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2 U.S. Navy sailors arrested and accused of spying for China

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Best CCTV Security Camera in Brampton Best CCTV Camera in Brampton The USS Essex is shown in a Sept. 27, 2018 photo. One of two men charged with spying for China this week was assigned to the San Diego-based USS Essex, and was arrested Wednesday while boarding the ship. (Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Matthew Freeman/U.S. Navy/Getty Images) Two U.S. Navy sailors were charged Thursday with providing sensitive military information to China — including details on wartime exercises, naval operations and critical technical material. Both men pleaded not guilty in federal courts in San Diego and Los Angeles. They were ordered to be held until their detention hearings, which will take place Aug. 8 in those same cities. U.S. Attorney Randy Grossman for the Southern District of California said the charges reflect that China “stands apart in terms of the threat that its government poses to the United States. China is unrivaled in its audacity and the range of its maligned efforts to subvert our laws.” The cases are separate, and it wasn’t clear if the two were courted or paid by the same Chinese intelligence officer as part of a larger scheme. Federal officials at a news conference in San Diego declined to specify whether the sailors were aware of each other’s actions. Jinchao Wei, a 22-year-old sailor assigned to the San Diego-based USS Essex, was arrested Wednesday while boarding the ship. He is accused of passing detailed information on the weapons systems and aircraft aboard the Essex and other amphibious assault ships that act as small aircraft carriers. Prosecutors said Wei, who was born in China, was approached by a Chinese intelligence officer in February 2022 while he was applying to become a naturalized U.S. citizen, and admitted to the officer that he knew the arrangement could affect his application. Even so, at the officer’s request, Wei provided photographs and videos of Navy ships, including the USS Essex, which can carry an array of helicopters, including the MV-22 Ospreys, according to an indictment unsealed Thursday. The indictment alleges Wei included as many as 50 manuals containing technical and mechanical data about Navy ships as well as details about the number and training of Marines during an upcoming exercise. Wei continued to send sensitive U.S. military information multiple times over the course of a year and even was congratulated by the Chinese officer once Wei became a U.S. citizen, Grossman said. He added that Wei “chose to turn his back on his newly adopted country” for greed. Home CCTV Camera in Brmapton U.S. Attorney Randy S. Grossman for the Southern District of California, centre, speaks during a press conference Thursday in San Diego detailing the charges. (Meg McLaughlin/The San Diego Union-Tribune/The Associated Press) Cheap CCTV Camera in Brampton The Justice Department charged Wei under a Espionage Act statute that makes it a crime to gather or deliver information to aid a foreign government. After pleading not guilty in San Diego, Wei was assigned a new public defender who declined to comment following the hearing. Assistant U.S. Attorney Fred Sheppard told the judge that Wei had passed information to Chinese intelligence as recently as two days ago. He said Wei, who also went by the name Patrick Wei, told a fellow sailor in February 2022 that he was “being recruited for what quite obviously is [expletive] espionage.” Sheppard said Wei has made $10,000 US to $15,000 in the past year from the arrangement with the unnamed Chinese intelligence officer. If convicted, he could face up to life in prison. The officer instructed Wei not to discuss their relationship, to share sensitive information and to destroy evidence to help them cover their tracks, officials said. The Justice Department also charged sailor Wenheng Zhao, 26, based at Naval Base Ventura County, north of San Diego, with conspiring to collect nearly $15,000 in bribes from a Chinese intelligence officer in exchange for U.S. naval exercise plans, operational orders and photos and videos of electrical systems at Navy facilities between August 2021 through at least this May. The information included operational plans for a large-scale U.S. military exercise in the Indo-Pacific region, which detailed the location and timing of naval force movements. The indictment further alleges that Zhao photographed electrical diagrams and blueprints for a radar system stationed on a U.S. military base in Okinawa, Japan. Prosecutors say Zhao, who also went by the name Thomas Zhao, also surreptitiously recorded information that he handed over. If convicted, Zhao could face a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison. Best CCTV Security Services in Brampton Best CCTV Camera in Brampton At the Pentagon, Brig.