Canada

"Autism certainly involves the brain, but researchers increasingly believe it is actually a collection of problems that affects the whole body, the accumulation of seemingly minor events that start in the womb. PAULINE TAM unravels the complexity of factors that combine to cause the disorder."

"A bid by [Canada's] federal government to impose sweeping confidentiality rules on an Arctic science project has run into serious resistance in the United States."

"Canada's offshore petroleum boards are not equipped to cope with a major spill, the country's environmental watchdog warned on Tuesday in a report that also said the booming energy sector needed more oversight."

"VANCOUVER, B.C. -- Canadian environmental groups today warned that a new proposal by Kinder Morgan pipeline company would "exponentially" raise the risk of a major oil spill in the Salish Sea's most populous region, including the cities of Vancouver and Victoria."

"More than half the Senate on Wednesday urged quick approval of the Keystone XL oil pipeline, ramping up pressure on President Barack Obama to move ahead with the project just days after he promised in his inaugural address to respond vigorously to the threat of climate change."

"Of all the Idle No More protests that sprung up on Wednesday's national day of action across Canada, what may have worried the conservative government of Stephen Harper the most was a gathering of aboriginal young men banging tribal drums outside a hotel in downtown Vancouver."

"The dozen trapped orcas swam free after changing weather conditions cracked the sea ice in northern Canada."

"A grassroots indigenous movement is shaking up politics in Canada. It's called Idle No More. Like Occupy Wall Street and the Arab Spring, it spread quickly through social media and it's now got the attention of Canada's leaders, thanks to the efforts of one chief from a tiny tribe whose hunger strike has galvanized the movement." ...

"Oil-sands development is polluting nearby remote Alberta lakes with rising levels of a toxic carcinogen, refuting long-standing claims that waterway pollution in the region is largely naturally occurring, a study has found."

"Two Americans face federal arraignment next week in Maine on charges that they were part of a smuggling ring that brought narwhal tusks into the United States from Canada for illegal sale."