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Pakistan was in the grip of a terror wave with suspected Taliban militants storming three security facilities in Lahore and carrying out a suicide attack in a police station in Kohat
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Pakistan was in the grip of a terror wave with suspected Taliban militants storming three security facilities in Lahore and carrying out a suicide attack in a police station in Kohat and an explosion in Peshawar in NWFP,leaving at least 40 people dead.
Police said 18 people 13 security personnel and five civilians were killed in coordinated attacks on an office of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) and two police training facilities in Lahore by three groups of terrorists between 9.15 am and 9.40 am local time,the fifth terror strike in the country within 11 days.
Ten of the attackers were also gunned down by security forces or blew themselves up.
In the northwestern Kohat,11 people died and 22 others were injured when a suicide bomber rammed his explosives-laden vehicle into the city police station.
Witnesses said the bomber slammed his vehicle into the outer wall of the police station,causing a massive blast. Some policemen and school children were among the dead,police said. The police station was severely damaged. In the NWFP capital of Peshawar,a child died and 10 people were injured when an explosives-laden car parked in a government residential colony was reportedly triggered by a remote control device,nearly a week after 52 civilians were killed when a suicide bomber blew up his vehicle in a crowded market in the city.
In Lahore,the terrorists exchanged heavy gunfire with security forces at the FIA office on Temple Road located close to Mall Road,the Elite Force police training centre at Bedian Road which is six kms from the airport and the police training facility at Manawan on the outskirts of the city.
Almost five hours after the attacks began,Lahore city police officer Pervaiz Rathore said security forces had thwarted all of them.
Pakistan has witnessed a sudden spurt in terror strikes since May when it launched an offensive against the Taliban in the restive North West Frontier Province.
Pakistani TV channels reported that Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan claimed responsibility for the Lahore attacks. Reacting to the claim,Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said Pakistan would deal firmly with the Taliban,which was also responsible for attacking the army’s General Headquarters in Rawalpindi last week.
President Asif Ali Zardari said the attacks would not deter the government from its objective of eliminating the violent extremists.
Two inspectors and four civilians died in the attack on the FIA office,said police officials present at the site. A terrorist wearing a suicide jacket was gunned down by security forces.
Among the civilians who were killed was a banker. The dead terrorist was also carrying packets of dates and dry fruits. Security officials said this indicated he probably planned to take hostages and hole up in the building. Guards deployed at the gate stopped the attacker before he could enter the FIA office. Security forces evacuated the office and nearby buildings and launched a search for three more terrorists believed to be in the area,said SP (Investigation) Haider Ashraf.
The terrorists who attacked the police training centres at Bedian Road and Manawan lobbed several grenades and traded fire with policemen and paramilitary Pakistan Rangers troops that surrounded the facilities.
SSP (Operations) Chaudhry Shafiq Ahmad said 10 policemen and four terrorists were killed at the Manawan facility. One of the terrorists wearing a suicide jacket blew up when he was shot by policemen while another detonated his explosives.
At the Bedian Road facility,army commandos gunned down all five terrorists involved in the attack,Lt Gen Shafqat Ahmad told reporters. The terrorists entered the facility by scaling a wall but were spotted by guards. Some of the attackers blew themselves up.
One policeman and one civilian were also killed in the attack on the Bedian Road facility. Several loud explosions were heard from within the police centre.
“They (terrorists) all seem to be young boys aged between 18 and 20. Three of them wearing suicide jackets blew themselves up,” Ahmad said.
Lahore Police Commissioner Khusro Pervez said the terrorists were heavily-armed and carried explosives. He said army commandos were called in to end the terrorist siege at Bedian Road.
Dozens of ambulances rushed to the sites of the attacks to take the dead and injured to hospital. Security personnel faced problems in their operation at the Bedian Road facility as it is spread over 25 acres.
Initial reports had suggested that some women were involved in the attack on the Bedian Road facility but this was denied by army and police officials.
“They (militants) are involved in guerrilla war. First they were active in NWFP,now they are engaged in Punjab. They are terrorists paid to destabilise Pakistan,” Interior Minister Rehman Malik told reporters.
Malik said all the four provinces have been put on red alert and security beefed up at all the key installations. The FIA office attacked this morning is located next to another building of the same agency that was targeted by a suicide car bomber on March 11 last year. That attack had killed 24 people and injured scores. The building targeted last year is currently empty as it was very badly damaged.
In March this year,terrorists had stormed the police training centre at Manawan,killing eight policemen and injuring 90 others.
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Armed Conflict
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2020 Egyptian protests
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The 2020 Egyptian Revolution, also known as the Gallabiya uprising, were decentralised[1] street protests in Egypt that started on 20 September 2020, the anniversary of the 2019 Egyptian protests, calling for Egyptian president Abdel Fattah el-Sisi to resign. [2] Protest locations included Cairo, Giza,[3] Suez, Kafr El Dawwar, Alexandria, Aswan, El Qanater El Khayreya,[4] Faiyum, Minya and Luxor. [2] The sixth day of protests, on 25 September, was called a "Day of Rage". [1]
Mass protests in the Egyptian revolution of 2011 led to the demission of President Hosni Mubarak, the 2012 Egyptian presidential election won by Mohamed Morsi, the 2012–2013 Egyptian protests against the Morsi presidency, the 2013 Egyptian coup d'état which overthrew Morsi, the August 2013 Rabaa massacre by the security forces and army led by general Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, and an authoritarian government under Sisi, who was elected president with no serious opponents in 2014 and 2018. In September 2019, Mohamed Ali, an Egyptian construction contractor living in exile in Spain, circulated videos accusing el-Sisi and the military of extensive corruption and called for street protests to force el-Sisi to resign. [5] Protests took place on 20–21 September 2019, after which Amnesty International described the Sisi government being "shaken to its core",[6] Protests continued on 27 September. The Egyptian authorities responded with 4300 arrests of protestors and lawyers. [7][8] Well-known arrestees included the Egyptian blogger, software developer and activist Alaa Abd el-Fattah, who had not participated in the 2019 Egyptian protests, arrested on unknown charges,[9] and his lawyer Mohamed al-Baqer, director of the human rights organisation Adalah Center for Rights and Freedoms. [10] Both were tortured in welcome parades in Tora Prison. [11][12] Amnesty described the crackdown as the biggest during the el-Sisi presidency. [12]
A Twitter campaign with an Arabic hashtag equivalent to #We Don't Want You started on 29 August 2020 after el-Sisi suggested that a referendum could be called to dismiss him from the presidency if people were unsatisfied with his decisions. The campaign, supported by Mohamed Ali,[3] called for el-Sisi to step down and for protests on 20 September 2020, the anniversary of the 2019 protests. [13] Housing demolotions were another key factor motivating the protests in poor communities, both urban and rural. [14]
Egyptian security forces attempted to prevent protests by arresting political figures, including Amin al-Mahdi, and activists, especially in Suez. Cafes were forced to close. [3]
Protests started on 20 September in Giza and in several suburbs in Cairo, calling for el-Sisi to step down. Authorities' reactions included live bullets and tear gas. [3] Protests calling for el-Sisi's resignation also took place in Suez, Kafr El Dawwar, Alexandria, Aswan, and El Qanater El Khayreya. [4]
In Aswan, security forces attacked the protestors, who set a presidential building on fire in response. People in Kadiya in Giza Governorate, angry at the demolitions of buildings claimed by the government to have been illegally built, turned over a police truck. [4]
Protests continued on 21 and 22 September. Protest locations on 22 September included Giza, Faiyum, Minya, Luxor and Aswan. [2] In the village of al-Kadaya in Atfih, protestors refused a police objection to the holding of a protest by overturning a police car and setting it on fire. In al-Hawarta in Minya Governorate, protestors pushed a police vehicle into a canal. [2]
Calls for more protests continued, calling for a "Friday of Anger" (or "Day of Rage"[1]) protests. Mohamed Ali claimed that the numbers of protestors were rising daily. Ali argued in favour of a critical protest mass, stating "If five million people took to the streets, no one would be arrested at all. "[15]
On 25 September, protests took place in Cairo, Giza, Luxor and Damietta Governorate after the Friday prayer session, again calling for el-Sisi to resign. [16][1] Civil disobedience techniques used by protestors included burning tyres to block roads. [1]
Videos posted on social media since 20 September appeared to show several demonstrations involving up to several dozen people in different parts of the country. [17]
Confrontations between police and protestors continued on 30 September in the village of al-Awamiya in Luxor, with a fatal shooting of a protestor. The sequence of events started with troops and armoured vehicles arriving at the village. Police raided al-Rawi's home, trying to arrest Awais al-Rawi's younger brother. A police officer insulted and slapped al-Rawi's father, who objected to the arrest. Awais al-Rawi objected verbally about the treatment of his father and the argument escalated. A police officer shot Awais al-Rawi four times using a "side arm", once in the face, killing him. The funeral took place the same day. Mourners chanted against the police and el-Sisi, calling el-Sisi "the enemy of God". Police fired warning shots and teargas and arrested 20 funeral participants. Mourners kidnapped and beat a police officer. The officer was released after hours of negotiation between police and tribal elders. [18][19]
A video of the funeral was posted under a trending hashtag with the Arabic equivalent of "Friday we're coming out in our millions." The officer suspected of the shooting of Awais al-Rawi was suspended from duty, according to a leak from the prosecutor's office. [18][19]
Between 3 and 6 October, massive demonstrations in governances against the government and poverty rates in the country spread with the injury of one person. Clashes were witnessed across Alexandria and in narrow suburbs of Cairo. Textile workers and perfume makers went of strike in their hundreds. Anger rose up again. Mass detentions were made in 7–8 October due to protests against the economy. Bread protests were witnessed across Egypt for the second time in 2020. Bullets were seen fired at protesters, who threw stones and pelted eggs.
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Protest_Online Condemnation
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Satellites forewarn of locust plagues - Phys.org
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by European Space Agency
Ethiopia, July 1968 during a desert locust outbreak. Credit: FAO/ G. Tortoli
Satellites are helping to predict favourable conditions for desert locusts to swarm, which poses a threat to agricultural production and, subsequently, livelihoods and food security.
Desert locusts are a type of grasshopper found primarily in the Sahara, across the Arabian Peninsula and into India. The insect is usually harmless, but when they swarm they can migrate across long distances and cause widespread crop damage.
During the 2003–05 plague in West Africa, more than eight million people were affected. Up to 100% losses were reported on cereals, 90% on legumes and 85% on pasture. It took nearly $600 million and 13 million litres of pesticide to bring the plague under control.
Swarming occurs when a period of drought is followed by good rains and rapid vegetation growth. These conditions trigger a period of abundant breeding and overcrowding, and the increased contact with other locusts can lead to the formation of large swarms. This behaviour makes locusts more dangerous than grasshoppers.
A 1 sq km swarm contains about 40 million locusts, which eat the same amount of food in one day as about 35 000 people. In other words, a swarm the size of the capital of Mali or the capital of Niger will eat the same amount of food as half the entire population of the respective country.
Satellites can monitor the conditions that can lead to swarming locusts, such as soil moisture and green vegetation. ESA recently teamed up with international partners from Algeria, France, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Spain and the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) to test how data from satellites such as ESA's Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity mission – or SMOS – can be used to predict locust plagues .
"At FAO, we have a decades-long track record of forecasting plagues and working closely with countries at greatest risk to implement control measures," said Keith Cressman, FAO's Senior Locust Forecasting Officer.
"By bringing our expertise together with ESA's satellite capabilities we can significantly improve timely and accurate forecasting. Early warning means countries can act swiftly to control a potential outbreak and prevent massive food losses."
Soil moisture data from the SMOS satellite and the MODIS instrument acquired between July and October 2016 were used by isardSAT and CIRAD to create this map showing areas with favourable locust swarming conditions (in red) during the November 2016 outbreak. Credit: CIRAD, SMELLS consortium Description
The SMOS satellite captures images of 'brightness temperature' that correspond to radiation emitted from Earth's surface, which can be used to gain information on soil moisture at a resolution of 50 km per pixel.
By combining this information with medium-resolution coverage from the MODIS instrument on NASA's Aqua and Terra satellites, the team downscaled SMOS soil moisture to a resolution of 1 km per pixel. The measurements were then used to create maps showing areas with favourable locust swarming conditions about 70 days ahead of the November 2016 outbreak in Mauritania.
In the past, satellite-based locust forecasts were derived from information on green vegetation, meaning the favourable conditions for locust swarms were already present. This allowed for a warning period of only one month.
Information on soil moisture, on the other hand, indicates how much water is available for eventual vegetation growth and favourable locust breeding conditions, and can therefore forecast the presence of locusts 2–3 months in advance. The additional time is essential for the local national authorities to organise preventive measures.
"I use the data products to understand the current situation, as well as the evolution of locust outbreaks," said Ahmed Salem Benahi, Chief Information Officer for Mauritania's National Centre for Locust Control.
"We now have the possibility to see the risk of a locust outbreak one to two months in advance, which helps us to better establish preventive control."
While the current data products are based on the SMOS and MODIS missions, information from the Copernicus Sentinel-3 mission will soon be integrated to ensure the long-term availability of the locust warnings.
The team is also working on a similar product downscaling SMOS soil moisture with Sentinel-1 observations, which will allow a further increase of resolution to 100 m.
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Insect Disaster
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Mall owner Washington Prime Group files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, citing COVID challenges
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“The COVID-19 pandemic has created significant challenges for many companies, including Washington Prime Group, making a Chapter 11 filing necessary to reduce the Company’s outstanding indebtedness,” Washington Prime Group said in a news release . The mall operator's bankruptcy doesn't come as a surprise. In public filings, Washington Prime has said it was in talks with creditors to restructure its finances and that it might seek bankruptcy protection. In announcing its bankruptcy filing, the company said it secured $100 million in “debtor-in-possession financing from the Consenting Creditors to support day-to-day operations during the Chapter 11 process and ensure that all business operations continue in the ordinary course without interruption.” Lou Conforti, CEO and director of Washington Prime Group, said in the release the restructuring would enable the company to “right size its balance sheet and position the Company for success going forward.” Washington Prime listed assets of $4.03 billion and debts of $3.47 billion in court documents. The company said its restructuring agreement with its creditors, led by its largest, SVPGlobal, allows it to deleverage its balance sheet by $950 million. In addition, Washington Prime Group and SVPGlobal anticipate an equity offering of $325 million as part of the restructuring. The agreement also includes some milestones, including a 60-day target for the court to enter confirm the Chapter 11 plan. Will shopping malls close? Like other mall operators, Washington Prime saw its revenue hammered last year by tenants who were unable to pay full rent or closed during the pandemic, as shoppers turned to online instead of in-person purchases. More than 40 major retailers declared bankruptcy and more than 11,000 stores were announced for closure in 2020, which beat past store closings records. But malls were struggling before the pandemic. Shopping: These retailers will either make it or break it in 2021 From J.C. Penney to Victoria's Secret, here are 8 retailers who will either make it or break it in 2021. Experts have said the crisis might hasten the closure of underperforming malls and the repurposing of many centers that remain open. Ultimately, 1 in 4 malls and as many as 1 in 2 could eventually go out of business, according to projections by Coresight Research analysts and executives. Coresight, which tracks retail closures, projected in 2020 that about 25% of America’s malls would disappear within the next three to five years. That could rise to as many as 50% “if we can’t stop the bleeding,” Coresight CEO Deborah Weinswig said in an interview with USA TODAY last summer. “That ends up changing the face of America.” In November, two companies, CBL Properties and PREIT, which together own 130 shopping centers, filed for Chapter 11.
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Organization Closed
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Strengthening Multilateral Efforts: Resolutions Adopted at IAEA General Conference
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Strengthening the IAEA’s technical cooperation activities, the effectiveness and efficiency of safeguards, and its work related to nuclear and radiation safety, nuclear science, technology and applications, were some of the resolutions adopted this week by Member States as the 65th annual IAEA General Conference concluded today. The General Conference, held annually in Vienna, is an opportunity for all IAEA Member States to jointly consider matters related to the IAEA’s ongoing work, budget and priorities. This year over 1 600 participants attended the event either in-person or virtually, including delegates from 148 of the IAEA’s 173 Member States, and from international organizations, non-governmental organizations and the media. In his opening statement on Monday IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi emphasized the need for global collaboration in order to effectively address common challenges – a need, he said, that the world had been starkly reminded of due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. He highlighted the ZODIAC initiative, which he defined as the nuclear science and technology contribution to the early detection of pathogens that become zoonoses and could unleash pandemics. ZODIAC will strengthen the preparedness and capabilities of countries to rapidly detect and respond to outbreaks of zoonotic diseases, and aims to create a global network to foster scientific collaboration and share information. It will benefit from the expertise of the joint laboratories of the IAEA and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and partners such as the World Health Organization (WHO) and the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE), as well as ongoing international initiatives working towards fighting zoonotic diseases. “This is a time for joint action, and this is a time where we are reminded about the importance of working together; about solutions that only multilateral efforts can bring about,” he said. Conference delegates adopted a resolution on the implementation of the NPT (Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons) safeguards agreement between the Agency and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, calling on the country, also known as North Korea, to come into full compliance with the NPT and to cooperate promptly with the IAEA in the full and effective implementation of IAEA comprehensive safeguards and abide by UN Security Council resolutions. Member States strongly support the IAEA’s continued enhanced readiness to play its essential role in verifying the DPRK’s nuclear programme. The Conference also adopted a resolution on the application of Agency safeguards in the Middle East. Further resolutions were adopted on nuclear and radiation safety and nuclear security. The conference also adopted a resolution on staffing of the Agency’s secretariat, commending the wide range of measures implemented to improve the representation of women in the Professional and higher categories. The General Conference approved the Agency’s Financial Statements for 2020, and Programme and Budget for 2022-2023. IAEA resolutions and decisions will guide the IAEA’s implementation of activities in the coming year. The resolutions and decisions will be posted here as they become available. By the end of the 65th General Conference, 80 Member States had pledged to the Technical Cooperation Fund for 2022. The total amount pledged against the 91,075,000 euro Technical Cooperation Fund target for 2022 is 29,171,890 euros, representing 32.03% of the target. The General Conference elected 11 countries to serve on the 35-member IAEA Board of Governors for the period 2021-2022. The newly elected Board members are Burundi, Colombia, the Czech Republic, Finland, Guatemala, Ireland, the Republic of Korea, Libya, Pakistan, Slovenia and Viet Nam. The Conference also elected the Comptroller and Auditor General of India as the Agency’s new External Auditor for 2022-2027. A total of 79 side-events took place during the week showcasing the range of activities underway across the IAEA’s diverse areas of work. A two-day Scientific Forum on ‘Preparing for Zoonotic Outbreaks: the Role of Nuclear Science’ focused on ways of preventing, preparing and responding to diseases that transfer from animals to humans (zoonotic diseases). Speakers highlighted the need for closer global coordination, collaboration and communication towards scientific advancements in research, early detection and monitoring of these diseases. The Forum brought together experts, government representatives and academics, who recognized the IAEA’s Zoonotic Disease Integrated Action (ZODIAC) as an important and timely global initiative. They further elaborated on techniques for detecting pathogens and monitoring zoonoses; on the animal-human interface and ways of identifying emerging and re-emerging zoonoses, on the role of radiation techniques in dealing with the impact of zoonoses on human health, and on the IAEA's support to countries in this area. High level speakers in the opening session included Qu Dongyu, Director General of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director General of the World Health Organization (WHO), Monique Eloit, Director General of the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE), Khalid Ait Taleb, Minister of Health of Morocco, Ermira Gjeci, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development of Albania, Karen Najarro, Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs of Honduras and Amadou Alpha Sall, Director of the Pasteur Institute in Dakar, Senegal. Jane Goodall, Founder of the Jane Goodall Institute, and UN Messenger of Peace, and Christian Happi, Director of the African Centre of Excellence for Genomics of Infectious Diseases gave keynote addresses. During the week, delegates from 26 IAEA Member States also took part in guided tours on offer of the IAEA laboratories at the Agency’s headquarters in Vienna and in Seibersdorf, Austria. The Conference and all associated events were conducted in accordance with the Austrian authorities’ requirements regarding the COVID-19 pandemic; the number of delegates permitted to be present at the Plenary Hall at any one time was limited. Delegates unable to attend in person were able to participate in the proceedings in all official languages, virtually. IAEA: a ‘Rapid Reaction Force for Good’, Director General Says Improved Coordination, Collaboration and Communication Key to Prevent Zoonotic Outbreaks: Scientific Forum Concludes 15 Years of the Integrated Nuclear Security Support Plan: IAEA Assists 112 Countries to Identify Security Needs
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Disease Outbreaks
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Northern Bank robbery: New BBC documentary shines light on crime that shook peace process
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Close Premium In 2004, £26.5m was stolen from the Northern Bank in one of the UK’s biggest robberies. In a new documentary, two reporters take a look back at the theft and speak to some of the key political figures from the time Allison Morris Twitter Email May 02 2021 07:48 PM It was the biggest bank robbery in UK history, as £26.5m in used and unused notes were walked straight out of the Northern Bank in Belfast and into a van parked outside. The IRA have never admitted involvement in the robbery and only a fraction of the cash was ever recovered. Chris Ward, one of the hostages, leaving the bank Chris Ward, one of the hostages, leaving the bank Key questions such as who sanctioned the robbery, what if anything was known by the Sinn Fein leadership and — the more burning question — where the money is now, still remain unanswered.