-Gen. Pat Ryder told reporters that, “I think we have clear policies and procedures in place when it comes to safeguarding and protecting sensitive information. And so if those rules are violated, appropriate action will be taken.” He declined to discuss any specifics of the cases. But the pair of cases also comes on the heels of another insider-threat prosecution tied to the U.S. military, with the Justice Department in April arresting a Massachusetts Air National Guardsman on charges of leaking classified military documents about Russia’s war in Ukraine and other sensitive national security topics on Discord, a social media platform popular with people playing online games. Beijing rejects American claims as ‘information warfare’ Home CCTV Camera in Brmapton Cheap CCTV Camera in Brampton In this photo provided by Chad Fish, the remnants of a large balloon drift above the Atlantic Ocean, just off the coast of South Carolina, with a fighter jet and its contrail seen below it, on Feb. 4. The appearance of a series of unidentified objects in the sky over a week that were subsequently shot down has prompted questions about why there seems to be a sudden rash of such incidents. (Chad Fish/The Associated Press) The Chinese balloon shot down by the U.S. was equipped to collect intelligence signals as part of a huge, military-linked aerial spy program that targeted more than 40 countries, the Biden administration said Thursday, citing imagery from

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Hamilton city staff apologize for ‘minimizing’ health impacts of insect and rodent infestations

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Best CCTV Security Camera in Brampton Elizabeth Richardson, Hamilton’s medical officer of health, apologized for comments her staff made that minimized the health impacts of pest infestations on residents. (Samantha Craggs/CBC) Best CCTV Camera in Brampton Public health staff have apologized to residents for not enforcing the city’s pest rules for over four years and recently making comments that minimized the health impacts of living with insect and rodent infestations. Dr. Elizabeth Richardson, the city’s medical officer of health, made the apology on Thursday, following CBC Hamilton’s story. “I want to apologize on behalf of the City of Hamilton as well as public health services to those in the community who felt our level of service for not addressing pest control complaints was not up to their expectations,” Richardson told reporters. Public health manager Matthew Lawson previously told CBC Hamilton there’s little evidence to suggest rats, cockroaches and bedbugs carry diseases. Lawson also apologized Thursday, acknowledging pests can affect people’s physical and mental wellbeing, and cause allergic reactions, infections related to scratching, as well as anxiety and insomnia. “I take the health and wellbeing of those in Hamilton very seriously,” Lawson said. “That’s why I’m here today to extend an apology to those who felt pain based on my comments in a recent media story minimizing the negative impacts pest infestations can have on community members.” Earlier in the day, Mayor Andrea Horwath urged city staff to apologize. Home CCTV Camera in Brmapton Cheap CCTV Camera in Brampton Following their apology, she told CBC Hamilton she was shocked when she read the story and said residents felt diminished and insulted. “I want to articulate how sorry I am,” Horwath said. “People need to know the city is on their side. When they call with issues, we need to respond and if we’re not able to, we need to know why.” A bylaw officer will be in charge of responding to new pest complaints starting next Tuesday, while also working through hundreds of cases the city has yet to respond to, Richardson said. Horwath said she expects the city to contact every resident who has lodged a complaint and find ways to expedite the process. Kevin McDonald, a city public health director who oversees the healthy environments division, previously said Hamilton’s public health division paused pest control in early 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic started. That means landlords who fail to keep buildings free of cockroaches, bedbugs or rats, as required under the city’s property standards bylaw, haven’t faced bylaw orders or fees. Public health says enforcement paused during the pandemic and a bylaw officer will pick it up next month CBC Hamilton is investigating the living conditions that tenants face and what responsibility the city has to uphold property