Canadian stuck for hour on a Las Vegas zip line rescued

A Canadian tourist stuck dangling from a Las Vegas zip line about 24 metres above a street for nearly an hour is back on solid ground after being rescued by firefighters.

Firefighters rescued the man from the downtown Fremont Street Experience's SlotZilla zip line shortly after 3 p.m. local time Friday, Las Vegas Fire & Rescue spokesman Timothy Szymanski said.

"Fremont Street Experience is investigating what happened and will do everything to ensure that this problem will not happen again," said company spokeswoman Lauren Silverstein in an emailed statement.

People try out the SlotZilla zip line. The Canadian man was stuck on a higher and longer line, which propels people in a horizontal "superman" position. (Steve Marcus/Las Vegas Sun/Reuters)

SlotZilla workers initially assured firefighters that they could rescue the man and they stayed with him while he was suspended in midair, Szymanski said. Eventually, workers asked firefighters who arrived to reach the man with their truck's ladder instead, sparing him more time suspended in the chilly Las Vegas air.

The man wasn't injured and refused medical assistance, he said.

The $40 US "zoomline" rides involve flying over Fremont Street superhero-style facing the ground. The zip line begins at 35 metres from a 12-storey slot machine sending riders on a 530-metre long trip to a platform in front of the Golden Gate casino hotel at the end of the street, according to information on the Fremont Street Experience's website.

A witness below called at 2:34 p.m. to report a man was stuck above Fourth Street since about 2 p.m., Szymanski said.

The company also contacted the fire department initially to report the stuck "flyer," said Tom Brumy, director of marketing for the Fremont Street Experience.

Something caused the trolley that runs along the cable and is attached to the rider to jam, Brumy said. The attraction has hundreds of trolleys, and the one involved in Friday's incident had been taken out of service, he said. Brumy said he didn't know if it would be removed permanently.

The man was never in any danger, he said.

The company gave the man and his wife, who made it to the end of the zip-line attraction, a full refund, Brumy said. The company, which owns and operates SlotZilla, also offered them a ride back to their Strip hotel and a nice dinner at Fremont Street restaurant, but so far the couple hadn't taken them up on the offer, he said.

Brumy wouldn't reveal the identities of the couple.

Inspectors from a third-party company that works with the city and Clark County to inspect the area's attractions cleared the company to re-open the ride Friday evening, he said.

21.48 | 0 komentar | Read More

Girl, 7, walks away from deadly Kentucky plane crash

A seven-year-old girl survived a plane crash in Kentucky that killed four people Friday night, and the disoriented little girl walked away from the wreckage and reported the crash to a local resident, authorities said.

The small Piper PA-34 reported engine trouble and lost contact with air traffic controllers as it was flying over the southwestern part of Kentucky about 5:55 p.m. local time, the FAA said.

About a half hour later, a Lyon County resident called 911 and told dispatchers that a seven-year-old girl had walked to his home and said she had been involved in a plane crash, said Sgt. Dean Patterson of the Kentucky State Police.

"This girl came out of the wreckage herself and found the closest residence and reported the plane crash," Patterson said. "It's a miracle in a sense that she survived it, but it's tragic that four others didn't."

The girl was in emotional distress and taken to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, Patterson said. At that point, authorities launched a search for the crash site and also confirmed with the FAA that they had received a distress call.

About two hours later, authorities found the crash site in a heavily wooded area near Kentucky lake, a popular tourist attraction in the state. They discovered four bodies, including the pilot and the three passengers.

An official said the plane would have been trying to land at the Kentucky Dam airport. (Google Maps)

The FAA said the plane had taken off from Tallahassee Regional Airport, Florida, and was bound for Mount Vernon, Illinois. Patterson said the girl indicated that the plane had left from Key West, Florida.

Patterson said in a statement that the victims were identified 49-year-old Marty Gutzler; 45-year-old Kimberly Gutzler; their daughter, 9-year-old Piper Gutzler; and her cousin, 14-year-old Sierra Wilder. All four were from Nashville, Illinois. Police say the name of the 7-year-old passenger is being withheld at the request of family.

Patterson said it had been raining in the area for most of Friday. The cause of the crash was under investigation.

21.48 | 0 komentar | Read More

The Downton Abbey way: Why TV period drama is so hot right now

Downton Abbey spoiler alert: Isis the beloved yellow Labrador is taken ill. But the uncertain future for Lord Grantham's dog during the upcoming season 5 of the British period TV melodrama has nothing to do with producers wanting to cleanse scripts of references to Middle East jihadists.

