NEW YORK, July 18 (Reuters) - North American cocoa grindings rose in the second quarter of 2019 to 123,731 tonnes, up 3.7% from the same period a year earlier, according to data from the National Confectioners Association (NCA) on Thursday.

TORONTO (Reuters) - A court in the Canadian province of Quebec on Thursday rejected a bid to suspend parts of a new provincial law that bans public sector employees from wearing religious symbols to work.

OTTAWA/ROME, July 18 (Reuters) - Canadian police on Thursday said they had arrested nine suspected members of a powerful Mafia clan with roots in southern Italy involved in money laundering and illegal gambling in the Toronto area, seizing C$35 million ($26.8 million) in assets, including five Ferraris.

LONDON (Reuters) - Can team mates be good mates in Formula One? McLaren rookie Lando Norris and Spaniard Carlos Sainz see no reason why not -- even if others have their doubts about how long that will last once the stakes are raised.

MONTREAL (Reuters) - Separatists in the Canadian province of Quebec are making a comeback after years in the doldrums and could regain enough strength to endanger Liberal Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's bid to retain power in a federal election this October.

July 18 (Reuters) - Union Pacific Corp on Thursday reported a quarterly profit that beat Wall Street estimates, as the U.S. railroad operator cut costs and raised rates to overcome disruptions from record floods in the Midwest and ongoing U.S.-China trade tensions.

TORONTO (Reuters) - Canada opposes any U.S. plans to buy Canadian prescription drugs that might threaten the country's drug supply or raise costs for its own citizens, officials have told U.S. authorities, in a new setback to the Trump administration's efforts to tackle high drug prices, according to documents obtained by Reuters.

OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canada and the European Union are close to agreeing a possible temporary solution to a U.S. block on appeals in disputes at the World Trade Organization (WTO), Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Thursday.

(Reuters) - Union Pacific Corp on Thursday reported a quarterly profit that beat Wall Street estimates, as the U.S. railroad operator cut costs and raised prices to overcome the effects of severe flooding in the Midwest and ongoing U.S.-China trade tensions.