standards. This is Part 1 of a three-part series. Parts 2 and 3 will run in the coming weeks. The cockroach and bedbug infestations in Tammy Brown’s Hamilton apartment have all but destroyed her life, she says. Roaches have taken over her fridge and stove, contaminating her food and making it impossible to cook for her two adult daughters, one of whom lives with a disability, and her four-year-old grandson. Brown has thrown out nearly all their clothes and furniture in an effort to rid her home of the pests. “We have nothing left,” she said. Brown, a member of the tenant advocacy group ACORN, has called the city four times in under a year, begging for it to order the landlord at 221 Melvin Ave. to fix the pest problems. She said neither public health nor bylaw has ever responded. “Nobody from the city gives a shit,” she said. “Pardon my French, but the job is not being done.” There’s a reason she hasn’t heard back. The City of Hamilton isn’t enforcing its own pest control rules — and hasn’t for over four years, staff told CBC Hamilton. That means landlords who fail to keep buildings free of cockroaches, bedbugs or rats, as required under the city’s property standards bylaw, haven’t faced bylaw orders or fees. Kevin McDonald, a city public health director who oversees the healthy environments division, said in an interview the decision to pause pest control happened in response to the COVID-19 pandemic in the spring of 2020, when staff were reassigned to respond to the emergency. Pest control was determined to be a low priority at that time, McDonald said. The public was notified of the change through a report prepared for the Board of Health and the previous mayor in June 2020. In that report, it does not list services — like pest control enforcement — that were put on hold, but rather services that would continue. Pest control was not on the list. Public health lifted its state of emergency related to COVID-19 over a year ago. “We appreciate and are not trying to minimize the presence of pests in someone’s home can be extremely stressful, frustrating and concerning,” said McDonald. “And depending on the type of pests, that can have a mental and physical impact on individuals.” Best CCTV Security Services in Brampton Brown and her family live at 221 Melvin Ave. in Hamilton’s east end. (Samantha Beattie/CBC) Best CCTV Camera in Brampton However, according to public health manager Matthew Lawson, there’s little evidence to suggest rats, cockroaches and bedbugs carry pathological diseases, and the idea that residents could experience negative mental health impacts is a “novel, developing notion” that began in 2008 when bedbugs started making a resurgence in Hamilton. “I couldn’t agree with you more that nobody wants to live with pests,” said Lawson. “But pests in the modern form aren’t necessarily presenting a health hazard.” Hamilton public health received 1,365 pest complaints from 2019 to this month, as shared with CBC Hamilton. There were fewer than five orders issued by the city in that time. A corporate landlord found guilty of violating the city’s pest control rules may face fines of up to $100,000. McDonald said enforcement will begin again by mid-August, after one bylaw officer is reassigned and trained. The bylaw officer will respond to pest control complaints, which residents can file by calling the city’s customer contact centre, he said. “Everyone deserves

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Manitoba restaurant owner lends kitchen to Ukrainian refugees for serving Ukrainian cuisine

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Best CCTV Security Camera in Brampton Olha Mashyna, right, and her husband, Oleksandr Mashyn, have been using the kitchen at Le Goûter in Albert Beach, Man., every Monday and Tuesday for free. (Gavin Boutroy/Radio-Canada) Best CCTV Camera in Brampton Being a cook might be Olha Mashyna’s destiny. After she and her family fled the war in Ukraine and moved to Winnipeg earlier this year, a chance encounter with a Manitoba restaurant owner brought her back to doing the thing she loves — serving Ukrainian cuisine. Mashyna and her husband, Oleksandr Mashyn, have been cooking and serving Ukrainian cuisine at a restaurant called Le Goûter in Albert Beach, Man., every Monday and Tuesday. The owners, who normally close the restaurant down on on those days, offered up their kitchen for Mashyna and her husband to use — free of charge. Mashyna says it’s been a way for them to gain valuable work experience and earn some income. “It’s far from our home, but it’s … experience. It’s big experience,” Mashyna told CBC. She moved to Winnipeg’s Transcona neighbourhood with her family in March. They came from a village close to Zaporizhzhia — about 10 kilometres from the front lines of the war that started when Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022 — where they owned two stores and ran a cafe. She said it was difficult to adjust after leaving her life behind in Ukraine. “We work hard every day. In Ukraine, we have everything. We have two apartments … two cars. We have money. We have life,” she said. “I really missed my store. It’s my love.” But as fate would have it, Mashyna met Lise Bourassa, the owner of Le Goûter, at a food handling course in April. “We started talking, and I realized we have a lot in common,” said Bourassa, who owns the restaurant in Albert Beach, on the eastern shore of Lake Winnipeg, with her husband. The couple also owns Saffies General Store, which is right across the street from the restaurant. “We just kind of hit it off right away,” she added. Bourassa said she and her husband were planning on closing the restaurant down for a couple nights a week anyway, since they were low on cooks. “The restaurant’s here and this is a gift that we can give them, as the community really gave to us when we first arrived,” she told CBC. Cheap CCTV Camera in Brampton Mashyna and Mashyn are looking for a restaurant or kitchen to rent after Le Goûter closes for the season in September. (Gavin Boutroy/Radio-Canada) Home CCTV Camera in Brampton And Mashyna’s menu — which includes perogies, cabbage rolls, borscht, meatballs and other Ukrainian staples — has been a hit so far and it is because she loves serving Ukrainian cuisine. “They always say ‘thank you’ and ‘it’s delicious,’” she said. “It’s amazing.” People even drive in from Winnipeg, about 100 kilometres to the south, to dine on the nights Mashyna works, and the food usually sells out each evening, Bourassa said. “It’s amazing how many people are coming and learning about it,” said Bourassa. Mashyna isn’t sure if she’d move back to Ukraine, since so much has been destroyed. Instead, she’s looking for a kitchen or restaurant to rent in or around Winnipeg by September, when Le Goûter closes down for the season. “I really like Canada. I see how I can work here,” she said. “It’s my destiny, maybe. I cooked in Ukraine and cooked here.” Mashyna said she’s thankful for Bourassa and her husband for helping them as much as they have. “If I need something, they help us. They always help us,” she said. Best CCTV Camera in Brampton Olena Gordiyenko and daughter Anna have been living in Winnipeg since September. Gordiyenko’s husband and son are still in Ukraine. (Alana Cole/CBC) Home CCTV Camera in Brampton In the year since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, thousands of people arrived in Manitoba after leaving their homes and lives behind to flee the war. Some have already returned to Europe. Others are hoping to stay in Canada permanently. Then there are those, like Olena Gordiyenko, who are still facing uncertainty around what comes next. “Of course my heart is in Ukraine,” she said, sitting in her new apartment located near the University of Manitoba where she’s working on a one-year contract. Gordiyenko arrived in Winnipeg with her nine-year-old daughter Anna last September. A provincial spokesperson said Tuesday more than 17,200 Ukrainians have presented to Manitoba’s reception and welcoming centre since the start of the war. Roughly 13,200 provincial health cards have been issued. The federal government launched the Canada-Ukraine authorization for emergency travel program last March, which allowed Ukrainians to come to Canada quickly to work or study for up to three years. Those who want to become permanent residents may be able to apply for other programs, the government says. Gordiyenko said she wasn’t planning to leave Ukraine. She had her family, a home and a good job in Zaporizhzhia, where she’s from. “Everything was perfect and I was absolutely happy,” she said of her life in Ukraine. “Now I understand it, that I was absolutely happy because I’ve had the chance to compare.” When the war started everything changed. Gordiyenko and her family made the decision for herself and Anna to leave Ukraine, while her husband and 21-year-old son stayed behind. Though there are exceptions, men between the ages of 18 and 60 were barred from leaving Ukraine. Her son is currently finishing his university studies online. “It was very difficult to make a choice, but … this decision was made by our family together,” said Gordiyenko. “The main thing was that my daughter, now, she is safe. She is not in war, she sleeps OK, she is absolutely happy here.” Best CCTV Camera in Brampton Olena Gordiyenko and her family in Ukraine in December 2022. Gordiyenko and her daughter are living in Winnipeg, while her husband and son remain in Ukraine. (Submitted by Olena Gordiyenko ) Cheap CCTV Camera in Brampton Gordiyenko said her contract at the U of M where she’s

