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12 workers trapped one week ago in China mine blast are alive
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Rescuers drill a new channel at the explosion site of a gold mine in Qixia City, east China's Shandong Province, on Jan 18, 2021. (Photo: Wang Kai/Xinhua via AP) BEIJING: Twelve out of 22 workers trapped for a week by an explosion in a gold mine are alive, Chinese state media said on Monday (Jan 18), as hundreds of rescuers worked to bring them to safety. The Xinhua News Agency said Monday a note passed through a rescue shaft Sunday night reported the fate of the other 10 remains unknown. The handwritten note said four of the workers were injured and that the condition of others was deteriorating because of a lack of fresh air and an influx of water. Managers of the operation were detained after they failed to report the accident for more than a day. The mine in Qixia, a jurisdiction under the city of Yantai in Shandong province, had been under construction at the time of the blast, which occurred on Jan 10. More than 300 workers are seeking to clear obstructions while drilling a new shaft to reach the chambers where the workers were trapped and expel dangerous fumes. “Keep on with the rescue efforts. We have hope, thank you," read the note, written in pencil on notebook paper and posted on Xinhua's official website. China's mining industry has a reputation for skirting safety requirements amid massive demand for coal and precious minerals, although increased supervision has reduced the frequency of accidents that used to claim an average of 5,000 miners per year. Two accidents in the southwestern megacity of Chongqing last year killed 39 miners, prompting the central government to order another safety overhaul.
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Mine Collapses
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Olympic Airways Flight 830 crash
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Olympic Airways Flight 830 was a domestic scheduled passenger flight in Greece from Athens to Kozani with a stop in Larisa. On 23 November 1976 it was being operated by a NAMC YS-11A turboprop airliner registered in Greece as SX-BBR when it collided at an altitude of 4265 ft with a mountain near Servia, destroying the aircraft and killing all 50 on board. [1]
When the aircraft was unable to land at Larissa due to bad weather it elected to fly directly to Kozani at an altitude of 5500 ft. The last radio contact was at 09:45 when the pilot reported he was about 15 nm South of Kozani on a heading of 318 degrees, he was given the weather forecast. At 10:19 with nothing heard from the aircraft the airport declared an emergency and it was discovered that Flight 830 had flown into a mountain at a height of 4265 ft near the village of Servia, the mountains were covered in cloud. [1]
Investigation showed that the aircraft was on a heading of 310 degrees when it first struck the ground, it disintegrated over the next 200 metres before becoming shortly airborne again, finally crashing at the foot of another hill. Fire had broken out after the initial impact and continued to burn for several hours destroying the aircraft. At the accident site the mountain above 3000 ft were covered in cloud. [1]
The aircraft was a twin-engined NAMC YS-11A turboprop airliner registered SX-BBR with construction number 2156, it first flew on 12 April 1971 in Japan and was delivered to Olympic Airways on 28 April 1971. [2]
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Air crash
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Imperial Iranian Air Force Flight ULF48 crash
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Imperial Iranian Air Force Flight ULF48, was a military cargo flight from Tehran, Iran, to McGuire Air Force Base in the United States with a stopover in Madrid, Spain. On May 9, 1976, the Boeing 747-131 freighter operating the flight crashed during its approach to Madrid, killing all 17 people on board. [1]
The aircraft involved was a five year old Boeing 747-131 (serial number 19677 and line number 73) which made its first flight on September 15, 1970. On September 26 the aircraft was delivered to Trans World Airlines (TWA) with registration N53111. On October 15, 1975 the aircraft was returned to the Boeing factory in Wichita, Kansas. It was converted into a freighter cargo model (747-131F), during which a large cargo door was added on the left side. In October 1975, the aircraft was sold to the Imperial Iranian Air Force with serial number 5-283. The IIAF received the aircraft on November 1. The aircraft was powered by four Pratt & Whitney JT9D-3B turbofan engines. [2][3][4]:3
The aircraft's last maintenance check was performed by the Iranian Air Force on May 4, 1976, after which it flew for 16 more hours. During the subsequent investigation, it would be determined that American specialists were unaware of the check's results. [4]:3
Flight ULF48 took off from Mehrabad airport in Tehran at 08:20 GMT bound for New Jersey, via Madrid. [* 1] There were 10 crew members and seven passengers on board, The aircraft climbed to flight level FL330 or 31,000 feet (9,400 m). At take off, the aircraft's weight 610,299 pounds (276,827 kg), including 254,600 pounds (115,500 kg) of fuel. The fuel was a mixture of type JP-4 and Jet-A. The aircraft's weight and centering were within the required limits. [4]:3
At 14:15 Flight ULF48 contacted the Madrid Air Route Traffic Control Center in Madrid and reported that the estimated landing time would be 14:40. At 14:19 pm the Madrid ARTCC controller told the flight that they were identified on the radar screens and cleared the flight to descend to the CPL VOR via the Castejon radio beacon. At 14:22, the crew received the weather conditions at the airport, and at 14:25, was cleared to descend to FL100. The crew acknowledged, saying that they were leaving FL270 . A cyclone had passed over Spain earlier in the day, along with strong thunderstorms. However, visibility was good, and no dangerous weather alerts were issued by the weather service. At 14:30, the crew diverted to the left of the route due to bad weather. At 14:32, the Madrid ARTCC controller cleared the flight to descend to 5,000 ft (1,500 m) and contact Madrid approach. At 14:33, the crew contacted Madrid approach and reported more bad weather ahead, subsequently requesting to deviate away from it. The approach controller reported that he had established radar contact, and then asked the crew to confirm their instructions. The crew confirmed, and reported passing the Castejon radio beacon. The controller instructed to maintain a 260° heading. The crew acknowledged the transmission and reported their descent to 5,000 ft (1,500 m). This was the last transmission from Flight ULF48. [4]:2–3
At the same time, south of the town of Valdemoro, locals noticed the aircraft flying at around 6,000 feet (1,800 m) on a 220 degree heading. The crew was aware that they were flying into poor weather conditions, but none of them expressed any concern until 14:34, when a crew member said, "We're in the soup!" Three seconds later, two witnesses on the ground reported seeing lightning strike the aircraft, followed by an explosion on the left wing near engine #1 (outer left). The left wing exploded into three large parts,[4]:6 and then disintegrated into 15 fragments. [4]:4
At this time the Flight Data Recorder stopped recording while the Cockpit Voice Recorder continued to record. [4]:6 The autopilot disconnect warning was then heard. Unaware of the loss of the left wing, the crew tried to regain control of the crippled aircraft, however control was lost. The out of control aircraft dove rapidly and it crashed onto a farm at a height 3000 feet (900 meters) above sea level at 14:35 (15:35 local time), 54 seconds after the moment of the lightning strike. All 17 people on board were killed and the aircraft was destroyed. [4]:3–5[5]
The Iranian Air Force and the United States National Transportation Safety Board investigated the accident. It was established that a bolt of lightning struck the fuselage near the cockpit and exited the left wing's static discharger located at the wingtip. This created a spark in the fuel tank number 1, which contained 11,200 kg (24,700 pounds)[4]:11 fuel, igniting fuel vapor in the tank. The blast wave, at more than 80 psi (5.5 bar), from the fuel vapor ignition caused the tank walls to collapse. [4]:14–15
It is most likely that the ignition spark penetrated the fuel tank due to an open circuit in a fuel valve wiring. [4]:25 The explosion led to part of the wing trim separating and damage to the side members, as a result of which the air flow deteriorated sharply and the wings began to bend strongly. As the flight was passing through an area of turbulence at high speed, the wing experienced major mechanical stress. The entire left wing separated just seconds later. [4]:16–17,28
The NTSB could not determine if the wing separated from the explosion or the stress. [4]:26–27
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Air crash
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Norway cancels military exercise, Pentagon cuts troops for Europe war games
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A major military exercise in Europe has been cancelled over coronavirus concerns as a “precautionary measure” on Wednesday (11 March), while Washington is considering reduced US involvement in another exercise amid the spread of the coronavirus outbreak. On Wednesday, Norway, in coordination with its civilian health authorities, cancelled its March NATO exercises dubbed “Cold Response” due to coronavirus outbreak, with more than 15,000 soldiers from nine countries returning to their home locations. Cold Response is the biggest NATO allied exercise in Norway this year, with the main activities of the exercise taking place inside the Arctic Circle, from Narvik to Porsangermoen. “After careful consideration and discussion with Allied and partner participants, Norwegian authorities have made the decision to cancel the remainder of Exercise Cold Response 20,” the US European Command (EUCOM) said in a statement on Wednesday. “The decision is a precautionary measure in response to the ongoing outbreak of COVID-19 and to protect the health and safety of all participants and local population,” it added. As of Wednesday, there were 277 confirmed COVID-19 cases in Norway, according to World Health Organisation data. Finland already announced on Saturday (7 March) it would not be sending 400 troops initially due to take part in the Norwegian-organised exercise. “The virus is out of control in the society, and that’s a new situation. Therefore, we have decided to start a controlled cancelling of the exercise,” said Lt. Gen. Rune Jakobsen, Commander at the Norwegian Joint Headquarter. “We would rather preserve our army’s combat capabilities so we can support society in the turbulent period to come,” he said, adding that military personnel should not contribute to a further spread of the virus. On Tuesday, Norway’s Defence Ministry said that their minister, Frank Bakke-Jensen, has cancelled all meetings and travel for the nearest future as he may have been exposed to the coronavirus. Defender Europe 2020 Last week, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said the military alliance planned to proceed with this year’s large-scale military exercises. The latest announcements come as Europe is preparing for what security officials have called “the most extensive transfer of US soldiers to Europe in the past 25 years”, with around 37,000 soldiers taking part in the US-led military exercise “Defender Europe 2020” for the transfer of troops to Germany, Poland and the Baltic states. The exercise is meant to take place in May and June, with the participation of all 29 NATO allies and partner nations, Georgia and Finland. The Pentagon was to send more than 20,000 soldiers to Europe for the exercises. However, it is still unclear what restriction will be put on the exercises if numbers are reduced, security officials said. The US Defense Department said on Wednesday it was slashing participation in what was planned as the largest joint US-Europe war games in 25 years due to the threat of coronavirus transmission. “After careful review of the ongoing Defender-Europe 20 exercise activities and in light of the current Coronavirus outbreak, we will modify the exercise by reducing the number of US participants,” the US European Command (EUCOM) said in a statement. While the highest priority elements of the exercises in May and June will go ahead, “the health protection of our force, and that of our Allies and partners, is a top concern,” the statement added. The US military is also bracing for a possible spike in cases in Germany, which might put thousands of troops on lockdown or restricted movement across the continent, the head of the US European Command, Tod Wolters, said at a hearing before the US Senate Armed Services Committee on Tuesday (25 February). He spoke about what precautions European Command has taken to protect US and allied troops and their families from the outbreak. Germany is home to the largest US military presence in Europe with more than 33,000 troops stationed in European Command (EUCOM) and Africa Command (AFRICOM) headquartered in Stuttgart, Germany. As the coronavirus spreads in Europe, the US military is bracing for a possible spike in cases in Germany, which might put thousands of troops on lock-down or restricted movement across the continent, the head of the US European Command, Tod Wolters, announced. Asked by reporters last week whether contingency plans are in place in case the exercise goes ahead and the outbreak expands, Andrew Roling, deputy US Army Europe commander, said the exercise by default also involved “robust medical support” coordinated with each individual participating nations and planners are prepared to “wargame medical health and support plans”. Other exercises impacted It was the latest military exercise to be curtailed in the wake of the outbreak of the COVID-19 virus, which has spread rapidly from China to much of the rest of the world. A number of non-NATO exercises have been cancelled in South Korea and Israel, and US-led multinational exercises in Africa have been scaled back over the coronavirus concerns.
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Military Exercise
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SRX Racing Series Gets Major Player as Title Sponsor
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Marcus Lemonis, Camping World add IROC-style short-track series to its motorsports portfolio. Camping World is joining the Superstar Racing Experience (SRX) as the title partner of the six-race short-track series debuting this summer on Saturday nights in primetime on the CBS Television Network and streaming live on the new Paramount+ premium network. Camping World adds the SRX to a racing portfolio that already includes title sponsorship of the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series and the NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series. “Motorsports has proven to be a very good investment for Camping World, and our partnership with SRX is a reaffirmation of our commitment to racing and its fans,” said Marcus Lemonis, Chairman and CEO of Camping World. “Race fans are passionate about their sport and they commit to it, often by setting up camp at the track and immersing themselves in the experience. That’s our customer, and SRX will reach a diverse group of race fans who follow a variety of racing series.” As title partner of the Camping World SRX Series, Camping World will use the platform to highlight a standalone philanthropic initiative called Plating Change. The Plating Change initiative provides financial assistance to local restaurants and prepared meals to food insecure communities through World Central Kitchen. Camping World will match all fan contributions that occur through PlatingChange.com from now through July 17 with a goal of reaching $1 million. The Plating Change program falls under The Lemon-Aid Foundation where Lemonis has pledged $50 million to champion his charitable mission of supporting and investing in countless, underserved communities and small businesses while creating awareness. “If you’re a fan of pavement racing, you’ll want to be a part of this, and if you’re a fan of dirt racing, you’ll want to be part of this," said SRX co-founder Ray Evernham. "The Camping World SRX Series will have a little something for everyone.” The Camping World SRX Series is the brainchild of racing Hall of Famers Tony Stewart and Ray Evernham and features drivers from an array of motorsports backgrounds competing in identically prepared race cars on a variety of tracks. Its inaugural season kicks off June 12 at Stafford (Conn.) Motor Speedway and then visits back-to-back dirt tracks, including Knoxville (Iowa) Raceway on June 19 and Eldora Speedway in Rossburg, Ohio, on June 26. The Camping World SRX Series returns to pavement July 3 at Lucas Oil Raceway near Indianapolis before venturing north to Slinger (Wis.) Speedway on July 10. Its season finale takes place July 17 at the Nashville (Tenn.) Fairgrounds Speedway where the inaugural Camping World SRX Series champion will be crowned. Stewart, Tony Kanaan, Paul Tracy, Bobby Labonte, Willy T. Ribbs, Bill Elliott, Ernie Francis Jr., Marco Andretti, four-time Indianapolis 500 winner Helio Castroneves and Michael Waltrip are the 10 full-time drivers in the Camping World SRX Series. Local all-stars join the Camping World SRX Series regulars at the first five races, with six-time NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour champion Doug Coby at Stafford, four-time Knoxville track champion Brian Brown at Knoxville, five-time USAC Silver Crown champion Kody Swanson at Eldora, prolific USAC and NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour winner Bobby Santos III at Lucas Oil Raceway, and the winner of the July 6 Slinger Nationals, competing in the Camping World SRX Series race at Slinger. Several racing veterans will join the Camping World SRX Series at select races, with NASCAR Cup veteran Greg Biffle competing at Stafford and Slinger, while five-time Rallycross champion and former Formula 1 driver Scott Speed will compete at Eldora and Lucas Oil Raceway. Dirt Late Model Hall of Famer Scott Bloomquist will race at Knoxville.
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Financial Aid
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1939 Erzincan earthquake
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The 1939 Erzincan earthquake struck eastern Turkey at 1:57:23 a.m. on 27 December local time with a moment magnitude of 7.8 Mw and a maximum Mercalli intensity of XII (Extreme). This was one of the largest in a sequence of violent shocks to affect Turkey along the North Anatolian Fault between 1939 and 1999. Surface rupturing, with an horizontal displacement of up to 3.7 meters, occurred in a 360 km long segment of the North Anatolian Fault Zone. [4][5] The earthquake was the most severe natural loss of life in Turkey in the 20th century, with 32,968 dead,[5] and some 100,000 injured. [6]
The North Anatolian Fault in Asia Minor is a major transform fault boundary where the Eurasian Plate slides past the smaller Anatolian Microplate. Running for over 1,600 km, the fault stretches from Eastern Turkey to the Sea of Marmara. [7]
The North Anatolian fault has been, and remains very active. Erzincan has been destroyed by earthquakes at least 11 times since 1,000 AD. [8] Between 1942 and 1967, there were six major earthquakes along the same fault, with three above 7 Mw. [5][9]
With an epicenter near the city of Erzincan, the earthquake rupture propagated westwards for a length of 400 km. [10] Surface ruptures are still visible to this day. The shaking lasted for 52 seconds. [11][better source needed] It resulted in a tsunami with heights of 1–3 m (3.3–9.8 ft) that hit the Black sea coast. [12]
The earthquake seriously damaged some 116,720 buildings. [13] Occurring in winter, it was difficult for aid to reach the affected areas. Initially, the death toll was about 8,000 people. The next day, it was reported that it had risen to 20,000. An emergency rescue operation began. By January 5, almost 33,000 had died due to the earthquakes and to blizzard conditions, followed by heavy rains that caused floods. [14]
The total destruction of the earthquake prompted Turkey to adopt seismic building regulations. [15] So extensive was the damage to the city of Erzincan that its old site was entirely abandoned and a new settlement was founded a little further to the north.
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Earthquakes
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Colorado oil and gas company slapped with $1.6 million fine — one of the largest ever from state regulators
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KP Kauffman, which operates 1,200 low-producing oil and gas wells on the Front Range, was sanctioned for a string of violations from improperly storing waste to failing to report and address spills
KP Kauffman, which operates 1,200 low-producing oil and gas wells on the Front Range, was fined $1.6 million by state regulators Monday for a string of violations from improperly storing waste to failing to report and address spills.
It is one of the largest fines the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission has ever imposed and the biggest for a small, independent operator.
The largest penalty was levied in 2020 against Occidental Petroleum Corp., the largest operator in the state, which was fined $18.25 million for a 2017 house explosion in Frederick that killed two people. Noble Energy, the second biggest Colorado driller, was fined $1.6 million in 2018 for failing to conduct safety tests on wells.
The COGCC staff sought $3.7 million in fines against family-owned KP Kauffman, also known as KPK, for multiple rule violations at eight sites. The complaint covered 70 pages.
The staff also contended that these infractions were part of a larger pattern of bad behavior that could lead the commission to ban Denver-based KPK from operating in Colorado.
“This case is straightforward. KPK has shown itself to be an operator that is unreliable, incapable and impactful,” Caitlin Stafford, an assistant state attorney general, said in her opening statement at the hearing, which began Aug. 10.
The question of whether there is a pattern of violations and behavior will be the subject of commission hearings starting Sept. 20. The commission will also hear testimony and consider the company’s ability to pay the fine.
At the outset of the hearings over the fines, KPK’s outside counsel, John Jacus, an attorney at Davis, Graham and Stubbs, called the staff’s proposed fines “grossly exaggerated” and asked the commission to set penalties that were “right-size and equitable.”
Jacus described KPK as “a proud family-owned oil and gas producer,” although he conceded “KPK is not perfect.”
Read more energy coverage from The Colorado Sun
Through several days of hearings, the five-member commission reviewed five of the violation notices assessing the severity of violations, the duration and whether there were mitigating circumstances.
Many of the fines were scaled back, but commissioners sometimes voiced concerns about KPK’s actions. “This is not the way business should be conducted in the state of Colorado,” Commission Chairman Jeff Robbins said at one point.
Commissioner Bill Gonzalez called actions outlined in one violation “a series of poor operations all around.”
For two violation notices, Robbins recused himself after KPK raised a potential conflict of interest since the notices were filed when he was COGCC director.
Another violation notice was withdrawn because the actions were beyond a statute of limitations.
In all, the commission levied fines for 28 violations. The largest was a $388,000 fine for improperly carting away tainted soil from a well site and spreading it on a field behind a KPK office in Weld County.
“I am disappointed the fines weren’t higher, but I am not surprised,” said Andrew Forkes-Gudmundson, deputy director of the League of Oil and Gas Impacted Coloradans, a nonprofit community group. “The commissioners were really grappling with the burden of proof.”
Jacus, in an email, said, “The K.P. Kauffman Company appreciates the commissioners’ hard work through two phases of hearing evidence and testimony in these consolidated proceedings.”
“Because a third phase remains where additional penalty adjustments will be considered it is inappropriate to comment on tentative adjustments made by the commissioners to proposed penalties at this time,” Jacus said.
In his opening remarks at the hearing, Jacus said KPK can not pay “anywhere near” what the commission staff was seeking and that heavy fines could put the company out of business.
In January, KPK reached a $3.5 million settlement with federal and state air quality regulators over emissions violations from its tanks that included $2.5 million in equipment upgrades and a $1 million civil penalty.
In April, the COGCC ordered KPK to close 87 wells and clean up 29 sites for violations ranging from fouling farm fields to covering the road in front of a high school with oily waste.
We believe vital information needs to be seen by the people impacted, whether it’s a public health crisis, investigative reporting or keeping lawmakers accountable. This reporting depends on support from readers like you.
Special to The Colorado Sun
Restaurants say hiring has improved, with 84% reporting hiring challenges now compared to 91%. So, not much. Plus: COVID-19 deaths by education level, marital status and more.
Kevin Bui and Gavin Seymour, two juveniles, have been charged as adults in the case
Federal officials contend that wolves are resilient enough to bounce back even if their numbers drop sharply due to intensive hunting. They say protections are no longer warranted.
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Organization Fine
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In Ethiopia’s Tigray region, food is a weapon of war as famine looms
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First, the Eritrean soldiers stole the pregnant woman’s food as she hid in the bush. Then they turned her away from a checkpoint when she was on the verge of labor. So she had the baby at home and walked 12 days to get the famished child to a clinic in the northern Ethiopian region of Tigray. At 20 days old, baby Tigsti still had shriveled legs and a lifeless gaze — signs of what the United Nations’ top humanitarian official calls the world’s worst famine conditions in a decade. “She survived because I held her close to my womb and kept hiding during the exhausting journey,” said Abeba Gebru, 37, from Getskimilesley. Here, in war-torn Tigray, more than 350,000 people already face famine, according to the U.N. and other humanitarian groups. It is not just that people are starving; it is that many are being starved, the Associated Press found. In farming areas in Tigray to which the AP got rare access, farmers, aid workers and local officials confirmed that food had been turned into a weapon of war. Ethiopian and Eritrean soldiers are blocking food aid and even stealing it, they said, and an AP team saw convoys with food and medical aid turned back by Ethiopian military officials as fighting resumed in the town of Hawzen. The soldiers also are accused of stopping farmers from harvesting or plowing, stealing the seeds for planting, killing livestock and looting farm equipment. More than 2 million of Tigray’s 6 million people have already fled, unable to harvest their crops. And those who stayed often cannot plant new crops or till the land because they fear for their lives. The grinding war in Tigray started in early November, shortly before the harvest season, as an attempt by Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed to disarm the region’s rebellious leaders. On one side are guerrillas loyal to the ousted and now-fugitive leaders of Tigray. On the other are Ethiopian government troops, allied troops from neighboring Eritrea and militias from Ethiopia’s Amhara ethnic group who see themselves as rivals to the Tigrayan guerillas. Trapped in the middle are the civilians. The war has spawned massacres, gang rapes and the widespread expulsion of civilians from their homes, and the United States has declared “ethnic cleansing” in western Tigray. Tigray’s deputy chief executive, Abebe Gebrehiwot, echoed the assessment of “ethnic cleansing,” citing “some players who don’t want us to ... plow the land” and others who are preventing the distribution of seeds. Ethiopia’s government strongly disputes that starvation is being used as a weapon of war. Mitiku Kassa, an official with the National Disaster Risk Management Commission, said Wednesday that the U.N. and others have “unfettered access” to Tigray. “We don’t have any food shortage,” he declared. That’s not what the AP found out on the ground. Teklemariam Gebremichael said he and his neighbors were no longer allowed to farm. When Eritrean soldiers came upon him looking after his cattle and harvesting crops, they shot both him and his cows, he said. He survived. The cows didn’t. With food in short supply, his wound is slow to heal. “I call on the world to take immediate action to help Tigray, because we can’t live on our own land anymore,” he pleaded. Hunger is a sensitive topic in Ethiopia, after images of starvation there in the 1980s led to a global outcry. Conflict contributed to that famine, which killed an estimated 1 million people. Farming has not stopped entirely in Tigray, but it has become a dangerous act of resistance. On the road to Abi Adi, a town about 62 miles west of Mekele, the AP saw a few farmers out plowing or taking their cattle to pasture in the distant hills. “If they [Eritrean soldiers] see us plowing, they beat us,” said a 20-year-old farmer from Melbe, southwest of Mekele, who gave only his first name, Kibrom. “We only plow when we are sure they are not around.” Besides preventing plowing, the soldiers took other measures to destroy food, witnesses said. One official with an aid group based in Mekele said Eritrean soldiers were known to contaminate food silos, sometimes mixing grain with sand and soil. And sometimes the looting by both Ethiopian and Eritrean soldiers included farm equipment, farmers said. “All our farm tools, including plows, were looted and taken away on trucks,” said Birhanu Tsegay, a 24-year-old farmer from Neksege town. “They left nothing there.” At times food aid makes it through despite all the challenges, but there is never enough. Early in May a large crowd gathered under a scorching sun in Agula to share food bought with U.S. money. “Demand for food in the villages is very high,” said Tekeste Gebrekidan, coordinator of the Relief Society of Tigray in the Tsirae Womberta district. The level of need, he said, is “beyond our capacity.” The food they gave out that afternoon in Agula — 33 pounds of wheat, a pound of peas and some cooking oil per person, to last a month — was earmarked only for the most vulnerable. That included 60-year-old Letebrhan Belay. “There will be people dying of hunger,” she said. Some of the lucky ones, like nursing mother Abeba, make it past the many roadblocks to seek medical help in Abi Adi and Mekele, but they are few. Four women and their babies were admitted in Abi Adi’s makeshift ward for malnourished babies when the AP was there. Birhan Etsana, a 27-year-old mother from Dengelat, was still hanging onto the lone survivor of her triplets, a baby admitted at Mekele’s Ayder Hospital with complications stemming from severe acute malnutrition. The baby, Mebrhit, was 17 months old but weighed just 11 pounds, 7 ounces, after a week in intensive care. “Even when we were in the field and I gave her the breast, she couldn’t drink anything,” Birhan said. “It’s because of lack of food.”
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Famine
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Celebrity couple Samantha, Naga Chaitanya confirm divorce: We need to move on
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Celebrity couple from the South Indian film industry--Samantha (Ruth Prabhu) and Naga Chaitanya--have confirmed after much speculations in the media that they are parting ways as husband and wife.
On Saturday, both of them announced the news through their respective social media handles, saying, "To all our well wishers. After much deliberation and thought Sam and I have decided to part ways as husband and wife to pursue our own paths. We are fortunate to have a friendship of over a decade that was the very core of our relationship which we believe will always hold a special bond between us. We request our fans, well wishers and the media to support us during this difficult time and give us the privacy we need to move on. Thank you for your support."
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Famous Person - Divorce
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FCC proposes record $5 million fine against Jacob Wohl, Jack Burkman for election robocalls
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SAN FRANCISCO — The Federal Communications Commission has proposed a $5.1 million fine against two right-wing operatives known for perpetuating conspiracy theories, in one of its largest penalties to date.
Jacob Wohl and Jack Burkman improperly made 1,141 robocalls to cellphones without getting people’s consent first, which the law requires, according to the agency.
The penalty, which is not final, is the largest proposed by the FCC for this specific violation. The agency has, however, imposed much larger fines for “spoofing” robocalls, where the caller makes it appear as though a call is coming from a different number. This year it fined Texas telemarketers $225 million.
Wohl and Burkman will have a chance to respond, and the penalty could require a commission vote before it is finalized.
Conservative operatives face felony charges in connection with robocalls seeking to mislead voters
In a phone call Tuesday, Wohl declined to say if the robocalls came from him.
“We know that the Biden administration is desperate to distract from their complete debacle in Afghanistan and Joe’s declining mental state, but we will not be deterred or discouraged,” he said.
Burkman called the fine “tyranny and madness.”
The FCC said Wohl and Burkman were named in the prerecorded calls and the caller ID showed Burkman’s number.
The pair were charged with four felonies in Michigan last year for allegedly intimidating voters with robocalls that spread inaccurate messages about voting by mail.
In campaign’s closing days, disinformation arrives via text message and email
Similarly, the FCC investigation found that robocall messages sent on Aug. 26 and Sept. 14, 2020, said voting by mail would mean “personal information will be part of a public database that will be used by police departments to track down old warrants and be used by credit card companies to collect outstanding debts.”
Inaccurate information on the dangers of mail-in voting was a common form of misinformation in the lead-up to the 2020 election, as more people than ever planned to vote by mail because of coronavirus concerns and restrictions. President Donald Trump’s misleading tweets about the practice were the first of his posts that Twitter slapped with a warning label in May of last year.
Robocalls were a notable source of disinformation leading up to the presidential election, along with text messages and emails, in addition to visible sources of disinformation on social media.
Wohl and Burkman also duped The Washington Post last year, when the pair staged a fake FBI raid that The Post briefly reported on, then removed.
The most important news stories of the day, curated by Post editors and delivered every morning.
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Organization Fine
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Video of Cat Recovering From a Cold in Home Spa Has Internet in Stitches: 'Catatonic'
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You may have been relaxed before, but have you ever been as chilled out as a certain cat in a recent viral video? In footage, posted to Reddit by user Sunshineandhomicide, a white fluffy feline can be seen enjoying the benefits of a makeshift home spa. In the 14-second-long clip, which can be viewed here, the cat has a warm compress, consisting of brown hand towel, covering his eyes and the pet is swaddled in a soft blanket. Cat Has the Time of Its Life Getting a Massage in Adorable Video Calming music plays softly in the background as the cat, clearly enjoying the pampering, lies still as his little tongue pokes out. Sunshineandhomicide explained the situation in the caption of the video, writing: "My cat got a cold and the vet recommended a warm compress for his eyes. I think he's enjoying his spa time." Although cats cannot catch colds from humans, according to Hillcrest Animal Hospital's website they can get a "upper respiratory infection (URI) caused by bacteria or a virus." This includes symptoms such as sneezing, sniffing, watery eyes, runny nose and mild fever. My cat got a cold and the vet recommended a warm compress for his eyes. I think he’s enjoying his spa time. from aww The website reveals that among other treatments they "need to stay warm, so place an extra blanket in their bed or favorite area to curl up." This could explain the warm compress solution. The hilarious footage has gained lots of traction on the site since it was shared on November 16, having received more than 129,000 upvotes. Additionally, more than 1,600 people have headed to the comments section to share their opinions on the video. One Reddit user, Sorciere_rousse, wrote: "It's hard to watch this cat live out my dreams." Another person, Omarmad123, added: "Cat is in the avatar state. Don't disturb him." Capt_Hawkeye_Pierce shared: "My 7yo [7-year-old] dorkus does this, but with my hand. He jams his face into my hand to cover his eyes, make a goofy face and then falls asleep."
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Famous Person - Recovered
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2012 Guatemala earthquake
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The 2012 Guatemala earthquake occurred on November 7 at 10:35:45 local time. The shock had a moment magnitude of 7.4 and a maximum Mercalli Intensity of VII (Very strong). The epicenter was located in the Pacific Ocean, 35 kilometres (22 mi) south of Champerico in the department of Retalhuleu. [1] The region is one of many earthquakes, where the Cocos Plate is being subducted along the Middle America Trench beneath the North American and the Caribbean Plates, near their triple junction. [3]
The quake was reportedly felt in Guatemala and in parts of Mexico, El Salvador, Belize, Honduras, Nicaragua and Costa Rica. [4] Damage to buildings was reported in several cities in Guatemala, including San Marcos, Quetzaltenango and the capital Guatemala City. [5] The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center issued a warning about the possibility of a local tsunami within 160 to 320 km (100 to 200 mi) of the epicenter. [6]
With 39 dead, this is the most intense and deadliest earthquake that has hit Guatemala since the earthquake of 1976.
San Marcos, Quetzaltenango, Sololá, Totonicapán, Quiché and Huehuetenango were the hardest hit departments. Preliminary reports mention a death toll of at least 42 in Guatemala, of which 29 in San Marcos, 11 in Quetzaltenango, and 2 in Sololá. According to the minister of energy of Guatemala, the earthquake left 73,000 households without power. [12] The Guatemalan president initially declared a 30-day "state of calamity" in the departments of Retalhuleu, Sololá, Totonicapán, San Marcos, Quetzaltenango, Quiché and Huehuetenango. The "state of calamity" was subsequently prolonged until being revoked on July 25, 2013. [14][15] In Guatemala, as of November 11, 9,414 houses were found damaged, and 18,755 people were evacuated, 7,218 of which stayed in 61 refuges. [2][16] The Pan-American Highway in Guatemala (CA-1) was damaged. [17]
There were collapsed buildings and reported deaths and injuries in San Marcos. Accounts of deaths and injuries in San Marcos were initially difficult to confirm due to communication interruption and roads blocked by landslides. [18] Many people in San Marcos, fearing possible aftershocks, gathered on the cold and dark streets. [19] At least 50 houses were damaged in El Quetzal, 9 of which no longer inhabitable, and the dwellers had to take refuge in the community public school. [20][21] More than 300 people stayed in 10 refuges in the department. [19] Lack of water in the refuges in San Pedro Sacatepéquez and San Marcos due to the collapse of piping caused preoccupations about the sanitary conditions. [22]
Eight people were buried in a landslide in Concepción Chiquirichapa. Ten deaths were reported in Quetzaltenango department. [23] 156 houses were damaged in Quetzaltenango Department, and government buildings in Quetzaltenango City (Xela) were slightly damaged. [24]
Retalhuleu, situated in the south, is close to the epicenter. The Departmental Palace of Retalhuleu, a historical building, was damaged, which caused the government offices therein to be relocated. [25]
Sololá reported the most damaged houses with number of 4,756, followed by 3,870 in San Marcos. [17]
Cracks were reported in Palacio Nacional de la Cultura in Guatemala City, a former government seat built between 1939 and 1943. [26]
Some houses of the coffee growers were damaged. No major damage was reported for agricultural products such as coffee, vegetables and potatoes. [27]
Minor damage was reported in the state of Chiapas, which neighbors Guatemala. In Chiapas, public buildings were evacuated, and telephone and internet services were interrupted. [28] Over a dozen of buildings in Chiapas had minor fissures; the city hall of Tapachula, the installations of the Desarrollo Integral de la Familia, along with a school in Ciudad Hidalgo, were among the places affected. [29]
In the state of Oaxaca, several aftershocks of the earthquake were felt throughout various communities. [30][31] The quake was also felt in the states of Campeche, Guerrero, Michoacán, Morelos, Puebla and Tabasco. [32]
In Mexico City, workers rushed to the streets from the office buildings, and no major damage was reported. [7][33]
In El Salvador, many urban dwellers evacuated their homes in the capital city, but there were no reports of any damage. [34]
Nicaragua emitted a tsunami alert after the quake and alerted several communities along the coastlines to mobilize to higher altitudes. [35]
The minister of finance of Guatemala expressed that 800 million quetzales were ready for covering emergent needs due to the earthquake. The Ministry of Health of Guatemala assigned 1 million quetzales to the hospital of San Marcos and dispatched two trucks with medicines. [9] In Guatemala City, various organizations collected donated provisions for people affected by the earthquake. [36] The minister of interior announced a fund of 25 million quetzales for the reconstruction of damaged police stations, prisons, and government buildings. [37]
The United States Ambassador to Guatemala announced to offer 50,000 USD to Coordinadora Nacional para la Reducción de Desastres (CONRED) for immediate humanitarian help. The United States and Taiwan would offer 110,000 USD in total as economical support. The Inter-American Development Bank would offer 200,000 USD. Various countries offered to provide help in personnel or matter, including Venezuela and Chile. [38] World Food Programme offered 72 tonnes of emergency food aid. [39]
On November 9, the authorities started the evaluation of the damaged houses in San Marcos and San Pedro Sacatepéquez to decide which to be repaired and which to be demolished and rebuilt. [40] The reconstruction in San Marcos had started on November 27. [41] It was estimated that the reconstruction of the houses could need at least a year.
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Earthquakes
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COVID-19 concerns cancel some fall events, others continue with precautions
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RICHMOND, Va. (WWBT) - The list of events being canceled this fall due to COVID-19 concerns is growing. “We made a difficult decision,” said James Millner with VA Pride. VA Pridefest, which averages 40,000 people in attendance, won’t happen at the end of September. The 2021 Richmond Oktoberfest has also been canceled due to coronavirus concerns. Organizers say the main reason why some of these events are being postponed is because of health and safety restrictions, which would take away from the experience. “We just felt that many people on browns Island even though that’s a fairly large space, it gets very crowded and it makes it very difficult to social distance if people wanted to and the vibe of the festival, pride fest is one in which people really want to come together,” said Millner. Other events slated to go on as planned including the Chesterfield County Fair, which kicks off Friday evening. The Richmond Folk Festival will continue as planned in early October. The 2nd Street Festival will still unfold the first weekend in October in Richmond’s Jackson Ward. “Something like a large fair or festival is much more difficult to identify exposure and then to be able to inform people who were there. And so that is something to think about for folks attending events,” said Rebekah Butterfield, COVID-19 Epidemiologist RHHD. The health department says, if you want to go to an event, here’s what you should look out for. “Outdoors is always best. We are recommending masking for those who are vaccinated and unvaccinated right now because our community transmission is so high,” said Butterfield. “Just be aware of where you are going and how crowded things are. Maybe aim for times that are a little bit less crowded.”
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Organization Closed
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Northern Cape ready and waiting for what could be 'record number' of locusts
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The Northern Cape is expecting huge swarms of brown locusts during the rainy season this year, but farmers have been ready for the pests since last year and are not expecting a disaster. Agri Northern Cape Risk Management's Janine Möller said two weeks ago the first swarm was noticed by the district locust officer in the Concordia, Springbok, area in Namaqualand. It was subsequently managed. “We had a preparation meeting with Agri Northern Cape and the National African Farmers Union (Nafu) to do some planning for the next season. “Before last year we had no swarms for 10 years. We did training last year and again this weekend with [teams from] the Northern Cape and the Eastern Cape [which are likely to experience the same thing]. “In the Northern Cape we don't have a fixed date [for the start of the season] but we have collected all our equipment and Treasury has also given us new equipment - we are planned and prepared.” Möller said they could predict the swarms because of rain forecasts - especially in the eastern part of the province. “Locusts nest underground with their eggs in a cocoon-type of structure. They can remain there for years until the right amount of rain comes and washes away the cocoon, then they break out. They need about 30ml of rain to hatch.” But Möller said there was an opportunity for farmers to make money and employ general workers by eradicating the swarms. “Especially farmers who are in drought areas [and are unable to farm] they can use this as a way to earn income and create employment.” To eradicate the pests, workers enter the fields at night when the insect does not fly, and spray a pesticide. “We must give credit to the proactive working community and to the Department of Agricultural, Rural Development and Land Reform for organising themselves so early.” According to Sunday Times, some of the locust swarms in the Northern Cape and Eastern Cape last year were up to 20km wide. With swarms able to travel up to 100km a day they can get out of hand if not managed early. Last year a swarm in Middelburg in the Eastern Cape took just 30 minutes to consume 6ha of lucerne. In many parts of the Northern and Eastern Cape which are still experiencing drought, lucerne is the only way farmers can feed their cattle. In January the UN was urgently seeking millions in aid to continue its work in eradicating desert swarms in Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia and Sudan. Dominique Burgeon, the UN's Food and Agricultural Organisation director of emergencies and resilience, said the locust swarms in 2020 in these areas were as wide as 60kms and had not been seen in decades, “threatening food security in a region where many were already going hungry”. He said UN aid had managed to save 3-million tonnes of cereal which was enough to feed 21-million people for a year, but needed $38m (R557m) more to keep 28 aircraft that patrol the skies in the air.
