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Pritam Singh gives uplifting Yale-NUS graduation speech with self-deprecating bit about going downhill after 44
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Online Yale-NUS graduates from the Class of 2021 had to make do with attending a virtual ceremony on May 17 as Covid-19 made its own plans to rain on their physical parade.
But that did not stop Pritam Singh, Workers' Party secretary-general and Leader of the Opposition, from delivering a pre-recorded speech full of self-deprecating bits poking fun at himself as a 44-year-old soon to be an over the hill, ex-exemplary Singaporean.
But at the same time, he used the six minutes to deliver a speech that imparted some of his wisdom he acquired over more than four decades of existence to deduce for his audience the four determinants of success.
According to Singh, the four major influences in one's life are wealth of experiences, personal relationships, attitude and adaptability, and luck.
In his speech, he also paid tribute to his education at the National University of Singapore where he studied history before embarking on a law degree in the Singapore Management University, as well as talked broadly about the different factors that play a part in moulding one for success in work and life in general.
Singh also urged the graduands to take life by the horns and be cognisant of the unpredictability of it all, and offered himself as a prime example.
Singh deadpanned to the camera:
The opportunities and obstacles that come your way, will be unpredictable. I did not plan to become secretary-general of the Workers' Party. Nor did I scheme or plot my way to become the Leader of the Opposition. Neither was it my life goal to be sued jointly and severally for S$33 million. I have taken it as it comes. And I intend to. He also encourage those in attendance to take the path less beaten, and find meaning and fulfilment in what one does.
You can watch his speech here, courtesy of Yale-NUS College:
Singh subsequently took to Facebook to share his speech with the general public as well.
Thank you president Tan Tai Yong, and Yale-NUS, for your kind invitation to speak at your graduation event. To the class of 2021, my heartiest congratulations on your graduation.
Some say a person is at their peak at the age of 44.
They are old enough to gain some wisdom, but yet young enough to enjoy health, vitality and energy to get things done.
I am 44 now, and I am grateful to be here to speak with you today, because after this, it is all downhill.
While I am at the apex of my hereafter declining powers, let me share with you what I think are the four things that will determine your success after university.
The first thing that will determine your success after graduation is the kampung of experience that brought you here, kampung being the Malay word for village.
Your time at Yale-NUS and your liberal arts education are to be treasured.
Those studying for professional degrees right after junior college and high school, miss something that they perhaps don't even know, but maybe later in life. Before I read law at SMU, I majored in history at the National University of Singapore, and I am forever grateful that I did. I suppose reading history had practical value in teaching me analytical skills. But beyond the practical, learning the liberal arts helped me understand people better, and to grow as a person before learning a professional. Would I have taken law as my first degree had I attained better A level results, perhaps. But this has has shown me, what perceived failures in life, or how perceived failures in life can eventually enrich and reward. The second thing that will determine your success after college will be your personal relationships. Hopefully you have friends and family who will from a place of love, tell you the truth about yourself, whether directly or indirectly. And as you set out to change the world your sincere family and friends will be a critical ballast that will help you distinguish and check between being righteous, as opposed to being self-righteous. I've been fortunate to have been reminded of that ballast many a time, and I wish it for you too.
Your third influence on success will be your attitude and adaptability. You are entering a world where a lot of people talk, but fewer listen.
Not that people have changed. There was never a time when things were easier or better. There were no good old days. Make sure you communicate well, and this includes paying attention to what is said to you.
The ecosystem of interaction and communication has fundamentally altered with social media. But the real work, and real conversations, ultimately drive the agenda. It is not enough to write well, you must be able to persuade.
Human-to-human interactions and how you adjust and adapt to differing situations will make a key difference to your employability and how you help your organisation succeed. Don't be a difficult person in the guise of wanting to be seen as hardworking. Disavow being self-centered and selfish, and avoid having as your real purpose, the climbing of the greasy pole. It's greasy for a reason, and everyone can see through such a person.
At all times be clear-minded, attitude counts, always has.
As your experience of graduating in this time of Covid, don't resent it. Accept it and turn it to your advantage in some way. That brings me to the fourth influence of your success after graduation, and that is luck.
Call it kismet. Fate. Destiny. Luck of the draw, just plain life. Your success depends on things which you have no control over, such as whether you get a good boss who cares about development, or a poor boss who cares only how useful you are as a cog in the machine. But that is the reality of life, and you will have to negotiate that. The opportunities and obstacles that come your way, will be unpredictable. I did not plan to become secretary-general of the Workers' Party. Nor did I scheme or plot my way to become the Leader of the Opposition. Neither was it my life goal to be sued jointly and severally for S$33 million. I have taken it as it comes. And I intend to. And as the cliche goes, keep calm, carry on. I encourage you to do so too.
So, the four things that will determine your success are your experiences, your relationships, your attitude. And yes, luck. But here's the plot twist: What does success mean to you? Only you can decide that, but have an open mind. Your aim should always be to produce excellence. Whether you decide on alternate paths of charitable NGO work, or even in a small enterprise or startup or multinational corporation, or if you decide to give tuition to kids or be a homemaker or do what something some people see as routine work.
Look first for fulfilment. The sense of fulfilment counts for a lot. And it is important for your mental well-being. It is only with fulfilment that you will be able to truly make the best contribution to society. Do constantly self-reflect and ask yourself, what difference you're making? With that, let me wish you the best in your upward trajectory of life.
You still have some years to go before you hit 44. Thank you.
If you like what you read, follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Telegram to get the latest updates.
Police officers found 11 men and six women, aged between 17 and 70, in the unit. May 18, 2021, 11:08 AM
The Gaza Strip has one of the highest rates of positive Covid-19 cases in the world.
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Famous Person - Give a speech
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Naomi Jennifer Foon gets additional 4 months jail added to existing sentence
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A woman offered another woman $2000 worth of drugs in an attempt to get her to take the rap for a serious case of evading police and reckless driving, the Supreme Court in Launceston heard. Naomi Jennifer Foon, 24, pleaded guilty to perverting justice in August 2020 and several driving charges. The court heard that Foon was speeding at double the 40km/h limit near the University of Tasmania at Newnham at 4am when spotted by police. When police activated their lights Foon sped away, but lost control shortly after on a wet road. She had never held a driver's licence and was disqualified from driving at the time. "Shortly afterwards the car you were driving was spotted by other police. It was driven off the East Tamar Highway, onto an embankment and through a metal fence onto Lytton Street in Invermay," Justice Robert Pearce said in sentencing. The car was later found abandoned. It was suggested in court that Foon's passenger was wanted by police and that he made her drive away because of his threats. Police seized Foon's phone during a search of her home on August 31. "They found a series of Facebook Messenger messages between you and another female during the course of August 4 2021 in which you said that you needed to find another person, preferably a girl, to falsely admit that they were the driver of the car," he said. She offered her an eight ball of drugs or $2000. "After she replied the exchange which then followed made clear that your request was a serious one and that you were well aware of what you were asking and what was involved," Justice Pearce said. He said it was a serious crime even though it ultimately did not succeed. He said Foon had a long history of drug and dishonesty offending. In January 2020 she was sentenced to a wholly-suspended term of five months for many counts of stealing, breaching bail, using and possessing firearms, possessing cannabis, two counts of driving without a licence, and two of driving with an illicit drug in her blood. She was disqualified from driving for nine months. "Things went from bad to worse," Justice Pearce said. The five-month suspended sentence was activated in June 2021 and a seven-month sentence added for offences including 26 counts of driving without a licence, another count of evading police, four counts of breaching bail by driving, six counts of driving with an illicit drug in your blood and three counts of driving while disqualified. Foon had already been in jail for six months by the time of this sentence. He said Foon's conduct revealed that she was not sorry at all for driving and evading police on August 4 2020, or for attempting to avoid prosecution. "You continued to display a complete disregard for the law until you were finally taken into custody about seven or eight months later," he said. Justice Pearce said some further actual imprisonment was required although there was considerable community benefit if she was given a chance to reform. He sentenced her to four months in jail for perverting justice and two months, wholly suspended, for evading police. Two months in jail for reckless driving was also imposed, but ordered to be served at the same time as the other sentences. He disqualified her from driving for two years from release. She must serve an additional two months before becoming eligible to apply for parole. In June Magistrate Ken Stanton also made a six-week jail term concurrent after she pleaded guilty to driving with an illicit drug in her system and unlawful possession of property on June 1, 2021.
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Famous Person - Commit Crime - Sentence
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2009 Upton Park riot
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The 2009 Upton Park riot occurred in and around West Ham United's Boleyn Ground, in Upton Park before, during and after a Football League Cup second round match between West Ham and Millwall on 25 August 2009. The match was won by the home side 3–1 after extra time,[1] but the game was marred by pitch invasions and disorder in the streets outside the ground, where a Millwall supporter[2] was stabbed. [3] The disturbances were met with condemnation by the Football Association, the British government and the two clubs involved. [4][5][6] The incident led to fears of a return of the hooliganism that had tarnished the reputation of English football in the 1970s and 80s. [7] There were also concerns that it could have a negative effect on England's bid to host the 2018 World Cup - which was rejected in favour of the bid from Russia more than a year later. [8]
Millwall and West Ham United have a long-standing rivalry that dates back to the clubs' first meeting, a friendly on 23 September 1897. The rivalry stems from the two clubs geographical proximity to one another – their home grounds at the time (The Den and the Boleyn Ground) are 6.8 miles (10.9 km) apart – and over the years, there have been several instances of violence between some fans of the two clubs. However, these occurrences had subsided in recent years as the clubs have played in different divisions for most of the time since the 1950s. West Ham, for instance, have been members of the top flight for all but a few seasons since 1958, whereas Millwall only played in the top flight for two seasons between 1988 and 1990 and have at times competed in the third and even fourth tiers of the English league. Prior to the match, there had been 96 encounters between Millwall and West Ham, of which Millwall had won 38, West Ham 32, and 26 were drawn. The previous tie was a Football League Championship game played on 16 April 2005 at the Boleyn Ground, which ended 1–1. [9]
Hooliganism was rife at most English football grounds in the 1970s and 80s, and many clubs were forced into installing fencing around the perimeter of the pitch. Millwall's hooligan firm, the Millwall Bushwackers, was perceived as one of the most violent, so much so that a common weapon used in such occurrences became known as a Millwall brick. In March 1985, a large section of the club's hooligans were involved in a riot with Luton Town's firm the MIGs; of the 31 men arrested, many were found to be supporters of other London clubs such as West Ham and Chelsea. West Ham United have also been in receipt of bad publicity for their Inter City Firm, which received international notoriety after the release of the 1989 film The Firm and the 2005 film Green Street. The draw for the second round of the 2009–10 Football League Cup took place on 12 August 2009, and paired West Ham and Millwall together for their first ever League Cup meeting. [10] The police cut the number of tickets given to travelling Millwall fans from 3,000 to 1,500, sparking anger among supporters; Millwall warned police of a higher probability of trouble because of this. [11][12]
Beset by injuries, Millwall could only name four substitutes for the game. They took the lead through long-serving striker Neil Harris in the 26th minute of the match, firing past goalkeeper Robert Green after the West Ham defenders had failed to clear a long throw-in from Scott Barron. The Lions held the lead until three minutes from full-time, when Junior Stanislas equalised for West Ham. Stanislas' goal sparked a pitch invasion, and although players pleaded with the home fans to return to the stands, the resumption of the match was still delayed by several minutes. With the score at 1–1, the match went into extra time. In the eighth minute of extra time, Millwall defender Andy Frampton was adjudged to have handled the ball in the penalty area and referee Paul Taylor awarded West Ham a penalty kick. Stanislas converted the penalty, and home fans invaded the pitch again, prompting the Millwall players to retreat to the dressing room. They eventually returned to complete the match, with Zavon Hines adding a third, making the final score 3–1 to West Ham. [13]
MATCH OFFICIALS
MATCH RULES
The violence was met by surprise and outrage from the footballing authorities and other bodies. The government's sports minister Gerry Sutcliffe commented, "We have made great progress in tackling hooliganism in this country and will not return to the dark days of the 80s." He called the incidents "a disgrace to football" and also said that any culprits should be banned from football for life. [4] Justice secretary Jack Straw said that "strong measures" needed to be taken to prevent a repeat of the disorder. [4] Home secretary Alan Johnson added, "Anyone who thinks thuggery has a place in modern-day football is living in the dark ages, and will bring only shame upon the teams they support." The shadow culture secretary Jeremy Hunt commented that "Wider questions need to be answered as to how the situation was allowed to get out of hand in the first place. "[4] One West Ham fan was seen carrying a young child on their shoulders as they joined the pitch invasion. A youth worker called this "sickening... The message it is sending is very disturbing" and added that "Running onto the pitch with a young child on your shoulders is not an example to set to young people. "[14] The Football Association said that the fan should receive a lifetime ban. Harry Redknapp, a former West Ham manager, advised the football authorities never to allow West Ham United and Millwall to play each other in a Cup game again. [15] The Metropolitan Police Service said evidence suggested that the violence was planned, but that it was an isolated incident and not a signal that the football violence seen in the 1980s was returning. [16] On 28 September 2009, both West Ham and Millwall were charged by the FA with offences related to the match. Both clubs were charged with failing to ensure that their fans refrained from violent, threatening, obscene and provocative behaviour, racist behaviour and throwing missiles, harmful or dangerous objects onto the pitch. West Ham were also charged with failing to ensure that their supporters did not enter the field of play. [17]
In January 2010 West Ham were fined £115,000 after being found guilty of violent, threatening, obscene and provocative behaviour and of failing to prevent their fans entering the field of play. Millwall were cleared of all charges. [18] In response to the violence and public order offences the Metropolitan Police launched Operation Balconi to investigate the disorder surrounding the game. Eighty people suspected of violence before and after the match were arrested. [19] As a result, Inner London Crown Court convicted several West Ham fans of violent disorder, passing prison sentences, including one of 20 months, along with many football banning orders — barring individuals from all football grounds — being imposed. West Ham banned at least 54 people for life from Upton Park including 11 season ticket holders. [20] Since the riot, the two teams have played two Football League Championship games against other in the 2011–12 season. The Metropolitan Police implemented London-wide operations to ensure that the games passed by without any incident, and no further trouble was reported. [21]
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Riot
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China Begins Month of Military Exercises in South China Sea
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China launched a month of military exercises in the South China Sea on Monday and accused foreign countries of heightening tensions by increasing their military presence in those contested waters. On Friday, China’s Maritime Safety Administration announced that an area of roughly 80 square kilometers in Chinese waters to the west of Guangzhou’s Leizhou Peninsula and north of Hainan Island would be closed for military exercises between March 1 and March 31. These exercises come in the wake of numerous foreign military maneuvers in contested areas of the South China Sea, which appear to have drawn Beijing’s ire. Over the past two months, the U.S. Navy has repeatedly carried out “freedom of navigation operations” (FONOPS) and other such activities in the South China Sea, and French forces have transited the area as well. And other countries, such as the United Kingdom and Germany, are supposedly planning to send naval assets through the region too, RFA has previously reported. China’s Ministry of National Defense said Monday that it “resolutely opposes any country increasing its military presence in the South China Sea under the name of ‘freedom of navigation,’ creating a tense atmosphere, meddling in regional affairs, and harming the interests of regional countries.” The Maritime Safety Administration announced that the China’s latest military exercises will be occurring within a 5-kilometer radius of a point off the coast of Guangdong in the Gulf of Tonkin. China has not released additional information about these exercises. The month of exercises launched on Monday is just the latest set of Chinese military activities in the South China Sea, where China, Vietnam, the Philippines, Taiwan, Malaysia, and Brunei are locked in a series of overlapping maritime and territorial disputes. For instance, Chinese bombers recently carried out maritime assault and maritime strike exercises in the South China Sea region, and People’s Liberation Army (PLA) aircraft have repeatedly entered Taiwan’s air defense identification zone (ADIZ) between the Pratas Islands and the Taiwanese mainland. States require aircraft to follow certain identification procedures when entering their declared ADIZs. The PLA Navy also conducted a joint exercise with Singapore’s navy last week, state-run Xinhua News reported. According to a report published by the U.S. Naval War College China Maritime Studies Institute in September 2020, the PLA Navy regularly engages in this kind of naval diplomacy in support of various political and strategic objectives. Oriana Skylar Mastro, an expert at Stanford’s Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies, told RFA that “Chinese military activities are becoming more and more frequent in the South China Sea.” “Part of this is natural as the Chinese military becomes more powerful and tries to test and hone its capabilities,” Mastro said. But these activities are also aimed at communicating Beijing’s resolve and deterring foreign powers, Mastro added. China’s bid to assert its expansive maritime and territorial claims have driven up tensions in the South China Sea in recent years, drawing in non-claimant states like the U.S., France, and Japan. Last week, Kyodo News reported that China lodged a protest with Japan in 2018 after two aircraft from the Japanese Self-Defense Force flew near China’s artificial island built on Mischief Reef in the Spratly Islands, according to Japanese government sources. Japan appears to have referenced this incident in a recent diplomatic note to the United Nations, in which it rejected China’s baseline claims and denounced China’s efforts to limit the freedom of navigation and overflight in the South China Sea. Japan’s note was the latest in a series of diplomatic submissions challenging China’s claims from the U.K., France, Germany, Malaysia, Australia, the U.S., Indonesia, Vietnam, and the Philippines. water close to to their countries Tai wan is a different situatiobn Taiwan is a runaway proivince after Sun Yat sen lost the internal struggle in China So taiwan is a nd willk always be part ogf China come what may Foreign countriues tried to interfere wwith China internal welfare Taiwan will always be poart of China.It is a pity that MaobTse Tong die not pursue Sun Yat seng army in Taiwan All the problems now would have not been there
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Military Exercise
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Biman Bangladesh Airlines Flight 60 crash
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Biman Bangladesh Airlines Flight 60 was a scheduled international passenger flight from Dhaka Hazrat Shah Jalal International Airport, Bangladesh to Yangon International Airport, Myanmar. On May 8, 2019, the Bombardier Q400 aircraft skidded off the runway upon landing, breaking into three sections. There were no fatalities, but 18 of the 28 passengers on board including 5 crew members were injured: the aircraft was also declared a hull loss, making it the tenth loss of a Q400 aircraft. [1][2]
The accident aircraft held the registration number S2-AGQ. The aircraft was delivered to Smart Aviation Company in 2011 and was leased to Biman Bangladesh Airlines as a new aircraft in April 2015. [3]
In the early afternoon of May 8, 2019, at around 15:15 local time, Biman Bangladesh Airlines Flight 060 took off from Dhaka on a scheduled passenger flight to Yangon in Myanmar. At the time of the accident, a thunderstorm was present and the weather was very poor. When the aircraft rolled out for landing, for unknown circumstances it deviated from its course and veered off the 2.1-mile long runway into the grass next to the only runway. The impact caused the aircraft to snap into three sections just behind the forward passenger door and the rear service door. The undercarriage collapsed and the right-wing was highly damaged where it meets with the fuselage. The plane sustained serious damage to be declared a hull loss, but no fire broke out, and there were no fatalities. However, 20 passengers and crew were reported injured. [4]
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Air crash
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United Airlines Flight 266 crash
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United Airlines Flight 266 was a scheduled flight from Los Angeles International Airport, California, to General Mitchell International Airport, Milwaukee, Wisconsin via Stapleton International Airport, Denver, Colorado with 38 on board. On January 18, 1969 at approximately 18:21 PST it crashed into Santa Monica Bay, Pacific Ocean, about 11.5 miles (18.5 km) west of Los Angeles International Airport, four minutes after takeoff. Rescuers (at the time) speculated that an explosion occurred aboard the plane, a Boeing 727. Three and a half hours after the crash three bodies had been found in the ocean along with parts of fuselage and a United States mail bag carrying letters with that day's postmark. Hope was dim for survivors because the aircraft was configured for domestic flights and did not carry liferafts or lifejackets. A Coast Guard spokesman said it looked "very doubtful that there could be anybody alive. "[1]
Up until 2013, United used "Flight 266" designation on its San Francisco-Chicago (O'Hare) route. The crew of Flight 266 was Captain Leonard Leverson, 49, a veteran pilot who had been with United Airlines for 22 years and had almost 13,700 flying hours to his credit. His first officer was Walter Schlemmer, 33, who had approximately 7,500 hours, and the flight engineer was Keith Ostrander, 29, who had 634 hours. Between them the crew had more than 4,300 hours of flight time on the Boeing 727. [2]
The Boeing 727-22C aircraft, registration N7434U,[3] was almost new and had been delivered to United Airlines only four months earlier. It had less than 1,100 hours of operating time. The aircraft had had a nonfunctional #3 generator for the past several days leading up to the accident. Per standard procedure, the crew placed masking tape over the switches and warning lights for the generator. Approximately two minutes after takeoff, the crew reported a fire warning on engine #1 and shut it off. The crew radioed to departure control that they only had one functioning generator and needed to come back to the airport, but it turned out to be their last communication, with subsequent attempts to contact Flight 266 proving unsuccessful. Shortly after engine #1 shut down, the #2 generator also ceased operating for reasons unknown. [2] The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) was unable to determine why the #2 generator had failed after it had become the plane's sole power source, nor why the "standby electrical system either was not activated or failed to function. "[2]
Several witnesses saw Flight 266 take off and reported seeing sparks emanating from either engine #1 or the rear of the fuselage, while others claimed an engine was on fire. Salvage operations were conducted to recover the wreckage of the aircraft, but not much useful information was gleaned as the cockpit instruments were not recovered. The wreckage was in approximately 930 feet (280 meters) of water and had been severely fragmented, however the relatively small area in which it was spread indicated an extremely steep, nose-down angle at impact. There was little in the way of identifiable human remains at the wreckage site, only two passengers were identified and only one intact body was found. The #2 and #3 engines suffered severe rotational damage from high RPM speeds at impact, but the #1 engine had almost no damage because it had been powered off. No evidence of any fire or heat damage was found on the engines, thus disproving the witnesses' claims. The small portion of the electrical system that was recovered did not provide any relevant information. The CVR took nearly six weeks to locate and recover. NTSB investigators could not explain the sparking seen by witnesses on the ground and theorized that it might have been caused by debris being sucked into the engine, a transient compressor stall or an electrical system problem that led to the eventual power failure. They also were unable to explain the engine #1 fire warning in the absence of a fire, but this may have resulted from electrical system problems or a cracked duct that allowed hot engine air to set off the temperature sensors. The sensors from the #1 and #2 engines were recovered and exhibited no signs of malfunction. Some tests indicated that it was indeed possible for the #2 generator to fail from an overload condition as a result of the operating load being suddenly shifted onto it following the #1 generator's shutdown, and this was maintained as a possible cause of the failure. N7434U had recently been fitted with a generator control panel that had been passed around several different UAL aircraft because of several malfunctions. After being installed in N7434U the month prior to the ill-fated flight, generator #3 once again caused operating problems and was swapped with a different unit. Since that generator was subsequently tested and found to have no mechanical issues, the control panel was identified as the problem after it caused further malfunctions with the replacement generator. Busy operating schedules and limited aircraft availability meant that repair work on N7434U was put on hold, with nothing that could be done in the meantime except to disable the #3 generator. The NTSB investigators believed that the inoperative #3 generator probably was not responsible for the #2 generator's in-flight failure since it was assumed to be isolated from the rest of the electrical system. With the loss of all power to the lights and flight attitude instruments, flying at night in instrument conditions, the pilots quickly became spatially disoriented and unable to know which inputs to the flight controls were necessary to keep the plane flying normally. Consequently, the crew lost control of the aircraft and crashed into the ocean in a steep nose-down angle, killing everyone on board. The flight control system would not have been affected by the loss of electrical power, since it relied on hydraulic and mechanical lines, so it was concluded that loss of control was the result of the crew's inability to see around the cockpit. It was theorized that the non-activation of the backup electrical system might have been for one of several reasons:
The CVR and FDR both lost power just after the crew informed ATC of the fire warning on engine #1. At an unknown later point, both resumed operation for a short period of time. The FDR came back online for 15 seconds, the CVR nine seconds during which time it recorded the crew discussing their inability to see where the plane was. No sounds of the plane impacting the water could be heard when this second portion of the recording ceased. [2]
At the time, a battery-powered backup source for critical flight instruments was not required on commercial aircraft. The accident prompted the Federal Aviation Administration to require all transport-category aircraft to carry backup instrumentation, powered by a source independent of the generators. The NTSB's "probable cause" stated:
"The Board determines that the probable cause of this accident was loss of altitude orientation during a night, instrument departure in which the altitude instruments were disabled by loss of electrical power. The Board has been unable to determine (a) why all generator power was lost or (b) why the standby electrical power system either was not activated or failed to function. "[2]
On January 13, 1969, Scandinavian Airlines System Flight 933 just five days before the crash of United Flight 266, a Scandinavian Airlines DC-8 on final approach to Los Angeles International also crashed into Santa Monica Bay. The jet broke in half on impact, killing 15. Thirty people survived in a portion of the fuselage that remained afloat. [4][5]
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Air crash
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Delhi unlocks further as restaurants, malls open today. Check what remain closed
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Delhi Unlock 3.0: Salons, beauty parlours, barber shops closed since the imposition of lockdown on April 19, will also reopen Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday announced further ease in Covid-related restrictions in the city. The CM announced the resumption of all economic activities except some that will continue in a restricted manner. While announcing the easing of restrictions for Delhi Unlock 3.0, Delhi CM Kejriwal said this will be done on a trial basis for a week and if cases increase, stricter restrictions will be imposed. Delhi had been reeling under a brutal second wave of the pandemic that had swept the country, claiming a massive number of lives daily, with oxygen supply shortage adding to the woes. Delhi Unlock 3.0: What's allowed from today "All activities, except certain prohibited ones, will be allowed from 5 am on Monday. There are also certain restricted or partly allowed activities announced last week that will continue," Kejriwal said in an online briefing. Delhi Unlock 3.0: What will remain closed Schools, colleges, educational and coaching institutes, cinema halls, multiplexes, theatres, gyms, spas, Yoga institutes, swimming pools, auditoriums, banquet halls, amusement and water parks, and public parks and gardens will continue to be closed till 5 am on June 21, according to an order issued by Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA). All social, political, sports, entertainment, academic, cultural/religious, festival-related and other gatherings and congregations, stadia, sports complexes barring those used for training or any national or international event, business to business exhibitions, are also prohibited. No weekly market will be allowed on roadsides. It will have to be set up at suitable grounds where precautions against COVID-19 could be maintained. There will be no restriction on inter-state and intra-state movement of persons and goods, and no separate permission or e-pass will be required for such movements. Delhi Unlock 3.0: Delhi Metro Delhi Metro officials said services will continue with 50 per cent seating capacity only as per guidelines to prevent the spread of COVID-19. The Delhi Metro had resumed services on June 7 after a hiatus of four weeks in view of the improved Covid situation in the national capital, albeit with 50 per cent seating capacity and no provision for standing travel for commuters. The DMRC, in a statement, said, "Delhi Metro services will continue with 50 per cent seating capacity only as per guidelines to prevent the spread of COVID-19." "Passengers will be allowed to travel by seating only on alternate seats with no provision for standing travel till further directions," a senior official said. Partly allowed activities announced in Delhi Unlock 2.0 The partly allowed activities announced last week and earlier, including the opening of government and private offices with 50 per cent staff, marriages at home or in the court, operation of Delhi Metro trains and public transport buses with 50 per cent seating capacity, permission for a gathering of 20 persons during funerals, running of autos, e-rickshaws and other last-mile vehicles, will continue up to June 21 morning, it added. Delhi Covid-19 tally The national capital recorded 255 new COVID-19 cases and 23 fatalities, the lowest since April 7, on Sunday.
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Organization Closed
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Annular eclipse on Thursday
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Dig out those eclipse viewing glasses you stashed away after the partial eclipse in 2017, you will need them to view the "annular eclipse" on Thursday. You'll also have to set the alarm and get up to view the solar eclipse as the sun rises. You have likely heard of or even seen a "total solar eclipse" before. This happens when the New Moon blocks our view of the sun as it passes between Earth and our closest star. An eclipse doesn't have to be total to be worth watching, and on June 10 we have the chance to see an "annular eclipse" where the Moon is in its first lunar phase and farther away from Earth in its orbit. Since the moon appears smaller it won't block out the entire sun and instead will produce a "ring of fire" as it covers the majority of the inner portion of the sun, leaving light around the edges. To catch the full "ring of fire" view you have to be in portions of Russian, Greenland and northern Canada. Much of Asia, Europe and North America will be treated to a partial view. In Maine, we will be able to see a partial view where the moon will block near 74% of the sun. For viewing in Portland, the partial eclipse will begin before the sun rises. The eclipse will be in progress at sunrise 4:59:57 a.m. and at maximum coverage (74.17%) not even an hour later, at 5:34:48 a.m. The partial eclipse will end at 6:34:44 a.m. Exact eclipse viewing times for your town are found here, on the Time and Date website. The next annular solar eclipse visible in North America is more than a year away, Oct. 14, 2023. The next total solar eclipse visible in North America will happen on April 8, 2024, and will be visible while in totality here in northern New England.
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New wonders in nature
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1915 Ilford rail crash
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The 1915 Ilford rail crash occurred on 1 January 1915 when an express passenger train passed a signal at danger and collided with another passenger train that was stopped at Ilford railway station on the Great Eastern Main Line in Essex, England. Ten people died and approximately 500 complained of injury. At approximately 08:40 on 1 January 1915 the crew of the 07:06 express service from Clacton to London Liverpool Street failed to see that the distant and home signals at the Ilford east signal box were at danger. [1] The signalman tried to attract their attention by shouting and waving a red flag from the signal box, but to no avail. At the west end of the station, the 08:20 local service from Gidea Park to Liverpool Street was crossing over from the local line to the through line when it was run into by the Clacton express travelling on the through line at a speed variously estimated at 20 to 50 mph (32 to 80 km/h). The impact completely destroyed the eighth coach and severely damaged five others of the Gidea Park train, as well as the engine and first two vehicles of the Clacton train. Ten passengers died and over 500 complained of injury. The official report attributed blame to the driver of the Clacton train for his "insufficient care in noting the positions of his signals when approaching Ilford". It also noted that the accident would have been much less likely if some form of Automatic Warning System had been in use, and recommended its introduction. [2]
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Train collisions
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Cape May lifeguard Norman Inferrera III dies after off-shore accident
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CAPE MAY - A 16-year-old lifeguard in the first summer of his dream job was fatally injured in an offshore accident here, city officials say. Norman V. Inferrera III was rowing in the ocean off the Reading Avenue beach when his boat was broadsided by a wave and flipped over around 11:30 a.m. Thursday, according to a statement from the city. Fellow lifeguards "responded immediately" to help Inferrera, who was unconscious in the surf, according to a statement released Saturday. According to a GoFundMe campaign on behalf of the lifeguard's family, Inferrera "had to be resuscitated twice and (was) airlifted" to the trauma unit at Cooper University Hospital, Camden. More:Two teenagers struck while trying to cross Cinnaminson highway More:Traffic accidents kill two in Cherry Hill and Magnolia The GoFundMe statement said the lifeguard died Friday night after suffering extensive injuries to his brain and other organs, as well as multiple broken bones. "This summer champ was involved in many rescues including a four-year-old child," said the appeal, organized by the lfieguard's aunt, Kathleen Inferrera Price of Deptford. The online effort, with an initial goal of $15,000, had raised more than $120,000 by Saturday evening. Inferrera "was loved by all in the lifeguard squad," said the appeal, which sought help for the family's medical expenses. Inferrera, a resident of Phoenixville, Pennsylvania, whose family summered in North Wildwood, was in his first year with the Beach Patrol, said Cape May City Manager Mike Voll. Harry Back, chief of Cape May's Beach Patrol, said Inferrera "had a permanent smile on his face and was living out his dream to be a lifeguard.'' Beach Patrol members from other communities were overseeing Cape May's shoreline in the wake of the tragedy, Voll noted. "They're on the beach now," he said, adding the death of a lifeguard on duty was the first in his memory. "We've had several communities reach out," he observed. "There's such a camaraderie." The city is providing grief counseling services to its lifeguards. “No words can express the sadness suffered by all of our Beach Patrol family," said Cape May Mayor Zachary Mullock. "Norman chose to protect others. He did so professionally and worked hard at it.," the mayor continued. "That is an extraordinary attribute for anyone, especially at 16 years old." Jim Walsh covers public safety, economic development and other beats for the Courier-Post, Burlington County Times and The Daily Journal.
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Shipwreck
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Officer-Involved Shooting Investigations
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The investigation into an officer-involved shooting involves many agencies and reviews. There is a criminal investigation by an outside agency, an internal investigation by BPD’s Office of Internal Affairs (OIA), a training and policy review by BPD Commanders and an independent investigation by the City of Boise’s Office of Police Accountability (OPA), which is a separate office from BPD and reports directly to the Mayor and Council.
BPD remains committed to transparency, but we also must ensure that the public release of information does not impede the confidentiality and impartiality of these separate investigations or any future prosecutions on criminal charges.
Response Process
Investigation by the Ada County Critical Incident Task Force
Immediately following an officer-involved shooting, the Ada County Critical Incident Task Force (CITF) is activated to investigate.
What is the CITF?
The CITF is made up of qualified detectives from each law enforcement agency in Ada County. CITF participating agencies include the Boise Police Department, Meridian Police Department, Garden City Police Department, Ada County Sheriff’s Office, and Idaho State Police. Detectives from an uninvolved agency are assigned lead on a rotating basis. Detectives from the involved agency still participate but don’t take a lead role in any critical areas. The completed investigation is then sent to a Prosecuting Attorney outside of Ada County for a criminal review of the officers’ actions.
Investigative Process
The involved officers are sequestered and evidence, including weapons, is collected.
The involved officers are separated until detectives have completed their preliminary interviews.
The assigned detectives are in charge of conducting a meticulous investigation including interviews, forensic analysis of the evidence, collection of video surveillance, etc.
Any available on-body camera video is provided to the CITF.
The Director of the Office of Police Accountability is immediately notified and may respond to the location.
If there is a fatality, the Ada County Coroner responds to the location of the deceased and conducts an independent investigation of the body.
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Famous Person - Commit Crime - Investigate
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W.A.K.O. World Championships 1993 (Budapest)
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W.A.K.O. World Championships 1993 in Budapest were the joint ninth world kickboxing championships hosted by the W.A.K.O. organization arranged by Hungarian kickboxing president Richard Leyrer. As with the 1985 world championships the organization had suffered a temporary split due to political differences, and a previous event had been held in Atlantic City earlier in the month. These political differences would be resolved in the near future and the organization would be re-united. The Budapest event was open to amateur men and women from across the world - with 500 participants taking part from 47 countries. The styles on offer were Full-Contact, and for the first time ever at a W.A.K.O. championships, Low-Kick (more information on the styles can be found in the relevant sections below). Another first was that women could now take part in Full-Contact kickboxing, whereas before they could only take part in less physical styles. At the end of a very competitive championships, Poland were the top nation in terms of medals won, with Morocco a very close second and France just behind in third. The event was held in Budapest, Hungary over four days, starting on Thursday, 25 November and finishing on Sunday, 28 November. An estimated 3,500 spectators attended the championships. [1]
Making a re-appearance to a W.A.K.O. world championships after being absent at London 1991, Full-Contact involved the participants trying to win the contest either by points or by stoppage – more detail on the rules can be found at the W.A.K.O. website, although be aware that they may have changed slightly since 1993. [2] The men had twelve weight classes ranging from 51 kg/112.2 lbs to over 91 kg/+200.2 lbs, with several new divisions being added, while, for the first time ever, women were allowed to participate in Full-Contact at a W.A.K.O. event, with six weight divisions ranging from 48 kg/105.6 lbs to over 65 kg/+143 lbs. Poland was the strongest country in Full-Contact with four gold, one silver and one bronze medal by the end of the championships. [3]
Making its debut at a W.A.K.O. championships, Low-Kick is similar to Full-Contact kickboxing only differing in that it allowed kicks below the knee - more detail on Low-Kick rules can be found at the W.A.K.O. website, although be aware that there may have been some rule changes since 1993. [4] Only men were allowed to participate in Low-Kick with twelve weight classes ranging from 51 kg/112.2 lbs to over 91 kg/+200.2 lbs. A notable winner was Andrei Dudko (who would later win the K-1 USA Championships 2000) taking gold in the +91 kg division. Morocco were the strongest nation in Low-Kick winning four gold medals. [5]
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Sports Competition
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Lao Aviation Flight 703 crash
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Lao Aviation Flight 703 was a scheduled domestic passenger flight from Vientiane to Xam Neua, Laos. On 19 October 2000, the Harbin Y-12 II crashed into a mountain 12 kilometres (7.5 mi) from the airport due to pilot error. At least eight passengers died, including citizens from Germany, Singapore, and South Africa, while seven passengers and two crew members survived but were injured. [1][2][3][4] The crash was the fourth fatal crash involving the airline in the previous ten years, and the second in four months. [5][6]
The search for the crash site was made difficult by low cloud cover and dense smoke in the area. One group of survivors walked from the crash site to a village nearby. [7][8]
This article about an aviation accident is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.
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Air crash
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23 Are Rescued After Baltimore Building Explosion
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The explosion happened on the 16th floor of the Baltimore Gas and Electric Company building. The cause was not immediately clear, but the utility said it was likely a construction accident.
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A window-washing platform dangled from the Baltimore Gas and Electric Company building on Wednesday. An explosion was reported just before 8:30 a.m.Credit...Jerry Jackson/The Baltimore Sun, via Associated Press
By Johnny Diaz
Dec. 23, 2020
Nearly two dozen people were rescued on Wednesday morning after an explosion in an office building in downtown Baltimore caused part of the structure’s roof to collapse, the authorities said.
Firefighters and ambulances responded to the Baltimore Gas and Electric Company building on Center Street after the explosion was reported just before 8:30 a.m. Twenty-one people were taken to hospitals, the Baltimore City Fire Department said .
The department said earlier on Wednesday that nine people were in critical condition and one was in serious condition. Two people were pulled to safety from a window-washing platform that dangled precariously against the building’s facade after the explosion, the authorities said.
“Right now we need people to pray for those people that were inside of this building and praying that they all have a speedy and full recovery,” Mayor Brandon M. Scott of Baltimore told reporters at the scene .
Image
Two people were pulled to safety from a window-washing platform after the explosion, the authorities said.Credit...Jerry Jackson/The Baltimore Sun, via Associated Press
The explosion took place on the 16th floor of the 21-story building, a Baltimore firefighters’ union said . The Baltimore field office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives said on Twitter that its special agents were at the scene assisting city police and fire officials.
In a statement on Wednesday evening, B.G.E. said the explosion “appears to be related to construction work that was occurring on the building’s air handling and boiler system” and that it “was not natural gas related.”
