Jan 07

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" height=60 BGCOLOR="#333366" TEXT="#080000" bgproperties="fixed" background="5c8746483.png"> <div> <B> <TABLE BORDER="1" CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="747" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#FFCC80" BORDERCOLORDARK="#CC9900" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" BGCOLOR=#000000 > <tR> <tD VALIGN=CENTER HEIGHT= 52 WIDTH="37"><div> <A HREF="id979.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Feb 07"><U><IMG SRC="31ce11160.png" border=0 width="17" height="22" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></U></A></div> <div> PREV</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=CENTER WIDTH="37"><div> <A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Giant Dwarf"><U><IMG SRC="31ce11160.png" border=0 width="17" height="22" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></U></A></div> <div> HOME</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=CENTER WIDTH="37"><div> <IMG SRC="31ce11160.png" border=0 width="17" height="22" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" 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BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A><IMG SRC="5e4a5c200.png" border=0 width="92" height="32" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">  <B>Past Articles:</B></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" HEIGHT="16" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="50" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP BGCOLOR=#FFCC33 WIDTH="50"><IMG 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11"><U><B>Jun/11</B></U></A></div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP BGCOLOR=#FFCC33><NOBR><div> <A HREF="id1181.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="May 11"><U><B>May/11</B></U></A></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP BGCOLOR=#FFCC33 WIDTH="50"><div> <A HREF="id1180.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Apr 11"><U><B>Apr/11</B></U></A></div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP BGCOLOR=#FFCC33><NOBR><div> <A HREF="id1179.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Mar 11"><U><B>Mar/11</B></U></A></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP BGCOLOR=#FFCC33><NOBR><div> <A HREF="id1178.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Feb 11"><U><B>Feb/11</B></U></A></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP BGCOLOR=#FFCC33 WIDTH="50"><div> <A HREF="id1173.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Jan 11"><U><B>Jan/11</B></U></A></div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP BGCOLOR=#FFCC33 HEIGHT= 16 ><NOBR><div> <A HREF="id1172.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Dec 10"><U><B>Dec/10</B></U></A></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP BGCOLOR=#FFCC33><NOBR><div> <A HREF="id1170.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Nov 10"><U><B>Nov/10</B></U></A></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP BGCOLOR=#FFCC33 WIDTH="50"><div> <A HREF="id1167.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Oct 10"><U><B>Oct/10</B></U></A></div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP BGCOLOR=#FFCC33><NOBR><div> <A HREF="id1161.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Sep 10"><U><B>Sep/10</B></U></A></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP BGCOLOR=#FFCC33><NOBR><div> <A HREF="id1160.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Aug 10"><U><B>Aug/10</B></U></A></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP BGCOLOR=#FFCC33 WIDTH="50"><div> <A HREF="id1159.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Jul 10"><U><B>Jul/10</B></U></A></div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP BGCOLOR=#FFCC33><NOBR><div> <A HREF="id1154.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Jun 10"><U><B>Jun/10</B></U></A></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP BGCOLOR=#FFCC33><NOBR><div> <A HREF="id1153.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="May 10"><U><B>May/10</B></U></A></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP BGCOLOR=#FFCC33 WIDTH="50"><div> <A HREF="id1143.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Apr 10"><U><B>Apr/10</B></U></A></div> </tD> 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BGCOLOR=#FFCC33><NOBR><div> <A HREF="id1122.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Aug 09"><U><B>Aug/09</B></U></A></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP BGCOLOR=#FFCC33 WIDTH="50"><div> <A HREF="id1121.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Jul 09"><U><B>Jul/09</B></U></A></div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP BGCOLOR=#FFCC33><NOBR><div> <A HREF="id1120.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Jun 09"><U><B>Jun/09</B></U></A></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP BGCOLOR=#FFCC33><NOBR><div> <A HREF="id1115.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="May 09"><U><B>May/09</B></U></A></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP BGCOLOR=#FFCC33 WIDTH="50"><div> <A HREF="id1114.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Apr 09"><U><B>Apr/09</B></U></A></div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP BGCOLOR=#FFCC33><NOBR><div> <A HREF="id1104.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Mar 09"><U><B>Mar/09</B></U></A></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP BGCOLOR=#FFCC33><NOBR><div> <A HREF="id1103.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Feb 09"><U><B>Feb/09</B></U></A></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP BGCOLOR=#FFCC33><NOBR><div> <A HREF="id1099.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Jan 09"><U><B>Jan/09</B></U></A></div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP BGCOLOR=#FFCC33 HEIGHT= 16 ><NOBR><div> <A HREF="id1092.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Dec 08"><U><B>Dec/08</B></U></A></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP BGCOLOR=#FFCC33><NOBR><div> <A HREF="id1091.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Nov 08"><U><B>Nov/08</B></U></A></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP BGCOLOR=#FFCC33 WIDTH="50"><div> <A HREF="id1086.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Oct 08"><U><B>Oct/08</B></U></A></div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP BGCOLOR=#FFCC33><NOBR><div> <A HREF="id1084.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Sep 08"><U><B>Sep/08</B></U></A></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP BGCOLOR=#FFCC33><NOBR><div> <A HREF="id1083.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Aug 08"><U><B>Aug/08</B></U></A></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP BGCOLOR=#FFCC33 WIDTH="50"><div> <A HREF="id1078.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Jul 08"><U><B>Jul/08</B></U></A></div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP BGCOLOR=#FFCC33><NOBR><div> <A HREF="id1077.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Jun 08"><U><B>Jun/08</B></U></A></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP BGCOLOR=#FFCC33><NOBR><div> <A HREF="id1072.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="May 08"><U><B>May/08</B></U></A></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP BGCOLOR=#FFCC33 WIDTH="50"><div> <A HREF="id1071.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Apr 08"><U><B>Apr/08</B></U></A></div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP BGCOLOR=#FFCC33><NOBR><div> <A HREF="id1060.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Mar 08"><U><B>Mar/08</B></U></A></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP BGCOLOR=#FFCC33><NOBR><div> <A HREF="id1044.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Feb 08"><U><B>Feb/08</B></U></A></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP BGCOLOR=#FFCC33><NOBR><div> <A HREF="id1043.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Jan 08"><U><B>Jan/08</B></U></A></div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP BGCOLOR=#FFCC33 HEIGHT= 16 ><NOBR><div> <A HREF="id1038.htm" 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=#FFFFCC><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" are dated from January 1st, 2007 - January 31st, 2007.</B></div> <div> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="383" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 16 ><NOBR><div> <A HREF="#fraser_to_be_grilled_over_commissioner_s_firing" TITLE="Jan 07"><U><B><IMG SRC="f1f0b0d0.png" border=0 width="11" height="13" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A><B>  Fraser to be grilled over commissioner's firing</B></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> 31/01/07</div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 16 ><NOBR><div> <A HREF="#equipment_failure_blamed_for_ontario_power_dip" TITLE="Jan 07"><U><B><IMG SRC="f1f0b0d0.png" border=0 width="11" height="13" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A><B>  Equipment failure blamed for Ontario power dip</B></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> 30/01/07</div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 16 ><NOBR><div> <A HREF="#bangor_ban_on_smoking_in_cars_reignites_debate" TITLE="Jan 07"><U><B><IMG SRC="f1f0b0d0.png" border=0 width="11" height="13" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A><B>  Bangor ban on smoking in cars reignites debate</B></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> 29/01/07</div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 16 ><NOBR><div> <A HREF="#tens_of_thousands_protest_iraq_war_in_washington" TITLE="Jan 07"><U><B><IMG SRC="f1f0b0d0.png" border=0 width="11" height="13" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A><B>  Tens of thousands protest Iraq war in Washington</B></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> 28/01/07</div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 16 ><NOBR><div> <A HREF="#canada_quietly_working_on_own_no_fly_list" TITLE="Jan 07"><U><B><IMG SRC="f1f0b0d0.png" border=0 width="11" height="13" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A><B>  Canada quietly working on own no-fly list</B></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> 27/01/07</div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 16 ><NOBR><div> <A HREF="#ottawa_to_announce__10_million_arar_settlement" TITLE="Jan 07"><U><B><IMG SRC="f1f0b0d0.png" border=0 width="11" height="13" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A><B>  Ottawa to announce $10-million Arar settlement</B></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> 26/01/07</div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 16 ><NOBR><div> <A HREF="#fraud_found_on_cdn__accounts_after_winners_breach" TITLE="Jan 07"><U><B><IMG SRC="f1f0b0d0.png" border=0 width="11" height="13" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A><B>  Fraud found on Cdn. accounts after Winners breach</B></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> 25/01/07</div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 16 ><NOBR><div> <A HREF="#bush_defends_iraq_plan_focuses_on_gasoline_usage" TITLE="Jan 07"><U><B><IMG SRC="f1f0b0d0.png" border=0 width="11" height="13" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A><B>  Bush defends Iraq plan, focuses on gasoline usage</B></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> 24/01/07</div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 16 ><NOBR><div> <A HREF="#passports_now_mandatory_when_flying_to_u_s_" TITLE="Jan 07"><U><B><IMG SRC="f1f0b0d0.png" border=0 width="11" height="13" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A><B>  Passports now mandatory when flying to U.S.</B></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> 23/01/07</div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 16 ><NOBR><div> <A HREF="#joni_mitchell_s_ballet_sparks_worldwide_attention" TITLE="Jan 07"><U><B><IMG SRC="f1f0b0d0.png" border=0 width="11" height="13" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A><B>  Joni Mitchell's ballet sparks worldwide attention</B></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> 22/01/07</div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 16 ><NOBR><div> <A HREF="#strong_earthquake_hits_off_indonesia_s_sulawesi" TITLE="Jan 07"><U><B><IMG SRC="f1f0b0d0.png" border=0 width="11" height="13" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A><B>  Strong earthquake hits off Indonesia's Sulawesi</B></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> 21/01/07</div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 16 ><NOBR><div> <A HREF="#clinton_says__i_m_in__for_u_s__presidential_race" TITLE="Jan 07"><U><B><IMG SRC="f1f0b0d0.png" border=0 width="11" height="13" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A><B>  Clinton says 'I'm in' for U.S. presidential race</B></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> 20/01/07</div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 16 WIDTH="335"><div> <A HREF="#europe_mops_up_after_storm_kills_41" TITLE="Jan 07"><U><B><IMG SRC="f1f0b0d0.png" border=0 width="11" height="13" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A><B>  Europe mops up after storm kills 41</B></div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> 19/01/07</div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 16 ><NOBR><div> <A HREF="#hacker_puts_winners_homesense_shoppers_at_risk" TITLE="Jan 07"><U><B><IMG SRC="f1f0b0d0.png" border=0 width="11" height="13" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A><B>  Hacker puts Winners, HomeSense shoppers at risk</B></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> 18/01/07</div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 16 ><NOBR><div> <A HREF="#new_poll_suggests_spring_election_is_unlikely" TITLE="Jan 07"><U><B><IMG SRC="f1f0b0d0.png" border=0 width="11" height="13" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A><B>  New poll suggests spring election is unlikely</B></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> 17/01/07</div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 16 ><NOBR><div> <A HREF="#un_marks_soaring_iraq_death_toll_of_nearly_35000" TITLE="Jan 07"><U><B><IMG SRC="f1f0b0d0.png" border=0 width="11" height="13" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A><B>  UN marks soaring Iraq death toll of nearly 35,000</B></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> 16/01/07</div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 16 ><NOBR><div> <A HREF="#ottawa_s_war_on_drugs_a_failure_report_says" TITLE="Jan 07"><U><B><IMG SRC="f1f0b0d0.png" border=0 width="11" height="13" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A><B>  Ottawa's war on drugs a failure, report says</B></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> 15/01/07</div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 16 ><NOBR><div> <A HREF="#doctors_cry_foul_over_anonymous_rating_website" TITLE="Jan 07"><U><B><IMG SRC="f1f0b0d0.png" border=0 width="11" height="13" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A><B>  Doctors cry foul over anonymous rating website</B></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> 14/01/07</div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 16 ><NOBR><div> <A HREF="#two_missing_boys_one_since_2002_found_in_mo_" TITLE="Jan 07"><U><B><IMG SRC="f1f0b0d0.png" border=0 width="11" height="13" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A><B>  Two missing boys, one since 2002, found in Mo.</B></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> 13/01/07</div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 16 ><NOBR><div> <A HREF="#bilingualism_may_delay_onset_of_dementia_study" TITLE="Jan 07"><U><B><IMG SRC="f1f0b0d0.png" border=0 width="11" height="13" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A><B>  Bilingualism may delay onset of dementia: study</B></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> 12/01/07</div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 16 ><NOBR><div> <A HREF="#u_s__allies_offer_support_for_bush_s_iraq_plan" TITLE="Jan 07"><U><B><IMG SRC="f1f0b0d0.png" border=0 width="11" height="13" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A><B>  U.S. allies offer support for Bush's Iraq plan</B></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> 11/01/07</div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 16 ><NOBR><div> <A HREF="#questions_surround_death_of_canadian_in_mexico" TITLE="Jan 07"><U><B><IMG SRC="f1f0b0d0.png" border=0 width="11" height="13" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A><B>  Questions surround death of Canadian in Mexico</B></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> 10/01/07</div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 16 ><NOBR><div> <A HREF="#b_c__sextuplets_in__fair_condition__officials_say" TITLE="Jan 07"><U><B><IMG SRC="f1f0b0d0.png" border=0 width="11" height="13" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A><B>  B.C. sextuplets in 'fair condition,' officials say</B></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> 09/01/07</div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 16 WIDTH="335"><div> <A HREF="#court_drops_charges_against_saddam" TITLE="Jan 07"><U><B><IMG SRC="f1f0b0d0.png" border=0 width="11" height="13" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A><B>  Court drops charges against Saddam</B></div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> 08/01/07</div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 16 ><NOBR><div> <A HREF="#jolie_portrayed_as_virgin_mary_in_odd_painting" TITLE="Jan 07"><U><B><IMG SRC="f1f0b0d0.png" border=0 width="11" height="13" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A><B>  Jolie portrayed as Virgin Mary in odd painting</B></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> 07/01/07</div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 16 ><NOBR><div> <A HREF="#un_investigated_over_300_for_alleged_sex_offences" TITLE="Jan 07"><U><B><IMG SRC="f1f0b0d0.png" border=0 width="11" height="13" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A><B>  UN investigated over 300 for alleged sex offences</B></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> 06/01/07</div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 16 ><NOBR><div> <A HREF="#unemployment_rate_at_30_year_low_in_december" TITLE="Jan 07"><U><B><IMG SRC="f1f0b0d0.png" border=0 width="11" height="13" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A><B>  Unemployment rate at 30-year-low in December</B></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> 05/01/07</div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 16 ><NOBR><div> <A HREF="#scientists_say_2007_may_be_warmest_yet" TITLE="Jan 07"><U><B><IMG SRC="f1f0b0d0.png" border=0 width="11" height="13" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A><B>  Scientists say 2007 may be warmest yet</B></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> 04/01/07</div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 16 ><NOBR><div> <A HREF="#politicians_found_to_carry_toxic_chemical_soup" TITLE="Jan 07"><U><B><IMG SRC="f1f0b0d0.png" border=0 width="11" height="13" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A><B>  Politicians found to carry toxic chemical soup</B></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> 03/01/07</div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 16 ><NOBR><div> <A HREF="#canadians_could_take_custody_of_bedard_today" TITLE="Jan 07"><U><B><IMG SRC="f1f0b0d0.png" border=0 width="11" height="13" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A><B>  Canadians could take custody of Bedard today</B></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> 02/01/07</div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 16 ><NOBR><div> <A HREF="#afghanistan_tops_poll_on_story_of_the_year" TITLE="Jan 07"><U><B><IMG SRC="f1f0b0d0.png" border=0 width="11" height="13" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A><B>  Bell Canada income trust conversion under review</B></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> 01/01/07</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="fraser_to_be_grilled_over_commissioner_s_firing"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A><A HREF="#top" TITLE="Jan 07"><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= 200 WIDTH="540"><div> <B>Fraser to be grilled over commissioner's firing</B></div> <div> Web Posted | Last Updated Tue. Jan. 30  2007  23:17 ET</div> <div> Giant Dwarf Posted: January 31st, 2007</div> <div> <B>Auditor-General Sheila Fraser will face a grilling from parliamentarians on Wednesday over why she fired Environment Commissioner Johanne Gelinas.