Hillary Clinton in hospital with blood clot

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton was admitted to a New York hospital Sunday after the discovery of a blood clot stemming from the concussion she sustained earlier this month.

Clinton's doctors discovered the clot Sunday while performing a follow-up exam, her spokesman, Philippe Reines, said. He would not elaborate on the location of the clot but said Clinton is being treated with anti-coagulants and would remain at New York-Presbyterian Hospital for at least the next 48 hours so doctors can monitor the medication.

"Her doctors will continue to assess her condition, including other issues associated with her concussion," Reines said in a statement. "They will determine if any further action is required."

Clinton, 65, fell and suffered a concussion while at home alone in mid-December as she recovered from a stomach virus that left her severely dehydrated. The concussion was diagnosed Dec. 13 and Clinton was forced to cancel a trip to North Africa and the Middle East that had been planned for the next week.

The seriousness of a blood clot "depends on where it is," said Dr. Gholam Motamedi, a neurologist at Georgetown University Medical Center who was not involved in Clinton's care.

Clots in the legs are a common risk after someone has been bedridden, as Clinton may have been for a time after her concussion. Those are "no big deal" and are treated with six months of blood thinners to allow them to dissolve on their own and to prevent further clots from forming, he said.

A clot in a lung or the brain is more serious. Lung clots, called pulmonary embolisms, can be deadly, and a clot in the brain can cause a stroke, Motamedi said.

Keeping Clinton in the hospital for a couple of days could allow doctors to perform more tests to determine why the clot formed, and to rule out a heart problem or other condition that may have led to it, he said.

Some conservatives suggested Clinton faking

Clinton was forced to cancel Dec. 20 testimony before Congress about a scathing report into the Sept. 11 attack on the U.S. diplomatic mission in Benghazi, Libya, that killed Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans. The report found that serious failures of leadership and management in two State Department bureaus were to blame for insufficient security at the facility. Clinton took responsibility for the incident before the report was released, but she was not blamed.

Some conservative commentators suggested Clinton was faking the seriousness of her illness and concussion to avoid testifying, although State Department officials vehemently denied that was the case.

Lawmakers at the hearings — including Democratic Sen. John Kerry, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee chairman who has been nominated by President Barack Obama to succeed Clinton — offered her their best wishes.

Last Thursday, before the discovery of the blood clot, Reines said Clinton was expected to return to work this week.

The former first lady and senator, who had always planned to step down as America's top diplomat in January, is known for her grueling travel schedule. She is the most traveled secretary of state in history, having visited 112 countries while in the job.

Clinton is considered a front-runner for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2016, although she has not announced plans to run.

21.48 | 0 komentar | Read More

Bogus cellphone roaming charges irk border residents

A Rogers Wireless customer who lives near the B.C.-Washington border is upset about being overcharged more than $400 in U.S. "roaming" charges — for calls and texts her family made while at home in Canada.

"It has literally been a nightmare dealing with this," said Jane Goundrey, of White Rock, B.C. "We've roamed inside our house at least 75, 80 per cent of the time."

Goundrey said that on her street the Rogers signal can't compete with the powerful signal from AT&T in Washington. As a result, her family's phones automatically switch to the U.S. network.

"The only way a Rogers customer gets coverage here is to roam into the States. Why don't they just admit that up front?" Goundrey asked.

Rogers signal unreliable

She said the root of the problem is that her neighbourhood doesn't get adequate service from Rogers.

Goundrey and husband John Todd said they spent hours trying to sort out the roaming charges on their Rogers bills. (CBC)

"Their first advice is 'just turn your roaming off.' And I say when I turn my roaming off I do not have any cellphone coverage," said Goundrey. "Rogers does not have a cell tower here that does work."

Rogers spokeswoman Sara Holland acknowledged to Go Public that "accidental roaming" is a problem.

"Network signal overlaps can happen near the U.S. border. It's an industry-wide challenge and unfortunately it can affect our customers too," said Holland.

"In terms of White Rock, we do have a number of cell sites … and we are looking at other sites to improve our service in that area to cut down on accidental roaming."

Critics say many Canadians living along the border are frustrated by domestic wireless carriers who do not invest enough in cell towers.

"Unfortunately for consumers, there isn't a whole lot of economic incentive for the telecom companies to fix this once and for all," said industry analyst Carmi Levy.

Additional telecom revenue

"Every time a mistake is made [a bill for accidental roaming], if a consumer doesn't raise a flag or doesn't raise the antenna then that's additional revenue for these companies."

Goundrey said her main complaint is that she had to spend countless hours inspecting her bills and trying to get Rogers to reverse the bogus charges.

Goundrey and husband John Todd said they spent hours trying to sort out the roaming charges on their Rogers bills. (CBC)

"We've had at least 21 conversations with them in the three years since my daughter and I joined with my husband on this family plan," said Goundrey. "The way they do the billing is so complicated that you would need to put your life aside and just look at your bills to deal with it."

Rogers did eventually refund Goundrey $400 for charges incurred this fall. However, she said she had to start from scratch every time she called — with a new customer services representative — which was incredibly frustrating.

"I've been on hold for 10 to 15 minutes talking to a 'tier one' person with them fighting or even refusing to let me talk to a manager one level up," said Goundrey.

Widespread border problem

Some of her neighbours also reported they have to call Rogers repeatedly to get the incorrect charges cancelled.

"I have this problem with Rogers on my BlackBerry," White Rock resident Kirk Mitchell said in an email. "The contract termination costs with Rogers are very costly — so I just resign to do quarterly venting to customer service."

Telecom industry analyst Carmi Levy said charges for roaming in Canada are a chronic headache for residents all along the U.S. border. (CBC)

"Roaming" in Canada has also been reported as a chronic headache for customers with various providers in Windsor, Ont., across the river from Detroit.

"We live in a long thin band along the U.S. border," said Levy. "Really the only solution to this is to ensure that the Canadian network always prevails over the American one. To do that you would have to have more cell towers with more powerful equipment."

He points out that some of the obstacles to fixing the problem are beyond the telecom industry's control, such as government limits on signal strength and protests over new cell towers.

"The wheels of regulatory change continue to turn very slowly," said Levy.

"This is an area where both Canadian and American carriers have to get together and come up with a solution that works for everyone because the status quo is completely unacceptable."

Roaming overcharges common

In a recent survey by the Public Interest Advocacy Centre in Ottawa, 89 per cent of responders said they had been charged too much for roaming while away from home.

PIAC wants the CRTC to crack down on telecom companies, suggesting all roaming charges be capped, with limits chosen by users. The regulator is holding hearings early next year, where prices for cell usage will be on the agenda.

Goundrey's bills from Rogers list numerous charges for roaming in the U.S., when the calls were made from her home in B.C. (CBC)

Meantime, Rogers said it's working to cut down on customer frustration.

"If 'accidental roaming' does occur within Canada, we automatically re-rate voice calls so they don't show up on a customer's bill," said Rogers spokeswoman Holland.

"For texts and data, we adjust the invoice. We realize that's not an ideal experience for our customers and we're working on ways to also automatically re-rate accidental roaming charges for text and data."

Jane Goundrey's three-year contract with Rogers recently expired. She has just switched to Bell, which piggybacks on the Telus cell tower network in the White Rock area.

So far, she said, her family has seen a big improvement.

"I have coverage at home. I can make phone calls," she said. Until the problem in her neighborhood is fixed, she thinks Rogers should warn customers up front, before they sign up for three years.

"You are stuck with it — and they aren't honest when you sign up with what you are getting yourself into," she said.

Submit your story ideas to Kathy Tomlinson at Go Public

Follow @CBCGoPublic on Twitter

21.48 | 0 komentar | Read More

'Fiscal cliff' talks go down to the wire

Markets appeared Monday to be taking in stride the prospect that U.S. politicians will fail to agree a budget deal in time to avoid automatic tax increases and spending cuts that many economists think could tilt the world's largest economy back into recession.

With just hours to go before the U.S. falls off the so-called "fiscal cliff," Republicans and Democrats remained divided over tax and spend, raising the prospect that markets will start 2013 without a clear idea of America's budget policy. The main sticking point appears to be what level of taxes are imposed on higher incomes.

Discussions in the Senate broke off Sunday night without an agreement. The Senators will return to their offices Monday to try and hammer out a deal before the deadline.

Gaps remain

"With the gulf between both parties still wide and the desire to protect their supporters' key interests so ingrained, it is difficult to see how both sides can compromise enough to agree a deal at this point," said Rebecca O'Keeffe, head of investment at Interactive Investor.

However, it's not the first time that budget discussions in the U.S. have gone down to the wire, and investors remain confident that some sort of deal will be reached, if not Monday then in the coming days or weeks. As a result, they think that the potential damage wrought by higher taxes and spending cuts will be limited.

In addition, a backup proposal that would address only a few issues is expected to be presented by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, a Democrat, if a bipartisan deal is not reached.

The prospect of counter-measures to offset the "fiscal cliff" impact helps explain why markets were fairly calm in Europe and Asia, and Wall Street was poised to open higher.

In Europe, the FTSE 100 index of leading British shares was down 0.4 per cent at 5,901 but the CAC-40 in France was 0.4 per cent higher at 3,633. Most European indexes are only trading for half of the day ahead of the New Year break, while others including Germany's DAX were closed.

U.S. stocks were poised for gains at the open, with Dow futures up 0.2 per cent and the broader S&P 500 futures 0.4 per cent higher, even though in theory, the U.S. faces around $671 billion of tax increases and spending cuts over the coming months, equivalent to the sort of fiscal tightening taking place in highly indebted Europe.

Recession possible

Clearly, their full imposition would hobble an economy that has shown some signs of late of a more sustainable economic recovery.

