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Olympics

Athlete's village faces finance hurdle

VANCOUVER - Vancouver's mayor wants the B.C. legislature recalled to deal with the financing hurdles facing the 2010 Olympic athlete's village. The cost of developing the village is $1 billion overall and about half has been paid out already. But the city of Vancouver has been footing the monthly construction costs since October, after lender Fortress Investment became uneasy over its $750-million loan to the village developers. Mayor Gregor Robertson says if that deal falls through, the city needs to be able to borrow the money to finish the village.

Politics

Indian Affairs mismanaged $10M

WINNIPEG - A forensic audit has found top federal bureaucrats mismanaged at least $10 million at the Department of Indian Affairs office in Manitoba and fostered a poisonous work environment. But auditors found no evidence of fraud or criminal wrongdoing and all three unnamed managers have since returned to the department. Among the problems, the audit found that the Crown was shortchanged almost $8 million as part of a northern transmission deal with Manitoba Hydro which was intended to bring remote First Nations onto the power grid.

Justice

93-year-old found guilty of incest

MONTREAL - A Quebec judge will have to decide in the coming weeks whether a 93-year-old man in poor health should avoid jail time after being convicted of incest. Judge Andre Perreault listened intently on Monday as both sides presented widely divergent views on how to sentence Philippe Hamelin, whose case is complicated because of his advanced age and various health problems. Hamelin is blind and deaf and suffers from a degenerative disorder similar to Alzheimer's disease. The Crown is seeking a prison sentence of between seven and nine years while Hamelin's lawyer argued that any time in jail would be tantamount to a death sentence.

Conflict

Firebombers attack Paris synagogue

SAINT-DENIS, France - Two Molotov cocktails were hurled at a synagogue north of Paris, the latest attack in what France's interior minister said Monday is a new wave of anti-Jewish and anti-Muslim attacks over the violence in Gaza. No injuries were reported. Firebombs broke a window and charred the walls of a pizzeria on the ground floor at Chabad House Ohr Manahem, in the town of Saint-Denis, said Isroeil Belinow, the synagogue's assistant rabbi. Belinow said police found 15 other unignited firebombs nearby.

Environment

U.S. releases new Arctic policy

U.S. President George W. Bush has released a new Arctic policy that emphasizes his country's determination to play a central role in the increasingly accessible North. In the final days of his presidency, Bush says keeping the Northwest Passage an international waterway is a top priority - despite arguments that it belongs to Canada. He also rejects any interference from countries outside the Arctic - a direct snub of European efforts to win a voice in managing the region.

Veteran

Man who fought in both world wars dies

One of Britain's last surviving First World War veterans has died, the Ministry of Defence said Monday. William Stone was 108. Stone is the last known veteran in Britain to have fought in both first and second world wars. He was one of just three First World War survivors who took part in last year's services to mark the 90th anniversary of the end of that war. The ministry said Stone died Jan. 10 from a chest infection.

Justice

Mafia boss flees into sewer in Italy

ROME - One of Italy's most-wanted Mafia fugitives eluded capture Monday by climbing through a trap door and into the sewer as police closed in on his hideout in southern Italy, authorities said. Carabinieri police and divers followed Giuseppe Setola into the labyrinthine sewage system but by late Monday they hadn't found him or the bodyguard who escaped with him.