blasphemy laws: The case had brought new spotlight on Pakistan's harsh blasphemy laws, sections of which carry the death penalty or life imprisonment. However, the laws retain broad support in this country, where Islamic conservatism is on the rise alongside extremism and many Muslims are highly sensitive about their faith, according to CBC. Chishti was the imam, or prayer leader, at the mosque in the mixed, Muslim-Christian neighbourhood of Maherabadi in the Pakistani capital. The Current: Debating blasphemy in Pakistan can be lethal A Pakistani court on Saturday dismissed charges against a cleric who accused a young Christian girl of blasphemy and who was arrested last year for allegedly forging evidence against her, his lawyer said. The lawyer, Wajid Gilani, said the district judge in Islamabad on Saturday granted the motion to acquit his client, cleric Khalid Chishti, after the judge ruled that the prosecution had not brought forward sufficient evidence. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Arctic Stephen Harper: Although, the prime minister's staff insisted it was not a fundraiser, according to CBC. The policy followed later, as it will this year, with an announcement Monday morning expected to focus on skills training to support employment in the North's vast natural resources sector. Ottawa testing $620,000 stealth snowmobile for Arctic Stephen Harper began his eighth Northern summer tour tonight with a stump-style speech to Conservative supporters at a reception in Whitehorse. It was roughly the same model in place as last year , when Harper's first event after arriving in Yukon and taking an ATV ride across the Carcross desert was a dinner speech to another roomful of Conservatives. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

JPMorgan: The Times said Sunday that details of the civil investigation were in a confidential U.S. government document that it saw. According to the document, the anti-bribery unit of the Securities and Exchange Commission asked JPMorgan for records about some of the banks hires in China, according to Times Colonist. JPMorgans Hong Kong office also hired the daughter of a Chinese railway official. The official was later detained on accusations of taking cash bribes in exchange for handing out government contracts, the Times reported, citing the U.S. document and public records and NEW YORK, N.Y. - U.S. regulators are looking into whether JPMorgan Chase hired the children of Chinese officials to help it boost its business in China, The New York Times reported. According to the Times, the document shows that the bank hired the son of a former Chinese banking regulator who is now chairman of the China Everbright Group, a state-controlled financial conglomerate. The paper reported that after the chairmans son joined the bank, JPMorgan won several assignments from Everbright. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Quebec student protests: The beat of helicopter propellers, the wail of sirens and the banging of pots and pans were familiar sounds during Montreal nights just over a year ago. With the noise of the Quebec student protests and the masses in the streets now a fading memory, some question whether the movement was a great show of democracy with lasting effect or simply a mass disruption, according to CBC. As the summer wore on, people of all ages and professions joined in. But there were also many Qu beckers who felt the social order was threatened, and they wanted the protests to stop and Listen to the full discussion of the legacy of the Quebec student protests in the audio player to the left of this page, or visit The Sunday Edition's website . In the spring of 2012, tens of thousands of young people took to the streets, objecting to a planned 75 per cent hike in university tuitions fees. Clashes between police and students became regular news. Special Report: Quebec student protests (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