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Insect Disaster
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1825 Miramichi fire
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The 1825 Dee, or Great Miramichi Fire, or Great Fire of Miramichi, as it came to be known, was a massive forest fire complex that devastated forests and communities throughout much of northern New Brunswick in October 1825. It ranks among the three largest forest fires ever recorded in North America. About 1/3 of the homes in Fredericton were destroyed, but the main devastation was 100 miles (160 km) to the northeast commencing from Bas Caraquet. The preceding summer was a particularity hot one, with bush fires common. [1] On the evening of October 7, 1825, the firestorm roared through Newcastle, New Brunswick (now part of the City of Miramichi), and in less than 3 hours reduced the town of 1,000 people to ruins – of 260 original buildings, only 12 remained. Only 6 of 70 buildings survived in the adjacent village of Douglastown. The fire similarly destroyed other communities, including Moorefield, Napan, and Black River Bridge. Chatham, Nelson, and Doaktown escaped the fire. The cause of the blaze is not known, but it was likely by humans. [2]
About 160 people died in and around Newcastle, including prisoners in the Newcastle Jail. Elsewhere, the totals were likely higher, given the number of lumbermen in the forests at the time (about 3000). To escape the blaze many residents took refuge with livestock and wildlife in the Miramichi River. [3]
In total the fire(s) consumed almost 16,000 km2 (about 1/5 of New Brunswick's forests). The blaze has been partly attributed to unusually hot weather in the summer and fall of 1825, coupled with outdoor fires by settlers and loggers. [3]
The communities were soon rebuilt, but many of those affected moved to communities bordering the Bay of Chaleur, including Campbellton, Dalhousie, Belledune, and the southern Gaspé coast. It is also probable that some of the displaced persons established a community in the Ottawa Valley formerly known as Miramichi, now known as Pembroke, Ontario. Although the lumber industry recovered, the fire is considered responsible for the end of the mast-making industry on the Miramichi River. [4][5]
The event is commemorated in the 1959 Folkways Records recording of Miramichi Fire, a traditional folksong included on the album Folksongs of Maine by Sandy Ives. The fire is also the plot of Valerie Sherrard's first historical novel Three Million Acres of Flame (2007). The fire is also referred to in the 2016 novel Barkskins by Annie Proulx.
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Fire
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China completes historic Mars spacecraft landing
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An uncrewed Chinese spacecraft successfully landed on the surface of Mars on Saturday, state news agency Xinhua reported, making China the second space-faring nation after the United States to land on the Red Planet. The Tianwen-1 spacecraft landed on a site on a vast plain known as Utopia Planitia, "leaving a Chinese footprint on Mars for the first time," Xinhua said. Chinese President Xi Jinping issued a message of congratulations to all the people involved in the mission. "You were brave enough for the challenge, pursued excellence and placed our country in the advanced ranks of planetary exploration," he said. "Your outstanding achievement will forever be etched in the memories of the motherland and the people." The craft left its parked orbit at about 1700 GMT Friday (0100 Beijing time Saturday). The landing module separated from the orbiter three hours later and entered the Martian atmosphere, the official China Space News said. It said the landing process consisted of "nine minutes of terror" as the module decelerates and then slowly descends. The official landing time was 2318 GMT (0718 Beijing time), Xinhua said, citing the China National Space Administration. The rover took more than 17 minutes to unfold its solar panels and antenna and send signals to ground controllers more than 320 million kilometres away. The rover, named Zhurong, will now survey the landing site before departing from its platform to conduct inspections. Named after a mythical Chinese god of fire, Zhurong has six scientific instruments including a high-resolution topography camera. The Long March 5 Y-4 rocket, carrying an unmanned Mars probe of the Tianwen-1 mission, takes off from Wenchang Space Launch Center in Wenchang, Hainan Province, China July 23, 2020. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins/Files It will study the planet's surface soil and atmosphere. Zhurong will also look for signs of ancient life, including any sub-surface water and ice, using a ground-penetrating radar. Tianwen-1, or "Questions to Heaven", after a Chinese poem written two millennia ago, is China's first independent mission to Mars. A probe co-launched with Russia in 2011 failed to leave the Earth's orbit. The five-tonne spacecraft blasted off from the southern Chinese island of Hainan in July last year, launched by the powerful Long March 5 rocket. After more than six months in transit, Tianwen-1 reached the Red Planet in February where it had been in orbit since. If Zhurong is successfully deployed, China would be the first country to orbit, land and release a rover in its maiden mission to Mars. Tianwen-1 was one of three that reached Mars in February, with U.S. rover Perseverance successfully touching down on Feb. 18 in a huge depression called Jezero Crater, more than 2,000 km away from Utopia Planitia. Hope - the third spacecraft that arrived at Mars in February this year - is not designed to make a landing. Launched by the United Arab Emirates, it is currently orbiting above Mars gathering data on its weather and atmosphere. The first successful landing ever was made by NASA's Viking 1 in July 1976 and then by Viking 2 in September that year. A Mars probe launched by the former Soviet Union landed in December 1971, but communication was lost seconds after landing. China is pursuing an ambitious space programme. It is testing reusable spacecraft and is also planning to establish manned lunar research station. In a commentary published on Saturday, Xinhua said China was “not looking to compete for leadership in space” but was committed to “unveiling the secrets of the universe and contributing to humanity’s peaceful use of space.”
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New achievements in aerospace
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Nigeria Airways Flight 9805 crash
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Nigeria Airways Flight 9805 was a cargo flight from King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah to Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport in Kano, Nigeria. On 19 December 1994, the Boeing 707-3F9C flying the route suffered an in-flight fire and crashed into a marshland near Kiri Kasama, Hadejia LGA, Nigeria. One of the three crew members and both passengers died. The investigation determined that a heat generating substance was the probable cause. [1]
The accident aircraft was a Boeing 707-3F9C made in 1972 registered 5N-ABK to Nigeria Airways. The aircraft had 31,477 hours of flight prior to the accident. The captain had 10,917 flight hours, 3,594.5 of which on the Boeing 707. The first officer was licensed to on fly both the Boeing 707 and Boeing 727, a total of 5201 flight hours, over 2,000 of which on the Boeing 707. The flight engineer had a total of 2,293 flight hours. At the time of the accident the aircraft had 2.5 hours of fuel left and was carrying approximately 35 tons of cargo. [1][2]
The flight was a cargo flight carrying two passengers en route to Kano, the ground engineer and the load-master, both of whom perished in the crash. [2]
The aircraft was scheduled to ferry 13 empty cargo pallets to be filled at Jeddah then returned to Kano. The flight was nearly canceled because only five pallets were loaded onto the aircraft, and the employee who had keys to the cargo pallet storage area did not report for work that day. The captain nearly cancelled the flight until arrangements were made for seven more cargo pallets to be added. The aircraft took at approximately 17:00 UTC and arrived in Jeddah a few minutes past 22:00 UTC. The turnaround time would have normally taken an hour and a half, but it took two and a half hours since the cargo pallets had to be loaded after arrival in Jeddah. The aircraft was ready for takeoff at 00:30 UTC, but during the engine start up procedure engine number 4 would not start. Engine number 4 was repaired and the flight took off at 13:48 UTC en route to Kano and was expected at Kano at 18:19 UTC. The captain was not warned about any classified or hazardous material aboard. The flight engineer sensed a strange odor in the cockpit at flight level 35 as the aircraft approached N'Djamena, at about 17:00 UTC. The rest of the crew as well as the ground engineer and the load-master confirmed the smell had persisted for a while. The two passengers traced to odor to pallet 11 and which appeared to be misty. After being handed a fire extinguisher they applied it to the pallet and when they returned they were breathing heavily. Afterwards the smoke evacuation procedure was followed and the smell temporarily ceased. The flight was cleared to descend at 18:00 UTC. Shortly afterwards the master warning followed a minute later by the sound of a fire warning. With smoke entering the cabin, the flight went into a descent of nearly 3,000 feet (910 m) per minute. Control of the pitch trims was lost. The flight engineer started a radio transmission to the airline at 18:04:57 UTC that ended suddenly at 18:05:04, the same time the cockpit voice recordings stopped. The two survivors (the captain and flight engineer) both reported that the first explosion tripped the autopilot and the aircraft rocked sharply. The aircraft descended slowly in the grasses but rolled upon contact with the water. The aircraft then exploded a second time and was destroyed. [2]
According to the accident report: "The probable cause of this accident was a heat generating substance that was hidden in a cargo of fabrics inside pallet No. 11 in the cargo compartment of the aircraft. The heat that emanated from the pallet resulted in smoke that caused a major distraction in the cockpit and later caused an explosion which seriously impaired the flight controls of the aircraft. "[2]
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Air crash
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Family's fatigue warning after crash kills boy, injures two others in remote WA
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The family of a 12-year-old boy killed in a car crash in Western Australia's Great Southern region say drivers must take fatigue seriously. Eh Htoo Wa was killed late on Saturday night when the vehicle he was travelling in with his brother and his brother's partner rolled and hit a tree on Gnowangerup-Broomehill Road about 130 kilometres north of Albany. The crash has devastated the small community of Katanning, where the boy lived with his family, who are Karen refugees from Thailand. Eh Htoo died at the scene, the teenage driver remains in a coma with critical injuries, while his brother also suffered injuries. His death was the 12th on Great Southern roads in just four months. Eh Dee Ler Moo, the wife of Eh Htoo's second brother Cree Hen, said the family was devastated. "My husband is very upset, he hasn't eaten since," she said. The Major Crash unit is investigating but it is believed fatigue may have played a part as the accident happened at 11.25pm. "When you drive, drive safely and do not drive tired," Ms Moo said. "Fatigue is a really dangerous thing, you've got to take it seriously." Ms Moo said Eh Htoo had been a "really brave and outgoing person", who was very bright and left a lasting impact on people. "As soon as he stepped into a room he would brighten it up," she said. "He would give you a smile no matter what situation he was in … he was just loved by everyone." The family arrived in Katanning in 2012 after coming to Australia as refugees in 2009. Ms Moo said the family had been overwhelmed by the support of the community and emergency services. "We are very thankful to the people who are supporting us," she said. "We'd like to thank the people who have donated to us, we're really thankful to everyone. "People coming to our house … people will come from his school, his teacher came to our house to mourn with us. We have a lot of support." The Major Crash unit has urged anyone with information or dashcam footage to call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or make a report online.
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Road Crash
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58 Dead, 305 Missing in Brazilian Dam Collapse
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Brazil endured one of the deadliest mining disasters in its history when a mining dam collapsed Friday in the southeastern city of Brumadinho, The New York Times reported. The death toll rose to 58 by Sunday, a spokesperson for the Civil Defense said, and 305 people are missing. Rescue operations had to pause Sunday when another nearby dam looked ready to burst and 3,000 were evacuated. The evacuation order was later lifted when authorities determined the second dam was safe, CNN reported. Both the ruptured dam and the dam that threatened to burst are owned by the iron ore mining company Vale, which also co-owned a dam that burst three years ago in the city of Mariana, killing 19 and earning the title of worst environmental disaster in Brazil's history. "We are not dealing with an accident, but with a crime against people and nature. How many lives do we still have to lose [until] the Brazilian state and mining companies learn from their mistakes?" Greenpeace Brazil Campaigns director Nilo D'Ávila said in a statement reported by CNN. However, there is concern that Brazil's newly elected right-wing President Jair Bolsonaro will not act to improve safety standards for the mining industry, since he promised during his campaign to ease fines and regulations for industry, The New York Times reported further. Bolsonaro did promise on Twitter that his government would act to prevent more collapses following the disaster, The Guardian reported. Both the Mariana and Brumadinho dams were certified as "stable" before they collapsed. The Brumadinho dam was certified as recently as December. But experts told The New York Times that the mining companies are the ones that choose auditors to work with and provide those auditors with documents. "These are not exceptional events. Dams rupture. More will come," State University of Rio de Janeiro Geography Professor Luiz Jardim told The New York Times. "Either the monitoring system is flawed, or companies have figured out how to work around it." Another safeguard that failed Friday was the alarm system that mining companies are supposed to put in place to warn nearby residents of a collapse. The alarm sounded ahead of Sunday's evacuation, but not Friday's rupture. "They told us that if anything ever happened, an alarm would go off to give us time to get everything out," collapse survivor and 39-year-old machine operator Dari Pereira told The New York Times. But that didn't happen, and he and his family had no time to retrieve their car, clothing or pets. "Seconds after we left, I saw a wave drag away everything, the house, everything," he said.
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Mine Collapses
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Robert A. Iger Delivers Commencement Address at the University of Texas at Austin
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Read a transcript of the speech delivered by Robert A. Iger, Executive Chairman and Chairman of the Board at The Walt Disney Company, during the 138th spring commencement at UT Austin, May 22, 2021. The following is the speech delivered by Robert A. Iger, Executive Chairman and Chairman of the Board at The Walt Disney Company, during the 138th spring commencement at UT Austin, May 22, 2021. Good evening! President Hartzell, Chairman Eltife, members of the faculty and staff, parents and family members, graduates. It is so great to be here, all together in one place! To the Class of 2021, congratulations! You got through a year of quarantines, Zoom classes, masks, nasal swabs, and more take-out food than you thought you’d eat in a lifetime—and you’re graduating! That’s cause for a big celebration under normal circumstances, but this year’s commencement is even more special. You know, I’ve thought a lot about what I would say to all of you tonight, which brought me back to my own commencement, 48 years ago…. and I quickly realized I couldn’t remember who the speaker was—I actually think only about 6% of people can recall who spoke at their graduation! Fortunately, you all have phones with cameras, so there’s a chance, half a century from now, you’ll look back at photos and remember that it was me who spoke to you. While I don’t recall much about that day, what I do remember is that, as a young college graduate, I had utterly no idea where my life would take me. I certainly never dreamed I would one day be asked to give a commencement address. So, to President Hartzell and everyone here, let me say, ‘Thank you.’ It truly is an honor and a pleasure for me to stand on these hallowed Forty Acres and be a part of this special day. I also didn’t know I was going to have four children, one of whom is here, graduating. His name is Max, and he’s probably terribly embarrassed that I’m even mentioning him—but how could I not?! I will simply say: he absolutely loved his time here at UT, and he even has a bit of a Texas accent – which is a good thing for a kid from California! He received a phenomenal education. His mother and I are very thankful for that. And he’s made a number of really wonderful friends, and I am certain they will remain connected for the rest of their lives. I’m also pleased to say that Max’s brother, Will, has decided to go to UT as well, and so we’ll soon have two Longhorns in the family, which we’re very excited about! Today is and will always be one of those significant days in your life. In many ways it is an ending, but it is also a beginning, which probably feels a bit overwhelming for some of you. There’s no doubt this is an extraordinary, somewhat unsettling time to be a young person starting out. There are tough challenges at the global and community levels, and no easy answers. But, it is an exciting time, too. Our world is changing at a faster pace than many thought possible. A lot has been disrupted, but so much has been created. There are new industries, new businesses, new and different jobs, and exciting places to find those jobs, like right here in Austin. We are immersed in invention and innovation. These dynamic, rapidly changing times, even with the myriad challenges we’re facing, present great opportunity for your generation. And tonight, I thought I would share some advice, some lessons on how to make the most of that opportunity. You know, the two questions I’ve been asked most often over the years are: “Who’s your favorite Disney character?” and “What is the biggest single factor that contributed to your success?” The answer to the first question is Tinkerbell, in case you’re wondering. The answer to the second is: boldness. And if ever there was a time to be bold, it is now! One of the most valuable things I’ve learned from my own experiences, as well as from mentors and friends is that the only way to accomplish meaningful things in life is by acting boldly. Being timid has never gotten anyone anywhere. Of course, boldness is more than just not being timid. It means taking swift and significant action in the face of fear or uncertainty. It means standing with courage and conviction when confronted with tough or unpopular choices. It means having an unwavering commitment to honesty, integrity and doing the right thing. It means having a deep and abiding curiosity about people, places, ideas and the willingness to try something altogether new. And being bold requires ambition and a willingness to dream big! When you are in your early twenties, as many of you are, there is no such thing as having dreams that are too big. Your possibilities are enormous. My advice—be optimistic. Be confident and have faith in yourself and your abilities. Believe your dreams are achievable, and don’t let anyone tell you they’re not. You also need to be resilient. Fortunately, you’ve already proven you are, after getting through what has been an historically difficult year….and graduating! All of these qualities – resiliency, ambition, curiosity, optimism and a willingness to dream big – will serve you well and enable you, not only to make the most of opportunities, but also contend with other challenges, including failure. By the way, failure is not the end of the world, or even the end of the road! When I was your age, I dreamed of being a network anchorman. And after graduating from college, I got a job at a small TV station as a weatherman and planned to work my way up. Unfortunately, I quickly realized I was a terrible weatherman, and I didn’t have a chance at fulfilling my ultimate dream. So, at the ripe old age of 23, I decided to quit my job and do something completely different. It was a bold move—given that I had no idea what the future held. I ended up getting a job at ABC as a low level, and I mean really low-level production assistant….and not long afterwards, my boss called me into his office, and told me I was unpromotable, giving me two weeks to find another job! My career was off to a bit of a rough start, it would seem! In my first two years, I failed as a weatherman and a guy I worked for told me I wasn’t good enough to ever be promoted. Fortunately, he was wrong—I got another job…a promotion, and the rest, as they say, is history. The fact is, there will be setbacks and naysayers along the way. So what? That’s life! Nearly every successful person has struggled or failed at some point. Steve Jobs was fired from Apple, the company he founded. The guy who made the decision has since called it ‘one of the biggest regrets of his life.’ No kidding! Walt Disney was fired from one of his first jobs as a newspaper artist because the editor felt he “lacked imagination” and “had no original ideas.” Can you believe that? Walt failed a number of times over the years, however – always the optimist – he never stopped dreaming big and being bold. And I’m proud to say we have continued his legacy. In fact, as President Hartzell noted in his generous introduction, we have been bold deal makers throughout my tenure. But, the heart of our boldness has always rested in our storytelling. Some years back the talented people at Pixar pitched us a film about the very special cultural tradition of Mexico’s Dia de los Muertos, the Day of the Dead. It was filled with colorful characters, folk art and great, authentic music, all set in a textured, beautiful world. Then we heard from skeptics who thought it was narrow and so culturally dependent that it would never resonate globally. The opposite proved true. Coco touched people’s hearts everywhere it was released, because it celebrated the diversity of the human experience and the beauty and liveliness of the Mexican culture. A similar situation arose with a film I know many of you saw, Marvel’s Black Panther, the film I’m most proud of. It was pitched by a talented Black director, Ryan Coogler, as a Black superhero story with a predominantly Black cast, and, once again, many believed it would fail. Of course, they were completely wrong! Black Panther was groundbreaking—a hugely successful film that became a cultural phenomenon, and a powerful force for good. One bold decision changed the way people see heroes, and had a lasting impact on the world! So, no matter how you choose to contribute, whether through the stories you tell, the career you pursue, or the important changes you help bring about, our world needs your generation to be bold! To take on ambitious projects. To address the challenges facing us today, and not just on a grand scale. Just imagine if everyone in your generation did one bold thing, even something relatively small—the collective power of those millions of actions would be massive! And if any of you doubt your power, just look at all you’ve accomplished here at UT! Look, for example, at the incredible work you’ve done in response to the most pressing challenge of our time, the COVID-19 virus. You have developed critical parts of the vaccine in your research labs, and you’ve played a key role in getting local communities, including underrepresented communities, vaccinated. “What starts here changes the world.” You’re already doing it! You leave here today arguably better able and better equipped to change the world than any generation before you—thanks to the amazing technological tools at your disposal, tools you are adept at using. Use them to construct rather than destruct. Build understanding, respect and tolerance. Be bold and fight the evils of hatred and contempt. Be a force for good in our world. And help to ensure all people have access to the kinds of opportunities that may lead to greater fulfillment, satisfaction and success. Be builders not destroyers of truth and civility. And never, ever stop believing you can make a difference. As Steve Jobs said: “The ones who are crazy enough to think that they can change the world, are the ones who do.”
You know, one of the most curious things about life is the speed with which it passes. I know this is a hard concept for young people to grasp. But just think about how fast your time here at UT flew by. Here I am, at 70, and it feels like just yesterday I was 22 years old with big plans and a lifetime to accomplish them. Looking back, I could never have imagined I would have the incredible opportunities I’ve had over the years. It’s been quite a journey, one for which I am exceedingly grateful. All of you have so much of life ahead of you. And while I’m exhorting you to be doers, to get out there and change the world, I also hope you enjoy the experience. Sure, there will be tough days, perhaps some really tough days even. But there will also be lots of good days, lots of great days. And tons of pleasant surprises….like meeting the love of your life, who most of you haven’t met yet. Or having children. Or discovering a passion. Or finding a great job, that leads to a great career. As I reflect on my life, I hesitate to suggest I’d change much, because life has been really good to me. But I know this—if I could do it all over again, I would take time to appreciate things more. It’s the equivalent of smelling the roses, but it’s more than that—it’s not sweating little things or getting mad at petty nonsense. It’s not about wasting time, but having license to be frivolous every so often. It’s that incredibly valuable ability to savor the beauty of your life, and all of the happy, fulfilling, and cool parts of it. My sincere hope is that all of you will embrace life, embrace it enthusiastically! Enjoy the beauty of a summer day or the most delicious pizza you’ve ever eaten—I love pizza! Go for a spin on your bike, take salsa lessons, eat dessert….go to Disneyland!
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Famous Person - Give a speech
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350,000 face famine in Ethiopia's war-torn Tigray region
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The United Nations and aid groups are warning that 350,000 people in Ethiopia's war-torn Tigray region are facing famine conditions. The UN also says millions more are in urgent need of food supplies. The Ethiopian government disputes the assessment.
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Famine
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East Timor Becomes 191st U.N. Member Today
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East Timor Becomes 191st U.N. Member Today
See the article in its original context from
September 27, 2002, Section A, Page 11 Buy Reprints
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East Timor, the world's newest nation, will join the United Nations on Friday as its 191st member.
East Timor, a former Pacific territory, became independent four months ago, capping centuries of colonization by Portugal, 24 years of occupation by Indonesia and 3 years of United Nations administration. Its membership follows closely on that of Switzerland, which joined the United Nations on Sept. 10.
The United Nations has a long history in East Timor, which came under United Nations rule a few months after its people voted overwhelmingly to break free from Indonesia, which seized the territory in 1975 after Portugal pulled out.
About a thousand East Timorese died after an independence referendum in August 1999 when gangs organized by the Indonesian military went on a rampage. Australia, with Indonesia's consent, sent in troops to establish order until the United Nations could organize a peacekeeping force to take over.
East Timor's president, José Alexandre Gusmão, is to address the General Assembly after the formal vote is taken to admit the country.
Agio Pereira, Mr. Gusmão's chief of staff, said it would be a proud moment for the new nation.
''For us it's a big step to show how far we have come from our struggle for liberation and independence,'' he said by telephone from Dili, the capital. ''Now to be able to enjoy the rights and have the duties as an official member of the United Nations is quite an achievement as a nation.''
The first act of East Timor's newly elected 88-member Parliament was to sign the Universal Declaration of Human rights and to apply to join the United Nations.
Although 5,000 United Nations troops, 850 police officers and 400 civilian staff members remain in East Timor, officials said, the mission is on schedule to wrap up its work and shut down in 2004 after gradually turning over its functions to East Timorese.
East Timor has also joined the World Bank and International Monetary Fund, and is working to delineate its border with Indonesia over the next year. It is lagging, though, in setting up its justice system and naming civilian experts to government support posts, United Nations officials said.
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Join in an Organization
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2011 Pawan Hans Mi-17 crash
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On 19 April 2011, a Mil Mi-17 helicopter operated by Pawan Hans crashed near the town of Tawang, India, killing 17 of 23 people on board. [1][2][3][4]
The helicopter had taken off at 12:45 pm from Borjhar Airport in Assam on an internal flight to the town of Tawang, in Tawang district, India. On board were 18 passengers and 5 crew. At around 13:50 pm, the helicopter arrived at destination, but while attempting to land at Tawang Civil helipad, which is located on top of a hill, the Mi-17 crashed into a gorge and caught fire. [5]
The aircraft involved, a Mil Mi-17, registered VT-PHF, was also involved in a previous emergency landing in the same region. [6]
Seventeen of the 23 on board were killed, including three crew members. Out of the 17, two were minors. Two passengers survived the crash initially, but later died due to injuries from the post-crash fire. [7]
An official in the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said that as per initial reports the helicopter crash-landed "due to likely wind shear and downdraft while landing and caught fire on impact to the ground". [5]-
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Air crash
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Brihadeeswarar temple fire
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Brihadeeswarar temple fire is a fire accident that occurred during the consecration of the Brihadeeswarar Temple on 7 June 1997 in Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu, India. The accident was caused by a spark that caught up the thatch. A stampede occurred due to the panic created, and a total of 48 people were killed and left more than 200 people injured. It is believed a fire cracker lit near the temple fell on the yagasala, a temporary structure built to accommodate the ritual ceremonies, and sparked the fire that spread to the thatched roofs. A stampede resulted when the panic-stricken devotees rushed the only entrance to the temple on the eastern side. The rescue operations were monitored by Pulavar Senguttuvan, the state Minister for Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments, T N Ramanathan, the District Collector, S K Dogra, the Deputy Inspector-General of Police and Jayanth Murali, Superintendent of Police of Thanjavur district at that time. The rescue operations were aided by Home Guards, member of Red Cross and the general public. The Tamil Nadu Government announced a compensation of Rs 100,000 to the families of the deceased and the injured were paid from Rs 10,000 to Rs 50,000 each. Brihadeeswara Temple, also called Big Temple, is a Hindu temple dedicated to Shiva and built by Raja Raja Chola I in Tamil architecture in 1010 AD, in his capital city Thanjavur. [1] The temple is part of UNESCO World Heritage Site and "Great Living Chola Temples". The vimana (or temple tower) is 216 ft high (66 m) and is among the tallest of its kind in the world. The Kumbam (Kalasha or Chikharam) Vimanam (apexex or the bulbous structure on the top) of the temple is carved out of a single stone and it weighs around 80 tons. [2] It is an architectural exemplar showcasing the pure form of the Dravida type of temple architecture and representative of the Chola Empire ideology and the Tamil civilisation in Southern India. The temple "testify to the brilliant achievements of the Chola in architecture, sculpture, painting and bronze casting. "[3]
During the consecration (Kumbhabhishekham) of 1997, 48 people were killed in a fire accident and 86 others injured. [4][5] The incident occurred hours before the Mahakumbabishekam ceremony. [6] It was reported that as many as 120 priests were performing the holy ceremonies in the temple. [7] It is believed a fire cracker lit near the temple fell on the yagasala, a temporary structure built to accommodate the ritual ceremonies, and sparked the fire that spread to the thatched roofs. A stampede resulted when the panic-stricken devotees rushed to the only entrance to the temple on the eastern side. [6][8] However, another version claimed the fire was caused by a spark from the electric generator. [6] Most of the deaths were reported be caused by the inhalation of carbon monoxide and a few due to burn injuries. There were lot of inflammable material like ghee, condiments and thatched roof that resulted in spreading of fire. The only entrance was the narrow eastern side where many rushed and fell on stones. [9] Police reported that they recovered 37 bodies from the thatched roof that fell on the worshipers. The fire hampered the electric line in the neighbourhood, slowing down the rescue operations. [10]
The rescue operations were monitored by Pulavar Senguttuvan, the state Minister for Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments, T N Ramanathan, the District Collector, S K Dogra, the Deputy Inspector-General of Police and Jayanth Murali, Superintendent of Police of Thanjavur district at that time. The rescue operations were aided by Home Guards, member of Red Cross and the general public. [11][12] A special information cell was opened in the premises of the temple and also at Collector's office. [11]
The accident was one of four major fire accidents in the state along with the fire accidents like the Erwadi fire incident on 6 August 2001 that killed 30 mentally challenged people, fire at marriage hall on 23 January 2004 at Srirangam where 30 people including the bridegroom were killed and 2004 Kumbakonam School fire where 94 school children were killed. [13] The Tamil Nadu Government announced a compensation of Rs 100,000 to the families of the deceased and the injured were paid from Rs 10,000 to Rs 50,000 each. [6] The Deputy Inspector General (DGI), during the investigation, ruled out any possibility of sabotage even though there was an attempt was made to blast the TV relay station at Eswari Nagar the previous week. [11]
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Fire
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Belgian general strike of 1893
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The general strike of 1893 (French: grève générale de 1893, Dutch: algemene staking van 1893) was a major general strike in Belgium in April 1893 called by the Belgian Labour Party (POB–BWP) to pressure the government of Auguste Beernaert to introduce universal male suffrage in elections. The general strike was the first called in Belgium and a decisive moment for the nascent socialist movement in Belgium. According to the historian Carl J. Strikwerda, it was the first true general strike in the history of Europe. [1]
The general strike was called on the evening of 11 April 1893 after politicians of Catholic and Liberal parties joined to block a proposal to expand the suffrage. [a] It lasted from 12–18 April. Conservatives, led by the Catholic Prime Minister Auguste Beernaert, feared a full revolution and clashes broke out between strikers and the military. According to Henri Pirenne, the strike was only called under pressure from the miners of the Borinage and its rapid spread took the POB–BWP leadership, under Emile Vandervelde, by surprise. [3] Between 13[4] and 20 strikers were killed. [2] In total, approximately 200,000 workers participated in the strike. [1] In the face of determined opposition, the Parliament caved to the Socialist demands and introduced the original reforms, increasing the franchise ten-fold. [2]
The first elections under the reformed franchise took place in October 1894. It did not benefit the POB–BWP as much as expected. The rise of Social Catholicism, introduced by the Papal encyclical Rerum novarum in 1891, was one of the factors which prevented rapid socialist growth. [2] The elections however brought socialist deputies into parliament for the first time and led to the beginning Liberals' decline from one of the two dominant parties in Belgian politics. Neal Ascherson argued that, after 1894, "the deepest preoccupation of politics was the determination of Catholic and Liberal to keep the Socialists out of power. "[2] The POB-BWP adopted a new manifesto, the Charter of Quaregnon, the same year which would remain the party's doctrine until 1979. The issue of electoral reform remained controversial until World War I and further general strikes on questions of franchise reform occurred in 1902 and 1913. The 1913 strike lead to the promise of reform to the plural voting system, but this was halted by the outbreak of World War I and subsequent German occupation. Plural voting was finally abolished in 1919 and universal suffrage, giving the vote to all Belgian women, was only introduced in 1948.
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Strike
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Düsseldorf Airport fire
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On 11 April 1996, a fire began inside the passenger terminal of Düsseldorf Airport, Germany, killing 17 people. [1] As of 2013[update], it is the worst structural fire to have occurred in any commercial airport building. [2] According to various sources, between 62[2] and 88[1] people were injured. The catastrophic conflagration is considered a prime example for a polystyrene fire, illustrating the flammability of such material. Approximately 1,000 firefighters were involved in extinguishing the blaze, which at the time was the largest fire response in the history of North Rhine-Westphalia. [3]
The fire was caused by welding work done to an expansion joint on the elevated access road of Terminal A,[3] which began at around 13:00. [1] Droplets of molten metal started smouldering inside the polystyrene insulation on the dropped ceiling of the arrivals hall below. [2] This slow fire spread out over a large area without being noticed. [1]
At 15:31, a taxi driver informed the fire department that he had observed a few sparks falling out of the ceiling in the arrivals area. [1][2] Two members of the airport fire brigade arrived on the scene a few minutes later, initially suspecting an electrical failure. [1] At around 15:45, they learned of the welding work directly above, thus being able to finally identify the probable origin. [3] By that time, smoke could be seen emanating from ceiling vents. [2]
The situation ran completely out of control at 15:58. [2] A flashover occurred, setting ablaze approximately 100 square meters (1,100 sq ft) of the ceiling within seconds. This was accompanied by an intense buildup of thick, black smoke. [1] A total of 11 metric tons of polystyrene burned down,[1] as well as numerous PVC cable coatings, releasing highly toxic substances including carbon monoxide, dioxins, hydrogen cyanide and hydrogen chloride. [3] As there was neither a sprinkler system nor fire doors[2] (which was not mandatory at that time),[3] a wall of smoke spread through the terminal building. [1]
At approximately 16:00 the headquarters of the airport fire brigade was informed about the extent of the fire, and reacted by calling for assistance from firefighters stationed in the adjacent municipalities. [1] At 16:06, a general call for evacuation was put on the public address system of the airport. [1] Until then, people in those parts of the airport that were not directly affected by the smoke had been unaware of the situation. [1] Flight operations were halted at 16:36. [3]
Many of the firefighters did not have any experience with fires of that kind, and necessary supplies were missing. The airport fire brigade had only been trained to address aviation accidents, not how to respond to a fire inside the airport building. [1] At 19:20, the fire was under control,[2] and it was declared to be put out at 21:30. [3]
All victims died from smoke inhalation rather than from heat injuries inflicted by the fire. [3]
Due to the thick smoke, nine passengers found themselves trapped inside the airport lounge of Air France on the mezzanine level above the arrivals hall of Terminal A. [2] The self-service Salon was not staffed; passengers eligible to utilize the amenities were given an access code upon check-in. This may have contributed to the lack of knowledge about the nearest escape route which was only 8 metres away from the lounge exit. It led to a flat rooftop via two half staircases. [1] Numerous phone calls were made from inside the lounge, the last one at 16:19. [1] Although one of the victims described the location to be above the Lufthansa check-in, none of the involved personnel were aware of the exact location of the lounge, preventing it from being evacuated in time. All but one occupant suffocated. A French business man managed to escape by smashing a window with a chair and falling 4 metres to the lower level. He was rescued at around 17:00, suffering from serious head injuries. He fully recovered from his injuries. [1]
Seven people died in two elevators bringing people from the airport parking garage into the Terminal A arrivals hall, which at the time was fully ablaze. [2] The victims had entered the elevators unaware of the fire, only to find themselves exposed to thick, toxic smoke which obstructed the optical door sensors, causing the elevator doors to remain open. [1] A British soldier died inside a lavatory at the arrivals level of Terminal A. [1] The last victim, an elderly woman, had initially escaped the fire but died two weeks later due to the consequences of smoke inhalation. [1]
Due to the effects of fire and smoke, Terminals A and B were rendered unusable, and the total damage was estimated at DM 1 billion. [1] Several airlines temporarily moved their operations to nearby Cologne/Bonn Airport, until tents had been put up at Düsseldorf Airport to provide interim check-in and baggage claim services. [4] These were later replaced by light-metal barracks (Terminals D and E). By 1 July 1996, Düsseldorf Airport had returned to 90 percent of its original passenger capacity. [2]
Terminal A was extensively renovated, and Terminal B was demolished completely and rebuilt; the terminals reopened in 1998 and 2001, respectively. [5]
The official investigation into the accident revealed a number of safety and procedural flaws, as well as possible criminal offences:
In late 1996, a court trial was opened, charging a number of people including the two welders, the technical director of the airport, the architect, as well as building inspectors and supervisors. Following lengthy arguments over procedural questions, the case was postponed several times and finally abandoned in 2001, without a verdict identifying those responsible for the disaster. [1]
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Fire
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Stan Nze wedding: Nollywood Stanley Ebuka Nzediegwu, Blessing Jessica Obasi marriage foto
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Well, e don happun - Nollywood stars Stan Nze and Blessing Jessica Obasi wedding go down on Saturday September 11, for Lagos. Di couple don dey date for a long while before dem marry. Family and friends of Stanley and Blessing attend dia wedding. Singer Timi Dakolo sing for di couple and guests for di wedding reception. Di two already don do dia marriage introduction last week for Stan Nze wife hometown inside Abia State, south eastern Nigeria. Wia dis foto come from, Stan nze Nollywood actor Stanley Ebuka Nzediegwu release dis foto of im new wife Blessing Jessica Obasi on Sunday Wia dis foto come from, ScREEN SHOT Wia dis foto come from, Other Wia dis foto come from, Stan Nze Stanley Ebuka Nzediegwu na act Ahanna inside di 2020 Nollywood remake of Amaka Igwe classic, Rattlesnake. Dem born Stan Nze on May 15, 1989 inside Lagos, Nigeria, and him be first of five children. Im papa, Sabastine, na businessman, and im mama, Chika, na fashion designer. Stan study computer science for Nnamdi Azikiwe university, Awka, wia e receive a bachelor's degree. Wia dis foto come from, STAN NZE After university, Stan thereafter go training for acting for di Stella Damasus Arts Foundation. Stan Nze start im acting career in 2009 with a minor role in a television series, Private Sector wey dey followed by guest appearances in some oda TV series. Stan get im first major role in 2013 - A bipolar serial killer inside di movie, Murder At Prime Suites (MAPS). Blessing Jessica Obasi na popular Nollywood actress from Abia State south Eastern Nigeria. She also be producer and entrepreneur. Di film wey she dey proud of wey she produce na Prophetess. Blessing Jessica Obasi don also play roles for TV soaps for Nigeria. She school for University of Lagos wia she get Bachelor of Science (BSc) in Industrial relations and personnel management between 2006 and 2010. Blessing Jessica Obasi dey in her early 30s. Wia dis foto come from, Blessing Jessica Obasi For Nigeria, marriage na big deal, even bigger deal if na celebs dey marry. Dis fit be sake of society values and how celebs dey get cult followership. As influencers, dis celebs personal life na tin of public interest. Again, over di years some celebrity couple marriages don crash. And wen dat kain tin happun e dey sometimes take longer to heal or see anoda celebrity couple to come out publicly to express dia love.
