CBC to show Air India doc on bombing anniversary

GUY DIXON
Globe and Mail

Toronto — CBC Television will air the new documentary Air India 182 commercial-free on June 22, the 23rd anniversary of the date on which the fateful flight took off from Toronto toward New Delhi in 1985, only to be blown up near the coast of Ireland.

The film by director Sturla Gunnarsson, who is married into a Sikh family, caused a stir at the recent Hot Docs festival in Toronto with its portrayal of the alleged bomb plot by Sikh extremists, on-camera interviews with intelligence agents involved in the botched investigation and first-person accounts by the family members of the victims involved in the worst mass murder in Canadian history.

Chinese performers cry foul

Calgary Herald; Canwest News Service

CALGARY - A Chinese performing arts group is demanding the federal government expel the Chinese consul general in Calgary, claiming Wu Xinjian caused local tourism agencies to withdraw support for its production.

New Tang Dynasty TV Canada -- local producers of the Divine Performing Arts Chinese Spectacular -- says the Chinese Consulate warned Travel Alberta and Tourism Calgary against sponsoring the show, because it depicts China's persecution of followers of the spiritual movement Falun Gong.

The production, now playing in Calgary, comes to Edmonton's Jubilee Auditorium May 5-7.

"(The Chinese government) doesn't like people learning about Falun Gong and they don't like positive portrayals of Falun Gong," said Caylan Ford, a spokeswoman for New Tang Dynasty Television (NTDTV), a non-profit Chinese language station affiliated with the New York-based dance troupe.

Ford said Travel Alberta had offered to help arrange for the group to travel to Banff, while Tourism Calgary was to co-host the show. But after coming under pressure from Consul General Wu Xinjian, both organizations rescinded their support, says Ford -- a claim both organizations deny.

© The Edmonton Journal 2008

Two Canadian pro-Tibet activists deported from HKong ahead of torch arrival

Min Lee, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
HONG KONG - Three pro-Tibet activists, two of them Canadians, who planned to protest during Hong Kong's leg of the Olympic torch relay were deported after they arrived at the territory's airport Tuesday, activists said.

Activists said Kate Woznow and Tsering Lama, organizers of Students for a Free Tibet, and Matt Whitticase, organizer of the Free Tibet Campaign were turned away after arriving in Hong Kong on Tuesday.

A fourth activist - an organizer for an independent Chinese writers' group - also was turned away on Tuesday. Three Danish activists were also deported over the weekend, ahead of the Olympic torch's arrival in Hong Kong on Wednesday. The flame's return to Chinese soil follows a global tour marred by protests against Beijing's human rights record and its recent crackdown in Tibet.

Mia Farrow is due to arrive here Thursday to raise awareness about fighting in Sudan's Darfur region. Activists such as the 63-year-old actress want China to press Sudan to let United Nations peacekeepers into Darfur.

Hong Kong, a former British colony now ruled by China, is supposed to enjoy western-style civil liberties such as freedom of expression that are denied in the mainland. It grants visa-free entry to many westerners, raising the prospects of demonstrations.

Authorities plan to deploy 3,000 officers to guard the flame, which was carried through Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, earlier Tuesday - the last international leg of the relay.

Woznow, a Canadian and former Vancouver resident, told The Associated Press she was put on a return flight to New York. Whitticase, a British citizen, was booked on a return flight to London, Free Tibet Campaign spokeswoman Claire Cooper said.

Tsering Lama, an ethnic Tibetan Canadian citizen, was deported back to Toronto, Canada, Students for a Free Tibet spokeswoman Lhadon Tethong said.

Separately, Zhang Yu, general secretary of the Independent Chinese PEN Center, was detained for at least seven hours at the airport before being put on a plane to Paris late Tuesday, Hong Kong Journalists Association general secretary Mak Yin-ting said Wednesday.

Zhang, who is based in Sweden, was planning to attend a four-day writers' and artists' conference calling for freedom of expression in China that coincided with the torch relay, Mak said.

In a phone call from the plane before takeoff, Woznow said immigration officials questioned her about her trip but gave no reason for turning her away.

Woznow accused the Hong Kong government of caving in to pressure from Beijing.

"I really thought that Hong Kong authorities were different from Beijing," she said.

On Saturday, three Danish human rights activists were detained and deported. Danish sculptor Jens Galschiot and his two sons were questioned for six hours and then put on a flight to Denmark, a cameraman travelling with them said.

Galschiot sculpted the "The Pillar of Shame," which depicts 50 twisted human bodies to mourn victims of the 1989 military crackdown on pro-democracy protests in Tiananmen Square.

Hong Kong Secretary for Security Ambrose Lee met with Danish Consul General Jorgen Mollegaard and European Union and French diplomats Tuesday to discuss Galschiot's case, a government spokesman said.

Mollegaard did not immediately return a call seeking comment.

Mark Allison, a spokesman for Amnesty International's Hong Kong branch, urged the government to explain the grounds for the deportations.

Also on Tuesday, the government of Nepal said it had deported American mountaineer William Brant Holland of Midlothian, Va., for violating regulations by bringing a "Free Tibet" banner to the Mount Everest base camp. It also ordered a BBC news crew out of the camp.

Nepal, not wanting to hurt relations with Beijing, is trying to enforce a strict ban on protests during China's upcoming Olympic torch relay to the summit of the world's highest mountain. Dozens of armed Nepalese soldiers have been posted at Mount Everest's base camp and at Camp 2, a lower stop for mountaineers.

The relay up Everest will take place on the Chinese side of the mountain. But Nepal's government, under pressure from Beijing, has posted soldiers on its side and banned climbing near the summit from May 1-10.

Climbers will not be allowed to go past Everest's Camp 2 - at 6,500 metres - until after the Chinese finish their torch relay on the mountain, sometime in May when weather permits.

© The Canadian Press, 2008

Factors at age 15 account for more women at universities, StatsCan says

(CBC) - The academic advantages girls have at age 15 largely explain why they outnumber males in university classes, two Statistics Canada researchers say.

Marc Frenette and Klarka Zeman set out to examine why men, who represented the majority of university graduates in 1971, became a minority in 1991 and were outnumbered by women 3-to-2 in 2006.

"The results of their analysis suggest that more than three-quarters (76.8 per cent) of the gender gap in the university participation rate can be accounted for by differences in observable characteristics between boys and girls" at age 15, Statistics Canada said Tuesday.

The main factors, in order of importance, are:

- Differences in school marks.
- Standardized reading test scores.
- Time spent on homework.
- Parental expectations.

Fewer than a third of boys report marks of at least 80 per cent, the report said, compared with almost half of girls. And 8.5 per cent of boys said they spent no time doing homework, compared with 2.5 per cent of girls.

Parents with higher education are more likely to have children - boys and girls - who go to university, but "parental income ... is very weakly associated with university participation, once other socio-economic characteristics are taken into account," the Statistics Canada release said.

But there is a slight gender difference: parental income is completely irrelevant in determining if a boy will go to university, while for girls, higher parental income is associated with a greater probability of attending university.

Likewise, parental expectations have a stronger effect on girls than on boys. Despite parental worries about peer pressure, "there is no significant statistical relationship between the future plans of peers and the probability of attending university."

Boys and girls with two parents at home were more likely to attend university than those who grew up with a single parent.

The release said there has been a "dramatic reversal" in the balance of sexes on Canadian university campuses. In the 1971 census, 68 per cent of 25- to 29-year-old university graduates were male.

By 1991, women were a slight majority, and by 2006 they accounted for 60 per cent of graduates.

In another measure, by 2003 nearly 40 per cent of 19-year-old women had attended university, compared with just over 25 per cent of men.

Apple's iPhone expected to attract high-end consumers in Canada

Luann Lasalle, THE CANADIAN PRESS
MONTREAL - The hip, fashionable and much-anticipated iPhone is finally on its way to Canadian consumers, who will likely have to dig deep into their pockets to pay for the high-end smartphone.

Telecom giant Rogers Communications Inc. (TSX:RCI.B) announced Tuesday it will be the exclusive carrier to bring Apple Inc.'s iPhone to Canada later this year.

There's no word yet on pricing for the iPhone, which has a touchscreen keypad and allows users to play music, watch movies, surf the Internet and manage personal information.

But it's expected to be pricey for consumers, say analysts.

"This will go to someone who doesn't blink at paying $100 per month or more in subscription fees for both voice and data," said analyst Carmi Levy.

"It's absolutely a high-end product targeted at a high-end consumer and at a high-end, style-conscious consumer, which has been AT&T's experience in the U.S.," said Levy of Toronto's AR Communications Inc.

The iPhone went on sale 10 months ago in the United States through an exclusive agreement with carrier AT&T. It also has been for sale for several months in Europe.

Canadians who have bought iPhones in the last 10 months have had to get them cracked - or unlocked - to get them to work on domestic carriers.

An eight-gigabyte model goes for US$399 and a 16 gigabyte model sells for US$499. Data plans start at US$59.99 and consumers must sign a two-year service agreement with AT&T.

