People in their 30s and older can now pick up packs of free COVID-19 tests at pharmacies across British Columbia. The province expanded eligibility Monday for the rapid antigen tests, which are intended for future use in case of illness and should not be picked up by anyone with symptoms of an active infection. Eligible individuals can pick up one kit of five tests every 28 days by showing their personal health number. If others are picking up a kit on another person's behalf, they should present the person's name, personal health number and date of birth. As of Monday, there were 271 people

Over a three-day period, B.C. is reporting 506 new cases of COVID-19, for a total of 354,084 cases in the province:March 18-19: 200 new casesMarch 19-20: 170 new casesMarch 20-21: 136 new cases There are 271 individuals hospitalized with COVID-19 and 49 are in intensive care.In the past 72 hours, eight new deaths have been reported, for an overall total of 2,974. There has been one new health-care facility outbreak at Selkirk Seniors Village (Island Health), for a total of eight facilities with ongoing outbreaks. From March 11-17, people not fully vaccinated accounted for 16.8% of cases. From

One of two men accused in the killing of a popular Calgary chef has testified he remembers being in a scuffle with the cook but has no memory of stabbing him. Anthony Dodgson and Tommie Holloway have pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder in the death of Christophe Herblin on March 14, 2020. Dodgson, who is accused of stabbing Herblin nine times, told court he had been drinking heavily and using methamphetamine with Holloway and two other people. He said he and Holloway broke into Herblin's soon-to-be opened restaurant to get into an adjacent cannabis shop, but fled when an alarm went off

A China Eastern Boeing 737-800 with 132 people on board has crashed in southern China in the country's worst air disaster in nearly a decade. The Civil Aviation Administration of China says the crash occurred Monday near the city of Wuzhou in Teng county. China Eastern's flight No. 5735 had been traveling at around 30,000 feet when suddenly, just after 2:20 p.m., the plane entered a deep dive. The data suggests the plane crashed within a minute and a half of whatever went wrong. Chicago-based Boeing Co. said it was aware of the initial reports of the crash and was ``working to gather more inf

Police say a 26-year-old man charged in the stabbing death of a Calgary woman on Friday had no connection to her. A police news release says Vanessa Ladouceur, who was 31, was killed in what appeared to be a random attack. Police released her name after an autopsy was completed. Michael John Adenyi, who is 26, has been charged with first-degree murder. He did not appear in person for a court appearance today and his case was adjourned to March 30. Police say the woman was found injured and unconscious, and died despite efforts of first responders.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will address the European Parliament in Brussels this week before meeting with other NATO and G7 leaders about Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The Prime Minister's Office shared news of the coming speech to European lawmakers as Trudeau prepares to leave for his second trip across the Atlantic this month. Trudeau is set to arrive in Brussels Wednesday, where his speech will stress the importance of ties with North America and both continents working together to defend democracy. The prime minister will then join other NATO leaders on Thursday to co-ordinate the mil

Pressure is on the federal government to step in to resolve the work stoppage at CP Rail. Fertilizer Canada says Ottawa must take ``immediate action'' because disrupting rail service during spring seeding season will have devastating effects on farmers. But Labour Minister Seamus O'Regan is not ready to discuss the possibility of back to work legislation being tabled in the House of Commons. He says the company and the union are still talking.

The Transportation Safety Board says a defect in a railway track was found nine days before 38 Canadian National Railway cars derailed in northern British Columbia but it wasn't fixed. A report released Monday says the problem on the CN main track was identified as needing an urgent fix in May 2021, but a followup track inspection didn't find the bent spikes or a spreading of the rails on the curve where the cars left the tracks.All of the cars remained upright and no dangerous goods spilled when the derailment happened June 3.The train was heading from Chetwynd to Prince George and both crew

Kamloops RCMP hope the public can help them trace the movements of a van linked to a suspicious death in the area. Investigators say a body was found in the van last Thursday while it was parked outside a home just west of Kamloops. The white, 2020 GMC van has a ``Budget'' decal on the driver's door and another saying ``we sell boxes'' on the driver's side rear quarter panel, and officers want to talk to anyone who may have seen the vehicle around the southern Interior recently. Police say they are waiting for results of an autopsy before confirming the victim's name or cause of death.