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Farmers Are Feeling The Pain As Drought Spreads In The Northwest
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Curled heads of wheat show the drought damage on Nicole Berg's ranch in southeast Washington state. Anna King/Northwest News Network Curled heads of wheat show the drought damage on Nicole Berg's ranch in southeast Washington state. Nicole Berg's stunted wheat field is so short and sparse she doesn't think the combine can even reach the wheat without, as she puts it, eating rocks. "Combines don't like dirt and rocks," Berg says, standing amid the damaged rows. "They get indigestion." Berg is a dryland wheat farmer in the sweeping Horse Heaven Hills of southeastern Washington state. She shows off one head of half-turned golden wheat amid a sea of them. Besides being too short, the plant's kernels didn't fill out properly. "See how the wheat head is curled like that?" Berg points out. "And then you break into it, you might have some berries down here, but this will be empty. There is no wheat inside the wheat head." Northwest farmers like Berg, and ranchers who depend on rain, are expecting what one farmer called a "somber harvest" this year. Little moisture since February in wide swaths of the region is to blame. And drought is deepening across the West, with federal drought maps showing massive and growing areas of red. On her ranch, Berg says she's also worried about 1,000 acres of native grass seeds she has to plant this year into dry soil for a government conservation program. She says with all the Western wildfires in recent years, the wild grass and forage seeds have become expensive. She hates to plant them in shallow, bone-dry soil only to lose the crop if there's not sufficient rain. As dry as it's been in a century The Berg's aren't the only ones suffering. The region is parched from near the Canadian border clear to the edge of Nevada, with triple digit temps on the way making it worse. Earlier this year, Oregon declared drought zones for eight counties, and six more have requested it since. Now the drought is rapidly expanding into usually cooler and wetter western Oregon, according to Ryan Andrews, a hydrologist for the state's Water Resources Department. He says the thirsty ground will absorb whatever rain comes, meaning streams and rivers will get little water. Jeff Marti, a drought expert for Washington's Department of Ecology, says it hasn't been this dry since the 1920s. "For anybody farming right now, they haven't seen it this dry out there," Marti says. He explains that the impact will vary. "It's the story of the irrigation haves and the have nots," he says. "Meaning those folks who get their water from rivers or storage, are probably going to be fine for their irrigation needs. But the dryland users and the folks that have cattle that depend on forage on the rangelands may be more challenged." Looking ahead, Marti says the warming climate may mean more rain for the Northwest, but also much less snowpack that melts sooner. That could stress water supplies even more. Gary Hess and his cattle dog Buddy watch over one of his herds from an overlook. The drought has forced Hess to sell 70 mother cows with calves because he has no grass to keep them.
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Droughts
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Northern Indiana United Ways to Merge
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NORTHWEST INDIANA - Lake Area United Way and United Way of Porter County have agreed to merge into a single organization, United Way of Northwest Indiana. The process began in March after Lake Area United Way Chief Executive Officer Lisa Daugherty left her position to lead the Center for Workforce Innovations. United Way of Porter County Board Chair and CEO of InHealth Ron Donahue says the organization is constantly evaluating how to better support the community. “Our organizations have always worked closely together to serve Northwest Indiana, but when the opportunity to explore combining forces became available, we knew we had to make it happen.” The organizations say the goal is to offer more community support by expanding programming and a streamlined process for donors. “Pooling resources as a single organization will allow for the expansion of services across the Region which will help more people thrive,” said Michael J. Jasaitis, current board chairman of Lake Area United Way. The organizations say the plan is to monitor daily operations as the merger continues, with the goal to form the new organization by the end of the year. It’s not that hard to convince fast-growing companies led by smart people that there’s value in business process outsourcing (BPO). Companies that do a good job of concentrating on their core mission know they can’t afford to be distracted by all the factors involved in serving a growing marketplace....
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Organization Merge
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US Says It Will Resume Talks with Taliban Next Week
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FILE - In this May 28, 2019 file photo, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, the Taliban group's top political leader, third from left, arrives with other members of the Taliban delegation for talks in Moscow, Russia. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko, File) Asharq Al-Awsat The United States will resume talks with the Taliban next week in Qatar, addressing among other issues the fight against terrorism and the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan. The American delegation will be led by the US special representative for Afghanistan, Tom West, for the planned two weeks of discussions, State Department spokesman Ned Price said Tuesday. The two sides will discuss "our vital national interests," which include counterterrorism operations against the ISIS group and Al-Qaeda, humanitarian assistance, Afghanistan's devastated economy, and safe passage out of Afghanistan for US citizens and Afghans who worked for the United States during the 20 year war. West met two weeks ago in Pakistan with representatives of the hardline movement that seized power in August as US forces completed their withdrawal. A first session between the two sides was held October 9-10 in the Qatari capital Doha, where US diplomats overseeing relations with Afghanistan transferred after the Taliban takeover. West on Friday reiterated US conditions for the Taliban to receive US financial and diplomatic support: fight terrorism install an inclusive government, respect the rights of minorities, women and girls, and provide equal access to educations and employment. He said the United States would continue to have dialogue with the Taliban and for now provide only humanitarian aid. Amir Khan Muttaqi, foreign minister of the Taliban government, which is not recognized by the international community, called last week in an open letter to the US Congress for the release of Afghan assets frozen by the US.
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Regime Change
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16 years of Indian Ocean tsunami: What India has learnt
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December 26 marks the 16th anniversary of the massive Indian Ocean tsunami. On this day, a 100-foot high tsunami triggered by an earthquake of magnitude 9.1, one of the largest ever recorded, from under the Indian Ocean killed more than 230,000 people in South Asia. With the epicentre near Sumatra, Indonesia, the earthquake triggered a tsunami that hit Thailand, Sri Lanka, India, Indonesia. A tsunami researcher and forecaster with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Center for Tsunami Research, Vasily Titov cites the destructive capacity of the 2004 tsunami to the earthquake in the megathrust fault, ‘where heavy oceanic plates subduct beneath lighter continental plates’. “They are the largest faults in the world and they’re all underwater,” History reported him saying. He added that the tsunami waves could be seen like a large pebble falling in the ocean causing mega ripples. The Sumatra earthquake and tsunami are considered to be an eye-opener for India as it introduced the Indian coastline to tsunami and its destructible power. Learning from the unprecedented natural disaster that led to such heavy damage to life and property, the Ministry of Earth founded the Indian Tsunami Early Warning System (ITEWS) at Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS), Hyderabad in October 2007. Scientists in India are now able to predict and project movements in Indian ocean through real-time seismic monitoring with Bottom Pressure Recorders (BPR), tide gauges and 24x7 operational tsunami warning system to detect tsunamigenic earthquakes as to provide early advisories to the most vulnerable. A community performance-based programme known as Tsunami Ready has also been started by the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) of UNESCO to promote tsunami preparedness by actively involving the public, community leaders, and national and local emergency management agencies. As part of the UNESCO-IOC framework, the ITEWC now offers advisories to all Indian Ocean rim countries. India is the first country to establish an early warning system for tsunami detection, while Odisha is the first state in the country to get Tsunami Ready recognition. Get our Daily News Capsule
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Tsunamis
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The U.S. withdraw from WHO
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President Donald Trump on Friday said he would make good on his threat to withdraw from the World Health Organization — an unprecedented move that could undermine the global coronavirus response and make it more difficult to stamp out other disease threats. Trump has criticized the United Nations health agency for failing to quickly sound the alarm when the novel virus emerged and accused it of helping China cover up the threat it posed. "Countless lives have been taken and profound economic hardship has been inflicted all around the globe," Trump said in a brief statement from the White House. Trump's announcement was quickly panned by health experts, who claimed it would set back global efforts to track and defeat a virus that's already killed more than 360,000 people and sickened nearly 6 million. But the move has been cheered by Trump's base, which is distrustful of international bodies. The U.S. has relied on its partnership with the WHO and other countries to share crucial data and information, including on treatments and potential vaccine development for the coronavirus, as well as other public health threats including HIV and Ebola. Experts cautioned the nation's public health response to the coronavirus and other emerging diseases would lag without that international cooperation. The American Medical Association, the nation’s largest physician group, urged Trump in the “strongest terms possible" to reverse the decision. Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), the head of the chamber's health committee, warned canceling U.S. membership could disrupt clinical trials for vaccines that will be in high demand around the world. "Certainly there needs to be a good, hard look at mistakes the World Health Organization might have made in connection with coronavirus, but the time to do that is after the crisis has been dealt with, not in the middle of it," Alexander said. Trump last month temporarily froze U.S funding to the WHO while his administration was reviewing membership. The U.S has previously contributed over $400 million per year to WHO's $4.8 billion annual budget, more than any other country. Trump sent a letter earlier this month to WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, threatening to make the funding freeze permanent if the organization did not make unspecified "substantive changes" in the next 30 days. Just 11 days later, Trump claimed the reforms had not been made and the U.S. would withdraw from the organization. WHO officials and the agency’s defenders said a comprehensive review of the agency’s pandemic response should take place, but that U.S. withdrawal would make it harder to muster an international response to the coronavirus and other critical public health work. Critics of Trump’s decision said it would leave the U.S. without any leverage to demand Trump's requested changes while enabling China to have greater influence over the body. It's not clear how quickly Trump can withdraw from WHO and if he needs congressional approval. House Democrats have complained Trump doesn’t have the authority to cut off WHO funding and accused him of scapegoating the organization to distract from his own administration's stilted response to the pandemic. When Trump announced the temporary freeze last month, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said she would “swiftly” challenge the move but did not elaborate further on what action might be taken. A senior administration official said Trump is committed to withdrawing from WHO, and U.S. employees detailed at the organization are likely to return. A number of CDC employees are typically stationed at the organization. "None of us in the administration is under the assumption that this is temporary or will be reversed,” the official said. “This is a fundamental repudiation of the WHO and its failed mission." A CDC spokesperson did not immediately say what impact Trump’s announcement might have on the agency’s relationship with WHO. Richard Horton, editor in chief of the Lancet, the prominent British medical journal that's been critical of Trump's coronavirus response, called the U.S. withdrawal from WHO “madness and terrifying both at the same time." “The US government has gone rogue at a time of humanitarian emergency. All leaders must call for renewed international solidarity in support of multilateral cooperation,” he said on Twitter. Several conservative lawmakers and advocacy groups cheered the move, blasting the international group not only for its treatment of China but also its record of support for access to reproductive health services, including birth control and abortion. “I am proud that our country will no longer be sending taxpayer dollars to support this radical regime,” said Allan Parker, president of The Justice Foundation, a legal group that opposes abortion rights. “True, life-saving health measures can be funded through other organzations without an abortion agenda.”
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Withdraw from an Organization
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Worldwide Protests for Free Expression in Bangladesh
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The Worldwide Protests for Free Expression in Bangladesh were a series of rallies outside Bangladeshi embassies and consulates to demand the release of four Bangladeshi bloggers who had been arrested on charges of blasphemy. The protests took place on 25 April – 2 May 2013 and were organised by the Center for Inquiry (CFI), American Atheists, and the International Humanist and Ethical Union. [1][2] Demonstrations were held in Dhaka, New York City, Washington, D.C., London, Ottawa and other cities around the world. [2] Secularists sought to express their solidarity with those jailed for speaking their minds about religion. Protesters drew attention to those who were being persecuted for exercising free speech, seeking to convince the international community to exert influence to have the bloggers set free by the Bangladeshi government. [3]
The events that sparked the rallies began during the shahbag protest when Bangladeshis rallied on the streets to demand capital punishment for Abdul Quader Molla, a war criminal of the Bangladesh liberation war and a leader of Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami. During the protests, Ahmed Rajib Haider, a blogger who was critical of Jamaat-e-Islami, was stabbed to death by Jamaat activists[4] Another controversial author, blogger & online activist named Sunnyur Rahman, popularly known as 'Nastik Nobi' (Atheist Prophet) in the blog community, was also stabbed on 7 March 2013. [5]
Members of hardline Muslim group, Hifazat-e-Islam, backed by Jamaat, began a violent protest demanding authorities enact harsh anti-blasphemy laws to punish those who insult Islam, calling the bloggers "anti-Islamic" and terming all participants of the shahbag movement "atheists. "[6]
In response to these events, the government of Bangladesh set up a panel to monitor blasphemy on social media and blocked a number of blogs and websites. [7] Four bloggers were arrested for posting "anti-religious" comments on their blogs. [8] Rasel Pervez, a science teacher, and Mashiur Rahman Biplob were arrested at their homes on 1 April 2013. Subrata Adhikari Shuvo, a masters student at the University of Dhaka was arrested on the same day at his dormitory. [9] Asif Mohiuddin was arrested on 3 April 2013 at his sister's home where he was staying after having been stabbed by Islamist fanatics in January. [10]
The Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission compelled the Bengali blog somewhereinblog.net to remove the writings of Asif Mohiuddin. [11] The current blog page reads: "blog has been withdrawn or cancelled for violating terms and conditions" (transl. )[12] The move was criticised by Human Rights Watch,[13] Amnesty International, the Center for Inquiry, Reporters Without Borders, the Committee to Protect Journalists, and several other bodies. [2] Prominent Bangladeshi blog sites organized the 2013 Bengali blog blackout to protest the government's decision to arrest the bloggers. They were able to garner attention from western media, which eventually led the secularist and humanist bodies to organize the worldwide protests. [14]
Parvez and Shuvo were released on bail on 12 May and Biplob on 12 June. Asif secured bail on 27 June after spending three months in jail. [15]
The protests were organised by Michael De Dora, the director of the CFI's Office of Policy and the organization's representative to the U.N.,[1] and coordinated by Avijit Roy, the founder of Mukto-Mona, an independent site for free thinkers and skeptics of Bengali origin. [16] Maryam Namazie, an Iranian-born activist, independently called for 25 April to be an international day to defend Bangladesh's bloggers and activists. [17] Many writers, activists, and prominent intellectuals around the world including Taslima Nasrin, Hemant Mehta, PZ Myers publicly expressed their solidarity and support. [2]
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Protest_Online Condemnation
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Police probe alleged fraud at Scottish Qualifications Authority
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A police investigation has been launched into an alleged internal financial fraud at the Scottish Qualifications Authority.
The probe relates to the quango's Glasgow office and the allegation is understood to involve a six-figure sum of money.
The SQA said a "suspected case of financial irregularity" had been referred to the police.
Police Scotland was first made aware of the fraud claims in June last year.
The SQA's latest accounts refer to an "instance of suspected financial irregularity" and the 2017-18 report also highlights two cases of suspected financial irregularity which were under investigation internally.
A Police Scotland spokeswoman said the force had "received reports of possible fraudulent activities linked to a business in Glasgow".
She added: "The circumstances are currently being investigated and no further comment will be made until this is complete."
A spokesman for the SQA said: "A suspected case of financial irregularity has been referred to Police Scotland for investigation.
"It would be inappropriate for us to comment further."
Meanwhile, in a separate development, the authority has been forced to disclose details about the travel expenses of senior executives after the Sunday Mail raised the matter with the Scottish Information Commissioner.
The SQA had argued publishing such details would put the security of its travelling staff at risk but the commissioner ruled publication was in the public interest.
The paper's investigation highlighted a number of trips, including one for three executives to Saudi Arabia in 2015 which cost £17,000.
It reportedly involved business class flights and a stay at "one of the most luxurious hotels in the world".
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Famous Person - Commit Crime - Investigate
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Oklahoma Natural Gas provides tips on conserving energy use, prevent carbon monoxide poisoning
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by: Hicham Raache/KFOR Symbol photo: A flame burns on a gas stove on February 21, 2020. (Photo by Thomas Trutschel/Photothek via Getty Images)
OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) – Oklahoma Natural Gas is providing tips on how residential customers can conserve energy and prevent carbon monoxide poisoning as the winter storm’s historically low temperatures cause an increase in natural gas use.
The Oklahoma Natural Gas website addressed the gas usage by businesses, manufacturing plants and residences as winter storm conditions impact the area.
The historically low temperatures are causing a spike in natural gas use and therefore a significant surge in natural gas market prices. Customers’ gas bills will, as a result, be higher.
“Due to the unprecedented, historically low temperatures for an extended period, we are seeing much higher natural gas use and a significant surge in natural gas market prices. While we do not markup the price of natural gas, these events will have an impact on customer bills. At this time, we cannot quantify what the impact will be,” the website states.
ONG provided residential customers the following tips for conserving their gas energy use:
The website also provided the following safety tips for using natural gas energy:
The website warns carbon monoxide can be produced by a natural gas appliance that is not operating efficiently or vented properly
“Carbon monoxide, also called CO, is an odorless, colorless and tasteless gas that can make you sick and, in some circumstances, may be deadly. Carbon monoxide is created by the incomplete or improper burning of fuel,” the news release states.
Symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning are usually recognized by the following:
Here are some tips to prevent carbon monoxide:
Immediately leave the building you are in and get outside to fresh air if you suspect carbon monoxide poisoning. Then call 911 or call your local fire or police department and, if necessary, request medical assistance.
ONG officials ask that businesses and manufacturing plants across the state reduce their gas usage to the lowest safe operating level.
The website says ONG continuously monitors its pipeline systems and has additional staff working through the weekend and through the duration of the winter storm.
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Mass Poisoning
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Deadly Myanmar mine disaster caused by poor planning, say data sleuths
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Hundreds of people were buried by a landslide when the wall of the Wai Khar open mine collapsed on 2 July 2020.Credit: Zaw Moe Htet/AFP via Getty A detailed analysis of satellite and remote-sensing data has uncovered poor conditions at the Wai Khar jade mine in northern Myanmar, where a landslide last July killed more than 170 people. The international team of authors behind the study1 — the first to rigorously document a mining accident in Myanmar — says the results suggest that mismanagement and poor design contributed to the tragedy, not simply monsoon rains, as was initially assumed. As well as shedding light on the causes of the disaster, which have not yet been fully resolved, the authors hope the findings will aid documentation of mine collapses and improve site planning — both in Myanmar and in other countries that see frequent mining accidents. Mining of jade, largely for jewellery and carvings destined for China, has exploded in Myanmar in recent years. About 400,000 miners scavenge jade from the slopes of open-pit mines, often with little safety equipment. They feed an industry that supplies 90% of the world’s jade and earned an estimated US$8 billion in 2011 — 20% of the southeast Asian state’s export revenue. The jade industry in Myanmar is poorly regulated and mine collapses are common, causing many hundreds of deaths since 2004, according to the study authors. But a lack of transparency from the Myanmar authorities — together with political and ethnic conflict in northern Kachin state, where jade mining is centred — means field surveys of mine sites are “nearly impossible”, the authors argue. Quake-prone Myanmar leads the way in seismic monitoring In what is thought to have been Myanmar’s worst mining disaster, in June last year rain began to saturate the ground at the northern section of the Wai Khar open-pit jade mine in the region of Hpakant. Eventually, on 2 July, a huge volume of quarry slope materials “collapsed into a flooded open pit, burying and killing at least 172 jade miners”, write the authors. Although mining companies in Hpakant had been ordered by the authorities to suspend operations from 1 July for three months for the monsoon season, impoverished freelance scavengers were still hunting for unpicked jade exposed by rain. Heavy rainfall was initially assumed to be the trigger for the collapse. Myanmar’s National Human Rights Commission blamed the landslide on the lack of due diligence and risk assessment from mining companies — at least 12 of which owned licences covering specific parts of the Wai Khar mine at the time of the accident. But non-governmental organizations say that a lack of regulatory oversight from the government in the mining industry is also a major problem endangering the lives of miners in Myanmar. Myanmar’s poorly regulated mines provide up to 90% of the world’s jade.Credit: Mladen Antonov/AFP via Getty A spokesperson for Myanmar Gems Enterprise — the Myanmar government-owned regulator and issuer of mining licences — told Nature that mining operations at the Wai Khar open-pit mine ended on 29 June, before the accident, and that a government investigation concluded rainfall had infiltrated the ground through fractures in the rock, leading to the landslide. They added that the research findings will be valuable for assisting in future governance of the mining sector. The mining companies either could not be reached for comment on the study, or did not respond to Nature’s queries on the causes of the disaster. Given the lack of access to mine sites in Myanmar, a team of researchers from Taiwan, Singapore, Brazil and Thailand used data from remote sensing and satellites to investigate the collapse. These are often used to monitor mine sites in nations that have strict mining regulations. “There are a lot of things we can do from space,” says study co-author Wang Yu, a geologist at National Taiwan University in Taipei. To look for deformation in the landscape around the Wai Khar mine over time, Wang and his team combined online video footage of the accident from the ground with aerial and satellite data, as well as historical data from a NASA space-shuttle mission in 2000. The authors found two factors that they think triggered the wall collapse, in addition to rainfall. Firstly, the walls of the mine were dangerously steep given the weak nature of the rock surrounding the pit. Google Earth images captured at intervals between 2013 and 2020 indicated periodic landslides had occurred in the pit, even where special steps had been dug out of the wall to prevent collapse, Wang says. “The mining site is under aggressive mining cycles that are exacerbated by frequent, uncontrolled landslides,” he and his co-authors write. This process allows jade to be extracted more quickly, but creates dangerous conditions. “The argument that the slope was too steep is very likely to be correct,” says Dave Petley, a geographer who studies landslides at the University of Sheffield, UK. He says he can’t be sure the landslide was associated with mining practices, but that operations should be designed to prevent deformation. “The authors show that the mine walls were actively deforming before failure,” he adds. Secondly, the study authors say that piles of mine waste acted like a sponge for rainfall or groundwater, and probably gradually leaked water that eroded the walls of the pit, aiding its collapse. The waste piles, detected in digital elevation data from NASA’s space shuttle in 2000 and Japan’s Advanced Land Observing Satellite from 2006–11, shouldn’t have been so close to the mine, they say. How do natural hazards cascade to cause disasters? In an e-mail to Nature, the authors said that “there are issues of mismanagement and bad design in the pit”, but stop short of blaming anyone for the collapse. “Our analysis is only from the scientific viewpoint. It should be considered as an autopsy report, not a criminal complaint,” they said. “A thorough investigation will be needed in order to determine the correct share of responsibility among different parties.” Kyi Htun, an independent mining geology consultant in Myanmar’s capital, Yangon, says that after reading the study, he thinks that poor site management — such as not monitoring how the slope changed over time and not disposing of waste properly — probably played a part in the accident. “No one has done mine design properly” at the Wai Khar mine, he says. San Htoi, a spokesperson for advocacy group Kachin Women’s Association Thailand, who visited the mine after the landslide, also says the findings are consistent with her observations: “The slope is too steep. It’s so dangerous.” The authors of the study say they hope that the team’s work will encourage other scientists to perform similar analyses in nations where mining is poorly regulated. Between 2004 and 2016, mine accidents led to deaths in 32 countries, according to one report2. As for the latest study, “It is a very comprehensive analysis of the mining accident,” says Birendra Bajracharya, coordinator of SERVIR-Hindu Kush Himalaya in Kathmandu, an international initiative that uses geospatial technologies to inform responses to environmental challenges. “The methodology will be useful to other researchers,” he adds. Study co-author Yunung Nina Lin, a geologist at Academia Sinica in Taipei, says she hopes “the families of those who died can have a chance to learn about what had been happening on the mining site over the years”, and that “those in power can take the messages from this research and transform them into real actions”.
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Mine Collapses
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Trump administration abandons 1987 U.S.-Russia missile treaty
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Franz Klintsevich, deputy chairman of Russia's Committee for Defense and Security, said Russia "will not comply with the treaty unilaterally ... We'll have to revive a number of medium- and short-range missile creation projects." The INF treaty was signed by President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev in 1987 -- intended to prevent both countries from positioning short and intermediate-range, land-based nuclear missiles in Europe. RELATED Stoltenberg: Russia INF violation a risk to Euro-Atlantic security "Our NATO Allies fully support us, because they understand the threat posed by Russia's violation and the risks to arms control posed by ignoring treaty violations," President Donald Trump said in a statement Friday. "The United States has fully adhered to the INF Treaty for more than 30 years, but we will not remain constrained by its terms while Russia misrepresents its actions. "We cannot be the only country in the world unilaterally bound by this treaty, or any other." Russia has four battalions of 9M729 cruise missiles, which total about 100 plus spares. Those missiles are barred by the 32-year-old pact. Pompeo said Trump had hoped Russia would destroy some of the missiles and had gone to tremendous lengths to preserve the treaty. It will take about six months to withdraw, which buys more time for Russia to reverse course and come into compliance. "President Trump is hopeful that we can put our relationship with Russia on better footing," Pompeo said. Advertisement Trump has warned the United States might junk the treaty and begin pursuing its own expansive missile program. "Russia has violated the agreement. They have been violating it for many years," Trump said in October. "And we're not going to let them violate a nuclear agreement and go out and do weapons and we're not allowed to." Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Friday Moscow was expecting the U.S. withdrawal "with much regret," and said the Trump administration is unwilling to hold "substantial talks." Under Secretary of State for Arms Control Andrea Thompson said this month no progress has been made. "Our current situation, in which Russia continues to violate the treaty while we abide by the treaty, is untenable," she said. "Violations must have consequences."
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Withdraw from an Organization
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COVID-19 in Florida classrooms results in school closures, concern
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VERO BEACH, Fla. — Just a month into the second year of "pandemic school" and Florida school districts are struggling to keep up. In Indian River County, positive cases and quarantine forced the district to close two of its schools this week. SPECIAL COVERAGE: Coronavirus "It's just not sustainable when you don't have the people to run the school," said Scott Simpson, the principal at Treasure Coast Elementary. Recent Stories from wptv.com Indian River County is one of four Florida school districts that have already taken the drastic measure to close a school amid a widely spreading delta variant. Two small schools districts in North Florida had to shut down all of their schools this week due to the rampant spread of the virus on its campuses. "I truly feel it is necessary in order to build a stop-gap measure that will prevent the virus from spreading more widely," Gulf County School Superintendent Jim Norton posted on the district's Facebook page. From school closures to dozens more classroom quarantines. We've discovered at least 50 classrooms across 11 school districts have been closed to students since the start of the new school year. In Pasco County, the virus has resulted in a half dozen full classroom quarantines impacting elementary, middle and high schools, according to district spokesperson Steve Hegarty. To date, more than 13,000 students in the district have been out due to a positive case or quarantine since the start of the year. "All these numbers are very concerning, absolutely," Hegarty said. The closures are not just an inconvenience but a real challenge for districts still trying to figure out how to effectively educate students in quarantine. Since the state dropped the option for e-learning, districts are relying on virtual programs including Zoom and Google classrooms but teachers aren't a guarantee. "You're right, we can't necessarily force teachers to do one thing or another and it depends on if the teacher is feeling up to it,” explained Hegarty. "If the teacher is positive they may not be able to teach," he said. In Lee County, nearly three dozen classrooms have shut their doors to students temporarily this year. During a board meeting earlier this week, board member Chris Patricca shared her own son’s experience learning in quarantine. "There was zero work in Google classroom," Patricca said. "That was an epic failure for those two days for that one kid. He learned nothing," she told the district. In much larger Hillsborough County, the district is using a combination of virtual programs and will soon be offering a new 24/7 tutoring program for all students in grades 6-12 regardless of whether they are in quarantine. The district is hiring 10 teachers who will also offer tutoring to students in grades K-5.
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Organization Closed
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Claudia Webbe: MP convicted of harassment gets suspended sentence
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Claudia Webbe was found guilty of harassing Michelle Merritt, a long-term friend of her partner Lester Thomas An MP who made threatening phone calls to a woman because she was jealous of her relationship with her partner has been given a suspended sentence. Claudia Webbe, a former Labour MP for Leicester East who is now independent, was convicted of one charge of harassment last month . Westminster Magistrates' Court heard she made several calls over two years and threatened the woman with acid. Webbe was handed a 10-week sentence, suspended for two years, on Thursday. The 56-year-old made 16 calls to Michelle Merritt, a long-term friend of Webbe's partner Lester Thomas, between September 2018 and April last year in a campaign of harassment borne out of jealousy, the court heard. The court was told on one occasion she made an "angry" call, used a derogatory term and added: "You should be acid." 'Become a hermit' It also heard how Webbe threatened to send naked images of Ms Merritt to her family and a recording of a call in which she was heard shouting "get out of my relationship". Addressing the court, Ms Merritt said she had been left "very scared" by the harassment, struggling to work and socialise. "I've almost become a hermit," the 59-year-old - who the court heard had never met Webbe - added. "No woman should be threatened and harassed as Ms Webbe has done to me over the years, let alone by a politician." Labour's national campaign co-ordinator Shabana Mahmood confirmed Webbe had been expelled from the party and called for her to resign as an MP. She said Labour would push for a recall petition to force a by-election if Webbe did not quit the Commons. "She should do the right thing by the people of Leicester East," she added. Image source, PA Media Image caption, Webbe previously told the court she was still with her partner Lester Thomas Chief magistrate Paul Goldspring, sentencing, said: "I have no doubt that, when not overtaken by jealousy and rage, you are a hard-working, upstanding Member of Parliament and of society. "[But] the level of harassment and the threats you made cannot be excused." He added he found it "odd and concerning" that the probation service report said Webbe felt like a victim herself. The district judge said he counted four occasions when Webbe referred to herself as "the victim" during her testimony from the witness box. Mr Goldspring told the court Webbe "showed little remorse or contrition" and would have been jailed immediately were it not for her previous good character. The sentence means Webbe will face a recall petition, which could trigger a by-election if at least 10% of her constituents support it. Analysis By Tim Parker, BBC Radio Leicester political reporter Mr Goldspring knows only too well what his decision today means for the Leicester East constituency. It sets in train the possibility of a by-election, but it's a slow train with an uncertain timetable that might never reach the destination some are hoping for. If Claudia Webbe fails to overturn her sentence, she faces a recall petition - where her constituents will be asked if they want to replace her. But with the backlog of cases in courts at the moment, that appeal is likely to take several weeks. If a recall petition is triggered, that must last six weeks. Factor in the time taken to organise that too - and the potential impact of the holiday period - and it makes a by-election date even more difficult to predict. There were 78,433 people able to vote in Leicester East in 2019 - 10% of them need to feel strongly enough to sign a recall petition, for a by-election to be triggered. 'I am innocent' However, the process is pending any appeal by Webbe against her conviction, an avenue she said she would pursue. In a statement, Webbe said: "I am very disappointed by the decision of the magistrate and want to strongly reiterate that I am innocent. "I am lodging an appeal and despite today's sentence, I fully expect the appeal to be granted and that, ultimately, it will be successful." Her defence lawyer, Paul Hynes QC, said Webbe had also received threats of violence on social media, as well as racist comments. He said after her conviction, police had received a called from a man threatening a female MP they believed was Claudia Webbe. "[She has been] subjected to extraordinary vilification," he added. Mr Hynes previously read out character references from former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, ex-shadow chancellor John McDonnell and former shadow home secretary Diane Abbott supporting their former colleague. Webbe was elected as Leicester East MP in 2019, replacing Keith Vaz who was suspended from the Commons . She also worked as a councillor in Islington between 2010 and 2021. Webbe, of Islington, north London, was also ordered to carry out 200 hours of unpaid work and told to pay £3,128 in costs and surcharges.
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Famous Person - Commit Crime - Sentence
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Russia opens criminal cases after nine die of alcohol poisoning
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MOSCOW, Oct 7 (Reuters) - Investigators in Russia's Orenburg region opened criminal cases on Thursday into the deaths of nine people from alcohol-poisoning this week after they consumed locally-produced spirits.
The local branch of the investigative committee said it was probing whether alcohol products sold in the region, which borders Kazakhstan some 1,500 kilometres (900 miles) southeast of Moscow, met safety standards.
The committee said that nine people from two villages near the Kazakh border had died from the toxic effects of ethanol on Wednesday and Thursday.
After a case of mass alcohol poisoning in Siberia in 2016, the national authorities ordered tighter controls on the production and sale of drinks, medicines, perfumes and other liquids containing a high percentage of ethanol.
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Leaders of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum vowed on Friday to address economic recovery in the region by shoring up supply chains, tackling labour issues and continuing to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Mass Poisoning
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2018 Athletics World Cup
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The Athletics World Cup was a team-based international athletics competition held in 2018. [1]
It featured eight national teams based on world rankings, with each team entering one athlete per event, and points gained on the basis of finishing position. Although the majority of world championship events were contested, no races over 1500 metres were held, and no road events or multi-events were on the program. The competition focused on an overall team prize, the Platinum Trophy and Platinum team medals, but individual gold, silver and bronze medals were also awarded in each individual event. While the event is organised outside of the official World Athletics structures, at the time the IAAF expressed support for the event notwithstanding the existence of its own IAAF Continental Cup event. The event was branded a failure by sports journalists, with many big-name star athletes failing to take part. [2]
The competition was announced on 5 February 2018 with London hosting the inaugural event. All events were held at London Stadium on 14 & 15 July 2018. The competition featured just 8 nations taking part in all events over two days. [1] Each nation entered one male and one female athlete in every event in a straight final format. For its inaugural event, all nations' captains were female in celebration of 100 years since women were given the right to vote in the United Kingdom. In 2018, the following events were contested: 100 metres, 200 metres, 400 metres, 800 metres, 1500 metres, 100 metre hurdles (women), 110 metre hurdles (men), 400 metre hurdles, 4 x 100 metres relay, 4 x 400 metres relay, long jump, triple jump, shot put, discus throw, javelin throw, hammer throw, pole vault and high jump. The following eight nations competed in 2018:
These nations were selected from the top performing nations at the 2017 World Championships in Athletics over the World Cup events. Traditional distance-running powers, Kenya and Ethiopia, were ranked among the first eight nations in the placing table overall at the 2017 Championships, but were not invited as they finished outside the top eight when considering only World Cup events. [3]
On 20 June 2018, Sky Sports were announced as the host broadcaster within the UK and Ireland. They exclusively broadcast both evenings of the competition and also produced the world feed for other nations.