"This is for somebody who already either has a smartphone and wants a better experience or wants to take a whole lot of multimedia movies and music with them on the road and isn't happy with the kind of device that has been available up until now," Levy said.

Rogers and Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) provided few details about Tuesday's announcement.

"We're excited to be working with Rogers to bring the iPhone to Canada later this year, and we can't wait to get this revolutionary phone in the hands of even more people around the world," Apple spokeswoman Jennifer Bowcock said from Cupertino, Calif.

Apple is forecasting that it will sell 10 million iPhones worldwide by the end of this year and Rogers currently has the only GSM networks capable of handling Apple's first phone in Canada.

Apple is working to create the next generation of applications for the iPhone, which could be why the phone's introduction to Canada will be delayed until later this year.

The iPhone's upcoming Canadian debut will also challenge Research in Motion's (TSX:RIM) BlackBerry, bringing new competition for consumers' hearts and wallets.

UBS analyst Jeffrey Fan said there's plenty of opportunity for both the BlackBerry and the iPhone.

"The wireless data market in Canada and also globally is still very under-penetrated," Fan said from Toronto.

"So there's more than enough room, in my opinion, that both Apple and RIM can be successful in that market given the low penetration and opportunities," Fan said.

Fan also noted that he expects the iPhone to generate revenue for Rogers because of the kind of high-end customer it will attract.

"We think the iPhone attracts higher data users," he said. "We would expect that the average revenue per user coming from the iPhone for Rogers would be higher than the average revenue user that they have within their base."

New York-based ABI Research Inc. has said the "iPhone effect is truly filtering through the handset market" as competitors try not to lose any edge.

"Features that look set to proliferate and become central to enhancing user interface experiences include touchscreens, touchpads...." said ABI, which looks at the impact of emerging technologies on consumers and business markets.

ABI also said that by 2013, one in every three phones sold will be a smartphone.

Smartphones allow users to do things such as send e-mails, surf the Internet and watch videos.

Levy added the BlackBerry vs. the iPhone debate is good for the smartphone market and shows these phones are here to stay.

"This is a market that's in its very early stages and there's huge opportunities for both Apple and Research in Motion to find audiences that they haven't previously found."

© The Canadian Press, 2008

Microsoft delays Windows XP update

(CBC) - Microsoft Corp. has delayed the latest upgrade to Windows XP, its older operating system, citing "compatibility issues" between the software and its point-of-sale application for small- and medium-sized businesses.

Microsoft last week said it had finished work on Windows XP Service Pack 3 and it would be available for download on Tuesday.

But in tests over the past few days, the company found incompatibilities in an application called Microsoft Dynamics RMS, which is management software designed for small and medium businesses, so it is holding off on releasing the update.

The problem also extends to an update to Microsoft's newer operating system, Vista.

"To help protect our customers, we plan to put filtering in place shortly to prevent Windows Update from offering both service packs to systems running Microsoft Dynamics RMS. Once filtering is in place, we expect to release Windows XP SP3 to Windows Update and Download Center," the company told PC Magazine. "Until we have published a fix for this issue, we advise Microsoft Dynamics RMS customers to not install either service pack."

The company is putting filters in place to prevent users running Dynamics RMS from downloading the updates. Once the filters are turned on, Microsoft said it will release the packs for customers that aren't running the management software, although it did not specify when that might be.

The XP update will add networking and security improvements, and provide better compatibility with Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 security credential providers, the company has said.

U.S. House speaker approves study of tie-ups at Canada-U.S. border

Beth Gorham, THE CANADIAN PRESS
WASHINGTON - U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is spearheading a study this summer on ways to speed up trade and travel at the Canada-U.S. border so Congress can be ready with a plan for the next American administration.

Pelosi, a Democrat and the most powerful politician in the House of Representatives, met this week with Canadian politicians worried about tie-ups that are costing businesses money and frustrating travellers.

All border concerns will be on the table, Conservative MP Rob Merrifield said Friday.

"She understands the issues very well," said Merrified, co-chair of the Canada-U.S. Inter-Parliamentary Group. "She was very well briefed."

Canadian officials say a new administration in January will provide opportunities to promote concerns about border wait times, regardless of who wins the White House.

New York Representative Louise Slaughter, a champion of delaying the passport rule for cross-border travellers until June 2009, is also involved in the effort.

"Especially during this time of economic turbulence, our two nations must continue an open dialgoue to maintain the mutually beneficial economic relationship we have shared for over 200 years," Slaughter said.

Canada and businesses in both countries have been sounding alarm bells about the border for some time, particularly after delays hit up to three hours at some crossings last summer - the longest since the 2001 terrorist attacks.

Yet travel is down, said Senator Jerry Grafstein, who also chairs the parliamentary group. Two-way trips have fallen from 175 million a year to some 135 million.

John van Dongen, British Columbia's intergovernmental minister, blames that on uncertainty about what documents are required and the sheer hassles of waiting.

The fact that the U.S. Homeland Security Department has agreed to delay requiring passports at land and sea crossings helps, he said.

But there's a lot to do before next June, he said, such as getting more people using fast-track programs like Nexus and enhanced driver's licences that will be offered in some states and provinces as altenatives to passports.

Some 520 people in British Columbia are already using the high-technology licences denoting citizenship in a pilot project with Washington state. They will be offered to everyone in the province next spring.

Ontario and Quebec are also planning to develop the licences, which will cost less than passports.

Van Dongen would like to see the two countries work on a target for an acceptable processing time for low-risk travellers.

"We don't see an appropriate balance. There's an unstated objective of zero risk. But long lineups don't necessarily translate into zero risk."

Officials blame inordinate delays on several facors, including inadequate infrastructure, too few border agents, more inspections and faulty computers.

A report in February from the Canadian and U.S. chambers of commerce focused on practical measures to reduce wait times and costs.

They include waiving new inspection fees for some Canadian businesses, a pilot project to expedite low-risk food shipments and offering round-the-clock border services at all major crossings.

Canada is also eager to resurrect plans to ease congestion by moving American customs operations to the Canadian side.

Homeland Security nixed a pilot project last year at the Peace Bridge linking New York and Ontario.

The parliamentary group also talked with several U.S. legislators about anti-NAFTA campaign rhetoric from the Democratic contenders, said Grafstein, and many agreed all the talk about renegotiating the deal has become extreme.

Both Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama have threatened to withdraw from the 14-year-old free trade pact if it isn't renegotiated to include protections for workers and the environment.

"Nobody said they wanted to withdraw from NAFTA," said Grafstein.

"I think everybody pretty well agrees the rhetoric is extreme and we'll get back to business in January."

© The Canadian Press, 2008

Chinese investigation says speeding caused train collision that killed 70

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
ZIBO, China - Investigators blamed speeding Tuesday for China's worst train accident in a decade, which killed at least 70 people and injured more than 400.

The finding was announced by an investigation panel set up by China's cabinet, the State Council, according to the official Xinhua News Agency. It came just a little more than 24 hours after the two passenger trains collided in Shandong province in eastern China.

The investigation found one of the trains was travelling at 130 kilometres per hour before the accident, far over the section's speed limit of 80 kilometres per hour, Xinhua said.

The train, heading from Beijing to the coastal city of Qingdao - site of the sailing competition in this summer's Olympics - jumped its tracks and collided with an oncoming train on another track.

The government has already sacked two railway officials over the accident. Xinhua did not say if the engineers of the trains had survived the crash, or whether they were being held as part of the investigation.

Work crews using heavy cranes have cleared the tracks of damaged rail cars, with the line reopening to traffic early Tuesday.

Seventy of the 416 people injured in the crash were in critical condition in hospitals, according to Xinhua. No foreigners were among the dead. Injured survivors included four French citizens, a Chinese national sailing team coach and a three-year-old boy.

One middle-aged woman said she was lucky she was awake when the accident happened.

"I was awake, I just got back from using the bathroom," said the woman, who would not give her name because her relatives did not know she was hurt.

"People who were sleeping, they got crushed to death and wouldn't even know it," she said at the Zibo Central Hospital.

The woman, who had gauze wrapped around her head, said the crash lasted about one minute. "I crawled out of a window. Anywhere there was space to get out, people were trying to get out," she said.

A 12-year-old at the same hospital lay on a bed in the hallway cuddling a stuffed toy dog.

"I was sleeping so I don't remember much. I don't even know how I got here," said the boy, who had a broken leg.

About 1,000 soldiers and armed police were sent to the crash site to seal it off and help with the rescue work, Xinhua said.

Trains are the most popular way to travel in China, and the country's overloaded rail network carried 1.36 billion passengers last year. While accidents are rare, the government is trying to extend and upgrade the state-run rail network and introduce more high-speed trains.

Xinhua said the director of the Railway Bureau in Jinan, the nearest big city, and the bureau's Communist party secretary were both sacked after the crash and face an investigation by the Ministry of Railways.

