Canada

OTTAWA, June 15 (Reuters) - At least 15 people were killed in the Canadian prairie province of Manitoba on Thursday after a semi-trailer truck hit a small bus that was carrying a group of mainly elderly people, police said.

The crash is one of the most lethal road accidents in recent Canadian history.

The crash occurred at the junction of two major roads near the town of Carberry in southwestern Manitoba, 170 km (105 miles) west of Winnipeg. The bus passengers had been on their way to a casino in Carberry, CBC News reported, citing a casino spokesperson.

TORONTO (AP) — Canada’s Supreme Court upheld Friday an immigration agreement between the United States and Canada that says asylum seekers must apply in the first country they arrive in.

The 2002 Safe Third Country Agreement between the U.S. and Canada says migrants who go to an official Canadian crossing are returned to the U.S. and told to apply there.

OTTAWA, June 10. /TASS/: The Canadian authorities have decided to impose sanctions on 24 individuals and 17 entities that, in Ottawa’s version, "are contributing to the theft and destruction of cultural objects and Ukrainian culture," Global Affairs Canada said in a statement posted on its website on Saturday.

Among the blacklisted individuals are former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych, blogger Yury Podolyaka, former DPR First Deputy Information Minister Daniil Bezsonov, and Culture Minister of the Kherson Region Alexander Kuzmenko.

09 June 2023; MEMO: A large Muslim charity, suing those who charged it funded terrorist groups, won an out-of-court settlement against its accusers, it was reported Friday, Anadolu Agency reports.

The defendants also retracted their claims as part of the settlement.

OTTAWA, June 9 (Reuters) - Wildfires spread in the western Canadian province of British Columbia on Friday, while in the east, Quebec said it would start efforts to control blazes that have sent smoke billowing across North American cities.

Canada is enduring its worst start to the wildfire season, with 2,392 fires so far this year and 4.4 million hectares (10.9 million acres) burned, according to the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre (CIFFC), roughly 15 times the annual average over the last decade.

OTTAWA, June 7 (Reuters) - Hundreds of uncontrolled forest fires blazed across Canada on Wednesday, threatening critical infrastructure, forcing evacuations and sending a blanket of smoky air wafting over U.S. cities.

Wildfires are common in Canada's western provinces, but this year flames have mushroomed rapidly in the country's east, making it the worst-ever start to the season.

About 3.8 million hectares (9.4 million acres) have already burned, some 15 times the 10-year average, said Federal Minister of Emergency Preparedness Bill Blair.

OTTAWA, June 7 (Reuters) - The Bank of Canada on Wednesday hiked its overnight rate to a 22-year high of 4.75%, and markets and analysts immediately forecast yet another increase next month to ratchet down an overheating economy and stubbornly high inflation.

The central bank had been on hold since January to assess the impact of previous hikes after raising borrowing costs eight times since March 2022 to a 15-year high of 4.50% - the fastest tightening cycle in the bank's history.

(AP) --- Intense Canadian wildfires are blanketing the northeastern U.S. in a dystopian haze, turning the air acrid, the sky yellowish gray and prompting warnings for vulnerable populations to stay inside.

The effects of hundreds of wildfires burning across the western provinces to Quebec could be felt as far away as New York City and New England, blotting out skylines and irritating throats.

U.S. authorities issued air quality alerts. Hazy conditions and smoke from the wildfires were reported across the Great Lakes region from Cleveland to Buffalo.

OTTAWA, June 6 (Reuters) - Authorities in New York, Toronto and Ottawa on Tuesday warned residents about the health risks from air polluted by smoke from unprecedented early summer wildfires in eastern Canada.

An unusually early and intense start to wildfire season has set Canada on track for its worst-ever year as warm and dry conditions are forecast to persist for months.

There are blazes in nearly all of Canada's 10 provinces and territories, with Quebec the worst impacted due to multiple fires caused by lightning.

OTTAWA, June 1 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Canada will soon print warning labels directly on cigarettes in a world-first, the country’s health agency announced.

New packaging will feature a warning on each cigarette with phrases like: “Cigarettes cause cancer” and “Poison in every puff”.

The regulation will come into effect on Aug 1, Health Canada said.

It is part of an effort to reduce tobacco use in Canada to less than 5% by 2035.