Canada & World

FILE - Stewart Rhodes, founder of the citizen militia group known as the Oath Keepers speaks during a rally outside the White House in Washington, on June 25, 2017. The seditious conspiracy case filed this week against members and associates of the far-right Oath Keepers militia group marked the boldest attempt so far by the government to prosecute those who attacked the U.S. Capitol during the Jan. 6 riot. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)

For Oath Keepers and founder, Jan. 6 Washington DC was weeks in the making

Rare indictment of seditious conspiracy levied against members of group in U.S. capitol riot

The Canada Post logo is seen on the outside the company’s Pacific Processing Centre, in Richmond, B.C., on June 1, 2017. A claim by Chinese health authorities that the Omicron variant was introduced to a resident of Beijing through a piece of regular mail from Canada is being dismissed as ludicrous. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

China’s claim that Omicron came from Canadian mail dismissed as ‘ludicrous’

Beijing reports 1st local Omicron case last week as Olympics loom in the near horizon

This satellite image taken by Himawari-8, a Japanese weather satellite operated by Japan Meteorological Agency and released by National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT), shows an undersea volcano eruption at the Pacific nation of Tonga Saturday, Jan. 15, 2022. (NICT via AP)

Flights sent to assess Tonga damage after volcanic eruption

Towering ash cloud since Saturday’s eruption prevented earlier flights, communications limited

A women walk her dog past a parked school bus in the deep snow after a major snow storm in Mississauga, Ont., on Monday, January 17, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette

Winter storm causing school closures, transportation disruptions in parts of Ontario

As much as 50 centimetres of snow was expected in ‘once-in-a-decade’ scale event

A women walk her dog past a parked school bus in the deep snow after a major snow storm in Mississauga, Ont., on Monday, January 17, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette
Colleyville police Chief Michael Miller addresses reporters in a nearby parking lot after the conclusion of a SWAT operation at Congregation Beth Israel synagogue on Saturday, Jan. 15, 2022, in Colleyville, Texas. All four people taken hostage inside the synagogue during a morning service were safe Saturday night after an hours-long standoff, authorities said. (Smiley N. Pool/The Dallas Morning News via AP)

Rabbi says he, 2 hostages escaped Texas synagogue standoff

Charlie Cytron-Walker threw a chair at the gunman, and headed for the door

Colleyville police Chief Michael Miller addresses reporters in a nearby parking lot after the conclusion of a SWAT operation at Congregation Beth Israel synagogue on Saturday, Jan. 15, 2022, in Colleyville, Texas. All four people taken hostage inside the synagogue during a morning service were safe Saturday night after an hours-long standoff, authorities said. (Smiley N. Pool/The Dallas Morning News via AP)
People make their way through Pearson International Airport during the COVID-19 pandemic in Toronto, Friday, Dec. 3, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette

Airlines, airport ask Canada to drop arrivals testing requirement

Lobby: discrepancy between resources allocated to asymptomatic travellers and those needing tests

People make their way through Pearson International Airport during the COVID-19 pandemic in Toronto, Friday, Dec. 3, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette
FILE - This image provided by Pfizer shows the company’s COVID-19 Paxlovid pills. Pfizer’s and Merck’s COVID-19 pills that were supposed to be an important weapon against the pandemic in the U.S. are in short supply and have played little role in the fight against the omicron wave of infections. (Pfizer via AP, File)

Enough Pfizer antiviral to treat 30K people already in Canada; enough for 120K more coming

Clinical trials show Paxlovid can reduce risk of severe disease by 90% if given early

FILE - This image provided by Pfizer shows the company’s COVID-19 Paxlovid pills. Pfizer’s and Merck’s COVID-19 pills that were supposed to be an important weapon against the pandemic in the U.S. are in short supply and have played little role in the fight against the omicron wave of infections. (Pfizer via AP, File)
Workers transport a cargo shipment containing the first batches of Pfizer’s antiviral COVID-19 pill, Paxlovid, at a cargo terminal at the Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul, South Korea, on Thursday, Jan. 13, 2022. Jung Yeon-je/Pool photo via AP)

