Dorothy Parvaz, of North Vancouver, A journalist Still Missing in Syria - 3rd May 2011

A B.C. journalist working for the Al-Jazeera network is missing in Syria, the news organization says.

Dorothy Parvaz, of North Vancouver, has not been heard from since Friday, when she disembarked from a flight in Damascus, Syria, and did not check in at her hotel, the network reported Tuesday.

The country has been wracked by battles between authorities and pro-democracy protesters for several weeks.

Parvaz's family is desperate to hear from her.

"We don't know where she is, we don't know who has her," her sister, Sheila Parvaz told CBC News Tuesday. "We just want to know she's safe and we want her to come home."

Parvaz was born in Iran and is travelling on an Iranian passport, which prompted the foreign minister of Iran to ask for more information on Parvaz's fate.

"We demand … the government of Syria look into this case," Ali Akbar Salehi said in an Al-Jazeera report. Read More

U.S. teenager jailed in India for slitting Mother, Cynthia Iannarelli, 51 throat on holiday - because he was upset at parents' divorce - 4th May 2011

A teenager has been convicted of slitting his mother’s throat while they were on holiday in India after he became upset by his parents’ divorce, a court heard.

The 16-year-old boy, of South Fayette, Pennsylvania, killed his business consultant mother Cynthia Iannarelli, 51, while in Rajasthan last August, prosecutors said.

He has been sentenced to three years in an Indian juvenile detention centre after knifing her, wrapping her body in a sheet and leaving it on a sand dune.

The teenager, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was arrested after fleeing from the killing scene and trying to fly back to America.

The knife was never found but police say they recovered the boy’s clothes from the scene at the northern desert resort of Reggies Camel Camp in Osian.

Local reports said he had a heated argument with his mother as he wanted her to get back together with his father, but she was not convinced.

There were no eyewitnesses in the case, but 33 witnesses testified during a lengthy trial and the Juvenile Justice Board also found him guilty of destroying evidence.

The teenager has denied the charges, wrote a letter to the court pleading innocence and false implication, and will appeal against the verdict with his laywer R.D. Mehra. Read More

Brian and Shannon Gore arrested after starved six-year-old is found trying to eat herself in cage - with remains of another child buried in garden

The body of a young child has been discovered buried under a home where a six-year-old girl was kept in a cage and almost starved to death.

Police made the grisly discovery of the child's remains while they questioned a couple about the alleged abuse of their daughter.

Brian and Shannon Gore are accused of keeping the girl in shocking conditions and virtually starving her to death.

The girl, aged between six and seven, was so hungry that when found her she was eating the flaky skin of her forehead.

She was covered in bed sores and her own faeces and is feared to have been kept in a cage for months.

Brian and Shannon Gore face first degree murder charges stemming from the grisly find.

Police made the startling discovery of the remains of a second child when they dug under a trailer home.

They have already been charged with the attempted murder of their daughter who was found barely alive in a darkened room.

The condition of the girl, who was covered from head to toe in her own waste, was so bad that police in Virginia believe it is the worst ever case of child abuse they have investigated. Read More

Nuclear Event - Nine Mile reactor shutdown investigation, New York - 4th May 2011

OSWEGO COUNTY, N.Y. -- Officials are looking into what caused an Oswego County nuclear power plant to automatically shut down.

The owners of the Nine Mile Point Unit 1 say a recently refueled nuclear reactor shut down just before 9 p.m. Monday night. The reactor had been restarted April 19 after being out of service for maintenance.

Owners say the plant is in safe and stable condition, but would not comment on when the reactor is expected to return to service. Source