Back to newsletter list 15/07/2007 22:56:49 (UTC) Canada | World Briefs | Business News | Sports | Weather Headlines  - Canada begins Afghan troop rotation. - Prime Minister leaves on four-nation tour. - Professionals complain of border harassment.
MONTREAL: CANADA BEGINS AFGHAN TROOP ROTATION The first contingent of soldiers from the province of Quebec left for Afghanistan on Sunday as part of a new rotation. About 200 troops from the Royal 22nd Regiment, known as the Van Doos, left Canadian Forces Base Valcartier for Kandahar. Family and friends as well as Defence Minister Gordon O'Connor bid goodbye to the departing soldiers. By next month, the Van Doos will comprise 80 per cent of the 2,500 Canadian soldiers based in Kandahar. A survey released last month suggested that 70 per cent of Quebecers were opposed to troops from CFB Valcartier going to Afghanistan. Protesters held an anti-war demonstration last month as soldiers paraded through the streets of Quebec City. Sixty-six Canadian soldiers and one diplomat have lost their lives in Afghanistan since Canada joined the NATO force there in 2002. OTTAWA: PRIME MINISTER LEAVES ON FOUR-NATION TOUR Prime Minister Stephen Harper left Ottawa on Sunday for a six-day trip to South America and the Caribbean, where he'll promote better trade relations. Mr. Harper will visit Colombia, Chile, Barbados, and Haiti. His first stop is Colombia, where Mr. Harper will push for a free trade agreement. Human rights groups hope that he will also press Colombia to clean up what they say is a woeful record on human rights. Mr. Harper then travels to Santiago, where he will mark the tenth anniversary of the Canada-Chile free trade agreement. In Barbados, the prime minister meets with Caribbean leaders. Mr. Harper will make a brief stop in Haiti to meet with President Rene Preval before returning to Ottawa. OTTAWA: PROFESSIONALS COMPLAIN OF BORDER HARASSMENT A study commissioned by the Canadian government shows that professionals such as lawyers, engineers and architects are complaining about harassment at the U.S. border. The report was compiled by the Conference Board of Canada, a private group that examines and analyzes economic data. The report lists hundreds of U.S. regulations that increase costs or frustrate professionals trying to do cross-border business. Professionals told of excessive interrogation at the border when they traveled for business or to attend conferences where they would be compensated. Six key sectors were identified for their excessive regulations: professional services, telecommunications, motor vehicles, truck transportation, agriculture and food manufacturing, pharmaceuticals. TORONTO: SOME CITIES RECYCLING MORE THAN OTHERS A study by Statistics Canada shows that the national rate of recycling increased from 19 per cent in 2000 to 27 per cent in 2004. But major differences are reported in the extent to which various cities in Canada recycle waste. Among the leaders in recycling is Edmonton, Alberta, where 60 per cent of its waste is re-used. The number is expected to reach 90 per cent within a few years. In that time, a new facility will open to convert waste into gas for heating and electricity. Halifax, Nova Scotia, diverts 55 per cent of its waste. But Canada's largest city, Toronto, recycled only 25 per cent of its waste in 2002, sending its garbage to the U.S. State of Michigan under a controversial program. Toronto has a ten-year plan to increase recycling to 70 per cent.
PAKISTAN Two separate bomb attacks in northwestern Pakistan troops killed as many as 38 people on Sunday. In one attack, the bomber struck at a police headquarters where new recruits were being selected. Twenty people died and another 35 were wounded. In another attack, two vans with explosives were detonated near a military convoy, killing 18 people and wounding 47 others. The attacks came one day after a suicide bomber killed 24 soldiers and injured 29 others in an attack on their convoy in the same region. The government has sent thousands of extra troops to the region to bolster security. It's believed that the attacks were the work of Islamic extremists angered by the government's assault on the Red Mosque in Islamabad earlier in the week. NORTH KOREA North Korea said on Sunday that further progress in its nuclear disarmament depended on changes in what it called the 'hostile policies' of the United States and Japan. The statement by North Korea's official news agency came one day after reports that the nuclear reactor at Yongbyon had been shut down in compliance with an international treaty arranged in February. The reactor was capable of producing weapons-grade plutonium. United Nations inspectors sought to verify the reactor's shutdown after the government allowed them access for the first time in several years. The official statement said, however, that full implementation of the treaty would also depend on whether the other five signatories fulfilled their commitment to provide fuel and other benefits to North Korea. The first shipment of fuel arrived on Saturday. ISRAEL Pledging to work for mid-east peace, Shimon Peres was sworn in on Sunday as Israel's president. The post is largely ceremonial, but Mr. Peres could bring added vigour to it as a result of his prestige as one of Israel's most experienced public figures. Winner of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1994 for arranging an Israeli-Palestinian peace accord, he has served as prime minister and held almost all of the government's senior ministerial posts. He took up the president's office following the resignation of Moshe Katsav, who left in disgrace amid accusation of rape and sexual assault. LIBYA Sudan's government has agreed to allow a larger peacekeeping force into the Darfur region, but disagrees with its proposed mandate. The statement was made on Sunday by a Sudanese diplomat, Ali al-Sadig. Sudan refuses to accept a peacekeeping force whose mandate would include the use of force. The diplomat spoke as delegates from the United Nations, the African Union and Sudanese rebel groups met in Libya's capital, Tripoli, in the hope of finding a solution to Darfur's conflict. They agreed that peace negotiations were urgently needed, but critics say that the time for talk is passed, and now it's time for action. Tens of thousands of people in Darfur were killed by roving rangs over