It was the second major railway accident in Shandong this year. In January, 18 people died when a train hurtling through the night at more than 120 km/h slammed into a group of about 100 workers carrying out track maintenance near the city of Anqiu.

Monday's accident was the worst train crash in China since 1997, when another collision killed 126 people.

© The Canadian Press, 2008

Ontario legislature meeting in rare Sunday session to end Toronto transit strike

THE CANADIAN PRESS
TORONTO - Ontario's legislature meets in a rare Sunday session this afternoon to put an end to the surprise Toronto transit strike.

Premier Dalton McGuinty issued the call to the province's politicians on Saturday amid pressure to get the 9,000 workers back on the job.

Both opposition leaders have pledged to support the bill, which imposes fines on individuals and the union if they don't heed the back-to-work order.

If all goes smoothly, subway trains, streetcars and buses should be rolling well before Monday's commuter rush begins - welcome relief to the 1.5 million people who use transit weekdays.

The city was caught flat-footed when the transit workers walked out with barely any notice at midnight Friday night after rejecting a tentative contract.

Mediated talks on Saturday produced no settlement on the issues, which will be subject under the legislation to arbitration.

© The Canadian Press, 2008

NKorean tries to set himself on fire during Seoul torch run

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
SEOUL, South Korea - A North Korean defector tried to set himself on fire to halt the Olympic torch relay through Seoul Sunday, while thousands of police guarded the flame from protesters blasting China's treatment of North Korean refugees.

Hundreds of China supporters waving the Chinese flag greeted the torch, throwing rocks at anti-Beijing demonstrators.

Police ran alongside the flame and rode horses and bicycles on the relay across the city, which hosted the 1988 Olympics.

The torch relay has become a lightning rod for anti-China demonstrations. At other stops, protesters have focused their ire on Beijing's recent crackdown on anti-government riots in Tibet. But in South Korea, China's treatment of North Korean defectors has taken centre stage.

Thousands of North Koreans, fleeing lives of hardship in a country that restricts all civil liberties, have escaped across the loosely controlled Chinese border, rather than attempt the heavily fortified frontier with the South. Many live in hiding in China, where if caught, they are deported back home to face imprisonment in life-threatening conditions.

The man who tried to immolate himself, 45-year-old Son Jong Hoon, had led an unsuccessful public campaign to save his brother from execution in the North, where he was accused of spying after the two met secretly in China. About an hour into the relay, Son poured gasoline on himself and tried to light himself on fire, but police stopped him.

At the start of the relay, a protester rushed toward the Olympic flame and tried to unfurl a banner calling for China to respect the rights of North Korean refugees. Dozens of police surrounding the torch quickly whisked him away. As it approached the city centre, another North Korean defector also tried to impede the run and was arrested.

Some 8,000 officers were deployed across the South Korean capital to guard the torch on its 25-kilometre run from Olympic Park - built to commemorate the 1988 Summer Games here - to City Hall.

The first runner, the South's Korean Olympic Committee head Kim Jung-kil, jogged out of the park surrounded by police on horseback, on bicycles, in buses and on foot.

Hundreds of Chinese also paced the torch. They carried a large red Chinese flag, chanting "Go China, go Olympics!"

Scuffles broke out near the park between a group of 500 Chinese supporters and about 50 demonstrators. The Chinese side threw stones and water bottles at the others as some 2,500 police tried to keep the two groups apart.

A rock hit a journalist in the head, but there were apparently no other injuries.

"The Olympics are not a political issue," said Sun Cheng, 22, a Chinese student studying the Korean language in Seoul. "I can't understand why the Korean activist groups are protesting human rights or other diplomatic issues."

Seoul is one of the last stops on the torch's international tour, which ends when the flame arrives in Hong Kong on Wednesday. On Sunday, three human rights activists who planned to protest the relay in Hong Kong were barred from entering the Chinese-ruled territory, local media and the one of the activists said.

The torch heads next to North Korea for its first-ever run in the communist country on Monday. Disruptions were not expected in the North, an authoritarian state that tolerates no dissent.

© The Canadian Press, 2008

Alberta to debate ban on using cellphones while driving

(CBC) - For the second time in six years, the Alberta government will debate whether using hand-held cellphones while driving should be prohibited.

Calgary MLA Art Johnston, a Conservative, introduced a private member's bill Thursday that would ban using hand-held devices for making phone calls and sending text messages and e-mails while driving.

"I want to get the hands back on the steering wheel as you know we're taught when we're very young," said Johnston, a former police officer who represents the riding of Calgary-Hays.

Johnston's bill, which received first reading in the legislature Thursday, would allow drivers to use only hands-free devices while a vehicle is in motion.

The issue was debated in 2002 after Judy Gordon, then an MLA, introduced a similar motion, which was subsequently defeated in the legislature.

Johnston thinks this legislature, with its large number of new members, might feel differently.

"There's more awareness now; our new MLAs and some other MLAs are more knowledgeable about it. So I'm expecting good things that way ... and we'll see how it goes."

Stelmach doesn't support bill

Alberta Premier Ed Stelmach is still not convinced.

"It is difficult to police a cellphone ban, there's no doubt about it," Stelmach said to reporters in Edmonton Thursday night.

Stelmach said he doesn't support a ban, and thinks the solution lies in better driver education.

"I believe you start with our young people, through driver education, and talk about significant issues tied to distraction, and that's going to be a big help."

Quebec, Nova Scotia and Newfoundland have already passed legislation on driving and hand-held cellphones. Many companies and government agencies, including the city of Edmonton and the Calgary Health Region, have rules limiting the use of cellphones by employees while they are driving.

No more avian flu on Sask chicken farm; Canada declared free of disease

THE CANADIAN PRESS
OTTAWA - Canada has been declared free of a highly infectious strain of avian flu by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.

The agency says there's been no sign of bird flu on a Saskatchewan farm since cleaning and disinfection were completed 90 days ago. That means Canada can be considered free of the infection as per international regulations overseen by the World Organization for Animal Health.

About 50,000 birds on James Glen's chicken farm north of Regina were destroyed in September after avian flu was discovered.

The strain is not dangerous to humans, but the outbreak led 20 countries to ban imports of Canadian poultry products.

The avian flu virus in Saskatchewan was the same one involved in a 2004 outbreak in British Columbia that saw 17 million chickens destroyed.

© The Canadian Press, 2008

U.S. puts China, Russia and 7 other countries on piracy watch list

Martin Crutsinger, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
WASHINGTON - The United States is accusing China, Russia and seven other countries of failing to protect American producers of movies, computer software and other copyrighted material from widespread piracy.

The administration Friday placed the nine countries on a "priority watch list" that will subject them to extra scrutiny and could eventually lead to economic sanctions - if the administration decides to pursue complaints before the World Trade Organization.

In addition to China and Russia, the other seven countries targeted were Argentina, Chile, India, Israel, Pakistan, Thailand and Venezuela.

The administration named another 31 countries to a lower-level watch list, indicating it has concerns about copyright violations in those countries but they don't warrant the highest level of scrutiny.

Because of improvements in their efforts to protect U.S. intellectual property rights, four countries - Egypt, Lebanon, Turkey and Ukraine - were taken off the "priority" list where they were last year and placed on the lower-level watch list.

In releasing the annual report, which is required by Congress, U.S. Trade Representative Susan Schwab said copyright piracy is "one of the central challenges facing the global economy."

"Pirates and counterfeiters don't just steal ideas, they steal jobs and too often they threaten our health and safety," she said in a statement.

This year's report devoted attention to what it described as the growing problem of counterfeited pharmaceuticals and other products that threaten the health and safety of consumers worldwide.

Stan McCoy, assistant U.S. trade representative for intellectual property, told reporters in a briefing that both China and Russia had made improvements in protecting intellectual property over the past year but that a number of issues remain.

The United States has a WTO case pending against China in which it has accused the country of doing too little to crack down on rampant piracy of American music, movies, computer programs and other products.

Discussions between the United States and Russia over improving copyright protections have been a key sticking point in negotiations over that country's bid to become a member of the WTO, the Geneva-based organization that regulates world trade.

Business groups praised the administration's new report with the Copyright Alliance, a coalition of industry groups, saying stronger efforts were needed to attack global piracy, which it estimated was costing the U.S. economy $58 billion a year and nearly 375,000 lost jobs.

Neil Turkewitz, executive vice-president of the Recording Industry Association of America, said the report "has identified some of the most notorious marketplaces for the sale or distribution" of pirated material, including street markets in the Czech Republic, Mexico and Argentina and Internet sites in Russia and China.

Robert Holleyman, president of the Business Software Alliance, said piracy remained the software industry's biggest trade barrier, costing nearly $40 billion a year.

© The Canadian Press, 2008

Passengers to be hit in the pocket as airlines cope with rising fuel prices

Ross Marowits, THE CANADIAN PRESS
MONTREAL - Canadian travellers should brace for a wave of higher fares and new charges this summer as airlines struggle to cope with soaring fuel prices, industry observers said Friday.

