indian sojourn: Ottawa must be unspeakably dull compared to the stirring sights and sounds of exotic India, according to The Chronicle Herald. By any measure history, culture or food, to name just a few Ottawa seems very ordinary by contrast. And no wonder. Plus for some reason, everyone back home seems angry with him. As to attire, the man would freeze in our capital if he went around in the getups he sported during his Indian sojourn. Call it the PM's post-trip hangover. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

circuit court: Under the Republican president's action, the protections were due to start phasing out beginning in March, according to CBC. In a brief order, the justices did not explain their reasoning, but said the appeal was denied without prejudice, indicating they will maintain an open mind on the underlying legal issue still being considered by a lower court, the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The justices refused to hear the administration's appeal of a federal judge's Jan. 9 injunction that halted Trump's move to rescind a program that benefits immigrants known as Dreamers implemented in 2012 by his Democratic predecessor, Barack Obama. The high court also said it expects the lower court to proceed expeditiously to decide this case. You know, we tried to get it moved quickly, because we'd like to help DACA. I think everybody in this room wants to help with DACA, he said, referring to Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. Trump said Monday, We'll see what happens from there. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

eric brazau: E. at Woodbine Ave. that it was going to be derailed; their social media chatter showed white supremacists were planning to gate crash the event, according to Toronto Star. On the panel were Minister Responsible for Anti-Racism Michael Coteau, Beaches East York MPP Arthur Potts and Beaches East York MP Nathaniel Erskine-Smith. Activists say they warned the provincial Liberals who organized the town hall at Grant African Methodist Episcopal Church on Gerrard St. But it was the presence on the panel of Mississauga Erin Mills MP Iqra Khalid who introduced the anti-Islamophobia M-103 motion that was the lightning rod for the likes of Paul Fromm, Lynn Redden, Eric Brazau and Meir Weinstein. An anti-racism activist who was at the event, who tracks far-right hate groups on social media, says these people have appeared on his radar in at least seven demonstrations in Toronto in the past 12 months not counting their protests outside Masjid Toronto near City Hall. These are representative of a group of people blessed with extraordinary penetrating vision that allows them to see someone you and I might take for a bright woman with achiever's confidence as the ultimate evil infiltrator of political Canada, bent on blanketing the country under Sharia law. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

gambian officials: That was five years ago, according to Toronto Star. Toure is still behind bars. They just had to get him a travel document and put him on a plane. The federal government, meanwhile, appears to be no closer to deporting the 46-year-old failed refugee claimant to Gambia, where he is believed to have been born. So Toure continues to wait, with no idea when he will be free. He has no identity documents and Gambian officials have given no indication they will issue him any. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

mexican music: Daughter of a Mixtec Indian woman and University of Minnesota professor, Downs is inspired by both sides of her heritage making it difficult to categorize her music, except to say that it is an exciting fusion of international sounds and musical genres, according to CBC. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit the Arts Commons website. Lauded in both of her home countries of Mexico and the United States, with multiple GRAMMY Awards under her belt, Lila Downs uses her multicultural vision and her remarkable voice and seamlessly blends blues, jazz, rock, soul and even rap with traditional Mexican music for a truly singular sound. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

planning cycle: The cost of the increase has been pegged around 440 million over that time, but the government hasn't provided a breakdown of those costs, according to CTV. The Liberals, however, also have yet to say how much it's costing to manage one unplanned increase in new arrivals -- a surge of asylum seekers coming over the border. The Liberals announced the move to a three-year planning cycle for admissions late last fall and set a goal of welcoming nearly a million people in total between 2018 and 2020. Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada recently estimated some of their share is 10.4 million, but repeated requests to federal departments for the full price tag have so far gone unanswered. Statistics released by the government late last week show the RCMP stopped 1,517 people coming illegally across the border last month, down slightly from the number of apprehensions in December. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

