The World Health Organization now says an expert panel is strongly supporting booster shots of COVID-19 vaccines.That's a turnaround from the U-N agency's previous insistence that boosters weren't necessary and contributed to vaccine inequity. The expert group concluded that booster shots provide high levels of protection against severe disease and death from the highly contagious Omicron variant.

Over a three-day period, B.C. is reporting 997 new cases of COVID-19, for a total of 350,941 cases in the province:March 4-5: 385 new casesMarch 5-6: 327 new casesMarch 6-7: 285 new casesThere are 449 individuals hospitalized with COVID-19 and 63 are in intensive care.In the past 72 hours, 11 new deaths have been reported, for an overall total of 2,914. There have been no new health-care facility outbreaks. The outbreaks at Menno Home, Cascade Gardens Seniors Community (Fraser Health) and Sun Pointe Village (Interior Health) have been declared over, for a total of 17 facilities with ongoing ou

RCMP say a 55 year old man has been charged with second-degree murder in the death of an elderly woman on Vancouver Island. The 80 year old victim was found dead inside a home in Courtenay early yesterday morning by paramedics who called police. The Mounties say they arrested the suspect at the scene and he remains in custody. They say the victim and suspect were known to each other.

British Columbia's minister of public safety says the province has no plans to follow Alberta's lead to reduce its tax on gasoline to ease rising prices at the pumps.Mike Farnworth told a news conference Monday gas prices are driven by events outside of provincial control, such as the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which has upset energy markets around the world.Alberta has responded by reducing its tax by 13-cents per litre on both gasoline and diesel.Farnworth says there's no simple solution to the rising fuel price situation as the cost rose above $2 a litre in Metro Vancouver.He says econom

Tamara Lich, one of the principal organizers of the so-called ``Freedom Convoy'' protest that gridlocked downtown Ottawa for three weeks, has been granted bail on a $25,000 bond. Lich was initially denied bail on Feb. 22 after Ontario Court Justice Julie Bourgeois deemed her detention was ``necessary for the protection and safety of the public.'' Lich's lawyer launched a bail review, arguing that decision may have been tainted by the fact that Bourgeois ran as a federal Liberal candidates in the 2011 election and expressed that her own community had been affected by the protest. On Monday, Su

The group Dying With Dignity wants BC residents to join a campaign to stop some public health care facilities from transferring patients out -- if those patients seek a medically assisted death. Three BC chapters of the group say some taxpayer-funded health care facilities covered by the Denominational Health Association agreement refuse to provide certain procedures such as assisted deaths and instead transfer frail patients to hospitals that will provide the service. Alex Muir, chair of the Metro Vancouver chapter, says patients have a constitutionally protected right to access a medically

The Okanagan Sikh Temple will be holding a prayer service today for a 24-year-old woman who died after being attacked at the University of British Columbia's campus in Kelowna, where she worked as a security guard. Temple president Amarjit Lalli says he remotely attended Harmandeep Kaur's ``gut wrenching'' funeral in Squamish on Saturday, and that her family is awaiting more information about a suspect who was arrested under the Mental Health Act. Kaur's cousin, Kirinjot Kaur, says the young woman was funny, smart and always willing to help anyone. She says Kaur had recently celebrated her pe

Ottawa is imposing strict COVID-19 rules on cruise ship companies, crews and passengers in advance of the first ships docking in Canadian ports next month. Federal Transport Minister Omar Alghabra says passengers and crews must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and cruise lines must inspect proof of vaccination and monitor and report pre-boarding test results. Alghabra says no passenger will be allowed off a cruise ship unless they meet the requirements. Alghabra says passengers will also need to take COVID-19 tests before and after boarding a vessel and won't be allowed off cruise ships u

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has announced sanctions against 10 more Russian political and business leaders. At a news conference in London, he took a clear jab at President Vladimir Putin, pointing out the 10 were identified by Alexei Navalny, the jailed Russian opposition leader who is considered Putin's main rival. Trudeau, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte also acknowledged the need to increase defence spending in response to both Russia's actions and growing instability around the world. Trudeau wouldn't say if that would extend to Canada meeting N