The World Health Organization says COVID-19 is officially a pandemic.WHO director general Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus made the announcement at a news conference in Geneva, but is urging calm, saying with prevention, preparedness and political leadership it can be managed.He says calling the situation a pandemic doesn't change the organization's assessment of the threat from the illness or what countries should do to prepare and combat it.

Surrey’s proposed municipal police force would employ 1,150 staff, including 805 officers, at a cost of $192.5 million in 2021 — about $18.9 million more than the RCMP, according to a transition report chaired by former attorney general Wally Oppal. The report also outlines a $45.2 million one-time setup cost, while noting a 16% increase in front-line patrol officers. Mayor Doug McCallum says the plan will give Surrey more local control, but critics such as Coun. Brenda Locke warn it will place a heavy burden on taxpayers. Residents remain divided. Some, like Kamaljit Dhillon, fear higher

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the government is creating a one billion dollar COVID-19 response fund. He says he wants all premiers and Canadians to know that the government will make sure they have everything they need to keep everyone safe.Trudeau says the government is also waiving the current one-week waiting period for employment insurance. He says ``we get it and we're on it.''Trudeau says today's announcement is significant, but that the government is prepared to do more if need be.

Jyotiraditya Scindia joined the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) today. Scindia sent his resignation letter to Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi yesterday. On his resignation, Sachin Pilot tweeted his sadness over the fact that the differences between Scindia and the party could not be resolved in a more amicable manner. Scindia's resignation came amid political turmoil in Madhya Pradesh. Scindia had also met Prime Minister Narendra Modi at 7 Lok Kalyan Marg earlier on March 10. Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders had said that they would welcome Jyotiraditya Scindia if he wished to join th

Seven additional people in British Columbia have tested positive for COVID-19, bringing the provincial total to 39. Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry says two of the new cases are health care workers at the same long term care facility where a small outbreak has already been identified. A total of eight cases are now linked to the Lynn Valley Care Centre, including two family members or close contacts of a health-care worker. Henry says the initial health-care worker who tested positive at the seniors facility has been admitted to hospital for monitoring, adding that no additional re

Surrey RCMP is teaming up with the Bolo Program, a social media site that posts rewards and spreads information about wanted criminals, in hopes of tracking a man wanted for an alleged kidnapping in Surrey last year. A 50 thousand dollar reward has now been offered for information that could lead to the arrest of Meaz Nour-Eldin, who Surrey RCMP say is also wanted on warrants in BC, Alberta and Ontario for drug trafficking, human trafficking and sexual assault. In announcing the collaboration with the Bolo Program, Mounties say the attempted kidnapping occurred July 4, 2019 and the alleged vi

The Transportation Safety Board says seven rail cars that derailed in northern British Columbia last Thursday were filled with liquefied petroleum gas. Board spokesman Alexandre Fournier says in an email that seven of the 28 derailed cars were filled with the gas, which is classed by the federal government as a flammable and dangerous commodity. Canadian National Railway could not immediately be reached for comment, but last week the company said there was no danger to the public as a result of the derailment. The local school district says Giscome Elementary was evacuated after the derailmen

The BC Coroners Service is investigating after a person died in a mobile home fire in southeastern BC. RCMP in Nakusp say the blaze broke out Saturday night and the mobile home, located in Burton, about 35 kilometres south of Nakusp, was fully engulfed by the time crews arrived. The victim was found in the home after the flames were out. Police say criminality is not suspected and the person's name will not be released.

Foreign Affairs Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne says he is in regular contact with his counterpart in Italy to try to learn from that country's experience with the novel coronavirus. Italy has gone into total lockdown, as officials restrict travel to 60 million people to limit the spread of the virus. The country has confirmed more than 9,000 cases of COVID-19, and has reported more than 460 deaths.