Security Archives | Best CCTV Security Camera

“Drone hits Crimean ammunition depot as strikes kill, wound civilians and journalists in Ukraine”

A plume of smoke rises over an ammunition depot where explosions occurred at the facility in Kirovsky district in Crimea, July 19, 2023. (Viktor Korotayev/Kommersant Publishing House via AP) KYIV, UKRAINE – A Ukrainian drone strike Saturday caused a massive explosion at an ammunition depot in Russia-annexed Crimea, forcing the evacuation of nearby homes in the latest attack since Moscow cancelled a landmark grain deal amid Kyiv’s grinding efforts to retake its occupied territories. The attack on the depot in central Crimea sent huge plumes of black smoke skyward and came five days after Ukraine struck a key bridge that links Russia to the peninsula it illegally annexed in 2014 and after Moscow suspended a wartime deal that allowed Ukraine to safely export its grain through the Black Sea. Sergey Aksyonov, the Kremlin-appointed head of Crimea, said in a Telegram post that there were no immediate reports of casualties from the strike, but that authorities were evacuating civilians within a 5-kilometre radius of the blast site. The Ukrainian military took credit for the strike, saying it destroyed an oil depot and Russian military warehouses in Oktyabrske, in the Krasnohvardiiske region of Crimea, though without specifying which weapons it used. A Crimean news channel posted videos Saturday showing plumes of smoke billowing above rooftops and fields near Oktyabrske, a small settlement next to an oil depot and a small military airport, as loud explosions rumbled in the background. In one video, a man can be heard saying the smoke and blast noises seemed to be coming from the direction of the airport. The strike came during a week in which Ukraine attacked the Kerch Bridge and Russia, in what it described as “retribution” for the bridge attack, bombarded southern Ukrainian port cities, damaging critical infrastructure including grain and oil terminals. Ukraine also attacked the bridge in October, when a truck bomb blew up two of its sections, which took months to repair. Moscow decried that assault as an act of terrorism and retaliated by bombarding Ukraine’s civilian infrastructure, targeting the country’s power grid over the winter. The Kerch Bridge is a conspicuous symbol of Moscow’s claims on Crimea and an essential land link to the peninsula. The US$3.6 billion, 19-kilometre (nearly 12-mile) bridge is the longest in Europe and is crucial for Russia’s military operations in southern Ukraine. Speaking at the Aspen security forum via video link, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called the bridge a legitimate target for Ukraine, noting that Russia has used it to ferry military supplies and it must be “neutralized.” In a video address to the nation later Saturday, Zelenskyy said he had a phone call with NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg to discuss “our steps to unblock and ensure the stable operation of the grain corridor” following Russia’s withdrawal from the grain deal. Zelenskyy said they agreed to hold a meeting of the Ukraine-NATO Council in the nearest days for consultations on the issue. “We can overcome the security crisis in the Black