JPMorgan: Investment banks have a long history of employing the children of China's politically connected. While close ties to top government officials is a boon to any banking franchise across the world, it's especially beneficial in China, where relationships and personal connections play a critical role in business decisions, according to CBC. For JPMorgan, the China hiring probe comes while the bank is under intense scrutiny following the $6-billion trading loss it suffered in the " London whale" derivatives scandal . Federal prosecutors on Wednesday brought criminal charges against two former JPMorgan traders Javier Martin-Artajo and Julien Grout accusing the pair of deliberately understating losses on the trades on the bank's books and U.S. authorities have opened an investigation into whether JPMorgan Chase Co hired the children of powerful Chinese officials to help it win business in China, according to the New York Times. The approval process for a stock offering in China, for example, is one area that has come under criticism inside and outside the country for being opaque and prone to cronyism. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Lovecraft: The mythos Lovecraft created in stories such as The Call of Cthulhu, The Case of Charles Dexter Ward and At the Mountains of Madness, has reached its tentacles deep into popular culture, so much that his creations and the works they inspired may be better known than the Providence writer himself, according to Times Colonist. Howard Phillips Lovecraft was born in 1890. His parents both died in an insane asylum, his father when Lovecraft was just 8 years old, said S.T. Joshi, who has written a biography of Lovecraft and edited several collections of his work. He attended just three years of high school, leaving because of a nervous breakdown, Joshi said and PROVIDENCE, R.I. - Anyone who has enjoyed the works of Stephen King, seen the films Alien or Prometheus, or heard about the fictional Arkham Asylum in Batman can thank H.P. Lovecraft, the early 20th century horror writer whose work has been an inspiration to others for nearly a century. Lovecrafts fans want to give the writer his due, and this month are holding what they say is the largest celebration ever of his work and influence. Its billed as the NecronomiCon, named after a Lovecraft creation: a book that was so dark and terrible that a person could barely read a few pages before going insane. The Aug. 22-25 convention is being held in Providence, Rhode Island, where he lived and died poor and obscure at age 46 in 1937. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Gulf Islanders: Nor does it amaze you to learn that Vancouver Island in general skews relatively high in opposition to the devices. , according to Times Colonist. More than 18 per cent of Hydros Gulf Islands customers have refused to allow installation. Gulf Islanders are 15 times as likely to reject smart meters as are Vancouverites, and you are not surprised. The statistics come from B.C. Hydro and Chad Skelton, the data-mining guru at the Vancouver Sun. They looked at Hydros 60 billing areas and found more opposition to smart meters in the Gulf Islands than anywhere else in the province. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Glenn Greenwald: The 28-year-old David Miranda, a Brazilian citizen and partner of U.S. journalist Glenn Greenwald who writes for Britain's Guardian newspaper, was questioned for nine hours, before being released without charge, a report on the Guardian website said, according to Reuters. Snowden is now in Russia, where he has been granted a year's asylum but the U.S. Obama administration has vigorously pursued ways to bring him back to the United States to face espionage charges and LONDON - British authorities used anti-terrorism powers to detain the partner of a journalist with close links to Edward Snowden, the fugitive former U.S. spy agency contractor, as he passed through London's Heathrow airport on Sunday. Rio de Janeiro-based Greenwald has interviewed Snowden, wanted by U.S. authorities after leaking confidential data, and used 15,000 to 20,000 documents Snowden passed to him to reveal details of the U.S. National Security Agency's surveillance methods. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

JPMorgan: Investment banks have a long history of employing the children of China's politically connected. While close ties to top government officials is a boon to any banking franchise across the world, it's especially beneficial in China, where relationships and personal connections play a critical role in business decisions, according to Reuters. For JPMorgan, the China hiring probe comes while the bank is under intense scrutiny following the $6 billion trading loss it suffered in the "London whale" derivatives scandal. Federal prosecutors on Wednesday brought criminal charges against two former JPMorgan traders - Javier Martin-Artajo and Julien Grout - accusing the pair of deliberately understating losses on the trades on the bank's books and n" - U.S. authorities have opened an investigation into whether JPMorgan Chase Co JPM.N: Quote hired the children of powerful Chinese officials to help it win business in China, according to the New York Times. The approval process for a stock offering in China, for example, is one area that has come under criticism inside and outside the country for being opaque and prone to cronyism. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Miguel Angel Trevino Morales: The bodies were left together on abandoned property near the town of Buenavista along with a sign indicating they may have been members of the Knights Templar cartel, prosecutor's spokesman Alejandro Arellano said. Cartel boss captured, according to CBC. The U.S. State Department was offering a reward of $5 million US for his capture. It follows the arrest July 15 of Miguel Angel Trevino Morales , alias "Z-40," leader of the brutal Zetas cartel and Nine bodies, with their hands bound and signs of an execution-style shooting, were found Saturday in a remote area of Mexico's western Michoacan state, where drug cartels, vigilantes and federal forces have been fighting much of this year, the state prosecutor's office said. A top leader of Mexico's Gulf Cartel was captured Saturday in a military operation near the Texas border, the second major capture of a drug capo in a month. Mexico's government said the army netted Mario Armando Ramirez Trevino, a drug boss in who had been vying to take over the cartel since the arrest of its top capo, Jorge Eduardo Costilla Sanchez, alias "El Coss," last September. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.