The head of the World Health Organization warns that countries in the Northern hemisphere are at a ``critical juncture'' with rising cases and deaths. ``The next few months are going to be very tough and some countries are on a dangerous track,'' said WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus at a press briefing on Friday. ``Many countries are seeing an exponential increase in cases,'' and he called for immediate action. Maria Van Kerkhove, WHO's technical lead on coronavirus, says the U.N. health agency had recorded about 445,000 new coronavirus cases in the past 24 hours; nearly half

Snowfall warnings and special weather statements covered much of southern BC this morning as a winter-like system made many roads treacherous. Snowfall warnings are posted for the East Kootenay, the Fraser Valley east to the Okanagan Valley and all the way north to the Chilcotin region, while special weather statements extend from the inland central coast, across the south coast and entire lower third of the province. Environment Canada is calling for five to 15 centimetres at higher elevations before the storm moves on later today. The heavy, wet snow had already closed the Coquihalla Highwa

Huge numbers of mail-in ballots mean the results of tomorrow's BC election will be fuzzy at best and Elections B-C says even the announcement of the official, final result, normally available about three weeks later, could be delayed. Chief Electoral Officer Anton Boegman says ballots from advance polls and general voting will be counted tomorrow night in what's called an initial count, but at least 480,000 mail-in ballots, and possibly more, will still need to be tallied during a final count. That happens over what is usually a 13 day window following election day, but Boegman warns unpreced

Candidates have just hours left to woo undecided voters as BC goes to the polls tomorrow, wrapping up a 28 day campaign. NDP Leader John Horgan started his day in New Westminster in the battleground riding of Richmond-Queensborough. Liberal Leader Andrew Wilkinson visits ridings from North Vancouver to Maple Ridge today before concluding his bid for the premier's chair with a rally late this afternoon in Surrey. Green Leader Sonia Furstenau spends the last day of the campaign in her home riding on Vancouver Island, greeting voters and hold a news conference in Duncan.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is trying to offer Canadians modest hope about progress in testing and vaccine development after Canada notched an all-time high of new COVID-19 cases in a day. Trudeau told a news conference today that the government is spending $214 million towards the development of COVID-19 vaccines, signing deals with Quebec's Medicago and British Columbia's Precision NanoSystems. Trudeau says the Medicago contract includes the rights to buy 76 million doses of its vaccine, should it meet health and safety standards, as well as funding for a production facility in Quebec Cit

Voters in British Columbia go to the polls on Saturday in a snap election that has seen the Greens singing the praises of minority governments, the NDP asking for the stability of a majority and the BC Liberals accusing the New Democrats of playing politics with COVID-19.NDP Leader John Horgan's decision to call an election, more than a year ahead of schedule and during a pandemic, became a campaign issue right from the start.Horgan says he pulled the plug on his minority government because he is seeking the certainty of a majority during uncertain times, but he spent much of the campaign fen

BC has seen another big jump in COVID-19 cases with another record for a second straight day. Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry is reporting 274 new cases, up from the 203 reported yesterday. Dr. Henry says much of the recent surge in cases is due to social gatherings such as weddings and funerals and recommends people revise plans to small gatherings only. She warns additional measures will be put in place if necessary to break what she describes as ``large transmission events.''

Shiromani Akali Dal will reject and block the implementation of the Centre's farm laws in Punjab when if it forms a government in the state, party chief Sukhbir Singh Badal said on Thursday."We will totally reject and block the implementation of Modi's anti-farmer Acts in Punjab," Badal told the media. He said the entire state should be declared a principal market area.He said that Shiromani Akali Dal has been demanding that the assured marketing at MSP regime must not only continue but must also be expanded to cover all the 22 listed crops. "When Shiromani Akali Dal forms a government in the

The case of a Newfoundland and Labrador man who recently went missing in British Columbia reached the prime minister Wednesday during a virtual town hall with members of Memorial University.Memorial graduate Jordan Naterer, 25, was reported missing on Thanksgiving weekend after he didn’t return from a hike in E.C. Manning Provincial Park, 175 kilometres east of Vancouver.Justin Dearing, the school’s sustainability officer, said he felt compelled to ask Justin Trudeau for help convincing police to resume their search for Naterer.Authorities called off the search Saturday, but Naterer's fath