NEWS IMAGE COLLAGE / for 08-2009

The military needs to hire 8,000 regular forces and 6,000 reservists to support its duties and make up for retirements and other departures, according to Canada's chief of defence staff.

Environment Canada has lifted its tropical storm and storm surge warnings for Newfoundland after tropical storm Bill swept through without causing major damage.

The federal government will go to the Supreme Court in a bid to overturn court rulings that would require Ottawa to press for the return of Canadian Omar Khadr from the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba,

The authorities in the Chinese city of Shanghai are starting a campaign to try to spot and correct badly phrased English on signs in public places.

Hotel bed survey finds Canadians prefer love to rest

The RCMP say they know the identity of the mystery woman who helped reality TV show contestant and murder suspect Ryan Jenkins check into the motel where he died.

Michael Jackson's death has been ruled a homicide by the Los Angeles County coroner, a law enforcement official told The Associated Press.

The Canadian cross-country team cleaned up in the first two events at the New Zealand Winter Games Sunday, sweeping the men's podium and placing first and second in the women's event.

Frustrated by a growing fear and silence among witnesses connected to gang crime, police agencies are asking the province to develop its own witness protection program similar to others across the country.

OTTAWA -- Canadians are telling governments not to let the recession become an excuse for easing up on efforts to protect the environment, a new poll suggests.

MONTREAL -- Guns and hand grenades have nearly wiped out many large animals and fish in Afghanistan.

MONTREAL -- The Navy concluded it had an image problem while preparing for its 100th anniversary, and has decided to change that by launching public-relations exercises aimed at boosting its profile and attracting more recruits.

Retail sales rose greater than expected in June, by one per cent, Statistics Canada reported Monday, a sign that the worst of the recession may be over as Canadians appear willing to start spending again.

VANCOUVER, B.C. - The mother of slain former swimsuit model Jasmine Fiore says the man wanted in her death "took the easy way out."

TORONTO -- The tale of a young Torontonian's disappearance begins with a phone call from the missing man to one of his family members about being followed along a Scarborough street.

TORONTO -- While a cat shot through the chest with an arrow recovered in an animal hospital yesterday, the hunt was on for whoever left the feline near death in a northwestern Toronto neighbourhood.

WINNIPEG -- Maybe she was disappointed the band didn't play Ballbreaker.

Islamic officials in Malaysia have abruptly released a Muslim woman scheduled to be caned this week for drinking beer.

Hurricane Bill made landfall early Monday at Newfoundland's Burin Peninsula with much less punch after knocking out power to thousands of people in Nova Scotia and soaking that province with heavy rain

New details revealed Sunday suggest a young woman may have helped the former Calgary real estate developer turned reality show contestant while he was on the run.

PORTLAND, Maine - A large wave fueled by Hurricane Bill swept spectators out to sea at a Maine park Sunday, as the storm-churned surf attracted onlookers and daredevils along the Eastern Seaboard. Two people were killed

Volunteers partook in an elaborate scavenger hunt Sunday afternoon, attempting to locate every surveillance camera monitoring public streets in downtown Vancouver, B.C.

Hurricane Bill headed for Newfoundland with much less punch Sunday night after knocking out power to thousands of people in Nova Scotia and soaking that province with heavy rain.

VANCOUVER, B.C. - Environmentalists are fuming after learning the federal government has given permission to a U.S. research ship to begin controversial seismic testing in Canadian waters, despite an ongoing court challenge.

Misbehaving celebrities and the recession have pushed more people to improve their etiquette in a bid to gain an edge over job rivals, and inspired lifestyle books such as How to be a Hepburn in a Hilton World.

A former reality TV contestant wanted in the brutal murder of his ex-wife has been found dead, the RCMP said late Sunday, ending an intense manhunt which had spanned both sides of the border.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida - He toiled in California's farm fields alongside his Mexican migrant worker parents and didn't learn English until he was 12. Now Jose Hernandez, NASA astronaut, is about to rocket into orbit

LONDON -- Scotland, unaccustomed to the hot spotlight of international diplomacy, fought to justify its release of the Lockerbie bomber on Sunday, after a U.S. official angrily accused the country of rewarding terrorism.

