An out-of-control wildfire in northeastern British Columbia has triggered the province's first evacuation of this year's fire season. The Peace River Regional District declared a state of local emergency and issued an evacuation order for an area near Chetwynd, B.C., last night. The 50-hectare Wildmare Creek fire has also prompted an evacuation alert covering homes directly west of the community, with the district saying there's "potential danger to life" and residents should be ready to leave on short notice. The Ministry of Transportation's DriveBC information service says a 10-kilometre str

Punjab Congress rebel Bikramjit Singh Chaudhary and his mother Karamjit Kaur Chaudhary have been granted 'Y' category protection by the Centre. Apart from this, Tajinder Singh Bittu, co-in-charge of Congress in Himachal Pradesh, has also been provided 'Y' category security. Tajinder Singh is originally from Punjab and has also been the president of Jalandhar Improvement Trust. Tajinder Singh Bittu and Karamjit Kaur Chaudhary had recently joined the BJP, while Bikramjit Singh Chaudhary, who is the MLA from Phillaur Yes, he did not leave the Congress for the sake of saving the legislature, but

Family members today met Amritpal Singh in Assam's Dibrugarh Jail amid talk of 'Waris Punjab' chief Amritpal Singh contesting elections from Punjab's Khadur Sahib Lok Sabha constituency. His father Tarsem Singh and uncle Sukhchain Singh told reporters that at present it cannot be confirmed whether Amritpal will contest the election or not. He said that he met Amritpal only for a few moments and could not discuss the matter properly due to the strictness of the jail administration. Family members said they will meet Amritpal again next week and discuss the matter.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Ontario Premier Doug Ford and Honda executives are expected to announce today that the Japanese automaker is building an electric vehicle battery plant in Alliston, Ont., part of a $15-billion investment. Senior sources with information on the project have told The Canadian Press that Honda is also retooling its assembly plant in Alliston to produce fully electric vehicles. The $15-billion project includes the retooled plant, an electric vehicle battery plant in close proximity, as well as two key battery parts facilities located elsewhere in Ontario. There will

Former speaker of Punjab Vidhan Sabha and senior Akali leader Surjit Singh Minhas passed away today. He was the Speaker of the Punjab Vidhan Sabha from 2 June 1986 to 15 March 1992. Present Speaker of Punjab Vidhan Sabha Kultar Singh Sandhawan expressed grief over the demise of former Speaker Surjit Singh Minhas. He said in the statement that Surjit Singh Minhas had served as Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs and Irrigation and Power Departments of Punjab. Sandhawan said that the memorial services rendered by Minhas for the welfare of the people of Punjab and the state will always

Conservative member of Parliament Colin Carrie, who represents Oshawa, Ont., says he will not run in the next election. Carrie was first elected in 2004 and re-elected six times. He says it's been an honour to serve as an MP but it's time to clear a path for someone new to represent the community. In February, the House of Commons unanimously adopted a private member's bill that Carrie introduced. It would ensure that more information about the temporary absences, releases or parole of offenders is provided to victims of crimes. Carrie says he will be working hard in the coming months to ensur

After being suspended by the Punjab Congress, Phillaur MLA Bikramjit Singh Chaudhary started a poster war against former Chief Minister Charanjit Channi. They released some objectionable posters of Charanjit Singh Channi, in which Channi has his hand on the back of a woman. It was written with the poster that Charanjit Singh Channi, the Congress candidate from the Jalandhar Lok Sabha seat, is careful, smart. These posters were put up in Phillaur but were removed after some time. Former Chief Minister Charanjit Channi said that the picture shown in the poster is from the time of 2012 assembly

The names of the candidates can be announced within three days for the remaining 5 seats by the Congress in Punjab. The names of four contenders from each constituency were sent by the Congress Screening Committee of the state. The party is busy discussing this. The list is expected to be released by 27. According to sources, Rana Gurjit Singh or his son Inderpreet Singh are set to get tickets from Sri Anandpur Sahib or Khadur Sahib. Former ministers Bharat Bhushan Ashu and Sanjay Talwar are in the race for the ticket from Ludhiana. The names of Gurdaspur MLA Birindermeet Singh Pahra and for

Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee President Amarinder Singh Raja Waring challenged the Aam Aadmi Party and said that if AAP wins all 13 seats in the state in the Lok Sabha elections, they will quit politics. Waring said that the Aam Aadmi Party will lose badly in the state and it will be difficult for them to face the people. He said that 'AAP' has not done any work in the state during the last two years that people would give him fatwa. Waring said that the Aam Aadmi Party gained power only with the help of lies and now they cannot be trusted. It is to be noted that Bhagwant Mann is repeate