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Sports Competition
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Battle of George Square
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Protesters
20-25,000 protesters
The Battle of George Square was a violent confrontation in Glasgow, Scotland between Glasgow City Police and striking Glasgow workers, centred around George Square. The 'battle', also known as "Bloody Friday" or "Black Friday", took place on Friday 31 January 1919, 82 days after the end of the First World War. During the riot, the Sheriff of Lanarkshire called for military aid, and British troops, supported by six tanks, were moved to key points in Glasgow. The strike leaders were arrested for inciting the riot. Although it is often stated that there were no fatalities, one police constable died several months later from injuries received during the rioting. [1][2]
The end of the First World War saw the United Kingdom demobilise its military and industry from its war footing, reducing employment. This combined with the increasingly worsening domestic fiscal and monetary environment to create the prospect of mass unemployment. The Scottish TUC and Clyde Workers' Committee (CWC) sought to increase the availability of jobs open to demobilised soldiers by reducing the working week from a newly-agreed 47 hours to 40 hours. [3]
The resulting strike began on Monday 27 January, with a meeting of around 3,000 workers held at the St. Andrew's Halls. [4] By 30 January, 40,000 workers from the Clydes engineering and shipbuilding industries had joined. Sympathy strikes also started among local power station workers and miners from the nearby Lanarkshire and Stirlingshire pits. The rapid growth of the action was credited to flying pickets,[5][failed verification] most of whom were recently discharged servicemen. This was Scotland's most widespread strike since the Radical War of 1820,[6][failed verification] which had followed the end of the Napoleonic Wars. On 29 January a delegation of strikers met the Lord Provost of Glasgow, and it was agreed that he would send a telegram to the Deputy Prime Minister, Andrew Bonar Law, asking the government to intervene. It was agreed that the strikers would return at noon on Friday 31 January to hear the response. After the meeting, the Sheriff of Lanarkshire contacted the government to ask if military aid would be available to him, if needed, should there be any disorder on the Friday. [1]
The telegram and the Sheriff's request prompted the War Cabinet to discuss the 'Strike Situation in Glasgow' War Cabinet on 30 January[7] The meeting was chaired by Bonar Law in the absence of the Prime Minister, Lloyd George. Winston Churchill, Secretary of State for War and Robert Munro, Secretary of State for Scotland, who were not members of the War Cabinet were in attendance, among others. At the meeting concern was voiced that, given the concurrent European popular uprisings, the strike had the possibility to spread throughout the country. While it was government policy at the time to not involve itself in labour disputes, the agreed action was justified to ensure there was 'sufficient force'[8] present within the immediate locale of Glasgow to secure the continuation of public order and operation of municipal services. [9] The decision to use the armed forces to provide the requested force, in the absence of a declaration of martial law, required those forces be acting on behalf of a civil authority. [10] On the meeting's close, instructions were sent to Scottish Command informing of the situation and to be prepared to deploy troops if requested. [7]
On 31 January, a large number of strikers (contemporary estimates range from 20,000 to 25,000[11]) congregated in George Square. They were awaiting an answer to the telegram the Lord Provost of Glasgow had sent to the Prime Minister on behalf of a delegation of strikers on 29 January, asking the government to intervene. [12]
Accounts differ on what initiated the violence on the day, but police testimony at the following trials records that the police baton charged the striking workers at 12:20. [13]
As the fighting started in George Square, a Clyde Workers' Committee deputation was in the Glasgow City Chambers meeting with the Lord Provost of Glasgow. On hearing the news, CWC leaders David Kirkwood and Emanuel Shinwell left the City Chambers. Kirkwood was knocked to the ground by a police baton. [14] Then he, William Gallacher and Shinwell were arrested. They were charged with "instigating and inciting large crowds of persons to form part of a riotous mob". [15][16] Kirkwood was found not guilty at trial after a photograph was submitted to the court, showing him being struck from behind by a policeman, in an apparently unprovoked attack. After the baton charge, the outnumbered police retreated from George Square. The fighting between the strikers and police, some mounted, spread into the surrounding streets and continued into the night. [17] During the evening Police Constable William McGregor (who had recently returned to the police from the army) was struck on the head by a bottle thrown by rioters in the Saltmarket; he died of his injuries on 1 June 1919. [2]
The events of the day prompted the request for military assistance by the Sheriff of Lanarkshire (Alastair Oswald Morison Mackenzie, 1917-1933) the most senior locally based judge, also known as the Sheriff Principal. The deployment had already begun before the day's meeting of the War Cabinet,[18] which convened at 3pm. [19]
During that meeting Munro, Secretary for Scotland, described the demonstration as "a Bolshevist uprising". It was decided to deploy troops from Scotland and Northern England: troops from the local Maryhill barracks were not deployed because it was feared that men there might have sided with their neighbours. [20] General Sir Charles Harington Harington, the Deputy Chief of the Imperial General Staff informed the meeting that 6 tanks supported by 100 lorries were "going north that evening". [19] It was stated that up to 12,000 troops could be deployed. It is sometimes suggested that the War Cabinet ordered this deployment, but this is incorrect: the government lacked the authority to deploy troops against British civilians without declaring martial law, which was not declared. The War Cabinet discussed the issue but the military deployment was in response to the request from the Sheriff of Lanarkshire. [18]
The first troops arrived that night,[21] with their numbers increasing over the next few days. The six Medium Mark C tanks, of the Royal Tank Regiment arrived from Bovington on Monday 3 February. [22] Machine gun nests were placed in George Square. The Observer newspaper reported that "The city chambers is like an armed camp. 'The quadrangle is full of troops and equipment, including machine guns. "[20]
The military arrived after the rioting was over and they played no active role in dispersing the protesters. [18] The troops guarded locations of import to the civil authorities throughout the period of the strike, which lasted until 12 February. The troops and tanks then remained in Glasgow, and its surrounding areas, until 18 February.
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Strike
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2003 Men's EuroHockey Nations Championship qualification
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The 2003 Men's EuroHockey Nations Championship was the ninth edition of the Men's EuroHockey Nations Championship, the quadrennial international men's field hockey championship of Europe organized by the European Hockey Federation. It was held from 1 until 13 September 2003 in Barcelona, Spain. This was the last EuroHockey Nations Championship with 12 teams. The 4 teams ending 9th, 10th, 11th, and 12th were relegated to the EuroHockey Nations Trophy. The 8 remaining teams played in the 2005 Men's EuroHockey Nations Championship. [1] The tournament also served as a direct qualifier for the 2004 Summer Olympics, with the winner Germany qualifying. Three-time defending champions Germany won their sixth overall title by defeating the hosts Spain 5–4 in penalty strokes after the match finished 1–1 after extra time. England won the bronze medal by defeating the Netherlands 6–5 in penalty strokes after the match finished 1–1 after extra time. The twelve teams were be split into two groups of six teams. The top two teams advanced to the semifinals in order to determine the winner in a knockout system. The 3rd and 4th placed teams from each pool played for the 5th to 8th place, while the 5th and 6th placed teams from each pool played for the 9th to 12th place. The last four teams were relegated to the EuroHockey Nations Challenge. All times were local (UTC+2).
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Sports Competition
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2014–2020 Nicaraguan protests
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Opposition
Civil society
Government of Nicaragua
Sandinista National Liberation Front
Students
Private sector
The 2014–2020 Nicaraguan protests are a series of protests against President of Nicaragua Daniel Ortega and actions performed by his government, the dismantling of the opposition, and violence against peaceful protesters. The protests began in 2014, when the construction of the Nicaragua Canal was about to begin, and several hundred protesters blocked roads and clashed with police during the groundbreaking of the canal. [8] Tens of thousands of Nicaraguans began to protest against President Ortega for what they believe to be a corrupt electoral system. [9][10]
The protests were renewed in April 2018 following the Ortega administration's decree of the Nicaraguan Social Security Institute's social security reform increasing taxes and decreasing benefits. Police and the paramilitary groups attacked and killed unarmed protesters, which made people to stand-up. After five days of deadly unrest, Ortega announced the cancellation of the reforms. Since then, Ortega faced the largest protests in his government's history, with the protest movement spreading to denounce Ortega in general and demanding his resignation. [11]
In 2014, Steven Levitsky of Harvard University stated: "Only under the dictatorships of the past ... were presidents reelected for life", with Levitsky further saying that while Latin America experienced democracy, citizens opposed "indefinite reelection, because of the dictatorships of the past. "[12] About Nicaragua, Levitsky stated: "In Nicaragua ... reelection is associated with the same problems of 100 years ago. "[12] That same year, The Washington Post stated that "Daniel Ortega of Nicaragua ... used the ballot box to weaken or eliminate term limits. "[13]
Early in Ortega's presidency, he allied with Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez and his regional block which provided $500 million in oil subsidies annually to Ortega's government. [14] Critics stated that the subsidies worked as a slush fund and helped President Ortega maintain political strength. [14] Going into the 2010s, Venezuela began to experience economic difficulties. [15][16][17][18] On 15 June 2013, President Ortega announced that his government was partnering with Chinese billionaire Wang Jing to construct the Nicaraguan Canal, a plan to construct a canal through Lake Nicaragua and the surrounding area that the Nicaraguan government claimed would benefit the economy of the country. [14] Sergio Ramírez, a former vice president of President Ortega, "suspected Ortega of using the canal to keep himself in office and also, possibly, to enrich himself", with Ramírez stating that "Ortega wants to make it appear that his tenure in power is indispensable in order to consummate this long-term project. "[14]
According to the Business-Anti-Corruption Portal, corruption among political circles within the Nicaraguan government "impairs the functioning of state institutions and limits foreign investment", while multinational companies "report widespread favouritism and impunity among public officials. "[19] The Business Anti-Corruption Portal added that "[t]he protection of property rights is weak due to public authorities' failure to enforce court orders. "[19] Many campesinos near the canal's path began to protest against President Ortega and the plan due to the Chinese firm's ability to expropriate their land, possibly displacing over 100,000 Nicaraguans. [9][20] Such expropriations were granted by President Ortega's government in 2013 after only three hours of debate, allowing HKND, the developer of the canal, power to confiscate any property it needs in Nicaragua. [21] Some Nicaraguans believed that President Ortega gave up Nicaragua's sovereignty and environment to the Chinese, with one newspaper reminding Nicaraguans that in 2007, President Ortega stated that he would not risk Lake Nicaragua's stability "for all the gold in the world. "[8]
Protests began on 24 December 2014 with clashes ensuing, with campesino protesters being arrested and allegedly beaten by Nicaraguan authorities, with 47 of the protesters and their leaders being arrested. [6] It was reported that the government was searching each home in the area to find those who participated in the protests. [6] On 26 December, protesters demonstrated outside of El Chipote Prison and were confronted by Sandinista Youth on motorcycles, with some protesters being released later that day. [6] On 30 December 6 of the campesino leaders were released from El Chipote Prison. [6]
Members of the Independent Liberal Party also began protesting every Wednesday demanding electoral law reforms. [22] According to Nicaraguan sociologist Manuel Ortega Hegg, the protests against President Ortega "involve a wider range of groups, like campesinos" who were formally allied with Ortega, along with "many who are sympathetic to the government", noting that those who are demonstrating are from "beyond political parties. "[21] He further states that since Nicaraguans were left out of the dialogue, that "their only recourse is to take to the streets. "[21]
In Ometepe, residents greeted a Nicaraguan government medical team with a banner that read "Traitor Ortega, no more lies", with activists in the area stating that the medical team only wanted their identification numbers so they could show that "you're in favor of the canal. "[21]
On 14 June, thousands of Nicaraguans protested with about 15,000 and 30,000 demonstrating in Juigalpa. [9] The protest consisted mostly of "peasants" with organizers surprised that the number of protesters was larger than the 10,000 they had anticipated. [23]
On 8 July, about 200 protesters in Managua demonstrated against what they called electoral rules that "favours Ortega's Sandinista party. "[10] Clashes then erupted between authorities and protesters when protesters grew close to the electoral offices, with police beating protesters and journalists, breaking one Associated Press photographer's camera lens. [10][22][24] About nine lawmakers from the Independent Liberal Party were also arrested and later released. [24] On 15 July, the weekly protest in Managua was attended by about 300 protesters, with not only the Independent Liberal Party participating but members of the Sandinista Renovation Movement, among others upset with government actions. [22] Multiple buses full of protesters destined to participate at the protest were also stopped by Nicaraguan authorities, with some individuals being temporarily detained. [22][25]
According to the Economist Intelligence Unit in their August 2016 Nicaragua: Country Outlook report, "management of rural protests, particularly those related to nascent plans for a transoceanic canal, have damaged his support, and complaints about a lack of accountability and transparency in government will intensify. "[26]
The 56th protest occurred on 9 January, with hundreds of farmers gathered in La Fonseca, demanding that Law 840, the law that granted the construction of the Nicaragua Canal, be revoked. The collection of signatures representing the dissatisfaction with the canal also took place during the demonstrations. [27]
On 22 April, thousands of Nicaraguans protested in Managua, with Jose Chavarria, a farmers group leader, stating that protesters would continue to fight the Nicaragua Canal. [28]
Two United States diplomats and a professor were expelled from Nicaragua on 14 June due to their studies on the canal, with President Ortega stating, "Our government has been forced to remove two people who, being United States government officials with official passports, carried out in Nicaragua without the knowledge of or coordination with our authorities tasks that are the purview of the Nicaraguan government. "[29]
On 25 June, five foreign activists were deported for alleged possession of explosives after a small fire occurred at a home that was teaching about wood stoves. [30]
The United States government then issued a travel warning to its own visitors on 29 June due to the Nicaraguan government's reactions to protest, which included the deportation and expulsion of foreign visitors. [30]
On 29 November 2016, a protest destined to the capital city of Managua was met with roadblocks from Nicaraguan authorities. [31] At the starting point 300 kilometres (190 mi) from Managua in Nueva Guinea, protests turned to clashes resulting in eleven injured. [32]
Police in the city of Juigalpa east of Managua prevented vehicles involved in protests from traveling on 22 April 2017, with at least 20 protesters arrested. [33]
By February 2018, many analysts viewed the canal project as defunct, with the main investor having lost much of his fortune in the 2015–2016 economic crisis, and other Chinese investment having turned to focus on Panama, the Nicaragua project's main competitor. Nonetheless, the head of the canal authority in Nicaragua insisted work on the project was slow due to the project's size but still on-going. The Chinese company that had been granted the concession for the canal maintains legal rights to it and to side projects in the country, short of a 60% vote to revoke the legislation. [citation needed] As of August 2019, the project remained in a state of limbo. [34]
On 16 April 2018, demonstrators marched in the capital of Managua to protest what they regarded as an insufficient government response to forest fires that burned 5,500 hectares (13,600 acres) of the Indio Maiz Biological Reserve,[36] a tropical nature preserve that is home to Rama and Kriol indigenous people, as well as significant biodiversity and endangered species.
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Protest_Online Condemnation
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Strong quake, small tsunami
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image: For a total of two years, 15 ocean bottom seismometers off northern Chile recorded aftershocks from the 2014 Iquique earthquake. Northern Chile is an ideal natural laboratory to study the origin of earthquakes. Here, the Pacific Nazca plate slides underneath the South American continental plate with a speed of about 65 millimetres per year. This process, known as subduction, creates strain between the two plates and scientists thus expected a mega-earthquake here sooner or later, like the last one in 1877. But although northern Chile is one of the focal points of global earthquake research, until now there was no comprehensive data set on the structure of the marine subsurface - until nature itself stepped in to help. On 1 April 2014, a segment of the subduction zone finally ruptured northwest of the city of Iquique. The earthquake with a moment magnitude of 8.1 released at least parts of accumulated stresses. Subsequent seismic measurements off the coast of Chile as well as seafloor mapping and land-based data provided a hitherto unique insight into the architecture of the plate boundary. "Among other things, this allows us to explain why a relatively severe quake like the one in 2014 only triggered a relatively weak tsunami," says Florian Petersen from GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel. He is the lead author of the study, which has now been published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters. As early as December 2014, just eight months after the main earthquake, the Kiel team deployed 15 seismic measuring devices specially developed for the deep sea off the coast of Chile. "The logistical and also administrative challenges for the deployment of these ocean-bottom seismometers are challenging and eight months of preparation time is very short. However, since the investigations are crucial to better comprehend the hazard potential of the plate margin off northern Chile, even the Chilean Navy finally supported us by making its patrol boat COMANDANTE TORO available," reports project leader and co-author Dr. Dietrich Lange from GEOMAR. At the end of 2015, these ocean bottom seismometers (OBS) were recovered by the German research vessel SONNE. The team on board serviced the devices, read out the data and placed the OBS on the seabed again. It was not until November 2016 that the American research vessel MARCUS G. LANGSETH finally recovered them. "Together with data from land, we have obtained a seismic data set of the earthquake region over 24 months, in which we can find the signals of numerous aftershocks. This is unique so far," explains Florian Petersen, for whom the study is part of his doctoral thesis. The evaluation of the long-term measurements, in which colleagues from the Universidad de Chile and Oregon State University (USA) were also involved, showed that an unexpectedly large number of aftershocks were located between the actual earthquake rupture zone and the deep-sea trench. "But what surprised us even more was that many aftershocks were quite shallow. They occurred in the overlying South American continental plate and not along the plate boundary of the dipping Nazca plate," Petersen says. Over many earthquake cycles, these aftershocks can strongly disturb and rupture the seaward edge of the continental plate. Resulting gaps fill with pore fluids. As a result, the authors conclude, the energy of the quakes can only propagate downwards, but not to the deep-sea trench off the coast of Chile. "Therefore, there were no large, sudden shifts of the seafloor during the 2014 earthquake and the tsunami was fortunately relatively small", says Florian Petersen. The question still remains whether the Iquique earthquake of 2014 was already the expected major quake in the region or whether it only released some of the stress that had built up since 1877. "The region remains very exciting for us. The current results were only possible due to the close cooperation of several nations and the use of research vessels from Germany, Chile and the USA. This shows the immense effort that is required to study marine natural hazards. However, this is critical for a detailed assessment of the risk to the coastal cities in northern Chile, so everyone was dedicated to the task," says co-author Prof. Dr. Heidrun Kopp from GEOMAR.
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Tsunamis
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1933 Long Beach earthquake
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The 1933 Long Beach earthquake took place on March 10 at 5:54 P.M. PST south of downtown Los Angeles. The epicenter was offshore, southeast of Long Beach, California, on the Newport–Inglewood Fault. The earthquake had a magnitude estimated at 6.4 Mw, and a maximum Mercalli intensity of VIII (Severe). Damage to buildings was widespread throughout Southern California. It resulted in 115 to 120 fatalities and an estimated forty million dollars' worth of property damage, equivalent to $800 million in 2020. The majority of the fatalities resulted from people running out of buildings exposing themselves to the falling debris. The major damage occurred in the densely populated city of Long Beach on the south-facing coast of Los Angeles County. However, the damage was also found to have extended to the industrial area south of downtown Los Angeles. The magnitude of the earthquake is considered to be medium but a significant amount of damage was left due to unfavorable geological conditions (landfill, water-soaked alluvium) combined with poorly constructed buildings. In Long Beach, buildings collapsed, water tanks fell through roofs, and houses were tossed off their foundations. School buildings were among the structures that incurred the most severe damage. [6] It was recognized that unreinforced masonry bearing walls was the reason that school buildings suffered so much damage in the wake of the earthquake. [7]
The earthquake highlighted the need for earthquake-resistant design for structures in California. Many school buildings were damaged, with more than 230 school buildings that either were destroyed, suffered major damage, or were judged unsafe to occupy. The California State Legislature passed the Field Act on April 10, 1933, mandating that school buildings must be earthquake-resistant. If the earthquake had occurred during school hours, the death toll would have been much higher. [8]
This earthquake prompted the government to play an active role in disaster relief. The government created the Reconstruction Finance Corporation, providing loans for the reconstruction of buildings that were affected during the natural disaster. The Bureau of Public Roads also took action to rebuild roads, highways, and bridges. [9] The economy of Long Beach was able to return to normal swiftly because of the rise of the aircraft industry. To support the World War II efforts, Long Beach created naval yards and increased the number of aircraft produced. This directly helped Long Beach repair and stabilize the economy after the disaster. [10]
A 2016 press release by the United States Geological Survey indicates that research shows the 1933 Long Beach earthquake may have been man-made, caused by oil and gas extraction underneath the city. [11] Further studies indicate that several, if not most earthquakes during the peak years of Los Angeles's oil boom were likely caused by tectonic stress induced by methods used at the time which did not replace the millions of barrels of removed oil with other liquids. [12][13]
The 1933 film Headline Shooter, uses newsreel footage of the Long Beach earthquake. The 1933 documentary Quake! Its Effect on Long Beach and Compton California by Guy D. Haselton[14] also features contemporary footage. [15][16]
The earthquake plays a major part in the novel The Last Tycoon (1941), by F. Scott Fitzgerald. During the disruption caused by the quake, the hero, Monroe Stahr, meets Kathleen Moore, with whom he falls in love. The earthquake is also included in John Fante's Ask the Dust (1939). A radio newscast announces the aftermath of the earthquake in Season One, Episode Five of The Waltons. This earthquake was mentioned by one of the guest characters, played by actor Ian Wolfe in Season Three, Episode One of Police Woman, who also mentions the 1971 San Fernando earthquake as the "Big One of '71". Footage of the earthquake appeared in the film Encounter with Disaster, released in 1979 and produced by Sun Classic Pictures.
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Earthquakes
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Melbourne real estate company Hocking Stuart Doncaster fined for underquoting properties
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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 Melbourne real estate company has been fined for a second time for underquoting properties.
The court heard realtors told owners that underquoting was a technique designed to attract buyers
The Federal Court has fined Hocking Stuart Doncaster $160,000 for underquoting nine houses for sale in Melbourne's north-eastern suburbs.
The franchisee admitted to false and misleading conduct charges bought by the director of Consumers Affairs Victoria.
It follows a fine of $300,000 imposed on Hocking Stuart Richmond for underquoting last year.
In the latest matter the court heard that between June 2014 and December 2016, Hocking Stuart Doncaster deliberately advertised nine properties at price ranges lower than the homes would sell for.
The court heard realtors told owners underquoting was a technique designed to attract buyers, which would in turn drive up the sale price.
"In many cases it had been instructed by the vendor that the property was not available for sale at the price estimated," Justice Bernard Murphy said.
A Doncaster homeowner agreed to sell for $810,000, the property was then advertised for $790,000, before selling at auction for $1.01 million.
In 2015, Hocking Stuart Doncaster also advertised a Templestowe home for $1.7 million and above, despite the owner wanting $1.8 million to $1.9 million.
The home sold for $2.04 million at auction.
The court heard underquoting was a widespread practice in the industry, but Consumer Affairs Victoria found only nine out of 25 sales investigated involved underquoting.
"Hocking Stuart Doncaster's conduct was plainly deliberate," Justice Murphy said. "It was intended and as apt to create the illusion of a bargain."
The agency was facing a maximum penalty of $9.9 million for breaching consumer law, but the judge agreed to a lesser penalty as the business only made a small profit as a result of its conduct.
Hocking Stuart Doncaster was ordered to pay $160,000 plus court costs, and to implement a three-year compliance order.
Between December 2016 and July 2017, six other Victorian real estate companies accepted enforceable undertakings for underquoting, paying a total of $240,000 in penalties.
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Organization Fine
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December 2015 Hindu Kush earthquake
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The December 2015 Hindu Kush earthquake occurred with a moment magnitude of 6.3 in South Asia on 25 December 2015. [4] One woman was killed in Pakistan. At least 100 people were injured in Pakistan and Afghanistan. [5] The quake was also strongly felt in Tajikistan and India. The epicenter of the earthquake was in the Afghanistan-Tajikistan border region at a depth of 203.4 km. [6]
An earthquake of 7.3 Mw was felt in the same region[7] in October 2015 causing 398 deaths and 2,536 injuries in Pakistan[8] and Afghanistan. [9]
The Himalayan mountains are pushed up by the collision of tectonic plates, making them prone to devastating quakes. An earthquake in April 2015, Nepal's worst in 80 years, killed over 8,600 people. [10]
The last major earthquake in the same region of similar magnitude (7.6 Mw) was almost ten years prior in October 2005, which resulted in 87,351 deaths, 75,266 injured, 2.8 million people being displaced, and 250,000 farm animals deaths. The notable difference between this earthquake and the 2005 earthquake is the depth of the seismic activity. The 2005 earthquake was 15 km deep while this earthquake was 203.4 km deep, reducing its effects at the surface. [11]
In recent studies, geologists claim that global warming is one of the reasons for increased seismic activity. According to these studies melting glaciers and rising sea levels disturb the balance of pressure on Earth's tectonic plates thus causing an increase in the frequency and intensity of earthquakes. This could be one of the reasons why the Himalayas are getting more prone to earthquakes in recent years. [12][better source needed]
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Earthquakes
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Pakistan International Airlines Flight 705 crash
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Pakistan International Airlines Flight 705 (PK705) was a Boeing 720 airliner that crashed while descending to land at Cairo International Airport on 20 May 1965. Of the 121 passengers and crew on board, all but 6 were killed. [2] The accident, the fourth and worst involving a Boeing 720, was the deadliest to occur in Egypt at the time and remains the third-deadliest, behind Flash Airlines Flight 604 and Metrojet Flight 9268. Flight 705 on 20 May 1965 was an inaugural flight between Karachi, Pakistan and London, United Kingdom and was carrying distinguished guests and journalists among the 114 passengers. [3] The aircraft was scheduled to stop at Dharan in Saudi Arabia, Cairo and then Geneva before completing its journey to London. [3] As the aircraft was on final approach to Cairo International Airport, the pilot reported problems with the flaps; shortly thereafter, the aircraft crashed southeast of the airport and broke up as it exploded into flames. [3] Six of the passengers were thrown clear of the wreckage, but everyone else on board was killed. [3] Among the dead was the Chinese aircraft designer Huang Zhiqian, who was chief designer of the fighter jet Shenyang J-8. [4][5]
The aircraft was a Boeing 720-040B[note 1] with the registration AP-AMH and manufacturer's serial number 18379; it was first flown on 19 October 1962 and delivered to Pakistan International Airlines on 7 November 1962. [6] At the time of the accident the aircraft had flown 8378 hours. [6]
On 26 May, local police reported that a transistor radio had been found in the wreckage of the aircraft with jewellery valued at $120,000 hidden in it. [7]
The probable cause of the crash was that "the aircraft did not maintain the adequate height for the circuit and continued to descend until it contacted the ground. The reason for that abnormal continuation of descent is unknown. "[8]
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Air crash
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Clayton Tunnel rail crash
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The Clayton Tunnel rail crash occurred on Sunday 25 August 1861, five miles from Brighton on the south coast of England. At the time it was the worst accident on the British railway system. A train ran into the back of another inside the tunnel, killing 23 and injuring 176 passengers. Three north-bound trains left Brighton station within a few minutes of one another. At the southern entrance to Clayton Tunnel an automatic signal failed to return to danger after the first train passed, allowing the second train to follow it into the tunnel. The signaller at the south end of the tunnel belatedly waved a red flag in an attempt to stop the second train, but thought that it had not been seen. However the driver of the second train had briefly glimpsed the flag and stopped his train inside the tunnel. The signaller then misinterpreted a 'line clear' telegraph message from the signal box at the north end of the tunnel as referring to the second train instead of the first, and signalled the third train into the tunnel. [1]
In his cabin close to the southern entrance of the tunnel, signalman Henry Killick was in charge of a signal linked to an alarm bell, and a needle telegraph. He controlled the signal using a wheel in the cabin, and the signal would normally be at "danger" unless he set it to "clear" to allow a train to enter the tunnel. When a train had passed it, the signal was designed to return automatically to "danger", but if it did not, the alarm bell would ring. The needle telegraph was linked to a signal box at the northern entrance of the tunnel. When the signalman in the southern box pressed and held down a switch, it gave a "train in tunnel" indication to the signalman in the northern box. Otherwise, the needle on the telegraph would hang vertically. Except for the Clayton Tunnel, the line was worked on the time-interval system, which required trains on the same track to be separated by five minutes. Despite that, the three trains left Brighton within the space of seven minutes:
At the southern entrance of the Clayton Tunnel, the first train passed the signal at "clear", but the alarm bell rang to warn Killick that the signal had not returned to "danger". He sent a "train in tunnel" message to Brown in the north cabin, but did not return his signal to "danger" in time to stop the second train from passing it and entering the tunnel. It was only three minutes behind the first, so it was possible that it would catch up with the train ahead. Because the first train was still in the tunnel, Killick rushed out of the cabin, waving his red flag to stop the second train just as it was passing. However, he could not be sure that the driver had seen his flag. He telegraphed Brown at the northern mouth of the tunnel: "Is tunnel clear?" At that moment, the first train left the tunnel, so Brown signalled back to Killick: "Tunnel clear". Tragically, Killick thought that Brown was referring to the second train and not the first. In fact, the driver of the second train had seen the red flag. He stopped his train about half a mile (800m) into the tunnel and began reversing back to the south end. Meanwhile, Killick saw the third train approaching, which stopped at his signal. Thinking that the tunnel was clear, he waved his white flag to allow it to proceed. The second and third trains collided in the tunnel with great force. The second train was pushed forward, and the locomotive of the third train destroyed the guard's van of the second train before smashing into its last carriage. The locomotive of the third train rode up over the carriage roof and smashed its chimney against the tunnel roof before stopping. Many of the 23 deaths were in that last carriage, in which passengers were burnt or scalded to death by the shattered engine. The bodies of a number of the victims were stored temporarily in the cellar of The Hassocks Hotel. A nine-day inquest into the deaths of the 23 victims was held at Brighton town hall. It concluded with the jury finding that Charles Legg, the assistant stationmaster of Brighton station, was guilty of manslaughter, because of his negligence in starting three trains so close together, against the rules of the company. The jury did not find any negligence by either signalmen Killick or Brown. [2] Legg was committed to trial for manslaughter, but found not guilty. [3]
The catastrophe publicised the problem of trains travelling too close together, with signalmen having to appraise the situation too quickly for safety's sake. A simple communication mistake between the two signal boxes caused havoc that Sunday, but the telegraph was also blamed for the tragedy because it did not register without continual pressure on the switch. The signal, too, was also at fault for not returning to "danger" immediately after the train had passed. The accident encouraged the use of the block system (rather than the time interval system) for the remainder of the railway system. One other aspect of this accident was that Signalman Killick was working a continuous 24-hour shift that day, rather than the regulation 18 hours to gain a complete day off duty. In his report on the accident Captain Tyler stated that "it was disgraceful that a man in so responsible a position as Signalman Killick should be compelled to work for twenty-four hours at a stretch in order to earn one day of rest a week. "[4]
Charles Dickens may have partly based his story "The Signal-Man" on this accident,[5] dramatising the events (especially the bells and the telegraph needle), as well as adding other incidents. His own experience at the Staplehurst rail crash may have inspired him to write this ghost story. Readers of the story in December 1866 would likely have still remembered the Clayton accident. Other accidents in which the signalman forgot, or got confused about, the presence of a train include:
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Train collisions
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2019 Istanbul earthquake
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2019 Istanbul earthquake was a 5.8 magnitude earthquake that rocked the south-west of Istanbul on 26 September 2019 at 13:59 local time. [8]
One person died due to a heart attack and 43 people were injured. [6] The earthquake was felt in Istanbul, Tekirdağ, Kırklareli, Kocaeli and Sakarya. [5]
North Anatolian Fault system is a strike-slip fault system located in the northern side of Anatolian plate, which lies between relatively stationary Eurasian plate in the north and the Arabian plate in the south. Approximately 1500 km in length, the North Anatolian fault system passes about 20 kilometers south of Istanbul. Strong earthquakes occur at certain intervals along the fault. The last large earthquakes in the fault system happened in 1999. In 17 August the earthquake in İzmit (7.4 Mw) killed 17.480 people. In 12 November, another earthquake in the nearby city of Düzce (7.2 Mw) killed 845 and injured 4.948. [9]
Many seismologist agree that there is a very high chance for a 7 or higher magnitude earthquake before 2030; which will be caused by the breaking of the North Anatolian fault line under Marmara Sea, just south of Istanbul.
Three days before the main earthquake, on 23 September, there was a 4.6-degree shock in the south-west of Istanbul. [14] Two hours before the earthquake, at 12:00 noon, a 2.9 earthquake took place in Silivri. The earthquake happened at 13:59 local time at the western edge of the Kumburgaz section of North Anatolian Fault under the Sea of Marmara, at a depth of 6.99 km[3] as a strike-slip movement. [15] Different sources states the magnitude as 5.7 Mw[1] and 5.8 ML. [2]
Over 300 aftershocks were reported after the main earthquake.
Schools and hospitals were evacuated after the earthquake. Governor of Istanbul Ali Yerlikaya announced the schools were closed for the day. AFAD suggested not to enter to the damaged buildings. A 4.1 magnitude aftershock was reported 25 minutes after the main shock. [14]
The first announcement by the President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan stated 8 injured. Later announcements stated a total of 43 injured mostly from panic, and one person with known heart illness dead due to a heart attack. [6]
188 aftershocks with maximum magnitude of 4.1 were recorded after the earthquake. [7] A total of 473 buildings were reported as damaged to AFAD. [7]
A minaret of Avcılar Hacı Ahmet Tükenmez mosque collapsed. [5] Three protected old buildings were damaged in Balat, and later demolished by the municipality later in the day. [5] Take-offs and landings to Sabiha Gökçen Airport were temporarily halted, but flight operations resumed after the runway was checked for potential damage and deemed safe. [5]
AFAD reported damage to walls of the city near İstanbul Biruni University, cracks in some buildings in some neighborhoods, damage in two buildings in Sultangazi and Eyüp, and evacuation of a building in Şirinevler. [3]
Mobile phone coverage of Türk Telekom, Turkcell, and Vodafone were interrupted nationwide for some time after the earthquake, while mobile internet services and landlines were not affected.
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Earthquakes
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Syria's defense chief visits Jordan to discuss border security
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A high-level delegation from Syria led by the country’s defense minister met with Jordan’s army chief on Sunday, in a rare meeting between the two neighboring countries.
Jordanian news outlets reported that Syrian Gen. Ali Ayoub and Jordanian Gen. Yousef Huneiti met in Amman to discuss border control. According to Syrian state-run agency SANA, “They discussed the cooperation between armies of the two brotherly counties,” with a focus on combating terrorism and border security. The talks were held "to intensify future coordination over all common issues,” Jordan’s army said in a statement.
The meeting between Jordanian and Syrian officials came after the Syrian government recaptured an opposition enclave near the Jordanian border, which until recently had experienced years of relative calm.
This summer, Syrian regime forces and allied militias besieged Daraa al-Balad, a town in southwest Syria that is considered the birthplace of the revolution. The fighting prompted Jordan to announce in late July that it was pausing plans to fully reopen Jaber-Nassib, its only land border crossing for trade with Syria.
A recent cease-fire brokered by Russia largely ended the fighting and handed control of Daraa al-Balad to Damascus, which has now won back much of the country after a decade of war. Under the truce, the rebels were required to evacuate Daraa or turn in their weaponry.
During his visit to Moscow in August, Jordanian King Abdullah II and Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed the security situation in southern Syria. The Jordanian monarch said he believes the two countries can play a stabilizing role in the war-torn country.
Amman has maintained diplomatic relations with Damascus, despite supporting the opposition seeking to oust Assad during the early years of the war. Jordan is home to more than 650,000 registered Syrian refugees.
Ayoub’s meeting with Huneiti follows several high-level contacts between the two Middle East countries. Last week, the energy ministers of Egypt, Syria, Jordan and Lebanon met in Amman to discuss sending Egyptian natural gas and Jordanian electricity through Syrian territory to crisis-stricken Lebanon.
Syrian ministers of oil and natural resources Bassam Tameh and electricity Ghassan Zamel traveled in June to the Jordanian capital in what marked the first official visit by senior Syrian officials to the kingdom since the outbreak of Syria’s civil war in 2011.
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Diplomatic Visit
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Sydney McLaughlin edges Dalilah Muhammad, sets world record to win 400-meter hurdles at Summer Olympics
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Only one of the world's best hurdlers could win the Olympic gold medal -- and McLaughlin came out ahead in the latest installment of the best rivalry in track.
The 21-year-old from New Jersey won the 400-meter hurdles title Wednesday, finishing in 51.46 seconds in yet another history-making day on the speedy Olympic oval.
"Iron sharpening iron," McLaughlin called the latest in her series of showdowns with Muhammad, each one faster than the last. "Every time we step on the track, it's always something fast."
