Pope Francis, who has beensuffering from the flu, was brought to a hospital in central Rome after the papal audience on Wednesday, arriving at the Gemelli Hospital on Tiber Island in a small white Fiat 500 and leaving again under escort in the same car after a short period. The Vatican had no immediate comment. The 86-year-old pope was pushed in a wheelchair into the audience hall at the Vatican earlier in the day, appearing weary as he dropped heavily into his seat. In recent weeks he has walked the short distance to his chair, but he has been struggling with mild flu symptoms the past week.

The Canadian government is going to present the pharmacare bill in a day or two. Health Minister Mark Holland has listed it on the notice paper of the House of Commons. The government's House Leader Steve MacKinnon said on his way to the Liberal meeting this morning that he expects it to be tabled on Thursday because the deadline under the agreement with the NDP is Friday. Initially, diabetes and birth control drugs are being covered. In return for supporting the minority government of the Liberals, the NDP had placed several conditions, including the pharmacare condition. The NDP had previ

British MP Preet Kaur Gill has alleged that Indian agents are targeting Sikhs living in the UK. She has raised this issue in the British Parliament. Preet Kaur Gill claimed that Sikhs living in Britain are on the hit list of agents associated with India. She has mentioned the alleged assassination conspiracies against Sikhs abroad. She also asked Minister for Security Tom Tugendhat what the government is doing to protect British Sikhs. In response, Tugendhat said that if there is any threat to any British citizen from abroad, they will take immediate action. He said that Sikhs have the right

Farmers Rescue Tractor March was taken out by Congress today in Punjab in favor of Kisan Andolan. Slogans against the central government were also raised by putting Kisani and Congress flags on tractors. Punjab Congress president Raja Warring said that we want to send a message to the BJP government at the center that we are all together. Warring led a tractor rally at Ajnala in Amritsar. Talking to reporters, Warring filed an FIR in the case of Shubkaran Singh's death at Khanuri border. Bhagwant Mann also criticized the government for not registering an FIR in this case.

The Alberta legislature's spring session is set to start today, with health care expected to be a main focus. Premier Danielle Smith's government is planning to dismantle Alberta Health Services and has indicated legislation is coming to begin the process. AHS is to be replaced by four agencies while being reduced to the role of service provider in acute care. Thursday will see the release of the 2024 provincial budget.Smith said in a recent televised provincewide address that it will be balanced but fiscal belt-tightening is needed. She says softening oil prices means provincial funding won't

The funeral of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who died earlier this month in a remote Arctic penal colony, will take place on Friday in Moscow, his spokesperson said. His funeral will be held at a church in Moscow’s southeast Maryino district on Friday afternoon, Kira Yarmysh said Tuesday. The burial is to be at a nearby cemetery. Navalny died in mid-February in one of Russia’s harshest penal facilities. Russian authorities said the cause of his death at age 47 is still unknown, and the results of any investigation are likely to be questioned abroad. Many Western leaders have al

Quebec City police say the death of a woman who was found unresponsive after a house fire over the weekend has been ruled a homicide. Police say 42-year-old Joëlle Lapointe was killed and the exact cause of death will be determined after investigators receive autopsy results. Lapointe was found unresponsive in the basement of a semi-detached home in the provincial capital's Loretteville sector around 2:30 a.m. Sunday. First responders were unable to revive her and she was declared dead on site. Fire commissioner investigators deemed the blaze suspect and contacted police. Police say anyone wi

Kensington Palace says Britain's Prince William has pulled out of attending a memorial service for his godfather, the late King Constantine of Greece, because of a personal matter. The palace declined to elaborate on Tuesday but said the Princess of Wales, who is recovering from abdominal surgery, continues to do well. It said William called the Greek royal family, which is attending the memorial service in St. George’s Chapel, to let them know he was unable to attend.

Immigration Minister Marc Miller says Ottawa is ready to step in and shut down shady schools that are abusing the international student program if provinces don't crack down on them. Miller says there are problems across the college sector, but some of the "really bad" actors are private institutions and those schools need to be shut down. The minister says provinces are responsible for addressing problems in the post-secondary sector with regards to international students. But he says if they won't do it, Ottawa will, though there are "jurisdictional questions" around what the federal governm