A Canadian businessman was sentenced Friday to three years in prison for bribing two Air India executives and an Indian cabinet minister in a failed bid-rigging scheme.

Nazir Karigar, 67, is the first person to be convicted under Canada's Corruption of Foreign Public Officials Act, which had previously been used to prosecute corporations.

The vending machines at a Vancouver storefront look ordinary -- but instead of spitting out gum or snacks, for a few coins they deliver medical marijuana.

For Can$4 (U.S.$3.70), the brightly lit "gumball" machine drops a plastic ball filled with the so-called "Cotton Candy" variety of the drug. The "Purple Kush" option costs Can$6.

An appeals court Thursday upheld a judge's decision that a Canadian-Lebanese man should be extradited to France in connection with a 1980 Paris synagogue bombing that killed four people.

The Ontario Court of Appeal ruled that the lower-court judge and the federal justice minister made no legal errors in concluding Hassan Diab should be handed to French authorities.

The Philippine government said Saturday it was investigating a Filipina diplomat charged in Canada for alleged human trafficking involving the exploitation of her nanny.

"The (foreign affairs) department takes very seriously any allegations of misconduct of its employees. The department is conducting an inquiry into the matter," its spokesman Charles Jose said in a statement to news agencies.

The United States and Canada said Thursday they were "appalled" by an air raid which Sudanese forces reportedly carried out near a church-run hospital in war-torn South Kordofan.

"We strongly condemn any targeting of civilians, and are appalled by this attack on those providing essential medical care or humanitarian assistance to people in need," embassies of the two North American nations said in a joint statement.

A strong earthquake measuring 6.7 struck late Wednesday off Canada's Vancouver island in the Pacific, the U.S. Geological Survey said.

The quake, which hit at 03:10 GMT, was at a depth of 11.4km (7.1mi) and 94 km (58 miles) south of Port Hardy, Canada.

Canada on Thursday expressed concern about the Muslim Brotherhood, the target of a relentless crackdown by Egypt's military-installed authorities since the army ousted Islamist president Mohammed Morsi in July.

"Canada has taken an aggressive stand when it comes to listings (of terror groups)... but there is a certain process," Canadian Foreign Minister John Baird said at a news conference in Cairo.

Canada is deploying six CF-18 fighter jets to Eastern Europe as part of NATO's response to the worsening crisis in Ukraine, Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced Thursday.

Russian President Vladimir Putin warned Ukraine was on the brink of civil war, stoking fears of outright Russian intervention.

Five people died overnight in a stabbing rampage at a house party marking the end of university classes in the Canadian city of Calgary, media said on Tuesday.

Police were reportedly called around 1:30 am to a home in a quiet suburban neighborhood where paramedics found three people dead. Two more died in hospital.

Sri Lanka on Tuesday accused Canada of undermining the Commonwealth to score political points after it announced a suspension of funding while the island nation chairs the group.

Sri Lanka's foreign ministry said the halting of Canada's $US9 million annual contribution to the Commonwealth Secretariat was an attempt at political "manipulation" at the expense of the 53-member bloc.