Evacuation orders and alerts have been issued in British Columbia's North Okanagan as a nearby wildfire burns out of control, nearly doubling in size since Tuesday. Tracy Hughes, communications co-ordinator for the Columbia Shuswap Regional District says 17 properties in the district are on evacuation order, while alerts were also expanded to 25 more properties, bringing the total in the region to 69. The neighbouring township of Spallumcheen and the Splatsin First Nation have also issued evacuation orders and alerts in response to the growing blaze. The BC Wildfire Service says the 6.7 square

National Defence Minister Bill Blair says British Columbia's CFB Esquimalt will be the site of a new 480-room military housing project. The minister was at the Victoria-area naval base to announce a $10.1-million contract for design work for the project, estimated to total about $165 million. Blair says the new, modern highrise building will provide single-occupancy rooms, coffee shops, postal services and a dining area capable of serving 700 people. He says the accommodation project is part of the government's plan to improve the quality of life for members of the Canadian Armed Forces. Blair

Despite losing the Lok Sabha election from Ludhiana in Punjab, preparations have started to send Ravneet Singh Bittu, who became Union Minister, to the Rajya Sabha from Haryana or Rajasthan. In fact, the Election Commission has announced that elections will be held on September 3 for the 12 vacant seats in the Rajya Sabha. The results will also be declared in the evening on the same day. It is to be noted that Ravneet Bittu left the Congress and joined the BJP during the Lok Sabha elections. The party had fielded him from Ludhiana where he was already an MP but he lost the election to his old

An aviation expert says airfares may go up in the immediate aftermath of a hailstorm that tore through Calgary on Monday evening, damaging WestJet planes and upending travel plans. Hailstones as big as golf balls pummelled the tarmac, forcing the Calgary-based airline to ground 10 per cent of its fleet for major repairs and inspections. WestJet says it cancelled 248 flights between Monday and Wednesday, and will have to cut trips across its network for the "foreseeable future." Barry Prentice, who heads the University of Manitoba's transport institute, says a significant scale-back by the coun

There are no tsunami threats in British Columbia after a powerful earthquake struck off Japan’s southern coast, according to the U.S. based National Tsunami Warning Center. The Japan Meteorological Agency says Thursday's quake registered magnitude 7.1 and was centered in waters off the eastern coast of Japan’s southern main island of Kyushu at a depth of about 30 kilometres. The quake most strongly shook Nichinan city and nearby areas in Miyazaki prefecture on Kyushu island, triggering a local tsunami advisory that urged residents to stay away from the coastline, but there were no reports

Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann has announced a prize of Rs 1 crore each to the Punjabi players of the Indian hockey team who won the bronze medal in the Paris Olympics. The Chief Minister said that it is a matter of pride for us that there were 10 Punjabi players including captain Harmanpreet Singh and vice-captain Hardik Singh in this team. He congratulated the entire hockey team. Along with this, there is a happy atmosphere in captain Harmanpreet Singh's house. Harmanpreet scored both the goals in this match. Meanwhile, goalkeeper Sreejesh has retired with this victory. Sreejesh had a

The Canadian government says it decided to pull its diplomats' children and their guardians out of Israel, amid fears over an expanded Mideast war. Global Affairs Canada says it has approved the temporary relocation of the children and their guardians to a safe third country. Embassy staff are expected to remain in Israel. The department says diplomats stationed in nearby Ramallah in the West Bank and in Beirut, Lebanon, do not have dependents living with them. Tensions in the Middle East have sparked fears about an all-out war after the killing last week of a senior Hezbollah commander in Leb

Another person has been arrested after making threats against Prime Minister Justin Trudeau online. Police say a man made violent threats against Trudeau, the police and security personnel who might attempt to interfere with his plans in an online video. RCMP made the arrest with help from the York Regional Police in Ontario. Police charged Dawid Zalewski, 33, with two counts of uttering threats. The arrest comes weeks after two Alberta men were charged after they allegedly directed death threats at the prime minister. RCMP said in July that the men posted threats to kill Trudeau and other pol

Boeing Canada plans to invest $61 million in British Columbia for an aerospace manufacturing training facility as well as research and development. The announcement is the latest from the American aviation giant as part of a multibillion-dollar deal with Ottawa on the purchase of new military surveillance planes. Minister of National Defence Bill Blair welcomed the spending at the Boeing Canada facility in Richmond, B.C., saying that as the government invests more in defence, it's ensuring it also delivers value for Canada's economy and its workers. The federal government announced last year t