All British Columbia residents over 25 years old can now book their COVID-19 vaccine, while those 18 and older will be able to do so by the end of the weekend, as the province speeds up its vaccine rollout. Health Minister Adrian Dix and provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry say in a joint statement that it's clear vaccines are working, and more people registering will help protect the wider community. B.C. reported 494 new cases of COVID-19 Friday, for a total of 138,304 since the pandemic first began. There were also two new deaths, bringing the toll to 1,634. Dix and Henry say more th

Police say the seventh person to be shot and killed in Metro Vancouver since early last month was a 23 year old man affiliated with gangs. The Integrated Homicide Investigation Team says Jaskeert Kalkat was hit by a barrage of gunfire in the parking lot of a Burnaby mall last night. Sergeant Frank Jang says a man and woman in their 20's who were with Kalkat were also seriously wounded but are expected to survive. Police have no suspects in the latest fatality as escalating gang violence has seen daylight shootings in parks, malls and at the Vancouver International Airport.

After years of planning, construction is beginning on the newest section of Metro Vancouver's SkyTrain system. Groundbreaking is underway on the Broadway Subway Project, a nearly six kilometre extension of the Millennium Line west to Arbutus at Broadway. The nearly $3 billion extension will add a total of six stations, servicing Vancouver General Hospital and some of the busiest sections of Broadway. Most of the construction will be done underground, using boring machines, while traffic continues above on specially built decks, and completion is aimed for 2025.

Police have reunited a Victoria-area nurse with her bike two days after it was stolen as she worked at a clinic administering COVID-19 vaccinations. A statement from police says an officer spotted a man pushing what appeared to be the distinctively marked TREK bicycle at about 2 a.m., not far from Victoria's Chinatown district. The man was arrested without incident and checks confirmed the bike was stolen. Police say it's fitting that the bike, the nurse's main mode of transportation, was returned to her during National Nurses Week, and they say charges are pending against a 44 year old man w

Palestinian families grabbed their children and belongings and fled neighborhoods on the outskirts of Gaza City as Israel unleashed heavy artillery fire and airstrikes. A family of six was killed inside their home. Israel says it was clearing a network of militant tunnels ahead of a possible ground invasion. It has massed troops along the border and called up nine-thousand reservists as fighting intensifies with the Islamic militant group Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip. Israeli aircraft have leveled a multistory building housing a bank affiliated with the Hamas militant group in Gaza C

British Columbia is providing relief funds to the Canadian Red Cross to help fight the current wave of COVID-19 in India."As the COVID-19 pandemic rages in India, its effects are being felt around the world," said Premier John Horgan. "The relief funds from B.C. will help deliver urgently needed medical equipment and technical support for public health operations in communities across the country. For those with family in India, we stand with you during these challenging times."The Government of British Columbia is providing $500,000 to the Canadian Red Cross, which is offering support to the

Vancouver Police are investigating a groping that occurred in Gastown in March and looking for help in identifying the suspect. "It is undoubtedly unacceptable for a woman to be treated with such blatant disrespect," says Constable Tania Visintin, VPD. "Officers are looking for the suspect to hold him accountable and are asking for the public’s help."The woman was leaving her workplace when she was groped from behind near Main and East Cordova streets on March 27 at around 9:15 a.m. The woman was able to take a photo of the suspect before he walked away north on Main Street prior to police a

The number of planes landing in Canada carrying passengers with COVID-19 was cut by more than half in the two weeks after the federal government barred incoming flights from India and Pakistan on April 22nd. Transport Canada announced April 22 that direct flights from the countries would be halted for 30 days after high numbers of passengers were testing positive for the virus after landing. Health Canada data posted online show between April 10th and 23rd, 135 international flights arrived with at least one passenger who had COVID-19. 36 of those were direct flights from India and 2 were fro

An investigation by BC's police watchdog has cleared an RCMP officer after a suspected impaired driver ran from a traffic stop near Lytton and later drowned. The Independent Investigations Office says a Mountie made the stop on the evening of August 12th last year after pulling over a driver for speeding. The man was found dead in the Fraser River near Hope six days later. IIO spokesman Ron MacDonald says the investigation couldn't determine if it was unreasonable for the officer not to chase the man down an embankment. It's not clear when or how the man ended up in the river before drowning,