Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
WeChat is suspending all new user registrations until early August, the popular social messaging app announced on Tuesday.
In a brief post on social media, WeChat, known as Weixin in China, said the suspension relates to an upgrade of security technology "according to relevant laws and regulations."
"In the meantime, the registration of new WeChat personal accounts and public accounts will be temporarily suspended," the app, which is owned by Chinese tech giant Tencent, added. New registrations will resume after the upgrade is completed, which is expected in early August, the company said.
Weixin is a daily necessity for hundreds of millions of people in China, who use the app to message friends, share photos, hail rides, pay for stuff, book restaurants, order food and a host of other services. Together, Weixin and WeChat, used by the Chinese diaspora including in the United States, have around 1.2 billion monthly active users.
It was not immediately clear which laws WeChat was referring to in its announcement, but the development comes amid a widening crackdown on technology and now education companies by Chinese regulators that has spooked investors. Tencent's stock in Hong Kong closed down nearly 9 per cent on Tuesday, its worst day in a decade.
Several tech companies, including e-commerce giant Alibaba, have faced investigations for alleged monopolistic behavior or breaches of customer rights, leading to record fines and massive overhauls. Chinese President Xi Jinping has endorsed the probes, calling on regulators to scrutinize tech companies as the country tightens data privacy and security policies.
The share prices of Chinese tech companies, including Alibaba, Tencent and food delivery platform Meituan have all taken a hammering this week. Meituan closed nearly 18 per cent lower in Hong Kong on Tuesday — eclipsing Monday's 14 per cent loss — after Chinese regulators issued new guidelines calling for improved standards for food delivery workers.
Earlier this month, China's Cyberspace Administration suspended the registration of new users from ride-hailing app Didi, torpedoing the company's stock just two days after its blockbuster New York IPO, which was the biggest U.S. share offering by a Chinese company since Alibaba debuted in 2014.
The regulator said it put the suspension in place to "prevent the expansion of risk" during a "cybersecurity review," but provided no details on why the probe was launched.
Days later, the internet watchdog proposed that any company with data on more than 1 million users must seek the agency's approval before listing its shares overseas. It also proposed that companies submit IPO materials to the agency for review ahead of listing.
The clampdown on private businesses could further dent foreign investors' confidence in China stocks, analysts at Nomura wrote in a research note on Monday. "Bruised and shaken investors are now likely to ponder which other areas could potentially become the next target of expanded state control," they said.
— Laura He, Michelle Toh and Sherisse Pham contributed reporting.
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is accusing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre of welcoming 'the support of conspiracy theorists and extremists,' after the Conservative leader was photographed meeting with protesters, which his office has defended.
"It's a bit of a complicated pattern; we've got a lot going on," said Jennifer Smith of the Meteorological Service of Canada in an interview with CTVNews.ca on Wednesday. "[As is] typical with weather, all of these things are related."
Boeing said Wednesday that it lost US$355 million on falling revenue in the first quarter, another sign of the crisis gripping the aircraft manufacturer as it faces increasing scrutiny over the safety of its planes and accusations of shoddy work from a growing number of whistleblowers.
Police tangled with student demonstrators in Texas and California while new encampments sprouted Wednesday at Harvard and other colleges as school leaders sought ways to defuse a growing wave of pro-Palestinian protests.
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
A property tax bill is perplexing a small townhouse community in Fergus, Ont.
When identical twin sisters Kim and Michelle Krezonoski were invited to compete against some of the world’s most elite female runners at last week’s Boston Marathon, they were in disbelief.
The giant stone statues guarding the Lions Gate Bridge have been dressed in custom Vancouver Canucks jerseys as the NHL playoffs get underway.
A local Oilers fan is hoping to see his team cut through the postseason, so he can cut his hair.
A family from Laval, Que. is looking for answers... and their father's body. He died on vacation in Cuba and authorities sent someone else's body back to Canada.
A former educational assistant is calling attention to the rising violence in Alberta's classrooms.
The federal government says its plan to increase taxes on capital gains is aimed at wealthy Canadians to achieve “tax fairness.”
At 6'8" and 350 pounds, there is nothing typical about UBC offensive lineman Giovanni Manu, who was born in Tonga and went to high school in Pitt Meadows.
Kevin the cat has been reunited with his family after enduring a harrowing three-day ordeal while lost at Toronto Pearson International Airport earlier this week.