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Gary Owen’s Estranged Wife Kenya Duke Puts Him On Blast Amid Divorce
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A celebrity divorce can tend to be messy and in the case of comedian Gary Owen and his estranged wife Kenya Duke, things got ugly on social media over the weekend.
On Sunday (June 6), Duke shared a photo to Instagram of Owen wearing a black T-shirt plainly stating he’s a breadwinner with a Webster’s definition to match. In her caption, Duke went scorched earth, calling Owen a deadbeat and claiming he hasn’t supposed her or their children since April.
“@garyowencomedy I have never gone to the media,” she began. “The media goes looking for the paperwork. I have allowed you to tell your family, friends, and fans any false narrative that you want or need it to be about us, the relationship and our kids. Because I DON’T care or feel a need to defend or explain myself. You and I know what it really is!”
She continued, “But when you go and make these dumb passive aggressive posts in these insensitive ass t-shirts, I am triggered and you now have my attention. You haven’t supported us since April 1st. Nothing, nada, zero not electric, water, gas, not insurance (medical, dental, life, car, house, etc.), not groceries, not maintenance for the house, not the gas or maintenance of the cars, not the platinum card I got for us (because you wanted one) and you couldn’t get one (on your own), not the cell phone you had for 23 years; instead you just got another phone number and didn’t pay the bill. All of our bills are attached to my SSN and credit. You have paid the $4500 mortgage that is attached to your SSN and credit (for the 1st time) but that is it.
You haven’t seen your daughter in over 6 1/2 months, you haven’t seen your son in over 4 months. This is your choice. You do remember us right???? I “guess” we were useful when your content was needed. Or when I allowed you to live your best life while I stayed back with our kids, the house and taking care of the business. This is what it is after 23 years, of being the only one to have your back 100% of the time, wow! The new you is a Mofo. Do you even recognize right anymore? You’ve shown lack of care for me maintaining the financial stability and sole emotional support for our kids. I am the only person that has always protected you and you treat me like this, says more about your character than any of your antics. You are not a good guy, so cut it out and get a shirt that says DEADbEAT. I will let you get back to living your best life…lying, clout chasing, side chicks, and looking for a black celebrity friend group.”
Duke announced she and Owen were getting a divorce after 23 years of marriage in March. We knew Pastor Dwight Buckner Jr. told us about leaving relationship drama off social media but this is something completely different. Hopefully the two parties can make their split amicable.
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Famous Person - Divorce
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Job losses from virus four times as bad as 2009 global financial crisis: UN
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Four times as many jobs were lost last year due to the coronavirus pandemic as during the worst part of the global financial crisis in 2009, a UN report said on Monday. The International Labor Organisation estimated that the restrictions on businesses and public life destroyed 8.8 per cent of all work hours around the world last year. That is equivalent to 255 million full-time jobs - quadruple the impact of the financial crisis over a decade ago. "This has been the most severe crisis for the world of work since The Great Depression of the 1930s. Its impact is far greater than that of the global financial crisis of 2009," said ILO Director-General Guy Ryder. The fallout was almost equally split between reduced work hours and "unprecedented" job losses, he said. The United Nations agency noted that most people who lost work stopped looking for a job altogether, likely because of restrictions on businesses that hire in big numbers like restaurants, bars, stores, hotels and other services that depend on face-to-face interactions. The drop in work translates to a loss of USD 3.7 trillion in income globally - what Ryder called an "extraordinary figure" - with women and young people taking the biggest hits. The ILO report expects a bounce back in jobs in the second half of the year. But that depends on a reduction in coronavirus infections and the rollout of vaccines. Currently, infections are rising or remain stubbornly high in many countries and vaccine distribution is still slow overall.
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Financial Crisis
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Delta Air Lines Flight 723 crash
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Delta Air Lines Flight 723 was a Douglas DC-9 twin-engine jetliner, operating as a scheduled domestic passenger flight from Burlington, Vermont to Logan International Airport in Boston, Massachusetts, with an intermediate stop in Manchester, New Hampshire. [1] On July 31, 1973 at 11:08 AM, while on an instrument landing system (ILS) instrument approach into Logan in low clouds and fog, the aircraft descended below the glidepath, struck a seawall and crashed, killing all 89 occupants; two people initially survived, but later died of their injuries. [2]
The DC-9-31, registration N975NE,[3] serial number 47075, was manufactured in September 1967 and had 14,639 flight hours at the time of the accident. The jetliner was one of the aircraft that Delta Air Lines acquired in their 1972 merger with Northeast Airlines, to whom the aircraft was originally delivered. The flight crew consisted of Captain John Streil (49) and First Officer Sidney Burrill (31). Captain Streil, a highly experienced pilot, had accumulated roughly 14,800 flight hours throughout his flying career. He had 17 years of experience as pilot-in-command and had been flying DC-9s since 1970, with 1,457 hours logged in them. First Officer Burrill was also an experienced airman, with just under 7,000 flight hours, including more than 200 hours on the DC-9. Occupying the cockpit jumpseat was a third pilot, Joseph Burrell (52), who was in training and was not yet qualified on the DC-9. [4]
The aircraft, flying at 3,000 feet (910 m), had been vectored by Boston's approach control to intercept the final approach course to the ILS runway 4R approach at a 45 degree angle,[a] about 2 nautical miles (3.7 km; 2.3 mi) outside the outer marker. [4] As it was later revealed, the controller was busy handling a potential collision conflict between two other aircraft, and therefore neglected to clear Flight 723 for the approach. The flight crew had to ask the controller for approach clearance, which was immediately given, but by that time—more than a minute after the intercept vector had been issued—they were high and fast and almost over the outer marker. The flight crew subsequently failed to stabilize the aircraft's descent rate and airspeed, descended below the glideslope and drifted left of the localizer course, hitting a seawall about 165 feet (50 m) to the right of the extended runway centerline, about 3,000 feet (910 m) short of the runway's displaced threshold. The aircraft was destroyed, killing 87 of its 89 occupants. One of the two survivors died after two hours, and the other, Leopold Chouinard, died of burn injuries on December 11, 1973;[5] Chouinard is not listed by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) as an official Delta 723 fatality due to requirements in the Code of Federal Regulations which, in 1973, defined a crash fatality as taking place within 7 days of an accident;[6] the rule was subsequently changed in 2018, such that death must occur within 30 days of a crash. [7]
The weather conditions at the time of the crash were partial obscuration and fog, with a ceiling of 400 feet (120 m), 1/2 mile visibility and light winds. Runway visual range (RVR) was 1,400 to 6,000 feet (430 to 1,830 m). [4]
The NTSB investigated the accident and was able to retrieve both the cockpit voice recorder (CVR) and flight data recorder (FDR). The investigators concluded that, based on the retrieved flight data and simulations, the flight crew very likely operated the flight director improperly, inadvertently switching it into a "go around" mode during the final approach, instead of the appropriate approach mode. This caused confusion and additional pressure, and contributed to the unstablized approach and deviation from the glide path. [1] According to the CVR, no altitude callouts were made by the crew during the final approach, as the aircraft descended below the glideslope and decision height, until it struck the seawall and crashed. [4]
The board determined the following probable cause for the accident:
...the failure of the flightcrew to monitor altitude and to recognize passage of the aircraft through the approach decision height during an unstabilized precision approach conducted in rapidly changing meteorological conditions. The unstabilized nature of the approach was due initially to the aircraft's passing the outer marker above the glide slope at an excessive airspeed and thereafter compounded by the flightcrew's preoccupation with the questionable information presented by the flight director system. The poor positioning of the flight for the approach was in part the result of nonstandard air traffic control services. This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the National Transportation Safety Board.
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Air crash
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2015 Southeast Africa floods
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The 2015 Southeast Africa floods, partially related to Cyclone Bansi and Tropical Storm Chedza, killed at least 176 people in Malawi,[3] 86 in Mozambique, and at least 46 in Madagascar over the course of a week while leaving hundreds more missing. Vice President of Malawi Saulos Chilima stated that over 200,000 Malawian people have been displaced by the flood. About 400,000 African people have been displaced in total, and 153 were declared missing. [8]
Flooding began on January 14, 2015, subsiding at the end of the month. [9] Due to the flooding, the soil in some areas became over saturated and caused landslides, leading to more deaths. [10] The rainfall of Southeast Africa was recorded as being 150% higher than normal, flooding roughly 63,000 hectares in total. [11][12] Through years of research, Africa is said to have shown a complex pattern of rainfall, causing droughts and floods in the same season. Much of the damage from the 2014-2015 rain season can be attributed to the effects of El Niño.
Two weeks of heavy rainfall killed 176 people and caused US$450 million in damage, or roughly 10% of the country's GDP. [15]
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Floods
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2013 Masters (darts)
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The 2013 Coral Masters was the inaugural staging of the non-ranking darts tournament The Masters, held by the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC). It was held between 1–3 November 2013 at the Royal Highland Centre in Edinburgh, Scotland. Phil Taylor won the title by beating Adrian Lewis 10–1 in the final. Only the top 16 players on the PDC's Order of Merit on 20 October 2013 qualified for the event. [1] These were:
The total prize fund was £160,000. [2]
[1][3]
Source: Match reports from the draw. The tournament was available on ITV4 in the United Kingdom. [7] It was also shown on RTL 7 in the Netherlands, Sport1 in Germany, Fox Sports in Australia and on Sky New Zealand.
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Sports Competition
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Karnataka spared as locust swarm heads north
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Locusts swarming over city and near by area in Ajmer, Rajasthan BENGALURU/BELAGAVI: The locust swarm in Maharashtra had triggered a high alert in six districts of north Karnataka but 450km from the border, the cluster appears to be heading northward now. The state has the timely southwest monsoon winds to thank, since the insects thrive only in arid conditions. Agriculture minister BC Patil said on Thursday that in any case, the state was ready to tackle a locust infestation: "We have no less than 1 lakh litres of chemicals that can be sprayed before the locusts attack crops. We would have used the fire department's services, apart from using drones to mix the chemicals with water." He added that the department has close to Rs 200 crore at hand, as part of the state disaster relief fund, to tackle any such attack. "The swarms are moving somewhat eastwards towards Chandigarh border in Punjab from Bhandara district in Maharashtra. As the wind is moving in the same direction, these insects follow the wind," said agriculture department director BY Srinivas. He said the south-west monsoon which is commencing soon will also prevent the insects from heading south. Farmers at Kolar found some grasshoppers, leading to panic. Srinivas clarified that these insects feed on a local shrub and surface during variation in weather.
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Insect Disaster
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Herrin massacre
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The Herrin massacre took place on June 21–22, 1922 in Herrin, Illinois, in a coal mining area during a nationwide strike by the United Mineworkers of America (UMWA). Although the owner of the mine originally agreed with the union to observe the strike, when the price of coal went up, he hired non-union workers to produce and ship out coal, as he had high debt in start-up costs. After an exchange of gunfire by armed guards and union miners, three miners and 20 non-miners were killed, including the superintendent and 19 strikebreakers. Enraged that the owner had disregarded their agreement, on June 21, union miners shot at strikebreakers going to work, where the mine had armed guards. When striking union members armed themselves and laid siege to the mine, the owner's guards shot and killed three white union miners in an exchange of gunfire. The next day, union miners killed superintendent McDowell and 18 of 50 strikebreakers and mine guards, many of them brutally. A twentieth victim from the non-union group was later murdered, bringing the death total to 23. [1][2]
On April 1, 1922 the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) began a nationwide strike. W. J. Lester, owner of the Southern Illinois Coal Company, operated a strip mine about halfway between Herrin and Marion, Illinois. Lester at first complied with the strike. As he had only recently opened the mine, he had massive startup debts and was willing to negotiate with the UMWA to allow his mine to remain open, as long as no coal was shipped out. Under the agreement, some United Mine Workers members were allowed to continue working during the strike. Lester told an associate that local union leaders were friendly with him; however, he was warned this did not mean he had any control over the ordinary members. [3]
By June, Lester's miners had dug out nearly 60,000 tons of coal. Strike-driven shortages drove up demand and the price of coal, and Lester figured he could make a $250,000 profit if he sold his coal. He decided to violate the agreement he had made with the union. When the UMWA members working for him objected, he fired all the union workers. [4]
Lester brought in mine guards and 50 strikebreakers, who were vilified as "scabs" by the union men. They had been recruited by employment agencies in Chicago. On June 16, 1922, he shipped out sixteen railroad cars filled with coal. Testimony later revealed that his mine guards possessed machine guns. They aggressively searched passers-by, and "they frighten women, they boast and are hard-boiled. "[5]
Lester, responding to a reporter's questions, said his steam shovel operators and the railroad workers were members of their respective unions. John L. Lewis, president of the UMWA, responded in a telegram on June 20. He called the Steam Shovelmen's Union an "outlaw organization" that had also provided strikebreakers elsewhere. UMWA members, he said, "are justified in treating this crowd as an outlaw organization and in viewing its members in the same light as they do any other common strikebreakers. "[citation needed]
There was confusion and disagreement between Lewis and William J. Tracy, representative of District No. 1, International Brotherhood of Steam Shovel and Dredgemen (IBSSD). In a widely publicized statement, Lewis said that two representatives of the UMWA had contacted the IBSSD, but "have failed to secure any satisfaction. "[6] He did note that the Steam Shovel union had been suspended from the American Federation of Labor, to which the United Mine Workers also belonged. Lewis claimed that the IBSSD was also strikebreaking in Ohio. Tracy responded that though he had sent four individuals to the Herrin site when requested by the owner, they turned away when they saw the guards. He said that no one from his organization was working in Herrin. [7] Tracy also criticized the UMWA for not communicating adequately about the situation. [6]
It is unclear if Lester was telling the truth, or if he had contacted the IBSSD to disguise the use of non-union workers. To Lewis, it did not matter. Lester's workers were not UMWA members, and the UMWA claimed sole jurisdiction over all coal miners. Lewis' message was printed in newspapers, and miners throughout the region decided to take action. Early in the morning on June 21, a truck carrying Lester's guards and strikebreakers was ambushed near Carbondale, Illinois on its way to his mine. Three men were wounded and six others jumped into the river to escape. [2][8] Later in the day several hundred union miners rallied in the Herrin cemetery. Lewis' message was read to the crowd, enraging them further. The union miners marched into Herrin and looted the hardware store of its firearms and ammunition. At about 3:30 p.m., they surrounded Lester's mine. Lester's guards opened fire, killing two of the UMWA members and mortally wounding a third. [4][9]
The mine superintendent, C.K. McDowell, called National Guard Col. Hunter to tell him the mine was surrounded and being fired upon. McDowell said he could not reach County Sheriff Thaxton, and pleaded for troops. Col. Hunter called Thaxton's deputy and told him to ask the Illinois National Guard Adjutant General for troops and to get out to the mine with as many men as possible to stop the attack and break up the mob action. Thaxton's men did nothing.
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Strike
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1989 air battle near Tobruk crash
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The second Gulf of Sidra incident occurred on 4 January 1989 when two United States Navy F-14 Tomcats shot down two Libyan MiG-23 Floggers that appeared to have been attempting to engage them, as had happened eight years prior in the first Gulf of Sidra incident, in 1981. In 1973 Libya claimed much of the Gulf of Sidra as its territorial waters and subsequently declared a "line of death", the crossing of which would invite a military response. Tensions between Libya and the U.S. were high after the U.S. accused Libya of building a chemical weapons plant near Rabta, causing the U.S. to deploy the USS John F. Kennedy (CV-67) near its coast. A second carrier group, based around the USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71), was also being prepared to sail into the Gulf of Sidra. Table showing the interception of two two Libyan Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-23s by two U.S. Navy Grumman F-14A Tomcats of Fighter Squadron VF-32 . On the morning of 4 January 1989, the Kennedy battle group was operating some 130 km north of Libya, with a group of A-6 Intruders on exercise south of Crete, escorted by two pairs of F-14As from VF-14 and VF-32, and as well as an E-2C from VAW-126. Later that morning the southernmost Combat Air Patrol station was taken by two F-14s from VF-32, (CDR Joseph Bernard Connelly/CDR Leo F. Enwright in BuNo 159610, 'AC207') and (LT Hermon C. Cook III/LCDR Steven Patrick Collins in BuNo 159437, 'AC202'). The officers had been specially briefed for this mission due to the high tensions regarding the Carrier Group's presence; the pilots were advised to expect some kind of hostilities. At 11:50 a.m., after some time on patrol, the E-2 informed the F-14 crews that four Libyan MiG-23s had taken off from Al Bumbaw airfield, near Tobruk. The F-14s from VF-32 turned towards the first two MiG-23s (Floggers) some 50 km ahead of the second pair and acquired them on radar, while the Tomcats from VF-14 stayed with the A-6 group. At the time the Floggers were 72 nautical miles (133 km) away at 10,000 ft (3,000 m) and heading directly towards the Tomcats and carrier. The F-14s turned away from the head-on approach to indicate that they were not attempting to engage. The Floggers changed course to intercept at a closing speed of about 870 knots (1,000 mph, 1600 km/h). The F-14s descended to 3,000 ft (910 m) to give them a clear radar picture of the Floggers against the sky and leave the Floggers with sea clutter to contend with. Four more times the F-14s turned away from the approaching MiGs. Each time the Libyan aircraft turned in to continue to close. At 11:59 the Radar Intercept Officer (RIO) of the lead Tomcat ordered the arming of the AIM-9 Sidewinder and AIM-7 Sparrow missiles it was carrying. The E-2C had given the F-14 crews authority to fire if threatened; the F-14 crews did not have to wait until after the Libyans opened fire. At almost 12:01 the lead Tomcat RIO said that "Bogeys have jinked back at me again for the fifth time. They're on my nose now, inside of 20 miles", followed shortly by "Master arm on" as he ordered arming of the weapons. At a range of 14 nmi (26 km) the RIO of the lead F-14A fired the first AIM-7M Sparrow; he surprised his pilot, who did not expect to see a missile accelerate away from his Tomcat. The RIO reported "Fox 1. Fox 1." The Sparrow failed to track because of a wrong switch-setting. At 10 nmi (19 km), he launched a second Sparrow missile, but it also failed to track its target. The Floggers accelerated and continued to approach. At 6 nmi (11 km) range the Tomcats split and the Floggers followed the wingman while the lead Tomcat circled to get a tail angle on them. The wingman fired a third Sparrow from 5 nmi (9 km) and downed one of the Libyan aircraft. The lead Tomcat by now had gained the rear quadrant on the final Flogger. After closing to 1.5 nmi (2.8 km) the pilot fired a Sidewinder, which hit its target. The Tomcats proceeded north to return to the carrier group. The Libyan pilots were both seen to successfully eject and parachute into the sea, but the Libyan Air Force was unable to recover them. A MiG-23 silhouette was painted onto AC202 after the engagement; it was removed prior to returning from cruise. It is unknown why the two MiGs operated in this manner, and why the Libyans did not launch a successful rescue operation to recover the pilots. The following day, the Libyans accused the US of attacking two unarmed reconnaissance planes, but the footage, also called the gun-camera videos, showed that the Libyans had been armed with AA-7 Apex missiles. Depending on the model, this can be either a semi-active radar-homing missile or an infrared-homing (heat-seeking) missile. Identifications of the Tomcats vary and the narrative above used the details from Air Aces. [2] However, another source identifies the wingman as AC202 rather than AC204. [3] Both agree on AC207 as the lead. At the request of the National Air and Space Museum, the U.S. Navy provided BuNo 159610 to its Udvar-Hazy location near Dulles International Airport. [4] Although Tomcat BuNo 159610 downed the Libyan MiG-23 as a VF-32 F-14A model Tomcat, it returned from that deployment and was entered into the F-14D remanufacture program and served later in a precision strike role as a VF-31 F-14D(R). On September 30, 2006, it was formally unveiled to the public with now retired CAPTs Connelly and Enwright on the podium as honored guests. As of March 2014[update], BuNo 159437 is still resting at the Aircraft Maintenance and Restoration Group (AMARG) facility just outside Davis-Monthan AFB. This aircraft is the final F-14 currently remaining in the AMARG complex and has not been scrapped due to impending museum placement. If BuNo 159437 becomes a museum exhibit, it is likely to be placed on the USS John F. Kennedy (CV-67) once the ship becomes a museum itself.
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Air crash
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Primavalle fire
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The Primavalle fire (Rogo di Primavalle in Italian) was an arson attack which occurred in Rome on 16 April 1973. It killed the two sons of neo-fascist Movimento Sociale Italiano (MSI) member Mario Mattei. The fire was caused by the far-left terrorist group Potere Operaio, who, during the night, threw an inflammable substance on the door of the house of Mattei, in the quarter Primavalle. Mattei was the local leader of the MSI, the Italian post-fascist party. When the fire broke out, Mattei and part of his family[clarification needed] managed to escape, but his sons, Virgilio, aged 22, and Stefano, aged 8, burnt to death as they could not escape through the window. They were found charred, in a tight embrace. Virgilio, whom gathering locals saw leaning against the window, was a member of Volontari Nazionali, the militant branch of the MSI. The attackers left a claim of their action on the pavement: "Tanas Brigade - class war - Death to the fascists - the headquarters of the MSI - Mattei and Schiavoncino hit by proletarian justice". In the aftermath of the fire, some prominent Italian intellectuals (including Norberto Bobbio) mobilized in favor of the left-wing activists accused of committing these murders, and tried to attribute the attack to internal dissensions among MSI members. [citation needed]
Activists of Potere Operaio Achille Lollo, Marino Clavo, Manlio Grillo were eventually[when?] convicted and sentenced to 18 years in a second-degree sentence. [citation needed] However, while on bail, Lollo fled to Brazil, where his crime was declared prescribed. [clarification needed] Grillo fled to Nicaragua, helped by Oreste Scalzone, who had also assisted Lollo. [citation needed] As of 2007, Clavo is in hiding. In two interviews released in 2005, both Lollo and Grillo admitted for the first time their responsibility in the act. Grillo also declared that Potere Operaio had connections with the Red Brigades. Franco Piperno, national secretary of Potere Operaio in 1973, also confirmed that the leaders of the organization were informed of the fire facts some days after it, and kept all members' responsibilities hidden. Coordinates: 41°54′54″N 12°24′49″E / 41.91500°N 12.41361°E / 41.91500; 12.41361
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Fire
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1990 Strangeways Prison riot
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The 1990 Strangeways Prison riot was a 25-day prison riot and rooftop protest at Strangeways Prison in Manchester, England. The riot began on 1 April 1990 when prisoners took control of the prison chapel, and the riot quickly spread throughout most of the prison. The riot and rooftop protest ended on 25 April when the final five prisoners were removed from the rooftop, making it the longest prison riot in British penal history. One prisoner was killed during the riot, and 147 prison officers and 47 prisoners were injured. Much of the prison was damaged or destroyed, with the cost of repairs coming to £55 million. The riot sparked a series of disturbances in prisons across England, Scotland and Wales, resulting in the British government announcing a public inquiry into the riots headed by Lord Woolf. The resulting Woolf Report concluded that conditions in the prison had been intolerable, and recommended major reform of the prison system. The Guardian newspaper described the report as a blueprint for the restoration of "decency and justice into jails where conditions had become intolerable". Manchester's Strangeways Prison, which opened in 1868, was a "local prison" designed to hold prisoners from the surrounding area, mainly those on remand or serving sentences of less than five years. [1][2] At the time of the riot, the main prison consisted of six wings connected by a central rotunda known as the Centre.Convicted adult prisoners were held in wings A, B, C and D, and convicted young offenders were held in E wing, which was physically separated from the Centre by gates. [2] Convicted prisoners on Rule 43(a)[a] were held on landings C1 and C2 of C wing, and remand prisoners on Rule 43(a) were held on the fourth landing on E wing.F wing contained administrative offices on the lower floor and the chapel on the upper floor. Remand prisoners were held in wings G, H, I and K of a separate prison, linked to the main prison through workshops and a kitchen. The Certified Normal Accommodation for Strangeways, the number of prisoners the prison was designed to hold, was 970. [3] The population of the prison had increased in the months before the riot, from 1,417 in January 1990 to a peak of 1,658 on 27 March.On 1 April, the prison contained 1,647 prisoners – about 925 convicted adult prisoners, 500 remand prisoners and 210 convicted young offenders.
Prisoners felt their complaints about conditions were being ignored. Remand prisoners were only allowed out of their cells for 18 hours per week, and Category A prisonerswere locked in their cells for 22 hours a day, and rarely left their cells except for "slopping out", a one-hour exercise period each day or a weekly shower. In March 1990, Dominic Noonan was transferred from Strangeways to HM Prison Hull. Noonan was the organiser of the Prisoners' League Association (PLA), an organisation formed in 1989 which campaigned for prisoners' rights.Its aims included initiating legal proceedings against prison staff for mistreatment of prisoners, and picketing outside prisons in which prisoners were mistreated. The PLA were active at Strangeways Prison, and Noonan's transfer demonstrates prison officers were aware of rising tensions inside the prison.
On 26 March 1990, Barry Morton was taken to the "punishment block" and strip-searched after being visited by his mother, as prison officers believed she had brought drugs into the prison for him. During a struggle he sustained a black eye and swollen nose, and the following day he was released back into the main prison along with another prisoner, Tony Bush. Later the same day, Bush and Morton climbed onto the roof of the prison and staged a twenty-hour rooftop protest. [7][8] On 31 March there was a 30-minute sit-down protest in the chapel after a film was shown, which ended after a prison officer promised to listen to the prisoners' grievances. The same evening it is reported that a black prisoner was assaulted by prison officers in front of other prisoners, and injected with Largactil – a sedative used to control prisoners, known in prisons as the "liquid cosh". Prisoners then decided to stage a further protest in the chapel the following day, 1 April.
Prison officers had advance warning that an incident would occur in the chapel on 1 April, and security was increased. Extra prison officers were used to escort prisoners to the service, and fourteen officers were inside the chapel supervising the service instead of the usual total of eight. [9][10] An additional seven officers were also stationed in the vestry outside the chapel. The service was attended by 309 prisoners which was about the usual attendance, but all Rule 43(a) prisoners were prevented from attending as a precautionary measure. A senior prison officer believed the prisoners would attempt another sit-down protest with the possibility of hostage-taking, and instructed staff to evacuate the chapel if trouble began.] At approximately 11:00 am, a visiting Church of England preacher had just delivered the sermon, and the prison chaplain, Reverend Noel Proctor, stood to thank the preacher when prisoner Paul Taylor took the microphone from him and addressed the congregation. Reverend Proctor was recording the service for distribution to a prayer group, and the subsequent events were recorded:
Noel Proctor: After that remarkable message that has...
Paul Taylor: I would like to say, right, that this man has just talked about blessing of the heart and a hardened heart can be delivered. No it cannot, not with resentment, anger and bitterness and hatred being instilled in people.
A prisoner: Fuck your system, fuck your rules.
Noel Proctor: Right lads, sit down.
Noel Proctor: Right lads, down. Down. Come on, this is no way to carry on in God's house.
A prisoner: Fuck your system.
Noel Proctor: Right lads, sit down. This is completely out of order. Sit down. A prisoner: Why is it? It's been waiting to happen for ever. It will never change. Noel Proctor: Come on.
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Riot
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Emirates Flight 407 crash
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Emirates Flight 407 was a scheduled international passenger flight operated by Emirates from Melbourne to Dubai, using an Airbus A340-500 aircraft. On 20 March 2009, the flight failed to take off properly at Melbourne Airport, hitting several structures at the end of the runway before eventually climbing enough to return to the airport for a safe landing. Although no fatalities or injuries resulted, damage to the aircraft was severe enough for the event to be classified by Australian Transport Safety Bureau as an "accident". It has been described "as close as we have ever come to a major aviation catastrophe in Australia" by aviation officials. [1]
The scheduled flight departed from Melbourne as planned at 22:30 using the 3,657 m-long (11,998 ft) Runway 16. The captain ordered the first officer to rotate 1,043 m (3,422 ft) before the end of the runway, travelling at a speed of 270 km/h (146 kn). [2] As the aircraft pitched upward, it failed to leave the ground and the tail section struck and continued to scrape along the runway. The captain took over the controls and applied maximum thrust on all four engines by using the take-off/go-around detent. [3][4][5] After exhausting the entire length of the runway, the aircraft failed to become airborne, and did not leave the ground until 148 m (486 ft) beyond the end of the runway. [2]:9 The captain later said, "I thought we were going to die. It was that close". [3][4]
Subsequently, the aircraft hit a strobe light at the end of the runway[2]:11 and continued to climb with difficulties. [failed verification] At 350 m (1,148 ft) beyond the end of the runway, the landing gear hit and damaged the 1.8 m-high (5 ft 11 in) localiser antenna array. At 500 m (1,640 ft) beyond the end of the runway, the aircraft barely missed the 2.24 m-tall (7 ft 4 in) airport perimeter fence. The aircraft eventually climbed away over Port Phillip Bay. The first officer then reviewed the take-off performance calculations in his electronic flight bag, and discovered that he had understated the aircraft's weight by 100 tonnes (262.9 tonnes instead of 362.9). [2]:3[3][5][6][7] This meant that an incorrect flex temp was applied, which had resulted in a lower than necessary engine thrust and consequently insufficient acceleration and airspeed. [5]
The pilots finished dumping fuel over the bay by 23:27, and they subsequently received a report of smoke in the cabin. They requested an immediate return, which air traffic control granted, and they returned to the airport at 23:36 without further incident. [5]
Despite having tailstrike protection built into the A340-500, the rear pressure bulkhead and the underlying structure were severely damaged during the take-off roll when the tail struck the runway with considerable force. The aircraft also suffered extensive damage to the bottom of the fuselage as it scraped along the runway, a large surface having been completely stripped of its external sheet. [2]:4–8
The aircraft was not written off, but was instead returned to Airbus by way of a low-altitude flight without pressurisation routed from Melbourne to Toulouse on 19 June via Perth, Singapore, Dubai, and Cairo with the crew flying below 12,000 ft (3,700 m). [8]
The aircraft made its first revenue flight after repairs on 1 December 2009 as flight EK424, and remained in service operating short- to medium-haul international flights out of Dubai, until it was withdrawn from service in October 2014. It was scrapped later that year. [9][10]
After being interviewed by investigators, the two pilots of the flight returned to Dubai. The captain and the first officer were asked to resign from Emirates upon their arrival in Dubai, and both did so. [11]
The captain of Flight 407 had slept for only 6 hours during the 24 hours before the accident, while the first officer had had 8 hours sleep in the same period. [2]:18[a] The captain had flown a total 99 hours during the prior month, 1 hour short of the maximum 100 flying hours allowed by Emirates, while the first officer had flown 90 hours in the same period. [2]:13–14[3][4][12]
The accident investigation was performed by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB). Central to the investigation was how the first officer had come to use the wrong aircraft weight, why that mistake was not picked up before takeoff, and why the flight crew had not realized the acceleration was much slower than expected until nearly entirely exhausting the 3.6-kilometre (12,000-foot) runway. [2]:ix
Studies showed that aircrew could have difficulty recognising that incorrect data had been entered in avionic equipment, resulting in poor take-off performance. The ATSB issued a safety recommendation to the United States Federal Aviation Administration and a safety advisory notice to the International Air Transport Association and the Flight Safety Foundation. In addition, Airbus investigated the development of software to help pilots recognise unusual or poor performance on take-off. [13]
In October 2011, the ATSB released the findings of their investigation into the incident. They found that human error was the cause, and urged the development of technological aids that would alert pilots to incorrect data entry or insufficient take-off speed. [14]
In response to the incident, Emirates reviewed its preflight procedures, mandating the duplication of laptop computers used for preflight planning so as to ensure dual data entry. They are also developing an avionics system for take-off acceleration-monitoring and alerting. Airbus updated its software to detect erroneous data. [failed verification] In October 2011, they announced plans to include a software program to calculate the required runway length. [failed verification] Furthermore, Airbus is developing a monitoring system to compute required acceleration rates and apply a "reasonableness test" to data input and alert the pilot to any potential errors. The system could potentially be certified by 2015. [14][15][needs update]
The events of the incident are documented in a series two episode of Aircrash Confidential, titled "Take-off". [16]
Australian Transport Safety Bureau Aviation Occurrence Investigation AO-2009-012 "Tailstrike and runway overrun - Airbus A340-541, A6-ERG, Melbourne Airport, Victoria, 20 March 2009"
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Air crash
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1993 Hădăreni riots
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The 1993 Hădăreni riots were a series of riots in the village of Hădăreni, Mureș County, Romania, involving Romanians and Hungarians on the one side against Roma on the other side, ending with three[1] (or four, according to some sources[2][3]) Roma being murdered. On 20 September 1993, a group of Gypsies had an argument with an elderly Romanian. When his son arrived to rescue the father, one of the Gypsies knifed the younger Romanian to death. The Gypsies then sought refuge in a house where they locked themselves in. The Romanians requested them to leave the house and render themselves to police. As the Gypsies refused to come out of the house, the Romanian and Hungarian villagers, including the local police commander and one of his officers,[4] gathered outside, sprayed the house with gasoline and set it on fire. Two Gypsies were lynched when they tried to flee, one burned to death inside, and one escaped. [2] There had been dozens of complaints about thefts by Gypsies from the majority population in the previous period which were never solved by police. [5]
Afterwards, in a "classic case of mob justice",[1] 13 (or 14, according to some sources[3]) Gypsy houses were burnt down, and an additional four were damaged. The police did nothing to stop the attacks. [3] Most of the 130 Gypsy inhabitants of the village fled into the nearby woods, returning only after days or even weeks. [2]
The government, in its official explanation, expressed understanding for the "anger of the villagers. "[6]
After charges were filed in 1997, five men were convicted by a Romanian court of murder, and seven of property destruction and disturbing public order. In 1999, the Romanian Supreme Court acquitted two of the accused murderers and reduced the charges against the other three. [4]
The European Court of Human Rights decided that the Romanians have to pay €238,000 compensation to the group of Gypsies whose houses were burnt down. According to the European Court verdict, representatives of the Romanian Police participated in the arson, and then tried to hide this. The court also decided that the ethnic origin of the people involved was an important factor in its outcome, and that the length of the trial (11 years) infringed on their right to a fair trial. [7]
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Riot
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Navy launches exercise with North African partners as migrant deaths in the Mediterranean soar
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The U.S. Navy kicked off Exercise Phoenix Express 2021 at La Goulette naval base in Tunis, Tunisia — a move that coincided with the drowning deaths or disappearances of more than 50 migrants off Tunisia’s coast Monday. The North African maritime exercise is designed to foster regional cooperation, maritime domain awareness, information-sharing practices, and operational capabilities. Likewise, the sea portion of the exercise is intended to challenge North African, European and U.S. maritime forces’ capability responding to irregular migration and illicit trafficking, the Navy said. “Exercises such as Phoenix Express 2021 increase interoperability among participating nations in order to increase maritime security and sustain global commerce,” Capt. Harry Knight, Phoenix Express exercise director, said in a Navy news release. “Our maritime exercises allow us to develop our skills with our regional partners by learning from each other and working together.” The exercise, one of three regional maritime exercises U.S. Naval Forces Africa conducts, will have 13 nations join this year. In addition to the U.S., those countries include Tunisia, Algeria, Belgium, Egypt, France, Greece, Italy, Libya, Malta, Mauritania, Morocco and Spain. “Joint military exercises such as Phoenix Express reaffirm and deepen our exceptional bilateral cooperation with Tunisia and ensure that we meet our shared goals of a safe and secure maritime environment through regional collaboration and interoperability,” Donald Blome, U.S. Ambassador to Tunisia, said in the release. The exercise started May 17 and is slated to wrap up May 28. Phoenix Express, now in its 16th year, was cancelled in 2020 due to the pandemic. A day after the exercise began, more than 50 migrants drowned or disappeared off the coast of Tunisia, while 33 others were rescued by workers from an oil platform, the Tunisian Defense Ministry said Tuesday. Ministry spokesperson Mohamed Zekri said that the boat carrying migrants capsized Monday off Sfax, on Tunisia’s east coast. He said that personnel on the oil platform who saw the boat going under alerted authorities, and navy units were sent in to search the water for missing passengers. Flavio Di Giacomo, a spokesperson for the Mediterranean coordination office of the International Organization for Migration, said on Twitter that the 33 survivors were all from Bangladesh. The boat departed from Zawara, Libya, on Sunday, he said. The nationalities of the people who died were not immediately clear. An International Organization for Migration spokesperson in Tunisia, Riadh Kadhi, said the survivors reported that the boat carried about 90 passengers when it left Libya. Libya is a frequent departure point for Europe-bound migrants making the dangerous Mediterranean Sea crossing. Monday’s incident was at least the fifth deadly boat sinking in the last couple of months off Tunisia involving migrants escaping conflict or poor living conditions. Earlier this month, 17 migrants drowned and two were rescued after their boat sank off the Tunisian coast. Tunisia’s official TAP news agency reported that navy units rescued another 113 migrants from Bangladesh, Morocco and sub-Saharan Africa on Monday afternoon as their boat was about to sink off Djerba, an island off the Tunisian coast.
