In a major blow to big tobacco, the Supreme Court of Canada has cleared the way for the British Columbia government to sue cigarette companies for the cost of treating smoking-related illnesses. The 9-0 judgment upholds provincial legislation that allows the government to seek damages to cover public health care costs dating back 50 years, as well as future costs for maladies linked to tobacco. The law also makes it easier to prove a link between smoking and disease.
Russia: Space tourist ready to fly
Engineers made final preparations Thursday for the weekend launch of a Soyuz spacecraft to the international space station, with a U.S. scientist who paid $20 million for the journey among those aboard. Cosmonaut Valery Tokarev and U.S. astronaut William McArthur are scheduled to blast off from the Baikonur cosmodrome Saturday and dock with the orbiting station two days later. Joining Tokarev and McArthur will be their paying passenger, Gregory Olsen, who will be the third space tourist to visit the station.
Nigeria: Anglicans gird for schism
Nigeria’s top Anglican Church official warned Thursday that his 17.5 million members would have to sever their historic ties with the Church of England if it follows the lead of the U.S. Episcopal Church by accepting a gay bishop or otherwise condoning homosexuality. Archbishop Peter Akinola, the leader of traditionalist forces in the Nigerian church, said its constitution was rewritten this month to give its officials the freedom to break away if the British church adopts what he called a “revisionist agenda on homosexuality.”
Denmark: Low flight kills reindeer
The Danish air force said Thursday it paid about $5,000 in compensation to a part-time Santa Claus whose reindeer died of heart failure when two fighter jets roared over his farm. The animal, named Rudolf, was grazing at the farm of Olavi Nikkanoff in central Denmark when the screaming F-16 jets passed overhead at low altitude in February. The reindeer collapsed and died, leaving Nikkanoff with the prospect of only one animal pulling his sleigh at Christmas. Nikkanoff said he would use the money to buy a new reindeer before Christmas.
From Herald news services
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