</B></div> <bR> <div> The House of Commons environment committee wants answers, and Gelinas herself pronounced shock.</div> <bR> <div> "I was considering a future departure, but today's announcement from Sheila Fraser was premature and came as a complete surprise to me," Gelinas, who is out of the country, wrote</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="165"><div> <IMG SRC="b21ba0780.jpg" border=0 width="160" height="120" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> Environment Commissioner Johanne Gelinas addresses a news conference in Ottawa in this Sept. 28, 2006 file photo. (CP / Jonathan Hayward)</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 344 WIDTH="707"><div> in the statement on Tuesday night.</div> <bR> <div> Fraser issued a news release on Tuesday saying Gelinas had left the position to "pursue other opportunities.</div> <bR> <div> "Madame Gelinas and her team have done valuable work assisting parliamentarians through their audits of government's management of its environmental and sustainable development responsibilities."</div> <bR> <div> Reports say that Gelinas, who held the position for five years, was fired for being too much of an advocate on policy.</div> <bR> <div> Gelinas admitted a "difference of opinion" with Fraser, but did say the government had nothing to do with her termination.</div> <bR> <div> "The discusssions (Fraser and I) had were in private, with no interference whatsoever from the Government of Canada and its representatives," she wrote.</div> <bR> <div> The Canadian Press reported that Ron Thompson, an assistant auditor-general, had essentially replaced Gelinas months ago. Fraser has officially named him as Gelinas' interim replacement.</div> <bR> <div> Gelinas worked as part of the Office of the Auditor-General, an independent office, and examined the government's effectiveness in its environmental programs.</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 211 WIDTH="540"><div> Gelinas' report last September caused a major stir as it slammed the previous government's record on the environment and outlined measures the new government should take to address climate change.</div> <bR> <div> Fraser appeared before the House of Commons environment committee on Tuesday.</div> <bR> <div> She informed MPs on the environment committee that she would like a review of the role of the environment commissioner, particularly the extent to which he or she should be involved in "advocacy" regarding government policy.</div> <bR> <div> That would be complete by autumn, at which point a permanent replacement would be named, she said.</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="165"><div> <IMG SRC="b21ca0780.jpg" border=0 width="160" height="120" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> Auditor General Sheila Fraser responds to questions during a press conference in Ottawa on May 16, 2006. (CP / Jonathan Hayward)</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 577 WIDTH="707"><div> CTV's David Akin said that when the position was created, it was originally conceived to be an independent position that would report directly to Parliament. For various reasons, that didn't happen.</div> <bR> <div> Canada is one of only two countries with an environment commissioner, and this firing will create more debate about the role, he said.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Political reaction</B></div> <div> Environment Minister John Baird spoke in defence of Gelinas' record.</div> <bR> <div> "Commissioner Gelinas had done a phenomenal job. She was great at exposing some of the real shortcomings and environmental policies in recent years," he said.</div> <bR> <div> "When I heard she wanted to leave government, one of my first thoughts was, 'How do I nominate this woman for The Order of Canada?'"</div> <bR> <div> Liberal Leader and former environment minister Stephane Dion told reporters: "I cannot believe she has been fired. She has been a very good commissioner, a tremendous one. She was demanding for the ministers -- and it was her job -- and I learned working with her."</div> <bR> <div> "Well, it's a sad day for Canada and the environment that Madame Gelinas is no longer in this key position, where she was a respected, non-partisan voice holding our government to account," NDP Leader Jack Layton told reporters.</div> <bR> <div> Green Party Leader Elizabeth May asked Fraser to reconsider.</div> <bR> <div> "Auditor General Sheila Fraser is, without doubt, one of the most respected women in Canada," said May.</div> <bR> <div> "My respect for her is not diminished, but I appeal to her to reconsider. This decision smacks of shooting the messenger.</div> <bR> <div> "The independence of the commissioner of the environment and sustainable development is established in the legislation. Neither the government nor Ms. Fraser should attempt to curtail that independence."</div> <bR> <div> Written by CTV.ca News Staff<I> with files from CTV's David Akin and The Canadian Press</I></div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 32 WIDTH="707"><div> =======================</div> <div>  <A NAME="equipment_failure_blamed_for_ontario_power_dip"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A><A HREF="#top" TITLE="Jan 07"><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= 362 WIDTH="540"><div> <B>Equipment failure blamed for Ontario power dip</B></div> <div> Web Posted | Last Updated Tue. Jan. 30  2007  09:33 ET</div> <div> Giant Dwarf Posted: January 30th, 2007</div> <div> <B>Hydro One says an equipment failure at a west-end Toronto transformer station caused a power dip early Tuesday morning across Ontario and into Quebec.</B></div> <bR> <div> Lights dimmed and electricity went out momentarily just before 6:30 a.m., but power systems quickly returned to normal.</div> <bR> <div> A spokesperson said a capacitor bank, a piece of equipment designed to handle increased power demands in the morning, failed, causing an explosion and fire at the station near Highways 401 and 427.</div> <bR> <div> The blaze then triggered the power dip, which affected areas as far west as London, north into cottage country and as far east as Quebec, officials said.</div> <bR> <div> Six trucks and 25 firefighters had the fire under control before 7:30 a.m.</div> <bR> <div> Some traffic lights were out as a result of the power dip, but police did not report any major problems.</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="165"><div> <IMG SRC="b213a0780.jpg" border=0 width="160" height="120" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> The scene of the fire at the Dixon and Martingrove power station, in west-end Toronto, early Tuesday morning.</div> <div> <IMG SRC="b214a0780.jpg" border=0 width="160" height="120" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> Traffic lights flicker at Wellington and Simcoe in downtown Toronto during the power surge.</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 54 ><NOBR><div> Toronto Police Supt. Ron Taverner told reporters there is no reason to suspect foul play, but officers are investigating.</div> <bR> <div> Written by CTV.ca News Staff<I> with a report from toronto.ctv.ca</I></div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 32 WIDTH="707"><div> =======================</div> <div>  <A NAME="bangor_ban_on_smoking_in_cars_reignites_debate"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A><A HREF="#top" TITLE="Jan 07"><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= 169 WIDTH="540"><div> <B>Bangor ban on smoking in cars reignites debate</B></div> <div> Web Posted | Last Updated Sun. Jan. 28  2007  23:43 ET</div> <div> Giant Dwarf Posted: January 29th, 2007</div> <div> <B>A new smoking ban in the state of Maine has re-ignited the debate over where you can smoke.</B></div> <bR> <div> Earlier this month, the city of Bangor banned smoking in cars in which children under 18 are passengers.</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="165"><div> <IMG SRC="b20ca0780.jpg" border=0 width="160" height="120" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> The city of Bangor banned smoking in cars in which children under 18 are passengers.</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 666 WIDTH="707"><div> The Bangor ordinance permits police in the Maine's third largest city to stop a car if an adult is smoking while a child is a passenger. Violators face fines up to US$50.</div> <bR> <div> The ban is being hailed as a new frontier for anti-smoking groups who believe taking a drag may one day be banned in Canada too.</div> <bR> <div> But the ordinance also had its critics. Bangor city councilor Susan Hawes, who voted against the law, told The Associated Press that the police department should focus its attention on more important issues.</div> <bR> <div> There's already too much government intervention in people's lives, she said.</div> <bR> <div> "Some of the negatives that have been brought forward to me is, well you're treading on civil liberties. You're being real heavy handed," said Bangor's Mayor Richard Greene.</div> <bR> <div> Similar statewide measures have already been adopted in the states of Arkansas and Louisiana.</div> <bR> <div> In Connecticut, a ban on smoking in cars just introduced in the legislature was prompted by a nine-year-old who started a petition.</div> <bR> <div> "If you can't talk on a cellphone or eat, while driving a vehicle -- how come you can still smoke?" said Justin Kvadas of East Hartford.</div> <bR> <div> The American Surgeon General and Health Canada have long warned about the dangers of second-hand smoke, particularly to children.</div> <bR> <div> "Children have no control over their environment. They have no choice about what they breathe," said Dr. Ted Boadway of the Ontario Medical Association.</div> <bR> <div> Three years ago, the association said passive smoke was 23 times more toxic in a car compared to a home.</div> <bR> <div> But the association failed to secure a ban, even though one poll in the province found 78 per cent of residents would support one.</div> <bR> <div> "It's an evolution. A while ago, we accepted surgeons smoking in hospitals and smoking on airplanes. Now it seems crazy to of that kind of thing. It's just an evolution," said Pippa Beck of the Non-Smokers Rights Association.</div> <bR> <div> Written by CTV.ca News Staff<I> with a report from CTV's John Vennavally-Rao</I></div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 32 WIDTH="707"><div> =======================</div> <div>  <A NAME="tens_of_thousands_protest_iraq_war_in_washington"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A><A HREF="#top" TITLE="Jan 07"><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= 224 WIDTH="540"><div> <B>Tens of thousands protest Iraq war in Washington</B></div> <div> Web Posted | Last Updated Sat. Jan. 27  2007  23:35 ET</div> <div> Giant Dwarf Posted: January 28th, 2007</div> <div> <B>Tens of thousands of Americans opposed to the Iraq war converged in Washington, demanding the troops be brought home.</B></div> <bR> <div> "Silence is no longer an option," activist and actress Jane Fonda told the crowd on Saturday.</div> <bR> <div> In the 1960s, conservatives derided her as "Hanoi Jane," especially after her visit to North Vietnam.</div> <bR> <div> She last attended an anti-war protest in 1973. Fonda told people she held back to avoid being</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="165"><div> <IMG SRC="b205a0780.jpg" border=0 width="160" height="120" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> Actor Sean Penn, center, joins fellow anti-war activists as they march past the U.S. Supreme Court during a march to protest the war in Iraq, Jan. 27, 2007, in Washington. (AP / Chris Greenberg)</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 285 WIDTH="707"><div> a distraction for the Iraq anti-war movement, but felt she now had to speak out.</div> <bR> <div> "Thank you so much for the courage to stand up against this mean-spirited, vengeful administration," she said.</div> <bR> <div> Fonda drew parallels between Iraq and the Vietnam conflict, which took the lives of 58,000 U.S. troops before the United States withdrew in 1973.</div> <bR> <div> She accused the Bush administration of "blindness to realities on the ground, hubris ... thoughtlessness in our approach to rebuilding a country we've destroyed."</div> <bR> <div> However, she also made a point of thanking active-duty service members, Iraq war veterans and Gold Star mothers who attended the rally.</div> <bR> <div> More than 3,000 U.S. military personnel have died in Iraq since the March 2003 invasion. There have been about 130,000 troops in the country, although U.S. President George Bush is planning to boost that number by 21,500. At the height of the Vietnam War in 1968, there were more than 500,000 U.S. troops in that southeast Asian country.</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=CENTER HEIGHT= 420 WIDTH="540"><div> Bush spoke by telephone with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. In it, Bush again expressed his commitment to the boost in troop strength.</div> <bR> <div> "He understands that Americans want to see a conclusion to the war in Iraq and the new strategy is designed to do just that," said Gordon Johndroe, a spokesman for the National Security Council.</div> <bR> <div> The president was out of town for the weekend.</div> <bR> <div> On Saturday, the U.S. military reported that seven more soldiers had died since Thursday.</div> <bR> <div> Sectarian violence took 61 Iraqi lives, with 40 bodies found in Baghdad alone.</div> <bR> <div> The website Iraq Body Count estimates the civilian Iraqi death toll as being between 55,000 and 61,000.</div> <bR> <div> The heavily fortified Green Zone in Baghdad, the seat of Iraqi government and the U.S. presence, came under rocket fire for the second time in three days.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Other voices</B></div> <div> Actor Sean Penn also addressed the crowd, saying U.S. lawmakers who didn't take a stand would pay a price in the 2008 elections.</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="165"><div> <IMG SRC="b206a0780.jpg" border=0 width="160" height="120" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> A variety of signs are held during a protest against the war in Iraq on the National Mall on Saturday, Jan. 27, 2007, in Washington. (AP Photo/Kevin Wolf)</div> <div> <IMG SRC="b207a0780.jpg" border=0 width="160" height="120" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> With the Capitol as a backdrop, demonstrators listen to the speakers during a protest against the war in Iraq on the National Mall on Saturday, Jan. 27, 2007, in Washington. (AP Photo/Kevin Wolf)</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=CENTER HEIGHT= 317 WIDTH="540"><div> Referring to a non-binding resolution in Congress, he said, "If they don't stand up and make a resolution as binding as the death toll, we're not going to be behind those politicians." Actress Susan Sarandon and actor Tim Robbins also addressed the rally.</div> <bR> <div> Rep. John Conyers, D-Mich., chair of the House Judiciary Committee, threatened the use of congressional spending power to stop the war.</div> <bR> <div> "George Bush has a habit of firing military leaders who tell him the Iraq war is failing," he told the crowd. "He can't fire you."</div> <div> Referring to Congress, Conyers added: "He can't fire us."</div> <bR> <div> "The founders of our country gave our Congress the power of the purse because they envisioned a scenario exactly like we find ourselves in today. Now only is it in our power, it is our obligation to stop Bush."</div> <bR> <div> White House spokesman Trey Bohn rejected Conyers' assertion that Bush fired generals who disagreed with him.</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="165"><div> <IMG SRC="b208a0780.jpg" border=0 width="160" height="120" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> Actress and anti-war activist Jane Fonda, during a rally against the war in Iraq on the National Mall Jan. 27, 2007 in Washington. (AP / Chris Greenberg)</div> <div> <IMG SRC="b20aa0640.jpg" border=0 width="160" height="100" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> Actor Susan Sarandon</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 397 WIDTH="707"><div> At the rally, 12-year-old Moriah Arnold told the crowd: "Now we know our leaders either lied to us or hid the truth. Because of our actions, the rest of the world sees us as a bully and a liar."</div> <bR> <div> A poll conducted for the BBC World Service in 25 countries and released earlier this week found the percentage of people who had a positive opinion of the United States dropping and those with a negative opinion rising.</div> <bR> <div> Forty-nine per cent had a negative opinion. Twenty-nine per cent had a positive opinion, compared to 36 per cent in 2006 and 40 per cent in 2005.</div> <bR> <div> Seventy-three per cent of overall respondents disapproved of the Bush administration's policy on Iraq, compared to 57 per cent in Iraq.</div> <bR> <div> While some active-duty service personnel joined the protesters, there was a small counter-protest.</div> <bR> <div> About 40 people showed up to support the war.</div> <bR> <div> Army Cpl. Joshua Sparling, 25, said those protesters who are vets or on active duty "need to remember the sacrifice we have made and what our fallen comrades would say if they are alive."</div> <bR> <div> Sparling lost a leg in Iraq to a bomb.</div> <bR> <div> Written by CTV.ca News Staff<I> with a report from The Associated Press</I></div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 32 WIDTH="707"><div> =======================</div> <div>  <A NAME="canada_quietly_working_on_own_no_fly_list"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A><A HREF="#top" TITLE="Jan 07"><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= 155 ><NOBR><div> <B>Canada quietly working on own no-fly list</B></div> <div> Web Posted | Last Updated Sat. Jan. 27  2007  10:17 ET</div> <div> Giant Dwarf Posted: January 27th, 2007</div> <div> <B>OTTAWA -- Canada is currently working on its own version of the no-fly list.</B></div> <bR> <div> Regulations were quietly published in October and the public was given 75 days to respond.</div> <bR> <div> Transport Minister Lawrence Cannon said yesterday that the government is now analyzing </div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="165"><div> <IMG SRC="b201a0780.jpg" border=0 width="160" height="120" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> Transport Minister Lawrence Cannon</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 290 WIDTH="707"><div> the comments.</div> <bR> <div> He says once that's over with, and final authorization from cabinet is given, the government will make its position known.</div> <bR> <div> Roch Tasse, national co-ordinator of the International Civil Liberties Monitoring Group, is worried.</div> <bR> <div> Tasse says there's been no political debate in Canada about whether we want to go down this road, yet the government is forging ahead.</div> <bR> <div> According to news reports, Tasse said this is such a dramatic measure it should require a parliamentary discussion and a piece of legislation.</div> <bR> <div> Tasse doubts whether such as list would meet a Charter challenge, noting people are put on the list without due process, without being charged -- and there's no judicial review.</div> <bR> <div> Written by CTV.ca News Staff<I> with a report from The Associated Press</I></div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 32 WIDTH="707"><div> =======================</div> <div>  <A NAME="ottawa_to_announce__10_million_arar_settlement"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A><A HREF="#top" TITLE="Jan 07"><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= 169 WIDTH="540"><div> <B>Ottawa to announce $10-million Arar settlement</B></div> <div> Web Posted | Last Updated Fri. Jan. 26  2007  08:03 ET</div> <div> Giant Dwarf Posted: January 26th, 2007</div> <div> <B>Ottawa will announce a multimillion-dollar compensation package for Maher Arar on Friday, CTV News has learned.