Provincial officials say shipments of Pfizer's new COVID-19 vaccine targeting the Omicron variant are expected in British Columbia soon, after Health Canada approved the shot. A joint statement from B.C.'s provincial health officer, Dr. Bonnie Henry, and Health Minister Adrian Dix, says the Pfizer-BioNTech bivalent vaccine will be available to people aged 12 and older from next week. They say B.C. is set to receive 1.7 million doses of the newly approved shot, which will be available in health authority clinics and pharmacies across the province. Approved last month, Moderna's equivalent biva

A pink diamond was sold for $49.9 million in Hong Kong on Friday, setting a world record for the highest price per carat for a diamond sold at auction. The 11.15-carat Williamson Pink Star diamond, auctioned by Sotheby’s Hong Kong, sold for $392 million Hong Kong dollars ($49.9 million). It was originally estimated at $21 million. The Williamson Pink Star draws its name from two legendary pink diamonds. The first is the 23.60-carat Williamson diamond which was presented to the late Queen Elizabeth II as a wedding gift in 1947, while the second is the 59.60-carat Pink Star diamond that sold f

Former India cricketer Harbhajan Singh is also a member of the Rajya Sabha. Harbhajan has requested to stop the illegal activities immediately to restore the integrity of the Punjab Cricket Association. "For the last week or ten days, I have been receiving numerous complaints from cricket lovers in Punjab and several stakeholders that the PCA under the present President is resorting to a lot of illegal activities which is against transparency and the spirit of cricket administration. I learnt that yesterday, complaints in this regard have been lodged with the Ombudsman," Harbhajan Singh wrote

Danielle Smith will become Alberta's new premier after winning the leadership of the United Conservative Party. Smith, a former leader of the Wildrose Party, captured nearly 54 per cent of the vote on the sixth round of the preferential ballot, defeating second-place candidate Travis Toews (TAVES) and five rivals. ``I'm back,'' Smith told a cheering crowd last night at the B-M-O Centre in Calgary. She says it is time for Alberta to take its place as a senior partner in building a strong and unified Canada, and that Alberta will no longer ask permission from Ottawa to be prosperous and free. Th

Vancouver Police have launched an investigation after the Komagata Maru memorial was vandalized for the second time in 14 months. "Detectives from a number of VPD specialized units are working together to collect evidence and identify the suspect(s) in this troubling incident," says Constable Jason Doucette. "This investigation will take time, but we’ll leave no stone unturned in our attempts to solve this senseless crime."VPD initiated an investigation on October 4, after learning from a social media post that the glass on the front of the Komagata Maru memorial had been shattered. The memo

At least four people were killed and 25 others were wounded in a blast in the Kabul mosque, the latest in the series of targeted explosions in Taliban-ruled Afghanistan. The blast reportedly took place at a mosque of the Taliban's Interior Ministry, TOLOnews reported. A Taliban spokesperson said that an investigation is underway and further details will be shared soon, the agency added. "After a bomb attack in a mosque at the Interior Ministry, EMERGENCY NGO Surgical Centre has received 20 patients - 2 were already dead on arrival," Kabul's Emergency Hospital tweeted. The hospital said this i

Director General of Police (DGP) Punjab Gaurav Yadav on Tuesday constituted a four-member Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the escape of gangster Deepak Tinu from police custody in Mansa and to ensure effective and speedy investigation. The SIT comprises Inspector General of Police (IGP) Patiala range MS Chhina as Chairperson, while, three members include AIG Anti-Gangster Task Force (AGTF) Opinderjit Singh, SSP Mansa Gaurav Toora and DSP AGTF Bikramjeet Singh Brar. DGP Gaurav Yadav apprised that investigations into this case are going on at full pace and several Police teams are on

A Calgary father has been sentenced to two years in prison for failing to provide the necessaries of life for his severely disabled adult son. Jonathon Grunewald and Malinda Phillips entered guilty pleas in January. Court had earlier heard that the now 29-year-old man with severe cerebral palsy, a seizure disorder and brain damage was mostly confined to his bedroom for more than five years. When he was rushed to hospital in October 2020 in critical condition he weighed only 43 pounds. Before he was sentenced, Grunewald told the court he takes full responsibility for his "lack of action'' in th

The Correctional Service of Canada says an inmate convicted of second degree murder and other offences has died at the Matsqui Institution. CSC says in a release that Jagjit Singh Saran died on Sunday and his next of kin have been notified but a cause of death is not being provided. It says he had been serving a life sentence since February 17th, 2005. CSC says it will review the circumstances of the death as it does in all such cases and its policy requires that police and the coroner be notified.