NEWS IMAGE COLLAGE / for 04-2009

A massive "out of control" forest fire is burning within the city limits of Halifax and has already badly damaged a number of homes and is threatening more.

Canada and the province of Ontario will jointly own a two per cent equity stake in the newly restructured Chrysler. In exchange, the governments will provide $2.42 billion in financing to the struggling automaker.

A speeding car raced toward an open bus carrying Dutch Queen Beatrix and her family during a holiday parade Thursday and plowed into spectators, killing four people and injuring 13 others, authorities said.

Tory insiders say the party is hatching a survival plan to keep the surging Liberals at bay and delay any potential election long enough to enjoy the international limelight at the 2010 Winter Games in Vancouver.

In honour of Lost's 100th episode tonight (on ABC and A at 9 p.m.) our entertainment staff who are fans of the show brainstormed 100 questions. They range from the large (Why does the island keep moving?) to the small (How come the Dharma Initiative food

Pope fiction creates uproar as filmmakers accused of sending fake tourists inside Vatican to take pictures

Red tape bars immigrants who could end skills shortage

Julie Couillard's infamously revealing dress sold at a charity auction on Tuesday night for $1,000.

Two SUVs glide quickly into the west-end cul-de-sac and abruptly pull up to the curb. Three armed men leap out and silently make a B-line for one of the homes, pulling off their jackets to reveal body armour emblazoned with a single word: "SHERIFF."

The puck drops on the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs on Thursday night when the Vancouver Canucks host the Chicago Blackhawks in Game 1 of their Western Conference semifinal series on CBC's Hockey Night in Canada.

On paper, there appears to be very little separating the Vancouver Canucks and Chicago Blackhawks as the NHL clubs set to begin their clash in the Western Conference semifinal Thursday night (CBC, CBCSports.ca, 9 p.m. ET) at GM Place.

The upcoming contest between the Vancouver Canucks and the Chicago Blackhawks is what people are talking about around the water cooler, not BC Liberals, the NDP of British Columbia, or the Green Party of B.C.

SOLEDAD, Calif. -- At least four people are dead and dozens injured in a tour bus crash on a Central California highway overpass, authorities said Tuesday.

Despite all the economic doom and gloom permeating the news, Toronto's bar and club businesses seem to be doing as well as ever, if not better.

TTC head hails decision to go ahead with Bombardier-built light-rail vehicles

The American Hockey League (AHL) board of directors has approved the move of the Flames farm team from Moline, Illinois, to Abbotsford. The team will begin playing in Abbotsford next season.

Scientists say a faint burst of radiation discovered last week is the remnant of a massive stellar explosion that took place more than 13 billion years ago, or only about 630 million years after the big bang.

The Canadian team is firing on all cylinders at the men's world hockey championship. Shea Weber scored one of Canada's five power-play goals and added three assists Tuesday en route to a 7-3 victory over Slovakia in Kloten, Switzerland.

The number of Canadians confirmed to have suffered mild cases of the human form of swine flu swelled to 13 on Tuesday, with new cases reported in Alberta, Ontario and British Columbia.

First, they lost the war of attrition. Then they lost focus, poise, character and, predictably, the series. Now they're going to lose their coach, several assistants, a pile of season-ticket holders and the previously unquestioned faith Darryl Sutter has

Alberta will take in more money from gambling than it will from oilsands royalties, according to provincial budget forecasts for 2009-10.

The hopes of producing the first Canadian Stanley Cup champion since 1993 now rest firmly on the shoulders of Roberto Luongo and the Vancouver Canucks.

A pilot was marched off his plane and arrested for being over the alcohol limit moments before he was set to take off from Heathrow Airport.

VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) - If Roberto Luongo gets any trophy recognizing his goaltending excellence this year, the Stanley Cup is going to have to do.

They didn't go down quietly in these Stanley Cup playoffs, but the Calgary Flames' season finally ended Monday night at the Pengrowth Saddledome.

Governor-General Michaelle Jean is calling for intensified energy cooperation with Ukraine, including in the nuclear sphere, to help it achieve energy self-sufficiency.

Canadian forward Scottie Upshall has been suspended one game following his actions in a 9-0 win over Hungary at the World Hockey Championships on Sunday.

