In Brief

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This article was published 28/03/2012 (5284 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Feds to cut $7B in budget

OTTAWA — The Harper government will chop $7 billion from discretionary spending when the finance minister hands down his budget Thursday, The Canadian Press has learned.

That high number will surprise many, including some economists, who had expected fewer cuts due to Ottawa’s improving fiscal position.

Finance Minister Jim Flaherty has spent weeks insisting it would be wrong to view his document as an “austerity budget.”

Discretionary spending is all of the money the government spends apart from transfers to the provinces and individuals for programs such as health care.

Baby comes with big bill

VANCOUVER — An Australian couple is facing a $726,000 bill after the mother gave birth to a premature baby in Vancouver last summer after going into labour at the airport.

According to the Daily Telegraph newspaper, Australian Foreign Affairs Minister Bob Carr is looking into how his country can help John Kan and Rachel Evans.

Their baby Piper needed 90 days of neo-natal care after being born at B.C. Women’s Hospital. The couple had taken out extra travel insurance but didn’t realize the policy would not cover the birth of the baby.

Nuke survivable: study

WASHINGTON — Hollywood has destroyed Washington — or New York or Los Angeles — lots of times with nuclear bombs detonated by terrorists. It turns out to be harder in real life.

Thinking about the unthinkable, a U.S. government study analyzed the likely effects from terrorists setting off a 10-kiloton nuclear device a few blocks north of the White House.

It predicted terrible devastation for roughly one kilometre in every direction, with buildings reduced to rubble the way Second World War bombing. But outside that blast zone, the study concluded, even such a nuclear explosion would be pretty survivable.

Killer may have had help

PARIS — A video apparently showing a Muslim gunman’s attacks on soldiers and a Jewish school was sent to the Al-Jazeera news network — but not by him, French police said, raising the spectre of a possible accomplice.

Al-Jazeera on Tuesday decided not to air a video that seems to have been filmed from the killer’s point of view and includes the cries of his victims.

Wall most popular premier

Saskatchewan’s Brad Wall remains the country’s most popular premier, while Canada’s longest-serving premier, Quebec’s Jean Charest, ranks last, according to the results of the latest public opinion poll.

The Angus Reid survey polled 6,622 Canadians in nine provinces about the performance of their premiers.

Wall, who was re-elected last November, secured his position as most popular premier with an approval rating of 70 per cent, compared to just 27 per cent for Charest.

Manitoba Premier Greg Selinger ranked fourth with 48 per cent.

— from the news services