The mayor of Surrey is not applauding the start of Uber and Lyft services in the Lower Mainland. The ride hailing services began operation today in Vancouver after the Passenger Transportation Board granted them approval to launch in the Lower Mainland and Whistler. Uber says it will also cover North and West Vancouver, Burnaby, Richmond, Surrey, Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam and parts of Delta. But Surrey Mayor Doug McCallum says he still has concerns about what he says is the unfair advantage created for ride hailing services and will not support the issuing of business licenses for the industr

The death toll in the 6.8 magnitude earthquake which struck eastern Turkey on Friday has risen to 18, while over 550 others have sustained injuries, country's Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said on Saturday. As many as 35 aftershocks have been registered since the initial quake, varying from 2.7 to 5.4 magnitude, Anadolu Agency reported, citing the country's Disaster and Emergency Management Agency. Several Turkish humanitarian organisations have despatched their rescue teams, providing food, blankets, and other necessities to those affected by the quake. The epicentre of the initial quake,

US health authorities on Friday (local time) said the second case of coronavirus has been confirmed in the country. South China Morning Post reported that a woman in Chicago has been confirmed as the second case of Wuhan coronavirus. The outlet cited US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), as announcing that the woman had recently travelled from the Chinese city of Wuhan. It further said that 63 patients from 22 States were being tested for the coronavirus. On Tuesday, the CCD had announced that the first case of the deadly virus has been detected in US. This comes even as Chines

Police have identified the 45-year-old Vancouver woman attacked in a Gastown suite early Sunday. Constable Tania Visintin says Tonya Hyer was still alive when paramedics reached her at about 1:30 a.m. but died before she could be rushed to hospital. Investigators have not said what caused her death but Visintin says they believe someone has important information about her homicide -- the third in Vancouver this year. No arrests have been made.

RCMP say a man from British Columbia has died in a shooting in a rural area northeast of Calgary. Mounties say officers were call out on Thursday afternoon to investigate a complaint of a firearms injury in Rocky View County. They found a man with a gunshot wound and were unable to save him, despite administering first aid. The victim, whose name is not being released, is a 30-year-old from Saanich, B.C. Police say the public is not believed to be at risk. An autopsy is being done by the office of the chief medical examiner in Calgary.

Ride-hailing companies Uber and Lyft say they are on the road in Metro Vancouver, less than a day after receiving long-awaited approval for operating licences.Uber activated its app Friday morning, while Lyft held a news conference outlining is operational area covering downtown Vancouver, the international airport in Richmond and part of east Vancouver.Uber says it will service North and West Vancouver, Vancouver, Burnaby, Richmond, Surrey, Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam and parts of Delta.Rate structures for the two companies are 33 cents a minute, but Uber will charge 70 cents per kilometre whil

Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure, Claire Trevena made it clear today on Connect FM’s 'Sver Wala Show' that municipalities do not have the power to block ride sharing companies from operating.She said that a city’s role is limited to issuing business licenses to these companies.After a long wait of over two years, the Passenger Transportation Board (PTB) on Thursday, finally granted ride sharing giants Uber and Lyft licenses to operate in Metro Vancouver and Whistler.The Mayor’s Council is working on an interim regional license which will save ride sharing companies the troub

China is swiftly building a hospital dedicated to treating patients infected by a new virus that has killed 26 people, sickened hundreds and prompted lockdowns of at least 13 cities on the eve of the country's most important holiday.Transportation is halted and streets eerily quiet in the locked-down cities as the virus led to the cancellation of festivities for the Lunar New Year.Wuhan, where the outbreak began, and 12 neighbouring cities have a combined population of more than 36 million.A Wuhan hospital with space for 1,000 beds is being built in the style of a facility that Beijing constr

Conservative MP Pierre Poilievre is bowing out of his party's leadership race.Poilievre says he is overwhelmed by the support he received as he built a campaign to replace Andrew Scheer.But the 40 year old Ottawa MP says today his heart was not fully in it as he tries to balance family life with politics. Poilievre says he "mostly missed" the first year of his daughter's life as he campaigned to keep his own Ottawa area seat in October's federal election.Poilievre is the third high-profile contender to publicly bail out of the Conservative leadership contest in as many days, following former