campaign workers: On top of that, there was nothing that rose to the level of a criminal obstruction of justice. ; Trump's heaviest baggage The perception of those two findings leads to one inescapable conclusion Mueller has vindicated Trump, and the president was right all along on the question of collusion with the Russians, according to National Observer. For an administration that has been under a cloud for two years, that is the equivalent of hitting the political jackpot. After two years of wall-to-wall coverage of the Mueller investigation, Americans have been told that neither the president nor any of his campaign workers colluded with Russia in the 2016 presidential election. The reality of what happened this week is very different from the perception created by the rollout of what little information has been released. Which isn't to say it may not be taken as an oasis for conspiracy-fatigued Americans. ; The old saying applies here first impressions are last impressions. For that reason, Trump's claim that the Mueller report amounts to complete and total exoneration is a public relations mirage. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

ardern: While New Zealanders and Muslim communities around the world are both grieving and showing compassion for one another, they are also quite rightly asking questions on how this terror attack was able to happen here, Ardern said, according to CTV. Her Cabinet had previously agreed on holding an inquiry, but had not decided what level of investigation. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced Monday that it would hold a Royal Commission of Inquiry, the country's highest form of investigation. She said royal commissions are usually reserved for matters of the gravest public importance and that was clearly appropriate in this case. In short, the inquiry will look at what could have or should have been done to prevent the attack, Ardern said. She said the exact terms of the inquiry, including its duration, would be finalized over the next two weeks. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

decision today: The last legal restrictions on Omar Khadr were lifted when an Alberta judge ruled that a war crimes sentence for the former Guantanamo Bay prisoner has expired, according to Toronto Star. On Monday, she lifted all of Khadr's remaining conditions, meaning he will be a free man for the first time in his adult life. Chief Justice Mary Moreau found that Khadr, between years spent in custody and under strict court supervision while on bail, had more than served his original sentence. I am really happy with the decision today, and I think it's been a while, but I am happy it's here, said Khadr, speaking to media following Monday's decision. Khadr, a Canadian citizen, was first locked away in Guantanamo Bay after his father left him with a group of Islamic militants in Afghanistan in 2002, when Khadr was just 15 years old. Right now, I am going to try to focus on recovering and not worrying about having to go back to prison. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

release: She says someone was threatening to release the damaging comments, and wanted to release them before someone else did, according to CTV. Kiryakos, who was the UPC candidate for Calgary-South East, announced on Sunday night that she is stepping down. Eva Kiryakos made racist and transphobic comments on social media. I've been getting threats from someone who wants to release images of things I've said or commented on in the past, Kiryakos said in a pre-recorded video statement. Scared that my fellow candidates would be affected. At first I was scared of this person. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

caucasus region: That was also the reason I decided to become a policeman because I was exposed during my military service to blood and to fighting that took place in that time, at that area, according to National Observer. A generation later, Kniaziev is the chief of the National Police of Ukraine at a pivotal moment in his country's history. In the latter days of his military service, he was posted to the volatile Caucasus region, where ethnic conflict and strife rose amid the Soviet Union's disintegration. ; I came back to an independent Ukraine, Kniaziev said through a translator on a recent visit to Ottawa. He is now responsible for protecting the integrity of Ukraine's March 31 presidential election. I feel a great sense of responsibility, ensuring the proper elections, said Kniaziev, whose furrowed brow and strapping, thick frame suggests the presence of invisible anvils on each of his broad shoulders. The election faces daily threats from a familiar source a determined Russia bent on using cyberspace to sow disinformation to undermine the democratic ambitions of a country it still considers part of its orbit. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

guard rails: The red MAGA hats, often seen during the 2016 campaign of U.S. President Donald Trump, are considered by many to be an offensive and provocative symbol of white nationalism, according to National Observer. This confrontation in Toronto came days after a Unite Against Racism rally in Nathan Phillips Square, which paid homage to victims of the terror attack in Christchurch, New Zealand, which left 50 people dead. Between a barricade of police, bicycles and guard rails, anti-fascists shouted at men wearing Make America Great Again MAGA caps in a showdown that lasted all Saturday afternoon. ; The original far-right protest was organized by Patriots of Canada Against the Islamization of The West Pegida Canada a local chapter of a larger international movement that has been attracting and fostering hatred towards Muslims around the world. Several far-right activists attended the vigil and a fight occurred. We are fighting for justice on land with a long history of white supremacy, said a community defence volunteer for Toronto Against Fascism. Between the horns, sirens, and chants of racists go home and shut it down, the hundreds of people who showed up to counter-protest, drowned out the hate-provoking message of the Pegida Canada activists who numbered less than two dozen. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

