immigrantscanada.com

Independent topical source of current affairs, opinion and issues, featuring stories making news in Canada from immigrants, newcomers, minorities & ethnic communities' point of view and interests.

President Barack Obama: In a major embarrassment for U.S. President Barack Obama, an aircraft carrying Snowden landed in Moscow on Sunday from Hong Kong after the Chinese territory allowed him to leave despite requests from Washington that he be arrested. More Related to this Story, according to Globe and Mail. U.S. files criminal complaint against Snowden Fugitive former U.S. spy agency contractor Edward Snowden is expected to try to fly to Cuba on Monday while he waits to hear if Ecuador will grant him asylum, so far eluding Washingtons efforts to extradite him on espionage charges. U.S. urges Hong Kong to extradite Edward Snowden (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Edward Snowden: The Government of Ecuador has received an asylum request from Edward J. #Snowden, Patino, who is on an official visit to Vietnam, said on Twitter, according to The Star. WikiLeaks spokesman Kristinn Hrafnsson confirmed that Snowden had requested asylum in Ecuador. The anti-secrecy website had earlier said it helped Snowden find political asylum in a democratic country and QUITO Ecuadorean Foreign Minister Ricardo Patino said on Sunday that former U.S. National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden had asked Ecuador for asylum. Patino did not give additional details. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Edward Snowden: HONG KONG/MOSCOW - Fugitive former U.S. spy agency contractor Edward Snowden was seeking asylum in Ecuador on Sunday after Hong Kong allowed his departure for Russia in a slap to Washington's efforts to extradite him on espionage charges, according to Reuters. Earlier, Ecuadorean Foreign Minister Ricardo Patino, visiting Vietnam, tweeted: "The Government of Ecuador has received an asylum request from Edward J. #Snowden." By James Pomfret and Lidia Kelly In a major embarrassment for President Barack Obama, an aircraft thought to have carried Snowden landed in Moscow on Sunday, and the anti-secrecy group WikiLeaks said he was "bound for the Republic of Ecuador via a safe route for the purposes of asylum." (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Edward Snowden: Snowden, believed to be holed up in Hong Kong, has admitted providing information to the news media about two highly classified NSA surveillance programs, according to The Chronicle Herald. The federal court in the Eastern District of Virginia where the complaint was filed is headquarters for Snowdens former employer, government contractor Booz Allen Hamilton and WASHINGTON The Justice Department has charged former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden with espionage and theft of government property in the NSA surveillance case. A one-page criminal complaint unsealed Friday in federal court in Alexandria, Va., says Snowden engaged in unauthorized communication of national defence information and wilful communication of classified communications intelligence information. Both are charges under the Espionage Act. Snowden also is charged with theft of government property. All three crimes carry a maximum 10-year prison penalty. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Edward Snowden: Foreign Minister Ricardo Patino said his government has received a request for asylum from Snowden. WikiLeaks, which is giving Snowden legal assistance, said his asylum request would be formally processed once he arrived in Ecuador, the same country that has already been sheltering the anti-secrecy group's founder Julian Assange in its London embassy, according to CBC. Snowden was spending the night in Moscow's Sheremetyevo Airport and was booked on an Aeroflot flight to Cuba on Monday, the Russian news agencies ITAR-Tass and Interfax reported, citing unnamed airline officials. Aeroflot has no direct flights from Moscow to Quito, Ecuador; travelers would have to make connections in Paris, Rome or Washington, which could be problematic for Snowden. NSA surveillance leaker charged with espionage Edward Snowden, the former National Security Agency contractor wanted by the United States for revealing highly classified surveillance programs, flew to Russia on Sunday and planned to head to Ecuador to seek asylum, the South American country's foreign minister and the anti-secrecy group WikiLeaks said. Snowden arrived in Moscow on an Aeroflot flight shortly after 5 p.m. local time Sunday after being allowed to leave Hong Kong, where he had been in hiding for several weeks after he revealed information on the highly classified spy programs. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Toronto Symphony Orchestras: But the new big battalions are still far from being the powerful ones, according to The Star. In fact, all 25 of the Toronto Symphony Orchestras board members are white. Twenty-three of the Canadian Opera Companys 36 board members are men, including all six officers of the board. And when it comes to non-white women the majority of the new visible majority , only 15 out of the Big Sixs 203 board members are women of colour and Very soon, Toronto will tip from being a city where the vast majority of its citizens are white in 1957, 93 per cent of us were to one where visible minorities will make up the new visible majority. Nowhere is this more true than in those last bastions of white maleness, the boards of Torontos biggest arts organizations the Art Gallery of Ontario, Canadian Opera Company, the National Ballet of Canada, Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto International Film Festival TIFF and Toronto Symphony Orchestra. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Chief Rose Laboucan: TERRACE, B.C. - The equity offer from Northern Gateway to aboriginal groups along the route of a controversial oil pipeline would amount to as little as $70,000 a year for some bands, according to one base offer obtained by The Canadian Press. , according to Winnipeg Free Press. Only minimal economic benefits were offered, Chief Rose Laboucan, the six-term chief of the Driftpile Cree Nation northwest of Edmonton, told the federal panel assessing the project during final arguments about the controversial project. Douglas Channel, the proposed termination point for an oil pipeline in the Enbridge Northern Gateway Project, is pictured in an aerial view in Kitimat, B.C., on Tuesday January 10, 2012. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck The company says that is not the average offer, and in fact is in the lower range of a wide array of agreements, but some aboriginal leaders says it's a far cry from the path out of poverty the company claims. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Calgary Southeast: Kenney who represents the riding of Calgary Southeast said he spoke to Conservative Party president John Walsh on Saturday, who is "hoping it'll happen in the autumn.", according to CBC. The Conservative Party national policy convention which was scheduled to get underway in Calgary next Thursday was postponed on Saturday, as city officials warned Calgarians to stay away from the downtown core now engulfed by flood waters and Conservatives are hoping to reschedule their national policy convention for the fall at the earliest, Immigration Minister Jason Kenney told News on Sunday. "That may be a challenge because Calgary is a busy city for conferences and we are actually typically running close to full occupancy in our hotels here but we'll find a date. We really want to do it this year, hopefully in the autumn as soon as possible," Kenney said. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Fotis Fatouros: Neighbourhood businesses will be affected by Imperial Oil s plan to downgrade its Dartmouth operation, although they re more concerned about the plight of refinery workers, according to The Chronicle Herald. I dont worry that much about myself. I m worried about the people who work there, he said in an interview Thursday and Fotis Fatouros, co-owner of Johns Lunch , said the refinery closure will have an impact on business because Imperial workers are among the eaterys regular customers. But the award-winning seafood diner has a loyal clientele that includes tourists and locals. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Indo-Canadian Association of Nova Scotia: Thats how many pieces of the savoury fried treat volunteers at the Indian food stall expected to sell during the Nova Scotia Multicultural Festival on the weekend, according to The Chronicle Herald. If you make it spicy, people may not try it, she said Sunday afternoon, the third and final day of the festival, held at the Halifax Seaport and Five hundred samosas. Geeta Batra, a volunteer with the Indo-Canadian Association of Nova Scotia, said Indian food can be hot and spicy, but milder dishes are served at the annual event. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.