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Investigation

Report issued into four sealers' deaths

HALIFAX - The coast guard should make it standard practice to leave the "absolute minimum" of crew aboard small vessels when they tow them through ice, says a report into the deaths of four sealers from Quebec. The 102-page independent report, prepared for the Fisheries Department, says the captain of the coast guard ship Sir William Alexander followed set procedure and decided to leave all six sealers on board L'Acadien II last spring believing it was too dangerous to transfer them to the larger ship. When the vessel smashed into a piece of ice at 1 a.m. on March 29, three of the men were trapped below and drowned. A fourth man was never found.

Fisheries

Rescuers search for missing fisherman

BRIDGEWATER, N.S. - RCMP have identified a lobster fisherman who went overboard Sunday evening and remains missing off the south shore of Nova Scotia. Peter Bell of Crescent Beach, N.S, was one of three people on board the Rena J., which had been fishing near Cape LaHave Island in Green Bay. A number of coast guard and auxiliary vessels, along with local fishing boats and a helicopter, have been searching the waters and shoreline without success. A Cormorant helicopter spent several hours in the area Monday before being sent back to base, due to a mix of fog, rain and wind. Shoreline searches are expected to continue today.

Crime

Relative arrested in Hudson killings

CHICAGO - Jennifer Hudson's estranged brother-in-law has been arrested in Illinois in the deaths of the singer's mother, brother and seven-year-old nephew. Authorities say 27-year-old William Balfour was arrested Monday at a prison where he was being held on a parole violation. The bodies of Hudson's mother, Darnell Hudson Donerson, and brother, Jason Hudson, were discovered in October at the family home in Chicago. The body of the singer's nephew Julian King was found three days later in a vehicle. Police took Balfour into custody the same day the adults' bodies were discovered.

Terrorism

India demands Pakistan take action

MUMBAI, India - India demanded Monday that Pakistan take "strong action" against those behind the deadly Mumbai attacks, and Washington pressured Islamabad to co-operate with the investigation. The only known surviving attacker told police that his group trained for months in camps operated by a banned Pakistani militant group, learning close-combat techniques, explosives training and other tactics for their three-day siege. At least 172 people died and 239 wounded in the attacks. Pakistan has repeatedly insisted it was not behind the attacks.

Unrest

Canadians to leave Thailand after deal

TORONTO - One week after they were stranded in Thailand by throngs of unruly protesters, dozens of Canadian tourists were finally preparing to depart today as part of a deal worked out with embassy officials. The embassy in Bangkok is helping to extract members of a stranded tour group. Of the 78 remaining members of the group, 37 have accepted the offer to fly out from a nearby naval base aboard a commercial airliner, at their own expense. The tour group was originally scheduled to return to Toronto last week, but Bangkok's main airports were shut down by a surging protest movement demanding the ouster of Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat.

Crime

Trampled worker lacked training

MINEOLA, New York - A family lawyer says a temporary worker trampled to death by customers at a New York-area Wal-Mart store had no training in crowd control. Lawyer Jordan Hecht said Monday that Jdimytai Damour had been working at the Long Island store for only about a week when frenzied shoppers knocked him down on the day after the Thanksgiving holiday. Wal-Mart did not immediately respond to a request for comment. An autopsy found Damour died of asphyxiation related to his trampling.