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On mission to eliminate barriers to higher education
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The University of Texas at Arlington’s TRIO program received grants worth nearly $4 million from the U.S. Department of Education to help low-income students, first-generation students and unemployed or low-wage workers access higher education. Two of the grants are federal Talent Search grants worth approximately $1.4 million apiece to identify and assist low-income and first-generation students who have the potential to succeed in higher education. The TRIO Talent Search program will provide five more years of funding to help 1,001 local students find their paths to college. One such student was Michelle Landeros of Gainesville, Texas, now a senior studying public health. “I feel like Talent Search is the only reason why I am able to be at UTA,” Landeros said. “UT Arlington made college more attainable for my family and me.” Talent Search identifies and assists middle and high school students from low-income economic backgrounds and families in which neither parent has a bachelor’s degree. Talent Search provides these students with counseling and information about college admissions requirements, scholarships and various student financial aid programs so they can better understand their educational opportunities and options. “The program was a chance to learn exactly what steps to take in order to be successful in my career,” Landeros said. “This was important because as the first member of my family to attend college, I was clueless about even the basics of how to apply to a university. Thankfully, the TRIO Talent Search program took me in and educated me well on the process, to the point where I had no excuses to not go to college.” The third grant will restart UTA’s TRIO Educational Opportunities Center (EOC). The grant, worth about $233,000 a year for the next five years, will help unemployed workers, low-wage workers and returning high school and college students enter or continue a program of postsecondary education. The UTA EOC Project will help 850 adult learners further their educations by exploring options for Adult Basic Education or High School Equivalency programs; enrolling in college, university or vocational school; and obtaining financial aid for enrollment. The program will offer assistance free of charge to economically disadvantaged adults who live in Tarrant or Dallas County. “We are excited to offer these services in our community and believe our programs, along with the support of others, can eliminate some of the barriers to higher education encountered by many of the individuals in our community,” said Lisa Thompson, executive director of UTA’s TRIO Pre-College Programs. “These are vital projects that not only improve individual lives, but also strengthen this community.” Troy Johnson, vice president for enrollment management, said UTA has been a leader in bringing federal resources and programs to the Metroplex for decades. “These programs are a true sign of UTA’s commitment to our communities, our schools, our families and our students,” Johnson said. “As one of the nation’s leader with TRIO programs, we’re eager to see these programs and the students they serve flourish over the years to come.”
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Financial Aid
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WHO Names New Expert Group To Investigate Source Of Covid-19
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The World Health Organization has selected a group of 26 experts that will develop a framework to investigate the origins of the coronavirus pandemic and other novel pathogens that could arise in the future, it said Wednesday. The WHO named a new scientific advisory group that will advise the it on crafting a framework to ... [+] define and guide studies on the origins of Covid-19 and future outbreaks. (Photo by Fabrice COFFRINI / AFP) Key Facts The advisory group, which includes scientists from the U.S. and China, was chosen from more than 700 applicants, according to a statement by the WHO. Their areas of expertise include epidemiology, animal health and ecology. The group will advise the WHO on crafting a framework to define and guide studies on the origins of Covid-19 and future outbreaks. WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a statement Covid-19 “will not be the last” outbreak. Big Number 4.9 million. That’s the number of people worldwide who have succumbed to Covid-19, as of Wednesday morning, according to John Hopkins University Covid tracker . In the U.S., the death toll from Covid-19 was around 710,000. Key Background The new advisory group comes after findings from a joint WHO-China team failed to receive support from top health and science experts, including Tedros. It said it had found evidence that the coronavirus had been transmitted from bats to humans through another animal. Tedros said more investigation needs to be done on the lab leak theory. The WHO has stirred controversy for depending on China to examine the virus and caving to China’s political interference in Taiwan. Last year, former President Donald Trump pulled the U.S. out of the international organization after accusing it of “severely mismanaging” and “covering up” the pandemic. Before the withdrawal, Trump had criticized the WHO for being “ China centric ” even though the U.S. was its largest donor that provided up to $500 million of its $4.8 billion budget. President Joe Biden resumed funding the WHO in January when he took office. Meanwhile, Taiwan has also been critical of the WHO for kowtowing to China. In May, Taiwan accused the WHO of “ indifference ” after being denied entry to the 74th World Health Assembly despite the island’s recognition for exemplary response to the pandemic. Tangent In August, Biden reportedly received an inconclusive report from the intelligence community on the source of the pandemic which he had ordered in May. China has not been cooperative in sharing data and samples as it claims the virus came into the country via frozen foods. What To Watch For The new scientific advisory panel will be finalized after a public consultation period for two weeks when the WHO will receive feedback on the selected experts, the WHO said in a statement.
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Organization Established
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Great Barrier Reef hit by 'extraordinarily large' muddy flood plume
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Massive plumes of polluted floodwater spanning the entire coast of north-east Queensland are encroaching on the outer reaches of the Great Barrier Reef, sparking a fresh threat to the beleaguered natural wonder. Scientists are surveying the marine fallout from the state's latest natural disaster, with the spectacle of muddy waters fanning out from swollen rivers of the Whitsundays to Cape Tribulation captured in satellite images that have been shared around the world. Researchers said the flood run-off, which likely included nitrogen and pesticide chemicals, were flowing as far as outer-shelf reefs 60 kilometres from the Queensland coast, piling pressure on coral already stressed by an unprecedented run of recent mass bleaching events.
Dr Frederieke Kroon, who leads the Australian Institute of Marine Science's (AIMS) water quality team, said the flood plumes going out to the reef covered "an extraordinarily large area".
"If you look at the remote sensing images, the one that's standing out at the moment is the Burdekin, which is the biggest river in that area," she said. "But over the last two weeks other rivers have produced large flood plumes as well, which have dissipated since then, but are definitely still affecting large areas of the Great Barrier Reef." A fellow research team from James Cook University's TropWATER unit on Thursday captured aerial photographs showing plumes from the Burdekin River reaching Old Reef, 60 kilometres out to sea.
Dr Kroon said researchers had been able to sample most of those flood plumes and would record where they travelled and crucially, what was in them.
"The two things we're mostly concerned about is sediment from erosion in the catchment that gets transported with rainwater into the rivers out onto the reef and nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus," she said. "One of the main effects of getting that transported out to the reef is that … less light can travel through the water and reach down to corals and seagrass ecosystems."
Dr Kroon said the flood debris could potentially kill coral and seagrass if it lingered long enough, but it was not yet clear whether that would happen. An AIMS reef water quality monitoring team will soon report on how coral is coping.
There could be some cold comfort for the reef. Forecasters late last year flagged a bleaching risk for parts of the reef next month, after the previous two summers saw consecutive mass bleaching events.
But the unexpected influx of cooler floodwaters and prolonged cloud cover could mitigate the risk of underwater heatwaves baking the stressed coral, Dr Kroon said. "If you want to have a flipside to the story that would be one, yes, but it's still a huge disturbance to the reef [after] the bleaching and the cyclones that we've had over the last couple of years," she said.
"The reef doesn't even really get time to recover from any of these disturbances because it gets hit with something pretty much every year.
"It's not catastrophic … but it is still an extraordinary event because we see flood plumes reaching definitely to the mid-shelf reefs and in certain areas to the outer reefs."
The only other flooding event in modern memory with comparable scale to impact on the reef was from Cyclone Oswald in 2013, Dr Kroon said.
"At the time, that was unheard of and so to have that happen again not that long afterwards is highly unusual," Dr Kroon said. Australia is engaged in a reef conservation plan after battling to ensure the reef was spared an "in-danger" listing by the UN's world heritage committee in 2015.
Tackling water quality is the focus of government efforts to protect the reef, with coral degradation through run-off being a key threat after climate change-driven sea temperatures and acidity. Zoe Bainbridge, a research fellow at JCU's TropWATER unit, said flood plume samples would be analysed in coming months and give clues about which areas onshore should be targeted to stop run-off. "What we're doing is trying to capture sediment in the flood plume itself and then trace that back to its source within the catchment," she said.
"The Burdekin River catchment is the size of England or the South Island of New Zealand.
"Basically what we're trying to do is help prioritise, within the catchment, where erosion control works would occur, and we're using the physical and chemical properties of the sediment to trace it."
Search any location in Australia to find nearby active incidents
Stay up-to-date with local coverage on ABC Radio, the emergency broadcaster
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Environment Pollution
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2013 Craig, Alaska earthquake
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The 2013 Craig, Alaska earthquake (also known as the Queen Charlotte Fault earthquake) struck on January 5th, at 12:58 am (UTC–7) near the city of Craig and Hydaburg, on Prince of Wales Island. The Mw 7.5 earthquake came nearly three months after an Mw 7.8 quake struck Haida Gwaii on October 28, in 2012. [1] The quake prompted a regional tsunami warning to British Columbia and Alaska, but it was later cancelled. [2] Due to the remote location of the quake, there were no reports of casualties or damages. The Queen Charlotte Fault is a major right-lateral (dextral) strike-slip and transform fault running off the coast of British Columbia and into Southern Alaska, through the Saint Elias Range for more than 700 miles. [3] Its southernmost section joins a spreading ridge of the Gorda Plate and the Cascadia subduction zone while the northern termination section joins the a thrust fault where the Yakutat terrane plows into the North American Plate. It has been the source of several large earthquakes in the 20th century, and appears that much of its length has ruptured in these events. In 1949, it produced a magnitude 8.1 earthquake off the west coast of Haida Gwaii, then in 1958 a magnitude 7.8 earthquake generated a megatsunami more than 500 meters tall, killing five people. Other earthquakes in the region include a 7.6 near Sitka, and the 2012 event. The Queen Charlotte Fault bears a similar resemblance with California's San Andreas Fault, another transform fault to the south. The rupture zone is situated on a seismic gap between fault segments which ruptured in 1972 to its north, and the other to the south in 1949. [4][5] The largest earthquake prior to the 7.5 quake along this gap was a magnitude 6.8 to the south of the 2013 epicenter. [6] The 2013 earthquake ruptured for a length of 150 km (93 mi), 322 km (200 mi) north of the 2012 event. [3] A note to take into account, the 2012 temblor had a focal mechanism of thrust rather than strike-slip, like those observed along the fault. That earthquake was on the interface of the subducting Pacific Plate as it is underthrusted beneath the North American Plate. [7] The Craig earthquake on the other hand, was a near pure strike-slip event which was probably in response to stress transfer from the quake four months ago. [7]
Research found that the earthquake was a rare supershear event, and was the first of its kind to occur on an oceanic plate boundary. Supershear rupture initiated along the northern rupture zone for about 100 km with a velocity of 5.5 to 6.0 km/s, much faster that the propagation velocity of the S-waves. [8][9] The rupture propagated northwards, away from the epicenter, with an initial rupture velocity of 3.0 km. [9] This subshear rupture continued for the first 30 to 50 km. Afterward, rupture velocity exceeded the S-wave propagation speed of 3.8 km/s, reaching 7.0 km/s at its highest through the upper crust. [10]
More than 290 aftershocks greater than magnitude 2.5 were recorded in the aftermath of the earthquake from 2013 to 2020. Most of them were along other fault structures away from the main fault. This is also commonly seen in other supershear earthquakes. [8] The largest aftershocks were of magnitude 5.9, 5.5 and 5.2 which occurred on a different fault from the mainshock. [11][12][13]
Maximum intensity of V (Moderate) to VI (Strong) was felt in Craig, Hydaburg, Klawock and Hyder without damage, but there were reports of items falling off shelves. The earthquake was mildly felt as far away in Seattle, Washington. [14] A tsunami warning was broadcast from Cape Fairweather, Alaska to northern Vancouver Island, while a tsunami advisory was issued to the coast of Washington. It was later canceled after no large waves were observed. [15] The shock frightened many who fled to higher grounds to avoid the tsunami. Because the earthquake was of almost pure strike-slip mechanism, only small waves were produced without damage. These waves were up to 14 cm high. [16] Seiches up to 1.5 meters high were also recorded at Deer Lake, Alaska, north of Port Alexander. The small waves however, were not detected by Ocean Networks Canada. [17]
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Earthquakes
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Mauritius PM warns cracks appearing in oil spill ship's hull as island prepares for environmental worst-case scenario
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Mauritius PM warns cracks appearing in oil spill ship's hull as island prepares for environmental worst-case scenario
A Japanese ship that ran aground on a reef off Mauritius two weeks ago has now stopped leaking oil into the Indian Ocean, but the island nation must still prepare for "a worst-case scenario", Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth says.
Conservationists on the island said they were starting to find dead fish as well as seabirds covered in oil, increasing fears of an ecological catastrophe despite a massive local clean-up operation that includes making floating booms from leaves and human hair.
Mr Jugnauth said the leak from a damaged oil tank on board the stricken vessel, the MV Wakashio, had stopped but that it still had 2,000 tonnes of oil in two other, undamaged tanks.
"The salvage team has observed several cracks in the ship hull, which means that we are facing a very serious situation," Mr Jugnauth said in a televised speech, parts of which were made available to Reuters by his office.
"We should prepare for a worst-case scenario. It is clear that at some point the ship will fall apart."
Mauritius has declared a state of emergency and former colonial ruler France has sent aid in what environmental group Greenpeace said could be a major ecological crisis. Japan has also sent help.
Tourism is a major contributor to the Mauritius economy, generating 63 billion rupees ($2.2 billion) last year.
"We are starting to see dead fish," said Vikash Tatayah, conservation director at Mauritius Wildlife Foundation, a non-governmental organisation.
"We are starting to see animals like crabs covered in oil, we are starting to see seabirds covered in oil, including some which could not be rescued." The nearby Blue Bay Marine Park, known for its corals and myriad fish species, has so far escaped damage but a lagoon containing an island nature reserve, the Ile Aux Aigrettes, is already covered in oil, he said.
At least 1,000 tonnes of oil is estimated to have leaked so far, with 500 tonnes salvaged.
Mauritians are making booms out of sugar cane leaves, plastic bottles and hair that people are voluntarily cutting off and floating them on the sea to prevent the oil spill spreading, island resident Romina Tello told Reuters.
"Hair absorbs oil but not water," Ms Tello, founder of Mauritius Conscious, an eco-tourism agency, said by phone.
"There's been a big campaign around the island to get hair," said Ms Tello, 30, who spent the weekend helping clean black sludge from mangrove swamps.
Videos posted online showed volunteers sewing leaves and hair into nets to float on the surface and corral the oil until it can be sucked up by hoses.
Diving centres, fishermen and others have all joined in the clean-up effort, with guesthouses offering free accommodation to volunteers and hair salons offering discounts to those donating hair, Ms Tello said.
The Mauritian Government is also using sea booms to control the spill and vacuuming up oil from the water's surface.
The MV Wakashio is owned by the Nagashiki Shipping Company and operated by Mitsui OSK Line.
Reuters
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Environment Pollution
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India joins CERN as an associate member
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India on Monday became an associate member of the European Organisation for Nuclear Research (CERN), the world’s largest nuclear and particle physics laboratory and best known as operator of the Large Hadron Collider, which found the elusive Higgs boson in 2012.
India was inducted as an ‘Observer’ at CERN in 2004. The latest upgrade allows Indian companies to bid for lucrative engineering contracts and Indians can apply for staff positions at the organisation.
The associate membership would cost India CHF (Swiss Franc) 11.5 million (approximately Rs. 78 crore) annually though it still wouldn’t have voting rights on decisions of the Council. “Most decisions of the Council proceed by consensus but the most significant outcome is that our industry can bid for developing sophisticated equipment, software and instruments,” said Arun Srivastava, Secretary, Atomic Energy Commission.
Operational from January
The agreement was signed on Monday by Sekhar Basu, chairman of Atomic Energy Commission and Secretary, Department of Atomic Energy (DAE), and CERN Director General Fabiola Gianotti in Mumbai.
The Union Cabinet had cleared India’s participation last year and though the deal was signed on Monday, it will formally become a member around January after depositing an instrument of ratification.
“We can choose to apply for full membership after two years or continue with this status for five years,” Mr. Srivastava told The Hindu .
CERN is based in Geneva on the French-Swiss border. It has 22 member states and four associate member states and other associate members transitioning to full member status.
Associate members pay about 10 per cent what full members pay.
Active involvement
Though India was invited to be member of CERN at least two years ago, it tarried. Incidentally, Pakistan became an associate member of the body in 2014. This, even though India’s association with CERN goes back decades with an active involvement in the construction of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), in the areas of design, development and supply of hardware accelerator components/systems and its commissioning and software development and deployment in the machine.
Indian scientists have played a significant role in the Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS) experiment, one of the two large experiments that led to the discovery of the Higgs Boson.
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Join in an Organization
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Ellesse Andrews among riders to break Olympic sprint record
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New Zealand cyclist Ellesse Andrews has backed up her silver medal in the keirin by breaking the Olympic record in the women's sprint qualifying this evening.
The 21-year-old Kiwi was the eighth rider to set a time in the qualifying today, and became the fastest rider when she smashed the Olympic record by 0.158 seconds with a time of 10.563 seconds.
Ellesse Andrews celebrates after winning the silver medal in the women's keirin at the Tokyo Olympics. (Source: Photosport)
The record was later broken by France's Mathilde Gros, who set it at 10.400. However, it was still a brilliant performance from the young Kiwi. German rider Sophie Friedrich became the fastest rider, setting the Olympic record at 10.310 seconds.
Andrews ended up being the 11th fastest qualifier and advanced to the round-of-32.
There, she faced Australian Kaarle McCulloch. Andrews was pushed high on the track by McCulloch, but her power just proved to be too much for the Australian, as Andrews burst past on the final lap to take the win and advanced to the round-of-16.
She was forced into the repechages after her experienced Ukrainian opponent Olena Starikova rode a brilliant tactical race, pushing her high on the track and not letting Andrews come over the top on the final lap.
Chinese rider Shanju Bao stood between her and a spot in the final eight. She bided her time, waiting for the moment to strike. Andrews went high on the track then used her power to push past Bao on the final lap and take a comfortable victory.
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Break historical records
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Explosives company Dyno Nobel ordered to pay $500k over toxic leak that killed Hunter Valley cattle
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Explosives company Dyno Nobel ordered to pay $500k over toxic leak that killed Hunter Valley cattle
Explosives company Dyno Nobel has been slugged more than $500,000 for a toxic leak that killed cattle at a NSW Hunter Valley farm.
The Environment Protection Authority (EPA) took Dyno Nobel Asia Pacific to the Land and Environment Court over a leak at its Warkworth facility in 2015.
The court heard significant rainfall in January during that year caused water levels in a dam to rise.
A month later, water containing high levels of nitrate and ammonia escaped through a faulty valve, then onto a nearby farm and into a stock watering dam.
Five cattle on the farm were found dead after the incident, and another had partially aborted a calf.
The court was told about 80 cattle had been locked in a paddock where the only water source was the contaminated dam.
The cattle were mostly dairy cattle and the majority of them were in calf.
"The dead cattle were puffed up and swollen, and most had foaming salivation around their mouths and noses," the court was told.
"The condition of the remaining cattle was described as 'looking hollow and appearing to be thirsty'.
"Further, when the farmer opened the gate to the paddock, the remaining cattle rushed straight to water at the northern area of the farm."
Bulga Milbrodale Progress Association president John Krey said it had been an alarming incident.
He said he was concerned the cattle deaths may have been kept quiet.
"This is the Hunter Valley and this should be pristine water, this should be pristine air," he said.
"It is actually horrific, and yet we never heard a thing about it.
"That is headline news and every farmer, every grape grower, every irrigator in this district should be made aware of such contamination."
The court fined Dyno Nobel $460,000 and ordered it pay the EPA's $72,000 legal fees.
The court was told the company co-operated with investigators and paid the farmer $76,000 compensation.
A search of the EPA's media releases for 2015 make no mention of the incident, despite investigators doing a site inspection in the days that followed.
The Greens Mining spokesman Jeremy Buckingham has put a question on notice in parliament to ask about the leak.
He said it was a travesty that environment officials did not reveal the leak when it happened.
"It's enormously alarming that this major pollution incident was not revealed to the public," Mr Buckingham said.
"This is a pollution incident that has caused the deaths of cattle.
"It is absolutely horrific that locals didn't know about this incident, that locals believe that the EPA kept this quiet.
"This could have been much, much worse. If this pollution can kill cattle, it may well have been able to kill children or other people."
Mr Buckingham said he was suspicious about the incident.
"The EPA are quick to get on the phones and spruik what they want but when it comes to these serious offences, ones that deal with the death of livestock, major pollution incidents, well it is all hushed up. It is not good enough," he said.
"The substantial penalty reflected the EPA's rigorous pursuit of an appropriate result in court," EPA chief environmental regulator Mark Gifford said.
"There was significant environmental harm in this incident and the EPA pursued the case with the appropriate level of dedication," he said.
"There were no alarms or other systems to warn Dyno Nobel personnel of the discharge and, as a result, dangerous chemicals discharged from the facility and a local farmer felt the brunt of that on his property and his animals.
"This sort of environmental pollution is avoidable and completely unacceptable."
The ABC has requested comment from Dyno Nobel.
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Environment Pollution
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1954 Cathay Pacific Douglas DC-4 shootdown crash
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The 1954 Cathay Pacific Douglas DC-4 shootdown happened on 23 July 1954, when a Cathay Pacific Airways C-54 Skymaster[4] airliner was shot down by fighter planes of the People's Republic of China. The event occurred off the coast of Hainan Island, where the plane was en route from Bangkok to Hong Kong, killing 10 of 19 passengers and crew on board. [2][5]
Although the four-engine propeller-driven Douglas (registered VR-HEU) was a C-54 Skymaster, the incident is known as "the DC-4 shootdown" because the C-54 is the military version of the Douglas DC-4, and the aircraft was flying a commercial passenger run. [3][6][7][8] The crew of six was headed by British captain Phil Blown, and included three female flight attendants. In all, one flight crew member, two cabin crew members and seven of the thirteen passengers were killed in the attack and subsequent crash of the airliner. [2]
The aircraft, registered VR-HEU, was a four-engine, propeller-driven Douglas C-54A Skymaster[4] airliner, the military version of the Douglas DC-4 converted for civilian use. [9]
VR-HEU had been manufactured by the Douglas Aircraft Company with construction number 10310 and delivered to the USAAF on 16 May 1944, where it served for less than two years. [4][10] It was bought on 19 February 1946 by KLM and first operated by KLM West Indies before returning to KLM main line in February 1948. [10] It was sold to Cathay Pacific in August 1949. [10]
On 22 July 1954, VR-HEU took off from Bangkok at 20:19 GMT after being delayed in Bangkok for an hour because of mechanical problems on its No. 2 engine. The flight was bound for Hong Kong. A previous flight had taken the plane from Singapore. For the next 4 hours and 25 minutes the routine flight proceeded as planned. [11][12][13]
At 23:40 GMT, when the DC-4 was cruising at 9,000 ft and roughly 10 miles east of the international air corridor line off Hainan Island and only 31 minutes from Hong Kong, two Lavochkin La-11 fighters of the 85th Fighter Regiment, People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF), appeared behind VR-HEU, one above it on the DC-4's starboard rear side and the other on its port side. At approximately 23:44 GMT, the fighters opened fire and the two outboard engines (numbers 1 and 4) were hit and caught fire. [14][15] The number 4 engine's auxiliary and main fuel tanks were also ablaze. While captain Phil Blown took evasive actions to avoid further damage, co-pilot Cedric Carlton issued blankets to passengers instructing them to place them on the back of their seats for protection against the bullets. Radio operator Stephen Wong made an initial distress call at 08:45 HKT (23:45 GMT): "Kai Tak Tower, Cathay XXX, Mayday! Mayday! Mayday! No. 1 port engine on fire, losing altitude, requesting all possible assistance. "[7][12] Wong made 10 mayday calls before VR-HEU ditched. Cathay Pacific engineer G. H. Cattanach, travelling as a passenger, tried to make the passengers comfortable when it became known that the plane was going to ditch. VR-HEU began losing altitude and at 5,000-foot (1,500 m), its rudder control was shot off. Travelling at 350 miles per hour, Blown tried his utmost to evade incendiary bullets coming from the fighters by turning the Skymaster left and right. At 2,000-foot (610 m), the right aileron was shot off and the plane began turning right on its own initiative. The captain then countered the increasing turn by shutting down the engines 1 and 2 and applying full power on engine 3. Approximately 2 minutes after the initial attack, unable to carry on a controlled levelled flight, Blown decided to ditch the Skymaster in rough open seas that included 15-foot waves and a 25-knot wind. The starboard wingtip was the first to hit the water, severing the right wing between the number 3 and 4 engines. [16] The impact caused the tail to break off and float off 50 yards from the main wreckage. The main fuselage now floated at an angle of 45 degrees with the rear open fuselage pointing towards the sky. [12]
After the plane ditched into the ocean, the attacking fighters, flying at around 1,000-foot (300 m), ceased firing at the Skymaster, made a turn around the wreckage, and headed towards Sanya. While ten passengers and crew were killed by bullets and the subsequent ditching, nine others survived and escaped from the sinking plane. Blown and his co-pilot escaped through a broken starboard[16] sliding window, which had water coming in fast. With all survivors floating on the water with no life vests, co-pilot Carlton suddenly noticed that a Mrs Thorburn was hanging on to a raft still in its case. Fearing the bright yellow rubber raft might attract the attention of PLAAF fighters, it took Carlton twenty minutes to finally inflate the rubber dinghy and lift all nine passengers in. Once all were on the dinghy, concern remained that the attacking planes might return; some of the dazed, injured passengers, with their clothes in shreds, hid under a plastic sunshade covering the edges of the dinghy. Although Blown and passenger Peter Thacher kept watch, the attacking planes never returned. [7][11][12][13][17]
An Air Vietnam plane en route to Hong Kong from Hanoi, which had altered its course as a results of the calls, spotted the sinking plane and a dinghy one and a half miles from the Hainan coast. It circled for forty minutes before heading for Hong Kong. Thanks to those calls, the RAF in Hong Kong immediately redirected a Saigon-bound Vickers Valetta military transport and further despatched a Short Sunderland flying boat and an Avro York military transport, as well as two de Havilland Hornet fighters of 80 Squadron,[18] from RAF Kai Tak to the reported position of the C-54. A fully armed French PB4Y-2 Privateer also took off from Tourane (Da Nang), French Indochina (now Vietnam) after intercepting the emergency radio call. Meanwhile, the civilian-operated Manila rescue control centre in the Philippines, on picking up the SOS call from Wong, alerted the 31st Air Rescue Squadron of the USAF at Clark Air Force Base. Captain Jack T. Woodyard, on first alert duty that day and about to depart on a routine training mission in his Grumman SA-16 Albatross, 51-009,[19] immediately took off. A second Albatross followed Woodyard 35 minutes later. The Hornets were the first to arrive on the scene, followed by the Valetta, Sunderland, York and the Privateer. While the Hornets carried out a thorough search of the area for survivors, the French Privateer informed the Albatross, which was fifty miles away, "We have spotted the dinghy with survivors; looks like two of them from here. "[20] The British and American planes were not able to communicate with each other as they were on different radio frequencies.
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Air crash
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Quantum-Computing Startup IonQ Plans Public Debut in $2 Billion SPAC Merger
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Quantum -computing startup IonQ Inc. plans to merge with blank-check firm dMY Technology Group Inc. III, which would make it the first publicly traded company specifically focused on commercializing quantum-computing hardware and software. College Park, Md.-based IonQ on Monday said it intends to file paperwork in about a week with the Securities and Exchange Commission to go public on the New York Stock Exchange through a special-purpose acquisition company deal valuing the combined entity at about $2 billion. The deal will need approval from the SEC and SPAC shareholders. “It is kind of a groundbreaking moment in history,” said Peter Chapman, chief executive of IonQ and formerly director of engineering for Amazon . com Inc.’s Amazon Prime business. IonQ is competing against several companies, such as International Business Machines Corp. , Microsoft Corp. , Alphabet Inc.’s Google and D-Wave Systems Inc., trying to commercialize quantum computing using various technological approaches. No scalable, commercial-grade quantum computer has been built yet. A prototype chip package that uses the same technology as IonQ’s existing systems and will be integrated into a quantum-computing device about the size of an Xbox game console. “The race for quantum computing is real,” said Matthew Brisse, research vice president at tech research firm Gartner Inc. “We’re seeing quantum [computing] come out of the labs and get into the digital economy.” By 2023, 20% of global organizations, including governments and companies, are expected to budget for quantum-computing projects, up from less than 1% in 2018, according to Gartner. SPACs are an increasingly popular source of financing for companies, including those with little to no revenue looking to go public. Since the start of last year, investors have poured more than $130 billion into SPACs, The Wall Street Journal reported Feb. 26 . If the deal goes through, IonQ will have raised $734 million in funding since its founding in 2015, including $300 million through its planned merger with dMY Technology III and another $350 million in private investment funding from Hyundai Motor Co. ; Breakthrough Energy Ventures, an investment organization led by Bill Gates and focused on mitigating the effects of climate change; and others. The company also has raised $84 million in venture-capital funding. Quantum computers aim to harness the power of quantum physics to sort through a vast number of possibilities within a fraction of a second to come up with a probable solution. The technology could speed up calculations related to finance, drug and materials discovery, artificial intelligence and others, and crack many of the defenses used to secure the internet. The money raised from the transaction will be used to help IonQ manufacture a quantum-computing machine that works at room temperature and is about the size of an Xbox videogame console, Mr. Chapman said. That would be significantly smaller than early-stage machines on the market today, without requiring the supercooling necessary to achieve quantum mechanical effects. IonQ expects the device to be completed in 2023. IonQ’s technological approach involves commercializing university lab research on trapped ions, which naturally exhibit the quantum mechanical effects needed for the machines to work, Mr. Chapman said. The company has given about 20 million software developers access to its current early-stage quantum-computing device through partnerships with cloud-computing service providers Amazon Web Services and Microsoft. It expects to generate more than $1 million in revenue this year, Mr. Chapman said. Private companies are flooding to special-purpose acquisition companies, or SPACs, to bypass the traditional IPO process and gain a public listing. WSJ explains why some critics say investing in these so-called blank-check companies isn’t worth the risk
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Organization Merge
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Welsh coal strike of 1898
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The Welsh coal strike of 1898 was an industrial dispute involving the colliers of South Wales and Monmouthshire. The strike began as an attempt by the colliers to remove the sliding scale, which determined their wage based on the price of coal. The strike quickly turned into a disastrous lockout which would last for six months and result in a failure for the colliers as the sliding scale stayed in place. [1] The strike is seen as an important landmark in Welsh history as it saw the true adoption of trade unionism in the southern coalfield which had been slow to take hold before then. The South Wales Miners' Federation was the largest trade union to have originated from this dispute. Towards the end of 1897 relations between south Wales colliers, led by Liberal MP William 'Mabon' Abraham and the coalowners had become strained. Apart from the obvious wealth of the coalowners, the miners were also unhappy about a system used to determine wages called the sliding scale. The sliding scale was a system whereby the collier's salary was based not only on how much coal they could mine but on the price the coal fetched at market. The miners argued that the scale could be abused by traders and did not prevent cut-throat competition; also there was no minimum to the scale. This led to many miners facing financial difficulties and in September 1897 the miners gave six months' notice to terminate the scale. The coalowners retaliated with what they described as, precautionary measures, to terminate contracts which would come into effect at the same time as the colliers' ultimatum. [2]
Before the deadline for both actions passed in March 1898, negotiations began to prevent any action. The negotiations were still underway with the deadline of March 31 looming, so both parties agreed to extend talks until April 9. [2] The discussions broke down before the deadline as the colliers refused the options being presented to them, and they walked out of the pits en masse. The miners' demands had been a minimum price per coal of 10 shillings a ton, a sliding scale of 10% not the 8.75% in operation, plus an immediate advance of 10%. The coalowners' compromise had been below those requested on all three demands. In course of time, the miners shifted their position to the removal of the sliding scale completely but still demanded the 10% advance. The Board of Trade appointed Sir Edward Fry to act as a conciliator, much to the approval of the colliers, but the employers refused to meet with him. [2] Through the endeavours of Sir Edward, the colliers eventually agreed to a reduction on demands in return for the creation of a neutral Concilliation Board to fix wages if coal prices fell below a specified level. The coalowners showed interest in these options but before options were discussed, the colliers' representatives re-introduced demands and negotiations were broken. After a second failed attempt, Sir Edward returned to the Board of Trade describing the owners as obstinate and the workers as leaderless. [3]
By August the colliers had decided to push on the single issue of retaining the sliding scale, but with a minimum level. In the end the colliers accepted an immediate advance of 5 percent and a guarantee from the coalowners that if wages fell below 12½ percent above the 1879 standard, then the men could give 6 months notice to terminate the scale. It also saw the end of Mabon's day, the first Monday of the month holiday previously awarded to the miners. The strike officially ended on 1 September 1898. [3]
The lack of organisation and vision apparent form the colliers' leaders was addressed by the foundation of the South Wales Miners' Federation, or 'the Fed'. [4] Abraham would take the presidency of the organisation and William Brace the vice president. After such a long strike without pay, the levels of militancy within the south Wales coalfields rose and men began joining trade unions on a level not before seen in the area.
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Strike
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Brazil dam disaster leaves 34 dead, hundreds missing
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Military firefighters carry the corpse of a victim recovered from the mud-hit area in Corrego do Feijao near the town of Brumadinho in the state of Minas Gerias in southeastern Brazil, on Jan 26. (Photo: DOUGLAS MAGNO / AFP) BRUMADINHO: Thirty-four people were confirmed dead and nearly 300 missing on Saturday (Jan 26), with hopes fading of them being found alive, after a dam collapsed at a mine in southeast Brazil. The disaster struck Friday at the Vale mine near the city of Belo Horizonte in Minas Gerais state, spewing millions of tons of muddy sludge across the facility and down towards farmland alongside the nearby town of Brumadinho. Dozens of helicopters were used in the rescue operation Saturday because the released mud engulfed buildings, vehicles and roads with a deep, treacherous layer. Rescue officials announced the death toll had more than tripled through the day as more and more bodies were pulled from the mud. By the last count, nearly 300 people were missing, virtually all of them mine workers listed by Vale. Among the more than 170 survivors rescued, 23 were hospitalised with injuries. Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro flew over the devastated zone, later tweeting that it was "difficult to not be emotional before this scene." All was being done to care for survivors and "determine the facts, to demand justice and prevent new tragedies," he added. The military said it was deploying 1,000 troops, including sniffer dogs, to the affected zone under orders from the president. The disaster was the first big emergency faced by Bolsonaro and his government since he took office in early January, and perhaps one of the biggest disasters in Brazil's history. VALE SHARES PLUNGE Vale has been shaken by the disaster, the second in three years it has suffered in the same state. Workers at its mine had been lunching in an administrative area Friday when they were suddenly engulfed by millions of tons of muddy trailings - a waste byproduct of the iron-ore mining operations. The ruptured dam, 42 years old and 282 feet (86 metres) high, had been in the process of being decommissioned, and Vale said it had recently passed structural safety tests. After overflowing a second dam, the vast muddy mass barrelled down toward Brumadinho, population 39,000, but only glanced along it before spearing its way through vegetation and farmland, smashing houses and swallowing tractors and roads in its way. Vale's CEO Fabio Schvartsman and Minas Gerais Governor Romeu Zema both expressed pessimism, warning the toll could rise. "From now, the odds are minimal (to find more people alive) and it is most likely we will recover only bodies," Zema told reporters late Friday. In Rio, Schvartsman spoke of a "human tragedy." "We're talking about probably a large number of victims - we don't know how many but we know it will be a high number," he said. Vale shares plummeted on the New York stock exchange Friday, closing eight percent lower. Brazil's environmental protection agency hit Vale with an initial US$66.5 million fine over the disaster. Minas Gerais state authorities said they were about to levy another penalty. They have already obtained a court order blocking US$270 million of Vale funds in bank accounts with a view to using it for victim relief. The mining company, one of the world's biggest, was involved in a 2015 mine collapse elsewhere in Minas Gerais that claimed 19 lives and is regarded as the country's worst-ever environmental disaster. 'LESSONS NOT LEARNED' Would-be rescue volunteers were urged to stay away because of the slippery, perilous mud. Media were pressed not to use drones to avoid collisions with search and rescue helicopters. "There used to be people here, houses. I'm just floored by this tragedy," Rosilene Aganetti, a 57-year-old resident in one of the affected villages, told AFP, pointing to an expanse of mud. "Several of my friends who were in the Vale cafeteria are missing," she said, holding back sobs. Another woman, Suely de Olivera Costa, desperately trying to find her husband who worked at the mine, accused Vale of "destroying Brumadinho and nobody is doing anything - what will be the next town?" The Brazil office of environmentalist group Greenpeace said the dam break was "a sad consequence of the lessons not learned by the Brazilian government and the mining companies." Such incidents "are not accidents but environmental crimes that must be investigated, punished and repaired," it added. While the death toll has yet to be fully established, the disaster at the mine could well rank among the worst recorded in Brazil. In 2008, a moving mass of mud and rocks from an illegal iron ore mine slammed into the Chinese town of Taoshi, in northern Shanxi province, killing 262 people. A mine collapse at a gold mine in Merriespruit, South Africa caused 17 deaths in 1994.
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Mine Collapses
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Daniel J. Maloney crash
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Daniel John Maloney (circa 1879 – July 18, 1905) was an American pioneering aviator and test pilot who made the first high-altitude flights by man using a Montgomery glider in 1905. A native of the Mission district in San Francisco, California, Daniel Maloney started his career in aviation by making parachute jumps and trapeze stunts from tethered hot-air balloons in the 1890s at Glen Park, San Francisco and Idora Park in Oakland. For these events he would often adopt the name “Professor Lascelles” or “Jerome Lesalles” although he was never formally trained as a professor. Many of the parachute jumps occurred at heights of 500–800 feet above the ground. By 1904 he became a full-time aerial exhibitionist. [1]
Maloney was hired by John J. Montgomery in early 1905 to serve as an aeronaut for a tandem-wing glider design called the Montgomery Aeroplane. In February 1905, Maloney was trained by Montgomery on the workings of the glider at Aptos, California through a series of unmanned ballasted test flights, with the goal of launching the glider at high altitudes after ascending under a hot-air balloon. On March 16, 1905, this method was attempted for the first time with Maloney as pilot from Leonard’s Ranch at La Selva near Aptos. After a first failed launch attempt, on a second attempt Maloney was carried aloft in the glider under the balloon, released at an estimated 800 feet, and glided back under full control to a landing in a nearby apple orchard without damage. On March 17, 1905 a second flight, Maloney released at an estimated 3,000 feet above ground, and controlled the glider through a set of pre-defined turns at 45 degree bank angles back to the launch location with a successful landing. On March 20, 1905, Maloney was once again launched in the glider under the balloon, released at 3,000 feet above ground, and repeated the performance of March 17 with a flight of 18 minutes duration. These experiments of March 1905 were made in a private setting, with Montgomery increasing Maloney’s control authority over the aircraft on each subsequent flight. [2][3][4][5][6][7][8] With each flight Maloney was able to control the glider through wing warping and a controllable elevator, and landed lightly on his feet. On April 29, 1905, Maloney repeated these performances through a public exhibition at Santa Clara College as Montgomery’s aeronaut. By this time the glider had been re-christened as The Santa Clara in honor of the college. With a large crowd and members of the local press on hand, Maloney released at an estimated 4,000 feet above ground level, and glided in full control for roughly 20 minutes to a perfect landing a predetermined location. [9][10][11] This flight was the first public exhibition of a controlled heavier-than-air flying machine in the United States. Maloney and Montgomery made repeated demonstrations of the glider at various locations in the Bay area in the spring of 1905 with varying degrees of success owing to the complicated nature of hoisting the balloon aloft with a glider tethered beneath. [1]
On July 18, 1905 Maloney and Montgomery repeated their demonstration at Santa Clara College. However, during the ascension a rope from the balloon struck the glider and damaged the rear cabane. Upon release from the balloon at altitude, and after making a few circles under complete control, Maloney dove the aircraft to increase speed and pulled up. [12] The glider suffered structural failure and plummeted to the Earth. Daniel Maloney died as a result of the injuries suffered during this crash. It remains unknown if Maloney was aware of the damage to the glider prior to release or did not think that the damage was severe enough to cause a structural failure. [1]
A marker at Aptos, California marks the location of the March, 1905 glider trials. [13]
An obelisk dedicated by the citizens of Santa Clara, California on the campus of Santa Clara University marks the location of Maloney’s April, 1905 public flight. [14]
In San Jose, California, Daniel Maloney Drive is named in his honor and features John J. Montgomery Elementary School. [15]
John J. Montgomery
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Air crash
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Two West Virginia coal miners killed in separate accidents
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Updated: Jun. 4, 2021 at 4:42 AM EDT
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CHARLESTON, W.Va . (AP) - A West Virginia coal miner was killed Thursday, the second coal death in the state in two days, Gov. Jim Justice said.
