Canada is staying in the fight against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant for another year. Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan announced this afternoon that Canada will keep up to 850 troops in Iraq and the surrounding region until next March. The extension comes only one day before the mission, which began in October 2014, was set to end. It also coincides with growing concerns about Iran's influence in Iraq, with Tehran backing numerous Shia militia groups. Those groups, which have largely displaced ISIL as the main threat in Iraq, have stepped up attacks on Western forces in recent month

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Pfizer-BioNTech has confirmed it will move up delivery of five million vaccine doses to June from later in the summer. The earlier shipment period will boost the number of Pfizer doses received by the end of that month to 18 million doses. Procurement Minister Anita Anand says the accelerated schedule means Canada will receive about 44 million vaccine doses in total by the end of June, more than enough for every Canadian to receive at least one shot. By the end of this week, Canada will have received about 9.5 million vaccine doses from three manufacturers,

The federal government is expecting around 1.5 million doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine from the United States today. The vaccines are expected to arrive by truck and represent the first to come from south of the border. Provincial governments decide on their own how to use a vaccine, but Dr. Howard Njoo, Canada's deputy chief medical officer of health, says all provinces and territories have agreed to suspend the use of the vaccine for those under 55, pending the results of further study. The province's are acting on an advisory committee's concerns about a possible link between the

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday held a roadshow in West Bengal's Nandigram ahead of the second phase of polling in the state on April 1.A huge number of party workers and supporters have gathered, hurling garlands and waving party flags.Nandigram seat is experiencing a high-octane battle between turncoat Suvendu Adhikari and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, which falls in the second phase of the state assembly elections to be held on April 1.In phase-II, 30 seats will go to the polls to decide the fate of 171 candidates including 19 women.The first phase of the West Bengal

A farmers protest -- going on against the registeration of an FIR against some farmers who had attacked BJP MLA Arun Narang in Malout -- concluded on Monday after the police assured them of a proper probe.A Punjab Police official said, "No innocent person will be punished and evidence-based investigation will be done."Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA Arun Narang was surrounded and restrained on March 27 by agitators in the Malout area of Punjab's Muktsar district.As per a police statement, Superintendent of Punjab Police Gurmail Singh also suffered injuries while attempting to rescue Narang fr

BC is temporarily suspending use of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine for those under age 55 for the next few days. The national advisory committee on immunization issued that recommendation today over concerns the vaccine may be linked to rare blood clots. Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry calls the condition very rare and says it's unlikely any cases will be seen in Canada. She says she anticipates more information in the next two to three days. The province says there were 2,518new cases, pushing the total in the province past 98,000. Six more people have died, raising that total to

Bollywood actor Ajay Devgn on Monday has shut down the claims of a viral Delhi brawl video, where a man fighting outside a pub, has been mistaken for him over social media. Shutting down all the rumours, Ajay Devgn took to his official Twitter account and wrote, "Some 'doppelganger' of mine seems to have got into trouble." "I've been getting concerned calls. Just clarifying, I've not traveled anywhere. All reports regarding me being in any brawl are baseless." He further wished his fans, a Happy Holi." The viral video sees two men fighting outside a pub, using obscene language. One of the men,

Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry is banning indoor dining at bars and restaurants and indoor activity at fitness centres for three weeks starting at midnight. Dr. Henry describes the move as a "circuit breaker" amid concerns that more infectious variants are driving "exponential growth" of COVID-19 cases. She says the Whistler Blackcomb ski resort will also be closed until at least April 19th as cases spread in the community. Dr. Henry has also reintroduced restrictions on indoor religious services that she just announced would ease last week. Social activities need to be limited to

Federal immunization experts changed their recommendations for the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine. The National Advisory Committee on Immunization says the vaccine should not be used on people under the age of 55. Health Canada is asking AstraZeneca to do a full analysis of the risks of its vaccine across all age groups and genders, following additional reports of patients in Europe developing blood clots. Dr. Supriya Sharma, the chief medical adviser at Health Canada, says there have been no blood clots reported in Canada to date and still believes the vaccine's benefits outweigh the r