The company also said that the building’s gas service had been shut off while the work was being done.
“The building was largely empty due to the upcoming holidays and the pandemic,” B.G.E. said.
Stephanie Weaver, a spokeswoman for B.G.E., said on Wednesday evening that 21 construction contractors were treated at a hospital for injuries, none of which were life-threatening. Twelve of those injured contractors had already been released, she said.
Two workers were rescued after they were trapped on a window-cleaning platform, the fire union said. Video from a local TV station showed the platform dangling at an angle as firefighters broke windows to the reach the workers.
One worker was pulled through a 10th-floor window. A firefighter climbed up the platform and pulled the second worker through a window on the 11th floor, Chief Niles R. Ford of the Baltimore City Fire Department told reporters at the scene. He said those workers were “in pretty decent condition.”
“The building has been affected from the 10th floor to the roof and there were several contractors working in the building,” he said.
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Gas explosion
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Highway near Redstone reopens Wednesday morning after overnight mudslides
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News News | July 21, 2021 Highway 133 north of Redstone is reopened Wednesday morning after an overnight mudslides shut down the two-lane road. Pitkin County officials sent an alert just after midnight Wednesday warning the road was closed near Redstone. In an update at 7:45 a.m., the Colorado Department of Transportation said the road was open. Crews remain in the area do do mop-up work on the southbound lane. “CO 133 is open at Mile Point 53 with one lane of alternating traffic. Motorists should plan for delays as crews clear up to eight feet of mud from the roadway,” CDOT said in its update. Officials said three slides happened late Tuesday night. Interstate 70 remained closed Wednesday morning through Glenwood Canyon as Colorado Department of Transportation officials assess “several mudslides” in the Grizzly Creek burn-scar area. Also, Highway 82 over Independence Pass was closed briefly Tuesday afternoon because of a small mudslide. A strong line of thunderstorms rolled through the Roaring Fork Valley area Tuesday afternoon, then a second line moved through later in the evening.
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Mudslides
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Jane Fonda has no interest in getting married again
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Jane Fonda is happily unmarried. During a virtual conversation ahead of the 2021 Golden Globes, the actress was asked if there was one thing she hasn’t yet achieved that she wants to accomplish. “I’ll tell you something that I haven’t acheived, which is a successful marriage,” Fonda, 83, replied. “But the second part of your question is, ‘Do you want to to?’ I don’t want to,” she continued. “See I live by myself. I don’t have any guy who doesn’t want a woman who is willing to be angry and who doesn’t want a woman who is willing to be angry and stand up. “I’m not threatening anybody. I can watch whatever I want on TV. So I don’t ever want to be married again. But it’s something I wish I’d been better at.” The “Grace and Frankie” star was married three times: first to French director Roger Vadim from 1965 to 1973, then to politician Tom Hayden from 1973 to 1990 and finally to CNN founder Ted Turner from 1991 to 2001. In 2017, Fonda and music mogul Richard Perry broke up after an eight-year relationship. Fonda was joined in the chat by Norman Lear, who answered the question about achievements by saying, “I have not yet achieved tomorrow.” Fonda is being honored with the Cecil b. deMille Award at Sunday’s Golden Globes, while Lear, 98, is being given the Carol Burnett Award.
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Famous Person - Marriage
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Food as the cause of a fast-growing outbreak of Salmonella Oranienburg infections
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In the 21 days since it was first reported, an investigation has not yet identified a food as the cause of a fast-growing outbreak of Salmonella Oranienburg infections — at least officially. The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta say public health and regulatory officials in several states are still collecting different types of data to investigate the multistate outbreak. In three weeks, the Salmonella Oranienburg outbreak grew from 20 infections to 279 confirmed cases. While there have been no deaths, there have also been no recalls because no food is yet linked to the outbreak. The rapidly growing outbreak has spread to at last 29 states with illnesses starting on dates ranging from Aug. 3 to Sept. 13. Sick people range in age from less than 1 year to 89 years, with a median age of 35, and 59 percent are female. Of 86 people with information available, 26 have been hospitalized. “The true number of sick people in an outbreak is likely much higher than the number reported, and the outbreak may not be limited to the states with known illnesses.,” CDC reports. “This is because many people recover without medical care and are not tested for Salmonella. In addition, recent illnesses may not yet be reported as it usually takes 3 to 4 weeks to determine if a sick person is part of an outbreak.” As for the source or sources of the Salmonella illnesses, CDC reports that several groups of people, which it calls “subclusters” are associated with restaurants in multiple states, but that information has not led to a specific food source. Public health officials in several states are interviewing people about the foods they ate in the week before they got sick. The CDC is then analyzing that data but it has not yet identified a specific food item as a potential source of this outbreak. Bill Marler, the nation’s best-known attorney for victims of foodborne illnesses, has published so-called “Dendrogram” data from The National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) in his personal blog. It “shows that of the 275 Salmonella Oranienburg uploaded, 274 Whole Genome Sequence (WGS) ‘matches’ are human and one is cilantro – so, what’s up public health?” Marler asks. About Salmonella infections Food contaminated with Salmonella bacteria does not usually look, smell, or taste spoiled. Anyone can become sick with a Salmonella infection. Infants, children, seniors, and people with weakened immune systems are at higher risk of serious illness because their immune systems are fragile, according to the CDC. Anyone who has eaten any recalled products and developed symptoms of Salmonella food poisoning should seek medical attention. Sick people should tell their doctors about the possible exposure to Salmonella bacteria because special tests are necessary to diagnose salmonellosis. Salmonella infection symptoms can mimic other illnesses, frequently leading to misdiagnosis. Symptoms of Salmonella infection can include diarrhea, abdominal cramps, and fever within 12 to 72 hours after eating contaminated food. Otherwise, healthy adults are usually sick for four to seven days. In some cases, however, diarrhea may be so severe that patients require hospitalization. Older adults, children, pregnant women, and people with weakened immune systems, such as cancer patients, are more likely to develop a severe illness and serious, sometimes life-threatening conditions. Some people get infected without getting sick or showing any symptoms. However, they may still spread the infections to others.
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Disease Outbreaks
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African Lion 2021 Concludes With Spectacular Final Day
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Rabat - As the African Lion military exercises come to a close, a final day of specular military demonstrations concludes the successful event in style. African Lion’s last day featured an exhibition this Friday, June 18, showcasing live military maneuvers performed by both Morocco and the United States. Morocco World News has been on the ground in Tan-Tan, reporting on the event. The concluding day’s event took place in the Cape Draa Observation Post, 33 km northwest of the city of TanTan, with the presence of military personnel from the Netherlands, Egypt, Qatar, Italy, Senegal, Uganda, NATO, and Belgium, all observant delegations. The Moroccan-led exercise kicked off with three low flyovers from Moroccan F-16 Fighting Falcons, an impressive show of skill matched by American jets making similar maneuvers and featuring the fighter aircraft. Today’s impressive events featured exercises for Lockheed C-130 Hercules cargo airplanes, followed by the Moroccan aircraft, resulting in a spectacular display of both country’s military might. The 173rd Airborne Brigade, an airborne infantry brigade combat team of the United States was present to perform a parachute drop at the end of the aerial exercise, but it was canceled due to strong winds and unexpected weather conditions. The aerial exercise was followed by ground force maneuvers from infantry units and artillery brigades from both Morocco and the United States. The event features controlled targeted strikes performed by FAR units using artillery, anti-armor missiles, and M1 Abrams tanks. In-depth bombing followed shortly after, which the US units took over, using the same arms and artillery used by the Moroccan units. The 1st Battalion, an infantry battalion in the United States Marine Corps based out of Camp Pendleton, California, opened with the infantry fire, followed by the Georgia National Guard 214 field artillery regiment. The Georgia National Guard infantry was the largest American presence during this morning’s event. The finale of this explosive last day is yet to be seen, Morocco World News will report back on what is sure to be an exemplary closing to a “very successful” military exercise, as relayed by the organizing committee to MWN.
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Military Exercise
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Locust swarm: China to help Pakistan avoid looming agricultural disaster
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Wednesday Feb 19, 2020 ISLAMABAD: China on Tuesday said it is considering aerial and pesticide support to help combat a locust swarm in Pakistan as the food ministry raised alarm over urgent mitigation requirements, reported The News. Chinese ambassador Yao Jing said his government was considering supplying pesticides and spraying equipment to Pakistan as an emergency project. “The Chinese side will send a delegation of technical experts next week to Pakistan to further deliberate on aerial management of locust,” Yao said. “The delegation will also visit locust-affected areas.” The ambassador offered the assistance during a meeting with Federal Minister for National Food Security and Research Khusro Bakhtiar. Read also: Swarm of locusts disrupts daily life in Karachi The Chinese envoy added that Beijing was interested in increasing import of agricultural products from Pakistan, including onion, potato and meat. “China wants to ease out the export of these products before the high-level visit expected in May 2020,” he said. Bakhtiar apprised the ambassador about the requirement of pesticides and aerial support to control the locust swarm in Pakistan, particularly Sindh and Balochistan. The participants of the meeting were informed about the current situation of affected areas and how the locust is spreading there. The minister also underlined the importance of the measures taken by neighbouring countries to control locust swarms. Bakhtiar informed the ambassador about the requirement of aerial support from China to curtail the reproduction of locusts in vulnerable areas. Insecticide developed at University of Karachi effective against locust swarms: report He underscored the urgent need of aerial support with pesticides for aerial spray to contain the locusts in the desert area. The locust swarm assumed grave proportions across the country, with the crop-destructive insects posing a serious threat to production of agriculture sector, which contributes around 20 per cent of the GDP. Agriculture growth had sharply decelerated to 0.8 per cent during the last fiscal year in contrast to 3.9 per cent a year earlier. Bakhtiar acknowledged the pro-activeness of China in supporting Pakistan over the locust swarm issue. “It shows the strength of the Pak-China relationship,” he said, hailing the Chinese interest in the import of agricultural products. Earlier this week, United Nation’s Food and Agriculture Organisation also vowed support to help the country map out locust-infected areas and extend technical cooperation in controlling the menace. Read also: Amid border tensions, Pakistan and India come together to fight locusts In a report published in The Times of India earlier this week, Pakistan and India were said to have held five meetings in the past few months in a bid to deal with the deadly desert locust. The coordination will continue as a locust attack of greater magnitude is forecast from June 2020 onward compared to that observed in 2019, when farmers of certain districts of Rajasthan and Gujrat had to contend with severe damage to their crops, the publication claimed. The short-horned grasshopper had targetted both India and Pakistan, attacking the standing winter (rabi) crop before being finally controlled by January. Five meetings between the two countries were held at Munabao in India and Khokhrapar in Pakistan during June-December last year to exchange information on tackling the menace.
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Insect Disaster
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Colorado Labor Wars
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The Colorado labor wars were a series of labor strikes in 1903 and 1904 in the U.S. state of Colorado, by gold and silver miners and mill workers represented by the Western Federation of Miners (WFM). Opposing the WFM were associations of mine owners and businessmen at each location, supported by the Colorado state government. The strikes were notable and controversial for the accompanying violence, and the imposition of martial law by the Colorado National Guard in order to put down the strikes. A nearly simultaneous strike in Colorado's northern and southern coal fields was also met with a military response by the Colorado National Guard. [1]
Colorado's most significant battles between labor and capital occurred between miners and mine operators. In these battles the state government, with one exception, sided with the mine operators. Additional participants have included the National Guard, often informally called the militia; private contractors such as the Pinkertons, Baldwin–Felts, and Thiel detective agencies; and various labor entities, Mine Owners' Associations, and vigilante groups and business-dominated groups such as the Citizens' Alliance. The WFM strikes considered part of the Colorado labor wars include:
Two scholars of American labor violence concluded, "There is no episode in American labor history in which violence was as systematically used by employers as in the Colorado labor war of 1903 and 1904. "[2] The WFM as well embraced more violent strike tactics, and "entered into the one of the most insurgent and violent stages that American labor history had ever seen. "[3]Page 93
In late 1902, the Western Federation of Miners boasted seventeen thousand members in one hundred locals. [4]p.58[5]p.15
In January 1894, mine owners tried to lengthen the workday for Cripple Creek miners from eight to ten hours without raising pay. This action provoked a strike by the miners. In response, mine owners brought in strike breakers. The miners intimidated the strike breakers, so the mine owners raised a private army of an estimated 1,200 armed men. The gunmen were deputized by El Paso County Sheriff F. M. Bowers. [5]p.19 The miners were also armed, and were prepared for a confrontation. Colorado Governor Davis Waite convinced the mine owners to go back to the shorter workday in what was called the "Waite agreement. "[5]p.19 Governor Waite also called out the state militia to disarm the 1,200 gunmen who were no longer taking orders from the sheriff. The Waite agreement on miners' hours and wages subsequently went into effect, and lasted nearly a decade. [5]p.19-20
Downtown Cripple Creek was destroyed by fires in 1896. Carpenters and other construction workers rushed to the area to rebuild the city, and unions arose to organize them. The carpenter's union and other unions owed their leverage to the Western Federation of Miners. [6]p.62 The strike victory in 1894 enabled the WFM to build labor organizations at the district, state, and regional levels. Mining companies acted on a concern about miners stealing high grade ore by hiring Pinkerton guards. In one case three hundred miners walked out to protest the policy, the company negotiated, and the Pinkerton guards were replaced by guards nominated by the union. The new agreement stipulated that miners suspected of theft would be searched by a fellow miner in the presence of a watchman. To ensure a cooperative work force, mine managers and superintendents found it useful to urge all miners to join the union. [6]p.71-74
El Paso County included both heavily working class Cripple Creek and more conservative Colorado Springs, home to many of the mine owners. Backed by the pro-union Victor and Cripple Creek Daily Press, the unions elected union members to public office, and split the mining district from El Paso County, by creating Teller County. [6]p.69 Teller County was a union county where the eight-hour workday was enforced, and workers were paid union scale. Unions used social pressure, boycotts, and strikes to ensure that union goals were enforced. The unions were powerful enough to simply announce wages and hours, and any businesses that failed to comply were boycotted. Non-union products were eliminated from saloons and grocery stores. [6]p.70
Outside the Cripple Creek District, however, things were not going well for the WFM. The union had lost a strike in Leadville in 1896, and in 1899 there was another confrontation at Coeur d'Alene, Idaho which ended with hundreds of union miners locked up by the militia in temporary prisons. WFM Secretary-Treasurer Bill Haywood concluded that the companies and their supporters in government were conducting class warfare against the working class. [4]p.55
At their 1901 convention the WFM delegates proclaimed that a "complete revolution of social and economic conditions" was "the only salvation of the working classes. "[6]p.179 WFM leaders openly called for the abolition of the wage system. By the spring of 1903 the WFM was the most militant labor organization in the country. [5]p.15 This was a considerable change from the WFM's founding Preamble, which envisioned a future of arbitration and conciliation with employers, and an eventual end to the need for strikes. [3]p.23
Bill Haywood, the WFM's powerful secretary treasurer and second in command, had adopted the industrial unionism philosophy of his mentor, former WFM leader Ed Boyce. Boyce disagreed with Samuel Gompers, head of the AFL, over union organization. [5]p.23 Haywood thought that unions should cover whole industries, and that the WFM should extend to workers at ore processing mills as well, and that all workers in an industrial union should stand up for the rights of other workers. Haywood believed he had the necessary weapon to force the mill owners to negotiate: the solidarity of the workers in the mines that fed the mills. [4]p.60,79
Under the leadership of Ed Boyce, Cripple Creek unions also helped to organize, and provided leadership for the Western Labor Union, a federation formed in response to the American Federation of Labor (AFL) which had federated the craft unions in the east. In 1899, the WFM wrote industrial unionism, its response to the AFL's craft philosophy, into its charter. [6]p.63,68
Colorado's employers observed the WFM's socialist pronouncements with trepidation, because the union's goal was now the elimination of private ownership of the mines. [5]p.28
Republican James Peabody ran a campaign for governor of Colorado pledging to restore a conservative government which would be responsive to business and industry. He nonetheless expressed warm sentiments toward unionism while campaigning in the Cripple Creek District.
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Strike
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Top 10 world news: PM Modi's US visit day 1 schedule, Ukraine's military exercise, and more
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According to a new report, black and minority ethnic girls in England are more than twice as likely to be excluded from school as their white counterparts. Also, read about how scientists have successfully used artificial intelligence to create a new drug regime for children with a deadly form of brain cancer, in which survival rates have not improved for 50 years. In UNGA news, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi reached USA on September 23 (as per Indian time). The PM will be engaged in a number of high-profile meetings. Over the entirety of his US visit, PM Modi will address 76th session of United Nations General Assembly, meet US President Joe Biden and Vice-President Kamala Harris, attend Quad summit and more. Chinese aircraft, including nuclear-capable bombers, entered air defence zone, claims Taiwan Amid escalated tensions, Taiwan's defence ministry said the country's air force scrambled again to warn off 19 Chinese aircraft that entered its air defence zone on Thursday (September 23). The large display of force by China comes after Taiwan announced its intention to join an 11-nation Pacific trade group. England: Black girls more likely to be excluded from schools as white girls According to a new report, black and minority ethnic girls in England are more than twice as likely to be excluded from school as their white counterparts. AI used by scientists to discover a treatment for childhood cancer In a recent development, scientists have successfully used artificial intelligence to create a new drug regime for children with a deadly form of brain cancer, in which survival rates have not improved for 50 years. PM Modi's US visit day 1 schedule: Meet with Australian PM Scott Morrison, global CEOs Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi reached USA on September 23 (as per Indian time). The PM will be engaged in a number of high-profile meetings. Over the entirety of his US visit, PM Modi will address 76th session of United Nations General Assembly, meet US President Joe Biden and Vice-President Kamala Harris, attend Quad summit and more. Myanmar junta has murdered more than 1,100 people, says UN expert According to the UN special rapporteur for the country, Myanmar’s military junta is systematically abducting the relatives of people it is seeking to arrest. This also includes children as young as 20 weeks old. China worst abuser of internet freedom, Iceland with the most internet freedom, says report China and Pakistan are among the top 10 countries in the world where internet freedom has been on the decline, stated an international freedom advocacy group, Freedom House. Vaccinated pregnant women tend to pass antibodies to their babies, reveals study A study has revealed that pregnant women who have been vaccinated with mRNA vaccines such as Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna shots pass high levels of antibodies to their babies. Ukraine conducts international military excercise amid tensions with Russia The "Rapid Trident" military international military drills continued in Ukraine with fifteen countries gathered for the joint exercises. NASA's Ingenuity helicopter is finding it tougher to fly on Mars NASA's Ingenuity helicopter has already defied expectations after its first flight on Mars. After creating history earlier this year of carrying out first motored flight on planet other than Earth, Ingenuity's mission has been extended. Apple to pay bonuses of up to $1,000 to store employees Apple Inc will pay one-time bonuses of as much as $1,000 to store employees next month, Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter.
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Military Exercise
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Several marriages
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The Vicky Donor actor has never been one to call too much attention to herself in an industry that thrives on publicity. But with her lowkey marriage to filmmaker Aditya Dhar, which was by itself a well-guarded secret, Gautam has kicked her endearance quotient up a notch. What is it that has struck a chord with her fans so? Why are her wedding photos earning as much praise as they are sparking joy? What is so attractive about this simplicity that a grand wedding would pale in comparison? — Yami Gautam (@yamigautam) June 6, 2021 The first thing that strikes about Gautam and Dhar’s wedding is how suddenly it dropped onto our social media feeds. To add to that surprise was another – that of their wholly unassuming quality, that is possible but unexpected and rare in the internet age from a celebrity. A dancing, jiving, larger-than-life Bollywood one at that. The Priyanka Chopras, Deepika Padukones, Anushka Sharmas of the Hindi film industry all tied the knot in extremely hush-hush and yet loud affairs. Call it a genuine attempt at privacy or a carefully PR-tailored exercise in amping up credit, the anticipation for each of their D-days was so overwhelming that one still has to catch their breath when recalling that time. Gautam has given us a glimpse into the behind-the-scenes of a celebrity wedding, so to speak. And it looks curiously, and obviously, like any regular Indian marriage. That her photos seem to be free of stage-managed mechanics and a crew waiting to touch up her face every time the camera clicks is evident. Evident not just to fans who can’t stop swooning, but also to her actor friends who, rather self-awarely, are equally bowled over by the honesty in Gautam’s wedding ceremony. Here’s what they said. Social media users found that her photos resonated with how weddings actually do happen in a lot of Indian families, in and beyond Himachal Pradesh, where Gautam is from. A happy bride decked in red and ornaments, hands and feet dipped in haldi, a little make-up but not necessarily, caught between rituals. Haven’t we all seen women like her? Haven’t we spent good times with our cousins, friends, family around women like her? Unfiltered, little-photographed weddings – haven’t we made our best memories at those?
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Famous Person - Marriage
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Deutsche Bank’s Nightmare Decade Is Gone, But Not Yet Forgotten
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Unemployment benefits aimed at helping people during the pandemic expire Sept. 6, which could lead to a surge in job seekers as $300 per week supplemental unemployment payments end. Connel Fullenkamp, a professor of the practice of economics at Duke, says there’s good reason to believe this scenario. “Economists have estimated that nearly half of those unemployed during the pandemic recession earned a higher effective wage from their unemployment benefits than they did on the job,” says Fullenkamp, who is also director of undergraduate studies in the economics department. “For these folks, going back to work will now pay better than staying home, especially since wages have significantly increased for low-skilled jobs this year. “But there are equally valid reasons to expect a modest flow rather than a flood of people into jobs during the coming weeks and months. The labor market -- and the people in it -- are a lot more complicated than we like to believe, and these complications will still keep many people from seeking work. For starters, the country’s schools and daycare centers still haven’t fully reopened, meaning that many adults will continue to forego work to care for young children.” Fuqua School finance professor David Robinson agrees, noting the situation is very complicated with no easy answers. “These are tricky issues to analyze -- the world wants easy, sharp answers but there aren’t any,” says Robinson, whose research includes entrepreneurship and small business. “Yes, removing benefits sharpens the incentive to find work immediately, but it does little to smooth over the complexity of child care issues. It doesn’t make used cars cheaper so that people can get a second set of wheels to get to work.” “Moreover, the problems in the labor market aren’t all supply-side issues,” he says, adding that the surge in COVID-19 cases also plays a role. “The Delta variant has dropped a wrench in the reopening plans of many businesses. The needs of many companies are changing as they try to adapt to new circumstances. So ceasing unemployment insurance will not be a silver bullet to cure sclerosis in the labor market,” says Robinson, a former vice chair of the World Economic Forum’s Global Agenda Council on Private Capital. Fullenkamp notes that the pandemic has radically altered the job market, too. “Thousands of small businesses, and their jobs, disappeared and won’t come back,” Fullenkamp says. “Some industries, like home construction, received a huge boost during the pandemic, but these jobs aren’t necessarily in the same places where the unemployed people are. And job seekers may also lack the skills that are needed for the positions that are open. This was a big problem several years ago as the economy finally started to pick up steam after the global financial crisis, and is likely to be a recurring issue whenever the economy recovers from a deep recession. “We shouldn’t overlook the fact that millions of people remain unvaccinated, and may not be willing to take jobs -- like those at hotels and restaurants -- that require high levels of close contact with customers.” Then there’s the effect of changed attitudes toward work since before the pandemic, both scholars say. “The pandemic has caused millions of people to reconsider their relationship to work, and what they want from their careers,” Fullenkamp says. “They aren’t in a hurry to return to the jobs they lost, and because of unemployment benefits, multiple stimulus checks, and child tax credit payments, they may not have to any time soon.” Robinson adds that not every household will experience the same amount of difficulty after unemployment benefits expire. “It won’t spell doom and despair for every household,” he says. “Some will suffer more than others. Some will suffer greatly. But many will rely on the same network of friends, family, neighbors and church relations, that have supported them for the last 18 months.
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Financial Crisis
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Eating wild meat significantly increases zoonotic disease risk: UN report
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The domestic consumption of meat from wild animals has significant impacts on most species protected under the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS), says a new report released on Wednesday, including increasing the risk of diseases spreading from animals to humans. According to the study, 70% of mammal species protected under the CMS are used for wild meat consumption. This has led to drastic declines, and also the extinction of several migratory mammal populations. The first of its kind report, found that wild meat is often a major driver for legal and illegal hunting, particularly of ungulates – primarily large mammals with hooves - and primates, and especially during times of conflict or famine and in the course of changing land use. ⚠️Taking of animals for domestic use is a larger concern than international trade for most CMS-protected terrestrial species according to new UN #WildMeatReport released today About 67 of the 105 species studied were recorded as hunted. Of these 67 species, the largest intended use (47) was for wild meat consumption. Other purposes were down to cultural tradition, medicinal use, human-wildlife conflict, unintentional take and for sport or trophy hunting. According to the report, there is strong evidence that zoonotic disease outbreaks are linked to human activities, as is strongly believed by many scientists in the case of the current COVID-19 pandemic. The taking of wild meat and consumption has been identified as the direct and causative agent for the spill-over into humans for Monkeypox virus, SARS, Sudan Ebola virus and Zaire Ebola virus, with subsequent human-to-human transmission. In total, 60 zoonotic viral pathogens were reported as hosted by the 105 migratory species studied. Encroachment into remaining intact habitats through infrastructure and economic activities have made vast new areas accessible for wild meat taking, increasing the risk for humans. Executive Director of the UN Environment Programme, Inger Andersen, points out that “the COVID-19 pandemic has taught that the overexploitation of nature comes at a heavy cost.” “We urgently need to depart from business as usual. In so doing, we can save many species from the brink of extinction and protect ourselves from future outbreaks of zoonotic diseases,” she said Global attention has largely focused on international trade, but the report found that the vast majority of taking of species for wild meat consumption is driven by direct use or domestic trade. For CMS Executive Secretary, Amy Fraenkel, this report “indicates for the first time a clear and urgent need to focus on domestic use of protected migratory species of wild animals, across their range.” The study highlights a number of factors fueling the problem. National legislation and regulations may lack clarity or are outdated, while rules are often poorly enforced. A third issue is civil conflict and land use change; and, fourthly, migratory animals cross countries and regions with a wide variety of differing laws and enforcement approaches. Finally, urbanization and increased sale of wild meat as a luxury product is on the rise. The study also documents links between hunting and the declining population trends of several species. Around 77 per cent, or 40 out of 52, of the CMS species that were assessed by IUCN as having decreasing populations, were recorded as threatened by hunting. For example, all chimpanzee subspecies and three of the four gorilla subspecies reported as significantly threatened by hunting, are also experiencing large population declines. Overall, the report finds that taking or poaching the mammals, has a direct impact on the populations of more than half of the studied species, with high impacts for at least 42 per cent. The World Health Organization (WHO) and partners have called for countries to suspend sales of live wild mammals in traditional food markets, also known as “wet markets”, in efforts to prevent the emergence of new deadly diseases, such as COVID-19.
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Disease Outbreaks
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The Global Economic Outlook During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Changed World
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The COVID-19 pandemic has spread with alarming speed, infecting millions and bringing economic activity to a near-standstill as countries imposed tight restrictions on movement to halt the spread of the virus. As the health and human toll grows, the economic damage is already evident and represents the largest economic shock the world has experienced in decades. The June 2020 Global Economic Prospects describes both the immediate and near-term outlook for the impact of the pandemic and the long-term damage it has dealt to prospects for growth. The baseline forecast envisions a 5.2 percent contraction in global GDP in 2020, using market exchange rate weights—the deepest global recession in decades, despite the extraordinary efforts of governments to counter the downturn with fiscal and monetary policy support. Over the longer horizon, the deep recessions triggered by the pandemic are expected to leave lasting scars through lower investment, an erosion of human capital through lost work and schooling, and fragmentation of global trade and supply linkages. The crisis highlights the need for urgent action to cushion the pandemic’s health and economic consequences, protect vulnerable populations, and set the stage for a lasting recovery. For emerging market and developing countries, many of which face daunting vulnerabilities, it is critical to strengthen public health systems, address the challenges posed by informality, and implement reforms that will support strong and sustainable growth once the health crisis abates. The pandemic is expected to plunge most countries into recession in 2020, with per capita income contracting in the largest fraction of countries globally since 1870. Advanced economies are projected to shrink 7 percent. That weakness will spill over to the outlook for emerging market and developing economies, who are forecast to contract by 2.5 percent as they cope with their own domestic outbreaks of the virus. This would represent the weakest showing by this group of economies in at least sixty years. Every region is subject to substantial growth downgrades. East Asia and the Pacific will grow by a scant 0.5%. South Asia will contract by 2.7%, Sub-Saharan Africa by 2.8%, Middle East and North Africa by 4.2%, Europe and Central Asia by 4.7%, and Latin America by 7.2%. These downturns are expected to reverse years of progress toward development goals and tip tens of millions of people back into extreme poverty. Emerging market and developing economies will be buffeted by economic headwinds from multiple quarters: pressure on weak health care systems, loss of trade and tourism, dwindling remittances, subdued capital flows, and tight financial conditions amid mounting debt. Exporters of energy or industrial commodities will be particularly hard hit. The pandemic and efforts to contain it have triggered an unprecedented collapse in oil demand and a crash in oil prices. Demand for metals and transport-related commodities such as rubber and platinum used for vehicle parts has also tumbled. While agriculture markets are well supplied globally, trade restrictions and supply chain disruptions could yet raise food security issues in some places. Even this bleak outlook is subject to great uncertainty and significant downside risks. The forecast assumes that the pandemic recedes in such a way that domestic mitigation measures can be lifted by mid-year in advanced economies and later in developing countries, that adverse global spillovers ease during the second half of 2020, and that widespread financial crises are avoided. This scenario would envision global growth reviving, albeit modestly, to 4.2% in 2021. However, this view may be optimistic. Should COVID-19 outbreaks persist, should restrictions on movement be extended or reintroduced, or should disruptions to economic activity be prolonged, the recession could be deeper. Businesses might find it hard to service debt, heightened risk aversion could lead to climbing borrowing costs, and bankruptcies and defaults could result in financial crises in many countries. Under this downside scenario, global growth could shrink by almost 8% in 2020. Looking at the speed with which the crisis has overtaken the global economy may provide a clue to how deep the recession will be. The sharp pace of global growth forecast downgrades points to the possibility of yet further downward revisions and the need for additional action by policymakers in coming months to support economic activity. A particularly concerning aspect of the outlook is the humanitarian and economic toll the global recession will take on economies with extensive informal sectors that make up an estimated one-third of the GDP and about 70% of total employment in emerging market and developing economies. Policymakers must consider innovative measures to deliver income support to these workers and credit support to these businesses. The June 2020 Global Economic Prospects looks beyond the near-term outlook to what may be lingering repercussions of the deep global recession: setbacks to potential output—the level of output an economy can achieve at full capacity and full employment—and labor productivity. Efforts to contain COVID-19 in emerging and developing economies, including low-income economies with limited health care capacity, could precipitate deeper and longer recessions—exacerbating a multi-decade trend of slowing potential growth and productivity growth. Many emerging and developing economies were already experiencing weaker growth before this crisis; the shock of COVID-19 now makes the challenges these economies face even harder. Another important feature of the current landscape is the historic collapse in oil demand and oil prices. Low oil prices are likely to provide, at best, temporary initial support to growth once restrictions to economic activity are lifted. However, even after demand recovers, adverse impacts on energy exporters may outweigh any benefits to activity in energy importers. Low oil prices offer an opportunity to oil producers to diversify their economies. In addition, the recent oil price plunge may provide further momentum to undertake energy subsidy reforms and deepen them once the immediate health crisis subsides. In the face of this disquieting outlook, the immediate priority for policymakers is to address the health crisis and contain the short-term economic damage. Over the longer term, authorities need to undertake comprehensive reform programs to improve the fundamental drivers of economic growth once the crisis lifts. Policies to rebuild both in the short and long-term entail strengthening health services and putting in place targeted stimulus measures to help reignite growth, including support for the private sector and getting money directly to people. During the mitigation period, countries should focus on sustaining economic activity with support for households, firms and essential services. Global coordination and cooperation—of the measures needed to slow the spread of the pandemic, and of the economic actions needed to alleviate the economic damage, including international support—provide the greatest chance of achieving public health goals and enabling a robust global recovery.
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Financial Crisis
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Bagley train wreck
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The Bagley train wreck (also known as the Great Salt Lake wreck)[2] occurred in Utah, United States, on the morning of Sunday December 31, 1944. The crash killed 50 (initially reported as 48)[3][4] including over 35 military personnel[2] and injured 81. [5]:3[6][7][8]
The wreck involved Southern Pacific's Pacific Limited as it crossed The Great Salt Lake on the Lucin Cutoff. [9] It had departed from Chicago at 10 a.m. the prior Friday (Dec 29), bound for San Francisco[3] and normally travelled in one long section, but on this occasion it was split into two, with the passenger train running ahead of the mail express. Early that morning an unusually long and heavy freight train developed problems (unofficially a hot box)[3][10] whilst travelling west from Ogden. This required First 21, the first section of the Pacific Limited comprising 18 cars headed by SP GS-3 No.4425,[5] to stop and then proceed with caution. Second 21, the second section comprising 20 cars headed by SP Mt-4 No.4361,[5][11] apparently unaware of the problems ahead, continued at full speed. [3]
First 21 departed Ogden at 4:38 a.m. (38 minutes after its scheduled departure) and had slowed to 8 mph (13 km/h) at the time of the collision, preparing to stop in response to the flagman's signals from the preceding freight train. [5]:6–7 Second 21 departed Ogden at 4:50 a.m. (50 minutes late) and passed two stop signals before the collision. [5]:7 At Bagley, a siding 17 miles (27 km) west of Ogden, at 5:14 a.m. in thick fog, the Second 21 mail express train, moving at 50 mph (80 km/h), crashed into the Pullman car at the back of the First 21 passenger train. [5]:7
The Ogden Standard-Examiner reported "The force of the impact sent another sleeping car smashing through the dining car and farther ahead slammed one coach into the wooden coach ahead of it. Cars of the mail express section piled up crossways of the track behind the engine, some of them sliding down the causeway embankment into water. Most of the dead were taken from the rear Pullman car and from the telescoped coach. "[3] Several cars in First 21 telescoped: the thirteenth into the twelfth, the sixteenth into the fifteenth, and the locomotive of Second 21 into the eighteenth. The twelfth, fifteenth, and eighteenth cars of First 21 were demolished, and the locomotive and first eleven cars of Second 21 were derailed. [5]:7
At the site of the crash, the tracks run along a causeway across desolate mud and shallow water, so all rescue efforts had to come by rail. Two hospital cars were included in the passenger train (First 21) manned by members of the Medical Corps and tended the injured until rescue trains arrived from Ogden. [3]
The official enquiry into the accident concluded 'this accident was caused by failure to properly control the speed of the following train in accordance with signal indications. '[5]:8 First 21 had seen the two preceding stop signals and its engineers were preparing to halt when that train was struck by Second 21. After the fireman on Second 21 missed the first stop signal due to heavy fog, he reported the missed signal to the engineer; the fireman then saw the second stop signal and relayed it to the engineer, but did not witness the engineer of Second 21 respond by slowing the train. Most of the crew of Second 21 were resting in the rearmost car and were not aware of any issues until the brakes were applied, approximately 12 seconds before the collision. [5]:7 Both the engineer of Second 21 and the flagman of First 21 were killed. [5]:7
Although the engineer of Second 21 had applied the brakes, the position in which he was found indicated that he had been incapacitated prior to the collision. A coroner's inquest concluded the engineer had died from sudden shock or heart failure just before the crash. [5]:8
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Train collisions
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Jacobs breaks European 100m record
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Marcell Jacobs broke the European 100m record with a time of 9.84 in the third semi-final of the event at the Tokyo Olympics on Sunday.
Jacobs qualified for the final after finishing in third place with the record time, breaking the original record of 9.86 that had been shared by Portuguese athlete Francis Obikwelu and Jimmy Vicaut of France. The Italian won the final after competing alongside China's Su Bingtian, US athletes Ronnie Baker and Fred Kerley, South Africa's Akani Simbine, Canada's Andre De Grasse and Uganda's Ferdinand Omurwa. Great Britain's Zharnel Hughes was disqualified for a false start.
The final will not feature US athlete Travyon Bromell, as the leader in the 2021 rankings failed to qualify for the final by one thousandth of a second.
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Break historical records
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SANSA Flight 32 crash
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SANSA Flight 32, a CASA C-212 Aviocar on its way to Palmar Sur Airport crashed into the Cerro Cedral, a mountain in Costa Rica after takeoff from Juan Santamaría International Airport in San Jose on January 15, 1990. All 20 passengers and 3 crew on board died in the crash. SANSA Flight 32 took off from Juan Santamaria International Airport at 08:25 local time and was cleared to climb to 5500 feet. Soon after the crew received another instruction to climb to 8500 feet. Midway through the climb, the aircraft flew into Cerro Cedral at 7200 feet, killing all on board. [1]
The investigation found that the main cause of the accident was the failure to comply with the proposed flight plan discussed with air traffic control, which would have led the aircraft to be flying under IMC conditions instead of VFR ones. Supporting factors include the lack of a Ground Proximity Warning System, pilot fatigue and a lack of a flight safety program in SANSA. [2]
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Air crash
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U.S. House passes defense policy bill with Taiwan provisions
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Washington, Sept. 23 (CNA) The United States House of Representatives passed its annual defense policy bill on Thursday, which includes recommendations for inviting Taiwan to the 2022 Rim of the Pacific Exercise (RIMPAC) and enhancing cooperation between the U.S. National Guard and Taiwan. The House approved its US$777.9 billion fiscal 2022 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) in a 316-113 vote Thursday night. The 1,390-page bill includes three major provisions related to Taiwan under sections 1243, 1247, and 1248, according to the text of the bill released by the House Rules Committee. Under section 1248, the bill recommends that the naval forces of Taiwan should be invited to participate in RIMPAC in 2022. Taiwan has never been invited to participate in the exercise before. RIMPAC, hosted every two years by the U.S. Pacific Fleet near Hawaii, is the world's largest international maritime military exercise. RIMPAC began in 1971 as an annual exercise to foster relationships between the U.S. and its allies, and safeguard their safety in trade and sea lines of communication in support of a free and open Indo-Pacific region. Section 1243 of the bill calls for a report on the feasibility and advisability of enhanced cooperation between Taiwan and the U.S. National Guard by no later than Feb. 15, 2022. The provision requires an evaluation of the feasibility of enhancing cooperation on a range of activities, including disaster and emergency response, cyber defense and communications security, military medicine, cultural and educational exchanges, and training of the reserve components of the military forces of Taiwan. Section 1247 is pertinent to helping Taiwan to strengthen its self-defense capability. It reiterates the importance of the Taiwan Relations Act and the "six assurances" as the foundation of ties between Taipei and Washington. The provision also calls for practical training and military exercises with Taiwan; exchanges between defense officials and officers of the United States and Taiwan at the strategic, policy, and functional levels especially for the purposes of enhancing cooperation on defense planning; improving the interoperability of the military forces of the U.S. and Taiwan; and improving the reserve force of Taiwan. Additional sections request reports on military and security developments involving the People's Republic of China, the expansion of Chinese influence in Latin America and the Caribbean, and the inclusion of information on Beijing's attempts to poach Taiwan's diplomatic allies in the region. The U.S. Senate's version of the bill was approved by its Armed Services Committee on July 23 and is expected to be considered by the full Senate in October. With both the House and Senate having introduced their respective versions of the bill, presuming the Senate passes its version, a House-Senate conference will reconcile differences before both chambers vote on sending the final bill to President Joe Biden before it becomes legislation. Taiwan's Ministry of National Defense said Friday that it will make a prudential assessment of participating in RIMPAC based on its defense operations needs and will proactively seek to join exercises that are conducive to regional peace. Meanwhile, Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) on Friday thanked the U.S. Congress for having continued promoting military cooperation and exchanges between Taiwan and the U.S. in its annual defense policy bill over the past few years. This highlights the importance the Congress attaches to Taiwan's national defense and its support for peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait, MOFA spokeswoman Joanne Ou (歐江安) said. MOFA will keep a close watch on the review processes of the bill in the near future and maintain close contact with related U.S. government agencies to deepen security cooperation between the two countries, she added.