pride parade: Another was a recent immigrant with a drug problem, according to CTV. Some of the known and suspected victims of alleged serial killer Bruce McArthur fit a pattern people on the margins of Canadian society whose disappearance attracted little attention. Another was from a conservative Muslim family and hid the fact that he was gay from his family. But then Andrew Kinsman vanished. When he suddenly went missing the day after Toronto's Gay pride parade, his friends noticed quickly, and so did the police. The 49-year-old LGBQT activist and former bartender in Toronto had many friends. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

remittance companies: The same is true, she finds, of people she meets as a manager at the Immigrant Services Society of B.C. My experience with my clients and my coworkers, if they go to one institution, that's pretty much where they stay, according to CTV. However, the remittance market has changed significantly in recent years, so those looking to maximize the money they send home should shop around now more than ever. Because of convenience -- and my family over there already knows they're going to be receiving from this institution -- I don't shop around any more. Remittance companies make their money from a service fee they charge on each payment sent, usually a percentage of the amount transferred and an added cost baked into the exchange rate consumers pay. The World Bank estimates costs globally have dropped to an average of 7.09 per cent of money sent from 9.67 per cent in 2009, but still off its five per cent target. Increased competition from both traditional remittance companies and web-based startups has helped lower the cost of sending money abroad. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

sanctuary policies: Schaaf, a Democrat seeking re-election this year, has been trying to demonstrate her support for the immigrant community ever since, according to Metro News. The mayor said credible sources told her ICE would be targeting immigrants being sought for living in the country illegally and not those wanted for crimes. Calling it her duty and moral obligation to warn families, Mayor Libby Schaaf's unusual alert this weekend also follows months of criticism of her decision to allow Oakland police to direct traffic during an Immigration and Customs Enforcement raid in August. She said she shared the warning not to cause panic but to protect immigrants in a city and a state with sanctuary policies that limit co-operation with federal immigration agents. Schaaf made the decision after consulting with local community leaders, who agreed she should go public so people could prepare, Berton said. The warning prompted hundreds of phone calls and social media messages, mostly from out of state, accusing the mayor of treason and obstruction of justice and calling for her immediate removal, spokesman Justin Berton said Monday. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

west coast: In an effort to expand services across a broader region, the primarily St, according to CBC. John's-based association has recently opened office in Corner Brook and Grand Falls-Windsor. function d, s, id var js, fjs if d.get Element ById id return; js d.create Element s ; js.id id; js.src fjs ; document, 'script', 'facebook-jssdk' ; Ken Walsh, the association's senior settlement co-ordinator for the western region, says the plan is to identify any existing gaps in newcomers' settlement on the west coast and in central, while offering support systems and assistance to ensure those gaps are being addressed. The Association for New Canadians has been a major helper in that trend, providing support to international newcomers in the province for nearly 40 years. Newfoundland and Labrador has Canada's most rapidly aging population, as well as one of the lowest birth rates in the country, he said. If you build it, they will come Walsh says the Corner Brook area is appealing to newcomers for the same reasons it's appealing to people who've lived on Newfoundland's west coast for their entire lives. Attracting newcomers is key to the repopulation and revitalization of the province. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

germany afd: The city officials work to integrate some 200,000 newcomers into Germany's fourth-largest city, while the AfD campaigns against them, stoking fear of Muslims and immigrants, according to National Observer. Last fall, the AfD became the main opposition party in Germany's parliament, succeeding partly by challenging Chancellor Angela Merkel's decision to open Germany's doors to more than 1.3 million migrants and asylum-seekers since 2015. Just a few doors down the hall is the local office of Alternative for Germany AfD the first far-right party to win seats in the German federal parliament in 60 years. ; While the two offices are almost side-by-side, the work they're doing couldn't be further apart. The AfD emerged in 2013 at the height of a debt crisis in eurozone countries and has since gained traction at all levels of government in Germany. Cologne is the largest city in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, where 15 AfD members of Parliament were elected. The party's historic breakthrough came in September 2017, when the AfD won 13.5 per cent of the vote and 94 seats in the federal election. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

