Top Stories – March 2nd – Residential Areas Hit

Russian forces stepped up their attacks on populated urban areas Tuesday, bombarding the central square in Ukraine’s second-largest city and Kyiv’s main TV tower. Ukraine’s president accused Moscow of a blatant campaign of terror. Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland promises that Canada will keep up the pressure on Russia for the invasion. She adds everything is on the table regarding additional sanctions, including Russian oligarchs.

The cultural backlash against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is intensifying. The Cannes Film Festival says no Russian delegations will be welcome this year, and the Venice festival announced free screenings of a film about the 2014 conflict in Ukraine’s eastern Donbas region. The announcements by Europe’s two premier film festivals came on the heels of other high-profile protests in the arts.

Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly says Canada wants the International Criminal Court to open an investigation into Russia for possible crimes against humanity because of its invasion of Ukraine. Joly announced Canada’s intent in Geneva after she and other Western diplomats walked out in the middle of the address by their Russian counterpart at the United Nations Human Rights Council.

In her briefing yesterday Dr. Bonnie Henry said there are many areas that still have significant covid transmission. The Interior health authority has topped that list on many days. Monitoring is underway, with potential to lift some restrictions prior to spring break this month.

The Canadian economy grew 4.6 percent last year, compared with a decline of 5.2 percent in 2020, the first year of the pandemic. Growth in the fourth quarter came in at an annualized rate of 6.7 percent.

The regional district is beefing up a couple of parks through land purchases. It’s adding 10.6-hectares to Goat’s Peak Regional Park with a purchase at the end of Whitworth Road for 2.2-million dollars. It is buying 4 hectares that straddles Powers Creek on Hebert Road in West Kelowna for 910-thousand to add to Glen Canyon Regional Park.

A 35-year-old man who was arrested in 100 Mile House for allegedly using a stolen credit card, is reported to have used the card from the Lower Mainland to Northern BC. Police say a clerk working at the Canco Gas Bar and Store saw the man attempt to buy a large amount of pre-paid credit cards. RCMP say the man returned to Canco the next day and was arrested with the stolen credit card and a large amount of pre-paid Mastercards in his possession.

The dangers of distracted driving doesn’t seem to be getting through to motorists. An Ipsos survey found 42 percent of drivers admit they still use their phone at least one out of every 10 trips. Yet 93 percent of those BC drivers believe it’s highly risky to text while driving and 84 percent believe it’s very risky to talk while holding a cell phone and driving.

BC reported 466 new cases of covid 19 yesterday and once again, the Interior posted the most of any health authority at 193. Next was Fraser at 101. The number of people in hospital in the province has dropped to 523, with 83 in critical care.

Sports

In Seattle last night the Kelowna Rockets gave up two goals in the last minute, allowing the T-Birds to take a 4-3 win and a split of their 2 game set in Washington. Next up for Kelowna is a Friday night game at Prospera Place against the Victoria Royals.

Major League Baseball has canceled opening day. Commissioner Rob Manfred says the sport will lose regular-season games over a labor dispute for the first time in 27 years after lockout talks collapsed in the hours before management’s deadline.

The West Kelowna Warriors are on the road for a couple of BC Hockey League games. Tonight they play the Wild in Wenatchee before moving on to Trail on Friday.

The Green Bay Packers are negotiating a short-term deal for Aaron Rodgers that would make the reigning MVP the highest-paid player in the NFL if he returns this year. Rodgers is scheduled to earn nearly $26.5 million in base salary next season.

CCM Hockey will stop using Washington Capitals star Alex Ovechkin and other Russian NHL players in any global marketing. The company did not respond to questions about CCM’s contracts with Ovechkin and other Russian players including Evgeni Malkin and Dmitry Orlov.

Russia was excluded from all international figure skating events as sporting sanctions continued to mount following the invasion of Ukraine. It comes a day after Russian teams were barred from soccer, rugby, curling and hockey.