A Canadian researcher whose criminal conviction in Algeria was criticized by human rights groups has been released from prison after a court reduced his sentence.Raouf Farrah's lawyer, Kouceila Zerguine, says an appeals court in the eastern Algerian city of Constantine reduced his client's prison sentence from two years to eight months, and Farrah, who had been detained since February, was released today with time served.He says Farrah's release is a relief but not a victory and that he is now seeking to have the Algerian Supreme Court review the conviction.Farrah said in a phone interview he'

Global Affairs Canada says it is providing support to the family of a seventh Canadian killed during ongoing hostilities between Israel and Hamas.Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly's office says Ottawa learned on Wednesday of another Canadian killed in the region, and her department relayed the update in a Thursday morning press release.The federal government confirms that two Canadians remain missing in the region.Officials are not confirming where the death occurred, as Israel continues to fire missiles into the Gaza Strip in retaliation for Hamas militants' Oct. 7 attacks in Israel.Aid g

The Canada Border Services Agency has issued an "armed and dangerous" alert to its officers stationed along the Canada-U.S. border, warning them to be on the lookout for the man suspected of fatally shooting at least 18 people in southern Maine.The shootings were reported Wednesday night in Lewiston, about 260 kilometres southwest of the New Brunswick border.A police bulletin identified the suspect as 40-year-old Robert Card, a firearms instructor believed to be in the U.S. Army Reserve and assigned to a training facility in Saco, Maine.As a massive search continued today for Card, residents o

Peel police have issued an arrest warrant for a young man who fled police in Brampton in a Jeep and wanted for reckless driving and endangering pedestrians.According to a press release issued by Peel Police, around 10:30 p.m. on October 21, police received several complaints of a vehicle being driven erratically in the College Plaza parking lot in Brampton.When the police reached the spot, they found the driver of a black Wrangler Jeep driving dangerously and recklessly, after which he was stopped by the police and after a brief interaction with the police, he fled the scene.The jeep sped dang

A group of French-language university heads in Quebec is coming to the defence of English schools who say a planned tuition hike for out-of-province students could devastate their finances. The leaders of the Universite de Montreal, Universite Laval, Universite de Sherbrooke, Polytechnique Montreal and HEC Montreal criticize the plan in an open letter published in La Presse today.They denounce ``any measure that would put the very existence of a university at risk.''They also criticize what they describe as characterizations of non-Quebec students as ``cash cows'' and threats to the French lan

Transport Minister Pablo Rodriguez says Air Canada was right to apologize to a British MP who alleges he was subjected to Islamophobic screening by the airline and Canadian border officials on a recent diplomatic trip to Canada.Mohammad Yasin was pulled aside for questioning at London’s Heathrow Airport while other lawmakers he was travelling with were allowed through, and was stopped again at airports in Montreal and Toronto.Yasin's fellow Labour MP rose in the British House this week to say that Yasin was stopped "because his name is Mohammad," and that the incident was "racist and Islamop

There are many heartbreaking tales behind the record number of Canadians using food banks as they struggle with high inflation and mounting housing costs, says a Vancouver food bank executive."We see parents who are skipping meals so that their children can eat. We see people who haven't eaten in days. We see seniors who haven't had produce in months," said Cynthia Boulter, chief operating officer with Greater Vancouver Food Banks.More and more people are accessing its services each year, and with greater frequency than in the past, Boulter said, as low wages and high rents squeeze people betw

India's high commission in Canada says the country's officials will resume processing some types of visa applications in Ottawa and at consulates in Toronto and Vancouver.The decision comes a month after New Delhi suspended the services in Canada and for Canadian citizens worldwide.The high commission says it is resuming business, medical and conference visas, as well as entry for people with family ties in India, but did not include information about other types of visas.The Canadian Press confirmed the authenticity of social-media posts about the decision, and has sought information about wh

The Bank of Canada held its key interest rate steady at five per cent today, noting there are clearer signs of the economy cooling and inflation easing.However, it warns that it is prepared to increase rates further if necessary.The central bank says it's still concerned that price growth is easing too slowly and that the inflation rate has been volatile in recent months.Forecasters widely expected the rate hold as economic data suggests high interest rates are already causing an economic pullback.New economic projections released by the central bank suggest economic growth will continue to be