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Military Exercise
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Soledad Fire
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The Soledad Fire was a wildfire that burned during the 2020 California wildfire season south of Agua Dulce and northeast of Santa Clarita in Los Angeles County, California in the United States. The fire started on July 5, 2020 and caused the complete closure of State Route 14 in both directions throughout the day as the fire grew to 1,498 acres. [2] The fire also at a point threatened over 4,795 structures, although only 9 homes were formally threatened by the direct fireline. [2] The cause of the fire is currently under investigation. First reported at around 3:30 pm on Sunday, July 5, off of State Route 14 on the south side of the highway, the Soledad Fire was seen only burning a single acre. [3] However within several hours would rapidly expand to over 800 acres due to the hot, dry weather conditions and the topography of the area. [3] State Route 14 was soon closed between Soledad Canyon Road and Escondido Canyon Road throughout the day as the fire at one point crossed the major thoroughfare as it rapidly burned to the northeast. [3] Mandatory evacuation orders were put in place for neighborhoods from Agua Dulce Canyon Road to Briggs and Soledad Canyon to the 14 Freeway that remained in place throughout the day. [4] By evening time, the fire was reported to be over 1,100 acres and 0% contained. On Monday, July 6, very little fire activity was observed as the flame front had largely died down due to the heavy assault from fire personnel and cooler overnight weather conditions. [5] Due to this, the mandatory evacuations of the affected areas were lifted at 2 pm, however fire personnel advised that the situation could still change dramatically at any moment due to the topography of the land and as well as the consistent wind in the area. [5] Northbound lanes of State Route 14 were now opened, however the southbound lanes still remained closed for firefighting operations to continue. The burn area of the fireline was later revised from 1,100 acres to 1,498 acres (606 ha) and containment of the fire rose considerably to 48%. [5] No fire activity was seen the following days as containment of the fireline grew and on July 10 the Soledad Fire was declared 100% contained by firefighters. At the fire's height, at least 4,795 structures were under threat including 9 homes immediately within the rural area of the fire line. 40 residents were placed under a mandatory evacuation order. [6] Over 500 fire personnel were called to fight the fire, and one firefighter sustained a minor injury. [6]
The fire also produced a substantial smoke column that could be seen throughout the Los Angeles area, causing health officials to advise residents to remain indoors as the heavy smoke prompted an unhealthy air quality warning in the Santa Clarita Valley and San Gabriel Mountains. [7]
This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the United States Department of Agriculture.
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Fire
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2016 World Series of Darts Finals
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The 2016 Ladbrokes World Series of Darts Finals was the second staging of the tournament, organised by the Professional Darts Corporation. The tournament took place in the Braehead Arena, Glasgow, Scotland, between 5–6 November 2016. It featured a field of 24 players. Michael van Gerwen was the defending champion after beating Peter Wright 11–10 in last year's final. He defended his title this year by again beating Wright 11–9. [1]
[2]
[3][4]
The top eight players from the six World Series events of 2016 are seeded for this tournament. They are:
In addition, eight players were invited as "global prospects", as were the next four highest ranked players from the PDC Order of Merit following the 2016 World Grand Prix on 9 October 2016. Another four places were awarded in a qualifying event that took place in Coventry on October 23, 2016. The following players qualified for the tournament:
[5]
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Sports Competition
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4,000-Year-Old ‘Snake Staff’ Discovered in Finland
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Researchers have discovered a 4,400-year-old wooden staff shaped like a snake near a lake in southwest Finland. As Owen Jarus reports for Live Science, archaeologists Satu Koivisto, Antti Lahelma and their research team discovered the carving beneath a layer of peat in Järvensuo, a late Stone Age site about 75 miles northwest of Helsinki. Experts used radiocarbon dating to determine that the 21-inch-long snake dates to the Neolithic period, about 4,000 to 6,000 years ago, and believe that an ancient shaman may have used the object for magical rituals. The team published their findings on June 29 in the journal Antiquity. “I have seen many extraordinary things in my work as a wetland archaeologist, but the discovery of this figurine made me utterly speechless and gave me the shivers,” Koivisto, a study co-author and postdoctoral researcher at the University of Turku in Finland, tells Live Science in a statement. Scientists believe that Stone Age peoples occupied the area where the staff was located from 4000 B.C. to 2000 B.C., notes Jesse Holth for ARTnews. In the 1950s, a ditch digging team accidentally discovered the archaeological site, but experts didn’t fully excavate it. Then, in 2019, scholars started digs at Järvensuo for the first time in 35 years, writes George Dvorsky for Gizmodo. The wetland has yielded several well-preserved artifacts, including objects made from wood, bark and bone that date back thousands of years. According to ARTnews, craftsmen wrought the animal carving from a single piece of wood. The life-size snake has an open mouth and a long, slightly curved body, as if it's slithering or swimming away. Researchers involved with the study hypothesize that the piece depicts a grass snake (Natrix natrix) or a European adder (Vipera berus). However, other scholars have posited that another classification may be more accurate. “I would say that a viper is more correct, due to the shape of its head, the short body and distinguishable tail,” Sonja Hukantaival, a postdoctoral researcher in Nordic Folkloristics at Åbo Akademi University in Finland who is unaffiliated with the study, tells Live Science in an email. “This is interesting, since the viper has an important role in much later (historical) folk religion and magic.” Experts believe that a shaman would have used the staff during a religious or spiritual ceremony. They also surmise that a mystical leader could have used it to talk to the dead, because ancient people in the region thought that a “Land of the Dead” existed within wetlands, notes ARTnews. Furthermore, shamans assumed that they could transmute into snakes, which also connects the ritualistic object and the magical realm. Other highlights of the most recent excavations include a wooden spoon, wooden receptacles and paddles, fishing tools, ceramics and other artifacts, per the study. “There seems to be a certain connection between snakes and people,” says Lahelma, a study co-author and archaeologist at the University of Helsinki, in a statement, as quoted by National Geographic's Kristin Romey. “This brings to mind northern shamanism of the historical period, where snakes had a special role as spirit-helper animals of the shaman … Even though the time gap is immense, the possibility of some kind of continuity is tantalizing: Do we have a Stone Age shaman's staff?” Other Stone Age civilizations revered snakes and included them in shamanic rituals. As ARTnews points out, many northern European sites feature Neolithic rock art with snake motifs; one site in Finland contains a picture with a human figure carrying a snake in hand. And in 2019, archaeologists found a 1,500-year-old piece of fossilized human feces, which had the remains of a whole rattlesnake. After analyzing the feces, experts determined that someone probably ate the animal for ritualistic reasons and not for nourishment. Isis Davis-Marks |
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New archeological discoveries
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A giant landslide ripped through a Japanese seaside resort town
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Rescue workers slogged through mud and debris Monday looking for dozens feared missing after a giant landslide ripped through a Japanese seaside resort town, killing at least three people. Eighty people were still unaccounted for, according to Shizuoka prefectural disaster management official Takamichi Sugiyama. Officials were preparing to release their names in hopes of reaching some that might not have been caught in the landslide. Initially, 147 of those people were unreachable, but that number was revised downward after city officials confirmed some had safely evacuated or were away when the disaster struck, it said. The disaster is an added trial as authorities prepare for the Tokyo Olympics, due to start in less than three weeks, while Japan is still in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic. At least 20 were initially described as missing. Adding to confusion over casualties is that Atami is a vacation city, with many apartments and homes unoccupied for long parts of the year, their listed residents living in other places. Others may be away visiting relatives or friends or not answering the phone, officials said. They hope to get in touch with more of those unaccounted for on Monday. The landslide occurred Saturday after several days of heavy rains. Witnesses heard a giant roar as a small stream turned into a torrent, carrying black mud, trees, rocks and debris from buildings. Bystanders were heard gasping in horror on cell phone videos taken as it happened. Like many seaside and mountain towns in Japan, Atami is built on steep hillsides, its roads winding through bits of forest and heavy vegetation. With other parts of the country expecting heavy downpours in what is known as Japan's rainy season, authorities elsewhere were also surveying hillsides. NHK carried a program Monday about risk factors and warning signs that might precede a landslide. Three coast guard ships, and six military drones were backing up the hundreds of troops, firefighters and other rescue workers toiling in the rain and fog in search of possible survivors. The mudslide struck Atami's Izusan neighborhood, known for its hot springs, a shrine and shopping streets. Atami is about 100 kilometers (60 miles) southwest of Tokyo. Naoto Date, an actor who happened to be visiting the Izusan area after a filming session, woke up to sirens in the neighborhood when he was in his house, which is next to his mother's. Both of them were safe, but he made sure his mother walked to a nearby community center to evacuate, and he called all his friends and schoolmates and made sure they'd survived. “I grew up here and my classmates and friends live here. I'm so sad to see my neighborhood where I used to play with my friends is now destroyed,” Date told The Associated Press in a video interview from his home in Atami. Date said his friends all had safely evacuated and his mother moved to a hotel in a safer location. Date, who usually lives in Tokyo, said he was staying away from evacuation centers due to concern about the coronavirus. Even though his house was located in a hazard area, he said he never imagined it would be hit by a disaster. “I used to take it not so seriously and I regret that,” he said. He filmed scenes in his neighborhood with muddy water gushing down and rescuers wading through knee-deep mud. He also went to the sea where toppled cars were floating with debris from destroyed homes. “Many people saw their homes and belongings and everything washed away. They won't be able to return home, and it must require an unimaginable effort to recover." Three people had been found dead as of early Monday, Fire and Disaster Management Agency and local officials said. Twenty-three people stranded by the mudslide were rescued, including three who were injured. Shizuoka's governor, Heita Kawakatsu told a news conference Sunday that construction upstream may have been a factor in the mudslide. Citing a preliminary examination by drone, Kawakatsu said massive amounts of soil that had been heaped up in the construction area had all washed down. Kawakatsu said he will investigate. Media reports said a planned housing development was abandoned after its operator ran into financial problems. The Izusan area is one of 660,000 locations in the country identified as prone to mudslides on a hazard map issued by the government, but is not widely publicized and public awareness is low. Early July near the end of a rainy season often is a time of deadly flooding and mudslides triggered by torrential rains, which many experts say are worsening due to global warming. A year ago, flooding and mudslides triggered by heavy rain in Kumamoto and four other prefectures in the Kyushu region in southern Japan left nearly 80 people dead. In July 2018, hillsides in crowded residential areas in Hiroshima collapsed, leaving 20 dead. In 2017, mudslides and flooding in the Kyushu region killed 40. ___
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Mudslides
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US and Indonesia to hold largest island defense drills
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JAKARTA -- The U.S. and Indonesian armies will launch joint drills Sunday focused on island defense with more 4,500 service members, the largest exercise ever conducted by the two countries, Nikkei has learned. The upcoming drills, part of the Garuda Shield exercises conducted annually by the two militaries for more than a decade, will be held on the Indonesian islands of Sumatra and Sulawesi as well as in Kalimantan for two weeks, a source close to the Indonesian military told Nikkei. The maneuvers come amid rising tensions over Beijing's military buildup in the South China Sea. Yet Jakarta also is deepening economic ties with Beijing, including by procuring large volumes of Chinese coronavirus vaccines. Indonesia and China held joint naval exercises in May, as Jakarta seeks to strike a balance between the two military powers. The U.S. will send 2,282 personnel, while Indonesia contributes 2,246. The island defense drills involve landing operations, special forces and airborne units. The American and Indonesian armed forces are working together to bolster maritime security. Marines from the two countries also conducted a joint exercise in June focusing on urban conflicts. A similar exercise between the two forces is scheduled to be held in the U.S. later this year. Last month, the two countries began construction of a joint maritime training center in Batam, an island city at the mouth of the Strait of Malacca. China's maritime encroachment looms over this flurry of activities. The edge of the exclusive economic zone surrounding Indonesia's Natuna Islands overlaps with Beijing's unilaterally declared "nine-dash line" demarking the country's claims in the South China Sea. The movement of Chinese government vessels and fishing ships in the area has unnerved Jakarta. In July 2020, the Indonesian navy conducted a large drill in the southern portion of the South China Sea. Indonesia sees the upcoming exercise with the U.S. as a deterrent measure for defending the Natuna Islands. For Washington, the joint drills are part of efforts to forge a united front against China's military buildup in the South China Sea. During his address delivered in Singapore on Tuesday, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said that Beijing's extensive claims in the South China Sea have "no basis in international law." Austin expressed plans to deepen relations with allies and friendly nations in the region. The U.S. and Australia are currently conducting the Talisman Sabre exercise around Australia. Defense forces from Japan, the U.K., Canada, South Korea and New Zealand are participating in the drills.
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Military Exercise
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2019 MLB London Series
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The 2019 MLB London Series was a two-game Major League Baseball series between the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox at London Stadium in London, United Kingdom, in 2019. Sponsored by Mitel, it is branded as Mitel & MLB Present London Series. [2] These were the first MLB games ever played in Europe. The games were played on June 29–30, 2019, with the Red Sox serving as the designated "home" team for both games. On May 8, 2018, MLB announced a two-year agreement to hold baseball games at London Stadium during the 2019 and 2020 seasons. [3]
The inaugural series was played between the Red Sox and Yankees, longtime divisional rivals,[3] who had expressed specific interest in participating in the London games. Salter noted that the Yankees and Red Sox are among MLB's most iconic teams, and contrasted the NFL's reluctance to send its high-profile teams to London, as they would be too disruptive to their lucrative and comparatively limited schedules (with a 16-game regular season in comparison to MLB's 162-game regular season). [4] Via their parent company Fenway Sports Group, the Red Sox are also co-owned with Premier League club Liverpool F.C. [5]
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Locating a venue with the correct dimensions required for a baseball field was difficult, especially as the majority of stadiums in the London region are primarily designed for association football. MLB officials had evaluated multiple options (including cricket grounds such as The Oval), before finalizing London Stadium as the site. [4] The facility was originally constructed for the 2012 Summer Olympics; in late-2015, it was reported that MLB officials had measured the stadium's dimensions and considered it potentially suitable for baseball, and had negotiated the possibility of holding games there. [3][6]
MLB developed a plan to make London Stadium for the games resemble an MLB ballpark, via installation of a new baseball field as an overlay on top of the stadium's existing running track and soccer pitch, with a seating configuration to emulate the more "intimate" layout and fan experiences of MLB ballparks. Materials to construct the playing surface include approximately 142,000 square feet (13,200 m2) of FieldTurf, and clay for the pitcher's mound and home plate area sourced from Pennsylvania. [7] As the facility's locker rooms are smaller and suited towards soccer, larger, MLB-style clubhouses were built within the stadium. [3] As done at Toronto's Rogers Centre, dimensions from home plate are posted in feet and meters: 330 feet (100.6 m) to the foul poles and 385 feet (117.4 m) to center field, with a 16-foot (4.9 m) fence. [7] The dimensions have been described as being potentially hitter-friendly. [3][8] The two points in left center and right center where the temporary fences join the wall in center field area are slightly closer than center, marked as 382 feet (116.4 m). As the roof overhangs the home plate area, there is a ground rule that balls hitting the roof are considered dead. [9]
On April 29, 2019, it was announced that ProgrammeMaster, a London-based sports publisher, had secured the rights to produce the official gameday programme. [10] On May 24, 2019, it went on sale online, priced at £10. [11]
In the United States, television rights for the series were split between Fox and ESPN respectively, with both games called by their lead commentary teams (led by Joe Buck and Matt Vasgersian, respectively). The first game aired as part of the afternoon (U.S. time) Fox Saturday Baseball, and the second aired in the morning. [12]
In November 2018, it was reported that Major League Baseball was nearing a deal with the BBC to broadcast the two games, with a broadcasting agreement similar to that of the NFL's partnership with the broadcaster. The league currently has a television rights deal with BT Sport, most recently renewed through 2021 to cover the London games. [13] In May 2019, the BBC acquired digital rights to the London games for 2019 and 2020, with plans for a free-to-air television broadcast on the inaugural game. [14][15] The two games were streamed live on BBC iPlayer and the BBC Sport website. [16]
The Boston Red Sox Radio Network also carried the games, with announcers Joe Castiglione, Dave O’Brien, and Sean McDonough. [17] WFAN (AM) carried the games in New York City. [18]
At the 2019 games, entertainment traditions from Red Sox and Yankees games were represented in-game, including the grounds crew performing "Y.M.C.A." (as is done at Yankee Stadium)[19] and a "Sweet Caroline" sing-along (as is done at Fenway Park). [19] "Theme from New York, New York" was played after both Yankee wins, as is done at Yankee Stadium. [20] Fans voted for Winston Churchill, Freddie Mercury, King Henry VIII, and the Loch Ness Monster to be the entrants in the mascot races. [21] "The Freeze", a spandex-clad sprinter who races fans at Atlanta Braves games, also appeared. [19]
At the June 29 game, the national anthems of both the United States and the United Kingdom were performed by The Kingdom Choir;[22] the ceremonial first pitches were thrown by participants of the Invictus Games with Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, and his wife, Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, in attendance;[23] the mascot race was won by Freddie Mercury;[24] and The Freeze lost to a fan in their footrace. [25]
At the June 30 game, the national anthems were performed by the Capital Children's Choir;[26] The Freeze defeated a fan in their footrace;[27] and the mascot race was won by King Henry VIII. [28]
Both teams wore their home (white) jerseys in game one, in order for the Yankees to appear in their well-known pinstripes, despite being the visiting team. [29] The Red Sox wore their home red alternate jerseys in game two, with the Yankees again wearing their famous pinstripes. In late June, MLB announced that both teams would be allowed to have 26 active players on their rosters during the series (one more than MLB normally allows), with the extra man being a position player. [30] Both teams were also allowed to have 28 players travel to London, in case a roster move (such as due to injury) was required. [30]
At 4 hours 42 minutes, the game was only three minutes shorter than the longest nine-inning game in MLB history (August 18, 2006, also between the Red Sox and Yankees). [31][32] The 30 total runs scored were the second-most ever in a game between these two teams (31 were scored on August 21, 2009, a 20–11 New York win). [33][34] The attendance of 59,659 was the most at an MLB game since September 28, 2003, when a crowd of 60,988 at Qualcomm Stadium saw the San Diego Padres lose to the visiting Colorado Rockies. [35][36]
Boston had three first-inning home runs, the first time the team accomplished that feat since August 14, 1979. [37][38] New York came from behind to take an 11–4 lead in the seventh inning, when they sent 14 batters to the plate. [37] An eighth-inning homer by Didi Gregorius extended the Yankees' record of consecutive games with a home run to 31. [37] The 50 total runs scored in the two-game series were the most ever in consecutive games between the Yankees and Red Sox. [37]
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Sports Competition
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1969 Northern Ireland riots
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During 12–16 August 1969, there was an outbreak of political and sectarian violence in Northern Ireland, which is often seen as the beginning of the almost thirty-year conflict known as the Troubles. There had been sporadic violence throughout the year arising out of the civil rights campaign, which demanded an end to discrimination against Catholics and Irish nationalists. Civil rights marches had been repeatedly attacked by Ulster Protestant loyalists and also came into frequent conflict with the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC), the overwhelmingly Protestant police force. On 12 August, the Battle of the Bogside erupted in Derry: three days of fierce clashes in the Bogside district between the RUC and thousands of Catholic/nationalist residents. The besieged residents built barricades and set up first aid posts and workshops for making petrol bombs. Police fired CS gas at rioters for the first time in the history of the United Kingdom. In support of the Bogsiders, on 13 August Catholics/nationalists held protests elsewhere in Northern Ireland, some of which led to violence. The bloodiest clashes were in Belfast, where seven people were killed and hundreds wounded. Protesters clashed with both the police and with loyalists, who attacked Catholic districts. Scores of homes and businesses were burnt out, most of them owned by Catholics, and thousands of mostly Catholic families were driven from their homes. In some cases, police officers helped the loyalists and failed to protect Catholic areas. Both republican and loyalist paramilitaries were involved in the clashes. The events in Belfast are viewed by some as an attempted pogrom against the Catholic minority. There were also clashes between protesters and police in Armagh (where a protester was killed), Dungannon and Newry. The British Army was deployed to restore order on 14 August, beginning the 37-year Operation Banner, and peace lines were built to separate Catholic and Protestant districts. The Republic of Ireland's government set up field hospitals and refugee centres near the border, and called for a United Nations peacekeeping force to be sent to Northern Ireland. The British government held an inquiry into the riots, and the reserve police force was disbanded. The riots led to the formation of the Provisional Irish Republican Army and the Official Irish Republican Army. It also lead to the growth of loyalist paramilitaries such as the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF). Northern Ireland was destabilised in 1968 by sporadic rioting arising out of the civil disobedience campaign of the Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association (NICRA) and the police and loyalist reaction to it. The civil rights campaign demanded an end to discrimination against Catholics in voting rights, housing and employment. NICRA was opposed by Ian Paisley's Ulster Constitution Defence Committee (UCDC) and other loyalist groups.
During the summer of 1969, the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) published a highly critical report on the British government's policy in Northern Ireland. The Times wrote that this report "criticised the Northern Ireland Government for police brutality, religious discrimination [against Catholics] and gerrymandering in politics". The ICJ secretary general said that laws and conditions in Northern Ireland had been cited by the South African government "to justify their own policies of discrimination" (see South Africa under apartheid). The Times also reported that the Ulster Special Constabulary (USC), Northern Ireland's reserve police force, was "regarded as the militant arm of the Protestant Orange Order". The Belfast Telegraph reported that the ICJ had added Northern Ireland to the list of states/jurisdictions "where the protection of human rights is inadequately assured".
The first major confrontation between civil rights activists and the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) occurred in Derry on 5 October 1968, when a NICRA march was baton-charged by the RUC.Disturbed by the prospect of major violence, the prime minister of Northern Ireland, Terence O'Neill, promised reforms in return for a "truce", whereby no further demonstrations would be held.
In spite of these promises, in January 1969 People's Democracy, a left-wing group, staged an anti-government march from Belfast to Derry. Ulster loyalists, including off-duty USC members, attacked the marchers a number of times, most determinedly at Burntollet Bridge (about five miles (8 km) outside Derry). The RUC were present but failed to adequately protect the marchers. This action, and the RUC's subsequent entry into the Bogside, led to serious rioting in Derry.
In March and April 1969, there were six bomb attacks on electricity and water infrastructure targets, causing blackouts and water shortages. At first the attacks were blamed on the Irish Republican Army (IRA), but it later emerged that members of the loyalist Ulster Protestant Volunteers (UPV) and Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) had carried out the bombings in an attempt to implicate the IRA, destabilise the Northern Ireland Government and halt the reforms promised by Terence O'Neill.
There was some movement on reform in Northern Ireland in the first half of 1969. On 23 April Ulster Unionist Party Members of the Northern Ireland Parliament voted by 28 to 22 to introduce universal adult suffrage in local government elections in Northern Ireland at their parliamentary party meeting. The call for "one man, one vote" had been one of the key demands of the civil rights movement. [7] Five days later, Terence O'Neill resigned as UUP leader and Northern Ireland Prime Minister and was replaced in both roles by James Chichester-Clark. Chichester-Clark, despite having resigned in protest over the introduction of universal suffrage in local government, announced that he would continue the reforms begun by O'Neill.
Street violence, however, continued to escalate. On 19 April there was serious rioting in the Bogside area of Derry following clashes between NICRA marchers against loyalists and the RUC. A Catholic, Samuel Devenny, was severely beaten by the RUC and later died of his injuries. [7][8] On 12 July, during the Orange Order's Twelfth of July marches, there was serious rioting in Derry, Belfast and Dungiven, causing many families in Belfast to flee from their homes. Another Catholic civilian, Francis McCloskey (67), died one day after being hit on the head with batons by RUC officers during disturbances in Dungiven.
As a result of these events, residents of the Catholic Bogside area of Derry set up the Derry Citizens' Defence Association to organise the defence of the neighbourhood, should the need arise.
This unrest culminated in a pitched battle in Derry from 12–14 August, known as the Battle of the Bogside. As the yearly march by the Protestant loyalist Apprentice Boys skirted the edge of the Catholic Bogside, stone-throwing broke out. [9] The RUC—on foot and in armoured vehicles—drove back the Catholic crowd and attempted to force its way into the Bogside, followed by loyalists who smashed the windows of Catholic homes. Thousands of Bogside residents mobilised to defend the area, and beat back the RUC with a hail of stones and petrol bombs.
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Riot
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Hawaiʻi Emergency Management Agency Tsunami PSA Debuts
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That’s the opening line of a new animated public service announcement created by Oʻahu-based creative media company, Hyperspective, in coordination with the Hawaiʻi Emergency Management Agency to draw attention to the critical need to understand the natural warning signs of a tsunami, and what to do if one occurs. Unlike hurricanes – which generally occur within in a certain parameter of time, or season, and often develop slowly, allowing more leeway for preparation and warning – tsunamis can occur at any time of year and with little or no warning. The story of the PSA, which was produced in both Hawaiian and English, is the story of the ocean’s many personalities, from the small and inviting kai poʻi waves to the destructive force of tsunami waves. “And an earthquake can awaken a monster that can destroy everything in its path,” the PSA goes on to say. “The tsunami.” Tsunamis are caused by violent seafloor movement primarily as the result of an earthquake, but they can also be caused by large landslides, lava flows entering the sea, a seamount collapse, and even the impact of a meteorite. State-of-the-art technological devices are deployed around the Pacific Ocean and monitored 24/7 – Deep Ocean Assessment and Reporting of Tsunami buoys and tidal gauges, to name a few – yet it can still be very difficult to predict when a tsunami will occur and how devastating the effects will be. That is especially true of a local tsunami, meaning a tsunami generated by an earthquake, or other source, here in Hawaiʻi, where the warning time could be as little as a few minutes. To that end, HI-EMA, in coordination with the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center, and our county partners, operates the largest outdoor warning siren system in the United States to provide one critical element of the larger HawaiʻiAlert and Warning System, which includes the Emergency Alert System and Wireless Emergency Alerts. These alerts are designed to direct Hawaiʻi residents and visitors to the most current and up-to-date information in the event of a tsunami or other emergency. But the primary message of the PSA, is that the land, and especially the ocean, speak to us, if we learn to feel, see, and hear nature’s warning signs. If you are on the beach or near the shore and feel the ground shaking, if you notice the ocean recede from the shore suddenly, or you hear a deep rumbling noise coming from the sea, evacuate immediately to high ground and wait for officials to tell you when it is safe to return to shore.
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Tsunamis
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Aeroflot Flight 6551 crash
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Aeroflot Flight 6551 (Russian: Рейс 6551 Аэрофлота Reys 6551 Aeroflota) was a scheduled domestic passenger flight on an Ilyushin Il-18B from Baku to Novosibirsk with a stopover in Tashkent that crashed on 11 May 1973 over Semipalatinsk in the Kazakh SSR, killing all 63 people aboard. [1]
The aircraft involved in the accident was an Ilyushin Il-18B registered CCCP-75687 to the Azerbaijan division of Aeroflot. Built in 1959, by the time of the accident the aircraft had sustained 21,663 flight hours and 11,787 pressurization cycles. Initially the cabin layout was designed to seat 80 passengers but later seats were rearranged to seat an additional nine passengers. [2]
Eight crew members were aboard the flight. The cockpit crew consisted of:[3]
The flight departed from Tashkent Airport on the May 10 at 23:25 Moscow time (01:25 May 11 local time) with 63 people on board, including three children. The aircraft leveled at a cruising altitude of 7800 meters after takeoff until they were instructed by the Almaty Airport region controller at 00:56 MSK to increase altitude to a flight level of 9000 meters and fly on a bearing of 43°; the flight crew confirmed receiving the instruction and proceeded to ascend as directed. At 01:12 MSK the flight briefly contacted the Ayaguz airport controller and again at 01:22 to inform him they were about to depart the Ayaguz sector and head over to Semipalatinsk. After contacting the Semipalatinsk controller the proceeded to decrease altitude to 7800 meters by initiating a 360° left turn; the aircraft was last seen on radar 110 km from Semipalatinsk but had been in flight 90 km from the airport, not detected by radar. The Semipalatinsk controller attempted to make contact with the plane when it was due to be overhead at 01:52 MSK (04:52 local time) but received no response from the flight. At the time the weather consisted of clouds at altitudes of 1000–1300 meters, mild wind and rain, with visibility at 10 kilometers. [4]
At the time the Il-18 was flying on autopilot when within the span of six seconds the instrument speed decreased from 400 to 370 km/h while at its assigned altitude before entering a rapid decline with no lateral roll, reaching overloads ranging from 1.5 to -0.8g. 17 seconds later the plane entered a right bank with an angular velocity of more than 100° per second, causing overloads that resulted in the loss of the right wing at an altitude of 5000 meters while at a speed of 670 km/h and the breakup of the fuselage at an altitude of 3600 meters at a speed of 700 km/h, well above the maximum safe speed of an Il-18 (675 km/h). At 04:37 local time (01:37 Moscow time), 38 seconds after the start of the decline, the remains of the aircraft crashed into the steppe 84 kilometers south of Semipalatinsk. Investigators were able to reach the wreckage and view the burning debris by 04:50 local time, but all 63 people on the flight perished in the crash. [4]
Two local military units questioned by investigators reported that they had not fired any projectiles into the air around the time of the crash nor were there any air force aircraft in operation that could have collided with the flight. Investigators felt that the first altitude and speed of the 20–30 seconds of reduced altitude correlated with a controlled emergency reduction in altitude, followed by an unexplainable loss of control that led to an overspeed situation. Investigators thought that one of the reasons possible would have been a crew member unintentionally losing control of an elevator during an emergency descent, but it could not be conclusively confirmed. At the time of the rapid decline that led up to the accident, the propellers were feathered, but it is unknown if the crew had done so or if the autopilot had done so. [4]
Two round puncture holes in the fuselage of the rear luggage compartment; investigators had the portion of the compartment recovered and sent for analysis to see if an artillery shell could have caused the damage, but analysis concluded that the holes resulted from the crash itself with a lack of explosive residues present. Despite the recovery of the flight data recorders and most of the wreckage, the commission was not able to pinpoint an exact cause of the crash, in part due to the amount of damage sustained by the flight data recorders limiting the amount of information that could be recovered. [4]
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Air crash
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It’s Official: India and Pakistan Join Shanghai Cooperation Organization
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For the first time since its 2001 inception, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) suddenly has a pair of new members. As expected, last week’s SCO summit in Astana carried a bit more weight than high-level SCO meetings prior, with India and Pakistan officially added to the membership ranks. The expansion means that last week’s summit saw far more reverberation than any SCO development since at least 2005, when the organization issued a statement demanding the closure of non-SCO military bases in the region.
By simultaneously adding Pakistan and India the SCO, as participants emphasized last week, now represents nearly half of the global population, as well as significant economic and geographic heft. Moreover, where post-Soviet groups like the CSTO, CIS, or Eurasian Economic Union have floundered and flailed in struggling for relevance over the past few decade, the SCO — as evidenced by the expansion — continues to carry at least some muster among member-states, both current and prospective.
Still, despite the expansion, there wasn’t much at the summit to tamp down concerns about the group’s lack of cohesion. (Nor was there much attention to the summit in the first place; contra a Kazakhstani government mouthpiece, the elevation of India and Pakistan to full SCO membership resulted in very little media coverage.) As Crossroads Asia detailed earlier, the concomitant inclusion of both India and Pakistan is likely to only gum the gears of SCO collaboration, either economic or security. While much of the summit’s rhetoric focused on terrorism, the likelihood of increased collaboration between Delhi and Islamabad, via the SCO’s auspices, appears negligible — even if Russian President Vladimir Putin did take the summit as a chance to claim that the Islamic State “has been making new plans to destabilize Central Asia and southern Russia.”
Elsewhere, India’s outstanding concerns about Chinese economic hegemony are already well-known, especially as it pertains to Beijing’s investments through Kashmir. As Dawn detailed in its description of the summit, “India has also remained incensed that the [China-Pakistan Economic Corridor] ─ one of the key [One Belt, One Road] projects ─ passes through Kashmir and Pakistan, claiming that it is a violation of India’s territorial integrity.” Given that one of the SCO’s primary areas of focus remains, nominally, the combating of “separatism,” adding Kashmir to the SCO’s writ can only undercut the group’s stated aims that much further. (Unsurprisingly, the SCO summit saw little discussion of tamping down on “separatism” — perhaps understandable, given Russia’s support for separatist conflicts in both Ukraine and Georgia.)
To be sure, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif took the summit as a chance to praise the SCO. Sharif said that the SCO is a “sheet anchor” regarding regional stability, one “destined to become a cornerstone of global politics and economics.” Given that the SCO now encompasses Crimea, Kashmir, and the South China Sea, the likelihood of ongoing stability within SCO member-states is perhaps less than Sharif assumed. Still, for the time being, Sharif and Modi seem eager to play up their participation in the SCO, as do actors in Moscow and Beijing who, along with their attendant propaganda outlets, hope to position the SCO as an organization demanding that much more attention.
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But Modi, Sharif, and their SCO peers will need to prove that expansion does not result in a parallel slowdown in efficiency, and does not result in undermining any on-the-ground effects SCO membership may bring. And if they can’t, there’s little reason to think that any future expansion — say, via the Russia-backed push to include Iran — will make a difference otherwise.
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Join in an Organization
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2007 Midwest flooding
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The 2007 Midwest flooding was a major flooding event that occurred in the Midwestern United States in the third week of August 2007. While Hurricane Dean was affecting the Yucatán Peninsula and the Gulf of Mexico, and Tropical Storm Erin was affecting Oklahoma and Texas, a persistent storm system hung over the Midwest for several days, causing repeated flash flooding in the US states of Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Minnesota, Ohio, and Wisconsin. Cool Canadian air clashed with large quantities of warm moist air from the Gulf, producing torrential rains along a stationary front. Eighteen deaths across the central United States were attributed to the resulting flooding. [1][3][4] Seven Minnesota counties,[5] eight Ohio counties,[6] fourteen counties in Wisconsin,[7] and seven counties in Illinois were declared Federal Disaster Areas. [8][9]
On Saturday, August 18, a warm front pushed northward into Iowa and Illinois, where it became stationary. Warm, moist air pushing over the frontal boundary fueled showers and thunderstorms that moved in a west-to-east fashion, training over the same areas for hours at a time. Some parts of Minnesota, Wisconsin and Iowa saw moderate to heavy rain for nearly a full day before the activity finally cleared out. Additional thunderstorms formed over these areas on Sunday, August 19, exacerbating the flooding problems. [10] Tropical Storm Erin had pushed into the coast of Texas on August 15, and by August 18 had stalled over Oklahoma. Though the remnants of Erin did not directly impact the flooding in these areas, moisture from Erin streamed northward, enhancing the thunderstorm activity for two to three days. [11]
The stationary front and associated energy then extended eastward through Illinois, Indiana and Ohio on August 19 and August 20. Similarly, the front was the focus for thunderstorm development, and the precipitation continued moving over the same areas, leading to extended periods of heavy rainfall. Approximately 1,000,000 homes lost electricity due to the storms. [1]
Runoff from the heavy rain also caused river flooding to the south of the affected areas. The Rock River near Joslin, Illinois peaked at 17.11 feet, 5.11 feet (1.56 m) above flood stage. [12] Moderate flooding was also reported on the Mississippi River from the Quad Cities to St. Louis, Missouri. The city of Rockford, Illinois was deluged in the weeks preceding the major flooding during the third week of August. On August 7, Rockford was hit by five to seven inches (127–178 mm) of rain. Many streets, including main thoroughfares, were flooded. There was also fear that the Alpine Dam might break. [13][14] The following day, Governor Rod Blagojevich declared both Rockford and Winnebago County a state disaster area. With this declaration, he dispatched both the Illinois Emergency Management Agency and the Illinois Department of Natural Resources to assist the city. Debris removal, law enforcement, damage assessment, and other physical assistance were offered by the governor. [14]
Two weeks later on August 23, violent storms rolled through most of the Chicago metropolitan area. Tornado warnings were issued during the first round of storms, which produced wind gusts as high as 80 miles per hour (130 km/h); the highest being reported in Manhattan. [15] A small tornado was reported in Bolingbrook in a DuPage County Forest Preserve. The storms shut down airports (including O'Hare International Airport and Midway International Airport), uprooted trees and left over 600,000 residents in northern Illinois without power, some for several days. [16] The storms also caused flooding on streets and major expressways such as the Bishop Ford Freeway. Rainfall totals in Boone and LaSalle Counties topped 1987 records. [17] Governor Rod Blagojevich declared McHenry, Lake, Cook (including Chicago), DuPage, and Kane counties to be disaster areas after the storm. Flooding across northern Illinois was widespread in the aftermath of the storms. Along the Rock River in Byron, the river reached moderate flood stage on August 24; moderate stage is above 14 feet (4 m). [18] Officials in Ogle County recommended that people in low-lying areas along the Rock River, and along Killbuck Creek near Lindenwood, evacuate to higher ground. [17] Downstream, in Lee County at Dixon, the river had not reached flood stage as off August 25, though it continued to rise. [19] Though not affected by flooding as it was on August 7, the city of Rockford received 1.23 inches (31 mm) of rain, setting an all-time record for Rockford's wettest month in recorded climate data history, with a total of 13.82 inches (351 mm) of rain. [20]
Other rivers and streams in the Rock River valley experienced moderate to major flooding as well. The Kishwaukee River at Perryville crested at 17.57 feet (5.36 m), more than five feet above flood stage. The same river also rose above flood stage in Belvidere. [21] After 4.85 inches (123 mm) of rain fell on August 23 and 24 in DeKalb County, at DeKalb, the South Branch Kishwaukee River rose to its highest level since 1983 and its second highest level in recorded history. [22] Numerous roads and bridges were closed, and the cities of DeKalb and Sycamore declared local emergencies, though DeKalb County was not included in Blagojevich's initial disaster declaration. [22] DeKalb County received state disaster area designation from Blagojevich on August 26. [23] In DeKalb and Sycamore, about 600 residents were displaced from their homes, and the DeKalb campus of Northern Illinois University was closed because of the flood. [24]
The Fox River at Dayton crested after it rose to more than 17 feet (5 m), over five feet above the river's flood stage. [25] In Plano, Illinois the Fox rose up around the historic Farnsworth House, a modern architecture masterpiece designed by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe. Preservationists used a boat to save the home and its furnishings, which previously had been devastated by high water in 1996. [26] With the boat, preservationists were able to enter the house and move vulnerable furnishings to higher locations within the home. Water rose to within a foot of the Farnsworth House's raised platform, covering the terrace in front of the home, but the river crested before any damage occurred. [27] At Starved Rock State Park, parking lots were closed due to the level of the Illinois River, which stood at 26.5 feet on August 25, 6.5 feet (2 m) above its flood stage. [28]
Governor Blagojevich estimated total flood damages could cost nine Illinois counties and the state more than $22.8 million, and the state requested federal assistance.