arrival advisor: Arrival Advisor is a welcome to Canada, said Patrick Estey with Vancouver based non-profit Peace Geeks, according to CTV. Arrival Advisor is an app connecting thousands of immigrants and refugees to some of the first services they'll need. Now there's an app to help them navigate through that. Anything from money and banking, to driver's licences, enrolling a child in daycare, Estey said. Other languanges, such as Chinese, Korean, Punjabi and Tagalog, will soon be available. It's all right there and available in English, Arabic and French. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

bobby kennedy: Life magazine had published a Generation Gap cover the previous spring, when Bobby Kennedy had won in Indiana, and the war in Vietnam dragged horrifically on, and an uncle smoked pot with his nephew in order to write about the experience for the magazine, according to Toronto Star. It expanded my consciousness. The only jeans the Fishers did sell were Levi's, alongside records and tapes, under a retail banner that played on the concept of the Generation Gap consumer. No kidding. Levi Strauss CEO Chip Bergh, left, was joined by CFO Harmit Singh at the New York Stock Exchange Thursday, when the 166-year-old company went public for the second time. I cite this piece of trivia in homage, really, to the tenacity and resurgence of Levi's long after the disappearance of Landlubber and slush-sucking Howicks and name-your-teenage-jeans and long after Gap became a force in the denim market with its own branded offerings. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

canadian colleagues: Living the dream, according to Toronto Star. Mohammed Hakmi, right, visits his new workplace, high-tech firm Bonfire Interactive in Kitchener, for the first time on Friday. The warm smiles from his new Canadian colleagues at Bonfire Interactive stand in stark contrast to the hostile stares he faced in Beirut, where every day on his way to work he passed a billboard warning Syrian refugees they're not welcome to work and shouldn't take jobs away from Lebanese. Peter Power / For The Toronto Star Mohammed Hakmi, chats with Kris Braun, Director of Engineering at Bonfire Interactive, during a weekly lunchtime share session Friday with Hakmi's new colleagues on the engineering team. The Syrian refugee officially starts his job next month. Peter Power / For The Toronto Star Mohammed Hakmi, who recently arrived in Canada, visits his new workplace, high-tech firm, Bonfire Interactive in Kitchener for the first time on Friday. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

id card: Among the victims in Ogossogou were pregnant women, small children and the elderly, according to a Peuhl group known as Tabital Pulaaku, according to CTV. Graphic video obtained by The Associated Press shows the aftermath of Saturday's attack, with many victims burned inside their homes. An ethnic Dogon militia already blamed for scores of attacks in central Mali over the past year attacked an ethnic Peuhl village just before dawn on Saturday. A small child's body is covered with a piece of fabric, and at one point an ID card is shown covered with blood. At least 55 people were wounded and the UN mission in Mali said it was working to ensure the wounded were evacuated. In the capital of Bamako, visiting UN Security Council President Francois Delattre, condemned the killings as an unspeakable attack late Saturday. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

reggio emilia: The prosecutor's office in the northern province of Reggio Emilia has opened a manslaughter investigation, and the infant will undergo an autopsy, according to CTV. The tragedy follows a botched home circumcision of a 2-year-old who died of severe blood loss in December in Rome. The ANSA news agency reported that the 5-month-old baby was brought to a hospital in Bologna by helicopter in cardiac arrest on Friday afternoon and died that night. In that case, his twin brother nearly died, too, but survived following intensive care treatment. Many immigrants in Italy are Muslim and practice circumcision for cultural and religious reasons, but sometimes have trouble accessing the practice in hospitals. Circumcision is not practiced among Italy's Roman Catholic majority. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

