CANADA

A single snowboarder shot through the Olympic rings in a very Canadian opening salvo for the 2010 Winter Games on Friday, a feat made all the more impressive by his soaring through an indoor stadium.

The 2010 Winter Olympics Opening Ceremonies will start on Friday February 12 at 5:45 PST in Vancouver. It will be the third Olympics hosted by Canada.

The tragic death of Georgian luge athlete Nodar Kumaritashvili casts a shadow over the 2010 Winter Olympic Games, the Chief Executive Officer of VANOC, the Games Organizing Committee said Friday.

There are many things you'll want to take as souvenirs from your time exploring the world - tie-dye clothing that looked cool in India, paintings created by talented elephants, novelty booze that tasted good in the right setting, or exquisite carvings that seemed like a bargain until you worked out the exchange rate.

The Vancouver Olympics kicks off tonight, and already more than 60,000 people are there to witness the Olympic cauldron being lit in BC Place stadium during the opening ceremony. Below is a breakdown of the Full Olympics Schedule of 2010:

Toyota is aiming its Canadian advertising dollars at reassuring existing customers worried by the company's recent safety woes, rather than winning new buyers, even though the move may hurt February sales numbers, a top Toyota Canada executive said on Thursday.

In the annual survey by the Economist Intelligence Unit, Vancouver scored 98 percent on a combination of stability, health care, culture and environment, education, and infrastructure -- a score unchanged from last year.

The traditional shroud of secrecy around Olympic opening ceremonies has some gaping holes in this age of digital downloads and social networking.

About 87 percent of cars recalled by Honda this week were cars sold in the U.S., according to data released by Honda on Wednesday.

European nations finally gave some public indications this week that they may orchestrate some sort of bailout for Greece as investors grow increasingly concerned.

Alexza Pharmaceuticals Inc said it signed a collaboration deal with a unit of Biovail Corp to develop and commercialize AZ-004, its inhaled treatment for agitation, in the United States and Canada.

International Dairy Queen, the ice cream retailer owned by Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc, said on Tuesday that it planned in 2010 to open its first stores in Egypt and Macau.

Starting in June, travellers have a new option for getting to central Canada and the opportunity to create a unique short break.

McDonald's Corp beat expectations with a 2.6 percent increase in January sales at established restaurants, as overseas results overcame a sluggish performance in the United States.

The embattled U.S. wealth management business of Swiss bank UBS AG continued to bleed client assets in the fourth quarter, hurt by fleeing advisers and negative publicity from a tax-fraud scandal.

McDonald's Corp posted an expectations-topping 2.6 percent increase in January sales at established restaurants, as overseas results overshadowed a sluggish performance in the United States.

McDonald's Corp posted an expectations-topping 2.6 percent increase in January sales at established restaurants, as overseas results overshadowed a sluggish performance in the United States.

MillerCoors, the second-largest brewer in the United States, on Tuesday reported a 21.6 percent slide in fourth-quarter net income reflecting a tough economy and a sharp rise in share-based salary bonus packages.

Canadian housing starts rose by a larger than expected 5.8 percent in January, the fourth straight monthly gain, offering further proof of housing's strength in an otherwise tepid economy.

The euro and growth-linked currencies fell on Monday as investors unwound risky trades amid growing worries about eurozone's debt problems, dismissing assurances from European finance ministers at the weekend.

U.S. stocks face more turbulence that could send indexes spiraling through key levels this week as doubts about the global recovery's pace persist and fears linger over Europe's sovereign debt woes.