Chris Laush: One of a gaggle of youth who have sneaked into a community meeting, the girl asks a police officer if he can fix the fountain in the common area, according to The Star. Laush, a dad himself, tells her he will be back in two days and he ll talk to management about it and A young girl in a dark hijab sits at the back of the dank, musty basement the Dixon Rd. tower residents call the party room. Sgt. Chris Laush explains the fountain is not a policing problem. He tells the girl there is a complaints system through the management who run the complex. Then, as Laush looks to the crowd for the next question, he sees the crestfallen look on her face. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Lawrence Cannon: Abousfian Abdelrazik , who was imprisoned by the Sudanese before being stranded in the Canadian Embassy in Khartoum, put questions to Cannon now Canadas ambassador to France through his counsel during a closed-door examination process, a precursor to trial, according to The Star. He sat across the table from Mr. Cannon which was, I think, quite a difficult moment for him, Champ said in an interview and OTTAWA Former foreign affairs minister Lawrence Cannon recently spent more than two hours answering questions under oath as part of a lawsuit filed by a Montreal man seeking compensation and an apology from the federal government for his prolonged detention in Sudan. Abdelraziks lawyer, Paul Champ, says while details of the session which took place in Ottawa last Thursday are confidential at this point, his client found the experience both cathartic and challenging. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Jessica Alexander: A common refrain among humanitarian aid workers, once you get to know them and they let their guard down, is "We can't save everyone." Jessica Alexander starts out more hopeful than that, only to find herself getting sucked into the same cynical trap as so many others in the field. Her journey is chronicled in "Chasing Chaos: My Decade in and out of Humanitarian Aid," an enlightening but uneven memoir, according to Times Colonist. Alexander is quite good at pointing out the many challenges faced by aid workers, such as the danger that their efforts can become a permanent fixture. The idea that many people in a poor country pretend to be refugees because the camps have better infrastructure and offer more resources than their existing village is deeply disturbing and "Chasing Chaos: My Decade in and out of Humanitarian Aid" Broadway Books, by Jessica Alexander Alexander writes in an easy, conversational manner. The result is the type of book that can be read in an afternoon. In some ways, this is good it's more likely to keep the interest of people who are otherwise unfamiliar with the world of humanitarian aid, and there is a great deal in it that will be eye-opening to such readers. In that sense, Alexander has made a helpful contribution. But for those who know about the aid sector, the book isn't particularly meaty, nor does it reveal much that isn't known. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Gaza: Despite a government warning, Elgadi's family flew to Cairo on Aug. 8, and then made its way to Gaza to see his wife's ailing father, who lives in a refugee camp. She didnt see her parents in the last ten years and the father is very sick -- really sick -- between life and death. She was really worried about that, he explained. While there, the Egyptian government closed the border due to violence in Egypt, allowing a limited number of people to cross. The border was also closed all week for the holy holiday Eid that marks the end of Ramadan, and so they remain stranded in Gaza, according to CTV. No help, not at all. Nothing, he said and A Quebec man is calling on the federal government to help him bring his wife and three daughters home from Gaza. Ghassan Elgadi said his family left for Gaza in August and hasn't been able to return home since. Elgadi's wife and their three daughters, aged 12, 8 and 3, were supposed to return to Canada on Sept. 16. They're stuck, he said. All four are Canadian citizens. Elgadi has asking Foreign Affairs to intervene, but so far said he's received little response. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Abousfian Abdelrazik: Abousfian Abdelrazik, who was imprisoned by the Sudanese before being stranded in the Canadian Embassy in Khartoum, put questions to Cannon -- now Canada's ambassador to France -- through his counsel during a closed-door examination process, a precursor to trial, according to CTV. "He sat across the table from Mr. Cannon which was, I think, quite a difficult moment for him," Champ said in an interview and OTTAWA -- Former foreign affairs minister Lawrence Cannon recently spent more than two hours answering questions under oath as part of a lawsuit filed by a Montreal man seeking compensation and an apology from the federal government for his prolonged detention in Sudan. Abdelrazik's lawyer, Paul Champ, says while particulars of the session -- which took place in Ottawa last Thursday -- are confidential at this point, his client found the experience both cathartic and challenging. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