Sea,” he said. As fierce fighting continues in Ukraine’s bid to retake territory from Russia, Russian shelling killed at least two civilians and wounded four others on Saturday, Ukrainian officials reported. A 52-year-old woman died in Kupiansk, a town in the northeastern Kharkiv region, while another person was killed in a cross-border Russian attack on a village in the neighbouring Sumy province. Earlier Saturday, Ukrainian officials reported that Russian attacks on 11 regions across the country on Friday and overnight had killed at least eight civilians and wounded others. A DW cameraman was injured Saturday by shrapnel from Russian cluster munitions that also killed one Ukrainian soldier and wounded several others near the town of Druzhkivka, in the eastern Donetsk region, the German broadcaster said in a statement. Cameraman Ievgen Shylko was part of a team sent to report from the Ukrainian army training ground about 23 kilometres (14 miles) away from the frontline, it said. “We were filming the Ukrainian army during target practice when suddenly we heard several explosions,” DW correspondent Mathias Bölinger said. “We lay down, more explosions followed, we saw people were wounded. Later, the Ukrainian army confirmed that we had been fired at with cluster munitions.” Cluster munitions, which open in the air and release multiple small bomblets, are banned by more than 100 countries because of their threat to civilians, but they have been used extensively by both sides in the war. The Pentagon has said the cluster munitions the U.S. recently gave to Ukraine will give Kyiv critically needed ammunition to help bolster its counteroffensive. The Russian Defence Ministry announced that a group of Russian journalists came under artillery fire in the southern Zaporizhzhia region. In an online statement, it said four correspondents for pro-Kremlin media had been struck by cluster munitions and that one of them, Rostislav Zhuravlev of the state RIA Novosti news agency, later died from his injuries. The Kremlin-installed head of the Russia-occupied parts of the Zaporizhzhia region, Yevhen Balitsky, claimed in a Telegram post that the journalists were travelling in a civilian vehicle that was hit by shelling. The claims couldn’t be independently verified. Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova denounced the attack on journalists as a “heinous crime” in which the U.S. and its allies were complicit. The Ukrainian air force on Saturday morning said that overnight, it had brought down 14 Russian drones, including five Iranian-made ones, over the country’s southeast, where battles are raging. In a regular social media update, the air force said that all Iranian-made Shahed exploding drones launched by Russian troops during the night were brought down, pointing to Ukraine’s increasing success rate in neutralizing them. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J0fP6B7nT-4 KYIV, UKRAINE – Russia pounded Ukraine’s southern cities with drones and missiles for a third consecutive night Thursday, keeping Odessa in the Kremlin’s crosshairs after a bitter dispute over the end of a wartime deal that allowed Ukraine to send grain through the key Black Sea port. The strikes killed at least two people in Odessa. In Mykolaiv,