Some economists predict the tax-and-spending effects of the "fiscal cliff" could eventually throw the U.S. economy back into recession — although if the deadline passes, politicians still have a few weeks to keep the tax hikes and spending cuts at bay by repealing them retroactively once a deal is reached.

"It is likely that many of the fiscal cliff measures allow a certain amount of room within which the government can introduce measures to refrain from any tax increases," said Joshua Mahony, an analyst at Alpari.

Still, the failure to adhere to the deadline following weeks of squabbling and procrastination could be view negatively by the major credit rating agencies and weigh on investor confidence going into 2013.

"I think the market reaction to that will be very negative. This means the U.S. will never be able to bring its house in order. And the deficit will continue to accumulate," said Francis Lun, managing director of Lyncean Holdings in Hong Kong. "No meaningful reform and no solution in sight. You can throw confidence out of the window."

Earlier in Asia, the picture was fairly subdued in those markets that were open — among others, markets in Japan and South Korea were closed for the New Year's holidays.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng, trading for a half-day, closed marginally lower at 22,656.92, while mainland Chinese stocks rose after a private survey showed the country's manufacturing growth at its strongest level in 18 months in December. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.5 per cent to close at 4,648.90.

There was also a fairly calm atmosphere in other financial markets, with the euro down just 0.2 per cent at $1.3191 and the price of benchmark New York crude down 11 cents at $90.69 a barrel.

21.48 | 0 komentar | Read More

New Year celebrations to mark 2013 get rolling

New Zealand's main city of Auckland became one of the first to see in the New Year with onlookers gathering at the harbour to enjoy the fireworks display.

As the clock struck midnight (11:00 GMT, 7 a.m. ET), fireworks were set off over the the city's 328-metre Sky Tower near the harbour, to the sound of boat horns.

In Sydney, eager revellers camped Sunday night on the shores of the harbour to get the best vantage points as 1.5 million gathered to watch the fireworks show centred on the Sydney Harbor Bridge. Sydney's skyline erupted with fireworks as revellers cheered.

The crowds were undiminished by Australian government warnings that the Washington deadlock on the U.S. debt crisis was partly to blame for a slowing Australian economy.

Australian pop singer Kylie Minogue hosted the event.

New Yorker Mathieu Herman said he had flown to Australia specifically for the New Year celebrations on the harbour.

"I saw it last year on TV and it looked fabulous. I said to myself it's something I've just got to do," Herman said.

The South Pacific nation is one of the first to greet each New Year because of its proximity to the International Date Line.

In Asia, also among the first countries to see 2013, Increasingly democratic Burma, also known as Myanmar, is having a public countdown for the first time. Jakarta plans a huge street party befitting Indonesia's powering economy.

In Hong Kong, this year's $1.6-million US fireworks display is billed by organizers as the biggest ever in the southern Chinese city. Police expected as many as 100,000 people to watch, local news reports said.

The buoyant economies of the Asia-Pacific are prepared to party with renewed optimism despite the so-called fiscal cliff threatening to reverberate globally from the United States and the tattered economies of Europe.

Other countries prepare to mark 2013

Celebrations were planned around the world, with hundreds of thousands expected to fill Times Square in New York City to watch the drop of a Waterford crystal-studded ball, and the annual outdoor festivities in Canada featuring celebrity musical acts at popular partying locations such as Toronto's downtown Nathan Phillips Square outside city hall, and Queen Victoria Park in Niagara Falls, Ont.

One day after dancing in the snow to celebrate the first anniversary of leader Kim Jong Un's ascension to supreme commander, North Koreans were preparing to mark the arrival of the new year, marked as "Juche 102" on North Korean calendars. Juche means self-reliance, the North Korean ideology of independence promoted by national founder Kim Il Sung, who was born 102 years ago. His grandson now rules North Korea.Fireworks explode above Sydney Harbour during New Year celebrations. The crowds were undiminished by Australian government warnings that the U.S. deadlock on the debt crisis was partly to blame for a slowing Australian economy. Tuesday, Jan. 1, 2013.(AP Photo/Rob Griffith)

In New Delhi, the festive mood was marred by the death Saturday of a young rape victim.

Hotels, clubs and residents' associations in the Indian capital decided to cancel planned festivities and asked people to light candles to express their solidarity with the victim whose plight sparked public rallies for women's safety.

"Let there be no New Year celebrations across the country. It will be a major tribute to the departed soul," said Praveen Khandelwal, secretary general of the Confederation of All India Traders, an umbrella group of operators of shops and businesses across the country.

In a field in Myanmar's largest city, Yangon, workers were testing a giant digital countdown screen with the backdrop of the revered Shwedagon pagoda.

Arranged by local Forever Media group and Index Creative Village, a Thai event organizer, the celebration is the first public New Year countdown in Myanmar, a country ruled for almost five decades by military regimes that discouraged or banned big public gatherings.

"We are planning this public New Year event because we want residents of Yangon to enjoy the public countdown like in other countries," said Win Thura Hlaing, managing director of Forever Blossom company, a subsidiary of Forever Media.

With live music performances by celebrities, light shows, food stalls, fireworks and other activities, the countdown is expected to draw 50,000 people, Win Thura Hlaing said.

Jakarta's street party centres on a seven-kilometre main thoroughfare closed to all traffic from nightfall until after midnight. Workers erected 16 large stages along the normally car-clogged, eight-lane highway through the heart of the city. Indonesia's booming economy is a rare bright spot amid global gloom and is bringing prosperity — or the hope of it — to Indonesians.

Spirits in the capital have been further raised by the election of a new, populist governor who is pledging to tackle the city's massive infrastructure problems.

Firecrackers a worry in Philippines

Despite a sombre mood in the Philippines due to devastation from a recent typhoon, a key problem for authorities remained how to prevent revellers from setting off huge illegal firecrackers, including some nicknamed "Goodbye Philippines" and "Bin Laden," that maim and injure hundreds of Filipinos each year, including many children.

A government scare tactic involving doctors displaying brutal-looking scalpels used for amputations for firecracker victims has not fully worked in the past so health officials came up with a novel idea: Go Gangnam style.Despite a ban by authorities in the Philippines on certain firecrackers due to injuries and death, many people still welcomed the New Year with fireworks in the belief that it will drive away evil spirits and bring in good luck. (Aaron Favila/Associated Press)

A government health official, Eric Tayag, donned the splashy outfit of South Korean star PSY and danced to his Youtube hit Gangnam Style video while preaching against the use of illegal firecrackers on TV, in schools and in public arenas.

"The campaign has become viral," Tayag said. "We've asked kids and adults to stay away from big firecrackers and just dance the Gangnam and they're doing it."

Hong Kong feng shui master Raymond Lo predicted 2013 would be less turbulent than 2012 because the Chinese New Year in February will usher in the year of the snake, bringing an end to the year of the dragon, which was associated with water. Water is one of the five elements in feng shui theory, the Chinese practice of arranging objects and choosing dates to improve luck.

"Water is fear. So that's why we have had so much turbulence especially in the winter months," such as doomsday prophecies, school shootings and concerns about the fiscal cliff, said Lo.

"But the good news is that the coming year of the snake is the first time that fire has come back since 2007. Fire actually is the opposite to water, fire is happiness. So therefore the year of the snake is a much more optimistic year. So you can see signs of economic recovery now," he added.

"The positive thing is that people are very optimistic, therefore it will have a very strong drive on the economic recovery. We expect the stock market will do well, the property market will do well," Lo said.

With files from CBC News

21.48 | 0 komentar | Read More

2 B.C. teens reportedly among survivors of deadly bus crash in Oregon

Among the passengers on a B.C. company's bus that crashed through a guardrail on what is being called a deadly stretch of highway in Oregon, killing nine people, are two teenage boys who moved to Vancouver from Korea two years ago, according to a report.

The Oregonian says the two teens were among passengers injured in the Sunday morning crash when the charter bus, which was en route from Las Vegas to Vancouver, went through a guardrail and plummeted 33 metres down a steep embankment.

The Interstate 84 stretch of highway near Pendleton — an 11-kilometre section of road that winds down a hill — is so notorious that transportation officials have published a specific advisory warning of its dangers, according to The Associated Press.

Reports of the number aboard the bus vary. The number injured also hasn't been verified, with reports that anywhere from two dozen to 39 have received treatment. The bus crashed near the start of the section of road and came to rest at the bottom of a snowy slope, landing beaten and battered but upright with little or no debris visible around the crash site.

The Oregonian says the two Vancouver teens were released Sunday night to a makeshift shelter at the Convention Center in Pendleton. The 17-year-old had a broken collarbone and had his arm in a sling, and the 16-year-old was not injured.

"I thought I was going to die," the newspaper quotes the 17-year-old as saying through a translator, adding that the teens declined to give their names.

Breaking glass, passengers pinned to seat

The newspaper also said the driver of the bus, owned by Mi Joo Tour & Travel in Vancouver, survived the crash but was so severely injured that the driver couldn't give any information about it, said police.

The Associated Press also quotes another newspaper, The East Oregonian, as saying it spoke with two South Korean passengers aged 16 and 17 — it's unclear if those are the same teens referred to by the Oregonian — who said through a translator that they were seated near the rear of the bus when it swerved a few times, hit the guardrail and flipped. They described breaking glass and seeing passengers pinned by their seats as the bus slid down the hill, and both said that they feared for their lives, AP says.

More than a dozen rescue workers descended the hill and used ropes to help retrieve people from the wreckage in freezing weather.

Lisa Johnson of CBC Vancouver reported early Monday that it was uncertain how many Canadians were on the bus.

Lt. Gregg Hastings of Oregon State Police told CBC although the highway was icy and snowy, the weather wasn't immediately being blamed for the crash, but police are still investigating.