</B></div> <bR> <div> The package includes personal compensation of more than $10 million, a $2-million payment for Arar's legal fees, and an official apology, CTV's Ottawa Bureau Chief Robert Fife reports.</div> <bR> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="165"><div> <IMG SRC="b1f6a0780.jpg" border=0 width="160" height="120" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> Maher Arar listens to a question at a news conference in Ottawa on Dec 12, 2006. (CP / Tom Hanson)</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 356 WIDTH="707"><div> Prime Minister Stephen Harper will make an announcement at noon ET.</div> <bR> <div> Arar had originally been seeking $400 million in compensation, though later changed that to $37 million.</div> <bR> <div> Paul Cavalluzzo, lead counsel for the Inquiry that looked into Arar's deportation, told Canada AM Friday that he believes the settlement is fair and in line with the inquiry's recommendations.</div> <bR> <div> "The commissioner in the report recommended that the Canadian government take a flexible view to a settlement with Mr. Arar. He suffered severe economic and most importantly psychological damage as a result of what occurred to him, and Justice O'Connor recommended that the parties settle."</div> <bR> <div> "Damages are very difficult in this kind of situation," Cavalluzzo added. "He suffered a year of torture in Syria. He suffered when he came back by Canadian officials leaking confidential information on him, which destroyed his reputation. And you can't quantify that."</div> <bR> <div> In 2002, Arar was deported by the U.S. to Syria, where he was imprisoned and tortured into making false confessions that he was involved with al Qaeda.</div> <bR> <div> The Ottawa-based software engineer, now living in B.C., was cleared by a judicial inquiry last fall. Justice Dennis O'Connor concluded that Arar was deported to Syria based on misleading information provided to the U.S. from the RCMP.</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 397 WIDTH="707"><div> Despite being cleared of any terrorist links, Arar remains on the American watch list -- preventing him from entering the United States or even flying over its airspace.</div> <bR> <div> "The prime minister, I'm told, is going to come out all guns blazing. He is furious that U.S. Ambassador David Wilkins said that Canada had no business telling them to get Mr. Arar off the list," Fife reported.</div> <bR> <div> "His view is that if it was an American who was falsely accused and put on a watch list, they would move heaven and earth to get them off. ... Perhaps he will even offer some legal assistance to Mr. Arar who wants to get his name off the list."</div> <bR> <div> On Wednesday, Wilkins blasted Ottawa's efforts to have Arar removed the list, saying the public safety minister is "presumptuous" if he thinks he has a say in the matter.</div> <bR> <div> Wilkins said that Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day should back down from efforts because an American assessment concluded Arar should remain on the watch list.</div> <bR> <div> Day said last week he's seen all the U.S. information and found nothing new to suggest Arar is a risk.</div> <bR> <div> But the ambassador says the U.S. found its own reasons to keep Arar on the watch list.</div> <bR> <div> Arar has launched a lawsuit against U.S. officials.</div> <bR> <div> Written by CTV.ca News Staff<I> with a report from CTV's Ottawa Bureau Chief Robert Fife</I></div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 32 WIDTH="707"><div> =======================</div> <div>  <A NAME="fraud_found_on_cdn__accounts_after_winners_breach"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A><A HREF="#top" TITLE="Jan 07"><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= 115 WIDTH="540"><div> <B>Fraud found on Cdn. accounts after Winners breach</B></div> <div> Web Posted | Last Updated Thu. Jan. 25  2007  07:57 ET</div> <div> Giant Dwarf Posted: January 25th, 2007</div> <div> <B>Fraudulent activity has been confirmed on the accounts of thousands of Canadian credit-card holders who had their information stolen during a security breach at the U.S. parent company of Winners and HomeSense.</B></div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> <IMG SRC="b1f1a06e0.jpg" border=0 width="160" height="110" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 372 WIDTH="707"><div> Sources in the financial community confirmed to <I>The Globe and Mail</I> that the number could increase as banks and other credit-card issuers continue to investigate client accounts.</div> <bR> <div> "We have seen fraud on some of those accounts that we can directly link back to the breach," said an official with one card issuer. The man said his company was still in the process of determining how many clients could have been affected by the incident.</div> <bR> <div> The source also said that card issuers are directly contacting any customers who may have had their information compromised.</div> <bR> <div> Last week, TJX Companies, Inc., announced that their computer systems were hacked late last year, exposing the personal information of millions of customers.</div> <bR> <div> On Wednesday, the Massachusettts Bankers Association said that some of the stolen data was used to make purchases in Florida, Georgia, Louisiana and overseas in Hong Kong and Sweden.</div> <bR> <div> About 20 million people shop at the stores, including 2 million Canadians, meaning the retail security breach was one of the biggest in North American history.</div> <bR> <div> Portions of the information regarding credit and debit card sales transactions during 2003 and from the period from mid-May to December 2006 may have been accessed in the intrusion, the company confirmed in their initial press release.</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 269 WIDTH="707"><div> The system that was hacked handles transactions along with cheques and merchandise returns in the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico. Other regions that could be affected include the U.K. and Ireland.</div> <bR> <div> American officials told TJX, operator of T.J. Maxx and Marshalls in the U.S., to not say anything publicly until last week so that officials could continue the investigation.</div> <bR> <div> The RCMP was notified on Jan. 16 by the U.S. Secret Service about a possible breach.</div> <bR> <div> The investigation is being carried out in the U.S. by the Secret Service, but local Canadian police services of jurisdiction will provide help if asked, says the RCMP.</div> <bR> <div> TJX operates 826 T.J. Maxx, 751 Marshalls, 271 HomeGoods, 162 A.J. Wright and 36 Bob's Stores in the United States. In Canada, the Company operates 184 Winners and 68 HomeSense stores and in Europe it operates 212 T.K. Maxx stores.</div> <bR> <div> Written by CTV.ca News Staff<I> </I></div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 32 WIDTH="707"><div> =======================</div> <div>  <A NAME="bush_defends_iraq_plan_focuses_on_gasoline_usage"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A><A HREF="#top" TITLE="Jan 07"><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= 254 WIDTH="540"><div> <B>Bush defends Iraq plan, focuses on gasoline usage</B></div> <div> Web Posted | Last Updated Tue. Jan. 23  2007  23:16 ET</div> <div> Giant Dwarf Posted: January 24th, 2007</div> <div> <B>U.S. President George Bush has defended his troop surge plan for Iraq in his annual State of the Union address, while also focusing on the need to reduce his country's gasoline usage.</B></div> <bR> <div> Bush delivered his speech before a Democratic-controlled Congress largely opposed to the war in Iraq, where sectarian violence and an insurgency has claimed more than 3,000 American soldiers.</div> <bR> <div> "This is not the fight we entered in Iraq, but it is the fight we are in," said Bush.</div> <bR> <div> "Every one of us wishes that this war were over and won. Yet it would not be like us to leave</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="165"><div> <IMG SRC="b1eda0780.jpg" border=0 width="160" height="120" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> President Bush smiles as he arrives to deliver his annual State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress as Vice President Richard Cheney, left, and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of Calif. applaud, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Jan. 23, 2007. (AP / Larry Downing)</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 519 WIDTH="707"><div> our promises unkept, our friends abandoned, and our own security at risk. Ladies and gentlemen, on this day, at this hour, it is still within our power to shape the outcome of this battle. So let us find our resolve, and turn events toward victory."</div> <bR> <div> He added that deploying an addition 21,500 troops is necessary to achieve stability in Iraq, and that "the consequences of failure would be grievous and far reaching."</div> <bR> <div> More than 3,000 U.S. troops have died since the war began.</div> <bR> <div> "We are carrying out a new strategy in Iraq, a plan that demands more from Iraq's elected government, and gives our forces in Iraq the reinforcements they need to complete their mission," said Bush.</div> <bR> <div> "Our goal is a democratic Iraq that upholds the rule of law, respects the rights of its people, provides them security, and is an ally in the war on terror."</div> <bR> <div> A new Washington-Post/ABC News poll finds that 65 per cent of Americans oppose the troop surge strategy, up from 61 per cent immediately after his Jan. 10 speech outlining the plan.</div> <bR> <div> Seventy-one per cent of Americans polled also said that the country is on the wrong track and 64 per cent called the war a mistake.</div> <bR> <div> "The great question of our day is whether America will help men and women in the Middle East to build free societies and share in the rights of all humanity. And I say, for the sake of our own security, we must," said Bush.</div> <bR> <div> He also recalled the tragic Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks -- as he had done in previous State of the Union addresses -- and stressed that the threat of more attacks has not faded.</div> <bR> <div> "Every success against the terrorists is a reminder of the shoreless ambitions of this enemy," he said. "The evil that inspired and rejoiced in 9/11 is still at work in the world. And so long as that is the case, America is still a nation at war."</div> <bR> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 484 WIDTH="707"><div> Bush delivered his speech at what may have been the weakest point of his six years in office. The Washington-Post/ABC News poll gives him a job approval rating of just 33 per cent.</div> <bR> <div> At the same time, an Associated Press-AOL News poll finds that six in 10 Americans are not convinced the Bush administration and Democrats in Congress can work together effectively to solve the nation's problems.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Bush calls for reducing gasoline usage</B></div> <bR> <div> On the domestic front, Bush called for reducing gasoline usage by 20 per cent in the next 10 years, focusing on alternative fuel sources like ethanol, and battery technology for hybrid vehicles.</div> <bR> <div> "For too long, our nation has bee dependent on foreign oil," said Bush. "And this dependence leaves us more vulnerable to hostile regimes and to terrorists."</div> <bR> <div> He added that to reach his reduction goal, "we must increase the supply of alternative fuels by setting a mandatory fuel standard to require 35 billion gallons of renewable and alternative fuels in 2017."</div> <bR> <div> Bush also acknowledged the threat of global warming, arguing that advances in green technology will "help us be better stewards of the environment, and they will help us to confront the serious challenge of global climate change."</div> <bR> <div> On health care, Bush proposed what could amount to a tax increase for some 30 million Americans who now have the most expensive health care plans.</div> <bR> <div> At the same time, the proposal allows people to take a tax deduction when they have private health coverage on their own or through an employer.</div> <bR> <div> Written by CTV.ca News Staff<I> </I></div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 32 WIDTH="707"><div> =======================</div> <div>  <A NAME="passports_now_mandatory_when_flying_to_u_s_"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A><A HREF="#top" TITLE="Jan 07"><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>Passports now mandatory when flying to U.S.</B></div> <div> Web Posted | Last Updated Tue. Jan. 23  2007  06:07 ET</div> <div> Giant Dwarf Posted: January 23rd, 2007</div> <div> <B>Canadians flying over the world's longest undefended border now need something more than cash and clothes -- they need a passport.</B></div> <bR> <div> The new requirement, part of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the State </div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> <IMG SRC="b1e6a0780.jpg" border=0 width="160" height="120" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 341 WIDTH="707"><div> Department's Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative, officially began this morning.</div> <bR> <div> All air travellers now need to present a valid passport to enter the U.S. from Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean, Bermuda, Central and South America.</div> <bR> <div> Transport authorities are also accepting high-tech NEXUS Air cards used by frequent travellers.</div> <bR> <div> The passport requirement will extend to those travelling by land as early as next year, but officials on both sides of the border are still urging the U.S. not to rush.</div> <bR> <div> "We are still encouraging the U.S. to take all of the necessary time required to get this right," Michael Wilson, Canada's ambassador to the U.S., told a crowd at Toronto's Empire Club on Monday.</div> <bR> <div> He added that the Western Travel Initiative risks harming economic ties between Canada and the U.S. by complicating cross-border traffic.</div> <bR> <div> "Canada has seen a gradual thickening of the border over the past four years -- initiatives that jeopardize our long-standing commercial and people-to-people connections," said Wilson.</div> <bR> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 397 WIDTH="707"><div> "If not implemented carefully, (the measures) will undermine the foundation of NAFTA -- the backbone of our economic integration -- as well as our 140 years of shared friendship and family connections."</div> <bR> <div> But John Nay, the U.S. consulate general in Toronto, argued the Western Travel Initiative actually makes travelling between the two countries easier -- and makes the border more secure.</div> <bR> <div> "It's the new reality," Nay told The Canadian Press. "But it isn't necessarily a negative one."</div> <bR> <div> He added that Washington will look for any flaws in the new passport requirement for air travellers, and make appropriate changes before the plan is extended to those crossing the border by land.</div> <bR> <div> U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff has relaxed the new requirement for Canadians who travelled to the United States last year to enjoy a warmer winter season.</div> <bR> <div> The so-called "snowbirds" will be allowed to return to Canada without a passport.</div> <bR> <div> "We will allow them to depart from the United States without having a passport for some significant period of time to avoid the problem of people who may have come last year before the requirement," Chertoff told a press conference last week.</div> <bR> <div> "We don't want to strand them here," he added.</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="joni_mitchell_s_ballet_sparks_worldwide_attention"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A><A HREF="#top" TITLE="Jan 07"><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= 238 WIDTH="540"><div> <B>Joni Mitchell's ballet sparks worldwide attention</B></div> <div> Web Posted | Last Updated Mon. Jan. 22  2007  09:01 ET</div> <div> Giant Dwarf Posted: January 22nd, 2007</div> <div> <B>EDMONTON -- The reclusive Joni Mitchell, singer-songwriter, environmentalist, painter and icon for a generation, is dancing up a storm of interest over her latest creation -- a ballet set to her own music and artwork.</B></div> <bR> <div> Mitchell has joined with the Alberta Ballet Company to produce "The Fiddle and The Drum,'' which will be performed over five dates between Calgary and Edmonton next month.</div> <bR> <div> Since dance rehearsals began two months ago, calls for interviews have been ringing in from all over the world.</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="165"><div> <IMG SRC="b1dfa0780.jpg" border=0 width="160" height="120" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> Canadian music icon Joni Mitchell stands in front of her artwork during the opening of her first exhibition in Canada of her painting, photographs and other works at the Mendel Art Gallery in Saskatoon Friday, June 30, 2000. (CP PHOTO/Glen Berger)</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 416 WIDTH="707"><div> "We never expected anything like this,'' said Jean Grande-Maitre, the ballet's artistic director.</div> <bR> <div> "We're seeing interest in the creation of a ballet unlike anything we've ever seen in the history of the company, actually.''</div> <bR> <div> Interest is so high, he said, that both the Sunday Times in London and the New York Times are publishing feature-length articles on the production.</div> <bR> <div> The BBC has expressed interest in sending a camera crew to film the event, and Bravo, the specialty arts channel, will broadcast the performance at a later date on cable TV.</div> <bR> <div> Grande-Maitre has also received calls from the British tabloid HELLO!, a daily newspaper in Germany, several arts magazines scattered across Europe, and a few dozen radio stations and newspapers from all across Canada and the U.S.</div> <bR> <div> For the small-market ballet company, which produces only five shows a year, it's been a bit overwhelming.</div> <bR> <div> For Mitchell, who will be inducted into the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame on Jan. 28, it's even more daunting because it's her big debut after years away from the public eye.</div> <bR> <div> "Whenever she comes out (into public) it's like suddenly everybody goes after her and she gets overwhelmed by it,'' he said. </div> <div> "She's not always the most comfortable person with the media.''</div> <bR> <div> Mitchell's agent said she's cut the cord on media requests for the time being. She's too focused on final preparations and won't speak about the ballet until a week before the grand opening.</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 435 WIDTH="707"><div> The ballet is 48 minutes long and will feature nine songs from Mitchell's musical repertoire. The production is centred on environmental issues and world violence, stretching from the Vietnam War to the present day.</div> <bR> <div> Grande-Maitre wrote to Mitchell nearly a year ago, asking her to consider working on the project.</div> <bR> <div> "I was more interested in collaboration than just getting the rights to use her music,'' he explained.</div> <bR> <div> "Joni Mitchell has always loved ballet and dance, and being involved in this way interested her a lot.''</div> <bR> <div> It's a production that gives Mitchell, responsible for such radio hits as "Big Yellow Taxi,'' and "Both Sides Now,'' a chance to combine her various artistic endeavours into one setting.</div> <bR> <div> She has led a side-career as a painter since the '80s, but has rarely shown her artwork publicly and has never placed it up for sale.</div> <bR> <div> Now she has spent at least 100 hours on the ballet, creating a video installation that will be projected on large screens above the dancers.</div> <bR> <div> "The fusion of art forms from her music to the visual arts and dance is so interesting to see,'' he said.