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Floods
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La Tuna Fire
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The La Tuna Fire was a wildfire that started on September 1, 2017, and burned 7,194 acres (2,911 ha) through the Verdugo Mountains in Los Angeles, California. [1] It led to the destruction of 5 homes and the evacuations of over 300 homes. [1][4][5] It was the largest wildfire in the city of Los Angeles in 50 years. [6]
Reported in the mid-afternoon of Friday, September 1, on the 10800 block of West La Tuna Canyon Road in Sun Valley, the La Tuna Fire immediately burned north towards Interstate 210, forcing its complete closure. [7] Fire activity was described as being erratic due to shifting winds which forced flames to jump both sides of the interstate as it began burning in four separate directions. [7][8] By evening time of that Friday, the fire was an estimated 2,000 acres in size with a mere 10 percent containment. [8]
Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti declared it a local emergency and called on Governor Jerry Brown to declare a further state of emergency. On Saturday, September 2, the fire endangered homes in Burbank, Glendale and Sunland-Tujunga. It is reported as the largest fire ever inside Los Angeles city limits. [9][10][11]
There have been four injuries. On September 2, two firefighters suffered from heat related illness. On September 3, one firefighter was treated for heat related illness and another for minor burns. A volunteer was also evacuated for medical reasons. [2]
As of September 3, 1,061 firefighters were fighting the fire with 206 engines, 9 helicopters, 5 water tenders, and 4 dozers. [2][11][12] Three buildings have been destroyed and one damaged. Then rain helped the wildfire from Tropical Storm Lidia (2017). On September 9, 2017, the LA Fire Department declared that the La Tuna Fire was 100% contained. [13]
The La Tuna Fire was the largest wildfire to break out in the city limits in the last 50 years. In response to the fire, the Los Angeles City Council began processes of creating best practices for residents to be prepared and to deal with large-scale emergencies. [6]
On October 26, 2017, the Los Angeles Fire Department's investigation into the origins of the La Tuna Fire ended with no cause determined. The report indicated that it was "not suspicious in nature. "[14]
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Fire
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1983 Rhein-Main Starfighter crash
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The 1983 Rhein-Main Starfighter crash happened on 22 May 1983, in connection with an air show at the Rhein-Main Air Base. A Canadian Armed Forces Canadair CF-104 Starfighter crashed on a nearby highway, killing six. Pentecost is an extended holiday weekend in Germany in a row of three holiday weekends, with a lot of festival activities taking place. On 22 May 1983 in Frankfurt, the traditional "Wäldchestag" (forest day, albeit written in local dialect) drew people from the city into a forest area where a mobile fun park was erected. The tennis club near the soccer stadium Waldstadion held a tennis tournament and the Rhein-Main Air Base held a public open day air show. Part of the presentation was a display of formation aerobatics by Canadian Armed Forces Canadair CF-104 Starfighters (CF-104) from CFB Baden–Soellingen (Baden). Five CF-104s from 439 (Sabre-Toothed Tiger) Squadron CAF (439 Sqn) performed formation aerobatics. One of the aircraft left the formation, flew several kilometers North-East and crashed near the Waldstadion onto federal road 44. [1]
The pilot was able to eject safely, but burning pieces of the airplane hit the car of Pastor Jürges and his family, who were on their way to the Odenwald mountains for a day-trip. [2] The family, Pastor Martin Jürges (40), his wife Irmtraud (38), his mother Erna (77) and his children Jan (11) and Katharina (11 months) died at the scene of the accident. [3] Jürges’ 19-year old niece Gesine Wagner managed to escape from the car, but was caught by the fireball of the exploding jet and burned extensively, dying on 11 August 1983, 81 days after the accident. [4]
Due to the NATO status of forces agreement the accident was investigated by the Canadian Department of National Defence. The state prosecutor in Frankfurt started, according to the rules, a cause of death investigation, but its investigation solely relied on the results of the Canadian investigation. Officially the results were only passed to the German state prosecutor as a press release, stating briefly that "neither technical failure nor human error" can be exempt as the cause of the accident. [4] An investigation by the Hessischer Rundfunk in 2003 showed that although the leading state prosecutor had authority to question the pilot, he acceded to the Canadian accident report. [5]
It was soon realized that the crash could have caused many more fatal casualties, as the ongoing tennis tournament as well as the fun fair in the forest was just a few hundred meters from the crash site. [3] As a result, the German defense ministry prohibited at first in general air shows in metropolitan areas which was later changed to prohibit air shows with jet airplanes in metropolitan areas. [4]
During the 81 days in hospital Gesine dictated letters to her family and friends, which her parents published as a book. [2]
In 2003, hr-fernsehen broadcast a documentary about the accident. [5] According to the documentary, the owners of damaged cars were compensated fairly quickly after the accident. The parents of Gesine Wagner did not receive any support from officials while Gesine was in hospital or any condolences or compensation after her death. [5]
A square in the Frankfurt district of Gutleutviertel – where Martin Jürges was pastor – is named after the Jürges family. A plaque commemorates the accident on May 22, 1983.
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Air crash
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‘Best Biotech’ Prix Galien USA Awarded to GBT’s Oxbryta
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Oxbryta (voxelotor), Global Blood Therapeutics’ first-in-class oral therapy for sickle cell disease (SCD), has won the 2021 Prix Galien USA Award for best biotechnology product.
The award is among the health industry’s most prestigious honors, and recognizes an outstanding product that has improved patient well-being and impacted human health.
Proven to stop the sickling and destruction of red blood cells in SCD, Oxbryta was selected from a pool of 19 candidates by a panel of 12 academia and industry members — which includes five Nobel Prize winners.
“The Prix Galien Foundation’s recognition of Oxbryta is a testament to the importance of this innovation for a patient community that has suffered from limited treatment options for far too long,” Ted W. Love, MD, president and CEO of Global Blood Therapeutics (GBT), said in a press release.
“With the potential to modify the course of this disease, we are proud that Oxbryta is able to help many people with SCD today and in the future,” Love said.
Oxbryta previously had been awarded industry honors, including the 2020 National Organization for Rare Disease (NORD) Rare Impact Award for Industry Innovation and the 2020 National Xconomy Award for Breakthrough Drug of the Year.
It is the first approved therapy that directly suppresses the underlying biological mechanism of SCD, which is caused by mutations in the HBB gene that encodes hemoglobin. This protein carries oxygen in red blood cells, and when mutated, tends to form clumps, or polymerize, leading to the sickling and destruction of red blood cells.
The sickling process results in hemolytic anemia — low hemoglobin levels due to red blood cell destruction — that compromises oxygen transport and delivery to tissues and organs throughout the body. By blocking hemoglobin polymerization, Oxbryta improves oxygen delivery throughout the body and potentially modifies the course of SCD, according to the company.
In 2019, the therapy received accelerated approval in the U.S. to treat SCD patients ages 12 and older. As a condition of this approval, GBT is currently evaluating Oxbryta’s ability to lower stroke risk in up to 224 SCD children, ages 2–15, in the placebo-controlled Phase 3 HOPE-KIDS 2 study (NCT04218084).
Due to the critical need for SCD treatments, Oxbryta has received various designations in the U.S. that supported and accelerated its development. These included breakthrough therapy, fast track, orphan drug, and rare pediatric disease designations. The therapy also has been granted promising innovative medicine designation in the U.K., and has been named an orphan drug and a priority medicine in Europe.
The European Medicines Agency is currently reviewing GBT’s application, which seeks full marketing approval of Oxbryta in Europe for SCD patients, ages 12 and older.
In the U.S., GBT also is asking regulators to expand the therapy’s use to treat SCD in children as young as 4. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is currently reviewing the company’s request under priority review. A decision is expected no later than Dec. 25.
“Receiving the prestigious Prix Galien Award is a tremendous honor,” Love said of the award. “We are grateful to all the patients, their families, and physicians, as well as the entire GBT team for their tireless dedication in making this recognition possible.”
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This site is strictly a news and information website about the disease. It does not provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. This content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on this website.
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Awards ceremony
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Seer Green rail crash
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The Seer Green rail crash occurred on the morning of 11 December 1981 near Seer Green, Buckinghamshire, England between two four-car Class 115 diesel multiple units, killing one driver and three passengers. [1]
In the winter of 1981, the weather in Southern England turned cold and there were frequent heavy falls of snow. On the Chiltern Main Line, the snow caused tree branches in the cutting at Seer Green to be weighed down and some of them were brushed by passing trains. On 11 December, the driver of an empty train from Marylebone to Princes Risborough came across a fallen branch lying across the track. He telephoned the signalman at High Wycombe to tell him that he was going to clear the obstruction and would be delayed by a few minutes. Meanwhile, at Gerrards Cross, behind the stationary train, the driver of the 07:31 from Marylebone to Banbury was being cautioned by the signalman about the overhanging branches. The signalman then attempted to clear the starting signal for the train to proceed but the lever was locked. Unaware that the empty train had stopped, he looked at his signal box diagram and thought that the indications showed that the empty train was running towards Beaconsfield. Assuming that the signal lever had frozen (when in fact it was electrically locked by the stationary train), he authorised the driver to pass the signal at danger, and the train set off into the still-falling snow. Glancing again at his diagram, he saw that the lights towards Beaconsfield were not in fact lit, and realised that the empty train was still in the section near Seer Green. He quickly went to the window and tried to attract the driver's attention by shouting, but nobody heard him. The driver of the Banbury train drove too fast for the conditions and ran into the back of the empty train at about 30 mph. The front coach of the Banbury train partly telescoped underneath the rear coach of the empty train, and the driver and three passengers were killed. Five others were also injured. At the public inquiry, Inspecting Officer Major C.F. Rose held the signalman at Gerrards Cross chiefly to blame, although he did note that the signalman had only been qualified for a month[2] and had been appointed through a job centre because nobody could be recruited internally. In addition to his inexperience, the signalling between Gerrards Cross and High Wycombe was unusually complex, with several track circuit block sections and intermediate block sections. The signal box diagram was subsequently altered to make its indications less ambiguous. The driver of the Banbury train also shared some responsibility, because he drove too fast to be able to stop short of the stationary train. Although British Rail's rules stated that the guard of the empty train should have applied detonator protection, this would have been unreasonable given that the obstruction would have been cleared in a few minutes. Coordinates: 51°36′17″N 0°35′52″W / 51.6046°N 0.5978°W / 51.6046; -0.5978
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Train collisions
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2010 Milwaukee flood
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Two episodes of flash flooding in the Milwaukee, Wisconsin, area during a one-week period caused flooding of basements and streets in July 2010. The first incident occurred in the night on July 15 to July 16. Seven days later on July 22 up to 7.5 inches (190 mm) of rain fell in two hours. [1] This unusually heavy rainfall turned streets and freeways into rivers and impassable ponds. [2][3][4][5] Because of the massive amount of rain in such a short amount of time, it caused sewer backups in many areas of the county. The hardest hit were the Northshore areas of Shorewood, Whitefish Bay, Glendale, and North-eastern Milwaukee with water reaching five feet in some areas. The areas had just recovered from the earlier flood and were beginning to resume normalcy. The phrase 'insult to injury' was echoed among many of the TV stations for their plight. [6][7] Other severe floods causing ditches to flow over and basement damage occurred in Fox Point. The flooding also caused one confirmed death, as 19-year-old Kyle Prelesnik's body was recovered from Lincoln Creek about eight blocks away from his car which he had been driving in the storm. The cause of the car going into the creek is pending. It is estimated that the latter storm caused flooding damage of about $37 million. Governor Jim Doyle declared a State of Emergency for Milwaukee County on July 23 as more than ten inches of rain had fallen between the two storms. Damage from flood waters and backed-up sewage led to a decision in November 2010 to demolish the former St. Michael Hospital, a seven-story 800,000-square-foot (74,000 m2) building that had been largely vacant since the hospital closed in 2006. [8] A large sinkhole at the intersection of Oakland and North Avenues on Milwaukee's East Side was large enough for vehicles to be engulfed by. [1][9] The severe weather closed Mitchell International Airport, causing a so-called rain-in. The runways were flooded with high water grounding local flights, and causing incoming flights to be diverted. [1][10]
Media coverage was hampered as the heavy rains caused flooding and damage to equipment at several television stations. The rain caused a sewer to back up inside television stations WVTV-TV and WCGV-TV, damaging equipment and causing the stations to go off-air until the next afternoon. Local television operations did not resume until later in the weekend. [11] Flooding of a creek next to the transmission facility for WDJT-TV, WMLW-TV, WBME-TV and WYTU-LP also caused all four stations to go dark, and news operations on WDJT were affected as the station's microwave relay for ENG vehicles was not operational. For much of the weekend, rival station WTMJ-TV simulcast WDJT on a digital subchannel, repaying an arrangement made to simulcast WTMJ on a WDJT subchannel earlier in the year after WTMJ's tower was struck by lightning. During the intense rain several stations experienced Rain fade on satellite reception so severe that network programming had to be temporarily suspended, either by use of a technical difficulties message or, in the case of WDJT, airing impromptu news and weather coverage. In the aftermath of the flooding, the state of Wisconsin requested emergency assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, but the initial request was rejected because there was not enough damage reported to qualify for assistance. In August, after Governor Doyle appealed the rejection and submitted additional information on damages, the state received a "Public Assistance" declaration that authorized federal aid in connection with flooding and storm damage to public facilities in Milwaukee County and Grant County, Wisconsin, during the period July 20–24. Calumet County was later added to the declaration. In September, President Barack Obama issued an "Individual Assistance declaration" that authorized federal aid for damaged homes and businesses. [12]
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Floods
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Aleksandra Miroslaw Breaks Women's Speed Climbing World Record at Tokyo Olympics
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American Nathaniel Coleman came in second place in the first ever Olympic sport climbing finals, securing the first silver medal for the category in Olympics history.
The debut of sport climbing at the Tokyo Olympics has been nothing short of dramatic and Polish climber Aleksandra Miroslaw contributed to the spectacle Friday by breaking the speed climbing world record.
In what is possibly her last international competition, 27-year-old Miroslaw shed 0.12 seconds off the previous women's world record with her 6.84-second climb up the 15-meter wall at the Aomi Urban Sports Park.
With two international speed climbing championships, speed climbing is Miroslaw's specialty and she claimed the top rank in the discipline. Unfortunately, Miroslaw was just shy of winning the bronze even though she had the same final score as Akiyo Noguchi of Japan. The tie was split by the athletes' standings in the qualification round.
Miho Nonaka placed above her Japanese teammate and she went home with the silver. The gold went to Janja Garnbret of Poland.
The previous world record was held by Russian climber Iuliia Kaplina who failed to qualify for the women's speed climbing combined final. Kaplina was left in tears after she fell off the wall at the very last second of her qualification run.
The ROC athlete couldn't make up for the poor performance with better scores in the bouldering and lead climbing disciplines and she ranked 17th out of 20 competitors.
Sport climbing was added to the Tokyo Games along with skateboarding, karate, 3-on-3 basketball and surfing in an effort to draw younger generations.
But with the inclusion came an exception: speed climbing was part of the program.
The IOC is handing out two medals in climbing — one for men and women — and wanted something fast-twitch to catch people’s attention, so speed was included.
The decision rankled lead and boulder climbers; speed is a more specialized discipline and will have its own medals at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
The key for the lead and boulder specialists would be to offset low scores in speed with high ones, even a first in one or both of the other two disciplines.
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Break historical records
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Covid-19: India school closures 'catastrophic' for poor students
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The prolonged closure of schools in India has led to "catastrophic consequences" for poor children, according to a recent survey. Only 8% of the children sampled were studying online regularly and 37% were not studying at all, the survey found. Primary and upper-primary schools in India have been closed for 17 month to curb the spread of coronavirus. The survey, supervised by leading economists, spoke to 1,400 children across India in August. Researchers focused on households in relatively deprived villages and slums, where children generally attend government-run schools. "The picture that emerges from the survey is absolutely dismal, especially in rural areas," says the study, conducted by nearly 100 volunteers in 15 states and federally administered territories. The survey found that nearly half of the children sampled were unable to read more than a few words. And few children were studying online: 24% in cities, and just 8% in villages. One reason was a large number of these households had no smartphones - only about half of the households in the villages owned one. Even among those who did own a smartphone, only a third of the children were studying online in cities and about 15% in the villages. Only 9% of the children surveyed had their own phones. Another major hurdle, especially in villages, was that schools were not sending online study material or the parents were not aware of it. "Most parents feel that their child's reading and writing abilities have gone down during the lockdown," the survey said. More than 90% of underprivileged parents who were surveyed wanted schools to reopen as soon as possible. India is among a handful of countries where primary schools have not reopened. "An all-out reopening might not be advisable for now, but asking children to attend schools in batches once or twice a week would be a good start," economist Reetika Khera, one of the lead authors of the survey, told the BBC.
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Organization Closed
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Lake Eildon blue-green algae warning urges tourists not to swim at popular holiday spot
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Holidaymakers at popular Victorian holiday spot Lake Eildon are being urged not to swim in the lake as high levels of blue-green algae have been detected. The region around Lake Eildon attracts thousands of visitors, especially over summer. Mandy Kirley, owner of Mansfield Hunting and Fishing, said despite the warning, which has been in place since July 2020, people were still swimming in the water. "There are still a lot of people around caravan parks and set up along the lake and there's still a lot of boats out there and jet-skis and people wakeboarding," she said. "You can't physically see it, so there's nothing there to really look at, but it is like a darker green."
Goulburn Murray Water's water quality coordinator, Bianca Atley, said warnings usually only lasted a month. "There's actually a lot of species of algae in there, not just one, and that's probably the reason this [alert's] lasted so long. We've got so many species contributing to the warning," she said.
She said visitors could still enjoy the location but should not come into direct contact with the water.
"We think Lake Eildon is a wonderful place to go and we do encourage people to go to the lake and to still enjoy the lake. We are saying that swimming and other activities that involve direct skin contact should be avoided," she said. Blue-green algae is naturally occurring and is always present in the water at low levels. When the blooms are detected at higher levels, the algae can cause skin rashes, itchiness, sore eyes, numbness of the lips and limbs, nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea.
Ms Atley said while some people were unaffected by the toxins, a number of people had already presented to hospital with symptoms so far this summer. She said symptoms could take between five to seven days to appear, and people may not realise their illness is due to blue-green algae poisoning. "They don't attribute it to the fact that they were actually swimming in the lake a week ago because a week is a long time when you're on holidays," she said.
She said anyone who developed symptoms should seek medical attention. As a heatwave sweeps across the state this week many people will be looking towards the water for relief. For those holidaying around the lake, the good news is boating and fishing can still be enjoyed.
Ms Kirley said about 60 houseboats were on the lake in the past few days. Ms Atley said fish snagged in affected waterways could still be cooked and eaten provided they were cleaned properly beforehand. "In places like China, where there are blue-green algae warnings all the time and really significantly high levels of the toxin all the time, it has been known to accumulate in the flesh of fish, but it hasn't actually been shown to occur in Australia," she said. "We do definitely say that the guts and gills need to be removed and the fish need to be washed in water that's not affected." Goulburn-Murray Water said the lake would remain open and people should make their own decision about swimming in the water. "We understand it's a place people love to go to and love to enjoy. We're trying to let people know what the risks are if they do go into the water and that's all we can really do," Ms Atley said. Following the impacts of the pandemic, Ms Kirley said it had been great to see people back in the town. "Since lockdown has finished, weekends have been amazing and it's just great to see a smile on people's faces, they're glad to be out and they're exploring their own backyard," she said.
Ms Kirley said local businesses had eagerly been awaiting the summer period after the difficult year, and she urged people not to be deterred from visiting the area. "We still have five rivers around us within 10 minutes of Mansfield, so they can go down to one of those rivers for the day and set up their fishing rods or float down the river," she said. "We just have to persevere, be safe and enjoy what we've got there."
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Environment Pollution
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Stormy landing: Anchor from 1876 shipwreck finds a home in Southampton
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An anchor carrying Long Island's maritime history has found a home in Southampton Town. Town historian Julie Greene and Shinnecock Graves Protection Society member Shane Weeks talk about its importance to Newsday. Credit: Randee Daddona The flatbed truck that pulled up to an oceanfront building in Southampton in February delivered a unique artifact from Long Island’s maritime history. The building is the former Tiana Life-Saving Station, which later became Neptune Beach Club before being acquired by the town in 2014 to be restored as a museum about the history of lifesaving in Southampton. The unique piece of maritime history is the anchor believed to have come from the sailing ship Circassian, which was stranded off the beach at Mecox south of Bridgehampton during a storm on Dec. 11, 1876. While the crew and passengers survived the grounding, 28 men — including 10 from the nearby Shinnecock Indian Reservation — who had been hired to help salvage the cargo died after being caught aboard in a second storm on Dec. 29, 1876, that broke up the vessel. The town plans to keep the anchor at the Tiana property, purchased for $3.2 million from tax revenue on real estate transactions funneled into the Community Preservation Fund. It’s a decision opposed by the Shinnecock Nation, which has a special connection to the Circassian saga. The exterior of the station has been restored and the town is designing a plan for the interior. Eventually the building will feature a self-guided exhibit of the history of lifesaving in Southampton, town historian Julie Greene said. "With the pandemic, everything got slowed down," she explained. "There is no time frame for it opening." The nearly 7,000-pound anchor arrived with little notice or fanfare on Feb. 11. Greene said it had been donated to the town not long before by marine surveyor Baron Rohl, who had displayed it at his father’s Babylon boathouse since acquiring it in 1980. Greene and a handful of town officials gathered to be photographed with the anchor on the day it arrived. "I had less than 24 hours’ notice that it was getting moved," Greene said. "I wasn’t sure the anchor was going to survive the move. It’s so huge, and when they lifted it I was afraid it would disintegrate." After acquiring the anchor, Rohl researched it for 18 years before preparing a 12-page report documenting the artifact and making the case that it had to be from the British vessel. He said it was found in the 1970s by a Shinnecock fisherman in 42 feet of water five miles east of Shinnecock Inlet off Bridgehampton. It was acquired by Don Metcalf, who displayed it in the parking lot of his marina just inside Shinnecock Inlet. When the parking lot was about to be repaved in 1980, Rohl bought it for $400 and moved it to his father’s lot in Babylon. Now that property is being sold so he had to find a home for the anchor. Rohl said he is "absolutely certain" that the anchor, which is 16 feet, 4.5 inches long, came from the Circassian. "Of all the shipwrecks lost or grounded between Shinnecock Inlet and Montauk Point between 1815 and 1900, there is only one that has not been eliminated due to the size of the vessel, type of construction of the anchor or location, the Circassian," Rohl concluded in his report. He studied 41 other shipwrecks that occurred in the area after 1815 and discounts them as being the source of the anchor for various reasons such as being too small to carry an anchor of that size or known to carry a different type of anchor. Rohl also said contemporary images of the Circassian anchor match the one he donated to Southampton. In the 1990s Rohl had a poplar replica made of the stock, or cross piece at the top of the anchor, created by Doug Harned, owner of a Commack sawmill, the last on Long Island. A second anchor deployed when the ship ran aground to keep its bow pointed into the waves has never been found, Rohl said. Because the anchor carries special significance for the members of the Shinnecock Nation, tribal members have expressed interest in displaying the anchor alongside their monument, erected circa 1955, to those lost on the Circassian at the tribal cemetery, where the 10 men are also buried. Talks between Rohl and the Shinnecock Nation two years ago faltered. Rohl said he offered to sell the anchor to the tribe but didn’t hear back from them; a tribal leader cited a lack of funds as preventing them from moving forward. "There was definitely interest," said Tela Troge, the tribal attorney and member of the Shinnecock Graves Protection Warrior Society, which aims to protect Native American graves on and off the reservation. Troge’s great-great-grandmother Charity Bunn was the sister of David Bunn, one of the 10 Shinnecocks killed on the wreck. Three Bunn family members and multiple members of the Walker and Cuffee families were among those who died. "We were always told about it," Troge said. "My parents had stories about their parents, and their parents too, talking about the shipwreck. It was passed down through oral history. It was part of growing up Shinnecock." "It’s so significant to the Shinnecock Nation," Troge said of the anchor. The story has also been conveyed by tribal musicians, the ThunderBird Sisters (Rebecca Genia, Holly H. Thompson and Tina Tarrant), in their song "Circassian 1876," recorded in 2001. "The anchor should be at the memorial site that we have at the Shinnecock cemetery," Troge explained. "I know that it wasn’t just Shinnecock men who were lost that day, but it was absolutely devastating for the tribe. It left a lot of Shinnecock grandmothers, mothers, wives, sisters and children without these men who were providing their support in the middle of a very rough winter." While the reservation is generally not open to the public, she said, visitors could see the anchor during the Shinnecocks’ annual powwow and the tribe could invite the public to its annual Dec. 30 memorial feast in honor of those who died. At other times, guided visits could be offered. At the Tiana station, Greene said, the anchor will serve as a "tribute to everything that happened. "There were lifesavers who were involved from many different stations. Tiana is newly restored and it’s on Dune Road where a lot of people will get to see it. I understand their position. But it’s part of Southampton’s history, and everybody should know the story." The town historian added that she would be working with the tribe on preparing a historical interpretation marker for the anchor. The Circassian story had its beginning on July 18, 1856, when the 242-foot three-masted barque, which was also equipped with a steam engine, was launched in Belfast, Ireland. The engine and smokestack were removed in 1874 to reduce the cost of operating the vessel. The iron-hulled square-rigger was sailing from Liverpool, England, to New York carrying 1,400 tons of cargo, including bricks, chemicals and hides, when on the evening of Dec. 11, 1876, it ran aground in a storm a few hundred feet west of the Mecox Life-Saving Station, south of Bridgehampton. The crew fired distress flares, and Life-Saving Service Surfman Samuel H. Howell, who had been on patrol in the snow and sleet, fired his own flares to show the ship’s distress signals had been seen. Crowds gathered on the beach, bringing blankets, clothing, food and hot tea. When the weather improved the next day, the surfmen rescued the 49 passengers and crew in seven trips out to the stricken vessel. As the seas calmed, a salvage company put the ship’s former captain, John Lewis, 16 crew members and a dozen local workers, including the 10 Shinnecocks, aboard to remove cargo and attempt to refloat the vessel. When another storm struck 18 days after the grounding, Lewis refused to send the workers ashore, according to accounts in New York City and local papers as well as such weekly newspapers as Harper’s Weekly and Frank Leslie’s Illustrated News. "We’ll float tonight or go to hell!" Lewis screamed before ordering the lifesaving crew’s line from the rigging to shore cut because he feared salvage workers would try to use it to get to the beach. As the wind and waves grew in intensity, the next morning the lifesavers attempted to shoot out another line to the ship with a mortar, but the distance was too far in the hurricane-force conditions. Those onboard hung onto the rigging. The Shinnecocks could be heard singing hymns and praying. The ship broke up the next night. Four men — the first and second officers, the carpenter and a seaman employed by the salvage company — reached shore by clinging to a 5-foot-long cork fender from a lifeboat; one of them subsequently died. In all, 28 perished, including all of the Native Americans. The Shinnecocks, who left behind nine widows and 27 children, were buried on the reservation and a monument erected. Their names are carved on the memorial: Lewis Walker, John Walker, David W. Bunn, J. Franklin Bunn, Russell Bunn, William Cuffee, Warren N. Cuffee, George W. Cuffee, James R. Lee, Oliver J. Kellis. Fourteen of the dead were buried in the Old South End Cemetery in East Hampton. Lewis and three others were buried privately. Theodore Roosevelt of Manhattan, father of the future 26th president, sent a check for $217 to the Hildreth’s, the general store in Southampton, to pay for supplies for the bereaved Native American families and provided other monetary support. Southampton residents also conducted a subscription drive to cover the cost of the burials for the Shinnecocks, according to the Sag Harbor Express. "We’re still suffering today from the tragedy," Troge said. "We’re all very closely related. If you talk to any Shinnecock member, they can trace back to a relative who was lost." Shipwrecks were common before Long Island was ringed with lighthouses and electronic navigation technology was developed. Because it generally fell to volunteers to respond to a ship aground, the deaths were staggering. The loss of vessels, cargo and lives brought demands from shipping interests and the public for the federal government to construct lighthouses and establish a rescue network. Congress responded in 1848 by appropriating $10,000 to build eight small lifesaving huts along the New Jersey coast to be run by volunteers. The next year, Walter Restored Jones, the Cold Spring Harbor businessman and whaling company investor, led a group of New York philanthropists in organizing the Life Saving Benevolent Association of New York. Aided by $10,000 in federal funds, the association constructed 10 stations on Long Island — at Eatons Neck, Fishers Island, Amagansett, Bridgehampton, Quogue, Moriches, Mastic, Fire Island, Long Beach and Barren Island, in Jamaica Bay. The association subsequently selected 14 additional sites on Long Island with operations of the volunteer effort overseen by the new U.S. Life-Saving Service. Congress in 1854 approved hiring paid keepers and in 1871 appropriated funds for paid crews at all stations along with new buildings and upgraded equipment. Eventually there were 32 stations around Long Island. The service continued to operate until 1915, when it was merged with the Revenue Cutter Service to form the U.S. Coast Guard. The Tiana Life-Saving Station is the second one at its current site on Dune Road. The original was built in the 1870s and replaced in 1912. The government closed the station in 1937, then reactivated it in 1942 during World War II. It was manned by an all-Black crew, commanded by Chief Petty Officer Cecil R. Forster, in a move toward integrating the armed forces by President Franklin D. Roosevelt; only one other station in the country, in Pea Island, North Carolina, had an all African-American crew. The Tiana station closed in 1946, replaced by the current Shinnecock Coast Guard Station. CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story misidentified the location of Pea Island; it is in North Carolina.
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Shipwreck
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Kids account for more than 20% of weekly cases; study finds antibodies in breast milk of vaccinated moms: COVID-19 updates
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Mothers vaccinated against COVID-19 may be able to pass along protection against infection to their nursing babies, according to a recently published study from the University of Florida. Antibodies passed through breast milk could prove beneficial to babies, researchers said, but further study is needed to determine their impact. The study tested the blood and breast milk of 21 lactating mothers before vaccination, after the first dose and following the second shot. The researchers found that in breast milk, after the second dose, there was a 100-fold increase of immunoglobulin A antibodies, said Joseph Larkin III, a senior author of the study. Babies are born with their immune systems not fully developed, Larkin said. They are too young to get the COVID-19 vaccine and cannot protect themselves. Breast milk, however, is like a helpful tool box that can be altered to potentially improve that vulnerability. "A lot of moms, pregnant women, are afraid to get vaccinated. They want to do what's best for their babies," said Dr. Josef Neu, a co-author of the study. "This is something that we wanted to know whether it may actually provide some benefit." — Danielle Ivanov, The Gainesville Sun Pandemic makes finding child care more overwhelming than ever before For parents across the country, the process of finding and signing up for child care – and the government subsidies that help them afford it – has become more overwhelming than ever before . Quality early-learning options are in short supply across the country. Centers are understaffed, and case managers are overextended. Many families lack the time and savvy needed to land a seat at the programs that do exist. First, there’s the hassle of figuring out what’s available: Reliable, go-to directories listing up-to-date openings are rare, as are clear ratings of a program's quality. Then there’s the time-consuming task of calling or visiting each of those providers to see where there are vacancies, filling out applications and, sometimes, going through interviews. Then the months- or even years-long waitlists. Preschool admissions can be cutthroat. And for many low- and middle-income parents, there’s the added step of figuring out and applying for financial aid, which typically entails its own mishmash of procedures and paperwork. “Given today’s technology, it should be as easy to find child care as it is to make a dinner reservation,” said Cara Sklar, the deputy director of early and elementary education policy at New America, a Washington, D.C., think tank. Instead, Lara said, “it feels like you’re submitting an application into outer space.” Read more here. — Alia Wong, USA TODAY 'It's a law': Iowa governor declines to recommend masks for students Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds on Thursday declined to recommend whether students should wear masks in schools, saying the opinion "doesn't really matter" because state law bans local districts from making it a requirement . Reynolds' response, which came during a news conference at the Iowa Capitol, was to a question on whether the Iowa public health director Kelly Garcia would recommend students wear masks at school despite the ban on mandates. The governor answered the question instead of Garcia. "It is a law that elected officials that are elected by Iowans and constituents across this state listened to the people that they represent, passed a bill, sent it to my desk and it was signed into law," Reynolds said. Following the news conference, Garcia told reporters she sends her own children to school wearing masks. "As the governor answered, there is a law on the books in Iowa, but that doesn't mean a parent can't make their own decision," Garcia said. "As a parent, I send my children to school in masks every day and I've had that conversation with our health care provider and our teachers." Like many Republican governors across the U.S., Reynolds has been resistant to mask requirements throughout the pandemic. Iowa's policies have diverged from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidance, which recommends universal masking in schools and that people wear masks in areas with high coronavirus transmission regardless of their vaccination status. — Ian Richardson and Stephen Gruber-Miller, Des Moines Register As hospitals continue to see a spike in hospitalizations among young children for COVID-19, another respiratory disease is simultaneously dominating pediatric intensive care units and overwhelming health care workers. Respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV, is a common virus that usually causes mild, cold-like symptoms primarily in children, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It’s the most common cause of pneumonia in children younger than 1 in the U.S. A typical RSV season occurs in the final quarter of the calendar year, from October to December. But an unseasonable RSV surge came this summer, threatening hospital capacity in states grappling with high coronavirus transmission, as young children sick with COVID-19, RSV or both fill up ICU beds. Health experts say they’re especially concerned about children who are infected with both COVID-19 and RSV. Versalovic said approximately 50% of children with co-infections have been hospitalized at Texas Children’s, mostly patients under 5. — Adrianna Rodriguez, USA TODAY A shot in the dark: Millions of Americans keep vaccination secret The stigma of actually believing in vaccines is so powerful in some communities that millions of Americans are getting inoculated in secret to avoid reproach -- even though the shots have been proved safe and effective. About 1 in 6 who are vaccinated against COVID-19 say they're keeping that information a secret from at least some people, while more than 1 in 17 aren't telling anyone, according to a Harris Poll survey conducted exclusively for USA TODAY. With more than 174 million being fully vaccinated in this country, that adds up to upward of 10 million declining to share that information. In many cases, vaccinated people hide it because they know others in their life wouldn't approve. “I was very uncomfortable with the idea of letting the supervisor know that I was going out to get a COVID shot,” said William, a manufacturing worker in Maine whose boss spread vaccine misinformation. “It does feel quite hostile.”
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Disease Outbreaks
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Icebreaking ships pollute Antarctic
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Toxic chemicals from icebreaking ship's hulls are polluting the seas of Antarctica, according to a report carried in next Saturday's issue of the British weekly New Scientist.
Experts found high levels of tributyltin, an ingredient used in marine paints to prevent ship's hulls from getting covered in barnacles and algae, on the McMurdo Sound sea floor it says.
The location is near a turning circle by icebreakers which force a path through Antarctica's pack ice for ships carrying tourists and scientists.
The International Maritime Organisation (IMO) wants to ban tributyltin-based antifouling paints because they harm "non-target" organisms.
One of the victims is a mollusc called the dog whelk, also known as the Atlantic dog winkle.
The chemicals cause the species' females to grow a rudimentary penis preventing them from reproducing.
--AFP
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Environment Pollution
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Fatal car crash claims lives of elderly driver and passenger from Bordertown
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An elderly driver and passenger have been killed in a car crash near Bordertown in South Australia's south-east. The crash happened on Thursday afternoon on Naracoorte Road, in the locality of Bordertown South. Police were called to the scene about 2:10pm after a report that a car had crashed into a tree. "Sadly the driver, a 90-year-old man, and the passenger, an 85-year-old woman, both from Bordertown, died at the scene," police said in a statement. Officers from SA Police's Major Crash division are investigating the circumstances of the crash. Naracoorte Road has been closed in both directions, with diversions in place at Rowney and Stott roads. Police have asked motorists to take alternative routes. The deaths of the woman and the man take the number of lives lost on the state's roads this year to 67, compared to 58 at the same time last year.
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Road Crash
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Ministry battles massive locust invasion in South East Trinidad
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WATCH: Ministry battles massive locust invasion in South East Trinidad
Loop News
August 31, 2017 05:02 PM ET
Locusts invade South East Trinidad. Photo via Facebook, Senator Clarence Rambharat
A massive swarm of locusts has invaded several communities in southeastern Trinidad.
The affected areas include Moruga, Rio Claro, Ecclesville and Agostini.
Images and videos shared on social media show thousands of the insects flying in droves, and landing on trees and vehicles.
Several persons complained that the pests were finding their way into their homes. It is not the first invasion for the year.
In May, a huge swarm of locusts devoured crops in Moruga and Rio Claro, costing thousands of dollars in losses to farmers.
The invasions have been happening frequently since late 2015. Agriculture Minister Clarence Rambharat said he has visited the affected areas and a team from the Ministry has been conducting spraying exercises.
However he said the locusts were too high up to spray and the Ministry is being careful with spraying in residential areas while families are having outdoor activities.
Video via Facebook, Senator Clarence Rambharat
He said spraying is being done in non-residential areas at this time. Rambharat said the locusts are now in their third/fourth stage where they would gorge on food before the next nesting period September-November.
Meanwhile, residents have posted warnings to motorists travelling through the affected areas to keep windows rolled up and drive slowly and carefully due to reduced visibility as a result of the swarm.
