Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos says the government has signed a four-year deal with GlaxoSmithKline to produce and deliver influenza vaccines. The deal includes an option to procure 80-million doses of influenza vaccine if a pandemic occurs and a minimum of 4 million doses annually to be used in publicly-funded vaccination programs. Influenza pandemics hit every 11 to 40 years and the most recent one happened 13 years ago when the H-1-N-1 pandemic hit. He’s also encouraging Canadians to get their first and second COVID-19 boosters. Duclos says if there’s one lesson to be learned from th

A wildfire blazing just west of Lytton, B.C., has now scorched five square kilometres of trees and bush, more than doubling in size in less than 12 hours. BC Wildfire Service spokeswoman Taylor Colman says the out-of-control fire is burning vigorously and is being fuelled by gusty winds just under two kilometres northwest of Lytton. Several evacuation orders and alerts have been issued by the Thompson-Nicola Regional District and the Lytton First Nation for properties on the west side of the Fraser River, across the water from Lytton. The regional district is still working to confirm reports

WHO South-East Asia Regional Director Dr Poonam Khetrapal Singh said that the region has been on alert for monkeypox and that nations have been taking steps to diagnose it quickly and prevent its spread. "The region has been on alert for monkeypox. Countries have been taking measures to rapidly detect and take appropriate measures to prevent the spread of monkeypox," she said. "Monkeypox requires collective attention and coordinated action to stop its further spread. In addition to using public health measures and ensuring health tools are available to at-risk populations and shared fairly, i

With the ban on select single-use plastic items from this month, India has set a global example in the fight against plastic pollution. Single-use plastics are typically items that are discarded after being used only once and do not go through the recycling process. Heavy usage of plastics across the world has caused quite a lot of menace, governments and various global regulatory bodies are trying hard to arrest it. The ban on the manufacture, import, stocking, distribution, sale and use of identified single-use plastic items, which have low utility and high littering potential, has come int

A horse has been killed after it was injured in a chuckwagon race at the Calgary Stampede. Organizers say in a statement that the horse on Cody Ridsdale's team was hurt during the fourth heat of Thursday night's competition. Following a veterinary assessment, the owner decided it would be humane to euthanize the animal. Chuckwagon races returned to the Stampede after missing the last two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Six horses died in 2019, which led animal rights groups to raise concerns about horses that suffer fractured legs, broken backs and heart attacks. The Stampede has said that

President Joe Biden touched down in Saudi Arabia on Friday. It is Biden's first visit to Saudi Arabia since taking office, and his first meeting with the kingdom's crown prince and presumed heir to the throne, Mohammed bin Salman. Biden has refused to speak with Mohammed bin Salman until now. Biden has declined to say whether he would raise the 2018 killing of Jamal Khashoggi, a U.S.-based journalist and critic of the kingdom. Biden was expected to sit down first with King Salman before participating in a larger meeting that would include Prince Mohammed and other senior Saudi officials, as we

Ivana Trump, the first wife of Donald Trump, has died in New York City, the former president announced on social media Thursday. She was 73. The former president posted on his social media app that she died at her Manhattan home. “I am very saddened to inform all of those that loved her, of which there are many, that Ivana Trump has passed away at her home in New York City,” Trump posted on Truth Social.The couple shared three children, Donald Jr., Ivanka and Eric. “She was a wonderful, beautiful, and amazing woman, who led a great and inspirational life,” he wrote on Truth Social. She

Police charges are pending after an employee at an office that provides free legal advice in southern Alberta was taken hostage and injured. Police responded to a report Thursday afternoon about an armed woman inside Lethbridge Legal Guidance. Ninety minutes later members of the Critical Incident Team entered the building and a 40-year-old subject was taken into custody. The victim, who is 54, was taken hostage inside the building and sustained life-threatening injuries. She remains in hospital in serious but stable condition. Police are no longer on scene but say the investigation is ongoi

Australia's Health Minister Mark Butler has warned that "millions" of people could get infected with coronavirus in the coming weeks amid a winter surge. Butler recently asked the Australians to wear masks and work from home when needed to mitigate the impact of a wave of BA.4 and BA.5 Omicron subvariant infections. There were 316,574 active COVID-19 cases in Australia by Wednesday -- a figure Butler said could increase within weeks. "I think this is a very concerning wave. This is the third wave just this year that Omicron has thrown at Australia," he said on the TV program Sunrise on Wednesd