</div> <bR> <div> "It was an idea that started with a little bit of talk, and it's blossomed into this wonderful project that is getting such international attention.''</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="strong_earthquake_hits_off_indonesia_s_sulawesi"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A><A HREF="#top" TITLE="Jan 07"><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>Strong earthquake hits off Indonesia's Sulawesi</B></div> <div> Web Posted | Last Updated Sun. Jan. 21 2007 09:55 ET<FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" > </FONT></div> <div> Giant Dwarf Posted: January 21st, 2007</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= 376 WIDTH="707"><div> <B>JAKARTA, Indonesia -- An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 7.3 shook buildings for several minutes in northeastern Indonesia Sunday and caused minor damage, the U.S. Geological Survey and witnesses said.</B></div> <bR> <div> There were no immediate reports of casualties or a tsunami after the underwater tremor off the eastern coast of Sulawesi island.</div> <bR> <div> Three people were slightly injured when a church was damaged in the regional capital, Manado, a witness told The Associated Press. And frightened residents on the islands of Maluku and Sulawesi ran in panic to higher ground.</div> <bR> <div> The Indonesian seismological institute, which put the tremor at 6.7 magnitude, issued a tsunami alert via local television and radio after the earthquake hit around six miles under the Molucca Sea.</div> <bR> <div> The epicenter was about 80 miles from the city of Ternate in the Maluku capital and nearly 1,400 miles northeast of Jakarta.</div> <bR> <div> Indonesia, the world's largest archipelago, is prone to seismic upheaval due to its location on the so-called Pacific "Ring of Fire," an arc of volcanos and fault lines encircling the Pacific Basin.</div> <bR> <div> In December 2004, a massive earthquake struck off Indonesia's Sumatra island and triggered a tsunami that killed more than 230,000 lives -- 131,000 people in Indonesia's Aceh province alone. A tsunami off Java island last year killed nearly 5,000.</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="clinton_says__i_m_in__for_u_s__presidential_race"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A><A HREF="#top" TITLE="Jan 07"><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= 210 WIDTH="540"><div> <B>Clinton says 'I'm in' for U.S. presidential race</B></div> <div> Web Posted | Last Updated Sat. Jan. 20  2007  13:03 ET</div> <div> Giant Dwarf Posted: January 20th, 2007</div> <div> <B>Former first lady and current Democratic Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton has launched her 2008 bid for the U.S. presidency.</B></div> <bR> <div> Clinton made the widely anticipated announcement on her website Saturday morning.</div> <bR> <div> "I'm in. And I'm in to win. Today I am announcing that I will form an exploratory committee to run for president," Clinton said in a video statement on the site.</div> <bR> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="165"><div> <IMG SRC="b1d7a0780.jpg" border=0 width="160" height="120" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-NY, talks about her recent trip to Iraq during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Jan. 17, 2007. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 480 WIDTH="707"><div> "And I want you to join me not just for the campaign but for a conversation about the future of our country -- about the bold but practical changes we need to overcome six years of Bush administration failures."</div> <bR> <div> The announcement comes just days after Sen. Barack Obama ended speculation and announced his intention to try and become the first black president.</div> <bR> <div> Shortly after Clinton's announcement, Obama made a statement saying: "I welcome her and all the candidates, not as competitors, but as allies in the work of getting our country back on track."</div> <bR> <div> Clinton is considered the front-runner in the race, followed by Obama and 2004 vice presidential nominee John Edwards. New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, who would be the first Hispanic president, intends to announce his plans on Sunday, AP reports.</div> <bR> <div> In her video statement, Clinton invited voters to begin a dialogue with her on key issues such as the war in Iraq, health care, Social Security and Medicare.</div> <bR> <div> "I'm not just starting a campaign, though, I'm beginning a conversation with you, with America," she said. "Let's talk. Let's chat. The conversation in Washington has been just a little one-sided lately, don't you think?"</div> <bR> <div> Clinton won a landslide victory in 2000 in her first run for Senate in New York, a state in which she had never lived. During the race she carried out a "listening tour" of the state's 62 counties and was able to convince voters to lend their support -- even in the conservative upstate portion of the New York.</div> <bR> <div> She has since been re-elected to a second term.</div> <bR> <div> Clinton vowed to spend the next two years doing what she can to "limit the damage George W. Bush can do," but she said only a new president could fully repair "Bush's mistakes and restore our hope and optimism."</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 501 WIDTH="707"><div> She said the experience she gained from her two successful election campaigns in New York has taught her how the Republicans operate, and how to beat them.</div> <bR> <div> Clinton is in good field position this time around and may be the most viable female candidate thus far, according to AP. She has millions in the bank, a vast support network, and consistently finishes at the top of the polls among the other contenders.</div> <bR> <div> The decision to set up a presidential exploratory committee allows her to raise money for the campaign. She already has campaign staff lined up.</div> <bR> <div> Clinton will be the first presidential spouse to run for the job. Former president Bill Clinton, Hillary's husband, spent two terms in office, from 1993 to 2001, and still enjoys rock star-like popularity.</div> <bR> <div> Clinton, a 59-year-old former Arkansas attorney, has equally dedicated supporters and detractors.</div> <bR> <div> She is often compared to her husband, and critics say she falls short in terms of natural charisma and warmth, and is overly cautious and calculating.</div> <bR> <div> Among Democrats, many feel she is unelectable in a general election because of her long history in public life. She is best known for standing by her husband through his marital infidelity, and for a disastrous 1993 attempt to overhaul the U.S. health care system.</div> <bR> <div> Others, however, argue that Clinton's intelligence, experience, work ethic and immense understanding of government policy outweigh any perceived weaknesses.</div> <bR> <div> Clinton won a landslide victory in 2000 in her first run for Senate in New York, a state in which she had never lived.</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="europe_mops_up_after_storm_kills_41"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A><A HREF="#top" TITLE="Jan 07"><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>Europe mops up after storm kills 41</B></div> <div> Web Posted | Last Updated Fri. Jan. 19  2007  06:41 ET</div> <div> Giant Dwarf Posted: January 19th, 2007</div> <div> <B>BERLIN -- Europeans laboured Friday to restore services across the continent after hurricane-force winds knocked down trees, brought down power lines and damaged buildings, killing at least 41 people and disrupting travel for tens of thousands.</B></div> <bR> <div> Berlin's new main train station was shut down after a two-tonne girder fell from the side of the glass facade onto an outdoor staircase. The train station was evacuated after the beam plummeted 40 metres Thursday night, but there were no injuries.</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="165"><div> <IMG SRC="b1cfa0780.jpg" border=0 width="160" height="120" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> Two young women try to hold onto an upturned umbrella in London. (AP / Alastair Grant)</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 232 WIDTH="707"><div> "I can see maybe the glass falling, but not the steel,'' said 38-year-old electrician Thomas Mueller, who had stopped by the downtown station to survey the damage. "They just built this thing eight months ago.''</div> <bR> <div> Virtually the entire German national railway system was shut down during the storm, with trees over many tracks and overhead power lines down, and services were being restored gradually Friday.</div> <bR> <div> "We've never had such a situation in Germany,'' Deutsche Bahn CEO Hartmut Mehdorn said.</div> <bR> <div> Tens of thousands were left without power in Germany, Poland and Austria, and more than one million homes had no electricity in the neighbouring Czech Republic, which was hit by winds of up to 180 km/h.</div> <bR> <div> The storm led to the deaths of at least three people in the Czech Republic, 10 in Germany, 13 in the United Kingdom, six in the Netherlands, one in France, two in Belgium and six in Poland.</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=CENTER HEIGHT= 733 WIDTH="540"><div> Most of the people killed were motorists, but in Germany they also included two firefighters _ one hit by a falling tree and the other dying of a heart attack _ and an 18-month old infant in Munich hit by a terrace door that was ripped from its hinges.</div> <bR> <div> In London, a toddler was killed when a brick wall was knocked over by the wind and collapsed on him.</div> <bR> <div> As winds calmed Friday, airports reported some delays and cancellations but in general a return to normalcy.</div> <bR> <div> Frankfurt Airport reported that flights were again departing regularly after some morning delays and 200 cancellations Thursday.</div> <bR> <div> National carrier Lufthansa cancelled 331 flights Germany-wide on Thursday, affecting nearly 19,000 passengers, but intercontinental flights were largely on time again Friday, spokesman Thomas Jachnow said.</div> <bR> <div> British Airways cancelled 34 incoming flights to London's Heathrow and Gatwick airports and the two main London to Scotland rail routes ran much-reduced services.</div> <bR> <div> Eurostar was running full service again, after one early Paris-to-London train was cancelled. Meanwhile, London Bridge train station was reopened after being closed after part of the station's forecourt roof collapsed.</div> <bR> <div> British train companies warned of delays through the day as repairs were carried out.</div> <bR> <div> Thousands of Dutch commuters were stranded overnight when the railway service suspended all trains because of obstructions to the tracks and downed power cables.</div> <bR> <div> By early Friday, trains were running again in most of the country after engineers worked through the night to clear tracks and repair the power cables, Prorail, the company that manages Dutch railways, said in a statement.</div> <bR> <div> In Germany, subways, trams and buses were largely back in service, but only a few long-distance trains were running.</div> <bR> <div> "Bringing the service back is like a puzzle _ it goes bit by bit and we're now at the first pieces,'' railway spokesman Martin Walden said.</div> <bR> <div> Track-clearing work was expected to last at least through the day, and passengers were advised to cancel all unnecessary trips.</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="165"><div> <IMG SRC="b1d0a0780.jpg" border=0 width="160" height="120" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> A passerby looks towards a car crushed by an uprooted tree during heavy storms in Amsterdam, Netherlands. (AP / Peter Dejong)</div> <div> <IMG SRC="b1d1a0780.jpg" border=0 width="160" height="120" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> Firemen remove fallen trees in front of the international express train Silva Nortica, which remained trapped after the storm near Ceske Velenice, Czech Republic on Friday. (AP / CTK / David Veis)</div> <div> <IMG SRC="b1d2a0fa0.jpg" border=0 width="160" height="250" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> Gales batter England's west coast at Blackpool as ferocious storms continue to hit Britain. (AP / John Giles)</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 124 WIDTH="707"><div> The German Weather Service said the storm was the strongest to hit the country since 1999. The highest winds were felt in the southern state of Bavaria, where gusts of up to 202 km/h were recorded.</div> <bR> <div> Schools around much of the country, which had closed early on Thursday, resumed classes, though those in Bavaria and parts of Hesse and Lower Saxony remained shut down, largely because of problems transporting students.</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="hacker_puts_winners_homesense_shoppers_at_risk"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A><A HREF="#top" TITLE="Jan 07"><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= 125 WIDTH="540"><div> <B>Hacker puts Winners, HomeSense shoppers at risk</B></div> <div> Web Posted | Last Updated Thu. Jan. 18  2007  08:47 ET</div> <div> Giant Dwarf Posted: January 18th, 2007</div> <div> <B>FRAMINGHAM, Mass. -- TJX Cos., operator of T.J. Maxx and Marshalls discount stores and the U.S. parent of Canadian retailers Winners and HomeSense, says its computer systems were hacked late last year and customer information was stolen.</B></div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> <IMG SRC="b1c9a0780.jpg" border=0 width="160" height="120" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 252 WIDTH="707"><div> The company said the full extent of the intrusion is not yet known, but it is conducting a full investigation.</div> <bR> <div> The hackers broke into a system that handles credit and debit card transactions, as well as cheques and merchandise returns for customers in the U.S. and Puerto Rico, and may also involve customers of T.K. Maxx stores in the U.K. and Ireland.</div> <bR> <div> The break-in was discovered in mid-December, but was kept confidential upon the request of law enforcement officials.</div> <bR> <div> The retailer wouldn't tell the <I>Globe and Mail</I> exactly how many customers could be affected. The company says it's working with police and security experts on both sides of the Canada-U.S. border.</div> <bR> <div> TJX said it has hired General Dynamics Corp. and IBM Corp. to upgrade its security system.</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="new_poll_suggests_spring_election_is_unlikely"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A><A HREF="#top" TITLE="Jan 07"><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= 184 WIDTH="540"><div> <B>New poll suggests spring election is unlikely</B></div> <div> Web Posted | Last Updated Tue. Jan. 16  2007  23:38 ET</div> <div> Giant Dwarf Posted: January 17th, 2007</div> <div> <B>While there's been talk of a possible election this spring, a new poll doesn't show any particular party enjoying momentum.</B></div> <bR> <div> Given these numbers, "everybody has to be thinking twice about an early election," Tim Woolstencroft of The Strategic Counsel told CTV.ca on Tuesday.</div> <bR> <div> His firm conducted the poll for CTV News and <I>The Globe and Mail</I>.</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="165"><div> <IMG SRC="b1c1a0780.jpg" border=0 width="160" height="120" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> National support is detailed from recent polling by the Strategic Council for CTV News and The Globe and Mail.</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 435 WIDTH="707"><div> Robert Fife, CTV News' Ottawa bureau chief, concurred. "Barring a bout of parliamentary madness, I think we can safely say there probably won't be a spring election, and probably not one until the spring of 2008."</div> <bR> <div> The Liberal Party has a four-point lead over the Conservative Party in the new poll, down slightly from early December.</div> <bR> <div> "There's nothing that's happened in the last six weeks that's really shifted public opinion since the Liberal convention," Woolstencroft said.</div> <bR> <div> Prime Minister Stephen Harper did announce a cabinet shuffle and welcomed a Liberal defector to his Conservative caucus.</div> <div> "The shuffle did nothing in terms of public opinion," he said.</div> <bR> <div> He predicted no substantial changes in voter preferences will happen until the Conservative minority government tables its budget, expected for March 20. When the budget is delivered, Fife predicted selective tax cuts, more spending on the environment and a sweetening of the equalization pot.</div> <bR> <div> Here are the parties' support levels (percentage-point change from Dec. 3 in brackets):</div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b700c8ffffff00.png" HEIGHT="13" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">Liberals: 35 per cent (-2) </div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b700c8ffffff00.png" HEIGHT="13" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">Conservatives: 31 per cent (unchanged) </div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b700c8ffffff00.png" HEIGHT="13" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">NDP: 15 per cent (+1) </div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b700c8ffffff00.png" HEIGHT="13" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">Bloc Quebecois: 11 per cent (unchanged) </div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b700c8ffffff00.png" HEIGHT="13" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">Green Party: 8 per cent (+1)</div> <bR> <div> "This can't be good news for (Liberal Leader) Stephane Dion," Fife said. "Despite the enormous positive coverage out of the Liberal leadership convention, he hasn't been able to capitalize on that and put the party in majority territory."</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 439 WIDTH="707"><div> The NDP would lose seats if they captured 15 per cent of the vote, he said.</div> <bR> <div> Woolstencroft noted that in mid-July, the Conservatives held an 11-point lead over the Liberals.</div> <bR> <div> "Then the Conservatives had a pretty strong hold on public opinion. Now they are clearly starting to shift down to the low 30s. That is not a minority government," he said.</div> <bR> <div> In the 2006 election, the Conservatives captured 36 per cent of the vote and the Liberals 30 per cent.</div> <bR> <div> Fife said: "Even though Canadians like Mr. Harper's decisiveness, the party itself remains mired in the low 30s. So he doesn't want an election right away either."</div> <bR> <div> Part of the reason for the Tories' troubles is the party's weakness in Quebec, Woolstencroft said.</div> <bR> <div> The poll "confirms the Tories have really slipped in Quebec, and that's where their single biggest shift has occurred," he said.</div> <div> Here are the Quebec numbers (percentage-point change from Dec. 3 in brackets):</div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b700c8ffffff00.png" HEIGHT="13" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">Liberals: 25 per cent (-3) </div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b700c8ffffff00.png" HEIGHT="13" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">Conservatives: 15 per cent (-1) </div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b700c8ffffff00.png" HEIGHT="13" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">NDP: 9 per cent (+3) </div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b700c8ffffff00.png" HEIGHT="13" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">Bloc Quebecois: 46 per cent (+2) </div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b700c8ffffff00.png" HEIGHT="13" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">Green Party: 5 per cent (-1)</div> <bR> <div> However, in July, the Conservatives had 30 per cent support in Quebec and a 14-point lead over the Liberals, Woolstencroft said.</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 568 WIDTH="707"><div> Polling in Quebec tends to underestimate Liberal support, he added.