Back to newsletter list 17/12/2007 23:42:30 (UTC) Canada | World Briefs | Business News | Sports | Weather Headlines  - Ottawa increases aid to Palestinians - WTO to hear Canadian complaint about U.S. subsidies - U.S. Congress wants border security measure delayed
PARIS: CANADA BOOSTS AID TO PALESTINIANS The international community came to the aid of Palestinians today. Meeting in Paris, delegates from 66 countries, including Canada, announced an aid package of almost seven-and-a-half billion dollars over the next three years. The amount surpasses the Palestinian government's request. The United States pledged about half-a-billion dollars, although much of the money has yet to be approved by the U-S Congress. The European Union pledged 650-million dollars, the largest single donation. Other large donations came from France, Germany, Britain and Saudi Arabia. The money aims to help stabilize the Palestinian economy and to support the latest peace talks with Israel that began last month. GENEVA: WTO TAKES ON CANADIAN COMPLAINT AGAINST U.S. The World Trade Organization has agreed to consider complaints by Canada and Brazil that U.S. farm subsidies violate its rules. The trade body agreed at a meeting of its 151 member states to merge separate complaints by the two countries. The development comes after failure by the three countries to resolve the dispute within the framework of the WTO's Dispute Settlement Body. The WTO will now appoint a panel of experts to rule on the complaints and report back within six months. The verdict can be appealed. Canada complains that the U.S. violated its commitments on subsidies for a variety of crops, including corn, wheat, soybeans, sugar, peas and beans. The U.S. had already responded that several of the subsidies about which Canada has complained have ceased to exist. OTTAWA: TALIBAN GUERRILLA TACTIC SAID MORE DANGEROUS The head of Canada's military says that Taliban rebels in Afghanistan have become more sophisticated in the way they plant roadside bombs. Gen. Rick Hillier says the militants are using tactics that were tested and proven against American forces in Iraq. But Gen. Hillier says that Canadian troops have found ways to avoid the improvised explosives. Seventy-three Canadian soldiers and one Canadian diplomat have died in the Afghan mission, many of them as a result of roadside bombs. WASHINGTON: CONGRESS WANTS DELAY OF PASSPORT REQUIREMENT AT BORDER The U.S. Congress wants to delay the implementation of the requirement that travellers entering the U.S. by land or sea must show a passport starting this summer. A major spending bill that is to be voted on this week would delay implementation until no earlier than June 1, 2009. Legislators says they want to avoid the rush to obtain American passports which led to a huge backlog and even prevented some would-be vacationers from taking the vacations they had planned. The Bush administration says it intends to go ahead as planned. The Canadian government has lobbied against the plan on the grounds that it will hurt tourism and trade. Several weeks ago, the U.S. homeland security department said it would also accepted enhanced driver's licences as adequate identification at the border. OTTAWA: CONSUMERS TO GET BETTER PROTECTION Prime Minister Stephen Harper says the government will introduce legislation next year to protect consumers from dangerous products. The legislation will cover food, health and general consumer products. The prime minister explained that the government is reacting to the many recalls of imported toys, food and drugs in recent years. The law will punish companies with mandatory recalls if they fail to respond to genuine safety concerns. The new measures will also ensure better safety information for consumers. OTTAWA: RCMP TO DEBATE OFFICERS' SAFETY Leaders of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police will start a two-day meeting in the capital on Tuesday to seek ways better to protect officers who serve in remote areas. The meeting is the result of the indignation over the recent shootings of two young officers on duty in northern Canada. Relatives of the slain officers, members of the public and even some Mounties reacted by expressing concerns about staff shortages, the lack of a formal backup policy and the posting of new Mounties to small, rural detachments. One policy that has been suggested is to make it mandatory for two officers to respond to certain kinds of calls, such as cases where there's a threat of violence. TORONTO: RIGHTS COALITION SEEKS TO JOIN SUIT OVER LEGAL AID A coalition of advocates for minorities, women and the handicapped is seeking to join a court challenge of the federal government's abolition of a program that help finance equality cases. The coalition will ask Federal Court of Canada on Tuesday to grant it intervenor status in a challenge of the abolition of the "court challenges program." The Conservative government did away with the program shortly after being elected in January 2006. The program was created in 1978 to help linguistic minorities litigate but was later expanded to take on cases pertaining to the respect of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. One case ended in the imposition of an obligation on Via Rail to make its passenger trains accessible to the handicapped, others involving women and pay equity and equality for homosexuals. However, supporters of the decision to end the program say the government was funding left-wing groups that attacked core values. The challenge was brought by la Fédération des communautés francophones et acadienne du Canada and will be heard in Moncton, NB, in February. HALIFAX: STORM REACHES EASTERN CANADA The weather front that dumped huge amounts of snow on southern Ontario and Quebec on Sunday did the same when it reached eastern Canada on Monday. Twenty-five centimetres of snow was predicted for Newfoundland and Labrador. Wind gusts of 100 kilometres were reported in Atlantic Canada, including one of 180 kilometres an hour in western Newfoundland. MONTREAL: SUMMIT ON IMMIGRANTS AND JOBS RECOMMENDED The Council of Intercultural Relations has called upon the Quebec government to hold a "mini-summit" next year on the integration of immigrants into the workforce. A document published during the weekend says the current practices to achieve such integration are ineffective. The president of the group, Patricia Rimok, cites the fact that while the average unemployment rate in Quebec is 6.3 per cent, the figure for immigrants is 17 per cent. Mrs. Rimok says the economic prosperity of the province depends on immigrants, predicting that by 2011, immigrants will account for 100 per cent of the growth in manpower in Quebec. She added that although community groups are doing what they can to help the integration process, chambers of commerce, local development centres and the different levels of government must also lend a hand. The suggestion of a "mini-summit" comes only days after the Bouchard-Taylor commission on concessions to minorities completed four months of public hearings around the province.
