External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar is scheduled to visit the United States next week beginning May 24 to meet with US officials and discuss COVID-related cooperation between the two countries.Jaishankar will be visiting the United States from May 24-May 28, the External Affairs Ministry said on Friday.The Foreign Minister is expected to meet UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres in New York and later he will hold discussions with his counterpart Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Washington DC, the ministry said.He will also be meeting Cabinet members and Senior Officials of the Administ

One person is dead after a shooting at a strip mall in Nanaimo, B.C. Nanaimo RCMP say they responded to reports of shots fired at about 3 p.m. at the Rock City Plaza parking lot. One man, who suffered apparent gunshot wounds, was found dead in a vehicle at the mall. Mounties say they arrested several people at the Best Western Hotel on Metral Drive shortly afterwards and seized a vehicle. Const. Gary O'Brien says police can't confirm whether they are looking for other suspects. Police are asking anyone with dashcam video from the area between 3:15 p.m. and 3:45 p.m. Thursday to contact Nana

Premier John Horgan is urging people to follow all COVID-19 public health orders over the long weekend so the province can have the summer than everyone wants to see. Horgan says COVID-19 case counts are coming down and the burden on hospitals is easing somewhat, but all current restrictions including the ban on travel remain in place until midnight Monday. He says the province will be announcing a new road map for reopening on Tuesday and people can expect the circuit breaker imposed to slow rising cases to be over. However, provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry says it's not going to b

Israeli media say Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Security Cabinet has approved a unilateral cease-fire to halt an 11 day military operation in the Gaza Strip. The decision came after heavy U.S. pressure to halt the offensive. It was not immediately clear when the truce was to take effect. The public broadcaster Kan said the fighting was to halt immediately. Other TV channels said it would go into effect at 2 a.m. An official from the Palestinian militant Hamas group says Israel's declaration of a cease-fire represents a defeat for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and ``a victory to the

A project to deliver packages by cargo electric bicycle is about to launch in Vancouver as the city works to reduce pollution and traffic congestion. A joint statement from the Transportation and Environment ministries says the province is providing $200,000 to partner with Vancouver to create the e-bike micro hub. The statement says packages will be brought to the hub by truck and transferred to the e-bikes equipped with large rear cargo boxes for final delivery. The project will begin in June and run until the end of next August, with a midpoint evaluation of greenhouse gas reductions, prod

An early morning drinking and driving roadblock in North Vancouver captured known gang associates in possession of cash, drugs and a knife.At approximately 3:00 a.m. on May 18, 2021, North Vancouver RCMP officers were conducting an impaired driving enforcement road check near Capilano Rd. and Marine Dr. A newer model Range Rover approached, and the driver stopped and rolled down the window to speak to one of the officers."Generally, this initial brief discussion our officers have with the person behind the wheel allows them to detect possible impaired drivers," said Sgt. Peter DeVries of the N

Health Canada says as of May 13th, 740 fully vaccinated people have contracted COVID-19. It also says 13-thousand, 461 who had received their first dose were infected. The department says the statistics come from nine provinces that submitted data. It takes about 14 days after the first dose, and seven-days after the second dose for the immunity it confers to take effect. Health Canada says 443 people were hospitalized with COVID-19, two weeks or more after they got their first dose, and 95 people in that group died. Health Canada says 32 were hospitalized at least a week after getting their

BC's information and privacy commissioner has written a letter urging the government to add its new 500-million dollar investment corporation as a public body under the province's freedom of information legislation. Michael McEvoy says the corporation called In-BC should be subject to such transparency and accountability because it will be making decisions about the allocation of significant public money to the private sector. He says ICBC and BC Hydro are just two examples of Crown corporations or agencies that manage public funds while being subject to the legislation. McEvoy says existing

RCMP have issued a reminder that non-essential travel remains restricted, between three regional zones established by the province. They say road checks will ramp up over this coming long weekend. The Mounties' highway patrol unit has established checkpoints on Highway 1 in the Boston Bar area, Highway 3 in the Manning Park area, Highway 5 in the old toll booth area and Highway 99 in the Lillooet area. The unit says close to 21-hundred vehicles were checked last weekend, with 30 turning around voluntarily. BC RCMP on Twitter: #BC - BC RCMP to increase COVID travel checks https://bit.ly/3wj4h5