An independent civilian police watchdog released a 300-page review Wednesday of the actions leading up to more than 1,100 arrests in Toronto during the 2010 G20 summit. The committee found police officers used excessive force, detained people illegally and ignored citizens’ basic right to demonstrate. What resulted was the largest mass arrest in Canadian history.

The genocide trial of former Bosnian-Serb military general Ratko Mladic opened at the International Criminal Court in the Netherlands Wednesday. The court heard Mladic, who has pleaded not guilty to all counts, intended to “ethnically cleanse” Bosnia of all non-Serbs. The 70-year-old now faces 11 counts of war crimes, and crimes against humanity, for the 1992-1995 war that left about 100,000 people dead.

The World Health Organization released its annual report on global health Wednesday. It reveals staggering increases in obesity and other illnesses all around the world. From developed nations to the poorest countries in Africa, obesity rates doubled in every region between 1980 and 2008. An estimated 12 per cent of the world’s population is now categorized as obese. The report also shows one in three adults has raised blood pressure and one in 10 has diabetes.

The players who will represent football powerhouse England at the Euro 2012 tournament this summer were announced Wednesday. Among them are Liverpool striker Andy Carroll and Chelsea’s John Terry. The squad, set to be captained by Steven Gerrard, will also include Stewart Downing and Danny Welbeck. It came as no surprise veteran Wayne Rooney was also selected. However, Manchester United’s Rio Ferdinand was not. Elsewhere in British soccer, Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish was let go, following the team’s less-than-stellar eighth-place finish in the Premier League.

A one-year-old Humboldt Penguin fled from its home at the Tokyo Sea Life Park more than a month ago, after climbing a four-metre high rock wall. Since then, he’s been spotted bobbing around in Tokyo Bay. Zookeepers seem to think he’s managing just fine on his own and say he’ll likely stay right where he is…at least for the time being.

Despite ongoing concerns over an unstable economy, a recent report by real estate giant ReMax finds there is an increasing demand for luxury homes across the country. In the first several months of 2012, records were set in 10 of the 16 markets the organization studies. Luxury home sales in Toronto were up by 49 per cent compared to the same time last year. However, in Vancouver, Canada’s most expensive market, there was a 31 per cent decline in the first quarter. Experts attribute the dip to an especially inflated period in 2011.