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Military Exercise
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34 celebrity couples who wrote and recorded songs together
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The two "The Voice" coaches began dating in late 2015 and released "Go Ahead and Break My Heart" the following year. They recently teamed up again for the uber-romantic "Nobody But You," which is included on Shelton's new album, "Fully Loaded: God's Country." Cabello and Mendes released their first song together, "I Know What You Did Last Summer," in November 2015, long before they started dating. Four years later, they released a sultry video for their duet "Señorita" — which hit No. 1 on the chart in 2019 and was nominated for best pop duo/group performance at the 2020 Grammys — which naturally stoked intense romance rumors. Cabello later confirmed they fell in love while working on the song. Yearwood and Brooks got married in 2005, but the longtime couple recorded "In Another's Eyes" together back in 1997, while they were still married to other people. In the years since, Yearwood and Brooks cowrote "What I'm Thankful for (The Thanksgiving Song)" for their 2016 "Christmas Together" album, as well as "For the Last Time" for Yearwood's 2018 Frank Sinatra-inspired album. The rappers met and got secretly married in 2017, the same year they released their first musical collaboration, "Lick." Cardi was featured on the Migos song "MotorSport" a few months later. Offset and his fellow Migos rapper then appeared on Cardi's song "Drip." Most recently, Cardi granted Offset a coveted feature on his 2019 single "Clout." Halsey, real name Ashley Frangipane, and Yungblud, real name Dominic Harrison, dated for about nine months in 2019. During that time, they released the rock duet "11 Minutes," which they cowrote alongside Matt Schwartz and Brynley Rose Plumb. Swizz Beatz, real name Kasseem Dean, produced his future wife's 2007 single "Waiting for Your Love." Before they tied the knot in 2010, they cowrote and coproduced multiple tracks, including "Put It In a Love Song," "Wait Till You See My Smile," and Whitney Houston's "Million Dollar Bill." In 2011, Dean released the single "International Party" featuring Keys. The power couple have worked together throughout their relationship. They even went on tour together in 2014 and again in 2018, the same year they released the collaborative album "Everything Is Love" as The Carters. Halsey and G-Eazy, real name Gerald Gillum, began dating in 2017. She lent vocals to his single "Him & I" later that year, writing on Twitter, "this song is so special to me. i made it with someone i love for the people we love." Halsey has all but confirmed that G-Eazy cheated on her, which led to their split in July 2018 (and again in October, after a brief reconciliation). She went on to write her hit song "Without Me" about their "heinous" breakup. It topped the Billboard Hot 100 last year for two weeks and has since been certified six-times platinum. The two country musicians got together when McGraw enlisted Hill as his tour's opening act in 1996. In the years since, they've recorded many songs together, including "It's Your Love," "Let's Make Love," "Just to Hear You Say That You Love Me," "I Need You," "Angry All the Time," "Speak to a Girl," and "Like We Never Loved at All." Jhené Aiko and Big Sean were first heard on a song together back in 2013, "Beware," when they were both dating different people. They even formed the musical duo Twenty88 and released a collaborative album in 2016, while Aiko was married to Dot da Genius. They dated for about two years before they split in 2018, but the exes still collaborated on multiple breakup songs in 2019: Sean's "Single Again" and Aiko's "None of Your Concern." Miller and Grande began dating three years after collaborating on their romantic hit single "The Way" in 2013. They recorded the duet "My Favorite Part" for Miller's 2016 album, "The Divine Feminine," and Miller hopped on a remix of Grande's single "Into You" that same year. The couple broke up in 2018 and Miller died unexpectedly later that year. However, they may have continued to collaborate during those months; Grande appears to have lent uncredited vocals to Miller's posthumous album, "Circles." Lopez and Anthony met while working on music together in the '90s. They dueted on "No Me Ames" in 1999. In 2004, the same year they secretly tied the knot, Lopez was featured on Anthony's sultry song "Escapémonos," which they then performed at the Grammys together. The couple toured together in 2007 and separated in 2011, but continued to work on music together: In 2016, Lopez announced that she was working with Anthony to produce a Spanish-language album. "When we first started working together it's how we met, we met working," Lopez said in 2017. "And so we remembered that like, oh right, we connect on this level of music. And we have that. And that's what the album came out of." After the longtime couple split in 2016, TMZ reported that Swift wrote her ex-boyfriend's hit song, "This Is What You Came For," which features Rihanna. Swift's publicist then confirmed to People that she did in fact write the song under the pseudonym Nils Sjoberg. Harris arranged, produced, and created the music. As fans began to speculate that Minaj and Mill were an item, he was granted two features on her 2014 album "The Pinkprint." The following year, just before they confirmed their relationship, Minaj announced that Mill would open for her on tour. In June 2015, Mill dropped the lead single from his sophomore album, "All Eyes On You," which included a coveted feature from his girlfriend and additional vocals from Chris Brown. But by January 2017, the two rappers had split. Halsey began dating Lido, real name Peder Losnegård, while they worked together on her debut album, 2015's "Badlands." He served as an executive producer on the project and even recorded background vocals for the romantic deep cut "Drive." They've performed the song together multiple times. The two split shortly after the album was released, but continued to live and work together. He cowrote and produced four songs for her sophomore album, 2017's "Hopeless Fountain Kingdom," including the harsh breakup songs "Lie" and "Walls Could Talk." Most recently, Lido is credited as a producer on six songs on Halsey's 2020 album "Manic." Back in 2013, Sean was featured on "Right There," the third single from Grande's debut album. They began dating in 2014, the same year Grande dropped her sophomore album, which saw Sean appear again on "Best Mistake." (That's also his voice whispering the chorus on her smash hit "Problem," although he's not officially credited as a cowriter or feature.) Grande is also featured on the rapper's third album, 2015's "Dark Sky Paradise," on a deluxe track called "Research" — but they broke up later that year. Derulo and Sparks dated for more than two years before their split in September 2014. They dueted on "Vertigo," the fifth song on Derulo's 2013 album "Talk Dirty." In 2008, about two years into their courtship, Shelton recorded a cover of Michael Bublé's "Home" with Lambert on backing vocals. They embarked on a joint headlining tour later that year and dropped their second collaboration, the cheeky duet "Bear Skin Rug," which they cowrote. Shelton is credited as a cowriter on three different tracks on Lambert's 2009 album "Revolution," and she appears as a featured vocalist on the title track of his 2011 album "Red River Blue." Shelton also cowrote Lambert's award-winning single "Over You" in 2012, drawing inspiration from the death of his older brother. Although his vocals don't appear on the track, he has performed the emotional song onstage. "Miranda and I wrote this together one night on my bus. We decided that she should record because I wasn't sure if I could get through it every night," he said during a concert in 2013, according to Country Rebel. The two country singers announced their divorce in 2015 after four years of marriage. After a year or so of ups and downs, Mayer and Perry released the romantic duet "Who You Love" in August 2013. The duo cowrote the song for Mayer's sixth studio album, "Paradise Valley," and starred in the music video together. They broke up less than a year later. Sykes was featured on Grande's 2013 ballad "Almost Is Never Enough" and they started dating shortly after recording the track. They broke up about five months later. The exes teamed up again in 2016 for a remix of his song "Over And Over Again." Ciara released the sultry single "Body Party" in 2013, which was cowritten by her then-boyfriend Future. The rapper also stars in the music video, which appears to recount the story of when they met at a house party. In reality, Ciara and Future met in the studio when he recorded a guest verse for a remix of Ciara's single "Sorry." They were dating by the time the remix was released in late 2012. Ciara returned the favor by hopping on a remix of Future's single, "Turn On the Lights." The two musicians later got engaged, but broke it off in 2015. While Kroeger was working as a producer for Lavigne's self-titled album in 2012, the two started dating. By the time the lead single was released — "Here's to Never Growing Up," which Kroeger cowrote — they were engaged. By the time the album's third single was released — "Let Me Go," which features Kroeger — they were married. They split in 2015, but continued to work together. Lavigne described her ex-husband as "a really great soundboard" for her sixth studio album, 2019's "Head Above Water." He even lent vocals to the title track. "I would call him and send him songs to get his opinion, and if I was ever stuck on something, he'd help me out, which is super f---ing cool, if you think about it," she told USA Today. "I'd play him songs on FaceTime and he'd be like, 'I'm so proud of you, you did such a good job.' So he just cares about me and wants to see me do well, which is really nice." In early 2010, after he tweeted about wanting to feature Swift on the song, Mayer released the single "Half of My Heart." It's unclear whether the two were dating when they recorded it, because they never officially confirmed their relationship. Swift went on to release her scathing breakup song "Dear John" later that year. According to Billboard, Diddy and Cassie had been quietly dating for five years before they made their public debut as a couple in 2012. In 2007, reportedly in the midst of their secret relationship, Cassie released "Must Be Love" featuring Diddy (then known as Puff Daddy), who also cowrote the song. They split in 2018. The guitarist Jack White (né Gillis) and drummer Meg White, who met in high school, tied the knot in 1996. The couple subsequently named their band after her surname, performed for the first time as The White Stripes in 1997, and released their debut album in 1999. The White Stripes released six celebrated rock albums over the course of eight years, despite Jack and Meg splitting up in 2000 (and publicly claiming to be brother and sister, for some reason). The duo played their final concert together in 2007 and officially dissolved the band in 2011. Nas and Kelis were married from 2005 to 2010 and released numerous songs together, including "In Public" (2005), "Blindfold Me" (2006), and "Not Going Back" (2006). She has since accused her ex-husband of physical and mental abuse. Simpson and Lachey had been dating for about two years when they released "Where You Are," which was included on her debut studio album, 1999's "Sweet Kisses." The couple went on to record a cover of "A Whole New World" (from Disney's "Aladdin") and the Christmas song "Baby It's Cold Outside" before they split in 2005. Common and Badu had been dating for a couple years when they released "Love of My Life," a romantic duet that was featured in the 2002 film "Brown Sugar," but split that same year. He later said the breakup left him in a "haze." "Carryin' On with Johnny Cash and June Carter" was released just seven months before the two musicians tied the knot. The album is full of famous duets, including the Grammy-winning "Jackson" and single "Long Legged Guitar Pickin' Man." The couple, widely considered music royalty, were together until her death in May 2003. He died four months later. Shortly after their wedding in 1992, Brown and Houston released their first collaboration: "Something in Common," the 10th track on his album "Bobby." Ten years later, he was featured on her song "My Love," the fourth track on her 2002 album "Just Whitney." Nicks and Buckingham's tumultuous relationship coincided with their music careers. They met in high school and released an album together, "Buckingham Nicks," in 1973. Two years later, they joined the blues band Fleetwood Mac. Famously, they continued to write and record together, even during times of strife. The band's 1977 album "Rumors" is one of the most revered breakup albums of all time; around the same time that Nicks and Buckingham were breaking up, bassist John McVie and keyboardist Christine McVie had filed for divorce. Drummer Mick Fleetwood divorced his wife as well. Sonny & Cher released five studio albums together, as well as four compilation albums, one soundtrack album, and two live albums. After 13 years together and 40 million records sold worldwide, their divorce was finalized in 1975.
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Famous Person - Marriage
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Sound Transit north line service cancellation extended after mudslide
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MUKILTEO, Wash — Two mudslides caused by the heavy rains this weekend is impacting Sound Transit trains in the north Sound. Sound Transit said its north line service was canceled through Wednesday, Jan. 6, due to a mudslide between the King Street and Edmonds stations. A previous mudslide between the Edmonds and Mukilteo stations canceled service Monday, Jan. 4. North line service was originally expected to resume Tuesday, Jan. 5, but Sound Transit extended the closure after the second mudslide. Service will now resume Thursday, Jan. 7. Passengers can take the regularly scheduled bus service as an alternative. Here is a list of the schedule. Special buses will also offer direct service from Seattle to Edmonds, Mukilteo and Everett. Western Washington was hammered with heavy rain in the lowlands Saturday night, which increased the threat of mudslides. Another storm on Sunday night brought more heavy rain, strong winds and mountain snow. The chance for mudslides will be high through the beginning of the week as the already saturated soil gets another dose of heavy rain. Avalanche danger in the backcountry is also a concern, according to the National Weather Service.
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Mudslides
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2009 Lindsey Oil Refinery strikes
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The 2009 Lindsey Oil Refinery strikes were a series of wildcat strikes that affected the energy industry in the United Kingdom in 2009. The action involved workers at around a dozen energy sites across the UK who walked out in support of other British workers at the Total's Lindsey Oil Refinery. The Lindsey Oil Refinery construction workers went on strike because employment was not offered to them on a £200 million construction contract to build a hydro desulphurisation unit at the site. [1][2]
On 28 January 2009, approximately 800 of Lindsey Oil Refinery's local contractors went on strike following the appointment by the Italian construction contractor IREM of several hundred European (mainly Italian and Portuguese) contractors on the site at a time of high unemployment in the local and global economy. The action attracted considerable media interest. [3][4][5]
Workers contended that the strike was in defence of a national agreement determining wages and conditions in the industry. [6]
The protests were largely portrayed in the British media as being solely about the use of the European Union's Posted Workers Directive to discriminate against British workers,[7] prompting Unite the union to make a statement on 4 February[1] to refute xenophobic comments in the media. Since European Union law enshrines the right to the freedom of movement for workers between EU member states, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said: "When I talked about British jobs, I was talking about giving people in Britain the skills, so that they have the ability to get jobs which were at present going to people from abroad, and actually encouraging people to take up the courses and the education and learning that is necessary for British workers to be far more skilled for the future." Asked for his message to people considering the wildcat strikes, he said: "That that's not the right thing to do and it's not defensible." Italian and Portuguese construction workers, living on barges in nearby docks, were set to starting work there. British trade unions claimed Britons were not given any opportunity to apply for the posts. [8]
Additional contractors at other sites in the United Kingdom also initiated action as a result of the protests. [9] On 30 January, around 700 workers at the Grangemouth Oil Refinery in central Scotland walked out in solidarity with the North Lincolnshire strikers. They were also joined by 50 strikers in Aberthaw, in South Wales, 400 at the ICI site in Wilton, Teesside. and walkouts also took place at British Petroleum in Saltend, Hull. [10]
Following several days of talks between representatives from Total and the GMB union which were chaired by Acas, a deal was finally struck on 5 February and workers at the refinery agreed to return to work the following Monday. The deal would see 102 new jobs being created for British workers in addition to the posts awarded to an IREM. [11] An earlier deal that would have seen the creation of 60 British jobs (40 skilled and 20 unskilled) had been rejected. [12] On 16 February an Acas report concluded that Total had not broken the law in employing Italian workers at the refinery. [13]
The strike at Lindsey resumed on 11 June 2009,[14] after a subcontractor at the site laid off a number of employees,[15] later confirmed to be 51. The strike was quickly followed by sympathy strikes at Cheshire's Fiddlers Ferry Power Station on 15 June and Aberthaw on 17 June. [16] The strikes escalated on 18 June, with walkouts at Drax Power Station and Eggborough Power Station in Yorkshire and Ratcliffe-on-Soar Power Station in Nottinghamshire, BP Saltend, and the BOC oxygen plant at Scunthorpe. [17]
On 19 June 2009 nearly 700 construction staff were sacked at the Lindsey Oil Refinery. [18] The sackings came following 1,200 workers walking out unofficially at the plant in a jobs dispute. The following plants walked out in sympathy:[19]
Paul Kenny, General Secretary of the GMB trade union, said: "GMB condemn the action of Total. Total have for a full week refused to meet the union to resolve the problems through ACAS. It seems pretty obvious that there is a mass case of victimisation taking place here. Locking out the workforce at Lindsay will not solve the problem. It will escalate it. "[20]
Workers at the Lindsey refinery were invited to re-apply for their jobs, with managers at Total giving them a deadline of 17:00 on Monday 22 June 2009 to do so. However, angered by the actions of the management, workers burned their dismissal letters at a protest outside the refinery. [21] Around 3,000 workers at other sites around the country also walked out in support of the Lindsey workers. [21]
Negotiations between Total and representatives of the GMB union were adjourned on Tuesday 23 June with some progress having been made, but sources said a number of "significant barriers" remained outstanding before the dispute could be resolved. [22] Talks resumed on 25 June,[22] and an agreement was reached late that evening to end the industrial action, accepted at a mass meeting outside the refinery on the following Monday. [23] The deal included the reinstatement of the 647 workers at the Lindsey site who had been sacked for taking unofficial action, offers of alternative jobs for the 51 workers laid off, and assurances that workers at power stations and oil and gas terminals who walked out in sympathy would not be victimised. [23] On 29 June workers at the refinery voted to accept the deal. [24]
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Strike
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UCLA Men's Basketball Forward Cody Riley Diagnosed With MCL Sprain, Out At Least a Week
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The Bruins' top big man will be re-evaluated in a week, according to a UCLA spokesperson.
It can hardly ever be labeled as "good news" when a player is ruled out with an injury, but considering what could have been, the Bruins are likely breathing a sigh of relief.
No. 2 UCLA men's basketball (1-0) forward Cody Riley, who left Tuesday night's season opener with an injury, was diagnosed with a sprained left MCL on Wednesday. A UCLA Athletics spokesperson told All Bruins that Riley will be out for the remainder of the week, including the team's high-profile matchup with No. 4 Villanova on Friday, and that he will be re-evaluated by the medical and training staffs next week.
The injury itself occurred when Cal State Bakersfield guard Grehlon Easter dove for a loose ball near Riley and went careening into the UCLA big man's left knee. Riley let out a quick scream and Pauley Pavilion collectively gasped and fell instantly silent as he lay on the floor grabbing his leg in visible pain.
"He said it all happened so fast that he doesn't even know what happened," said coach Mick Cronin in his postgame press conference. "When I asked him, he was like, 'I don't know, somebody ran me over.'"
Riley had three rebounds and had not attempted a field goal or recorded another stat of any kind in the four minutes he had spent on the court Tuesday prior to the injury. Riley walked off the court mostly under his own power with 12:08 left to play in the first half and eventually made his way back to the locker room.
UCLA went on a 34-10 run to end the first half without Riley, who wound up coming back to the bench in the second half to watch his team close out the 95-58 victory over the Roadrunners.
Riley averaged 10.0 points and 5.4 rebounds in 23.3 minutes per game for the Bruins last season, drawing the start in 31 of UCLA's 32 contests. He has been on the roster longer than any of his current teammates, first joining the blue and gold ahead of the 2017-2018 season.
With new word on the timeline, the best case scenario for Riley and the Bruins is that the redshirt senior gets back on the court Monday against Long Beach State. The next game after that is against North Florida on Nov. 17, followed by neutral site contests in Las Vegas against Bellarmine and No. 1 Gonzaga on Nov. 22 and 23, respectively.
In the meantime, Rutgers transfer Myles Johnson is set to make his first start for UCLA on Friday night against Villanova. Johnson picked up three quick fouls and was limited to just 18 minutes on the floor Tuesday, scoring two points and hauling in five rebounds in that limited time.
One of Riley, Johnson or Kenneth Nwuba were out on the court at every point in Tuesday's season opener, as Nwuba set or tied regular season career-highs with 18 minutes, four points, two blocks and two rebounds. Last year's surprise early enrollee Mac Etienne was supposed to pick up some minutes at the post as well this season, but he suffered a potentially season-ending knee injury in practice a few weeks back and remains unavailable.
So for at least one more game and possibly a handful more, Johnson and Nwuba will be holding down the fort beneath the basket while Riley gets some time to recover.
Follow Connon on Twitter at @SamConnonFollow All Bruins on Twitter at @SI_AllBruinsLike All Bruins on Facebook at @SI.AllBruinsSubscribe to All Bruins on YouTube
Read more UCLA stories: UCLA Bruins on Sports IllustratedRead more UCLA men's basketball stories: UCLA Men's Basketball on Sports Illustrated
Sam Connon is the Publisher and Managing Editor at All Bruins, in association with the FanNation and Sports Illustrated networks.
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Famous Person - Sick
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TAT Flight 230 crash
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TAT Flight 230 was a scheduled flight from Nancy, France to Paris Orly Airport which crashed on 4 March 1988, near Fontainebleau, France. All on board died. The aircraft, a Fairchild FH-227, took off from Nancy-Essey Airport at 5:53 local time and climbed to 14,000 feet, the flight's cruising altitude. At 6:26, the aircraft, now nearing Paris, was cleared down to 9,000 feet and then 7,000. Shortly later, the flight was cleared down to 6,000 feet. Nothing more was heard from the aircraft. The aircraft appeared to have an electrical malfunction. Control of the aircraft was lost, the plane descended rapidly, struck powerlines and crashed. All on board died. [1]
The investigations findings were that in bad weather conditions, the Fairchild FH-227 operating the flight suffered an electrical malfunction, and the aircraft pitched nose down. The committee could not find a probable cause to why this happened. The accepted hypothesis is that the electrical malfunction caused loss of attitude reference and autopilot disconnect causing the aircraft to enter a high speed dive. [1]
In the absence of an independent horizon, the crew did not have any usable attitude reference while the aircraft was in a high-speed dive, thus contributing to the crash. [1]
There is a discrepancy of the number of people who died on TAT Flight 230. The official report lists 23 people, where a memorial near the crash site lists 24.
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Air crash
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Syria’s foreign ministry said on Sunday that an American oil company had signed an agreement with Kurdish-led rebels who control northeastern oilfields
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Syria’s foreign ministry said on Sunday that an American oil company had signed an agreement with Kurdish-led rebels who control northeastern oilfields in what it described as an illegal deal aimed at “stealing” Syria’s crude.
A ministry statement, published on state media, did not name the firm involved in the deal with the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), an alliance that seized swathes of north and east Syria from Islamic State with U.S. help.
There was no immediate response from SDF officials to a Reuters’ request for comment. There was no immediate comment from U.S. officials on Sunday.
A U.S. senator and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had referred to an oilfields deal between the SDF and a U.S. firm during a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on Thursday.
Republican Senator Lindsey Graham said during the committee hearing that SDF General Commander Mazloum Abdi informed him that a deal had been signed with an American company to “modernize the oil fields in northeastern Syria”, and asked Pompeo whether the administration was supportive of it.
“We are,” Pompeo responded during the hearing streamed live by PBS. “The deal took a little longer ... than we had hoped, and now we’re in implementation.”
Damascus “condemns in the strongest terms the agreement signed between al-Qasd militia (SDF) and an American oil company to steal Syria’s oil under the sponsorship and support of the American administration”, the Syrian statement said. “This agreement is null and void and has no legal basis.”
Syria produced around 380,000 barrels of oil per day before civil war erupted following a crackdown on protests in 2011, with Iran and Russia backing President Bashar al-Assad’s government and the United States supporting the opposition.
Damascus lost control of most oil producing fields in a stretch east of the Euphrates River in Deir al-Zor. Western sanctions have also hit the energy industry.
U.S. President Donald Trump has said that despite a military pullback from northeast Syria, a small number of American forces would remain “where they have oil”. The Pentagon said late last year that oilfield revenues would go to the SDF.
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Sign Agreement
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11 people transported to hospital after carbon monoxide leak at Carlton Farms
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MCMINNVILLE, Ore. — Eleven people were hospitalized with non-life threatening injuries after a boiler malfunction leaked carbon monoxide into the retail section of Carlton Farms, according to the McMinnville Fire Department.
At the time of the leak, approximately 80 employees of the gourmet meats company were working and were evacuated from the building. Of the 80, 17 were evaluated by medical personnel and 11 were taken to the hospital with symptoms like nausea, vomiting and headaches.The leak has been stopped and when the air quality returns to normal, people will be allowed back into the building.Carbon monoxide is a colorless, odorless toxic gas. It is often mixed with other gasses to give it an odor to alert people if there is a leak. If inhaled for too long it can cause carbon monoxide poisoning which can cause symptoms like dizziness, weakness, upset stomach, vomiting, chest pain, etc, according to the CDC.
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Mass Poisoning
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1924 Pasinler earthquake
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The 1924 Pasinler earthquake occurred at 16:34 local time on 13 September in Pasinler, Erzurum, Eastern Anatolia Region of Turkey. It had a surface wave magnitude of 6.8 and reached a maximum felt intensity of IX (Violent) on the Mercalli intensity scale, causing 60 casualties.
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Earthquakes
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Two injured in gas explosion at Walsall house
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Two men were taken to hospital after being injured in a gas explosion at a house.
Emergency services were called to Darlaston Road in Walsall at 06:30 BST.
Paramedics said the explosion was so strong that it damaged a passing car.
The house also sustained significant damage, West Midlands Ambulance Service said.
The two men taken to hospital were residents in the property.
The ambulance service said their injuries are not believed to be serious.
The driver of the car was assessed at the scene but did not require treatment, and two other people were also assessed and discharged at the address.
Latest news and updates from the West Midlands
Gas supplier, Cadent, said it was "in the process of making sure everything related to gas is safe".
West Midlands Fire Service, which sent three crews to the incident, said it "appeared to be a gas leak that caused the explosion".
Darlaston Road was expected to stay closed between Bentley Mill Way and Gower Street for most of Tuesday morning.
West Midlands Police said a small number of homes nearby had to be evacuated as a precaution.
Follow BBC West Midlands on Facebook , Twitter and Instagram . Send your story ideas to: newsonline.westmidlands@bbc.co.uk
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Gas explosion
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Livernois–Fenkell riot
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The Livernois–Fenkell riot was a racially motivated riot in the summer of 1975 on Livernois Avenue at Chalfonte Avenue, just south of Fenkell Avenue, in Detroit, Michigan. The trouble began when Andrew Chinarian, the 39-year-old owner of Bolton's Bar, observed three black youths tampering with his car in the parking lot. He fired a pistol or rifle, fatally wounding 18 year old Obie Wynn. [2] According to some accounts, Wynn was fleeing; according to others, he was approaching Chinarian with what the latter thought was a weapon, it later emerged that Wynn was holding a screwdriver. He died from a gun wound to the back of the head. [3] Crowds gathered and random acts of vandalism, assault looting and racial fighting along Livernois and Fenkell avenues ensued. Bottles and rocks were thrown at passing cars. [3]
The second fatality was Marian Pyszko, a 54-year-old dishwasher and a Nazi concentration-camp survivor who had emigrated from Poland in 1958. [4][incomplete short citation] As he drove home from the bakery/candy-factory where he worked, he was pulled from his car by a group of black youths and beaten to death with a piece of concrete. [5][page needed] Ronald Bell Jordan, Raymond Peoples, and Dennis Lindsay were all charged with first-degree murder. [6]
Police were ordered to avoid the use of deadly force, and indeed, not a shot was fired. [5] The crowd of 700 was dispersed by morning. However, angry crowds and violence reappeared the following night – using a car as a battering ram, the crowd stormed and ransacked Bolton's Bar. [3]
Detroit mayor Coleman Young then worked to defuse the situation by appearing in person, along with numerous clergy, at the scene of the disturbance. [7][incomplete short citation] Another key factor was Mayor Young getting every black policeman in the city to police the riot, further defusing the situation. [7][incomplete short citation]
The damage to property in the Livernois-Fenkell area amounted to tens of thousands of dollars. Fifty-three people were arrested, and ten injuries were recorded (including one firefighter and one police officer). [3]
CBS News reported an unverified claim that the bar served white patrons only, and noted the 25% unemployment rate as an aggravating factor. [8]
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Riot
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Couple found dead of suspected carbon monoxide poisoning inside Westmoreland County home
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NORTH HUNTINGTON, Pa. — A couple from Westmoreland County was found dead in their home Thursday of what police believe is carbon monoxide poisoning, according to Channel 11′s news exchange partners at TribLIVE.
Joseph and Freda Polinski, both 88, of North Huntingdon, were found dead in their Altman Street home after a family member was unable to contact his parents, police Chief Robert Rizzo told TribLIVE.
[DOWNLOAD: Free WPXI apps for alerts as news breaks]
He drove to their home and found them, Rizzo said.
Police believe the pair died of carbon monoxide poisoning. Carbon monoxide is odorless, but medics did describe a strong smell in the home and had to ventilate it before they could go inside to investigate, according to TribLIVE.
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Mass Poisoning
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2018 Iran Bombardier Challenger crash
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On 11 March 2018, a Bombardier Challenger 604 private jet owned by Turkish group Başaran Holding crashed in the Zagros Mountains near Shahr-e Kord, Iran, while returning to Turkey from the United Arab Emirates. All three crew members and eight passengers on board were killed. [1][2] [3]
The aircraft, registered TC-TRB, departed from Sharjah International Airport, United Arab Emirates, at around 17:11 local time (13:11 UTC) bound for Istanbul Atatürk Airport. The flight crew consisted of two pilots and a cabin attendant. The Captain had flown for Turkish Airlines in the past, while the First Officer had a military aviation background and had been one of the first female pilots in the Turkish armed forces. [4]
The aircraft reached a cruising altitude of just over 35,000 ft (11,000 m). [2] At around 18:01 IRST local time (14:31 UTC), shortly before contact was lost, the crew reported technical problems and requested clearance from air traffic control to descend to a lower altitude. [4][5] The jet began to climb before abruptly losing altitude, and at 18:09[6] hit the Zagros Mountains near Shahre Kord, some 370 km (230 mi) south of Tehran, Iran. [5] All eleven occupants were killed. [2][4][5] One witness reportedly saw the aircraft on fire before the crash. [6]
The jet was carrying a group of eight friends returning from a bachelorette party in Dubai. Among them was Mina Başaran, daughter of the head of Başaran Holding, Hüseyin Başaran, and member of the company's board of directors. [4][5]
Local villagers saw a plume of smoke rising from the wreckage and were the first to arrive at the scene. [5] Iranian search-and-rescue teams arrived afterwards and found the burned bodies of ten victims. Bad weather conditions at the crash site made the operation difficult. One victim has yet to be found. [7] The recovered bodies were transported to Tehran by helicopter. Turkey then sent emergency personnel via a military jet for assistance. [5] Identification of the bodies required DNA testing. [4]
After identification by the Iranian authorities, the bodies of ten victims were flown to Istanbul by the Turkish military and then handed over to the victims' families. Iranian Legal Medicine Organization stated that the remains of the captain were not among the recovered bodies in the eleven body bags from the wreckage. [8]
The aircraft's two flight recorders (the flight data recorder and the cockpit voice recorder) were recovered for analysis. [5][9]
In September 2018, the Aircraft Accident Investigation Board of the Iranian civil aviation authority published a preliminary report indicating that, shortly before reaching cruise altitude, a discrepancy between the airspeed indications shown to the two pilots became apparent, with one indicating an overspeed condition. Engine power was reduced, and shortly after the stick-shaker activated. The aircraft subsequently stalled and entered a steep descent during which both engines flamed out. Control was not regained and the aircraft eventually struck a mountainside. [10] In March 2020, the AAIB issued its final report, concluding that the accident was caused by insufficient training for airspeed indication failure and poor crew resource management. [11]
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Air crash
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Man assaulted after being dragged from car by masked attackers in Adelaide's north
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Police are investigating an assault on a man allegedly dragged from his car in Adelaide's north by two masked attackers who then stole the Commodore before crashing it into another vehicle. Police said the man was asleep in his green VY Commodore on Jessie Road at Paralowie in Adelaide's north when he was dragged from his car and assaulted by the masked attackers about 4:30am. The two men then allegedly stole the car and sped off. The victim, a 33-year-old from Paralowie, was treated at the scene. About 20 minutes after the incident, police were called to Edinburgh Road near Sturton Road at Edinburgh after reports of a serious crash. When police arrived, they found the victim's green VY Commodore had collided with a Mitsubishi Lancer. Police said the Commodore's driver, a 34-year-old Yorke Peninsula man and the driver of the Mitsubishi, a 38-year-old Mawson Lakes man, were still at the scene and had serious but non-life threatening injuries — but the passenger of the Commodore had left. The two men were taken to the Lyell McEwin Hospital for treatment. Police searched the area, but have so far been unable to find the man, and said they have serious concerns for his welfare. There are road closures and restrictions in place on Edinburgh Road and Sturton Road. Police are also investigating a separate incident, which involved a stolen car being set alight after a short chase in Elizabeth South. Patrols spotted a black Subaru Liberty travelling along Quinlivan Road at Pooraka about 12:45am. Checks on the car revealed it had been stolen from a home in Paradise on Wednesday. Police activated their emergency lights to try to stop the vehicle, but it took off from them at speed. They followed the car for a short time west onto Montague Road before ending the pursuit due to safety reasons. Just after 1:00am, police were called to Ridley Road in Elizabeth South after a resident reported seeing a group of men pull up in a black Subaru and flee, with the car bursting into flames shortly after. Police searched the area but have not yet found the suspects, and the car was towed from the scene. Police have asked anyone with information about either incident to contact Crime Stoppers, on 1800 333 000.
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Road Crash
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SoMa Street Violence: San Francisco Police Investigate Fatal Double Shooting, Stabbing
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Filed Under: Crime , Fatal , San Francisco , San Francisco News , San Francisco police , Shooting , SoMa , South Of Market , Stabbing
SAN FRANCISCO (BCN) — Two men were shot, one fatally, and another was stabbed in San Francisco’s South of Market neighborhood early Wednesday morning, police said.
Officers responded at 12:13 a.m. to a report of a shooting in the area of Eighth and Mission streets and arrived to find two victims, ages 30 and 41, who had been shot. They also found a 36-year-old man who had been stabbed.
READ MORE: Gone in 30 Seconds. Brazen Catalytic Converter Theft Caught on Camera
Police did not say whether they believed the stabbing and shooting were related.
Officers rendered aid and summoned paramedics to the scene who transported all three victims to the hospital. The 30-year-old succumbed to his injuries there. His name was not immediately available. The other two men are expected to survive, according to police.
Investigators have not released any details about what led to the shooting and stabbing, or any suspect information in the case.
The fatal incident came only 12 hours after Mayor London Breed announced her plan to crack down on crime , particularly in the nearby Tenderloin.
“It’s time the reign of criminals who are destroying our city, it is time for it to come to an end,” she said. “And it comes to an end when we take the steps to more aggressive with law enforcement. More aggressive with the changes in our policies and less tolerate of all the bullshit that has destroyed our city.”
Anyone with information on the SoMa incident is asked to call the San Francisco police tip line at (415) 575-4444 or to send a tip by text message to TIP411 with “SFPD” at the start of the message.
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Famous Person - Commit Crime - Investigate
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2017 Rinkeby riots
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On 20 February 2017, rioting broke out in Rinkeby, a predominantly Muslim immigrant-populated suburb of the Swedish capital Stockholm. Rinkeby was previously the site of riots in 2010 and 2013. [2]
Rioting broke out in the evenings between Monday, 20 February - Thursday, 23 February, with a crowd of 25 to 30 masked men who assembled after a drug-related arrest near the Metro station. [3] In four hours of unrest, several fires were started, at least seven cars burnt, shops vandalized and police hit with rocks. One rioter was arrested for rock throwing. [1][4][5] The fire department had to wait for the police to secure the area before being able to extinguish the burning cars. [6] A number of shops were looted and a business owner was assaulted after having tried to stop the attackers. [6] According to Lars Bystrom, a police spokesman, a police officer "shot for effect" with intent to hit his target, but missed, and to clear the scene so the police could make an arrest. [1][7][8][4][5] A photographer from Dagens Nyheter newspaper said he was assaulted by a group of around 15 people. [9]
The Swedish police were criticized by local residents for taking too long to subdue the rioters and not doing enough to stop them. [10]
Because the riots broke out two days after the president of the United States of America, Donald Trump, mentioned a Fox News segment he had seen about Sweden the night before, the Rinkeby riots of 2017 drew wide international attention. The president was mocked for the remarks by the international press, as well as Swedish officials. [8][11]
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Riot
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1965 Moroccan riots
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The 1965 Moroccan riots were street riots in the cities of Morocco, originating in Casablanca on March 1965. They began with a student protest, which expanded to include marginalized members of the population. The number of casualties incurred is contested. Moroccan authorities reported a dozen deaths, whereas the foreign press and the Union nationale des forces populaires (UNFP) counted more than 1000 deaths.