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At least 20 dead and 27 missing in floods surrounding China’s capital Beijing, thousands evacuated

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Best CCTV Security Camera in Brampton A resident looks out over an area inundated by flood waters in the Miaofengshan region on the outskirts of Beijing, Tuesday, Aug. 1, 2023. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan) Best CCTV Camera in Brampton BEIJING – At least 20 people were killed and 27 are missing in floods surrounding China’s capital Beijing, with thousands of others evacuated to safety, state media reported Tuesday. Days of heavy rains have prompted authorities to close train stations and evacuate people in vulnerable areas to school gyms. Homes have been flooded, roads torn apart and cars piled into stacks by the rushing waters. The level of rainfall is rarely seen in Beijing, which generally enjoys moderate, dry summers but has experienced record-breaking extended days of high temperatures this summer. Flooding in other parts of northern China that rarely see such large amounts of rain have led to scores of deaths. Seasonal flooding hits large parts of China every summer, particularly in the semitropical south, while some northern regions this year have reported the worst floods in 50 years. Indicating the level of urgency, President Xi Jinping issued an order for local governments to go “all out” to rescue those trapped and minimize the loss of life and damage to property. State media reported that 11 people died and 27 are missing in floods in the mountains to the west of Beijing’s city center. Nine other deaths were reported in Hebei province, just outside the metropolis and the source of much of its food and labour. More than 500,000 people have been impacted by the floods, state broadcaster CCTV said, without saying how many had been moved to other locations. In early July, at least 15 people were killed and missing in floods in the southwestern region of Chongqing, and about 5,590 people in the far northwestern province of Liaoning had to be evacuated. In the central province of Hubei, rainstorms trapped residents in their vehicles and homes. Cheap CCTV Camera in Brampton Home CCTV Camera in Brampton A traditional gate is seen inundated by flood waters in the Miaofengshan area on the outskirts of Beijing, Tuesday, Aug. 1, 2023. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan) China’s deadliest and most destructive floods in recent history were in 1998, when 4,150 people died, most of them along the Yangtze River. In 2021, more than 300 people died in flooding in the central province of Henan. Record rainfall inundated the provincial capital of Zhengzhou on July 20 that year, turning streets into rushing rivers and flooding at least part of a subway line. Employers across much of China were ordered Monday to limit outdoor work due to scorching temperatures, while the east and southwest were warned to prepare for torrential rain as the country struggled with heat, flooding and drought. Temperatures as high as 40 C (104 F) were reported in cities including Shijiazhuang, southwest of Beijing, the capital. Highs of 35 C (95 F) to 38 C (100 F) were reported in Beijing, Guangzhou in the south, Chongqing in the southwest and Shenyang in the northeast. The weather agency issued an orange alert, its second-highest warning, for heat across southern China and much of the north and northeast. That requires employers to limit outdoor work, though delivery workers for restaurants and online retailers still were working. The agriculture ministry warned Sunday that persistent hot weather could damage rice harvests and told local authorities to ensure adequate water supplies to prevent premature ripening of the crop. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Water Resources warned the provinces of Shandong on the east coast and Sichuan in the southwest to prepare for heavy rain from Tuesday to Friday, according to the official Xinhua News Agency. It said multiple rivers were likely to rise above safe levels. Heavy rain triggered a landslide Saturday in the central city of Yichang in Hubei province that buried a highway construction site and killed one person. Authorities were searching Monday for seven missing construction workers, Xinhua reported. Business and schools in Heilongjiang province in the northeast were ordered Monday to close and shut down outdoor electrical equipment after 84 millimetres (3.3 inches) of rain fell in one hour, according to state TV. It said traffic police were ordered to close dangerous road sections. Tens of