Seniors and members of the labour movement concerned about changes to Old Age Security staged peaceful sit-ins at the offices of 24 Conservative MPs in Ontario and New Brunswick on Thursday, with additional demonstrations in St. Johns.

The Afghan Taliban say they have reached a preliminary deal with the Gulf state of Qatar to open a liaison office there, which could have a key role in peace talks to end more than a decade of war.

Syria's verbal attack on UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon has raised new concerns that President Bashar al-Assad is playing for time to avoid compliance with a peace plan that could eventually force him out of office.