Canada has been included in the top 5 "losers" in the new global passport ranking, while Singapore has maintained its position as the country with the most powerful passport in the world. According to the Henley Passport Index, Canada is ranked seventh out of 199 passports, down three places over the past decade. Canada is tied for seventh place with Malta and Poland, whose passports offer visa-free access to 188 destinations. Singapore, meanwhile, is the only country whose passport provides visa-free access to 195 destinations. Japan ranks second in the Henley Passport Index, while Finland,

The BC Centre for Disease Control says it is comparing the genetic features of a local teenager's avian flu case with that of a Louisiana patient who died earlier this week. Clinical microbiologist Dr. Agatha Jassem, co-program head of the virology lab at the BCCDC Public Health Laboratory, says they want to understand how the viruses in the two cases are related to each other, as well as to viruses circulating in birds. This will help to assess how easily it adapts and transmits between animals and humans. Both cases are related to viruses detected in wild birds and poultry. While th

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Cabinet Minister Dominic LeBlanc announced today that he will not be joining the Liberal Party’s leadership race. LeBlanc expressed his gratitude for the support he has received within the party but confirmed that he will not be a candidate in the upcoming leadership contest for the Liberal Party of Canada. This comes in the wake of Trudeau’s announcement that he will step down, prompting the party to choose a new leader. The leadership election campaign is expected to begin soon. Trudeau recently appointed LeBlanc as Finance Minister, and he had been con

A pair of Quebec water bombers and their crews are in California helping fight the massive wildfires tearing through the Los Angeles area. Stéphane Caron of Quebec's forest fire protection agency — SOPFEU — says the two planes are sent to the U.S. each fall as part of an annual contract, the length of which was extended this year because of the emergency. He says each plane is dispatched from Quebec with its own crew composed of a pilot, co-pilot and technician. Thousands of firefighters are battling at least four blazes that have killed at least two people and destroyed more than 1,000 s

Akhilesh Yadav's Samajwadi Party and Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool Congress have announced their support for the Aam Aadmi Party in the Delhi Assembly elections, while the Congress, the principal party of the INDIA alliance, is left isolated in this regard. Senior Congress leader Ashok Gehlot stated on Wednesday that the Aam Aadmi Party is their opponent in Delhi and accused Arvind Kejriwal of misleading the public by claiming that his party would win the elections again. Kejriwal swiftly responded, claiming that the secret alliance between the BJP and Congress had been exposed during the elect

Mounties in British Columbia say officers have seized more than $1.7 million worth of contraband tobacco after executing a search warrant at a property in Langford. West Shore RCMP say in a news release that the warrant was granted in relation to suspected trafficking of the tobacco, and was executed by officers on Dec. 30 at a residential property on Setchfield Ave. Police say they seized about 17,100 cartons, containing more than 171,000 packs of contraband cigarettes. Todd Preston, superintendent in charge of West Shore RCMP, says it was the "largest seizure of illicit tobacco" by the depar

Police in Calgary have laid more charges against a man accused of sexually assaulting a newcomer to Canada whose family he was volunteering to help. The latest charges include one allegation dating back almost six decades. Police charged an 83-year-old man in November after a complainant came to a police station to report multiple sexual assaults between December 2023 and June 2024. Police said the accused had been assigned to a newcomer family through a local organization, and they allege he took advantage of the complainant's immigration status to commit the assaults. Polic

Israel’s defense minister said Wednesday that troops have recovered the bodies of two additional hostagesfrom Gaza. Defense Minister Israel Katz said the bodies of Yosef Al Zaydani and his son Hamzah were recovered in an operation, without disclosing further details. The men were taken captive during Hamas’ attack on Oct. 7, 2023. The return of the two bodies comes as Israel and Hamas are consideringa ceasefire dealthat would free the remaining 100 or so hostages and would halt the fighting in Gaza. Israel believes a third of the remaining hostages are dead. However, Yosef and Hamzah Al Za

A wildfire whipped up by extreme winds swept through a Los Angeles hillside dotted with celebrity residences Tuesday, burning homes in Pacific Palisades and prompting evacuation orders for tens of thousands. In the frantic haste to get to safety, roadways were clogged and scores of people abandoned their vehicles and fled on foot, some toting suitcases. The traffic jam on Palisades Drive prevented emergency vehicles from getting through and a bulldozer was brought in to push the abandoned cars to the side and create a path, according to the LA Fire Department. California Gov. Gavin Newsom, w