Isis was actually named for an Egyptian goddess, and Hugh Bonneville, the actor who plays her doting on-screen master, went to some online pains to point out the Egyptian reference after U.K. newspapers went into a tizzy a couple of months ago.

Still, the fact that Bonneville felt obliged to correct the record reflects the strange confluence that can develop between the past and the present for those caught up in a period drama such as Downton Abbey, which returns for a new season Sunday night on PBS's Masterpiece. (British viewers watched season 5 last fall.)

Robert Crawley, Earl of Grantham, and his Labrador, Isis, are seen in this tumblr image of the popular ITV series Downton Abbey. (ITV)

"All historical fiction is a mixture of things we know about the past, or things we think we know about the past, and things we're thinking about the present," says Rohan Maitzen, an associate professor in the department of English at Dalhousie University in Halifax.

Although anyone seeing references to Islamic militants was likely projecting a bit too much of the modern world into a show set in 1920s England, suggests Bill Brioux, a long-time television columnist for Toronto newspapers,.

"This really isn't a show that's trying to make political headlines that I can see," he says. "It's embraced by fans who like period drama," which is huge on TV right now. 

"It really is the hot genre," says Brioux, rattling off shows like Game of Thrones and Murdoch Mysteries.

Make the modern world go away

Brioux, for one, sees a number of reasons for the current popularity of period drama.

"It takes us back to a time and place before cellphones and social media. Just in terms of storytelling, I think it's a richer time."

But the show also has its own very modern way of merging the periods.

"We're at a time when computers can generate entire armies and villages and castles and just a look of a show," says Brioux.

Jim Carter as Mr. Carson and Sophie McShera as Daisy are returning in Season 5 of Downton Abbey, which has been compared to series such as Upstairs, Downstairs. (Nick Briggs/Carnival Film & Television Limited 2014 for Masterpiece)

"Even something like Downton Abbey, you've got to make hydro wires and towers that are erected for cellphone transmissions, you've got to make all that stuff disappear."

(Yet even Downton Abbey, a much-awarded show well-known for stunning production values, can have the occasional hiccup. Much online attention was focused last summer on a promotional photo that had a plastic water bottle sitting on the mantelpiece.)

Brioux sees another technical nod to modern times in Downton Abbey: the way the episodes are put together.

"It's set 100 years ago and it's reminiscent of old miniseries like Upstairs Downstairs, but it's shot like a cutting-edge drama. There are more cuts to this show than The Walking Dead."

It looks like "your mom and dad's show," he adds, "but it's shot for a short attention span generation."

Removed from everyday life

The whole Isis episode notwithstanding, Brioux does see ways in which modern viewers project their lives into period drama, just "as much as if it was Star Trek.

"It's exotic and removes us from our lives today, and it's romantic."

Speaking of which, there's plenty of romance in Downtown Abbey — above and below stairs — and more is promised this season, for the buttoned-up Lady Mary among others.

"I liked Downton Abbey because it's a soap essentially, it's a good soap," says Laurie Finstad Knizhnik, creator of the considerably less soapy period drama, Strange Empire, which debuted on CBC-TV in October.

Finstad Knizhnik doesn't want Strange Empire, a sweeping and non-traditional western set in southern Alberta in 1869, to get as frothy as Downton Abbey.

But she sees virtue in drawing insight from the past, and in exploring larger questions "of how capitalist structures .... changed everything for aboriginals over the course of 300 years."

Cara Gee plays a gun-toting Métis cowgirl seeking justice on the Western frontier in 1869 in the CBC-TV series Strange Empire. (Kharen Hill/CBC)

"It's really interesting to attach that kind of history to the present moment because we tend to wear blinders. We don't tend to look around.

"We don't tend to go, 'Oh I need to read about the fur trade in 1770. I need to understand what was going on then.' And I just find when I do that kind of reading, it just gives so much perspective on the present."

To succeed as a period drama, Finstad Knizhnik says a series has to engage with its audience. And how best to do that?

"I think it's the Downton Abbey way. People develop an affection and an interest, and they begin to care for these characters," she says. 

Getting through the day

Still, if Strange Empire, which features three very strong-willed and un-Edwardian female characters, comes back for a second season, Finstad Knizhnik says it will be a little more soapy.

"You can't really sustain television, I don't think, otherwise. I mean, in The Sopranos, yes there were larger thematic concerns, but ultimately it got down to how Tony was getting through the day. I think that's what links an audience to a show on TV."

On Downton Abbey, there are characters — and actors — who do that in spades.

"Maggie Smith — she's awesome," says Brioux of the legendary stage and screen actor who has gained renown as the Dowager Countess of Grantham.

