Murder at Vancouver airport and vaccine booster: In The News for May 10

In The News is a roundup of stories from The Canadian Press designed to kickstart your day. Here is what’s on the radar of our editors for the morning of May 10 …

What we are watching in Canada …

VANCOUVER — Police say the shooting death of a 28-year-old man outside the departure terminal at Vancouver International Airport is believed to be linked to the ongoing gang conflict that has gripped British Columbia’s Lower Mainland. 

The victim was gunned down Sunday afternoon while the airport was in full operation. 

Sgt. Frank Jang of the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team said the victim is known to police and the shooting needs to stop. 

“I think we’re all tired of seeing the violence that is taking place on our streets,” Jang said during a late news conference Sunday. 

An SUV with at least two people inside was seen leaving the scene. Richmond RCMP Chief Supt. Will Ng said that shortly afterwards one of their officers caught up with the suspect vehicle. 

Someone from the vehicle fired their weapon while driving down a busy street, hitting the police cruiser. The officer didn’t return fire and stopped the pursuit, Ng said. 

A short time later, fire crews in Surrey were called to attend a vehicle fire in a back alley, about 28 kilometres from the airport. Several targeted shootings have ended with similar vehicle fires.

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Also this …

OTTAWA — Canada is scheduled to receive two million doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech shot this week as provinces begin to expand their vaccine eligibility.

The new doses headline what should be a comparatively quiet week of vaccine deliveries after Moderna delivered one million doses ahead of schedule last week.

The next shipment of Moderna shots isn’t expected until next week.

The federal government has not said when Canada will receive more doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca or Johnson and Johnson vaccines.

The arrival of more Pfizer-BioNTech shots comes as British Columbia, Ontario and other provinces are set to expand the list of people eligible for vaccines this week.

That has been made possible in part because of the consistent delivery of those Pfizer-BioNTech shots, with two million shots expected each week until June, when they will start sending 2.4 million per week.

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What we are watching in the U.S. …

NEW YORK — The shutdown of the pipeline that carries gasoline and other fuel from Texas to the Northeast is continuing. 

The Biden administration says an “all-hands-on-deck” effort is underway to restore operations and avoid disruptions due to the cyberattack that led to the shutdown. 

As part of that effort, the Transportation Department is loosening regulations over the transport of petroleum products on highways. 

Experts say gasoline prices are unlikely to be affected if the pipeline is back to normal in the next few days. 

People close to the extortion investigation are pointing to a criminal gang known as DarkSide as the culprit.

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What we are watching in the rest of the world …

JERUSALEM — Israeli police clashed with Palestinian protesters at a flashpoint Jerusalem holy site on Monday, the latest in a series of confrontations that is pushing the contested city to the brink of eruption. 

Palestinian medics said at least 180 Palestinians were hurt in the violence at the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, including 80 who were hospitalized.  

Amateur video footage posted on social media showed police firing tear gas and stun grenades, some of them landing inside the Al-Aqsa Mosque, Islam’s third holiest site.  Police said protesters hurled stones at officers and onto an adjoining roadway near the Western Wall, where thousands of Israeli Jews had gathered to pray.  

In a statement, police alleged extremists were behind the violence and said it would “not allow extremists to harm the safety and security of the public.”  

The latest clashes in the sacred compound came after days of mounting tensions between Palestinians and Israeli authorities in the Old City of Jerusalem, the emotional ground zero of the conflict. 

Hundreds of Palestinians and about two dozen police officers have been hurt over the past few days.

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Also this …

BRUSSELS — European Union foreign ministers on today debated ways to maintain support for Afghanistan’s beleaguered government after a brutal weekend attack on a girls’ school underscored deep concern that violence will spread as U.S.-led troops leave the country. 

With the departure of foreign troops just a few months away, European governments are still trying to work out what kind of diplomatic presence they will keep in Afghanistan and who will provide security for them. 

They are particularly reluctant to be perceived as abandoning the country.  

Just hours after the Taliban announced a cease-fire for later this week, a bus in southern Zabul province struck a roadside mine on Monday killing 11 people. At least 24 others on the bus were injured, the Interior Ministry said.  

On Saturday, a bomb attack on a girls’ school killed up to 60 people, most of them students aged 11-15. 

“After the terrible attacks of recent days, it is all the more important for the EU to make very clear that Afghanistan and the Afghan government can continue to count on Europe’s support,” German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas told reporters in Brussels.

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ICYMI …

HALIFAX — A United Nations committee on racial discrimination is asking the federal government to respond to allegations it committed racist actions in its treatment of Mi’kmaq lobster fishers in Nova Scotia.

The April 30 letter of notice from the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination asks Leslie Norton, Canada’s permanent representative to the U.N., to respond to allegations by Sipekne’katik First Nation by July 14.

The First Nation has argued that it has the right to fish for a “moderate livelihood” when and where they wish, based on a decision from the country’s Supreme Court. 

The court later clarified that ruling to say Ottawa could regulate the treaty right for conservation and other purposes.

Members of the Sipekne’katik band encountered violence from non-Indigenous residents last fall, resulting in the destruction of a lobster pound and the burning of a band member’s van as the First Nation conducted a fishery outside of the federally regulated season in southwestern Nova Scotia.

The federal minister has repeatedly noted the principle of closed seasons exists for conservation purposes and has said her department will negotiate the distribution of commercial licences, which occur within existing seasons, tailored to the needs of each First Nation.

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 10, 2021

The Canadian Press