Under-fire Canada PM shuts down parliament

Canada’s opposition parties vowed to oust Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s government next month after he shut down parliament to avoid almost certain defeat in an imminent confidence vote, but infighting among one of the parties cast doubt on whether the coalition will hold.

Mr Harper successfully asked the unelected representative of the head of state for the power to close down parliament until January 26, hoping to buy enough time to develop a stimulus package that could prop up the economy.