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Bank Robbery
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Malabar Military Exercise Takes Off With Quad From Tomorrow
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The MALABAR naval exercise is scheduled in two phases in November 2020. Phase 1 of the Exercise MALABAR 20 involving participation by Indian Navy (IN), United States Navy (USN), Japan Maritime Self Defence Force (JMSDF), and Royal Australian Navy (RAN) is set to commence off Visakhapatnam in Bay of Bengal from 03 to 06 November 2020. Malabar Exercise 2019 The 24th edition of the MALABAR naval exercise is scheduled in two phases in November 2020. Phase 1 of the Exercise MALABAR 20 involving participation by Indian Navy (IN), United States Navy (USN), Japan Maritime Self Defence Force (JMSDF), and Royal Australian Navy (RAN) is set to commence off Visakhapatnam in Bay of Bengal from 03 to 06 November 2020. During the MALABAR 20 Phase1, four navies will participate in complex and advanced naval exercises including surface, anti-submarine and anti-air warfare operations, cross deck flying, seamanship evolutions and weapon firing exercises. MALABAR series of maritime exercises commenced in 1992 as a bilateral IN-USN exercise. JMSDF joined MALABAR in 2015. The 2020 edition will now witness participation of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) in this joint maritime exercise. The issue of Australia’s inclusion in Malabar was one of key areas that came up for discussion at the Quad foreign ministers meet in Tokyo in October. Australia accepted the invitation from India to participate crucial in Exercise MALABAR 2020. Though, Australia had participated in Exercise MALABAR in 2007 but Australia's participation was abruptly halted as China raised the issue, calling it anti- China and an Asian-NATO. Australia’s re-entry into India’s flagship naval exercises with the US and Japan confirms the formation of the Quadrilateral, better known as 'the quad'. In the rapidly changing maritime environment, India's response hints a change of India's defensive strategy to one which is tune to the present reality and one that fits into the role of Indian navy as a net security provider to the littorals in the Indian Ocean Region. Naval exercise will witness participation from Indian Navy units with United States Ship (USS) John S McCain (Guided-missile destroyer), Her Majesty’s Australian Ship (HMAS) Ballarat (long range frigates) with integral MH-60 helicopter, and Japan Maritime Self Defence Ship (JMSDF) Onami (Destroyer) with integral SH-60 helicopter. The Indian Navy participation in Phase 1 will be led by Rear Admiral Sanjay Vatsayan, Flag Officer Commanding Eastern Fleet. Indian Navy units participating in the exercise include destroyer Ranvijay, frigate Shivalik, Off Shore Patrol Vessel Sukanya, Fleet Support Ship Shakti and submarine Sindhuraj. In addition, Advanced Jet Trainer Hawk, long-range maritime patrol aircraft P-8I, Dornier maritime patrol aircraft, and helicopters will also be participating in the exercise. According to the Indian navy, the Malabar 20, being conducted as a ‘non-contact, at sea only’ exercise in view of COVID-19 pandemic, will showcase the high-levels of synergy and coordination between the friendly navies, which is based on their shared values and commitment to an open, inclusive Indo-Pacific and a rules-based international order. MALABAR 20 Phase1 would witness complex and advanced naval exercises including surface, anti-submarine and anti-air warfare operations, cross deck flying, seamanship evolutions and weapon firing exercises. The Phase 2 of MALABAR 20 will commence in mid-November 2020 in the Arabian Sea. Phase 2 will further build up on the complexity of exercise and involve much tactical maneuverability and interoperability among the navies.
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Military Exercise
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2011 Trampoline World Championships
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The 28th Trampoline and Tumbling World Championships were held in Birmingham, England, from November 17–20, 2011 at the National Indoor Arena. This event was the first qualifying round for the 2012 Olympics which was held in London. The top 8 men and women automatically earned their nation quota places for the Olympics, subject to a maximum of two quota places per nation. A further 16 of each sex will get a second chance to earn a quota place at the London test event in January 2012 for a further five spots. The men's individual trampoline final was held on November 19. The men's synchro final was held on November 20. The men's trampoline team final was held on November 18. The men's double mini final was held on November 20. The men's double mini team final was held on November 19. The men's individual tumbling final was held on November 20. The men's tumbling team final was held on November 19. The women's individual trampoline final took place on November 20. The women's synchro final took place on November 19. The women's trampoline team final took place on November 18. The women's double mini final was held on November 20. The women's double mini team final was held on November 19. The women's tumbling team final was held on November 19.
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Sports Competition
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Black Monday (1894)
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The Newfoundland Bank Crash of 1894, known as Black Monday, was one of the turning points in Newfoundland's pre-Confederation history. The financial woes of the former British colony were worsened when two of the colony's commercial banks, the Union Bank of Newfoundland (established in 1854) and the Commercial Bank of Newfoundland (established in 1858), both located in St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada, closed their doors to the public on December 10, 1894. Fish merchants sat on the boards of directors of both banks and had approved large and risky loans to themselves, which left the banks with dangerously-low cash reserves leading into the crash. London banks suspended credit to the Commercial Bank of Newfoundland and requested payment on some of its loans. It was unable to meet these demands and was forced to close two days later. A bank run ensued on both the Union and the Savings Banks. The government-run Savings bank was able to weather the storm, but the Union was forced to close that day, never to reopen. The crash had a disastrous effect on commerce and employment in the colony. Many families were left destitute. The crash brought Newfoundland to the brink of bankruptcy and resulted in the Canada Newfoundland Confederation talks. It also highlighted the weakness of its economy and the truck credit system on which it depended. Over a million dollars in bank notes from both the Commercial and Union banks were rendered worthless, at least temporarily. Savings accounts suddenly decreased in value and the country was in danger of defaulting in its public debt. The banks' directors were arrested and charged with larceny and conspiracy (they were all acquitted in 1897). Unemployed workers held street demonstrations demanding food and jobs. The government faced growing instability and went through three prime ministers in two months. Canadian banks began arriving within two weeks of the crash: the Bank of Nova Scotia, the Bank of Montreal, the Canadian Bank of Commerce, and the Merchant's Bank of Halifax (now the Royal Bank of Canada). The Bank of Montreal accepted the government's account in early 1895, and the country adopted Canadian currency in January of that year. It was the beginning of heavy involvement by Canadian banks in the Newfoundland economy, which was an important factor in Newfoundland eventually joining Confederation in 1949.
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Financial Crisis
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Pan Am Flight 115 crash
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Pan Am Flight 115 was a commercial flight from Paris via London to New York City. At 22:05 GMT (16:05 EDT) on 3 February 1959 it was involved in one of the most notable jet upset incidents of the jet airliner age, over the North Atlantic near Newfoundland. The aircraft was a Boeing 707-121 with registration N712PA, nicknamed "Clipper Washington". Its first flight was on October 13th, 1958 (the same month that 707s entered regular service with Pan Am), and when the incident occurred less than four months later, the aircraft had accumulated only 705 total flight hours. [1]
The jet, crewed by pilot-in-command Captain Waldo Lynch, Captain Samuel Peters, flight engineer George Sinski, and navigator John Laird,[2] with 119 people on board, experienced an uncommanded and rapid descent of 29,000 feet (8,800 m) from 35,000 feet (11,000 m). With the autopilot engaged, the captain left the cockpit and entered the main cabin. During his absence, the autopilot disengaged and the aircraft smoothly and slowly entered a steep descending spiral. The copilot was not properly monitoring the aircraft's instruments or the progress of the flight and was unaware of the actions of the aircraft until considerable speed had been gained and altitude lost. During the rapid descent the copilot was unable to effect recovery. When the captain became aware of the unusual attitude of the aircraft he returned to the cockpit and with the aid of the other crew members was finally able to regain control of the aircraft at approximately 6,000 ft (1,800 m); they later made an emergency landing at Gander with damaged flaps. [3]
Evidence was subsequently given to the then United States Civil Aeronautics Board that the aircraft was flying at 35,000 ft (11,000 m) at Mach 0.82 and at a weight of about 195,000 lb (88,000 kg). During the previous two flights the Bendix PB-20 autopilot was reported in one case to have caused a nose-down pitch and in another to have disconnected following a change of heading of 20 deg, but on February 3 operation was found to be normal on arrival at Gander. The disengagement warning light was fully dimmed. Flight Magazine's issue of 3 April 1959 [4] reported "Captain Waldo Lynch, the pilot-in-command, said that the aircraft went into a sharp manoeuvre downward and to the right. At 17,000 ft (5,200 m) the airspeed was over 400 kt, the electric trim button was inoperative, and his gyro horizon had tumbled. The copilot recounted that "At 2200Z the navigator posted a change in heading requiring left turn. Used autopilot turn knob. Turn O.K. . . . Then light buffeting, plus positive load factor building up. . . . Heavy buffeting caused panel lights to fail." The flight engineer said that he was pinned to his seat as the Mach warning sounded. When the g load was relieved,
he pulled the tailplane-power and autopilot circuit-breakers because he thought that the tailplane had "run away." Full nosedown
tailplane inclination of 3 degrees was indicated. He wound it back to the nose-up position but later trimmed nose-down. Aviation Safety Network reports [5] the cause of the incident as unintentional disconnection of autopilot while captain had left the cockpit and entered the passenger cabin. The copilot did not pay sufficient attention to the instruments and the plane went into a dive in a clockwise spiraling turn. After being operated by a number of firms, the airframe was eventually scrapped in August 1984, at Taipei, Taiwan. [6]
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Air crash
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China-Australia relations: ripping up Chinese firm's Darwin Port lease could cost Canberra
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The Australian government may have to pay taxpayer-funded compensation to a Chinese company if its lease contract of Darwin Port is overturned on national security grounds, but experts say the government has no "immediate imperative" to terminate the deal. An Australian parliamentary inquiry's call last month for the government to consider revoking the 99-year lease to Landbridge Group has gained momentum after Minister for Defence Peter Dutton confirmed to The Sydney Morning Herald on Sunday that his department was looking into whether Landbridge should relinquish its lease under a set of critical infrastructure laws passed in 2018. Such a move could also jeopardise Australia's sovereign risk rating - the level of interest a country has to pay for loans and credits - and would surely serve to further strain relations between Beijing and Canberra that have gradually worsened over the past year. As Canberra's concerns over Beijing's impact on Australia's national security continue to mount, former prime minister Kevin Rudd also weighed in last week, saying Canberra should conduct a cost-benefit analysis to determine whether the lease to Landbridge was justified. But unlike the axing of a non-binding Belt and Road Initiative memorandum of understanding (MOU) two weeks ago, the revocation of this deal could have financial and commercial ramifications, as it is a commercial contract, and would not be a simple tear up like the MOU, experts say. Australia axes Victoria state's belt and road pact with China, amid icy ties with Beijing "Both parties have obligations under the terms of the lease, and the initial question is simply whether those terms are being met at this stage," said John Garrick, a business law academic at Charles Darwin University. "If lease terms are not being met, there are standard procedures to follow for terminating a lease based on non-performance of an essential term, for example. Story continues "But termination is extremely unlikely through the [Foreign Investment Review Board]. More likely, termination would come from a commercially negotiated mutual agreement that the lease is not viable." The review of the Darwin Port lease comes amid a political conflict that began in April 2020 when Australia failed to consult Beijing before pushing for an international inquiry into the origin of the coronavirus. The 99-year lease was a commercial contract signed by the Northern Territory government and Landbridge, with Landbridge paying A$506 million to run the port's operations. The Northern Territory government had been trying to get Canberra to invest and upgrade the port for 30 years before it put out a tender that was subsequently won by Landbridge in 2015. However, the controversy surrounding the deal escalated after Washington - which has a US marines base at Darwin Port - took umbrage with Canberra for not being consulted about the deal. Aside from being a commercial port, it is also a base for Australian defence forces as well as the United States marines. But Landbridge is allowed to access only the commercial end of the port, and the company cannot invite naval visitations without government approval. The territory government also retains a 20 per cent stake in the port operator, according to Garrick, and has a say in key appointments such as the chief executive and chief financial officer, but does not share in any profits that Landbridge makes. In a foreign investment framework inquiry that concluded in 2016, Australia's Department of Defence reaffirmed that it did not have security concerns with the lease, and neither did the Foreign Investments Review Board or the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation. While the Australian government has the right to overturn such deals, as Beijing is aware, Garrick said there was no imperative by Canberra to terminate the lease. If it does get terminated, however, Landbridge would be entitled to seek compensation - a likely sticking point - because unlike the belt and road MOU, this was not a government-to-government agreement but a commercially executed contract, says Daryl Guppy, a Darwin-based trade expert who has worked with the Northern Territory government on engagement with China. "Ensuring that compensation is adequate is a difficult equation to solve," Guppy said. "The federal government has been known to frequently pay far less than the value of an asset when compulsory acquisition has been used." An alternative would be for the government to buy out Landbridge, but either way, these initiatives need not be wrapped up in the "anti-China and drums of war rhetoric", he said. "This noise serves domestic political purposes and ignores the international consequences," Guppy added. "It is ironic that, if the dire warlike conditions predicted by the China hawks did develop, the Darwin port improvements made by Landbridge would be most welcome [for Australia], because the old neglected port would not have been fit for purpose." Additionally, Australia's sovereign risk profile could also be compromised with future foreign investors being more guarded about doing business in Australia, Guppy said. Landbridge did not respond to a request for comment.
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Tear Up Agreement
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Nightmare on Aphid Street – wooly white insects invade ...
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Nightmare on Aphid Street – wooly white insects invade neighborhoods, parks
By Linda Weiford, WSU News
PULLMAN, Wash. – Hovering masses of puffy gnat-like bugs have invaded the Inland Northwest, sticking to windshields, dive-bombing people’s eyes and getting into their mouths.
They’re called smoky-winged ash aphids and their massing has been spawned by warm autumn days, said entomologist Richard Zack of Washington State University.
“We’ve had some recent nice sunny, mild days this fall, which triggers the aphids to fly. They’re most active in the mid to late afternoon when it is warmest. Sometimes, they appear to be everywhere,” he said.
If possible, look beyond the annoyance factor and enjoy the aphid airshow. Once in flight, their fuzzy white posteriors pulse in mid-air. Consequently, the insects flit about like snowflakes on steroids refusing to fall.
Swarms of white, fuzzy aphids pulse the air in Moscow, Idaho, during a late-October afternoon. (Photos by Linda Weiford, WSU News)
“Many aphid species produce a wax-like substance that gives them a whitish color and wooly appearance when they fly, especially when backlit by the sun,” Zack explained.
After hosting on fir trees and other conifers during summer months, the females are making their autumn move to ash trees to lay eggs.
“Only the eggs will survive winter. Everything we see flying around right now will die,” he said.
Expect the huge clouds of aphids to dissipate around Halloween as temperatures start to dip. In the meantime, keep in mind that the ample insect swarms are a nuisance, not a threat. While some aphids destroy vegetation, not the smoky-winged ash variety.
“They are of little to no economic importance to trees and plants. And no, they don’t suck blood,” said Zack.
Richard Zack, WSU entomologist, 509-335-7247, zack@wsu.edu
Linda Weiford, WSU News, 509-335-7209, linda.weiford@wsu.edu
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Insect Disaster
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PFAS: Expert submits warning via federal inquiry that contamination more widespread than reported
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A contamination expert is warning a federal parliamentary inquiry that the spread of potentially harmful chemicals once used in firefighting foam is likely to have affected many more parts of Australia than previously reported.
The expert said the sites included all Australian airports, all landfill sites, and any locations where there had been a large fuel or chemical fire in the past 50 years.
Adding to concerns, the ABC understands the Queensland Government, in its submission to the federal inquiry, said it knew of 15 sites in the state with contamination, including seven airports.
It told the federal inquiry a further and full investigation was needed to determine "the nature and extent of PFAS contamination at airports".
Last year, researchers from two Queensland universities estimated Australia has 600 registered landfill sites, and up to 2,000 unregulated ones.
Katherine is just one affected site in a major ongoing Australian public health issue.
In his submission to the inquiry, Associate Professor Robert Niven, from the University of NSW in Canberra, said sites highly likely to be contaminated with PFAS chemicals included:
Queensland Health Minister Steven Miles said the Federal Government needed to do more to address community concerns on PFAS. "They've failed frankly in managing the sites that they are responsible for," he said.
"Understandably there is a very high level of community concern about these pollutants.
"We've called upon the Commonwealth to ban their use federally, they continue to use them at sites that they regulate."
The State Government's submission also suggested the Commonwealth offer blood tests to people who have been potentially exposed to high levels of the chemicals.
