MONTREAL — Cut, clarity and colour are descriptors germane to many diamond transactions, but at the newly renovated Birks Montreal flagship store, customers could just as easily be discussing the cut of their meat, the clarity of their Pinot Noir and the colour of their vibrant fall soup.

According to a company press release, Birks Café par Europea, another establishment by chef Jérôme Ferrer of Montreal’s Europea and Beaver Hall, has just opened on the mezzanine level of the downtown Birks location at the corner of Ste-Catherine and Phillips Square.

MONTREAL — A café in Montreal’s Little Italy was hit with an early morning firebomb last week, the latest in a string of arsons affecting city establishments.

According to reports, a Molotov cocktail was hurled at Café de la Petite Italie at 4:30 a.m. Friday, causing minimal damage.

It turns out the café was raided in September 2008 after a Montreal Police investigation uncovered 56 grams of cocaine on-site. Francesco Facchino, the café’s owner, and his brother-in-law and employee, John Botsis, were arrested and charged with drug trafficking, reports Montreal’s Gazette.

As if farmers in Ontario and Quebec didn’t have enough to deal with already, now it seems an unwelcome guest, more typically found in the American corn-belt, has taken up residence in central Canadian cornfields as well.

According The Canadian Press, the Western bean cutworm is a tiny insect that feeds on the corn’s pollen and silk before eventually eating the developing kernels. It could cost affected farmers anywhere from 10 to 15 per cent of crop yield.

MONTREAL — This summer will see more than 1,000 underprivileged children in Montreal nurturing their souls at camp while nourishing their stomachs with free lunches being offered from June 28 to August 20 by Sodexo, in partnership with Moisson Montréal food bank.

"I have received a healthy meal every lunch-time during my day camp for three years. I am happy because I have the energy all day long to play and learn new things from the counsellors," explains 10-year-old Laura L'Africain.