Russian President Vladimir Putin says he's ready for talks with Ukraine but insists it must agree to demilitarize, accept Moscow's sovereignty over Crimea, and surrender land to rebels in the east. That's according to a read-out of Putin's phone call earlier today with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. Russian and Ukrainian negotiators haven't met since yesterday but Ukrainian negotiators say there may be another round of talks over the weekend. A Western official says a huge Russian military convoy advancing on Kyiv has made little progress for several days and has become a huge traffic jam tha

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is heading to Europe to meet with key allies as Russia intensifies its attacks on Ukraine. Trudeau will spend next week in meetings in London, Berlin, Riga, Latvia and Warsaw as leaders present a united front against President Vladimir Putin. Trudeau says allies will also work on countering the disinformation and misinformation that is a particularly strong facet of the war in Ukraine. Earlier today, Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly attended a NATO foreign ministers' meeting in Brussels, which was followed by a G-7 foreign ministers' meeting. The ministers d

An illegal dispensary selling cannabis and other drugs has been shut down after an investigation by Burnaby RCMP.Officers were contacted by a concerned community member in mid-February, after a teenager allegedly bought cannabis from inside a business near Hastings Street and Beta Avenue. The store had exterior signage indicating it was a tattoo studio, but was operating without a business license, and was set up as a drug dispensary inside.On Feb. 18, members of Burnaby RCMP’s Community Response Team (CRT), with assistance from Burnaby bylaw officers, executed a search warrant at the locati

Canada is opening its arms to Ukrainians fleeing war by relaxing immigration rules.The government is announcing expedited temporary visas for Ukrainians that will take just weeks to process, instead of the usual year.Canada is also tightening its economic chokehold on Russian oligarchs, and booting Russia and its ally Belarus off its most favoured nation list of trade partners.Meanwhile, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Canada and other close partners are calling for Russia's suspension from the international policing agency Interpol.

A second round of talks has yielded what Ukraine says is a tentative agreement with Russia to set up safe corridors inside the country for evacuating citizens and delivering humanitarian aid.Russian forces are battling for control of a crucial energy-producing city in Ukraine’s south.They are also gaining ground in their bid to cut off the country from the sea by attacking seaports.Ukrainian leaders are calling on citizens to rise up and wage guerrilla war against the invaders.

Surrey RCMP is advising the public of seizure of a loaded handgun and the arrest of two men, one who was wanted on a Canada wide warrant for human trafficking. On February 25, 2022, at 11:18 pm, the Surrey RCMP Gang Enforcement Team conducted a traffic stop in the area of 13200-block of old Yale Road. The driver and passenger attempted to flee on foot but didn’t make it far before they were arrested.As the driver attempted to flee, he dropped a loaded handgun as he was running away from police. SGET officers took possession of the suspected firearm. The passenger was arrested a short distanc

One-million Ukrainians have left their homes as Russian forces advance, and Canada is making rule changes to give some a safe haven.Ukrainian refugees will be able to get expedited temporary visas for emergency travel.The government will provide fast-tracked visas for any Ukrainians who wish to come to Canada to work, and then return home when it is safe, with the application process opening in about 14 days.

B.C. is reporting 442 new cases of COVID-19, for a total of 349,213 cases in the province.There are 517 individuals hospitalized with COVID-19 and 73 are in intensive care.In the past 24 hours, 10 new deaths have been reported, for an overall total of 2,883.The new deaths include:Fraser Health: twoVancouver Coastal Health: fourInterior Health: twoNorthern Health: twoThere have been five new health-care facility outbreaks at Mission Memorial Hospital (Fraser Health), Gillis House (Interior Health), Berwick House Gordon Head, The Heights at Mt. View and Greenwoods (Island Health). The outbreaks

More British Columbians and people around the world will benefit from the life-changing work of B.C.’s world-renowned life sciences sector thanks to a significant investment in health research. As announced in Budget 2022 and aligned with the StrongerBC Economic Plan commitment to position the province as a hub for life sciences and biomanufacturing, the Province is providing nearly $195 million in grant funding to Michael Smith Health Research BC (Health Research BC) and Genome BC."B.C. has so much to be proud of as we come through the last two years of the pandemic as a global leader in ne