krysten ritter: Mahershala Ali, Nia Long and Beastie Boy Adam Horovitz co-star, according to NOW Magazine. March 23Jessica Jones season 2 Of the half-dozen Marvel TV shows bouncing around the ether, Jessica Jones is the only one that feels like appointment viewing, driven by Krysten Ritter's terrific performance as the eponymous self-hating, super-powered private investigator. In addition to Rapture, a docuseries profiling eight rappers, and the RZA-directed Azealia Banks vehicle Love Beats Rhymes, we're getting a biopic about one of the genre's seminal figures, Roxanne Shant . Michael Larnell's film, which premiered at Sundance in 2017, stars Chant Adams as the Queensbridge MC whose epic clap back to U.T.F.O., Roxanne's Revenge, became an underground hit and sparked the Roxanne Wars of the 1980s. She can jump really high and punch people through walls, but she'd really rather just sit by herself and brood, ideally with a bottle at hand. March 8Collateral There's the whodunit and then there's the systemic whodunit. The second season promises to delve into Jessica's past, but the biggest question is whether showrunner Melissa Rosenberg can come up with a big bad as threatening and as interesting as David Tennant's mind-controlling Kilgrave was in season one. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

gain influence: If they don't end up feeling the vote was fair, that could badly undermine the international community's goal of bringing about the more inclusive government critical to maintaining a unified state and avoiding a repeat of the IS disaster, according to Metro News. Adding to the volatile mix are the Iranian-backed Shiite militias, now even more politically involved, which are allied with but not controlled by the Shiite-led Baghdad government, and appear set to gain influence that would alarm many in the region trying to check the power of Shiite, non-Arab Iran. The Sunnis, many of them in displacement camps, bore the brunt of the war's destruction and have been left so bereft that many don't even have the papers needed to register to vote. If divisions among Sunnis, Shiites and Kurds persist they could lead to more protracted talks to form a new government, potentially delaying the colossal task of rebuilding Iraq after IS overran nearly a third of the country in 2014, mostly Sunni towns, and then hung on as a U.S.-led coalition surrounded and bombarded the areas they controlled. After the ouster of Saddam Hussein, a Sunni, many Sunnis felt marginalized as parties led by Shiites were able to win elections by sheer numbers; Sunnis, in turn, felt they had lost their fair share of power. The extremist group was able to at least initially benefit from some popular support among Sunnis. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

robert jenkins: Some 5.5 million Syrians have fled civil war in their homeland since 2011, most settling in neighbouring countries where they struggle to survive, and millions more have been uprooted inside Syria, according to Metro News. The UNICEF study is the latest of six to be conducted among refugee families at six-month intervals and reflects a continued deterioration in the lives of Syrian children, said Robert Jenkins, the agency's Jordan representative. The findings by UNICEF are based on responses from about 1,000 families among Jordan's 660,000 registered refugees. The overwhelming message of this study is that Syrian refugee families are becoming increasingly vulnerable in Jordan, he told The Associated Press. In Jordan, UNICEF has a 145.7 million funding shortfall for child and youth programs in 2018. He called on donor countries to step up at a time of growing need. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

health minister: Merkel pledged to put fresh faces in her Cabinet after reaching a coalition deal this month with the centre -left Social Democrats, according to Metro News. On Monday, a congress of her party is to sign off on the coalition deal, which will still need approval from the Social Democrats' members to take effect. Chancellor Angela Merkel has named an ambitious young conservative as health minister in Germany's new government, signalling a desire to include critics in her fourth term. Her most prominent appointment Sunday was 37-year-old Jens Spahn as health minister. Other Cabinet newcomers are 45-year-old Julia Kloeckner as agriculture minister; 46-year-old Anja Karliczek as education minister and 45-year-old Helge Braun as Merkel's new chief of staff. 12 05 p.m. Spahn has been a leading advocate of a sharper conservative profile than Merkel's centrist approach. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

mohammed amanullah: Jobs are few, and there is painfully little to do, according to Toronto Star. The nightmares are relentless. Much of their food comes from aid agencies. But six months after their horrors began, the Rohingya Muslims who fled army attacks in Burma for refuge in Bangladesh feel immense consolation. They now live in the Kutupalong refugee camp outside the coastal city of Cox's Bazar. Nobody is coming to kill us, that's for sure, said Mohammed Amanullah, whose village was destroyed last year just before he left for Bangladesh with his wife and three children. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