"It's that basic. People just love watching great actors let it rip."

21.48 | 0 komentar | Read More

4 large objects found in AirAsia wreckage hunt

Indonesian officials said Saturday that they were confident wreckage of AirAsia Flight QZ8501 had been located after sonar equipment detected four massive objects on the ocean floor.

The biggest piece, measuring 18 metres long and 5.4 metres wide, appeared to be part of the jet's body, said Henry Bambang Soelistyo, chief of the National Search and Rescue Agency.

Though strong currents and big surf have prevented divers from entering waters to get a visual of the suspected fuselage, officials are hopeful they will find many of the 162 passengers and crew still strapped in their seats inside.

So far, after nearly a week of searching, only 30 bodies have been found floating in the choppy waters.

The Airbus A320 crashed Dec. 28, halfway into a two-hour flight from Surabaya, Indonesia's second-largest city, to Singapore. Minutes before losing contact, the pilot told air traffic control that he was approaching threatening clouds, but was denied permission to climb to a higher altitude because of heavy air traffic.

While the plane's black boxes — the flight data and cockpit voice recorders — have yet to be located, the discovery of the wreckage, especially if it is largely intact, would greatly benefit the investigation.

The objects were discovered Friday and Saturday and a Geological Survey vessel was used to assess dimensions, Soelistyo said.

Chunks of debris

In addition to what appeared to be a significant part of the plane's body, chunks of debris found in the target search area measured up to 12 metres long.

Other suspected plane parts were seen scattered on beaches during an aerial survey, Soelistyo said.

Indonesian authorities announced the grounding of AirAsia flights from Surabaya to Singapore, with the Transport Ministry saying the airline did not have a permit to fly on Sundays. However, Singapore's Civil Aviation Authority said Saturday that from its end, the airline had been approved to fly the route daily.

AirAsia, which began operations in 2001, quickly becoming one of the region's most popular low-cost carriers, said it was reviewing the suspension. The crash was the airline's first.

Strong currents and towering waves, sometimes four metres high, have slowed recovery efforts, scattering bodies and debris in all directions. The discoveries so far include an emergency exit door and slide, as well as a backpack with food and a camera.

It remains unclear what caused the plane to plunge into the Java Sea, though bad weather appears to have been a factor, according to a 14-page report released by Indonesia's Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency.

"Flight 8501 appears to have been trapped in bad weather that would have been difficult to avoid," the report said.

As part of the investigation into the crash, autopsies will be carried out on some of the bodies, including the pilot and co-pilot, whose remains have not yet been recovered, said Budiyono, who heads East Java's Disaster Victim Identification unit and, like many Indonesians, uses only one name.

Generally, aviation experts say the more passengers, luggage and parts of the aircraft that remain intact, the more likely the plane hit the water in one piece. That would signal problems like a mechanical error or a stall instead of a mid-air breakup due to an explosion or sudden depressurization.

Agonizing wait

For family members, the wait has been agonizing, with local media covering every development and theory, many of which have proved to be untrue — including a false report that a body was found wearing a life jacket, which would have indicated passengers had time to prepare for the impact or miraculously were able to put them on after hitting the water.

With more corpses arriving in Surabaya, some relatives said they were simply worn out. But they were encouraged by reports that parts of the plane had been detected and hoped that everyone on board would be retrieved.

"Let's hope the news is true," said Ongko Gunawan, whose sister was on the flight with her husband and their child. "We need to move on."

Indonesian navy ship KRI Yos Sudarso takes part in the search operation for missing AirAsia Flight QZ8501 earlier this week. (Andika Wahyu/Antara Foto/Reuters)

Vessels involved in the search for debris included at least eight sophisticated navy ships from Singapore, Russia, Malaysia and the U.S. equipped with sonars for scouring the seabed to pinpoint the all-important black boxes and the wreckage.

A second U.S. Navy ship arrived Saturday to help in the search.

The hope, officials say, is that the body of the plane will still be largely intact, speeding the investigation.

"Many of the passengers believed to be still trapped inside the plane's fuselage and could be discovered soon," Supriyadi said. "God willing, we will complete this operation next week."

21.48 | 0 komentar | Read More

Fierce heat thwarts bid to search Greek ferry for more dead in blaze

For a second day, fierce heat from a slow-burning fire kept firefighters and other investigators from searching the hold and garages of a Greek ferry for more bodies.

The fire on the car ferry Norman Atlantic killed at least 11 people. (Ciro de Luca/Reuters)

At least 11 people perished in the pre-dawn blaze on Dec. 28 aboard the Norman Atlantic, on a voyage between Greece and Italy. Authorities fear more bodies might be inside the garage where the fire began.