Nicholas David Adkins, 43, of Racine, a section foreman, was fatally injured Thursday morning when he was hit by an underground shuttle car, Justice’s office said in a news release.
The accident was at Marfork Coal Co.’s Horse Creek Eagle Mine near Naoma in Raleigh County, the release said. Raleigh County is in southern West Virginia.
“This second tragedy in as many days is a terrible blow to all West Virginians and to our mining community,” Justice said. “Please pray for this man and his loved ones, and for all of our miners and their families, just as Cathy and I continue to do everyday.”
On Wednesday, Trenten J. Dille, 26, of Littleton, a section foreman, died while working in the underground section of a Marion County Coal Resources mine in northern West Virginia.
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Mine Collapses
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2016 Indian Air Force An-32 disappearance crash
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On 22 July 2016, an Antonov An-32 twin engine turboprop transport aircraft of the Indian Air Force disappeared while flying over the Bay of Bengal. The aircraft was en route from Tambaram Air Force Station in the city of Chennai on the western coastline of the Bay of Bengal to Port Blair in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. There were 29 people on board. Radar contact with the aircraft was lost at 9:12 am, 280 kilometres (170 mi) east of Chennai. [1][2] The search and rescue operation became India's largest search operation for a missing plane on the sea in history. [3] There were similar incidents in 1986 and 2019. There were 29 people on board the aircraft: six crew members; 11 Indian Air Force personnel; two Indian Army soldiers; one each from the Indian Navy and Indian Coast Guard; and eight defence civilians working with Naval Armament Depot (NAD). The civilians were from Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh. [6]
The Antonov An-32 took off from Tambaram Air Force Station, Chennai at 08:30 local time on 22 July 2016. It was expected to land in Port Blair around 11:45 local time. The Indian Navy and the Indian Coast Guard launched a large search and rescue operation, using a submarine, 12 surface vessels and five aircraft. [5]
On the third day after the disappearance, 16 ships, a submarine and six aircraft were deployed to search for the missing An-32 in the Bay of Bengal, about 150 nautical miles east of Chennai. On 1 August, it was confirmed that the aircraft had no underwater locator beacon (ULB). It did have two emergency locator transmitters (ELTs). [9]
On 15 September 2016, the search and rescue mission was called off; all 29 people on board were presumed dead and their families were notified.
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Air crash
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2012–13 Women's FIH Hockey World League Semifinals
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The 2012–13 Women's FIH Hockey World League Semifinals took place in June 2013. A total of 16 teams competing in 2 events were part in this round of the tournament playing for 7 berths in the Final, played from 30 November to 8 December 2013 in San Miguel de Tucumán, Argentina. This round also served as a qualifier for the 2014 Women's Hockey World Cup as the six highest placed teams apart from the host nation and the five continental champions qualified. 8 teams ranked between 1st and 8th in the FIH World Rankings current at the time of seeking entries for the competition qualified automatically, in addition to 8 teams qualified from Round 2. The following sixteen teams, shown with final pre-tournament rankings, competed in this round of the tournament. [1]
Below are the 10 umpires appointed by the International Hockey Federation:
Below are the 10 umpires appointed by the International Hockey Federation:
The following goalscorers list comprises players from both events. There were 207 goals scored in 48 matches, for an average of 4.31 goals per match. 7 goals
6 goals
5 goals
4 goals
3 goals
2 goals
1 goal
1 own goal
2 own goals
Source: Rotterdam London
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Sports Competition
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Shipwreck near Michigan City could become state's 2nd underwater preserve
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In 1911, a 211-foot freighter named the Muskegon sank where the fire-scorched hulk was abandoned in Lake Michigan. You can see the buoy that marks the watery grave just 0.28 miles from the Mount Baldy beach near Michigan City. Now there’s an effort to make it Indiana’s second underwater nature preserve along the state’s 45 miles of Great Lakes shoreline. If approved, this would protect the site for “exceptional” scuba diving, if divers are trained for low visibility in the relatively shallow 30 to 35 feet of water, according to Indiana University’s Center for Underwater Science. The preserve would set rules and boundaries for boats so that they don’t set anchor and rip into its visible remains, like major segments of the ship’s main frame and sidewalls, its steam engine, twin boilers and the propeller and its drive shaft. For landlubbers, the preserve would mean virtual tours and interpretive signs, along with the historic buoy, which is also 1.5 miles from Michigan City’s Washington Park Marina. The director of IU’s Center for Underwater Science, Charles Beeker, a diver himself, is helping the state to nominate the site as a preserve. He'll speak about the Muskegon at 1 p.m. CDT Saturday at the Michigan City Public Library, 100 E. Fourth St. More:St. Joseph County meetings on spending COVID money may have broken state's open-door law Beeker is asking members of the public to help nominate the site as a preserve through the Indiana Department of Natural Resources. You can do so by emailing a note to scuba@indiana.edu with your name and why you support the preserve. Beeker also had helped to establish the state’s J.D. Marshall Preserve for a 1911 shipwreck along the Indiana Dunes State Park’s coast in 2013. That 154-foot craft hauled freight and sand and capsized in a storm, killing four onboard, according to a 2018 paper that Beeker and colleagues had written. He said you can see its marker buoy from the park’s beach pavilion, where interpretive panels also sit. Its history is also found in the nature center and in Michigan City’s Old Lighthouse Museum. Recreational divers had discovered the Muskegon in the 1960s, and it’s now in the National Register of Historic Places. The 1,199 gross ton freighter had been built in 1872, originally dubbed Peerless. Beeker and colleagues wrote that, for a brief stint, it was suspected as a floating host for gambling. On Oct. 6, 1910, it caught fire while at the Indiana Transportation Company’s dock in Michigan City. Several months later, the ship’s sand-sucking gear and platform were transferred to the J.D. Marshall, which then sank the next day. The Muskegon was taken off shore to sink.
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Shipwreck
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2020 ROCAF UH-60M crash
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On 2 January 2020, a Black Hawk helicopter of the Republic of China Air Force (ROCAF) Air Rescue Group crashed in the Wulai District of New Taipei, Taiwan while executing a VIP transport mission. [2] General Shen Yi-ming, Republic of China's Chief of the General Staff (CGS), along with 7 other personnel on board, died in the crash. [3]
The Black Hawk was taking off for a routine mission to visit service personnel in Dong'aoling Radar Station, Su'ao, Yilan county. [4] The helicopter lost contact with Songshan Air Base at 8:07 AM, thirteen minutes after taking off and crashed into a mountainside. [3][1]
General Shen Yi-ming, Chief of the General Staff, was on board the helicopter along with seven other officers and a senior enlisted adviser from the General Staff Headquarters, Ministry of National Defense (MND-GSH), a military correspondent, and three crew members. Shen and seven others including two Major Generals were killed, while five others were injured. [3]
During a news conference on 2 January, General Hsiung Hou-chi, Commanding General of the Air Force, stated that the government has set up a task force to investigate the cause of the crash. [3] The flight recorders of the aircraft were recovered on 3 January and sent to the Taiwan Transportation Safety Board. [5][6] Proprietary hardware within the flight recorders were delivered to Sikorsky Aircraft. [7]
On 21 July 2020, the Control Yuan announced that Jen I-wei and Chou Shih-kai, both of whom were posted to the Air Force Weather Wing's No. 8 Base at the time of the crash, had been impeached. [8][9]
This crash occurred nine days before the Taiwanese general election. President Tsai Ing-wen's campaign office and Democratic Progressive Party announced that their presidential and legislative campaign activities would be stopped for three days,[10][11] and Han Kuo-yu's presidential campaign office said that Han would cancel campaign events for two days. [3]
General Mark A. Milley, Chairman of the United States Joint Chiefs of Staff, issued a statement to express condolences to members of the Taiwan military on the death of General Shen and the seven other deceased on behalf of the U.S. military. [12][13] American Institute in Taiwan (AIT), U.S. representative mission on the island, also issued a statement to extend condolences on the accident, and that it stands ready to assist their Taiwan counterparts in the aftermath. [14] On 3 January, the flag of the United States at AIT Taipei Main Office flew at half-staff. [15]
The Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association stated that "they were shocked and grief-stricken at the unfortunate deaths of the eight personnel, including Chief of Staff General Shen Yiming and would be mourned for their valor and service to their nation. At the same time also wishing the five remaining surviving personnel a speedy and healthy recovery. "[16]
Australian Office in Taipei, German Institute Taipei, British Office Taipei, Polish Office in Taipei, along with other foreign missions in Taiwan, as well as Haitian President Jovenel Moïse, Paraguayan Minister of Defense Bernardino Soto Estigarribia and San Christopher and Nevis Minister of Foreign Affairs Mark Brantley and other senior foreign government officials have also expressed their condolences on Facebook or Twitter. [16]
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Air crash
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KLM Flight 607-E crash
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KLM Flight 607-E, a Lockheed Super Constellation named Hugo de Groot and registered PH-LKM,[2] was an international scheduled flight that crashed 180 kilometres (110 mi) northwest of Shannon Airport, Ireland on 14 August 1958. All ninety-one passengers and eight crew died in the accident, including six members of the Egyptian fencing team (Osman Abdel Hafeez, Mohamed Ali Riad, Ahmed Sabry, et al.). [3] The "E" in the flight number stood for the designation of being an extra economy class flight to match the increased seasonal tourist demand. [4]
Flight 607-E departed Shannon at 03:05 UTC on the second leg of a transatlantic trip from Amsterdam to New York City with intermediate stops in Shannon and Gander, Newfoundland. Radio contact with the aircraft was lost at approximately 03:40 UTC; a rescue operation was launched which found light debris on the surface of the ocean approximately 180 kilometres (110 mi) west of Shannon. The remains of thirty-four of those on board were also recovered. [1]
Due to the lack of evidence, Irish and Dutch investigators could not pinpoint a probable cause for the accident. They examined the possibility of a bomb, electrical failure, or pilot error, but believed that the most likely possibility was a catastrophic mechanical failure. [5] The investigating Board believed the most likely cause of the accident to be a malfunctioning over-speeding outboard propeller caused by metal particles obstructing oil feed line regulator valves. [5] The particles may have been formed by a gear that was damaged when the supercharger of the corresponding engine was accelerated (gear ratio shifted). [5] The malfunctions of the propeller pitch might have provoked a flight disturbance and as a consequence the propeller may have sheared off. [5]
Coordinates: 53°12′30″N 11°53′00″W / 53.20833°N 11.88333°W / 53.20833; -11.88333
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Air crash
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2019 Scottish Open (snooker)
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The 2019 Scottish Open (known as the 19.com Scottish Open due to sponsorship) was a professional snooker tournament,which took place from 9 to 15 December 2019 at the Emirates Arena in Glasgow, Scotland. It was the eighth ranking event of the 2019–20 snooker season and the third tournament of the Home Nations Series. The event featured a prize fund of £405,000, with the winner receiving £70,000, and was sponsored by sports bookmakers 19.com. The tournament was broadcast across Europe on Eurosport. The defending champion was Mark Allen who completed a 9–7 defeat of Shaun Murphy in the 2018 final, but he lost 5–6 to Jack Lisowski in the semi-finals. The final was contested between Mark Selby and Lisowski. Selby became the first player to win two Home Nations events in a single season after a 9–6 victory over Lisowski in the final, and was Selby's 17th ranking title. Lisowski made the highest break of the event, a 143, in frame three of his quarter-final win over Thepchaiya Un-Nooh. The Scottish Open was first played in 1981 as the 1981 International Open, which was won by Steve Davis. [1] The event was added to the Home Nations Series in 2016. [2] The 2019 edition was the third of four Home Nations Series tournaments, and the eighth world ranking event of the 2019–20 snooker season. [3] The event took place from 9 to 15 December 2019 at the Emirates Arena in Glasgow, Scotland. [4] It followed the UK Championship, and preceded the European Masters. [3]
The defending champion was Mark Allen, who had won the 2018 event by defeating Shaun Murphy 9–7. [5] All matches were played as the best of 7 frames in the first four rounds, at which point the number increased: 9 in the quarter-finals; 11 in the semi-finals; and the best of 19 frames in the final. [6] Chinese sports prediction website 19.com sponsored the event,[7] which was broadcast in Europe by Eurosport; Quest in the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland; NowTV in Hong Kong; Superstars Online, Youku and Zhibo.tv in China; DAZN in Canada and Sky Sport in New Zealand. [8]
The winner of the event received £70,000 of a total prize fund of £405,000. A breakdown of the prize money for the event is shown below:[9]
The first four rounds were played between 9 and 12 December as the best-of-7 frame matches. [6] Defending champion Mark Allen defeated Andy Hicks 4–2 and then Louis Heathcote, Elliot Slessor and Chris Wakelin all 4–1. He would play 25th seed Scott Donaldson, who defeated Lei Peifan, Billy Joe Castle, eighth seed Kyren Wilson, and Zhang Jiankang all by four frames to two. [6] Twelfth seed Jack Lisowski overcame Zhang Anda, David Grace, Mike Dunn, and fifth seed John Higgins to reach the last eight stage. He met Thepchaiya Un-Nooh, who beat Liang Wenbo, Robert Milkins, Marco Fu, before whitewashing fourth seed Neil Robertson 4–0. [6] Third seed Ronnie O'Sullivan defeated Dominic Dale on a deciding frame, before completing whitewashes over James Cahill and Martin Gould, and reaching the quarter-finals with a 4–2 win over Joe Perry. [6] Sixth seed Mark Selby won in the first round over Mark Joyce and Alfie Burden before completing 4–0 whitewashes of his own over Liam Highfield and Jimmy Robertson. [6] The final quarter-final was to be played between David Gilbert – who completed victories over Eden Sharav, Chang Bingyu, Xiao Guodong and Shaun Murphy – and second seed Judd Trump, who completed 4–0 victories over Amine Amiri and Yuan Sijun before 4–1 defeating James Wattana and Graeme Dott. [6]
The quarter-finals of the event were played on 13 December as the best of nine frame matches. [6] Allen defeated Donaldson 5–1, making four breaks over 50. [10] O'Sullivan led Selby 4–3, with four century breaks being made between them in the opening five frames. [11] Selby made a break of 56 to force a deciding frame, which he won with a break of 63. [11][12] Gilbert lost the opening frame against Trump, but won the next three with breaks of 71 and 98. [12] Trump won frame five with a break of 101, but Gilbert won the next two frames to progress after a 5–2 victory. [12] The final quarter-final was played between Lisowski and Un-Nooh. Lisowski made breaks of 63, 76, 78, 71 and the tournament high break of 143 to win the match 5–3. [13] The match was described by Lisowski as "probably the best game I’ve ever been involved in as a professional". [13]
The semi-finals were held on 14 December as the best of 11 frames. Selby defeated Gilbert by six frames to one, with breaks of 76, 84, 132 and 69. [14] Allen and Lisowski in the second semi-final were tied at 2–2, before Allen won frame five with a break of 79. Lisowski won the next three frames, including a 74 in frame 8 which was described by Eurosport pundit Neal Foulds as "good a break as we have seen all year". Allen, however won the next two frames to force a deciding frame, which was won by Liswoski, with a 95 break. [15]
The final was contested between Selby and Lisowski on 15 December as the best of 17 frames, held over two sessions. [6] The pair had met on the world snooker tour on seven previous occasions, with Liwowski having won four of their encounters. [16] Lisowski made a pot on his first shot of the game, and won the first two frames with breaks of 73 and 58. [17] Selby tied the scores at 2–2 with breaks of 78 and 75. Lisowski took frame five, before Selby won frame six with a break of 127, and led at 5–3 after winning the next two frames. [16] On the resumption of the match, Lisowski won two of the next three frames before Selby took frame 12 after a prolonged safety battle. [16] The next frame was won by Selby, who led 8–5, one frame from victory, but lost frame 14 despite being 64 points ahead. Selby, however, won the match 9–6 in frame 15 after a break of 79. [17] After the victory, Selby commented that after losing to Matthew Stevens in the UK Championship, he had thought about retiring from the event. [18] This was Selby's second Home Nations victory of the season and his 17th career ranking title. [19]
Below is the full results for the events.
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Sports Competition
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British European Airways Flight 530 crash
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British European Airways Flight 530, also known as the Mistberget Accident (Norwegian: Mistberget-ulykken), was a controlled flight into terrain of a Douglas C-47 Skytrain into the Mistberget mountain in Eidsvoll, Norway, on 7 August 1946 at ca. 14:00. The British European Airways (BEA) aircraft was en route on a scheduled flight from London's Croydon Airport and crashed during approach to Oslo Airport, Gardermoen. Three of the five crew members were killed in the accident and all ten passengers survived, though two were seriously injured, the remainder were able to walk away from the crash. The investigation found no faults with the aircraft, but cited a navigation error caused by a combination of insufficient training and shortcomings in the aircraft's low frequency radio range equipment. The accident aircraft was a Douglas C-47A-5-DK Skytrain, c/n 12348 and registered G-AHCS, equipped with two Pratt & Whitney R-1830-92 engines, first flown in 1944, operated by British European Airways. [1] The flight was a scheduled service from BEA's base at Croydon Airport near London to Oslo Airport, Gardermoen. [2] Gardermoen acted as Oslo's secondary airport to the more central Oslo Airport, Fornebu. However, BEA opted to use Gardermoen because it needed longer runways to operate the Vickers VC.1 Viking. [3] The aircraft had a crew of five and carried ten passengers. Two of the passengers were Norwegian, the rest were British. [4]
At 13:44 the radio operator asked air traffic control for permission to land using the low frequency radio range navigation system. Gardermoen confirmed, and noted that the Skytrain was the only aircraft in the area. There was no further radio communication between the aircraft and air traffic control. The aircraft passed the radio range station, located 8 km (5.0 mi) North of the airport and a few minutes later flew into trees on the eastern face of Mistberget at an altitude of 620 m (2,030 ft). [5] The aircraft plowed a 100 m (330 ft) long section of forest before it came to a halt. [2] At the time the aircraft was heading southwards, parallel with the face. The commission concluded that the aircraft was under pilot control at the time of impact. [5]
The impact of the accident caused the engines to be knocked off and they slid 20 m (66 ft) past the airframe. Debris lay scattered in the area, with a propeller blade found 50 m (160 ft) away from the craft. Three of the crew members, the captain, first officer and radio operator, were killed in the collision. [4]
Two of the passengers who were unhurt, one British and one Norwegian, walked from the wreck to the farm at Askheim, where they were able to notify about the accident by telephone. A crew of rescue workers were immediately dispatched from Gardermoen. They remained at the site for about four hours; the time was needed to get the steward free from the wreck. He and a passenger were severely injured and were freighted by car to Stensby Hospital. [4] The rest of the passengers were able to walk by themselves and were treated for shock and cuts. [2]
Norway's Ministry of Transport and Communications appointed an investigation commission on the day of the accident. It was led by Major Halle and otherwise consisted of Assistant Chief of Police Skalmerud, Engineer Truls Dahl, Pilot Odd Olsen, Captain Thorleif Eriksen and a representative for British aviation authorities. [6] Their report was published in January 1947. They concluded with that the pilot was in full control of the aircraft and there were no faults with the aircraft, a controlled flight into terrain. The asserted the cause of the accident to improper airmanship, caused by insufficient training in radio range navigation combined with shortcomings in the equipment. [5]
At the time of the accident there was a cloud cover of ten-tenths and a cloud base of 3,000 m (9,800 ft), giving a visibility of less than 15 km (9.3 mi). The wind was recorded at 3 kn (1.5 m/s; 3.5 mph). [5] The aircraft's turn, road of engines and impact was heard by a witness. [5] The passengers reported that they did not notice anything unusual until they saw spruce trees rushing past the window. [4]
The radio range system had recently been calibrated twice and the commission found nothing wrong with the navigational aids. On the other hand, the aircraft's equipment had been turned to compass instead of antenna. This would have made the beam north of the cone of silence twenty degrees wide instead of four. Although not decisive, it was cited as giving the pilot a disadvantage in navigation. The aircraft's radio range equipment also lacked a marker beacon receiver, due to lack of sufficient parts. This forced the pilots to manually calculate the distance to the beacon. The crew carried out the procedural turn in the right area, but should, according to their route instruction book, have been at no lower an altitude than 1,000 m (3,300 ft), thus the aircraft was too low, caused by the let-down being started too early. [5]
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Air crash
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1951 Kurşunlu earthquake
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The 1951 Kurşunlu earthquake occurred at 18:33 GMT (20:33 local time) on 13 August near Kurşunlu, Çankırı Province, Central Anatolia Region, Turkey. [1] The earthquake was one of a series of major and intermediate quakes that have occurred in modern times along the North Anatolian Fault since 1939. It had a magnitude of 6.9 on the surface wave magnitude scale and a maximum felt intensity of IX (Violent) on the Mercalli intensity scale. There were 50 casualties and 3,354 injuries. This article about an earthquake in Europe is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. This Turkish history-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.
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Earthquakes
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Pakistan International Airlines Flight 661 crash
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On 7 December 2016, Pakistan International Airlines Flight 661, a domestic passenger flight from Chitral to Islamabad, Pakistan, operated by an ATR 42-500 twin-turboprop, crashed near Havelian. [1][2][3] All 47 people on board died, including singer-turned-preacher and entrepreneur Junaid Jamshed,[4] and the Deputy Commissioner of the District of Chitral. [5]
The aircraft involved in the accident was an ATR 42-500, serial number 663, registration AP-BHO, delivered to Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) in 2007. [6] In 2009, the aircraft was damaged during a landing attempt at Lahore, but was subsequently repaired and returned to service. [7] It sustained an engine failure in 2014, but the engine was replaced and no further problems were reported. [8] By the time of the crash, it had recorded more than 18,700 flight hours since joining PIA's fleet and had last undergone certification in October 2016. [9]
The aircraft left Chitral Airport at 15:30 PST and was expected to land at Benazir Bhutto International Airport, Islamabad at around 16:40. Before the crash, the crew issued a mayday call. [10] The aircraft crashed at about 16:15, leaving wreckage ablaze on the side of a hill between the villages of Saddha Batolni and Gug, near the Pakistan Ordnance Factory in Havelian in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province about 90 kilometres (56 mi) from the airport. The wreckage was reported to be strewn over an area about 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) across. [11] According to an eyewitness, Mohammad Haroon, the aircraft flew at a very low altitude and made a high-pitched noise, flying in an erratic, up-and-down mode before crashing into the hillside. "There was a huge bang after the plane hit the mountainside and caught fire". [12]
Announcements were broadcast by local mosques to mobilise villagers, who rushed to the site to look for survivors but were unable to get close due to the heat of the fire. [12] Pakistan Army personnel and helicopters were also sent to the area for search and rescue operations. The remains were taken by air to forensic laboratories in Islamabad and Rawalpindi for DNA testing to aid identification. [11]
This was the seventh aircraft accident resulting in hull loss sustained by PIA since 2000. Of the previous six, one resulted in fatalities; that of PIA Flight 688 in 2006, in which 45 people died. [13]
The flight manifest showed that there were five flight crew: 43-year-old Captain Saleh Janjua, 40-year-old first officer Aly Akram and 26-year-old trainee pilot Ahmed Mansoor Janjua (no relation to the captain); and two flight attendants Sadaf Farooq and Asma Adil. and forty-two passengers (forty adults and two infants) on board the aircraft. [3] Forty-four were Pakistani citizens; and the others were one Austrian, one Chinese and one South Korean. [14][15] The dead included Pakistani singer-turned-preacher Junaid Jamshed who was traveling with his wife. [16] a member of Chitral's traditional royal family, his wife and family. Two sky marshals and one Aircraft Maintenance Engineer were also among the passengers. [17] The captain was reported to be an experienced pilot with over 12,000 flight hours during his career. [9] He was also a type-rated instructor for ATR aircraft. [18]
Investigators retrieved the aircraft's flight recorder soon after the crash. [9] An initial report into the accident by the Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority (PCAA) was said to have determined that the aircraft's left engine malfunctioned at an altitude of 13,375 feet (4,077 m). The pilot reported the engine failure at 16:12, which was followed by a rapid uncontrolled descent and the disappearance of the aircraft from ground radar a few minutes later. However, the radio communication continued with radar even after disappearance from the screen of the radar. [8]
Following an incident involving an ATR 72 at Multan Airport on 11 December, the PCAA ordered all ATR aircraft belonging to PIA to be grounded for inspection. Five ATR 42 and five ATR 72 aircraft were affected by the order. [19]
Early reports speculated that the failed engine exploded and compromised the airframe,[8] leading to the crash, but they have not been substantiated. Analysis of the flight recorder data was continuing as of January 2017, with the reasons that the aircraft was not able to safely land on the functioning engine still unknown. [20]
A one-page preliminary report of the Safety Investigation Board found a 'lapse' on the part of the PIA and a 'lack of oversight' by the PCAA. [21]
The PCAA released the final report on 18 November 2020. The cause of the accident was a fracture of a turbine blade in the number one (left side) turboprop engine as a result of improper maintenance. This led to the initial engine failure. A fractured pin in the overspeed governor allowed the propeller to reach rotational speeds in excess of 120%. The highly variable propeller speeds resulted in rapidly changing aerodynamic characteristics. The propeller eventually settled into a very high-drag configuration. The plane's behavior was different from the 'typical' loss of a single engine and level flight became impossible. The report notes, "It was exceptionally difficult for the pilots to understand the situation and hence possibly control the aircraft." The PCAA also noted that crew resource management was ineffective, but did not contribute to the accident. [22]
Following the crash, PIA received criticism of its practices and accusations that it did not investigate aircraft defects thoroughly enough. The mother of the ATR 42's first officer reported that he frequently mentioned to her that PIA's aircraft "are not fit to fly, and they should not be allowed to operate on dangerous routes". [23]
Two days after the crash, another PIA pilot reportedly refused to fly an aircraft with a faulty engine. This was after several reports that PIA had a history of neglecting problems and of operating poorly overall as an airline. PIA responded that "it defies common sense that pilots and engineers would fly an aircraft that does not meet safety standards and risk their own lives. "[24]
The chairman of PIA, Azam Saigol, resigned six days after the crash citing personal reasons, though there were reports of him being pressured to resign. [25]
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1911 Kebin earthquake
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The 1911 Kebin earthquake, or Chon-Kemin earthquake, struck Russian Turkestan on 3 January. Registering at a 7.7 magnitude, it killed 452 people, destroyed more than 770 buildings (which was almost all of the city) in Almaty, Kazakhstan, and resulted in 125 miles (201 km) of surface faulting in the valleys of Chon-Kemin, Chilik and Chon-Aksu. [2]
Most of the region's inhabitants lived in yurts, which are relatively resistant to earthquakes and unlikely to cause deaths even if they do collapse. The greatest damage and most of the casualties resulted from landslides triggered by the earthquake, with 452 people killed and another 740 people injured. [3] Nearly 1,100 houses and 4,545 yurts were destroyed by the earthquake and the resulting landslides. [3]
The Tien Shan mountains form part of the broad zone of deformation associated with the continuing collision between the Indian Plate and the Eurasian Plate. In the region around Issyk Kul, the tectonic regime is a combination of thrusting and sinistral strike-slip. The lake is formed in a ramp basin bounded to both north and south by opposite verging thrust faults, while the major Chon-Kemin–Chilik strike-slip fault runs along the linear valleys to the north. [4]
In the Chong-Kemin and Chilik valleys, and on the shoreline of Issyk Kul, a complex zone of surface rupture was identified by fieldwork immediately following the earthquake. Two main zones of rupture were noted, one complex zone along the Chon-Kemin and Chilik valleys, the other along the Chon-Aksu valley. [5]
This complex zone of ruptures has four main segments: the 20 km long Dzhil'-Aryk, the 62 km long Lower Chon-Kemin, south side, the 40 km long Lower Chon-Kemin, north side and the 66 km long Upper Chon-Kemin-Chilik zone. The Dzhil'-Aryk segment shows evidence of reverse faulting on a south-dipping fault plane, with no clear evidence of lateral movement. The sense of displacement along the rest of the near-vertical Chon-Kemin and Chilik rupture zone was dominantly of sinistral (left lateral) strike-slip with minor amounts of reverse faulting, with between one and three metres of vertical displacement. Left-lateral displacements of up to 40 m recognised from the offset of river channels, represent cumulative displacements and no separate estimates have been obtained for the 1911 event. [4]
This zone has two parts: the 40 km long Chon-Aksu segment and the 34 km long Aksu segment. Along the Chon-Aksu valley the movement was dominantly reverse in type along a 60° north-dipping reverse fault, with up to 10.5 m vertical displacement and at most 1 m horizontal displacement, from the lack of observed offset of river thalwegs. The outcrop pattern of the Aksu segment rupture indicates a low-angle thrust, possibly steepening with depth, with a maximum vertical offset or 3–5 m, decreasing steadily to the east. [4] In total about 200 km of fault surfaces ruptured, although there was no visible faulting joining the two main rupture zones. [5]
Many landslides and rock avalanches were triggered by the earthquake and are associated with the mapped zones of surface rupture. [4] The two largest landslides were the Kaindy rock avalanche and the Ananevo rockslide. The Kaindy landslide, with a volume of 15 x 106 m3, was formed of a mass of limestone that buried a group of yurts and killed 38 people. The Ananevo rockslide also had a volume of about 15 x 106 m3, and was formed of weathered granitic material, with a 250 m high backscarp that is still visible. [6]
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Earthquakes
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1925 Santa Barbara earthquake
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The 1925 Santa Barbara earthquake hit the area of Santa Barbara, California on June 29, with a moment magnitude between 6.5and 6.8[3] and a maximum Mercalli Intensity of IX (Violent). It resulted in 13 casualties and destroyed the historic center of the city, with damage estimated at $8 million (about $111 million in 2017). Although no foreshocks were reported felt before the mainshock, a pressure gauge recording card at the local waterworks showed disturbances beginning at 3:27 a.m., which were likely caused by foreshocks. [5] At 6:44 a.m. the mainshock occurred which lasted 19 seconds. [6] The epicenter of the earthquake was located in the sea off the coast of Santa Barbara, in the Santa Barbara Channel. [4] The fault on which it occurred appears to have been an extension of the Mesa fault or the Santa Ynez system. [7] The earthquake was felt from Paso Robles (San Luis Obispo County) to the north to Santa Ana (Orange County) to the south and to Mojave (Kern County) to the east. Major damage occurred in the city of Santa Barbara and along the coast, as well as north of Santa Ynez Mountains, including Santa Ynez and Santa Maria valleys. [4]
Though thirteen people died, it may have been far worse without the actions of three heroes, who shut off the town gas and electricity preventing a catastrophic fire. [6] Most homes survived the earthquake in relatively good condition, although nearly every chimney in the city crumbled. The downtown of Santa Barbara was destroyed. Only a few buildings along State Street, the main commercial street, remained standing after the earthquake. The City Cab building and The Californian and Arlington garages, all large and fully occupied parking structures, collapsed full with cars. Many other vehicles were crushed in the downtown area. At least one death resulted when a driver near the San Marcos building was crushed as walls of buildings fell onto cars parked there. [8]
In the business district, an area of about 36 blocks, only a few structures were not substantially damaged, and many had to be completely demolished and rebuilt. [5] The facade of the church of the Mission Santa Barbara was severely damaged and lost its statues. Many important buildings, including hotels, offices, and the Potter Theater, were lost. The courthouse, jail, library, schools, and churches were among the buildings sustaining serious damage. Concrete curbs buckled in almost every block in Santa Barbara. Pavement on the boulevard along the beach was displaced by about 20–36 centimeters (0.66–1.18 ft), but the pavement in the downtown generally was not damaged. [4]
The earthen Sheffield Dam had been built near the city in 1917. It was 720 feet (220 m) long and 25 feet (7.6 m) high and held 30 million US gallons (114 million liters) of water. The soil under the dam liquefied during the earthquake and the dam collapsed. This was the only dam to fail during an earthquake in the US until the Lower Van Norman Dam failed in 1971. [9] When it burst, a wall of water swept between Voluntario and Alisos Streets destroying trees, cars, three houses and flooding the lower part of town to a depth of 2 feet (0.61 m). [10]
The Southern Pacific Company Railroad tracks were damaged in several places between Ventura and Gaviota. In particular, a portion between Naples and Santa Barbara was badly damaged and displaced. [4] Seaside bluffs fell into the ocean, and a slight tsunami was noted by offshore ships. The town was completely cut off from telephone and telegraph, and news from the outside world arrived by shortwave radio. The absence of post-earthquake fire permitted scientists to study earthquake damage to various types of construction. [6]
The American Legion and the Naval Reserves from the Naval Reserve Center Santa Barbara helped provide order amidst the chaos and manned posts and provided patrols throughout the town to inhibit looting of the damaged businesses and homes. Additional fire and police personnel arrived from as far as Los Angeles to assist the sailors and soldiers in maintaining order. [8]
Three strong aftershocks occurred in the next few hours, though none causing any additional damage, with events occurring at 8:08, 10:45, and 10:57 am, and many smaller shocks continued throughout the day. An aftershock on July 3 caused additional cracked walls and damaged chimneys. [4][8]
Since the downtown of Santa Barbara suffered irreparable damage, there was a large-scale construction effort in 1925 and 1926 aimed at removing or repairing damaged structures and constructing new buildings. This development completely altered the character of the city center. Before the earthquake, a considerable part of the center was built in the Moorish Revival style. After the earthquake, the decision was made to rebuild it in the Spanish Colonial Revival style. This effort was undertaken by the Santa Barbara Community Arts Association, which was founded in the beginning of the 1920s and viewed the earthquake as the opportunity to rebuild the city center in the unified architectural style. [11]
Many architects were invited to design the building facades, among them James Osborne Craig, George Washington Smith, Carleton Winslow, Bertram Goodhue, and Winsor Soule. Lionel Pries spent a year in Santa Barbara. As a result, many buildings later listed on National Register of Historic Places were designed in the late 1920s, among them the Santa Barbara County Courthouse and the front of the Andalucia Building. [11]
Building codes in Santa Barbara were made more stringent after the earthquake demonstrated that traditional construction techniques of unreinforced concrete, brick, and masonry were unsafe and unlikely to survive strong temblors. [12]
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Earthquakes
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Norilsk Nickel pays $2.5 billion to Russia over massive Arctic oil spill
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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
Norilsk Nickel has confirmed it has paid Russia $US2 billion ($2.5 billion) for damage caused by a fuel spill last year which caused the country's worst Arctic environmental disaster.
The leak of 21,000 tonnes of diesel into rivers and subsoil from a rusty-looking storage tank at the mining firm's Norilsk power plant in Siberia angered Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Norilsk is a remote city of 180,000 situated 300km inside the Arctic Circle.
It is 2,900 kilometres north-east of Moscow.
The fuel and lubricants spilled into the Ambarnaya River, which feeds a lake from which springs another river that leads to the environmentally-delicate Arctic Ocean.
The penalty, by far the biggest fine for environmental damage in Russia, sent a message to companies to modernise their production, Russian officials said.
Nornickel, which was told to pay $US2 billion in damages by a Russian court in February, decided not to appeal the ruling.
The world's biggest producer of palladium and a leading player in nickel set aside money to cover the potential fine months before the court ruling.
Its 2020 net profit fell by 39 per cent as a result of the provision.
The environmental impact from the spill could last for "decades", Russia's Greenpeace climate project manager Vasily Yablokov said.
Alexei Knizhnikov of the World Wildlife Fund's Russia operation said the damage to fish and other resources could exceed 1 billion rubles ($20.8 million).
The fuel spill was followed by a series of smaller incidents in the Arctic over the following 10 months, raising criticism of Nornickel's environmental and safety measures.
The company is currently trying to halt water flowing into its two main mines in the same area, and is fixing its processing plant after part of it collapsed during renovation work in February, killing three workers.
Its work in Siberia has made Norilsk one of the most heavily-polluted places on Earth.
Reuters
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Organization Fine
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2016 Air Kasthamandap PAC 750XL crash
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On 26 February 2016, an Air Kasthamandap PAC 750XL passenger aircraft with eleven people on board crashed at Chilkhaya in Kalikot district, Nepal, killing the two crew members and injuring all nine passengers on board. [1] The accident occurred just two days after Tara Air Flight 193. The aircraft involved in the crash was a PAC 750XL operated by Air Kasthamandap. It was delivered to the airline brand new in 2009. [2]
The aircraft was forced to make an emergency landing. The pilot gave a warning to the passengers before landing in a field. [3] The forward fuselage was reported to have been crushed. [citation needed]
The victims were identified as co-pilot Santosh Rana and pilot Dinesh Neupane. Rana was the son of Nepal's Minister of Land Reform and Management, CPN-UML central leader, and lawmaker Dal Bahadur Rana. [4] There were nine passengers on board including an infant, all of which sustained injuries. [5]
Initial reports indicate that the crew were trying to make an emergency landing due to a technical problem. [6]
Prime Minister Khadga Prasad Sharma Oli expressed condolences to the families of crew members killed in the incident. [4]
Shortly after the accident, the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal stated that it had only allowed single engine aircraft to operate on chartered, not regular flights. [7] Following the accident, the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal forbid airlines to operate passenger flights on single engine aircraft. [8]
One day after the accident, the Government of Nepal formed a committee to investigate the accident. [7] The report, released in September 2016 found that an engine failure caused the emergency landing on a field. The landing gear was caught in a pile of firewood, leading the aircraft to impact on the ground. The cockpit was thereafter destroyed. [9] The engine was built in 1991 and installed on the aircraft in 2015. The report found that financial difficulties caused the airline to neglect the aircraft's maintenance. [9]
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Air crash
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Farmer desperately tries to save native fish from deadly blackwater event in southern Murray-Darling system
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With widespread flooding occurring along the Murray, Murrumbidgee, Edward and Wakool Rivers, it may be hard to believe there is not enough healthy water in the southern Murray-Darling Basin system for native fish. But as the water has spread along flood plains and forests, carbon matter has been swept up and is breaking down, causing a blackwater event. Oxygen levels are dropping, leading to hypoxic events and fish kills.
But along the Wakool River, farmers and anglers are desperately working to save as many fish as they can by pumping oxygen into the dark, flooded river. Farmer Tim Betts, who lives near Moulamein in southern New South Wales, said it may be a hopeless cause, but he felt he must try to protect native fish from suffocating in the blackwater. "It looks like one great big bottle of Cola going past. In reality it is black and horrible," he said
"I've designed a series of pretty rough aerators to try and put some oxygen back into the water, just to make a micro environment or a small area where the fish can take refuge.
"I don't know if it's going to work or not, but I just figure that if one female fish lays hundreds of thousands of eggs and I can save one, I've saved basically maybe 5,000 or 10,000 future fish.
"So if I save one fish I'll be happy. Maybe I'm clutching at straws, but I've got to do something. My conscience doesn't allow me to just sit here and do nothing."
It is not the first time Mr Betts has seen a hypoxic event in his stretch of the Wakool River.
He said the current flood in his area was not doing as much damage as previous events, but he had concerns that would change as more floodwater filled with decomposing leaf matter and tannins returned to the main river. "The first time that I was faced with a blackwater event, we had probably total sterilisation of the river where we lost all the fish in the river," he said. "It sounds like I'm exaggerating, but you could literally walk across the surface of the water on dead fish.