“Drone hits Crimean ammunition depot as strikes kill, wound civilians and journalists in Ukraine” Read More »

“Oil CEO says too much government talking, not enough action, putting climate targets in jeopardy”

Leave a Comment / Canada News, Politics / admin

Derek Evans, the head of Calgary-based MEG Energy, told CBC Radio’s The House the lack of concrete details on climate policies are interfering with the chronology for decarbonization. (CBC) An oil company CEO says federal and provincial governments are stuck on “academic discussions” about greenhouse gas emissions targets, putting timelines for their own goals in jeopardy. Derek Evans, the head of Calgary-based MEG Energy, told CBC Radio’s The House the lack of concrete details on climate policies are interfering with the chronology for decarbonization. “The whole 2030 timeline, what we said we thought we could do by 2030, that starts to get risked,” he said, adding the dialogue has been productive but lacking action. Ottawa is crafting policies that would put legislative pressure on the sector to decarbonize more quickly, including an impending emissions cap and killing “inefficient” fossil fuel subsidies. An announcement on the latter is expected next week, but specifics have been scarce for years. Canada has committed to net-zero by 2050, with an interim goal that would require oil and gas to cut 42 per cent of its greenhouse gas emissions below 2019 levels by 2030. Canada’s Minister of the Environment and Climate Change Steven Guilbeault photographed speaking in Vancouver in 2022. Ottawa is crafting policies that would put legislative pressure on the oil and gas sector to decarbonize more quickly. (REUTERS/Jennifer Gauthier) Both levels of government are feuding over 2030 targets, though they agree on the end date of 2050. Both are providing support to industry in the form of funding and tax credits, but disagree on the methods to reach a carbon-neutral economy. “We will lose not only the opportunity to decarbonize, we are going to lose the next generation in terms of their belief in are we actually doing what’s right for the environment,” Evans said. His daughter often presses him about his work, he said, and whether oil companies are serious when it comes to climate change. Industry titans, including MEG’s partners in the Pathways Alliance that represents 95 per cent of oilsands production, have told the federal government getting to the 42-per-cent reduction goal is unrealistic by the end of the decade (In fact, they say it would take an extra five years to get there at the current pace). The oilsands produce about 70 million tonnes of emissions annually, according to the Alberta government — about 11 per cent of Canada’s total pollution output. “At some point, if you are serious about decarbonizing the oilsands for a variety of reasons, we need to see some progress towards that,” said Andrew Leach, a professor and energy and environment economist at the University of Alberta. “But I think also … if the government is not going to recognize, for example, enhanced oil recovery as a means of carbon capture and sequestration, industry needs to know that before they can decide where to put their money.” The federal government has announced billions in clean energy incentives and tax credits for things like carbon capture and storage. That’s what the industry wants clarity on. Alberta has also committed about $2 billion into carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS) and approved 25 proposals for carbon storage hubs. CCUS technology traps and stores pollution from production underground. Despite political and industry buzz, it hasn’t been proven at a massive scale yet and remains relatively expensive. Canadian oil and gas companies are hoping to lead the world in its development, but that’s becoming a steep task as U.S. measures like the Inflation Reduction Act provide historical investments for green tech. Canada has been floating decarbonization and carbon capture for 30 years (early mentions appear in a 1994 report on climate to the United Nations). An oilsands plant in Fort McMurray, Alta. The federal government has announced billions in clean energy incentives and tax credits for things like carbon capture and storage. (Jason Franson/The Canadian Press) “We are ready to go. We are waiting for the governments to collectively get at the table and join us and push this across the line. In my personal perspective, this is the single biggest imperative that we as people in the oil and gas business and as stewards of the land and the economy for the next generation, we absolutely need to make this happen as quickly as we can,” Evans said. Oil companies are also coming off the most lucrative year they’ve ever seen. At a time when there’s money available, companies have been criticized for not investing more of their record profits into clean technology development or accelerating their commitments to existing options. Advancing without government direction and support — and out of step with other countries like Norway — would kill the competitiveness of Canadian oil, Evans said. “I think we would just ultimately say it’s probably cheaper for us to pay the carbon tax and not abate the carbon. And then we have lost on two fronts: We have lost a global leadership opportunity … and we have not abated an iota of CO2.” A recent report commissioned by an environmental group concluded it would be significantly cheaper to meet reduction targets for greenhouse gases than it would be to pay carbon taxes on it. Leach said the path forward depends on whether decisions are influenced more by politics or by global market and environmental factors. That question rests largely with the industry. “Is decarbonizing the oilsands something that has to happen for the future of the industry or is it something that has to happen so long as the current Liberal government makes it a priority,” he said. Evans remains optimistic the governments and companies can find a path forward. “I have never heard a federal official tell me that they want to see production shut in and clearly the premier doesn’t either. So with those basics, I feel we’re going to be able to thread the needle here.” Alberta’s Smith decries ‘federal interference’ ahead of premiers’ meeting Alberta Premier Danielle Smith believes she’ll have allies in her battle against what she sees as federal interference when she attends this week’s meeting of

“Oil CEO says too much government talking, not enough action, putting climate targets in jeopardy” Read More »

“40 years on, Shakespeare in Toronto’s High Park keeps casting the magic of open-air theatre”