RUSSIA President Vladimir Putin has agreed to serve as Russia's prime minister if his chosen successor, Dmitry Medvedev, is elected president next year. Mr. Putin spoke shortly before the governing United Russia Party nominated Mr. Medvedev as its presidential candidate. Germany's foreign minister, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, says that Mr. Medvedev is a reason for hope in the West. Mr. Steinmeier describes Mr. Medvedev as the candidate who looks most favourably to the West, and who best seeks to modernize Russia's economy. Mr. Medvedev is a deputy prime minister and chairman of the state gas company, Gazprom. FRANCE The international community came to the aid of Palestinians on Monday. Delegates from 66 countries, including Canada, met in Paris to announce the aid package. The United States pledged about half-a-billion dollars, although much of the money has yet to be approved by the U.S. Congress. The European Union pledged $650-million, the largest single donation. Other large donations came from France, Germany and Britain. The money aims to help stabilize the Palestinian economy and to support the latest peace talks with Israel. Talks began last month in the U.S. city of Annapolis, MA. The Palestinians had asked for almost $6 billion over a period of three years. SAUDI ARABIA Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah has pardoned a female rape victim who was sentenced to six months in prison and 200 lashes for being alone with a man who was not related to her. She says they were attacked by seven men who raped her. A Saudi court rule that she invited the attack because she was partially dressed in a parked car with her lover. The international community, including Canada, had been extremely critical of the way Saudi Arabia's judicial system handled the case. GAZA An Israeli air strike killed a long-time Palestinian adversary. The strike hit the explosives-laden car in which Majed Harazin was riding in Gaza City with another militant who also died. He was a senior Islamic Jihad militant in charge of rocket squads that have been firing at Israel. Islamic Jihad supporters vowed revenge. Palestinian sources say a second air strike hours later killed three more Islamic Jihad militants who Israel says were preparing to fire rockets. PAKISTAN Opposition leader Benazir Bhutto says that Pakistan risks becoming a second Afghanistan if supporters of President Pervez Musharraf rig the Jan. 8 parliamentary elections. Mrs. Bhutto says a dishonest vote could lead to anarchy and strengthen the cause of Islamic fundamentalists. The opposition leader has urged a wave of "people power" to sweep away the current régime. Mrs. Bhutto and another former prime minister, Nawaz Sharif, recently returned to Pakistan from exile. The opposition to Mr. Musharraf says it will win the elections if they're fair. The voting will be both for the National Assembly and provincial assemblies. IRAN Russia has delivered its first shipment of nuclear fuel for use at the nuclear facility that it's building at Bushehr, Iran. The Russian foreign ministry says that all fuel will be delivered under the control and guarantees of the UN International Atomic Energy Agency. The ministry says the Iranians also have promised that the fuel would be used only at Bushehr. The almost-completed facility is at the centre of the dispute between the UN and the West on one side and Iran on the other about the purpose of Iran's nuclear program, the former contending it could aim at producing nuclear weapons and Iran insisting it is for civilian purposes only. Two weeks ago, the U.S. National Intelligence Estimate concluded that Iran had stopped its efforts to acquire nuclear arms in 2003. MIGRANTS DROWN NEAR TURKEY At least seven illegal migrants drowned in the shipwreck of a boat carrying illegals off the Turkish coast in the Aegean Sea. Nine passengers, one a Turk, were saved and questioned by the police. The accident occurred near Bodrum, a popular resort. This is the second such shipwreck in the Aegean near Turkey in the past 10 days. On Dec. 8, a ship carrying 85 migrants capsized and at least 50 of the passengers trying to reach Greece drowned. PORTUGAL The authorities have intercepted a motorized fishing boat that was carry 23 illegal immigrants from Morocco in waters off Portugal's southern coast. The navy says the migrants are in good condition except for two who had hypothermia. The boat was taken to the city of Algarve.
