The Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation will be temporarily closing all non-essential access to Stanley Park between the hours of 10 pm and 6 am beginning tonight. The closure is being activated in an effort to reduce the fire risk to the park, which is extreme due to the current drought conditions and sustained heat events. Park Rangers will set up temporary overnight access control points at five locations across the park to reduce the number of individuals in the park overnight. Vehicles, bicycles, pedestrians and anyone who does not require access to the park will be turned around at a

Premier John Horgan wants British Columbians to mark BC Day with a 7 pm salute to front-line workers. He posted a message on Twitter urging everyone to bang pots and make noise. Horgan says it will support and thank the workers who have kept us safe during the pandemic and throughout the ongoing wildfire season. BC residents enthusiastically took part in what became known as the 7 o'clock cheer, shouting and banging pots from balconies and yards nightly at the start of the pandemic when physical distancing rules made large gatherings impossible. Premier Horgan on Twitter: On BC Day at 7PM, gr

B.C. is reporting 243 new cases of COVID-19, including one epi-linked case, for a total of 149,889 cases in the province.There are 1,231 active cases of COVID-19 in the province, and 146,876 people who tested positive have recovered. Of the active cases, 47 individuals are in hospital and 16 are in intensive care. The remaining people are recovering at home in self-isolation. In the last 24 hours, no new deaths have been reported, for an overall total of 1,771. Since December 2020, the Province has administered 6,774,257 doses of Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna and AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines. As o

Canada's third gold medal of the Tokyo Games came in women's rowing eight, a race the crew led from start to finish. Team member Christine Roper of London, Ontario says she and her teammates worked toward a really clear goal for a long time and are proud of themselves. This was Canada's first gold medal in the women's eight since the 1992 Barcelona Games when Heddle and current chef de mission Marnie McBean headlined a dominant crew. The win boosts Canada's medal count to 11. Canada has 11 medals at the Tokyo Olympics after adding a rowing gold in the women's eight on Day 7. Canada's three go

The director of fire centre operations for the BC wildfire service says this week's heat is expected to contribute to ``severe burning conditions'' in BC's southern half. Rob Schweitzer's crews will be watching out for lighting this weekend, though next week could bring a measure of relief with cooler temperatures and some rain. There were 62 evacuation orders covering more than 3,400 properties at the province's latest count, with close to 17,700 more on alert. In response to the fires, Interior Health says two mobile alternative care sites being set up in the Okanagan ``out of an abundance

Federal officials are warning that Canada could be on the brink of a fourth wave of COVID-19 driven by the highly contagious Delta variant if the country opens too fast before enough people have been vaccinated. Canada's chief public health officer says long-term forecasts indicate that a hasty approach to reopening could portend a sharp resurgence of the virus by the end of the summer. Dr. Theresa Tam says the new modelling underscores the need to exercise caution in lifting public health measures as early signs of epidemic growth emerge in some areas. Tam says officials expect that the Delta

Conservative Leader Erin O'Toole is accusing the Trudeau government of not doing enough to help bring Afghans who helped Canadian soldiers and embassy staff to Canada.The email address where interpreters and others were told to send their application forms under an urgent Canadian resettlement plan crashed yesterday.A government spokesman says the issue was immediately resolved and that the mailbox remains active and operational.Andrew Rusk of the group Not Left Behind says the incident added to the pandemonium for more than 600 families whose lives are on the line as the Taliban seizes more

India reported 44,230 new COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours, taking the daily positivity rate at 2.44 per cent, said the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on Friday. With these new cases, the active tally has climbed to 4,05,155 and constitutes 1.28 per cent of total cases. The country's cumulative COVID-19 tally has reached 3,15,72,344.With 42,360 recoveries in the last 24 hours, the overall recoveries in the county have reached 3,07,43,972. The recovery rate now stands at 97.38 per cent.A total of 4,23,217 deaths have been reported so far out of which 555 deaths were reported in the la

B.C. is reporting 204 new cases of COVID-19, for a total of 149,648 cases in the province.There are 1,055 active cases of COVID-19 in the province, and 146,810 people who tested positive have recovered.Note that the numbers of total and new cases are provisional due to a delayed data refresh and will be verified once confirmed.Of the active cases, 51 individuals are in hospital and 20 are in intensive care. The remaining people are recovering at home in self-isolation.In the last 24 hours, no new deaths have been reported, for an overall total of 1,771.Since December 2020, the Province has adm