Yonge Street is a major arterial route in the Canadian province of Ontario connecting the shores of Lake Ontario in Toronto to Lake Simcoe, a gateway to the Upper Great Lakes. Until 1999, the Guinness Book of World Records repeated the popular misconception it was 1,896 km long, thus the longest street in the world. Yonge Street is 56 kilometres long; the construction of Yonge Street is designated an Event of National Historic Significance in Canada. Yonge Street was fundamental in the original planning and settlement of western Upper Canada in the 1790s, forming the basis of the concession roads in Ontario today. Once the southernmost leg of Highway 11, linking the provincial capital with northern Ontario, Yonge Street has been referred to as "Main Street Ontario". Today, no section of Yonge Street is a provincial highway; the street was named by Ontario's first colonial administrator, John Graves Simcoe, for his friend Sir George Yonge, an expert on ancient Roman roads. Yonge Street is a commercial main thoroughfare rather than a ceremonial one, with landmarks such as the Eaton Centre, Yonge-Dundas Square and the Hockey Hall of Fame along its length—and lends its name to the Downtown Yonge shopping and entertainment district.

In Toronto and York Region, Yonge Street is the north-south baseline from which street numbering is reckoned east and west. The eastern branch of Line 1 Yonge–University serves nearly the entire length of the street in Toronto and acts as the spine of the Toronto subway system, linking to suburban commuter systems such as the Viva Blue BRT. See the'Public Transit' section below. Yonge Street originates on the northern shore of Toronto Bay at Queens Quay as a four-lane arterial road proceeding north. Toronto's Harbourfront is built on landfill extended into the bay, with the former industrial area now converted from port and industrial uses to a dense residential high-rise community; the street passes under the elevated Gardiner Expressway and the congested rail lines of the Toronto viaduct on their approach to Union Station. The road rises near Front Street, marking the pre-landfill shoreline. Here, at the southern edge of the central business district, is the Dominion Public Building, the Sony Centre for the Performing Arts and the Hockey Hall of Fame, the latter housed in an imposing former Bank of Montreal office, once Canada's largest bank branch.

Beyond Front Street the road passes through the east side of the Financial District, within sight of many of Canada's tallest buildings, fronting an entrance to the Allen Lambert Galleria. Between Front Street and Queen Street, Yonge Street is bounded by historic and commercial buildings, many serving the large weekday workforce concentrated here; these include the flagship Toronto locations of the Hudson's Bay Company and Saks Fifth Avenue, both in the historic Simpson's building. Yonge Street's entire west side, from Queen Street to Dundas Street, is occupied by the Eaton Centre, a multi-storey indoor mall featuring shops along its Yonge Street frontage and a Nordstrom anchor store at the corner of Dundas Street; the east side has two historic performance venues, the Ed Mirvish Theatre and the Elgin and Winter Garden Theatres. In addition, Massey Hall is just to the east on Shuter Street. Opposite the north end of the Eaton Centre lies Yonge-Dundas Square; the area now comprising the square was cleared of several small commercial buildings and redeveloped in the late 1990s and early 2000s, with large video screens, retail shopping arcades and seating in a bid to become "Toronto's Times Square".

It is used for numerous public events. Another stretch of busy retail lines both sides of Yonge Street north of Dundas Street, including location of Sam the Record Man until its closure on June 30, 2007; the density of businesses diminishes north of Gerrard Street. The Art Deco College Park building, a former shopping complex of the T. Eaton Company, occupies much of the west side of Yonge Street from Gerrard Street north to College Street, it was converted into a commercial complex after the building of the Eaton Centre. From College Street north to Bloor Street, Yonge Street serves smaller street-level retail in two- to three-storey buildings of a hundred years' vintage; the businesses here, unlike the large chains which dominate south of Gerrard Street, are small independent shops and serve a dense residential community on either side of Yonge Street with amenities such as convenience stores. The intersection of Yonge and Bloor Streets is a major crossroads of Toronto, informally considered the northern edge of the downtown core.

