QUEBEC - Gerard Deltell, the new leader of the Action democratique du Quebec, faces a mountain to climb in re-establishing the crippled party as a credible political force.

OTTAWA - The Harper government is dismissing calls for a public inquiry into the handover of prisoners in Afghanistan.

TORONTO - Canadian retailers are getting ready for the holiday season with rock-bottom prices and major promotional campaigns in hopes that shoppers will open their wallets and seize the opportunity to save.

KABUL, Afghanistan - Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon defended his government Thursday in the face of claims that detainees in Afghanistan, many of them innocent, were routinely abused by Afghan authorities after being handed over by Canadian soldiers.

MONTREAL - Canada's federal advocate for crime victims is marking National Child Day tomorrow with a request for politicians: Give abused children an easier place to tell their story.

WASHINGTON - The National Archives is bringing together investigators to search for scribbled secrets from the early days of the Watergate scandal as the chain of events began that destroyed Richard Nixon's presidency.

WASHINGTON - Palin-Beck 2012?

CALGARY - If Theo Fleury decides to pursue criminal charges against former junior hockey coach Graham James, Sheldon Kennedy will be in his former teammate's corner.

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan - The Taliban kept to the shadows of Haji Baba on Wednesday as Canadian soldiers trying to seize control of the insurgent stronghold continued to pick up apart its defences.

A pair of animal rights groups are planning on protesting the seal hunt during the Olympic torch run over the next few months.