Vancouver Police are warning the public about a significant increase in reported sexual assaults city-wide."We have seen a 129 per cent increase in stranger sexual assaults reported to us in July alone when compared to July of 2019," says Constable Tania Visintin, VPD. "In particular, there has been a 167 per cent increase in sexual assaults related to the Granville Entertainment District when compared to the three-year average for the month of July. This is obviously very concerning."Since July 1 of this year, there have been eight incidents related to the Granville Entertainment District. Th

The wildfire situation is continually evolving, and the information below is current as of 7 p.m. (Pacific time) on Tuesday, Aug. 10, 2021.FiresWildfires currently burning in B.C.: 260​Since April 1, 2021:1, 454 wildfires655,934 hectares of area burnedActive fires by fire centre:Cariboo: 33Coastal: 21Kamloops: 80Northwest: 6Prince George: 57Southeast: 63ResourcesFirefighters and other personnel currently fighting fires: 3,633Out-of-province firefighters: 341Helicopters and planes supporting ground crews: 203EvacuationsEvacuation orders: 60 (-3)Evacuation alerts: 105 (-3)Properties: Number of

Admiral Art McDonald says he has decided to return to his position as commander of the Canadian Armed Forces after military investigators opted not to charge him following an investigation into his conduct. McDonald stepped down in February as chief of the defence staff as a result of a Canadian Forces National Investigation Service investigation into an allegation of misconduct. But in a statement released by his legal team this afternoon, McDonald says he is returning to the position after the six-month investigation completely exonerated him and that he is returning to his post. It was not

U-S President Joe Biden plans to host a virtual summit for democracy in early December in a global stand against rising autocratic forces.Biden wants to assemble government, civil society and private sector leaders to discuss three key themes -- defending against authoritarianism, fighting corruption, and promoting respect for human rights.The announcement came not long after Afghan officials announced the Taliban had seized three more provincial capitals from the elected, American-backed government in Kabul.

Foreign Affairs Minister Marc Garneau says Canada will continue to fight for the release of Michael Spavor after a Chinese court sentenced him to 11 years in prison.Garneau in a news conference this morning condemned the prison sentence, which followed a closed-door trial in March that Garneau says did not meet the standards of international law. He added that Canada is working with its allies, including the United States, to secure the release of both Spavor and fellow Canadian Michael Kovrig, though he refused to provide details.The prisoners who have become known as the two Michaels have be

During the hearing of a plea filed in Delhi High Court against Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for his tweet allegedly disclosing and sharing the identity of a rape victim's family in Delhi Cantonment area, Twitter India informed the court on Wednesday that they had removed Gandhi's tweet and also locked his account."Rahul Gandhi tweet violated our policy also, we have already removed that tweet and his Twitter account is also been locked," Twitter informed Delhi HC.Twitter counsel further said, "Petitioner has wrongly impleaded @TwitterIndia. We have removed it (Rahul Gandhi's Tweet). It is agai

Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Wednesday felicitated the players from the state who were part of the Indian hockey team in the just concluded Tokyo Olympics. The function was held at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar.Birendra Lakra, Amit Rohidas, Deep Grace Ekka, and Namita Toppo were part of the Indian teams which created history at the showpiece event.The Chief Minister handed over the cash award of Rs 2.5 crore to Birendra Lakra and Amit Rohidas.He also handed over the offer letter for appointment as Deputy Superintendent of Police in the State Police department.He appreciated the

India has successfully tested the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO)-developed Indigenous Technology Cruise Missile off the coast of Odisha's Balasore district. As per the sources, the missile flew for around 150 km with an indigenous cruise engine."More tests would be conducted in near future," sources added.Earlier, on July 23 India had successfully test-fired indigenously developed New Generation Akash Missile (Akash-NG), a Surface to Air Missile defence system in Balasore.It was the second test firing of the 30 km strike-range air defence missile systems in two days.

B.C. is reporting 395 new cases of COVID-19, including two epi-linked cases, for a total of 153,313 cases in the province.There are 3,284 active cases of COVID-19 in the province, and 148,215 people who tested positive have recovered. Of the active cases, 71 individuals are in hospital and 23 are in intensive care. The remaining people are recovering at home in self-isolation. In the past 24 hours, no new deaths have been reported, for an overall total of 1,777.There have been no new health-care facility outbreaks. There are seven active outbreaks in:long-term care: Holyrood Manor, Kin Village