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Insect Disaster
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Salisbury Council considers seeking compensation over PFAS contamination
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Salisbury Council is considering seeking compensation from the Federal Government after two of its wetlands were contaminated by run-off from the nearby Edinburgh Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) base.
It comes a day after the Defence Department confirmed significant levels of poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) — a chemical once used in some firefighting foams — had been found on the base and in surrounding aquifers in Adelaide's northern suburbs.
Mayor Gillian Aldridge said independent testing found low levels of PFAS in the Kaurna Park Wetlands two years ago.
"The Environment Protection Authority (EPA) and SA Health suggested as a precaution we close [the wetlands] down," she said.
"We did that two years ago and they are still closed."
Salisbury has 50 wetlands and they are a major money-spinner for the council.
Water harvested from them is sold to local industry and agriculture.
The two closed wetlands were among the council's largest and Ms Aldridge said it was a scramble to get water out of its other resources to supply customers.
"It wasn't easy to do in the beginning, we obviously had to look around to supply it, but it's been done now," she said.
"Compensation is a live issue for us here in Salisbury … it absolutely cost us money."
Last week, a parliamentary inquiry into how the Defence Department had handled PFAS contamination recommended compensation for people whose livelihoods had been affected.
Chairman Andrew Laming said it had caused mental anguish and economic hardship.
"Property owners in PFAS contaminated areas have suffered demonstrable and quantifiable financial losses," the Liberal MP said.
"We've found a case for compensation … it shouldn't take years of campaigning before [residents] can have a sense their concerns have been adequately addressed."
PFAS contamination from air force bases has been particularly contentious interstate.
The Northern Territory town of Katherine had its pool shut down last year after PFAS contamination was detected.
In the contamination zone around Williamtown base in NSW, a group of residents was advised not to use bore, surface or groundwater for any purpose.
SA Health said unlike the Northern Territory or eastern states, there had been no contamination of aquifers used for agriculture or human consumption in Adelaide.
Defence Department PFAS investigation and management spokesman Luke McLeod said the contaminated aquifers in South Australia posed little practical risk to the public.
"What we've found is that there's no-one actually using water out of those aquifers for drinking purposes or for any commercial food production," he said.
People have been warned not to eat yabbies or fish caught in the Kaurna Park Wetlands.
PFAS has a multitude of industrial uses, such as in fabric protectors, non-stick frypans and fast-food wrappers.
University of Adelaide environmental health researcher Dino Pisaniello said PFAS was very stable, which was why it was used in firefighting foam.
"Particularly for military fuel fires, they would use the PFAS to smother the fire," Professor Pisaniello said.
"Because it's so inert there'd be few other problems apart from the fire itself — that's why it was used extensively in military applications."
After concerns were raised about the potential for human and environmental impacts, the Defence Department started to phase out PFAS in 2004 — too late to stop contamination of surrounding groundwater supplies from run-off.
"It [PFAS] is persistent in the environment, which is part of the problem," Professor Pisaniello said.
"Part of the controversy is that Defence was advised in the 1980s to contain their run off on the base … that lack of control from firefighting activities is why it's now more widely spread."
Unlike asbestos or tobacco, which have proven links to diseases like cancer, no proof that PFAS exposure makes you sick has been demonstrated.
"We've seen widespread use of this product since the 1970s," Professor Pisaniello said.
"Would we have seen cancers that might have been caused by this product? Probably, yes we would have."
But Professor Pisaniello said the lack of a clear link was far from the notion that PFAS did not increase the risk of developing a disease or illness.
"There is some evidence … some of the work that has been done in communities around the [PFAS] plants suggests there is an elevated risk," he said.
"But when people have reviewed this and considered all the contributing factors, they haven't been able to come to a firm conclusion about whether it was the cause of the elevated risk or not.
"It needs a public health response, avoid exposure and contain it."
Professor Pisaniello said a long-term study was needed of people with high PFAS exposure to definitively answer what risk, if any, PFAS posed to human health.
Interestingly, Professor Pisaniello also teaches military doctors at the Edinburgh RAAF base about the substance.
He takes two cans of the fabric protector "Scotchgard" to class with him — a 15-year-old one containing PFAS and a new one made without it.
It is a demonstration of the chemical's widespread use and the likelihood that most people have been exposed.
And he also uses his own family to personalise his answer to questions of risk.
"Would I be concerned about my three-year-old granddaughter playing on a lounge chair treated with the old Scotchgard … I think the answer would be no … but when it comes to water, I wouldn't want my three-year-old drinking it, even with relatively low levels of contamination," he said.
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Environment Pollution
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2007 United Kingdom foot-and-mouth outbreak
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The 2007 United Kingdom foot-and-mouth outbreak occurred when the discharge of infectious effluent from a laboratory in Surrey led to foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) infections at four nearby farms. The infections were detected via regular livestock testing by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra). The first diagnosis took place in a field of Normandy, Surrey; the second was three days later in a cattle-rotation field of a farm in Elstead, and the following day a third infection was found nearby within a quickly-established protection zone around the first detection. One month and ten days after the first diagnosis a final incidence of 2007 was identified and dealt with 13 miles (21?km) north of the first diseased animal. The source of the strain released and contained in Surrey in 2007 was the advanced effluent pipes from either the Institute for Animal Health or the similar vaccine researching and producing Merial Animal Health laboratory near to Pirbright village in the county. An inspection of the effluent pipes and manholes carried out by Health and Safety Executive investigators showed deficiencies, and the independent investigation of Brian Spratt concluded that it was very likely that they occasionally leaked still-infectious effluent at the time of the outbreak. Both laboratories, either of which may have been the cause, upgraded and repaired their effluent treatment systems to continue operation. The UK government provided compensation for the farmers directly involved. These interrelated and contained events prompted precautionary measures of restricted-access containment zones in three counties where suspected infections were reported and major international trading partners such as Canada and the Republic of Ireland placed temporary restrictions on meat and dairy exports. The United Kingdom was affected in 1967 by an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease. The outbreak was limited to an area on the Welsh border with Shropshire. The subsequent 2001 United Kingdom foot-and-mouth crisis spread more broadly and caused a national crisis for British agriculture and tourism. [1] The epizootic saw 2,000 cases of the disease in farms in most of the British countryside. Livestock farmers' losses and their interest subsequently remained of public interest, and a negative testing in January 2007 in Northern Ireland received BBC local headline coverage. [2]
Symptoms of foot-and-mouth disease were first reported late on 2 August 2007 on farmland in Normandy in Surrey, which was subsequently isolated and placed under restrictions. [3][4][5] The site was a field for beef fattening rented by Derrick and Roger Pride. [6][7] The following day the Chief Veterinary Officer (CVO) Debby Reynolds confirmed that initial testing revealed that 60 cattle were infected with foot-and-mouth disease and[8][9] that other potential cases were being investigated. [10]
The virus strain was identified on 4 August as FMDV BFS 1860 O1 1967 (Foot-and-mouth disease virus, British field strain 1860, serotype O, subtype 1, isolated in 1967; also referred to as strain BFS 1860/UK/67[11]). The virus was first isolated during the 1967 foot-and-mouth outbreak and until the 2007 outbreak was not in circulation in animals. [12] It was the same strain as used at the nearby Pirbright laboratory sites that housed separate units of the Institute for Animal Health (IAH) and Merial Animal Health Ltd at Pirbright, 2.5 miles (4.0?km) away. The Institute of Animal Health at Pirbright carried out research into foot-and-mouth disease as well as other diseases affecting livestock. [13] The Merial Animal Health site was also identified as a possible source of the infection, as they were one of four European laboratories authorised to handle the strain to produce vaccines. The next closest laboratory working with the strain was in Belgium. [14][15][16] As a result of the location of the two Pirbright laboratory sites, the isolation zone was extended. [17]
Another protection zone was created on 5 August near Elstead after a cow at one of the two other locations used by the farm tested positive. The herd at both locations had already been slaughtered the previous day as a standard precautionary measure. [18] Another herd the next day within one of the protection zones showing symptoms of FMD was slaughtered on suspicion. Samples underwent analysis[19] and the next day FMD was confirmed on a farm in Surrey within the protection zone. The cows were on land owned by the farmer Lawrence Matthews who rented grazing to a neighbouring producer. [20]
The Health & Safety Executive (HSE) issued a report on 7 August titled "Initial report on potential breaches to biosecurity at the Pirbright site, 2007"[21] which contained the following comments:
The Pirbright site has been the source of foot-and-mouth outbreaks before C in 1970 the virus escaped from the experimental area into a holding pen elsewhere on the site. Eighteen animals had to be destroyed. [22]
A farmer who left the land at the site of the initial outbreaks reported on 9 August some of his cows to Defra as a precautionary measure. A 3?km (2 mile) temporary control zone was established,[23][24] and then removed,[25] on 11 August when negative test results were returned. Three further potential outbreaks were investigated during August, at a farm elsewhere in Surrey; at the Chessington World of Adventures zoo; and at a farm near Romney in Kent. All three tested negative for foot and mouth. [citation needed] Following a lack of further outbreaks since the initial discovery, Defra lifted on 24 August the protection zones around the farms. [26] The surveillance zone was removed on 8 September. A 5?km (3 mile) radius biosecurity area remained in place longer around the Pirbright laboratories. [27]
A new case of foot and mouth was found on 12 September 30 miles (48?km) north of the original case at Milton Park Farm near Egham in the county. [28][29] A 3?km (2 mile) radius protection zone and a 10?km (6 mile) radius surveillance zone was established around the farm. [citation needed] A sick sheep found earlier during the day in Scotland at a Lanarkshire market was later found to be negative. [30] Separately, a temporary control zone was put around a premise in Norfolk as a precautionary measure following a veterinary visit. [31] Laboratory results for these animals were also negative and so the local restrictions were lifted the next evening. [32]
All livestock at the three geographically separate locations were destroyed on 4 August. A nationwide ban on the movement of cattle and pigs was imposed, with a 3?km (1.9?mi) protection zone in place around the affected farm and a further 10?km (6.2?mi) zone of cattle surveillance. [10] An 8?km (5.0?mi) aerial exclusion zone was set up around the site. [33]
As required by European Union regulations, all exports of animal and meat products of species affected by the outbreak were halted from the United Kingdom. [34]
A net total of 2160 animals were culled in the affected zones over the 58 day outbreak period (982 cattle, 1128 pigs, 43 sheep and seven goats). The total cost of containment and livestock loss came to a total of 47 million. This compares to a total loss of around 3 billion and the culling of around four million animals (85% sheep, 12% cattle, 3% pigs) during the 2001 outbreak which lasted for 221 days.
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Disease Outbreaks
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2011 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification Group 6
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The 2011 UEFA European Under-21 Championship started with a qualifying competition which began on 27 March 2009 and finished on 13 October 2010. The final tournament was held in Denmark between 11–25 June 2011. The first stage of the qualifying competition was a group stage followed by play-offs. Each of the 10 group winners, as well as the four highest ranked second place teams, advanced to the play-off. The play-offs determined which seven nations joined Denmark in the final tournament. Denmark, as hosts, qualified automatically. Teams that secured a place in the play-offs are highlighted in green in their respective qualifying groups. The teams are ordered by final group position. In case of equal points, the teams are ranked by their head-to-head record:
If some teams have equal head-to-head record, then the following tiebreaks apply:
Since Groups 1 and 2 were composed of six teams, results against the 6th-ranked team were excluded. The play-off first legs played on 9 October 2010, second legs played on 13 October 2010.
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Sports Competition
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Etna Volcano Erupts Again: Volcanic Smog Reaches Greece
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Italy’s Mount Etna, Europe’s most active volcano, erupted again on Tuesday, generating an ash plume that quickly rose to an altitude of almost 15,000 feet (4,500 meters). There have been no reports of damage as of press time. Etna joining the party ??? pic.twitter.com/ZgBAlZayJg — ?️L?E?A??️ (@JayBirdReturns) September 21, 2021 The smog or vog (volcanic smog), a visible haze comprised of gas and an aerosol of tiny particles and acidic droplets created when sulfur dioxide (SO2) and other gases emitted from the volcano, has reached Greece. Greek meteorologist Sakis Arnaoutoglou posted a photo recorded by the Sentinel5p/Copernicus satellite which shows that the volcanic smog has already crossed the Ionian Sea and has reached the Peloponnese. Mount Etna, towering above the Mediterranean island of Sicily, has been experiencing a busy season this year. Scientists say that it has erupted more than 50 times in the first nine months of the year. The amount of lava Etna has emitted since Feb.16 added 100 feet (30 meters) in height to the volcano’s southeast crater. One of Etna’s four summit craters, the southeastern peak now stands at a little over 11,000 feet (3,357 meters) high, having surpassed the 10,900-foot (3,324 m) northeastern crater, which had dominated the volcano for four decades. Etna volcano (Italy), has already erupted too. La Palma Volcano ? ?? Etna Volcano ? ?? Hope everyone is okay. pic.twitter.com/axnbvEF6ub — BasedSpain (@BasedSpain1) September 21, 2021 Volcanic plumes can reach very high altitudes and can potentially impact air traffic. A similar plume emitted by Etna in early April was detected at the altitude of 23,000 feet (7,000 m). On ground level, sulfur dioxide can irritate the human respiratory system and trigger conditions such as asthma in susceptible individuals. Recently, as reported by Greek Reporter, scientists have warned that Mount Etna is slipping eastwards into the sea and could trigger a catastrophic tsunami. Scientists are concerned the slow movements that have been measured on Mount Etna’s southeastern flank could escalate and result in part of it collapsing into the Mediterranean. Such an event would put Sicily and the Ionian Sea at risk, as debris enters the water, possibly causing devastating waves. However, researchers monitoring the site say all they can do for now is “keep an eye” on the active volcano as there is no way of telling whether this acceleration will come within years or centuries. Mount Etna is thought to have begun its life as a submarine volcano that slowly grew above sea level as it erupted, time and again, gradually increasing its height with solidified lava, according to NASA’s Earth Observatory. It’s now largely covered with historic lava flows from eruptions that took place up to 300,000 years ago. Etna covers an area of 1,190 km2 (459 sq miles) with a basal circumference of 140 km (87 miles). This makes it by far the largest of the three active volcanoes in Italy, being about two and a half times the height of the next largest, Mount Vesuvius. Only Mount Teide on Tenerife in the Canary Islands surpasses it in the whole of the European–North-African region west of the Black Sea. In Greek mythology, the deadly monster Typhon was trapped under this mountain by Zeus, the god of the sky and thunder and the king of gods, and the forges of Hephaestus were said also to be underneath it. One view is that the word Etna is from the Greek αἴθω (aithō), meaning “I burn”, through an iotacist pronunciation. According to both Greek and Roman mythology, the god Vulcan (Greek: Hephaestus) had his blacksmithing forge located under mount Etna. Vulcan was the Roman god of blacksmithing. The volcano is also known as Muncibeḍḍu in Sicilian and Mongibello or Montebello in Italian (the Italian word literally means “beautiful mountain”).
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Volcano Eruption
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Renewed quest to find Shackleton's lost Endurance ship
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The Endurance vessel, which was lost on Antarctic explorer Ernest Shackleton's ill-fated expedition in 1914-17, lies at the bottom of the Weddell Sea. Many have thought about trying to identify its resting place; a few have even had a go. But sea-ice cover in the region makes navigation very tricky. Dr John Shears and colleagues, however, are undaunted. Having been beaten on their last mission, they're returning. The team will take different submersibles this time after the type of vehicle used on the previous quest went missing. If the group succeeds in finding Endurance, they'll map it and photograph it, but they won't retrieve any artefacts. Shackleton's ship is a site of historic importance and has been designated as a monument under the international Antarctic Treaty. It mustn't be disturbed in any way. "This ship has become an icon," said Dr Shears. "Shackleton's epic story of survival strikes a chord right across the ages. And of the shipwrecks out there, it is the most famous one still left to be discovered and also the most difficult to locate. "If we can identify it, we'll inspect it, and make a detailed 3D scan of it using lasers. And we hope to broadcast all of this at the time," he told BBC News. Who hasn't heard about Ernest Shackleton and his extraordinary Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition, 1914-1917? Trapped in sea-ice for over 10 months, the explorer's Endurance ship drifted around the Weddell Sea until ultimately it was crushed by the floes and dropped to the deep. How Shackleton and his men then made their escape on foot and in lifeboats has become the stuff of legend. Where the Endurance went down in 3,000m of water is well known; the ship's captain Frank Worsley logged the position using a sextant and a theodolite. But reaching this part of the Weddell Sea, just east of the Larsen ice shelves on the Antarctic Peninsula, is extremely difficult, even for modern ice-breakers. Dr Shears and colleagues managed it in 2019, operating from the South African-registered research ship, the Agulhas II. They deployed an autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) over the presumed wreck site, but after 20 hours below, the robot submersible lost contact with the surface. The new mission is being funded by the Falklands Maritime Heritage Trust. It will need sign-off from the UK's Foreign and Commonwealth Office, but assuming this is forthcoming, the "Endurance22" team would hope to be in the Antarctic in February next year. Dr Shears is the lead with marine archaeologist Mensun Bound acting as the director of exploration. Both have had a life-long fascination with Shackleton's ship. They will again use the Agulhas, given their confidence in its crew and ice expertise. Last time, the submersible experts came from the US-UK company Ocean Infinity. The firm is again part of the team but will be using a different underwater solution in the shape of a couple of Saab Sabretooths. These robots are built for deep water, are capable of long excursions and can be autonomous or controlled by a fibre-optic tether. The great challenge comes from the Weddell Sea's notorious ice floes that so befuddled Shackleton and to date have confounded all attempts to find the sunken ship. To have any chance of success, you really need a continuous feed of radar imagery acquired by satellite. Endurance22 will again get ice maps from the German space agency's TerraSAR-X platform. One of the big questions concerns the likely state of the wreck. The water is too deep for the remnants to have been bulldozed by a passing iceberg, and the sedimentation rates in the region are thought to be low enough that the timbers are probably still standing proud of the seabed. But they could be spread out over a large distance; and the bottom waters passing over the wreck are almost certainly well oxygenated, which means any organisms that can withstand the cold could have eaten a good portion of the wooden structure that descended to the ocean floor. "The truth is we don't really know what condition it will be in," Dr Shears told BBC News. "We know that the ship-boring molluscs that normally devour wooden shipwrecks to the north can't survive in the cold waters of the Antarctic. But you've got a big source of carbon in the wood, so we may well find some very interesting things actually living on the wreck. We might even find we've got some new species." Deadly storm cuts transport links around Vancouver Delhi shuts schools and colleges as air turns toxic Heated protests outside court ahead of Rittenhouse verdict.
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Shipwreck
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Trump threatens to withdraw the US from the World Health Organization
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President Donald Trump warned the World Health Organization Monday night that the US will permanently cut all funding for the international health organization if it does not make major reforms within the next month. In a four-page letter, Trump castigated the WHO’s response to the coronavirus pandemic from December of last year through April, citing the WHO’s failure to take early reports on the coronavirus’ spread seriously and ignoring early warnings by Taiwanese health officials who had been informed by their Chinese counterparts that the novel coronavirus could spread by human-to-human transmission. Trump accused the WHO of toeing the line for China, both in regards to Beijing’s refusal to recognize Taiwanese independence, and in its denials regarding the dangers presented by the virus. “On January 14, 2020, the World Health Organization gratuitously reaffirmed China’s now-debunked claim that the coronavirus could not be transmitted between humans…This assertion was in direct conflict with censored reports from Wuhan.” “President Xi Jinping of China reportedly pressured you not to declare the coronavirus outbreak an emergency. You gave in to this pressure the next day and told the world that the coronavirus did not pose a Public Health Emergency of International Concern. Just over a week later, on January 30, 2020, overwhelming evidence to the contrary forced you to reverse course.” The President also lambasted the WHO for pushing back against his China travel ban, and the WHO’s recommendations to other countries that they not impose limitations on international travel. Trump concluded the letter by laying down a 30-day deadline for “major substantive improvements” in the WHO. If the WHO fails to satisfy the Trump administration’s call for reform, “I will make my temporary freeze of United States funding to the World Health Organization permanent and reconsider our membership in the organization.” Last month, President Trump suspended US funding of the WHO. The US contributes roughly 900 million dollars to the WHO’s two-year budget cycle, or just under one-fifth of the organization’s total budget. The US is the WHO’s largest contributor.
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Withdraw from an Organization
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Thai Airways International Flight 601 crash
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Thai Airways International Flight 601 was a Sud Aviation Caravelle that crashed into the sea on landing at the former Kai Tak Airport, Hong Kong, in a typhoon on Friday. 30 June 1967. Thai Airways International Flight 601 took off from Taipei Songshan Airport (TSA/RCSS) on an hour-long flight to Kai Tak Airport. The Sud Aviation Caravelle (Registration: HS-TGI), which had made its first flight in 1960, had 80 souls aboard: 73 passengers and 7 crew. With the plane on ILS approach to runway 31 at Kai Tak (HKG/VHHH), the Captain became occupied trying to make visual contact with the ground, and failed to notice that the aircraft had descended below the decision height of 415 feet (126 m). The crew made an abrupt heading change (while already 80 feet (24 m) below the glide slope), and then entered a high-speed descent. The aircraft undershot runway 31 and crashed into the sea, killing 24 passengers. The probable cause of the accident was pilot error, specifically not noticing that the aircraft had descended below the glide slope. The presence of strong wind shear and downdrafts as a result of then-present Typhoon Anita was a probable contributing factor. However, at the time of the accident there were no means of detecting such weather phenomena. Further factors included:
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Air crash
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Scott Miller’s wild life, Olympic heartbreak and failed celebrity marriage
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Scott Miller’s arrest is the latest chapter in his rollercoaster life, which includes Olympic heartbreak and a failed celebrity marriage. Former Olympic swimmer Scott Miller has been arrested after police claimed $2 million of ice was found concealed in candles, adding another chapter to the 45-year-old’s wild life. The arrest is the latest in a series of scandals which have plagued the Australian since the 1996 Olympic Games, where he won two medals in the pool. Miller’s professional swimming career featured a suspension, an untimely injury, a failed marriage and a controversial Olympic finals race. In 1997, he was even unveiled as CLEO’s most eligible bachelor of the year. A NIGHT IN AN ATLANTA JAIL Miller first made headlines at the 1994 Commonwealth Games when he won gold in the 100m butterfly, trumping Canada’s Stephen Clarke by 0.06 seconds. He was then tipped for a spot in the Olympics squad after becoming World Short Course champion in the 200m butterfly event in 1995. But during the Pan Pacific Championships 1996, Miller spent an evening in an Atlanta jail after intervening in a fight outside a nightclub. The 21-year-old was later cleared of any wrongdoing. ROBBED OF GOLD BY ARCHAIC RULE After setting a new Olympic record of 52.89 in his 100m butterfly heat, Miller was understandably tipped as a favourite to claim gold in the final at the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games. But Russian rival Denis Pankratov uncovered a loophole in the rules which gave him a huge advantage. Because swimmers were capable of gliding faster underwater, it was deemed illegal to stay underwater for more than 25m after the dive in backstroke and breaststroke events. However, this rule did not apply in the butterfly races, so Pankratov glided for more than 35m before breaking the surface in the must-win final. The Russian ultimately broke a world record and claimed gold in the event, trumping Miller by 0.36 seconds. AIS DISMISSAL, INJURIES, SUSPENSION Although Miller also claimed bronze in the 1996 Olympics for the 4x100m medley relay, his career somewhat spiralled after the Atlanta Games. He was plagued by injury throughout the 1997 calendar year, and was dismissed by the Australian Institute of Sport for repeatedly missing training sessions. Then in late 1997, Miller made headlines once again for testing positive to marijuana. FINA suspended him for two months as a result. FAILED CELEBRITY MARRIAGE Miller married New Zealand television star Charlotte Dawson in 1999, a well-known figure in Australian media. Dawson was regarded as a fashion guru, featuring in daytime show Beauty and the Beast, FOX8’s Australia’s Next Top Model and the second season of The Celebrity Apprentice Australia. But the powerhouse couple separated in 2000, their marriage lasting just one year. Dawson was found dead at her Woolloomooloo home in February 2014, following a long and very public battle with depression. Her body was discovered the morning after Miller’s 39th birthday. A week earlier, Miller had appeared on 60 Minutes to talk about his issues and the role it had played in the breakdown of their marriage. PASSED BY GREATS, FAILED COMEBACK Miller came back from suspension ahead of the 2000 Olympics but did not gain selection for the Sydney Games, surpassed by Australian swimming icons Michael Klim and Geoff Huegill. The pair combined for two golds, two silvers and a bronze in the 2000 Olympics, renowned as one of Australia’s most successful swimming campaigns. Although Miller returned to the pool soon after, his comeback was uneventful. DRUG BUST On Tuesday, Miller was arrested at his waterfront home in Rozelle along with another 47-year-old man. Police will allege the pair concealed the drug known as ice inside candles. Detectives launched an investigation earlier in the year in a bid to crack down on the supply of prohibited drugs, mainly methylamphetamine, across New South Wales. Both men were taken to Newtown Police Station. Investigations are ongoing and charges are expected to be laid.
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Famous Person - Marriage
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2018–2019 Nigerian protests
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End SARS is a decentralised social movement, and series of mass protests against police brutality in Nigeria. The slogan calls for the disbanding of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), a notorious unit of the Nigerian Police with a long record of abuses. [2][3] The protests which takes its name from the slogan started in 2017 as a Twitter campaign using the hashtag #EndSARS to demand the disbanding of the unit by the Nigerian government. [4][5][6] After experiencing a revitalisation in October 2020 following more revelations of the abuses of the unit, mass demonstrations occurred throughout the major cities of Nigeria, accompanied by vociferous outrage on social media platforms. About 28 million tweets bearing the hashtag have been accumulated on Twitter alone. [7] Solidarity protests and demonstrations by Nigerians in diaspora and sympathizers occurred in many major cities of the world. The protests is notable for its patronage by a demographic that is made of entirely young Nigerians. [8][9] The movement has since expanded to include demands for good and accountable governance. Within a few days of renewed protests, on 11 October 2020, the Nigerian Police Force announced that it was dissolving the unit with immediate effect. The move was widely received as a triumph of the demonstrations. [10] However, it was noted in many quarters that similar announcements had been made in recent years to pacify the public without the unit actually being disbanded, and that the government had merely planned to reassign and review SARS officers to medical centres rather than disband the unit entirely. [11] Protests have continued accordingly, and the Nigerian government has maintained a pattern of violent repression including the killing of demonstrators. [12] There have been international demonstrations in solidarity with those happening in the country, and the movement has also grown increasingly critical of Muhammadu Buhari's government response to the protests. [13]
SARS officers have been alleged to profile young Nigerians, mostly males, based on fashion choices, tattoos and hairstyles. They were also known to mount illegal road blocks, conduct unwarranted checks and searches, arrest and detain without warrant or trial, rape women, and extort young male Nigerians for driving exotic vehicles and using laptops and iPhones. [14] Nigerians have shared both stories and video evidence of how officers of SARS engaged in kidnapping, murder, theft, rape, torture, unlawful arrests, humiliation, unlawful detention, extrajudicial killings and extortion of Nigerian citizens. A large section of the victims of the abuses of SARS have been young male Nigerians. [15][better source needed]
The Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) was a branch of the Nigeria Police Force under the State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department (SCIID). It was founded in late 1992 as one of the 14 units in the Force Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department, which was established to detain, investigate, and prosecute people involved in crimes like armed robbery, kidnapping, and other violent crimes. [16] The squad was created as a masked police unit to perform undercover operations against violent crimes like armed robbery, car snatching, kidnapping, cattle rustling, and the bearing and use of illegal firearms. [17]
SARS had been accused of several human rights violations, illegal "stop and searches", illegal arrests and detentions, extrajudicial killings, sexual harassment of women and brutalising of young male Nigerians. The human rights abuses were documented in trending videos on social media. [18]
In 2017, Nigerian activists, youth and celebrities across the nation took to the streets in a peaceful protest to spread awareness of SARS brutality and extortions and to demand its disbanding. The protests also moved to social media using the hashtag #EndSARS. [19][20][21]
A 2016 report by Amnesty International, indicted SARS maintaining that the squad was responsible for human rights abuses, cruelty, degrading treatment of Nigerians in their custody, and other widespread torture. Some of the human rights abuses by SARS include the shooting of their detainees in the leg, mock executions and threats of execution, hanging and physical assault. [22] A 2020 publication by the organisation documented 82 cases of abuses and extra judicial killings by SARS between January 2017 and May 2020. [23]
Amnesty International accused the SARS officials of regularly detaining young male Nigerians illegally and extorting money from their relatives. [4] In 2016, a human rights activist, Segun Awosanya popularly known as Segalink started EndSARS campaign on Twitter prompting police authority to announce reform of the police unit but nothing was achieved at the time. [24] In 2018, Nigerian rapper Michael Ugochukwu Stephens professionally known Ruggedman joined the campaign to end police brutality by releasing a single titled, Is Police Your Friend? [25] In 2017, a petition signed by 10,195 people was submitted to Nigeria's National Assembly calling for a total disbandment of SARS. [26] A few Senators backed the call for total disbandment of the unit. [27] Consideration was given to reforming the force, rather than full disbandment due to the number of cases falling. [28][29]
The campaigners moved from social media using the #EndSARS hashtag to organised, peaceful protests in Abuja, Lagos, Ibadan, Osun, Benin, Ughelli, Warri, Ilorin, Ogbomosho, Owerri, Jos, Kaduna, Calabar[30][20] and other Nigerian cities and states, threatening to continue if the government refused to disband the force. [31][32][33]
Not only were there campaigners in Nigeria utilising the hashtag and having protests but they were also done in London and some parts of America recognising this situation as a global event. In response to the campaign, Nigeria Police Force Public Relations Officer Jimoh Moshood accused the campaigners of being "criminals". [34] Despite this, Inspector General of Nigeria Police Force Ibrahim K. Idris ordered the reform and reorganisation of SARS. [35]
On Saturday 3 October 2020, a video showing a SARS police officer shooting a young Nigerian in front of Wetland Hotel, Ughelli, Delta State trended on the Internet. It was alleged that the police officers took away the young man's vehicle – a Lexus SUV. [36] The trending video caused public outcry on social media, especially on Twitter, with the #ENDSARS hashtag trending. [37]
Just as the ENDSARS trend began on Twitter, on Monday 5 October 2020, another report surfaced of SARS officers killing a 20-year-old upcoming musician named Daniel Chibuike, popularly called Sleek in his neighbourhood. [38] Sleek was said to be sitting in front of a hotel with a friend when the SARS officers approached them, prompting them to flee. According to an eyewitness, the SARS men pursued the pair, shouting "thief", before shooting Sleek as they ran through a supermarket. [38] His friend was arrested. On Thursday 8 October 2020, nationwide protests on ENDSARS started after weeks of outrage and anger with videos and pictures showing police brutality, harassment and extortion in Nigeria. The protests were led predominantly by young Nigerians in different cities alongside many activists and celebrities. [39] Nigeria Police Force disrupted the protests in some cities, throwing teargas, using water cannons and shooting at unarmed peaceful protesters as seen in Abuja and Osun. [40] This led to the death of Jimoh Isiaq in Ogbomoso, Oyo State. [41][14][42][43][44] By Wednesday, 14 October 2020, the End SARS protests were still on-going with young people in different parts of Nigeria intensifying their calls for reforms and accountability in police operations. [45] On October 20 the Nigerian Army murdered protesters at the Lekki tollgate.
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Protest_Online Condemnation
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More from Telstra
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COMMENTATOR Brian Taylor has been flown to a Melbourne hospital with minor injuries after a gas explosion at his home in Victoria's Gippsland region.
The former Collingwood and Richmond forward turned broadcaster was working on a hot water service at his Walhalla property on Wednesday afternoon when there was an explosion.
A Seven Network spokeswoman said the 59-year-old was taken to hospital for routine monitoring and observation and described his injuries as "minor".
"He's expected to make a full recovery and be back at work calling the footy this weekend," she said.
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Channel Seven commentator Brian Taylor talks to Yolngu Radio as the team prepares to call the Dreamtime game in Yolngu Matha language
"We'll continue to check in with Brian and his family throughout the course of the afternoon."
Two CFA crews responded to reports of the explosion just after midday and determined there was no fire upon arrival before declaring the scene under control.
The Erica and District Fire Brigade said the "minor gas explosion" stemmed from a gas fridge.
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Gas explosion
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Liquidity crisis
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In financial economics, a liquidity crisis refers to an acute shortage (or "drying up") of liquidity. [1] Liquidity may refer to market liquidity (the ease with which an asset can be converted into a liquid medium, e.g. cash), funding liquidity (the ease with which borrowers can obtain external funding), or accounting liquidity (the health of an institution's balance sheet measured in terms of its cash-like assets). Additionally, some economists define a market to be liquid if it can absorb "liquidity trades" (sale of securities by investors to meet sudden needs for cash) without large changes in price. This shortage of liquidity could reflect a fall in asset prices below their long run fundamental price, deterioration in external financing conditions, reduction in the number of market participants, or simply difficulty in trading assets. [2]
The above-mentioned forces mutually reinforce each other during a liquidity crisis. Market participants in need of cash find it hard to locate potential trading partners to sell their assets. This may result either due to limited market participation or because of a decrease in cash held by financial market participants. Thus asset holders may be forced to sell their assets at a price below the long term fundamental price. Borrowers typically face higher loan costs and collateral requirements, compared to periods of ample liquidity, and unsecured debt is nearly impossible to obtain. Typically, during a liquidity crisis, the interbank lending market does not function smoothly either. Several mechanisms operating through the mutual reinforcement of asset market liquidity and funding liquidity can amplify the effects of a small negative shock to the economy and result in lack of liquidity and eventually a full blown financial crisis. [3]
One of the earliest and most influential models of liquidity crisis and bank runs was given by Diamond and Dybvig in 1983. The Diamond–Dybvig model demonstrates how financial intermediation by banks, performed by accepting assets that are inherently illiquid and offering liabilities which are much more liquid (offer a smoother pattern of returns), can make banks vulnerable to a bank run. Emphasizing the role played by demand deposit contracts in providing liquidity and better risk sharing among people, they argue that such a demand deposit contract has a potential undesirable equilibrium where all depositors panic and withdraw their deposits immediately. This gives rise to self-fulfilling panics among depositors, as we observe withdrawals by even those depositors who would have actually preferred to leave their deposits in, if they were not concerned about the bank failing. This can lead to failure of even 'healthy' banks and eventually an economy-wide contraction of liquidity, resulting in a full blown financial crisis. [4]
Diamond and Dybvig demonstrate that when banks provide pure demand deposit contracts, we can actually have multiple equilibria. If confidence is maintained, such contracts can actually improve on the competitive market outcome and provide better risk sharing. In such an equilibrium, a depositor will only withdraw when it is appropriate for him to do so under optimal risk-sharing. However, if agents panic, their incentives are distorted and in such an equilibrium, all depositors withdraw their deposits. Since liquidated assets are sold at a loss, therefore in this scenario, a bank will liquidate all its assets, even if not all depositors withdraw. Note that the underlying reason for withdrawals by depositors in the Diamond–Dybvig model is a shift in expectations. Alternatively, a bank run may occur because bank's assets, which are liquid but risky, no longer cover the nominally fixed liability (demand deposits), and depositors therefore withdraw quickly to minimize their potential losses. [5]
The model also provides a suitable framework for analysis of devices that can be used to contain and even prevent a liquidity crisis (elaborated below). One of the mechanisms, that can work to amplify the effects of a small negative shock to the economy, is the balance sheet mechanism. Under this mechanism, a negative shock in the financial market lowers asset prices and erodes the financial institution's capital, thus worsening its balance sheet. Consequently, two liquidity spirals come into effect, which amplify the impact of the initial negative shock. In an attempt to maintain its leverage ratio, the financial institution must sell its assets, precisely at a time when their price is low. Thus, assuming that asset prices depend on the health of investors' balance sheet, erosion of investors' net worth further reduces asset prices, which feeds back into their balance sheet and so on. This is what Brunnermeier and Pedersen (2008) term as the "loss spiral". At the same time, lending standards and margins tighten, leading to the "margin spiral". Both these effects cause the borrowers to engage in a fire sale, lowering prices and deteriorating external financing conditions. [6][7]
Apart from the "balance sheet mechanism" described above, the lending channel can also dry up for reasons exogenous to the borrower's credit worthiness. For instance, banks may become concerned about their future access to capital markets in the event of a negative shock and may engage in precautionary hoarding of funds. This would result in reduction of funds available in the economy and a slowdown in economic activity. Additionally, the fact that most financial institutions are simultaneously engaged in lending and borrowing can give rise to a network effect. In a setting that involves multiple parties, a gridlock can occur when concerns about counterparty credit risk result in failure to cancel out offsetting positions. Each party then has to hold additional funds to protect itself against the risks that are not netted out, reducing liquidity in the market. These mechanisms may explain the 'gridlock' observed in the interbank lending market during the recent subprime crisis, when banks were unwilling to lend to each other and instead hoarded their reserves. [8]
Besides, a liquidity crisis may even result due to uncertainty associated with market activities. Typically, market participants jump on the financial innovation bandwagon, often before they can fully apprehend the risks associated with new financial assets. Unexpected behaviour of such new financial assets can lead to market participants disengaging from risks they don't understand and investing in more liquid or familiar assets. This can be described as the information amplification mechanism. In the subprime mortgage crisis, rapid endorsement and later abandonment of complicated structured finance products such as collateralized debt obligations, mortgage-backed securities, etc. played a pivotal role in amplifying the effects of a drop in property prices. [9][10]
Many asset prices drop significantly during liquidity crises. Hence, asset prices are subject to liquidity risk and risk-averse investors naturally require higher expected return as compensation for this risk. The liquidity-adjusted CAPM pricing model therefore states that, the higher an asset's market-liquidity risk, the higher its required return. [11]
Liquidity crises such as the financial crisis of 2007–2008 and the LTCM crisis of 1998 also result in deviations from the Law of one price, meaning that almost identical securities trade at different prices.
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Financial Crisis
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2018 Australian rockmelon listeriosis outbreak
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The 2018 Australian rockmelon listeriosis outbreak was an outbreak of Listeriosis, caused by the bacteria Listeria monocytogenes, later traced to rockmelon (also known as cantaloupe) grown by Rombola Family Farms[1] in the Riverina region of New South Wales, Australia. [citation needed]
The outbreak killed six people and infected a further 16 in Australia and infected two more in Singapore, who had consumed rockmelon imported from Australia. [citation needed]
The NSW Food Authority began investigating a link between an outbreak of Listeriosis and the consumption of rockmelon in January 2018. NSW Health first issued a public warning on 28 February. [2] This prompted the Australian Melon Association to warn consumers to either dispose of, or return the place of purchase, any rockmelons purchased prior to 28 February. [3]
The outbreak was ultimately determined to be due to duststorm conditions in the area. [1]
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Disease Outbreaks
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Poor rains bring optimism African locust outbreak will fade
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Poor rains bring optimism African locust outbreak will fade
By TOM ODULAApril 8, 2021 GMT
A farmer watches swarms of desert locusts that invaded his farm in Elburgon, in Nakuru county, Kenya Wednesday, March 17, 2021. It's the beginning of the planting season in Kenya, but delayed rains have brought a small amount of optimism in the fight against the locusts, which pose an unprecedented risk to agriculture-based livelihoods and food security in the already fragile Horn of Africa region, as without rainfall the swarms will not breed. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)
BARAKA, Kenya (AP) — In a convoy of pickup trucks fitted with spray guns, soldiers zoom through Baraka’ s hills leaving a trail of dust and bemused villagers in its wake.
