A perfect day in Toronto

Detail of sculptures outside the Hockey Hall of Fame (Corey Wise/LPI).

Facing off against New York State, far across the slate-grey waters of Lake Ontario, Toronto walks the line between American cultural osmosis and staunch Canadian independence. Masters of this balancing act, Torontonians shift between both worlds with verve,

Yemen parcel bomb 'was 17 minutes from exploding'

One of the two parcel bombs intercepted last week after being sent from Yemen was defused 17 minutes before it was due to explode, France's Interior Minister Brice Hortefeux has said.

Mr Hortefeux was speaking to France-2 television but did not reveal his source for the information.
The two bombs were being sent via air freight to the US but intercepted in Dubai ...

BBC News - In pictures: Qantas Airbus emergency

Irish bond yields hit record high

The Irish Republic faced one of the deepest recessions in the eurozone
Yields on Irish 10-year bonds have reached a new high of 7.69% ahead of a government announcement on plans to cut its huge deficit.The move reflects increasing scepticism about the Republic's ability to tackle its problems without outside help.
Finance Minister Brian Lenihan will reveal later the scale of spending cuts ..

Zimbabwean eaten by lions while having a shower

Conservationists say poaching and illegal hunting in the national parks is upsetting the animals
A Zimbabwean man has been killed by a pride of lions while having a shower in a safari camp near the Zambezi River, a conservationist group has said.It happened last Friday afternoon, but details of the attack in the Mana Pools National Park are still emerging....

Germany's new female rabbi sign of growing Jewish community

The BBC's Stephen Evans meets Alina Treiger

History is being made in Germany with the ordination of the first female rabbi since World War II. Alina Treiger came to Germany from Ukraine, as the BBC's Stephen Evans reports from Berlin.

Why would a Jew migrate to Germany? You would think the ghosts would be too powerful.

Can you trust a leader who cries?

By Olivia Lang, BBC News
Mr Boehner cried during his acceptance speech
Celebrating the Republican - and his own - victory, the incoming speaker of the US House of Representatives John Boehner's voice choked with emotion. "I spent my whole life chasing the American dream. I put myself through school… working every rotten job there was and every night shift I could find," he sobbed.

Sri Lanka to build park for romantic young lovers

By Charles Haviland, BBC News, Colombo
If you must do it, say the authorities, do it in the park

The Sri Lankan government says it will construct a park for romantic young couples who want freedom to be together without being victimised by police.

Rare Afghan gold collection to be displayed in UK

By Quentin Sommerville
BBC News, Kabul
This golden belt is one of the highlights of the hoard

The Afghan government and the UK have signed an agreement allowing a priceless gold collection to go on display at the British Museum.

The "Lost Treasures of Afghanistan" or Bactrian gold will be revealed to the British public next year.

BBC News - Iran holds four 'UK-linked men' for killings, Nov 04, 2010

Iran says it has arrested four men allegedly paid by a man based in Britain to carry out assassinations, an official state TV station reports.

Press TV said the four "Britain-linked terrorists" were detained in the western city of Marivan.

Haiti braced as Tropical Storm Tomas sweeps in

Refugees have been advised to leave the camps, but many have nowhere to go
Haiti has been placed on high alert as a powerful storm sweeps in, threatening thousands of earthquake survivors still living in camps.
Forecasters say Tropical Storm Tomas is gaining strength and will begin to lash Haiti by late Thursday, reaching full force by Friday.

Greek police explode 'bomb' addressed to French embassy

A controlled explosion was carried out and investigators searched the scene for evidence
Police in Athens have carried out a controlled explosion on a suspicious package addressed to the French embassy.
A police spokesman told Reuters news agency it was an "explosive device".
Fourteen packages have been sent to ...

China's Hu Jintao to sign big deals on France visit

French officials say Hu Jintao will commit billions of euros to contracts

France's President Nicolas Sarkozy is set to honour his Chinese counterpart with extravagant state events as he arrives to seal huge business deals.
Hu Jintao is expected to sign billions of euros-worth of contracts with Airbus and French firms including oil firm Total and nuclear engineer Areva.

Serb leader Tadic apologises for 1991 Vukovar massacre, Nov 04, 2010

President Boris Tadic arrived in Vukovar on a ferry which crossed the River Danube

President Boris Tadic has become the first Serbian leader to pay his respects to Croatian victims of a notorious 1991 massacre. During a visit to a memorial to 260 people murdered at  

info@als-alexander.org or interalex1@yahoo.com

Ivory Coast set for presidential election run-off

Laurent Gbagbo (l) prevented Alassane Ouattara (r) from competing in previous polls
The presidential election in Ivory Coast is set to go into a second round after neither of the two top candidates reached 50% of the vote. With all the ballots counted from Sunday's first round, incumbent Laurent Gbagbo won 38% and opposition leader Alassane Ouattara 32%, the election ...

