As Canada moves to reduce its dependence on American military suppliers, the push is on display inside a Toronto garment factory.

Hunched over sewing machines, two workers rapidly stitch together pieces of camouflage-patterned fabric and Velcro strips. In the next room, workers snip stray threads as they inspect the finished product: helmet covers for the Canadian military.

Pakistan said Thursday it was continuing diplomatic efforts to help resolve the crisis between the United States and Iran and reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Tahir Andrabi said at a news briefing that Field Marshal Asim Munir’s recent visit to Tehran was aimed at reviving the June memorandum of understanding to reopen the strait.

President Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday awarded Elon Musk Ukraine's Order of Freedom, one of its highest state honors, for his "outstanding personal merits" in protecting human life and freedom and strengthening ties with the United States.

Musk, the founder of the aerospace company SpaceX, has become one of the most influential, and contentious, private sector figures in Ukraine's war effort. His decision to provide access to Starlink, SpaceX's satellite internet network, was a lifeline for Ukraine after Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022 and remains critically important.

The Kremlin said Wednesday that CIA Director John Ratcliffe held talks in Moscow with his intelligence counterparts, a rare and secretive visit at a time when relations with Washington remain strained over Russia's war in Ukraine.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Ratcliffe did not meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin, who was informed of the contacts that were "on the intelligence agencies' level."

Some parents said children in Gaza are dismantling their kites after Israel threatened to ramp up strikes as the toys keep flying into southern Israel.

In the past, kites and balloons have been set aflame and launched across the Gaza border, igniting fields and property in Israeli communities. The Palestinian militant group Hamas has downplayed the danger the kites pose.

Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani is expected in Tehran on Thursday for talks with Iranian officials on “ways to de-escalate tensions & create the conditions conducive to dialogue,” Qatar's Foreign Ministry said on X.

The discussions, confirmed by Tehran, will also address “freedom of navigation” in the Strait of Hormuz and the need to return to the pre-war status quo, according to Majed Al Ansari, an agency spokesperson.

Kids under 18 will soon see a host of changes to their Instagram and Facebook experiences thanks to a historic $18 billion settlement Meta Platforms reached Wednesday with 48 U.S. states.

Besides the money, which will be paid out over a decade, Meta has agreed to strengthen its age estimates to keep kids under 13 off its platforms and teens in age-appropriate accounts, enact a hard limit of two hours a day for users under 18, block kids from the apps from midnight to 6 a.m., and hide "like" counts, among other changes.

Investigators appointed by Pakistan's prime minister were making a visit Thursday to the hospital nursery where a fast-moving fire killed 14 newborns, as grieving families and the public sought answers about the cause of the blaze and the safety measures at the major government facility.

The fire early Wednesday was confined to the third-floor nursery and did not affect the rest of the facility. Hospital officials said the fire spread so quickly the two doctors, two nurses and other staff present were able to rescue only one baby among the 15 in the nursery.

China's foreign minister said his country and the United States should overcome obstacles between the nations ahead of an expected summit next month between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Wang Yi met with U.S. ambassador to China David Perdue on Wednesday and called on both sides to "focus on the positive agenda, properly manage differences, remove interference and overcome obstacles to high-level exchanges between the two countries," Chinese state broadcaster CCTV reported Thursday.

Rescue teams searched on Thursday for hundreds of missing people along the Nepal-China border after a catastrophic and deadly torrent of floods and mud swept through several communities a day earlier following a glacier collapse.

The disaster left at least 168 people dead and more than 1,300 missing, including foreigners and pilgrims, and displaced hundreds of people across the Himalayan region.