metronews.ca
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
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Horse deaths investigated Florida authorities have begun a criminal investigation into the deaths of 21 polo horses from a Venezuelan-owned team preparing to play a match over the weekend. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Some love for Canada
World
Some Connecticut legislators want the state to honour its neighbour to the north, and they’re not talking about Massachusetts. The state senate has unanimously approved a bill that would establish June 24 each year as Canadian-American Day in Connecticut. It now goes to the state house for a vote. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Tamil rebels say 1,000 civilians died in army raid COLOMBO Sri Lanka’s Tamil rebels said yesterday that 1,000 civilians died in a government raid on their territory that the military says freed thousands of noncombatants from the war zone. The military denied the accusation. Government forces say they rescued thousands of civilians Monday after they broke through a barrier built by the rebels to protect their territory. By Tuesday evening, the military said some 52,000 had escaped. Thousands of civilians also took to the sea, packing onto small boats to flee the coastal strip of land that the military has backed the
A Sri Lankan government soldier carries a child as civilians leave the last sliver of land held by the rebels near Putumattalan, Sri Lanka, in this image taken from TV footage.
rebels into. Naval boats patrolled the waters, pulling those fleeing aboard their own vessels before transporting them to camps, where Tamils who have escaped the war are being held. On Monday, more than 2,000 people in about 100 boats were picked up. Rights groups say the
rebels are holding many against their will to use as human shields. But those groups have also accused the government of indiscriminate shelling in the tightly packed region in its bid to end the 25-year war. Both sides deny the allegations against them. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
9/11 myth resurfaces A diplomatic skirmish broke out yesterday over suggestions by Janet Napolitano, the U.S. homeland security secretary, that terrorists have routinely entered the U.S. through Canada, including the perpetrators of the Sept. 11 attacks. Napolitano’s remarks in a CBC interview earlier this week have angered some Canadians and prompted the normally reserved Canadian ambassador to the United States, Michael Wilson, to forcefully set the record straight. As the keynote speaker at the Border Trade Alliance meeting in Wash-
ington, Wilson said he was “frustrated” that the 9/11 myth has resurfaced once again, almost eight years after the terrorist attacks. “Unfortunately, misconceptions arise on something as fundamental as where the 9/11 terrorists came from,” Wilson said. “As the 9/11 commission reported in 2004, all of the 9/11 terrorists arrived in the United States from outside North America. They flew to major U.S. airports. They entered the U.S. with documents issued by the United States government and no 9/11 terrorists came from Canada.” THE CANADIAN PRESS
Gun found at home of murder suspect CRAIGSLIST Prosecutors said yesterday they found a semiautomatic weapon at the home of a Boston medical student who has been ordered held without bail on charges he shot to death a masseuse he had lured to a hotel through Craigslist. Philip Markoff said nothing during the brief hearing in Boston Municipal Court. Authorities said they followed a computer trail to Markoff, linking an account used to set up appointments on Craigslist with two women. Markoff, a second-year Boston University medical student, is charged with murder in the death of Julissa Brisman of New York City and kidnapping and armed robbery in the other assault. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS