How Canadian troops could end up in Mali

In late December, the UN Security Council passed a resolution calling for African troops to help Mali combat Islamist forces occupying the northern part of the country. On Sunday, Canadian Defence Minister Peter MacKay suggested the Harper government could contribute to a training mission in the African nation of Mali depending on the “ask” – this, despite the fact Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird has repeatedly said Canada is not “contemplating” a military mission in Mali. Should the government decide to contribute, here’s how it would come about:

Cost overruns on the F-35 jet should prompt reassessment

The long and expensive saga of the F-35 fighter jet took another turn when Canada announced it would reconsider its promised purchase of 65 of the Lockheed Martin-built “Chevrolet of the sky.” The cost overruns were simply too much for conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper to defend after an independent auditor put the combined purchase and maintenance price of the order at $46 billion over the 42-year life of the project; in 2010, the Canadian government put the cost of the purchase alone at $9 billion. Canada’s decision should be a wake-up call to the Pentagon: Repeated contractual overruns not only affect the US defense budget, but also provoke convulsions in the defense market as a whole.

Budget cuts and F-35 controversy hang over the military in 2013

OTTAWA—As they shake off the dust of a decade’s service in Afghanistan, Canada’s fighting forces enter 2013 facing a new reality of budget cuts, restructuring and a continuing dogfight over the next fighter for the air force.

Having eased out of a tough combat mission in Kandahar and into a lower profile role training Afghan troops, the Canadian Forces will be out of the country altogether by the spring of 2014.

Arctic energy rush runs into a reality check

Mark 2012 as the year the Arctic rush for oil and gas was put on ice.

The harsh reality of finding – and the even more cumbersome process of extracting – petroleum from beneath a frozen ocean with little or no infrastructure nearby, coupled by the expensive price tag, have dented industry’s plans to exploit the polar region.

Beefed-up technology designed for Arctic work has crumbled during testing. Exploration programs have been cancelled. Other seismic testing missions have come up empty. And some companies even swore off ever drilling for oil in the Arctic.

Idle No More spreads beyond border as aboriginal activists ramp up pressure

MONTREAL - The aboriginal movement known as Idle No More continued to gain strength beyond Canada's borders on Tuesday as activists embarked on a public relations blitz in the United States.

Pamela Palmater, one of the leaders of the movement, travelled to Washington, D.C. to give interviews to the U.S. press. She said the goal of the media campaign was to raise awareness internationally and force Prime Minister Stephen Harper to act.

Allegedly baked bills a matter of national security, says Canada's central bank

OTTAWA - Disclosing details of behind-the-scenes discussions about tales of melting banknotes could endanger national security or international relations, says Canada's central bank.

In response to a formal request from The Canadian Press, the Bank Of Canada released 134 pages of internal records — almost completely blanked out — concerning allegations its new polymer bills melted in the scorching summer sun.

Fiscal cliff: Washington’s long drama over the ‘fiscal cliff’ ends

WASHINGTON—Past its own New Year’s deadline, a weary Congress sent U.S. President Barack Obama legislation to avoid a national “fiscal cliff” of middle class tax increases and spending cuts late Tuesday night in the culmination of a struggle that strained America’s divided government to the limit.

The bill’s passage on a bipartisan 257-167 vote in the House sealed a hard-won political triumph for the American president less than two months after he secured re-election while calling for higher taxes on the wealthy.

America's Understanding of Emancipation Proclamation On Its 150th Anniversary Too Simple For Country's Own Good

Abraham Lincoln, the tall president with the stovepipe hat, the full beard and the grief-stricken eyes, slipped away from the White House’s annual New Year’s celebration with a few members of his administration. Lincoln steadied his nerves, then his hands.

After a few minutes, he took a pen, signed the Emancipation Proclamation and ushered in the beginning of the end of two and a half centuries of American chattel slavery, some of its attendant violence and human degradation. Exactly 150 years ago today, the Emancipation Proclamation -- a monumental document written on both sides of an ordinary sheet of White House paper -- declared slaves living in most of the South “forever free.”

India Gang Rape Victim's Ashes Scattered, More Attacks Stoke Debate

LUCKNOW, India, Jan 1 (Reuters) - The ashes of an Indian student who died after being gang-raped were scattered in the Ganges river on Tuesday as reports of more attacks stoked a growing national debate on violence against women.

The death of the 23-year-old woman, who has not been named, prompted street protests across India, international outrage and promises from the government of tougher punishments for offenders.

Check your junk mail? Ottawa's anti-spam rules still missing

If you're wondering what happened to the Conservative government's much-publicized anti-spam law, you're not alone.

Many consumers and opposition MPs want to know why the legislation, passed two years ago, still is not in force.

"I think that this demonstrates that the Conservative government doesn't take privacy issues seriously," said NDP MP Charmaine Borg, who notes that another piece of legislation, the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act that also governs the Privacy Commissioner's Office, is overdue for a review by Parliament.