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Canadian airline Air Canada has said that it will be laying off 1,010 machinists seconded to work at the Aveos Fleet Performance aircraft maintenance company. The layoffs will take place in April and June, with 470 and 540 workers to be laid off in each month, respectively. They will affect some 445 workers in Montreal, 345 in Winnipeg, and 220 in Vancouver; 195 layoffs are to be permanent and the other 815 temporary. The layoffs reflect reduced demand for maintenance of the Airbus A319 and A320 planes in Air Canada's fleet, according to the

Radovan Karadzic, the wartime ex-Bosnian Serb leader, told judges in The Hague, Netherlands earlier today that alleged atrocities of the Serbian 1992–95 war were "myths," and denied having had any involvement. In comments to the court, Karadzic said that murder of seven thousand Muslims in Srebrenica, as well as the siege in Sarajevo, was staged or made up in order to demean the Serbs. Karadzic, aged 64, has been charged with eleven counts of crimes against humanity, war crimes, and genocide. He is accused of being behind the Sarajevo siege,

Ford Motor Company said on Tuesday that its sales in the United States rose 43% in February compared to the same period last year, as the automaker outsold rivals Toyota and General Motors. Ford said that total sales improved to 142,285 units, compared to 141,951 units sold by GM. Additionally, Ford said that its share of the total US car market rose to 17%, up from 14% a year ago. The increase was better than analysts had predicted, and Ford's stock rose to a five-year high in morning trading, before declining later in the day. Ford's sa

The 58th Annual Pacific Orchid Exposition took place Feb. 26–28 at the Fort Mason Center, San Francisco, California, sponsored by the San Francisco Orchid Society. This year's theme for the expo's displays was "carnival", though a number of winning entries were among the smaller and more sedate species of orchids, quite at odds with the typical ostentatious colors and displays of carnival. Alongside the orchid exposition were a gala party, silent auctions and market area. Gallery Please click an image to enlarge it and find more informatio

Apple sued HTC, a Taiwanese manufacturer of mobile phones, on Tuesday, in a lawsuit claiming 20 different patent infringements, largely relating to the user interface of the iPhone, which is manufactured by Apple. According to the lawsuit, filed with both the United States District Court in Delaware and the United States International Trade Commission, HTC violated Apple patents pertaining to both multi-touch gestures, which allow users to interact with a device's touchscreen using multiple fingers, as well as patents involving more general t

According to reports from the Venezuelan central bank, the country's economy contracted by 5.8% in the final quarter of the last fiscal year, the third consecutive quarter of shrinkage. The Venezuelan economy contracted by 3.3% for the whole of 2009. The bank attributed the causes of this lack of growth primarily due to "the weakness of the price of oil and output reductions" from OPEC, as well as the ongoing global economic slowdown. Economic analysts predict Venezuela's economy to post only small growth throughout this year. "Venezuela did

Toyota Motor Corporation, the Japanese automobile maker, posted an overall 8.7% drop in sales in the United States for last month. This comes after recent safety recalls of its vehicles, as well as congressional investigations over Toyota's safety standards. The model that had the highest drop in sales was the Camry sedan, with a 20% decline, figures released yesterday indicate. Toyota sold a total 100,027 vehicles in the US in February, a number somewhat higher than what economic analysts predicted; they estimated a decline of ten percent.

The United States capital of Washington, D.C. legalized same-sex marriage on Wednesday. Beginning at 6 A.M. local time (1100 UTC), couples began submitting marriage applications at local courthouses citywide. Washington D.C. becomes the seventh United States territory to legalize same sex marriage. The bill was ratified by Mayor Adrian Fenty last December. Due to city's territorial status as a federal district, the bill had to be reviewed by congress. The bill passed congressional review Tuesday night. The bill faced opposition from many fami

New York Representative Eric Massa announced Wednesday that he would be stepping down as Congressman from New York's 29th congressional district. He cited health reasons for the sudden announcement. Massa is the latest in a string of United States Congresspeople to resign or not to seek reelection in 2010. He said that he had his third non-specific cancer recurrence in December 2009. He implied that his cancer is terminal, saying “I will now enter the final phase of my life at a more controlled pace.” He denied claims that his resignation is

According to senior officials in the Obama administration, the U.S. is to significantly and permanently reduce its stockpile of nuclear weapons by thousands of weapons as part of a major rethinking of American nuclear policy. The move is coming as part of a major policy review intended to stop the proliferation of nuclear weapons around the world. According to an unnamed official, the review "will point to dramatic reductions in the stockpile, while maintaining a strong and reliable deterrent." As part of the new policy, conventional weapons

The UK government has said that it will ban the Islamist al-Shabaab group in the country, and designate it as being a terrorist organisation. The move was announced by UK Home Secretary Alan Johnson. The ban needs to be approved by parliament before it can be implemented; however, the Associated Press reports that parliamentary approval is regarded as a formality, and the proposal will likely pass. The move would make membership in al-Shabaab illegal, and prohibit British residents from raising money for the group. Anyone found to be a member

The Iranian government closed a newspaper and magazine critical of the government on Monday, citing that they went beyond "the limits of the press" and were "not committed to the constitution," respectively. The daily newspaper Etemaad, which is the largest-circulation reformist paper, was banned by the Press Supervisory Board, a media watchdog controlled by the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance. According to the ruling, the newspaper was in violation of a part of Iran's press code that bars media from, among other things, insulting