</div> <bR> <div> Harper spent some time in Quebec in December. He announced the sale of some of the Mirabel airport land back to local farmers and federal approval for a river diversion project to support a major new hydro-electric project.</div> <bR> <div> Fife said the Bloc doesn't necessarily want an election right now because a provincial vote is expected this spring.</div> <bR> <div> In Ontario, the Liberals have 45 per cent -- a three-point drop since December. The Tories are stuck at 32 per cent. The NDP has 14 per cent support, down a point, while the Greens are up four points to nine per cent support.</div> <bR> <div> Back in late July, however, the Tories led the Liberals 41 per cent to 39 per cent in Ontario.</div> <bR> <div> While the Liberals have tended to do well in Ontario, especially in Toronto, Western Canada has been a Conservative bastion.</div> <bR> <div> They lead the Liberals in the region 42 per cent to 26 per cent, or by 16 points. The NDP sits at 23 per cent, up five points from December. Woolstencroft said the NDP gains probably came in B.C..</div> <bR> <div> The Greens are treading water there at nine per cent.</div> <bR> <div> Even in the West, the Conservatives are less dominant. In mid-July, they held a 30-point lead over the Liberals.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Technical notes</B></div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b700c8ffffff00.png" HEIGHT="13" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">Results are based on tracking among a proportionate national sample of Canadians 18 years of age or older. </div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b700c8ffffff00.png" HEIGHT="13" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">Interviews were conducted between Jan. 11 and Jan. 14, 2007. </div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b700c8ffffff00.png" HEIGHT="13" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">The national sample size is 1,000. The margin of error is plus or minus 3.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20. </div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b700c8ffffff00.png" HEIGHT="13" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">The Quebec sample is 247. The margin of error is 6.3 percentage points. </div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b700c8ffffff00.png" HEIGHT="13" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">The Ontario sample is 379. the margin of error is 5.0 percentage points. </div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b700c8ffffff00.png" HEIGHT="13" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">The Western sample is 297. The margin of error is 5.7 per cent.</div> <bR> <div> Written by CTV.ca News Staff<I> </I></div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 32 WIDTH="707"><div> =======================</div> <div>  <A NAME="un_marks_soaring_iraq_death_toll_of_nearly_35000"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A><A HREF="#top" TITLE="Jan 07"><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= 393 WIDTH="540"><div> <B>UN marks soaring Iraq death toll of nearly 35,000</B></div> <div> Web Posted | Last Updated Tue. Jan. 16  2007  07:27 ET</div> <div> Giant Dwarf Posted: January 16th, 2007</div> <div> <B>The United Nations is pegging the civilian death toll in Iraq at 34,452 in 2006 -- a sharp increase from the 12,357 reported by the Iraqi government.</B></div> <bR> <div> Gianni Magazzeni, the chief of the UN Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI), said another 36,685 were wounded in 2006.</div> <bR> <div> Magazzeni said the wide gap between the two death tolls is because the UN figures are compiled based on information obtained through the Iraqi Health Ministry, hospitals across Iraq and the Medico-Legal Institute in Baghdad.</div> <bR> <div> "Without significant progress in the rule of law, sectarian violence will continue indefinitely and eventually spiral out of control," he warned.</div> <bR> <div> The Iraqi Health Ministry was unavailable for comment but the government has called previous UN statistics "inaccurate and exaggerated."</div> <bR> <div> In November and December, 6,376 civilians were killed violently, mostly by gunshot wound. Most of the victims, 4,731, occurred in Baghdad, said Magazzeni.</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="165"><div> <IMG SRC="b1baa0780.jpg" border=0 width="160" height="120" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> Iraqis lift up a casket of a victim of a bombing in Baghdad for the funeral in the holy Shiite city of Najaf, 160 kilometres south of Baghdad, Iraq on Nov. 9, 2006. (AP / Alaa al-Marjani)</div> <div> <IMG SRC="b1bba0780.jpg" border=0 width="160" height="120" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> People walk past a pool of blood at Bab al-Sheik market in central Baghdad, Iraq on Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2007. (AP / Karim Kadim)</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 306 WIDTH="707"><div> Although high, the death toll shows a slight decrease from the previous two-month period, during which UNAMI recorded 7,047 civilians killed.</div> <bR> <div> The latest bimonthly report also states that some figures were not included in December's total.</div> <bR> <div> The new figures come as Baghdad prepares for a major security operation headed by Iraqi government and U.S. forces. The troops are seeking to curb sectarian violence on the rise since the bombing of a Shiite mosque in Samarra last February.</div> <bR> <div> Shiite militias, specifically the Mahdi Army loyal to radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, have been behind much of the violence.</div> <bR> <div> "The root causes of the sectarian violence lie in revenge killings and lack of accountability for past crimes as well as in the growing sense of impunity for ongoing human rights violations," the agency said.</div> <bR> <div> The report also showed that 30,842 people were detained in the country in 2006, of which 14,534 were held in detention facilities run by U.S.-led multinational forces.</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="ottawa_s_war_on_drugs_a_failure_report_says"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A><A HREF="#top" TITLE="Jan 07"><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= 147 WIDTH="540"><div> <B>Ottawa's war on drugs a failure, report says</B></div> <div> Web Posted | Last Updated Mon. Jan. 15  2007  07:43 ET</div> <div> Giant Dwarf Posted: January 15th, 2007</div> <div> <B>Ottawa's war on drugs has been an utter failure, according to a new report that accuses the federal government of focusing too heavily on law enforcement.</B></div> <bR> <div> The report says Canada's drug strategy puts too much emphasis on law enforcement rather than ways to fight illicit drug use and cut down on the human toll.</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> <IMG SRC="b1b5a0780.jpg" border=0 width="160" height="120" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 416 WIDTH="707"><div> The report -- which appears in the HIV/AIDS Policy and Law Review on Monday -- says prevention, treatment and research are underfunded.</div> <bR> <div> The study, which was obtained by <I>The Globe and Mail</I>, comes five years after Canada's Auditor-General issued a report saying the federal drug strategy put too much emphasis on enforcement.</div> <bR> <div> The drug strategy's secretariat has yet to release its first report to taxpayers - a responsibility it's supposed to fulfill every two years, the report says.</div> <bR> <div> The authors of the report also say that barely any of the strategy's initiatives are evaluated for results.</div> <bR> <div> "The federal government continues to invest heavily in policies and practices that have repeatedly been shown in the scientific literature to be ineffective or harmful," the study team concludes.</div> <bR> <div> The published study used Access to Information and data culled from a variety of government websites to examine how the drug strategy has assigned funds, as well as its success in reducing drug-related harm.</div> <bR> <div> The report's findings include the drug strategy's $245-million budget breakdown:</div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b700c8ffffff00.png" HEIGHT="13" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">Law enforcement consumed 73 per cent </div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b700c8ffffff00.png" HEIGHT="13" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">Treatment received 14 per cent of the budget </div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b700c8ffffff00.png" HEIGHT="13" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">Research received 7 per cent </div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b700c8ffffff00.png" HEIGHT="13" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">Addiction prevention and harm reduction each received 3 per cent</div> <bR> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 575 WIDTH="707"><div> "The overwhelming emphasis continues to be on conventional enforcement-based approaches which are costly and often exacerbate, rather than reduce, drug-related harm," the study says.</div> <bR> <div> The study's authors say illicit drug use is more widespread than ever, as are ensuing health costs, mainly from an increase in HIV infections among injection drug users.</div> <bR> <div> Erik Waddell, spokesman for Health Minister Tony Clement, confirmed to the newspaper that the federal government will be taking a different approach, with even more emphasis on law enforcement.</div> <bR> <div> "Our own national drug strategy is in the works. It's something we've actually been working on for some time," Waddell told <I>The Globe</I>.</div> <bR> <div> "The previous government took its own approach, which we happen to disagree with.</div> <bR> <div> "In every poll, when Canadians are asked whether they want more law enforcement or less, they want more. So the bottom line is that Canada's new government will be taking a different approach."</div> <bR> <div> The study also warns that traditional approaches are rarely evaluated by the government, though Vancouver's safe-injection site has come under an extraordinary amount of attention.</div> <bR> <div> Specifically, the authors finger the widespread DARE program that places police in schools to warn students on the dangers of drugs.</div> <bR> <div> In 2004-05 alone, funds were used to recertify 550 existing DARE officers and train another 150.</div> <bR> <div> "Yet studies published in peer-reviewed journals ... have been consistent in showing that the program does not prevent or delay drug use, nor does it affect future intentions to use drugs," the study says.</div> <bR> <div> Prime Minister Stephen Harper has said he will review reports from various agencies before deciding whether to keep Vancouver's safe-injection site open.</div> <bR> <div> Written by CTV.ca News Staff<I> with a report from CTV's Avis Favaro and Elizabeth St. Philip</I></div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 32 WIDTH="707"><div> =======================</div> <div>  <A NAME="doctors_cry_foul_over_anonymous_rating_website"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A><A HREF="#top" TITLE="Jan 07"><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= 125 WIDTH="540"><div> <B>Doctors cry foul over anonymous rating website</B></div> <div> Web Posted | Last Updated Sat. Jan. 13  2007  21:45 ET</div> <div> Giant Dwarf Posted: January 14th, 2007</div> <div> <B>Whether your physician is the hurried type with his hand on the doorknob, has the bedside manner of a tornado, or has the patience of a saint, you can now anonymously rate your doctor on a controversial new site.</B></div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> <IMG SRC="b1b2a0780.jpg" border=0 width="160" height="120" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 381 WIDTH="707"><div> Founders of RateMDs.com say their website is designed to help patients better navigate the world of health care.</div> <bR> <div> But the free site is being denounced by critics who say the anonymous postings are potentially defamatory, and don't provide enough protection from disgruntled patients who use them to post malicious clients.</div> <bR> <div> There are more than 47,500 doctors listed on the site, of which nearly 7,000 were Canadian.</div> <bR> <div> The California-based website is now getting some 300 Canadian patients registered each day.</div> <bR> <div> The doctors are rated on punctuality, friendliness and helpfulness. Depending on a doctor's score, the website will assign a yellow happy face, green neutral face or blue frown next to the doctor's name.</div> <bR> <div> Users can also post their feedback without leaving their name.</div> <bR> <div> "I found the unnecessary callbacks to be nothing but an easy cash grab for the doctor. It is absolutely ridiculous to have to return monthly for a prescription that you have been on for years," one statement says.</div> <bR> <div> Another statement complains that the doctor "continues to advertise that she is accepting new patients even though the waiting period is regularly one to two hours."</div> <bR> <div> One posting on an obstetrician/gynecologist says, "I think he should have been a vet, strictly for horses."</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 364 WIDTH="707"><div> Yet another note complained "Very unsympathetic to my concerns, when I switched to another MD after moving, I found his record taking was abysmal and some pertinent tests were not ordered."</div> <bR> <div> The website's creator in California calls the site a much-needed shopping tool for patients that delivers a clear message to doctors.</div> <bR> <div> "It's a matter of life and death," co-founder John Swapceinski told CTV News. "This is the way media is moving, so get used to it."</div> <bR> <div> The site was create in March 2004 after the success of another site Swapceinski founded, called RateMyProfessors.com.</div> <bR> <div> The doctor rating site, which has expanded to include Canadian listings, has exploded in popularity here in the past month.</div> <bR> <div> The sites rely on volunteer administrators to delete ratings that may:</div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b700c8ffffff00.png" HEIGHT="13" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">Defy online guidelines, such as prohibitions against obscenity </div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b700c8ffffff00.png" HEIGHT="13" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">Include racially derogatory comments </div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b700c8ffffff00.png" HEIGHT="13" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">Refer to pending legal action </div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b700c8ffffff00.png" HEIGHT="13" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">Allege illegal behaviour </div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b700c8ffffff00.png" HEIGHT="13" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">Identify the patient</div> <bR> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 432 WIDTH="707"><div> But Dr. Michael Gordon, of the University of Toronto's Joint Centre for Bioethics, is no fan of the site because he says the information just isn't credible.</div> <bR> <div> He says the complaints are anonymous so an irate patient could potentially barrage the site with several angry comments.</div> <div> "You don't know what's motivating them, there is no way because it's anonymous," he said.</div> <bR> <div> Similarly, doctors could file repeated favourable ratings to falsely inflate their reputations.</div> <bR> <div> The Canadian Medical Protective Association, the Canadian organization that represents 71,000 doctors in medical malpractice matters, has already asked the site to remove potentially defamatory comments.</div> <bR> <div> The site's operators have so far removed at least two of the seven most scathing comments about doctors at the request of the CMPA.</div> <bR> <div> The organization has also asked for the names and addresses of users who have filed "clearly defamatory" statements, but site managers have refused.</div> <bR> <div> The CMPA has also requested:</div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b700c8ffffff00.png" HEIGHT="13" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">That it be provided with the users' IP (Internet protocol address) so that it can then ask for a court order to determine if the information can be used to reveal their identities </div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b700c8ffffff00.png" HEIGHT="13" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">That the site post a notice to Canadian users telling them that freedom of speech and libel laws differ in each country </div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b700c8ffffff00.png" HEIGHT="13" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">That the site remove Canadian content identified as defamatory</div> <bR> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 397 WIDTH="707"><div> Swapceinski has said he would not give out identifying information unless there is a threat of violence in a posted comment.</div> <bR> <div> He told CTV News that the site is created for patients who may be afraid to talk to their doctors and want the anonymity of the Internet to air their beefs.</div> <bR> <div> "People have a right to express their opinion and not to have their free speech stifled by threats from medical associations," Swapceinski said.</div> <bR> <div> But doctors say patients need to confront their physicians or even file a complaint with their local College of Physicians and Surgeons should they have concerns.</div> <bR> <div> Sites that encourage anonymous ratings raise thorny questions about the boundaries of Internet law, observers say.</div> <bR> <div> CTV's legal analyst Steven Skurka says that a defence of innocent dissemination that can be used under Canadian libel law.</div> <bR> <div> "That would provide a full defence to a host website provider to any issue raised about the content posted on the website," he told CTV.ca. "As long as the host has no control over the comment that is posted, they'll be able to rely on that defenc."</div> <bR> <div> If however, there is an element of control -- which is open to interpretation -- the website provider may face accusations of libel, Skurka said.</div> <bR> <div> Written by CTV.ca News Staff<I> with a report from CTV's Avis Favaro and Elizabeth St. Philip</I></div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 32 WIDTH="707"><div> =======================</div> <div>  <A NAME="two_missing_boys_one_since_2002_found_in_mo_"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A><A HREF="#top" TITLE="Jan 07"><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= 238 WIDTH="540"><div> <B>Two missing boys, one since 2002, found in Mo.</B></div> <div> Web Posted | Last Updated Sat. Jan. 13  2007  13:50 ET</div> <div> Giant Dwarf Posted: January 13th, 2007</div> <div> <B>The family of a Missouri boy who has been missing since 2002 says the recovery of their son Friday night is proof that the families of kidnapping victims should never give up hope.</B></div> <bR> <div> Shawn Hornbeck, 15, was found by police in a suburban St. Louis, Mo. home along with William Ownby, a 13-year-old boy who had been missing since the beginning of the week.</div> <bR> <div> They were found in the home of Michael Devlin, 41, who has been charged with one count of first-degree kidnapping, said Sheriff Gary Toelke.</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="165"><div> <IMG SRC="b1aba0780.jpg" border=0 width="160" height="120" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> Shawn Hornbeck, 15, smiles as his mother Pam Akers talks to the media Saturday, Jan. 13, 2007 in Richwoods, Mo. Shawn, who was missing since Oct. 2002, was recovered Friday with another missing boy, Ben Ownby. (AP Photo/Tom Gannam)</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 360 WIDTH="707"><div> Both boys have been reunited with their families.</div> <bR> <div> At a press conference Saturday morning in Beaufort, Mo., Shawn's stepfather Craig Akers said he feels like he's been in a dream since police told him Hornbeck had been found.