Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke Thursday with the prime minister of Pakistan and India's foreign minister as the Trump administration stepped up efforts to prevent the nuclear-armed South Asian rivals from going to war. In separate calls with Pakistani Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif and Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, Rubio ``emphasized the need for immediate de-escalation,'' the State Department said Rubio also ``expressed U.S. support for direct dialogue between India and Pakistan and encouraged continued efforts to improve communications,'' according to readout

Health officials say measles infected 197 more people in Ontario over the last week as the highly contagious disease emerged in new parts of the country. That brings the province’s tally of probable and confirmed cases to 1,440 since an outbreak began in October. Public Health Ontario’s measles report says there have been 101 hospitalizations, including 75 children. Eight patients have been in intensive care. Nova Scotia and Northwest Territories each reported measles cases earlier this week, marking their first since this outbreak began. Alberta reported yesterday that its overall case co

Surrey Mayor Brenda Locke has asked Premier Mark Carney to give the MP from Surrey a seat in his cabinet. She said that Surrey is about to become the first city in BC to reach a population of 1 million and it also borders the United States, so given the city’s development needs, we believe that Surrey should have a strong voice in the federal cabinet. The mayor said that I believe this will be an important step to support and ensure the continued growth of Surrey. She said that the city is growing by an average of 28 residents per day.

American Republican leader Nikki Haley has supported India's action against Pakistan. She said that Pakistan has no right to play the victim card here, no country can be given the right to support terrorism. Nikki Haley said that dozens of Indians were killed in the terrorist attack in India's Pahalgam, so India has every right to retaliate and take steps for its security. It is noteworthy that Nikki Haley is a former governor of South Carolina and has been the US ambassador to the United Nations during President Donald Trump's first term. She was the first Indian-American to be appointed

Pakistan launched several drone and missile attacks in Punjab on Thursday night. The Pathankot airbase was targeted, a drone attack took place in Jalandhar. However, India's air defense system destroyed them in the sky. So far, there is no report of any damage in the attack. Drone movement has also been seen in Bathinda. The Indian air defense system shot down all the drones and missiles fired towards Pathankot airbase and Jammu airport. There are reports of two Pakistani F-16 fighter jets also being destroyed during the attack.

Robert Prevost,an missionary who spent his career ministering in Peru and took over the Vatican’s powerful office of bishops, waselected the first popefrom the United States in the 2,000-year history of the Catholic Church. Prevost, a 69-year-old member of the Augustinian religious order, took the name Leo XIV. In his first words as Pope Francis’ successor, uttered from the loggia of St. Peter's Basilica, Leo said, “Peace be with you,” and emphasized a message of peace, dialogue and missionary evangelization. He wore the traditional red cape of the papacy — a cape that Francis had es

The British Columbia government has appointed a former chief justice of the B.C. Supreme Court to report on safety measures for event organizers and police after 11 people were killed in a vehicle attack in Vancouver. Premier David Eby says Christopher Hinkson has agreed to serve as commissioner to conduct the review "in a very short period of time." Eby says Hinkson is expected to report back by June 30 to help guide event organizers across B.C. to "maximize safety," while not retreating from the fact that people want to get together and celebrate. The premier says he knows there is a lot of

Alberta's now former Speaker of the legislature says he's excited to display some partisanship in his last days as an elected official. Nathan Cooper announced this week that he is to resign his seat in the assembly to become Alberta's representative to the United States. The United Conservative Party MLA had been Alberta's legislature Speaker and non-partisan debate referee since 2019. He says he thinks made a positive impact by improving the relationship between parties, but he says he has a lot to get off his chest after six years of holding his tongue. Cooper says he'll vo

The Bank of Canada has warned that the trade war poses a major threat to the Canadian economy, which could increase risks to Canadian financial stability, which would damage banks and other financial institutions and make it difficult for households and businesses to repay loans. In its annual Financial Stability Report released on Thursday, the central bank said that if it had not been for Trump's trade war, the Canadian economy would currently be in a strong position, but now there are concerns that the high level of uncertainty about US trade policy could derail financial markets. The rep