June 14, 2005

Mounties uncover 'Al Qaeda' cache Toronto Star - The RCMP and Canadian military believe they've discovered a vital cache of information on Al Qaeda that includes the whereabouts of wanted members and details of attacks on coalition forces in Afghanistan. The information is allegedly contained in a laptop, dozens of DVDs, audiocassettes and the pages of diaries, seized by the RCMP officers who met Zaynab Khadr at Pearson airport with a search warrant as she arrived back in Canada in February, court documents state. Khadr is the eldest daughter of a family that has admitted close ties to Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden and whose patriarch was once believed to be the highest-ranking Canadian member of Al Qaeda. Her younger brother, Omar, is currently Canada's only known detainee in the American camp in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. 7:48:23 PM

Gomery inquiry's legal tab has cost taxpayers over $1 million Montreal Gazette - Lawyers for Jean Chretien, Jean Pelletier and Alfonso Gagliano at the Gomery commission cost Canadian taxpayers more than $1 million before the trio had even testified before the inquiry, documents obtained through the Access to Information Act reveal. The judge says he will come in under his $32-million budget. 3:11:16 PM

UNSCAM UPDATE: The New York Times has an interesting memo report: Kofi Annan has said several times that he did not discuss the contract with his son and was not involved in Cotecna's selection. A United Nations panel headed by Paul A. Volcker, a former chairman of the Federal Reserve, concluded in March that Mr. Annan had not influenced the awarding of the $10 million dollar-a-year contract to the company. But the memo appears to raise questions about the secretary general's role. I'm not terribly confident that the Volcker Commission will get to the bottom of this, but I hope that someone will.  [Instapundit.com] 9:16:17 AM