Housing crisis to persist in Kelowna, says city report

HOUSING CRISIS WILL PERSIST

Wayne Moore - Apr 24, 2022 /  | Story: 366806

Photo: Colin Dacre

"The strong demand for housing in Kelowna is expected to continue into the coming year."

That's one of the conclusions reached in the city's 2021 housing report.

"Despite ongoing efforts to support housing supply the growth, and associated housing demand, that Kelowna is experiencing is beyond what we have seen in the past years."

The yearly report reiterates what has been suggested for some time - Kelowna remains a highly desirable place to live with a strong demand for housing.

"This demand was reflected in home price and rental rate increases in 2021."

According to the report, the median price increased from 10.1 per cent for an apartment to 13.6 per cent for a townhouse and 17.6 per cent for a single detached home in 2021.

At the same time, the rental vacancy rate fell dramatically from 2.1 per cent to 0.6 per cent at the same time rents increased.

And wages have not risen at the same rate.

The report found a need for all types of housing, including additional supportive housing for the city's homeless population and those suffering from complex needs, as well as purpose-built rental units.

At the present time, 440 supportive and 3,300 rental units are moving through the development process.

Despite actions presently being taken, the report concludes the need for more housing that is attainable for a larger proportion of residents.

"City staff will continue to bring forward tools and initiatives to give council new options to meet community housing needs."

 

B.C. cannabis industry gathers in Kelowna,  pushes for changes

POT INDUSTRY SEEKS CHANGES

Brayden Ursel - Apr 24, 2022 / 4 | Story: 366874

Photo: BC Cannabis Summit

The inaugural B.C. Cannabis Summit wrapped up its three-day event on Saturday with a roundtable discussion aimed at bettering the future of the cannabis industry for both the seller and the consumer.

The main topics discussed by industry professionals at the event included the taxing of cannabis, current policy issues, and how starting a "farmgate" could help boost the economy in a post-pandemic world.

“It’s essentially the same thing you would have at an orchard where a person can come pick up some apples, pick up some pears, pick up some peaches,” said Irwin Chahal, owner of South Okanagan Cannabis.

“So, if we’re a cannabis farm, consumers would be able to come see how the cannabis is grown, who grew the cannabis, and ask any questions they may have, and to be able to purchase cannabis directly from the grower.”

The secretary of the B.C. Craft Farms Co-op, David Hurford, believes a move like this would immediately rejuvenate the tourism industry while also tapping into a brand-new revenue stream that would help reboot the economy.

“We think it’s a no-brainer and our concern is that we are not moving fast enough; we are falling behind… B.C. has a major international brand for cannabis and we don’t want to lose that advantage. We can’t take it for granted, we have to work for it … this could create thousands of jobs very quickly,” said Hurford.

The Growers Association for Cannabis and different associations across Canada are hoping the government will take the time to listen to their "farmgate" proposal to see the true value in it, as they believe it can be used as one of Canada’s most powerful tools in terms of creating business.

“The Cannabis Act is what is really holding craft farmers back … the [government] didn’t consult the experts in terms of drafting it. We’ve proposed a number of improvements to that," Hurford said. "We are suggesting that it not be led by Health Canada.”

The Cannabis Act is up for review later this year, and cannabis industry experts are confident things will move forward in the right direction not only for buyers and consumers, but for the province as a whole.

Women less likely to recover from long COVID — UK study

More than two-thirds of people hospitalized with COVID-19 still suffer symptoms a year later, UK researchers have said. Women and obese people are most at risk of long COVID.



Long COVID patients were found to have 'substantially decreased health-related quality of life'

Negative health impacts from severe cases of COVID-19 continue to affect many people even a year after contracting the disease, making it urgent to develop treatments, a UK study released on Sunday has shown.

"Without effective treatments, long COVID could become a highly prevalent new long-term condition," said Christopher Brightling of the University of Leicester, who co-led the study, published in the Lancet Respiratory Medicine journal.
What did the study find?

The study, involving altogether more than 2,300 people, showed just 26% of those who had been hospitalized with COVID-19 reporting a full recovery after five months and only 28.9% after a full year.

Women were 33% less likely than men to make a full recovery, according to the study.

Those who required mechanical ventilation while in hospital and obese people were even more at risk.

The most common symptoms reported by the long COVID sufferers were breathlessness, fatigue, muscle pain, sleep problems, limb weakness and mental health impairment.

Brightling said there was "an urgent need for health-care services to support this large and rapidly increasing patient population." Even a year after leaving hospital, many people who are suffering from long COVID show serious symptoms, including "reduced exercise capacity and large decrements in health-related quality of life," the authors wrote.