Health Canada approves Pfizer COVID-19 antiviral treatment

Greenlit for adults with mild or moderate COVID-19 at high risk of becoming more seriously ill

Workers transport a cargo shipment containing the first batches of Pfizer’s antiviral COVID-19 pill, Paxlovid, at a cargo terminal at the Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul, South Korea, on Thursday, Jan. 13, 2022. Jung Yeon-je/Pool photo via AP)
A health care worker is seen outside the Emergency dept. of the Vancouver General Hospital in Vancouver on March 30, 2020. Hospital emergency rooms in Alberta are likely to assess complaints from First Nations people as less urgent than those from other patients even when their problems are the same, says a new study that looked at millions of such visits. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward

Study suggests Alberta First Nations people tend to get lower level of emergency care

More than 11 million emergency room visits between 2012 and 2017 from across Alberta analyzed

A health care worker is seen outside the Emergency dept. of the Vancouver General Hospital in Vancouver on March 30, 2020. Hospital emergency rooms in Alberta are likely to assess complaints from First Nations people as less urgent than those from other patients even when their problems are the same, says a new study that looked at millions of such visits. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward
The B.C. Ferries vessel Queen of Surrey passes Bowen Island while traveling on Howe Sound from Horseshoe Bay to Langdale, B.C., on Friday, April 23, 2021. A BC Ferries spokesman is encouraging passengers to check online for possible service disruptions before heading to a terminal. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

Passengers should check for ferry cancellations due to staffing issues: BC Ferries

A BC Ferries spokesman is encouraging passengers to check online for possible…

The B.C. Ferries vessel Queen of Surrey passes Bowen Island while traveling on Howe Sound from Horseshoe Bay to Langdale, B.C., on Friday, April 23, 2021. A BC Ferries spokesman is encouraging passengers to check online for possible service disruptions before heading to a terminal. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
FILE - A shipment of COVID-19 vaccines distributed by the COVAX Facility arrives in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, Friday Feb. 25, 2021. The World Health Organization says a U.N.-backed program shipping coronavirus vaccines to many poor countries has now delivered 1 billion doses, but that milestone “is only a reminder of the work that remains” after hoarding and stockpiling in rich countries. The U.N. health agency said Sunday, Jan. 16, 2022 that a shipment of 1.1 million COVID-19 vaccine doses to Rwanda this weekend included the billionth dose supplied via the COVAX program. (AP Photo/Diomande Ble Blonde, File)

COVID program delivers 1 billion doses to poorer countries

The program has made deliveries to 144 countries so far

FILE - A shipment of COVID-19 vaccines distributed by the COVAX Facility arrives in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, Friday Feb. 25, 2021. The World Health Organization says a U.N.-backed program shipping coronavirus vaccines to many poor countries has now delivered 1 billion doses, but that milestone “is only a reminder of the work that remains” after hoarding and stockpiling in rich countries. The U.N. health agency said Sunday, Jan. 16, 2022 that a shipment of 1.1 million COVID-19 vaccine doses to Rwanda this weekend included the billionth dose supplied via the COVAX program. (AP Photo/Diomande Ble Blonde, File)
Residents walk through the streets of the hamlet of Pangnirtung, Nvt., on Thursday, Aug. 20, 2009. The community is fighting both tuberculosis and COVID-19 cases. Adrian Wyld/TCPI/The Canadian Press

‘We’re getting through this’: Nunavut hamlet fighting COVID-19 and TB at same time

Average annual tuberculosis rate among Inuit is 290 times higher than Canadian-born, non-Indigenous people

Residents walk through the streets of the hamlet of Pangnirtung, Nvt., on Thursday, Aug. 20, 2009. The community is fighting both tuberculosis and COVID-19 cases. Adrian Wyld/TCPI/The Canadian Press
Children stand at the front of a rally against Quebec’s Bill 21, which prohibits some public sector workers from wearing religious symbols at work, after a teacher was removed from her position because she wears a hijab, in Chelsea, Que., on Tuesday, Dec. 14, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang

Poll suggests support for Bill 21 provision may have dropped in Quebec; 55% in favour

Across Canada, the average was 33% in favour of the ban, 55% against and 12% undecided

