NEWS IMAGE COLLAGE / for 01-2011

A member of Canada's elite special forces unit says he felt his peers were being "encouraged" by the Canadian Forces chain of command to commit war crimes in Afghanistan, according to new documents obtained by CBC News.

There is a "50/50" chance Canadians will go to the polls this year, Prime Minister Stephen Harper says in the second part of an exclusive interview with the CBC's Peter Mansbridge airing Tuesday.

Health Canada has announced new restrictions on the use of six phthalates in children's toys and products used in the care of children.

The world may be 2.4 degrees warmer by the end of this decade, and that could have deadly consequences for global food production, according to a new study overseen by Nobel Prize-winning climate scientist Osvaldo Canziani.

A new study says eight per cent of professional sports fans who agreed to be surveyed were legally drunk when leaving the stadium after a game.

A controversy is smouldering in rural Manitoba after one high school ignored a ban on smoking on school property and erected a shelter for staff and students who want to light up.

A soldier has died after falling off a roof at Canadian Forces Base Valcartier near Quebec City.

Some highway sections between Alberta and British Columbia have re-opened after they were closed due to high avalanche risk.

A cold-snap that blanketed much of Ontario and west Quebec on Monday marked the coldest day of the year in some parts of the region. In some areas, the temperature dipped below -30 degrees Celsius.

People on the north coast of Labrador say scores of dead seals have been washing ashore since early December.

Yukon researchers are studying the potential of a 19th-century engine to help companies such as Northwestel reduce fuel costs in remote northern facilities.

The worker who sustained third-degree burns in an explosion at a northern Alberta oilsands plant in early January says he is thankful to be alive.

Truck drivers are sitting idle in Calgary and along the Trans-Canada Highway, waiting for the westbound routes to B.C. to reopen. High avalanche risks have shut down Highway 1 through Lake Louise and Golden, B.C., and Highway 93 from Castle Junction to Ra

The army has restricted the use of hundreds of trucks because of safety concerns that their turrets could come loose.

TIMMINS, Ont. - A deadly fungus that has killed more than one million bats in the United States has moved north, causing concern about their population northeastern Ontario.

A 312-year-old map of Canada found in a Scottish attic fetched $380,000 at an auction in Britain on Monday.

A man convicted in absentia of sex crimes against children in Cambodia has been allowed unrestricted freedom in Canada, even though the Crown expressed concerns when he was arrested that he was a danger to children.

Some people brag about serving scotch whisky that's 15 years old. But three bottles of Mackinlays scotch flown to Scotland by private jet Monday date back to the late 19th century.

PHOENIX - Arizona has become a national leader in the gun rights movement in recent years as the state enacted law after law to protect the people's right to bear arms nearly anywhere, at anytime.

Former Haitian dictator Jean-Claude (Baby Doc) Duvalier's stunning return to his homeland has drawn a mixed reaction from angry opponents and cheering supporters Monday, as many question his motives in returning after 25 years in exile.

The Conservative ads were largely aimed at Michael Ignatieff, leader of the main opposition Liberal Party, who has made it clear he is unlikely to back the budget.

Ricky Gervais, host of the Golden Globes, has been roundly given the thumbs down on his performance, which was full of what many consider nasty quips about Scientology, homosexuality and many celebrities in the audience.

Canadians figure prominently on the short list for the $15,000 Lionel Gelber Prize for the year's best English-language book on global affairs, with Globe and Mail correspondent Doug Saunders' Arrival City: The Final Migration and Our Next World joining S

Apple shares have dipped after the firm's co-founder announced he is to take an open-ended break on medical grounds

Central Canada is probably starting to hit the peak of a flu season that started earlier than normal and is causing more severe disease in the elderly, doctors say.

City requests review of finances of group caring for SS Sicamous

A New York man who says a rat bit his penis during a jail stay may sue county officials, a judge has ruled.

Catastrophic flooding in Australia and Sri Lanka has been fed by one of the most intense La Nina weather events in decades. But La Nina, the name given to cyclical cooler-than-average temperatures in the Pacific Ocean, is only partly to blame for recent e

Wildfire experts say the pine beetle is making forest fires more dangerous to fight and warn it will worsen as millions of dead trees fall to the ground in B.C. and Alberta. Wildfire experts say the pine beetle is making forest fires more dangerous

Plans for a replica of the historic Seaview United Baptist Church, which will serve as a memorial to Africville, were unveiled to the public in Halifax Saturday.

Heavy snow continues to fall across the Prairies for a second straight weekend, creating dangerous conditions for motorists venturing onto slippery roads.

A new diamond mine in Canada's North is again in front of regulators after a recovery in international markets for the sparkly objects of desire.