Hassan II became King of Morocco upon the death of Mohammed V on February 26, 1961. In December 1962, his appointees drafted a constitution which kept political power in the hands of the monarchy. Hassan II also abandoned the foreign policy of nonalignment and proclaimed hostility towards the newly independent, newly socialist nation of Algeria—resulting in the 1963–1964 "Sand War".
The Union nationale des forces populaires, under the leadership of Mehdi Ben Barka, expanded its membership and overtly opposed Hassan II. An allied student group, the Union nationale des étudiants du Maroc (UNEM) — which formed as a nationalist, anti-colonial group—now prominently criticized the monarchy. These groups and the regime launched into an escalating cycle of protest and repression which created the conditions for a major confrontation.Eleven UNFP leaders, accused of plotting against the king, were sentenced to death. Ben Barka escaped to France, where he served as a symbolic opposition leader in exile.
Before March 1965, the national minister of education, Youssef Belabbès, originated a circular preventing youth above the age of 17 from attending in the second cycle of lycee (high school). In practice, this rule separated out 60% of students. Although at that time, the Baccalauréat concerned only a small few (1500 per year), for the others it became a rallying symbol which set off the student mobilization. This decision provoked student unrest in Casablanca, Rabat, and other cities.
On March 22, 1965, thousands of students gathered on the soccer field at Lycée Mohammed-V in Casablanca. They were already numerous by 10 am. According to a witness, there were almost 15,000 students present that morning.
The goal of the assembly was to organize a peaceful march to demand the right to public higher education for Moroccans. Arriving at the street in front of the French cultural center, the demonstration was brutally dispersed by law enforcement. Without further provocation, they discharged their firearms. The students were thus compelled to retreat into the poorer neighborhoods of the city, where they encountered the unemployed. They agreed to meet again the following day.
On March 23, the students gathered again at the stadium of Lycée Mohammed-V. They were soon joined by their parents, workers, and the unemployed, as well as people coming from the bidonvilles (slums). This time, the assembly was not so peaceful. The advancing protesters vandalized stores, burned buses and cars, threw stones, and chanted slogans against the king.
The repression was swift: the army and the police were mobilized. Tanks were deployed for two days to quell the protestors, and General Mohamed Oufkir had no hesitation in firing on the crowd from a helicopter.
The king blamed the events on teachers and parents. He declared, in a message to the nation on March 30, 1965: "Allow me to tell you that there is no greater danger to the State than a so-called intellectual. It would have been better if you were all illiterate. "
After the events of March 23, suspected dissidents including communists and Iraqi teachers were arrested. In April, Hassan II tried to reconcile with the opposition, receiving at Ifrane a delegation from the Union nationale des forces populaires, which included, notably, Abderrahim Bouabid, Abdelhamid Zemmouri and Abderrahmane Youssoufi. They proposed to form a government and demanded to transmit their message to Mehdi Ben Barka. But these discussions resulted in no concrete action.
In June of the same year, Hassan II declared a state of emergency, which lasted until 1970. UNFP continued to criticize the regime. On October 29, Mehdi Ben Barka was abducted and assassinated in Paris. Students in Casablanca rose again on March 23, 1966, and many were arrested.
In reference to these events, members of UNFP proceeded to create a Marxist–Leninist organization, Harakat 23 Mars (March 23 Movement), which much later gave rise in 1983 to the Organisation de l'action démocratique populaire—one of the founding elements of the Unified Socialist Party. Among the personalities who have been active within this movement, one finds the politician Mohamed Bensaid Aït Idder, the researcher and author Abdelghani Abou El Aazm, the consultant Amal Cherif Haouat, and the Belgian politician Mohammed Daïf.
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Riot
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Brexit finally happens: The United Kingdom has left the European Union
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The United Kingdom has finally left the European Union, after three and a half years of political turmoil. There were celebrations and protests across the country as the clock counted down to 11 pm (GMT) on Friday, bringing an end to almost half a century of Britain’s membership of the EU. In a speech broadcast on Facebook an hour before Britain’s exit, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the moment represented a “new dawn” for the country after three years of division, delay and parliamentary deadlock. “The most important thing to say tonight is that this is not an end but a beginning,” Johnson said in a video message filmed inside his 10 Downing Street residence. “This is the moment when the dawn breaks and the curtain goes up on a new act. “It is a moment of real national renewal and change.” The UK government projected a countdown clock onto the front of Downing Street in the hour leading up to 11 p.m., while Leave voters celebrated outside the Houses of Parliament with pro-Brexit politicians like Nigel Farage. Britain formally left the EU hours after Johnson and his Cabinet met in Sunderland. This city in northeast England was famously the first area of the country to declare a Leave vote at the 2016 referendum. This meeting of Johnson and his most senior ministers was designed as a public display the government’s commitment to improve the lives of voters in Brexit-voting areas of the UK outside of London and the south-east of England. Meanwhile, in Brussels, there were historic scenes as EU officials took down Union Jack flags in preparation for Britain’s formal departure. What will happen now Britain has left the EU? What changes after Brexit What changes after Brexit? The UK will now enter an 11-month transition period, during which it will continue to follow EU rules and laws. This means life won’t feel any different for UK citizens until January 2021, when the UK’s relationship with the EU will change significantly. In the meantime, the UK government plans to negotiate a new free trade deal with the EU, as well as free trade agreements with countries like the US, Japan, Australia, and New Zealand. Georgina Wright, from the Westminster-based Institute for Government think tank, told Business Insider that negotiating a new trade deal with the EU will be the “greatest and arguably most complex negotiation” of the entire Brexit process. “February 1 is the end of the beginning, it’s not the beginning of the end,” Wright said. “The scale of the task is massive… If you look at how long other trade negotiations have taken, it’s basically a couple of years [until a full deal is agreed], especially if you’re looking at something very comprehensive.” Multiple senior EU figures have insisted that a deal will take much longer than the 11 months allowed by the transition period . Johnson insists that he will not extend the transition period beyond December 2020. Experts have warned that this creates a new cliff-edge at the end of the year, in which the UK could switch to costly new trading terms with the EU. Perhaps the most controversial element of the trade negotiations will be with Donald Trump’s US, where issues such as food standards, pharmaceuticals, taxation on US tech firms, and vehicle tariffs will dominate. How did we get here? Cameron’s failure to persuade the nation to stay in the EU triggered his resignation, and eventually led to his replacement by Theresa May. However, May’s decision in 2017 to hold a snap general election, in which she lost the Conservative party’s majority in parliament, handed legislative power to opposition MPs, and left the UK in an extended period of political deadlock. MPs rejected May’s Brexit deal with the EU on numerous occasions, forcing her to delay Britain’s exit twice. May resigned as prime minister and Conservative party leader in 2019, triggering a leadership contest which Johnson went on to win convincingly, promising to deliver Brexit as soon as possible. Despite Johnson’s victory, MPs voted again to block a no-deal Brexit taking place in October, leading the new prime minister to seek a fresh delay to Britain’s exit, pushing it back to January 2020. Johnson then called a general election in which he successfully won an 80-seat majority, ensuring that Britain would finally leave the EU. Congratulations to Boris Johnson and all that stood up for the Brexit deal.
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Withdraw from an Organization
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Disease outbreak confirmed among deer, pronghorn; could impact Wyoming hunting season
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CASPER, Wyo. — The Wyoming Game and Fish Department said on Monday that it is tracking an outbreak of a disease that mainly impacts white-tailed deer and pronghorn. Outbreaks of epizootic hemorrhagic disease (EHD) were confirmed based on sampling of dead deer and pronghorn near Arvada in northern Wyoming as well as near Douglas, Laramie and Cheyenne. Game and Fish says that the disease is caused by a virus and its presence is “not common” during droughts or times with hot temperatures, “especially where wildlife congregate around small water holes where the disease-carrying biting midge lives.” The department said that the disease is seen in big game on an annual basis in Wyoming but that some years have bigger outbreaks. “This year seems worse, but we are just at the beginning of the outbreak,” said Wildlife Health Laboratory Supervisor Hank Edwards. “Monitoring will be important to chart the impacts.” Game and Fish offers an online map showing areas where the presence of the disease has been confirmed. “The map locations represent lab-confirmed distribution, but not the intensity of the disease,” Game and Fish notes. “Once an area is documented, the lab won’t continue to sample there.” The disease is not spread from animal to animal but rather through animals being bitten by midges, according to Game and Fish. “The midge collects a ‘blood meal,’ like a mosquito,” Edwards said. “When the midge bites another animal, the virus spreads.” The disease is most common in fall when conditions are dry. “As water holes shrink, animals become more concentrated, so it is easy for midges to transmit the disease,” Game and Fish says. “The disease impact in Wyoming is not expected to be uniform. The disease is known to wax and wane in deer and pronghorn populations, and not all animals that are exposed to the virus will die. Some develop an immunity. Wildlife managers expect areas with high white-tailed deer [populations] will be impacted the hardest and some isolated pronghorn areas [will be equally hit]. The disease cycles every 7-10 years.” “The number of deer and pronghorn affected is expected to increase until the first hard frost kills off midge populations. This fall, hunters should be aware of the disease, but shouldn’t be concerned about contracting EHD or spreading it to their pets. Humans are not at risk of contracting the disease. If disease managers identify substantial impacts to wildlife, it could curtail hunting seasons. Game and Fish will continue to monitor the extent of the disease across the state.”
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Disease Outbreaks
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Great Flood of 1844
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The Great Flood of 1844 is the biggest flood ever recorded on the Missouri River and Upper Mississippi River, in North America, in terms of discharge. The adjusted economic impact was not as great as subsequent floods because of the small population in the region at the time. The flood devastation was particularly widespread since the region had few levees at the time, so the waters were able to spread far from the normal banks. Among the hardest hit in terms of mortality were the Wyandot Indians, who lost 100 people in the diseases that occurred after the flood in the vicinity of today's Kansas City, Kansas. The flood formed a large sandbar in front of the Wayne City Landing at Independence, Missouri, which caused settlers to go further west to Westport Landing in Kansas City, which resulted in significant local economic and cultural impact. [1] Independence had been the trailhead for several key emigrant trails, prior to 1846 notably both the Santa Fe Trail and one alternative eastern starting branch of the Oregon Trail. After the Mexican–American War treaty of 1848, the Oregon Trail's trailhead became a trailhead of the California Trail and an alternative beginning for the Mormon Trail. In 1850, the United States Congress passed the Swamp Land Act providing land grants to build stronger levees. The flood is the highest recorded for the Mississippi River at St. Louis. The discharge was 1,300,000 cubic feet per second (37,000 m3/s) in 1844, while 782,000 cu ft/s (22,100 m3/s) in 1951 and 1,030,000 cu ft/s (29,000 m3/s) in 1993. Channelling and levee construction have altered how the floods have hit various areas along the Missouri River. Here's a comparison of the four big floods since the early 19th century.
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Floods
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Fire from oxygen tank blast in Baghdad COVID-19 hospital kills 82
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BAGHDAD, April 25 (Reuters) - A fire caused by an oxygen tank explosion at a COVID-19 hospital in Baghdad took at least 82 lives and forced some people to leap through windows out of the burning building, witnesses and authorities said on Sunday.
As rescuers combed the smoke-charred building, Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi blamed negligence and suspended his Health Minister Hassan al-Tamimi pending an inquiry into Saturday's blaze at the Ibn Khatib hospital.
Some 110 people were also injured, Interior Ministry spokesman Khalid al-Muhanna said. Most of the dead and injured were patients.
Already decimated by war and sanctions, Iraq's healthcare system has struggled to cope with the coronavirus crisis, which has killed 15,257 people and infected more than 1 million.
Security forces cordoned off the hospital, in the Diyala Bridge area of the Iraqi capital, where charred debris and shattered glass littered the ground outside.
As the flames spread on Saturday, relatives scrambled to save loved ones, with some jumping to safety.
"I carried my brother out to the street. Then I came (back) and went up to the last floor which wasn't burning. I found a girl suffocating, about 19 years old ... she was about to die," Ahmed Zaki told Reuters.
People gather inside Ibn Khatib hospital after a fire caused by an oxygen tank explosion in Baghdad, Iraq, April 25, 2021. REUTERS/Thaier Al-Sudani
"I took her on my shoulders and I ran down ... Doctors jumped onto the cars. Everyone was jumping. And I kept going up from there, got people and came down again."
'EVIDENCE OF NEGLIGENCE'
While many surviving patients were moved to other hospitals, several families were still outside the Ibn Khatib hours after the blaze was extinguished, still looking for relatives.
An emergency cabinet meeting called by Kadhimi ordered an investigation with findings due in five days.
The governor of Baghdad and another senior health ministry official were also suspended and referred to investigators.
"Such an incident is evidence of negligence and therefore I directed that an investigation be launched immediately," the prime minister said in a statement, adding that the hospital's manager and heads of security and maintenance had been detained.
Weary of political violence, Iraqis also suffer frequent accidents due to under-investment, corruption and wrecked infrastructure. During the coronavirus crisis, hospitals have been struggling from an influx of patients and short supplies.
"As soon as you arrived at the main entrance (of the hospital), it was suffocating. No one could climb upstairs," said another witness, Mohammed Ali, 23, a student who lost his uncle. "The whole hospital was gutted, all burnt down."
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The United States and Qatar signed an accord on Friday for Qatar to represent U.S. diplomatic interests in Afghanistan, an important signal of possible future direct engagement between Washington and the Taliban after two decades of war.
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Gas explosion
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Police investigating bank robbery in Santa Maria
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and last updated 2020-05-09 23:54:10-04 UPDATE (Saturday 6:48 p.m.) - In a tweet posted Saturday, the FBI Los Angeles field office said authorities are looking for a male suspect who was wearing a beanie and purple bandana. He is described as someone in his mid 30's or early 40's. A male suspect armed with a handgun robbed the Community Bank in #SantaMaria yesterday. While his face was covered with a beanie & bandana, he is described as white or Hispanic, in his mid-30s to early 40s. Please call the #FBI or @SMPDHQ if you can help identify him. #Wanted pic.twitter.com/HgTJXx2IfZ — FBI Los Angeles (@FBILosAngeles) May 10, 2020 ________________________ UPDATE (Friday 6:51 p.m.) - Santa Maria police say they responded to Community Bank in Santa Maria to reports of a robbery there around 4:45 p.m. Friday. People say a silent alarm went off and an employee also called police to say a man with a gun and wearing a mask demanded money from a teller. The robber got away with an undisclosed amount of cash, police say. When police arrived on scene, they surrounded the area in case the robber was still inside the bank but say he had gotten away prior to their arrival. Investigators say they believe the robber ran away toward Subway before witnesses say he got into a car. A description of the car was not yet known. The employees said no one was injured but they were shaken up from the incident. More information is expected to be released Friday evening. --- ORIGINAL STORY: Police are investigating a bank robbery that happened Friday afternoon in Santa Maria. Santa Maria police were not releasing information on the incident as of 5:20 p.m. saying the situation was still unfolding, but did confirm Community Bank at 1421 S. Broadway had been robbed. Officers were on scene and crime scene tape was being put up around the bank. KSBY has a crew heading to the scene and will have more information as it becomes available.
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Bank Robbery
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Eyre Highway closed after serious crash
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Emergency services personnel have attended the scene of a serious crash near Fowlers Bay that has closed Eyre Highway. Just before 4.30am on Sunday, two trucks collided on the highway near Fowlers Bay Road. A driver of one of the trucks involved sustained serious injuries, while a passenger and the second truck driver have sustained minor injuries in the crash. Drivers are advised that Eyre Highway is currently closed in both directions. Truck drivers are advised to park either at the Nullarbor Roadhouse or in Ceduna until the highway is cleared and reopened, which is expected to take place early in the afternoon.
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Road Crash
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Palm Springs man accused of several bank robberies across Southern California
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A 60-year-old Palm Springs man has been arrested for allegedly committing multiple bank robberies across Southern California, including at least two in Riverside County. The man was arrested after allegedly robbing a CHASE Bank in Jurupa Valley on July 1. The suspect led Riverside County Sheriff’s deputies on a short pursuit after the robbery before being taken into custody, police said. After being apprehended, deputies noticed he matched the physical description and had several other similarities to the suspect in several other bank robberies that occurred in Southern California over the past several months. Police said one of the previous robberies included one that occurred at the US Bank in the City of Banning on February 16, 2021 . In that robbery, police said the suspect entered the bank alone shortly after it opened, brandished a handgun, and demanded money from one of the tellers. The teller complied and the suspect left on foot. The FBI notified the Banning Police Department of the suspect's arrest. The department says that based on the information obtained, detectives and the Riverside County Gang Task Force served a search warrant at the suspect's residence. Detectives reported finding a large sum of money, firearms and other evidence linking the man to several bank robberies. There was no word on how many bank robberies the man is suspected to be linked to besides the ones in Banning and Jurupa Valley. The Palm Springs resident has since been booked into a Riverside County jail and is being held on $1 million bail on bank robbery charges. He has not been officially charged by the District Attorney's office at this time. The Banning Police Department is asking anyone who may have additional information regarding this case, to contact the Banning Police Department Detective Bureau at (951) 922- 3170.
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Bank Robbery
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2014 Algerian Air Force C-130 crash
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On 11 February 2014, a C-130 Hercules military transport aircraft of the Algerian Air Force, carrying 74 passengers and 4 crew members, crashed into Djebel Fertas mountain near Aïn Kercha, Algeria. Only one person survived. [1][2][3][4]
Preliminary reports suggest that bad weather conditions might have caused the crash. [5] The accident is under investigation. Algerian defence ministry said the crash was likely caused by bad weather,[6] including a storm and cascading snow, which Algerian aviation experts said most likely had led to poor visibility. [3]
According to AccuWeather, at the time of the crash "an area of low pressure moving through the region was producing widespread showers mixed with snow in the higher terrain of the area"; meteorologist Eric Leister added that, "along with the rain and snow, wind gusts more than 30 mph (48 km/h) were reported in several locations in the region". [7]
Contact with the aircraft was reportedly lost between Constantine and Oum El Bouaghi just before noon and air traffic controllers dispatched helicopters to search for it. [8] The sole survivor, a soldier, was taken to a military hospital in Constantine due to injuries from head trauma. [9] The passengers included soldiers and members of their families. [1]
The aircraft was a US-manufactured C-130 Hercules with the registration number 7T-WHM. Lockheed Martin confirmed it sold C-130H aircraft to Algeria from 1981 to 1990. As of 2011[update], Algeria had 16 of the type according to FlightGlobal. [10]
Recovery teams located one of the two flight recorders, according to El Watan. Emergency services had recovered 76 bodies from the site. [9]
Algerian president Abdelaziz Bouteflika announced three days of state mourning starting 12 February,[6] while also praising the dead soldiers as "martyrs". [9] The defence ministry said it had established an investigative commission and that army chief of staff and deputy defence minister Ahmed Gaid Salah would visit the crash site. [6]
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Air crash
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Bright Sparklers Fireworks disaster
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The Bright Sparklers Fireworks fire occurred in Sungai Buloh, Selangor, Malaysia on 7 May 1991. [1][2] The Bright Sparklers Fireworks Factory in Sungai Buloh, Selangor caught fire and caused a huge explosion. [1][2] Twenty six people were killed and over a hundred people were injured in the disaster. [2] The explosion was strong enough to rip the roofs of some local houses, and ended up damaging over 200 residential properties. [3]
The tragedy is believed to have been caused by explosive chemicals spilled during an experiment in the canteen of the factory. The chemicals touched off fires that rapidly spread to a nearby pile of large firecrackers, known as the "bazookas". These in turn set off the chain of explosions that ripped apart the factory and the nearby buildings, including the factory and nearby Kampung Baru Sungai Buloh. 26 people were killed and 83 people were injured. Victims were taken to the Kuala Lumpur Hospital for further treatments. TV3's documentary programme, Detik Tragik (Tragic Moments) produced an episode about the fireworks disaster. This pyrotechnics-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. Coordinates: 3°12′32.6″N 101°33′46.1″E / 3.209056°N 101.562806°E / 3.209056; 101.562806
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Fire
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Brass fittings leaching lead in drinking fountains, but daily use in households a larger concern
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Brass fittings and taps found to cause slightly elevated levels of lead in drinking water continue to be sold and installed in homes, businesses and schools across Australia.
Public drinking fountains were turned off in the cities of Geelong and Warrnambool after Victorian health officials detected higher-than-average amounts of lead in the water in May.
The Victorian Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) chief health officer, Charles Guest, said that "drinking water fountains are not the main source of daily drinking water" and that high-use fittings found in homes could be of even greater concern.
Master Plumbers Australia chief executive, Peter Daly, said that if people have concerns about the taps and fittings in their homes, they should discuss it with a licensed plumber.
"Lead is a long-term toxin and people should listen to the advice provided by the health authorities," Mr Daly said, but added that it was "important that people don't overreact".
"The industry is currently looking at how we can substitute lead-free pipes and fittings.
"Master Plumbers has a concern about cheap imported taps and our advice to consumers is quite simple — if you're installing taps at home, make sure they're watermarked and they're installed by a licenced plumber."
The issue lies with brass tap fittings which can slowly leach trace amounts of lead into drinking water.
In 2016, three researchers from Sydney's Macquarie University conducted a study which tested drinking water in New South Wales homes.
Their findings included the discovery that eight per cent of the homes tested had levels of lead above the Australian Drinking Water Guidelines (ADWG).
By comparing the quality of water as it entered the home with the water that exited the internal taps, the researchers believed they found the culprit of the slightly increased lead levels.
"Analysis of household plumbing fittings (taps and connecting pipework) show that these are a significant source of drinking water lead contamination," the study stated.
It also referred to numerous previous studies dating back to 1988 highlighting "brass taps and fittings have, for many years, been a known source of drinking water contamination".
"Despite this knowledge, plumbing components containing large concentrations of lead continue to remain available to consumers," it said.
According to the Victorian Government's Better Health website, "lead exposure can permanently damage the brain and impair intellectual development" and is particularly detrimental to young children.
The ABC understands that in the wake of drinking fountains being shut down in Geelong and Warrnambool, water authorities were briefed by the DHHS about concerns around plumbing fittings leaching lead into drinking water.
The DHHS refused to comment on the details of that briefing, saying its contents were not for publication.
It also said it would not comment beyond Professor Guest's statement, nor would the Victorian Building Authority, saying it was still investigating the Geelong matter.
In the wake of the Geelong discovery, the DHHS issued a statement from Professor Guest, stating:
While the levels of lead detected are above the health guideline value in the ADWG, they are not of immediate concern, as drinking water fountains are not the main source of daily drinking water.
Current evidence indicates that the issue may be related to plumbing materials associated with the drinking fountains.
People do not need to be worried if they have consumed water from the affected drinking fountains.
The impacts of plumbing materials in contact with drinking water is an emerging issue worldwide.
Once the results of the Geelong investigation are available, the relevant state government departments and agencies may be required to coordinate a state-wide response.
It's too early to start a broader investigation at this time as the source of the lead is still being investigated.
The new Perth Children's Hospital had its opening delayed by three years, partly because of elevated lead levels in its drinking water, which was found to be caused by brass fittings in the building. In a report by the Western Australia chief health officer, Tarun Weeramanthri, the fittings were found to have corroded, leaching lead into the water system.
A Building Commission report in April 2017 also found state-managed pipes which circle the whole medical precinct, as well as the brass fittings in the worksite itself, were a cause of the contamination.
In Queensland, the state's Building and Construction Commission confirmed it "continually monitors plumbing products which may pose a health or safety issue".
"Plumbing products which are found to contain lead, particularly those connected to drinking supplies, present a serious concern," a spokesperson said, before referring the ABC to the Australian Building Codes Board (ABCB).
In response, the ABCB chief executive, Neil Savery, said the board "has commissioned a research project through Macquarie University NSW to enable it to make an informed decision about possible changes to the Plumbing Code of Australia".
It said the project would "determine to what extent plumbing products and materials may contribute to lead levels in drinking water in excess of those permitted by the ADWG".
"The research that has been commissioned by the ABCB is focused specifically on brass fittings in the context of Australian plumbing systems to determine if any further changes are necessary," Mr Savery said. Elizabeth O'Brien, vice president of not-for-profit organisation The Lead Group, said the sale and installation of fittings and taps made of brass is largely unregulated.
The group had advocated in the past for the removal of lead from petrol and paint in its battle against lead poisoning and pollution.
"Now it is clear that all this time we should have been looking at the plumbing standards and the sale of lead in brass in fittings," Ms O'Brien said.
"Unfortunately, the way water works in Australia is that the water authorities are responsible for [water] up to the house, [but] the homeowner then becomes responsible," she said.
"There's no regulation that says that you can't sell a product that's going to add lead to the water.
"All it says is that you shouldn't sell a product that doesn't comply with the standards, and when you look at the standards there is some grave problems that occur in testing."
Ms O'Brien also questioned the extent of product testing and whether it reflected "real-life situations".
Mr Daly confirmed "there's nothing to stop non-watermarked products being on the market" such as "bubbler taps that we find in schools and in parks that have the potential to carry lead in water because they're not part of that [watermarking] scheme". The Municipal Association of Victoria, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, and the office of Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt, which deemed this a state issue, declined to comment on the matter.
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Environment Pollution
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1975 Hawaii earthquake
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The 1975 Hawaii earthquake occurred on November 29 with a moment magnitude of 7.4 and a maximum Mercalli intensity of VIII (Severe). The shock affected several of the Hawaiian Islands and resulted in the deaths of two people and up to 28 injured. Significant damage occurred in the southern part of the Big Island totaling $4–4.1 million and it also triggered a small brief eruption of Kilauea volcano. The event generated a large tsunami that was as high as 47 feet (14 m) on Hawai'i island and was detected in Alaska, California, Japan, Okinawa, Samoa, and on Johnston and Wake Islands. Significant changes to the shorelines along the southern coast of the Big Island with subsidence of 12 feet (3.7 m) was observed, causing some areas to be permanently submerged. The source of the event was the Hilina Slump, which was also responsible for the more powerful 1868 Hawaii earthquake and tsunami. This Hawaiʻi-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.
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Earthquakes
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All the Celebrity Couples Who Have Gotten Married in Las Vegas
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Despite the popular tagline, what happens in Vegas doesn’t always stay in Vegas—especially when it comes to weddings. On average (thanks to fast marriage certificate turnarounds) 120,000 couples get married in the city each year. Over the years, that number has included several famous faces who have gotten hitched at the chapels that dot downtown. Most recently? Lily Allen and David Harbour, who shared their stylish shotgun ceremony on Instagram, complete with an Elvis impersonator, a Dior dress, and post-ceremony burgers. Below, a list of the best celebrity weddings in Las Vegas, stretching back to the 1980s. Spoiler alert: The King makes an appearance in many. And, if all these Sin City unions pique your interest? Read Vogue’s chronicle following Vegas brides from across the world on Valentine's Day. Wearing vintage Dior, Lily Allen wed Stranger Things actor David Harbour at the Graceland Wedding Chapel while Elvis watched. Afterwards, they held a reception at In-N-Out Burger. Harbour acknowledged the crazy circumstances of amidst their wedding took place: “In a wedding officiated by the king himself, the people’s princess wed her devoted, low born, but kind credit card holder in a beautiful ceremony lit by the ashen skies courtesy of a burning state miles away in the midst of a global pandemic,” he wrote on Instagram. “Refreshments were served at a small reception following.” WATCH Hailey Bieber on Her Classically Sexy Met Gala Look Mere hours after the Jonas Brothers played at the 2019 Billboard Music Awards, Joe Jonas wed Sophie Turner at Las Vegas’s famous A Little White Wedding Chapel. In a ceremony officiated by Elvis, Turner walked down the aisle in a silk top and pants to an acoustic version of “Speechless.” and Nick Jonas and Kevin Jonas stood by as groomsmen. The world got to watch, thanks to Diplo, who streamed it on his Instagram story. Later that year, the two held a lavish wedding in Provence. In 2004, Britney Spears wed her childhood friend Jason Allen Alexander at A Little White Wedding Chapel. It was a short-lived marriage—Spears and Alexander got their union annulled a mere 55 hours later. Bruce Willis and Demi Moore eloped at the Golden Nugget in Downtown Las Vegas on November 21, 1987. They split 11 years later, but still remain on the friendliest of terms, even quarantining together with their daughters during the coronavirus pandemic. After getting engaged in 1987, Michael Jordan and his first wife, Juanita Vanoy, got hitched in 1989 at A Little White Wedding Chapel. They arrived in a taxi cab at 2:30 in the morning. Although their 2002 wedding took place in Mexico, where Geller wore a Vera Wang linen suit, the Scooby-Doo co-stars actually first married at A Little White Wedding Chapel a few months prior.
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Famous Person - Marriage
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ADC Airlines Flight 86 crash
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ADC Airlines Flight 86 was a Nigerian domestic flight operated by ADC Airlines from Port Harcourt to Lagos. On 7 November 1996 the crew of the Boeing 727-200 operating the flight lost control of the aircraft while avoiding a mid-air collision on approach; the aircraft crashed inverted at a very high speed, killing all 144 passengers and crew on board. Investigators determined the primary cause of the accident was an air traffic control error. [1]
[2]
Flight 86 was en route to Lagos airport at flight level (FL) 240 (approximately 24,000 ft (7,300 m) altitude). At the same time another 727 operated by Triax was on its way from Lagos to Enugu at FL160. The Lagos Air Traffic Controller cleared the crew of Flight 86 to descend, but erroneously thought that he had earlier cleared Flight 86 to descend to 10,000 ft (3,000 m) and that it was below the Triax aircraft. The descent from FL240 caused Flight 86 to conflict with the Triax flight at FL160. The traffic collision avoidance system (TCAS) sounded an alert but when the crew took evasive action they overcompensated and it rolled too far; the pilots lost control and within sixteen seconds the aircraft was upside down and diving towards the ground at near-Mach 1 speed. The inverted aircraft disintegrated on impact near Imota (Ejirin) at 17:05 local time. [1]
The primary cause of the accident was determined to be error on part of the air traffic controller, quote "The untidy traffic separation by the radar controller which resulted from the vectoring of ADK 086 towards the track of the opposite traffic TIX 185. "[1]
The pilot was also found to be at fault for proceeding on a heading of 330 and the risky maneuver to avoid a collision with the Triax plane. [1]
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Air crash
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Colossal volcano behind 'mystery' global cooling finally found
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On September 28, a follow-up study that analyzed tree rings and a layer of volcanic ash preserved in a distant glacier placed a new date of 431 A.D. on the Ilopango eruption—a century before the period of global cooling. The analysis suggests that while the eruption devastated the local landscape, it likely had little impact on global climate. Our story about an earlier analysis of this volcanic event is below. The ices of Greenland and Antarctica bear the fingerprints of a monster: a gigantic volcanic eruption in 539 or 540 A.D. that killed tens of thousands and helped trigger one of the worst periods of global cooling in the last 2,000 years. Now, after years of searching, a team of scientists has finally tracked down the source of the eruption. The team’s work, published in Quaternary Science Reviews , lays out new evidence that ties the natural disaster to Ilopango , a now-dormant volcano in El Salvador. Researchers estimate that in its sixth-century eruption, Ilopango expelled the equivalent of 10.5 cubic miles of dense rock, making it one of the biggest volcanic events on Earth in the last 7,000 years. The blast was more than a hundred times bigger than the 1980 Mount St. Helens eruption and several times larger than the 1991 eruption of Mount Pinatubo. It dealt the local Maya settlements a blow that forever altered their trajectory. “This is the largest eruption in Central America that human beings have ever witnessed,” says lead study author Robert Dull , a geologist at California Lutheran University. “The importance of the event is even greater, both how the Maya overcame it and how it impacted what happened next.” The new work helps solve a longtime geologic mystery. Historical accounts that date to 536 describe a dark fog that dimmed the sun and ushered in a wave of crop deaths. Until recently, scholars were open to the idea that these clouds were the remains of an asteroid or comet. But modern data confirms that the event was volcanic—and that it was two volcanoes up to four years apart, not just one. Ice cores from Greenland and Antarctica show spikes of sulfate, a byproduct of large volcanic eruptions, at 536 and either 539 or 540. The two volcanoes were so large and so violent, they launched sulfur gases and particles miles into the sky. Since this material reflected sunlight away from Earth’s surface, it triggered severe global cooling: One 2016 study found that the volcanoes decreased average global temperatures by as much as 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit . Crops in northern Europe and elsewhere failed, likely triggering starvation and disease. Though its ties to the volcanoes remain tenuous, the infamous Plague of Justinian —which killed tens of millions of people—started in 541, during the worst of the cooling. ( Learn more about human-caused climate change , which will cause more than 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit of warming without rapid emission reductions.) Geologists surmised that the 536 eruption was from a high-latitude volcano—perhaps one in Iceland or Alaska—and that the 539/540 eruption was in the tropics. But the identities of the volcanoes were unknown. A date with destiny In the past, some scientists had considered Ilopango a possible suspect for the 536 eruption. It had clearly erupted sometime between the third and sixth centuries A.D., depositing ash and rock across El Salvador to form a rock formation called the Tierra Blanca Joven (Spanish for “young white earth”). But precisely when Ilopango erupted—and how it affected local people—remained uncertain. In the late 1990s, Dull was a Ph.D student attempting to study El Salvador’s past land use by looking at vegetation in sediment cores. But the more he looked, the more he noticed a whitish layer of ash: the Tierra Blanca Joven. “My advisor said, ‘Eyes on the prize, this volcano thing is a distraction.’ And I just couldn’t avert my eyes,” says Dull. “How many people were killed? How large of an area was affected?” In 2001, Dull tried to estimate Ilopango’s effects on the local Maya, but he didn’t make further headway until 2008, when two major studies grabbed Dull’s attention. In one, geologists published new evidence that the historical “dust veil” of 536 was caused by a volcano . In the other, researchers announced that the Tierra Blanca Joven extended into marine sediments off the coast of El Salvador . The Tierra Blanca Joven eruption was even bigger than Dull and others thought. However, pinning down when Ilopango erupted—and whether it could have caused the cooling in the mid-sixth century—became a huge challenge. To pinpoint the eruption, researchers relied on radiocarbon dating, which takes advantage of the fact that living plants (and whatever eats them) absorb traces of radioactive carbon-14. Dead plants and animals no longer absorb carbon-14, and the trapped carbon starts to decay like clockwork. By counting up the products of this decay, scientists can see when the plant or animal died, a proxy for the age of objects found nearby. But background levels of carbon-14 naturally vary over time, which can lead to “plateaus”: time periods when organisms that lived decades apart look like they have the same radiocarbon age. Try as they might, earlier researchers couldn’t nail down the Tierra Blanca Joven eruption because it fell within a 120-year plateau spanning the fifth and sixth centuries A.D. One way to avoid plateaus is to find trees within the sediments of interest. With any luck, the trees lived part of their lives before or after the plateau. If so, they could yield data that would anchor the tree’s age—and the sediment’s age in turn. This was why Dull’s team was excited to hear about a quarry about 10 miles from Ilopango, where workers digging for road fill had found intact trees within the Tierra Blanca Joven. At the time of the eruption, gently falling ash had entombed the trees where they stood. “One looked like a freshly fallen tree,” says Dull. “The preservation conditions at that site are some of the most remarkable I’ve ever seen.” Because the trees were so well preserved, Dull and his team could figure out how old they were when the Ilopango eruption killed them. These new data—a hundred new radiocarbon dates—point to the trees dying in the first half of the 6th century, most likely in the 530s to 540s. Dull’s team also revised their estimate of Ilopango’s size, taking into account the thickness and spread of Tierra Blanca Joven deposits. They say that Ilopango may have even dwarfed the 1815 Tambora eruption , a huge volcanic event that ushered in “a year without a summer” because of the global cooling it caused. Ilopango likely launched up to a million tons of sulfur miles into the sky, high enough for stratospheric winds to spread the aerosols worldwide and trigger global cooling. Only one eruption in ice-core data matches Ilopango’s timing, magnitude, and likely effect on the global climate: the one that struck in 539 or 540. “In 1980, I declared to my colleagues, I am determined to get a good date on this eruption until I die—and finally, we have it,” says study coauthor Payson Sheets , an archaeologist at the University of Colorado Boulder and the first scientist to try radiocarbon dating on the eruption . “I am finally very pleased.” Recovering from the apocalypse Beyond the global impacts, Ilopango was an apocalyptic event for the people living in El Salvador at the time, many of whom lived in or around densely populated Maya centers. As many as 40,000 to 80,000 people died in the eruption itself, Dull’s team estimates, overwhelmed by superheated rock and gas that screamed down Ilopango’s flanks. For those on the periphery, Ilopango’s nightmare was just beginning. Ash would have blotted out the sun, turning day to night. Thatched roofs heavy with ash and rock could have collapsed. Food and water supplies would have been decimated, as feet of ash buried reservoirs and agricultural fields. An additional 100,000 to 400,000 people would have been affected; those who didn’t die of starvation or disease would have been forced to flee, perhaps to less affected Maya centers toward the north in modern-day Guatemala. “This is a nightmare-scenario eruption,” says Janine Krippner , a volcanologist with the Smithsonian Institution’s Global Volcanism Program who wasn’t involved with the study. “Even with the science and the understanding we have today, this would be a truly terrifying event. ... I can only imagine what [local people] thought was happening.” The refugee crisis caused by Ilopango may have altered the trajectory of Maya culture. Dull says that precisely how remains ripe for further research—but already, there is room to speculate. During the sixth century, Maya centers entered what some scholars describe as a “hiatus” of monument construction. Some Mayanists question whether the hiatus is real , but if it is, could it be a sign of a society busy with the aftereffects of Ilopango? The Ilopango eruption also roughly coincides with a clear shift in the Classic Maya period. Far from crippling the Maya as a whole, centers in what are now Guatemala and Mexico thrived afterward. From the mid-sixth century until 900, a period called the Late Classic, some Maya centers grew in size and influence, and conflict among them increased. It’s possible that incoming refugees helped expand some centers’ populations, labor pools, and armies. “If indeed from 100,000 to 400,000 were going, and a portion of those, if not the majority—since they’re culturally connected to the Maya—were going up in that area, that might have been one of the major factors of the Late Classic,” says Lisa Lucero , an anthropologist at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign who wasn’t involved with the study. What’s clear is that years after Ilopango erupted, the landscape around the volcano showed signs of renewal. For decades, Sheets has studied El Salvador’s Joya de Cerén, a Maya village that was buried Pompeii-style by a different volcanic eruption in 660 A.D. The village was constructed atop the Tierra Blanca Joven. “The people that founded that wonderful little town are part of that human recovery,” says Sheets.
