NEWS IMAGE COLLAGE / for 12-2010

Weather woes continue to disrupt travel plans for European air passengers, as snow on the roof forced officials to evacuate about 2,000 passengers from a terminal at Paris's Charles de Gaulle airport Friday.

Santa Claus has arrived in eastern Canada and was met by CF-18 pilots to ensure he is safely escorted across the country.

Most Canadians dreaming of a white Christmas can rest easy, according to Environment Canada senior climatologist David Phillips.

The technicians, analysts and generals at the North American Aerospace Defence command (Norad) are the keepers of hundreds of military secrets, but perhaps the most closely guarded is how they manage to track Santa's flight path every Christmas Eve.

A group of Canadian soldiers made it home just in time for Christmas Friday, returning to a tearful but happy reunion with their families after seven months in Afghanistan.

Marine Atlantic's efforts to clear a backlog of traffic in both Nova Scotia and southern Newfoundland were hampered Friday as a stubborn storm continued to howl

A Lower Sackville, N.S., family that spent last Christmas in the hospital because baby Lily Mansfield was deathly ill is enjoying a happy and healthy holiday period this year.

Stormy weather in the past few days has been bad news for a number of birds near Prince Edward Island.

A P.E.I. fish-plant worker made the rare discovery of a pearl in an oyster after only six weeks on the job.

The bell at the Assumption Cathedral in Moncton, N.B., will ring out for mass for the first time in 10 years Christmas Eve. The bell was silenced because of ongoing structural problems at the aging church, but a group of parishioners has managed to fix th

A sick Ottawa toddler can hear jingling bells and Santa's bellowing "Ho-ho-ho" again this Christmas, thanks to surgical implants.

Dreaming of a white Christmas? You are in luck, unless you live on either one of Canada's coasts.

An Israeli teenage hockey team enjoyed a special holiday treat after arriving in Windsor, Ont., for a bantam-midget tournament.

Saskatoon is the best city in Canada to be a kid at Christmas, according to a study at the University of Toronto.

Two Calgary men just finished up a friendly competition over who can put up the best Christmas lights display

Santa's been getting a little impromptu help from a B.C. resident this season. Adam, who asked that his full name not be revealed, has been busy on the CBCNews.ca comment boards responding under the moniker Kris Kringle to individual users fretting over w

A stormy Christmas Eve is shaping up for B.C.'s southwest coast, with torrential rain and flooding, cancelled ferries, power outages and extreme avalanche risks.

Fifteen homes have been evacuated after a storm surge hit Newfoundland's Northern Peninsula on Friday morning, washing several fishing buildings out to sea.

(CNN) -- WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange hit back at high-profile critics in the United States in a TV interview Wednesday.

Mummering, a Christmas tradition that was imported to Newfoundland centuries ago by Irish and English migrants, is stronger than ever, with colourful costumes, raucous music and a touch of a roguish past.

Hundreds of Marine Atlantic passengers are expected to arrive in Nova Scotia late Thursday night, following days of disrupted ferry service due to stormy weather.

After high winds and crashing waves caused extensive damage along the Northumberland Strait this week, a few surfers tried to enjoy the wild weather.

The city councillor for the district of Mile End in Montreal says his constituents aren't interested in having a public space named after Mordecai Richler. "There's no genuine grass roots support for this initiative from within our community," said Alex N

An Ottawa scientist has developed a new, stronger type of concrete that may adds years to the lifespan of Canada's bridges.

While emergency and medical service workers have always been on shift Christmas Day, it seems more employers are requiring staff to work on special holidays.

A syphilis outbreak in Alberta that has been steadily gaining momentum for a decade has health officials sounding the alarm.

The submarine, which has been in dry dock at CFB Esquimalt near Victoria for more than three years, was expected to return to service in late 2010.

Parts of southwestern British Columbia including Vancouver Island and the Lower Mainland are gearing up for a soggy Christmas with a series of rainfall and wind warnings in place.

Gone are the days of children huddling around the radio on Christmas Eve waiting for the latest on Santa's travel progress.

SHEDIAC, N.B. - Cleanup began along New Brunswick's storm-ravaged east coast Thursday with early damage estimates already climbing into the millions of dollars.

The Supreme Court of Canada has paved the way for a class-action lawsuit over military veterans' pensions.

Doug Rogers, owner of a half-Brahma saddle steer named Wild West Willie, hits the highway on Boxing Day to haul his bovine buddy to Pasadena, Calif., for the 2011 Rose Bowl parade.

A population of inbred cannibalistic cod in the North could soon be added to the federal government's Species at Risk Act.

Henrik Zetterberg's second goal of the game at 2:59 of overtime Wednesday gave the Detroit Red Wings a 5-4 win over the Vancouver Canucks.

Vancouver police have issued a public warning after a woman was sexually assaulted on the city's east side Tuesday night.

