Dow Jones: The S P/TSX composite index slipped 19.94 points to 13,358.39 amid generally lacklustre trading and lower than usual volumes as banks, many businesses and the bond market closed for Remembrance Day, according to CTV. U.S. indexes made slight headway with the Dow Jones industrials ahead 21.32 points to a another record high of 15,783.1, the Nasdaq gained 0.56 of a point to 3,919.79 and the S P 500 index was up 1.28 points at 1,771.89 and TORONTO -- The Toronto stock market closed little changed Monday as interest sensitive stocks continued to sell off amid rising U.S. bond yields and retailers declined ahead of earnings reports later in the week. On international markets, the Canadian dollar was up 0.06 of a cent at 95.5 cents US late in the afternoon. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Fahima Jhandas: When, when, when will Santa come?, according to The Star. But they have to be on their best behaviour before Jhanda, who came to Canada from Kenya seven years ago, presents them to her kids. And when they open them, they are very excited, she said while at the Warden Woods Community Centre Parent and Child drop-in. They share and exchange gifts. For the children its a big deal and As soon as the calendar flips to December Fahima Jhandas children have one question on their minds. They just cant wait, said Jhanda whose children are among thousands across the Greater Toronto Area who will receive brightly coloured holiday boxes filled to the brim with goodies. Her children Amina, Athman, Amal and Ayman Athman aged 10, 7, 6 and 3 respectively have received them for five years and are always thrilled with the special gifts inside. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Bashar Assad: Rebels in the camp freely acknowledge recruiting fighters in the camp in a drive that has increased since the summer, trying to bolster rebel ranks in the face of stepped up offensives by Assad's forces just across the border in southern Syria, according to Times Colonist. For the U.N., the recruitment mars what is supposed to be a purely humanitarian mission of helping the streams of Syrians fleeing the 2 1/2-year-old civil war, which activists say has killed more than 120,000 people. Zaatari, only 16 kilometres 10 miles from the Syrian border, is home to more than 100,000 Syrian refugees and ZAATARI CAMP, Jordan - In a makeshift mosque in a trailer in this sprawling camp for Syrian refugees, a preacher appeals to worshippers to join their countrymen in the fight to topple President Bashar Assad. In another corner of the Zaatari camp, two men draped in the Syrian rebel flag call on refugees through loudspeakers to sign up for military training. Recruiting is banned in Zaatari, and the rebel activities put Jordanian officials and United Nations' officials running the camp in a delicate position. Wary of further increasing tensions with the government in neighbouring Syria, Jordan has sought to keep its support of rebels under the radar, officially denying that any training of anti-Assad fighters takes place on its soil, though both Jordanian and American officials have acknowledged it does. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Bruce Moncur: It was Labour Day weekend at home in Canada, which seemed like a different planet than the Panjwai district of Afghanistan, according to Huffington Post. Everyone would be together, blissfully unaware of the friendly fire. The bloody mess in the sand, the yellow liquid coming out of his ears and nose and As he lay dying, his brain exposed by a piece of shrapnel the size of a bottle cap, Cpl. Bruce Moncur's thoughts drifted to Pleasure Beach. He guessed his family had finished the chili cook-off at their spot by the water in Essex, Ontario. Maybe they were playing horseshoes. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Hamas: GAZA - The Islamist Hamas group, long shunned by the West and increasingly isolated in the Middle East, has appointed its first spokeswoman, a 23-year-old who used to live in Britain and speaks with a Yorkshire accent. , according to Reuters. She is not a member of the Islamist group. She wears a traditional headscarf along with a touch of makeup, listens to non-Islamic music and will on occasion shake hands with members of the opposite sex, behavior usually frowned on by Hamas. By Nidal al-Mughrabi Isra Al-Modallal's job is to convey the views of the Hamas government that controls Gaza to the foreign media. