IN THE NEWS

More than 300 child soldiers were released by armed groups in South Sudan, the second-largest such release since the country’s civil war began five years ago. All sides in the conflict have recruited more than 19,000 children as fighters.

In January, a Moncton court found the RCMP guilty of violating the Canada Labour Code, after a better-armed criminal murdered three officers and wounded two others in 2014. The RCMP has announced it will not appeal the sentence. The force will pay a $100,000 fine and make $450,000 in contributions.

Dozens of people are missing following a deadly earthquake in Taiwan, with more than 40 feared trapped in a multistory building tilting perilously in the northeastern city of Hualien. The magnitude 6.4 quake struck 22 kilometers north of the city late Tuesday, killing at least six people and injuring 258 people.

When  people are moving towards radical violence and terrorism, their personal routines can signal the change: a new physical fitness program, shedding belongings and settling financial details are on the list. A new report by the Canadian Security Intelligence Service studied about 100 people who "mobilized to violence" in Canada.

The State Council Information Office of the People's Republic of China published a white paper titled "China's Arctic Policy" on January 26.

Montréal Maine & Atlantic Canada was found guilty of a charge under the Fisheries Act related to polluting Rivière Chaudière and Lac Mégantic. Judge Conrad Chapdelaine sentenced the company to pay $1 million, the maximum penalty, with the first $400,000 to be paid within six months. The money will go toward cleaning up the lake and river.

A new report from the Canadian Security Intelligence Service states that it takes an average of one year for people with radical views to be “mobilized to violence” or terrorism. The agency reviewed approximately 100 cases of “individuals who mobilized to violence" in Canada.

The Communications Security Establishment has a mandate to discover flaws in electronic products that criminals or hostile governments could exploit, but it refuses to disclose its policy about that process. As the government is rewriting national security laws, there are calls for the policy to be made public.

At least five mass graves in Burma, all previously unreported, have been confirmed by The Associated Press through multiple interviews with more than two dozen survivors in Bangladesh refugee camps and through time-stamped cellphone videos.

Canadian convicts can now select a men's or women's prison by their gender identity.  A new Correctional Service Canada  policy says transgender inmates can select an institution type, "regardless of their anatomy (sex) or gender on their identification documents, unless there are overriding health or safety concerns which cannot be resolved."

Fintrac, the Canadian government agency that fights terrorist financing and money laundering lost a court case in 2016 over its powers to penalize offending businesses.  A review of its penalty program will not be complete before the summer.

Julie Gascon, Assistant Commissioner of the Canadian Coast Guard’s Central and Arctic Region was joined by Rear Admiral Joanna Nunan, Commander, United States Coast Guard Ninth District to sign the updated Memorandum of Understanding between their agencies concerning Coast Guard icebreaking services in the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Seaway maritime transportation system.

A lawyer representing a female former RCMP officer in a gender harassment class action lawsuit says the number of claimants could grow from about 2400 now to 3000 or 4000. The federal government earmarked $100 million for compensation.

Two Toronto police officers have been suspended after allegations they ate marijuana products on duty. They apparently suffered hallucinations, called for help and were taken to hospital.

The RCMP are taking a request for six more officers in the region to the Halifax board of police commissioners. The force says it needs more people to handle motorcycle gangs, social media and cybercrime complaints.

Mountain rescuers were forced to abandon the search for a Polish climber after finding his French climbing partner alive on the Himalayan peak of Nanga Parbat. The pair Elisabeth Revol, 37, and Tomek Mackiewicz, 42, were attempting to climb the mountain, which is nicknamed “Killer Mountain”, without oxygen when they got into difficulty.

Prosecutors in criminal cases in different countries claim radical views expressed online can lead to violence. Should social media and ebsite operators be held responsible for people who turn words into action ?

A newly surfaced letter not only claims the trio survived but purports to be from one of them. “My name is John Anglin. I escape from Alcatraz in June 1962 with my brother Clarence and Frank Morris,” the letter which was recently obtained by KPIX 5, the CBS station in San Francisco, read.

Five Islamic State gunmen stormed the Save the Children office in the eastern Afghan city of Jalalabad after an explosion, killing five people and wounding dozens in a 10-hour siege, officials said. The assailants were killed.

Toronto police are investigating reports of sexual assault during medical examinations against a doctor who worked for the RCMP. This follows similar allegations against a doctor who worked for the Mounties in Nova Scotia.

When Gatineau police officers got a routine call to check out a suspicious person Monday night they ended up with an unexpected collar – a man who’s been in the lam for nearly two decades in connection with a massive money-laundering scheme that included the shipment of hundreds of kilograms of cocaine for organized crime.

A Canadian Security Intelligence Service threat assessment says terrorism will continue in Canada. A report states "domestic extremists are likely to continue to target Canadian uniformed personnel and related installations in neighbourhoods that are familiar to them ... ”

A tsunami warning for coastal British Columbia and parts of Alaska has ended after a powerful earthquake struck about 250 kilometres southeast of Chiniak, Alaska.

Thousands of Filipino families have been evacuated in the Philippine province of Albay as the country’s most active volcano inches toward a possibly major eruption.

RCMP members in the Halifax region have accused a local doctor of sexual assault against them over 22 years during medical exams and assessments. Halifax Regional Police are investigating.

The Philippines' most active volcano exploded thunderously Monday, sending a huge grey column of lava fragments, ash and steam into the sky and prompting authorities to warn that a violent eruption may be imminent.

After years of denying it existed, Montreal is dropping the police quota system for traffic tickets.  Mayor Valérie Plante said senior managers will lose bonuses tied to the ticket targets.

The Crown has filed an appeal against the acquittal of a Montreal woman on terror-related charges. Sabrine Djermane was accused of attempting to leave Canada to commit a terror act abroad; possession of an explosive substance; and committing an act under the direction or for the profit of a terrorist organization. Prosecutors are appealing the explosive substance verdict.

With a crippled ISIS now less focused on recruiting followers for a new life in Iraq and Syria than on lashing out at perceived enemies, Michael Dempsey looks at what can be done to counter the shifting tactics of ISIS.

A Greenfield hospital system last week paid a $50,000 ransom to hackers who hijacked patient data. The SamSam ransomware attack accessed Hancock Health's computers through an outside vendor's account. It quickly infected the system by locking out data and changing the names of more than 1,400 files to "I'm sorry."

A British Columbia court has ruled that indefinite solitary confinement for federal inmates is unconstitutional, because it risks psychological harm. The decision is suspended for 12 months so the government can draft new legislation.

The Canadian Coast Guard will be seeking proposals from qualified marine salvage companies for bulk oil removal from the wreck of the Manolis L. The freighter sank in January 1985 near Change Islands in Notre Dame Bay, Newfoundland and Labrador.

For years, the Winnipeg Police Service has had the largest or one of the largest per capita complements in Canada. The Winnipeg Police Board wants to bring the number in line with the national average which would mean cutting the force by as many as 267 officers.

Twin suicide bombings rocked Baghdad, killing 38 people in the deadliest attack since Iraq declared victory over the Islamic State group last month. The bombers targeted the bustling Tayran Square, in the heart of the capital, setting off their explosive vests among labourers and street vendors during the morning rush hour.