Canada
#1 — CBC | Party system touted as way to ease voter choice
A municipal party system may make it easier for voters in Toronto to pick from long lists of council candidates, although it comes with a number of pitfalls, says a longtime political watcher in Vancouver, a city in which such a system is in place.
[...]
#2 — CBC | MLA lured by money to delay joining Wildrose
An Independent MLA who announced last month he was signing on with the Wildrose Alliance has delayed officially joining the party’s caucus, in part to get more money from the legislature.
[...]
#3 — CBC | Boy, 17, sentenced to 7 years after killing mom, sister
A 17-year-old Manitoba boy has been handed the maximum youth sentence of seven years after pleading guilty to shooting his mother and five-year-old sister to death in a rural farmhouse in August 2007.
[...]
#4 — CNews | Ontario residents brace for power bill hike
LONDON, Ont. – Londoner Arnold Hull won’t be helping the city keep a walkway beside his house safe and clean anymore.
[...]
#5 — Globe | Judge certifies $1-billion class-action suit over Huronia institution
Mr. Justice Maurice Cullity has formally certified a $1-billion class-action lawsuit against the provincial government alleging systemic abuse and neglect of former residents of Ontario’s largest ever institution for people with developmental disabilities.
[...]
#6 — Globe | Canadian trade missions ineffective: study
Canadian trade missions designed to bolster business relationships and increase bilateral trade don’t do their job, according to a new report by the University of British Columbia.
[...]
#7 — NP | How the Arctic search team found HMS Investigator
Dangling precariously over the side of a Zodiac while peering into the blue-green Arctic Ocean, the wreck of the ghost ship HMS Investigator suddenly looms large just eight metres below the surface.
[...]
#8 — OC | DND computers used to alter Wikipedia site on jets
OTTAWA-Defence Department computers in Ottawa have been used to vandalize information on a Wikipedia site critical of the Conservative government’s decision to spend billions on a new stealth fighter.
[...]
#9 — MG | Federal deficit to be eliminated a year ahead of schedule: Conference Board
OTTAWA — The federal government’s books will be balanced by 2015, a full year ahead of schedule, thanks to stronger-than-expected economic growth, the Conference Board of Canada said Thursday.
[...]
#10 — MG | Wind farm seeks community support
MONTREAL – If given the go-ahead, it would signal a new era of co-operation between the Kahnawake Mohawk reserve and South Shore residents.
[...]
#11 — Star | Immigration judge sentenced to jail after trying to bribe refugee claimant for sex
A former immigration judge who tried to pressure a refugee claimant into having sex in return for a favourable decision was handed an 18-month jail term Thursday.
[...]
#12 — Star | The sure-fire way to theft-proof your car — but you’re not going to like it
Good news, bad news here. There is a way to practically guarantee that your car will not be stolen. It also guarantees that you won’t want to be seen in your car.
[...]
World
#13 — BBC | Greek police clash with hauliers amid crippling strike
Greek police have fired tear gas to disperse hundreds of lorry drivers protesting in Athens.
[...]
#14 — BBC | Second US sailor missing in Afghanistan ‘found dead’
The second of two US servicemen who went missing in Afghanistan last week has been found dead, Afghan officials have told the BBC.
[...]
#15 — BBC | California ‘fiscal emergency’ declared
California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has declared a fiscal state of emergency, putting pressure on lawmakers to pass a state budget that is now more than a month overdue.
[...]
#16 — CNN | Sherrod to sue blogger who released video clip
Shirley Sherrod told a panel at the National Association of Black Journalists convention Thursday she would pursue a lawsuit against blogger Andrew Breitbart.
[...]
#17 — CNN | Military plane crashes on training mission in Alaska, killing 4 airmen
(CNN) — All four airmen on board an Air Force C-17 were killed when the cargo plane crashed during a training mission near Elmendorf Air Force Base in Alaska on Wednesday, the Air Force reported Thursday. The names were being withheld, pending notification of next of kin.
[...]
#18 — Fox | EXCLUSIVE: Sophisticated Network Helps AWOL Afghans Make Trip to Canada
For the Afghan soldiers who have gone AWOL from an Air Force base in Texas, there’s no place like Canada.
[...]
#19 — Fox | No Charges Filed in Probe of Other Jackson Doctors
LOS ANGELES (July 28) — State investigators probing the death of Michael Jackson have decided not to file charges against seven doctors who treated him, authorities said Wednesday.
[...]
#20 — NY Times | Obama Speaks to Civil Rights Group on Education
WASHINGTON — Saying that reforming education is perhaps “the economic issue of our time,” President Obama went before a major civil rights organization on Thursday to defend his main education program against criticisms from some minority and teachers groups.
[...]
#21 — NY Times | Fed Member’s Deflation Warning Hints at Policy Shift
WASHINGTON — A subtle but significant shift appears to be occurring within the Federal Reserve over the course of monetary policy, amid increasing signs that the economic recovery is weakening.
[...]
#22 — DM | Business backlash as employers condemn ‘rush’ to axe fixed retirement age of 65
Business groups have condemned the government for ‘rushing through’ the scrapping of the compulsory retirement age.
[...]
#23 — Independent | State pension is not enough to live on, minister admits
Millions of Britons face a “hell of a shock” when they reach retirement because of their failure to save.
[...]
#24 — Telegraph | Britain to be biggest country in Europe by 2050
Britain will be the biggest country in Europe by 2050, overtaking both France and Germany, according to official projections.
[...]
#25 — Telegraph | Miss Australia’s national costume is a ‘travesty’
An outlandish outfit designed to represent Australia at the Miss Universe beauty contest has been branded “a national joke” and “a travesty”.
[...]
#26 — Telegraph | BP Macondo well just one of 400k abandoned sites
When BP finally seal off the Macondo wellhead that has been spewed oil into the Gulf of Mexico for more than three months, it will become just one of many abandoned wells that litter the area.
[...]