NEWS IMAGE COLLAGE / for 01-2009

VANCOUVER, B.C. - There are reports that the kidnappers of a Canadian freelance journalist taken in Pakistan have made ransom demands.

Since the great melt began on B.C.'s south coast, nobody's been busier than road workers.

The Israeli air force dropped pamphlets in the Gaza Strip Saturday to warn residents of government plans to escalate its two-week offensive against Hamas.

TOKYO - As diners sit down to lunches of whale meat in Tokyo and elsewhere across the nation, Japan's whaling fleet is on its annual hunt in the Antarctic, drawing protests from environmental groups, international governments and whale-lovers worldwide. S

At the top of the league standings, the Sharks (30-5-5) have won three of their last five games. Their most recent outing was a 4-1 road win over the Edmonton Oilers on Friday.

A lobster believed to be some 140 years old is to be freed from the confines of a tank at a New York restaurant.

String of soldiers' deaths prompts new look at Canadian tactics

Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff caught by Geri Hall from This Hour has 22 minutes.

Ken Lewis took over as Canada's representative in the province, which is where most of Canada's troops in Afghanistan are deployed, at a ceremony held at Kandahar Airfield.

MOGADISHU, Somalia - Five of the Somali pirates who released a hijacked oil-laden Saudi supertanker drowned with their share of a reported $3 million ransom after their small boat capsized, a pirate and port town resident said Saturday.

Untreated sewage has been pouring into some Metro Vancouver waterways as a result of heavy rainfall and melting snow combined with an old system of waste water pipes, an official said Friday.

VALCARTIER, Que. -- Federal Defence Minister Peter MacKay defended Friday a $274-million contract awarded to a U.S.-based company for the purchase of 1,300 logistic trucks for the Canadian military.

An international team of researchers claims to have cracked a key mystery surrounding the arrival of humans in North America around the end of the last Ice Age -- the story of the first Canadians.

The Defence Department is building an equipment depot in British Columbia to improve how the Ottawa-based Joint Task Force 2 counter-terrorism unit responds to threats on the West Coast.

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan - Canada's biggest engineering firm, which for decades has operated in some of the world's hot spots, has been selected to refurbish a derelict Afghan dam that has been billed as one of Canada's "signature projects" in Afghanistan.

Canadian helicopter pilots have begun flying training missions over Afghanistan, practicing tactical manoeuvres, tricky landings and flying through enemy fire -- all scenarios they are likely to face when transporting troops in the coming months.

Mats Sundin took a bad penalty late in his home debut for the Vancouver Canucks, and the St. Louis Blues capitalized on the power play for the winning goal in a 6-4 win.

Vancouver taxpayers could be on the hook for $875 million for building the 2010 athletes village if the builders and their bankers can't make a new deal.

The death toll from a strong earthquake that rocked Costa Rica has risen to 14 with at least 22 people still missing, the Red Cross said Friday.

Federal Defence Minister Peter MacKay announced Friday $274 million for the purchase of 1,300 vehicles for the military.

The military is looking for more than 2 million rounds of ammunition for Soviet guns, a curious purchase experts say appears destined for the weapons of Afghan soldiers under the charge of the Canadian army in Kandahar.

SOUTH POLE, ANTARCTICA -- A trio of Canadian adventurers spent more than a month trudging through dizzying whiteouts and knee-deep snow to break the world record for the fastest unsupported journey across Antarctica to the South Pole.

What has a maximum range of approximately 5,500 nautical miles, can carry a payload of up to 160,000 pounds?

DAWSON CREEK, B.C. - A police investigation into four pipeline bombings in the Dawson Creek area is being thwarted by a group of unco-operative residents opposed to gas exploration, say RCMP.

WASHINGTON -- The Jurassic version of jumbo jets -- huge flying creatures weighing hundreds of pounds -- is a mystery of dinosaur-era flight: How did something so big get off the ground? A Johns Hopkins University biologist thinks he has figured out the a

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Country star Merle Haggard has sued an environmental awareness group, claiming it illegally used his name and likeness to raise money.

SAN JOSE, Costa Rica -- A strong earthquake shook Costa Rica on Thursday, killing a child and sending frightened residents running into the streets

SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. -- An earthquake has struck Southern California, with shaking felt from San Bernardino to Los Angeles 90 kilometres to the west and south to Orange County.

