Afghan nationals gathered in numbers outside the Australian Embassy here in the national capital seeking immigration visas following the recent takeover of Afghanistan by the Taliban.Australia has recently said it will over a year offer 3,000 places in its humanitarian visa program specifically for those now fleeing Afghanistan. The country's Prime Minister Scott Morrison however clarified in a recent press conference that "I note that some are talking about figures of 20,000 but can I tell you there are no clear plans about that. Australia is not going into that territory"."We heard that Aust

B.C. is reporting 553 new cases of COVID-19, including one epi-linked case, for a total of 157,567 cases in the province.There are currently 5,580 active cases of COVID-19 in the province, and 150,102 people who tested positive have recovered. Of the active cases, 107 individuals are in hospital and 53 are in intensive care. The remaining people are recovering at home in self-isolation.In the past 24 hours, one new death (Fraser Health) has been reported, for an overall total of 1,782.There is one new assisted living outbreak at Nicola Meadows (Interior Health), for a total of 11 active outbre

Good luck was not in the cards last Friday afternoon (August 13th) for one driver stopped by BC Highway Patrol on Highway 1 near Popkum.An officer with BCHP was conducting speed enforcement when a westbound vehicle was observed approaching at high speed. Using his trusted laser instrument, the officer obtained a reading of 181 km/h in the posted 100 km/h speed zone. The vehicle, a yellow Nissan GT-R, was pulled over and the officer proceeded to complete an excessive speed ticket ($483 + 3 points), a second ticket for driving without due care ($368 + 6 points) and the vehicle was impounded for

The cost of living across Canada made its biggest jump in 10 years last month as the annual pace of inflation climbed to 3.7 per cent from 3.1 per cent in June. Statistics Canada says that's the sharpest rise since May 2011, in part because consumers have more opportunity to spend as the economy re-opens after pandemic shutdowns. Gas prices climbed 30 per cent compared with July of last year, but economists say a nearly 14 per cent leap in homeowner replacement costs, the heftiest boost since 1987, is the main reason for the increase. Inflation in BC also climbed in July to 3.1 per cent from

BC's New Democrat government says a 4.1 billion dollar, eight lane tunnel will replace the aging and congested George Massey tunnel under the Fraser River south of Vancouver. Transportation Minister Rob Fleming says the new tunnel, rather than a bridge proposed by the previous Liberal government but scrapped when the NDP took power in 2017, has been selected because it causes the least environmental harm, can be started right away and has the approval of the regional district. The link connecting Delta and Richmond is expected to be complete by 2030. Two of the eight lanes will be dedicated t

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh says the housing crisis in this country is Justin Trudeau's housing crisis. During a campaign stop in Burnaby, BC, Singh said things have only gotten worse over the past six years. Singh says the NDP plan is to build half-a-million new affordable homes. Jagmeet Singh is pitching a 20 per foreign homebuyers tax in a bid to capture votes in Metro Vancouver. Speaking in Burnaby today, Singh said the tax would apply to the sale of homes to individuals who are not Canadian citizens or permanent residents. NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh is accusing the Liberals' Justin Trudeau of

Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau is promising to spend half-a-billion dollars for training and new equipment for firefighters in advance of next year's forest fire season. Trudeau says Canada's forest fire fighting capabilities must be enhanced to confront stronger wildfires. Trudeau made the announcement in Vancouver, as more than 260 wildfires burn across British Columbia. Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau is promising creation of a community-based force to fight wildfires, if his government is re-elected in the September 20th federal election. Trudeau made the pledge this morning during a campaig

The wildfire situation is continually evolving, and the information below is current as of 7 p.m. (Pacific time) on Tuesday, Aug. 17, 2021. Fires:Wildfires currently burning in B.C.: 264Since April 1, 2021:1, 518 wildfires846,144 hectares of area burnedActive fires by fire centre:Cariboo: 32Coastal: 18Kamloops: 85Northwest: 5Prince George: 57Southeast: 67Resources:Firefighters and other personnel currently fighting the fires: 3,830Out-of-province firefighters: 490Helicopters and planes supporting ground crews: 210Evacuations:Evacuation orders: 80 (-6)Evacuation alerts: 123 (-2)Properties:Numbe

The Conservation Officer Service says it has received a report involving another confrontation between people and coyotes in Vancouver's Stanley Park. A social media post from the Conservation Officer Service says a woman and her friend were picnicking near the south end of the park at about 1:30 a.m. Monday. The post says a coyote approached and bit both people on the leg, but officers couldn't immediately follow up because the matter wasn't reported right away. Nearly three dozen aggressive interactions have occurred between humans and coyotes in Stanley Park since late last year, including