The 37-year-old Brazilian took advantage of a costly pit-stop error by Lewis Hamilton's McLaren team to record a 10th career win -- his first since the 2004 Chinese GP -- and boost his championship hopes.

One of Canada's long-standing claims to fame in the plant world - the oldest seeds ever to produce a living plant - has been debunked after more than 40 years, a finding likely to force a rewrite of some botany and biology textbooks.

Heavy rains and strong winds are hammering Nova Scotia, knocking out power to thousands of customers as hurricane Bill barrels its way through Atlantic Canada.

VANCOUVER -- Proponents predict it will make air travel in Canada safer than ever. Critics call it a flight plan for disaster.

When Elaine Tanner heard the story of Caster Semenya, the 18-year-old South African runner whose gender is now under scrutiny amid allegations she may be a man, she was immediately transported back to 1968.

CALGARY - Braving highway traffic to help save his mother and brother after a frightening car crash, a seven-year-old boy from Nelson, B.C., is now being hailed a hero.

CALGARY - Calum Graham is back strumming happy tunes after he received a brand-new guitar to replace his old one that got smashed on an Air Canada flight

Undercover peace officers were used this week to ticket smokers caught tossing their butts on the ground in contravention of the city's littering bylaws, the city of Edmonton revealed Thursda

It's been three decades since former Toronto Argonaut Granville Liggins said goodbye to his job as a freewheeling, hard-hitting defensive tackle, a time when he was popular as much for his community profile and rollicking sense of humour, as for his jarri

Store lineups were longer than usual yesterday as Nova Scotians stocked up on food, beverages and other necessities in preparation for the impending arrival of a nasty guest.

Friends and family despair while Canadian government stays mum on kidnapping in Somalia

KABUL - The U.S. special envoy to Afghanistan said Sunday that allegations of vote rigging and fraud are to be expected in the Afghan presidential election but observers should wait for the official complaints process to run its course before judging the

TOLEDO, Ohio -- U.S. researchers are hoping that a surveillance balloon about the size of a two-story house will help decrease western Lake Erie dead zones where decaying algae plants suck up oxygen needed by fish and other wildlife.

VANCOUVER -- Two people in British Columbia are being tested for West Nile virus, which has been detected in the province for the first time, the BC Centre for Disease Control said Saturday.

Climate change is already having a dramatic effect on plants in the High Arctic, turning the once rocky tundra a deep shade of green and creating what could be another mechanism speeding up global warming.

President Hamid Karzai's leading challenger accused him of using the Afghan state to "rig" this week's election and detailed allegations of cheating by government officials in an interview Saturday with The Associated Press.

Hockey Canada released its Red and White rosters Friday, in anticipation for the Canadian Olympic orientation camp, which begins Monday.

Social networking site Twitter may be a phenomenon of the digital age, but an early incarnation may have been invented by the sixth president of the United States some 200 years ago.

Dazed and suffering from apparent amnesia after wandering out of a Seattle park three weeks ago, the mystery man had confounded those trying to learn his identity.

OTTAWA -- Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney questioned Saturday whether central banks can expect to stabilize their economies with mandates focused mainly on controlling inflation.

The province's top court says police use of a digital recording amp-metre without judicial authorization, to determine if there is a marijuana grow operation in a home, violates the homeowner's privacy rights.

TRIPOLI/LONDON -- Britain dismissed suggestions of a link between the Lockerbie bomber's release and energy deals with Libya on Saturday, after Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi embraced the man and thanked Britain for its help.

The hunt for fugitive Ryan Jenkins has resumed after a man detained at Toronto's Pearson Airport turned out not to be the former Calgary real estate developer and reality TV show contestant wanted in the death of his ex-wife in California.

Native leaders and band members of a London-area First Nation are fuming over what some describe as a racist Internet video taken at a local pow-wow that mocks native people, the obese, the disabled and others.

Villagers in this poor community in central Cambodia live hand to mouth, but many dug into their pockets to pay for a funeral yesterday for a 2-day-old calf with a dark, reptilian hide that many believed was holy.

Tell a Torontonian that you are going to the Canadian National Exhibition and they will remind you to eat Tiny Tom Donuts. Here is a baker's dozen of Tiny Trivia you can impress them with.

