National News

CALGARY — Naheed Nenshi cloaked himself in purple -- a mix of Liberal red and Conservative blue -- during his dark-horse bid to become Calgary's mayor in 2010, for the 11 years he stayed in the job and in much of his post-city hall life.

OTTAWA — Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly says Canada is pledging $1 million to support Israeli victims of sexual violence during last October's attacks by Hamas.

CALGARY — Six contenders are competing for the helm of the Alberta New Democrats, with the successor to long-time party leader Rachel Notley to be chosen in June.

The United States and Canada have agreed to launch a joint probe into a long-running cross-border dispute involving pollution from coal mines in British Columbia flowing into American waters.

VANCOUVER — Extreme cold near the start of this year in British Columbia, Alberta and Saskatchewan has led to a damage bill that the Insurance Bureau of Canada says is more than $180 million.

VANCOUVER — Rescuers say a woman is lucky to be alive after being caught in an avalanche on Metro Vancouver's North Shore and being completely buried upside down for up to 20 minutes.

Here is a roundup of stories from The Canadian Press designed to bring you up to speed on what you need to know today...

The young woman's first real hope that she might survive the nightmare she endured in the Gaza Strip came on the same night she was sure that she and her family would be killed.

Ramadan is usually a joyful time at Reem Sultan's home, but not this year. The London, Ont.

OTTAWA — Canada is sending an official to attend an emergency meeting in Jamaica on Monday, following an invite from Caribbean leaders who want to discuss escalating gang violence in Haiti.