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Famous Person - Marriage
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Famine looms in southern Madagascar, U.N.'s food agency says
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GENEVA, April 30 (Reuters) - Famine is looming in southern Madagascar, where children are "starving" after drought and sandstorms ruined harvests, the U.N.'s World Food Programme (WFP) said on Friday. Amer Daoudi, senior director of WFP operations globally, speaking from Antananarivo, Madagascar, said he had visited villages where people had resorted to eating locusts and leaves. "I witnessed horrific images of starving children, malnourished, and not only the children - mothers, parents and the populations in villages we visited," Daoudi told a United Nations briefing in Geneva. "They are on the periphery of famine, these are images I haven't seen for quite some time across the globe," he said. Malnutrition has almost doubled to 16% from 9% in the four months to March 2021 following five consecutive years of drought, exacerbated this year by sandstorms and late rains, he said. WFP is seeking $75 million to cover emergency needs in the next few months, he added. Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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Famine
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2019 IIHF World U18 Championship Division II
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The 2019 IIHF U18 World Championship Division II were two international under-18 ice hockey tournaments organised by the International Ice Hockey Federation. The Division II A and Division II B tournaments represent the fourth and the fifth tier of the IIHF World U18 Championship. The Division II A tournament was played in Elektrėnai, Lithuania, from 7 to 13 April 2019. [1]
All times are local. (Eastern European Summer Time – UTC+3)
Source: IIHF
The Division II B tournament was played in Belgrade, Serbia, from 25 to 31 March 2019. [2]
All times are local. (to 30 March: Central European Time – UTC+1, 31 March: Central European Summer Time – UTC+2)
Source: IIHF
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Sports Competition
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African Mine Workers' Strike
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The African Mine Workers' Strike was a labour dispute involving mine workers of Witwatersrand in South Africa. It started on 12 August, 1946 and lasted approximately a week. The strike was attacked by police and over the week, at least 1,248 workers were wounded and at least 9 killed. In 1941 a miners' conference was called by the Transvaal Provincial Committee of the African National Congress. The conference was supported by Paramount Chief of Zululand and trade unions. [1]
It was here that the African Mine Workers' Union came into being and elected a committee under the presidency of J. B. Marks, who also became President of the Transvaal African National Congress. At first the union was not recognised by the Chamber of Mines, but after sustained pressure for better wages and conditions, the prime minister, Field Marshal Jan Smuts, announced some piecemeal increases improvements in conditions while at the same time issuing War Measure No. 1425—banning gatherings of more than twenty people on mining property without permission. Despite union officials being arrested in 1944 at a meeting in Witwatersrand and in Springs, a conference was held in May 1946 which decided to approach the government with demands for a ten shillings a day wage and other improvements—or to take strike action. On August 12, 1946, more than 60,000 workers in Witwatersrand refused to continue working for the existing wages. Within a week police were deployed and incorporated brutal tactics in an effort to break the strike. Officially 9 died and more than 1,248 workers were injured, and many regarded the strike as a failure. Although the initial demands were ignored and the workers returned to the mines after only a week, the strike was viewed as a crucial moment in South Africa's development. Ultimately this initial protest later influenced political realignments, and has been associated with increased labour conscience and social change. By addressing the conditions necessary to maintain cheap migrant labour, this movement provided insight into the manner in which Apartheid serves as a vehicle for perpetuating pre-capitalist modes of production. [2] Methods such as the 'compound system', which essentially restrained workers from having any contact with Union organizers, were direct results of the initial failed Union Strike of 1946. In August 1946 an open air conference was held in Newtown Market Square as no hall where Africans could hold meetings was big enough to accommodate those present and the decision to strike was taken. [3]
The police attacked the workers with batons, bayonets, and gunfire outside the mines and in the mines when forced to work. Police brutality reached a bloody climax on a peaceful march from the East Rand to Johannesburg on Tuesday, 13 August. Police opened fire on the procession and a number of workers were killed. This led to the Transvaal Council of Non-European Trade Unions (CONETU) calling a general strike in Johannesburg on Wednesday, 14 August. CONETU called a meeting at Newtown Market Square the next day which was banned by the Riotous Assemblies Act. This meeting was also attacked by police with guns and bayonets. During the week workers and leaders of the ANC, the Communist Party, the Indian and Coloured Congresses and the trade unions were arrested, tried, imprisoned, and deported. The 1946 African miners strike signified a shift in public conscience, and was widely considered the beginning of what would later become the anti-apartheid movement. This strike, " was led by the African Mine Workers Union, whose president, J.B. Marks, was also a leader in the South African Communist Party." (Workers World newspaper, Aug. 29, 1996. Monica Moorehead). Most workers averaged two shillings per shift, and were responsible for contributing a portion of their wages towards work clothes and bedding. Many were removed from their families, sometimes for years, while their children and spouses starved. The AMWU initially placed demands to create a legal minimum wage, cost-of-living allowance, and regular wage increases. The miners settled on a 10 shilling per day minimum wage, and improved working conditions as the basis of their demands. The Transvaal Chamber of Mines functioned as a closely knit cartel comprising five separate mining groups that essentially controlled the largest labour force in South Africa. Their influence over state revenue, and political seats in the government allowed them to function with relative impunity. With a general monopoly over South Africa's agricultural and industrial products, the Transvaal Chamber of Mines was in effect capable of controlling workers wages and suppressing efforts to unionize. This was largely achieved by keeping workers in policed compounds and brutally restricting their ability to communicate or be contacted by union organizers. In the wake of discontent following settlements that maintained the existing labour cost, Prime Minister Smuts issued War Measure NO. 1425 this measure which, " prohibiting gatherings of more than twenty persons on mining property without special permission," effectively ceased further organized trade union meetings. (African National Congress, Sept. 12,1976, Monty Naicker). Following the suppression of the 1946 strike, union groups like The Communist Party of South Africa experienced brutal treatment at the hands of the existing government. Many of the parties leaders were indicted on charges of sedition and treason. "This was followed by a systematic series of measures to destroy the CPSA, culminating in the suppression of Communism Act in 1950." (Communist University, COSATU, 1946 mineworkers strike, press release, Aug. 11, 2006). However, despite continual efforts through the media to define the strike as a failure this initial protest has had a lasting impact on South African politics. The formation and emergence of the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) represents a direct lineage to these early union organizers. This organization, " arguably the heirs to the 1946 strike are currently engaged in a series of territorial disputes with the breakaway Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (AMCU)." (Global Research, Aug. 21, 2012. Chris Webb)[better source needed].
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Strike
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Elliot Junction rail accident
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The Elliot Junction rail accident[a] occurred during a severe blizzard on 28 December[b] 1906 at Elliot Junction station in Forfarshire, Scotland. Now shut, this was situated between the present-day stations of Carnoustie and Arbroath, being closest to the latter, one and a half miles away. In terms of lives lost, the accident was the 10th worst in British railway history up until that point, with 22 fatalities. An additional 8 persons were severely hurt and 16 received minor injuries. [1]
The official inquiry found the driver of one of the trains involved to be largely responsible for the tragedy. [1] He was subsequently convicted of culpable homicide and sentenced to 5 months in prison,[2] later reduced to a term of 3 months. [3] The relatively light sentence reflected the opinion of the jury that other factors had played an equal, if not more important role in the accident. [2] Whilst not completely exonerating the driver, a more recent analysis drew attention to the extreme weather and highlighted a number of organizational failures which contributed to the disaster. [4]
At around 3.30 p.m., a North British Railway express hit the rear of a local Dundee and Arbroath Railway passenger train, which had just stopped at Elliott Junction and was beginning to move off. Having left King's Cross, London at 11.30pm the previous day, the express departed Edinburgh Waverley for Aberdeen at 7.35 a.m., but due to heavy snowfall over the previous two days had been unable to progress further than Arbroath, where it was due at 9.40am. [5] At the time of the crash it was heading back to Dundee with passengers still on board. [6][7]
Among the casualties was the Liberal Member of Parliament (MP) Alexander William Black, who was severely injured in the crash and died shortly thereafter. [8]
The Board of Trade Inquiry placed primary responsibility on the driver of one of the trains who had "failed to heed instructions to drive with caution". [9] It also discussed the role of alcohol and said that "the proximity of the Victoria Bar to the up platform is a very undesirable feature in the surroundings of Arbroath station. The substitution of a coffee shop and refreshment room would be greatly in the general interests of the staff". [1]
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Train collisions
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Virginia Gas Line Explosion Injures Workers, Damages Home
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Utility workers are hurt, a home is damaged and cars are destroyed after a gas line explosion and fire Wednesday in Northern Virginia, officials say.
Three workers were taken to a hospital with burns and injuries that were not believed to be life-threatening, the Fairfax County fire department said. Aerial footage from Chopper4 shows tall, orange flames leaping into the air and crews working for hours to get the blaze under control.
Pastor Don Jamison heard the blast just outside a window of his home. “I heard the explosion and went to the window and saw that the fire was going up, and then within a matter of a little bit, multiple explosions from the fuel tanks and the equipment went off,” he said.
Washington Gas workers were doing scheduled repairs when the explosion occurred without warning in the 8100 block of Hooes Road, in the Springfield area, the fire department said. The blast rocked the neighborhood, and an emergency call was placed at about 12:30 p.m.
The workers were taken to hospitals, residents were evacuated from their homes, and crews spent hours trying to turn off the gas and prevent the flames from leaping to houses.
Jamison opened his nearby church, Sydenstricker United Methodist Church, to any neighbors who needed someplace to stay warm. Drivers were asked to avoid the area.
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Gas explosion
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an ode to Hollywood couples who have stood the test of time and made it to, and past, 15 years
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This list is an ode to Hollywood couples who have stood the test of time and made it to, and past, 15 years.
Relationships in Hollywood are feeble. We never quite know what to expect as they come in different forms. As fans of celebrities, it is difficult to know which couples are real, and which ones are fooling around for the sake of a movie or a new album. In the rare times that a couple admits to dating, one of two things often happens; and engagement, or a quick break up. The fleeting aspects of Hollywood dating are exhausting, to say the least.
RELATED: 14 Sweet Facts About How Ellen And Portia Got Together
Once in a blue moon, fans get a treat. Some couples make it past the 15-year mark and prove the rest of us wrong for pessimistic assumptions. In the wake of the devastating news that Bill and Melinda Gates have called it quits after 27 years together, this list is an ode to Hollywood couples who have stood the test of time and made it to - and past - 15 years. Some battled cheating allegations and divorce rumors to find themselves on the other side, proving to us all that they are here to stay.
10 Ellen DeGeneres And Portia de Rossi
A post shared by Portia de Rossi (@portiaderossi)
Recently, Portia de Rossi helped long-term partner Ellen DeGeneres celebrate the 3000th episode of her show. The couple first met at a party in 2000. According to an interview with Oprah, it was love at first sight for Portia. In 2008, she and Ellen said their vows. In 2018, the couple marked their 10th anniversary. A few divorce rumors have been the butt of jokes at Ellen’s show a couple of times, but they are still very much together.
RELATED: 10 Times Beyonce And Jay-Z Were Relationship Goals
9 Will And Jada Pinkett Smith
In a joint Red Table Talk sit-down, Will and Jada Smith revealed that they do not call themselves husband and wife, and consider themselves ‘life partners’. True to their belief, the identity is justified, considering they have been married for over 20 years. Their union birthed Willow and Jaden Smith, both of whom aren’t shy of the spotlight and have grown in it. The Smiths, amidst divorce rumors and cheating allegations, are still Hollywood’s First Family.
8 David And Victoria Beckham
A post shared by David Beckham (@davidbeckham)
David Beckham met Victoria at a 1997 Manchester United game. Back then, she was the star and he was just David. The two would later begin to date and eventually marry in 1999. Both of them have had exceptional careers, with David moving from the football pitch to the boardroom, and Victoria leaving her ‘Posh Spice’ persona behind to run a thriving fashion empire.
7 Jay-Z And Beyonce Knowles Carter
A post shared by Beyoncé (@beyonce)
In 2016, Beyonce brought the world to a halt with her creative masterpiece, Lemonade. The album sparked a lot of cheating allegations, with many predicting a sad end to their marriage. Since then, the Carters have not only stayed married but grown their family and released a joint album. It’s safe to say that music’s first couple is going nowhere. Jay-Z himself addressed it on DJ Khaled’s new album. To quote the song's title, "Sorry, Not Sorry."
RELATED: David And Victoria Beckham Buy A 24 Million Condo
6 Seth Rogen And Lauren Miller
Although they have been married for close to ten years, the union between Seth Rogen and Lauren Miller began in 2004. Both of them have had incredible careers, with Seth’s work earning him an Emmy nomination. They met when Seth was working on Da Ali G show, got engaged in 2010, and later married in 2011. In 2018, Seth confirmed that having children was an active conversation, but they've yet to add to their little family which includes their adorable puppy, Zelda.
5 Michelle And Barrack Obama
The Obama’s are every couple’s dream; equally smart, equally independent, and equally graceful. For the eight years they ran the Free world, not once was there a whiff of controversy as far as their union was concerned. They were a first family as sparkly as sparkly can be. The two met in their twenties and married in 1992. Their union birthed Sasha and Malia who’ve grown in the eyes of the public. Michelle Obama, in her book, Becoming, admitted that the journey wasn’t as easy as everyone thought . They did some work to get to a happy place.
4 Matt Damon And Luciana Barroso
Matt Damon is well-known for his long-lasting ‘hatred’ towards television host, Jimmy Kimmel. When he’s not pissing Kimmel off, or breaking box office records, he is at home with his wife Lucy and their four children. According to Vogue, the ever-private Lucy met Matt when he was in Miami, filming Stuck On You. Lucy, a bartender at the time, had him help out at her station (earning her many tips that night). That was way back in 2003. The rest, as they say, is history.
3 Oprah Winfrey And Stedman Graham
A post shared by Oprah (@oprah)
In her book What I Know for Sure, Oprah Winfrey disclosed that she was a train wreck in her 20s. She took clownery to the next level, begging a man to stay and allowing emotional abuse to go on ‘as long as he doesn’t hit me’. It’s safe to say that her doormat days are done and dusted and she’s happy with Stedman, her longtime partner for 35 years and counting. The couple opted not to get married as it would ‘complicate things’.
2 Denzel And Pauletta Washington
Denzel Washington first met Pauletta on the set of Wilma in 1977. A serendipitous encounter at a play would later cement their union. Pauletta was Denzel’s number one cheerleader when he was still struggling to make ends meet. After three proposals, Pauletta said ‘Yes!’ to the Fences star. They have been married since 1983, and have four children.
1 Jay And Mavis Leno
The couple probably has one of the longest marriages in Hollywood history. They married in 1980, and do not have any children. Asked what the secret to a long-lasting marriage was, Jay Leno said: “ Not screwing around is a huge key. I am a huge believer in low self-esteem. If you have low self-esteem, you don’t think you are the smartest person in the room. You don’t think you have all the answers, so you tend to listen. Marry the person who is someone you wish you could be.”
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Famous Person - Divorce
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Trump pulls U.S. out of 'disastrous' Iran nuclear deal, will restore sanctions
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President Donald Trump announced Tuesday the U.S. will pull out of the landmark nuclear accord with Iran, dealing a profound blow to U.S. allies and potentially deepening the president's isolation on the world stage.
"The United States does not make empty threats," he said from the White House in a televised address.
Trump's decision means Iran's government must now decide whether to follow the U.S. and withdraw or try to salvage what's left of the deal. Iran has offered conflicting statements about what it may do — and the answer may depend on exactly how Trump exits the agreement.
Trump said he would move to reimpose all sanctions on Iran that had been lifted under the 2015 deal, not just the ones facing an immediate deadline. This had become known informally as the "nuclear option" because of the near certainty that such a move would scuttle the deal.
"At the heart of the Iran deal was a giant fiction. That a murderous regime desired only a peaceful nuclear energy program," Trump said. "Today, we have definitive proof that this Iranian promise was a lie."
He cited intelligence documents published last week by Israel, saying those documents "conclusively" showed Iran's "history of pursuing nuclear weapons. The fact is, this was a horrible, one-sided deal that should have never, ever been made."
"It didn't bring calm, it didn't bring peace and it never will."
According to Reuters, most of the material the Israeli prime minister presented was from before the 2015 accord was finalized. Netanyahu did say, however, that Iran had added to its "nuclear weapons knowledge" since then.
Supporters of fixing the agreement had hoped Trump would choose a piecemeal approach that could leave more room for him to reverse himself and stay in the deal if he could secure the additional restrictions that European nations tried unsuccessfully to negotiate with him.
Still, the administration planned to allow a grace period of at least three months and possibly up to six months so that businesses and governments can wind down operations that will violate the reimposed U.S. sanctions.
A slower withdrawal process could allow more room for Trump to reverse course later and decide to stay — if he secures the additional restrictions on Iran that European nations tried unsuccessfully to negotiate to prevent him from withdrawing.
Indeed, as administration officials briefed congressional leaders about Trump's plans Tuesday, they emphasized that just as with a major Asia trade deal and the Paris climate pact that Trump has abandoned, he remains open to renegotiating a better deal, one person briefed on the talks said.
Trump has lambasted the 2015 agreement, which was brokered by former president Barack Obama's administration, since his days as a presidential candidate.
On Tuesday, Obama said Trump's move was a "serious mistake" and "misguided," especially because Iran has been complying with the deal.
"The consistent flouting of agreements that our country is a party to risks eroding America's credibility, and puts us at odds with the world's major powers," Obama said.
There are few issues more important to the security of the US than the potential spread of nuclear weapons or the potential for even more destructive war in the Middle East. Today’s decision to put the JCPOA at risk is a serious mistake. My full statement: <a href="https://t.co/4oTdXESbxe">https://t.co/4oTdXESbxe</a>
Without the deal, the U.S. "could eventually be left with a losing choice between a nuclear-armed Iran or another war in the Middle East," Obama said.
He added that the deal remains a model for what diplomacy can accomplish, including when it comes to North Korea.
Watch to see more of Trump's statement.
Former U.S. secretary of state John Kerry, who played a key role in the Obama administration's effort to craft the deal, also said that withdrawing from the Iran nuclear deal "doesn't make sense."
Kerry, speaking at a gathering on food innovation in Milan on Tuesday, says he challenges anyone to find an agreement tougher than the one in place now.
United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres also called the deal a "major achievement in nuclear non-proliferation and diplomacy" and said he was "deeply disappointed" with Trump's decision.
Guterres called on all other UN member states to continue to support the Iran agreement.
France, Germany, and the UK regret the U.S. decision to leave the JCPOA. The nuclear non-proliferation regime is at stake.
French President Emmanuel Macron tweeted that France, Germany and the U.K. "regret the U.S. decision" and that "the nuclear non-proliferation regime is at stake."
Macron said that they would work on a "broader" agreement "covering nuclear activity ... and stability in the Middle East, notably Syria, Yemen and Iraq."
Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland on Tuesday reiterated Canada's support for the deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
"Iran must not be allowed to develop nuclear weapons," Freeland said in a statement, adding that the 2015 deal put Iran's nuclear program under a "rigorous and unprecedented international verification regime by the International Atomic Energy Agency."
Freeland's statement said while the deal isn't perfect, it has "helped to curb a real threat to international peace and security."
The foreign minister also noted that Canada has condemned Iran's ballistic missile program and maintains sanctions targeting it.
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani reacted quickly to Trump's announcement in a live address on state television, saying there is a "short time" to negotiate with the countries remaining in the nuclear deal and he will be sending his foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, to meet with them.
Rouhani warned Iran could start enriching uranium "in the next weeks."
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, meanwhile, praised Trump's decision, calling it a "historic move."
Netanyahu, a leading critic of the deal, said leaving it unchanged would be "a recipe for disaster, a disaster for our region, a disaster for the peace of the world."
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Tear Up Agreement
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Mine expansion near Lithgow could put Sydney drinking water at risk of contamination, court hears
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Sydney's drinking water could be contaminated by a major mine expansion in the New South Wales central west, a court has been told.
The Land and Environment Court has begun hearing a challenge to the approval of Centennial Coal's Springvale mine expansion, near Lithgow, which will extend the life of the mine by 13 years.
An independent report by hydrogeologists has previously questioned the impact of an expansion of long wall mining on swamps in the area.
The Environmental Defender's Office (EDO) claims the water discharge from the mine will increase salinity in the Cox's River and ultimately, Warragamba Dam.
EDO principal solicitor Sue Higginson said the discharge was not properly considered by the Planning Assessment Commission (PAC).
"There is an enormous amount of discharge every day, of mine water which is highly saline and contains heavy metals that will be discharged into the water catchment," she said.
The court challenge rests on a clause in the State Environmental Planning Policy, which requires a development to have a "neutral or beneficial effect on the quality of water".
"This mine will not have a neutral or beneficial impact on water quality," Ms Higginson said.
A Centennial Coal spokeswoman denied claims of water contamination and said it faced a "rigorous" and "exhaustive" assessment process that lasted five years.
"The Planning Assessment Commission imposed rigorous performance measures for discharge water which were regarded as appropriate by both the EPA and Department of Planning", the spokeswoman said.
She said the court challenge put the jobs of 300 workers at the Springvale mine at risk.
"After fighting to secure our Springvale approval, we will fight to retain it and protect the livelihoods of our local community," she said.
The hearing, before Justice Rachel Pepper, is set down for two days.
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Environment Pollution
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2010 Sahel famine
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A large-scale, drought-induced famine occurred in Africa's Sahel region and many parts of the neighbouring Sénégal River Area from February to August 2010. It is one of many famines to have hit the region in recent times. [4]
The Sahel is the ecoclimatic and biogeographic zone of transition between the Sahara desert in the north of Africa and the Sudanian savannas in the south, covering an area of 3,053,200 square kilometres. It is a transitional ecoregion of semi-arid grasslands, savannas, steppes, and thorn shrublands. [5]
The neighbouring Sénégal River Area contains various vegetation types and covers parts or all of Mauritania, Mali, Senegal and Guinea. It has also had very low rainfall over the last year according to the UN, NGOs and the Senegal River Basin Development Authority. [6][7] Sudan set a new temperature record of 49.7 °C (121.3 °F) on 22 June, in the town of Dongola. [3]
Famine and food shortages were present in the following Sahelian countries during 2010 after heavy rains hit the region in late 2009, followed by a heat wave:[8] Sudan, the Niger, northern Nigeria, northern Cameroon, Chad, Senegal, Burkina Faso, Mauritania, Mali, as well as in parts of the neighbouring Sénégal River Area. [6][7][9]
In December 2009, both USAID and several NGOs predicted an increased food insecurity situation in more of the southern districts of Mali as compared to the same time the previous year. [10]
The Western donor nations once theorised that the drought in the Sahel primarily was caused by humans over-using natural resources in the region through overgrazing, deforestation[11] and poor land management. [12][13] In the late 1990s, climate model studies suggested that large-scale climate changes were also triggers for the drought. In the early 2000s, after the phenomenon of global dimming was discovered, some speculatively suggested, that the drought was likely caused by air pollution generated in Eurasia and North America. The pollution changed the properties of clouds over the Atlantic Ocean, disturbing the monsoons and shifting the tropical rains southwards. Global dimming, the blocking of sunlight by man-made particulates, has been identified as one culprit for a decades-long drought across sub-Saharan Africa. [14]
A 2006 study by NOAA scientists Rong Zhang and Thomas L. Delworth suggests that the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation/(MAO) plays a leading role. An AMO warm phase strengthens the summer rainfall over Sahel, while a cold phase reduces it. [15] The AMO entered a warm phase in 1995 and, by assuming the presence of a theoretical 70-year cycle (following peaks in ≈1880 and ≈1950), it would probably peak around about 2020. [16]
The Sahel's farmers have been largely cleared of blame for the 19th century's Sahel droughts. [17] The Sahel region's rains in the 1930s and 1940s were caused by the recent warming of the Indian Ocean, rather than by over-farming causing environmental degradation as previously assumed, according to a new joint Scidev/UN study. [17] With both a 3.5 C. rise in the Niger's temperature over the last decade and with irrigated land accounting for only 0.1% of the Niger's inhabitable land, regular famine crisis is inevitable in most years. Acute water shortages, which are common in the region's harsh weather, make irrigation systems all the more important for the local farmers. [18][19][20]
The Lake Chad basin straddles the borders of both Niger, Nigeria, Cameroon and Chad. The lake is situated 281 metres (922 ft) above sea level and is diminishing over time due to lack of rain water and major rivers running into it. [21] According to the UN the marshy lake shrank as much as by 95% from about 1963 to 1998[22] yet they also state that "The 2007 (satellite) image shows significant improvement over previous years". Lake Chad is economically important, providing water to more than 20 million people living in the four countries that surround it (Chad, Cameroon, Niger, and Nigeria) on the edge of the Sahara Desert. The plant Typha Australis (or the big cattail) is cutting off water supplies in the Lake Chad Basin, and has slashed available water supplies in the Chad's region. [19][23] The only protected area is Lake Chad Game Reserve, which covers half of the area next to the lake that belongs to Nigeria. The whole lake has been declared a Ramsar site of international importance. Lake Chad's role in the Sahel famine has attracted attention partly due to the desertification that is increasingly claiming a huge swath not just of the Sahel region but also the entire African continent. According to a United Nations environment program, in 2002, this phenomenon, which is a process where the soil loses the capacity to retain necessary moisture, has covered nearly half of Africa. [24] It was revealed that the Sahel region is one of the areas that are worst affected. The problem is also highlighted by the discovery of fossil pollens indicating that, in ancient times, the shores of Lake Chad supported a well-watered savanna, which contributed to a lesser level of aridity in the Sahel area. [25] It was found that around 3,000 B.C., the Sahel averaged 650 millimetres of rainfall a year compared to an average of 350 millimetres recorded today. [25] Given the issue of desertification, even if Lake Chad was not directly a cause of the famine, its potential demise is expected to further aggravate the problem. There are studies that show that the incidence of famine is reportedly related to the delicate seasonal variations in the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ). [26]
The shrinking of Lake Chad is blamed on the long droughts as well as the uptick in human activities such as the use of the lake's water for irrigation,[27] the destruction of wooded areas for firewood, and the shift from the cultivation of corn and wheat to rice as the staple crop. [24]
In the 1960s, a plan was proposed to divert the Ubangi River into Lake Chad. The copious amount of water from the Ubangi would revitalise the dying Lake Chad and provide livelihood in fishing and enhanced agriculture to tens of millions of central Africans and Sahelians. Inter-basin water transfer schemes were proposed in the 1980s and 1990s by Nigerian engineer J. Umolu (ZCN Scheme) and Italian firm Bonifica (Transaqua Scheme). [28][29][30][31][32] In 1994, the Lake Chad Basin Commission (LCBC) proposed a similar project and at a March 2008 Summit, the Heads of State of the LCBC member countries committed to the diversion project. [33] In April 2008, the LCBC advertised a request for proposals for a World Bank-funded feasibility study. Cotton and groundnuts are two of Chad's four major cash crops. [34] Mali's major cash crops are peanuts[35] and cotton. [35][36][37][38][39][40][41] Mali's cotton production has grown from 500,000 tonnes in 1997 to a record 635,000 tonnes in 2003, which has pleased the African Association of Cotton Producers, but has also led to a claim that cash crops are being put before food and fodder crops in Mali, Burkina Faso and Chad. [35][36][37][38][39][40][41] Cassava production has fallen slightly in Burkina Faso since 2007, relative to cotton output. Their cash crops are cotton, groundnuts, shea nuts, and sesame. [42][43][44][45] The Sahel's farmers are largely cleared of blame for the 20th century's Sahel droughts[17] and this is supported by the position that several of the cash crops in the Sahel region have desirable ecological effects such as the tree crops and the legumes, which help prevent the process of desertification. [46] However, there is the enduring question of whether cash crops like cotton are more important than food plants like wheat and casava. This issue persists as studies cite that the famine is linked to the direct entitlement failure that affected people's access to food. [47]
Many of the world's countries, including many in Sub-saharan Africa, the Middle East and South East Asia, have seen a sharp rise in population since the end of the Cold War.
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Famine
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3 Convicted in Federal Court of Tennessee Bank Robberies
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Federal prosecutors say three people face prison sentences after they were convicted in Tennessee court of using tracking devices and zip ties to abduct bank employees and steal more than $600,000. 3 Convicted in Federal Court of Tennessee Bank Robberies MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Three people face prison sentences after they were convicted in Tennessee federal court of using tracking devices and zip ties to abduct bank employees and steal more than $600,000. Antonio Johnson 44, Travis Jackson 37, and Shalundra Johnson, 39, were found guilty after a four-day jury trial of kidnapping and bank robbery charges, the U.S. attorney's office in Memphis said Wednesday. In three separate robberies of Memphis banks in 2018 and 2019, bank employees were restrained in zip ties and taken from their homes at gunpoint. The defendants forced the employees to take them to the banks, where they stole money, prosecutors said. In two cases, the robbers placed tracking devices on the employees' vehicles, which allowed them to determine where the bank workers lived. Jackson faces 41 years in federal prison. Antonio Johnson faces 34 years. Shalundra Johnson faces up to 20 years in federal prison. All three are scheduled to be sentenced in September.
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Bank Robbery
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Murray-Hill riot
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The Murray-Hill riot, also known as Montreal's night of terror, was the culmination of 16 hours of unrest in Montreal, Quebec during a strike by the Montreal police on 7 October 1969.
Police were motivated to strike because of difficult working conditions caused by disarming FLQ-planted bombs and patrolling frequent protests. Montreal police also wanted higher pay, commensurate with police earnings in Toronto. In addition, the Mayor of Montreal, Jean Drapeau, who had been elected as a reformer who had promised to "clean up the city" by cracking down on corruption, turned out to be no different from his predecessors, leaving many people disillusioned. Drapeau's focus on grandiose projects such as Expo 67 instead of trying to improve the daily lives of Montrealers had also added to the frustration. The journalist Nick Auf der Maur wrote that by 1969 amongst the working class of Montreal that there was a feeling that Drapeau only cared about building the gleaming, modernistic skyscrapers that dominated the city's skyline while being indifferent to their concerns and needs.
The police wanted an annual salary for a constable to go from $7,300 to $9,200, charging that policing in Montreal was more dangerous than in Toronto with two officers being killed in the line of duty in 1968 while the frequent rioting between French-Canadians and English-Canadians in Montreal in 1968 and 1969 added to the danger. Between February 1968 and April 1969, there were 41 gangland murders in Montreal, which was more than the previous 15 years combined as a younger generation of French-Canadian criminals sought to challenge the power of the Mafia, which had traditionally dominated the Montreal underworld.Overall, there were 75 murders in Montreal in 1968, giving the city the reputation as the "murder capital of Canada". The holiday of Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day on 24 June 1968 saw rioting by Quebec separatists, angered by Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau's city visit – Trudeau's federalism had made him into a bête noire for the separatists – followed by demonstrations by junior college students demanding more placements in the universities and taxi drivers protesting against the monopoly of the Murray-Hill company's taxis and buses at the Dorval Airport.
To many, the monopoly held by the Murray-Hill company was symptomatic of Drapeau's rule, where those with power and influence obtained favors from the city of Montreal that were denied to those without power and influence, such as the working-class taxi drivers. The fact that the owners of the Murray-Hill company were English-Canadians while most of the taxi drivers were French-Canadians added to the venom. The taxi drivers had formed the Mouvement de Libération du Taxi (MLT) in September 1968 to protest their rage that the lucrative airport taxi route was monopolised by one corporation at their expense.The Mouvement de Libération du Taxi was loosely linked to the FLQ, which argued that the French-Canadian working class of Montreal was being exploited by English-Canadian capitalists, thus justifying a violent revolution to make Quebec into an independent socialist nation. On 30 October 1968, roughly a 1,000 MLT-led-or-inspired protesters blockaded Dorval airport with 250 taxis, burning Murray-Hill company vehicles when presented with the opportunity. As a show of support for the taxi drivers, the FLQ had planted a bomb in a Murray-Hill bus (which was defused by the police before it went off) and had blown up the home of one of the owners of the Murray-Hill company in Westmount.
In the first six months of 1969, there were 93 bank robberies in Montreal compared to 48 bank robberies in the first six months of 1968. In January and February 1969, the FLQ staged 10 terrorist bombings in Montreal, and between August 1968 and February 1969, there were 75 bombings linked to the FLQ. In February 1969, the FLQ set off bombs at the Montreal Stock Market (injuring 28 people) and at the offices of the Queen's Printer in Montreal. March 1969 saw the outbreak of violent demonstrations as French-Canadians demanded that McGill University, a traditional bastion of Montreal's English-speaking elite, be transformed into a French-language university, leading to counter-demonstrations by English-Canadians to keep McGill an English language university. The leader of the 'Operation McGill Français' protests was ironically a part-time Marxist political science lecturer from Ontario named Stanley Gray who could barely speak French, but who declared that McGill must become a French-language university to end "Anglo-elitism", rallying support from the Quebec separatist movement. Over two weeks of clashes and protests, McGill was reduced to chaos as Quebec separatists stormed into the meetings of the McGill's Senate and administration chanting such slogans as "Révolution! Vive le Québec socialiste! Vive le Québec libre!". The climax of the 'Operation McGill Français' protests occurred on the evening of 28 March 1969 when a 9,000-strong group of Quebec separatists led by Gray tried to storm McGill, and clashed with the police who had been asked by McGill to keep Gray's group off the campus. In September 1969, rioting broke out in the St. Leonard district between Italian-Canadians and French-Canadians with differing opinions of the language issue. [4] Italian immigrant parents had kept their children from school to protest the fact that the language of school instruction was now French instead of English, and on 10 September 1969, a group of 1,500 French-Canadian nationalists attempted to march through St. Leonard's Little Italy district to protest the school boycott. Upon arrival, the marchers were attacked by the Italians, leading to a night of violence on the streets.
In the first week of October 1969, the arbitration committee appointed by the city ruled that the police would receive a pay increase of $1,180, leading to the police going on an illegal "wildcat" strike. Because of the financial investment in Expo 67 and the simultaneous bidding to host the 1976 Olympics, the city of Montreal was already heavily in debt, leaving little money for pay increases for the police.]
On the morning of 7 October 1969, all 17 police stations across Montreal were deserted as the policemen gathered at the Paul Sauvé Arena for what was called a "day of study". The firefighters also joined in the "wildcat" strike. The provincial government posted 400 officers from the Sûreté du Québec to Montreal in the morning while the Premier Jean-Jacques Bertrand called an emergency session of the National Assembly to pass a back-to-work act. By the end of the day, the government had been forced to send another 400 Sûreté du Québec officers to Montreal to impose order.
Steven Pinker, the psychologist who was born and grew up in Montreal recalled how the wildcat police strike unfolded:
“As a young teenager in proudly peaceable Canada during the romantic 1960s, I was a true believer in Bakunin’s anarchism. I laughed off my parents’ argument that if the government ever laid down its arms all hell would break loose. Our competing predictions were put to the test at 8:00 a.m. on October 7, 1969, when the Montreal police went on strike. By 11:20 am, the first bank was robbed. By noon, most of the downtown stores were closed because of looting. Within a few more hours, taxi drivers burned down the garage of a limousine service that competed with them for airport customers, a rooftop sniper killed a provincial police officer, rioters broke into several hotels and restaurants, and a doctor slew a burglar in his suburban home. By the end of the day, six banks had been robbed, a hundred shops had been looted, twelve fires had been set, forty carloads of storefront glass had been broken, and three million dollars in property damage had been inflicted, before city authorities had to call in the army and, of course, the Mounties to restore order. This decisive empirical test left my politics in tatters (and offered a foretaste of life as a scientist).”
As the police were on strike, a crowd of disgruntled taxi drivers belonging to the Mouvement de Libération du Taxi appeared outside of the City Hall at about 6 p.m. supporting the police strike, carrying banners denouncing the Mayor, Jean Drapeau, as being corrupt. After the rally, the taxi drivers formed a convoy that were escorted by the Popeyes Motorcycle Club, the most violent of all Montreal's many outlaw biker clubs.Joining the convoy were journalists and members of the FLQ carrying banners demanding independence for Quebec. On the street, the convoy encountered a Murray-Hill limousine that was forced to stop. The passengers and driver were allowed to leave, and then the car was smashed to pieces by the taxi drivers and the Popeyes.
The taxi drivers, Popeyes and FLQ congregated around the Murray-Hill garage in Griffintown, protesting against Murray-Hill's monopoly at the Dorval International Airport. Attempts by the Sûreté du Québec to stop the procession towards the garage were stopped by striking Montreal policemen. Many of the taxi drivers were armed with Molotov cocktails, intent upon burning down the Murray-Hill company's garage. At the Murray-Hill headquarters, young people began to throw rocks and bricks through the windows, followed by Molotov cocktails.
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Riot
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Iran deal: Trump breaks with European allies over 'horrible, one-sided' nuclear agreement
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President says he will impose ‘highest level of economic sanctions’ on Iran as Tehran vows: ‘We won’t allow Trump to win’
First published on Tue 8 May 2018 20.40 BST
Donald Trump has announced he will impose “the highest level of economic sanctions” on Iran, violating an international nuclear agreement and a UN resolution, breaking decisively with US allies in Europe, and potentially triggering a new crisis in the Gulf.
In a statement at the White House, Trump said this decision meant that the US would “exit the Iran deal” agreed with other major powers in 2015, and warned that “any nation that helps Iran in its quest for nuclear weapons could be strongly sanctioned”.
He then signed an executive order reimposing sanctions on any foreign company that continues to do business with Iran. The order gives companies 90-day or 180-day grace periods to extract themselves from existing Iranian contacts or face punitive US measures.
In July 2015, Iran and a six-nation negotiating group reached a landmark agreement known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action that ended a 12-year deadlock over Tehran’s nuclear programme. The deal, struck in Vienna after nearly two years of intensive talks, limited the Iranian programme, to reassure the rest of the world that it cannot develop nuclear weapons, in return for sanctions relief.
At its core, the JCPOA is a straightforward bargain: Iran’s acceptance of strict limits on its nuclear programme in return for an escape from the sanctions that grew up around its economy over a decade prior to the accord. Under the deal, Iran unplugged two-thirds of its centrifuges, shipped out 98% of its enriched uranium and filled its plutonium production reactor with concrete. Tehran also accepted extensive monitoring by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which has verified 10 times since the agreement, and as recently as February, that Tehran has complied with its terms. In return, all nuclear-related sanctions were lifted in January 2016, reconnecting Iran to global markets.
The six major powers involved in the nuclear talks with Iran were in a group known as the P5+1: the UN security council’s five permanent members – China, France, Russia, the UK and the US – and Germany. The nuclear deal is also enshrined in a UN security council resolution that incorporated it into international law. The 15 members of the council at the time unanimously endorsed the agreement.
On 8 May 2018, US president Donald Trump pulled his country out of the deal. Iran announced its partial withdrawal from the nuclear deal a year later. Trump's successor, Joe Biden, has said that the US could return to the deal if Iran fulfilled its obligations.
Saeed Kamali Dehghan, Iran correspondent
The leaders of the UK, France and Germany, who are also parties to the agreement known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action or JCPOA, issued a statement soon after Trump’s declaration expressing their “regret and concern” and emphasising their “continuing commitment” to the deal.
“We urge the US to ensure that the structures of the JCPOA can remain intact, and to avoid taking action which obstructs its full implementation by all other parties to the deal,” the statement said.
In a separate tweet, the French president Emmanuel Macron warned: “The nuclear non-proliferation regime is at stake.” Iran’s president, Hassan Rouhani, said he believed the agreement could still survive if other negotiating partners defied Trump. But Rouhani warned that he has instructed the country’s atomic energy agency to prepare to restart enrichment of uranium at an industrial level in a few weeks’ time should the deal collapse completely. “This is a psychological war, we won’t allow Trump to win. I’m happy that the pesky being has left the [agreement],” the Iranian president said.
Iranian lawmakers set a paper US flag on fire at parliament on Wednesday morning, shouting, “Death to America!”. Iran’s parliament speaker said on Wednesday that “Trump only understands the language of force”.
“Trump’s abandoning of the nuclear deal was a diplomatic show,” Ali Larijani said. In his White House remarks, Trump called the Iran agreement “a horrible one-sided deal that should never, ever have been made”. He said: “It didn’t bring calm, it didn’t bring peace, and it never will.”
Even before Trump made his announcement at the White House, tensions were visibly rising. The Israeli military warned of “irregular activity of Iranian forces in Syria” and ordered bomb shelters to be readied in the Golan Heights. Moments after the president’s declaration, explosions were heard near Damascus and Syrian official media claimed government positions had come under Israeli air strikes.
In reintroducing sanctions, Trump referred to claims by Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu that Israel had documents detailing past Iranian work on nuclear weapons development.
Netanyahu, who has been a vocal critic of the deal and called for Trump to “fix it or nix it”, said on Tuesday: “Israel fully supports President Trump’s bold decision today to reject the disastrous nuclear deal with the terrorist regime in Tehran.”
He said Israel opposed the deal as it “paves Iran’s path to an entire arsenal of nuclear bombs”.
The “removal of sanctions under the deal has already produced disastrous results,” Netanyahu said. “Israel thanks President Trump for his courageous leadership,” he added.
Both Trump and Netanyahu are under significant domestic pressure. Trump is under scrutiny for possible collusion with Russia during the presidential election campaign, and for paying hush money to a porn actor who claims to have had sex with him. The Israeli prime minister is the subject of several police corruption inquiries.
John Bolton, Trump’s national security adviser, said the sanctions would apply immediately to new deals, but that companies would have three or six-month grace periods to get out of existing contracts.
The US Treasury issued a factsheet providing a timetable of restoration of sweeping sanctions against global companies trading or investing with Iran.
Bolton said that the US would also cease to abide by the UN security council resolution that endorsed the July 2015 deal. He said: “We are not using the provisions of UNSC 2231 because we are out the of the deal.”
The announcement marks a decisive break from the nuclear deal that the US agreed in July 2015 with its main European partners along with Russia, China and Iran, in which Tehran agreed to significant curbs on its nuclear programme in return for sanctions relief. The deal was endorsed by a UN security council resolution soon afterwards.