Air Canada (TSX:AC.A) started the ball rolling by announcing plans to charge its lowest-fare customers $25 to check a second bag on North American flights.

"The consumer has to pay in the end, there's no other way around it," FareCompare.com chief executive Rick Seaney said in an interview.

He said airlines, particularly in the U.S., can't continue to post massive quarterly losses in the face of dramatic increases in their largest operating expense.

The new charge for Air Canada bookings made after May 15 will start July 15 for passengers who buy Tango and Tango Plus tickets.

Customers can still receive a discount when travelling without checked luggage.

The new policy will not affect international travel, which will continue to allow two checked bags within weight limits at no additional cost. North American flights connecting to international travel also aren't affected.

"In an environment of record high and unrelenting fuel costs it is more critical than ever that the airline reviews its product offering to ensure it can continue to offer everyday low fares," stated Duncan Dee, the airline's chief administrative officer.

Canada's largest airline is also reviewing its baggage policy to determine if the maximum size or weight of bags should be reduced.

WestJet (TSX:WJA) and Air Transat (TSX:TRZ.A) said they have no plans to charge to check a second bag.

The charge at Air Canada follows the lead of several U.S. carriers, including at least one that plans to charge to reserve a window or aisle seat.

Fares in the United States have increased by three to six per cent since September, with another five per cent tacked on this week.

Delta CEO Richard Anderson said airlines need to raise fares by 15 to 20 per cent to break even if oil hits US$120 per barrel.

Seaney predicts summer travel is going to be very expensive for U.S. travellers, and that Canadians aren't immune.

"Over the next four weeks, you'll see an increase and I think you'll see them pull back a little bit mid to late summer when the softness starts to occur," he said of Canadian fares.

Rival WestJet, which eliminated fuel surcharges in 2005, said it is monitoring the situation but has "no definitive plans" to increase fares at this time.

"There is the potential to see increased prices this summer if this continues," spokesman Richard Bartrem said from Calgary.

Transat spokesman Jean-Michel Laberge said the airline has no plans to increase the surcharges updated in February.

Airline analyst Jacques Kavafian of Capital Research Corp. said Canadian airlines have been able to cope so far because a 10 per cent growth in the number of domestic passengers has absorbed the higher fuel costs. Also helping is the stronger loonie which has shielded Canadian airlines from U.S.-priced fuel.

Canadian airlines still increased fares by four to six per cent last year.

"I think they are going to keep increasing fares to compensate for the rising fuel price," Kavafian said.

He said airlines will continue to look for new revenue sources to mitigate the fuel increases, and consider ways to improve fuel efficiency.

Air Canada has reduced its fuel consumption by 24 per cent since 1990 by renewing its fleet. WestJet has enjoyed 34 per cent fuel savings by switching to Boeing 737 Next Generation planes with bent wing tips.

They have taken a series of steps to save fuel, including the use of fewer engines to taxi on tarmacs, satellite navigation systems to ensure more direct routes and lighter catering trolleys.

Brussels Airlines this week began to slow the speed of some of its aircraft. Cutting the speed of its Avro regional jets by 15 to 20 kilometres per hour is expected to save $2 million per year, but add only a minute or two to short haul flights.

Air Canada has already reduced the speed of some aircraft. Onboard computers allow Canadian airlines to program planes to fly the most cost-efficient way. Some flights slow down mid flight if tail winds put them ahead of schedule.

The drive for fuel efficiency has also prompted Brussels Airline to consider updating its fleet by purchasing Bombardier's (TSX:BBD.B) new CSeries. The aircraft promises 20 per cent fuel savings by using composite materials and a new engine.

"Every manufacturer that presents today an aircraft that has a better performance ratio and that consumes less fuel will produce a winner on the market," airline spokesman Geert Sciot said in interview.

Some European low-cost carriers may be the models of future charges. They charge for airport check-ins not made by Internet, all luggage, and the use of credit cards.

"You can be rest assured that every bean counter at every airline has looked at every possible thing," Seaney said.

© The Canadian Press, 2008

Expressing ourselves

EYEWEEKLY.COM
Earlier this week, Canadians were treated to the spectacle of a minister of the crown engaging a Hollywood film director in a public relations debate about policy.

Chinese director Ang Lee — who has made beautiful and nuanced films exploring subjects such as sex, violence and social morality, including The Ice Storm, Brokeback Mountain and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon — joined a legion of Canadian filmmakers in condemning Bill C-10, which has passed in the house of commons and is now awaiting confirmation in the senate. The proposed law would deny funding to films whose content is deemed contrary to public policy, such as those containing sex and violence. Lee warned that this was uncomfortably close to censorship and said that the government had no business regulating artistic decisions.

To which Josée Verner, the minister of Canadian heritage, status of women and official languages replied, essentially, no, no, no, this is not censorship at all, silly foreigner. Or, more precisely, she said, “His statement is completely erroneous,” since the tax credits in question would not apply to foreign films shooting in Canada. She went on to say, “Our government is determined to ensure freedom of expression and will continue to support the production of entertaining and high-quality content. We are reaching out to industry to work with them on Bill C-10.”

The industry, of course, is uninterested in negotiating with bureaucrats and politicians on appropriate limits on their freedom of expression, because Ang Lee, outsider though he may be, has diagnosed the situation precisely. In a country where the film industry is entirely dependent on government funding and tax credits, a decision to deny funding to content perceived to be immoral is censorship, plain and simple, and in a particularly insidious form, since it relies on bureaucratic measurements of morality and the tax code rather than public proclamations of intolerance.

We seem to have a bit of a censorship problem emerging in Canada. If the drive to limit naughty movies comes from the moralizing of right-wing Christians, an equally disturbing push that we’ve written about before has emerged from the moralizing of left-wing activists. That is, the recent use of human rights tribunals to suppress speech deemed offensive to minority groups.

In both cases, there is a sense among the ban-happy parties that the tender moral sensibilities of Canadians are in desperate need of protection from the pollution of those who want to explore ideas, images and topics held to be “offensive.” In both cases, the urge is not to enter into a debate about right and wrong, but to shut down debate by shutting up opponents or limiting their ability to communicate. And in both cases, the moralists try to circumvent the spotlight and safeguards of the criminal courts (where obscenity and hate-speech laws already provide constitutionally appropriate limits to expression) to silence their opponents with bureaucracy.

It’s interesting that this elevated activity among the see-no-evil, hear-no-evil crowd comes as a particular era of free-speech activism comes to an end. A few years ago, the Glad Day Bookstore in Toronto announced that after decades of fighting book bans imposed on gay and lesbian material by customs officials, they were backing off from the fight out of poverty and exhaustion. This week, the remaining pillar of the customs-fighting queer-expression activists made a similar decision, when the owners of Vancouver’s Little Sisters bookstore announced they were selling their business. These two shops have been at the vanguard of free speech in Canada for generations, not just issuing platitudes but fighting in the courts at great expense, risk and frustration.

What those two bookstores showed over the years was that the price of freedom is eternal vigilance; that court decisions and public support are only one part of the struggle and that what happens in obscure government offices is equally important and dangerous.

Recently, the minister of heritage and the usually obscure human rights commissions are demonstrating that there are plenty of battles still to be fought. And it doesn’t take a constitutional scholar (or a Hollywood celebrity) to realize that.

Half of Canadians Watch TV on PC

Canadians are moving from simple email exchanges or instant messaging programs to richer Web applications like online video.

Online TV is another growth area with more and more Canadians watching TV from a computer, whether it's streaming or downloaded content.

Survey results commissioned by Rogers Cable Communications Inc. show that Canadians are embracing the power of the Internet, spending more time using the Internet for day-to-day tasks like paying bills and entertainment.

"Canadians are well-known as early adopters of new technologies and have taken to the Internet in record numbers and what's interesting to see in this survey, is that Canadians are using the Internet for the functional benefits as well as the fun stuff," says Max Valiquette, digital culture expert and professional researcher. "Activities like paying bills and sharing photos are things we used to do off-line, however these two activities saw the greatest growth in terms of online participation over the past year, showing that Canadians are using the Internet to their benefit."

The Internet has become the easiest way to communicate with a network of friends, family and acquaintances and the way that Canadians communicate online has also begun to change.

The survey revealed that Canadians are spending more time shopping, paying bills and watching videos or TV shows online compared to last year and many want to do even more. Of the Canadians surveyed, most are interested in exploring the Internet's potential with future technologies that could become a reality in the next eight to 12 months:

Activity % of Canadians
Watching live TV on a computer 50
Making video phone calls from a computer 49
Making and sharing videos with friends and family 46
Downloading and reading books online 39
High quality videoconferencing by webcam 34

How Canadians Spend their Time Online:
The average Canadian spends up to 17 hours per week online. Interestingly, this increases to 18 hours per week for Canadians who are very satisfied with the Internet experience and decreases to 15 per week for those who are only somewhat satisfied.