sunday: The Justice Department said Sunday that special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation did not find evidence that President Donald Trump's campaign conspired or coordinated with Russia to influence the 2016 presidential election, according to Toronto Star. Alex Brandon / AP Photo The letter from Attorney General William Barr to Congress on the conclusions reached by special counsel Robert Mueller in the Russia probe photographed on Sunday, March 24, 2019. President Donald Trump speaks with the media after stepping off Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House, Sunday, March 24, 2019, in Washington. Jon Elswick / AP Photo Helen Jones poses for a photo in downtown Salt Lake City on Saturday, March 232019. Jeff Baenen / AP Photos William Braasch, 36, of Detroit, poses for a photo in Detroit on Sunday, March 24, 2019. Lindsay Whitehurst / AP Photo Nora Kubiaczyk poses for a photo in downtown Minneapolis on Sunday, March 24, 2019. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

brexit: Marchers carried European Union flags and signs praising the longstanding ties between Britain and continental Europe, according to CTV. The protest drew people from across Britain who are determined to force Prime Minister Theresa May's government to alter its march toward Brexit. The People's Vote March snaked from Park Lane and other locations to converge on the U.K. Parliament, where the fate of Brexit will be decided in the coming weeks. May also is coming under rising pressure from her own Conservative Party to either step down or set a date for her resignation as her political support continues to wilt. Conservative Party legislator George Freeman tweeted that a new leader is needed. The coming week is seen as crucial as political rivals jockey for position to succeed her. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

drive isis: The grueling 4 1/2-year campaign to drive ISIS from the territories it once held has left entire towns and neighbourhoods in ruins, in both war-torn Syria and Iraq, according to CTV. If the long-standing grievances of Sunni Muslims in both countries continue to fester, the extremists could rise again. ------ WHAT HAS ENDED EXACTLY What is over is the Islamic State group's physical caliphate, after the Syrian Democratic Forces, a Kurdish-led group supported by the United States, declared on Saturday the capture of the last tiny patch of territory controlled by the militants, in the eastern Syrian village of Baghouz. But ISIS, which traces its roots back to the bloody emergence of al Qaeda in Iraq after the 2003 U.S.-led invasion, has survived past defeats and is already waging a low-level insurgency in areas it was driven from months or even years ago. That domain once stretched over large parts of Syria and Iraq, which the group conquered in a blitz in the summer of 2014, capturing towns and cities, including Mosul, Iraq's second-largest. At its height, the territory was the size of Britain, stretching from near the northern Syrian town of Aleppo to the outskirts of the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, and home to 8 million people. The fighters bulldozed berms along the border and proclaimed a contiguous caliphate stretching across a third of both countries. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

top-shelf candidate: The senator from Vermont was an insurgent outsider three years ago in a head-to-head race against Hillary Clinton, the former first lady, U.S. senator and secretary of state whose grip on the Democratic nomination was effectively unshakeable by the time California's primary was held in June that year, according to CTV. When Sanders heads to San Diego on Friday for the first of three California campaign rallies, the self-described democratic socialist will be asking for votes in a Democratic contest in which he's a top-shelf candidate. This time around, everything has changed. He'll be campaigning in a state that could be pivotal to choosing the Democratic nominee. Sanders attracted a throng of cheering supporters to an outdoor rally Friday in San Diego, where he promised to win California in 2020 and railed against President Donald Trump's leadership. And unlike the state's end-of-the-line primary in 2016, California is voting near the front of the pack this time in March 2020 with hundreds of delegates at stake. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

networking conference: Karl Rove, former senior advisor in George W. Bush's administration, was the keynote speaker at an annual gathering of Canadian conservatives in Canada's capital the Manning Networking Conference, according to National Observer. So when Rove sat down with former federal Reform Party leader Preston Manning, it was no surprise that he was asked about the news that U.S. special counsel Robert Mueller had turned in his report stemming from the law enforcement and counterintelligence investigation into Russia's interference in the 2016 election. ; I'm in the minority of my party on this. As a prominent Republican strategist took to the stage in Ottawa, there was big news breaking south of the border, concerning the Republican-controlled White House where he once used to work. ; If there was collusion, we'd know about it, Karl Rove told an Ottawa crowd of conservatives on a Friday night. I know Bob Mueller. Rove also said because the Trump campaign leaked information so heavily to media sources no campaign, in my experience, has leaked worse than the Donald Trump campaign then that suggested something about the campaign's innocence. He's a really good man, and he's a straight arrow, said Rove.U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly attacked Mueller's investigation as a witch hunt while many key Republicans have refused to condemn presidential broadsides against the Justice Department. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