Leave a Comment / Social Media, Theatre / admin

Dream in High Park, a series of William Shakespeare plays presented in an open-air amphitheatre in Toronto’s High Park, is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year. In 2019, pictured, the company staged a production of Much Ado About Nothing. (Dahlia Katz/Canadian Stage) When Guy Sprung launched an outdoor theatre program in Toronto’s High Park 40 years ago, the dream was to bring accessible Shakespeare to all. “I believe in theatre for the people. That’s what has always been my mantra,” said Sprung, founding director of Dream in High Park, an annual showcase of William Shakespeare’s plays in Toronto’s west end. “I didn’t want the kind of monochromatic Shakespeare with expensive tickets at Stratford [Festival in Ontario]. I wanted something that was affordable and was distinctly ours and for everybody in Toronto.” So in the early 1980s, Sprung went looking for the perfect place to stage a production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. He envisioned a spot where audiences would walk through the woods — “so you can smell the trees a little bit” — before arriving at the stage. Thousands of people watch a performance of A Midsummer Night’s Dream at Dream in High Park in 1983. Guy Sprung, the show’s director, says the theatre event regularly saw nightly audiences of 2,000 people. (Canadian Stage) In July 1983, in a small clearing off the park’s main road, Sprung and a cast that included Canadian actors Lucy Peacock and Peter MacNeill performed for an audience of around 3,000 — roughly the capacity of Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre in Elizabethan England. A typical night could see 2,000 visitors. “All we had was a basin with grass and trees,” said Peacock, who played Hermia in that debut production. “We all remember the poison ivy, I think, and the mosquitoes and the heat. And of course, we were all dressed in Elizabethan something or other and wondering, whose idea was that?” Over its four-decade run, Canadian Stage’s Dream in High Park has featured some of Canada’s biggest performers, including Paul Gross and Diane D’Aquila, at its forest amphitheatre. Actors rehearse for the debut 1983 performance of A Midsummer Night’s Dream at High Park in Toronto. (Canadian Stage) Open-air productions of Shakespeare go back centuries, to the days the playwright was staging his own works in London. The Globe Theatre, built by Shakespeare’s theatre troupe, opened on the Thames River in 1599. The theatre had no roof and was a place for all Londoners — not just the wealthy. Fast forward a few hundred years, and Dream in High Park is billed as one of Canada’s “largest and longest-running outdoor professional theatre events.” For its 40th anniversary, director Jamie Robinson — whose first professional gig was in a High Park production of Romeo & Juliet — is taking Dream back to its roots. Performers rehearse for the 2023 production of William Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, as part of Canadian Stage’s Dream in High Park in Toronto. From left to right: director Jamie Robinson, Steven Hao, Louisa Zhu, on the floor, Julie Tepperman, Aaron Willis, Vincent Leblanc-Beaudoin and Angel Lo. (Althea Manasan/CBC) His production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream imagines the kind of world we want to live in. “How do we want to see our future?” said Robinson. “Is it a chaotic world where forest fires are normal, and all of these things that we’re seeing in our face are normal?” “Or do we want the future that is very hopeful and dream-like, but also very happy?” From left to right: actors Shelly Antony, Louisa Zhu and Steven Hao rehearse a scene from A Midsummer Night’s Dream. (Althea Manasan/CBC) He says outdoor theatre, and Dream in particular, offers audiences — even those who may not frequent stage shows — a Shakespearean experience. “It brings back what I think Shakespeare had in his audiences, in Elizabethan times in England, where you came as an event. It was as normal as going to a sports event,” he said. “It’s kind of a breeding ground for just reinventing theatre, especially coming out of the pandemic where we all are craving being together again.” Similar open-air companies have popped up around the country since Dream in High Park began in 1983. Winnipeg troupe Shakespeare in the Ruins started in 1993, and Halifax’s Shakespeare by the Sea began entertaining audiences in Point Pleasant Park the year after. And in Vancouver’s Vanier Park, Bard on the Beach has used British Columbia’s North Shore Mountains as a backdrop since 1990. Actor Jennifer Lines starred as Dame Frances in the 2023 Bard on the Beach production of As You Like It. In the background, the North Shore Mountains are visible beyond English Bay. (Tim Matheson/Bard on the Beach) “We’re in a park that overlooks the sea … the mountains are directly behind that and the sun is going down. So these are the natural beauty of our natural world, which Shakespeare talks about a lot,” said Christopher Gaze, the company’s founder and artistic director, who began his career in outdoor theatre a decade before starting Bard. “You get this extraordinary backdrop behind the actors, ever changing. You might see a kite flying up here for a while. You may see a sailboat going by.” Pre-pandemic, Bard on the Beach would welcome 100,000 people each year, Gaze says. Part of its success is the “casualness” of outdoor theatre, which invites audiences for more than just the show. Theatre patrons walk in and out of the tents at Bard on the Beach in Vancouver. (Tim Matheson) Earlier in the festival’s run, Gaze would ask visitors how they enjoyed the show. Often, they praised the beauty of the surroundings rather than the performance itself, somewhat offending Gaze. “But now I understand,” he said. “A lot of people come and see our shows that perhaps don’t normally go to theatre, but they come because of the experience,” which can include a pre-show picnic and catch-up in the park. Using the natural world as a stage is part of the magic that comes with programs like Dream in High Park. The stage originally sat

“40 years on, Shakespeare in Toronto’s High Park keeps casting the magic of open-air theatre” Read More »

“4 people missing in Nova Scotia after vehicles became submerged in floodwaters”

