Amman - Canadian Foreign Minister Lawrence Cannon on Saturday discussed with his Jordanian counterpart Nasser Judeh the latest efforts to re-launch peace negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians, according to a foreign ministry statement.

"Judeh underscored the importance of a serious international move to resolve the conflict peacefully on the basis of the two-state formula, a solution that is winning universal consensus," the statement said.

New York - Telephone equipment giant Nortel Networks Corp on Wednesday announced plans to cut 3,200 jobs worldwide as it struggles to emerge from bankruptcy protection.

The 114-year-old Canadian company filed for bankruptcy protection in January, and received an extension of that until May 1.

Nortel said the job cuts would take place over several months and are in addition to 1,800 workforce reductions already announced. The company also won't pay any bonuses under its incentive plan for last year.

Washington, Feb 24 : Former President George W. Bush will embark next month on a series of speeches that will take him to Canada, Europe and Asia, his advisers have said.

The former president already has plans for about 10 speeches over the next year, and will do more, Politico reported.

Arthritis is one of the leading causes of disability and autoimmune diseases.

New York  - UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said Monday that he and Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper discussed efforts to secure the freedom of a Canadian diplomat kidnapped last December in Niger.

Robert Fowler, a high-ranking Canadian official and former ambassador to the United Nations, disappeared on December 14 with his foreign affairs aide, Louis Guay. They were in a UN-marked vehicle and were believed to be kidnapped with their driver.

Hong Kong - Top Hong Kong singer and actress Karen Mok was making plans Monday to fly to Canada to visit colonies of young seals, days before an annual hunt in which 300,000 will be slaughtered.

The trip is being organized by the Hong Kong Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) as part of a campaign lobbying for a ban on the trade of seal products in Hong Kong and China.

Mok, 38, will be accompanied on her March visit by a film crew to shoot a mini-documentary of her trip, which the SPCA plans to use in the campaign.