This is the 6 o'clock news for Thursday and first the headlines are:
A powerful earthquake rocked the U.S. Northwest on Wednesday. Frightened people ran into the streets of Seattle. Earthquake officials said British Columbia felt the shock but escaped any serious damage.
Transport workers are on strike in Vancouver over a pay claim and the strike looks set to spread to all of BC.
In Moscow, Russian officials gave the green light on Wednesday to California millionaire Dennis Tito to become the first tourist in space.
Now, here is the news in detail.
A strong earthquake hit Seattle at 10:54 a.m. on Wednesday. According to the National Earthquake Information Centre in Golden, the magnitude 6.8 quake was centred 125 kilometres southeast of Victoria and 56 kilometres southwest of Seattle. About 250 people were reported injured in Seattle and Olympia, at least three of them are in serious condition. In Victoria, the earthquake caused buildings to sway and shook pictures off walls but damage was minimal. Said Kay Smith, who was on the eighth floor of a downtown Victoria office building, “I thought the building was going to sway and topple over.” Yet others didn't feel a thing. A spokesman said that at least two local people had hospital treatment for minor injuries.
Russian officials gave the green light to California millionaire Dennis Tito to become the first tourist in space despite reservations from NASA. Tito, 60, the founder of an investment firm, took his final exam. The Interdepartmental Committee, which routinely approves cosmonauts for space flight, included Tito in the primary crew set to launch on April 28 on a mission to the International Space Station. Tito will reportedly pay 20 million U.S. dollars for the flight. He will spend about a week on the station despite objections from NASA who felt that an amateur on board could jeopardise safety if there were an emergency.