The ferry was towed into the port of Brindisi, Italy, Friday morning but it hasn't been possible to search that area. Port Capt. Mario Valente said Saturday that temperatures were "very high" inside the garage. Smoke still poured from the wreck.

Four Greeks waited dockside for news of a missing cousin, a truck driver. The exact number of unaccounted for people is unclear.

21.48 | 0 komentar | Read More

'I heard people screaming': Survivors describe how 36 were killed in Shanghai New Year's stampede

People unable to contact friends and relatives streamed into hospitals today, anxious for information after a stampede during New Year's celebrations in Shanghai's historic waterfront area killed 36 people in the worst disaster to hit one of China's showcase cities in recent years.

The Shanghai government said 47 others received hospital treatment, including 13 who were seriously injured, after the chaos about a half-hour before midnight. Seven of the injured people had left hospitals by Thursday afternoon.

The Shanghai government information office said one Taiwanese was among the dead, and two Taiwanese and one Malaysian were among the injured.

The deaths and injuries occurred at Chen Yi Square in Shanghai's popular riverfront Bund area, an avenue lined with art deco buildings from the 1920s and 1930s when Shanghai was home to international banks and trading houses. The area is often jammed with people during major events.

The scene of the stampede in New Year's celebrations in Shanghai - the worst disaster to hit one of China's showcase cities in recent years. (Xinhua/Associated Press)

At one of the hospitals where the injured were being treated, police brought out photos of unidentified dead victims, causing dozens of waiting relatives to crowd around. Not everyone could see, and young women who looked at the photos broke into tears when they recognized someone.

A saleswoman in her 20s, who declined to give her name, said she had been celebrating with three friends.

"I heard people screaming, someone fell, people shouted `don't rush,"' she said. "There were so many people and I couldn't stand properly." She added that she still could not contact one of her friends.

The official Xinhua News Agency quoted a woman with the surname Yin who was caught with her 12-year-old son in the middle of crowds of people pushing to go up and down steps leading from the square.

"Then people started to fall down, row by row," Yin said. When her son was finally brought to safety, he had shoe prints over his clothes, "his forehead was bruised, he had two deep creased scars on his neck, and his mouth and nose were bleeding," she said.

Xia Shujie, vice-president of Shanghai No. 1 People's Hospital, told reporters that some of the victims had been suffocated.

At the hospital, which was guarded by police, a man who would give only his surname, Li, said he had identified the body of his wife's cousin among the dead.

Relatives desperately seeking information earlier tried to push past hospital guards, who used a bench to hold them back. Police later allowed family members into the hospital.

CCTV America, the U.S. version of state broadcaster China Central Television, posted a video of Shanghai streets after the stampede showing piles of discarded shoes amid the debris.

One photo from the scene shared by Xinhua showed at least one person doing chest compressions on a shirtless man while several other people lay on the ground nearby, amid debris. Another photo showed the area ringed by police.

On Thursday morning, dozens of police officers were in the area and tourists continued to wander by the square, a small patch of grass dominated by a statue of Chen Yi, the city's first Communist mayor.

Steps lead down from the square to a road across from several buildings.

"We were down the stairs and wanted to move up and those who were upstairs wanted to move down, so we were pushed down by the people coming from upstairs," an injured man told Shanghai TV. "All those trying to move up fell down on the stairs."

Xinhua quoted witness Wu Tao as saying some people had scrambled for coupons that looked like dollar bills bearing the name of a bar that were being thrown out of a third-floor window. It said the cause of the stampede was still under investigation.

Last week, the English-language Shanghai Daily reported that the annual New Year's Eve countdown on the Bund that normally attracts about 300,000 people had been canceled, apparently because of crowd control issues. The report said a "toned-down" version of the event would be held instead but that it would not be open to the public.

The stampede appeared to be near that area.
 

21.48 | 0 komentar | Read More

13 major news events to watch for in 2015

The 1989 movie Back to the Future, Part II gave the world a fictitious view of what 2015 might look like through the eyes of Marty McFly, predicting things like flying cars and portable fusion power. CBC News doesn't (yet) have a time machine, but as the new year begins, here's a look at some of the real upcoming events that are expected to help shape Canada and the world in 2015.

Republican-led U. S. Senate sworn in

A supporter of Republican U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell raises a sign at his victorious election night rally. (Shannon Stapleton/Reuters)

Newly elected members of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives will be sworn in on Jan. 3. The Republican Party will control both houses of Congress at that point, and are expected to challenge almost every White House initiative.

