Highlights from the news file for Monday, July 11

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EXTEND UKRAINE MISSION? TRUDEAU WON’T SAY: Canada is standing by Ukraine in its struggle against Russia but beyond that, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau wouldn’t be pinned down Monday on whether the Canadian military will continue supplying troops to train its Ukrainian counterparts. Trudeau will wrap up his trip Tuesday by visiting those soldiers, deployed by the Conservatives last year as a response to Russia’s annexation of Crimea and support for separatist rebels. The Canadians, alongside British and American troops, have been teaching the Ukrainians the basics of soldiering.

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UNION SAYS LIVES OF FIREFIGHTERS WILL BE SHORTENED: Many Fort McMurray firefighters, unable to wear their usual air masks while battling a giant wildfire that attacked the northern Alberta city, are being screened for health problems because they spent several days breathing in hazardous smoke. Some of the 180 crew have developed a persistent cough, says firefighter Nick Waddington, president of the Fort McMurray branch of the International Association of Fire Fighters. Results of lung and blood tests will be private. But Waddington predicts the firefighters will need ongoing support and possible treatment for serious illnesses over the next 10 to 20 years.

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RELATIVES OF CANADIAN ACADEMIC HOMA HOODFAR SEEK DETAILS OF CHARGES IN IRAN: A Montreal-based university professor being held in an Iranian jail is facing unknown charges. News agencies in Iran say Homa Hoodfar has been indicted on the charges, citing a local prosecutor. Amnesty International’s Alex Neve says that the case seems to be proceeding is cause for concern. Hoodfar, a 65-year-old professor at Concordia University, was born in Iran but has been living in Montreal for 30 years.The news agencies say Hoodfar was among three dual nationals and a foreigner who had been charged. Family members and representatives of the four say they did nothing wrong.

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PM ASKED TO HELP IN DETAINED STUDENT CASE: The family of a Toronto university student who was detained after surviving a deadly attack in Bangladesh has asked Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to intervene in the case of the young man, who is a permanent resident of Canada. Tahmid Hasib Khan has been in custody in Dhaka since the July 1 attack, in which 20 hostages were killed, mostly foreigners.The 22-year-old’s family doesn’t know why he’s being held, but they insist Khan is innocent. His brother, Talha Khan, who is a Canadian citizen, sent a letter through a lawyer to Trudeau’s office on Monday, asking for Ottawa’s help in the case.

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CAMERON TO QUIT WEDNESDAY; THERESA MAY TO BE NEW BRITISH PM: A political era ended Monday — unexpectedly and without an election — as Prime Minister David Cameron said he will step down in two days in favour of Theresa May, a senior member of his cabinet who will become Britain’s second female leader. Cameron announced his resignation last month because he backed the losing side in a referendum for Britain to leave the European Union. So did May — but infighting, bad timing and cold feet among leaders of the victorious “leave” campaign means that she will have the task of leading a divided country out of the EU.

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MOTHER OF SIX DIES IN HOUSE FIRE, MAN ARRESTED BY POLICE:A mother of six children has died and a man police believe to be her husband has been arrested after a house fire in suburban Vancouver that is being investigated as a homicide. Staff Sgt. Jennifer Pound of the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team says police in Port Moody responded to reports of a domestic dispute shortly before 1:30 p.m. Sunday but arrived to find the two-storey home engulfed in flames. She says officers pulled the unnamed victim out of the house and also rescued a second adult. Police say five of the couple’s six children were home but were able to climb out from the second floor before firefighters arrived.

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SHERIFF: 2 BAILIFFS, SUSPECT DEAD IN MICHIGAN COURTHOUSE SHOOTING: A sheriff says two bailiffs and a gunman are dead at a western Michigan courthouse where a shooting happened. Berrien County Sheriff Paul Bailey said at a news conference late Monday afternoon that a deputy sheriff was also shot but is in stable condition at Lakeland Hospital in St. Joseph. The shooting happened at the Berrien County courthouse on Monday afternoon. Bailey said he did not know anything about the shooter, why he was in the courthouse or how he got a gun. St. Joseph is located in far southwestern Michigan’s Berrien County, which borders Indiana.

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BEEF UP BREACH TRANSPARENCY, PRIVACY WATCHDOG: A federal watchdog says companies that lose personal customer data should be required to directly notify affected people about the lapse and detail the steps taken to reduce the harm. The Trudeau government plans to introduce breach-notification regulations in coming months to improve transparency and help consumers. Legislation passed last year laid the groundwork for mandatory reporting of private-sector breaches that pose a “real risk of significant harm” to individuals. The government recently asked the public and interested parties for comment on shaping the regulations. The federal privacy commissioner’s office says companies should have to directly notify those affected by a breach — with limited exceptions — through means such as telephone calls, emails or mailed letters.

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FLASH FLOODING TRIGGERS EMERGENCY DECLARATION: People in most of southern Saskatchewan are being warned that heavy rain — possibly as much as 100 millimetres — could bring flooding. A state of emergency was already declared Sunday in Estevan when roads and basements were left under water by storm sewers unable to handle the volume of rain. Many streets looked like rivers after at least 130 millimetres fell On Estevan in just over two hours. Emergency management commissioner Duane McKay says officials hope the worst is over for Estevan, although the area remains under a special weather statement. Some roads also flooded in several other communities, including Lloydminster.

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BLACK MAN STOPPED AFTER READING AT N.B. WHARF: Louizandre Dauphin says he was just looking for a quiet place to spend a few hours reading when he parked his car near a wharf in northeastern New Brunswick. That’s why the 33-year-old municipal employee in Bathurst was stunned when the RCMP pulled him over as he left because he says they received several calls from concerned citizens reporting a “suspicious person” on the wharf. Dauphin, who is the city’s director of parks, recreation and tourism, is black and alleges that is why people contacted the police. The RCMP offered a slightly differing version of events Monday. Const. Derek Black said they received a call about a suspicious vehicle on the wharf last Thursday and there was no mention of the occupant’s ethnicity or race. He says an officer stopped the vehicle and deemed the report to be unfounded.

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