A fire at a mall in eastern Iraq’s Wasit province killed 50 people, including women and children, the provincial governor said Thursday. Gov. Mohammed al-Mayyeh in a statement declared three day of mourning for the fire that began Wednesday. Few other details were available about the fire in the town of Kut. The governor said the cause of the fire is under investigation but that legal cases were filed against the building owner and mall owner. He did not specify what the charges were. “We assure the families of the innocent victims that we will not be lenient with those who were directly o

Canadian tennis star Eugenie Bouchard is retiring from the game of lawn tennis, Tennis Canada announced today. The 31-year-old Bouchard will play her last international tournament on her home turf. She will be seen playing in the National Bank Open in Montreal, starting July 26. Bouchard has had a career full of ups and downs. During the 2014 season, she reached a ranking of world number 5 in the WTA rankings. During that season, Bouchard also reached the final of the Wimbledon Grand Slam, where she lost to Petra Kvitova. In 2012, Bouchard won the junior Wimbledon title. Tennis Canada announ

In just two months, B.C. has received almost 780 job applications from qualified health professionals across the United States, reflecting strong momentum from the Province’s co-ordinated U.S. recruitment campaign. Building on this success, new strategies are underway to further attract internationally trained doctors. “When we began recruiting in the U.S. in March, we were confident it would yield strong results, and this success confirms that British Columbia’s universal health-care system and vibrant communities continue to stand out,” said Josie Osborne, Minister of Health. “With

International students Gaganpreet Singh and Jagdeep Singh have been sentenced to three years in prison and deportation after being convicted of a horrific hit-and-run incident in Surrey last year. During the hearing, it was revealed that they deliberately dragged a pedestrian for 1.3 kilometres after hitting him and then leaving his body on the road before fleeing. The pair were in a Ford Mustang, which Gaganpreet was driving and Jagdeep Singh was a passenger. Surrey RCMP responded to a report of a pedestrian being hit in the 13400-block of 105 Avenue around 1:45 a.m. on January 27, 2024. Ga

Every firehall in Chilliwack, B.C., was involved in fighting a destructive blaze in the centre of the city. A statement from the fire department says crews encountered heavy, black smoke as they went to the scene at about 12:30 Wednesday morning. The fire was in a mixed-use building with apartments over commercial space. The statement says three dozen crew members were involved and they at first tried to fight the fire from inside, but were forced to withdraw and take a defensive strategy to gain control of the blaze. There were no reported injuries to either residents or firefighters, althoug

A 48-year-old surveyor from Abbotsford was killed on July 15, after being struck by a vehicle while on the job. The incident occurred on Tuesday just after 1 pm, while the victim was working on Sylvester Road near Dale Road in Hatzic, just east of Mission. A dump truck travelling northbound on Sylvester Road struck the man, who died at the scene. Sylvester Road was closed for a prolonged period while officers from the Mission RCMP, the Integrated Collision Analysis and Reconstruction Service, the Commercial Vehicle Safety Enforcement unit, and WorkSafe BC investigated the matter. The survey

On July 12, 2025, at approximately midnight, in the 600 block of Kennedy Street in Nanaimo, an unknown male set fire to a cedar planter box on a porch. The homeowner saw the flames, ran outside to douse the fire and called 911. Nanaimo Fire and Rescue responded and prevented any damage to the exterior of the home. A neighbour’s surveillance camera captured the fire and a possible male suspect. Police are requesting that residents in the 600 block of Kennedy review their surveillance cameras and dashcams for any images of a male wearing: a light-coloured shirt, dark knee-length shorts, da

In Punjab, in the case of Fauja Singh, known as the world's oldest runner, being hit by a speeding car, the police have arrested 26-year-old Amritpal Singh Dhillon, who went to Punjab from Canada, in a hit and run case. Dhillon actually belongs to Kartarpur and lives in Canada with his family. Punjab Police found out from the number plate of the vehicle that the car involved in the hit and run was registered in the name of Kapurthala resident Varinder Singh, who told the police that he had sold the vehicle to Dhillon. Dhillon told the police that he did not know that the victim was Baba Fauj

The City of Vancouver, in partnership with the Vancouver Police Department (VPD), local community volunteers and with financial commitment from the Province, has opened a new Community Policing Centre (CPC) to serve the Gastown and Hastings Crossing areas. Located at 109 West Hastings Street, the Gastown-Hastings Crossing Community Policing Centre (GHX CPC) will be working to respond to local safety needs in a way that is proactive, collaborative and community led, with a focus on crime prevention, community education, volunteer involvement and community safety. The CPC is operated by an ind