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Israel-Hamas hostage deal offers hope for longer-term peace in Gaza: Trudeau

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Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaks to reporters before caucus, Wednesday, November 22, 2023 in Ottawa. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld TTAWA – Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says a truce-for-hostages deal between Israel and Hamas might set the groundwork for an eventual end to the fighting. “This is an important bit of progress, but we have to redouble our efforts now to get toward a lasting peace,” Trudeau told reporters Wednesday morning on Parliament Hill. “This humanitarian pause is what Canada and others have been calling for, for weeks now.” He was speaking after Egypt and Qatar, along with the United States, helped mediate ideal between Israel and Hamas, in which 50 hostages of Hamas are to be released in stages over four days, in exchange for what Hamas said would be 150 Palestinians prisoners held by Israel. The Israeli government said it would extend the truce by an additional day for every 10 hostages released, while Hamas is promising that hundreds of trucks carrying humanitarian aid, including fuel, will be allowed to enter Gaza. Global Affairs Canada has said one Canadian is missing, but won’t confirm if that person is being held hostage. The United States said the group of about 240 hostages included American and Canadian citizens in a statement on the weekend. Trudeau added that the deal loomed large during a call with G20 leaders held Wednesday morning, and he hopes it will allow for more Canadians to leave the Gaza Strip. Six weeks of Israeli airstrikes have destroyed large parts of the Palestinian territory. “It is going to allow for hostages to finally be liberated; it’s going to allow for significant amounts of humanitarian aid to get in to the civilians and the innocent people in Gaza who desperately need it,” he said. “It’s going to allow for protecting of civilian life, including hopefully getting even more Canadians and foreign nationals out.” Montreal Liberal MP Anthony Housefather said in a post on X, formally known as Twitter, that he was “very pleased that a deal has been reached” during his visit to Israel this week alongside other Canadian MPs. He said he has met with many hostage families in Israel, and he is happy that the deal between Israel and Hamas will lead to the release of 50 hostages and the delivery of significant humanitarian aid to Gaza. On Tuesday, Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly expressed hope that a deal would allow all foreign nationals in Gaza to get out of the war zone, saying that still included roughly 200 people connected to Canada. No Canadians were among those on Wednesday’s list of foreign nationals approved to cross into Egypt from Gaza. Joly had said Tuesday that Canada wants “a humanitarian truce, which would lead to a potential ceasefire,” but Trudeau didn’t use the word “ceasefire” in his comments on Wednesday. The Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs called the deal a relief, but said there must be an “immediate and unconditional” release of all hostages. “Hamas deserves no praise for agreeing to do less than the bare minimum,” the group posted on X. “The Canadian-listed terrorist organization has for weeks been negotiating with innocent Jewish lives, seeking to trade Israeli babies and mothers for Palestinians held on and convicted of terror related offences.” The National Council of Canadian Muslims echoed Trudeau’s comments that a temporary pause should lead to a longer peace, and asked Ottawa to take a leadership role. “Israeli leaders have vowed to keep the war going. Canada now must become a global leader in gathering support among allies and partners for a just peace — an end to violence that works for both Israelis and Palestinians,” the group wrote in a statement. The council wants Canada to convene international leaders to help broker a permanent ceasefire, stop arms exports to Israel if it vows to continue fighting and “take a clear stance on the rhetoric of ethnic cleansing from extremist leaders” in the Israeli government. The group’s requests come after Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant declared “we are fighting human animals,” and Israel’s intelligence ministry issued a “concept paper” on the possibility of transferring the 2.3 million people living in Gaza to Egypt or other countries. The latest Israel-Hamas war began after Hamas militants killed an estimated 1,200 people in Israel on Oct. 7. Israel launched a retaliation campaign, including airstrikes and a ground offensive, which the health officials in Gaza say has killed more than 12,700 people. A cease-fire agreement between the Hamas militant group and Israel has been confirmed by both parties, along with Washington and Qatar, which helped broker the deal that would bring a temporary halt to the devastating war that is now in its seventh week. The Israeli government said that under an outline of the deal, Hamas is to free over a four-day period at least 50 of the roughly 240 hostages taken in its Oct. 7 attack on Israel, and Israel is to release some Palestinian prisoners in exchange. Egyptian state media say the truce will begin Thursday morning. Egypt helped mediate the cease-fire agreement, which would bring the first respite to war-weary Palestinians in Gaza, where more than 11,000 people have been killed, according to health authorities. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said before the Cabinet voted early Wednesday to back the agreement that the war would continue even if a deal was reached. Some 1,200 people have been killed in Israel, mostly during the initial incursion by Hamas. JERUSALEM — The Israeli army says it has released an award-winning Palestinian poet it detained in Gaza. Mosab Abu Toha has been contributing pieces to western media since the start of the Israel-Hamas war, painting a dire picture of its toll on civilians through his personal experience. His family announced Monday that Abu Toha had been arrested while evacuating to southern Gaza from his home in the hard-hit Jabaliya refugee camp. Abu Toha last posted to X on Nov. 15, writing: “Alive. Thanks for your prayers.” Diana Buttu, a

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Thousands in Haiti march to demand safety from violent gangs as killings and kidnappings soar

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El Roi Academy students march down on the street after a press conference to demand the freedom of New Hampshire nurse Alix Dorsainvil and her daughter, who have been reported kidnapped, in the Cite Soleil neighborhood of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Thursday, Aug. 3, 2023. (AP Photo/Odelyn Joseph) Best CCTV Security Camera in Brampton PORT-AU-PRINCE, HAITI – Several thousand people — their faces covered to conceal their identities — marched through Haiti’s capital demanding protection from violent gangs who are pillaging neighborhoods in the capital Port-au-Prince and beyond. Haitians’ daily lives have been disrupted by incessant gang violence that has worsened poverty across the country as it awaits a decision from the U.N. Security Council over a potential deployment of an international armed force. The crowd chanted, “We want security!” as it marched for two hours on Monday from the troubled community of Carrefour-Feuilles to Champ de Mars in the downtown area and then to the prime minister’s official residence. The lives of tens of thousands of Haitians have been disrupted by incessant gang violence. Best CCTV Security Camera in Brampton A police officer pats down a motorcyclist at a checkpoint in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Saturday, July 1, 2023. (AP Photo/Odelyn Joseph) Home CCTV Camera in Brampton A leading human rights group in Haiti warned about an upsurge in killings and kidnappings as the U.N. Security Council met Friday to discuss the country’s worsening violence. In a report issued Thursday, the National Human Rights Defense Network also condemned what it called the government’s inaction. It noted that from May 1 to July 12, at least 75 people were killed and another 40 abducted. Among those killed are an attorney, a schoolboy, two morticians and at least six police officers. Those kidnapped include a female journalist from Radio Vision 2000 who was later released. Her husband, the former president of Haiti’s Provisional Electoral Council, was abducted in mid-June and is still being held by gang members. Gangs are also accused of breaking into a hospital in the community of Canaan in the northern part of the capital, Port-au-Prince, stealing medical supplies and abducting at least six security guards. In addition, armed criminals last month set fire to the building that housed the Jamaican consulate in Haiti. The violence recently forced Doctors Without Borders to suspend treatment at one of their hospitals in Port-au-Prince after the group said some 20 armed men burst into an operating room and abducted a patient. Earlier this year, the human rights group said that kidnappings and killings had diminished amid a violent uprising targeting suspected gang members, but noted that gangs have since resumed their attacks. The group urged authorities to disband all armed gangs and restore order and security. Haiti’s National Police is under-funded, under-resourced and largely overpowered by gangs, who have grown more powerful since the July 2021 assassination of President Jovenel Moise and are now estimated to control up to 80% of Port-au-Prince. The department has only some 9,000 active duty officers for a country of more than 11 million people. U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has insisted on an international force to help Haiti’s National Police, with one U.N. expert estimating that Haiti needs up to 2,000 additional anti-gang police officers. Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry requested the urgent deployment of such a force in October, but the U.N. Security Council so far has opted to impose sanctions on gang members and others. On Friday, it gave the secretary-general 30 days to report back on options to fight Haiti’s gangs, including a possible U.N. peacekeeping force and a non-U.N. multinational force. Cheap CCTV Camera in Brampton A girl carries a sign that reads in Creole, “Free school is broken. Release the nurse,” during a march to demand the freedom of New Hampshire nurse Alix Dorsainvil and her daughter, who have been reported kidnapped, in the Cite Soleil neighbourhood of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, July 31, 2023. (AP Photo/Odelyn Joseph) Best CCTV Security Services in Brampton Chants of “freedom” echoed through the streets outside an aid facility in Haiti’s capital, Port-au-Prince, on Monday where just days earlier an American nurse and her daughter were kidnapped by armed men. Hundreds of Haitians marched through the gang-ravaged zone, bursting with anger at the abduction, which has become a symbol of the worsening violence plaguing the Caribbean nation. New Hampshire woman Alix Dorsainvil had been working as a community nurse for the religious and humanitarian aid group El Roi Haiti when she and her daughter were taken from its campus on Thursday, the organization said. She is the wife of its founder, Sandro Dorsainvil. Witnesses told the Associated Press that Dorsainvil was working in her organization’s small brick clinic when a group of armed men burst in and seized her. Lormina Louima, a patient waiting for a check-up, said one man pulled out his gun and told her to relax. “When I saw the gun, I was so scared,” Louima said. “I said, ‘I don’t want to see this, let me go.”‘ Other members of the community said the unidentified men asked for US$1 million in ransom, something that’s become standard as Haiti’s gangs turn to slews of kidnappings to line their pockets and bleed the country dry. Hundreds have been kidnapping in Haiti this year alone, figures from the local non-profit Center for Analysis and Research in Human Rights show. Since the assassination of President Jovenel Moise in 2021, gangs have taken over much of Port-au-Prince, killing, raping and sowing terror in communities already suffering endemic poverty. The same day that Dorsainvil and her daughter were taken, the U.S. State Department issued a “do not travel advisory” for Haiti and ordered non-emergency personnel to leave amid growing security concerns. In its advisory, the State Department said that “kidnapping is widespread, and victims regularly include U.S. citizens.” The violence has stirred anger among Haitians, who say they simply just want to live in peace. Protesters, largely from the area around El Roi Haiti’s campus, which includes a medical clinic, a school and

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Ex-Minneapolis officer sentenced to nearly 5 years for role in George Floyd’s death

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Best CCTV Security Camera in Brampton Former officer Tou Thao listens as prosecutor Erin Eldridge speaks during his sentencing hearing in Hennepin County District Court on Monday in Minneapolis. (Leila Navidi/Star Tribune/The Associated Press) Best CCTV Camera in Brampton Tou Thao, the last former Minneapolis police officer convicted in state court for his role in the killing of George Floyd, was sentenced Monday to four years and nine months — even as he denied wrongdoing. Thao had testified he merely served as a “human traffic cone” when he held back concerned bystanders who gathered as former officer Derek Chauvin, who is white, knelt on Floyd’s neck for nine-and-a-half minutes while the Black man pleaded for his life on May 25, 2020. A bystander video captured Floyd’s fading cries of “I can’t breathe.” At the sentencing hearing, Thao spoke at length about his growth as a Christian during his 340 days behind bars. He said he was “distressed” by Floyd’s death but denied any role in it. “I did not commit these crimes,” Thao said. “My conscience is clear. I will not be a Judas nor join a mob in self-preservation or betray my God.” Hennepin County Judge Peter Cahill responded that he was hoping “for more than preaching” from Thao. “After three years of reflection, I was hoping for a little more remorse,” the judge said. Thao’s lawyer, Robert Paule, said afterward that they will appeal. He declined further comment. Home CCTV Camera in Brmapton Tou Thao, who was a nine-year veteran of the Minneapolis police force, leaves the courtroom after his sentencing hearing on Monday in the death of George Floyd in May 2020. (Leila Navidi/Star Tribune/The Associated Press ) Cheap CCTV Camera in Brampton Assistant Attorney General Erin Eldridge said during the hearing that Floyd’s final words “reverberated across the globe.” Floyd, she said, “narrated his own death over the course of a restraint that lasted more than nine long minutes until he lost consciousness, stopped breathing and his heart stopped beating.” Thao, she said, “stood by and allowed it to happen” and stopped others from moving in to help the dying man. “He knew better, and he was trained to do better,” Eldridge said. Floyd’s killing touched off protests worldwide and forced a national reckoning of police brutality and racism. Cahill found Thao guilty in May of aiding and abetting second-degree manslaughter. In his 177-page ruling, Cahill said Thao’s actions separated Chauvin and two other former officers from the crowd, including an emergency medical technician, allowing his colleagues to continue restraining Floyd and preventing bystanders from providing