Janice Tibbetts,
Canwest News Service, May 28, 2009
OTTAWA -- A
court ruling lambasting CSIS for concealing vital information in a case
against an Ottawa terror suspect is the latest sign that the spy
agency's credibility is on the line and that greater oversight is
needed to ensure better accountability, say national security experts.
The
Federal Court ruling, which calls into question the
security-certificate case against Mohamed Harkat, is one of three in
the last year that have come down hard on the Canadian Security
Intelligence Service for its actions in investigating terrorism
allegations.
Mr. Harkat, an Algerian, is one of five
non-Canadians whom the government has targeted with security
certificates and seeks to deport on suspicion of having terrorist links.
Security
analysts predicted that judges will more closely scrutinize CSIS
following revelations that officials may have intentionally failed to
disclose information about the reliability of an intelligence source
against Mr. Harkat.
Continue reading "Court rulings blow to CSIS credibility, say experts" »
Nathanial Gronewold, New York Times, May 14, 2009
UNITED NATIONS -- The biggest land grab since colonial times is
accelerating as nations scramble to claim writ over hundreds of
thousands of square miles of ocean floor, much of it believed to be
rich in natural resources.
Yesterday marked the 10-year deadline for most countries filing
claims over extended seabeds with the Commission on the Limits of the
Continental Shelf (CLCS), a panel created under the U.N. Law of the Sea
treaty to review and certify the legitimacy of claims.
Continue reading "Seabed claims mount, swamping U.N. commission" »
Randy Boswell, Canwest News Service, May 12, 2009
Ottawa's stated outrage over a Feb. 18 Arctic flight by two Russian
bombers — a response dismissed by Moscow as "bizarre" given the
"routine" nature of the training exercise — appears even more puzzling
now that details have emerged about a friendly, Feb. 20 meeting in
Moscow in which top Canadian and Russian officials contemplated
unprecedented levels of co-operation between the two countries on key
Arctic issues.
The two sides, according to a leaked
summary of talks on the "legal status of the Arctic," noted "a high
degree of similarity in their positions on the issue of international
shipping in the Northwest Passage (Canada) and the Northern Sea Route
(Russia)" — hinting at an allied Canadian-Russian stance against the
U.S. on one of the thorniest issues in Canada-U.S. relations.
Continue reading "Thaw may be underway in Ottawa-Moscow Arctic issues" »
Giuseppe Valiante,
National Post, May 6, 2009
Britain has blacklisted 22 people from entering the country,
accusing them of fomenting hatred, glorifying terrorism or being
capable of inciting ethnic violence in the country.
A list of 16 of the people was published yesterday to "name and shame" them, according to Home Secretary Jacqui Smith.
Continue reading "Hamas lawmaker, anti-gay activist make it on U.K.'s banned list" »
Michael Byers and Ron Macnab, Ottawa Citizen, May 1, 2009
The two big red ships sailed in tandem through the Arctic Ocean, the
first breaking the ice so that the second could use its sensitive
seismic equipment to map the sediments of the seabed.
The
ships then switched position when the noise produced in particularly
thick ice interfered with the seismic equipment. This allowed
state-of-the-art sonar equipment on the first ship to be used to map
the ridges and valleys of the ocean floor, while the second ship took
over the still all-important task of breaking the ice.
Last
summer’s partnership between Canada’s Louis S. St. Laurent and the
United States’ Healy was a showcase for scientific co-operation — but
only up to a point.
Continue reading "Show us what lies on the Arctic seabed" »
Nathanial Gronewold, New York Times, May 1, 2009
UNITED NATIONS -- Developing countries trying to claim new undersea
territory via a U.N. commission are getting assistance from former
colonial overlords or other wealthier nations.
The Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (CLCS) --
21 geographers and hydrographers drawn from governments and the
petroleum industry -- has seen its workload double since late last
year, with new seabed claims arriving almost every week -- with most
applications coming from developing countries.
Continue reading "Rich nations helping former colonies with seabed claims" »
Government claims of a lack of jurisdiction called 'ludicrous' and 'quite wrong'
Paul Koring, Globe and Mail, May 1, 2009
WASHINGTON -- Canada's catch-and-release approach
to countering piracy off Somalia is at odds with other Western navies
and flouts Ottawa's obligations under international law, according to
maritime and international law experts.
"Its ludicrous for the Harper government to claim that it can't
arrest and prosecute pirates," said Michael Byers, who holds the
Canadian Research Chair in International Law and Politics at the
University of British Columbia. "Canada has a legal obligation under
the United Nations and international law to bring pirates to justice."
Continue reading "Ottawa's piracy policy flouts law, experts say" »
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