Barack Obama, whose administration negotiated the deal, described Trump’s violation of the agreement as “a serious mistake”. “Without the JCPOA, the United States could eventually be left with a losing choice between a nuclear-armed Iran or another war in the Middle East,” he said in statement.
Trump’s unilateral and dramatic withdrawal is likely to raise tensions rapidly in the Middle East, already inflamed by conflicts in Syria, Iraq and Yemen.
Much will now depend on reaction in Tehran, where hardliners have campaigned against the agreement and pressed for Iran to revive a full range of nuclear activities and throw out UN inspectors.
The other parties to the 2015 nuclear agreement with Iran have said they will try to keep the deal alive, but it is far from clear that will be possible in the face of the sanctions that Trump has reintroduced, targeting companies around the world for doing business with Iran.
The decision represents a rejection of repeated, concerted entreaties by Washington’s European allies to keep faith with the nuclear deal. Trump made his announcement a day after the UK foreign secretary Boris Johnson, returned home after an abortive round of last-minute lobbying for the JCPOA in Washington.
The French president, Emmanuel Macron, and Germany’s chancellor, Angela Merkel, had come to the White House in the weeks before. Their failure to sway Trump was a striking measure of how little influence Europe has on this White House, which has sided instead with Israel, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates on a major strategic decision.
“There is a question now about how aggressive Europe wants to be to keep the deal alive,” said Peter Harrell, a former senior state department sanctions official now at the Centre for a New American Security. “Without an active effort by the EU to keep European companies in Iran and resist US pressure, you will see big companies leaving.”
The JCPOA, agreed in Vienna in 2015, led to a rapid and drastic reduction in Iran’s nuclear programme. It reduced its stockpile of low-enriched uranium by 98% to just 300lbs, far below what would be required if it attempted to make enough fissile material for a single bomb.
Iran also took down about 13,000 of its centrifuges, leaving just over 5,000 of its oldest-model machines in place. It ceased all enrichment at its underground facility at Fordow, which – like other Iranian nuclear sites - was put under continuous international monitoring by the International Atomic Energy Agency. The IAEA had repeatedly confirmed that that Iran was in compliance with the restriction it had agreed to in 2015.
While Iran’s arch foes in Israel and Saudi Arabia welcomed Trump’s decision, signatories to the existing deal vowed to plow ahead without the US.
The European Union’s chief diplomat Federica Mogherini, who helped oversee the accord, insisted it was “delivering on its goal which is guaranteeing that Iran doesn’t develop nuclear weapons”.
“The European Union is determined to preserve it,” she added.
Russia’s foreign ministry said it is “deeply disappointed by the decision of US President Donald Trump to unilaterally refuse to carry out commitments” under the deal.
Karim Sadjadpour, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, warned: “By withdrawing from the JCPOA, Trump hastens the possibility of three disparate but similarly cataclysmic events: an Iranian war, an Iranian bomb or the implosion of the Iranian regime.”
“Iran looms large over major US national security concerns including Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, cyber, energy security, terrorism, & obviously nuclear proliferation,” Sadjadpour said in a tweet. “The opportunities for direct conflict are numerous.”
After announcing the abrogation of the Iran deal, Trump insisted he would press ahead with his bid to reach a nuclear agreement with the North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un, at a summit expected to take place in the coming months.
He revealed that the secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, was on the way to Pyongyang, apparently to finalise arrangements.
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Tear Up Agreement
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Afghanistan: A new order begins under the Taliban's governance
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"We're working to establish an inclusive government that represents all the people of Afghanistan," promised Taliban leader Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar when he recently arrived in Kabul to start talks aimed at forming a leadership to move the movement from guns to government. "We would like to live peacefully," vowed Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid at the first press conference in the capital after the Taliban suddenly swept into power on 15 August. "We don't want any internal enemies and any external enemies." Judge them by their actions, not their words, has become the mantra of a fast-expanding league of Taliban watchers including Afghans, foreign governments, humanitarian chiefs and political pundits the world over. But Afghans are watching most closely of all. They have to. On a day when brave protesters with bold banners spilled into the streets of Kabul and other cities - Afghan women leading the charge to demand their rights, their representation, their roles in society - the new Taliban government was unveiled. Was this more evidence of the media-savvy Taliban ? It temporarily knocked news of Taliban firing guns in the air, wielding rifle butts and sticks to disperse protesters, out of the world's headlines. But it was a modest ceremony, in the mundane setting of a press conference, for such a momentous, much-anticipated message. It electrified social media, and delivered a gut punch to those who had held fast to Taliban promises. Far from being inclusive, it is exclusively Taliban. The old organigram of the Taliban movement, with its commissions, deputies, and the all-powerful Emir Hibatullah Akhundzada, has been transplanted into a cabinet with the same political architecture of governments everywhere. Its makeup is overwhelmingly drawn from Pashtun tribes, with only one Tajik and one Uzbek, both Talibs. There's not a single woman, not even in deputy minister positions. The reviled Ministry of Vice and Virtue is back; the Women's Affairs Ministry is out. It's a government of the old guard , and the new generation of mullahs and military commanders: men in charge when the Taliban ruled in the 1990s who return, beards much lighter and longer; former Guantanamo Bay prisoners; current members of US and UN black lists; battle-hardened fighters who pressed forward on every front in recent months; self-styled peacemakers who sat around negotiating tables, and shuttled around regional capitals with promises of a new Taliban 2.0. Image source, Reuters Taliban fighters stand in front of protesters during an anti-Pakistan protest in Kabul Some names stick out - some so far they can seem provocative. The caretaker head of cabinet is the white-bearded Mullah Hasan Akhund, a founding member of the Taliban who's on the UN's sanctions list. The caretaker Minister of the Interior is Sirajuddin Haqqani. His face has rarely been seen except in a photograph, partially obscured by a caramel-coloured shawl, in a FBI wanted poster announcing a big bounty of $5m that's also on his head. His more recent claim to fame was an op-ed in the New York Times in 2020 calling for peace which failed to mention that the Haqqani Network named after his family is held responsible for some of the worst attacks on Afghan civilians. The Haqqanis insist there's no such network; they say they're part of the Taliban now. The caretaker Minister of Defence, Mullah Yaqoob, represented by a black silhouette, is the eldest son of the founding Emir of the Taliban, Mullah Omar. But, wait, this is just a caretaker cabinet. At the press conference in Kabul, as a raucous chorus of questions rose from journalists in the room, it was said more posts might be announced in time. "We haven't announced all the ministries and deputies yet so it's possible this list could be extended," Ahmadullah Wasiq, deputy head of the cultural commission, told my colleague Secunder Kermani. This may be the opening political salvo to reward and reassure their rank and file fighters, many of whom have been streaming into Kabul, to welcome the return of a "pure Islamic system". It also appears as a carefully constructed compromise. Mullah Akhund suddenly emerged at the top, fixing in place rival political and military heavyweights including Mullah Baradar whom many predicted would take a leading role, instead of a deputy position. Taliban leaders are said to have pushed back against calls to include political leaders from the past, especially those tainted by corruption, arguing they've already had their time at the top. A phrase still rings in my ears from Taliban negotiator Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanikzai, who's now been appointed as deputy foreign minister, the same role he held the last time round. When I asked him in February 2020, after the signing of the landmark US-Taliban deal, what he would say to Afghans who feared their return, he replied with great gusto: "I tell them we will have a government acceptable to the majority." The word majority was punctuated by a loud emphasis. In other words, a government dominated by traditional values, not what they mock as Western ideas. Those were heady days when Afghans dared to hope the worst of the war was over. Later that year, on the first day of formal Afghan talks in the Gulf state of Qatar, a buzz shot through the room when the Taliban hinted they would no longer be demanding an Islamic Emirate; they said they understood its sensitivity. In talks with female negotiators, they reassured them women could play every role except president, including government ministers. That was then. This is now. The Taliban are in charge. "Those who do not pay attention to the social fabric of Afghanistan will face serious challenges," warns negotiator and former MP Fawzia Koofi, who heard many of those promises. That challenge is already crystallising in protests on the streets, in statements from capitals around the world. "The world is watching closely," warned a statement from the US State Department. "Little chance of international recognition of Taliban soon," declared an editorial in Russia's Nezavisimaya Gazeta. And a challenge may even rise from within a younger generation of Taliban. "We must pay attention to the lessons of history," a young Talib recently reflected to me. He emphasised that if the Taliban tried to dominate again, they could be toppled again, as they were in 2001, as the last government just was. Another expressed unease that mullahs schooled only in religious matters were being given so many posts. Image source, EPA Image caption, A Taliban fighter stands guard outside the building of the former US embassy In a statement issued soon after the caretaker cabinet was announced, the Emir noted that "all talented and professional people" were desperately needed for their "talents, guidance, and work." But in all his exhortations, it was also clear the bottom line was about strengthening "the system," the re-established Islamic Emirate. This takes precedence above all else. In recent days in Kabul, I've asked Taliban watchers of various ilk if they thought the leadership would harden over time, or open up. Powerful winds could tilt them in many directions. The world's major aid agencies, who provided around 80% of the old government's budget, are watching closely. "They're in very, very dire straits," the UN's humanitarian chief Martin Griffiths told me as he ended a visit where he emphasised the centrality of humanitarian principles and values, including the inclusion of women and girls. Senior officials, he remarked, asked him for patience and advice. Afghanistan's new leaders are also under the microscope of jihadi movements worldwide who've enthusiastically welcomed a new land of Islamic governance compliant with Islamic Sharia law. Afghanistan is, to use the expression, "too big to fail". Warnings about a safe haven for extremist groups, worries about human rights and a deepening humanitarian crisis of hunger and hardship, will concentrate many minds on trying to find a way to work with leaders still finding their way, still rooted in their past, rather than, as yet, a different kind of future. But that mantra will stick - actions, not words, matter most. In the UK you can listen to Lyse Doucet's podcast, A Wish for Afghanistan, on BBC Sounds .
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Regime Change
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Trump signs executive order withdrawing US from TPP trade deal
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President fulfills campaign pledge on the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal; additionally signs order placing hiring freeze on some federal workers, reinstate ban on providing federal money to international groups that perform abortions Making good on a campaign promise, President Trump on Monday signed an executive order withdrawing the United States from the controversial Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal. He also signed two other orders -- one placing a hiring freeze on some federal workers and the other reinstating a ban on funding for international groups that perform abortions. The TPP, a giant and semi-secret 12-member free-trade agreement advocated by the Obama administration, aimed to deepen economic ties between the U.S. and 11 other Pacific Rim nations, cut taxes and foster trade to boost economic growth in the process. "We’ve been talking about this for a long time," Trump said, as he signed the document. He called the order to pull out of TPP a “great thing for the American worker.” Trump argued on the campaign trail that the TPP is harmful to U.S. workers and robs the manufacturing sector. "We're going to have trades but we're going to have one on one...if somebody misbehaves we will send a letter and they'll have 30 days to work it out," Trump said. Supporters of TTP said it would have been a boon for all 12 nations involved and would unlock business opportunities on a global scale. Opponents argued, among other things, it would encourage exporting U.S. jobs to low-wage nations. Trade has been the rare issue where Trump and labor unions have found common ground. “With this decision, the president has taken the first step toward fixing 30 years of bad trade policies that have cost working Americans millions of good paying jobs,” Teamsters Union President James Hoffa said in a written statement. But Trump’s stance on trade has created tension from some within his own party. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., called the withdrawal a “serious mistake that will have lasting consequences for America’s economy and our strategic position in the Asia-Pacific region.” McCain, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, also said the decision will “forfeit the opportunity to promote American exports, reduce trade barriers, open new markets, and protect American invention and innovation.” He added that it would “create an opening for China to rewrite the economic rules of the road at the expense of American workers.” On the campaign trail, Trump also criticized NAFTA -- the North American Free Trade Agreement -- saying the U.S. manufacturing sector had been battered by bad trade deals. During a meeting Sunday, Trump signaled he would make changes to NAFTA. Signed into law in 1994 by former President Bill Clinton, NAFTA is a trade agreement between the United States, Canada and Mexico. It essentially eliminates almost all tariffs between the three nations, allowing the flow of goods and supplies across borders. One of the other executive orders Trump signed reinstates a ban on federal funds going to international groups that perform abortions or even advocate it as an option. The ban has been in place since 1984 and has gone back and forth depending on the party in power in the White House. Pro-life groups praised the decision. “President Trump is continuing Ronald Reagan’s legacy by taking immediate action on day one to stop the promotion of abortion through our tax dollars overseas," Susan B. Anthony List President Marjorie Dannenfelser said in a statement. Former President Obama ended the ban in 2009. Trump reinstated it one day after the Jan. 22 anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the landmark decision that legalized abortion in the United States. “With this action, Donald Trump has turned his anti-women rhetoric into policy, and made it more difficult for women and families all over the world to access vital reproductive care,” NARAL Pro-Choice America President Ilyse Hogue said in the written statement. “He really is living up to the lowest of expectations.” The new commander-in-chief also signed an executive order on Monday that froze hiring for some federal government employees. “Except for the military,” he said when signing it.
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Withdraw from an Organization
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El Paso resident dies in home carbon monoxide poisoning incident
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An El Paso man has died in what is believed to be a carbon monoxide poisoning over the weekend, police and fire officials said.
The man was one of three residents hospitalized Saturday after a suspected carbon monoxide leak in a heater at a home, El Paso Fire Department spokesman Enrique Dueñas-Aguilar said.
The man, who was in his 70s, died at a hospital. His name has not been released.
The man and two other people were found about 11 a.m. Saturday in a home in the 6000 block of Jemez Drive, Dueñas-Aguilar said.
The home is in the Tejas neighborhood off Trowbridge Drive, south of Interstate 10 from Bassett Place.
More local news:Suspected arsonist arrested after man dies in house fire trying to rescue dog
A friend or relative went to the home, found the three people unconscious and called 911, Dueñas-Aguilar said.
Carbon monoxide detectors worn by the firefighters responding to the scene detected high levels of CO inside the house, Dueñas-Aguilar said. The source of the odorless gas was believed to be a heater.
The three residents, who were described as senior citizens, were rushed by ambulance to a hospital in critical condition.
Carbon monoxide, also known as CO, is potentially deadly and can be produced when natural gas appliances are not working correctly or vented properly.
The El Paso Police Department is investigating the case as an unattended death, a police spokesman said Tuesday.
The incident on Saturday was the second fatal carbon monoxide poisoning in El Paso this fall/winter season.
On Oct. 28 following an unusually early snowfall, a man died of carbon monoxide poisoning due to a faulty furnace at a home in the 6300 block of Westside Drive in the Upper Valley, Dueñas-Aguilar said.
Daniel Borunda may be reached at 915-546-6102; dborunda@elpasotimes.com; @BorundaDaniel on Twitter.
Carbon monoxide, or CO, is an odorless, colorless and tasteless gas that is potentially dangerous. It is created by the incomplete or improper burning of fuel.
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Mass Poisoning
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Foo Fighters report COVID-19 case, postpone weekend concert that would have reopened Forum
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The Foo Fighters have postponed their Saturday concert at the Forum in Inglewood after someone affiliated with the band tested positive for the novel coronavirus. Tickets purchased for this weekend will be valid for the new date, which “will be announced shortly,” according to the musical act’s social media pages. The highly anticipated performance was supposed to mark the Forum’s first first full-capacity show and first ticketed event in more than a year. “Despite having made every effort to follow CDC Covid protocols and local laws, there has been a confirmed Covid-19 case within the Foo Fighters organization,” the band said in a statement. “Out of an abundance of caution and concern for the safety of the band, crew and most of all the fans, Saturdays show at the Los Angeles Forum is being postponed to a later date.” Important information about the July 17th Forum show. The COVID-induced delay comes about a month after the “Pretender” artists played their first full-capacity performance since the beginning of the pandemic. The intimate set — held at the Canyon Club in Agoura Hills for 600 lucky fans — required proof of vaccination to attend and sparked a backlash among unvaccinated community members who accused the venue and the Foo Fighters of discriminating against them. Shortly thereafter, the rock musicians kicked off their world tour with a comeback performance at New York City’s famed Madison Square Garden, which was also limited to fully vaccinated patrons. Saturday’s stop at the Forum has since been removed from the Foo Fighters’ website, which lists forthcoming tour dates in Cincinnati, Milwaukee, Chicago, St. Louis, Mexico City, Boston and more cities worldwide. Music After protests, Foo Fighters will reopen the Forum with first full-capacity crowd Dave Grohl and Foo Fighters announce a July concert at the Forum. With California reopened, guests will self-attest as to their vaccination status. June 22, 2021 During the first weekend of August, the Foo Fighters are set to headline Chicago’s annual Lollapalooza music festival alongside Miley Cyrus, Tyler the Creator, Post Malone, DaBaby, Marshmello and the Grammy Awards’ 2021 new artist of the year, Megan Thee Stallion. Earlier this year, Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl and his bandmates participated in Global Citizen’s “Vax Live: The Concert to Reunite the World,” at Inglewood’s SoFi Stadium. The event, which also featured Jennifer Lopez, J Balvin, Prince Harry, Selena Gomez and more, was aimed at encouraging people to get vaccinated against the novel coronavirus. “Dude,” Grohl mused onstage before playing to an in-person crowd. “I remember this.” The complete guide to home viewing Get Screen Gab for weekly recommendations, analysis, interviews and irreverent discussion of the TV and streaming movies everyone’s talking about.
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Organization Closed
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2019 Peru earthquake
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An earthquake measuring Mw 8.0 struck Peru and the surrounding areas on 26 May 2019 at 02:41 local time. It had a maximum perceived intensity of VIII (Severe) on the Modified Mercalli intensity scale. Two people died and a further 30 were injured. It was the strongest earthquake in 2019 by magnitude. [2]
Peru lies above the destructive plate boundary where the Nazca Plate subducts beneath the South American Plate. The plates converge at a rate of 70 mm per year. The country has been affected by many large megathrust earthquakes caused by slip along the plate interface, such as the 1868 Arica earthquake. There are also large earthquakes of intermediate depth caused by faulting within the downgoing Nazca Plate. [3]
On 26 May 2019, at 07:41 UTC (2:41 a.m., local time), a Mw 8.0 earthquake struck northern Peru. The earthquake lasted for about 60 seconds, with most of the energy being released within a period of about 40–60 seconds. [1] The earthquake's epicenter was in the northern region of Peru, near Ecuador. This intermediate depth event (122.8 km) was caused by normal faulting within the Nazca Plate. Out of the two possible solutions of the moment tensor, analysis of seismic waveforms suggests that the causative fault dips towards the east. [1]
Two people were killed and 15 others were injured in Peru, while a further 15 people were injured in Ecuador.
The President of Peru, Martín Vizcarra, called for calm and said that he, along with his transportation minister, would evaluate the damage to roadways. Vizcarra also stated that other officials would evaluate damage to structures and any effects on a nearby reservoir. [6] Many people evacuated homes and stores when the earthquake struck late at night. Some buildings, streets, and bridges suffered damage from the earthquake. [7]
The earthquake damaged 833 homes and left 404 of them uninhabitable. 38 health facilities were damaged, with 4 of them being rendered unusable. 111 schools were affected with 7 being put out of action. [8]
Some damage was reported from the parts of Ecuador closest to the epicenter. [7]
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Earthquakes
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Mudslides In Colorado's Glenwood Canyon Temporarily Close Part Of I-70
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Mudslides have been closing a mountainous section of Interstate 70 throughout the summer. The latest slides could keep the vital transportation artery closed for weeks. A MARTINEZ, HOST: As wildfires rage in some Western states, it's damage from last year's fires that are a big problem in Colorado. Mudslides have been closing a section of Interstate 70 there during the summer. Yesterday, Governor Jared Polis said the latest slides could keep the vital highway closed for weeks. Colorado Public Radio's Nathaniel Minor reports. NATHANIEL MINOR, BYLINE: The closed section of I-70 west of the Continental Divide is stunning. It's in a steep, narrow canyon with 1,300-foot-high walls. It's so narrow the highway has to be suspended above the Colorado River. But geologist Paul Santi with the Colorado School of Mines says it also means the road is vulnerable to flash floods and mudslides, which can happen in an instant. PAUL SANTI: It's the kind of thing that eyewitnesses have said they've seen the creek change color, for instance. And then seconds later, maybe a couple of minutes later, here comes this mudslide. MINOR: So heavy rains last week were a disaster, says Colorado Governor Jared Polis. (SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING) JARED POLIS: The average monthly rainfall for the entire month of July in Glenwood Canyon is 2.4 inches. We had nearly twice that rainfall over five days. MINOR: Because wildfire last year burned up the vegetation that helps soak up water, that rain resulted in 10 feet of mud covering the road on Thursday. Rocks took out highway walls. About 100 people were stuck in their cars overnight. The debris diverted the Colorado River, and now the road is underwater in some places. (SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING) POLIS: I can assure everyone that the Colorado Department of Transportation is doing everything in our power to reopen as quickly as possible. MINOR: Polis says, best-case scenario, in a 15-mile section, one lane in either direction could be open in a few days, but more likely, it'll be closed for weeks. That could hurt local economies and families in the middle of vacations. Tens of thousands of cars use the road every day. And in these mountains, the shortest detour over good roads adds at least 2 1/2 hours. Climate change could make disruptive closures like this more common. Shoshana Lew, head of the State Department of Transportation, says they're trying to figure out how to repair the road so it's more resilient to future disasters. (SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING) SHOSHANA LEW: Places like Glenwood Canyon are inherently fragile because of the nature of why they're special. And, you know, respecting the landscape as we help it heal is something that I think is on all of our minds as we deal with these very deeply jarring and impactful events. MINOR: New vegetation will regrow on the canyon walls over the next few years, and experts say that will help limit slides. But more rain before then could do even more damage. So many Coloradans who used to hope for a drought-breaking rain are now crossing their fingers for clear skies.
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Mudslides
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BBC Sport
football
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The deal which should secure Crystal Palace's future has been legally agreed and signed by the club's administrator and the new owners, CPFC 2010.
Palace were saved from liquidation last week when the consortium agreed in principle to buy the Championship outfit and their Selhurst Park ground. "Each football club has a share in the Football League," said the club's administrator Brendan Guilfoyle. "And in essence we have agreed to transfer that share to the new owners." It is hoped completion of the deal will happen by the end of July once the Football League's insolvency policy has been fully complied with and their due diligence completed. Guilfoyle had given the Eagles until 1500 BST on Tuesday, 1 June to reach an agreement with Lloyds Bank or he would start to liquidate the club, but a deal was struck at the 11th hour with CPFC 2010, a consortium headed by Palace fans Steve Parish and Martin Long.
"Achieving this sale has been a balancing act between four parties - the stadium administrator, the secured creditor Agilo, other creditors and the Football League who need to be satisfied that the deal meets their requirements," Guilfoyle added. Palace avoided relegation from the Championship on the final day of the season with a 2-2 draw at Sheffield Wednesday that condemned the Owls to League One. The club was docked 10 points for going into administration in January before then manager Neil Warnock left to join QPR and star striker Victor Moses was sold to Wigan. Guilfoyle's main job on taking over at the ailing club was to secure funding for the costs of the administration to run the club while at the same time looking for buyers to agree a sale. Agilo agreed to fund the running costs with a cash injection of £1m, despite already being owed £4.5m by the club, while Guilfoyle also admitted he had reduced his own fees to boost the deal. "All the parties in this deal have recognised they will be paid back more if they can find a rescue deal that works, rather than shutting down the club forever. We and our lawyers have played our own part by reducing our fees to enable the deal to go through."
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Sign Agreement
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President’s Cup | Manu Bhaker signs off with another gold, Rahi Sarnobat wins silver in women's 25m pistol event
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President’s Cup | Manu Bhaker signs off with another gold, Rahi Sarnobat wins silver in women's 25m pistol event | SportsCafe Desk 11/09/2021 India's ace shooter Manu Bhaker has won yet another gold, while Rahi Sarnobat took home a silver, on the final day of the President's Cup 2021 in Wroclaw, Poland on Tuesday. This time around Bhaker paired with Turkey's Ozgur Varlik to win the 25m rapid fire pistol mixed team gold medal. This team got the better of China’s Xiao Jiaruixian, who is a bronze-medalist from Tokyo 2020, and Peeter Olesk of Estonia 9-7 in the final. The bronze went to France's Clement Bessaguet and his partner Doreen Vennekamp of Germany in the 25m rapid fire pistol mixed team event. Earlier on day two, Sarnobat won the silver in the women's 25m pistol with a score of 31, behind Germany's Doreen Vennekamp, who won the gold with a score of 33. France's Mathilde Lamolle won the bronze with a score of 27. Unfortunately, despite making the final, Bhaker could not win a medal and finished in the sixth position. At the end of the tournament, the Indian team finished with five medals in all -- two gold, two silver, and a bronze. Interestingly, the other gold too had come by Bhaker, who won the top prize in the 10m pistol mixed team with Iran’s Javad Foroughi. Also, Sourabh Chaudhary and Abhishek Verma had won silver and bronze respectively, in the men's 10m pistol event.
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Awards ceremony
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Sears is shutting its last store in Illinois, its home state
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The last Sears department store located in the retailer’s home state of Illinois is getting ready to close its doors for good. The shop, located in Simon Property Group’s Woodfield Mall, is scheduled to shutter on Nov. 14, the company confirmed to CNBC. A spokesman for the department store chain’s parent company, Transformco, said it will look for ways to revive the space with another tenant because it also manages the real estate. “This is part of the company’s strategy to unlock the value of the real estate and pursue the highest and best use for the benefit of the local community,” Transformco said in a statement. Sears Holdings, which also owned Kmart, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in October 2018. Transformco later acquired Sears out of bankruptcy and has since closed dozens of the remaining Sears and Kmart locations across the United States. Kmart’s last location in Manhattan recently shut. It will be replaced by a Wegmans grocery store. A spokesperson for Transformco declined to confirm how many Sears and Kmart stores are still open. The company’s websites list 35 Sears locations, including the one at Woodfield Mall, and 22 Kmart stores. Sears was founded in Chicago in the 1890s. Its business blossomed through much of the 20th century, as it sold everything from homes to apparel. Sears was once the largest retailer in the nation, boasting thousands of stores. The company had about 700 stores, many of them barren of goods, when it filed for bankruptcy protection. Scott Carr, president of Transformco’s real estate division, said in a statement that the company plans to maximize the value of the Woodfield Mall property through a redevelopment.
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Organization Closed
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2009 Georgian demonstrations
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In 2009, a mass rally by a coalition of opposition parties in took place in Georgia against the government of President Mikheil Saakashvili. Thousands of people demonstrated, mainly in the capital, Tbilisi, starting on 9 April 2009, demanding Saakashvili's resignation. [1] On the first day of demonstrations, up to 40,000 people gathered in Tbilisi. [2] Opposition activists had expected some 100,000 – 150,000 participants. [3][4] Protests continued for over three months, although fewer people participated as time passed than during the first days. On 26 May 2009, the Georgian Independence Day, 60,000 protesters took part. [5] Although peaceful at first, there were incidents of fighting between the Georgian police and protesters. [6][7] The daily rallies gradually dwindled and ended, without achieving any tangible results, on 24 July –107 days after they kicked off. [8]
On 27 March 2009, 13 opposition parties agreed to hold a joint rally to demand Saakashvili's resignation in an announcement named Manifesto of Unity. It was signed by Alliance for Freedom (uniting Party of Freedom; Party of Women for Justice and Equality; Traditionalists and Party of Future); Conservative Party (leaders – Kakha Kukava and Zviad Dzidziguri); Democratic Movement–United Georgia (led by Nino Burjanadze); Georgia's Way (led by Salome Zourabichvili); Industrialists Party (led by Zurab Tkemaladze and beer magnate Gogi Topadze); Movement for United Georgia (founded by ex-defense minister Irakli Okruashvili); Party of People (led by Koba Davitashvili); and the Alliance for Georgia, uniting New Rights, Republican Party and a political team of Irakli Alasania, who had earlier showed reservations about joining the manifestations. Levan Gachechiladze, a former opposition presidential candidate, has joined the document as an individual politician. [9]
According to Eka Beselia, a spokeswoman for the For a United Georgia party, the protest is intended to change power in a constitutional way. "The action will be halted only when the power of Saakashvili comes to an end. We'll force him by a peaceful but nation-wide protest to resign," Beselia said on 13 March. [10] Salome Zourabichvili stressed on 8 April, that the demonstrators will remain on the streets until the president steps down. [3]
The date of 9 April 2008, was chosen because it will be the 20-year anniversary of the day when 20 people died as Soviet Red Army troops dispersed a pro-independence rally in Tbilisi. [1]
Opposition parties have accused Saakashvili of concentrating power to himself, using riot police to crush opposition rallies in 2007 and for the disaster of the 2008 South Ossetia war. "I don't think that it should be a surprise that after we lost 20% of Georgian territory and have no democracy in the country, we are asking for the resignation of the president," opposition leader Nino Burjanadze said. [1][4]
On 8 April, the Tbilisi-based pro-opposition Maestro TV aired a brief video, informing the public that the opposition and their supporters will start gathering at three various venues in the capital city – in Avlabari Square, Tbilisi State University and at the public broadcaster’s office subsequently to join outside the Parliament in Rustaveli Avenue. [11]
Foreign diplomats have called for a dialogue between the government and opposition,[12] and the Georgian Orthodox Church has urged the opposition, the government and the Georgian army not to resort to force. [13]
On 8 April 2009, Georgian police set up a Monitoring Center to oversee the rallies and invited foreign diplomats to keep a close eye on police and protesters’ actions. The office of Georgian public defender Sozar Subari and a group of local non-governmental organizations will also monitor the events. Irakli Alasania, leader of the Alliance for Georgia, said that the opposition was willing to cooperate with the law enforcement agencies to provide security during the rallies. [14]
President Saakashvili has stated there was "no alternative to dialogue" and the government was ready to talk even "with the smallest and the most radical group". [15] The Georgian Interior Minister Vano Merabishvili said that the authorities would show "maximum tolerance" towards the protesters and police would retaliate in case of the opposition attempts at storming the government buildings. [16] Fire crews and hundreds of police in full riot gear were positioned on the courtyard of the parliament in central Tbilisi in early 9 April. [17]
On the morning of 9 April, the Democratic Movement–United Georgia party claimed that 60 of its members had been arrested in overnight raids. [1][18] Up to 40,000 people gathered in Tbilisi on 9 April. The protesters gave Saakashvili time until 11:00 GMT on Friday, 10 April to stand day and agree to the demands. [2] A few hundred protesters stayed the night outside the parliament. Opposition leaders asked people to meet again at afternoon next day. Eka Beselia said he did not expect Saakashvili to adhere to the deadline, and that concrete action was planned for Friday. [19]
On 10 April, about 20,000[citation needed] people took part in the rally in Tbilisi. The opposition announced the start of a national disobedience campaign. Major roads in Tbilisi were blocked off for six hours, causing the traffic in the city to paralyze. The opposition said that the same action will be repeated every day. [20]
The Georgian opposition said on 12 April 2009 it would continue its peaceful protest demanding the resignation of President Mikheil Saakashvili, despite its previous decision to hold a break for a religious holiday. [21]
On 13 April 2009 the protesters set up camp outside President Saakashvili's office. [22] and the opposition leaders stated they were ready to hold talks with the president but that an election was the only way out of the deadlock. [22]
Opposition leaders have pledged to keep the protests peaceful[22] but on 6 May 2009 protesters and police clashed near a police base. The Interior Ministry said 22 protesters and six policemen were injured. The opposition said several of its leaders were also treated in hospital. Protesters appeared to have converged on the police base to demand the release of three opposition activists detained over the beating of a journalist on 5 May 2009. [23]
On 26 May 2009, the Georgian independence day, 60,000 protesters gathered to demand Saakashvili's resignation. [5] The opposition has also forced the government to cancel the annual military parade. [5] Opposition leaders still insisted that protests will continue until Saakashvili resigns. Saakashvili, on his part, reiterated his refusal once again. [5]
On 28 May 2009, several protesters and five policemen were injured in a clash close to the protest venue outside the Parliament. [6] According to the Georgian government, least one police officer was stabbed and others were beaten. However, the opposition denied the report, saying some 20 plainclothes police attacked its supporters with batons.
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Protest_Online Condemnation
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Bottlenose dolphins threatened by man-made contaminants, EPA study finds
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Bottlenose dolphins across southern Australia are facing a growing contamination danger from man-made compounds which do not degrade in the natural environment, a new study has found.
Perfluorinated chemicals have been in used in manufacturing for several decades because of their resistance to heat, water and oil — in firefighting foams, non-stick cookware and in carpets and couches to make them stain-proof.
The study by the Environment Protection Authority (EPA) in South Australia concluded dolphins living in waterways such as Adelaide's Port River and Perth's Swan River were facing some of the highest known contamination risks in the world.
Researchers analysed samples taken from the livers of more than 40 deceased dolphins, but stressed those deaths were not because of the compounds, and compared their results to international research findings.
"So far we can't find any detrimental effects in the dolphins," Peter Dolan from the EPA said.
The compounds, officially known as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), could be absorbed by marine life through general environmental exposure or their consumption of other contaminated fish, the study said.
"Work is needed to understand how the environment can cope with emerging chemicals, including PFAS, and how they can be managed for the future," it concluded.
Mr Dolan said more scientific investigation was needed into the impact of the chemical compounds on both dolphins and on humans who ate fish.
"We're advised by SA Health there's no definitive link between these chemicals and human illnesses, but there's a growing body of evidence to say we should be cautious," he said.
"Because it accumulates, we should be cautious and try to eliminate it where we can."
The EPA official said there was a lack of Australian data on human exposure.
Check this box to disable GIFs from automatically playing on the ABC News website.
"In Australia, nobody manufactures these substances, they're all imported so there hasn't been the body of research in Australia about worker exposure," he said.
Mr Dolan said the mammals studied in urban areas showed the highest PFAS concentrations.
"There were much higher levels in the Port River, near the city of Adelaide, than say the west coast," he said.
"The same in WA, much higher levels in the Swan River near industrial areas — it was consistent throughout our study."
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Environment Pollution
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3 teens arrested in violent, armed Markham bank robbery
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York police have arrested three teens in connection with an armed bank robbery in Markham on Wednesday night where one employee was seriously hurt and three others were injured. The robbery happened at an RBC branch in the area of 16th Avenue and Markham Road, according to York Regional Police Staff Sgt. Marc Hilliker. Officers were called to the branch at about 8 p.m. Police said in a news release that three teens arrived at the bank in a vehicle, and then walked in armed with knives and guns. "The suspects ordered everyone onto the ground and demanded cash from the safe," the news release reads. "Two employees of the bank were stabbed and two people had been kicked in the face." Of the two who were stabbed, one suffered injuries that Hilliker described as serious. Paramedics took all four employees to hospital. All of their injuries are considered non-life-threatening. Hillkier said the trio "ran away from the bank and went north through a wooded area" before ending up in a residential neighbourhood. Police dogs, escorted by York police's tactical unit, found them in a townhouse under construction. "Within 45 minutes our officers had coordinated the capture of all these armed individuals," Hillkier told CBC News. Two guns were also recovered, police say. According to the news release, the car the teens were using was stolen on Feb. 10 in a violent carjacking in Toronto. A 16-year-old of no fixed address, a 15-year-old of no fixed address, and a 13-year-old from Mississauga were all arrested. They are now facing charges including robbery with a firearm, aggravated assault, and possession of property obtained by crime. Police say they have found evidence that connects the trio to other robberies in the Greater Toronto Area. Their investigation is ongoing. Witnesses are asked to call York Regional Police or to contact Crime Stoppers. With files from The Canadian Press Audience Relations, CBC P.O. Box 500 Station A Toronto, ON Canada, M5W 1E6 Toll-free (Canada only): 1-866-306-4636 TTY/Teletype writer: 1-866-220-6045
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Bank Robbery
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1904 Douliu earthquake
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The 1904 Douliu earthquake (Chinese: 1904年斗六地震; pinyin: 1904 nián Dǒuliù dìzhèn) struck central Taiwan with a magnitude of 6.1 at 04:25 on November 6. The quake caused widespread damage and killed 145 people, making it the fifth deadliest earthquake of the 20th century in Taiwan. At 04:25 of the morning of 6 November 1904, a magnitude 6.1 earthquake centred on the town of Xingang, Chiayi County, shook towns in present-day Yunlin County, Chiayi County, and Tainan City. Despite the relatively light magnitude, the shallow depth of the temblor (7 km) coupled with the fact that it struck in a populated area meant that casualties were heavier than might be expected. [1]
The earthquake was one of the first major quakes in Taiwan to be monitored using seismographs that were introduced by the Japanese. This enabled government officials to pinpoint the magnitude, epicentre and hypocentre of the earthquake with more accuracy than ever before. The quake was felt throughout the island, and Japanese officials recorded sandblasting and soil liquefaction at several sites in the affected area. [1]
According to Taiwan's Central Weather Bureau, there were 145 deaths, with 50 people seriously injured and 107 people less seriously injured. As a result of the quake 590 dwellings were completely destroyed, while a further 1,085 dwellings were partially destroyed. The cost of damage was assessed at the time as ¥105,155 (1904 Japanese yen). The worst affected area was Shinkō subprefecture (新港支廳) (Xingang, Chiayi), where 85 of the deaths occurred. [1]
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Earthquakes
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Laoag International Airlines Flight 585 crash
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Laoag International Airlines Flight 585 was a scheduled flight operated by Laoag International Airlines from Manila to Laoag, Philippines. On November 11, 2002, the Fokker F-27 Friendship crashed into Manila Bay shortly after takeoff from Ninoy Aquino International Airport. [1] Of the 34 passengers and crew on board, 15 survived. [2]
Flight 585 took off from Ninoy Aquino International Airport shortly after 6 a.m. local time. Almost at once the plane's engines began to fail. The flight crew decided to return to the airport but when it became an unfeasible option, the pilots chose to attempt a water landing in Manila Bay instead. The Fokker F-27 broke up and sank; the Philippine Coast Guard and local fishermen rushed to the scene but 19 passengers and crew had died. The pilot and co-pilot of Flight 585 plus Roman Catholic Bishop Jose Paala Salazar were among the survivors. [3]
The owner of Laoag International Airlines, Paul Ng, stated sabotage caused the crash, but retracted his statement very soon afterwards. [4] A month after the crash, Ng plus the Airlines chief mechanic, were arrested by Philippine immigration authorities and charged with working without having a proper permit. [5][6]
On January 10, 2003, it was announced that pilot error was the cause of the crash. The plane's two surviving pilots, Captain Bernie Crisostomo and First Officer Joseph Gardiner, failed to notice that the fuel valves were closed. Transportation and Communications Secretary, Leandro Mendoza, placed the blame for the pilot's fatal lapse on the principal officers of Laoag International Airlines. [7]
Five months after the investigation was complete, a special committee of the Senate began proceedings to revoke Laoag International Airlines' congressional franchise. [8]
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Air crash
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Bluefield Elks Lodge 9/11 event canceled by COVID
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Sep. 6—BLUEFIELD — An event honoring local first responders during the 21st anniversary of the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, has been canceled as a precaution due to rising numbers of COVID-19 cases. The Bluefield Elks Lodge was planning to host this year's event at the Elks Lodge on Whitethorn Street on Sept. 12 this year. During previous events, local firefighters, law enforcement agencies, EMTs and veterans were recognized for their service to their communities and country. The Elks had planned to host a 2021 event, but then local numbers of COVID-19 cases started to increase, said Dr. Randy Stevens, the lodge's president. Sponsors of tables at the event, and the event's corporate sponsor, Princeton Community Hospital, discussed whether to have this year's festivities. "We thought that with the surge in the COVID numbers of the people being diagnosed and hospitalized, it would be ill-advised to have a gathering with 150 to 200 people inside," Stevens said. "We decided to cancel it, and hopefully we can do it on another date or next year for sure when the world gets back to normal." This year the event had 50 table sponsors, which is the most the Elks ever had, he said. "Everyone was wanting to do something for the first responders," Stevens stated. "We've returned their money. We'll be calling them again when the world gets back to normal." — Contact Greg Jordan at gjordan@bdtonline.com
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Organization Closed
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India logs 26,964 new Covid infections, 383 fatalities in last 24 hours
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The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 3,27,83,741 and the case fatality rate was recorded at 1.33%, according to health ministry data PTI 22 September, 2021 1:26 pm IST People wait to receive Covid-19 vaccine dose during a vaccination drive in Birbhum district, West Bengal on 21 September 2021 | PTI New Delhi: India logged 26,964 new coronavirus infections taking the total tally of COVID-19 cases to 3,35,31,498, while the active cases declined to 3,01,989, the lowest in 186 days, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Wednesday. The death toll climbed to 4,45,768 with 383 fresh fatalities, according to the data updated at 8 am. The active cases comprise 0.90 per cent of the total infections, the lowest since March 2020, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate was recorded at 97.77 per cent, the highest since March 2020, the ministry said. A reduction of 7,586 cases has been recorded in the active COVID-19 caseload in a span of 24 hours. As many as 15,92,395 tests were conducted on Tuesday taking the total cumulative tests conducted so far for detection of COVID-19 in the country to 55,67,54,282. The daily positivity rate was recorded at 1.69 per cent. It has been less than three per cent for last 23 days. The weekly positivity rate was recorded at 2.08 per cent. It has been below three per cent for the last 89 days, according to the ministry. The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 3,27,83,741 and the case fatality rate was recorded at 1.33 per cent. The cumulative doses administered in the country so far under the nationwide COVID-19 vaccination drive has exceeded 82.65 crore. India’s COVID-19 tally had crossed the 20-lakh mark on August 7, 2020, 30 lakh on August 23, 40 lakh on September 5 and 50 lakh on September 16. It went past 60 lakh on September 28, 70 lakh on October 11, crossed 80 lakh on October 29, 90 lakh on November 20 and surpassed the one-crore mark on December 19. India crossed the grim milestone of two crore on May 4 and three crore on June 23. The 383 new fatalities include 214 from Kerala and 70 from Maharashtra. A total of 4,45,768 deaths have been reported so far in the country including 1,38,616 from Maharashtra, 37,648 From Karnataka, 35,379 from Tamil Nadu, 25,085 from Delhi, 23,897 from Kerala, 22,887 from Uttar Pradesh, and 18,678 from West Bengal. The ministry stressed that more than 70 per cent of the deaths occurred due to comorbidities. “Our figures are being reconciled with the Indian Council of Medical Research,” the ministry said on its website, adding that state-wise distribution of figures is subject to further verification and reconciliation.