The vehicles brake when the soldiers see the enemy: billions of invading desert locusts that have landed in a twitching swarm where a forested area meets farmland.
The deployment of soldiers among the usual agriculture officials is a testament to the seriousness of the threat as East Africa’s locust outbreak continues well into a second year. The young locusts arrive in waves from breeding grounds in Somalia, where insecurity hampers the response.
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It’s the beginning of the planting season in Kenya, but the delayed rains have brought a small amount of optimism in the fight against the locusts, though farmers still worry about their crops.
The United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization says the locust swarms have been spotted in the Rift Valley — which produces Kenya’s staple foods of maize, wheat and potatoes.
But the FAO says that as a result of the poor rains in Kenya and neighboring Ethiopia, the swarms in both countries are remaining immature. Their numbers also continue to decline due to ongoing control operations.
Without rainfall, the swarms will not breed, severely limiting the scale and extent of their threat, the FAO says in a recent update.
“For this reason, there is cautious optimism that the current upsurge is winding down in the Horn of Africa, especially if poor rains limit breeding this spring in northern Kenya and southern Ethiopia, followed by equally poor rains during the summer in northeast Ethiopia.”
Last year, authorities managed to contain what was seen as the biggest locust infestation in Kenya in 70 years, largely through coordinated aerial spraying which covered vast territories quickly.
Many of those swarms were in uninhabited areas. This year the swarms have presented a different challenge by landing in more inhabited areas. That means spraying is out of the question because it could adversely affect people and livestock, says Ambrose Nyatich, a livelihood recovery expert with the FAO.
So the delayed rains are a benefit — in part.
Desert locusts pose an unprecedented risk to agriculture-based livelihoods and food security in the already fragile Horn of Africa region amid economic crises, drought and conflict, FAO says.
A typical desert locust swarm can contain up to 150 million locusts per square kilometer, according to the East African regional body, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development. “An average swarm can destroy as much food crops in a day as is sufficient to feed 2,500 people.”
Farmers like Hannah Nyokabi in the community of Baraka — which means “blessing” in Swahili — find themselves in a difficult situation. Poor rains might lessen the locust threat but will almost certainly mean a poor harvest.
“Things have gone very bad. If you look at the farm there is nothing,” she said. “We have children who are in school, and we were depending on the farm for their fees.”
Another farmer, Anne Wa Mago, 60, called a poor harvest better than nothing.
“We are lucky (the locusts) arrived when we had not planted, otherwise they would have wiped out our produce,” she said, motioning at thousands of the voracious insects crowding a tree branch.
Groups of school children, some still in uniforms, ran around the farms snatching the locusts from the air or the ground.
To them, the swarm that recently arrived, almost blighting the sun, is a windfall like no other. A kilogram of locusts fetches money from a non-governmental organization that wants to turn the insects into livestock food.
“This is money that has come to our doorstep,” said 16-year-old John Mbithi. Anne Wangari, 12, said she had collected 35 kilograms before leaving for school.
But Nyatich with the FAO warned against using locusts for food because they could have been sprayed with insecticide.
“The initiatives that were being conducted by some organizations to try and use locusts for fish feeds or animal feeds is something that should be looked into in terms of how can we regulate it going forward maybe in the future,” Nyatich said.
AP NEWS
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Insect Disaster
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UFC Fight Night: Bisping vs. Leites
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UFC Fight Night: Bisping vs. Leites (also known as UFC Fight Night 72) was a mixed martial arts event held on 18 July 2015 at The SSE Hydro in Glasgow, Scotland. [2][3]
After previously hosting 15 events at various locations around the United Kingdom, the event was the first that the promotion has hosted in Scotland. [2] Ticket demand was high for the event, with all tickets selling out within a few hours of going on sale. [4]
The event was headlined by a middleweight bout between veteran contender Michael Bisping and former title challenger Thales Leites. [3]
Ian Entwistle was expected to face Marcus Brimage at the event. However, Entwistle pulled out of the fight in late June for undisclosed reasons. [5] He was replaced by promotional newcomer Jimmie Rivera. [6]
Konstantin Erokhin was expected to face Daniel Omielańczuk at the event. However, Erokhin pulled out of the fight in late June citing an injury and was replaced by promotional newcomer Chris de la Rocha. [7]
Jake Matthews was expected to face Mickaël Lebout at the event. However, Matthews pulled out of the fight on 9 July due to an injury and was replaced by promotional newcomer Teemu Packalén. [8]
Bec Rawlings was expected to face Joanne Calderwood at the event. However, Rawlings pulled out of the fight on 10 July due to an injury and was replaced by promotional newcomer Cortney Casey. [9]
[10]
The following fighters were awarded $50,000 bonuses:[11]
This article related to mixed martial arts is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.
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Sports Competition
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Alex Murdaugh Hit With 21 More Charges. Friday’s Bond Hearing Now Postponed
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by MANDY MATNEY and LIZ FARRELL || On the eve of a now-postponed bond hearing that many perceived as part of a behind-the-scenes plan to free Alex Murdaugh, the South Carolina Attorney General’s Office announced that the statewide grand jury had handed down seven more indictments representing an additional 21 charges against the suspended Hampton County attorney.
Murdaugh, who was arrested Oct. 14, is being held without bond at the Richland County Detention Center. He now faces a total of 53 charges in crimes that include fraud, theft, money laundering, forgery and lying to police in a Labor Day shooting incident .
”This guy is taking advantage of people he’s known since they were in diapers,” a source close to the investigations into Murdaugh’s alleged financial crimes told FITSNews.com on Thursday shortly after the latest indictments were handed down.
The new charges include:
9 counts of breach of trust with fraudulent Intent
7 counts of computer crimes
4 counts of money laundering
1 count of forgery
Late Thursday, The Island Packet reported that Murdaugh’s attorney Jim Griffin did not know about the charges until they were announced by the Attorney General’s Office.
The new charges come just three weeks after Murdaugh was indicted by the state Grand Jury on 27 charges for allegedly stealing nearly $5 million from his now-former law firm and his clients, including a law enforcement officer who was injured in the line of duty and the heirs of the woman who helped raise Murdaugh’s children.
As of Thursday, Murdaugh is accused of stealing more than $6.2 million in alleged schemes dating back to 2016.
Murdaugh stands accused of creating bank accounts under a fake business name that closely resembled that of Forge Consulting LLC, a legitimate agency that is used by lawyers to manage settlement money for clients.
In June 2016, Murdaugh allegedly told his client Johnny Bush that he had spent $100,000 of his settlement money on accident reconstruction for Bush’s case. Instead, Murdaugh had a check written for $95,000 to “Forge,” under the guise that the money was for Bush’s “structured funds.”
Murdaugh allegedly deposited the money in a “Forge” bank account and used the money for himself, withdrawing some as cash, paying credit card bills and writing checks to associates.
In August 2016, Murdaugh allegedly had a $90,000 check written from his now-former law firm’s client trust account with the description “RE: Jamian Risher” and made out to “Forge.” The money “was supposed to be compensation to Jamian Risher (of Hampton County) for his injuries.”
Murdaugh then deposited the money in his Forge bank account and used the money to pay his credit cards, withdraw as cash and write checks to himself and associates, according to the indictments.
Three years later, between August and November 2019, Murdaugh is accused of using more than $5,000 of Risher’s settlement money for personal travel to New York. Murdaugh allegedly pretended that the more than $5,000 he spent on the flight and meals was an expense related to Risher’s case.
In August 2018, Murdaugh allegedly convinced Jordan Jinks, a longtime friend of the family who had come to Murdaugh for help, that his now-former law firm had to hold $85,000 of Jinks’ settlement proceeds to “satisfy a medical insurance lien.”
Murdaugh is accused of taking the money for himself and depositing it into his Forge bank account, which he used for credit card payments, withdrew as cash and wrote checks to associates.
Murdaugh is accused of doing this same thing two months later with an additional $65,000 of Jinks’ settlement money, again telling Jinks that the money was to pay a medical lien stemming from Jinks’ injuries.
Murdaugh is also accused of forging Jinks’ signature on a “disbursement sheet” in which Jinks was ostensibly acknowledging and approving that he received the money that Murdaugh allegedly stole.
In April 2019, Murdaugh is accused of gaining the trust of the personal representative for the Blondell Gary estate in Hampton County and taking $112,500 of the estate’s money from his now former law firm’s client trust account. Murdaugh allegedly deposited this money in his Forge bank account and used it to pay family members, pay credit card bills, withdraw as cash and write checks to associates.
Between February and July 2020, a man named Christopher Anderson came to Alex Murdaugh for help. Anderson, of Hampton County, was hurt on the job and was supposed to receive a $750,000 check for his injuries, according to court documents.
Through his “Forge account” Murdaugh stole the $750,000 from Anderson and told him that the money was being held in an annuity account for structured settlements, according to the indictment.
Between November and December 2020, Murdaugh convinced a Colleton County client who was representing the estate of Sandra Taylor that the total wrongful death recovery of the estate would only be $30,000 and that he wasn’t going to take a fee because it was “so low,” according to the indictment.
Murdaugh actually recovered more than $180,000 in the settlement and stole more than $150,000 through his infamous “Forge” account, according to the indictment.
Latest Bond Hearing
A bond hearing for Murdaugh — on the 27 charges he received the week of Nov. 15 — was scheduled for online at 9 a.m. Friday, Dec. 10, according to Attorney General Alan Wilson’s office.
However, late Thursday evening the decision was made to postpone the hearing, according to sources close to the investigation.
Judge Alison Lee will preside over the hearing Friday due to a recent move by the S.C. Supreme Court that some have seen as a concerning contradiction to an earlier judicial assignment.
Judge Clifton Newman was hand-picked by the court in September to handle criminal matters related to Alex Murdaugh. The assignment was made in a good faith as a way to address any public worry that the Murdaugh family’s influence could result in conflicts of interest or even favoritism in the courtroom.
After Judge Newman denied Murdaugh bond in October, Murdaugh’s attorneys moved to override the judge’s decision and filed a writ of habeas corpus with the state Supreme Court. The court has not yet ruled on that request.
Then last week, the S.C. Supreme court issued an order stating that Lee, the current responding judge of the state grand jury, will handle initial bail matters for Alex Murdaugh on charges that were brought by the state grand jury.
Lee has been criticized by this news outlet multiple times for giving bond to violent offenders in the past.
In fact, she was blocked from becoming a federal judge because of her penchant for excessive judicial leniency.
Lee also was denied a seat on the S.C. appeals court because lawmakers were concerned about her doling out bond to violent criminals.
On Thursday, our founding editor Will Folks wrote about the reactions some in the legal community have had to Lee’s assignment:
“The specific wording of the order (above) is troubling as it authorizes Lee to set bail and hear “any motions to adjust the amount or conditions of bail for defendants” indicted by the statewide grand jury.
“‘Defendants’ being the operative word …
“Some attorneys have speculated Harpootlian and Griffin will argue Lee is empowered to address Newman’s denial of bond because Murdaugh is a defendant under indictment by the statewide grand jury – even though the charges on which he is currently detained were filed in the S.C. fourteenth judicial circuit.”
Growing Legal Problems for Murdaugh
In addition to his litany of criminal charges, Murdaugh, 53, is also a defendant in seven active civil complaints — three of which are related to a 2019 fatal boat crash involving his son Paul, who was murdered alongside his mother this past June.
Murdaugh was named a person of interest in the murders, according to his own attorney Jim Griffin. There have been no arrests made thus far.
He is being sued in two separate actions by his brother and a former law partner for a combined total of more than $500,000 in unpaid debts. He has signed two “confessions of judgment” in those cases, which ostensibly prioritizes those debts over others.
He is also being sued by the family of Gloria Satterfield, from whom he is alleged to have stolen $3.6 million, and by his former law firm Peters, Murdaugh, Parker, Eltzroth and Detrick , who say he “converted” client and firm money into personal use.
A federal lawsuit filed by his insurance company in 2019 was dismissed in September.
The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division is currently investigating several cases potentially connected to Murdaugh, including:
allegations of obstructing justice in the boat crash investigation
financial irregularities reported by his now-former law firm
the 2018 suspicious death of the Murdaugh’s domestic employee, Gloria Satterfield
the 2015 suspicious death of Stephen Smith , a 19-year-old Hampton man and former classmate of Murdaugh’s older son, Buster
allegations of scheming to steal and launder settlement money from an unknown number of clients
The South Carolina Bar suspended Alex Murdaugh’s license to practice law in September.
*****
ABOUT THE AUTHOR..
Mandy Matney is the news director at FITSNews. She’s an investigative journalist from Kansas who has worked for newspapers in Missouri, Illinois, and South Carolina before making the switch to FITS. She currently lives on Hilton Head Island where she enjoys beach life. Mandy also hosts the Murdaugh Murders podcast . Want to contact Mandy? Send your story ideas, comments, suggestions and tips to [email protected] .
*****
ABOUT THE AUTHOR …
(Via: Provided)
Liz Farrell is the new executive editor at FITSNews. She was named 2018’s top columnist in the state by South Carolina Press Association and is back after taking a nearly two-year break from corporate journalism to reclaim her soul. Email her at [email protected] or tweet her @ElizFarrell .
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Famous Person - Commit Crime - Investigate
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Tenerife flood of 2002
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The Tenerife flood of 2002 (Spanish: Riada de Tenerife de 2002), also known as 31-M, was a flash flood caused by a cold drop that occurred in the Santa Cruz de Tenerife area of Tenerife, Spain, on 31 March 2002. 232.6 litres per square metre of rain fell in less than six hours, causing the deaths of eight people, and damage that was initially estimated at €90 million. On the afternoon of 31 March 2002, Easter Sunday, a 10,000 metres (33,000 ft) high convective weather system (a cold drop) became anchored in the Santa Cruz de Tenerife region. Heavy rain started to fall at 14:40, exceeding 60mm/hour at 16:20pm, and peaking around 17:00 with 162.7 mm/hour of rain. The rate decreased after 17:30, dropping to 30mm/hour by 18:10, and stopping by 20:00. In total, 232.6 litres of rain fell per square metre. [1]
It is still unknown how the convective system anchored itself, despite winds from the south: such a system in the area would normally move north within an hour. [1]
It was the highest rainfall recorded in Santa Cruz for at least 70 years, although 264 litres of rain per square metre fell in 24 hours in the nearby city of San Cristóbal de La Laguna in 1977. [1]
Eight people died as a result of the floods, which affected 647 houses and 423 commercial buildings. There were 40,000 power outages (restored within 72 hours), and 90,000 landline telephone outages (restored within 24 hours, mobile phone outages lasting longer), as well as and water supply and sewer system failures. [1][2] The Port of Santa Cruz de Tenerife and Tenerife North Airport were both closed by the floods, as was the Cabildo de Tenerife and schools for 38,000 students. [2]
The damage was initially estimated at €90 million, but this was later revised down. [1] Infrastructure repairs cost €21 million, while €8.7 million was spent on cleaning and improving water outlet ravines, and €1.45 million on improving the drainage around Los Valles. [2]
The May 2002 visit of Juan Carlos I of Spain to the islands included meeting the relatives of those that died in the floods. [3]
In 2003, artist Felipe Hodgson donated a bust entitled "Persona que mira al horizonte" ("Person looking at the horizon") to Santa Cruz. [4]
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Floods
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13 Celebrities Who Married Their High School Sweethearts
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To those who left their first loves long in the past, the idea of marrying their high school sweetheart may be way too distant to even contemplate. (We change a lot in our formative years!) But some relationships that started in adolescence have gone on to last a lifetime. Take these 13 celebrities who married their high school sweethearts. They're still with them to this day, even though fame altered their lives almost completely. Some of these couples still in the early years of their marriages, while others have decades of partnership under their belts. And while some got together as teens and have stayed together the entire time, in other cases, things were a little more on-and-off. So read on to find out more about these 13 long-time couples who first met way back when. And for more famous pairs who have been together for years, check out 12 Beloved, Long-Term Celebrity Couples, Then and Now. 1 Jon Bon Jovi and his high school sweetheart had a fun wedding: They got married in Las Vegas! The musician and Dorothea Hurley tied the knot in Nevada in 1989 when they snuck off to the city while he was on tour. When People asked them about the secret to their long relationship, the Bon Jovi frontman said, "Mutual respect. Having grown up together and grown together. And we really like each other. We want to hang out." Hurley added, "I always said I was good at spotting potential too. I have a gift." Together, they have four children. Some celebs marry their high school sweethearts, and some go a very different route. Check out these 22 Celebrities Who Married Their Biggest Fans. 2 NBA superstar LeBron James and Savannah Brinson have been together since before James became one of the greatest basketball players of all time. “[Savannah] was down when I was at my high school, no cameras, no lights,” James told The Hollywood Reporter in 2018. “And she was there with me. You wouldn't be talking to me right now if it weren't for her.” The couple has been married since 2013 and have three children. James and Brinson have moved in and out of their home state of Ohio during his career. For celebs who have followed a similar path, check out 24 Celebrities Who Still Live in Their Hometown. 3 U2 singer Bono and his wife Ali Hewson met during high school in Ireland and started dating when they teens. In 2016, the two were interviewed on the red carpet for Glamour's Women of the Year event, and it was 40 years to the day since they got together. "We were teenagers, went to the same high school, and just so happens it was this afternoon I walked her to her bus," Bono said. "Isn't that mad?" They pair have four children. Want to remember the couple was all the rage when you were in high school yourself? This Was the Biggest Celebrity Couple the Year You Graduated. 4 Actor-turned-director Ron Howard has been married to Cheryl Howard since 1975. “I met her, and there was never anybody else,” he told People in 2019. “People say, ‘How’d you do it?’ There’s no technique. There’s no tactic other than communication is really important. You have to learn to communicate and have difficult conversations in constructive ways." He added, "Beyond that, there’s an element of luck because people either grow together or they don’t and I don’t think you can force that.” The Howards have four children, including actor/director Bryce Dallas Howard, and a few grandchildren, too. 5 Country singer Thomas Rhett and Lauren Akins met when they were children and ended up dating briefly in high school. “She was just like the All-American, friendliest, nicest. She was tall, blond, beautiful, pretty much the total package for any dude from sixth grade all the way through high school,” Rhett told the Tennessean in 2016. He and Akins got back together for good in their early 20s, got engaged six months later, and have been married since 2012. They now have three children.
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Famous Person - Marriage
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Paul Vaughan's contract was torn up for COVID breach
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Dismissed St George-Illawarra front-rower Paul Vaughan has apologised for the COVID-19 breach that led to his sacking , labelling his actions 'stupid, unexplainable and irresponsible'. The 30-year-old was among 13 Dragons players that have been fined and suspended after being involved in a breach of the NRL's COVID protocols surrounding the current coronavirus outbreak, with the group attending a party at Vaughan's house on Saturday night . Vaughan - who has already been caught previously breaching the game's COVID protocols , after he was found visiting a cafe in Wollongong last season at the height of the pandemic - was initially fined $50,000 and suspended for eight matches before the Dragons decided to rip up his contract. After news of his sacking became official, Vaughan used social media to apologise for his actions, explaining that his decision to host the party were at detriment to the entire rugby league code and its stakeholders. "Firstly I am sorry," Vaughan posted on his Instagram account. "My actions were stupid, unexplainable and irresponsible. "The events that took place on the weekend were thoughtless and disrespectful to not only the game that I love, but to all of the sponsors, members and fans as well as the broader community. "The reality is, I should have known better and I am truly sorry. "I have let a lot of people down through my actions, and I hope that this sincere apology shows how deeply sorry I am and that I realise the enormity and stupidity of what I have done." In a separate interview on NRL 360, Vaughan was again remorseful for his actions and hoped that he could get a second chance continue his NRL career. "I really never wanted this to happen and I‘d love to continue playing NRL," Vaughan said. "I still have a burning desire to not only continue to play but to prove myself to people that I’m a good person and repay the faith. "Doing the right thing. That’s the biggest thing. It’s broken my heart. It’s something that’s caused me a lot of pain. I’m a good person, I truly believe that. I want to show people that. "I never wanted this to happen and I understand the community and the people in the NRL, the angst that it’s caused them. I never wanted that to happen."
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Tear Up Agreement
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Britain leaves the European Union, leaps into the unknown
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By Jill Lawless and Raf Casert Associated Press,Updated January 31, 2020, 6:34 p.m. Brexit supporters celebrated during a rally in London on Friday.Frank Augstein/Associated Press LONDON (AP) — So long, farewell, auf wiedersehen, adieu. With little fuss and not much fanfare, Britain left the European Union on Friday after 47 years of membership, taking a leap into the unknown in a historic blow to the bloc. The U.K.s departure became official at 11 p.m., midnight in Brussels, where the EU is headquartered. Thousands of enthusiastic Brexit supporters gathered outside Britain’s Parliament cheered as the hour struck. They had been hoping for this moment since Britain’s 52%-48% vote in June 2016 to walk away from the club it had joined in 1973. Prime Minister Boris Johnson called Britain’s departure “a moment of real national renewal and change.” But many Britons mourned the loss of their EU identity, and some marked the passing with tearful vigils. There was also sadness in Brussels as British flags were quietly removed from the bloc’s many buildings. Whether Brexit makes Britain a proud nation that has reclaimed its sovereignty, or a diminished presence in Europe and the world, will be debated for years to come. While Britain’s exit is a historic moment, it only marks the end of the first stage of the Brexit saga. When Britons wake up on Saturday, they will notice very little change. The U.K. and the EU have given themselves an 11-month “transition period” — in which the U.K. will continue to follow the bloc’s rules — to strike new agreements on trade, security and a host of other areas. The now 27-member EU will have to bounce back from one of its biggest setbacks in its 62-year history to confront an ever more complicated world as its former member becomes a competitor, just across the English Channel. French President Emmanuel Macron called Brexit a “historic alarm signal” that should force the EU to improve itself. Advertisement “It’s a sad day, let’s not hide it,” he said in a televised address. “But it is a day that must also lead us to do things differently.” He insisted that European citizens need a united Europe “more than ever,” to defend their interests in the face of China and the United States, to cope with climate change and migration and technological upheaval. In the many EU buildings of Brussels on Friday, British flags were quietly lowered, folded and taken away. This is the first time a country has left the EU, and many in the bloc rued the day. EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen lamented that “as the sun rises tomorrow a new chapter for our union of 27 will start." But she warned Brexit day would mark a major loss for the U.K. and said the island nation was heading for a lonelier existence. “Strength does not lie in splendid isolation, but in our unique union," she said. U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson insisted post-Brexit Britain would be “simultaneously a great European power and truly global in our range and ambitions.” “We want this to be the beginning of a new era of friendly cooperation between the EU and an energetic Britain,” Johnson said in a pre-recorded address to the country broadcast an hour before Britain's exit. In a break with usual practice, independent media outlets were not allowed to film Johnson’s speech, which the government recorded Thursday at 10 Downing St. Johnson won an election victory in December with a dual promise to “get Brexit done” and deliver improved jobs, infrastructure and services for Britain’s most deprived areas, where support for leaving the EU is strongest. On Friday, he symbolically held a Cabinet meeting in the pro-Brexit town of Sunderland in northeast England, rather than in London. Advertisement Johnson is a Brexit enthusiast, but he knows many Britons aren’t, and his Conservative government aimed to mark the moment with quiet dignity. Red, white and blue lights illuminated government buildings and a countdown clock projected onto the prime minister’s Downing Street residence. There was no such restraint in nearby Parliament Square, where arch-Brexiteer Nigel Farage gathered a crowd of several thousand, who belted out the patriotic song “Land of Hope and Glory” as they awaited a moment that even Farage sometimes doubted would ever come. Londoner Donna Jones said she had come to "be part of history.” "It doesn't mean we're anti-Europe, it just means we want to be self-sufficient in a certain way,” she said. But Britons who cherished their membership in the bloc — and the freedom it bought to live anywhere across of 28 countries — were mourning. "Many of us want to just mark our sadness in public," said Ann Jones, who joined dozens of other remainers on a march to the EU's mission in London. "And we don't want trouble, we just want to say, well you know, we didn't want this.” Britain’s journey to Brexit has been long, rocky — and far from over. Advertisement The U.K. was never a wholehearted EU member, but actually leaving the bloc was long considered a fringe idea. It gradually gained strength within the Conservative Party, which has a wing of fierce “euroskeptics” — opponents of EU membership. Former Prime Minister David Cameron eventually agreed to hold a referendum, saying he wanted to settle the issue once and for all. It hasn’t worked out that way. Since the 2016 vote, the U.K. has held fractious negotiations with the EU that finally, late last year, secured a deal on divorce terms. But Britain is leaving the bloc arguably as divided as it was on referendum day. By and large, Britain's big cities voted to stay in the EU, while small towns voted to leave. England and Wales backed Brexit, while Northern Ireland and Scotland voted to remain. Candlelit vigils were held in several Scottish cities, government buildings in Edinburgh were lit up in the EU’s blue and yellow colors, and the bloc’s flag continued to fly outside the Scottish Parliament. Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said Brexit “will be a moment of profound sadness for many of us across the U.K.” “And here in Scotland, given that it is happening against the will of the vast majority of us, that sadness will be tinged with anger,” she said in a speech in Edinburgh. Sturgeon’s Scottish National Party government is demanding the right to hold a referendum on independence from the U.K., something Johnson refuses to grant. London, which is home to more than 1 million EU citizens, also voted by a wide margin to stay in the bloc. Advertisement Mayor Sadiq Khan said he was “heartbroken” about Brexit. But he insisted London would remain that welcomed all, regardless of “the color of your skin, the color of your flag, the color of your passport.” Negotiations between Britain and the EU on their new relationship are due to start in earnest in March, and the early signs are not encouraging. The EU says Britain can't have full access to the EU's single market unless it follows the bloc's rules, but Britain insists it will not agree to follow an EU rule book in return for unfettered trade. With Johnson adamant he won’t extend the transition period beyond Dec. 31, months of uncertainty and acrimony lie ahead. In the English port of Dover, just 20 miles (32 kilometers) across the Channel from France, retiree Philip Barry said he was confident it would all be worth it. “My expectation is that there may be a little bump or two in the road but in the end it will even out,” he said. "Somebody once said: short-term pain but long-term gain.”
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Withdraw from an Organization
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Police investigate financial irregularities in Cheshire's proud picture-perfect village
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In Audlem, a picture-postcard Cheshire village, residents are so proud of their quaint home that they even agreed to pay more tax to keep it pristine.
But it appears not quite everyone in the parish is so generous to the village's causes.
It has now been revealed that a police investigation has been launched over financial irregularities with the parish council's accounts - with the parish council claiming the bank account has been 'hacked'.
Read more of the top stories from across Cheshire here.
Cheshire police have confirmed they are investigation 'suspicious' activity relating to the council's bank account.
At a meeting of the council held on October 4, a member of the public asked if there had been any 'impropriety' with the council's accounts and if the council's bank account had been hacked.
Acting Chair of the council, Cllr Derek Winskill confirmed that the council was intending to 'instigate an investigation' into what he called 'recent financial issues' which would help establish the financial security of the council's accounts.
The Clerk then confirmed that there had been a 'transaction' that had been 'reversed', and that 'as far as the council was aware', no money was missing.
The parish council approved of the implementation of a subgroup to manage a six-point-plan to get to get to the bottom of the incident which Audlem Parish Council Chairman James McGregor confirmed had already started.
The plan includes:
Contacting the police
reporting to Santander fraud department
All emails and correspondence regarding the hacking and ongoing problems with access to the Parish Council bank account to be handed to the Council
Regain access to the Parish Council bank account
Once access to the account is achieved find an auditor to carry out a full audit into the activities of the Parish Council
Cheshire Association of Local Councils could be contacted for recommendations as well as independent auditors
Audlem Parish Council Chairman, James McGregor, said: "As they say [the minutes from the meeting], some money was moved out of the council account into a personal one this money was returned, the explanation for this happening made to the council was that the person involved had been hacked.
"We as a council felt that we needed to conduct a full investigation into this so that we could honestly and truthfully tell the members of Audlem exactly what had happened and make sure it never happens again.
(Image: MEN)
"We wanted to involve the public as much as possible in this process hence why we held a public meeting allowing any members of the community to come voice there concerns and ask any questions.
"At the meeting a plan was voted through which is explained in the minutes we have started working through this plan have contacted the police and the bank both of who are now looking into the incident.
Got something to say on this story? Let us know .
"There is very little else I can say at the moment due to it being a current police investigation other then as soon as we are able to we will release more information and make sure we keep everyone updated every step of the way."
Cllr McGregor also confirmed that the financial issues were not related to an elected member of the council.
Cheshire Constabulary has confirmed that the force received reports of 'possible suspicious transactions' and that enquiries are 'in the early stages'.
A spokesperson said: "On Tuesday, October 5, police received reports of possible suspicious transactions on a parish council bank account.
"Enquiries are in the early stages and officers are working closely with the council to establish exactly what has taken place.
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Famous Person - Commit Crime - Investigate
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Northwest Airlines Flight 4422 crash
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On March 12, 1948, Northwest Airlines Flight 4422 (NC95422) crashed into Mount Sanford, Alaska, with a crew of six and 24 passengers. [1] The flight was a C-54 charter flying back to the United States from Shanghai. The aircraft refueled at Anchorage (Merrill Field) and took off at 8:12 P.M. to continue on to its destination, New York City (LaGuardia Airport). Instead of following the published airway, which detoured around Mount Sanford, the aircraft flew a direct line, crashing into the mountain. [2] After the initial impact the wreckage slid down for about 3000 feet before coming to rest. [1] There were no survivors. The passengers were American merchant mariners, crew members of the tanker SS Sunset, being ferried back home. [3]
Many witnesses in the nearby town of Gulkana saw the crash, and the wreckage was initially located from the air, but it was completely inaccessible at the time. Snowstorms quickly buried it in a mountain glacier, and it was lost for over 50 years. Over the years, various individuals, lured by rumors of a secret gold cargo shipment from China, searched the mountain and came home empty-handed. Northwest pilot Marc Millican and Delta pilot Kevin McGregor had been searching the mountain together and on their own since 1995. [4]
In 1997 Millican and McGregor located a few pieces of wreckage but were unable to confirm it was from Northwest 4422. Only in 1999, after obtaining permission from the National Park Service and victims' relatives, were they able to remove wreckage confirming it was from Flight 4422. [5] No secret treasure was ever found. At the time of the crash it was determined the pilots were 23 miles (37 km) off course and may not have seen the mountain at night. An NTSB investigation in 1999 shows the propellers were spinning at high velocity when they struck the mountain, which supports this theory. [citation needed]
In addition to wreckage discovered in 1999, a mummified left hand and arm was found in the Alaska glacier. After nearly a decade, identifiable fingerprints were recovered from the remains by Edward Robinson. [6] The remains were then positively identified by Michael Grimm on September 6, 2007 using fingerprints,[7] making this the world's oldest known identification of post-mortem remains using fingerprint identification. [8] The limb was from Francis Joseph Van Zandt, a 36-year-old merchant marine from Roanoke, Virginia, one of the passengers on Flight 4422. Subsequently, using DNA from a descendant of Van Zandt, Odile Loreille, an expert in DNA analysis, was also able to identify the remains using mitochondrial and Y-DNA identification. [9] Only the remains of Francis Joseph Van Zandt were ever recovered or identified. The bodies of the remaining 29 individuals still await possible recovery. [10]
In 2013, Kevin A. McGregor published Flight Of Gold, a non-fiction account of the events of Flight 4422, the multiple previous efforts to locate and explore the crash site, and McGregor and Millican's search for the crash site and its rumored valuable cargo. [11]
Coordinates: 62°12′47″N 144°07′37″W / 62.213°N 144.127°W / 62.213; -144.127
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Air crash
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East Sale RAAF Base toxic chemical investigation expected at take a year
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The Department of Defence expects a toxic chemical investigation at the East Sale RAAF Base, in Victoria's Gippsland, to continue for the next 12 months.
Sixteen Defence sites across Australia are being tested for levels of perfluorinated chemicals (PFC) contained in firefighting foam.
Consultants Senversa will test groundwater and soil at East Sale to determine PFC levels.
The foam was used to fight liquid fuel fires at the base until 2004.
The New South Wales Environment Protection Authority has warned residents against drinking milk from cows grazing near the Williamtown RAAF Base due to high levels of the chemicals there.
A defence spokeswoman told a forum in Sale, the issues affecting defence sites interstate were being treated separately.
"What is critical to understand about the Sale community is that the hydrology and the soil compounds are very different to what's been found at Williamtown, so therefore we have got a different element of investigation going on here within the same framework but we don't anticipate we'd find the same activity there," she said.
She said there was no evidence that exposure to the chemicals caused adverse health effects and health warnings the NSW EPA issued last year were precautionary.
"Every site needs to be considered on its merits and the East Sale, the Sale community has very different hydrogeology and clay activity in their soils, so we need to actually look at what we find, if anything, at East Sale," she said.
Chemical testing will also be conducted at the Heart Morass wetland.
Stormwater from the East Sale RAAF Base drains onto the popular duck hunting site.
Gary Howard from Field and Game Australia said he was concerned about possible contamination.
"We're a little bit concerned, and I should only say a little bit concerned, about what potentially is ending up on our property and also ending up in part of the food chain in waterbirds and in particular waterfowl that we hunt and the fish that are there," he said.
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Environment Pollution
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Dr. Fauci Just Predicted What Happens Next
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We've just passed a grim coronavirus milestone: COVID-19 has now killed about as many Americans as the 1918-19 Flu. And it's nowhere near over. How can you stay safe, so you and your family don't become the next headline? Dr. Anthony Fauci, the chief medical advisor to the President and the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, spoke with Major Garrett on CBS's The Takeout to discuss just that. Read on for 8 essential points that can save your life—and to ensure your health and the health of others, don't miss these Sure Signs You've Already Had COVID. With more American deaths than the 1918-19 Flu, 675,000 and counting—"That number in and of itself, no matter what you compare it with, is a daunting and I believe depressing and horrible number to see so many Americans die from an outbreak," said Dr. Fauci. "The pandemic flu of 1918 is historic. I mean, we all refer to that as historically, the mother of all outbreaks, had killed 50 to a hundred million people worldwide and 650 or so thousand people in the United States. The population of the world at that point was one third what it is now. So on a per capita basis, we are not even one third to where we were then. However we shouldn't then say, well, it's okay and diminish it. 670,000 deaths is extraordinary. And the thing that that has to be linked up with is: We don't want that to get any worse. tI's important that back in 1918, they did not have vaccines. We now have a highly effective tool to blunt this outbreak and to essentially crush it if we get ourselves in this country and the rest of the world vaccinated. So there's a similarity in the extraordinary number of deaths in both of these now, historic pandemics, but a really important difference is that we have a tool now that we did not have back then." Take advantage of that tool and get vaccinated, he begged. RELATED: Dr. Fauci Warns of "Terrible" New Death Rate Early on, "I had a fear that we would have a pandemic," said Dr. Fauci. "I have to be totally honest with you: I had really no imagination that we were going to get into the several hundreds of thousands of deaths. So this outbreak really, as we said, correctly, is the worst that we have seen on this planet in well over a hundred years. We always talk about 1918 in the context of a terrible chapter in the history of infectious diseases. Unfortunately, we are living in such a chapter now and people 50, a hundred years from now are going to be looking back at this, talking about this historical terrible pandemic that claimed so many lives, not only in the United States, but worldwide." RELATED: Signs Delta is in Your Brain, Warn Doctors Asked to compare Presidents, Fauci said Biden has an "entirely different approach towards the outbreak. In the sense of we have a team, have people at different levels with different areas of interest and expertise, addressing the outbreak right now. So I am the chief medical advisor to President Biden for COVID-19, but I also work on a very close daily basis with the Surgeon General, with a variety of other individuals with the director of the CDC, literally on a daily basis. So it is a total immersion in addressing this outbreak. Obviously there's no secret that I had to under certain circumstances come at odds with my opinion of certain scientific issues under President Trump. I didn't enjoy that. I had nothing at all against him as president or as a person, but I had to speak out when things were said that were just scientifically not true. And that projections were made that were quite unreasonable, such as the epidemic is going to go away, it's going to disappear, that certain drugs, which [were touted] as being effective, but were never proven at all under any circumstances to be effective. So that was uncomfortable. I didn't enjoy that. Whereas now, what we have is, you know, things don't always go right, but it's always focusing on the science as the fundamental basis of the decisions you make now under the current situation…..And you could make sure that what you do is always founded on fundamental scientific principles and anecdotes [don't] work. And one of the things that was a bit disturbing in the prior situation was anecdotal." RELATED: Most People Catch COVID This Way, Experts Warn Biden declared our independence from COVID around July 4th but then "we all got hit badly and taken by surprise major by the Delta variant, which was just, I mean, just when you think things are really bad when you're dealing with a historic pandemic along comes a variant that has such a strong capability of efficiently spreading from person to person that it breaks all the rules and pushes everything aside and completely dominates the picture," said Dr. Fauci. "When we were talking about hopefully being as it were independent from the virus, because we had a vaccine that we were implementing quite well at a good pace.But we add a variant—the Alpha variant, which really was not very comparatively speaking, nowhere near the transmissible capability of the Delta variant. So what can understand how you hope for, and would have wished and could predict that we would be doing very well. And then all of a sudden comes this Delta variant and bingo, all your plans are turned upside down. That happened. And that's what I mean that sometimes things don't go as well as you'd like." RELATED: These 6 States Predicted to Have Next COVID Surge Will this be a dark winter, asked Garrett? "it does not have to be," said Fauci. "And that's really the difference" between last winter and "now because we now have, even with the Delta variant, the vaccines that we have are highly effective and safe yet we still have about 70 million people in this country who are eligible for vaccination who have not yet been vaccinated. Some have reasons that when you speak to them and answer their questions, they'll change their mind. Others, for reasons that appear to be ideological and perhaps political just don't want to get vaccinated. There's no room for that when you're dealing with the public health prices. So if you're asking me, are we going to have a dark winter? You know, if we don't get the people vaccinated who need to be vaccinated, and we get that conflating with an influenza, we could have a dark, bad winter, but we could also avoid a dark, bad winter, if we get people vaccinated to a very high degree over the next several weeks to a month or two." RELATED: 6 Places You Should Never Enter Right Now, Say Virus Experts The Mu variant is "not an immediate threat," said Dr. Fauci. "It has some mutations that when you look in vitro in the test tube, it can elude antibodies such as monoclonal antibodies, antibodies associated with convalescent plasma antibodies associated with post vaccine Sera. It is potentially capable of doing that. However, it is such a very small fraction of the isolates in this country. That, that's what I mean when I say it's not an immediate threat, you have to keep your eye out on it and watch it very carefully. But the Delta variant is completely crowding that out. It's kind of like the big bully on the block that doesn't let any of the other variants in because it's so efficiently spreads from human to human." RELATED: I'm a Virus Expert and Beg You Don't Go Here Now "Is it safe to put 18,000 people inside a basketball or a hockey arena? Just to name two, without any proof of vaccination," asked Garrett. "That gets to a, to a very controversial topic," said Dr. Fauci. "And that is the proof of vaccination and who is going to document and validate and verify the vaccination. I think it's perfectly reasonable for some sports organizations to say, in order to come into this particular activity, you need to be vaccinated. And that is actually going on. There are certain situations where if you want to enter into an activity, you've got to show that you're vaccinated." RELATED: 7 Warning Signs You Have A Delta Infection Follow the public health fundamentals and help end this pandemic, no matter where you live—get vaccinated ASAP; if you live in an area with low vaccination rates, wear an N95 face mask, don't travel, social distance, avoid large crowds, don't go indoors with people you're not sheltering with (especially in bars), practice good hand hygiene, and to protect your life and the lives of others, don't visit any of these 35 Places You're Most Likely to Catch COVID.