The bus crashed along the west end of the Blue Mountains, and west of an area called Deadman Pass. The area is well known locally for its hazards, and the state transportation department advises truck drivers that "some of the most changeable and severe weather conditions in the Northwest" can lead to slick conditions and poor visibility.

Drivers are urged to use "extreme caution and defensive driving techniques," and are warned that snow and black ice are common in the fall through the spring.

Extra hospital staff called to treat injured

St. Anthony Hospital in Pendleton treated more than two dozen of the injured passengers, according to hospital spokesman Larry Blanc. Five of those treated at St. Anthony were transported to other facilities.

Blanc did not elaborate on the nature of the injuries.

Johnson reported that the hospital had to call in extra staff and more supplies to treat the injured.

A woman who answered the phone at a listing for the Vancouver bus company confirmed with The Associated Press that it owned the bus, and said it was on a tour of the Western U.S. She declined to give her name.

A bus safety website run by the U.S. Department of Transportation said Mi Joo Tour & Travel has six buses, none of which have been involved in any accidents in at least the past two years.

With files from The Associated Press

21.48 | 0 komentar | Read More

Obama warns of 'self-inflicted wound' to U.S. economy

U.S. Senate leaders groped for a last-minute compromise Saturday to avoid middle-class tax increases and possibly prevent deep spending cuts at the dawn of the new year as President Barack Obama warned that failure could mean a "self-inflicted wound to the economy."

Obama chastised lawmakers in his weekly radio and internet address for waiting until the last minute to try and avoid a "fiscal cliff," yet said there was still time for an agreement.

"We cannot let Washington politics get in the way of America's progress," he said as the hurry-up negotiations unfolded.

Don Drummond, chief economist of TD Bank, told CBC News on Saturday, "it's not surprising" that negotiations are going to deadline, forcing the Democrats into a corner.

"A bunch of [Republicans] signed memorandums to not agree to tax increases," he noted. "One of the reasons they are not coming to the agreement is that some of them like the aesthetic appeal of this being done to them as opposed to them doing something to the American people."

Drummond addressed fears the U.S. would fall into a recession if a deal isn't inked — thereby affecting Canada's economy as well.

"We have latched our wagon on to the U.S. locomotive," he said. "Canada has had a recession every time the U.S. had a recession. The one recession we missed, 2001, was an exception — that was in their high-tech sector."

Drummond predicts the most the Canadian government would do is have the Bank of Canada cut the interest rate by half a percentage point.

Capitol nearly empty

For all the recent expressions of urgency, bargaining took place by phone, email and paper in a Capitol nearly empty except for tourists. Alone among top lawmakers, Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell spent the day in his office.

In the Republicans' weekly address, Sen. Roy Blunt of Missouri cited a readiness to compromise. "Divided government is a good time to solve hard problems — and in the next few days, leaders in Washington have an important responsibility to work together and do just that," he said.

Even so, there was no guarantee of success, and a dispute over the federal tax on large estates emerged as yet another key sticking point alongside personal income tax rates.

In a blunt challenge to Republicans, Obama said that barring a bipartisan agreement, he expected both houses to vote on his own proposal to block tax increases on all but the wealthy and simultaneously preserve expiring unemployment benefits.

Political calculations mattered as much as deep-seated differences over the issues, as divided government struggled with its first big challenge since the November elections.

Republican Speaker Boehner stays at arm's-length

Speaker John Boehner remained at arm's-length, juggling a desire to avoid the fiscal cliff with his goal of winning another term as speaker when a new Congress convenes next Thursday. Any compromise legislation is certain to include higher tax rates on the wealthy, and the House Republican rank and file rejected the idea when he presented it to them as part of a final attempt to strike a more sweeping agreement with Obama.

Speaker of the House John Boehner was among congressional leaders involved in talks at the White House on Friday in the latest meeting to see where things stand in the attempt to avoid the U.S. from going over the fiscal cliff. (J. Scott Applewhite/Associated Press)

Lawmakers have until the new Congress convenes to pass any compromise, and even the calendar mattered. Democrats said they had been told House Republicans might reject a deal until after Jan. 1, to avoid a vote to raise taxes before they had technically gone up and then vote to cut taxes after they had risen.

Nor was any taxpayer likely to feel any adverse impact if legislation is signed and passed into law in the first two or three days of 2013 instead of the final hours of 2012.

Gone was the talk of a grand bargain of spending cuts and additional tax revenue in which the two parties would agree to slash deficits by trillions of dollars over a decade.

Now negotiators had a more cramped goal of preventing additional damage to the economy in the form of higher taxes across the board — with some families facing increases measured in the thousands of dollars — as well as cuts aimed at the Pentagon and hundreds of domestic programs.

Republicans said they were willing to bow to Obama's call for higher taxes on the wealthy as part of a deal to prevent them from rising on those less well-off.

Obama wants tax increases on those with $250K income

Democrats said Obama was sticking to his campaign call for tax increases above $250,000 in annual income, even though he said in recent negotiations he said he could accept $400,000. There was no evidence of agreement even at the higher level.

There were indications from Republicans that estate taxes might hold more significance for them than the possibility of higher rates on income.

One senior Republican, Sen. Jon Kyl of Arizona, said late Friday he was "totally dead set" against Obama's estate tax proposal, and as if to reinforce the point, Blunt mentioned the issue before any other in his broadcast remarks. "Small businesses and farm families don't know how to deal with the unfair death tax — a tax that the president and congressional leaders have threatened to expand to include even more family farms and even more small businesses," he said.

Several officials said Republicans want to leave the tax at 35 per cent after exempting the first $5 million US in estate value. Officials said the White House wants a 45 per cent tax after a $3.5 million exemption. Without any action by Congress, it would climb to a 55 per cent tax after a $1 million exemption on Jan. 1.

Income taxes or estate tax

Democrats stressed their unwillingness to make concessions on both income taxes and the estate tax, and said they hoped Republicans would choose which mattered more to them.

Officials said any compromise was likely to ease the impact of the alternative minimum tax, originally designed to make sure that millionaires did not escape taxation. If left unchanged, it could hit an estimated 28 million households for the first time in 2013, with an average increase of more than $3,000.

Taxes on dividends and capital gains are also involved in the talks, as well as a series of breaks for businesses and others due to expire at the first of the year.

Obama and congressional Democrats are insisting on an extension of long-term unemployment benefits that are expiring for about 2 million jobless individuals.

Leaders in both parties also hope to prevent a 27 per cent fee cut from taking effect on Jan. 1 for doctors who treat Medicare patients.

There was also discussion of a short-term extension of expiring farm programs, in part to prevent a spike in milk prices at the first of the year. It wasn't clear if that was a parallel effort to the cliff talks or had become wrapped into them.

Next round of brinkmanship likely soon

Across-the-board spending cuts that comprise part of the cliff were a different matter.

Republicans say Boehner will insist that they will begin to take effect unless negotiators agreed to offset them with specified savings elsewhere.

That would set the stage for the next round of brinkmanship — a struggle over Republican calls for savings from Medicare, Medicaid and other federal benefit programs.

The Treasury's ability to borrow is expected to expire in late winter or early spring, and without an increase in the $16.4 trillion limit, the government would face its first-ever default. Republicans have said they will use administration requests for an extension as leverage to win cuts in spending.

Ironically, it was just such a manoeuvre more than a year ago that set the stage for the current crisis talks over the fiscal cliff.

With files from CBC News

21.48 | 0 komentar | Read More

First Nations chief Theresa Spence calls for solidarity protests

As First Nations Chief Theresa Spence's hunger strike continues, the chief called for weekend solidarity protests from all Canadians to force Prime Minister Stephen Harper to meet with her and other native leaders angered by his policies.

'Her condition continues to weaken every hour.'—Statement from Chief Theresa Spence

While Idle No More protests have been staged in various communities over the past two weeks — a movement aiming to repair existing violations to the treaty relationship — this is the Attawapiskat chief's first time calling for action.

"Her condition continues to weaken every hour and the time has come for increased efforts to gain the support of Canadians and governments in forging this new relationship," read a statement released late Friday.

After starting her hunger strike on Dec. 11th, the chief declared she is "willing to die" for her people.

Wawa First Nations holds solidarity protest

In the statement, Chief Spence asked all Canadians and indigenous people to stage ceremonies, events and rallies, calling on Harper to meet with her and "commit to a path of recognition and implementation of the treaty commitments and forging a new First Nations crown relationship."

According to the statement, international and national events will be held at 2 p.m. Sunday.

People from the Northern Ontario town of Wawa have already answered her call by staging an Idle No More protest Saturday afternoon, which was expected to last four hours, according to the movement's Facebook page.

Some Michipicoten First Nation members planned to stage the protest at the junction of highways 101 and 17 in support of Chief Spence, wrote one of the event's organizers, and because "so many of our lakes on Crown Land are no longer accessible to us."

Police warned locals to expect traffic delays because of the protest, but said they hoped the organizers would ensure the demonstration did not interfere with emergency vehicle traffic.

Chief Spence also issued an open house invitation to all MPs and Senators to visit her at her teepee on Sunday from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. She is expected to make a brief statement to the media at that time.

The NDP announced Saturday that a delegation of its MPs will visit the chief Sunday. The delegation will be led by Megan Leslie and Charlie Angus.

Aboriginal Affairs Minister John Duncan has offered to speak with Chief Spence and form a working group, but she declined his offer because she believes he isn't the one who should be speaking on a nation-to-nation level.

Saturday marks Chief Spence's 19th day without solid food, which she stopped eating in an effort to secure a meeting between First Nations leaders, the prime minister and Governor General over the treaty relationship.

With files from Canadian Press

21.48 | 0 komentar | Read More

India rape charges fail to quell protests

A young woman who died after being gang-raped and beaten on a bus in India's capital was cremated Sunday amid an outpouring of anger and grief by millions across the country demanding greater protection for women from sexual violence.

The cremation took place during a private ceremony in New Delhi soon after the woman's body arrived in the capital on a special Air India flight from Singapore, where she died at a hospital Saturday after being sent for medical treatment.

The tragedy has forced India to confront the reality that sexually assaulted women are often blamed for the crime, forcing them to keep quiet and discouraging them from going to authorities for fear of exposing their families to ridicule. Police often refuse to accept complaints from rape victims, and the rare prosecutions that reach courts can drag on for years.

Security was tight, with no access to the public or media at the crematorium.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Sonia Gandhi, head of the ruling Congress party, were at the airport to receive the body and meet family members of the victim who were on the flight.

Hours after the victim died early Saturday, Indian police charged six men who had been arrested in connection with the attack with murder, adding to accusations that they beat and gang-raped the woman on a New Delhi bus on Dec. 16.

New Delhi police spokesman Rajan Bhagat said the six suspects face the death penalty if convicted, in a case that has triggered protests across India and raised questions about lax attitudes by police toward sexual crimes.

After 10 days at a hospital in New Delhi, the victim, who has not been identified, was taken Thursday to Singapore's Mount Elizabeth hospital, which specializes in multi-organ transplants, but her condition worsened, with her vital signs deteriorating.

Following her death, thousands of Indians lit candles, held prayer meetings and marched through various cities and towns, including New Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore and Kolkata, on Saturday night to express their grief and demand stronger protection for women and the death penalty for rape, which is now punishable by a maximum of life imprisonment.

But even as thousands mourned the rape victim's death and in a sign of how pervasive such crimes are, police in West Bengal state were investigating another suspected gang-rape and death.

In the latest case, the family of a woman said she and her husband were attacked by six men as they returned home after working at a brick factory.

They dragged the woman into a nearby farm after pouring acid into her husband's mouth, the family said.

The woman was found dead with multiple injuries, said police officer Bhaskar Mukherjee, adding he was waiting for an autopsy report.

No charges have been laid. Another police officer, Sugata Sen, said four men had been detained for questioning.

The alleged attack is similar to the Dec. 16 case, where the woman and a male friend, who also has not been identified, were on a bus after watching a film when they were attacked by six men who raped her. The men beat the couple and inserted an iron rod into the woman's body, resulting in severe organ damage. Both were then stripped and thrown off the bus, according to police.

Protesters push against police barrier

Dozens of protesters tried to break through a police cordon Sunday and march to the parliament building in the Indian capital, but were pushed back. The protesters, belonging to the student wing of main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party, shouted anti-government slogans as they marched.

Hundreds of policemen have sealed off the high-security area, where the seat of India's government is located, in anticipation of more protests. The area is home to parliament, the president's palace, the prime minister's office and several ministries.

Gandhi assured the protesters in a statement that the rape victim's death "deepens our determination to battle the pervasive, the shameful social attitudes and mindset that allow men to rape and molest women and girls with such an impunity."

Attitudes by Indians toward rape are so entrenched that even politicians and opinion makers have often suggested that women should not go out at night or wear clothes that might be seen as provocative.

Meanwhile, a United Nations statement said UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon "offers his sincerest condolences" to the victim's family and "utterly condemns this brutal crime."

"Violence against women must never be accepted, never excused, never tolerated," the statement said. "Every girl and woman has the right to be respected, valued and protected."

Ban urged the Indian government to take steps to deter such crimes and bring perpetrators to justice, and to "strengthen critical services for rape victims," it said.

21.48 | 0 komentar | Read More

Dramatic video captures Russian plane crash

Amateur video footage has emerged of the moment a passenger plane crashed onto a highway in Russia, killing five people who were aboard the aircraft.

The video shows flying debris striking one car, which swerves on impact, then straightens and continues along the road.

Behind that car is the vehicle which had the camera, capturing the scene for just over 30 seconds. That driver dodged most of the debris and managed to pull over and stop.

The Tu-204 belonging to Russian airline Red Wings was carrying eight people, all of them crew members, when it careered off the runway Saturday while landing at Moscow's Vnukovo Airport. The plane was travelling from the Czech Republic.

It went partly into an adjacent highway during the landing, broke into pieces and caught fire.

Four people were pronounced dead soon after the crash and the airline said on its Twitter account that a fifth, a flight attendant, died Sunday. Those who died Saturday were the pilot, co-pilot, flight engineer and another attendant, Red Wings said.

Investigators are examining flight recorders and other evidence to try to determine the cause of the crash.

With files from The Associated Press

21.48 | 0 komentar | Read More

Second winter storm in a week hits the Maritimes

People in all three Maritime provinces are digging out this morning after the second winter storm in a few days blanketed most of the region in snow.

Nova Scotia could see up to 40 centimetres of snow by Sunday night in the province's north and the Annapolis Valley. Flurries hit the western Maritimes late Saturday night. The storm is expected to continue until noon on Sunday.

Meanwhile in southeasterm parts of Nova Scotia people are waking up to less snow than they expected in their driveways.The snow has changed to a wet mix of rain, ice pellets and snow throughout the Halifax region.

New Brunswick and P.E.I. are bracing for more snow and rain.

Driving

Police continue to urge motorists to stay off the slippery roads throughout the three Maritime provinces.

In New Brunswick there are reports of drifting snow on roads around Sussex and Fredericton. Roads are snow covered through much of the south and eastern parts of the province.

The Confederation Bridge is open to all traffic, but high winds could cause problems for travellers heading to and from P.E.I. this morning.

Power

There have been a few reported power outages in Nova Scotia Sunday morning. There are about 2,800 customers without power in Clare, Liverpool, Pubnico, Shelburne and Guysborough County.

Nova Scotia Power said it has brought in extra staff ahead of the storm to minimize the impact of the storm on the power grid.

Allan Street in Halifax was blanketed in snow Sunday morning after the storm. (Catharine Tunney/CBC)

Moncton has about 3,000 customers waiting for the utility to restore their power.

So far there are no reported power outages on P.E.I.

Flights

Both the arrivals and departures board at Halifax's Stanfield international Airport are a sea of red. Many flights scheduled this morning are cancelled or delayed.

Two flights leaving from the Saint John Airport this morning have been cancelled. There are also a few flight cancellations and delays at airports in Moncton and Fredericton.

Most Maritime departures and arrivals scheduled for Sunday afternoon are running on time.

On P.E.I., the morning flight to Halifax has been cancelled.

The Halifax Stanfield International Airport is warning passengers to check their flight's status before leaving for the airport.

Ferries

The poor weather has cancelled the Marine Atlantic ferry between Newfoundland and Cape Breton.

The Bay ferry leaving Saint John, N.B. and Digby, N.S. have both been cancelled.

Eastern Canada hit late last week

Eastern Canada had just finished cleaning up after being blasted by another winter storm late last week.

Parts of New Brunswick were hit with between 20 and 38 centimetres of snow and in some places freezing rain and rain.

That system then headed up to Newfoundland, where about 25 centimetres fell on the northeast coast and central parts of the island.

21.48 | 0 komentar | Read More

Vote: What was the biggest story of 2012?

From Hurricane Sandy's wrath to Whitney Houston's death to the Costa Concordia disaster, the year 2012 was marked by many gripping events. What do you think was the top news story of the year?

Scroll through the selections below to see 10 of the most popular news stories on CBCNews.ca this year. Click on the red 'vote' option at the very end to vote on the story you think was the biggest of the year.

Editor's note: Voting began on the following poll before two top stories broke this month: the Connecticut school massacre and Kate's pregnancy.

School shooting in Newton, Connecticut: 20 students and six adults killed
» CBC story

The duchess's pregnancy, a phone hoax and a nurse's death
» CBC story

21.48 | 0 komentar | Read More

Haiti travel warning issued by U.S., Canadians cautioned

The U.S. State Department is warning against travel to Haiti because of recent reports of killings, robbery and infectious disease, and Ottawa is also urging Canadians to "exercise a high degree of caution" because of high crime rates in various parts of Haiti.

The U.S. travel advisory issued Friday says any visitors to Haiti could be at risk of being kidnapped.

The department says people arriving in Port-au-Prince from the U.S. have been attacked and robbed after leaving the airport, with at least two Americans shot and killed in 2012.

"Thousands of U.S. citizens safely visit Haiti each year, but the poor state of Haiti's emergency response network should be carefully considered when planning travel," the advisory says. "Travellers to Haiti are encouraged to use organizations that have solid infrastructure, evacuation and medical support options in place."

The department says Haitian authorities have limited capacity to deter or investigate violent acts or prosecute criminals.

"The ability of local authorities to respond to emergencies is limited and in some areas non-existent," it says.

The State Department also notes that cholera persists in many areas of Haiti and medical facilities are particularly weak.

Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada said in an advisory updated Dec. 21 and validated Saturday that Canadians "should exercise a high degree of caution due to high crime rates in various parts of the country and ongoing political tensions."

The department is advising against non-essential travel to the neighbourhoods of Martissant, Carrefour, Bel Air and Cité Soleil in the Port-au-Prince area "as the security situation is particularly unstable and dangerous."

21.48 | 0 komentar | Read More

Indian woman's gang-rape death prompts murder charges

Indian police charged six men with murder on Saturday, hours after a woman who was gang-raped and beaten on a bus in New Delhi nearly two weeks ago died in a Singapore hospital.

New Delhi police spokesman Rajan Bhagat said the six face the death penalty if convicted, in a case that has triggered protests across India for greater protection for women from sexual violence, and raised questions about lax attitudes by police toward sexual crimes.

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said he was aware of the emotions the attack has stirred, adding it was up to all Indians to ensure that the young woman's death will not have been in vain.