alexander avenue: The intersection, which currently has a pedestrian corridor with overhead signs and flashing lights, is near another pedestrian corridor at Isabel Street and Alexander Avenue, where on Monday at around 12 p.m. a four-year-old girl was fatally struck by a vehicle, according to CTV. IRCOM executive director Dorota Blumczynska said the organization expressed concerns to the city about the Isabel Street and Ross Avenue crossing a year and a half ago. The Immigrant and Refugee Community Organization of Manitoba and a Winnipeg city councillor want a traffic signal light to be installed at the intersection of Isabel Street and Ross Avenue. In a letter about the crossing dated Sept.1, 2017, Blumczynska said children use it to attend school and community programand they face speeding vehicles and motorists who don't stop. At any given point these crosswalks are activated dozens of times a day and, regrettably, they don't provide the community with the safety that they have a right to so that they can cross the road, said Blumczynska. In an interview on Friday, Blumczynska said she's disappointed nothing has changed. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

brexit deal: We are prepared for the worst but hope for the best, European Council President Donald Tusk said Friday, according to CTV. As you know, hope dies last. Almost three years after Britons voted to walk away from the EU, the bloc's leaders seized control of the Brexit timetable from May to avert a chaotic departure at the end of this month that would be disruptive for the world's biggest trading bloc and deeply damaging for Britain. May's mantra since Britain's EU membership referendum in 2016 has always been about taking back control of U.K. affairs from the EU. But the process has seen her lose control -- of the U.K. Parliament, which has twice rejected her Brexit deal, and now of Britain's date of departure. At marathon late night talks Thursday in Brussels, they rejected May's request to extend the Brexit deadline from March 29 until June 30. In a move that underlined their loss of confidence in May, EU leaders set two deadlines for Britain to leave the bloc of nearly half a billion people or to take an entirely new path in considering its EU future. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

court case: Erika Horvath, 30, and son Ferenc Tibor Sallai, 11, arrived in Canada in October 2011, according to Toronto Star. They were among the Roma litigants in the Federal Court case and were granted permanent residence on humanitarian grounds in 2017. On Wednesday, Justice Keith Boswell declared it is unconstitutional for Ottawa to treat refugees from so-called safe countries differently from other refugees when it comes to being assessed to determine if deporting them would put them in danger. SUPPLIED PHOTO The ruling followed two previous court decisions that saw some of the other key elements of reforms enacted by the then-Conservative government knocked down and dismantled. It was ill-conceived, ill-thought out. The system they created is a total failure, a flop, said veteran refugee lawyer Lorne Waldman, who was not involved in the court challenge. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

ice: Pence's visit Thursday, March 21, 2019, to Atlanta included a stop at the Immigration and Customs Enforcement's field office and a conversation about the broader mission of border security, according to Toronto Star. He also blasted Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms over her decision last year to bar the city jail from holding federal immigration detainees and thanked the men and women who work for ICE. Andrew Harnik, File / AP Photo Pence highlighted some of the ICE arrests made in the area, including one Wednesday night in Riverdale, Georgia, news outlets reported. He also blasted Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms over her decision last year to bar the city jail from holding federal immigration detainees and thanked the men and women who work for ICE. File-This March 13, 2019, file photo shows Vice President Mike Pence speaking to Customs and Border Patrol agents and agents-in-training at the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Advanced Training Facility in Harpers Ferry, W. Va. Atlanta and Georgia are safer today because of the outstanding work of the men and women of ICE in Georgia, Pence said. Trump has vetoed Congress' move. The visit also comes amid President Donald Trump's declaring a national emergency at the U.S.-Mexico border in an attempt to get more than 8 billion for a border wall a move Congress tried to block last week. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