Leave a Comment / weather, Canada News / admin

Four people — including two children and a youth — have been reported missing in Nova Scotia after the vehicles they were travelling in became submerged in floodwaters, RCMP say. Cpl. Guillaume Tremblay said two separate searches started early Saturday at the height of the storm. “Two children are unaccounted for in relation to an incident in West Hants where a vehicle they were travelling in was submerged,” Tremblay said Saturday afternoon. “Three of the five occupants known to have been in that vehicle were able to escape.” In a separate incident, a man and a youth are also missing. Tremblay said RCMP are not revealing the exact locations of the searches because they don’t want people interfering with the organized search teams. Much of central Nova Scotia, including areas of the Halifax Regional Municipality, has been dealing with severe flooding and impassable roads Saturday after torrential downpours swamped much of the province overnight Friday. An evacuation order that had been issued for people living near the St. Croix River system early Saturday morning has been lifted. An emergency alert had been sent out to cellphones in the area at 3:41 a.m. AT. The nearby dam was also at risk of breaching. Windsor and West Hants Municipality Mayor Abraham Zebian says that as of Saturday morning, the dam is no longer at risk. “Thankfully it is under control, they relieved some water from that dam and we’ve got most of the area evacuated now,” he said. Just before 3 p.m., a new emergency alert said people could return home if safe to do so, but asked them to “remain vigilant.” It said the Avon River Hydro System is still experiencing high water levels, and some roads in the area remain flooded. People affected by the flooding can go to the Falmouth Elementary School. Zebian said there have been lots of washouts in the area and that some roads are still completely submerged. “We’ll keep on watching the water levels and keep on draining that dam, and keep on moving forward trying to get more road networks cleared up and opened up.” Anyone in the area who is still in need of emergency help evacuating should call 911, Zebian said. Residents were told overnight to evacuate to the Brooklyn Civic Centre at 995 Highway 215, Newport, while a later alert said evacuees can also use the Windsor Civic Centre at 78 Thomas St., Windsor. The South West Hants Fire Hall on Highway 114 on Chester Road is also open, Zebian said. He said resources are stretched, but as the day continues, crews will continue to work to complete all necessary evacuations and keep monitoring the dam. Windsor, located in Hants County, is about 60 kilometres northwest of downtown Halifax. Cpl. Guillaume Tremblay told CBC News early Saturday that RCMP are helping with evacuations at Smileys provincial park campground, which is fairly close to the dam. Tremblay said if people near the dam are not able to flee, they should call 911 for help. Nova Scotia’s road conditions website is warning of flooding on highways 101, 102, 103, 107, 111 and 118. According to the RCMP, Highway 101 is now closed at exit 3 in Upper Sackville. Halifax has also been caught in the deluge, with Halifax Regional Police warning that multiple roads are closed to all traffic. They include: The Bedford Highway between Sherbrooke Drive and Flamingo Drive and between Dartmouth Road and River Lane. Union Street between the Bedford Highway and Rowledge Lane. Hammonds Plains Road between Gary Martin Drive and Larry Uteck Boulevard. Bluewater Road at Hammonds Plains Road. “It’s unlike anything I’ve seen here,” said Halifax Mayor Mike Savage.”It’s quite a violent storm and the ground, of course, is very saturated now, so any rain we continue to get only adds to the problem we have.” Cars are seen abandoned on Highway 101 outside of Halifax late Friday, after torrential downpours flooded the area. (Frank Inrig/CBC) Police also warned early Saturday that the storm has left rocks, gravel and other debris on roads throughout the region. They also said a number of vehicles that had been abandoned on flooded roads were towed. “A large number of vehicles also remain in flooded parking lot and on private properties.” In a release Saturday morning, the Halifax Regional Municipality advised drivers and pedestrians to stay off roads due to unsafe conditions. “Numerous roads are washed out and remain closed due to flooding. There are abandoned cars on roads and highways causing dangerous conditions. There is a significant amount of damage,” the city said. Emergency flooding calls can be directed to Halifax Water at 902-420-9287, while damage to infrastructure an roads can be reported by calling 311 or emailing hrm_emo@halifax.ca. The municipality has also opened two comfort centres for residents dealing with power outages and flooding, with the Beaver Bank Community Centre and East Dartmouth Community Centre remaining open overnight. About 150 people have needed support thus far, the mayor said. Those travelling on Halifax Transit can expect significant delays and detours, said the HRM, and updates will be provided on Twitter and on the city’s website. Regional alerts sent by provincial officials throughout the night have warned of severe flooding, damaged homes and impassable roads. Savage acknowledged that the last few months have been challenging in the province. “We’ve had own little tour of Armageddon,” he said. “We had the horrific wildfires at the end of May into June and now we have flooding, so it seems like all the plagues are hitting us.” CBC meteorologist Ryan Snoddon said this “is a historic flood event for Nova Scotia.” Preliminary estimates show up to 250 mm of rain fell in some areas as of 6 a.m., Snoddon said, adding that in the Halifax area, it appears to be the heaviest rainfall event since 1971. Nova Scotia Power (NSP) says it has been dealing with outages in the Halifax and Liverpool areas that were caused by lightning. At the peak of the storm last night, more than 70,000 customers were without power, the utility said. As of 3 p.m., power had been restored to about 60,000 customers. “Our crews are working and navigating the flooded roads to try and get power back on as