medical aid. “There is proof beyond a reasonable doubt that Thao’s actions were objectively unreasonable from the perspective of a reasonable police officer, when viewed under the totality of the circumstances,” Cahill wrote. He concluded: “Thao’s actions were even more unreasonable in light of the fact that he was under a duty to intervene to stop the other officers’ excessive use of force and was trained to render medical aid.” Thao had rejected a plea bargain on the state charge, saying “it would be lying” to plead guilty when he didn’t think he was in the wrong. He instead agreed to let Cahill decide the case based on evidence from Chauvin’s 2021 murder trial and the federal civil rights trial in 2022 of Thao and former officers Thomas Lane and J. Alexander Kueng. That trial in federal court ended in convictions for all three. Chauvin pleaded guilty to federal civil rights charges instead of going to trial a second time, while Lane and Kueng pleaded guilty to state charges of aiding and abetting manslaughter. The sentence Cahill handed down Monday will run concurrently with Thao’s three-and-a-half-year sentence on his separate conviction on a federal civil rights charge, which an appeals court upheld on Friday. His state sentence was more than the four years recommended under Minnesota state guidelines. The sentence will be served at federal prison with credit for time served before Thao is transferred to a Minnesota prison to serve out the remainder. Lane and Kueng received three and three-and-a-half-year state sentences respectively, which they are serving concurrently with their federal sentences of 2 1/2 years and 3 years. Thao is Hmong American, while Kueng is Black and Lane is white. Minnesota inmates generally serve two-thirds of their sentences in prison and one-third on parole. There is no parole in the federal system but inmates can shave time off their sentences with good behavior. Best CCTV Security Services in Brampton Former Minnesota police officer J. Alexander Kueng is seen in a booking photograph at Hennepin County Jail in Minneapolis, Minn., on June 3, 2020. Kueng, who is already serving a federal sentence for violating Floyd’s civil rights, was sentenced to three-and-a-half years in prison on a state charge of aiding second-degree manslaughter. (Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office/Reuters) Best CCTV Camera in Brampton J. Alexander Kueng sentenced on state charge of aiding 2nd-degree manslaughter The former Minneapolis police officer who kneeled on George Floyd’s back while another officer kneeled on the Black man’s neck was sentenced Friday to three-and-a-half years in prison. J. Alexander Kueng pleaded guilty in October to a state count of aiding and abetting second-degree manslaughter. In exchange, a charge of aiding and abetting murder was dropped. Kueng is already serving a federal sentence for violating Floyd’s civil rights, and the state and federal sentence will be served at the same time. Kueng appeared at his sentencing hearing via video from a federal prison in Ohio. When given the chance to address the court, he declined. Floyd’s family members had the right to make victim impact statements, but none did.  Attorney Ben Crump, who has represented the family, said in a statement before the hearing that Kueng’s sentencing “delivers yet another piece of justice for the Floyd family.” “While the family faces yet another holiday season without George, we hope that moments like these continue to bring them a measure of peace, knowing that George’s death was not in vain,” he said. Floyd died on May

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Canada says Armenians face ‘deteriorating humanitarian situation

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Best CCTV Security Camera in Brampton A checkpoint of the Russia peacekeeping force is seen on a road towards the separatist region of Nagorno-Karabakh in Armenia, March 14, 2023. (Vahram Baghdasaryan, PHOTOLURE via AP) Best CCTV Camera in Brampton OTTAWA – The Canadian government is again blaming Azerbaijan for escalating tensions in its Nagorno-Karabakh region, saying it is concerned about the “deteriorating humanitarian situation” for Armenians living in that region. Nagorno-Karabakh is internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan, but it is mostly populated by Armenians, and neighbouring Armenia has fought for control of the region for decades. Tensions rose in the area last fall, when the region’s main access road was blocked by groups of people suspected of being affiliated with the Azerbaijan government, and then by officials who have limited vehicle access. Azerbaijan insists the region isn’t under a blockade, despite Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch saying food and essentials are severely restricted. Last week, the International Committee of the Red Cross said it’s been denied access to all routes into the region, resulting in shortages for medicine, food and baby formula. Canada is planning on sending two officials to support a European monitoring mission that is aiming to prevent another war in the region. The Red Cross expressed alarm about Azerbaijan’s blocking of the area shortly after that country’s foreign ministry