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Abbey Westbury
English youth academy player charged with stabbing murder of 15-year-old girl
LONDON – An English youth academy player has been charged with the stabbing murder of a 15-year-old girl last weekend.
Cougars again spreading across US Midwest, a century after nearly wiped out
ST. LOUIS – Cougars are again spreading across the U.S. Midwest a century after they were hunted to near extinction in much of the region, a new study says.
A Chinese man sentenced to death for counterfeit currency worth US$31 million
BEIJING, China – Chinese state media say a man has been sentenced to death for forging currency worth tens of millions of dollars.
British police arrest 76 people in 2 days of raids targeting pedophiles
LONDON – Police raided homes and properties of dozens of suspected pedophiles, arresting 76 people — including a retired teacher and a scout leader.
Vatican gives traditionalists proposal for reconciliation in a bid to end schism
VATICAN CITY – The Vatican has formally proposed a way to reconcile with a breakaway group of ultra-traditionalist Catholics in a final bid to end a quarter-century of schism, offering it a special legal status in the church currently enjoyed only by the conservative Opus Dei movement.
Germany bans Islamic Salafist organization amid raids across the country
BERLIN – German authorities launched a nationwide crackdown Thursday on an ultraconservative Islamic organization, raiding homes, meeting halls and mosques, while banning one related group and opening in an investigation of two others.
Court hears duress defence appeal in Nova Scotia spousal abuse case
OTTAWA – The Supreme Court of Canada is being urged to ensure the so-called battered woman’s defence doesn’t include the hiring of a hit man to kill an abusive spouse.
Ontario legislature adjourns today; returns Wednesday for crucial budget vote
TORONTO – The Ontario legislature adjourns today, but politicians can’t begin their summer break just yet.
Bank of Canada warns European crisis could have substantial impact on Canada
OTTAWA – The Bank of Canada continues to warn that the high level of household debt and overvalued real estate in this country have left the economy vulnerable if a financial shock erupts in Europe.
Before democracy activist Aung San Suu Kyi: A look at previous no-show Nobel Prize winners
HELSINKI – On Saturday, Aung San Suu Kyi, the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize laureate, will give her much-awaited Nobel Lecture at Oslo City Hall, 21 years late. The Myanmar democracy activist, held under house arrest by the military-led government for 15 years, was unable to accept her award at the time and it was handed over to her 18-year-old son. Suu Kyi arrives in Oslo on Friday on the Norwegian leg of her European tour — her first visit to the continent in 24 years.
Air India bomber appeals perjury conviction for testimony at 2003 trial
VANCOUVER – An Air India bomber who received Canada’s longest perjury sentence is appealing the conviction in a Vancouver court.
Charest upset over Fete nationale act; says he’s had enough with talk of violence
QUEBEC – Premier Jean Charest is angry at organizers of a Fete nationale party — whom he accuses of distorting Quebec’s annual holiday.
Cranbrook woman accused in tot drowning faces additional charges
CRANBROOK, B.C. – More charges have been laid against a Cranbrook, B.C., babysitter accused in the death of a toddler in her care.
Research In Motion pays co-CEOs Balsillie and Lazaridis a combined $12 million
TORONTO – The former co-CEOs of BlackBerry-maker Research In Motion (TSX:RIM) will receive a combined $12 million in payouts for leaving their roles at the struggling company.
Chris Brown, Drake brawl in NYC nightclub; 5 injured; Brown tweets, removes photo of chin cut
NEW YORK, N.Y. – New York City police are investigating an early morning Manhattan bar brawl involving hip hop stars Drake and Chris Brown.
Afghans halt effort to recover bodies of 66 people killed in landslide from earthquake
KABUL – Afghan officials say they are halting efforts to dig out more than 60 bodies from the site of a devastating landslide that followed earthquakes in northern Afghanistan earlier this week. They plan to make the area a memorial to the dead.
Robin Givens says she found clarity with autobiography
TORONTO – Five years after publishing an autobiography that details her family’s domestic violence struggles and her tumultuous year-long marriage to boxer Mike Tyson, actress Robin Givens feels putting her life out there was a “very healing experience.”
Movie version of ‘Barney’s Version’ top Canadian box office earner in 2011
TORONTO – Rookie screenwriter Michael Konyves jokes he can retire early now that he’s won Telefilm Canada’s coveted Golden Box Office Award.
Risk of falling boulders forces Yosemite park closures in US
YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK, Calif. – Yosemite Valley is one of the most popular U.S. national parks, but the risk of falling boulders is forcing parts of it to close for good. Geologists say unsuspecting tourists are in harm’s way in a valley ringed by 3,000-foot (914-meter) walls of granite.
Quebec whistleblower: Government didn’t care about my corruption report, so I leaked it
MONTREAL – Quebec’s corruption inquiry has heard its first incendiary testimony, with a prominent civil servant revealing himself as the man who leaked a document to the media about construction collusion because the government didn’t care about it.
Premier mum on update concerning future of struggling Nova Scotia paper mill
HALIFAX – Nova Scotia Premier Darrell Dexter is suggesting there will be a development concerning the future of a struggling paper mill.
Norway confessed killer’s mother says as much of half of what he has told police is untrue
OSLO – The mother of Anders Behring Breivik — the man who has confessed to killing 77 people in Norway last summer — claims that as much as half of the information her son has told police is fabricated.
Former Flames forward Martin Gelinas back in Calgary as assistant coach
CALGARY – Former Calgary Flames forward Martin Gelinas is back with the team as an assistant coach.
Russia’s It Girl makes splash by joining ranks of anti-Putin opposition – and pays the price
MOSCOW – “I’m Ksenia Sobchak, and I’ve got something to lose. But I’m here.” That’s what the 30-year-old blond socialite and TV personality said when she began her unlikely foray into political activism by taking the stage at a huge anti-Putin rally in December.