The victim "passed away peacefully" early Saturday at Mount Elizabeth hospital in Singapore with her family and officials of the Indian Embassy by her side, Dr. Kevin Loh, the chief executive of the hospital, said in a statement.

After 10 days at a hospital in New Delhi, the Indian capital, the woman was brought Thursday to Mount Elizabeth, which specializes in multi-organ transplants. Loh said the woman had been in extremely critical condition since Thursday, and by late Friday her condition had taken a turn for the worse, with her vital signs deteriorating.

'The outrage now should lead to law reform that criminalizes all forms of sexual assault, strengthens mechanisms for implementation and accountability, so that the victims are not blamed and humiliated.'—Meenakshi Ganguly, Human Rights Watch

"Despite all efforts by a team of eight specialists in Mount Elizabeth hospital to keep her stable, her condition continued to deteriorate over these two days," Loh said. "She had suffered from severe organ failure following serious injuries to her body and brain. She was courageous in fighting for her life for so long against the odds, but the trauma to her body was too severe for her to overcome."

The woman and a male friend, who have not been identified, were on a bus in New Delhi after watching a film on the evening of Dec. 16 when they were attacked by six men who raped her. The men beat the couple and inserted an iron rod into the woman's body, resulting in severe organ damage. Both were then stripped and thrown off the bus, according to police.

Woman's body being returned to India

Indian police arrested the six people in connection with the attack, which left the victim with severe internal injuries, a lung infection and brain damage. She also suffered from a heart attack while in the hospital in New Delhi.

Indian High Commissioner, or ambassador, T.C.A. Raghavan told reporters that the scale of the injuries the woman suffered was "very grave" and in the end "proved too much."

He said arrangements were being made to return her body to India later Saturday.

The frightening nature of the crime shocked Indians, who have come out in the thousands for almost daily demonstrations.

As news of the victim's death reached New Delhi early Saturday, hundreds of policemen sealed off the high-security India Gate area, where the seat of India's government is located, in anticipation of more protests. The area is home to the president's palace, the prime minister's office and key defense, external affairs and home ministries.

The area had seen battles between protesters and police for days after the attack.

Ten metro stations in the vicinity also were closed Saturday, Bhagat said.

Police were allowing people to assemble at the Jantar Mantar and Ramlila grounds, the main areas allotted for protests in New Delhi, he said.

Protesters call for justice

Mourners began gathering at Jantar Mantar to express their grief and demand stronger protection for women and the death penalty for rape, which is now punishable by a maximum of life imprisonment. Women face daily harassment across India, ranging from catcalls on the streets, groping and touching in public transport to rape.

They put a wreath studded with white flowers on the road, lit a candle and sat around it in a silent tribute to the young woman. Members of a theatre group nearby played small tambourine and sang songs urging the society to wake up and end discrimination against women.

Dipali, a working woman who uses one name, said the rape victim deserved justice. "I hope it never happens again to any girl," she said.

Dozens of students of Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi marched silently to the bus stop from where the rape victim and her friend had boarded the bus on Dec. 16. They carried placards reading, "She is not with us but her story must awaken us."

A wreath and candles are placed on a road as Indians sit around it while attending a gathering to mourn the death of a 23-year-old gang rape victim in New Delhi on Saturday. (Altaf Qadri/Associated Press)

Nehra Kaul Mehra, a young Indian studying urban and gender policing at Colombia University in the United States, said, "We come from a feudal and patriarchal set-up where we value men more than women.

"We kill daughters before they are born. Those who live are fed less, educated less and segregated from boys," she said with a black band of protest around her mouth.

Sonia Gandhi, the governing Congress party chief, assured the protesters in a statement that the rape victim's death "deepens our determination to battle the pervasive, the shameful social attitudes and mindset that allow men to rape and molest women and girls with such an impunity."

The protesters heckled Sheila Dikshit, the top elected leader of New Delhi state, when she came to express her sympathy with them and forced her to leave the protest venue. They blamed her for the deteriorating law and order situation in the Indian capital.

Rape penalties under examination

Meenakshi Ganguly, South Asia director of Human Rights Watch, said the woman's death was a sobering reminder of the widespread sexual violence in India.

"The outrage now should lead to law reform that criminalizes all forms of sexual assault, strengthens mechanisms for implementation and accountability, so that the victims are not blamed and humiliated," Ganguly said.

The prime minister said he understood the angry reaction to the attack and that he hoped all Indians would work together to make appropriate changes.

"These are perfectly understandable reactions from a young India and an India that genuinely desires change," Singh said in a statement Saturday. "It would be a true homage to her memory if we are able to channel these emotions and energies into a constructive course of action."

He said the government was examining the penalties for crimes such as rape "to enhance the safety and security of women."

"I hope that the entire political class and civil society will set aside narrow sectional interests and agendas to help us all reach the end that we all desire -- making India a demonstrably better and safer place for women to live in," Singh said.

21.48 | 0 komentar | Read More

U.S. Senate leaders rush to assemble deal to avoid fiscal cliff

Senate leaders rushed late Friday to assemble a last-ditch agreement to avoid middle-class tax increases and possibly delay steep spending cuts in an urgent attempt to find common ground after weeks of post-election gridlock, after an impatient President Barack Obama pressed top lawmakers to cut a deal to avoid going over the fiscal cliff.

Obama warned that without a resolution, "every American's paycheque will get a lot smaller."

"Congress can prevent it from happening, if they act now," he said in his weekly Saturday radio and internet address.

Following a White House meeting Friday among Obama and congressional leaders, aides to Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, a Democrat from Nevada, began racing against the clock for a bipartisan bargain. The leaders could present legislation to senators as early as Sunday, with a vote possible on Sunday or Monday.

'Outside of Washington, nobody understands how it is that this seems to be a repeat pattern, over and over again.'—Barack Obama, U.S. president

The guest list for the White House meeting included Reid, McConnell, House Speaker John Boehner, a Republication from Ohio, and House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi, a California Democrat. But the key players were clearly Reid and McConnell, both of whom stayed behind briefly at the White House and huddled with their staffs and Obama's top legislative aide, Rob Nabors, in the West Wing Cabinet Room just outside the Oval Office.

Neither side expected compromise to be easy. However, McConnell and Reid voiced unexpected optimism that they could work toward a deal that could win support in both their camps.

Warned Reid: "Whatever we come up with is going to be imperfect."

Looking to add pressure on negotiators, Obama said that if there is no compromise, he expects Reid to put legislation on the floor to prevent tax increases on the middle class and extend unemployment benefits, an implicit challenge to Republicans to dare to vote against what polls show is popular.

Democrats urged to work with Republicans

Speaking for Republicans in a Saturday radio address, Senator Roy Blunt of Missouri sought to put the burden of a deal on Obama and Reid.

"We still can avoid going over the fiscal cliff if the president and the Democrat-controlled Senate step forward this week and work with Republicans to solve this problem and solve it now," he said.

Whatever manages to pass in the Senate, with its Democratic majority, would then face a second test in the Republican-controlled House.

Boehner, a Republican speaker who has struggled recently with anti-tax rebels inside his own party, said through an aide that he would await the results of the talks between the Senate and White House. A House vote could come as late as Wednesday, the final full day before a new Congress takes office.Speaker of the House John Boehner was among congressional leaders involved in talks at the White House on Friday in the latest meeting to see where things stand in the attempt to avoid the U.S. from going over the fiscal cliff. (J. Scott Applewhite/Associated Press)

Officials said there was a general understanding that any agreement would block scheduled income tax increases for middle-class earners while letting rates rise at upper-income levels.

Obama was sticking to his campaign call for increases above $250,000 US in annual income, even though in recent negotiations he said he could accept $400,000.

Tax rises without deal feared

The two sides also confronted a divide over estate taxes. Obama favours a higher tax than is currently in effect, but one senior Republican, Senator Jon Kyl of Arizona, said he's "totally dead set" against it. Speaking of fellow GOP lawmakers, he said they harbor more opposition to an increase in the estate tax than to letting taxes on income and investments rise at upper levels.

But the estate tax was more likely to be used as a possible bargaining chip that Democrats could give away in exchange for higher rates for top earners and other Obama priorities.

Obama and Democrats want to prevent the expiration of unemployment benefits for about two million long-term jobless men and women, and there is widespread sentiment in both parties to shelter doctors from a 27 per cent cut in Medicare fees.

Also likely to be included in the negotiations are taxes on dividends and capital gains, both of which are scheduled to rise with the new year. Also the alternative minimum tax, which, if left unchanged, could hit an estimated 28 million households for the first time and mean an average increase of more than $3,000.

The White House has shown increased concern about a possible doubling of milk prices if a farm bill is not passed in the next few days, although it is not clear whether that issue too might be included in the talks.

One Republican who was briefed on the White House meeting said Boehner made it clear he would leave in place spending cuts scheduled to take effect unless alternative savings were included in any compromise to offset them. In previous White House proposals, Obama has suggested finding enough cuts in government spending to put off the steeper cuts for up to six months.

Obama, speaking to reporters following his meeting with the congressional leaders, faulted a system that left crucial decisions to the last minute, a way of governing that he said the public finds "mindboggling."

"Outside of Washington, nobody understands how it is that this seems to be a repeat pattern, over and over again," he said.

Discussions move in fits and starts

Still, Obama himself is part of the negotiating process, and his meeting with all four top leaders Friday was the first since Nov. 16. A phone call he placed Wednesday night to McConnell was the first the Republican leader had received from a Democrat on the fiscal talks since Thanksgiving.

Looking to add pressure on negotiators, Obama said he expects Reid to put legislation on the floor to prevent tax increases on the middle class and extend unemployment benefits, an implicit challenge to Republicans to dare to vote against what polls show is popular.

The start of negotiations in the Senate marked a new endgame for discussions that have moved in fits and starts since the November election.