Iraqi Christians celebrate first Easter 'Holy Fire'

AFP , Sunday 24 Apr 2022

With joyous ululations, thousands of Iraqis have celebrated for the first time the arrival of the "Holy Fire" brought from Christianity's holiest site in Jerusalem to mark Orthodox Easter


Iraqi Orthodox Christians celebrate Easter Saturday at the church of the ancient Mor Mattai Monastery in the village of Bashiqa, some 30km northeast of the northern Iraqi city of Mosul, during the night of April 23, 2022. AFP

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With chanting and prayers, excited crowds gathered Saturday night to greet the flame's arrival at the Syriac Christian Orthodox Mar Matta monastery of Saint Matthew, about 28 kilometres (17 miles) from the war-ravaged city of Mosul in northern Iraq.

"It is a message of peace and love for all... a message of resurrection for this bruised country, so that it can regain its strength, its security and its peace," Bishop Timathos Moussa Shamani, of the Mar Matta monastery, told AFP.

The flame had been taken earlier Saturday from the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem -- where Christian tradition says Jesus was crucified, buried and resurrected..

According to believers, the fire descends from heaven on the eve of Easter, and is a symbol of Christ's Resurrection.

From Jerusalem it was carried in a special lantern to Jordan, before being flown to Iraq -- a method that is used every year to take the flame to other Orthodox communities, including Greece.

For the first time, the flame came directly to Iraq. To calls of "halleluia" and the clanging of cymbals, the lantern arrived carried by a bishop into the church at the monastery.

Iraqi Orthodox Christians celebrate Easter at the church of the ancient Mor Mattai Monastery in the village of Bashiqa SAFIN HAMED AFP

'Historic'

Celebrating crowds packed the courtyard and monastery church, where worshippers, monks and priests leaned forward to kiss the lantern and receive the blessing they believe the fire grants them.

The crowds then lit candles from the flickering flame, filling the church with light.

"It's a historic day," said Saad Youssef, a 60-year-old teacher.

The region is home to one of the world's oldest Christian communities, but believers were hit hard under the onslaught of the Islamic State group (IS), who forced hundreds of thousands of Christians to flee.

Nineveh province, surrounding Mosul, was left in ruins after three years of jihadist occupation which ended in 2017 when an Iraqi force backed by US-led coalition air strikes pushed them out.

Iraq's Christian population has shrunk to fewer than 400,000 from around 1.5 million before the US-led invasion of 2003 that toppled dictator Saddam Hussein.

But monasteries and churches are being slowly restored, and Pope Francis made a historic visit to the region last year.

"What I feel is the best emotion in the whole universe", said one of the faithful, a housewife in her fifties who gave her name as Ferial.

Iraq celebrates first Easter 'Holy Fire'

By Al Mayadeen Net
Source: Agencies

Christian Iraqis have widely shared the hashtag "the dream has come true" on social media.

Iraqi Orthodox Christians share the flame of the "Holy Fire" brought from Al-Quds (AFP)

For the first time, thousands of Iraqis celebrated the arrival of the "Holy Fire" brought from Christianity's holiest site in Al-Quds to mark Orthodox Easter.

Worshippers gathered Saturday night to greet the arrival of the flame at the Syriac Christian Orthodox Mar Matta monastery of Saint Matthew, about 28 kilometers from the city of Mosul in northern Iraq.

On his account, Bishop Timathos Moussa Shamani, of the Mar Matta monastery, said, as quoted by AFP, "It is a message of peace and love for all... a message of resurrection for this bruised country so that it can regain its strength, its security, and its peace."

The flame was carried in a special lantern from the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in occupied Al-Quds, where Christian tradition holds that Jesus was crucified, buried, and resurrected.

"For the first time in the history of Iraq we managed, through coordination with the Iraqi central government, to transport the holy fire (to Iraq) through Amman," said Boulos Matta Ephrem, a priest at the Mart Shmoni Syriac Orthodox church in Bashiqa.

According to believers, the fire descends from heaven on the eve of Easter and is a symbol of Christ's Resurrection.

Christian Iraqis widely shared the hashtag "the dream has come true" on social media.
From Palestine to Iraq

It is worth mentioning that the Israeli occupation forces prevented Christian pilgrims from freely reaching the Church of the Holy Sepulchre on Saturday, adding that one of the priests was brutally attacked by the IOF while on his way to the church.

The occupation forces were heavily deployed in occupied Al-Quds and imposed restrictions on Christians heading to the church.

Earlier, the occupation forces closed the New Gate leading to the Old City of occupied Al-Quds, through which the pilgrims enter to celebrate the Holy Saturday.

