Abbey Westbury
Pure ecstasy can be ‘safe’ if consumed responsible: B.C. health officer
VANCOUVER – B.C.’s top health official says taking pure ecstasy can be “safe” when consumed responsibly by adults, despite warnings by police in Alberta and British Columbia about the dangers of the street drug after a rash of deaths.
Tories methodically voting down opposition efforts to alter 400-page budget bill
OTTAWA – “Mr. Hawn, Mr. Alexander, Ms. Rempel, Mr. Rickford, M. Goguen, Ms. Findlay Delta-Richmond East, Mr. Del Mastro….”
Nokia to cut 10,000 jobs worldwide, close research centre in Burnaby
HELSINKI – Nokia Corp. will lay off 10,000 jobs globally and close plants by the end of 2013, the company said Thursday, in a further drive to save costs.
Indian businessman becomes weapons maker for Hollywood
SAHIBABAD, India – On the outskirts of New Delhi, in a cramped concrete workshop where the air shimmers with the light of welding torches, an Indian businessman has become a master craftsman of Napoleonic swords. And medieval chain mail armour. And Second World War hand grenades and helmets.
German Chancellor Merkel says European debt crisis will dominate G20 weekend summit in Mexico
BERLIN – Germany’s chancellor says Europe’s lingering sovereign debt crisis will likely dominate this weekend’s summit of the world’s 20 most important economies in Mexico.
Former Israeli soldier seeks Palestinian citizenship and baffles both sides of the conflict
In an odd twist to the decades-old Israeli-Palestinian saga, a former Israeli soldier has embarked on a new fight: He wants to renounce his Israeli citizenship and move to a Palestinian refugee camp in the West Bank.
UK government to announce bank reforms, including separation of retail and investment banking
LONDON – The British government is announcing its proposals for banking reform to prevent the repeat of the crisis which forced taxpayers to bail out two major banks.
Nokia to cut 10,000 jobs globally by end of 2013 in further drive to cut costs
HELSINKI – Nokia Corp. says it will lay off 10,000 workers worldwide by the end of 2013, in a further drive to save costs.
Asian electric car consortium, led by China biomass company, in deal to buy Saab
SHANGHAI – The Asian consortium planning to rescue Swedish automaker Saab Automobile from insolvency is led by a mainland Chinese tycoon whose fortune was made in biomass energy.
Germany’s Merkel stresses commitment to saving euro, but will she act?
BERLIN – Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel has insisted repeatedly that “if the euro fails, Europe fails.”
Doctors make new vein using patient’s own stem cells for transplant into 10-year-old girl
LONDON – For the first time doctors have successfully transplanted a vein grown with a patient’s own stem cells, another example of scientists producing human body parts in the lab.
Argentina’s president to press claim to Falklands before UN panel
Argentina’s president is pressing her country’s claim to the Falkland Islands with a high-profile appearance Thursday before a little-known United Nations committee on the 30th anniversary of Britain’s ouster of an Argentine invasion force.
NASA chief visits Texas rocket factory, views SpaceX Dragon capsule after historic flight
MCGREGOR, Texas – Marred by just a few scorch marks from its re-entry to the Earth’s atmosphere, the world’s first commercial supply spacecraft to visit the International Space Station weathered its maiden voyage well, NASA and SpaceX officials said Wednesday.
Japan moves closer to restarting 1st nuclear reactors since tsunami led to complete shutdown
TOKYO – Japan moved closer Thursday to restarting nuclear reactors for the first time since last year’s earthquake and tsunami led to a nationwide shutdown after a mayor gave his support to a plan to bring two of them back online.
Panetta says no unauthorized info given to makers of bin Laden movie
WASHINGTON – Defence Secretary Leon Panetta says no unauthorized information was provided to filmmakers producing a movie on the raid that killed Osama bin Laden.