World Cup qualifying match: ADDIS ABABA - Two Somali suicide bombers who had planned to kill soccer fans during Ethiopia's World Cup qualifying match against Nigeria on Sunday blew themselves up accidentally before carrying out the attack, the Ethiopian government said on Monday, according to Reuters. "They were Somali nationals and plotted to carry out a suicide attack disguised as fans on either the stadium or areas where large crowds gathered to watch the game," government spokesman Shimeles Kemal said and By Aaron Maasho The explosion on Sunday happened in the upscale Bole district of the capital, about 5 km 3 miles from Addis Ababa Stadium where thousands of fans were gathering for the match. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

B.C. Construction Association: VANCOUVER - The current shortage of skilled tradespeople in Western Canada is so dire that the B.C. Construction Association is returning to Ireland this month to hire 600 people, said the group's vice-president. , according to Winnipeg Free Press. Not everybody agrees with the recruitment drive, especially the province's labour leaders who argue employers can find skilled, unionized Canadian workers to fill immediate, vacant positions. Carpenter Daniel O'Sullivan, of Ireland, poses for a photograph in Vancouver, B.C., on Saturday October 12, 2013. The current shortage of skilled tradespeople in Western Canada is so dire that the B.C. Construction Association is returning to Ireland this month to hire 600 people, said the group's vice-president. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck In fact, even if one-in-five students graduating from high school in B.C. during the next three years were to pursue a trade, there still wouldn't be enough workers to fill shortages in the province's construction industry, said Abigail Fulton. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Benedict Cumberbatch: Cumberbatch, 37, said in an "ask me anything" interview on content-sharing site Reddit on Friday that he was concerned with playing the part after Assange sent him a letter in January declining an invitation to meet in person and urging him to rethink his involvement in the film, according to Reuters. Assange's letter, dated January 15 and published on the WikiLeaks website on Wednesday, called the actor a "hired gun" and criticized Walt Disney Co's DreamWorks studio for using "toxic" source material as a foundation for the film, based partly on the 2011 book "Inside WikiLeaks" by Assange's former lieutenant Daniel Domscheit-Berg and LOS ANGELES - British actor Benedict Cumberbatch says a letter from WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange asking him not to do a movie about the emergence of the anti-secrecy website affected his portrayal of him in the upcoming film "The Fifth Estate." "To have the man you are about to portray ask you intelligently and politely not to do it gave me real cause for concern, however, it galvanized me into addressing why I was doing this movie," Cumberbatch said in response to a user asking him whether Assange's letter affected his role in the film. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Susan Kirkland: More Nova Scotians than ever are living up to that challenge as many baby boomers hit the 65 mark, according to The Chronicle Herald. She will be answering questions at a Cafe Scientifique forum Wednesday at Pier 21 in Halifax at 6:30 p.m. She will be joined by Dr. Susan Kirkland, also of Dalhousie, who helped head up the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging and You cant help getting older but you dont have to get old, George Burns once said. These issues have captured the attention of those who research geriatric issues, including Dr. Melissa Andrew, who teaches geriatric medicine at Dalhousie University. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

B.C. Construction Association: VANCOUVER The current shortage of skilled tradespeople in Western Canada is so dire that the B.C. Construction Association is returning to Ireland this month to hire 600 people, said the groups vice-president, according to The Chronicle Herald. Not everybody agrees with the recruitment drive, especially the provinces labour leaders who argue employers can find skilled, unionized Canadian workers to fill immediate, vacant positions and In fact, even if one-in-five students graduating from high school in B.C. during the next three years were to pursue a trade, there still wouldnt be enough workers to fill shortages in the provinces construction industry, said Abigail Fulton. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.