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Volcano Eruption
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Taunton sleeping car fire
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In the early hours of 6 July 1978, a fire broke out in a sleeping car train near Taunton, Somerset, England, causing the death of 12 people and injuring 15. The fire was started by an electric heater that had been obstructed by sacks of dirty bed linen, causing it to overheat. Most deaths were due to smoke inhalation. In response to the incident, British Rail adopted various fire safety measures on the newly introduced Mark 3 passenger carriages. The fire started in a British Railways Mark 1 sleeping car (no. W2437) which had been built in 1960, at which time trains in the UK were mostly hauled by steam locomotives, which provided steam for heating passenger accommodation. Diesel locomotives of the period were fitted with boilers so that they could be used with existing coaches. However, with steam locomotives gone by the 1970s, and with boilers proving unreliable and expensive to maintain, the decision was made to change to electric train heating (ETH). W2437 was converted in 1976, with an electric heater being installed in the vestibule. [1]
The Class 47-hauled 22:30 sleeping car express from Penzance to Paddington on 5 July 1978 was scheduled to pick up two sleeping cars at Plymouth; this arrangement was so that passengers joining the train there could go to bed without having to wait for the main service to arrive at around midnight. [1]
The main store for bed linen on the Plymouth service was at Old Oak Common depot near London Paddington. Used bedding from Plymouth was previously transported in the guards van of the Plymouth portion, but in 1977 that vehicle was removed from the formation. Instead, the dirty linen was stacked in plastic bags in the vestibule of W2437, against the heater. [1]
The train arrived at Plymouth from Penzance at 23:50. It was coupled up to the Plymouth sleeping cars (which included W2437) and the ETH was turned on at 00:15. The train departed on time at 00:30 and made scheduled stops at Newton Abbot and Exeter. Nobody who saw the train noticed anything amiss, but the bags of linen were now heating up. As they smouldered they began to give off toxic gases, including carbon monoxide. Unfortunately the ventilation system drew fresh air from the vestibule, and the gases were sucked into the system and into each berth. [1]
A major fire developed and the train was stopped at 02:41 near Silk Mill signal box about a mile short of the station in Taunton, Somerset, by the communication cord being pulled. By that time, most of the victims were already dead from carbon monoxide poisoning. A small number of passengers awoke and were able to escape, although they had considerable difficulty in doing so due to the smoke and heat. The sleeping car attendant of the Plymouth coaches could only shout a warning to a few of the occupants before he was overcome by smoke; it was the attendant in the adjacent coach who pulled the communication cord. The victims as well as other injured passengers were taken to the nearby Musgrove Park Hospital for treatment. [1]
A twelfth passenger, a Belgian national, died from pneumonia in August, having never regained consciousness. [2]
In the immediate aftermath of the disaster David Penhaligon, the Liberal MP for Truro who regularly used the West Country sleeper stated in the House of Commons that "All the doors" on the train were "locked between carriages" and that all the external doors were locked except for the door where the attendant was. He also claimed that windows on the train which were supposed to be able to be opened rarely worked. These remarks echoed claims by passengers that locked doors had hampered escape efforts. [3] In the same debate another West Country MP Robin Maxwell-Hyslop, the Conservative MP for Tiverton pointed out that 111 years earlier an inspector reporting on "the Irish Mail crash" - which actually was in 1868 - had warned that locking doors at the end of sleeping cars could result in passenger deaths and asked "should we not have learned by now? "[3]
Initial reports showed that fire crews had difficulty during the rescue operation because doors on the train were locked. This was against the rules, but it was commonplace for attendants to lock the end doors of the pair of coaches that they were responsible for. This meant that attendants could greet passengers on arrival, and it helped to keep out intruders. Following this discovery, BR made it absolutely clear that all doors were to be left unlocked at all times. [4][page needed]
The Taunton fire occurred just as new Mark 3 sleeping cars were at the design stage. The decision was taken to install state-of-the art fire prevention measures including sophisticated warning systems, fire retardant materials, multilingual warning placards and revised emergency procedures. [4][page needed]
Coordinates: 51°01′29″N 3°07′30″W / 51.0246°N 3.125°W / 51.0246; -3.125
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Israel’s planned withdrawal from UNESCO unlikely to improve anything
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A picture taken on October 12, 2017, shows the logo of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) headquarters in Paris. Very few things enjoy across the board support from rival political camps in Israel, but Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s decision last week to start “preparing” to leave UNESCO was one of them. Such is the animosity felt in Israel to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization for its slew of anti-Israel resolutions passed in recent years — many denying a Jewish connection to the holiest historical sites in the Land of Israel. However, Israel’s pullout is unlikely to bring about the desired change at the organization, critics charge. If anything, it may negatively affect the Jewish state’s interests, they argue. Israelis have long debated whether it is better to engage with biased organizations, trying to improve them from the inside, or to quit in order to delegitimize such bodies. So far with UNESCO, Jerusalem has mostly opted for the first option, despite the mounting frustration with absurdly one-sided resolutions. Last week, the latter school of thought achieved a grand victory. First claiming victory, then quitting The irony is that Israel announced its desire to leave a day after it finally had some success there. And in part, the decision was spurred not by Israeli planning, but by a surprise US decision to quit.
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MarketWatch Site LogoA link that brings you back to the homepage.
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Patrick Mahomes, a 24-year-old quarterback who led the Kansas City Chiefs to a Super Bowl win on Feb. 2, 2020, was rewarded with a 10-year contract extension that’s worth over half a billion dollars.
Mahomes’s agency, Steinberg Sports, shared the deal’s details on Twitter: The 10-year extension is worth $503 Million. “He gets $477M in guarantee mechanisms and ability to have outs if guarantee mechanisms aren’t exercised. No trade clause. First half billion dollar player in sports history. History made.”
ESPN’s NFL insider Adam Schefter was the first to report on the deal, on July 6. Mahomes’s contract is now the biggest in U.S. sports history. Until now, the largest U.S. sports contract belonged to baseball player Mike Trout, at $426.5 million .
Mahomes will now have the highest average salary for the 2020 NFL season, at $45 million, according to Spotrac , which is $10 million more than the next player.
On Feb. 2, 2020, Mahomes was the youngest quarterback to ever be named a Super Bowl MVP, and he was named the NFL’s MVP for the 2018 season.
“Since he joined the Chiefs just a few years ago, Patrick has developed into one of the most prolific athletes in all of sports,” Chiefs chairman Clark Hunt said in a statement about the quarterback who led them to their first championship in 50 years.
“With his dynamic play and infectious personality, he is one of the most recognized and beloved figures to put on the Chiefs uniform. He’s an extraordinary leader and a credit to the Kansas City community, and I’m delighted that he will be a member of the Chiefs for many years to come.”
Speaking of community, Mahomes has been active off the field in recent months, using his fame to promote social causes that are important to him. In June 2020 he helped lead a voter-registration drive ahead of the November election.
Also see: ‘I thought they were scamming me’: Kansas City Chiefs superfan gets the surprise of a lifetime
And he was one of a dozen NFL stars to make a video demanding the NFL condemn racism and ‘admit wrong in silencing players from peacefully protesting.’
The video came after a white police officer was caught on video killing a Black man named George Floyd.
“I believe in both my statement and the video we made. That stuff needed to be said,” explained Mahomes , who comes from a mixed-race family with a black father and white mother, giving him a unique perspective on the issue. “We need to come together and show that black lives do matter. It’s great to feel the support we got from the Chiefs, from Coach Reid, and I’ve talked to (NFL commissioner) Roger Goodell and he’s shown his support for us.”
Mahomes said he discussed the social unrest with his father, former major league pitcher Pat Mahomes, and his godfather, former reliever LaTroy Hawkins. He also spoke with a number of current and former NFL players.
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Millions ‘one step away’ from famine in Yemen, UN warns
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Some five million people are facing imminent famine and disease as the war drags on, the UN says. Ending Yemen’s ongoing famine is an “overarching humanitarian priority” amid a litany of crises, the UN’s outgoing special envoy for the country said. Martin Griffiths told the UN Security Council on Monday that roughly two-thirds of the war-ravaged country’s population – about 20 million people – rely on humanitarian aid for their day-to-day needs. Roughly five million people “are one step away from succumbing to famine and the diseases that go with it”, he warned. An additional 10 million people “are right behind them”, added Griffiths. “Famine isn’t just a food problem. It’s a symptom of a much deeper collapse. In many ways, it is all of Yemen’s problems rolled into one, and it demands a comprehensive response,” he said. Much of the country’s starvation is tied to the extreme depreciation of Yemen’s national currency and the collapse of the economy, with GDP plummeting 40 percent since 2015 when Iran-backed Houthi rebels seized control of the country. The Yemeni riyal, meanwhile, is trading at record lows to the US dollar. Khaled Mohamed Khiari, assistant UN secretary-general for the Middle East, raised further alarm over widespread fuel shortages that are worsening in Houthi-controlled territories. Only three ships carrying oil supplies were allowed to dock at Yemen’s strategic port city of Hodeidah since July, while four others remain in a holding area controlled by the Saudi Arabia-led, anti-Houthi coalition, Khiari said. The port of Hodeidah – which has remained largely shut over the years – is Yemen’s main port and a major lifeline for humanitarian supplies entering the country, which the UN has described as “the world’s worst humanitarian disaster”. All but one Yemen Petroleum station in Houthi-controlled territories have closed because of the shortages, and waiting times to refill gas canisters used for cooking have reached one month, according to the UN. “We reiterate our call on the government of Yemen to urgently allow the entry of all essential commercial supplies, including fuel ships to Hodeidah without delay,” said Khiari. “All parties must prioritise civilian needs and abstain from weaponising the economy, particularly in light of the critical humanitarian situation in the country.” In March, Saudi Arabia offered a nationwide ceasefire in Yemen, but the Houthis rejected the proposal, calling for a complete end to the Saudi-led blockade on the country’s ports and Sanaa airport first. Saudi Arabia says the Houthis are proxies of its regional rival, Iran. But the rebels deny receiving material support from Tehran. This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. End of dialog window. Meanwhile, Griffith called for an end to “profiteering” and the implementation of a definitive ceasefire, which would give “desperate civilians a break and create the space needed to address the drivers of the crisis”. Yemen has been beset by violence and chaos since 2014 when Houthi rebels overran much of the country. The conflict intensified in 2015 when Saudi Arabia and its regional allies launched a military campaign against the Houthis, who had taken over the capital Sanaa and expelled the Riyadh-backed government of Yemeni President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi. The violence spurred an enormous humanitarian crisis that has killed at least 233,000 people, according to UN estimates, and left millions on the verge of starvation. Yemen’s government and the Houthi rebels continue to battle a currency war that has opened up a gulf in riyal values. Fuel shortages force people to turn to firewood to cook food, and logging as a source of work in a ravaged economy. Support aims to prevent ‘very real threat’ of famine in Yemen, US special envoy says, amid ongoing effort to end war.
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Panic of 1857
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The Panic of 1857 was a financial panic in the United States caused by the declining international economy and over-expansion of the domestic economy. Because of the invention of the telegraph by Samuel F. Morse in 1844, the Panic of 1857 was the first financial crisis to spread rapidly throughout the United States. [1] The world economy was also more interconnected by the 1850s, which also made the Panic of 1857 the first worldwide economic crisis. [2] In Britain, the Palmerston government circumvented the requirements of the Bank Charter Act 1844, which required gold and silver reserves to back up the amount of money in circulation. Surfacing news of this circumvention set off the Panic in Britain. [3]
Beginning in September 1857, the financial downturn did not last long, but a proper recovery was not seen until the onset of the American Civil War in 1861. [4] The sinking of SS Central America contributed to the panic of 1857, as New York banks were awaiting a much-needed shipment of gold. American banks did not recover until after the Civil War. [5] After the failure of Ohio Life Insurance and Trust Company, the financial panic quickly spread as businesses began to fail, the railroad industry experienced financial declines, and hundreds of workers were laid off. [6]
Because the years immediately preceding the Panic of 1857 were prosperous, many banks, merchants, and farmers had seized the opportunity to take risks with their investments, and, as soon as market prices began to fall, they quickly began to experience the effects of financial panic. [4]
The early 1850s saw great economic prosperity in the United States, stimulated by the large amount of gold mined in the California Gold Rush that greatly expanded the money supply. By the mid-1850s, the amount of gold mined began to decline, causing western bankers and investors to become wary. Eastern banks became cautious with their loans in the eastern US, and some even refused to accept paper currencies issued by western banks. [7]
The US Supreme Court decided Dred Scott v. Sandford in March 1857. After the slave Dred Scott sued for his freedom, Chief Justice Roger Taney ruled that Scott was not a citizen because he was Black, and so did not have the right to sue in court. Taney also called the Missouri Compromise unconstitutional and said that the federal government could not prohibit slavery in US territories. The decision would clearly have a significant impact on the development of the western territories. [8] Soon after the decision, "the political struggle between 'free soil' and slavery in the territories" began. [9] The western territories north of the Missouri Compromise line were now opened to the expansion of slavery, which would obviously have drastic financial and political effects: "Kansas land warrants and western railroad securities' prices declined slightly just after the Dred Scott decision in early March. "[8] This fluctuation in railroad securities proved "that political news about future territories called the tune in the land and railroad securities markets". [8]
Before 1857, the railroad industry had been booming due to large migrations of people to the west, especially to Kansas. The large influx of people made the railroads a profitable industry, and the banks began to provide railroad companies with large loans. Many of the companies never made it past the stage of a paper railroad and never owned the physical assets necessary to run a real one. Prices of railroad stocks as a whole began to experience a stock bubble, and railroad stocks saw increasingly-speculative entries into the fray, worsening the bubble. In the meantime, the Dred Scott decision lent uncertainty to railroads in general. [citation needed]
In July 1857, railroad stock values peaked. [10][11] On August 11, 1857, N. H. Wolfe and Company, the oldest flour and grain company in New York City, failed, shaking investor confidence and beginning a slow selling-off in the market that continued into late August. [12][page needed]
On the morning of August 24, 1857, the president of Ohio Life Insurance and Trust Company announced that its New York branch had suspended payments. [12][page needed] The company, an Ohio-based bank with a second main office in New York City, had large mortgage holdings and was the liaison to other Ohio investment banks. Ohio Life failed because of fraudulent activities by the company's management, which threatened to precipitate the failure of other Ohio banks or, even worse, to create a run on the banks. [13] According to an article printed in the New York Daily Times, Ohio Life's "New York City and Cincinnati [branches were] suspended; with liabilities, it is said, of $7,000,000". [14] Fortunately, the banks connected to Ohio Life were reimbursed and "avoided suspending convertibility by credibly coinsuring one another against runs. "[15] The failure of Ohio Life brought attention to the financial state of the railroad industry and land markets and caused the financial panic to become more public. [16]
By the spring of 1858, "commercial credit had dried up, forcing already debt-ridden merchants of the West to curtail new purchases of inventory". The limited purchasing in the West led to merchants around the country seeing decreases in sales and profits. [7] The railroads "had created an interdependent national economy, and now an economic downturn in the West threatened.... [an] economic crisis. [7] Since many banks had financed railroads and land purchases, they began to feel the pressures of the falling value of railroad securities. The Illinois Central; Erie; Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne and Chicago; and Reading Railroad lines were all forced to shut down by the financial downturn. The Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad and the Fond du Lac Railroad were forced to declare bankruptcy. The Boston and Worcester Railroad Company also experienced heavy financial difficulties. The employees were informed in a memo written in late October 1857 that "the receipts from Passengers and Freight have fallen off during [the] last month (as compared with the corresponding month of last year), over twenty thousand dollars, with very little prospect of any improvement during the coming winter. "[18] The company also announced that their workers would receive a "reduction in pay of ten percent". [19] In addition to the decreasing value of railroad securities, farmers began to default on payments on their mortgaged lands in the West, which put even more financial pressure on banks. [17][page needed]
The prices of grain also decreased significantly, and farmers experienced a loss in revenue, causing banks to foreclose on recently-purchased lands. Grain prices in 1855 had skyrocketed to $2.19 a bushel, and farmers began to purchase land to increase their crop supply, which, in turn, would increase their profits. However, by 1858, grain prices dropped severely to $0.80 a bushel. [20] Many Midwestern towns felt the pressures of the Panic. For example, the town of Keokuk, Iowa, experienced financial strife from the economic downturns of the Panic:
A huge municipal debt magnified Keokuk's problems. By 1858 the town owed $900,000, mostly on railroad bonds, while the value of its taxable property dropped by $5.5 million. Lots that brought $1,000 before the crash now could not be sold for $10.
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Taliban entered led the most universities and public offices in Kabul remain close
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Afghans who hope to be evacuated head through flooded streets towards Kabul’s airport.Credit: Marcus Yam/Los Angeles Times/Shutterstock On Sunday 15 August, geologist Hamidullah Waizy was interviewing job candidates at the Ministry of Mines and Petroleum in Kabul when he was told the Taliban had entered the city, and he must evacuate. The next morning, he saw armed militants on the streets. Waizy, a researcher at Kabul Polytechnic University who was recently also appointed director-general of prospecting and exploration of mines at the ministry, was shocked by the city’s rapid fall. Since then, he’s lived in limbo, mostly shuttered up in the relative safety of his home. Across Kabul, most universities and public offices remain closed. The Taliban says it wants officials to continue working, but it is not clear what this will look like. “The future is very uncertain,” Waizy told Nature. How US sanctions are crippling science in Iran When the fundamentalist group last held the country, in 1996–2001, it brutally enforced a conservative version of Islamic Sharia law, characterized by women’s-rights violations and suppression of freedom of expression. But after it was overthrown in 2001, international funding poured into Afghanistan and universities thrived. Now, academics fear for their own safety. They also worry that research will languish without money and personal freedoms, and because educated people will flee. Some fear that they could be persecuted for being involved in international collaborations, or because of their fields of study or their ethnicity. “The achievements we had over the past 20 years are all at great risk,” says Attaullah Ahmadi, a public-health scientist at Kateb University in Kabul. According to news reports, billions of dollars in overseas finance for Afghanistan’s government — such as assets held by the US Federal Reserve and credit from the International Monetary Fund — have been frozen. It’s not clear whether or when the funding will be released, and how that will affect universities and researchers, but many report salaries not being paid. In 2001, after the September 11 terrorist attacks in the United States, a US-led coalition invaded Afghanistan and overthrew the Taliban. In 2004, a new government was elected. Kenneth Holland, a dean at O.P. Jindal Global University in Sonipat, India, was president of the American University of Afghanistan (AUAF) in Kabul in 2017–19. He says that when he arrived in the country in 2006, he found “almost no research being done at universities; no culture of research”. Since 2004, the World Bank, the US Agency for International Development and other international organizations have poured hundreds of millions of dollars into universities to support teaching, faculty training and some research, he says. Some three dozen public universities have been established or re-established since 2010, and tens more private universities have been set up. Public universities are funded by the Ministry of Higher Education, which is financed by international donors, says Holland. Private universities survive on tuition fees, although the AUAF is mostly funded by the US government. Students graduate at the American University of Afghanistan in 2019.Credit: Kiana Hayeri/The New York Times/Redux/eyevine The student population at public universities grew from 8,000 in 20011 to 170,000 in 2018, one-quarter of whom by that time were women2. And although Afghanistan’s contribution to international journals remained small, the number of papers recorded annually in the Scopus database increased from 71 in 2011 to 285 in 2019.2 Shakardokht Jafari, a medical physicist at the University of Surrey in Guildford, UK, who is originally from Afghanistan, has seen much progress since 2001, from burgeoning enrolment of female students to growing output on topics from cancer to geology. But now she fears “there will be a stagnation of science and research progress”. For a long time “scientists considered Afghanistan a black hole”, says Najibullah Kakar, a geohazards scientist at the GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences in Potsdam. He is one of many Afghans who went abroad for their education, intending to return with new skills to help build the nation. In 2014, he helped to install Afghanistan’s first seismic network to study plate tectonics. He continued that work until 2019, when conflicts made it difficult to travel to remote areas. He and his team planned to establish a seismic monitoring and research centre in Afghanistan to warn of natural hazards. But since the fall of Kabul, they have been in a state of panic, and Kakar, who says he has not slept for days, is desperately trying to help get his colleagues out. Taliban fighters patrol the streets in Kabul.Credit: Marcus Yam/Los Angeles Times/Getty Kakar’s colleagues are among a tide of researchers seeking asylum overseas. Rose Anderson, a director at humanitarian organization Scholars at Risk (SAR) in New York City, which finds threatened scholars safe havens at universities, says that in August alone, SAR received more than 500 applications from people in Afghanistan. Some are law scholars who fear reprisals if their field is at odds with the Taliban’s interpretation of Sharia law. Many women fear being targeted for their gender and women’s-rights activism; some men fear being punished for teaching or supervising women. Others worry that they could be added to hit lists because they studied abroad or have international connections. Almost all “reported a fear of being targeted just because they are in favour of free and critical inquiry and held ideals around respect for human rights and women’s rights”, says Anderson. Many have gone into hiding, or plan to cross into neighbouring countries. So far, Anderson says, 164 institutions globally have agreed to host scholars, and SAR has appealed to US and European governments to fast-track visas and continue evacuation flights. But getting people out is difficult: embassies are closed, Kabul airport is overrun and dangerous to get to, and escape over land is hard. Many at risk remain in Afghanistan. Holland says researchers at the AUAF are particularly vulnerable. The institution has been attacked by militants before: in 2016, 13 people were killed, including faculty members, staff and students. All 60 or so non-Afghan staff members have been evacuated, but only about 20 of some 400 local employees have been flown out, he says. Another 800 students and more than 1,000 alumni could become targets, Holland says. The largest share of Afghanistan’s population of 39 million, including many members of the Taliban, is ethnically Pashtun. Researchers from other ethnic groups risk persecution. Musa Joya is a medical physicist at Tehran University of Medical Science in Iran, who also works as a lecturer in Kabul. He belongs to the Farsi-speaking Hazara community, which he says makes him a target. He had planned to return to Kabul next year to work at a radiotherapy centre supported by the International Atomic Energy Agency, but those plans could be suspended. Remaining in Iran might not be a solution either, because it is difficult for non-nationals to gain employment at research institutes, Joya says. India–Pakistan nuclear escalation: where could it lead? His wife and children are still in Afghanistan. “I really see a dark future,” he says. “I don’t know how to feed my family; how to rescue them; how to protect them.” He hasn’t heard reports of the Taliban persecuting people in Kabul, but news of killings in other provinces alarms him. People are “getting ready for a storm”, he says. There are a few hints that things might not be as restrictive as they were under the previous Taliban administration. Several researchers report that the Taliban is in discussion with university heads about restarting classes. There are suggestions that women might be allowed to continue their studies, although the Taliban has ordered that women and men be taught separately, and some universities have proposed introducing partitions in classrooms. But in the city of Bamyan, west of Kabul, women have been told not to work and to stay at home, says a female lecturer and education researcher there, who graduated from AUAF and is Hazara. “I am under threat from the Taliban now,” she says. Scientists also worry about the future of research. Joya fears that the Taliban won’t prioritize research, or recognize its value. And he does not know how universities will cope without international financial support. One Kabul-based scholar and member of the Afghanistan Science Academy, who does not want to be named, says this is the third time that he and his family, like many in Afghanistan, have lost everything. He fled during the unrest in the late 1970s ahead of the invasion of the Soviet Union; again in the late 1990s during the Taliban’s previous tenure; and is now considering fleeing once more. “It is a very difficult situation for a human being: you are born in war, you grow up in war and now you will die in war.” US civil-rights group offers support to researchers facing China scrutiny Many people with postgraduate degrees have already fled. “This is a big catastrophe for the future of Afghanistan,” he says. “There will be no educated people left.” The academy, for example, employed some 200 scholars and 160 other staff, with an annual budget of some 300 million afghani (US$3.5 million), he adds. But they, and many government employees, have not been paid for two months, as the Taliban tightened its grip on the nation. “The system is almost paralysed,” says Ahmadi. It is not clear whether the international community will recognize the new government and continue to provide funding. Researchers hope they will not be abandoned. “We spent all our money, energy and time in Afghanistan to build a brighter future for ourselves and our children. But with this kind of withdrawal, they destroyed all our lives, all our hopes and ambitions,” says Joya.
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Eco-friendly art project hold in empty storefronts shut down by pandemic
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CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (WVIR) - Some new art is coming to Scottsville and one of the pieces was created by an organization at the University of Virginia. But surprisingly, it’s not from the art department. Write Climate, Right Climate is an environmental group that takes what most would consider trash and turns it into art. The coming project will be their third piece of recycled art. “Every material has some value,” said Amanda Nelsen, a lecturer and artist at Write Climate, Right Climate. “But also how problematic it is to continuing to produce material that cannot be fully recycled or is not something that can go full circle, in terms of environmental footprint?” Nelsen, her class, and others in the Charlottesville area repurposed materials for the new piece she calls Crescendo. She says the design resembles a solar eclipse, or a moment to shine. Nelsen came up with the idea but she credits much of the help to her assistant Mia Villani and interns Katie Yared and Charlie Mooz. “Each of the buns, these rolled pieces behind me, are rolled from plastic film that people have collected. UVA students, Charlottesville high school students, as well as community members,” Nelsen said. This repurposing of materials is exactly what brought this art to Scottsville. It was selected by the Scottsville Center for the Arts in the Natural Environment (SCAN) to be displayed downtown. “This piece by Amanda and Write Climate really adds to that conversation of how do we create without creating more waste,” SCAN Director Erin Root said. “So, how do we use the waste we already have and utilize that to create something beautiful?” Crescendo will be displayed in downtown Scottsville, along with other pieces, in empty storefronts closed by the pandemic. “It really impacted our economy here in Scottsville and the thought was, ‘you know, how do we, how do we reinvigorate our streetscape without, if we don’t have the businesses here?’ And we thought the way we would do that is through art,” Root said. SCAN wants that art to be accessible to everyone. The new exhibit will resemble a gallery or museum, but instead it will be completely open to the public. The goal is to bring vibrancy back to Scottsville. “The community behavior is really excited about the, you know, reclaiming the windows,’ Root said. “We’re getting rid of the cobwebs, we’re showing this work that has a lot of dimension to it, and that is contributing to the streetscape.” Write Climate, Right Climate’s project will be open Saturday 9/25 in Scottsville at the Valley Street Exhibition. There will be art, drinks, and food trucks.
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Russia's Accession to the World Trade Organization: Challenges and Opportunities for Russian Companies
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Russia's Accession to the World Trade Organization: Challenges and Opportunities for Russian Companies
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Russia's Accession to the World Trade Organization: Challenges and Opportunities for Russian Companies
December 2012 Commentaries
On August 22, 2012, after 19 years of negotiations, the Russian Federation ("Russia") became the 156th member of the World Trade Organization. This event marks the accession of the last major world economy to the international trading regime.
Proponents, opponents, academics, and businesspeople from within and outside Russia have commented extensively on Russia's accession. There have been many studies, opinions, assessments, and projections about the consequences of accession on Russia's economy and the economy of other WTO members in the short and long term. There have also been diverging views on the immediate impact of WTO membership on Russia and other WTO members. It has been suggested that it will benefit some Russian industry sectors and disadvantage others.
Only time will tell what the exact consequences of the WTO accession will be for the Russian economy. However, it is clear that the regulatory framework within which Russian companies operate in export markets and the regulatory framework governing competition from foreign companies on the Russian domestic market will undergo significant changes. The impact of Russia's accession to the World Trade Organization will largely depend on how Russian companies take advantage of this regulatory framework. The new reality will provide Russian businesses with great opportunities and confront them with great challenges. Whether and how they will reap the benefits of accessing the multilateral trading system will depend to a large extent on whether or not they choose to seize these opportunities and will be willing to face and overcome challenges. The decisions they make in this respect now may strongly affect their future position vis-à-vis their domestic and international competitors.
The New Regulatory Framework
By joining the WTO, Russia has committed to abide by its rules and principles in accordance with its Protocol of Accession and specific Schedules of Commitments. These rules apply on a reciprocal basis, and other WTO members also have to observe them in their dealings with Russia. Moreover, the WTO Dispute Settlement Body will allow Russia to hold its WTO partners accountable for failing to adhere to these rules. Conversely, other WTO members will use this system to ensure Russia's compliance. The dispute settlement mechanism enforces the obligations agreed upon within the WTO and aims to give all WTO members confidence that the agreements negotiated and agreed upon will be enforced.
The basic rules and principles of the multilateral trading regime strongly favor tariff measures over non-tariff measures. These rules prohibit the use of so-called quantitative restrictions (with some exceptions), and trade protection through import tariffs is allowed. However, WTO members commit not to raise tariffs above levels agreed at the time of their accession.
A WTO member may not discriminate among its trading partners that are also WTO members and is required to give them equal "most-favored-nation" or MFN status. This principle provides for nondiscriminatory treatment of imports of goods and services. It also contemplates that the same tariffs will be applied to all WTO members. WTO members may not discriminate between their own and foreign products, services, or nationals, and they are required to grant them "national treatment." Consequently, imported and locally produced goods should be treated equally, at least after imported goods enter the market. This principle also applies to taxation.
The WTO imposes rules governing the imposition of anti-dumping, anti-subsidy, and safeguard measures, or so-called "trade defense measures" that can temporarily increase the duties in force on imports of particular products from particular countries. The use of health and sanitary measures and technical standards is also strictly regulated.
The WTO rules go beyond trading and affect customs, licensing, and certification rules and procedures; the protection of intellectual property; and government procurement.
Challenges and Opportunities for Russian Companies Focused on the Russian Domestic Market
Russian companies are likely to be confronted with stronger competition from non-Russian companies on their domestic market. Russia's WTO accession will result in increased access to the Russian market for international companies since accession will require Russia to lower its import tariffs and to rationalize its tariff system.
The exact changes will vary significantly depending on the sector concerned. For some sectors, the most important change might not be the reduction in tariffs as such but, rather, the fact that the tariff rates will be fixed, whereas in the past tariff changes were often used as a mechanism for shielding the Russian domestic industry from unwanted competition.
The market access is, however, not free from limitations. There are still legitimate ways to protect certain sectors and industries, and there are still WTO-compliant ways for the Russian government to support its domestic industries without violating WTO rules. To take advantage of some of these possibilities, the Russian companies will have to take initiative. For example, an anti-dumping or anti-subsidy investigation that can lead to the imposition of import duties may be initiated at the request of domestic industry players.
The Russian government is likely to maintain certain sectoral protection mechanisms, which may be challenged by other WTO members at the request of their exporting companies. Russian companies will have to support their government in demonstrating the WTO compliance of such mechanisms. In certain cases, changes in the wording of the relevant regulations may be sufficient to achieve compliance.
This new challenging environment will also create opportunities for Russian companies. Russian companies that analyze the new regulatory framework and its consequences on their business will more easily adapt to the new reality and will have an important competitive advantage.
Challenges and Opportunities for Russian Export-Oriented Businesses
Russia's WTO accession provides Russian companies with increased access to export markets. Tariffs have to be lowered, and existing trade restrictions (including quotas) on certain products will disappear. WTO membership ensures Russia with nondiscriminatory treatment of its exporters in the markets of other WTO members. Russian exporters that feel discriminated in favor of other exporters or domestic companies can, under certain circumstances, enforce their rights under the WTO Agreements. Since Russian exporters already had access to most of the tariff benefits through Russia's bilateral trade agreements with WTO members, the reduction and/or elimination of nontariff barriers is likely to account for most of the benefits for the Russian economy through liberalization rather than the decrease in tariffs.
The entry into the WTO also provides Russian exporters with equal status with other WTO members in anti-dumping, anti-subsidy, and/or safeguard procedures and should put an end to discriminatory measures against Russian exporters. Russian exporters that are being confronted with trade defense measures may seek the initiation of an investigation by the authorities of the importing WTO member, in which these measures are reviewed, in accordance with the WTO rules.
The biggest challenge for Russian exporters is likely to be ensuring compliance with these and other rules and principles of the world trading regime. The extent to which Russia's exporters will benefit from accession to the WTO in practice remains to be seen. It will be of utmost importance for Russian industries to monitor compliance by other countries and to properly address any violations.
Jones Day and its Experience in WTO/International Trade Law
Jones Day's international trade lawyers are highly experienced in EU and WTO trade law, including trade defense (anti-dumping, anti-subsidy, anti-circumvention) and a full range of other trade matters. They have assisted companies and governments in highly challenging trade-related matters. Their well-recognized knowledge will benefit many of the Firm's Russian clients that require assistance in this area.
Jones Day's experience and capabilities in Russia, combined with its experience in international trade law, positions it to assist Russian companies in dealing with the challenges and opportunities in the new regulatory environment emerging from Russia's accession to the WTO.
Lawyer Contacts
For further information, please contact your principal Firm representative or one of the lawyers listed below. General email messages may be sent using our "Contact Us" form, which can be found at www.jonesday.com .
