Heat warnings have expanded across a broad swath of British Columbia, a day after temperatures reached into the low 40s in the Interior and daily heat records tumbled. Twenty-five heat alerts are in place, up from 21 Tuesday, stretching from Whistler in the southwest to the north and central coasts and deep into the Interior. Environment Canada says the second heat wave for July is set to continue into next week in the Interior before gradually easing, while coastal areas could see conditions moderate after the weekend. Heat records in the 30s fell in six places on Tuesday, including Pemberton

Mahinder Bhagat, who won the election from Jalandhar West of Punjab, may soon be given a place in the cabinet. He was administered the oath by Punjab Vidhan Sabha Speaker Kultar Singh Sandhawan today in Chandigarh. State Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann was also present on this occasion. Former BJP minister Bhagat Chunni Lal's son Mahendra Bhagat may be made the sports minister in the Aam Aadmi Party government. This portfolio was previously held by Gurmeet Singh Meet Hare, which has become vacant after he became an MP. It may be noted that Mahendra Bhagat left BJP and joined Aam Aadmi Party las

The Aam Aadmi Party government of Punjab has received a blow from the President. President Draupadi Murmu has rejected the Punjab University Law Amendment Bill 2023. As before, the Governor of Punjab will continue to be the chancellor of the universities. Under this bill, provision was made to withdraw the power of the Chancellor of 12 State Universities from the Governor and give it to the Chief Minister. Currently, there is no response from the state government. The Punjab Legislative Assembly unanimously passed this bill on June 21 last year. After not getting approval from the President,

Mansa CIA Inspector Preetpal Singh, who helped the accused gangster Deepak Tinu escape from jail in the Sidhu Moosewala murder case, has received a blow from the Punjab-Haryana High Court. The court rejected the bail petition filed by him. The High Court said that Preetpal Singh, being a police officer, supported a criminal, which is a crime in itself. It is to be noted that the gangster Deepak Tinu was to be questioned about the Sidhu Moosewala murder case when CIA Inspector Preetpal Singh helped him escape from custody in the year 2022. The Special Cell Counter Intelligence Unit arrested h

A man serving a second-degree murder sentence has died in an Abbotsford prison. Correctional Service of Canada says in a statement that Eugene Raymond Benoit died while in custody at the Abbotsford Regional Treatment Centre. C-S-C officials say the 69-year-old man died of apparent natural causes on July 13th, and at the time of death, the inmate had been serving an indeterminate sentence. They also say the police and coroner have been notified, with a review of the death pending.

British Columbia's government has introduced new guidelines for public post-secondary education institutions, capping the number of international students at 30 per cent of their total enrolment. In a statement, the provincial Ministry of Post-Secondary Education and Future Skills says the new limit is meant to make sure that "international student enrolment doesn't strain an institution's ability "to provide appropriate services." The ministry says the new guidelines call for public universities and colleges to submit international education strategic plans to the government, which the provin

The Cook’s Ferry Indian Band has issued an evacuation order for its Nicoelton reserve as two wildfires burn north of Spences Bridge, B.C. The band issued the order Tuesday “in the interest of life and safety,” while it also put in place evacuation alerts for three more of its reserves. The band says the Teit Creek and Shetland Creek wildfires, burning at 249 hectares and 285 hectares wide, respectively, pose an “imminent danger” to its Nicoelton reserve. Both fires are deemed “out of control” by the BC Wildfire Service. Information Officer with the BCWS Taylor Coleman says the Te

Canada's premiers are wrapping up the summer meeting of the Council of the Federation today. The premiers of the 10 provinces and three territories have been in Halifax for their three-day gathering hosted by Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston. A statement from the premiers says key priorities that have been discussed include housing, affordability and skills training; strategic infrastructure; the future of energy; and emergency preparedness and response. Several premiers have expressed frustration over what they say is a lack of teamwork from the federal government on important files. Alberta P

The premiers of Alberta and B.C. are celebrating an agreement to again allow direct sales to consumers after a tiff over taxes. With the temporary deal, Albertans can order wine directly from more than 350 wineries in B.C. Alberta Premier Danielle Smith says it means the province's liquor wholesaler can collect consistent fees on all wine sold in the province, but details of how it will work are still being sorted. The agreement comes after Alberta threatened to stop stocking wine in retail stores from B.C. producers who were selling directly to Alberta customers. The Alberta government says a