Former Mountie translator linked to separatist group

RCMP investigators allege Kumaravelu Vignarajah is a high-ranking member of the Tamil Tigers, which are fighting for a separate homeland in Sri Lanka.

Vignarajah, 37, is charged with obstruction of justice and with perjury relating to information he gave on his refugee claim when he arrived in Canada in 1989.

RCMP Constable Michele Paradis said the charges relate to Vignarajah's failure to declare his membership in the Tamil Tigers. Police said they believe he was trying to infiltrate the RCMP for the Tigers.

Vignarajah was arrested Thursday in a Toronto-area bank branch where he was a teller. He worked as a translator for the Mounties from July to November 1994.

Public blasts socialite after acquittal on murder charges

But Earl Joudrie, who still carries in his body four of the six bullets she shot into him last year, was only talking about recovery as he headed to his Ontario cottage at week's end.

Joudrie, 62, announced Friday he was taking a leave of absence from his position as board chairman of Canadian Tire.

A jury of 11 women and one man ruled Thursday that Dorothy Joudrie, 61, shot her then-estranged husband six times in the back 15 months ago. But the jury also found she was mentally ill at the time and not criminally responsible for what she did.

Man rams car into pole, killing himself, mom, dogs

The car exploded in flames early Friday after the 26-year-old man sped down an off-ramp of the Gardiner Expressway near downtown Toronto and smashed into the pole at a speed estimated at 60 miles per hour. The man had pitchfork wounds in his chest and two pitchforks were found in the car, police said.

Detective Sgt. James McDermott, of Toronto police, said he believes the man intended to kill himself and his 53-year-old mother. Police say they know the identity of the mother and son, but aren't making their names public until they can get dental records.

Two teens hospitalized after trying to make bombs

The boy will likely require plastic surgery after the pipe bomb he was making accidentally blew up and partially severed his finger Thursday.

The same day, a 14-year-old Calgary boy blew off part of his thumb while building a bomb using instructions he found on the Internet.

The Winnipeg boy's parents rushed to the basement after hearing the blast to find him bleeding. Police are investigating..


CANADA COVERAGE

From May through September, The Herald publishes Canada Report every Thursday and Sunday, and on other days as space allows. A daily Canada Report will resume in October.