The environmental engineer's warning comes as the ABC can reveal a woman living near and working at the Gold Coast's airport, where contamination has been confirmed, had blood tests that showed her PFAS levels were in the top 5 per cent of results for her age.
Jackie McDonald worked at the airport as an Aboriginal stakeholder overseeing cultural sites and has regularly eaten seafood from the neighbouring Cobaki Broadwater where the chemicals have been detected.
Her blood tests show her PFOS (a type of PFAS chemical) levels are within the top 5 per cent of results for people her age.
PFAS chemicals have been linked to lower birth weights in babies, reduced kidney function and increased cholesterol.
An Australian expert panel found the chemicals did not pose an increase in overall cancer risk, but the Environment Protection Authority in the US where the chemicals were manufactured has warned there were "limited" findings linking some of the chemicals to cancer.
Ms McDonald said she did not know what her results meant for her health.
"I am constantly listening to my body to see if it is telling me anything, it is a constant worry," she said.
"I keep thinking, 'well I have had a good life, but I am worried for my younger family members'."
She said she does not know why her levels are so high.
"I don't know what it is caused by. Is it caused by exposure while I have been in and out of the airport? Or is it caused by exposure from any past contamination in the Cobaki?" she said.
Ms McDonald is a member of the community group the Tugun Cobaki Alliance, which has previously raised concerns about PFAS contamination at the Gold Coast airport.
She wants further testing of PFAS contamination in the area and more blood tests for workers and residents.
"How many people might have PFAS in their blood the same as myself, if not higher? Something is causing it," she said.
In his submission to the federal inquiry, which is focusing on Defence bases, Associate Professor Niven said that all of the possible PFAS large contamination sites in Australia need to be investigated by the Federal Government.
He said residents living near such sites should demands investigations and questioned why a national investigation has not yet taken place yet.
The Department of Defence admits it should have warned the public about a chemical contamination scandal three years earlier than it did.
"The fact that such a national initiative is not prominent in the media suggests either that these investigations are being conducted covertly, or conducted on an ad hoc basis, or alternatively that there is deliberate inaction by Commonwealth and state governments," he wrote.
He said that all industrial sites that likely had PFAS exposure and have been redeveloped for commercial or housing use "must be considered suspect".
)
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Environment Pollution
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Rehab centre in Thane sees more patients in 25-45 yrs age group recovered from Covid visiting it
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Rehab centre in Thane sees more patients in 25-45 yrs age group recovered from Covid visiting it Following the second wave, those between 25 and 45 years have been mostly seen visiting the post-Covid rehabilitation centre; the main aim of this centre in Majiwada, Thane, is the physical and mental well-being of patients who have recovered from Covid A patient being put through simple exercises at the rehab centre in Thane. The patients in 25-45 yrs age group who have recovered from Covid form a large portion of those visiting the centre for follow-up and counselling. Since its inception more than a year ago, more than 2,000 patients have been treated at the post-Covid care and rehabilitation centre in Thane till now. The second wave subsided months ago. However, people affected in this wave continue to deal with Covid-related complications, claim the doctors. In the first wave, the patients who sought help were mostly between 40 years and 60 years. However, post the second wave, those between 25 years and 45 years have been mostly seen visiting the post-Covid rehabilitation centre. The main aim of this centre situated at Lodha Luxuria in Majiwada is the physical and mental well-being of those who have recovered from Covid. Most recovered patients visit for yoga sessions at the rehabilitation centre. They also focus on breathing and building one’s strength. “After the second wave, 60% of the patients who visited here were for breathlessness and hardly 2% had lung fibrosis. Moreover, there were 20% who faced severe joint pains and another 20% who required counselling. The most common issues among post-Covid difficulties were palpitation and panting. We suggest yoga, lung physiotherapy and basic exercises for the body,” said Dr Mansi Doiphode, medical officer and in-charge of the post-Covid rehabilitation centre. For a 34-year-old Kalyan resident, the joint pain had not subsided even three months after recovering from Covid. He came all the way to Thane’s post-Covid rehabilitation centre and was suggested some simple exercises and physiotherapy. On following them regularly, along with basic medications, he has noted some improvement. “We have been treating such patients with orthopaedic-related issues. Even those who recovered a few months back are facing joint pains. This could also be because of the winter and the dip in temperature. We suggest some exercises and, if needed, basic medications for them to recover. In some cases, calcium and multi-vitamin medicines have also helped them to recover,” said Dr Mahesh Mhatre, orthopaedic, post-Covid rehabilitation centre. The centre also saw senior citizens who were staying alone and who found it difficult to manage daily chores and routines on their own after recovering from Covid. “One such case was of a 65-year-old Thane resident who also had asthma and found it very difficult to cope with post-Covid breathing problems. We suggested simple exercises that could be done at home to enhance the lungs’ capacity. Only every fortnight he would visit the centre and gradually he started finding it easier to cope,” added Dr Mhatre. As the sexagenarian stayed with his spouse on the third floor of his house with no lift, daily chores and even a visit to the doctor involved climbing and descending three floors. It would leave him panting and breathless even after three months post-Covid infection. He visited the post-Covid centre and based on the breathing exercises prescribed, he has now recovered and is able to manage his daily chores without support. As the virus affects the lungs and lowers the immunity, pulmonary physiotherapy to strengthen the lungs along with regular exercises and proper diet help revive one’s body. There are designated doctors for the same who guide those visiting the centre. Moreover, many find it difficult to cope up after being in isolation for long periods. There are counsellors who help such individuals as well. “We have noticed that in many instances, people who are working from home and have tested positive for Covid have led to Covid-related anxiety. This is often because they are confined to a single room, feel lonely, and hence are vulnerable to emotional upheaval. Medication is not the only solution in such cases. Hence, we recommend some kind of physical activity to encourage the mind. Also, we have counselling sessions at least once a week,” added Doiphode. With a gradual dip in cases, a part of the centre has now been converted to a vaccination centre. Moreover, patients visit with prior appointments. The yoga and counselling sessions are currently available only on call or prior appointment.
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Famous Person - Recovered
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1993 Auckland mid-air collision crash
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The 1993 Auckland mid-air collision was an aircraft accident in New Zealand. [1] It occurred on 26 November 1993, when two aircraft operated by Airwork, under contract to the New Zealand Police, collided and crashed in central Auckland. The mid-air collision of the Aérospatiale TwinStar helicopter and Piper Archer aeroplane resulted in the deaths of all four occupants – a civilian Airwork pilot on each aircraft and two New Zealand Police officers on the helicopter. [2] The accident occurred in daylight with excellent visibility,[3] in uncontrolled airspace (class G), with both aircraft flying under visual flight rules. Both the helicopter and aeroplane were operated by Airwork (NZ), and working under contract to the New Zealand Police at the time of the accident. The Transport Accident Investigation Commission investigation found the accident occurred because neither pilot saw the other aircraft. [4]
The Aérospatiale TwinStar AS 355 F1, registration ZK-HIT, was using call signs "Police One" with air traffic control and "Eagle" with police control. It was operating out of Mechanics Bay Heliport, the base of the police Air Support Unit, 1 NM east of the central city. The helicopter performed ad hoc missions around the city, usually at 1,000 feet AMSL, and on 26 November was being piloted by Ross Jeffree Harvey (aged 41), with Police Air Support Unit officers Sergeant Lindsay Eion "Lou" Grant (39) and Constable Alastair Alan Sampson (27). At 4:22 pm it returned to the heliport after a routine mission for a break of about an hour, and was logged taking off again at 5:33 pm. It departed to the north over Waitematā Harbour and shortly afterwards made a turn to the left to a southwest heading. It flew this course, climbing, for about 1 minute before making a 30° turn to the left, continuing climbing through 1,200 feet until the accident 18 seconds later. [5]
The Piper Archer 28-181, registration ZK-ENX, call sign "Pact 1" (Police Airborne Control of Traffic) was flying a regular weekday traffic patrol, piloted by Allan Anthony Connors (aged 27). The patrols were normally conducted at 1,500 feet. It left Ardmore Aerodrome at 3:59 pm, and reported on several traffic incidents. Shortly after 5:32 pm, the aircraft flew south from the North Shore to a road accident on the Auckland Southern Motorway near the Symonds Street on-ramp. It flew southeast past the road accident, and began a turn to the left around the accident site. The aircraft turned through about 270° and was turning through a southwest heading when the collision occurred. The accident interrupted a report the pilot was making to Police Control over the radio. [5]
The collision occurred at 5:34:48 pm, near the intersection of Queen Street and Karangahape Road, at an altitude of about 1,400 feet. The left wing of the Archer separated, and the aircraft rolled, dived steeply, and crashed into the elevated carriageway on the Central Motorway Junction between the Northern and Southern Motorways. The wing landed on a church roof. [6] The TwinStar lost the main rotor and transmission, and rear tail boom, vertical stabiliser, and rear rotor. [7] It fell onto the Grafton Road on-ramp to the Northwestern Motorway, under Symonds Street Bridge, and a severe fire broke out, fuelled by 700 litres of kerosene. [8] The main rotor and tail section fell into a cemetery by Karangahape Road. Helicopter debris caused moderate facial burns to the driver of a car, who was taken to Auckland City Hospital. [2] The accident created substantial traffic congestion,[9] which hampered emergency services responding to the scene. [2] A witness at Mount Eden, 1.3 NM south of the site, caught the accident on video (after the collision). [10]
The Transport Accident Investigation Commission was notified of the accident at 6:20 pm, and appointed J J Goddard Investigator in Charge. He began a field investigation later that evening. [1] The wreckage was moved to a storage site prior to inspection, as it was causing a serious obstruction to major public highways. [8] The wreckage inspection found the outboard 50 cm (20 in) of the left wing had been cut off the Archer, and found matching damage on one rotor blade of the helicopter, including paint similar to the airplane primer. [8]
The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration conducted a cockpit field of view survey for the Commission. The relative angular position was plotted on the diagram from each aircraft, for 28 seconds prior to the collision. It showed the helicopter would have been visible to the Archer pilot, appearing for about ten seconds in the lower centre windscreen, before being obscured by the engine nose around 18 seconds before the accident. The diagram also showed the low position of the sun may have affected the pilot's ability to see the helicopter. [10] For the TwinStar pilot, the aeroplane would have been visible only for a few seconds in the top left corner of the windscreen. The two observers in the helicopter, sitting in the left front and rear, had no obstruction preventing them seeing the approaching Archer. [10]
The Commission found the Airwork (NZ) Operations Manual specifically addressed collision avoidance between these two aircraft:[11]
5 Police Traffic Patrol
4. Heights at which the patrol is to be carried out at. 12. Miscellaneous
Discussions with other pilots of the aircraft and police crew found they were familiar with the normal operating altitudes of 1,500 feet for the Police Traffic Patrol and 1,000 feet for the Police Eagle. [11]
The Commission found the accident occurred because neither pilot saw the other aircraft. Contributing factors were the helicopter not levelling at the agreed altitude, the helicopter did not establish mutual position by radio, and the helicopter crew did not see the traffic in time. It also cited the inherent limitations with the "see and avoid" method as a causal factor. The Commission recommended the Director of Civil Aviation promulgate a single advisory radio frequency for aircraft in the uncontrolled airspace between Auckland and Whenuapai Control Zones, which he did. [4]
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Air crash
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2020 Lassen County wildfires
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The 2020 Lassen County wildfire season included seven large wildfires that burned entirely or in part in Lassen County. A total of 203,296 acres (82,271 ha) (or 203,296 acres (318 sq mi)) of land was burned in Lassen County, making it one of the larger clusters of fires in the 2020 California wildfire season. [1]
The Hog Fire was a wildfire that broke out on July 18, 2020, from an unknown cause near Susanville, the county seat of Lassen County, California. Within the first few days, the fire quickly spread to over 8,000 acres. [2] Hog grew to a mere 9,564 acres, before it was fully extinguished on August 17, 2020. The Gold Fire was a wildfire that burned south of Adin along Highway 139. Igniting on Monday, July 20, on the east side of Highway 139 in rural landscape, the fire expanded to 21,870 acres (8,850 ha) and destroyed thirteen structures while also damaging an additional five. [3]
The North Fire burned in Washoe and Lassen counties. The fire triggered evacuations in Washoe County, and shut off roads in California including US 395. [4]
The Loyalton Fire was a wildfire burning in Lassen, Plumas, and Sierra counties, caused by lightning strikes in August 2020. During the fire, the National Weather Service issued the first ever fire whirl warning in US history. [5] [6]
Ignited by lightning on August 17th, the Sheep Fire burned in Lassen and Plumas counties. Originally part of the North Complex, it burned 29,570 acres (11,967 ha), mostly in the Plumas and Lassen National Forests, before being fully contained on September 9, 2020. [7]
The W-5 Cold Springs was a lightning-sparked fire burning in Lassen, Modoc and Washoe counties. The fire grew up to 84,817 acres (34,324 ha) before it was contained on September 14, making it the largest 2020 Lassen County fire. [8]
The November 17th Laura 2 Fire was the most destructive fire in the 2020 Lassen County fire season, despite its relatively small size. It burned 2,800 acres (1,133 ha) and destroyed 48 structures before its containment on November 24. [9]
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Fire
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2017 Iran–Iraq earthquake
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On 12 November 2017 at 18:18 UTC (21:48 Iran Standard Time, 21:18 Arabia Standard Time), an earthquake with a moment magnitude of 7.3 occurred on the Iran–Iraq border, with the Iraqi Kurdish city of Halabja, and the Kurdish dominated places of Ezgeleh, Salas-e Babajani County, Kermanshah Province in Iran, [4][14] closest to the epicentre, 30 kilometres (19 mi) south of the city of Halabja, Iraqi Kurdistan. [4]
It was felt as far away as Israel and the United Arab Emirates. With at least 630 people killed (mostly in Iraq's Kurdish Halabja area and the Iranian Kurdish dominated province of Kermanshah),[7][8] and more than 8,100 injured, as well as many more unaccounted for,[15][9][16] it was the deadliest earthquake of 2017. [17]
The earthquake was located within the Zagros fold and thrust belt, part of the broad and complex zone of continental collision between the Arabian and Eurasian Plates. At this location, the relative convergence of the plates is about 26 mm per year. [4] The convergence is quite oblique to the Zagros belt, although it is partitioned into orthogonal dip-slip motion within the active thrust belt and dextral (right lateral) strike-slip motion along the Main Recent Fault to the northeast of the Zagros Mountains. [18]
The earthquake occurred near the Iran–Iraq border,[1][19][3][5] approximately 220 kilometres (140 mi) northeast of Baghdad. [1][19][3] According to the United States Geological Survey, the earthquake measured 7.3 on the moment magnitude scale[2] and was caused by movement on a thrust fault dipping at a shallow angle to the northeast. The epicentre was at a depth of 19.0 kilometres (11.8 mi), and the maximum perceived intensity was VIII (severe shaking) on the Mercalli intensity scale. [4]
This was the strongest earthquake recorded in the region since a 6.1 Mw event in January 1967. [4] The earthquake was felt throughout the Middle East and as far away as Israel, the Arabian Peninsula and Turkey. [20][21][22][10] The Iranian seismological centre registered at least 50 aftershocks within a few hours of the earthquake. [23]
The province of Kermanshah was the most affected area along with the cities of Halabja, Iraq and Sarpol-e Zahab being the hardest-hit. [2][19][3][24][5][1] Ezgeleh was the nearest city to the epicentre of the earthquake. [25] More than half of the Iranian casualties were from Sarpol-e-Zahab and the Ezgeleh District, which have a combined population of over 30,000. [26] Officials announced that schools in Kermanshah and Ilam provinces would be closed following the quake. [27]
630 people died. [7][8] More than 7,000 others were injured. [20][28] In Sarpol-e Zahab, the hospital was damaged and at least 142 people were killed, many who had lived in social housing complexes built by former president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. [11][10][23] At least seven people were killed and another 500 injured in neighbouring Iraq, according to officials in Iraqi Kurdistan. [27][29] Further damages were seen as possible due to the threat of landslides induced by the shallow depth of the earthquake. [30]
The earthquake left about 70,000 people homeless across 14 Iranian provinces,[11][31] destroying approximately 12,000 homes and damaging another 15,000. [32] Relief camps in Iran distributed 22,000 tents and 52,000 blankets in the days after the earthquake. [32] On 17 November, the Iranian government announced that the disaster has caused at least €5 billion of damage. [33]
In Sarpol-e Zahab, some residents blamed the widespread destruction on poor construction quality and government corruption. [11] It was noted that older buildings remained standing, while many newer blocks collapsed. [11]
Turkey was the first country to offer aid, through its Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency, announcing that 92 rescue personnel were on standby, together with 4,000 tents and 7,000 blankets. [29]
European Union Foreign Policy Chief Federica Mogherini said the bloc was ready to cooperate with Iran in providing emergency relief aid,[29] and Italy's government issued orders to send 12 tonnes of tents, blankets and mobile kitchens on 13 November. [34]
The International Committee of the Red Cross had arrived by 13 November. [34] Sunni charities, such as the Iranian Call and Reform Organisation, were providing tents and water. [11] Rescue dogs were also used by the Iranian Red Crescent in order to search for survivors. [35]
The South Korean actress Lee Young-ae donated $45,000 to the Embassy of Iran in Seoul to help the victims of the earthquake. [36]
On 14 November, Iranian minister of foreign affairs Mohammad Javad Zarif expressed his gratitude for all the sympathy and offers of assistance Iran has received but declared that his country can manage the situation with its own resources for the time being. [37]
It was also reported that the Iranian Officials were visiting various affected places to provide assistance, according to CNN. [38]
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Earthquakes
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Lame Horse fire
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The Lame Horse fire occurred on 5 December 2009, around 1 a.m. local time in the nightclub Khromaya Loshad (Russian: «Хромая лошадь», "Lame Horse") at 9 Kuybyshev Street, Perm, Russia. The fire started when sparks from pyrotechnics ignited the low ceiling and its willow twig covering. The fire quickly spread to the walls and damaged the building's electrical wiring, causing the lights to fail. [1]
156 people died as a result of the fire. [2] According to initial reports, up to 160 more were injured in the fire; however, many of the wounded lost their lives in the following days in hospitals. The nightclub was in the middle of a celebration of its eighth anniversary at the time. [3][4][5] A total of 282 people had reportedly been invited to the club's anniversary party. [6]
Approximately 300 people were in the club for the club's anniversary celebration when the fire began. [7][8] Ignition occurred when a performance artist threw cold-flame pyrotechnics into the air. Sparks from the fireworks hit the plastic covering of the ceiling, igniting it. The event's master of ceremonies then told the guests to evacuate. As the crowd began to calmly exit the building, the wooden decorations on the interior walls of the club ignited, and the building filled with smoke. [9][10]
When the evacuation started, some people left via rear exits. The vast intake of oxygen turned the club's hall into a large fire tube and boosted the spread of fire. [11] As fumes and smoke overtook the air, panic erupted and patrons stampeded toward the exit. According to witnesses, one leaf of the club's double doors was sealed shut, and the public was unaware of the backdoor exit behind the stage not shown by emergency lighting. [12]
A club visitor's report about emergency service activity:[11]
After I had got out, there were no firemen or emergency service for about twenty minutes — nobody at all. <…> There were only two ambulances altogether. They managed to take six or seven men and left. No more ambulance cars arrived, at least I saw none. Firemen had pulled out a number of people by then. Half-clothed, they were simply laid on the cold asphalt. Nobody cared for them. It seemed that the aid was needed but there were no ambulances. <…> People were lying on the ground for about an hour and a half. Definitely for no less than an hour. It could be that many of them died because of this. Because of the cold. It was 16 degrees below zero outdoors. These were the strongest impressions: people lying in snow for an hour without any aid. Another report of a volunteer involved in evacuation:[13]
I rushed to the ambulance which for unclear reasons was standing far off at the crossroads. I asked why they were idling and they replied that they hadn’t been given orders. It turned out that we pulled out a lot of people most of which were still alive. I think it was possible to save around 70 percent of them within first seconds. But nobody helped. <…> I drove to the 9th medical post. Asked a guard where the toxicology department was. Found the door of the admission room and started to knock but nobody opened it for a long time. Then they looked out saying that they would come out soon and vanished. So I came in by myself, delivered them a man and drove back. By that time the officials had already arrived and the place of tragedy had been cordoned. I ran to firemen, asked how I could help but there were enough men without me, so I went round looking for injured who needed to be taken to their homes. Most of the people whom we had brought out earlier were already covered. 156 people[14][2] were known to have died as a result of the fire - 94 at the scene and the rest in hospitals. During three days following the fire, EMERCOM used specially equipped "mobile hospital" Il-76TD aircraft to transport 65 injured to Moscow and 28 to St. Petersburg. Most of the injured who were transported to Moscow and Saint Petersburg had poor prognoses for recovery. [15] By December 2009, 35 fire victims in hospitals had very poor prognoses. Most victims in more serious conditions needed around 2–3 months of treatment and a year of rehabilitation afterwards, including multiple reconstructive surgeries. [16]
One Ukrainian citizen died and another was injured as a result of the incident. [17] The injured Ukrainian later died in a Perm clinic.