Below is a snapshot of where Canadians spend their time online now compared to one year ago:
Activity % of Canadians
1 year ago Today
Communicating with friends and family (i.e. Facebook, MySpace)
85 89
Shopping online
62 65
Pay bills
59 65
Download and listen to music
43 44
Upload, manage and share photos
39 47
Play online games
38 38
Stream videos, music, shows
24 31
Download TV shows, movies, games
16 20

The Findings of an Ipsos Reid poll conducted on behalf of Rogers from April 3 to April 7, 2008.

This online survey of 1,030 adult Canadians with at least one bank account was conducted via the Ipsos I-Say Online Panel, Ipsos Reid's national online panel.

The results are based on a sample where quota sampling and weighting are employed to balance demographics and ensure that the sample's composition reflects that of the actual Canadian population according to Census data. Quota samples with weighting from the Ipsos online panel provide results that are intended to approximate a probability sample. An unweighted probability sample of this size, with a 100% response rate, would have an estimated margin of error of +/- 3 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.

Rogers Cable is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Rogers Communications Inc.

© 2008 Business Information Group.

More couples retire separately: StatsCan

(CBC) - More husbands and wives are choosing to retire at different times, owing to changing career aspirations and financial responsibilities, Statistics Canada suggests in a study released Friday.

Analysts Grant Schellenberg and Yuri Ostrovsky note the majority of couples still choose to retire in tandem. But, they say, between 1986 and 2001, the proportion of husbands and wives who retired within two years of each other fell to 29 per cent from 32 per cent. The slight decline, which emerged in the 1990s, is in part linked with changing roles and responsibilities.

"Throughout much of the 20th century, older couples faced only one retirement decision - the husband's. Women who had paid employment during their life typically left the workforce at an early age to care for children and work on an unpaid basis in the home," the study said.

"Increasingly, couples must make two decisions rather than just one and must balance the preferences and constraints of partners who both make substantial contributions to household income."

The study also found the proportion of wives who retired five or more years after their husband jumped by seven percentage points between 1986 and 2001. During the same time period, the proportion of husbands who chose to retire five or more years after their wives rose four percentage points, the study said.

Other considerations including age differences between partners, pension eligibility and career considerations influenced when workers elected to retire. Job losses also prompted some partners to retire early, the authors said.

Chinese state media say government will meet Dalai Lama's representative

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
BEIJING - The Chinese government after weeks of pressure from world leaders said Friday it will meet with a private representative of the Dalai Lama soon.

The official Xinhua News Agency, which releases major government announcements, said it had learned of the development "from official sources." It quoted an unnamed official as saying there had been requests repeatedly made by "the Dalai side for resuming talks."

China has faced repeated international calls, including from U.S. President George W. Bush and the European Union, to open a dialogue with the Dalai Lama since anti-government riots rocked the Tibetan capital of Lhasa in mid-March.

The official said "the relevant department of the central government will have contact and consultation with Dalai's private representative in the coming days." No date was given.

"The policy of the central government towards Dalai has been consistent and the door of dialogue has remained open," he said.

Both the Foreign Ministry and the news office of the Central Committee of the ruling Communist party said they did not know about the Xinhua report.

China says 22 people died in the Lhasa violence, while overseas Tibet supporters say many times that number have been killed in protests and the security crackdown across Tibetan regions of western China.

The riots and government reaction have cast a shadow over preparations for the Beijing Olympics.

China has held six rounds of contacts with representatives of the Dalai Lama with no apparent result, and has demanded he meet numerous preconditions before it will talk to him directly.

One of the preconditions is that he not seek independence for Tibet. The Tibetan spiritual leader has repeatedly said he wants autonomy, not independence, but Beijing has expressed suspicion.

"It is hoped that through contact and consultation, the Dalai side will take credible moves to stop activities aimed at splitting China, stop plotting and inciting violence and stop disrupting and sabotaging the Beijing Olympic Games so as to create conditions for talks," Xinhua quoted the official as saying.

Many Tibetans insist they were an independent nation before communist troops invaded in 1950, while China says Tibet has been part of its territory for centuries.

© The Canadian Press, 2008

U.S. alleges baby-selling, fraud in Vietnam adoptions

Ben Stocking, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
HANOI, Vietnam - Vietnam has failed to police its adoption system, allowing corruption, fraud and baby-selling to flourish, the U.S. Embassy says in a new report obtained by The Associated Press.

The nine-page document describes brokers scouring villages for babies, hospitals selling infants whose mothers cannot pay their bills, and a grandmother giving away her grandchild - without telling the child's mother.

"I'm shocked and deeply troubled by the worst of the worst cases," said Jonathan Aloisi, deputy chief of mission at the U.S. Embassy in Hanoi.

Vietnam's top adoption official called the concerns "groundless."

Bribery of orphanage officials may occur, but serious offences such as baby-selling or kidnapping are not a problem, said Vu Duc Long, director of the Department of International Adoptions.

The dispute comes amid a boom in adoptions from Vietnam.

Americans - including actress Angelina Jolie - adopted more than 1,200 Vietnamese children over the 18 months ending March 31. In 2007, adoptions surged more than 400 per cent from a year earlier, with 828 Vietnamese children adopted by American families.

While China remains the most popular overseas country for adoptions, a growing number of Americans are looking to Vietnam, which has fewer restrictions. The wait for adoption approval has also gotten longer in China after authorities there tightened rules.

U.S. adoption agencies active in Vietnam said that despite some cases of wrongdoing, most adoptions in the country are ethical.

"Our experience has been a good one," said Susan Cox, vice-president of public policy with Holt International Children's Services, based in Eugene, Ore., which has operated in Vietnam since the 1970s. "We are concerned about any unethical practices, but I would not agree that these cases are indicative of adoptions in Vietnam."

Another adoption agency, Families Thru International Adoption, of Evansville, Ind., said that corruption exists everywhere and it is up to the adoption agencies to screen who they work with in Vietnam and other countries.

"There's always somebody that is trying to do something under the table, and when there are children involved, the results are even more horrific," said program director Salome Lamarche. "As an agency, we have a responsibility to be very careful who we work with in a country and to only work with organizations that work in a morally responsible manner."

She said her group has recently stopped taking applications for families who want Vietnamese children - but not because of concerns about corruption.

"We stopped because our waiting list is getting long and we thought it wasn't ethical to accept applications from families when we didn't know if we could match them with children," Lamarche said.

The U.S. suspended all adoptions from Vietnam in 2003 over concerns about corruption. Adoptions resumed in 2006 under a bilateral agreement intended to ensure they were above board.

That agreement expires Sept. 1, and many adoption agency officials believe the Vietnam program will be suspended again, at least temporarily.

"I can't see any possible way that this agreement is going to continue," said Tad Kincaid of Orphans Overseas in Portland, Ore. "There's certainly going to be a lapse."

Revelations of corruption and child-trafficking prompted the Canadian government to recommend in 2001 that provinces and territories suspend adoptions from Vietnam. Following the Canadian suspension, Vietnam implemented its own moratorium on adoptions in 2003.

In 2005, Canada signed a new agreement with Vietnam to resume adoptions.

One of the Canadian agencies involved in adoptions from Vietnam, Children's Bridge of Nepean, Ont., issued a statement on its website in April 2007 saying: "Due to the backlog of files currently in this program, Children's Bridge will, regrettably, be unable to accept any new applications for this program until further notice."

The website said the organization had completed 70 adoptions since they resumed in 2006, following the Canada-Vietnam agreement.

Children's Bridge says between 1993 and 2002, 697 children were adopted from Vietnam. That compares with 6,245 from China and 1,868 from India.

The U.S. Embassy report is based on a review of hundreds of adoptions since they resumed in Vietnam in 2006.

Already, the U.S. Embassy concerns have left scores of Vietnamese adoptions in limbo, as American families wait for U.S. permission to bring the babies home.

Victoria Krebs of Chapel Hill, N.C., said that she and her husband have been waiting more than four months to find out if U.S. visas will be approved for the two girls they plan to adopt. They have pictures of the children and feel like they are already part of the family.

"They don't reply to my e-mails," Krebs said of U.S. immigration officials. "I don't have any specific information about my case."

A suspension in Vietnamese adoptions would not only put families on hold, but also threaten humanitarian work in Vietnam that is largely funded by American adoption agencies, such as foster care and programs that help keep families together, Cox said.

That occurred when the U.S. suspended Vietnamese adoptions in 2003, Cox said. "Since there were no adoptions, the groups didn't have the means to stay and help," she said.

Many people involved in Vietnamese adoptions strictly adhere to adoption laws, U.S. officials say.

But others have been flooding the system with cash to get babies for American parents, who pay up to US$25,000 for an adoption.

With 42 U.S. adoption agencies licensed in Vietnam, the competition for babies is intense.

Some agencies have been paying orphanage directors $10,000 per referral, the report says, and some have taken orphanage directors on shopping sprees and junkets to the United States in return for a steady flow of babies.