Renato Antonini
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Join in an Organization
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2004 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships
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The 2004 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships (2004 WJHC) was held between December 26, 2003, and January 5, 2004, in Helsinki and Hämeenlinna, Finland. The United States won its first ever gold medal, defeating Canada 4–3 in the final. [1]
All times local (EET/UTC+2). All times local (EET/UTC+2). Results from any games played during the preliminary round were carried forward to the relegation round. (all games at Hämeenlinna)
Austria and Ukraine were relegated to Division I for the 2005 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships
The victory gave the United States its first WJC gold medal ever, and its first medal since a silver medal in 1997 when it lost 2–0 to Canada in the final. GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/− = Plus-minus; PIM = Penalties In Minutes
Minimum 40% of team's ice time. Zach Parise
The Division I Championships were played December 14-December 20, 2003 in Berlin, Germany (Group A) and December 13-December 19, 2003 in Briançon, France (Group B). Germany and Belarus advance to the 2005 World Junior Championships, Hungary and Japan are relegated to Division II
The Division II Championships were played December 28, 2003 – January 3, 2004 in Sosnowiec, Poland (Group A) and January 5-January 11, 2004 in Kaunas and Elektrenai, Lithuania (Group B)
Poland and the Great Britain advance to the 2005 Division I Championships, Iceland and South Africa are relegated to the 2005 Division III Championships'
The Division III Championships were held January 5-January 11, 2004 in Sofia, Bulgaria
Australia and the People's Republic of China advance to 2005 Division II Championships
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Sports Competition
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Florida statewide teachers' strike of 1968
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The Florida statewide teachers' strike of 1968 was a strike action in the state of Florida in February and March 1968 by teachers and other education workers belonging to the Florida Education Association (FEA). The cause of the strike was under-funding of the state's educational system at a time when attendance was rising sharply, and low pay and benefits for teachers. The strike lasted from a few days in some school districts to three months in others. Although a special session of the Florida Legislature approved higher taxes to pay for more school funding, FEA members felt the funding hikes were not enough and voted to continue striking. No additional funding was forthcoming, however, and most local affiliates of the FEA settled their contracts and went back to work by March. The 1968 Florida strike is considered the first statewide teachers' strike in United States history. [1][2]
The primary causes of the strike were an increase in activism among Florida's teachers, leading to the transformation of the FEA into a labor union, and state underfunding of the Florida education system. The Florida Education Association was established in 1886 as an affiliate of the National Education Association (NEA). It was an association rather than a labor union, and was opposed to collective bargaining and strikes. In 1963, Pat Tornillo, a teacher in the Dade County school system, ran for the presidency of the Dade County Classroom Teachers Association (DCCTA). He won by calling for greater organizational militancy and the desegregation of teaching staff. [3]
Tornillo's election was a sign of a wave of union-like militancy sweeping the NEA in Florida and nationally. Since its inception, the NEA had rejected collective bargaining and strikes as unprofessional. But after the American Federation of Teachers won collective bargaining rights for teachers in New York City and formed the United Federation of Teachers, many NEA members began to push for the association to act more like a union. In 1961, about 200 of the NEA's largest urban locals formed the National Council of Urban Education Associations to push the national organization toward collective bargaining. The caucus was successful: The same year, the NEA Representative Assembly (RA) passed a resolution establishing an "Urban Project", adopting a policy of "professional negotiations" akin to collective bargaining, and requiring the NEA to provide staff, research and financial assistance to locals involved in "professional negotiations." By 1965, the NEA was providing nearly $885,000 a year to locals in support of "professional negotiations", up from a mere $28,000 in 1961. [4] In 1962, pro-unionization forces in the NEA pushed to remove the organization's prohibition against strikes. They were unsuccessful, but did win approval of a "sanctions" policy. "Sanctions" included waging a public relations campaign against the school district, encouraging teachers to not accept teaching positions with the school system, refusing to provide unpaid services (such as tutoring or supervision of clubs), and political action to defeat anti-union politicians. "Sanctions" could be employed against any school district which, in the opinion of the local association, had engaged in "unethical or arbitrary" policies or which had refused "sound professional practices. "[5] The first time the NEA voted sanctions against an entire state was in Utah in 1963. [6]
Tornillo eagerly embraced professional negotiations and sanctions, and in 1966 he forced the Dade County school system to open negotiations with the DCCTA. Although the national NEA was obligated to provide assistance, the FEA was not and refused to become involved in Tornillo's professional negotiations. Nevertheless, the DCCTA won a contract. But FEA's reluctance to support the local association led Tornillo and other leaders to lobby the state association to become more militant. [3]
Florida, like many American states, strictly regulates the way in which local school districts may fund education. Property taxes are the largest source of income, and may be levied by each local school district under a formula controlled by the state legislature. However, the state of Florida also provides funds for a variety of educational programs under formulas established by in state law. These programmatic funds are often funded by the state's sales taxes and so-called sin taxes. In 1967, Florida's schools were suffering from a large influx of students. The post-World War II baby boom, U.S. migration, and emigration into the state had caused school enrollment to rise by more than 50 percent, yet little school building or hiring of new personnel had taken place. The underfunding of Florida public schools was acknowledged by most elected leaders, but there seemed little public demand for increased school funding. [7]
1966 was an election year. Republican Claude R. Kirk, Jr. ran for governor and won, becoming the first Republican governor since 1877. Kirk had campaigned heavily on a promise to improve funding for education, but he also made a pledge not to raise taxes. During the 1967 legislature session, the FEA lobbied the state legislature hard for more funding for public schools. State legislative action had often been the only way for NEA locals to win better pay and working conditions prior to the enactment of the professional negotiations policy, so FEA was no newcomer to politics. FEA asked for a minimum teacher salary of $5,000 a year and a more equitable means of funding schools than property taxes. The Democratic-controlled state legislature approved a higher sales tax to provide for more school funding. But Kirk vetoed the budget, and Republican legislators upheld the veto. [8]
Many Florida teachers were angered by the Gov. Kirk's veto. An August 1967 rally at the Tangerine Bowl in Orlando drew 30,000 teachers, who demanded state action. FEA leaders began talking of holding a statewide strike. Spot strikes occurred throughout the state after the August rally. Even though public employee strikes are illegal in Florida, teachers in Pinellas and Broward counties struck in September. [9] Schools in many districts closed, although no school districts were shuttered. Courts ordered the teachers back into the classroom, but hundreds of teachers still stayed out—some for several weeks. [8]
The September spot-strikes galvanized public opinion into supporting the changes the teachers demanded.
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Strike
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Bond Fire
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The Bond Fire was a wildfire that burned 6,686 acres (2,706 ha) in the Santiago Canyon area of Orange County, California in December 2020. The fire caused evacuations of 25,000 residents and injured 2 firefighters. The fire was very close to the burn scar of the Silverado Fire, which took place in October 2020. [3]
The fire was first reported on December 2, 2020 in the unincorporated community of Silverado. [3] Authorities identified a home on a street called Bond Way as the source of the fire, thus becoming the event's namesake. [4] The communities of Silverado Canyon, Williams Canyon, and Modjeska Canyon were placed under mandatory evacuation in the early morning of December 3, and nearby Portola Hills was also evacuated later on. [5] On December 4, two firefighters from the Cleveland National Forest division of the United States Forest Service suffered injuries while battling the blaze. The two were treated on the scene and sent to a hospital for further evaluation. [6] It was later reported that one firefighter had injured their leg, the other was bruised, and both were released from the hospital the same day. [7] On December 6, authorities lifted all mandatory evacuations and allowed canyon residents to return to their homes. [8] By December 7, the fire was at 70% containment, which at that time, already destroyed 31 structures. [9] The fire was fully contained on December 10, 2020. [2]
On December 1, the day before the fire, Southern California Edison had cut power to Silverado Canyon due to dangerous wildfire conditions. The lack of electricity caused issues with the reporting of the fire, and the outage continued through the height of the event. [10] The fire forced the evacuations of 25,000 people and caused the air quality to be very poor. [11] Residents said that "they can't walk or drive", and that fires are a routine. [3] Rancho Soñado, home of the Orange County Department of Education's "Inside the Outdoors" learning program, was mostly destroyed by the wildfire. [11] Shelter was not provided due to the COVID-19 pandemic. [12] An eight year old female mountain lion tagged as F121, one of approximately 15 to 20 known to live in the Santa Ana mountain range, was killed by the wildfire. [13]
The Bond Fire left much of the vegetation in its path burned, depriving the soil of stability. On January 28, 2021, a voluntary evacuation order was issued in anticipation of a rain storm that posed a threat of mudflows. California Conservation Corps crews worked that day to remove debris that would become dangerous in the event of a mudflow. [14] Heavy rain that night caused mudflows that blocked some roads in Silverado Canyon, rendering them impassible. At least one home was evacuated mandatorily and Orange County Public Works crews helped to clear the mud with bulldozers. [15]
A second series of mudflows occurred in Silverado Canyon on the morning of March 10, 2021. [16] The mudflows prompted the mandatory evacuations of residents in Silverado, Williams, and Modjeska Canyons, all as a result of their Bond Fire burn scar proximity. [17] The mudflows damaged and trapped several cars, but no injuries were initially reported. [18]
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Fire
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'Tiger King' Joe Exotic says he has been diagnosed with aggressive form of prostate cancer
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Updated 0455 GMT (1255 HKT) November 4, 2021
Joseph Maldonado, also known as Joe Exotic, is seen here in 2013 at the zoo he used to run in Wynnewood, Oklahoma. Maldonado said this week that he's been diagnosed with prostate cancer.
(CNN)
Joseph Maldonado, known as Joe Exotic on the 2020 Netflix docuseries "Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness," has been diagnosed with an aggressive form of prostate cancer, according to a letter written by Maldonado.
"It is with a sad face that I have to tell you the doctors called me in today to break the news that my prostate biopsy came back with an aggressive cancer. I am still waiting on the results from other test as well," he wrote in a letter provided to CNN by his attorney John M. Phillips.
"Right now, I don't want anyone's pity," he added.
'Tiger King' Joe Exotic will be resentenced after a court order
Maldonado has been undergoing medical treatment and tests for a host of issues, according to his attorney.
"The PSA test is a blood test used primarily to screen for prostate cancer. It was high. He finally obtained biopsies. They revealed cancer. Medical care is different in a prison environment and fewer options are available," Phillips said.
Read More
Maldonado was convicted in 2019 in a murder-for-hire plot against animal rights activist Carole Baskin as well as other crimes that include animal abuse. Baskin, who owns a tiger sanctuary in Florida and had secured a million-dollar judgment against him, had a longstanding feud with Maldonado that was chronicled in the "Tiger King" series.
Maldonado is due to be resentenced following a court order in July. The US 10th Circuit Court of Appeals vacated Maldonado's 264-month prison sentence upon appeal.
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Famous Person - Sick
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1982 Garuda Fokker F28 crash
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The 1982 Garuda Fokker F28 crash occurred on March 20, 1982, when a Fokker F28, operated by Garuda Indonesia, overran the runway at Tanjung Karang-Branti Airport (Lampung) in the province of Lampung, Indonesia, during very heavy rain. [1] The aircraft had completed a scheduled flight from Jakarta to Lampung. [2] The aircraft came to rest 700 m (2,300 ft) from the runway in a field, with the aircraft catching fire. [1] All onboard died.
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Air crash
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SAM Colombia Flight 501 crash
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SAM Colombia Flight 501 was a Boeing 727-46 that crashed on May 19, 1993, killing all 132 on board. The aircraft collided with a mountain while on approach to Medellín, Colombia. The aircraft involved was a Boeing 727-46, registered as HK-2422X (factory no. 18876, serial no. 217), which was built in 1965 and had its maiden flight on December 30 of that year. The aircraft was powered by three Pratt & Whitney JT8D-7A turbofan engines. The aircraft was delivered to Japan Airlines on January 7, 1966, and was registered as JA8309. On November 16, 1972, the airliner was leased to Korean Air, where it was re-registered as HL7309. On November 9, 1980, Korean Air sold the aircraft to SAM Colombia, where it was re-registered as HK-2422X. [1][2]
At 14:18, Flight 501 took off from Panama City, Panama, bound for Bogotá, Colombia, with a stopover in Medellín. The aircraft climbed to flight level 160 (16,000 feet, 4,877 m). On board were 7 crew members and 125 passengers, including several Panamanian dentists on their way to a convention. [1][3]
Thunderstorm activity in the area made automatic direction finder (ADF) navigation more difficult, and the Medellín VOR/DME was unusable, having been attacked by terrorists. The crew reported over the Abejorral NDB beacon at FL160, as they were approaching Medellín. The flight was then cleared to descend to FL120 (12,000 feet, or 3,658 m), after which communication was lost. After multiple failed attempts to contact the flight, Medellín ATC declared an emergency. [1][3]
Because the radio beacon was unserviceable, the crew made navigational errors. The 727 had actually not yet reached the beacon, and descended into mountainous terrain. The flight then struck Mount Paramo Frontino at 12,300' (3,749 m). [1][3]
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Air crash
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Questions and Answers with Keith Cressman, FAO's Senior Locust Forecasting Officer
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29 October 2020, Rome - Questions and Answers with Keith Cressman, FAO's Senior Locust Forecasting Officer **Why are we seeing a resurgence of Desert Locust in the Horn of Africa and the Arabian Peninsula? ** Well, as we predicted, climatic conditions are driving this new round of locust activity. In many areas, rains came early, triggering earlier than usual reproduction; other areas continue to get steady rains, which sparks locust breeding. Large swathes of Yemen that are inaccessible are also key locust breeding grounds -- basically a reservoir for the pest. We always knew that seasonal change in winds plus these rains would spark another uptick in activity. And that this activity would be significant, given the high numbers of locusts that have been present in the region since January. So though large scale control operations have significantly improved the situation, locust populations remain in the region -- especially in remote, hard to reach areas where surveillance or control operations are not possible. Early and ongoing rains have led to a new cycle of breeding and fresh swarms are forming in Ethiopia, Somalia and Yemen. Immature hopper bands have also been identified in Eritrea, The Sudan and Saudi Arabia and are likely to form new swarms. The winds over the northern portion of the Horn of Africa are now starting to blow southwards again raising concerns they could again reach Kenya later in the year. Does this mean that efforts to control the upsurge have failed? Quite the opposite. A massive humanitarian disaster has been averted. With international support coordinated by FAO, over 1.1 million hectares of land in 10 countries have been surveyed and treated for locust infestation since January. When you add in locust control efforts outside of East Africa and Yemen, 2.3 million hectares of land have been controlled this year. These operations have prevented the loss of 2.3 million tonnes of cereal - enough to feed more than 15 million people a year - in countries already hard hit by acute food insecurity and poverty. And our efforts have blunted impacts to an estimated 1.1 million pastoralist families, as well. It's important to remember, by the way, that efforts to contain the last large Desert Locust upsurge, in Africa's Sahel region, lasted two whole years, from 2003 to 2005. The scale of the challenge and the time required to contain it should not be underestimated. The Sahel was once again under threat of locust invasion earlier this year. How are things there now? And in Southwest Asia? There's been great progress in both those regions. Southwest Asia was indeed facing a huge locust upsurge earlier in the year but thanks to intensive locust control operations by India, the Islamic Republic of Iran and Pakistan, the upsurge has effectively been extinguished there. Kenya experienced its worst outbreak in 70 years, but has now largely contained the locusts to just one northern county. The threat to the Sahel and West Africa has been averted, which is great news for a region wrestling with other threats to food security. But even in those areas of East Africa where the threat persists, countries are today in a far stronger position to manage and contain the infestations than they were just 10 months ago. National capacities have been significantly strengthened. All the pesticides that are needed to carry out controls has been sourced and deployed across the region. Countries now have fleets of aircraft and ground vehicles for surveillance and control in place and operating. FAO is now helping them scale up fleets again ahead of the winter rainy season. For us this strengthening of capacity is a major accomplishment. as the goal has not just been to scale up control operations, FAO has prioritized building the capacity of governments to manage locusts. Countries now have in place capacity that just did not exist before, or that was insufficient to meet the threat of this uncommonly large upsurge. What needs to happen now to contain this renewed locust activity? When it comes to this pest, perseverance and consistency are key. This is a pest that is endemic in the region and then can explode when the right variables come together. Desert Locusts reproduce like wildfire in good conditions, their numbers growing by a factor of 20 with each 3 month reproductive cycle. Suppression and containment are the goals. We want to see the swarms diminish and the locust return to their solitary, non-threatening life cycle phase.. The planning and action that governments are taking with FAO support remains solid: Survey, target, control consistently -- and at scale. There will be no overnight victories. The locust campaign must be sustained over the long haul and this will take time. Apart from aerial control operations, governments must maintain and increase their control efforts using ground survey and control teams, and reporting with eLocust3, an innovative tool that enables data to be recorded and transmitted in real time via satellite to FAO and national locust centres.
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Insect Disaster
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Telstra admits to unconscionable conduct, faces $50m fine for 'exploiting' Indigenous consumers
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A Victorian man who flew from Brisbane to Hobart on flight VA702 today has tested positive to COVID-19 and has not been allowed to board a flight to Melbourne
A Watch & Act warning is in place for a fire in the northern parts of Mokine, in WA's Northam Shire. Keep up to date with ABC Emergency
Australia's biggest telecommunications provider, Telstra, has admitted it breached consumer law and could face a penalty of up to $50 million.
The telco has reached an agreement with the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) after the watchdog completed an 18-month investigation into Telstra's conduct.
The investigation found Telstra had been selling mobile phone products and plans to consumers who did not understand and could not afford them. ACCC chair Rod Sims told the ABC he was shocked by what investigators found out.
"This is huge. This is right off the scale in terms of behaviour we have taken to court in relation to telecommunications," he said.
"This is exploiting vulnerabilities in the most extreme sense, it is extremely concerning behaviour.
"We must be sending messages to companies that this sort of behaviour cannot be going on." The inquiry was launched after serious concerns were raised by a number of financial counsellors in rural and remote areas.
Last year, financial counsellors told the ABC consumers were being sold unaffordable phone plans and were then aggressively pursued by debt collectors.
"Sales staff at five licensed Telstra-branded stores signed up 108 Indigenous consumers to multiple post-paid mobile contracts which they did not understand and could not afford between January 2016 to August 2018," the ACCC said in a statement.
The story of how Telstra signed up vulnerable Australians to unfair phone and tablet contracts
In each case, these contracts were entered into with individual consumers on a single day when they visited a store.
Telstra admitted to unconscionable conduct, something defined by the ACCC as business behaviour that is particularly harsh or oppressive. Australian courts have found business dealings and transactions to be unconscionable when they are deliberate, involve serious misconduct or involve conduct which is unfair or unreasonable, according to the regulator. The ACCC said Telstra had agreed to consent orders that would support a penalty totalling $50 million, but ultimately it would be up to the court to decide how much the company should pay.
"This case exposes extremely serious conduct which exploited social, language, literacy and cultural vulnerabilities of these Indigenous consumers," Mr Sims said.
"Even though Telstra became increasingly aware of elements of the improper practices by sales staff at Telstra licensed stores over time, it failed to act quickly enough to stop it. "These practices continued and caused further, serious and avoidable financial hardship to Indigenous consumers."
One young Indigenous woman from Broome told the ABC she feared she would go to jail when she received legal threats from a debt collector over her outstanding Telstra bill.
Australian consumers say they are being disconnected, harassed by debt collectors and generally treated harshly by their telco providers when they need help, negatively impacting mental health.
The ACCC said many of the customers being pursued by Telstra only spoke English as a second or third language.
The regulator said many were unemployed and were on welfare and lived in remote areas where Telstra was the only mobile phone provider.
"In some cases, sales staff at the Telstra licensed stores did not provide a full and proper explanation of consumer's financial exposure under the contracts and, in some cases, falsely represented that consumers were receiving products for 'free'," the ACCC said in a statement. The regulator said "sales staff also manipulated credit assessments, so consumers who otherwise may have failed its credit assessment could enter into post-paid mobile contracts". "The improper sales practices caused many of the affected consumers severe personal financial hardship and great distress," the ACCC said. The average debt per consumer was more than $7,400.
Telstra chief Andrew Penn apologised for the company's "failings". "I have spoken often about doing business responsibly, including about these failings, since earlier this year. I am determined we have a leadership position and hold ourselves accountable in this regard," he said. "While it was a small number of licensee stores that did not do the right thing, the impact on these vulnerable customers has been significant and this is not OK. "We have taken steps to provide full refunds with interest, waived debts and allowed most customers to keep their devices to help make things right." Mr Penn said Telstra's remediation program for the 108 customers was in addition to the proposed $50 million penalty which was provisioned for in the company's full year results in August 2020. "This included appointing a customer advocate to help us better identify and respond to such issues, working more closely with community representatives and financial counsellors, and shortly introducing a specific call centre in the Northern Territory which will also assist our Indigenous customers," Mr Penn said.
The Federal Court will decide at a later date whether the orders sought are appropriate. If imposed by the court, the penalties would be the second-highest total penalties ever imposed under Australian consumer law.
We acknowledge Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the First Australians and Traditional Custodians of the lands where we live, learn, and work.
This service may include material from Agence France-Presse (AFP), APTN, Reuters, AAP, CNN and the BBC World Service which is copyright and cannot be reproduced.
AEST = Australian Eastern Standard Time which is 10 hours ahead of GMT (Greenwich Mean Time)
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Organization Fine
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DR Congo Eruption "False Alarm" as Humanitarian Crisis Mounts
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DR Congo's government mistakenly announced Saturday that another volcano had erupted, later admitting it was a false alarm, with the scare coming a week after Mount Nyiragongo roared back into life, causing devastation and sparking a mass exodus. The blunder comes as the government is increasingly being criticized for a looming humanitarian crisis, with about 400,000 residents having evacuated the eastern city of Goma after a week of rolling aftershocks. More suffering briefly seemed imminent when the government said that Murara volcano, considered to be a crater of Mount Nyamuragira just 25 kilometers (15 miles) north of Goma, had erupted Saturday morning. The communications ministry said the "low intensity" eruption sent lava flowing into an uninhabited area, before issuing another statement saying it was a "false alarm on Nyamuragira." "A plane has just flown over the entire area on the sides of this volcano. No eruption was observed," it added. "It was instead intense activities of carbonizing wood into charcoal, the smoke of which was perceived as volcanic activity." The Goma Volcano Observatory (OVG) confirmed that while there was "intense activity" at Nyamuragira, "there has been no eruption". 'Limnic eruption' fears Goma, the capital of North Kivu province, lies on the shores of Lake Kivu in the shadow of Nyiragongo, Africa's most active volcano. Last Saturday, the strato-volcano spewed rivers of lava that claimed nearly three dozen lives and destroyed the homes of 20,000 people before the eruption stopped. Hundreds of aftershocks have rocked the region since, but the OVG said Saturday they had significantly decreased in both number and intensity over the past 48 hours. The OVG's latest report said that 61 earthquakes had shaken the area in the previous 24 hours. It said the quakes were "consistent with the continued movement of magma in the Nyiragongo fissure system toward Lake Kivu." Scientists have warned of a potentially catastrophic scenario -- a "limnic eruption," which occurs when lava combines with a deep lake and spews out lethal gas across a potentially large area. However, the OVG report said a "landslide or large earthquake destabilizing the deep waters of the lake causing the emergence of dissolved gases" was now much less likely, though it still "cannot be excluded". The OVG did list three likely scenarios for the coming days, in two of which the magma stays underground -- whether the tremors continue or not. In the third, the earthquakes cause the lava to come to the surface, possibly in fissures that fracture the streets of Goma. About 80,000 households -- 400,000 inhabitants -- have moved out of the city since Thursday, when a "preventative" evacuation order was given. Goma was quiet Saturday, with a handful of vehicles on the semi-deserted streets and only some small shops open, an AFP journalist said. 'I have nothing left' Around 3,000 people fleeing Goma sought refuge at a temporary camp in Rugerero, about 10 kilometers (six miles) over the Rwandan border. But Saturday, an estimated 1,200 had left to return to Goma, a Rwanda government official at Rugerero told AFP on condition of anonymity. Military trucks were seen transporting refugees to the border. William Byukusenge, a construction worker, told AFP that "if it erupts again, we will come back to Rwanda". But another evacuee, Marie Claire Uwineza, said she had nowhere left to go. "My house was burned, and I have nothing left," said the 39-year-old, who fled with two of her children. Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi held a cabinet meeting Friday in which he called on the government to "redouble its efforts to better deal with the humanitarian situation". Criticism has been growing over the government response after Thursday's evacuation order was met with fear and traffic jams, many not knowing where to go. "The population had the impression of being abandoned to their sad fate," said the newspaper EcoNews, calling it "a perfect illustration of the fact that the state does not exist". "The state has decided to evacuate the population of Goma and Nyiragongo without giving any help," citizen movement Lucha tweeted. Prime Minister Jean-Michel Sama Lukonde defended the government's response, saying the event had "no similarity to previous eruptions in that it occurred without warning signs".
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Volcano Eruption
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Mount Etna volcano has grown 100 feet in 6 months - study
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Mount Etna, which is in Sicily, Italy, has frequently erupted in the last six months and grown in height. Published: AUGUST 13, 2021 12:37 Eruption of Mount Etna, Europe's most active volcano The tallest and most active volcano in Europe has gone through some explosive growth recently, as Mount Etna's frequent eruptions over the past six months causing it to gain an additional 100 feet (30 meters) in height, LiveScience reported, citing the National Institute for Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV). Mount Etna, which is in Sicily, Italy , has four summit craters. Of these, the youngest and most active one, residing on the southeast, is currently the tallest. At a height of 11,013 feet (3,357 meters), this is the tallest the volcano has ever been, LiveScience reported, citing INGV. The volcano's height has often fluctuated over the years, with prior peaks reached in the 1980s declining after the edges of the craters collapse. A volcano, possibly Mount Etna, is seen erupting in ancient times in this artistic reimagining (illustrative). Mount Etna has the longest recorded history of eruptions out of every volcano on Earth, and erupts on average around 200 times per year since its first recorded eruption in 1500 BCE, according to NASA's Earth Observatory . The volcano even has a place in ancient mythologies, with the ancient Greeks believing the mountain contained the forges of the blacksmith god Hephaestus, as well as the prison of the primordial monster Typhon. The Agency says that Mount Etna was once a submarine volcano, growing taller as layer upon layer of solidified lava built up over the course of around 300,000 years.
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Volcano Eruption
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The Largest and Brightest Supermoon of the Year Is Happening This Month
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Yes, folks, it's true — we've got another supermoon this month. And the full moon on May 26, 2021, is set to be a real stunner. Not only will it be the largest and brightest supermoon of the year, but it will also undergo a total lunar eclipse. And that means, unlike the Super Pink Moon, which wasn't pink at all, the Super Blood Moon will actually be red. Here's everything you need to know about the can't-miss lunar event, from how it got its name to when and where to see it. If you've been following along with our astronomy coverage throughout the year, you might be familiar with the concept of full moon nicknames — per the Old Farmer's Almanac, each full moon is given a name derived from Native American or colonial tradition. May's full moon is usually called the Flower Moon, since many flowers bloom this month. But this year, we're referring to the May full moon by a different name: the Super Blood Moon. That's because this month's full moon coincides with a total lunar eclipse. As the moon passes through the Earth's shadow, it'll turn a rust color reminiscent of, well, blood. That reddish hue will be best seen from the Pacific Rim, or the western coast of North America (plus Alaska and Hawaii), the eastern coast of Asia, the eastern half of Australia, and all of New Zealand. Elsewhere, you might only catch a hint of red, or perhaps none at all. As for the supermoon designation? Read on. The moon is not a static distance away from Earth — its orbit is elliptical, meaning sometimes it's closer to us, and other times, it's farther away. A supermoon happens when the full moon occurs at a point in the orbit that is close to Earth (specifically, within 90% of its closest distance, or perigee). May's supermoon, which is the third of four in 2021, will be the year's largest, as it's the closest full moon to Earth. It'll appear about 7% larger and 15% brighter than standard full moons. Catch this astronomical spectacle on May 26. The eclipse lasts from 9:45 UTC to 12:52 UTC (2:45 a.m. PDT to 5:52 a.m. PDT), with totality occurring from 11:11 UTC to 11:26 UTC (4:11 a.m. PDT to 4:26 a.m. PDT.) If you're not located somewhere where the eclipse will be visible, don't worry, as you can still enjoy the Super Flower Moon on the evening of May 25 into the morning of May 26 — it just won't turn red. If you want to catch the eclipse, observatories around the world will likely livestream the event (NASA has streamed eclipses in the past, too). If you miss May's Super Blood Moon, you'll have another chance to spot a supermoon next month — the Super Strawberry Moon on June 24.
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New wonders in nature
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Braniff Flight 352 crash
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Braniff International Airways Flight 352 was a scheduled domestic flight from William P. Hobby Airport in Houston, Texas, United States, to Dallas Love Field in Dallas; on May 3, 1968, a Lockheed L-188A Electra flying on the route, registration N9707C, broke up in midair and crashed near Dawson, Texas, after flying into a severe thunderstorm. It was carrying 5 crew and 80 passengers; there were no survivors. Among those killed was Texas state representative Joseph Lockridge, the first black man to represent Dallas County in the Texas Legislature. Investigation revealed that the accident was caused by the captain's decision to penetrate an area of heavy weather followed by a structural over-stress and failure of the airframe while attempting recovery from loss of control during a steep 180-degree turn executed in an attempt to escape the weather. [1]
Earlier in the day, at 12:40 local time, the crew of the accident flight flew from Dallas to Houston through the same area they were scheduled to fly later on. On that previous flight, a few hours before, they encountered no significant weather along the route. Once they arrived in Houston, there was no record of the crew being briefed about the updated weather by any Weather Bureau or Federal Aviation Administration personnel, or by any Braniff dispatcher or weather office. They did, however, receive hardcopy information about all relevant en route and terminal weather reports and forecasts. [2]
At 16:11, the crew departed William P. Hobby Airport as Braniff Flight 352, a Lockheed L-188A Electra four-engine turboprop, en route to Dallas Love Field. After about 25 minutes into the flight, while cruising at FL200 (about 20,000 feet above mean sea level), the aircraft approached an area of severe thunderstorm activity. The crew requested to descend to 15,000 feet and deviate to the west. Air Traffic Control (ATC) informed the crew that other flights in the area were deviating to the east and suggested they also deviate east, but the Electra crew insisted[3] that the west seemed OK to them on their onboard weather radar: "Three fifty two does it look good (better). On our scope here it looks like to the uh a little just a little bit to the west would do us real fine. "[2]
ATC then cleared the flight to descend to 14,000 feet and deviate to the west as they requested. (The westerly deviation would have been shorter and quicker than an easterly one. [4])
At 16:44 the crew requested and ATC cleared the flight to descend to 5,000 feet. The crew asked ATC if there were any reports of hail in the area, to which ATC replied: "No, you're the closest one that's ever come to it yet ... I haven't been able to, anybody to, well I haven't tried really to get anybody to go through it, they've all deviated around to the east. "[2]
At 16:47 the flight encountered an area of severe weather including hail and requested a 180-degree right turn, which ATC immediately approved. While turning to the right in severe turbulence, the bank angle was increased to over 90 degrees, and the nose pitched down to approximately 40 degrees. As the crew attempted to recover from the ensuing steep diving turn, the aircraft experienced acceleration forces of over 4 g, which caused the right wing to fail. The aircraft then broke up at an altitude of 6,750 feet and crashed in flames into the ground at about 16:48, killing all 85 persons on board. [1][2]
Witnesses said the four-engine turboprop Electra — a modified version of the trouble-plagued Lockheed aircraft that had experienced two wing failure accidents in 1959 and 1960 — had blown up before it hit the ground and pieces "fishtailed" down through sheets of rain. The FBI, however, did not suspect foul play. Cloyce Floyd, postmaster of the little town of Dawson, about a mile from the crash scene, said he was driving along in the rain when he saw an "orange flash." He continued, "I looked over to the left and I could see this red ball of fire hanging back there about the size of the sun. From the glare of the fire I could see the fuselage sort of fishtailing down. Then it hit and exploded. "[2]
Rex Owen, a fireman from Mexia, Texas, was among nearly 100 volunteer rescue workers who went to the scene. "The wreckage was scattered all over the place," he said. Rescue worked clogged the muddy roads for hours carrying bodies and parts of bodies from the eerie scene lit by several Klieg lights. [5]
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigated the accident. The flight data recorder (FDR) and cockpit voice recorder (CVR) were recovered from the wreckage with their data mostly intact, and the cockpit audio was reconstructed and transcribed. [2]
The NTSB correlated the cockpit conversations with the ATC communications transcript and noted that it was the first officer, at the captain's request, who asked ATC if they had received reports of hail in the area and received the response from ATC that they hadn't because other aircraft had "all deviated around to the east." At that point, according to the CVR transcript, the captain advised the first officer: "No, don't talk to him too much. I'm hearing his conversation on this. He's trying to get us to admit (we're makin)[6] big mistake coming through here. "[2]
Shortly thereafter, the first officer stated: "... it looks worse to me over there." The crew then requested and received clearance from ATC for the 180-degree turn. The turn became extremely steep, with a bank of over 90 degrees and a nose pitch-down of 40 degrees. As they were trying to recover from the turn, the FDR indicated a peak acceleration of 4.3 g, which the NTSB concluded caused a structural overstress and inflight breakup. [2]
On June 19, 1969, the NTSB issued its final report, which included the following probable cause statement: "Probable Cause: The stressing of the aircraft structure beyond its ultimate strength during an attempted recovery from an unusual attitude induced by turbulence associated with a thunderstorm. The operation in the turbulence resulted from a decision to penetrate an area of known severe weather. "[2]
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Air crash
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1997 Northern Ireland riots
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The Drumcree conflict or Drumcree standoff is a dispute over yearly parades in the town of Portadown, Northern Ireland. The town is mainly Protestant and hosts numerous Protestant/loyalist marches each summer, but has a significant Catholic minority. The Orange Order (a Protestant, unionist organization)
insists that it should be allowed to march its traditional route to and from Drumcree Church on the Sunday before the Twelfth of July. However, most of this route is through the mainly Catholic/Irish nationalist part of town. The residents, who see the march as sectarian, triumphalist[1] and supremacist, have sought to ban it from their area. [2] The Orangemen see this as an attack on their traditions; they had marched the route since 1807, when the area was mostly farmland. There has been intermittent violence over the march since the 1800s. The outbreak of the Troubles led to the dispute intensifying in the 1970s and 1980s. At this time, the most contentious part of the route was the outward leg along Obins Street. After serious violence two years in a row, the march was banned from Obins Street in 1986. The focus then shifted to the march's return leg along Garvaghy Road. Each July from 1995–2000, the dispute drew international attention as it sparked protests and violence throughout Northern Ireland, prompted a massive police and British Army operation, and threatened to derail the peace process. The situation in Portadown was likened to a "war zone"[3] and a "siege". [4] During this time, the dispute led to the killing of at least six Catholic civilians. In 1995 and 1996, residents succeeded in stopping the march. This led to a standoff at Drumcree between the security forces and thousands of Orangemen/loyalists. Following a wave of loyalist violence, police allowed the march through. In 1997, security forces locked down the Catholic area and let the march through, citing loyalist threats to kill Catholics if it were stopped. This sparked widespread protests and violence by Irish nationalists. From 1998 onward, the march was banned from Garvaghy Road and the army sealed off the Catholic area with large steel, concrete and barbed-wire barricades. Each year there was a major standoff at Drumcree and widespread loyalist violence. Since 2001, things have been relatively calm, but moves to get the two sides into face-to-face talks have failed. Portadown has long been mainly Protestant and unionist. At the height of the conflict in the 1990s, about 70% of the population were from a Protestant background and 30% from a Catholic background. The town's Catholics and Irish nationalists, as in the rest of Northern Ireland, had long suffered discrimination, especially in employment. [6] Throughout the 20th century, the police—Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC)—was also almost wholly Protestant. [6] Each summer the town centre is bedecked with loyalist flags and symbols. [7] A loyalist arch is raised over the Garvaghy Road at the Corcrain River,[5] just inside the Catholic district. This is to coincide with the "marching season", when numerous Protestant and loyalist marches are held in the town. Each July there are five Protestant or loyalist parades that enter the mainly nationalist district:
There is also a junior Orange parade each May along the lower Garvaghy Road at Victoria Terrace. Routes of the Protestant parades before they were banned from Obins Street (A) in 1986. Red line: Route taken by Orangemen on the Sunday before 12 July; from their Carlton Street Hall (D) under the railway bridge (C) along Obins Street (A) to Drumcree Church (F) and back along Garvaghy Road (B).Blue line: Route taken on 12 July; from Corcrain Hall (E) along Obins Street (A) and under the railway bridge (C).Green areas are largely nationalist and Catholic.Orange areas are largely unionist and Protestant. The Orange Order was founded in 1795 in the village of Loughgall, a few miles from Drumcree, after the Battle of the Diamond. [8] Its first ever marches were held on 12 July 1796 in Portadown, Lurgan and Waringstown. [9] The area is thus seen as the birthplace of Orangeism. [10]
In July 1795, the year the Order formed, a Reverend Devine had held a Battle of the Boyne commemoration sermon at Drumcree Church. [11] In his History of Ireland Vol I (published in 1809), historian Francis Plowden described what followed this sermon:
[Reverend Devine] so worked up the minds of his audience, that upon retiring from service [...] they gave full scope to the anti-papistical zeal, with which he had inspired them; falling upon every Catholic they met, beating and bruising them without provocation or distinction, breaking the doors and windows of their houses, and actually murdering two unoffending Catholics in a bog. The first official Orange parade to and from Drumcree Church was in July 1807. Originally and traditionally it was to celebrate the Battle of the Boyne, but the Order now claims that it commemorates the Battle of the Somme during World War I. [11] Each July, the Orangemen have marched from the town centre to Drumcree via Obins Street/Dungannon Road and returned along Garvaghy Road. [10] In the early 19th century, this area was mostly farmland. In 1835, Armagh magistrate William Hancock (a Protestant) wrote that "For some time past the peaceable inhabitants of the parish of Drumcree have been insulted and outraged by large bodies of Orangemen parading the highways, playing party tunes, firing shots and using the most opprobrious epithets they could invent". He added that the Orangemen go "a considerable distance out of their way" to pass a Catholic chapel on their march to Drumcree. [11]
There was violence during the Drumcree parades in 1873, 1883, 1885, 1886, 1892, 1903, 1905, 1909 and 1917. [12]
After the partition of Ireland in 1921, the Northern Ireland Government's policy tended to favour Protestant and unionist parades. From 1922 to 1950, almost 100 parades and meetings were banned under the Special Powers Act – nearly all were Irish nationalist or republican. [13] Although violence died down during this period, there were clashes at the 1931 and 1950 Drumcree parades. [12] The Public Order Act 1951 exempted "traditional" parades from having to ask police permission, but "non-traditional" parades could be banned or re-routed without appeal. Again, the legislation tended to benefit Protestant parades. [14]
In the 1960s, housing estates were built along Garvaghy Road.