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Fire
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'Shocking' metallic sludge contaminating Sydney dams that supply drinking water
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Metallic sludge is contaminating two dams that supply drinking water to one of Sydney's biggest growth areas, official data from New South Wales' peak water body has revealed.
The data, obtained by the ABC under freedom of information laws, revealed dozens of samples taken by WaterNSW from deep in Cataract Dam and Cordeaux Dam over the past three years showed elevated levels of iron.
Water authorities say the contamination is not a concern because other sources of water are available to "balance water quality and quantity".
But they concede the falling storages of Sydney's dams are posing a serious challenge.
Cataract Dam and Cordeaux Dam directly supply water to the Macarthur region in Sydney's south-west, which is expected to swell to more than 600,000 people by 2026.
The booming area has no access to clean, desalinated water from the Kurnell plant.
The treated water that makes it to people's taps remains safe to drink but the results show the contamination in the dam is worsening.
Cataract Dam is only 26 per cent full, prompting community debate about the long-term supply of clean drinking water during long droughts.
Western Sydney University scientist Ian Wright, who specialises in research into urban water quality, described the results as "shocking" and "unnatural".
He said the pollution was caused by metallic sediments — deep in the dams' catchments — dissolving into the water.
The sediments are a by-product of coal-mining activity, which over many decades has damaged Sydney's rock beds, swamps and streams.
The records show samples from Cataract and Cordeaux dams have exceeded acceptable limits more than 90 times in three years.
By comparison, neighbouring Avon Dam has breached just three times in three years.
Dr Wright said that while small doses of iron are safe to drink, an elevated level usually indicates more dangerous contaminants in the dams.
The deepwater samples also showed levels of aluminium were unusually high in both dams.
A WaterNSW spokesperson conceded "the drought has caused some challenges to water quality".
They described the "variation" as a "common and natural occurrence", and any contaminants were filtered to meet Australian standards.
Rapid changes in currents, water levels or temperature in a dam can trigger the metallic sediment at the bottom of the dams to chemically dissolve, causing contamination of higher water levels.
"It looks like sludge or ooze," Dr Wright said.
"It's a very viscous, runny sort of mud at the bottom of these reservoirs."
"Inside this sludge there are salts and minerals, there is iron, aluminium and manganese.
"There is lithium, strontium, barium, titanium. There is going to be zinc and nickel."
The impact of mining in water catchments was last year probed by an independent expert panel appointed by the office of the NSW chief scientist.
The WaterNSW spokesperson said that study "did raise concerns about the potential for metals to enter dams in the long term" but that more research was needed
The Berejiklian Government is reviewing the future of new mining projects in the catchment.
Julie Sheppard, from environmental group Protect Our Water Alliance, said the data from WaterNSW showed "iron levels are through the roof".
"We don't really know the full impacts of mining, but the suggestion is they are serious and ongoing and remain in perpetuity," she said.
NSW Water Minister Melinda Pavey has been contacted for comment.
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Environment Pollution
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Pan Am Flight 806 crash
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Pan Am Flight 806 was an international scheduled flight from Auckland, New Zealand, to Los Angeles, California, with intermediate stops at Pago Pago, American Samoa and Honolulu, Hawaii. On January 30, 1974, the Boeing 707 Clipper Radiant crashed on approach to Pago Pago International Airport, killing 87 passengers and ten crew members. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) determined the probable cause of the accident was the flight crew's tardy identification of microburst-induced wind shear. Other factors included poor visibility and a lack of altitude and airspeed callouts by the aircrew. The aircraft involved was a Boeing 707-321B powered by Pratt & Whitney JT3D-3B engines. Registered N454PA with manufacturer's serial number 19376/661, it had accumulated 21,625 airframe hours since its first flight in 1967. It was piloted by Captain Leroy Petersen, 52, who had 17,414 hours of pilot time of which 7,416 hours were in the 707. The copilot was First Officer Richard Gaines, 37, with 5,107 total piloting hours all in the 707. The Third officer was James Phillips, 43, and the flight engineer was Gerry Green, 37. [2][1]
At 20:14 Flight 806 departed Auckland with 91 passengers
and 10 crewmembers on board with an instrument flight rules (IFR) flight plan to Pago Pago. [2]
At 23:34 the flight had descended to 5,500 feet (1,700 m) and captured the 226 degree radial of the Pago Pago VHF omnidirectional range (VOR) and were flying the reciprocal heading of 46 degrees. Pago Pago Approach Control reported winds zero one zero degrees at one five gusting two zero. [2]
The flight was receiving signals from the Localizer and was using the Instrument landing system (ILS) for runway 5. At 23:38 the approach controller informed the flight of a bad rain shower at the airport, then at 23:39 stated the wind is zero three zero degrees at two zero, gusting two five. The flight transmitted "Eight zero six, wilco" at 23:39:41. This was the last communication received from Flight 806. [2]
The Cockpit voice recorder (CVR) recorded normal cockpit conversation during the last minute of the flight. At 23:40:22 the co-pilot reported "You're a little high" and at 23:40:33 "You're at minimums." At 23:40:35 the first officer stated "Field in sight" then "Turn to your right" followed by "hundred and forty knots." No further conversation was recorded by the CVR. [2]
At 23:40:42 the 707 came in contact with trees 3,865 feet (1,178 m) short of the runway 5 threshold. The aircraft first impacted the ground 236 feet further and plowed through dense vegetation for another 539 feet (164 m) before crashing into a three foot high rock wall. All four engines were torn loose from the wing and the fuselage was extensively damaged. A post-impact fire consumed most of the aircraft. [2]
The crew of 10 and 87 passengers ultimately died as a direct cause of the accident. Notably, all the passengers and crew survived the initial impact. Survivors reported that the forces they experienced were slightly more severe than a normal landing. After examination the cabin interior was found to be undamaged by the crash. [2]
Nine passengers and one crew member, Third Officer Phillips, survived the initial crash and post-accident fire. One passenger died the day after the accident. Three days after the accident, the remaining crew member and three passengers died. One passenger died nine days after the accident. According to NTSB 49 CFR part 830, fatalities occurring more than seven days after the accident shall not be attributed to said accident. [2]
The NTSB's final report dated October 6, 1977 determined that the probable cause of the accident was:[2]
The flight crew's late recognition, and failure to correct in a timely manner, an excessive descent rate which developed as a result of the aircraft's penetration through destabilizing wind changes. The winds consisted of horizontal and vertical components produced by a heavy rainstorm and influenced by uneven terrain close to the aircraft's approach path. The captain's recognition was hampered by restricted visibility, the illusory effects of a "black hole" approach, inadequate monitoring of flight instruments, and the failure of the crew to call out descent rate during the last 15 seconds of flight.
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Air crash
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Ponil Complex Fire
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Ponil Complex Fire was a lightning-caused fire in New Mexico, United States, that started on Monday, June 3, and was fully contained by Monday, June 17, 2002. [1][2][3] The fire burned a total area of 92,470 acres, mainly on Philmont. [4] It was the largest wildfire of its time. [3][5]
The fire wiped out the forest on a large scale. It disrupted the growth and changed the ecosystem of the area. Four fish species were lost due to this fire. [6][7]
The fire occurred during a season of increased wildfire in the southwestern United States. [8] Four lightning strikes ignited it. Severe drought conditions fueled the fire. [2][3]
Ponil Complex Fire started in North County, above highway 64 from Dean Canyon area, and reached to the Valle Vidal area. [2] By July 6, the fire had burned 60,000 acres, and there was no estimate of when the fire will be fully contained. [1] It was upgraded to Type I incident. [9] 1,342 firefighters, 13 water-dropping helicopters, 31 engines, 24 dozers, and 12 water tenders were fighting against the fire. [2] By June 11, the fire had burned 85,000 acres of land. [10] It was fully contained on June 17. [1][2][3]
The fire burned a total area of 92,470 acres, with 30,000 acres on the Philmont Ranch. 40% of the area within fire's boundary burned at low severity, with 75% survival of the trees. 13% of the area was completely unburned. [11] The total suppression costs went up to $14 million. [12]
The fire caused large-scale flooding, excessive erosion, and downcutting in the Ponil Watershed. It hindered the growth of riparian trees. It burned most of the older and mature riparian trees. The fire heavily affected the Bonita Creek, causing increased sedimentation in Ponil Creek. It caused the loss of cottonwoods and willows. The riparian tree canopy reduced due to the burning of riparian vegetation, which caused higher stream temperature. [13][14]
A meander was formed after the debris from the fire blocked the main channel. Impaired aquatic habitat is another consequence of the fire. Four different species of fish and more than 2000 fish were lost due to this fire. Most of the aquatic life was eliminated in lower drainage as all fish in Greenwood Canyon were killed. [14][15]
Six rainstorms after the fire exceeded the 100-year precipitation event in the Hayman burn area in the Trail, West, Camp, Horse, Fourmile, and Sixmile Creek basins since the 2002 fire. [13]
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Fire
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The agriculture department has launched initiatives to curb the fall armyworm menace ahead of the maize cultivation season here
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Coimbatore: The agriculture department has launched initiatives to curb the fall armyworm menace ahead of the maize cultivation season here. The invasive pest, which originated from the Americas, had struck Tamil Nadu in 2017-18, when it damaged almost half of the total 3.86 lakh hectares of maize crops across the state. After the crop was damaged last year, the state government gave a compensation of Rs 2.15 crore to the farmers. While the peak cultivation of maize is in September, a communication from the Coimbatore collector said the pest was spotted in maize cultivated as summer crop. The department has been creating awareness among input dealers, an official said. “We have instructed them not to sell pesticides and instead opt for the integrated management package we recommended. We have also been conducting webinars and awareness sessions for farmers,” he said. As the district is receiving summer showers, farmers have been asked to plough deeply to expose and kill the pest’s pupae, said a release from the department. At the last round of ploughing, they have been asked to apply 250kg of neem oil cake per hectare. They should mix every kilogram of maize seeds with 10gram of beauveria bassiana, a fungus that acts as a natural pesticide. Seeds should be planted far enough apart. Pulses such as cowpea, flowers such as marigold and oilseeds such as gingelly should be planted as border crops as they nourish the insects, which prey on fall armyworms. Farmers should use pheromone traps, destroy the eggs and worms by hand and apply microbial pesticides such as Metarhizium anisopliae. The department has also recommended judicial use of synthetic pesticides such as novaluron, spinetoram and flubendiamide. Maize is cultivated on 11,250 acres in the district, in areas such as Sultanpet, Sulur, Thondamuthur, Karamadai, Annur and Pollachi North.
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Insect Disaster
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Festival of Empire
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The 1911 Festival of Empire was the biggest single event held at The Crystal Palace in London since its opening. It opened on 12 May and was one of the events to celebrate the coronation of King George V. The original intention had been that Edward VII would open it in 1910, however, this was postponed after his death shortly before the planned opening day. The Festival contained a display of landscapes and exhibits from the British Empire, mainly the dominion countries, to encourage emigration to those nations; and it contained a large scale pageant dramatising British history. [1] It was described at the time as ‘a social gathering of the British family’ encouraging the ‘firmer welding of those invisible bonds which hold together the greatest empire the world has ever known’. [2] It has since been described as the ‘ultimate imperialist propaganda showcase’. [3]
Robert George Windsor-Clive, first Earl of Plymouth, Conservative government minister managed and promoted the Festival as a sub contracted event; it was nothing to do with the Crystal Palace company which was in receivership at the time. The 1911 Festival of Empire was one of many imperial propaganda events staged in the early twentieth century in Britain and around the Empire, following the 1909 Imperial International Exhibition at London’s White City and running parallel to the 1911 Delhi Durbar in India. The 1911 Festival of Empire was staged at The Crystal Palace at Sydenham Hill and had similar characteristics to the Great Exhibition, for which the palace was initially built, in that it displayed an array of products and exhibits from countries around the world and promoted a western industrial culture and pro-Empire view of the world. The 1911 Festival of Empire was a considerable logistical exercise and it exploited much of the latest technology of the time to create a simulation of the landscapes around the British Empire for the British public to experience on home ground. This involved masses of painted canvas and re-landscaped parts of the park. At the 1911 Festival of Empire, exhibitions of products from the countries of the Empire were displayed in three-quarter size models of their Parliamentary buildings erected in the grounds, which were:[4]
The buildings were constructed of timber and plaster as they were meant to be temporary. [5] They were linked by an electric tramway called the 'All-Red Route' on which open-sided cars took the visitor on a circular tour of the dominions with typical scenery of each country around the buildings listed above. There were also many other exhibits within the Palace itself. In all, there were 300 ornate buildings constructed by 7,000 workers, one and half miles of track line laid, a mix of stuffed wild animals and real ones (1,000 real wild Australian rabbits and many New Foundland fish). Leolyn G Hart, theatre designer, oversaw the whole construction, engaging over 100 painters. [6] The panorama building was adapted into an Indian pavilion, which included displays about Indian history and daily life and an exhibition of new Bengal art works curated by the India Society. [7] It also included an Irish cottage village and an attraction named ‘Empire Caves’. [8][9]
Present day critics would say that exoticism played an integral role in simulating the colonies, especially in the way that colonised peoples were depicted. The colonial exhibits familiarised British men and women with Britain's "newly acquired and distant outpost". Metaphorically, it took British men and women to places they had never seen and, in all likelihood, would never see, as one observer enthused “the East Indian exhibits had the effect of impressing every visitor with the importance to such possessions of Great Britain”. [10] The use of the term "British possessions" [11] by the Festival organisers at the time is indicative of the extensive control and coherence that encapsulated and penetrated deeply throughout the British Empire and its colonies. The buildings of the 1911 Festival of Empire were linked by an electric tramway called the 'All-Red Route' on which open-sided cars took visitors on a circular tour of the ‘dominions’ with typical scenery of each country. There were displays of so-called "natives at work", including African tribesmen, Malay people constructing houses and Maori villagers. These were people invited to London to act out scenes from their life and work in mocked up environments. [12] Most Festival visitors would know little or nothing of such people and would not have seen such demonstrations. Some scenes included mannequins to represent some of the people of those colonies, seen by critics today as reinforcing notions of primitivism. [13]
The route is shown in red on the map; the colour red and pink were used to denote the British Empire and its dominions on maps at that time. Bridges over small lakes represented sea voyages between the countries. Some of the cars may be seen in pictures included on this page. Scenes along the route included a South African Diamond Mine and an Indian Tea Plantation, photos of which are included below. There was also "a Jamaican sugar plantation, an Australian sheep farm" and "a jungle ‘well stocked with wild beasts’". [14]
The diamond industry became a chief source of export earnings and the key to the economic transformation of South Africa. British imperialist Cecil John Rhodes capitalised from this as he co-founded De Beers Consolidated diamond Mines at Kimberley. The discovery of diamonds exacerbated the colonisation of the region, increased the rate of African disposition of land, and led to the political domination of black South Africans. Cheap African labour was central to the success of Kimberley diamond mining and as many as Thirty thousand black labourers toiled away. The history of colonial plantations in India promulgated momentous exploitation and environmental destruction. The British government acquired lands forcibly from Indigenous communities to set up tea estates and resettle immigrants on them permanently, further cementing black tea consumption in the British empire. [15]
Although slavery was banned in the British Empire in 1833 the East India company found a cunning alternative to use indentured labourers, free men and women who signed contracts binding them to work for a certain period. The less that companies spent on labor, the higher their personal margin of profit would be. This example reinforces how British tea companies cut costs and exploited their workforce, which in turn led to an increase of disease, malnutrition, and mortality. [16]
A pageant, organised by 'Master of the Pageants' Frank Lascelles, dramatising the history of London, England and the Empire was held. [17][18] The first performance of the pageant was on 8 June 1911; in four parts, performed on separate days, it celebrated the ‘magnificence, glory and honour of the Empire and the Mother Country’. Music was provided for The Pageant of London by 20 composers including Ralph Vaughan Williams, Gustav Holst, Frank Bridge,[19] Cecil Forsyth, Henry Balfour Gardiner, Edward German and Haydn Wood. This was performed by a military band of 50 players and a chorus of 500 voices,[20] directed by W.H. Bell. [21]
The best architects and designers of the day were also engaged in the orchestration of the Pageant, such as Edward Poynter and Aston Webb. [22][23] The Pageant was so successful that performances were extended from July, when they were due to end, to 2 September, and a number of days were lost or spoilt due to bad weather. [24]
“The King’s Day with the Children” was arranged as part of the Festival for 100,000 children to come to enjoy the Palace and Festival events on one day and meet the King and other members of the royal family. It was also considered a great organisational challenge. The children were chosen by ballot from London schools of all backgrounds.