</div> <bR> <div> "It's probably the phone call that I will remember most, for the rest of my life. Since then it's been a dream. We're afraid that at any moment we're going to wake up and it is all going to have been a dream," Akers told reporters.</div> <bR> <div> "This once again is a prime example of why, over the last four years, I've told everyone in this situation not to give up hope. There is always hope, hope is what gets you through, and sometimes this is what happens when you have that hope."</div> <bR> <div> Hornbeck disappeared from his home in rural Washington County in October 2002, when he was 11. He went for a bike ride and never returned, The Associated Press reports.</div> <bR> <div> Ownby, who goes by the name of Ben, disappeared after he stepped off his school bus on Monday.</div> <bR> <div> The straight-A student and Boy Scout was last seen running the few hundred feet down a gravel road to his home.</div> <bR> <div> One of the only clues police had was that a white pickup truck with a camper shell had been spotted speeding from the scene on the day he disappeared.</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=CENTER HEIGHT= 393 WIDTH="540"><div> Investigators got a break in the case Thursday night, however, when they noticed a pickup matching the description while serving a warrant at an apartment complex in Kirkwood, Mo.</div> <bR> <div> Kirkwood police determined where the owner of the truck was, then searched his house, where they found both boys, AP reports.</div> <bR> <div> Police were surprised to find Hornbeck, who identified himself when they arrived.</div> <bR> <div> Investigators were still looking for the possible motive for the abductions, Toelke said.</div> <bR> <div> Hornbeck, who attended the news conference but didn't speak to reporters, has grown from a young boy to a young man. The shaggy-haired youth smiled often, his mother's arm often resting across his shoulders while his stepfather addressed the media.</div> <bR> <div> Akers acknowledged that people who walked by Shawn on the street may not have even recognized him, despite a four year campaign to keep his name and face in the public consciousness.</div> <bR> <div> Hornbeck's mother, Pam Akers, called her son's return a "miracle" and tearfully told reporters "he's grown up on me, that's for sure."</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="165"><div> <IMG SRC="b1aca0780.jpg" border=0 width="160" height="120" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> This is a handout photo from the Franklin County Sheriff's Department of Michael Devlin, 41. (AP Photo / Franklin County Sheriff-HO)</div> <div> <IMG SRC="b1ada0780.jpg" border=0 width="160" height="120" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> Franklin County Sheriff Gary Toelke declines to discuss specifics of the case Friday, Jan. 12, 2007, in Union, Mo. (AP Photo / Tom Gannam)</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 505 WIDTH="707"><div> His stepfather said Hornbeck has not attended school during the time he has been missing.</div> <bR> <div> He vowed that the Shawn Hornbeck Foundation, which helps parents search for their missing children, will continue its work.</div> <bR> <div> "This is kind of the start of a new chapter I guess. Shawn is home, but that certainly doesn't mean that the work of the Shawn Hornbeck foundation is done. Hopefully we have a new member of the Shawn Hornbeck foundation who can help us look for other missing children," Akers said, looking at Hornbeck.</div> <bR> <div> "That's something we've devoted our lives to over the last four years."</div> <bR> <div> At another news conference, Ownby smiled as his mother recalled that soon after his return home, Ben immediately went to the computer to play video games.</div> <bR> <div> "We're just ecstatic," Doris Ownby said. "Don't want to let him go out of our sight."</div> <bR> <div> Franklin County Prosecutor Robert Parks on Saturday said more charges are likely to be filed against Devlin, an Imo's Pizza manager and part-time funeral home worker, according to AP. Devlin's bail was set at $1 million.</div> <bR> <div> Parks revealed few details about the case, but said Devlin would be arraigned on the single kidnapping charge next week in a Franklin County courtroom, though the date had not been set.</div> <bR> <div> "The fortunate thing is that we have him behind bars. He's not going anyplace and now we have a little bit of the luxury of time to pull this case together," he said.</div> <bR> <div> "What we're looking for is the successful prosecution of Michael Devlin and we're asking for your cooperation to help us get on with that."</div> <bR> <div> Written by CTV.ca News Staff<I> </I></div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 32 WIDTH="707"><div> =======================</div> <div>  <A NAME="bilingualism_may_delay_onset_of_dementia_study"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A><A HREF="#top" TITLE="Jan 07"><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= 105 WIDTH="540"><div> <B>Bilingualism may delay onset of dementia: study</B></div> <div> Web Posted | Last Updated Fri. Jan. 12  2007  08:42 ET</div> <div> Giant Dwarf Posted: January 12th, 2007</div> <div> <B>Lifelong bilingualism can help delay the onset of dementia symptoms by four years, Canadian researchers have found.</B></div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> <IMG SRC="b1a4a0640.jpg" border=0 width="160" height="100" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 124 WIDTH="707"><div> Patients who were fluent in two or more languages and spoke them regularly reported dementia symptoms on average about four years after people who spoke only one language, says principal investigator Ellen Bialystok.</div> <bR> <div> Bialystok, a psychology professor at York University, says researchers are "pretty dazzled" by the results.</div> <bR> <div> Bilingualism may help to stave off cognitive decline because of the mental agility necessary to juggle them in day-to-day life, researchers said.</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=CENTER HEIGHT= 196 WIDTH="540"><div> "In the process of using language and using two languages, you are engaging parts of your brain ... that are active and need that kind of constant exercise and activity and with that experience stays more robust," Bialystok said, appearing on CTV's Canada AM.</div> <bR> <div> The study, conducted by researchers with the Rotman Research Institute at the Baycrest Research Centre for Aging and the Brain in Toronto, is published in the February 2007 issue of <I>Neuropsychologia</I>.</div> <bR> <div> "Our study found that speaking two languages throughout one's life appears to be associated with a delay in the onset of symptoms of dementia by four years compared to those who speak one language," said Bialystok, also an associate scientist at the Rotman Research Institute.</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="165"><div> <IMG SRC="b1a3a0780.jpg" border=0 width="160" height="120" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> Ellen Bialystok, distinguished research professor of psychology at York University, speaks with Canada AM on Friday.</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 302 WIDTH="707"><div> The study followed on the heels of previous reports from Bialystok and colleagues showing bilingualism enhances attention and cognitive control in both children and older adults.</div> <bR> <div> "I've been investigating the cognitive effects of bilingualism in children for a long time and so about five or six years ago, we wondered if we could find these benefits throughout adulthood, and we did," Bialystok said.</div> <bR> <div> "And (we) found that with aging, bilingual adults suffered or experienced a slower decline in the normal slowing down and decline of cognition with aging than comparable monolinguals," she said.</div> <bR> <div> Those results compelled Bialystok and her research team to wonder what this would mean for the onset of dementia.</div> <bR> <div> Researchers examined the diagnostic records of 184 Toronto-area patients who came to Baycrest's Sam and Ida Ross Memory Clinic between 2002 and 2005 with cognitive complaints. Of those patients, 91 were monolingual and 93 were bilingual.</div> <bR> <div> The bilingual speakers spoke a combination of 25 different languages, the most prevalent being Polish, Yiddish, German, Romanian and Hungarian.</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 341 WIDTH="707"><div> Researchers found 132 patients met criteria for probable Alzheimer's while the remaining 52 were diagnosed with other dementias.</div> <bR> <div> The researchers determined that the mean age of onset of dementia symptoms in the monolingual group was 71.4 years, while the bilingual group was 75.5 years. This gap remained even after considering the possible effect of other lifestyle factors such as cultural differences, immigration, formal education, employment and gender.</div> <bR> <div> "There are no pharmacological interventions that are this dramatic" in delaying symptoms, said neurologist Dr. Morris Freedman, who is head of the Division of Neurology, and director of the Memory Clinic at Baycrest.</div> <bR> <div> "The data show a huge protective effect," adds co-investigator and psychologist Fergus Craik, an expert on age-related changes in memory processes.</div> <bR> <div> Craik cautioned that this is a preliminary study but aligned with other recent findings about lifestyle effects on dementia. </div> <div> The team is working on a follow-up study that will further examine bilingualism and dementia onset.</div> <bR> <div> The study was funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research.</div> <bR> <div> Written by CTV.ca News Staff<I> </I></div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 32 WIDTH="707"><div> =======================</div> <div>  <A NAME="u_s__allies_offer_support_for_bush_s_iraq_plan"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A><A HREF="#top" TITLE="Jan 07"><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= 210 WIDTH="540"><div> <B>U.S. allies offer support for Bush's Iraq plan</B></div> <div> Web Posted | Last Updated Thu. Jan. 11  2007  09:40 ET</div> <div> Giant Dwarf Posted: January 11th, 2007</div> <div> <B>U.S. President George Bush's plan to send thousands more troops to Iraq is being greeted with quick support from some allies, but Democrats have pledged to scrutinize the details.</B></div> <bR> <div> Leaders of South Korea, Australia and Japan have greeted the plan as an essential step towards stabilizing the country and battling global terrorism.</div> <bR> <div> All three pledged to continue providing political and material support for the U.S. efforts.</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="165"><div> <IMG SRC="b199a0780.jpg" border=0 width="160" height="120" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> A shopper looks at a live TV airing President Bush's prime-time address to the U.S. nation on Iraq at the Kimuraya discount chain store in Tokyo on Thursday. (AP / Katsumi Kasahara)</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 509 WIDTH="540"><div> "If America retreats in Iraq, then that has enormous consequences for the stability of the Middle East and it will also be an enormous boost to terrorism in our part of the world,'' Australian Prime Minister John Howard said in Sydney. Australia has 1,900 troops stationed in and around Iraq.</div> <bR> <div> Howard said Bush's plan was "very clear, calm and above all, realistic."</div> <bR> <div> He also praised Bush's willingness to take responsibility for mistakes made in Iraq.</div> <bR> <div> On Wednesday evening, Bush announced his plan to boost troop numbers in Iraq as part of a new strategy to curb sectarian violence.</div> <bR> <div> In his nationwide address, he warned the U.S. commitment is not open-ended and said it's time for the Iraqis to step up and do more.</div> <bR> <div> The majority of the additional 21,500 troops slated to be sent to Iraq will work to restore stability in Baghdad, hoping to quell sectarian strife that has pushed the country towards civil war.</div> <bR> <div> Bush spoke with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun by telephone before making his announcement, AP reports.</div> <bR> <div> Both countries host large numbers of U.S. troops and have sent forces to Iraq -- though Japan withdrew its 600 non-combat troops last year.</div> <bR> <div> Japan pledged to continue its humanitarian air support for reconstruction, Foreign Minister Taro Aso said. He said Japan would remain in close contact with the U.S.</div> <bR> <div> "I strongly hope that the U.S. efforts toward the stability in Iraq and reconstruction will </div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="165"><div> <IMG SRC="b19aa0780.jpg" border=0 width="160" height="120" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> Iraqi doctors watch the U.S. President George W. Bush's speech at a hospital in Baghdad, Iraq on Thursday. (AP / Adil al-Khazali)</div> <div> <IMG SRC="b19ba0fa0.jpg" border=0 width="160" height="250" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> Anti-war demonstrators protest outside the northwest gate of the White House after Bush's address. (AP / Charles Dharapak)</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 323 WIDTH="707"><div> proceed effectively and bring good results,'' Aso said in a statement. "Japan will continue to closely communicate and co-operate with the U.S.''</div> <bR> <div> South Korea, which has 2,300 troops supporting U.S.-led reconstruction efforts in Irbil in northern Iraq also expressed its support for the new U.S. policy.</div> <bR> <div> The South Korean president "said he understood the background of the comprehensive U.S. policies and expressed support for President Bush's endeavour to bring about stability and reconstruction in Iraq,'' his office said.</div> <bR> <div> Currently, Seoul is Washington's second biggest coalition partner. Britain is the first.</div> <bR> <div> South Korea intends to withdraw 1,100 troops by spring and will devise a complete withdrawal plan during 2007.</div> <bR> <div> Bush has said 80 per cent of violence in Iraq takes place within a roughly 50-kilometre radius of Baghdad, and that the extra troops would help to secure the capital.</div> <bR> <div> ABC News is reporting that the leading edge of the surge has already arrived in Baghdad, including 90 advance troops from the 82nd Airborne division.</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 379 WIDTH="707"><div> <B>Democrat reservations</B></div> <bR> <div> The troop announcement brought immediate criticism from Democrats.</div> <bR> <div> Democratic Party leaders said Congress would give the proposals the "scrutiny our troops and the American people expect." </div> <div> "We will demand answers to the tough questions that have not been asked or answered to date," they said.</div> <bR> <div> Senior Democrats, whose party recently took control of both houses of Congress, were critical.</div> <bR> <div> Senator Richard Durbin said the president was ignoring the advice of the former US commander in Iraq, Gen John Abizaid, that increasing troop numbers would prevent the Iraqis from taking more responsibility for their own future.</div> <bR> <div> James Carafano, a military adviser for the Iraq Study Group, told AP that Bush's Wednesday speech failed to discuss the risk involved in the new strategy.</div> <bR> <div> "If anything, I think the president should have been more forthcoming in saying that, 'Look we can do this, it's worth trying to save this country and save this democracy... but we should realize that we can do all those things and we can still fail in Iraq'."</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="questions_surround_death_of_canadian_in_mexico"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A><A HREF="#top" TITLE="Jan 07"><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>Questions surround death of Canadian in Mexico</B></div> <div> Web Posted | Last Updated Wed. Jan. 10  2007  09:14 ET</div> <div> Giant Dwarf Posted: January 10th, 2007</div> <div> <B>The family of a 19-year-old Canadian man killed last weekend in Acapulco, Mexico, is demanding to know more details about his death.</B></div> <bR> <div> Adam DePrisco of Woodbridge, Ont. was vacationing with a long-time friend when Mexican</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> <IMG SRC="b193a0780.jpg" border=0 width="160" height="120" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 538 WIDTH="707"><div> authorities say he was killed leaving a nightclub after being struck by a car in a hit-and-run.</div> <bR> <div> However, DePrisco's travelling buddy, Marco Calabro, believes he was beaten to death after dancing with a local man's girlfriend.</div> <bR> <div> According to Calabro, the pair went to a nightclub on Saturday and DePrisco danced with a local woman when a man, possibly her boyfriend, became upset.</div> <bR> <div> A bouncer threw DePrisco from the bar, the family told <I>The Toronto Star</I>. When Calabro went to look for DePrisco he found him on the ground outside the club, bleeding from his head.</div> <bR> <div> "I want these guys found,'' DePrisco's older brother Tony told <I>The Star</I>. "It seems like everybody is trying to cover up what happened.''</div> <bR> <div> The family has made dozens of phone calls to Mexican and Canadian authorities but they still don't feel satisfied with the response.</div> <bR> <div> "There's no clear indication as to what happened and it seems like no one wants to help us find answers,'' said DePrisco's aunt, Lucy Defilippis-Pannozzi.</div> <bR> <div> Mexican police told <I>The Star</I> that they are investigating the incident as a hit-and-run accident that occurred early Sunday morning. DePrisco died in a Mexican hospital on Monday evening.</div> <bR> <div> His body is expected to arrive in Canada on Wednesday or Thursday.</div> <bR> <div> Last February, Domenico and Nancy Ianiero, also of Woodbridge, Ont., were found with their throats slashed in their room at the luxury Barcelo Maya beach resort near Cancun. Mexican officials have come under criticism for their handling of the case.</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="b_c__sextuplets_in__fair_condition__officials_say"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A><A HREF="#top" TITLE="Jan 07"><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= 214 WIDTH="540"><div> <B>B.C. sextuplets in 'fair condition,' officials say</B></div> <div> Web Posted | Last Updated Tue. Jan. 09  2007  07:42 ET</div> <div> Giant Dwarf Posted: January 9th, 2007</div> <div> <B>Officials at B.C. Women's Hospital say the sextuplets born on the weekend have a good chance of survival and are "in fair condition."</B></div> <bR> <div> Chief neonatologist Dr. Brian Lupton told a news conference Monday that doctors face a major challenge face in feeding the infants and making sure they can breathe on their own.</div> <bR> <div> The newborns will likely have to remain in hospital for the next three months as their bodies develop.</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="165"><div> <IMG SRC="b191a06e0.jpg" border=0 width="160" height="110" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> Dr. Brian Lupton, chief of neo-natal care at B.C. Women's Hospital right, speaks to reporters as Dr. Liz Whynot, president of the hospital, looks on during a news conference in Vancouver. (CP / Chuck Stoody)</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 344 WIDTH="707"><div> The babies, whose parents have requested anonymity, are being given steroids to help them grow.</div> <bR> <div> Hospital president Dr. Liz Whynot said the first baby came around 8:30 p.m. Saturday night, with the others born early Sunday. They were born almost three months premature.</div> <bR> <div> Citing the family's desire for privacy, neither Whynot nor Lupton would reveal any other details, though Lupton said babies born this prematurely average 700 to 800 grams, or 1.5 to 1.8 pounds.</div> <bR> <div> Sources told news outlets that four boys and two girls were born, each weighing about 1.8 pounds.</div> <bR> <div> The parents are Jehovah's Witnesses and "are focusing all their energy on their new family," Whynot said.</div> <bR> <div> "While they understand there is a lot of public interest in the birth of their babies, they are feeling overwhelmed. So they're asking for their privacy to be respected."