World Travel News

Korea beats Canada

A lack of offence was a concern throughout the 22nd World Junior championships.

And it was a major difficulty in the semi-final as Korea held Canada to four hits in the semi-final, a 6-1 Korea win. Rather than playing Team USA for gold, Canada will now play Mexico for bronze.

A win would have given Canada a chance for only its second gold-medal and first since 1991 at Kindersley, Sask. Canada has won the bronze medal four times before: in 2002, 1997, 1987 and 1983.

More : slam.canoe.ca

Whitehorse raring to go as 2007 Canada Winter Games approach

The 2007 Canada Winter Games are less than five months away and the mayor of Whitehorse is looking forward to the exposure they will bring to the countrys north.

We see it as a bit of a coming out party, Ernie Bourassa said Tuesday during a promotional rally for the event at Torontos downtown Dundas Square. The north is not a homogenous unit - Nunavut has a different geography and people than the Northwest Territories and both are different from the Yukon.

Thats why were hosting the Games as a pan-northern Games.

More : canada.com

Canadas Surplus Widened to C$13.2 Billion Last Year

Canada posted a budget surplus of C$13.2 billion ($11.8 billion) last fiscal year, its third- highest ever, as Prime Minister Stephen Harper benefited from rising commodity prices and cuts in program spending.

Canadas ninth-straight surplus was more than eight times higher than a year earlier, the finance department said in its annual financial report today. Revenue rose 4.8 percent to C$222.2 billion for the year ended March 31 and expenses fell for the first time in nine years.

The surplus, which was higher than the C$8 billion forecast in the May budget, went to paying down debt, the finance department said. That pushed the yield on Canadas 10-year bond down 7 basis points, or 0.07 percentage point, to 3.93 percent, the lowest since November. Finance Minister Jim Flaherty said some of the surplus was due to one-time charges that wont be repeated.

More : bloomberg.com

Canada finishes first

Team Canada wrapped up first place in Pool B with a 10-0 win over Italy before 500 fans at the Jose R. Cepero Stadium in Ciego de Avila, Cuba. So in the good news department thats pretty good news. In the better news department Canada, with its 4-1 mark, will play Panama Sunday in the quarter-finals, as Panama finished fourth in Pool A, with a 2-3 record. And in the even better news department Cuba faces Team USA.in another quarter-final match-up which means one of the baseball super powers will be knocked out. DH Jonathan Waltenbury (Whitby, Ont.) hit a solo homerun in the bottom of the first and Canada added two more in the fourth, two in the fifth and three in the sixth as Cory Hall (Regina, Sask.) threw seven dominant innings.

Hall allowed three singles and struck out seven, while walking one. The game was halted after the eight due to the 10-run mercy rule.

More : slam.canoe.ca

Harper Says Canada Anticipates Staying in Afghanistan Longer

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper said he anticipates keeping troops and aid workers in Afghanistan, beyond when their current mandates are set to expire starting with a military mission that runs to 2009.

Canada in two years will make recommendations about future work in Afghanistan, and the mandate will probably shift as Canadian soldiers finish training a new local army, Harper said today at a press conference with Afghan President Hamid Karzai.

I dont anticipate that we will leave but I certainly anticipate our role will evolve and change, Harper, 47, said. Karzai said Afghanistan is grateful for Canadas help so far and would also welcome an extended mission.

More : bloomberg.com