business expectations: But that was tempered by a fall in prices charged by companies to a nine-month low, suggesting demand was still too weak for them to raise prices, and as business expectations hovered near their lowest since 2005. , according to Reuters. A reading above 50 suggests business grew compared to a month ago, while an outcome below 50 points to contraction. BEIJING - Activity in China's services sector defied the country's economic cool down to expand modestly in July, a private survey showed on Monday, as new business orders recovered from a multi-year low in a rare sign of resilience. The HSBC/Markit Purchasing Managers' Index PMI for the services industry stood at 51.3 in July, unchanged from June and just a whisker above a 20-month low of 51.1 struck in April. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Citizenship and Immigration Canada: The abrupt move, which took effect in July, has left Canadian adoptive parents heartsick and religious leaders baffled, according to The Star. At issue, according to Citizenship and Immigration Canada, is the Islamic practice of kafala, or guardianship, which is common in most of the worlds 49 Muslim-majority countries like Pakistan and Canada has stopped adoptions from Pakistan, citing a conflict with the Islamic law over adoption and guardianship. I was shocked, upset and depressed, says GTA resident Shafiq Rehman, who had been hoping with his wife to adopt a child from Pakistan. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Berlin: Berlins Nazi ghosts, Opinion Aug. 4, according to The Star. Later, he cautions, Societies that chip away at human rights and democratic principles, as with Russia today, must be confronted and challenged. Opposition and dissent must be respected. We owe it to history to call out concentrations of power political and economic and even minor incursions on the normal course of checks and balances and Re: Berlins Nazi ghosts, Opinion Aug. 4 Edward Greenspons column, reflecting on a visit to Berlin after a 20-year gap, finds The Berlin of the present is an effervescent city. But the Berlin of the past, particularly the Nazi past, has bubbled back to the surface. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird: Mr. Baird is absolutely right; a Russian law enacted in June that is essentially a crackdown on homosexuality is indeed hateful and mean-spirited. Its also true, as he asserts, that such laws and the attitudes that underpin them beget intolerance, hate and, if unchecked, violence. Consequently, Canadians should be encouraged by their governments vocal stance in defence of the gay, lesbian and transgendered communities in other countries, according to Globe and Mail. Last week Vitaly Mutko, the Sports Minister, made not-so-veiled threats against Olympic athletes who engage in homosexual propaganda whatever that is at the 2014 Games, suggesting they will be brought to responsibility and Unvarnished honesty and boldness are increasingly rare commodities in todays politics, particularly when it comes to the world stage. So Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird is to be commended for denouncing Russias treatment of gays in the strongest possible terms. Moscows hardline stance on gay rights and other recent developments invites the question: What is the Russian government up to? As the country prepares to bask in the spotlight at the Sochi Winter Olympics in less than seven months, the authorities have made a series of gestures that are redolent of the countrys totalitarian past and carry a vague Cold War whiff. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

