Jan 12

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HEIGHT= 32452 ><NOBR><div> <B> <A NAME="top"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></B><B><IMG SRC="5e4a5c200.png" border=0 width="92" height="32" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">  </B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#FFFFFF" FACE="Arial" ><B>Past Articles:</B></FONT></div> <div> <TABLE BORDER="1" CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="626" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#FFCC80" BORDERCOLORDARK="#CC9900" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP BGCOLOR=#FFCC33 HEIGHT= 16 WIDTH="50"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="16" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="50" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP BGCOLOR=#FFCC33 WIDTH="50"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="16" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="50" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP BGCOLOR=#FFCC33 WIDTH="50"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="16" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="50" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP BGCOLOR=#FFCC33 WIDTH="50"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" 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TARGET="_top" TITLE="Dec 07"><U><B>Dec/07</B></U></A></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP BGCOLOR=#FFCC33><NOBR><div> <A HREF="id1037.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Nov 07"><U><B>Nov/07</B></U></A></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP BGCOLOR=#FFCC33 WIDTH="50"><div> <A HREF="id1032.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Oct 07"><U><B>Oct/07</B></U></A></div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP BGCOLOR=#FFCC33><NOBR><div> <A HREF="id1026.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Sep 07"><U><B>Sep/07</B></U></A></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP BGCOLOR=#FFCC33><NOBR><div> <A HREF="id1025.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Aug 07"><U><B>Aug/07</B></U></A></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP BGCOLOR=#FFCC33 WIDTH="50"><div> <A HREF="id1020.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Jul 07"><U><B>Jul/07</B></U></A></div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP BGCOLOR=#FFCC33><NOBR><div> <A HREF="id1015.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Jun 07"><U><B>Jun/07</B></U></A></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP BGCOLOR=#FFCC33><NOBR><div> <A HREF="id1009.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="May 07"><U><B>May/07</B></U></A></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP BGCOLOR=#FFCC33 WIDTH="50"><div> <A HREF="id1007.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Apr 07"><U><B>Apr/07</B></U></A></div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP BGCOLOR=#FFCC33><NOBR><div> <A HREF="id986.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Mar 07"><U><B>Mar/07</B></U></A></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP BGCOLOR=#FFCC33><NOBR><div> <A HREF="id979.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Feb 07"><U><B>Feb/07</B></U></A></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP BGCOLOR=#FFCC33><NOBR><div> <A HREF="id978.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Jan 07"><U><B>Jan/07</B></U></A></div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <div> <B>These "Articles" a</B><B>re dated from </B><B>January 1st, 2012 - January 31st, 2012</B><B>.</B></div> <div> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="420" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 16 ><NOBR><div> <A HREF="#31" TITLE="Jan 12"><U><B><IMG SRC="f1f0b0d0.png" border=0 width="11" height="13" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A><B>  </B><B>RCMP dog bites B.C. teen in face during arrest</B></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> 31/01/12</div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 16 ><NOBR><div> <A HREF="#30" TITLE="Jan 12"><U><B><IMG SRC="f1f0b0d0.png" border=0 width="11" height="13" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A><B>  </B><B>Should the Shafia murders be called 'honour killings'?</B></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> 30/01/12</div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 16 ><NOBR><div> <A HREF="#29" TITLE="Jan 12"><U><B><IMG SRC="f1f0b0d0.png" border=0 width="11" height="13" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A><B>  </B><B>Shafia family members guilty of first-degree murder</B></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> 29/01/12</div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 16 ><NOBR><div> <A HREF="#28" TITLE="Jan 12"><U><B><IMG SRC="f1f0b0d0.png" border=0 width="11" height="13" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A><B>  </B><B>Police use tear gas on Occupy Oakland protesters</B></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> 28/01/12</div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 16 ><NOBR><div> <A HREF="#27" TITLE="Jan 12"><U><B><IMG SRC="f1f0b0d0.png" border=0 width="11" height="13" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A><B>  </B><B>Neilson brand milk recalled, may contain cleaning solution</B></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> 27/01/12</div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 16 ><NOBR><div> <A HREF="#26" TITLE="Jan 12"><U><B><IMG SRC="f1f0b0d0.png" border=0 width="11" height="13" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A><B>  </B><B>Police escort Australian PM through security scare</B></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> 26/01/12</div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 16 ><NOBR><div> <A HREF="#25" TITLE="Jan 12"><U><B><IMG SRC="f1f0b0d0.png" border=0 width="11" height="13" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A><B>  </B><B>Japan kept alarming nuclear crisis report secret</B></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> 25/01/12</div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 16 ><NOBR><div> <A HREF="#24" TITLE="Jan 12"><U><B><IMG SRC="f1f0b0d0.png" border=0 width="11" height="13" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A><B>  </B><B>Northern Lights light up skies after solar storm</B></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> 24/01/12</div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 16 ><NOBR><div> <A HREF="#23" TITLE="Jan 12"><U><B><IMG SRC="f1f0b0d0.png" border=0 width="11" height="13" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A><B>  </B><B>Skurka's Spin: Court decision 'marked stellar day for privacy'</B></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> 23/01/12</div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 16 ><NOBR><div> <A HREF="#22" TITLE="Jan 12"><U><B><IMG SRC="f1f0b0d0.png" border=0 width="11" height="13" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A><B>  </B><B>Calgary boy's dream to sponsor skier comes true</B></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> 22/01/12</div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 16 ><NOBR><div> <A HREF="#21" TITLE="Jan 12"><U><B><IMG SRC="f1f0b0d0.png" border=0 width="11" height="13" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A><B>  </B><B>Two people still missing after B.C. sawmill blast</B></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> 21/01/12</div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 16 ><NOBR><div> <A HREF="#20" TITLE="Jan 12"><U><B><IMG SRC="f1f0b0d0.png" border=0 width="11" height="13" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A><B>  </B><B>Direct Energy moving Toronto headquarters to Texas</B></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> 20/01/12</div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 16 WIDTH="370"><div> <A HREF="#19" TITLE="Jan 12"><U><B><IMG SRC="f1f0b0d0.png" border=0 width="11" height="13" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A><B>  </B><B>U.S. politics behind Keystone XL rejection</B></div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> 19/01/12</div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 16 ><NOBR><div> <A HREF="#18" TITLE="Jan 12"><U><B><IMG SRC="f1f0b0d0.png" border=0 width="11" height="13" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A><B>  </B><B>Getting around the Wikipedia blackout: A survival guide</B></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> 18/01/12</div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 16 ><NOBR><div> <A HREF="#17" TITLE="Jan 12"><U><B><IMG SRC="f1f0b0d0.png" border=0 width="11" height="13" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A><B>  </B><B>Wikipedia</B><B> will go dark in protest of legislation</B></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> 17/01/12</div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 16 ><NOBR><div> <A HREF="#16" TITLE="Jan 12"><U><B><IMG SRC="f1f0b0d0.png" border=0 width="11" height="13" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A><B>  </B><B>Cost to mail a letter within North America rises</B></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> 16/01/12</div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 16 ><NOBR><div> <A HREF="#15" TITLE="Jan 12"><U><B><IMG SRC="f1f0b0d0.png" border=0 width="11" height="13" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A><B>  </B><B>'Significant human error' blamed in cruise ship incident</B></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> 15/01/12</div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 16 ><NOBR><div> <A HREF="#14" TITLE="Jan 12"><U><B><IMG SRC="f1f0b0d0.png" border=0 width="11" height="13" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A><B>  </B><B>Crime, fires compromise cruise ship safety: experts</B></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> 14/01/12</div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 16 ><NOBR><div> <A HREF="#13" TITLE="Jan 12"><U><B><IMG SRC="f1f0b0d0.png" border=0 width="11" height="13" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A><B>  </B><B>Babies at risk if moms take antidepressants: study</B></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> 13/01/12</div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 16 ><NOBR><div> <A HREF="#12" TITLE="Jan 12"><U><B><IMG SRC="f1f0b0d0.png" border=0 width="11" height="13" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A><B>  </B><B>Karzai condemns video of urination on corpses</B></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> 12/01/12</div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 16 ><NOBR><div> <A HREF="#11" TITLE="Jan 12"><U><B><IMG SRC="f1f0b0d0.png" border=0 width="11" height="13" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A><B>  </B><B>Twinkies and Wonder Bread maker Hostess files for Ch. 11</B></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> 11/01/12</div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 16 ><NOBR><div> <A HREF="#10" TITLE="Jan 12"><U><B><IMG SRC="f1f0b0d0.png" border=0 width="11" height="13" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A><B>  </B><B>Shafia mother says she lied in statement to police</B></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> 10/01/12</div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 16 ><NOBR><div> <A HREF="#09" TITLE="Jan 12"><U><B><IMG SRC="f1f0b0d0.png" border=0 width="11" height="13" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A><B>  </B><B>Forget 2012, expert says world ends in 500M years</B></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> 09/01/12</div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 16 ><NOBR><div> <A HREF="#08" TITLE="Jan 12"><U><B><IMG SRC="f1f0b0d0.png" border=0 width="11" height="13" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A><B>  </B><B>HMCS Charlottetown on counter-terrorism mission</B></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> 08/01/12</div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 16 ><NOBR><div> <A HREF="#07" TITLE="Jan 12"><U><B><IMG SRC="f1f0b0d0.png" border=0 width="11" height="13" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A><B>  </B><B>BlackBerry messages may be used in Mafia murder case</B></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> 07/01/12</div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 16 ><NOBR><div> <A HREF="#06" TITLE="Jan 12"><U><B><IMG SRC="f1f0b0d0.png" border=0 width="11" height="13" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A><B>  </B><B>Unemployment rises to 7.5 per cent in December</B></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> 06/01/12</div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 16 ><NOBR><div> <A HREF="#05" TITLE="Jan 12"><U><B><IMG SRC="f1f0b0d0.png" border=0 width="11" height="13" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A><B>  </B><B>Amber Alert issued for two children in Timmins, Ont.</B></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> 05/01/12</div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 16 ><NOBR><div> <A HREF="#04" TITLE="Jan 12"><U><B><IMG SRC="f1f0b0d0.png" border=0 width="11" height="13" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A><B>  </B><B>With credit for time served, Lahey may be released</B></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> 04/01/12</div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 16 ><NOBR><div> <A HREF="#03" TITLE="Jan 12"><U><B><IMG SRC="f1f0b0d0.png" border=0 width="11" height="13" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A><B>  </B><B>Ontario shivers as warmth embraces the Prairies</B></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> 03/01/12</div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 16 ><NOBR><div> <A HREF="#02" TITLE="Jan 12"><U><B><IMG SRC="f1f0b0d0.png" border=0 width="11" height="13" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A><B>  </B><B>L.A. arson suspect ID'd as 24-year-old Hollywood man</B></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> 02/01/12</div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 16 ><NOBR><div> <A HREF="#01" TITLE="Jan 12"><U><B><IMG SRC="f1f0b0d0.png" border=0 width="11" height="13" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A><B>  </B><B>Dead blackbirds fall from sky in Beebe Arkansas, again</B></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> 01/01/12</div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <div> =======================</div> <div> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="705" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 16 WIDTH="707"><div>  <A NAME="31"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A><A HREF="#top" TITLE="Jan 12"><U><IMG SRC="16243f0d0.png" border=0 width="63" height="13" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></U></A></div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 175 WIDTH="540"><div> <B>RCMP dog bites B.C. teen in face during arrest</B></div> <div> Web Posted | Last Updated Mon. Jan. 30  2012  21:51  ET</div> <div> Giant Dwarf Posted: January 31st, 2012</div> <div> <B>A Surrey, B.C., couple is considering a lawsuit against the RCMP after their teenage son was mauled in the head by a police dog during an arrest.</B></div> <bR> <div> The 16-year-old, whose identity is protected by law, was chased by an RCMP canine unit after allegedly breaking into a convenience store this weekend. The police dog bit the teenager in the face, sending him to hospital with deep lacerations.</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="165"><div> <IMG SRC="10275a07e0.jpg" border=0 width="160" height="126" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> Chirs Evans is suing the city after he was severely bitten by a Vancouver police dog.</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 418 WIDTH="707"><div> "I was surprised they could stitch it up -- there was hardly any skin there," the teen's mother told CTV News.</div> <bR> <div> She and her husband, who also cannot be identified, described their son's injuries as "gruesome."</div> <bR> <div> The family has since hired a lawyer and is looking to sue the RCMP dog handler for excessive use of force. They also want the dog involved in the attack destroyed.</div> <bR> <div> "There's been a hundred people who have texted us or been on the computer saying: ‘Sorry.' Everybody is mad. Everybody is upset with the RCMP," the mother said.</div> <bR> <div> "I want to see the dogs trained to go after the arms and legs."</div> <bR> <div> The Mounties say it's too early to decide the dog's fate, but they want to meet with the boy's family.</div> <bR> <div> In a similar recent case, a man is suing Vancouver police after he was bitten by a police dog during an arrest.</div> <bR> <div> Chris Evans alleges excessive force was used when police sent a dog after him. He was arrested for smashing the windows of a bus, but prosecutors decided to stay the criminal charges against him last fall.</div> <bR> <div> Vancouver police disagree with Evans' version of events, saying he had struggled during the arrest, so the dog "had to reapply its bite three times."</div> <bR> <div> Written by CTV.ca News Staff <I>with files from</I><I> CTV News Vancouver's Peter Grainger </I></div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 32 WIDTH="707"><div> =======================</div> <div>  <A NAME="30"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A><A HREF="#top" TITLE="Jan 12"><U><IMG SRC="16243f0d0.png" border=0 width="63" height="13" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></U></A></div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 211 WIDTH="540"><div> <B>Should the Shafia murders be called 'honour killings'?</B></div> <div> Web Posted | Last Updated Mon. Jan. 30  2012  23:04  ET</div> <div> Giant Dwarf Posted: January 30th, 2012</div> <div> <B>After a gruelling 10-week trial, the Shafia murder case is closed but the language used in court continues to haunt many in Canada's Islamic community.</B></div> <bR> <div> Mohammad Shafia, 58, his wife Tooba Yahya, 42, and their son Hamed, 21, were each found guilty Sunday of killing the Shafias' three daughters and the older man's first wife.</div> <bR> <div> At issue is the Crown's argument that the deaths were so-called "honour killings," murders intended to restore family dignity after the women's perceived rebellious behaviour.