thousands of people who were driven out of their homes by earlier flooding moved to shelters in northern, central and southeastern China. Residents of some cities have moved into underground air raid shelters to escape the heat. Earth’s average temperature set a new unofficial record high last Thursday, the third such milestone in the hottest week on record. Heavy flooding has displaced thousands of people around China as the capital had a relative respite from sweltering heat. Beijing reported 9.8 straight days when the temperature exceeded 35 C (95 F), the National Climate Center said Monday. Such a streak was last recorded in 1961 — decades before most Beijing residents had air conditioning or even fans. A lack of rainfall may be contributing to the heat, with the typically dry capital receiving even less than usual this year. While temperatures have since moderated — Monday’s temperature at midday was 33 C (91 F) — they are expected to rise again this week to as high as 39.6 Celsius (103 Fahrenheit) in Beijing and other parts of the country, authorities said. Meanwhile, more than 10,000 people were urgently moved to safety due to flooding in the central province of Hunan, the Xiang’xi Emergency Management Bureau on Sunday. Around 70 houses collapsed, 2,283 were damaged and farm fields were flooded. Losses so far have been estimated at least 575 million yuan (US$79 million). To the north in Shaanxi province’s Zhenba county, authorities reported the worst flooding in 50 years had washed out roads and damaged homes. No deaths have been reported from the floods thus far but several are missing in floods. The heat this year has been unusual, although China has regular summer flooding. Eleven provinces — around

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What is the economic cost of wildfire smoke?

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Best CCTV Security Camera in Brampton Air quality in Windsor, Ont., was among the worst in the world in late June, as wildfires raged in northeastern Canada and Quebec. Here, the Detroit skyline is barely visible through smoke and haze on June 29. (Dax Melmer/CBC) Best CCTV Camera in Brampton When tallying the economic toll of climate change, flooding tops the list in Canada. But the wildfire smoke that has blanketed many parts of North America this summer also comes with a financial cost. Wildfires release fine particulate matter known as PM2.5, which is made up of tiny particles 2.5 microns in diameter or less (that’s roughly 30 times smaller than the diameter of a human hair). Those particles can enter the lungs and bloodstream and are particularly harmful for those with pre-existing conditions. At the height of the haze in June, baseball games and Broadway shows were cancelled, schools closed and flights postponed. A growing body of research is trying to put a dollar figure on the larger economic fallout. A forthcoming paper in the Review of Economics and Statistics estimates that between 2007 and 2019, U.S. earnings were reduced by an average of $125 billion a year because of wildfires. “Air quality matters for more than just health outcomes,” David Molitor, the study’s co-author and an associate professor of finance and economics at the University of Illinois, said in an interview. “It shows up in the statistics for economic productivity.” The researchers found smoke exposure can decrease income across a range of sectors, from manufacturing to farming to real estate, and that older workers and people of colour were disproportionately affected. The paper drew on satellite imagery of wildfire smoke, air quality records and labour market data in the U.S. “One of the things that really surprised me about wildfire smoke is that in the United States, the geography of wildfire smoke is very different from the geography of fires,” said Molitor. “It turns out that the Midwest U.S. experiences, on average, some of the highest number of days of smoke per year. We don’t have a lot of fires there, but just a lot of smoke.” Another study, published last month in the journal Science of the Total Environment, concluded smoke particulates from wildfires could ultimately lead to between 4,000 and 9,000 premature deaths in the U.S. and cost a staggering $36 billion to $82 billion a year in health care. Shuai Pan, the lead author, had previously looked at the effects of pollution from the transportation sector, but became interested in the consequences of wildfire smoke while doing his doctoral work in the U.S. Epidemiological research suggests exposure to wildfire smoke is associated with increased mortality and certain common respiratory diseases, Pan said. “It’s not news that wildfire causes air pollution that has an impact on human