After days of negotiations between Canada and the Israeli government, 48 Canadians were allowed to leave the Gaza Strip Thursday to begin their journey home.

The head of a B.C. religious sect facing criminal charges for practicing polygamy says he's the victim of religious persecution at the hands of provincial prosecutors.

Chilliwack's mayor, Sharon Gaetz, signed the declaration of State of Location Emergency Order for the area west of Lickman Road to the Vedder Canal; south to the Vedder Canal; and, north to the Trans Canada Highway.

Higher global temperatures forecast for the rest of this century will lead to major disruptions in the world food supply unless farmers can adapt to the changing climate, U.S. researchers say.

The 2009 Pemberton Music Festival has been cancelled, the mayor of Pemberton, B.C., confirmed Thursday.

The army wants as many as 17 long-range rocket launchers to add to its stock of towed howitzers. Public Works posted a notice Dec. 23 asking defence contractors for letters of interest, a preliminary step in the tendering process.

Canada Border Services Agency officers at the Coutts border crossing said they seized 10 semi-automatic handguns, including one semi-automatic machine pistol, 11 high-capacity magazines and 300 rounds of ammunition while examining a vehicle last Saturday.

Ballmer announced that Microsoft is releasing a beta version of Windows 7, which will be available for download beginning Friday. The news suggests the world's largest software maker may be giving up efforts to rehabilitate its often-maligned Vista operat

Winston Blackmore, a religious leader of the polygamous community of Bountiful, in the B.C. Interior, shares a laugh with six of his daughters and some of his grandchildren in April last year. (Jonathan Hayward/Canadian Press) You have to see the Pic!!!

Victoria police were checking old files Wednesday to see whether a Wisconsin man who claimed to be a psychic and approached the families of abducted children in the United States also contacted the family of missing boy Michael Dunahee.

Man's home contained poster of missing B.C. boy, local media said

More than 38 years after a 12-year-old girl went missing in the Northern Ontario town of Kirland Lake, her cousin has been charged with her killing.

It was a debut nine months in the making and, while he didn't register a point, Mats Sundin certainly didn't look out of place.

Thanks to a December 5th ruling by the Copyright Board of Canada, effective January 1st of this year, the tax on blank compact discs (CD's) in Canada rose 40% from 21 cents per disc to 29 cents per disc.

Mats Sundin's long-awaited debut for the Vancouver Canucks will finally happen Wednesday night

A judge has granted a sentencing circle for the Saskatchewan man whose two daughters froze to death on Yellow Quill First Nation last year.

Calgary's police chief vowed to crack down on gangs following a New Year's Day shooting at a restaurant that killed three men, including an innocent bystander

Environmentalists launched a private prosecution Wednesday against Syncrude Canada over the death of about 500 ducks in a tailings pond north of Fort McMurray, Alta., in April 2008

The late Sandra Schmirler, who captured three world curling championships and Olympic gold before succumbing to cancer in 2000, was named the winner of the 2009 World Curling Freytag Award on Wednesday.

A Canadian soldier was killed by a roadside bomb in the northern part of Afghanistan's Kandahar province early Wednesday, say military officials.

Several conditions were placed on Semrau's release, including surrendering his passport, remaining in the country and not communicating with Afghan National Army troops

After the Minister of National Defence announced in November that Canada would deploy eight CH-146 Griffon helicopters as part of the Joint Task Force - Afghanistan (JTF-Afg) - Air Wing, 1 Wing Kingston, Ont., began preparing the aircraft for the deployme

TORONTO -- A Mississauga man is facing first-degree murder charges in what sources say could be the "honour murder" of his daughter-in-law who was killed in a Malton grocery store on New Year's Day.

Battles between Israeli soldiers and Hamas militants resumed in Gaza on Wednesday immediately after the end of a three-hour truce to allow humanitarian aid to enter the Palestinian territory, according to residents.

The U.S. government will hand over millions of dollars to compensate the B.C. fishing industry for dramatic cuts to salmon fisheries.

Vancouver Canucks goaltender Roberto Luongo may be injured, but he was recognized as an all-star on Wednesday as the reserves for the Western Conference were named.

Dinosaur Provincial Park in Alberta, Niagara Falls and Lake Superior will be competing with more than 200 spectacular places around the world in the next phase of a competition to name the New 7 Wonders of Nature, organizers said Wednesday.

Southern B.C. woke up to another day of weather woes on Wednesday morning, as heavy rains melted snow, leading to flooded roads.