cited the group’s access to the area as proof that there was no blockade. The Red Cross said last week it has been able to evacuate “more than 600 people in urgent need of medical care since December 2022,” but still has trouble accessing the region in order to provide medical services. Global Affairs Canada said in a social media post Tuesday that Azerbaijan should comply with the International Court of Justice’s order to allow the “unimpeded movement of persons, vehicles and cargo” into the region. Azerbaijan’s foreign ministry noted that the court order still allows for the inspection of vehicles entering the territory, and has alleged that the route has been used by elements affiliated with Armenia to smuggle weapons into the area. Canadian MPs heard testimony in January about limited access to the region, but the House of Commons foreign affairs committee hasn’t completed its study or issued an interim report on how Canada should respond. The federal government plans to open an embassy in Armenia shortly, and Liberal officials often attend Armenian diaspora events. Canada is sending two officials to support a European mission that is aiming to prevent another war between Armenia and Azerbaijan. The unarmed European Union mission in Armenia is a project involving a hundred civilian monitors who keep tabs on the security situation at the border with Azerbaijan. Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly has announced that Canada will contribute to the mission and send two recruited experts. The mission follows heightened tensions in the Nagorno-Karabakh region, an area that is mostly populated by ethnic Armenians but is internationally recognized as being part of Azerbaijan. Joly said in April that she was “deeply concerned” about Azerbaijan escalating the long-running dispute with Armenia over the province by blocking its main access road. Canada has joined similar European Union missions in the past, with military and civilian projects deployed to places such as Afghanistan and the West Bank. The move comes just months before Canada aims to open a full embassy in Armenia this fall. It also follows unconfirmed reports that Canada may loosen its arms embargo against Turkey, which Ottawa barred from receiving weapons after Canadian sensors showed up in drones Azerbaijan used in the Nagorno-Karabakh region in a 2020 war. Tensions rose in the area last fall, when the region’s main access road was blocked by groups of Azerbaijanis who insisted they were independent environmental activists opposed to mining. The Azerbaijan government claims it has no ties to the groups, but others have disputed that assertion. In recent months, the two countries have lowered the temperature in their long-running dispute, but access to the region is reportedly still limited, affecting the availability of food. In April 2022, former foreign minister Stephane Dion presented a report to Joly on supporting Armenian democracy, as part of his role as the Liberals’ special envoy for Europe. The report said Ottawa should prioritize developing Armenia’s “fragile democracy” by helping efforts to fight corruption. It noted that Russia’s influence in the region is waning as Moscow diverts military resources to its invasion of Ukraine, which has put some of its neighbours on edge. Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday that “strictly technical” issues remain in resolving one of the main disputes between Armenia and Azerbaijan, neighbours that fought a war over a contested territory. Putin met in various formats in Moscow with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, discussing a dispute over a winding road called the Lachin Corridor. That’s the only authorized connection between Armenia and the contested territory, Nagorno-Karabakh, and it’s a lifeline for supplies to the region’s approximately 120,000 people. Aliyev and Pashinyan, in a broader regional summit meeting Putin hosted in Moscow, lashed out at each other for their positions regarding the land corridor. But Putin said that on the “principal issues, there is an agreement,” and later said all that remained were “surmountable obstacles,” calling them differences in terminology and “strictly technical.” He said representatives of Russia, Armenia and Azerbaijan would meet in a week to try to resolve the differences. According to the Russian state news agency Tass, Pashinyan said last Wednesday that Armenia and Azerbaijan recognize each other’s territorial integrity within Soviet administrative borders. It added that on Monday, Pashinyan said the territory of Azerbaijan that his government is ready to recognize includes Nagorno-Karabakh. Pashinyan said Thursday: “I want to confirm that Armenia and Azerbaijan agreed on mutual recognition of each other’s territorial integrity, and on this basis we can say that we are moving quite well towards settlement of our relations.” For his part, Aliyev said Thursday that the Armenian leader’s statements ensure that

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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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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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