How risky is flying during the coronavirus pandemic?

Asylum claim rise needs response: IRB

OTTAWA - The Immigration and Refugee Board is doing its best to cope with a growing number of asylum claims in Canada, but the federal Liberals must take action as well before an unmanageable backlog gets created, the head of the IRB says.

The rapid pace of the increase in new claims sees the board — an independent tribunal that decides on immigration and refugee cases in Canada — potentially on track to receive 30,000 claims this year — triple the number lodged before it just four years ago.

"There is a limit to what you can do ..." said IRB chairman Mario Dion of his agency's efforts in an interview with The Canadian Press.

"Efficiency has increased significantly, but there is no way we can deal with 30,000 cases when we're funded for about 17,000."

Start date of Phase 2 yet to be finalized; public, business, industry asked for input

Manitoba has unveiled a sweeping plan to reopen more sectors earlier than projected, giving the green light to bars, pools, splash pads, gyms, rinks, tattoo parlours, estheticians, and travel to tourist destinations north of the 53rd parallel.

"Early and decisive actions, along with the hard work of Manitobans have made a difference in our fight against COVID-19, and I want to thank Team Manitoba for all you've done," Premier Brian Pallister said during a Thursday morning teleconference.

The months of handwashing and handwringing Manitobans have been doing to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus are paying off, officials said.

On May 4, outdoor restaurant patios, hair salons, playgrounds, elective surgery and health services such as physiotherapy were allowed to resume under Phase 1 of Manitoba's reopening plan.

Rocky Horror star prepared for a rude reception in all the best ways

While it enjoys the longest theatrical release of any movie in history, The Rocky Horror Picture Show was all but ignored by critics when its revolutionary brand of camp first hit silver screens in 1975.

And before it whipped up a cult following, Rocky was a fringe theatre hit in London whose first run’s final night — which had attracted such luminaries as Mick and Bianca Jagger — was derailed by an unlikely culprit: glitter. According to the late Tim Curry (who died at 80 in August), the shiny stuff ended up where the sun don’t shine.

“Well, Rocky got some glitter down his trunks and it set up an irritation. When we arrived at the theatre, he was standing in the shower and the show couldn’t go on,” he told the press in 1974, after crossing the Atlantic to lead the show’s American theatre debut.

Glitter is one of the things audiences may not throw at the stage at The Rocky Horror Picture Show screening tonight at the Centennial Concert Hall. Unlike in the anarchic midnight screenings at the New York’s Waverly Theater beginning in 1976, where audiences chucked everything but the kitchen sink, a prop bag will be courteously supplied at the door.

Most incumbents regain their seats… but not all

When it comes to civic elections, voters like incumbents — but that doesn’t mean they are always invincible.