“4 people missing in Nova Scotia after vehicles became submerged in floodwaters” Read More »

“NATO’s latest moves could bottle up much of Russia’s naval power”

Leave a Comment / World News, News / admin

A Russian nuclear submarine sails off to take part in Pacific Fleet drills near Vladivostok, Russia on April 14, 2023. (Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP) Since midnight Wednesday, Moscow time, Russia has been warning the world that any ship approaching a Ukrainian port “will be regarded as potential carriers of military cargo.” This obvious threat to sink commercial shipping appears to be an attempt to prevent ships from taking on Ukrainian grain. This week, Russia unilaterally ended talks on renewing the Black Sea Grain Initiative that has allowed food to flow to other countries from Ukraine, despite the war. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has asked Turkey to join him in a new arrangement to protect grain ships without Russia’s involvement. Turkey has yet to respond. The threat to sink commercial shipping marks an escalation that can only be carried out under a state of declared war, said Tanya Grodzinski, a naval historian at the Royal Military College in Kingston, Ont. That’s something Russian President Vladimir Putin has been anxious to avoid, opting instead to present his war on Ukraine as a “special military operation.” The new threat may say more about Russia’s weakness than its strength, as the strategic balance in the waters around European Russia shifts against it. The day the NATO summit in Vilnius opened — July 11 — was marked in Cuba by the arrival of the Russian Navy warship Perekop of the Baltic Fleet. The Cuban government welcomed the Perekop — the biggest Russian warship to visit Cuba in many years — with a cannon salute from Havana’s old fort. For Moscow, the visit allowed Russia to project its military power into the Americas and show support for the Cuban Communist Party, a close ally, on the second anniversary of a popular revolt against its rule. But as the fanfare unfolded in Havana, events in Vilnius that morning and the night before were building a new fence around the Perekop’s home ports of St Petersburg and Kaliningrad. Russia’s Baltic fleet will still be able to sail in peacetime but it’s being strategically bottled up as its home sea becomes a NATO lake. And to the south, Russia’s storied Black Sea fleet, already hurt by the humiliating loss of its flagship Moskva, faces an uncertain future and the possible loss of both its bases and its naval supremacy. One way in, one way out The Baltic and the Black Sea share a geographical feature: they both have only one slender opening into the world’s oceans. In the Baltic, three narrow straits separate Denmark from Sweden; the widest, between two Danish islands, is a mere 16 kilometres across. Ships seeking to exit the Black Sea to enter the Mediterranean must sail the Bosphorus River and the Dardanelles Strait — both of which are entirely within the territorial waters of NATO member Turkey. Four days after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Turkey closed the straits to all warships, a move that principally affects Russia. A Russian navy vessel launches an anti-ship missile test in the Peter The Great Gulf in the Sea of Japan on March 28, 2023. (Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP) For those reasons, Russia has long preferred to station the main part of its blue water navy and its nuclear submarines at its Arctic and Pacific ports. Grodzinski said the Baltic and Black Sea fleets were central to Russia’s emergence as a great power after the 1790s. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and NATO’s response to it, threatens that standing, she added. “If this was viewed as a gamble on the part of Mr. Putin to recreate this image he has of Russia, this historic image of Russian being a great power, it’s being thwarted diplomatically in the Baltic and militarily in Ukraine and the Black Sea,” she told CBC News. “The implications for his leadership and position could be quite significant.” Putin and his defenders have claimed he launched his war to keep NATO away from Russia’s borders. Instead, the conflict triggered a new round of NATO expansion that this year caused Russia’s border with the alliance to more than double in length. The accession of Finland in April added more than 1,300 kilometres of NATO-Russia border. The green light for Sweden to join the alliance, which came on the eve of the Vilnius summit, turns the Baltic Sea into NATO’s backyard. At the start of the year, the northern shores of the Baltic, including both sides of the Gulf of Bothnia, were neutral territory. Sweden and Finland, two countries that maintain highly professional navies and air forces, had for decades remained outside of the European alliance. Now, every inch of Baltic shoreline outside of Russian waters is controlled by NATO allies — allies that are increasingly well-armed. “You’re seeing this rejuvenation of naval forces all across Europe,” said Grodzinski. “Sweden, Norway, Finland and so forth are expanding their navies. There is a greater NATO presence in in the Baltic Sea, which never really occurred before. So there’s a completely different dynamic.” Swedish Black Hawk helicopters fly past the Navy ship that U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin travels on during a military demonstration through the islands in the southern Stockholm archipelago on Wednesday, April 19, 2023. (Lolita Baldor/Associated Press) The Swedes, said retired Canadian admiral Mark Norman, “have an incredibly capable military with some very advanced technologies, many of which are homegrown or organic capabilities. They are experts in what I would call sea control in relatively shallow waters. “They’re experts in mining, counter-mining. They are experts in submarining and in anti-submarining. These are vital capabilities.” A Russian ship leaving Saint Petersburg must first sail through the Gulf of Finland, where only about 80 kilometres of open water separate Helsinki from the Estonian capital Tallinn. NATO is now on both sides of that narrow strait. The even narrower corridor of international waters in the middle is within easy range of NATO’s sea-skimming missiles from either shore. The new political geography of the region means “in effect, in any form of conflict, the Baltic gets cut off,” said maritime and arctic security expert Rob Huebert of the University of Calgary. “We’re not going to be able to see any

