Canada's main stock index has closed down 10.3 per cent to its lowest level in 14 months as a collapse in oil prices triggers a plunge. The TSX composite index lost 1,660 points to close at 14,514. In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was down two thousand points or 7.7 per cent at 23,864.

Police in North and West Vancouver say they set up signs last week warning drivers to stay off the phone but still handed out 36 tickets for distracted driving within metres of those signs. West Vancouver police Constable Kevin Goodmurphy says, for some reason, drivers still aren't getting the message. He says during a 90 minute blitz at the height of rush hour last Friday, officers had no trouble spotting drivers texting or talking on their phones while behind the wheel. The distracted driving campaign is set to continue through March and beyond.

Fortis BC says it responded to one thousand and 69 calls for broken gas lines last year and it believes the vast majority were likely avoidable. Damage Prevention and Emergency Services Manager Ian Turnbull says, in more than 600 of the cases, the line was ruptured by someone who dug or cut into it without checking for underground pipes or wires. Turnbull says anyone planning to dig should first go online at ``BC 1 Call'' to open what is described as a ticket checking information about the location, size and depth of a dig to ensure there's no chance of damaging underground infrastructure. He

More than a week after a man was attacked and left with life threatening injuries, Vancouver police hope additional witnesses can help them understand what happened. The unnamed 49 year old victim remains in hospital following the assault in front of a pub on Vancouver's west side at about 2 a.m. on February 29th. Police say a suspect has been identified and the investigation is continuing. Officers with the major crimes section urge anyone with information about the attack to contact them or Crime Stoppers.

Experts say Germany's low death rate from the new coronavirus is partly due to early testing that gave more time to contain the outbreak. The country has confirmed more than 1,100 cases but, so far, just two deaths. Other countries with a similar number of confirmed infections have dozens of deaths. Christian Drosten, the director of the Institute for Virology at Berlin's Charite hospital, said Germany's dense network of independent labs received both the technical information needed to conduct tests and the approval to bill for them in January. Case numbers in Germany were still in the singl

British Columbia health officials say a man has died of the new coronavirus at a seniors care home in North Vancouver. The death at Lynn Valley Care Centre is believed to be the first COVID-19 death in Canada. Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry and Health Minister Adrian Dix announced on the weekend that two elderly residents of the facility had been diagnosed with the virus. Henry says the diagnoses followed an earlier diagnosis of a worker at the care home, making the cases especially concerning as examples of community transmission. The two health officials described the situa

Canada's top public health doctor now recommends Canadians avoid travelling on all cruise ships to protect against the spread of the novel coronavirus.Dr. Theresa Tam previously advised Canadians to think twice about cruises but toughened her warning in a Monday morning news conference.Tam says the ships may voyage to areas with confirmed or undiagnosed cases of the coronavirus and its associated respiratory disease, COVID-19.There are six cases of the virus in Canada linked to a previous voyage of the Grand Princess cruise ship out of San Francisco.Other Canadians, stuck on the ship's curren

Richmond RCMP are seeking witnesses to an alleged assault early Saturday morning. Police say they were called after a man was brought to a local area hospital with a serious head wound.They say the man was allegedly attacked by a group of individuals in front of a restaurant (located at 5300 No. 3 Road).Investigators say the attack appears to have been targeted and the suspects left in two vehicles.

British Columbia's police watchdog is investigating the death of a man who was pepper sprayed and shocked with a stun gun by Mounties on Sunday.RCMP say the incident happened in Whistler at about 11 a.m., after people called to report an intoxicated man causing a disturbance at a local business.They say that the officers used pepper spray on the man, stunned him with a conducted energy weapon and used their batons "in an effort to gain control of him."During the interaction, they say the man "suddenly became still" and officers began CPR as they called paramedics.He died after being taken to