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Riot
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United Airlines Flight 521 crash
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United Airlines Flight 521 was a scheduled passenger flight operated by a Douglas DC-4 from LaGuardia Airport in New York City to Cleveland, Ohio. On May 29, 1947, while attempting to take off on runway 18, the aircraft failed to get airborne, overran the end of the runway, ripped through an airport fence onto traffic on the Grand Central Parkway, and slammed into an embankment, ultimately plunging into a pond and exploding. Ten people escaped the flaming wreckage; only five of them survived. [1]
It was the worst commercial aviation disaster in United States history at the time. Its record stood for less than 24 hours before an Eastern Airlines DC-4 crashed near Baltimore, Maryland, killing all 53 aboard. [1]
The Civil Aeronautics Board concluded the report on the accident by citing pilot error. The report read: "The Board determines that the probable cause of this accident was either the failure of the pilot to release the gust lock before take-off, or his decision to discontinue the take-off because of apprehension resulting from rapid use of a short runway under a possible calm wind condition." Although the board came to the conclusion that pilot error was likely the cause, the May 31, 1947, edition of The New York Times told a different (albeit preliminary) tale:
"The United Air Lines DC-4 that crashed and burned at La Guardia Field Thursday night never got into the air and the pilot, after using up about two-thirds of the 3,500-foot runway, was trying to halt his giant craft by braking and ground looping. All night, on-the-scene inquiries by both the company and officials of the Civil Aeronautics Board established these facts yesterday. They agreed also that the wind shift, described by a company official as 'of almost unbelievable suddenness,' led Capt. Benton R. Baldwin, the pilot, to decide against proceeding with the take off, but they differed on whether the pilot had been apprised of approaching wind shifts before the take-off." It seemed, at least early on, the cause may have actually been wind shear (although it is referred to as "wind shift" in the article).
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Air crash
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1946 Oakland general strike
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The Oakland general strike took place on December 3, 1946, in Oakland, California. The strike followed an earlier strike by 400 female employees of Hastings and Kahn's, who had walked out in the fall of 1946 because of the resistance Oakland's retail merchants had to unionization. [1]
Attempts to organize the Oakland department stores Kahn's and Hastings began in the summer of 1946 by Al Kidder, a war veteran who had recently returned home. Kahn’s and Hastings were the city’s landmark downtown department stores and the largest employers of nonunion workers in the central business district. Kidder was working in the shoe department at Kahn's in 1946. His mother had been working in the Kahn's "ready room" in the basement where workers would wait to be called to the main retail floor. [2] They were compensated only for the time spent on the main floor. Kidder earned $28 per week as a shoe salesman at Kahn's, but learned that salespeople working at other specialty stores in town were making $10 more per week than he was. These practices prompted Al Kidder to approach the unions to ask why they didn't organize the stores. A strike was initiated on October 23, 1946, at the Oakland department stores of Kahn's and Hastings when a female employee at Kahn's was fired after joining a union. Kidder served as a picket captain during the strikes at the department stores and played a role in the general strike that was to follow. [3][4]
This strike was a powerful landmark event in the labor history of Northern California. However, it was one that was misperceived in comparison to the many other strikes that occurred during the 1945-1946 strike wave. The strike strengthened in early December, when with the support of the city government and business leaders, management called upon the police to remove the picketers. During the 1946 general strike, working men and women gathered in the streets of downtown Oakland to support striking department store employees. Oaklanders were part of a nationwide strike wave in 1946 that represented organized labor’s efforts to ensure that postwar demobilization did not erode workers’ standard of living. Oakland’s strike was also unique because behind it lay a drive to organize new workers: female department store clerks. With the intensity continuing, the AFL (American Federation of Labor) in Alameda County decided to join forces with the clerks. A "Work Holiday" was declared by 142 AFL unions, leading 100,000 workers to walk off their jobs. [1] By the first night of the strike, all strikers commanded all the stores to shut down, except pharmacies, food markets, and bars. Veterans of World War II that were engaging in the strike marched around the Tribune Tower, performing close-order drills, demanding that the mayor along with the city council step down from office. The first 24 hours of the strike was full of excitement, jukeboxes being played on the sidewalk, while couples danced in the street. [5]
By the second day, however, almost half of the strikers dissipated. Harry Lundeberg, SUP's Secretary-Treasurer, was one of the many major leaders in the San Francisco General Strike. He was called upon from a pay telephone on the streets of Oakland to come out and support. Lundeberg spoke to an overflowing crowd of picketers, displaying his rage: "These flinky gazoonies who call themselves city fathers have been taking lessons from Hitler and Stalin. They don't believe in the Unions that are free to strike." The focus of his verbal attack was intended for the city council. [5]
On December 5 the AFL Central Labor Council declared an end to the strike and sent a sound truck to relay their decision. [5] Still, some workers and truckers stayed picketing with the women clerks. All except the clerks were ordered back to work, having to face disciplinary action if they were to continue picketing. [5]
The result of the strike left every official in the Oakland Teamsters Local 70 out of office. Also, the United AFL-CIO (American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations) was created to aid candidates in running for office. Five seats were open out of the nine total City Council seats;[5] four labor-sponsored candidates were elected to the city council. [1]
[1]
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Strike
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2014 Boston Brownstone fire
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On March 26, 2014, at 2:42 p.m., a nine-alarm fire broke out in a four-story brick row house at 298 Beacon Street in the Back Bay of Boston. Two Boston Fire Department firefighters died fighting the blaze: Lieutenant Edward J. Walsh, 43, of West Roxbury, and Firefighter Michael Kennedy, 33, of Hyde Park. Lieutenant Walsh was from BFD Engine Company 33 and FF. Kennedy was from BFD Ladder Company 15. The fire also injured eighteen others, including thirteen firefighters. The fire was believed to have been started by welders working on a nearby iron railing. On June 9, 2014, a report was released concluding that Walsh and Kennedy's deaths were both accidental. [1]
Firefighters responded at 2:42 p.m., where a fire was spreading upward from the basement fanned by winds traveling at 40 miles per hour. Deputy Fire Chief Joe Finn, the incident commander, reported that the bodies of two firefighters were found in the basement of the building. The fire companies that both men were assigned to were the first to arrive at the scene. Firefighters then rushed into the building to rescue residents from the upper floors while Walsh and Kennedy ran with a hose down to the basement, where the fire was believed to have originated. The District Fire Chief in charge ordered a second alarm immediately. A basement window had broken open and allowed high winds to further fuel the fire, which scorched at both men. Two to three minutes into the incident, the men placed a "Mayday" call over their radios signaling they were trapped. Despite rescue efforts, it took about half an hour to recover Kennedy, who was then transported to Massachusetts General Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Another 13 firefighters were injured during the search, though their injuries were not life-threatening. A small explosion knocked a number of firefighters down a staircase inside the row house, causing burns and musculoskeletal injuries. It took firefighters until the evening to recover Walsh, who was pronounced dead at the scene. [2]
Some of the apartments' residents were rescued from the top floor of the brownstone building, but none were hurt. [3] The fire marks the first time a Boston firefighter has been killed on the job since 2009. [3] Among those who witnessed the fire was Tom Brady, who decided to evacuate with his wife after watching it unfold from their neighboring home. [4]
Below is a timeline of events that took place prior to and during the fire. [5]
The firefighters died after the fire, aided by strong winds, trapped them in the basement of the brownstone and prevented their colleagues from rescuing them. [6] It has also been suggested that the 45-mile-per-hour winds which helped fuel the fire also triggered an explosion, which also trapped them in the basement. [7] The precise reason the firefighters died after getting trapped remains unknown, but one proposed scenario involves the fire burning through their hose line, cutting off their ability to fight the fire around them. [8]
On April 4, a number of fire officials, including Boston Fire Commissioner John Hasson, blamed the fire on sparks originating from welding being done on a nearby iron railing. [9] The welders, according to these officials, were operating without a permit and apparently tried to warn others after the fire started. [10] However, the welders did not call 9-1-1, which prompted Ken Donnelly and other Massachusetts politicians to call for criminal charges to be brought against the welding company. [11]
The funeral for Walsh was held on April 2, 2014, at St. Patrick's Church in Watertown, Massachusetts. Thousands of firefighters attended the service,[12] as did Archbishop Sean O'Malley. Walsh was buried next to his father, also a former firefighter. [13] Marty Walsh, the mayor of Boston, appeared at the funeral, and said, "We stand in awe of what he did last week. "[14] Edward Walsh's widow, Kristen, asked the Boston Fire Department to find her husband's wedding ring, which they were able to do, after which they gave it to her. [15] Another funeral was held for Kennedy the following day, at Holy Name Church. [16] Kennedy's cousin, Davin Patrick Kennedy, was among those who spoke at the service. [17]
On April 22, the Boston Herald reported that Franklin Knotts, the property manager of the building where the fire killed the two firefighters (located at 298 Beacon Street), had filed an affidavit against D&J Iron Works, the Malden-based welding company whose employees had been blamed for starting the fire. In his affidavit, Knotts accused the employees working on the railing on an adjacent building (located on 296 Beacon Street) of driving away from the fire in their truck. The lawsuit itself was filed by Herbert Lerman, who is the executor of the estate of the building's owner, Michael J. Callahan. [18] The supposed president of D&J Iron Works, Giuseppe Falcone, responded that this company does not exist and that he was therefore not responsible for the fire in any way. [19]
A criminal investigation formally concluded in April 2015. No criminal charges were pressed against D&J Ironworks for the nine-alarm fire, and according to a statement from Suffolk District Attorney Dan Conley, the yearlong in-depth investigation revealed that while carelessness caused a pair of welders to accidentally start the fire at 298 Beacon St. on March 26, 2014, their actions did not constitute reckless or knowing endangerment of human life - hence, no involuntary manslaughter charges. “We cannot in good faith seek criminal charges for an accident, even one with consequences so tragically devastating,” said Conley. “Some 60 years of Massachusetts jurisprudence have made clear that negligence, even gross negligence, is in the hands of our civil courts.” [20]
In March 2016, a report released by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health concluded that the Boston Fire Department was partly to blame for the deaths of Walsh and Kennedy. [21]
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Fire
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More than 80 per cent of Somalia is experiencing moderate to severe drought conditions
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(Mogadishu, 25 April 2021) – Based on observed drought conditions and rainfall forecasts, the Federal Government of Somalia and the humanitarian community are deeply concerned about the deterioration of the dry conditions in Somalia which has now escalated to a drought situation. More than 80 per cent of the country is experiencing moderate to severe drought conditions. Although the Gu rains started in some parts of the country, forecasts indicate below-average rainfall. Limited rainfall amounts are expected in May and June with larger parts of Somaliland, Puntland, central regions and Gedo region being the worst affected. “Somalia experiences a cyclical pattern of drought every five to six years and the failure of the rains thus far spells disaster. At a time when communities are already struggling to cope with the recent water shortages in many parts of the country, the unprecedented impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, and already dire humanitarian situation in the country, many lives are at stake,” said Minister of Humanitarian Affairs Khadija Diriye. Somalia is on the front line of climate change and the frequency of climate-related disasters is increasing rapidly. Since 1990, Somalia has experienced more than 30 climate-related hazards, including 12 droughts and 19 floods – triple the number of climate-related hazards experienced between 1970 and 1990. In 2021, drought conditions are expected to increase displacement and have a lasting negative impact on livelihoods and food security outcomes. At least 3.4 million people are projected to be affected by drought conditions by the end of 2021, of whom around 380,000 are expected to be displaced.
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Droughts
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1996 Quebec student protests
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The 1996 Quebec student protests were a result of an increase in post-secondary tuition fees. Between the early 1980s and 1990s, average Canadian university tuition fees more than doubled. Before this time, there had been talk of eliminating tuition fees altogether. In 1976, the Canadian government signed the United Nations' International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights. This promised free education at all levels. However, in 1995, the Liberal Government announced a $7 billion funding cut to provincial programs, which includes tuition. Between this time, it was decided by Canadian government and education officials that free education was not feasible, and that to provide free education would mean providing nothing else for its citizens. In 1996, it was announced that over a period of four years, tuition was going to be raised $280 from its current $500 rate. Students organized themselves into student unions, and fought against this increase by protesting in the streets. There were also several 'walk-outs' performed by high school students. As a result of these protests, the tuition freeze remained in effect. However, a $500 penalty was placed on students who failed more than five classes.
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Protest_Online Condemnation
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2016 Protests against land reforms in Kazakhstan
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Government:
Maks Bokaev
Erbolat Dosaev
Kalmukhanbet Kassymov
The 2016 Protests against land reforms in Kazakhstan were a massive, unauthorized protests that were held in Kazakhstan against the new amendments to the Land Code, which began on 24 April 2016 in the city of Atyrau. Three days later, the rallies were held in the cities of Aktobe and Semey. [1] During the first three rallies, the authorities did not try to harshly suppress the protests, but tried to calm the protesters and offer other forms of dialogue. Only on May 21, the authorities thoroughly prepared to suppress any protests in all administrative centers of the republic. This is was the first mass unrest in Kazakhstan since the Zhanaozen massacre in 2011. On 30 March 2016, Minister of National Economy, Erbolat Dosaev, announced that from starting from 1 July, 1.7 million hectares of agricultural land would be put up for auction. [2] This initially caused discontent on social networks, which turned into calls for protests. According to some Kazakh journalists, the boiling point was not the amendments to the Land Code, but the country's difficult economic situation due to declining oil prices and the devaluation of the tenge despite promises by President Nursultan Nazarbayev to fix the problems. On 11 April, a petition letter was sent to the Nazarbayev and the authorities. The text of the letter appeared in the Kazakh media and on some websites. The letter said that "more than 50 thousand signatures have already been collected in the regions". “If the land is leased or sold to foreigners, then the people will go to extraordinary measures”. Among the signatories of the petition were Abdijamil Nurpeisov, a writer, Murat Auezov, a culturologist, Murat Kalmataev, retired general, Abugali Kaydarov, academician, and Mels Eleusizov, an ecologist. [3]
On 20 April, in Astana, civil activist Galymbek Akulbekov held a single picket against the sale of land to foreigners, but he was soon detained by police. On 22 April, in Almaty, around three dozen group of citizens called for the permission of the rally to be held on 21 May. [4]
On 24 April, a first mass rally was held in the center of Atyrau against the sale of land to foreigners, where around 700 to 4000 people gathered. [5]
On the same day, in Oral, on Abai Square, a single picket was launched by Isatay Utepov, who was holding the poster “Қытайға жер сатпа!! !”, meaning (“Do not sell land to China!!!”). [6]
On 27 April, in the cities of Aktobe and Semey, with the participation of hundreds of people, rallies were held against changes in the land code of Kazakhstan and against plans by the authorities to sell agricultural land. [7]
On 28 April, several dozen people gathered in Aktau in the central square, but the police did not allow the rally to be held, citing that the square was necessary to prepare for the holiday of the Unity of the People. [8]
On 29 April, authorities in Astana and Almaty did not allow public figures to hold a press conference "on the land issue." In Astana, the hotel at the last moment refused to rent premises to activists due to pressure from the KNB. In Almaty, the police managed to detain all activists before the event. In Oral, an activist Bauyrjan Alipkaliev was detained by police, who was going to hold a single picket that day. [9]
On 1 May, on the Day of Unity of the People, protests were held in Zhanaozen, where around hundred people gathered. In the city of Kyzylorda, the security forces dispersed protesters from the square. [10]
On May 4, a spontaneous rally was held in the central square of Oral with the participation of several dozen people. As in previous protests in other cities of Kazakhstan, the protesters opposed the transfer of agricultural land for a long-term rent to foreigners. [11]
On 5 May, Nazarbayev announced a moratorium on some provisions of the Land Code. [12] Vice-Minister of National Economy Kairat Uskenbaev was dismissed, Dosaev himself resigned from office on his own, and Minister of Agriculture Asyljan Mamytbekov was reprimanded, but the next day he also resigned. [13] In addition, Nazarbayev ordered the creation of a new Ministry of Information and Communication, which would monitor the information space and develop the state's information policy. On 21 May, rallies were planned throughout Kazakhstan. The authorities rejected permissions for rallies to be held in the cities of Almaty, Astana, Oral and Semey. On this day, law enforcement authorities detained dozens of activists, as well as journalists in several cities of the country. [14] Attempts to hold unsanctioned rallies were recorded in the cities of Aktobe, Atyrau, and Pavlodar, where a small number of citizens gathered and after warning about the illegality of the rally, a group of people obediently left the embankment of the Irtysh river, and the organizer Serikbay Alibaev was fined 50 MCI. [15]
After a rally in Atyrau at a session of the People's Assembly, Nazarbayev expressed his vision of the land issue and stated that it was necessary to find and punish all the instigators of misinformation about the issue. [16] However, later on 5 May, he had accused the officials of the relevant ministries of the lack of land reform. [17]
In some Kazakh cities, Day of Unity of the Peoples celebrations were cancelled. [18] In Karaganda, the reason for the rejection of the processions was due to weather conditions by the Deputy Akim, Nurlan Aubakirov. In Temirtau, according to the Deputy Head of the city, Galymzhan Spabekov, was in order not to block the public transport in the city along the main streets. [19] The authorities of Aktau did not give a reason for the cancellation. On 29 April 2016 Nazarbayev, after the exercises of special forces (“Sunkar” of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, “Arlan” of the Department of Internal Affairs of the city of Almaty, the “Golden Eagle” of the National Guard and others) in the Almaty Region, emphasized that “the Motherland entrusted you with a matter of special importance - vigilantly guard the interests of the state, be a reliable guarantor of national security and internal stability of the Republic of Kazakhstan. This requires not only high training, but also dedication, sincere patriotism". [20]
Some Kazakh officials and pro-government media have suggested that the unrest was triggered and financed by foreign nations, although no evidence was provided. [21]
On 1 May, President Nazarbayev spoke in Almaty with a festive speech, that without unity and stability, a political crisis similar to the Ukrainian one would be expected. [22]
Before the nationwide protests scheduled for May 21, the authorities did allow permissions in any city, and law enforcement agencies began arresting suspects in organizing and inciting unauthorized rallies. [23] As of May 20, more than a dozen people received sentences of 10 to 15 days of administrative arrest for violating the law on peaceful assembly. [24]
In the early morning of May 20, popular social networks like VKontakte, Facebook, Twitter, and instant messengers such as WhatsApp, Viber, as well as YouTube were inaccessible throughout Kazakhstan. This was confirmed by residents of several regions of the country. The incident was connected with the upcoming calls to rallies on 21 May.
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Protest_Online Condemnation
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Sun has Fired Three More Rounds of Solar Flares Towards Earth Since November 1; Scientists Predict Geomagnetic Storms
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Sun has Fired Three More Rounds of Solar Flares Towards Earth Since November 1; Scientists Predict Geomagnetic Storms By IANS The Sun has, since last week, fired several rounds of solar flares, all of which can lead to potential power grid fluctuations and irregularities in satellite orientation on Earth, as per multiple sources. This week, since November 1, the Sun has produced three of the outbursts that scientists call coronal mass ejections (CMEs), Space.com reported. CME can be defined as a massive eruption of solar particles due to intense flares from the Sun aimed directly at Earth. CMEs shoot globs of gas and magnetic fields out into space, often from sunspots, which are knots in the Sun's magnetic field. On November 1 and 2, a sunspot designated AR2887 unleashed two of these outbursts. Then, later in the day on November 2, a second sunspot called AR2891 produced a CME as well. That third outburst, called "cannibal", is moving more quickly than its two predecessors, so it swept through all of one previous CME and part of the other, according to monitors at SpaceWeather.com. All three CMEs have been headed more or less toward Earth, and scientists predict that the resulting large CME will arrive at Earth and produce geomagnetic storms beginning Thursday, the report said. The US Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC) of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), which tracks CMEs and similar events, has declared a minor geomagnetic storm watch for Wednesday and a moderate watch for Thursday. As a result of these storms, SWPC has warned of potential power grid fluctuations and irregularities in satellite orientation. The predictions indicated that the storms might also trigger stunning aurora displays of the northern lights as far south as New York, Wisconsin and Washington. The Sun's activity is governed by an 11-year cycle; currently, the Sun is in what scientists have labelled "solar cycle 25." This cycle is expected to peak in 2025, and early predictions suggested it would be a reasonably moderate cycle, much like its predecessor. Last week, NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory captured a "significant solar flare" erupting from the Sun, which resulted in disruptions in GPS signals on Earth and supercharged Earth's northern lights. The Sun emitted an X1-class flare, the most intense so far, NASA said in a statement on Friday. The US space agency tweeted about the flare: The X1-class flare caused a temporary yet strong radio blackout across the sunlit side of Earth, centred on South America, according to SWPC.
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New wonders in nature
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First Interstate Tower fire
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The First Interstate Tower fire was a high-rise fire that occurred on May 4, 1988, at the First Interstate Tower (now Aon Center) in Los Angeles, California, a 62-story, 860 foot (260 m) skyscraper, then the tallest building in the city. The fire destroyed five floors of the building, injured 40 people, and caused the death of a maintenance worker, when the elevator he was riding opened onto the burning 12th floor. [1][2]
The fire's origin has been attributed to overloading of the building's electrical system by reactive distortion of lighting circuit currents. [3][failed verification]
The fire was so severe because the building was not equipped with a sprinkler system, which was not required for office towers at the time construction was completed in 1973. Although a sprinkler system was 90% installed at the time of the fire, the system was inoperative, awaiting the installation of water flow alarms. [1] The fire was eventually contained at 2:19 AM, and caused $50 million in damages. According to the FEMA fire incident report, unusually good application of fireproofing on support members was a significant mitigating factor. The fireproofing used to protected the steel was Monokote supplied by GCP Applied Technologies (formerly W. R. Grace). Repair work took four months. Because of the fire, Los Angeles building codes were changed, requiring all high-rises to be equipped with fire sprinklers. This modified a 1974 ordinance that only required new buildings to contain fire sprinkler systems. The fire was dramatized in the 1991 telefilm, Fire: Trapped on the 37th Floor, starring Lee Majors, Lisa Hartman Black and Peter Scolari. [4][5]
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Fire
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Marble quarry collapse in remote Pakistan kills at least 17
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PESHAWAR, Pakistan (Reuters) - A collapse at a marble quarry in a remote area of Pakistan on Monday has killed at least 17 people, and 11 others are missing, police said, adding that the terrain may have been unstable due to the use of heavy explosives used to break apart the stone. Rescue workers, including Pakistani soldiers, continued to dig through the rubble to find survivors on Tuesday. The quarry is located in the Ziarat area of Mohmand in western Pakistan, along the border with Afghanistan. The area is known for its high quality white marble, both sold in Pakistan and exported to other countries. Between 40 and 50 people were at the site at the time of the collapse which occurred Monday evening, Tariq Habib, district police chief of Mohmand district told Reuters. “Usually a large number of people work in these marble mines but luckily a majority had finished work and returned home,” he said. Nine people were injured. The number of fatalities was unclear because some families took bodies of loved ones directly to their homes from the site, said Sameen Shinwari, a doctor at the Ghalanai District Headquarters Hospital, about 50 kilometres away. Cellular signals and other communication facilities are unreliable in large parts of Mohmand district, including the area where the quarry is located. Deadly mining accidents are not uncommon in Pakistan. At least 10 workers were killed in a rockslide at a marble quarry in the northwestern district of Buner in February. Thirty workers were killed in explosions at two coal mines in the southwestern city of Quetta in 2018. In 2011, 45 workers were also killed by an explosion at a coal mine outside Quetta. Reporting by Jibran Ahmed; Writing by Umar Farooq; Editing by Edwina Gibbs Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. Trending Stories All quotes delayed a minimum of 15 minutes. See here for a complete list of exchanges and delays.
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Mine Collapses
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Argentina Scrambles to Fight Biggest Plague of Locusts in 60 ...
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Argentina Scrambles to Fight Biggest Plague of Locusts in 60 Years
A swarm of locusts in September in the Lavalle area of Santiago del Estero Province, Argentina. Farmers last year reported seeing swarms that were four miles wide and two miles high.Credit...SENASA
By Jonathan Gilbert
Jan. 25, 2016
BUENOS AIRES — Farmers and fumigators in Argentina are running out of time as they scramble to control the country’s worst plague of locusts in more than half a century, officials warned on Monday.
The provincial authorities and Senasa, the government’s agricultural inspection agency, have intensified their efforts to exterminate swarms of the insects in the dry forests of northern Argentina. But their attempts might not be enough to prevent the locusts from developing into a flying throng in the coming days — when they will then threaten to devour crops like sunflowers and cotton, and grasslands for cattle grazing.
“It’s the worst explosion in the last 60 years,” Diego Quiroga, the agriculture agency’s chief of vegetative protection, said in a telephone interview. “It’s impossible to eradicate; the plague has already established itself. We’re just acting to make sure it’s the smallest it can be and does the least damage possible.”
Small pockets of locusts, which first appeared last June, at the start of winter in the Southern Hemisphere, have spread across an area of northern Argentina about the size of Delaware. The mild and rainy winter here created comfortable breeding conditions for the locusts; their surge outpaced the ability of the authorities to control the spread of the insects.
Farmers last year reported locust clouds that were more than four miles long and nearly two miles high, said Juan Pablo Karnatz, a representative for the Province of Santiago del Estero at the Rural Confederations of Argentina , which represents more than 100,000 farmers here.
In the past five years, Senasa, the agricultural agency, has seen an increase in the numbers of insects that can destroy crops — like fruit flies that threaten citrus groves — as a result of warmer, wetter winters .
Image
Argentina’s agricultural agency, Senasa, this month fumigated locusts in their nymph stage in Santiago del Estero Province.Credit...Senasa
Mr. Quiroga pointed to a warning last November by the Food and Agriculture Organization , a United Nations agency, which said climate change would contribute to locust plagues in Africa. “There is clearly an impact in our country, too,” he said. “We are definitely being affected.”
Many farmers here blame the coming plague on the previous government of former President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, saying officials failed to take last year’s warnings seriously enough. There is no study yet showing that climate change has led to the increase in locust populations, said Héctor Medina, who manages Senasa’s locust control program . Paola Carrizo, a professor of agronomy at the University of Buenos Aires, explained that a more likely cause was insufficient pest control by Senasa.
The specter of locusts haunts Argentina’s farmers, who for almost 200 years have resorted to rustic methods like bonfires to drive away menacing swarms. A government program to combat locusts, set up in 1891 under President Carlos Pellegrini, is believed to be one of Argentina’s oldest agricultural policies.
After years relatively free from locusts, farmers are again bracing themselves for the worst. Senasa has set up a hotline to report sightings of the insects. And in meetings this month to coordinate a response to the plague, officials in Argentina have been emphasizing the havoc locusts can wreak by digging out sepia-toned photographs of past plagues.
Fumigators equipped with backpack sprayers intensified their efforts last week. They have extinguished pockets of young locusts, which cannot yet fly, only hop, in 66 locations in northern provinces of Argentina. The dry forests there are largely impenetrable, however, so it is unclear how many other pockets have gone undiscovered.
In 10 days, the locusts are expected to grow to about two inches and mature into voracious flying swarms in search of food. Once that happens, combating the plague would be a more complex operation, Mr. Quiroga said, requiring fumigating aircraft to poison the swarms.
“We don’t know exactly where we’re at,” said Mr. Karnatz, the farmers’ representative, who has been involved in coordinating a response to the plague. “We may have contained some pockets, but it’s not a definitive victory.”
He warned, “If they fly, it could be disastrous.”
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Insect Disaster
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Mount Vision Fire
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The Mount Vision Fire was a wildfire that burned 12,354 acres (50 km2) of land on the Point Reyes National Seashore peninsula in northern California during October 1995. The fire, which was started by an incompletely extinguished campfire, destroyed 45 homes in Inverness Park. [1]
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Fire
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Olympics: Kaylee McKeown Last of Three to Set 100 Back Olympic Record
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On paper, the women’s 100 backstroke looked like one of the most loaded events in the Tokyo Olympics . In the pool, it was somehow even more fun in prelims Sunday night.
In successive heats, Kylie Masse, then Regan Smith, then Kaylee McKeown took turns downing the Olympic record in the event, the mark finally ending in the hands of McKeown, for now.
Buckle up, because the contenders aren’t messing around.
First up was Masse, who thrashed her heat. The Canadian, who won World Championships in 2017 and 2019, had the entire heat at her feet by the wall, finishing in a time of 58.17. That erased the time set by Emily Seebohm at the 2012 Games at 58.23.
It wasn’t necessarily a record Masse was expecting.
“I was thinking about the whole process and this is one step at a time, so I wanted to put together a good race here,” she said. “The Olympic record is amazing and I’m super happy to have (held the record for) one or two minutes, but it all comes down to the final.”
It proved to be merely the appetizer. Smith was out slightly slower than Masse, but she came back with more speed. Her time of 57.96 granted the former world record holder an Olympic record status for all of three minutes. That’s because McKeown, who this year erased Smith’s world record , did a little more of that in 57.88. McKeown also dropped the 200 IM to focus on the backstroke events .
“I just wanted to come out and swim and those girls put in really solid times,” McKeown said. “It’ll be interesting to see how we go with the semifinals in the morning, but you can just give it your best and hopefully make the final.”
Entertaining as the dynamics of the leading triumvirate are, there are others to fill out the semifinal feed. Among them are Seebohm, who is fifth, a spot behind Kathleen Dawson. Smith’s countrywoman Rhyan White – who swam next to Smith, as Seebohm and McKeown did – is sixth. Masse was next to compatriot Taylor Ruck, who is through in 11th. Kathleen Dawson of Great Britain is lurking in fourth.
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Break historical records
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2014–2015 Macedonian student protests
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The 2014–2015 Macedonian student protests was a wave of student strikes and Teacher-ins, Student protests, Sit-ins and Occupations against a government plan to replace university-run examinations with state 'testing'. Mass protests and rallies by students and Colleges started on 10 October, against the plan but turned into public protests and Civil disobedience against the government of Nikola Gruevski and the results of the 2014 Macedonian general election. Rallies by students consisted of Marches and Flash mob tactics while Security forces used Tear gas and Water cannon against the protesters, demanding the resignation of the government and fresh elections, an end to Corruption and Police brutality and university fees to decrease. Rent strikes, Wildcat strikes and University Occupations occurred amid growing opposition protests and street demonstrations in early 2015 led by mostly high school students, angry at the plan of to replace university-examinations with state-run testing. Mass protests was quelled in January 2015, after major rallies attracted hundreds of thousands of Students and Teachers nationwide. [1][2][3]
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Protest_Online Condemnation
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Offshore Lift Boat Flipped While Lowering Legs, Turning
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NEW ORLEANS (AP) — An offshore oil industry boat had begun to lower its legs and was trying to turn to face heavy winds when it flipped in the Gulf of Mexico off Louisiana last month, according to a preliminary federal report released Tuesday. The National Transportation Safety Board report does not discuss the cause of the deadly accident. Six people were rescued, six bodies were found and another seven are still missing and presumed dead. The full investigation could take up to two years. The 175-foot (53-meter) lift boat Seacor Power carried nine crew members, two galley staff, and eight offshore workers when it overturned in the Gulf of Mexico during hurricane-force winds on April 13, the report said. Lift boats have three or four legs, which tower above a boat that’s moving and can be lowered to the bottom to raise the vessel as a temporary offshore platform. A 7 a.m. weather report had predicted afternoon winds of 9 to 12 knots (10 to 14 mph, 17 to 22 kph), the report said. It said other vessels in the area reported winds of more than 80 knots (92 mph, 148 kph), heavy rain and building seas about 3:30 p.m., when the accident occurred. A rain squall passed over the boat as it moved into the Gulf’s open waters, and visibility dropped significantly. “Crew decided to lower the Seacor Power’s legs to the seafloor to hold the vessel in position until the storm passed. When the legs began to descend, the crewmember at the helm attempted to turn the vessel into the winds. Before the turn was completed, the Seacor Power heeled to starboard and capsized,” the report said. Several people were able to get out of a corner of the deckhouse that was above water but high winds and 10- to 12-foot (3- to 3.7-meter) seas hampered rescue efforts. One of the survivors was seriously injured, the report said. It said investigators have interviewed survivors, former crew members, owner and charterer representatives, vessel inspectors and surveyors, and search and rescue responders. “Investigators intend to return to the scene when the Seacor Power is salvaged to inspect the vessel and collect further evidence,” the report said. Numerous lawsuits have been filed against owner Seacor Marine. The boat is still where it overturned in the Gulf about 7 miles (11 kilometers) south of Port Fourchon. Salvage workers finished removing about 20,000 gallons (75,700 liters) of diesel from its fuel tanks over the weekend, Petty Officer Cory Mendenhall, a Coast Guard spokesman, said Tuesday. He said officials haven’t decided whether to pump out hydraulic fluid and other petroleum products or leave those in tanks until the Seacor Power is on shore. About the photo: In this April 18, 2021 file photo, the capsized lift boat Seacor Power is seen seven miles off the coast of Louisiana in the Gulf of Mexico. Volunteers searching for seven men still missing after the oil industry boat capsized on April 13 said they have found life jackets and other debris from the vessel. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert, File)
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Shipwreck
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Total solar eclipse to be visible in Central Texas in 2024
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Mark your calendars! Four years from now, on April 8, 2024, a total solar eclipse will be visible in the United States. Unlike the coast-to-coast total solar eclipse in 2017 where Central Texas only saw 70% totality, the sun will be completely blocked out across most of Central Texas. In fact, nearly all major cities along the I-35 corridor in Texas will see totality. The 2024 eclipse will be visible in all Central Texas counties, but totality will not occur in most of Milam, Robertson, and Leon County. The eclipse begins at 12:20 p.m. on Monday April 8. Over the next hour, the sun will slowly start to disappear behind the moon. Even though the sun will be obscured, you won't notice much of a change in the amount of daylight we see. You'll notice the change when we approach totality. Totality, when the sun is perfectly hidden behind the moon, will start roughly around 1:35 PM and will peak around 1:40 p.m. Totality will end roughly around 1:45 o.m., depending on where you live. During the roughly seven to 10 minutes of totality, it will be safe to remove safety glasses and look directly up at the sun. In fact, the area will be plunged into near total darkness like you'd see at night. Of course, it's impossible to forecast what the weather will be like in four years time, but we can tell you that clouds may play a role in how we view the eclipse. April is a wild month of weather and can feature literally every type of weather from severe thunderstorms to snow. We could see a completely overcast sky just as easily as we could see cloud-free conditions. Climatologically speaking, Central Texas will typically see anywhere from 30% to 50% cloud coverage during the time of the eclipse. As for temperatures, the coldest daytime temperature ever for April 8 was 40 degrees while the record high sits at 95 degrees. On average, however, temperatures will likely be in the low 70s around eclipse time and temperatures are expected to drop a few degrees in the near 10 minutes of totality. If you miss out on the 2024 eclipse, you'll have to wait a long time to see the next total solar eclipse. Another coast-to-coast eclipse is coming August 12, 2045, but Central Texas will miss out on totality. In fact, we searched all of the solar eclipses happening through 2199 and a total solar eclipse will not be visible in Central Texas until at least the 23rd century.