"Adoption service providers have reported that cash and in-kind donations have been diverted by orphanage officials and used to finance personal property, private cars, jewelry, and in one case, a commercial real estate development," the report says.

Aloisi gave the AP a list of 10 particularly egregious cases, including the grandmother who gave away her grandchild.

The mother, working in another province for several weeks, had left the baby with her mother-in-law. She returned to discover the baby had been given up for adoption. Eventually, she got the baby back after U.S. officials uncovered the ruse during investigations as part of the U.S, visa approval process.

In another case, a baby was allegedly taken by hospital officials and turned over for adoption because the mother couldn't afford to pay her $750 hospital bill.

Hospital officials had inflated the bill, claiming the child had serious health problems. U.S. Embassy officials say they discovered the child was healthy. Again, the child was returned to its birth mother.

The report also says some orphanages have pressured birth mothers to give up their babies in return for about $450 - nearly a year's salary for many.

The problems have prompted U.S. officials to seek revisions before renewing the adoption agreement, including DNA tests for birth mothers and permission to conduct surprise investigations in provinces arranging U.S. adoptions.

Both of those conditions are unacceptable, said Long, the Vietnamese official.

Vietnamese law requires that Vietnamese officials approve and participate in any investigations, he said. And requiring DNA tests is impractical in a country where adoption is considered a private matter.

"The American side is trying to make it seem like this agreement is ending because of violations by the Vietnamese side," Long said. "It's not fair for them to blame us."

© The Canadian Press, 2008

White House says North Korea assisted Syria on nuclear reactor

Pamela Hess, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
WASHINGTON - The White House said Thursday that North Korea's secret work on a nuclear reactor with Syria was "a dangerous and potentially destabilizing development for the world," raising doubts about Pyongyang's promise to disclose its nuclear activities.

Seven months after Israel bombed the reactor, the White House broke its silence and said North Korea assisted Syria's secret nuclear program and that the destroyed facility was not intended for "peaceful purposes."

The disclosure could undermine six-party negotiations to try to resolve the nuclear standoff with North Korea.

The White House issued a two-page statement after legislators were given details about the reactor in a series of briefings on Capitol Hill that included a video presentation of intelligence information the administration contends establishes a strong link between North Korea's nuclear program and the bombed Syrian site.

The briefing also included still photographs that showed a strong resemblance between specific features of the plant and one near Yongbyon in North Korea.

The White House said the International Atomic Energy Agency was being briefed on the intelligence.

While calling North Korea's nuclear assistance to Syria a "dangerous manifestation" of Pyongyang's nuclear weapons program and its proliferation activities, the White House said it remained committed to the talks.

The administration said that after the reactor was damaged beyond repair, Syria tried to bury evidence of its existence.

"This cover-up only served to reinforce our confidence that this reactor was not intended for peaceful activities," White House press secretary Dana Perino said. "The Syrian regime must come clean before the world regarding its illicit nuclear activities."

The Syrian nuclear reactor destroyed by Israeli jets was within weeks or months of being functional, a top U.S. official told The Associated Press, speaking on condition of anonymity. The official said the facility was mostly completed but still needed significant testing before it could be declared operational.

No uranium, which is needed to fuel a reactor, was evident at the site, a remote area of eastern Syria along the Euphrates River. But the U.S. official said the reactor was similar in design to the North Korean reactor at Yongbyon, which has in the past produced small amounts of plutonium, the material needed to make nuclear weapons.

Syria has maintained in the past that the site was an unused military facility.

Top members of the House of Representatives Intelligence Committee who were briefed on the reactor said it posed a serious threat of spreading dangerous nuclear materials.

"This is a serious proliferation issue, both for the Middle East and the countries that may be involved in Asia," said Republican Representative Pete Hoekstra of Michigan.

Hoekstra and Intelligence Committee chairman Silvestre Reyes, a Democrat from Texas, told reporters after the closed briefing that they were angry that the Bush administration had delayed informing the full committee for so long.

"It's bad management and terrible public policy to go for eight months knowing this was out there and then drop this in our laps six hours before they go to the public," Hoekstra said.

Bush's failure to keep Congress informed has created friction that may imperil congressional support for Bush's policies toward North Korea and Syria, he said.

Democratic Senator Joseph Biden of Delaware, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said the revelations make it clear that any deal to eliminate North Korea's nuclear programs must also stop its proliferation activities and include vigorous verification. But he said the information in the briefings was not a cause to end the talks.

"To the contrary, it underscores the need for pursuing the talks, which remain our best chance to convince North Korea to abandon its pursuit of nuclear weapons and to stop proliferation," Biden said.

The White House stressed that North Korea's assistance on the Syrian reactor was an issue of "great international concern."

"The construction of this reactor was a dangerous and potentially destabilizing development for the region and the world," Perino said in the statement. "This is particularly true because it was done covertly and in violation of the very procedures designed to reassure the world of the peaceful intent of nuclear activities.

The White House used its statement as an opportunity to denounce the nuclear activities of Iran, which it says is a threat to the stability of the Middle East. Perino said the international community must take further steps, beginning with full implementation of UN Security Council resolutions.

North Korea's Foreign Ministry said Thursday that it had discussed technical matters with the Americans for moving forward on that and other agreements from the arms talks. "The negotiations proceeded in a sincere and constructive manner and progress was made," the ministry said in a statement.

As part of that process, the North is required to submit a "declaration" detailing its programs and proliferation activity, but the talks are stalled over Pyongyang's refusal to publicly admit the Syria connection. However, officials say the North Koreans are willing to accept international "concern" about unspecified proliferation.

Syria has signed an international treaty requiring it to disclose nuclear interests and activity. It has not declared the alleged reactor to the IAEA nor was it under international safeguards.

In the Syrian capital of Damascus, legislator Suleiman Haddad, who heads the parliament's foreign relations committee, said the videotape did not deserve a response.

"America is looking for any problem in order to accuse Syria," Haddad said by telephone. "Do we need Korean workers to work in Syria?"

"America is trying to create an atmosphere of war in the region," Haddad said.

© The Canadian Press, 2008

Internet still not widely used by private Canadian businesses to sell

Luann Lasalle, THE CANADIAN PRESS
MONTREAL - E-commerce still isn't widely used by Canada's private sector businesses to sell products, even though online sales increased at a double-digit pace for the sixth consecutive year in 2007.

Statistics Canada reported Thursday that total private and public sector Internet sales hit an estimated $62.7 billion, up 26 per cent from 2006.

But only about eight per cent of private sector firms sell online and this percentage hasn't increased much since 2003, said agency spokesman Mark Fakhri.

"So that's why it's still kind of a small portion of total economic activity. It hasn't really been widely used," said Fakhri, of Statistics Canada's science, innovation and electronic information division.

The survey also tracked Internet use among private sector firms.

About 87 per cent of private sector firms used the Internet in 2007, up slightly from 2006, while 81 per cent used e-mail. But fewer than half (41 per cent) of private-sector firms reported having a website.

With online sales, businesses have reported reaching new customers and better co-ordination between suppliers and/or customers, Fakhri said.

"The Internet was predominantly used for information. It's kind of slowly expanding now into buying and selling online which is an additional tool. And this is just the beginning stages of it."

Fakhri said there's "room for growth" in online sales for private sector businesses and it should evolve over time.

Most of the online sales were in wholesale trade, transportation and warehousing, manufacturing and the retail trade, the survey found.

But almost 50 per cent of private sector firms surveyed reported using the Internet to purchase goods and services, he added.

The 2007 survey covered more than 19,000 private and public sector firms. Statistics Canada began tracking e-commerce at the beginning of the decade.

While the proportion of private sector companies that sold goods and services online has remained stable, about 16 per cent of the public sector reported e-commerce sales.

E-commerce by private sector companies increased to $58.2 billion, an increase of 25 per cent, while public sector e-commerce rose 30 per cent to almost $4.5 billion.

Fakhri said the survey doesn't identify the exact reasons why online sales have increased overall.

Analyst Gregory Antrobus said he wasn't surprised by small percentage of private sector businesses selling online because having an e-commerce business is a long-term investment.

"Canadian firms to date have not invested in that area," said Antrobus of the J.C. Williams Group in Toronto. "They're looking for a relatively quick ROI (return on investment)."

There is plenty of room for U.S. retailers to step in and fill that void, he added. E-commerce is important as consumers become "more time starved," Antrobus said.

The survey found that in the private sector, business-to-business sales accounted for 62 per cent of online sales in 2007, down from 68 per cent in 2006. The proportion of online business-to-consumer sales climbed to 38 per cent from 32 per cent.

It's estimated that customers outside Canada generated almost one out of every five dollars (19 per cent) in online sales in the private sector, similar to the last two years.

The survey also found that 77 per cent of private sector firms reported using wireless communications in 2007, up from 51 per cent just seven years earlier.

© The Canadian Press, 2008

Expect gas to hit $1.40 a litre this summer and $2.25 in 2012, CIBC warns

Lauren Krugel, THE CANADIAN PRESS
CALGARY - It's going to cost Canadian drivers about $80 to fill the gas tank of an average-sized car or SUV this summer and more than $135 within four years, warn economists from one of Canada's biggest banks.