health, but we really wanted to provide some numbers,” said Pan, a postdoctoral researcher at Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology in China. For the study, Pan and his fellow researchers used satellite wildfire emission and air quality data gathered from 2012 to 2014 to create a model estimating how smoke from wildfires could impact human health and economies. For instance, Los Angeles — downwind from many of the fires in the western U.S. — may see 119 premature deaths annually, and $1.07 billion in financial burden, the study said. Those numbers would be far higher if the research had drawn on this summer’s smoky air, Pan said. In the midst of Canada’s record wildfire season this year, Dave Sawyer, an environmental economist at the Climate Institute of Canada, tried to calculate the health cost of smoke in this country. He figured that during a particularly smoky stretch from June 4 to 8, the estimated price tag of smoke-related health care alone was $1.28 billion. Sawyer said the economic toll of wildfire smoke is yet another reason to act on climate change. In the meantime, Molitor said more research is needed on the most effective ways to reduce harmful exposure. “I think that’s where behavioural adjustments and adaptations have the potential to play a big role,” he said. “Putting air filtration in your home … or in offices or in public schools may go a long way to helping to reduce the effects.” Let me tell you an interesting story “My spouse and I were discussing our next vehicle. I suggested that by the time we need one, there will be (hopefully) more infrastructure for electric vehicles and buying an electric car would be a smart, and responsible, move. His comment was that in abandoning a gas-powered car, you’re just substituting for a natural gas power plant, i.e., swapping one source of emissions for another, and so you might as well go for the gasoline vehicle. “My response was that Canada’s electricity was 80 per cent renewables/hydro-electric and there was a fair chance the source of electrical power would not use fossil fuels. But in truth, in the Greater Toronto Area, I’m not sure what the real answer would be. “Do you know? Personally, I think it’s useful for anyone across Canada to know where the power that feeds into their homes comes from. Can you shed light?” Cheap CCTV Camera in Brampton Nishad Islam co-ordinates planting events at the Friends of the Rouge Watershed, and sees direct benefits for local residents near restored habitats. (Inayat Singh/CBC) Home CCTV Camera in Brampton Metals like cobalt, copper, nickel and manganese have been mined on land for years, but as the global energy transition gathers pace, there is a consensus that the terrestrial reserves of these minerals aren’t enough. Making things like electric car batteries and wind turbines will require many more “critical minerals.” For example, the International Energy Agency estimates the world will need 19 times more nickel by 2040 to meet its decarbonization targets. And so interest has turned to the critical minerals lurking deep in the ocean — specifically, in a remote region of the Pacific Ocean called the Clarion Clipperton Zone (CCZ). The company

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22-year-old mother of 2 identified as homicide victim as B.C. city sets new homicide record

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Best CCTV Security Camera in Brampton Friends and family have identified 22-year-old Isabelle Thomas as the victim of a recent Prince George homicide. (Submitted by Leslie Thomas) Best CCTV Camera in Brampton Family and friends have identified a Prince George homicide victim as Isabelle Thomas, describing her as a loving and outgoing mother of two who “always had a smile on her face.” Thomas was the victim of one of two unrelated and, at the time, suspicious deaths that happened in the B.C. community in mid-July within a 24-hour period — both of which are now being investigated as homicides, helping push the deadly crime rate in the city to the highest on record. Thomas’s family has identified her as the victim in the second death, which police said resulted from a home invasion on July 18. One man has been arrested, but police have not announced any charges. Thomas, who was born and raised in Prince George, had six-year-old and six-month-old daughters. “The girls meant the world to her,” said Leslie Thomas, Isabelle’s mother. “She did everything in her power to make sure they were happy, that they were taken care of.” Isabelle Thomas was outgoing, loyal and always willing to help a friend out, according to her mother. She had many different interests and loved learning new things. As a member of the Nadleh Whut’en First Nation, Isabelle