HADERA, Israel (AP) — A 20-year-old Palestinian blacksmith blew himself up at a falafel stand in an open-air market Wednesday, killing five Israelis and wounding more than 30 in the deadliest attack in the country in more than three months. The bombing stifled faint peace hopes following Israel’s pullout from the Gaza Strip. The blast also embarrassed Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas, … Read More
KISSUFIM CROSSING, Gaza Strip (AP) _ The sun poked out from beyond the horizon, and Lt. Col. Tzvika Tzoran ordered his driver: “OK. Let’s move.” The jeep roared to life and led the last convoy of Israeli tanks and armored personnel carriers out of Gaza. Within moments, it was done: Thirty-eight years of Israeli rule in the Gaza Strip came … Read More
In the Bay of Fundy, halfway between New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, 50 spectators aboard a sailboat peer silently into the distance. The noises of nature reverberate: the flap of eagle wings and the splash of porpoises cutting through the still water. But one distinctive groan echoed throughout the bay sounding like a cry for help from the most endangered … Read More
OTTAWA – A day after his 67th birthday, and eight days before he died, Peter Jennings found out he would be awarded the Order of Canada, the nation’s highest honour. The nomination process began long before Mr. Jennings’ dramatic on-air announcement on ABC-TV on April 5 that he had been diagnosed with lung cancer. The decision was made on June … Read More
OTTAWA _ He was one of the world’s most accomplished journalists; a name, and face, recognized the world over. But at heart, Peter Jennings always remained an Ottawa boy. Born in Toronto, but raised in Ottawa, the famous anchor of ABC World News Tonight with Peter Jennings returned to the national capital area nearly every year to vacation at his … Read More
OTTAWA – When Ghazal Omid first heard about the public hanging of two gay teenagers in Iran, she instinctively started to cry. “I was devastated. When I saw those pictures it was like someone putting a hand to my heart and pulling it,” said Ms. Omid, 35, a Vancouver-based author and human right advocate from Iran. “That’s what the government … Read More
When Israeli troops start pulling out of the Gaza Strip on Aug. 15, they will leave behind 38 years of painful memories. Most non-settler Israelis who have been to Gaza were there as soldiers. To them, Gaza meant danger, often death. The pullout will mark a blessed exodus from a place to which no one wishes to return. Ironically, I … Read More
Ottawa’s diplomatic scene has witnessed its share of squabbles and small rivalries, but it’s hard to recall the last time an actual fistfight broke out at an embassy, as reportedly happened at the Israeli mission on O’Connor Street. What’s more, the alleged shoving match was between two Israeli representatives. The altercation was splashed across the front pages of two mass-circulation … Read More
Norman Levine, one of Canada’s top fiction writers and perhaps the greatest to come out of Ottawa, died on Tuesday in northern England, lonely and destitute like so many of the wonderful characters he created. For years, he had been suffering from heart troubles that caused him to black out and faint. On Monday, he suffered another collapse, and a … Read More
CAMP ZIOUANI, Golan Heights – From inside a creaky, rusty United Nations observation tower, a majestic view of the Holy Land unfolds. To the north, the snow-capped peaks of Mount Hermon. To the east, the plains of Syria. To the west, the hills of the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights glimmer in the sunset. It’s early March and it is so quiet … Read More
Ottawa’s Shaunna Burke reached the summit of Mount Everest late last night, becoming the second Canadian woman in history to reach the top of the mountain. “It took quite awhile,” said Ms. Burke’s former climbing partner, Ben Webster. “Shaunna was in the first couple of climbers to reach the summit.” Ms. Burke’s climbing group was the first to succeed the … Read More
TEL AVIV_ In Ottawa, she captivated Canadians with her optimistic outlook and her pursuit of peace. Upon returning home to Israel, though, Michelle Divon was slapped in the face with some harsh Middle East reality. “I could change more overseas than I can here,” she said recently at a Tel Aviv cafe. “I was able to do something for my … Read More
Sean Egan is dead. Ben Webster is lying in his bed in Kanata with a severely broken leg. Shaunna Burke and Peggy Foster are battling illness, exhaustion and a stubborn mountain that won’t let them climb it. And then there is Larry Legault. While Mount Everest has exacted a heavy toll from each of his adventurous colleagues from Ottawa, Mr. … Read More
WINNIPEG – Sitting in the Crystal Ballroom of the Fort Garry Hotel, I could hardly believe the words I was hearing. Here I was at the conclusion of the Canadian Association of Journalists’ national conference, a weekend in which we could take pride in our often-maligned profession. There were lectures and panels devoted to highlighting journalistic ethics and integrity, workshops … Read More
OTTAWA _ As Sean Egan’s children prepare to head to Nepal tomorrow morning to reclaim their father’s body, a fellow Ottawa mountaineer has decided to end his own quest of reaching the top of Mount Everest. Larry Legault, an orthopedic surgeon from Ottawa, called home early yesterday and announced his intention to leave the perilous mountain and return to his … Read More