</div> <bR> <div> On average, babies born after 25 weeks gestation spend 100 days in neonatal intensive care, and about 80 per cent survive.</div> <bR> <div> Despite the odds in their favour, Canada's first sextuplets will face some uphill battles. Babies born between 23 and 25 weeks are considered on the borderline of viability, Lupton said.</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 426 WIDTH="707"><div> Such an early delivery means the baby's organs are immature, their skin is thinner, and they weigh less because fetuses gain the most fat in the final weeks of pregnancy.</div> <bR> <div> Once the infants leave neonatal intensive care, they may need some home followup such as additional oxygen.</div> <bR> <div> Over the long-term, they may also face potential neurological and development deficiencies, vision and hearing problems.</div> <bR> <div> Despite the rare event, Lupton maintained almost a clinical detachment. He refused to divluge whether the births excited him nor whether sextuplets offered a unique learning or research opportunity for the hospital and its staff.</div> <bR> <div> "It (sextuplets) is something that is within the parameters of the sort of thing we deal with," he said.</div> <bR> <div> "Clearly it's not something you're dealing with every day ...</div> <bR> <div> "I am used to looking after babies of 25 weeks gestation - we look after many each year - and these infants fit into that group of patients."</div> <bR> <div> The six tiny babies born on the weekend were likely conceived through the use of fertility drugs, he said.</div> <bR> <div> Without drugs, sextuplets occur only once in several billion births.</div> <bR> <div> However, neither Lupton nor Whynot would reveal if that was the case.</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 339 WIDTH="707"><div> The B.C. Women's Hospital is the same one that delivered the conjoined twins of Vernon, B.C.'s Felicia Simms back in October. Her children left hospital just before Christmas.</div> <bR> <div> Yvonne Gilmour, who made history when she became the mother of the first quintuplets born in western Canada in 1999, says the parents have a long few weeks ahead of them.</div> <bR> <div> "I think I just had to take one hour at a time and one day at a time because I wanted to know what ... could go wrong with premature babies," she said.</div> <bR> <div> "And we just prayed daily for healthy babies and we held on to that. I think that was the biggest part -- just hanging in there with the babies."</div> <bR> <div> Gilmour, who has been acting as a mentor for the new parents, described them as "fine. She told CTV's Canada AM they had a lot of questions for her.</div> <bR> <div> "How to prepare for a multiple pregnancy, how to keep healthy, lots of bed rest, lots of calorie intake, stuff like that," she said.</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="court_drops_charges_against_saddam"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A><A HREF="#top" TITLE="Jan 07"><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= 224 WIDTH="540"><div> <B>Court drops charges against Saddam</B></div> <div> Web Posted | Last Updated Mon. Jan. 08  2007  06:16 ET</div> <div> Giant Dwarf Posted: January 8th, 2007</div> <div> <B>BAGHDAD, Iraq -- Saddam Hussein's trial for the killing of 180,000 Kurds in the 1980s resumed Monday with the late dictator's seat empty, nine days after he went to the gallows. The court's first order of business was to drop all charges against Saddam.</B></div> <bR> <div> Six co-defendants still face charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity for their roles in a military campaign code-named Operation Anfal during the 1980-88 Iraq-Iran war.</div> <bR> <div> Shortly after the court reconvened Monday, a bailiff called out the names of the accused and the six men walked silently into the courtroom one after another.</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="165"><div> <IMG SRC="b18aa0780.jpg" border=0 width="160" height="120" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> In this image cleared by the US military, Saddam Hussein appears in a courtroom at Camp Victory, a former Saddam palace on the outskirts of Baghdad, in this file photo from July 1, 2004. (AP / Karen Ballard/Pool-File)</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 318 WIDTH="707"><div> Chief Judge Mohammed Oreibi al-Khalifa said the court decided to stop all legal action against the former president, since "the death of defendant Saddam was confirmed."</div> <bR> <div> Saddam was sentenced to death for the killing of 148 Shiites and hanged on Dec. 30 in a chaotic execution that has drawn global criticism for the Shiite-dominated government.</div> <bR> <div> All seven defendants in the Anfal case, including Saddam, had pleaded innocent to charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity. Saddam and one other man also pleaded innocent to the additional charge of genocide.</div> <bR> <div> The six remaining defendants -- all senior members of Saddam's ousted regime -- include his cousin Ali Hassan al-Majid, known as "Chemical Ali" for his alleged use of chemical weapons against Iraqi Kurds.</div> <bR> <div> The other defendants are former Defense Minister Sultan Hashim al-Tai, who was the commander of Task Force Anfal and head of the Iraqi army 1st Corps; Sabir al-Douri, Saddam's military intelligence chief; Taher Tawfiq al-Ani, former governor of Mosul and head of the Northern Affairs Committee; Hussein Rashid Mohammed, former deputy director of operations for the Iraqi Armed Forces and Farhan Mutlaq Saleh, former head of military intelligence's eastern regional office.</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="jolie_portrayed_as_virgin_mary_in_odd_painting"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A><A HREF="#top" TITLE="Jan 07"><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= 516 WIDTH="540"><div> <B>Jolie portrayed as Virgin Mary in odd painting</B></div> <div> Web Posted | Last Updated Sun. Jan. 07  2007  09:51 ET</div> <div> Giant Dwarf Posted: January 7th, 2007</div> <div> <B>RALEIGH, N.C. -- A North Carolina artist intrigued by the public obsession with celebrity has found herself feeding that obsession with a painting of actress Angelina Jolie as the Virgin Mary hovering over a Wal-Mart check-out line.</B></div> <bR> <div> Kate Kretz has painted for 20 years but none of her previous work has garnered the attention given "Blessed Art Thou," showing this weekend at Art Miami, an annual exposition of modern and contemporary art.</div> <bR> <div> The painting has gotten much attention from celebrity web sites and blogs. Since the buzz started, the number of daily unique visitors to Kretz's own blog has jumped from an average of 30 to 15,000 on Wednesday.</div> <bR> <div> "My intention was to ask a question and get people to think," Kretz said in a telephone interview Friday from Miami. "I had no idea so many people would be asking a question and thinking."</div> <bR> <div> The painting -- acrylic and oil on linen -- depicts an angelic Jolie in the clouds, holding her newborn daughter, Shiloh, with children Maddox and Zahara at her legs. Below them is a Wal-Mart checkout line. The painting is for sale for $50,000 through Chelsea Galleria in Miami, which represents Kretz.</div> <bR> <div> On her blog, Kretz, 43, said the painting addresses "the celebrity worship cycle." She said she chose Jolie for the subject "because of her unavoidable presence in the media, the worldwide anticipation of her child, her 'unattainable' beauty and the good that she is doing in the world through her example, which adds another layer to the already complicated questions surrounding her status."</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="165"><div> <IMG SRC="b182a0780.jpg" border=0 width="160" height="120" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> Actress Angelina Jolie(AP / ABC, Ida Mae Astute)</div> <div> <IMG SRC="b183a0e60.jpg" border=0 width="160" height="230" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> This photo provided by Chelsea Galleria shows a painting 'Blessed Art Thou,' by North Carolina artist Kate Kretz that features actress Angelina Jolie and her three children hovering in the heavens above a Wal-Mart.(AP Photo/Chelsea Galleria, Kate Kretz)</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 70 WIDTH="707"><div> Washington Post art critic Blake Gopnik, asked to comment about "Blessed Art Thou" on a Post blog, was unimpressed. "Once you've deciphered it, there's not much chance of giving it a second look," Gopnik wrote.</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="un_investigated_over_300_for_alleged_sex_offences"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A><A HREF="#top" TITLE="Jan 07"><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= 128 WIDTH="540"><div> <B>UN investigated over 300 for alleged sex offences</B></div> <div> Web Posted | Last Updated Sat. Jan. 06  2007  09:43 ET</div> <div> Giant Dwarf Posted: January 6th, 2007</div> <div> <B>More than 300 members of United Nations peacekeeping missions have been investigated by the international body for alleged sexual exploitation and abuse during the past three years.</B></div> <bR> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> <IMG SRC="b17da0780.jpg" border=0 width="160" height="120" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 793 WIDTH="707"><div> A senior UN official made the announcement Friday, saying that half of those who were investigated were fired or sent home.</div> <bR> <div> The news came after a report by the U.K.'s Daily Telegraph newspaper, which included allegations that UN personnel in southern Sudan took part in sexual exploitation and abuse of more than 20 children.</div> <bR> <div> The UN was trying to determine whether they were fresh charges, or ones the UN had already investigated as part of its probe, The Associated Press reports.</div> <bR> <div> Jane Holl Lute, the UN's assistant secretary general for peacekeeping, said the organization had stepped up efforts in the past two years to crack down on sex abuse. However, she told a news conference there is still work to be done, noting: "We're not satisfied with where we are."</div> <bR> <div> Lute said that between January 2004 and the end of November 2006, the UN probed allegations of sexual exploitation and abuse involving 319 peacekeeping personnel "in all missions" - from East Timor, the Middle East and Africa to Kosovo and Haiti.</div> <bR> <div> Resulting from the investigation, 18 civilians, 17 international police and 144 military personnel were dismissed, she said.</div> <bR> <div> The UN currently has 16 peacekeeping missions in various corners of the globe. The organization sees a staff turnover of 200,000 people from 100 countries every year, The Associated Press reports.</div> <bR> <div> With that kind of volume, it's inevitable that members "are going to behave badly," Hall Lute told a news conference.</div> <bR> <div> "What's different now is ... our determination to stay with this problem ... and constantly improve our ability to deal with it."</div> <bR> <div> In total, 63 per cent of alleged incidents of misconduct from January to the end of October, 2006, were related to sexual abuse and prostitution, according to AP. One third of those involved prostitution.</div> <bR> <div> The UN first came under close scrutiny in relation to sexual abuses in early 2005 after allegations that peacekeepers in Congo traded food and money for sex with Congolese women and girls.</div> <bR> <div> A report several months later slammed the body's military arm as deeply flawed and claimed abuses had been reported from Bosnia to Kosovo and Cambodia, East Timor, West Africa and Congo.</div> <bR> <div> As a result the organization brought in a new code of conduct and stepped up its zero tolerance policy on sexual abuse. </div> <div> Efforts are currently underway to combat prostitution.</div> <bR> <div> According to the UN's Department of Peacekeeping, there are 13 investigations currently underway in Sudan, dealing with allegations of sexual exploitation and abuse by members of peacekeeping forces.</div> <bR> <div> Several Bangladeshi peacekeepers have been disciplined for their alleged roles in a case of sexual exploitation and abuse in southern Sudan in June 2006.</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="unemployment_rate_at_30_year_low_in_december"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A><A HREF="#top" TITLE="Jan 07"><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>Unemployment rate at 30-year-low in December</B></div> <div> Web Posted | Last Updated Fri. Jan. 05  2007  08:40 ET</div> <div> Giant Dwarf Posted: January 5th, 2007</div> <div> <B>Canada's jobless rate hit a 30-year low of 6.1 per cent in December as 62,000 more people found jobs.</B></div> <bR> <div> Statistics Canada reported that the economy created 345,000 new jobs in 2006, a 2.1 per </div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> <IMG SRC="b175a0780.jpg" border=0 width="160" height="120" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 409 WIDTH="707"><div> cent increase and the highest growth rate since 2002. This marked the 14th consecutive year of job growth.</div> <bR> <div> In 2006, Alberta surged ahead in employment growth, showing its largest surge in 26 years. Saskatchewan, Newfoundland and Labrador, and British Columbia also finished the year above the national employment growth rate.</div> <bR> <div> While more people were working in Ontario last month, the rate was not enough to push growth for the province above the national average in 2006. In Ontario, employment increased by an estimated 42,000 in December, bringing total gains for the year to 1.8 per cent.</div> <bR> <div> Most of the province's job growth in 2006 was in the service sector, including health care and social assistance, trade and "other services," while declines in manufacturing continued.</div> <bR> <div> Unlike the national trend towards more full-time gains in 2006, almost two-thirds of Ontario's employment increases were in part-time jobs. The unemployment rate for this province ended the year at 6.1 per cent, which is similar to the rate a year ago.</div> <bR> <div> In Quebec, there were fewer people looking for jobs last month, seeing the unemployment rate hit a 30-year-low of 7.5 per cent.</div> <bR> <div> Over the course of the year, there were employment gains in finance, insurance, real estate and leasing; business, building and other support services; transportation and warehousing; and professional, scientific and technical services.</div> <bR> <div> In 2006, seven provinces hit record-high employment rates while six reached 30-year record-low unemployment rates.</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 484 WIDTH="707"><div> However, declines in manufacturing and construction offset overall growth. This left employment up only 0.9 per cent, less than half the national growth rate.</div> <bR> <div> <B>The West shines</B></div> <bR> <div> Alberta's employment saw a substantial increase for the year, with 6 per cent, its largest rate of growth since 1980. Though the province represents only 10 per cent of working-age Canadians, it accounted for almost one-third of all employment in 2006.</div> <bR> <div> Gains varied across the goods and service sectors, with above average growth in natural resources; manufacturing; construction; educational services; health care and social assistance; and accommodation and food services.</div> <bR> <div> In Saskatchewan, 3,000 more people found jobs, bringing total gains for the year to 23,000, an increase of 4.8 per cent.</div> <bR> <div> Last month's job growth also boosted the employment rate to a record high of 67.4 per cent.</div> <bR> <div> Saskatchewan's employment gains in 2006 were mainly in trade; construction; professional, scientific and technical services; natural resources; and agriculture.</div> <bR> <div> British Columbia also saw employment gains in December, with 10,000 people finding jobs. This brought year-to-date growth to 51,000, an increase of 2.4 per cent.</div> <bR> <div> Last month, 62.7 per cent of the province's working-age population was employed, a record high.</div> <bR> <div> Over the year, employment gains in natural resources, manufacturing; construction; business, building and other support services; finance, insurance, real estate and leasing; educational services and health care and social assistance more than made up for losses in information, culture and recreation; trade; and accommodation and food services.</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 432 WIDTH="707"><div> Unemployment rates in the West continued to be below that of the national average throughout 2006.</div> <bR> <div> Though Newfoundland and Labrador posted little change in employment last month, it was up 3.8 per cent from 12 months ago.</div> <bR> <div> This growth marked the largest employment increase since 2001 for this province, moving its employment rate up 2.8 percentage points to 51.3 per cent by December 2006.</div> <bR> <div> Among the territories, only Nunavut recorded annual employment growth in 2006 compared to 2005. There was job growth of 9.3 per cent, pushing their annual average jobless rate down to an estimated 10.3 per cent in 2006.</div> <bR> <div> The Yukon's annual average unemployment rate declined to 4.3 per cent from 2005 to 2006, while the rate for Northwest Territories remained the same at 5.4 per cent.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Full-time, part-time</B></div> <bR> <div> There were increases in both full- and part-time employment across Canada in December.</div> <bR> <div> But growth in 2006 was driven by full time jobs in 2006, which accounted for an estimated 80 per cent of employment gains.</div> <div> Self-employment increased by 49,000 in December. Despite this jump, there were fewer self-employed workers in 2006 than the previous year.</div> <bR> <div> Employment gains helped push average hourly wages up to an even $20 last month, an increase of 2.6 per cent from the year before.</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 397 WIDTH="707"><div> Oil-rich Alberta surpassed Ontario throughout 2006 for the highest hourly wages. Alberta's tight labour market continued to put pressure on the province's wages, which rose to $21.60, an increase of 5.9 per cent from a year ago.</div> <bR> <div> In 2006, nearly two-thirds of all job growth was among adult women.</div> <bR> <div> The proportion of working women aged 25 and over hit a record high in December 2006. By year's end, this brought their jobless rate to a 30-year law, lower than that of adult men.</div> <bR> <div> Youth employment was up 1.4 per cent, or 36,000 jobs, over the year. The jobless rate for young people, which was 11.2 per cent in December, was approaching its lowest level in a quarter-century.</div> <bR> <div> Employment growth for 2006 was spread across a number of industries.</div> <bR> <div> Natural resources was on top with growth of 10.9 per cent.</div> <bR> <div> Business, building and other support services were up 8.8 per cent, while finance, insurance and real estate gained 6.9 per cent.</div> <bR> <div> Manufacturing employment was off 2.7 per cent, or 59,000, for the year and down nine per cent, or 216,000 jobs, since the decline started in November 2002.</div> <bR> <div> Written by CTV.ca News Staff<I> </I></div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 32 WIDTH="707"><div> =======================</div> <div>  <A NAME="scientists_say_2007_may_be_warmest_yet"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A><A HREF="#top" TITLE="Jan 07"><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= 169 WIDTH="540"><div> <B>Scientists say 2007 may be warmest yet</B></div> <div> Web Posted | Last Updated Thu. Jan. 04  2007  08:32 ET</div> <div> Giant Dwarf Posted: January 4th, 2007</div> <div> <B>LONDON -- A resurgent El Nino and persistently high levels of greenhouse gases are likely to make 2007 the world's hottest year ever recorded, British climate scientists said Thursday.</B></div> <bR> <div> Britain's Meteorological Office said there was a 60 percent probability that 2007 would break the record set by 1998, which was 1.20 degrees over the long-term average.