Sticky air mass, heat, and winds created Thursday's tempest. Here's what happened

PALO ALTO, California -- Scientists trying to unwrap the mysteries of a more than 2,500-year-old mummy believed to be an ancient Egyptian priest conducted computer scans Thursday to help determine how the man died, what was buried with him and what he loo

Hurricane Bill will likely blow into Atlantic Canada's waters on Sunday as a Category 2 storm bringing 150 km/h winds and heavy rain, the Canadian Hurricane Centre said Friday.

A man has been detained by police at Toronto's Pearson International Airport in the hunt for a former Calgary real estate developer and reality TV show contestant wanted in the brutal killing of his ex-wife in California

Blue Bomber pads CFL rushing lead with team record 260-yard effort

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan - The commander of Canadian Forces in Kandahar says he hopes Afghanistan's election ushers in a changed political atmosphere in the war-torn country.

The Green party would work out an Arctic maritime treaty and call for part of the region to be protected from mineral exploration.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper signed off on the federal government's contribution to Yukon Energy Corp.'s $160-million upgrade to its Mayo hydroelectric dam on Friday, the final day of his northern tour

A five-year-old boy struck by lightning on Aug. 12 in Brampton, Ont., has died at Toronto's Hospital for Sick Children.

The first half may have been back and forth, but the Montreal Alouettes were the better team in the second and posted a 34-25 win over the Saskatchewan Roughriders on Friday in Montreal.

Here's a video being distributed by the Louisiana Democratic Party, which was provided to them by a supporter, of Sen. David Vitter (R-LA) explaining how he's supported prescription drug re-importation from Canada, as a means of destroying Canada's prescr

3 seperate vids

An intense lightning storm in the southern Interior of B.C. overnight Thursday sparked an undetermined number of fires, as storm winds also fanned older blazes, forcing dozens of residents from their homes.

Two companies that recently shut down their energy-intensive manufacturing operations in Alberta say they cut their electricity costs in half by moving to other provinces.

CALGARY - I really like Jeanne Moos, the witty, husky-voiced CNN correspondent with a flair for the offbeat and the obscure. But she needs to get out of New York more often.

A member of the Nanaimo Hells Angels, who was arrested after a police raid turned up RCMP and paramedic uniforms, bullet-proof vests and a bank machine at his rural property earlier this summer, is facing weapons-related charges after police raided his so

Dany Heatley says that he feels that his role with the Ottawa Senators has been diminished, and that's the biggest reason why he has asked for the team to trade him.

London police warned Friday that an advertising campaign for a mobile phone operator involving former pickpockets actually slipping money into people's pockets could cause trouble. In the "put-pocketing" stunt for TalkTalk, a total of 100,000 pounds w

More than a century after the Klondike gold rush put Canada's North on the map, scientists are striking it rich thanks to miners past and present, who have exposed "exceptional" evidence of the ancient grassland environment that made Yukon and Alaska a ke

BUENA PARK, Calif. -- Police on the hunt for a reality TV contestant charged with the gruesome murder of his ex-wife were continuing to search the U.S.-Canadian border after the woman's relatives pleaded with his friends and family not to help "an animal"

At least four suspected tornadoes left a trail of debris and damage in several southern Ontario communities, killing one person on Thursday evening, police confirmed Friday.

O'Neal takes Suns star Nash's idea for a reality TV show and runs away with it

TORONTO -- They sought the public's input and the answer was loud and clear -- no money from Baby Kaylee's trust fund should go towards buying her ungrateful parents an SUV.

TORONTO -- Police have charged a 44-year-old bisexual vampire freak with sexually assaulting a child.

There are no silver-bullet fixes for the hijacking threat that dogs 22,000 ships each year off Somalia but the Canadian military is trying to build a pirate detector of sorts that boosts the odds of thwarting these maritime marauders.

'I am on my way to being a legend,' Usain Bolt says after winning gold in the 200-metre final, setting another world-record time of 19.19 seconds

WASHINGTON - July was the hottest month for the world's oceans in almost 130 years of record-keeping.

BEIJING - China has detained two factory officials after 1,300 children were poisoned by pollution from a manganese processing plant, state media reported

After decades of debate, a high-profile squat and years of construction, the renovated Woodwards development in the Downtown Eastside opened its doors Thursday to a handful of new homeowners - and more are soon to come.