The World Health Organization raised its global pandemic alert from Level 3 to Level 4 on Monday, meaning the global health body feels the virus causing the swine flu outbreak can easily transmit between people

Capitals tough guy Donald Brashear will miss Tuesday's Game 7 against the New York Rangers and five additional contests should Washington advance to Round 2 of the Stanley Cup playoffs.

Electric car maker's shares soar after partner hails test results as `huge milestone' in groundbreaking battery it's developing

It's feared thousands of Tim Hortons customers in Newmarket may have been exposed to hepatitis A by two employees who are believed to have contracted the highly contagious virus.

By the time Team Canada needed a second hand to count the goals it scored against Hungary, the players toned down their celebrations. No more raising the stick in the air when a muted tap of the gloves would suffice.

ILLAHUN, Egypt - Egyptian archeologists Sunday unveiled mummies, brightly painted sarcophagi and dozens of ancient tombs carved into a rocky hill in a desert oasis south of Cairo.

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan - The commander of the Royal 22e Regiment in Afghanistan says Canadians need to be reminded of why their soldiers are fighting in the war-torn country.

Most British Columbians know well the names of the man-made behemoths that straddle their rivers and produce hydroelectricity: the W.A.C. Bennett, Keenleyside, Mica and Revelstoke dams.

Federal health officials have confirmed six cases of human swine influenza in British Columbia and Nova Scotia and are warning more cases are likely in the near future

Gzowski, a documentary film-maker and former official videographer for the Liberal leader, was blamed -- some say scapegoated -- when Dion flubbed a golden opportunity to sell the merits of a coalition government to millions of Canadians via a televised a

I'm angry as hell. I'm not angry at my union, they've done an incredible job. I'm angry at a government. A government that has used a heavy hand -- Mr. Clement and Mr. Bryant, the provincial government as well -- to force workers to give up things that th

ROME -- An Italian cruise ship with 1,500 people on board fended off a pirate attack far off the coast of Somalia when its Israeli private security forces exchanged fire with the bandits and drove them away, the commander said Sunday.

The Chicago Blackhawks have kept the home-ice trend going in their series with a 5-1 win over the Calgary Flames at the United Center on Saturday to take Game 5.

A suicide bombing that killed five Afghan police officers and wounded nine others Saturday in Kandahar shows why Canadian troops are so badly needed there, said Defence Minister Peter MacKay.

The NHL has suspended New York Rangers head coach John Tortorella for one game over a dispute involving a fan in Game 5, Friday night in Washington.

"We have to find a solution to our garbage problem, and the only one that's left standing is exporting to the United States," she said Friday. The move to the U.S. would allow the region to export more than 600,000 tonnes of waste annually until an altern

HALIFAX, N.S. - The majority of commercial and private aircraft in Canada are flying with emergency locator beacons that use an outmoded satellite frequency, effectively silencing a lifeline that tells searchers where a plane is if it crashes or needs hel

A mass gathering of beluga whales off St. Anthony, on Newfoundland's northern coast, caught residents by surprise Saturday morning.

Arthur died peacefully at her Los Angeles home with her family at her side, family spokesman Dan Watt said. She had cancer, Watt said, declining to give further details.

The leaders of British Columbia's two major political parties hit the campaign trail in different parts of the province on Saturday.

VANCOUVER -- When an old-growth maple tree falls in the majestic woods of British Columbia's Burnaby Mountain, does it make a sound? Yes . . . but only once it's been transformed into a guitar.

Take 20 wallets. Fill each with $43.77 (enough change for a TTC ride and a little extra for good measure), photo ID, baby pictures, a grocery list, receipts, a contact number, an ATM card, a fancy hankie and a handwritten love note. Now "lose" the wall

Investigators have begun a probe into the death of a Canadian soldier whose body was found Thursday afternoon in her room at Kandahar airfield.

A Canadian who authorities allege is the head of a gang they say is behind increasing violence and targeted killings in southern British Columbia has agreed to plead guilty to U.S. federal charges related to a massive drug conspiracy.

Legal arguments over whether Canada's Charter of Rights and Freedoms applies to the Vancouver Olympic organizing committee, known as VANOC, are at the crux of a B.C. Supreme Court case that wrapped up Friday.