</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="165"><div> <IMG SRC="b167a0780.jpg" border=0 width="160" height="120" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> A jogger runs along the canal in Ottawa on Dec. 24, 2006. (CP / Jonathan Hayward)</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 517 WIDTH="707"><div> "This new information represents another warning that climate change is happening around the world," the office said.</div> <bR> <div> The reason for the forecast is mostly due to El Nino, a cyclical warming trend now under way in the Pacific Ocean. The event occurs irregularly -- the last one happened in 2002 -- and typically leads to increased temperatures worldwide.</div> <bR> <div> While this year's El Nino is not as strong as it was in 1997 and 1998, its combination with the steady increase of temperatures due to global warming from human activity may be enough to break the Earth's temperature record, said Phil Jones, the director of the Climatic Research unit at the University of East Anglia.</div> <bR> <div> "Because of the warming due to greenhouse gases, even a moderate warming event is enough to push the global temperatures over the top," he said.</div> <bR> <div> "El Nino is an independent variable," he said. "But the underlying trends in the warming of the Earth is almost certainly due to the release of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere."</div> <bR> <div> El Nino can sometimes lead to milder weather, such as in the in the northeastern United States or the Atlantic Ocean, which is likely to see fewer hurricanes this year. However, it can also increase the severity of weather-related disasters, such as typhoons in the Philippines or drought in southern Africa and Australia, a country that is already suffering through its longest dry spell on record.</div> <bR> <div> Environmental groups said the report added weight to the movement to control greenhouse gases.</div> <bR> <div> "The evidence that we're doing something very dangerous with the climate is now amassing," said Campaign against Climate Change coordinator Philip Thornhill.</div> <bR> <div> "We need to put the energy and priority (into climate change) that is being put into a war effort. It's a political struggle to get action done -- and these reports help," Thornhill said.</div> <bR> <div> Written by CTV.ca News Staff<I> with the Associated Press</I></div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 16 WIDTH="707"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="16" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="707" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 32 WIDTH="707"><div> =======================</div> <div>  <A NAME="politicians_found_to_carry_toxic_chemical_soup"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A><A HREF="#top" TITLE="Jan 07"><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>Politicians found to carry toxic chemical soup</B></div> <div> Web Posted | Last Updated Wed. Jan. 03  2007  14:59 ET</div> <div> Giant Dwarf Posted: January 3rd, 2007</div> <div> <B>Four top Canadian politicians have a combined cocktail of toxic chemicals in their bodies that would make a smokestack shudder.</B></div> <bR> <div> The group Environmental Defence released results Wednesday of laboratory testing done</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> <IMG SRC="afdaa0780.jpg" border=0 width="160" height="120" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 409 WIDTH="707"><div> on Environment Minister Rona Ambrose, NDP Leader Jack Layton, Health Minister Tony Clement and Liberal environment critic John Godfrey.</div> <bR> <div> The study found that Ambrose had fewer flame-retardants in her blood than Layton, but had a higher level of arsenic than the New Democrat leader.</div> <bR> <div> Clement's blood, meanwhile, contains polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs, despite the fact they have been banned for years. But Clement's blood was lower in neurotoxic mercury than Godfrey's.</div> <bR> <div> The results are part of the report <I>Toxic Nation on Parliament Hill: A Report on Pollution in Four Canadian Politicians</I>, which is intended to serve as a wake-up call for leaders about the state of pollution in Canada.</div> <bR> <div> Godfrey, the report found, had the highest number of pollutants in his blood, at 55. Clement and Layton followed with 45 toxic contaminants each and Ambrose had the cleanest blood with 49 contaminants.</div> <bR> <div> Of the 103 pollutants tested for, 61 were detected in the four politicians.</div> <bR> <div> Combined, their blood contained a chilling mix of nasty substances, including 54 carcinogens, 37 hormone disruptors, 16 respiratory toxins, 54 reproductive or developmental toxins and 33 neurotoxins.</div> <bR> <div> Rick Smith, executive director of Environmental Defence, told CTV Newsnet it's almost impossible to determine the exact cause of the contaminants in their bodies because "(pollution) levels are so high in the environment that our bodies are literally bathed in the stuff like a soup."</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 554 WIDTH="707"><div> "The conclusion we draw is that is doesn't matter where you live in Canada, it doesn't matter what you do for a living, it doesn't matter how old you are, and in the case of these four politicians, it doesn't matter how powerful you are," Smith told CTV Newsnet.</div> <bR> <div> "Even if you're the people running the country your body is polluted, your family is polluted with these known toxic pollutants and the government of Canada, by allowing this to happen, is letting Canadians down."</div> <bR> <div> Smith said the timing of the study's release was strategic. The federal government is set to review the Environmental Protection Act in 2007 -- legislation Smith described as flawed and feeble.</div> <bR> <div> "Its application is the reason pollution levels are so high, so what we're doing is asking all federal parties to work together to make an improvement on this flawed law."</div> <bR> <div> Each of the politicians used the report's findings to back up their own position.</div> <bR> <div> Ambrose said the findings are evidence the federal government is moving in the right direction with "groundbreaking action against harmful pollutants."</div> <bR> <div> Clement said "the need to measure what substances are accumulating inside Canadians is why the Chemical Management Plan announced Dec. 8 includes a Biomonitoring component."</div> <bR> <div> Godfrey said the report shows more needs to be done to "get harmful substances out of the air we breathe, the food we eat, and the products we use and dispose of."</div> <bR> <div> And Layton said he has worked for years to have pesticides and other toxics banned or reduced, and intends to step up efforts.</div> <bR> <div> "In light of these recent results, our party will redouble its efforts because this toxic shocker reinforces our commitment to be tough on companies that pollute and governments that don't act," Layton said.</div> <bR> <div> Written by CTV.ca News Staff<I> </I></div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 32 WIDTH="707"><div> =======================</div> <div>  <A NAME="canadians_could_take_custody_of_bedard_today"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A><A HREF="#top" TITLE="Jan 07"><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= 365 WIDTH="540"><div> <B>Canadians could take custody of Bedard today</B></div> <div> Web Posted | Last Updated Tue. Jan. 02  2007  11:12 ET</div> <div> Giant Dwarf Posted: January 2nd, 2007</div> <div> <B>Canadian officials could take custody of Myriam Bedard as early as Tuesday, her U.S. lawyer said.</B></div> <bR> <div> Kevin McCants said the two countries have reached an agreement on the former Olympian's transfer from a U.S. jail back to Quebec, The Canadian Press reported.</div> <bR> <div> McCants said he will continue with attempts to have Bedard released from the U.S. jail if Canadian officials don't arrive in Maryland on Tuesday to bring her home.</div> <bR> <div> Quebec provincial police told The Canadian Press they are not certain when they will be able to travel to Maryland to transfer Bedard.</div> <bR> <div> McCants says the gold-medal biathlete wants to return to Canada as quickly as possible to clear up the charges and see to her daughter, who appears to be on a hunger strike.</div> <bR> <div> Bedard's U.S. lawyer, Kevin McCants, told Canada AM on Tuesday that Bedard's 12-year-old daughter, Maude, is refusing to eat or shower.</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="165"><div> <IMG SRC="afd6a0780.jpg" border=0 width="160" height="120" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> Pictured in this artist's courtroom sketch is Myriam Bedard during a hearing in U.S. District court on Dec. 29, 2006, in Baltimore. (AP / Dana Verkouteren).</div> <div> <IMG SRC="afd7a0780.jpg" border=0 width="160" height="120" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> Kevin McCants, Bedard's U.S. lawyer, appeared on Canada AM on Jan. 2, 2007.</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 575 WIDTH="707"><div> "I did visit with Madame Bedard yesterday (Monday) and she spoke with her daughter on Saturday night around 10 p.m. and she said she asked her daughter directly, 'Are you eating yet?' and her daughter refused to answer her. It was my understanding from Friday through Sunday that she refused to eat or shower."</div> <bR> <div> McCants says Bedard will be back before a judge on Wednesday and will inform the court of their concerns about Maude's behaviour in the hopes it will speed up Bedard's extradition.</div> <bR> <div> "I am preparing to bring that information up to the judge regarding the daughter," McCants said.</div> <bR> <div> He said his team had considered seeking an emergency motion that would have seen Bedard returned to Canada quickly but on Monday, decided against it.</div> <bR> <div> "I didn't have a psychiatrist or a medical report verifying the daughter's situation and that was part of the reason that I said maybe we'll hold off until Wednesday."</div> <bR> <div> He added that he believes "that the situation is right for her release tomorrow (Wednesday), nonetheless."</div> <bR> <div> "My joke with her all along has been that she's been arrested for being a mom, for being a dedicated mom," McCants said.</div> <bR> <div> Bedard has been behind bars at a Baltimore, Md. jail since she was arrested on Dec. 22 for alleged parental child abduction. She was arrested after her ex-husband Jean Paquet complained she broke their custody agreement when she and her current partner, Nima Mazhari, took Maude to the United States in October.</div> <bR> <div> Bedard's lawyers contend Bedard did not violate the custody agreement.</div> <bR> <div> Because she was arrested on an extradition warrant, bail was not an option unless there had been extraordinary consequences.</div> <bR> <div> The charges that Bedard will face in Quebec -- parental child abduction and violation of a custody agreement -- carry a penalty of 10 years in prison.</div> <bR> <div> Written by CTV.ca News Staff<I> </I></div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 32 WIDTH="707"><div> =======================</div> <div>  <A NAME="afghanistan_tops_poll_on_story_of_the_year"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A><A HREF="#top" TITLE="Jan 07"><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= 196 WIDTH="540"><div> <B>Afghanistan tops poll on story of the year</B></div> <div> Web Posted | Last Updated Mon. Jan. 01  2007  11:54 ET</div> <div> Giant Dwarf Posted: January 1st, 2007</div> <div> <B>Canadians made a spectacular switch from Liberal to Conservative governing regimes in 2006, but a gritty little war half a world away was the overwhelming choice as the top Canadian news story of the year.</B></div> <bR> <div> The war in Afghanistan started in 2001 and steadily faded from the world's headlines as the focus shifted to Iraq, but five years later Canada's small part in the fight to calm the country hit home with bloody clarity.</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="165"><div> <IMG SRC="afd3a0780.jpg" border=0 width="160" height="120" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> Two Canadian troops visit a Afghan National Police checkpoint at Howz-e Madad, in Afghanistan on Dec. 28, 2006. (CP / Bill Graveland)</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 525 WIDTH="707"><div> Newspaper editors and broadcasters left no doubt that Canada's mission in Afghanistan was the top news story of the year. In the annual poll by The Canadian Press and Broadcast News, the war in Afghanistan easily outranked the Conservatives' electoral victory by a margin of 91-44. The Canadian Soldier was chosen the Canadian Newsmaker of the Year in poll results announced last week.</div> <bR> <div> "Whereas other stories have come and gone, this one continues and will remain a top story next year as well," said Mel Rothenburger, managing editor of the The Daily News in Kamloops, B.C.</div> <bR> <div> For the first time since the Korean War, Canadian soldiers went into sustained, major combat and suffered hundreds of casualties, including 36 deaths in the last year.</div> <bR> <div> Canadians took tiny patches of terrain at harrowing risk only to have insurgents seep back into strongholds, like the ghosts of anti-Soviet forces from the 1980s.</div> <bR> <div> And through the spring-to-fall Afghan fighting season, images of Maple Leaf-draped coffins became crimson staples for front pages and newscasts.</div> <bR> <div> "Nothing can bring it home like the faces of the dead," said historian and author Serge Durflinger.</div> <bR> <div> "They can be your neighbour, they can be your son. They can be people you played hockey with, members of your community, people you volunteer with. They all look like someone you've seen somewhere.</div> <bR> <div> "It makes (Canadians) understand we're at war to a far greater extent then they did before."</div> <bR> <div> The escalating violence triggered debate in Canada over the human cost of the mission and the balance between combat and rebuilding the tattered country.</div> <bR> <div> Canadians were divided on the mission, with polls indicating more than half of the population believing it cannot be won.</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 372 WIDTH="707"><div> Despite the potential political dynamite, Prime Minister Stephen Harper extended the mission into 2009. Five years into the effort to stabilize Afghanistan, neither Canada nor NATO has a clear exit strategy in sight.</div> <bR> <div> Many questioned whether peace is possible in a country where many people don't seem to want it.</div> <bR> <div> The high profile of Canadian combat losses may skew Canada's view of Afghan resistance to foreign troops. Fighting and key Taliban support is limited to a handful of Afghanistan's 34 provinces, and Canada is charged with security in just one of them.</div> <bR> <div> Unlike the popular revolt that fed anti-Soviet fighting, today's insurgents remain a small minority in the south and eastern countryside.</div> <bR> <div> An overwhelming majority of Afghans supported the Canadian presence in Afghanistan and opposed Taliban resistance in a poll conducted in the fall for ABC News by Charney Research.</div> <bR> <div> A resounding 71 per cent of 1,036 Afghans interviewed in October -- near the end of the heaviest fighting -- said they were grateful to have Canadian soldiers on Afghan soil. Only 11 per cent thought the 2001 removal of the Taliban was a bad thing.</div> <bR> <div> "One important message for Canadians is that Canadian troops are very much wanted in Afghanistan and Afghans are grateful for their presence," said pollster Craig Charney.</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 508 WIDTH="707"><div> "It's a proportion you rarely see in opinion polls. We also see 95 per cent of Afghans are appalled at the killings of civilians and teachers and the burnings of schools."</div> <bR> <div> Canadians are saddened by images of wounded soldiers and caskets but only a tiny fraction of Canadians have made any real sacrifice for the Afghan cause.</div> <bR> <div> A few thousand families have sent loved ones over to fight. Beyond Canada's small military community, life goes on.</div> <bR> <div> "I'm surprised (by the CP-BN poll result), I have a little trouble understanding why Afghanistan has achieved such a prominent place," said historian Jack Granatstein.</div> <bR> <div> "I don't think the general public is touched heavily by it at all. There's no hardships people are suffering at home. Yes, we feel the casualties, we are upset at them. But it in no way affects lives of 99.9 per cent of Canadians. They carry on doing exactly what they do.</div> <bR> <div> "I thought the story of the year was Stephen Harper's victory. In Canadian terms, it's such a major change in our politics."</div> <bR> <div> Granatstein noted that previous Canadian wars dwarf the Afghan conflict. Even peacekeeping operations in the Middle East and former Yugoslavia suffered major casualties and involved as many troops.</div> <bR> <div> "Afghanistan is just a small war," Granatstein said. "It's not a big fight, even in Canadian terms."</div> <bR> <div> Small war or not, the head of the Canadian military sees major significance in Canada's aggressive stand in southern Afghanistan.</div> <bR> <div> "It's perhaps almost a no-brainer," said Gen. Rick Hillier, Canada's top soldier, when told about the vote results making the mission the top story.</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 687 WIDTH="707"><div> "It's a significant mission . . . because of the casualties we've taken. Because of the kind of operation it is (Afghanistan) has really seized our country.</div> <bR> <div> "It's one where the risk has been high. The potential for success has been incredible."</div> <bR> <div> Afghanistan has altered Canada's image of its soldiers. In 2006, the blue beret and the friendly, humanitarian Canadian soldier of peacekeeping lore suddenly gave way to Canadian troops blasting away with machine-guns.</div> <bR> <div> Some 116 soldiers died over the years in peacekeeping missions and those deaths barely caused a ripple. But 43 military deaths in Afghanistan since 2001 have changed all that.</div> <bR> <div> Peacekeeper deaths "scarcely tweaked on the Canadian public," Granatstein said. "To really get to the bottom of it, you have to be able to get into the Canadian psyche. I'm not sure I can."</div> <bR> <div> About 2,200 Canadian troops took over the major security role in Kandahar province, the heartland of the resurgent Taliban. The area is a traditional hotbed of resistance to foreign invasion, dating back to the Soviet era in Afghanistan and beyond.</div> <bR> <div> Sporadic violence increased across Afghanistan as bombings became a favourite tactic targetting civilians and armed forces alike. Estimates put the death toll near 4,000, including insurgents and civilians.</div> <bR> <div> But Kandahar is the heart of the action. In the years ahead, success or failure in Afghanistan for the international community may be defined by how well Canadians contain Kandahar.</div> <bR> <div> "There was an enemy offensive this year that did not make the Afghan side collapse," said Charney, the pollster. "It shows Afghans are standing up in this fight. The challenge now to Canadians is to do the same."</div> <bR> <div> A view has grown that Canadians are already bearing too large a load in Afghan war.</div> <bR> <div> Canada is just one small part of the overall NATO mission in Afghanistan, with more than 30,000 troops from several nations fanned out across the rugged, mountainous country.</div> <bR> <div> Fourteen countries have lost soldiers in Afghanistan since 2001, including Spain with 19 deaths and Germany with 18.</div> <bR> <div> Despite Canada's heavy toll in 2006, the Canadians didn't suffer the most casualties among foreign troops last year.</div> <bR> <div> Britain suffered 38 deaths. About 200 United States military personnel were killed.</div> <bR> <div> Written by CTV.ca News Staff<I> with files from The Canadian Press</I></div> </tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <div> <A HREF="#top" TITLE="Jan 07"><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>