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

Highlights from the news file for Wednesday, Aug. 24

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EARTHQUAKE IN ITALY REDUCES TOWNS TO RUBBLE: Rescue crews using bulldozers and their bare hands raced to dig out survivors from a strong earthquake that reduced three central Italian towns to rubble Wednesday. The death toll stood at 159, but the number of dead and missing was uncertain given the thousands of vacationers in the area for summer’s final days. Residents wakened before dawn by the temblor emerged from their crumbled homes to find what they described as apocalyptic scenes “like Dante’s Inferno,” with entire blocks of buildings turned into piles of sand and rock, thick dust choking the air and a putrid smell of gas. The magnitude 6 quake was felt across a broad swath of central Italy, including Rome.

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EARTHQUAKE SHAKES CENTRAL MYANMAR: A powerful earthquake shook Myanmar on Wednesday, killing at least four people and damaging nearly a hundred ancient Buddhist pagodas in the former capital of Bagan, a major tourist site, officials said. The U.S. Geological Survey said the magnitude 6.8 quake was centred about 25 kilometres (15 miles) west of Chauk, a town south of Bagan. It was located fairly far below the Earth’s surface at a depth of about 84 kilometres (52 miles), it said. Deep earthquakes generally cause less surface damage.

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MILITANTS ATTACK AMERICAN UNIVERSITY IN AFGHANISTAN: Officials in Afghanistan say at least one person is dead and 18 others wounded after militants attacked the American University of Afghanistan. One witness says students barricaded themselves in a classroom during the attack, adding at least two grenades were thrown into the classroom, wounding several students. Security forces are still combing through the campus in Kabul in search of the attackers.

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PM URGED TO ACT ON MINISTERIAL EXPENSES: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is under political pressure to outline specific measures to control spending, now that two of his cabinet ministers are under the microscope. NDP MPs Alexandre Boulerice and Charlie Angus are calling on him to outline the measures he’s put in place in response to what they call “a pattern of questionable expenses.” The ethics commissioner is looking into Health Minister Jane Philpott’s repeated use of a high-end car service owned by a Liberal supporter who canvassed for her during the last federal election, while Environment Minister Catherine McKenna has asked her department to review expenses after it was revealed $6,600 was spent documenting the COP21 climate change conference in Paris.

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POSTAL WORKERS’ STRIKE MANDATE SET TO EXPIRE: It appears contract talks at Canada Post have stalled as a strike mandate for more than 51,000 members of the Canadian Union of Postal Workers is set to expire. The postal agency’s biggest union has until midnight Thursday to serve the Crown corporation with a 72-hour strike notice. Should the union pull the plug on bargaining, there could be disruptions to mail delivery by Monday, although it wasn’t clear Wednesday what action would be taken. The Crown corporation also has the option to lock out workers after Thursday.

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COST TO FIX PHOENIX PAY PROBLEMS SOARING: Fixing the problems with the federal government’s new payroll system will cost in excess of $25 million, but a total amount won’t be known for weeks, an official at Public Works and Government Services Canada revealed Wednesday. “The last number we have is 25 (million dollars) but it will be higher,” said Marie Lemay, the deputy minister responsible for public services and procurement.

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QUEBEC MINISTER SORRY FOR BAIN VERDICT REMARK: Quebec’s health minister apologized profusely Wednesday after suggesting earlier in the day that election-night shooter Richard Henry Bain acted partly out of frustration with the political rhetoric in the province. Gaetan Barrette’s comments were quickly seized upon by political opponents who accused him of suggesting Quebec sovereigntists should moderate their tone to discourage violence against them. Interim Parti Quebecois leader Sylvain Gaudreault said Barrette’s comments left him “speechless.”

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REGULATE THC LEVELS IN RECREATIONAL MARIJUANA, DOCTORS SAY: The Canadian Medical Association says 72 per cent of doctors who responded to a survey it conducted want the federal government to regulate THC levels in recreational marijuana. A total of 788 doctors, or 19 per cent of the association’s membership, responded to the survey earlier this summer. Nearly 87 per cent of the physicians who took part in the survey also say they need updated research on the harms of cannabis, while more than a quarter of the respondents say a minimum age of 21 should be set for anyone who buys or possesses pot.

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ONTARIO MULLING WATER-TAKING PERMIT CHANGES: Bottled water companies in Ontario may soon have to pay more and take less water, as public outcry over revelations that the province charges them just $3.71 for every million litres triggered a government review. There is a difference between taking water for agricultural or industrial use and taking it to sell bottled water, Premier Kathleen Wynne said Wednesday. Some of the conditions of the permits for the latter use are outdated, she said. Wynne has asked Environment Minister Glen Murray to review permit conditions for bottled water companies. It will look at whether there is a sufficient price on removing water, he said.

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SON OF JAILED MAN IN CHINA HOPES PM CAN HELP: The son of a Canadian man jailed in China on espionage charges is hoping Justin Trudeau’s visit to the Asian country next week will help his father’s case — but his expectations are low. The prime minister has vowed to raise the case of Vancouver natives Kevin and Julia Garratt, who were arrested in China two years ago. Julia was released on bail about six months later. Their son, Simeon Garratt, says he hopes Trudeau’s first official visit to China will somehow move his father’s case forward — but adds he has no reason to believe anything significant will happen.

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