three wise monkeys

Thu Dec 28, 2006 5:30 PM GMT15

LONDON (Reuters) - The government said it will on Friday pay back the final instalments of loans taken out at the end of World War Two to finance vital reconstruction.

The payments of $83.25 million (42.4 million pounds) to the United States and $22.7 million to Canada will close the final chapter of the war and mean that in total the country has paid close to twice what it borrowed in 1945 and 1946.
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By Alex Kirby
BBC News Online environment correspondent

The finding of a parrot with an almost unparalleled power to communicate with people has brought scientists up short.

The bird, a captive African grey called N’kisi, has a vocabulary of 950 words, and shows signs of a sense of humour.
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If you fancy eating a mince pie in England this Christmas Day, you could find yourself in legal hot water.

But nip across the border into Wales or Scotland, and you can tuck into this festive treat to your heart’s content.

It is one of the odd old laws on the statute book, although rarely enforced by even the keenest police officer.
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‘Paris Syndrome’ strikes Japanese
By Caroline Wyatt
BBC News, Paris

A dozen or so Japanese tourists a year have to be repatriated from the French capital, after falling prey to what’s become known as “Paris syndrome”.

That is what some polite Japanese tourists suffer when they discover that Parisians can be rude or the city does not meet their expectations.

The experience can apparently be too stressful for some and they suffer a psychiatric breakdown.
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B.C. waters a free toilet for U.S. cruise ships

Nicholas Read
Vancouver Sun
Thursday, December 21, 2006

A U.S. cruise line fined $100,000 US for discharging untreated effluent into waters off the coast of Washington state would have got off scot-free had the effluent been discharged into Canadian waters, a company official said Wednesday.
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Virgin birth awaited in England
MARIA CHENG
from the G&M
Associated Press

CHESTER, England — As Christmas approaches, a virgin mother is anxiously awaiting the arrival of her offspring. She’s Flora, the Komodo dragon.

In an evolutionary twist, Flora has managed to become pregnant all on her own without any male help. It would seem the timing is auspicious: The seven hatchlings are due this festive season.
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Visit Good Gifts for some great ideas.

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Gifts of aid to developing world becoming new Christmas tradition

December 20, 2006
Stuart Laidlaw
Faith and Ethics Reporter

Three years ago, Tim Abellera and his co-workers realized that by the end of the staff Christmas exchange, they all had too many coffee mugs they didn’t want and – if they were honest with themselves – too many chocolates they didn’t need.

So they decided to do something different.
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Globe and Mail Update

Can Muslims be true to their faith and loyal citizens in a Western country such as Canada?

Tariq Ramadan says yes. This public intellectual’s struggle to integrate Muslim thought with modern life has made him one of the most controversial and influential Islamic scholars in Europe.
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It’s finally cool to be friends with Nick Marinkovich.

December 19, 2006
Canadian Press

HALIFAX – Nova Scotia’s education minister fired every member of the Halifax Regional School Board today, saying constant infighting had rendered the board ineffective.

Karen Casey said the 13-member board – the province’s largest – would be dissolved and replaced by one man: former bureaucrat Howard Windsor.

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