TORONTO: HIGH DOLLAR AFFECTS SECURITIES MARKET A record number of Canadian securities were sold in October as a result of the rapid rise in the value of Canada's dollar. For a short period, the Canadian dollar was valued several cents above the U.S. dollar for the first time in many years. Statistics Canada says that in October foreign investors sold more than $24 billion worth of Canadian securities. In the same month, Canadian investors exploited the dollar's strength to buy almost $5 billion worth of foreign stocks and bonds. DALLAS: RIM ESTABLISHES U.S. HEADQUARTERS Research in Motion Ltd., the maker of the Blackberry e-mail device, has chosen Irvington, TX, a Dallas suburb, as the site of its new U.S. headquarters. Jim Balsillie, RIM co-chief executive, says his company is expanding operations to pursue sales and service opportunities around the world and that Irvington offers a talented work force and strong infrastructure. RIM says the facility will employ more than 1,000 workers over the next several years. Irvington is the home to such firms as Kimberly-Clark Corp., Zale Corp. and Exxon Mobil Corp., the biggest American company. CHICAGO: BLACK ASSOCIATE SENTENCED An American judge in Chicago has passed sentence on a leading player in the fraud case involving the Canadian-born business tycoon, Conrad Black. David Radler received a prison term of almost two-and-a-half years, and a fine of $250,000. Radler was once Black's close associate at Hollinger International, the company that handled Black's former media empire. The two men broke relations after Radler testified that Black cheated shareholders out of millions of dollars. Black was sentenced earlier this month to six-and-a-half years in jail and fined $125,000. Radler could serve as little as six months in jail if he's allowed to be imprisoned in Canada. WELLINGTON: CANADIAN AIRPORT BID REJECTED The directors of Auckland International Airport have advised shareholders to vote against a bid by the Canadian Pension Plan Investment Board to acquire a 39.53-per cent share of the facility for $3.6 a share. The airport's chairman, says the directors don't believe that the offer reflects its true value and that moreover the Canadian bidder has little experience in the administration of an airport. If shareholders reject the bid, the airport's board plans to search for another international investor who could add airport expertise or tourism advantages. MONTREAL: PRINTER IN MORE TURBULENCE The world's biggest commercial printer, Quebecor World Inc., says its CEO, Wes Lucas, has resigned "to pursue other opportunities" in the U.S. He has been replaced by CFO Jacques Mallette. Last week, the troubled printing business announced it had cancelled the sale of its European operations to Dutch firm RSDB NV for US$341 million after the latter's shareholders voted against it. Quebecor World lost US$315 in the third quarter. The company's financial woes has caused speculation that its main stockholder, media firm Quebecor Inc., will to forced to sell it. MARKETS TSX on Monday: 13,387, down 287. Canadian dollar: US99.43 cents US, up 1.10 cents. Euro: C$1.4482, down 1.86 cents. Light sweet crude: US$90.63, down $0.64.
SOCCER The Canadian soccer team finishes 2007 as the 55th best team in FIFA's world rankings. That's a big improvement from earlier in the year when Canada dropped to a worst ever ranking of 103rd. The world's top-rated team is Argentina, followed by Spain, Germany, the Czech Republic and France. GOLF Canadian golfer Mike Weir is changing sponsors. The 2003 Masters champion signed a five-year deal making Thomson Corporation his primary corporate sponsor. He'll wear the company's logo on his cap starting in January. 2008.
Weather British Columbia on Tuesday: rain south, flurries north, high 6 Celsius Vancouver. Yukon, Nunavut: sun. Northwest Territories: snow. Whitehorse -16, Yellowknife -13, Iqaluit -27. Alberta: sun. Saskatchewan: mix of sun, cloud. Manitoba: snow. Edmonton -6, Regina, Winnipeg -7. Ontario: flurries. Quebec: mix of sun, cloud. Toronto 1, Ottawa -10, Montreal -12. New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island: sun. Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Labrador: mix of sun, cloud. Fredericton -7, Halifax, Charlottetown -6, St. John's -1.
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