“NATO’s latest moves could bottle up much of Russia’s naval power” Read More »

“Mississauga, Ont., mosque attacker who planned ‘mass casualty event’ pleads guilty to 3 charges”

Leave a Comment / crime, Canada News / admin

Mohammad Moiz Omar pleaded guilty to three charges Wednesday, including administering a noxious substance, assault with a weapon, and mischief to religious property with motivation of bias, prejudice or hate based on religion. (Michael Cole/CBC) A man who assaulted worshippers at a mosque in Mississauga, Ont., last year had been planning the attack for a year and was motivated by hatred of and a desire to intimidate Muslims, court documents show. Mohammad Moiz Omar “intended to perpetrate a mass casualty event” when he entered the Dar Al-Tawheed Islamic Centre during early morning prayer on March 19, 2022 and sprayed bear spray toward congregants while swinging a hatchet, according to an agreed statement of facts read at the Ontario Superior Court of Justice in Brampton, Ont. Wednesday. Omar, who was 24 years old at the time of the attack, pleaded guilty to three charges, according to one of his lawyers, Jacob Roth of Robichaud Criminal Lawyers. Those charges include administering a noxious substance with intent to endanger life or cause bodily harm, assault with a weapon, and mischief to religious property with motivation of bias, prejudice or hate based on religion. “As part of his plea, Mr. Omar acknowledged that guilt on those three charges constitutes terrorist activity,” Roth said in a phone call Wednesday. The mosque’s imam, Ibrahim Hindy, said the revelations in court Wednesday confirmed his community’s worst nightmare. “This was not someone having a bad day or having a mental health episode. This was someone who planned out clearly what he wanted to do and how he wanted to kill Muslims,” Hindy said. “I’m only grateful that our congregation was able to stop him before he was able to ultimately harm someone.” ‘You are all terrorists,’ attacker said According to the statement of facts, Omar entered the mosque at 7 a.m., when there were approximately 30 people gathered for morning prayer. He approached them from behind and discharged the bear spray while swinging the hatchet. Congregants heard him say, “I hate you” and “You are all terrorists” during the attack. The attack was thwarted when congregants pushed Omar to the ground and restrained him. While none of the worshippers were seriously injured, one was kicked in the stomach and several suffered side effects from the bear spray. Damage to the mosque cost $16,000 to repair. Police who searched his car found several weapons and tools, including a large knife, a cleaver, a hammer, rope, drill bits, safety goggles, fire extinguishers, and an unknown chemical. Most were recently purchased at a Canadian Tire. A photo from the agreed statement of facts shows a large knife, cleaver and an axe found on Omar’s person or in his car following the March 2022 mosque attack. (Ontario Superior Court of Justice) While in custody, Omar told police he had a Muslim background but considered himself an atheist. He expressed hatred for Islam and Muslims, and disappointment that he was unable to inflict more serious harm to the victims. The document says Omar told police he was “provoked” by what he called “an intolerant and violent religion.” “The attack was also aimed at intimidating a segment of the public (Muslims) with regard to their security,” it says. Omar told police he had tried to acquire firearms for the attack but was unsuccessful and that he considered building a bomb but lacked the knowledge and skill to do so. He also told them he had considered attacking other targets, including a different mosque and the Pakistani consulate, or using his car to run down Muslims. “When asked if had hoped to inspire others to commit similar attacks he commented, ‘In a sense ya. You can always hope,’” the document says. During a search of Omar’s home, investigators found a hard drive containing video footage of the March 2019 mosque shootings in Christchurch, N.Z., where a white supremacist killed 51 people and injured another 40. In comments to police, Omar said he enjoyed seeing a woman being shot in that attack. Police also found evidence that Omar attempted to obtain a 3-D printer capable of printing a firearm and sent emails to himself that disclosed “a high level of planning.” Steven Zhou, a spokesperson for the National Council of Canadian Muslims, also praised the quick response of the congregants that day. “If it were not for their bravery, we may very well have attended several funerals in addition to today’s proceedings,” Zhou said. “They could have been the victims of another Quebec City-style attack, or the truck attack in London, Ont., which occurred just months before this attack, or the murder of a caretaker at the IMO mosque in Rexdale not too far from here.” Zhou said these attacks show a “trend of individuals violently attacking Muslims for who they are and for what they believe” that all Canadians must confront. In June, the Public Prosecution Service of Canada and Ministry of the Attorney General “consented to the commencement of terrorism proceedings” against Omar. The terrorism classification allows prosecutors to pursue tougher sentencing submissions than would apply to a regular offence. Roth, Omar’s lawyer, said his client remains in custody while he awaits sentencing. Prosecutors and the defence have submitted a joint sentencing submission of eight years in prison. Hindy said that’s not enough. “I think if anyone desires and plots to commit mass murder in Canada, they deserve more than eight years in prison,” he said. Omar will appear in court again Tuesday for his sentencing hearing. In a news release on Wednesday, Peel police said the Public Prosecution Service of Canada and Ministry of the Attorney General have “consented to the commencement of terrorism proceedings” against Mohammad Moiz Omar. This isn’t an instance where police have added new charges — but terrorism proceedings being coupled with the court case will allow prosecutors to potentially pursue tougher sentencing submissions, should Omar be found guilty. Investigators allege that on March 19, Omar entered the Dar Al-Tawheed Islamic Centre in Mississauga and sprayed bear spray towards congregants while brandishing a hatchet. “Our community has a fundamental right, and deserves, to feel safe and secure,” said Peel police Chief Nishan Duraiappah, in a statement. “Any attempt

“Mississauga, Ont., mosque attacker who planned ‘mass casualty event’ pleads guilty to 3 charges” Read More »