Firefighters scrambled Sunday to make further progress against wildfires that have destroyed thousands of homes and killed 24 people in the Los Angeles area as forecasters again warned of dangerous weather with the return of strong winds this week. At least 16 people were missing, and authorities said that number was expected to rise. The National Weather Service issued red flag warnings for severe fire conditions through Wednesday, with sustained winds of 50 mph (80 kph) and gusts in the mountains reaching 70 mph (113 kph). The most dangerous day will be Tuesday, said weather service meteorol

Education support workers began gathering under pitch-black pre-dawn skies in Edmonton and some nearby communities as a strike got underway. The workers, bundled in coats and scarves and gripping signs, are calling for what they term fair wages from the Edmonton Public School Board and Sturgeon Public School Division. School support workers include education assistants, cafeteria workers and administration staff. The Canadian Union of Public Employees says some 3,000 staff are off the job in Edmonton and in the Sturgeon division, just north of the provincial capital, another 200 workers are ta

Rahul Gandhi held his first rally for the Congress party in the Seelampur assembly constituency for the Delhi Assembly elections on Monday. During the rally, he targeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief Arvind Kejriwal. Rahul Gandhi stated that both Modi and Kejriwal are the same, as neither of them says a single word about Adani. In response, Arvind Kejriwal took to social media, writing that while Rahul Gandhi had come to Delhi and criticized him extensively, he would not comment on his statements. Kejriwal added that Rahul Gandhi's fight is to save the Congress,

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh has launched a major attack on Donald Trump, speaking to reporters in Ottawa. He said that Trump understands only one thing - which is power. To push Trump back from imposing tariffs, Singh stated that Canada may need to halt the supply of critical minerals to the U.S. He also emphasized that any tariffs that harm Canadians must be met with retaliatory tariffs in kind.It is worth noting that Trump will take office as President of the U.S. on January 20. Despite ongoing efforts to resolve the issue, Trump has not indicated any intention of backing down from his stance o

The ongoing farmers' movement led by the Dallewal and Pandher organizations on the Shambhu and Khanauri borders of Punjab-Haryana may receive support from the Samyukt Kisan Morcha. A meeting was held today in Patran, Patiala, between the leaders of the three organizations to discuss the movement. It was decided that no leader would make statements against each other, and the movement would be fought jointly. A meeting has been scheduled by the farmer leaders on January 18 to discuss the next steps in the struggle. The meeting in Patran was attended by various leaders, including Samyukt repres

The cost to send a letter in Canada is increasing by about 25 per cent, effective today. Canada Post says the cost of stamps for domestic mail bought in a booklet, coil or pane has increased by 25 cents to $1.24 per stamp. The cost of a single domestic stamp is now $1.44, up from $1.15. Canada Post proposed the increase in September last year. It says the higher price is required to better align stamp prices with the rising cost of providing letter mail service to all Canadians. The rate increases also include U.S. and international letters and domestic registered mail. Commercial letter mail

British Columbia’s forests minister says a crew from the province’s wildfire service left for California Saturday afternoon to help battle the wildfires ravaging the Los Angeles area. Ravi Parmar says in a video posted to social media Saturday afternoon that The B.C. Wildfire Service's crews had left the province and are expected to touch down in Los Angeles around 4 p.m. Pacific. The fire crew was first promised by Premier David Eby, who committed the crew on Friday after a request from California’s Forestry and Fire Protection Department. Eby says his province will also send ground cre

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith says she received no indication from U.S. President-elect Donald Trump over the weekend that he plans to back down on implementing hefty tariffs on Canadian products. But Smith says cutting off oil and gas exports to the south in retaliation, which is something the federal government hasn't ruled out, isn't feasible. She says the federal government should never "threaten" something it can't afford to do. Smith visited Trump at his Florida home over the weekend as a guest of Canadian businessman and television personality Kevin O'Leary. She says the incoming presi

A strong earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.9 has hit southwestern Japan, the country's Meteorological Agency said Monday. Tsunami warnings were issued for Miyazaki Prefecture, where the temblor was centered, in the southwestern island of Kyushu, as well as nearby Kochi Prefecture, shortly after the quake struck at 9:19 p.m. local time, according to the agency. The extent of damage was not immediately clear. Japan is frequently hit by earthquakes because of its location along the “Ring of Fire,” an arc of volcanoes and fault lines in the Pacific Basin.