British Columbia's Environment Ministry says a 2.5-million-litre effluent spill from a fibreboard factory in Quesnel doesn't pose any immediate risk to public safety. It says in a statement that Monday's spill from the WestPine Medium-Density Fibreboard plant into a gravel pit has been assessed and no waterways have been affected. Factory owner West Fraser says in a statement that a valve on a failed line between the factory and a pulp mill has been replaced, and the cleanup effort is complete. West Fraser spokeswoman Joyce Wagenaar says in the statement that the effluent is within B.C.'s wate

Canada's premiers are warning the federal government not to overreach into their jurisdictions when it comes to delivering the programs laid out in Ottawa's latest budget. In a letter responding to the Liberals' budget, the premiers say they worry new federal programs are eventually going to be downloaded onto provinces and territories. They also say the housing crisis cannot be solved by the federal government working with municipalities alone. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he would go directly to mayors to provide housing funding after Ontario Premier Doug Ford refused to accept the mon

Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly is once again urging Israel and Iran to prevent their long-running conflict from spiralling into a broader Middle East crisis. She is calling for de-escalation and has co-signed a lengthy statement that touches on the Israel-Hamas war, the humanitarian plight in Gaza and attacks on ships off the coast of Yemen. The statement was issued in Italy by foreign ministers from the Group of Seven, which represents like-minded, wealthy countries such as the United States and France. The ministers condemn Iran for attacking Israel with missiles that were almost ent

Three men from British Columbia's Lower Mainland have been fined and banned from hunting for 10 years each for "unlawfully killing wildlife," including a deer pregnant with two fawns. On Thursday, a Kamloops provincial court judge fined one man $8,000 and his rifle and spotlights were seized, while the two others received $5,000 penalties, the BC Conservation Officer Service says in a social media post. The service says the men used spotlights while hunting at night in May 2020 to kill two deer, despite the hunting season being closed. The men were also caught with several grouse and a marmot.

Former state president of Punjab BJP and former Union Minister Vijay Sampla held a meeting with party workers at Hoshiarpur today at 4 pm. He said that at present he has no plans to join the Shiromani Akali Dal, he will take the future decision with the advice of the workers. Annoyed at not being given a ticket from Hoshiarpur, Sampla had a brief meeting with Akali Dal president Sukhbir Singh Badal on Wednesday, after which he also met BJP national president JP Nadda on being invited by the BJP high command for talks. done However, their full position is not clear but party state president S

Canadian banks that refuse to identify the carbon rebate by name when doing direct deposits are forcing the government to change the law to make them do it, says Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault. Guilbeault is taking the stand after Tuesday's federal budget promised to amend the Financial Administration Act so government payments accepted for deposit at Canadian banks will carry whatever title the government wants. "The fact that they haven't been doing it now for many years led us to take this position," Guilbeault said. His department has been battling with banks for almost two years o

Voting for Lok Sabha elections in India has started from today. Voting was held for 102 seats in 21 states in the first phase on Friday. By 5 pm, 63 per cent voting was recorded in Madhya Pradesh, 50 per cent in Rajasthan and highest at 77 per cent in Bengal. In 2019, out of these 102 Lok Sabha seats, BJP won 40 seats and Congress 15 seats, DMK won the remaining seats. including other parties. In this phase too, most of the seats are contested between these three parties. After this phase, voting for the second phase will be held on April 26. Voting for 543 seats in a total of 7 phases will

Farmers are protesting against BJP leaders in Punjab. In Amritsar today, BJP candidate Taranjit Singh Sandhu and party candidate Parampal Kaur Maluka in Bathinda faced opposition from farmers. Taranjit Singh Sandhu had reached Majitha for election campaigning. As soon as they got the information, the farmers reached there to surround them. Farmer leader Sarwan Singh Pandher said that he wanted to have a peaceful dialogue with Taranjit Singh Sandhu but he was not ready for dialogue. BJP's candidate from Faridkot Lok Sabha seat, Hansraj Hans, has also faced opposition from farmers several time

Former president of Punjab Congress Navjot Singh Sidhu is again active in Punjab politics. Before the announcement of the Lok Sabha elections, that IPL. had gone for commentary but today suddenly he held a meeting with senior Congress leaders in Patiala, in which former party president Shamsher Singh Dulo was also present. According to the information received, Navjot Sidhu has talked to senior leaders about the Lok Sabha elections.