A powerful 7.7 magnitude earthquake off Canada's west coast set off a tsunami warning that emptied restaurants, bars and theaters in Hawaii and sent rattled residents fleeing beach areas.

But only relatively small waves rolled to shore on the island of Oahu, and the U.S. Tsunami Warning Center later issued an advisory saying the worst was over.

Canada and the United States announced Friday they were launching a joint cyber-security plan to protect their digital infrastructure from online threats.

The action plan, under the auspices of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and Public Safety Canada, aims to better protect critical digital infrastructure and improve the response to cyber incidents.

A suspicious package prompted the evacuation of the Canadian embassy for about two hours Friday but it was found not to pose a threat, police said.

"The package has been cleared," said District of Columbia police spokesman Araz Alali.

Quality of life for Canadians has dropped significantly since the last recession in 2008, even though indicators show a rebound in the economy, said a study published Tuesday.

Canadians' well-being, according to the Canadian Index of Wellbeing composite report, dropped by 24 percent between 2008 and 2010 and the decline continues despite an economic recovery.

A nine year-old boy in Ireland has discovered a message sent in a bottle from Canada eight years ago, and has even managed to track down the two senders.

Charlene Dalpe and Claudia Garneau, from Montreal, were 12 years old when they placed a message in a bottle while on holiday in Gaspesie in the Grande-Vallee part of Quebec in 2004.

Canada's top diplomat blasted Iran for human rights violations and religious intolerance at a meeting Monday of world parliamentarians, drawing an angry response from Tehran's delegation.

Addressing 1,400 lawmakers at the gathering in Quebec City, Canadian Foreign Minister John Baird said Bahais and Christians in Iran were "consistently threatened with death and torture, simply for believing."

A gunman shot and wounded a Canadian border agent Tuesday before taking his own life, police said.

The shooting happened as the gunman arrived from the U.S. side to the Douglas Border Crossing in the west of Canada, one of the most frequently used between the two countries, according to a police statement.

Notorious U.S. pastor Terry Jones said Thursday he has been barred from entering Canada after an anti-Islam video he backs triggered violent protests across the Muslim world.

Jones, who sparked deadly demonstrations in the past with plans for a public Koran burning, had been due to speak at a rally in Toronto about "Innocence of Muslims," an Internet film made on U.S. soil that denigrates Islam and its Prophet Mohammed.

Canada announced Wednesday it was disbursing Can$19.4 million in aid for 14 poorer countries to treat mental health disorders.

"Mental health disorders are maybe the most neglected of neglected diseases," said Peter Singer, head of government-funded Grand Challenges Canada.

Canada's Supreme Court on Friday decriminalized the non-disclosure of HIV status prior to sex where no realistic possibility of transmitting the potentially deadly virus exists.

The ruling clarifies a 1998 decision that set a threshold for criminality by requiring persons to tell partners of their HIV status before having sex with them or face possible charges of aggravated sexual assault, which carries a maximum life sentence.