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Sports Competition
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Northern Cape farmers battle ‘horrific’ brown locust outbreak
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Jan Marais* knew the brown locusts would be coming but the Northern Cape sheep farmer wasn’t prepared for the scale of the outbreak. “This year with the widespread rain we were expecting trouble,” says the farmer, who lives in the Hanover district. “It’s been horrific and has hit us quite badly.” Marais says he hasn’t witnessed the scale of such swarms for many years. “When you see them on the horizon, it looks like dust from far … Next door to my farm we sprayed a swarm of about 500m by a kilometre and a half. You can think where they sit at night, they just eat absolutely everything. It’s just stalks there the next morning.” While he fears the worst is not over, intensive pesticide spraying regimens seem to be working in his region. “A week ago, if you asked me I would have said we’re being overwhelmed. We’re starting to get some control now, but not completely, and there are other areas that are being very badly affected in the Northern Cape and the Eastern Cape. “Our grazing is already compromised from the prolonged drought and now the little bit of food that is coming up is being decimated by the locusts.” Another local farmer, Elsie Vermeulen* tells how the swarms are destroying her grazing land. “Last night, my workers sprayed a two-kilometre-by-three-kilometre swarm. Our area hasn’t got rain. So it’s very dry so when it’s getting through, it eats a lot.” A previous outbreak around a decade ago was nothing like this year, she says. “We have areas being sprayed here that have never been sprayed before. Some areas have up to 27 bakkies in one area that’s deployed. In the 30 years I’ve been here, it hasn’t been this bad.” Brown locusts are endemic to the semi-arid Karoo areas of South Africa and southern Namibia. The initial outbreaks started in September last year, with huge migrating adult swarms in November that infested parts of the Free State before being brought under control by authorities. Dr Roger Price, research team leader at the Agricultural Research Council, says the current outbreak will slow down as the weather cools. “Time and time again, they’re only saved by the weather. This outbreak is normal, though this is a bit heavier than usual. It’s been bigger than most years but nowhere near a big outbreak.” The Karoo probably has the highest outbreak frequency of any locust in the world, he says. “We have outbreaks in the Karoo nine out of every 10 years but the last few years it’s been very quiet and people have forgotten about the locusts. But because they’ve had drought breaking rains in September October and then follow-up rains, we’ve had a very good locust season.” The outbreak, he says, is medium-sized. “It hit the news this year more than most because of social media. It’s normally hidden away in the Karoo. We have massive outbreaks in the Karoo that if the world knew about it would be world headlines.” Ikalafeng Kgakatsi, the director for climate change and disaster management at the Northern Cape department of agriculture, environmental affairs, land reform and rural development, says the concern is that the locusts will move into irrigation areas in the Orange River or spill into the Free State. “We’re working with farmers and providing pesticides and we’ve been trying to control the situation to make sure we minimise the locusts. We hope this rain will bring the cold quicker. That will help us because if it’s hot and wet, they keep on coming.” The South African National Biodiversity Institute says that while South Africa has succeeded in managing locust outbreaks in some respects, the challenge lies in the changing climate, which might promote outbreaks. “The country would benefit greatly from detailed studies focusing on understanding the impact of land use change, climate change and other global change challenges in relation to the brown locust.” * Names have been changed Subscribe to the M&G today for just R30 for the first three months (then R250/quarter). Subscribers get access to all our best journalism, subscriber-only newsletters, events and a weekly cryptic crossword.
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Insect Disaster
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A guide to cross-border financing in Switzerland
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Daniel Hayek and Mark Meili of Prager Dreifuss look at the rules, practicalities and latest developments in a friendly, but recently more challenging environment for cross-border financing September 23 2021 Switzerland is home to approximately 250 banks with an aggregate balance sheet of about CHF3.47 trillion ($3.76 trillion). Consequently, the Swiss cross-border financing market is mature and well-developed. Local banks such as Credit Suisse, UBS and the Zurich Cantonal Bank (ZKB) are the dominant lenders when it comes to cross-border financing, but international banks are also active in the Swiss market. This is because the headquarters of large international groups are located in Switzerland and also because borrowers frequently have Swiss affiliates that grant security. Since the global financial crisis, banks in Switzerland have become stricter with regard to providing loans to companies. This trend is reinforced by Basel III legislation, which requires banks to hold more equity. Notably, it is becoming harder for small- and mid-sized companies that do not have an investment grade rating to refinance and renegotiate existing debt structures. As a result, many companies are turning to alternative lenders such as funds, pension funds, insurance companies and family offices which are willing to take more risk. To support the additional financing needs created by the negative impacts of Covid-19, the Swiss government has so far supported businesses with around CHF40 billion. In addition, it established a liquidity support scheme for small and mid-sized Swiss companies under which Swiss banks granted loans in a total volume of CHF17.11 billion which were guaranteed by the federal government. Over the last decade, the ratio of Swiss bank non-performing loans (NPLs) to total gross loans has continuously fallen from 1.3% in 2005 to 0.6% in 2019, which is low in comparison to other jurisdictions and equals the all-time low for Switzerland from 2017 (which was also 0.6%). Because of the negative effects of the Covid-19 crisis, the number may soon get worse. However, under usual circumstances NPLs are not a very topical issue. A reason for the typically low ratio may be that NPLs suggest that obligors are facing liquidity problems. A liquidity problem is a major issue for Swiss directors. The board of a Swiss obligor has to convene an extraordinary shareholder’s meeting and propose restructuring measures if half of the company’s share capital and legal reserves are no longer covered by its assets. In the event that the balance sheet of a Swiss obligor shows negative equity, the board of directors must notify the court. This usually leads to bankruptcy. If the board fails to observe its obligations, the individual directors may incur personal liability. It goes without saying that the board will try to find a commercial solution with the existing lenders or try to raise additional capital from alternative sources to avoid such a situation. Switzerland provides the legal certainty to resolve any disputes relating to large-scale financial transactions. However, borrowers and lenders tend to find amicable solutions rather than resorting to litigation. As regards trends in the market, the negative impacts of Covid-19 on the financial situation of many companies has created additional financing needs. In particular, many companies have accumulated a lot of debt over the past year and require additional funding. Recent notable transactions in the market include a multi-billion euro financing of a large-scale infrastructure project. The most interesting aspect of this transaction was that the lenders were European energy companies that did not have a banking licence. There were no bank lenders involved, even though banks may provide financing at a later stage of the project. This raises some difficult questions in relation to the ‘10/20 Non-Bank Rule’, which limits the number of potential non-bank lenders in a financing transaction (further details below). Finding a solution to the allocation of ‘slots’ for lenders that do not have a banking licence, thereby allowing them to provide mezzanine, bridge or funding gap capital, as well as to the transfer of loan shares to non-banks, is challenging. The composition of the lenders made this transaction quite unique. We do not expect that its structure will influence the Swiss market standard. Syndicated secured loan facilities are probably the most frequent type of cross-border financing transaction in the market and it appears that this will not change in the near future. There is no specific legislation and there are no specific regulatory bodies that exclusively or predominantly govern cross-border financing in Switzerland. However, it goes without saying that the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) is relevant when it comes to the regulation of domestic (bank) lenders and that the Swiss Federal Tax Administration (SFTA) is relevant in relation to ancillary tax issues. Swiss headquartered groups looking to raise capital via the international debt capital or bank debt markets may face Swiss withholding tax (WHT) if the issuer or borrower is a non-Swiss group member and where the structure requires guarantee support from the Swiss parent company. If there is backflow to Switzerland, a 35% WHT rate applies on the interest payments, unless the maximum backflow is capped at the equity amount of the non-Swiss issuer. On February 5 2019, the SFTA published an important clarification that introduced two exceptions to the backflow rule, which may also be combined. Under the equity exception, it is now possible for a non-Swiss issuer with a parent guarantee from its Swiss headquarters to grant a loan back to the Swiss company sourced from the funds raised on the international capital market, whereby the up-stream loan will not exceed the aggregate equity of all non-Swiss subsidiaries. In case the shareholding is less than 100% in the non-Swiss subsidiary, the equity amount is reduced accordingly. Under the intragroup funding exception, it is now possible for a non-Swiss issuer, which holds a parent guarantee from the Swiss headquarters, to grant a loan back to the Swiss company sourced from the funds raised on the international capital market whereby the up-stream loan shall not exceed the aggregate amount of all intragroup loans granted by Swiss group members to non-Swiss group companies. The SFTA requires an upfront tax ruling if a Swiss headquartered group wants to benefit from the new exceptions. The new regime is likely to increase the ability of Swiss groups to raise funds outside Switzerland and to use such funds in Switzerland. Meanwhile, the abolishment of the 10/20 Non-Bank Rule has been widely discussed and may be achieved by a tax reform initiated by the Swiss Federal Council aimed at strengthening the debt market in Switzerland. The dispatch by the Swiss Federal Council on the reform of the WHT was published in April 2021. According to the dispatch, interest paid to investors outside of Switzerland will no longer be subject to Swiss WHT. For the 10/20 Non-Bank Rule, this means that re-characterising a loan as a bond (which is dependent on the number of creditors involved that are not banks) will no longer have any implications for Swiss WHT on interest. The WHT reform is subject to an optional referendum. Entry into force before January 1 2024 is unlikely. In a nutshell, the 10/20 Non-Bank Rule states that interest payments are subject to 35% WHT rate, if the number of lenders without a banking licence exceeds 10, under a single debt instrument, or 20, under all debt instruments of the Swiss borrower taken together. Under certain circumstances, interest payments guaranteed by a Swiss guarantor may be subject to WHT as well. The limitation of syndication to non-bank lenders due to the 10/20 Non-Bank Rule is a viable solution to avoid or mitigate the consequences of this rule. However, such an approach may not be satisfying in larger syndicated finance transactions or if the involvement of lenders without banking licence is a necessity. In such cases, funds are often raised by a foreign parent company, with the Swiss entity acting solely as guarantor and security provider. If this structure is properly planned and implemented, the applicable upstream and cross-stream limitations (see below) could be reduced to minimum; but it would be preferable if the lenders had unlimited claims against the Swiss entity and the transfer of loan shares to non-banks was not restricted. Therefore, the abolishment of the 10/20 Non-Bank Rule be most welcomed by borrowers and lenders. As a positive side effect, the volume of loans made available to Swiss borrowers could increase substantially. As mentioned above, the 10/20 Non-Bank Rule and the applicable up- and cross-stream limitations on guarantees (see below) may have a significant impact on the structuring of a deal. This is frequently underestimated by foreign lenders who are not familiar with the Swiss market. Indeed, the most frequently asked questions about the market concern the potential structure of the transaction in the light of the 10/20 Non-Bank Rule, the applicable up- and cross-stream limitations and the resulting tax consequences. Not all foreign lenders are aware of the significance of these issues. To a lesser extent, lenders also want to know which asset classes can be taken as security and what documentation or formalities are required to create, perfect and maintain such security. As for the security regime, security can be taken over all classes of assets a lender would usually expect, such as shares, bank accounts, receivables, insurance policies, real property and intellectual property. In order to perfect and maintain a pledge over shares (or other movable objects), the security trustee needs to be in physical possession of the pledged movable objects during the security period (Faustpfandprinzip). As a consequence of this requirement, security over plants, machinery, equipment or inventory is possible, but is usually not taken. There are also some limitations to security taken over real estate that serves primarily as living accommodation, and there are certain formalities that must be observed. However, the quality and value of the security is usually worth the extra effort. In principle, floating charges are not available in Switzerland. However, there is the option to grant security over a value quota of an intermediated securities account. Therefore, it is possible to create Swiss security over intermediated securities that is, to a certain extent, similar to a floating charge. It should be noted that there are several ways to create security interest over intermediated securities. Solutions exist to avoid or at least mitigate the impact of any of the particular demands that the Swiss marketplaces on lenders and borrowers. The best approach for a lender that is not familiar with the Swiss jurisdiction is to engage a specialised Swiss law firm before agreeing to a financing structure that could be either difficult or impossible to implement. A key consideration for most cross-border financings should be downstream, upstream and cross-stream guarantees. In Switzerland, downstream guarantees are not subject to restrictions or limitations, but upstream and cross-stream guarantee payments are considered to be constructive dividends and are, as a result, limited to the profits and reserves freely available for distribution in the guarantor’s balance sheet. Consequently, the respective rules for distribution of dividends must be observed. This includes the preparation of an up-to-date balance sheet by the guarantor and the approval of the resulting distribution by a shareholders’ meeting. In order to maximise the assets available for distribution, the finance documents should contain Swiss guarantor limitation language to that effect. It is also standard to combine a guarantee with a pledge over the shares in the Swiss guarantor. It should also be noted that the proceeds from upstream and cross-stream guarantees are subject to a 35% WHT. In recent years, it has become standard practice for the SFTA to request that any Swiss company providing a guarantee to its parent company receive appropriate remuneration for the guarantee: a guarantee fee. In the context of a bankruptcy or restructuring, the enforceability of any contract may be limited under the rules of the Swiss Debt Enforcement and Bankruptcy Act. In particular, the following transactions may be fully or partially voidable: Another major insolvency related issue that should be addressed in the finance documents is the allocation of proceeds between the different classes of lenders. Frequently, there is a foreign law-governed intercreditor agreement that provides for a certain waterfall, but that does not necessarily take into account Swiss insolvency law. In particular, subordination of claims can lead to issues and delays in relation to the enforcement of security in Swiss insolvency proceedings, if it has not been properly addressed in the intercreditor agreement, the security documents and other ancillary documentation. As for other practical considerations, there are no foreign debt quotas which would have to be observed in connection with a cross-border financing. There are also no rules that would require any specific monitoring of offshore financing to domestic entities, subject to the applicable money laundering legislation and sanction regimes. The 10/20 Non-Bank Rule has been identified as an obstacle for cross-border financings connected to Switzerland. The rule may in the future no longer be relevant as the WHT on interest on bonds and bond-like instruments will likely be abolished. However, this change of the Swiss WHT regime is not expected to become effective before January 1 2024. Further, the negative financial effects of Covid-19 on many businesses in Switzerland continue and create additional financing needs. Large companies with solid prospects should be able to obtain new financing from banks or alternative lenders. However, for smaller companies the situation may be more difficult and it may prove challenging for them to access liquidity in the current market situation and they may have to rely on additional public financial support.
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Financial Crisis
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Despite U.S. Sanctions, Iran Expands Its Nuclear Stockpile
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The U.S. strategy is “legally and politically obscene,” a U.N.-based diplomat privately told the International Crisis Group. Russia has said publicly what some of its European partners are saying privately. The U.S. strategy is “legally and politically obscene,” a U.N.-based diplomat privately told the International Crisis Group. “Their reasoning is ludicrous, of course,” Mikhail Ulyanov, Russia’s ambassador to the U.N. in Vienna, said in an interview with the Russian newspaper Kommersant published on April 28. “It is common knowledge that Washington officially announced its withdrawal from the nuclear deal on May 8, 2018.” “Theoretically, an attempt of this sort is possible, but it will make the U.S. appear in an extremely unattractive light,” he added. “I don’t think that the U.N. Security Council members would be ready to support the U.S. bid to remain a JCPOA participant. It is clear to everybody that this is preposterous. … The attempt to implement this plan will cause a lot of harm and lead to stormy debates in the U.N. Security Council.” Democratic lawmakers who supported the JCPOA chided the administration for withdrawing from it in the first place and then later trying to use the deal to advance its goals. “They’re trying to have it both ways,” one Democratic congressional aide said. Nevertheless, a bipartisan majority in Congress—including some of Trump’s most stalwart critics on the left—supports extending the Iran arms embargo. Hundreds of House lawmakers from both sides signed on to a letter to Pompeo last month urging an extension of the ban. “[W]e are concerned that the ban’s expiration will lead to more states buying and selling weapons to and from Iran. … This could have disastrous consequences for U.S. national security and our regional allies,” read the letter, which was organized by Reps. Eliot Engel and Michael McCaul, the chairman and the top Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, respectively. “It’s now just several months out where China, Russia, other countries from around the world can all sell significant conventional weapons systems to the Iranians in October of this year,” Pompeo told reporters in a briefing last week. “This isn’t far off. This isn’t some fantasy by conservatives. This is a reality.” On the eve of renewed sanctions by Washington, Iranian protesters demonstate outside the former U.S. Embassy in Tehran on Nov. 4, 2018. Pharmaceutical factory workers work in the bioreactor room at the Actoverco plant in Karaj, Iran, on Feb. 18, where workers face the difficult task of producing cancer drugs despite equipment shortages caused by U.S. sanctions. The 2015 Iran nuclear pact—the culmination of more than a decade of diplomatic efforts to contain Iran’s nuclear program—offered Tehran an end to crippling economic sanctions in exchange for limiting its nuclear activities and undertaking a set of verifiable commitments to assure the world it was not building nuclear weapons. It was signed by representatives of Britain, China, the European Union, Iran, France, Germany, Russia, and the United States. Trump derided the nuclear pact—a signature foreign-policy achievement for President Barack Obama—as a flawed agreement that gave Iran access to billions of dollars that have since been used to fund Iranian-backed militias and to advance a ballistic missile program that could improve Iran’s ability in the future to deliver a nuclear payload. On May 8, 2018, Trump formally withdrew from the agreement and began a process of imposing a range of U.S. sanctions on Iran. Despite European government efforts to circumvent those sanctions, European businesses have largely observed the U.S. measures, fearing their companies could be penalized and denied access to U.S. consumer financial markets. Iran has insisted for years that it has never had any desire to build nuclear weapons, but U.S. and other intelligence agencies have long contended that Tehran had been secretly developing nuclear weapons for years. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) concluded that it had been working on a nuclear weapon design until at least 2009. But the IAEA also claimed that Iran had stopped its design work and was in compliance with its obligations under the nuclear pact until the United States reneged on the deal. Iran subsequently stepped up activities at the Natanz and Fordow enrichment facilities, increasing stores of a more purified grade of uranium that could bring it close to producing weapons-grade fuel. A year after the United States withdrew from the pact, Tehran began a process of violating its own commitments under the pact, announcing on May 8, 2019, that it would no longer be bound by limits on the size of its stockpiles of enriched uranium. Iran subsequently stepped up activities at the Natanz and Fordow enrichment facilities, increasing stores of a more purified grade of uranium that could bring it close to producing weapons-grade fuel. Iran also restarted prohibited research and development work on advanced centrifuges, which would enable the country to purify its uranium at a greater speed. Under the terms of the nuclear pact, Iran is permitted to stockpile up to 300 kilograms of low-enriched uranium, far short of the estimated 1,050 kilograms required to produce enough weapons-grade fuel for a single bomb. But in March, the IAEA reported that Iran had produced 1,021 kilograms of low-enriched uranium, making it all but certain it has enough raw uranium to build a bomb. If Iran decided to pursue a nuclear weapon, according to Nephew, the larger stockpile would cut down its so-called breakout time—the time it would take to convert the low-enriched uranium into weapons-grade fuel—from 12 months to about six months. But some arms control experts cautioned that Iran would still need to overcome considerable technical hurdles to weaponize and deploy a nuclear weapon. They suspect that Iran’s violations have been carefully calibrated to apply pressure on the other signatories of the nuclear pact to ease sanctions on Iran. The Iranians’ “actions and statements indicate they are not racing to build a nuclear weapon or amass material for a nuclear weapon,” said Daryl Kimball, the executive director of the Arms Control Association. “They are retaliating in a measured way to the U.S. reimposition of sanctions, and they have threatened to go further if the situation continues indefinitely.” “They are retaliating in a measured way to the U.S. reimposition of sanctions, and they have threatened to go further if the situation continues indefinitely.” In January, after Iran rejected any constraints on its enrichment of uranium, the foreign ministers of Britain, France, and Germany called out Iran for violating the terms of the nuclear pact and jointly triggered a so-called dispute settlement mechanism to press Tehran to come back into compliance or face the prospect of the Europeans declaring it in breach of its obligations—an action that would lead to the reimposition of sanctions. But the Europeans also faulted the United States for withdrawing from the nuclear accord and expressed their hopes that the initiative would compel Iran to reverse course. German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said at the time that the Europeans “could no longer leave the growing Iranian violations of the nuclear agreement unanswered.” “Our goal is clear,” he said. “We want to preserve the accord and come to a diplomatic solution within the agreement.” Richard Gowan, the U.N. director at the International Crisis Group, said Washington’s threat to trigger the snapback may be designed to “scare the Europeans into backing alternative ways to keep the arms embargo alive.” Gowan said European diplomats had suspected that the United States might try to convince Britain to break with its European partners, declare Tehran in breach of its obligations, and trigger the snapback provision. “The fact the U.S. is making the case that it can still do snapback itself implies that the British option may not be available.” “I am not sure there is a compromise available,” he added, noting that the Europeans may be paying as much attention as Trump to the U.S. election calendar. “The higher the chances of [Joe] Biden victory in November, the less likely the E3 [the three European signatories to the nuclear pact] will be to buy a U.S. snapback drive.”