McLaughlin came from behind after the last hurdle to top the defending Olympic champion. Muhammad's time of 51.58 also beat McLaughlin's old record of 51.9, set at Olympic trials in June. But in this race, it was only good enough for the silver.
For McLaughlin, it was a muted celebration -- in part, because traversing 400 meters while clearing 10 hurdles at 17 miles-per-hour is more exhausting than she makes it look.
"There was some lactic" acid building up, she said.
She sat on the ground, gave a serious look toward the scoreboard -- yep, it's a record ... again -- then got up and moved toward the hand-sanitizing station. Muhammad came over and gave her a congratulatory hug. They'll meet again. World championships are next July.
"No mixed emotions," Muhammad said. "Sure, there are always things you want to do better. But you use this as a springboard to the next. This is not my last race."
Impressive as McLaughlin's race was, this record didn't really surprise anyone.
McLaughlin and Muhammad, a New York City native who went to Southern Cal, have been trading the record, and the wins, for two years. Muhammad first broke the mark at U.S. Nationals in Des Moines, Iowa, in 2019, then lowered it to 52.16, at the world championships in Qatar.
McLaughlin broke that record earlier this summer at Olympic trials, running 51.9 to become the first woman to crack 52 seconds.
It felt inevitable that the mark would go down again on a fast track in perfect, hot-and-humid running conditions in Tokyo.
Only a day earlier, Norway's Karsten Warholm crushed his old world record in the men's 400 hurdles, finishing in 45.94. Runner-up Rai Benjamin's 46.17 also beat the old mark. Six runners in that race set national, continental or world records.
It was a lot to live up to for the M&M duo, whose race was even more eagerly anticipated. They exceeded expectations, and left everyone else in the race behind.
"I just went out like crazy for the first 300 to be with them," said bronze medalist Femke Bol of the Netherlands, who set a European record and whose time of 52.03 would've been a world record six weeks ago. "And I died a bit."
Starting from Lane 7, Muhammad came out of the blocks and made up the lag quickly as they cruised down the backstretch.
Slowly, steadily, McLaughlin drew even, and they were at nearly a draw when they reached the final 100 meters. As McLaughlin and Muhammad scaled the last hurdle, it was McLaughlin who moved ahead and started inching away.
The .12-second margin was close -- but not as close as in Doha, when McLaughlin lost by .07 in a race that changed her thinking.
That world championship race showed how good McLaughlin really was, but left her with an undisputable reality. Muhammad, now 31 and a late bloomer who didn't have a sponsor or a spot at the London Olympics in 2012, was better.
McLaughlin changed coaches, joining Bobby Kersee, whose expertise has helped produce what could be a wing of a track and field Hall of Fame: Jackie Joyner-Kersee, Florence Griffith Joyner, Allyson Felix and now, McLaughlin.
"This is his 11th Olympics he's coaching, you know he's been around the block a few times," McLaughlin said of Kersee. "And he knew exactly what it was going to take to get me to this point."
Kersee had McLaughlin work at shorter distances, jump off the opposite foot, run indoors more and just get used to different situations. They also worked on staying focused.
Nothing seemed to bother her in Tokyo -- not the quarantine rules, the early wake-up times (4 a.m. for the first round) or a drenching rainstorm that hit during the semifinals.
Neither did the expectations of the Olympics or the race. That sort of spotlight has hindered other Olympians. Along with Kersee, McLaughlin credited her faith for helping her cut through the pressure to focus on the race.
"I think it's a weight that you put on yourself that doesn't really exist," she said. "It's the fear of something that hasn't happened yet in your mind that you're assuming has already happened. It's really just making sure that your thoughts are positive."
Her gold medal was proof that her mindset had worked.
It's also the latest in a journey she's been on since she burst onto the international scene in 2016. She was 16, one of the freshest faces in sports, and she came to Olympic trials with stories of how she could juggle, and ride a unicycle, and do both at the same time.
She earned a spot on the U.S. Olympic team in one of the most stacked events on the program, Muhammad, already in her prime, won a gold medal in Rio de Janeiro. McLaughlin was out in the semifinal round. A great learning experience.
She had the good fortune to come of age at a time when another woman was redefining the hurdles game.
Before Muhammad broke it, the world record had stood at 52.34 for 16 years.
"I told Dalilah all the time, it's a little soft. I think we can go faster," said her coach, Boogie Johnson. "She's like, 'You think so?" I'm like, 'Yeah, if we do this, this and this.' We just changed the mindset."
Once an undercard on the track and field schedule, the 400-meter hurdles is now one of the best races at the Olympics.
McLaughlin won it this time.
Muhammad is back to the drawing board.
"I think it's two athletes wanting to be their best," McLaughlin said, "and knowing there's another great girl who's going to help you get there."
Also Wednesday, Damian Warner of Canada leads the Olympic decathlon with 2,966 points after the first three events. The 2016 Olympic bronze medalist is 223 points clear of fellow Canadian Pierce Lepage and 255 ahead of 2018 world junior champion Ash Moloney of Australia.
Decathlon world-record holder Kevin Mayer of France, the Olympic silver medalist from Rio and world champion in 2017, is in the fourth spot with 2,662 points.
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Break historical records
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South32 Dendrobium coal mine fined $15,000 for pumping sludge into Mount Kembla creek
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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
The environmental watchdog has fined an Illawarra mine for breaching the conditions of its licence after a faulty sediment basin released millions of litres of coal sludge into local waterways.
Concerned residents near the Dendrobium mine at Mount Kembla observed thick black sludge in Brandy and Water creeks last August after heavy rainfall caused a water dam to fail.
The subsequent collapse released 10 million litres of water containing fine coal particles into nearby waterways.
The Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) issued the mine a $15,000 penalty for non-compliance with its environmental protection licence.
"Dendrobium Coal caused or permitted water with high levels of turbidity and total suspended solids to flow into Brandy and Water Creek from the premises at a point not authorised for discharge on the licence," the EPA said in a statement.
South32, the company that owns the mine, was required to employ an independent expert to monitor the environmental impacts of the spill.
"This monitoring showed a small reduction in aquatic animals near the mine immediately after the spill," said Jacinta Hanemann, the EPA's acting director, regulatory operations metro.
"Subsequent testing has shown no long-term impacts from the incident.
"Dendrobium Coal carried out the remediation work and environmental monitoring that was required by the EPA.
"It is also performing structural reviews of all similar infrastructure at the mine to avoid incidents like this in the future."
Citizen scientist Jessica Whittaker is one of a group of residents who raised concerns about the spill and documented the impact on the local flora and fauna.
She said the penalty falls well short of the $1 million maximum for polluting waterways and is unlikely to work as a deterrent.
"Is this the value that we put on our aquatic ecosystems? I am really gutted," Ms Whittaker said.
"You can get fined $8,000 for pouring paint into a drain — and we're fining a coal company that release 10 megalitres of coal sludge into a suburban creek $15,000.
"I have no confidence that this won't happen again."
South32 has accepted the fine and said it has completed remediation work at the creeks and removed deposits of coal fines.
The company said in a statement a review by external consultants found the incident has caused no ongoing problems for the waterways.
"The report found there was limited measurable impact to stream ecology and there was no evidence of fish or fauna mortality. The coal fines were considered to be non-toxic.
"Additional monitoring of the local environment has since been undertaken by external consultants commissioned by South32.
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Organization Fine
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Olympics-Athletics-Venezuela's Rojas smashes women's triple jump world record to take gold
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TOKYO — Yulimar Rojas of Venezuela jumped 15.67 meters on Sunday to smash the world record in the women’s triple jump with her last attempt, having already secured the gold medal.
The previous record of 15.50m was set by Ukraine’s Inessa Kravets in 1995 in Sweden.
The win made Rojas Venezuela’s first woman Olympic champion.
Patricia Mamona of Portugal won silver with 15.01m, a national record. The bronze went to Spain’s Ana Peleteiro, who also broke the national record with 14.87. (Reporting by Omar Mohammed; Editing by Hugh Lawson and John Stonestreet)
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Break historical records
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Brazilian robbers strap hostages to getaway cars in Araçatuba bank heist that leaves three dead
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A daring and bloody heist has shut down streets in the Brazilian city of Araçatuba, with a gang of armed robbers targeting banks, exchanging gunfire with police and escaping in cars covered with human shields. After ransacking two bank branches, the criminals drove away with hostages clinging to their cars to deter police from firing at the getaway convoy. Video shot from an apartment building in central Araçatuba, not far from the banks targeted, showed two cars driving slowly with people either clinging or tied to the outside of the vehicles. Other video shared on social media showed black-clad men marching hostages down the same street. At least three people were killed in the clashes, two of them civilians, local authorities said. Preliminary information suggested one was a local businessman who went to the location to film the attack and the other was a delivery worker. The third person killed was a suspect, found in his car. Six people were injured, including one passerby who had his leg amputated after an explosion. The coordinated robbery involved dozens of criminals and at least 10 cars. Brazil's military police said the attackers burned cars and left explosive booby traps in their wake to impede police responses. The statement said the group used a drone to monitor the city streets. "Araçatuba was shaken by highly dangerous criminals who fired thousands of shots," Colonel Rodrigo Arena, the police commander in the region, told reporters. Colonel Arena said that three suspects had been arrested and that federal police were taking over investigations. Large-scale bank heists have become more frequent in Brazil in recent years, with hostages often used as human shields. Araçatuba was itself the site of a similar attack, in 2017. Araçatuba Mayor Dilador Borges said earlier on Monday that authorities believe undetonated explosives remain in some areas of the city centre, and called on residents to remain in their homes. Local media reported that branches belonging to state banks Caixa Federal and Banco do Brasil were the ones targeted. In a response to a request for comment, Caixa said it only provided information about crimes to police. Banco do Brasil said it was working with authorities, and that it would not disclose the amount of money stolen in robberies.
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Bank Robbery
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1992 NHL strike
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The 1992 NHL strike was the first strike action initiated by the National Hockey League Players' Association (NHLPA) against the National Hockey League's (NHL) owners. It was called on April 1, 1992, and lasted ten days. The settlement saw the players earn a large increase in their playoff bonuses, increased control over the licensing of their likenesses and changes to the free agency system. In addition, the season was expanded to 84 games and included provisions for each team to play two games per season in non-NHL cities. As a result of the strike, the owners removed John Ziegler as President, replacing him with Gil Stein. The strike fundamentally altered the relationship between the league and its players. The NHLPA was formed in 1967, and led by Alan Eagleson, who served as executive-director. Eagleson remained in that position until December 1991, when he was forced to resign after the players became uneasy with the relationship he had with the league's owners. [1] Three years later, in November 1994, the Law Society of Upper Canada charged Eagleson with numerous offences, accusing him of embezzlement, providing unauthorized loans using union funds to his friends and associates and of colluding with the NHL's owners. [2] In 1996, he faced similar charges from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and later the Federal Bureau of Investigation in the United States. In 1998, Eagleson pleaded guilty to the charges, earning him a C$1 million fine and eighteen-months in jail. [3]
Eagleson was succeeded as NHLPA executive-director on January 1, 1992, by former player agent Bob Goodenow. [1] He had served as deputy director of the NHLPA since 1990, and had spent his time instructing the players on the issues the union faced in its relations with the league. [4] As executive-director, Goodenow was tasked with negotiating a new collective bargaining agreement, which had expired prior to the start of the 1991–92 NHL season. [5] Goodenow met with NHL President John Ziegler as the two attempted to negotiate an agreement on a range of issues including how free agency worked, the arbitration process, playoff bonuses and pensions. [6] The issue of how to share trading card revenue was considered to be one of the greatest stumbling blocks the two sides faced. [7]
The players called the first general strike in NHL history on April 1, 1992, after the union rejected the owners' last offer before their deadline by a vote of 560-to-4. [8] By calling the strike so close to the end of the regular season, the players felt they had the advantage, as the majority of owners profits were realized in the playoffs. [8] Playoff bonuses for players ranged from between US$3,000 for players on teams who lost in the first round, up to $25,000 for players on the Stanley Cup championship team. The owners, meanwhile, stood to earn $500,000 per playoff game played. [9]
Talks continued after the players walked out, though it appeared for a time that the season was lost after union negotiators rejected the league's "final offer" on April 7. [10] A United States Federal Mediator joined the negotiations the next day amidst pessimism over the two sides' willingness to negotiate. [11] While the two sides had reached an agreement on most issues, negotiations on how revenue from trading cards was to be split became a key sticking point as the owners hoped to increase their share of the $16 million in annual revenues. [9]
The strike ended on April 10 after the two sides reached an agreement on a two-year deal, retroactive to the beginning of the season, allowing the final 30 games of the regular season and the playoffs to go on. [12] As part of the deal, the following seasons
were expanded from 80 to 84 games (later reduced to 82 games, after the 1994–95 NHL lockout), and the players received a large increase in playoff bonuses and changes to free agency and arbitration. [13] The two sides agreed to have each team play two games in neutral site locations, partly as a means of gauging interest in future expansion. [14] The players conceded to the owners demands on a one-year deal, immediately creating fears that the owners could lock the players out following the 1992–93 season. [12]
Goodenow called the strike a "major moment", stating "I don't think the owners took the players seriously and it wasn't until the strike that they understood the players were serious. "[13] The owners replaced Ziegler as president following the season, naming Gil Stein as interim president. [13] Stein was replaced in 1993 by former National Basketball Association vice-president Gary Bettman, who became the first Commissioner of the NHL. Working towards labour peace was among the tasks handed to Bettman when the owners hired him. [15] The spectre of a lockout was realized one year later than feared, as after playing the 1993–94 season without a valid CBA, the owners locked the players out on the eve of the 1994–95 season.
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Google fined a record $6.8 billion by EU over Android mobile system
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European Union regulators have hit Google with a record $6.85 billion antitrust fine for using its Android mobile operating system to squeeze out rivals.
The penalty is nearly double the previous record of $3.7 billion which the United States tech company was ordered to pay last year over its online shopping search service.
It represents just over two weeks of revenue for Google parent Alphabet Inc and would scarcely dent its cash reserves of almost $140 billion. But it could add to a brewing trade war between Brussels and Washington.
EU antitrust chief Margrethe Vestager denied anti-US bias, and said she very much liked the US.
"But the fact is that this has nothing to do with how I feel. Nothing whatsoever. Just as enforcing competition law, we do it in the world, but we do not do it in political context," she said.
Google said it would appeal the fine.
"Android has created more choice for everyone, not less. A vibrant ecosystem, rapid innovation and lower prices are classic hallmarks of robust competition," it said.
Ms Vestager's boss, Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, is due to meet US President Donald Trump at the White House next Wednesday in an effort to avert threatened new tariffs on EU cars amid Mr Trump's complaints over the US trade deficit.
Ms Vestager also ordered Google to halt anti-competitive practices in contractual deals with smartphone makers and telecoms providers within 90 days or face additional penalties of up to 5 per cent of parent Alphabet's average daily worldwide turnover.
"Google has used Android as a vehicle to cement the dominance of its search engine. These practices have denied rivals the chance to innovate and compete on the merits. They have denied European consumers the benefits of effective competition in the important mobile sphere," Ms Vestager said.
The EU enforcer dismissed Google's argument of competition from Apple, saying the iPhone maker was not a sufficient constraint because of its higher prices and switching costs for users.
Android, which runs about 80 per cent of the world's smartphones according to market research firm Strategy Analytics, is the most important case out of a trio of antitrust cases against Google.
Some major Android device makers, including Samsung Electronics Co, Sony Corp, Lenovo Group Ltd and TCL Corp, declined to comment on the EU case.
Regulatory action against tech giants like Google and Facebook with their entrenched market power may lack sting, said Polar Capital fund manager Ben Rogoff, who has been holding the stock since its initial public offering and is broadly neutral on Google.
"The reality is that as long as they're delivering great utility to their consumers, consumers will still use those platforms. If they do, advertisers will be drawn to those platforms, too, because the ROIs (return on investments) are very difficult to replicate anywhere else," he said.
The EU takedown of Google is six to eight years too late, with users paying the price, said Geoff Blaber of CCS Insight.
"Any action by the EU is akin to shutting the stable door after the horse has bolted," he said.
"There is a significant danger of unintended consequences that penalises the consumer. "This ranges from increased fragmentation and greater app inconsistency to increases in hardware cost should Google decide to change or adapt the Android business model."
Lobbying group FairSearch, whose 2013 complaint triggered the EU investigation, welcomed the ruling, saying it could help restore competition in mobile operating systems and apps.
"This is an important step in disciplining Google's abusive behaviour in relation to Android," it said.
A third EU case, which has not yet concluded, involves Google's AdSense product. Competition authorities have said Google prevented third parties using its product from displaying search advertisements from Google's competitors.
Ms Vestager has also ordered a series of measures against other US companies over tax practices in some EU states, notably demanding two years ago that the Irish government take back up to 13 billion euros from Apple Inc.
Reuters
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U.S. quits U.N. human rights body, citing bias vs. Israel, alarming critics
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WASHINGTON/UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The United States withdrew from a “hypocritical and self-serving” United Nations Human Rights Council on Tuesday over what it called chronic bias against Israel and a lack of reform, a move activists warned would make advancing human rights globally even more difficult. Standing with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo at the State Department, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley slammed Russia, China, Cuba and Egypt for thwarting U.S. efforts to reform the council. She also criticized countries which shared U.S. values and encouraged Washington to remain, but “were unwilling to seriously challenge the status quo.” Washington’s withdrawal is the latest U.S. rejection of multilateral engagement after it pulled out of the Paris climate agreement and the 2015 Iran nuclear deal. It also comes as the United States faces intense criticism for detaining children separated from their immigrant parents at the U.S.-Mexico border. U.N. human rights chief Zeid Ra’ad al-Hussein on Monday called on Washington to halt its “unconscionable” policy. “Look at the council membership, and you see an appalling disrespect for the most basic rights,” said Haley, citing Venezuela, China, Cuba and Democratic Republic of Congo. She did not mention Saudi Arabia, which rights groups pushed to be suspended in 2016 over killings of civilians in the Yemen war. Among reforms the United States had pushed for was to make it easier to kick out member states with egregious rights records. Currently a two-thirds majority vote by the 193-member U.N. General Assembly is needed to suspend a member state. Haley also said the “disproportionate focus and unending hostility toward Israel is clear proof that the council is motivated by political bias, not by human rights.” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu welcomed the U.S. decision. The United States has long shielded its ally Israel at the United Nations. In citing what it says is bias against Israel, the administration of President Donald Trump could further fuel Palestinian arguments that Washington cannot be a neutral mediator as it prepares to roll out a Middle East peace plan. Washington also relocated its embassy to Jerusalem after recognizing it as the capital of Israel, reversing decades of U.S. policy. The United States is half-way through a three-year term on the 47-member Geneva-based body and the Trump administration had long threatened to quit if it was not overhauled. ‘MISGUIDED POLICY’ Rights groups have criticized the Trump administration for not making human rights a priority in its foreign policy. Critics say this sends a message that the administration turns a blind eye to human rights abuses in some parts of the world. “Given the state of human rights in today’s world, the U.S. should be stepping up, not stepping back,” Zeid said after Haley announced the U.S. withdrawal. Reuters reported last week that talks on reforming the council had failed to meet Washington’s demands, suggesting the Trump administration would quit. “The Human Rights Council enables abuses by absolving wrongdoers through silence and falsely condemning those that committed no offense,” Pompeo said. Diplomats have said the U.S. withdrawal could bolster countries such as Cuba, Russia, Egypt and Pakistan, which resist what they see as U.N. interference in sovereign issues. Haley said the withdrawal “is not a retreat from our human rights commitments.” Twelve rights and aid groups, including Human Rights First, Save the Children and CARE, warned Pompeo the U.S. withdrawal would “make it more difficult to advance human rights priorities and aid victims of abuse around the world.” Jamil Dakwar, director of the American Civil Liberties Union’s Human Rights Program, said Trump’s “misguided policy of isolationism only harms American interests.” The EU said Washington’s decision “risks undermining the role of the U.S. as a champion and supporter of democracy on the world stage.” British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said it was regrettable and that the council was the “best tool the international community has to address impunity.” The Human Rights Council meets three times a year to examine human rights violations worldwide. It has mandated independent investigators to look at situations including Syria, North Korea, Myanmar and South Sudan. Its resolutions are not legally binding but carry moral authority. When the Council was created in 2006, U.S. President George W. Bush’s administration shunned the body. Under President Barack Obama the United States was elected for a maximum two consecutive terms on the council by the U.N. General Assembly. After a year off, Washington was re-elected in 2016 for its current third term. U.N. officials said the United States would be the first member to withdraw from the council. Haley said a year ago that Washington was reviewing its membership. The body has a permanent standing agenda item on suspected violations committed by Israel in the occupied Palestinian territories that Washington wanted removed. The council last month voted to probe killings in Gaza and accused Israel of using excessive force. The United States and Australia cast the only “no” votes. “The U.N. Human Rights Council has played an important role in such countries as North Korea, Syria, Myanmar and South Sudan, but all Trump seems to care about is defending Israel,” said Human Rights Watch executive director Ken Roth. Additional reporting by Steve Holland in Washington, Stephanie Nebehay in Geneva and Ori Lewis in Jerusalem; Writing by Michelle Nichols, Editing by Yara Bayoumy and James Dalgleish
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Withdraw from an Organization
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Cameroon Airlines Flight 3701 crash
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Cameroon Airlines Flight 3701 was an air accident that occurred on 3 December 1995. The Boeing 737-200, registration TJ-CBE, crashed after it lost control near Douala, Cameroon. On its second approach to Douala International Airport power was lost to one engine. The accident killed 71 passengers and crew and five people were injured but survived. [1][2][3]
Cameroon Airlines Flight 3701 took off from Cadjehoun Airport in Cotonou, Benin, on a flight to Douala International Airport. The Boeing 737-200 had 71 passengers and five crew on board and after a one-hour flight was ready to land at Douala International Airport, but as the landing gear was lowered the nose gear light showed that it was not down. The pilots called air traffic control saying that they had landing gear problems and the crew elected to abort the approach. Some minutes later they tried a second approach but the pilots did not see that the engine two was operating at high power while the No. 1 engine was not developing power. Then the aircraft went into a steep dive and crashed 6 kilometres (3.7 mi; 3.2 nmi) short of the runway in a mangrove swamp. The aircraft burst into flames, killing 71 passengers and crew. Five people survived the accident. [1]
The accident report determined the cause of the loss of control and the loss of power to engine No. 1 to be the following:
The probable cause of the accident is a loss of control during a go-around attempt made during a maneuver to reach the runway with degraded performance
Seriously contributing to this:
— Accident report[1][4][5]
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Air crash
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Rossiya Hotel fire
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The Rossiya Hotel (Russian: Гостиница «Россия») was a five-star international hotel built in Moscow from 1964 until 1967 at the order of the Soviet government. Construction used the existing foundations of a cancelled skyscraper project, the Zaryadye Administrative Building, which would have been the eighth of what are now referred to as the "Seven Sisters". The architect was Dmitry Chechulin. Large portions of a historic district of Moscow, known as Zaryadye, were demolished in the 1940s for the original project. It was registered in The Guinness Book of Records as the largest hotel in the world until it was surpassed by the Excalibur in Las Vegas, Nevada in 1990. It remained the largest hotel in Europe until its 2006 closure. The 21-story Rossiya had 3,000 rooms, 245 half suites, a post office, a health club, a nightclub, a movie theater, the Zaryadye,[1] and a barber shop, a police station with jail cells behind unmarked black doors near the barber shop, and the 2500-seat State Central Concert Hall. The building could accommodate over 4,000 guests. Most of the rooms were 11 meter squares, covering 121 square metres (1,300 sq ft)[citation needed]. The hotel was adjacent to Red Square, its 21-story tower looming over the Kremlin walls and the cupolas of Saint Basil's Cathedral. On February 25, 1977, a major fire in the building killed 42 and injured 50. The high death and injury rate was exacerbated because the hotel had very few exits, a design intended to make it difficult for guests to enter or exit unseen by the hotel staff. [2]
The Rossiya Hotel closed on January 1, 2006. Demolition of the building began in March 2006 for a planned entertainment complex which would have been loosely based on the design of the old Zaryadye district. The project was to be overseen by British architect Sir Norman Foster and would have included a new, two thousand room hotel with apartments and a parking garage. [4] In October 2006, the Supreme Arbitration Court cancelled the results of a tender to reconstruct the Rossiya hotel near the Kremlin. [5] The hotel's site remained vacant until 2013, when it was announced that Zaryadye Park would be developed there. [6] The park opened in November 2017.
Coordinates: 55°45′05″N 37°37′44″E / 55.75139°N 37.62889°E / 55.75139; 37.62889
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Fire
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Kerala reports less than 20,000 new Covid cases, positivity rate at 16.71%
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Kerala detected 19,688 new Covid-19 cases in the last 24 hours, pushing the total cumulative tally to 42,27,526, the state health department said on Monday. The state has seen the count of fresh infections going below 20,000 for the first time in nearly 10 days. Further, 135 more people succumbed to the disease in Kerala, taking the death toll to 21,631. The positivity rate in the state stands at 16.71% after 1,17,823 samples were tested between Sunday and Monday, as her the health department bulletin. In addition to this, 28,561 people have recovered from the infection since Sunday, taking the total recoveries to 39,66,557 and the number of active cases to 2,38,782. Among the 14 districts of the state, Thrissur recorded the highest number of cases at 3,120, followed by Kozhikode (2,205), Ernakulam (2,029), Malappuram (1,695), Kollam (1,624), Palakkad (1,569), Thiruvananthapuram (1,483), Alappuzha (1,444), Kannur (1,262) and Kottayam (1,020). Of the new cases, 81 were health workers, 111 from outside the state and 18,602 infected through contact with the source of the contact not being clear in 894 cases. There are currently 6,20,739 people under surveillance in various districts. Of these, 5,87,582 are in home or institutional quarantine and 33,157 in hospitals. The state government also said that 75% of the total population eligible for vaccination have been given one dose of vaccine by 5 September and 28% of the eligible populace have been given both doses by the same date. More than 92% of the people over the age of 45 years have received one dose and 48% of the same age group have received both jabs till date, the release said. It further said that only 12.82% of the cases currently under treatment are admitted in hospitals or field hospitals and less than 1% of those under treatment are in the ICU. The state government said that those who are Covid positive and also suffer from comorbidities should avoid staying at home.
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Disease Outbreaks
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US announces withdrawal from UNESCO, cites ‘anti-Israel bias’
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The United States announced Thursday that it is withdrawing from the United Nations Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), citing financial considerations, the need for reform and the organization’s “continuing anti-Israel bias.” In a statement, State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said that the decision was “not taken lightly and reflects US concerns with mounting arrears at UNESCO, the need for fundamental reform within the organization and continuing anti-Israel bias at UNESCO.” Nauert said Washington would establish an “observer mission” to replace its representation at the Paris-based agency. The withdrawal will take effect on December 31, 2018. The head of UNESCO Irina Bokova voiced “profound regret” over the decision, which she called a “loss to multilateralism.” “I wish to express profound regret at the decision of the United States of America to withdraw from UNESCO,” Bokova said in a statement. Israel’s Ambassador to the UN, Danny Danon, said UNESCO has become a forum for Israel-bashing and had forgotten its original purpose. It was now “paying the price” for the “shameful” decisions it has adopted against Israel, he said, citing “a new era” dawning at the UN in which “anti-Israel discrimination” has consequences. According to a Foreign Policy magazine report on Wednesday, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson made the decision to withdraw several weeks ago at the UN General Assembly, but the State Department urged Washington to remain in the organization until a new director-general is voted in the coming weeks. Washington has also been trying to mitigate the mounting unpaid dues it owes to the organization since it suspended its funding after UNESCO granted full membership to Palestine in 2011. Many saw the vote to include Palestine as evidence of long-running, ingrained anti-Israel bias within the United Nations, where Israel and its allies are far outnumbered by Arab countries and their supporters. Washington’s unpaid dues have now reached $500 million, and Tillerson is trying to “stop the bleeding,” the magazine said. The Trump administration has been preparing for a likely withdrawal for months, according to US officials. Several diplomats who were to have been posted to the mission this summer were told that their positions were on hold and advised to seek other jobs. In addition, the Trump administration’s proposed budget for the next fiscal year contains no provision for the possibility that UNESCO funding restrictions might be lifted. The lack of staffing and funding plans for UNESCO by the US have been accompanied by repeated denunciations of UNESCO by senior US officials, including US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley. The US pulled out of UNESCO in the 1980s because Washington viewed it as mismanaged and used for political reasons, then rejoined it in 2003. UNESCO member states, meanwhile, are voting on a new director-general, in a process marked by intense diplomatic wrangling between the seven candidates. Arab countries have long wanted to lead the organization, though divisions over Palestinian membership have complicated their push. France and Qatar were running neck-and-neck in the race to lead UNESCO after a third round of voting Wednesday whittled the field down to five. Qatar’s Hamad bin Abdulaziz al-Kawari and France’s Audrey Azoulay — both former culture ministers — had 18 votes apiece in the battle to replace the outgoing Bokova. UNESCO delegates will continue to vote every day this week until one candidate receives a majority of votes. If, by the fourth round of voting, to be held on Thursday, no candidate has received a majority, only the top two candidates from that round of voting will be put forward for a final vote Friday. In recent months, the Paris-based body delighted Palestinians when it declared the Old City of Hebron in the West Bank an endangered world heritage site. It has also passed several resolutions ignoring Jewish ties to Jerusalem, drawing Israeli officials’ fury. Israeli officials have stepped up lobbying at the world body in recent years, charging it with passing one-sided resolutions that obsessively target Israel. Here’s a Hanukkah gift that sparks knowledge and insight about Israel and the Jewish people. A Times of Israel Community gift membership entitles your recipient to one full year of membership benefits, at a special discounted price. We’re really pleased that you’ve read X Times of Israel articles in the past month. That’s why we come to work every day - to provide discerning readers like you with must-read coverage of Israel and the Jewish world. So now we have a request. Unlike other news outlets, we haven’t put up a paywall. But as the journalism we do is costly, we invite readers for whom The Times of Israel has become important to help support our work by joining The Times of Israel Community.
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Withdraw from an Organization
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Emergency officials urge safe use of generators
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TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (CAPITOL NEWS SERVICE) - As of Wednesday afternoon, roughly 23,000 Floridians were without power due to now-Tropical Storm Elsa and for the second day in a row, state officials warned of the dangers of improper power generator use.
“There have been more deaths from carbon monoxide poisoning over the last four years than there have been for direct impacts in storms in Florida, and we’ve had some significant storms,” Governor Ron DeSantis said.
Between 2015 and 2019, 228 Floridians lost their lives to carbon monoxide poisoning, a deadly odorless gas released from many things, including the exhaust of generators.
At the EOC in the state’s capital county, we got a rundown on some generator dos and don’ts.
“Most times during storms people put it in their garage. They think that that’s not a big deal, but you know, due to carbon monoxide poisoning we want to make sure that they’re 20 feet away from your garage space. You know, in an open well-ventilated area,” Sarah Cooksey, the Public Information Officer for the Tallahassee Fire Department, said.
That includes away from windows and vents.
“Make sure it’s in a flat space. You want to make sure that it’s completely cooled off before you put fuel in it. You know, if it’s still hot that’s obviously a fire hazard,” Cooksey said.
If you do place a generator in an unsafe spot, be aware of the symptoms of CO poisoning.
“Being pale, sweaty, having a hard time breathing,” Cooksey said.
Because carbon monoxide is odorless, you should install a carbon monoxide detector in your home, so you can be alerted if there is a gas leak. Call poison control if you are experiencing any symptoms of CO poisoning.
One of the most common mistakes, however, isn’t related to the dangerous emissions, rather, plugging a generator directly into a wall outlet.
“This is what’s called back feeding and when you do that it puts our linemen at risk when they go to re-hook the utilities back up,” Cooksey said.
Perhaps the most important tip: Learn how to properly use your generator before you’re in a situation where the lights go out.
