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Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper has announced plans to track foreign homeownership and raised the possibility of eventually enacting limits on buying.

Foreign investors have been blamed for driving up the cost of real estate in Toronto and Vancouver.

Hurt by failing oil prices, Canada’s ailing economy has become a major issue as the country elects new leadership.

Mr Harper said that about 15% of condos in Vancouver aren’t being lived in. “If such foreign, non-resident buyers are artificially driving up the cost of real estate and Canadian families are shut out of the market, that is a matter we can and should do something about,” said Mr Harper said, who was campaigning in Vancouver on Wednesday.

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Former US President Jimmy Carter says recent liver surgery revealed that he has cancer and it has spread to other parts of his body.

The 90-year-old statesman underwent surgery to remove a small mass in his liver earlier this month. He said he would reveal more “when facts are known, possibly next week”.

Mr Carter will undergo treatment by physicians at Emory Healthcare in Atlanta.

President Barack Obama wished Mr Carter “a full and fast recovery” in a statement released on Wednesday.

“Jimmy, you’re as resilient as they come, and along with the rest of America, we are rooting for you,” Mr Obama said.

The White House said Mr Obama spoke to Mr Carter on the telephone on Wednesday. Bernice King, daughter of Martin Luther King Jr, posted on Twitter: “President #JimmyCarter is in my thoughts & prayers. May the Lord heal, comfort & encourage this extraordinary servant-leader to the world.”

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Travel operator Tui Group has announced how much its business will be affected by the beach attack in Tunisia in June.

Of the 38 people who were killed in the incident, 33 were on Tui holidays. Announcing its third quarter results, the firm, which owns Thomson and First Choice Travel, said the attack and subsequent warnings about travel to Tunisia would cost it about £20m this year.

Tui is also worried about the effect of migrants on its Greek business.

Tragic Event

Since the attack in Tunisia, the Foreign Office now advises against all but essential travel to the country. “This is the most tragic event and loss of human life that I have ever had to deal with or my company and we remain deeply shocked in terms of the loss of life, those customers that were injured and all the trauma that our customers had to go through, through these terrible events,” Tui Group chief executive Peter Long told the BBC. “We were 100% focused on making sure that our customers were looked after and that was our number one priority.”

He also said that the company was reliant on Foreign Office advice on when to resume offering holidays in Tunisia. The company said that in the three months to the end of June the attack had caused repatriation and cancellation costs of about €10m ($11m; £7m).

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China has set the guiding rate for its yuan currency lower for a third consecutive day.

But Thursday’s rate of 1% down against the dollar was a smaller margin than the shock cuts earlier in the week.

The bank had on Tuesday announced it would start setting the daily rate based partly on the previous day’s trading, bringing the yuan closer to a free-floating currency.

The move triggered concerns over a currency war to boost China’s exports.

Recent economic data had seen a decline in Chinese exports, adding to the worries that the world’s second largest economy was headed for a prolonged slowdown. A weaker yuan will make products cheaper abroad, meaning Chinese companies are more competitive on international markets.

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China’s Central Bank has devalued its national currency for the second day in a row – sparking turmoil in global financial markets.

The move, which could make some Chinese exports cheaper, will make life tougher for businesses in Britain.