Metro Vancouver bus service resumes after 48-hour strike, as government appoints special mediator

Bus and SeaBus services in Metro Vancouver resumed Wednesday morning after the end of a 48-hour strike by transit workers that ground almost all routes in the region to a stop.

The union representing more than 180 employees of Coast Mountain Bus Company (CMBC) — a mix of transit supervisors, engineers, and maintenance and communications staff — said the workers were back on the job as of 3 a.m. PT Wednesday.

CMBC, a subsidiary of regional transit authority TransLink, said regular bus and SeaBus service resumed by 5 am PT, but there was no NightBus service prior.

SkyTrain, West Coast

Read More

Parliament set to resume for 2024

No caption

Parliament will meet Tuesday in Wellington.
Photo: VNP / Daniela Maoate-Cox

MPs are returning to the capital city, as Parliament resumes meeting for the New Year.

Parliament will hold its first meeting of the year on Tuesday.

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon’s wish for an early start means the House is sitting two weeks earlier than it did last year.

Because yesterday was Auckland’s Anniversary Day, the Cabinet will also meet Tuesday.

Labour’s Tracey McLellan and the Green Party’s Celia Wade-Brown are set to be sworn in as MPs, as a result of the resignations of Labour’s Rino Tirikatene and Greens’

Read More

Osprey aircraft resumes flights at US base in Okinawa

An Osprey transport aircraft has resumed flights at a US base in Japan’s southern prefecture of Okinawa for the first time since they were grounded after a deadly crash last November.

US forces and Japan’s Ground Self-Defense Force grounded their fleet of Ospreys after one of the tilt-rotor aircraft crashed off the southwestern prefecture of Kagoshima, killing all eight US military personnel on board.

Japan’s Defense Ministry announced on Wednesday that the aircraft would resume flights in Japan in phases from Thursday, after maintenance and crew training were completed.

Shortly before 9:00 am on Thursday, an Osprey was seen hovering

Read More