France: In its annual assessment of France's economy, the IMF said the country has made considerable progress in cutting spending, confirming its prediction that the deficit will drop to 3.9 per cent of the country's gross domestic product in 2013, down from 4.8 per cent in 2012. The organization added it expected the economy to begin growing again in the second half of 2013, reflecting Europe's increasing economic strength as well as reforms under France's Socialist government, according to Times Colonist. The IMF also said high unemployment coupled with rising taxes were sapping France's ability to compete with its European neighbours and is eroding disposable income. Rather than raising taxes further France's taxes are already some of the highest in the world the report called for streamlining public spending in social security and at the local level. A recent survey by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development recorded that income tax and other compulsory contributions, such as pension payments, made up 50 per cent of overall labour costs compared with almost 40 per cent in the United States and PARIS - France's rigid labour market, high taxes and inefficient public spending are dragging down its economy, the International Monetary Fund warned Monday in a report calling on the government to accelerate economic reforms. But the report nonetheless called on France to push on with much-needed relaxation of its labour markets. France's rigid employment contracts make firing expensive and complex and many companies have become reluctant to hire. Unemployment stands at 11 per cent, according to Eurostat's latest figures from June, up slightly from May's 10.9 per cent. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Frances Socialist: In its annual assessment of Frances economy, the IMF said the country has made considerable progress in cutting spending, confirming its prediction that the deficit will drop to 3.9 per cent of the countrys gross domestic product in 2013, down from 4.8 per cent in 2012. The organization added it expected the economy to begin growing again in the second half of 2013, reflecting Europes increasing economic strength as well as reforms under Frances Socialist government, according to The Star. The IMF also said high unemployment coupled with rising taxes were sapping Frances ability to compete with its European neighbours and is eroding disposable income. Rather than raising taxes further Frances taxes are already some of the highest in the world the report called for streamlining public spending in social security and at the local level. A recent survey by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development recorded that income tax and other compulsory contributions, such as pension payments, made up 50 per cent of overall labour costs compared with almost 40 per cent in the United States and PARIS Frances rigid labour market, high taxes and inefficient public spending are dragging down its economy, the International Monetary Fund warned Monday in a report calling on the government to accelerate economic reforms. But the report nonetheless called on France to push on with much-needed relaxation of its labour markets. Frances rigid employment contracts make firing expensive and complex and many companies have become reluctant to hire. Unemployment stands at 11 per cent, according to Eurostats latest figures from June, up slightly from Mays 10.9 per cent. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Hannah Arendt: In her account, first serialized in the New Yorker in 1962, Arendt struck by Eichmanns courtroom manner, which was that of a drab bureaucrat, not a sadistic monster famously declared that the lesson of the trial this long course in human wickedness was its revelation of the fearsome, word-and-thought-defying banality of evil. More Related to this Story, according to Globe and Mail. The Act of Killing: Lights, camera, genocide Editorial cartoon How can we recognize evil and guard against it? The questions are prompted by the compelling recent film about the response of German-Jewish philosopher Hannah Arendt to the trial in Jerusalem of Adolf Eichmann, a high-ranking Nazi functionary and one of the principal architects of the Holocaust. The long process of bringing thinker Hannah Arendt to life on the screen (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Indonesian Religious Affairs Minister Suryadharma Ali: The device was detonated late on Sunday at the entrance of the Ekayana temple in West Jakarta as people were praying inside, while another bomb failed to explode, police said, according to Reuters. Indonesian Religious Affairs Minister Suryadharma Ali said a note was found at the site saying: "We hear the screams of the Rohingya." JAKARTA - A small bomb exploded at a Buddhist temple in Indonesia's capital, slightly injuring three people, in protest against violence against Rohingya Muslims in Buddhist-majority Myanmar, a government official said. The blast caused minor damage. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

HSBC: It highlighted the growing divergence between activity in the developed world and emerging economies and cast doubt on prospects for a sustained global economic recovery from the financial crisis, according to Reuters. The HSBC survey collects data from purchasing managers at about 7,500 firms in 16 emerging markets. The index is calculated using data produced by Markit and LONDON - Business activity across emerging economies contracted for the first time in over four years in July, driven mainly by a drop in manufacturing while services activity stagnated, a survey showed on Tuesday. The composite HSBC Emerging Markets index for services and manufacturing fell to 49.4 in July from 50.6 in June and below the 50 mark that separates growth from contraction. It was the first sub-50 reading since April 2009. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

service industries: On Monday, an index tracking activity in service industries for July outpaced expectations, the latest in a clutch of data that points to a broad acceleration in economic growth. Last week, a matching index of U.S. manufacturers surged to its highest point in two years. More Related to this Story, according to Globe and Mail. Business orders in China show rare sign of resilience After shuffling forward for the first part of the year, the U.S. economy is starting to pick up speed. TAXATION Corporate tax cutting makes return to U.S. political agenda (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.