</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="165"><div> <IMG SRC="10273a06b0.jpg" border=0 width="160" height="107" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> Mohammad Shafia, centre, Tooba Yahya, right, and Hamed Shafia, left, arrive at the Frontenac County courthouse in Kingston, Ont., Sunday, Jan. 29, 2012. (Graham Hughes / THE CANADIAN PRESS)</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 541 WIDTH="707"><div> Justice Robert Maranger alluded to this notion on Sunday when he told the Afghanistan-born family that the women were killed because they "offended your completely twisted concept of honour…that has absolutely no place in any civilized society."</div> <bR> <div> The weight of these words, however, has concerned many that this interpretation of the Shafia deaths will only further marginalize a community that is still enduring hateful sentiment related to the 9-11 terrorist attacks.</div> <bR> <div> Alia Hogben of the Canadian Council of Muslim Women said the language around the Shafia verdict is distracting from the basic fact that four women were murdered.</div> <bR> <div> Instead, she prefers the idea that the deaths were femicide.</div> <bR> <div> "Femicide just simply means the killing of women and girls just because they're women and girls," she told CTV News Channel on Monday from a studio in Kingston, Ont.</div> <bR> <div> The term stems from the patriarchal idea that men are the guardians of women and can do with them as they see fit, Hogben said.</div> <bR> <div> Sisters Zainab, 19, Sahar, 17, and Geeti, 13, along with Shafia's other wife Rona Amir Mohammad, 52, were found dead in one of the family cars at the bottom of a Kingston canal in June 2009.</div> <bR> <div> During the trial, the Crown buttressed its case with photos of the teenaged girls dressed in Western clothing and alleged the father was angry because the girls had boyfriends.</div> <bR> <div> Court heard that Geeti tried to seek help from teachers and child protection authorities, complaining of verbal, emotional and physical abuse at home.</div> <bR> <div> The convicted Shafia family members maintain their innocence and have vehemently denied the idea that the women were killed over family dignity.</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 628 WIDTH="707"><div> Hogben said Canadians should stop focusing on the deaths as honour killings "because that makes it kind of exotic and different and therefore does not include them with all of us as Canadian women."</div> <bR> <div> By viewing the deaths as a female issue, not only that implies ties to any specific cultural group, Hogben said Canadians can focus on how to protect women in the future.</div> <bR> <div> But Rona Ambrose, Minister for Status of Women, told CTV's Power Play on Monday that honour killings are real.</div> <bR> <div> "I think (the Shafia) trial in particular was a wake-up call to a lot of people that thought … honour-motivated violence doesn't exist in Canada," she said.</div> <bR> <div> "It sends a message that this is real. We need to educate prosecutors, we need to educate police officers, social workers so they understand what this is about."</div> <bR> <div> Ambrose said that's already happening in some Toronto women's shelters, where staff are learning about the phenomenon. Other programs for women and girls, such as those offered through the Indo-Canadian Women's Association, can also help, she said.</div> <bR> <div> While honour killings are rare in Canada, honour-motivated violence against women is more prevalent, Ambrose said.</div> <bR> <div> "Girls are being subjected to violence or intimidation because they wore jeans. This is the kind of thing that's difficult for Canadians to understand," she said.</div> <bR> <div> "This is an issue and there've been a lot of very brave women in certain cultural communities who've come forward to say this is a problem, honour-motivated violence does exist and we have to address it," Ambrose said, noting that Indo-Canadian and Muslim communities are working with the government to address the issue.</div> <bR> <div> Tarek Fatah, founder of the Muslim Canadian Congress and an outspoken critic of radical Islam, has expressed concern that certain communities are still not getting the message that this kind of violence is unacceptable in Canada. He has also said that political correctness is hindering a frank, public discussion of the issue.</div> <bR> <div> Montreal Imam Khalil Tabatabai told CTV Montreal that Mohammad Shafia wasn't even a practicing Muslim because he didn't attend the Islamic centres in the city. Had Shafia sought advice and religious guidance, he would have been told that honour killings have no place in Islam, Tabatabai said.</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 615 WIDTH="707"><div> Speaking to The Canadian Press, he also said the trio's crimes are "unforgivable" and inexcusable in any religion. </div> <div> "Only people who have lost their brain do that... It's unbelievable," he said.</div> <bR> <div> Fehmida Khan with Muslim Women of Quebec shares the idea that the deaths should be viewed differently.</div> <bR> <div> In an interview with CTV Montreal, she said the Shafia deaths should be seen as domestic violence against women and child abuse.</div> <bR> <div> Khan does, however, approve of the judge's final words to the family.</div> <bR> <div> "The whole thing is so tragic," she said. "The words he used might be harsh but they were realistic words."</div> <bR> <div> Judge Maranger referred to the murders as "cold-blooded" and "heinous" on Sunday. He went on to say that the killings were an "honourless crime."</div> <bR> <div> Shortly after the Shafia women were found dead, Canada's justice department commissioned a report on so-called "honour killings" across the country.</div> <bR> <div> The report states that at least a dozen of these types of killings were committed in Canada between 1999 and 2009, reported CTV Montreal's Caroline Van Vlaardingen, using a copy of the report that was obtained via an access-to-information request.</div> <bR> <div> She said the report stresses that these crimes are not exclusive to any one religion or cultural group but are seen in many countries around the world.</div> <bR> <div> As well, the report said the idea of killing for honour provides lawyers with a specific legal argument. By definition, the phrase implies that the crime has been planned within a family (often with a meeting) and the perpetrators don't feel or receive any negative stigma for the actions within their own communities.</div> <bR> <div> Such a detailed definition, the report noted, could help protect victims when crimes like these go to court.</div> <bR> <div> Still, the research found that several cultural communities are concerned that the phrase "honour killing" will stir anti-immigration sentiment.</div> <bR> <div> Written by CTV.ca News Staff <I>with files from The Canadian Press </I></div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 32 WIDTH="707"><div> =======================</div> <div>  <A NAME="29"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A><A HREF="#top" TITLE="Jan 12"><U><IMG SRC="16243f0d0.png" border=0 width="63" height="13" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></U></A></div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 244 WIDTH="540"><div> <B>Shafia family members guilty of first-degree murder</B></div> <div> Web Posted | Last Updated Sun. Jan. 29  2012  20:13  ET</div> <div> Giant Dwarf Posted: January 29th, 2012</div> <div> <B>A Montreal couple and their son were convicted Sunday of murdering four female relatives in what the judge described as a "cold-blooded" and "heinous" crime.</B></div> <bR> <div> Mohammad Shafia, 58, his wife Tooba Yahya, 42, and their son Hamed, 21, were each found guilty of four counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of Shafia's three teenaged daughters and his first wife.</div> <bR> <div> Sisters Zainab, 19, Sahar, 17, and Geeti, 13, along with Shafia's other wife Rona Amir Mohammad, 52, were found dead on June 30, 2009 in a car at the bottom of a canal in Kingston.</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="165"><div> <IMG SRC="10272a07e0.jpg" border=0 width="160" height="126" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> Mohammad Shafia, front, Tooba Yahya, left, and Hamed Shafia, centre, are led from the Frontenac County courthouse after being found guilty of first-degree murder in Kingston, Ont., Sunday, Jan. 29, 2012. (Graham Hughes / THE CANADIAN PRESS)</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 696 WIDTH="707"><div> From the start of the trial in October, prosecutors argued these were "honour killings" -- the Afghan-Canadian family's answer to the young sisters' perceived shameful behaviour.</div> <bR> <div> "It is difficult to conceive of a more despicable, more heinous, more honourless crime," Justice Robert Maranger said in court after the verdict was delivered Sunday.</div> <bR> <div> "The apparent reason behind these cold-blooded, shameful murders was that the four completely innocent victims offended your completely twisted concept of honour...that has absolutely no place in any civilized society."</div> <bR> <div> Jurors reached the guilty verdict after a 10-week trial, 58 witnesses and 15 hours of deliberations. One juror burst into tears as the verdict was read, reported CTV News' Montreal Bureau Chief Genevieve Beauchemin.</div> <bR> <div> A first-degree murder conviction carries an automatic life sentence with no chance of parole for 25 years.</div> <bR> <div> One-by-one, Mohammad, Tooba and Hamed maintained their innocence when asked by the judge if they wanted to say anything.</div> <bR> <div> "We are not criminal, we are not murderer, we didn't commit the murder and this is unjust," Mohammad Shafia told the court through a translator.</div> <bR> <div> "Your honourable justice, this is not just," Yahya said, also through an interpreter. "I am not a murderer, and I am a mother -- a mother!"</div> <bR> <div> Hamed addressed the judge in English, saying: "Sir, I did not drown my sisters anywhere."</div> <bR> <div> Beauchemin noted that Hamed appeared to be the most emotional of the three, slumping in his seat as the verdicts were read.</div> <bR> <div> At one point his parents rubbed his back, presumably in a bid to console him.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Trial ‘gave victims a voice'</B></div> <bR> <div> As the trio was led out of the courthouse in front of a throng of journalists and flashing cameras, Mohammad Shafia loudly said: "Wrong."</div> <bR> <div> Outside the Kingston courtroom, prosecutor Gerard Laarhuis said it was a good day for Canadian justice but also a sad day given it involves the death of four women.</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 712 WIDTH="707"><div> "This jury found that four strong, viviacious and freedom-loving women were murdered by their own family in the most troubling of circumstances," he said.</div> <bR> <div> Some onlookers in a crowd on the court steps cheered when Laarhuis spoke while others heckled the prosecutor.</div> <bR> <div> "This verdict sends a very clear message about our Canadian values and the core principles of a free and democratic society that all Canadians enjoy and even visitors to Canada enjoy," Laarhuis said.</div> <bR> <div> Staff Sgt. Chris Scott, who led the Shafia investigation, thanked prosecutors for their work.</div> <bR> <div> "I would just like to add one thing, assistant Crown attorney Gerard Laarhuis and (prosecutor) Laurie Lacelle did an exceptional job," he said amid cheers.</div> <bR> <div> "Their passion, their work ethic, gave these victims a voice when they had none and I appreciate their work," he said.</div> <bR> <div> In a statement following the verdict, Justice Minister Rob Nicholson called honour killings "barbaric and unacceptable in Canada."</div> <bR> <div> "This government is committed to protecting women and other vulnerable persons from all forms of violence and to hold perpetrators accountable for their acts," he said.</div> <bR> <div> Outside court, Shafia's lawyer Peter Kemp said he believes the jury was swayed by wiretap conversations in which his client called his dead daughters whores.</div> <bR> <div> "He wasn't convicted for what he did," Kemp said. "He was convicted for what he said."</div> <bR> <div> Hamed's lawyer, Patrick McCann, said his client will appeal. He believes Hamed's parents will do the same.</div> <bR> <div> Legal analyst Steven Skurka told CTV News this is a precedent-setting case in Canada, where honour killings are "a rare phenomenon."</div> <bR> <div> "It really is quite an unusual and an astounding case," he said. "In order to restore family honour, family reputation, in order to cleanse the family's shame...(these women) needed to be killed."</div> <bR> <div> Prosecutors had argued that the young Shafia sisters had shamed the conservative Afghan family -- and especially its patriarch -- by wearing revealing clothing, refusing to don hijabs and having boyfriends.</div> <bR> <div> The jury heard that Zainab had previously run away from home and was briefly married to a Pakistani man Shafia did not approve of. The marriage was annulled within 24 hours.</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 856 WIDTH="707"><div> Sahar also had a forbidden boyfriend, while the youngest of the three, Geeti, told her teachers she wanted to be placed in foster care. Mohammad Shafia's first, infertile, wife had protected the girls, especially Sahar, whom she had been raising as her own, court heard.</div> <bR> <div> Shafia and Yahya had seven children in total. After their arrests, the remaining children, all minors, were placed in foster care.</div> <bR> <div> Court also heard damning wiretapped conversations between the accused in which, at one point, Shafia said of his dead daughters: "God's curse on them … May the devil shit on their graves."</div> <bR> <div> Teachers, child protection workers and police officers testified about reports from the girls that they were afraid of their father and brother and wanted to run away from home.</div> <bR> <div> The Crown painted a picture of a highly dysfunctional polygamous family, with Shafia and Hamed exerting control over female members of the household and the two wives fighting for Shafia's affections.</div> <bR> <div> Yahya and Shafia refuted the Crown's theory and evidence, saying they loved their children and would have never killed them. In interviews with police and on the stand, the couple maintained the deaths were a tragic accident.</div> <bR> <div> The night the sisters and Mohammad disappeared, Zainab had asked to borrow the car keys, her parents told police. Zainab, an unlicensed and inexperienced driver, must have taken the group on a joyride and somehow ended up in the canal, they said.</div> <bR> <div> But court heard conflicting versions of what happened that night. Yahya had initially told police the two Shafia men were at the canal when the car went in the water. But during her testimony, she told court that was lie.</div> <bR> <div> Hamed never took the stand in his own defence, but court heard a taped conversation in which he admitted to a private investigator that he was at the scene.</div> <bR> <div> Hamed said he had followed his sisters in a separate car out of concern and rear-ended them at the canal. While he was picking up pieces of shattered headlight, he heard a splash and ran over to the edge of the water. He said he dangled a rope and called his sisters' names, but hearing no response, drove off and headed home to Montreal without calling 911.</div> <bR> <div> While his client was "stupid" to make such a "terrible" mistake, he was no murderer, Hamed's lawyer told the jury.</div> <bR> <div> During closing arguments, defence lawyers for all three accused bristled at the suggestion of honour killings, saying the Shafia daughters were prone to lying and exaggerating their problems at home.</div> <bR> <div> The defence also said the Crown failed to prove that any murder had been committed, failing to explain where and how the Shafia sisters and Mohammad were killed.</div> <bR> <div> A pathologist testified that the cause of death for all four was drowning, though he couldn't conclude if they drowned in the canal. The Crown alleged the four were dead before their car hit the water.</div> <bR> <div> The court also heard from police and technical witnesses who testified it was unlikely the car could have fallen into the canal by accident.</div> <bR> <div> Written by CTV.ca News Staff <I>with files from The</I><I> Canadian Press </I></div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 32 WIDTH="707"><div> =======================</div> <div>  <A NAME="28"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A><A HREF="#top" TITLE="Jan 12"><U><IMG SRC="16243f0d0.png" border=0 width="63" height="13" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></U></A></div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 233 WIDTH="540"><div> <B>Police use tear gas on Occupy Oakland protesters</B></div> <div> Web Posted | Last Updated Sat. Jan. 28  2012  22:58  ET</div> <div> Giant Dwarf Posted: January 28th, 2012</div> <div> <B>OAKLAND — Oakland police used tear gas and "flash" grenades Saturday to break up hundreds of Occupy protesters after some demonstrators started throwing rocks and flares at officers and tearing down fencing.</B></div> <bR> <div> Three officers were hurt and 19 people were arrested, the Oakland Police Department said. No details on the officers' injuries were released.</div> <bR> <div> The protest continued into Saturday evening. A four-block area near downtown was closed off with police in the street facing hundreds of protesters, while a second group of dozens of protesters headed toward City Hall. No additional clashes were reported.</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="165"><div> <IMG SRC="10270a06c0.jpg" border=0 width="160" height="108" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> Oakland police block off 10th street near the Kaiser Convention Center, as protesters with Occupy Oakland march through the streets in Oakland, Calif., Saturday Jan. 28, 2012. (San Francisco Chronicle / Michael Macor)</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 716 WIDTH="707"><div> "We're going to be out here as long as they are," said protester Christopher Moreland, 23.</div> <bR> <div> Police said the group started assembling at a downtown plaza Saturday morning, with demonstrators threatening to take over the vacant Henry Kaiser Convention Center. The group then marched through the streets, disrupting traffic.</div> <bR> <div> The crowd grew as the day wore on, with afternoon estimates ranging from about 1,000 to 2,000 people.