Mexico's government wants citizens to produce more of their own food in a move toward self-sufficiency and lower prices in key products. The idea isn't new, but the ravages of the pandemic, climate change and the market turmoil created by the war in Ukraine have given it new urgency. The government wants to head off food insecurity in a country where 44% of its population lives in poverty and where 27.5 million tons of corn are produced, but more than 40 million tons are consumed. Some farmers are hopeful about additional government financial help and subsidized fertilizer. Others are suspic

The city of Calgary has declared a state of local emergency to deal with potential flooding related to heavy rainfall in southern Alberta. Environment Canada has issued rainfall warnings for between 75 mms and 150 mms of rain by Wednesday morning in parts of Alberta, including Calgary. Alberta Environment has also issued a flood warning on the Bow River between Banff and Exshaw, and flood watches on the Bow, Elbow and Highwood rivers upstream of Calgary and High RiverCalgary has lowered water levels at upstream reservoirs on the Bow and Elbow rivers to make room for potential floodwater. Mayor

The Alberta government is lifting the few pandemic restrictions that remain in place, saying the province is moving past the Omicron wave as COVID-19 hospitalizations decline steadily. The government announced the decision in a news release late Monday afternoon, saying it will move to Step 3 of its reopening plan at 11:59 p.m. Tuesday. Pandemic measures that will end include mandatory masking on public transit and isolation for people who test positive for COVID-19 or have symptoms. The government says isolation will still be recommended for those with symptoms or a positive COVID-19 test. Th

Several protesters opposed to old-growth logging were taken into custody in at least three location around Metro Vancouver and near Victoria this morning as police removed blockades that halted traffic on busy highways. Demonstrators set up blockades on the Ironworkers Memorial Bridge between Vancouver and North Vancouver, at the entrance to the Massey Tunnel between Richmond and Delta and along the highway leading to the Swartz Bay ferry terminal north of Victoria. The blockades caused significant disruption to rush hour travel, with the longest delays on the highway north of Victoria, where

A federal government source says Canada's much-criticized COVID Alert app will be discontinued in the coming days. The app was launched in the summer of 2020 as the pandemic began. Nearly 7 million people had downloaded it as of February 1st, but it requires users to enter a one-time key for a positive PCR test, which many provinces are no longer offering. Less than 58,000 of the keys have been used in the app. The COVID Alert App cost the government 20-million-dollars.

The man responsible for Toronto's deadly 2018 van attack has been sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for 25 years. Alek Minassian has also been sentenced to 20 years for 15 counts of attempted murder, which are to be served concurrently. He was found guilty last year of 10 counts of first-degree murder and 16 counts of attempted murder. Eight women and two men died on April 23, 2018, when Minassian, bent on infamy, angered by women who wouldn't sleep with him and radicalized in the bowels of the internet deliberately drove a rented van down a busy sidewalk. Another woman die

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has been asked to rejoin the investigation of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in the National Herald case tomorrow, said sources on Monday. The Wayanad MP was interrogated by the federal agency today amid protests by Congress workers across the country. The interrogation began at 11 am in the morning today. The first round of questioning concluded at around 2.15 pm for a lunch break. The Congress leader returned to his residence followed by his visit to Sir Ganga Ram Hospital in the national capital where his mother and party interim president Sonia Gandhi is adm

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy's YSR Congress party is mulling over supporting the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) presidential candidate in the elections slated to be held on July 18, according to sources. However, the official announcement is yet to be made on the matter. The top sources close to the Chief Minister indicated that the party is most likely to extend its support to the NDA candidate. It is worth noting that the party had extended its support to Ram Nath Kovind in the previous Presidential election. Ram Nath Kovind serving as the 14th President of India took

Calgary is warning people to stay off the Elbow River in preparation for heavy rain that's forecast for the Kananaskis region, west of the city, over the next couple of days. As much as 75 to 100 millimetres could fall by Wednesday morning. The city says no flooding over riverbanks is expected. However, the City of Calgary has issued a boating advisory for the Elbow River. The city says that "no flooding over riverbanks is expected" but flow rates of the river are expected to increase, leading to "dangerous" conditions. The advisory is only in place for the Elbow River at this time.