431 Air Demonstration Squadron-better known as the Canadian Forces Snowbirds-based at 15 Wing Moose Jaw, Sask., is getting ready to kick off the 2009 air show season.

Canadian politicians and scientists signed a declaration yesterday defending the Canadian seal hunt, as former Beatle Paul McCartney called on the European Parliament to adopt a ban on the seal trade.

SAANICH, B.C. - A Saanich, B.C., police officer who responded to a suspicious persons call probably wishes he hadn't after he stumbled upon two naked adults in a garbage dumpster.

General Motors is preparing to announce that the Pontiac car brand, once marketed as GM's "Excitement division," will be killed off, according to a source familiar with the decision.

Details aren't available yet, but one analyst said earlier that Chrysler's Canadian operations should suffer minimally as the company struggles to survive.

"Well, some of the 9-11 hijackers did come through Canada, as you know," McCain, last year's Republican presidential candidate, said on Fox News on Friday.

Steven Stamkos scored a pair of goals in his first World Championship game - one a converted pass from fellow 19-year-old Drew Doughty - and was named Player of the Game as Canada escaped from penalty trouble in the second period and routed Belarus 6-1.

Soldiers from Canada and around the world bid a final farewell to Maj. Michelle Mendes, as her flag-draped casket was lifted onto a military transport on the tarmac of Kandahar Airfield.

WASHINGTON - A second try is about to get under way at sending a little yellow submarine, about five feet long, gliding across the Atlantic Ocean to collect scientific data from beneath the waves.

OTTAWA -- The Supreme Court of Canada will not hear an appeal of a lower court ruling that effectively loosened Ottawa's control over access to medicinal marijuana.

Canadians who have recently returned from Mexico should be on alert for flu-like symptoms that could be connected to a severe respiratory illness, federal health officials said Thursday in issuing a travel advisory.

The effect is stunning, a total surprise. It's like finding yourself, without warning, facing the bleak landscape of another planet. The whole thing can be summed up in two words: dust and noise. It's chaos in perpetual motion

A day of piracy ended badly for seven men who unwisely attacked a Norwegian oil tanker in the Gulf of Aden, near coalition and NATO warships conducting counter-piracy operations.

Vancouver police say they have dismantled one of the city's most violent gangs after arresting six alleged members of the Sanghera crime group in South Vancouver on Wednesday.

Worrying about rent and car insurance slows Regan Lauscher down on the luge track.

A former Hells Angel turned informant, whose co-operation with police led to a massive crackdown on Quebec's most notorious biker gang this spring, will earn nearly $3 million for snitching on his comrades.

The Canadian Press Harris-Decima survey indicates that 30 per cent of respondents nationwide are less likely to vote Liberal in the next election as a result of the party leader's reflections on taxes last week; only 16 per cent are more likely to support

Eric Nystrom broke a 4-4 deadlock with 6:56 remaining, and the Calgary Flames held on to beat the Chicago Blackhawks 6-4 in Game 4 of their Western Conference quarter-final at the Pengrowth Saddledome on Wednesday night.

Astronomers are puzzled by a strange giant space "blob" spotted when the universe was relatively young

CAIRO -- Archaeologists exploring an old military road in the Sinai have unearthed four new temples amidst the 3,000-year-old remains of an ancient fortified city that could have been used to impress foreign delegations visiting Egypt, antiquities authori

Prime Minister Stephen Harper confirmed Wednesday that two Canadian diplomats held hostage by African militants for four months have been freed.

Michael Ryder scored twice and added an assist on Wednesday night, giving the Boston Bruins a playoff series sweep and bringing a resounding end to the centennial season of the Montreal Canadiens.

The pilot of the CanJet plane hijacked in Jamaica issued a statement for the first time on Wednesday, saying the ordeal forced him and his crew to live through one of their "worst nightmares."

The fossil remains of a flipper-free mammal related to modern seals have been discovered in Nunavut by Ottawa researchers who stumbled upon them after their ATV ran out of gas.

The founder of the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps is expected to announce his intentions to challenge Republican US Sen.

The Vancouver Canucks are the first team to advance to the second round of the 2009 Stanley Cup playoffs.