An East Vancouver house fire that killed three men and left one other injured is being blamed on a faulty extension cord connected to an old set of Christmas lights.

Scientists say an entirely separate type of human identified from bones in Siberia co-existed and interbred with our own species. The ancient humans have been dubbed "Denisovans" after the caves in Siberia where their remains were found.

Environmental campaigners in the US have lost a battle to have the polar bear listed as an "endangered" species.

All the elves at Santa's workshop at the North Pole are busy putting the final touches on gifts for boys and girls around the world.

Imagine being an elderly senior at Christmas and having no one to share the day with. No family. No friends. No presents to open.

This summer's discovery of the 19th-century wreck of the HMS Investigator, announced in July by a team of Parks Canada researchers scanning Arctic waters off Banks Island, has been named one of the 10 most important archeological finds of 2010 by the worl

The Ottawa-based Canadian Special Operations Forces Command (CANSOFCOM) had been looking to replace its Humvee vehicles, now being used in Afghanistan by units such as Joint Task Force 2, but had to cut short its plans after the trucks being examined were

LONDON - Fresh snow forecasts threatened to prolong chaos caused by a cold snap that could also dent German growth, and airlines and rail networks struggled to restore normal services in parts of Europe on Wednesday.

Marine Atlantic says it will attempt a ferry crossing between Nova Scotia and southern Newfoundland on Wednesday night. The Joseph and Clara Smallwood MV has already left the dock at Port aux Basques, N.L., said Tara Laing, a spokeswoman for the Crown cor

Europe's travel chaos is easing slightly as airports recover following a winter storm, but travellers are warned they could still face delays and cancellations as airlines struggle to clear the backlog.

The Vancouver Canucks and Detroit Red Wings are each contending for another division title, but the teams are heading in opposite directions. The Canucks will try to post a fifth straight win in their first trip to Joe Louis Arena this season, while the R

New Brunswick's most famous beach and a popular sand-dune preservation area have been heavily damaged by a storm surge that is pounding province's east coast.

CHICAGO - As fires go, the one that broke out Wednesday in a small vacant building on the city's South Side was likely to be pretty routine for the Chicago Fire Department. Instead, it caused the deaths of two firefighters, trapped under debris with two o

Defence Minister Peter MacKay is calling on the Afghan government to "pick up the slack" as the Canadian military hammers out the details and logistics of its new training mission in Afghanistan

OTTAWA - Insulting remarks, giggling, harassment and the whiff of pot smoke sparked complaints from passengers peeved about turbulent rides through airport security last year.

Northern Nova Scotia continues to deal with flooding and road closures Wednesday afternoon as a result of a persistent and powerful storm that's battering the region with rain, high winds and storm surges.

The Beach Point Lighthouse, at the southeastern corner of P.E.I., was knocked off its foundation and driven inland by a storm surge overnight Tuesday.

Scientists have succeeded in extracting the entire genome of the Denisovans from these scant remains. An analysis of this ancient DNA, published on Wednesday in Nature, reveals that the genomes of people from New Guinea contain 4.8 percent Denisovan DNA.

Two men have been handed conditional sentences and a third man will spend one day in jail for a B.C. assault that went viral on YouTube and was characterized as a hate crime.

The wife of convicted killer Russell Williams intends to file for divorce but is asking an Ottawa court to keep her financial and medical records sealed, fearing the media attention the proceedings will bring.

B.C. reptile rescuers tackled a 2.3-metre-long alligator Tuesday as it said goodbye to its old home and moved into new digs. The American alliggator has lived in a shed in Langley for 15 years, but its owner is leaving the country and can't take care of i

A mother of two small children is facing three counts of attempted murder and two counts of arson after a fire broke out at the family's home in Bashaw, Alta. Monday morning.

A nine-year-old boy died after falling into the frigid waters of the Rideau River just southeast of downtown Ottawa Tuesday afternoon.

RCMP are asking for the public's help in finding a missing 14-year-old girl from the Maple Creek area.

Hunters in Wekweti, N.W.T., are tracking an injured grizzly bear after the animal killed a dog and charged some men around suppertime on Sunday.

Anthony Calvillo had surgery to remove his thyroid Tuesday after test results revealed some cancer cells

Archaeologists in Spain have unearthed the remains of a possible family of 12 Neanderthals who were killed 49,000 years ago.

Australia normally experiences temperatures of 86F (30C) at this time of year, but the chances of a rare white Christmas have increased after plunging temperatures and snow swept across the east of the country.

As Santa Claus prepares for his annual journey around the world on Christmas Eve, NORAD is busy not only helping millions of people track his whereabouts on that special night, but it is also offering old Saint Nick a bit of added security.

A major culling of Vancouver Island's Canada geese population is needed in order to stop significant "harm" to the area's habitat, some B.C. biologists are suggesting.

