International Roundup

One in four North American immigrants who have arrived in Israel since 1989 have permanently left the country, according to an analysis of Interior Ministry border control statistics by Ha'aretz. The study found that the highest proportion of immigrants who leave are from North America, followed by South Africa, Britain and France. The relatively high rate of departure among North American immigrants comes as a shock to many, because they generally move to Israel by choice, out of identification with the country, rather than to escape bad economic or political conditions.

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Australia's High Court has once again criticizing the Government's controversial asylum-seeker laws, as it rejected an appeal to a ruling by the Federal Court that limited the Administration's powers to detain asylum-seekers. The Government was attempting to appeal the High Court's ruling, which found that those whose asylum claims have been rejected can not be held in detention indefinitely.

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Belgium has sentenced a man believed to be the country's biggest ever people-smuggler to eight years in prison. Mhill Sokoki, 35, was described by the presiding judge as "the spider in the web" of an organization which passed up to 12,000 illegal Albanian immigrants into the UK. Sokoki was also fined EUR 125,000. Twenty-four other accused members of the smuggling operation received jail sentences of a minimum of three years.

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Canada's Citizenship and Immigration Minister, Denis Coderre, said the Cabinet is divided over whether to adopt a national identification card. A new poll conducted by the government found that around 70% of Canadians support such a card, which would include biometric data such as fingerprints and eye scans. Lawmakers are waiting for recommendations from a Commons committee and a two-day national forum this fall before making a decision, Coderre said.