Canada's spy agency will be granted new powers Friday to thwart terror plots in a security overhaul precipitated by twin jihadist attacks three months ago.

The October 20 and 22 attacks in Quebec province and in the capital Ottawa, targeting soldiers and Parliament, revealed gaps in Canadian defenses against terrorism.

Saudi Arabia postponed Friday the flogging of a blogger sentenced to 1,000 lashes for insulting Islam for a third week in a row, his wife said.

Raef Badawi "was not flogged" on Friday, his wife Ensaf Haidar told AFP, adding that the reason was unclear.

Canada is lending $200 million to Ukraine to boost the strife-torn nation's economy as it battles pro-Russian separatists, Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced Wednesday.

After backing stringent Western-led economic sanctions against Russia over its actions in Ukraine, Harper said Canada now wanted to help stabilize the Ukrainian economy.

The first human case of H7N9 bird flue in North America has been confirmed in a Canadian woman who recently returned from a trip to China, health officials said Monday.

The patient in her 50s began feeling sick two days after returning home in Canada's westernmost British Columbia province and sought care from a doctor. 

A Canadian man will go before a New York court on Saturday accused of murder and conspiracy over the killing of five U.S. soldiers in Iraq, American prosecutors said.

Faruq Khalil Muhammad Isa, 36, allegedly helped to orchestrate a truck bombing carried out by a Tunisian jihadist on a U.S. base in Mosul, northern Iraq, on April 10, 2009 that killed the five American soldiers.

A Canadian federal policeman wounded in a shooting in Canada's province of Alberta over the weekend has died in hospital, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police said Wednesday.

Constable David Matthew Wynn "died a short time ago in an Edmonton hospital, at the age of 42 years," said a statement. 

Canada's opposition leader accused Prime Minister Stephen Harper on Tuesday of having lied when he promised no ground combat alongside airstrikes against the Islamic State group in Iraq.

The accusation comes after Canadian special forces exchanged gunfire with Islamic State fighters in the Mideast country in recent days, in the first confirmed ground battle between Western troops and IS.

Australia on Tuesday raised the terrorism threat level against the police force to high for the first time, saying there were small but growing numbers of citizens involved with jihadist groups and intent on attacks.

Australian Federal Police said the decision had been taken based on intelligence-gathering and discussions with partners and was in line with the broader threat for the country, also raised to high in September.

Canada's top diplomat denounced Sunday the International Criminal Court for opening a preliminary probe into possible war crimes by Israel, which counts on his country as one of its staunchest allies.

In a brief statement to reporters, Canadian Foreign Minister John Baird said the ICC's decision was "deeply regrettable" and would feature in his meetings with Israeli officials.

Two police officers were wounded in a shooting in Canada's province of Alberta on Saturday and the suspect found dead after a manhunt, police said.

The two police officers had spotted a stolen vehicle in the parking lot of a casino in the city of St. Albert, northwest of Edmonton, before they were shot inside the casino, said Marlin Degrand from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.