Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, who is on a two-day visit to Jammu and Kashmir, on Friday indicated that assembly elections could be held in the Union Territory by the end of this year. Recently, a delimitation exercise was accomplished after the abrogation of Article 370 from the then state of Jammu and Kashmir. As per the order, out of the 90 Assembly Constituencies (ACs) in the Jammu and Kashmir, 43 will be part of the Jammu region and 47 for the Kashmir region. Addressing an event here, Singh said: "Recently, the delimitation exercise concluded in J-K. Now, Jammu will have 43 seats and Kas

The European Union's executive arm on Friday recommended making Ukraine a candidate for EU membership, a first step on what was expected to be a long road forthe war-torn countryto join the 27-nation bloc. The European Commission delivered its proposal to award Ukraine candidate status after a fast-tracked analysis of answers to a questionnaire. The Ukrainian government applied for EU membership less than a week after Russia invaded the country. “Ukrainians are ready to die for the European perspective,” commission President Ursula von der Leyen said. “We want them to live with us, the E

An Alberta legislature member investigated by the RCMP after he admitted to hacking into a government health website says he will not face criminal charges. Thomas Dang says in a statement he will instead have to pay a yet-to-be-determined fine for contravening the Health Information Act. Dang resigned from the NDP caucus when he became aware of the RCMP probe in December 2021. He has been sitting in the house as an Independent but says he wants to return to caucus. NDP Leader Rachel Notley, when asked in Calgary, said she was not aware of the development but would get more information and dis

Alberta NDP Leader Rachel Notley says her party is looking at hiring an independent third-party to oversee future harassment complaints from staff and volunteers. The move comes a day after Notley acknowledged in a party e-mail that they are dealing with problems around how staff and volunteers are being treated. Notley says she and the rest of the executive are recommending the party hire a firm with expertise in investigating, mediating, and resolving respect and harassment complaints. She says the decision will be made at a meeting this weekend. Last week, a leaked letter from 15 party cons

The latest figures on COVID-19 in British Columbia show 276 people are hospitalized with the illness, with 19 people in critical care. In its weekly report, the BC Centre for Disease Control recorded 50 deaths linked to COVID-19 during the week ending June 11, down from 57 the week before.This brings the death toll to 2,682 since the pandemic began.Since April, B.C. has been reporting all deaths from any cause when the person died within 30 days of a positive COVID-19 test result, while the centre says it will do retrospective evaluations to better understand "true" COVID-19 mortality.Thursday

Two adults and a baby have been killed in a crash involving a semi-truck on Highway 5 north of Kamloops, B.C.B.C. Highway Patrol says officers were called to the crash on Thursday.The cause is unknown and RCMP have released no other details.Highway 5 remains closed in both directions and drivers have been told to expect long delays.This is the second fatal crash on the highway in as many days.Police say a passenger in a pickup was killed Wednesday in a head-on collision with a semi-truck south of Little Fort in B.C.'s southern Interior.

Vancouver Mayor Kennedy Stewart says he's thrilled the city has been selected as one of hosts for the FIFA World Cup in 2026. Stewart calls it a ``once in a generation opportunity'' for soccer fans that will boost tourism for years to come and strengthen the city's economy ΓÇïΓÇïas it recovers from the impacts of COVID-19. He also says in a statement that he's a huge soccer fan and knows the city is looking forward to cheering on Canada's men's team for the first time ever on home soil. Toronto has also been named as a host for the 80 game tournament with most games to be played in the

Police in Burnaby and Coquitlam have given information about 2 vehicles that were impounded for over speeding. Police shared pictures of the vehicles involved in excessive speeding. Both the vehicles were impounded for 7 days. Burnaby RCMP on Twitter: We just caught this driver ⬇️ going 155 km/hr on Lougheed Hwy during rush hour. Excessive speed ticket issued and vehicle impounded for 7 days. Coquitlam RCMP on Twitter: 106km/h in a 50km/h zone, up hill, on Austin Ave resulted in an excessive speeding ticket and a 7 day vehicle impoundment.

A school in east Vancouver was evacuated for the second time in less than 24 hours after police said they received reports of a person with a weapon. The Vancouver Police Department issued a statement on Twitter Thursday, saying Killarney Secondary, which has about 2,000 pupils, was put on lockdown as the Emergency Response Team conducted a room-by-room search. VPD says no armed person was located and no one was hurt. The report comes after an incident in which bear spray was set off at the same school on Wednesday, contaminating nearly two dozen students and staff and forcing an evacuation.