Truong Tien Thao: The report ranks the social and economic well-being of elders in 91 countries, with Sweden coming out on top and Afghanistan at the bottom. It reflects what advocates for the old have been warning, with increasing urgency, for years: Nations are simply not working quickly enough to cope with a population greying faster than ever before. By the year 2050, for the first time in history, seniors over the age of 60 will outnumber children under the age of 15, according to CTV. "People at my age should have a rest, but I still have to work to make our ends meet," he says, while waiting for customers at the shop, which sells green tea, cigarettes and chewing gum. "My wife and I have no pension, no health insurance. I'm scared of thinking of being sick -- I don't know how I can pay for the medical care." The world is aging so fast that most countries are not prepared to support their swelling numbers of elderly people, according to a global study going out Tuesday by the United Nations and an elder rights group. Truong Tien Thao, who runs a small tea shop on the sidewalk near his home in Hanoi, Vietnam, is 65 and acutely aware that he, like millions of others, is plunging into old age without a safety net. He wishes he could retire, but he and his 61-year-old wife depend on the $50 a month they earn from the tea shop. And so every day, Thao rises early to open the stall at 6 a.m. and works until 2 p.m., when his wife takes over until closing. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Parti Quebecois: MONTREAL - Hundreds marched through the streets of Montreal on Sunday to call for an "open Quebec" and, once again, denounce the Parti Quebecois government's proposed charter of values. , according to Winnipeg Free Press. The rally was organized by a group of young, multicultural Montrealers and brought together Muslims, Sikhs and Jews to protest against the ban on religious headwear in public institutions. A protester holds a sign asking that no one touch her freedoms during a protest in Montreal against the proposed charter of values by the Parti Quebecois, Sunday, September 29, 2013. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Peter McCabe The crowd may have been smaller than at an anti-charter rally that jammed the streets two weeks earlier, but it appeared to be more diverse. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Westgate Mall: NAIROBI, Kenya - Jewelry cases smashed. Mobile phones ripped from displays. Cash registers emptied. Alcohol stocks plundered. , according to Winnipeg Free Press. Now shop owners at Westgate Mall are returning to their stores after last week's devastating terrorist attack to find displays ransacked and valuables stolen. This photo taken Thursday, Sept. 26, 2013 and made available Monday, Sept. 30, 2013, shows forensic investigators inspecting a silver saloon car parked a short distance opposite the entrance to the Westgate Mall in Nairobi, Kenya. The four-day siege, which included the collapse of part of the mall, left 67 people dead, according to officials. AP Photo For the second time in two months, poorly paid Kenyan security forces that moved in to control an emergency are being accused of robbing the very property they were supposed to protect. First the troops were accused of looting during a huge fire in August at Nairobi's main airport. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Lawyer Sarah Khan: Lawyer Sarah Khan told the tribunal on Monday that the workplace, operated by Khaira Enterprises Ltd., was divided along racial lines. Black workers were forced to work on harder terrain than non-black employees, and the latter were given differential treatment, she said, according to CTV. Khan also alleged that the workers lived in squalid conditions. They were given under cooked or expired food to eat, and were forced to drink untreated water from nearby streams and rivers. At night, they slept on dirty mattresses in a cramped storage container with no ventilation and inadequate showers, she said and VANCOUVER -- A group of tree planters originally from Africa found living in deplorable conditions in a Golden, B.C., camp endured slave-like conditions because their employers discriminated against black people, a B.C. Human Rights Tribunal heard. Khan is representing 50 tree planters, many of whom were immigrants or refugees, and who she said were subjected to "extreme racial harassment," including racial slurs, verbal abuse, and mockery that were "consistent with slavery and anti-black racial segregation." (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Canadian Medical Association Journal: In an article in Monday's Canadian Medical Association Journal, the Toronto liver specialists say people born between 1945 and 1975 should be tested because the age group is thought to account for more than 75 per cent of all cases of hepatitis C infection in Canada, according to CTV. "Baby boomers are much more likely to be infected with hepatitis C than other age groups," said co-author Dr. Jordan Feld, a liver specialist at Toronto Western Hospital and TORONTO -- Canada should start screening a large segment of the population -- including all baby boomers -- for hepatitis C, says a group of doctors who treat the potentially deadly liver disease. Chronic infection with the blood-borne virus is a major cause of cirrhosis of the liver and the most common reason for liver transplantation in North America. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Cowichan Theatre: Copyright 2013, according to Times Colonist and Strength, agility and sheer daring combine in the Shangri-La Chinese Acrobats show coming to the Cowichan Theatre Monday, Oct. 7 starting at 7:30 p.m. Its been years since any troupe of Chinas legendary acrobats came to Duncan and that was such a snowy night that only a small crowd came out. So if you loved them before or have never seen them, now is the time to get those tickets. This is indeed a special event, according to Brian Kroeker, publicist for the Cowichan Theatre. They are amazing. We re really proud to have it and we hope to have even more exclusive shows in future, he said recently. Theatre manager Kirsten Schrader agrees. We are delighted to be the exclusive Vancouver Island engagement for this world renowned Chinese acrobatic troupe. Its a family-oriented show and we think its important to have that option in our seasonal line-up at the Cowichan Theatre, she said. Its such a great opportunity to see a show of this calibre, right at home. For more than 30 years, the amazing performances of the Shangri-La Chinese Acrobats have offered wonderful, high-energy entertainment for the whole family. Under the direction of Chinese acrobatic legends, the Hai Family, this company flawlessly interprets the grace of an ancient art form. Their precision has been honed by years of training and discipline. Its a multi-faceted and multicultural production and features dazzling acrobatic displays, formidable feats of daring and balance, explosive Kung Fu, brilliant costumes, and even a touch of Chinese comedy. If that sounds like a winning combination to you, hurry to get those tickets. They re going fast. Tickets are $45 each for adults and $30 for children or $135 for a family of four. Get them online at www.cowichantheatre.ca or call the Cowichan Ticket Centre at 250-748-7529 to reserve. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Industry Minister James Moore: Industry Minister James Moore offered reassurances last week that Davin, Sask., will no longer appear in the census with a population of zero a mistake that was threatening to cut off the hamlet from provincial grants for municipalities, according to The Star. Statistics Canada is currently investigating how the error occurred and will adjust the population count for the Hamlet of Davin as required, as quickly as possible, Moore wrote in a letter to Ralph Goodale, the former finance minister and MP for the Wascana riding, which includes Davin and OTTAWA A tiny community in Saskatchewan will be placed back on the statistical map of Canada after it was accidentally turned into a ghost town in the 2011 census. Davin , about a half-hours drive east from Regina, actually has a population of 49 citizens, and the struggle to prove its existence to StatsCan has been going on for some months. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Mondays Canadian Medical Association Journal: In an article in Mondays Canadian Medical Association Journal, the Toronto liver specialists say people born between 1945 and 1975 should be tested because the age group is thought to account for more than 75 per cent of all cases of hepatitis C infection in Canada, according to 660 News. Baby boomers are much more likely to be infected with hepatitis C than other age groups, said co-author Dr. Jordan Feld, a liver specialist at Toronto Western Hospital and TORONTO Canada should start screening a large segment of the population including all baby boomers for hepatitis C, says a group of doctors who treat the potentially deadly liver disease. Chronic infection with the blood-borne virus is a major cause of cirrhosis of the liver and the most common reason for liver transplantation in North America. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Brookfield Property Partners: The S P/TSX composite index closed down 56.89 points to 12,787.19 as worry about the economic effect of such a shutdown depressed most sectors, according to Times Colonist. Brookfield Property Partners already owns a 51 per cent stake in Brookfield Office Properties. Brookfield Office Properties shares ran ahead $2.45, or 14.17 per cent, to $19.74 while Brookfield Property Partners units were a penny lower at $19.99 and TORONTO - The Toronto stock market closed lower Monday as hopes faded that an 11th-hour deal would emerge on a compromise budget bill that would prevent a partial shutdown of the U.S. government at midnight. A notable exception was the real estate sector, which ran ahead 1.9 per cent as Brookfield Property Partners LP TSX:BPY.UN announced it wants to buy out other shareholders of Brookfield Office Properties Inc. TSX:BPO in a stock-and-cash deal it valued at US$5 billion. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Halifax Stanfield International Airport: OTTAWA - Canadian and Dutch citizens would be able to visit each other's countries more easily under a plan to expand Canada's trusted traveller programs beyond North America. , according to Winnipeg Free Press. The initiative would be modelled on the current Nexus travellers program between Canada and the United States, the Canada Border Services Agency records say. Officials have been developing the regulatory, technological and fee-collection systems needed to implement an accord. An Air Canada passenger jet takes off over the terminal at Halifax Stanfield International Airport in Halifax on Monday, Jan. 21, 2013. Canadian and Dutch citizens would be able to visit each other's countries more easily under a plan to expand Canada's trusted traveller programs beyond North America. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Andrew Vaughan Canada and the Netherlands have been negotiating a bilateral agreement that would allow their citizens to apply to each other's programs for travellers considered to be a low security risk, records obtained under the Access to Information Act show. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.