music foundation: In terms of the black community, we do not always see enough positive representation on the big screen, said Marion Ashton of the Sankofa Arts and Music Foundation, the group that started the fundraiser, according to CBC. For the first time in a long time, we have a black superhero. A GoFund Me raised more than 5,000 to send youth to the superhero movie Black Panther. Marion Ashton is with the Sankofa Arts and Music Foundation, the group that organized the event. The fundraiser was part of the Black Panther Challenge, a movement that started in Harlem that raised money to send disadvantaged youth to see the film to celebrate Black History Month. Audrey Neveu/CBC The Sankofa Arts and Music Foundation is a non-profit that works to build healthy communities by providing youth of diverse backgrounds the chance to express themselves through the arts. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

surprise victory: They say it shows a united opposition could have a chance against Orban's Fidesz despite the party's sizable lead in opinion polls, according to CTV. From now on, the opposition can believe -- whether it's true or not -- that it's not playing in the old game where it has no chance to win, analyst Gabor Torok wrote on his website. Analysts say Peter Marki-Zay's surprise victory in Hodmezovasarhely could mark a new phase in the campaign leading up to the country's April 8 parliamentary election. Instead, a new match is beginning, where if it takes to the field with smart tactics, its situation isn't hopeless. This is the power of love, not the love of power, said Marki-Zay, a right-wing, independent candidate who ran with the support of most of the opposition. Marki-Zay, who received 57.5 per cent of the votes, compared to 41.6 for his rival, Fidesz candidate Zoltan Hegedus, said his win showed that there is an enormous demand for corruption, lies and intimidation to cease in the country. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

suvsrelated letter: But it's starkly different to how I remember it growing up, according to Vancouver Courier. It used to be lined with Vancouver Specials and now they're all luxury homes. Ya, so she could be a nominee, said Caldera, by telephone from his office in Toronto, where he works for Canadians for Tax Fairness as manager of the Beneficial Ownership Program.article continues below Trending Stories Controversial climate change activists stick it to Vancouver trucks and SUVSrelated Letter Real estate cleans money in Richmond Money laundering alleged at River Rock Casino and Resort Political policies come home to roost in Richmond's housing crisis Foreign sales peak in Richmond as Quebec ramps up investor immigrant program I loved that neighbourhood. It's become less and less lively for sure. Ten years ago those old 1970s homes sometimes called Richmond Specials locally were in reach of families with middle to upper-middle class incomes. It was common to play road hockey but you see less and less of that, said Caldera, who holds a master's degree in international communications. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

african refugees: The asylum-seekers, most of them deemed by Israel to be economic migrants rather than refugees in need of protection, can either leave voluntarily for a safe African country and receive 3,500 and a plane ticket, or face imprisonment, according to Toronto Star. The Canadian government is under the gun to resettle 1,845 of the African refugees whose sponsorship applications are currently in process, some for years. Israel is set to begin deporting some 37,000 asylum-seekers, the majority of them Sudanese and Eritreans, in April after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government issued them expulsion notices. Canada does not support policies of mass deportations of asylum-seekers. Article Continued Below As the country that resettles the highest number of African asylum-seekers from Israel, we are in direct contact with the Government of Israel to convey Canada's concerns about the situation. The rights of asylum-seekers and refugees are laid out in the Geneva Convention on the Status of Refugees, of which Israel is a signatory, said Adam Austen, press secretary for Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

balkan countries: European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker is embarking on a seven-nation Balkans tour Sunday to promote the EU's new eastward expansion strategy, according to CTV. Russia mainly wants to discourage the Western Balkan countries -- Albania, Bosnia, Macedonia, Montenegro, Kosovo and Serbia -- from joining NATO. But Moscow also is trying to deter them from joining the EU. The EU sees the prospect of membership as an incentive for reform in the volatile Balkans region, which was torn apart by war in the 1990s. The European Union finally is pushing back. Its expansion strategy puts Serbia and Montenegro in position to join should the bloc open its doors to more members, tentatively by 2025. Their bonds also have experienced lows and highs, especially since the former Yugoslavia refused to join the Soviet bloc in 1948. Serbia is a major target of Moscow's anti-Western activities in Europe because the two Slavic and predominantly Eastern Orthodox Christian nations share deep cultural and historical ties. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