</div> <bR> <div> The protesters walked to the vacant convention centre, where some started tearing down perimeter fencing and "destroying construction equipment" shortly before 3 p.m., police said.</div> <bR> <div> Police said they issued a dispersal order and used smoke and tear gas after some protesters pelted them with bottles, rocks, burning flares and other objects.</div> <bR> <div> Most of the arrests were made when protesters ignored orders to leave and assaulted officers, police said. By 4 p.m., the bulk of the crowd had left the convention centre and headed back downtown.</div> <bR> <div> The demonstration comes after Occupy protesters said earlier this week that they planned to move into a vacant building and turn it into a social centre and political hub. They also threatened to try to shut down the port, occupy the airport and take over City Hall.</div> <bR> <div> In a statement Friday, Oakland City Administrator Deanna Santana said the city would not be "bullied by threats of violence or illegal activity."</div> <bR> <div> Interim police Chief Howard Jordan also warned that officers would arrest those carrying out illegal actions.</div> <bR> <div> Oakland officials said Friday that since the Occupy Oakland encampment was first established in late October, police have arrested about 300 people.</div> <bR> <div> The national Occupy Wall Street movement, which denounces corporate excess and economic inequality, began in New York City in the fall but has been largely dormant lately.</div> <bR> <div> Oakland, New York and Los Angeles were among the cities with the largest and most vocal Occupy protests early on. The demonstrations ebbed after those cities used force to move out hundreds of demonstrators who had set up tent cities.</div> <bR> <div> In Oakland, the police department received heavy criticism for using force to break up earlier protests. Among the critics was Mayor Jean Quan, who said she wasn't briefed on the department's plans. Earlier this month, a court-appointed monitor submitted a report to a federal judge that included "serious concerns" about the department's handling of the Occupy protests.</div> <bR> <div> Written by CTV.ca News Staff <I>with files from The Associated Press</I></div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 32 WIDTH="707"><div> =======================</div> <div>  <A NAME="27"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A><A HREF="#top" TITLE="Jan 12"><U><IMG SRC="16243f0d0.png" border=0 width="63" height="13" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></U></A></div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 420 WIDTH="540"><div> <B>Neilson brand milk recalled, may contain cleaning solution</B></div> <div> Web Posted | Last Updated Fri. Jan. 27  2012  07:30  ET</div> <div> Giant Dwarf Posted: January 27th, 2012</div> <div> <B>Saputo Inc. is warning the public not to consume some 4-litre bags of Neilson Trutaste 2% Microfiltered Partly Skimmed Milk, because it might contain a cleaning solution.</B></div> <bR> <div> The affected product has a best before date of February 12, 2012. The Best Before code 1590 FE12 H7 appears on the bag closure tab.</div> <bR> <div> No other codes are affected.</div> <bR> <div> The product has been distributed in Ontario and in Aylmer, Quebec.</div> <bR> <div> The milk should not be consumed, Saputo says.</div> <bR> <div> The Canadian Food Inspection Agency there has been one reported reaction associated with using this product.</div> <bR> <div> Milk containing this cleaning solution may not look or smell spoiled but drinking the milk could cause symptoms such as nausea, upset stomach or vomiting.</div> <bR> <div> Saputo is voluntarily recalling the affected milk from the marketplace, while the CFIA is monitoring the effectiveness of the recall.</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="165"><div> <IMG SRC="1026ca0d50.jpg" border=0 width="160" height="213" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"><IMG SRC="1026da0910.jpg" border=0 width="160" height="145" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> The following image was provided by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 91 ><NOBR><div> For more information, consumers and industry can call one of the following numbers:</div> <bR> <div> Saputo Inc. at 1-866-665-3070 or email consumer@saputo.com.</div> <bR> <div> Written by CTV.ca News Staff</div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 32 WIDTH="707"><div> =======================</div> <div>  <A NAME="26"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A><A HREF="#top" TITLE="Jan 12"><U><IMG SRC="16243f0d0.png" border=0 width="63" height="13" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></U></A></div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 233 WIDTH="540"><div> <B>Police escort Australian PM through security scare</B></div> <div> Web Posted | Last Updated Thu. Jan. 26  2012  07:08  ET</div> <div> Giant Dwarf Posted: January 26th, 2012</div> <div> <B>CANBERRA, Australia — Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard stumbled and was caught by a security guard as riot police helped her force a path through a crowd of rowdy protesters following a ceremony to mark Australia's national day Thursday.</B></div> <bR> <div> She was unharmed and later remarked that she was made of "pretty tough stuff" and commended police for their actions.</div> <bR> <div> Some 200 supporters of indigenous rights had surrounded a Canberra restaurant and banged its windows while Gillard and opposition leader Tony Abbott were inside officiating at an award ceremony.</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="165"><div> <IMG SRC="10266a0650.jpg" border=0 width="160" height="101" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard is escorted out for safety by body guards and police through a crowd of rowdy protesters following a ceremony to mark Australia's national day in Canberra, Australia, Thursday, Jan. 26, 2012. (AP / Lukas Coch)</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 381 WIDTH="707"><div> Around 50 police escorted the political leaders from a side door to a car. Gillard stumbled, losing a shoe. Her personal security guard wrapped his arms around her and supported her to the waiting car, shielding her from the angry crowd.</div> <bR> <div> The protesters had been demonstrating for indigenous rights nearby at the so-called Aboriginal Tent Embassy, a ramshackle collection of tents and temporary shelters in the national capital that is a centre point of protests against Australia Day.</div> <bR> <div> Australia Day marks the arrival of the first fleet of British colonists in Sydney on Jan. 26, 1788. Many Aborigines call it Invasion Day because the land was settled without a treaty with traditional owners.</div> <bR> <div> Abbott appeared to be the target of protesters, who chanted "shame" and "racist" outside the restaurant.</div> <bR> <div> The Tent Embassy celebrated its 40th anniversary on Thursday. Abbott had earlier angered indigenous activists by saying it was time the embassy "moved on."</div> <bR> <div> Gillard was unharmed and later hosted another Australia Day function for foreign ambassadors at her official residence.</div> <bR> <div> "The only thing that angers me is that it distracted from such a wonderful event," Gillard told reporters.</div> <bR> <div> "I am made of pretty tough stuff and the police did a great job," she added.</div> <bR> <div> Written by CTV.ca News Staff <I>with files from The Associated Press</I></div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 32 WIDTH="707"><div> =======================</div> <div>  <A NAME="25"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A><A HREF="#top" TITLE="Jan 12"><U><IMG SRC="16243f0d0.png" border=0 width="63" height="13" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></U></A></div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 199 WIDTH="540"><div> <B>Japan kept alarming nuclear crisis report secret</B></div> <div> Web Posted | Last Updated Wed. Jan. 25  2012  09:13  ET</div> <div> Giant Dwarf Posted: January 25th, 2012</div> <div> <B>TOKYO — The Japanese government's worst-case scenario at the height of the nuclear crisis last year warned that tens of millions of people, including Tokyo residents, might need to leave their homes, according to a report obtained by The Associated Press. But fearing widespread panic, officials kept the report secret.</B></div> <bR> <div> The recent emergence of the 15-page internal document may add to complaints in Japan that the government withheld too much information about the world's worst nuclear accident since Chernobyl.</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="165"><div> <IMG SRC="10261a0840.jpg" border=0 width="160" height="132" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> The crippled Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant in Okuma, Japan, is seen on Nov. 12, 2011. (AP / David Guttenfelder, Pool)</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 658 WIDTH="707"><div> It also casts doubt about whether the government was sufficiently prepared to cope with what could have been an evacuation of unprecedented scale.</div> <bR> <div> The report was submitted to then-Prime Minister Naoto Kan and his top advisers on March 25, two weeks after the earthquake and tsunami devastated the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant, causing three reactors to melt down and generating hydrogen explosions that blew away protective structures.</div> <bR> <div> Workers ultimately were able to bring the reactors under control, but at the time, it was unclear whether emergency measures would succeed. Kan commissioned the report, compiled by the Japan Atomic Energy Commission, to examine what options the government had if those efforts failed.</div> <bR> <div> Authorities evacuated 59,000 residents within 20 kilometres of the Fukushima plant, with thousands more were evacuated from other towns later. The report said there was a chance far larger evacuations could be needed.</div> <bR> <div> The report looked at several ways the crisis could escalate -- explosions inside the reactors, complete meltdowns, and the structural failure of cooling pools used for spent nuclear fuel.</div> <bR> <div> It said that each contingency was possible at the time it was written, and could force all workers to flee the vicinity, meaning the situation at the plant would unfold on its own, unmitigated.</div> <bR> <div> Using matter-of-fact language, diagrams and charts, the report said that if meltdowns spiral out of control, radiation levels could soar.</div> <bR> <div> In that case, it said evacuation orders should be issued for residents within and possibly beyond a 170-kilometre radius of the plant and "voluntary" evacuations should be offered for everyone living within 250 kilometres and even beyond that range.</div> <bR> <div> That's an area that would have included Tokyo and its suburbs, with a population of 35 million people, and other major cities such as Sendai, with a million people, and Fukushima city with 290,000 people.</div> <bR> <div> The report further warned that contaminated areas might not be safe for "several decades."</div> <bR> <div> "We cannot rule out further developments that may lead to an unpredictable situation at Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant, where there has been an accident, and this report outlines a summary of that unpredictable situation," says the document, written by Shunsuke Kondo, head of the commission, which oversees nuclear policy.</div> <bR> <div> After Kan received the report, he and other Japanese officials publicly insisted that there was no need to prepare for wider-scale evacuations.</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 608 WIDTH="707"><div> Rumours of the report emerged this month after an outside panel was created to investigate possible coverups. Kyodo News agency first reported on the contents of the document on Saturday.</div> <bR> <div> The government continues to refuse to make the document public. The AP obtained it Wednesday through a government source, who insisted on anonymity because the document was still categorized as internal.</div> <bR> <div> Goshi Hosono, the Cabinet minister in charge of the nuclear crisis, implicitly acknowledged the document's existence earlier this month, but said the government had felt no need to make it public.</div> <bR> <div> "It was a scenario based on hypothesis, and even in the event of such a development, we were told that residents would have enough time to evacuate," Hosono said.</div> <bR> <div> "We were concerned about the possibility of causing excessive and unnecessary worry if we went ahead and made it public," he said. "That's why we decided not to disclose it."</div> <bR> <div> A Japanese government nuclear policy official, Masato Nakamura, said Wednesday that he stood behind Hosono's decisions on the document.</div> <bR> <div> "It was all his decisions," he said. "We do not disclose all administrative documents."</div> <bR> <div> Japanese authorities and regulators have been repeatedly criticized for how they have handled information amid the unfolding nuclear crisis. Officials initially denied that the reactors had melted down, and have been accused of playing down the health risks of exposure to radiation.</div> <bR> <div> In another example, a radiation warning system known as SPEEDI had identified high-risk areas where thousands of people were continuing to live while the reactors were in critical condition. Officials did not use that data to order evacuations; they have since said it was not accurate enough.</div> <bR> <div> The outside panel investigating the government response to the nuclear crisis has been critical, calling for more transparency in relaying information to the public.</div> <bR> <div> "Risk communication during the disaster cannot be said to have been proper at all," it said in its interim report last month.</div> <bR> <div> Written by CTV.ca News Staff <I>with files from The Associated Press</I></div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 32 WIDTH="707"><div> =======================</div> <div>  <A NAME="24"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A><A HREF="#top" TITLE="Jan 12"><U><IMG SRC="16243f0d0.png" border=0 width="63" height="13" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></U></A></div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 233 WIDTH="540"><div> <B>Northern Lights light up skies after solar storm</B></div> <div> Web Posted | Last Updated Tue. Jan. 24  2012  07:57  ET</div> <div> Giant Dwarf Posted: January 24th, 2012</div> <div> <B>LONDON — The Northern Lights have lit up the skies above Scotland and northern England after the biggest solar storm in more than six years bombarded Earth with radiation.</B></div> <bR> <div> Ken Kennedy, director of the Aurora section of the British Astronomical Association, said Tuesday the lights, also known as the aurora borealis, may be visible for a few more days.</div> <bR> <div> The Northern Lights are sometimes seen from northern parts of Scotland but the unusual solar activity this week means the lights have also been visible from northeast England and Ireland, a rarity.</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="165"><div> <IMG SRC="1025da05a0.jpg" border=0 width="160" height="90" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> This image provided by NASA shows giant sun spot activity Thursday, Nov. 3, 2011, from a region on the sun that scientists are calling a 'benevolent monster.' After years of quiet, the sun is coming alive with solar storms in a big way. (AP Photo/NASA)</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 73 WIDTH="707"><div> A solar flare from the sun Sunday has pulled the northern lights further south, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Space Weather Prediction Center in Colorado.</div> <bR> <div> Written by CTV.ca News Staff <I>with files from The Associated Press</I></div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 32 WIDTH="707"><div> =======================</div> <div>  <A NAME="23"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A><A HREF="#top" TITLE="Jan 12"><U><IMG SRC="16243f0d0.png" border=0 width="63" height="13" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></U></A></div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 130 WIDTH="540"><div> <B>Skurka's Spin: Court decision 'marked stellar day for privacy'</B></div> <div> Web Posted | Last Updated Mon. Jan. 23  2012  07:22  ET</div> <div> Giant Dwarf Posted: January 23rd, 2012</div> <div> <B>It is incredible to consider the amount of personal and sensitive information about our daily lives that is captured and stored in electronic databases.</B></div> <bR> <div> This includes our banking, shopping and travel records, the medicine we order, the hospital</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> <IMG SRC="10257a06c0.jpg" border=0 width="160" height="108" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 389 WIDTH="707"><div> procedures and medical tests we undergo and the nature of our repeated communication and correspondence by cell phone, e-mail or text message.</div> <bR> <div> We correctly assume that all of this information retained on the Internet and on digital technology is private. But is there a legal remedy available if our privacy is breached?</div> <bR> <div> What recourse is there if a curious employer, a rogue investigator, a snoopy neighbour or an angry former spouse hacks into any of the the various databases and accesses this highly personal information?</div> <bR> <div> The Ontario Court of Appeal forcefully decided in a landmark decision last week that a legal claim may arise in circumstances where there has been a deliberate and significant invasion of personal privacy.</div> <bR> <div> In the lawsuit considered in the Court of Appeal judgment, a Bank of Montreal employee admitted to snooping on the banking records of a fellow employee who was previously married to her common-law partner. The snooping occurred almost two hundred times over a period of several years. The Court of Appeal found a breach of privacy (the legal term is a claim for intrusion upon seclusion) and awarded a modest amount of damages of $10,000.</div> <bR> <div> This bold decision of the Ontario Court of Appeal introduced for the first time in Canada a welcome protection for privacy rights and served notice on hackers and snoopers that they may be civilly liable if they persist in their surreptitious practices. It marked a stellar day for privacy.