Back to newsletter list 23/09/2007 22:37:44 (UTC) Canada | World Briefs | Sports | Weather Headlines  - Prime minister to address U.N. environment conference. - NATO counting on extended Canadian mission in Afghanistan. - Opposition parties react coolly to Bloc Quebecois threat.
UNITED NATIONS: PRIME MINISTER TO ADDRESS U.N. ENVIRONMENT CONFERENCE Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Environment Minister John Baird will defend the Conservative Party government's actions on climate change at a major meeting of the United Nations this week. More than 70 presidents and prime ministers are gathering in New York for so-called climate summit on Monday. The environment minister says that Canada will outline specific proposals for reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 20 per cent over the next 13 years. On Friday, a government advisory panel issued a report that accused the government's climate change plan as being badly flawed and misleading. It said that the program will not help Canada achieve its goals. KANDAHAR: NATO COUNTING ON EXTENDED CANADIAN MISSION IN AFGHANISTAN NATO's deputy commander in Afghanistan, Canadian General Marquis Hainse, says that NATO is already assuming that Canadian troops will remain there beyond their scheduled departure date in early 2009. NATO also expects the Netherlands to extend its mission. General Hainse was speaking to reporters in Kandahar on Saturday. He'd been questioned about debates in Canada and the Netherlands over whether to continue their respective combat missions. General Hainse arrived in Afghanistan four months ago. OTTAWA: OPPOSITION PARTIES REACT COOLLY TO BLOC QUEBECOIS THREAT Canada's opposition political parties say they're not impressed that the Bloc Quebecois leader, Gilles Duceppe, is threatening to withdraw his support of the minority Conservative Party government. The Bloc is a separatist party based solely in Quebec. It has set five priorities that it wants to see in the Throne Speech next month in which the government outlines its priorities for the upcoming session of Parliament. If the Bloc Quebecois does not support the Throne Speech, either the opposition New Democratic Party or the Liberal Party would have to give their support. Otherwise the government would fall, triggering a general election. The Conservative Party has not commented directly on Mr. Duceppe's list of priorities. The list was announced shortly after byelections in Quebec saw support waining for the Bloc. The NDP leader, Jack Layton, said that Mr. Duceppe is posturing to save face after that loss. SPRINGFIELD: U.S.PILOT LOSES LAWSUIT OVER FRIENDLY FIRE INCIDENT An American judge has ruled against a U.S. Air Force pilot who filed a lawsuit claiming that his reputation was damaged as a result of a friendly fire incident in Afghanistan. Major Harry Schmidt killed four Canadian soldiers five years ago when he mistook them for enemy Taliban forces and dropped a large bomb. In his lawsuit, Major Schmidt charged that the military violated his privacy when it disclosed parts of his record without his permission. But the judge in Springfield, Illinois, ruled that the public interest in the information outweighed the soldier's privacy rights. OTTAWA: U.S. AMBASSADOR OPTIMISTIC ABOUT TRADE IN WAKE OF STRONG CANADIAN DOLLAR The U-S ambassador to Canada, David Wilkins, predicts that the brisk movement of goods and services between the two countries will continue at the same pace even though this week, for the first time in 30 years, the value of Canada's dollar matched that of the U-S dollar. American businesses operating in Canada suddenly face higher operating costs. But Mr. Wilkins says businesses in both countries will make the stronger Canadian dollar work to their advantage. The ambassador also expects the number of Canadian tourists and shoppers in the United States to increase. As Derrick Stoffel reports, Canadian cross-border shopping has already intensified. MONTREAL: QUEBEC POLITICAL LEADER THREATENS NEWSPAPER WITH LAWSUIT The leader of Quebec's separatist Parti Quebecois party, Pauline Marois, on Sunday threatened to sue the Montreal newspaper, The Gazette, over a front-page article that accused her and her husband of building a rich estate home on publicly owned land. Miss Marois says that her husband can prove that he legally obtained use of the land on Ile-Bizard, near Montreal. Unless the newspaper prints a retraction of its story, Miss Marois' husband will file a lawsuit. The story appeared on Saturday as Miss Marois campaigned in a byelection in the riding of Charlevoix, northeast of Quebec City. Miss Marois has a modest home in the area that she has shown to the media. According to The Gazette story, she and her husband have never allowed the media to tour their home on Ile-Bizard.
