British Columbia is introducing a two-tiered heat alert and response system to help people and communities stay safe this summer when temperatures rise.Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth says during periods of extreme heat emergencies, the government is prepared to issue alerts through the national Alert Ready system, which is already used to issue Amber Alerts and tsunami, wildfire and flood warnings.Temperatures surpassed 40 C for days in last summer's so-called heat dome in B.C., resulting in almost 600 heat-related deaths, most of them elderly and vulnerable people living in buildings w

Monkeypox has spread to another part of Canada. The BC Centre for Disease Control has announced the first case in British Columbia, bringing the national total to almost 80 cases. The BC case is in a man in Vancouver. On Friday, the National Microbiology Laboratory said 77 cases of monkeypox had been confirmed in Canada. The BC centre says the risk to the general public is very low.

A man from the Netherlands has pleaded not guilty on all counts at the start of his trial in New Westminster on charges related to the alleged extortion and harassment of Port Coquitlam teen Amanda Todd. Aydin Coban faces five counts related to Todd, who died by suicide in October 2012 after posting a video online using a series of flash cards to describe the bullying and harassment she endured for posting an intimate photo online. The jury has been told the charges against Coban relate to his alleged communications with the 15-year-old between November 2009 and February 2012. Coban was extra

The lead singer for the Abbotsford-based pop rock band Hedley has been convicted of sexual assault causing bodily harm against an Ottawa woman but acquitted of the same charge against a teenage fan. Jacob Hoggard was found guilty yesterday after a Toronto jury deliberated for six days and twice reported it was deadlocked, before finally reaching its verdict. Bail conditions for the 37-year-old performer were tightened during a court hearing this morning, with a large bond posted by his wife and a requirement that Hoggard stay in B-C except for his upcoming court dates in Ontario. A sentencing

A 77-year-old man has come forward to police in Mission after four people taking part in a memorial march on Saturday were hit by a pickup truck in that Fraser Valley city. RCMP say the driver is not in custody but his truck has been seized by investigators. Participants attending the March for Recognition for Residential Schools temporarily blocked the only eastbound lane of the Lougheed Highway through Mission while walking to the site of the former St. Mary's residential school. An initial release from the Mounties said an ``impatient'' driver tried to pass the march and made contact with

Three small communities around Terrace have been evacuated as levels of the Skeena River continue to climb. Evacuation orders took effect last night in the communities of New Remo, Old Remo and Usk as flood watches cover parts of the Skeena and Bulkley rivers in northwestern BC, the Liard River around Fort Nelson and the Dean River on the Fraser Plateau east of Bella Coola. The River Forecast Centre says those waterways will continue to rise, at least through today, while high streamflow advisories are posted for most other northern BC rivers as flows remain heavy due to warmer weather and co

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says China's actions toward Canadian aircraft participating in a UN mission are irresponsible and provocative. Canada and Australia say that Chinese planes have engaged in risky manoeuvres with their aircraft over the Pacific, putting crew safety at risk. The Canadian plane was deployed from April 26th to May 26th to join other countries in watching for fuel transfers between ships at sea that could be helping North Korea evade UN sanctions over its missile and nuclear tests. Chinese ships are suspected of taking part in the transfers.

The Dominican Republic’s minister of the environment and natural resources was shot and killed in his office on Monday, according to officials. Authorities said Orlando Jorge Mera was shot by an unknown person. No further details were immediately available. “We are troubled by the situation,” Mera's ministry said in a brief statement. Bartolomé Pujals, executive director of the government’s Cabinet of Innovation, wrote that he lamented the killing. “His death is a tragedy,” he said. “We Dominican have to come together to achieve a pact for peace and peaceful coexistence. No more

Former Punjab Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu, lodged in Patiala central jail, was admitted to Chandigarh's PGIMER on Monday afternoon. Sidhu underwent a medical examination at the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research's Hepatology department, an official statement said. In the afternoon, Sidhu was admitted to the PGIMER where he had been brought under heavy security from Patiala prison. More tests were expected to be conducted, sources said. Former Indian cricketer Navjot Singh Sidhu has been admitted in the Heptology ward, Nehru Hospital Extension of PGIMER, Chandigar