Republican leaders have said one of the first things they will do is pass a resolution in support of the Keystone XL pipeline and, if necessary, try to overcome President Obama's veto power, which will require two-thirds' support in the Senate.

Pluto mission 

This montage of New Horizons images shows Jupiter and its moon Io taken on the satellite's flyby in 2007. (Johns Hopkins University/Southwest Research Institute/Goddard Space Flight Center/NASA)

NASA's New Horizons spacecraft has already been successfully awakened from hibernation on its way toward Pluto. The probe will provide a glimpse of the far reaches of our solar system during the first half of 2015. 

The piano-sized spacecraft will begin distant observations of the dwarf planet on Jan. 15, and continue delivering that data until late July. The closest approach to Pluto is expected on July 14.

The mission, which was launched in 2006, will gather data on Pluto's geology, topography, surface composition and temperature, as well as details about its large moon, Charon.

A new Manitoba premier?

Manitoba Premier Greg Selinger has faced internal dissent that continues to threaten his leadership. (John Woods/Canadian Press)

Greg Selinger may be premier of Manitoba, but his party requires him to win the next NDP leadership contest if he wants to keep the job. That vote will take place at the party's convention in Winnipeg March 6 to 8. 

Selinger has been dealing with a cabinet revolt, which may be connected to the NDP trailing the Conservatives in the polls for the past two years.

Mike Duffy on trial

Mike Duffy resigned from the Conservative caucus in 2013 amid an expenses scandal. (Chris Wattie/Reuters)

Suspended Senator Mike Duffy is scheduled to go on trial to face 31 fraud and bribery charges from April 7 to June 19. The case relates to his Senate housing and travel expense claims, and a $90,000 "gift" that Nigel Wright, the prime minister's former chief of staff, gave Duffy.

The trial could feature a veritable who's who of Stephen Harper's inner circle. Duffy's lawyer hasn't ruled out calling the prime minister himself to testify. 

A royal birth

Prince George will celebrate his second birthday on July 22. (John Stillwell/Reuters)

The birth of Prince George's first sibling is expected around April. That child will become fourth in line to the throne, right behind his older brother George.

April is a busy month for the Royal Family. Not only does it feature William and Kate's fourth wedding anniversary, Queen Elizabeth celebrates her 89th birthday on April 21.

By the way, if the Queen still reigns on Sept. 10, she'll surpass Queen Victoria as Britain's longest-reigning monarch.

U.K. general election 

U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron will take his Conservative party to the polls by May 7 at the latest. (Dylan Martinez/Reuters)

British voters are expected to go the polls on May 7. That is, if provisions in the U.K.'s 2011 Fixed-Term Parliaments act are followed. Under the Act, the current parliament gets dissolved on March 30.

However, the U.K. parliament can order an earlier vote.

The latest polls have the governing Conservative and opposition Labour parties running neck-and-neck. The big change in support has been the plunge by the second party in the government coalition, the Liberal Democrats. Meanwhile, the right-wing UK Independence Party has gone from three per cent in the 2010 election to the mid-teens in the latest British polls.

FIFA Women's World Cup

Canada's Lindsay Agnew is surrounded by German defenders at the FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup quarter-finals in Edmonton last August. (Jason Franson/Canadian Press)

The 24 top women's soccer teams take part in the FIFA Women's World Cup tournament, which opens in Edmonton with Canada vs. China on June 6.

The final match happens July 5 in Vancouver. Teams will also play in Moncton, Montreal, Ottawa and Winnipeg. 

The tournament is currently the subject of a lawsuit by a group of players who allege FIFA discriminates against women by forcing them to play on artificial turf that carries a higher risk of injury, rather than on grass which is required for the men's tournament.

Pan Am Games

Karate athletes helped unveil Pachi the porcupine as the new mascot for the Toronto 2015 Pan Am/Parapan Am Games in Toronto. (Michelle Su/Canadian Press)

Thousands of athletes will descend on southern Ontario this summer for the Pan American and Parapan American Games.

The Pan Am Games take place July 7 to 26, with the Parapan Games following on Aug. 7-15.

Events will be held at 34 different venues across southern Ontario, from the Niagara region north to Orillia. The ever-expanding budget and taxpayer-funded perks for Games' executives have brought controversy in the lead-up to the games.

A torch relay through major cities across Canada and more than 100 Ontario towns will kick off the event.