</div> <bR> <div> Written by CTV.ca News Staff <I>with a rep</I><I>ort from </I><I>Steven Skurka, CTV Legal Analyst</I></div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 32 WIDTH="707"><div> =======================</div> <div>  <A NAME="22"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A><A HREF="#top" TITLE="Jan 12"><U><IMG SRC="16243f0d0.png" border=0 width="63" height="13" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></U></A></div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 175 WIDTH="540"><div> <B>Calgary boy's dream to sponsor skier comes true</B></div> <div> Web Posted | Last Updated Sun. Jan. 22  2012  22:59  ET</div> <div> Giant Dwarf Posted: January 22nd, 2012</div> <div> <B>When eight-year-old Gage Ferguson emptied his piggy bank to sponsor his favourite skier, all he wanted was a sticker bearing his name on Brad Spence's helmet.</B></div> <bR> <div> But the Calgary boy's kind gesture was rewarded with much more than that -- a trip to Switzerland to watch his idol and Canadian slalom champion compete at the Swiss World Cup.</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="165"><div> <IMG SRC="10256a07e0.jpg" border=0 width="160" height="126" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> Calgary eight-year-old uses savings to sponsor world champion skier.</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 596 WIDTH="707"><div> Gage, who has Asperger's Syndrome, a high-functioning form of autism, decided to save up some money when he found out Spence was looking for a new headgear sponsor. Gage first met Spence shortly after the Olympic Games in Vancouver, when the skier visited the boy's school.</div> <bR> <div> Gage collected nearly $150 and asked Spence if he could be his sponsor. Not only did Spence agree, but Alpine Canada and KLM airline flew Gage and his family to Wengen, Switzerland, to watch the World Cup last week.</div> <bR> <div> Waiting for Spence at the bottom of the ski hill, Gage enthusiastically waved a Canadian flag and cheered on the skier, who came in 21st place.</div> <bR> <div> "There's not words for how happy I was," Gage told CTV News upon his return to Calgary.</div> <bR> <div> Spence, 27, said he was touched by Gage's generosity.</div> <bR> <div> "It's a very selfless act from Gage," he said in Switzerland last week. "Really, when you think about what an eight-year-old could spend that much money on, to see that he wanted to sponsor me and how much that would help me be a better skier is remarkable."</div> <bR> <div> Gage's mom, Jenn Ferguson, designs Spence's professional website. She remembered how the skier lifted up her awe-struck son in the playground during their first meeting, in front of all the other kids.</div> <bR> <div> Ferguson was emotional when describing how her son's friendship with a star athlete boosted his spirits and confidence.</div> <bR> <div> "It helps Gage to want to do better, to do more, to take on things that might scare him or make him nervous. It's like magic. It's just magical," she told CTV News.</div> <bR> <div> "It's almost like Brad is his big brother," Gage's older sister Alyssa said.</div> <bR> <div> Spence, who has moved on to other competitions, let Gage keep the helmet emblazoned with his name.</div> <bR> <div> "It's a fit. A perfect fit," a beaming Gage said.</div> <bR> <div> Written by CTV.ca News Staff <I>with </I><I>a report from CTV's Alberta Bureau Chief Janet Dirks </I></div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 32 WIDTH="707"><div> =======================</div> <div>  <A NAME="21"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A><A HREF="#top" TITLE="Jan 12"><U><IMG SRC="16243f0d0.png" border=0 width="63" height="13" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></U></A></div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 187 WIDTH="540"><div> <B>Two people still missing after B.C. sawmill blast</B></div> <div> Web Posted | Last Updated Sat. Jan. 21  2012  18:17  ET</div> <div> Giant Dwarf Posted: January 21st, 2012</div> <div> <B>Two people remain missing after an explosion at a sawmill in central British Columbia late Friday injured 19 workers.</B></div> <bR> <div> The blast occurred around 8:15 p.m. local time at the Babine Forest Products sawmill near Burns Lake, B.C., which is 220 kilometres west of Prince George.</div> <bR> <div> Workers apparently reported the smell of gas before the explosion, police say.</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="165"><div> <IMG SRC="10254a05d0.jpg" border=0 width="160" height="93" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> Smoke can be seen rising as police tape surrounds Babine Forest Products mill in Burns Lake, B.C., Saturday, Jan. 21, 2012. (Jonathan Hayward / THE CANADIAN PRESS)</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 419 WIDTH="707"><div> Sam Tom worked at the mill, but was outside when the blast occurred. He says he remembers at least five explosions, and the heat of the flames prevented him from going inside. He told The Canadian Press that he heard people screaming in pain and saw co-workers jumping out of a second-storey window.</div> <bR> <div> "I had to help a couple guys, one with a broken arm, one [with] his body severely burned."</div> <bR> <div> A spokesperson for the Northern Health Authority said five of the 19 injured workers were treated and released from hospital.</div> <bR> <div> "Four (others) have been airlifted to Vancouver and Edmonton," Steve Raper told CTVNews.ca Saturday, adding some of the injuries are critical.</div> <bR> <div> A fifth patient was transferred to hospital in Vancouver late Saturday, but was listed in stable condition.</div> <bR> <div> Nine others remain in community hospitals in Smithers, Vanderhoof, Prince George and closer to Burns Lake.</div> <bR> <div> "The mill has been nearly decimated in this particular incident and it certainly put pressure on our health system . . . we have a small hospital out there," Raper later told CTV News Channel.</div> <bR> <div> There were 30 workers in the mill at the time of the explosion, according to the RCMP.</div> <bR> <div> "This is a tragic loss for the community not only because individuals have been injured, but it was a key employer for the area," said Burns Lake RCMP Staff Sgt. Grant Macdonald in a media release.</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 565 WIDTH="707"><div> "The response from the community and assistance from neighbouring RCMP detachments, fire halls and health services has been vital," he said. Uninjured employees drove injured co-workers to the hospital, where members of the local community were on hand to help.</div> <bR> <div> Burns Lake Coun. Susan Schienbein spent the night at a hospital helping out after the explosion.</div> <bR> <div> "We care about these people. They are our friends, our neighbours, our family," she told The Canadian Press. "So we do what we have to do when there's an emergency."</div> <bR> <div> In a statement, B.C. Premier Christy Clark praised emergency services personnel and local officials for their "remarkable response" to the incident.</div> <bR> <div> "Our thoughts and prayers are with those who have been injured and with their families," Clark said. "I join all British Columbians in praying for their speedy recovery."</div> <bR> <div> Clark also said the community will have "the full support" of the provincial government as it deals with the aftermath of the blast.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Multiple explosions</B></div> <bR> <div> Raper said the protocol for an incident with mass casualties known as Code Orange was initiated, allowing coordination between emergency and hospital services.</div> <bR> <div> Hospitals in the region had to be mobilized to care for the large number of injured, he said.</div> <bR> <div> Blowing snow made some roads impassable, which hindered rescue efforts. Local temperatures also dipped to as low as -20 Celsius.</div> <bR> <div> A community hall on the reserve is being used as a command centre where residents can get information about the explosion and seek grief counselling.</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 381 WIDTH="707"><div> One millworker at the scene told CTV B.C. the structure appeared to be destroyed.</div> <bR> <div> "Nobody's going in except for emergency vehicles, but like I said all I can see from the highway . . . it looks like to me the whole sawmill itself was levelled," Glen Klassen said.</div> <bR> <div> "I'm totally in shock."</div> <bR> <div> Wilf Adam, chief of the Babine Lake First Nation told the Canadian Press, that the morning shift noticed a gas odour coming from the basement.</div> <bR> <div> "When the afternoon shift came on, that's when it happened," Adam said.</div> <bR> <div> According to a published report from the Lakes District News, a fire caused by an "electrical failure" shut the mill down temporarily in March 2011. The mill is jointly operated by Burns Lake Native Development Corp. and Hampton Affiliates, a forest-products company based in Portland, Oregon.</div> <bR> <div> Police said the mill is still burning but the fire is under control. The cause is under investigation.</div> <bR> <div> The sawmill employs about 250 people.</div> <bR> <div> Written by CTV.ca News Staff <I>with files from The Canadian Press</I></div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 32 WIDTH="707"><div> =======================</div> <div>  <A NAME="20"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A><A HREF="#top" TITLE="Jan 12"><U><IMG SRC="16243f0d0.png" border=0 width="63" height="13" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></U></A></div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 96 WIDTH="540"><div> <B>Direct Energy moving Toronto headquarters to Texas</B></div> <div> Web Posted | Last Updated Fri. Jan. 20  2012  10:09  ET</div> <div> Giant Dwarf Posted: January 20th, 2012</div> <div> <B>TORONTO — Direct Energy is cutting 500 jobs in Canada as the company shifts its headquarters from Toronto to Houston, Texas.</B></div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> <IMG SRC="1024ea05a0.jpg" border=0 width="160" height="90" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 199 WIDTH="707"><div> A spokeswoman says the headquarters, in the east end of Toronto, will be closed over the next 12 to 18 months while the company completes the move.</div> <bR> <div> About 300 of those jobs will be relocated to Texas.</div> <bR> <div> In total, Direct Energy, one of North America's largest energy and energy-related services providers, will still have about 2,000 employees in Ontario.</div> <bR> <div> The company also operates approximately 4,600 producing gas wells in Alberta.</div> <bR> <div> Written by CTV.ca News Staff <I>with files from The Canadian Press</I></div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 32 WIDTH="707"><div> =======================</div> <div>  <A NAME="19"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A><A HREF="#top" TITLE="Jan 12"><U><IMG SRC="16243f0d0.png" border=0 width="63" height="13" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></U></A></div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 166 WIDTH="540"><div> <B>U.S. politics behind Keystone XL rejection</B></div> <div> Web Posted | Last Updated Thu. Jan. 19  2012  08:54  ET</div> <div> Giant Dwarf Posted: January 19th, 2012</div> <div> <B>Rejection of the Keystone XL pipeline project by the Obama administration is a temporary setback caused by the upcoming presidential election, experts say.</B></div> <bR> <div> "As the Alberta premier (Alison Redford) pointed out, the application was not turned down on its merits, but turned down because of politics," Globe and Mail columnist Jane Taber told CTV's Canada Am Thursday.</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="165"><div> <IMG SRC="1024da05a0.jpg" border=0 width="160" height="90" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> Keystone Oil Pipeline construction underway in North Dakota is seen in this image courtesy TransCanada Corporation.</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 583 WIDTH="707"><div> "President (Barack) Obama is facing an election in November and he needs all the support he can get," she said. "The environmentalists were behind him in 2008, so he needs to get that support back again."</div> <bR> <div> TransCanada says it plans to re-apply to build the pipeline after it was turned down Wednesday, hoping it will be in service by 2014 using a new route.</div> <bR> <div> The proposed $7-billion project is intended to carry bitumen from oil fields in northern Alberta south through six states to refineries on the U.S. Gulf Coast.</div> <bR> <div> Taber said the decision also allows Canada to diversify where it sells its oil, noting Prime Minister Stephen Harper reaffirmed this point with Obama in a phone call Wednesday to discuss the decision.</div> <bR> <div> "The prime minister is going to China next month for his second trip and they'll be talking about oil to the Chinese," she said.</div> <div> But that doesn't mean Canada's relationship with the U.S. will change, Taber said.</div> <bR> <div> "I think there's an understanding this is political move and that Canada is a victim of American politics. I think there's a good relationship between the prime minister and the president," she said.</div> <bR> <div> Oil industry analyst Roger McKnight, also appearing on Canada AM Thursday, said the winners are Obama and environmentalists, while the losers will be American consumers.</div> <bR> <div> "In the long run, if this project does not get approved, it's going to increase gasoline prices and diesel prices and it's going to increase inflation as a result," he said.</div> <bR> <div> McKnight said if he was in the oil sands business right now he would be getting nervous.</div> <bR> <div> "The problem is that there's so much oil sands product trying to go to the Gulf, it's creating a glut . . . so basically there's nowhere for it to go," McKnight said.</div> <bR> <div> The result will be lower return on investment for new oil sands projects in Alberta and potential investors will simply stay away, he said.</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 629 WIDTH="707"><div> To help solve the problem, Harper needs to push more aggressively to get the Northern Gateway pipeline project approved, which would carry Alberta oil to a shipping port in British Columbia where it could then be moved to Asian markets.</div> <bR> <div> "Mr. Harper should take off his soft-toed walking shoes and put on his steel-tipped construction shoes and get this thing going," he said.</div> <bR> <div> Following Wednesday's announcement, Minister of Natural Resources Joe Oliver said the decision highlights the need for Canada to diversify its energy markets. He also said the process is still ongoing and he's hopeful it will be approved.</div> <bR> <div> "It's not over and we continue to be cautiously optimistic. I do think at the end of the day there will be pipelines going into the United States," Oliver said on CTV's Power Play.</div> <bR> <div> NDP environment critic Megan Leslie applauded the permit's rejection.</div> <bR> <div> "President Obama listened to Americans, that's what you do in a democracy," she said on Power Play. "But here in Canada we don't see that by this government, it's just about fast tracking, selling our raw material to the quickest bidder."</div> <bR> <div> The White House had been staring down a deadline since late December, when Congress offered 60 days to decide on a permit for the pipeline's proposed route through Nebraska, in exchange for passage of a payroll tax cut bill.</div> <bR> <div> That gave the White House until Feb. 21, but State Department officials had since made it clear that would be too soon to adequately evaluate the project's potential environmental impact in Nebraska.</div> <bR> <div> "This is not the end of this fight," Republican leader of the House, Speaker John Boehner, said immediately after Obama's statement went public.</div> <bR> <div> He said that the president is breaking a promise to create jobs.</div> <bR> <div> Republicans charged that Obama was "creating jobs in China" as the Canadian government would ship its oil there instead of the United States.</div> <bR> <div> TransCanada has said the project could create as many as 20,000 jobs in two years, but its opponents say that number is greatly overstated.</div> <bR> <div> Written by CTV.ca News Staff <I>with files from </I><I>Josh Visser & John Size</I></div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 32 WIDTH="707"><div> =======================</div> <div>  <A NAME="18"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A><A HREF="#top" TITLE="Jan 12"><U><IMG SRC="16243f0d0.png" border=0 width="63" height="13" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></U></A></div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 58 ><NOBR><div> <B>Getting around the Wikipedia blackout: A survival guide</B></div> <div> Web Posted | Last Updated Wed. Jan. 18  2012  10:50  ET</div> <div> Giant Dwarf Posted: January 18th, 2012</div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="165"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="58" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="165" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 175 ><NOBR><div> <A HREF="http://en.m.wikipedia.org/" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://en.m.wikipedia.org/"><U><IMG SRC="10246bb990.gif" border=0 width="699" height="153" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></U></A></div> <div> This screengrab shows the homepage of the Wikipedia website, Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2012</div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 470 WIDTH="707"><div> <B>The world's largest online encyclopedia has gone dark, but that doesn't mean your most urgent questions have to go unanswered.</B></div> <bR> <div> Wikipedia imposed a 24-hour blackout on its English-language website Wednesday to protest anti-piracy legislation under consideration in the United States.</div> <bR> <div> The site's virtual wall, however, isn't impenetrable and there are ways for curious web surfers to access the online encyclopedia's free content.</div> <bR> <div> Wikipedia itself has offered up ways for Internet users to continue searching for answers to burning questions such as "Are chinchillas rodents?" and "What does ‘rickrolling' mean?</div> <bR> <div> <B>Go mobile</B> </div> <bR> <div> The lights may have dimmed at Wikipedia's main English website but quick knowledge is still plentiful at its mobile website. </div> <div> Smartphone users can whip out their respective devices and stay sharp with the website's mobile application.