Canada

It is affectionately called the "Three Amigos" summit. But the trio of North American leaders are meeting here today at a time when relations among their countries are strained by disputes over trade issues and travel restrictions that are not likely to be resolved in the short flurry of working dinners and conferences. President Obama arrived here Sunday on his second official visit this year and quickly headed for a private meeting with his Mexican counterpart, Felipe Calderon, who was expected to press for a commitment to allow Mexican trucks to operate within the United States.

Apple Inc. may unveil a version of the iPhone for Canada as early as today, but China Mobile said Monday that talks over the launch of iPhone handsets in China had been called off. Apple Chief Executive Steve Jobs may make the announcement about the iPhone for Canada during his speech at the Macworld conference in San Francisco, said RBC Capital Markets analyst Mike Abramsky. Apple probably will outline an agreement with Rogers Communications Inc.

A day after the U.S. tied Cuba, Mexico did the same with Canada. The Canadians managed a 1-1 tie with favored Mexico in the opening round of qualifying for the Beijing Olympics on Thursday. Fans of Mexico, who accounted for the majority of the 9,949 in attendance, voiced their displeasure by chanting "Lavolpe, Lavolpe" -- in reference to former national team coach Ricardo Lavolpe -- in the final seconds of the match at the Home Depot Center.

Eight years ago, the prospect of a George W. Bush administration so distressed some famous American liberals that they threatened to move to Canada. Members of that momentary Chicken Little brigade included Alec Baldwin, Barbra Streisand and Eddie Vedder -- none of whom, by all reports, ever budged. Four years later, Robert Redford and a host of other angry Democrats insisted that a second Bush administration would force them over the world's longest undefended border.

The icebergs that travel to Labrador are time capsules -- sealed thousands of years ago, when snow fell on Greenland. The snow compressed into glacial ice, white from the trapped air bubbles, these from pre-pollution times. Today, that glacial ice oozes and creeps toward the waterline. Its edges melt and break off, catching the frigid Labrador Current. Every year, an opalescent armada drifts south toward Canada.

For eight years, Thomas Louttit was forced to attend a residential school whose mission was to "Christianize and civilize" Canada's native people. He doesn't remember much of what he learned, but he is keenly aware of what he lost. "They gave us a number. That's all our name was. We didn't speak their language, and we were not allowed to speak ours," he said. Like other students, he said, he was sexually abused, a secret that filled him with shame and remained untold until many years later.

This week, when Barack Obama campaigns in Ohio and Colorado, John McCain will be visiting Colombia and Mexico. It's an unusual path for McCain to follow. But even more, it's a risky strategy for his presidential campaign. Not since Richard M. Nixon traveled to all 50 states in 1960, fulfilling a pledge he came to regret, has a presidential candidate followed an itinerary that appears so at odds with his political needs.

Passengers fled a Greyhound bus in horror as a man repeatedly stabbed and then decapitated his seat mate, witnesses said Thursday. Royal Canadian Mounted Police Sgt. Steve Colwell said a 40-year-old man was arrested early Thursday as he tried to flee the bus, which was en route from Edmonton, Alberta, to Winnipeg, Manitoba. Officials did not identify the suspect or victim, and said they had not determined a motive.

Canada's Conservative prime minister and his Liberal rival crisscrossed the country Monday in a final day of campaigning before parliamentary elections today. Prime Minister Stephen Harper, who has had a tenuous hold on power since the 2006 elections and is forced to rely on the opposition to pass legislation, called the vote in hopes of winning the 155 seats needed for a majority in the 308-seat lower house of Parliament.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc., known for its strong stance against workers unionizing, on Thursday closed a tire and lube center in Canada where workers had voted to organize. A Wal-Mart spokesman said the five workers and one manager at the center were offered jobs at comparable Wal-Mart facilities or elsewhere in the store, which is in Gatineau and has more than 250 workers. The store itself will remain open. The United Food and Commercial Workers union called the closure an attack on Wal-Mart workers.