A Canadian army captain accused of shooting and killing a severely-wounded insurgent after a deadly battle in Afghanistan could be released from a military prison on Wednesday.

At least three roofs in Metro Vancouver gave way to the weight of melting snow Tuesday amid heavy rainfall and warmer temperatures. But no one was injured.

U.S. police have found a "missing person" poster of a Victoria boy who disappeared almost 18 years ago at the Milwaukee home of a possible child killer

The Stooges guitarist Ron Asheton has been found dead at his home in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

Apple is offering millions of songs free of copy protection on its iTunes digital music store, allowing the music to be played on any device.

At least 34 people were killed Tuesday when an Israeli bombardment struck near a United Nations school where hundreds of Palestinians had taken shelter.

The majority of people polled by Angus Reid Strategies want Canadian troops out of Afghanistan before 2011. This view is shared by some people in the riding of Northumberland-Quinte West, says local MP Rick Norlock, but it's not really possible to achieve

Our galaxy is much bigger than once thought, according to research presented at a major astronomy meeting this week. The results suggest the Milky Way is roughly the same size as Andromeda, the largest galaxy in our local group.

Polar bears in the western Arctic are finding it increasingly difficult to find food during the critical spring period, a recent study suggests.

Rainfall forecasted for B.C.'s south coast for the next few days has residents breathing a sign of relief -- and retiring their snow shovels after nearly two weeks of snowfall.

Israeli forces edged closer to densely populated areas on Tuesday despite the international community's call for a ceasefire to end the growing humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

Mats Sundin could make his Vancouver Canucks debut as early as Wednesday in Edmonton against the Oilers.

Canadian Forces captain charged in the death of an unarmed man in Afghanistan will attend the military equivalent of a bail hearing at an eastern Ontario base on Tuesday.

There are reports that at least 20 Palestinians have already been killed Tuesday in ongoing fighting in Gaza, with the death-toll now rising well over 500.

Canada's world junior hockey team defeated Sweden 5-1 to claim its fifth straight championship Monday night, in front of thousands of roaring fans in Ottawa.

MONTREAL - Two Montreal police detectives who went to a west-end apartment building Monday afternoon came face-to-face with a gun-toting man who answered his door.

Canadians will "fall in love" with the personalities of their 2010 Olympic athletes as they learn more about their drive, their passion and their commitment to sport, says the president of Canada's Olympic Broadcast Media Consortium.

A number of Canadians attempting to flee from the violence in the Gaza Strip with the help of the Canadian and Israeli governments remain stranded in the territory after it was deemed too dangerous to cross the border into Israel.

Centre Cody Hodgson, drafted 10th overall by the Canucks last summer, had two goals and an assist to lead Canada to its fifth straight world junior championship with a 5-1 win over Sweden.

KABUL, Afghanistan - The Taliban have long exaggerated their military successes, but their recent claim that they killed more than 5,000 foreign troops in Afghanistan last year may be the militia's most startling yet.

Nikita Filatov scored his seventh and eighth goals of the tournament to lead Russia to a 5-2 win over Slovakia in the bronze-medal game at the world junior hockey championship Monday in Ottawa.

WASHINGTON -- Take that, Andromeda! For decades, astronomers thought when it came to the major galaxies in Earth's cosmic neighborhood, our Milky Way was a weak sister to the larger Andromeda. Not anymore.

Defending world junior champs must maintain focus, tight defensive play in final

Hundreds of family members, friends and teammates gathered in Port Perry, Ont., Monday morning for the funeral of senior hockey player Don Sanderson.

Commuters trying to get back to school and work Monday morning will be forced to deal with the aftermath of Sunday evening's surprise snowstorm, and are being warned to expect delays and huge crowds if they use public transit.

A fourth explosion occurred at an EnCana Corporation natural gas facility in northeastern B.C, just east of Dawson Creek.

Four men who were kicked out of Grouse Mountain Resort and banned for venturing out of bounds in front of camera crews last week were back on the slopes Sunday -- at Whistler.

Less than four months after gunmen assassinated the highest-ranking female police officer in Afghanistan, members of the unit she founded are trying to continue her mission despite death threats.

Canada's Ivan Babikov won the seventh and last leg of the men's cross-country Tour de Ski in Val di Fiemme, Italy, on Sunday.

