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Top News Advisory as of 9 p.m., Thursday, Nov. 8, 2012(Canadian Press Broadcast Wire (Canada) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) TOP NEWS ADVISORY 9 p.m. Here are the latest Top News stories from The Canadian Press. All times are Eastern unless otherwise stated. Coverage plans are included when available. Entries are subject to change as news develops. Contact the National Desk at 416-507-2150. TOP NEWS AT THIS HOUR Explosion, fire at plant kills two Plant-Explosion SHERBROOKE _ An explosion and fire at a plant has killed two people and injured a number of others.The incident occurred at a facility belonging to Neptune Technologies & Bioressources, which produces and exports health products. Frustrated vets and widows speak out Remembrance-Frustrated-Vets OTTAWA _ Disabled veterans and soldiers' widows have unleashed a broadside of frustration against the Harper government just before Remembrance Day, saying many of them have been abandoned and left to fend for themselves.They have gathered on Parliament Hill to paint a stark picture of bureaucratic indifference and red tape that flies in the face of reassurances from the government, which says the care of military families is a top priority. AUDIO. See also: Remembrance Victoria Cross Veterans' families complain about care at country's largest facility Remembrance-Sunnybrook-Care TORONTO _ Canada's largest veterans' facility is under fire from several families with complaints their frail relatives have been neglected or forced to endure unsanitary conditions. AUDIO. PHOTOS. VIDEO. Explosion, fire at plant causes injuries Plant-Explosion SHERBROOKE _ An explosion and fire at a plant has seriously injured four people and produced a dark cloud of potentially toxic smoke Thursday.The incident occurred at a facility belonging to Neptune Technologies & Bioressources, which produces and exports health products. Fatal shooting at BBQ was gang violence: cops Toronto-Shooting TORONTO _ A snub at a summer barbecue sparked a ``violent confrontation'' between two rival gangs and what's been called the worst mass shooting in Toronto's history, police said Thursday in announcing murder charges.The clash at the July 16 block party on Danzig Street left Shyanne Charles, 14, and Joshua Yasay, 23 _ who police have said were innocent partygoers _ dead and more than 20 others wounded. AUDIO. PHOTO. Ottawa to review foreign worker program Chinese-Miners VANCOUVER _ The federal government says it's reviewing its entire temporary foreign worker program over concerns a company that won approval to bring 201 Chinese workers to a proposed underground coal mine in northern B.C. didn't meet the requirements.Human Resources Minister Diane Finley has released a statement that says the controversy over HD Mining's proposed operation in Tumbler Ridge, B.C., has prompted it to review the foreign worker program. Will be writethru Public inquiry on Ashley Smith needed: Rae Ashley-Smith OTTAWA _ Bob Rae says a public inquiry is needed to get to the root of the tragedy that befell Ashley Smith _ the troubled teen who choked to death in her prison cell as guards stood watch.The interim Liberal leader says an inquiry needs to go beyond the particulars of Smith's death to expose the general inability of the prison system to cope with mentally ill offenders. High court OKs generic Viagra SCOC-Viagra-Patent OTTAWA _ The Supreme Court of Canada has invalidated the Viagra patent held by pharmaceutical giant Pfizer, opening the marketplace to cheaper versions of the popular erectile dysfunction drug.In a 7-0 decision, the high court sided with Teva Canada's challenge of the legitimacy of the patent. It annulled Pfizer's patent, saying it tried to ``game'' the system. PHOTO. AUDIO. Moves Business and National; repeats for all needing Harper looks to Asia as U.S. faces cliff Harper-India BANGALORE _ Stephen Harper is urging the United States Congress to find a solution to its so-called fiscal cliff, a situation that would inevitably reverberate into Canada. ``Obviously the would be immensely helped if the Americans could deal with this immediate issue and the Europeans could accelerate progress on their debt issues,'' Harper told reporters at the opening of a Canadian-managed Imax theatre in this thrumming Indian metropolis. PHOTO. AUDIO. Will be Writethru Bank reform helping economy, says Carney Carney-Banks MONTREAL _ Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney says there is evidence that reforms being imposed on the world's largest banks _ often against their will _ is contributing to economic growth and job creation, rather than the opposite as critics claim.Canada's top central banker, who holds the prestigious position of head of the Financial Stability Board overseeing international reform of the sector, said he will insist on timely and consistent implementation of agreed reforms. PHOTO. Will be updated Housing starts down in October: CMHC Housing-Starts OTTAWA _ The pace of home building slowed in October to a softer reading than economists expected in a report by the federal mortgage insurer, providing yet more evidence of a cooling housing market.Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. said Thursday there were 17,507 actual housing starts last month. That translates into a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of 204,107 starts, down almost nine per cent from an annual rate of 223,995 recorded in September. PHOTO. Moves Business and National Snowy post-Sandy storm hits shaky US East Coast US-Superstorm NEW YORK _ The New York-New Jersey region woke up to a layer of wet snow and more power outages Thursday after a new storm pushed back efforts to recover from a superstorm that had left millions powerless and dozens dead.A nor'easter brought gusting winds, rain, snow and the threat of flooding to the Northeast, menacing travellers with icy roads and snarling traffic once again in the country's most densely populated region. PHOTO. AUDIO. Syrian president says he will not leave country ML-Syria BEIRUT _ Syrian President Bashar Assad vowed to ``live and die'' in Syria, saying in an interview broadcast Thursday that he will never flee his country despite the bloody, 19-month-old uprising against him.The broadcast comes two days after British Prime Minister David Cameron suggested that Assad could be allowed safe passage out of the country if that would guarantee an end to the nation's civil war, which activists estimate has killed more than 36,000 people. PHOTO. AUDIO. Guatemalans huddle in streets after deadly quake LT-Guatemala-Earthquake SAN MARCOS _ SAN MARCOS, Guatemala (AP) _ Guatemalans fearing aftershocks huddled in the dark and frigid streets of this mountain town wrapped in blankets early Thursday, while others crowded inside its hospital, the only building left with electricity after a powerful earthquake killed at least 48 people and left dozens more missing.Crews worked through the night in San Marcos, searching rubble for survivors and more dead following the magnitude 7.4 quake that struck Wednesday near Guatemala's border with Mexico. PHOTO. Frank Stronach resigns from Magna board Earns-Magna AURORA _ Frank Stronach has resigned from the board of Magna International Inc. (TSX:MG), the autoparts giant he founded in his garage in 1957.Magna announced the departure Thursday in its third-quarter earnings report, which showed a big increase in profits, boosted by a revaluation of its E-Car business. PHOTO. Will be writethru Montreal employees: Please don't be mad at us Que-Corruption-Toll MONTREAL _ Montreal municipal employees have issued a public letter to people of the city, saying they care about their community and feel betrayed by corruption too.The letter comes after a report that municipal employees are being harassed and insulted with increasing frequency. AUDIO. BUZZ Defence minister reacts to brownface video Military-Racial-Video CFB GREENWOOD _ The defence Minister says a video showing a Canadian Forces officer with his face in brown makeup pretending to be Osama bin Laden's brother is in poor taste but does not reflect the wider military community.Peter MacKay issued a statement today in response to a video made in 2010 that features an unidentified member stationed at 14 Wing Greenwood wearing a fake beard and turban, boasting he worked with the leader of al-Qaida. Will be writethru NHL talks underway for third straight day HKN-NHL-Labor NEW YORK _ The push to make a deal that would salvage the NHL season has resumed.Key negotiators from the NHL and NHL Players' Association, including commissioner Gary Bettman and NHLPA executive director Donald Fehr, are back at the bargaining table for the third straight day. PHOTO. Will be Updated Electronic blacklist to fight phone theft Smart-Phone-Theft OTTAWA _ Wireless carriers are setting up a system that would blacklist lost or stolen smartphones and keep them from being reactivated.The Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association says within a year, any effort to authorize a smartphone will require verification that the device hasn't been reported lost or stolen. AUDIO. Moves Business and National Cdns to spend 15% more this holiday: BMO BMO-Holiday-Spending TORONTO _ A BMO holiday outlook suggests Canadians' spending spirits have improved this season, with the bank projecting an average 15 per cent jump in holiday spending over last Christmas.The Bank of Montreal's 2012 Holiday Spending Outlook finds that survey respondents plan to spend an average of $1,610 this holiday season, up from $1,397 in 2011. PHOTO. Marilyn Monroe photos on auction in Poland EU-Poland-Marilyn-Monroe WARSAW _ Hundreds of photographs of Marilyn Monroe and other celebrities, including famous ones of the actress wrapped in a white fur coat, were being sold in an auction house in Poland on Thursday.Bidders and spectators packed Desa Unicum house in Warsaw, where 238 pictures by the late American fashion and celebrity photographer Milton H. Greene were up for grabs. PHOTO. Horned dinosaur discovery in Alberta Horned-Dinosaur A piece of a fossilized reptilian horn that sat in an Ottawa museum for decades has led to the discovery of a new dinosaur species the size of a rhinoceros that roamed Alberta 80 million years ago.Pieces of skulls from the recently named Xenoceratops were originally dug up from rocky sediments in southern Alberta sediments in 1958. PHOTO. (The Canadian Press) (c) 2012 The Canadian Press |