Children stand at the front of a rally against Quebec’s Bill 21, which prohibits some public sector workers from wearing religious symbols at work, after a teacher was removed from her position because she wears a hijab, in Chelsea, Que., on Tuesday, Dec. 14, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang
The dashboard of the Tesla Model X car is shown at the company’s headquarters Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2015, in Fremont, Calif. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-Marcio Jose Sanchez

Onboard vehicle tech becoming a safety issue, advocates say

Tesla recently drew criticism for allowing video games to be played on the console while vehicle is in motion

The dashboard of the Tesla Model X car is shown at the company’s headquarters Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2015, in Fremont, Calif. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-Marcio Jose Sanchez
Dr. Supriya Sharma, chief medical adviser at Health Canada, holds a press conference in Ottawa on Friday, Feb. 26, 2021, to provide an update on the COVID-19 pandemic and vaccine rollout in Canada. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

Omicron-specific vaccine likely to come too late to help in this wave: Sharma

Pfizer and Moderna are working on new versions of their vaccines that specifically target the Omicron variant

Dr. Supriya Sharma, chief medical adviser at Health Canada, holds a press conference in Ottawa on Friday, Feb. 26, 2021, to provide an update on the COVID-19 pandemic and vaccine rollout in Canada. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick
Russian soldiers take part in drills at the Kadamovskiy firing range in the Rostov region in southern Russia, Thursday, Jan. 13, 2022. Russia has rejected Western complaints about its troop buildup near Ukraine, saying it deploys them wherever it deems necessary on its own territory. (AP Photo)

Canada advises against non-essential travel to Ukraine, cites Russian aggression

The change in risk level comes amid fears of a Russian invasion

Russian soldiers take part in drills at the Kadamovskiy firing range in the Rostov region in southern Russia, Thursday, Jan. 13, 2022. Russia has rejected Western complaints about its troop buildup near Ukraine, saying it deploys them wherever it deems necessary on its own territory. (AP Photo)
Colleyville police Chief Michael Miller addresses reporters in a nearby parking lot after the conclusion of a SWAT operation at Congregation Beth Israel synagogue on Saturday, Jan. 15, 2022, in Colleyville, Texas. All four people taken hostage inside the synagogue during a morning service were safe Saturday night after an hours-long standoff, authorities said. (Smiley N. Pool/The Dallas Morning News via AP)

British man identified as hostage-taker at Texas synagogue

Malik Faisal Akram was killed after the hostages got out at around 9 p.m. at Congregation Beth Israel

Colleyville police Chief Michael Miller addresses reporters in a nearby parking lot after the conclusion of a SWAT operation at Congregation Beth Israel synagogue on Saturday, Jan. 15, 2022, in Colleyville, Texas. All four people taken hostage inside the synagogue during a morning service were safe Saturday night after an hours-long standoff, authorities said. (Smiley N. Pool/The Dallas Morning News via AP)
Alberta students board a school bus, as they return to school today for the first time since their holiday break was extended due to surging COVID-19 cases, near Cremona, Alta., Monday, Jan. 10, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh

For some Canadian students, school disruptions have become routine

Students have spent nearly two years dealing with COVID restrictions

Alberta students board a school bus, as they return to school today for the first time since their holiday break was extended due to surging COVID-19 cases, near Cremona, Alta., Monday, Jan. 10, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh
Paramedics are seen outside a Toronto Hospital on Wednesday, January 5, 2022.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young

Omicron may seem unavoidable, but experts say ‘let it rip’ isn’t the solution

Emerging evidence suggests Omicron is less likely to cause severe illness than previous COVID-19 strains

Paramedics are seen outside a Toronto Hospital on Wednesday, January 5, 2022.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young
FILE - In this Aug. 3, 2007, file photo, psilocybin mushrooms are seen in a grow room at the Procare farm in Hazerswoude, central Netherlands. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong, File)

Update on psychedelic therapy drugs a positive step in mental-health care: experts

Move will allow physicians to request restricted psychedelic drugs for patients as part of psychotherapy

FILE - In this Aug. 3, 2007, file photo, psilocybin mushrooms are seen in a grow room at the Procare farm in Hazerswoude, central Netherlands. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong, File)