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Tear Up Agreement
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China faces 'DISASTER' with the insects already invading southern city, officials warn
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Chinese officials have warned that parts of the country could be ravaged by a locust plague between now and September after armies of the insects already 'invaded' the country. Swarms of yellow-spined bamboo locusts have destroyed about 26 square miles of fields in Pu'er after raiding the city from China's border with Laos, the local government said. The Pu'er forestry authority yesterday issued an early warning, predicting a potential locust 'disaster' in China's southern border regions after the spread of the pests 'accelerated'. Chinese officials have warned about a looming locust plague in the country after a type of grasshoppers invaded Pu'er, a city in south-western Chinese province Yunnan since June 28 The forestry authority of Pu'er city in Yunnan province of south-western China issued a disaster control warning Thursday after the insects started attacking crops in local farmland The authorities identified the insect to be yellow-spined bamboo locust that inhabits in south-eastern Asia. The locust is the main pest of China's bamboo-producing regions as it devours all the bamboo leaves in its paths while killing off the commercially valuable stalks. Pu'er government said in a notice on Thursday: 'The invasion of the yellow-spined bamboo locusts from abroad is accelerating. We can detect new clusters invading every day.' The large infestation of the pests is also possibly spreading to nearby counties and pose a risk of damaging agricultural crops, the officials warned. Footage released by Pear Video shows swarms of the insects flying across the sky in the city's Jiangcheng county, which borders with Laos. The neighbouring country of China has been ravaged by the yellow-spined bamboo locusts since late March, according to local media. The authorities identified the insect to be yellow-spined bamboo locust, a species of grasshoppers that inhabits in southeastern Asia. The picture shows the bamboo-feeding insect The locusts are the main pests of China's bamboo-producing regions as they devour all the bamboo leaves in their paths while killing off the commercially valuable stalks. The picture shows damaged bamboo shoots in Pu'er after the city was invaded by the grasshoppers The Pu'er authorities said that they first detected the pest invasion along the border between Pu'er and Laos on June 28. Since then, the city has continued to spot new clusters every, said the forestry officials in a notice yesterday. The statement also said that the speed of the pest invasion is accelerating and it's possible to spread to nearby counties and attack farmland. A major outbreak of the pests is likely to erupt the Chinese border regions between now to September, the local government in the city of Pu'er, Yunnan province have alerted Thursday 'Based on initial research and judgement, there is a high possibility of a disaster of yellow-spined bamboo locust escalating in border regions between July to September,' the authorities warned. An estimated total of 6,593 hectares of land has been ravaged by the grasshoppers, the Pu'er government said. The officials have conducted over 500 drone flights to carry out pest control efforts over nearly 3,000 hectares of land.
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Insect Disaster
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Citing COVID surge, Clarksville cancels Riverfest
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Posted at 11:52 AM, Sep 08, 2021 and last updated 2021-09-08 12:52:03-04 CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — The City of Clarksville has canceled this year’s Riverfest "out of an abundance of caution" as COVID-19 cases continue to rise. The city made the announcement Wednesday, citing the COVID surge in Clarksville-Montgomery County, adding that it's “causing a major strain on local medical institutions.” The event was scheduled for Sept. 9 through Sept. 11. Mayor Joe Pitts made the decision to cancel this year’s event after meeting with local health and government officials. “The number of cases, especially hospitalizations in Clarksville-Montgomery County is alarming and only continuing to rise,” Mayor Pitts said. “The latest data shows this virus is surging and serious. Erring on the side of caution, I have chosen to cancel this year’s Riverfest. This is not an easy decision, nor one we take lightly. Our team consulted multiple medical professionals who have been monitoring our numbers closely and the last thing I wanted was for our event to be a contributing factor to an already dire situation.” According to city officials, more than 80% of the region’s hospitalized patients are unvaccinated, and the number of hospitalizations has surged. “With Riverfest historically attracting more than 30,000 attendees for the weekend event and surging COVID cases following the Labor Day weekend, the decision was made to cancel the event,” the city said in part.
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Organization Closed
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Idaho cities prepare for drought conditions to worsen
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Boise is feeling the effects of the dryness. Most of Ada County is considered abnormally dry while the rest of the state is in a moderate drought. Author: Katija Stjepovic (KTVB) Published: 10:09 PM MDT June 20, 2021 Updated: 9:02 AM MDT June 22, 2021 BOISE, Idaho — Drought conditions in Idaho continue to worsen as the weather warms. While conditions are worsening in other parts of Idaho, the city of Boise is hopeful the community will get ahead before it's too late. 2021 has been the 36th driest year on record for Ada County, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Water precipitation was down 1.4 inches from last year, totaling a mere 8.25 inches in Boise. "We are taking this very seriously and we are starting to do some long-term planning to address these concerns," said John Roldan, the strategic water manager for the city of Boise. Along with most of Idaho, Boise is feeling the effects of the dryness. Most of Ada County is considered abnormally dry while the rest of the state is in a moderate drought. "We are in the desert, droughts are normal," Roldan said. "They happen. It's a cyclical process but with climate change, we are seeing this happen more frequently and it's projected to be in drought conditions for longer periods of time." The National Weather Service issued the following statement in May 2021 regarding Boise's drought conditions: Below normal spring precipitation and the early loss of snowpack have led to expanding drought conditions across Idaho. The latest seasonal drought outlook (May 20, 2021-August 31, 2021) indicates that drought will persist in areas already being impacted by drought, and drought development is likely across the rest of Idaho. Roldan said people can expect to see local ordinances regarding water conservation if Boise experiences another drought year. "We are reviewing our ordinances right now and looking at ways to have smarter development if you are in an area that doesn't have surface water supply from an irrigation district," he explained. "We also have irrigation district and canal companies that provide residence with surface irrigation water and we encourage that to be used whenever possible and preserve our groundwater for droughts like this." 70% of Boise's water comes from underground and 30% comes from the Boise River, according to Roldan. In Meridian, the single source is groundwater. While the city is producing water at a sustainable rate, Meridian's Public Information Officer Stephany Galbreaith said increased demand, drought conditions or changes in the water supply could create possible shortages. "Preparing water conservation programs now will help ensure Meridian has an adequate water supply as we continue to grow," she added.
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Droughts
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U.S. Embassy in Georgia
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The United States has long been the world’s most generous provider of health and humanitarian assistance to people around the world. This assistance is provided with the support of the American taxpayer with the reasonable expectation that it serve an effective purpose and reach those in need. Unfortunately, the World Health Organization has failed badly by those measures, not only in its response to COVID-19, but to other health crises in recent decades. In addition, WHO has declined to adopt urgently needed reforms, starting with demonstrating its independence from the Chinese Communist Party. When President Trump announced the U.S. withdrawal from that organization, he made clear that we would seek more credible and transparent partners. That withdrawal becomes effective on July 6, 2021, and since the President’s announcement, the U.S. government has been working to identify partners to assume the activities previously undertaken by WHO. Today, the United States is announcing the next steps with respect to our withdrawal from the WHO and the redirection of American resources. This redirection includes reprogramming the remaining balance of its planned Fiscal Year 2020 assessed WHO contributions to partially pay other UN assessments. In addition, through July 2021, the United States will scale down its engagement with the WHO, to include recalling the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) detailees from WHO headquarters, regional offices, and country offices, and reassigning these experts. U.S. participation in WHO technical meetings and events will be determined on a case-by-case basis.
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Withdraw from an Organization
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Norway's beach handball team fined for not wearing bikini bottoms during European Championships match
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Norway's beach handball team has been fined 1,500 euros ($2,407) for being improperly dressed after the women wore bike shorts instead of bikini bottoms at a European championship match in Bulgaria.
The European Handball Federation (EHF) said in a statement that its disciplinary commission had dealt with "a case of improper clothing" in the bronze medal match against Spain.
It added that the shorts were "not according to the Athlete Uniform Regulations defined in the IHF Beach Handball Rules of the game".
The fine worked out at 150 euros per player and was criticised by the Norwegian federation, while the country's sports minister Abid Raja said it was "completely ridiculous" and attitudes needed to change.
The Norwegian federation said on Twitter it was proud of the women for standing up and saying enough was enough.
"We at NHF stand behind you and support you. Together we will continue to fight to change the rules for clothing so that players can play in the clothes they are comfortable with," it added.
Beach Handball's rules stipulate that female players must wear tops and bikini bottoms. Men wear tank tops and shorts.
"Athletes' uniforms and accessories contribute to helping athletes increase their performance as well as remain coherent with the sportive and attractive image of the sport," the uniform regulations add.
"Female athletes must wear bikini bottoms … with a close fit and cut on an upward angle toward the top of the leg."
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Organization Fine
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Kamchatka earthquakes
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Three earthquakes, which occurred off the coast of Kamchatka Peninsula in far eastern Russia in 1737, 1923 and 1952, were megathrust earthquakes and caused tsunamis. They occurred where the Pacific Plate subducts under the Okhotsk Plate at the Kuril–Kamchatka Trench. The depth of the trench at the point of the earthquakes is 7,000–7,500 m. Northern Kamchatka lies at the western end of the Bering fault, between the Pacific Plate and North American Plate,[1] or the Bering plate[2] There are many more earthquakes and tsunamis originating from Kamchatka, of which the most recent was the 1997 Kamchatka earthquake and tsunami originating near the Kronotsky Peninsula. The epicentre of the 1737 earthquake was located at WikiMiniAtlas52°30′N 159°30′E / 52.5°N 159.5°E / 52.5; 159.5. This earthquake occurred at a depth of 40 km (25 miles). A magnitude of 8.3 Ms (9.0Mw) has been estimated. [3]
On February 3, 1923, an estimated magnitude 8.3–8.5 Mw earthquake with an approximate location of WikiMiniAtlas54°00′N 161°00′E / 54.0°N 161.0°E / 54.0; 161.0 triggered a 25-foot tsunami that caused considerable damage in Kamchatka, with a reported 3 deaths. [4][5] The tsunami was still 6 meters (20 feet) high when it reached Hawaii, causing at least one fatality. [4] There was another earthquake and tsunami in April 1923, which caused locally high tsunami runup near Ust' Kamchatsk, leaving a deposit studied by Minoura and others. [6]
The main earthquake struck at 16:58 GMT (04:58 local time) on November 4, 1952. Initially assigned a magnitude of 8.2, the quake was revised to 9.0 Mw in later years. [7] A large tsunami resulted,[8] causing destruction and loss of life around the Kamchatka peninsula and the Kuril Islands. Hawaii was also struck, with estimated damage of up to US$1 million and livestock losses, but no human casualties were recorded. Japan reported no casualties or damage. The tsunami reached as far as Alaska, Chile, and New Zealand. [4][9]
The hypocentre was located at WikiMiniAtlas52°45′N 159°30′E / 52.75°N 159.5°E / 52.75; 159.5, at a depth of 30 km (18.6 miles). The length of the subduction zone fracture was 600 km (373 miles). Aftershocks were recorded in an area of approximately 247,000 km2 (90,367 square miles), at depths of between 40 and 60 km (25 and 37 miles). [10][11] A recent analysis of the tsunami runup distribution based on historical and geological records give some indication as to the slip distribution of the rupture. [12]
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Earthquakes
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Rescue workers searched Friday for four miners believed trapped in a collapsed mine in southern Ecuador
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(CNN) -- Rescue workers searched Friday for four miners believed trapped in a collapsed mine in southern Ecuador, a government official said.
The miners have been trapped since about 3 a.m., said Jorge Espinosa, the under-secretary of mining development at Ecuador's Ministry of Nonrenewable Natural Resources. They are about 500 feet (150 meters) deep.
At least 50 rescuers were working Friday afternoon to try to free the four, Espinosa said. Authorities do not know the miners' condition because they have been unable to make contact with them, he said.
The gold mine, which officials say is owned by Minesadco, is near the town of Portovelo, near Ecuador's southern border with Peru.
"We are working on two plans to rescue them and we are expecting to reach them in 20 to 24 hours," said Espinosa. "We estimate that there are about 30 cubic meters of air so we believe the miners would be able to breath for five or six days. The problem is that we don't know if the area of the mine where they were working was also filled with mud."
The incident comes two days after crews in Chile rescued 33 miners who were trapped underground for 69 days in a stunning rescue operation, watched by the world.
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Mine Collapses
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Optus facing $10m fine for misleading customers charged for content they didn't want
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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
Optus mobile customers are being urged to check their accounts, after at least 240,000 customers were charged for content they did not want and had not agreed to buy, including games, ringtones or horoscopes.
The consumer watchdog is taking action against the telco for misleading customers with its 'direct carrier billing' service, which allowed automatic charges for third-party content to be added to Optus accounts.
The ACCC and Optus have made a joint application to the Federal Court seeking a $10 million fine — the same penalty paid by Telstra for misleading or false representations about its own premium content billing.
Optus has admitted it was aware of the situation from at least April 2014 and that it failed to properly inform customers that the service was part of its default account setting.
"A substantial number of Optus customers were signed up to subscriptions for expensive, often unwanted, content without being required to enter payment details or verify their identity, as occurs with many other online purchases," said ACCC chairman Rod Sims.
"Many customers didn't realise they were signing up to anything at all and, in some cases, family members such as children incurred these charges without the account holder's knowledge."
The offending content was provided by third-party developers and not purchased through usual app marketplaces such as Google Play or the App Store. It included news websites, voting in television programs and downloadable games and ringtones.
Optus said it stopped the general direct billing service in late August but continues to offer it for one-off content, requiring customers' agreement for each purchase to be charged to their Optus account.
"We apologise to our customers and will communicate with affected customers and encourage them to contact Optus to discuss their circumstances," the telco said in a statement.
So far, $31 million has been refunded to around 240,000 customers, including $12 million repaid by Optus directly and $19 million by third party providers.
"Optus customers are encouraged to check their mobile accounts and, if they believe unauthorised charges have been applied under the [direct carrier billing] service, they should contact Optus to seek a refund," said the ACCC.
Earlier this year, Telstra was fined for similar behaviour and last month said it had refunded more than $9.3 million to 72,000 customers.
We acknowledge Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the First Australians and Traditional Custodians of the lands where we live, learn, and work.
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AEST = Australian Eastern Standard Time which is 10 hours ahead of GMT (Greenwich Mean Time)
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Organization Fine
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A year after crash, Israel unveils new plan for moon landing
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Beresheet 2 is expected to be launched into space in four years. Israel is again aiming for the moon. SpaceIL, the nonprofit Israeli initiative whose spacecraft crashed as it tried to land on the moon last year, announced on Wednesday that it is launching another lunar mission with its Israeli government partners. The Beresheet 2 project will aim to send three spacecraft — an orbiter and two landers — to the moon. It is expected to be launched into space in four years. The first Beresheet, or “Genesis,” spacecraft, built by SpaceIL and state-owned Israel Aerospace Industries, had aimed to match a feat only achieved by the U.S., Russia and China. But moments before touchdown, it crashed. President Reuven Rivlin, who hosted a launch ceremony for the new project, said the country was “filled with pride” during last year’s attempted landing. “We were disappointed, and realized that we had to start once again from the beginning,” he said. “Today, we are setting out on a new path, familiar but different, at the end of which we hope to land three spacecraft safely on the moon.” We are proud to announce that #Beresheet2 is going to head to the Moon in the first half of 2024! It will include two landers, each of which will carry out experiments on the surface of the Moon, and an orbiter that will stay for several years. In addition to Israel Aerospace Industries, the country’s Science Ministry and national space agency will be partners in the project. The science minister, Yizhar Shai, said seven countries, including the United Arab Emirates, have expressed interest in joining the effort. SpaceIL’s chief executive, Shimon Sarid, said the project aims to inspire a new generation of scientists and researchers in a country known for its vibrant technology scene. "We will do it by raising curiosity and hope, the ability to dream and realize and through strengthening technological education, research, science and engineering for Israeli students,” he said.
