The ongoing Shafia trial in Kingston was thrown into disarray on Thursday, when the proceedings were stopped due to a bomb threat. Mohammad Shafia, along with his wife and son were already in court, awaiting the crown's closing statement when the threat came in, claiming two bombs were set to go off. All three accused are charged with first-degree murder in the 2009 drowning deaths of four female relatives in a so-called “honour killing.”

At least six people are confirmed dead and more than 10 others missing following the collapse of three buildings in downtown Rio de Janeiro on Wednesday evening. Authorities are still investigating the cause, but officials speculate that illegal construction damaged the structure of a 20-storey structure and caused it to crumble, pulling down two other buildings nearby. Fortunately the buildings were mostly empty at the time of collapse.

The supply of nurses is on the rise in Canada, with nurse practitioners steadily gaining ground in the workforce, a new report has found. According to the Canadian Institute for Health Information, there were 354,910 regulated nurses working in Canada in 2010, an increase of 8.8 per cent since 2006. And while their ranks are still small, the report shows the number of nurse practitioners rose by 25 per cent in 2010, to 2,486.

Ottawa kicked off NHL all-star festivities on Thursday with a skate down the Rideau Canal with all the league's trophies. The Stanley Cup, the Hart Memorial Trophy and the Vezina Trophy were among the trophies paraded in the nation's capital. The NHL All-Star Fantasy Draft goes down on Thursday night, with team captains Daniel Alfredson of the Senators and Zdeno Chara of the Bruins picking their teammates for Sunday’s big game.

A Swiss artist is planning to bury an intact Boeing 727 jetliner in California's Mojave Desert and then build a tunnel to give visitors a chance to see it. Christoph Buchel has applied for a permit that will allow him to bury the 46-metre-long plane some 11 metres below Earth’s surface. Visitors would then be able to experience the subterranean art project via a tunnel connecting the plane to a parking area.

The Conference Board of Canada says its monthly survey of consumer moods shows Canadians seem to be a little more upbeat about their finances this month, according to a new survey by the Conference Board of Canada. The think-tank says its index of consumer confidence for January rose four points to 73.9, in what it calls a “welcome development” after a dismal reading in December.