Canada has 250 military members working with the NATO training mission as well as dozens of special forces troops whove been working in the northern part of the country with Iraqi security forces.

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Iraqi lawmakers approved a resolution Sunday asking the Iraqi government to end an agreement under which American and allied forces have been in the country for more than four years to help fight the Islamic State group, also known as Daesh.

The bill is nonbinding and subject to approval by the Iraqi government but has the backing of the outgoing prime minister.

The Canadian-led NATO training mission in Iraq has been temporarily suspended in the wake of the killing of top Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani.

A U.S. airstrike Friday killed Soleimani and a number of top Iraqi officials at the Baghdad airport.

Also this

A public-health doctor is warning that people whove never smoked marijuana could be at thehighest risk of overdosing on cannabis edibles, which aresoon expected to be on store shelves across the country.

Doctor Lawrence Loh, inthe School of Public Health at the University of Toronto, saysanyone whos expecting a quick high could overdose onproducts such as cookies and brownies becausefoodtakes time for the body to absorb compared with smoking.

He says that means people couldeat more than themarked dose of a product and end up with a racing heart, panic attacks and anxiety that sends themto the emergency room.

Loh has co-authored a commentary published today in the Canadian Medical Association Journal about the health risks of edibles, which Health Canada recommends should be consumed in a 10-milligramdose of T-H-C, the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana.

Regulations governing edibles, beverages, vapes and topical forms of cannabis came into effectlast October, ayear after Canada legalized fresh or dried bud, oil, plants and seeds.

Most provinces have started selling cannabis edibles, with retail sales in Ontario starting today before productsare available onlinenext week.

ICYMI (in case you missed it)

Canada is golden again at the world junior hockey championship.

Akil Thomas scoredlate in the third period to cap a furious comeback and secure a4-3 victory over Russia forthe countrys 18th title at the annual under-20 tournament.

Canada earned itsfirst medal in Europe since winning gold in 2008 when the Czech Republic last hosted. The Canadians finished a disappointing sixth on home soil last year when they were upset by Finland in the quarters.

Canadahad battled adversity throughout theevent, including an embarrassing 6-0 loss to Russia in the preliminary round, the national teams worst defeat in the tournaments 44-year history.

But the teenage roster, with the weight of a nations expectation on their collective shoulders,rebounded indramatic fashion leaving their delirious fans breathless and proud.

What we are watching in the U.S.

President Donald Trump insists that Iranian cultural sites are fair game for the U.S. military, dismissing concerns within his own administration that doing so could constitute a war crime under international law. He also warned Iraq that he would levy punishing sanctions if it expelled American troops in retaliation for a U.S. airstrike in Baghdad that killed a top Iranian official.

Trumps comments Sunday came amid escalating tensions in the Middle East following the killing of Gen. Qassem Soleimani, the head of Irans elite Quds force. Iran has vowed to retaliate and Iraqs parliament responded by voting Sunday to oust U.S. troops based in the country.

Trump first raised the prospect of targeting Iranian cultural sites Saturday in a tweet. Speaking with reporters Sunday as he flew back to Washington from his holiday stay in Florida, he doubled down, despite international prohibitions.

Theyre allowed to kill our people. Theyre allowed to torture and maim our people. Theyre allowed to use roadside bombs and blow up our people. And were not allowed to touch their cultural sites? It doesnt work that way, Trump said.

The targeted killing of Soleimani sparked outrage in the Middle East, including in Iraq, where more than 5,000 American troops are still on the ground 17 years after the U.S. invasion. Iraqs parliament voted Sunday in favour of a nonbinding resolution calling for the expulsion of the American forces.

Meanwhile, Soleimanis daughter, Zeinab, directly threatened an attack on the U.S. military in the Mideast while speaking Monday to a crowd of hundreds of thousands of mourners in Tehran that stretched as far as the eye could see.

What we are watching in the rest of the world

Australias government says it is willing to pay whatever it takes to help communities recover from devastating wildfires.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison says the government is committing an extra 2 billion Australian dollars (US$1.4 billion) toward the recovery effort in addition to the sums already committed.

Rain and cooler temperatures brought some measure of relief to communities battling wildfires, however the bigger blazes continued to rage out of control.

Morrison said the military was attempting to get food, fuel and water to burned-out communities, and engineers were working to reopen roads and resupply evacuation centres.

And teams had arrived at an island wildlife refuge to help euthanize injured livestock and wild animals.

The fires have killed 24 people and tens of thousands of animals as they scorched millions of hectares, gutting more than 2,000 homes.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published on Jan. 6, 2020.

The Canadian Press

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Canada watching Iraq and cannabis edibles; In The News for Jan. 6 - larongeNOW