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Mass Poisoning
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2005 Labor Day brush fire
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The Labor Day brush fire was a small brush fire that burned parts of Rancho Peñasquitos and Black Mountain Open Space Park in September 2005, during the 2005 California wildfire season. [1] Despite its small size, the brush fire was the worst wildfire to affect San Diego City in two years, since the Cedar Fire of 2003. [3] The wildfire resulted in 6 injuries, but did not result in structural damages. [2][3] The brush fire was determined to have been started by a teenage boy, who was subsequently arrested. [2]
On Labor Day Monday, September 5, 2005, at around 12:55 PM PDT, at brush fire was reported in a field behind Mount Carmel High School, in Rancho Peñasquitos, San Diego. The wildfire quickly spread northward, fanned by wind gusts of 15 mph (24 km/h), up the slopes of the Little Black Mountains in Black Mountain Open Space Park. Within an hour, the brush fire grew from 30 acres (0 km2) to 200 acres (1 km2). The brush fire also began moving towards some nearby homes in Rancho Peñasquitos, resulting in the evacuation of 200 homes in Rancho Peñasquitos. [1] This was the first time that a wildfire had burned into San Diego City, and the Rancho Peñasquitos area, since the Cedar Fire in 2003. [1] In September 2005, this brush fire was said to have been "the worst fire that the [San Diego Fire Department] responded to since the Cedar Fire", due to the fire's proximity to so many homes. [3] Firefighters were able to quickly stop the spread of the brush fire, with 40% containment of the fire by the evening of the same day,[1] and residents were allowed to return to their homes that evening. [4] Containment of the fire increased to 90% by Tuesday evening, on September 6. By September 7, the brush fire was fully extinguished. [2][3]
Six people were injured in relation to the brush fire; a traffic accident between an SUV and a firefighting vehicle sent 5 civilians to the hospital, and a firefighter was treated for heat exhaustion on September 5. [2][3] The Labor Day brush fire was determined to have been caused by a teenage boy, who was arrested on charges of arson. His name was not released to the public, due to his age. [2]
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Fire
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The Lund Report
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Oregon health care companies may face more scrutiny from the state when they seek to merge with or buy hospitals, other providers and insurers. House Bill 2362 would give the Oregon Health Authority the power to approve or deny mergers, affiliations and acquisitions that involve a gain of more than $1 million in net patient revenue annually or are among organizations that between them had an average of at least $25 million in total net patient revenue over the three preceding fiscal years. The bill aims to prevent health care industry mergers that could drive up prices for insurers and patients or reduce access to care. Health care industry groups, including the Oregon Association of Hospitals and Health Care Systems, oppose the bill. They say the measure would impose unnecessary barriers to partnerships as well as create uncertainty, unintended consequences and added expenses. They say the wording means it could cover relatively small transactions. But health care advocates and labor groups representing health care workers say the state’s rising health care costs after years of consolidation demand oversight to avoid monopolies that drive up prices. They also want to ensure that underserved minority or low-income populations and others aren’t left behind due to mergers. The bill, heard Tuesday in the House Health Care Committee, comes at a transformational time for the health care industry. Health care providers are laser-focused on tackling COVID-19. But at the same time, the pandemic has put financial strain on clinics and providers that were forced to temporarily stop doing elective procedures during 2020 and now are retooling their systems to continue delivering care as COVID-19 persists. In the long-term, industry observers expect the pandemic will spark more mergers and acquisitions, particularly among smaller providers unable to withstand the economic pressures of the past year. Meanwhile, Oregon is making a push to rein in health care costs that began before the pandemic in response to rising costs that have outpaced inflation. Health care costs have increased nearly 29% in the last four years, alarming Oregon policy makers as premiums go up and employers pass more costs on to their workers. The state’s Implementation Committee for Oregon’s Sustainable Health Care Cost Growth Target Program has recommended Oregon cap per-capita health care cost growth at 3.4% annually, which would cut the current growth rate in half. That proposal, now before lawmakers, would hold insurers and providers accountable if they exceed the cap in multiple years. “Oregon has an expensive, inequitable health care system,” said Rep. Andrea Salinas, D-Lake Oswego, and a sponsor of the merger-oversight bill. “We need a system that puts patients at the center” of proposed mergers and acquisitions, she said. The bill would put in place a process for the public to weigh in before the state signs off on mergers. An applicant would have to show how quality and access would improve under the merger, and state officials would examine the application to ensure that under-served groups like minority communities and low-income people are not adversely impacted. Health industry mergers aren’t regulated in Oregon -- except for commercial insurers and coordinated care organizations, which handle Medicaid insurance for low-income residents. Currently, Oregon regulates commercial insurance mergers and acquisitions through the Department of Commerce and Business Services. The Oregon Health Authority oversees mergers of coordinated care organizations. Lawmaker Open To Amending Bill Salinas stressed the goal is not necessarily to reduce consolidations that make sense. Instead, the goal is to ensure that mergers don’t reduce quality or access to care, Salinas said. “Having a public process and a lens upon which we are looking at equity would be helpful,” she said, adding that she realizes the bill is not yet perfect and that she is open to improvements. As a next step, Salinas will put together a working group of people from both sides and come back with a new version of the bill later this session. Mergers and acquisitions in Oregon health care started well before COVID-19 hit. In 2018, nonprofit PeaceHealth acquired for-profit ZOOM+Care, a network of primary and specialty care clinics, for an undisclosed sum. Portland-based nonprofit hospital system Legacy Health absorbed nonprofit Silverton Hospital in 2015. That year, Tennessee-based for-profit Quorum Health bought McKenzie-Willamette Medical Center in Springfield as part of a purchase of a roster of hospitals around the nation. The city-owned Ashland Community Hospital, in financial trouble, was absorbed into Medford-based nonprofit Asante Health Systems in 2013. In 2010, hospitals in Baker City and Ontario were absorbed by the non-profit Saint Alphonsus Health System. Opponents Weigh In The Oregon Association of Hospitals and Health Care Systems maintains the bill would threaten provider networks that keep critical access hospitals and health clinics open in rural and under-served areas. “These organizations have long-standing community relationships and have fostered trust and partnerships with Medicaid and uninsured patients who rely on local, community-based care,” wrote Sean Kolmer, senior vice president of policy strategy with the industry group, to lawmakers. “HB 2362 would jeopardize productive affiliations with larger systems that provide necessary resources to keep doors open and services in communities.” Kolmer also said the attorney general’s office already has the authority to monitor the industry for antitrust activities tied to monopolies. He encouraged lawmakers to reconsider putting the system in place now, when the industry is in the midst of a pandemic. “In the middle of a pandemic, we should be fully focused on that work,” Kolmer told the committee. Springfield-based insurer PacificSource also opposes the bill. The company, through its PacificSource Community Solutions arm, is the coordinated care organization that provides Medicaid insurance to central Oregon, the Columbia River Gorge, and Marion, Polk and Lane counties. The bill duplicates regulatory processes already in place for insurers and coordinated care organizations, said Richard Blackwell, director of Oregon government relations for PacificSource, which has more than 500,000 members in four states. “To achieve even higher levels of access to quality, affordable health care, providers may need to build innovative partnerships and structures that further integrate and transform health care systems, providers and payers. Achieving this health care transformation and integration of health care systems and payers in Oregon will ultimately suffer due to the uncertainty and costs of this proposed transaction review procedure,” Blackwell wrote. Renton, Wash.-based Providence Health & Services also weighed in with concerns. Jessica Adamson, director of government relations for the provider, said the bill as drafted could have unintended consequences. For example, with the $1 million threshold for net-patient income per year, that could potentially apply to the purchase of an MRI machine that would generate more than $1 million in billings a year, Adamson said, adding that Providence doesn’t believe that’s the intent of the bill. Supporters Outline Cost Concerns Health care advocates argue that Oregon’s rising health care costs necessitate oversight to keep costs down. Once a merger is finished, it’s “nearly impossible” to undo the damage, Maribeth Guarino, health care advocate with Oregon State Public Interest Research Group, told lawmakers. In the Portland area, the share of physicians affiliated with health systems increased by 82% from 2016 to 2018. Meanwhile, the average silver-level health care plan premium for a 40-year-old in Portland rose from $300 per month to over $400, Guarino said. The Service Employees International Union, which represents about 85,000 workers in Oregon and southwest Washington, also supports the bill. The group released a 25-page report this month that analyzes the trend of consolidation in Oregon and nationwide. It found that independent hospitals in Oregon dropped from 28 to 16 since 2000, even as costs increased. In 2017, the Portland metro area had the 14th highest health care prices nationally among 124 metro regions, according to research the report cited. In California, mergers have unfolded rapidly and costs have increased more than average at the larger providers between 2004 and 2013, the research found, citing a Journal of Health Care Organization report. That report found that overall California hospital prices increased by about 76%, but prices at the largest multi-hospital systems increased by 113%. That meant nearly $4,000 more in costs for each patient admission at the large multi-system hospitals than at other hospitals, according to the report. That offers a lesson for Oregon, SEIU officials said. "Oregon is in a good place to learn from that and to put some safeguards in place before it's too late,” Kirsten Isaacson, research director of the union, said in an interview. Other states have stricter laws than does Oregon. Washington passed a law in 2019 that requires the health care industry to notify its attorney general of any “material transactions,” regardless of the dollar amount. Massachusetts passed a 2012 law that regulates mergers. The Oregon Nurses Association, which represents 15,000 nurses, also backs the legislation. Less competition causes wage stagnation, the group said. “We believe in strong worker protections that extend to ensuring that the labor market is not unilaterally manipulated through industry consolidation,” the group said in a letter to lawmakers. “This bill provides a process to identify adverse consequences to the workforce, small businesses, and the broader economy.” The bill’s supporters also argue that purchases or mergers by faith-based providers can reduce access to reproductive services, including birth control, if the acquiring entity imposes religious restrictions on the acquired provider. “Oregon needs a system that places patients at the center of all proposed health care deals, while also allowing flexibility to ensure successful partnerships,” An Do, interim executive director of Planned Parenthood Advocates of Oregon, wrote lawmakers.
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Organization Merge
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Thieves rob bank in central Milan despite warnings from residents
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Residents told bank they could hear tunnelling as early as last Monday, but thieves finished digging and emptied safe and deposit boxes Last modified on Sun 4 Mar 2018 12.46 GMT Police in Italy have been left embarrassed after thieves robbed a bank despite warnings from local residents that they could hear a tunnel being dug, according to media reports. The four robbers dug the tunnel under a bank in central Milan, and once inside waited for the first employees to arrive before forcing them to open the safe and empty the safety deposit boxes. Police arrived on the scene after the alarm went off, only to discover that the crooks had made their escape. Local residents were quick to point out that they had warned the authorities something odd was going on underneath the building. “We began hearing noises on Sunday evening. We were jokingly saying to each other, ‘Are they robbing the bank?’,” one unnamed resident was quoted as saying in the media. “On Monday one of us went to the bank to warn them about the tremors we had felt. Others went to the nearest police station on Tuesday because the sounds had not stopped.”
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Bank Robbery
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Locust invasion threatens MENA crops
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LONDON - Swarms of locusts swept into the Middle East and North Africa, posing serious danger to crops and risking a crippling food shortage. High winds pushed the locusts into the region from the Horn of Africa after the insects destroyed crops in Uganda, Tanzania, Kenya, Somalia, Ethiopia and South Sudan. The swarm was reported to have reached Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Bahrain, Jordan, Oman, Kuwait and Iran. Saudi Arabia and Bahrain have been hit the hardest. Locusts are a species of grasshoppers that are usually solitary but turn into nomadic, ravenous crop-damaging pests when lacking proper vegetation. The desert locust of the Middle East, Africa and Asia is considered among the world’s most dangerous. A swarm of a single square kilometre can destroy 35,000 people’s worth of food in one day. Each square kilometre of the species can total 150 million locusts, the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation said. Locust invasions have been associated with danger and plagues since ancient Egyptian times. Referenced in the Quran, the Bible and Homer’s “Iliad,” locusts have been known to carry disease, damage crops, contribute to famine and drive migration. The latest outbreak of locusts in the Gulf region follows an outbreak in 2019, when hordes of pests spread across cities in Saudi Arabia, including Riyadh, Jazan, Mecca and Qassim. This year, locusts invaded four of Saudi Arabia’s key agricultural areas: Riyadh, Qassim, Ha’il and the Eastern Province. Authorities attempted to thwart the devastation by doubling daily insecticide applications. Saudi Arabia is coordinating its response with neighbouring Kuwait, which is highly dependent on farmland to meet its food needs. The locust threat is of great concern to Bahrain, too, where the swarm invaded the country in such great numbers that it blackened the sky over a major highway, halting traffic. Analysts said they were concerned that the damage was only beginning. Locusts have a 3-month reproduction cycle, meaning that a new generation could appear just as new crops begin to sprout. Global food and agriculture officials said there has not been a similar locust outbreak in modern times but that there was time to avoid the worst. “This is a scourge of biblical proportions,” said a statement by Qu Dongyu, director-general of the Food and Agriculture Organisation; Mark Lowcock, UN emergency relief coordinator; and David Beasley, executive director of the World Food Programme. “Yet, as ancient as this scourge is, its scale today is unprecedented in modern times.” “Acting now to avert a food crisis is a more humane, effective and cost-efficient approach than responding to the aftermath of disaster,” added the statement. “The math is clear, as is our moral obligation: Pay a little now or pay a lot more later.” If officials are unsuccessful in quickly rooting out the plague, there is fear that it could trigger a dangerous feedback loop, with less available vegetation causing the locusts to act even more aggressively and cause greater damage.
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Insect Disaster
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Lagos Government Resorts To Bribing Baruwa Gas Explosion Victims With N150,000 Over Fear Of N1.5billion Litigation
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He told SaharaReporters that the government has decided to bribe the victims who are at least 30 in number, with the sum of N150, 000 each without consulting the appropriate legal quarters.
The solicitor for the victims of October 8th, 2020 Baruwa gas explosion in Lagos, Akeem Fadun, has said the the state government is not ready to pay the N50 million demanded as compensation for each of the victims of the explosion.
He told SaharaReporters that the government has decided to bribe the victims who are at least 30 in number, with the sum of N150, 000 each without consulting the appropriate legal quarters.
Lagos Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu
"We're asking for N50 million each for the people that lost their lives. They now set up tent to bribe them with N150,000 each instead of approaching us for settlement," he said
After complaining to the government about the impending risk the gas plant posed to them, the community residents had received a notification asking them to swear an affidavit to bear the cost of the removal of the plant before the gas explosion occurred.
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Politics
Lagos Community Sues Government For Negligence, Demands N4 Billion Compensation For Victims Of Explosion
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5 Months Ago
According to reports, the Lagos State Ministry of Physical Planning and Urban Development had previously requested the community to pay a total sum of N749,500 to the government before the removal of the gas plant could take place.
On behalf of the ministry, Ajayi B.A.A ADTPS (TSD) wrote, "I am directed to acknowledge your letter dated 5th of February, 2018 on the above subject matter and to inform that the subject matter is receiving the necessary attention.
"In response to to the letter, the Lagos State Ministry of Physical Planning and Urban Development on 15th March, 2018 acknowledged the letter but stated that residents had to pay before the ministry could effect the removal.
"However, you are to swear to an affidavit to bear the cost of removal if approval is granted.i. Six hundred and eighty thousand, five hundred naira only (N680,500) is payable to the Ministry of Physical Planning and Urban development. ii. Sixty-eight thousand, nine hundred naira only (N68,900) is payable to the Lagos State Government."
View the discussion thread.
SaharaReporters.com is an outstanding, groundbreaking news website that encourages citizen journalists to report ongoing corruption and government malfeasance in Africa. Using photos, text, and video dynamically, the site informs and prompts concerned African citizens and activists globally to act, denouncing officially-sanctioned corruption, the material impoverishment of its citizenry, defilement of the environment, and the callous disregard of the democratic principles enshrined in the constitution.
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Gas explosion
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1996 Jordanian protests
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The 1996 Jordanian protests (Arabic: انتفاضة 1996 في الأردن) was mass protests and riots in Jordan for 2-4 weeks in August-September against new International Monetary Fund-led reforms, leading to bread-price hikes and despite economic troubles, the government of Abdul Karim Kabariti increased food prices and basic good prices hiked, sparking rioting in Karak and spread to Ma’an, Zarqa, Amman, Madaba and other southern cities, where poverty is high. [1]
Poor and Middle class-led protests erupted throughout the nation as countrywide rioting had turned into an opposition and unprecedented wave of political tensions and popular uprising. The unrest called for the government to step down and the new IMF measures to be withdrawn. The protests would be the bloodiest and deadliest wave of anti-government violence and sustained strikes since the 1989 Jordanian protests, when 32 were killed during food riots. [2]
After weeks of protests by thousands of civilians the deaths of 3 protesters, the prices of Grain and fodder decreased and the government made concessions with protesters, decreasing IMF-led programs and reforms. The Intifada’s main demands was for the government to resign, better conditions, withdrawal of austerity measures and food prices programs despite shortages and half of their demands was met. [3]
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Protest_Online Condemnation
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VP Harris says U.S. will 'speak up' on South China Sea
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HANOI, Aug 26 (Reuters) - The United States welcomes competition and does not seek conflict with Beijing, but will speak up on issues like maritime disputes in the South China Sea, Vice President Kamala Harris said on Thursday as she concluded a trip to Southeast Asia.
In visits to Singapore and Vietnam, Harris charged China with bullying its neighbors in the region, triggering sharp rebukes from Beijing, which accused the U.S. of meddling in regional affairs and disrupting peace. read more "We welcome stiff competition, we do not seek conflict, but on issues such as the South China Sea, we are going to speak up," Harris told a news conference in Vietnam's capital, Hanoi.
"We are going to speak up when there are actions that Beijing takes that threaten the rules-based international order," she added.
Harris's seven-day trip to Singapore and Vietnam is part of a broader U.S. strategy to take on China globally.
China, Vietnam, Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines and Taiwan lay claim to parts of the disputed waters of the South China Sea, which is crossed by vital shipping lanes and contains gas fields and rich fishing grounds.
In meetings with Vietnamese leaders on Wednesday, Harris said China's "bullying and excessive maritime claims" in the waters should be challenged, and offered U.S. support to enhance Vietnam's maritime security, including more visits by U.S. warships to the country. read more Her statements drew condemnation from Chinese state media.
On Wednesday, the state run China Daily, responding to Harris' comments in Singapore, said Harris had "willfully ignored her own hypocrisy" in attempting to rally countries in the region against China.
On Thursday, after her meetings in Hanoi, the Global Times said the U.S. was "dreaming" to incite Vietnam to confront China.
"For Washington, it couldn't be better if a new war between Beijing and Hanoi breaks out," the tabloid, published by the official newspaper of China's ruling Communist Party, said in an editorial.
U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris holds a news conference before departing Vietnam for the United States following her first official visit to Asia, in Hanoi, Vietnam, August 26, 2021. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein/Pool
'HAVANA SYNDROME'
In addition to rebukes by China's foreign ministry and state media, Beijing attempted to stage its own diplomatic coup during the trip with a surprise meeting in Vietnam, held as Harris' departure from Singapore was delayed by three hours.
During the previously unannounced meeting, between Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and the Chinese ambassador, Chinh said Vietnam does not take sides in foreign policy, and thanked the ambassador for a new donation of 2 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines. read more In her own meeting with Chinh one day later, Harris pledged a U.S. donation of 1 million Pfizer (PFE.N) vaccine doses to Vietnam.
Harris' delayed arrival was later attributed by the U.S. Embassy in Hanoi to a mystery health incident potentially related to the mysterious "Havana Syndrome," a condition of unknown origin that has sickened at least 200 U.S. officials, including CIA officers, with symptoms including nausea, migraines and memory lapses.
"I will tell you we're looking into it and I'm not able to share much more at this time," Harris said of the incident in Thursday's news conference.
GEOPOLITICAL TEST
The U.S. administration has called rivalry with China "the biggest geopolitical test" of the century as it tries to rebuild its relationships in the region with a series of high-profile visits.
Over the last few years, tensions between China and Vietnam in the South China Sea have remained high, although Hanoi has attempted to strike a delicate balancing act.
Hanoi and Beijing's ruling Communist parties maintain close ties, and Vietnam is dependent on imported Chinese materials to support its manufacturing and exports.
Meanwhile, ties with old foe the United States have grown increasingly close, although Washington has said there are limits to the relationship until Vietnam makes progress on human rights, an issue Harris said she raised with the country'sleaders.
"We will not shy away from speaking out, even when those conversations, may be difficult to have, and perhaps difficult to hear," she told reporters.
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Diplomatic Visit
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Aeroflot Flight 19 crash
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Aeroflot Flight 19 was a scheduled passenger flight from Bykovo Airport, Moscow, to Bryansk Airport, Bryansk. On 2 November 1973, a Yak-40 aircraft operating the flight was hijacked by 4 people 10 minutes before landing. The aircraft was then diverted to Moscow's Vnukovo Airport, where the hijackers demanded a buyout and provision of a flight to Sweden. The hostages inside the aircraft were subsequently liberated after the authorities stormed the aeroplane. This is one of the first well-known cases of storming a hijacked aircraft on the territory of the USSR. Yak-40K — factory number 9120618 and MSN 18-06 — constructed by Saratov Aviation Plant in July 1971 and delivered to the Ministry of Civil Aviation. It was registered as CCCP-87607 and sent to the Civil Aviation Administration of the Central Districts, tentatively to the Bryansk Aeroflot division. [1]
Captain Ivan Kashin (36), was one of the first pilots to learn to fly the Yak-40. [2] He graduated the Sasovo Civil Aviation School in 1957. [3] First officer on the flight was Stanislav Talpekin, flight engineer — Nikolai Nikitin. [1]
The aircraft was operating a routine domestic flight F-19 (Ф-19) from Bykovo Airport, Moscow, to Bryansk Airport. Yak-40 departed Moscow at 10:45 local time with 28 passengers and 3 crew members on board. The estimated flight time to Bryansk on that day was 50 minutes. 10 minutes prior to landing at Bryansk Airport, four male hijackers (Viktor Romanov, Vladimir Zhalnin, Pyotr Bondarev, and Aleksandr Nikiforov) retrieved guns out of the overhead luggage bins and took passengers as hostages, then attempted to storm the cockpit. The noises from the passenger cabin reached the cockpit. [4] Captain Kashin asked his flight engineer to investigate the situation in the cabin, and after Nikitin realised that there were hijackers on board, he immediately shouted the information to the flight crew and shut the door from the outside. The flight engineer tried to defuse one of the hijackers (Romanov), however, he was injured by Zhalnin. [5] One of the passengers (Vladimir Gaponenko) attempted to defuse Bondarev, but he lost his balance from the aircraft pitching, and as a result got injured. In the flight deck Kashin sent a distress signal to air traffic control. Meanwhile, the attackers managed to break the lock on the cockpit door and entered the flight deck. Hijackers demanded the flight crew head back to Moscow. Whilst on approach to Vnukovo Airport, the intruders forced the crew to inform the authorities that they demanded a buyout of US$1.5 million for all hostages and for information about future aircraft hijacker groups. Despite difficult weather conditions in Moscow, the crew managed to successfully land the Yak-40 at Vnukovo. KGB Chairman (and future leader of the USSR) Yuri Andropov and the Minister of Internal Affairs Nikolai Shchelokov soon arrived at the airport and began developing a strategy to free the hostages. Hijackers let two injured hostages (Nikitin and Gaponenko) out of the plane. Then, the hijackers put forward extra conditions: the authorities must let them refuel the aircraft and give them half of the buyout in return for half of the hostages. The intruders plan was to fly to Leningrad, where they would let the rest of the hostages out and refuel the Yak-40, enough for them to fly to Sweden. Nevertheless, it was decided to not let the captured aeroplane out of Moscow, and instead storm the aircraft. A storming group of volunteer policemen (Mikhail Lyakhmanov, Vladimir Rakov, Aleksandr Mushkarin, Nikolai Kapustin and Aleksandr Popryadukhin) was put together by the authorities. This group secretly sneaked towards the plane and hid under it next to the front landing gear. After several hours of waiting the intruders were informed that the authorities were ready to transfer the money. At first, a suitcase full of fake banknotes was supposed to be carried by a KGB officer, but at the last minute he refused to do it, so a transport police officer carried it instead. After hijackers heard movements under the Yakovlev Yak-40, they assumed that the buyout was finally delivered. One of the hijackers (Nikiforov) opened the door, then sergeant Rakov pressed a pike pole against the door. Hijacker Zhalnin began shooting at the police officers, who retaliated. As a result, Nikiforov fell onto the airfield from bad injuries (and later died in hospital). At the same time, an armoured personnel carrier approached the aircraft and fired a line from the machine gun aiming at the plane, which suffered around 90 bullet hits. Tear gas was then used; however, the smoke bomb got stuck between the seats, which caused the upholstery to burn. As the smoke flocked the cabin, panic arose amongst the passengers, who started to escape the aircraft. Hijackers Bondarev and Zhalnin escaped the plane together with the passengers, whilst Romanov shot himself. As a result of storming the aircraft two passengers were injured, but none died. The two remaining hijackers were subsequently arrested. Zhalnin, who was 16 years old at the time, was sentenced to 10 years in prison. After being released he soon died. Pyotr Bondarev was declared insane with the help of his parents and was sent to a psychiatric hospital, where he spent 6 months. He died in Moscow in 2006. On 19 December 1973 at a ceremony in Moscow, police officer Aleksandr Popryadukhin and captain Ivan Kashin were awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union for courage. The Yak-40 was soon repaired and resumed operations. In 1987 it was transferred to the Ministry of General Machine Building and sent to TsNIIMash. The aircraft is now scrapped.
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Air crash
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Paralympic Games (Day 6 Men): Six World Records Broken, Led by China Podium Sweep
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The men’s races at the Paralympic Games in Tokyo got off to an extremely fast start with a world record in the first race. It was the first of six world records during the session.
In the men’s 100 backstroke S7 class, Ukraine’s Andreii Trusov broke the world record to win the gold medal in 1:08.14. It was more than enough to hold off Argentina’s Pipo Carlomagno (1:08.83) and Israel’s Mark Malyar (1:10.88).
In the men’s 200 freestyle S4 class, Ami Omer Dadaon of Israel broke his own world record to claim the gold medal. He touched the wall in 2:44.84, crushing his previous world record of 2:50.92 set in June. Japan’s Takayuki Suzuki claimed the silver in 2:55.15 and Russian Paralympic Committee’s Roman Zhdanov took the bronze (2:58.48).
• Day 6 women’s recap
In the men’s 50 backstroke S5, China swept the podium, including a world record by gold medalist Zheng Tao, who won in 32.42, breaking his mark set in June by six hundredths of a second. Ruan Jingsong won the silver medal in 32.97 and Wang Lichao took the bronze (33.38).
Another world record was broke in the 200 IM SM11 class as Rogier Dorsman of the Netherlands won gold in 2:10.02, breaking his own world record set in June (2:20.40). Ukraine’s Mykhailo Serbin took the silver (2:27.97) and Japan’s Ucho Tomita won the bronze (2:28.44).
In the 100 backstroke S9, Russian Paralympic Committee’s Bogdan Mozgovi broke the Paralympic record to win gold in 1:01.65. Belarus’ Yahor Schalkanau took the silver in 1:01.96 and Australia’s Timothy Hodge earned the bronze in 1:01.16.
In the men’s 50 butterfly S6, Wang Jingang won the gold medal in 30.81, ahead of teammate Jia Hongguang (31.54) and Colombia’s Nelson Crispin Corzo (31.77), who claimed the bronze.
Belarus’ Ihar Boki earned another gold, this time in the 200 IM SM13 class. He touched the wall in 2:02.70, breaking his own world record. France’s Alex Portal took the silver (2:09.92) and Thomas van Wanrooij of the Netherlands earned the bronze (2:10.79).
Australia’s 4×100 freestyle relay closed the session with a world record, finishing in 3:44.31 to break Italy’s mark set in June. Australia led off with Rowan Crothers, followed by William Martin, Matthew Levy and Ben Popham.
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Break historical records
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Guinea declares end of Marburg virus outbreak
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Updated 1307 GMT (2107 HKT) September 17, 2021 A microscopic image of the Marburg virus. (CNN) An outbreak of the deadly Marburg virus in Guinea is officially over, health authorities said on Thursday, less than six weeks since West Africa's first ever case of the disease was detected. No further cases were confirmed by health workers monitoring the 170 high-risk contacts of the first patient, who was diagnosed after succumbing to the highly infectious hemorrhagic fever. The outbreak came just two months after the country was declared free of Ebola following a brief flare-up earlier this year that killed 12 people. "Today we can point to the growing expertise in outbreak response in Guinea and the region that has saved lives, contained and averted a spillover of the Marburg virus," said Matshidiso Moeti, the World Health Organization's (WHO) regional director for Africa. "Without immediate and decisive action, highly infectious diseases like Marburg can easily get out of hand," she said in a statement. Both the Marburg case and this year's Ebola cases were detected in Guinea's Gueckedou district, near the borders with Liberia and Sierra Leone. The first cases of the 2014-2016 Ebola epidemic - the largest in history - also were from the same area in Southeastern Guinea's forest region. There have been 12 major Marburg outbreaks since 1967, mostly in southern and eastern Africa. Fatality rates have varied from 24% to 88% in past outbreaks depending on the virus strain and case management, according to the WHO. Transmission occurs through contact with infected body fluids and tissue. Symptoms include headache, vomiting blood, muscle pains and bleeding through various orifices.
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Disease Outbreaks
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The Descent into Madness of Brazil’s Bank Robberies
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The pictures shocked Brazil and the world. Bank robbers fleeing the scene at high speed in their getaway vehicle, with hostages strapped to the roof and hood. The videos are grainy, shot hurriedly by nearby residents as the scene unfolded beneath them. But the violence in Araçatuba, a city of 200,000 people in the very west of São Paulo, did not happen in isolation. It is the latest in a series of outrageously violent robberies where dozens of thieves shut down entire city centers, plant numerous explosives and target several banks at once. In Araçatuba, the attack began early on the morning of August 30. According to media reports, around 15 to 20 criminals descended on the center of town and attacked three banks. Following the attacks, some seized passers-by and took them hostage, while others blocked off streets near police stations and other major thoroughfares, clearing an escape route. Up to 20 explosive devices were also found around the city, police informed, although it remains unclear at what point of the attack these were placed and how many of them were primed to detonate. The police statement even said the gang used drones to monitor the response.As the robbers fled the scene, exchanges of gunfire took place with military police, and residents shot videos showing hostages being marched down a street and then tied to the outside of a car as it drives down a road with gunshots being heard. SEE ALSO: Brazil Thieves Growing Bolder With Heavily Armed Robberies The criminals successfully got away. Three people were reported dead and five more injured. The first was identified as a local businessman, shot by the robbers as he filmed events on his phone. Another was a delivery worker who was caught in an explosion while riding on his bicycle. The final body reportedly belonged to one of the assailants and was found in a car, but no further information about his identity has been provided. The attack had many similarities with another brazen bank robbery, which took place in November 2020 in Criciúma, a city in the southern state of Santa Catarina. Around 30 heavily armed men took over the city center for almost two hours, seizing approximately 125 million reais ($24 million) in cash from several banks and taking several hostages before fleeing. Hostages were stripped of their clothing and forced to sit across main roads to prevent police from giving chase. Almost 30 kilograms of explosives were seized from around the city but nobody was killed, with one police officer being seriously injured. These attacks have become known as “novo cangaço” (new struggle) in reference to a form of armed banditry that began in Brazil in the 19th and 20th centuries. Until the early 20th century, the northeast of Brazil suffered attacks from groups of roaming bandits who attacked entire cities, committing robbery, murder and rape. But these attacks have grown beyond compare, seemingly becoming a competition between criminals about who can pull off the most dangerous heist, with utter disregard for human life. And these attacks are not based in the Northeast. Despite some exceptions, such as the November 2020 robberies in Criciúma, most novo cangaço attacks have been focused in the state of São Paulo. According to figures from the state secretariat of public security, the state saw 23 bank robberies in 2020, up 44 percent from 2019. While not all of these showed the same level of planning, two stood out. In November 2020, around 20 men assaulted banks in Araraquara, São Paulo, again leaving explosives behind and exchanging running gunfights with police. In July, robbers blew up a bank in the city of Botucatu and tried to blow up several others with dynamite. Again, hostages were forced to sit in the middle of the road and the thieves escaped with just one of them being killed. SEE ALSO: Pandemic Aid Money Fuels Brazil's Bank Robberies In 2017, a similarly spectacular attack took place in Ciudad del Este, Paraguay, near the Brazilian border, with dozens of armed assailants attacking the office of a security company that transported loads of cash for banks.Brazil’s largest criminal group, the First Capital Command (Primeiro Comando da Capital – PCC), has been linked to several of these attacks, including the Araraquara, Botucatu and Paraguay robberies. While the group is present nationally and in neighboring Paraguay, the PCC has its main base in São Paulo, which would allow it to strike at towns across the state. We want to sustain Latin America’s largest organized crime database, but in order to do so, we need resources. We encourage readers to copy and distribute our work for non-commercial purposes, with attribution to InSight Crime in the byline and links to the original at both the top and bottom of the article. Check the Creative Commons website for more details of how to share our work, and please send us an email if you use an article. We want to sustain Latin America’s largest organized crime database, but in order to do so, we need resources. The death of a top Rio de Janeiro drug trafficker at the hands of police provides insight into the relationship… Authorities in Brazil have seized thousands of live freshwater fish native to the country’s Amazon region that are commonly seen… Nearly 100 prisoners have been killed in Brazil since the start of the year, in a display of extreme violence… InSight Crime was a proud supporter of this year's Global Investigative Journalism Conference, which took place November 1 through November 5 and convened nearly 2,000 journalists… InSight Crime was delighted to support investigative reporting in the Americas through a workshop with our friends at Connectas, a non-profit journalism initiative that facilitates collaboration… InSight Crime’s investigation into the battle for the Venezuelan border state of Apure resonated in both Colombian and Venezuelan media. A dozen outlets picked up the report, including Venezuela’s… In October, InSight Crime and American University’s Center for Latin American and Latino Studies (CLALS) began a year-long project on illegal, unreported, unregulated (IUU) fishing in… In late September, the Global Investigative Journalism Network (GIJN) published an excerpt of its forthcoming guide on reporting organized crime in Indonesia.
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Bank Robbery
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The Great Famine, the real terror of Halloween | OP-ED
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This is a story of terror. The main characters were poor peasants who, although they worked in different crops, were poorly fed only with potatoes. This tuber, brought two centuries ago from America, was winter resistant and gave up to four harvests a year. The miracle of the potato had saved their lives, Irish lives, but of all Europeans too. With the famine also came mistreatment, humiliation for being Catholic, the prohibition of their language and ancient traditions. On paper they had been part of the United Kingdom for 40 years, but in reality they were occupied territory. They worked the land owned by British aristocrats, who could evict them through intermediaries, those bloodsucking vampires, rent collectors, who did not even leave money to buy a loaf of bread. The fungus arrived in some ship from Philadelphia, Baltimore or New York and rotted potato after potato, crop after crop. Starvation hit the children hardest, as their bodies began to waste away, their hair lost its luster, their muscles disappeared and they showed symptoms of kwashiorkor. Pregnant women suffered miscarriages, and the men had swollen feet and legs, terrible edema, fever and uncontrollable diarrhea. They were dying like flies, before the blasé eyes of the British government. In 1845 Adam Smith doctrines were the law.... Let the market regulate itself, no aid, no soup kitchens. Struggling not to starve led the peasants to despair, they could not believe that in the same year - 1847 - when 400,000 men, women and children of their own were dying, some 4,000 ships were carrying food from Ireland to Bristol, Glasgow, Liverpool and London. They were not short of food, God was their witness. Cereals, butter, milk were produced by them as never before; the calves that the English loved so much, ham and bacon found their way into other bellies... and to escape to towns was to face epidemics of typhoid fever, cholera and dysentery. The famine lasted five years. More than a million died and another million traveled to America in “coffin ships”, and with them their traditions. One of them, Samhain, the ancient Celtic celebration that commemorates the end of summer and its harvests. In the USA, the Irish soon popularized it and adapted it to what we know today as Halloween.
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Famine
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Morocco’s Navy Hosts US Coast Guard for Operation ‘Phoenix Express’
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Members of the US Coast Guard worked alongside the Moroccan Royal Navy to train on region-specific issues such as counterterrorism, drug trafficking, and irregular migration. Rabat - Morocco’s Navy hosted members of the US Coast Guard for the regional maritime training exercise Operation Phoenix Express from May 22-26. The annual exercise aims to “improve U.S. capabilities and interoperability with European and North African partners, and increase partner self-sufficiency in the maritime domain,” according to US African Command (AFRICOM). Unlike other regional joint military operations, Phoenix Express allows Morocco’s naval forces to train US Coast Guard forces on military strategies unique to North Africa and the waters of the Mediterannean Sea. The exercises focus on region-specific issues such as counterterrorism, drug trafficking, and irregular migration. Other exercises such as prisoner detention and cargo ship protection in the Strait of Gibraltar were exclusive to Phoenix Express 2021. “I definitely think it’s important for us to be working with partner nations, that way we can build that rapport with them and it helps us - it helps them, we learn from each other,” said US Coast Guardsman Phillip Haik in a post-operation interview. The US and Morocco have ramped up collaborative efforts across a variety of disciplines as the two countries recently celebrated the bicentennial anniversary of diplomatic relations. Phoenix Express 2021 precedes the larger joint military exercise African Lion 2021. African Lion 2021 will take place in Morocco, Tunisia, Senegal, and Ghana. 5,000 service members from around the world will partake in the exercise from June 7-18. Both military exercises strengthen ties between the US and Morocco’s armed forces and in turn, promote stability in the MENA region.