</div> <bR> <div> Desk dwellers limited to a desktop or laptop can still visit the mobile site at the following link: <U>http://en.m.wikipedia.org/</U></div> <div> Unsurprisingly, the layout is a little different but the basic nuts-and-bolts of Wikipedia – search bar, featured article, language – are still there.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Disable JavaScript</B></div> <bR> <div> The website also suggests users can disable JavaScript, a programming language that usually allows browsers to run interactive elements such as message boxes, colourful scroll bars and the customized cursors often seen on preteen blogs.</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 617 WIDTH="707"><div> Those who are unfamiliar with the scripting language need not be intimidated by this option. Shutting off JavaScript is as easy as going to your browser's "Options" menu.</div> <bR> <div> For example, on Mozilla Firefox, one would click on the "Tools" button and find the "Options" menu. Clicking that should prompt a box to open up. From there, hit the "Content" tab and uncheck the little box next to "Enable JavaScript."</div> <bR> <div> Take that, JavaScript!</div> <bR> <div> Of course, that example is just for Firefox. Other browsers such as Internet Explorer and Google Chrome will likely have different paths. Thankfully, there's always the "Help" button.</div> <bR> <div> <B>'Escape' as if your life depended on it</B></div> <bR> <div> If you're preferential to the ordinary Wikipedia layout, New York Times blogger Sarah Maslin Nir has pointed out that accessing the English site is as easy as hitting your computer's "Escape" button.</div> <bR> <div> Here's how: When you click on a link Wikipedia's English site or type <U>http://en.wikipedia.org/</U> into your web browser, press your computer's escape key as the page is loading. This should stop Wikipedia's big black wall from appearing.</div> <bR> <div> It should be noted that this action can be a little tricky. For most, there's a small window of opportunity to hit "Escape" before the page loads so speed is crucial.</div> <bR> <div> Here at CTVNews.ca, it took three tries before we managed to dodge the wall.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Flaunt your multilingual skills</B></div> <bR> <div> According to Wikipedia, its content is available in more than 270 languages.</div> <bR> <div> Only Wikipedia's English site has adopted the blackout, so there are many options for web users who speak Spanish, French, Afrikaans, Polish, Italian, Russian … the list goes on. (There are even articles available in Esperanto.)</div> <div> This option is as easy as heading on over to <U>Wikipedia.org</U> and picking a language.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Nix the banner</B></div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 379 WIDTH="707"><div> To its credit, Wikipedia has provided users with several opportunities to hedge the blackout. None may be handier than the option to just skip the wall entirely.</div> <bR> <div> As stated on the site, Internet users can copy the code "?banner=none" and paste it to the end of each page URL, or the text in your browser's address bar.</div> <bR> <div> Hit enter and within seconds the gloomy black wall should disappear.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Branch out</B></div> <bR> <div> With millions of articles, it's easy to see why Wikipedia is a perennial frontrunner when it comes to searching for answers on the Internet.</div> <bR> <div> That said, it isn't the only game in town and there are several other websites users can visit while they wait for the blackout to end at midnight (ET). </div> <bR> <div> Most post-secondary students have access to their university or college's online library, which should connect them to a number of databases divided by topic.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Patience (we hear it's a virtue)</B></div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 323 WIDTH="707"><div> By now, it's probably apparent that Wikipedia's blackout is really more of a black curtain drop; the veil can be pushed back.</div> <bR> <div> That said, the methods listed above aren't state secrets and the website has made it clear that it doesn't mind users executing them.</div> <bR> <div> "Our purpose here isn't to make it completely impossible for people to read Wikipedia," reads a statement on the site. "We just want to make sure you see our message."</div> <bR> <div> Ah yes, the message. As users figure out the tactics and web wizardry required to knock down Wikipedia's virtual wall, it should be noted that the wall is there for a reason.</div> <bR> <div> The website is joining several other groups in protesting proposed anti-piracy legislation that focuses on the illegal sale of music and other media.</div> <bR> <div> If you'd like to learn more about Wikipedia's opposition to the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and the Protect Intellectual Property Act (PIPA) there's an <U>explainer available online</U>. </div> <bR> <div> Written by CTV.ca News Staff <I>with fil</I><I>es from </I><I>Vanessa Greco</I></div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 32 WIDTH="707"><div> =======================</div> <div>  <A NAME="17"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A><A HREF="#top" TITLE="Jan 12"><U><IMG SRC="16243f0d0.png" border=0 width="63" height="13" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></U></A></div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 220 WIDTH="540"><div> <B>Wikipedia will go dark in protest of legislation</B></div> <div> Web Posted | Last Updated Tue. Jan. 17  2012  07:20  ET</div> <div> Giant Dwarf Posted: January 17th, 2012</div> <div> <B>Wikipedia will black out the English language version of its website Wednesday to protest anti-piracy legislation under consideration in Congress, the foundation behind the popular community-based online encyclopedia said in a statement Monday night.</B></div> <bR> <div> The website will go dark for 24 hours in an unprecedented move that brings added muscle to a growing base of critics of the legislation. Wikipedia is considered one of the Internet's most popular websites, with millions of visitors daily.</div> <bR> <div> "If passed, this legislation will harm the free and open Internet and bring about new tools for </div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="165"><div> <IMG SRC="1023fa07e0.jpg" border=0 width="160" height="126" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> Jimmy Wales, founder of Wikipedia speaks during the opening session at the London Cyberspace Conference in London, Tuesday, Nov. 1, 2011. (AP / Kirsty Wigglesworth)</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 910 WIDTH="707"><div> censorship of international websites inside the United States," the Wikimedia foundation said.</div> <bR> <div> The Stop Online Piracy Act in the U.S. House of Representatives and the Protect Intellectual Property Act under consideration in the Senate are designed to crack down on sales of pirated U.S. products overseas.</div> <bR> <div> Supporters include the film and music industry, which often sees its products sold illegally. They say the legislation is needed to protect intellectual property and jobs.</div> <bR> <div> Critics say the legislation could hurt the technology industry and infringe on free-speech rights. Among their concerns are provisions that would weaken cyber-security for companies and hinder domain access rights.</div> <bR> <div> The most controversial provision is in the House bill, which would have enabled federal authorities to "blacklist" sites that are alleged to distribute pirated content. That would essentially cut off portions of the Internet to all U.S. users. But congressional leaders appear to be backing off this provision.</div> <bR> <div> Tech companies such as Google, Facebook, Yahoo, Twitter, eBay, AOL and others have spoken out against the legislation and said it threatens the industry's livelihood. Several online communities such as Reddit, Boing Boing and others have announced plans to go dark in protest as well.</div> <bR> <div> The Obama administration also raised concerns about the legislation over the weekend and said it will work with Congress on legislation to help battle piracy and counterfeiting while defending free expression, privacy, security and innovation in the Internet.</div> <bR> <div> Wikipedia's decision to go dark brings the issue into a much brighter spotlight. A group of Wikipedia users have discussed for more than a month whether it should react to the legislation.</div> <bR> <div> Over the past few days, a group of more than 1,800 volunteers who work on the site and other users considered several forms of online protest, including banner ads and a global blackout of the site, the foundation said. Ultimately, the group supported the decision to black out the English version of the site.</div> <bR> <div> Jimmy Wales, the founder of Wikipedia who first announced the move on his Twitter account Monday, said the bills are a threat to the free, open, and secure web.</div> <bR> <div> "The whole thing is just a poorly designed mess," Wales said in an email to The Associated Press.</div> <bR> <div> Wikipedia is also requesting that readers contact members of Congress about the bill during the blackout.</div> <bR> <div> "I am personally asking everyone who cares about freedom and openness on the Internet to contact their Senators and Representative," Wales said. "One of the things we have learned recently during the Arab Spring events is that the Internet is a powerfully effective tool for the public to organize and have their voices heard."</div> <bR> <div> Wikipedia will shut down access from midnight Eastern Standard Time (0500 GMT) on Tuesday night until midnight Wednesday.</div> <bR> <div> This is the first time Wikipedia's English version has gone dark. Its Italian site came down once briefly in protest to an Internet censorship bill put forward by the Berlusconi government; the bill did not advance.</div> <bR> <div> "Wikipedia is about being open," said Jay Walsh, spokesman for the Wikimedia foundation. "We are not about shutting down and protesting. It's not a muscle that is normally flexed."</div> <bR> <div> Written by CTV.ca News Staff <I>with files from The Associated Press</I></div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 32 WIDTH="707"><div> =======================</div> <div>  <A NAME="16"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A><A HREF="#top" TITLE="Jan 12"><U><IMG SRC="16243f0d0.png" border=0 width="63" height="13" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></U></A></div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 139 WIDTH="540"><div> <B>Cost to mail a letter within North America rises</B></div> <div> Web Posted | Last Updated Mon. Jan. 16  2012  06:49  ET</div> <div> Giant Dwarf Posted: January 16th, 2012</div> <div> <B>TORONTO — It costs two cents more to mail a letter today within North America.</B></div> <bR> <div> The cost of mailing a first-class letter within Canada is now 61 cents and letters to the United States now cost $1.05.</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="165"><div> <IMG SRC="1023ba05a0.jpg" border=0 width="160" height="90" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> A Canada Post worker delivers mail in Waterloo Region on Wednesday, July 6, 2011.</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 182 WIDTH="707"><div> Letters to overseas destinations jump a nickel to $1.80.</div> <bR> <div> Canada Post says the increases are part of a five-year pricing strategy initially announced in 2009.</div> <bR> <div> The rate hikes come as more Canadians rely on email, texting, Facebook, Twitter and other electronic communications.</div> <bR> <div> During last June's rotating strikes by postal workers followed by a 10-day lockout, Canada Post said letter volumes had dropped 17 per cent over the past five years.</div> <bR> <div> Written by CTV.ca News Staff <I>with The Canadian Press</I></div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 32 WIDTH="707"><div> =======================</div> <div>  <A NAME="15"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A><A HREF="#top" TITLE="Jan 12"><U><IMG SRC="16243f0d0.png" border=0 width="63" height="13" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></U></A></div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 357 WIDTH="540"><div> <B>'Significant human error' blamed in cruise ship incident</B></div> <div> Web Posted | Last Updated Sun. Jan. 15  2012  21:10  ET</div> <div> Giant Dwarf Posted: January 15th, 2012</div> <div> <B>Marine authorities and the company responsible for a cruise liner that capsized off the west coast of Italy are blaming the ship's captain for making "errors in judgment" and abandoning the vessel before ensuring all passengers were safely evacuated.</B></div> <bR> <div> Divers have recovered five bodies so far in the partially submerged Costa Concordia, which struck rocks or a reef off the small island of Giglio late Friday. The bodies of two elderly men still wearing their lifejackets were found Sunday.</div> <bR> <div> There were 4,200 people on board the luxury liner. At least 15 passengers and crew are still missing.</div> <bR> <div> The ship's Italian owner, Costa Crociera SpA, a subsidiary of U.S.-based Carnival Cruise lines, issued a statement late Sunday saying there appeared to be "significant human error" on the part of the captain, Francesco Schettino.</div> <bR> <div> "While the investigation is ongoing, preliminary indications are that there may have been significant human error on the part of the ship's master, Captain Francesco Schettino, which </div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="165"><div> <IMG SRC="10239a07e0.jpg" border=0 width="160" height="126" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> In this photo taken on Saturday, Jan. 14, 2012, Francesco Schettino the captain of the luxury cruiser Costa Concordia, which ran aground off Italy's Tuscan coast, enters a Carabinieri car in Porto Santo Stefano, Italy. (AP / Enzo Russo)</div> <div> <IMG SRC="10237a05a0.jpg" border=0 width="160" height="90" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 956 WIDTH="707"><div> resulted in these grave consequences," the statement said. "The route of the vessel appears to have been too close to the shore, and the captain's judgment in handling the emergency appears to have not followed standard Costa procedures."</div> <bR> <div> Coast Guard officials and passengers said they spotted Schettino on land as the evacuation unfolded. Officers urged him to return to his ship and honour his duty to stay aboard until everyone was saved, but he ignored them, Coast Guard Cmdr. Francesco Paolillo said.</div> <bR> <div> There are also allegations that Schettino was "showing off" by steering the cruise ship too close to shore.</div> <bR> <div> The captain has been detained for suspected manslaughter and abandoning the sinking liner. According to the Italian navigation code, a captain who abandons a ship in danger can face up to 12 years in prison.</div> <bR> <div> In an interview with an Italian television station, Schettino denied abandoning ship, saying he did everything he could to save lives. He also said the reef he struck was not marked on navigational maps.</div> <bR> <div> Police divers have retrieved the black box that records the ship's navigational information.</div> <bR> <div> The terrifying, chaotic escape from the cruise liner was straight out of a scene from "Titanic" for many of the passengers and crew, including Canadians Laurence and Andrea Davis.</div> <bR> <div> As the ship capsized, passengers were being tossed around, knocking each other over and slamming into the walls, Laurence Davis told CTV News.</div> <bR> <div> "People's limbs were breaking…It was just absolute pandemonium," he said.</div> <bR> <div> All Canadians who were on the cruise are reported safe.</div> <bR> <div> Many passengers complained the crew didn't give them good directions on how to evacuate and once the emergency became clear, delayed lowering the lifeboats until the ship was listing too heavily for many to be released.</div> <bR> <div> Several other passengers said crew members told passengers for 45 minutes that there was a simple "technical problem" that had caused the lights to go off.</div> <bR> <div> Passengers said they had never participated in an evacuation drill, although one had been scheduled for Saturday. The cruise began on Jan. 7.</div> <bR> <div> Costa Crociera SpA defended the actions of its crew and said it was co-operating with the investigation. Carnival Corp. issued a statement expressing sympathy that didn't address the allegations of delayed evacuation.</div> <bR> <div> France said two of the confirmed victims were Frenchmen; a Peruvian diplomat identified the third victim as Tomas Alberto Costilla Mendoza, 49, a crewman from Peru. Some 30 people were injured, at least two seriously.</div> <bR> <div> The Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs said some 300 of the crew members were Filipinos and that three of them were injured.</div> <bR> <div> Islanders on Giglio opened up their homes and businesses to accommodate the sudden rush of survivors.</div> <bR> <div> Rossana Bafigi, who runs a newsstand, said she was really moved by the reaction of the passengers.</div> <bR> <div> She showed a note left by one Italian family that said, "We want to repay you for the disturbance. Please call us, we took milk and biscuits for the children. Claudia."</div> <bR> <div> Written by CTV.ca News Staff <I>with </I><I>The Associated Press and a report from CTV's Ben O'Hara-Byrne & Sonja Puzic</I></div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 32 WIDTH="707"><div> =======================</div> <div>  <A NAME="14"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A><A HREF="#top" TITLE="Jan 12"><U><IMG SRC="16243f0d0.png" border=0 width="63" height="13" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></U></A></div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 189 WIDTH="540"><div> <B>Crime, fires compromise cruise ship safety: experts</B></div> <div> Web Posted | Last Updated Sat. Jan. 14  2012  22:13  ET</div> <div> Giant Dwarf Posted: January 14th, 2012</div> <div> <B>They're often billed as the ultimate in worry-free vacations. But cruise critics say these floating hotels -- some as high as 12 storeys tall -- aren't nearly as safe as claimed.