David Letterman retires

Stephen Colbert will succeed David Letterman as the host of the CBS's Late Show. (Jason Reed/Lucas Jackson/Reuters)

In April 2014, David Letterman announced he would be retiring as host of The Late Show in 2015. That's expected to happen in August, when his current CBS contract ends.

Although the exact date isn't public, we do know that Stephen Colbert, former host of the Colbert Report, will replace Letterman.

Paul Shaffer, the Canada-born band leader on The Late Show, said in November that he won't be retiring.

Federal election in Canada

Stephen Harper, Justin Trudeau and Tom Mulcair will lead their parties to the polls by Oct. 19 at the latest. (Mark Blinch/Reuters/Nathan Denette/Canadian Press/Jonathan Hayward/Canadian Press)

Canada's next federal election should take place on Oct. 19, according to the law on fixed election dates. If that happens, it will be the first fixed-date federal election.

However, the Prime Minister could ask the Governor General to call the election for another date.

If the federal election is held on or about Oct. 19, scheduled elections in Prince Edward Island, Manitoba and Saskatchewan will be moved to April 2016, to avoid overlapping election campaign periods. The Northwest Territories legislature has requested that their elections, scheduled for Oct. 5, be moved a full one year later. The federal government must approve that request.

Under Manitoba's election act, if the date of the federal election hasn't changed by Jan. 1, that provincial election date shifts to April 19, 2016.

Expect a general election in Newfoundland and Labrador on or before Sept. 26, 2015.

Marty McFly, Doc Brown go Back to the Future

Marty McFly ( Michael J. Fox) gets his first look at the future moments after arriving there on Oct. 21, 2015, in this scene from the 1989 film, Back to the Future, Part II. (Universal)

​

In the 1989 film Back to the Future, Part II, Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox) and Dr. Emmett Brown (Christopher Lloyd) time travel to Oct. 21, 2015.

Plans to stage a musical in London's West End to mark the original Back to the Future movie's 30th anniversary next year have been delayed until 2016, but next summer London will have it's own version of Hill Valley, Marty's hometown in the films. That will happen July 24 to Aug. 10, in conjunction with a screening of the original film by Secret Cinema.

Starting in Switzerland in May there will be orchestras performing the Back to the Future soundtrack during film screenings. The original score by Alan Silvestri has been edited out of the film for the event and "Silvestri is preparing 15 minutes of new score exclusively for these special presentations," according to Variety.

Elections in Spain

Pablo Iglesias, secretary general of Podemos, is lit by red lights coming from a journalist's device during a news conference in Spain. (Daniel Ochoa de Olza/Associated Press)

In Spain, a  new left-wing party, Podemos, now leads in the polls. If Podemos remains in the lead until elections set to take place before Dec. 20, and possibly as early as October, it could mean a huge change in a country still reeling from the economic crisis and widespread political corruption.

Since 1982, Spain has been ruled by either the right wing Popular Party, now in office, or the Socialist party. 

Star Wars episode 7 debuts

Star Wars: The Force Awakens is expected in theatres on Dec. 18, 2015. (LucasFilm/Disney/AP)

Star Wars: The Force Awakens, the seventh episode in the epic film series, is to be released on Dec. 18.

The first teaser trailer was released in November and the rumours and unconfirmed leaks are flying. Force Awakens is said to be the darkest episode to date and Finn, the character played by John Boyega, is supposed to be the new Luke Skywalker.

J.J. Abrams directs the new film.

21.48 | 0 komentar | Read More

New family tax breaks, smoking rules and more take effect Jan. 1

In Ontario, it will be illegal to smoke at children's playgrounds, publicly owned sports fields and restaurant and bar patios as of Jan. 1.

As well, tobacco cannot be legally sold on university and college campuses.

The provincial government announced the ban in November. 

It is one of a number of new laws and regulations — at both the provincial and federal levels — that are to take effect in the new year.

Here are seven ways life will change in Canada on Jan. 1.

1. Child care tax break for parents

Families with children under 18 will receive new tax breaks starting Jan. 1, though Ottawa won't begin paying them out until July, just a few months before the federal election set for Oct. 19.

The universal child care benefit per child under six is to rise from $100 to $160 a month or $1,920 a year. For each child six to 17 years old, families can also now receive a federal tax credit of up to $720 per year. 

Those families will receive their first cheques in July, a lump-sum payment for the first half of 2015. 

The Conservative government is also introducing a version of the family income-splitting promise it made in the 2011 election, to apply to the 2014 tax year. It will be capped at $2,000 per family.

And the federal children's fitness tax credit becomes fully refundable as of Jan. 1, which means families whose incomes are too low to pay taxes will still get money.

