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    • China will allow visa-free entry for six countries

    French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna, center right, arrives to attend a meeting with Chinese Premier Li Qiang, at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing Friday, Nov. 24, 2023. (Jade Gao/Pool Photo via AP) French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna, center right, arrives to attend a meeting with Chinese Premier Li Qiang, at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing Friday, Nov. 24, 2023. (Jade Gao/Pool Photo via AP)
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    BEIJING -

    China announced Friday that it will allow visa-free entry for citizens of five European countries and Malaysia as it tries to encourage more people to visit for business and tourism.

    Starting Dec. 1, citizens of France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and Malaysia will be allowed to enter China for up to 15 days without a visa. The trial program will be in effect for one year.

    The aim is "to facilitate the high-quality development of Chinese and foreign personnel exchanges and high-level opening up to the outside world," Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said at a daily briefing.

    China's strict pandemic measures, which included required quarantines for all arrivals, discouraged many people from visiting for nearly three years. The restrictions were lifted early this year, but international travel has yet to bounce back to pre-pandemic levels.

    China previously allowed citizens of Brunei, Japan and Singapore to enter without a visa but suspended that after the COVID-19 outbreak. It resumed visa-free entry for Brunei and Singapore in July but has not done so for Japan.

    In the first six months of the year, China recorded 8.4 million entries and exits by foreigners, according to immigration statistics. That compares to 977 million for all of 2019, the last year before the pandemic.

    The government has been seeking foreign investment to help boost a sluggish economy, and some businesspeople have been coming for trade fairs and meetings, including Tesla's Elon Musk and Apple's Tim Cook. Foreign tourists are still a rare sight compared to before the pandemic.

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    Canada

    • The calls are growing louder for city council to tighten the rules governing short-term accommodations, including those advertised on websites like Airbnb and Vrbo, after students arrived by the busload at a rented house in the Masonville neighbourhood.

    • The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) reported this week that officers in the agency's Montreal Marine and Rail Services seized 78 vehicles and transferred them to police. Numbers of stolen vehicles in Quebec continue to skyrocket.

    • A former Lethbridge pastor who bilked millions out of hundreds of southern Albertans has appealed his conviction and sentence.

    • Canada's grain farmers say a strike at Metro Vancouver terminals would cripple crop exports if it were allowed to take place.

    • A man accused of driving his truck into a march for B.C. residential school survivors two years ago has been found guilty of dangerous driving.

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    Health

    • Respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV, season is just a few months away, but new vaccine options have already arrived for Ontario residents who may be vulnerable to the winter bug.

    • There are 'no restrictions' on the right to receive health services in Quebec for English speakers, according to a new clarification document issued by the Quebec Health Ministry on Monday.

    Sci-Tech

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    Sports

    • Cole Perfetti will suit up for the Winnipeg Jets for another two years.

    • The Boston Red Sox kept their playoff hopes alive on Monday by beating the Toronto Blue Jays 4-1 in the first of a three-game road series.

    Autos

    • The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) reported this week that officers in the agency's Montreal Marine and Rail Services seized 78 vehicles and transferred them to police. Numbers of stolen vehicles in Quebec continue to skyrocket.

    Local Spotlight

    Giant gourds took over a Manitoba community this weekend.

    Fire has destroyed a barn and 17,000 plants at a family-owned business in Lower Coverdale, N.B.

    Before influencers on social media, Canada’s Jeanne Beker was bringing the world of high fashion down to earth and as Calgary’s Glenbow Museum gets a major make-over, it will include a new exhibition showcasing the pop culture icon.

    A sea lion swam free after a rescue team disentangled it near Vancouver Island earlier this week.

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    Cole Haas is more than just an avid fan of the F.W. Johnson Wildcats football team. He's a fixture on the sidelines, a source of encouragement, and a beloved member of the team.

    Getting a photograph of a rainbow? Common. Getting a photo of a lightning strike? Rare. Getting a photo of both at the same time? Extremely rare, but it happened to a Manitoba photographer this week.

    An anonymous business owner paid off the mortgage for a New Brunswick not-for-profit.

    They say a dog is a man’s best friend. In the case of Darren Cropper, from Bonfield, Ont., his three-year-old Siberian husky and golden retriever mix named Bear literally saved his life.

    • Mounties say a suspected drug trafficker who was wanted on a Canada-wide warrant for being unlawfully at large was arrested over the weekend after he was found unconscious in a vehicle on Vancouver Island.

    • Temporary emergency room shutdowns have hit rural and urban hospitals, hundreds of cancer patients have been sent across the U.S. border for radiation therapy, and there's a shortage of nurses and doctors. Here's how B.C.'s major political parties plan to improve health care in the province.

    • The leaders of B.C.'s three main political parties will be going toe-to-toe next month for their first and only debate ahead of the provincial election.

    • Respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV, season is just a few months away, but new vaccine options have already arrived for Ontario residents who may be vulnerable to the winter bug.

    • One suspect is in custody and a second is still outstanding after Toronto police say cruisers were damaged while officers attempted to intervene in the theft of two luxury vehicles in an underground parking garage in the city’s downtown core.

    • A man is in critical condition following a shooting in the northeast Calgary community of Cityscape.

    • Faculty and staff at Mount Royal University will be demonstrating Tuesday morning to protest provincial legislation that they say could restrict research funding.

    • A former Lethbridge pastor who bilked millions out of hundreds of southern Albertans has appealed his conviction and sentence.

    • The Ottawa Police Service is seeking public assistance to identify a suspect who allegedly assaulted a passenger aboard an O-Train last month.

    • The Canada Revenue Agency has provided new data on the number of employees who were found to have received the Canada Emergency Response Benefit during the COVID-19 pandemic.