Boehner refused for weeks to accept any rate increases, and simultaneously accused Obama of skimping on the spending cuts he would support as part of a balanced deal to reduce deficits, remove the threat of spending cuts and prevent the across-the-board tax cuts.

Last week, the Ohio Republican presented a Plan B measure that would have let rates rise on million-dollar earners, well above Obama's latest offer for a $400,000 threshold.

Facing defeat, Boehner scrapped plans for a vote, leaving the economy on track for the cliff that political leaders in both parties had said they could avoid.

21.48 | 0 komentar | Read More

2 dead in Moscow airliner crash

Two people are reported killed after a passenger airliner went off the runway and crashed onto a highway while landing at Moscow's Vnukovo airport today.

About a dozen people were on board the Tupolev Tu-204 twin-engine plane when it made a hard landing and caught fire, shortly after 4:35 p.m. local time, Russia's emergency ministry said.

The Tu-204 has a capacity to carry 210 passengers.

The cause of the accident was not immediately known. Light snow was falling in Moscow at the time.

With files from The Associated Press

21.48 | 0 komentar | Read More

Stores with video cameras failing to comply with law

Most retailers in Canada are failing to follow new federal rules when it comes to operating video surveillance cameras in their stores and businesses, according to a study by a professor of information studies at the University of Toronto.

Andrew Clement, co-founder of the Identity, Privacy and Security Institute, found that not a single video camera in one of Canada's largest malls complied with the signage requirements of the federal Personal Information, Protection and Electronic Documents Act.

'If we lose control over our personal images, then it's hard to maintain control over other kinds of information.'—Andrew Clement, professor of information studies

Clement and his graduate students collected information on video cameras set up in two Toronto area malls, the Eaton Centre in downtown Toronto and Square One Shopping Centre in Mississauga. Of the hundreds of cameras on the properties, the students found only about 30 per cent had any kind of sign alerting people to their use and none met even the minimum standards required under the law.

Andrew Clement, co-founder of the Identity, Privacy and Security Institute, found that not a single video camera in one of Canada's largest malls complied with federal signage requirements.

"The findings of this study raise disturbing implications, as both video surveillance penetration and capabilities are expanding rapidly without appropriate understanding, transparency, oversight or accountability," the authors of the study wrote.

Under the law, stores are required to post signs outside their entrances that alert customers to the use of video surveillance, its purpose and a contact number so people can find out how they can obtain a copy of any footage that contains their image.

"I was surprised that in our study we didn't find a single one and it shocks me a bit," Clement told CBC News. "There is a resistance on the part of these private sector operators to entertain the idea that they have any obligations."

Clement and his students have now set up a website advising people of their rights when it comes to video surveillance at surveillancerights.ca. And they are doing further work with funding from the office of the federal privacy commissioner. The group has even developed a free app to download that allows people to document and record each time they encounter a surveillance camera.

Nathalie Desrosiers, general counsel for the Canadian Civil Liberties Association, called Clement's findings surprising. She said while many people have come to accept video surveillance as part of everyday life, people also expect to have their privacy rights respected.

Nathalie Desrosiers of the Canadian Civil Liberties Association says many people have come to accept video surveillance as part of everyday life. (Maureen Brosnahan/CBC)

People have a right to choose if they want to enter a store and then have their image recorded, she said, but if they don't know they are being recorded, they can't make that choice.

"It's a question of not depriving people of the opportunity to make a decision themselves about what they want to share and what they do not want to share and that's a fundamental aspect of human dignity."

Desrosiers says this also raises concerns about how the recorded information is being used, and whether the technology is being mined for other reasons, such as targeted marketing or law enforcement.

Chantal Bernier, Canada's assistant privacy commissioner, told CBC News her office receives very few complaints about video cameras used by businesses.

"People don't know … that they are under video surveillance," she said. "If they knew how much surveillance went on, they would certainly object."

While video surveillance cameras have become almost commonplace, Bernier says their effectiveness in terms of reducing theft is questionable.

"Statistics on preventive video surveillance shows that it's practically non-existent. Even in relation to criminal investigations its effect is quite limited," she said. "So the case for video surveillance in relation to security still has to be made."

But Bernier admits her office has little clout when it comes to making companies comply with the law. "The only power we really have is the power to name," she said. "We use it only as prescribed by law and when it is in the public interest to name."

Last year, in her annual report, Privacy Commissioner of Canada Jennifer Stoddart did single out Sobeys, a major Canadian grocery chain, for failing to follow the law. The case involved a customer who slipped and fell in the store. She was not aware that the whole incident had been taped and when she found out later, Sobeys initially refused to provide her with a copy of the recording.

"Our enforcement powers have been terribly limited," Bernier said, adding all her office can do for now is try to raise awareness among both the Canadian public and private sector businesses. "We need to add enforcement powers."

Clement agrees.

"We regulate elevators and all kinds of things. I think video surveillance should be brought under a similar regime," he said. "If we lose control over our personal images, then it's hard to maintain control over other kinds of information."

21.48 | 0 komentar | Read More

The Instagram dust-up: Is anything really free online?

User outrage could hardly be contained earlier this month when Facebook suggested it would change some of the terms of service for its photo-sharing site, Instagram.

The ire raised by the thought that shared personal photos might be used in ads was hardly surprising.

Facebook itself is no stranger to privacy crises and it only seems natural that users of social media would get their dander up when something that seemed to be free might suddenly come with unexpected and very unappealing strings attached.

'They're not providing their services for free and if you're not paying with money, you're paying with something else.'—David Fewer

The Instagram controversy, however, highlights a more universal truth: very little in life — online or otherwise — really is free.

No matter how seductive the internet can be, and how entitled users of various services may feel, there is ultimately a cost to every keystroke or click, even if no money changes hands.

"Those online service providers are asking for something in return," says David Fewer, director of the Samuelson-Glushko Canadian Internet Policy and Public Interest Clinic at the University of Ottawa.

"They're not providing their services for free and if you're not paying with money, you're paying with something else.

"That's true all the time whether they're using your images or just using the information they glean from your website or whether they're following you around on the internet in some way."

No surprises

The University of Ottawa's public interest clinic has long been critical of online services not being very upfront about how they utilize user information.

And Facebook has subsequently said it will change some of the wording on its new Instagram policy, which had users interpreting it to mean that the social networking service could sell uploaded photos or related information.

But as Fewer notes, "there's an exchange happening here, and it should be like when you go to buy something at a store you know what it's costing.

The University of Ottawa's David Fewer. (CIPPIC / University of Ottawa)

"We get really outraged when the full costs aren't presented to us upfront," he says.

Though he also notes that most people "don't seem to have the same ethic around non-financial costs and we ought to.

"We don't do as much work to find out the nonpecuniary costs of these services, and services themselves don't nearly enough work to communicate the terms of the exchange."

Even though internet sites provide their terms of use, and people have to click acceptance, how many people really pay attention to what they've agreed to?

Sidneyeve Matrix, a media professor at Queen's University in Kingston, Ont., says "it's ridiculous" what's required to fully understand terms of service for mobile apps and social sites, and suggests you need a law degree, a background in computer science and a magnifying glass to figure these things out.

"Maybe in order to head off these kinds of massive push-backs and backlashes, start-ups will have to be more transparent and they'll have to provide terms of service that users understand."

Ultimately, though, money will enter into the equation.

"A lot of these start-ups get a critical mass of users by offering us a lot of bells and whistles for free whether it's photo filters or just really slickly designed apps," says Matrix.

"But as soon as they catch the attention of the big players like Facebook you know it becomes so important that they think about revenue generation and getting into the black. With Facebook, that always means selling our data and it bothers people so much."

Privacy settings

At the University of Ottawa privacy clinic, Fewer looks back in time to the old Internet Explorer web browser as a good example of a way an online service could ensure users are familiar with what will happen once they're on board.

"You couldn't install it before setting your privacy settings," he says.

"I always loved that you couldn't do it before talking about privacy and you couldn't install before actually communicating your privacy preferences."

So where does that leave the site user who doesn't have that legal degree or doesn't want to pay more — either through a fee or by having posted information somehow used by the service provider?

Fewer says the marketplace and the law can offer some relief.

"The best thing that can happen to a site that violates user expectations is that it loses customers," he says, noting, however, that it usually has to be something "big and bold" before a user revolt takes hold.

"Instagram was just very … rash in what they decided to do. They thought they could get away with anything, that they could rush to the Facebook model … and from what I understand they grabbed more than they needed in their terms of use and that was a big problem."

Hard to change

Had the proposed changes been done more incrementally, Fewer is concerned there might not have been a user revolt.

Other options for Canadians include launching privacy complaints or class-action lawsuits, but both those would require resources, expertise and experience often outside the realm of an individual.

"Class action is the ultimate discipline," says Fewer. "But it's a high hurdle" to initiate a class-action suit against large organizations.

Fewer says the discipline of the marketplace is "probably the best remedy we have," but it isn't absolute either.

The photo-sharing service Flickr stepped up promptly amid the Instagram controversy to tell potential users about the kind of service it offers in hopes of appearing more appealing than Instagram.

But then what happens if Flickr changes its terms of service down the road, too?

Even if the marketplace provides the best discipline, though, users upset with a site's policies may not feel they can ultimately leave.

"It's not like these services are necessarily freely transferable. It's a lot of work to change from Instagram … or to go from Facebook to Google Plus," says Fewer.

"The major issue is the network. People are on Facebook because their friends are on Facebook. That's where their network is.

"They're not necessarily on Facebook because of its wonderful services …or its unfailing responsiveness to consumer concerns. That's not why they're there and that's the biggest barrier to the marketplace functioning as it needs to function."

