360º News: International & National briefs
NATIONAL NEWS
Statistics Canada has 37,000 spots across Canada open for people interested in conducting the 2011 census. They recently received over 85,000 applications from Ontario alone, demonstrating that Canadians are still hungry for job opportunities. Hiring began last month and will continue through to June. Some positions like data processors and call-centre employees may continue from May to August.
-----
A University of Toronto study has found that there is a grain of truth to the Oscar curse. The myth exists that best-actress winners' marriages tend to fall apart post-win, exemplified by Sandra Bullock last year. Researchers at the Rotman School of Management look at the marital histories of 751 movie stars nominated in the categories of Best Actor and Best Actress, between the years 1936 and 2010. Their research concluded that women who win Oscars in that category face a higher risk of marital failure than men who win. In their research, they found that Best Actress winners stayed married for 4.3 years on average, while the non-winners' marriages lasted more than 9.5 years.
-----
It seems that Charlottetown is fed up with stop-andgo traffic. The city is now planning to tear up numerous residential stop signs that they deem unnecessary, despite going with residents requests' there be more signs to slow down speeding cars. Last year, Winnipeg also examined the necessity of some of its stop signs and Nelson, B.C. is doing the same.
-----
Prime Minister Stephen Harper's government has a new plan to funnel millions of federal tax dollars into a controversial plan to build a new NHL arena in Quebec City, according to CBC News. Sources told CBC News that the Conservative government is considering allowing part of the federal gas tax revenues to be used for construction of "large entertainment centres" such as the proposed new Quebec City arena. Cities and towns across the country currently share an annual pot of just over $2 billion from the federal gas taxes collected at the pumps. While municipalities are free to pick their own projects, the federal government stipulates the gas-tax money can only be used for infrastructure such as roads, sewers and water treatment systems. Sources say the Harper government is considering amending the federal regulations to allow municipalities to spend their annual gas-tax funds on entertainment facilities such as a new NHL arena.
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
Just when you thought the Church of Scientology couldn't get weirder or more terrifying: an article published in New Yorker Magazine said the FBI is investigating the church over allegations of human trafficking. Though investigations into human trafficking situations usually arise from forced prostitution, the charge can also include slave labour in which people are imprisoned and suffer psychological abuse, reported QMI Agency. According to the article, the church is also being investigated for physically abusing its members, preventing them from leaving or using force to bring back members who have left. The church has denied all allegations.
-----
Wildlife officials in New York have euthanized nearly 1,700 Canadian geese in an effort to improve aviation safety and keep public spaces clean and beautiful, reported QMI Agency. The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service and Wildlife Services of the United States Department of Agriculture captured birds from sites around the city, transported alive in turkey crates, and then gassed to death. This move was taken due to the Federal Aviation Administration and United States Air Force's zero-tolerance policy for Canadian geese on or near airports. Every goose within an 11-kilometre radius around the John F. Kennedy Airport and LaGuardia Airport was targeted for removal.
-----
Want to add the Obama girls to your Facebook friends list? Don't bother searching — Michelle Obama said she is keeping the girls off the social networking site, reported the Associated Press. According to the First Lady, the children must have certain restrictions due to security issues.
-----
Monks and nuns in the largely Catholic Baltic state of Lithuania forced a brewery on Wednesday to withdraw an "insulting" poster campaign featuring a Franciscan brother holding up a brimming glass of beer, reported Reuters news service. The outdoor billboard was to promote a beer produced by the country's biggest brewer, Svyturys-Utenos alus, which is majority owned by Danish brewing giant Carlsberg. The brewery apologized and said it would stop the advertisement immediately. It said it had used the monk's image to highlight links to a historical legacy of medieval monks producing beer.
— compiled by Erika Faust and Jessica Ireland
Statistics Canada has 37,000 spots across Canada open for people interested in conducting the 2011 census. They recently received over 85,000 applications from Ontario alone, demonstrating that Canadians are still hungry for job opportunities. Hiring began last month and will continue through to June. Some positions like data processors and call-centre employees may continue from May to August.
-----
A University of Toronto study has found that there is a grain of truth to the Oscar curse. The myth exists that best-actress winners' marriages tend to fall apart post-win, exemplified by Sandra Bullock last year. Researchers at the Rotman School of Management look at the marital histories of 751 movie stars nominated in the categories of Best Actor and Best Actress, between the years 1936 and 2010. Their research concluded that women who win Oscars in that category face a higher risk of marital failure than men who win. In their research, they found that Best Actress winners stayed married for 4.3 years on average, while the non-winners' marriages lasted more than 9.5 years.
-----
It seems that Charlottetown is fed up with stop-andgo traffic. The city is now planning to tear up numerous residential stop signs that they deem unnecessary, despite going with residents requests' there be more signs to slow down speeding cars. Last year, Winnipeg also examined the necessity of some of its stop signs and Nelson, B.C. is doing the same.
-----
Prime Minister Stephen Harper's government has a new plan to funnel millions of federal tax dollars into a controversial plan to build a new NHL arena in Quebec City, according to CBC News. Sources told CBC News that the Conservative government is considering allowing part of the federal gas tax revenues to be used for construction of "large entertainment centres" such as the proposed new Quebec City arena. Cities and towns across the country currently share an annual pot of just over $2 billion from the federal gas taxes collected at the pumps. While municipalities are free to pick their own projects, the federal government stipulates the gas-tax money can only be used for infrastructure such as roads, sewers and water treatment systems. Sources say the Harper government is considering amending the federal regulations to allow municipalities to spend their annual gas-tax funds on entertainment facilities such as a new NHL arena.
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
Just when you thought the Church of Scientology couldn't get weirder or more terrifying: an article published in New Yorker Magazine said the FBI is investigating the church over allegations of human trafficking. Though investigations into human trafficking situations usually arise from forced prostitution, the charge can also include slave labour in which people are imprisoned and suffer psychological abuse, reported QMI Agency. According to the article, the church is also being investigated for physically abusing its members, preventing them from leaving or using force to bring back members who have left. The church has denied all allegations.
-----
Wildlife officials in New York have euthanized nearly 1,700 Canadian geese in an effort to improve aviation safety and keep public spaces clean and beautiful, reported QMI Agency. The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service and Wildlife Services of the United States Department of Agriculture captured birds from sites around the city, transported alive in turkey crates, and then gassed to death. This move was taken due to the Federal Aviation Administration and United States Air Force's zero-tolerance policy for Canadian geese on or near airports. Every goose within an 11-kilometre radius around the John F. Kennedy Airport and LaGuardia Airport was targeted for removal.
-----
Want to add the Obama girls to your Facebook friends list? Don't bother searching — Michelle Obama said she is keeping the girls off the social networking site, reported the Associated Press. According to the First Lady, the children must have certain restrictions due to security issues.
-----
Monks and nuns in the largely Catholic Baltic state of Lithuania forced a brewery on Wednesday to withdraw an "insulting" poster campaign featuring a Franciscan brother holding up a brimming glass of beer, reported Reuters news service. The outdoor billboard was to promote a beer produced by the country's biggest brewer, Svyturys-Utenos alus, which is majority owned by Danish brewing giant Carlsberg. The brewery apologized and said it would stop the advertisement immediately. It said it had used the monk's image to highlight links to a historical legacy of medieval monks producing beer.
— compiled by Erika Faust and Jessica Ireland
