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Quebec’s appeals court on Friday upheld a historic ruling ordering three tobacco firms to pay Can$15.5 billion (US$11.6 billion) to smokers in the Canadian province who claimed they were never warned about the health risks associated with smoking. Imperial Tobacco Canada, a subsidiary of British American Tobacco, Rothmans Benson & …

As Algeria’s long-time president Abdelaziz Bouteflika is expected to submit a formal application to run for a fifth term on Sunday, people around the country have mobilized to protest his bid. Tens of thousands of Algerians have taken to the streets across the country to protest against what they claim …

Roger Federer became the second male tennis player to win 100 career titles when he beat Stefanos Tsitsipas in the final of the Dubai Championships on Saturday. The record 20-time Grand Slam champion won 6-4, 6-4 and joined Jimmy Connors in reaching a century of tour-level tournament titles, with eight …

International human rights groups have censured Saudi Arabia over its decision to put on trial women’s rights activists detained in last year’s crackdown, after holding them for nearly a year without charge. The state-run Saudi Press Agency (SPA) said on Friday that the ultra-conservative kingdom’s public prosecutor was preparing the …

Hundreds of firefighters battled raging bushfires in Australia on Saturday, which have forced residents to evacuate. Lightning strikes sparked at least 100 fires across the state of Victoria over the last 24 hours and emergency warnings were issued when two of the fires joined together to form one large blaze …

A local official says more than 50 people are missing after a leaking oil pipeline exploded and caused a stampede in southern Nigeria. The Nembe Chiefs Council spokesman, Chief Nengi James-Eriworio, tells The Associated Press that the blast early Friday caused massive oil spillage in the Nembe kingdom in Bayelsa …

Two former Facebook content moderators have joined a lawsuit against the tech giant, alleging they suffered psychological trauma and symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder caused by reviewing violent images on the social network. The lawsuit, which seeks class-action status, alleges that Facebook violated California law by failing to provide thousands …

U.S. President Donald Trump ordered his chief of staff in May to grant his son-in-law and adviser Jared Kushner a top-secret security clearance, the New York Times reported on Thursday. It said senior administration officials were troubled by the decision, which prompted then White House Chief of Staff John Kelly …

A group of Yazidi women and children returned to Iraq from Syria on Friday after more than four years in Islamic State captivity. The group includes three women and 18 children. They were greeted by residents town north of Sinjar mountain. The group’s return was confirmed by the Kurdistan Regional …

Indian military officials said on Thursday they welcomed Pakistan’s planned return of a captured pilot, but refused to confirm they would de-escalate a conflict between the two nuclear powers. The pilot, identified as Wing Commander Abhinandan, became the human face of the flare-up over the contested region of Kashmir following …

Now, he is just back from a Hanoi summit with North Korea that collapsed and the cloud has grown darker. While Trump’s much-hyped meeting with North Korea’s Kim Jong Un broke up in disagreement over sanctions linked to Pyongyang’s nuclear weapons program, testimony from his former lawyer Michael Cohen, who …

The Iraqi army said on Wednesday that eight Islamic State terrorists were apprehended during a military operation in the western province of Anbar. “Iraqi intelligence forces launched a preemptive military operation in Znkurh and Abu Teban areas in Anbar to target Islamic State terrorists,” Baghdad Today news website quoted the …

The German government on Friday said it would decide before the end of March whether to extend its halt on weapons shipments to Saudi Arabia, making it likely the embargo will continue beyond the current deadline of March 9. A source said the freeze in arms shipments to Saudi Arabia …

Oil prices were broadly steady on Friday as surging U.S. supply and concerns of a global economic slowdown were offset by falling OPEC output. International Brent crude futures were at $66.39 per barrel at 1231 GMT, up 8 cents from Thursday’s settlement. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil futures …

Israel’s attorney general intends to indict Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on corruption charges. Netanyahu faces possible charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust in connection with three cases. The prime minister is alleged to have accepted gifts from wealthy businessmen and dispensed favours to try to get more positive …

Thailand’s military-appointed parliament on Thursday passed a controversial cybersecurity law that gives sweeping powers to state cyber agencies. The Cybersecurity Act voted unanimously, is the latest in a wave of new laws in Asian countries that assert government control over the internet. Civil liberties advocates, internet companies and business groups …

In 2014, French auctioneer Marc Labarbe received a phone call from a friend. The attic of their Toulouse home had yielded a surprising discovery: a painting, coated in dust and stained by a water leak, that looked all the same to be something of value. Labarbe approached gingerly, cleaning one …

With majestic glaciers, fjords, and mountains, Norway is famous for its dramatic natural landscape. Its rugged terrain does not make traveling easy, however. More than 1,000 fjords line the Scandinavian country’s west coast, which is home to a third of the country’s population of 5.3 million. To make the 1,100-kilometer …

Shares of the pharma and medical giant Johnson & Johnson have tumbled sharply after an investigation suggested the company had known for years its famous baby powder was contaminated with cancer-causing asbestos. Reuters published a lengthy inquiry into one of the company’s most celebrated products, that claimed as early as …

For mobile phone users, who have the urge to read WhatsApp messages as soon as they receive them but don’t want to seem too eager or to be seen doing it at all, there is a way to bypass the unwanted exposure. In addition to the trick of turning on …