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Disease Outbreaks
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Mumbai: Cylinder blast at Lalbaug chawl, 1 dead, 15 suffer burn injuries
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An LPG cylinder blast and subsequent fire at Lalbaug chawl killed one woman and injured 15 residents on Sunday morning. At least nine remain critically injured at hospitals with over 70 per cent burn injuries.
While the blaze was brought under control within an hour by the Mumbai Fire brigade, the incident has left all injured with over 35 per cent burns. Twelve injured were rushed to KEM hospital and four others to Masina hospital. Of them, five are senior citizens and one a 13-year-old girl.
The fire, which started around 7.30 am, gutted four rooms on the second floor of the four-storey Sarabhai building at the chawl.
Sushila Bangera (62) lived alone on the second floor. Neighbours said her two brothers had died a few years ago and she was living off savings from tailoring work she had done earlier.
She suffered 80 per cent third degree burns in the fire. Doctors said she was intubated in the morning and admitted at KEM hospital’s plastic surgery department’s intensive care unit (ICU). “Her condition was very critical and she had also inhaled a lot of smoke. She succumbed at 7.45 pm,” said a doctor.
The blast occurred at a room occupied by Rane Caterers, where its owner Mangesh Rane was staying. Residents said wedding preparations were underway at the Rane household in an adjacent building, and several cooking gas cylinders were kept in the room to prepare food for the guests. A compliance team from F South ward office’s visited the spot to assess whether the caterer had violated norms.
Two in the Rane family, Mangesh Rane (61) and Yash Rane (19), are admitted at KEM hospital. Mangesh, hospital officials said, suffered 70 per cent to 80 per cent burns and remained critical. His statement is yet to be recorded by the police.
Ten families lived on the second floor where the fire began. Among those injured are five families whose rooms were closest to the blast site.
All four members in the family of Suryakant Ambike are critical with third degree burns. Suryakant’s daughter Vaishali and his 13-year-old granddaughter Trisha were visiting the family for a few days. The fourth person to be injured in the family was Bipin, Suryakant’s son. All are admitted at Masina hospital.
Adjacent to Suryakant’s flat is Mahesh Munge’s room. Mahesh (56), his wife Mamta (48) and their son Prathmesh (27) all sustained burns and inhalation injuries. Mahesh and Prathmesh are critical while Mamta is stable.
Roshan Andhari (40), a first floor resident, slept in a relative’s room on the second floor every night. On Sunday morning, he was asleep alone when the fire started. He suffered 70 per cent to 80 per cent burns on hands, back, legs and face and is admitted at KEM hospital’s ICU. His entire family managed to rush outside when the blast shook the building.
Chief Fire Officer Kailash Hivrale said: “Gas had started leaking from the room. It must have first accumulated in the room and then spread to the common passage. Residents said that when they smelled the gas, they informed the caterer owner. One of his workers opened the door and a spark led to the cylinder blast.”
Kiran Khatu, a third floor resident, said that Mangesh’s daughter is scheduled to be married and he had shifted cylinders and raw material for cooking in the room. “Initially, when a neighbour informed him about the smell, Mangesh ignored it. When the first cylinder burst, fire spread across the common passage. We then heard a huge explosion and rushed out,” he added.
Shiv Sena corporator Anil Kokil rushed to the spot and helped firemen to evacuate people. Later, he arranged the remaining residents to stay in a nearby hotel.
KEM Dean Dr Hemant Deshmukh said: “All those admitted here have sustained serious injuries except two. We will have to monitor them for infection for a few days.” He added that one of the injured has also suffered a chest injury. “They all have inhaled smoke. We have kept ventilators on standby. A team of doctors from general surgery, plastic surgery, ophthalmology, orthopaedics, chest medicine and ENT are monitoring the patients,” Deshmukh said.
An official from Masina hospital said the four injured persons, the Ambike family, under their care are admitted in the ICU. “A family of four, including parents, son and daughter, have been admitted to the specialised burns unit. While the father has suffered 94.5 per cent burns, the son has suffered 92 per cents burns, The mother and daughter have got 60 per cent burns each. All four are critical but hemodynamically stable,” the hospital spokesperson said
Later in the day, Mayor Kishori Pednekar visited the building and KEM hospital. Civic officials said the fire spread to the second floor common passage and destroyed the wall between rooms 16 and 17. In one of the rooms, the entire window section was destroyed. The Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority has been directed to begin repair works, said officials.
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Gas explosion
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WFP Warns of Countdown to Catastrophe as Acute Hunger Reaches New Peak
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“Tens of millions of people are staring into an abyss. We’ve got conflict, climate change and COVID-19 driving up the numbers of the acutely hungry, and the latest data show there are now more than 45 million people marching towards the brink of starvation,” said WFP Executive Director David Beasley after a trip to Afghanistan, where WFP is ramping up its support to assist almost 23 million people. “Fuel costs are up, food prices are soaring, fertilizer is more expensive, and all of this feeds into new crises like the one unfolding now in Afghanistan, as well as long-standing emergencies like Yemen and Syria,” he added. WFP and its humanitarian partners are ramping up efforts to assist millions of people facing starvation. However, the needs are vastly surpassing available resources at a time when traditional funding streams are overstretched. The cost of averting famine globally now stands at US$ 7 billion, up from US$ 6.6 billion earlier in the year. “As the cost of humanitarian assistance rises exponentially, we need more funds to reach families across the globe who have already exhausted their capacity to cope with extreme hunger,” he added. Families facing acute food insecurity are also being forced to make devastating choices to cope with the rising hunger. WFP’s vulnerability analysis across the 43 countries shows families being forced to eat less, or skip meals entirely, feeding children over adults, and in some extreme cases being forced to eat locusts, wild leaves, or cactus to survive – as in Madagascar. In other areas, families are forced to marry off children early or pull them out of school, sell off assets like livestock or what little else they have left. Meanwhile media reports from Afghanistan point to families reportedly being forced to sell their children in a desperate attempt to survive. Food prices hit a ten-year high this month, according to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization’s Food Price Index. This not only pushes food out of reach for millions of the poorest around the globe, but it also increases the cost of procuring food on global markets. Added to this are the high prices of fuel which also increases transportation costs and places a further strain on global supply chains – shipping a container cost US$1,000 a year ago, but now costs US$4,000 or more. This year, WFP has already been undertaking the biggest operation in its history – targeting 139 million people across the 85 countries where it operates. This work covers both emergency food and nutrition needs, as well as work with partners to build resilience and increase the self-reliance of the poorest and most vulnerable people on the planet.
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Famine
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Ship went down in 20 minutes as German raider's mine struck off Farewell Spit
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The word came through early on the morning of September 18, 1917. Two lifeboats packed with shipwreck survivors were being towed towards the Port of Nelson. That news created a sensation like no other ever seen before in the fledgling city. From 4pm, well over a thousand Nelsonians began gathering on the main dock, excitedly waiting for a first glimpse of the rescued men soon expected in. Nelson’s first-ever flashmob proved to be a most welcoming reception. Mayor William Snodgrass set up a relief effort on the spot and a committee was whipped up to arrange accommodation and general care for all the men when they arrived. It is recalled that the great cheer which erupted when it was announced that there had been no loss of life amongst the 60 crew onboard was heard all around Nelson. READ MORE: * Stewart Island/Rakiura: Wonders of the Third Island * Child's play behind Kiwi inventor's billion dollar brainwave * Enigmatic dinoprints continue to fascinate Initially, all details about the shipwreck, even the ship’s name, were suppressed due to wartime secrecy. Rumours ran rife until it was finally revealed that the rescued crew were from the S.S. Port Kembla, a Commonwealth and Dominion Line ship (121m, 4,700 GRT) which had been bound for London via New Zealand. Loaded in Australia just six days before, it was carrying a full cargo of frozen produce, wool, skins, tallow, jams, 1,200 tons of lead to make munitions, and 465 mail bags, 270 of which were destined for New Zealand. Slowly the details emerged. A massive yet muffled explosion had been felt from the starboard side at 1am when the ship was 11 miles (17km) off Farewell Spit. At the enquiry, one of the crew recalled it like this; “I was only half awakened by the explosion, my first impression was that the vessel had struck a heavy sea…then I heard the Captain calling out 'She’s going! Call all hands!’ I was quickly on deck’” Desperate attempts were made to send out a distress call but the force of the explosion had completely shattered not only the compass but the ship’s aerial meaning all radio contact was lost. In the dark, the crew had just enough time to launch two lifeboats in the water before the ship sunk, exactly 20 minutes after the explosion. Most befittingly, Captain Jack along with his first and third officers remained on deck as the ship listed. As water washed over the deck, they jumped into the water and swam towards the lifeboats, but it was impossible to reach them so thick was the debris. After one hour in the water, clinging with their lives to what floated, they were finally hauled to safety. The two lifeboats with 30 men apiece floated together until 6.30 am when they were spotted by the crew of the coaster Regulus which earlier that morning had departed Nelson bound for Westport. After taking the two lifeboats in tow, the rescue ship turned back for Nelson. Despite the secrecy, the cause of the suspicious explosion became hotly debated in the newspapers of the day. Reports circulated that a strong smell of sulphur made some of the crew ill, and that a hurried inspection of the damage before the ship sunk pointed to an internal explosion. Could it have been a bomb? A Russian seaman who had worked as a greaser on the ship was an instant suspect as he had deserted the ship just before it left Australia on 12 September 1917. Although he was duly tracked down and arrested on a charge of desertion, nothing else could be pinned on him. The official inquiry held in Wellington reached the conclusion that an internal bomb was the most likely the cause of the ship’s sinking, possibly planted by one of the volunteer loaders in Australia. That all changed when it was discovered by military intelligence that a merchant raider of the Imperial German Navy called SMS Wolf had lately been in New Zealand waters, and over the night of June 27/28 1917, this ship had laid a string of 35 mines off Farewell Spit. Some were left floating, with the intention that tidal currents would take them into sea lanes of Cook Strait where they would seriously disrupt shipping in and out of Wellington. Other mines were secured by chain and anchors to lay exactly four metres below the surface. Deep enough for small vessels of shallow draft to avoid, but shallow enough to put larger and far more strategic supply ships in the firing line. The voyage of the Wolf with its crew of 348 men under the command of the wily Captain Nerger would become well documented once the war ended. In her 15 months at sea, during which the German Navy presumed her sunk, the Wolf captured and scuttled 14 Allied cargo ships in the Pacific, including two around the Kermadecs, and set mines which sunk another 13. Before ships were scuttled, all their coal and supplies would be taken aboard the Wolf, meaning the raider never had to land anywhere to provision. It was the ultimate pirate ship, causing the loss of 114,279 GRT of shipping. Fitted with concealed 8/15cm and 3/5.2cm guns, 4/50cm torpedo tubes, and loaded with 465 Hertz horn mines plus a FF33 seaplane for scouting, this 135m-long ship sailed from the port of Kiel in late 1916, its orders to disrupt the shipping and cause havoc in distant Allied countries. After dropping its mines off Farewell Spit, it headed north to lay another 25 between Cape Reinga and Three Kings Islands before sailing across the Tasman to create more menace around Australian ports. In June 1918, ten months after the Wolf was in New Zealand waters, the trans-Tasman liner Wimmera struck one of the Wolf’s mines off Cape Maria van Diemen in The Far North with the loss of 36 lives. The heaviest Wolf-caused loss of life became the Spanish mail steamer Carlos de Einzaguirre which was on the way from Calais to Manila. Striking a mine that the Wolf laid near Cape Town, 134 perished, including 12 women and 5 children, when the ship went down in just four minutes Only 24 survived. The sinking of the Port Kembla created much discussion in New Zealand. Apart from the foodstuffs and lead destined for England, also lost aboard the ship were several tons of Red Cross parcels destined for ANZAC soldiers serving abroad. More importantly was the high morale loss of mail, back then considered a vital lifeline back ‘home’ to England. One idea mooted was that mail should be henceforth carried in waterproof bags above deck rather than in the hold, so that in the event of a sinking there was a greater chance of saving it. Today, the wreck of Port Kembla lies at a depth of 96 metres (315 ft) and was first visited and filmed by deep sea divers Simon Mitchell and Pete Mesley using nitrox in 2012. They retrieved the ship’s bell and a couple of dining plates inscribed ‘Commonwealth and Dominion Line’, but nothing else. Observed Mesley; “Huge numbers of fish lived around the wreck, common roughy, southern bastard cod, schools of terakahi, and massive crayfish right out in the open as if they owned the place.” But exactly who owns the ship’s cargo of lead, worth today around $1.5m as scrap, is something that may well have to be established if it is to be ever salvaged one day, as has been periodically talked about. Like all our Nelson stories, it was lovingly crafted by a team of dedicated reporters, editors and visual journalists. The work they do to cover big issues like housing, transport and central city development, and celebrate the people of this region, doesn't come cheap. So we're asking for your support today.
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Shipwreck
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Indian Armed Forces and the Jammu and Kashmir floods, 2014
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In the wake of heavy monsoon rain and flash floods in Jammu and Kashmir, which allegedly killed over four hundred and rendered hundreds of thousands homeless, the Indian Armed Forces were deployed in increasing numbers starting 2 September 2014 to conduct search, rescue, relief, relocation, humanitarian assistance and rehabilitation missions in Jammu and Kashmir. By 18 September, over 200,000 people were rescued from the various parts of Jammu and Kashmir by the Armed forces. The Jammu and Kashmir floods, the worst in a century according to Omar Abdullah, the Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir, paralyzed the state government. Omar Abdullah, responding to public criticism, told the media "I had no government" in the first few days following the floods, as "My secretariat, the police headquarters, the control room, fire services, hospitals, all the infrastructure was underwater." Adding "I had no cell phone and no connectivity. I am now starting to track down ministers and officers. "[6] The Jammu and Kashmir floods of 2014 have been blamed on heavy rainfall, about 8 inches (200mm) on 4 September alone, on climate change, unplanned and uncontrolled development, encroachment of river banks, lakes, ponds, and massive loss of wet lands, absence of local government flood forecasting system, and poor governance. [7] The Armed Forces humanitarian assistance mission in response to the floods was named Mission Sahayata (assistances). Northern Command's humanitarian assistance to Civil authorities was named 'Operation Megh Rahat'. [8][9] The Indian Army, Air Force, and the Navy, committed large resources to the assistance mission including over 30,000 troops ( 21,000 in Srinagar, and 9000 in Jammu), 15 engineer task forces, 84 Indian Air Force and Army Aviation Corps fixed wing transport aircraft and helicopters, naval commandos and rescue specialists, and Base Hospital, four field hospitals, over 106 medical detachments. "Operation Megh Rahat", ended on 19 September 2014, but "Operation Sadbhavna", the relief and medical assistance support, according to government press release, will continue in "close synergy with the civil administration and the police". [11]
The organization, structure, laws, protocol, and arrangements for disaster management at the Federal and State level are outlined in a manual titled Disaster Management in India, and the Disaster Management Act, 2005, which provides for "the effective management of disasters" in India. The Disaster Management Division (DM Division), under the Secretary, Border Management, Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), Government of India, is responsible for " response, relief and preparedness for natural calamities". The Head of Disaster Management Division is G.V.V. Sarma, Joint Secretary. The head of Border management is Ms Sneh Lata Kumar, Secretary, Border Management. [14]
The National Emergency Operation Centre (NEOC), is responsible for the preparation of the National Disaster Management Plan for the whole country and to ensure that it is "reviewed and updated annually". [13] The Chief of the Integrated Defence Staff of the Chiefs of Staff Committee, is an ex officio member of the NEC. NEOC is mandated to function twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. The NEOC is responsible for monitoring the disaster or disaster like situation, receive updates from federal Early Warning(EW) Agencies like the India Meteorological Department (IMD), Central Water Commission, Snow & Avalanche Study Establishment. After processing the information NOEC submits its report and updates to affected States and concerned Central Ministries and organizations. During the monsoon period, it is required to issue daily situation reports. It is not known, whether the NEOC was functioning in Jammu and Kashmir prior to the floods, and whether it received the EW from IMD, and reported to the state government. The NEOC is also required to upload its EW reports on its website www.ndmindia.nic.in. [15]
There was no warning of the heavy rain or the floods. The people, the state and the armed forces in the area, were caught unaware by the 2014 floods. None of the Federal or the State Government agencies responsible for monitoring natural disasters and providing early warning, such as [a] Floods -Central Water Commission [b] Landslide hazard – Geological Survey of India (GSI) [c] Avalanche – Defence Research & Development Organization (DRDO) [d] Disaster Management Support (DMS) – Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), and [e] Weather- India Meteorological Department (IMD), forecast the floods. Knowledgeable observers have singled out the Central Water Commission, which was tardy even during the Uttarakhand floods, in 2013, for criticism. Even as late as 15 September 2014, the web site of the Central Water Commission, Ministry of Water Resources, Government of India, Flood Forecast Bulletins, showed a blank. [18] The Disaster Management Division which is responsible for compiling inputs from all the agencies in a 'Situation report', in its situation report for 2 September 2014, made no mention of the threat of rain or floods in Jammu and Kashmir. As a result, two days later as the water levels rose and the rivers were in spate, and overflowing, there were no National Disaster Response Force assets at hand in Jammu and Kashmir. They started to move days after the floods had hit the state, and only began to arrive in the affected area on 7 and 8 September. The first Situation report of the Disaster Management Division that mentions the floods is dated 7 September. The web site of the DM Division as late as 15 September was a blank. [19] In 2010, Jammu and Kashmir Flood Control Department had forecast major floods which would ravage Srinagar. But the government dismissed the report as alarmist. [20] In September 2014 three days before the Jhelum floods reached Srinagar, "the waters at Sangam near Anantnag had risen so high that the Flood Control Department couldn’t find its gauge". The Government lost three valuable days in reacting. [20] The tardy response by the State and Central Government Disaster management set up has drawn criticism.
Northern Command, along with the Advance Air HQ, located in Udhampur, is responsible for the armed forces humanitarian assistance mission, called Operation Megh [ (मेघ) in English Cloud] Rahat, in the entire Jammu and Kashmir. General Officer Commanding in Chief ( GOC-in-C), Northern Command, is Lieutenant General DS Hooda, of 4th Gorkha Rifles. XV Corps also called the Chinar Corps, based in Srinagar, is responsible for the assistance mission in the Kashmir valley. General Officer Commanding (GOC) XV Corps is Lieutenant General Subrata Saha, of the Assam Regiment. [23] XVI Corps also called White Knight Corps, based in Nagrota, is responsible for assistance mission in areas south of the Pir Panjal range. GOC XVI Corps is Lieutenant General Konsam Himalay Singh of the Rajput Regiment. In Delhi, Air Marshal P.P. Reddy, Chief of Integrated Defence Staff (IDS), who reports to chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee, is responsible for coordinating Mission Sahayata, the Armed Forces response to the floods.
The Jammu and Kashmir floods, described as a 'tragedy', by Lt Gen DS Hooda, Northern Army Commander, "became evident", on 7 September 14, the third day of incessant rains, when flood waters breached the banks of Jhelum, and submerged Srinagar, including the Badami Bagh Cantonment, disrupted " electricity, water supply and civil communications" and flooded the headquarters of XV Corps, which was responsible for "coordinating all rescue operations". [27] The flooding of headquarters XV Corps, and the Srinagar Cantonment, Hooda acknowledged, delayed the army's rescue operations in Srinagar but "only for a few hours ". The rescue operations however, did not affect rescue work in "South Kashmir", the worst affected area in the first three days, and the Jammu region.
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Floods
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Accenture Acquires LEXTA to Expand Capabilities in IT Benchmarking, Sourcing and Advisory
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LEXTA is now part of Accenture — With the acquisition Accenture expands its capabilities in IT Benchmarking, Sourcing and Advisory. Welcome on board (Graphic: Business Wire) BERLIN--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Accenture (NYSE: ACN) has acquired LEXTA, a consulting firm specialized in IT benchmarking and IT sourcing advisory. Headquartered in Berlin with additional offices in Düsseldorf, London, and Zurich, LEXTA’s team of more than 60 professionals joins Accenture’s Technology Strategy & Advisory group. LEXTA brings a proven track record in technology consulting services helping clients select the right solutions and vendors for their IT strategy. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. “Accenture’s global reach and digital expertise will enable us to take our IT advisory offerings to a larger client base across geographies. We are excited to join Accenture’s Technology Strategy & Advisory group and support our clients together on their data and tech driven journeys” Founded in 2003, LEXTA supports clients with in-depth insights on the IT provider market, offering detailed analysis and market comparisons of the quality, scope, processes and efficiency of both vendors and IT departments. LEXTA’s benchmarking and advisory services, especially for cloud, platform and application technologies, enable clients to make better, more informed decisions. “With LEXTA’s comprehensive insights, we can better help our clients define the value of technologies such as cloud or platforms even more precisely. Combining LEXTA’s data-based analysis capability and Accenture’s technology advisory skills, we will further develop our joint IT sourcing and benchmarking advisory offering to ultimately realize new value for our clients,” said Frédéric Brunier, Accenture lead for Technology Strategy & Advisory Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Russia. Working with clients across industries including utilities, logistics and manufacturing, LEXTA creates client value by increasing efficiency and effectiveness of their business and enabling clients to focus on their core operations. LEXTA’s capabilities complement Accenture’s ZBx agenda, which extends the traditional zero-based budgeting (ZBB) approach to align priorities across the organization, identify cost-saving opportunities and reinvest freed-up funds in technology-enabled business transformation. Frank Riemensperger, market unit lead for Austria, Switzerland, Germany and Russia, added: “With this acquisition, we are expanding our team of highly skilled professionals who can help shape our clients’ transformational journey. LEXTA and Accenture will join forces to give precise insights in the IT provider market and help organizations make better IT strategy decisions. I am delighted to welcome the LEXTA team on board.” “Accenture’s global reach and digital expertise will enable us to take our IT advisory offerings to a larger client base across geographies. We are excited to join Accenture’s Technology Strategy & Advisory group and support our clients together on their data and tech driven journeys,” said Frank Baumann, founder and managing partner of LEXTA. About Accenture Accenture is a global professional services company with leading capabilities in digital, cloud and security. Combining unmatched experience and specialized skills across more than 40 industries, we offer Strategy and Consulting, Interactive, Technology and Operations services — all powered by the world’s largest network of Advanced Technology and Intelligent Operations centers. Our 569,000 people deliver on the promise of technology and human ingenuity every day, serving clients in more than 120 countries. We embrace the power of change to create value and shared success for our clients, people, shareholders, partners and communities. Visit us at www.accenture.com. Forward-Looking Statements Except for the historical information and discussions contained herein, statements in this news release may constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Words such as “may,” “will,” “should,” “likely,” “anticipates,” “expects,” “intends,” “plans,” “projects,” “believes,” “estimates,” “positioned,” “outlook” and similar expressions are used to identify these forward-looking statements. These statements involve a number of risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied. Many of the following risks, uncertainties and other factors identified below are, and will be, amplified by the COVID-19 pandemic. These risks include, without limitation, risks that: the transaction might not achieve the anticipated benefits for Accenture; Accenture’s results of operations have been significantly adversely affected and could in the future be materially adversely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic; Accenture’s results of operations have been, and may in the future be, adversely affected by volatile, negative or uncertain economic and political conditions and the effects of these conditions on the company’s clients’ businesses and levels of business activity; Accenture’s business depends on generating and maintaining ongoing, profitable client demand for the company’s services and solutions including through the adaptation and expansion of its services and solutions in response to ongoing changes in technology and offerings, and a significant reduction in such demand or an inability to respond to the evolving technological environment could materially affect the company’s results of operations; if Accenture is unable to keep its supply of skills and resources in balance with client demand around the world and attract and retain professionals with strong leadership skills, the company’s business, the utilization rate of the company’s professionals and the company’s results of operations may be materially adversely affected; Accenture could face legal, reputational and financial risks if the company fails to protect client and/or company data from security incidents or cyberattacks; the markets in which Accenture operates are highly competitive, and Accenture might not be able to compete effectively; Accenture’s profitability could materially suffer if the company is unable to obtain favorable pricing for its services and solutions, if the company is unable to remain competitive, if its cost-management strategies are unsuccessful or if it experiences delivery inefficiencies or fail to satisfy certain agreed-upon targets or specific service levels; changes in Accenture’s level of taxes, as well as audits, investigations and tax proceedings, or changes in tax laws or in their interpretation or enforcement, could have a material adverse effect on the company’s effective tax rate, results of operations, cash flows and financial condition; Accenture’s ability to attract and retain business and employees may depend on its reputation in the marketplace; as a result of Accenture’s geographically diverse operations and its growth strategy to continue to expand in its key markets around the world, the company is more susceptible to certain risks; Accenture’s business could be materially adversely affected if the company incurs legal liability; Accenture’s work with government clients exposes the company to additional risks inherent in the government contracting environment; Accenture’s results of operations could be materially adversely affected by fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates; if Accenture is unable to manage the organizational challenges associated with its size, the company might be unable to achieve its business objectives; if Accenture does not successfully manage and develop its relationships with key alliance partners or fails to anticipate and establish new alliances in new technologies, the company’s results of operations could be adversely affected; Accenture might not be successful at acquiring, investing in or integrating businesses, entering into joint ventures or divesting businesses; if Accenture is unable to protect or enforce its intellectual property rights or if Accenture’s services or solutions infringe upon the intellectual property rights of others or the company loses its ability to utilize the intellectual property of others, its business could be adversely affected; Accenture’s results of operations and share price could be adversely affected if it is unable to maintain effective internal controls; changes to accounting standards or in the estimates and assumptions Accenture makes in connection with the preparation of its consolidated financial statements could adversely affect its financial results; Accenture might be unable to access additional capital on favorable terms or at all and if the company raises equity capital, it may dilute its shareholders’ ownership interest in the company; Accenture may be subject to criticism and negative publicity related to its incorporation in Ireland; as well as the risks, uncertainties and other factors discussed under the “Risk Factors” heading in Accenture plc’s most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and other documents filed with or furnished to the Securities and Exchange Commission. Statements in this news release speak only as of the date they were made, and Accenture undertakes no duty to update any forward-looking statements made in this news release or to conform such statements to actual results or changes in Accenture’s expectations.
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Organization Merge
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China suspends economic dialogue with Australia
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China on Thursday suspended an economic dialogue with Australia, stepping up a pressure campaign that began over Australian support for a probe into the origins of the coronavirus.
Beijing also has blocked imports of Australian coal, wheat, wine and other goods, plunging relations to a multi-decade low. Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s government has not offered any concessions.
The Chinese government accused Australia of taking steps “to disrupt normal exchanges” due to a “Cold War mindset and ideological discrimination.” Beijing will “indefinitely suspend all activities” under the China-Australia Strategic Economic Dialogue, said a statement by the Cabinet’s planning agency, the National Development and Reform Commission.
China holds such dialogues with Australia, the United States and some other governments to discuss trade disputes and other economic issues.
China’s relations with Australia, India and some other neighbours are increasingly strained by the ruling Communist Party’s assertiveness abroad, including claims to disputed territory and accusations Beijing is trying to influence politics in Australia and other Western democracies.
China blocked imports of most Australian goods last year after its government called for an investigation into the coronavirus, which emerged in central China in late 2019.
Chinese ministers refuse to take calls from their Australian counterparts.
China is Australia’s No. 1 foreign market, but the sanctions impact has been limited because Chinese still mills still buy Australian iron ore, the country’s most valuable export.
Last month, Australia cancelled two deals signed by the State government of Victoria with Beijing’s multibillion-dollar “Belt and Road” construction initiative on “national interest” grounds.
The Australian foreign minister said the step didn’t target “any one country,” but Beijing warned it might retaliate. Our code of editorial values
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Tear Up Agreement
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1904 Italian general strike
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The 1904 Italian general strike occurred in September 1904, marking the first general strike ever in Italy. The strike was called by the Chambers of Labor in several cities in response to several killings of striking workers, culminating in the shooting of a miner in Buggerru, Sardinia. Participation was strongest in the north and the Po Valley. The government headed by Prime Minister Giovanni Giolitti ordered local authorities to intervene as little as possible, predicting that the strike would die down on its own, which it did. Nevertheless, it shook public confidence in the strength of the state and the middle class's support for Giolitti. [1]
The country would experience many general strikes in the years following 1904, with additional general strikes in 1905, 1906, 1909, 1911, and 1914. [2]
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Strike
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Elon Musk's SpaceX may launch a tiny Canadian satellite that will livestream ads from space: report
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A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket similar to the one seen here will launch a Canadian satellite that will beam ads from space in 2022 as part of a separate mission bound for the moon. SpaceX plans to launch a Canadian advertisement-beaming satellite into space that will eventually accept payments in Dogecoin, according to a media report. Canadian startup Geometric Energy Corp. plans to send the advertising system to orbit on a small cubesat in early 2022 on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket that's bound for the moon, Business Insider reported Aug. 7. (The cryptocurrency-fueled mission was disclosed publicly in May , but not the advertising bit.) Keeping with the rideshare's cryptocurrency mission theme, purchasing advertisements for the cubesat appears to be exclusively decentralized finance options, such as Ethereum. Dogecoin — based on a meme popularized by SpaceX founder Elon Musk — is expected to be available in the future, too; Musk, 49, is a long-time ardent supporter of bitcoin, Dogecoin and other cryptocurrencies. Related: As Seen on TV: These Commercials Were Filmed in Space! According to Business Insider, the cubesat will separate from the rocket before it goes to the moon, allowing the satellite to stay in Earth orbit. Next, a selfie stick will deploy from the cubesat to film a display screen. The footage will beam directly to Twitch or YouTube to allow anyone to watch the advertisements, Business Insider said. "I'm trying to achieve something that can democratize access to space and allow for decentralized participation," Samuel Reid, CEO and co-founder of GEC, told Business Insider . "Hopefully, people don't waste money on something inappropriate, insulting or offensive." Advertising on the cubesatrequires potential purchasers to buy tokens, which will be used to claim, locate and design a pixel. GEC will have five tokens available: two for location (Beta for the X coordinate and Rho for the Y coordinate), two for pixel control (Gamma for the brightness and Kappa for the color), and XI for time — meaning, how long the advertisement will be displayed. Anyone who is interested can buy tokens, although the purchase price hasn't been released yet. Reid also made what a possible allusion to the " space cola wars " that ran on space shuttle mission STS-51F in 1985. "Maybe Coca-Cola and Pepsi will fight over their logo and reclaim over each other," he said. Reid first got connected with Musk after teaching some of the billionaire's children at the SpaceX private Ad Astra school in California. He told Business Insider this situation allowed SpaceX to take notice of his business, after hearing nothing from the company from a cold-call proposal in 2018. Reid hasn't yet met Musk in person, but Business Insider said Reid expects the CEOs to connect "directly at some point." SpaceX didn't comment when Business Insider contacted it about the cubesat cryptocurrency mission. In May, however, Musk did express a lot of enthusiasm about the larger rideshare mission, tweeting "To the mooooonnn!!" Then fresh off a Saturday Night Live star appearance where Musk joked about memes and cryptocurrency, the SpaceX CEO claimed this rideshare mission would be the first use of cryptocurrency or memes in space. Neither claim (the meme or the cryptocurrency) can be easily verified; that said, the cryptocurrency Blockstream has a satellite network that broadcasts the Bitcoin blockchain as a backup for ground network interruptions.
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New achievements in aerospace
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Diverted driver rolls car following fiery crash that killed two people on Stuart Highway
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A driver has rolled her car on the Oodnadatta Track after being diverted from the Stuart Highway, where a fiery crash killed two people and collapsed the surface of the road at the weekend. The Stuart Highway has been recently reopened after the crash, which occurred between Pimba and Glendambo in the state's far north just after midday on Saturday. The crash at Wirraminna left another person in a critical condition in hospital and also badly damaged the highway. Michelle Scotland said she was diverted from the highway and rolled her vehicle on the Oodnadatta Track on Monday She and her cat, which was also in the car, came away uninjured. "I was coming from Coober Pedy to Port Pirie and I was travelling along the Oodnadatta track and my car rolled over," Ms Scotland said. "The roads are not appropriate for general people travelling trying to get to and from places." Ms Scotland said her car was written off. Police had been diverting northbound traffic at Pimba, while vehicles travelling towards Adelaide were being diverted at Coober Pedy, and advising people not to use back roads that are unsuitable for their vehicle. Police said they reopened the highway on Monday afternoon. Four people died on the state's roads over the March long weekend. Emergency services and police were called to a private property off Wonga Road at Lindley, about 100 kilometres north-west of Barmera, following reports of a ute rollover just after 6:00pm on Saturday. When they arrived, officers began CPR on a 26-year-old Campbelltown man but he died at the scene. The driver and two other passengers were flown to Adelaide with non-life-threatening injuries. Emergency services were called to Pages Flat Road at Myponga after reports a car had crashed into a tree just before 10:00pm Sunday night. An 18-year-old man from Aldinga Beach died in the crash. No-one else was in the vehicle at the time. Major crash investigators are investigating the circumstances surrounding the collision.
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Road Crash
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Mumbai: 21 years after gas explosion, MGL to pay Rs 8 lakh for woman’s death, Rs 19 lakh for damage to flat
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MUMBAI: Nearly 21 years after a senior citizen lost her life in an explosion at her Ghatkopar residence when Mahanagar Gas Ltd (MGL) employees were fixing a leaking gas pipe, the company will have to pay her son Rs 19.2 lakh for the damage caused to the flat and Rs 8.4 lakh for her death.
The national consumer commission recently dismissed MGL’s appeal against the state consumer commission order directing it to pay the compensation. The complainant, Prakash Vora, will receive a total compensation of Rs 30.6 lakh under various heads.
According to Prakash, on December 28, 1998, MGL employees visited their house to tend to a pipeline leak complaint. His mother, Jyoti, was in the living room while they worked in the kitchen. Prakash said there was a sudden explosion when they were working on a stove they had brought for welding work, which caused extensive damage to the flat. His mother sustained severe burn injuries and she died the next day in hospital. The workers too had sustained injuries, and were later discharged from hospital.
On June 26, the state commission had directed MGL to pay Prakash over Rs 6.8 lakh for the damages and Rs 3 lakh compensation for his mother’s death. Both amounts carried an annual interest of 9% from 1999, when the complaint was submitted before the Maharashtra State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission. Additionally, the state commission also directed MGL to pay Prakash Rs 3 lakh as costs of the complaint and compensation for the mental agony and suffering caused.
Aggrieved, MGL submitted an appeal before the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, but it upheld the state commission order. It refuted the company’s contention that the compensation awarded was excessive.
MGL had also objected to the interest levied by the state commission. But the national commission pointed out that the complaint had been pending for 20 years, and in the interim, MGL had utilized the money which ‘lawfully’ belonged to Prakash. “There is no reason why it should not pay appropriate interest...on the principal sum awarded by the state commission. This is more so in a case where the state commission... has chosen to award a paltry compensation for the loss of the life due to negligence on the part of the company’s workers,” the national commission said.
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Gas explosion
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Aurora borealis in 8 super shots from this week
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You can see the Aurora Borealis! Sheryl, in Southern Alberta, Canada, caught this picture of the Northern Lights on November 4 and wrote: "A spectacular night. I've had the pleasure of watching them overhead with color visible to the naked eye!" Last week, the sun launched what is called an “X-class solar flare” that was strong enough to spark a high-frequency radio blackout across parts of South America. The energy from that flare is trailed by a cluster of solar plasma and other material called a coronal mass ejection, or CME for short. That’s heading toward Earth, prompting the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to issue a warning about a potentially strong geomagnetic storm. In 2015, Maciej Winiarczyk captured the bright lights of the aurora borealis as he set up a time-lapse of the Milky Way, resulting in this mesmerizing light show in the Scotland sky It might sound like something from a science fiction movie. But really it just means that a good chunk of the northern part of the country (and Canada!) was in line to get treated to a light show called the aurora borealis. And the northern lights, for those lucky enough to see them, did not disappoint.
