Peter Dowdall celebrates the prickly berried plant that takes centre stage at Christmas —and its relatives.

A top Canadian Inuit official defended his country’s seal hunt today, saying it was vital to the survival of aboriginal peoples in the Arctic and provided an economic lifeline for an area desperate for jobs and growth.

HURRICANE ISABEL was able to shut down the federal government and the DC Metro system before it even made landfall yesterday afternoon, but the region’s telephone and internet providers had already dialled up their emergency reserves to weather out the storm.

The biggest power cut in American history rolled across a vast swath of the northern United States and southern Canada yesterday, driving millions of people outdoors into stifling rush hour streets – then darkness.

A strong earthquake has shaken the Pacific Northwest region of the US, shattering windows in downtown Seattle and rattling Portland, Oregon, for nearly half a minute.