Mounties have confirmed the weekend's third avalanche fatality after a slide struck a group of skiers in Kokanee Glacier Provincial Park.

Sections of Alberta and British Columbia were expecting more heavy snow on Sunday as the oversaturated Prairies were dealing with icy, dangerous driving conditions.

The Minnesota Wild are the only blemish on the Vancouver Canucks' division record. Anton Khudobin stopped 32 shots for his first career shutout and Minnesota beat Vancouver again, 4-0 Sunday night.

Tunis, Tunisia (CNN) -- Tunisia's army clashed with armed gangs in the capital and remnants of ousted President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali's personal guard Sunday as an opposition figure said leaders have agreed on a new government.

The Abbotsford police department has recommended a charge of assault causing bodily harm for the Kelowna RCMP officer who arrested Buddy Tavares last week.

Hizbullah leader accuses Lebanese PM of betraying agreement on murder probe, says he brought down government "in a civilized way" and will not join a new, Hariri-headed coalition.

BEIJING -- Chinese President Hu Jintao, who travels to Washington this week for a state visit after a year marked by disputes and tension with the United States, said the two countries could mutually benefit by finding "common ground" on issues from fight

The co-founder of the Tucson Tea Party said he is worried about the threats he is receiving, including a remark by a shooting victim made to him at a televised town hall meeting.

Silvio Berlusconi maintained at least 14 glamorous young women in apartments in a gated complex outside Milan, leaks from prosecutors in the city revealed yesterday. They lived rent-free in the estate and were given large sums of cash by the billionaire p

Libyan leader claims protesters led astray by WikiLeaks disclosures amid reports of unrest in Libya

Political leaders in Tunisia are to launch efforts to fill the power vacuum following the fall of President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali amid mass protests.

Breakaway members of Anglican churches in B.C. opposed to same-sex blessings want to take their battle over church buildings and bank accounts to the Supreme Court of Canada.

TEHRAN (ISNA)-Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) Chief Ali Akbar Salehi said there will be no justification for fuel swap offer if the scheduled time passes.

Doctors have removed the breathing tube of U.S. congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, another step on her road to recovery after being one of 19 people shot last weekend at a Tucson, Ariz., grocery store.

BEIJING -- Chinese leader Hu Jintao is being feted in Washington this week with a lavish state banquet at the White House and other pomp usually reserved for close friends and allies - all intended to improve the tone of relations between a risen, more as

The younger brother of a Chinese man sentenced to life in prison for dodging road tolls has turned himself into police, state media reports.

Quebec's association of gynecologists says the province's shortage of doctors in their field has hit an all time high, raising the risk of gynecological cancers.

The Harper government's decision to leave nearly 1,000 troops in Afghanistan for three extra years as military trainers will needlessly put their lives in jeopardy and lead to a "mission creep" in which they are drawn back into battle, says NDP leader Jac

British actress Susannah York has died at the age of 72 after suffering from cancer, her son has said.

The woolly mammoth, extinct for thousands of years, could be brought back to life in as little as four years thanks to a breakthrough in cloning technology.

A growing revolt against the new wordless Starbucks logo is directly linked to how attached consumers are to the brand, according to a study released this week in the United States.

Thousands of grey seals have taken to the beaches of Pictou Island for birthing season because of a lack of ice in the Northumberland Strait between Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia.

A northern Michigan woman has put her own spin on Leonardo da Vinci's The Last Supper by making a replica out of laundry lint.

A central Alberta farmer who injured a man while defending his property pleaded guilty to criminal negligence Friday in a Red Deer courtroom.

Two routes through British Columbia have been closed because of the avalanche threat.

The staff at Poley Mountain ski hill near Sussex, N.B., have found themselves in a battle with a bunch of four-legged hooligans.

Snow is blanketing Toronto for a second straight Saturday, causing havoc on the city's highways.

As our population ages, the question is not if we will encounter this illness in our lives, but when. Is it time we stopped fighting and learned to live with it?

Federal Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff says a recent federal byelection gain by the Liberals in Winnipeg is a source of inspiration.

If Michael Ignatieff wanted to win Canadians' votes in his whirlwind tour, he probably shouldn't have begun it by insulting their intelligence.

When you look in your briefcase or at your desk, does an iPhone stare back at you? A Droid? Apple, Google and Microsoft aren't just bringing new devices to market; they're also setting new standards for how businesses communicate. That smart device starin

An extensive study of tree growth rings says there could be a link between the rise and fall of past civilisations and sudden shifts in Europe's climate.

Nearly two years before he was accused of killing a Toronto police officer with a snowplow, Richard Kachkar was launching a new career as a truck driver.

CBS is on Orange Alert over Charlie Sheen's partying ways, but his off-camera activities have not affected his job as star of the country's most popular comedy, CBS programming chief Nina Tassler told TV critics attending Winter Press Tour 2011.