Despite strict Israeli restrictions, thousands celebrated the outpouring of the Holy Fire inside the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.

The Greek Orthodox Archbishop of Sebastia in Al-Quds, Archbishop Atallah Hanna, told Al Mayadeen that the occupation forces entered the Church of the Holy Sepulchre with their weapons.

The Archbishop revealed that the occupation turned the Old City into a military barracks, explaining that the occupation forces are blatantly encroaching on the sanctity of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in an unprecedented targeting of the Christian presence in the city.

Archbishop Hanna further pointed out that the occupation forces' decision to enter the Church with their weapons is a clear provocation of Christians and worshippers, who were attacked by the occupation in an unprecedented scene during the most important Christian holidays.

He addressed the world saying, "This is a cry to the Christian churches in the East and the whole world to give heeds to the Christian presence in occupied Al-Quds."

Leopard attacks policeman, sows panic in Iran city

AFP

TEHRAN: A leopard attacked a policeman in a city of northern Iran, sparking panic among local residents Sunday before being captured, state media reported.

The animal “attacked and injured a policeman before fleeing towards a garden” in Ghaemshahr, said the environment protection spokesman of Mazandaran province, Kamyar Valipur, quoted by state news agency IRNA.

“The health situation of the policeman is stable,” he said.

A video circulating on social media shows a leopard standing on the front side of an apartment building above a bank. Shortly after, panicked, the animal leaps to the ground and flees.

Terrified residents run amok in all directions while shouting, in the images.

The leopard was captured and transported to Semeskandeh wildlife refuge, in the same region, IRNA said.

According to Valipour, the province’s environment department is investigating whether the animal entered the city from forested areas or was illegally kept in a local household.

Persian leopards are listed as an endangered species on the Red List of the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

Many wild animals, including wolves and foxes, have been seen in urban areas in Iran in recent weeks, according to Hamshahri, the daily of Tehran’s municipality.

The newspaper notably reported the sighting of a bear in the southern town of Marvdasht and a wolf attack on two elderly women in Khalkhal, northwest Iran.

Argentina protests: Thousands of farmers stage anti-tax rally in Buenos Aires

Issued on: 24/04/2022 - 

01:35

Thousands of Argentine farmers protested in Buenos Aires on April 23 against President Alberto Fernandez, whose policies to contain food prices to curb rampant inflation have been criticized by the agricultural sector.

Indonesia's Anak Krakatoa volcano erupts, spews huge ash tower

Anak Krakatoa last erupted in 2018, generating a tsunami that killed 429 people and left thousands homeless.

 PHOTO: REUTERS

PUBLISHED
6 HOURS AGO

JAKARTA (AFP) - The offspring of Indonesia's infamous Krakatoa volcano erupted on Sunday (April 24), spewing a towering volcanic ash cloud about 3,000 metres into the sky.

Mount Anak Krakatoa, which means Child of Krakatoa, belched thick ash over the strait that separates the islands of Java and Sumatra, forcing authorities to warn nearby residents to wear masks outside.

"We are still recording continuous eruptions with thick clouds towering at between 500 to 3,000 metres from the peak," Deny Mardiono of Indonesia's Geological Agency told AFP.

Anak Krakatoa has erupted at least 21 times in recent weeks but Sunday's eruption was the largest yet, Mardiono said.

Authorities ordered people to stay out of a two-kilometre exclusion zone around the volcano, which is currently graded at level two of Indonesia's four-tiered volcanic alert system.

"People, including tourists, should adhere to the recommendation from the Geological Agency, which prohibits anyone to be within a two-kilometre radius from the crater," he added.

The volcano has been sporadically active since it emerged from the sea at the beginning of last century in the caldera formed after the 1883 eruption of Mount Krakatoa.

That disaster was one of the deadliest and most destructive in history with an estimated 35,000 people killed.

Anak Krakatoa last erupted in 2018, generating a tsunami that killed 429 people and left thousands homeless.

Indonesia sits on the Pacific Ring of Fire where the meeting of continental plates causes high volcanic and seismic activity.

The country has nearly 130 active volcanoes.

Krakatoa — Simon Winchester's website 

http://www.simonwinchester.com/krakatoa

Simon Winchester's long experience in the world wandering as well as his knowledge of history and geology give us an entirely new perspective on this ...

By Simon Winchester Adapted by Dwight Jon Zimmerman Illustrated ... 

http://files.harpercollins.com/PDF/TeachingGuides/0061239828.pdf

ABouT The Book. The explosion of the volcanoes on the Indonesian island of Krakatau (Krakatoa) in the Sunda Strait on. August 27, 1883, remains to this day ...