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Disease Outbreaks
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Harlem riot of 1935
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The Harlem riot of 1935 took place on March 19, 1935 during the Great Depression, in New York City, New York, in the United States. It has been described as the first "modern" race riot in Harlem, because it was committed primarily against property rather than persons. Harlem is a northern neighborhood on Manhattan Island in New York City whose population at the time was predominately African American. The rioting was sparked by rumors that a black Puerto Rican teenage shoplifter was beaten by employees at an S. H. Kress "five and dime" store. That evening a demonstration was held outside the store and, after someone threw a rock through the window, more general destruction of the store and other white-owned properties ensued. Three people died, hundreds were wounded, and an estimated $2 million in damages was caused to properties throughout the district. African American-owned homes and businesses were spared the worst of the destruction.
During the Great Depression, minorities in Harlem and elsewhere in New York suffered as they struggled with unemployment. Minorities were often fired first and hired last in times of fluctuating employment, and conditions were bleak. At 2:30 in the afternoon on March 19, 1935, an employee at the Kress Five and Ten store at 256 W. 125th Street (just across the street from the Apollo Theater) caught 16-year-old Lino Rivera shoplifting a 10-cent penknife; the teen was a black Puerto Rican. When his captor threatened to take Rivera into the store's basement and "beat the hell out of him," Rivera bit the employee's hand. The manager intervened and the police were called, but Rivera was eventually released. In the meantime, a crowd had begun to gather outside around a woman who had witnessed Rivera's apprehension; she was shouting that Rivera was being beaten. When an ambulance showed up to treat the wounds of the employee who had been bitten, it appeared to confirm the woman's story. When the crowd noticed a hearse parked outside of the store, the rumor began to circulate that Rivera had been beaten to death. The woman who had raised the alarm was arrested for disorderly conduct, the Kress Five and Ten store was closed early, and the crowd was dispersed by police. After the rioting started, the police decided to get Rivera in order to show that he was unharmed but did not produce him until the next morning because the teen had given a fake address when first detained. In the early evening, a group called the Young Liberators started a demonstration outside the store, quickly drawing thousands of people. Handbills were distributed: One was headlined "CHILD BRUTALLY BEATEN". Another denounced "the brutal beating of the 12 year old boy [...] for taking a piece of candy." At some point, someone threw a rock, shattering the window of the Kress Five and Ten store, and the destruction and looting began to spread east and west on 125th Street, targeting white-owned businesses between Fifth and Eighth avenues. Some stores posted signs that read "COLORED STORE" or "COLORED HELP EMPLOYED HERE". In the early hours of the morning, as the rioting spread north and south, the police picked up Lino Rivera from his mother's apartment and took a photograph of him with a police officer; copies were distributed throughout Harlem to show that Rivera had not been harmed. New York Mayor Fiorello La Guardia also had posters drawn up urging a return to peace.
By the end of the next day, the streets of Harlem were returned to order. Three black people were killed, 125 people were arrested and 100 people were injured.District Attorney William C. Dodge blamed Communist incitement.Mayor LaGuardia set up a multi-racial Mayor's Commission on Conditions in Harlem, headed by African-American sociologist E. Franklin Frazier and with members including Judge Hubert Thomas Delany, Countee Cullen, and labor leader A. Philip Randolph, to investigate the causes of the riot. The committee issued a report, The Negro in Harlem: A Report on Social and Economic Conditions Responsible for the Outbreak of March 19, 1935, which described the rioting as "spontaneous" with "no evidence of any program or leadership of the rioters." The report identified "injustices of discrimination in employment, the aggressions of the police, and the racial segregation" as conditions which led to the outbreak of rioting. The report congratulated the Communist organizations as deserving "more credit than any other element in Harlem for preventing a physical conflict between whites and blacks." Alain Locke was appointed to implement the report's findings. Mayor Fiorello La Guardia shelved the committee's report, and did not make it public. The report would be unknown, except that a black New York newspaper, the Amsterdam News, subsequently published it in serial form.
Jeffrey Stewart, professor of History at George Mason University, described the Harlem Riot of 1935 as
"the first modern race riot," adding that it "symbolized that the optimism and hopefulness that had fueled the Harlem Renaissance was dead. "
Sociologist Allen D. Grimshaw called the Harlem Riot of 1935 "the first manifestation of a 'modern' form of racial rioting," citing three criteria:
Whereas previous race riots had been characterized by violent clashes between groups of black and white rioters, subsequent riots would resemble the riot in Harlem.
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Riot
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Singapore sets up agency for specific diseases
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SINGAPORE - A new outfit was set up by the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*Star) in April this year to coordinate disease-specific research efforts by the various groups under the agency. Called the Infectious Diseases Labs, or ID Labs for short, its aim is to nip any emerging pathogen in the bud before it can cause an outbreak, said its executive director Professor Lisa Ng on Tuesday (June 1) during a panel discussion on Covid-19 organised by The Straits Times. Said Prof Ng: "To better the odds of winning the war against the coronavirus, the research groups collaborated to develop effective strategies and technologies for diagnosis and prevention." A*Star also worked closely with other local partners, including the National Centre for Infectious Diseases (NCID), National University Health System, SingHealth, as well as regional and international collaborators, she added. This collaboration has helped bring science from the laboratory bench to patients' bedsides - getting research prototypes into clinical testing and out to the market for effective infectious disease prevention, control and elimination, she said. For instance, the Fortitude Kit - one of the first diagnostic test kits to be used in Singapore to identify people infected with the coronavirus - had been an effort by various research groups under A*Star and Tan Tock Seng Hospital. "One of ID Labs' immediate focus is to understand and control Covid-19 through multiple collaborations with other institutions and laboratories," Prof Ng said. This includes tracking the ongoing mutations of the virus, and conducting studies to see how these mutations could affect disease severity and the effectiveness of vaccines. "Together with our clinical partners such as NCID, ID Labs is also examining whether the Covid-19 vaccines are effective in the Singapore population, given our unique genetic makeup of various ethnicities," Prof Ng added. ID Labs will complement and support the national research programme for epidemic preparedness and response, she added. This programme, dubbed Prepare, was announced last December during the launch of Singapore's $25 billion plan charting the country's research landscape over the next five years. Living with Covid-19: Singapore’s new normal | Expert panel | The Straits Times Prof Ng said another key area of focus for A*Star is to prepare for outbreaks in the future. "We know that new infectious diseases are emerging more frequently... This ongoing Covid-19 pandemic is just the latest in a series of new infectious diseases," she said. ID Labs will begin this endeavor with clinical surveillance to monitor for emerging pathogens that can cause infectious diseases and a pandemic. Prof Lisa Ng said another key area of focus for A*Star is to prepare for outbreaks in the future. PHOTO: A*STAR Surveillance activities include looking out for unusual spikes of activity from a concentrated geographical area, as this may indicate the location of a new disease outbreak. ID Labs will also look into the identification of an emerging pathogen through a combination of approaches - such as genetic sequencing, novel-detection assays, bioinformatics and modelling. "This will be followed by studies in suitable pre-clinical models, which will then be used to develop and test new therapies such as drugs and vaccines to fight the emerging pathogen immediately," she said. Prof Ng was one of three experts who took part in the panel discussion. The other two experts were Prof Teo Yik Ying, dean of the National University of Singapore's Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health, and Dr Danny Soon, chief executive of the Consortium for Clinical Research and Innovation, Singapore. Dr Soon is also a member of the Health Ministry's Expert Committee on Covid-19 Vaccination.
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Disease Outbreaks
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U.S. shot putter Ryan Crouser defends his Olympic title with gold in Tokyo
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The 2016 Olympic gold medalist and world-record holder in the shot put defended his title, winning with an Olympic record throw of 76 feet 5 ½ inches at Olympic Stadium.
Afterward, Crouser took out a piece of paper. It had a note penned to his late grandfather, Larry, who died just before Crouser left for Tokyo to compete in the Olympics.
“GRANDPA, WE DID IT. 2020 OLYMPIC CHAMPION!”
Olympics
Sydney McLaughlin breaks world record in women’s 400-meter hurdles to win gold
Sydney McLaughlin wins gold for the U.S. in the women’s 400-meter hurdles at the Tokyo Olympics. U.S. teammate Dalilah Muhammad is second.
Aug. 4, 2021
Crouser said he took his first throw in his grandfather’s backyard.
“The day before I had to leave, I threw a shot, and it went right through the roof of his garden shed, so I had to go back the next day and replace that,” Crouser said. “He played a huge role in my throwing career.
“So, to lose him the week before coming to the Olympics obviously was sad. But I feel like he was able to be here in spirit.”
In June at the U.S. Olympic trials, Crouser established a world record by throwing 76-8 ¼. On Thursday, he said his grandfather lost his hearing in his final days, so he communicated with him by writing notes.
Olympics
U.S. men’s basketball surges in second half vs. Australia to reach gold-medal game
The U.S. men’s basketball team dominated in the second half against Australia to advance to the gold-medal game at the Tokyo Olympics.
Aug. 5, 2021
“I sat with him for a few hours after the trials and was able to tell him I was the world record holder,” Crouser said. “And he watched that throw on the iPad thousands and thousands of times.
“So, I just felt like that was the last note that I wanted to write to him, that I didn’t get the chance to. I know he was here with me in spirit, and I know he would be proud if he was here.”
Joe Kovacs of the United States won the silver medal with a throw of 74 ¾ inches. Tomas Walsh of New Zealand won bronze with a mark of 73-8 ¾.
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Gary Klein covers the Los Angeles Rams for the Los Angeles Times. Before that, he covered USC’s football program and athletic department. He began working for The Times in the San Fernando Valley edition and has reported on high school, college and pro sports. He grew up in Southern California and graduated from Cal State Northridge.
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Olympic medalist and USC swimmer Klete Keller pleads guilty to Capitol riot charge
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Elliott: Simone Biles to fans: ‘We can come out on top of this and we’re going to be OK’
Sept. 22, 2021
Elliott: ‘Curling Night in America’ casts spotlight on quirky but popular Olympic sport Sept. 16, 2021
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Break historical records
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Palestinians rioted in the West Bank city of Hebron as thousands of mourners attended the funeral of prisoner Maysara Abuhamdia
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Palestinians rioted in the West Bank city of Hebron as thousands of mourners attended the funeral of prisoner Maysara Abuhamdia, who died of cancer while in Israeli custody this week.
Dozens of rioters pelted IDF troops with rocks, while Israeli vehicles were stoned along roads in the area. Security forces responded with crowd-control methods, including tear gas.
Abuhamdia was laid to rest in a full military funeral conducted by the Palestinian Authority.
Meanwhile, in Tulkarem, thousands participated in a funerals for two Palestinian teenagers who were killed Wednesday night during an alleged Molotov cocktail attack on an IDF checkpoint.
Sporadic incidents of stone-throwing and rioting were also reported at other locations in the West Bank where tension has been mounting in recent months. Near the settlement of Yitzhar, some 100 Palestinians were throwing rocks and clashing with troops. Near Ramallah, two Israelis, male police officer and a civilian woman, were lightly injured by rocks.
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Armed Conflict
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Economic Stewardship in Times of Crisis
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Years of ultra-loose fiscal and monetary policies have put the global economy on track for a slow-motion train wreck in the coming years. When the crash comes, the stagflation of the 1970s will be combined with the spiraling debt crises of the post-2008 era, leaving major central banks in an impossible position. NEW YORK – In April, I warned that today’s extremely loose monetary and fiscal policies, when combined with a number of negative supply shocks, could result in 1970s-style stagflation (high inflation alongside a recession). In fact, the risk today is even bigger than it was then. After all, debt ratios in advanced economies and most emerging markets were much lower in the 1970s, which is why stagflation has not been associated with debt crises historically. If anything, unexpected inflation in the 1970s wiped out the real value of nominal debts at fixed rates, thus reducing many advanced economies’ public-debt burdens. Conversely, during the 2007-08 financial crisis, high debt ratios (private and public) caused a severe debt crisis – as housing bubbles burst – but the ensuing recession led to low inflation, if not outright deflation. Owing to the credit crunch, there was a macro shock to aggregate demand, whereas the risks today are on the supply side. We are thus left with the worst of both the stagflationary 1970s and the 2007-10 period. Debt ratios are much higher than in the 1970s, and a mix of loose economic policies and negative supply shocks threatens to fuel inflation rather than deflation, setting the stage for the mother of stagflationary debt crises over the next few years. For now, loose monetary and fiscal policies will continue to fuel asset and credit bubbles, propelling a slow-motion train wreck. The warning signs are already apparent in today’s high price-to-earnings ratios, low equity risk premia, inflated housing and tech assets, and the irrational exuberance surrounding special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs), the crypto sector, high-yield corporate debt, collateralized loan obligations, private equity, meme stocks, and runaway retail day trading. At some point, this boom will culminate in a Minsky moment (a sudden loss of confidence), and tighter monetary policies will trigger a bust and crash. But in the meantime, the same loose policies that are feeding asset bubbles will continue to drive consumer price inflation, creating the conditions for stagflation whenever the next negative supply shocks arrive. Such shocks could follow from renewed protectionism; demographic aging in advanced and emerging economies; immigration restrictions in advanced economies; the reshoring of manufacturing to high-cost regions; or the balkanization of global supply chains. Enjoy unlimited access to the ideas and opinions of the world’s leading thinkers, including weekly long reads, book reviews, topical collections, and interviews; The Year Ahead annual print magazine; the complete PS archive; and more – for less than $9 a month. Subscribe Now More broadly, the Sino-American decoupling threatens to fragment the global economy at a time when climate change and the COVID-19 pandemic are pushing national governments toward deeper self-reliance. Add to this the impact on production of increasingly frequent cyber-attacks on critical infrastructure and the social and political backlash against inequality, and the recipe for macroeconomic disruption is complete. Making matters worse, central banks have effectively lost their independence, because they have been given little choice but to monetize massive fiscal deficits to forestall a debt crisis. With both public and private debts having soared, they are in a debt trap. As inflation rises over the next few years, central banks will face a dilemma. If they start phasing out unconventional policies and raising policy rates to fight inflation, they will risk triggering a massive debt crisis and severe recession; but if they maintain a loose monetary policy, they will risk double-digit inflation – and deep stagflation when the next negative supply shocks emerge. But even in the second scenario, policymakers would not be able to prevent a debt crisis. While nominal government fixed-rate debt in advanced economies can be partly wiped out by unexpected inflation (as happened in the 1970s), emerging-market debts denominated in foreign currency would not be. Many of these governments would need to default and restructure their debts. At the same time, private debts in advanced economies would become unsustainable (as they did after the global financial crisis), and their spreads relative to safer government bonds would spike, triggering a chain reaction of defaults. Highly leveraged corporations and their reckless shadow-bank creditors would be the first to fall, soon followed by indebted households and the banks that financed them. To be sure, real long-term borrowing costs may initially fall if inflation rises unexpectedly and central banks are still behind the curve. But, over time, these costs will be pushed up by three factors. First, higher public and private debts will widen sovereign and private interest-rate spreads. Second, rising inflation and deepening uncertainty will drive up inflation risk premia. And, third, a rising misery index – the sum of the inflation and unemployment rate – eventually will demand a “Volcker Moment.” When former Fed Chair Paul Volcker hiked rates to tackle inflation in 1980-82, the result was a severe double-dip recession in the United States and a debt crisis and lost decade for Latin America. But now that global debt ratios are almost three times higher than in the early 1970s, any anti-inflationary policy would lead to a depression, rather than a severe recession. Under these conditions, central banks will be damned if they do and damned if they don’t, and many governments will be semi-insolvent and thus unable to bail out banks, corporations, and households. The doom loop of sovereigns and banks in the eurozone after the global financial crisis will be repeated worldwide, sucking in households, corporations, and shadow banks as well. As matters stand, this slow-motion train wreck looks unavoidable. The Fed’s recent pivot from an ultra-dovish to a mostly dovish stance changes nothing. The Fed has been in a debt trap at least since December 2018, when a stock- and credit-market crash forced it to reverse its policy tightening a full year before COVID-19 struck. With inflation rising and stagflationary shocks looming, it is now even more ensnared. So, too, are the European Central Bank, the Bank of Japan, and the Bank of England. The stagflation of the 1970s will soon meet the debt crises of the post-2008 period. The question is not if but when. Nouriel Roubini, Professor Emeritus of Economics at New York University’s Stern School of Business, is Chief Economist at Atlas Capital Team, CEO of Roubini Macro Associates, and Co-Founder of TheBoomBust.com. He is a former senior economist for international affairs in the White House’s Council of Economic Advisers during the Clinton Administration. He has worked for the International Monetary Fund, the US Federal Reserve, and the World Bank, and was Professor of Economics at New York University's Stern School of Business. His website is NourielRoubini.com, and he is the host of NourielToday.com. Before posting a comment, please confirm your account. To receive another confirmation email, please click here. “It’s not the high cost of living,It’s the cost of living high.” - My FatherRoubini speaks the truth. Of course, sailing uncharted financial waters makes the destination unknown, but that doesn’t mean those clouds on the horizon aren’t a storm warning. The party ends. The music stops. Always when we are having the most fun. Caveat Emptor Thanks so much for that bracing slap in the face. Dr. Doom is BACK! Not factored into Roubini's calculation is the full infrastructure proposal from Biden's administration, amounting to about $6 trillion over 8 years in new federal spending, which is about $750 bn/year, or 3.2% of GDP, which Biden claims will create 20 million good paying jobs. Stagflation, defined, is high unemployment. If this infrastructure plan is fulfilled there will be low unemployment. The American Rescue Plan, the Am. Jobs, and the Am. Families plan together provide a major investment in the underlying productive capacity. As far as funding goes, the total household net worth (assets minus all debt) stands at $130 Trillion, while the federal government spends about $5 trillion yearly -- the funding is available with a wealth tax and other higher tax rates on the extremely rich 1% to 5% who have received the benefits of about 40 years of economic expansion, leaving the other 95% less well off. I hope we recognize the justice in this scenario I've described, and all citizens jump at the opportunity. I doubt private capital will make productive investments -- finance mostly speculates with its cash, and corporations distribute 90% of profits to stock-buybacks and dividends, over 90% of all S&P 500 profits over the last 10 to 15 years says professor Lazonick, whose article won a best of year award from the Harvard Business Review. Profits have been allocated that way, leaving very little for wage raises and R and D. Roubini should describe his prediction in sharper terms that most of us can understand, he is sloppy in his description of factors, which detracts from his power of persuasion. The factors for inflation are very sketchy, and therefore not convincing. He's got a great reputation, though. In 2011 he published with co-authors, R. Hockett and Dan Alpert, a paper called "The Way Forward" which advocated a lot of public investment, a public jobs program, and he should do the same today. If it were an actual infrastructure investment plan, your comments might have some relevancy. But it isn't; It is a crony wish fulfillment bill more reminiscent of "investment" as practiced by Juan Peron and Maduro than Eisenhower and the Interstate Highway System. But never let facts stand in the way of your politics. I am sure that people like AOC (and maybe you?) still believe Venezuela, Cuba and Argentina are well run places doing good for the people, but sabotaged by the wicked Yankees. Let me remind of you the 1930s. Between 1931 to 1933 the economy shrunk by 27.8%, at 9.2% per year. In 1934 it shrank by 1.3%, and between 1935 and 1938, 4 years, it grew by 37.7%, or 9.4% per year. I went to the BEA.gov Table 1.1 to find those figures. The impetus was public investment. My argument is all about public investment, not throwing money away, but building and adding more services that people can stay healthy, housed, and pay bills. Roosevelt's New Deal transformed the nation, and also saved it. Unemployment dropped from 25% in 1933 to 9.6% in 1938. You should lighten up your analysis and take in the positive effects of public investment. The United Way does a study, ALICE, and this last December, 2020 (On Uneven Ground, name of report), it predicted that half (50%) of U.S. household would be ALICE, unable to afford seven basics: food, housing, utilities, healthcare, phone service, transportation, and if needed childcare. Find the report and read it. This country is struggling, and private investment has no profit opportunities to motivate investment that would result in a resurgence of aggregate demand. 40% of the households earned just 9% of total income, while the top 1% earned 20%. A worker in the lower 40% would have to work 22 years to match the income of a worker in the 1%. We have re-structuring to do, or we'll see a big failure. This is not some banana republic where public investment ends up in the officials' Swiss bank account. Well said! Stagflation? I’d bet Roubini $500 that call is dead wrong (my guess is as good as his). The FED wants higher inflation, and even the highly intelligent Professor Siegel predicted a month ago 20% inflation in the next 5 years (~4%pa). I believe there is no chance of that happening. Like Ed Hyman noted earlier this year in an interview on Wealthtrack, ever since about the 1980s, Supply seems to be consistently outpacing Demand. Most people are not aware of how, even a very small increase in supply can push prices down in most industries, and with such low interest rates supply is relentless. Everything depends on what central banks do. The Fed has inflation expectation just about where it wants them. Is that "ultra loose" policy. Not in my book. Will central banks push inflation higher if unemployment remains below 2020 levels or fall? That's what "stagflation" means. This does not detract from the implicit criticism of high structural deficits. Yes, that shifts resources from investment toward consumption and so is bad for long term growth, but low growth need not be accompanied by over-target inflation. He's crafty, shifty and always the pragmatist. My money says he's within 6 months of some sort of event. We'll see what we get when we get there but my intuition says his timing is right. He's more of an academic than a scaremonger Roubini’s track record is abysmal. He predicted a „hard landing“ for the Chinese economy after 2013. We‘re still waiting. In 2009 during an interview together with Professor Shiller, Roubini‘s advice was to stay away from stocks and stay in cash - turned out The worst advice possible (even permabear Shiller was advocating stocks). Roubini’s current prediction of higher inflation will probably turn out correct, because the Fed WANTS higher inflation.
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Financial Crisis
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Autistic Cambodian Teen, Jailed for Online Comments, Freed
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An autistic Cambodian teenager has been released from prison after serving time for posting comments critical of the government on social media in a case that has attracted international attention. Autistic Cambodian Teen, Jailed for Online Comments, Freed Prum Chantha, front right, hugs her son Kak Sovannchhay, 16, front left, outside the main prison of Prey Sar on the outskirts of Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Wednesday, Nov. 10, 2021. The autistic Cambodian teenager was released from prison Wednesday after serving time for posting comments critical of the government on social media in a case that has attracted global attention. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith) The Associated Press By DAVID RISING and SOPHENG CHEANG, Associated Press PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) — An autistic Cambodian teenager vowed Wednesday to continue to fight for his father's freedom after completing his own prison sentence for social media comments critical of the government in a case that has attracted international attention. Kak Sovannchhay, 16, pumped his right arm in the air saying “Long live Cambodia” to supporters while hugging his mother after he walked out of the Prey Sar prison on the outskirts of Phnom Penh. He clutched a bouquet of red roses and lilies tightly to his chest and smiled shyly as reporters snapped photos of him. Kak Sovannchhay had been in custody since June, when he was arrested for comments he made in a Telegram chat group defending his father, a senior member of the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party who is in custody facing charges, and for sharing Facebook posts criticizing Prime Minister Hun Sen. His father, Kak Komphear, has been in detention since May 2020 and his mother, Prum Chantha, is a member of the group Friday Wives, who hold protests to demand the release of their husbands who have been jailed for expressing views critical of Hun Sen’s government. Kak Sovannchhay told reporters that he was excited to be free but that he would keep defending his father and his beliefs. “I won't stop,” he said. “ I will continue my course.” Hun Sen has been in power for 36 years and has often been accused of heading an authoritarian regime and using the judicial system to stifle opposition. United Nations human rights experts have accused the Cambodian government of “weaponizing” its court system in Kak Sovannchhay's case to silence dissent. U.S. Ambassador to Cambodia W. Patrick Murphy questioned the decision to sentence “a child to prison time for what appears to be politically motivated charges.” The Phnom Penh Municipal Court has defended its verdict, saying the teenager had previously been in trouble for online comments. It also noted that his age was taken into consideration in reducing his jail time, and that it had received no medical confirmation of his autism during the trial and said that he appeared to follow the proceedings. Human Rights Watch deputy Asia director Phil Robertson said it was “absolutely outrageous and unacceptable that this autistic boy was arrested and imprisoned in the first place.” "The case further deepens the reputational damage to Cambodia’s courts and prosecutors, who once again showed themselves bereft of any sense of justice in political cases prioritized by the government,” he said in an email to The Associated Press. Kak Sovannchhay's trial concluded Oct. 13 but the court only announced its verdict last week, convicting him of incitement to commit a felony and public insult. He was sentenced to eight months in prison but was released under sentencing guidelines that include credit for time served. His mother said even though she is happy that her son is now free, she worries that the conviction will loom over him and that her lawyer is looking into an appeal to keep fighting the charges. In the meantime, she said she plans to have him resume school but has concerns. “I don't know if he will be harassed or not by other students when he goes back,” she said. ___ Rising reported from Bangkok. Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Tags: Associated Press, health, diplomacy, crime, media Recommended Articles Elections News National News Politics World Report Coronavirus Bulletin Stay informed daily on the latest news and advice on COVID-19 from the editors at U.S. News & World Report.
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Famous Person - Commit Crime - Release
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2010 Haiti earthquake
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A catastrophic magnitude 7.0 Mw earthquake struck Haiti at 16:53 local time (21:53 UTC) on Tuesday, 12 January 2010. [7][8] The epicenter was near the town of Léogâne, Ouest department, approximately 25 kilometres (16 mi) west of Port-au-Prince, Haiti's capital. By 24 January, at least 52 aftershocks measuring 4.5 or greater had been recorded. [9] An estimated three million people were affected by the quake. [10] Death toll estimates range from 100,000[4] to about 160,000[6] to Haitian government figures from 220,000[11][12] to 316,000,[4] although these latter figures are a matter of some dispute. [5] The government of Haiti estimated that 250,000 residences and 30,000 commercial buildings had collapsed or were severely damaged. [13] The nation's history of national debt, prejudicial trade policies by other countries, and foreign intervention into national affairs, contributed to the existing poverty and poor housing conditions that increased the death toll from the disaster. [14]
The earthquake caused major damage in Port-au-Prince, Jacmel and other cities in the region. Notable landmark buildings were significantly damaged or destroyed, including the Presidential Palace, the National Assembly building, the Port-au-Prince Cathedral, and the main jail. Among those killed were Archbishop of Port-au-Prince Joseph Serge Miot,[15] and opposition leader Micha Gaillard. [16][17] The headquarters of the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH), located in the capital, collapsed, killing many, including the Mission's Chief, Hédi Annabi. [18][19]
Many countries responded to appeals for humanitarian aid, pledging funds and dispatching rescue and medical teams, engineers and support personnel. The most-watched telethon in history aired on 22 January, called "Hope for Haiti Now," raising US$58 million by the next day. [20] Communication systems, air, land, and sea transport facilities, hospitals, and electrical networks had been damaged by the earthquake, which hampered rescue and aid efforts; confusion over who was in charge, air traffic congestion, and problems with prioritising flights further complicated early relief work. Port-au-Prince's morgues were overwhelmed with tens of thousands of bodies. These had to be buried in mass graves. [21]
As rescues tailed off, supplies, medical care and sanitation became priorities. Delays in aid distribution led to angry appeals from aid workers and survivors, and looting and sporadic violence were observed. On 22 January, the United Nations noted that the emergency phase of the relief operation was drawing to a close, and on the following day, the Haitian government officially called off the search for survivors. The island of Hispaniola, shared by Haiti and the Dominican Republic, is seismically active and has a history of destructive earthquakes. During Haiti's time as a French colony, earthquakes were recorded by French historian Moreau de Saint-Méry (1750–1819). He described damage done by an earthquake in 1751, writing that "only one masonry building had not collapsed" in Port-au-Prince; he also wrote that the "whole city collapsed" in the 1770 Port-au-Prince earthquake. Cap-Haïtien, other towns in the north of Haiti and the Dominican Republic, and the Sans-Souci Palace were destroyed during an earthquake on 7 May 1842. [22] A magnitude 8.0 earthquake struck the Dominican Republic and shook Haiti on 4 August 1946, producing a tsunami that killed 1,790 people and injured many others. [23]
Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere and is ranked 149th of 182 countries on the Human Development Index. [24] The Australian government's travel advisory site had previously expressed concerns that Haitian emergency services would be unable to cope in the event of a major disaster,[25] and the country is considered "economically vulnerable" by the Food and Agriculture Organization. [26] Haiti is no stranger to natural disasters. In addition to earthquakes, it has been struck frequently by tropical cyclones, which have caused flooding and widespread damage. The most recent cyclones to hit the island before the earthquake were Tropical Storm Fay and Hurricanes Gustav, Hanna and Ike, all in the summer of 2008, causing nearly 800 deaths. [27]
The magnitude 7.0 Mw earthquake occurred inland, on 12 January 2010 at 16:53 (UTC−05:00), approximately 25 km (16 mi) WSW from Port-au-Prince at a depth of 13 km (8.1 mi)[7] on blind thrust faults associated with the Enriquillo-Plantain Garden fault system[28] and lasted less than 30 seconds. [29]
There is no evidence of surface rupture; based on seismological, geological and ground deformation data, it is also thought that the earthquake did not involve significant lateral slip on the main Enriquillo fault. [30] Strong shaking associated with intensity IX on the Modified Mercalli scale (MM) was recorded in Port-au-Prince and its suburbs. It was also felt in several surrounding countries and regions, including Cuba (MM III in Guantánamo), Jamaica (MM II in Kingston), Venezuela (MM II in Caracas), Puerto Rico (MM II–III in San Juan), and the bordering Dominican Republic (MM III in Santo Domingo). [31][32] According to estimates from the U.S. Geological Survey, approximately 3.5 million people lived in the area that experienced shaking intensity of MM VII to X,[31] a range that can cause moderate to very heavy damage even to earthquake-resistant structures. Shaking damage was more severe than for other quakes of similar magnitude due to the quake's shallow depth. [33][34]
The quake occurred in the vicinity of the northern boundary where the Caribbean tectonic plate shifts eastwards by about 20 mm (0.79 in) per year in relation to the North American plate. The strike-slip fault system in the region has two branches in Haiti, the Septentrional-Oriente fault in the north and the Enriquillo-Plantain Garden fault in the south; both its location and focal mechanism suggested that the January 2010 quake was caused by a rupture of the Enriquillo-Plantain Garden fault, which had been locked for 250 years, gathering stress. [35] However, a study published in May 2010 suggested that the rupture process may have involved slip on multiple blind thrust faults with only minor, deep, lateral slip along or near the main Enriquillo–Plantain Garden fault zone, suggesting that the event only partially relieved centuries of accumulated left-lateral strain on a small part of the plate-boundary system. [30] The rupture was roughly 65 km (40 mi) long with mean slip of 1.8 metres (5 ft 11 in). [36] Preliminary analysis of the slip distribution found amplitudes of up to about 4 m (13 ft) using ground motion records from all over the world. [37][38]
A 2007 earthquake hazard study by C. DeMets and M. Wiggins-Grandison noted that the Enriquillo-Plantain Garden fault zone could be at the end of its seismic cycle and concluded that a worst-case forecast would involve a 7.2 Mw earthquake, similar in size to the 1692 Jamaica earthquake. [39] Paul Mann and a group including the 2006 study team presented a hazard assessment of the Enriquillo-Plantain Garden fault system to the 18th Caribbean Geologic Conference in March 2008, noting the large strain; the team recommended "high priority" historical geologic rupture studies, as the fault was fully locked and had recorded few earthquakes in the preceding 40 years. [40] An article published in Haiti's Le Matin newspaper in September 2008 cited comments by geologist Patrick Charles to the effect that there was a high risk of major seismic activity in Port-au-Prince. [41]
The U.S. Geological Survey recorded eight aftershocks in the two hours after the main earthquake, with magnitudes between 4.3 and 5.9. [42] Within the first nine hours, 32 aftershocks of magnitude 4.2 or greater were recorded, 12 of which measured magnitude 5.0 or greater; in addition, on 24 January, the US Geological Survey reported that there had been 52 aftershocks measuring 4.5 or greater since the main quake. [42]
On 20 January, at 06:03 local time (11:03 UTC), the strongest aftershock since the earthquake,[43] measuring magnitude 5.9 Mw, struck Haiti. [44] USGS reported its epicenter was about 56 km (35 mi) WSW of Port-au-Prince,[42] which would place it almost exactly under the coastal town of Petit-Goâve. A UN representative reported that the aftershock collapsed seven buildings in the town. [45] According to staff of the International Committee of the Red Cross, which had reached Petit-Goâve for the first time the day before the aftershock, the town was estimated to have lost 15% of its buildings, and was suffering the same shortages of supplies and medical care as the capital. [46] Workers from the charity Save the Children reported hearing "already weakened structures collapsing" in Port-au-Prince,[43] but most sources reported no further significant damage to infrastructure in the city.
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Earthquakes
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Tsunami review – a shamefully sensationalised look at horror
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The 2004 Boxing Day tsunami is a story that didn’t need to be overdramatised. But Channel 5 appear to have missed the memo with this formulaic, melodramatic mess The colossal scale of the Boxing Day tsunami – a 9.1 magnitude earthquake under the Indian Ocean displacing 30tn litres of seawater that hit the coasts of mainland Indonesia, Thailand, Sri Lanka and India in waves that rushed at 500mph – would compel even if it were not for the human catastrophe that accompanied its incomparably destructive force. A quarter of a million people were killed. Entire towns and communities were wiped out. Survivors’ stories are uniformly harrowing. There have been a number of dramas – most notably the Abi Morgan-scripted miniseries Tsunami, the Aftermath in 2006 – but Channel 5’s three-part film, following the minute-by-minute progression of the tsunami from the moment the two tectonic plates 19 miles under the sea finally ruptured at 7.58am on 26 December 2004, is one of only a few documentaries about it. Dr Xand van Tulleken presents the main thrust of the story – travelling to the affected areas as he outlines the terrifying phenomenon’s journey and interviewing those who were caught up in it. Raksha Dave visits scientists who explain the facts behind the waves’ emergence, evolution and effects. Van Tulleken, a doctor with experience of taking part in humanitarian missions, though not this particular one, is his usual personable self, but his trademark blend of expertise and compassion is overwhelmed by the Channel 5 documentary style. It is best described as requiring that the documentary style get in the way of the documentary at every conceivable stage. In his opening monologue, Van Tulleken noted that the tsunami “killed 250,000 people. Including … 149 Brits.” This evoked the satirical joke used in many comic settings – “A Briton suffered a minor injury during a hurricane in Brazil; 70,000 Brazilians were also killed” – and was a sign of the recurrent tone-deafness to come. Everything in a not-good documentary must be dramatically headlined, often with exclamations that sound good but make no sense: “In order to understand it – we need to speak to those who witnessed it first-hand.” We must be told what we are going to be told, told it, then told what we have just been told. That goes not just for the entire show, but before and after every ad break too. Tsunami delivered every time. It is exhausting, dull and increasingly disrespectful to a story, especially to stories of loss, which require no emotive underscoring to ensure that everyone Gets It. There are points at which you can virtually hear the director whispering urgently to the cameraman/writer/music editor, “C’mon! I wanna hit ’em right in the feels!” If you get past that, it’s a perfectly serviceable piece of work. The first episode covered the 98 minutes from the moment the earthquake happened (“Zero hour!”). Journalist Dendy Montgomery and his wife were living in Banda Aceh, Indonesia, which was hit first. “The walls were like rubber … the land is kind of like porridge,” he recalls. He and his wife went out with a camera and captured some of the little footage we have of the earthquake as it happened. Nevertheless, Raksha Dave is dutifully sent to an earthquake simulator at Southampton University to find out what a 9.1 magnitude quake feels like. Except the table she sits at is fixed to the floor for safety’s sake and they are only allowed to take the simulation up to seven on the scale, for 10 seconds. “Gosh,” she says afterwards. “I think there would be panic.” A triple whammy of pointlessness. Luke Simon, his brother Piers and their friend Sophie were teaching and holidaying in Koh Phi Phi, Thailand, and found themselves caught in the first wave and scrambling to get up on to a roof as Sophie was hit by debris. The Chroston family were holidaying in Phuket, and Becca’s science-teacher father realised that the sight of the tide apparently going out meant a tidal wave was on its way. He didn’t, in fact, panic, but sent his family off to higher ground then ran down the beach warning others. The next episode follows the tsunami’s journey to Sri Lanka – and the second wave that not even Becca’s dad knew was coming. There is no need for confected drama or any kind of simulation here.
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Tsunamis
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11 of 22 Chinese miners trapped in gold mine rescued, ten others dead
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Updated 0436 GMT (1236 HKT) January 26, 2021
Members of a rescue team work at the site of a gold mine explosion where 22 miners are trapped underground in Qixia, in eastern China's Shandong province, on January 20, 2021.
(CNN)
Eleven miners who were trapped in a gold mine for more than two weeks in eastern China have been rescued, while ten so far have died, Chinese state media reported.
Authorities have been racing to dig out 22 people trapped underground in the city of Qixia, Shandong Province, since an explosion blocked their exit on January 10.
