Canada News Headlines - Canadian Press

WINNIPEG - A young girl with skin covered in racist markings. A mother testifying in shackles. A father talking about interracial breeding and Norse gods.

MONTREAL - As he scanned an album packed with photos of his seven children enjoying family vacations of the past, Mohammed Shafee broke down while pondering the present.

OTTAWA - Foreign Minister Lawrence Cannon and International Co-operation Minister Bev Oda were prepared to bow as the 125th holder of Japan's Chrysanthemum Throne disembarked from his plane Friday afternoon.

REGINA - The Saskatchewan government wants the province's highest court to weigh in on proposed legislation that would allow marriage commissioners to not perform same-sex marriages if it is contrary to their religious beliefs.

PARIS - Critics of a new hydroelectric project in Quebec now have a prominent ally - Nobel Prize-winning author Jean-Marie Gustave Le Clezio.

Ontario is now reporting 12 deaths associated with the swine flu for a national total of 33.

BUCKHORN, Ont. - The latest soldier killed in Afghanistan was a gentle family man who had planned to return home to his wife and two young daughters at the end of the month, his uncle said Friday.

CALGARY - The officer in charge of the United States Central Command is warning against premature optimism as thousands of American troops surge into Afghanistan's Helmand province.

LAVAL, Que. - A Quebec judge has fined a man more than $40,000 for publishing photos and videos online of himself and his ex-girlfriend engaging in sexual acts.

MEMRAMCOOK, N.B. - Romeo LeBlanc's son gently rested his hand on his father's flag-draped casket and said goodbye to a man remembered by many for his abiding humility despite a life of lofty political successes.

OTTAWA - Canadians remain smitten with Barack Obama.

SURREY, B.C. - Mounties say an officer confronted by a knife-wielding teenager had to make a choice between his Taser and his gun.

CALGARY - The streets of downtown Calgary are lined with wannabe cowboys and cowgirls for the kickoff to the Calgary Stampede.

OTTAWA - Finance Minister Jim Flaherty now expects Canada's economic recovery to be modest and for job losses to mount into 2010 even after growth has begun.

TORONTO - The Globe and Mail and 480 unionized employees reached a tentative contract agreement late Thursday, averting a strike at one of Canada's oldest and most influential newspapers.

NICOSIA, Cyprus - Cypriot police say two Polish men have been detained on suspicion of killing a Canadian tourist who was found strangled in a gorge near a southern coastal resort.

TOKYO - Japan's Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko hope to reach out to Americans and Canadians of Japanese ancestry during a two-week tour that began Friday, but they won't be going to Pearl Harbor.

CALGARY - The soldier who oversees U.S. forces in Afghanistan is giving Canada's top soldier an operational briefing while on what is described as a social visit to the Calgary Stampede.

VICTORIA, B.C. - A minor league hockey player who told a B.C. court that fighting and trash talking are part of the game has been found not guilty of assault causing bodily harm in connection with an on-ice incident last season.

TORONTO - A baby whose health was so poor her parents offered her heart for transplant before she managed to pull through is back on life support in hospital.

EDMONTON - Alberta has struck a 12-member panel, including former Bank of Canada governor David Dodge, to help guide the future of the energy-rich province that is prone to wild economic swings.

RED DEER, Alta. - Federal Environment Minister Jim Prentice says he disagrees with the latest G8 Climate Scorecord from the World Wildlife Fund and insurance giant Allianz that places Canada in last place.

WINNIPEG - Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff is accusing the Tories of dividing Canadians through personal attacks on his patriotism and by dredging up controversial remarks about Ukrainians made 15 years ago.

MONTREAL - A Quebec man who was acquitted of killing a police officer has been granted parole after serving one-third of a 20-month sentence for possessing and storing illegal firearms.

DAWSON CREEK, B.C. - The RCMP say a bomb was behind a leak at a gas well belonging to Calgary-based EnCana (TSX:ECA), one of the major players in northern British Columbia's rapidly expanding oil and gas industry.

OTTAWA - Canadians will be fighting to recoup what they lost during the recession for several years even after growth returns to the economy, says a new report.

EDMONTON - Aboriginal people around the world are increasingly suffering from lifestyle-related illness such as heart disease, obesity and diabetes, according to a major new global study.

TORONTO - As a reason for a party, this one is getting a big thumbs down from public health officials.