Subway Line 2 Bloor–Danforth intersects the Yonge line here, with the resulting transfers between lines making Bloor-Yonge Station the busiest in the city. The northeast quadrant features the Hudson's Bay Centre office and retail complex, including a Hudson's Bay Company Hudson's Bay store; the Mink Mile's borders extend from Yonge to Avenue Road along Bloor. The intersection of Yonge and Bloor Streets is itself a "scramble"-type intersection allowing pedestrians to cross from any corner to any other corner. North of Bloor, the street is part of the old town of Yorkville, today a major shopping district extending west of Yonge Street along Cumberland and Bloor Streets

The 2008 Issers bombing occurred on August 19, 2008 when a suicide bomber drove and detonated a vehicle laden with explosives into a crowd of para-military recruits waiting to take exams outside a police academy in Issers, Boumerdès Province, Algeria killing 43 and injuring 38. The Al-Qaeda Organization in the Islamic Maghreb is suspected as being responsible. European Union - The French EU presidency condemned the bombing, releasing a statement in which the EU "very condemns the terrorist acts that have just claimed so many lives", remarking that Algerian people are "once again victims of blind and barbaric terrorist violence". Algeria – Algerian Interior Minister Yazid Zerhouni called the bombing "an act against Algerians, these terrorist gangs are seeking through attacks against civilians to loosen the net closing around them as the security forces drive them to the wall". France - The French Prime Minister, François Fillon, phoned his Algerian counterpart to assure him "the support of France in the fight against terrorism".

Italy - The Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi expressed his support for Algeria's leadership. Russia - Andrei Nesterenko, spokesman of the Russian Foreign Ministry expressed in a statement "We express our sincere condolences to the relatives and friends of those killed and wounded, resolutely condemn the latest bloody terrorist atrocities", adding "We confirm our solidarity with friendly Algeria and our support for the actions of the authorities in the eradication of terrorism.". Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic - Mohamed Abdelaziz, president of the SADR, vividly condemned "the coward terrorist attacks in Issers and Bouira, which caused the loss of innocent lives", recalling the Sahrawi government and people "unconditional solidarity with Algeria in these sad moments". Spain - The Spanish Foreign Minister, Miguel Ángel Moratinos, called his Algerian counterpart to express his condolences and the support of the Spanish people. "The government expresses its indignation and its firm condemnation of the cowardly terrorist attack on Wednesday against the civilian population of Bouira, which left many dead and wounded, just one day after the attack in Issers," the ministry said in a statement.

List of terrorist incidents, 2008 Bombing kills dozens in Algeria

The Heinkel He 111 was one of the most numerous German bombers of the Second World War. Designed in the mid-1930s, the type persevered until 1945. In Spain, variants of the design saw service until 1973; the first bomber version of the Heinkel He 111 to enter production was the He 111A-0, with a pre-production batch of 10 aircraft being ordered for service evaluation late in 1935. Performance of these aircraft, powered by two BMW VI engines, was disappointing, the aircraft were rejected by the Luftwaffe; the government of the Chinese state of Canton was less picky and purchased six He 111A-0s, taking delivery in mid-1936, the aircraft entering service with the Nationalist Chinese Air Force in October–November 1936. Chinese use of the He 111 in the Second Sino-Japanese War that began on 7 July 1937 with the Marco Polo Bridge Incident was limited, operational use being at first delayed by a lack of suitable bombs. On the Chinese Heinkels first operational mission, a raid by five He 111s and six Martin 139 against Japanese forces near Shanghai, the inexperienced crews left the retractable ventral "dustbin" turrets extended, so the Heinkels could not keep up with the Martin bombers and their escorting fighters, three of the five aircraft were shot down by Japanese fighters.

One He 111 was taken out of storage in December 1943, fitted with Wright Cyclone radial engines and converted to a transport aircraft. The initial bomber force of the Condor Legion, the German volunteer force supporting Franco's Nationalist forces in the Spanish Civil War, was composed of Junkers Ju 52/3m bomber/transport aircraft; these proved vulnerable to Soviet supplied Polikarpov I-15 and I-16 fighters, with the Germans suffering heavy losses, on 6 January 1937 it was decided to send some of Germany's latest bombers to Spain, both to allow evaluation of the new aircraft in operational conditions and to allow effective use against the Republicans. Four He 111Bs, together with four Dornier Do 17s and four Junkers Ju 86s arrived in Spain in February 1937, equipping a Staffel of Kampfgruppe 88; the Heinkels made their combat debut on 9 March 1937, when they attacked Republican held airfields in support of the Battle of Guadalajara. The Heinkel proved superior to the two other German medium bombers, being both faster and carrying a heavier bombload.

Initial losses in combat were low, more deliveries from Germany allowed full re-equipment of Kampfgruppe 88 with the Heinkel by October 1937. Further deliveries of the improved He 111E allowed some of the older He 111Bs to be passed to the Spanish Nationalists, who formed Grupo 10-G-25 in August 1938. In total, 94 Heinkels were delivered to the Condor Legion during the war. By the time the Spanish Civil War ended on 1 April 1939, 21 Heinkels had been lost to enemy action, with a further 15 lost in accidents and one destroyed by sabotage; the 58 remaining Heinkels were left behind and formed the backbone of the bombing force of the new Spanish State. The 25 He 111B and 33 He 111Es were supplemented late in 1939 with three He 111Js, which were used to fly weather reconnaissance flights, with three H models being received from Germany for the same role, a fourth aircraft received as a pattern aircraft for planned licence production; as World War II intensified in Europe, the Spanish Air Force suffered from fuel shortages, while the supply of spare parts for the He 111E's Jumo engines dried up, which resulted in most of the He 111Es being grounded from February 1942, placing a greater burden on the underpowered He 111Bs.

The problems with the Jumo engines were solved by February 1946, allowing the He 111Es to return to regular service. While CASA 2.111s started to enter service in early 1950, the German-built aircraft continued in use as bombers, as the CASA-built aircraft's Jumo 211F engines proved to be unreliable. The He 111Bs were phased out by 1952, with the He 111Es remaining in use as a bomber until 1956. Another use for the elderly Heinkels was as a multi-engined trainer, with the last two German-built Heinkels, a He 111E and a He 111H remaining in use until 1958, with the final flight carried out at the Multi-engined Aircraft School at Jerez de la Frontera on 28 November 1958. Five CASA 2.111 bombers, bombed enemy positions, while an equal number of CASA 352 transports dropped a force of 75 paratroopers into the outpost. Five He 111 Geschwader were committed to the German invasion of Poland. Kampfgeschwader 1, Kampfgeschwader 4, Kampfgeschwader 26, Kampfgeschwader 27 and Kampfgeschwader 53. All, with the exception of KG 4 were committed to Luftflotte 1 under the command of Generalfeldmarschall Albert Kesselring.

KG 4 operated under Luftflotte 4. The He 111 provided medium-high altitude interdiction and ground support missions for the German Army; the He 111 participated in the Battle of the Bzura when the Polish Army Poznań and Army Pomorze were destroyed by aerial assault. It participated extensively in the Siege of Warsaw. During the campaign the Luftwaffe had anticipated that its bombers would be able to defend themselves adequately. PZL P.11s "for all their limited firepower and aerodynamic limitations, were capable of handing out severe punishment when able to engage the bombers without interference". During the period of the phoney war the He 111 was tasked with strategic bombing attacks over the North Sea and naval bases in the United Kingdom as a means of attacking the Royal Navy. On 9 November 1939, Adolf Hitler issued directive No. 9 which emphasised the target with most importance as the British Navy. Mindful of the damaging b