COVID-19: 2 more people have died in BC, 67 new cases reported taking the total to 792

Alberta's government has unveiled a 10-year strategy to end gender-based violence that outlines more than 100 initiatives aimed at awareness, prevention, intervention and long-term support for survivors. Status of Women Minister Tanya Fir says it's a comprehensive plan to help co-ordinate provincewide efforts and will aim to address the root causes, including financial insecurity. As part of that strategy, she's committing to supporting Indigenous-led solutions, and to reporting annually on rates of gender-based violence in the province as soon as next year. February's budget put

Amid the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelensky on Thursday challenged Putin to join peace talks in Istanbul, Turkey. Zelensky said that he would not join the talks with any other Russian official except Volodymyr Putin. In fact, Putin had said that he would start direct talks with Ukraine in Istanbul from May 15 without delay, after which Zelensky said that he would wait for Putin and challenged the Russian President to join the face-to-face talks himself if he is moving forward for peace in the war in the right direction. If President Putin agrees to join thi

At least 22 children were killed in Gaza overnight Tuesday and early Wednesday in a punishing series of Israeli airstrikes on homes in northern Gaza, according to local hospitals. The strikes killed at least 48 people in total, the Indonesian Hospital in Jabaliya reported. The strikes came a day after Hamas released an Israeli-American hostage in a deal brokered by the United States, and as President Donald Trump was visiting Saudi Arabia. On Tuesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said there was “no way” Israel would halt itswar in Gaza, dimming hopes for a ceasefire.Israeli ai

Rule changes designed to reduce opioid overdose deaths in British Columbia in 2016 inadvertently harmed cancer and palliative-care patients by reducing their access to pain killers, a new study has found. The study published this week in the Canadian Medical Association Journal describes the impact of a practice standard issued by the College of Physicians and Surgeons of B.C. that June, about two months after the province declared a public health emergency over opioid deaths. The rule changes were designed to mitigate prescription drug misuse, including the over-prescribing of opioids among p

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith says picking Julie Dabrusin as Canada's environment minister is a bad idea that forecasts renewed federal opposition to her province's wellspring oil and gas industry. ``I am very concerned the Prime Minister (Mark Carney) has appointed what appears to be yet another anti-oil and gas environment minister, ``Not only is she a self-proclaimed architect of the designation of plastics as toxic, but she is a staunch advocate against oilsands expansion, proponent of phasing out oil and gas, and for the last four years, she has served as the right hand to former enviro