National average gasoline prices, now about $1.24 a litre, will top $1.40 a litre this summer and $2.25 by 2012, according to a forecast from CIBC World Markets, which says tighter supplies will drive crude oil over US$150 a barrel by 2010 and to US$225 a barrel in four years.

With an average tank holding about 60 litres of fuel, Canadians will be digging deeper into their pockets to gas up their vehicles.

And with the economy slowing down because of a looming recession in the United States, consumers will feel the pinch.

"The economy is slowing, so the rising gasoline prices are going to create a far greater problem than anticipated," said Dan McTeague, a Toronto-area Liberal MP and a longtime gasoline price watcher. "This is going to damage the economy."

But there are a few small things consumers can do to take the edge off, said Jason Toews, co-founder of Gasbuddy.com, a website that tracks pump prices in the United States and Canada.

Drivers can cut their fuel consumption by 30 to 40 per cent just by tweaking the way they drive.

"Try to avoid high speeds try to drive at a smooth, constant pace by using cruise control," he said, adding that drivers should roll down their windows while driving at slow speeds, but turn on the air conditioning when going fast on the highway.

Ditching a gas-guzzling SUV for a hybrid is another good way to go - since you can get as much as triple the fuel economy, Toews said.

"We just need to use less gasoline," he said.

"We need to start carpooling, start biking to work or taking public transportation. That's what got us in the bind in the first place is that we're using too much gasoline."

Consumers may feel helpless, but they can make a small difference by opting to buy gas from cheaper stations, Toews said.

"It's all based on competition between the stations and if the high price stations are losing out business to the cheap-price stations they have no choice but to lower their prices."

Thursday's report from economists at the investment banking division of Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce coincided with news that Bank of Nova Scotia's commodity price index jumped by five per cent during March to its third record high in as many months.

That report shows that rising energy costs - caused in part by soaring demand for oil from Asia and worries about supply reductions - will continue to drag down the economy.

"The oil and gas index soared by 11.8 per cent in March, climbing above its previous peak in October 2005, and will rise further in April," said Scotiabank economist Patricia Mohr.

In the United States, pump prices of regular gas jumped 2.3 cents Thursday to US$3.556 a gallon - or 93 cents US a litre - according to a survey of stations by AAA and the Oil Price Information Service.

North American gas prices have risen sharply in recent days partly because refiners have been switching over from selling winter grade gasoline to the more expensive but less polluting form of the fuel the government requires them to sell in the summer. That process, which made winter grade fuel more scarce, is nearly complete now, suggesting that price increases could slow.

"That was probably why... you saw (prices) accelerate so quickly," said Tom Kloza, publisher and chief oil analyst at the Oil Price Information Service in Wall, N.J. "No, don't get used to these crazy increases."

At CIBC World Markets, chief economist Jeff Rubin - one of the first to predict $100-a-barrel oil, which he did three years ago - updated a forecast he issued in January saying oil would hit US$150 a barrel within four years, raising that projected price by $75.

Rubin said his group has "re-examined our projected supply increases" to discount expected rises in production of natural gas liquids, which he said account for virtually all the growth in global petroleum liquids production since 2005.

Gas liquids, "while valuable hydrocarbons, are not a viable substitute for oil and cannot be economically used as a feedstock for gasoline, diesel or jet fuel," the new report says.

"Stripping out natural gas liquids, oil production has not grown for over two years, which certainly goes a long way to explaining why oil prices have doubled over that period," Rubin said.

"Whether we have already seen the peak in world oil production remains to be seen, but it is increasingly clear that the outlook for oil supply signals a period of unprecedented scarcity."

At Scotiabank, the overall commodity index has climbed 181.2 per cent from its cyclical low in October 2001 - a stronger advance than the surge between 1972 and mid-1978.

Oil and mineral prices posted new highs in March, and crude oil has continued booming to a record of US$119.90 per barrel Tuesday on the New York Mercantile Exchange. On Thursday, light, sweet crude for June delivery closed at US$116.06.

"Recent news that Russian oil production dropped by 0.9 per cent in the first quarter of 2008, the first year-over-year decline in a decade, set off another wave of concern over supplies to meet growing emerging-market demand," Mohr said.

McTeague, the Liberal MP, said consumers are adjusting to higher fuel costs by cutting back spending in other areas such as clothing and consumer goods. Many, worried about the slowing economy, have stopped looking to buy houses.

"A big real estate office next to me, one of the largest in the country, says they've seen an across-the-board slowdown in the past eight weeks."

But Gasbuddy's Toews said gas would be worth about $1.50 a litre this summer if not for the dampening effects of the strong Canadian currency. Since crude oil is priced in U.S. dollars on world markets, the value of crude hikes in Canada is muted partly by the high loonie when currency values are translated.

"We would be in even worse of a situation if it weren't for the Canadian dollar," he said.

© The Canadian Press, 2008

Rising cost of grain to send meat pricetags higher as well: grocer organization

David Friend, THE CANADIAN PRESS
TORONTO - Canadian shoppers, already paying more for bread and facing even higher prices for baked goods, should expect meat prices to rise as well in the coming months as grain costs continue to hover near record levels, says an organization for the country's biggest grocers.

Products made from grain, including pasta, cereal and other flour-based foods, have already incorporated much of the higher price levels, Dave Wilkes, senior vice-president of trade at the Canadian Council of Grocery Distributors, said Thursday.

But "downstream" foods - products from livestock which consume grain as feed - haven't yet been fully impacted, Wilkes said.

"As grains and corn go up, the cost to raise cattle, pigs, and poultry will also go up, and that will be translated into the cost of the final product ... in the next little while," he said.

"The challenge that the industry is having at this front is that it's such a foundational component of the food that we deliver to Canadians every day."

Wilkes said Canadians have already seen a 9.9 per cent rise in the price of a loaf of bread over the last year, tied directly to a 128 per cent increase in the cost of baking-grade wheat.

That has made it tougher for grocers to maintain low pricing for staple items. Bread for example, is selling for well above $2.50 a loaf and even higher in some parts of the country.

"The adjustments that occur throughout the supply chain may be just beginning," he said. "As the supplier increases their costs and translates that onto the retailer, that retailer will most likely have to reflect those changes at the shelf level."

On Thursday, Maple Leaf Foods Inc. (TSX:MFI) said it will boost prices after posting a small loss in its first quarter. Sales declined nine per cent while high grain costs ravaged profitability in its bakery and hog operations.

In its financial report, Maple Leaf said it lost $10,000 in the quarter, or breakeven on a per share basis, compared with a profit of $10.5 million or eight cents per share in the year-ago period.

Company president and chief executive Michael McCain told investors in a conference call that he expected wheat costs to decline in the last half of this year, which could help the company's margins recover by then, or even sooner.

"The new (wheat) crop, which comes online in the middle of the third quarter, while high relative to historical norms... is still (priced) lower than the second quarter," he said.

Meanwhile, Canada Bread Co. (TSX:CBY), 88 per cent owned by Maple Leaf, also warned that consumers can expect to pay more as the bread producer reported a 32 per cent drop in first-quarter profit amid "significant margin compression due to rising wheat prices."

Company spokeswoman Lynda Kuhn said that last month Canada Bread Co. started to "pass through" costs to customers, which increased the price of a bread loaf by 20 cents on average.

"On a forward looking basis we are continuing to consider whether additional pricing may be necessary. We don't have a specific price in mind yet," she said.

"It's contingent on watching where wheat markets, and other inflationary costs go."

Several factors have been driving up the price of grain. Two consecutive years of draughts in Australia, and dry conditions in other countries like Russia, have worked against offsetting the soaring demand from highly populated countries like China.

At the end of April, the official close of the current crop year in the United States, stockpiles of wheat in the U.S. are expected to be at their lowest level since the 1940s, said Pat Mohr, a commodities trader at Scotiabank.

"Globally, stocks are going to be at the lowest since the 1930s," she added.

Also driving up the price of food are soaring gasoline prices, which are built into the cost that shoppers pay at the register.

Representatives for the country's biggest grocery chains, Loblaws (TSX:L), Metro (TSX:MRU.A) and Sobeys, either didn't return calls seeking comment or declined to discuss their pricing strategy.

The major grocers have been embroiled in a price war with each other and Wal-Mart Superstores that has left them slashing the cost of everyday food products in hopes of luring in more shoppers.

While the battle has put pressure on their bottom line, relatively low food prices have kept the battle from getting out of control.

Canada has benefited from relatively tame food prices over the past year, compared to other countries, but all of that could be coming to an end, suggests CIBC World Markets economist Avery Shenfeld.

"It's clear that Canada's good luck on food prices is likely to run out in 2009," he wrote in a note on Thursday titled "Food Inflation: Coming to a Grocery Store Near You."

Shenfeld said that the higher Canadian dollar has helped soften price increases felt in the United States.