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Military Exercise
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2014 Kaohsiung gas explosions
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On 31 July 2014, a series of gas explosions occurred in the Cianjhen and Lingya districts of Kaohsiung, Taiwan, following reports of gas leaks earlier that night. [4] Thirty-two people were killed and 321 people were injured. [3][5]
Eyewitnesses reported a smell of gas and white smoke coming out of manholes near Kaisyuan 3rd Road and Ersheng 1st Road in Cianjhen District on 31 July 2014 at 20:46, over three hours prior to the incident. The explosions occurred later at 23:57 on Yisin Road, Ersheng Road, Sanduo Road and Guanghua Road. [2][6]
Witnesses reported seeing fireballs soaring into the sky and flames reaching 15 stories high. The blasts ripped up roads, trapped and overturned cars and firetrucks, and caused a blackout to the electrical grid. About 6 km of road length were damaged. [6][7] The explosions reportedly blew cars and motorcycles high up in the air; some vehicles and victims were found at the rooftops of buildings three or four stories high. [8] One street had been split along its length, swallowing fire trucks and other vehicles. Premier Jiang Yi-huah stated that there had been at least five blasts around the city. [9] The blasts cut gas supplies to 23,600 households, electricity to 12,000 households, and water to 8,000 households. [1]
Firefighters from Kaohsiung City, Chiayi City, Pingtung County, Tainan City and Taitung County rushed to the scene to extinguish the fires and help the rescue efforts. Some of the firefighters also sprayed water on the roads in the hope to reduce the ground temperature. [10] During the incident, four firefighters lost their lives, with two of them going missing; the explosions also injured 22 other emergency workers. [11][12] The Taiwanese army was also dispatched and arrived at the site within two hours after the initial explosion. [13]
Emergency rooms in hospitals around Kaohsiung were packed with casualties that night, with most of them having suffered cuts and burns. [14] Some of the injured people had to be carried to hospitals by trucks due to the lack of ambulances. [15] All of the casualties were sent to more than 20 hospitals around the city, including Chung-Ho Memorial Hospital, Kaohsiung Veterans General Hospital, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Yuan's General Hospital, Armed Forces General Hospital, and Kaohsiung Municipal United Hospitals. [16]
By the following morning, most of the fires had been fully extinguished or had burnt out by themselves, but a few remained. [17] Paramedics, search and rescue dogs and helicopters swept the area looking for survivors. [6][18] Heavy construction equipment was brought to the blast site to begin removing debris from the street. Schools and offices were closed on that day and residents were asked to leave their houses to smooth out the search and rescue operations. By afternoon, hundreds of people who fled the explosion scenes had returned home after houses around the explosion areas had been declared safe by the city spokesman. They confirmed that no more explosions could happen and that all of the fire had been put out. [19] Traffic restrictions were put in place on Sanduo, Guanghua, Yixin, and Kaisyuan Roads. Taiwan Area National Freeway Bureau also closed the northbound exit from Sun Yat-sen Freeway to Sanduo Road. However, Kaohsiung MRT and buses were not affected by the search and rescue works. [20]
To help the city in the rescue efforts, at 22:30 on Friday night the Taiwan Power Company (Taipower) shut down their four sets of generators fed with liquid natural gas, even though none of their pipelines had been damaged during the explosions. The shutdown lowered Taiwan's total electricity output by 1,100 MW, or about 2.7% of the total capacity. The decision to stop the supply was reached after a discussion between the Kaohsiung City Government and the oil refinery CPC Corporation, so that road repair and other disaster relief work could proceed without interruption. With their total generation expected to reach 36,970 MW in the peak hours of the coming week, Taipower has an excess capacity of 3,170 MW and thus can still meet the local energy demand in Kaohsiung. [21] As a precaution, China Petrochemical Development Co., which also operates in Kaohsiung, reduced the gas pressure in its propene pipelines. [22]
On Sunday, another 1,885 servicemen were deployed for the search and rescue operation at the explosion sites, bringing the total servicemen deployed during the incident to 5,567 people. Included among the servicemen were the chemical detection troops who continued to monitor any leaking gas. Equipment such as 22 ambulances, three chemical-detection vehicles, 13 excavators, 26 life detecting monitors, and other equipment were also being used in the rescue efforts. [23] The rescue works attracted many passerby to watch, wander, or even for an "adventure date" in conjunction with Chinese Valentine's Day, a move considered disrespectful for the dead. The police had to ask them to leave and ask the public to stay away from the areas where the explosions occurred, citing the fragility of the ground or the ruined buildings around. [24]
The remaining 260 tons of propene inside the damaged pipes was vented out completely by Monday from both of their input and output points. Nitrogen gas was put into pipes ensuring all propene had been removed, a move which had been done earlier by the CPC. The Environmental Protection Administration also had dispatched personnel to Kaohsiung to assist local government in air pollution monitoring. [25]
On 5 August, the Kaohsiung District Prosecutor's Office issued the death certificates of two missing firefighters who had fought the fires caused by the gas explosions, despite their bodies having yet to be found. The prosecutors said that rescuers could not find the bodies and suspected that they might have been vaporized from the explosions. [26]
On 8 August, another gas leak was reported in Cianjhen District shortly before 7:50 a.m causing widespread panic among residents. People who lived within 150 meters radius of Kaisyuan 3rd Road were evacuated the city police department to Kaohsiung Municipal Guanghua Junior High School and Le Chyuan Elementary School, raising concern among residents over their safety. Authorities tried to pin down the source of the gas and they dispatched personnel to the intersection of Yisin and Kaisyuan Roads. The gas concentration level reading peaked at 5,000 ppm at around 11 a.m which was mostly methane. However, by 14:30 the concentration level finally dropped below 10 ppm. Early measurements indicated that at least four gases leaked were methane, propene, ethylene and butane. [27]
On 9 August, the Kaohsiung City Government ordered LCY to halt all of operations until its plan to improve pipeline safety had been reviewed by the government. Should LCY refuse to do so, the government would notify the Taipower and Taiwan Water Corporation to stop providing the company with electricity and water respectively.
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Gas explosion
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Surrey RCMP seek public's help to identify bank robbery suspects
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VANCOUVER -- Mounties in Surrey are asking for the public's help to identify a pair of suspects involved in a bank robbery that took place in the Whalley neighbourhood last month. Surrey RCMP received reports of the robbery at a bank on 96 Avenue near 128 Street shortly before 7 p.m. on March 12. Two men entered the bank, one of whom approached the service counter while the other remained at the entrance, police said. "The man at the service counter uttered threats and demanded money," said Cpl. Joanie Sidhu with the Surrey RCMP, in a news release. "Both men left the area after the money was retrieved." RCMP have released security camera images of the suspects in hopes someone will recognize them. The suspect at the service counter is described as Black, with black hair and he was wearing a white shirt, grey jeans, black mask and blue gloves at the time. The suspect at the door is described as Black, with black hair in dreadlocks and he was wearing a grey top, grey sweatpants, black mask, blue hat with a gold symbol on it and blue latex gloves. Anyone with information is asked to contact the Surrey RCMP at 604-599-0502. Tips can also be left anonymously with Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.
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Bank Robbery
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the Italian navy plucked four survivors - a Ghanaian, two Nigerians, and a man from Niger - from the sea.
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Also on Thursday, the Italian navy plucked four survivors - a Ghanaian, two Nigerians, and a man from Niger - from the sea. They said their inflatable boat had sunk after leaving Libya with 45 people on board. The International Organization for Migrants (IOM) says the missing 41 people have drowned.
The four survivors were taken to Sicily along with 600 other migrants trying to make the crossing in various vessels. Earlier on Thursday Italian Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni said Italy had "not had an adequate response from the EU" about the migrant crisis.
But European Commission spokeswoman Natasha Bertaud said the organisation had no "silver bullet" for the problem. Last year a record 170,000 people fleeing poverty and conflict in Africa and the Middle East made the perilous crossing to Italy.
With improving weather conditions, the number of people making the crossing of at least 500km (300 miles) has surged. But vessels provided by people smugglers are often underpowered and overcrowded.
€2.8m (£2m) a month goes on Operation Triton, the border control policy that operates off the Italian coast. Monitoring the Mediterranean may not be enough, says commission spokesperson Natasha Bertaud. "We have neither the money nor the political support to launch a European border guard system," she told reporters. Triton has proved an inadequate replacement for the Italian military search-and-rescue operation Mare Nostrum, which cost three times as much. That 2013 mission was activated after a similar tragedy, when 300 migrants drowned.
The Italian government has requested more financial help from the EU, but the question is: how much money are the 28 member states willing to invest?
Only 22 of the members are supporting the current system. Others, including the UK, opted out, describing the policy as unintentionally encouraging more migrant attempts to make the crossing.
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Shipwreck
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PM Modi expected to travel to US this month; here’s a look at his foreign trips in last two years
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Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to travel to the United States towards the end of September, which will mark his first foreign visit in around six months. This will also be the first time PM Modi will be visiting the country after President Joe Biden assumed office.
As per a tentative schedule, PM Modi’s visit will take place between September 22-27, sources said. During his trip, the Prime Minister is expected to visit both Washington and New York.
Apart from addressing the crisis unfolding in Afghanistan, the two sides will also be working on an ambitious agenda concerning the Indo-Pacific region. An in-person Quad leaders’ summit is slated to take place in Washington around the same time as PM Modi’s visit. On September 25, the PM is expected to address the annual high-level UN General Assembly session in person, as per a provisional list of speakers released by the UN.
This visit is particularly significant as it will be the PM’s second diplomatic trip abroad since the pandemic first made its presence felt in India last year. Since 2014, PM Modi has made over 100 trips abroad, visiting at least 60 countries. But the coronavirus pandemic brought all diplomatic travel to a standstill, until early this year, with 2020 becoming the first year since 2014 when Modi didn’t visit a foreign country.
Here is a look back at all of PM Modi’s foreign visits in the last two years
Bangladesh: March, 2021
His first visit since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic took place in March this year, when he travelled to Bangladesh for two days to take part in commemorations of three epochal events in the country: Mujib Borsho or the birth centenary of Bangladesh’s father of the nation, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, 50 years of diplomatic ties and 50 years of Bangladesh’s war of liberation.
Brazil: November 13-14, 2019
Before the pandemic struck, Prime Minister Narendra Modi travelled to Brazil on November 13-14, 2019 to attend the 11th BRICS summit. He met the leaders of the four major emerging economies in the world – namely Brazil, Russia, China and South Africa and called for closer cooperation in areas such as counter-terrorism, trade and culture to bolster ties and formulate a common response to global issues.
Thailand: November 2-4, 2019
Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Thailand between November 2-4 to attend the ASEAN-India, East Asia and Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) summits. He travelled to Bangkok at the invitation of Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha.
Saudi Arabia: October 29, 2019
PM Modi arrived in Riyadh on October 29 to meet Saudi King Salman Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and held delegation-level talks with the crown prince. The two world leaders signed an agreement on establishing the India-Saudi Arabia Strategic Partnership Council.
Several major pacts were signed, including an MoU to roll out the RuPay card – India’s digital payment system – and one on bringing coordination on e-migration systems between the two countries.
United States: 20-27 September, 2019
The Prime Minister’s last visit to the United States was in 2019, when he attended United Nations General Assembly (UNGA). He also travelled to Houston, where he attended the ‘Howdy, Modi!’ event organised in his honour by Indian diaspora there. PM Modi and Trump spoke of strengthened ties between India-US, and addressed each other as “loyal friends”. They used each others campaign slogans; Modi nearly endorsed Trump’s reelection with ‘Abki baar Trump sarkar’, and ‘Make America great again’, while Trump borrowed the ‘Make in India’ slogan to promote ‘Made in America’.
Russia: 4-5 September, 2019
Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Russia in September, 2019, where he met Russian President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the Eastern Economic Forum and discussed ways to further cement the special and privileged Strategic Partnership between the two countries.
Calling Russian President Vladimir Putin a “good friend”, Modi said India-Russia friendship was not only restricted to their respective capital cities. “We have put people at the core of this relationship,” the PM, who is on a two-day visit to Russia, said.
UAE and Bahrain: 23-25 August, 2019
PM Modi paid a three-day visit to the UAE and Bahrain, where he held extensive talks with top leaders of the two countries on bilateral, regional and global issues of mutual interest.
In the UAE, the Prime Minister received the the ‘Order of Zayed’, the highest civil decoration of the country. He then visited Bahrain for two days, in the first first ever prime ministerial visit from India to the Gulf nation.
France: 22-23 August, 2019
PM Modi visited France, where he held a summit interaction with President Emmanuel Macron to further boost the bilateral comprehensive strategic partnership. He also met his French counterpart Edouard Philippe and interacted with the Indian community. He dedicated a memorial to the Indian victims of the two Air India crashes in France in the 1950s and 1960s.
Bhutan: 17-18 August, 2019
On his second visit to Bhutan and first since his re-election, Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a wide range of discussion over the expansion of bilateral partnership with his Bhutanese counterpart Lotay Tshering Saturday and signed 10 MoUs to infuse new energy in their ties.
Japan: 27-29 June, 2019
Prime Minister Modi travelled to Japan to attend the 2019 G-20 summit in Osaka. Prime Minister Narendra Modi met several global leaders and also addressed an informal meeting of BRICS leaders on the sidelines of the summit. He held bilateral talks with US President Donald Trump and thanked him for expressing his “love towards India” in a letter recently delivered by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
Modi held an informal meeting with BRICS leaders’ meeting in which he emphasised on the need to stop all the mediums of support to terrorism and racism.
Kyrgyzstan (14-15 June, 2019)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi went to Kyrgyzstan’s Bishkek to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in June, 2019.
Sri Lanka (9 June, 2019)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi held talks with Sri Lanka’s former President Maithripala Sirisena in June, 2019. This was his first visit to Sri Lanka after returning to power, and the deadly terror attacks on Easter Sunday in which 250 people were killed in the Island nation. India had been providing intelligence and assistance in the investigation of the Islamic State-led attack.
South Korea (21-22 February, 2019)
During a two-day visit to South Korea in 2019, Prime Minister Modi was awarded the Seoul Peace Prize for 2018 for his “contribution to international cooperation and fostering global economic growth”.
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Diplomatic Visit
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FBI Media Alert: FBI, Socorro Police Department Look for Bank Robber Also Suspected in Moriarty, Tijeras Robberies
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An unidentified man suspected of recent bank robberies in Moriarty and Tijeras is now suspected of robbing a bank in Socorro on Thursday, July 22, 2021. The robbery happened at Wells Fargo, 501 North California Street, in Socorro at approximately 4:45 p.m. The suspect is described as a Hispanic male in his mid-40s, approximately 5'5” tall, with a medium build. He wore a dark ball cap with a light-colored brim, a dark mask, a navy blue long-sleeve shirt, and black pants. He also may have a tattoo under his right eye. The suspect entered the bank and presented a demand note to a teller. The teller handed over an undisclosed amount of money to the suspect, who left the bank and walked northbound. The FBI is investigating this robbery with the Socorro Police Department. This individual is suspected of also robbing Wells Fargo in Moriarty on July 15, and U.S. Bank in Moriarty and Wells Fargo in Tijeras on July 19. Anyone with information about these robberies is asked to contact the FBI at (505) 889-1300. Tips can also be submitted online at tips.fbi.gov. Information about other bank robbers wanted by the FBI can be found at bankrobbers.fbi. Bank robbery carries a possible prison term of up to 20 years. The use of a gun, other dangerous weapon, toy gun, or hoax bomb device during the commission of a bank robbery can be punishable by a prison term of up to 25 years.
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Bank Robbery
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Weekly poultry digest: bird flu outbreaks in West Africa and labor crunch in the United States
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The US moves one step closer to permitting cell-based meat and an Oregon ballot initiative could have major implications for poultry and livestock growers. The West African country of Benin has reported an outbreak of highly contagious H5N1 avian flu in two districts near its capital of Porto Novo. This comes soon after Ivory Coast identified the disease last week nears its commercial capital of Abidjan. Bird flu cases have also been reported this year in Ghana, Togo, Niger, Burkina Faso, Nigeria, Mauritania and Senegal. An Oregon ballot initiative is proposed for 2022 that would classify slaughter of animals as aggravated abuse, would redefine artificial insemination and castration as sexual assault and would classify tethering of an animal as neglect. The ballot initiative says it “does not ban any industry outright and the proposed changes in statute would not prohibit a rancher from raising and caring for bovines. It would only require that the rancher did not abuse, neglect, or sexually assault the animals under their care. This means that animals being raised for their meat would have to be processed after they died of natural causes, such as old age. This would certainly increase the cost to raise animals.” The initiative’s sponsor, a group called End Animal Cruelty. is working to gather the 112,000 signatures needed by next summer. Initiatives like this one would set a precedent that could be used to pass similar legislation in other states. Some of the largest US food distributors are reporting difficulties in fulfilling orders as a lack of workers weighs on the supply chain, Bloomberg News reported. Sysco Corp, North America’s largest wholesale food distributor, is turning away customers in some areas where demand is exceeding capacity. The Houston company also said prices for key goods such as chicken, pork and paper products for takeout packaging are climbing amid tight supplies. In particular, production has slowed for high-demand, labor-intensive cuts such as bacon, ribs, wings and tenders, Sysco said. Another major distributor, United Natural Foods Inc, is having trouble getting food to stores on time. The company said the labor shortages, as well as delays for some imported goods — including cheese, coconut water and spices — are causing the problems. “We anticipate additional supplier challenges in the short term with gradual improvement through the fall and winter,” a United Natural Foods representative said. Service levels are the lowest I’ve seen in my 16-year career, and it doesn’t seem like it’s going away anytime soon. Sysco is aggressively hiring warehouse workers and truck drivers and offering referral and sign-on bonuses along with retention money for current staff. The entire food sector is seeing “massive labor shortages,” said Benjamin Walker, senior vice president of sales, marketing and merchandising at Baldor Specialty Foods, a New York distributor. “Service levels are the lowest I’ve seen in my 16-year career, and it doesn’t seem like it’s going away anytime soon.” Finding truck drivers is “next to impossible,” he said, and freight costs are rising daily. The company’s orders are arriving late and consequently facing delays in being sent to customers. On the outbound side, on-time deliveries are still above 50% but have fallen from the usual rate of more than 90%. Meanwhile, McDonald’s dropped milkshakes from its menus in the UK because of what it called “supply chain issues.” The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has completed its review of a pre-rule from USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) it received June 7 for an advanced notice of public rulemaking (ANPRM) covering labeling of meat and poultry products made using animal cell culture technology. The plan aimed at gathering public input on the topic. Meat and poultry products are required to be labeled under the Federal Meat Inspection Act and the Poultry Products Inspection Act. It is not clear when FSIS will finalize their plans as the unified agenda from the administration released earlier this year only indicated that the ANPRM was planned for release in July this year. But the final plan from USDA, whenever it emerges, will be an important one for the meat and poultry industry. The outlook for chicken production in Mexico in 2022 is for another record production year. The main drivers supporting USDA forecasts include Mexico’s current disease-free sanitary status for avian influenza paired with strong domestic demand across all marketing channels including household retail consumption as well as expanding demand hotel, restaurant, and industrial (HRI) channels. Mexico’s poultry sector remains resilient in the face of COVID-19 pandemic-related challenges, higher feed prices, and falling purchasing power among most Mexican consumers. Poultry producers in Mexico continue to consolidate, integrate vertically, expand production, and develop new lines of business. Prospects for another year of high profit margins also support an optimistic outlook. Post projects that poultry production and consumption will surpass Mexico’s population growth of 1% in 2022. USDA forecasts higher chicken meat production, consumption, and imports in 2022 as Mexico’s economy recovers and chicken meat for processing and the HRI channel grows. Since 2008, Mexico expanded domestic poultry production and imports, lowering relative retail prices, and boosting consumption. As household food expenditures rise, processed chicken meat products remain the most affordable and versatile source of animal protein for Mexican consumers. Chicken meat accounts for nearly 60% of total muscle meat demand in Mexico. The United States remains Mexico’s leading provider of chicken due in part to the expiration of third-country tariff-rate quotas benefiting Brazil and Chile in 2019. New study looks at poultry producers’ willingness to pay more for on-farm carcass disposal if it will lower risk of furt… New CQUniversity research looked at food handling and safety regarding raw eggs in the food industry Soybean meal (SBM) is the most commonly used protein source in animal diets and represents approximately two-thirds of t… New study looks at poultry producers’ willingness to pay more for on-farm carcass disposal if it will lower risk of further spread of a disease. New CQUniversity research looked at food handling and safety regarding raw eggs in the food industry In the last decade or so, there has been great interest in the option of using insects to convert organic waste (bio-waste) into protein and compost. For over seven years, Egg Farmers of Canada has partnered with Heart for Africa to support Project Canaan, a 1,000 hectare large-scale land development project in Eswatini. Through Project Canaan, expertise and resources…
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Disease Outbreaks
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Britain to front-run global rules on cryptoassets if necessary, says Bank Of England
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Auditor-General Tsakani Maluleke has published the national and provincial government audits for 2019/2020, providing an overview of government spending and points of concern over the annual period. In her first PFMA since taking office, Maluleke said that there were some ‘signs of improvement’ seen in a number of areas. However, she strongly urged government leaders to ensure ‘progressive and sustainable improvements’ in their outcomes. “(Our office) cannot yet see the progressive and sustainable improvements required to prevent accountability failures and deal with them appropriately and consistently across national and provincial government,” she said. “As the national audit office, our role is to assist the accounting officers and authorities in achieving positive audit outcomes, which will strengthen accountability and improve service delivery to the citizens we serve. That has been our objective for many years and we will remain steadfast in that mission. “However, where there are failures and unwillingness to act, we will have to employ the instruments we have been given in our enhanced mandate to enforce accountability.” Maluleke said her office will pay extra attention throughout the year to identify material irregularities and ensure that the accounting officers and authorities implement and see through their commitments on the report. “We will, where we feel there is no progress, invoke the instruments in the law, to ensure that there is appropriate and timely accountability.” Failing enterprises One particular point of concern is the country’s state-owned enterprises, and Maluleke expressed concern that a number of these entities are in serious financial difficulty and did not submit financial statements for auditing. She pointed to South African Airways and LMT Products, a subsidiary of Denel, which are both under business rescue. She noted that SA Express is also under provisional liquidation. “In addition, many state-owned entities disclosed uncertainty in their financial statements whether they will be able to continue as a going concern,” said Maluleke. These include: A similar disclosure was made in the financial statements of Eskom, which is one a number of the state-owned entities that the auditor-general does not audit. The AG’s report shows that government had already issued guarantees of R445 billion to 11 state-owned entities – of which R350 billion was to Eskom – and these entities had used the guarantees to obtain R374 billion in loans. Maluleke said that there are also key public entities that are similarly under financial pressure. A total deficit of R64.95 billion was incurred by the 29% of public entities whose expenditure exceeded their revenue – 92% of the total deficit related to the Road Accident Fund. There were 21 public entities that disclosed uncertainty about whether they will be able to continue as a going concern. They include: “Even though most public entities would be able to continue their operations through obtaining funding (loans, grants and overdrafts), delaying creditor payments, cutting costs and reprioritising projects,these negative indicators raise concerns about their financial viability,” the report states.
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Financial Crisis
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Top 10 Archaeological Discoveries of 2020
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Archaeologists have announced the discovery of a giant Ice Age structure built from the remains of at least 60 mammoths at the Kostenki-Borshevo archaeological complex. The giant circular structure has a diameter of 12.5 metres and was built around 25,000 years ago during the peak of the last Ice Age (called the last glacial maximum), when communities were mainly mobile hunter-gatherers. This would make the monument one of the oldest known mammoth bone buildings, compared to similar structures that date from 22,000 years ago. Find out more Archaeologists Find Large Neolithic Structure at Durrington Walls Archaeologists from the University of Bradford have announced the discovery of a large prehistoric site at Durrington Walls near Stonehenge in England. The archaeologists found a series of Neolithic shafts that date from around 2500 BC and stretch for 2km around the Durrington Walls and Woodhenge monuments. The shafts are around 10 metres in diameter and reach a depth of 5 metres. Archaeologists believe they were used along with an internal post line to mark a boundary and to guide worshipers to the monuments. Find out more Ornate Treasures Discovered in Tomb of Silla Princess Archaeologists have discovered hundreds of grave goods in the tomb of a Silla Princess, buried in the city of Gyeongju, in the North Gyeongsang Province of South Korea. The latest discoveries consist of a gilt-bronze crown, gold chest ornaments, gold earrings and pendants, gilt-bronze ornaments, gold and silver bracelets, an ornamental silver knife, and hundreds of stones from the strategy board game Baduk (also called Go). Find out more More Than 100 Painted Coffins Have Been Found at the Ancient Egyptian Necropolis of Saqqara Egyptian antiquities officials have announced the discovery of almost 100 ancient coffins – some with mummies inside them – and around 40 golden statues from the Ancient Egyptian Necropolis of Saqqara. The wooden coffins and other objects were buried during Egypt’s Late and Ptolemaic Periods, which together lasted from 664 to 30BC. Find out more Largest And Oldest Maya Monument Discovered With LiDar Archaeologists from the University of Arizona have made the monumental discovery of a giant Maya plateau, possibly the largest and oldest Mayan monument discovery to date using LiDar. The monument, measuring almost 4600 feet long at a height of 30-50 feet is located at the recently discovered site of Aguada Fénix located in Tabasco, Mexico near the border to Guatemala. Find out more Archaeologists Discover Lost Capital of Ancient Maya Kingdom A team of researchers from Brown University and Brandeis University has discovered the lost ruins of a Maya capital in the backyard of a Mexican cattle rancher. Associate professor of anthropology, Charles Golden and bioarchaeologist Andrew Scherer believe that the site (now named Lacanja Tzeltal) was the capital of the Sak Tz’i’ kingdom, located in what is today the state of Chiapas in south-eastern Mexico. Find out more Ancient String Discovery Sheds Light on Neanderthal Life The discovery of the oldest known direct evidence of fibre technology using natural fibres to create yarn is reported in Scientific Reports this week. The finding furthers our understanding of the cognitive abilities of Neanderthals during the Middle Palaeolithic period (30,000-300,000 years ago). Bruce Hardy and colleagues discovered a six-millimetre-long cord fragment consisting of three bundles of fibres twisted together and adhering to a 60-millimetre-long, thin stone tool. Find out more Over 6000 Ancient Tombs Discovered by Archaeologists in China Archaeologists excavating in Chengdu, Sichuan province have discovered over 6000 ancient tombs spanning more than 2000 years. The tombs date from various dynasties and were discovered during construction works for the Sichuan Xinchuan Innovation and Technology Park. Excavations began in 2015, but the results of the ongoing discoveries have finally been announced by the Chengdu Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology. Find out more Archaeologists Discover Earliest London Elizabethan Playhouse Archaeologists from the UCL’s Institute of Archaeology have discovered the remains of what may be the Red Lion, an early Elizabethan playhouse built around AD 1567. The Red Lion was a purpose-built playhouse in the yard of the Red Lion, a farmhouse east of Aldgate near Mile End. This was to be the first known attempt to provide a purpose-built playhouse in London for the many Tudor age touring theatrical companies, in particular staging a young Shakespeare’s plays in the 1590s. Find out more Early Big-Game Hunters of the Americas Were Female According to Research For centuries, historians and scientists mostly agreed that when early human groups sought food, men hunted and women gathered. However, a 9,000-year-old female hunter burial in the Andes Mountains of South America reveals a different story, according to new research conducted at the University of California, Davis. Find out more
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New archeological discoveries
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2021 Colombian protests
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A series of ongoing protests began in Colombia on 28 April 2021 against increased taxes, corruption, and health care reform proposed by the government of President Iván Duque Márquez. The tax initiative was introduced to expand funding to Ingreso Solidario, a universal basic income social program established in April 2020 to provide relief during the COVID-19 pandemic in Colombia, while the legislative Bill 010 proposed several changes in the health care system in Colombia. [6][7][8][9][10]
Although the courts had anticipated the protests would be widespread, having annulled all existing permits out of fear of further spread of COVID-19, the protests began in earnest anyway on 28 April 2021. In large cities such as Bogotá and Cali, thousands to tens of thousands of protesters took to the streets, in some cases clashing with authorities, resulting in at least six deaths. Protests continued to grow over the coming days, and amidst promises by the president to rework his tax plan, they culminated into a large protest on 1 May, International Workers' Day. On 2 May, President Duque declared that he would fully withdraw his new tax plan, though no new concrete plans were announced. Despite policy adjustments, protests continued, fueled by intense crackdowns and reports of police brutality. [11] By 21 May, protesters had alleged more than 2,000 instances of police brutality, including 27 cases of sexual violence, and around 200 people had been reported missing. [12]
The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and Human Rights Watch noted abuses by police against protesters, while former President Álvaro Uribe Vélez called on the people to support the actions of police and soldiers during the protests. [13]
In April 2021, President Iván Duque proposed increased taxes at a time when the COVID-19 pandemic in Colombia was beginning to worsen as various healthcare systems were failing throughout the country. [6][14] The pandemic had also hurt the Colombian economy, with 42% of Colombians earning less than US$90 per month, and with one in four Colombians under the age of 28 unemployed. [12] The tax reform was also devised to reduce Colombia's increasing fiscal deficit, which had resulted in international credit rating agencies downgrading the Colombian government's bonds thus raising the cost of borrowing. [15]
Ingreso Solidario, a universal basic income social program introduced by the Duque government during the pandemic,[9] had already provided at the time thirteen monthly payments of around US$43 to low-income populations since April 2020. [9] Three million of about fifty million Colombians were eligible for Ingreso Solidario payments, with the program being at a smaller scale when compared to other Latin American countries. [9] According to Merike Blofield, director of the German Institute for Global and Area Studies' Latin American division, "Compared to other countries in the region, the coverage that Ingreso Solidario offers is extremely weak [...]. For the 3 million people that got it, it certainly made a difference. But there were five times as many households that needed it. "[9]
The Duque government, seeking to expand the program to include 1.7 million more people and to establish a permanent basic income program, chose to pursue a tax reform for funding. [9] The tax increase on many Colombians was presented as a way to provide US$4.8 billion for Ingreso Solidario. [9] Duque's tax reforms included the expansion of value-added taxes on more products such as food and utilities, the addition of some middle-class earners into a higher tax bracket and the removal of various income tax exemptions. [14][9][16]
A controversial legislative bill, Bill 010, proposed to reform health care in Colombia. Plans to privatize Colombia's health care system amid the pandemic, as well as the hasty method used to file the bill through a special committee in the House of Representatives that did not require congressional debate, also fueled discontent among Colombians. [10]
Colombians were simultaneously experiencing the third-highest number of COVID-19 deaths in Latin America, the worst economic performance in fifty years with a gross domestic product decreasing 6.8 percent in 2020, and an unemployment rate of fourteen percent. Colombians were also angered by the proposed tax increase and organized a national labor strike similar to the 2019–2020 Colombian protests. [6][16][17] In addition to the tax and healthcare reforms, strike organizers demanded a universal basic income at the nation's minimum wage level, additional support for small businesses and the ban on using glyphosate-based herbicides, including other requests. [18]
In preparation for protests, Judge Nelly Yolanda Villamizar de Peñaranda of the Administrative Court of Cundinamarca ruled on 27 April that permits to demonstrate in cities across the country be annulled, banning public demonstrations due to health risks related to COVID-19. [19] Disgruntled citizens, however, ignored the public bans on protests. [16]
Tens of thousands of protesters began demonstrating on 28 April 2021, with strong protests occurring in Cali where the statue of Spanish conquistador Sebastián de Belalcázar was torn down by Misak protesters. [6][20][21] In Bogotá, tens of thousands protested and clashes with authorities began later in the day, with four thousand protesters maintaining their activities throughout the night. [20] Two were killed on the first day of protests. [6]
Police presence increased on 29 April when General Eliecer Camacho of the Metropolitan Police of Bogotá announced that 5,800 police would be deployed during the demonstrations. [20] Some TransMilenio stations were also closed prior to further protests, with the government stating the closures were due to damage. [20] The leader of the Central Union of Workers (CUT) described the 28 April demonstrations as a "majestic strike" and called for further protests throughout Colombia. [14] Protests overall were in smaller numbers across the nation. [14]
Protests would continue throughout Colombia on 30 April, especially in Cali, Bogotá, Pereira, Ibagué, and Medellín, with some demonstrations occurring in other smaller cities as well. [22][23][24] President Duque first announced that he would not remove the tax reform, although he later stated that his government would consider removing some of the more controversial proposals from the tax reform plans. [17] The mayor of Cali, Jorge Iván Ospina, responded to President Duque, stating: "Mr. President, the tax reform is dead. We don't want it to cause more deaths. Please, withdraw it, I am asking you for this on behalf of the people of Cali". [25] In preparation for Workers' Day protests, the government deployed 4,000 troops and police officers to Cali. [25]
On 1 May, International Workers' Day, tens of thousands of people protested in one of the largest demonstrations during the wave of protests, with cacerolazos heard in various cities. [17][26] Minister of National Defense Diego Molano, a business administrator, said in Cali "according to intelligence information, criminal and terrorist acts in Cali correspond to criminal organizations and terrorists", relating the protesters to splinter groups of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). [25][27] During the evening, President Duque said during a speech that he would increase the deployment of troops to cities experiencing violence. [28]
President Duque announced on 2 May that he was withdrawing the tax reform, although he stated that reform was still necessary. [29][30] Duque said that the tax reform "is not a whim, it is a necessity. "[31] Despite the elimination of the tax reform, protests continued to be promoted by organizers. [32]
The National Strike Committee announced on 3 May that another day of protests would be held on 5 May, criticizing the Duque government for not convening with groups to make negotiations. [18] During the first week of May, hundreds of university students turned off their webcams during virtual classes and shared posts online in solidarity with the strike. [12]
President of Ecuador Lenín Moreno and Vice President of Colombia Marta Lucía Ramírez released statements on 5 May 2021 alleging that the protests were organized by Venezuela, stating that they were supported by President of Venezuela Nicolás Maduro. [33] President Moreno, speaking at an Inter-American Institute for Democracy (IID) meeting in Miami beside Secretary General of the Organization of American States Luis Almagro, stated that "the intelligence organizations of Ecuador have detected the gross interference of dictator Maduro, ... in what is happening right now in Colombia".