21.48 | 0 komentar | Read More

Neil Macdonald: Fiscal showdown at the U.S. Congress

Americans, it would appear, are about to give the world another lesson in their self-proclaimed exceptionalism.

What other democratic nation's leaders, after all, would deliberately design a fiscal disaster and aim the country's economy straight for it?

And then stand back, holding news conferences, double-dog-daring each other to step over some imagined line, chanting the political equivalent of nana-nana-boo-boo?

It now appears the U.S. will actually plunge over the "fiscal cliff" its politicians concocted two years ago.

The idea, at the time, was to create a situation so damaging, so contrary to the national self-interest, so unimaginably irresponsible that even the most hardline political zealot would have the sense to compromise in order to prevent it.

Bad assumption, it turns out.

With the deadline now three days away, it looks as though Congress has rewritten P.T. Barnum's old aphorism: You can, and possibly will, go broke overestimating the intelligence of the American politician.

As that dismal reality sinks in, a national panic is slowly building. Markets are unsettled. Workers are bracing for paycheque shocks when the new year rolls around.

If nothing is done, all sorts of taxes kick in for everyone here on Jan. 1, and the government will begin indiscriminately slicing hundreds of billions in federal spending, a double blow to a still fragile economy.

Americans, who commonly regard Canadians and Western Europeans as a bunch of socialists, are about to suddenly discover the extent to which government dominates their own lives.

Cliff ahead

The fiscal cliff measures could subtract more than four per cent from America's GDP, and trigger another recession, Congress's own accounting office has said.

A grim-looking Barack Obama walks across the White House lawn Thursday, having cut short his Hawaii vacation to deal with fiscal cliff negotiations. (Charles Dharapak / Associated Press)

And what have the people who created this mess been doing about it?

Well, having lost an election in which one of their opponents' main promises was to raise tax rates on the wealthy (defined as households making more than a quarter of a million dollars a year), Republicans immediately declared that the election had changed nothing, and promised to block any such effort in the House of Representatives, the one branch of government they still control.

Then, in behind-the-scenes negotiations, President Barack Obama caved on his campaign pledge and offered to exempt anyone making up to $400,000.

House Republicans rejected that immediately.

Republican Speaker John Boehner tried to counter with a bill that would protect everyone who makes less than a million dollars. But he was publicly humiliated when his own party revolted, or at least enough members to have guaranteed the plan's defeat on the House floor.

Evidently, there are Republicans who want to fight the 2014 midterm elections as the party that was literally willing to risk another recession in order to shield millionaires from a return to the taxation levels they paid during the Clinton years.

Boehner finally held a news conference where he effectively declared that fixing the mess, which his party helped create, is no longer his responsibility.

He and other GOP leaders said it is now up to Democrats, who control the Senate, to come up with a solution.

"The Senate first must act," they declared, ignoring the fact that the Senate has already acted, at least on the tax front, and has passed a bill (incorporating Obama's initial $250,000 tax-rate cutoff) that the House could consider any time it wishes.

The debt ceiling

At the same time as all this is going on, the U.S. Treasury announced the government will hit the $16.4-trillion federal debt ceiling again on Monday.

And, once again, rather than authorize the Treasury to continue making interest payments on the nation's accumulated debt, some House Republicans are willing to risk default, with all its disastrous international implications for the faith and credit of the United States.

The party evidently feels it needs to preserve that threat as some sort of leverage for future battles.

House Speaker John Boehner, How many Republicans can he corral now? (Yuri Gripas / Reuters)

Subtract the political posturing and parse the numbers, and this all makes even less sense.

All that separates the two sides is $450 billion over 10 years — less than one per cent of projected federal spending over that period.

So largely on principle, the custodians of America's economy are about to drive it into the ditch, dragging the rest of the world behind them.

Understandably, American voters are staring at all this with disbelief and puzzlement.

Until recently, most of them were telling pollsters they were confident there would be some sort of last-minute deal. It never occurred to them, it appears, that the people they sent to Washington would actually let the country go over this cliff.

But then, they did send those particular people to Washington.

As the hours tick by, Obama and his party's leadership in the Senate returned to town Thursday — the House is coming back Sunday night, barely 24 hours before the deadline — trying for a last-minute deal to save the entire nation from needless financial grief.

If they accomplish that, it will be nothing short of exceptional.

21.48 | 0 komentar | Read More

Canadian juniors beat Slovakia after early wake-up call

Down three forwards and trailing by two goals in the second period, Canada came from behind to beat Slovakia 6-3 at the world junior hockey championship Friday.

Ryan Strome scored a pair of goals and defenceman Morgan Rielly contributed a goal and an assist to lead Canada, now 2-0 in Pool B.

Canada takes on the United States on Sunday and concludes the preliminary round against host Russia on New Year's Eve.

Forwards J.C. Lipon and Anthony Camara were both out of Friday's game by 6:21 of the second period with game misconducts. That reduced Canada to 10 forwards because Boone Jenner was serving the second of a three-game suspension.

Trailing 2-0 after the first period and 3-1 midway through the second, Canada then exploded for six unanswered goals.

Mark Scheifele scored the go-ahead goal with less than a minute remaining in the second period. Ty Rattie and captain Ryan Nugent Hopkins also scored.

"In an event like this, you've got to find different ways to win and tonight was about dealing with adversity early and staying true to our tasks," Canadian coach Steve Spott said. "I give our kids a lot of credit. They had to be resilient and ultimately find a way to win and they were able to do that."

Defenceman Xavier Ouellet assisted on two Canadian goals. Malcolm Subban turned away 25 of 28 shots on the Canadian net for his second win of the tournament.

Marko Dano scored twice and Tomas Mikus also scored for Slovakia. Adam Nagy turned away 24 of 30 shots in Slovakia's net.

Spott awaited word on whether there would be supplemental discipline for Lipon and Camara from the International Ice Hockey Federation.

Camara, who plays for the Barrie Colts, caught Slovak defenceman Patrick Luza with his head down near the boards early in the second period. Luza was taken from the ice on a stretcher and then to hospital. Team officials said he may have suffered a concussion.

Lipon, a Kamloops Blazer, checked Mikus behind the Slovak net in the first period. Mikus lay face down on the ice while the Canadian was ejected from the game. The KHL's Slovan Bratislava forward then scored a power-play goal on his next shift.

"In my eyes, the two hits were dirty," Mikus said. "I didn't see the second one, so I can't comment on it, but there was ... blood in the face so not clean. Just dirty.

"We scored two fast goals. We should have played defence better, but stupid penalties and we paid the fine."

Canada may escape an additional suspension of Camara at least. Spott said a linesman told Camara his hit was clean.

"I think I've got a full appreciation for how good officiating is in the Canadian Hockey League right now, but saying that, these are the cards that we're dealt over here and we understand there is a different standard," said Spott, who also coaches the Ontario Hockey League's Kitchener Rangers.

Slovakia had taken Russia to overtime in their Pool B opener before falling 3-2. Against Canada, they were the faster, smarter and harder-working team in the opening period.

The ejection of Camara galvanized Canada, while the Slovaks lost control of their emotions. Power-play goals from Rielly and Rattie in the second period tied the game 3-3.

Schiefele's tip-in of a Ouellet shot from the blue-line at 19:01 knocked the fight out of Slovakia for the third period.

Strome says the Canadians didn't panic when their forward lines were depleted

"Everyone wants a little bit more ice time anyway," he said with a smile.

"Everyone stepped up when they needed to," Strome continued. "I think that's the sign of a great winning team and a team that's growing together. You've got to be happy with the final outcome."

The Russians and the United States were to clash in the later Pool B game. The Czech Republic downed Finland 3-1 in a Pool A game Friday.

21.48 | 0 komentar | Read More

Record-breaking storm moves east from Montreal

Send us your storm photos

Submit your breaking news, stories, photos and videos.

Upload Now You must be a member of the CBC News Community to upload. Sign Up now.

The winter storm that dumped a record-breaking amount of snow on Montreal is taking aim at Newfoundland, with Environment Canada saying northern and central parts of the province can expect 20 to 30 centimetres.

"Heavy snow and strong easterly winds over southwestern Newfoundland this morning will spread northeastward today," Environment Canada said.

The low-pressure system producing the storm is expected to move from southern Nova Scotia to near Cape Breton by Friday evening. The system will then track across eastern Newfoundland at night before moving to the northeast of the province on Saturday.

Strong easterly winds will accompany the system, with gusts reaching 100 km/h along Newfoundland's south and west coasts, and gusts to 150 km/h in the Wreckhouse area.

Eastern Newfoundland can expect snow turning to mixed precipitation, and then rain.

Montreal digs out

At least 45 centimetres of snow fell on Montreal on Thursday, breaking a record on Thursday that had stood since 1969.

Roughly 3,000 city workers have the task of clearing the massive amount of snow, but Montrealers will have to be patient as the white stuff is removed.

City spokesman Jacques-Alain Lavallée said Thursday that it usually takes Montreal's snow removal fleet four days to remove 20 centimetres.

At Montreal-Trudeau airport on Friday, there were reports of numerous flight delays and long lines of travellers. There were 225 cancelled flights on Thursday.

Travellers faced delays Friday at Montreal-Trudeau airport following Thursday's record-breaking storm. (Shaun Malley/CBC)

Some weather warnings are still in place in Quebec, including storm surge warnings for the Rimouski area, plus blowing snow warnings for the Gaspe, Anticosti Island and portions of the Lower North Shore on the Gulf of St. Lawrence.

In New Brunswick, winter storm warnings, along with some freezing rain warnings that had been in place for southern portions of the province, were all lifted shortly after 10:30 a.m. AT.

Through Friday morning, Gagetown, N.B., received 38 centimetres of snow, while Bathurst got 20 cm.