"So there were tens and tens of thousands of dead fish.
"This time it's not as bad as that, but I think this is only the start of it, because when the river gets back in its banks and the water starts running in off the country that's been flooded, then the oxygen levels will decrease even more. "Then god knows what we might see."
This article contains external content that failed to load. It may have been removed or is no longer available.
Mr Betts said he was worried about the future of the fish population and what was behind the widespread fish kills. He said blackwater was an important part of the river's functions, but the extent of the deoxygenation was a concern. This article contains external content that failed to load. It may have been removed or is no longer available.
"It'd terribly challenging because we see this once every 20 years or once every 50 years, so we don't really know how to deal with it," he said. "We've got to work in with the environment. We can't work against it. "All I know is that we must be doing something wrong because we haven't had dead fish in the past every time we have a high water event.
"I've spoken to older guys that were professional fishermen in their day, and they've fished through these events in the past.
"They've never seen dead fish and blackwater like this. We have to go back to the start, find out what we are doing wrong and fix it."
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Environment Pollution
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Hospitals in Alaska struggle to handle a worsening outbreak.
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Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The seven-day average is the average of a day and the previous six days of data. Currently hospitalized is the most recent number of patients with Covid-19 reported by hospitals in the state for the four days prior. Dips and spikes could be due to inconsistent reporting by hospitals. Hospitalization numbers early in the pandemic are undercounts due to incomplete reporting by hospitals to the federal government. On Wednesday, the state said it had activated “crisis standards of care,” giving hospitals legal protections for triage decisions that force them to give some patients substandard care. The state also announced an $87 million contract to bring in hundreds of temporary health care workers. Gov. Mike Dunleavy, a Republican, said that while hospitals were strained, he did not see a need to implement restrictions aimed at curbing transmission. Still, he encouraged people who had not yet received a vaccination to seriously consider it. “We have the tools available to us for individuals to be able to take care of themselves,” Mr. Dunleavy said. While the state led the nation in vaccinations early in the year, it has been lagging in recent months, with half of its population fully vaccinated, compared with 55 percent nationally, according to federal data . Jared Kosin, the head of the Alaska State Hospital and Nursing Home Association, called the surge “crippling” in an interview on Tuesday. He added that hospitals were full, and health care workers were emotionally depleted. Patients recently were kept waiting for care in their cars outside overwhelmed emergency rooms. There is growing anxiety in outlying communities that depend on transferring seriously ill patients to hospitals in Anchorage, Mr. Kosin said. Transfers are getting harder to arrange and are often delayed, he said. “We are all wondering where this goes, and whether that transfer will be available, even tomorrow,” Mr. Kosin said. Critically ill people in rural areas, where many Alaska Natives reside, often have to be taken by plane to a hospital that can provide the treatment they need, said Dr. Philippe Amstislavski, an associate professor of public health at the University of Alaska Anchorage. “Unlike in the lower 48, you don’t have that ability to move people quickly, because of the distances and remoteness,” said Dr. Amstislavski, who was formerly the public health manager for the Interior Region of Alaska, focusing on rural and predominantly Alaska Native communities. The Coronavirus Pandemic: Key Things to Know Card 1 of 4 U.S. surpasses 800,000 deaths. Covid deaths in the United States surpassed 800,000 — the highest known number of any country. About 75 percent of the 800,000 deaths have involved people 65 or older . One in 100 older Americans has died from the virus. The Omicron variant. The new Covid variant has been detected in dozens of countries . While Omicron is perhaps less severe than other forms of the virus, it also seems to dull the power of the Pfizer vaccine , though the company said its boosters are effective . Dr. Anthony Fauci said Moderna and Pfizer boosters are likely to offer substantial protection. Warnings of a new wave. The C.D.C said that Omicron’s rapid spread in the U.S. may portend a significant surge in infections as soon as January. In Europe, Britain is speeding up its booster program to counter a “tidal wave of Omicron,” while Denmark and Norway predicted the new variant will be dominant in a matter of days. Pfizer’s Covid pill. A study of Pfizer’s oral Covid treatment confirmed that it helps stave off severe disease, even from the Omicron variant, the company announced. Pfizer said the treatment reduced the risk of hospitalization and death by 89 percent if given within three days of the onset of symptoms. Mr. Kosin said that if hospitalizations rise much further, hospitals and clinics around the state could be forced to apply crisis standards of care and more extreme triage decisions. “That is the worst-case scenario we could be heading to,” he said. Alaska Natives, who have historically suffered from health disparities in the state, are disproportionately struggling during the latest virus wave, Dr. Amstislavski said. Dr. Anne Zink, Alaska’s chief medical officer, said several factors may be contributing to the surge, including summer tourists bringing in and spreading the virus. “We’re hoping that as the snow falls and we have less people visiting, those numbers will settle down,” Dr. Zink said in an interview Tuesday night. On the other hand, she noted that cooling weather drives residents indoors, where the virus spreads more readily. The state’s Canadian neighbors to the east, Yukon and British Columbia, have not suffered such severe outbreaks, Dr. Amstislavski said, possibly because of that country’s stricter travel restrictions and less strained health care system.
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Disease Outbreaks
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Wheatland hop riot
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The Wheatland hop riot was a violent confrontation during a strike of agricultural workers demanding decent working conditions at the Durst Ranch in Wheatland, California, on August 3, 1913. The riot, which resulted in four deaths and numerous injuries, was subsequently blamed by local authorities, who were controlled by management, upon the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW). The Wheatland hop riot was among the first major farm labor confrontations in California and a harbinger of further such battles in the United States throughout the 20th century. Ralph H. Durst (March 28, 1865 – May 4, 1938) was a leading grower of hops in the Central Valley of California. The Durst Ranch, located on 640 acres (260 ha) outside the town of Wheatland in Yuba County, California, was the largest single employer of agricultural labor in the state, requiring each summer the hiring of hundreds of seasonal workers to help bring in the harvest. [1] The farm also dried and packaged the picked hops on site, before transporting them by train to San Francisco for export to England. [1]
In the summer of 1913 Durst advertised for temporary harvest workers as he had always done, promising ample work at high rates of pay. [2] In one flier soliciting laborers, the Durst Ranch promised a job to every white hops picker who arrived on his farm by August 5. [3]
In this year, however, the number of willing workers far outstripped demand, with some 2800 men, women, and children flocking to the Durst Ranch to work as pickers in the fields. [2] Jobs actually existed for only about 1500 workers daily, and pay rates were consequently slashed. [4]
In addition to the lack of employment for many of those arriving at the Durst Ranch, living conditions for the temporary field hands were particularly abysmal. [2] Workers lived in tents in the hot summer sun on a barren hillside, paying Durst 75 cents per week for the privilege as a rental fee. [3] More workers were on hand than could be accommodated in these tents, however, forcing some to make do in the elements under crude structures constructed from poles and burlap sacks. [3]
Toilet facilities were grossly insufficient for such a large workforce. They were often extremely filthy, overflowing with human waste and covered with flies. [2] Drinking water was a mile from the fields and Durst refused to supply any to the pickers under his employ, instead allowing his cousin to operate a commercial lemonade wagon. [5] Furthermore, the lemonade was an inferior synthetic brew, sold for five cents a glass. [6]
Wages were to be paid based on the weight of hops picked, with pickers promised a pay rate of $1 per 100 pounds harvested. [7] This rate was deceptive in that the picked hops were heavily cleaned before final weighing, with no pickers allowed to be present to verify the work of the cleaning crew. [7] Workers generally received less than $1.50 per day for twelve hours of toil under a summer sun that could reach 110 °F (43 °C). [8] Workers on other farms in the area typically netted twice as much. [9]
Further stoking worker unrest, Durst maintained a policy of retaining 10% of the daily wage owed each worker until the end of harvest, to be received only by those who remained at the Durst Ranch to the end. [2] Workers would in this way be obligated to stay at the farm to the end of harvest or face forfeiture of a substantial portion of their earnings. [7]
Harvest of hops began on the Durst Ranch on July 29, 1913. [9] Discontent over pay and conditions immediately erupted among the migrant workers as the actual terms of their employment and living conditions became clear. On Friday, August 1, 1913, a group of about thirty field workers loosely affiliated with the radical Industrial Workers of the World (members of which were known as "Wobblies") established themselves as a temporary local of that organization and began to agitate among their peers to take action about the dire conditions which they faced. [9] A former Wobbly, Richard "Blackie" Ford, was chosen to be the spokesman for the field workers' demands, which included a pay rate of $1.25 per 100 picked pounds, a new system in which workers cleaned their own picked hops, drinking water to be provided in the fields, improvement of toilet facilities and separate bathrooms for women, and the hiring of assistants to help women and children with the loading of heavy hop sacks into wagons. [9]
Durst partially complied, indicating that he would henceforth improve toilet facilities, provide water in the fields, and allow one worker to witness the cleaning process. [9] Ford responded by threatening a strike if the other demands were not met. Durst immediately terminated Ford and the others on the strike committee who accompanied him. [9] However, Ford and the strike committee refused to collect their pay and exit the ranch, prompting Durst to call Deputy Sheriff Henry Daken and ask him to arrest the strike leader. [9] No arrests were made owing to the lack of an arrest warrant. [9]
The tense situation began to boil over. A mass meeting was called, which was addressed by Ford and Herman Suhr, an IWW member who was acting as secretary of the temporary Durst Farm local. [9] Other speakers addressed the crowd in the German, Greek, Italian, Arabic, and Spanish languages. [10] A show of hands indicated that a large majority of pickers at the meeting were in favor of a strike. [10] The crowd remained peaceful and sang Wobbly songs through the afternoon. [10]
Additional small meetings were held among the pickers on Saturday, August 2. [11]
With a major strike of hop pickers in the offing, Ralph Durst headed to town to round up local authorities to put down the revolt. He gathered Yuba County District Attorney Edward Manwell (who was also his own lawyer), Marysville Sheriff George Voss, and a number of deputies. [10] The sheriff and his men approached the speakers' platform to arrest Ford, who was addressing the assembly. [10] Workers began to intervene on his behalf. [10] Greatly outnumbered, one of the law enforcement officials fired a shotgun into the air in an effort to disperse the crowd. [10] The shot provoked the opposite effect intended and many members of the crowd jumped on District Attorney Manwell and Deputy Sheriff Lee Anderson and began beating them. [10]
Gunfire erupted and a full-fledged riot ensued. [10] In the aftermath the 45-year-old Manwell, Deputy Sheriff Eugene Reardon, a Puerto Rican hop picker, and an English hop picker lay dead. [10] One picker lost an arm to a shotgun blast. [10]
Eyewitness accounts of the incident were contradictory. [12] In the best estimation of historian Greg Hall:
The crowd...was unarmed. By most accounts, the deaths of Manwell and Reardon resulted from Reardon and perhaps another member of the posse having their guns taken away and used against them.
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Riot
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Israeli Paralympic swimmer Mark Malyar wins gold, breaks world record
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21-year-old is second gold medalist in Tokyo pool in 2 days, after no Israeli swimmer had achieved such a feat since 2004
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Israeli Paralympic swimmer Mark Malyar receives the gold medal in the men's 200-meter individual medley in the Tokyo Games, August 27, 2021. (Lilach Weiss/Israel Paralympic Committee)
Israeli Paralympic swimmer Mark Malyar won a gold medal on Friday in the Tokyo Games, breaking a world record in the process and becoming the Jewish state’s second medalist in the first three days of competitions.
Malyar, 21, won the men’s 200-meter individual medley final in the SM7 category after finishing with a time of 2:29.01. Silver was taken by Andrii Trusov of Ukraine, while bronze was snagged by Colombia’s Carlos Serrano Zárate.
It was the second gold medal for Israel in Paralympic swimming in three days, after that had not happened since 2004.
On Wednesday, it was Iyad Shalabi who won the 100-meter backstroke in the S1 category, becoming the first Arab Israel to medal in either the Paralympics or the Olympics.
Friday was Malyar’s first Paralympic medal. He is competing in Tokyo and so is his twin brother Ariel. The brothers were born with cerebral palsy and started swimming at age 5 for physical therapy.
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Break historical records
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China Says It Conducted A Successful Suborbital Test Of A Reusable Spaceplane
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The Chinese spaceplane test appears to be linked to ostensibly commercial endeavors, but could have military applications. The state-run China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, or CASC, released a statement earlier today stating that it had successfully carried out the first suborbital test of a reusable space vehicle that can land in a similar fashion to a traditional plane. Details about the test and the spaceplane itself are limited, but CASC has been publicly working on such technologies, ostensibly for commercial use, for years now and had previously said it expected to carry out such a flight test last year. A Chinese-language statement from CASC said that it had launched the spaceplane from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center , which sits in a part of the Gobi Desert in China's Inner Mongolia region. The corporation said that the vehicle subsequently landed "horizontally" at Alxa Right Banner Badanjilin Airport, which is also in Inner Mongolia and is situated some 220 kilometers, or almost 137 miles, southeast of Jiuquan. No details were provided about the spaceplane's basic design or performance specifications, or how long the flight lasted, how high it flew, and whether any payloads were aboard at the time. Where the Earth's atmosphere ends and space begins is a matter of debate, but the so-called Karman Line , which is defined as being at an altitude of roughly 62 miles up, is a defined boundary in common usage. "Suborbital" is only defined as a space flight that does not complete a full orbit and could, therefore, involve travel above and below that line. CASC also did not say how the spaceplane gets aloft and stays there, or how it then maneuvers back to Earth. However, back in 2016, the company had described plans for a vehicle that is boosted initially by a traditional space launch rocket and then get the rest of the way with a secondary booster. It would return to Earth in an unpowered mode. A graphic from circa 2016 depicting the method of operation of one of CASC's planned spaceplanes. This would fit well with a launch from Jiuquan, which regularly conducts more traditional space launches. Jiuquan was also the site of the launch of another, secretive " reusable experimental spacecraft " last year using a Long March 2F carrier rocket. That vehicle appeared to have subsequently landed a remote airstrip near China's Lop Nor nuclear test site and could be related to a military spaceplane project called Shenlong . This latest spaceplane test, which appears to be unrelated, at least officially, to the one last year, would also align with CASC's stated plans, as of 2016, to develop such a flight vehicle that could reach the Karman Line. At that time, the projected design was described as an 11-ton vehicle with a wingspan of 21 feet that would be capable of carrying five people. There were also plans for a larger version, an artist's conception of which is seen at the top of this story, which could carry up to 20 people and that would be able to fly beyond the Karman Line. In addition, in 2017, CASC said that it planned to conduct a flight test of a prototype reusable spacecraft in 2020. That year, the company also outlined a "space transportation roadmap" that included reusable spaceplanes and a nuclear-powered space shuttle . It would not be hard to see how the flight test plans could have been delayed due to a variety of factors, including the complexity of the design and the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. If the flight test today is indeed related to the projects that CASC was publicly discussing in 2016 and 2017, it would seem that the vehicle in question is ostensibly intended for commercial use. This is bolstered by the fact the flight ended at a public regional airport, rather than an isolated military test center. With this in mind, it's also worth pointing out that this announcement comes just days after space tourism firm Virgin Galatic's founder Richard Branson and three other passengers flew to the edge of the Karman Line in the company's VSS Unity , a Scaled Composites SpaceshipTwo reusable spaceplane. Unlike CASC's previously stated concepts of operation for its spaceplane designs, however, the SpaceShipTwo design uses a specialized mothership aircraft rather than a traditional space launch rocket to makes its initial ascent. This is a general space launch concept that NASA and the U.S. military , as well as Russia and China , have explored in the past, which you read about more here . At the same time, any reusable spaceplane technology could certainly have military applications. CASC is the primary contractor for the Chinese space program, which is heavily intertwined with the country's military . Jiuquan is a People's Liberation Army (PLA) base. Reusable spaceplanes could provide a variety of valuable capabilities for military activities in space, as well as closer to Earth, offering the potential for rapidly transporting personnel and cargo across large distances, as well as a more flexible method for inserting certain payloads into orbit . Reusable spaceplanes could very well carry out offensive actions against hostile space-based assets or defensive missions to protect friendly ones, as well. There has been very similar speculation over the years about exactly what the U.S. military is doing with its own X-37B miniature space shuttle , which is now under the control of the U.S. Space Force . This is just one of a number of similar projects that we know about that the various branches of the U.S. military have pursued since the 1960s , as well. Just this year, the Department of the Air Force, which now includes the Space Force, announced a new formal research and development program, called Rocket Cargo, to explore the possibility of conduct long-range logistics across space using large, potentially reusable suborbital rockets. You can read more about that program here . “The development of reusable space transportation technology is an important symbol of China’s transition from a ‘big’ space-faring nation to a ‘powerful’ space-faring one,” CASC said in the statement today about its spaceplane flight test. It will be interesting to see what new information about CASC's spaceplane projects might emerge now with this reportedly successful flight of a prototype design.
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New achievements in aerospace
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Swarms of cicadas emerging in Midwest - NBC News
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Science News
Swarms of cicadas emerging in Midwest
Brood XIII sounds like a bad horror movie. But it’s actually the name of the billions of cicadas expected to emerge this month in parts of the Midwest after spending 17 years underground.
These undated photos show the emergence of the periodical cicada. From left: the cicada molts from nymph to adult; in teneral stage, wings expanded, while its new exoskeleton hardens, and a red-eyed adult, skin hardened. Lake County Forest Preserve via AP
Brood XIII. It sounds like a bad horror movie. But it’s actually the name of the billions of cicadas expected to emerge this month in parts of the Midwest after spending 17 years underground.
The red-eyed, shrimp-sized, flying insects don’t bite or sting. But they are known for mating calls that produce a din that can overpower ringing telephones, lawn mowers and power tools.
Brood XIII is expected across northern Illinois, and in parts of Iowa, Wisconsin, Michigan and Indiana. Cicadas live only about 30 days as adults, and their main goal is mating.
They don’t harm humans, although they are clumsy and might fly into people. Birds, squirrels and pets, especially dogs, love to eat them, and they are high in protein.
“They’re going to have quite a meal. It’s going to be like Thanksgiving for them,” said Tom Tiddens, supervisor for plant health care at the Chicago Botanic Garden.
They are periodical cicadas, which are only found in the eastern half of North America. The annual, or dog-day cicadas, that appear every summer are common around the world.
The last massive emergence of periodical cicadas was in 2004, when Brood X emerged after 17 years underground in parts of 15 Eastern states. Some broods emerge after 13 years.
As nymphs burrowing underground, cicadas suck sap from tree roots. Almost all members of a group, or brood, burst from the ground within a couple days of each other.
They quickly climb the nearest vertical surface to molt and unroll their wings. In some heavily wooded areas, as many as 1.5 million cicadas per acre will crowd onto trees, expert say.
“It’s one of the greatest insect emergences on Earth,” said Daniel Summers, an entomologist at The Field Museum.
A single male’s shrill courtship call can reach 90 decibels, equivalent to a kitchen blender. That could sour plans for outdoor events over the next few weeks.
Ravinia Festival, a 103-year-old music festival held north of Chicago, revised its schedule to avoid classical musicians having to compete with the insects, said festival president and CEO Welz Kauffman.
June will see more pop bands outdoors, a few concerts moved indoors and a visit from the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. “With 350 voices on stage, they can hold their own against the bugs,” Kauffman said.
At the Chicago Botanic Garden, spokeswoman Gloria Ciaccio joked that her advice for brides holding outdoor weddings there will be to put the tent flaps down and turn the music up.
Where to see the cicadas
An Illinois company that provides ice sculptures has turned down several outdoor parties over the next month. That’s because of what happened when Nadeau Ice Sculptures owner Jim Nadeau delivered a swan statue to a wedding in 1990, during the area’s last emergence of the periodical cicadas.
“We put our tray down and immediately the cicadas came off the ground and attacked the ice. Literally, it was a moving sculpture, this big black ugly mass of cicadas constantly moving,” said Nadeau.
“I don’t want to talk myself out of work, but that was just too gross,” he said.
Exactly when the cicadas will emerge is a subject of debate, although there is agreement they emerge once the soil temperature is consistently 64 to 65 degrees for several days. Biologists and insect experts predict the cicadas will emerge between Tuesday and June 1.
Tom Tiddens, an arborist at the Chicago Botanic Garden, stands next to a small tree covered with tulle Monday, May 14, 2007, in Glencoe, Ill. Tiddens recommends covering small or young trees with netting to protect them from damage caused by egg-laying cicadas. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast))Charles Rex Arbogast / AP
The best place to see — and hear — the cicadas will be forest preserves, golf courses and any land where there are older trees where the soil has been undisturbed since 1990.
Freelance writer David Hammond runs the LTHForum, a Chicago-based Internet site devoted to culinary matters, and his “foodie” friends want to see what the cicadas taste like.
The insects are eaten in other parts of the world, with descriptions of the taste ranging from shrimp to canned asparagus to not much at all.
No recipe has been decided upon yet, but Hammond assumes they will be fried and perhaps accompanied by a dip or salsa.
“Honestly, they’ll probably go down easier that way,” he said. “Who knows? Maybe we’ll love it. We may have to travel around the country as infestations occur.”
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Insect Disaster
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Warning given to dog owners as most people don’t know this silent killer can harm their pet
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Warning given to dog owners as most people don’t know this silent killer can harm their pet
It is important that pet owners know about the risks and how best to look after them
(Image: Getty Images)
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Pet owners in the UK are being warned of the danger of carbon monoxide impacting their pets.
New research by leading online heating supplier BestHeating revealed more than nine in ten (96%) don’t think their pet will be affected, and that many don’t have a carbon monoxide detector in their home.
During the pandemic, an estimated 18% of households purchased a pet to keep them company, meaning that almost three fifths of UK homes now have a furry friend (59%).
As things are slowly getting as close to normal as possible many people are now returning to offices and leaving pets at home.
It is important that pet owners know about the risks and how best to look after them.
Carbon monoxide is a colourless, odourless, poisonous gas, which people can’t see, smell, hear or taste.
Known as the silent killer, pets are also affected by it and can help identify potential dangers.
Cats might refuse to come into the house and dogs may have a sore mouth and appear irritable.
There are around 60 deaths in England and Wales every year from accidental carbon monoxide poisoning and thousands are hospitalised.
The research found that 30% of Brits don’t have a carbon monoxide detector at home and more than a quarter don’t know the symptoms (26%), often mistaking it for flu or food poisoning.
Read more of the top stories from across Cheshire here.
The main symptoms of carbon monoxide in pets are:
Lethargy or weakness
Loss of consciousness
Red gums
Got something to say on this story? Let us know by leaving a comment at the bottom of the page.
The most common symptom in both people and pets is fatigue and if this is low level poisoning, it can be easily treated by spending time outside getting fresh air.
Animals are affected in the same way as humans, by carbon monoxide being breathed in and absorbed into the bloodstream through the lungs.
As they are smaller than humans, they are affected a lot quicker and sometimes more severely.
Carbon monoxide is produced by the incomplete burning of carbon-based fuels and can be caused by open fires, cookers, boilers, burning fuel in unventilated spaces, BBQs, blocked flues and chimneys, and by smoking shisha pipes indoors.
Worryingly, over half of Brits (57%) don’t know all these sources of carbon monoxide poisoning, only one in 10 believe BBQ’s can be a source and just 18% know open fires can also be a cause.
There are several appliances in the home that can cause a leak including boilers, furnaces, fires, heaters, gas powered tumble dryers, gas hobs, wood stoves and charcoal grills.
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Advice to prevent carbon monoxide poisoning:
Make sure you have a carbon monoxide detector in your home
Have your chimney swept at least once a year by a qualified chimney sweep
Never use gas stoves or burners to heat your tent
Never cook inside a tent or an enclosed camping space
Have your central heating inspected at least once a year
John Lawless, content marketing manager from BestHeating says: “It’s worrying that so many of us don’t have a carbon monoxide detector in our homes as Brits are potentially putting their pet’s life at risk alongside their own.
“We’re urging people to make themselves more aware of carbon monoxide symptoms and anyone without a detector should purchase one or see if their gas supplier will provide a free one.”
If you suspect carbon monoxide poisoning immediately leave the affected area and call a gas emergency on 0800 111 999. If you feel very unwell seek urgent medical advice by calling 111 or take your pet to the vets.
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Mass Poisoning
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Biological Deterrence for the Shadow War
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The inadequate initial U.S. response to COVID-19, coupled with new advances in biotechnology, could make biological weapons more appealing for U.S. adversaries. The biological weapons capability achieved by the United States in the 1960s and by the Soviet Union in the 1980s suggests that it is very likely that near-peer adversaries have the capabilities to launch a biological attack with the same destructive capacity as a nuclear strike. However, in future decades, less lethal biological attacks may become more appealing. The risk is a new biological component to the low-boil actions by China and Russia that have been dubbed the “Shadow War.” To respond to the threat of another pandemic or a bioweapons attack, the United States first needs to improve its woefully underfunded public health infrastructure. Then, with the specific risk of low-level attacks in mind, the government should enhance its capacity to defend against and deter biological attacks. This means giving the Department of Defense a bigger and better-funded role in public health preparedness, publicizing a credible strategy for attributing and responding to biological attacks, and devoting more resources to biotechnology research and development. Improve the Public Health Infrastructure Many analysts have cited the government’s poor initial performance as a primary cause of America’s failed response to the pandemic. Indeed, the list of errors in the early response was long and consequential. However, there are long-term structural issues, which predate the current pandemic, that impeded U.S. response efforts. U.S. public health infrastructure and its workforce have been slowly deteriorating for decades, throughout Democratic and Republican administrations. This hindered the initial U.S. response to COVID-19. Much of America’s public health capacity lies in state and local public health departments. Long before COVID-19, organizations like the Institute of Medicine highlighted the impact of state and local budget cuts on U.S. public health preparedness. The state and local funding landscape is characterized by boom-and-bust cycles. In Fiscal Year 2001, state public health laboratory funding was at roughly $20 million. After the 2001 Amerithrax letter attacks, there was a boom: funding ramped up to $200 million in FY2003. Then came the bust: from FY2004 to FY2008, funding declined to approximately $70 million. Since then, the Center for Disease Control’s funding was basically flat from FY2009 to FY2017 and state public health funding largely declined during the same period. Obviously, the bust years are difficult ones for public health capacity. More subtly, and perhaps more perniciously, the uneven funding means that money from the boom years cannot always be effectively used — maintaining human capital and physical infrastructure is difficult when annual funding varies widely. An effective U.S. response to a major biological event, whether a coronavirus pandemic or a large-scale biological attack, requires a robust public health system. And this requires sustained attention and adequate resourcing. Human capital may be the most critical. This includes, among other professions, disease outbreak modelers, experts to guide policy decisions, and laboratorians for genomic sequencing and testing. Also important are physical assets such as data infrastructure, testing capacity, and a resilient supply chain for vaccines, drugs, and tests. As we have seen with the joint Department of Health and Human Services and Department of Defense Operation Warp Speed, public-private partnerships will be an integral component for many aspects of public health response. Americans have explicitly accepted the need for private sector capabilities in manufacturing vaccines and drugs at-scale for a pandemic. Similarly, COVID-19 has demonstrated that data and data infrastructure should be similarly transformed for at-scale use during a pandemic. The private sector has taken a much larger role in designing, developing, and executing data systems for COVID-19. This will need to be sustained long-term for future outbreaks. The United States needs to rethink how to effectively maintain the current coalition of civil society, philanthropists, academics, volunteers, and the private sector for future pandemic response. The overlap is not perfect, but much of the U.S. public health infrastructure will be needed for both naturally occurring and man-made biological threats. To be truly prepared for a major biological event, we need a long-term strategy and a sustained, consistent funding model to provide these capabilities. Translational research capacity, vaccine administration, personal protective equipment, testing, outbreak modeling, and many other components are vital for both a coronavirus outbreak and a biological attack from an agent like anthrax. This is why U.S. adversaries may be giving biological weapons a closer look in light of its failed response to COVID-19. Biodefense for the Shadow War In revising the U.S. public health infrastructure in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, U.S. policymakers should pay particular attention to the possibility of more subtle biological weapons threats. In the future, less lethal biological attacks may be used by adversaries as a new biological component to the “Shadow War.” As described by Jim Sciutto, Shadow War features tactics that weaken the United States without kinetic force, such as cyberattacks, election interference, and industrial espionage. China and Russia have used such actions to weaken the U.S. strategic position relative to their own, without provoking America into an undesired military conflict. Advances in biotechnology, most notably in synthetic biology, might give attackers a range of more targeted and less lethal bioweapons that they could more easily deploy. For example, consider anthrax (Bacillus anthracis), which has long been seen as an ideal bioweapon. Anthrax can be released surreptitiously in its hardy spore form, which can cause a deadly infection once inhaled. Unlike many biological agents, anthrax is not highly contagious and person-to-person transmission is rare. Anthrax is deadly because of the anthrax toxin produced by the bacteria. But what if anthrax were engineered to produce something less deadly? Perhaps anthrax could be genetically edited to produce a protein that incapacitates, rather than kills, the person it infects. A savvy adversary could transform the bacteria from a weapon of mass destruction to a weapon of mass distraction. Creative uses of bioengineered anthrax (or other spore-forming bacteria) could provide a geo-targeted attack that is difficult to attribute. The use of such subtle biological agents could have meaningful consequences and perhaps stay under the radar for some time: Consider a biological agent that makes a person slightly more susceptible to a chronic disease or minorly impedes cognitive abilities. As with election interference and industrial espionage, the United States may struggle to come up with an appropriate response to such attacks. Thus, with this threat in mind, a number of specific actions are needed. The first is an expanded role for the Department of Defense in deterring biological weapons. A near-peer adversary could launch biological attacks, whether large-scale or more subtle, against either America’s deployed forces or its population. The Department of Defense cannot only focus on deterring biological weapons use against U.S. forces. In partnership with the Department of Health and Human Services, it should be actively engaged in deterring biological weapons use against the homeland as an equally important mission, and its biodefense efforts should be structured and funded accordingly. Public health infrastructure and capabilities to respond to pandemics for warfighters and civilians should be considered as a top national security priority. This requires more money. Building off the success of Operation Warp Speed, the Department of Defense should continue to partner with the Department of Health and Human Services on biological preparedness efforts. Although the United States woke up to the danger of biological threats last year, the Department of Defense’s program for chemical and biological defense was cut by 10 percent in 2020. Thirty percent of those cuts were applied to the medical biodefense component that encompasses vaccines, therapeutics, and diagnostics. But given the severity of the threat, we believe that the United States should invest $10 billion each in the Departments of Defense and Health and Human Services for biodefense over each of the next 10 years. Much like an improved public health system, better biodefense capabilities for the homeland will have dual benefits: potentially deterring the use of biological weapons and enhancing the U.S. response should such an attack occur. Second, the United States should establish and publicize a credible retaliation strategy for the range of potential biological weapons that could be used by adversaries. America has sometimes relied on a policy of strategic ambiguity that hinted a biological attack against it could be answered by a nuclear strike. Nuclear retaliation would be a disproportionate response for the type of lower-consequence biological attacks that could be employed by a sophisticated adversary. A more effective response, even to most large-scale biological attacks, would be the use of overwhelming conventional force. Additionally, improvements in attribution are particularly important for a robust retaliation strategy — without accurate attribution, the United States does not have a return address for retaliatory actions. A well-established retaliation strategy, with a robust attribution capability as its foundation, may tilt the strategic calculus of adversaries away from using biological weapons of any sort against the United States. Third, the United States should take actions at home to promote continued global leadership of biotechnology research and development. A comprehensive strategy would include a sustained increase in funding for life sciences research and development and more robust support for translational science. Ramping up funding in these areas would help for a range of needs, especially for the ability to rapidly design and manufacture vaccines, therapeutics, and diagnostics. Retaining leadership in this sector will help the United States to develop the medical countermeasures and related technologies that are constituent components of its public health system and biodefense capabilities. America should begin taking these steps now. Policymakers should balance the near-term response to the delta variant surge with these longer-term actions that will help us prepare for the next major biological event. Before the memory of the pandemic fades, we should tap into the current reservoir of political will for these longer-term actions. The steps recommended here will help the United States to reestablish biological deterrence and prepare for another potential pandemic. When U.S. adversaries see the country making progress in this area, it should deter the use of biological weapons, whether they are large-scale or more subtle threats. Joseph Buccina is managing director, federal services at Cogitativo, working at the intersection of machine learning and health data. He has held several roles supporting the public sector health security mission. Dylan George, Ph.D., is a former vice president at Ginkgo Bioworks. He served as senior policy adviser to the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy from 2014 to 2016, and various other positions within the U.S. federal government.
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Disease Outbreaks
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BTS and their 23 records enter the Guinness World Records 2022 Hall of Fame
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"Even in the far future, never forget the you of right now," sing K-pop princes BTS (South Korea) in their single "Tomorrow".
It’s just one of the many lines written by the record-breaking band that resonated with the international public. They certainly haven’t forgotten their 'you of right now', ever-changing and yet able to remain true to themselves.
This constant strive for excellence and relatability — paired to an upbeat sound and jaw-dropping choreographies — is the secret ingredient of what is arguably the hit band of the moment.
Without further ado, we are delighted to welcome BTS to our Guinness World Records Hall of Fame.
South Korea’s very own Bangtan Sonyeondan (or Bangtan Boys, which translates as “Bulletproof Boy Scouts”) are widely known by the acronym BTS and need no introduction. Ever since rising to international fame in 2018, these seven dancers, singers and songwriters have jumped from strength to strength.
Their single "Butter" started trending all over TikTok, while hits like "Dynamite", "Boy With Luv" (feat Halsey) and "Mic Drop" (feat Steve Aoki) shattered the charts and are immediately recognized by the crowds all over the world.
Among several Billboard music awards, Asian music awards and many others, BTS have collected a jaw-dropping 23 Guinness World Records titles across music and social media – an amazing result achieved also thanks to the enthusiasm of their fans, the ARMY.
Today, they are the most streamed group on Spotify (beating the British band Coldplay) and the most followed music group on Instagram.
As for the blue bird app, BTS’ official accounts snatched the most Twitter engagements (average retweets) for a music group (a record that they have topped four times!).
Their May 2021 release, "Butter", single-handedly snatched five records, among which we find most viewers for the premiere of a music video on YouTube (previously held by BTS’ success “Dynamite”) and most streamed track on Spotify in the first 24 hours.
More of their records comprehend, but are far from limited to:
But these are only a few of the records collected by BTS over the last couple of years (discover all of them inside Guinness World Records 2022 and the Hall of Fame), and we are sure that they won't be the last ones.
Despite their young age, Jin, Suga, J-Hope, RM, Jimin, V and Jungkook have left a mark in the present cultural landscape, breaking free from the limitations of their home market and of a language, South Korean, that remains widely unknown to the international public.
At the same time - or perhaps aided by the echoes of the boyband’s music, South Korea is seeing a steady rise in popularity.
From international exposure of Netflix-produced K-dramas to Seoul's cutting-edge beauty industry and popping viral trends, South Korea’s influences are all over the internet. The world has discovered a newfound passion for everything South Korean, from Gangnam’s open-air street style catwalk to the majestic architecture of the Bongwonsa Temple.
Recently, mirroring BTS’ success, the record-breaking girl band BLACKPINK opened Coachella 2019. It was the first time in history a K-pop girl band performed at a U.S. festival, a show-stopping exhibition and a true once-in-a-lifetime event for Blink (so BLACKPINK fans call themselves).
In just a few years the country has become a global inspiration and trendsetter, and BTS are arguably the flagship of this pop revolution.
In fact, through their art, the seven artists are raising awareness around Korean culture and language (which earned them the ambitious 5th class of the Order of Cultural Merit, the Flower Crown).
At the same time, they are fighting for another cause: self-love, self-acceptance and mental health awareness.
Other than partnering up with UNICEF for their Love Myself campaign against children and teen abuse, the septet has often addressed mental health issues in their lyrics and public speeches.
Their positivity and openness towards themes that are often considered taboo kindled even stronger support from their fans – especially via Twitter.
As for their ability to have fun, amaze and communicate through music and dance moves, as well as their dedication for breaking records… that is certainly what marks BTS as the perfect fit for our Hall of Fame 2022!
Meet the band at pages 212-13 of Guinness World Records 2022 and online, in a detail-packed recap if all BTS' major hits, records and achievements.
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Break historical records
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2005 Nias–Simeulue earthquake
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The 2005 Nias–Simeulue earthquake occurred on 28 March off the west coast of northern Sumatra, Indonesia. At least 915 people were killed, mostly on the island of Nias. The event caused panic in the region, which had already been devastated by the massive tsunami triggered by the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake, but this earthquake generated a relatively small tsunami that caused limited damage. It was the third most powerful earthquake since 1965 in Indonesia. The earthquake occurred at 16:09:37 UTC (23:09:37 local time) on 28 March 2005. The hypocenter was located 30 kilometres (19 mi) below the surface of the Indian Ocean, where subduction is forcing the Indo-Australian Plate to the southwest under the Eurasian Plate's Sunda edge. The area is 200 kilometres (120 mi) west of Sibolga, Sumatra, or 1,400 kilometres (870 mi) northwest of Jakarta, approximately halfway between the islands of Nias and Simeulue. Seismic recordings give the earthquake a moment magnitude of about 8.6, and effects were felt as far away as Bangkok, Thailand, over 1,000 kilometres (620 mi) away. [4]
The earthquake lasted for about two minutes. In the twenty-four hours immediately after the event, there were eight major aftershocks, measuring between 5.5 and 6.0. Despite the proximity of the epicenter to that for the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake, it ruptured a separate segment of the Sunda megathrust and was most likely triggered by stress changes associated with that earlier event. [5]
On the Indonesian island of Nias, off the coast of Sumatra, hundreds of buildings were destroyed. The death toll on Nias was at least one thousand, with 220 dying in Gunungsitoli, the island's largest town. Nearly half of Gunungsitoli's population (27,000) fled. The earthquake was strongly felt across the island of Sumatra and caused widespread power outages in the Indonesian city of Banda Aceh, already devastated by the December 2004 tsunami, and prompted thousands to flee their homes and seek higher ground. It was strongly felt along the west coast of Thailand and Malaysia, and in Kuala Lumpur high-rise buildings were evacuated. The earthquake was felt less strongly in the Maldives, India, and Sri Lanka. The earthquake caused great concern around the Indian Ocean that it might trigger a tsunami similar to the massive one generated three months earlier by the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake on 26 December 2004. Evacuations were carried out in coastal regions of Thailand, Malaysia, and Sri Lanka. This earthquake, however, produced a relatively small tsunami. A 3-metre (9.8 ft) tsunami caused moderate damage to port and airport facilities on Simeulue, and a 2-metre (6.6 ft) tsunami was recorded on the west coast of Nias. Much smaller waves, most detectable only in tide gauge recording systems, were recorded across the Indian Ocean; for example, a 25 centimetres (9.8 in) wave was recorded at Colombo, Sri Lanka. Tsunami warnings were issued by the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center, operated by the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and by the government of Thailand. There were initial concerns that a major tsunami could be generated, particularly travelling south from the event's hypocenter. Portions of Thailand's southern coast were evacuated as a precaution, and NOAA advised an evacuation of 965 kilometres (600 mi) of coastline in Sumatra. Evacuations occurred in the northern Malaysian states of Penang and Kedah, as well as the eastern coast of Sri Lanka, where ten people were killed in the confusion of the evacuation. Many of the southern states of India were put on high alert; all of these areas had seen significant damage from December's tsunami. After the detection of a minor tsunami south of the epicenter, including a 30 cm tsunami on Australia's Cocos Islands, the island states of Mauritius, Madagascar, and the Seychelles in the Indian Ocean issued warnings to their populations. Although tsunami warning systems for the region had been actively discussed before the December 2004 earthquake, none had yet been implemented in the Indian Ocean. The United Nations worked with the Indonesian government to take further actions to prevent a possible catastrophe after the strong earthquake. The United States Department of State announced that it will help countries affected by a possible tsunami. The government of India announced aid of US$2 million for the earthquake victims. [6]
Australia announced it would provide A$1 million in emergency aid and, at the request of the Indonesian Government, dispatched Australian Defence Force medical teams and equipment to Nias. The Australian naval ship HMAS Kanimbla, having only recently left Aceh, was redeployed to the region from Singapore. At about 09:30 (UTC) 2 April 2005, one of Kanimbla's two Sea King helicopters, Shark 02, crashed on the island of Nias while taking medical personnel to a village. Nine personnel were killed, and two others sustained injuries but were rescued from the site by the other helicopter. The crash occurred one day before a state visit by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to Australia, where he and Prime Minister of Australia John Howard expressed mutual sorrow for their countries' losses. The US Navy responded to this earthquake by deploying the USNS Mercy, a 100-bed hospital ship, off the coast of Nias.