    • Police were busy pulling over stunt drivers in Ottawa's east end last week.

    • A fire in a container at one of the Port of Montreal's terminals prompted the city to issue a containment notice for the area adjacent to the port on Monday evening, in the Mercier--Hochelaga-Maisonneuve borough.

    • The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) reported this week that officers in the agency's Montreal Marine and Rail Services seized 78 vehicles and transferred them to police. Numbers of stolen vehicles in Quebec continue to skyrocket.

    • Montreal police (SPVM) are investigating after a man was stabbed shortly before midnight in the St. Henri neighbourhood.

    • Police have charged a former worker with Edmonton Public Schools with forgery and fraud over $5,000 for allegedly faking asbestos reports over two years. And Jason McCallum is still at large.

    • Alberta is one of the few provinces without the ability to seize a vehicle traveling 50 km/h over the speed limit.

    • The Alberta Medical Association (AMA) is urging the provincial government to implement a new compensation model for doctors and adopt a plan to stabilize acute care.

    • Public health officials in Prince Edward Island are investigating an outbreak of gastrointestinal illness reported among 50 people who attended a shellfish festival over the weekend.

    • A man in his 60s was struck by an SUV and killed while walking on Wheeler Boulevard in Moncton, N.B., late Monday afternoon.

    • The Halifax Regional Municipality is de-designating an encampment space on University Avenue due to snow-clearing safety concerns.

    • A dry, fly-in First Nation in northern Manitoba is putting drug and alcohol smugglers on notice.

    • The mayor of Lynn Lake, Man. is concerned about a bridge connecting to his community and what would happen if it became impassable.

    • Cole Perfetti will suit up for the Winnipeg Jets for another two years.

    • Health care is shaping up to be a major issue for this fall’s provincial election in Saskatchewan and on Monday both the Sask. Party and NDP announced plans on how they will work to improve the sector if elected this fall.

    • The Saskatchewan Government is in the province's highest court fighting to prevent a Court of King’s Bench judge from determining if its Parents' Bill of Rights actually violates the Charter.

    • Farmer are thinking about more than their crops this harvest. They're talking about the upcoming Saskatchewan election and how provincial and federal policies may impact their economic future.

    • Three people were killed Monday morning in a crash north of Wellesley.

    • Officials say Lixian, 29, is known to frequent Waterloo Region, Toronto and Niagara Falls.

    • Police say a toddler in Cambridge, Ont., who was reported missing early Monday morning, has since died.

    • The Saskatchewan Government is in the province's highest court fighting to prevent a Court of King’s Bench judge from determining if its Parents' Bill of Rights actually violates the Charter.

    • Fire crews are battling a blaze at the Candle Lake Golf Course clubhouse on Monday morning.

    • The Saskatchewan Ministry of Education says a woman facing an assault charge is no longer working at a private Christian school where the alleged incident took place.

    • We've all had neighbours we didn't like, but two people from Sault Ste. Marie have been awarded more than half a million dollars for the 'extreme' behaviour of the people who lived next to them.

    • A Verner man, 35, is charged after a fatal crash on Highway 17 last month that killed one and sent another to hospital.

    • The calls are growing louder for city council to tighten the rules governing short-term accommodations, including those advertised on websites like Airbnb and Vrbo, after students arrived by the busload at a rented house in the Masonville neighbourhood.

    • Showers are expected to push into the region through the afternoon as a moisture laden system moves into the Great Lakes Basin.

    • 519 Meets organized a car rally in south London on Saturday in a Value Village parking lot, and it turned out to be their largest ever.

    • Casino Rama announced three new performances will hit the stage this winter.

    • Provincial police laid charges in a luring and child pornography investigation involving an Orillia man who worked at a local recreation centre.

    • Weather warnings and weather statements have been issued for central Ontario.

    • A man swimming across the Detroit River from Windsor to Detroit was rescued by a mail boat, according to the J.W. Westcott Company.

    • Windsor police say a 37-year-old man accused of attempted murder has been arrested and charged with violating his bail conditions.

    • A road in Essex County has reopened following a multi-vehicle crash. According to OPP, County Road 20 had been closed between Iler road and McCormick Road in Harrow.

    • Mounties say a suspected drug trafficker who was wanted on a Canada-wide warrant for being unlawfully at large was arrested over the weekend after he was found unconscious in a vehicle on Vancouver Island.

    • The leaders of B.C.'s three main political parties will be going toe-to-toe next month for their first and only debate ahead of the provincial election.

    • A pair of runaway pigs are in the custody of an animal sanctuary in the Okanagan after evading police and volunteers for hours earlier this week.

    • The Red Bridge, a historic landmark in Kamloops, B.C., was completely destroyed by fire early Thursday morning.

    • Animal protection officers in British Columbia have rescued three pit bulls – including one that gave birth to 10 puppies – from a rat-infested home in Kelowna.

    • A former Lethbridge pastor who bilked millions out of hundreds of southern Albertans has appealed his conviction and sentence.

    • Farmers in southern Alberta are working to wrap up harvest, with 80 per cent of major crops in the bin, according to the province's latest crop report.

    • Monday marked the official start of Reconciliation Week in Lethbridge.

    • Opening arguments are expected to begin in the sexual assault trial of former Hedley frontman Jacob Hoggard at a northern Ontario courthouse Tuesday.

    • We've all had neighbours we didn't like, but two people from Sault Ste. Marie have been awarded more than half a million dollars for the 'extreme' behaviour of the people who lived next to them.

    • Officials in the City of Timmins say the state of Municipal Road, which connects Timmins and Iroquois Falls, is well beyond the patch-up phase.

    N.L.

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