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Protest_Online Condemnation
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2019 Karnataka floods
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On 1 August 2019, first week, due to heavy rainfall in the Monsoon season, severe flood affected the southern Indian State of Karnataka. As a security measure in the prevailing situation of heavy rains, India Meteorological Department issued Red alert to several regions of coastal and malnad regions of Karnataka state. [3]
Thousands of people were evacuated to safer places and relief camps. A total of 61 people have been killed and seven lakh have been displaced. [4] As of 14 August 2019, Over 6.97 lakh people were evacuated. Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa had announced a compensation of ₹5 lakh for the family members of those who died in the floods. [5]
Due to the heavy water discharge from the reservoir, the North Karnataka districts of Belagavi, Bijapur, Raichur, Kalburgi, Yadgir and Uttara Kannada were severely affected by the flood discharge. [6] On 8 August, Karnataka received nearly five times the rainfall it normally used to have, adding to the severity of the ongoing floods in 12 districts that had killed 20 people by 9 August 2019. [7]
Excess rainfall is the main possible factor that caused or intensified floods. According to government officials report any particular region can manage rainfall only up to a point, based on its land use and soil holding. Once that is breached, it floods. [7]
As of 14 August 2019, 61 people had been killed and 15 people were missing due to flood-related incidents across 22 districts of the state as per the data released by Karnataka State Natural Disaster Monitoring Centre (KSNDMC). [8]
More than 40,000 houses were damaged in Karnataka floods and more than 2,000 villages were affected. North, coastal and Malanad districts were worst affected. Other affected districts include Bagalkot, Vijayapura, Raichur, Yadgiri, Uttara Kannada, Dakshina Kannada, Shivamogga, Kodagu and Chikkamagaluru. [9]
Landslides occurred in many places in Chikkamagaluru, Kodagu, Dakshina Kannada and Uttara Kannada districts due to heavy rains. Connectivity on 137 major roads (National Highway, State Highway and Major district roads) has been disrupted due to floods and landslides. [10]
There was extensive damage to critical infrastructure such as roads, pipelines, tanks, schools, and electrical infrastructure. [11]
Damages due to Karnataka flood, data released by Karnataka Chief Minister's Office[3]
Karnataka State Disaster Management Authority, Karnataka police along with the Indian Air Force, civilians, volunteers, fishermen from coastal Karnataka were actively taking part in the rescue operations in flood-affected regions. A joint rescue team consisting of Fire and Emergency, State Disaster Response Fund, National Disaster Response Force and Indian Army evacuated 6.73 lakh people as of 14 August 2019. Nobel officers are tasked to camp in vulnerable villages. [10][1]
According to the Ministry of Home Affairs, Disaster Management Division, from 1 to 14 August, Karnataka received 658 mm of rainfall and because of this many people lost their lives. [citation needed]
On 4 October 2019, Central Government had released an amount of 1200 Crores as Karnataka flood relief funds on the request of CM Yediyurappa. [12]
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Floods
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This hero WWII destroyer was reached in the world’s deepest shipwreck dive
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On October 25, 1944, the Japanese navy launched an all-out counterattack against the U.S. invasion of the Philippines. The Japanese were able to lure Admiral Halsey and the Third Fleet away from the Philippines by exposing the last of their aircraft carriers. With the departure of the Third Fleet, the small task force defending the island landings were left to face down the real Japanese attack. The Japanese Center Force consisted of eleven destroyers, eight cruisers, and four battleships, one of which was the super battleship Yamato. With Halsey drawn away by the Japanese carriers, Task Unit 77.4.3 was all that stood in the way of the Japanese Navy destroying the invasion force. Known by their radio call-sign “Taffy 3”, the small U.S. naval element consisted of just six escort carriers, three destroyers, and four destroyer escorts. It would take an incredible amount of bravery and courage for the Americans to repel the huge Japanese offensive. Luckily, the crew of USS Johnston (DD-577) had both in spades. Johnston was commanded by Cdr. Ernest E. Evans. On the day of the ship’s commissioning, Evans set the tone for his command. “This is going to be a fighting ship,” he fortuitously declared. “I intend to go in harm’s way, and anyone who doesn’t want to go along had better get off right now.” Seeing the mass of enemy ships bearing down on them, Evans ordered the Fletcher-class destroyer to charge. Johnston‘s frontal assault was met with heavy Japanese gunfire. Multiple shells struck the ship, causing heavy damage and casualties. Evans himself was wounded, but ordered a second charge. The crew had expended all of their torpedoes on their first charge. The guns that were still fightable were low on ammo, but the brave sailors of USS Johnston charged again. On the second attack run, Johnston shot a total of 30 more rounds into a much larger Japanese battleship. When the enemy ships turned their attention to the escort carrier USS Gambier Bay (CVE-73), Evans didn’t hesitate to issue new orders. “Commence firing on that cruiser,” he commanded. “Draw her fire on us and away form Gambier Bay.” Luckily for the escort carrier, the distraction worked. However, Johnston was not so lucky. After two-and-a-half hours of courageous and ruthless fighting, USS Johnston sat dead in the water. With Japanese ships closing in, Evans gave the order to abandon ship at 0945 hours. Twenty-five minutes later, Johnston rolled over and began to sink. Only 141 sailors of the 327-man crew survived the battle; Evans was not one of them. He was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for his heroic command of the USS Johnston. Cdr. Evans became the first Native American in the U.S. Navy and one of only two destroyer captains during WWII to receive the honor. The valiant head-on attacks by the crew of USS Johnston and the other sailors of Taffy 3 were able to route the Japanese attack. Their attacks were so fierce that the Japanese believed they were fighting a much larger force and decided to retreat. 75 years after she sunk, Johnston was discovered by the Vulcan Inc. research vessel Petrel. However, most of the wreck was too deep for their remotely operated submersible to reach. It was not until March 2021 that Caladan Oceanic was able to send a manned submersible down to Johnston‘s wreck. “Just completed the deepest wreck dive in history, to find the main wreckage of the destroyer USS Johnston,” tweeted Caladan Oceanic founder and submersible pilot Victor Vescovo. “We located the front 2/3 of the ship, upright and intact, at 6456 meters. Three of us across two dives surveyed the vessel and gave respects to her brave crew.” The Caladan Oceanic crew also laid a wreath in the vicinity of the battle site to honor the sailors who paid the ultimate sacrifice that day. RELATED On Nov. 16, 1940, the Royal Air Force bombed the German city of Hamburg. The Battle of Britain began the...
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Shipwreck
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1988 Polish strikes
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The 1988 Polish strikes were a massive wave of workers' strikes which broke out from 21 April, 1988 in the Polish People's Republic. The strikes, as well as street demonstrations, continued throughout spring and summer, ending in early September 1988. These actions shook the Communist regime of the country to such an extent that it was forced to begin talking about recognising Solidarity. [1] As a result, later that year, the regime decided to negotiate with the opposition,[2] which opened way for the 1989 Round Table Agreement. The second, much bigger wave of strikes (August 1988) surprised both the government, and top leaders of Solidarity, who were not expecting actions of such intensity. These strikes were mostly organized by local activists, who had no idea that their leaders from Warsaw had already started secret negotiations with the Communists. [3]
Late 1980s was the time of deep economic crisis of Poland. The military regime of General Wojciech Jaruzelski did not carry out any radical reform of the economy in 1982-1983 following their imposition of Martial Law in Poland. Industrial production remained below the 1979 level. Average inflation rate climbed to 60% by 1988, and Poland’s hard-currency debt to the Western countries grew from $25 billion in 1981 to $43 billion in 1989. [4] Furthermore, the military rule was a failure, even though Solidarity had been outlawed in 1982, which in turn forced its members to go underground. In those circumstances, anger and frustration of the nation grew, deepened by economic malaise, and constantly declining living standards. More than 60% of population lived in poverty, and inflation, measured by black-market rate of the U.S. dollar, was 1,500% in the period 1982 - 1987. [5]
On November 29, 1987, the Communists decided to seek popular support for a 110% price increase, calling the Referendum on political and economic reforms (see Referendums in Poland) supported by the old slogan of "democratization" as the only concession. The government of Zbigniew Messner lost the referendum - according to independent sources, with the turnout of around 30%,[5] but officially, it was announced that 63.8% voters participated in it, and so, deputy prime minister Zdzisław Sadowski decided to go on with the price increase. The policy was introduced on February 1, 1988. It was the biggest hike since 1982. The operation was a failure, as the massive price increases were followed by 40% increase in wages, meant to offset the price increases. As a result, inflation rose at alarming speed, and by late 1989, near hyperinflation was reached. [6]
In late 1987, Communist authorities initiated a wave of repressions of activists of underground Solidarity trade union and other oppositional organizations. On November 9, Kornel Morawiecki, leader of Fighting Solidarity was arrested. In the same year, Lech Wałęsa resumed his post as leader of Solidarity, where he remained until 1990. [7] Meanwhile, local branches of the movement tried to legalize themselves in courts across Poland, but all these attempts were refused. On August 31, 1987, the 7th anniversary of the Gdańsk Agreement, street demonstrations and clashes with police took place in Warsaw, Wrocław, Lublin, and Bydgoszcz. [8] On March 8, 1988, on the 20th anniversary of the 1968 Polish political crisis, activists of the Independent Students Union organized demonstrations in Warsaw, Kraków and Lublin. Most active demonstrators were immediately repressed by the government. On April 21, 1988, 5000 workers of Stalowa Wola Steelworks organized a meeting, during which they demanded end of repressions of Solidarity activists, and 20,000 złoty salary increase. [9] The first strikes broke out four days later, on April 25, 1988, in mass transportation centers in northern cities of Bydgoszcz[10] and Inowrocław. On the next day, one of the biggest companies of the country, Vladimir Lenin Steelworks in Kraków, joined the strike. The workers demanded salary increase, re-employment of Solidarity activists, who had been fired during the martial law, as well as legalization of Solidarity. [11] Meanwhile, a strike broke out in Stalowa Wola Steelworks. Both these actions were suppressed by the Communist security forces (ZOMO), supported by anti-terrorist units. In Stalowa Wola, a demonstration of force, together with threats of use of regular army troops, was sufficient, and the strikers gave up on April 30. In Kraków, however, the workers continued their action, therefore the government decided to use power. In the night of May 4/5, the steelworks were brutally pacified by the ZOMO and anti-terrorist units. [12] In reaction to the attack, workers of several factories across the country organized protests and meetings. On May 1, 1988, opposition activists organized peaceful demonstrations in several Polish cities, such as Bielsko-Biała, Dąbrowa Górnicza, Gdańsk, Kraków, Łódź, Płock, Poznań, Warsaw, and Wrocław. They were attended by thousands of people, and in some places, street fights erupted. On the next day, a strike broke out in Lenin Gdańsk Shipyard, where workers demanded legalization of Solidarity. Soon, Tadeusz Mazowiecki and Andrzej Wielowieyski showed up in Gdańsk, ready to talk to the management of the plant. However, the talks were fruitless, and on May 10, after threats of use of force, the strike ended in the atmosphere of failure. [9] The last strike of the spring took place in Szczecin, involving workers of city’s mass transit system. During late spring and early summer of 1988, the situation in Poland did not improve. In several cities, local Solidarity branches unsuccessfully tried to legalize the union. On June 19, local elections took place, and Solidarity urged voters to boycott them. On July 26, government spokesman Jerzy Urban said that Solidarity permanently belonged to the past, and two days later, Polish sociologists announced that only 28% of Poles believed that government’s reforms would succeed. Most people thought that the reforms would end up with even deeper crisis. [13] The first strike of summer 1988 took place in the Upper Silesian city of Jastrzębie-Zdrój, and it began on August 15. On August 15, a strike broke out at the July Manifesto coal mine in Jastrzębie-Zdrój; the mine had been a center of strikes eight years earlier (see Jastrzębie-Zdrój 1980 strikes). Importantly, miners from July Manifesto tried to start a strike on May 15, 1988, but the main activists of Solidarity had been arrested by the Służba Bezpieczeństwa, whose special agents got word of the plans.
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Strike
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Flooding and mudslides add to St. Vincent’s volcano woes
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KINGSTOWN, St. Vincent (AP) — Heavy rains poured down on the island of St. Vincent and the Grenadines on Thursday, causing flooding and mudslides that damaged some homes and further battered areas already burdened by heavy ashfall from eruptions of La Soufriere volcano. Authorities said there were no reports of deaths or injuries as the storm deluged the Caribbean nation for hours, with some areas receiving from 3 inches (7.5 centimeters) to 5 inches (12.5 centimeters) of rain. Forecasters warned that an additional 2 inches (5 centimeters) were possible over the next 24 hours. There were reports of caved-in roofs and some structures wrecked by landslides and flooding in rural areas, and authorities said bridges also sustained damage. Problems in Kingstown, the capital, were confined to high water. “I drove my vehicle into Kingstown this morning. However, if the flood doesn’t clear, I may have to leave it in the city,” said Darren Williams, a salesman. The troubles follow a series of eruptions at La Soufriere that began April 9 and blanketed parts of St. Vincent island with heavy ash that has damaged buildings and ruined farm fields. Over 20,000 people have had to leave their homes and the water supply and electricity were disrupted. Roderick Stewart, a volcano seismologist at the University of the West Indies Seismic Research Center, said on the state radio station that monitoring equipment had registered indications of lahars, dangerous slides of fast-moving volcanic ash turned into slurry by the rainstorm. “Our seismometers have been picking up signals from lahars in several locations, so we suspect there are lahars in all the major drainages and it may have caused quite a lot of damage as it passed down from the volcano into the sea,” Stewart said. He said the volcano itself had been relatively quiet recently. “It does seem to be going back — I won’t say to sleep, cause that’s a bit hopeful — but it does seem to be quieting down,” Stewart said.
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Mudslides
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NASA is going to slam a spacecraft into an asteroid. Things might get chaotic.
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A new simulation shows that when the DART mission hits the target asteroid, it could send it spinning and wobbling in a dramatic way. By September 9, 2021 NASA/Johns Hopkins APL The dinosaurs didn’t have a space program, so when an asteroid headed toward Earth with their name on it 65 million years ago, they had no warning and no way to defend themselves. We know how that turned out. Humans are, understandably, keen to avoid the same fate. Later this year, NASA will launch a mission to practice how we might deflect a future Earthbound asteroid. The Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) is targeted to launch as soon as November 24 (or as late as February 2022 ) and will take a year to reach its target: Dimorphos, a stadium-size asteroid that is orbiting a much larger asteroid called Didymos. The plan is to hit Dimorphos at a speed of 6.5 kilometers per second with the car-sized DART spacecraft, which weighs about a third of a ton, changing its almost-12 hour orbit around Didymos by a few minutes. A European Space Agency mission arriving five years later, called Hera, will check to see if the mission worked. The impact will have only a small effect on the orbit, but that should be enough to deflect an asteroid from Earth’s path in the future—so long as we hit it far enough in advance. “We’re doing this to have the ability to prevent a truly catastrophic natural disaster,” says Tom Statler, DART program scientist at NASA headquarters in Washington, DC. The potential changes to the orbit of Dimorphos have been well studied. But until now we haven’t known much about what will happen to Dimorphos itself after the impact. A paper published in the journal Icarus documents the first simulations to find out. Related Story This spacecraft is being readied for a one-way mission to deflect an asteroid Can slamming into a space rock at 15,000 miles per hour prevent it from hitting Earth? The DART mission aims to find out. Led by Harrison Agrusa from the University of Maryland, researchers modeled how much DART might change the spin or rotation of Dimorphos by calculating how the momentum of the impact will alter the asteroid’s roll, pitch, and yaw. The results could be dramatic. “It could start tumbling and enter a chaotic state,” says Agrusa. “This was really quite a big surprise.” The unexpected spinning poses some interesting challenges. It will add to the difficulty of landing on the asteroid, which ESA hopes to attempt with two small spacecraft on its Hera mission. It could also make future attempts to deflect an Earthbound asteroid more complicated, as any rotation can affect an asteroid’s path through space. When DART slams into Dimorphos, the energy of the impact will be comparable to three tons of TNT exploding, sending thousands of pieces of debris spewing into space . Statler describes it as a golf cart traveling at 15,000 miles an hour smashing into the side of a football stadium. The force of the impact will not cause any immediate changes to Dimorphos’s spin, but within days things will start to change, according to Agrusa and his team. Soon, Dimorphos will start to wobble very slightly. This wobble will grow and grow as the momentum from the impact throws the rotation of Dimorphos out of balance, with no friction in the vacuum of space to slow it down. Dimorphos may start to spin one way and another. It may start to rotate along its long axis, like a rotisserie. To an observer on Didymos looking into the sky, this seemingly sedate satellite will take on a new form—starting to swing wildly back and forth, its previously hidden sides now coming into view. Within weeks, Dimorphos could spin so much that it enters a chaotic tumbling state where it is spinning uncontrollably around its axes. In more extreme scenarios the tidal lock with Didymos could break completely and Dimorphos might start flipping “head over heels,” says Agrusa. Exactly what will happen will depend on a few things. Dimorphos’s shape will play an important part—if it’s more elongated rather than spherical, it’ll spin more chaotically. Radar observations so far suggest it is elongated, but we won’t know until just hours before DART hits, when it gets its first views of its small target. The location of the impact will play a part too. DART will be aiming for the center of Dimorphos, the goal being to impart the greatest amount of force so as to alter its orbit, but the more off-center it is, the more chaotic the resulting spin will be. In most scenarios, however, Dimorphos should be dramatically swinging back and forth or tumbling in many directions within weeks. When ESA’s Hera mission arrives five years later, the scene could be quite dramatic, with Dimorphos spinning wildly in its orbit around Didymos as a result of humanity’s influence. It will likely be decades or even centuries before the gravitational tug of Didymos returns Dimorphos to its original, presumed tidally locked, state. “The possibility that Hera might find Dimorphos in a chaotic tumbling state is really interesting and really exciting,” says Statler. Hera’s arrival will be the only way we’ll know for sure what has happened to the spin of Dimorphos, as DART will be destroyed by the impact and Dimorphos is too small to be seen in detail from Earth. A small Italian-made satellite called LICIACube will be deployed prior to the impact and will take images during the event as it whizzes past, but it will only do so for a few minutes—not long enough to watch the wobbling take hold. Hera is also planning to deploy two smaller satellites that will attempt to land on the surface of Dimorphos. The tumbling motion is not expected to hamper these efforts, but it could make them more difficult. Without proper planning for the chaotic rotation, the two small vehicles could bounce around and not quite end up where scientists want. “Landing on such a small body is hard anyway,” says Patrick Michel from the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS), one of the mission leads on Hera and a coauthor on Agrusa’s paper. “But [this] doesn’t make it easier.” The tumbling motion of Dimorphos is not expected to affect DART’s dress rehearsal for one day saving Earth, nor will it pose any danger to us on the planet, but there could be some scientifically useful information from the event. The spin state of asteroids could affect other properties, such as how much sunlight they reflect, which can have an impact on their trajectories—possibly something to take into account on a future asteroid deflection mission. “It’s not as simple as just crashing a spacecraft into the asteroid,” says astronomer Paul Wiegert of the University of Western Ontario. “There’s a lot of physics you need to understand.”
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New achievements in aerospace
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2003 European Figure Skating Championships
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The 2003 European Figure Skating Championships was a senior international figure skating competition in the 2002–03 season. Medals were awarded in the disciplines of men's singles, ladies' singles, pair skating, and ice dancing. The event was held at the Malmö Ice in Malmö, Sweden from January 20 to 26, 2003. The compulsory dance was the Tango Romantica. The competition was open to skaters from European ISU member nations who had reached the age of 15 before 1 July 2002. The corresponding competition for non-European skaters was the 2003 Four Continents Championships. National associations selected their entries based on their own criteria. Based on the results of the 2002 European Championships, each country was allowed between one and three entries per discipline. Due to the large number of participants, the ladies' qualifying round was split into groups A and B.
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Sports Competition
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Indian navy warship conducts military exercise with South Korean vessel in East China Sea
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An Indian Navy warship carried out a military exercise with a South Korean vessel in the East China Sea on Monday amid China's growing assertiveness in the region, officials said. "Indian Navy's indigenous ASW Corvette INS Kiltan deployed in the Far East undertook Navy Partnership Exercise in East China Sea with Republic of Korea Navy Ship--ROKS Gyeongnam, a Daegu-class frigate, on June 28," a spokesperson of the Indian Navy said. The Navy partnership exercise is aimed at enhancing interoperability and facilitating exchange of best practices with partner navies in the maritime domain. #NavyPartnership Exercise.Enhancing inter-operability and facilitating exchange of best practices with #partner navies in #maritime domain (2/2).#ROKNavy #IndianNavy@ROK_MND @IndiainROK READ: INS Tabar deployed for naval exercises in Africa, Europe till September ALSO READ: Covid-19: INS Shardul brings medical oxygen supplies from Gulf to Mumbai port Click here for IndiaToday.in’s complete coverage of the coronavirus pandemic. Shah Rukh Khan meets son Aryan Khan in Arthur Road jail for 18 minutes | Details Gratitude to doctors, nurses: PM Modi lauds health workers for 100 crore vaccine doses Kajol reveals Ajay Devgn has borderline OCD Enter the Zuckerverse? Social media churns with new names for Facebook Watch: Ananya Panday reaches NCB office for questioning IAF Fighter Jet Crashes in Madhya Pradesh's Bhind DIU video: Global vaccination race against Covid-19 Aryan Khan's lawyers to move HC for bail; EC grills Jacqueline Fernandez in extortion case; more India hits record 1 billion Covid-19 vaccination mark Drugs case: NCB grills Ananya Panday for nearly 3 hours It's a day of pride for the entire nation: Dr VK Paul on 1-billion Covid vaccine feat
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Military Exercise
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2017 PDC World Darts Championship
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The 2017 William Hill World Darts Championship was the 24th World Championship organised by the Professional Darts Corporation since it separated from the British Darts Organisation. The event took place at Alexandra Palace in London from 15 December 2016 to 2 January 2017. Phil Taylor made a 28th successive appearance at a World Championship (including the BDO version), equalling the record of John Lowe. For the first time in the history of the World Darts Championship (PDC and BDO), no Englishman progressed to the semi-finals. It was also the first time since 2009 that the final was contested by the top 2 seeds. Michael van Gerwen set a new record for the highest World Darts Championship 3-dart average (114.05) in his semi-final victory over Raymond van Barneveld, breaking a 15-year record that had been held by Phil Taylor since 2002 (111.21); Van Barneveld himself set a new record for the highest losing 3-dart average (109.34) in the same tie, just 5 days after Cristo Reyes had broken the record in his second round match (106.07), also against Van Gerwen. Van Gerwen won his second World Championship title by defeating two-times defending champion Gary Anderson 7–3 in the final. [1][2]
The field consisted of 72 players, including 16 in a Preliminary Round. Therefore, 64 players were entered into Round 1. The schedule was announced on 15 July 2016. [3]
The 72 players consist of:
The draw was made on 28 November live on Sky Sports News. The preliminary round draw was made the previous night. [4]
Order of Merit
Pro Tour
European Pro Tour
PDPA QualifierFirst Round Qualifier
Preliminary Round Qualifiers
International Qualifiers
First Round Qualifiers
Preliminary Round Qualifiers
The prize money was £1,650,000 in total. The winner's prize money was increased from £300,000 to £350,000. [11] Prize money for a nine-dart finish was originally set at £5,000, but the PDC increased it to £25,000 due to 'the stature of the tournament', though none were thrown. [12]
Best of three sets. This table shows the highest averages achieved by players throughout the tournament. * The highest average in the history of the PDC World Championship. ** The highest losing average in the history of the PDC World Championship. *** The highest losing average in the final of a PDC World Championship. This table shows the number of players by country in the World Championship, the total number including the preliminary round. Twenty-two countries were represented in the World Championship, one less than in the previous championship. The tournament was available in the following countries on these channels:
Greece
Turkey
Cyprus
Malta
Israel
Italy
† Sky Sports F1 was renamed as Sky Sports Darts for the duration of the tournament.
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Sports Competition
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Low levels of PFAS chemicals found outside Tamworth airport
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Chemicals associated with a toxic firefighting foam have been found at 10 private properties around Tamworth airport, in northern New South Wales, but the council's general manager says the levels are not concerning.
Testing began after it was revealed elevated levels of what is commonly known as PFAS chemicals had been found at the airport.
Tamworth Regional Council's Paul Bennett said the 10 properties were within about one kilometre of the airport.
He said at six properties, the levels of PFAS found was below the drinking water guidelines.
At another three, the levels were above drinking water but below recreation guidelines and at one property, the level was above the recreation guidelines.
He said the water at that property was only used for watering lawns, and no one at any of the properties had been drinking the water, so there was no concern for human health.
"Nobody's swimming in it or anything like that so it would appear at this stage that the results are all very good," Mr Bennett said.
"Nobody has been exposed to any sort of risk from any potential contamination but of course, these are the initial results and we'll now go into an ongoing testing regime to ensure that we keep a good handle on what's actually happening with this chemical.
"This is great news for the community in that the levels are very low.
"A very low number of households have been affected and those households are not using it as drinking water so the risk has been basically eliminated."
The initial results mean there are 117 properties in the investigation area where there was no PFAS found.
The Council will now await advice from the Environment Protection Authority (EPA) about the ongoing testing needed to monitor for further movement of the chemical.
Mr Bennett said the contamination appeared to have been moving slowly so far.
"Considering the airport has been there going back to the 1950s, and not exactly knowing when they used this chemical and when they've done their exercises and so on, the fact that it's only moved that far over potentially 50 years or more would indicate there's not a lot of flow through those particular types of soils," he said.
"We're very fortunate that we don't have the sandy soils like in other parts of the state that have been exposed to this potential contaminate."
Earlier this month, Tamworth Regional Council resolved to approach the Federal Government to seek information about its planned response to the contamination, which has been found at a number of other sites across the country.
It also resolved to seek financial assistance with testing requirements.
"Any sort of contamination will always be a concern to residents until it's better understood," Mr Bennett said.
"What we're asking the Federal Government to do is tell us what the national response is going to be to this particular chemical.
"If we still have to maintain an ongoing testing regime, should our local community be wearing the cost of that testing regime, or will that be something the Federal Government will facilitate into the future?"
Mr Bennett said the sense of urgency had disappeared but action still needed to be taken.
"There are areas that are much worse affected than Tamworth so I don't think ours is now this super-urgent priority where we're really concerned about people's health," he said.
"But nevertheless, we are in the bucket with all of those that have also been affected in a much more severe way and when a strategy is put in place to deal with those other airports, we want to be part of that solution as well."
)
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Environment Pollution
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Mentor on Tap & Uncorked event canceled due to staffing challenges
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MENTOR, Ohio — The popular Mentor on Tap & Uncorked event planned for next month has been called off this year due to staffing and logistical challenges, according to the City of Mentor. Each year, Mentor on Tap & Uncorked draws in an average of 600 guests who come to taste creations from local brewers and vintners while enjoying live music and entertainment and dining at several food trucks on site. Recent Stories from news5cleveland.com But this year, the event had to be canceled with organizers citing the difficulties in staffing at local breweries and food vendors. “This is a fun and popular event but unfortunately, the effects of the pandemic are still with us,” said Ante Logarusic, Community Relations Administrator, in a press release. “It has been difficult obtaining and maintaining commitments from brewers, food vendors, and other suppliers due to staffing shortages.” Mentor on Tap & Uncorked was canceled in 2020 due to COVID-19 concerns and was already rescheduled twice this year before being canceled Wednesday. The event was scheduled for Oct. 2. Tickets will be fully refunded, the City of Mentor said, and organizers hope to resume the event in full in 2022.
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Organization Closed
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Northwest Middle School in Taneytown closed for in-person learning
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Updated: 11:15 AM EDT Sep 22, 2021 (UPDATE 9/22): Northwest Middle School students will return to in-person learning Thursday.ORIGINAL STORY: Northwest Middle School in Taneytown closed for in-person learning Tuesday and will remain closed through Wednesday due to COVID-19 cases and close contacts, Carroll County Public Schools announced.|| COVID-19 updates | Maryland's latest numbers | Get tested | Vaccine Info ||The district said it plans to resume in-person learning Thursday for students who have not tested positive or who have not been quarantined."According to the Health Department, closing the school temporarily will ensure that we are doing all we can to reduce the spread in the school and the community," the district said in a statement sent to 11 News education reporter Tim Tooten.A Carroll County Health Department mobile unit will be at the school from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Wednesday to test students from Northwest and its feeder schools, including Elmer Wolfe, Runnymede and Taneytown Elementary schools and Francis Scott Key High School. Testing will be by appointment only. Call 410-876-4645 until 5 p.m. Tuesday to make an appointment. This testing site is only for students at these schools.Others in Carroll County who need testing can find sites and other information online here.Virtual learning was initiated Tuesday morning, and students who are currently on quarantine should be attending classes virtually during this time.Sixth grade students who are attending Outdoor School this week should accept the invitation to the Outdoor School Google Classroom on their landing page. Students will attend virtually until school is back to in-person learning.The seventh and eighth grade Back to School Night scheduled for 6 p.m. Wednesday will now be held virtually via Microsoft Teams at this link.The district said school administration will be in contact with families regarding the return to in-person learning the day prior to reopening. TANEYTOWN, Md. — (UPDATE 9/22): Northwest Middle School students will return to in-person learning Thursday. ORIGINAL STORY: Northwest Middle School in Taneytown closed for in-person learning Tuesday and will remain closed through Wednesday due to COVID-19 cases and close contacts, Carroll County Public Schools announced. Advertisement || COVID-19 updates | Maryland's latest numbers | Get tested | Vaccine Info || The district said it plans to resume in-person learning Thursday for students who have not tested positive or who have not been quarantined. "According to the Health Department, closing the school temporarily will ensure that we are doing all we can to reduce the spread in the school and the community," the district said in a statement sent to 11 News education reporter Tim Tooten. A Carroll County Health Department mobile unit will be at the school from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Wednesday to test students from Northwest and its feeder schools, including Elmer Wolfe, Runnymede and Taneytown Elementary schools and Francis Scott Key High School. Testing will be by appointment only. Call 410-876-4645 until 5 p.m. Tuesday to make an appointment. This testing site is only for students at these schools. Others in Carroll County who need testing can find sites and other information online here . Virtual learning was initiated Tuesday morning, and students who are currently on quarantine should be attending classes virtually during this time. Sixth grade students who are attending Outdoor School this week should accept the invitation to the Outdoor School Google Classroom on their landing page. Students will attend virtually until school is back to in-person learning. The seventh and eighth grade Back to School Night scheduled for 6 p.m. Wednesday will now be held virtually via Microsoft Teams at this link . The district said school administration will be in contact with families regarding the return to in-person learning the day prior to reopening.
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Organization Closed
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2016 Women's Hockey Champions Trophy
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The 2016 Women's Hockey Champions Trophy was the 22nd edition of the Hockey Champions Trophy for women. It was held between 18 and 26 June 2016 in London, United Kingdom. [1]
Argentina won the tournament for a record seventh time after defeating the Netherlands 2–1 in the final. [2]
After three editions with two different formats, it was decided to go back to the same one used until the 2010 edition which consisted of a six-team, round robin tournament. A change in the qualification process was decided, similar to the one used until 2010. Alongside the host nation, the last Olympic, World Cup and World League champions qualify automatically as well as the winner of the 2014 Champions Challenge I. The remaining spot will be nominated by the FIH Executive Board, making a total of 6 competing teams. If teams qualify under more than once criteria, the additional teams will be invited by the FIH
Executive Board as well. [3]
Below are the nine umpires appointed by the International Hockey Federation:
All times are local (UTC+1). [4]
There were 70 goals scored in 18 matches, for an average of 3.89 goals per match. 7 goals
6 goals
4 goals
3 goals
2 goals
1 goal
Source: FIH
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Sports Competition
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See what popular Halloween attractions in the Hudson Valley will not take place in 2021
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The organizers of Forest O'Fears: The Haunting of Cedar Lane, a haunted attraction in Ossining, announced on Sept. 19 via a note on its Facebook page that it will not return for the 2021 season due to concerns over COVID-19, noting "we promise to be back with a vengeance next year as long as we kick the crap out of this pandemic. For now, we wish everyone a happy, safe and spooky Halloween season." The Haunt at Rocky Ledge A northern White Plains Halloween attraction, The Haunt at Rock Ledge posted a note to its website announcing that it would not return in 2021. "While we are sad to go another year without the haunt," reads the note, "we have set our sights on 2022." Horseman's Hollow The popular haunted walkthrough attraction, traditionally held at Sleepy Hollow's Philipsburg Manor Restoration, will not return for the 2021 season. "Historic Hudson Valley’s fall events require year-round work and planning," Rob Schweitzer, vice president of communications and commerce for Historic Hudson Valley, said. "As we considered the calendar for 2021, we did not see a way we could safely mount Horseman’s Hollow this year, and so after much deliberation we decided to take a pause. Whether it’s with Horseman’s Hollow or a new thrilling fall season experience, we are excited to plan for having Philipsburg Manor back as a venue in our fall roster next year." Jay Ghoul's House of Curiosities Lyndhurst will not be hosting Jay Ghoul's House of Curiosities, but there will "Fall Classic Mansion Tours" offered of the historic mansion throughout the day. According to a Lyndhurst spokesperson, Jay Ghoul's was put on hold to meet the demand of weddings and special events that had to be reschedule in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. For up-to-date information on fall happenings at Lyndhurst, visit lyndhurst.org . Tarrytown Halloween Parade and block party The cancelation of Tarrytown Halloween Parade, which attracts thousands of participants and attendees, was announced on the parade's Facebook page on Aug. 3. In a statement on the Tarrytown Halloween Parade website, the parade's coordinators said the decision was made "to protect our most precious attendees, our children." Nyack Halloween Parade Nyack's Halloween Parade, another event which draws thousands to the village's streets, was canceled as of Sept. 16. In a post on the Nyack Chamber of Commerce Facebook page, coordinators cited "concerns for public health and public safety" being the cause of cancelation. "Since the beginning, we've been trying to make sure we're being careful and making the right decisions for the community," Nyack village mayor Don Hammond said. "We worked with the Chamber (of Commerce), it's their event not the village's, and really the feeling was we're not quite ready to do that level of gathering yet." According to the Chamber's post, the parade will return in 2022. The Chamber also notes there will be other Halloween festivities to be on the lookout for in 2021. White Plains Halloween street festival/parade The City of White Plains made the decision not to host a large street festival or parade in 2021. But, according to Fran Croughan, the city's deputy commissioner of Recreation and Parks, White Plains is planning "a festival alternative with COVID safety in mind."
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Organization Closed
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1943–44 Australian bushfire season
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A series of major bushfires following severe drought conditions in the state of Victoria in Australia, occurred during the summer of 1943–44. It was the driest summer ever recorded in Melbourne until 2002 with just 46 millimetres or 1.81 inches falling, a third of the long-term average. [1] Between 22 December 1943 and 15 February 1944, burnt an estimated one million ha,[2] 51 people were killed, 700 injured, and 650 buildings were destroyed across the state. [3] Many personnel who would have been normally available for fire fighting duties had been posted overseas and to remote areas of Australia during World War II. [1]
The first major fire was a grassfire at Wangarrata on 22 December which burnt hundreds of hectares and resulted in 10 deaths. [3] On 14 January and the following day, fires broke out across the state. [1] To the west of Melbourne, a series of bushfires broke out between South Australian border and the outskirts of Geelong including areas near the towns of Hamilton, Skipton, Dunkeld, Birregurra and Goroke. [1] Many smaller towns were substantially damaged. In Derrinallum, the only buildings left standing were the Mechanics' Institute, two churches and several business premises. [4] In central Victoria, fires occurred near Daylesford, Woodend, Gisborne and Bendigo. [1] In the Melbourne area, 63 homes were destroyed at Beaumaris and another 5 in the Glenroy – Pascoe Vale area. [5]
On 14 February a fire broke out near Yallourn. [5] In Hernes Oak, 16 houses and the post office were destroyed while 80 houses were destroyed and 6 lives lost in the Morwell district and 40 houses destroyed and 3 deaths occurred in the Traralgon area. [5]
A major outcome following the fires was a Royal Commission led by Judge Leonard Stretton and the establishment of the Country Fire Authority in 1945 to co-ordinate rural fire brigades.