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Earthquakes
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2020 Brazilian floods and mudslides
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Since 17 January 2020, heavy rainstorms in the Southeast Region of Brazil have caused widespread flooding and landslides in the states of Minas Gerais, Espírito Santo and Rio de Janeiro, being associated with Subtropical Storm Kurumí. [1][2][3]
The state capital of Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, reported it was the highest rainfall in over 110 years. [2] As of 30 January 2020, at least 70 people have died[4][5][6][7] with 18 still missing, and an estimated 30,000 to 46,500 people have been displaced from their homes. [8][9] The flooding coincided with the first anniversary of the 2019 Brumadinho dam disaster which killed 270 people. [1]
Heavy rainfall began on 17 January 2020[10] and led to flash flooding and landslides in the south-east of Brazil, flooding to many houses and neighbourhoods. This was primarily reported in the states of Minas Gerais, Espírito Santo and Rio de Janeiro. By 27 January 2020, the rain had largely subsided but was expected to continue throughout the week. [2]
In the state of Minas Gerais, more than 15,000 people were evacuated as a result of the heavy rain and subsequent flooding. 10,000 people were evacuated from Espirito Santo along with 6,000 people from Rio de Janeiro. The city of Belo Horizonte saw 171 mm (6.7 in) of rainfall within a 24-hour period on 23–24 January; this was the highest such measurement in 110 years. [2] Flooding in the city was reported on 29 January and led to the collapse of the roof of a mall. [11]
Reports emerged of several collapsed bridges and damaged roads in rural parts of Minas Gerais. [12] Over 100 cities across the three states declared a state of emergency. Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro announced the deployment of the Brazilian Armed Forces to the affected regions. Governor of Minas Gerais Romeu Zema stated that the hardest-hit areas were in areas where "people lived in informal and precarious housing". The Brazilian federal government allocated US$20 million for relief efforts in the affected regions while the state government of Minas Gerais allocated up to US$80 million. [13][14] The United Nations offered its assistance and support to the Brazilian government. [15] On 30 January, President Bolsonaro visited affected parts of Minas Gerais. [16] The large coffee fields of Minas Gerais have been largely unaffected by the flooding, according to farmers. Brazil is the world's largest coffee producer. [12] The town of Sabará established vaccination points against Hepatitis A and tetanus in the city, which was heavily hit by the flooding. [17]
Heavy rainfall continued into February and spread towards parts of neighbouring Paraguay. The southern Brazilian regions of Paraná, São Paulo and Mato Grosso do Sul had the highest risks of flooding. [18]
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Floods
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Johannesburg train crash
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The Denver train crash occurred on 28 April 2015 when a passenger train ran into the rear of another at Denver station, Johannesburg, South Africa. One person was killed and about 240 were injured. Damages were R 17.5 million ($1.4M, €1.3M, or £960k as of May 2015). [1]
At 07:10 local time (05:10 UTC), a passenger train ran into the rear of another at Denver station. One person was killed and around 240 were injured,[2] two seriously. [3] The trains were a Metro Plus train with 700 people on board, and a Business Express train with 200 people on board. [2] The Business Express train was travelling from Pretoria to Park Station, Johannesburg,[4] as was the Metro Plus train. [5] The Metro Plus train was stationary at the station. [3] The person killed was a security guard on the Metro Plus train. [6] The driver of the Business Express train was airlifted to hospital. [2]
The two trains involved were Metroplus Express Train 0600 and Business Express Train 1602, both of which are operated by PRASA Rail. [1] PRASA operates commuter rail services as Metrorail. Metrorail operates in the Gauteng province of the country as a separate region, known as Metrorail Gauteng. Within Metrorail Gauteng, the accident happened on the line serving Pretoria, Kempton Park, Germiston and Johannesburg. Business Express is the luxury commuter service brand of Metrorail. [7]
The Railway Safety Regulator investigated the accident. They were expected to release a statement on 29 April. [8]
The RSR released a final report on the incident in March 2016. The driver of the leading train, the Metroplus Express 0600 had stopped at a signal at Denver station at 7:06 because the driver could not read the signal due to the bright sunlight. He tried to contact the Centralised Traffic Control Office at George Goch via radio, but the communications systems were out of service at the centre due to a power failure. Meanwhile, the following train was travelling over the speed limit at about 91 km/h (57 mph) in a 70 km/h (43 mph) zone. It failed to slow at a yellow caution signal nor stop at the red danger signal. The driver applied the brakes 332 m (1,089 ft) from the stopped train, but the train only slowed to 61 km/h (38 mph) at the point of impact. At 91 km/h, the train would have required 510 m (1,670 ft) to stop. The report also notes that the power failure disabled radios, phones, and voice recording systems at the CTC office. There was no backup power supply. The CTC did have one cellular phone as a backup, but the driver of the Metro Express train was not given the number. Also, the CTC office did not have contact details for the Metro Express driver. The RSR had a contact at the PRASA called the Nominated Manager, however this arrangement was unsatisfactory because PRASA officials were late or unresponsive in providing requested materials during the investigation. They also failed to appear at scheduled hearings. Apparently the investigators were only able to get answers after applying pressure to upper management of PRASA. The investigators were also never able to interview the driver of Business Express Train 1602 since she was still in the hospital during the investigation.
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Train collisions
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2004 European Fencing Championships
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The European Fencing Championships is an annual top-level European fencing competition organized by the European Fencing Confederation. The first competition bearing the name of "European Fencing Championships" was held in Paris in 1921. The International Fencing Federation (FIE) comprised only European federations at the time, with the exception of the United States. In 1936, on the 25th anniversary of the FIE and at the request of the Italian federation, the FIE congress decided to open the European Championships to all countries and granted retroactive recognition of the European Championships as World Championships. [1]
After 1937 the FIE focused on the organisation of the World Fencing Championships. Demand for European Championships appeared at the 1979 congress, but it was rejected on the ground that they would either belittle the World Championships or offer a poor fencing level. The question was put forth again the following year by the Yugoslav federation, with the support of the Italian federation, which offered to organize the first competition. The congress agreed to authorize such championships, on the condition that they would be held only when the World Championships were organized in a non-European country. The first edition took place in Foggia, Italy on 11 and 12 November 1981. They proved to cause no interference with the 1981 World Championships and the restriction was lifted. [2]
Contrary to the World Championships and the World Cup, no exemption is granted to Top 16 fencers: all fence a round of pools, which eliminates 20% to 30% of participants. The remaining fencers compete in a direct elimination table. Updated after the 2019 European Fencing Championships.
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Sports Competition
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Robber of Berkeley bank has been arrested
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Police said David Godwin had a knife and a “large wad of cash in his hands” when he was arrested. A 36-year-old parolee with a history of robbery is facing new felony charges after taking cash from a Berkeley bank over the weekend while armed with a knife, authorities report. On Saturday just before 10:30 a.m., a Bank of America employee called the Berkeley Police Department to report a robbery underway at the bank, at 2151 Shattuck Ave., between Addison and Center streets. The employee said the robber had a knife and threatened to use it, BPD said. Two Berkeley bicycle officers who were already on patrol in the area arrived within minutes “and spotted the suspect quickly walking away from the bank,” according to BPD. When they chased the man, BPD said, he ran into another bank nearby. Officers caught up with him and took him into custody. They identified the man as David Godwin, a 36-year-old parolee with no permanent address. SUBSCRIBE TO THE DAILY BRIEFING Don’t miss a story. Get Berkeleyside headlines delivered to your inbox. Police said Godwin “was still holding the large wad of cash in his hands” from the bank robbery when officers arrested him. During a search of Godwin, officers also found a large knife in his backpack, according to BPD. Police arrested Godwin on suspicion of robbery, resisting arrest and parole violation, BPD said. According to court records online, the Alameda County district attorney’s office charged Godwin on Tuesday with felony robbery, and alleged it was a serious or violent crime, which could garner a stiffer penalty in the case of conviction. Godwin already has robbery convictions from 2011 and 2016, according to court records online. He was sent to prison for two years after the 2016 conviction, in which Godwin had entered a no-contest plea, according to court records. The 2011 charge was for the robbery of a transit passenger, according to records online. The DA’s office also charged Godwin on Tuesday in two other cases, alleging that he exhibited a deadly weapon in November 2020 and revoking his parole. As of Wednesday, Godwin remained in custody at Santa Rita Jail in Dublin and was being held without bail. He is scheduled for arraignment Thursday at the East County Hall of Justice in Dublin. Berkeleyside relies on reader support so we can remain free to access for everyone in our community. Donate to help us continue to provide you with reliable, independent reporting.
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Bank Robbery
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Student says Calvin Klein tracksuit saved his life in gas explosion
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A student left in a coma for 12 days after a gas explosion said his life was saved by his new Calvin Klein tracksuit.
Jack Marlow, 26, had dozed off in his mum’s summer house, when a gas canister exploded and he was awoken by a huge blaze.
His sister, Brittany, 23, heard a huge bang at 2.30am and watched from her bedroom window in horror as Jack ran out of the hut on fire.
Warning: This article contains pictures you may find distressing
He was rushed to hospital where doctors treated agonising third-degree burns on his hands, and other burns on his face and feet.
To save his life, Jack was put in a coma, and had grafts from his legs to replace the skin on his hands.
But he miraculously didn’t suffer any burns elsewhere on his body thanks to the £170 designer tracksuit he bought a week before.
The student, from Walsall, West Midlands, said paramedics told his family it saved his life, because the high quality, fire retardant material blocked the flames.
Jack said: ‘I wouldn’t be here now if I hadn’t been wearing that new tracksuit.
‘It’s so lucky because usually I’m always wearing shorts and a vest.
‘I put it on because it was new. It was a Calvin Klein one made of top-notch cotton and it was fire resistant.
‘The paramedics cut it off me in the ambulance and I’m told it had just gone black.
‘They told my mum I’m lucky I was wearing it. I literally burned my feet, my hands and my face, but nowhere where the tracksuit covered.’
Jack has no memory of the blaze on April 17, but said firefighters believe it could have been started by a small leak from the gas heater.
He still gets pain in his face and hands, can’t bend his fingers properly, and is having counselling.
‘It’s really tough coming round from a coma,’ he said.
‘My brain activity isn’t back to normal yet, that can take six to twelve months.
‘I’m still in shock and so is my body. This shouldn’t happen to anybody. But I feel lucky to be alive, thanks to my tracksuit.’
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Gas explosion
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2008–09 York University Strike
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The 2008–2009 York University strike was a strike by CUPE Local 3903, the union representing contract professors, teaching assistants, and graduate assistants at York University. [1]
The strike began on November 6, 2008 and concluded on January 29, 2009 when the provincial parliament legislated the union back to work. The strike lasted for 85 days, making it the longest academic strike in English-speaking Canada to that time, only surpassed by the subsequent 2018 York University strike. [2][3] 5000 students, including the Schulich School of Business and the Osgoode Hall Law School, were able to return to school a week prior to the end of the strike due to a deal struck by the union and the university. Much of the criticism focused on CUPE 3093 and York University President Mamdouh Shoukri's poor handling of the dispute. [4]
The Union went on strike due to a variety of institutional grievances, including job security for contract professors, elimination of the Non-Academic Student Code of Conduct, creation of whistleblower protection, and fund indexation. On January 20, 2009, CUPE 3903 defeated a forced ratification vote that would have ended the strike. On January 24, Ontario premier Dalton McGuinty announced a rare Sunday recall of the provincial legislature in order to pass back-to-work legislation mandating an immediate end to the strike. [5] On January 29, the York University Labour Disputes Resolution Act was passed in the provincial parliament on a count of 42–8 ending the strike. [6]
Members of CUPE 3903 held further strikes in 2015[7] and 2018 at York University after failing to reach an agreement with the university. [8]
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Strike
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Bobby Bones Marries Caitlin Parker in Intimate At-Home Ceremony: See the Wedding Photos
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The radio host, Breaking Bobby Bones star and American Idol mentor and Parker tied the knot at their Nashville-area home on Saturday evening — and PEOPLE has all the exclusive details. "We love home. We picked this place out together — that was really one of the first decisions that we made as a couple. And so she thought, 'What if we got married here?'" Bones, 41, tells PEOPLE. Adds Parker, 29, "It was such a big gesture for Bobby to want to get a home for us both, that had some of my touches. We got to start fresh. For me, it really wasn't even a question. It was just — if we're getting married in Nashville, we're getting married at the house." With the help of Ninth & Everett owner and planner Josiah Carr, the couple's backyard was transformed into the wedding venue of their dreams. Blooms from Stella Rose Floral were everywhere while a "C + B" from Alpha-Lit Nashville lit up the area. Additionally, string quartet Viva La Strings played while floating in Bones and Parker's pool during the cocktail hour. "Josiah has just been the best — not only planning, but also being a bit of a therapist at times for different reasons," Bones says. "Honestly, I didn't know the value of a wedding planner. I thought they hired a couple of people, you ate your cake and you called it a day. But he has been so great and helpful and giving in ways that I never expected him to be." Bobby Bones Wedding Bobby Bones and Caitlin Parker Bones and Parker planned to forgo a first look ahead of the ceremony — "I will not see her until she's walking down the aisle," he tells PEOPLE — but both were looking forward to the other's appearance as the wedding march began. Parker was also awaiting the moment her father would hand her off to her fiancé. "I am so close with my dad and he's just the perfect example of what a man should be to his wife and his daughters," she says. "His blessing means a lot to me. And I just like the idea of being passed over from my favorite man in the world to my new favorite man in the world." After the groomsmen — including retired tennis pro Andy Roddick — walked in to The Office theme song, the couple's two dogs, Stanley and Eller, also made their way down the aisle in bow ties and pearls — though days before the ceremony, Bones was unsure if the rambunctious pups would be able to "pull it off." He joked, "We're rooting for them, but it'll be a game-time decision." Bones and Parker, who wrote their own vows, were married by her childhood music minister, Jeff Elkins. "I don't have a godfather, but if I did, it would be him," Parker says of Elkins, who's also her childhood best friend's dad. "He was the only option." For their wedding, Bones wore a custom suit with bow tie by Alton Lane , preferring to "blend in" with a classic look so Parker could "come down and own the show" in her Galia Lahav gown. Parker found the perfect piece at The Dress Theory Nashville much quicker than she initially expected. "It was probably the third dress that I tried on, and I knew it immediately. I had five girls [including bridesmaids Abby Smyers and Bobby Bones Show personality Amy Brown ] with me and three of them started crying! It was the absolute opposite of what I thought that I wanted from the start — completely different," she tells PEOPLE. "Bobby's very superstitious about it. He doesn't even want me to say the word 'dress.' He won't look at my phone — he's afraid a picture will pop up. He won't go into the closet where it's hanging, even though you can't see it." Parker finished her bridal look with hair by Sarah Klein and makeup by Marz Collins . Following the ceremony, guests — including country stars Dierks Bentley , Jake Owen , Chuck Wicks and radio personality Charlamagne Tha God — enjoyed a cocktail hour with apps passed on marble trays in the shape of Bones and Parker's home states of Arkansas and Oklahoma while listening to the floating quartet White Door Events set up in the couple's pool. The party then moved into a tent on the property for dinner and dancing, where the pair were officially introduced as Mr. and Mrs. Bobby Estell. Pals Dan Smyers and Shay Mooney of Dan + Shay then took the stage to sing Bones and Parker's first dance song — the Jesse and the Rippers version of The Beach Boys' "Forever" from Full House. Bobby Bones Wedding Caitlin Parker and Bobby Bones | Credit: Charla Storey Other industry friends provided additional entertainment, as Gary LeVox serenaded the crowd with Rascal Flatts ' hits "Bless the Broken Road" and "Fast Cars and Freedom" while Ronnie Dunn performed the Brooks & Dunn classic "Neon Moon" as a light-up moon was lowered from the ceiling as a surprise for the newlyweds. Bones tells PEOPLE he was especially looking forward to the dances — both the first and last. "I know I won't cry then," he says of the Dan + Shay performance, but if a few tears sneak out, "I can just hide on her shoulder." The pair planned to share a private moment at the end of the night as well. "We're going to do a last dance when everybody's gone," Bones explains. "I look forward to that with no pressure." Bubbles & Brews Nashville provided champagne and craft beer, while Beyond Details catered the event, serving steak, crab cakes, mashed potatoes and vegetables. Cakes + Co provided sweet treats, including Bones' favorite Funfetti cookie dough cake that he previously had for his birthday. "They'll be very full when they leave here," Bones jokes of his guests. But the couple was most excited about the evening's send-off — a Sonic Drive-In pop-up serving everything from "put a ring on it" onion rings to Nashville hot chicken sliders to the couple's personal concoction, the Bobby Water. (Despite the name, the drink — which features water, strawberries, cherries and Nerds — was Parker's creation. "Bobby went on air the next day and was like, 'So I invented this crazy thing at Sonic.' And I caught wind of it and was furious!" she recalls with a laugh. "That might be the biggest fight we've ever had.") Bones and Parker consider the Sonic snacks the "most personal part of the night" because it reminds them of the early days of their relationship when they were figuring out their feelings for each other. "When she was coming from Los Angeles to Nashville and I would pick her up at the airport, I would go by Sonic and get her drinks first," Bones explains of the first few months of dating long-distance in 2019. "It was like, 'Hey, you just flew for five hours. This is an odd thing I'm doing because I'm trying to show you how much I care about you, but I don't really know how to express human emotions.' So to have that as a big part of our wedding means a lot to us. It wasn't some sort of product placement. We actually pursued them and were like, 'Is there any way you will do this here?' And they went above and beyond." After meeting through mutual friends on the West Coast, the couple dated for a few months before the pandemic hit in March 2020. Parker, who was living in California at the time, decided to travel to Tennessee to ride things out . "I came with a mindset of, 'I'm going stay for about a week because L.A. is shut down and Nashville isn't.' It was just, 'I'd rather be with my boyfriend locked in the house than by myself in L.A. locked in the house,' so that part was easy. It was months later when I was about to graduate grad school where we had to really think about if I was going to officially make the move or continue long-distance." For his part, Bones "was mostly just trying to convince her to be here. I wanted her to stay the whole time. When it was time to have those conversations, I didn't want to because I didn't want her to even think about going back." Bobby Bones Wedding Caitlin Parker and Bobby Bones RELATED: Bobby Bones Says Girlfriend Caitlin Parker Is a 'Champ' for Putting Up with Him in Self-Isolation By the summer, Parker had decided to stay in Nashville. "When she finally agreed to move here, I just knew I was going to propose," Bones tells PEOPLE. He continues, "I knew immediately that it was extremely different, even from the start. Early on, it was like, 'I really needed to treat this delicately and invest my time and my capabilities because this is going to be for a long time.' I wasn't freaked out and that's how I knew it was right. I never once went, 'Oh God, what's happening here?' Mostly I was like, 'Maybe this is what people are talking about when you watch movies and read books.' That's how I knew she was the one — because I wasn't freaking out." Bones proposed to Parker in the barn on their property last October, soon after they'd moved from his bachelor pad where they'd quarantined together. Parker knew accepting was the right decision. "I had conversations with my mom growing up about when you fall in love with that right person and how you know," she recalls. "And she always told me that it's just not hard. You will go through a lot of things together as a couple, but that the relationship itself shouldn't be hard. That it feels like a sense of peace washing over you. And with Bobby, that's how it's always been. When I'm with him, there's such a strong sense of peace about us no matter what it is we're going through that day. I just know he's the one for me." Bobby Bones Caitlin Parker and Bobby Bones RELATED: Bobby Bones Engaged to Girlfriend Caitlin Parker: 'I Get to Marry the Love of My Life' Of course, not everything's perfect — Parker wishes Bones would stop biting his fingernails and learn how to soak a plate ("I don't even need you to do the dish; just put water on it before you let it crust over in the sink!"), while Bones is irritated that Parker's "better than him" at just about everything, including time management. But he admits he needs to hear it. "She's the first person that actually tells me, 'No' or 'You don't need to spiral this way.' And I've listened — probably not as much as she likes — but I've never listened, honestly ever. I get so annoyed by being told what to do, but this is actually, 'Hey, let me help you get a little more balanced.' I'm getting better because I see it's for my own good." Bones grows introspective. "I've just been so alone, by myself, independent. I'm finally starting to have substance in my life. She's constantly trying to convince me that my life is more than just what I do for a living and trying to show me that my worth is more than just what I put out on TV or on the radio," he says. "I haven't been much of a human. I've been very much a robot for all of my life until now, but I can feel small cracks in that really unhealthy frame that I used to live inside of. I'm learning." Bobby Bones Bobby Bones and Caitlin Parker | Credit: Hannah Hall As talk turns to the future, both Parker and Bones say they hope to have children — and develop their own family traditions. "We want kids. I never really had a family growing up," Bones tells PEOPLE of his childhood burdened by poverty, an absent father and a mother (now deceased) who abused drugs and alcohol. "It's also a growing process for me to be a better, more well-rounded human. I'm looking forward to that." Adds Parker: "My family is really big on traditions. Christmas Eve, we do the same thing every year, and we always go on a family vacation. I really look forward to continuing some of those with him, but also starting our own." But first, the honeymoon. "There's a little motel about a mile from the house, so we're going to go stay for a day," Bones initially jokes, before confirming he will in fact be enjoying a brief break. "I've never taken two weeks off of work!" The Breaking Bobby Bones season finale airs Sunday night at 10/9 CT on Nat Geo.
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Famous Person - Marriage
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ICON to Acquire PRA Health Sciences, Creating a World Leader in Healthcare Intelligence and Clinical Research
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DUBLIN--(BUSINESS WIRE)--ICON plc, (NASDAQ: ICLR), a global provider of outsourced drug and device development and commercialisation services to the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical device industries, and government and public health organisations, today announced it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire PRA Health Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ: PRAH) in a cash and stock transaction valued at approximately $12 billion, with the per share merger consideration consisting of $80 in cash and 0.4125 shares of ICON stock. The consideration represents an approximately 30% premium to PRA’s closing price as of February 23rd, 2021. The transaction brings together two high-quality, innovative and growing organisations with similar cultures and a shared focus on high quality and efficient clinical trial execution from Phase 1 to post-approval studies. Biopharma and medical device customers of all sizes will benefit from broader service offerings and geographic footprint, deeper therapeutic expertise, expansive healthcare technology innovation, and functional talent and capabilities. PRA’s mobile and connected health platforms and real world data and information solutions together with ICON’s Accellacare site network, home health services and wearables expertise, will be combined to deliver differentiated decentralised and hybrid trial solutions to meet growing customer needs. The transaction is anticipated to be highly accretive delivering double-digit accretion in the first full year and growing to 20%+ thereafter, driven by growth momentum, estimated annual run-rate cost synergies of $150 million, and the combined effective tax rate decreasing to 14%, both to be realised in approximately 4 years. Dr. Steve Cutler, Chief Executive Officer, ICON plc, said: “The combined company will create a new paradigm for accelerating clinical research and bringing new medicines and devices to market. Both ICON and PRA have track records of robust growth and performance and we are ready to build on this unrivalled position of strength, utilising the outstanding talent in both organisations. With broader and deeper operational scale combined with innovative technology and real world data solutions, we will enable all customers to reduce their development time and cost. We will be the leading provider of de-centralised and hybrid trial solutions through the integration of our data capabilities, health platforms and Accellacare site network. The transaction will be highly accretive from full year 1 post-close.” Colin Shannon, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, PRA Health Sciences, said: “I joined PRA 13 years ago to help build a company that would make a difference in the world and transform the way we developed new medicines. The way we do it now takes far too long and costs far too much. Critically ill patients can’t wait for cures. Underserved populations can’t wait for access. Every day counts. COVID-19 created a platform for change that we cannot ignore. The pandemic accelerated the adoption of mobile health technologies and healthcare intelligence tools – tools that PRA helped develop – at an unprecedented rate. The union of PRA and ICON will create an organization that has the people, data and technology to bring those cures to patients faster and more efficiently than ever before. We are thrilled to be joining with ICON, a company with a similar culture and values. I’m deeply indebted to PRA’s 19,000 talented employees who have helped us bring this vision closer to reality. We stand together now because patients can’t wait.” TRANSACTION DETAILS Under the terms of the transaction, PRA shareholders will receive per share, $80 in cash and 0.4125 shares of ICON stock. Upon completion of the transaction, PRA shareholders will own approximately 34 percent of the shares of the combined company and ICON shareholders will own approximately 66 percent. MANAGEMENT, GOVERNANCE AND HEADQUARTERS The combined company will be headquartered in Dublin, Ireland. Dr. Steve Cutler, Chief Executive Officer of ICON plc, will serve as Chief Executive Officer of the combined company and Brendan Brennan, Chief Financial Officer of ICON plc, will serve as Chief Financial Officer. Ciaran Murray will serve as the Chairman of the Board of Directors. Current PRA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Colin Shannon will join the board post the closing of the transaction along with one additional board member from PRA. FINANCING, CLOSING AND APPROVALS ICON intends to fund the cash portion of the transaction consideration through a combination of cash on hand and fully committed debt financing from Citi. The transaction is not subject to a financing condition. The transaction has been unanimously approved by both Boards of Directors and is anticipated to close during quarter three of 2021, subject to regulatory and shareholder approvals and customary closing conditions. Until closing, PRA and ICON remain separate and independent companies. ADVISORS Centerview Partners is acting as lead financial advisor with Citi providing additional financial advisory services, and Cahill Gordon & Reindel serving as legal counsel to ICON plc. BofA and UBS Investment Bank are acting as financial advisors, and Paul Weiss serving as legal counsel to PRA Health Sciences. CONFERENCE CALL / WEBINAR DETAILS ICON will hold a conference call today, February 24th, 2021 at 8:30 EST [13:30 Ireland & UK]. This call and linked slide presentation can be accessed live from our website at http://investor.iconplc.com. A recording will also be available on the website for 90 days following the call. In addition, a calendar of company events, including upcoming conference presentations, is available on our website, under “Investors”. This calendar will be updated regularly. About ICON plc ICON plc is a global provider of outsourced drug and device development and commercialisation services to pharmaceutical, biotechnology, medical device and government and public health organisations. The company specialises in the strategic development, management and analysis of programs that support clinical development - from compound selection to Phase I-IV clinical studies. With headquarters in Dublin, Ireland, ICON employed approximately 16,000 employees in 93 locations in 41 countries as at December 31, 2020. For further information about ICON, visit: www.iconplc.com and www.iconplc.com/pra About PRA PRA is one of the world’s leading global contract research organizations by revenue, providing outsourced clinical development and data solution services to the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries. PRA’s global clinical development platform includes more than 75 offices across North America, Europe, Asia, Latin America, Africa, Australia and the Middle East and approximately 19,000 employees worldwide. Since 2000, PRA has participated in approximately 4,000 clinical trials worldwide. In addition, PRA has participated in the pivotal or supportive trials that led to U.S. Food and Drug Administration or international regulatory approval of more than 95 drugs. To learn more about PRA, please visit: www.prahs.com Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements This communication contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. These forward-looking statements generally include statements regarding the potential transaction between ICON public limited company, a public limited company in Ireland (“ICON”) and PRA Health Sciences, Inc., a Delaware corporation (“PRA”), including any statements regarding the expected timetable for completing the potential transaction, the ability to complete the potential transaction, the expected benefits of the potential transaction (including anticipated synergies, projected financial information and future opportunities) and any other statements regarding ICON’s and PRA’s future expectations, beliefs, plans, objectives, results of operations, financial condition and cash flows, or future events or performance. These statements are often, but not always, made through the use of words or phrases such as “anticipate,” “intend,” “plan,” “believe,” “project,” “estimate,” “expect,” “may,” “should,” “will” and similar expressions. All such forward-looking statements are based on current expectations of ICON’s and PRA’s management and therefore involve estimates and assumptions that are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the results expressed in the statements. Key factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements include the ability to obtain the requisite ICON and PRA stockholder approvals; uncertainties as to the timing to consummate the potential transaction; the risk that a condition to closing the potential transaction may not be satisfied; the risk that regulatory approvals are not obtained or are obtained subject to conditions that are not anticipated by the parties; potential litigation relating to the potential transaction that could be instituted against ICON, PRA or their respective directors; the effects of disruption to ICON’s or PRA’s respective businesses; restrictions during the pendency of the potential transaction that may impact ICON’s or PRA’s ability to pursue certain business opportunities or strategic transactions; the effect of this communication on ICON’s or PRA’s stock prices; transaction costs; ICON’s ability to achieve the benefits from the proposed transaction; ICON’s ability to effectively integrate acquired operations into its own operations; the ability of ICON or PRA to retain and hire key personnel; unknown liabilities; and the diversion of management time on transaction-related issues. Other important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements include the effects of industry, market, economic, political or regulatory conditions outside of ICON’s or PRA’s control (including public health crises, such as pandemics and epidemics); risks regarding PRA’s ability to maintain large customer contracts or enter into new contracts; PRA’s ability to attract suitable investigators and patients for its clinical trials; PRA’s ability to keep pace with rapid technological change; PRA’s potential liability if a patient is harmed; and the factors set forth under the heading “Risk Factors” of ICON’s Annual Report on Form 20-F and PRA’s Annual Report on Form 10-K, and in subsequent filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”). These risks, as well as other risks associated with the potential transaction, are more fully discussed in the joint proxy statement/prospectus to be filed with the SEC in connection with the proposed transaction. Other unpredictable or unknown factors not discussed in this communication could also have material adverse effects on forward-looking statements. Neither ICON nor PRA assumes any obligation to update any forward-looking statements, except as required by law. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements that speak only as of the date hereof. No Offer or Solicitation This communication does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities or a solicitation of any vote or approval, nor shall there be any sale of securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such jurisdiction. No offer of securities shall be made except by means of a prospectus meeting the requirements of Section 10 of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended. Important Information for Investors and Stockholders In connection with the potential transaction, ICON expects to file a registration statement on Form F-4 with the SEC containing a preliminary prospectus of ICON that also constitutes a preliminary proxy statement of each of ICON and PRA. After the registration statement is declared effective, each of ICON and PRA will mail a definitive joint proxy statement/prospectus to stockholders of ICON and PRA, respectively. This communication is not a substitute for the joint proxy statement/prospectus or registration statement or for any other document that ICON or PRA may file with the SEC in connection with the potential transaction. INVESTORS AND SECURITY HOLDERS OF ICON AND PRA ARE URGED TO READ THE JOINT PROXY STATEMENT/PROSPECTUS AND OTHER DOCUMENTS THAT ARE FILED OR WILL BE FILED WITH THE SEC, AS WELL AS ANY AMENDMENTS OR SUPPLEMENTS TO THESE DOCUMENTS, CAREFULLY AND IN THEIR ENTIRETY WHEN THEY BECOME AVAILABLE BECAUSE THEY WILL CONTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION. Investors and security holders will be able to obtain free copies of the joint proxy statement/prospectus (when available) and other documents filed with the SEC by ICON or PRA through the website maintained by the SEC at http://www.sec.gov. Copies of the documents filed with the SEC by ICON will be available free of charge on ICON’s website at https://www.iconplc.com and copies of the documents filed with the SEC by PRA will be available free of charge on PRA’s website at https://www.prahs.com/. Additionally, copies may be obtained by contacting the investor relations departments of ICON or PRA. ICON and PRA and certain of their respective directors, certain of their respective executive officers and other members of management and employees may be considered participants in the solicitation of proxies with respect to the potential transaction under the rules of the SEC. Information about the directors and executive officers of ICON is set forth in its annual report on Form 20-F, which was filed with the SEC on February 27, 2020. Information about the directors and executive officers of PRA is set forth in its proxy statement for its 2020 annual meeting of stockholders, which was filed with the SEC on April 3, 2020. These documents can be obtained free of charge from the sources indicated above. Additional information regarding the interests of such participants in the solicitation of proxies in respect of the potential transaction will be included in the registration statement and joint proxy statement/prospectus and other relevant materials to be filed with the SEC when they become available. The term “PRA” may refer to PRA Health Sciences, Inc., one or more of its consolidated subsidiaries, or to all of them taken as a whole. The term “ICON” may refer to ICON public limited company, one or more of its consolidated subsidiaries, or to all of them taken as a whole. All of these terms are used for convenience only and are not intended as a precise description of any of the separate companies, each of which manages its own affairs.
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Organization Merge
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‘It tasted bitter, I still went ahead with it’: The toxic juice that got Tahira Kashyap Khurrana hospitalised
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Tahira Kashyap Khurrana had a bit of a health scare recently. She took to Instagram telling her followers that she was in the ICU for two days, because of an extreme case of food poisoning.
“I had something which is known as bottle gourd toxicity, which is doodhi… Your gentle doodhi can do this to you. If it tastes bitter, please don’t have it,” Tahira said in a video.
She explained that she had consumed a toxic concoction of bottle gourd juice, which comprised the gourd, amla and some turmeric (haldi). “I used to have fresh juice in the morning. But that day, it tasted bitter and I still went ahead with it. The doctor said it was almost like having cyanide.”
A post shared by tahirakashyapkhurrana (@tahirakashyap)
She continued, saying she thought the drink was bitter because it had “more vitamin C in it”. She warned her followers against committing the same mistake.
“Immediately [after consumption] my body reacted. I had about 17 bouts of vomit, and my blood pressure dropped to 40.”
While this sounds very alarming, nutritionist and health coach Karishma Shah tells indianexpress.com that it has happened to a lot of people. “What one should keep in mind is that not all vegetables can be had raw. There is a very clear distinction between some that you can eat raw as a salad, and some others that you must never consume raw. Doodhi is one of them,” she says.
Shah explains that over a period of time, experts have come to realise that bottle gourd can cause an adverse effect. “There have been cases wherein people have had the juice and the doodhi has been bad, leading to them being rushed to the ICU. It can cause breathlessness and lots of different issues. It is quite common, because we have no control over the kind of produce that is coming to us. We cannot chop and taste it every day before actually consuming it. I will not recommend people to have raw doodhi. You can blanch and boil it, and use it as a subzi, or even a soup. It gets cooked and is safer that way,” she concludes.
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? The above article is for information purposes only and is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice. Always seek the guidance of your doctor or other qualified health professional for any questions you may have regarding your health or a medical condition.
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Mass Poisoning
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China’s 18-Year Sentence for Farming Tycoon Sends Warning to Billionaires
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China has sent a hog farming tycoon to 18 years in prison for a range of crimes, delivering another message to the financial elite of the world’s second-largest economy they will pay a heavy price for challenging the ruling Communist Party. Sun Dawu, 67, was handed the term Wednesday, a court in Gaobeidian, in the northern province of Hebei, said on an official social media account. He was convicted the same day of a range of crimes that included gathering people to attack state agencies, obstructing public administration and “picking quarrels and provoking troubles” -- a catch-all charge courts often use against dissidents. Other defendants received “relevant punishment,” the statement added without elaborating. A statement from Sun’s lawyers circulating on Chinese social media said another 19 defendants received prison sentences of up to 12 years. “We urge the public to keep paying attention to the development of Sun’s case, and to the existential and developmental environment of Chinese private companies,” it reads. Sun was a frequent critic of the government and its policies. In 2019, he posted pictures online of hundreds of dead pigs and accused authorities of covering up an African swine fever outbreak. The disease wiped out almost half of China’s pig population and sent prices of the nation’s most widely consumed protein soaring to record levels. President Xi Jinping has taken steps to silence dissent since taking power nearly a decade ago, imposing “Xi Thought” over many aspects of life in the Asian nation, from education and media to economic management and military reform. That campaign has included reining in voices challenging the government, including those of civil rights lawyers, professors and even some rich. Ren Zhiqiang in 2009. Photographer: Nelson Ching/Bloomberg In September last year, China jailed property tycoon Ren Zhiqiang for 18 years on graft charges. That came after Ren was linked to an article criticizing Xi’s handling of the coronavirus outbreak. China has also handed out stiff sentences for graft and other financial crimes under Xi. Lai Xiaomin, the former chairman of China Huarong Asset Management Co., was condemned to death in January for accepting $277 million in bribes and bigamy. In 2018, Wu Xiaohui, the former chairman of Anbang Insurance Group Co., was handed 18 years in prison for fraud totaling $10.2 billion. Sun was arrested in November amid media reports that his company, Hebei Dawu Agricultural & Animal Husbandry Group Co., was involved in land disputes with a state-owned farm. Sun founded Hebei Dawu in 1985 by raising chickens and pigs. It’s one of the 500 largest private enterprises in China, according to Chinese corporate database qcc.com. As his farming empire grew, he expanded into sectors including education, hotels and hospitals. Sun’s first brush with the law was in 2003, when he was detained for more than five months over allegations that he and colleagues raised $2 million to invest without central bank approval, according to China Economic Weekly. He later received a suspended three-year jail term. Sun also served as a lawmaker in Baoding, Hebei province, in 1995, the magazine affiliated with state-run People’s Daily reported. Rights group Chinese Human Rights Defenders called Sun’s prosecution “a blatant attempt to punish Sun for his support of human rights defenders,” including Xu Zhiyong. Xu was detained last year after calling for Xi to resign over the early handling of the coronavirus outbreak.
