KANDAHAR, Afghanistan, Dec. 5  -- A roadside bomb in Afghanistan killed three Canadian soldiers and seriously injured two others Friday near Kandahar, military officials said.

The troops were on patrol in an armored vehicle around 9 a. m. when they hit the device, U. S. Maj. Gen. Michael Tucker, the deputy chief of staff of U. S. and NATO-led forces in Afghanistan, told reporters in a teleconference call.

The deaths are the first for the new rotation of Canadian troops, who arrived in Kandahar in September, a Canadian Broadcasting Corp. correspondent reported.

Lake Louise, Canada  - Defending overall champion Lindsey Vonn was in command to win the opening downhill of the women's alpine World Cup ski season on Friday.

Montreal  - Prime Minister Stephen Harper won an important and historic tactical victory Thursday in his no-holds-barred confrontation with combined forces of the opposition.

But the crisis has also whipped political sentiments in Canada up to a level of aggression not seen for decades in Canadian politics, with strident and searing comments about treason and sedition against an opposition alliance with Quebec separatists.

Ottawa  - Prime Minister Stephen Harper Wednesday appealed to Canadians to support his minority government and vowed to fight a no-confidence vote in parliament by the opposition.

In a nationally-televised address Harper accused the opposition on Wednesday evening of wanting to overturn the results of the latest general elections only seven weeks after the poll.

Canada's government would fight its opponents by all means at its disposal to prevent them from forming a coalition government to replace his own, Harper said.

TORONTO, Dec. 3  -- Toronto city councilors voted to impose a 5-cent fee on plastic shopping bags at supermarkets next year to help with landfill costs.

After the 30-13 vote that included other environmental measures, Toronto Mayor David Miller said the concept of "free" bags was a fallacy, the Toronto Star reported.

"There's a cost to the city and the people of Toronto in disposing of them, there's a cost to the environment and there's a cost to the retailers," Miller said.

The measure will go into effect in June.

Montreal - In a stunning reversal of political fortunes, the leader of Canada's official opposition, Stephane Dion, was poised to become the country's next prime minister despite having lost the October 14 federal election.

Dion, who just six weeks ago was forced to step down as Liberal leader after the party's worst-ever electoral performance, emerged as the compromise candidate to lead a centre-left coalition formed Monday among the Liberal Party and the socialist New Democratic Party (NDP), aiming to unseat the minority Conservative government of Prime Minister Stephen Harper.