Canada

Canada announced Monday that the National Advisory Committee on Immunization is recommending that the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine should not be administered to people under the age of 55 due to safety reasons.

“There is substantial uncertainty about the benefit of providing AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccines to adults under 55 given the potential risks,” said Dr Shelley Deeks, vice-chair of the National Advisory Committee on Immunization.

"Following population-based analyses of VIPIT assessing risk of COVID-19 disease by age, and considering that alternate products are available (i.e., mRNA vaccines), from what is known at this time, there is substantial uncertainty about the benefit of providing AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine to adults under 55 years of age given that the potential risks associated with VIPIT, particularly at the lower estimated rates," committee officials said.

Less than a month after Buzzfeed acquired HuffPost, it now has laid off 47 US HuffPost employees – mostly journalists – and closed HuffPost’s Canadian operation, with more layoffs expected in the United Kingdom and Australia.

Health Canada regulators authorized Oxford University-AstraZeneca's Coronavirus vaccine for adults 18+ on Friday.

"This is very encouraging news. It means more people vaccinated, and sooner. Because for AstraZeneca, just like we were for Pfizer and Moderna, we are ready to get doses rolling," Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said. "Vaccines will keep arriving faster and faster as we head into the spring."

Facebook is coming under increasing pressure over its dispute with the Australian government. Canada announced similar action against the platform as Australia. Canadian Culture Minister Steven Guilbeault sharply criticized Facebook and stressed that his country will not be brought to its knees. The occasion is the company's decision to block all news content in Australia

The Proud Boys, an all-male, far-right group, became the subject of intense scrutiny by law enforcement agencies in both countries in the wake of the Capitol insurrection on 6 January.

"Their violent actions and rhetoric are fueled by white supremacy, anti-Semitism, racism, homophobia, Islamophobia and misogyny, and unfortunately, often in combination of all of the above," said Public Safety Minister Bill Blair at a news conference Wednesday.

In addition to the Proud Boys, Canada also added The Base, Attomwaffen Division and the Russian Imperial Movement to its terror organisations' list.

The Canadian parliament has called on the government of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to classify the far-right organization Proud Boys as a terrorist group. A corresponding motion by the opposition New Democratic Party (NDP) was unanimously adopted by MPs on Monday. Proud Boys members had taken part in the violent storming of the U.S. Capitol on January 6.

One of the world's most-wanted fugitives, the 56-year old billionaire Tse Chi Lop, was arrested at Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport, police announced on Saturday. Tse Chi Lop is the alleged leader of a vast Asian drug syndicate responsible for up to 70% of all narcotics entering Australia.

He was arrested at the request of the Australian Federal Police (AFP) without incident during a stop-over on a flight from Taiwan to Canada.

Eyewitnesses had noticed a Tesla Model S between Edmonton and Calgary on July 9 this year. The car, according to the police report, appeared at first glance to be driving along Highway 2 without a driver. No one was visible behind the wheel.

It wasn't until police stopped the vehicle that the mystery was revealed. Two people were in the vehicle. However, both the driver. Leran C., as well as passenger had slept and for it the back of their seats completely backward folded. The car, which was traveling at up to 150 km/h, was controlled by the "autopilot" feature of the onboard software.

The incident not only earned the 20-year-old a one-day suspension of his driver's license for drowsy driving, but also a charge of traffic endangerment and speeding.

Health Canada has authorized Moderna's Covid-19 vaccine on December 23.

"Today’s authorization is a critical step in ensuring additional COVID-19 vaccines are available to all Canadians in all parts of the country, Health Canada said in a statement," so the statement. "The different storage and handling requirements of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine mean that it can be distributed to isolated and remote communities, including the territories."

The body of 37-year-old Karima Baloch, a Pakistani human rights activist, was found in Toronto, Canada, where she lived for the past five years in exile. Baloch was a critic of the Pakistani military and state and was granted asylum in Canada in 2016 after being threatened by Pakistani authorities.

