The Wednesday news briefing: An at-a-glance survey of some top stories

Highlights from the news file for Wednesday, Aug. 10

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RELIGIOUS FREEDOM OFFICE TAINTED BY PERCEPTION IT WAS POLITICAL: An internal review of efforts by the previous Conservative government to promote religious freedom around the world says the work was tainted by the perception of political interference. The evaluation finds that the skepticism that greeted the Office of Religious Freedoms lingered for years after it was first announced in 2011. Evaluators partly blame a lack of transparency about the office’s work and a failure to clearly communicate why it funded some projects but not others. They say because of that, the office faced the constant challenge of proving it wasn’t a political office.

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GREENS MIGHT REVISIT ISRAELI BOYCOTT MOVE: Elizabeth May says Green party members might soon be asked to reconsider their controversial support of a movement to boycott Israel — provided she herself decides to stay on as their leader. May says the only other opportunities to revisit the resolution — which she firmly opposes — would be the party’s next biennial meeting in 2018 or at a leadership convention, should she opt to step down later this month. In an interview, May says she must consider what is best for herself, for the party and for the broader issue of security in the Middle East. Regardless of what she decides, May says she plans to run as a Green candidate in the next general election.

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JEWISH DEFENCE LEAGUE PROTESTS SOCIAL FORUM: Pro-Israel and pro-Palestine protesters stood on either side of a line of Montreal police officers and hurled insults at one another Wednesday, blocks away from events taking place at the World Social Forum 2016. Roughly 10 members of the Jewish Defence League, mostly from Toronto, tried to march to a venue hosting an anti-Israel event and were confronted by pro-Palestinian demonstrators. About 10 police officers stood between the two camps as both sides yelled through megaphones. “Stop murdering Jews!” one man yelled at the group of roughly 40 activists.”Viva viva Palestina!” they chanted in response.

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RAILWAYS SAY THEY ARE READY FOR LARGE CROP: The Saskatchewan government is urging rail companies to be prepared to deal with a larger than average crop this year, but the railways say they have already put plans in place to do the job. “I know that they can do this job if there’s the will to do it,” Agriculture Minister Lyle Stewart said Wednesday at the legislature in Regina. “Our job is just to remind them that we’re looking at a situation where they will be a lot of product to move and we’re putting them on the spot. We’re asking in a very public way that they ramp up to get the job done.” The province doesn’t want to see a repeat of 2013-2014. Western Canadian farmers harvested a record 76 million tonnes of grain — 50 per cent higher than average, but a rail bottleneck left much of the crop sitting in bins across the Prairies for months.

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TRUMP’S WORDS CAN HAVE CONSEQUENCES, SAYS CLINTON: Hillary Clinton says there could be “tremendous consequences” from Donald Trump’s comments that there may be something Second Amendment supporters “can do” to stop her. Clinton says the remark was a “casual inciting of violence” that shows he lacks the temperament to be commander-in-chief. The comments, Clinton says, were the latest in a long string by Trump that “crossed the line” and raises the stakes for the 2016 campaign. She says that words matter and “if you are running to be president or you are president of the United States words can have tremendous consequences.” Trump insists he never advocated violence and his comments Tuesday have been manipulated for political purposes.

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PIPELINE NEEDS THEIR CONSENT, SAY MI’KMAQ: Mi’kmaq communities in New Brunswick said the Energy East pipeline project must have their consent in order to pass through their territories. Chief George Ginnish, of the Eel Ground First Nation, told National Energy Board hearings in Saint John, N.B., that Mi’kmaq communities remain “deeply concerned” about the effect the proposed pipeline will have on their aboriginal and treaty rights. Ginnish was speaking on behalf of a group of nine communities in eastern and northern parts of the province. “We have to consider the impact that any projects will have on our next seven generations, it’s our duty to our ancestors,” said Ginnish.

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NEW YORK JURY CONVICTS ONTARIO MAN IN FRAUD CASE: A Mississauga, Ont., man who secured nearly US$1 billion in contracts to rebuild the World Trade Center was convicted Wednesday on charges that he defrauded a program meant to benefit minorities and women. The Manhattan federal court jury deliberated less than a day before convicting Larry Davis, 65, on wire fraud and conspiracy charges. His lawyer, Sanford Talkin, said in a statement after the verdict: “We are of course disappointed in the verdict and will file the appropriate motions and appeal.” A day earlier, Talkin told jurors in a closing argument that Davis was not guilty.”There is no fraud here,” he said.

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INFANT BORN ALIVE AFTER QUEBEC WOMAN HIT BY CAR: Quebec City police say a newborn is alive and well after a pregnant Quebec woman was struck by a car at a pedestrian crossing. The woman in her 20s is fighting for her life. Police spokeswoman Marie-Eve Painchaud says the newborn’s life is not in danger. Authorities believe the motorist fell ill at the wheel. He has been transported to hospital but his life is not considered to be in danger. The car in question kept moving after hitting the woman and finally stopped after colliding with two parked cars.

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SOURCE SAYS BOY WAS DECAPITATED ON WATER SLIDE: A 10-year-old boy was decapitated as he rode a 168-foot tall waterslide at a water park in Kansas, a person familiar with the investigation said Wednesday. The Associated Press reported that the person spoke on condition of anonymity because the person is not authorized to speak about Caleb Schwab’s death Sunday on the raft ride at the Schlitterbahn WaterPark in Kansas City, Kansas. Two women who are not family members were in the raft at the time with the boy and were treated for facial injuries. The boy’s parents — Republican state Rep. Scott Schwab and his wife, Michele — have requested privacy and have not spoken publicly since the death. His funeral is scheduled for Friday.

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STUDY LOOKS AT ROUTE OF 1ST HUMANS TO AMERICAS: A commonly held belief about the route taken by the first humans to arrive in North America may be turned on its ear after an international study released this week. It is thought that the migration of the first people into the Americas from Siberia occurred via the Bering Land Bridge through a corridor in what is now Western Canada. The area was opened up by the retreating ice sheets at the end of the last ice age between 14,000 and 15,000 years ago. But a study — “Postglacial viability and colonization in North America’s ice-free corridor” — published in the latest issue of Nature casts doubt on that theory. “There was no vegetation, animal life or wood in the central parts of the corridor before 12,600 years ago,” said the study’s lead author.

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