BEIRUT Syrian government aircraft: BEIRUT Syrian government aircraft pounded opposition areas in the northern city of Aleppo and near the southern border with Jordan on Monday, a day after airstrikes killed at least 76 people, while the United Nations issued a record appeal for $6.5 billion to help the millions of Syrians uprooted by their homelands civil war, according to The Chronicle Herald. The government has relied on its air power in particular in northern Syria, much of which fell to opposition fighters over the course of the past year. One of the major battlegrounds on that front is Aleppo, where Assads forces and rebels have been bogged down in a bloody fight since rebels launched an assault on the city in mid-2012 and President Bashar Assads air force is his greatest advantage in the countrys civil war, and he has successfully exploited it to stem and even roll back rebel advances across the country. Human rights groups say Syrian military aircraft have carried out indiscriminate air raids that frequently hit civilian targets, such as hospitals, bakeries and residential areas. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Syria GENEVA The United Nations: More on thestar.com:, according to The Star. 5 questions about Syria GENEVA The United Nations said Monday it will need nearly $13 billion in aid in 2014 to reach at least 52 million people in 17 countries, including the millions of Syrians who have been displaced by their civil war. New year dawns darkly for Syria (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

the Federal Reserve: Factory production rose 0.6 per cent in November after a 0.5 per cent gain in October, the Federal Reserve said Monday, according to Times Colonist. Industrial production, which includes manufacturing, mining and utilities, rose 1.1 per cent in November. It was the fourth straight gain and WASHINGTON - U.S. factories increased output in November for the fourth straight month, led by a surge in auto production. The gains show manufacturing is strengthening and could help boost economic growth at the end of the year. Production of motor vehicles and parts increased 3.4 per cent, rebounding from a 1.3 per cent decline in October. Factories also stepped up production of home electronics and chemical products. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper: Copyright 2013, according to Times Colonist and The first Tibetan refugees among 1,000 that will come to Canada in the next two years arrived in Vancouver over the weekend. Canada agreed to taken in the Tibetans after the Dalai Lama, Tibets exiled spiritual leader, made a direct appeal to Prime Minister Stephen Harper in 2007. The Canadian government announced the immigration program in 2010. The move has been criticized by China, which claims Tibet as one of its territories. On Saturday, the Tibetans connecting flight from Toronto was delayed about three hours because of snow, adding to their marathon journey from Arunachal Pradesh, India. The Indian community is the seat of the Tibetan government in exile. The 21 Tibetans were met by dozens of people at Vancouver International Airport, including local Tibetans and their sponsor families. Despite the long journey, there were lots of happy faces among the Tibetans, which included a family with three boys, but mostly single people between 18 to 45, said Shenpenn Khymsar, a local Tibetan activist and film maker who helped welcome the newcomers. The new immigrants are largely the children of Tibetans who fled Tibet after China took control after an invasion in 1951. They were travelling for more than 30 hours. It was overwhelming. They were nervous, excited, tired, said Khymsar. But it was nice. They have so much support, and we are all there to help them. I am just excited for their new lives and new possibilities. They ll be able to support their families and village back home, he said. The sponsors agree to provide support for the refugees for one year, providing housing and helping them integrate into Canadian life. If some of them are capable of being independent sooner, thats great. They find a job, they want to move out, said Khymsar, noting that about 75 per cent have functional English. He said they continue to look for more sponsors across Canada and for donations. To help go to www.projecttibetsociety.ca. About 100,000 Tibetan refugees live in settlements across India and Nepal, says the Canada Tibet Committee, which is overseeing the immigration to Canada. About 1,000 Tibetans are estimated continue to leave the Chinese-controlled region each year, trekking across the Himalayans. About 6,500 Tibetans live in Canada now. The new immigrants are expected to settle initially in the Toronto and Ottawa areas, and in the Vancouver and Sunshine Coast areas. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Chairman Ben Bernanke: They say stocks are at unsustainable prices. California homes are fetching frothy sums. Same with farmland, Bitcoins and rare Scotch, according to 660 News. Yet some say the Fed-engineered rates have produced an economic sugar high that risks triggering a crash akin to the tech-stock swoon in 2000 and the housing bust in 2006 and WASHINGTON The Federal Reserves super-low interest-rate policies have inflated a slew of dangerous asset bubbles. Or so critics say. Under Chairman Ben Bernanke, the Fed has aggressively bought bonds to try to cut borrowing rates and accelerate spending, investing and hiring. Its supporters say low rates have helped nourish the still-modest economic rebound. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Syria: The crisis prompted a record appeal by the United Nations on Monday for $6.5 billion to help displaced Syrians and their host countries, with hundreds of thousands more refugees expected as the civil war rages, according to Times Colonist. "We must have cessation of hostilities before we begin political dialogue on Syria in Geneva," Secretary General Ban Ki-moon told reporters in New York and BEIRUT - The exodus of millions of people from Syria in one of the largest refugee flights in decades is pushing neighbouring countries to a breaking point, and thousands of lives are threatened with the onset of a bitter winter. With less than a month to go before internationally brokered peace talks by Syria's warring sides are to begin, the U.N. chief demanded a cease-fire for the discussions to have any chance in succeeding. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