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Famous Person - Commit Crime - Sentence
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2016 Macedonian protests
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Government of Macedonia(led by VMRO-DPMNE)
United opposition and NGOs, including:
And others... Supported by:
Nikola Gruevski (former Prime Minister and leader of VMRO-DPMNE)
Radmila Šekerinska (Deputy leader of SDSM)
Oliver Spasovski (Minister of Interior)
Andrej Žernovski (Mayor of municipality of Centar)
Stevo Pendarovski (former candidate for President of Macedonia)
Tito Petkovski (Leader of NSDP)
Zdravko Saveski
In April 2016, protests began in the Republic of Macedonia against the incumbent President Gjorgje Ivanov and the government led by the interim Prime Minister Emil Dimitriev from the ruling VMRO-DPMNE party. Referred to by some as the Colorful Revolution[2][3] (Macedonian: Шарена револуција), the protests have started after the controversial decision by President Gjorgje Ivanov to stop the investigation against former Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski and dozens of politicians who were allegedly involved in a wiretapping scandal. [4][5] The demonstrations were organized by "Protestiram" (I protest) and supported from coalition led by the Social Democratic Union of Macedonia, and other opposition parties, also the newly formed Levica (The Left)[6][7] demanding that the government resigns for the formation of a technical government, and that the parliamentary elections planned for 5 June 2016 are cancelled, on the grounds that the conditions for free and transparent elections are not in place. [8] The government and its supporters, who have organized pro-government rallies, maintain that the elections on June 5 are the only solution to the political crisis, with some observers blaming the opposition for creating a "Ukraine scenario" in Macedonia. [9][10][11][12][13]
Initially taking place in Skopje, the capital, both anti- and pro-government protests have also occurred in other cities in the country, including Bitola, Kicevo, Kočani, Veles, Strumica, Prilep, Kumanovo and Tetovo. [3][14] Thousands of people have taken part in the demonstrations. [9] The European Union and the United States criticized the government of Macedonia for the pardon of the politicians and stated that Macedonia's prospects of becoming a member of the EU and NATO were under threat because of it. [15][16][17] In an official statement, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia labelled the Macedonian opposition as a tool of foreign powers being used to destabilize the political situation in the country. [11]
Large protests occurred in May 2015 in the Republic of Macedonia against the government of Prime Minister of Macedonia, Nikola Gruevski, following the publication of information by opposition leader Zoran Zaev that suggested Gruevski had thousands of Macedonian citizens wiretapped. [5] Many people protested against alleged government corruption, with estimates putting the number of demonstrators in the tens of thousands, demanding the resignation of the Prime Minister. [18][19][20] Pro-government rallies occurred as well, which also had tens of thousands attendees. [21] An agreement, brokered by the European Union and the United States, was worked on in June and July 2015. As part of the agreement, Gruevski resigned in January 2016 and pledged to hold early elections, which were decided on later that year to be held on June 5. [22]
On 12 April 2016 President of Macedonia Gjorge Ivanov halted judicial inquiries into 56 officials suspected of involvement in the wiretapping scandal. Ivanov stated to have done so in the best interest of the country, and to end the political crisis. [17][23][24] His party of appointment, the VMRO-DPMNE allegedly did not agree with his action. Opposition leader Zoran Zaev subsequently called for supporting anti-government protests organized by NGOs. [23]
Demonstrations have begun on 12 April 2016, with reports suggesting that about 4,000+ people took part. Crowds broke through a police cordon towards government buildings, throwing flares at President Ivanov's offices and burning portraits of him. More actions occurred on 14 April, with five police officers being injured from people throwing rocks and one protester being detained. [25][26] The demonstration that occurred on 16 April and ended peacefully, but on 17 April protesters threw eggs and stones at the triumphal arc on Skopje. [8] Thousands of people demonstrated in Skopje on 15 April, carrying white flags and banners. [27] On 18 April, it was reported that more than ten thousand people took part in demonstrations in Skopje, with protests also happening in other cities of Macedonia (including Bitola, Strumica and Veles). [14]
The protest on 19 April began in front of the special prosecutor's office, preceded to parliament and was stopped by police before reaching the EU mission. It numbered in the thousands. [28] Several thousand people turned out for demonstrations on the eighth day of the protest, 20 April. [29] At this point, throwing colours at various governmental buildings and monuments of the Skopje 2014 project had become a regular feature at the protests, and the term „colourful revolution“ gained some popularity among the protesters and the social media. The eight day journalists began referring to the protests as „colorful revolution“ - with Kristina Ozimec's article for Deutsche Welle being the first to use the term. [30] Also on that day, Zaev announced that he would not be willing to take part in EU-brokered talks in Vienna (proposed by European Commissioner Johannes Hahn two days earlier) unless certain conditions are met. [31] On 21 April, two rallies were held near each other in Skopje, each attended by thousands of people. One was anti-government, organized by the SDSM and the "Protestiram" (I Protest) organization, while the second was organized by the Citizens for Macedonian Defense (GDOM, in Macedonian), supported by the ruling VMRO party. The anti-government protest started in front of the special prosecutor's building, where protesters shouted "No Justice No Peace" and "Support the SJO" (special prosecution). The pro-government protesters shouted "No one can harm you Nikola" and carried anti-NATO banners. [32] On 22 April in 11 cities in Macedonia there was big anti government demonstrations organized by "Protestiram" (I Protest) organization and supported by united opposition of Macedonia. [33] On the same day European Union announced sanctions for politics and persons from VMRO-DPMNE. [34]
On 23 April the anti-government protests continued in several cities in the country. [35] Next day, Zdravko Saveski, member of the collective presidency of the left-wing party Levica (the Left) and one other member of the same party were put in house custody. [36] Previously, three more protesters were put in house custody. The protests organized by "Protestiram" (I protest) and supported by the opposition and nongovernmental organizations continued in several cities and the between 15,000 and 20,000 demonstrators in Skopje protest in front of the parliament, the several ministry, and in front of the government. [37] On 25 April a large pro-government rally occurred in Bitola, organized by the Citizens for Macedonian Defense (GDOM, in Macedonian), with thousands in attendance. They rallied in support of the planned parliamentary elections on June 5. [9] On Tuesday, 26 April the anti-government protests begin in new 3 cities: Tetovo, Kicevo and Radovis, and this day there was protest in 15 cities in Macedonia. [3] There was a pro-government rally on April 27, organized by GDOM in the city of Kicevo in support of the planned parliamentary elections on June 5. [10] The anti-government protests continued after the holidays on 2 and 3 May in Skopje, Tetovo, Bitola, Prilep, Strumica, Kumanovo and Gevgelija. [38] In Skopje demonstrators protests in front of parliament, government and courts. [39]
On 4 May farmers join the "Protestiram" (I protest) movement with road block in the country. [40] Also on that day, mass pro-government demonstrations organized by the GDOM occurred in Bitola, Stip, Veles, Delcevo, Gevgelija, Strumica, Kumanovo, Tetovo and Radovis, in support of the June 5 elections. A spokesperson for the GDOM told the media that they needed to prevent destructive scenarios and allow the people to make their decision by voting in the scheduled elections. [41] On 6 May 2016 there were anti-government protests in 14 cities around the country.
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Protest_Online Condemnation
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The federal government has torn up Victoria’s ‘Belt and Road’ agreement with China. Here’s what that means.
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The Morrison government has used its new foreign veto powers to rip up Victoria’s Belt and Road agreement with China. The move had long been anticipated after the federal and state governments repeatedly butted heads over an incoherent China policy. It comes after China placed significant tariffs and restrictions on a large number of Australian exports. The feud raging between Canberra and Beijing has again escalated, as the federal government jettisons one of the few agreements China actually wanted to maintain. Having copped it for the last 12 months on everything from tourism and wine to barley and even coal , Canberra has struck back. On Wednesday, the Morrison government announced it would use new veto powers to end the Belt and Road agreement that Victoria had unilaterally signed, along with two others it had with Iran and Syria. In a statement, Minister for Foreign Affairs Marise Payne said the deals had been “inconsistent with Australia’s foreign policy or adverse to our foreign relations”. Here’s what it means. What is the Belt and Road Initiative? The scheme, known also as One Belt One Road (OBOR) , is a global infrastructure development plan hatched by China in 2013. Its purpose is to invest heavily across more than 100 different nations and organisations, essentially bankrolling major projects around the world. China claims the $US26 trillion global program is mutually beneficial for all involved, with President Xi Jinping claiming it will “achieve economic integration and interconnected development”. Through the initiative, China stands to gain greater access to export markets, facilitating trade with them, and promoting the renminbi as a global currency. It also create enormous demand for the country’s state-owned construction and material companies, open up avenues for China to invest globally, and reorientate the world eastward. It would also develop ther countries’ dependence on China and its economy, expanding its influence and providing useful leverage over neighbouring states. Why did Victoria sign on to the BRI? The Victorian government unilaterally signed a memorandum of understanding, essentially a tentative agreement, with China way back in 2018. It subsequently came on board to agree to several ‘frameworks’. All of these were largely symbolic, with no concrete commitments made either way. It didn’t stop Victorian Premier Dan Andrews from talking up the jobs and growth potential of the deal, ostensibly allowing China to invest in Victoria and Victorian businesses to be contracted to build infrastructure. “[The agreement is] all about making sure that more Victorian product is sent to our biggest and smallest customers,” Andrews said last year. “Whether it’s to China or any other part of the world, it’s all about jobs.” Why did Canberra veto it? The federal government is circumspect on the deal for the same reasons China is enthusiastic about it, namely that rising Chinese influence in the region would diminish its own. With Victoria being the only Australian government to sign on, it also appeared to break with the rest of the country and undermine a uniform China policy. The Victorian deal accordingly has been a thorn in the side of the Morrison government, which has repeatedly butted heads with Dan Andrews over it. While it had been at a loose end to do anything about it previously, the government granted itself new bolstered foreign veto powers late last year. Those require government of all levels as well as public institutions such as universities to be transparent about any existing or proposed arrangements they have with foreign governments. “Australians rightly expect the federal government they elect to set foreign policy,” Prime Minister Scott Morrison said when the new powers were introduced. “Where any of these agreements undermine how the federal government is protecting and promoting our national interests they can be cancelled.” More than 1,000 such agreements have since been brought to the Foreign Minister’s attention, although these are the very first to be torn up. Payne said on Wednesday she expects “the overwhelming majority of them to remain unaffected”. The fallout Although the long-anticipated veto would have annoyed the Andrews government, the response from his government has so far been muted, deflecting that the matter is now a Commonwealth one. China has been far more vocal. In a statement issued to media on Thursday, the Chinese embassy called it “another unreasonable and provocative move taken by the Australian side against China”. “It further shows that the Australian government has no sincerity in improving China-Australia relations. It is bound to bring further damage to bilateral relations, and will only end up hurting itself,” a spokesperson said. It comes at the same time that relations between the countries have severely soured. A spate of tariffs and Chinese trade investigations have smashed, or threatened to smash, some of Australia’s largest export markets. Australia in turn has blamed massive cyberattacks on the Chinese state and increasingly been buffeted by strong criticism coming out of Chinese state media. The decision to tear up the BRI agreement was long expected, but it nonetheless won’t do anything to rebuild bridges between the two nations.
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Tear Up Agreement
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2010 Eureka earthquake
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The 2010 Eureka earthquake occurred on January 9 at 4:27:38 pm PST offshore of Humboldt County, California, United States. The magnitude was measured 6.5 on the Mw scale, and its epicenter was located offshore in the Pacific Ocean 33 miles (53 km) west of the nearest major city, Eureka. Additionally, there was a separate earthquake further offshore of Eureka on February 4 with a slightly lower magnitude of 5.9. [9] It was also the most significant earthquake in the Eureka area in terms of magnitude since the 1992 Cape Mendocino earthquakes. [10] It was felt from Santa Cruz County, California in the south, to Eugene, Oregon in the north and to the east as far as Reno, Nevada. [7]
Near Cape Mendocino, the Mendocino Triple Junction is an area of active seismicity where three tectonic plates come together. The Mendocino Fracture Zone (also known as the Mendocino Fault east of the Gorda Ridge) is a transform fault that separates the Pacific and Gorda Plates. To the south, the relative motion between the Pacific Plate and North American Plate is accommodated by the San Andreas Fault, and to the north, the Gorda Plate is converging with the North American Plate at the Cascadia Subduction Zone. [11]
Structural damage was inflicted among older Victorian houses, power was severed for several hours, and windows were shattered. In addition, 28,000 customers of Pacific Gas and Electric Co., mostly those from Humboldt County, were left without electricity and phone services as a result. [8]
In Eureka, the Old Town Bar and Grill building was previously believed to be severely damaged beyond repair and ordered demolished by the city, until a developer purchased and renovated it in 2011. [12] The town's high school, known as Eureka High School, and the Bayshore Mall were damaged and briefly closed, though both were later reopened with close to full services. An auditorium at Eureka High remained closed over concerns regarding its structural safety as of June 15, 2010. [13] A total of 463 buildings sustained damage as a result of the earthquake, leaving $21.8–43 million in losses. [4][5]
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Earthquakes
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Great fire of Brisbane
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The Great fire of Brisbane was a major conflagration that swept through the central parts of Brisbane in the Colony of Queensland (now a state of Australia) on 1 December 1864. For two and a half hours the fire burned out of control in large parts of Brisbane's central business district with entire blocks being destroyed, mainly in Queen, Albert, George, and Elizabeth Streets. It consumed 50 houses, 2 banks, 3 hotels, 4 draperies, and many other businesses as well as a "considerable amount of small houses". [1] Considering the extent of the fire, casualties were very few; there was no loss of life, and four people were taken to hospital with injuries. [2]
Two fires occurred in Brisbane in the same year before the Great Fire of Brisbane, the first occurred on 11 April 1864 in Queen Street where 14 buildings were burnt out. [3] The second occurred only a few months before the Great Fire of Brisbane. The fire broke out around 1:00 am on 5 September 1864, the Volunteer Fire Brigade was quick to respond and extinguished the blaze within an hour. A total of fourteen buildings were destroyed in this fire. [4]
These fires were able to spread easily due to the abundance of buildings made from timber, and the limited supply of water to subdue the fires. After the April fire, an unknown Brisbane resident urged the Brisbane city council to invest in a proper fire brigade, however this warning was apparently ignored. Sir, - What would the nations of the earth think if they knew that in the chief city of the colony of Queensland there is not a properly organised Fire Brigade, neither paid nor voluntary. There is a fire engine certainly, such as it is, but it is a miserable affair, compared with those made in America, though I have no doubt it has cost as much money. The great fire this morning tells a tale which should not be disregarded; some fine buildings have been thoroughly burnt down, to say nothing of the contents, most likely of far more value. Will not the government and the city council bestir themselves, so that this city shall be placed in comparative safety from fire? [5]
The fire started in the cellar underneath Stewart and Hemmant's drapery on the corner of Queen Street and Albert Street at around 7:40pm. News was conveyed to the police station, where the fire bell rang in alarm, and soon the entire available force was assembled and quickly despatched to the fires location. The doors of the building were broken in, but by this time the interior was 'one vast sheet of flame', with none of its contents salvageable. A crowd of hundreds gathered at the fiery scene, amongst whom was the Governor George Bowen, accompanied by Captain Carnegie. The Stewart and Hemmant's store could not be saved, so the volunteers-among whom the members of the Fire Brigade No. 1, and their Superintendent, Mr. R. Macdonnel, directed their attention to salvaging property in the nearest buildings, which included Gaujard's tobacco divan, and the businesses further up along Queen street. Amongst the volunteers were the Police Magistrate, and nearly the whole of the unpaid Justices, and the Bishops Tufnell and Quinn, who were also assisted by a large number of clergymen. A great deal of valuable stock of tobacco and cigars was saved, with soldiers guarding the property. [6]
Further up, a number of men headed by Mr. Cutbush got onto the roofs of two small shops, and attempted to pull the structures down. However, due to the heavy use of wood in the city's architecture, the fire progressed rapidly. Two of the men had been caught by the fire on the roof of Williams' Oyster Salon, and stayed on the burning building until it collapsed and they fell into the flames beneath, where they were quickly rescued although Mr. Cutbush was severely injured in the fall. At 8:30pm the fire slowed to a temporary lull due to some of the brick and stone buildings in the fires path, and another attempt was made to save the more valuable properties further up the street. Volunteers began demolishing the Café De Paris, however the extreme heat forced them to retreat. By 9:00pm, the north-westerly wind began spreading the fire down Albert Street and onto Elizabeth Street, however the damage along there was less severe as the buildings were spaced further apart, but in the laneway connected to Albert street running parallel to Queen Street was home to a large number of poor people with small wooden houses, all of which were destroyed. [7]
The volunteers emptied the Union Bank's vault of books, securities, and bullion before it too burnt down, while the valuables in Palmer's drapery, Lade's saddlery, and Messrs were saved. Meanwhile, on the opposite side of Queen Street, storekeepers used wet blankets to effectively halt the spread of fire coming over in that direction. By 11:30pm, the last building along Queen street was destroyed, the Bank of New South Wales, and the flames were halted in George street where the house of Mr. Pillow was demolished, thereby saving the stone building, the Registrar-Generals Office. The new building under construction on the corner of George and Queen streets was also saved, as the contractor had removed all wood from the site. Altogether 50 houses, and many businesses were destroyed, alongside a large number of 'small houses' in the laneways off Albert street. Within just a few hours the main centre of the city had been turned to ruin, with the total cost of the fire valued at £60,000 pounds. [8]
Following the fire, the rebuilding used more stone and brick. [9]
However, it was not until 1881 that a Brisbane Fire Brigade Board was established. Its first commander, John Edward Hinton, was appointed in 1882, but it was not until 1889 that the first full-time fireman was appointed. [10]
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Fire
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16 Celebrity Couples Who Were Friends First
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Your eventual partner can come into your life in so many different ways: At work, on a dating app, through mutual friends, and so on. But sometimes, your perfect match is a person you've already known for years. Friends falling for each other make up some of the most magical love stories ever (It's a popular rom-com plot for a reason!), including those of several of our favorite famous duos. Read on for 16 adorable celebrity couples who were friends before things turned romantic. And to see how other pairs changed over the years, check out 12 Beloved, Long-Term Celebrity Couples, Then and Now. Gwen Stefani and Blake Shelton were both processing divorces (from Gavin Rossdale and Miranda Lambert, respectively) when their friendship bloomed. They were also coaches on The Voice at the time, and Shelton told Billboard that supporting each other through their breakups is what brought them together. "That's kind of how our friendship and bond started, that day," he said. "It went from that, to checking in on each other once a week through email—'This s*** happened to me, what happened to you?'—to maybe three times a week, then every day, to 'Hey, here's my phone number if you ever want to text.' Next thing I know, I wake up and she's all I care about, and I'm wondering if she feels the same about me." For more stars who met at work, here are 15 Onscreen Couples You Totally Forgot Dated in Real Life. Kim Kardashian and Kanye West had been in each other's lives for years before they were a couple. The first time they met was through Brandy Norwood, who Kardashian was working for at the time, and by the time she was getting serious with ex-husband Kris Humphries, West realized his feelings for her were real. "I got a phone because somebody decided they wanted to marry Kris Humphries," West told Khloe Kardashian on an episode of her short-lived talk show. "I wasn't up to anything, and I looked on the internet and there was Kim Kardija with some extremely tall person. I was like, 'I need to call her or something.'" Jada Pinkett Smith and Will Smith first met when she auditioned (but didn't get cast) for The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. At the time, Will was still married to his first wife, Sheree Zampino. He's since recalled having an epiphany moment, deciding to end his marriage to pursue a romantic relationship with Jada. For more celebrity couple facts sent right to your inbox, sign up for our daily newsletter. Working on The Green Lantern together, Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds became fast friends. In fact, they even went on a double date with other people together before realizing they should just date each other. "That's what I appreciate about our relationship is that he really is—he's my friend, first and foremost still, you know?" Lively said during a Sirius XM interview, as reported by Elle. "Not just in our history but in everyday life, he is my friend first. And I think that's the secret to happiness." Most fans know that Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis' relationship goes all the way back to That '70s Show, when Kutcher was in his twenties and Kunis was still a teenager. They'd go on to date other people for years, with Kutcher even marrying and later divorcing Demi Moore, before the former co-stars developed feelings for each other after catching up at the 2012 Golden Globes. "Then he just turns around, and it was like literally, if we were in a movie, the music would just start playing and violins would go," Kunis told Howard Stern (via Elle). "I just went [gasps]. Like, I think he for the first time ever took my breath away." For more couples who are making age differences work, here are 27 Celebrity Couples With Huge Age Gaps. Neil Patrick Harris and David Burtka were both performing on Broadway when they met. Burtka as dating someone else, so they first began hanging out as friends. Harris admitted to Out that he "didn't think in a million years" that there would be anything romantic between them. Obviously, he was dead wrong. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's relationship started when they both attended college at St. Andrews, but royal expert Katie Nicholl told Vanity Fair that they didn't start dating right away. Prince William made Kate Middleton's acquaintance while she was jogging around campus, and they were in each other's friend group for months before he finally made a move. For more on their relationship, check out William and Kate Have Endearing, Embarrassing Nicknames for Each Other. When Orange is the New Black first started filming, writer Lauren Morelli was married to a man and coming to a new understanding about her sexuality. Samira Wiley, who played Poussey on the show, was supportive of that, and told BUST that there was "something deeply intimate" about their conversations on the subject, even just as friends. Through these conversations, they eventually fell in love, and they've been married since 2017. Camila Cabello and Shawn Mendes first felt sparks when they worked on their song "I Know What You Did Last Summer" together, but the timing wasn't right for a relationship, as Cabello later told Rolling Stone. They stayed friends and bided their time, though she admitted it did become an "awkward thing," and by the time they were recording their next duet, "Señorita," together, they were able to make their romance a reality. For stars who were huge with the kids, check out This Was the Most Popular Teen Idol the Year You Graduated. Beyoncé and Jay-Z have known each other since the '90s. Due to the significant age difference between them—she was 18 and he was 30—they didn't pursue a relationship right away. But being friends first meant that they were more prepared when the time came, as the "Single Ladies" singer told Oprah Winfrey in 2013. "We were friends first for a year and a half before we went on any dates," she said, via People. "We were on the phone for a year and a half, and that foundation is so important for a relationship. Just to have someone who you just like is so important, and someone [who] is honest." Jessica Alba was starring in 2005's Fantastic Four when she hit it off with Cash Warren, who was part of the crew. The actor was instantly attracted to him, but they formed their relationship on the basis of friendship, since she was dating someone else. Still, as Alba told Cosmopolitan, that foundation ended up being what really makes their marriage work. "The romantic stuff comes and goes, but it's like, does that person have your back?" she said. "You have to be a team navigating through wherever life may lead you and I want a friend for that." Being that they were two of the biggest teen stars of the '90s, it's no surprise that Sarah Michelle Gellar and Freddie Prinze Jr. dated—it's their longevity as a couple that seems to defy the odds. That they've gone the distance makes more sense when you realize that they're another pair who connected platonically first. After meeting on the set of I Know What You Did Last Summer, they were friends for years, and their first date was a total accident. "20 years ago this week, my friend @realfreddieprinze and I were supposed to have dinner with a mutual friend from out of town. That friend missed her flight, but we decided to still meet and catch up," Gellar wrote on Instagram in January 2020. "Now 20 years together, 17 plus married and two kids, we still go to that restaurant for dinner." Though they haven't spoken too much about it publicly, Carey Mulligan and Mumford & Sons frontman Marcus Mumford's love story dates all the way back to their childhoods. The two future stars met at a church camp as kids and went on to become penpals for years before growing up, falling in love, and getting married in 2012 after just a few months of dating. Courtney B. Vance and Angela Bassett came into each other's orbit when they were both attending the Yale School of Drama. They were in other relationships and stayed friends for almost 15 years before their romantic relationship actually began, as Bassett told People. "Maybe about 14 years later, our paths crossed here in Los Angeles. And I was single, he was single," she said. "And I had such an appreciation for him over those years—of his consistency, how he treated other people, of what a supporter he is, what a connector of people and ideas he is, how passionate he is." Interestingly enough, Margot Robbie and producer Tom Ackerley were actually roommates before they were romantically involved. They decided to live together with friends after hitting it off while filming Suite Française together. They hid their relationship at first so it wouldn't disrupt their living situation, but eventually, word got out, and they've been together ever since. News personalities Al Roker and Deborah Roberts met when she began working at NBC in 1990, and he took her under his wing. Roberts told People that at the time, she "just thought he was a nice guy," and it wasn't until two years later—and some long-distance email correspondence—that he was finally successful in winning her over.
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Famous Person - Marriage
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Haunting image of coastal erosion wins Environmental Photographer of the Year 2021
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Jeevan Ravindran, CNN • Updated 8th November 2021 FacebookTwitterEmail 7 Pictures (CNN) — A child sleeps in the ruins of a home eroded by rising sea levels on a beach in Togo. This haunting image, the work of Spanish photographer Antonio Aragón Renuncio, was intended to highlight a problem faced by many West African countries and has scooped the first prize in this year's Environmental Photographer of the Year awards. The 14th edition of the contest, whose winners were announced Monday at the COP26 Climate Summit in Glasgow, saw almost 7,000 entries from 119 countries and was organized as a collaboration between environmental charity CIWEM, environmental streaming platform WaterBear and camera maker Nikon. "I'm very happy. It's a huge honor to win such an important prize," Aragón told CNN. "Especially one that's related to the environment, which is a topic I've been working on for several years and which I'm very worried about." Related content Stunning underwater scene crowned Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2021 winner "It was strange that every time I passed through the capital of Togo, Lomé, in the beach zone and towards the airport, I noticed each year that the road was closer to the water," he said. "I realized that it was a serious problem... and I think it's a story very few people know about, and very few people have told." Delhi-based photographer Amaan Ali took home the Young Environmental Photographer of the Year award for his image of a boy fighting forest fires on the banks of the Yamuna river near his home. Among the other winners were Italian photographer Michele Lapini, who captured a house submerged by floods in the Po Valley , and Bangladeshi photographer Ashraful Islam, who highlighted the effects of extreme drought on sheep desperate for grass. Related content Mesmerizing wildlife images from the British Ecological Society photo competition Meanwhile, Kenya's Kevin Ochieng Onyango won in the "Climate Action" category for his chilling depiction of the future of climate change, showing a child breathing in oxygen from a plant while a sandstorm brews in the background. Indian photographer Sandipani Chattopadhyay and Italian Simone Tramonte rounded out the category winners, with their portrayals of irregular monsoons causing algal blooms and of an Icelandic photobioreactor, respectively. The winning images are being shown alongside a selection of other photos at a COP26 exhibition. The climate summit began on October 31 and will end on November 12.
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Awards ceremony
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2016 video game voice actor strike
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The 2016–2017 video game voice actor strike was a strike started in October 2016 by the Screen Actors Guild‐American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) union against 11 American video game developers and publishers (Activision, Blindlight, Corps of Discovery Films, Disney Character Voices, Electronic Arts, Formosa Interactive, Insomniac Games, Interactive Associates, Take-Two Interactive, VoiceWorks Productions, and WB Games) over failed contract renegotiation terms that had been in discussion since February 2015. Principally, the union sought to have actors and voice and motion capture artists that contribute to video games be better compensated with residuals based on video game sales atop their existing recording payments, while the industry companies asserted that the industry as a whole eschews the use of residuals, and by giving the actors these, they would trivialize the efforts of the programmers and artists that are most responsible for the development of the games. In exchange, the companies had offered a fixed increase in rates and a sliding-scale upfront bonus for multiple recording sessions, which the union had rejected. Other issues highlighted by the strike action include better transparency in what roles and conditions actors would perform, more safety precautions and oversight to avoid vocal stress for certain roles, and better safety assurances for actors while on set. Actors within the union used both physical and virtual picketing to make the public aware of their complaints, and they have gained support from similar acting unions from Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand along with other unions within the entertainment industry. It was the first such unionized strike in the video game industry. Because of the commonly long development period for video games, the strike's impact on the industry was initially expected to be felt for years. A deal between SAG-AFTRA and the companies was reached on September 23, 2017, effectively ending the strike after 340 days; it was the longest strike in the history of the Screen Actors Guild. The agreement was ratified by SAG-AFTRA's board of directors and approved by majority vote in November 2017, creating a new three-year contract. Around a quarter of video games use some type of acting, either as live actors for full motion video, voice actors, or stunt actors for motion capture. [1] As the video game industry became more financially successful in the early 2010s, and video game hardware became more ubiquitous in households, many video game developers and publishers started to bring in well-recognized actors from other entertainment venue such as film and television for recording lines or footage for video games. Obtaining recognized actors for games can help to sell the title as well as generate potential promotional leads from non-traditional channels, such as having that actor promote the game while on talk shows. [2]
Within the United States, several of these actors are members of the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) or American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA); both merged into the SAG-AFTRA union in October 2012. The merged union has around 165,000 members as of 2016, with about 6,000 members that perform regularly for video games. [3] As early as the 1990s, these unions had developed Interactive Media Agreements with the video game industry to set standard rates for a typical four-hour recording session;[4] around 2005, this was about $759,[5] and around 2013, it was about $800–825 per session. [2] These are considered as minimum assured rates, but actors are free to negotiate higher rates with the game's developer or publisher. [2] Alternatively, companies can employ non-union actors. [6]
Unlike other entertainment media such as film or television, actors are not paid residuals or secondary compensation based on the success of a game. [2] Part of this is related to the relative age of the video game industry, which only recently has been seen to be as successful as film or television; in 2005, the video game industry only was worth about $11 billion, while the film industry drew in over $100 billion globally. As such, demanding residuals at that time was not seen as a necessary benefit to the actors. [2] Many actors had additional gigs in other entertainment sectors besides video games, and receiving residuals was not critical for them to make a living. [2] Video games were also rarely promoted to emphasize the actors behind the characters, unlike television and film, as consumers were unlikely to be directed towards purchasing a game based on its selection of actors. [7] Further, the video game industry itself is not as profitable as large growth numbers suggest, as much of the money earned by a sales or title is spent to offset the already-spent costs of having a large team of programmers and artists to develop the title. [2]
Since 2005, the video game industry grew quickly, with projections that it will reach a $100 billion global industry by 2018. [8] As early as 2008, there was discussion and arguments from the actors' unions that the video game industry should pay residuals on sales to actors, seeking equality with other entertainment industries, with the potential for a strike action if the industry did not agree. [2][7] Michael Hollick stated that he had only been paid about $100,000 for his voice work as the principle character in Grand Theft Auto IV, which went on to bring in more than $600 million in sales within its first three weeks of release. [7] Despite this discussion, SAG-AFTRA and the industry negotiated continuations on the Interactive Media Agreement without inclusion of residuals; in the most recent successful negotiation, to extend the Interactive Media Agreement through 2014, the two sides agreed to account for additional session fees for actors in games designed for cloud gaming. [4] Informing actors of "vocally stressful work" was negotiated in October 2009. [9]
With the Interactive Media Agreement to expire by the end of 2014, SAG-AFTRA and representatives of the video game industry began negotiating new agreement terms in late 2014. The parties had not come to an agreement when the Agreement expired, but the union members agreed to continue to provide acting work at the existing rates in good faith while negotiations continued. Meetings were held between parties in February and June 2015. At these meetings, the SAG-AFTRA representatives started pushing for inclusion of residual payments, stating that "This [video game] industry has grown, boomed and morphed into something bigger and lucrative than any other segment of the entertainment industry, and it continues to do so" that it now has the ability to pay such residuals. [10] The union sought "performance bonuses" that would earn actors an additional $825 for each session they did on a game for every 2 million copies of that game sold, up to 8 million copies. [10][11] The industry stated they were concerned that this type of payment structure would be financially harmful. [12]
The union was also concerned for actors involved in "vocally stressful" roles, and sought to have similar restrictions on session time and foreknowledge that one would give for stunt acting. [10] Around June 2016, SAG-AFTRA sent a letter co-signed by several of its members to the California division of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) requesting them to investigate health and safety issues related to the "vocally stressful" roles, citing several members who had developed vocal cord damage while recording screams and shouts for video games. The union specifically asked the division to evaluate these injuries resulting "voice acting in video games due to employers pushing too hard or not providing adequate safety measures". [13] The union said that they do not want to force new OSHA-driven regulations on the industry but considered this as a point of last resort if the video game industry did not help alleviate this situation. [14]
A third point of negotiation arose from transparency aspects for voice actor roles, an element that comes from the industry's background in the technology sector. Video game companies had relied on the same type of secrecy that high tech firms use, enforced by strict non-disclosure agreements, and do not want to have details of future games be presented to potential actors before they have committed to the part. These companies generally feared that leaks of seemingly trivial details from voice actors from a yet-announced or yet-published game can create a significant impact via social media, and could lead to competitors in the industry beating a company to market with their own product. [14] Even after actors have accepted their part, they may not have been told any details outside fundamental aspects of the character they are to voice or perform as, and with auditions and recording sessions that occur through email and remote communications, the actors could not inquire about the role, leaving them unprepared. [15][14] The situation left actors unclear about the role they are expected to perform until they were on the job, which created issues if the role required "vocally stressful" situations. [15] In some cases, voice actors were not told what game they have performed for, only to discover their involvement after a game is published, making it difficult to maintain a professional resume for other gigs. [14] The union sought to have the video game industry provide sufficient details to actors about their parts without having to sacrifice their secrecy, so that actors can better negotiate terms of their contracts. [14]
By September 2015, SAG-AFTRA considered the negotiations to not go well, stating that the industry's demands were "crazy" and "outrageous", and proceeded to have its members vote for a strike authorization. [10] Union members agreed to authorize a strike by a 96% margin in October 2015, giving the SAG-AFTRA negotiators a bargaining chip to use during further discussions with the industry. [16]
Negotiations continued into 2016. Alongside the main negotiations for the Interactive Media Agreement renewal, SAG-AFTRA had started discussions to craft a special "low budget" agreement for union voice actors, defined for games with less than a $250,000 production budget, such as most indie games. The terms of this agreement addressed similar points as the broader Interactive Media Agreement negotiations, including dealing with "vocally stressful" roles, and would offer performance bonuses for every 500,000 units sold, up to 2 million units.
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Strike
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1984 Sydney bank robbery
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The 1984 Sydney bank robbery and hostage crisis was an incident that took place between the hours of 10:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. on 31 January 1984 in George Street, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, when a 35-year-old male went on a bank robbery spree, taking 11 people hostage, before holding police at bay for several hours before finally being shot dead. The event was described as "Australia's most dramatic hostage chase"[1] with "scenes likened to a Hollywood action film. "[2]
Turkish born 35-year-old Hakki Bahadir Atahan was unemployed at the time of his armed robbery spree and had carried out around 16 or 17 bank robberies between March 1983 and January 1984. [1][3] Atahan lived an expensive lifestyle renting a luxurious penthouse apartment in Manly, owned several expensive cars and robbed up to three banks a day, amassing over A$150,000 in a year. [2]
On the morning of 31 January 1984, Atahan had successfully robbed two or three banks before entering the Commonwealth Bank in George Street, Sydney. [3][1] Due to the earlier robberies, police were on high alert and quickly responded to the Commonwealth Bank robbery with dozens of heavily armed tactical police from both the Tactical Response Group (TRG) and the Special Weapons & Operations Section (SWOS), forming a perimeter. During negotiations, Atahan fired at least two shots from a pistol and released all the bank's customers. Some time later, Atahan released four female bank staff whilst keeping five male staff as hostages. [3]
Some two-and-a-half hours later, Atahan ended negotiations and emerged from the bank encircled by the five hostages, each of whom were forced to place a hand atop of the robber's head. This tactic caused confusion and prevented police marksmen from obtaining a clear view and thus depriving them of the opportunity to shoot him. Atahan forced the five hostages into a nearby Datsun sedan which had its keys left in it. He then forced a hostage to drive off through police roadblocks, which began a pursuit that lasted several hours and involved 39 police cars, a police helicopter, and four Water Police launches. [1] After two hours of driving around, Atahan released a hostage and collected his 23-year-old girlfriend Sharon Oliver. Upon reaching the Spit Bridge, police raised the bridge, preventing Atahan from travelling any further. Detectives from the Special Weapons & Operations Section (SWOS) approached the vehicle, ordering Atahan to surrender. Atahan fired his .32 ACP pistol at point-blank range at Detective Senior Constable Steve Canelis, striking him just above his nose. [3] Detective Senior Constable Donald Packer fired one shot at Atahan through a side window while Detective Sergent John Nagle shot a round through the back window. Atahan was hit in the head and chest and died. [4][2][5] Detective Senior Constable Canelis survived his gunshot wound and returned to work four months later and retired a number of years after with the bullet still lodged in his shoulder. [6]
The incident, including news footage from the time, features in the 2009 Australian TV series Gangs of Oz, Episode 4 – Armed and Dangerous. [7]
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Bank Robbery
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Volcanic Eruption Illuminates Reykjavik’s Night Sky With Lava Fountains Up To 460 Meters High
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The skyline of the Icelandic capital Reykjavik is seen with the glow from the lava coming out of a ... [+] fissure near the Fagradalsfjall mountain on the Reykjanes Peninsula behind, on May 5, 2021. Iceland's Fagradalshraun volcano* has drawn visitors from around the world, many venturing as close as possible to the safety perimeter set up to protect against sprays of red-hot lava. The volcanic eruption on Iceland's Reykjanes peninsula this weekend abruptly became volatile after remarkable stability in the lava flow since it began in mid-March 2021, cycling between almost completely stopping, and then throwing lava up to 300 meters (900 feet) into the air which is clearly visible in the capital Reykjavik, just 30 kilometers (19 miles) south of the eruption site. The powerful bursts throw up rock fragments called tephra, some still hot, that land several hundred meters from the crater, which is located in an uninhabited area. The intervals between single lava fountains vary between 10 minutes to half an hour. One lava fountain was measured at more than 460 meters (1,500 feet) at dawn last Wednesday, according to the national meteorological office. For comparison, the Empire State Building in New York City stands a total of 443.2 meters (1,454 feet) tall, including its antenna. PROMOTED "This is not uncommon and this is a normal behaviour. It is, if anything, less common to have a very continuous flow with no pulsations," University of Iceland geophysicist Magnus Tumi Gudmundsson said. According to University of Iceland volcanologist Thorvaldur Thordarson, the changing eruption style is controlled by the magma violently degassing when reaching the surface. "But what is happening is that the gas that is being released from the magma, it is not flowing out of the magma as it has done so far, but it seems to come with certain pulses into the system and then tear itself up. There is something that is delaying the gas release for a certain period of time, until pressure builds up and the gas-rich magma manages to erupt to the surface in form of large jets." Chemical analysis shows that the magma feeding the fissure eruptions in Geldingadalur valley is derived directly from melting mantle rocks at a depth of 17 to 20 kilometers (10 to 12 miles). Based on past eruptions, vulcanologists have predicted that the activity will continue for several months—if not decades. *The people in the closest town to the new volcano, the town of Grindavík located just six miles north-east of the eruption, voted from an array of suggestions to name the new volcano and its lava field. The now official name is Fagradalshraun, meaning "lava in the beautiful valley." I'm a freelance geologist working mostly in the Eastern Alps. I graduated in 2007 with a project studying how permafrost, that´s frozen soil, is reacting to the more visible recent changes of the alpine... Read More
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Volcano Eruption
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The U.S. left UNESCO
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Irina Bokova, the outgoing UNESCO head 'deeply regrets' the US decision to pull out of UNESCO [Philippe Wojazer/Reuters] The US has announced it will withdraw from the United Nations Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), accusing the body of "anti-Israel bias". Heather Nauert, US state department spokesperson, said on Thursday the US would establish an "observer mission" to replace its representation at the Paris-based agency. In a statement announcing its withdrawal, Israel called the US administration's decision "courageous and moral", and accused UNESCO of becoming a "theatre of the absurd". "The prime minister instructed the foreign ministry to prepare Israel's withdrawal from the organisation alongside the United States," Benjamin Netayanu's office said in a statement. Irina Bokova, the outgoing UNESCO head, called the US withdrawal a "loss to multilateralism", saying she is convinced that "UNESCO has never been so important for the US, or the US for UNESCO". At a time when "conflicts continue to tear apart societies across the world, it is deeply regrettable for the United States to withdraw from the United Nations agency promoting education for peace and protecting culture under attack," she said. The decision demonstrates the US administration's "complete and total bias" towards Israel, says Mustafa Barghouti, secretary-general of the Palestinian National Initiative, a political party comprising mostly secular intellectuals. "This behaviour is counterproductive and shameful," he told Al Jazeera by phone. "Sooner or later they will see Palestine in every UN agency. Will the US respond to that by withdrawing from the WHO or the World Intellectual Property Organization? They will be hurting only themselves." The US was angered in 2011 when UNESCO members granted Palestine full membership of the body, despite opposition from its ally Israel. That year the US stopped paying into the 195-member organisation but did not officially withdraw. The US opposes any move by UN bodies to recognise the Palestinians as a state, believing that this must await a negotiated Middle East peace deal. Cultural agency UNESCO is best known for its work to preserve heritage, including maintaining a list of World Heritage Sites, and programmes to promote education in developing countries. "UNESCO is about promoting our ideals and values through culture, education and science," Francois Delattre, France's UN ambassador, said in New York, adding that "we need an America that stays committed to world affairs." Russia's foreign ministry said it regrets the decision, adding that the move would disrupt a number of important projects planned by UNESCO. "We share the concern by many countries that the activity of UNESCO has been too politicised lately," the ministry said in a statement. Antonio Guterres, the UN secretary-general, said through a spokesperson that he "regrets this development deeply". Barghouti, of the Palestinian National Initiative, said it is "as if Israel is dictating US policy not only in the Middle East but also in international organisations. "That's going to have a very harmful effect on the idea the US being a mediator between the Palestinians and the Israelis." Israel has long been at loggerheads with UNESCO, particularly over its decision to admit the Palestinians as members in 2011. In July, the UN body declared the Old City of Hebron in the occupied West Bank an endangered World Heritage site. Netanyahu announced a $1m cut in funding to the UN, saying the UNESCO vote ignored Jewish ties to the site. A UNESCO resolution on Jerusalem in May strongly criticised Israel's occupation of the eastern part of the city.
