The latest figures on COVID-19 show 540 people in British Columbia are currently hospitalized with the virus, 49 of them in critical care. The BC Centre for Disease Control says 59 people have died in the last week, for a total of 3,398 fatalities as of May 14. The centre says 1,645 new cases were reported as of that date and some of its numbers may change as data is updated. It says the Omicron variant is still the most prominent and that people can spread the virus to others even if they have been vaccinated and don't have symptoms. Breakthrough infections from new variants can occur in peo

Avian flu has been found in a commercial flock in the Fraser Valley, the same area where 80 per cent of British Columbia's poultry farms are located. B.C.'s Ministry of Agriculture says in a statement the infected farm has been placed under quarantine by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency and producers within a 10-kilometre radius have been sent notices about the discovery.Previous outbreaks in the Fraser Valley have prompted culls of millions of birds, although poultry groups now say they have tight control measures to prevent the spread from one farm to the next.The inspection agency's webs

A coroner's jury is recommending that an independent group review the use-of-force policy that guides New Brunswick police. The three-woman, two-man jury was tasked with examining the death of Chantel Moore, a 26-year-old Indigenous woman shot dead by a police officer in northern New Brunswick in 2020 during a wellness check. The inquest has heard that Moore pointed a knife at an officer and advanced toward him before he shot her four times. Jurors are also recommending that police officers be tested on their comprehension of current police policies and that police build better relationships

European and American health authorities have identified a number of cases of monkeypox this week, a surprising outbreak of an illness that has previously been limited mostly to central and western Africa. Doctors are still unsure how exactly monkeypox is spreading. The disease is normally transmitted either from wild animals like rodents and primates or from very close contact with infected people. British officials say most recent cases have been men who have had sex with men, and who had no history of travel to Africa. That suggests the disease is already spreading in the country. Quebec's

The Liberal government has banned China's Huawei Technologies from Canada's long-awaited blueprint for next-generation mobile networks. The development of 5-G, or fifth-generation networks, will give people speedier online connections and provide vast data capacity to meet ravenous demand as innovations such as virtual reality, immersive gaming and autonomous vehicles emerge. Critics, including the opposition Conservatives, have long pressed the Liberals to deny Huawei a role in building the country's 5G infrastructure, saying it would allow Beijing to spy on Canadians more easily.

Quebec's Public health authorities are investigating a number of suspected cases of monkey pox in the Montreal area. Dr. Mylene Drouin says based on recent outbreaks in Europe and a case reported in the United States with travel ties to Montreal, there is a strong possibility the infections in the city involve the virus linked to monkey pox. Dr. Drouin says the disease is transmitted by prolonged close contact and there is no risk from everyday activities like taking public transit or shopping or dining out. Public health authorities are investigating 17 suspected cases of monkeypox in the M

Indian boxer Nikhat Zareen made her way into record books by clinching a gold medal at the 12th edition of the IBA Women's World Boxing Championships with a dominating 5-0 victory. Living up to the expectations, Nikhat thrashed Thailand's Jitpong Jutamas on Thursday without breaking a sweat in the 52kg final with judges scoring the bout 30-27, 29-28, 29-28, 30-27, 29-28 in the Indian's favour. The Nizamabad (Telangana)-born boxer became the only fifth Indian woman to secure a gold medal at the World Boxing Championships after record six-time champion Mary Kom (2002, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2010 an

The national capital reported 520 new COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours, with a case positivity rate of 2.09 per cent, informed the Delhi Health Department on Thursday. With this, the active cases in the city stand at 2,377. According to the health bulletin, 817 COVID patients recovered during this period taking the total number of recoveries since the onset of the pandemic to 18,73,604. One patient succumbed to the virus. The death toll in the city increased to 26199. As many as 24,918 COVID tests were conducted in the last 24 hours. Under the vaccination drive, 18,923 beneficiaries were a

Pakistan's currency plunged to the lowest ever level on Wednesday, as the US dollar for the first time in Islamabad's history went beyond PKR200 benchmark in open market. In the open market, the US currency was being traded at PKR200.50. Meanwhile, dollar value reached PKR198.39 in interbank yesterday as against PKR195.74 on Tuesday. In the wake of the dwindling foreign reserves and the inflows taking more than expected time to support the exchange rate, Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif chaired a meeting with the Exchange Companies Association of Pakistan (ECAP) on Monday to halt the