“Religiously strict men” allegedly plotted the bombing of a VIA train. One is from Tunisia, the other from the United Arab Emirates. Neither is a Canadian citizen. See posts below. Joseph Brean and Adrian Humphries
Was Canada-U.S. Maple Leaf the al Queda target?
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Was the jointly operated train The Maple Leaf the planned target of a plot to kill Canadians and Americans in an al Queda terror attack? The Toronto Sun says its sources say the plot revealed today by RCMP targetted a train which runs from Toronto to New York and back. The Maple Leaf is an 875-kilometre (544 mi) passenger train route operated jointly by Amtrak and Via Rail from New York’s Pennsylvania Station to Toronto’s Union Station via Albany, Syracuse, Rochester and Buffalo. The train travels each way during the daytime hours and takes approximately 12 hours for the entire journey — with Wikipedia. Post below
Dramatic video, reward posted to catch bandits
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A reward of $100,000 has been offered in the brazen bank robbery on St. Clair Ave West yesterday. Also, police have released security video of that robbery at a TD Bank in west Toronto. The reward is put up by the Canadian Bankers Association. Two suspects carrying a handgun and a rifle entered the bank near Jane Street just after 12 p.m. on Sunday. The men staged a “takeover” style bank robbery. Previous post.
Leaside Public School in 1926
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Over the past few weeks the Leaside 100 website has seen some wonderful contributions. This picture of a 1926 class at Leaside Public School is an example. Leaside 100.
Overnight break-in on Forest Hill Road
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Toronto Police Service report: A resident of Forest Hill Road reports that between 2300 hours on April 16, 2013 and 0700 hours on April 17, 2013, entry was gained into the premises by forcing a door. Removed was a quantity of computer equipment, personal accessories and a cellular phone.
Reporter covers Sichuan quake on wedding day
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A reporter from a local TV station has interrupted her own wedding to cover the news of the earthquake that struck the city of Ya’an. Chen Ying was getting her make-up done at a local photographic studio ahead of her wedding ceremony when the quake hit. The poor bride looks a little surprised as camera operator and microphone approach but she is a trooper and does a report on the spot (inset). Ms Chen’s appearance went viral online, with many viewers calling her the “most beautiful bride in the world”. See video by clicking picture.
Armed men stage terrifying “takeover” bank job
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Police in northwest Toronto are hunting two men last seen driving a stolen green Honda after a terrifying bank holdup that wounded two people. In the linked CBC video clip below police describe how two men, one armed with a handgun, the other with a rifle, tried to “take over” the TD Canada Trust branch at 2555 St. Clair Ave. West near Runnymede Rd. Sunday morning. The gunmen leaped counters and demanded that customers in the busy branch lie on the floor. When one customer, a middle-aged man, didn’t comply fast enough, one of the bandits fired at him. The shot missed but struck a woman employee of the bank in the leg. She is said to be in satisfactory condition. The bandits fled the bank pursued by the customer. The customer was shot outside as he struggled with the robbers. He was shot in the stomach and is said to be in serious condition. Reports say the stolen car has been located but the bandits remain at large. Police describe details of the holdup and details on the wanted men.
Quake kills 157, injures 5,700 in China’s Sichuan
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Video from ITN on the left shows pregnant woman peering out from collapsed home where she was trapped. Video on right is from the BBC. Toronto Star
Boston, Toronto and the CCTV camera
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The Toronto Police Service has installed cameras in the Weston area with the intention of reducing crime and apprehending those who commit crimes. The community has been consulted in this move. CCTV cameras represent one of the best ways available to make our communities safer. The events in Boston this week show how important publicly installed cameras are in leading to arrests and restoring public confidence. To those who say that cameras do not reduce crime, we say don’t be too sure. We will guarantee anyone that an arrested criminal is a criminal who has been slowed down. The misguided idea held by some opponents of CCTV that they are used to follow and spy on people is nonsense. No one even looks at these cameras until there has been a crime. The standard to apply to CCTV video is simple. Is there abuse? Video is like all evidence. Our open and rule-of-law society should feel fully comfortable with cameras, just as the public does in the United Kingdom where CCTV are everywhere.
Amazing pictures of suspect #2 taken from air
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Mayor Ford invites you to mark Cleanup Day 2013
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Mayor Ford will be trying to set an example today that his constituents all across town will actually want to follow. He will join his neighbors and supporters in observing Cleanup Day at Colonel Samuel Smith in Ward 6 (Etobicoke-Lakeshore). This Toronto-wide citizen participation cleanup was the Mayor’s idea and it seems to have caught on as hundreds of groups will participate in the third annual event. It’s really a month long program in which citizens and the city deal with litter, graffiti and vandalism. Locally, our street seems to have come out from under the snow looking better than usual. But a sweep of Bayview Avenue’s wide sidewalks would be good for the spirit and an excellent example to others. The picture distributed online of Mayor Ford as the poster boy for a spring cleanup is one of his better portrayals.