Hamas released 24 hostages who had been held captive in Gaza for weeks, and Israel freed 39 Palestinians from prison in the first stage of a swap under a four-day cease-fire deal. The hostages freed Friday included 13 Israelis, 10 people from Thailand and one from the Philippines, according to Qatar. The agreement opened the way for sorely needed aid to flow into Gaza for beleaguered residents. It was also a moment of hope for families in Israel and elsewhere worried about loved ones taken captive during Hamas' Oct. 7 attack, which triggered the war. With the truce's start Friday morning, Gaza

A four-day temporary ceasefire between Israel and Hamas has begun on Friday. Under this agreement Hamas has released 13 Israeli hostages in the first round. This information was given by the Prime Minister's Office of Israel. During the 4 days of the ceasefire, Hamas will release a total of 50 hostages and in return Israel will release 150 Palestinian prisoners.U. K. Hamas, declared a terrorist group by the United States and the European Union, attacked Israel on October 7 and took about 240 people hostage. Qatar played a major role in the ceasefire between the two sides. The International Com

India restored electronic visa services for Canadian nationals, an Indian foreign ministry official said Wednesday, two months after Canada alleged the South Asian nation was involved in the assassination of a Sikh separatist in Canada. The move could ease tensions between the two countries that swapped accusations and expelled each other's diplomats with India introducing a visa ban on Canadian nationals. A diplomatic spat erupted between the two countries after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said in September that there were "credible allegations" of Indian involvement in the killing

Brampton truck driver Harvinder Singh has been sentenced to 11 years in prison by a Sarnia court for smuggling $3.5 million worth of cocaine. Harvinder Singh has been sentenced for smuggling cocaine into Canada through the Blue Water Bridge near Sarnia. Canada Border Services Agency officials arrested him on March 31, 2021 at Edward, the crossing point connected to Port Huron.Harvinder Singh was 25 years old at that time. During a search of his truck trailer, officers found approximately 62 kilograms of cocaine in two suitcases. Continuing the investigation on this, RCMP.He was charged with br

Canadian Members of Parliament spent more than $14.6 million of taxpayer dollars on travel in the first six months of 2023, up nearly 10 percent from the previous six months. This amount works out to about $80,000 per day. This taxpayer money is spent on commercial airfare,, ground transportation, accommodation and meals for Members of Parliament and their families and staff. According to the report, from January 1 to June 30, 338 MPs spent an average of $43,000, or more than $7,200 per month, on work and constituency-related travel.Among them were the travel bills of Canada's two main opposit

Surrey Mayor Brenda Locke says the provincial government has orchestrated a policing takeover in the city by suspending the current police board.Solicitor General Mike Farnworth suspended the board Thursday and installed former Abbotsford police chief Mike Serr as temporary administrator to lead the transition.Locke says the move was done without any consultation with the city and removes civilian oversight of policing in Surrey as the plan to replace the RCMP with a municipal force moves forward.Locke says the province is forcing the city to go ahead with the costly transition, while taking o

Trade Minister Mary Ng says that Canada will not resume trade talks with India until Narendra Modi's government does not cooperate in the investigation of the case of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, who was murdered in Surrey.Mary Ng made the comments while speaking to reporters in San Francisco, where she has joined PM Trudeau for the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit.It is worth noting that Canada stopped trade talks with India in September after the murder of Hardeep Singh Nijjar.Nijjar was shot dead outside Gurdwara Sahib in Surrey on June 18.P. M. Trudeau also raised the issue in private dur

Almost two in three Canadians have a negative impression of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and half want him to resign before the next election, a new survey suggests.While affordability, housing and public debt are higher on the reasons people want Trudeau to go, one in five people surveyed said they want him to resign simply because they are "just tired of him."The Leger poll for The Canadian Press suggests widespread dissatisfaction with the Liberal government on everything from housing affordability and inflation to health care, government spending and climate change.It was taken online in

Police say high-risk sex offender Randall Hopley has been arrested in Vancouver.A statement from police says Hopley was picked up at about 6 a.m. on the city's Downtown Eastside and he is in custody.The arrest ends a 10-day search for Hopley, who walked away from his Vancouver halfway house on Nov. 4., and cut off his electronic monitoring device a short time later.At the time, police said they believed the 58-year-old was worried about an upcoming court appearance and feared he would be returned to custody.Hopley had completed a six-year prison term for the 2011 abduction of a three-year-old