Police said there were "not believed to be any suspicious circumstances", but her husband, Pakistani activist Hammal Haider, reported that she had received threats prior to her death and that he didn't believe that her death was "an act of suicide".

"I can’t believe that it’s an act of suicide. She was a strong lady, and she left home in a good mood. We can’t rule out foul play as she has been under threats. She left Pakistan as her home was raided more than twice. Her uncle was killed. She was threatened to leave activism and political activities, but she did not and fled to Canada," so her husband.

The Canadian province Ontario is imposing a hard lockdown before the Christmas holidays. Thousands of lives are at stake, said Ontario’s premier Doug Ford. Northern communities face two weeks of restrictions while densely populated cities in the south will be in lockdown for a month.

What will be closed: Most in-person education, schools, restaurants, bars, malls, entertainment venues, gyms.

More than 40 countries have imposed a ban on UK arrivals, include Belgium, Canada, India, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Portugal, Romania, Russia, and Switzerland. On Monday, European Union member states meet to discuss a co-ordinated response and France is planning to establish a protocol "to ensure movement from the UK can resume.

More countries are banning flights from the UK after the discovery of a new Covid-19 variant that is said to spread much faster. Canada is banning UK travellers for at least 72 hours. Several South American countries followed suit on Sunday, including Argentina, Chile and Colombia. British flights are banned from landing in the Republic of Ireland on Monday and Tuesday. After France suspended travel from and to the UK, both the Eurotunnel and Port of Dover were closed.

The surface air temperature in this year's November was higher than any year before on record.

The temperature anomaly was the highest in much of Siberia, the Arctic Ocean and bordering coastal seas, extending into western and northern Alaska, the far north-west of Canada, the Tibetan Plateau and East Antarctica. Temperature records were also broken in parts of Europe and heatwaves were experienced in parts of Australia.

The average temperature from December 2019 to November 2020 is almost 1.3°C above the pre-industrial level defined in the IPCC Special Report on “Global Warming of 1.5°C”.

14 countries worldwide have committed themselves to the sustainable management of their national waters. The "Ocean Panel" is a body for sustainable marine management. A goal is it to place until 2030 a third of the seas under protection.

Involved are countries like Australia, Canada, Ghana, Indonesia, Japan, Kenya, Mexico, Norway and Portugal. Together they have a marine area that is about the size of Africa.

Although the Quebec government was going to wait until December 11th, Legault broke the bad news early, saying that “With the numbers we have, it’s unrealistic to think we will be able to change the situation in time for Christmas." Red zones will not be able to have gatherings, while in yellow zones, ten people will be allowed to gather, in orange zones, six.

According to a request under the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act filed by the Mercury Tribune, the Guelph Police Service (GPS) has confirmed that a device called GrayKey has been acquired from the Atlanta-based technology company Grayshift.

The device enables low enforcement to unlock and copy data on iPhones. GPS stated in the letter that the GrayKey device "is used only by our technological crimes detectives" but that the agency has no internal policy or procedural documents and that no usage guidelines have been issued.

The conservative party had demanded a committee to investigate alleged government corruption. During the pandemic, contracts have allegedly been awarded unlawfully to persons close to Trudeau. The government had declared the application a matter of trust and the liberal Canadian government of Prime Minister Trudeau has survived the subsequent vote of confidence.

Australia, Canada, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom and the United States of America have signed on as founding member nations to NASA's Artemis Accords, an international agreement that "will help to avoid conflict in space and on Earth by strengthening mutual understanding and reducing misperceptions."

"Artemis will be the broadest and most diverse international human space exploration program in history, and the Artemis Accords are the vehicle that will establish this singular global coalition," so NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine. "With today's signing, we are uniting with our partners to explore the Moon and are establishing vital principles that will create a safe, peaceful, and prosperous future in space for all of humanity to enjoy."

Netflix, the largest video streaming provider, has cancelled the free trial period in many countries without notice.

Markets, including the United States, Canada, Great Britain, Australia and Japan have switched over to a model where the second month is free.

The 30-day trial subscription is no longer available in Germany and France either. In some other countries, nothing has changed yet.