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Withdraw from an Organization
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Swiss International Air Lines Flight 850 crash
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Swiss International Air Lines Flight 850 was an international scheduled passenger flight from Basle, Switzerland, to Hamburg, Germany. On 10 July 2002, the flight was unable to land at Fuhlsbüttel Airport due to weather. Attempts were made to divert to other airports at Berlin and Eberswalde before the crew decided to land at Werneuchen. On landing, the aircraft struck an earth bank which ripped off all three undercarriage legs, and came to rest on its belly with an engine on fire. One of the sixteen passengers suffered minor injuries. The aircraft was written off. The investigation into the accident by the German Federal Bureau of Aircraft Accident Investigation (BFU) took over eight years to complete. It raised a number of issues, including poor crew resource management, insufficient weather information being passed to the crew of Flight 850 and faulty runway markings at Werneuchen Airfield, where the runway had been reduced in length from 2,400 metres (7,900 ft) to 1,500 metres (4,900 ft), but the runway markings had not been altered to reflect this. The aircraft involved was a Saab 2000, registered HB-IZY,[1] and named Doldenhorn, after a 3,643-metre-high (11,952 ft) mountain in Switzerland. [2] The aircraft was msn 047 and had first flown on 30 April 1997. [1] At the time of the accident, it had completed 12,303 hours of flight and made 12,069 landings. [3]
All times are UTC (Zulu Time), local time was two hours ahead of UTC. Flight 850 was originally scheduled to be operated by an Embraer 145 aircraft. Due to the non-availability of the Embraer 145, a Saab 2000 was substituted, and the briefing for the flight was extended by 15 minutes. [4] Actual departure was at 14:55 UTC, 10 minutes behind schedule. [5] It carried four crew and 16 passengers. Weather reports indicated a line of thunderstorms, winds up to 45 knots (83 km/h) could be expected at Fuhlsbüttel and the designated alternatives of Hannover and Bremen. A number of SIGMETs were issued about an hour before the flight departed Basel, but the flight crew did not receive these. The SIGMETs indicated a front was developing with thunderstorms reaching FL380 in the Bremen area. The Terminal Aerodrome Forecast for Fuhlsbüttel Airport, Hamburg valid from 13:00 to 22:00 was: TAF EDDH 101200Z 101322 31010KT 9999 FEW025 TEMPO 1320 29020G40KT 3000 TSRA BKN013CB
Tempo 1922 4000 RA BKN014. [4][6]
Runway 23 was the active runway at Fuhlsbüttel. On approach to land, the flight encountered severe turbulence due to a thunderstorm and the crew aborted the approach as the aircraft descended through 3,300 feet (1,000 m). It was later established that a derecho had formed. [7] Winds of 81 knots (150 km/h) were recorded, and seven people were killed in the Berlin area. [8] The storm was described as the worst summer storm in 50 years in Berlin. [9] The crew decided to hold while they assessed their alternatives. The designated alternative airport was Bremen Airport, some 55 nautical miles (102 km) to the south-west. To reach Bremen would have meant flying through the frontal system. Another aircraft successfully landed on Runway 33 at Hamburg, reporting strong winds. The crew of Flight 850 declined to attempt a landing on Runway 23, and requested a diversion to Langenhagen Airport, Hannover. Air Traffic Control (ATC) did not suggest any other alternatives, nor were they requested by the crew. [7]
En route, the frontal system prevented the crew from turning towards Hannover. A decision was made to divert to Tegel Airport, Berlin. The Automatic Terminal Information Service at Tegel stated that the weather there was clear and no significant change was expected. Approaching Tegel's Runway 08L, the crew requested priority handling, stating that they had fuel for 40 minutes flight. On approach, severe turbulence was again encountered due to the frontal system having reached Berlin. The approach was abandoned and the crew requested an alternate airfield from ATC. Eberswalde Airfield was suggested and accepted by the crew, who stated "We'll take anything at this point". On hearing this remark, ATC treated the aircraft's situation as an emergency. En route to Eberswalde, thunderstorms were observed and alternates were sought from ATC. [7]
Hamburg ATC then offered Neubrandenburg Airport, which was rejected by the crew of Flight 850 on receiving the weather information. Werneuchen Airfield was then offered, which was 20 nautical miles (37 km) away and offered a runway 1,500 metres (4,900 ft) long. Werneuchen was accepted by the crew. ATC managed to contact the chairman of the flying club based at Werneuchen. He stated that the runway surface was 2,400 metres (7,900 ft) long, but an earth bank stretched across the runway leaving 1,500 metres (4,900 ft) available. Landing on Runway 08 meant that the first part of the runway fell before the earth bank. Almost an hour after aborting the approach to Fuhlsbüttel, Flight 850 began its approach to Werneuchen. The crew reported that they were visual with the runway and were advised by Werneuchen ATC that they needed to land on the eastern part of Runway 08. When Flight 850 turned onto its final approach, the captain remarked that the runway was "longer than Berne", and told the first officer to land wherever he wanted. [7] Although the closed off part of the runway had been marked as such, the markings had weathered severely over the years, meaning that the original markings were easier to see than those that actually applied.
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Air crash
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Dodo and iPrimus fined $2.5m for misleading consumers about NBN speeds
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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
Dodo and iPrimus are the latest internet providers to get fined for making misleading claims about the speed of their NBN broadband plans.
The Federal Court has ordered iPrimus to pay a $1 million penalty, while Dodo was hit with a larger fine of $1.5 million.
The lawsuit was lodged by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), which said the companies made claims about their "typical evening speed" which did not stand up to scrutiny.
"The ACCC brought this case because we were concerned that the methodology which the Vocus Group used as the basis for its speed claims cherry-picked only the fastest speeds its network could deliver, and ignored the slower speeds many of its customers experienced," said ACCC chairman Rod Sims.
"These misleading speed claims meant consumers could not accurately compare different offerings and make an informed choice about their broadband provider."
Dodo and iPrimus are both subsidiaries of ASX-listed company Vocus Group — which has a 5.2 per cent market share in the consumer NBN market, and about 436,000 retail broadband customers.
If a business misleads or deceives consumers, they may be fined even if there is no evidence of consumers having actually suffered any harm.
In his judgment, Justice Bernard Murphy wrote "there is no evidence that any consumer suffered financial harm through the conduct" of Dodo and iPrimus.
"While it is possible that some consumers may have been disappointed by the download speeds they received relative to the typical evening speeds statements, and that if they had been properly informed they may have selected another RSP [internet retail service provider], there is no evidence that they received lower speeds than those represented.
"It is not possible to determine the extent (if any) to which they received speeds that were lower than those represented nor is it possible to determine the extent to which the lower speeds affected their activities."
In a statement, Vocus Group said this case "relates to a historic speed testing methodology used between March 2018 and April 2019, which was found to be deficient for advertising typical evening speeds on NBN broadband products".
"Dodo and iPrimus co-operated fully with the ACCC throughout these proceedings and have agreed to settle the historic claims."
While a hodgepodge of technologies are behind some of the NBN's tech woes, it's an overvaluation of the network that's the biggest short-term barrier to faster internet speeds.
This is not the first time Dodo has gotten in trouble with the consumer regulator.
Back in July 2019, Dodo signed a court-enforceable undertaking to refund up to $360,000 (to 16,000 customers) for claiming its NBN speeds were "perfect for streaming".
All the major internet providers have also run afoul of consumer laws in the past few years, including TPG, which was also pressured to refund 8,000 customers who were promised "Seriously Fast Internet ... up to 100Mbps" in late-2017.
Around that time, Telstra was pressured to refund 42,000 customers after it claimed to offer a "Super Fast Speed Boost", with download speeds of up to 100 megabits per second.
The ACCC said many of those customers were unable to take advantage of Telstra's maximum speeds because of limitations to their FTTN (fibre to the node) and FTTB (fibre to the building) connections.
Meanwhile, Optus was fined $6.4 million in late-2019 after the Federal Court found that it misled its customers — by telling them their internet would be "disconnected very soon" and to "make the switch [to Optus NBN Broadband] before it's too late".
That was despite the fact customers who received that email were not facing an "immediate" risk of being disconnected.
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Organization Fine
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A federal judge in Detroit on Wednesday ordered the release of Aref “Scarface” Nagi
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A federal judge in Detroit on Wednesday ordered the release of Aref “Scarface” Nagi, a former vice president of the Highwaymen Motorcycle Club who was the lead defendant in a huge federal racketeering case alleging conspiracy to murder, assault, theft and drug trafficking. In ordering Nagi's compassionate release, U.S. District Judge Nancy Edmunds cited Nagi’s health in the face of the coronavirus pandemic and what she described as extraordinary steps he has taken to rehabilitate himself while in federal prison. Federal prosecutors oppose the release of Nagi, who was not due to be let out of a federal prison in Minnesota until 2024. They say neither Nagi's health issues nor his prison record, or the serious crimes he committed, justify early release. In 2011, a federal jury in Detroit convicted Nagi, 58, of racketeering, conspiracy, assault with a dangerous weapon, conspiracy to transport stolen motorcycles across state lines, conspiracy to remove vehicle identification numbers, conspiracy to traffic illegal drugs, and use of a firearm during a crime of violence. The firearm charge was later overturned on appeal. He was initially sentenced to 37 years in prison, though his sentence was later reduced to 20 years. Nagi was one of more than 30 defendants sent to prison in a case that targeted 91 club members and associates, including police officers and an attorney. Edmunds said Wednesday that Nagi's sentence should be reduced to time served and he should be placed on supervised release for five years. Nagi's "prison records show an astounding effort towards rehabilitation," she said in a written order. "Defendant has participated in well over 100 educational courses ranging from basic math and history classes to business, wellness, problem solving, and law classes. He has also completed multiple vocational apprenticeships in trades, including culinary arts, automotive technology and industrial housekeeping." Edmunds also cited Nagi's community service work and said his longtime use of steroids could leave him with a compromised immune system as the coronavirus pandemic continues to spread in federal prisons. Further, he is needed as a caregiver for his elderly mother, she said. Federal prosecutors disagreed, saying Nagi's health issues are not extraordinary, he has already had COVID-19 and recovered, and he initially refused to take the Moderna vaccine while in prison, though he later agreed to take the Pfizer vaccine after it received full approval from the Food and Drug Administration. "Nagi was convicted of being part of a criminal RICO enterprise, the Detroit Highwaymen outlaw motorcycle gang — an extremely dangerous group that was involved in murder, extortion, arson and drug trafficking, and was often in hostile territorial conflict with other outlaw motorcycle gangs," Assistant U.S. Attorney Eric Straus said in a court filing opposing Nagi's release. Nagi was "significantly involved" in an incident at a Detroit-area bar that "included the discharge of a firearm and defendant Nagi bringing at least a half dozen fellow Highwaymen … to exact revenge on the victim for disrespecting the gang." The Highwaymen, founded in Detroit in 1954, gained infamy in the 1970s when some members were convicted of bombing and raiding homes and clubhouses of rivals. The outlaw motorcycle gang, which at least until the indictments was Detroit's largest, was seen by many as an outlaw among outlaws — banned from a federation of Detroit clubs founded by a former Outlaws president. Nagi was a restaurant and bar owner prior to his indictment and a graduate of Wayne State University. It was not clear Wednesday whether prosecutors might appeal Edmund's order or when Nagi's release might take place.
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Famous Person - Commit Crime - Release
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Jana Kramer and Mike Caussin Are Working Out the ‘Logistics’ Amid Divorce: ‘It’s a Lot to Process’
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The singer announced her split from the former football player on Wednesday, April 21, after nearly six years of marriage. The estranged couple share daughter Jolie, 5, and son Jace, 2.
Mike Caussin and Jana Kramer. Matt Baron/Shutterstock
“’It’s time.’ As I try to make sense of a reality I never wanted to believe could be possible again, those words have now become a reality,” she wrote via Instagram. “I’ve fought y’all. I’ve loved hard. I’ve forgiven. I’ve put the work in. I’ve given everything I have, and now I have nothing else to give.”
Read article
Kramer added that she just could not “fight any longer” before thanking her fans for their support: “I’ll always encourage you to continue the good fight, but you can’t fight it alone.”
A source told Us earlier this week that the actress thought “everything was fine” in her marriage until she “uncovered a recent infidelity” on Caussin’s part. “Jana’s final straw came when she uncovered once again that [Mike] had cheated on her ,” the insider said.
Kramer and the former athlete previously separated in 2016 after Us broke the news that he was unfaithful. He subsequently entered treatment for sex addiction , and the two renewed their vows in 2017.
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Famous Person - Divorce
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China’s Crypto Mining Crackdown Followed Deadly Coal Accidents
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China’s escalating push to rein in cryptocurrency mining was triggered in part by concern that the practice has stoked a surge in illicit coal extraction, endangering lives and undermining Xi Jinping’s ambitious environmental goals. Authorities decided to act after concluding the spike in electricity consumption from server farms underpinning Bitcoin and other tokens was a key factor behind rising demand for coal in certain parts of China, according to a person who participated in high-level government meetings on the issue and asked not to be identified discussing private information. Rising coal demand prompted some producers to restart idled mines without official approval, leading to higher safety risks and a jump in deadly accidents this year, the person said. While China’s central government has enforced a strict ban on digital-asset exchanges and discouraged crypto mining for years, authorities in some remote areas of the country have been more welcoming of the industry because it brings in much-needed revenue. About 65% of the world’s Bitcoin mining took place in China as of April 2020, according to an estimate by the University of Cambridge. Growing concerns about the environmental knock-on effects help explain why China’s Financial Stability and Development Committee said on May 21 it would crack down on crypto mining and trading, in what amounted to one of the government’s most forceful condemnations of the crypto ecosystem to date. The warning has fueled a selloff in cryptocurrencies from record highs and stoked a debate over how investors should respond to the environmental costs of digital assets. Musings on the issue from Tesla Inc. founder and crypto advocate Elon Musk have by turns destroyed and conjured billions of dollars of market value in recent weeks. According to one estimate, each $1 of Bitcoin value created in 2018 was responsible for $0.37 of health and climate damage in China and $0.49 in the U.S. Bitcoin has dropped about 40% since mid-April, paring an epic surge that has drawn in everyone from Wall Street pros to mom-and-pop investors in Seoul. The biggest cryptocurrency was trading at $39,293 as of 10:35 a.m. Hong Kong time. China’s National Energy Administration and National Development and Reform Commission didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment. Disentangling crypto mining’s impact on coal consumption in China isn’t easy, especially during periods of economic recovery when power demand is rising more broadly. But in areas like Xinjiang and Inner Mongolia that have long been favorite destinations for the industry, Chinese authorities have drawn a direct link between crypto and coal. A preliminary government investigation into an accident that trapped 21 people inside a coal mine in Xinjiang last month found that the mine had been restarted without official permission to help meet rising power demand from crypto server farms, according to a person with knowledge of the probe who asked not to be named discussing private information. There has been no official update on the trapped coal miners’ status since the state-run Xinhua News Agency reported in early May that a rescue team had entered the mine. Xinjiang alone accounts for nearly 36% of Bitcoin’s mining capacity, according to Cambridge estimates. That’s thanks to inexpensive coal-powered electricity, low temperatures that keep mining rigs cool and underdeveloped power grids that sometimes lead to excess supply. Some observers are skeptical of China’s emissions pledges, but the country’s top leaders have vowed to make the fight against climate change a priority despite the potential short-term economic drag. At a climate summit convened last month by Joe Biden, Xi reiterated China’s plan to reach peak carbon emissions by 2030 and attain net-zero status by 2060, in part by reducing coal consumption. For a Chinese government wary of the anonymity, volatility and borderless nature of digital assets, crypto miners represent an obvious target. The country’s regulators have long warned that cryptocurrencies can facilitate money laundering, fraud and terrorist financing. While previous efforts to rein in crypto mining have failed to gain traction at the local level, there are signs that may be changing. Inner Mongolia, which banned crypto mining in April, said on Tuesday it plans to raise penalties for companies and individuals and discipline government officials who aid the industry. Last week, the region said it had set up a system for whistle blowers to report anyone who defies the ban.
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Mine Collapses
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Search location by ZIP code
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(Reuters) - Democrat and former U.S. vice president Joe Biden was declared winner of the U.S. presidential election by several major television networks on Saturday, beating Republican incumbent Donald Trump who took an industry-friendly stance on regulation. While Biden is unlikely to prioritize a financial industry crackdown, he is expected to take a stricter line than Trump and his former boss President Barack Obama. Biden has tapped former derivatives market regulator Gary Gensler, who has a reputation for being tough on Wall Street, to work on a transition plan for financial industry oversight. Here are some of the key areas his administration and agency picks will likely focus on. The pandemic has shone a harsh spotlight on America’s racial and wealth inequalities, galvanizing Democrats to use a range of policy levers to address the problems. Those include the 1977 Community Reinvestment Act, a fair lending law giving banks regulatory points for lending to low-income communities. Biden has pledged in campaign materials to expand the rules to other sectors, including mortgage and insurance companies. Addressing the country’s affordable housing crisis is a priority for Democrats and Biden. A Biden administration would probably try to halt a Trump plan to release housing finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac from government control, a move Democrats worry would increase the cost of mortgages for middle- and lower-income Americans. Biden has also pledged to review rules by Trump’s housing regulator which are meant to guard against lending behaviors which disproportionately adversely impact racial minorities or other protected groups. Biden has called for a robust Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), created following the 2009 financial crisis to ensure banks did not take advantage of consumers. The agency has been less aggressive under Trump, and Biden has endorsed stricter oversight of consumer lending and called for a crackdown on discriminatory lending practices. Among Biden’s most eye-catching policy proposals is the creation of a public credit reporting agency to compete against the likes of Equifax and TransUnion. According to Biden’s campaign materials, the new agency would aim to “minimize racial disparities” in credit reporting after some studies found the current system disadvantages and excludes minorities. Influential Democratic lawmakers and policy experts are pushing hard for public corporations to be required to disclose climate change risks to their businesses and for such risks to be incorporated into the financial regulatory system. Biden has called for swift action to address climate change, and policy experts believe his agency picks will pursue these ideas. In a policy about-face, Biden has adopted a bankruptcy reform plan pushed by consumer advocate Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren which he previously opposed as a senator. The proposal would make it easier for Americans to pursue bankruptcy and shield assets like houses and cars from debtors during the process. Such a plan, though, would require passage of legislation which would be unlikely without a Democratic majority in the Senate. Biden has expressed support for a long-held progressive policy to get the U.S. Postal Service to provide basic banking services. Progressives say the plan would reduce economic inequality by allowing “unbanked” Americans to access reasonably priced banking services and credit, and to avoid predatory lenders and expensive check cashing services. The banking industry opposes creation of a taxpayer-funded competitor and would be likely to fight the plan. Democrats including Biden cried foul in July when the CFPB stripped out a key provision in a payday lending role, first drawn up by the Obama-run CFPB, that would require payday lenders to ensure consumers had the ability to repay. Lenders said that provision was so onerous it could kill their businesses. Likewise, consumer groups have criticized the agency’s recent debt collection rule which they say would allow collectors to harass consumers with unlimited text messages and emails. A Biden administration is likely to try to rescind or rewrite those rules. Reporting by Pete Schroeder and Katange Johnson in Washington; Editing by Nick Zieminski, David Gregorio, Peter Graff and David Holmes
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Financial Crisis
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2014 Afghanistan protests
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The 2014 Afghanistan protests was a series of pro-government and anti-electoral fraud protests by hundreds, then tens of thousands of demonstrators from 21–27 June, during the 2014 Afghan presidential election campaigns was taking place. Mass protests and Civil disobedience has rocked areas across Afghanistan in June, demanding free elections in support of the Democracy. Protesters rallied against blasphemy laws in October 2014, and a wave of protests also hit Afghanistan in March 2015. Protesters also protested against fraud and electoral suffrage and mistrust, rallying in support of main candidate Abdullah Abdullah and chanted slogans on 27 June. Protests did remain largely bloodless and led to no police intervention however. [1][2]
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Protest_Online Condemnation
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Qung Ngi skin disease outbreak
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As of April?2012[update], multiple press sources reported an outbreak of an unidentified skin disease in the Ba T? District of Qu?ng Ng?i Province, Vietnam. The disease is reported to begin as a skin rash, and in numerous cases appears to have led to the death of the sufferers through organ failure. [1][2] As of 21?April?2012[update], the disease was reported to have affected 170 people, and killed 19. [1]
The Associated Press reported that Vietnam has asked for assistance from the World Health Organization. [3]
Another, separate unknown skin disease was reported from Qu?ng Ng?i's S?n H District in early May 2012. [4]
Poisonous heavy metals in the soil or toxic mould on rice have been considered the most likely causes so far. [5]
Another outbreak of the same disease in the Qu?ng Ng?i area was reported in March 2013. [6]
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Disease Outbreaks
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Melting Glaciers Have Exposed Frozen Relics of World War I
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Artifacts from the White War — a battle between Italian and Austro-Hungarian troops that took place in the forbidding heights of the Alps — are on their way to a museum. As glaciers melt and shrink in the Alps of Northern Italy, long-frozen relics of World War I have been emerging from the ice. They include cups, cans, letters, weapons and bones with the marrow sucked dry. They were found in cave barracks not far from the frigid summit of Mount Scorluzzo, which reaches more than 10,000 feet over sea level in Northern Italy, near Switzerland.
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New archeological discoveries
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2014 Invictus Games
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The first 2014 Invictus Games were held on 10–14 September 2014. [1][2][3] Around 300 competitors from 13 countries which have fought alongside the United Kingdom in recent military campaigns participated. These included the United States, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Denmark, New Zealand and Afghanistan. Competitive events were held at many of the venues used during the 2012 Olympics, including the Copper Box and the Lee Valley Athletics Centre. The Games were broadcast by the BBC. [4]
14 countries were invited to the 2014 games, 8 from Europe, 2 from Asia, 2 from North America and 2 from Oceania. No countries from Africa were invited. There were teams from all the invited countries, except Iraq, competing in the games. Athletics (aka track & field), archery, indoor rowing, powerlifting, road cycling, sitting volleyball, swimming, wheelchair basketball and wheelchair rugby. The presenting partner Jaguar Land Rover also organised a driving challenge. The closing concert was broadcast on BBC Two hosted by Clare Balding and Greg James. [6] The concert was hosted by Nick Grimshaw and Fearne Cotton, with live performances from Foo Fighters, Kaiser Chiefs, James Blunt, Rizzle Kicks, Ryan Adams and Ellie Goulding. [7][8][9]
The following venues were used for Invictus 2014:
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Sports Competition
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Japan Airlines Flight 472 (1972) crash
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Japan Airlines Flight 472 was a flight from London to Tokyo via Frankfurt, Rome, Beirut, Tehran, Bombay, Bangkok and Hong Kong. On September 24, 1972, the flight landed at Juhu Aerodrome near Bombay, India instead of the city's much larger Santacruz Airport (now Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport) and overran the runway, resulting in the aircraft being written off after being damaged beyond economic repair. [1]
The aircraft involved was a Douglas DC-8-53, registration JA8013. The aircraft was c/n 45681. It had first flown in 1964. [2]
The flight departed London 20 minutes late. By the time it left Tehran for Bombay, it was 80 minutes behind schedule. The crew planned to execute an ILS approach to Santacruz Airport, Bombay. However, the air traffic controller (ATC) asked the crew, "Can you see the runway? ", to which they replied, "Yes, we can". Since the weather was good around the airport that day, the ATC instructed, "VFR approach please". After this, Flight 472 flew past Runway 09 on the west side of Santacruz Airport while descending, and executed a 360-degree turn in order to approach again from the west and land. However, when it did land at 06:50 local time (01:20 UTC), it was in fact landing on Runway 08 of Juhu Aerodrome. Juhu is 3.7 km west of Santacruz, and for use by small aircraft only. [2] Runway 08 of Juhu was only 1,143 metres (3,750 ft) long, too short for a large aircraft like JL472. [citation needed]
After deploying the thrust reversers, the captain of Flight 472 realized the mistake and immediately deployed spoilers and applied maximum braking power, but an overrun was inevitable. The DC-8 overshot the runway, breaking off both engines on the port wing, and damaging the front and main landing gear, causing the nose of the aircraft to dive into the ground. The wreckage caught fire, but was soon put out by fire extinguishers. At the time of the accident, there were 14 crew and 108 passengers on board. The aircraft was damaged beyond economic repair. [2] 2 cockpit crew and 9 passengers (all non-Japanese)[clarification needed] were reported injured[citation needed]. It was the second Japan Airlines accident in India, coming just two months after the fatal crash of Japan Airlines Flight 471 in Delhi. The accident itself was nothing more than pilot error. However, the Indian authorities were also blamed for operating an airport for small aircraft so close to Santacruz, causing confusion (see similar incidents below), even though the Juhu Aerodrome had been built before India's independence, in the colonial era. Another factor was that during the 360-degree turn Flight 472 faced the sun and morning mist, and the cockpit crew lost sight of the runway. When they suddenly saw the runway of Juhu Aerodrome, they mistook it for the runway of Santacruz, and landed on it. There have been many instances of aircraft being landed at airports other than the intended destination. In the majority of cases the aircraft was not damaged and returned to service. On July 15, 1953, a BOAC DH.106 Comet also landed at Juhu Aerodrome instead of Santacruz Airport. The aircraft was flown out some nine days later. [3]
On 28 May 1968, the pilot of a Garuda Indonesia Convair 990 had also mistaken the same Juhu Aerodrome for Santacruz Airport and tried to land his aircraft. It overshot the runway falling just short of the traffic road ahead and several residential buildings when its nose wheel got stuck in a ditch at the end of the runway. All passengers survived. [citation needed]
Only four months after the Japan Airlines Flight 472 incident, another similar incident happened when an Ilyushin Il-18 (turboprop airliner) of Interflug, an airline of the German Democratic Republic (East Germany), landed at the wrong airport and stopped immediately in front of a parked Japan Airlines aircraft, narrowly escaping a collision. In 2006 alone, there were three events of civilian airliners landing at Poznań-Krzesiny military airbase in Poland: a British Beech 400A Beechjet (N709EL) on July 17, Turkish Boeing 737-400 (TC-SKG) on August 16 and Cessna 560 (DCASA) on October 3. Of these incidents, the one involving Turkish Boeing was the most severe, as the air base was closed for operations at the time, meaning that the runway lights and other means of support for landing aircraft were switched off. In all cases, the proximity and similarity of Krzesiny air base to civilian Poznań-Ławica Airport were cited as the reason for mistake: Ławica and Krzesiny lie 14 km apart, and both runways are placed at similar angle. [4]
The most recent accident involving an aircraft landing at the wrong airport was the 2019 Saha Airlines Boeing 707 crash when a Saha Airlines Boeing 707 crashed after accidentally landing at Fath Air Base, which had a shorter runway. This accident resulted in fatalities, with 15 of the 16 occupants onboard perishing.
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Air crash
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Charcoal Restaurant first ACT business fined for breaching coronavirus social-distancing laws
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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 steakhouse in Civic is the first venue to be penalised for flouting the ACT's COVID-19 distancing rules, and has received a $5,000 fine.
Charcoal Restaurant owner Anna Gray said she was caught off guard when the plan to ease restrictions, which would have increased the eatery's capacity on Friday night, was scrapped.
Staff tried cancelling bookings but found themselves way over their 12-person limit — with 20 dining in — when police came knocking.
"It was very difficult for them to say, 'I'm sorry, you have to leave.' They just sat down and said, 'Well, we'll eat quickly and then we'll leave,'" Ms Gray said.
"It's almost impossible to keep this place alive. The outgoings exceed the turnover in this place."
But the head of ACT Policing's COVID-19 taskforce said the time for excuses was over.
"On the front door, it clearly said 12 allowed," Detective Superintendent Jason Kennedy said.
Police said the restaurant had received plenty of warnings and had been sent a letter from government agency Access Canberra.
"On this particular occasion, there was just a flagrant breach of the health direction," Superintendent Kennedy said.
ACT Health Minister Rachel Stephen-Smith said there was no reason venues could be unaware of the restrictions.
"We're still committed to an engagement and education approach to the greatest extent possible, but it's important that businesses understand action will be taken if they do flout the rules," she said.
Small restaurants like Charcoal had been anticipating an easing of restrictions from July 10, but that has been put on hold following coronavirus outbreaks in Victoria and parts of New South Wales.
The Batemans Bay outbreak continues to be a threat, with about 130 Canberrans self-isolating after visiting the Soldiers Club over four days earlier this month, Ms Stephen-Smith said.
"Clearly it is a popular venue for Canberrans who are visiting Batemans Bay," she said.
Ms Stephen-Smith discouraged Canberrans from going down to the South Coast this weekend, though no new cases were recorded in the area today.
"This is a weekend just to be cautious and be at home, not to travel into NSW," she said.
"Part of the challenge with COVID-19 is that we always know we're about seven to 10 days behind.
"Whatever is happening today, we might not find out about it for the next seven to 10 days, when the incubation period is passed and people become symptomatic."
The Charcoal Restaurant infringement notice is the second fine ACT Policing has handed out since the pandemic began.
The first was issued last week when police charged a 41-year-old man for breaching COVID-19 rules after he failed to obtain a permit to enter the ACT from Victoria.
He faces a penalty of up to $8,000 if convicted.
ACT Policing said it was open to taking stronger enforcement action for intentional and flagrant breaches of social-distancing rules.
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Organization Fine
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More Virginians are foraging for ramps. Many are poisoning themselves by picking the wrong plant.
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False hellebore, a native species in Virginia, is often found in the same environment as ramps. The stems, roots and leaves are all highly toxic. (Irvine T. Wilson/Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation, Virginia Natural Heritage Program)
After a dreary pandemic winter, more Virginians are venturing out in search of ramps — the leafy green allium that’s become a darling of the spring dining season.
Sometimes, what they’re finding is poisoning them. Dr. Chris Holstege, medical director of the Blue Ridge Poison Center at UVA Health, said he and his colleagues have been alarmed by a sharp increase in Virginians consuming false hellebore, a highly toxic native species with leaves that — to the uninitiated — resemble the tops of wild leeks.
“This is my twenty-second year at the University of Virginia and we’ve only had two cases prior to this past year,” Holstege said. But over the last few months, aspiring foragers have mixed false hellebore into spaghetti sauce, sautéed it in stir fries and sprinkled it over ramen. In the most severe cases, it’s led to hospitalizations, with symptoms including vomiting, cardiac arrhythmias, dangerously low blood pressure and even seizures.
“It has a toxin in it that opens up our neuronal and our cardiac sodium channels,” Holstege said. “The patients that we’ve talked to, they talk about, ‘Yeah, we went foraging, we started to eat it, and our tongues started tingling.’ That’s because your neurons are set off, so you get this weird sensation that only gets worse if you keep going.”
In some ways, the sudden influx of ramp-related confusion didn’t come as a complete surprise. Both locally and nationally, poison centers have seen a roughly 25 percent increase in calls linked to plant consumption. Holstege said the pandemic has driven interest in foraging as a safe, socially distanced activity that gets Virginians out of the house.
But as it turns out, a lot of poisonous species exist in the wild. Holstege remembers a farmer who called the poison center last year after confusing young pokeberry — another toxic perennial that yields dark purple berries — with wild potatoes. It’s even riskier for inexperienced foragers who aren’t familiar with the different stages of plant development.
“We often find it happens when plants are young,” Holstege said. “People will use their phones or use other media to try and identify them, and that’s where they run into problems. Because a lot of times, the plants that are depicted are in their adult, mature form.”
That’s what usually happens when it comes to ramps. Just like false hellebore, the wild leeks are often found in wet, forested areas — especially in moist soil near small springs. Technically, ramp bulbs never go dormant, unlike tulips and other onion species, according to Glen Facemire, a Richwood, West Virginia native who recently retired from running one of the only ramp farms in the country.
But the prized green leaves only emerge once a year, in the early spring, and quickly disappear again. Unfortunately, that time of year is when they’re most easily confused with false hellebore, whose leafy shoots sprout cream-colored flowers later in the season.
Adding to the problem is a growing ramp mania that’s fueled awareness of the pungent leeks. Virginians have fallen so hard for the ephemeral edibles that experts are now worried about ramp overharvesting. In the wild, the seeds have about a 95 percent mortality rate, Facemire said, magnifying concern for the survival of the species.
“The good flavor and everything has got out there to the point where the demand is more than the supply,” he said. Before Facemire retired, he estimated he sold 30 tons of ramps — a total of about 120,000 bulbs and leaves. He’s had to turn down wholesalers who requested a ton every month.
Once better known in rural Appalachia, the leeks have become a seasonal staple in the culinary world. Kyle Morse, who owns a hand-crafted sausage company in Richmond, previously spent a decade cooking in New York City. Over the years, he watched ramps spread from Michelin-starred restaurants to menus all over the city.
Beyond the hyper-seasonality, Morse said, ramps are prized for their versatility. With a flavor that’s often described as a cross between onions and fresh garlic, they’re served pickled, in pestos, on top of pastas, compounded into butter and more. Morse, who was introduced to the ingredient through Boy Scouts, now produces his own seasonal ramp sausage.
“It was like an explosion,” he said. “Before, you really only found them in fine dining restaurants. And then, through social media and chefs going out and starting their own kitchens, it blossomed from there. So now ramps are getting into restaurants that are more approachable to the general public.
That growing awareness has led to trouble for amateur foragers. Morse knows an acquaintance who ended up in the hospital after confusing ramps with the similar-looking — and highly toxic — Lily of the valley.
The risk with foraging, according to Holstege, is that people tend to eat much more of the dangerous ingredient when it’s incorporated into food. Even children are more likely to be poisoned by a parent feeding them the foraged ingredients than they are to find and consume large amounts of them on their own.
“It’s all about how much of it you eat,” Holstege said. And some dishes can mask early warning signs. He remembers one Virginia man who accidentally foraged false hellebore and served it to his girlfriend in spaghetti sauce.
“When they started to eat, his girlfriend said, ‘Hey, something’s not right about this,’” Holstege said. “He said, ‘No, no, it’s safe,’ and he ate a lot more to show how safe it was.”
The man ended up in the hospital. His girlfriend also got sick, but luckily had eaten much less. “She did better, because she recognized there was something not right,” Holstege said.
In an effort to curb growing reports of plant-related poisonings, the Blue Ridge Poison Center partnered with the Virginia Master Naturalist Program to release an updated guide to toxic native plants. The latest version includes more comprehensive listings and illustrations of plants in different phases of growth. There’s also more detail on what they’re commonly confused with.
But the main takeaway, Holstege said, is that foraging is best left to the professionals. Even experienced hikers and hobbyists can mistake edible species for toxic lookalikes, especially if they’re not familiar with a plant’s appearance throughout the year.
“I think it’s terrific that people are going out and exploring,” he said. “But if you’re foraging things and eating them, you really need to know what you’re doing.”
Our stories may be republished online or in print under Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. We ask that you edit only for style or to shorten, provide proper attribution and link to our web site. Please see our republishing guidelines for use of photos and graphics.
An award-winning reporter, Kate grew up in Northern Virginia before moving to the Midwest, earning her degree in journalism from the University of Missouri. She spent a year covering gun violence and public health for The Trace in Boston before joining The Frederick News-Post in Frederick County, Md. While at the News-Post, she won first place in feature writing and breaking news from the Maryland-Delaware-DC Press Association, and Best in Show for her coverage of the local opioid epidemic. Before joining the Mercury in 2020, she covered state and county politics for the Bethesda Beat in Montgomery County, Md.
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From the push to remove Confederate statues to big shifts in healthcare and energy policy, the Old Dominion is changing; fair and tough reporting on the policy and politics that affect all of us as Virginians is more important than ever. The Mercury aims to bring a fresh perspective to coverage of the state’s biggest issues.
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Mass Poisoning
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Léon Delagrange crash
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Ferdinand Marie Léon Delagrange (13 March 1872 – 4 January 1910) was a sculptor and pioneering French aviator, ranked as one of the top aviators in the world. Léon Delagrange was born on 13 March 1872[1] in Orléans (central France), the son of a textile factory owner. As a teenager he studied sculpture at the School of Fine Arts under Louis Barrias and Charles Vital-Cornu and was represented at several exhibitions in Paris. [2] He was a member of the "Society of French Artists" and received a commendation in 1901. [3] Delagrange became a well-known automobilist. Delagrange was one of the first men in Europe to take up aviation. In 1907, he became interested in flying and became a pioneer of powered flight. That same year he was one of the first people to order an aircraft from Gabriel Voisin of the Voisin brothers, enabling them to get established as manufacturers of airplanes. The aircraft was the first example of what was to become one of the most successful early French aircraft, the Voisin 1907 biplane. His first public flight was made on 16 March 1907 at Bagatelle (France) where he flew a biplane. His feats soon attracted worldwide attention and he is said to have refused a guarantee of $10,000 if he would visit the United States to perform demonstrations. [4] In 1907, Delagrange was elected president of the Aviation Club of France. During 1908, Delagrange toured Italy where he made flight demonstrations. It was during one of these demonstrations on 8 July 1908 that he made the world's first flight with a lady passenger, his partner and fellow sculptor Thérèse Peltier. In September 1908, Delagrange set distance and endurance records, establishing a record of 15.2 miles in 29 minutes, 53 seconds. [5]
On 7 January 1909, he was awarded one of the first eight aviators certificates awarded by the Aéro-Club de France. [6] In 1909, he also received the Lagatiner prize at Juvisy (3.6 miles in 10 minutes, 18 seconds). He participated in the world's first air race at Port-Aviation on 23 May 1909, and a further couple of race meetings during that same year. In addition to his original Voisins airplane, he also bought three Blériot XIs, and formed a team by recruiting Hubert Le Blon, Léon Molon and Georges Prévoteau. He also flew in several non-competitive meetings. He was the first to equip a Blériot XI with a 50 hp Gnôme engine in place of the 25 hp Anzani, thereby doubling its power. During 1909, Léon Delagrange participated in the following air race meetings:[2]
Delagrange is known for his flight[7] at the First Flying Meeting in England, the Doncaster Aviation Meeting (18 and 26 October 1909[8][9]), where on the second and final day of the races (Tuesday, 26 October 1909), he flew his Gnome-engine Blériot XI Monoplane on a one 6-mile lap in 7 minutes and 36 seconds (approximately 50-53 miles/hour), breaking the World record inspite of the infamously stormy weather[10][11] Delagrange was 4th in the Doncater Aviation competition program, which also included pilots such as Samuel Cody, Roger Sommer, Hubert Le Blon, Leon Molon, Walter Windham (the Aeroplane Club's founder), and Edward Mines. [12][13][14]
A cartoon sketch from Dudley Hardy of Delagrange during his stay in Doncaster was reproduced in the Doncaster Aviation Meeting Souvenir Programme (18–23 October 1909). [15]
On 30 December 1909 at Juvisy-sur-Orge (France), in an attempt to win the Michelin Cup, he established a new distance record for monoplanes and a new world speed record, having covered 124 miles in two hours and thirty-two minutes (averaging a speed of approximately 49 miles/hour), however, he did not succeed in beating Henry Farman’s record for distance. [4]
On 4 January 1910, in front of a crowd of spectators, he was piloting his Blériot XI as part of the Croix d'Hins over Bordeaux (France) in stormy weather, in an area whose winds frequently blew at the rate of 20 miles/hour. This flight was a preliminary flight before Delarange's planned attempt to break Henry Farman’s distance record that afternoon. Delagrange had circled the aerodrome three times when suddenly as he was turning at high speed against the wind, the left wing of the monoplane broke resulting in the other wing immediately collapsing. The plane fell from a height of approximately 65 feet, turning half over as it fell. Delagrange did not have time to disengage himself from his seat and was killed when the wreckage of his plane crashed to the ground, with his skull being crushed under the weight of the motor. The monoplane had been doubly-braced at the essential points and had been given a careful examination before ascending, with the accident attributed to the plane "maneuvering too quickly into the puffy wind". [4][10]
De LaGrange was the world's fourth pilot to die in an airplane crash,[2] all of whom died within a fifteen-month period. [4] A number of the other Doncaster competitors were similarly killed flying in subsequent years, including Le Blon (1910), Cody (1913), and eventually Sommer (1965). [14]
Delagrange was made president of the Aéro-Club de France in 1908. On 21 July 1909, he was decorated as a Knight of the Legion of Honor. [1] In December 1909, he received an enamel medal from the French Academy of Sciences for aeronautic achievements. When the first French "Brevets de Pilote" were granted in 1910, Delagrange received No. 3, based on the alphabetical order between the first fourteen holders. [2]
Doncaster Brewery produced a special brew to commemorate Ferdinand Léon Delagrange's achievements during the Doncaster Aviation Flight Meeting held in 1909. [13]
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Air crash
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Civil Air Transport Flight 106 crash
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Civil Air Transport Flight 106 was a Curtiss C-46D Commando, registration number B-908 (C/N 32950),[1] that was operated by Civil Air Transport which was a front company operated by the CIA Civil Air Transport. [2] On 20 June 1964, the aircraft crashed near the village of Shenkang, western Taiwan, killing all 57 people aboard. Shortly after take-off from Taichung, the number one engine oversped. The pilot began a left turn to perform an emergency landing at the airport or a nearby military air base. But while turning, the pilot lost control and the aircraft crashed in a left wing low and a steep nose down attitude. The flight was being operated by a C-46D, which had accumulated 19,488 operational hours from 1944 to 1964. The primary cause of the accident was the failure of the #1 engine, compounded by pilot error during attempts at recovery while returning to Taichung Airport. [3]
Among the dead were 20 Americans, one Briton, and members of the Malaysian delegation to the 11th Film Festival in Asia, including businessman Loke Wan Tho and his wife Mavis. [4][3]
This article about an aviation accident is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.
