British Columbia is bumping up its age-based vaccination plan by offering Oxford-AstraZeneca shots to Lower Mainland residents between the ages of 55 and 65. The move comes a day after provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry announced a pause on use of the same vaccine for anyone under 55 on the advice of the National Advisory Committee on Immunization amid concerns about rare blood clots. Dr. Henry says in a news release that officials know from the millions of doses used worldwide that the vaccine is highly effective and the benefits to those over age 55 far outweigh the very real risks

A lawyer for Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou says the case before a British Columbia Supreme Court judge is "unprecedented" in that the extradition request from the United States violates international law. Gib van Ert says Canadian courts have stayed extradition proceedings because of international law breaches in the past, but in those cases the conduct around the requests was unlawful. He says the case against Meng is unique in that the request itself is unlawful, as American authorities are seeking the Chinese national on fraud charges that her lawyers argue have no connection to the United

The sister of a British Columbia woman who took on a stabbing suspect with an umbrella says her sibling always does what she believes is right. Sheloah Klausen, a school teacher in North Vancouver, was at the Lynn Valley public library on Saturday to attend a book fair with her daughter. Leah Michayluk says when her sister saw a man stab a woman in the library, she ordered her 10-year-old daughter to hide and grabbed a nearby umbrella to intervene. Klausen has injuries to her neck, head and hands, and Michayluk says a bystander who pressed napkins to the cut artery in her sister's neck likely

Fire crews have responded to separate fires at three buildings operated by the Freemason society in Metro Vancouver. North Vancouver RCMP say in a statement a fire broke out just before 7 a.m. at the Lynn Valley Lodge Masonic hall. A second fire was reported just minutes later four kilometres to the west at the North Vancouver Masonic Centre. That blaze has severely damaged the low-rise structure and RCMP say they are trying to determine if the two fires are related or were deliberately set. A third fire, at a Masonic hall in southeast Vancouver, was reported about 15 minutes after the first b

The New York City Police Department says an Asian American woman has been attacked by a man who repeatedly kicked her in front of witnesses who seemingly stood by. Police say the 65 year old woman was walking along 43rd street on Monday afternoon when a man came up to her and kicked her in the stomach, knocking her to the ground. Police say the man then stomped on the woman's face several times while shouting anti-Asian insults at her. Surveillance footage shows the man casually walking away after the assault while onlookers watched. The woman was hospitalized with serious injuries. The NYPD'

Canada is staying in the fight against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant for another year. Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan announced this afternoon that Canada will keep up to 850 troops in Iraq and the surrounding region until next March. The extension comes only one day before the mission, which began in October 2014, was set to end. It also coincides with growing concerns about Iran's influence in Iraq, with Tehran backing numerous Shia militia groups. Those groups, which have largely displaced ISIL as the main threat in Iraq, have stepped up attacks on Western forces in recent month

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Pfizer-BioNTech has confirmed it will move up delivery of five million vaccine doses to June from later in the summer. The earlier shipment period will boost the number of Pfizer doses received by the end of that month to 18 million doses. Procurement Minister Anita Anand says the accelerated schedule means Canada will receive about 44 million vaccine doses in total by the end of June, more than enough for every Canadian to receive at least one shot. By the end of this week, Canada will have received about 9.5 million vaccine doses from three manufacturers,

The federal government is expecting around 1.5 million doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine from the United States today. The vaccines are expected to arrive by truck and represent the first to come from south of the border. Provincial governments decide on their own how to use a vaccine, but Dr. Howard Njoo, Canada's deputy chief medical officer of health, says all provinces and territories have agreed to suspend the use of the vaccine for those under 55, pending the results of further study. The province's are acting on an advisory committee's concerns about a possible link between the

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday held a roadshow in West Bengal's Nandigram ahead of the second phase of polling in the state on April 1.A huge number of party workers and supporters have gathered, hurling garlands and waving party flags.Nandigram seat is experiencing a high-octane battle between turncoat Suvendu Adhikari and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, which falls in the second phase of the state assembly elections to be held on April 1.In phase-II, 30 seats will go to the polls to decide the fate of 171 candidates including 19 women.The first phase of the West Bengal