POLITICS: Prime Minster Stephen Harper revealed the details of a Cabinet mini-shuffle in Ottawa — prompted in part by the fall of Maxime Bernier. Philippe Couillard, Quebec’s popular health minister stepped down on Wednesday, saying he
had done all he could for the province’s troubled health-care system.
HEALTH: Two years after revealing her struggle with bipolar disorder, a
straight-talking Margaret Trudeau brought her continued war against the
stigma of mental illness to a Toronto audience Wednesday complete with
a contrite explanation of her recent drinking and driving acquittal.
CRIME: Fallen press baron Conrad Black has lost an appeal of his fraud and obstruction of justice charges and will have to serve out his sentence in a Florida.
WORLD: A man who killed five people and himself in a rampage at a western
Kentucky plastics plant called his girlfriend two hours before the
rampage to warn her that he was going to kill his boss. Zimbabwe opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai called on UN peacekeepers to resolve the country’s electoral woes while international condemnation of President Robert Mugabe swelled. Tropical storm Fengshen, which killed hundreds in the Philippines, is lashing southern China with heavy rains and strong winds, bringing new misery to a region already struggling to recover from deadly floods earlier this month. The Beijing Olympics are looking like a bust for the city’s hotels as travel agencies say many potential travellers are being put off
by tightening visa rules, polluted Beijing air and officials who seem
more concerned with keeping out foreigners than welcoming them.
The
foreign ministers of the world’s top industrialized countries are
meeting in Japan this week with much of their attention focused on the effort to strip North Korea of its nuclear weapons program, and the speaker of Iran’s parliament said the west may face “a done deal” if it provokes Iran, a hint that Tehran might build nuclear weapons if attacked.
SPORTS: The new owners of the Tampa Bay Lightning are moving a million miles a minute, not wasting a moment ever since their purchase of the NHL club was officially approved last Wednesday and have locked up franchise player Vincent Lecavalier with a massive contract.
With CFL season kicking off today, how is your favourite team looking when it comes to the league’s most important position? Also, check the York Report for some early news and views and be sure to check back later today for this season’s inaugural CFL Report.
Entertainment: Metro’s Andrea Woo dishes on Steven Seagal‘s no-show at a B.C. children’s hospital and with three days to go before Britain’s legendary Glastonbury festival, there are still tickets available, an unusual situation for the annual celebration of pop music which many people blame on this year’s controversial lineup.
