Briefly

CANADA

Funds pledged to reduce gun violence

Canadian Minister of Public Safety Marco Mendicino announced on Wednesday that federal funding of C$250 million ($197 million) has been approved for an initiative to help stop gun violence. To address the conditions that contribute to a young person falling in with crime, the Building Safer Communities Fund will help municipalities and Indigenous communities prevent gun and gang violence by tackling its root causes. The program will provide funds, through 2025-26, to eligible municipalities and Indigenous communities. Municipalities will then distribute funds to organizations that focus on children and young adults who are involved in or at risk of joining gangs.

SOUTH KOREA

Variant drives record surge in infections

South Korea reached another daily record in COVID-19 cases on Thursday as health officials reported more than 621,000 new infections, underscoring a massive Omicron surge that has been worse than feared and threatens to buckle an overstretched hospital system. The resurgence was driven by infections in the Seoul metropolitan area amid the spread of the Omicron variant. The outbreak has been significantly bigger than what had been forecast by government health authorities. Officials have tried to calm public fears amid concerns about a faltering pandemic response.

Agencies - Xinhua