360º News: International & National briefs

National News:

— Canada was shamed in front of 150 world leaders as United Nations adviser Jeffrey Sachs chastised the country and the United States for not doing enough to eradicate poverty. The world leaders are to adopt a 31- page statement regarding their commitment to antipoverty targets, but there is a concern that because there's no way to hold countries accountable, they will not meet their required goals.

— As another Toronto International Film Festival comes to a close, The King's Speech came out as the Cadillac People's Choice Award winner. Stars Colin Firth and Geoffrey Rush are both predicted to receive best acting nods in next year's Oscars, and the film is expected to receive a nomination for best picture. The 11-day festival saw Toronto overrun with big-name celebrities from Helen Mirren and Ben Affleck, to Canadians Ryan Reynolds and Ryan Gosling.

— New Westminster will be the first municipality in Canada to apologize for decades of discrimination towards Chinese-Canadians. In 1908, New Westminster passed a by-law that prevented Chinese, Japanese, Indian or other individuals of Asian ethnicity from voting in municipal elections.

International News:

— In the Catholic Church's latest attempt to alleviate its sex abuse scandals, Pope Benedict apologized to five British victims on September 18. According to the Vatican, Benedict expressed "his deep sorrow and shame over what the victims and their families suffered" in a half-hour meeting at the ambassador's residence in Wimbleton. On the same day, thousands of people marched in central London to protest the Pope's stance against homosexuality, abortion and using condoms to fight AIDS. Protestors carried banners that said "The Pope is wrong — put a condom on" and "Pope protects pedophile priests," reported the Toronto Star.

— Bed bugs have invaded the Big Apple. The entire United States has experienced an increase in these little critters, but New York was reported by CBS as being the most infested city. Nearly 13,000 bed bugrelated calls to the city's helpline have been made over the past 12 months. The bugs recently forced Nike to shut down its downtown location, along with Victoria's Secret, Hollister and Abercrombie & Fitch. Bedbugs can hide in mattresses and clothes.

Files compiled by Jessica Ireland and Erika Faust