BURMA Protests against Burma's military dictatorship intensified on Sunday to include Buddhist nuns and civilians. An estimated ten thousand Buddhist monks led the marches that began after the government imposed a stiff hike on fuel prices. Protesters are being trailed by plainclothes police. On Sunday, a small crowd of about 400 split off from the main demonstration and tried to approach the house of opposition leader Aung San Sui Kyi. They were blocked by riot police and barbed wire barricades. One report said some officers have taken up positions with shotguns. The demonstration was the largest since 1988, the year that Ms. Suu Kyi took up leadership of Burma's pro-democracy movement. FRANCE The world's most famous mime artist, Marcel Marceau, died on Saturday in Paris at the age of 84. As his character, Bip, Marceau played the entire range of human emotions onstage for more than 50 years, never uttering a word. He was credited with single-handedly reviving the art of mime after the Second World War. UNITED NATIONS The Mideast Quartet hopes to begin directly funding the government of Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas next year. The announcement was made on Sunday following a meeting of the group at the United Nations. The group---the European Union, Russia, the United States and the United Nations---also appealed to Israel to maintain services to Gaza. The appeal came in the week that Israel declared Gaza to be an enemy entity and threatened to stop services. UNITED NATIONS Afghanistan's president, Hamid Kharzai, was at the United Nations on Sunday to discuss how to get more military and financial aid for his country. At a joint news conference with U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon, Mr. Karzai said that he continues to seek additional help for both the military and the reconstruction missions in his country. AFGHANISTAN Italy's Defence Ministry reported on Sunday that two Italian soldiers have gone missing in western Afghanistan. The two Italians, their Afghan driver and a translator drove through a police checkpoint in the Shindand district of Herat province on Saturday. An Afghan police official said that the soldiers were working with a reconstruction that is connected with NATO's International Security Assistance Force. UNITED STATES Iraq's prime minister, Nouri al-Maliki, condemned on Sunday the shooting death of civilians by foreign security guards. Speaking in New York, where he planned to attend the United Nations General Assembly session, Mr. al-Maliki said that his government could not accept killings by security companies. He was referring to the death of 11 civilians earlier this month in central Baghdad. It's alleged that members of the American Blackwater security company were responsible. At least seven shooting incidents are linked to the company. Mr. al-Maliki dismissed criticism that his efforts to achieve political reconciliation have been ineffective. GERMANY Germany's chancellor, Angela Merkel, on Sunday became the first German head of state to welcome the Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama. Meeting for about an hour in Berlin, the chancellor assured the Dalai Lama of her support for his efforts to preserve Tibet's cultural identity, as well as for his peaceful quest for Tibet's religious and cultural autonomy. During the meeting, the Dalai Lamai repeated that he does not seek total independence of Tibet from China's occupation but autonomy. He praised Ms. Merkel for what he called 'her steady engagement on human rights and religious freedom.' China disapproved of his visit, and abruptly cancelled a meeting of its officials with German officials that was scheduled for the same day. China is Germany's biggest trading partner in east Asia. ETHIOPIA The United Nations wants an independent inquiry into widespread human rights abuses in Ethiopia. A U.N. team spent a week touring the Ogudan region, which borders Somalia. Ethiopian soldiers have been fighting separatist rebels there for several months. The U.N. says that there are reports of rape and murder. Aid workers in the area confirmed many of the claims. CUBA The president of Angola, Jose Eduardo dos Santos, has become the first foreign dignitary in nearly four months to meet with convalescing Cuban leader Fidel Castro. The two met briefly in Havana on Saturday. An official statement said that the two discussed politics, including Cuba's role in Africa. In an accompanying photo, Mr. Castro appears very thin. His last known foreign visitor was Viet President Nong Duc Manh on June 2. Rumours that he was near death were dispelled on Friday, when the Cuban revolutionary gave a one-hour interview on state television. JAPAN Japan's governing party has picked Yasuo Fukuda to succeed Shinzo Abe as prime minister. Mr. Fukuda supports warmer ties with Japan's Asian neighbours. He defeated former foreign minister Taro Aso in the Liberal Democratic Party leadership election. Mr. Fukuda will become prime minister because of the ruling bloc's huge majority in parliament's lower house. Mr.Abe resigned unexpectedly two weeks ago following a series of political scandals, as well as the poor showing of his party in Japan's upper house elections in July.
FOOTBALL The Edmonton Eskimos beat the Montreal Alouettes on Sunday, 16-10. Montreal's Kerry Watkins scored the game's only touchdown. Sean Fleming had four field goals. Edmonton's win put the team in fourth place in the West Division. BASEBALL The New York Yankees defeated the Toronto Blue Jays, 7-5, on Sunday. RUGBY The coach of Canada's rugby team, Ric Suggitt, plans to replace his entire back row for its game against Japan in the Rugby World Cup Group B division on Tuesday. The game will decide which of the two teams finishes last. Canada has no victories after two games. Japan has three straight losses. SPEED SKATING Canadian Alex Boisvert-Lacroix won the 500-metre race at the Short Track National Team Selection meet in Calgary on Saturday. The world champion at the distance, Charles Hamelin, was second. Steve Robillard was third. Kalyna Roberge won the women's event at the distance. Anne Maltais was second and Tania Vicent was third. WRESTLING Canadian Martine Dugrenier won the silver medal in the 67-kilogram class at the World Wrestling Championships in Baku, Azerbaijan, on Sunday. Jing Riuxue of China won the gold.
Weather Here is Canada's weather on Monday. British Columbia will be mainly cloudy. The high temperature in Vancouver will be 15 degrees Celsius. The Yukon: rain showers. Whitehorse, eight. Northwest Territories: overcast. Yellowknife, six. Nunavut: mainly sunny. Iqaluit, two. Alberta: variable cloudiness. Edmonton, 16. Saskatchewan: rain showers. Regina, 16. Manitoba: rain. Winnipeg, 14. Ontario: sunny. Toronto, 27. Ottawa, 27. Quebec: mainly sunny. Montreal, 25. New Brunswick: sunny. Fredericton, 18. Nova Scotia: sunny. Halifax, 16. Prince Edward Island: showers. Charlottetown, 13. Newfoundland: mainly cloudy. St. John's, 12.
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