PRESS DIGEST - Canada - April 30

April 30 (Reuters) - The following are top stories from selected Canadian newspapers. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.

THE GLOBE AND MAIL:

- With his first one hundred days behind him and his $3.7-trillion budget approved in principle - but facing daunting odds of failure nonetheless - Barack Obama vowed Wednesday night to "clear away the wreckage of this recession," promising that "the United States of America will see a better day."

- Global health authorities raised the alert level for a virulent new strain of swine flu Wednesday, saying a pandemic is now imminent and "all of humanity" must join in an urgent battle against the infection.

- Chrysler LLC [CBS.UL] is expected to file for bankruptcy protection in the United States by the end of the week and the Canadian and Ontario governments will jump in to help backstop the company with financing that will enable it to keep making and selling cars while it restructures, sources said.

Report on Business Section:

- The federally owned Business Development Bank of Canada has hired David Allan, a 20-year veteran of asset-backed securities markets, to advise it on the handling of a $12-billion credit facility designed primarily to stimulate auto loans and leases.

- 62-year old chairman and chief executive officer of Bank of America (BAC.N) was stripped of his chairman's title Wednesday during a testy, four-hour annual meeting near the bank's headquarters in Charlotte, N.C.

- Fed's brighter tone reinforced the hopeful mood of investors, who pushed stocks to their highest level in more than two months Wednesday.

- Sherritt International Corp (S.TO) is tackling one of the biggest and most sensitive mining projects in the world: a massive $4.5-billion nickel mine in the middle of a pristine rain forest in a biodiversity hot spot.

NATIONAL POST:

- Canadian scientists find evidence that some deaths in Mexico may not have been caused by the recent swine flu outbreak.

- Marking his own report card on the 100th day of a historic and already tumultuous presidency, Barack Obama on Wednesday declared himself pleased but "not satisfied" with efforts to pull the United States out of recession and clear out the economic "wreckage" he inherited upon taking office.

- An eminent forensic pathologist told the Braidwood inquiry Wednesday that Robert Dziekanski's death -- after five Taser jolts and restraint by the RCMP -- was likely a "cardiac-related" death linked to the Tasering.

- Two Canadians being held hostage in different parts of Africa have reportedly been freed, apparently ending the women's ordeals in Sudan's war-ravaged Darfur region and in Nigeria, officials said Wednesday.

Financial Post Section: