Dan Cook, the longtime San Antonio sports writer who popularized the phrase "the opera ain't over till the fat lady sings," has died. He was 81. CTV.ca

Nigeria. Rwanda. Uganda. Ethiopia. Gabon. The list of candidates for the title "least democratic in Africa" is not confined to Zimbabwe. CTV.ca

A homemade bomb exploded at an outdoor concert in Belarus' capital early Friday, injuring at least 50 people. Officials blamed hooligans. CTV.ca

The U.S. military said air strikes by its attack helicopters hit two vehicles carrying insurgents Friday in eastern Afghanistan. Afghan officials said civilians were travelling in the vehicles. CTV.ca

Oil prices fell more than US$1 a barrel Friday from record levels set a day earlier on hopes that tensions surrounding Iran's nuclear program could ease and cut the chances of American or Israeli military action against OPEC's second-largest oil producer. CTV.ca

Independence Day is normally a booming time for tourism here, with visitors settling into cliffside vacation homes or trekking out to campgrounds nestled among the redwoods. CTV.ca

Former Senator Jesse Helms, who built a career along the fault lines of racial politics and battled liberals, Communists and the odd Republican during 30 years in Congress, died on the Fourth of July. CTV.ca

Ingrid Betancourt arrived in France to a presidential welcome Friday, two days after being rescued from rebels in the Colombian jungle. CTV.ca

A Canadian fertility doctor says that the experience of the so-called pregnant man, who reportedly gave birth last Sunday, is actually a simple medical case. CTV.ca

Scientists have new evidence that the brain chemical best known for regulating mood also plays a role in the mystifying killer of seemingly healthy babies -- sudden infant death syndrome. CTV.ca

From climate change to volcanoes and earthquakes, the world's growing challenges have leaders in earth science proposing a merger of agencies that study the planet. CTV.ca

Syria has returned a marble artifact to Iraq that was stolen from one of the country's archaeological sites. Iraq is working with Interpol to track down some 12,000 archaeological pieces that are still missing. CTV.ca

Between surging oil prices, food inflation and a credit crunch that's depressed global growth, leaders from the Group of Eight economic powers face the gravest combination of economic woes in at least a decade when they gather next week. CTV.ca

A bomb exploded on a busy street in the southwestern Pakistan city of Quetta on Friday, killing a 4-year old girl and wounding 11 other people. CTV.ca

A ferry sank in a river in Burma's cyclone-battered Irrawaddy delta, killing 38 people, state-media reported Friday. CTV.ca

Larry Harmon, who portrayed the wing-haired Bozo the Clown for more than a half-century, died Thursday of congestive heart failure, said his publicist. He was 83. CTV.ca

Hundreds of mainland Chinese tourists -- some in matching white or pink shirts -- arrived in Taiwan on Friday on the first regular commercial flights in nearly six decades between the old foes. CTV.ca

Thomas Beatie, who began life as a woman but underwent hormone therapy to become a man, has reportedly given birth to a girl, according to People magazine. CTV.ca