 

Earthquake occurred off northern coast of Vancouver Island Saturday

EARTHQUAKE OFF B.C. COAST

Nicholas Johansen - Apr 24, 2022 / 7:20 am | Story: 366897

Photo: Earthquakes Canada

An earthquake occurred off the coast of Vancouver Island Saturday.

The 5.0-magnitude quake occurred off the northwest coast of Vancouver Island at 2:22 p.m., at a depth of about 10 kilometres.

According to Earthquakes Canada, the quake was not felt, and no tsunami was created as a result.

Biden again describes past Armenian massacres as genocide


US President Joe Biden has described the massacre of Armenians beginning in 1915 as a genocide (AFP/MANDEL NGAN) (MANDEL NGAN)

Sun, April 24, 2022,

US President Joe Biden used Sunday's occasion of Armenian remembrance day to describe past mass atrocities by Ottomans as genocide, repeating his controversial description from a year ago when he ended decades of American equivocation.

The categorization infuriates Turkey, which refuses to recognise the 1915-16 killings of more than a million Armenians as genocide.

But Biden, who earlier this month said Russia's atrocities committed during its invasion of Ukraine amounted to genocide, again used the precise term to describe the massacres of Armenians during World War I.

"On April 24, 1915, Ottoman authorities arrested Armenian intellectuals and community leaders in Constantinople. Thus began the Armenian genocide -- one of the worst mass atrocities of the 20th century," the president said in a statement.

"Today, we remember the one and a half million Armenians who were deported, massacred, or marched to their deaths in a campaign of extermination, and mourn the tragic loss of so many lives."

Biden said people should remain "vigilant against the corrosive influence of hate in all forms," and urged Americans to "recommit ourselves to speaking out and stopping atrocities that leave lasting scars on the world."

As many as 1.5 million Armenians are estimated to have been killed from 1915 to 1917 during the waning days of the Ottoman Empire, which suspected the Christian minority of conspiring with adversary Russia in World War I.

Armenian populations were rounded up and deported into the desert of Syria on death marches in which many were shot, poisoned or fell victim to disease, according to accounts at the time by foreign diplomats.

Turkey, which emerged as a secular republic from the ashes of the Ottoman Empire, acknowledges that 300,000 Armenians may have died but strongly rejects that it was genocide.

Biden infuriated Ankara one year ago when he became the first sitting US president to describe the massacres as genocide. He had informed Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan of the decision the day before, in a move seeking to limit fury from the NATO ally.

Erdogan in the aftermath denounced the genocide recognition as "groundless" and "destructive," and warned Washington could lose a friend in a key region.

The strained relations gradually steadied, with the two leaders meeting last June and Erdogan hailing a "new era" of constructive ties with Washington.

They spoke last month about Turkey's mediation over the Russia-Ukraine war.

mlm/jv

Russia blocks chess website over Ukraine

AFP Moscow
Published: 24 Apr 2022

Two men play chess in a park, amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine, April 7, 2022.

Reuters
The popular website Chess.com has been blocked in Russia after publishing two critical articles on the situation in Ukraine branded "false information" by the authorities.

The site, which boasts 50 million members worldwide, is now on a list of blocked sources drawn up by Russia's telecom watchdog Roskomnadzor.

The general prosecutor's office requested that access to just two pages of the Chess.com critical of Russia's "special operation" in Ukraine be restricted, domestic agencies and media reported.

But because Chess.com uses the HTTPS protocol, the whole site has become unavailable, the media said.

Chess.com could not be opened in Russia on Sunday afternoon.

The articles allegedly condemned the offensive Russia unleashed in Ukraine on February 24, according to Russian media reports.

Chess.com has already banned Russian grandmaster Sergey Karjakin, who has publicly supported the offensive, from playing games on the site.

Karjakin, who played Norway's Magnus Carlsen in 2016 for the world title, has also been suspended for six months by world chess governing body FIDE.

This month he called for Chess.com to be blocked, accusing it of "anti-Russian choices" and "insulting propaganda".

Karjakin took to the Telegram messaging service to praise the move against Chess.com by the Russian government.

"Is it really a great loss for Russian-speaking users?" he asked, adding, "Not in my opinion."

"Once again we are witness to a situation where Western platforms lose their Russian public because of their own phobia of Russia."

Social networks such as Twitter, Facebook and Instagram have already been blocked in Russia, as have dozens of media websites over Ukraine.

Since President Vladimir Putin sent troops to Ukraine, authorities have stepped up measures to silence critics of the military operation in Russia's pro-Western neighbour.

New legislation imposes prison terms of up to 15 years for spreading information about the Russian military deemed false by the government.