An expert on gangs says the very public nature of a recent series of shootings in Metro Vancouver may be attributed to COVID-19 restrictions, with rivals striking at the first chance they get.Martin Bouchard, a professor in Simon Fraser University's school of criminology, says the pandemic has changed people's routines and they aren't getting out of their homes often, which could play a role in the brazen nature of shootings.He says gang violence follows its own course regardless of what the initial motive was for the conflict.The comments come as police leaders meet today with Solicitor Gene

Senior plastic surgery specialist Major General SK Singh was appointed as the new head of the Indian Army's Base Hospital in Delhi Cantonment on Thursday.Till now, Major General SK Singh was posted at Military Hospital in Lucknow where he was looking after COVID-19 treatment of military personnel and ex-servicemen along with the running of medical facilities for civilians created by DRDO.

British Columbia will be holding its remaining stock of the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine to use as second doses for residents. Health Minister Adrian Dix and provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry say the change is due to the limited availability of the vaccine. The pair say in a joint statement all currently scheduled vaccination appointments through pharmacies will proceed, but no additional appointments will be booked. British Columbia reported 600 new cases of COVID-19 Wednesday and 5,887 active infections, for a total of 137,223 since the pandemic began. It also reported one n

The Surrey Gang Enforcement Team has seized a partial brick of suspected cocaine as part of on-going targeted gang enforcement in Surrey.On May 9, 2021 at 11:27 p.m., Surrey Gang Enforcement Team (SGET) attempted to stop a speeding vehicle in the area of 108 Avenue and 152 Street. The vehicle failed to stop and fled from police at high rate of speed. Other SGET units in the area were able to get ahead of the fleeing vehicle and blocked the lanes of travel. With no route of escape, the suspect vehicle stopped and the driver was arrested.Further investigation led to seizure of a partial brick of

RCMP say a second-degree murder charge has been laid after the body of a woman was found last week in Kootenay National Park in southeastern BC. Days after the body of Brenda Ware was found, police issued a notice they were looking for 41 year old Philip Toner as a person of interest. Toner was found by Lake Country RCMP yesterday and has now been charged with the Alberta woman's death. Mounties say BC's Prosecution Service and the Alberta Crown worked together to lay the charge in the Alberta courts, where police allege the murder was carried out.

Officials in Penticton, B.C., are appealing to Premier John Horgan in the latest twist in a bitter dispute over a temporary shelter in the Okanagan city. Penticton Mayor John Vassilaki has written an open letter to Horgan urging him to intervene on the city's behalf as it tries to close the 42-bed shelter in defiance of BC Housing's application to extend the temporary-use permit for another year. Vassilaki hopes Horgan will help resolve the disagreement with Attorney General David Eby, who's also the minister responsible for housing. Eby has said the province needs more time to find long-term

The California Highway Patrol says a Tesla driver was arrested after an officer saw him in the backseat as the car drove on a San Francisco Bay Area freeway. Authorities say 25-year-old Param Sharma was arrested for alleged reckless driving and disobeying an officer. The arrest followed 911 calls Monday reporting a person seated in the backseat of a Tesla Model 3 without no one in the driver's seat while the vehicle traveled Interstate 80 across the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge. Sharma was released from jail Tuesday and told the KTVU television station that what he did was not dangerous a

Israeli fighter jets have dropped two bombs on a 14-story building in Gaza City and destroyed it. The building housed businesses as well as offices for Hamas' Al-Aqsa satellite TV channel. It was located in the old Roman neighborhood, on the busiest shopping street in Gaza. Hamas says it has fired 130 rockets toward Israel in response for the attack on Wednesday.Israeli TV channels broadcast the collapse of most of a massive high-rise building in central Gaza City targeted by airstrikes. The latest escalation in fighting between Israel and Hamas had commentators predicting Gaza militants would

The BC College of Pharmacists has fined a pharmacist and suspended him for a year for diverting and reselling prescription medication. The college says in a recent ruling that Ian Petterson worked at a hospital pharmacy and sold its supplies and medication to a community pharmacy, then pocketed the cash. A written disciplinary ruling says text messages and emails provided the evidence and that Petterson circumvented the hospital's policies and procedures aimed at preventing such theft and diversion. He has been fined 35,000 dollars and must retake a licensing exam, though even if he passes