News for Youse: PNE opening weekend, DTES charity worker dies, and two Canadians missing in Egypt

Strong opening weekend for the PNE  The Pacific National Exhibition kicked off its 2013 run with a successful opening weekend. This year's highlights include the Genghis Khan exhibit, the Summer Night concert series, Sportacular, Superdogs, and the Peking Acrobats. You can view of photo gallery taken on the PNE’s first day here.

DTES charity worker dies  One of the Downtown Eastside's most beloved advocates has died. Sister Elizabeth Kelliher, an 89-year-old Catholic social activist, passed away on Friday (August 16). During her time in Vancouver, she operated a soup kitchen serving up to 500 people a day. You can read more about this story here.

Salmon numbers remain low  The Pacific Salmon Commission has revised numbers for this summer’s Fraser River sockeye salmon run. The number of sockeye to make the arduous journey up river is expected to reach 2.3 million, up from a previous forecast of two million. The prediction for the overall run remains below initial estimates, at three million, down from 4.8 million.

Toronto police officer charged  Const. James Forcillo, the Toronto Police officer who allegedly shot and killed 18-year-old Sammy Yatim, has been charged with second-degree murder. On July 27, Yatim was involved in an altercation with police. An amateur video shows Yatim standing inside a streetcar when officers positioned at a distance fired nine shots in Yatim’s direction.

Report criticizes judicial system  A new report by the Canadian Bar Associated warns that Canada’s justice system is widely regarded as “not to be trusted, only for people with money, arbitrary, difficult to navigate and inaccessible to ordinary people.” The document is a summary of a full report scheduled for release later this year. You can read the preview here.

Chomsky talks government spying  Renowned linguist and political analyst Noam Chomsky was on CBC’s Q this morning (August 19) to discuss recent revelations that the CIA was keeping a file on him during the Vietnam War. In a wide-ranging interview, Chomsky also spoke at-length about the documents on government surveillance revealed by Edward Snowden. You can listen to that conversation here.

Two Canadians missing in Egypt  The whereabouts of two Canadian men remains unknown and a cause for concern after the filmmaker and physician were arrested in Egypt. Tarek Loubani, a doctor from London, Ontario, and  John Greyson, a filmmaker and professor at York University, were travelling to Gaza when they were detained for unknown reasons.

U.K. detains Greenwald’s partner  The partner of Glenn Greenwald, the American journalist working with Edward Snowden to reveal the extent of U.S. and U.K. spying and surveillance, was detained for nine hours during a stopover at London’s Heathrow airport. Authorities questioned David Miranda without a lawyer present and confiscated his laptop and other electronic equipment. The Brazilian national was interrogated under the U.K.’s Terrorism Act. Britain's anti-terrorist legislation watchdog has called for the government to explain the incident.

Egyptian police officers executed  At least 24 Egyptian police officers were killed in a single incident in the Sinai Peninsula in what’s being reported as an ambush. An unverified document attributed to an ambulance worker indicates that the majority of the men suffered gunshot wounds to the back and head. Hundreds of people have died in a crackdown on protesters that began last week.

Bieber crew searched for drugs  The posse traveling with Canadian pop superstar Justin Bieber was searched by Fort Lauderdale International Airport security, who reportedly suspected the group of being in the possession of narcotics. No drugs were found during the search.