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Fire
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Brian Manning back home...spends first anniversary in quarantine
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San Fernando East Member of Parliament Brian Manning spent his first wedding anniversary at home under quarantine with his wife. Manning, who was hospitalised after contracting Covid-19, was discharged last Friday. In a telephone interview on Tuesday, he told the Express he was doing well and working from home while quarantined. His wife, media executive Shelly Dass, who also tested positive for Covid-19 and spent time recovering at home, was on the mend. Both are fully vaccinated. On Sunday, they celebrated their first anniversary as a married couple. Manning said it was a quiet day. “We were very happy and very grateful that we were spending our first anniversary together and that we are both on the road to recovery. It was a good time, all things considered.” Updating on his health, Manning said: “I’m doing well, everything is great. I’m in quarantine, getting some rest, working from home and just ensuring that our constituency events are executed as planned and also several of the things ...the Ministry of Finance ... we want to wrap up before the end of the year…I’m doing everything to stay on top of the responsibilities I have, even though I’m home recovering.” Unsure of outcome without vaccine Manning, who has no comorbidities, said he was surprised that he had to be admitted to hospital. “My breathing became very shallow and that’s really what alerted us to maybe I should check myself in and that’s what I did,” said the Minister in the Ministry of Finance. Manning, who spent days at Couva Hospital and Multi-Training Facility, described the medical staff as extremely professional. “I really appreciated the work that they did while I was there. I had an opportunity to visit the intensive care unit and it was really a harrowing experience and the one thing I would want to say to everyone is please get vaccinated. “Vaccination is supposed to work on modifying your immune system to make you better resist the effects of the virus and, without that support, there are some people who just are not going to survive...The stark reality is that you need to do something to protect yourself because you never know. Some people may get the virus and get over it in a few days and be fine, other people won’t, whether you have comorbidities or not,” he added. “If I weren’t vaccinated, I don’t know what the outcome would have been and the numbers show that persons who are unvaccinated are far more likely to die if ever they were to acquire this virus. So please take care of yourselves and your loved ones.” While there are those who said Manning would have been treated better than others while at the hospital, he said: “I’m pretty sure that all of the medical professionals there are doing all they can to assist everyone that they can and I’m not aware of any special treatment.” Manning said since his discharge from the medical institution he has been doing breathing exercises. And he was grateful for the outpouring of love, concern and prayers he and his wife received from the national community during what he described as a challenging time.
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Famous Person - Recovered
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1988 Remscheid A-10 crash
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The 1988 Remscheid A-10 crash occurred on December 8, 1988, when an A-10 Thunderbolt II attack jet of the United States Air Force crashed onto a residential area in the city of Remscheid, West Germany. The aircraft crashed into the upper floor of an apartment complex. In addition to the pilot, five people were killed. Fifty others were injured, many of them seriously. According to press reports[1] the plane was engaged in a low-altitude flight exercise. It belonged to a unit from Bentwaters Air Base but at the time of the accident was stationed at Nörvenich Air Base, a so-called Forward Operation Location (FOL). [2]
The flight leader, Captain Marke F. Gibson,[3] was leading his flight followed by his wingman, Captain Michael P. Foster. The cause of the accident was attributed to spatial disorientation, after both planes encountered difficult and adverse weather conditions for visual flying. Captain Gibson was able to maneuver his aircraft to safety, but Captain Foster's aircraft crashed into the houses in Stockder Strasse. [4]
When the number of cancer cases in the vicinity of the accident rose disproportionately in the years after, suspicion rose that the jet, contrary to US statements, may have been loaded with ammunition containing depleted uranium. [5][6] This was denied by the US military. However, 70 tons of top soil from the accident scene was removed and taken away to a depot (which also happens to be standard procedure for cleanup when a large amount of jet fuel is spilled on populated ground, such as in a plane crash). [7] Also, film material taken during the top-soil removal show radiation warning signs. [8] 120 residents and rescue workers reported skin diseases. Medical diagnosis concluded that these symptoms related to toxic irritative Dermatitis. [9]
Damages accounted to approximately DM 13 million and were covered 75% by the US Air Force and 25% by the West German Government. This Germany-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. 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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1973 Luhuo earthquake
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The 1973 Luhuo earthquake struck near the town of Zhaggo in the Garzê Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of Sichuan Province, China on February 6 with a magnitude of 7.6 Ms. The earthquake had a maximum intensity of X (Extreme) on the Mercalli intensity scale, resulting in 2,199 deaths and a further 2,743 injuries in Sichuan. [5][1] Serious and widespread
destruction to villages was reported in Luhuo County as a result of the earthquake. Western Sichuan is situated at the edge of the Tibetan Plateau in a vast zone of complex continental deformation caused by the collision of the Indian Plate with the Eurasian Plate. As the thrusting of the Indian Plate beneath the Eurasian Plate along the Himalayas continues, the continental crust within the Eurasian Plate is actively uplifted and thickened, forming the Tibetan Plateau. As there are no active thrust structures within the plateau, compression is accommodated by strike-slip motion along large structures including the Altyn Tagh Fault, Kunlun Fault, Haiyuan Fault and Xianshuihe fault system. Left-lateral strike-slip motion squeezes the crustal blocks of the Tibetan Plateau outwards, forcing it to move eastwards. Meanwhile, the strike-slip motion also results in east-west extension of the plateau, causing normal faults to break within the thickened crust. [6][7]
The Xianshuihe fault system is a 1,400-km-long active left-lateral strike-slip fault that accommodate the strike-slip motion in the Tibetan Plateau. The fault is one of the largest active intracontinental geological structure in the world. Beginning in 1893, at least 350 km of the fault length has ruptured in large successive earthquakes with magnitudes 6.5 or larger. [8] Going back to the year 1700 to present-day, the fault has ruptured its entire 1,400 km length during large earthquakes. [9]
A large aftershock of Ms 6.3 followed one day later, likely triggered by coulomb stress transfer due to the mainshock. [4][10]
Initially, the earthquake registered 7.9 on the Chinese surface wave magnitude scale but further analysis and recalculation of the event brought the final revision to magnitude 7.6. [11] This event was the result of pure left-lateral slip on the Luhou segment of the Xianshuihe fault system. During the earthquake of 1973, the Xianshuihe fault ruptured for a length of 90 km and produced a maximum slip of 3.8 meters in the shallow 0 to 5 km section of the rupture zone. [12][2] Surface ruptures were well documented by scientists throughout the 90 km length extending from Renda to Kasu. The southeastern 10 km segment of the earthquake rupture overlapped that of the 1923 Kasu earthquake,[13] another Ms 7.3 earthquake on the Xianshuihe Fault. [11][12]
The Luhuo segment of the Xianshuihe fault system was also the source of a magnitude 7.5 earthquake in 1816. Field research through trenching at the Luhuo segment however, revealed a record of earthquake history on the fault in the past 3,000 years. The first event identified in the exposed strata layers corresponded to the year 769 BC. Five additional events were also identified to have occurred in the years 318–545 AD, 677–833 AD, and 1008–1444 AD. A recurrence interval has been calculated at between 157 to 1,200 years for the earthquakes from 769 BC to 1973 AD. [14]
The earthquake caused extensive destruction throughout the 90 km of rupture. [11] Almost all the homes near or in the path of the rupture were completely destroyed, amounting to at least 15,700. [15][16] An estimated 2,867 buildings were also heavily damaged. Across two twns in Luhuo County, 4,600 of the 5,000 homes collapsed while another 880 suffered serious damage. A further 90 sustained cracks. China National Highway 318 or the Sichuan-Tibet highway was damaged by rockfalls, landslides and ground cracks at 17 locations. Other roads, bridges and telecommunication systems were damaged or disrupted as well. Some 40,427 livestock died and 2.01 million kilograms of food were lost in the disaster. [16]
The earthquake also triggered 40 to 50 landslides in the Xianshui River valley. [17] Nearly all recorded landslide features were distributed within a 70 km by 2 km, or 409 km² area within the valley. [3] Field surveys observed 137 landslides all within the zone of VIII or greater. [3]
The earthquake claimed the lives of anywhere between 2,175 to 2,204 people in Sichuan Province. It also left 43 orphans in the aftermath. [18]
A division of the People's Liberation Army was sent to the affected area to assist in rescue and recovery efforts. In the division were at least 668 medical crew from 49 groups which attended to injured survivors. [19]
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Earthquakes
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Siskin's StarNight 2021 event canceled amid COVID concerns
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Another event has been canceled as the number of COVID cases continues to rise in the Tennessee Valley. Siskin Children’s Institute canceled their StarNight 2021, previously scheduled for Saturday, September 25, citing the rising number of COVID-19 cases.? “We are saddened that we are having to cancel our 60th annual StarNight celebration. Our team has worked really hard in preparation for this event, but we have decided that it is in the best interest of our families, supporters, community, and staff to cancel this year’s event due to the increased risk of contracting COVID-19” said Derek Bullard, President and CEO of Siskin Children’s Institute.? Siskin thanked their numerous sponsors, which include: Hamico Inc., First Horizon Bank, Double-Cola, W.R. Grace, Pris & Robert Siskin, Commercial Metals Company, Charles & Betty Lebovitz, Jo Ann Yates, Helen Pregulman, Siskin Steel & Supply Co., Southeastern Salvage Home Emporium, ERMC Security Solutions, SimplyBank., Gerber-Taylor, UTC College of Health, Education, and Professional Studies, Movita Steiner, Husch Blackwell, Chattanooga Christian School, Pinnacle Financial Partners, the Binder Family, ACT Business Machines, Chattanooga Times Free Press, Reagan Outdoor Advertising-Chattanooga, Sunny 92.3, and WRCB Channel 3 Eyewitness News.? You can still support Siskin's work to improve the quality of life for children with special needs by making a donation at the Siskin Children’s Institute website.
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Organization Closed
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2007 Australian equine influenza outbreak
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An outbreak of equine influenza (EI) in Australia was confirmed by the Department of Primary Industries (New South Wales) on 24 August 2007 in Sydney. Also known as "horse flu" and "A1 influenza", the rapid outbreak was of the Influenza A virus strain of subtype H3N8. While the virus is highly contagious, it rarely kills adult horses but the performance of thoroughbred racing horses can be affected for several weeks. It can be fatal to young foals and debilitated horses. Because of strict quarantine procedures to reduce the risk of exotic pests and diseases entering Australia, this was the first outbreak of equine influenza in Australia. Horses in Australia had not been exposed to the virus and, not being vaccinated, were fully susceptible. [1]
A combination of control measures was successful in combating the outbreak. The last new infected property was identified on 22 December 2007. The zones which had been instituted to permit and restrict movements according to risk were progressively lifted from areas of New South Wales and Queensland. Following the provisional declaration of EI-free status for New South Wales and Queensland, ongoing surveillance and tracking measures are required until the international community recognises that the disease has been eradicated from Australia. Four Japanese racing stallions had arrived at Eastern Creek Quarantine Station earlier in August 2007, soon after an outbreak of EI in Japan. By Tuesday 21 August, several horses at Eastern Creek showed symptoms of a viral infection and subsequently tested positive for equine influenza. On the same day, several recreational horses at Centennial Parklands Equestrian Centre also displayed symptoms of infection. There was no direct contact between horses at Eastern Creek and horses at Centennial Park and investigations are underway. The first case of EI in Australia was confirmed in a stallion at Eastern Creek on 24 August. The positive test resulted in the lockdown of approximately 60 horses at the Eastern Creek and Spotswood quarantine stations (in Sydney and Melbourne respectively). 16 horses at Eastern Creek and at Centennial Parklands tested positive for EI virus while another six exhibited symptoms. By the next day, there were over 80 suspected cases. [2] All horses were isolated and a 72-hour national standstill on the movement of horses was declared. By 26 August 161 of the 165 horses at Centennial Parklands and other horses at Parkes, Moonbi, Berry, Wilberforce, Cattai and Wyong were confirmed as being infected. [3] Most of the infected horses at Centennial Park were found to have been together at a One Day Event at Maitland the previous week. [4]
On 26 August 2007 about 300 horses were released from the Narrabri Showground where campdraft competitions were held. By 27 August, more than 400 horses on 50 properties in New South Wales had been quarantined after showing symptoms. [5] A horse trials event at the Morgan Park Equestrian Centre near Warwick in Queensland was locked down after 20 infections were confirmed. [6][7] Horses at Gatton tested positive on 27 August. [8] Also on 27 August, New South Wales police confirmed that six police horses had tested positive and the police stables were placed under quarantine for two months. [9] Police horses were suspected of being infected after some police riders attended the Maitland gymkhana. [10] Infections were confirmed and quarantine zones established at Mount Hunter, Moree, Aberdeen and Anambah. On 29 August, a racecourse at Hamilton in Victoria went into lockdown when a horse began to exhibit signs of influenza however, the flu tests were negative. [11][12]
Additional quarantine zones were declared at Lake Macquarie, Terry Hie Hie, East Maitland, Warwick, Timbumburi, Eagleton (near Raymond Terrace) and some areas of Kenthurst following further positive flu tests. On 30 August, a thoroughbred racehorse at Randwick Racecourse returned a preliminary positive test for EI, although did not have any symptoms of infection. Track work was cancelled and the stables were locked down. [13] Tests confirmed that eight race horses in the stable had EI and the racecourse was quarantined for two months. [14] This brought the number of confirmed infections to 488 on 41 properties, plus another 1,646 suspected infections on 100 properties. [15] The first infection in Brisbane was confirmed, increasing the number of quarantine zones in Queensland to five. [16]
In early November, it was announced that a new outbreak of EI occurred about 4 kilometres (2.5?mi) south of Walcha. [17]
By early December, the number of new cases had declined and it appeared that the outbreak had been effectively contained. On 22 December a substantial part of the New South Control one was promoted to a provisionally free status. [18]
By mid February 2008 it was increasingly clear that the outbreak had been successfully controlled and, on 28 February, the NSW Government declared victory against EI, lifting most of the remaining movement restrictions on horses. [19]
There had been no direct contact between the horses at Eastern Creek and Centennial Parklands. Veterinary surgeons suggested the virus must have been transmitted between the two locations by human error. [20] The NSW Government blamed the Eastern Creek quarantine station and demanded the Federal Government hold an inquiry into the "biosecurity breach". [21]
Federal Agriculture Minister Peter McGauran denied any quarantine breach and said the Maitland event "seems to be where the spread of the infection occurred". [22]
A 10?km (6?mi) quarantine zone was declared around Eastern Creek Quarantine Station and the Centennial Parklands Equestrian Centre, where the first infections were identified, on 24 August. Quarantine zones were then placed around each new infection site. Agriculture Minister Peter McGauran ordered a 72-hour nationwide ban on all horse and harness racing on 25 August. [23]
A national standstill was decided by the National Committee for Exotic Animal Disease to begin at 1pm on Saturday 25 August. Each state and territory was responsible for enacting the legal instrument within their borders. All horse movements were halted within New South Wales on 25 August, initially for 72 hours. The Control Order was made under the Exotic Diseases of Animals Act 1991 making it illegal to move horses.
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Disease Outbreaks
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2007 Tabasco flood
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Coordinates: 17°58′19″N 92°35′17″W / 17.972°N 92.588°W / 17.972; -92.588
The 2007 Tabasco flood occurred in late October and early November 2007 in the Mexican states of Tabasco and Chiapas, in which as much as 80% of the former was left under water. [1] At least 20,000 people were forced to seek emergency shelter. [2] Over 1,000,000 residents were affected. [3][4]
The southern Mexican state of Tabasco is bordered by the states of Veracruz to the west, Chiapas to the south, and Campeche to the north-east. To the east Tabasco borders with the Petén department of Guatemala, and to the north with the Gulf of Mexico. Tabasco is in the northern half of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec. The state capital is Villahermosa. The hydrology of Tabasco is complex. Most of the state is a wide coastal plain crossed by rivers coming from the mountains further south in Chiapas and Guatemala. The two main rivers in the region are the Río Grijalva and the Río Usumacinta, which converge before draining into the Gulf of Mexico north of Villahermosa through the wildlife-rich wetlands known as the Pantanos de Centla. These rivers are considered mature, since they are in the lowest part of their course, and the plain they cross allows them broad, wide flows, meandering and dividing into separate branches. This is the case with the Grijalva, which separates into several branches in the central part of Tabasco (known locally as the Río Carrizal, Río Samaría and Río Mezcalapa). These three rivers converge at Villahermosa, where they recombine and again take the name Grijalva. The main branch of the Grijalva in Chiapas is dammed by the country's four largest hydroelectric plants. The Tabasco floods caused largely by the sinking of the land over the last century. The constant extraction of petroleum and gas, the construction of dams in the zone, the erosion of land and deforestation have all contributed toward making this region more flood-prone. Deforestation has allowed silt to fill in rivers thereby reducing their capacity and making floods more likely. [5]
With the onset of constant rainfall due to a low pressure system located nearby, the combination of these influences contributed to making the flood event even worse than it might otherwise have been. Some have suggested that global warming has increased sea levels, making water regions at the low sandy zones of the Gulf of Mexico disappear. However, sea level rises due to global warming were probably still negligible in their contribution to these floods. A number of sources point to the misuse of hydroelectric dams as a cause of the floods. Hydroelectric plants in the dams of Tabasco share the production of electricity with newer, private, more expensive gas plants. Investors complained that government owned plants cover most of the production of the electricity, lowering the price, and have put pressure on the government to lessen production on hydroelectric plants in order for them to sell more energy and raise their profit levels. This allegedly led to the dams retaining more water than they should have done. [6][7][8][9]
Tabasco was subject to heavy rain in late October and early November 2007, causing widespread flooding. As much as 80% of the state was under water. [1] At least 20,000 people were forced to leave their houses in the search of emergency shelter. [2] Over 1,000,000 residents have been affected. [3][4]
The 2007 Tabasco flood not only destroyed many family houses and took away people's belongings, but also affected theaters, libraries, artistic schools and museums. One of the buildings affected was the house of the poet Carlos Pellicer Cámara, which ended up under the water. The house where the poet lived his childhood is located in Narciso Sáenz 203, in the center of Villahermosa, Tabasco. Another historical house affected is located at 620 Calle Lerdo de Tejada, in Villahermosa, close to Carlos Pellicer's house. The house once was occupied by José Gorostiza, the author of the Muerte sin fin poem, his brother, the dramatist Celestino Gorostiza, and the man of letters Andrés Iduarte. [10]
Economic impact at national levels will be insignificant. There is important damage in the fields which is causing increases in banana and cacao prices. [11] The flood in Tabasco will not affect the economy in Mexico as much. Guillermo Ortiz Martínez, president of the Banco de México (the central bank), agrees that Mexico will not have excessive inflation because of the Tabasco flood. But some prices of products will increase such as banana and cacao. [12]
The General Peasant Confederation informed that because of the flooding, 100% of the harvests are lost. This represents an economic damage of US$480 million. President Felipe Calderón has sent seven thousand and five hundred people to help people in Tabasco. This is because of the major damage to roads, houses, and farms. [13]
The flood destroyed agricultural production in the state of Tabasco, the largest producer of cocoa in the country and a major source of bananas, but is not expected that losses affect international prices, experts said on Friday. Tabasco produces 80% of all Mexico's cocoa and 40% of its bananas, according to Luis Rey Carrasco Linares, an expert from the Autonomous University of Chapingo with his squad in Tabasco. The heavy rains that punished the state for more than a week occurred during the cocoa harvest, which lasts from September to December, Carrasco said. All this year's harvest is under water and was lost, he added. The floods caused profound devastation to agriculture, which is a Principal source of Income in the state. [14]
The loss will have its greatest impact for the more than 30,000 families who earn their living in the production of cocoa, Carrasco said, adding that before the flood, farmers were grappling with a
plague of fungus. [15]
"The situation is extraordinarily serious: This is one of the worst natural disasters in the history of the country" said President Felipe Calderón in a televised address on the night of 1 November 2007. [3]
The Tabasco flood caused the loss of thousands of books from the Villahermosa central library and 78 other libraries from five different municipalities.
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Floods
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Man faces charges after bank robbery, crash on US-23 in Ann Arbor during police chase
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Updated: March 29, 2021 12:32 pm Meredith Bruckner, Community News Producer, All About Ann Arbor ANN ARBOR – Ken Kenyatta Wilson was charged on Friday with a slew of felonies by the Washtenaw County Prosecutor’s Office. Wilson fled police officers on Tuesday afternoon after robbing the Chase Bank at 4101 E. Ellsworth Road in Pittsfield Township, leading to a chase when the suspect crashed his vehicle in the area of US-23 and Washtenaw Ave. The area was temporarily closed to traffic so that Michigan State Police could conduct an accident investigation. Wilson was transported to St. Joseph Mercy Ann Arbor hospital with serious injuries, but was reported to be in stable condition. Officers recovered stolen money, several firearms and ammunition from inside his vehicle and the scene of the crash. No one else was injured during the bank robbery or in the collision. Investigations at both the bank and the crash site were conducted by detectives, Pittsfield officers and evidence technicians. The 48-year-old Ypsilanti resident is being held without bond in the Washtenaw County Jail while he awaits court proceedings. Wilson was arraigned on the following charges: Anyone with information is asked to contact the Pittsfield Township Police Department at the following numbers:
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Bank Robbery
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Amateur Treasure Hunter Finds Trove of 1,000-Year-Old Viking Jewelry
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Buried on the Isle of Man around 950 A.D., the artifacts include a gold arm ring and a silver brooch Last December, retired police officer and metal detecting enthusiast Kath Giles made a stunning discovery while exploring a tract of private land on the Isle of Man: a trove of 1,000-year-old Viking jewelry. As Tobi Thomas reports for the Guardian, the cache includes a gold arm ring, a large silver brooch, a silver armband and a number of other artifacts dated to around 950 A.D. “I knew I had found something very special when I moved the soil away from one of the terminals of the brooch, [and] then I found parts of the pin, the hoop and underneath, the gorgeous gold arm-ring,” says Giles in a statement. After Giles unearthed the objects, she promptly contacted Manx National Heritage, an organization responsible for protecting and conserving historical artifacts on the island, which is a British dependency located off the northwest coast of England. All archaeological discoveries made on the Isle of Man must be reported to Manx within two weeks, notes BBC News. If experts deem the artifacts treasure, Giles may receive a finder’s fee. (Current guidelines define treasure very narrowly, but as Caroline Davies writes in a separate Guardian article, the United Kingdom government is working to expand these parameters in order to better protect the country’s national heritage items.) Some of the finds—including the gold-plaited arm ring, which is engraved with groups of three tiny dots—are particularly unique. “Gold items were not very common during the Viking Age,” says Allison Fox, an archaeologist at Manx, in the statement. “Silver was by far the more common metal for trading and displaying wealth. It has been estimated that gold was worth ten times the value of silver and that this arm ring could have been the equivalent of 900 silver coins.” Another highlight of the trove is a silver “thistle brooch of ball type,” according to the statement. It features a large hoop that measures about 8 inches in diameter and a 20-inch-long pin. The accessory’s owner would have used it to fasten thick garments while showcasing their wealth, as Ashley Cowie points out for Ancient Origins. According to Historic U.K., Vikings initially came to the Isle of Man between 800 and 815 A.D. The island later became an important trading post, connecting Dublin, northwest England and the Scottish Western Isles. “Kath’s hoard can be dated on stylistic and comparative grounds to about 950 A.D., a time when the Isle of Man was right in the middle of an important trading and economic zone,” says Fox in the statement. “The Viking and Norse influence remained strong on the island for a further 300 years, long after much of the rest of the British Isles.” Most of the recently uncovered items were “high-status personal ornaments,” notes the statement. A member of the nobility likely hid the stash ahead of an invasion. “The fact that all were found together, associated with one single deposition event, suggests that whoever buried them was extremely wealthy and probably felt immediately and acutely threatened,” says Fox in the statement. Last week, the artifacts went on temporary view at the Manx Museum, where they’ll remain prior to valuation and conservation work. “At the moment,” Fox tells the Guardian, “we know its historic and cultural value to the history of the Isle of Man, but its financial value will be assessed in the future.” Giles’ discovery arrives amid an uptick in interest in metal detecting. Last year, the U.K. government recorded 47,000 archaeological finds in England and Wales, according to a statement released by the British Museum. Officials reported that Covid-19 restrictions led to an increase in finds, with many pandemic-worn Brits seeking respite outdoors. Finds included gold coins inscribed with the initials of Henry VIII’s first three wives, rare Saxon pennies and a copper Roman furniture fitting.
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New archeological discoveries
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EuroBasket 1967
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The 1967 FIBA European Championship, commonly called FIBA EuroBasket 1967, was the fifteenth FIBA EuroBasket regional basketball championship, held by FIBA Europe. 1. Soviet Union: Sergei Belov, Modestas Paulauskas, Gennadi Volnov, Jaak Lipso, Anatoly Polivoda, Priit Tomson, Tõnno Lepmets, Alzhan Zharmukhamedov, Vladimir Andreev, Zurab Sakandelidze, Yuri Selikhov, Anatoli Krikun (Coach: Alexander Gomelsky)
2. Czechoslovakia: Jiří Zídek Sr., Jiří Zedníček, Jir i Ammer, Vladimir Pistelak, Frantisek Konvicka, Bohumil Tomasek, Robert Mifka, Jiri Ruzicka, Jan Bobrovsky, Karel Baroch, Jiří Marek, Celestyn Mrazek (Coach: Vladimir Heger)
3. Poland: Mieczysław Łopatka, Bohdan Likszo, Włodzimierz Trams, Grzegorz Korcz, Bolesław Kwiatkowski, Mirosław Kuczyński, Czesław Malec, Henryk Cegielski, Maciej Chojnacki, Waldemar Kozak, Kazimierz Frelkiewicz, Zbigniew Dregier (Coach: Witold Zagórski)
4. Bulgaria: Mincho Dimov, Ivan Vodenicharski, Cvjatko Barchovski, Georgi Khristov, Emil Mikhajlov, Slavejko Rajchev, Pando Pandov, Khristo Dojchinov, Georgi Genev, Boris Krastev, Temelaki Dimitrov, Bojcho Branzov (Coach: Kiril Khajtov)
9. Yugoslavia: Borut Basin, Ljubodrag Simonović, Zoran Marojević, Dragan Kapičić, Vladimir Cvetković, Dragoslav Ražnatović, Ratomir Tvrdić, Krešimir Ćosić, Damir Šolman, Goran Brajković, Aljoša Žorga, Petar Skansi (Coach: Ranko Žeravica)
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Sports Competition
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2016 Oklahoma earthquake
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The 2016 Oklahoma earthquake occurred on September 3, 2016 near Pawnee, Oklahoma. Measuring 5.8 on the moment magnitude scale, it is the strongest in state history. At 5.8 magnitude, this ties it with the 2011 Virginia earthquake, which was determined after it struck to be the most powerful quake in the eastern United States in the preceding 70 years. [3]
The initial quake was followed by nine local aftershocks between magnitudes 2.6 and 3.6 within three and one-half hours. [4] Some news reports indicated that the earthquake was felt as far south as San Antonio, Texas, as far north as Fargo, North Dakota, as far east as Memphis, Tennessee, and as far west as Gilbert, Arizona.
The earthquake was the largest ever recorded in the state, substantially exceeding a 5.1 magnitude earthquake which struck near Fairview in February 2016 and slightly more powerful than the 5.7 magnitude 2011 Oklahoma earthquake in Prague, Oklahoma. It occurred amid a significant increase in induced earthquakes in the central and eastern United States over the seven preceding years. Oklahoma in particular saw earthquake rates increase by over two hundred times between 2009 and 2016, from a background average of one to three a year, between 1975 and 2008. It experienced 585 quakes of magnitude 3 and larger, in 2014, compared with only 100 in 2013. This was over three times the number experienced by seismically active California in 2014.
Following the earthquake, Pawnee Nation declared a state of emergency and closed off several of its buildings until such time as the damage could be examined. [10] Regulators in Oklahoma ordered 37 wastewater disposal wells in the vicinity of the earthquake (see map in citation) to be rapidly closed. [11][12] Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin declared a state of emergency for Pawnee County where the worst of the damage was located. Thirty-two additional wells were shut down by the Environmental Protection Agency because they were determined to be located too close to the newly discovered fault on which the earthquake occurred. [15]
Several months after the earthquake, in March 2017, Pawnee Nation filed a lawsuit in its own tribal court alleging that a selection of oil companies injecting wastewater underground were responsible for causing the earthquake. One of the lawyers working on the side of the tribe stated that the case was being taken to its own court as a way of stressing its sovereignty. [16]
The earthquake occurred along a previously unmapped buried strike-slip fault, and the epicenter is located near the junction of the two previously mapped faults, Watchorn fault and Labette fault. [17]
The earthquake caused moderate to severe damage around the epicenter, especially in Pawnee, where various buildings were damaged. Damage was recorded 300 miles from Pawnee in the Kansas City area at the Wyandotte County, Kansas courthouse, which sustained a crack from the roof to the ground. [20] One person was injured as a result of the earthquake: in Pawnee, a man was hit by a falling chimney. There were also liquefaction-related ground damage during the earthquake. [22] The locations of liquefaction damage do not align with the fault that ruptured, but coincide with areas dominated by Quaternary alluvial deposits. [22]
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Earthquakes
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7 takeaways from the first day of COP26: Biden's apology, a forests deal and India's net zero pledge
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Royalty -- both real and of the TV variety -- was also in attendance, with Prince Charles urging leaders to work together, and the celebrated naturalist and broadcaster David Attenborough telling them future generations would judge them by their actions during this conference. Later in the day, Queen Elizabeth II welcomed world leaders in a video address played during a reception. "For more than seventy years, I have been lucky to meet and to know many of the world's great leaders. And I have perhaps come to understand a little about what made them special," the Queen said in her address. "It has sometimes been observed that what leaders do for their people today is government and politics. But what they do for the people of tomorrow -- that is statesmanship." India makes net-zero promise Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi made headlines on Monday by announcing a net-zero emissions target, pledging India will become carbon neutral by 2070. While it was a major announcement, as India had not yet put a date on its net-zero ambition, the 2070 target is a decade later than China's, and two decades after the world as a whole needs to achieve net-zero emissions in order to avoid temperatures from rising beyond 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial times. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi speaks at COP26. But Ulka Kelkar, climate program director at WRI India, an environmental research organization, said that because of India's economic development and energy mix, the target date should not be compared to those of the US or Europe. "It was much more than we were hoping for," said Kelkar. "Net-zero became a topic of public discourse only six months ago. This is something very new for Indians." "Just having this concept understood in India is going to give a very strong signal to all sectors of industry," she added. With India's announcement, all of the world's top 10 coal-power countries have committed to net-zero, according to climate think tank Ember. Australia brags about exceeding low emissions targets Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison trumpeted his country's work on cutting emissions, claiming that Australia was on track to lower the country's emissions by 35% until 2030. Those figures would exceed the country's Paris agreement commitment. The problem, though, is that Australia's targets are dramatically lower than many other major economies in the first place. Australia will be the rich world's weakest link at COP26 with hollow net-zero and emissions pledges Australia has pledged to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 26% to 28% by 2030, from 2005 levels, a commitment dwarfed by those made by the United States, European Union and United Kingdom, among other developed nations. US President Joe Biden, for example, increased his country's pledge in April to reduce emissions by 50% to 52% in the same time frame. The Australian Climate Council, which is independent of the government, has said a 75% slash in emissions would be more appropriate. Morrison's bullish speech will have done little to boost Australia's standing at the conference. Despite being devastated by wildfires in 2019 and 2020, the country's government has concerned other developed nations with its rhetoric and moves on the climate crisis in recent weeks. Small nations' disappointment Delegates from smaller nations have expressed their disappointment with the action (or rather, lack of action) by the world's richest nations. Flooding destroyed his home four times in three years. This is the reality of climate change for India's poor Mia Mottley, the Prime Minister of Barbados, an island that is already deeply threatened by rising sea levels, has warned that the climate crisis facing her country is perilous. She said it is a "code red to China, to the US, to Europe, to India." Antigua and Barbuda's Prime Minister Gaston Browne told CNN he was "encouraged by the increased ambitions" set by world leaders at the COP26 summit, but he also expressed disappointment, saying the targets set don't go "far enough in order to contain rising global temperatures at 1.5 degrees Celsius." And Panama's President Laurentino Cortizo said he is not feeling optimistic about what the COP26 conference can achieve. "We've heard all of this before. What we need is an action," Cortizo said. "I am not optimistic there will be enough of it." Covid-19 measures hampering the negotiations The COP26 President, British lawmaker Alok Sharma, said that being able to hold in-person negotiations, despite the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, was a key goal of his presidency. "For me it was vitally important that we have a physical meeting where every country is able to sit at the table, the biggest emitters, together with smaller nations, those who are the front line of climate change, and to be able to look each other in the eye as part of this negotiation," he told reporters on Sunday. But keeping the event Covid-free has been a challenge. All attendees have been asked to wear masks and take daily coronavirus tests. And while the venue is huge (approximately 1 kilometer from one end to the other), the sheer number of people on site makes social distancing difficult. The UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, the body that is in charge of the negotiations, has admitted the pandemic is causing issues. For example, due to social distancing, the largest room reserved for negotiations can only hold 144 seats -- even though there are 193 parties to be represented at the conference.
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Famous Person - Give a speech
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Wigan athlete Keely Hodgkinson breaks Kelly Holmes' national record to take silver at Tokyo Olympics
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"I am pretty speechless right now"
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Greater Manchester is bringing home another medal from the Tokyo 2020 Olympics after Keely Hodgkinson won the silver medal in the 800m. Keely, from Atherton in Wigan, ran the competition in one minute and 55.88 seconds - beating out a record held by Kelly Holmes since 1995. The British record for the 800m previously stood at one minute and 56.21 seconds and was achieved in Monte Carlo in September 1995.
Read more: How Greater Manchester has played a key role in making BMX Olympic heroes USA's Athing Mu beat out the Atherton star to claim the gold position with a time of one minute and 55.21 seconds.
Team GB's Jemma Reekie came forth after USA's Raevyn Rogers.
Speaking about her record-breaking run, Keely, 19, told the BBC : "I am pretty speechless right now. "Kelly Holmes is a legend and I looked up to her. I have been speaking to her for the past couple of days and she is a lovely person.
"I want to thank my amazing team, my family who have made so many sacrifices for me.
"I think it is just one of those things where you know something like that is possible but whether it comes out you just don't know. It was such a good race.
"I wanted to put it all out there and I did that. It is going to take a couple of days to sink in."
Keely’s win is the first track medal for Team GB during the Tokyo 2020 games.
The medal comes after Keely was named the European indoor 800m champion in March.
Earlier this morning, Rochdale's Stuart Bithell took gold in the men's Finn class while Bolton's Jason Kenny took the silver at the men’s team sprint.
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Break historical records
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2017 Botswana earthquake
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The 2017 Botswana earthquake is a magnitude 6.5 earthquake which occurred in the Central District of Botswana. It is the second largest earthquake recorded in Botswana next to the 6.7 magnitude earthquake in Maun which occurred in 1952. [1]
The earthquake which happened at 19:40, local time according to the US Geological Survey. It was felt for 30 seconds in the country's capital of Gaborone and was reportedly felt in neighboring South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Swaziland. [2] At least 36 students were injured in a stampede sparked by the earthquake. [3]
The epicenter area of the earthquake is covered by wind-blown sediments and there is no trace of a fault at the surface prior to the earthquake. [4] The phenomenon was suspected to be an artificial earthquake allegedly caused by hydraulic fracking activity in the Central Kalahari Game Reserve. This speculation has been dismissed by the Botswana Geoscience Institute saying that the earthquake was natural, taking note that the earthquake was recorded at a depth of 29 km (18 mi). [1] Geophysical investigation of the epicenter region show that the earthquake is natural,[4][5] related to deep mantle fluids moving up the crust and causing the extensional reactivation of an ancient thrust fault. [4] Slip along a low-angle segment of the fault caused a slight ground deformation at the surface detectable only by satellite radar technology. [4]
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Earthquakes
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Gas cylinder explosion kills 9 in Pakistan's Punjab
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Photo taken with mobile phone shows a burnt-out passenger van in Gujranwala district of Pakistan's east Punjab province, Aug. 8, 2021. Nine people were killed and three others injured when the gas cylinder of a passenger van exploded in Gujranwala district of Pakistan's east Punjab province on Sunday night, local media reported. (Str/Xinhua)
ISLAMABAD, Aug. 9 (Xinhua) -- Nine people were killed and three others injured when the gas cylinder of a passenger van exploded in Gujranwala district of Pakistan's east Punjab province on Sunday night, local media reported.
