Driver ticketed for having phone in plain sight wins B.C. Supreme Court appeal

After years of mixed messaging from police and the courts, a recent B.C. Supreme Court ruling has provided some clarity on distracted driving rules.

The ruling stems from a 2018 case in which a new driver was ticketed for distracted driving by a Burnaby RCMP officer who saw the driver’s phone mounted inside the vehicle.

Hunter John Sangret had a Class 7 or ‘N’ licence, meaning he was prohibited from using an electronic device while driving.

North Shore Rescue locate missing senior

North Shore Rescue (NSR) says it has located a missing senior, believed to have gone missing for the second time in weeks.

Rescue crews say the 79-year-old man had actually gone to the store, but no one knew where he had gone.

The same man had vanished back in November, kicking off a search.

Will financial markets get a break from Washington chaos?

In case you are wondering whether the financial markets are going to get a break from all the chaos going on in Washington, here’s your answer.

It turns out Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz didn’t take a dive in his investigation of the FBI handling of the Trump-Russia investigation.

In a Senate hearing yesterday (that cable stations decided not to cover), Horowitz said his investigation’s recommendation “was to refer the entire chain of command [of the FBI] … to the FBI and the [Justice] Department for consideration of how to assess and address their performance failures.”

That includes, he said, “senior officials.”

This is another way of saying there will be possible disciplinary actions and prosecutions. You can count on that.

Attorney General Bill Barr has already made it clear that he and US Attorney John Durham are going after people’s throats.

Stay alert. The financial markets are paying attention very closely to what’s going on and what effect it’ll have on the economy and, especially, trade talks with China.

If Trump is weakened by the impeachment process, he isn’t going to get a good deal with China.

Fed leaves rates unchanged

Hong Kong (CNN Business)Asian markets mostly rose Thursday after the Federal Reserve kept interest rates steady, putting an end to the year’s series of rate cuts.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index (HSI) advanced 1.2%. South Korea’s Kospi (KOSPI) gained 1.1%. Japan’s Nikkei 225 (N225) moved up 0.2%.
China’s Shanghai Composite (SHCOMP) crept higher at open, but soon dipped 0.1%.

The Federal Reserve left its benchmark rate steady Wednesday in the United States. It also signaled an intention to keep interest rates unchanged in 2020 unless there is a material change to the economic outlook.
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell “delivered a very clear message” that the central bank is on hold, and that the economy “seems to remain in a very good place,” wrote Edward Moya, senior market analyst at Oanda in New York, in a research note.

But he added that there’s not much to look forward to on one major issue: the US-China trade war.
A December 15 deadline for a new round of US tariffs on Chinese goods still looms. And there’s not yet any clarity on whether those duties will be delayed.

71 soldiers killed in terrorist attack on Niger military camp

NIAMEY, NIGER (AFP) – Islamist fighters killed 71 Niger soldiers in an attack on a military camp near the border with Mali, the Defence Ministry said in a statement on national television on Wednesday (Dec 11).

“A substantial number of terrorists were neutralised” in Tuesday’s attack which also left 12 military personnel injured and others missing, the ministry added.

An earlier toll from a security source put the number killed in the assault in Inates in the western Tillaberi region at “more than 60”.

New Zealand volcano eruption: Police preparing to retrieve bodies from White Island on Friday

WELLINGTON (REUTERS) – Police in New Zealand said they are making plans to retrieve the bodies on Friday (Dec 13) of eight people killed in a volcanic eruption.

“I can now confirm that we are finalising a plan to recover the bodies from Whakaari/White Island tomorrow morning,” Deputy Commissioner John Tims said in a statement on Thursday, adding that families will be briefed on the operation.

Turkey says U.S. sanctions will not affect Ankara's use of Russian S-400s

ISTANBUL (Reuters) – U.S. legislation to impose sanctions against Turkey will not impact Ankara’s use of the Russian S-400 missile defense system even if it passes Congress, Turkish presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalin said on Wednesday.

A U.S. Senate committee backed legislation on Wednesday to sanction Turkey after its offensive in northern Syria and its purchase of S-400s, the latest move by lawmakers to push U.S. President Donald Trump to take a harder line against Ankara.

Ujjivan Small Finance Bank makes strong debut, jumps 57%

The company’s market valuation stood at ₹9,315.12 crore during early trade

The scrip of Ujjivan Small Finance Bank made a strong debut on stock exchanges on Thursday, listing with a premium of over 57% against its issue price of ₹37.

On the BSE, the scrip opened at ₹58, a 57% premium against its issue price of ₹37 per share. On the NSE, it got listed at ₹58.75.

The company’s market valuation stood at ₹9,315.12 crore during early trade.

The initial public offer (IPO), which was open for subscription during December 2-4 was subscribed more than 165 times at a price band of ₹36-37 per share.

The category meant for qualified institutional buyers (QIBs) was subscribed 111 times, non-institutional investors (NIIs) category witnessed a subscription of 473 times, while the same for retail investors stood at over 49 times.

Microfinance lender Ujjivan Financial Services is the holding company of Ujjivan Small Finance Bank.