The first miner was rescued on Sunday morning at about 11:13 a.m. local time, and was in "extremely weak condition," according to state-run news wire Xinhua. State broadcaster CCTV said he was sent to hospital.
The next 10 were lifted from a deeper section of the mine. At least one of them was injured, according to CCTV, but it is not clear how seriously.
A total of ten miners have been found dead, according to Yantai city mayor Chen Fei speaking on Chinese state media.
Read More
One miner's body was recovered on January 21 and nine more recovered Monday, media reported. Rescuers are still searching for one more miner out of 22.
Rescue teams work to drill through debris to reach the 22 trapped gold miners, on January 20, 2021.
Authorities had previously said 10 people who were stuck in the mine's chamber 600 meters (1,969 feet) underground were in contact with the outside world after rescue workers drilled a channel into a section the mine and installed a telephone line, according to Xinhua . It is not yet clear if those 10 are among those who have been rescued.
Efforts have been underway to reach the workers since the blast occurred about 240 meters (800 feet) from the mine's entrance, but Chinese officials had said Thursday it could take 15 days to drill through 70 tons of debris trapping many of the miners.
Food, medical supplies, blankets, and batches of nutrient solution have been passed down a shaft to the 10 workers who have been located. They are in good physical and psychological condition, Xinhua reported.
According to state media, rescue teams are hoping to pull the miners out through a 711-millimeter (28-inch) diameter passage. By noon Thursday, rescuers had drilled 18 meters (59 feet) into the mineshaft but heavy debris could slow efforts.
Concern has been growing for the uncontacted miners. Some of the workers in the chamber are trying to help rescuers locate their missing colleagues by using laser pointers and loudspeakers, but they have received no response, Xinhua reported.
Rescuers have also drilled smaller channels into other sections of the mine and are lowering nutrient solutions and other means to detect breathing or movement, but no signs of life have been encountered.
Chinese state media said it could take 15 days to reach the miners trapped 600 meters underground.
Rescue workers are reported to have first heard knocking sounds from those trapped on January 17, followed by pulling on iron ropes. On Monday, miners were able to get a note to rescuers. Xinhua quoted the note as saying: "We are heavily exhausted and in urgent need of stomach medicine, painkillers, medical tape, external anti-inflammatory drugs, and three people have high blood pressure."
Explosions and deaths are not uncommon in Chinese mines. In September, at least 16 workers in southwestern China died after they became trapped underground in a coal mine and exposed to unsafe levels of carbon monoxide, state media reported.
And in 2016, dozens of workers were confirmed dead after a gas explosion at a coal mine in the city of Chongqing.
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Mine Collapses
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Celebrity weddings of 2020 that didn't let the pandemic dull their shine
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Yearender 2020: The year 2020 was not an auspicious year at all, but many celebrities did not let the pandemic to take away their special day from their lives. Celebrity weddings of 2020 that shined bright amid gloom: South cinema's popular actress Kajal Aggarwal tied the knot with her fiance, entrepreneur Gautam Kitchlu on October 30. The couple married in an intimate ceremony, in the presence of their family and close friends. The wedding was held at a Mumbai hotel. (Photograph:Twitter) Telugu star Rana Daggubati and Miheeka Bajaj tied the knot on 8 August, the wedding took place at the Ramanaidu Studios in Hyderabad. In May, Rana surprised his fans by posting pictures from their engagement ceremony. The actor took to Instagram to share a picture of the happy couple. "And it's official", Rana captioned the image. (Photograph:Twitter) Telugu actress, producer Niharika Konidela and businessman Chaitanya JV got married in a lavish ceremony at Udaipur's Umaid Bhawan Palace on December 9, 2020. The regal wedding was a star-studded affair. The wedding was attended by south star including Allu Arjun, Ram Charan, Megastar Chiranjeevi. (Photograph:Twitter) 'Mirzapur' S2 star Priyanshu Painyuli married longtime girlfriend, actress and dancer Vandana Joshi in a private ceremony in Dehradun. The couple got engaged last year and had to postpone their wedding due to the pandemic. (Photograph:Twitter) Grandson of Former PM HD Deve Gowda and actor Nikhil Gowda marriage shocked many, his wedding was smack in the middle of the COVID-19 lockdown, by becoming the first person to tie the knot in the lockdown. Nikhil married Revathi at the luxurious wedding, which took place at the outside Bengaluru at a farmhouse in Ramanagara approx 50 km away from the city. (Photograph:Twitter) Actor Nithiin Reddy got married to his fiancee Shalini Kandukuri in July. The couple got married in the presence of close family and friends - they were earlier supposed to get married in April, which was postponed because of the nationwide lockdown. (Photograph:Twitter) Aditya Narayan and his lady love Shweta Agarwal tied the knot in an lavish ceremony held in Mumbai on December 1. Aditya, who is the son of renowned playback singer Udit Narayan, dated Shweta for several years before they finally decided to tie the knot. (Photograph:Twitter) Neha Kakkar and Rohanpreet Singh tied the knot in October this year. The couple got hitched in a traditional Anand Karaj ceremony and also as per the Hindu rituals. The couple got married after few months of dating.
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Famous Person - Marriage
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Pentagon uninvites China from major U.S. military exercise
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WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Pentagon on Wednesday uninvited China from a major U.S.-hosted naval drill in response to what it sees as Beijing’s militarization of islands in the South China Sea, a decision China called unconstructive. “As an initial response to China’s continued militarization of the South China Sea we have disinvited the PLA Navy from the 2018 Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) Exercise,” said Lieutenant Colonel Christopher Logan, a Pentagon spokesman. PLA is the English-language acronym of China’s military, the People’s Liberation Army. Logan did not specify what else the U.S. government might do to respond but stressed there was “strong evidence” that China had deployed anti-ship missiles, surface-to-air missile systems and electronic jammers to contested features in the Spratly Islands. “We find that a very unconstructive move,” the Chinese government’s top diplomat, State Councilor Wang Yi, told reporters in Washington after meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. Wang described China’s activity in the South China Sea as self-defense, saying it was working on a “much smaller scale” than what the United States had done in Hawaii and Guam. “We hope that the U.S. will change such a negative mindset.” Related Coverage Over the weekend China’s air force landed bombers on disputed islands and reefs in the South China Sea as part of a training exercise in the region, triggering concern from Vietnam and the Philippines. Satellite photographs taken on May 12 showed China appeared to have deployed truck-mounted surface-to-air missiles or anti-ship cruise missiles at Woody Island in the Paracel island chain to the north of the Spratlys, said Greg Poling, a South China Sea expert at Washington’s Center for Strategic and International Studies. Poling, who heads CSIS’s Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative, said the images showed China had also deployed J-11 combat aircraft as part of its exercises. He said later satellite images, taken on May 20 and published by Fox News, showed the missile systems still in place, suggesting they could be there to stay. The Rim of the Pacific exercise, known as RIMPAC, is billed as the world’s largest international maritime exercise, held every two years in Hawaii in June and July, and China has attended previously. Abraham Denmark, a former deputy assistant secretary of defense for East Asia under President Barack Obama, said the move was largely symbolic. “To me it shows that the relationship is veering toward increasingly intense competition and the Pentagon sees diminishing returns on the value of military to military cooperation with China,” Denmark said. U.S. President Donald Trump has praised China in recent months for its help putting pressure on North Korea, even amid concerns about a potential trade war between Washington and Beijing, the world’s two largest economies. Earlier this month the United States said it had raised concerns with China about its latest militarization of the South China Sea and said there would be near-term and long-term consequences. Pentagon officials have long complained that China has not been candid enough about its rapid military build-up and using South China Sea islands to gather intelligence in the region. Chinese officials have accused Washington of viewing their country in suspicious, “Cold War” terms. “On the so-called militarization in the South China Sea, we talked about this issue just now ... It is a normal deployment and has nothing to do with militarization,” Wang said. The United States has dispatched warships to disputed areas of the South China Sea in a bid to challenge China’s extensive sovereignty claims in the territory, which is subject to various claims by China, Vietnam, the Philippines, Taiwan, Brunei and Malaysia.
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Military Exercise
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1911 Grand Rapids furniture workers strike
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United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America (UBCJ)
Other labor unions
Support:
Furniture Manufacturers Association (FMA)
Furniture Manufacturers Employers' Association (FMEA)
Support:
The 1911 Grand Rapids furniture workers strike was a general strike performed by furniture workers in Grand Rapids, which was then an national leader of furniture production. [2][3] Workers demanded furniture companies to provide increased pay, lower work hours and the creation of collective bargaining between workers and employers. [3] The strike lasted for four months until leaders of the Christian Reformed Church – its members comprised the majority of the labor movement – publicly denounced the efforts of workers, effectively ending the strike. [3][4]
The furniture industry was instrumental in developing Grand Rapids, with the 1876 World’s Fair in Philadelphia boosting the city's furniture craftsmanship into the national spotlight and provided an opportunity for the Grand Rapids to rebound from the Panic of 1873 economic crisis. [3] The furniture industry in the city then began to grow significantly; in 1870 there were eight factories employing 280 workers and by the time of the strike, the Old National Bank wrote that about 8,500 were employed by forty-seven factories. [3][1] By 1890, one-in-three workers in Grand Rapids were employed by furniture companies. [3] By the early twentieth century, the quality of furniture produced in Grand Rapids was renowned throughout furniture industry, mainly due to the skill of its workers. [1] Despite their skill, governmental reports in 1907 revealed that while Grand Rapids lead the industry in product output, its furniture workers were paid lower wages than in other areas. [1]
Labor disputes in Grand Rapids began in November 1909 when a committee of forty-five workers employed by the Oriel Furniture Company recognized that the company had experienced a ten percent increase in its sales, with the workers demanding an increase in pay. [3][1] The leadership of Oriel told the committee to return in January 1910 at the end of the selling season and when the workers returned, the leader of the committee – who was employed for twenty-six years at Oriel – was fired on charges of "being an agitator", resulting with the workers temporarily deserting their jobs. [3][1] The incident inspired other workers in different factories who became a charter of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America (UBCJ), affiliate of the American Federation of Labor. [3][1] In July 1910, the UBCJ approached the Furniture Manufacturers Association (FMA) demanding revised work hours and an increased wage, though their demands were ignored and the FMA said they would only negotiate with workers on an individual basis. [1] In the fall of 1910, the UBCJ attempted to meet with the Furniture Manufacturers Employers' Association (FMEA), but were immediately dismissed. [1]
The UBCJ leadership sent letters to the on February 9, 1911, asking for a meeting to consider a ten percent wage increase, ten hours of pay for nine hours of labor and the institution of a minimum wage to replace the system of piece work used at the time. [1] City leadership and the local media supported the meeting, though furniture businesses opposed any meetings with unions since they believed any encounter meant companies recognized organized labor groups. [1] Such behavior by the businesses resulted with the majority of observers supporting the workers since the furniture companies resisted all opportunities for dialogue. [1]
The FMEA responded with a letter dated March 1, 1911:[1]
We understand that certain officials of an organized body of workmen of the city have expressed a wish to confer with us about the management of our business. We have always operated on an open shop basis; dealing with every man, union and non-union, without discrimination, on the basis of ability and individual agreement. From its organization this company has always recognized liberty of every man to sell his labor freely, independently and at the best price obtainable. This company will continue to conduct its business in these respects in the future as in the past. Dissatisfied with the response of furniture companies, the UBCJ held a referendum on March 25, 1911, to vote for a labor strike; ninety-five percent of the 3,244 unionized workers voted to begin a strike on April 1. [1] In the following days, the finishers union of 1,500 workers and the carvers union also voted in support of a strike. [3] Mayor of Grand Rapids George E. Ellis, whose voter base comprised the working class in the city, supported the initiatives of the unions and helped organize the Commission of Inquiry in order to avoid a strike; the unions agreed to delay their strike and participate though the businesses refused any discussions entirely. [3] On April 18, workers gave one last chance of reply to the businesses, though they received no answer. [1]
The strike began on April 19, 1911, at 9:00 am with over 6,000 workers refusing to go to work. [3][1][4] Days later on April 22, the janitors at the city hall began a strike and entered the mayor's office, demanding a wage increase while detailing the difficulties they faced, causing Mayor Ellis to nearly faint. [5]
Businesses responded to the strike by using strikebreakers, hiring vagrants from Chicago and Ionia, with some of the strikebreakers arriving infected with smallpox. [3] The board of aldermen in Grand Rapids condemned such practices, stating that importing workers "cannot but have serious effect upon the social conditions in this city, both because of the large number of unemployed which will result ... [a]nd the bringing in of men of questionable character"[3] Bill Haywood of the Industrial Workers of the World temporarily visited Grand Rapids shortly after the strike began. [3]
Auxiliary Bishop Joseph Schrembs of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Grand Rapids expressed support for the striking workers on May 3, noting the deplorable conditions of their living and the low wages they received. [4]
For days, women gathered near the Widdicomb Furniture Company plant on Fifth Street and Davis Street, with the Grand Rapids Police Department initially believing that they posed no threat of public disorder. [6] On May 15, a riot of 2,000 people occurred during the closing hours of a demonstration in the evening near the plant. [4][1][6] Five strikebreakers and factory owner Harry Widdicomb were leaving the plant by car when they were approached by Lithuanian and Polish women – some still holding their children – who initialized the confrontation, throwing stones at Widdicomb's automobile and destroying the vehicles window. [3][6] Strikers and supporters then rushed the vehicle and began throwing any object at hand towards the occupants. [6]
One police officer posted at the factory, Officer Sprague, approached the women but was immediately attacked by them with stones. [6] Sprague responded by drawing his weapon and firing in the air, temporarily dispersing the crowd and entered the plant with a detained man who attacked him. [6] More officers arrived on the scene and struggled with holding on to detained individuals, eventually resorting to "use their clubs freely". [6] John Kosc and Joseph Kotowski were "beaten insensible" by officers and then transported bloodied to the city jail. [6] Officers then began to fire into the crowd, with police saying they possibly struck two individuals with gunfire. [6] Rioters were also reported to have fired guns, but no gunshot injuries were reported among authorities. [6]
Fire trucks then began to arrive on the seen and soon after, Mayor Ellis approached the demonstrators, praised their passion but ultimately called on them to return home. [6] The crowd applauded the mayor though they refused to leave; firefighters then turned their hoses on the crowd for thirty minutes, knocking many down into the street resulting with the riots dispersal. [6] In total, six were reported injured, four individuals were arrested and nearly all windows of the Widdicomb plant were destroyed. [3][1][6]
In The Grand Rapids Herald the following day, Mayor Ellis called for one hundred citizens to join the police force, stating "The gathering of large crowds near factories must be discontinued. ... Remember, any person causing disorder is the worst enemy the laboring man has. "[6] Brigadier general of the Michigan National Guard Perley L. Abbey observed the riot while on a train to Ludington and discussions of deploying troops from other regions of the state were discussed. [6]
The UBCJ responded to the riot saying they would remove any members involved in violence and stated they "deeply deplore all acts of violence and if in any way we can avoid such actions we will gladly assist the authorities in so doing". [1]
Days after the riot, American Seating agreed on May 26 to provide its workers ten hours of pay for nine hours of labor. [4]
On July 15, a parade of 3,000 strikers marched through the main streets of Grand Rapids after Mayor Ellis approved of the event. [4]
The Christian Reformed Church and Fountain Street Church were the main organizations leading opposition to the strikes.
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Strike
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Longest lunar eclipse of this century will happen on November 19; may last up to 3 hours, 28 minutes
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The eclipse will also be visible from South America, Eastern Asia, the Pacific region, and Australia. Besides this eclipse, there will be 20 total, partial and penumbral eclipses between 2021 and 2030. Longest lunar eclipse of this century will happen on Nov 19 Key Highlights The space agency said the eclipse could last up to 3 hours and 28 minutes - during which 97% of the moon will appear in red The eclipse is likely to be longer than any other eclipse between 2001 and 2100 The eclipse will take place on November 18 and 19 and people across the world will be able to catch a glimpse at different times, depending on their time zones. The longest partial lunar eclipse of the century will occur on November 19 with great visibility in North America, predicted NASA . The space agency said the eclipse could last up to 3 hours and 28 minutes - during which 97% of the moon will appear in red. The eclipse is likely to be longer than any other eclipse between 2001 and 2100. Earth will pass between the sun and the moon in the early hours of November 19, casting a shadow on the latter. NASA said the eclipse will peak at 4 AM ET (1:30 pm Saturday, Indian Standard Time (IST). The eclipse will take place on November 18 and 19 and people across the world will be able to catch a glimpse at different times, depending on their time zones. But the night gazers on the east coast of the US will be able to get the best view from 2-4 AM ET, according to NASA. The eclipse will also be visible from South America, Eastern Asia, the Pacific region, and Australia. Besides this eclipse, there will be 20 total, partial and penumbral eclipses between 2021 and 2030. Those who won't be able to see the celestial event from their homes can watch it on NASA's live stream . “A partial lunar eclipse is on the way, taking place overnight on November 18th and 19th, when the Moon slips into Earth's shadow for a couple of hours. Weather permitting, the eclipse will be visible from any location where the Moon appears above the horizon during the eclipse. Depending on your time zone, it'll occur earlier or later in the evening for you,” NASA wrote on olarsystem.nasa.gov. RELATED NEWS Debunked: Know the truth about the viral video showing a moon eclipsing a sun in the Arctic “Now that's a huge swath of the planet that'll be able to see at least part of the eclipse, including North and South America, Eastern Asia, Australia, and the Pacific Region. So check the timing of its visibility for your area,” the sapce agency added. Frost moon is another celestial event that will accompany the partial lunar eclipse this month, according to NASA. What is a frost moon? Forst moon is the last full moon of autumn. It got its name from Native American tribes, according to the Maine Farmer's Almanac. For the latest Tech news , camera reviews, laptop games news, and Gadget Reviews on TimesNow
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New wonders in nature
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Erupting Icelandic volcano attracts thousands
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Thousands of people have flocked to Iceland to catch a glimpse of a volcano that's been erupting for months. Many have been venturing as close as possible to a safety fence set up to protect them against sprays of red-hot rock. As the Cumbre Vieja volcano on La Palma continues to spew lava and ash, residents are worried as jobs dry up and state aid is slow to arrive. Some have already left the island, as DW correspondent Nicole Ris reports. While some are fleeing the erupting volcano on the small Spanish Canary Island of La Palma, others are flying there precisely because of it. Stefanie Claudia Müller reports on an island torn between hardship and tourism. Schools have been closed and flights canceled because of the massive amounts of ash being spewed from the Cumbre Vieja volcano. Scientists have said the eruption on the island of La Palma could last up to three months. Spain's National Geological Institute said the volcano spewed blocks of molten lava "as large as three-story buildings." A partial cone collapse near the volcano's emission vent triggered the event.
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Volcano Eruption
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Former Pittsburgh Public Schools principal faces fine for ethics violations
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PITTSBURGH — A former Pittsburgh Public Schools principal is facing a fine from the Pennsylvania State Ethics Commission.
The $750 fine is for failing to complete statements of financial interests between 2016 and 2018, according to our news partners at The Trib.
Deonne M. Arrington has until Oct. 17 to pay the civil penalty, the commission said when it released its findings Friday. She filed a deficient statement of financial interest in 2016 and failed to file similar statements in 2017 and 2018, according to the commission.
Arrington was a principal at Pittsburgh Lincoln K-5 school, but hasn’t been employed with the district for at least two years, district spokeswoman Ebony Pugh said.
The violations are similar to those against former Pittsburgh Superintendent Anthony Hamlet, who resigned effective Oct. 1 after the commission said he violated state ethics laws in his travel expense reports, accepted cash for speeches and failed to make required financial disclosures between 2016 and 2018.
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Organization Fine
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Hungary 7–1 England (1954 association football friendly)
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Hungary v England (1954) was an international football game played on 23 May 1954. The game was played between the Hungary national football team—then the world's number one ranked team and the Olympic champions—and the England national football team, hailing from the birthplace of the game of football and reputed "Kings of Football". [1] The game was a return fixture from the 1953 game in the old Wembley Stadium, where Hungary had beaten England 6–3. [2]
England approached the game in the hope that the 6–3 result had been an aberration; instead, Hungary provided a masterclass of football, and thrashed England 7–1. [3]
Under the stewardship of Gusztáv Sebes, Hungary had been unbeaten since May 1950, and had won the 1952 Olympics in Helsinki. They were rated the number one team in the world by FIFA and were firm favourites for the 1954 World Cup. England were rated the number four team in the world by FIFA, but were still existing in a climate of complacency; the Football Association (FA) saw their country as the originators of the game and assumed English players were technically and physically superior to their foreign counterparts. Coaching and tactical advances from abroad were ignored, with the English national side and the majority of clubs persisting with the outdated WM formation. Manager Walter Winterbottom had no prior managerial experience in professional football, and did not pick the England squad: that role remained with the FA's selection committee, who frequently displayed little or no consistency in their choice of player. Hungary had visited England in 1953 and delivered a 6–3 thrashing at Wembley—the first time a foreign team outside the British Isles had beaten England on home soil. The result had sent a shockwave through English football, with several prominent managers and players such as Matt Busby, Don Revie, Bill Nicholson and Ron Greenwood realising that the English game had to adapt if the national team was to compete at the highest levels. The FA on the other hand viewed the defeat as a "one-off", and retained Winterbottom and an outdated WM formation for the return game in Budapest. The match was played on 23 May 1954 at Nepstadion in Budapest[2] in front of a 92,000 crowd. The England team lined up in its usual WM formation, and included captain Billy Wright, goalkeeper Gil Merrick, winger Tom Finney and inside forward Ivor Broadis. Centre forward Bedford Jezzard was given his debut England cap. The Hungarian team lined up in the 4–2–4[4] formation pioneered by their coach, Gusztáv Sebes. József Bozsik played in the deep lying midfield position, with Nándor Hidegkuti free to roam between midfield and attack. Ferenc Puskás and Sándor Kocsis were the strikers, with width being provided by Zoltán Czibor and József Tóth. Hungary dominated the game; England were unable to obtain the ball for much of the time, and when they did they were unable to make any inroads against a fitter and more tactically adept Hungary side. No lessons had been learnt from the 6–3 defeat at Wembley; England were drawn out of position time and time again. Mihály Lantos scored for Hungary after 10 minutes; Ferenc Puskás added a second goal seven minutes later, before Sándor Kocsis made it 3–0 on 19 minutes. [2] England were simply outclassed and outplayed for the rest of the half. The second half continued in same vein; Kocsis added his second goal on 57 minutes, Nándor Hidegkuti scored two minutes later, Toth added a sixth and Puskas scored the final Hungarian goal on the 71st minute. It was a wretched tactical performance by England, with the sole highlight being Ivor Broadis scoring with a hooked shot when the Hungarians were 6–0 up. [2]
The final result was Hungary 7 England 1—this still ranks as England's heaviest footballing defeat. [2]
The result confirmed what many in the English football world had suspected after the 6–3 defeat at Wembley: that England were no longer a major footballing force, and that the English game needed to look to the continent for tactical and training advances. [5]
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Sports Competition
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Dog run over on the M19 finds a new home after recovering
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Basil has been adopted by a special family and is looking forward to being spoilt by them. Dog run over on the M19 finds a new home after recovering DURBAN – The Kloof and Highway SPCA said Christmas came early for Buddy Loadshedding, now known as Basil, who has gone to his new family. Basil was rescued on the M19 after he was hit by a car. Kloof and Highway SPCA manager Barbara Patrick said Basil’s prognosis was not great, and members of the public immediately started fundraising for him. Basil was rescued on the M19 after he was hit by a car. “I phoned Dr Steve Wimberley at Westville Veterinary Hospital and he said they would help us,” Patrick said. “Thanks to the incredible team at Westville Veterinary Hospital who did his operation and took extra good care of him, to all the generous donors who contributed to his medical care… and to Andreas Mathios and other members of the public who stopped on the M19 to help.” Dramatic M19 rescue for Buddy Loadshedding Basil was rescued on the M19 after he was hit by a car. Picture: Supplied Patrick said Inspectors Petros Simamane and Petra Abrams responded to the call immediately, and rushed Basil to the SPCA clinic where he was stabilised overnight before being transferred to Westville Veterinary Hospital. “Basil has been adopted by a special family and is looking forward to being spoilt by them,” Patrick said. She also thanked everyone for making her Christmas happier. When Basil was run down, Marshall Security spokesperson Andreas Mathios said Marshall Security’s community support team on route to a call-out in the La Lucia area spotted a dog that had been hit by a car on the M19 freeway, just outside of Pinetown. The dog was in a serious condition. He said the Kloof and Highway SPCA were notified and dispatched to the scene. On Thursday, Mathios said he was absolutely overwhelmed by the response from the community that came together to donate funds towards the dogs welfare. “The fact that it found a home is also very touching given the circumstances that that dog was on death row seconds before I arrived,” Mathios said. “What amazes me the most is how people who did not know each other came together on that specific day to help this animal and for me that is the most touching part about helping animals and rescuing them from such a fate. That dog’s life would have ended within minutes had it not been for people coming together at the right place at the right time and I am just so happy that the dog has found a happy ever after home,” Mathios said. He said what also stood out for him was the way the Westville vet, the staff and everybody rallied around the dog to make sure that in the best interest of the dog, the right decisions were made at the right time. “It was never about the money, but the love for the animal that was seconds away from being taken out by the traffic that was arriving around that corner that morning on the M19 when I was on my way to work,” Mathios said. He added that during the Covid-19 pandemic where funds were already stretched, businesses and individuals came together to make sure that the best outcome for the dog was made available.
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Famous Person - Recovered
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Raphael Varane: Man Utd confirm agreement with Real Madrid to sign defender
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Last updated on 27 July 202127 July 2021.From the section Man Utdcomments1559
Manchester United have confirmed they have reached an agreement with Real Madrid to sign defender Raphael Varane.
It is understood the clubs have agreed an initial fee of £34m, which could rise to £42m, and that Varane, 28, has agreed terms on a four-year contract with the option for another 12 months.
United said the transfer would be completed "subject to a medical and to player terms being finalised".
Varane, a World Cup winner with France, has made 360 appearances for Real.
"Real Madrid wants to show all its affection to Raphaal Varane and his family and wishes him good luck in this new stage of his professional career," the club said in a statement.
"Our club thanks you for your professionalism and exemplary behaviour during the 10 seasons in which you defended our shirt."
Varane, who has 79 caps, will become Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's third signing in this transfer window - following the re-signing of goalkeeper Tom Heaton and the £73m arrival of England winger Jadon Sancho from Borussia Dortmund.
BBC Sport understands Varane will quarantine before having his medical, after which he will complete his move.
United, who agreed a fee with Real on Monday, have been long-term admirers of Varane, whose contract was due to expire next summer.
Former boss Sir Alex Ferguson originally pursued a deal for the player before his move to Madrid, and Jose Mourinho was also keen to add the defender to his squad during his time at Old Trafford.
After coming through Lens' academy, Varane broke into the first team at the age of 17, and while he was unable to steer them away from relegation, his performances attracted the attention of some of Europe's top clubs. Despite strong interest from United, Real signed the teenager on a six-year contract in 2011, and he went on to make 15 appearances in all competitions during his first season in Spain as Mourinho's side regained the title. That was the start of Varane's impressive trophy haul during his decade in the Spanish capital. He helped Carlo Ancelotti's side clinch their 10th European title - 'La Decima' - in the 2013-14 season, making seven appearances and partnering Sergio Ramos in the final as they beat Atletico Madrid 4-1 after extra time in Lisbon.
Varane was also a key figure under compatriot Zinedine Zidane, who replaced Rafael Benitez as manager in January 2016, as Los Blancos secured a hat-trick of Champions League titles from 2016-2018. However, a hamstring injury ruled him out of the 2016 final against Atletico and France's European Championship campaign that summer, which ended in defeat in the final.
Having battled injuries during the 2016-17 season, Varane enjoyed arguably his strongest year in 2017-18 as Real beat Liverpool in the 2018 Champions League final, before he starred for France at the 2018 World Cup, playing every minute of Les Bleus' triumphant campaign in Russia.
Varane's performances for club and country during 2017-18 saw him finish seventh in the Ballon d'Or rankings - the highest-placed defender - and he was named in the Uefa Team of the Year. The centre-back has had his share of disappointments too, however, most notably in 2019-20 when his error-strewn display led to Real's Champions League last-16 exit at the hands of Manchester City. Varane also played every minute of France's Euro 2020 campaign, which ended with a last-16 penalty shootout defeat by Switzerland.
Should the Varane deal be completed as expected, United will have spent just short of £400m on players since Solskjaer was appointed manager on a permanent basis in March 2019.
That eclipses the outlay of Manchester City (£298m), Chelsea (£262m), Tottenham (£255m) Arsenal (£243m) and Liverpool (£119m) in the same period, according to Transfermarkt.external-link
Varane is the fourth defender United have brought in since conceding 54 goals during the 2018-19 Premier League season, after Harry Maguire, Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Alex Telles. Having acquired Maguire and Wan-Bissaka in the summer of 2019, the Red Devils conceded 36 goals as they finished third in 2019-20.
They climbed a place to finish second behind Manchester City last season, letting in 44 goals, 12 more than their neighbours.
It is understood any further signings this summer are likely to depend on outgoings.
BBC Sport's Simon Stone
This certainly seems like an excellent deal for Manchester United.
Varane has precisely the back-story they need to bring leadership and tactical nous to their defence. The experience of starting three Champions League finals victories and a World Cup final win is invaluable in what is a relatively young United squad.
United have been able to exploit a weak transfer market - they were the only realistic option for Varane if he decided to leave Real - and the financial issues affecting all Spain's leading clubs to come up with a deal attractive enough to entice a player of true international quality.
The big question for United now is whether they are done in the market this summer.
That may well depend on whether Paul Pogba decides to sit out the remaining year of his contract or if he would be willing to accept a lower salary that may be on offer in 12 months' time in order to get a move to PSG.
Axel Tuanzebe seems the most likely central defender to make way for Varane, potentially on loan to Newcastle, although doubts hang over the futures of Diogo Dalot, Brandon Williams, Jesse Lingard and Phil Jones, who did not make a single appearance last season and has not been involved so far during pre-season games against Derby and QPR.
Balancing the finances is important for United. However, for the fans, they just want to see Varane in action. Coming so soon after Jadon Sancho's move from Borussia Dortmund was confirmed, optimism around Old Trafford has not been so high for quite some time.
Real Madrid and Belgium attacker Eden Hazard:external-link "I've come across some fantastic defenders during my career, such as John Terry and Vincent Kompany. I think that although [Varane] is still young, he's already one of the best centre-backs of all time. His partnership with Sergio Ramos is wonderful."
Former Real Madrid boss Jose Mourinho in 2014:external-link "I think Varane is the best central defender in the world. He is still young, but I think he's the best."
Liverpool and Netherlands defender Virgil van Dijk:external-link "Sergio Ramos's teammate at Real Madrid, Raphael Varane, is my favourite. He is an excellent defender and has already won a lot."
France manager Didier Deschamps:external-link "When he is 100% fit, he knows how to do everything. He's very strong defensively, he is fast. He has good anticipation. He's never in trouble on the ball. He can score goals at set-pieces. That makes him a complete player."
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Sign Agreement
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UFC 212
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UFC 212: Aldo vs. Holloway was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship held on June 3, 2017, at the Jeunesse Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. [2]
A UFC Featherweight Championship unification bout between two-time champion José Aldo and interim champion Max Holloway served as the main event. [2][3]
The Ultimate Fighter: Team Jones vs. Team Sonnen middleweight winner Kelvin Gastelum was expected to face former UFC Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva at the event. However on April 6, 2017, he was pulled from the bout after he was flagged for a potential doping violation by USADA stemming from his most recent bout against Vitor Belfort. Gastelum tested positive for Carboxy-Tetrahydrocannabinol (Carboxy-THC) which is a metabolite of marijuana or hashish above the 180 ng/mL allowance by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) standard. The in-competition sample was collected on the night of Gastelum's fight on March 11 in Brazil. He has been placed on a provisional suspension as a result of the positive drug test and he will be afforded a full adjudication process. [4]
As of April 10, 2017, it was confirmed that former Strikeforce and UFC Middleweight Champion Luke Rockhold was offered the fight and accepted it. [5] In turn, Silva dismissed the idea a day later, citing that Rockhold was coming from a loss and because of that it wouldn't make sense. Instead, Silva floated potential matchups with Uriah Hall or a rematch with semi-retired Nick Diaz. [6] On May 1, Silva gave the UFC an ultimatum: he wants to fight 2000 Olympic silver medalist and former world champion in freestyle wrestling Yoel Romero for the interim title or he will retire. [7] In turn, despite having two months to secure an opponent, Silva and promotion officials confirmed on May 11 that he would not compete at the event. [8][9]
Felipe Arantes was expected to face Iuri Alcântara at the event. However on May 11, Arantes was pulled from the fight due to undisclosed reasons and was replaced by promotional newcomer Brian Kelleher. [10]
A lightweight bout between The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil 2 welterweight winner Leonardo Santos and Olivier Aubin-Mercier was scheduled for this event, but was scrapped on May 18 after Aubin-Mercier got injured and Santos decided to pull out of the event. [11]
[12]
The following fighters were awarded $50,000 bonuses:[13]
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Sports Competition
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1949 New York City taxicab strike
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The 1949 New York City taxicab strike was a labor strike involving taxicab drivers in New York City. The strike was the result of union organization efforts carried out by a local union of the United Mine Workers who were seeking union recognition and pay increases for taxicab drivers in the city. The strike started on April 1, 1949 and was initially successful in shutting down approximately 80% of taxicab operations in the city. However, after several days, taxicab operators used strikebreakers and countered the effectiveness of the strike. The UMW officially ended the strike on April 8. Historian Graham Russell Gao Hodges claims that the UMW's mismanagement of the strike was the primary reason for its failure and states that the strike "did not result in any positive results" for the strikers. New York City (NYC) in 1949 was home to over 11,000 taxicabs and approximately 32,000 licensed drivers. Several thousand drivers were members of Local 35 of the Taxi Workers Organizing Committee, an affiliate union of the United Mine Workers (UMW). [1] Following World War II, the UMW had increased its unionization efforts among NYC taxi drivers who, unlike workers in other industries in the city, did not have a long history of worker organization. [2] As part of their organization effort, the UMW pushed for taxicab fleet owners to recognize the union. Additionally, they wanted them to agree to labor contracts that included demands such as a standard five-day workweek of nine-hour days and daily wages of $9 for day drivers and $11 for night drivers. [3] Additional demands included an insurance and welfare plan offered by the fleet owners and some changes to work rules, among other employee benefits. [1] However, neither side could come to an agreement, with fleet owners arguing that the union did not represent the majority of their workers. [1] This claim is somewhat supported by historian Graham Russell Gao Hodges who, in a 2007 book, stated that less than half of the 32,000 licensed drivers were active. [3]
By March 1949, the UMW called for strike action if the fleet operators didn't agree to their terms. [3] On March 30, 2,000 day drivers voted to approve strike action, joining 3,300 night drivers who had earlier approved of a strike that would start on April 1. The New York City Police Department made plans for the strike, as a previous taxicab strike action in 1934 had led to violence in the city. [1] The department added an extra 3,250 officers to street patrols in preparation for the strike. [4][3] On March 31, New York City Mayor William O'Dwyer ordered 2,000 police officers on strike duty. At this time, several operators stated they would not be operating during the course of the strike, with one representative accusing the union of bringing in "goons" from Virginia. [note 1] A union representative rebutted that, while 100 organizers had been brought in to assist the union during the strike, they were not there for violence. [5] That same day, Mayor O'Dwyer[note 2] hosted negotiations between the two sides at New York City Hall in an attempt to prevent a strike, but no deal was reached. [4][3] In particular, the taxicab operators refused to immediately recognize the union without a State Labor Relations Board vote. [4] Following this, the mayor spoke about the impending strike on radio where he warned both sides that violence would not be tolerated. [4][3]
The strike began at 4:30 a.m. on April 1. By 8 a.m., there were only 701 taxicabs operating in the city, with 76 of those in Brooklyn. As there were 11,510 taxicabs in the city at this time, with approximately 6,000 operating on average, the Brooklyn Eagle reported that the walkout was approximately 90% effective. Shortly after the start of the strike, the union alleged that the operators were giving strikebreakers guns in order to intimidate union members, with a union representative claiming they had an affidavit from an individual who had been given a gun for strikebreaking. Picket lines were organized outside of several taxicab garages, and 9 strikers (4 in Brooklyn and 5 in Manhattan) were arrested for loitering and threats of violence. [4] By the second day, the Brooklyn Eagle reported that the strike was still approximately 90% effective, while the union claimed that 97% of the city's taxicabs were not operating. [7] Also by April 2, 24 arrests had been made,[8] but the expected violence had not yet materialized. [7] Four strikers in Brooklyn were arrested on charges of heckling a non-striking cab driver and causing a traffic collision. Nightclub owners in the city reported a 50% decrease in business due to the strike and lack of taxis. [7] By April 3, the total number of arrests made was 42. Additionally, over 1,000 taxicabs were operating in the city, with operators claiming they had broken the strike and that over 5,000 vehicles would be in operation the next day. Also on April 3, one operator was able to get an injunction issued against the UMW by the Manhattan Supreme Court that limited picketing at their facilities. [8] On April 4, taxicab operations had returned to 40% of their pre-strike rate, and following this, the head of Local 35 resigned from his post. That same day, union representatives informed Mayor O'Dwyer of their willingness to seek an election with the State Labor Relations Board. [9] Late in the day on April 8, union officials officially ended the strike. [10][11]
Following the strike, union officials accused Mayor O'Dwyer of strikebreaking and abandoning union members after promising them his support, which he denied. [10] Brooklyn politician Abe Stark also accused O'Dwyer of using heavy-handed tactics to end the strike. [12] On the part of the union, historian Graham Russell Gao Hodges claimed that the UMW made mistakes by not offering strike pay for the cab drivers and not contributing more financial backing for the strike. Additionally, the union failed to reach out to cab drivers about their particular grievances with the taxicab operators, such as the lack of vacation time. Ultimately, Hodges claims that the strike "did not result in any positive results" for the workers. [13]
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Strike
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Kim Kardashian was lonely in marriage to Kanye West
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Kim Kardashian and Kanye West’s relationship was so strained towards the end of their marriage that the reality star felt lonely. The mom of four sat down with Kris Jenner in Thursday night’s “Keeping Up with the Kardashians” finale and revealed that she was unhappy in her marriage because she missed the little things that she felt couples should have in common. “I want someone that we have the same shows in common,” she told her mom while explaining how jealous she became of Khloé Kardashian and Tristan Thompson’s on-again-off-again relationship while the three of them would work out in quarantine. “I want someone that wants to work out with me … I was like, ‘Wow. It’s like the little things is what I don’t have.'” “I have all the big things,” she added. “I have the extravagant everything you could ever possibly imagine and no one will ever do it like that. I know that … and I’m grateful for those experiences. But, I think I’m ready for the smaller experiences that I think will mean a lot.” Kim Kardashian said she felt lonely towards the end of her marriage to Kanye West. West, 44, became known for his lavish gift-giving to Kardashian throughout their seven-year marriage. He gave her multiple Cartier bracelets, a $2 million engagement ring, two customized Hermés Birkin bags, a Kenny G serenade and a Robert Kardashian hologram , among other presents. Kim Kardashian and Kanye West posed with their four children. Kardashian also acknowledged in the episode that while she fulfilled what she set out to do in her career, she felt like she didn’t have anyone to share her success with aside from her kids. “I never thought I was lonely and I never — I always thought, ‘That’s totally fine. I could just have my kids. My husband moves from state to state and I just, I’m on this ride with him,'” she explained. “And I was okay with that. And then after turning 40 this year, I realized like, ‘No. I don’t want a husband that lives in a completely different state.'” “To me, I thought, ‘Oh my God, that’s when we’re getting along the best,'” she added. “But then that is sad to me and that’s not what I want.” Kardashian also told her mom that she was working with a therapist to better herself. “That’s what I’m so excited for. Just like, waking up at 40 and realizing like, I just want total happiness. I know obviously complete bliss is like not a full reality, but if I can have it more of a majority of the time, that’s all I want to do. Wherever that takes me, I just want my pure happiness. So that’s what I’m working on. Figuring out how to get there.” Kardashian was previously married to Damon Thomas and Kris Humphries and broke down over the dissolution of her third marriage in a recent “KUWTK” episode. “I feel like a f–king failure, that it’s like, a third f–king marriage,” she said in a flashback clip on last week’s episode of the show. “Yeah I feel like a f–king loser. But I can’t even think about that like, I want to be happy.” While Kardashian is still single for now, the “Heartless” rapper has recently been linked to Bradley Cooper’s ex-girlfriend, Irina Shayk.
