Economists expect the Bank of Canada to hold its benchmark interest rate steady for the fifth straight time when it meets Wednesday, but its messaging could shed light on how it is navigating ongoing geopolitical uncertainties.

The central bank held its policy rate at 2.25 per cent when it last met in April. Bank of Canada governor Tiff Macklem at the time did not rule out future adjustments depending on how risks play out.

He had said “monetary policy may need to be nimble” as the central bank watches effects from

OTTAWA — Louise Arbour will be installed Monday as Canada’s 31st governor general. Here are the symbols that will play a part in that ceremony.

The Great Seal of Canada

The governor general of Canada is given the Great Seal of Canada during the installation ceremony. The seal is then given to the registrar general — currently Industry Minister Mélanie Joly — for use and safekeeping.

The federal government’s website says the seal symbolizes the power and authority of the Crown.

It’s used for ceremonies

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A federal arson trial begins Monday for the man accused of sparking last year’s deadly Palisades Fire as the area struggles to rebuild and the aftermath reverberates through the Los Angeles mayor’s race.

Jonathan Rinderknecht , 29, has pleaded not guilty to starting what became one of the most destructive wildfires in California history. Prosecutors say Rinderknecht started a fire on Jan. 1, 2025, and it burned undetected deep in root systems before flaring back up on Jan. 7

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Israel and Iran traded fire early Monday in retaliatory strikes that threatened to drag the wider Middle East back into a regional war.

Israeli authorities said two waves of Iranian missiles targeted the country, and urged the public to seek shelter. Explosions could be heard in central Israel as Israeli air defenses sought to intercept the incoming Iranian fire.

Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard said it had targeted two military bases in Israel, describing the attack as being part of Operation Nasr, or “

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in Pyongyang on Monday for a rare state visit that experts say is likely meant to reassert China’s unique influence over North Korea in return for providing economic and political benefits.

During a two-day trip, his first visit to North Korea in seven years, Xi is to meet leader Kim Jong Un . It will be their first summit since September, when they met in Beijing after viewing a military parade alongside Russian President Vladimir Putin and other foreign

Harvard University professor Robert Coles, the psychiatrist and Pulitzer Prize-winning author who championed the cause of children grappling with poverty and segregation, has died at 97, his son said Sunday.

The son, also named Robert Coles, told The Associated Press that his father died Thursday at a hospice center in Lincoln, Massachusetts.

The elder Coles was famed for documenting the needs of children, particularly those caught in the crucible of social upheaval. The second and third parts of his five-volume “Children of Crisis”

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — A magnitude 7.8 earthquake centered at sea shook part of the southern Philippines early Monday, causing damage in a key coastal city, knocking down power and setting off 1-meter (3-foot) tsunami waves along nearby coasts, officials said.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. asked people to immediately go to higher ground in Philippine areas vulnerable to a tsunami, and Indonesian and Malaysian authorities also issued warnings to their nearby coastal areas.

There were no immediate reports of casualties, and

Toronto police have arrested a man in a suspected hate-motivated threatening incident in Scarborough.

Police say the incident happened on June 5 in the Lawrence Avenue East and Pharmacy Avenue area.

Officers allege the accused attended a business and uttered threats towards the victims whom he perceived to be Palestinian. Police say the suspect was in possession of a weapon at the time of the incident.

Shafik Al Jawhari, 32, of Toronto, was arrested and charged with two counts of uttering threats to cause death, assault with a weapon

NEW YORK (AP) — Five people were injured in a stabbing inside New York’s Penn Station on Sunday evening, authorities said, less than a day before thousands of fans are expected to descend on neighboring Madison Square Garden for Game 3 of the NBA Finals.

A suspect was taken into custody after the attack, which unfolded around 7 p.m. in one of the nation’s busiest transportation hubs. The sprawling rail complex beneath Madison Square Garden serves Amtrak, Long Island Rail Road, NJ Transit and