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New achievements in aerospace
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Who Were the Warriors of Sanauli, India’s Largest Burial Site That’s 4000 Years Old
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An accidental discovery of ancient artefacts in Uttar Pradesh’s Sanauli village led to an excavation by the Archaeological Survey of India, and findings hint the tribe was of a warrior clan. It also spurred a 55-minute documentary titled ‘Secrets of Sanauli’ by Discovery Plus. One day in 2005, Shriram Sharma, a farmer from Sanauli village Uttar Pradesh’s Baghpat district, was carrying about his day, and ploughing his field. Little did he know that what was otherwise part of his daily routine would lead to an accidental discovery of skeletons and copper pots, which would one day raise questions on ancient global history. He alerted the local media about his discovery, and soon, a team from the Archeological Survey of India (ASI) had arrived at the scene, to begin digging deep into three bighas (0.40052356 acres) of Sharma’s land. The first round of excavations lasted for 13 months, during which they found chariots, coffins, pots, skeletons, what could arguably be the world’s oldest copper helmet, and more, tentatively dating back to 2000 BCE. Interestingly, most wooden artefacts were layered with copper sheaths, inlays, and wires, which prevented them from decomposing for nearly 4,000 years. “In the area where we excavated furnaces, we suspect that the superstructure was made of wood. But the sediment is very difficult to work with, and to retrieve wood impression is particularly tricky. Thank God for the copper inlays and covering, which helped us identify the findings,” Disha Ahluwalia, who was appointed the site-in charge in February, tells The Better India. The carbon dating tests confirmed that the burial site — where 125 burials were discovered — is 4,000 years old. The most striking aspect of the excavation has been the discovery of three chariots, which bring up questions regarding the Aryan Invasion theory. The design and size of the chariot indicate they were horse-driven and were contemporary to the Mesopotamian and Sumerian culture. According to historians, the horses were brought from Central Asia by the invading Aryan army around 1500 BC. Besides, the Harappan civilisation had chariots driven by bulls. The ASI carried two more rounds (in 2018 and 2019) of meticulous digging thereafter, bringing forth several intriguing theories and discoveries about the Sanauli burial site. Needless to say, Sanauli has caught everyone’s attention, as these discoveries could be a major chapter piecing together history in this century. Discovery Plus recently released a 55-minute documentary called ‘Secrets of Sanauli — Discovery of the Century’, made by director Neeraj Pandey and compered by Manoj Bajpayee. It follows the archaeological findings and questions the western hegemonic narratives. The theories, history and language have been simplified by experts including Dr VN Prabhakar – IIT Gandhinagar, Dr BR Mani – National Museum, and so on. Source Did Sanuali coexist with the Harappan civilisation? The archaeologists found a slew of antiques such as chariots, a torch, an antenna sword, highly decorated coffins, and helmets. The astonishingly well-preserved remains are similar to those found in the late Harappan phase. However, the Orche-Coloured Pottery (OCP) and copper-coated items are reasons enough to dismiss that Sanauli was part of the late Harappan phase. Hence, it could be that Sanauli was another Chalcolithic culture that existed alongside Harappa. Source: Archaeological Survey of India/ Twitter “The 2005 excavations helped us discover pottery of different sizes, besides beads and other material that were similar to those used in the Harappan civilisation. However, a chariot near a coffin is not seen anywhere in the Harappan sites,” Dr Sanjay Kumar Manjul, director of the ASI’s Institute of Archaeology and in-charge of the excavation, told Outlook . Advertisement Further, the bricks found on the in-situ site are different as well, “The Harappan bricks are smaller than Sanauli, but excavators could not identify the alignment or make sense of the structure. This has left many questions unanswered,” says Disha. Source Explaining the process of identifying the bricks and discovering a new element with Dr Manjul, she says, “After days of strenuous work, we noticed one brick in the structure was perfectly horizontal, and others which were falling. This one brick gave the impression that it is supported by some sort of structure or more bricks underneath. I decided to undercut the section and we found the fourth side of the collapsed wall. We understood that there are two layers to this structure, and that it’s not a platform, but instead a walled structure. What was interesting was that two sides of the structure had collapsed inwards, whereas the third wall that I found after undercutting the section was outwards. As the level of the base was the same as that of the burial pits, it suggested that this was a structure built in a pit, where the two sides that collapsed inwards were supported by the natural sediment and then the rest of the structure was above the ground with a wooden superstructure. We could see the heavy use of wood everywhere.” Of royalty & warfare Source In 2018’s digging, the ASI team unearthed other items that gave further insight into the culture of Sanauli including warfare and royal borough. The fresh evidence, comprising eight burials, screams of evidence of an elite class. A decorated horn comb with a peacock motif, copper mirror, armlet made of agate beads, vases, and bowls are a few examples of this. One royal coffin had a decorated lid with eight anthropomorphic figures such as headgear, and pipal leaf. A copper armour shaped like a torso was another item. Besides, ceramic pots were found next to the coffins, suggesting the possibility of rituals that were performed before the person was buried. Source The burials also hinted that the tribe consisted of warriors who used technologically advanced weaponry. For example, the antenna sword was placed in an upright position next to the skeletons of both, male and female (yes, women also may have fought wars as per Dr Manjul). Additionally, the swords have copper-covered hilts and medial ridge, which are sturdy enough for war. The three chariots made of wood and covered with thick copper sheets also denote wars. Unlike the ones found in Harappan culture, these chariots were smaller in size with thinner carts. This means that they could accommodate a maximum of two people according to Dr Manjul. Hence, they weren’t used as carriers. The chariots are two-wheeled and are fixed on an axle. This was supposedly linked to the yoke of a pair of animals by a long rope. Source Helmets and shields further affirm the possibility. Interestingly, the ASI team believes that the helmet could be the world’s oldest. “If you see the documentary, the excavator says ‘helmet’ or ‘copper pot’. But earlier, the excavator suggested that it’s a copper helmet. We are yet to be sure. It could be the earliest, because if it is a helmet, then no other such object predates Sanauli. The ones in the West are of later dates. But in my opinion, we should conduct more analysis,” says Disha. The helmet. Source Meanwhile, the shields had two gender-specific designs. The ones found next to women had steatite inlay work and men burials had ones with copper designs. According to Dr Manjul, the ASI team had used modern and scientific techniques such as X-Ray, Handheld XRF, 3D scanning, CT scan and drone and Magnetometer surveys to analyse the startling findings. Both Dr Manjul as well as Disha reiterate that more studies will be conducted to unearth specific historic events and significance in future. Watch Dr Manjul’s presentation on the artefacts here: Edited by Divya Sethu
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New archeological discoveries
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Southwest Airlines Flight 2294 crash
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Southwest Airlines Flight 2294 (SWA 2294, WN 2294) was a scheduled US passenger aircraft flight which suffered a rapid depressurization of the passenger cabin on July 13, 2009. The aircraft made an emergency landing at Yeager Airport (CRW) in Charleston, West Virginia, with no fatalities or major injuries to passengers and crew. An NTSB investigation found that the incident was caused by a failure in the fuselage skin due to metal fatigue. [1]
The aircraft involved was a Boeing 737-3H4[a] N387SW,[2] serial number 26602, operating a scheduled flight between Nashville, Tennessee (KBNA), and Baltimore, Maryland (KBWI). [3] The aircraft took off and climbed for about 25 minutes, leveling off at a cruising altitude of approximately 35,000 feet (11,000 m). [1] At about 5:45 pm Eastern Standard Time, the aircraft experienced a rapid decompression event, causing the cabin altitude warning to be activated in the cockpit, indicating a dangerous drop in cabin pressure. Passenger oxygen masks deployed automatically. [1] The aircraft systems disengaged the autopilot, and the captain began an emergency descent to bring the aircraft down into denser air to prevent passenger hypoxia. The cabin altitude alarm ceased as the aircraft passed through about 9,000 feet (2,700 m). The flight crew then landed the aircraft safely at Charleston, West Virginia (KCRW). After landing, the aircraft was found to have a three-sided hole in the fuselage, 17.4 inches (44 cm) long, and between 8.6 to 11.5 inches (22–29 cm) wide, forward of the leading edge of the vertical stabilizer, at the rear end of the aircraft. [1]
The accident was investigated by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). NTSB review of the cockpit voice recorder records, and post-incident interviews, showed that the flight crew acted appropriately in response to the emergency. The NTSB investigation found that the incident was caused by a metal fatigue crack in the fuselage skin. The aircraft was delivered to Southwest Airlines in June 1994, and at the time of the accident flight, had accumulated approximately 42,500 takeoff/landing cycles, and 50,500 airframe hours. [1] Highly magnified inspections found that a long metal fatigue crack had developed at the boundary of two different manufacturing processes used by Boeing in creating the fuselage crown skin assembly. [1] Boeing finite element modeling had suggested that stress forces in this boundary region are higher due to differences in stiffness, indicating that a failure was more likely to occur in this area after a certain number of pressurization-depressurization cycles. Following this incident, on September 3, 2009, Boeing issued a Service Bulletin calling for repetitive external inspections to detect any cracks in this more-vulnerable area of the fuselage skin. The FAA then followed up by issuing an Airworthiness Directive on January 12, 2010, mandating these inspection requirements. [1]
Earlier criticism of the carrier's lax maintenance and inspection practices, for which the airline had been fined $7.5 million in 2008, was quickly echoed. [4]
On April 1, 2011, less than two years later, a strikingly similar incident occurred on Southwest Airlines Flight 812, involving another Southwest Airlines Boeing 737-3H4. In response to the second incident, the FAA issued an Airworthiness Directive requiring more frequent inspections by all airlines of all Boeing 737 Classic aircraft. Coordinates: 38°22′33″N 081°35′35″W / 38.37583°N 81.59306°W / 38.37583; -81.59306
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Air crash
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Hotel Corona de Aragón fire
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The Corona de Aragón Fire was a fire that killed at least 80 people in the five star Corona de Aragón Hotel in Zaragoza, Aragon, Spain on 12 July 1979. At the time of the event the Hotel lodged high-profile General Franco family members Carmen Polo, Carmen Franco y Polo and Cristóbal Martínez Bordiú, as well as many high-ranking military personnel, five of whom died in the fire. At the night of the fire there were 300 registered guests, the majority of whom were Spanish citizens. Nearly 200 guests were evacuated from the 10-story hotel, however many attempted to climb down ropes of bed sheets or tossed children out of windows into firemen's nets. [1] Two United States Air Force helicopters from the Joint American-Spanish air base outside Zaragoza were used in the evacuation of guests,[1] and some guests lay in the swimming pool on the roof until they were evacuated. [2] It was reported that those who could not jump to safety, reach the ladders, or escape from their rooms, died due to suffocation. Details of the fire investigation were not openly disclosed and the authorities insisted that it was an accidental fire. [3] The Order of 25 September 1979 on fire prevention in tourist establishments was passed in response to the fire. [4]
But not long after the fire took place press reports voiced the opinion that ETA was the real culprit, but that its role was being silenced;[5] other sources described the event as an intentional attack. [6] The Terrorism Victims' Association (AVT) asked for official recognition of the fire as a terrorist attack. [7]
The official version of events provided at the time by the Spanish government insisted that the fire had been started accidentally by an oil fire in the Hotel café. The Spanish Council of State explicitly stated that they did not consider the fire to be an act of terrorism. However, some details of the fire investigation leaked to the press, disclosing that Napalm traces had been found in the rubble. Moreover, some witnesses claimed to hear two explosions before the fire and a local newspaper (Heraldo de Aragón) received two phone calls claiming authorship in the name of ETA (m) and the FRAP. [8] The claim attributed to FRAP was unlikely, for the group was practically inactive after some of its core members had been arrested in 1978. [9]
In 2000, relatives of those killed started to receive benefits as terrorism victims. According to El Mundo that was an implicit recognition of ETA authorship. [10] The Civil Guard website listed a high rank retired Civil Guard member deceased in the fire as a victim of ETA, and stated that many injured died after the fire, but were not included in the official account of 80 dead. [11]
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Fire
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Mesa Redonda fire
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The Mesa Redonda fire occurred on Saturday, 29 December 2001 in Lima, Peru. The disaster killed at least 291[1] people and injured at least another 134. [2] It is currently the worst firework-related fire in history in terms of deaths. In 2001, the Mesa Redonda shopping center, located in Central Lima, consisted largely of wood and adobe houses lining narrow streets. In December, fireworks merchants were known to sell their goods for holiday celebrations. [3] Wary of the danger, the municipal government of Lima declared the area an "emergency zone. "[3]
The fire began at about 7:30 PM on the night of 29 December when a fireworks display created a chain reaction, setting off the fireworks of other nearby vendors. [4] A spark from the demonstration had landed on a stockpile of fireworks, creating the initial explosion. [5] The aftermath created a "wall of fire" that spread for four blocks and raged for several hours. [4]
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Fire
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Tamahere coolstore fire
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The Tamahere coolstore fire was a major fire at the Icepak Coolstores in Tamahere, near Hamilton, New Zealand, on 5 April 2008. Around 4:00pm on Saturday 5 April 2008, the New Zealand Fire Service dispatched two fire engines and eight firefighters from Hamilton Fire Station to an alarm activation at the Icepak Coolstores facility in Tamahere, 10 km southeast of the city. Upon arrival, firefighters found no signs of fire, but upon further investigating the alarm cause, found what appeared to be a refrigerant leak. At around 4:30pm, the 400kg of propane-based refrigerant ignited explosively, injuring all eight firefighters and destroying one fire engine. One firefighter, Senior Station Officer Derek Lovell, later died in hospital as a result of his injuries, and another firefighter received burns to 71 percent of his body. $25 million worth of cheese was in the coolstores at the time, which melted in the fire and covered neighbouring homes. [1]
Following the fire, Icepak Coolstores and the refrigeration company contracted to maintain the coolstores pleaded guilty to health and safety breaches, and combined were ordered to pay $393,000 in fines and reparation. [2]
.
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Fire
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Landslide At Myanmar Jade Mine Kills At Least 162
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A massive landslide at a jade mine in Myanmar has killed at least 162 people – a moment captured in dramatic video showing a wall of earth sliding down a mountainside into a water-filled open pit. A landslide at a jade mine in northern Myanmar killed at least 113 people, after a pile of mine waste collapsed into a lake, triggering a wave of mud and water that buried scores of workers. About 12 hours after the landslide, the Myanmar Fire Services Department said it had recovered 162 bodies and that 54 people who were injured had been taken to the hospital for treatment. The death toll makes the disaster the worst known in the jade mining industry, surpassing an accident in 2015 that killed 113 people. "The jade miners were smothered by a wave of mud, which hit after heavy rainfall," the Fire Service said, according to The Associated Press. Reuters says the victims were mostly "jade pickers" — people who sift through tailings to scavenge small bits of the semi-precious stone. The landslide occurred in Kachin state, about 600 miles north of the country's largest city, Yangon. Kachin is the center of the world's most lucrative jade-mining industry. Myanmar's jade industry was estimated to be worth $31 billion in 2014. Video posted to social media showed miners racing uphill to escape the avalanche of mud. Maung Khaing, a 38-year-old miner from the area who witnessed the accident, told Reuters that he was about to take a photo of the precarious waste mound that he felt was set to collapse when people began shouting "run, run!" "Within a minute, all the people at the bottom (of the hill) just disappeared," he told Reuters by phone. "I still have goose bumps," he said. "There were people stuck in the mud shouting for help but no one could help them." According to Reuters, a local official had warned people not to go to the mine on Thursday because of heavy rain.
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Mine Collapses
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Russia: Alcohol poisoning case leaves 29 dead in a single week after drinking toxic spirits
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Liquids containing alcohol were seized from warehouses and many were found to contain methanol, which is toxic, the interior ministry says.
Sunday 10 October 2021 06:34, UK
Twenty-nine people have died from alcohol poisoning in Russia after drinking locally produced spirits that contained methanol, authorities have said.
Nine people have been arrested, investigators added.
Methanol - the simplest form of alcohol - is toxic. It is used industrially in solvents and pesticides.
The illegal spirits were produced and sold in the Orenburg region, close to Kazakhstan, about 900 miles (1,500km) southeast of Moscow.
Liquids containing alcohol were seized from warehouses in the area, and many were found to contain methanol, the interior ministry said.
Earlier on Saturday, the regional health ministry said it had recorded 54 cases of alcohol poisoning this week, about half of which were fatal, according to the RIA news agency.
There have been tighter national controls in Russia on the sale of beverages, medicines, perfumes and other liquids containing a high percentage of ethanol since a case of mass alcohol poisoning in Siberia in 2016.
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Mass Poisoning
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Trapped driver found front loader, began clearing I-70 after mudslides
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GLENWOOD SPRINGS, Colo. — A man who became stranded on Interstate 70 when heavy rain brought mud and debris onto the highway in the Grizzly Creek burn area took matters into his own hands on Thursday night, multiple people told 9NEWS. “Yeah, he went down to a rest area down below, which he shouldn’t probably have gone down there, saw a loader, opened the door, the keys were in it. He knows how to operate it, so he started operating it during the middle of the night," said Kristin Thomas, who was trapped on the highway overnight with her daughter. RELATED: I-70 through Glenwood Canyon to remain closed through weekend A Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) official later confirmed that the equipment belonged to them and had been sitting there because it needed repairs. >The video above is about the impact of the slides on the rafting business. "Somebody got in one of loaders from Bair Ranch and proceeded down the interstate," said Mike Goolsby, CDOT Region 3 transportation director. "Unfortunately the loader they got in was one that was waiting to get repaired. They used it until they ran out of hydraulic fluid." Thomas said she was headed to the Denver metro area after hiking Hanging Lake with her daughter when they were caught in between two slides on the highway. They didn't hear from any authorities until about 6 a.m. Friday, after spending the night in their car. RELATED: 'I could tell the tires were not touching the ground': Drivers stuck in Glenwood Canyon overnight after mudslides, flooding She said they assumed the man clearing the debris was with CDOT and were surprised to learn that he wasn't. “CDOT came, it was their loader, and talked to him and thanked him, but then they took over doing the work," Thomas said. "He did awesome. Everybody couldn’t believe how much he did.” Witnesses said police officers came and wanted to arrest the man but ultimately said that didn't happen. “The cop came in and was going to arrest him, and they started saying, ‘No, he was helping us out,' " said Mark Allen, who was headed from California to Nebraska for a wedding when he became stranded in the canyon. CDOT leaders laughed off the incident. "The nice thing about it is the individual that was operating it was kind enough not to ruin it and turned it off when they realized the check engine light came on, so a valiant effort but unfortunately grabbed a piece of equipment we were waiting to work on," Goolsby said.
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Mudslides
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A Japanese volcano erupted on Thursday
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TOKYO (AFP) - A Japanese volcano erupted on Thursday (Jan 17), spewing ash and smoke 6km into the air over a small southern island. There were no reports of injuries or damage from the eruption on Kuchinoerabu, in the far south of Japan. A local official said there had been no evacuations on the island, which is home to just 109 people. Images broadcast by NHK showed large plumes of ash and grey smoke billowing above the island, which has regularly been affected by eruptions. “We heard a huge explosion and there was shaking like an earthquake,” a resident told the broadcaster. The meteorological agency said the eruption occurred shortly after it had issued a new warning. “There have been eruptions there since last year but we sent an alert out (this morning) for this latest eruption as it will have a wider impact,” said Jun Fujimatsu, an official at the agency’s volcanic activity division. “We have maintained a level three warning, which means a ban on entering the volcano area,” he told AFP. “There are several craters at the volcano... The danger zone is two kilometres from the Shindake crater,” he added. “We do not think the latest eruption will engulf the entire island.” Government spokesman Yoshihide Suga said the plume of smoke and ash from the eruption rose 6,000 metres. “But there is no impact on the community and no injury or damage has been reported,” he told reporters. There are currently “71 households comprising 109 people living on the island, including some who are just a few kilometres from the crater,” local official Shogo Sado told AFP. He confirmed no evacuations had yet been ordered but said preparations were being made in case it became necessary to move people, some of whom are elderly and frail. In 2015, all 140 people living on the island were evacuated after a violent eruption that sent black clouds up as high as 9,000 metres and produced a five-minute volcanic quake. Japan, with scores of active volcanoes, sits on the so-called Pacific “Ring of Fire”, where a large proportion of the world’s earthquakes and volcanic eruptions are recorded. In January 2018, a Japanese soldier was killed and several other people injured after an eruption near a popular ski resort northwest of Tokyo. On September 27, 2014, Japan suffered its deadliest eruption in almost 90 years when Mount Ontake, in central Nagano prefecture, burst unexpectedly to life. Dozens of people were killed in the shock eruption, which occurred as the peak was packed with hikers out to see the region’s spectacular autumn colours.
