Gene is Africans shuts the body's immune system

a gene present in about 20 per cent of Africans can shut down the body's immune system, leaving it vulnerable to lethal infections, claims a study by scientists led by Maya Saleh of Canada's McGill University Health Centre.

Fenced by law

A us law to ban waste import from Canada has raised fears of a possible trade war between the countries. A bill to ban Canadian waste imports was approved by Michigan governor Jennifer Granholm last month and now awaits approval from Congress and the president.

Pollution export

The Ontario government recently filed a complaint with the us Environmental Protection Agency. It has criticised proposals it believes will lead to more pollution on the Canadian side of the border from thermal power plants in midwestern us states.

Oral history evidence

The Canadian indigenous community Xeni Gwet'in British Columbia has taken ancient myths to the courtroom as part of a trial in British Columbia's Supreme Court. Embroiled in a two-decade long battle with the Canadian government over the title to their land, Gwet'in elders testified about the traditional names for mountains and rivers in their region.

In court

lawsuit filed: About 100 companies involved in snow-crab fishing in Quebec and New Brunswick in Canada, have filed a us $ 135 million lawsuit against the federal government. Filed in the Court of Queen's Bench in New Brunswick, the lawsuit contests the snow-crab management plan of the department of fisheries and oceans. The suit also challenges the crab quotas reserved for aboriginal fisherfolk following the 1999 Marshall court decision on native fishing rights.

Arctic feels the heat

Give us our due

At the recent un summit on climate change in Montreal, Canada, a group of 10 developing countries led by Papua New Guinea came up with a new proposal. Termed "radical" by the North, the proposal sought financial rewards for developing countries that preserve their tropical forests. The representatives of the 10 nations felt that since the rest of the world was benefiting from the natural wealth of tropical forests, it was only proper that they shared costs of conserving them.

Fiery protest

To protest against mining activity by the Canadian company Ascendant Copper Corporation, in Ecuador, dozens of residents recently burnt down a building owned by the company.

Ozone halo

news reports on ozone depletion are frequent. But a study from the department of chemical and physical sciences at the University of Toronto, Canada, discusses the presence of excess ozone around the Tibetan plateau.

Tactical pressure

Japan recently lifted its ban on us beef imports, which was imposed due to threats of mad cow disease in the us cattle, in December 2003. Japan said beef from American cattle under 21 months old would be allowed back into the country, provided strict guidelines were adhered to by the us producers.