2. Fast-track immigration comes to Canada

Skilled workers who want to immigrate to Canada will be able to apply through a new "express entry" system that launches Jan. 1.

Would-be immigrants with a job offer go to the front of the line, as do applicants 20-29 years old with a PhD, language proficiency and past work experience in Canada.

With express entry, qualified applicants will be invited to become permanent residents, and Ottawa is promising the processing time for that should be about six months, compared to the current wait of about two years.

The government says giving preference to "only the candidates who are most likely to succeed — not simply the first to submit their application" — will better meet local labour market needs. Provinces and employers will be able to select people from the pool of applicants created by this new system.

Critics like immigration lawyer Richard Kurland say the government will now be deciding who the winners and losers will be in a system without "transparency, oversight, or accountability."

Quebec will not take part in the express entry system.

3. Higher tariffs on some imports

In a follow-on to the 2013 budget, new tariffs amounting to some $333 million annually will be applied to 72 countries, including such prominent consumer product exporters as Brazil, China, Indonesia, Mexico, Singapore and South Korea.

Those countries had been on a list of less developed countries that were subject to lower tariffs since 1974 but which are now considered "higher-income and trade-competitive."

Less than two per cent of imported goods will be affected, and certain high-profile consumer goods, such as iPods and MP3 players, have been exempted.

4. Free trade with South Korea begins

Korean President Park Geun-hye, left, listens to Prime Minister Stephen Harper respond to a question during a joint media availability in September after the two leaders formally signed a free-trade agreement. (Adrian Wyld/Canadian Press)

The Canada-South Korea free trade agreement comes into force Jan. 1. The Canadian government forecasts exports to Korea will increase 32 per cent.

The agreement is especially good news for  Canadian cattle and pork producers. For example, the 40 per cent Korean tariff on Canadian beef will be gradually eliminated over 15 years.

The agreement was signed in Ottawa on Sept 22. Ottawa sees the pact with Korea as a stepping stone to other free trade agreements in Asia.

5. New anti-doping program for athletes

For athletes New Year's day is also when the new anti-doping code takes effect.

The revised Canadian Anti-Doping Program has some changes for specific drugs, sanctions and test procedures, but it also has a new offence: athletes are not permitted to work with coaches, trainers, physicians or other athlete support personnel who are ineligible because of an anti-doping rule violation.

The statute of limitations on doping goes from eight years to 10 years, so a decade-old violation of anti-doping rules can result in sanctions.

Administered by the non-profit Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport, the changes are designed to ensure Canada is in compliance with the World Anti-Doping Code.

6. New rail safety requirement

Railway operating certificates from the federal government become mandatory Jan. 1, at least for new operators.

This new requirement for rail companies follows a recommendation of the Auditor General after the train derailment and explosions that devastated Lac-Megantic, Que. in 2013.

New safety regulations for railways, including some rolling out Thursday, have flowed from the tragedy in downtown Lac-Megantic, Que., in July 2013. (Paul Chiasson/The Canadian Press)

Now Transport Canada will have the power to shut down a railroad's operations without going to court. The ministry says a revocation will only happen if there is an extreme violation of the safety regulations.

On the other hand, should an extreme violation happen and the government not act, it may be held to account.

Transport Canada says it will take only an hour to complete the certificate, but it is giving existing railways two years to do so.

7. Abortion restrictions end in New Brunswick

Effective Jan. 1, New Brunswick is eliminating the restrictive rule that required women seeking a hospital abortion to have two doctors certify the procedure is medically necessary.

The change, which flowed from the closure of the private Morgentaler clinic in Fredericton in July, a September election and a change in government, will put abortion in the same category as any insured medical service. 

21.48 | 0 komentar | Read More

Passenger is 1st body identified from crashed AirAsia plane

A passenger aboard AirAsia Flight 8501 became the first victim of the crash to be returned to her family today, one of many painful reunions to come, as search crews struggled against wind and heavy rain to find more than 150 people still missing. 
 
Hayati Lutfiah Hamid's identity was confirmed by fingerprints and other means, said Col. Budiyono of East Java's Disaster Victim Identification Unit.

Her body, in a dark polished casket topped with flowers, was handed over to her family at a brief ceremony at a police hospital in Surabaya, the Indonesian city where the plane had taken off. A family member cried as she put both hands on the coffin.

After a Muslim cleric said a prayer for the deceased, the casket was immediately taken to a village and lowered into a muddy grave, following Muslim obligations requiring bodies to be buried quickly. An imam said a simple prayer as about 150 people gathered in the drizzling rain, and red flowers were sprinkled over the mound of wet dirt with a small white tombstone.