The United States, fourth at last year's world junior hockey championship, eked out a 3-2 overtime win over the Czech Republic in Sunday's fifth-place game at Ottawa.

James Neal of the Dallas Stars beat Jason LaBarbera with a low shot under the blocker in round five of the shootout Sunday night to spoil a spectacular night for the newly acquired Vancouver Canucks goalie

A wicked combination of snow and cold blasted its way into Manitoba Sunday after setting record winds chills of -50 C in Saskatchewan the night before.

The Canadian Avalanche Centre's rare special warning continued Sunday as the avalanche threat throughout the province remained high.

After watching his team beat Sweden 4-2 in a December 19 exhibition game, Team Canada coach Pat Quinn acknowledged that the Swedish side was still probably the pre-tournament favourite - with an asterisk.

OTTAWA -- A deal to repatriate a huge collection of rare Canadian art from England nearly fell apart as the selling family grew frustrated with the slow response of officials in Ottawa.

While Marty Turco has struggled this NHL season, the Dallas goaltender usually performs well against his team's next opponent.

More earthquakes are rattling Yellowstone National Park.

BAGHDAD -- A female suicide bomber blew herself up on Sunday among a crowd of pilgrims worshipping at a revered Shiite shrine in northern Baghdad, killing at least 38 people

Israeli troops and tanks cut swaths through the Gaza Strip early Sunday, surrounding its biggest city and effectively cutting the territory in two, as the offensive against Hamas gained momentum

Jordan Eberle scored two goals and the shootout winner to end another classic showdown as Canada edged Russia 6-5 in their semifinal game at the World Junior Hockey Championship

Snow continued to fall in Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley on Saturday, with more snowfall expected throughout the weekend.

Snow drifts and wind chills as cool as -45 C gripped the Prairie provinces Saturday as travel warnings were issued in some areas and plows began to clear up to 25 centimetres of new snow in southern Saskatchewan.

PASADENA, Calif. -- Five years after the NASA rover Spirit landed on Mars, the six-wheel robotic geologist and its twin Opportunity are still on the job.

A column of Israeli military vehicles and soldiers has entered the Gaza Strip, after artillery units and warplanes hammered the border area and attacked more Hamas targets.

A suicide pact between a Quebec couple resulted in the deaths of the father and three children, police alleged on Saturday, as relatives suggested financial strain on the couple was a factor in the tragedy.

Sweden scored three goals in a four-minute, 28-second span in the third period to erase a 2-1 deficit on the way to a 5-3 semifinal win over Slovakia at the world junior hockey championship

British actor Matt Smith has been unveiled as the new Doctor Who, making him the youngest person to portray the popular time traveller in the TV series' 45-year history.

A strong earthquake in remote eastern Indonesia cut power lines, cracked building walls and sent panicked residents running out of their homes toward higher ground early Sunday, authorities and witnesses said.

Majority, especially in Quebec, want troops out before scheduled departure in 2011, poll finds

OTTAWA -- As if the Bank of Canada doesn't have enough to worry about, a new report says there's been a surge of counterfeit banknotes in circulation.

SPARWOOD, B.C. -- As many as 7,000 people are expected to jam a hockey arena and curling rink in this tiny mining town Sunday to say goodbye to eight local men who were swept to their deaths while snowmobiling last weekend.

Canadian military officials in Afghanistan say there was no cover up in their probe into the alleged murder of a presumed Taliban insurgent in Afghanistan in October.

An Israeli air strike in the Gaza Strip has killed a senior commander of Hamas, the armed wing of the political group said Saturday.

The Canadian Forces is looking to spend at least $50 million on a new radar to warn troops about incoming rockets and mortar bombs.

The military decided not to use Auroras for surveillance over Afghanistan out of fears it would wear out the aging long-range patrol aircraft.

With a rumble of tires on tarmac, Hercules number 130308 - Herc 308 to friends - rolls steadily to a stop at Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan, no surprise with this veteran aircraft. On this trip, Herc 308 became the grand-daddy of the Canadian Forces' tact

Tomas Tatar scored twice and goaltender Jaroslav Janus stood on his head all afternoon to lead Slovakia to a huge 5-3 upset over the United States in the medal round at the world junior hockey championships in Ottawa on Friday.

Russia will compete in its fifth consecutive semifinal game at the world junior hockey championship when it takes on longtime rival Canada on Saturday in Ottawa (7:30 p.m. ET).