A Conservative MP’s decision to cross the floor and join the Liberal party is “exceptionally valuable”, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said on Wednesday, as he looks ahead to passing his first federal budget.

Chris d’Entremont from Nova Scotia defected to the Liberals on Tuesday shortly after Carney put forward his fiscal plan, inching the Liberal government closer to a majority.

Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, d’Entremont said he left because he no longer felt represented by Conservative opposition leader Pierre Poilievre.

Poilievre and his party have criticised Carney’s budget as doing little to address the cost of living while ballooning Canada’s deficit.

In a statement, the Conservative party accused d’Entremont of breaking his promises to the Canadians who elected him, and of defecting due to “personal grievances” with the party.

Nova Scotia’s d’Entremont resignation sent shockwaves through Ottawa on budget night.

In announcing his decision to leave, d’Entremont said he supported the Liberal budget and that it “hits the priorities” he has heard from people in his constituency.

“I came to a clear conclusion: there is a better path forward for our country,” he said.

At a news conference on Wednesday, he criticised Conservative leader Poilievre for what he said is his “negative” style of politics.

The MP won his riding narrowly last April in the riding of Acadie-Annapolis, coming ahead of the Liberal candidate by just one percentage point.

His decision to defect comes ahead of a scheduled leadership review for Poilievre in January and amid wider criticisms that his combative style of politics contributed to the Conservatives’ election loss earlier this year.

It also pushes Carney’s Liberals closer to a majority, as the prime minister looks to pass his government’s first budget through parliament. Failure to do so could risk another election.

On Wednesday, Carney appealed for more allies. “We’ll speak to anyone publicly or otherwise who can support us,” he said.

Carney later walked with the new Liberal MP into his first national caucus meeting, where they were greeted with applause.

A vote on the budget is expected to be held mid-November.

Carney’s government has called the fiscal plan as an “investment budget” meant to attract capital to Canada and shield it from the impact of US tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump.

It increases Canada’s deficit to C$78bn ($55.3bn; £42.47bn), the second largest in history, but also includes cuts like slashing the size of the federal workforce by 10% in the coming years.

The Conservatives and the Quebec sovereigntist party the Bloc Québécois have both indicated they will oppose it.

“This costly budget forces Canadians to spend more on debt interest than on healthcare transfers,” said Poilievre in the House of Commons on Tuesday evening.

The left-leaning New Democratic Party’s interim leader Don Davies said they still want time to study the budget before they decide. The party holds seven seats.

Mark Carney

The wife of a Malaysian pastor abducted eight years ago has won a lawsuit against the police and the government, in a landmark case that has gripped the nation.

Raymond Koh was pulled out of his car by masked men in a suburb of the capital Kuala Lumpur in 2017. His whereabouts remain unknown – his family has long maintained he was taken by police.

On Wednesday, the high court ruled he had been forcibly disappeared, with the judge holding the government and police responsible for his abduction. It is Malaysia’s first such judgement.

The court also ruled that the state must pay more than 31m ringgit (£5.7m; $7.4m) to Mr Koh’s family, the largest sum for damages in Malaysian legal history.

In an emotional speech following the decision, his wife Susanna Liew told reporters: “We are overjoyed and thankful to God that we have a fair and honest judgement.

“Though this will not bring Pastor Raymond back, it is somewhat a vindication and closure for the family,” she said.

“We dedicate this struggle and judgement to Pastor Raymond Koh, a man of compassion and courage, and to all victims of enforced disappearances.”

The disappearance of Mr Koh, along with the abduction of activist Amri Che Mat, has long intrigued Malaysia.

Both cases took place within months of each other between the end of 2016 and early 2017, and led to heated public speculation.

Mr Koh’s case, in particular, dominated the headlines because his abduction took place in broad daylight and had been captured on a CCTV camera, and was witnessed by passers-by.

Both families had insisted that the men had been taken by the police, which the police consistently denied.

The men’s disappearances prompted two investigations, one conducted by Malaysia’s human rights commission, and another by the government.

Both investigations eventually concluded that the men had likely been abducted by the elite Special Branch of the police as they were perceived as threats to mainstream Islam in Muslim-majority Malaysia.