The van caught fire following the explosion, killing five people at the spot while four others succumbed to injuries in hospital, the report said.
The injured people were also shifted to a hospital where their condition is said to be critical.
Firefighters rushed to the site to douse the fire and recovered the bodies of the dead.
Vehicles in Punjab are allowed to run on gas cylinders, but the poorly maintained old vehicles often pose a danger for the passengers. Enditem
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Gas explosion
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Court jails Wangaratta bank robber
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A man who robbed a bank in Wangaratta last year has been sentenced to a year and nine months in jail. Damon Howard Alexander, 41, went into a bank in Murphy Street in November and demanded money. The teller handed over cash. Alexander pleaded guilty in the magistrates court in Wangaratta yesterday to robbery and theft. He was sentenced to nine months in jail for the robbery, and another 12 months for breaching a community corrections order. He will be eligible for parole in a year.
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Bank Robbery
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In a Remarkable Find, Archaeologists Exploring the ‘Cave of Horror’ in Israel Have Discovered a New Dead Sea Scroll
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For the first time in 60 years, archaeologists have discovered a new fragment of the Dead Sea Scrolls, a cache of ancient Jewish and Hebrew religious manuscripts uncovered in the Qumran Caves on the northern shore of the Dead Sea. The Israel Antiquities Authority, which carried out the excavations, believes the new scroll, written in Greek, is actually a missing part of the “Book of the 12 Minor Prophets” scroll, first discovered in 1961. It contains verses from Zechariah 8:16-17 and Nahum 1:5-6. The minor differences in the wording compared to other known manuscripts are important in helping shape our understanding of the evolution of the standardized Hebrew Bible. “When we think about the biblical text, we think about something very static. It wasn’t static. There are slight differences and some of those differences are important,” Joe Uziel, head of the antiquities authority’s Dead Sea Scrolls unit, told the Associated Press. The first Dead Sea Scroll was found by a Bedouin shepherd in 1947 in one of the most significant archaeological discoveries of the 20th century. A new Dead Sea Scroll featuring part of the Book of the Twelve Minor Prophets scroll, written in Greek. Photo by Shai Halevi, courtesy of the Israel Antiquities Authority. Dating from the third century BC to the first century AD, the parchment and papyrus manuscripts contain the earliest known texts from the Hebrew Bible, as well as other apocryphal writings. (Fragments of the scrolls that came on the market after 2002, some of which were infamously purchased by the Museum of the Bible in Washington, D.C., are now believed to be forgeries.) The new fragments were uncovered in the so-called “Cave of Horror,” where archaeologists in the 1950s found skeletons of men, women, and children killed during the Bar Kokhba revolt, a Jewish rebellion against Rome circa 132 to 136, during the reign of Emperor Hadrian. Evidence of Roman encampments on the cliff above the cave suggests that the rebels remained under siege until they died of starvation. The only way to access the cave is by rope, lowering down some 200 feet. “The desert team showed exceptional courage, dedication and devotion to purpose, rappelling down to caves located between heaven and earth,” Israel Hasson, the director of the Israel Antiquities Authority, told the New York Times. The archaeologists then went “digging and sifting through [the caves], enduring thick and suffocating dust, and returning with gifts of immeasurable worth for mankind.” Rappelling to the Cave of Horrors. Photo by Eitan Klein, courtesy of the Israel Antiquities Authority. There have been extensive excavations in the Qumran Caves since 2017, carried out by the Israel Antiquities Authority in an effort to prevent looters from getting their hands on historic artifacts in the desert’s remote caves. “For the first time in 70 years, we were able to preempt the plunderers,” Amir Ganor, head of the antiquities theft prevention unit, told the AP. The new Dead Sea Scroll is among several recent archaeological finds, including a partially mummified 6,000-year-old skeleton of a child, Jewish coins from the time of the Bar Kokhba rebellion, ancient arrowheads, and a 10,500-year-old basket, kept intact—lid and all—over the millennia thanks to the desert’s hot, arid environment. Archaeologist Hagay Hamer holding a Bar Kokhba coin found in the desert. Photo by Yoli Schwartz, courtesy of the Israel Antiquities Authority. “The child’s skeleton and the cloth wrapping were remarkably well preserved,” antiquities authority historian Ronit Lupu told the Jerusalem Post. “Because of the climatic conditions in the cave, a process of natural mummification had taken place; the skin, tendons, and even the hair were partially preserved, despite the passage of time.” Teenagers from the Nofei Prat pre-military academy were responsible for the basket discovery, which the Israel Antiquities Authority believes may be the oldest-known basket in the world. Made from woven reeds, it is from the Neolithic period, predating the development of pottery in the region. See more photos of the discoveries below. A new Dead Sea Scroll featuring part of the Book of the Twelve Minor Prophets scroll, written in Greek. Photo by Shai Halevi, courtesy of the Israel Antiquities Authority. Sections of the Dead Sea Scroll discovered in the Judean Desert after conservation. Photo by Shai Halevi, courtesy of the Israel Antiquities Authority. Teenagers from pre-military preparatory programs finding the 10,500-year-old basket during the excavations. Photo by Yaniv Berman, courtesy of the Israel Antiquities Authority. Archaeologists Chaim Cohen and Naama Sukenik with the world’s oldest basket, as found in Muraba‘at Cave. Photo by Yaniv Berman, courtesy of the Israel Antiquities Authority. Conservation work on the basket in the Israel Antiquities Authority’s laboratories. Photo by Yaniv Berman, courtesy of the Israel Antiquities Authority. A 10,500-year-old basket with lid. Photo by Guy Fitoussi, courtesy of the Israel Antiquities Authority. 6,000-year-old skeleton of a girl or a boy who was buried wrapped in cloth. Photo by Emil Aladjem, courtesy of the Israel Antiquities Authority. A rare cache of coins from the Bar Kokhba period. Photo by Dafna Gazit, courtesy of the Israel Antiquities Authority Cache of Bar Kokhba coins. Photo by Ofer Sion, courtesy of the Israel Antiquities Authority. The excavation of the caves. Photo by Yoli Schwartz, courtesy of the Israel Antiquities Authority. Finds from the caves: fragments of Qumran jars and arrowheads from the prehistoric and Roman periods. Photo by Dafna Gazit, courtesy of the Israel Antiquities Authority. Arrowheads from the Roman period discovered in the Judaen Desert operation. Photo by Dafna Gazit, courtesy of the Israel Antiquities Authority. An archaeologist at the Israel Antiquities Authority shows ancient coins from the Bar Kochba Jewish revolt period, excavated from an area in the Judean Desert, displayed at the IAA’s Dead Sea conservation laboratory in Jerusalem. An archaeologist at the Israel Antiquities Authority shows arrowheads from the Bar Kochba Jewish revolt period, excavated from an area in the Judean Desert, displayed at the IAA’s Dead Sea conservation laboratory in Jerusalem. Photo by Menahem Kahana/AFP via Getty Images. An archaeologist at the Israel Antiquities Authority shows ancient seeds from the Bar Kochba Jewish revolt period, excavated from an area in the Judean Desert, after conservation work is done at the IAA’s Dead Sea conservation laboratory in Jerusalem. Photo by Menahem Kahana/AFP via Getty Images. An archaeologist at the Israel Antiquities Authority shows a cloth fragment from the Bar Kochba Jewish revolt period, excavated from an area in the Judean Desert, after conservation work is done at the IAA’s Dead Sea conservation laboratory in Jerusalem. Photo by Menahem Kahana/AFP via Getty Images. Israel Antiquities Authority conservator Tanya Bitler displays recently-discovered 2000-year-old biblical scroll fragments from the Bar Kochba period, after completion of preservation work at the authority’s Dead Sea conservation lab in Jerusalem. Photo by Menahem Kahana/AFP via Getty Images. Israel Antiquities Authority archaeologists stand next to a 10,500-year-old basket dating back to the Neolithic period that was unearthed in Murabaat Cave in the Judean Desert, and is displayed at the IAA’s Dead Sea conservation laboratory in Jerusalem. Photo by Menahem Kahana/AFP via Getty Images. An archaeologist at the Israel Antiquities Authority shows a lice comb from the Bar Kochba Jewish revolt period, excavated from an area in the Judean Desert, after conservation work is done at the IAA’s Dead Sea conservation laboratory in Jerusalem. Photo by Menahem Kahana/AFP via Getty Images.
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New archeological discoveries
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Standard Chartered Bank branch robbed
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SINGAPORE - A Canadian man who escaped with more than $30,000 after robbing a Standard Chartered Bank branch in Holland Avenue on July 7, 2016, was sentenced to five years' jail and six strokes of the cane on Wednesday (July 7). However, he may not be caned as the Singapore Government had assured Britain that any corporal sentence would not be carried out in order to secure his extradition, and said last night it was working through the necessary procedures to fulfil this assurance. David James Roach, now 31, who fled Singapore soon after the robbery, had earlier pleaded guilty to one count each of robbery and moving his criminal gains out of Singapore. During submissions, Deputy Public Prosecutor Marcus Foo called on Deputy Principal District Judge Luke Tan to sentence Roach to six years' jail and nine strokes of the cane. Roach's lawyer Anand Nalachandran asked for a lighter sentence, stressing that his client was not armed with a gun during the robbery. Judge Tan, who said Roach had committed "daylight robbery" in a "brazen" manner, sentenced Roach to five years' jail and six strokes of the cane. The court heard that Roach arrived in Singapore on a social visit pass on June 29, 2016 and he went on to stay at different hostels in the Chinatown area. He then planned the heist and carried it out on July 7 that year. Roach had approached the bank cashier during the robbery with his right hand in a bag that he placed on the counter. His action, coupled with a handwritten note with the words, "This is a robbery, I have a gun in my bag", caused the cashier, who was pregnant, to fear for her life and she complied with his instructions on the note. According to previous reports, Roach took a flight out of Changi Airport a few hours after the robbery. He was tracked via security footage and DNA from the room where he was staying. A bank ticket stub revealed his identity. Roach's conviction brings to a close a long saga during which he ended up behind bars in Thailand and was later detained in Britain, where he fought a legal battle in a bid to escape extradition to Singapore. In a previous joint statement, the Attorney-General's Chambers (AGC) and Singapore Police Force (SPF) said that Roach was arrested in Thailand later in July, 2016. He was then sentenced to 14 months' jail in Thailand for violating money laundering and other Thai Customs laws. After he was deported from Thailand on Jan 11, 2018, Roach was detained in London, at Singapore's request, while en route to Canada. The Thai government had earlier rejected Singapore's request to extradite Roach as the two countries did not have an extradition treaty in place. Roach was extradited to Singapore from Britain in March last year and charged in court with robbery and money laundering. He was finally charged in Singapore on March 17 last year. The Straits Times had earlier reported that Roach will not be caned. The AGC and Singapore's Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said in a joint statement on Wednesday evening that as part of the extradition proceedings, the Singapore Government undertook to the United Kingdom (UK) government that any sentence of corporal punishment imposed by a Singapore court on Roach for the offences for which he was extradited would not be carried out. This is because the UK’s extradition laws would prohibit the extradition of Roach to Singapore in the absence of such an assurance. The two Singapore agencies added: "This assurance given to the UK is in recognition of the differing views that countries have on corporal punishment and does not affect Singapore’s long-held view that such punishment does not constitute torture, or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, or contravene international law. "The assurance was given solely to secure Roach’s extradition to Singapore to face justice for his crimes. The Singapore Government will do whatever is necessary and permissible within our legal framework to seek justice against those who commit crimes in Singapore." The AGC and the MHA also said that the Singapore Government is working through the necessary procedures to fulfil the assurance given to the UK government. Roach has made no restitution. For robbery, an offender can be jailed for up to 10 years and receive at least six strokes of the cane.
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Bank Robbery
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'Significant movement' made in preparing to find source of Wheatley explosion
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Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Copy Url
Municipal and provincial officials have formed a technical advisory group to build a framework for the investigation into the cause of a Wheatley explosion that levelled a downtown building.
According to Chatham-Kent Chief Administrative Officer Don Shropshire, “significant movement” has been made in investigating the source of the explosion that sent three people to the hospital last Thursday.
"Municipal and provincial officials met in Wheatley Monday and have formed a technical advisory group that will set parameters for the investigation of the explosion and finding the source of the hydrogen sulfide leak which is the suspected cause," he said. "Establishing how the effort will proceed is a necessary step to getting where we want to be.'
Shropshire said there is no timeline for residents to return to the two-block area around the site of the explosion at 15 Erie Street North.
“There are structural issues regarding a number of buildings, contaminated debris and the leak itself," he said. "It will be some time before we can contemplate allowing people into the area."
Entegrus has restored power to about half of the 90 customers whose electricity was turned off following the blast.
A limited number of workers alongside emergency officials will be entering a section of the downtown area away from the immediate blast zone to board up windows that had been blown out.
According to the municipality, more than 100 households have sought help at the reception area set-up at the Wheatley Arena. The municipality says 13 families are being house and officials are assisting local groups in coordinating donations.
The Wheatley community has set up a food hub and donation reception centre at the Talbot Trail golf course in Wheatley, gift cards will also be accepted and distributed to those in need.
The municipality says residents who are looking to return to their properties in the non-evacuation zone should contact 519-350-2956 before returning to confirm their eligibility to return.
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Gas explosion
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The Good Friday Agreement and the Protocol’s Trade Arrangements
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Since the furore erupted over the release of the Internal Market Bill, and the admission that it breaches the UK’s commitments under the Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland, an increasingly intense debate has raged over whether or not this move also threatens the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement 1998 (the GFA).
This agreement, and the bundle of subsequent deals which have built upon it, have sustained Northern Ireland’s peace process for over two decades.
This debate has focused on the consequences of this proposition. Leading US politicians have expressed their dim view of any moves by the UK government which are seen as jeopardising the peace process, and with Congress having to approve US trade deals, this poses a direct threat to US-UK trade negotiations.
When this was the position articulated by leading figures in the Democratic Party, it triggered a partisan pushback by conservative politicians and commentators in the UK. When President Trump’s Northern Ireland envoy, Mick Mulvaney, made much the same point, much of the air went out of these complaints.
Partisan attacks have since given way to a disconsolate groan that the GFA is somehow being misunderstood by US politicians (or that they are being manipulated, and in the words of one DUP politician, are ‘parroting lines without thinking or knowing any better’).
There is no doubt that politicians across the US see electoral opportunity in appealing to Irish American votes, but that doesn’t mean that they are being duped.
Those who see no threat to the peace process in the Internal Market Bill rely on two main claims. First, the peace process requires that interests of Unionists must be accommodated alongside those of Nationalists; and, second, that UK legislation addressing state aid and exit summary declarations is unconnected with the GFA. Both are questionable.
The suggestion that such a broad swathe of US politicians somehow don’t understand the GFA misses the point.
In committing to the Protocol, the UK government accepted that it is ‘to be implemented so as to maintain the necessary conditions for continued North-South cooperation, including for possible new arrangements in accordance with the 1998 Agreement’.
It doesn’t matter that some US politicians might not have mastered all of the details of the GFA and successor agreements – the UK government has publicly accepted that the terms of the Protocol protect the GFA.
The GFA is not a trade deal. But then, it didn’t have to be, because the UK and Ireland’s shared EU membership meant that its negotiators could concentrate on other issues.
When those negotiators concluded that arrangements could be put in place for North-South bodies under Strand 2 of the GFA, tying together aspects of Northern Ireland and Ireland’s governance, those bodies’ cross-border operations were facilitated by the rules of the EU single market.
The EU was thus able to map the ways in which EU law, including the single market for goods, sustained the work of North-South bodies.
Once the UK accepted the accuracy of this ‘factual discussion’, back in the Autumn of 2017, it essentially accepted that imposing additional restrictions on the movement of goods across the land border in Ireland would contravene the GFA’s Strand 2.
The UK position has consequently alternated between Theresa May’s attempts to create an arrangement which would keep the entirety of the UK in a customs union with the EU (the backstop in her version of the Withdrawal Agreement) and making separate arrangements for Northern Ireland, under Johnson’s renegotiation of the Protocol.
Both versions, however, provided for extensive state aid rules as a precondition for the deal. This was not a rushed element of the bargain; special access for Northern Ireland to the EU single market for goods is necessary to protect Strand 2, and these ‘level playing field’ provisions are a prerequisite of that access.
Some Unionist politicians see threats in any distinct arrangements for Northern Ireland, and (alongside pro-Brexit commentators) maintain that the Protocol’s terms threaten ‘Northern Ireland’s constitutional status as a full part of the United Kingdom’.
These claims draw upon the GFA principle that Northern Ireland’s constitutional status can only be changed through majority consent of its people.
Under such accounts of the GFA, ‘what is sauce for the nationalist goose must also be sauce for the unionist gander’, and post-Brexit arrangements must therefore be accepted by Unionists. The concept of consent, however, only applies the constitutional status of Northern Ireland as part of the United Kingdom (the UK Supreme Court recognised as much in its first Miller decision).
If the principle extended further, then a majority of Northern Ireland’s electorate would be able to block any change to Northern Ireland’s governance arrangements, and this patently is not the case when its majority of 56:44 against Brexit did not prevent Northern Ireland being pulled out of the EU.
Northern Ireland remains part of the UK; the Protocol’s Article 1 affirms Northern Ireland’s status as part of the UK.
Beyond that, the UK is able to organise its internal governance arrangements as it chooses in light of the international obligations it has freely assumed. Countries, such as China, maintain multiple WTO memberships for different parts of their territory without this calling their statehood into question (and the Protocol’s arrangements are explicitly more restrictive than this).
Such complexity, moreover, has been part of Northern Ireland’s constitutional settlement for decades. There is an important argument that the GFA’s ‘East-West’ relations (Strand 3 – covering Ireland, the UK and the Crown Dependencies) must be part of the picture, but the Protocol doesn’t pose any specific threat to Strand 3’s intergovernmental mechanisms.
The UK Government’s open admissions of breaking international law are difficult to square with traditional accounts of how the UK regards itself as a country, leaving some Unionist commentators at a loss; ‘for anyone in the UK government to expressly say they are going to breach international law … is extremely unusual. I can only guess that the Johnson government is adopting a very particular pose here’.
Johnson’s willingness to adopt such a negotiating stance has many in Northern Ireland questioning the reliability of his other Protocol commitments, including its human rights and equality protections.
The EU did the work of mapping the connections between the single market and the GFA; this isn’t ‘aggressive reliance’ upon parts of the GFA, it is a recognition of the reality of how North-South cooperation has developed since 1998.
Its negotiators could thus identify specific aspects of the 1998 arrangements which were threatened by Brexit. In attempting to justify its creation of legislative powers to breach the Protocol, by contrast, the UK government insists that it is acting to protect the GFA.
But vague “GFA talk” makes for a thin smokescreen when the UK government is the actor which is suddenly tearing up commitments which were supposed to allow the people of Northern Ireland to get on with life after Brexit.
By Colin Murray, Reader in Public Law, Newcastle Law School.
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Tear Up Agreement
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1997 M42 motorway crash
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On 10 March 1997 a multiple-vehicle collision occurred on the M42 motorway near Bromsgrove, Worcestershire, in central England. Three people were killed and more than 60 others were injured in the crash, which happened in dense fog during the early morning rush hour. At around 6:20 a.m. a lorry, driven by David Fairclough of Wednesfield, entered the M42 from a slip-road at a speed of 56 miles per hour (90 km/h) and, after slowing to 32 miles per hour (51 km/h), rammed into the rear of a tanker, which then struck a car in front and exploded. The ensuing pile-up involved 160 vehicles on a 400-yard (370 m) stretch of the motorway, including 30 on the opposite carriageway 20 minutes later. [1]
Five air ambulances and 25 ambulances ferried injured drivers and passengers from the scene to three hospitals. A police car was also involved in the pile-up; one firefighter responding to the crash criticised other motorists for overtaking his fire engine in excess of 70 miles per hour (110 km/h) in the dense fog. Several cars and lorries were burnt to a shell and more than 30 occupants had to be cut free from their vehicles by firefighters. [2]
Lisa Dodson, a 21-year-old student from Chaddesley Corbett, was the driver of the car, a Peugeot 205, struck by the tanker and she died from asphyxiation. Malcolm MacDonald, 53 and from Redditch, and 63-year-old Margaret Vining, from Gloucester, suffered fatal injuries in the pile-up. Fairclough, then aged 46, suffered bleeding to the brain and leg injuries. In 1999, he was acquitted at Worcester Crown Court of causing death by dangerous driving but convicted of dangerous driving for his role in the collision. His driving licence was suspended for four years and he served three months in Hewell Grange prison. In November 2001 he successfully brought legal action to have the licence reinstated. A judge ordered him to take an extended driving test. [3]
Coordinates: 52°21′20″N 2°2′22″W / 52.35556°N 2.03944°W / 52.35556; -2.03944
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Road Crash
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WFP warns 3 million more now ‘teetering on the edge of famine’ — Global Issues
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This quantity has risen from 42 million earlier within the yr, and 27 million in 2019, the company stated, in a information launch. The rise relies on those that desparately residing inside the official starvation classification of IPC4 and above, in Afghanistan, alongside different will increase in Ethiopia, Haiti, Somalia, Angola, Kenya, and Burundi. “Tens of thousands and thousands of individuals are staring into an abyss. We’ve acquired battle, local weather change and COVID-19 driving up the numbers of the acutely hungry, and the newest information present there at the moment are greater than 45 million individuals marching in direction of the brink of hunger,” stated WFP Govt Director David Beasley . He was talking following a fact-finding mission to Afghanistan, the place WFP is ramping up its assist to help virtually 23 million individuals in want there “Gas prices are up, meals costs are hovering, fertilizer is dearer, and all of this feeds into new crises just like the one unfolding now in Afghanistan, in addition to long-standing emergencies like Yemen and Syria,” he added. Wants outpacing assets WFP stated that along with humanitarian companions in starvation hotspots the world over, they’re doing every thing attainable to extend help for thousands and thousands who threat hunger. Nonetheless, accessible assets are unable to maintain tempo with demand, at a time when conventional funding streams are underneath large pressure. WFP estimates that the price of averting famine globally now stands at $ 7 billion, up from some 6.6 billion, earlier within the yr. “As the price of humanitarian help rises exponentially, we want extra funds to achieve households throughout the globe who’ve already exhausted their capability to deal with excessive starvation,” added the WFP chief. The company stated households dealing with acute meals insecurity, are being compelled to make “devastating selections to deal with the rising starvation.” A vulnerability evaluation throughout the 43 nations surveyed, reveals households being compelled to eat much less, or skip meals totally. Generally kids are being fed, whereas mother and father sacrifice meals, and are compelled to go hungry. In Madagascar, the place pockets of famine are already a actuality, some are being compelled to eat locusts, wild leaves, or cactus to outlive.
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Famine
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1967 Ranchi-Hatia riots
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The Ranchi-Hatia riots of 1967 were communal riots which occurred in 1967 in and around Ranchi in present-day Jharkhand, India. The riots happened between 22 and 29 August 1967. 184 people were reported killed and 195 shops were looted and set on fire. [1]
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Riot
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Kingston, Ont., partygoers could now face $2K fine, public shaming
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Police and the medical officer of health in Kingston, Ont., already singled out people who attend illegal, unsafe gatherings. Now the city says those attendees will face higher fines, as well as the threat of being publicly named.
As of Friday at 4 p.m., a new emergency order from the City of Kingston targets large street parties.
The order jacks the fine — from $500 to 2,000 — for anyone who attends a gathering above the provincial limit of 25 people inside, and 100 people outside, according to a news release.
This also allows stronger enforcement of these rules and the ability to fine people on the spot.
The city is now also allowed to share the first and last name of anyone charged under the Reopening Ontario Act, plus similar laws.
Kingston police charged 11 people under that pandemic act over the long weekend, saying 3,500 to 5,000 people had gathered in its downtown university district.
The health unit for the area said Thursday, in general, more young people downtown are testing positive after going to large gatherings without masks or distancing. Anyone who has gone to a large gathering in its university district is asked to get a COVID-19 test.
"The large street parties that have been occurring in the University District are appalling and downright dangerous in the midst of a pandemic," said Kingston Mayor Bryan Paterson in the news release.
"They have put additional pressure on our emergency response personnel and on hospital staff that are already under strain."
As of Thursday, the Kingston public health unit has reported 29 cases over a week, up from 11 cases the previous week. The unit's dashboard doesn't list any COVID-19 hospitalizations.
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Organization Fine
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2008 World Interuniversity Games
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The 2008 World Interuniversity Games were the tenth edition of the Games (organised by IFIUS, and were held in Budapest, Hungary, from October 6 to October 10, 2008. With Budapest as host city, 2008 marked the first time the Games took place outside Western Europe. The host of 2008 was the Budapest University of Technology and Economics (BME). Teams participated in seven competitions (four sports). For the first time the Basketball Women competition was held. Results of the Final Round:
Results of the Final Round:
Results of the Final Round:
Football Men
Football Women
Futsal Men
Basketball Men
Basketball Women
Volleyball Men
Volleyball Women
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Sports Competition
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Top Headlines: Guinea
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As the COVID-19 pandemic rages on in Africa amid insufficient vaccination rollout, viral haemorrhagic fever has again raised its head. This adds to public health turmoil on the continent where resources to respond to emerging and re-emerging epidemic prone zoonotic diseases remain limited. In the first week of August 2021, a Marburg virus disease outbreak was declared in south-western Guinea. This was the same area in which the recent outbreak of Ebola virus disease occurred and only weeks after the end of the Ebola outbreak was declared. To date, 14 outbreaks of Marburg virus disease have been reported since 1967. These have been mostly in sub-Saharan Africa. The most recent case in Guinea is the first reported in West Africa. However, evidence of Marburg virus circulation has been reported from countries where Marburg virus disease cases have not been diagnosed to date. These include Gabon, Zambia, and Sierra Leone. The first recognised outbreak of Marburg virus disease in Africa occurred in 1975 in South Africa. It was an imported case from Zimbabwe. Imported cases from Uganda were reported in 2008 in the US and the Netherlands and one laboratory infection was diagnosed in Russia in 2004. To date the largest and deadliest outbreak occurred in Angola in 2004-2005. Recurrent outbreaks of viral haemorrhagic fevers are a major burden on countries such as Guinea where health care systems are already under threat. Fortunately, many African countries are experienced in managing outbreaks of viral haemorrhagic fevers. Guinean health authorities have been able to respond rapidly and implement measures learnt during the Ebola outbreak to control the spread of Marburg. This has included rapid deployment of multidisciplinary teams, diagnosis, contact tracing, isolation and treatment of patients. The existence of treatment centres greatly facilitated rapid treatment of suspected cases and confirmed cases, and medical expertise improved patient care. Marburg virus Marburg virus belongs to the same family as the Ebola viruses. It causes sporadic, but often fatal disease in humans and non-human primates. Studies implicate the Egyptian rousette bat, Rousettus aegyptiacus (Pteropodidae family), as the prime reservoir host. Entering the roosting habitats, including caves and mining activities have been associated with Marburg virus transmission to humans. The virus is transmitted by direct contact with the blood, bodily secretions and/or tissues of infected persons or wild animals, for example monkeys and bats. It can also be transmitted through contact with surfaces and materials like bedding or clothing contaminated with these fluids. The incubation period varies from 2 to 21 days. Symptoms include fever, malaise, body aches, nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, and internal haemorrhaging (bleeding). Marburg virus can be difficult to distinguish from other tropical common febrile illnesses, because of the similarities in the clinical presentation. Based on the laboratory confirmed cases, infection with Marburg virus can result in death in 23% to 90% of patients. There is no specific antiviral treatment or preventative vaccine. Supportive care includes intravenous fluids, replacement of electrolytes, supplemental oxygen, and replacement of blood and blood products may significantly improve the clinical outcome. Marburg virus can spread easily between people if appropriate preventive measures are not in place. These include personal protection, barriers nursing, safe management of funerals, case finding, contact tracing, isolation and treatment of patient. The virus is potentially prone to cause formidable epidemics with serious public health consequences. Important steps The area in Guinea where the case of Marburg virus disease was detected shares close borders with Sierra Leone and Liberia. The movement of people locally and across borders could lead to the potential spread. That's why the following steps are key: the deployment of well-prepared response teams at national and district level. surveillance and coordinated efforts within and between countries. surveillance at points of entry. contact tracing and active case finding in health facilities and at the community level. investigations aiming at identification of the source of the infection. laboratory testing without delay. community engagement. It is also vitally important to educate the public and raise community awareness about the risk factors and the protective measures individuals can take to reduce their exposure. These include: avoiding close physical contact with someone who is thought to have contracted the virus. the transfer of any suspected case to a health facility for treatment and isolation. the immediate and safe burial of people who have died from the virus. the use of infection prevention and control precautions by health-care workers caring for patients with suspected or confirmed Marburg virus disease. This is to avoid any exposure to blood and/or bodily fluids, as well as unprotected contact with a possibly contaminated environment. wildlife to be handled with gloves and appropriate protective clothing to reduce the risk of spread. animal products (blood and meat) to be cooked thoroughly before eating. Raw meat should be avoided. Community involvement is essential to respond effectively and control an outbreak. This must be supported by primary health care systems to gain greater participation and commitment. What needs to be fixed A number of factors get in the way of researching, responding to and controlling zoonotic diseases in Africa. These include: Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later. insufficient and un-coordinated surveillance and research programmes. limited regional capacity to develop new and improved diagnostic assays. shortage of maximum containment facilities. lack of strategic biobanks for long-term and secure storage of reference clinical materials, strains and pathogen biodiversity. lack of regional External Quality Assurance programmes for dangerous endemic viral and bacterial pathogens. A timely, streamlined, well-funded and efficient disease reporting and surveillance system is essential to monitor the threat of potential epidemics. To strengthen the efficiency of responding quickly, each nation must improve its own capacity in disease recognition and laboratory competence. We also need innovative African-driven approaches to make the necessary quantum leap in the development of scientific capacity for surveillance and control of infectious diseases. Global initiatives aiming at improving health security, emergency preparedness and health systems are also important. However, a great deal of work is needed at the higher level of national governance to strengthen resilience and reduce vulnerability. Michelle J. Groome, Head of the Division of Public Health Surveillance and Response, National Institute for Communicable Diseases and Janusz Paweska, Head of the Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Diseases, National Institute for Communicable Diseases
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Disease Outbreaks
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Great Survival Stories: 25 Days Adrift in an Icebox
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In 2009, two men drifted helplessly inside an icebox for 25 days. Miraculously, they survived a disaster that killed their 18 crewmates. The two Burmese men had been working on a commercial fishing boat. The day had started innocuously enough but turned into a nightmare when the weather changed. Rough seas splintered their 9m wooden vessel. The boat sank, and the crew was forced into the ocean. The two men found a 1.5m square icebox that usually stored fish. Seeking refuge, they clambered inside. The rest of the crew (mostly Thai nationals) had no flotation devices. “We saw a Thai man floating past us but we couldn’t reach him to help,” one survivor told the rescue team. There had been no emergency beacons or life rafts on the fishing boat. The men were now at the mercy of the ocean, praying for rescue. The two men in their twenties were lucky to survive. Photo: Sydney Morning Herald “We drifted for hundreds of miles, and although we think some ships saw us, they didn’t come to help,” said one of the survivors. “Even when the fishing boat we were on sent out distress signals, no one responded. When the boat sank we had to grab what we could or we would drown.” Drank rainwater For 25 days, they survived on rainwater that pooled at the bottom of their icebox and ate chunks of fish that had been left inside. Wind and waves threatened to capsize them as they drifted. In a stroke of luck, an Australian Coast Guard aircraft spotted the icebox during a routine flight. The shipwrecked men removed their shirts and waved furiously to the crew above. The Coast Guard then radioed a rescue helicopter to retrieve them. “They were ecstatic to see us,” reported the helicopter pilot. Illegal boats often fish the Torres Strait between Australia and Papua New Guinea. The Australian Coast Guard patrols regularly. The men (aged 22 and 25) thought they had been approximately 300km off the coast of Australia when their ordeal started. They may have drifted hundreds of kilometers before being winched to safety 110km northwest of Horn Island. Onboard the helicopter, the parched fishermen downed almost two liters of water each. They were lucky to be alive. All 18 of their crewmates were presumed dead and no further searches were conducted. “The information [the men] provided to us was that they witnessed other crew members in the water, none of whom had a flotation device, so we’ve done an assessment and we don’t believe anybody would be able to survive 25 days actually in the water,” said one of the rescuers. The survivors were hungry and dehydrated but otherwise in good health. They were released from the hospital the following day. The Torres Strait between Australia and Papua New Guinea is fished both legally and illegally. It is unknown if the crew was permitted to fish when their boat sank. Alex Myall After 22 years in the exercise industry, offset by long-haul adventures around the world, Alex Myall found a better option a few years ago and has never looked back. She took a diploma in travel journalism, backed it up with travel industry certificates, then launched Chasing Dreams Travel NZ, her own travel agency. Now she combines her love of writing and world travel with running her business from her home on the spectacular South Coast of Wellington, New Zealand, while simultaneously being mum to a gorgeous baby girl. She maintains a “life’s too short to do things by halves” attitude.
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Shipwreck
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The longest lunar eclipse of the 21st century that occurs on this day
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CCI penalizes paper companies for indulging in cartelization NASA, the US space agency, recently announced that the Earth is about to witness the longest partial lunar eclipse of 21 years.NS A century in a few weeks. According to NASA, we will witness this lunar eclipse on November 19, 2021. According to the US Space Agency, the lunar eclipse has good visibility in North America and is expected to last up to 3 hours and 28 minutes, making it the longest partial lunar eclipse expected in 2009.NS According to scientists, the century. During this lunar eclipse, about 97% of the moon looks red to the human eye, creating a picturesque landscape for the general public. NASA said the solar eclipse peaks at 4 am (Saturday 1:30 pm, India Standard Time (IST)). In its official release, NASA wrote: If the weather is nice, the solar eclipse can be seen from anywhere the moon appears above the horizon. Occurs early or late in the evening, depending on the time zone. “ The space agency also said on November 19th that much of the world would be able to witness this unique and fascinating solar eclipse. Solar eclipses can be seen from the Americas, East Asia, Australia, and the Pacific, but at different times. Click here for a link to NASA’s Lunar Eclipse Live Stream If you can’t go out and witness the eclipse directly, NASA will livestream the event with a social media handle to make it clearly visible. The space agency further stated that a partial lunar eclipse is accompanied by another astronomical phenomenon called the Shimotsuki. The frosty moon is the last full moon in autumn. The name of this phenomenon comes from the Native American tribe.
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New wonders in nature
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