</B></div> <bR> <div> Fire, power failures, crime and tragic overboard deaths are common on cruise vacations, said Ross Klein, a Memorial University sociologist and author of two books on the cruise industry.</div> <bR> <div> The ships, which can carry more than 4,000 passengers, are as big as towns, Klein said, </div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="165"><div> <IMG SRC="10237a05a0.jpg" border=0 width="160" height="90" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> A luxury cruise ship Costa Concordia leans on its side after running aground the tiny Tuscan island of Giglio, Italy, Saturday, Jan. 14, 2012. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 902 WIDTH="707"><div> packed with strangers often bent on having a good time. Many passengers wrongly let their guard down.</div> <bR> <div> "People should go on cruise ships with their eyes wide open, to be aware that there can be accidents." Klein told CTVNews.ca.</div> <bR> <div> Last year, 22 people fell overboard on cruise ships, Klein said. Some were accidents. Others were suicides. The vast majority were fatal, said Klein, who compiles cruise accident data for his website www.cruisejunkie.com.</div> <bR> <div> Fires and power failures are also common, though rarely reported in the mainstream media.</div> <bR> <div> Incidents include: </div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Wing0a73007700c8ffffff00.png" HEIGHT="13" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">In September 2010, an explosion aboard the Cunard's Queen Mary 2 caused a power failure as it approached Barcelona, causing it to drift off the Spanish coast. </div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Wing0a73007700c8ffffff00.png" HEIGHT="13" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">In November 2010, a drunken passenger dropped an anchor on a cruise enroute to Tampa from Mexico. </div> <bR> <div> According to data Klein collected, the risk of sexual assault is nearly 50 per cent greater on a cruise ship than on land in Canada. He used data collected by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and internal industry documents used in lawsuits between 2003 and 2005.</div> <bR> <div> "I believe passengers should go on to a ship well informed," Klein said.</div> <bR> <div> "The industry markets itself as . . . . one of the safest modes of commercial transport in the world. And they want passengers to believe that if they come on a cruise ship they are virtually safe."</div> <bR> <div> An umbrella group for the cruise industry says it's monitoring the latest accident off the Italian coast, where three people have died and dozens are missing.</div> <bR> <div> The website for the Cruise Lines International Association said the group "would like to reassure other cruise passengers that all CLIA member lines are subject to the highest safety standards around the world and according to international maritime requirements."</div> <bR> <div> CTVNews.ca called the association on Saturday, but there was no answer at its Florida office.</div> <bR> <div> U.S. maritime lawyer Jim Walker once represented the cruise industry but switched sides about 15 years ago. Since then, he's represented dozens of passengers and crew members in lawsuits against cruise lines.</div> <bR> <div> Mr. Walker represented the family of George Smith, who vanished from a Royal Caribbean ship while on his honeymoon in 2005. His family suspected foul play and claimed the cruise ship failed to properly investigate the disappearance. His family won a US$1.3 million suit against the cruise line.</div> <bR> <div> Walker also represented a 35-year-old woman who said she was sexually assaulted by a crew member on a Royal Caribbean vessel. Walker said the woman's case resulted in tough reporting rules aboard cruise ships.</div> <bR> <div> Walker urged passengers to be vigilant about crime and safety.</div> <bR> <div> Despite potential dangers, Klein said he loves ocean travel and has taken 30 cruises.</div> <bR> <div> "I love being at sea," he said. "I like to look at the horizon." At sea, he said, "time stands still. It's a wonderful feeling."</div> <bR> <div> Written by CTV.ca News Staff <I>with files from The Associated Press & James Armstrong</I></div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 32 WIDTH="707"><div> =======================</div> <div>  <A NAME="13"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A><A HREF="#top" TITLE="Jan 12"><U><IMG SRC="16243f0d0.png" border=0 width="63" height="13" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></U></A></div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 121 WIDTH="540"><div> <B>Babies at risk if moms take antidepressants: study</B></div> <div> Web Posted | Last Updated Fri. Jan. 13  2012  09:01  ET</div> <div> Giant Dwarf Posted: January 13th, 2012</div> <div> <B>TORONTO — A large new study suggests babies are at higher risk of developing a dangerous condition called persistent pulmonary hypertension if they are born to women who take widely used antidepressants late in their pregnancies.</B></div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> <IMG SRC="1022fa0730.jpg" border=0 width="160" height="115" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 765 WIDTH="707"><div> The study says the rate of cases of the rare condition is double in infants born to women who take selective serotonin-reuptake inhibitors in late pregnancy.</div> <bR> <div> Because of the way the study is designed, the authors cannot say the drugs cause the condition; they can only note there is an association between the use and increased cases of the condition.</div> <bR> <div> They saw the suggestion of increased risk in several different types of SSRIs, suggesting the risk relates to the class of drugs, not one individual brand.</div> <bR> <div> A commentary on the findings by researchers from the Hospital for Sick Children's Motherisk program points to holes in the study, saying other issues might account for the findings.</div> <bR> <div> Motherisk director Dr. Gideon Koren and a colleague wrote that while the findings suggest a possible causative link, more work is needed.</div> <bR> <div> The study, by researchers from the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden, is being published in the medical journal BMJ.</div> <bR> <div> Persistent pulmonary hypertension -- high blood pressure in the lungs -- can be life-threatening, and is seen in about one or two out of every 1,000 newborns. Babies born to women who are overweight, who smoke, who have diabetes or use non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs in pregnancy are known to be at increased risk.</div> <bR> <div> Several previous studies have looked at whether SSRI use in pregnancy increases the risk that the resulting baby will be born with persistent pulmonary hypertension.</div> <bR> <div> But the findings have been inconclusive. They have ranged from no association to the suggestion that women who used the antidepressants were six times more likely to give birth to a baby who develops the condition.</div> <bR> <div> The new study looked at records for 1.6 million full-term births in the Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden between 1997 and 2006.</div> <bR> <div> Of those, about 30,000 were babies born to women who had prescriptions for SSRIs in pregnancy, and roughly 11,000 had prescriptions in late pregnancy. That is where the increased rate of the condition was seen. The authors used 140 days into the pregnancy onward for their definition of late.</div> <bR> <div> They recommended doctors use caution when treating pregnant women with SSRI antidepressants. "It is essential to plan the treatment and to weigh the risks of persistent pulmonary hypertension of the newborn when treating women in late pregnancy with those of relapse of depression and neonatal abstinence syndrome if therapy is interrupted," they said.</div> <bR> <div> But Koren's commentary noted that filling a prescription for a drug doesn't mean the women took it, and pointed out a recent study showed that many women with depression did not take their antidepressants during pregnancy.</div> <bR> <div> Written by CTV.ca News Staff <I>with files from The Canadian Press.</I></div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 32 WIDTH="707"><div> =======================</div> <div>  <A NAME="12"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A><A HREF="#top" TITLE="Jan 12"><U><IMG SRC="16243f0d0.png" border=0 width="63" height="13" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></U></A></div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 166 WIDTH="540"><div> <B>Karzai condemns video of urination on corpses</B></div> <div> Web Posted | Last Updated Thu. Jan. 12  2012  08:03  ET</div> <div> Giant Dwarf Posted: January 12th, 2012</div> <div> <B>Afghan President Hamid Karzai is condemning a video showing what appears to be four U.S. Marines urinating on the corpses of Taliban fighters.</B></div> <bR> <div> Karzai's office at first declined comment on the video, which surfaced Wednesday, but on Thursday, he released a statement describing the act as "completely inhumane" and calling for the U.S. military to punish those involved.</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="165"><div> <IMG SRC="10229a05a0.jpg" border=0 width="160" height="90" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> In this partial screengrab of unverified video posted on YouTube, four individuals are seen apparently urinating on the corpses of Taliban fighters.</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 521 WIDTH="707"><div> The Afghan Ministry of Defence also condemned the video, which it described as "shocking."</div> <bR> <div> The 39-second video surfaced on YouTube and other websites on Wednesday and appears to show four men dressed in U.S. Marine uniforms urinating on three lifeless and bloodied bodies of Taliban fighters. Some of the men can be heard chuckling, while one says,: "Have a great day, buddy," apparently to one of the corpses.</div> <bR> <div> The NATO-led security force in Afghanistan has also condemned the video, while revealing that the personnel involved are no longer serving in the country.</div> <bR> <div> In a statement that essentially confirms the video is authentic, the International Security Assistance Force said the actions "appear to have been conducted by a small group of U.S. individuals, who apparently are no longer serving in Afghanistan."</div> <bR> <div> The statement did not explain why the ISAF suspected the soldiers had left the country.</div> <bR> <div> The group added the actions in the video were "inexplicable and not in keeping with the high moral standards" expected of coalition forces.</div> <bR> <div> "This disrespectful act is inexplicable and not in keeping with the high moral standards we expect of coalition forces," ISAF said in the statement.</div> <bR> <div> CTV's Paul Workman, reporting from Washington, says it remains a mystery who shot the video, when it was shot, and why it suddenly surfaced this week.</div> <bR> <div> The only clue the U.S. Marines have as they begin to investigate is that the soldiers appear to be wearing sniper uniforms.</div> <bR> <div> "And that leads the American forces to look back to Camp Lejeune, the Marine base here in the U.S., and that's where they're going to begin their search," Workman told CTV's Canada AM Thursday.</div> <bR> <div> The U.S. Marines' investigation will likely be thorough and swift, Workman expects.</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 533 WIDTH="707"><div> "It probably won't take them very long to figure out a) who posted this video, and b) who the soldiers are in this video. If it is authenticated, they say there will be serious repercussions. There could be a criminal investigation, there could be criminal charges," he said.</div> <bR> <div> The case has been referred to the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, the Navy's worldwide law enforcement organization, said NCIS spokesman Ed Buice.</div> <bR> <div> The fear now is that video could spark retaliation against American troops in Afghanistan and outrage across the Muslim world.</div> <bR> <div> Workman says the Americans are likely most concerned about the impact the video will have on what seems to be a positive beginning to reconciliation in Afghanistan: a move toward peace talks.</div> <bR> <div> Washington had been planning to launch a round of shuttle diplomacy in Afghanistan this weekend. Marc Grossman, the United States' special representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan is due to fly into the region for talks with Karzai and other top officials in the region, with the goal of sealing an agreement for the Taliban to open a political office in the Gulf state of Qatar.</div> <bR> <div> "They're sending an envoy to the region next week to push this idea of getting down to talks with the Taliban. They're discussing prisoner exchanges and things like that. The worry is what effect does the video have on that kind of movement," says Workman.</div> <bR> <div> But a Taliban spokesman said although the images were shocking, the tape would not affect plans for those talks.</div> <bR> <div> "This is not the first time we see such brutality," said spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid.</div> <bR> <div> "We know that our country is occupied...This is not a political process, so the video will not harm our talks and prisoner exchange because they are at the preliminary stage."</div> <bR> <div> Written by CTV.ca News Staff <I>with files from YouTube.</I></div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 32 WIDTH="707"><div> =======================</div> <div>  <A NAME="11"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A><A HREF="#top" TITLE="Jan 12"><U><IMG SRC="16243f0d0.png" border=0 width="63" height="13" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></U></A></div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 166 WIDTH="540"><div> <B>Twinkies and Wonder Bread maker Hostess files for Ch. 11</B></div> <div> Web Posted | Last Updated Wed. Jan. 11  2012  10:13  ET</div> <div> Giant Dwarf Posted: January 11th, 2012</div> <div> <B>Sugar aficionados were dealt a not-so sweet blow on Wednesday as the company behind Twinkies and other plastic-wrapped confections filed for bankruptcy protection.</B></div> <bR> <div> Hostess Brands Inc. said it filed for Chapter 11 protection amid worsening problems involving benefits, pensions and a harsh economic downturn.</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="165"><div> <IMG SRC="10222a05a0.jpg" border=0 width="160" height="90" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> Hostess Brands has filed for bankruptcy protection. (AP / Mark Lennihan)</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 414 WIDTH="707"><div> "We remain hopeful that we can reach an agreement that will allow us to amend our labor contracts so that we can emerge from Chapter 11 as a highly competitive company," Hostess President Brian Driscoll said in a statement.</div> <bR> <div> This isn't the first time the Texas-based company has sought bankruptcy protection. The previous reincarnation of Hostess emerged from insolvency proceedings in 2009.</div> <bR> <div> In a released statement, Hostess referred to its previous attempts for financial change as insufficient.</div> <bR> <div> Those curious about the future of Wonder Bread or other Hostess-made products may be relieved to know that the company plans to continue regular operations during a "comprehensive financial and operation restructuring."</div> <bR> <div> Hostess says the business-as-usual approach will be made possible by $75 million worth of "debtor-in-possession" financing from a group of lenders, led by investment firm Silver Point Capital.</div> <bR> <div> "This Company has tremendous potential if we can remove the barriers to success," said Driscoll.</div> <bR> <div> The 81-year-old company estimates that it has about 19,000 employees and operates 565 distribution centres throughout the United States.</div> <bR> <div> Expert snackers may also be familiar with the company's other treats such as Ho Hos, Ding Dongs, Sno Balls and its bestselling Hostess Snack Cakes.</div> <bR> <div> Written by CTV.ca News Staff <I>with files fr</I><I>om </I><I>Vanessa Greco.</I></div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 32 WIDTH="707"><div> =======================</div> <div>  <A NAME="10"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A><A HREF="#top" TITLE="Jan 12"><U><IMG SRC="16243f0d0.png" border=0 width="63" height="13" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></U></A></div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 217 WIDTH="540"><div> <B>Shafia mother says she lied in statement to police</B></div> <div> Web Posted | Last Updated Tue. Jan. 10  2012  12:15  ET</div> <div> Giant Dwarf Posted: January 10th, 2012</div> <div> <B>The Montreal woman accused in the killing of her three children and her husband's other wife testified Tuesday that she lied to police when she said she was at the scene where their bodies were found.</B></div> <bR> <div> Tooba Yahya said she made up the story of being at the Kingston Mills lock in Kingston, Ont. because she worried police would torture her son.</div> <bR> <div> Rona Mohammad, 52, and Shafia sisters Zainab, 19, Sahar, 17, and Geeti, 13 were found dead in a car at the bottom of a Kingston canal on June 30, 2009.</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="165"><div> <IMG SRC="10221a07e0.jpg" border=0 width="160" height="126" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> Tooba Mohammad Yahya arrives at the Frontenac County Courthouse in Kingston, Ont., on Tuesday Jan. 10, 2012. (Lars Hagberg/THE CANADIAN PRESS)</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 414 WIDTH="707"><div> Yahya, 42, Mohammad Shafia, 58, and their eldest son, Hamed, 21, are accused of killing the four women over family honour.</div> <bR> <div> All three have pleaded not guilty to the four-counts of first-degree murder.</div> <bR> <div> The Montreal family had been heading home after a trip to Niagara Falls, Ont., when the accused says the accident occurred. The Crown has alleged that the deaths were staged to look like their car accidentally plunged into the canal.</div> <bR> <div> In the interrogation after her arrest, Yahya told police they were at the scene that night but after hearing a splash she fainted and didn't know what had occurred.</div> <bR> <div> Crown prosecutors have alleged in court that the elder Shafia in particular was upset that the girls were dating boys and telling authorities they didn't feel safe at home. They say the girls were killed to restore family honour.