Ontario is lowering the age for regular, publicly funded breast cancer screenings from 50 to 40, which Health Minister Sylvia Jones says will help with early detection.Jones is set to make the announcement later today and says the expansion will mean an additional 130,000 mammograms are completed in the province each year.The move follows a draft recommendation from the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force earlier this year that said screenings in that country should start at 40 instead of 50, because evidence suggests that would have a moderate benefit in reducing deaths.The change in Ontario

The federal government is banning WeChat and Kaspersky applications from its phones over security concerns.WeChat is a social network, messaging and payments app from Chinese company Tencent, while Kaspersky was founded by Russian entrepreneur Eugene Kaspersky and offers cybersecurity and antivirus software.The government says both apps will be removed from its devices today and users will be blocked from downloading WeChat or Kaspersky products in the future.It says it made the move because the chief information officer of Canada determined that the WeChat and Kaspersky apps present "an unacc

Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly says time is running out to help people in Gaza.In a speech to the Economic Club of Canada in Toronto this afternoon, Joly is expected to plead for humanitarian pauses in the Israel-Hamas conflict to allow more aid to get into the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip, which is home to more than two million Palestinians.Joly's speech will also urge that the more than 200 Israeli hostages being held by Hamas in Gaza must be released.Her call comes as the Canadian Armed Forces confirms it has sent special forces to Canada's embassy in Tel Aviv, after Global Affairs C

Canada's ambassador to the United Nations is expected to speak later today about a UN effort to establish a temporary pause in the conflict between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.Bob Rae will take the podium on Day 2 of a special emergency session of the UN General Assembly as delegates debate a draft resolution calling for a pause in hostilities.The resolution also calls on the two sides to comply with international humanitarian law and to allow essential supplies and services into the war-torn region.Canada is also proposing an amendment to the resolution that would expressly condemn the Oct. 7 Ha

Organizers of an upcoming vote on an independent Sikh state say Canada's allegations of an Indian link to the killing of an activist in Surrey have significantly bolstered support for their cause.A lawyer for Sikhs For Justice says many supporters of an independent Sikh state in India had been reluctant to voice their opinions over fear of being labelled terrorists.But Gurpatwant Singh Pannun says discussions about India's possible role in the killing are allowing supporters to discuss the issue without fear.Sikhs For Justice will hold a second round of voting for its unofficial referendum ab

Immigration Minister Marc Miller has announced new rules aimed at protecting international students from fraud, following an investigation this summer into more than 100 cases involving fake admission letters.The immigration department launched a task force in June to investigate a scheme that dates back to 2017, which saw immigration agents issue fake acceptance letters to get international students into Canada.Of the 103 cases reviewed so far, roughly 40 per cent of students appeared to be in on the scheme, while the rest were victims of it.Miller says schools that accept international stude

A Montreal man who was killed in Israel during a surprise attack by Hamas earlier this month is being remembered as a hero and a "larger-than-life" personality at a funeral today.A casket draped in the flag of Israel was carried into the packed chapel of a Jewish funeral home in Montreal as the service for Alexandre Look began at 2 p.m.Look's father, Alain Look, said his son died a hero while protecting others at the onset of Hamas's attack on Israel on Oct. 7.The 33-year-old was among the hundreds who were killed while attending a musical festival near the border between Israel and Gaza.One o

Quebec City police say a 19-year-old woman was killed in her home early this morning while a 16-year-old boy was seriously injured.Police say doctors fear for the life of the injured teen, who was listed in critical condition.Officers were led to the home in the city's Limoilou district after arresting another 16-year-old for impaired driving and vehicle theft.While looking inside the residence, authorities found the two victims, and the woman was pronounced dead on the scene.Homicide investigators and forensic teams were at the home today and a mobile command post was also deployed, with poli

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'