LOCAL
Hassan Rasouli is a retired mechanical engineer who entered hospital three years ago to have a benign brain tumour removed. Now, comatose in bed at Toronto’s Sunnybrook Hospital, he is at the heart of a legal battle over whether doctors have the ultimate say on whether to withdraw life support from patients they believe have no hope of recovery. The Supreme Court of Canada is expected to decide that question on Friday. [Globe and Mail]
A character reference written by Mayor Rob Ford for alleged drug dealer Alessandro Lisi could become public as early as Friday. Mr. Ford composed the letter of support for Mr. Lisi, the mayor’s friend and occasional driver who was facing sentencing for threatening to kill his former girlfriend, according to a June 14 transcript of the sentencing hearing. [Globe and Mail]
Ontario consumers will face higher hydro bills starting Nov. 1 – with the sharpest percentage increase coming during off-peak hours. Time of use electricity rates, which are now paid by most consumers and small businesses, are due to rise by 0.5 cents a kilowatt hour for all time periods, the Ontario Energy Board announced Thursday. [Toronto Star]
NATIONAL
The Human Rights Commission has blasted Quebec’s “dangerous and unnecessary” human rights charter. “The charter already includes the necessary mechanisms for finding the correct balance between the exercise of religious freedom and the principle of equality between men and women,” the commission says. [National Post]
A Canadian man who fled attempted murder charges in the U.S. and was declared legally dead is living in Edmonton and will likely never be tried for the alleged crime. Alex Varga is at the centre of a bizarre tale that spans Canada, the U.S. and his native Hungary. [CBC]
Native protesters against shale gas fracking in Rexton, N.B., have mostly dispersed after a day of clashes with RCMP officers who moved to enforce an injunction against a blockade, prompting a violent reaction in which five RCMP vehicles were burned and 40 people arrested. The majority of police at the scene left around 7 p.m., to cheers from a crowd of protesters. [CBC]
INTERNATIONAL
Charred pieces of bodies, enough to fill two boxes, have been recovered from the part of a Kenyan shopping mall that had collapsed as security forces battled terrorists who invaded the mall. A security official said it is possible the remains are of the attackers but it would not be definitively known until tests are carried out. [CBC]
Saudi Arabia said on Friday it would not take up its rotating seat on the United Nations Security Council, citing “double standards” which it said hampered the world body’s ability to end conflicts. It is the second time this month that Saudi Arabia has publicly expressed discontent over what it sees as the Security Council’s failure to take action to stop a civil war in Syria that has killed more than 100,000 people. [Globe and Mail]
U.S. President Barack Obama stood firm in an epic confrontation with Republicans over his health-care law but faces an uphill battle to transform that victory into wins on other fronts. Mr. Obama wants to make rapid progress: reaching agreement on a budget; reforming the country’s immigration system; and passing a bill on agriculture spending and nutritional assistance to poorer Americans. [Globe and Mail]
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