canada: But his latest pursuits tend more toward the cerebral rather than the awe-inspiring adventure associated with flying fast jets and riding rockets into space, according to The Chronicle Herald. Hadfield, a former Royal Canadian Air Force test pilot who retired after more than 21 years as an astronaut, is currently on what he calls his Canada 151 tour. You see the big picture through extraterrestrial eyes. On March 1, he returns to Halifax with a show at the Rebecca Cohn Auditorium, bringing a blend of stories, images and songs combining his love for Canada with his astral viewpoint. It's kind of an introspective alien perspective on Canada in the world, but it's celebrating it from the earliest history and the geology of it and the earliest settlements from the very first peoples who came here, and how and why, and how the world works, right through to today. It's very much a celebration of Canada itself and looking at the country through a very unique perspective of someone who not only has lived outside of Canada for 26 years, as I did serving with the air force and the Canadian Space Agency, but also who has orbited the world 2,600 times and crossed Canada thousands of times, Hadfield said during a phone interview this week. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

care facility: He didn't know how to eat, didn't know how to go to the bathroom, according to CTV. Frances says. George, a hard-working Greek immigrant to Canada, was diagnosed with a brain hemorrhage at age 67, that left him mentally impaired and unable to care for himself. She wanted to look after him at home, away from a long-term care facility, but Frances knew she needed help. Frances had joined the ranks of those keeping aging and ailing parents at home, approximately one in six Canadians, over the age of 65. She hired a personal support worker, or PSW, through a government funded agency, to bathe and attend to George's personal needs. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

george hill: The Cavaliers' leader didn't change, according to Metro News. LeBron James had 18 points, 14 rebounds and 11 assists in his 11th triple-double of the season, and the Cavaliers pulled away after a slow start to beat the Memphis Grizzlies 112-89 on Friday night. Cleveland revamped its roster at the trade deadline. George Hill also scored 18 points, while Larry Nance Jr. finished with 15 and Jordan Clarkson had 14 as the newcomers had good nights in the Cavaliers' fifth win in the last six games. It's just us communicating, talking. The only loss in the stretch was on Thursday night to the Washington Wizards. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

immigration system: Trump congratulated Turnbull on your immigration reforms and on Australia's commitment to merit-based immigration, according to CTV. Are my friends from Congress listening to that Merit based, said Trump, who has been arguing for changes to turn the U.S. immigration system into one that is more focused on merit and the skills immigrants bring to the U.S., and less focused on family ties. Their relationship got off to a rocky start a year ago, but none of that was evident as they prepared to field questions from journalists in the East Room after an afternoon of talks, including about jobs. His immigration demands have upset lawmakers, mostly Democrats. It's the way to go. We want to do merit-based immigration also, Trump said, adding that such a system really protects the interest of Australia and its people. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

tawakkol karman: About 700,000 Rohingya Muslims have fled army-led violence in Buddhist-majority Myanmar since late August and are living in Bangladeshi refugee camps, according to Metro News. Myanmar's security forces have been accused of atrocities against the Rohingya, including killing, rape and arson. During their visit, Iran's Shirin Ebadi, Yemen's Tawakkol Karman and Northern Ireland's Mairead Maguire will assess the violence against the Rohingya women and the refugees' overall situation, according to the Nobel Women's Initiative, a platform of six female peace laureates established in 2006. The United Nations and the United States have described the army crackdown as ethnic cleansing. In an email to The Associated Press on Saturday, Karman said that she and her colleagues were standing in solidarity with displaced Rohingya women and calling for Rohingya women's voices to be heard. Sunday is the six-month anniversary of the start of the refugee crisis, Asia's worst since the Vietnam War. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.