The union representing thousands of British Columbia public service workers says it is escalating job action in the dispute. The BC General Employees' Union says pickets are being expanded today to include the Ministry of Finance office in downtown Vancouver. It's the third day of job action by the union after a strike deadline expired on Tuesday morning. The union is seeking improved wages and says there's no indication the provincial government's Public Service Agency is willing to get back to negotiations with an improved offer. The BCGEU, which represents about 34,000 public service worker

Giorgio Armani, the iconic Italian designer, has died at 91, his fashion house confirmed. Armani, known for his understated elegance, missed Milan Fashion Week in June 2025 due to an undisclosed condition. He was planning a major event for his fashion house's 50th anniversary this month. Armani revolutionized Italian ready-to-wear fashion in the late 1970s with his relaxed silhouette. His empire, worth over $10 billion, included clothing, accessories, and more. Armani's influence extended to Hollywood, dressing stars like Richard Gere and Anne Hathaway.

The death toll in the crash of a famous Lisbon streetcar popular with tourists has risen to 17 after two of the 23 injured people died from their injuries while in hospital care. A Portuguese emergency services official said Thursday that the dead were all adults. The head of Lisbon's Civil Protection Agency declined to provide their names or nationalities. The official said that their families would be informed first. She said that another 21 people were injured in Wednesday's crash. More than half were foreigners. The cause of the crash was under investigation.

RCMP say 17 people, including self-proclaimed ``Queen of Canada'' Romana Didulo, have been arrested in southwestern Saskatchewan. Followers of Didulo, who has promoted various conspiracy theories, set up a ``Kingdom of Canada'' compound in an old school in Richmound, west of Regina, in 2023. Insp. Ashley St. Germaine says a warrant was executed Wednesday morning at the property and four replica handguns were found. She says police continue to collect evidence and conduct interviews, but that so far, no charges have been laid. Mounties charged the owner of the property earlier thi

Prime Minister Mark Carney and his cabinet will meet behind closed doors for a second day in a row today, as the Liberal government prepares for Parliament's return in a little under two weeks. Cabinet is discussing efforts to spur industrial investment, refocus Ottawa's spending priorities for the coming fall budget and counter U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs. The federal government is expected in October to table Carney's first budget since taking office. Carney billed the budget on Wednesday as both an austerity plan and one that will ramp up investments to bolster the economy. Conser

Residents in parts of northern Vancouver Island are without landline and cellphone service due to what telecom provider Telus says was damage to infrastructure caused by vandalism. The company's service status map shows both Port McNeill and Port Hardy without home phone, mobile, internet and 911 landline service due to what it says is "damage inflicted upon Telus infrastructure." Other communities on Vancouver Island, including Alert Bay, Campbell River and Port Alice, have also been affected. Emergency Info B.C. says on social media that residents should still try to call 911 if they have an

Federal investigators are looking into a train derailment in British Columbia's Kootenay region near the Alberta boundary. The Transportation Safety Board says in a statement that a team is being deployed to the site near Elko, B.C., where investigators will gather information and begin to assess what caused the derailment. A spokesman with rail operator Canadian Pacific Kansas City has confirmed the derailment at about 8 p.m. Tuesday, where multiple cars left the tracks. CPKC says the 12 cars involved were empty and no one was injured as a result of the derailment. It says its crews responded

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is calling on the Liberals to scrap the temporary foreign worker program and to stop issuing visas under the program. Poilievre argues a jobs crisis among young people has been caused in part by corporations hiring foreigners who work for less than Canadian citizens. He is calling out specific fast-food chains he claims are hiring foreigners over locals, including through job postings that call specifically for temporary foreign workers. Poilievre accuses the government of creating conditions that frustrate the efforts of young people to start their working

Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un have met to begin bilateral talks in Beijing. The two leaders met formally at the Diaoyutai state guest house after attending a major military parade in the heart of the Chinese capital marking the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II. Putin and Kim traveled from a formal reception to the negotiations in the same car, the Kremlin said in a post on social media.