HALIFAX — Afghanistan war veteran Lionel Desmond calmly bought a semi-automatic rifle on Jan. 3, 2017, and later that day fatally shot his mother, wife and 10-year-old daughter before killing himself in the family’s rural Nova Scotia home.

The killings in Upper Big Tracadie, N.S., stunned the province. Tough questions were immediately raised about how such an awful thing could happen.

And more than seven years later, a provincial fatality inquiry is set to release

NESKANTAGA FIRST NATION, ONT. — Small, white crosses dot a graveyard just outside Neskantaga First Nation in northern Ontario. Some graves are marked with white picket fences, flowers have been placed at others. Most have no names or ages, but some do.

A 16-year-old girl rests in one plot, a 13-year-old in another. Suicide brought them there.

Ten years ago, Neskantaga First Nation – a remote community with a population of about 450 – declared a

Some pharmacare policy experts are raising concerns about competition and patient access to much-needed medication after Manulife Financial Corp. announced its coverage of certain prescription drugs will only apply at Loblaw Cos. Ltd. pharmacies.

The new arrangement, details of which were shared with plan holders earlier this month, affects around 260 medications under the insurance company’s Specialty Drug Care program. Drugs in this class are meant to treat complex, chronic or life-threatening conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis, Crohn’s, multiple sclerosis

BRUSSELS (AP) — European Union nations have decided to approve an outline deal that would keep in reserve the profits from hundreds of billions of dollars in Russian central bank assets that have been frozen in retaliation for , an EU official said.

The tentative agreement, reached late Monday, still needs formal approval but is seen as a first step toward using some of the 200 billion euros ($216 billion) in Russian central bank assets in the EU to help Ukraine rebuild from Russian destruction.

The official

HONG KONG (AP) — Asian stocks mostly declined Wednesday as markets awaited a decision on interest rates by the Federal Reserve, while China reported manufacturing contracted in January for a fourth straight month.

U.S. futures were mixed while oil prices fell back.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 0.3% to 35,975.50.

South Korea’s Kospi shed 0.2% to 2,494.30 after reported reported an annual 34%

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Saudi Arabia’s oil giant Saudi Aramco said Tuesday it will not try to increase its maximum daily oil production to 13 million barrels a day after receiving an order from the country’s Energy Ministry.

The firm, known formally as the Saudi Arabian Oil Co., said it would maintain its maximum output at 12 million barrels a day.

It did not give a reason for the decision. However, crude oil prices globally have fallen over recent months as demand

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has rejected two key demands Hamas has made during indirect cease-fire talks, saying Israel will not withdraw from the Gaza Strip or release thousands of jailed militants.

During an event Tuesday in the occupied West Bank, Netanyahu again vowed that the war would not end without Israel’s “absolute victory” over Hamas.

Meanwhile, Israeli killed three Palestinian militants in a raid on a hospital in the West Bank, where violence since the outbreak of the war in Gaza.

The Israeli military said forces

ISLAMABAD (AP) — A Pakistani court convicted former Prime Minister Imran Khan of revealing official secrets on Tuesday and handed him his harshest sentence yet of 10 years — the latest in a slew of legal cases that supporters say are politician just days ahead of parliamentary elections.

Khan, who was ousted in a no-confidence vote in 2022, is because he is already serving a three-year prison term — and more than 150 other cases are still pending against him. The former cricket star

TOKYO (AP) — Japanese transport officials raided a Toyota-affiliated plant Tuesday after the company , as Toyota Motor Corp. reported it sold over 11 million vehicles in 2023 to retain its status as the world’s top car manufacturer.

Hours after the probe began at Toyota Industries Corp.’s plant in Hekinan, Aichi Prefecture, central Japan, Toyota Chair Akio Toyoda vowed to steer the company out of scandal and ensure the Japanese automaker’s group companies stick to “making good cars.