Two Canadians of Lebanese origins won seats in the parliament of the Nova Scotia province in Canada, reported the National News Agency on Monday.

Lina Mitlij and Patricia Philippe Arab won the seats in the elections that took place last week.

Genetic tests on dozens of herbal products sold in Canada found most contained contaminants or fillers and cheaper substitutions not listed on labels, a study said Friday.

Out of a dozen companies studied for testing on 44 herbal products, only two provided entirely authentic products, the researchers found.

Canada's Prime Minister Stephen Harper has threatened to withdraw funding for the Commonwealth in an escalating row over rights abuses by Sri Lanka ahead of a summit next month.

Harper confirmed late Monday that he was boycotting the November 15-17 summit in Colombo, citing "the absence of accountability for the serious violations of human rights" during and after Sri Lanka's long civil war against Tamil separatists.

President Dilma Rousseff on Monday hit out at alleged Canadian spying on Brazil's Mining and Energy Ministry, demanding that the United States and its allies stop such practices.

She said on her Twitter account that revelations aired by Globo television Sunday that the energy ministry was targeted by Canadian intelligence "confirm the economic and strategic motives" behind the electronic espionage.

Canada's Prime Minister Stephen Harper said Monday he will boycott a summit of Commonwealth nations next month, citing serious rights abuses that he says remain unaddressed by host nation Sri Lanka.

"Canada is deeply concerned about the situation in Sri Lanka," Harper said in a statement formally announcing his decision to send a lower-ranking official to represent Ottawa at the November 15-17 summit of nations with ties to the former British Empire.

Two Canadians released from an Egyptian prison more than a month after their arrest during violent protests have been prevented from leaving the country, their lawyer said on Monday.

Filmmaker John Greyson and emergency room doctor Tarek Loubani had been prevented from boarding a flight at Cairo airport after their release on the weekend, said the lawyer.

Canada spied on communications at Brazil's Mining and Energy Ministry, according to Canadian intelligence documents revealed late Sunday by Globo television.

Documents leaked by former U.S. intelligence contractor Edward Snowden, purportedly from the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, show a detailed outline of the Brazilian ministry's communications including phone calls, email and Internet traffic.

Two Canadians held in Egypt since mid-August have ended their hunger strike after winning small concessions from their jailers, a relative of one of the men said Thursday.

John Greyson is a Toronto filmmaker and university professor, while Tarek Loubani is an emergency room doctor from London, Ontario.

Canada on Monday called for "tough" sanctions to be maintained on Iran until it shows concrete signs of change over its nuclear program.

"Kind words, a smile and a charm offensive are not a substitute for real action," Canada's Foreign Minister John Baird told the U.N. General Assembly.

A young man once jailed for smuggling weapons for the Toronto 18 terror plot to attack Canada's parliament and other targets has been killed in Syria, local media said Thursday.

Somalia-born Canadian Ali Mohamed Dirie reportedly left Canada after his release from prison in 2011 to join rebels fighting Syrian President Bashar Assad's regime.