In Ontario, the same system dumped 40 to 50 centimetres on the Cornwall area, 30 centimetres in Kingston, and 19 centimetres in Ottawa, which saw its second big snowfall in a week.

21.48 | 0 komentar | Read More

Newtown student's mom pays heartwrenching tribute to daughter

Ana Marquez-Green, 6, right, singing at the brother with her brother Isaiah, 9. Ana died in the shootings at an elementary school in Newtown, Conn., in mid-December. (Facebook)A former Winnipeg resident whose six-year-old was among 20 children killed in the Newtown, Conn., massacre says in a Facebook post that she remembers hugging her daughter before she boarded a school bus wearing a purple T-shirt emblazoned with a peace sign the morning of the shooting, and that her Christmas wish is to "live in a better America."

Nelba Marquez-Greene's Facebook post under the headline "From a grieving mother on Christmas Day" says she remembers giving Ana, who had beautiful caramel skin and a shock of curly brown hair, two hugs before she got on the school bus on Dec. 14, the day a 20-year-old broke into Sandy Hook Elementary School and opened fire, killing 20 students and six staff members.

Marquez-Greene said no lockdown procedure in the world could have stopped someone with the kind of gunpower and ammunition carried by the shooter.

"I have a Christmas wish," she wrote. "I want to live in a better America — one where our leaders are working collaboratively for the good of the people and the protection of children. Please! No more! Ya basta!."

Marquez-Greene then pays tribute to her daughter.

"Sweet Ana, I know our healing as a family will come only from our heavenly Father. I know this is your best Christmas yet — at home with our Lord and Saviour. As your mom I just wish we could have had a few more to celebrate here on earth. You died so needlessly.

"For Christmas I bought you a Kindle Fire HD the night before you died. My Christmas promise to you now is to continue to love the Lord with all my heart, mind and strength and to do whatever I can to make sure more kids can be safe ... and to send out the message that "love wins". I still sleep with your special blanket, most nights in your bed."

Marguez-Greene then offers some advice to people reading her post. "Hug your loved ones tight! Joyous Christmas Season and a Blessed New Year to all!"

The girl and her family had only recently moved back to Connecticut after living in Winnipeg for three years.

Her father, Jimmy Greene, is a musician and professor who is well known in Winnipeg's jazz community.

Hundreds of people came together in Winnipeg last Saturday at Grant Memorial Baptist Church to mourn Ana's loss by watching her funeral on a video feed from Connecticut.

21.48 | 0 komentar | Read More

12 news events we didn't see coming in 2012

While some high-profile events this year hardly came as a surprise — everyone knew the Summer Olympics would happen — others were unforeseen.

No one could have predicted the devastation wrought by superstorm Sandy along the U.S. East Coast, or how a cruise ship bigger than the Titanic could run aground off a tiny Italian island.

Other unexpected headlines were in a lighter vein: the Gangnam Style dance craze launched by South Korean sensation PSY became a worldwide phenomenon and even had UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon trying to mimic the moves.

Here's a look at 12 surprises from around the world in 2012.

Superstorm Sandy's devastation

Fall storms off the Atlantic seaboard aren't unusual, but the strength and devastation in the wake of superstorm Sandy were something else again.

Sandy struck the U.S. East Coast on Oct. 29, devastating the New Jersey shore, flooding parts of New York City and leaving millions without power in 17 states, some of them for weeks. At least 125 people died in the U.S. alone, more in the Caribbean.

Forecasting firm Eqecat has said total damage from the storm could be as high as $50 billion US, a total that would make it the second-costliest storm in U.S. history, following Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

Costa Concordia disaster

An Italian firefighter is lowered from a helicopter onto the grounded cruise ship Costa Concordia off the Tuscan island of Giglio, Italy on Jan. 31, 2012. (Pier Paolo Cito/Associated Press)

Cruise ships are supposed to take passengers on idyllic escapes, not end in disaster, with 32 people dead and their hulls partially submerged off the coast of Tuscany.

Nearly a year after the Jan. 13 sinking of the Costa Concordia, its wreck is still lying where it ran aground off the Italian island of Giglio with a 35-metre gash in its hull.

In an interview with the fifth estate's Bob McKeown, ship Capt. Francesco Schettino suggested he has been unfairly blamed for both the shipwreck and for appearing to abandon the ship prematurely. He is facing trial for manslaughter.

Mark Carney on the move

In the summer, Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney denied he was interested in heading the Bank of England, as was being reported.

Three months later, the announcement that the native of Fort Smith, N.W.T., will leave his Canadian position early to lead Britain's central bank was greeted with almost total surprise on both sides of the Atlantic.

George Osborne, Britain's chancellor of the exchequer, said Carney is "quite simply the best, most experienced and most qualified person in the world to do the job."

Carney had also been courted by key members of the federal Liberal party as a potential leadership candidate.

Rockets target Tel Aviv

With the Mideast already in turmoil because of the civil war in Syria and political uncertainty in Egypt, Israel and the Hamas-led Palestinians in Gaza came to the brink of all-out war in November.

To the shock of Israelis, who had come to trust in their superior military, Tel Aviv became the target of mid-range rockets fired from the Gaza Strip.

An Egyptian-brokered truce between Israel and Gaza's Hamas rulers ended the worst cross-border fighting in four years.

In eight days of conflict, Israel launched 1,500 airstrikes on Hamas-linked targets, while Hamas and other Gaza militant groups showered Israel with hundreds of rockets.

Burma opens its doors

U.S. President Barack Obama waves as he embraces Burma democracy activist Aung San Suu Kyi at her residence in Rangoon on Nov. 19, 2012. (Pablo Martinez Monsivais/Associated Press)

Once considered an international pariah because of its repressive military regime, Burma continued its transition to democracy — to the point where Barack Obama was welcomed in November as the first U.S. president to visit the Southeast Asian country.

Earlier this year, Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird said Canada would open an embassy in Burma, also known as Myanmar.

Opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, the Nobel Peace Prize laureate who spent two decades as a political prisoner, now says she'd be willing to serve as the country's president. She and her party won 43 of 44 byelections in April. The next general election is not expected until 2015.

Obama's first debate

Even Barack Obama acknowledged later he was way off his rhetorical game during his first U.S. presidential election debate with Republican challenger Mitt Romney in October.

The incumbent and Democratic standard-bearer seemed particularly lacklustre and distracted, while Romney seemed much better prepared.

Obama admitted later he had a "bad night," but he bounced back in subsequent debates and ultimately won the Nov. 6 election.

The Petraeus affair

The United States' chief spy might be expected to be above tawdry headlines, but David Petraeus proved otherwise.

The CIA director — and high-profile four-star general — resigned in November after admitting he had an affair.

Petraeus had reportedly called off the relationship with biographer Paula Broadwell four months earlier. But news of the relationship came out after Broadwell emailed a woman she felt was a rival for Petraeus's affections and the FBI was called in because of the threatening nature of the email.

Kate's going to be a mom

Prince William and Kate, Duchess of Cambridge, leave the King Edward VII hospital in London on Dec. 6, 2012. (Alastair Grant/Associated Press)

As soon as Prince William and Kate Middleton were married in London's Westminster Abbey in April 2011, the tabloid baby watch began.

Rumours were rampant, but only turned into a public reality on Dec. 3 with the statement from St. James Palace that a pregnant Duchess of Cambridge had been admitted to hospital with acute morning sickness. Kate has since rallied, and been seen out and about.

No due date has been announced, but reports suggest the child could arrive in June.

Lance Armstrong stripped of cycling medals

A decade ago, Lance Armstrong was cycling royalty, halfway through what would become an unprecedented seven-year reign as Tour de France champion.

This year, though, cycling's governing body wiped him out of the record books for what U.S. sports authorities described as "the most sophisticated, professionalized and successful doping program that sport has ever seen."

Armstrong, who survived testicular cancer that spread to his lungs and brain, had always denied doping. Less than a month after being stripped of his Tour de France titles, he cut formal ties with the cancer-fighting charity he founded.

Felix Baumgartner falls from the edge of space

It is not something that many people would want to do, but extreme athlete Felix Baumgartner was determined to free fall from the edge of space and break the sound barrier.

Launched into the stratosphere in a pressurized capsule from a site in Roswell, N.M., in October, the Austrian man was carried about 39 kilometres above Earth.

His leap shattered the record for the highest free fall ever, organizers said, as he fell at a speed of 1,342.8 km/h. Until then, no one had ever reached that speed, which broke the sound barrier of 1,200 km/h.

Gangnam Style goes viral

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, left, is taught how to dance Gangnam Style by Korean rapper PSY at the UN headquarters in New York on Oct. 23, 2012. (Eskinder Debebe/United Nations/Associated Press)

South Korea is not the usual wellspring of international pop culture, but rapper PSY saw his Gangman Style gallop off around the world — and go viral — in 2012.

In late November, PSY's video of his horse-riding dance became YouTube's most viewed video of all time, checking in with 805 million clicks, enough to push it past Justin Bieber's Baby. It has now cracked a billion views.

Gangnam Style busted out all over, with everyone from UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to dissident Chinese artist Ai Weiwei and workers at NASA trying out their moves.

Who'd want to kill Justin Bieber?

Pop superstars can have their share of stalkers, but rarely do they have hired hit men on their tails. Rarer still when the target is someone as unlikely as Canadian Justin Bieber, a heartthrob of young girls around the world.

Dana Martin, a convicted killer serving time in prison in New Mexico, told authorities he had come up with a plan to kill the baby-faced Stratford, Ont., singer, ostensibly to boost his own street cred inside prison.

The alleged plot came to light when two men Martin said he'd persuaded to kill the singer took a wrong turn and ended up in Canada, where they were arrested — one on an outstanding warrant, and another later.

With files from The Associated Press

21.48 | 0 komentar | Read More