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Air crash
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Cyanide poisoning possible, Health Canada warns in recall for sold-in-B.C. product
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VANCOUVER -- A recently updated recall warns that consumption of a product sold in British Columbia could cause cyanide poisoning.
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency said in an update Thursday that certain apricot kernels are being recalled due to presence of the natural toxin amygdalin.
Amygdalin is a naturally occurring chemical compound that is found in plants and seeds, including those of apricots.
When amygdalin is ingested, it can release cyanide in the body. Health Canada says humans can tolerate and eliminate small amounts of cyanide, but large amounts can be fatal.
Symptoms of poisoning include weakness and confusion, anxiety, headache, nausea, trouble breathing, loss of consciousness and cardiac arrest. Seizures are also possible.
Because apricot kernels are a known source of amygdalin, Health Canada established a regulatory maximum level for total extractable cyanide back in 2019. The new rules came into effect on Jan. 25, 2020, so products purchased before the date should not be consumed by children, and adults are advised not to have more than three a day, ground up with other food.
The products included in the latest recall contain excessive amygdalin, CFIA says. They should be thrown out or returned to the store where they were purchased.
The recalled products are "Armeniacal," with the product codes 590080 and 590090.
They were sold at Nutri Herbs in Coquitlam and Nice Herbs in Surrey, between Jan. 21, 2020, and April 30, 2020.
The recall was triggered by CFIA testing, and further products may be added.
Earlier this month, several other products were identified in an apricot kernel recall, some of which are sold across Canada .
The March 12 notice includes:
Apricot Power bitter raw apricot seeds, UPC 7 528303 370840, best before January 2021 – sold nationally
Chen-Chen dried apricot north almond seeds, UPC 0 20616 99366 4, best before Nov. 10, 2021 – sold in B.C., Alberta and Saskatchewan
Double Happiness dried apricot seed mix, UPC 6 26430 00016 0, best before Dec. 30, 2020 – sold in B.C., Alberta and Manitoba
Earth Notions raw bitter apricot kernels, UPC 6 89076 42028 0, best before April 2020, April 2021 – sold in Ontario and across Canada online
Natural Herbs Trading Co., Ltd. bitter apricot kernels, no UPC or best before date – sold in B.C.
Organic Traditions dried bitter apricot kernels, UPC 6 27733 00900 3, no best before date – sold across Canada
Surrey Natural Foods organic bitter apricot kernels, UPC starting with 0 201614, best before dates up to and including March 12, 2021 – sold in B.C.
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Mass Poisoning
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Northern lights may be visible in much of the country this weekend after solar storm
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The northern lights may be visible Saturday and Sunday in parts of the country where they're rarely seen. The federally-funded AuroraMAX observatory in Yellowknife said in a post on social media that auroras may be visible across most of the country this weekend. The only parts of the country not included in an "alert" issued by the observatory are the southernmost points in Ontario, southwestern Vancouver Island and southeastern parts of the Atlantic provinces, including all of Nova Scotia. But the observatory, run through a partnership between the University of Calgary, the City of Yellowknife, the Canadian Space Agency and a local astronomy organization, says it is still possible that the lights may be visible in those parts of the country. Eric Donovan, a professor at the University of Calgary's department of physics and astronomy who studies the aurora, said while he's always hesitant to make predictions, observations suggest a large magnetic storm may make the aurora more visible farther south than usual. "There's a very good chance that tonight there will be very good aurora over large parts of Canada that don't see it often," he said, adding that the sky will have to be clear and other factors are at play. "The aurora is driven by the solar wind, the solar wind is this gas of ionized particles that comes out of the sun all the time," he said in an interview Saturday. "What happens is that gas interacts with the Earth's magnetic field and that process extracts energy from the solar wind." One of the effects of that process is the aurora. "What people are predicting tonight, is that there will be a dramatic increase in the rate that energy is being delivered to this system. That means the solar wind is more dense, has more charged particles, and it's moving faster," he said. That would make the aurora brighter, visible over a wider area and move it farther south, he said. The Space Weather Prediction Center of the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said in a release the solar storm is the result of a solar flare and the ejection of plasma and magnetic field from the sun, a phenomenon called a coronal mass ejection.
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New wonders in nature
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Second chance: clock stopped after Japan tsunami starts ticking a decade later
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The century-old temple clock has come back to life when an aftershock of the 2011 quake hit the region Last modified on Wed 14 Apr 2021 06.19 BST For almost 10 years, the clock hanging in Bunshun Sakano’s temple was a reminder of the day nature’s force came close to destroying his community. The clock, which is thought to be about 100 years old, stopped ticking after the north-east coast of Japan was struck by an earthquake and tsunami that killed more than 18,000 people on 11 March 2011. Fumonji temple, which lies a few hundred metres from the tsunami-hit coast in Yamamoto, a town in Miyagi prefecture, was hit by the waves, with only its pillars and roof spared by the deluge. Sakano rescued the clock, cleaned it and wound the spring, but its hands refused to budge. Then late on 13 February this year – just weeks before the 10th anniversary of the disaster – the same region was struck by another powerful earthquake, described by seismologists as an aftershock of the March 2011 quake. The following morning Sakano, the Buddhist temple’s head priest, went to check the main hall for any damage when he heard a ticking sound. The clock, which had remained silent even after being repeatedly cleaned, was moving again. Two months later, it is still ticking. “Maybe it’s pushing me to move forward with new determination,” Sakano, 58, told the Mainichi Shimbun newspaper. “It’s like a sign of encouragement that the real restoration is yet to come.” The clock, which Sakano had bought at an antique shop in neighbouring Fukushima prefecture several years before the 2011 disaster, appears to have been shaken back into action by the force of February’s earthquake. A representative of Seiko, the clock’s manufacturer, told the Mainichi: “It’s possible that the pendulum, which had stopped, started moving again with the shaking of the earthquake, or that dust that had built up inside came loose.” The clock was a silent source of inspiration for Sakano as he set about helping the local community in the aftermath of the tsunami, bringing together volunteers and, a year later, opening a cafe for people whose homes had been destroyed. Recently, with neighbourhood meetings and volunteering put on hold by the coronavirus pandemic, Sakano had started to wonder if the time had come to end his community activities. But when the clock started ticking again, he said, it was as if it was imploring him not to give up and to “start moving again”.
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Tsunamis
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1948 Winsford railway accident
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On 17 April 1948, 24 people died when the 17:40 Glasgow to London Euston train hauled by LMS Princess Royal Class 4-6-2 No 6207 Princess Arthur of Connaught was stopped after the communication cord was pulled by a passenger (a soldier on leave who presumably lived near Winsford and was seen to leave the train after it had stopped). [1] The stopped train was then run into by a following postal express hauled by LMS Coronation Class 4-6-2 No 6251 City of Nottingham. [2]
The collision happened at between 40 and 45 mph (64 and 72 km/h) and was so severe that only five of the ten passenger coaches could be pulled away on their wheels and only the rear eight of the 13 Postal coaches could be pulled back. 24 passengers were killed. The signalman at Winsford had, in error, reported the passenger train clear of the section and accepted the postal train. [1]
The person who pulled the emergency cord was a railway employee who worked as a signalbox lad in Winsford Junction, but was currently serving in the army having been called up. He thought that the train would be perfectly safe because he knew how the signalling equipment of the time in that area worked; but he did not know that the train had stopped short of the track circuit, which would have reminded the signalman of its presence. He attended the enquiry to confess, and was still a signalman in Winsford Junction until he retired in the 1990s.
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Train collisions
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Ohio State poisonings still unsolved 96 years later
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In 1925, Charles Huls, an Ohio State University journalism major from Logan, unexpectedly convulsed and died quickly in an excruciating fashion. His death was attributed to a case of tetanus after having a bad tooth pulled. But it was soon discovered to be something more sinister: Homicide by strychnine poisoning.
It wasn’t until after a second student died, and four others became ill, that the dots were finally connected. Various initial diagnoses — tetanus, viral meningitis, hysteria, food poisoning — were all wrong. A stomach pumping of the sixth victim found the culprit.
In one of Ohio State’s most captivating mysteries, it was found that all six were poisoned after ingesting quinine pills mixed with strychnine, a toxin that causes convulsions and often leads to asphyxiation. The quinine had been prescribed to relieve symptoms of a common cold and had been given out at a campus dispensary. Whether the toxin had been intentionally added -- or somehow accidentally mixed in -- to the quinine was never determined. No credible suspects emerged.
The randomness of who became ill or who could have been, before all the pills were recalled, terrified the campus community. Investigations proved fruitless.
Two decades ago, The Dispatch asked a forensics psychiatrist known for his work on the 1982 Tylenol cyanide poisonings (also never solved) for an expert opinion. Dr. Park Dietz studied the 1925 case and believed the most probable scenario was that one person was the target with the other poisonings used as a smokescreen. He also said the actual victims were likely not the intended target.
After the episode, Ohio State shut down the student-run dispensary and became the first college in the country to expand its two-year pharmacy program to a four-year degree, with more training and better oversight. Within a few years, other colleges followed.
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Mass Poisoning
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A team of archaeologists and cultural heritage experts have commenced a project to study and document【= the ancient relics discovered in historical sites in Zaveh
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TEHRAN – A team of archaeologists and cultural heritage experts have commenced a project to study and document the ancient relics discovered in historical sites in Zaveh, the northeastern Khorasan Razavi province. More than 1000 pieces of historical pottery, which were kept in “inappropriate conditions” for the past few years, are being organized, studied, and documented, local tourism official Ali Mohammadi said on Sunday. The project is being carried out by the province’s Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts Department in collaboration with the Archeology Faculty of Torbat-e Heydarieh University, sponsored by Zaveh Cement Factory, the official added. So far 90 historical structure has been identified in Zaveh-located 180 kilometers to the provincial capital of Mashhad- of which 20 properties have been inscribed on the National Heritage list. Before the coronavirus puts almost everything on lockdown, the provincial capital of Mashhad played host to thousands of travelers and pilgrims who come from various Iranian cities, neighboring countries, and even across the globe to visit the imposing, massive holy shrine complex of Imam Reza (AS), the eighth Imam of the Shia Muslims. Almost 40 million Iranian pilgrims and travelers visited the city during the last Iranian calendar year (ended March 19). Dozens of five-star hotels and hostels are dotted around the holy shrine. The city has also the highest concentration of water parks in the country, and it also embraces a variety of cultural and historical sites that are generally crowded.
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New archeological discoveries
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2016 Louisiana floods
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In August 2016, prolonged rainfall from an unpredictable storm resulted in catastrophic flooding in the state of Louisiana, United States; thousands of houses and businesses were submerged. Louisiana's governor, John Bel Edwards, called the disaster a "historic, unprecedented flooding event" and declared a state of emergency. Many rivers and waterways, particularly the Amite and Comite rivers, reached record levels, and rainfall exceeded 20 inches (510 mm) in multiple parishes. Because numerous homeowners who were affected were without flood insurance, the federal government is providing disaster aid through the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). [3] The flood has been called the worst US natural disaster since Hurricane Sandy in 2012. [4] 60 deaths have been reported as a result of the flooding. Early on August 11, a mesoscale convective system flared up in southern Louisiana around a weak area of low pressure that was situated next to an outflow boundary. It remained nearly stationary, and as a result, torrential downpours occurred in the areas surrounding Baton Rouge and Lafayette. Rainfall rates of up to 2–3 inches (5.1–7.6 cm) an hour were reported in the most deluged areas where totals exceeded nearly 2 feet (61 cm) in some areas as a result of the system remaining stationary. [5] Accumulations peaked at 31.39 inches (797 mm) in Watson, just northeast of Baton Rouge. [6]
The Washington Post noted that the "no-name storm" dumped three times as much rain on Louisiana as Hurricane Katrina. It dropped the equivalent of 7.1 trillion gallons of water or enough to fill Lake Pontchartrain about four times. Hurricane Katrina, by comparison, dumped about 2.3 trillion gallons of rainwater in the state (though more in other states). The flooding rains also dumped more water than had Hurricane Isaac. According to the National Weather Service Hydrometeorological Design Studies Center, the amount of rainfall in the hardest-hit locations had a less than 0.1 percent chance of happening or was a (less than) 1-in-1,000-year event. [7]
Because the rain was not associated with a named storm, there was less warning to the public for emergency preparations. [3]
A rapid attribution study, published within one month after the event,[8] indicates an anthropogenic climate warming role in the increased probability of the return time of a similar extreme event happening in the future. A follow-on peer-reviewed paper [9] indicates that the catastrophic flood in Louisiana was a result of intense precipitation produced by a slow-moving, tropical, low-pressure system interacting with an eastward-traveling baroclinic trough to the north. While tropical-midlatitude interactions of this nature are rare, they are not unprecedented. Analyses point towards the tendency for more and perhaps stronger upper-level troughs propagating out of the western U.S. in summer; these have an increasing potential to cross paths with low-pressure systems that form around the Gulf Coast. Combined with the projected increase in precipitable water, resulting precipitation magnitude would increase. Large-ensemble modeling indicates that the prospect of future tropical-midlatitude interactions is a scenario that Louisiana will face in the future. Regional simulations suggest that the climate warming since 1985 may have increased the event precipitation (August 11–14, 2016) on the order of 20%. [9]
Rainfall like this and the emergency help needed after the flooding subsides are straining the federal system for aid to states. Some analysts wonder if this is the new normal for storms and floods. [3]
Flooding began in earnest on August 12. On August 13, a flash flood emergency was issued for areas along the Amite and Comite rivers. [10] By August 15, more than ten rivers (Amite, Vermilion, Calcasieu, Comite, Mermentau, Pearl, Tangipahoa, Tchefuncte, Tickfaw, and Bogue Chitto) and many more had reached a moderate, major, or record flood stage. Eight rivers reached record levels, including the Amite and Comite rivers. [11]
The Amite River crested at nearly 5 ft (1.5 m) above the previous record in Denham Springs. [12] Nearly one-third of all homes—approximately 15,000 structures—in Ascension Parish were flooded after a levee along the Amite River was overtopped. [13] Water levels began to slowly recede by August 15, though large swaths of land remained submerged. [14] Livingston Parish was one of the hardest hit areas; an official estimated that 75 percent of the homes in the parish were a "total loss". [15] It was thought over 146,000 homes were damaged in Louisiana. [16][17] This mass flooding also damaged thousands of businesses. [18][19]
Thirteen people have been confirmed dead as a consequence of the flooding. [20] An elderly woman in Livingston Parish was confirmed dead by parish officials. A man's body was found Wednesday on Whitehall Avenue in Denham Springs. Officials said they found a man in his 50s in the South Point subdivision off of Walker South. They added he had no obvious signs of trauma, and the area he was found in had five-feet of water in it at one point. Of the other deaths, five people have died in East Baton Rouge Parish, three in Tangipahoa Parish, two in St. Helena Parish, two in Livingston Parish and one in Rapides Parish from the storms and their aftermath. [21]
The widespread flooding stranded tens of thousands of people in their homes and vehicles. At least 30,000 people were rescued by local law enforcement, firefighters, the Louisiana National Guard, the Coast Guard and fellow residents, from submerged vehicles and flooded homes. [22] Many boat-owning residents of Louisiana and Mississippi, together with other volunteers, formed an informal rescue service known as the Cajun Navy and navigated through flooded areas to answer calls for help that they received via social media. They rescued as many as a thousand people and pets and distributed emergency supplies. [23][24][25][26] A group of 70 volunteers from St. Bernard Parish conducted hundreds of boat rescues in East Baton Rouge Parish. [14] By August 15, approximately 11,000 people sought refuge in 70 shelters. [27] Flash flooding swamped a 7-mile (11 km) section of Interstate 12 between Tangipahoa Parish and Baton Rouge, stranding 125 vehicles. At one point, an approximately 62-mile stretch was closed because of flooding concerns. State police and the National Guard used high-water vehicles to rescue trapped motorists, but many remained stuck for over 24 hours.
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Floods
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Covid-19: SA records 3 961 new infections, as confirmed death toll increases by 126
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South Africa recorded 3 961 new laboratory-confirmed Covid-19 infections on Sunday and 126 deaths, bringing the confirmed death toll to 84 877. According to a statement by the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD), as of Sunday, the country recorded 2 858 195 laboratory-confirmed cases. "The current surge in Covid-19 infections seems to be showing signs of a sustained downward trend. Today (Sunday), the institute reports 3 961 new Covid-19 cases that have been identified in South Africa, which brings the total number of laboratory-confirmed cases to 2 858 195. This increase represents an 11.0% positivity rate," the statement read. As of Sunday, Gauteng recorded 911 854 confirmed cases, the Western Cape 501 593 and KwaZulu-Natal 501 425. "The majority of new cases today (Sunday) are from KwaZulu-Natal (28%), followed by Eastern Cape (20%). Western Cape accounted for 18%; Northern Cape accounted for 9%; Free State and Gauteng province each accounted for 8%, respectively; Mpumalanga and North West each accounted for 4%, and Limpopo accounted for 1% of today's new cases," said NICD spokesperson Sinenhlanhla Jimoh. KwaZulu-Natal recorded 1 105 new cases on Sunday, the Eastern Cape 776 and the Western Cape 721. There was an increase of 92 hospital admissions in the last 24-hour reporting cycle. As of Sunday, 10 440 people were in both public and private hospitals for Covid-19. South Africa conducted 17 073 236 cumulative tests, of which 35 965 were carried out in the last 24-hour cycle. The recovery rate is 93.3%, which translates to 2 667 296 recoveries. WATCH | Ramaphosa urges citizens to get vaccinated to avoid destructive 4th wave President Cyril Ramaphosa, on Sunday evening, addressed the country urging South Africans to get their jabs to avoid a devastating 4th wave in December. WATCH | Vaccine passport is in the works President Cyril Ramaphosa, on Sunday night, announced that the Department of Health is exploring different options for vaccine passports. The "passport" will be used as evidence of vaccination for various purposes and events. WATCH | Alcohol sales open on weekdays from 10:00 - 18:00 As the country moves to lockdown Level 2 on Monday, 13 September, alcohol sales will open up. Off-site liquor sales is allowed between 10:00 and 18:00 from Monday to Friday. On-site consumption is restricted to 22:00. WATCH | Lockdown Level 2 announced, new curfew and larger gatherings allowed President Cyril Ramaphosa in his address to the nation on Sunday 12 September moved the country to adjusted alert Level 2. The hours of curfew will now start at 23:00 and end at 04:00. WATCH | SA kids taking part in Sinovac Covid-19 trials get their first jabs The first South African children who are part of Sinovac Covid-19 trials received their first jabs at the Sefako Makgatho University in GaRankuwa on Friday. A 17-year-old boy and girl were the first to receive their dose. WATCH | Govt to launch anti-fraud digital vaccine certificates that can be uploaded onto smartphones Health Minister Joe Phaahla on Friday morning said his department has commenced with the development of a digital vaccination certificate to confirm that a person has been vaccinated. According to the Department of Health, 14 690 586 vaccine doses have been administered. Of those, 15 424 were administered in the last 24-hour cycle. To date, 3 970 216 people are fully vaccinated with the Pfizer vaccine, while 3 229 189 have been vaccinated with the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine.
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Disease Outbreaks
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Updated tsunami maps remind the public they may be in a very precarious zone
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Updated tsunami maps remind the public they may be in a very precarious zone SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - You don't have to be right on the beach to be worried about the "what if" that comes with a tsunami. An earthquake-generated series of waves, that can flood coastal property, is extremely possible and new maps help the public see where their risks are. Clearly, you don't have to be living in a tsunami zone to be at risk. The Santa Barbara waterfront for example has millions of visitors each year in areas that would be drenched in water if a significant tsunami came ashore. It could happen with an earthquake in the Santa Barbara Channel and come with very little warning. Or, it could happen thousands of miles away and come with a predicted time and wave size. Experts have updated their maps to show what areas would be first hit and hardest hit. In Santa Barbara County they include portions of Carpinteria in and around the Salt Marsh, Santa Barbara's waterfront including the Funk Zone, Goleta Beach Park, portions of the airport and Ocean Beach in Lompoc. The tsunami wave map updates can be found at Department of Conservation . One resident recalls impacts from 2011 when an earthquake hit Japan, but the waves came to the California coast. "It took out the bait dock. These things are real," said Barbara Sharghi. "And that was nothing, the bait dock was nothing. The tsunami in Japan was devastating." It makes many people start thinking about the possibilities more. "Yes if there were even an inkling of a warning we wouldn't wait and see we would go to high ground," she said. Emergency warning signs are posted throughout California's waterfront area to help people realize where tsunami waves could end up. While we often think about a tsunami's impact right at the beach or beachfront streets, just a few blocks in there could also be a tsunami's impact on transportation corridors, like the union pacific railroad tracks which could get inundated. That would have a significant effect on freight and passenger movement. Michelle Brillion was in the area from Daly City and said, "We are near the coast. I probably should think about that more often." One family visiting from San Francisco says tsunamis are not top of mind even though they live with on-shore earthquakes. "That's the least of my concerns, maybe if I was in Japan or Indonesia but not in California," said Brillion. Another visitor here strolling the waterfront came from a Northern California tour and was reminded of an earthquake there more than 100 years ago. Jack Walsh said, "And they were saying that we are due for another one of those and that's when I started thinking about it. " A tsunami hitting the coast here would also back up and overflow many creeks, like the section of Mission Creek in the waterfront up into the city. "Where my place is, I'm across from all the shipping containers so one could end up in my living room someday," said Sharghi. Even when the waterfront appears calm now Sharghi said, "We are not immune to horrible things happening here in Santa Barbara." Advice from experts tells the public to go away from the shoreline if they feel a major quake and especially if it is determined to be offshore. They should not always wait for an emergency message if they feel they are in danger. The Santa Barbara Channel has numerous fault lines and some are capable of major temblors that can trigger a tsunami.
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Tsunamis
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Legalization of recreational marijuana brings worries about risks of child poisoning
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Each day at the Connecticut Poison Control Center (CPCC) brings calls about someone suffering the adverse effects of cannabis poisoning. Most often, those calls involve children, said Dr. Suzanne Doyon, medical director of the CPCC.
“We get calls about this daily. Absolutely,” Doyon said. “There was even a day two weeks ago, where we had five children in different hospitals in the state of Connecticut, all with edible marijuana exposures. Five at the same time—that was a record for us.”
Now that Connecticut has made the possession of recreational cannabis legal as of July 1, Doyon fears that the number of calls to CPCC for cannabis exposures will only increase: “The numbers are going to go up.” Her anxieties are not unfounded; data from poison control centers across the country substantiate Doyon’s predictions.
A new study published by the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) found that regions with legalized recreational cannabis reported higher rates of calls to poison control centers for cannabis exposure than in states where recreational use was illegal.
In 2019, cannabis exposure calls per 100,000 residents increased by 48% in areas where cannabis use was legal. The study found a call rate of 4.36 per 100,000 people in legalized regions and a rate of 2.95 calls per 100,000 for cannabis exposure in states where recreational cannabis was illegal.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), extreme doses of THC, the primary psychoactive compound in cannabis, are not likely to cause a fatal overdose. However, THC consumption can result in “extreme confusion, anxiety, paranoia, panic, fast heart rate, delusions or hallucinations, increased blood pressure, and severe nausea or vomiting.”
Doyon said that cannabis is even more toxic for children and leads to gastrointestinal and neurological problems, and often results in admittance to a hospital. She said that it usually takes two days in the hospital for a child to recover. In Connecticut, Doyon said that poisonings from edible cannabis products occur most often in children under age 5 with a peak age of 18 months.
“These are little children … It’s a very normal behavior for very young children and toddlers to put things in their mouth. These little edibles are just ingested by these children. And let’s face it, they do look like candy and there’s usually more than one available so the children get into more than one of them,” Doyon said. “We want them to keep these products away from children, just like we keep cleaning products away from children.”
Cannabis can be made into gummies, chocolate, hard candy, chips and more. Packaging sometimes mimics well-known candy brands like Sour Patch Kids, Starburst and Skittles. Popular homemade edibles include brownies, cookies and other baked goods. To a hungry youngster, these THC-potent products look like tempting snacks.
Connecticut’s new cannabis law includes provisions to deter children from using cannabis products. The law “prohibits cannabis product types that appeal to children” and mandates opaque child-resistant packaging. Additionally, each dose of edibles must be individually wrapped. These regulations will go into effect once recreational sales of cannabis begin in May 2022. Doyon said it is up to the state Department of Public Health (DPH) to implement the guidelines.
“We want child-resistant packaging. We want opaque packaging. We want the edibles to not be attractive to children. No nice colors, no nice shapes, no nice smells, no nice flavors, making [edibles] clear and unappealing would be a great thing,” Doyon said.
Creative Commons
Cannabis edibles on display in a case in Amsterdam.
Doyon added that individual wrappers for each edible dose will likely be the key to decreasing the number of children who suffer from cannabis poisonings each year and that packaging should clearly label the amount of THC in each dose.
“It makes it much more difficult for children to get into multiple edibles if they are individually wrapped. Little children just don’t have the dexterity to open multiple packages like that in a short period of time,” Doyon said. “We have a lot of evidence to show that when we package things properly to prevent pediatric ingestion, we are successful … No state is doing this right now. We have the opportunity because the regulations are being thought up and written up as we speak to impact the packaging.”
Doyon said that in preparation for Connecticut’s cannabis legalization, the CPCC contacted other states with recreational markets. She said that the CPCC staff is undergoing training and modifying policies now that recreational cannabis is legal. Doyon advised users to keep cannabis products locked away, and added that people should not eat edibles in front of children who might try to mimic the behavior. If a child — or anyone — overdoses on cannabis products, call the poison control center immediately at 1-800-222-1222, Doyon said.
“We have true experts answering the phone, and they will guide you to the best of their ability as to what the next steps should be,” Doyon said. “We are interested in saving lives.”
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Mass Poisoning
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Stop & Shop to close 19 in-store pharmacies, including Cohasset, Norwell
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QUINCY — The Quincy-based grocery chain Stop & Shop will close nearly two dozen of the pharmacies it runs stores in the next two months, including those in Norwell and Cohasset. Stop & Shop Spokeswoman Caroline Medeiros said in an email that the company will close 19 of the pharmacies in its grocery stories by early November. The closures come because of "steadily declining prescription reimbursements by private and government third-party payors. That decline is impacting retail pharmacies across the country," she said. The store will continue top operate 200 pharmacies across the Northeast. Two of the 19 pharmacies that are closing are the Stop & Shop in Norwell and Cohasset, said United Food and Commercial Workers International Union Local 328 President Tim Melia. Medeiros did not respond to questions about what will happen to the pharmacists in the locations that are closing, where the closures are and what happens to those who have standing prescriptions at the soon-to-be-closed pharmacies. Melia said the only other pharmacy closing in his area, which spans from Rhode Island to the South Shore and down to the Cape and Islands, is in Seekonk. Melia's union represents pharmacy technicians. All pharmacy technicians will be transferred to other pharmacies. Those who are part time and don't want to move stores can stay and work as clerks, Melia said. A report by the Massachusetts Health Policy Commission in 2019 took aim at pharmacy benefit mangers by charging consumers more than it reimbursed pharmacies for prescription dugs and pocketing the difference. It also raised concerns among pharmacists about low reimbursement rates. RX COSTS:Do drug benefit managers reduce health costs? SECOND DOSE:Baker promises 'aggressive' booster vaccine rollout One of the biggest pharmacy benefit managers is CVS Caremark. It uses its buying power to set the prices insurance will reimburse for prescription drugs.
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Organization Closed
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ČSA Flight 523 crash
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ČSA Flight 523, operated by an Ilyushin Il-18D, was a scheduled flight from Prague Ruzyně International Airport (PRG/LKPR), Czechoslovakia to Havana via Shannon Airport and Gander International Airport, with 69 people on board, on 5 September 1967 it crashed on climb-out from Gander. In 2015 a memorial plaque was unveiled in Gander to honour its victims. [1]
On 5 September 1967, ČSA Flight 523 crashed on climb-out from Gander International Airport, after being re-fuelled for the final leg of the flight. [2] The aircraft took off from runway 14 climbing at an abnormally shallow angle. The aircraft struck a supporting wire of a mast,[2] climbed to 40 m (130 ft), then started to dive, hitting the ground at a speed of approximately 360 km/h (220 mph; 190 kn), hit a railway embankment 4,000 ft (1,200 m) past the end of the runway, caught fire and broke into pieces. [3] Four crewmen and 33 passengers were killed. [2]
The aircraft was relatively new, manufactured in April 1967, having flown only 766 hours. The crew, replaced by a fresh one in Gander, consisted of a captain with over 17,000 hours experience (over 5,000 on the Il-18), familiar with the airport as he had been flying there since 1962, and a co-pilot with over 10,000 hours experience. [3]
The investigation of the incident started immediately; Czechoslovak and Soviet experts, including Genrikh Novozhilov from Ilyushin and the Czech World War II fighter pilot František Fajtl, also took part in it. Several possibilities were discussed but the cause of the accident was never determined. [3]
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Air crash
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Dr. Fauci to give commencement speech to Mayo's biomedical students
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Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and the nation's leading expert on infectious diseases, will deliver the commencement speech on Sept. 11 at the 2021 Mayo Clinic Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences.
The commencement will be held virtually and also will be the first time the School of Biomedical Sciences has held its own graduation ceremony. Graduates from the Class of 2020 also are invited to be a part of the ceremony.
In addition to giving the commencement speech, Fauci will receive an honorary degree from the school.
"When I think of the impact science is having on society, I cannot think of a more inspiring person than Dr. Fauci," said Dr. Stephen Ekker, dean of Mayo Clinic Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences. "He has brought medicine and science to the forefront of America by being an unwavering advocate for science and facts." Dr. Franklyn Prendergast, emeritus professor of biochemistry, molecular biology and pharmacology at Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science, also will speak at the ceremony. Prendergast held leadership roles at Mayo Clinic from the early 1980s to his retirement in 2014.
The virtual ceremony will be available to program graduates and Mayo Clinic staff at this livestream.
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Famous Person - Give a speech
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2002 Barrow-in-Furness legionellosis outbreak
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The 2002 Barrow-in-Furness Legionnaires' disease outbreak was a fatal outbreak of Legionellosis which occurred in Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, England. It was and still remains among the worst such outbreaks in history. The first fatality occurred on 2 August 2002. [1] The source of the bacteria was later found to be from steam coming out of a badly maintained air conditioning unit. The system was located in the council-run arts centre Forum 28, with the vent emitting the disease over a busy alleyway in the town centre. Ultimately seven people died and 172 cases were reported (a case fatality rate of around 4%), ranking as the second worst in British history and seventh worst globally by death count. [2]
The coroner for Furness and South Cumbria criticised the council for its failings with regard to health and safety at the conclusion of an inquest into the seven deaths. [3] In 2006, council employee Gillian Beckingham and employer Barrow Borough Council were cleared of seven charges of manslaughter. Beckingham, the council senior architect, was fined 15,000 and the authority 125,000. The authority maintained that Beckingham was not responsible for the building or the defective plant and dismissed the building Technical Manager Kevin Borthwick. He was later re-instated to his position following a challenge by his union. [4] The borough council was the first public body in the country to have faced corporate manslaughter charges. Beckingham maintained that a contract to maintain the plant was in place but failings of others meant that the work was never undertaken, nor was the lack of adequate maintenance pursued by those responsible for the building. Following the trials, the contractor responsible for maintaining the defective plant, Interserve, settled a 1.5 million claim by the Council for damages. [5][6]
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Disease Outbreaks
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In Photos: Celebs who got engaged and married in 2020
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From Rana Daggubati, Kajal Aggarwal to Gauahar Khan, Shaheer Sheikh, here's a list of celebs who began a new phase of life with their partners in 2020. Team India leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal on November 22 tied the knot with choreographer Dhanashree Verma. While Dhanashree looked gorgeous in a maroon lehenga, Yuzvendra looked suave in an ivory sherwani with a maroon turban. The spinner shared the photo, captioning the post as, "22.12.20. We started at "Once Upon A Time" and found "Our Happily Ever After," coz' finally, #DhanaSaidYuz for infinity and beyond." The couple had got engaged in August this year. Bollywood actor Harman Baweja got engaged to nutrition health coach Sasha Ramchandani in Chandigarh. Family members and close friends congratulated the couple on Instagram. A few pictures from their Roka ceremony are going viral on social media platforms. The news was first shared by Harman’s sister Rowena Baweja along with an adorable picture of the couple. She congratulated them and welcomed Sasha to their family. Harman is the son of director Harry Baweja and film producer Pammi Baweja. He made his Bollywood debut in Love Story 2050 in 2008, which was directed by his father. However, the film, co-starring Priyanka Chopra, failed to work at the box office. Besides, Harman has worked in films like Victory, Dhishkiyaaon, What’s Your Raashee and Chaar Sahibzaade: Rise of Banda Singh Bahadur. Choreographer-actor Punit J Pathak surprised his fans as he announced his engagement to longtime girlfriend Nidhi in August 2020. He had shared several pictures of them from the engagement ceremony. Decked up in traditional outfits, the couple was all smiles as they were clicked enjoying their special day. Punit and Nidhi are all set to tie the knot on December 11, 2020. Baahubali fame Rana Daggubati tied the knot with his long-time girlfriend Miheeka Bajaj on August 8. It was a traditional Andhra-style Hindu wedding ceremony at the Ramanaidu Studios in Hyderabad amidst tight security. Given the ongoing pandemic, there were just around 30 guests, which included the bride and groom’s immediate family and a few close friends. Rana’s best friend, Ram Charan, and his wife Upasana made an appearance, as did another actor-friend Allu Arjun. Rana’s actor-cousin, Naga Chaitanya, was also there with wife Samantha Akkineni. Bollywood singer Neha Kakkar and her fiance Rohanpreet Singh got married on October 24 in Delhi in a traditional Anand Karaj ceremony. The couple took the plunge in the company of their close friends and family. Both Neha and Rohanpreet were seen dressed in shades of pink by famous designer Sabyasachi for their special day. Bigg Boss 7 winner Gauahar Khan got engaged to her boyfriend Zaid Darbar on November 5. Gauahar took to social media to announce the news of her engagement with an adorable picture of herself with Zaid, who also happens to be the son of renowned music composer Ismail Darbar. Though the couple has remained tight-lipped about their big day, sources close to them say that they are all set to get married in November this year. Former Bigg Boss contestant Sana Khan tied the knot in an intimate ceremony on November 20, 2020. In October, Sana had announced her decision to quit the entertainment industry citing religious reasons. “Loved each other for the sake of Allah. Married each other for the sake of Allah. May Allah keep us united in this duniya and reunite us in jannah...Which of the favours of your lord will you deny,” she had posted on Instagram along with a picture of her husband Anas Sayed. Kajal Aggarwal, known for her turn in films like Special 26 and Singham, got married to entrepreneur-boyfriend Gautam Kitchlu on October 30 in an intimate ceremony at a Mumbai hotel. In keeping with the social distancing rules, the paparazzi was discouraged from crowding around the venue. The couple then took off to the Maldives for their honeymoon and the actress treated her fans with some of the most dreamy pictures clicked by her husband at the archipelago. Actor and comedian Balraj Syal married singer Deepti Tuli in a private ceremony in August 2020. The couple had kept the news of their wedding under wraps and it was only after a month that the made the announcement on social media. Given the constraints of social distancing, the wedding took place in the presence of just 30 people. The actor, who also appeared on the show Mujhse Shaadi Karoge, revealed that he and Deepti met in July last year during a shoot in Chandigarh.
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Famous Person - Marriage
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China Airlines Flight 358 crash
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China Airlines Flight 358 was a Boeing 747-2R7F/SCD freighter that crashed on December 29, 1991 shortly after takeoff from Chiang Kai-shek International Airport in Taipei, Taiwan. The aircraft was a Boeing 747-2R7F/SCD, built in September 1980 for Cargolux as the "City of Esch-sur-Alzette," registration LX-ECV, MSN 22390. It was acquired by China Airlines in June 1985 was given its registration of B-198. It has been in service for 11 years, 3 months. [1] The aircraft had clocked a total of 45,868 hours of flight time during its time in service. The last A-check maintenance had occurred on December 21, 1991, and the aircraft had accumulated 74 hours of flight time since that point. [1]
Several minutes after takeoff, the crew reported problems with the #2 engine, prompting Taipei air traffic control (ATC) to vector the flight into a left turn to return to the airport. Approximately two minutes later, the crew reported that they were unable to turn left, and ATC approved a right-hand turn instead. This was the last radio contact made by the crew. The crew lost control of the aircraft and it struck a hill, right wing first, near Wanli, Taipei. The crash occurred at approximately 3:05 PM, at an altitude of 700 feet. [1] All five crew members died in the crash, and there were no injuries on the ground. The subsequent investigation revealed that the number 3 engine and its pylon had separated from the aircraft and struck the number 4 engine, breaking it off the wing as well. [1] A more detailed investigation revealed that the pylon midspar fittings, which attach the pylon to the lower portion of the wing front spar, had failed. [citation needed] The search for the number 3 engine and its pylon, which landed in the sea, took several months. Information from the investigation of this crash and the nearly identical crash of El Al Flight 1862 10 months later resulted in Boeing ordering pylon modifications to every 747 in use. [2]
The aircraft was the same one involved in the China Airlines Flight 334 hijacking on May 3, 1986.
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Air crash
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Man deported from UK charged over alleged robberies of Sydney banks, service stations in 1980s
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A notorious robber allegedly responsible for a string of bank robberies in the 1980s has been refused bail at Sydney's Parramatta Court. Ian Steele allegedly carried out armed robberies across Sydney banks, services stations and financial institutions. The 58-year-old from the UK was arrested at Sydney Airport by strike force detectives yesterday after being deported from the United Kingdom. Representing himself on Saturday, Steele said he intended to plead guilty to all his outstanding matters, adding he wanted them finalised as soon as possible. Steele has also been charged with escaping lawful custody in 1983 and 1986. Police said the alleged robberies extended across an area of Sydney including Bankstown, Summer Hill, Carringbah, Drummoyne, Chippendale and Glebe, between 1982 and 1987. Former Detective Superintendent Brian Harding, who was in the NSW Police armed hold-up squad for most of the 1980s, remembers arresting Steele. "We got him up at Kings Cross, we had surveillance on him and we just created one of those mobile traffic jams where he boxed his vehicle in and we arrested him without incident," Harding told ABC News. "There were no dramas and I think we charged him with eight or nine armed robberies, but then he later escaped from custody and went to Victoria."
