Vancouver police say a large and ``hostile'' crowd gathered downtown on Halloween night despite COVID-19 restrictions, but officers didn't issue tickets because of safety concerns. Police say in a news release officers were called to the Granville entertainment district Saturday night when a growing crowd of people weren't paying attention to physical distancing rules. It says officers stopped a Range Rover for a traffic violation and those inside ``swarmed'' the police. When the crowd grew to about 30 people, the officers called for backup. Police say one man was arrested for jumping on the

Police say they are investigating a pair of ``very suspicious'' fires that engulfed two churches in southwestern Ontario early Sunday. Emergency services say they responded to the first fire at the South Caradoc United Church in Strathroy-Caradoc, Ont., just past midnight. Police say that a few hours later, emergency services were called to St. Andrew's Anglican church seven kilometres away from the first fire. Ontario Provincial Police and the Strathroy-Caradoc Police Service say they are collaborating on the two investigations. Police say no injuries were reported in the fires.

Strong winds tore branches from trees and likely played a part in several outages this morning that cut power to nearly 2,500 customers in the Peace River region of northeastern BC. The region is one of several in the province affected by weather warnings today, including blizzard and winter storm warnings along most of both sides of the BC-Yukon boundary as up to 35 centimetres of snow and powerful winds make travel treacherous there. Rain warnings are up for western Vancouver Island and inland sections of the north coast as meteorologists predict up to 150 millimetres could deluge parts of

A brazen attack by Islamic State militants who stormed the Kabul University has left at least 22 dead and 22 wounded in the Afghan capital. The assault sparked a hours-long gunbattle on the school's campus on Monday. The Interior Ministry says all three attackers were ultimately killed in the ensuing firefight at the country's largest school. The Taliban promptly issued a statement denying they were behind the assault. The attack came as the insurgents are continuing peace talks with the U.S.-backed government in Qatar, with the aim to help the U.S. finally withdraw from Afghanistan. Later in

A 29 year old Army reservist from BC has been identified as the soldier killed Saturday during a training exercise at a military base in Alberta. The Canadian Armed Forces says Corporal James Choi of the Royal Westminster Regiment in New Westminster was shot late Friday night while taking part in live-fire training at CFB Wainwright. Choi, who was serving alongside members of the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry at the time, was treated at the scene before being airlifted to an Edmonton hospital. The incident is under investigation.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says his government is prepared for any possible outcome of tomorrow's US election. For weeks, Trudeau has avoided commenting on how Canada plans to respond to the results. But he says the reaction will be based on how to defend Canada's interests and values in dealing with its largest trading partner and closest ally. Trudeau says his government is looking carefully at proposals made by both President Donald Trump and former vice-president Joe Biden. Voters go to the polls in the United States tomorrow, although record numbers of Americans have already voted in

Vancouver police say they are disappointed after social media posts showed downtown streets crowded with party-goers on Halloween night, apparently flouting COVID-19 safety protocols.Spokesman Const. Jason Doucette says it wasn't possible to try to disperse the alcohol-fuelled crowd or issue tickets due to a number of factors.He says the number of people in downtown grew larger than expected and additional resources were brought in from around the city.Doucette says police made a number of arrests for minor offences, such as causing a disturbance, but there were no reported injuries.He says p

The B.C. government says it will increase surveillance this weekend as an order limiting the number of people who can visit a home is in effect because of COVID-19. Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry announced this week that gatherings are now limited to people in an immediate household, plus their so-called ``safe six''' guests. In a joint statement, Henry and Health Minister Adrian Dix are reminding people to make the Halloween weekend safe for everyone by maintaining safe physical distances from one another. They say this is also not the time for large gatherings in homes as the nu

Canada will seek to admit 401,000 new permanent residents next year, a target that if met would be a historic number of newcomers. But how realistic that plan is in an era of closed borders, a massive economic downturn and reduced capacity within the federal government to handle applications remains to be seen. Immigration Minister Marco Mendicino unveiled the government's latest immigration targets today in a report tabled to Parliament. Between 2021 and 2023, the goal is to admit upwards of 1.2 million new permanent residents. The plan tabled in Parliament did not break out the targets f