DAILY TOWNSMAN / DAILY BULLETIN
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 2014
NEWS
PAGE A17
Vancouver ranked North America’s top city for quality of living LUANN L ASALLE Canadian Press
MONTREAL — Canadian cities, led by Vancouver, dominate North America’s Top Five list for quality of life, according to a survey issued by global business consultant Mercer. Ottawa, Toronto and Montreal took the next three spots, followed by San Francisco, according to the 2014 Mercer Quality of Living rankings. The only weakness in ranking Ottawa, Toronto and Montreal compared with Vancouver was their harsher winters,
said Luc Lalonde, a principal at Mercer Canada. “It basically boils down to climate because Vancouver has a relatively mild climate,’’ Lalonde said Wednesday. The study also looked at such factors as political stability, crime statistics, public and medical services, consumer goods and recreation. The quality of living index is used by companies to help determine compensation for their employees working abroad. Ottawa ranked 14th globally, while Toronto
was 15th and Montreal 23rd. Globally, Vienna has been the top ranked city for the last three years, while Vancouver retained its fifth-place spot, Lalonde said. Zurich was No. 2 worldwide for quality of life, followed by Auckland, New Zealand and Munich, Germany. Lalonde said the rankings don’t usually change dramatically from year to year. “Wherever you have stability, good infrastructure and if the environment is politically and socially stable and if you have good public
services, these things don’t change overnight.’’ Cities with the lowest rankings in North America included Mexico City, financially troubled Detroit, St. Louis, Houston and Miami. Although Miami and Houston are popular destinations, factors such as crime, air pollution and traffic congestion could have affected their scores, Lalonde said. The city with the lowest ranking globally was strife-ridden Baghdad, followed by Bangui in Central African Republic and N’djamena in Chad.
JAE C. HONG, AP
Vancouver has been ranked as North America’s top city for quality of living, and fifth-best spot globally.
Canadian filmmaker missing in Cambodia; friends find disappearance unusual DIANA MEHTA Canadian Press AP PHOTO/SAYYID AZIM, FILE
In this April 22, 2009 file photo, the U.S.-flagged Maersk Alabama leaves the port of Mombasa, in Kenya.
U.S. men found dead on ‘Captain Phillips’ ship JASON STR A ZIUSO Associated Press
NAIROBI, Kenya — Two American security officers have been found dead on a ship made famous when it was hijacked by Somali pirates, according to a statement by Seychelles police on Wednesday. The two Americans — Jeffrey Reynolds and Mark Kennedy, both 44 — were found dead Tuesday in a cabin on the Maersk Alabama, according to the police. The ship was hijacked by pirates in 2009, an event dramatized in the movie “Captain Phillips’’ starring Tom Hanks. The two men’s bodies were found on Tuesday in their cabin on the ship where it was berthed in Port Victoria in the Indian Ocean island nation of Seychelles. The police gave no cause of death but said a post mortem has been scheduled. The U.S. Coast Guard stated from its headquarters in Washington that it is also investigat-
ing the deaths. The two men worked for U.S.-based Trident Security, according to the Seychelles police statement. Former military personnel frequently provide security on board ships sailing through the waters off Somalia to provide security against pirate attacks. Trident Security was founded by former U.S. Navy SEALs in 2000 and employs former special warfare operators to provide security. Requests to Trident for information about the two men were not immediately answered on Wednesday. The Maersk Line said the cause of death is under investigation but is “not related to vessel operations or their duties as security personnel.’’ The Maersk Alabama’s home port is in Norfolk, Va., where its parent company Maersk Line, Ltd. is also headquartered. The Maersk Alabama transports food aid to East Africa in support of the U.S. government’s
“Food for Peace’’ program, according to the company. Crew members also help support the Bee Hive Children’s Home in Mombasa, Kenya. Several crew members who were aboard the ship when it was hijacked in 2009 are currently suing Maersk Line Ltd. and Mobile, Ala.-based Waterman Steamship Corp. over the attack. The hijacking captured world headlines in 2009 and again when the movie, “Captain Phillips’’ was released recently. The five-day hijacking standoff ended when Navy SEALs aboard the USS Bainbridge shot and killed three of the pirates who were holding Capt. Richard Phillips in a lifeboat. Nine crew members in the lawsuit filed in Alabama in 2012 say they suffered physical and emotional injuries after Somali pirates boarded. Some crew members were held at gunpoint with Phillips, and others hid in an engine room.
The disappearance of a Canadian filmmaker in the Cambodian city of Siem Reap appeared all the more mysterious Wednesday as friends and family said the 58-yearold man was no stranger to his surroundings. Dave Walker spoke the language, knew the streets and was familiar with the local culture. Walker, who had been living in Cambodia for the past year and a half, was staying at a guest house last week when he decided to step out while a housekeeper tended to his room. He apparently left his room Friday afternoon with only a bottle of water and never returned. “This is completely out of character for him,’’ Walker’s cousin, Tammy Wallbridge Madon told The Canadian Press. “All indications were that he was going to be coming
back and he never did come back.’’ Walker’s disappearance was first noticed by his Cambodian business partner, Sonny Chhoun, who came to the guesthouse on Friday evening to meet with him. Chhoun found Walker’s cellphone, laptop, luggage and passport still in his room, but staff at the guest house said they hadn’t seen the Canadian in hours. After Walker failed to turn up that night, Chhoun contacted local police and has been searching parts of the city looking for the Canadian, who hasn’t been heard from since. A local media report said the Australian embassy — which handles consular cases in Cambodia for the Canadian government — had filed an official missing persons report on Walker in the capital city of Phnom Penh. The Phnom Penh Post quoted a police
OJ’s ponytail is coming off!
officer saying authorities were worried for Walker’s safety and were searching for him. Walker and Chhoun had set up a film company in Siem Reap in July 2012 called Animist Farm Films. Siem Reap is located just south of the famous Angkor Wat ruins, which draw hordes of tourist every year. The pair had recently been working on a documentary about the radical Khmer Rouge regime, which left close to two million people dead from starvation, medical neglect, slave-like working conditions and execution. Walker’s abrupt dis-
appearance had his friends and family fearing the worst. “This is very unusual,’’ said Peter Vronsky, who last heard from Walker on Thursday. “No one has seen him on the streets.’’ Vronsky said missing person posters were being distributed in Siem Reap in the hopes that someone would come forward with information on Walker. Friends and family are also hoping Canadian officials will urge Cambodian authorities to actively search for the man. “We’re concerned this not being made a priority,’’ said Vronsky.
Applications Now Accepted Columbia Kootenay Cultural Alliance, in partnership with Columbia Basin Trust, invites individuals of all artistic disciplines and arts, culture and heritage groups in the Columbia Basin to apply for project funding. Program brochures and application forms are available online at www.basinculture.com, or call CKCA at 1.877.505.7355 or email wkrac@telus.net.
Saturday Feb 22, 4:30pm at the Marysville Pub for JAN BAKER cancer fund.
Deadline for applications is March 7, 2014, or March 21, 2014, depending on the program.
Please come out and donate.
www.basinculture.com
Photo: Good Ol’ Goats - 2013 Kootenay Festival - Colin Payne Photography
Administered and managed by: P.O. Box 103, Nelson, BC, V1L 5P7 1.877.505.7355 wkrac@telus.net