The Airbus A320 crashed into the Java Sea on Sunday with 162 people on board. Nine bodies have been recovered so far, including two on Thursday. Remains are being sent initially to Pangkalan Bun, the closest town on Borneo island, before being transported to Surabaya, Indonesia's second-largest city, where Flight 8501 had taken off.

In the thick of Indonesia's rainy season, the weather has frequently prevented helicopters and divers from operating while strong sea currents have kept debris moving.

Indonesian children hold candles to pray for the victims of AirAsia Flight 8501 in Surabaya, Indonesia, on Wednesday. (Firdai Lisnawati/Associated Press)

Singapore's navy sent in an unmanned underwater vehicle capable of surveying the seabed to try to help pinpoint the wreckage and the all-important "black boxes" — the flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder. Indonesian equipment in the search includes a minesweeper, a private survey ship that specializes in sea mapping and a vessel that can conduct 3D imaging and detect pings from the black boxes. Aircraft capable of detecting metal also were deployed.

We are "focusing on finding the body of the plane," Indonesia air force spokesman Rear Marshal Hadi Tjahjanto told reporters. "There was something like a dark shadow once seen from a plane, but it cannot yet be proven as wreckage."

The seven bodies were recovered from an area off Borneo island, about 160 kilometres from the site where bodies were first spotted. Remains are being sent initially to Pangkalan Bun, the closest town, before being transported to Surabaya, Indonesia's second-largest city, where Flight 8501 had taken off.

Choppy conditions had prevented divers from entering the water Wednesday, and helicopters were largely grounded, but 18 ships continued to survey the narrowed search area.

Sonar images have identified what appeared to be large parts of the plane.

"It's possible the bodies are in the fuselage," said Vice Air Marshal Sunarbowo Sandi, search and rescue coordinator in Pangkalan Bun. "So it's a race now against time and weather."

The longer the search takes, the more bodies will decompose and the more debris will scatter.

Aviation expert Geoffrey Thomas in Australia said there's a good chance the plane hit the water largely intact, and that many passengers remain inside it.

He said the bodies recovered so far "would have come out with a breach in the fuselage," he said. "But most passengers still should have had their seat belts on, particularly as the plane was going into weather. The captain would have still had the seat belt sign on."

It is unclear what brought the plane down about halfway into its two-hour flight from Surabaya to Singapore. The jet's last communication indicated the pilots were worried about bad weather. They sought permission to climb above threatening clouds but were denied because of heavy air traffic. Four minutes later, the airliner disappeared from the radar without issuing a distress signal.

The black boxes hold data that will help investigators determine the cause of the crash but have yet to be recovered. Items recovered so far include a life jacket, an emergency exit door, an inflatable slide, children's shoes, a blue suitcase and backpacks filled with food.

Officials have not announced the identities of the recovered bodies. Relatives have given blood for DNA tests and submitted photos of their loved ones, along with identifying information such as tattoos or birthmarks that could help make the process easier.

Indonesian navy ship KRI Yos Sudarso takes part in the search operation for missing AirAsia Flight QZ8501, as seen from an Indonesian Hercules aircraft, south of Pangkalan Bun, central Kalimantan on Tuesday, in this photo taken by Antara Foto. (Andika Wahyu/Antara Foto/Reuters)

The long wait, with its starts and stops, has been frustrating for Sugiarti, 35. Her 40-year-old sister, Susiyah, was a nanny traveling to Singapore for a vacation with her employers and their 2-year-old daughter.

"I hope that they can find her body soon. I feel sorry for my sister because it has already been five days," she told reporters at a crisis center set up at a Surabaya police station. "I am trying very hard to be patient."

Nearly all the passengers were Indonesian, and many were Christians of Chinese descent. The country is predominantly Muslim, but sizeable pockets of people of other faiths are found throughout the sprawling archipelago. 

21.48 | 0 komentar | Read More

Up to 7 shot, 2 with life-threatening injuries in Calgary New Year's shooting

As many as seven people were shot overnight in the southwest Calgary neighbourhood of Killarney, including two people with life-threatening injuries, police say.

Det. Steve Adair said city police received multiple 911 calls from what they believed was a house party at the 1900 block of 36th Street S.W. at about 5:05 a.m. MT Thursday. 

The number of injured is unclear, but it's believed to be between five and seven.

Police are looking for multiple individuals who fled the scene before police arrived, Adair said.

About 50 people were at or near the residence.

Fifteen witnesses have been taken to headquarters to be interviewed, he said.

  
 

21.48 | 0 komentar | Read More