</div> <bR> <div> During his testimony, Shafia insisted that it was an "impossible" claim to suggest he would kill his own daughters.</div> <bR> <div> In her first day of testimony Monday, Yahya broke down when discussing her relationship with Mohammad, the first woman her husband married in Afghanistan.</div> <bR> <div> Mohammad couldn't have children so Shafia took a second wife. Yahya said that while she was pregnant with her third baby, she promised Mohammad the child would be raised as her own.</div> <bR> <div> Written by CTV.ca News Staff <I>with files from The Canadian Press.</I></div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 32 WIDTH="707"><div> =======================</div> <div>  <A NAME="09"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A><A HREF="#top" TITLE="Jan 12"><U><IMG SRC="16243f0d0.png" border=0 width="63" height="13" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></U></A></div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 319 WIDTH="540"><div> <B>Forget 2012, expert says world ends in 500M years</B></div> <div> Web Posted | Last Updated Mon. Jan. 09  2012  06:49  ET</div> <div> Giant Dwarf Posted: January 9th, 2012</div> <div> <B>VANCOUVER — Are you sweating over recent dire predictions that the end of the world is upon us?</B></div> <bR> <div> Relax, because according to one expert, we have at least 500 million years to worry about the problem.</div> <bR> <div> Colin Goldblatt is confidently making plans for late December, despite the fact the Mayan calendar runs out Dec. 21, 2012.</div> <bR> <div> The calendar is the basis for the 2009 catastrophe movie 2012, which sees the Earth battered by solar storms, along with unprecedented volcanic eruptions and earthquakes.</div> <bR> <div> But Goldblatt, a professor at the University of Victoria's School of Earth and Ocean Sciences, believes science and not science fiction will reveal the real apocalyptic end to life and Earth.</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="165"><div> <IMG SRC="1021ba0970.jpg" border=0 width="160" height="151" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> A Mayan statue stands in Playa Del Carmen, Mexico, where people will gather before making their way across the Yucatan Channel, to the Cozumel Island, in a ten mile pilgrimage in honor of the Mayan goddess Ixchel, June 1, 2007. Only a year is left before Dec. 21, 2012, when some believe the Maya predicted the end of the world. (AP / Israel Leal)</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 832 WIDTH="707"><div> His theory hinges on what scientists know about the atmosphere, geology and other planets to make a more accurate prediction.</div> <bR> <div> "No, the end of the world is absolutely not near," he stated confidently in an interview. "We can actually say that it's not going to happen for another 500 million, or maybe a billion years."</div> <bR> <div> Goldblatt believes a "runaway greenhouse" effect will be the true end to life on Earth.</div> <bR> <div> He will present his theory, The Physics and Chemistry of the Apocalypse: Runaway Greenhouses, during a seminar at the University on Tuesday.</div> <bR> <div> When the Earth was formed, the sun was about 30 per cent less bright than it was now and as it gets brighter, the Earth's atmosphere will become "optically thick," he said.</div> <bR> <div> It means, Goldblatt said, that only the top of the atmosphere can radiate head out into space, while Earth's surface gets very hot.</div> <bR> <div> "It's like turning the taps on in the bath, but putting the plug in. The bath will get so full it will overflow, and in the same way if we have an optically thick atmosphere, the surface will just keep getting hotter and hotter and hotter, until the entire ocean evaporates.</div> <bR> <div> "That certainly won't be healthy for us," he added.</div> <bR> <div> The heat, which would reach about 1,100 C, would be enough to do away with life on Earth, he said.</div> <bR> <div> "Everything would be truly cooked."</div> <bR> <div> Goldblatt said scientists believe the same thing happened on the planet Venus about two to four billion years ago.</div> <bR> <div> Of course, he said that wouldn't take into account nuclear war or massive asteroid impacts in the next half billion years that could cut short that prediction.</div> <bR> <div> Last year, California preacher and doomsday prophet Harold Camping predicted the end of the world would be in May and when that deadline passed, he said Earth's obliteration would actually be in Oct 21, 2011.</div> <bR> <div> While the Mayan calendar runs out Dec. 21 this year, experts on the Mayan culture have since disputed that the culture predicted the end of the world.</div> <bR> <div> None of those predictions fazes Goldblatt.</div> <bR> <div> "I'm happy to book a flight to go back and see my folks next Christmas," he chuckled.</div> <bR> <div> "There are other things that we should worry about. We should worry about the effect we have the environment...We should worry about how we behave to our neighbours."</div> <bR> <div> Written by CTV.ca News Staff <I>with files from The Canadian Press.</I></div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 32 WIDTH="707"><div> =======================</div> <div>  <A NAME="08"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A><A HREF="#top" TITLE="Jan 12"><U><IMG SRC="16243f0d0.png" border=0 width="63" height="13" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></U></A></div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 279 WIDTH="540"><div> <B>HMCS Charlottetown on counter-terrorism mission</B></div> <div> Web Posted | Last Updated Sun. Jan. 08  2012  18:47  ET</div> <div> Giant Dwarf Posted: January 8th, 2012</div> <div> <B>HMCS Charlottetown is embarking on a potentially risky counter-terrorism mission in the Mediterranean, but the crew says it's well prepared if danger strikes.</B></div> <bR> <div> The Canadian warship, carrying about 250 sailors and a CH-124 Sea King helicopter detachment, left the Halifax Harbour Sunday morning.</div> <bR> <div> HMCS Charlottetown will patrol the Mediterranean Sea, which borders some volatile countries, including Tunisia, Egypt and Syria.</div> <bR> <div> Those areas embroiled in political upheaval could spell potential trouble for the Canadians, but Cmdr. Wade Carter says the crew is trained to react to attacks or intervene in a crisis if necessary.</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="165"><div> <IMG SRC="10219a07e0.gif" border=0 width="160" height="126" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> HMCS Charlottetown heads from its berth in Halifax harbour on Sunday, Jan. 8, 2012. About 250 sailors, soldiers and airmen are on a six-month mission to the Mediterranean Sea as part of NATO's Operation Active Endeavour, an ongoing anti-terrorism campaign. (Andrew Vaughan/ THE CANADIAN PRESS)</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 563 WIDTH="707"><div> "We'll be patrolling the Mediterranean looking for weapons of mass destruction or constituents that could be used to design such things," Carter told CTV News.</div> <bR> <div> The Charlottetown will not be stationed in any one area. It will patrol the Mediterranean Sea for six months, replacing HMCS Vancouver, which has been in the region since last summer.</div> <bR> <div> The warship will join other vessels participating in Operation Active Endeavour, NATO's counter-terrorism mission in the Mediterranean. The effort was launched in response to 9-11 terrorist attacks.</div> <bR> <div> NATO ships will be tracking and boarding vessels suspected of terrorism involvement.</div> <bR> <div> HMCS Charlottetown's departure was emotional, with hundreds of family members and friends gathered at the Halifax waterfront to say goodbye.</div> <bR> <div> Sub-lieutenant Eric Melady's fiancée Mary didn't want to wait six months to marry him. So the couple got hitched on a whim Saturday.</div> <bR> <div> "We weren't sure if they'd fly him home or what that would entail," Mary Melady told CTV News.</div> <bR> <div> "While he was out sailing, I emailed him and asked if he'd like to get married on Saturday," she said with a laugh.</div> <bR> <div> Eric Melady said he was "a bit taken aback," but didn't need to think twice about the impromptu wedding.</div> <bR> <div> Last June, a different HMCS Charlottetown crew came under fire in the Mediterranean while on a NATO-led mission to enforce a no-fly zone over Libya. About 12 rockets were launched from shore, but the warship wasn't hit.</div> <bR> <div> That crew returned home in September.</div> <bR> <div> Canada plans to keep at least one warship deployed in the Mediterranean Sea throughout 2012.</div> <bR> <div> Written by CTV.ca News Staff <I>with files from The Canadian Press.</I></div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 32 WIDTH="707"><div> =======================</div> <div>  <A NAME="07"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A><A HREF="#top" TITLE="Jan 12"><U><IMG SRC="16243f0d0.png" border=0 width="63" height="13" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></U></A></div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 330 WIDTH="540"><div> <B>BlackBerry messages may be used in Mafia murder case</B></div> <div> Web Posted | Last Updated Sat. Jan. 07  2012  22:49  ET</div> <div> Giant Dwarf Posted: January 7th, 2012</div> <div> <B>Court evidence suggests Montreal police obtained BlackBerry messages linked to a man accused in the murder of a former Mafia boss.</B></div> <bR> <div> Raynald Desjardins is one of five suspects facing premeditated murder charges in the November slaying of reputed mobster Salvatore Montagna.</div> <bR> <div> CTV Montreal reported Friday that prosecutors are expected to include BlackBerry text messages in their case against Desjardins, who is reputed to have close mob ties.</div> <bR> <div> The case has scraped up questions about the privacy of BlackBerry smartphones, which are lauded by businesspeople for the heavily encrypted messaging service BBM.</div> <bR> <div> "The BlackBerry messenger has security built-in so it's more secure than the other phones," said Daniel Boteanu, an information security consultant.</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="165"><div> <IMG SRC="10218a0190.jpg" border=0 width="160" height="281" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> Raynald Desjardins, in handcuffs, exits a police van in Joliette (Dec. 21, 2011)</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 360 WIDTH="707"><div> He said messages sent on a BlackBerry are encrypted, sent through the cell operator and company servers before arriving in the recipient's inbox where the message is decrypted, or converted to its original form again.</div> <bR> <div> Given the phone's strict security, it's still unclear how police may have accessed messages related to Desjardins.</div> <bR> <div> "In theory, the messages that are sent through the BlackBerry messenger are private and cannot be intercepted as can be the case for the other phones," said Boteanu.</div> <bR> <div> Montreal-based newspaper <I>La Presse</I> cited unnamed sources in a report alleging that Quebec's provincial police obtained the encrypted text messages.</div> <bR> <div> The Surete du Quebec didn't confirm or deny the claims, telling the paper "we do not reveal our investigation methods."</div> <bR> <div> While BlackBerry phones are praised for their security, lawyer Eloise Gratton said police can technically still access private text messages with court-approved warrants.</div> <bR> <div> "At the end of a day, if a warrant is issued then even if these messages or communications are private, the police will be able to access these messages," she said.</div> <bR> <div> Written by CTV.ca News Staff <I>with files from CTV Montreal's Rob Lurie.</I></div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 32 WIDTH="707"><div> =======================</div> <div>  <A NAME="06"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A><A HREF="#top" TITLE="Jan 12"><U><IMG SRC="16243f0d0.png" border=0 width="63" height="13" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></U></A></div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 180 WIDTH="540"><div> <B>Unemployment rises to 7.5 per cent in December</B></div> <div> Web Posted | Last Updated Fri. Jan. 06  2012  08:03  ET</div> <div> Giant Dwarf Posted: January 6th, 2012</div> <div> <B>The economy created 17,500 new jobs in December – a big improvement over November, when the economy lost 18,600 jobs. But the jobless rate still managed to creep up to 7.5 per cent, because more Canadians entered the labour force looking for work.</B></div> <bR> <div> As many economists expected, the overall picture from Statistics Canada's latest jobs report is not a rosy one.</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> <IMG SRC="10210a09c0.jpg" border=0 width="160" height="156" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 813 WIDTH="707"><div> The unemployment rate rose for the third month in a row -- the longest advance in two years. And most of the new jobs that were created were in the weaker categories of part-time and self-employment. Among the full-time work sector, jobs fell by 25,500.</div> <bR> <div> Manufacturing accounted for the majority of the jobs increase in December, adding 30,400 workers. But construction saw a drop of 12,000.</div> <bR> <div> "All other industries showed little employment change," the agency said.</div> <bR> <div> Employment increased by 3.4 per cent in December among people aged 55 and over, but most of this was due to the aging of the population, since the number of people in this age group grew by 3.2 per cent over the last year.</div> <bR> <div> There was little change in employment for people aged 25 to 54, and a decline in employment among youths aged 15 to 24.</div> <bR> <div> Every province saw an increase in employment except Quebec, which lost 25,700 jobs, mostly in the construction, health care and social assistance sectors.</div> <bR> <div> After a strong start early in 2011, Statistics Canada says Canada has now gone six months without any significant job gains. </div> <div> Of the 199,000 jobs that were created in 2011, almost all came in the first six months.</div> <bR> <div> The uncertainty in the global economy, particularly the sovereign debt crisis in Europe, is keeping employers here in Canada from investing in new jobs, many economists believe. Bank of Canada Governor Mark Carney has said that weak growth abroad is now the main risk to Canada's economy.</div> <bR> <div> Looking back at 2011 as a whole, the services sector was responsible for almost all the year's job gains, as employment rose significantly in the accommodation and food services industries, as well as in the professional, scientific and technical services.</div> <bR> <div> Meanwhile, employment in the goods producing sector was flat. There were gains in natural resources and construction, but they were cancelled out by declines in utilities and manufacturing.</div> <bR> <div> Here are the provincial unemployment rates in December (previous month in brackets):</div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Wing0a73007700c8ffffff00.png" HEIGHT="13" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">Newfoundland 12.8 (13.2)</div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Wing0a73007700c8ffffff00.png" HEIGHT="13" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">Prince Edward Island 11.4 (11.1)</div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Wing0a73007700c8ffffff00.png" HEIGHT="13" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">Nova Scotia 7.8 (8.6)</div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Wing0a73007700c8ffffff00.png" HEIGHT="13" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">New Brunswick 9.4 (9.8)</div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Wing0a73007700c8ffffff00.png" HEIGHT="13" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">Quebec 8.7 (8.0)</div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Wing0a73007700c8ffffff00.png" HEIGHT="13" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">Ontario 7.7 (7.9)</div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Wing0a73007700c8ffffff00.png" HEIGHT="13" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">Manitoba 5.4 (5.5)</div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Wing0a73007700c8ffffff00.png" HEIGHT="13" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">Saskatchewan 5.2 (5.1)</div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Wing0a73007700c8ffffff00.png" HEIGHT="13" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">Alberta 4.9 (5.0)</div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Wing0a73007700c8ffffff00.png" HEIGHT="13" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">British Columbia 7.0 (7.0)</div> <bR> <div> Written by CTV.ca News Staff.</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 32 WIDTH="707"><div> =======================</div> <div>  <A NAME="05"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A><A HREF="#top" TITLE="Jan 12"><U><IMG SRC="16243f0d0.png" border=0 width="63" height="13" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></U></A></div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 758 WIDTH="540"><div> <B>Amber Alert issued for two children in Timmins, Ont.</B></div> <div> Web Posted | Last Updated Thu. Jan. 05  2012  08:28  ET</div> <div> Giant Dwarf Posted: January 5th, 2012</div> <div> <B>Police in Timmins, Ont. have issued an Amber Alert for two young children believed to have been abducted from their home town.</B></div> <bR> <div> Aiden Johnson, three, and Kara Johnson, one, are believed to be with their father Zachary Johnson.</div> <bR> <div> Thirty-four-year-old Zachary Johnson is described as five-foot-10, with a skinny build, short curly dark brown hair with some grey. He has grey-green eyes and scruffy facial hair.</div> <bR> <div> Zachary Johnson normally requires glasses, but isn't believed to be wearing them currently.</div> <bR> <div> Aiden Johnson is described as three-foot-six with a stocky build, light brown medium length hair with blue eyes. Police say Aiden was wearing black and red Oshkosh snow boots with Velcro straps, and a white winter jacket with blue and black rockets and spaceships.</div> <bR> <div> Kara Johnson is described as two-feet-tall with a petite build, light brown short hair with bangs, and hazel eyes. Police say she was wearing a one-piece, turquoise baby sleeper decorated with a bunny, when she went missing.