![](https://www.ctvnews.ca/polopoly_fs/1.6976926.1721883767!/httpImage/image.png_gen/derivatives/landscape_800/image.png)
AS IT HAPPENED Wildfire reaches Jasper Wednesday night, causes 'significant loss'
One of two wildfires threatening Jasper National Park reached the townsite Wednesday night and caused 'significant loss.'
An Assyrian church bishop who was stabbed during a service at his church said on Thursday he was recovering quickly, and that he had forgiven his attacker as police ramped up investigation into the riots triggered after the bishop's stabbing.
Two knife attacks within three days - at a busy shopping center near Bondi beach that killed six people on Saturday and at the Assyrian Christ The Good Shepherd Church in Sydney's west on Monday - has shocked residents of Australia's most populous city.
"I am doing fine, recovering very quickly ... there is no need to be worried or concerned," Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel said in an audio message posted on social media, his first public comments since the attack. "I forgive whoever has done this act ... I will always pray for you and whoever sent you to do this, I forgive them as well."
Bishop Emmanuel, who has a popular youth following on TikTok and had criticized homosexuality, COVID vaccinations and Islam in his sermons, was injured in the attack, which has been deemed a terrorist act motivated by suspected religious extremism.
A male teenager has been arrested in the attack on the bishop and is in the hospital under police guard.
An angry crowd fought emergency crews outside the church, demanding that the suspected attacker be handed over to them.
New South Wales state Police Commissioner Karen Webb said a 19-year-old man, who was not a member of the church, was charged in connection with his role in the riot.
"People just came along to participate in a riot. That is disgraceful and disgusting," Webb said during a news briefing.
More detectives have been assigned to investigate the riot, which injured about 50 officers and damaged 20 police cars.
Bishop Emmanuel, in his message, urged his congregation to remain calm and respect the law.
As police investigate, the Bondi mall reopened on Thursday to allow people inside to pay their respects to the victims, with stores remaining closed and a white floral tribute laid out on the second floor. Businesses are expected to resume trade starting Friday.
"We've gone from shock to disbelief to now grief, and it's gonna take quite a time for people to be able to process," Paula Masselos, mayor of the local council, told ABC television.
A candlelight vigil will be held on Sunday, she said, as flowers and bouquets pile up at a makeshift memorial.
(Reporting by Renju Jose in Sydney; Editing by Gerry Doyle)
One of two wildfires threatening Jasper National Park reached the townsite Wednesday night and caused 'significant loss.'
Alberta has called in the Canadian Armed Forces to help assist with the worsening wildfire situation in the province.
U.S. President Joe Biden on Wednesday delivered a solemn call to voters to defend the country's democracy as he laid out in an Oval Office address his decision to drop his bid for reelection and throw his support behind Vice President Kamala Harris.
Staff at a Barrie child care centre say they are frustrated by what they call a local MPP's inadequate response after a car crashed through a window in one of the toddler rooms.
The North American Aerospace Defence Command (Norad) intercepted two Russian and two Chinese bombers flying near Alaska Wednesday in what appears to be the first time the two countries have been intercepted while operating together.
An analyst and an assistant coach with Canada Soccer are being removed from the Canadian Olympic Team and 'sent home immediately,' according to the Canadian Olympic Committee.
After a handful of Australian water polo players tested positive for COVID-19 this week, questions have emerged around how the spread of the disease will be mitigated at the Summer Olympic Games in Paris.
A B.C. man who was hired to help a non-profit build a food hub but instead spent the money on personal expenses – including travel, restaurants, booze and cannabis – has been ordered to pay more than $120,000 in damages.
Two people are dead and two others suffered serious injuries following a shooting that police have described as a 'gun battle' outside a plaza in Scarborough, Ont. early Wednesday morning.
A local First Nations elder and veteran is helping to bring the Ojibwe language to a well-known film for the first time.
A cat who fled her Montreal home nearly a decade ago has been reunited with her family after being found in Ottawa.
A woman in Waterloo, Ont. is out thousands of dollars for a car crash she wasn’t involved in.
A swarm of bees living in a lamppost in Winnipeg’s Sage Creek neighbourhood has found a new home for its hive.
Around 100 acres of Manitoba Crown Land near the Saskatchewan border is being returned to the Métis community.
Nova Scotia is suspending the licensed Cape Breton moose hunt for three years due to what the province is calling a “significant drop” in the population.
A well-known childhood prank known as 'nicky nicky nine doors,' or 'ding dong ditch,' has escalated into a more serious game that could lead to charges for some Surrey, B.C. teens.
It's been more than a month since their good friend was seriously hurt in an accident and two teens from Riverview, N.B., are still having a hard time dealing with it.
Halifax bridges have collected thousands of coins from around the world.