Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has announced that Australia will recognize a Palestinian state. This move aligns with recent signals from leaders in France, Britain and Canada. Albanese's decision follows internal pressure and criticism over the humanitarian situation in Gaza, which he described as a ``catastrophe.'' The recognition will be formalized at the United Nations General Assembly in September. Conditions include no role for Hamas in a Palestinian government and the demilitarization of Gaza. Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu criticized the decision, while Australian Jewish and Pal

The BC Wildfire Service says it will keep crews on the out-of-control Wesley Ridge wildfire near Cameron Lake for the "foreseeable future" as they deal with steep terrain and limited access to water. Beau Michaud, operations sections chief, says in a video shared Sunday that crews face "very, very steep ground with near vertical slopes heading into Cameron Lake" on the south flank of the fire first discovered July 31 and suspected to be human-caused. Arlen Kanary, operations branch director, says crews have opened up old logging roads and built temporary helicopter landing pads to access the a

Air Canada flight attendants are expected to picket at airports in four major Canadian cities in what their union is calling a national day of action. The Canadian Union of Public Employees says demonstrations are expected to take place at Montreal’s Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport, Toronto Pearson International Airport, Vancouver International Airport and Calgary International Airport, all at 1 p.m. ET. CUPE says it is looking to raise awareness about what it calls “poverty wages” and unpaid labour when working on a plane when it’s not in the air. CUPE says the Air Canad

Canadian lawn tennis player Victoria Mboko has won the National Bank Open title. The 18-year-old Mboko defeated four-time Grand Slam winner Naomi Osaka 2-6, 6-4, 6-1 in the final. After losing the first set, Victoria Mboko made a strong comeback in the match, winning the second and third sets in an almost one-sided fashion and taking the match and the title. The spectators also became extremely excited during the second and third set comebacks of the Canadian player, who was playing in front of the home crowd, and the umpire had to repeatedly ask the spectators to be quiet and not make noise b

Gunfire struck Kap’s Café early Tuesday morning, less than a month after the same Surrey business was first attacked in July. Police say shots were fired at about 4:40 a.m. at the café near 85 Avenue and 120 Street. No one was injured, but windows were shattered and bullet holes were visible near the entrance. The café, which reopened just 10 days after the July 10 shooting, has now closed again. Connect FM spoke with Staff Sergeant Lindsey Houghton, who confirmed investigators are looking into whether extortion may be a factor. “We are pursuing all leads, including the possibility of o

Russian President Vladimir Putin will visit India in the last week of this year. This information was given by India's National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, who was in Moscow. Doval said that we have a special and old relationship with Russia, he described the relations between Russia and India as high-level and said that we are very excited about President Putin's visit to India. The announcement of this visit has come amid increasing tensions between New Delhi and Washington over India's trade relations with Russia. At the same time, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in an address, al

The Canada Border Services Agency has reported the arrest of a Punjabi truck driver with a large cocaine haul at Blue Water Bridge, Ontario. The agency said that on July 23, a commercial truck entering from the United States was stopped for inspection at the Blue Water Bridge Port of Entry, during which officers searched the trailer and seized 197 kilograms of suspected cocaine, concealed in seven bags in the form of bricks. According to the Border Services Agency, this had an estimated street value of $24.6 million. The CBSA arrested 29-year-old truck driver Onkar Kalsi of Caledon, Ontario

British Columbia's final deficit for the fiscal year has come in at $7.3 billion, $564 million lower than the original projected number in Budget 2024. The final deficit is also about $1.8 billion lower than the most recent third-quarter forecast. Finance Minister Brenda Bailey says B.C. was able to report a lower-than-projected deficit largely due to revenue from the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia. Total revenue was about $2.5 billion higher than expected in the budget. B.C.'s GDP grew by 1.2 per cent, lower than the Canadian average of 1.6 per cent. The taxpayer-supported debt-to-

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre says Canadians, including British Columbians, want a new oil pipeline and Premier David Eby can't be allowed as one man to block the project. Poilievre says the country can't wait for complete agreement on the idea, calling it a "basic fact" that a new pipeline is needed. Eby has repeatedly said there's no point discussing or supporting a pipeline that is being pushed by Alberta Premier Danielle Smith and others, until there is a proponent for such a project. Poilievre, speaking in Calgary, says that's a "chicken and egg problem," because the reason there's