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TORONTO GAS EXPLOSION: Thousands of people fled Canada’s largest city this week after a propane plant exploded in a massive fire. One firefighter died in the blaze. More than 12,000
Torontonians were evacuated for several days because of fears of toxic smoke, and parts of Canada’s busiest highway were shut down. “It was just a tremendous explosion and blew all the
windows out of the house, just blew the house up, and I just managed to get out of there in time,” said resident Robert Helman. Toronto Mayor David Miller said he was investigating why the
propane facility was allowed to be built near a residential area. Authorities have not yet determined the cause of the explosion. CIUDAD ACUÑA, MEXICO SUBSCRIBE TO THE WEEK Escape your echo
chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives. SUBSCRIBE & SAVE SIGN UP FOR THE WEEK'S FREE NEWSLETTERS From our morning news briefing to a weekly
Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox. From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly
to your inbox. NO GAS FOR GRINGOS: Mexico has begun fining Americans who cross the border to buy cheap Mexican gas. The Mexican government subsidizes diesel, so it costs just $2.25 a
gallon, about half what it costs north of the border. American truckers are allowed to fill their own tanks, but they may not load up extra barrels with fuel for export to the U.S. The city
of Acuña, across the border from Del Rio, Texas, said it had caught four Americans filling barrels with diesel and would charge them a fine of 70 percent of the price of the fuel. RIO DE
JANEIRO APPEAL FOR THE AMAZON: Brazil last week asked the world’s rich nations to contribute $21 billion to help Brazil protect the Amazon rain forest. President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva
said he was launching an international fund to raise money to finance conservation and sustainable development. “We are conscious of what the Amazon represents for the world,” Lula said.
“It’s better for the country’s image to do things right, so we can walk in international forums with our heads high.” Environmentalists have criticized Brazil for rampant deforestation; more
than 10,000 square miles of rain forest were lost in 2004 alone. So far, Norway is the only country that has pledged a donation, putting up $100 million. LA PAZ, BOLIVIA A free daily email
with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com A MORALES VICTORY: Bolivian President Evo Morales won a resounding victory this week in a referendum on
whether he should remain in office. Early results put his support at 60 percent, higher than the 54 percent he received in the 2005 presidential election. Still, Bolivian politics remain
muddled, as Morales’ biggest opponents, governors of four eastern regions, were also endorsed by large margins in the referendum. The results show that the country is split between the
indigenous poor of the west, who support Morales, and the middle class of the gas-rich east, who oppose his Socialist rule. Morales is trying to push through a new constitution that would
increase the state’s role in the economy, strengthen presidential powers, and weaken the judiciary. Explore More News at a Glance