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Famous Person - Marriage
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Improved Coordination, Collaboration and Communication Key to Prevent Zoonotic Outbreaks: Scientific Forum Concludes
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The Scientific Forum attracted more than 100 participants and more than 3 000 viewers online. Panellists of the Scientific Forum recognized the IAEA’s Zoonotic Disease Integrated Action (ZODIAC) initiative as one of the important and timely global initiatives for enhancing response preparedness to pandemics using nuclear and related techniques. Currently more than 140 countries are participating in the project and the IAEA has already initiated capacity building activities and procurement of equipment for ZODIAC National Laboratories in several countries. The session highlighted strong Member States support for ZODIAC and its approach of effectively complementing other global initiatives. Panellists concluded that closer coordination, collaboration, and communication towards scientific advancements in research, early detection and monitoring of zoonotic diseases are key in preventing or containing the next epidemic or pandemic such as COVID-19. These were the key conclusions of this year’s Scientific Forum on how to prevent, prepare for and respond to the next epidemic or pandemic with the help of nuclear science. “The COVID-19 pandemic and related issues we are confronted with, made us act together,” said IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi closing the two-day Forum, an annual event held during the IAEA General Conference. “We need to keep this momentum.” Diseases of animal origin such as COVID-19 make up between 60 and 70 per cent of infectious diseases and affect 2.6 billion people every year, causing 2.2 million deaths on average annually. Since its outbreak, COVID-19 has caused 4.7 million deaths. “COVID-19 is a global crisis that demands a global response,” said Thomas Mettenleiter, Co-Chair of One Health High-Level Expert Panel highlighting the important “three Cs approach”, which stand for coordination, cooperation, and communication when applied to One Health — a multisectoral concept recognizing that the health of people is closely connected to that of animals and the environment. During the Forum, decision makers and leading experts in virology, immunology, veterinary medicine and radiology agreed to further work together in exchanging information and data, expanding the capacity for testing and detecting diseases, building strong global and national surveillance systems for detecting and characterizing pathogens, and integrating innovative technologies into the national and global monitoring infrastructure. “I was very happy to have listened to all speakers at the Forum. I do not see any doubt about what needs to be done, but we need to do it now,” said Mr Grossi in his closing remarks. “We all have a tremendous responsibility on our shoulders, and the IAEA is ready.” The closing panel included the Resident Representatives to the IAEA from Belgium, France, Japan and the United States of America — countries which have so far donated more than US$ 20 million towards areas such as the Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory Network (VETLAB) and ZODIAC, which helps national laboratories expand their technical, scientific and laboratory capacity to rapidly detect and control zoonotic diseases, and if needed quickly deliver equipment and know-how to countries. “ZODIAC is not a project, it is not an idea, it is already delivering assistance as we speak. And we will and need to do much more,” Mr Grossi said, highlighting the importance of continuous collaboration with experts and other international organizations towards action. To build further synergies, the IAEA has signed a Declaration of Intent with Preventing ZOonotic Disease Emergence (PREZODE), committing to closely working together in fighting such diseases that spread from animals to humans. “We need to make sure to build bridges together…and that everything that is being is done is in a way that we are moving together in the same direction,” said Pierre Dussort, PREZODE Operational Manager. The Forum attracted more than 100 participants and more than 3 000 viewers online. Its opening session and five panel discussions were spread over a day and a half. The first session dealt with the importance of various techniques for detecting pathogens and monitoring zoonoses, and the central role of scientific research and development. “We discover new diseases, characterize them and then we develop rapid diagnostic tools,” said Nischay Mishra, Professor of Epidemiology at the Columbia University Medical Center in United States of America. He distinguished between direct detection — molecular/genetic methods — and indirect detection using serology to detect the presence of antibodies as tools for pathogen discovery and characterization. “As a first step, samples must be collected for monitoring and surveillance programmes…Analysis of the field samples is an important issue for the early detection of pathogens, therefore, the development of local research must be supported by capacity building and training,” said Markus Keller, Laboratory Director at the Federal Research Institute for Animal Health in Germany about the importance of information sharing and capacity-building for understanding and controlling zoonotic diseases. The second session focused on the role of human-animal interactions in infectious diseases. Speakers explained that these diseases are transmitted in different ways, for example through animal bites, petting of animals or the consumption of undercooked meat. Once the diseases emerge, it is important to recognize the pathways through which emerging or re-emerging infections can lead to pandemics. One solution is building strong global and national surveillance systems, explained Christine Middlemiss, the Chief Veterinary Officer in the United Kingdom, emphasizing their use in monitoring potential emerging threats around the world. Radiation techniques such as medical imaging can help determine the impact of zoonoses on human health and can be used for data analysis to support disease management. In the third session, Dina Husseiny Salama, Head of the Radiology Department at the Egyptian Atomic Energy Authority explained the potential impact of radiomics — a method that extracts features from medical images using data-characterisation algorithms — and its use in the management of zoonotic diseases. Georg Langs, Head of the Computational Imaging Research Lab at the Medical University of Vienna in Austria talked about machine learning and how “artificial intelligence allows us to put our observations into quantitative numbers, share them, and compare them across the world...and to detect new diseases and identify patterns for individual treatments.” The fourth session entitled 'From Avian Flu to COVID-19 – the IAEA's Support to Countries' looked at the experience of Argentina, Azerbaijan, Botswana, Cameroon and the Middle East region in detecting, identifying and managing zoonoses such as Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (H5N1), Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS-CoV-1), Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS), Ebola, and the virus that causes COVID-19. “Since 2006, the IAEA has been helping us build capacity in nuclear-based techniques,” said Samantha Letsholo, Principal Veterinary Officer and Head of the Virology Section at the Botswana National Veterinary Laboratory, the only veterinary institute responsible for diagnostics and surveillance of animal diseases in the country. “We had little to no capacity before the IAEA started assisting us, and since then we have gone on to perform a lot of serological, molecular and food safety testing,” she said, adding that the assistance included training and equipment, also for COVID-19 testing. In the fifth session, Christian Happi, Director of the African Centre of Excellence for Genomics of Infectious Diseases (ACEGID), alongside with the other panel members, emphasized the importance of being “on the offensive against zoonotic diseases as they directly threaten the very existence of our human species.” The conclusions of the Scientific Forum will be a key input to the work of the IAEA in this area. The IAEA will continue to build partnerships with relevant global and regional initiatives including, the private sector, foundations and development banks and further strengthen its collaboration with the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the World Health Organization (WHO) and the World Organisation of Animal Health (OIE). “Let’s think about all those who lost someone, who are suffering and those who are ill. And let’s try to make COVID-19 be the one that made us work together, with one health [approach] and one mission: to deliver,” concluded Mr Grossi. Preparing for Zoonotic Outbreaks: Scientific Forum Opens IAEA and PREZODE Pave the Way for Future Cooperation to Prevent Zoonotic Diseases Improving Zoonotic Disease Prevention and Livestock Production through Nuclear-derived Techniques Discussed at FAO/IAEA Meeting
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Disease Outbreaks
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AM
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New research shows that the waters and fish of the Great Barrier Reef are contaminated with micro-debris.
The worst pollutants were not tiny particles of plastic, but microfibres of nylon and polyester, most likely from our clothes and furniture.
The effects of those invisible pollutants on fish or humans are still unknown, but conservationists are concerned that they pose yet another challenge for the reef.
Featured:
Dr Frederieke Kroon, principal research scientist, Australian Institute of Marine ScienceRichard Leck, head of oceans, WWF-Australia
A study confirms the presence of microplastics in the digestive system of coral trout, a commercially important species.
At a conservative estimate, people around the world are consuming a credit card's-worth of microplastic every week, according to a new study.
From afar, it might look like Michelle Blewitt is teaching bystanders how to pan for gold, as she vigorously shakes a sieve full of sand on a beach, but on closer inspection, she is teaching locals how to hunt for microplastics.
It's widely seen as a problem affecting the world's oceans, but researchers are warning that microplastics could also be taking a toll on land-based agriculture and ecosystems.
The amount of baby corals born on the Great Barrier Reef crashed in 2018 in what scientists are describing as the early stages of a "huge natural selection event unfolding". AM individual segments on iTunes or RSS
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Environment Pollution
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Three of the deadliest pandemics in recorded history
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While some of the earliest pandemics faded by wiping out parts of the population, medical and public health initiatives were able to halt the spread of other diseases. As human civilizations flourished, so did infectious disease. Large numbers of people living in close proximity to each other and to animals, often with poor sanitation and nutrition, provided fertile breeding grounds for disease. And new overseas trading routes spread the novel infections far and wide, creating the first global pandemics. Here’s how five of the world’s worst pandemics finally ended. Yersinia pestis, formerly pasteurella pestis, was the bacteria responsible for the plague. Here it's seen under optical microscopy X 1000. BSIP/Universal Images Group/Getty Images Three of the deadliest pandemics in recorded history were caused by a single bacterium, Yersinia pestis, a fatal infection otherwise known as the plague. The Plague of Justinian arrived in Constantinople, the capital of the Byzantine Empire, in 541 CE. It was carried over the Mediterranean Sea from Egypt, a recently conquered land paying tribute to Emperor Justinian in grain. Plague-ridden fleas hitched a ride on the black rats that snacked on the grain. The plague decimated Constantinople and spread like wildfire across Europe, Asia, North Africa and Arabia killing an estimated 30 to 50 million people, perhaps half of the world’s population. “People had no real understanding of how to fight it other than trying to avoid sick people,” says Thomas Mockaitis, a history professor at DePaul University. “As to how the plague ended, the best guess is that the majority of people in a pandemic somehow survive, and those who survive have immunity.” A couple suffering from the blisters of the Black Death, the bubonic plague that swept through Europe in the Middle Ages. From the Swiss manuscript the Toggenburg Bible, 1411. VCG Wilson/Corbis/Getty Images The plague never really went away, and when it returned 800 years later, it killed with reckless abandon. The Black Death, which hit Europe in 1347, claimed an astonishing 20 million lives in just four years. As for how to stop the disease, people still had no scientific understanding of contagion, says Mockaitis, but they knew that it had something to do with proximity. That’s why forward-thinking officials in Venetian-controlled port city of Ragusa decided to keep newly arrived sailors in isolation until they could prove they weren’t sick. At first, sailors were held on their ships for 30 days, which became known in Venetian law as a trentino. As time went on, the Venetians increased the forced isolation to 40 days or a quarantino, the origin of the word quarantine and the start of its practice in the Western world. “That definitely had an effect,” says Mockaitis. READ MORE: How Rats and Fleas Spread the Black Death Scenes in the streets of London during the Great Plague of 1665. London never really caught a break after the Black Death. The plague resurfaced roughly every 10 years from 1348 to 1665—40 outbreaks in just over 300 years. And with each new plague epidemic, 20 percent of the men, women and children living in the British capital were killed. By the early 1500s, England imposed the first laws to separate and isolate the sick. Homes stricken by plague were marked with a bale of hay strung to a pole outside. If you had infected family members, you had to carry a white pole when you went out in public. Cats and dogs were believed to carry the disease, so there was a wholesale massacre of hundreds of thousands of animals. The Great Plague of 1665 was the last and one of the worst of the centuries-long outbreaks, killing 100,000 Londoners in just seven months. All public entertainment was banned and victims were forcibly shut into their homes to prevent the spread of the disease. Red crosses were painted on their doors along with a plea for forgiveness: “Lord have mercy upon us.” As cruel as it was to shut up the sick in their homes and bury the dead in mass graves, it may have been the only way to bring the last great plague outbreak to an end. Dr. Edward Jenner performing his first vaccination against smallpox on James Phipps, circa 1796. DEA Picture Library/Getty Images Smallpox was endemic to Europe, Asia and Arabia for centuries, a persistent menace that killed three out of ten people it infected and left the rest with pockmarked scars. But the death rate in the Old World paled in comparison to the devastation wrought on native populations in the New World when the smallpox virus arrived in the 15th century with the first European explorers. The indigenous peoples of modern-day Mexico and the United States had zero natural immunity to smallpox and the virus cut them down by the tens of millions. “There hasn’t been a kill off in human history to match what happened in the Americas—90 to 95 percent of the indigenous population wiped out over a century,” says Mockaitis. “Mexico goes from 11 million people pre-conquest to one million.” Centuries later, smallpox became the first virus epidemic to be ended by a vaccine. In the late 18th-century, a British doctor named Edward Jenner discovered that milkmaids infected with a milder virus called cowpox seemed immune to smallpox. Jenner famously inoculated his gardener’s 8-year-old son with cowpox and then exposed him to the smallpox virus with no ill effect. “[T]he annihilation of the smallpox, the most dreadful scourge of the human species, must be the final result of this practice,” wrote Jenner in 1801. And he was right. It took nearly two more centuries, but in 1980 the World Health Organization announced that smallpox had been completely eradicated from the face of the Earth. READ MORE: How an African Slave in Boston Helped Save Generations from Smallpox A satirical cartoon showing the River Thames and its offspring cholera, scrofula and diptheria, circa 1858. Hulton Archive/Getty Images In the early- to mid-19th century, cholera tore through England, killing tens of thousands. The prevailing scientific theory of the day said that the disease was spread by foul air known as a “miasma.” But a British doctor named John Snow suspected that the mysterious disease, which killed its victims within days of the first symptoms, lurked in London’s drinking water. Snow acted like a scientific Sherlock Holmes, investigating hospital records and morgue reports to track the precise locations of deadly outbreaks. He created a geographic chart of cholera deaths over a 10-day period and found a cluster of 500 fatal infections surrounding the Broad Street pump, a popular city well for drinking water. “As soon as I became acquainted with the situation and extent of this irruption (sic) of cholera, I suspected some contamination of the water of the much-frequented street-pump in Broad Street,” wrote Snow. With dogged effort, Snow convinced local officials to remove the pump handle on the Broad Street drinking well, rendering it unusable, and like magic the infections dried up. Snow’s work didn’t cure cholera overnight, but it eventually led to a global effort to improve urban sanitation and protect drinking water from contamination. While cholera has largely been eradicated in developed countries, it’s still a persistent killer in third-world countries lacking adequate sewage treatment and access to clean drinking water.
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Disease Outbreaks
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Westpac's record $1.3 billion AUSTRAC money laundering fine explained
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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
Westpac has agreed to pay the largest fine in Australian corporate history — a $1.3 billion civil penalty for more than 23 million breaches of anti-money laundering laws.
But what exactly did it do wrong and how does the penalty stack up?
To help police and security agencies stop international crime and terrorism the Federal Government passed the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act (2006).
This law places many requirements on financial institutions and other key groups that handle large or cross-border money movements to report certain transactions.
According to the Federal Government's Department of Home Affairs, the five major requirements are for organisations to:
AUSTRAC — the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre — is the Government agency charged with enforcing those requirements and analysing the information submitted to detect possible criminal or terrorism activity.
The biggest breach was Westpac's failure to properly report more than 19.5 million instructions to transfer money overseas or bring foreign funds into Australia, totalling more than $11 billion.
Financial institutions are required to submit a report to AUSTRAC within 10 days of an instruction to make an international transfer.
Australia is a top destination for money laundering due to lax rules around accountants, lawyers and real estate agents.
In many cases, Westpac also failed to pass on information about the origin of these transfers, or the source of funds to other banks involved in the transactions.
It also failed to keep records about where the money came from in some cases.
Westpac has also admitted it failed to properly assess and monitor the risks associated with some of these foreign transfers, some of which were with banks in "higher risk jurisdictions" including Iraq, Lebanon, Ukraine, Zimbabwe and Democratic Republic of Congo.
The bank also failed to make adequate checks on some customers who were sending regular payments overseas, and also failed to pick up on payment patterns typical of child exploitation activities, despite repeated warnings from AUSTRAC for banks to do this.
In its original statement of claim against Westpac, AUSTRAC revealed it had uncovered a dozen customers using the bank's LitePay service to make suspicious money transfers to the Philippines.
Westpac failed to submit millions of reports detailing international funds transfers, many of which appear to be for illegal purposes.
After the regulator launched its action against Westpac, a subsequent review uncovered a further 250 customers who made suspicious transactions to the Philippines, other parts of South-East Asia and Mexico.
All 262 customers exhibited tell-tale signs of engaging in overseas child exploitation.
There were frequent transfers of relatively small amounts to multiple overseas recipients using LitePay and other Westpac services.
In several cases, the customers also travelled to the Philippines, which Westpac should have been aware of due to activity on their accounts.
The clear implication is that these payments were made for child exploitation, such as the live streaming of child sex or procurement of children for sex, while these people were overseas.
The first 12 customers identified alone had transferred almost half a million dollars to the Philippines in more than 3,000 separate transactions.
When AUSTRAC first launched the case, child protection advocate Hetty Johnston from Bravehearts outlined the human effect of the failure to detect and report these transactions earlier.
"Over 3,000 transactions translates to over 3,000 occasions where a child endured unimaginable, yet preventable, sexual and physical trauma while seemingly Westpac didn't care enough to undertake their regulatory oversight."
Aside from the likelihood that Westpac services were exploited by paedophiles, the bank's failure to properly record and report many overseas transactions could have allowed criminals, terrorists and sanctioned individuals or governments to transfer money into or out of Australia without detection.
Westpac's fine is an Australian record, not only for money laundering breaches, but for corporate misconduct in general.
The previous highest penalty was the Commonwealth Bank's $700 million fine in 2018, also for money laundering reporting breaches.
The Commonwealth Bank is embroiled in a scandal that may have allowed terrorists and criminals to launder millions of dollars. So how did it happen?
The majority of CBA's roughly 54,000 breaches related to the failure of its "Intelligent Deposit Machines" to record the reports legally required for any transactions of $10,000 or more.
Gambling company Tabcorp was fined $45 million in March 2017 for its own breaches of anti-money laundering requirements by failing to alert AUSTRAC to suspicious behaviour 108 times over a five-year period.
However, Westpac's fine per breach ($56.52) is relatively modest compared to CBA (around $13,000) and Tabcorp (around $417,000).
UBS bank analyst Jon Mott said, if anything, the fine was a bit smaller than he thought it would be.
"Although all fines are disappointing, this settlement was lower than our expectations for around $1.5 billion."
AUSTRAC's concise statement of claim outlined the magnitude of the theoretical maximum fine Westpac could have faced.
"Westpac has contravened the act on over 23 million occasions, each contravention attracting a [maximum] civil penalty between $17 million and $21 million," the regulator noted.
Assuming 23 million contraventions at the lower end of those maximum penalties, that would have added up to a potential maximum fine of $391 trillion. Westpac's current share market value is around $60 billion.
While $1.3 billion is a lot of money, it is about the same as the cash profit Westpac reported in its most recent quarterly trading update — so it's about three months' worth of the bank's earnings.
Just how and why did Australia's oldest bank find itself accused of bankrolling paedophiles and short-changing taxpayers, and unable to say who was behind $11 billion in suspect offshore transactions?
Westpac had already set aside $900 million to cover the potential penalty in this case in its half-year results, so it will have to stump up an extra $400 million out of its full-year profit.
What the penalties for Westpac, CBA and Tabcorp do achieve is making it more expensive for them to be lax on their AUSTRAC reporting obligations than it is to invest the money to do them properly.
AUSTRAC's chief executive Nicole Rose said she started noticing that effect after the CBA fine.
"Since the Commonwealth Bank action, we've had an incredible increase in suspicious matter reporting that's come in," she said.
"Businesses have really started to take this very, very seriously."
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Organization Fine
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Dan-Air Flight 1008 crash
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Dan-Air Flight 1008 was a fatal accident involving a Boeing 727-46 jet aircraft operated by Dan Air Services Limited on a non-scheduled international passenger service from Manchester to Tenerife. The crash, which occurred on 25 April 1980 in a forest on Tenerife's mount La Esperanza while the aircraft's flight deck crew wrongly executed an unpublished holding pattern in an area of very high ground, resulted in the aircraft's destruction and the deaths of all 146 on board (138 passengers and eight crew). [1](p4)[2] Flight 1008 was Dan-Air's second major accident in 10 years and the worst accident killing fare-paying passengers in the airline's entire history. [citation needed]
The aircraft, operated by Dan Air Services Ltd, was a Boeing 727-46 (construction/manufacturer's serial number: 19279, line number: 288, registration G-BDAN[3]) that had its first flight in 1966. [2] Dan-Air obtained the aircraft in August 1974. [4]
At the time of the accident, the airframe had accumulated 30,622 hours. [2]
The captain and pilot in command was 50-year-old Arthur John Whelan, who had flown to Tenerife North Airport 58 times previously. He had 15,299 flight hours, including 1,912 hours on the Boeing 727. The first officer was 33-year-old Michael John Firth, who had flown to Tenerife North Airport nine times previously. He had 3,492 flight hours, including 618 hours on the Boeing 727. The flight engineer was 33-year-old Raymond John Carey, who had never flown to Tenerife North Airport before. He had 3,340 hours, though his experience on the Boeing 727 is not stated in the report. [1](p4–6)
Flight 1008 was a charter flight from Manchester Airport, United Kingdom to Tenerife North Airport, Canary Islands, Spain. The flight was 14 nautical miles (26 km; 16 mi) from VOR/DME beacon 'TFN' when it was cleared onward to radio beacon 'FP' for an approach to runway 12 after it had reached 'TFN'. Initially at flight level (FL) 110, Dan-Air 1008 was then cleared to descend to FL 60. The crew reported overhead 'TFN' and was requested to join a non-standard holding pattern over the 'FP' beacon. This holding pattern was not a published procedure and the crew did not have a chart for it, but the instruction was accepted. In fact, the aircraft did not pass over 'FP' but flew to the south of the beacon and called "entering the hold". About a minute later, they were cleared to descend to 5,000 feet (1,500 m). Although the pilot in command had said he was entering the hold according to the Spanish air traffic controller's instructions, he actually turned the aircraft to the left towards the southeast into an area of high ground, where the minimum safe altitude was 14,500 feet (4,400 m). When during the aircraft's descent towards 5,000 feet (1,500 m) the Ground Proximity Warning System (GPWS) activated, the crew reacted quickly and initiated a climb. With the engines on full power, the aircraft entered a steep turn to the right and struck mount La Esperanza at 13:21:15 local time. The aircraft was flying in cloud when it struck the mountain. [1](p1) The impact resulted in the aircraft's complete disintegration, killing everyone on board and leaving a debris trail 350 m (1,150 ft) long. [1](pp13–15)
The official (Spanish) investigation concluded that the cause of the accident was that the pilot in command, without taking account of the altitude at which he was flying, took the aircraft into an area of high terrain and thereby failed to maintain a safe height above the terrain. A British addendum to the report found that tardy and ambiguous directions from air traffic control regarding the unpublished hold directly contributed to the disorientation of the aircraft commander. [1](p4)(p30) The addendum also found that the unpublished track onto which the aircraft was directed required tight turns to be flown. These were practically unflyable, making entry into the region of high ground inevitable for an aircraft flying this track, even without the navigational errors made by Dan-Air 1008. [1](p31) Further, the addendum found that the directed altitude of 5,000 feet (1,500 m) was inadequate for this holding pattern, and that the minimum altitude for entry into the holding pattern should have been 8,000 feet (2,400 m) (with a minimum altitude of 7,000 feet (2,100 m) for the pattern itself), had a minimum safe altitude calculation been performed ahead of time by a competent authority. The addendum concluded that the accident would not have occurred if the aircraft had not been cleared below 7,000 feet (2,100 m). [1](p30)
A memorial in Southern Cemetery, Manchester commemorates the victims of the disaster, whose names are inscribed on a series of slate tablets within a small grassed enclosure. There also exists a garden of remembrance aside of All Saints Church in Taoro Parque (Puerto de la Cruz, Tenerife), as passengers of the descended flight were members of the Anglican Parish there.
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Air crash
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Chicago Union Stock Yards fire
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The Chicago Union Stock Yards fire occurred from December 22 to December 23, 1910 and resulted in the deaths of twenty-one Chicago Fire Department firemen. [1]
Until September 11, 2001, it was the deadliest building collapse in American history, in terms of firefighter fatalities,[1] although the Texas City Disaster of 1947 killed more firefighters overall. It remains the worst such incident in Chicago history. The fire, which broke out at Warehouse 7 of the Nelson Morris Company at the Chicago Union Stock Yards on the 4300 block of South Loomis Street, was first reported on December 22 at 4:09 am. Half an hour later it was listed as a 4-11 (four alarm) blaze and within a few hours, more than thirty fire engines were battling the blaze. By the time the blaze was extinguished at 6:37 am on December 23, 50 engine companies and seven hook and ladder companies had been called to the scene. [2] Fire hydrants near the location had been shut off prior to the outbreak of the fire to prevent freezing. [3]
Twenty-one firemen, including Fire Chief James J. Horan, and three civilians were killed when one of the blazing buildings collapsed with them inside. [1] Following Horan's death, First Assistant Chief Charles Seyferlich took command of the operations, diverting men from fighting the fire to search and retrieve the dead firefighters. [3]
In 2004, a memorial to all Chicago firefighters who have perished in the line of duty was erected near the location of the 1910 Stock Yards fire. The memorial was created at the urging of Chicago firefighters, who helped to raise about 75% of the $170,000 cost of the statue. At the time it was dedicated, the names of 530 deceased firefighters were carved around its base. [1]
Early film pioneer Freeman Harrison Owens filmed a newsreel of the fire and the firefighting effort.
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Fire
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1979 Tumaco earthquake
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The 1979 Tumaco earthquake occurred at 02:59 local time on 12 December with a moment magnitude of 8.2 and a maximum Mercalli intensity of IX (Violent). The epicenter was just offshore from the border between Ecuador and Colombia, near the port city of Tumaco. It triggered a major tsunami, which was responsible for most of the estimated 300–600 deaths. The hardest hit area was Colombia's Nariño Department. [2]
Coastal parts of Ecuador and southern Colombia lie above the convergent boundary where the Malpelo Plate subducts beneath the South American Plate along the Colombia–Ecuador Trench. At this location the Malpelo Plate, the microplate northeast of the Nazca Plate, is moving to the east relative to South America at a rate of 58 mm per year. [4] North of the Carnegie Ridge, the subduction interface has four recognisable segments, from south to north, the Esmeraldas, Manglares, Tumaco and Patia segments. [5] This plate boundary has been the location of several great historical earthquakes, most associated with damaging tsunamis. In 1906 a 5–600 km long segment of the plate interface ruptured, causing a M 8.8 earthquake (rupturing all four segments) and a trans-Pacific tsunami. [1]
This event was the last of three earthquakes that ruptured adjacent parts of the plate interface, forming a northeastward migrating sequence. The 1942 earthquake ruptured the Esmeraldas segment, the 1958 earthquake ruptured the Manglares segment and the 1979 event ruptured the Tumaco and Patia segments. [5] Together they ruptured the same part of the megathrust as the 1906 earthquake. [4] The rupture area of the 1979 earthquake measured 280 km long by 130 km wide. [6]
The earthquake was widely felt in both Ecuador (including Guayaquil, Esmeraldas and Quito) and Colombia (including Bogotá, Cali, Popayán and Buenaventura). [7] The coast in the epicentral region subsided by up to 1.6 m during the earthquake and the land movement locally disrupted river drainage. [8]
The coast nearest the epicenter was hit by the first wave of the tsunami about three minutes after the earthquake. Three to four waves were observed, with the third being the highest. The third wave coincided with low tide, greatly reducing the extent of the inundation and the likely death toll. [9] The maximum observed water height was 6.0 m at San Juan de la Costa, northeast of Tumaco. The tsunami was observed on the east coast of Japan, in Hawaii, Tahiti and Mexico. [9]
The earthquake caused widespread damage, particularly in Tumaco, where about a tenth of all buildings were destroyed, including 1,280 houses, and 25 people were reported either dead or missing. [2][7] The fishing village of Charco was almost completely destroyed by the tsunami, the waves washing the houses inland into a nearby lake. 93 of the original population of 4,000 were reported either dead or missing. The tsunami also destroyed all the houses in San Juan de la Costa, with 199 reported either dead or missing. The total death toll was estimated to be 500–600 with another 4,000 injured. [7]
The damage caused by this earthquake and the 1983 Popayán earthquake, near central Colombia, led to the development of a national building code for earthquake-resistant structures for Colombia,[10] which came into law in 1984. [11]
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Earthquakes
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1963 Aeroflot Tupolev Tu-124 Neva river ditching crash
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The 1963 Aeroflot Tupolev Tu-124 Neva river ditching (Russian: Посадка Ту-124 на Неву) was a water landing by a Tupolev Tu-124 of the Soviet state airline Aeroflot (Moscow division). The aircraft took off from Tallinn-Ülemiste Airport (TLL) at 08:55 on 21 August with 45 passengers and 7 crew on board. [1] The aircraft (registration number SSSR-45021) was built in 1962[1] and was scheduled to fly to Moscow–Vnukovo (VKO) under the command of 27-year-old captain Victor Mostovoy. After takeoff the nose gear did not retract. [1] Ground control diverted the flight to Leningrad (LED) – because of fog at Tallinn. [1]
At 10:00 the aircraft started to circle the city at 450 m (1,500 ft), in order to use fuel, reducing weight and decreasing the risk of fire in the event of a crash. The ground services at Pulkovo Airport (LED) were preparing the dirt runway for the landing. Each circuit around the city took the aircraft approximately 15 minutes. During this time the crew attempted to force the nose gear to lock into the fully extended position by pushing it with a pole taken from the cloak closet. On the eighth and last circuit while 20 km (12 mi) from the airport, the no. 1 engine flamed out due to fuel starvation. [2] The remaining engine ceased shortly thereafter, with the aircraft above the city center, traveling east over St. Isaac's Cathedral and the Admiralty. Upon loss of power the flight crew ditched the aircraft in the 300-metre (1,000 ft) wide Neva River. Eyewitnesses saw the Tupolev descend upstream. Immediately after a turn, the aircraft glided over the high steel structures of the Bolsheokhtinsky Bridge with approximately 30 m (100 ft) of clearance. The Tu-124 flew over the Alexander Nevsky Bridge – under construction at the time – barely missing it. The pilot managed to land the aircraft onto the river,[1] in close proximity to an 1898-built steam tugboat. [citation needed]
The plane began to flood. [citation needed] The captain of the tugboat saw the plane in distress and went to help. He and his crew broke the aircraft's windshield to tie a cable to the cockpit's control wheel and proceeded to tow the craft to the river bank. During the tow all passengers remained on board. Passengers and crew then evacuated the cabin via an access hatch on the plane's roof. [citation needed]
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Air crash
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Jasmine Camacho-Quinn, sister of Bears LB Robert Quinn, breaks Olympic record in 100-meter hurdles
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The sister of Chicago Bears linebacker Robert Quinn is appointment viewing Sunday evening. She already put on a show in Tokyo this morning.
Jasmine Camacho-Quinn set an Olympic record in the women's 100-meter hurdles with a time of 12.26 seconds.
The 24-year-old Camacho-Quinn is taking aim at her first gold medal after also appearing in the 2016 Olympics. Five years ago in Brazil, she won her first heat in the same event but was disqualified in the semifinals for knocking over a hurdle. In Sunday's semifinals, she crushed her competition while running the fourth-fastest time in history and breaking the previous Olympic record by 0.09 seconds.
Camacho-Quinn, like her NFL brother, hails from South Carolina but is eligible to compete for Puerto Rico because it's where their mother was born.
The women's 100-meter hurdles finals are set for tonight at 10:30 p.m. ET.
The Miami defense came up huge and Tua Tagovailoa came on in relief to lead the Dolphins past the Ravens on Thursday night.
The official inactives for the Baltimore Ravens at Miami Dolphins "Thursday Night Football" game.
Jacoby Brissett will once again be the starter for the Dolphins' "Thursday Night Football" game against the Ravens, NFL Network's Cameron Wolfe reported, with Tua Tagovailoa backing him up and still dealing with a fractured finger.
Doctors told Russell Wilson he'd be out between 6-8 weeks. That wasn't going to fly for one of the NFL's most maniacal competitors. The 10th-year veteran veteran had never missed a game, much less multiple weeks. Wilson, as he's wont to do amid adversity, just worked harder.
Coveted free agent WR Odell Beckham has made a decision on his next NFL home. And it's sure to turn quite a few heads.
Former MVP Cam Newton has agreed to terms with the Panthers following a Thursday meeting with his original team, the club announced. The one-year deal is worth up to $10 million for the rest of year, including $4.5 million fully guaranteed and a $1.5 million roster bonus, Ian Rapoport reports.
Dallas' banged-up pass-rushing unit has sustained another significant blow in the form of a calf injury to standout edge rusher Randy Gregory.
The Cardinals managed to win on the road in Week 9 without a collection of key players, and they're getting one back in time for Week 10. A.J. Green has been activated from the reserve/COVID-19 list ahead of Arizona's Thursday practice.
In honor of Veterans Day, NFL players and teams paid homage to America's servicemen and women.
The 2021 Chiefs are not who we thought they were -- at least not yet. And with the offense uncharacteristically sputtering, Patrick Mahomes is adamant about continuing to try to do what has worked in the past.
With the Panthers in need of depth at the QB position, the club plans to meet with free agent Cam Newton, who led the franchise for the first nine years of his career.
The Buffalo Bills' offensive is mired in an imbalance problem, that become most apparent during last week's loss to the Jaguars. Head coach Sean McDermott promised Wednesday that "adjustments are being made".
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Break historical records
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Pier Fire
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The Pier Fire was a wildfire that burned near Springville and in the Sequoia National Forest, in California in the United States. The fire was reported on August 29, 2017. The cause of the fire is under investigation, but is believed to be human-caused. The fire was completely extinguished on November 29, after it had burned 36,556 acres (148 km2). The fire threatened old growth sequoia trees, the Tule River Indian Reservation, and many small communities in the area. The Pier Fire was first reported on August 29 at 2:30 AM. The fire was spotted in the Tule River Canyon just north of Springville, California (reportedly, the fire was started by an individual or individuals who had stolen a car, set it on fire and pushed it into a ravine, which then caught fire. Since the site where the fire started was in a national forest, federal authorities along with state authorities are investigating). By the end of the day the fire had burned 1,650 acres (7 km2) north and south of Highway 190 in Giant Sequoia National Monument in Sequoia National Forest. This led to numerous mandatory evacuations in the area and the closure of Highway 190 in select areas. [2][3]
By August 30, the fire had grown to 4,655 acres (19 km2) and threatened the Tule River Reservation and two groves of sequoia trees: Mountain Home Grove and Black Mountain Grove. Crews had limited access to the fire due to the steep slopes, heavy fuels and limited roads. Highway 190 remained closed in some sections and Balch Park and Mountain Home Demonstration State Forest were both closed. [4]
On September 1, the fire grew to 10,311 acres (42 km2). The fire jumped Highway 190 and the middle fork of the Tule River, nearing campgrounds. Additional crews were recruited due to the overwhelming nature of the fire, including CAL FIRE and Tulare County crews, totaling 1,243 individuals. More residents, specifically those residing on Balch Park and Bear Creek Roads were evacuated. [5]
California Assemblyman Devon Mathis visited the incident command post for a site visit on September 2. [5] That day, the fire had grown by approximately 4,000 acres, driven by dry fuels rather than the previous nights winds. [6] On September 3, a Southern California Edison flume was destroyed in the fire, costing an estimated $3-$5 million to replace. Additionally, Southern California Edison also lost a valve house, six distribution poles and a transmission structure. [7][8]
By September 11, the fire was declared to be 60% contained and at 27,586 acres (112 km2). Evacuation status of Cow Mountain, Springville and Upper Rio Vista was downgraded to voluntary. Crews successfully controlled fires on the Tule River Tribe of the Tule River Reservation. [1] On the evening of September 14, mandatory evacuations for the communities of Alpine Village, Camp Nelson, Cedar Slope, Doyle Springs, Mountain Aire, Rogers Camp, Pierpoint Springs, Sequoia Crest and Wishon were downgraded to voluntary. [9]
IN mid-September 2017, fire crews were finishing up containment of spot fires near Pine Flat Road and will proceed to initiate firing operations and hand lines in Soda Springs on the Tule River Reservation, including structure protection. [1]
On September 24, the Pier Fire's perimeter was 100% contained, with a total burn area of 36,556 acres (148 km2). However, hot spots continued with burn within the fire perimeter for another couple of months, until they were extinguished by rainfall from a winter storm on November 29. [1]
A portion of Highway 190 is closed to all traffic from the Tule Power House to Pierpoint Springs. [9] Sequoia National Forest lands, trails and roads around the fire remain closed. [1]
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Fire
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New archaeological discoveries are being found in almost every part of the world
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These buried archaeological sites that were only discovered recently are changing history as we speak. New archaeological discoveries are being found in almost every part of the world. And thanks to new and improved technologies, these ancient discoveries are being found quicker than before. In 2018, researchers found a Greek merchant ship that dates back to the time of Ancient Greece at the bottom of the Black Sea, hailing it the world's oldest intact shipwreck, with the rudder and rowing benches still in good condition. In Israel, archaeologists discovered jars and wrappings that pertained to the Dead Sea Scrolls hidden in a twelfth cave when there was believed to be only eleven. And, a 3,700-year-old trigonometry tablet found in 2017 has proven that it was the Babylonians, not the Greeks, that invented the study of trigonometry. These buried archaeological sites that were only discovered recently are changing history as we speak. Here are just 15 of these archaeological findings found in recent years that will astonish you. According to History, in February 2017, archaeologists discovered jars, wrappings and other artifacts that pertained to the Dead Sea Scrolls, the famous manuscripts that include the oldest known copies of the Bible. Found in Israel, these scrolls and artifacts were discovered in a 12th cave, but initially, there were only believed to be eleven caves. In 2017, researchers discovered the oldest known skeletons of Homo sapiens in a cave in Morocco that date back around 300,000 years, pushing the origins of Homo sapiens back by 100,000 years, Live Science explained. The skeletons that were found consisted of three adults, one teenager, and one child. The oldest known evidence of winemaking dated back some 7,000 years from Iran. However, new findings in the Republic of Georgia indicate that humans started making wine not long after pottery was invented about 8,000 years ago, reports Live Science. Archaeologists discovered the jars at two sites in Georgia and found that they contained tartaric acid, a compound in wine. A 3,700-year-old trigonometric tablet was discovered in 2017 and revealed that it was the Babylonians, not the Greeks that invented the study of trigonometry. According to Live Science, the Babylonians' knowledge of the mathematics of triangles may have helped in constructing palaces and pyramid-shaped structures called ziggurats. Paleontologists in Western Australia discovered the footprint of a sauropod dinosaur that measures a whopping five feet and nine inches. It is reportedly the largest footprint ever recorded, topping the previous record of three feet and nine inches for a dinosaur footprint that was found in Bolivia. According to History, a recently found copy of the Declaration of Independence revealed that the 56 signatures at the end of the parchment are not grouped by state, as in the other known versions. Harvard University scholars came to the conclusion that whoever did this "might have been trying to emphasize the signers of the Declaration as a united group, rather than representatives of separate states." Thomas Jefferson's historic Virginia mansion, Monticello, contained a small damp room that no one knew what was used for, until now. Archaeologists discovered that the room, adjacent to Jefferson's own bedroom, was where Sally Hemings, a slave woman who historians believed Jefferson had a relationship and six children with, resided. A team of researchers, led by the billionaire co-founder of Microsoft, Paul Allen, discovered the wreckage of the USS Indianapolis in August 2017 in the Pacific Ocean. The U.S. Navy cruiser was sunk 72 years ago by a Japanese submarine and considered one of the greatest tragedies suffered by the U.S. Navy, History explained. According to History, archaeologists found 50 acres of Roman ruins off the northeastern coast of Tunisia, which are believed to be part of the ancient Roman city of Neapolis. Divers located streets and monuments from the ancient city, which was thought to have been destroyed and partially submerged by a tsunami in the fourth century A.D. According to Live Science, there are two mysterious voids inside the Great Pyramid of Giza with the possibility that it may hold a new burial chamber or is a sealed-off construction passage. The larger of the two voids is at least 98 feet long and is located above a big passageway known as the grand gallery that takes you to Pharaoh Khufu's burial chamber. Two lost B-25 bombers from World War Two were discovered in the waters off Papua New Guinea and are among the planes that unfortunately never returned home. Today, the planes look like they are apart of the seafloor, with colorful coral covering most of these 70-year-old planes. Live Science reported that archaeologists have found and opened the tomb of a royal Maya ruler, which contained a jade mask and bones, both painted bright red. This was in Guatemala, where archaeologists dug under a Maya Palace. They believe the tomb might be the oldest royal burial site based on the type of pottery found, dating back to A.D. 300-350. Part of an Aztec temple and ball court were found in downtown Mexico City, "shedding new light on the sacred spaces of the metropolis that Spanish conquerors overran five centuries ago," NBC News reported. The underground excavations reveal what would have been a massive, circular-shaped temple dedicated to the Aztec wind god Ehecatl and a ritual ball court. The ancient Greek city of Tenea was found by archaeologists who discovered the remains of a housing settlement, jewelry, coins and several burial sites in the southern Peloponnese area, according to BBC. The ancient city was believed to have been founded by captives of the Trojan War. Researchers discovered a shipwreck at the bottom of the Black Sea that has been hailed the world's oldest intact shipwreck and that dates back to more than 2,400 years. The Greek merchant ship was found lying on its side with the rudder, rowing benches and the contents of its hold all in good condition.