VIENNA - Iran has lifted a yearlong ban and allowed U.N. inspectors to visit a nearly completed nuclear reactor as well as granting greater monitoring rights at another atomic site, diplomats said Thursday

Renowned amateur hockey coach Ernie (Punch) McLean has been found alive after being missing in the northern B.C. wilderness for four days.

The woman charged with second-degree murder in the death of 12-year-old John David Fulton made a brief court appearance Thursday in Nelson, B.C.

Two monuments to commemorate Inuit who were relocated to Canada's High Arctic will be unveiled a year later than planned, according to one of the two carvers working on the statues

OTTAWA - Ottawa Senators owner Eugene Melnyk is firing back at BlackBerry billionaire Jim Balsillie.

A tornado has reportedly touched down in the town of Durham, Ont.

While participating in counter piracy operations in the Gulf of Aden, the crew of Palomino 16, a CH-124 Sea King and crew deployed with HMCS Winnipeg, took photos of a Dutch merchant marine ship, the Maersk Kalmar. At the same time the crew of the Dutch s

Because of its willingness to bleed and lead, Canada has gained power, influence and stature. All that could disappear

North Korea said on Thursday it would send a high-ranking delegation to the South to mourn former president Kim Dae-jung in the latest sign of easing tensions with the outside world.

Canada's Conservative government has mishandled the medical isotopes crisis, the Canadian Medical Association's outgoing president charged yesterday.

The Conservatives are breaking their own taboo by starting to call on Canadians to award them a majority government in the next election.

First there were posters beckoning "Join Us," then television ads showing soldiers manning fighter jets and rescue ships. Now, how the military relays its message is changing ranks again -- embracing social media as its newest communication tool.

KABUL - Taliban threats scared voters and dampened turnout in the militant south Thursday as Afghans voted for president for the second time ever. Insurgents killed 26 Afghans in scattered attacks, but officials said militants failed to disrupt the vote

An air traffic controller was joking on the telephone about barbecuing a dead cat minutes before a small plane collided with a tour helicopter over the Hudson River, transcripts obtained Wednesday by The Associated Press show.

A woman faces two criminal charges after a three-month-old baby was found alone in an unlocked car in an eastern Ontario parking lot during an intense heat wave Monday.

Bombardier Aerospace has pulled the plug on a year-old deal to supply Portugal-based Jet Republic with up to 110 Learjets worth $1.5 billion US.

Russian investigators in Moscow began interrogating 11 crew members of the Arctic Sea Thursday to determine whether they were involved in their ship's mysterious hijacking

As government revenues plunge, B.C. taxpayers should brace themselves for a "very, very difficult" budget in two weeks, Finance Minister Colin Hansen is warning.

Hurricane Bill was downgraded to a Category 3 storm early Thursday as it continued to churn in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean on a track headed for Canada's East Coast.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper continued his Arctic tour on Thursday with a visit to the Baffin Island community of Pangnirtung, where he reannounced $17 million already earmarked for construction of a small-craft harbour in the community.

An online petition to dissolve the CRTC has attracted hundreds of signatures in the wake of the regulator's ruling against independent internet providers last week. The petition, at dissolvethecrtc.ca and on Facebook and Twitter, had more than 440 sign

HALIFAX -- The Canadian Hurricane Centre in Nova Scotia has issued its first bulletin about hurricane Bill, confirming the storm will have an impact on Atlantic Canada on Sunday.

Canadian model Liskula Cohen is used to the sometimes catty attitudes of the New York fashion world, but when one woman decided to dig her claws into her in an online blog, Cohen fought back.

In a medical first, Canadian brain surgeons have successfully removed a patient's brain tumour after first practising the surgery using home-grown virtual reality technology.

A Frenchman who inadvertantly caused a bomb scare last weekend aboard an international flight that was diverted to Gander, N.L., has been order to pay nearly $40,000 in penalties.

Alberta is considering paying some doctors more than $500 an hour to treat swine flu patients if there is a pandemic

Three soldiers who recently returned from Afghanistan are in a Quebec hospital with a rare drug-resistant bacteria.