BCDec 30, 2025
Odd complaints about haircuts, hornets and luggage top B.C.’s unusual 911 calls of 2025
British Columbia’s main emergency call centre says complaints about luggage size, a bad haircut and even a household hornet were among the most unusual 911 calls received this year, highlighting ongoing misuse of the emergency line.
E-Comm, which answers about 99 per cent of 911 calls across the province, says it handles roughly two million calls annually. While most callers use the service appropriately, officials say a small number continue to call for situations that do not require police, firefighters or paramedics.
Among the calls flagged in E-Comm’s year-end list were reports about a
CanadaDec 30, 2025
Dozens of luxury motorcycles tied to Canadian fugitive Ryan Wedding seized in Mexico, FBI says
U.S. authorities say they have recovered dozens of high-end motorcycles linked to Ryan Wedding, the former Canadian Olympic snowboarder now accused of leading an international drug trafficking operation.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation estimates the motorcycles, seized during raids in Mexico City and the surrounding State of Mexico, are worth approximately US$40 million. The raids, conducted last week, targeted four properties connected to a suspect whose description matches Wedding’s, according to Mexico’s Secretariat of Security and Citizen Protection.
In addition to the motorcycles,
AlbertaDec 30, 2025
RCMP union challenges Alberta panel report advocating Mountie replacement
The head of the national RCMP union is criticizing a provincial panel report that recommends Alberta continue efforts to replace the Mounties with a provincial police force.
Brian Sauve, president of the National Police Federation, described the Alberta Next panel’s report as “misleading,” saying it relies on outdated references and misinterpreted federal policies to support its conclusions. He added the panel appears to be reviving a proposal that Albertans have already rejected in past consultations.
The Alberta Next Panel, established and chaired by Premier Danielle Smith, was tasked
AlbertaDec 30, 2025
Smith says Alberta health overhaul groundwork finished, results to be tested in 2026
Premier Danielle Smith says 2025 marked a turning point for Alberta’s sweeping health-care overhaul, with the legal framework for the province’s new system now firmly in place. She says the coming year will be focused on showing Albertans whether the changes deliver measurable improvements.
Smith said her government believes the restructuring will lead to better patient outcomes after years of strain on the health system. Alberta is in the process of replacing Alberta Health Services as a single province-wide provider with four separate organizations responsible for acute care, primary car
BCDec 30, 2025
B.C. report warns magnitude 9.0 earthquake could kill thousands, cause $128B in damage
A massive earthquake off the coast of Vancouver Island could result in thousands of deaths and widespread destruction across British Columbia, according to a new provincial risk assessment.
The B.C. government report estimates that a magnitude 9.0 megathrust earthquake could cause more than 3,400 fatalities and leave over 10,000 people injured. Economic losses are projected at $128 billion, with roughly 18,000 buildings destroyed and extensive damage to another 10,000.
The findings are part of the province’s disaster and climate risk assessment, which identifies a large offshore earthquake a
WorldDec 30, 2025
Saudi Arabia carries out airstrikes on Yemen port amid dispute over separatist arms shipment
Saudi Arabia says it carried out airstrikes on Yemen’s eastern port city of Mukalla after what it described as the arrival of weapons intended for a separatist force, marking a sharp escalation in tensions within the Saudi-led coalition involved in Yemen’s long-running conflict.
In a statement released Tuesday through the state-run Saudi Press Agency, the Saudi military said the strikes targeted weapons and combat vehicles unloaded at the port from ships that had arrived from Fujairah, a port city on the United Arab Emirates’ eastern coast. The kingdom said the operation was limited in s
WorldDec 30, 2025
Former Bangladeshi prime minister Khaleda Zia dies at 80 after decades shaping national politics
Khaleda Zia, a former prime minister of Bangladesh whose long-running political rivalry with Sheikh Hasina dominated the country’s public life for more than three decades, has died at the age of 80. Her Bangladesh Nationalist Party confirmed her death in a statement released Tuesday.
Zia served two terms as prime minister and was a central figure in Bangladesh’s transition from military rule to parliamentary democracy. Her political career was closely intertwined with that of Hasina, leader of the Awami League, with the two women alternating in power and shaping the nation’s often turbul
BCDec 30, 2025
B.C. wildfire season burns near decade average, far below 2023 record
British Columbia’s 2025 wildfire season burned nearly 8,900 square kilometres of land, a level close to the provincial 10-year average and significantly lower than the record-setting season seen two years earlier, according to the Ministry of Forests.
In a year-end summary, the ministry said more than 1,350 wildfires scorched about 8,864 square kilometres across the province since April 1. That total is slightly above the 10-year average of roughly 8,500 square kilometres but below the 10,811 square kilometres burned in 2024.
The impact was far less severe than in 2023, when a record 2,293 w
CanadaDec 29, 2025
Whitecaps reach proposed settlement with fans after Messi misses Vancouver match
A proposed settlement has been reached in a class-action lawsuit filed by fans following the absence of soccer star Lionel Messi and other Inter Miami players from a highly anticipated Vancouver Whitecaps match last year.
Court documents show the agreement between the Whitecaps, Major League Soccer, and ticket-holding fans includes changes to the club’s ticketing policies and a $475,000 donation to charity. Lawyers representing the fans say the settlement still requires court approval at a future hearing, while both the Whitecaps and MLS deny any wrongdoing or legal responsibility.
The lawsu
10.6°C Vancouver