</div> <bR> <div> The vehicle Zachary Johnson was driving was found broken down in Timmins and it isn't known how the trio is travelling. However, police said he could be headed to Ottawa, Nova Scotia, or Saint-Sauveur-des-Monts, Que.</div> <bR> <div> Zachary Johnson is divorced from the children's mother. She last saw Aiden and Kara at just before 6 p.m. ET on Wednesday, according to reports.</div> <bR> <div> Timmins police Const. Rick Lemieux told CTV News Channel that they were hoping media coverage of the missing children would result in some calls "so we can get these children home."</div> <bR> <div> Lemieux said it was likely that Johnson stopped somewhere to sleep overnight and it is possible that he will wake up and return the children.</div> <bR> <div> "He does suffer from depression and is taking medication for that, so it is always a concern but there is nothing to say he will (harm the children)," Lemieux said.</div> <bR> <div> Written by CTV.ca News Staff <I>with files from The Canadian Press.</I></div> <bR> <bR> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="165"><div> <IMG SRC="10209a0080.jpg" border=0 width="160" height="264" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> Aiden, aged 3, Kara, aged 1, are believed to be in the company of Zachary Johnson age 34.</div> <div> <IMG SRC="1020aa0cc0.jpg" border=0 width="160" height="204" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> Aiden, aged 3<IMG SRC="1020ba0cc0.jpg" border=0 width="160" height="204" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"> Kara, aged 1</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 32 WIDTH="707"><div> =======================</div> <div>  <A NAME="04"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A><A HREF="#top" TITLE="Jan 12"><U><IMG SRC="16243f0d0.png" border=0 width="63" height="13" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></U></A></div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 233 WIDTH="540"><div> <B>With credit for time served, Lahey may be released</B></div> <div> Web Posted | Last Updated Wed. Jan. 04  2012  12:33  ET</div> <div> Giant Dwarf Posted: January 4th, 2012</div> <div> <B>Disgraced Roman Catholic bishop Raymond Lahey has been sentenced to 15 months in prison for importing child pornography, but could be released on probation as early as Wednesday.</B></div> <bR> <div> "We're told that the only thing that Lahey has to do now is give a sample of his DNA and then he gets to walk away," CTV's Daniele Hamamdjian reports from the Ottawa courthouse where Lahey was sentenced Wednesday morning.</div> <bR> <div> Lahey pleaded guilty to the charge against him back in May and voluntarily went to jail while he awaited sentencing.</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="165"><div> <IMG SRC="101ffa07e0.jpg" border=0 width="160" height="126" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> Bishop Raymond Lahey arrives to the Ottawa Court House in Ottawa, on trial for possession of child pornography, on May 4, 2011. (Sean Kilpatrick / THE CANADIAN PRESS)</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 625 WIDTH="707"><div> The 71-year-old priest has already served more than seven months. Since courts normally award the accused double credit for the time they serve awaiting trial and sentencing, Lahey has already completed his sentence.</div> <bR> <div> Once he is processed, he could be released at any time. It's unclear whether he'll try to slip out quietly or speak to reporters at the courthouse.</div> <bR> <div> Ontario Court Justice Kent Kirkland also handed Lahey two years probation, which includes a series of stringent conditions.</div> <bR> <div> Lahey will have to register as a sex offender, which is why he is submitting the DNA sample. He will also have to submit to random searches of his personal and office computers when required by the authorities. He will also be banned for 20 years from areas where children might gather, such as schools and public pools and from communicating online with minors under the age of 16.</div> <bR> <div> Hamamdjian reports that Justice Kirkland said in his sentencing that he considered the fact that Lahey had no previous criminal record and had a long history of community service.</div> <bR> <div> He also considered a psychiatric assessment conducted last month on Lahey that found that Lahey was not a pedophile, not a risk to the community and that there was minimal expectation of recidivism.</div> <bR> <div> Lahey was arrested in September 2009 after being stopped at the Ottawa airport re-entering Canada with close to 600 pornographic photos on his laptop and handheld device.</div> <bR> <div> Border officials said they found hundreds of images and dozens of videos, many of them showing young males engaged in sex acts. They also found written stories containing explicit sexual imagery of boys.</div> <bR> <div> Border officials said at the time that they flagged Lahey because he was a man travelling alone, and his passport showed several trips to Southeast Asia, Germany, Spain and other areas known for child pornography.</div> <bR> <div> At a sentencing hearing last month, Lahey apologized to his church and to victims of child pornography. He said his addiction to Internet porn went against his moral principles.</div> <bR> <div> Lahey's arrest rocked his former Nova Scotia archdiocese of Antigonish and he immediately stepped down as bishop. The Vatican appointed a new bishop for the diocese but has not ruled on Lahey's status with the Catholic Church.</div> <bR> <div> Written by CTV.ca News Staff <I>with files from The Canadian Press.</I></div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 32 WIDTH="707"><div> =======================</div> <div>  <A NAME="03"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A><A HREF="#top" TITLE="Jan 12"><U><IMG SRC="16243f0d0.png" border=0 width="63" height="13" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></U></A></div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 163 WIDTH="540"><div> <B>Ontario shivers as warmth embraces the Prairies</B></div> <div> Web Posted | Last Updated Tue. Jan. 03  2012  10:33  ET</div> <div> Giant Dwarf Posted: January 3rd, 2012</div> <div> <B>The City of Toronto remained under an extreme cold weather alert and southern Ontario was facing temperatures as low as -15 Celsius on Tuesday as areas of western Canada were welcoming unseasonable warmth.</B></div> <bR> <div> Environment Canada said Toronto's suddenly frigid weather would hover in the minus teens all day while a bone-chilling Arctic blast would drop wind chill values as low as -25 C.</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="165"><div> <IMG SRC="101fca0620.jpg" border=0 width="160" height="98" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> A homeless person tries to keep warm in the bitter cold in Toronto, Tuesday, Jan. 3, 2011.</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 666 WIDTH="707"><div> An extreme cold weather alert issued by the city on Monday will remain in effect, meaning the city's emergency shelters will stay at expanded capacity and outreach workers will be out offering assistance to vulnerable homeless people.</div> <bR> <div> Temperatures in Montreal had plunged to a similar -15 C overnight and were expected to stay at that level through Tuesday, with the wind chill making it feel as cold as -26 C.</div> <bR> <div> Toronto and Montreal were expected to warm up later this week, however, with temperatures reaching above freezing as early as Friday or Saturday.</div> <bR> <div> Western provinces will not have to wait for the weekend to see positive temperatures, with sunny, cloudless skies greeting Prairie cities Tuesday morning.</div> <bR> <div> Winnipeg could see temperatures as warm as 2 C by the afternoon, while Regina and Saskatoon are also likely to see snow-melting warmth.</div> <bR> <div> In Calgary and Vancouver highs of 8 and 9 C were expected Tuesday, while forecasts suggested positive temperatures would last through the weekend.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Southern Ontario severe weather warnings</B></div> <bR> <div> Some sections of southern Ontario had been issued severe weather warnings on Tuesday.</div> <bR> <div> Dufferin County, about 100 kilometres northwest of Toronto, was told to expect snow squalls with bursts of heavy snow.</div> <bR> <div> Snow falls of 15 centimetres are possible over the Collingwood and Innisfil area on Tuesday, while the nearby London airport has already received 29 centimetres of snow since the harsh weather began late Monday evening. Visibility was also being reduced to less than 100 metres.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Northern Ontario wind chill</B></div> <bR> <div> In northern Ontario, meantime, cold Arctic air combined with gusting winds was behind wind chill values in the -35 to -44 Celsius range Tuesday morning.</div> <bR> <div> Environment Canada was warning residents in the area surrounding Moosonee and Attawapiskat that exposed skin could freeze in as little as 10 minutes.</div> <bR> <div> Written by CTV.ca News Staff <I>with files from ctvtoronto.ca.</I></div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 32 WIDTH="707"><div> =======================</div> <div>  <A NAME="02"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A><A HREF="#top" TITLE="Jan 12"><U><IMG SRC="16243f0d0.png" border=0 width="63" height="13" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></U></A></div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 202 WIDTH="540"><div> <B>L.A. arson suspect ID'd as 24-year-old Hollywood man</B></div> <div> Web Posted | Last Updated Mon. Jan. 02  2012  22:09  ET</div> <div> Giant Dwarf Posted: January 2nd, 2012</div> <div> <B>Police in Los Angeles have identified a suspect they arrested earlier Monday in connection with a string of arson fires, but it's still unclear why a car with British Columbia plates was linked to the investigation.</B></div> <bR> <div> Officials told reporters Monday evening they have arrested 24-year-old Harry Burkhart, who lives in Hollywood, and booked him on charges of arson of an inhabited dwelling.</div> <bR> <div> Burkhart is currently being held without bail.</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="165"><div> <IMG SRC="101faa0620.jpg" border=0 width="160" height="98" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> Los Angeles Fire Department firefighters extinguishes numerous cars on fire in a carport in the Sherman Oaks neighborhood of Los Angeles on Monday, Jan. 2, 2012. (AP / Dan Steinberg)</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 447 WIDTH="707"><div> Earlier Monday, media reports suggested the man arrested in connection with the 53 fires that were set between early Friday and early Monday may be a native of Germany who had been driving a van with British Columbia plates.</div> <bR> <div> The Los Angeles Times, citing police sources, reported that the man appears to have been battling the U.S. government over the immigration status of a relative.</div> <bR> <div> ABC News reported the man may have been angry about a deportation hearing against his mother that took place about a week and a half ago.</div> <bR> <div> During their Monday evening news conference, law enforcement agents would only confirm that Burkhart is a foreign national from Germany.</div> <bR> <div> The man was stopped by a reserve sheriff's deputy near the corner of Sunset Boulevard and Fairfax Avenue early Monday morning. Sources told the Times that the minivan the man was driving had B.C. licence plates. The same sources said detectives found materials inside the van that could have been used to set fires.</div> <bR> <div> Officials said there have not been any suspicious fires since the suspect was detained. However, police warned Los Angeles residents to remain vigilant as investigators determine if there are other suspects.</div> <bR> <div> Police said search warrants were being served at Burkhart's residence Monday evening.</div> <bR> <div> The fires began early Friday with 17 car fires in the West Hollywood and Hollywood areas.</div> <bR> <div> Sixteen additional fires were set late Friday and early Saturday across Hollywood, with another in Burbank. Late New Year's Eve, eight more fires were set, before another 11 broke out early Monday.</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 538 WIDTH="707"><div> Los Angeles fire Capt. Jaime Moore told reporters at an earlier news conference, held at noon local time Monday, that to date the fires have caused "well in excess of $2 million" in damage.</div> <bR> <div> The fires were set in cars and in many cases spread to nearby structures. The fires have not caused any civilian injuries or deaths. However, one firefighter was injured Monday morning.</div> <bR> <div> Police had been searching since Sunday for a man seen on grainy surveillance video near the scene of one of the suspicious car fires.</div> <bR> <div> The man was captured on video Saturday emerging on foot from an underground parking structure on Hollywood Boulevard, where one of the car fires was reported.</div> <bR> <div> Police said the "person of interest" they were looking for was white, heavy-set, between 20 and 30 years old with a receding hairline and a shoulder-length ponytail.</div> <bR> <div> Moore said the sheriff's deputy stopped the van because it resembled a description provided by a special task force created to probe the fires. The task force is made up of investigators from city and county fire and police departments, the Los Angeles District Attorney's office and the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.</div> <bR> <div> The suspect also matched the description provided by the task force based on the surveillance video, Moore said.</div> <bR> <div> The arson wave is considered the worst the city has seen since the 1992 Rodney King riots. A US$60,000 reward has been offered for information that leads to the arrest and conviction of the arsonist or arsonists.</div> <bR> <div> On Monday, police declined to say what evidence tied the fires together. They also refused to explain how the fires were set.</div> <bR> <div> Law enforcement sources told The L.A. Times that they were concerned that releasing more information might prompt the arsonists to change tactics. It could also encourage copycats.</div> <bR> <div> Written by CTV.ca News Staff <I>with files from The Associated Press.</I></div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 32 WIDTH="707"><div> =======================</div> <div>  <A NAME="01"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A><A HREF="#top" TITLE="Jan 12"><U><IMG SRC="16243f0d0.png" border=0 width="63" height="13" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></U></A></div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 202 WIDTH="540"><div> <B>Dead blackbirds fall from sky in Beebe Arkansas, again</B></div> <div> Web Posted | Last Updated Sun. Jan. 01 2012  22:10  ET</div> <div> Giant Dwarf Posted: January 1st, 2012</div> <div> <B>LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Thousands of dead blackbirds rained down on a town in central Arkansas last New Year's Eve after revelers set off fireworks that spooked them from their roost, and officials were reporting a similar occurrence Saturday as 2012 approached.</B></div> <bR> <div> Police in Beebe said dozens of blackbirds had fallen dead, prompting officers to ban residents from shooting fireworks Saturday night. It wasn't immediately clear if fireworks were again to blame, but authorities weren't taking a chance.</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="165"><div> <B><IMG SRC="101f8a07e0.jpg" border=0 width="160" height="126" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></div> <div> In this Jan. 1, 2011 file photo, a worker with U.S. Environmental Services picks up a dead bird in Beebe, Ark. (Warren Watkins / The Daily Citizen)</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 610 WIDTH="707"><div> Officer John Weeks said the first reports of "birds on the streets" came around 7 p.m. as residents celebrated the year's end with fireworks in their neighbourhoods.</div> <bR> <div> "We started shutting down fireworks," he said. "We're working on cleaning up the birds now."</div> <bR> <div> He said police were working with animal control workers and others to remove the birds and determine a death count.</div> <bR> <div> "We're not sure if they're going to continue to fall throughout the night. I can't tell you," Weeks said.</div> <bR> <div> Scientists say the loud cracks and booms from celebratory fireworks likely sent the birds into such a tizzy that they crashed into homes, cars and each other before plummeting to their deaths last New Year's Eve. The birds landed on roofs, sidewalks, streets and fields. One struck a woman walking her dog. Another hit a police cruiser.</div> <bR> <div> The blackbird die-off, coupled with tens of thousands of dead drum fish that washed up on the shores of the Arkansas River, flung the state into the national headlines and drew conspiracy theorists and filmmakers to the town about 30 miles northeast of Little Rock that shares Arkansas Gov. Mike Beebe's last name.</div> <bR> <div> Some people speculated that the birds had been poisoned; others said their deaths marked the beginning of the apocalypse.</div> <div> "It's just got to be a pain in my career," Beebe Police Chief Wayne Ballew said.</div> <bR> <div> Prior to this New Year's Eve, Ballew said he wouldn't be surprised if people sit out on their front porches in case the winged creatures fall from the sky again.</div> <bR> <div> "I guess we could have an annual blackbird watch," he said with a laugh. "People can just bring their umbrellas, open them up and walk through the neighbourhood and hope they don't get hit."</div> <bR> <div> Charles Moore didn't plan to have an umbrella at the ready, but said he would have his camera out on New Year's Eve. Last year, he drifted off to sleep before the ball -- and birds -- dropped.</div> <bR> <div> "When we got up on New Year's Day and walked out to get the paper, we saw all the carnage out there," he said. "So we thought we would be on the watch for it this time."</div> <bR> <div> Written by CTV.ca News Staff <I>with files from </I><I>The Associated Press.</I></div> </tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <div> <A HREF="#top" TITLE="Jan 12"><U><IMG SRC="16243f0d0.png" border=0 width="63" height="13" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></U></A></div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>