Thomas liked learning about her culture and participated in community activities. She took classes in ribbon skirt making and drum making, her mother said. She said her daughter was also very outspoken and upfront. “She told you how it is, and she showed the same amount of love in return.” Thomas said her daughter’s children were in the room with her when she died. “To have both of her babies with her while that thing was happening to her was just unimaginable and so maddening that they had to be put through that,” she said. Thomas said both children are in the care of immediate family now, and the family is fundraising to be able to send the older daughter to a child trauma therapy specialist in Vancouver. “The babies needed their mother,” Thomas said. Thomas said she has received an outpouring of support from the community as several hundred people came out to a memorial service for her daughter last weekend. Isabelle Thomas is survived by her two daughters, Addelynn and Eleanore, as well as her siblings, Aleynna Pedersen, Anabelle Pedersen, Jeff Pedersen, Dan Pedersen, Wesley Pedersen, Jasmaine Thomas, and Dakota Thomas, and her parents, Kent Pedersen and Leslie Thomas. With the death of Isabelle Thomas, the City of Prince George is now recording its deadliest year ever, with eight confirmed homicides since January. That’s more than the previous high set in 2010, when the city recorded seven homicides — and was labelled Canada’s most dangerous city by Maclean’s magazine for the first of three consecutive years, based on the publication’s use of data provided by Statistics Canada. The same year also saw two additional homicides in rural areas outside municipal boundaries. In a report released Thursday, Statistics Canada found that violent crime in Prince George in 2022 was the highest of any city in B.C., with a population of more than 15,000 people. The agency makes the determination using the Crime Severity Index (CSI), based on police-reported incidents of violent crimes across Canada. Cpl. Jenn Cooper with the Prince George RCMP said in a statement to CBC News that all of the eight homicides in 2023 appear targeted, and there is no increased risk to the community. “We are working diligently to identify those responsible for the recent spike in violence and have units throughout the detachment focusing their efforts on these and other supporting investigations,” Cooper wrote. According to police, five of this year’s homicides are connected to the drug trade, with Supt. Shaun Wright telling CBC News earlier in the year that there has been competition among different organizations and individuals aiming to control the region. However, the two victims from the July homicides were not engaged in criminal activity at the time of their deaths, said Cooper. In a report commissioned and presented to Prince George council last year, a trio of criminologists found that Prince George RCMP are dealing with more crime than almost any other city in the province, leading to high levels of burnout and an inability to effectively police the community. In response, council approved funding for four additional officers and two civilian support staff at a cost of more than $1 million. Provincially, the city has been earmarked as one of 12 communities to pilot a project that will see police, prosecutors and probation officers work together to target violent offenders. Feb. 4: A woman is found dead in her home on 17th Avenue at Fir Street in the city’s Millar Addition area between midnight and 1 a.m. Police say the death appears to have been targeted and connected to the city’s drug trade. Feb. 14: A woman is found dead inside a home in the Sunrise Valley Mobile Park between midnight and 1 a.m. One woman is charged with second-degree murder in the death. RCMP say the death appears to be targeted and connected to the city’s drug trade. March 7: RCMP are called to an “altercation” at the Connaught Hill Residences, a highrise apartment block less than 500 metres from city hall, around 9 p.m. A man is found dead, and RCMP later charged a man with manslaughter with a firearm. RCMP link this death to the drug trade, as well. April 1: A man is found dead in a private residence in the 2200 block of Quince Street just before 8:30 p.m. RCMP say the death is being treated as a homicide victim connected to the city’s drug trade. April 19: A man identified as James Archibald Webb is found deceased in a rural location approximately 80 kilometres northeast of Prince George. RCMP say Webb’s death was a targeted killing with links to the drug trade. June 19: RCMP are called to a report of a home invasion shortly after 8 p.m. in the 300-block of Nicholson St.

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