News for Youse: Students missing degrees in demand, B.C. unprepared for oil spills, and Burrard Bridge construction

Students missing degrees in demand  A new CIBC World Markets report warns of “narrowing” returns on post-secondary education, with too few students graduating with degrees in areas of demand. “A higher education may be a necessary condition for a good job in Canada, but it is no longer a sufficient condition,” CIBC deputy chief economist Benjamin Tal was quoted in a release.

B.C. unprepared for oil spills Officials within the B.C. government have expressed concerns the province is not prepared to deal with oil spills from existing tanker traffic, documents obtained by Canadian Press reveal. “Even a moderately-sized spill would overwhelm the province's ability to respond and could result in a significant liability for government,” wrote one bureaucrat with the environment ministry.

Burrard Bridge intersection construction begins  Expect delays when getting off or on the south end of the Burrard Street Bridge. Today (August 26), the City of Vancouver begins construction to improve safety at the intersection there.

New leader for the B.C. Greens  Adam Olsen has been appointed the interim leader of the B.C. Green Party. Long-time party head Jane Sterk announced her resignation on August 13. In the May 2013 provincial election, Olsen, a member of the Tsartlip First Nation, was the Green’s candidate for Saanich North. He lost that riding by less than 400 votes.

Vancouver Island Mountie sentencing  Today, Vancouver Island RCMP constable David Pompeo is scheduled for sentencing after being found guilty of aggravated assault for shooting an unarmed man in September 2009.

Emery recounts toking with Trudeau  Marc Emery has clarified remarks he made several years ago about puffing cannabis with Justin Trudeau. Emery reveals that he smoked pot at a small dinner party with the Liberal leader in August 2003 “on the patio of a second floor restaurant on West Broadway”. You can read more about this story here.

U.S. spying at the United Nations  The NSA bugged offices and tapped communications at the United Nations headquarters in New York. According to a report in Germany’s Der Spiegel magazine, documents released by Edward Snowden show the U.S. government hacked the U.N.’s video conferencing system and has been spying on friends and allies alike.

Bo trial hears closing arguments  The trial of former Chinese politician Bo Xilai has concluded with prosecutors arguing for a harsh sentence for the man accused of corruption and abuse of power. Bo has maintained he is innocent throughout the high-profile trial.

UN investigating chemical weapons in Syria  United Nations weapons inspectors have visited a site in the suburbs of Damascus where the forces of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad are accused of using chemical weapons. According to the aid group Medecins Sans Frontieres, an attack that looks to have involved chemical weapons left 355 people dead and thousands more injured.

VMAs with the usual controversies  The MTV Video Music Awards took place last night (August 25) and involved a number of the kinds of titillating celebrity shenanigans it has come to be known for. BuzzFeed has a roundup of the “most important” things that happened that you can view here.