The Federal Reserve: They say stocks are at unsustainable prices. California homes are fetching frothy sums. Same with farmland, Bitcoins and rare Scotch, according to Times Colonist. Yet some say the Fed-engineered rates have produced an economic sugar high that risks triggering a crash akin to the tech-stock swoon in 2000 and the housing bust in 2006 and WASHINGTON - The Federal Reserve's super-low interest-rate policies have inflated a slew of dangerous asset bubbles. Or so critics say. Under Chairman Ben Bernanke, the Fed has aggressively bought bonds to try to cut borrowing rates and accelerate spending, investing and hiring. Its supporters say low rates have helped nourish the still-modest economic rebound. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Stratfor: Stratfor came under fire recently after a leaked company document prepared for an oil company outlined ways to counter activist groups, such as Greenpeace, who oppose Canada's oil-sands development , according to Huffington Post. Stratfor's Presentation On Countering Anti-Oilsands Activists Reportedly prepared for Suncor, 2010. Story continues below Loading Slideshow OTTAWA - At least 13 Canadian government agencies have had subscriptions with U.S. private intelligence firm Strategic Forecasting, Inc. or Stratfor, sometimes dubbed a shadow CIA, newly released WikiLeaks emails indicate. The same cache of leaked emails indicates Canadian federal agencies have purchased at least half a million dollars in Stratfor services. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Valerie Amos: This is the largest amount we ve ever had to request at the start of the year, said Valerie Amos, the U.N.s humanitarian chief. The complexity and scale of what we are doing is rising all the time, according to 660 News. About half of the requested $12.9 billion in aid some $6.5 billion would go toward delivering food, shelter and health care in Syria and neighbouring countries affected by the war and GENEVA The United Nations said Monday it will need nearly $13 billion in aid in 2014 to reach at least 52 million people in 17 countries, including the millions of Syrians who have been displaced by their civil war. The aid is to be provided by 500 organizations, including the main U.N. agencies for food, refugees and children. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

United Nations: The crisis prompted a record appeal by the United Nations on Monday for $6.5 billion to help displaced Syrians and their host countries, with hundreds of thousands more refugees expected as the civil war rages, according to 660 News. We must have cessation of hostilities before we begin political dialogue on Syria in Geneva, Secretary General Ban Ki-moon told reporters in New York and BEIRUT The exodus of millions of people from Syria in one of the largest refugee flights in decades is pushing neighbouring countries to a breaking point, and thousands of lives are threatened with the onset of a bitter winter. With less than a month to go before internationally brokered peace talks by Syrias warring sides are to begin, the U.N. chief demanded a cease-fire for the discussions to have any chance in succeeding. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.