The government report – which was classified as secret until the families sued for access – said that “rogue cops” were responsible for the abductions, and the official who led the operation had “extreme views” against Christians and Shia Muslims.

Mr Koh had been targeted because he was suspected of proselytising to Muslims, which his family has denied. Apostasy is illegal in Malaysia.

Amri Che Mat had come under suspicion as he is a Shia Muslim. Malaysia practises a moderate form of Sunni Islam.

The wives of Raymond Koh and Amri Che Mat separately sued the state for damages and to force the authorities to reveal their husbands’ whereabouts.

On Wednesday, the high court ruled that police officials, the Royal Malaysian Police, and the Malaysian government were liable for the abduction of Mr Koh.

Besides awarding several million ringgit to Ms Liew for emotional distress, the judge ruled that 10,000 ringgit (£1,830; $2,385) in general damages be paid for each day of Mr Koh’s disappearance, starting from when he was abducted and ending on the day his whereabouts are disclosed by the state.

The judge also ordered the state to reopen the investigation and ascertain Mr Koh’s whereabouts.

As of Wednesday, the rolling sum of the general damages works out to be more than 31.8 million ringgit. The final figure is expected to become the largest payout in Malaysian history, according to lawyers acting for Ms Liew.

The money will be deposited into a trust, to which Ms Liew and her children will likely be named as beneficiaries.

The high court judge also found the government and police liable for Amri Che Mat’s abduction. His wife Norhayati, who sued for lesser offences compared to Ms Liew’s lawsuit, was awarded about three million ringgit.

“The feeling of sadness remains because questions about Amri’s whereabouts, whether he is alive, dead, or in good health, are all still unanswered,” Norhayati told reporters.

“We sincerely hope that those responsible will be held accountable for what they have done.”

At least 20 people have died after an earthquake struck northern Afghanistan, local authorities say, with the toll expected to rise as rescue efforts continue.

Hundreds have also been left injured, local officials told the BBC.

The earthquake struck near Mazar-e-Sharif, one of the country’s largest cities that is home to about 500,000 people, at around 01:00 local time on Monday, (20:30 GMT on Sunday).

It had a magnitude of 6.3 and a depth of 28km (17 miles), according to the US Geological Survey, and was marked at the orange alert level, which indicates “significant casualties” are likely.

More than 530 people have been injured, according to the Taliban government health ministry.

Provincial officials earlier told the BBC that casualties were likely to rise as rescue efforts continued.

Haji Zaid, a Taliban spokesman in Balkh province wrote earlier on X that “many people are injured” in the Sholgara district, south of Mazar-e- Sharif.

He said they had received “reports of minor injuries and superficial damages from all districts of the province”.

“Most of the injuries were caused by people falling from tall buildings,” he wrote.

Many of Mazar-e Sharif’s residents rushed to the streets when the quake struck, as they feared their houses would collapse, AFP news agency reported.

The quake led to a power outage across the country including in the capital city Kabul, after electricity lines from Uzbekistan and Tajikistan – major suppliers of power to Afghanistan – were damaged.

The Taliban spokesman in Balkh also posted a video on X appearing to show debris strewn across the ground at the Blue Mosque in Mazar-e-Sharif, revered by Shia Muslims.

The mosque, built in the 15th Century, is believed to house the tomb of the first Shia Imam, the son-in-law and cousin of Prophet Mohamad. It is now a site where pilgrims gather to pray and celebrate religious events.

Khalid Zadran, a Taliban spokesman for the police in Kabul, wrote on X that police are “closely monitoring the situation”.

Numerous fatalities were also reported in Samangan, a mountainous province near Mazar-e-Sharif, according to its spokesman.

The quake on Monday comes after a 6.0 magnitude earthquake struck Afghanistan’s mountainous eastern region in late August, killing more than 1,100 people.

That earthquake was especially deadly as the rural houses in the region were typically made of mud and timber. Residents were trapped when their houses collapsed during the quake.

Afghanistan is very prone to earthquakes because of its location on top of a number of fault lines where the Indian and Eurasian tectonic plates meet.

Poor communication networks and infrastructure – buildings there are not earthquake-resistant, for example – have often hampered rescue efforts following disasters like this.