staff metroland: The new 26-member council elected last October started afresh Dec. 1, according to Toronto Star. Jim Karygiannis was the top spender among Toronto city councillors in 2018. Office expenses released Friday cover Jan. 1 to Nov. 30, the end of the term for Mayor John Tory and 44 councillors. David Rider Toronto city councillor Michael Ford spent the least amount of money on expenses last year. The expenses do not include salaries for council office staff, some travel expenses or spending related to extra duties such as TTC chair. Staff/Metroland file photo Top council spenders were Jim Karygiannis 55.554.98 ; Neethan Shan 51,457.17 ; Ana Bail o 49,652.06 ; Anthony Perruzza 47,536.56 ; and Giorgio Mammoliti 46,819.79 . Shan and Mammoliti both lost their re-election bids. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

jewish groups: During Friday afternoon prayer tomorrow, several Jewish groups are planning to show their solidarity with the city's Muslim community by circling several mosques in a gesture of support for those who grieve, according to CTV. This is very much from the heart, Rabbi Cory Weiss, a rabbi with the Temple Har Zion in Thornhill, Ont., told CTV News Channel on Thursday. Last week, a gunman entered a pair of mosques in Christchurch, N.Z., killing 50 worshippers and injuring dozens more. We're paying respect and we're grieving together. Daryoush Kari, chair of the board of trustees for the Imam Mahdi Mosque in Markham, Ont., said the support is certainly welcome. We understand the pain the community is feeling and we want them to know that we're there with them. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

asylum seekers: Two men, both of Honduras, walk with attorneys as they cross into the United States to begin their asylum cases, Tuesday, March 19, 2019, in Tijuana, Mexico, according to Toronto Star. A group of about five men were on their way to report for their first hearing under a new policy to make asylum seekers wait in Mexico while their case winds through U.S. immigration court. The judge's refusal was a setback for the administration's highly touted initiative to make asylum seekers wait in Mexico while their cases wind through U.S. immigration courts. Gregory Bull / AP Photo Two men, both of Honduras, gather with attorneys to pray before crossing into the United States to begin their asylum cases after being returned to Mexico, Tuesday, March 19, 2019, in Tijuana, Mexico. Gregory Bull / AP Photo In this Tuesday, March 19, 2019 file photo, a van carrying asylum seekers from the border is escorted by security personnel as it arrives to immigration court, in San Diego. A group of about five men were on their way to report for their first hearing under a new policy to make asylum seekers wait in Mexico while their case winds through U.S. immigration court. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

bottom line: Ahmad Zeina, centre, 5, swings with his siblings Mohammad, left, 11, and Noor, 7, at the Syrian refugees' family home in Queensland, N.S., in 2016, according to Toronto Star. Darren Calabrese / The Canadian Press The bottom line We want more newcomers to make Halifax home, he told a large crowd of academics, policy-makers and front line workers from the field of immigration settlement. Savage highlighted his position on the matter at the National Metropolis Conference hosted at the Halifax Convention Centre on Thursday, involving talks on national immigration trends, policies and other issues. But as Savage put it, he and other municipal leaders often feel like the kids at the table when it comes to making policy decisions that affect the attraction and retention of immigrants. It hasn't happened because the province hasn't granted permission. One example In 2014, Halifax council voted in favour of a motion from Savage to allow permanent residents to vote in elections. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

poll: The winners, in turn, will elect the members of the Dutch parliament's upper house in May, according to CTV. Results from an IPSOS exit poll published by national broadcaster NOS showed the euroskeptic, anti-immigration Forum for Democracy party winning 10 seats after fielding candidates in provincial races for the first time. The elections held Wednesday were for 570 legislators in provincial governments. Prime Minister Mark Rutte's People's Party for Freedom and Democracy dropped from 13 to 12 seats, the poll found. The IPSOS poll had a one-seat margin of error. The Forum for Democracy, led by flamboyant populist Thierry Baudet, 36, is battling the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy to become the biggest party in the national Senate. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

driver: The boy's father immigrated in 2001 and Ramy was born in Italy, according to CTV. He is credited with helping save his classmates by calling authorities on a phone that was missed when the driver collected their devices. Luigi Di Maio said Thursday that Ramy Shehata put his life at risk to save that of his classmates, and that he would ask Italy's premier to confer citizenship for special merit. Law enforcement officers stopped the bus near Milan, and freed the 51 children and their chaperones before the driver set it on fire. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.