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New wonders in nature
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Southwest Airlines Flight 1455 crash
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Southwest Airlines Flight 1455 was a scheduled passenger flight from
McCarran International Airport, Las Vegas, Nevada to Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport, Burbank, California, that overran the runway during landing on March 5, 2000. The aircraft, a Boeing 737-3T5, registration N668SW,[2] came to rest on a city street adjacent to a gas station. The National Transportation Safety Board found that the incident was due to the pilots attempting to land with excessive speed. They also found that the air traffic controller placed them in a position from which their only option was a go around. Two of the passengers were seriously injured, and there were many minor injuries. As a result of the incident, the airport installed an Engineered Materials Arrestor System (EMAS) at the east end of the incident runway. The aircraft was written off, making the incident the 10th hull loss of a Boeing 737-300. [1] This was the first major accident in the airline's 29-year history. [3]
The aircraft was a 15 year old Boeing 737-3T5 (registration N668SW[4]). The 737 was one of the oldest aircraft in Southwest's fleet, having been originally built for Orion Airways in 1984. The aircraft was powered by two CFM International CFM56-3B1 turbofan engines. [5]:7–8
The captain was 52-year-old Howard Peterson, who had been with Southwest Airlines since 1988 and had logged 11,000 flight hours, including 9,870 hours on the Boeing 737. The first officer was 43-year-old Jeffrey D. Erwin, who had been with Southwest Airlines since 1995 and had 5,032 flight hours, with 2,522 of them on the Boeing 737. Both of them were former Air Force pilots. [5]:5–7
Flight 1455 departed McCarran International Airport (LAS), Las Vegas, Nevada at 1650, more than 2 hours behind schedule due to inclement weather in the area. At 18:04:02, when the aircraft was 19 nmi (35 km) north of the BUR outer marker, the SoCal approach controller instructed the aircraft to maintain 230 knots (430 km/h; 260 mph) or greater until further notice. The controller later informed the captain to place the aircraft into the approach pattern between two other flights. The captain acknowledged the instructions. At 18:04:42 the first officer informed the captain that the target airspeed for landing would be 138 knots (256 km/h). This value was based on standard procedures in the Southwest Airlines Flight Operations Manual (FOM). At 18:05:13 the captain told the first officer that the air traffic controller had instructed them to remain at 230 knots (430 km/h; 260 mph) or greater "for a while." At 18:05:54 the controller cleared Flight 1455 to descend to 5,000 feet (1,500 m), and at 1807 cleared the flight to descend to 3,000 feet (900 m). At 1808 the controller cleared flight 1455 for a visual approach to runway 8 with a restriction to remain at or above 3,000 ft (above mean sea level) until passing the Van Nuys VOR beacon. This navigational aid is approximately 6 miles (10 km) from the runway. Radar data suggest that the flight began its descent from 3,000 ft (910 m) about 4 mi (6 km) from the runway. [6]
According to the Aeronautical Information Manual Section 4-4-12f,[7] this approach clearance automatically canceled any previous speed assignments. According to the final accident report, traffic conditions no longer warranted the speed assignment after the controller cleared the flight to descend to 3,000 ft (910 m), but the controller did not verbally cancel the speed assignment. Southwest Airlines procedures instruct the pilot not flying to make altitude call-outs at 1000, 500, 400, 300, 200, 100, 50, 30, and 10 feet (3.0 m). Additionally, call-outs are required if certain parameters are not met, in this case flight speed and sink rate. At 1809:32, one minute and thirteen seconds after approach clearance was given, and at 3,000 feet (910 m) of altitude, the captain began to slow the aircraft by deploying the flaps. At 18:10:24 the ground proximity warning system (GPWS) began to sound a "sink rate" warning in the cockpit. The aircraft was descending at an angle of 7 degrees, when the angle of descent for most aircraft landing on that runway was 3 or 4 degrees. Both pilots ignored the warnings. At 18:10:44 the warning system in the cockpit began to sound. The captain responded to these warnings with "that's all right." The captain stated after the accident that he knew as the aircraft passed 500 feet (150 m) that he was not "in the slot," meaning the conditions had not been met for a safe landing, in this case because of an excessive airspeed. The captain further stated that he understood that if he was not "in the slot," procedures demanded a go-around maneuver to abort the landing. He could not explain why he did not perform a go-around maneuver. The first officer likewise indicated after the accident that he was aware that they were not "in the slot," but said he believed the captain was taking corrective action. The aircraft touched down on the wet runway at 44 knots (81 km/h; 51 mph) over the target airspeed. Furthermore, it touched down 2,150 feet (660 m) from the runway threshold, 650 feet (200 m) beyond the 1,000–1,500-foot (300–460 m) range established by the Southwest Airlines FOM. The captain deployed the thrust reversers and then he and the first officer applied manual brakes, but according to later NTSB findings, under those conditions even maximum braking would not have prevented the aircraft from overrunning the end of the runway. Unable to stop in time, the Boeing 737 overran the end of Runway 8. "The airplane touched down at approximately 182 knots (337 km/h; 209 mph), and about 20 seconds later, at approximately 32 knots (59 km/h; 37 mph), collided with a metal blast fence and an airport perimeter wall. "[5] It finally came to rest on Hollywood Way, a four-lane city street, near a Chevron gas station. The nose section and front landing gear were sheared off, but otherwise the fuselage remained intact and there was no compromise of the cabin area. However, the 737 sustained structural damage from the accident and was later scrapped. The cockpit voice recorder captured the flight's captain remarking, "Well, there goes my career," moments after the accident. [8]
The NTSB concluded that the probable cause for the accident was excessive flight speed and the steep angle of the glidepath (7 degrees, as opposed to the 3 degrees normally used for both visual and instrument approaches), and the flight crew's failure to abort the approach when conditions were not met for a stable approach and landing. The action of the flight controller was listed as a contributing factor in the accident: "Contributing to the accident was the controller's positioning of the airplane in such a manner as to leave no safe options for the flight crew other than a go-around maneuver.
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Air crash
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2013 Pakistan gas bus explosion
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2013 Pakistan gas bus explosion occurred on 25 May 2013 after a gas cylinder exploded in a school minivan heading towards Gujrat in Pakistan. The blast killed at least 17 people, including 16 children and a bus driver and another 7 children were wounded. [1][2][3][4] The children were aged between 6 and 12. [5][6]
The fire was reportedly caused by a spark when the driver of the dual-fuel bus switched from gas to petrol. [1] Officer Ijaz Ahmad said a short-circuit next to a leaking petrol tank started the blaze. Police had earlier blamed an exploding natural gas cylinder. [6]
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Gas explosion
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Garth Brooks cancels Gillette Stadium concert over COVID concerns
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By Kevin Slane Garth Brooks has canceled his planned Gillette Stadium concert this fall due to COVID-19 concerns, only six weeks after the country star initially announced he would be coming to Foxborough. Brooks announced on his website that the approximately 350,000 fans who were expected to attend one of his next five shows would all receive refunds, including ticket-holders for his Saturday, Oct. 9, show at Gillette. Brooks’s Foxborough concert would have been his first-ever visit to the home of the Patriots and his first New England concert in six years. “In July, I sincerely thought the pandemic was falling behind us,” Brooks said in a statement. “Now, watching this new wave, I realize we are still in the fight and I must do my part.” According to the press release, Ticketmaster will automatically issue refunds to the original method of payment used at time of purchase for Brooks’s Gillette show, as well as scheduled dates in Baltimore, Cincinnati, Cleveland, and Nashville. Brooks said he was “sincerely hoping” that he would be back on tour before the end of 2021, but a tour spokesperson said the team would continue to monitor the impacts of the virus before making a decision, with a rescheduled show likely to come in 2022. Brooks isn’t the only country megastar forced to delay a Gillette concert this year due to COVID-19 concerns: In March, Kenny Chesney announced that his already-delayed Chillaxification Tour, which was scheduled to culminate at Gillette Stadium on Aug. 27 and 28, 2021, would be delayed until 2022.
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Organization Closed
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Barry Morphew murder case file released; reveals sparring between defense, prosecutors
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A Colorado judge publicly released the entire case file for Barry Morphew on Monday, which details the back-and-forth between prosecutors and defense lawyers over multiple issues, months before he is scheduled to stand trial for the disappearance of his wife. Morphew appeared in court Tuesday for a pre-trial hearing where a number of issues were likely to be discussed. The hundreds of pages of court documents outline a series of motions made by Chaffee County prosecutors and defense lawyers dating back to earlier this year. Included was a list of hundreds of potential witnesses for Morphew's upcoming trial. The first two names that appear are Macy and Mallory Morphew, the daughters of Barry and Suzanne Morphew. Other names include officials with the local law enforcement, the FBI, Google, Facebook Security, and credit reporting companies. COLORADO JUDGE ALLOWS BARRY MORPHEW TO CONTINUE LIVING NEAR MARITAL HOME DESPITE GPS TRACKING ISSUES Four weeks have been set aside for the legal proceeding but defense lawyers have asked for an additional week so jurors can listen to dozens of hours of police interviews with Morphew. Morphew was arrested in May and is charged with first-degree murder, tampering with a deceased human body, and other crimes in connection with the presumed death of Suzanne Morphew, who disappeared on Mother's Day 2020. Her body has not been found. Morphew has maintained his innocence and has pleaded not guilty to the charges against him. His attorneys requested limited media coverage of the case, according to the documents, which also show motions between prosecutors and the defense over DNA collected from the glove box of Suzanne Morphew's vehicle. The sample came through a database as a partial match for "single or multiple individuals across the country involved in sexual assault cases," defense attorneys wrote in an August letter. They said the sample belongs to a sex offender living in Arizona. The prosecution knew about the DNA results long before they informed the defense, Morphew's lawyers argued in the court documents. Barry Morphew was released from the Chaffee County jail in September on a $500,000 bond. He was seen leaving the facility with his two daughters. In another motion, prosecutors requested a judge order Morphew to leave the residence of a couple who took him in after posting bond over concerns about him living near two potential witnesses he is not allowed to have contact with. In October, a judge ruled that he could live in an Airbnb rental home in the same neighborhood where he and his wife once resided, despite issues with his GPS monitoring reception in the area. He can continue living there as long as he reports to a nearby town so his GPS data can be downloaded. The defense has also requested limits on pre-trial publicity and possible sanctions against Linda Stanley, District Attorney for the 11th Judicial District, for giving media interviews. The defense also claimed that prosecutors have not given them access to evidence such as forensic images of Morphew's cell phone and recordings from a spy pen. Investigators said that Suzanne Morphew planned to leave her husband and allegedly texted him days before she vanished that she was "done, let’s handle this civilly," according to an arrest affidavit. The affidavit said Barry Morphew refused to take a polygraph in the days after his wife vanished. He is expected to stand trial in May 2022. The suspect surrendered when deputies arrived, officials say. She waited five years to confront Tom Privett, her former high school teacher, the man who groomed and manipulated her on campus. The man who raped her over and over inside his classroom. Police say they found the man with his pants down wearing an open jacket. New Hampshire Attorney General’s OfficeA New Hampshire mother texted a friend about her 5-year-old’s uncontrollable behavior, comparing her son to a couple of prolific serial killers. “I want him gone,” she allegedly wrote. Four months later, the child’s body was discovered in the Abington woods.The haunting messages from Danielle Dauphinais were shared with The Boston Globe by her childhood friend, Erika Wolfe. Though Wolfe said she and Dauphinais had not spoken in years, Dauphinais reached out “You have a misunderstanding, I’m afraid, of what conspiracy is,” a federal judge told white nationalists Richard Spencer and Christopher Cantwell.View Entire Post › Meet, Share Interests and Get Closer! Great Mature Singles are Ready to Talk Twenty-five years ago, a man feeding ducks with his nephew spotted a cardboard box wrapped in rope and duct tape floating down a Miami Lakes canal. Thinking it might be something valuable, they corralled the box, opened it and were immediately met with the smell of rotting flesh. The customer was angry hot soup had melted its plastic lid, according to the worker’s TikTok video. Mark McCloskey compared himself to Kyle Rittenhouse, saying they have both been prosecuted and were defending themselves from an “angry mob.” Language Learning Advice From An Expert It has the makings of a Hollywood thriller: A determined dad rescues his teenage daughter from an alleged Seattle sex trafficking ring and then takes brutal Baker Mayfield, Kim Kardashian West and others have shown their support for the execution of Julius Jones, an Oklahoma man, to be called off. The rawness of these past few months in Kenosha spills out onto the Kenosha County Courthouse steps as people wait for the Kyle Rittenhouse verdict. The newly established sports retailer added Instagram ads to its Facebook campaigns, and attained 2.3X incremental add-to-cart events. Sunset Hills police say Christy Meier finished her shift at 7 a.m., saw her husband and went to bed. When he returned home later, he found Meier, a 14-year officer, dead. Kyle Rittenhouse's defense team filed an updated motion for mistrial with prejudice ahead of Monday's closing arguments. Stephen B. Morton/GettyTravis McMichael, the Georgia man accused of murdering Ahmaud Arbery last February, took the stand on Wednesday and told jurors he only shot the 25-year-old unarmed Black man because it was a “life or death situation.”“He had my gun. It was obvious that he was attacking me and if he’d have gotten the shotgun from me, it’d be a life and death situation,” McMichael said while testifying on his own behalf in Glynn County court. McMichael, his father, Gregory, and William “Rod Streamline the way work gets done and have more time to score bigger wins. The woman was charged with child neglect, deputies said. Katherine Janness, who was fatally stabbed July 28 in Atlanta's Piedmont Park, had the letters 'F' 'A' and 'T' carved onto her chest, an autopsy report says. One night in late May, a 39-year-old Virginia Beach woman joined several friends for a night of barhopping. The woman’s son had agreed to serve as the designated driver, and waited in his vehicle in the parking lot while the woman and her friends went into their final stop of the night — Seaside Raw Bar at the Virginia Beach Oceanfront. The last thing the woman remembers about that evening was ... All trading carries risk. With no hidden fees and leading margin lending rates, we offer better value than you might think. Invest with Saxo. The Florence County Coroner confirmed to a local TV station that Sheridan Wahl suffered internal injuries. Her body was found at the bottom of the fire station’s training tower. The Pennsylvania gas station's sole worker at the time left a note saying, "Closed because the people of Moon Township treat our employees horribly!" Unlike in the trial of Kenosha vigilante Kyle Rittenhouse, the Georgia judge overseeing the trial of three white men accused in the killing of Ahmaud Arbery ain’t picking up what the defense is putting down. On Monday, the lawyers for Greg and Travis McMichael and William “Roddie” Bryan for the second time tried to make an issue of Black ministers sitting in the courtroom in support of the Arbery’s family. And again, according to the New York Times, Judge Timothy Walmsley shut it down when they
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Famous Person - Commit Crime - Release
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2011 World Men's Handball Championship
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The 2011 World Men's Handball Championship, the 22nd event hosted by the International Handball Federation, was held in Sweden from 13–30 January, 2011. All matches were played in Malmö, Lund, Kristianstad, Gothenburg, Skövde, Jönköping, Linköping and Norrköping. In the preliminary round, 24 teams from all the world's continents were split into 4 groups, with the first-placed 3 teams advancing through the main round in two groups, carrying the previously won points against the remaining teams. [1] France won the tournament after defeating Denmark in the final, while Spain won the bronze medal after defeating Sweden in the third-place match. Thus, France has qualified for the tournament at the London Olympics. [2] The teams that finished in 2nd–7th place will play Olympic Qualifying Tournaments. The host broadcaster was the Swedish commercial network TV4 Sport and the television rights were sold to other countries. [3]
One of the objectives of the championship was to create a multicultural party that extends far outside the handball arenas. [4]
Bahrain and Chile qualified for their first ever handball World Championship. Austria qualified for the first time since 1993, which, coincidentally, was also hosted by Sweden. The following 24 teams qualified for the final tournament:
The draw was held on 9 July 2010 at the Scandinavium at Gothenburg, Sweden. Each nation had to submit a squad of 16 players. On 25 October 2010, the match officials for the tournament were confirmed. [5]
Twenty-four participating teams were placed in the following four groups. After playing a round-robin, the top three teams in each group advanced to the Main Round. The last three teams in each group played placement matches. For the three game group stage of this tournament, where two or more teams in a group tied on an equal number of points, the finishing positions will be determined by the following tie-breaking criteria in the following order[6]
All times are Central European Time (UTC+1)
All times are Central European Time (UTC+1)
All times are Central European Time (UTC+1)
All times are Central European Time (UTC+1)
The top three teams of every preliminary group advanced to the Main round. Every team kept the points from preliminary round matches against teams who also advanced. In the main round every team had 3 games against the opponents they did not face in the preliminary round. The top two of every group advanced to the Semifinals, the other teams played placement matches. All times are Central European Time (UTC+1)
All times are Central European Time (UTC+1)
FT: 23–23 ET: 1–6
FT: 27–27 ET: 4–4, 9–4
FT: 29–29 ET: 3–2
FT: 31–31 ET: 6–4
The final was played at a sold-out Malmö Arena in Malmö between France and Denmark, and was followed by 12,462 spectators. [7] In addition, the match was aired on both major Danish public television channels DR1 and TV 2 with 2,670,000 viewers, making it the most watched sport event in Denmark ever. [8]
The French team started the match with a 2–0 lead, and maintained a lead until the 17th minute, where Denmark started a 3–0 run and equalised at 9–9 with a penalty shot by Anders Eggert. On the next attack, Mikkel Hansen received the Danes' first two-minute suspension, allowing France to open another three-goal lead. The half time score was 15–12 in favor of France. The second half started with France maintaining a lead of at least two goals in the first 15 minutes. But a couple of saves in a row by the well-tempered Niklas Landin Jacobsen, meant that Mikkel Hansen could equalise to 24–24 with 11 minutes to play. Still, France took the lead once again, but with five minutes remaining and the French lead at 29–27, Jérôme Fernandez was penalized with a 2-minute suspension. Denmark took advantage, scoring two goals and making it 29–29 with 3:30 remaining. In the last minute, the French found themselves one goal ahead, 31–30. The Danish coach Ulrik Wilbek used a team timeout with 25 seconds to go to prepare the team for the last attack. Three seconds were left, when the Dane Bo Spellerberg scored from left back a positional shot in the bottom of the goal for 31–31, deferring the match to overtime. In the 64th minute, the Danes recorded their first lead in the match when scoring 33–32, but within the next minute the French scored two goals overturning the result. The first half of the overtime ended with a French lead of 34–33. The second half of overtime began with veteran Lars Christiansen scoring a penalty and evening the score at 34–34. The French took the lead from there, though, and secured the win at 36–34 when Thierry Omeyer saved a Mikkel Hansen 9m shot with just over one minute to go. Michael Guigou scored the last goal of the game with one second to go to the final score 37–35. [9] The match ended 37–35 in favor of France. [10] Nikola Karabatić and Mikkel Hansen, both scored 10 goals in the final, with Karabatić chosen the MVP of the championship,[11] and Hansen the best goalscorer. [12]
Minimum 20% of total shots received by team. Source: Hego official statistics
Source: Hego official statistics
FranceFourth title
Jérôme Fernandez, Didier Dinart, Xavier Barachet, Bertrand Gille, Guillaume Joli, Samuel Honrubia, Daouda Karaboué, Nikola Karabatić, Franck Junillon, Thierry Omeyer, William Accambray, Luc Abalo, Cédric Sorhaindo, Michaël Guigou, Bertrand Roine, Sébastien Bosquet, and Arnaud Bingo.Head Coach: Claude Onesta. Chosen by team officials and IHF experts: IHF.info
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Sports Competition
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Northern lights could be visible over Vancouver Island this Halloween weekend
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Keep an eye on the night sky this weekend, no matter where you are across Vancouver Island or Canada for that matter, because there’s a very good chance you’ll be able to see the Aurora Borealis, aka the Northern Lights. A geomagnetic storm watch has been issued by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) for Saturday, October 30th. An unusually large release of plasma from the sun is expected to cause a geomagnetic storm when it begins to arrive on Saturday night, giving much of Vancouver Island a chance of seeing the aurora borealis. And to top it off, Environment Canada is predicting sun and clear skies all weekend. 3-Day Forecast Issued 2021 Oct 29 1230 UTC: The greatest expected 3 hr Kp for Oct 29-Oct 31 2021 is 7 (NOAA Scale G3). S1 or greater: 99%, 90%, 30%. R1-R2: 70%, 70%, 70%. R3 or greater: 30%, 30%, 30%. — NOAA Space Weather (@NWSSWPC) October 29, 2021 The rare occurrence is most likely set to occur between 2 a.m. and 5 a.m. on Saturday for BC. The NOAA also predicts the aurora borealis may be visible as far south as Pennsylvania, to Iowa and Oregon. Also known as the northern lights, the aurora is caused by electrons colliding with the upper reaches of Earth’s atmosphere. The U.S. Space Weather Prediction Center has called for a moderate geomagnetic storm — which is responsible for putting on the colourful display. There are a few things you can do to get prepared to watch the Northern Lights: Monitor the geomagnetic forecast using Canada’s Space Weather Agency Choose a location with little to no light pollution with the Dark Site Finder . Use the Clear Sky Chart to ensure there’s no cloud cover where/when you plan to view Light pollution will spoil any view of the Northern Lights. The best option is to head north until you can see a healthy number of stars above your head. Also, even if you are in a good position to see the aurora, it may still be quite faint, requiring a camera that can capture long exposures and some post-processing to really pick out the vibrant colours.
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New wonders in nature
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Varig Flight 820 crash
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Varig Flight 820 was a flight of the Brazilian airline Varig that departed from Galeão International Airport in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on July 11, 1973, for Orly Airport, in Paris, France. The plane, a Boeing 707 registration PP-VJZ, made an emergency landing on onion fields about four kilometers from Orly Airport, due to smoke in the cabin from a fire in a lavatory. The fire caused 123 deaths; there were only 11 survivors (ten crew members and one passenger). The Boeing 707-320C registration PP-VJZ, serial number 19841, was manufactured in February 1968 and had flown 21,470 hours. The aircraft was originally meant to be sold to Seaboard World Airlines, but was brought by Varig prior to this taking place, who briefly leased it to Seaboard World Airlines but otherwise owned the aircraft for the entirety of its life. The aircraft had seating capacity for 124 passengers and was operating close to full on the fateful flight. The crew aboard the flight consisted of four flight crew, four relief flight crew, and nine cabin crew. The primary flight crew consisted of Captain Gilberto Araujo da Silva, 49, First Officer Alvio Basso, 46, Flight Engineer Claunor Bello, 38, and Navigator Zilmar Gomas de Cunha, 43. Captain Araujo da Silva was highly experienced and had flown 17,959 hours, of which 4,642 hours were on the 707. First Officer Basso was also very experienced, with 12,613 flying hours, of which 5,055 hours were on the 707. Both Bello and Gomas de Cunha were also highly experienced airmen with 9,655 hours and 14,140 hours in total respectively; between them they had 8,113 hours on the 707. The relief flight crew consisted of Captain Antonio Fuzimoto, 45, First Officer Ronald Utermoehl, 23, Flight Engineer Carlos Nato Diefenthaler, 38 and Navigator Salvador Ramos Heleno, 45. Relief Captain Fuzimoto was also very experienced, with 17,788 flying hours total, of which 3,221 were on the 707. Relief First Officer Utermoehl was much less experienced, with only 1,540 hours in total, of which only 788 were on the 707. Relief Flight Engineer Diefenthaler and Relief Navigator Heleno were both very experienced airmen, with 16,672 and 15,157 flying hours, respectively, and 17,859 total hours between them on the 707. The cabin crew consisted of Chief Purser Joao Egidio Galleti, 33, and attendants Edemar Gonçalves Mescarenas, 31, Carmelino Pires De Oliveira Jr, 31, Sergio Carvalho Balbino, 28, Luiz Edmundo Coelho Brandao, 26, Alain Henri Tersis, 26, Hanelore Danzberg, 34, Andrea Piha, 24 and Elvira Strauss, 24. [1]
Flight 820's problems began when a fire started in a rear lavatory. Crew members moved to the front of the airplane toward the emergency exit, as many passengers in the rear of the plane inhaled smoke. Prior to the forced landing, many of the passengers had already died of carbon monoxide poisoning and smoke inhalation. The aircraft landed in a field 5 km short of the runway, in a full-flap and gear-down configuration. Of the 134 passengers and crew aboard the flight, ten crew and one passenger, 21-year-old Ricardo Trajano, survived. Of the crew, Captain Araujo de Silva, First Officer Basso, Flight Engineer Bello, Navigator Gomas de Cunha, Relief Captain Fuzimoto, Chief Purser Galleti and Attendants Pires de Oliveira and Piha were in the cockpit and evacuated from there, whilst Tersis and Brandao escaped out of the forward galley. Trajano was found unconscious with Relief Navigator Heleno, Attendant Balbino and another passenger; Balbino and the passenger died at the scene, whilst Heleno died in a hospital soon after. A possible cause of the fire was that the lavatory waste bin contents caught fire after a lit cigarette was thrown into it. Consequently, the FAA issued AD 74-08-09 requiring "installation of placards prohibiting smoking in the lavatory and disposal of cigarettes in the lavatory waste receptacles; establishment of a procedure to announce to airplane occupants that smoking is prohibited in the lavatories; installation of ashtrays at certain locations; and repetitive inspections to ensure that lavatory waste receptacle doors operate correctly". [2]
Most of the passengers on the aircraft were Brazilian. The only survivors were in the cockpit and the first several rows of seats. Of the 11 survivors, 10 were members of the crew;[3] the sole surviving passenger disobeyed instructions to remain in his seat. Notable passengers who died included:
The Captain in-charge of this flight, Captain Araujo de Silva, was the PIC(Pilot-In-Command) of Varig Flight 967, a Boeing 707 Cargo flight bound to Brazil From Tokyo Narita. The aircraft mysteriously disappeared and since has not been found.
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Air crash
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Adelaide's River Torrens treated with chemical to prevent blue-green algae
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Hydrogen peroxide is being tipped into Adelaide's River Torrens to help prevent toxic blue-green algal blooms.
Half a tonne of powdered chemical has been mixed with liquid and poured into the waterway between Adelaide Zoo and the University footbridge in the city, with researchers saying the quantity is too small to pose a risk to fish or birds.
The health of snails and freshwater shrimp will also be monitored during the treatment.
Steven Gatti, from Natural Resources Adelaide and Mount Lofty Ranges, said hydrogen peroxide was known to be effective.
"It kills the blue-green algae at the concentration we're delivering today, so it's really just about confidence in delivery in years to come," he said.
"Peroxide is a completely natural chemical; it breaks down to water and oxygen after around 24 hours."
"The mouthwash you might use in the morning is 1.5 per cent peroxide — we're applying 0.0005 per cent peroxide."
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Outbreaks of blue-green algae during Adelaide's hot, dry summers have led to several closures of the Torrens to water-based activities in recent years.
Mr Gatti said a near-record wet summer for Adelaide had prevented any algal outbreaks this year.
"Whilst we don't have any blue-green algae this year, the test is really about logistics; how we take the amount of hydrogen peroxide we want to apply and apply it in a safe manner," he said.
The researchers said the Torrens was generally quite a healthy waterway compared with those in other major Australian cities.
One of the river's biggest problems had nothing to do with algae — in early 2009 the weir which dams the city section of the Torrens to form a lake malfunctioned.
A gate partially opened due to an electrical fault and much of the water drained away to leave a muddy mess in late summer, just as Adelaide's busy festivals season was about to get underway.
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Environment Pollution
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Brexit finally happened
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Nearly four years after the UK voted to leave the European Union, Brexit has finally happened. As the clock struck 11.00.p.m. GMT, the Article 50 process by which a member state leaves the EU expired and the UK has now entered the transition process it agreed with the bloc. For the first time ever, the EU is down a member state. It's a monumental moment that will go down in history, for better or worse. So what happens now? In the short term, the biggest changes will be invisible to the public. During the transition period, currently set to expire on December 31 of this year, the UK will continue to obey EU laws and European courts. Businesses will be able to operate as normal and people wanting to travel around the EU will not be affected. What Brexit will mean for travelers Joe Minihane, CNN However, Brexit is far from done. Before the transition period ends 11 months from now, the UK will try and negotiate a deal with Brussels on their future relationship. Failure to reach an agreement would mean the hardest Brexit possible, causing economic damage for both sides and possibly the wider world. This is a scenario that both sides are eager to avoid. These negotiations will begin on March 3. In the meantime, both parties will work to establish their priorities and red lines. The UK will probably want to have its cake and eat it: near-frictionless trade with the EU while enjoying the freedom to do as it pleases at home and strike trade deals with the wider world. For the EU, the priority will be keeping the UK as close to EU regulations as possible and protect European interests. And if you thought phase one of Brexit was nasty, phase two is going to be even worse. The UK now enters a new phase in its history. The choices that Boris Johnson takes in the coming months will have huge implications for British citizens and for people far beyond the UK's borders. However, he does so standing alone. The next Brexit deadline is already hurtling towards us. And for the UK more than anyone else, to get what it wants could require shutting its eyes and hoping for the best.
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Withdraw from an Organization
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2008 El Calvario earthquake
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The 2008 El Calvario earthquake occurred in central Colombia on 24 May and measured 5.9 on the moment magnitude scale. The earthquake occurred at 2:20:43 p.m. (19:20:43 UTC) at the epicenter (El Calvario, Meta). The depth was 35 km; it was superficial according to an Ingeominas report. The epicenter was located 35 km from Villavicencio and 50 km from Bogotá. There were 11 confirmed fatalities and 4,181 injured, mostly in the towns of Puente Quetame, Fosca, Fomeque and Guayabetal in Cundinamarca, and in El Calvario, Meta. [3]
A M4 foreshock occurred at 12:08 local time (17:08 UTC) near San Juanito, in the Meta Central Department, at a depth of 30 km. The town of Quetame, Cundinamarca was the most affected. Several houses collapsed in this small town of 6,500 inhabitants. The reconstruction of the affected structures cost 10 million USD (exchange rate COP 2000). In Bogotá, a partial collapse of the building of "Lotería de Bogotá" was reported, with no major consequences. The emergency network in the Capital District was put on maximum alert. A collapse of fixed phone lines and cell phones occurred, due to the great number of people calling to find out about their relatives. The quake was also felt in cities as far away as Medellín and Bucaramanga. In Guayabetal, Meta, civil defense workers could only reach the town from Villavicencio using motorcycles, because fallen buildings blocked cars from passing. The workers found two people dead and another 26 people trapped in a bus. Now there is a bypass to that point coming from Villavicencio, because 2 km of Highway 48 was closed due to fallen debris.
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Earthquakes
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Shooting range fined $77k over staff lead poisoning from ammunition
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A Victorian man who flew from Brisbane to Hobart on flight VA702 today has tested positive to COVID-19 and has not been allowed to board a flight to Melbourne
A Watch & Act warning is in place for a fire in the northern parts of Mokine, in WA's Northam Shire. Keep up to date with ABC Emergency
An indoor shooting range north of Brisbane has been fined $77,000 after an employee suffered lead poisoning from exposure to ammunition.
Kreutzer Pty Ltd, which operates as Rothwell Professional Industry Indoor Pistol Range, was required to pay $75,000 plus court costs, for a serious breach of the Work Health and Safety Act.
A 34-year-old employee, who started working as a range supervisor in January 2013, was diagnosed with acute lead poisoning after a visit to his GP in November, 2015.
The employee was complaining of symptoms including a "foggy" head, metallic taste in his mouth and a tingling sensation in his hands and feet.
A blood test revealed a lead level reading that was almost 13 times the acceptable high-end range.
The worker was admitted to hospital and underwent chelation therapy, a medical procedure that involves the administration of chelating agents to remove heavy metals from the body.
Further treatment for excessive lead levels continued and he developed some neurological and physical disabilities, which prevented him from returning to work.
At the range, his duties involved close supervision of shooters, who were rapidly firing multiple lead projectile rounds.
Medical records indicate the worker absorbed lead via the respiratory tract, and there was also a likely uptake of lead via the gastrointestinal and respiratory tracts during cleaning sessions, and retrieval of the spent lead projectiles.
Kreutzer Pty Ltd pleaded guilty to a breach, which spanned almost three years, of failing to keep the worker safe.
A sentencing hearing in the Brisbane Magistrates Court on Tuesday saw the company fined $75,000 plus professional costs of almost $2,100.
RMIT Environmental Engineering Professor Suzie Reichman said it was not surprising the man had experienced such high levels of lead poisoning. "There has been studies that show that people who go to firing ranges have elevated blood lead levels," Professor Reichman said. "So from that point of view it's not surprising, that a staffer who's there a lot more often than someone who just regularly goes for a few hours [has elevated lead levels].
"However, you would expect those who are working in that facility would have quite a bit of personal protective equipment to make sure they weren't overly exposed to the lead in the bullets."
No conviction was recorded, but in determining sentence, Magistrate Jacqui Payne noted no blood monitoring was undertaken at the firm, despite regulations.
She also said personal protective equipment (PPE) was available, but only used sporadically.
Ms Payne said she took the company's guilty plea and previous unblemished record into account, as well as its post-incident safety improvements.
She also said she accepted that general deterrence was an important factor in the matter, noting there were relatively few indoor pistol ranges in south-east Queensland, and word had spread throughout the industry, leading to positive changes in overall practices.
Lead expert Professor Mark Taylor said regular blood tests were the most important strategy to avoid contamination.
The Macquarie University professor specialises in environmental contamination and the risks they pose to human health in mines at Mt Isa, Port Pirie and Broken Hill.
"The penalties imposed seem entirely appropriate and should serve as a warning to other facilities," Professor Taylor said.
"We know that shooting galleries are particularly contaminated with lead dust and it's not surprising that people do get exposed if they do not follow proper personal protection."
Professor Taylor said workers at these facilities should not take their work clothes home and that they should be washed on site.
"They should also be fastidious with washing [their] hands," he said. "There should be regular clean-ups to ensure lead dust does not accumulate in the facility and there should also be exhaust systems to remove dust in the air and these should be cleaned regularly."
He also said anyone who used the facility — particularly women and children — should also be aware of the need to take extra care.
"You do not want to be taking contaminates back home from a facility that has been inadequately cleaned," he said.
Professor Taylor said similar safeguards used with asbestos should be adopted at pistol ranges.
He said wet mops should be used rather than vacuum cleaners.
"Outdoor pistol ranges pose a similar risk of contamination so everyone needs to be aware of those risks and the potential uptake of lead," he said. Queensland Health Minister Steven Miles said the employer should have ensured its staff were properly using protective equipment.
"The tragedy here is that a young man who went to work is now disabled, may not work again as a result of poor practices at the place he went to work," Mr Miles said.
"Workplace health and safety is the job of employers, it's their duty of care."
He said Queensland had very strong workplace health and safety laws and an inspectorate to ensure they were followed.
We acknowledge Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the First Australians and Traditional Custodians of the lands where we live, learn, and work.
This service may include material from Agence France-Presse (AFP), APTN, Reuters, AAP, CNN and the BBC World Service which is copyright and cannot be reproduced.
AEST = Australian Eastern Standard Time which is 10 hours ahead of GMT (Greenwich Mean Time)
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Organization Fine
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The huge locust swarm which hit the Horn of Africa in the Spring of 2020
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Many extreme environmental events have a devastating effect on people’s lives, and a new UN report reveals that many of them are linked by the same underlying causes. On the day the study is released, we look at the impact of a locust swarm on a Kenyan farmer, and the ways that Cyclone Amphan affected an Indian worker. The huge locust swarm which hit the Horn of Africa in the Spring of 2020, and Cyclone Amphan, which struck the border region of India and Bangladesh in May that year, might not seem, on the face of it, to be connected, but a rport released on Wednesday by UN University, the academic and research arm of the UN, shows that there were connected underlying causes: greenhouse gas emissions from human activity, which are affecting the environment in unpredictable ways, and a lack of sufficient disaster risk management. Both disasters took place in 2020, with the world in the grip of the COVID-19 pandemic, which meant that the effectiveness of the response to both disasters was reduced, with movement restricted for both humanitarians and victims, who also found themselves more financially vulnerable. Two of the people directly affected have shared their stories with the UN: Susan Mumbi Karanja, a farmer from Nyandarua County, Kenya, and Sudhansu Shekhar Maity, who sells stationery in the Indian city of Kolkata. “My name is Susan Mumbi Karanja. I live in a village called Karima, Nyandarua County. I am a farmer, and I have six children. When the locusts came in March 2020, we saw them coming from the hills. There were so many. They attacked all the food: the cabbages, carrots, potatoes, everything that was on the farm. When they came you could not even see the sun. It would get dark. You could not go to work, the cows could not even eat. We had heard about the swarm on TV, but we did not think that it would reach us. When it came, the government sent people here, and they sprayed chemicals at the locusts, even where there was food. We saw that when the chemicals were sprayed some locusts died and others just slept and waited for the sun to rise again. They ate much of the food, which was also destroyed by the chemicals. When the swarm left there was no food to eat, and none to sell. The cows did not produce milk because there was nothing for them to eat: locusts were everywhere, even in the grass. We couldn’t even eat the locusts, because they had been sprayed with chemicals. The only thing that can be done is for the government to find out where the locusts are coming from, so they can contain them or burn them. During the swarm, they even sent a helicopter to get rid of them, but it failed and left. We are wondering what we can do. There can be no planning because of the threat of locusts; it is only the government that can help.” “I am Sudhansu Shekhar Maity, and I am from Ramganga village in West Bengal. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdown measures, I had to leave my job in Kolkata in March 2020 and return to my village, where I stayed for six months. Based on news from different media, there was a sense of terror about the virus spread, and we were scared to step outside. Obviously, I have faced a major financial crisis. If we stay at home days after days and cannot go to work, how are we going to generate income? During Cyclone Amphan, we could clearly see the sea from my house, and the water hitting the boundaries was horrific, with 20-25 foot waves. The moment the cyclone started coming closer, we could hear the disturbing noise of heavy wind hitting the windows. It sounded like a bombardment. The river started overflowing and water began entering into the village. People started running, along with their livestock, such as cows, buffaloes and goats, to save themselves. Most people took shelter in hotels. When the cyclone passed, I stepped out of my house and all I could see was water: most of the houses were underwater, and the mud-built homes had disintegrated. Ponds are the most reliable source of water in village areas, we farm fish in these ponds, which is good enough for our yearly consumption. Because of the floods, the ponds were filled by saltwater, and all of the fish died. All the crops were destroyed due to the cyclone and the flooding. The betel leaf farmers faced the most terrible times due the cyclone: they farm on the baked mud roofs of their homes, and these were all destroyed. Right after the cyclone, the first thing I could think of was the food and the drinking water. And how we are going to live our life? All our ponds and lands were destroyed. No vegetables and groceries, no connectivity, no electricity, all the roads were blocked and there was no access to the nearest health care centres. With the shortage of drinking water, we had to stand in a long queue to get the well water: there is one well for about 50-60 families. We have faced really hard times and my savings have been spent during the lockdown. I am still trying to recover from the situation. Around 12,000 families live in our village and most of them have suffered.” Disasters such as cyclones, floods, and droughts are more connected than we might think, and human activity is the common thread, a UN report released on Wednesday reveals.
