The Okanagan and Shuswap areas of British Columbia received heavy rainfall on Wednesday.BC Wildfire Service information officer Forrest Tower says about 20 millimeters of rain has fallen in the past day, which has helped the firefighters in fighting the blaze.Firefighters battling the McDougall Creek wildfire near Kelowna say the fire is coming under control due to last night's showers.Wildfires have wreaked havoc in BC's southern interior, forcing about 25,000 people to evacuate their homes.Tower says the Bush Creek East fire in the Shuswap area remains the state's top priority wildfire and 1

Firefighters in the Okanagan say heavy rain overnight has helped put out the wildfire.Thousands of people were forced to leave their homes due to this fire.Firefighters said 174 homes have been damaged by the blaze that has raged around Okanagan Lake since last Thursday.West Kelowna Fire Chief Jason Brolund says a total of 84 properties were damaged in West Kelowna and Westbank First Nation.North Westside Fire Rescue Chief Ross Kotscherofski says the rain helped put out the fire on the east side.In a wildfire update issued on Tuesday, West Kelowna Fire Chief Jason Brolund said more than 3,000

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says it's wrong to blame international students for the housing crisis.He said that the reason for the housing crisis comprises of many other factors.Trudeau, on the final day of a three-day cabinet retreat in Prince Edward Island, said international students were being blamed for the housing shortage, and that it was wrong to link the housing crisis to immigration.Trudeau said that people are facing tough times and everyone is having a hard time right now.Currently, Canada has 800,000 active study permit holders, and plans to bring in 500,000 new immigrants each

Indian Space Research Organization has created history as Chandrayaan-3 has made a soft landing on the moon.According to the agency, the lander of Chandrayaan-3 has successfully landed on the surface of the moon at 6:04 pm as per the scheduled time.Chandrayaan-3 has reached the moon after a 40-day journey.Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that this is a matter of pride for the country.He also congratulated the Chandrayaan-3 team and the scientists of the country.Along with this, Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann has congratulated the successful landing of Chandrayaan-3 by posting on X and wished al

Wagner Group chief Yevgeny Prigozhin was on the passenger list of the private jet that crashed in Russia on Wednesday, killing all 10 people on board.However, it was not immediately clear if he was on board.According to preliminary information, a commercial plane from Moscow to St. Petersburg crashed on Wednesday, killing all 10 people on board.It is worth mentioning that Prigozhin rebelled against Putin in June and after that he allegedly moved to Belarus.It is however not clear till now that how and when did he reach Russia.A Russian official told reporters that they have started an investig

Canada's Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland has been fined $273 for speeding.Freeland was speeding in Grand Prairie and Peace River, Alberta, when she was stopped and issued a $273 ticket.However, Freeland spokeswoman Katherine Cuplinskas said Freeland has paid the full amount of the fine.Freeland was driving at a speed of 132 km per hour in a 110 km per hour zone.It is worth noting that Chrystia Freeland claimed last month that she does not even have a car and travels by train while her children walk, cycle and use the subway.

It's the final bell for cellphones in Quebec classrooms as the province's Education Department plans to ban their use in most teaching settings.Education Minister Bernard Drainville is scheduled to make the announcement this morning.The directive would only apply to public elementary and high schools and would still allow teachers to use mobile phones for lessons.A spring survey of 7,000 teachers conducted by a federation of 34 teacher unions found that 92 per cent of respondents were in favour of such a measure.Federation president Josée Scalabrini said at the time that teachers wanted to re

The intensity of the McDougall Creek wildfire has decreased.Dozens of evacuation orders and alerts issued in B.C.'s Okanagan Valley have been reduced.Central Okanagan Emergency Operations announced that residents of several properties within Westbank First Nation, Kelowna, West Kelowna and Lake Country can return home, but should still be prepared to leave at a moment's notice.Five properties in Kelowna were destroyed while several in Lake Country sustained exterior damage, Kelowna Mayor Tom Deas said.

Experts say that the smoke spread in Metro Vancouver due to forest fires is toxic and can cause many health problems.Burnaby's Dr. Susan Kwan says the air is full of toxins that will make it difficult for people to breathe, whether they have health problems or not.She said that air contains nitric oxide and aromatic hydrocarbons, and such elements are toxic to the body.This can cause skin irritation, eye irritation, itching, pain or irritation in the nose.Dr. Kwan says that to avoid these problems, limit your outdoor time and drink plenty of water.The smoke is expected to persist for the next