The COVID-19 curve is slowly bending downward in British Columbia but health officials are urging caution for those making weekend plans given the presence of new variants. The province confirmed 465 new cases Thursday for a total of 69,245 since the pandemic began. There are 4,447 active cases and of those, 257 people are hospitalized including 76 in intensive care. Six more people have died for a total death toll of 1,240 in B.C., while about 62,078 people who tested positive are considered recovered. Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry and Health Minister Adrian Dix say in a joint s

A mega pop star, a beloved activist and a relative of a ground-breaking politician have angered the Indian government by tweeting support for protesting farmers. It took just one tweet from Rihanna to anger the Indian government and supporters of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's party. Tens of thousands of farmers have been protesting new agriculture laws they say will devastate their earnings. Greta Thunberg and the niece of US Vice-President Kamala Harris are also among those who tweeted their support. Although Greta Thunberg tweeted again in the support of Indian farmers. She wrote "No amoun

The federal government says a ban on cruise ships in Canadian waters will stay in place for one more year. The ban until Feb. 28, 2022 applies to cruise ships carrying more than 100 people as well as pleasure crafts operating in the Arctic, except for those used by residents in the region. The ban was originally put in place last year was to expire at the end of February. A news release from Transport Minister Omar Alghabra says the ban in necessary to reduce the spread of COVID-19 and protect vulnerable communities. He also says it will allow public health authorities to focus on pressing is

Homicide investigators have identified the victim of a targeted shooting in Langley, B.C. Sgt. Frank Jang with the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team says 22-year-old Arshdeep Singh died in the late-night attack on Jan. 26. Jang says Singh's name and photo are being released in an effort to further the investigation, but he provided no other information. Singh was in the driver's seat of a car parked in a residential area of Langley when it was riddled by gunfire, killing him and injuring a man in the passenger seat.In the hours after the shooting, Jang confirmed Singh had been known to p

Just a few days after a COVID-19 outbreak was declared over at the hospital in Burnaby, B.C., another flare-up has been reported at the health centre. The Fraser Health authority says nine patients in the medicine unit at Burnaby Hospital have tested positive and it has been temporarily closed to admissions. The emergency department remains open at the hospital and enhanced cleaning and contact tracing has begun. B.C. reported 414 new cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday, for a total of 68,780. There were also 16 more COVID-19-related deaths, 4,426 active cases and 278 in hospital. Provincial healt

The Trudeau government is adding the Proud Boys and three other extreme right-wing groups to its list of terrorist organizations. Public Safety Minister Bill Blair says the groups have proven themselves to be violent, as was seen in the United States during the riot at the Capitol building in Washington, DC last month. The four right-wing groups are among 13 additions to the list, which include three groups linked to al-Qaida, four associated with the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant and one Kashmiri organization. The government notes the Proud Boys played a "pivotal role in the insurrecti

Canada could get up to 1.1 million additional doses of AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine by the end of March through the global vaccine-sharing initiative COVAX. That's if and when it's approved by Health Canada, and would be over and above Ottawa's existing agreement with the drugmaker. And since there is the potential for production delays, COVAX is giving countries a range of potential deliveries. Canada was told it would get between 1.9 million and 3.2 million doses by the end of June, with between 500,000 and 1.1 million of those arriving before the end of next month. The vaccine alliance

A longtime labour and human rights leader in British Columbia has died. The family of Charan Gill say he died in hospital on Feb. 2, following a battle with cancer. Gill was 84. Born in Hong Kong and raised in India, Gill moved to Canada in 1967, settling in Surrey, where he co-founded the Canadian Farmworkers Union and the British Columbia Organization to Fight Racism. The farm workers union led to improved pay, benefits and working conditions for farm and ranch workers across Canada while the organization to fight racism was instrumental in stemming the growth of racist groups in B.C. Gill

British Columbia health officials say there's an encouraging trend in the COVID-19 curve in the province with the efforts of residents making a difference. It comes as the state of emergency was extended again in B.C. on Tuesday, allowing officials to use its extraordinary powers to respond to the pandemic. In a joint statement, provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry and Health Minister Adrian Dix reported 429 new cases and eight deaths, bringing to 1,218 the number of fatalities liked to COVID-19. The statement says with people in B.C. following the restrictions, the COVID-19 spread is s