the past four years, and some two million people were displaced. SPAIN Spanish police have broken up a major child pornography ring. Sixty-people were arrested and more than 40 million photos and video images were seized in a nationwide sweep. Another 19 suspects have been identified. The investigation was helped by German police and by Interpol. BRITAIN British police have released two men arrested in connection with the attack on Glasgow Airport last month. So far, three of the eight detained suspects have been freed and three have been charged. One suspect is in hospital with severe burns caused during the airport attack. The final suspect is a Jordanian doctor who remains jailed without charge. Police must either charge him within a week or release him. In Australia, a doctor of East Indian origin has been charged in connection with the case. Authorities will not extradite Muhammed Haneef to Britain but will try him in Australia. Dr. Haneef's family maintains his innocence. Dr. Haneef is a distant cousin of two suspects being held in Britain. CHINA Thousands of people swam in China's third-longest river on Sunday to show how much progress has been made to free it of pollution. More than 3,500 swimmers dove into the Pearl River in Guangzhou. The swim was an annual event until the 1970s, when pollution made swimming in the river's lower sections dangerous. The swim returned last year after new sewage treatment plants were built. But some swimmers this year complained that the water was still filthy. And a government report this year described pollution at the mouth of the Pearl River as extremely severe. The government estimates that the underground reserves in nine out of ten cities are polluted. RUSSIA The former Soviet leader, Mikhail Gorbachev, said on Sunday that Russia recently decided to freeze a key European arms control treaty as a way to spark dialogue. He called the decision an 'entirely justified response and not an emotional outburst.' Mr. Gorbachev signed the original treaty in 1990. He said that American plans to install an anti-missile shield in central Europe justified the suspension. UNITED STATES A Roman Catholic church leader in the United States has issued an apology to hundreds of victims of sexual abuse by priests. Roger Cardinal Mahony said that the abuse should not have happened, and promised that the abuse would not recur. His apology came shortly after the Roman Catholic church announced a deal with more than 500 alleged victims of sexual abuse in the archdiocese of Los Angeles. The church is giving the victims US$660 million in compensation---the largest such payout in the church's history.
SYDNEY: RIO TINTO JUSTIFYING PURCHASE OF ALCAN The Australian mining giant, Rio Tinto, is defending its bid to buy Canada's aluminium firm, Alcan, saying that the robust economic growth of China and India would see the business prosper. The CDN$38.1 billion bid is the mining industry's biggest-ever acquisition. But an international ratings agency, Fitch, has placed Rio Tinto on credit watch negative, saying that the proposed transaction is highly leveraged. Rio Tinto says that strong cash flows will help drive down higher debt levels.
PAN AMERICAN GAMES Canadian Brent McMahon won a silver medal in the men's triathlon on Sunday at the Pan American Games in Rio de Janiero. American Andy Potts won the race in the final few hundred metres. Canadian Kyle Jones was fourth. In the women's triathlon, Canadian Laruen Groves won the bronze. American Julier Ertel was first. In the equestrian team dressage event, Canada won the silver medal to qualify Canada for the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. The United States won the gold. Canadian Anne Samploinius won the gold medal in women's time trial cycling. In fencing, Canadian Monica Kwan won the bronze medal in women's individual foil. ROWING Canada's men's eight won the gold medal at the Lucerne World Cup on Sunday. World champion Germany was second. Russia won the bronze. In the lightweight women's double, Canada won the silver medal. Denmark won the gold. BOXING Canadian Steve Molitor successfully defended his junior featherweight championship on Saturday, beating Takalani Ndlovu in the ninth round. The referee stopped the bout after Ndlovu stumbled twice after receiving a right hook. Molitor remains undefeated in his professional career. BASEBALL The Toronto Blue Jays beat the Boston Red Sox, 2-1, on Sunday. On Saturday, Toronto lost to Boston, 9-4. Dustin McGowan took that loss. HOCKEY A member of the Montreal Canadiens Stanley Cup team in the 1960s and 70s, John Ferguson, died of cancer on Saturday at the age of 68. Ferguson was one of the most physical players in the National Hockey League, amassing more than 1,200 penalty minutes. FOOTBALL The Montreal Alouettes beat the Hamilton Tiger Cats on Saturday, 29-20, for the team's first victory in three games. Montreal Anthony Calvillo became the fourth quarterback in Canadian Football League history to pass for fifty thousand yards in his career. Hamilton has yet to win a game this season. TRACK AND FIELD At the Canadian track and field championships in Windsor, Ontario, on Sunday, Adam Kunkel won the men's 400-metre hurdles, his fifth national title. Nigel Joseph was second and Wesley Rehel was third. In the women's 400-metre hurdles, Sarah Wells was first. SOCCER At the FIFA world under-20 championships in Toronto on Sunday, Chile beat Nigeria, 4-0, in their quarter-final match. HORSE RACING Alezzandro with Todd Kabel aboard won the Prince of Wales stakes in Fort Erie on Sunday. It's the second jewel in Canada' triple crown of racing.
Weather Here is Canada's weather on Monday. British Columbia will have variable cloudiness. The high temperature in Vancouver will be 23 degrees Celsius. The Yukon: rain showers. Whitehorse, 17. Northwest Territories: sunny. Yellowknife, 28. Nunavut: variable cloudiness. Iqaluit, nine. Alberta: variable cloudiness. Edmonton, 27. Saskatchewan: rain showers. Regina, 30. Manitoba: increasing cloudiness. Winnipeg, 23. Ontario: increasing cloudiness. Toronto, 26. Ottawa, 25. Quebec: sunny periods. Montreal, 24. New Brunswick: mainly sunny. Fredericton, 25. Nova Scotia: rain showers. Halifax, 23. Prince Edward Island: rain showers. Charlottetown, 23. Newfoundland: rain showers. St. John's, 20.
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