British Columbia is the greenest province in Canada while Prince Edward Island is the least environmentally friendly, according to a nationwide report set for release on Wednesday, which is Earth Day.

Ignatieff will deliver an off-the-record keynote address on Afghanistan on Thursday to an exlusive group of U.S. policymakers that includes Richard Holbrooke, the president 's special envoy to Pakistan and Afghanistan, Liberal insiders say.

The manhunt is over; police say they've caught the man known as the Craigslist killer -- and that's he's originally from Central New York. ...

President Barack Obama said on Tuesday that he'lll leave decision to Eric Holder on whether to pursue torture-related charges

The researchers from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine say overweight people cause excess greenhouse gas emissions because they eat more than thin people and are more likely to travel by car.

When the charge was first laid, the married father of two suggested there was more to the story and said he would rely on the justice system to air the facts. The Crown has opted to proceed summarily against him, meaning the allegations are considered

Linking specific weather events, like Hurricane Katrina, to global warming is bad science

The armed gunman who hijacked a CanJet plane in Jamaica was captured after tactical officers used a cockpit window to board the aircraft, CTV News has learned.

BEIJING -- The Great Wall of China is even greater than once thought.

HATFIELD, England -- Scientists have discovered a planet outside our solar system that is close to Earth in size -- far different from the behemoths previously detected, researchers said Tuesday.

The family of renowned physicist Stephen Hawking expects him to recover fully from a chest infection that has left him hospitalized, Cambridge University said in a statement Tuesday.

Yes, the Vancouver Canucks enjoy a 3-0 lead over the St. Louis Blues in their Western Conference quarter-final.

GENEVA -- Dozens of Western diplomats walked out of a U.N. conference and a pair of rainbow-wigged protesters threw clown noses at Iran's president Monday when the hard-line leader called Israel the "most cruel and repressive racist regime."

Brent Butt, Don McKellar and the This Hour Has 22 Minutes team are among the winners at the annual Writers Guild of Canada Screenwriting Awards.

Communities along the Beaufort Sea will have a new, cheaper option for shipping up goods from southern Canada this summer, when the Northern Transportation Company Ltd. launches a West Coast barge route from Richmond, B.C.

Responsibility for Canadian Forces Station Alert-- the most northern, permanently inhabited location in the world-changed hands on April 1, 2009.

ST. JOHN'S, N.L. -- Canada does not acknowledge France's claim to a larger, potentially energy-rich swath of the Atlantic seabed for St-Pierre-Miquelon, an archipelago south of Newfoundland, Prime Minister Stephen Harper said Monday.

The prime ministers of Canada and Jamaica heaped praise on Jamaican troops Monday for their handling of a hijacked of Canadian charter flight that ended with the rescue of six crew members and the arrest of a gunman.

The Calgary Flames have never come back to win a playoff series in which they trailed 2-0, but they took a first step toward ending that trend Monday night.

High-profile cannabis activist Marc Emery, president of the B.C. Marijuana Party, endorsed the Greens back in February and has said his party won't field candidates against the Greens in the May 12 provincial election.

Thousands of marijuana enthusiasts came together in front of the Vancouver Art Gallery Monday to celebrate April 20th -- better known by weed smokers as 4/20.

HALIFAX, N.S. - The eight crew members of CanJet Flight 918 were heartily praised for their calm professionalism Monday as details emerged of their harrowing encounter with an armed hijacker on the tarmac of a Jamaican airport.

Michael Ryder haunted his former club on Monday night, scoring the key goal to help put the Boston Bruins on the verge of a sweep of the Montreal Canadiens in their first-round Stanley Cup playoff series.

Dozens of Canadians who were among 159 passengers held hostage aboard a plane in Jamaica have arrived back home, while others are forging ahead with their vacations.

Top officials at Chrysler Financial turned away a $750 million government loan because executives didn't want to abide by new federal limits on pay, sources familiar with the matter say.

Americans haven't always had a love affair with borrowing and credit. Stephen Smith reports on how General Motors and the automobile paved the way for consumer credit nearly a century ago.

An ad network that lets users profit from Twitter is making it harder to distinguish between autobiography and advertising on the social networking site.