.
While congratulating PM Narendra Modi for suspending the Indus Water Treaty following the Pahalgam terror attack, Chouhan claimed that 80 per cent of the country’s water was flowing into
Pakistan.
“Now, this water will be used for farming in Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan,” he said. “I have gone through the parliamentary proceedings of the time when the Indus Water Treaty was signed. Even the parliamentarians of the Congress, particularly from Punjab and J&K, had strongly opposed it. And the then PM Nehru had stated that we are buying peace from Pakistan in lieu of water. While peace never prevailed, our state continues to reel under severe water crisis, but not anymore. Now, we will use the water for our needs,” said Chouhan.
He encouraged farmers to adopt the DSR method, citing its benefits in water conservation and reduced labour costs. He also urged them to refrain from excessive pesticide use.
India accelerates EU trade deal push with three high-level meetings in five weeks
India is fast-tracking negotiations for a comprehensive free trade agreement with the European Union, with Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal holding three crucial meetings with EU Trade Commissioner Maros Sefcovic within just 35 days.
Speaking to reporters during his two-day visit to Italy, Goyal emphasised the unprecedented pace of discussions as evidence of both sides' commitment to concluding the long-awaited trade pact.
"We have held three meetings in 35 days. It shows our shared commitment to the FTA... we are trying to do it faster," Goyal said Thursday, highlighting India's determination to expedite the negotiation process.
The rapid-fire diplomatic engagement included
India
meetings on May 1 and May 23 in Brussels, followed by a third round of talks that concluded June 2 in Paris. This intensive schedule reflects the urgency both sides attach to finalising the agreement.
India brings significant momentum to these talks, having recently concluded similar agreements with the four-nation European Free Trade Association (EFTA)--comprising Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland--and the United Kingdom. The current EU negotiations represent the resumption of talks that stalled for over eight years. India and the 27-member European Union bloc restarted comprehensive FTA discussions in June 2022, alongside negotiations for an investment protection agreement and a geographical indications pact
leads in remittancesbut Trump's tax could deal a blow
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The likely result? A rise in informal, untraceable cash transfers and a dent in India's most stable source of external financing.
India has remained the top recipient of remittances since 2008, with its share rising from 11% in 2001 to 14% in 2024, according to World Bank. India’s central bank says that remittances are expected to stay strong, reaching an estimated $160bn by 2029. The country's remittances have consistently hovered around 3% of GDP since 2000. India's international migrant population grew from 6.6 million in 1990 to 18.5 million in 2024, with its global share rising from 4.3% to over 6%. While the Gulf still hosts nearly half of all Indian migrants, skilled migration to advanced
economies - especially the US - has increased significantly, driven by India's global IT footprint.
The US remains the top source of remittances worldwide, with its share rising from 23.4% in 2020–21 to nearly 28% in 2023–24, driven by a strong post-pandemic job recovery and a 6.3% rise in foreign-born workers in 2022. Notably, 78% of Indian migrants in the US work in highearning sectors such as management, business, science, and the arts.Remittance costs - driven by fees and currency conversion - have long been a global policy concern due to their impact on families. While global averages of the costs remain above targets, India stands out as one of the most affordable destinations, reflecting the rise of digital channels and heightened market competition.