Little Ted's was 'ideal' place for Vanessa George abuse

A Plymouth nursery where a worker sexually abused children "provided an ideal environment" for her to abuse, an inquiry has found.

The review into abuse at Little Ted's nursery found that a lack of formal staff supervision was partly to blame.

Qantas grounds A380s after Singapore emergency landing

The Australian airline Qantas has grounded its six-strong fleet of Airbus A380 airliners after one of the superjumbos made an emergency landing.
Qantas flight QF32 experienced engine trouble shortly after taking off from Singapore on its way to Sydney.
One of the engines exploded with a bang, a passenger told the BBC, and debris was found on an island below.

President Barack Obama invites party leaders to meeting

Barack Obama will have to work with a Republican-controlled House of Representatives
US President Barack Obama has asked Republican and Democratic Congressional leaders to come to a meeting at the White House.
The 18 November meeting will include House Speaker-elect John Boehner, Senate Republican leader Mitch

YAHOO News, Nov 04, 2010

• Election doesn't end major discord for GOP, Obama (AP)
• No clear path for GOP on health care repeal (AP)
• 18 dead found in Mexico mass grave shown in video (AP)
• US officials: Military wants to boost aid to Yemen (AP)
• Obama drops plan to limit global warming gases (AP)
• Plotters didn't know where mail bombs would go off (AP)

» More News

  

Shares, Bonds, Mutual Funds, Stock Exchange

GM’s $10.6 Billion IPO Could be an Enticing Opportunity For Investors

By Don Miller, Associate Editor, Money Morning

General Motors in an initial public offering (IPO) this month will price its shares at a level that could regenerate investor interest, and even throw off generous returns over time.
At least that's the hope of the U.S. government, which is likely to see its taxpayer-owned stake fall to less than the symbolically important 50% level when it sells approximately $7 billion of its shares in the IPO.

Tamil migrant in custody, faces alleged war crimes: government - thestar.com

Migrants are escorted from the M V Sun Sea after it was escorted into CFB Esquimalt in Colwood, B.C., on Aug. 13, 2010.

MAPLE RIDGE, B.C.—One of the 492 Tamil migrants who entered Canada onboard the MV Sun Sea will remain in custody after a government representative alleged the man may have committed war crimes.

Leader of Yemen Al Qaeda branch a master of disguises

 

Leaders of Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, from left to right: military leader Qassim al-Raimi, deputy leader Saeed al-Shihri, leader Nasser al-Wahishi, and Abu al-Hareth Muhammad al-Oufi. (Jan. 23, 2009)
SANAA, YEMEN—Only four years after he and a band of militants made a daring escape from a Sanaa prison, Qassim al-Raimi has become the dominant figure in Al Qaeda’s

Winners and losers

TARSANDS: The Alberta oil patch will be doing cartwheels as the immediate threat of an aggressive Obama climate bill targeting carbon-heavy oilsands bitumen goes nova. Worries that the states will pick up where the feds left off also abate given the Republican takeover of so many governorships.

The tragic history of the private Davis family

The wealthy Davis family valued privacy, but their millions could not buy it. Through violent twists of fate and alleged crimes of greed, their tragedies have played out on front pages for decades.

Volcanic eruption sends Indonesian villagers fleeing

Molten lava flows from the crater of Indonesia's Mount Merapi late Nov. 2, 2010.

Indonesia’s deadly volcano erupted Wednesday with its biggest blast yet, shooting searing ash miles into the sky and forcing the hasty evacuations of panicked villagers and emergency shelters near the base.

Laureen Harper asks Iranian president to block woman’s execution

TBILISI, GA.—Iran’s foreign minister said Wednesday that no final decision has been made in the case of a woman who once faced death by stoning for an adultery conviction, despite reports her execution was imminent.

Coyle: Campbell departure ripples through Queen’s Park

Gordon Campbell, seen in an October file photo, announced his resignation as B.C. premier and called a Liberal leadership convention, saying voter anger over the HST had derailed his government.

Since Canada’s premiers met two Novembers ago in Ottawa to discuss the global economic crisis, four have left the club.

Toronto man wanted in homicide surrenders in South Korea

A Toronto man wanted in connection with a 2007 homicide case has turned himself over to Korean authorities and is facing an extradition hearing.

Toronto police said Sang-Woo Ye, 29, surrendered in South Korea on Oct. 27.

Russia, Afghanistan agree to step up drugs fight

MOSCOW (AFP) - Russian and Afghanistan want to increase cooperation in the fight against drug trafficking despite Afghan anger over a joint US-Russian drugs raid, the Kremlin said on Wednesday.