Ottawa injects another $36M into vaccine injury compensation fund
The federal government has added $36.4 million to a program designed to support people who have been seriously injured or killed by vaccines since the end of 2020.
Fifteen to 20 villagers, including several teenagers, have been killed in some of Myanmar's deadliest fighting since July between government troops and resistance forces, a villager and reports by independent media said Friday.
The fighting near Gangaw township in the northwestern Magway region started on Thursday, two days after a call for a nationwide uprising was issued by the National Unity Government, a opposition organization that seeks to coordinate resistance to military rule.
The fighting broke out when more than 100 troops arrived in four military vehicles to secure the area in Myin Thar and five other nearby villages, a resident told The Associated Press by phone.
Members of a lightly armed village self-defense militia fired warning shots but could not stop the soldiers from entering the area and clashes continued after that, said the resident, who spoke on condition of anonymity to safeguard his personal security.
The opposition movement that rose against the army's February seizure of power from the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi was initially peaceful, but gradually began fighting back after security forces used deadly force to break up nonviolent protests.
The National Unity Government's call on Tuesday for a "people's defensive war" has received an enthusiastic response on social media, but its actual impact on the ground is hard to measure.
Media sympathetic to the opposition reported an outburst of small-scale shootings and sabotage by the resistance, particularly the toppling of cell phone transmission towers.
But similar activities have been happening for several months and details are difficult to independently verify.
The villager who described the new fighting said at least 11 members of the self-defense group were killed, according to what others in his village told him. Photos of what were described to be their bodies circulated widely Friday on the internet, and were clear enough to be identifiable to those familiar with them.
"We only have handmade guns and percussion lock firearms," the villager said. "When it rained, the guns became useless. There are many casualties due to the imbalance in weapons." Myanmar's government troops are well-equipped with modern weapons and have access to air and artillery support.
The villager said other residents told him that most members of the village's defense force are youths and that five of those killed were 9th- and 10th-grade students. A middle-school teacher was also said to have been killed, the villager said.
Members of the more than 2,000 households in the area had fled to the jungle, he added, while soldiers camped in abandoned homes and at the local Buddhist monastery. Four more people were confirmed dead after fighting broke out again Friday morning, he said, and an unknown number of houses were burned.
Reports by independent media put the death toll among the villagers at 20 or more. Khit Thit Media, an online news service, said it was told by villagers that the dead included seven non-combatants in addition to the militants.
According to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, an independent organization that keeps detailed tallies of people killed or detained by the military government, there have been 1,058 activists and bystanders killed since February's army takeover.
The government this week claimed resistance forces have been responsible for the deaths of 933 people, reported Popular News, citing Deputy Home Minister Gen. Soe Tint Naing.
In a Thursday briefing for foreign diplomats also attended by the news service, Soe Tint Naing said those killed included security personnel, civil servants and people believed by the resistance to be government informers.
The federal government has added $36.4 million to a program designed to support people who have been seriously injured or killed by vaccines since the end of 2020.
B.C.’s premier and one of his top lieutenants are pushing back against allegations by the Official Opposition that he covertly commissioned a report into the diversion of safe supply drugs onto the streets.
Arrests have been made after five men were captured on video rampaging through a jewelry store in Toronto, waving weapons and smashing glass display cases.
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.
Doctors have transplanted a pig kidney into a New Jersey woman who was near death, part of a dramatic pair of surgeries that also stabilized her failing heart.
A new poll suggests the Liberals have not won over voters with their latest budget, though there is broad support for their plan to build millions of homes.
Appointing a trusted person to help with financial obligations can give you peace of mind. In his personal finance column for CTVNews.ca, Christopher Liew outlines the key benefits of naming a confidant to take over your financial responsibilities, if the need ever arises.
A Toronto couple are speaking out about their 'extremely dangerous' experience on board a sinking tour boat in the Dominican Republic last week.
Students at a high school in York Region have been awarded perfect marks on their midterm exams in three subjects – not because of their academic performances however, but because they had no teacher.
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.