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New archeological discoveries
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Donald Trump confirms US withdrawal from INF nuclear treaty
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Announcement gives Russia 180 days to destroy violating missiles and launchers to avoid new arms race Last modified on Fri 1 Feb 2019 17.55 GMT Donald Trump has confirmed that the US is leaving the Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces (INF) treaty, saying “we will move forward with developing our own military response options” to Russia’s suspect missile. In a written statement, Trump said that the US would be suspending its compliance with the 1987 treaty on Saturday, and would serve formal notice that it would withdraw altogether in six months. He left the door open to the treaty being salvaged in that 180-day window, but only if Russia destroys all of its violating missiles, launchers and associated equipment. Since 2013, the US has alleged that Russia has developed a new ground-launched cruise missile which violated the INF prohibition of missiles with ranges between 500km and 5,500km. Russia for several years denied the missile existed but has more recently acknowledged its existence, saying its range does not violate INF limits. “This is in reality, under international law, Russia’s final chance,” a senior administration official said. “If there is to be an arms race, it is Russia that has undermined the global security architecture.” In his statement, Trump warned that unless Russia destroyed its missile by August: “We will move forward with developing our own military response options and will work with Nato and our other allies and partners to deny Russia any military advantage from its unlawful conduct.” Washington’s European allies have been anxious that the death of the INF treaty would lead to a return to the tense days of the 1980s, and an arms race involving short- and medium-range missiles on European soil. But a senior administration official said any new missiles were still in the research and development phase and deployment was far from imminent. He insisted that the US was only considering conventional missiles in the INF-prohibited range. The official said that while Putin’s development of the new missile was primarily in response to new Chinese capabilities, for the US, “this has nothing to do with China”. “For the US, this is about the threat to arms control and to European security,” the official said. In remarks shortly before the president’s statement was released, the secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, said: “Countries must be held accountable when they break the rules. Russia has jeopardized the United States’ security interests, and we can no longer be restricted by the treaty while Russia shamelessly violates it.” In his statement, Trump said his administration “remains committed to effective arms control that advances United States, allied, and partner security, is verifiable and enforceable, and includes partners that fulfill their obligations.” However, neither the Trump nor Pompeo gave any indication whether the administration would agree to extend the 2010 New Start treaty, the last remaining arms control agreement constraining the arsenals of the two major nuclear weapons powers. Both the US and Russia have abided by the New Start limit of 1,550 deployed, strategic nuclear warheads, but the treaty expires in 2021, leaving little time to negotiate a five-year extension. Alexandra Bell, a former state department arms control official and senior policy director at the Centre for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation, said: “New Start is working, it’s good for American national security and this administration is putting global security at risk by foot-dragging on extension.”
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Withdraw from an Organization
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International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) have established a new COVID-19 Aviation Recovery Task Force
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Montréal, 29 April 2020 – In response to the serious impacts being felt across the international civil aviation sector as a result of COVID-19, and the need for wide-ranging government and industry coordination to help reconnect the world, representatives from the 36 countries on the Governing Council of the UN International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) have established a new COVID-19 Aviation Recovery Task Force. The aim of the new Council Task Force will be to identify and recommend strategic priorities and policies for States and industry operators. It will leverage all available government and industry data toward solutions to the immediate challenges being felt sector-wide, and the priorities to be addressed to reboot the network for a post-COVID world, and make it more resilient and responsive in the process. “As we know, air connectivity is critical to economic and sustainable development in every region of the world. Consequently, an effective recovery of international air transport is essential to support the post COVID-19 pandemic worldwide economic recovery,” noted ICAO Council President Salvatore Sciacchitano as he addressed the first meeting of the Task Force today. “We are not talking of a recovery after an international air transport crisis. International air transport has faced several crises in the past from which it was able to regain its position thanks to timely initiatives by ICAO. The progress achieved over the course of decades could be entirely erased if international air transport does not resume soon and effectively.” “In these uncertain times and exceptional circumstances, ICAO is being called upon to rescue international air transport and facilitate the resumption of operations,” President Sciacchitano underscored in his remarks to the Task Force. The new Council Task Force is composed of Council Members and high-level aviation industry representatives including the Directors General of all major air transport industry associations. UN entities such as the World Health Organization (WHO) and the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) are also represented, as well as the heads of several national and regional aviation administrations. As Chairperson of the Council’s Air Transport Committee, Mr. Philippe Bertoux, Representative for France on the ICAO Council, was appointed by President Sciacchitano to serve as the Chairperson of the Task Force. Mr. Boubacar Djibo, Director of the ICAO Air Transport Bureau, will serve as its Secretary. The Council expects the first outcome by the Task Force by the end of May 2020. Resources for Editors ICAO's COVID-19 portal About ICAO A specialized agency of the United Nations, ICAO was created in 1944 to promote the safe and orderly development of international civil aviation throughout the world. It sets standards and regulations necessary for aviation safety, security, efficiency, capacity and environmental protection, amongst many other priorities. The Organization serves as the forum for cooperation in all fields of civil aviation among its 193 Member States. General Contact
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Organization Established
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Aviation accidents and incidents crash
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An aviation accident is defined by the Convention on International Civil Aviation Annex 13 as an occurrence associated with the operation of an aircraft, which takes place from the time any person boards the aircraft with the intention of flight until all such persons have disembarked, and in which a) a person is fatally or seriously injured, b) the aircraft sustains significant damage or structural failure, or c) the aircraft goes missing or becomes completely inaccessible. [1] Annex 13 defines an aviation incident as an occurrence, other than an accident, associated with the operation of an aircraft that affects or could affect the safety of operation. [1]
A hull loss occurs if an aircraft is destroyed, damaged beyond repair, lost, or becomes completely inaccessible. [2]
The first fatal aviation accident was the crash of a Rozière balloon near Wimereux, France, on June 15, 1785, killing the balloon's inventor, Jean-François Pilâtre de Rozier, and the other occupant, Pierre Romain. [3] The first involving a powered aircraft was the crash of a Wright Model A aircraft at Fort Myer, Virginia, in the United States on September 17, 1908, injuring its co-inventor and pilot, Orville Wright, and killing the passenger, Signal Corps Lieutenant Thomas Selfridge. [4]
The first aircraft incident in which 200 or more people died occurred on March 3, 1974, when 346 died in the crash of Turkish Airlines Flight 981. As of April 2020[update], there have been 33 aviation incidents in which 200 or more people died. The top 10 countries with the highest number of fatal civil airliner accidents from 1945 to 2021 are the United States, Russia, Canada, Brazil, Colombia, UK, France, Indonesia, Mexico and India. The UK is noted to have the highest number of air crashes in Europe, with a total of 110 air crashes within the time period, and Indonesia is the highest in Asia at 104, followed by India at 95. [5]
The largest loss of life on board a single-aircraft is the 520 fatalities in the 1985 Japan Airlines Flight 123 incident, the largest loss of life in multiple aircraft in a single incident is the 583 fatalities in the two Boeing 747's that collided in the 1977 Tenerife airport disaster, while the largest loss of life overall in a collective incident is the 2,996 fatalities in the coordinated terrorist destruction of airplanes and occupied buildings in the 2001 September 11 attacks. 2,996: The deadliest aviation-related disaster of any kind, regarding fatalities on both the aircraft and the ground, was the destruction of the World Trade Center in New York City on September 11, 2001. On that morning, four commercial jet airliners traveling on transcontinental flights from East Coast airports to California were hijacked after takeoff. The four hijacked aircraft were subsequently crashed in four coordinated suicide attacks against major American landmarks by 19 Islamic terrorists affiliated with Al-Qaeda. American Airlines Flight 11 and United Airlines Flight 175 were intentionally crashed into the North and South Towers of the World Trade Center, respectively, destroying both buildings in less than two hours. The World Trade Center crashes killed 2,753, the vast majority of fatalities being occupants of the two towers or emergency personnel responding to the disaster. In addition, 184 were killed by the impact of American Airlines Flight 77, which crashed into the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, causing severe damage and partial destruction to the building's west side. United Airlines Flight 93 crashed into a field in Somerset County, Pennsylvania, killing 40 passengers and crew, after the flight's passengers fought back and prevented the hijackers from reaching their designated target. This brought the total number of casualties of the September 11 attacks to 2,996 (including the 19 terrorist hijackers). As deliberate terrorist acts, the 9/11 crashes were not classified as accidents, but as a mass-killing. The events were treated by the United States and the member nations of NATO as an act of war and terrorism. The War on terror was subsequently launched by the United States and NATO in response to the attacks. 583: The Tenerife airport disaster, which occurred on March 27, 1977, remains the accident with the highest number of airliner passenger fatalities. 583 people died when a KLM Boeing 747 attempted to take off without flight clearance, and collided with a taxiing Pan Am 747 at Los Rodeos Airport on the Canary Island of Tenerife, Spain. All 234 passengers and 14 crew of the KLM aircraft died and only 61 of the 396 passengers and crew of the Pan Am aircraft survived. Pilot error was the primary cause, as the KLM captain began his takeoff run without obtaining air traffic control clearance. [6][7] Other contributing factors were a terrorist incident at Gran Canaria Airport that had caused many flights to be diverted to Los Rodeos, a small airport not well equipped to handle aircraft of such size, and dense fog. The KLM flight crew could not see the Pan Am aircraft on the runway until immediately before the collision. [8] The accident had a lasting influence on the industry, particularly in the area of communication. An increased emphasis was placed on using standardized phraseology in air traffic control (ATC) communication by both controllers and pilots alike. "Cockpit Resource Management" has also been incorporated into flight crew training. The captain is no longer considered infallible, and combined crew input is encouraged during aircraft operations. [9]
520: The crash of Japan Airlines Flight 123 on August 12, 1985, is the single-aircraft disaster with the highest number of fatalities:[10] 520 people died on board a Boeing 747. The aircraft suffered an explosive decompression from an incorrectly repaired aft pressure bulkhead, which failed in mid flight, destroying most of its vertical stabilizer and severing all of the hydraulic lines, making the 747 virtually uncontrollable. [11] Pilots were able to keep the plane flying for 32 minutes after the mechanical failure before crashing into a mountain. All 15 crew members and 505 of the 509 passengers on board died. [12] Japanese military personnel inaccurately assumed, during a helicopter flyover of the impact site, that there were no survivors. Rescue operations were delayed until the following morning. Medical providers involved in rescue and analysis operations determined that several passengers likely survived the impact and probably would have survived the incident had rescue operations not been delayed. Four passengers survived the incident in its entirety, meaning that they were alive when discharged from the hospital. [12]
349: On November 12, 1996, the Charkhi Dadri mid-air collision took place between Saudia Flight 763 and Kazakhstan Airlines Flight 1907 over Charkhi Dadri, India. The collision was mainly the result of the Kazakh pilot flying lower than the assigned clearance altitude. All 349 passengers and crew on board the two aircraft died. [13] It remains the world's deadliest mid-air collision. [14] The Ramesh Chandra Lahoti Commission, empowered to study the causes, recommended the creation of the "semi-circular rule", to prevent aircraft from flying in opposite directions at the same altitude. [15] The Civil Aviation Authorities in India made it mandatory for all aircraft flying in and out of India to be equipped with a Traffic Collision Avoidance System (TCAS), setting a worldwide precedent for mandatory use of TCAS. 346: On March 3, 1974, Turkish Airlines Flight 981, a McDonnell Douglas DC-10, crashed in a forest northeast of Paris, France. The London-bound plane crashed shortly after taking off from Orly airport; all 346 people on board died. It was later determined that the cargo door detached, which caused an explosive decompression; this caused the floor just above to collapse. The collapsed floor severed the control cables, which left the pilots without control of the elevators, the rudder and No. 2 engine.
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COVID-19: School closures in the Philippines threaten education 'catastrophe'
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| Schoolchildren in the Philippines are facing another year of distance learning. Photo: Eloisa Lopez/REUTERS As schools around the world gradually welcome back students, the Philippines has decided to keep schools shuttered for another year as the country struggles to control spiking COVID cases. The Philippines is one of the only countries in the world where schools have continuously remained closed since the coronavirus pandemic began last year. President Rodrigo Duterte vetoed a proposal to try out in-person classes in low-risk areas, over fears that children who are not eligible for vaccination could infect parents and older family members. The government's decision was met with protest from teachers and children's rights groups, who said that the prolonged school closures will have long-term consequences on children's education and development. "We cannot keep using new virus variants as a reason for keeping schools closed. Malls and cockfighting stadiums have opened, why can't schools?" Raymond Basilio, secretary general of the Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT), told DW. Internet access hampers distance learning When the pandemic hit the Philippines last year, the government rolled out a distance learning program allowing students to attend classes either online or by using printed self-study learning modules. ACT said the year of distance learning has increased an education gap for children in poor and rural areas. According to government statistics, only about 18 per cent of households in the Philippines have an internet connection at home. Internet penetration is even lower in rural areas. "Many teachers have resorted to setting up kiosks outside their homes so they could still guide and teach their students. What else is there to do when your students live in areas where there is no internet or even electricity?" Basilio said. "If we don't do this, we will have a generation of children who do not know how to read and write," he added. Long-term impacts of school closures In a statement, the Child Rights Network, a coalition of children's rights advocates, said the quality of education in the Philippines brought about by school closures is a "learning and child development catastrophe" waiting to happen. The National Economic Development Authority (NEDA) estimated that prolonged school closures could result in an estimated productivity loss in the Philippines equivalent to €187 billion ($219 billion) over the next 40 years, corresponding to an individual's life span in the labor force. "Long-term consequences are severe when schools are closed for long periods. There is a higher risk for child labor and teen pregnancy. The benefits of keeping schools open far outweigh the anticipated negative impact," UNICEF education specialist Teresita Felipe told DW. According to a UNICEF study, more than 80 per cent of parents said their children show slower learning improvement when studying from home. Case study shows big learning gaps In the southern Philippine province of Siargao, some 762 kilometers (470 miles) from Manila, the local government assessed the proficiency levels of elementary students in 20 public schools in the municipality of Del Carmen. The results showed proficiency levels in math and English of as low as 22 per cent. The results were alarming but not surprising said Alfredo "Jr" Matugas Coro II, vice mayor of Del Carmen. "Only face to face teaching works. This data shows that there is more harm in not opening schools in low risk areas," he told DW. Abelardo David, founder and executive director of a school for children with disabilities, told DW that children with learning disabilities have especially fallen through the cracks. The year of school closures has put such children at higher risk for dropping out of school entirely and social isolation, he said. "For many kids with disabilities, schools and their teachers are their only form of social interaction with others," said David, who is also a member of Philippines Department of Education advisory forum. Education officials defend closures However, some parents have supported the government's move to keep schools closed, as delta variant-driven COVID cases continue to rise. "I would really love for my kids to go back to school but the situation is so bad. I think keeping the schools closed for now is one of the few right things government did," Megi Garcia, a mother of two, told DW. The Department of Education recorded 26.3 million students enrolled for the current school year, surpassing numbers from the previous year. The department has rejected "sweeping statements" about a generation of illiterate children caused by distance learning. "We acknowledge the learning losses, but we should not turn a blind eye to the learning gains such as the recovery of household involvement in learning and the actions of local government in augmenting digital platforms," Nepomuceno Malaluan, undersecretary with the Education Department, told DW. Malaluan added that it was misleading to compare countries that have not resumed face-to-face classes with those that have. "It gives the perception that schools are open full scale, uninterrupted, without problems, and have fully addressed learning gaps. There are numerous incidents in various countries where face-to-face classes become a contributing factor to outbreaks. These too have consequences for education," he said.
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Israel’s Supreme Court blocked a controversial plan to develop the country’s natural gas fields on Sunday
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Israel’s Supreme Court blocked a controversial plan to develop the country’s natural gas fields on Sunday, dealing a blow to energy companies operating in the eastern Mediterranean and drawing fire from the government.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reached a deal last year with Texas-based Noble Energy NBL.N and Israel's Delek Group DLEKG.TA that would leave them in control of the country's largest gas field, Leviathan, while forcing them to sell smaller, yet sizeable, assets.
The agreement also provided an outline for the next decade, with the government committing to leave taxes, export quotas and other regulation unchanged, and the companies agreeing to develop Leviathan at an accelerated pace.
The court, however, said the government was not in a position to make such long-term commitments.
A commitment “that binds the government to the outline, including no changes in legislation and opposing legislative initiatives for 10 years - cannot stand,” the court said in its ruling.
The cabinet could try to pass a law in parliament, the judges said, but given the strong opposition and Netanyahu’s single-seat majority, such a move seemed unlikely.
The court gave the government a year to come up with an alternative arrangement or the outline will be cancelled.
“(The) decision severely threatens the development of the gas reserves of the state of Israel,” Netanyahu said of perhaps his biggest political setback since re-election a year ago.
The prime minister even made the unusual step of defending the deal in the Supreme Court last month. [L8N15T06I]
“Israel is seen as a state with excessive judicial interference in which it is difficult to do business,” he said. “We will seek other ways to overcome the severe damage that this curious decision has caused the Israeli economy.”
Related Coverage
Noble and Delek have held off on developing Leviathan, a $5-$6 billion investment, until the deal was approved.
In a joint statement, they commended the court for opposing just one section of the outline.
“In order to allow us to meet the framework goals, primarily the development of Leviathan by the end of 2019, we call on the government to facilitate the stability provisions in a short time frame,” the companies said.
Expect a sharp drop in gas companies’ share prices on Monday in Tel Aviv, said Noam Pincu, an analyst at the Psagot brokerage.
The deal would have also encouraged new energy companies who have been waiting for regulatory uncertainty to clear up before investing in exploration.
However, it also drew a lot of opposition including from public advocacy groups and opposition lawmakers, who said it would still have left Noble and Delek in control of too much of Israel’s gas.
Leviathan, with an estimated 22 trillion cubic feet of gas, was one of the world’s largest offshore discoveries of the past decade. It is earmarked mostly for exports and the developers have inked a number of preliminary, multi-billion dollar deals.
Analyst Yehonatan Shohat of Leader Capital Markets, one of Israel’s top investment banks, said he expected Netanyahu to return to the negotiating table rather than seek a new law.
“The bottom line is that it’s bad news for the partners, but in our estimation, and given the sensitivities of the subject, the last word has yet to be spoken,” he said.
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2003 Etobicoke gas explosion
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The 2003 Etobicoke gas explosion was a disaster which occurred on April 24, 2003, after a backhoe operated by Enbridge contractor Precision Utility breached a pipeline on Bloor Street in the Etobicoke district of Toronto, Ontario. The resulting explosion destroyed a two-story mixed commercial and residential building, killing seven people and injuring another four. Enbridge and several other companies were fined for the disaster in 2011. [1] A memorial garden was dedicated at the site of the explosion in 2008. [2]
On April 24, 2003, road work was being conducted to fix flooding concerns. [3] Enbridge contracted Precision Utility to locate natural gas pipelines along Bloor Street, west of Kipling Avenue. A pipeline leading into a plaza was not identified and an employee struck the pipeline with a backhoe,[1] causing natural gas to leak into the basement of a two-story strip mall with businesses and residential housing. [4] The workers immediately noticed the error and went to their vehicles to obtain tools to fix the leak. [3]
At around 1:30pm,[2] the gas leaking out from the pipeline ignited, destroying the strip mall and damaging nearby buildings. [3] The explosion also caused a fire which also damaged an adjacent house. 100 people and 25 fire trucks were used to extinguish the fire. Windows in stores across the street were blown out, windshields were damaged on cars and one vehicle was destroyed. [3]
Seven people were killed in the explosion. Robert Fairley was a resident of the building while Adele Brown, Elizabeth Roy and Lillian Guglietti were clients at a salon in the strip mall. Dora Carambelas, Tina Kirkimtzis, and Irene Miyama were also in the building when it exploded. [2] Four people were also injured by falling debris. [3]
After Hurricane Hazel, this explosion was the second-highest loss of life for a single event in Etobicoke. This is also the highest loss of life for an incident involving a pipeline in Canadian history. [5]
In April 2004, charges were laid concerning this incident but were dismissed in 2007. The dismissal was appealed and the case was reconsidered in 2011. [1]
Warren Bitulithic Limited pled guilty to one charge under the Technical Standards and Safety Act in 2006. [4] The charge was for damaging a natural gas pipeline without permission. [2] The company was fined $225 000. [1]
Enbridge pled guilty to one charge under the Ontario Occupational Health and Safety Act and fined $350 000. They also pled guilty to another charge under the Technical Standards and Safety Act, requiring Enbridge to pay another $350 000 fine. The charges were for not evacuating gas services and not locating and marking the gas services before excavation. Four additional charges placed against Enbridge were withdrawn. Precision Utility pled guilty and was fined $200 000 for not properly supervising an employee while they were locating the natural gas lines. [1] An investigation by the Ministry of Labour found that the Precision employee did not use locate the pipelines by using available information and did not act when they should have noticed the presence of natural gas. [5] Each fine included a victim surcharge where an additional 25% of their fines would be paid to help the victims of this incident. [1]
By 2011 townhouses had been built on the site of the explosion. Milano’s Pizza, one of the businesses in the strip-mall, reopened across the street. [4]
Peter Roy, the son of Elizabeth Roy, campaigned for gas companies to regularly install excess flow valves on pipelines to protect against runaway gas and high flow rates. He reported that Enbridge has begun doing this on their projects. Volunteers also established a scholarship for a student attending Humber College who is going to have a job in the gas sector. [2]
Five years after the explosion, a memorial plaque, garden and two benches were placed at the site of the explosion during a memorial service. The service was organised by then-Toronto City Councillor Peter Milczyn. [2]
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Rey Fire
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The Rey Fire was a wildfire that burned in the area southeast of Lake Cachuma in the range above the Santa Ynez River, Santa Barbara County, California in 2016. [1] By the time the fire was contained, it had burned 32,606 acres (131.95 km2). The fire was first reported at 3:15pm on Thursday August 18, 2016 and by Saturday morning had grown to over 13,224 acres (53.52 km2),[1][3] nearly quadrupling in size over night. About 300 people were evacuated from their campsites and residences, and on Friday officials let up to 5 groups at a time retrieve personal belongings from their campsites. [4] As of Monday morning, about 1200 firefighters were working on containing the blaze, as well as 11 aircraft. [5] As of Monday morning, the fire has exploded to 23,546 acres and has increased back to 20% containment in 4 days and 14 hours, since it started. [5]
The National Weather Service reported on Saturday that the fire had produced a pyrocloud. This mass of hot air resembles a thunderstorm cloud that can collapse when the air cools down. The wind can manifest as strong gusts at the surface which can exacerbate the fire. [6]
On Sunday night, August 28th, the fire had charred 33,006 acres and was 54% contained, with very little, if not no growth overnight. [7]
The acreage of the fire was decreased from 33,006 to 32,606 acres (131.95 km2) and was at 96% containment on September 1st. [8]
On September 16, the fire was fully contained, having burned 32,606 acres (131.95 km2)[9]
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UN General Assembly admits Timor-Leste as 191st member
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UN General Assembly admits Timor-Leste as 191st member
UN Photo/Mark Garten
The flag of Timor-Leste is raised to join those of other Member States in a special ceremony to mark the occasion at UN Headquarters. (September 2002)
27 September 2002
UN Affairs
More than three years after the Timorese people voted to begin the process of independence from Indonesia, the General Assembly today voted to admit the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste as the 191st Member State of the United Nations.
More than three years after the Timorese people voted to begin the process of independence from Indonesia, the General Assembly today voted to admit the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste as the 191st Member State of the United Nations.
“This milestone embodies the realization of its people’s hope to take their place among the community of independent nations,” Secretary-General Kofi Annan said at a ceremony to raise the Timorese flag outside UN Headquarters in New York.
“None of us can forget the sacrifices made by the people or the courage of its leadership,” Mr. Annan said. “Even before this day, Timor-Leste showed that greatness among nations is not a matter of size or resources, but rather one of global citizenship and adherence to the highest principles of our Charter.”
The admission of Timor-Leste, formerly East Timor, follows that of Switzerland, which was admitted on 10 September after its citizens passed a referendum in March in favour of joining the world body.
Earlier Friday, in his address to the Assembly, President Xanana Gusmão expressed gratitude for the commitment of the international community to Timor-Leste. He said that his country often has been mentioned as a “UN success story” and acknowledged the contribution of the international community, “namely that of the United Nations and its bodies, the General Assembly and the Security Council ,” as well as UN specialized agencies.
“At the core of this success, were, above all, our people,” he said. “Our people proved to the world to be worthy of the respect that we all owe and know.”
For his part, Assembly President Jan Kavan of the Czech Republic noted that while Timor-Leste’s path to independence had not been easy, the country and its people had succeeded, with the UN playing an integral role in the independence process.
Independence, however, did not mark the end of UN involvement in Timor-Leste, he said. Instead, a new phase had begun – one in which previous achievements should be consolidated and built upon. The establishment of the UN Mission of Support in East Timor (UNMISET) provided an example of this continued engagement, and the United Nations and its Member States should be prepared to increase their support in helping Timor-Leste and the region to address some remaining issues.
Meanwhile in Dili, the capital of Timor-Leste, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative and head of UNMISET, Kamalesh Sharma, issued a statement congratulating the nation on its admission to the UN. “The unfurling of the flag of Timor-Leste, alongside those of other members of the United Nations, would be the beginning of a new voyage, together with other members of the world community, towards social progress and advancement, and better standards of life in larger freedom,” he said.
“Timor-Leste is second to no nation in supporting the Organization’s principles and purposes, of promoting and encouraging respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms for all,” he added. “The visionary leaders of Timor-Leste are committed to achieving this goal, and I am convinced that the UN and the international community will continue to be supportive of their national efforts towards further development and progress.
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1968 Hyūga-nada earthquake
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The 1968 Hyūga-nada earthquake (Japanese: 1968年日向灘地震) occurred on April 1 at 09:42 local time. The earthquake had a magnitude of Mw 7.5, and the epicenter was located in Hyūga-nada Sea, off the islands of Kyushu and Shikoku, Japan. The magnitude of this earthquake was also given as MJMA 7.5. [2] A tsunami was observed. [3] There were 15 people reported injured. [4] The intensity reached shindo 5 in Miyazaki and Kōchi. This was an interplate earthquake between the Eurasian Plate and the Philippine Sea Plate. In this region, the Philippine Sea Plate is subducting beneath the Eurasian Plate. The subduction interface around this region passes southwestwards from the Nankai megathrust to the Ryukyu Trench just south of Kyusyu. [5]
This earthquake is the strongest event recorded in the Hyūga-nada Sea region. The maximum slip was estimated to be 4 m.[6] It was estimated that, in the Hyūga-nada Sea region, earthquakes with magnitudes about 7.6 occur with a period of about 200 years, while earthquakes with magnitudes about 7.1 occur with a period of about 20 to 27 years. [7] It has been pointed out that there is a tendency of occurrence of inland earthquakes in Kyushu before and after large interplate earthquakes in the Hyūga-nada Sea region. [8]
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Sydney salons stockpiling recycled human hair to help clean Mauritius oil spill
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Sydney hairdressers have collected more than 10 tonnes of human hair to repurpose and ship off to Mauritius to help clean a massive oil spill near a reef.
Scientists say recycled hair is cheaper and more sustainable than synthetic sponge products
While almost 4,000 tonnes of fuel oil leaks into waters around the remote island nation, which is 9,000 kilometres from Australia, hairdressers across the Harbour City have been sweeping locks from their salon floors.
Those hair clippings have been stuffed into massive stockings, to create giant sausage-like "hair booms", that will be sent abroad to help clean up the mess.
Scientific research, released by the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) a week before the Mauritius oil spill, showed human hair was effective at soaking up oil.
Martin Lazare, who runs Esteem Hair Beauty Spa in Penrith with his wife Allison, said he was devastated to hear news of the disaster last month.
"What can you do as one person?" he asked himself.
His parents immigrated to Australia from Mauritius before he was born, and he still has family connections in the island nation.
Their salon has been donating human hair to Sustainable Salons for five years, an organisation which collects and recycles hair, chemicals, and foil from hairdressers, and is spearheading the project to send hair booms to Mauritius.
"It's amazing, even though we're that far away from them, we are part of a program that can help," he said.
"It's really close to my heart."
On July 25, a Japanese ship ran aground on a reef in Mauritius, sparking the country's largest-ever marine ecological disaster and endangering coral, fish and other marine life.
The Government declared a state of "environmental emergency" and scientists warned removing the ship could take months and the spill could devastate the tourism-dependent island for years.
Mr Lazare said the tight-knit community in Mauritius was banding together to tackle the issue but were ill-resourced and cash-strapped.
UTS's Megan Murray said recycled hair was a cost-effective process to clean up oil spills.
"The external cuticle structures of hair combined with the fine fibres and high surface area make it a very efficient material at holding crude oil," Dr Murray said.
Current methods of cleaning up contamination disasters use synthetics to absorb oil but is often expensive and generates excess waste, she said.
Paul Frasca, founder of Sustainable Salons, said his business had stockpiled 28 tonnes of human hair from salons across Australia and New Zealand in case of an oil spill on the Great Barrier Reef.
The group is poised to donate 10 tonnes of hair booms once negotiations with the Mauritian Government are finalised.
The booms will be fumigated on arrival from air and sea.
"We've been helping the locals start preparing their own hair booms. There are loads of salons and people shaving their heads … they're up to 1,500 hair booms that have been made locally," he said.
"This is not just a hippie project, this is something that's real."
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Real estate agent Fletcher and Parker fined $880k for underquoting in Melbourne's east
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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
A real estate agency in Melbourne's east has been fined a record $880,000 after underquoting on 22 properties.
The Federal Court found Fletcher and Parker (Balwyn) breached consumer law in 2015 by falsely advertising the price of properties, engaging in misleading or deceptive conduct, and by making "false or misleading representations about the sale of land".
The court stated the realtor's offices in Blackburn and Canterbury knew houses would sell for much more than the advertised price, and the scheme had gone on for a number of months.
The agents would use the false advertising in magazines, flyers and email responses in the hope of luring more potential buyers. The whopping fine set a new benchmark for underquoting in Melbourne's real estate market, and came only 10 days after Hocking Stewart Doncaster were fined $160,000 for underquoting nine houses for sale in Melbourne's north-eastern suburbs.
Consumer Affairs Victoria said the courts had handed down more than $1 million in penalties in the past fortnight.
Fletcher and Parker was caught out after a taskforce from Consumer Affairs Victoria looked into sales and the corresponding advertising. Company chief executive Bradley Brown apologised for the "unacceptable conduct by a few members of our team".
"This type of behaviour went completely against everything we stand for as a business and how we treat our customers," he said in a statement.
"Victorian homebuyers … don't need underquoting and we won't tolerate it either."
Mr Brown said as soon as the incidents were identified the company introduced a "stringent live audit" and random spot check program. The Minister for Consumer Affairs, Marlene Kairouz, said the department would continue to crackdown on the misleading behaviour. "Underquoting is dishonest, misleading and against the law — and today's decision shows that if you do it, you'll pay the price," she said. She said the practice preyed on hopeful homebuyers, and the increasing number of fines sent a clear message. "This outcome will give homebuyers the confidence that this dodgy practice is being stamped out," she said.
The eastern suburbs agency must also implement a program to educate its agents about their legal obligations and appoint a compliance officer to ensure that the program is effectively maintained. As part of the punishment the company must acknowledge their contraventions in the local newspaper where they advertise, on property websites and display a notice in their office for six months.
The president of the Real Estate Institute of Victoria (REIV), Richard Simpson, said the Fletcher and Parker case related to offences that occurred before new underquoting laws came into effect in May last year.
He said the new legislation had provided greater consistency in the way properties were quoted across Victoria. Mr Simpson said the REIV welcomed the prosecution of estate agents who deliberately flouted the 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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Tori Geib, advocate to end 'fail-first' cancer drug treatment policies, dies at 35
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Tori Geib, 35, of Bellefontaine, died Nov. 1 after nearly five years fighting advanced breast cancer.
Geib was first diagnosed the week of her 30th birthday with stage 4 metastatic breast cancer, meaning the disease had spread to other organs, including her spine and brain.
Cancer:Ohio's late-stage cancer patients no longer have to 'fail first' on less effective treatment
Around 75% of people with metastatic breast cancer like Geib die in less than five years, Geib told The Dispatch in 2020. Geib didn't let that statistic or the diagnosis slow her down though.
Geib pushed for changes to state law that forced some cancer patients, including herself, to "fail first" on cheaper, less effective treatments. The requirement to "fail first" is something historically pushed by insurance companies to save money.
Cancer-drug shortage: Shortage of abraxane frustrates patients, providers alike
"My cancer could have been stabilized," Geib said in December. "Knowing that the science was there and everything was lined up except for the insurance … it almost seems criminal to do that to people."
Despite the setback, Geib pushed the state legislature to ensure no one else would have to "fail first."
On Dec. 21, Geib's efforts paid off when Gov. Mike DeWine signed into law Senate Bill 252, prohibiting fail-first drug coverage policies for stage 4 metastatic cancer patients. The bill, sponsored by state Sen. Bob Hackett, R-London, and state Sen. Hearcel Craig, D-Columbus, spent the previous year in the Statehouse.
Geib was a patient at Ohio State University's James Cancer Hospital and credited doctors there with helping her to navigate her cancer diagnosis and treatment. Dr. Bhuvana Ramaswamy, who leads the breast medical oncology team at Ohio State called Geib "an inspiration" for those who were diagnosed with cancer.
Cancer:'Coping is hard.' Ohio State cancer doctor's own diagnosis helps him relate to his patients
"She was a young woman diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer who could have just focused on her cancer and her life," Ramaswamy said via email. "But instead, she changed her challenge into her mission, becoming a voice for patients with metastatic breast cancer locally and nationally."
On top of her work as an advocate for legislative changes, Geib started a website and blog called Metastatic Millennial, where she chronicled her fight against her cancer. She served as the honorary chair of the 2019 Komen Columbus’ Race for the Cure.
Geib also became an active public speaker. She was featured in Time Magazine, Al Jazeera News, AllRecipes.com, Everyday Health, People magazine, Good Housekeeping, Good Morning America and many other state and national news outlets, according to the Susan G. Komen Foundation.
Geib loved cooking and baking, previously worked as professional chef and competed in cooking activities at county and state fairs, according to her obituary. She was a graduate of both Mount Vernon Nazarene University and Columbus State Community College.
Adenoid cystic carcinoma: West Jefferson teen honors father, raises $130,000 for research into rare cancer
An estimated 168,000 Americans are currently living with metastatic breast cancer, for which there is no cure, according to the Metastatic Breast Cancer Network. Like Geib, around 43,600 women and 5,300 men die of the disease every year in the U.S.
“For people living with metastatic breast cancer, our diagnoses don’t always fit the traditional breast cancer narrative. We are not counting down to the end of our treatments, waiting for the day when we will be cancer-free and can go on with our lives," Geib told Ohio State for a patient profile. "We won’t be ringing a bell when we complete treatment."
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Famous Person - Sick
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Interstate Reopens After “Sloppy, Wet” Mudslides Blanket I-70 For Second Weekend
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Multiple mudslides inundated Interstate 70 along a 2-mile stretch of Glenwood Canyon’s burn scar area on Saturday, shutting down the highway during the busy holiday weekend. Westbound lanes reopened by Sunday morning and all lanes were open by 4 p.m. “Our crews are dealing with a challenge of very sloppy, wet, messy material. We have about a dozen trucks that have been carrying hundreds of loads of debris to stockpiles miles away from the burn scar area,” said Lisa Schwantes, a spokesperson for CDOT. More than 30 CDOT employees were working to clear the road on Sunday, but the work is messy and the mud is difficult to corral, Schwantes said. She said the warmer temperatures and lower chances of rain on Sunday were good news for the crews — and for travelers. Schwantes said five mudslides occurred around 3 p.m. Saturday, trapping about a dozen cars on the interstate. No one was injured, but CDOT crews were in waist-deep mud helping drivers out of the mess. This is the latest closure of I-70 in recent weeks. Mudslides in a different area of the burn scar in the canyon closed the highway last weekend and flash-flood warnings have also shut down the road. Bob Group, program manager for CDOT’s Geohazards Division, said there’s not a lot they can do to prevent these mudslides. “The fire burned over 30,000 acres. So it's really just too big of an area to treat, um, in terms of preventing it,” Group said. “It's complicated by the fact that we're in a tight, narrow canyon, there isn't a lot of area to work on mitigation.” He said that the different areas where mudslides are flowing onto the highway show the scope and extent of the problem in Glenwood Canyon, where the Grizzly Creek fire burned both sides of the canyon and shut down I-70 for days. “Throughout the canyon, we're dealing with a lot of different drainages. There's upwards of 20 drainages that have an elevated risk of debris flow,” Group said. The bike path through the canyon is also closed. Kane Schneider with CDOT’s maintenance team said there is no estimate on when that path will reopen. “We still have 10 to 12 feet of debris down on the rec path,” Schneider said. Schwantes said people who plan to drive the interstate just need to be prepared because weather incidents can happen at a moment’s notice. “Do I know what the weather forecast is like? Have I checked in with cotrip.org so that I can see everything from where there might be some maintenance activity happening to alerted closures that happened?” she said.
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Mudslides
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