Security has been stepped up in centre of the Tunisian capital, a day after President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali was forced from power by street protests.

So much for any concerns about how the Vancouver Canucks would react to their first regulation loss in five weeks. Playing with five defencemen for most of the game and facing a potent Washington Capitals attack, the Canucks rallied behind goalie Roberto

An Earth-like planet orbiting a star 20 light years away may not exist after all, according to a new study by a B.C. astronomer.

The Canadian Air Transport Security Authority is apologizing after an 82-year-old B.C. woman was reduced to tears at Calgary International Airport security screening.

As Metro Vancouver's suburbs struggle to deal with growing numbers of homeless people, one company has come up with a unique housing solution: shipping containers.

An 82-year-old woman says she was humiliated by airport security who forced her to reveal her gel prosthesis during a recent public pat-down at Calgary's airport.

A cat in Boston has been called to jury duty even though his owner has insisted to court officials that the cat cannot speak English.

Wojtek Wolski was all smiles after his goal lifted the Rangers to perhaps their most improbable victory of the season.

Red dwarf stars have surprisingly frequent flare-ups, scientists say, and these solar flares' effects could be deadly to life on nearby planets.

Scientists have unveiled one of the earliest dinosaurs yet found, an agile meat-eater from the late Triassic period, some 230 million years ago.

Astronomers have revealed the most distant cluster of galaxies ever observed, caught at a never-before-seen stage of development.

A Saskatoon woman who was prosecuted for not completing her census has been found guilty. Sandra Finley was charged in 2006 under federal law with non-compliance. She refused to complete her census form, stating she was opposed to Statistics Canada buying

New Democrat MLA Mike Farnworth announced his leadership bid for the British Columbia party by saying the province is tops in Canada when it comes to child poverty, thanks to the Liberal government.

Veterinary staff at the Calgary Zoo are still working around the clock to save a days-old Siberian tiger cub that was rejected by its mother shortly after its birth, although the animal is showing signs of improvement.

Schools are closed and flights are delayed in snow-stricken parts of the Maritimes again today, as the storm that dumped another thick layer of snow on Nova Scotia and parts of New Brunswick creeps into Newfoundland.

Nunavut's Inuit organization is taking the federal government to court over a recently imposed ban on the international export of narwhal tusks from many of the territory's communities.

Organizers of Hockey Day in Canada in Whitehorse say plans are firming up for the big televised event next month.

Some junior hockey fans were in for a big disappointment on Thursday. All ticket packages made available for the 2012 World Junior Hockey tournament in Alberta are now sold out, Hockey Canada announced.

Mount Etna, on the Italian island of Sicily, has come back to life with a brief eruption that sent lava down its slopes and a cloud of ash into the sky, forcing the overnight closure of a nearby airport

Maritimers were digging out Thursday after a storm dropped nearly 30 centimetres of snow in some parts of the region.

Vancouver police are looking for the man responsible for a series of sexual attacks in and around the city's downtown area.

Located between Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Maine, the Bay of Fundy boasts some of the highest tidal ranges in the world, making it a logical spot to test the new generation of tide powered turbines.

The head of a sealers group in Newfoundland and Labrador hopes Canada's deal to sell seal meat and oil to China will mean more work for seal hunters in Atlantic Canada. Federal Fisheries Minister Gail Shea has announced in Beijing that the two countrie

It could be an important breakthrough in Alzheimer's research.

Liberal Party Senator Larry Campbell, who once led a centre-left coalition as Vancouver mayor, made one of the more counter-intuitive endorsements in the B.C. Liberal leadership race today, backing Kevin Falcon who is regarded as the tribune of the provin

People under 18 will be prohibited from using indoor tanning beds after Capital Regional District politicians voted 18 to 1 in favour of a ban Wednesday.

Richmond Mounties say the deaths of two people at a hotel this weekend were the result of a murder/suicide.

A blast of strong wind and snow has hit the Regina area, prompting highways officials to issue an advisory against travel.

Southern B.C. has been hit with a blast of winter weather, with snowfall causing power outages, public transit delays, school closures and airport delays throughout the region.

Snowfall warnings are in effect across Nova Scotia and parts of New Brunswick, with up to 25 centimetres expected by Thursday morning.

A man who patrols the streets of Seattle to help fight crime is recovering from a broken nose.

Snowstorms battered both sides of Canada on Wednesday, forcing school closures in British Columbia and Nova Scotia while leaving parts of Ontario under as many as 20 centimetres of heavy snow.

The Planck space telescope has identified some of the largest structures ever seen in the Universe. These are clusters of galaxies that are gravitationally bound to each other and which measure tens of millions of light-years across.