CALGARY - Touched with the Christmas spirit and moved by the plight of a Good Samaritan robbed by a grinch, people across Canada are opening their hearts and pockets to help.

CALGARY - Two teens charged in the rape of a woman who fell asleep at a C-Train station appeared briefly in youth court on Tuesday.

California has been slammed with snow, floods and mudslides, leading to road closures and forcing people from their homes.

OTTAWA - The federal government says it is taking online threats against Canadian citizens seriously after reports an al-Qaida linked website has targeted up to 100 Canadians who are Arab Christians

Consumer prices in Canada rose less than expected in November, with the inflation rate falling to 2.0 per cent in November following a 2.4 per cent gain in October, Statistics Canada reported Tuesday.

Senators on the fisheries and oceans committee travelled to lighthouses in British Columbia and Newfoundland and Labrador earlier this year as they studied Ottawa's plan to remove lighthouse keepers on the East and West Coasts.

Environment Minister John Baird said Ottawa will follow the recommendation of a high-level panel and implement an environmental monitoring system for Alberta's oilsands.

Some of the most popular cookbooks of the year might make for mouth-watering reading, but for heaven's sake, don't make any of the recipes.

Although social assistance in Canada has more or less kept pace with inflation in recent years, it has not kept up with the speed at which food prices have increased, making it more and more expensive for poor Canadians to eat healthy.

Six costumed extras were injured in a propane gas explosion on a movie set east of Vancouver Tuesday afternoon.

An orphaned killer whale that was found off the coast of Washington state sick and starving nearly a decade ago has been spotted in B.C. healthy and swimming closely with her pod.

One thing about Monday night's rare lunar eclipse: skywatchers had to crane their necks higher than usual to catch a glimpse of the celestial showcase.

A man has been charged with two counts of murder in connection with the deaths of two young boys whose bodies were found early Monday in an Edmonton home.

A tsunami warning has been issued after a tremor occurred in the Pacific Ocean southeast of Japan. The United States Geological Survey said the quake had a preliminary magnitude of 7.4, and was centred about 55 kilometres east of Chichi-shima in Japan'

Emergency officials are warning people in coastal areas of eastern New Brunswick to be prepared to move to higher ground as a storm batters the Maritimes.

Climate change is contributing to unusually warm weather in Nunavut and Nunavik, according to a senior climatologist with Environment Canada. "I often say you don't see climate change when you look out the window. The exception is Nunavut," said David Phi

The Canadian Forces is preparing an official apology for listing the Mohawk Warrior Society as a potentially violent insurgent in a draft manual in 2006.

Prince Edward Island was under storm surge, wind, and rainfall warnings throughout Tuesday, as several roads and smaller bridges closed across the province.

The Vatican has clarified recent comments by Pope Benedict XVI on condoms, saying he did not mean they could be used to avoid pregnancy.

An unusual bird was spotted recently in Labrador, far away from the southern region it normally calls home.

The federal government is extending the deadline to apply for compensation for Agent Orange exposure at Canadian Forces Base Gagetown.

From 2004 to 2009, total incomes for some of the top executives at BC Ferries nearly doubled, according to figures made public Monday.

OTTAWA - Quebecers are the national penny pinchers when it comes to giving to charity, a new study has found

Ryan Kesler and the Vancouver Canucks aren't content with their recent streak. Aaron Volpatti scored his first career goal and Kesler had his fourth in three games as the surging Canucks beat the St. Louis Blues 3-1 on Monday night.

New Brunswick's Emergency Measures Organization is warning people in eastern New Brunswick not to drive Monday night if they don't have to.

PRINCE GEORGE, B.C. - A British Columbia man accused of taking photos and video of his seven-year-old daughter and sharing them over the Internet faces child pornography charges, the RCMP said Monday.

This was the year the Earth struck back.....Earthquakes, heat waves, floods, volcanoes, super typhoons, blizzards, landslides and droughts killed at least a quarter million people in 2010; the deadliest year in more than a generation. More people were kil

There's a reason female squirrels are so promiscuous and it can't be blamed on their mothers. As it turns out, the randy rodents mostly sleep with whoever shows up, according to researchers at the University of Guelph.

Police confirmed Monday that an explosive called ammonium nitrate was found in the gas tank of a contractor's bulldozer at Vale's Coleman mine in September.

The mother of a Calgary woman slain nearly a decade ago got her first glimpse Monday of the man charged with her daughter's murder.

The NFL's charitable foundation is awarding nearly US$1 million in grants for research related to concussions, an issue in the forefront all season.

The Timmins, Ont., native is planning to marry Swiss businessman Frederic Thiebaud. The news was first reported in US Weekly and later confirmed by Twain's manager.

A New Westminster, B.C., man faces charges of second-degree murder in connection to a fight that ended in the death of a Quebec man.