To mark the first anniversary of the enactment of the three farm laws, Samyukt Kisan Morcha, a coalition of farmers' unions, has called for a nationwide Bharat Bandh on Monday.The governments of Tamil Nadu, Chhattisgarh, Kerala, Punjab, Jharkhand and Andhra Pradesh have extended their support to the bandh, and the effect of protest was seen in these states. In Andhra Pradesh, Left parties protested in front of the Vijayawada bus station to observe the Bharat Bandh."It is a national protest against policies of the Central government. Farmers are protesting for the last 10 months against the far

B.C. is reporting 743 new cases of COVID-19, for a total of 182,541 cases in the province.Note: The numbers of total and new cases are provisional due to a delayed data refresh and will be verified once confirmed.There are 5,979 active cases of COVID-19 in the province and 174,281 people who tested positive have recovered. Of the active cases, 319 individuals are in hospital and 149 are in intensive care. The remaining people are recovering at home in self-isolation.In the past 24 hours, seven new deaths have been reported, for an overall total of 1,922.The new deaths include:Fraser Health: fo

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Canadian citizens Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor are on their way back to Canada after being detained in China for nearly three years. Trudeau told a news conference tonight on Parliament Hill that Kovrig and Spavor, who have become known in Canada and around the world as the ``two Michaels,'' were on a plane that left China, accompanied by Canadian ambassador Dominic Barton. The news comes hours after Meng Wanzhou walked freely out of a British Columbia Supreme Court, when a judge agreed to a discharge order that withdrew a U.S. extradition request again

Three Vancouver police officers have been charged after an arrest where a male suffered serious injuries. The BC Prosecution Service says the case was investigated by the Independent Investigations Office, which passed on its report for consideration of charges to Crown counsel in February 2019. The officers allegedly tried to stop a man for riding a bike with no helmet, lights or suitable reflectors near a SkyTrain station in May 2017, when he was injured. Const. Brandon Blue is charged with assault causing bodily harm, while constables Beau Spencer and Gregory Jackson are accused of assault

A B.C. Supreme Court judge has signed off on a discharge order for Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou, withdrawing a U.S. extradition order and allowing her freedom. Associate Chief Justice Heather Holmes thanked Meng for her behaviour during the hearing and released her from bail conditions. The development comes as Meng pleaded not guilty to all charges in a New York courtroom and a judge signed off on a deferred prosecution agreement that all but ends the 34 month saga of her detention in Canada. Assistant U.S. attorney David Kessler told court that the agreement would allow for the charges aga

Canada's top doctor says safety data won't be the only factor public health officials and parents will have to consider when deciding whether or not to vaccinate young kids against COVID-19. Dr. Teresa Tam says children's risk of serious illness and death from COVID-19 are low compared to the rest of the population, but warned rare incidents can become more common as the virus spreads. She also points to the impacts of "long COVID," which is still being studied, and the importance of limiting disruptions to school as things to consider.The National Advisory Committee on Immunization and the Pu

British Columbia's naloxone supply is depleted, forcing some police agencies to buy their own supplies of the overdose-reversing drug. Premier John Horgan says his government is working to allocate funding to buy more naloxone kits, which have successfully been used to reverse opioid overdoses in thousands of people in the province. The Victoria Police Department has been paying for its own naloxone kits this past year after funding ended in April 2020, while the Saanich Police Department says its naloxone kits will expire at the end of the year. The province declared a public health emergenc

A wildfire that began on Aug. 2 in British Columbia and grew to more than 833 square kilometres is now estimated to have caused $77 million in insurance damage.The cost estimate from the Insurance Bureau of Canada says the so-called White Rock Lake fire destroyed 78 properties in the Central Okanagan.The bureau says the fire was one of the most destructive blazes in the province this year and they are expecting more than 800 claims related to the disaster.Aaron Sutherland, vice-president of Canada's Western region at the bureau, says the growing frequency and severity of wildfires are costing

B.C. is reporting 832 new cases of COVID-19, for a total of 181,769 cases in the province.Note: The numbers of total and new cases are provisional due to a delayed data refresh and will be verified once confirmed.There are 5,697 active cases of COVID-19 in the province and 173,786 people who tested positive have recovered. Of the active cases, 330 individuals are in hospital and 148 are in intensive care. The remaining people are recovering at home in self-isolation.In the past 24 hours, five new deaths have been reported, for an overall total of 1,915. The new deaths include:Fraser Health: tw