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Remembrance Day: I put my hand up. War is terrible, I said, trying to balance the argument I was about to make. But Remembrance Day isnt about glorifying war. Remembrance Day is about remembering those who signed up, suited up and shipped out even though all rational thought says you shouldnt. I remember my words exactly. I was proud. I also remember somebody behind me making a crack about writing Hallmark cards. It was a bit affected, I ll admit, but I believed every word, according to The Star. The circumstances that enveloped our fallen do matter and they merit examination and debate on any number of days open for such discussion. On Nov. 11, on behalf of the very real people who died very horrific deaths: pausing to remember their individual loss of life is the very least we can do and When I was a university student in 2002, a professor admonished me and a few of my classmates for missing his previous lecture so that we could attend the national Remembrance Day ceremony in Confederation Square. War, he said, was a manifestation of greedy corporations and ambitious politicians. Why would anyone glorify such a tragic waste of human life? Remembrance Day, as the name suggests, is not about the prime ministers, propagandists or profiteers who so often fill our history books. Remembrance Day, rather than glorifying war and its often-muddied roots, recognises the very regular people who offered to die for Canada and so very often did. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

New York Mercantile Exchange: By early afternoon in Europe, benchmark U.S. crude for December delivery was down 39 cents to $94.21 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange after rising 40 cents on Friday. Trading is expected to be light because of the Veterans Day holiday, according to Times Colonist. The U.S.-led negotiations, however, failed to yield a deal over the weekend. This eased concerns of an influx of Iranian oil into world markets at a time of already abundant supplies and The price of oil lingered above $94 a barrel Monday after negotiations in Geneva to curb Iran's nuclear program were stalled and U.S. crude supplies remained high. Six key powers are considering a gradual rollback of sanctions that have crippled Iran's economy. In exchange, they demand initial curbs on Iran's nuclear program. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Hassan Abdi Dhuhulow: Kenya mall attack a matter of when not if, according to The Star. One gunman has been identified as Hassan Abdi Dhuhulow, a 23-year-old Somalia native whose family moved to Norway in 1999. A second name was revealed last week in court documents Mohammed Abdinur Said that an official confirmed was another attacker and NAIROBI, KENYA One of the four Westgate Mall attackers once lived in a refugee camp of 50,000 Somali refugees in northwestern Kenya, two security officials said, highlighting Kenyas interest in speeding up the return of nearly 500,000 Somali refugees to their home country. Very little is known about the four gunmen who sprayed bullets into men, women and children inside Nairobis Westgate Mall on Sept. 21, a busy Saturday afternoon. Al Shabab, a Somali Islamic extremist group affiliated with Al Qaeda, claimed responsibility for the four-day siege of the mall, which ended with 67 people dead, including two Canadians . (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh: India announced Sunday that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will be the second leader after Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper to boycott the Nov. 15-17 meeting. There are 54 members of the Commonwealth, a loose association of former British colonies, according to CTV. Rhiannon, whose Greens party is not part of Australia's conservative coalition government, described the treatment as "unlawful," given she had an appropriate tourist visa and a letter from Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade to the Sri Lankan government explaining her trip and CANBERRA, Australia -- Australia's prime minister was under mounting pressure Monday to join his Indian and Canadian counterparts in boycotting a British Commonwealth summit in Sri Lanka this week over concerns about the island nation's human rights record. Australian Senator Lee Rhiannon called on Prime Minister Tony Abbott to boycott the meeting after she and New Zealand lawmaker Jan Logie were prevented from holding a press conference on human rights issues in Colombo on Sunday by immigration officials who seized their passports and took them to their hotels for three hours of questioning. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Senator Lee Rhiannon: Senator Lee Rhiannon urged Prime Minister Tony Abbott to join his Indian and Canadian counterparts in staying away from a British Commonwealth summit in Sri Lanka over concerns about the island nation's human rights record, according to Times Colonist. Rhiannon, whose Greens party is not part of Australia's conservative coalition government, described the treatment as "unlawful," given she had an appropriate tourist visa and a letter from Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade to the Sri Lankan government explaining her trip and CANBERRA, Australia - An Australian senator accused the Sri Lankan government of trying to hide crimes against humanity and called on her government to boycott an international summit in Colombo after she was detained by authorities there. Rhiannon said she and a New Zealand lawmaker were prevented from holding a press conference on human rights issues in Colombo on Sunday by immigration officials who seized their passports and took them to their hotels for three hours of questioning. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.