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Bank Robbery
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Israel to withdraw from UNESCO, following US
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Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday instructed Israel's representative at UNESCO Carmel Shama-Hacohen to submit to the organization's newly appointed Director-General Audrey Azoulay an official, written announcement of Israel's departure from the organization. Israel would join the United States, which in October pulled out from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization following what it referred to as "anti-Israel bias." "The (organization's) decisions against Israel will never harm the connection and commitment of the State of Israel and every Jew to the values of education, culture and science, and therefore the Israeli government does not slam the door, but invites the leadership of the new organization together with its sane (member) countries to stop being afraid of the same gang that took over the organization. "For many years now, the United States has been worried that Israel will not walk alone, while facing a crushing majority and paying the price (for it). The United States is leaving UNESCO in the bottom line because of the State of Israel, and it is our moral obligation not to let it do so alone." The United Nation's education, cultural and scientific agency has passed several resolutions against Israel. It extended membership to Palestine in 2011. Netanyahu's decision to withdraw from the organization came at the heels of Thursday's special UN General Assembly vote, passing a resolution which declared with overwhelming majority that Washington's recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital is "null and void" and should be "rescinded immediately."
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Withdraw from an Organization
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Venezia promoted to Serie A
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Venezia promoted to Serie A
Date:27th May 2021 at 11:16pm
Written by: Euan Burns
Venezia gained promotion to Serie A for the first time in 19 years at the expense of Cittadella, after a 1-1 home draw in the second leg of their playoff final against Cittadella.
The Arancioneroverde won the first leg 1-0, but drew 1-1 in Venice as they were reduced to 10 men in the first half. The Cittadella goal was scored by Federico Prioa as he seized on a loose ball in the box.
Despite constant Cittadella pressure, Venezia broke with two minutes of stoppage time to play and Riccardo Bocalon sealed the promotion by making it 2-1 on aggregate.
— Venezia FC (@VeneziaFC_EN) May 27, 2021
Both teams showed attacking intent in the first 25 minutes, but it was Cittadella who made the vital breakthrough. A low pass into the box caught the Venezia defence napping, and Prioa was able to poke the ball beyond Niki Maeenpaeae.
The situation got worse for Venezia after 36 minutes, when Mazzochi was shown his second yellow card in the space of a minute. After the first yellow for a foul, he immediately put in a heavy tackle on another Cittadella player and gave referee Daniele Orsato no choice.
The second half was filled almost entirely of Cittadella as they tried to capitalise on the extra player. With the tie level at 1-1 on aggregate, it was Venezia who would still go through as they finished the Serie B season with two more points than Cittadella.
Venezia showed impressive attacking intent towards the end of the game, choosing not to invite pressure. It paid off when Bocalon poked home a low cross with almost the last kick of the game.
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Join in an Organization
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Madagascar prays for rain as U.N. warns of 'climate change famine'
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AMBOASARY SUD, Madagascar, Oct 11 (Reuters) - Some days, all Tsimamorekm Aly eats is sugary water. He's happy if there's a handful of rice. But with six young kids and a wife to support, he often goes without. This is the fourth year that drought has devastated Aly's home in southern Madagascar. Now more than one million people, or two out of five residents, of his Grand Sud region require emergency food aid in what the United Nations is calling a "climate change famine." "In previous years there was rain, a lot of rain. I grew sweet potatoes and I had a lot of money... I even got married because I was rich," said Aly, 44. "Things have changed," he said, standing on an expanse of ochre dirt where the only green to be seen is tall, spiky cacti. Climate change is battering the Indian Ocean island and several U.N. agencies have warned in the past few months of a "climate change famine" here. "The situation in the south of the country is really worrying," said Alice Rahmoun, a spokeswoman with the United Nations' World Food Programme in Madagascar. "I visited several districts... and heard from families how the changing climate has driven them to hunger." Rainfall patterns in Madagascar are growing more erratic – they've been below average for nearly six years, said researchers at the University of California at Santa Barbara. "In some villages, the last proper rain was three years ago, in others, eight years ago or even 10 years ago," said Rahmoun. "Fields are bare, seeds do not sprout and there is no food." Malagasy climate refugees are seen in the camp located in Ambovombe, capital of Androy region in southern Madagascar September 29, 2021. REUTERS/Joel Kouam Temperatures in southern Africa are rising at double the global rate, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change says. Cyclones, already more frequent in Madagascar than any other African country, are likely getting stronger as the earth warms, the U.S. government says. Conflict has been a central cause of famine and hunger in countries such as Ethiopia, South Sudan, Somalia and Yemen, when fighting stopped people moving to find food. But Madagascar is at peace. "Climate change strongly impacts and strongly accentuates the famine in Madagascar," President Andry Rajoelina said while visiting the worst-affected areas earlier this month. "Madagascar is a victim of climate change." The country produces less than 0.01% of global carbon dioxide emissions, the World Carbon Project says. Half a million children are expected to be acutely malnourished in southern Madagascar, 110,000 severely so, the U.N. Children's Fund says, causing developmental delays, disease and death. Nutriset, a French company that produces emergency food Plumpy'Nut, opened a plant in southern Madagascar last week. It aims to annually produce 600 tonnes of therapeutic fortified food made of peanuts, sugar and milk for malnourished children. The Malagasy government is also giving parcels of land to some families fleeing the worst-hit areas. Two hundred families received land with chickens and goats, which are more drought-resilient than cows. They were also encouraged to plant cassava, which is more drought-resilient than maize. "It's a natural disaster," said Aly. "May God help us."
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Famine
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20 Celebrities Married to Athletes
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David and Victoria Beckham attend The Fashion Awards 2018 In Partnership With Swarovski at Royal Albert Hall on December 10, 2018 in London, England Soccer superstar David Beckham and former Spice Girls singer Victoria tied the knot at a celebrity-packed bash in 1999. The couple, who have since had four children, are mainstays in the media, due to David's Inter Miami football club and Victoria Beckham's successful fashion line. 2. Carrie Underwood And Mike Fisher Carrie Underwood and Mike Fisher attend the 2019 CMT Music Awards at Bridgestone Arena on June 05, 2019 in Nashville, Tennessee Singer-songwriter Carrie Underwood and former ice hockey center Mike Fisher have enjoyed married life together since 2010. The celebrity romance has resulted in the birth of two sons while the singer and athlete added a horse to their adorable clan in 2010. 3. Gabrielle Union And Dwyane Wade Dwyane Wade (L) wears sunglasses, a pink velvet shirt, a pink velvet jacket, a matched belt ; Gabrielle Union (R) wears a pearl headband, a white fluffy jacket with rhinestone embroideries, a mandarin collar and bell sleeves, outside Ralph & Russo, during Paris Fashion Week - Haute Couture Spring/Summer 2020, on January 20, 2020 in Paris, France Actress Gabrielle Union and former NBA player Dwyane Wade have been married since 2014. The cute couple reportedly first met at a Super Bowl party in 2007 and welcomed their daughter into the world more than ten years later. 4. Ciara And Russell Wilson Singer Ciara and NFL player Russell Wilson attend The 2015 ESPYS at Microsoft Theater on July 15, 2015 in Los Angeles, California Kevin Mazur/WireImage/Getty Images Pop star Ciara and NFL quarterback Russell Wilson married in the U.K. in 2016. The adorable duo live together with their three children and in 2021 graced the cover of GQ's The Modern Lovers issue. 5. Tom Brady And Gisele Bündchen Tom Brady and Gisele Bundchen attend the Heavenly Bodies: Fashion & The Catholic Imagination Costume Institute Gala at The Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 7, 2018 in New York City Matt Winkelmeyer/MG18/Getty Images Seven-time Super Bowl winner Tom Brady met Brazilian supermodel Gisele Bündchen in 2006 and the two made matters official when marrying three years later. The celebrities now enjoy life in a family of five and Brady opened-up in 2019 about the key to a lasting relationship as "CCC: clear, current communication." 6. Justin Verlander And Kate Upton Justin Verlander #35 of the Houston Astros takes a picture with fiancee Kate Upton after the Astros defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers 5-1 in game seven to win the 2017 World Series at Dodger Stadium on November 1, 2017 in Los Angeles, California Ezra Shaw/Getty Images Houston Astros athlete Justin Verlander popped the question to Sports Illustrated model Kate Upton in 2016 and the two married around a year later. The celebrities celebrated their first anniversary in November 2018, days before Upton gave birth to their first child, daughter Genevieve. 7. Gerard Piqué And Shakira Gerard Pique of FC Barcelona and Shakira pose with the trophy after FC Barcelona won the Copa del Rey Final match against Athletic Club at Camp Nou on May 30, 2015 in Barcelona, Spain David Ramos/Getty Images Celebrity Shakira and Barcelona defender Gerard Piqué first met while filming the official anthem of the 2010 FIFA World Cup. The pair, who coincidentally share birthdays, now have two sons together, named Sasha and Milán. 8. Kerry Washington And Nnamdi Asomugha Kerry Washington and husband Nnamdi Asomugha pose at a screening for Annapurna Pictures film "If Beale Street Could Talk" hosted by Kerry Washington at Landmark 57 Theatre on November 26, 2018 in New York City Bruce Glikas/Getty Images U.S. actor Kerry Washington and former football cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha decided to exchange vows in 2013. The celebrity couple has two children, Caleb and Isabella, while Asomugha has a daughter from a previous relationship. 9. Candace Cameron Bure And Valeri Bure Ice hockey player Valeri Bure (L) and actress Candace Cameron-Bure attend the Capitol File's WHCD Welcome Reception at British Ambassador's Residence on April 29, 2016 in Washington, DC Larry French/Getty Images Actress Candace Cameron Bure and Russian former Ice Hockey star Valeri Bure have been married since 1996. Around the time of their 25 anniversary, Cameron Bure shared photos on Instagram from the night her Full House cast helped her meet her "super cute, blond-haired" future husband. 10. Hannah Davis And Derek Jeter Derek Jeter (R) and Hannah Jeter attend Players' Night Out 2019 hosted by The Players' Tribune featuring the NBPA's Players' Voice awards at The Dream Hotel on July 09, 2019 in Los Angeles, California Leon Bennett/Getty Images Sports Illustrated model Hannah Davis and ex Yankees baseball shortstop Derek Jeter got hitched in 2016. Following their glamorous Napa Valley wedding, Davis took to Instagram to officially update her profile name to Hannah Jeter. 11. Chanel Iman And Sterling Shepard Chanel Iman and Sterling Shepard attend the amfAR Gala New York 2019 at Cipriani Wall Street on February 06, 2019 in New York City Bryan Bedder//Getty Images Victoria's Secret model Chanel Iman and New York Giants wide receiver Sterling Shepard married in March 2018. The husband and wife welcomed their first child, daughter Cali, into the world in August of the same year. 12. Michael Jordan and Yvette Prieto Yvette Prieto and her husband and owner of the Charlotte Hornets, Michael Jordan, watch on during their game against the Atlanta Hawks at Time Warner Cable Arena on November 1, 2015 in Charlotte, North Carolina Streeter Lecka/Getty Images NBA legend Michael Jordan and fashion model Yvette Prieto married in 2013 approximately five years after meeting. The celeb newlyweds proceeded to welcome twin girls Victoria and Ysabel Jordan into their lives on February 9, 2014. 13. Jessica Simpson and Eric Johnson Eric Johnson and Jessica Simpson attend a launch event and press preview for the Spring 2011 Jessica Simpson Collection "Show Me Your Blues" Jeanswear at Jessica Simpson Collection Showroom on September 7, 2010 in New York, New York Jamie McCarthy/WireImage/Getty Images American pop star Jessica Simpson and former football tight end Eric Johnson met in 2010 and married four years later. The lovebirds expanded their brood for the third time, when their daughter Birdie was born in March 2019. 14. Brooklyn Decker And Andy Roddick Eric Johnson and Jessica Simpson attend a launch event and press preview for the Spring 2011 Jessica Simpson Collection "Show Me Your Blues" Jeanswear at Jessica Simpson Collection Showroom on September 7, 2010 in New York, New York Jamie McCarthy/WireImage/Getty Images American model Brooklyn Decker and ex-tennis ace Andy Roddick tied the knot at a wedding ceremony in 2009. The pair have been going strong ever since and live with their two children Hank and Stevie. 15. Erin Andrews And Jarret Stoll Eric Johnson and Jessica Simpson attend a launch event and press preview for the Spring 2011 Jessica Simpson Collection "Show Me Your Blues" Jeanswear at Jessica Simpson Collection Showroom on September 7, 2010 in New York, New York Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images U.S. athletics presenter Erin Andrews and Canadian former professional ice hockey star Jarret Stoll married in 2017. The sportscaster opened-up about the toll associated with IVF on a women's mental and physical health in an August 2021 blog post. 16. JoAnna Garcia And Nick Swisher Nick Swisher and JoAnna Garcia Swisher at the Brooks Brothers Beverly Hills summer camp party benefitting St. Jude Children's Research Hospital at Brooks Brothers Rodeo on June 3, 2017 in Beverly Hills, California Donato Sardella/Getty Images Popular TV actress JoAnna Garcia and former baseball pro Nick Swisher married in 2010. The adorable duo have since increased the size of their family, with the additions of children Sailor and Emerson. 17. Eric Decker And Jessie James Eric Decker and Jessie James Decker attend the 53nd annual CMA Awards at Bridgestone Arena on November 13, 2019 in Nashville, Tennessee Taylor Hill/Getty Images Former football wide receiver Eric Decker and country music singer-songwriter Jessie James first met through a mutual friend. The duo has since filmed a reality TV show called Eric and Jessie and had children Vivian and Eric together. 18. Candice Crawford And Tony Romo Tony Romo (R) and wife Candice Crawford attend the Dom Perignon and Eric Podwall host of the evening before The White House Correspondents' Dinner at Fiola Mare on May 2, 2014 in Georgetown, Washington Astrid Stawiarz//Getty Images U.S. model Candice Crawford and former NFL quarterback Tony Romo first met in 2009. The couple went on to tie the knot in front of 600 of the closest friends and now have a trio of children together. 19. Teyana Taylor And Iman Shumpert Iman Shumpert and Teyana Taylor attend The Compound and Luxury Watchmaker Roger Dubuis Hosts NBA All-Star Dinner at STK Chicago on February 14, 2020 in Chicago, Illinois Robin Marchant/Getty Images American actress Teyana Taylor and NBA star Iman Shumpert reportedly started dating in 2014. After announcing Taylor's pregnancy in the summer of 2015, the pair married in 2016 and have since welcomed two children, Iman Jr and Rue Rose, into the world. 20. La La Vazquez And Carmelo Anthony Carmelo Anthony and La La Anthony attend Carmelo Anthony's '30 for 30' Birthday Dinner at The NoMad Hotel on June 2, 2014 in New York City Johnny Nunez/Getty Images American TV celebrity La La Vazquez and ex Los Angeles Lakers legend Carmelo Anthony tied the knot in 2010. Although they have since announced plans to divorce, Newsweek understands they are still together and were in June 2021 pictured watching their son Kiyan play basketball together.
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Famous Person - Marriage
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November 2016 Jakarta protests
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November 2016 Jakarta protests (also called Protests defending the Quran[1] or 4 November peace protests[2]) refer to an Islamist mass protest which took place on 4 November 2016 in Jakarta, Indonesia. It was attended by an estimated 50,000–200,000 protesters,[3][4] and was aimed against the Governor of Jakarta Basuki Tjahaja Purnama (popularly known by his Chinese nickname "Ahok"), for alleged blasphemy of the Quran, the Islamic holy book. [5] A counter-protest led by government officials and social activists in support of interfaith unity was led on 30 November. [6]
Ahok became the Governor of Jakarta when as Vice-Governor, he took over from Joko Widodo, who was elected President of Indonesia in 2014. He is Jakarta's first ethnic Chinese governor, and the first non-Muslim in 50 years. His ethnicity and Christian faith make him a double-minority in Muslim-majority Indonesia. He sought to be elected in his own right in the 2017 gubernatorial election. Some Islamic groups opposed his campaign, citing a passage of the Quran, notably verse 51 of Sura al-Ma'idah, which they interpret as a prohibition on Muslims from electing a non-Muslim leader. [7]
On 27 September 2016, in a speech in front of citizens of Thousand Islands, he noted that some citizens would not vote for him because they are being "deceived using Verse 51 of Al Maidah and other things,"[8] referring to a verse that some groups have cited as grounds to oppose him. [7] The provincial government of Jakarta uploaded the video recording to YouTube in a channel which often features Ahok's activities. [9] Citizens and pundits criticised Ahok's statement, considering it an insult to the Quran. [8] Another video was uploaded by a man named Buni Yani, who edited the video in a way that changed the meaning of Ahok's words. In the original video, Ahok says, "Ladies and gentlemen […] you have been deceived by the use of Al Maidah 51 [of the Quran]", while in the accompanying texts, Buni wrote, "Ladies and gentlemen [Muslim voters] have been deceived by Al Maidah 51. "[10][11]
The videos went viral, and Ahok was criticised in social media such as Facebook and Twitter. A Change.org petition criticising him gained tens of thousands of signatures. [9] Several organisations, including the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI) and a local chapter of the Indonesian Ulema Council, reported Ahok to the police, accusing him of having violated Indonesia's Law On Misuse and Insult of Religion. Ahok apologised on 10 October, but the report was not withdrawn, and the police began working on the case. [12]
Because Buni Yani's edited version of the video defamed Ahok, Buni was charged with inciting religious and ethnic hatred on social media under Article 28 of the Electronic Information and Transactions (ITE) Law, which carries a maximum sentence of six years in prison. Jakarta Police spokesperson Sr. Comr. Awi Setiyono commented, "We have found sufficient evidence to build a case and name him a suspect." Buni denied the charge, saying that he only deleted some of the footage before uploading it, though he conceded to making errors in transcribing the speech. [13][14]
In response to Ahok's speech and the alleged delays in the police case against him, several Islamic organisation, including the FPI lead's by Muhammad Rizieq Shihab, planned a mass protest. Indonesia's two biggest Islamic organisations Nahdlatul Ulama and Muhammadiyah did not encourage their members to attend the protest but did not go as far as prohibiting members from attending it. Flyers for the action called for attendees to be prepared for possibly staying overnight. [15] Indonesian police deployed 7,000 personnel in anticipation of the protests. [16] Security was also increased in Jakarta's Chinatown and Christian churches. [17][18]
On 3 November, the day before the protests, the Indonesian government blocked access to eleven websites affiliated with the planning of the protests, on the charge of spreading hateful sentiments. [19]
The protests began around noon with a march from Istiqlal Mosque to the Presidential palace. The march was mostly non-violent and organised. [4] Estimates for the attendance ranged from 50,000[3] to 200,000. [4] Former Parliament Speaker Amien Rais, Vice-Speakers of Parliament Fahri Hamzah and Fadli Zon, an Islamist leader Bachtiar Nasir, leader of FPI Muhammad Rizieq Shihab, as well as celebrities Ahmad Dhani and Rhoma Irama attended the protest. [20][21] However, after nightfall, past the allotted time for the protest,[22] groups of violent demonstrators provoked a riot and clashed with the police, setting fire to some vehicles. One elderly man died in the riots,[23] and at least 160 protesters and 79 police officers were injured. [4] The location of the protest began to calm down around 21:00 local time. [24]
Vice President Jusuf Kalla, who met representatives of the protest, promised that the investigation would be completed within two weeks. [23] At midnight 5 November, President Joko Widodo held a press conference on the protests and reiterated his commitment to legal action against Ahok. [4][25][26]
On 2 December, another rally was held in Central Jakarta, which was attended by estimated 200,000-500,000 people. The rally begins with a non-violent protest around Central Jakarta and culminating in a massive Friday congregational prayer in the Merdeka Square, surrounding the National Monument. [27][28]
On 30 November, counter-protests were held by several Muslim officials and activists, alongside members of other religious communities. [6][29] Indonesian National Armed Forces Commander Gatot Nurmantyo, Minister of Social Affairs Khofifah Indar Parawansa, Indonesian National Police Chief Tito Karnavian and Islamic activist Yenny Wahid marched in support of interfaith unity as a counterbalance to the protests on the 4 December. [citation needed]
On 4 December 2016, after a non-violent rally was held in the National Monument, a counter-protest rally was held by Muslim officials and government officials. The protest, dubbed as the "We Are One Parade" or "Parade Bhinekka Tunggal Ika" ("Unity in Diversity Parade") was attended by an estimated 1,000 people. [30][31]
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Protest_Online Condemnation
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August Complex fire
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The August Complex was a massive wildfire that burned in the Coast Range of Northern California, in Glenn, Lake, Mendocino, Tehama, Trinity, and Shasta Counties. The complex originated as 38 separate fires started by lightning strikes on August 16–17, 2020. Four of the largest fires, the Doe, Tatham, Glade, and Hull fires, had burned together by August 30. On September 9, the Doe Fire, the main fire of the August Complex, surpassed the 2018 Mendocino Complex to become both the single-largest wildfire and the largest fire complex in recorded California history. [5] On September 10, the combined Doe Fire also merged with the Elkhorn Fire (originally a separate incident) and the Hopkins Fire, growing substantially in size. By the time it was extinguished on November 12, the August Complex fire had burned a total of 1,032,648 acres (417,898 ha), or 1,614 square miles (4,180 km2),[5] about 1% of California's 100 million acres of land, an area larger than the state of Rhode Island. [6]
The fire largely burned within the Mendocino National Forest, with portions spilling over to the Shasta-Trinity National Forest and Six Rivers National Forest in the north, as well as private land surrounding the forests. Large areas of the Yolla Bolly-Middle Eel Wilderness and Yuki Wilderness had also been burned. Rugged terrain combined with consistent high winds and record heat had complicated firefighting efforts. Although more than 3,000 personnel were deployed to the fire through mid-September, it took almost three months to fully contain the fire. [1] The U.S. Forest Service managed the firefighting effort, with assistance from the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. Due to the immense size of the affected area, the fire was managed as four separate incidents (initially three) within a larger complex. The Doe Fire was defined as the August Complex South Zone and the Elkhorn Fire was defined as the August Complex North Zone, which was later divided into the August Complex Northwest Zone and the August Complex Northeast Zone. [7][8][5] The August Complex West Zone was split off from the western portions of the Elkhorn Fire[9] and the Doe Fire and was managed by Cal Fire. Due to the remote location of the fire, there were no civilian fatalities, while 935 structures were reported destroyed. However, one firefighter was killed, and at least two others were seriously injured. [7]
On the early morning of August 17, thunderstorms carried northward from the weakening Tropical Storm Fausto moved across Glenn and Mendocino Counties, starting at least 13 fires. By 5:00 PM PDT, the Doe Fire in Glenn County 35 miles (56 km) north of Willows had grown to 100 acres (40 ha), and firefighters had arrived on the scene. Most of the fires were on the Grindstone Ranger District with one on the Covelo Ranger District, ranging in size from 0.5 to 15 acres (0.20 to 6.07 ha). [10] Thunderstorm activity continued for another couple of days, igniting even more wildfires on August 17. On the morning of August 17, the Elkhorn Fire was ignited north of the Doe Fire and east of the Hopkins Fire, near Maple Creek, in Tehama County, which was separate from the August Complex at the time. [2] By 11:00 AM PDT on August 17, five fires had been contained, while the Doe Fire had grown to 550 acres (220 ha). In addition, the Box Fire in the Snow Mountain Wilderness reached 20 acres (8.1 ha), and the Rockwell and Pine Kop Fires west of Elk Creek had burned 175 acres (71 ha) and 80 acres (32 ha) respectively. [11] Aided by thunderstorm activity and strong winds, the fires expanded rapidly throughout the day, and more fires were discovered bringing the total to 20. Forest Service officials decided to manage these fires as one incident, the August Complex. [12]
On the morning of August 18, the Doe Fire was estimated at 1,400 acres (570 ha), while the Rockwell and Pine Kop fires were at 800 acres (320 ha) each. The Box Fire had been mostly contained and held at 25 acres (10 ha). [13] Over the next two days, hot dry weather and gusty winds caused the fires to explode in size. Additional fires were discovered, increasing the total to 35. By the morning of August 20, the fires had burned 65,030 acres (26,320 ha) and were advancing downslope to the east. In Glenn County, evacuation orders were issued for parts of Elk Creek, Chrome, Burrows Gap, and Red Mountain, and an evacuation warning for Grindstone Rancheria. [14] In the afternoon, the complex had grown to 116,372 acres (47,094 ha). All of Glenn County west of County Road 306 was placed under an evacuation order. [15] On August 21, due to continued high fire danger, the Mendocino National Forest was temporarily closed to all public access. [16]
By August 24, two additional fires were identified bringing the total number of new fires to 37, and overall complex acreage to 177,750 acres (71,930 ha). At this point, some of the larger fires had burned together. The Doe Fire absorbed the Rockwell and Pine Kop fires and was at 153,083 acres (61,950 ha). [17] Firefighting efforts were directed largely at the Doe Fire and at the Tatham and Glade fires, which had burned 7,958 acres (3,220 ha) and 13,888 acres (5,620 ha), respectively. The Hopkins Fire, in the Yolla Bolly-Middle Eel Wilderness further north, had expanded to 2,153 acres (871 ha) and was being monitored for further growth. Ten structures were destroyed, though no deaths or injuries were reported. A total of 433 personnel were assigned to the fire. [17] By August 27, the complex had increased in size to 200,467 acres (81,126 ha). The Doe Fire had expanded to 162,326 acres (65,691 ha) and was 31 percent contained, as firefighters successfully stopped the fire from advancing further east and were building a containment line to the west. There was little containment on the Tatham Fire, now at 8,958 acres (3,625 ha), the Glade Fire, now at 19,684 acres (7,966 ha), and the Hull Fire, which was at 4,885 acres (1,977 ha). [18] On August 28, the complex's total area had increased in size to 212,010 acres (85,800 ha), and was 18 percent contained. [19]
On August 29, the Doe Fire absorbed the Tatham Fire, while the Hopkins Fire had spread east into the Shasta-Trinity National Forest. The Doe Fire was now 52 percent contained, though the complex overall remained at 18 percent, as the other fires continued to spread. A heat wave combined with extremely smoky conditions hampered aircraft operations. [20] On August 30, the Doe Fire also absorbed the Hull and Glade Fires, making the complex essentially one large fire, with the exception of the Hopkins Fire to the north. There were 607 personnel committed to the fire; crews stopped flames from advancing further south towards Lake County, but the fire continued to burn largely uncontrolled to the west.
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January 2016 Argentinean locust swarm - Wikipedia
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January 2016 Argentinean locust swarm
Argentina is currently facing the largest locust swarm within the past 60 years. According to Diego Quiroga, Argentina's agriculture agency’s chief of vegetative protection, said that it is impossible to eradicate the swarm, so they are focusing on minimizing the damage caused by it by sending out fumigators equipped with backpack sprayers to exterminate small pockets of young locusts that are still unable to fly. This method of extermination, however, is unable to wipe out pocket of locusts hidden in Argentina's large, dry forests. The swarm covers an area the size of 5,000 sq. km in Northern Argentina. The locusts are expected to grow ten inches and mature into flying swarms by February fifth. [1]
The locusts first appeared in small areas in June 2015. The mild Winter aided their population growth, allowing it to reach its current size. This swarm is reported to be the largest within 60 years despite last year's swarm being reported four miles in length and two miles in height. A swarm of this size is worrisome to Argentinians because locusts, a relative of grasshoppers, attack farmers' crops and can cause famine and starvation. [2] This behavior is more pronounced when the locust population density is higher due to a trait called locust phase polyphenism, [3] so it stands to reason that a larger swarm will be more aggressive than a smaller one.
Currently, there are over one hundred outbreaks of locusts that have affected over an area of 700,000 hectares (roughly 2700 square miles). The infestation is so bad that SENASA , the government agricultural inspection agency, has set up a hotline for people to call if they see any locusts. [4]
References[ edit ]
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Insect Disaster
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South African swimmer Tatjana Schoenmaker screamed in shock when she realized well after her race that she broke the world record
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South Africa's Tatjana Schoenmaker won gold in the women's 200-meter breaststroke on Thursday night at Tokyo 2020, and set a new world record in the process.
Entering the race, Schoenmaker was the heavy favorite to win, so her victory didn't come as a shock, but judging by her reaction, the world record was quite a surprise.
After touching the wall, Schoenmaker rested facing away from the pool, catching her breath after an exhausting swim. But when she turned around, she realized that she had set a new world record of 2:18.95.
READ MORE: The updated Tokyo 2020 medal table
Schoenmaker went from perplexed to overjoyed in a span of less than a second. Her fellow racers were quick to join her in celebration.
Schoenmaker had come up short in her first race of Tokyo 2020 after American Lydia Jacoby pulled off a stunning come-from-behind win in the 100-meter breaststroke.
In the 200m on Thursday, Schoenmaker slammed the door shut on any late charger attempting to catch her in the water, and swam the fastest race in history in the process.
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Break historical records
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1960 Valdivia earthquake
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The 1960 Valdivia earthquake (Spanish: Terremoto de Valdivia) or the Great Chilean earthquake (Gran terremoto de Chile) on 22 May 1960 was the most powerful earthquake ever recorded. Various studies have placed it at 9.4–9.6 on the moment magnitude scale. [1] It occurred in the afternoon (19:11 GMT, 15:11 local time), and lasted for approximately 10 minutes. The resulting tsunamis affected southern Chile, Hawaii, Japan, the Philippines, eastern New Zealand, southeast Australia, and the Aleutian Islands. The epicenter of this megathrust earthquake was near Lumaco, approximately 570 kilometres (350 mi) south of Santiago, with Valdivia being the most affected city. The tremor caused localised tsunamis that severely battered the Chilean coast, with waves up to 25 metres (82 ft). The main tsunami traveled across the Pacific Ocean and devastated Hilo, Hawaii, where waves as high as 10.7 metres (35 ft) were recorded over 10,000 kilometres (6,200 mi) from the epicenter. The death toll and monetary losses arising from this widespread disaster are not certain. [5]
Various estimates of the total number of fatalities from the earthquake and tsunamis have been published, ranging between 1,000 and 6,000 killed. [4] Different sources have estimated the monetary cost ranged from US$400 million to $800 million[6] (or $3.5 billion to $7 billion in 2020, adjusted for inflation). The 1960 Chilean earthquakes were a sequence of strong earthquakes that affected Chile between 21 May and 6 June 1960, centered in the Araucanía, Aysén, and Bío Bío regions of the country. The first three quakes, all registering in the planet's top 10 by magnitude for 1960, are grouped together as the 1960 Concepción earthquakes. The first of these was the 8.1 Mw Concepción earthquake at 06:02 UTC-4 on 21 May 1960. Its epicenter was near Curanilahue. Telecommunications to southern Chile were cut off and President Jorge Alessandri cancelled the traditional ceremony of the Battle of Iquique memorial holiday to oversee the emergency assistance efforts. The second and third Concepción earthquakes occurred the next day at 06:32 UTC-4 (7.1 Mw) and 14:55 UTC-4 (7.8 Mw) on 22 May. These earthquakes formed a southward migrating foreshock sequence to the main Valdivia shock, which occurred just 15 minutes after the third event. [7]
The earthquake interrupted and effectively ended Lota's coal miners' march on Concepción as they demanded higher salaries. [8]
The Valdivia earthquake occurred at 15:11 UTC-4 on 22 May, and affected all of Chile between Talca and Chiloé Island, more than 400,000 square kilometres (150,000 sq mi). Coastal villages, such as Toltén, were struck. At Corral, the main port of Valdivia, the water level rose 4 m (13 ft) before it began to recede. At 16:20 UTC-4, a wave of 8 m (26 ft) struck the Chilean coast, mainly between Concepción and Chiloé. Another wave measuring 10 m (33 ft) was reported ten minutes later. Hundreds of people were already reported dead by the time the tsunami struck. One ship, Canelos, starting at the mouth of the Valdivia River, sank after being moved 1.5 km (0.93 mi) backward and forward in the river; as of 2005, its mast was still visible from the road to Niebla. [9]
The Valdivian Fort System from the Spanish colonial period were completely destroyed. Soil subsidence also destroyed buildings, deepened local rivers, and created wetlands in such places as the Río Cruces and Chorocomayo, a new aquatic park north of the city. Extensive areas of the city were flooded. The electricity and water systems of Valdivia were totally destroyed. Witnesses reported underground water flowing up through the soil. Despite the heavy rains of 21 May, the city was without a water supply. The river turned brown with sediment from landslides and was full of floating debris, including entire houses. The lack of potable water became a serious problem in one of Chile's rainiest regions. [citation needed]
The earthquake did not strike all the territory with the same strength; measured with the Mercalli scale, tectonically depressed areas suffered heavier damage. The two most affected areas were Valdivia and Puerto Octay, near the northwest corner of Llanquihue Lake. Puerto Octay was the center of a north–south elliptical area in the Central Valley, where the intensity was at the highest outside the Valdivia Basin. [10] East of Puerto Octay, in a hotel in Todos los Santos Lake, stacked plates were reported to have remained in place. [10] Excepting poor building sites, the zone of Mercalli scales intensities of VII or more all lay west of the Andes in a strip running from Lota (37° S) southwards. The area of intensities of VII or more did not penetrate into the Central Valley north of Lleulleu Lake (38° S) and south of Castro (42.5° S). [11]
Two days after the earthquake Cordón Caulle, a volcanic vent close to Puyehue volcano, erupted. Other volcanoes may also have erupted, but none were recorded because of the lack of communication in Chile at the time. The relatively low death toll in Chile (5,700) is explained in part by the low population density in the region, and by building practices that took into account the area's high geological activity. One of the main aftershocks occurred on 6 June in Aysén Region. [12] This earthquake probably occurred along the Liquiñe-Ofqui Fault, meaning in this case that the fault would have moved as a consequence of the 22 May Valdivia earthquake. [12]
The earthquake was a megathrust earthquake resulting from the release of mechanical stress between the subducting Nazca Plate and the South American Plate, on the Peru–Chile Trench. The focus was relatively shallow at 33 km (21 mi), considering that earthquakes in northern Chile and Argentina may reach depths of 70 km (43 mi). Subduction zones are known to produce the strongest earthquakes on earth, as their particular structure allows more stress to build up before energy is released. Geophysicists consider it a matter of time before this earthquake will be surpassed in magnitude by another. The earthquake's rupture zone was 800 km (500 mi) long, stretching from Arauco (37° S) to Chiloé Archipelago (43° S). Rupture velocity, the speed at which a rupture front expands across the surface of the fault, has been estimated as 3.5 km (2.2 mi) per second.
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Earthquakes
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Lunar Eclipse 2021 Highlights: Super Blood Moon dazzles in reddish-orange
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Super Blood Moon 2021: As Earth's shadow crept across the moon on Wednesday night, people around the world waited for a cosmic event known as a super blood moon. And as the eclipse deepened, it appeared as though half the moon had vanished. The other half looked fuzzy in the center with a bright outer edge, the last remnants of the glittering orb that had earlier risen above the horizon. A super blood moon is when a full lunar eclipse coincides with a supermoon, which is when the moon is particularly close to Earth and appears brighter than normal. For about 15 minutes, as the moon moves fully into Earth's shadow, the moon will appear to turn red. The eclipse began as the moon edged into the Earth's outer shadow, called the penumbra. The first total lunar eclipse of 2021 will take place on May 26. The full eclipse was due to take place between 2:17 pm as and 7:19 pm as per Indian Standard Timing (IST). The eclipse will happen in the early morning hours of Wednesday in western North America, with people in Alaska and Hawaii getting the best views. It can also be seen in southern Chile and Argentina. Skygazers in all of Australia and New Zealand and parts of Southeast Asia can see the eclipse on Wednesday evening. When can we see the next Total Lunar Eclipse? Like this one, the next total lunar eclipse -which is predicted to occur on May 16, 2022 - will also not be seen from the Indian subcontinent. However the lunar eclipse on November 8, 2022 will be visible from India. Full moon rises over Indonesia The first total lunar eclipse in more than two years coincides with a supermoon this week for quite a cosmic show. California during the "Super Blood Moon" total eclipse Stargazers across the Pacific Rim will cast their eyes skyward on Wednesday night to witness a rare "Super Blood Moon", as the heavens align to bring an extra-spectacular lunar eclipse. The first total lunar eclipse in two years will happen at the same time as the Moon is closest to Earth, in what astronomers say will be a once-in-a-decade show. Total Lunar Eclipse 2021 to be sighted from Port Blair, Puri, Malda in India In India, the total lunar eclipse will be seen for 45 minutes from Port Blair which will be the longest time for anywhere in India. While Puri and Malda will also be able to see it from 6.21 pm but only for two minutes. The eclipse will also be visible for a very short time in the northeastern parts of Arunachal Pradesh and Assam. Super Flower Moon rises in clear sky over Sydney Opera House The year's biggest full moon, known as the Super Flower Moon, rose in a clear evening sky over the Sydney Opera House on Wednesday to the delight of amateur photographers positioned just across the water to capture the moment. The moon was at the closest point to Earth in its orbit, making it appear about 7% larger and 15% brighter than normal. The May full moon is known as the Flower Moon as it occurs when spring flowers are in bloom. This Super Flower Moon will also feature the first total lunar eclipse in more than two years, during which the moon will pass through the Earth's shadow. It will appear red, which is known as a blood moon, because light is scattered through the Earth's atmosphere, much like during a sunset. The eclipse will be seen in Sydney when the moon is much higher in the sky. Stargazers in all of Australia and in New Zealand and parts of Southeast Asia will be able to see the eclipse on Wednesday evening. (Map of eclipse path) Lunar eclipse today: Where to watch in India The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has said that the lunar eclipse will also be visible in the regions covering South America, North America, Asia, Australia, Antarctica, the Pacific Ocean and the Indian Ocean. Read here... Lunar eclipse today. These cities will be able to view the celestial event People in West Bengal and Odisha have a slight probability of missing out on the eclipse as skies could remain overcast due to cyclone Yaas. Read here... Lunar eclipse, Supermoon and Blood Moon: All coming together on May 26 According to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) of the US, the total lunar eclipse would start at 4:47:39 am EDT. In India, it will be visible at around 2:17 pm and will end at 7:19 pm. Read here... Total lunar eclipse will turn moon red on Wednesday. All you need to know This total lunar eclipse also marks the beginning of an 'almost tetrad' as it inaugurates the series of four big lunar eclipses in two years. Read here...
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New wonders in nature
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Total solar eclipse to stretch from Texas to Maine on April 8, 2024
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Mark your calendars! We are now just three years away from a total solar eclipse passing through the eastern half of the United States. Editor's note: The video above was published April 9, 2019. Mark your calendars! A solar eclipse stretching across a large portion of the country will grace the sky in three years on April 8, 2024. A solar eclipse occurs at the exact moment when the moon passes between the sun and Earth blocking the sun's light. The short time when the moon completely blocks the sun is known as the period of totality . Instead of stretching coast-to-coast like the 2017 "Great American Eclipse", the path of totality for 2024's event largely covers the eastern half of the United States. Portions of Texas, Oklahoma, Maine, Missouri, Kentucky, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine will see 100% totality. Areas further away from the path of totality will see decreased blockage of the sun. According to Forbes , 32 million people live within the path of totality for the 2024 eclipse, compared to just 12 million who lived within the 2017 path. The start of totality will begin in Texas just before 1:30 p.m. CT and end in Maine just after 3:30 p.m. ET. Some of the major cities in the path of totality include Austin, Dallas, Indianapolis, Cleveland, Buffalo and Syracuse. Before reaching the U.S., the April 2024 eclipse will go through parts of Mexico and continue through the eastern portion of Canada.
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New wonders in nature
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