As British Columbia lays out plans to shed COVID-19 restrictions, the person who ensures fair access to government resources is calling for caution, especially when deciding who is eligible for relaunched services. A statement from the office of B.C.'s ombudsperson says vaccination certification programs are being explored in B.C. and in jurisdictions across Canada. Ombudsperson Jay Chalke says this raises concerns about provincial or local public services being limited based on vaccination status. The organization representing the public advocates across Canada has released guidance about ho

Amazon is going Hollywood. The online shopping giant is buying MGM, the movie and TV studio behind James Bond, ``Legally Blonde'' and ``Shark Tank,'' with the hopes of filling its video streaming service with more stuff to watch.Amazon is paying $8.45 billion for MGM, making it the company's second-largest acquisition after buying grocer Whole Foods for nearly $14 billion in 2017. The deal is the latest in the media industry that's aimed at boosting streaming services to compete against Netflix and Disney+.AT&T and Discovery announced last week that they would combine media companies, cre

WhatsApp on May 26 has moved to high court against the policies imposed by Centre which includes to "trace" the origin of particular message sent on the service. But on the other hand opposing to this WhatsApp said, "Requiring messaging apps to 'trace' chats is the equivalent of asking us to keep a fingerprint of every single message sent on whastapp, which would break end to end encryption and fundamentally undermines people's right to privacy." On February 25, the Centre framed the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules 2021, in the exercise of

Cyclone Yaas has completed the process of landfall, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) informed on Wednesday, while advising fishermen not to go venture to sea for the rest of the day."Cyclone Yaas has complete the process of landfall. Rainfall will continue till tomorrow. Fishermen are advised not to venture till tomorrow morning because the sea condition going to be rough," Umashankar Das, Senior Scientist at the Meteorological Centre in Bhubaneswar told ANI. The process of landfall started around 9 am today between Dhamra and Balasore. High-speed winds uprooted many trees and heavy s

Dr. Bonnie Henry, B.C.’s provincial health officer, and Adrian Dix, Minister of Health, have issued a joint statement regarding updates on the COVID-19 response in British Columbia. "Today, we are reporting 289 new cases, including four epi-linked cases, for a total of 142,636 cases in British Columbia."There are 3,782 active cases of COVID-19 in the province. A further 137,062 people who tested positive have recovered."Of the active cases, 301 individuals are currently hospitalized with COVID-19, 93 of whom are in intensive care. The remaining people with COVID-19 are recovering at home in

Vancouver Police are investigating the city’s seventh homicide of 2021, after a 59-year-old man was stabbed to death in an east-side home Saturday morning. VPD officers were called to the home, near Joyce Street and Vanness Avenue, around 2:30 a.m. Saturday for reports that a man had been injured. When officers arrived, they found the victim suffering from multiple stab wounds. He was taken to hospital, but died Monday. Rajesh Narayan, 38, was arrested on Saturday by VPD officers and is now charged with second degree murder. Investigators believe the suspect and the victim knew each other.

The British Columbia government has introduced a four-step restart plan in a gradual return to normality when more people are vaccinated against COVID-19. Here are the steps set out by the province: Step 1: What's allowed on Tuesday with 60 per cent of the population having received one dose of a vaccine.— A maximum of five visitors or one household are allowed to gather indoors. Ten people are allowed for outdoor personal gatherings and 50 people for seated outdoor organized gatherings with safety protocols.— Recreational travel is only permitted within a resident's travel region.— Indo

Procurement Minister Anita Anand says Moderna has assured her it will deliver millions of doses of its COVID-19 vaccine next month but still hasn't confirmed the exact amount or timing of deliveries. Anand says she has been on the phone to Moderna repeatedly, including this morning, to push for an actual delivery schedule for June and July. Moderna was originally supposed to ship 12.3 million doses between April and June. Later, that figure was revised to between 10 million and 12 million doses. However the company has only shipped 3.7 million since April 1 and has no confirmed deliveries in

The Integrated Homicide Investigation Team (IHIT) is calling on the public to help further its investigation into the shooting death of 42-year-old Mir Aali Hussain in Coquitlam, B.C. Coquitlam: On May 22, 2021 at around 5:30 p.m., the Coquitlam RCMP responded to reports of a shooting near Hart Street and Henderson Avenue. Police found a man, later identified as 42-year-old Mir Aali Hussain, on the ground beside his white 2020 Toyota Highlander (stock photo attached) with gunshot wounds. He was pronounced dead at scene. A stolen 2002 red Buick Century (actual photos attached), with only one h