Milk and cheese prices are controlled by a national marketing board, but higher feed costs could force dairies to pay more for fluid milk and transportation next year, Shenfeld said.

"We look for wholesale prices to retailers to rise at a three per cent clip next year, up from 1.7 per cent year-on-year in March, according to the Industrial Product Price Index."

On Thursday, rice futures pulled back from an all-time high but remained near record territory a day after two major U.S. warehouse retail chains, Wal Mart Stores Inc.'s Sam's Club and Costco Wholesale Corp., imposed limits on rice purchases.

Rice prices have jumped 70 per cent so far this year, causing alarm over the potential of mass shortages.

© The Canadian Press, 2008

Fiery hearings on Canadian TV's future end; decision expected in summer

Julian Beltrame, THE CANADIAN PRESS
GATINEAU, Que. - The CRTC's controversial hearings on the future of Canadian television were brought to a close Thursday after nearly three weeks in which the giants and the small fry of the industry battled for survival and a bigger piece of the multi-billion dollar industry.

The hearings have been marked by fiery exchanges, insults and even humour, but there was no mistaking the importance of the first major review of the Canadian broadcasting system in 15 years to everyone involved and viewers.

"The rules you administer have evolved since the dawn of cable," noted Ian Morrison of the Friends of Canadian Broadcasting.

"The Canadian broadcasting system is an ecosystem where each of the components is inextricably linked so that a change in one will affect the others. It is therefore vital to consider their interdependence, and its consequences."

One of the consequences, he warned, is that after the CRTC renders its decision later this summer, Canadians viewers could be left with fewer choices - not more - and the ability to access less not more distinctly Canadian broadcasting.

Before and at the hearings start on April 8, commission chairman Konrad von Finckenstein made clear he wanted less regulation and was putting most major aspects of the rules governing the industry on the table, including:

-The size of the basic package of channels offered to Canadians by cable and satellite distributors;

-Whether certain mandated specialty stations like CBC's Newsworld should be guaranteed a spot on the cable menu;

-Whether specialty stations should continue to enjoy genre protection;

-Whether cable firms can insert ads on on-demand services;

-And perhaps most controversially, whether convention stations such as CTV (TSX:BCE), Global (TSX:CGS) and CBC should be paid by the cable companies for their signals.

The last issue so incensed cable operator Shaw Communications Inc. (TSX:SJR.B) that chief executive Jim Shaw rifled an angry letter to Prime Minister Stephen Harper suggesting the government intervene to reign in its disobedient regulator for failing to follow the marching orders it had been given.

But when it came time to personally confront the regulator this week, Shaw was a no show and offered no explanation, instead sending a team of seven headed by president Peter Bissonnette.

"I thought he would have done (us) the courtesy ... since we have been subject to his criticisms, I feel I should have been given the opportunity of dealing with them one on one with him personally," responded von Finckenstein after being told.

In broad strokes, the hearings have largely pitted conventional broadcasters against the cable operations, and the cable operators against smaller, independent specialty channels.

Private broadcasters such as CTV and Global mostly support the current system but are asking cable and satellite for a 50-cent-per-channel monthly charge to carry their signals.

They argue they have been giving away their signals to the cable operators for 30 years and with advertising dollars fragmenting, they can no longer afford to do so, while still continuing to pay the lion's share for costly Canadian shows and local news.

If granted, the fee would cost cable and satellite subscribers between $2 and $8 a month, depending on how many conventional stations are included, and net broadcasters about $300 million annually.

Meanwhile, the cable and satellite operators want to remove protection for specialty channels, arguing that otherwise Canadians will turn to the Internet and other unregulated platforms to get the programs they want.

The publicly-owned CBC, meanwhile, has also requested a fee-for-carriage charge in return for carrying more drama shows, but have gotten little support from other networks.

Meanwhile, small players, such as specialty channel VisionTV owner S-VOX, are pleading to the CRTC to ensure that the "clash of titans" doesn't end up with them getting trampled in the rush to de-regulate.

They say for the regulator to do away with genre protection would open them to competition from U.S. channels, as well as undermine their market share by allowing an unlimited number of Canadian start-ups.

Almost missing from the hearings was the views of ordinary Canadians, although many of the more than 60 witnesses came armed with contradictory polls intending to show they had the public's best interest at heart.

© The Canadian Press, 2008

Arby's owner buying Wendy's for US$2.34 billion stock deal

Mark Williams, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
COLUMBUS, Ohio - After at least two rejections, billionaire Nelson Peltz has finally succeeded in landing Wendy's in a US$2.3 billion deal that would add the chain known for its square burger and chocolate Frosty dessert to his ownership of Arby's and its roast beef sandwiches.

Now, the investor known for agitating corporations to boost their stock price has to figure out how to make both profitable while the economy slumps and more Americans are saving money on food and fuel by staying home to eat.

Atlanta-based Triarc Companies Inc., owned by Peltz, said Thursday it will pay about $2.34 billion in an all-stock deal for the third-largest U.S. hamburger chain started in 1969 by Dave Thomas.

Wendy's, the former owner of iconic Canadian coffee and doughnut chain Tim Hortons Inc. (TSX:THI), had rejected at least two buyout offers from Triarc.

Thomas' daughter Pam Thomas Farber said the family was devastated by the news.

"It's a very sad day for Wendy's, and our family. We just didn't think this would be the outcome," said Farber, 53.

If her father were alive to hear news of the buyout, "he would not be amused," she said.

Triarc will pay about $26.78 per share for the company, which has about 87 million shares outstanding. Wendy's shares rose four per cent to $26.39 in trading Thursday. They traded as high as $42.22 last summer, not long after Wendy's announced the formation of a special committee to boost its stock price.

The offer is well below the $37 to $41 per share that Peltz said last summer that he was ready to offer for Wendy's.

Under the terms of the deal, expected to close in the second half of the year, Wendy's shareholders will receive 4.25 shares of Triarc Class A stock for each share of Wendy's stock. Triarc said its shareholders will have to approve a charter amendment in which each share of its Class B stock will be converted into Class A stock.

Peltz has pushed for change at Wendy's - including the spinoff of the Tim Hortons chain and cutting corporate expenses - since 2005 to increase the company's stock price. His Trian Fund and his allies own 9.8 per cent of Wendy's stock.

It's a similar tactic Peltz has used at other companies where Trian has become a significant investor, such as Cadbury Schweppes PLC and H.J. Heinz Co. Trian also owns shares of Tiffany & Co. and the Cheesecake Factory Inc., according to regulatory filings.

The deal comes as Wendy's struggles with declining profits and weak sales compared with rivals McDonald's Corp. and Burger King Holdings Inc.

Wendy's said Thursday that its first quarter profit was down 72 per cent to $4.1 million, or five cents a share, in part because of expenses tied to the work of a special board committee that has been studying ways to boost the company's stock. Revenue fell to $513 million from $522 million a year ago.

Sales at company-owned stores opened at least a year, considered a key indicator of a retailer's strength, fell 1.6 per cent in the quarter and 0.1 per cent at U.S. franchise restaurants.

Wendy's also has failed to connect with consumers in several advertising campaigns that have been tried since Thomas' death in 2002 and it has limited success in adding new products and with its breakfast menu. Thomas, always wearing a white short-sleeved shirt and red tie, became a household face when he began pitching his burgers and fries in television commercials in 1989.

"It's a company that's sort of lost its way," said Bob Goldin, executive vice-president of Technomic Inc. in Chicago.

Still, even with a slumping economy in which other restaurant chains have seen sales decline recently, there is value, analysts say.

"We've always felt Wendy's had a decent chance of a turnaround in its business," said John Owens, an investment analyst with Morningstar, citing its new chicken wrap sandwich and the addition of breakfast at many restaurants.

Improved cost controls over food, labor and other expenses should generate $100 million a year in operating profits over time, Triarc said in the statement announcing the deal.

Eliminating duplicate corporate functions and streamlining support services are expected to eventually save $60 million, said Triarc, which operates 3,700 Arby's restaurants.

Triarc also said expansions for both brands are planned for the U.S. and overseas and that the company will look at a dual-concept unit in high-cost real estate markets. Triarc said it will also change its name to include the Wendy's name.

Wendy's deferred comment to Triac, which had nothing further to say right away.

Several lunchtime customers at a Wendy's in Columbus wondered how Thomas would have reacted to the news, were he still alive.

"I think he's probably rolling over in his grave right now," said John Knape, 36. "But it's business, and that's what you need to do to survive, right?"

The deal caps two chaotic years for Wendy's in which it has sold or spun off operations, slashed its corporate staff and had its wholesome image tarnished by a woman who falsely claimed she found part of a finger in her chili.

Farber said the family didn't think much of Peltz's and Triarc's tactics.

"They came after them (Wendy's) and came after them and came after them. They spun Tim Hortons off, they did this, they did that. They did everything they asked but it wasn't enough."

Thomas opened his first restaurant in a former steakhouse on a