The Mix

OTTAWA — Retail sales rose 0.8 per cent to $69.8 billion in March, helped by an increase in new car sales as Canadians looked to get behind a new set of wheels before tariffs started to raise prices.

This is a photo collection curated by AP photo editors. The Associated Press

CALGARY — Vermilion Energy Inc. has signed a deal to sell a group of assets in Saskatchewan and Manitoba for $415 million. The company says it will use the net proceeds from the sale to repay debt.

BANGKOK (AP) — The Chinese government said Friday that the Trump administration's move to ban international students from Harvard would harm America's international standing, as anxious students and parents overseas fretted over what would come next.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — U.S. homeowners are spending more on home renovation projects, bucking a broader pullback by consumers amid diminished confidence in the economy . Sales at building materials and garden supply retailers rose 0.

OTTAWA — Housing experts are pushing back against a federal cabinet minister's recent claim that home prices don't need to go down in order to restore housing affordability.

ANTIBES, France (AP) — Artwork by Adrien Brody and James Franco and a chance to sit courtside at a Knicks game with director Spike Lee were among the starry offerings at the annual amfAR Gala to raise money for AIDS research.

PARIS (AP) — Decades before transgender became a household word and “RuPaul’s Drag Race” became a worldwide hit — before visibility brought rights and recognition — there was Bambi, the Parisian icon who danced for Hollywood.

OTTAWA — The union representing about 55,000 Canada Post employees has called for a countrywide halt to overtime work, saying its negotiators will continue to review the latest contract offers from the mail carrier.

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — Venus gazes in bewilderment at the candles flickering on her mini birthday cake. The partygoers crowd around her in expectant silence, but she doesn't blow them out. Dogs can't blow candles, after all.