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Insect Disaster
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Oroville Dam crisis
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In February 2017, Oroville Dam's main and emergency spillways were damaged, prompting the evacuation of more than 180,000 people living downstream along the Feather River and the relocation of a fish hatchery. Heavy rainfall during the 2017 California floods damaged the main spillway on February 7, so the California Department of Water Resources stopped the spillway flow to assess the damage and contemplate its next steps. The rain eventually raised the lake level until it flowed over the emergency spillway, even after the damaged main spillway was reopened. As water flowed over the emergency spillway, headward erosion threatened to undermine and collapse the concrete weir, which could have sent a 30-foot (10 m) wall of water into the Feather River below and flooded communities downstream. No collapse occurred, but the water further damaged the main spillway and eroded the bare slope of the emergency spillway. Many schools closed due to the floods. Oroville Dam, an important part of the California State Water Project, is an earthen embankment dam on the Feather River, east of the city of Oroville in Northern California. The dam is used for flood control, water storage, hydroelectric power generation, and water quality improvement in the Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta. [1]:A1, A5 Completed in 1968, it is the tallest dam in the United States, at 770 feet (230 m). It impounds Lake Oroville, the second largest man-made lake in the state of California, capable of storing more than 3.5 million acre-feet (4.3 billion cubic meters). The adjacent Edward Hyatt Powerplant has six power-generating turbines with a total installed capacity of 819 megawatts (MW) of electricity. [5]
For flood control purposes, some space in Oroville Reservoir has to be kept dry to capture floodwaters, a practice that has caused controversy at other dams of California over the amounts of water wasted. [6] Dam operators were required to discharge water based on charts contained in the Oroville Dam Reservoir Regulation Manual, a flood-control manual developed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. At the time of the incident, the Oroville Dam Reservoir Regulation Manual had last been updated in 1970 and the discharge charts were based on climatological data and runoff projections that did not account for climate change or significant floods in 1986 and 1997. In the immediate aftermath of the incident is was not clear if the outdated manual was a significant factor in the February 2017 crisis. The Final Report of the Independent Review Board, released 11 months after the crisis, did not cite the outdated manual as a significant factor. [10]
The dam complex was designed with four routes for water to pass from Lake Oroville:
In 2005, the dam underwent re-licensing by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, during which three environmental advocacy groups filed a motion with the FERC raising concerns about use of the emergency spillway. The environmental advocacy groups stated a 2002 technical memorandum by the Yuba County Water Agency that noted that significant erosion of the hillside would occur if the emergency spillway is used, which could cause significant downstream damage and impair operation of the Edward Hyatt Powerplant. The groups urged the FERC to condition renewal of the Oroville Dam's license on the lining of the slope of the emergency spillway with concrete and to update the Oroville Dam Reservoir Regulation Manual.
According to FERC engineering guidelines, "Emergency spillways may be used to obtain a high degree of hydrologic safety with minimal additional cost. Because of their infrequent use it is acceptable for them to sustain significant damage when used and they may be designed with lower structural standards than used for auxiliary spillways. The FERC determined that the emergency spillway structure was compliant with its engineering standards and that the erosion concerns raised by the environmental advocacy groups were overblown. [13] The commission also determined that the emergency spillway could handle 300,000 cu ft/s (8,500 m3/s) of discharge and renewed the dam's license without requiring the concrete lining of the emergency spillway, estimated to cost over $100 million. A 2018 study by the Association of State Dam Safety Officials discovered that the commission relied on original geology reports from the 1960s, stating that the hillside below the emergency spillway was bedrock; it was actually weathered rock subject to deep erosion if the spillway were to be put into use. [14]
Prior to February 2017, the main spillway had been last inspected in August 2016. During that inspection, the spillway was visually inspected without inspectors entering the spillway chute. Inspectors entered the spillway chute for inspections in 2014 and 2015 without finding any concerns. Cracks in the concrete spillway chute were repaired in 2009 and 2013. [15]
In early February 2017, high inflows to Lake Oroville caused dam operators to start using the concrete main spillway to control the lake level. [16] Between February 6–10, 2017, 12.8 in (330 mm) of rain fell on the Feather River Basin. Inflow of water into Lake Oroville rose from 30,000 cu ft/s (850 m3/s) on February 6 to over 130,000 cu ft/s (3,700 m3/s) at mid-day on February 7, before subsiding to about 75,000 cu ft/s (2,100 m3/s) the following day. [17] Dam operators began increasing the flow down the main spillway to 54,500 cu ft/s (1,540 m3/s) on February 7 but soon noticed an unusual flow pattern. [17] The flow of water down the spillway was stopped for investigation, revealing a crater about halfway down the spillway where the concrete lining was eroded through and water was escaping the concrete chute. The DWR consulted with FERC and other dam safety agencies about the issue and prepared for the possibility of using the emergency spillway. [17]
During two test flows down the spillway on February 8–9, the length of the crater increased from 250 ft (76 m) to 300 ft (91 m). [18] Meanwhile, the level of Lake Oroville was rising as inflow into Lake Oroville skyrocketed from about 130,000 cu ft/s (3,700 m3/s) on February 7 to a peak of 190,435 cu ft/s (5,395 m3/s) late on February 9. [17] The DWR was then confronted with two choices: use the main spillway, knowing it would likely be further damaged, or allow Lake Oroville to rise until it overtopped the emergency spillway. [18]
On February 9, the main spillway was reopened. DWR hoped that using the damaged spillway with a limited flow could drain the lake enough to avoid use of the emergency spillway, which would potentially damage powerlines servicing the hydroelectric plant. [19] The following day, discharge on the main spillway was reduced from 65,000 cu ft/s (1,800 m3/s) to 55,000 cu ft/s (1,600 m3/s), but this flow was not enough to prevent the lake from rising.
On February 11, the lake level reached 901 ft (275 m) above mean sea level and water began flowing—as designed—over the concrete weir along the top of the emergency spillway, cascading onto the emergency spillway for the first time in the dam's history. [12]
As the lake level rose, measures were taken to prepare the emergency spillway for use. On February 10, 2017, workers began clear-cutting trees on the hillside below the emergency spillway. [22]
Shortly after 8:00 am on February 11, 2017, the emergency spillway began carrying water for the first time since the dam's construction in 1968. [23] Because the spillway was a separate structure from the dam, officials stated that there was no danger of the main embankment being breached, and evacuation of Oroville was not considered at that time, as officials stated that there was no threat to public safety. The uncontrolled flow over the weir topped out at 12,600 cu ft/s (360 m3/s).
Erosion at the base of the weir—which was expected—progressed much faster than anticipated. [17] The headward erosion of the emergency spillway threatened to undermine and collapse the concrete weir, in which case a 30-foot (9 m) wall of water would be sent into the Feather River below and flood communities downstream. [12] Fearing a collapse, the Butte County Sheriff's Office issued an evacuation order of the Oroville area. To ease pressure on the emergency spillway and prevent a possible collapse of the weir, the DWR nearly doubled the discharge volume of the main spillway from 55,000 cu ft/s (1,600 m3/s) to 100,000 cu ft/s (2,800 m3/s).
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Floods
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Poland, Baltic States Discuss Security Against Backdrop Of Russian-Belarusian Military Drills
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The foreign and defense ministers of the Baltic states and Poland have gathered to discuss a joint response to conventional and hybrid threats as Russia and Belarus staged large-scale military exercises. At a meeting in the Latvian capital, Riga, the four countries on September 13 called for EU and NATO unity against the Zapad-2021 military drills and what they say is Belarus’s weaponization of illegal migrants along their borders. Poland, Latvia, and Lithuania have witnessed a major influx of migrants this summer from neighboring Belarus that they and the EU say are orchestrated by strongman Alyaksandr Lukashenka to exact revenge for sanctions and support for the opposition to his authoritarian rule. Most of the migrants are from the Middle East, particularly Iraq. "What is worrisome is the fact that the Belarusian regime is not going to give up these tactics, so we are ready to face even more immigratory pressure. Nevertheless, we are aware that we are defending not only our national border but also the border of the European Union,” Polish Foreign Minister Zbigniev Rau said at the meeting, adding the countries expect support from the European Union. Latvian Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkevics reiterated Belarus is engaged in hybrid warfare using migrants. "It is pretty obvious that this is not a conventional threat," he said. "Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland are handling the situation rather well," and do not need help from NATO at the moment, he said. Estonia's Foreign Minister Eva-Maria Liimets said that although her country doesn’t border Belarus, it stood in solidarity over the migrant issue. She also referred to the Russian-Belarusian military drills Zapad, which are causing "serious security concerns in the region.” "The Russian Federation has not been transparent about these exercises in the past," she said. The massive live-fire military exercises run from September 9 until September 16, involving some 200,000 military personnel and other hardware at multiple sites in Russia and Belarus. NATO said it was watching the drills, which have caused concern in neighboring NATO members and Ukraine. On September 13, Russian President Vladimir Putin oversaw the drills in the Nizhny Novgorod region east of Moscow. Russia says the drills are not directed against any foreign country and has called them a necessary response to increased NATO activity near Russia's borders and those of its allies. "While each country has the right to conduct military exercises, limited transparency, wider context of the maneuvers, and the accompanying hybrid activities raise our concerns," Polish Foreign Minister Rau said. He also pointed to a Russian troop build-up near Ukraine earlier this year that raised concern in Kyiv and the West over Russia’s intentions.
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Military Exercise
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1967 Nicosia Britannia disaster crash
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The Nicosia Britannia disaster was the death of 126 passengers and crew on a Bristol Britannia of the Swiss airline Globe Air when it flew into the ground 3.5 kilometres (2.2 mi) south of Nicosia Airport, in Cyprus. [1]
The Britannia was operating a charter flight bringing tourists from Bangkok in Thailand to Basel in Switzerland with stopovers in Colombo, Bombay, and Cairo. [1] The flight stopped at Colombo in Sri Lanka and then Bombay in India with the next stop due to be Cairo. [1] The crew diverted the flight to Nicosia due to bad weather at Cairo. [2] The aircraft was on the third attempt to land on Runway 32 in a violent thunderstorm when it flew into a hill near the village of Lakatamia and burst into flames. [2]
At the time of the crash, both pilots had exceeded their authorized duty time by three hours. The flight's first officer had less than 50 hours flying time in Britannia aircraft. [3]
Two German (Christa Blümel and Peter Femfert) and two Swiss (Veronika Gysin and Nicolas Pulver) passengers survived; three of them were seriously injured and were treated at a United Nations field hospital near Nicosia, the fourth, Nicolas Pulver, was reported to be unhurt. [2]
The crash culminated in Globe Air's bankruptcy and the sale of paintings that led to the 1967 Basel Picasso paintings purchase referendum. [4]
Coordinates: 35°06′30″N 33°17′14″E / 35.10833°N 33.28722°E / 35.10833; 33.28722
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Air crash
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2020 United States Air Force E-11A crash
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On 27 January 2020, a United States Air Force Bombardier Global Express E-11A aircraft crashed in Afghanistan's Dih Yak District, Ghazni Province. Two people on board were killed, the whole crew according to US military sources. The aircraft crashed at 13:10 local time (08:40 UTC) in the Dih Yak District. Ghazni Province, Afghanistan. The crash site is 130 kilometres (70 nmi) south west of Kabul, and near the village of Sado Khelo. [3][4] Voice of America stated that all five people on board were killed. [5] The U.S. Department of Defense only confirmed two fatalities recovered at the crash site. [6][7] Two Afghan locals died on the ground by impact of the crash. [2]
It was originally reported to be an aircraft of Ariana Afghan Airlines,[8][9] but the airline later ruled out this possibility, saying all its flights had been accounted for. [3] A spokesman for the United States military confirmed the identity of the aircraft involved in the accident, which occurred in an area controlled by the Taliban. [4] A Taliban spokesman said to Al-Arabiyah, that Taliban militias shot down the aircraft killing everyone on board, including high-ranking officials. However, these reports remain unconfirmed. [10][11] Reports circulated by state affiliated media of both Iran and Russia suggested that the Central Intelligence Agency's Chief of Iran operations Michael D'Andrea was killed in the crash. [12][13] These reports are also unconfirmed, and the CIA neither confirmed nor denied the presence of its officers aboard the crashed plane. [14][15]
On 29 January 2020, Pentagon sources identified the airmen killed in the crash as Lieutenant Colonel Paul K. Voss of Yigo, Guam and Captain Ryan S. Phaneuf of Hudson, New Hampshire. [16]
The incident aircraft was a Bombardier Global Express outfitted by Northrop Grumman as an E-11A of the United States Air Force. [17] Video of the crash scene shows that the aircraft serial number was 11–9358,[18] msn 9358. It had first flown in 2009. The aircraft was operated by the 430th Expeditionary Electronic Combat Squadron in the Battlefield Airborne Communications Node role. [19] The aircraft involved in the crash was one of only four in the United States Air Force. [3]
American military authorities opened an investigation into the incident. [4] The aircraft's flight data recorder was recovered. [2]
The investigation concluded that the crash was caused by a broken turbine blade on the left engine compounded by pilot error. [1] The crew misidentified which engine had failed. As a result, the pilots mistakenly shut off power to the right engine, believing the left engine was still intact. The failure to restart the correct engine in the air, and their attempt to return to Kandahar Air Base, substantially contributed to the mishap. With no working engines, the aircraft lacked the necessary altitude and airspeed to glide to the nearest base, forcing them to make an emergency landing on the snowy terrain, which proved too rugged to land safely. [1]
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Air crash
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1964 Rosais earthquake
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The 1964 Rosais earthquake (Portuguese: Crise sísmica dos Rosais) was a series of seismic swarms occurring in February 1964, leading to two major earthquakes on 15 and 21 February, resulting in the destruction of most of the habitable dwellings on the western part of the island of São Jorge, in the archipelago of the Azores. The event resulted in the evacuation of approximately 5,000 residents from that island to Terceira, Pico and Faial. The island of São Jorge is divided into two tectonic regions by tectonic fractures oriented north-northwest to south-southeast, located along an axis between Norte Pequeno and Calheta (the Ribeira Seca fault). [1]
The northwest portion of the island is the most modern, consisting of basalt and intermediary rock (andesites) of the Rosais Volcanic Complex. [1] This region was also covered swaths of the Manadas complex and debris from the 1580 and 1808 volcanic eruptions. The first eruption (1580) resulted in lava flows in three areas northwest to southeast: along the Ribeira da Almeida, in Queimada (south of Santo Amaro) and between Ribeira do Nabo and the beach of Cruzes (west of Urzelina). [1] The second eruption (1808) resulted in andesite-basaltic lava flows in the southwest of Pico do Pedro, that extended to Urzelina. [1]
The São Jorge-Pico Channel that separates the islands of Pico and São Jorge is divided by fractures and faults extending north-northwest to south-southwest. [2] The northernmost group of faults on the island of São Jorge extend from Cerrado das Almas to the peak of Loiçano. [2] But, the island is almost bisected by a fault that extends from the promontory of Rosais to just north of Calheta (in the southeast). [2] The Rosais promontory, at a height of 250–400 metres (820–1,310 ft) above sea level, an area dominated by an area of scoria cones, the highest being Monte Trigo at 503 metres (1,650 ft) altitude. [1] A final group of fractures aligned to scoria cones northwest of Velas: to the southeast there are faults towards Pico do Carvão, while to the northeast of Velas are fractures responsible for the submarine eruption in 1964. [2]
São Jorge has had a history of tectonic movements associated with the submarine fractures between the island and Pico. The most violent of these events occurred on the night of 9 July 1757,[3][4] with its epicenter in Fajã dos Vimes. [2] This event resulted in landslides, opening fractures and resulting in the destruction of dwellings in Manadas (killing one fifth of the population, 1000 people). [2]
The February 1964 event was a phenomenon related to a submarine volcanic eruption 6.5 kilometres (4.0 mi) west-northwest of the village of Velas, 1,000 metres (3,300 ft) below sea level. [5]
On 21 August 1963, tremors were felt in the central group of the Azorean archipelago, including in the epicenter located in the Pico-São Jorge Channel. [5] This event resulted in damage to an area 100 kilometres (62 mi) around Cais do Pico, while the tremors reached an intensity of V-VI on the Mercalli intensity scale affected the parishes of Rosais, Santo Amaro and town of Velas. [5] After 13 December, seismographs in the observatory in Horta registered earthquake swarms linked to a volcanic eruption that continued until January 1964, related initially with Capelinhos. [5] There was a lull after December. On 29 January and 1 February 1964, two submarine cables with the São Jorge Channel were cut. [5] On 14 February volcanic tremors began to be felt, but just as the populace had assumed that the swarm had ended, on 15 February 1964, around 7:00 a.m., the tremors resumed with a violent earthquake (VII-VIII on the Mercalli intensity scale, recorded in the village of Terreiros), that resulted in destruction of homes. [5] Following this earthquake, within the next 24 hours, more than 179 tremors were felt (some reaching VI-VII on the Mercalli intensity scale) and 125 in the following day, before diminishing. [5]
In the first three days, the epicentre was situated in the middle of São Jorge, in the proximity of historical eruptions in Urzelina and Manadas. [5] In the beginning, the epicenter was located in Pico do Cabeço and Pico de Maria Pires, between Urzelina and Toledo, but later extended to the area of Pico da Esperança. [5] The tremors reached a level VI (Strong) on the Mercalli intensity scale, causing panic and flight of citizenry to the town of Velas: the earthquake affected the areas of Urzelina, Manadas, Santo António and Norte Grande, intensifying until 18 February. [5] On 18 February, the epicenters migrated to the northwest in the direction of the coast of Rosais, with the most intense tremors in the areas of Rosais, Beira, Velas, Santo Amaro, Manadas, Santo António and Norte Grande. [5] A few reached level VIII in Velas and Rosais, where many of the homes were destroyed or became uninhabitable. [5] After 18 February, low intensity earthquake swarms continued in the interior, with the largest hardly felt in Calheta or Topo. [5]
A great number of tremors were noted that anticipated the next earthquake. [5]
On 21 February, between 5:14 p.m. and 5:25 p.m. three strong earthquakes destroyed the homes in Rosais, and caused damage to dwellings in Toledo, Serroa, Beira and the village of Velas. [5] The shocks attained VIII (Severe) on the Mercalli intensity scale in Velas and Rosais, VI (Strong) in Urzelina and Manadas, V (Moderate) in Santo António, Norte Grande, Norte Pequeno and Calheta, and III (Weak) in Topo. The more intense phase terminated on 24 February, at 8:45 p.m. After this event the tremors began to decrease in intensity and frequency, and few were registered in the western part of island. [5] The earthquakes varied: epicenters in the centre of the island were situated approximately 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) in depth; and others, near Velas, were located 10–20 kilometres (6.2–12.4 mi) in depth. Similarly, the more violent tremors were felt in the islands near São Jorge. [5] In total there were more than 500 aftershocks, with the event terminating on 25 February. [5]
About 5,000 people abandoned the area affected by the earthquakes, most heading for Calheta; 1000 escaped over the São Jorge-Pico Channel. [5] Coincidentally, after 15 February 1964, a storm had begun, and weather hampered the rescue operations, contributing to a feeling of panic among the populace. [5] With lack of information, the constant tremors and poor weather conditions contributed to a general feeling of impending disaster among the citizenry. [5] The stormy weather continued along the week. As a result of the first days earthquakes, there was significant destruction in the town of Velas and surrounding hamlets. Approximately 400 homes were destroyed, with many of the buildings requiring repairs (about 250 in total). [5] The number of dwellings that were damaged exceeded 900. [5]
Logically, the earthquakes presupposed a submarine volcanic eruption; the smell of sulphur was observed on 18, 19 and 20 February in the town of Velas, and later in Rosais, Beira, Santo Amaro and Norte Grande, and carried on the wind toward the southwest. [5] Yet, the stormy weather made it impossible to see evidence. [5] Meanwhile, a ship crossing the channel observed the presence of white caps on the surface of the water, indicating, possibly that there was a small eruption. [5]
Owing to the general panic and lack of help, 5,000 people were evacuated to the islands of Terceira, Pico and Faial, and were lodged in local homes, in an act of solidarity. The evacuation was extremely troubling, given the persistent storms and waves along the channel between the islands, where waves reached 5 metres (16 ft), and where ships and ports had limited capacity to transport the evacuees. A majority of the evacuees were transported onboard international cargo containers, including specifically the English flag-carrier Remuera, which was travelling within the Azores at the time of the crisis. Lack of planning and excavation equipment, meant that many of the peoples fleeing their homes, leaving the possessions and abandoning their domestic animals.
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Earthquakes
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Kansat Palli Bidyut protests
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Kansat Palli Bidyut protests were a series of protest in Kansat against the Kansat Palli Bidyut Samity which are subsidiaries of Rural Electrification Board that resulted in 13 deaths. The protests ranged from January to April 2006. [1]
Kansat is located in Shibganj Upazila, Chapai Nawabganj District, Northern Bangladesh. [2] Palli Bidyut Unnayan Sangram Parishad stands for 'the action committee for rural power development' in Bengali. [3] It was created to demand reliable supply of electricity for the locality. [4] According to the Parsihad, the local Palli Bidyut Samity was illegally taking extra money with the electricity bills. [5] The protests were led by farmers who were frustrated by the lack of proper electricity supply hampering their harvest. [1]
On 4 January 2006, two people were killed in the protests and on 23 January 2006, eight more were killed in protests in Kansat. [4] They had died after police fired at a protest in Kansat Bazar. Bangladesh Police arrest leaders of Palli Bidyut Unnayan Sangram Parishad, Golam Rabbani, Zahir Chowdhury, and Manirul Islam Manna. More than a hundred were injured and six police vehicles damaged in the clashes[6]
On 7 April saw clashes breakout between protestors and Bangladesh Police supported by activists of Bangladesh Nationalist Party. [3] Security forces were deployed to protect Kansat Palli Bidyut Samity. [3] Mizanur Rahman Minu blamed Bikalpa Dhara Bangladesh and Shahjahan Miah blamed Awami League. [7]
On 8 April 2006, protestors attacked members of the police injuring an superintendent of police Mahbubul Alam and nine others. They also damaged three police vehicles. According to importers 5 thousand tonne of onions were rotting at the Sonamasjid Land Port. [8] Bangladesh Nationalist Party politician Mahbubul Alam, president of Krishak Dal Upazila unit,[3] was killed in the protests and his family members filed a case against Golam Robbani and others. Mizanur Rahman Minu called activists of Kansat Palli Bidyut Unnayan Sangram terrorists. [8]
On 9 April 2006, Section 144 was imposed in the area. Bangladesh High Court sought an explanation over the police firing that resulted in 10 casualties following a petition represented by Dr Kamal Hossain. Armed Police Battalion members were deployed. All activities were stopped at the Sonamasjid Land Port connecting India and Bangladesh. [2]
On 10 April 2006, protests continued in Kansat along with frequent clashes with the police. Shops in the area were forcefully closed by the police who also assaulted one of the shopkeepers. Golam Robbani blamed the local Member of Parliament for directing the police action and the ensuing violence. Bangladesh Rifles were also deployed in the area to control the protests. The local administration declared curfew under section 144. [9]
Convenor of Kansat Palli Bidyut Unnayan Sangram, Golam Robbani, blamed Bangladesh Nationalist Party politician Mizanur Rahman Minu and Shahjahan Miah for the violence during the protest which resulted in 13 deaths. He also said he feared for his life after he heard credible information that a local Member of Parliament sought to have him killed extrajudicially through using law enforcement. [10]
A three member committee was formed to create a list of individuals injured in the protest in May 2006. The committee was composed of convener Golam Rabbani, Upazila Nirbahi Officer Dewan Mohammad Abdus Samad, and Chapai Nawabganj District civil surgeon Md Golam Mortuza. Victims received free treatment from Bangladesh Rehabilitation Centre for Trauma Victims. [11] The previous Shibganj Upazila Nirbahi Officer Md Rafiqul Islam was withdrawn in February following the death of 10 protestors. [12]
Md. Golam Rabbani, who had served as Convenor of Kansat Palli Bidyut Unnayan Sangram, announced on 18 August 2006 he intended to contest the upcoming parliamentary elections. He stated that the kansat movement had achieved its aims and was a successful movement. [13] Jama'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh claimed in 2009 that they participated in the protests and had contact with a leader of the Kansat Palli Bidyut Unnayan Sangram. [14] Robbani's house was burned down by Bangladesh Nationalist Party activists in December 2013. [15] He was elected to Parliament in the 10th parliamentary election in 2014 from Chapai Nawabganj-1 as a candidate of Awami League. [16][17]
Tareque Masud and Catherine Masud made a documentary on the incident called The Road to Kansat based on the protests. [18][19]
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Protest_Online Condemnation
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Tamil Nadu reports 1,568 Covid-19 infections, 19 deaths
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CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu recorded a marginal rise in fresh Covid-19 infections for the second consecutive day, adding 1,568 cases, including five returnees from Kerala , pushing the overall caseload to 26.19 lakh till date. The fatality count mounted to 34,980, with 19 people succumbing to the virus, a health department bulletin said. After witnessing a declining trend over the past few weeks, the number of cases have gone up since Thursday. Meanwhile, recoveries eclipsed new infections with 1,657 people getting discharged in the last 24 hours, aggregating to 25,68,161, leaving 16,370 active cases. A total of 1,60,742 samples were tested in the last 24 hours, pushing the cumulative number of specimens examined to 4,27,93,906 till date. Coimbatore, with 239 cases, Chennai 162, Erode 125 and Thanjavur 108, accounted for the bulk of the cases, while the remaining were scattered across other districts. Seven districts reported cases below double digits, while there were no fresh deaths in 25 districts. Ramanathapuram and Virudhunagar recorded the least number of cases with three each. Among the 19 fatalities, one person did not have any pre-existing illness, the bulletin said . Minister for Medical and Family Welfare Ma Subramanian earlier in the day called on Union health minister Mansukh Mandviya in New Delhi along with top officials and discussed various issues pertaining to Tamil Nadu, including allocating vaccines based on the size of the state's population, expediting construction work to set up the All India Institute of Medical Sciences hospital near Madurai and setting up of 11 medical colleges in the state. Briefing reporters later, Subramanian said that during the previous meeting with the Union minister in June, the state had requested allocation of more vaccines, based on which the Centre increased supply in June, July and August. The minister said Mandviya was also requested to step up vaccine supply to nine districts bordering Kerala as that state had been reporting a high number of cases and added that all the residents in these areas would be inoculated. Subramani said during the meeting with Mandviya, a request was also made to set up an AIIMS Medical College in Coimbatore, which he said he would consider. Noting that new Primary Health Centres had not been sanctioned to Tamil Nadu in the last three years, Subramanian said "we reiterated our earlier demand that we need 25 new PHCs in Tamil Nadu". To a query about some students and teachers in districts like Ariyalur and Cuddalore having tested positive after schools reopened on September 1, he said they might have contracted the virus earlier. "They would have contracted the contagion much earlier and then come to the schools without knowing of it. They were identified due to the efforts of health department officials, who will now conduct a probe," he said. The minister said there was no need for anyone to panic and the department was taking all efforts to break the virus chain.
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Disease Outbreaks
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2014 South Korea floods
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The 2014 South Korea floods were a series of floods in late August 2014 caused by heavy rainfall around the Honam and Yeongnam. This flood season killed about 10 people, and caused many accidents during 18 August to 25 August. In some places, The rain fell over 50 mm in an hour. Primarily, the Jangma and other heavy rain seasons occur during June to July. But this rain occurred in August because the heavy rainfall moved to South Korea. The heavy rainfall passed between North Pacific High and Siberian High, so the rain started to fall on Honam and Jeju Island. In Yeonggwang, nine houses were flooded because of the rain, and many other accidents occurred. A few hours later, the cloud moved to the Yeongnam. There were many accidents and records in Yeongnam: 284.5 mm of precipitation in Yangsan, a sand-collapsing accident in Geoje, and two collapsing accidents in Busan. The rainfall weakened on August 19, so there was less precipitation except in Jeju island, Gangwon and Gyeongbuk. But it strengthened the next day, so rain fell in Jeju island and South Sea seaside. The rain was less than on August 18, but many accidents occurred because the ground was weakened. On August 21, the rain was expanded to Gyeonggi and Gangwon because the rainfall moved north. A reservoir in Yeongcheon was destroyed because of the rain, and in Daegu, one child disappeared, and another died because the river overflowed. At 14:20, the bus in the Masanhappo-gu was flooded. It was going to the Jindong-Pachulso, but the road was restricted because of the rain, so the bus took the detour to farm road. In the process of detouring, the bus fell into the overflowed stream. Seven people on the bus perished.
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Floods
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1907 Calabria earthquake
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The 1908 Messina earthquake (also known as the 1908 Messina and Reggio earthquake[4]) occurred on 28 December in Sicily and Calabria, southern Italy with a moment magnitude of 7.1 and a maximum Mercalli intensity of XI (Extreme). The epicentre was in the Strait of Messina which separates Sicily from the Italian mainland. The cities of Messina and Reggio Calabria were almost completely destroyed and between 75,000 and 82,000 lives were lost. It was the most destructive earthquake ever to strike Europe. According to Italy's National Institute of Geophysics and Vulcanology, the earthquake was caused by a large, low-angle SE-dipping, blind normal fault, lying mainly offshore in the Strait of Messina, between plates. [5] Its upper projection intersects the Earth surface on the western, Sicilian side of the Strait. [6]
In 2019 researchers at Birkbeck, University of London discovered the active fault responsible for the earthquake. The study, led by Dr. Marco Meschis, identified the fault as the previously mapped but little studied Messina-Taormina Fault which lies off the Sicilian coast and runs the length of the Strait of Messina. The team used data from 1907-1908 to examine the pattern of uplifts and subsidence
observed in the Messina and Calabria area which bore a strong resemblance to those resulting from other powerful earthquakes triggered by normal faults. After comparing the direction and size of movements on well-known faults with the surface movements seen in Messina and Calabria, the researchers were able to identify the probable active fault which caused the catastrophic earthquake as well as the direction and size of the movements. [2]
Italy sits along the boundary zone of the African Continental plate, and this plate is pushing against the sea floor underneath Europe at a rate of 25 millimeters (1 inch) per year. This causes vertical displacement, which in turn can cause earthquakes. [7] The earthquake was recorded by 110 seismographic stations around the world. [8] and was one of the first to be recorded by instruments. The Strait of Messina is part of the regional tectonic feature known as the Calabrian Arc, an area of differential uplift deriving from the dynamics of the Ionian and South Tyrrhenian tectonic units, two of the lithosphere blocks of microplates recognised in the highly fragmented Italian portion of the Africa-Eurasia contact. [9] A number of the strongest earthquakes that took place in the last centuries occurred in the Calabrian Arc such as the 1783 and 1905 Calabrian earthquakes as well as the more catastrophic 1908 Messina earthquake. [9]
Records indicate that considerable seismic activity occurred in the areas around the Strait of Messina several months prior to 28 December; it increased in intensity beginning 1 November. On 10 December, a magnitude 4 earthquake caused damage to a few buildings in Novara di Sicilia and Montalbano Elicona, both in the Province of Messina. [10]
A total of 293 aftershocks took place between 28 December 1908 and 11 March 1909. [11]
In 2008 it was proposed that the concurrent tsunami was not generated by the earthquake, but rather by a large undersea landslide it triggered. The probable source of the tsunami was offshore of Giardini Naxos (40 km south of Messina) on the Sicilian coast where a large submarine landslide body with a headwall scarp was revealed on a Bathymetric map of the Ionian seafloor. [12]
On Monday 28 December 1908, from about 05:20 to 05:21, an earthquake of 7.1 on the moment magnitude scale occurred. Its epicentre was in the Strait of Messina which separates the busy port city of Messina in Sicily and Reggio Calabria on the Italian mainland. Its precise epicentre has been pinpointed to the northern Ionian Sea area close to the narrowest section of the Strait, the location of Messina. [13] It had a depth of around 9 km (5.5 miles). [1]
The earthquake almost levelled Messina. At least 91% of structures in Messina were destroyed or irreparably damaged and some 75,000 people were killed in the city and suburbs. [14][15] Reggio Calabria and other locations in Calabria also suffered heavy damage, with some 25,000 people killed. [14] Reggio's historic centre was almost completely eradicated. The number of casualties is based on the 1901 and 1911 census data. It was the most destructive earthquake ever to strike Europe. [16] The ground shook for some 30 seconds,[8] and the damage was widespread, with destruction felt over a 4,300 km2 (1,700 sq mi) area. [11]
In Calabria, the ground shook violently from Scilla to south of Reggio,[11] provoking landslides inland in the Reggio area and along the sea-cliff from Scilla to Bagnara. In the Calabrian commune of Palmi on the Tyrrhenian coast, there was almost total devastation that left 600 dead. Damage was also inflicted along the eastern Sicilian coast, but outside of Messina, it was not as badly hit as Calabria. The mesoseismal area was confined near the coast along a 1–4 km wide belt that shook and destroyed Messina and surrounding villages. [citation needed] Catania, the largest city in eastern Sicily, did not incur notable damage. [11]
A young doctor who escaped with his life later recounted that "the profound silence was broken by an extraordinary noise like the bursting of a thousand bombs, followed by a rushing and torrential rain." Then he heard a "sinister whistling sound" which he likened to "a thousand red hot irons hissing in the water. "[17] Other survivors reported that there were three separate and different movements during the 30–40 second mainshock: the first shaking backwards and forwards, the second thrusting violently upwards, with the third moving in a circular motion. All accounts concur that it was the second upwards motion that caused the widespread destruction in Messina; the accompanying noise described as having been "exactly like that made by a fast train in a tunnel". [18]
The elevated death toll was due to the fact that most people were asleep, and killed outright or buried alive in their beds, as their houses collapsed on top of them. [19] Thousands were trapped under debris, suffering horrific injuries of which many would die. [20] One week before the earthquake, 160,000 inhabitants were counted in the entire Messina commune. [21] On 28 December, Messina was even more crowded than usual, due to the number of overnight visitors from outlying areas who had come to the city to see a performance of Giuseppe Verdi's opera Aida, which had been staged the previous evening at the Vittorio Emanuele II theatre. [22][23]
About ten minutes after the earthquake, the sea on both sides of the Strait suddenly withdrew as a 12-meter (39-foot) tsunami swept in, and three waves struck nearby coasts. It impacted hardest along the Calabrian coast and inundated Reggio Calabria after the sea had receded 70 meters from the shore. The entire Reggio seafront was destroyed and numbers of people who had gathered there perished. Nearby Villa San Giovanni was also badly hit. Along the coast between Lazzaro and Pellaro, houses and a railway bridge were washed away.
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Earthquakes
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