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UN reports highest level of refugees since 1994 as Canada tightens policy

The Canadian PressJune 18, 2013 18:30
OTTAWA - Refugee numbers around the world are at their highest level since 1994, the United Nations refugee agency reported Tuesday in a sobering look at global displacement. More than 45.2 million people either fled their own countries or were internally displaced in 2012, compared to 42.5 million the year before, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees said in its annual global trends report. War remained the dominant reason for displacement — 55 per cent of all refugees came from five war-affected countries: Afghanistan, Somalia, Iraq, Syria and Sudan.

India border firing injures Pakistani woman

Agence France-PresseJune 18, 2013 18:30
A Pakistani woman was injured Tuesday when Indian troops fired across the disputed border in the Himalayan region of Kashmir, Pakistan's military said. The incident took place in the Karela area, near Kotli town, along the Line of Control (LoC) separating the Indian and Pakistani-controlled sectors. "A 65 years old lady Roshni Begum was injured due to unprovoked firing by Indian troops," the military said in a statement. "She was grazing animals when hit by a bullet on her leg," it added.

Canadians illegally spirit squirrels into Quebec

Agence France-PresseJune 18, 2013 18:30
Residents of an upscale Ottawa neighborhood have been spiriting unwanted squirrels across a river into Quebec province and dumping them there, a local newspaper said Tuesday. The practice is illegal but an Ottawa Citizen reporter who spoke to several residents of the Westboro neighborhood discovered it has been going on for decades. Daniel Sylvester told the daily that his neighbor has been secretly trapping squirrels and driving them across a one-kilometer bridge over the Ottawa River to Gatineau, Quebec.

Maine Democrats scramble after governor blocks Medicaid expansion

June 18, 2013 18:02
By Dave Sherwood BOWDOINHAM, Maine (Reuters) - Democratic legislators in Maine scrambled on Tuesday to muster the votes needed to override Republican Governor Paul LePage's late-night veto of a bill to expand Medicaid coverage to an additional 60,000 people.

Business Highlights

The Canadian PressJune 18, 2013 18:01
___ NSA director says plot against Wall Street foiled WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. foiled a plot to bomb the New York Stock Exchange because of the sweeping surveillance programs at the heart of a debate over national security and personal privacy, officials said Tuesday at a rare open hearing on intelligence — a set-piece for supporters of the spying.

AFPTV-Advisory 2100 GMT

Agence France-PresseJune 18, 2013 18:01
LONDON, June 18, 2013 (AFP) - We will file the following videos: -- TOP WORLD NEWS -- + G8 SUMMIT Filed over past 12 hours: ENNISKILLEN, UK: Francois Hollande closing statement as the summit draws to an end. RAW. VID527318_EN ENNISKILLEN, UK: Vladimir Putin press conf. RAW. VID527235_EN ENNISKILLEN, UK: David Cameron press conf. RAW. VID527284_EN LOUGH ERNE, UK: Images of round table discussions. RAW. VID527172_EN LOUGH ERNE, UK: Leaders gather for family photo. RAW. VID527147_EN

Argentine high court rejects Kirchner bid for elected judges

Agence France-PresseJune 18, 2013 18:00
President Cristina Kirchner suffered a defeat on Tuesday after Argentina's Supreme Court tossed out a bid to select officials to the country's top judicial panel by popular vote. "It is not valid to force judges, attorneys and academics to be selected by popular vote," the court said in part of its 67-page finding. Kirchner had hoped to change rules for how judges are put on the Judicial Council, which is in charge of naming and renewing the posts of other judges.

Ex-fund managers can remain free during U.S. insider trading appeal

June 18, 2013 17:34
By Nate Raymond NEW YORK (Reuters) - Two former hedge fund managers persuaded a U.S. appeals court on Tuesday to allow them to remain free on bail as they seek to have their insider-trading convictions thrown out. Todd Newman, a former portfolio manager at hedge fund Diamondback Capital Management, and Anthony Chiasson, co-founder of hedge fund Level Global Investors, had been set to begin prison sentences later this summer.

Gaps widen between House, Senate on immigration

June 18, 2013 14:06
By Rachelle Younglai and Thomas Ferraro WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Work intensified on Tuesday to revamp the U.S. immigration system, but gaps widened between the Democratic-led Senate and Republican-led House of Representatives over what proposed changes should become law. The net effect was to raise further doubts about the prospects for both houses approving a comprehensive measure that would grant legal status to millions of undocumented immigrants.

Promises, promises: G-8 summit ends in many pledges for reform, but devil's in the details

The Canadian PressJune 18, 2013 16:32
ENNISKILLEN, Northern Ireland - Group of Eight summit participants are powerful people: the leaders of the U.S., Russia, Britain, Germany, France, Italy, Canada and Japan, plus top officials from the European Union. But they only make promises. There's no actual change until the words are pursued by individual governments or other international organizations. Sometimes G-8 promises contain few details about how they'll be fulfilled. Other times they skip over places where the leaders couldn't agree.
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