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New wonders in nature
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COVID-19: Tamil Nadu again crosses 1,600-mark on Friday, says Health Department
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On March 25, the infections breached the 1,600-mark by reporting 1,636 cases. But, there has since been a dip in cases. Published: 10th September 2021 09:57 PM | Last Updated: 10th September 2021 09:57 PM (File Photo | EPS) CHENNAI: COVID-19 infections in Tamil Nadu crossed the 1,600-mark again on Friday, the Health Department said. There were 1,631 new cases and pushed the total number infected to 26,30,592 till date, the department said. A total of 25 people succumbed to the virus and took the toll to 35,119 so far, a bulletin said here. On March 25, the infections breached the 1,600-mark by reporting 1,636 cases. But, there has since been a dip in cases. The department has alerted Collectors and the officials of the Greater Chennai Corporation about the rise in new infections. "All collectors and Greater Chennai Corporation may be alert as Tamil Nadu is showing a rising trend. What is worrying is that instead of earlier week changes linked to increase in number of tests on weekdays, this rise is due to gradual increase on (COVID-19) positivity," the message sent by Health Secretary J Radhakrishnan said. In the last 24 hours, 1,523 people got discharged, the bulletin said. A total of 1,58,197 samples were tested in the last 24 hours and pushed the cumulative number of specimens examined to 4,39,06,770 till date. Five of the 38 districts of the State reported most of the new infections with Coimbatore seeing 235, Chennai 174, Erode 137, Chengalpet 133 and Tiruppur 113. There were no fresh deaths in 21 districts. Ramanathapuram recorded the least number of new infections with two. Among the 25 fatalities, 18 succumbed in government and seven in private healthcare facilities. Two of the deceased were without co-morbidity or pre-existing illness, the bulletin said. On the instructions given to the Collectors, the government said, "Till vaccination covers a substantial population, monitoring of people in crowded places, enforcing COVID-19 protocols and tracing of contacts in case of emergence of clusters hold significance. Vaccinating the maximum number of people for immunity among those not exposed is also important." The district administration has been told to hold follow-up vaccinations camps apart from the proposed mega vaccination camp (scheduled on September 12) and also on regular days. Disclaimer : We respect your thoughts and views! But we need to be judicious while moderating your comments. All the comments will be moderated by the newindianexpress.com editorial. Abstain from posting comments that are obscene, defamatory or inflammatory, and do not indulge in personal attacks. Try to avoid outside hyperlinks inside the comment. Help us delete comments that do not follow these guidelines. The views expressed in comments published on newindianexpress.com are those of the comment writers alone. They do not represent the views or opinions of newindianexpress.com or its staff, nor do they represent the views or opinions of The New Indian Express Group, or any entity of, or affiliated with, The New Indian Express Group. newindianexpress.com reserves the right to take any or all comments down at any time. Malegaon blast case: Accused BJP MP Pragya Thakur appears before Mumbai court Cryptocurrencies recover after falling over 20 per cent as experts doubt over ban possibilities Rahul Gandhi asks Centre to provide 'credible data' on Covid deaths in India Japan, Vietnam look to space and cyber defence against China Vailankanni Church in TN added to Delhi government's free pilgrimage scheme for senior citizens Provide employment opportunities, women footballers urge State & Central government Mofiya Parveen suicide: A Facebook love story culminates in tragedy Controversial Kerala police officer, who 'mocked and insulted' Mofiya Parveen, in the eye of the storm Kerala's ambitious SilverLine rail project 'an idiotic decision', says metroman E Sreedharan Pregnant woman dies after Covid-19 jab in Jharkhand; probe underway Jaya's residence Veda Nilayam to go to her legal heirs, HC quashes acquisition by AIADMK govt 'No vaccines due to pandemic': Foot and mouth disease keeps Perambalur's farmers on the edge Cattle in Keezha Perambalur, Vathistapuram and Vayalpadi have been affected by the disease during the last ten days, resulting in them being unable
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Disease Outbreaks
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Sausage wars: Boris Johnson hints he may rip up EU rule book over trade with Northern Ireland
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Prime Minister's official spokesman says ‘all options are on the table’ when asked whether he would unilaterally waive checks on imports
Boris Johnson warned on Friday night that he was willing to unilaterally breach the Northern Ireland Protocol to keep meat imports flowing ahead of talks with European Union leaders on Saturday....
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Tear Up Agreement
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35 Celebrity Breakups That Ruined Us in 2019
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Every product on this page was chosen by a Harper's BAZAAR editor. We may earn commission on some of the items you choose to buy.
These couples called it quits last year, and we are not okay.
Breakups are just a normal part of life, but that doesn't make them any easier to deal with. Celebs may be used to living their lives in the public eye, but breaking up must be monumentally more difficult when the world is watching. Here, we take a look at 35 of the biggest celebrity splits of 2019, from high-profile divorce settlements to on-and-off relationships that are most definitely off now. Model Irina Shayk and actor Bradley Cooper split in June 2019 after four years together. The former couple continue to co-parent their daughter, Lea de Seine Shayk Cooper. Lady Gaga split from her fiancé, Christian Carino, in February 2019 after dating for around two years. A source told Us Weekly that Carino "infringed on her creative process" and that Gaga "couldn't risk jeopardizing her career in that way, over a man." As of December 2019, Gaga and Carino were reportedly talking again, but a source told Us Weekly, "There is nothing going on there."
Having pulled off a secret wedding in December 2018 after a 10-year relationship, Miley Cyrus and Liam Hemsworth seemed solid. But in August 2019, it was revealed that the famous couple split up, with a source reportedly telling E! News that they'd been "trying to make it work for months now." After being photographed kissing Kaitlynn Carter during the weekend of her breakup announcement, Cyrus shut down rumors of cheating.
It was revealed in October 2019 that Stormi Webster's mom and dad, Kylie Jenner and Travis Scott, broke up, via E! News. A source told the publication, "It's not a firm split. They've been fighting again, but have still seen each other within this last month." Fans went wild when Jenner hung out with her ex, Tyga, days after her split from Scott was revealed, and she's since been linked to Drake. Scott and Jenner continue to co-parent their daughter and even spent the holidays together.
After keeping their relationship incredibly low-key since they were first linked in August 2013, Katie Holmes and Jamie Foxx finally made their love red-carpet official at the Met Gala in 2019. But in August 2019, E! News reported that the super-private couple had secretly split in May, soon after going public with their romance.
Model Gigi Hadid started dating former One Direction singer Zayn Malik in November 2015, per Us Weekly. Their on-and-off relationship apparently came to an abrupt end for a second time toward the end of 2018, which Entertainment Tonight reported in January 2019, breaking our hearts all over again. However, reconciliation rumors started bubbling up in November 2019, and sparked back up again (this time with photos) in January.
Adele's split from Simon Konecki was revealed in April 2019, per People. The couple, who had been together for seven years and married for three, shares a son called Angelo. In a statement to The Associated Press, the singer's representative said, "Adele and her partner have separated. They are committed to raising their son together lovingly."
In November 2019, singer Solange revealed she'd separated from husband Alan Ferguson, whom she married in November 2014. In an emotional Instagram post, Solange wrote, "11 years ago I met a phenomenal man who changed every existence of my life. Early this year we separated and parted ways, (and tho it ain't nan no body business ?) i find it necessary to protect the sacredness of my personal truth and to live in it fully just as I have before and will continue to do."
Khloé Kardashian and Tristan Thompson's relationship probably doesn't need any explanation at this point. Photos of Thompson with several other women emerged while Kardashian was pregnant with the couple's daughter, True Thompson. They stayed together, only to split for good when Thompson was linked to Kylie Jenner's former-BFF Jordyn Woods in February 2019.
In July 2019, Riverdale fans were heartbroken when news broke that costars Cole Sprouse and Lili Reinhart split. However, in a September 2019 interview with Coveteur, Reinhart called Sprouse her "boyfriend." Whether or not any of the summer breakup reports were true remains unclear, but, thankfully, the couple appears to be back on for now.
In January 2019, People revealed that Brie Larson ended her engagement and split from Alex Greenwald. The Oscar-winning actress got engaged to the Phantom Planet singer in May 2016. A source told People of the split, "They have taken a step back from their engagement for the time being but they remain close."
Pete Davidson split from Ariana Grande in October 2018 and was seeing someone new at the start of 2019. The SNL star was photographed holding hands with Kate Beckinsale in February 2019 after the pair was spotted hanging out at a Golden Globes after-party in January, via People. However, by April 2019, the couple had split, per People. At least we'll always have those photos of the couple's very public make-out sessions, right?
In October 2019, Page Six reported that Pete Davidson split from actress Margaret Qualley after a brief romance. The couple started dating in August, took a trip to Venice, and even got the approval of Qualley's mom, Andie MacDowell. However, some love stories just aren't meant to be, as Davidson and Qualley have since gone their separate ways.
We never thought we'd get over Ben Affleck's split from Jennifer Garner, but the actor and director looked seriously happy with new beau Lindsay Shookus. According to Us Weekly, Affleck met Shookus before his 2015 split from Garner, with reports suggesting that his new relationship may have started as an affair. Their on-and-off relationship ended for good in April 2019, with a source telling People, "They really gave it another solid try."
In June 2019, it was reported that Coldplay's Chris Martin split from Fifty Shades of Grey star Dakota Johnson. However, the pair were pictured together in August 2019, and a source told E! News, "They're planning to spend more time together later this summer." A source even told Us Weekly that Martin's ex, Gwyneth Paltrow, "pushed them" to get back together, which is pretty sweet.
In January 2019, People reported that Victoria's Secret model Adriana Lima split from her Turkish writer boyfriend, Metin Hara. They'd been dating for around 18 months. The couple had first been spotted together on vacation in Bodrum in Turkey in July 2017, via People, but have now gone their separate ways. Lima has since been linked to businessman Emir Uyar.
Girls star Allison Williams split from her husband, Ricky Van Veen, in June 2019. In a statement released to Page Six, the couple said, "With mutual love and respect, we have made the decision to separate as a couple. We are grateful for the friendship that we have and will continue to have." The couple married in secret in September 2015.
In August 2019, a source confirmed to E! News that The Hills: New Beginnings stars, Brody Jenner and Kaitlynn Carter, split just one year after their Indonesian wedding. It was also revealed that the couple never made their marriage official when they returned to the United States, meaning that there's no messy paperwork to file. Just over a week after they announced their split, Carter was photographed kissing Miley Cyrus.
In December 2019, it was announced that actor Colin Firth split from his wife, Livia. Discussing the end of the 22-year marriage, a source told People, "No matter what was decided when they stayed together after her affair, nothing could erase that betrayal. It was time to move on, even though they had a solid family relationship and really wanted to save it."
Both Kaitlynn Carter and Miley Cyrus split from their respective husbands in 2019 before starting a summer fling with one another. First linked in August, the couple broke up in September. In November, Carter wrote an essay for ELLE and explained, "This past July, I went on vacation with a female friend; the next thing I knew, I was in love with her." Cyrus has since started dating Cody Simpson.
Tyler Cameron from The Bachelorette found himself involved in a high-profile summer romance when he was linked to Gigi Hadid in August 2019, per Us Weekly. In September 2019, Cameron accompanied Hadid to her grandmother's funeral in the Netherlands, but by October, the couple called it quits.
New Girl star Zooey Deschanel quietly split from her husband of nearly four years, Jacob Pechenik, in September 2019. In a statement released via People, the couple said, "After much discussion and a long period of contemplation we have decided we are better off as friends, business partners and co-parents rather than life partners. We remain committed to our business, our values and most of all our children." Deschanel and Pechenik continue to co-parent their two kids, Elsie Otter and Charlie Wolf.
After his split from Jenna Dewan, Channing Tatum [pictured far left] started dating British singer Jessie J [pictured right]. However, the couple's breakup was reported in December 2019, with a source telling People, "There wasn't any drama. They just decided to part ways and are still good friends."
Dawson's Creek star Michelle Williams secretly wed Mount Eerie singer Phil Elverum in July 2018, per Vanity Fair. The newlyweds were photographed holding hands in September 2018, but by April 2019, it was all over. People reported the couple's split, with a source revealing, "Michelle and Phil separated at the beginning of the year. It was an amicable spilt and they remain friends."
After her split from Christian Carino, Lady Gaga was rumored to be dating audio engineer Dan Horton and even shared a snap from one of their romantic dinners together. However, by October 2019, the "Shallow" singer was declaring herself single once more, and Horton was nowhere to be seen.
American Horror Story costars Evan Peters and Emma Roberts dated on and off for seven years, and even got engaged. But the couple called it quits for good in March 2019, per People. In October 2019, Us Weekly reported, "Their relationship became very toxic."
As People reported in November 2019, Meg Ryan's relationship with musician John Mellencamp dates all the way back to 2011, when the pair first dated. They split in August 2014, only to rekindle their romance in 2017. A 2018 engagement followed, which the couple eventually called off, with a source telling People in November 2019, "He didn't want to get married again."
Before Camila Cabello was regularly exhibiting PDA with Shawn Mendes, she dated relationship coach Matthew Hussey. According to People, the pair first met while filming an episode of Today in February 2018 and made their relationship red-carpet official in February 2019 at the Vanity Fair Oscars after-party [pictured]. When they split in June 2019, a source reportedly told The Sun, "It was a mutual decision to end things. But they have spent a lot of time together over the last year and a half and want to stay friends despite going their own way."
This Is Us star Justin Hartley split from Selling Sunset's Chrishell Stause in November 2019. The couple tied the knot just two years earlier on October 28, 2017. People revealed that Hartley filed for divorce and reportedly listed the couple's date of separation as July 8, 2019, despite the fact that they were photographed together at the Emmys in September and at the Veuve Clicquot Polo Classic in Los Angeles in October.
After two years of marriage, Pitch Perfect costars Anna Camp and Skylar Astin split up, per The Cut. Camp's rep told Page Six, "We can confirm that we have decided to separate, and this decision was made mutually and amicably." The former couple's divorce was finalized in August 2019.
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Famous Person - Divorce
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Rim of the Pacific military exercise scaled back due to virus
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HONOLULU — The world’s largest maritime military exercise is scheduled to be held this week in Hawaii, but the event has been scaled back significantly, mainly because of the coronavirus pandemic. The 27th Rim of the Pacific international military exercise will be considerably smaller than usual, Hawaii Public Radio reported Monday. The exercise will be limited to sea training activity with minimal personnel on land to prevent potential spread of the coronavirus. The exercise is held every two years on land, in the air and on the seas around the Hawaiian Islands. The shift is a significant change from past exercises — which included large, land-based training events, shore leave for sailors and numerous social gatherings. This year’s event will feature 10 participating countries including Australia, Japan, South Korea, and New Zealand. There were 26 participating nations involved in 2018. The U.S. Navy declined to provide reasons former partners declined to participate this year, although the pandemic is a likely cause because some some governments have suspend overseas military training. Thailand announced in July it would indefinitely suspend overseas exercises after a dozen Thai soldiers tested positive for COVID-19 following exercises with the U.S. Army in Hawaii. The U.S. Navy delayed and reconfigured the exercise following a request by Democratic Hawaii Gov. David Ige, but resisted pressure to cancel it. Navy Capt. Jay Steingold, exercise director for the event that goes by its acronym RIMPAC, said the U.S. and partners enacted health precautions including placing 14-day movement restrictions on participants, who will be monitored for symptoms. Kyle Kajihiro of the Cancel RIMPAC Coalition that wants the event halted, said the training was not essential during the pandemic. “We can’t even know what’s going on, how the military has been controlling the virus,” Kajihiro said. “So the safest measure would have been for them to cancel RIMPAC altogether.” For most people, the coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough that clear up in two to three weeks. For some — especially older adults and people with existing health problems — it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia, and death. The number of infections is thought to be far higher because many people have not been tested, and studies suggest people can be infected with the virus without feeling sick. Navy Times © 2021
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Military Exercise
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2004 Players Championship (snooker)
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The 2004 Daily Record Players Championship was a professional ranking snooker tournament that took place between 3–11 April 2004 at the S.E.C.C in Glasgow, Scotland. It was the seventh and penultimate ranking event of the 2003/2004 season. [1]
This tournament was a re-branding of the Scottish Open which had been held under various names since 1981. It was also the last time the tournament was played until 2012, when it became a minor-ranking event as part of the Players Tour Championship. It became a full ranking tournament again in 2016. Twelve years after his last ranking tournament success, Jimmy White aged 41 won his tenth ranking tournament by defeating Paul Hunter 9–7 in the final. This was White's first success in the tournament, having last appeared in the final in 1988 International Open, when he lost 12–6 to Steve Davis. It was also Hunter's last appearance in a ranking final. [1]
The prize fund is shown below:
[2]
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Sports Competition
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2001 Avjet Gulfstream III crash
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On March 29, 2001, a chartered Gulfstream III business jet operated by Avjet from Los Angeles, California, to Aspen, Colorado, crashed into the ground while on final approach. All three crew members and 15 passengers on board perished. [1]
The subsequent investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board concluded that the cause of the accident was the captain's premature descent below the minimum descent altitude, carried out without having the runway in sight. [2]
The accident's investigation also brought into focus several generic safety issues, such as pressure applied on charter pilots by customers, night flight into airports near mountainous terrain, and the ambiguity of some Federal Aviation Administration rules. [3]
Captain Robert Frisbie (44) and First Officer Peter Kowalczyk (38) reported for work at Avjet's Burbank, California facility around noon on the day of the accident. After checking the weather and the aircraft, they embarked on an 11-minute repositioning flight to Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) to pick up their passengers. The flight was originally scheduled to leave LAX at 16:30 MST, but departed after a 41-minute delay for late passengers at 17:11 MST. [1][2][4]
Earlier in the day, an FAA specialist had informed the crew that it would be illegal to land at night in Aspen under instrument flight rules. In addition, the crew were aware that due to noise abatement restrictions, their jet aircraft was required to land at Aspen by the 18:58 MST night curfew. Following the delayed departure from LAX, their estimated arrival time was 18:46 MST, twelve minutes before the curfew took effect. [1][2]
As the flight approached Aspen–Pitkin County Airport, it became evident that some of the other inbound flights were performing missed approaches, as they had been unable to complete an instrument approach to the airport's runway. The airport is surrounded by high terrain on all sides and a fairly steep descent is required in order to land. [1][2]
At 18:56:06 MST, the flight was cleared for the VOR/DME-C instrument approach to the airport, whereupon it proceeded to the Red Table VOR, executed a sequence of designated step-down maneuvers and began final approach to the runway. As it continued its descent past the missed approach point – where the runway must be in sight to continue – the pilots had still not visually located the runway in the increasing darkness and snow showers. At 19:01:57 MST, while in a steep left bank, the aircraft crashed into the terrain, killing all 18 persons on board. [1][2]
Following the crash, the aircraft's cockpit voice recorder was recovered from the wreckage and the data recorded found to be intact and usable. Under Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 135 Air Taxi rules, no flight data recorder was required for this type of flight and one had not been installed. [1]
Part of the subsequent NTSB investigation[2] focused on the fact that the instrument approach at the destination airport was not legal for night landing, and the overall pressure applied on the charter company and flight crew by the charter customer to complete the flight into the original destination. [3] According to witnesses, the charter customer, upon learning that the flight might have to be diverted to an alternate airport due to the night landing restriction, had his business assistant call Avjet management, to "let them know that the airplane was not going to be redirected". [2]
In addition, witnesses claimed that when the charter customer learned that the captain had discussed the possible diversion with some of the passengers waiting for the late arrivals, he had his assistant call Avjet to instruct the captain to "keep his comments to himself". [2]
The Avjet charter department scheduler subsequently testified that "the captain felt that it was important to land at [Aspen] because of the substantial amount of money that the [charter] customer spent for a dinner party". [2]
Based on information obtained from the cockpit voice recorder, the flight attendant had escorted an unidentified male passenger to the flight deck's jump seat during the approach sequence. According to the NTSB's analysis, "the presence of this passenger in the cockpit, especially if it were the charter customer, most likely further heightened the pressure on the flight crew to land at [Aspen]". The NTSB issued its final report on June 11, 2002, with the following probable cause:[2]
The National Transportation Safety Board determines that the probable cause of this accident was the flight crew's operation of the airplane below the minimum descent altitude without an appropriate visual reference for the runway. The NTSB added the following contributing factors:[2]
Contributing to the cause of the accident were the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) unclear wording of the March 27, 2001 Notice to Airmen regarding the nighttime restriction for the VOR/DME-C approach to the airport and the FAA's failure to communicate this restriction to the Aspen tower; the inability of the flight crew to adequately see the mountainous terrain because of the darkness and the
weather conditions; and the pressure on the captain to land from the charter customer and because of the airplane's delayed departure and the airport's nighttime landing restriction. After the accident, Avjet decided to prohibit airport operations at Aspen and three other mountainous airports between sunset and sunrise. It also issued the following memorandum to its flight crews and schedulers:[2]
"if you cannot accomplish a landing and be on the ground at one of these airports before sunset you must divert to a suitable alternate. All passengers for one of these destinations must be informed of this policy. Flight crew members must report any violation of this policy or pressure from passengers to violate this policy to the Director of Operations or Chief Pilot." Avjet also added the following policy to its operations manual after the accident:
"Only an Avjet assigned crewmember, check airman, or FAA observer may occupy the observer's seat (jump seat) in any Avjet aircraft. Charter passengers shall never be allowed to occupy the observer's seat at any time." A wrongful death lawsuit was filed by the families of three of the victims in Los Angeles. After a jury found the captain and Avjet Corporation negligent, an out-of-court settlement was reached, where Avjet agreed to pay the plaintiffs a total of US$11.7M in damages. [5] There were reportedly also other settlements for other victims. [6]
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Air crash
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2012 Pakistan floods
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The 2012 Pakistan floods began in early September 2012, resulting from heavy monsoon rains in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Upper Sindh, Southern Punjab and Balochistan regions of Pakistan. Initially according to the met Office forecasts, Pakistan was to receive below normal rainfall in 2012 and most of these areas were bracing for a drought. But by 1 September the Pakistan Meteorological Department started to roll out emergency weather advisories stating that an extremely low pressure Monsoon system, developed over the Bay of Bengal will enter the country and cause widespread heavy rainfall across Southern Punjab, Southern Khyber Pukhtunkhwa, eastern Balochistan and Sindh
The low pressure system entered the country on 3 September and lashed these areas with heavy falls. The system continued to stay till 12 September 2012. Flash floods triggered by heavy rains caused widespread destruction across vast swathes of the country, breaking a 24-year rainfall record and leaving over 100 people dead in upper Sindh, wreaking devastation in Punjab's Dera Ghazi Khan and Rajanpur areas and leaving five districts of eastern Balochistan cut off from the rest of the country. [2]
On 9 September The Met Office said that between 8am and 5pm Dera Ghazi Khan and Okara received 96mm of rain, Shorkot 85mm, Bahawalnagar and Sahiwal 79mm, Noorpur Thal 66mm, Toba Tek Singh 65mm, Bahawalpur city 45mm, Jhang 35mm, Rahim Yar Khan 31mm, Multan 27mm, Faisalabad 25mm, Nawabshah 24mm, Chhor 23mm, Bhakkar 20mm, Chakwal and Dera Ismail Khan 17mm, Parachinar and Mandi Bahauddin 16mm, Thatta 15mm, Joharabad and Rawalakot 14mm and Kotli 12mm. Heavy rainfalls were recorded during the five-day wet spell from 5 September to 9 September 2012 in the provinces of Sindh and Punjab based on data from the Pakistan Meteorological Department. [3]
* Indicates new record in the month
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Floods
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Aeroflot Flight 630 crash
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Aeroflot Flight 630 was a Soviet domestic passenger flight from Dushanbe to Moscow via Leninabad (now Khujand in Tajikistan) that crashed on 24 February 1973, killing all 79 people on board, including five children. [1] The accident has been attributed to the loss of control. The aircraft involved in the accident was an Ilyushin Il-18V turboprop airliner with serial number 189001803. The aircraft was equipped with Ivchenko AI-20K engines and made its maiden flight in 1959. [2] At the time of the accident the aircraft sustained 20,404 flight hours and 9,590 pressurization cycles. [3]
After climbing to an altitude of 6,600 m (21,700 ft), the aircraft after some time was supposed to turn 60 degrees right to Leninabad, but instead turned only 10 degrees right and then for three minutes followed a constant course at 6,600 m (21,700 ft) with an engaged autopilot. [1] Subsequently, the autopilot was disengaged and the aircraft began turning to the right. [1] After a 60-degree turn, the aircraft started banking to the left, with an angular velocity of 3–4 deg/s. [1] Having reached a 90-degree bank angle, the aircraft fell into a steep left spiral with an increased vertical speed of 100 m/s and increasing normal g forces. [1] At an altitude of about 2,200 m (7,200 ft), the aircraft disintegrated due to high dynamic loads. [1] The debris impacted an area 1,200 by 550 m (3,940 by 1,800 ft) and caught fire. [1]
Having found no mechanical or structural failures in the aircraft, the investigation did not reach any conclusions, although it noted that the ATC did not track the flight at the last stage. [1] The Ministry of Aviation Industry of the USSR found that the accident was caused by a navigation error and the crew trying an intense left banking and descend, which led to the loss of control. [1]
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China Airlines Flight 825 crash
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China Airlines Flight 625 was a scheduled China Airlines passenger flight from Taipei's Songshan Airport to Kai Tak Airport, Hong Kong. On 20 November 1971, a Sud Aviation SE-210 operating this route disintegrated in midair over the Penghu islands. [1]
The aircraft involved was a Sud Aviation SE-210 Caravelle III that had been built in 1962 and was initially operated by Swissair with registration HB-ICT. The aircraft was involved in a separate accident as Swissair Flight 142 on 25 April 1962. In this accident, the aircraft, flying from Geneva Airport to Paris, France, experienced problems with its nose landing gear after takeoff. The flight began to return to Geneva but was diverted by air traffic control (ATC) to Zurich Airport. The aircraft then landed at Zurich with the nose gear retracted, during which a fire broke out underneath the cockpit, but all 72 people on board evacuated safely. [2]
On 12 January 1971, the aircraft was transferred to China Airlines. [3]
On the day of the crash, the aircraft operated as flight CI823 from Osaka, Japan, to Taipei. At Taipei, the flight number was then changed to 825. Flight 825 departed Taipei at 21:02 local time and was expected to arrive at Kai Tak Airport at 22:50. The captain was Wei Buxiao and the first officer was Juji Ping. There were 10 non-Taiwanese passengers on board, including Lauro Muller Neto [pt], Brazil's ambassador to Taiwan at the time. [4]
Flight 825's last communication with ATC was made at 21:33 while at 26,000 feet (7,900 m) and contact was lost 17 minutes later at 21:50. The aircraft crashed into the Taiwan Strait, killing everyone on board. [5]
The Taiwan Garrison Command investigated the crash, which concluded that the in-flight break up was the result of a terrorist bomb explosion. The reasons for the bombing could not be determined. [6]
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Air crash
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Egypt - Severe weather and insect infestation (Floodlist, EMA ...
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View original
Heavy rain and hailstorms have been affecting southern Egypt (in particular the Aswan Governorate) since 12 November, causing floods, a number of severe weather-related incidents and triggering an insect infestation that have resulted in casualties and damage.
Media report, as of 16 November, three fatalities and more than 500 injured people across the Aswan City area as a result of scorpion stings. In addition, media also report, six injured people, nearly 25 damaged houses and around 60 affected families across the same area due to floods and severe weather-related incidents.
Following the storm, the Egyptian Red Crescent is carrying out damage assessments and also providing victims with immediate relief aid.
Over the next 24 hours, drier conditions are expected over the whole country.
Primary country
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Insect Disaster
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City restaurant owners served $40,000 in COVID fines
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Posted: 2:48 PM CDT Tuesday, Sep. 21, 2021 A sign on the door to Monstrosity Burger and Tuxedo Village Family Restaurant on Corydon Avenue, states they will not require masks or ask for proof of vaccination upon entering. Mike Deal / Winnipeg Free Press files
210917 - Friday, September 17, 2021.
The owners of two Corydon Avenue restaurants have been hit with $40,000 in fines for allowing unmasked and unvaccinated patrons to eat inside for weeks.
The owners of two Corydon Avenue restaurants have been hit with $40,000 in fines for allowing unmasked and unvaccinated patrons to eat inside for weeks.
Provincial health enforcement shut down Monstrosity Burger and Tuxedo Village Family Restaurant, both at 2090 Corydon Ave. on Monday. Owners Dave Jones and Paulina Jojnowicz have received eight tickets for $5,000 since Sept. 6. The restaurant received two tickets from Sept. 6 to 12, and six more from Sept. 13 to 19.
While the restaurant can provide take-out and delivery, Jones decried the in-dining closure as the result of "corruption at the highest level" in an Instagram post. He added that public health enforcement had shown up at his home to deliver the last tickets after the restaurant had closed.
"Until we talk again to our attorneys… and discuss our game plan, we will not have dine in. I won't let my wife go to jail, sorry! ...All we're trying to do is make an honest living and feed people who have the right to eat. We pay our taxes and have committed no crime," the post reads.
The notice posted on the entrance to both restaurants says they have been closed after breaking order eight of the public health emergency order, which requires owners of restaurants to ensure diners provide proof of vaccination.
Last week, there were lineups of customers, some from other parts of the province, who patronized the eateries to show support for the owners and distaste for provincial public health orders. At the time, Jones refused to be interviewed.
A GoFundMe campaign, started on behalf of the owners to fight the legal fines, had raised $2,100 of its $10,000 goal as of Tuesday morning. The fundraiser originally had $40,000 as its goal but was later reduced.
Jones and Jojnowicz told a local Facebook group in a video interview earlier this month that they plan to fight tickets in court.
Meanwhile, the downtown MORFIT gym location reopened Tuesday after two weeks, calling it and its St. Boniface location "proud to be one of the gyms that won't turn members away" in a social-media post. New members will be asked to sign a form stating whether or not they would like to disclose their COVID-19 vaccination status with staff.
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In a message to members, owner Stuart Klassen said the decision to not ask that people disclose their vaccination status in spite of public health orders is a matter of inclusivity. If certain people aren’t able to use the gym, Klassen writes, he would rather not operate.
"The last two weeks have been wild for my business. Regardless of what the eventual outcome is for MORFIT, I am strong in my conviction of taking a stand personally," he wrote.
"Though the business lost several relationships due to our public stance on not implementing mandatory immunization; I feel for the first time in two years I can speak my mind publicly on what's going on."
Four other businesses have received $5,000 fines in the past week. Three are in Winkler — Chicken Chef, Superstore and Toppers Family Restaurant were served one ticket each — and the Canad Inns Destination Centre Windsor Park on Elizabeth Road in Winnipeg, which was handed one $5,000 ticket.
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Twitter: malakabas_
Malak AbasReporter
Malak Abas is a reporter for the Winnipeg Free Press.
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Organization Fine
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3 scientists win Nobel physics prize for black hole research
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STOCKHOLM (AP) — Three scientists won the Nobel Prize in physics Tuesday for establishing the all-too-weird reality of black holes — the straight-out-of-science-fiction cosmic monsters that suck up light and time and will eventually swallow us, too.
Roger Penrose of Britain, Reinhard Genzel of Germany and Andrea Ghez of the United States explained to the world these dead ends of the cosmos that are still not completely understood but are deeply connected, somehow, to the creation of galaxies.
Penrose, an 89-year-old at the University of Oxford, received half of the prize for proving with mathematics in 1964 that Einstein’s general theory of relativity predicted the formation of black holes, even though Einstein himself didn’t think they existed. Genzel, who is at both the Max Planck Institute in Germany and the University of California, Berkeley, and Ghez, of the University of California, Los Angeles, received the other half of the prize for discovering in the 1990s a supermassive black hole at the center of our galaxy. Black holes fascinate people because “the idea of some monster out there sucking everything up is a pretty weird thing,” Penrose said an interview with The Associated Press. He said our galaxy and the galaxies near us “will ultimately get swallowed by one utterly huge black hole. This is the fate ... but not for an awful long time, so it’s not something to worry too much about.”
Black holes are at the center of every galaxy, and smaller ones dot the universe. Just their existence is mind-bending. They are so massive that nothing, not even light, can escape their gravitational pull. They warp and twist light in a way that seems unreal and cause time to slow and stop.
“Black holes, because they are so hard to understand, is what makes them so appealing,” Ghez, 55, said after becoming the fourth woman ever to win a Nobel in physics. “I really think of science as a big, giant puzzle.”
While the three scientists showed the existence of black holes, it wasn’t until last year that people could see one for themselves when another science team captured the first and only optical image of one. It looks like a flaming doughnut from hell but is in a galaxy 53 million light-years from Earth. Penrose, a mathematical physicist who got the call from the Nobel Committee while in the shower, was surprised at his winning because his work is more theoretical than observational, and that’s not usually what wins physics Nobels.
What fascinated Penrose more than the black hole was what was at the other end of it, something called the “singularity.” It’s something science still can’t figure out.
“Singularity, that’s a place where the densities and curvatures go to infinity. You expect the physics go crazy,” he said from his home. “If you fall into a black hole, then you pretty well inevitably get squashed into this singularity at the end. And that’s the end.”
Penrose said he was walking to work with a colleague 56 years ago, thinking about “what it would be like to be in this situation where all this material is collapsing around you.” He realized he had “some strange feeling of elation,” and that was when things started coming together in his mind.
Martin Rees, the British astronomer royal, noted that Penrose triggered a “renaissance” in the study of relativity in the 1960s, and that, together with a young Stephen Hawking, he helped firm up evidence for the Big Bang and black holes.
“Penrose and Hawking are the two individuals who have done more than anyone else since Einstein to deepen our knowledge of gravity,” Rees said. “Sadly, this award was too much delayed to allow Hawking to share the credit.”
Hawking died in 2018, and Nobel Prizes are awarded only to the living. New York University astrophysicist Glennys Farrar said: “There is no doubt that if this prize were awarded when Hawking was still alive, he would share it. He did overall more significant work on this subject than almost anyone.”
Genzel, 68, and Ghez won because “they showed that black holes are not just theory — they’re real, they’re here, and there’s a monster-size black hole in the center of our galaxy, the Milky Way,” said Brian Greene, a theoretical physicist and mathematician at Columbia University.
In the 1990s, Genzel and Ghez, leading separate groups of astronomers, trained their sights on the dust-covered center of our Milky Way galaxy, a region called Sagittarius A(asterisk), where something strange was going on. It was “an extremely heavy, invisible object that pulls on the jumble of stars, causing them to rush around at dizzying speeds,” according to the Nobel Committee. It was a black hole. Not just an ordinary black hole, but a supermassive one, 4 million times the mass of our sun.
The first image Ghez got was in 1995, using the Keck Telescope in Hawaii that had just gone online. A year later, another image seemed to indicate that the stars near the center of the Milky Way were circling something. A third image led Ghez and Genzel to think they were really on to something.
A fierce competition developed between Ghez and Genzel, whose team was using an array of telescopes at the European Southern Observatory in Chile.
“Their rivalry elevated them to greater scientific heights,” said Harvard astronomer Avi Loeb. Unlike with other achievements honored with Nobels, there is no practical application for these discoveries.
“Is there a practical application to Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony?” Columbia’s Greene asked. “But its existence, this type of spectacular knowledge, is part of what gives life meaning.”
The Nobel comes with a gold medal and 10 million kronor (more than $1.1 million), courtesy of a bequest left 124 years ago by the prize’s creator, Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite.
On Monday, the Nobel in medicine was awarded to Americans Harvey J. Alter and Charles M. Rice and British-born scientist Michael Houghton for discovering the liver-ravaging hepatitis C virus. The prizes for chemistry, literature, peace and economics will be announced in the coming days.
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Borenstein reported from Kensington, Maryland, Jordans from Berlin. AP Science Writer Christina Larson in Washington contributed to this report.
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Awards ceremony
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Dagestan Airlines Flight 372 crash
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This story started, as so many do, with an interesting photograph posted to Reddit. I was curious, and decided to investigate the accident. The sequence of events that led to the wreck was a lot more fascinating than I expected. The airline was initially set up as the Makhachkala division of Aeroflot in 1927. In 1994, the Makhachkala division became the Makhachkala Air Enterprise following the break-up of the Soviet Union. In 1996, the airline became Dagestan Airlines. Dagestan Airlines flight 372 was a scheduled flight from Vnukovo International Airport, Moscow to Uytash Airport, Makhachkala in the Republic of Dagestan. On the 4th of December in 2010, the flight held 163 passengers, five cabin crew and four flight crew. The captain had 17,500 hours with 10,000 hours on type and 8,500 as commander. He was the pilot monitoring. The pilot flying was the first officer, who had 3,470 hours with 1,150 on type. The flight engineer had 8,750 hours with 1,750 on type. The navigator had 3,400 hours with 1,400 on type. You would think it was safe to say that they knew what they were doing. The plane was a Tupolev Tu-154M, a three-engine aircraft designed in the 1960s and last modernised in the 1980s. The aircraft that day was built in 1992 and had been completely overhauled the year before the accident (2009) and met all relevant European safety standards. The flight crew landed the Tupolev at Vnukovo at 12:23 local time. Post-flight inspections and pre-flight preparations were all normal. There were approximately 19.5 tons of fuel on board, plenty for the flight. Conditions weren’t optimal though. The runway was wet with wet snow. The weather was awful. There were two frontal systems moving from west to east with a trough between them. Winds were forecast at 150-180 km/hour (80-100 knots, 95-110 mph). At Moscow, snow and freezing rain were falling with a cloud base at 150 metres (500 feet). A Significant Meteorological Information weather advisory (SIGMET) was issued advising of icing from the surface to 4,000 metres (13,120 feet) with turbulence above 9,000 feet. A weather balloon in the local area measured winds at 50 km/hour (27 knots) at 2,500-3,300 feet (800-1000 metres) which increased to 255 km/hour (188 knots, 160 mph) at 29,500 feet (9,000 metres). The scheduled passenger flight to Uytash, Makhachkala departed Vnukovo Airport normally at 14:07 local time. As the aircraft climbed through Flight Level 164 (16,400 feet or 5,000 metres), the flight engineer initiated a manual fuel transfer, transferring fuel from one tank to another to even out the balance. The aircraft continued the climb and about three minutes later, the fuel switch was set back to automatic. As they climbed through 25,000 feet (7,700 metres), the flight crew noticed that the captain’s attitude indicator (artificial horizon) showed a different bank angle from the first officer’s. They discussed the issue but it was not particularly a cause for concern. About a minute later, a fault message illuminated showing P Fuel (fuel pressure issue), followed by alarms ENG FAIL for engines number three and number one. The crew reported problems with the engines to air traffic control at 14:20. They requested an immediate return to Vnukovo. A minute later, the number three generator dropped off line, followed by the number one generator. The engine speeds of both engines dropped to 30% and then shut down. The crew reported that their engines had failed, along with the generators and navigational equipment. The dispatcher recommended an emergency diversion to Moscow’s Domodedovo airport, 80 km north of the aircraft’s position. Two minutes after engine number three failed, after the aircraft had begun its descent, engine number two began to spool down and generator number two dropped offline. All three generators were now off line. Both attitude indicators failed. The flight crew diverted to Domodedovo; however they did not appear to go through the checklists to deal with the emergency situation they’d found themselves in. During the approach, the number 2 engine and the AC power was restored, giving the aircraft a much better chance at a safe landing. However, the crew did not appear to take advantage of this reprieve. The AC power restored the navigation system, but none of the Domodedovo frequencies were dialled in, although they should have entered the frequencies for the ILS (Instrument Landing System) and the VOR (VHF Omni-directional Radio Range, a type of short-range radio navigation system for aircraft). The gyros, which supply bank and pitch angle information, would have become misaligned as a part of the power outage. However, once the power was restored, the gyros would stabilise and could be caged (by pulling out a knob to restore the gyroscope to an erect position), which would restore the gyros’ functionality. This was clear on the checklist, including the instruction that, if the gyros did not cage on the first attempt, try again. The crew never tried.
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Air crash
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