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KABUL -- An American soldier was killed and several others were wounded in a battle with Islamic State militants in eastern Afghanistan, the U.S. military said. The military said in a statement that several Afghan forces were also wounded in the fighting on Wednesday in the Achin district of the Nangarhar province, a militant stronghold. Source

JOHANNESBURG -- Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe has arrived in South Africa as his wife is accused of assaulting a young model. Mugabe flew into Waterkloof Air Force Base in Pretoria with his entourage late Wednesday night, apparently to help his wife with the ongoing scandal. Source

Qatari pilgrims began arriving in Saudi Arabia on Thursday, Saudi media reported, after officials in the capital, Riyadh, said the country was opening up its border and airports for those attending the annual hajj pilgrimage despite a diplomatic rift that cut travel ties. Source

OTTAWA -- Statistics Canada is walking back a key census finding that stoked political fires in Quebec and saying that the English as a mother tongue is on the decline in the province instead of on the rise. Source

A fatal collision between a semi-tractor and a SUV has claimed the lives of three children from the same family in Alberta. Emergency crews responded to a report of a serious two-vehicle crash at the intersection of Highway 36 and Highway 570, south of Hanna, Alta, located approximately 220 kilometres east of Calgary, at around 5:45 p.m. Source

BRIDGEWATER, N.J. — President Donald Trump’s chief strategist Steve Bannon says there’s no military solution to the threat posed by North Korea and its nuclear ambitions, despite the president’s recent pledge to answer further aggression with "fire and fury. Source

NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. — A Snapchat video titled “nap time struggle” appears to show a worker at a church day care centre in South Carolina sitting on and hitting children. The 10-second video shows a woman hitting a blanket-covered figure and using her hand to slap the uncovered leg of a child on a different cot. Source

Higher incomes and lower interest rates have allowed Canadians to take on larger mortgages during recent years, a new study found. Those factors have also pushed the price of homes through the roof, according to the Fraser Institute report. Source

A Hong Kong court sent young activist Joshua Wong and two other student leaders to prison Thursday for their roles in huge pro-democracy protests nearly three years earlier, in the latest sign that tolerance for dissent is waning in the Chinese-ruled former British colony. Source

BUFFALO, N.Y. - A Canadian man has been sentenced to 20 years in a U.S. federal prison for his role in a smuggling operation that sent more than US$130 million worth of drugs between the United States and Canada. Source