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Volcano Eruption
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Four guests taken to hospital after carbon monoxide leak at Freeport hotel
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Tuesday's response was delayed because the Comfort Suites didn't call 911, and instead left a message about elevated CO levels on a nonemergency business line at the fire department on Monday.
A malfunctioning water heater at a Freeport hotel is believed to have caused a carbon monoxide leak that sent four people to the hospital Tuesday morning.
The emergency response to the Comfort Suites was delayed a day because the first call about a possible problem was made Monday to a nonemergency business line at the fire department. As a result, the department didn’t get the message until Tuesday morning, Freeport Fire Chief Charlie Jordan said. The incident prompted Jordan to urge people to report concerns about carbon monoxide to 911 or emergency dispatch.
“You have to call your dispatch center, find a business line for them or call 911,” Jordan said. “If you have a (carbon monoxide) emergency, that needs to be a 911 call.”
Fire crews evacuated the hotel on U.S. Route 1 around 9:30 a.m. Tuesday after a carbon monoxide detector found levels as high as 675 parts per million in one area of the hotel. Carbon monoxide is a colorless, odorless gas that can displace oxygen in the blood if inhaled and cause victims to become unconscious and eventually die of oxygen deprivation.
Freeport Fire Chief Charlie Jordan, center, walks out with his crew after clearing the Comfort Suites as safe for guests to re-enter and get their belongings after they were evacuated because of high carbon monoxide levels inside the hotel on Tuesday. Brianna Soukup/Staff Photographer Three people, including two adults and a child, were taken by ambulance to Mid Coast Hospital after an initial evaluation, and a fourth person was transported to the hospital in a private vehicle. The three people taken by ambulance were expected to fully recover. “It’s just a matter of letting the (carbon monoxide) take its course and get out of their systems,” Jordan said. He said the person transported by private vehicle was evaluated and released.
According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, most people will not experience any ill effects from prolonged exposure to carbon monoxide at levels up to 70 parts per million – although those with heart conditions might experience chest pain.
At levels above 70 parts per million, exposure may produce symptoms such as headache, fatigue and nausea. Concentrations above 150 to 200 parts per million may cause disorientation, unconsciousness and death.
The cause of the leak is believed to have been a malfunctioning water heater in a storage room on the first floor. Hotel staff had called the business line of the fire department and left a message Monday about a problem with a carbon monoxide detector in a neighboring hotel room, but Jordan said the department did not receive the message until Tuesday.
A woman at the hotel who identified herself as the manager declined to comment Tuesday. Comfort Suites is a franchised brand of Choice Hotels International. A media contact for the company said she was looking into the situation Tuesday afternoon but did not immediately have any information.
Some rooms in the hotel do not have carbon monoxide detectors, Jordan said, but he also noted the building is under renovation and said additional detectors are being installed.
Christine Yates, who is visiting Maine with her son from Morrisville, Vermont, noticed the fire chief walking outside the building Tuesday morning around 9 a.m. and then heard the alarm warning people to evacuate. Yates said she was feeling fine, and that they were scheduled to check out of the hotel Tuesday anyway.
Christine Yates, of Morrisville, Vermont, leaves the Comfort Suites with her belongings after waiting outside for more than two hours because of high carbon monoxide levels inside the motel in Freeport on Tuesday. Brianna Soukup/Staff Photographer “I was just starting to go through our stuff and trying to reorganize it for the next leg (of our trip),” said Yates, 53. “Well, now I will wait to do that when we get to our next hotel.”
Matt Witham, who was staying in the hotel for business, also heard the alarm and evacuated. He said he wasn’t feeling any symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning. He was planning to check out Tuesday but said one of his employees was planning to continue staying there.
“I think they’re going to get him back in,” said Witham, 40. “They didn’t say anything to us, but they told me as soon as the levels drop below a certain level, I can go in and get my stuff.”
Though the carbon monoxide level dropped to where it was safe for people to re-enter the building to get their belongings around noon, the hotel didn’t reopen Tuesday afternoon because workers for a mechanical service company were not able to complete repairs to the water heater because they didn’t have the parts it needed.
In all, four local emergency teams responded: Freeport, Yarmouth, Brunswick and Topsham.
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Mass Poisoning
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Korean Air Flight 803 crash
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On 27 July 1989, Korean Air flight 803, a DC-10 crashed while attempting to land in Tripoli, Libya. 75 of the 199 passengers and crew on board plus 4 people on the ground were killed in the crash. The crash was the deadliest aviation disaster to occur in Libya at the time. [1]
The aircraft involved was a McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30 (serial number 47887 and line number 125). It was built in 1973 and made its first flight on 17 September. During the test period, the aircraft was registered N54634. The aircraft was powered by three General Electric CF6-50C2 turbofan engines. In 1974, the aircraft was sold to Air Siam, and it was registered in Thailand as HS-VGE on 25 November. In 1977, the airliner was sold to Korean Air (which at the time was Korean Air Lines), and received the Korean registration HL7328 on 25 February 1977. [2][3] The aircraft had 49,025 flight hours and 11,440 take-off and landing cycles. [4] The captain was 54-year-old Kim Ho-jung, the first officer was 57-year-old Choi Jae-hong, and the flight engineer was 53-year-old Hyun Gyu-hwan. [5]
Flight 803 was a scheduled International passenger service from Seoul, South Korea to Tripoli, Libya with intermediate stops in Bangkok, Thailand and Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. There were a total of 18 crew members and 181 passengers, mostly South Korean workers, who were returning to Libya for construction work after their home leave. [6] The weather at the time of the crash consisted of heavy fog and visibility was between 100 and 800 feet. [1] Nevertheless, in such circumstances, the flight crew decided to continue the approach. On approach to runway 27, the DC-10 dropped below the glide path, then at 7:05 (according to other data - 7:30), it crashed into two buildings, broke into three sections, and burst into flames. [7] The crash site was in an orchard 1.5 miles (2.4 km; 1.3 nmi) short of runway 27. 75 people (72 passengers and 3 crew members) died in the crash, in addition to four people on the ground. [1][8][9]
Daewoo and Donga had multiple South Korean employees on board. [10]
There were 190 South Koreans, seven Libyans, and three Japanese nationals. [9][11]
At the direction of the Libyan authorities, French specialists were invited to investigate the causes of the accident. The flight recorders were sent to France. American representatives, including the aircraft manufacturer, were not allowed into Libya at the time. [12]
After the crash, Flight 803's captain Kim Ho-jung was quoted as saying - "The airport was shrouded in dense fog and visibility was poor when I approached. I lost contact with the control tower for 15 minutes before the crash. "[9] Libya's official news agency JANA reported that a Soviet airliner one hour before Flight 803 had rerouted to Malta rather than land in the fog. [10] Also the instrument landing system at Tripoli International Airport wasn't working at the time of the crash. [13]
A Libyan court found the captain and first officer guilty of neglect in December 1990. They were given prison sentences of two years and eighteen months respectively. In the case of the first officer the sentence was suspended. [14]
The cause of the crash was determined to be pilot error in attempting a descent below decision height without the runway environment in sight. [15]
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Air crash
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Carbon monoxide poisoning on motor cruiser Diversion with loss of 2 lives
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At about 2000 on 4 December 2019, the bodies of two men were discovered in the cabin of the privately owned motor cruiser Diversion, which was moored to a quay in the centre of York, England. The bodies were those of the boat owner and his friend, who had spent the previous evening in the city centre socialising with former work colleagues and were spending the night on board.
Both men had died as a result of carbon monoxide poisoning. The carbon monoxide had leaked into the cabin from the boat’s diesel-fuelled cabin heater exhaust.
the cabin heater’s exhaust silencer was not designed for marine use: its connection to the exhaust pipe system was not gas tight, the installation had not been checked by a professional heater installer, and it had not been serviced
the cabin ventilation system did not meet the requirements of the Boat Safety Scheme and this might have increased the rate at which the carbon monoxide accumulated in the boat’s cabin space
the owner and his friend were not alerted to the danger because a carbon monoxide alarm had not been fitted
Statement from the Chief Inspector of Marine Accidents
As a result of the investigation’s initial findings the MAIB issued a safety bulletin, which has since been referenced in Boat Safety Scheme publications and has been featured in the 2020 Carbon Monoxide awareness week. As a result of these actions, no recommendations have been made in the report.
A safety bulletin highlighting the importance of installing carbon monoxide (CO) alarms on boats with enclosed accommodation spaces was also produced for this investigation.
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Mass Poisoning
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Arianespace Soyuz rocket launches 34 OneWeb internet satellites into space
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An Arianespace Soyuz rocket carrying the 34 satellites of OneWeb's Launch 9 mission lifted off from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan Saturday (Aug. 21) at 6:13 p.m. EDT (2213 GMT; 3:13 a.m. Aug. 22 local time at Baikonur) following a two-day delay. The launch was originally targeted for Thursday (Aug. 19), but that attempt was aborted late in the countdown clock due to "a non-nominal event during the final automatic sequence," Arianespace representatives wrote in an update that day . The issue was soon identified and fixed, and the liftoff was rescheduled for Friday afternoon (Aug. 20). But launch was soon pushed another 24 hours at the request of OneWeb "to allow for additional time for mission planning preparation linked to the updated liftoff," Arianespace said via Twitter on Friday . In photos: OneWeb launches new global satellite internet constellation A Russian-built Arianespace Soyuz rocket launches 34 OneWeb internet satellites into space from Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan on Aug. 21, 2021 (Aug. 22 local Baikonur time). (Image credit: Space Center "Yuzhny"/Roscosmos) All 34 spacecraft — which together weigh 12,165 pounds (5,518 kilograms) — separated as planned from the Soyuz by three hours and 45 minutes after launch, Arianespace representatives said via Twitter . The satellites deployed into a near-polar orbit 280 miles (450 kilometers) above Earth, then will migrate over the coming weeks to their operational orbit, which features an altitude of 746 miles (1,200 km). Arianespace and Roscosmos webcast the launch, which lit up the predawn sky over Baikonur, but the live video feed from Arianespace ended shortly after liftoff. Roscosmos updates on Twitter stated that the Soyuz and its Fregat upper stage were performing as expected during the hours-long trip to spacecraft separation. There are now 288 OneWeb satellites in space, all of them launched by Arianespace over nine different missions. And OneWeb is far from done. The London-based company, which emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy late last year, eventually intends to operate about 650 broadband spacecraft in low Earth orbit. "Central to its purpose, OneWeb seeks to bring connectivity to every unconnected area where fiber cannot reach, and thereby bridge the digital divide," Arianespace representatives wrote in a description of Saturday's mission . "Once deployed, the OneWeb constellation will enable user terminals that are capable of offering 3G, LTE, 5G and Wi-Fi coverage, providing high-speed access globally — by air, sea and land," Arianespace added. If all goes according to plan, OneWeb will begin providing internet service by the end of 2021 to some of Earth's northern regions, including northern Europe, Canada, Alaska, Greenland and Iceland, according to Arianespace's mission description. Global coverage will follow as the constellation is built out. OneWeb faces some competition in the satellite internet business. For example, SpaceX has already launched more than 1,700 satellites for its Starlink broadband constellation, whose service is already in the beta-testing phase. And Amazon plans to launch about 3,200 broadband satellites for its Project Kuiper constellation, though none of those spacecraft have left the ground to date.
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New achievements in aerospace
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September 2010 Victoria floods
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The 2010 Victorian floods were a widespread series of flood events across the state of Victoria, Australia. The floods, which followed heavy rain across southeastern Australia in early September 2010, caused the inundation of about 250 homes, hundreds of evacuations and millions of dollars of damage. [1][2] Weather warnings were initially issued for Victoria on Thursday 2 September and rain began to fall on the Friday, continuing through the weekend to Tuesday. Heavy rain fell in most regions of the state, particularly at higher altitudes in the state's west and northeast, flooding the upper reaches of many of Victoria's major rivers. A state of emergency was declared with State Emergency Service crews arriving from Queensland, South Australia and Tasmania. [3] The floods proceeded an extensive drought period that had effected the entirety of Australia. While the flooding was widespread, swelling many major rivers, little flash flooding occurred in urban areas. Melbourne remained relatively unaffected, though several large regional towns, such as Ballarat, Benalla and others, experienced urban flooding. The heavy rainfall and flooding was accompanied by wind gusts of up to 110 km/h (68 mph) in the state's southeast and Melbourne's eastern suburbs. The highest rainfall was recorded at Mount Buffalo, with 180 mm (7.08 in) recorded between Saturday and Sunday (4 and 5 September). Authorities expected floodwaters to move downstream, affecting further towns and regions over the following days. Residents in affected areas were advised to boil their water and avoid driving or travelling through floodwaters. Victoria had been in severe drought since the late 1990s and had been progressively receiving increased rainfall since the late 2000s, but by mid-2010, the state received some of its highest rainfall recorded since the late 1990s. Severe storms moved over southeast South Australia on Thursday/Friday (2 and 3 September) bringing heavy rain and cutting electricity to around 40,000 homes. [4] These storms moved over western Victoria by Friday night and continued in a roughly easterly direction throughout that weekend, bringing heavy rain to much of Victoria. The State Emergency Service and Bureau of Meteorology anticipated that floodwaters flowing downstream would eventually cause widespread flooding in the Murray River for several weeks. In Skipton in the states Western District, 20 properties were put on evacuation alert, while in the Central Highlands 120 people sought refuge in the town hall at Creswick and 30 people were evacuated from a caravan park in Clunes. [1][2] In northern Victoria, 150 extra police and 50 defence personnel were deployed to assist with evacuations and sandbagging. Many towns located on major watercourses experienced riverine flooding from Friday 3 onwards. The following towns were most affected, the day floodwaters peaked and when flash flooding occurred is indicated:
Around 250 houses were evacuated from Saturday to Sunday. Weather warnings were given well in advance enabling residents and businesses to sandbag and evacuate before floodwaters arrived. The SES and other authorities have been doorknocking in many towns to notify residents most at risk of the need to evacuate. 500 homes in Shepparton were doorknocked and given warnings as a flood peak was expected in the early morning hours of 8 September. [7]
Sections of the following major highways were inundated during the floods:
At peak, around 35 Victorian rivers experienced both fast and slow riverine flooding. As of Tuesday 7 September much of these floodwaters are still flowing downstream:
There were a number of small landslides in the Victorian Alps, one forced the closure of the Mount Hotham ski resort after a ticket office was destroyed, injuring a staff member, whilst another one cut off the road to Falls Creek. Landslides also affected a car park at the Mount Buller ski resort, leaving hundreds of skiers stranded. [2]
The floods have provided some benefits. Water prices are expected to drop dramatically. [8] Many areas affected have been suffering from drought and farmers especially appreciated an end to the dry conditions. The waters are expected to naturally flush out the mouth of the Murray River, an event which hasn't occurred for nearly a decade. [10]
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Floods
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Crisis of 1982
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The Crisis of 1982 was a major economic crisis suffered in Chile during the military government of Chile (1973–1990). [1] Chile's GDP fell 14.3%, and unemployment rose to 23.7%. [1]
After the socialist reorientation of the economy during the presidency of Salvador Allende, economic sabotage by the Nixon presidency,[2] and the subsequent chilean economic crisis which reached its zenith during 1973,[3] the Armed Forces following the orders of the military junta and with the support of the United States government made a Coup d'état and demobilized the forces loyal to Allende like the Revolutionary Left Movement. They closed down the congress, imposed censorship, limited civil rights and arrested thousands of people from leftists to center democrats. Upon taking over power, the military junta under the command of General Pinochet set out to implement a series of neo-liberal economic policies based on the Chicago school of economics. In 1973, only a little bit over two years of regulatory policies established by Mr. Allende, the military junta decided to reform the economy, and the Chicago boys were permitted to implement some of the neoliberal economical policies outlined in El ladrillo. [4] In 1979 however, Chile decided to depart from the principle of free floating exchange rates, with disastrous results. [5]
The 1982 crisis has been traced to the overvalued Chilean peso, which had been helped by being pegged to the US dollar, and to the high interest rates in Chile, which would have hampered investment in productive activities. In fact, from 1979 to 1982, much[vague] of the spending in Chile was the consumption of goods and services. [4] By 1982, Chile's external debt had risen to over 17 billion dollars. [4]
In agriculture, the entrance of speculative capital before the crisis led to the bankruptcy of several processing companies. [6] IANSA, a sugar company that had belonged to the state before its privatization, went bankrupt because of a short-term gains policy by its new owners. [6]
In November 1981, banks were bailed out by the government after they had taken excessive risks: the large Banco de Talca and Banco Español Chile and the small Banco de Linares and Banco de Fomento de Valparaíso. [7] Financial societies (Compañía General, Cash, Capitales and del Sur) were also bailed out. [7] Banco de Talca and Banco Español Chile were nationalized, removing the management and wresting ownership from shareholders (they were later privatized again). [8]
On January 13, 1983, the government made a massive bank intervention, bailing out five banks and dissolving three others. [7]
All sectors of Chilean agriculture except fruit exports and forestry contracted during the crisis, but recovery was fast after 1984. [9] The number of farm bankruptcies in Chile increased from 1979 to its 1983 peak. [9]
The crisis has been credited of beginning, despite its severe repression, a wave of protest all over Chile against the dictatorship. [4]
In the years after the crisis, the economic policy of the dictatorship changed to include price bands for some foodstuffs and a floating exchange rate. [10]
Supporters of the neoliberal policy of the military dictatorship have argued that the crisis started outside Chile and hit the whole of Latin America in the so-called La Década Perdida (The Lost Decade). [4] Historians Gabriel Salazar and Julio Pinto have countered that the type of crisis is a frequently inherent weakness of the neoliberal model. [4] In contrast, economist Milton Friedman blames precisely the country's departure from the neoliberal model and political interventions in matters such as the Chilean peso. [11]
According to Ricardo Ffrench-Davis, the "unnecessary" radicalism of the shock therapy in the 1970s caused mass unemployment, loss of purchasing power, extreme inequalities in the distribution of income, and severe socioeconomic damage. [12] He argues that the 1982 crises as well as the "success" of the pragmatic economic policy after 1982 proves that the radical economic policy of the Chicago boys harmed the Chilean economy from 1973 to 1981 though the economy of Chile recovered quickly and continued to rise rapidly over time. [13]
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Financial Crisis
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1843 Tooley Street fire
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The 1861 Tooley Street fire, also called the Great Fire of Tooley Street, started in Cotton's Wharf on Tooley Street, London, England, on 22 June 1861. The fire lasted for two weeks, and caused £2 million worth of damage. During the fire, James Braidwood, superintendent of the London Fire Engine Establishment, was killed. House of Commons reports cited multiple failures in fire prevention, and the fire led to the 1865 Metropolitan Fire Brigade Act, which established the London Fire Brigade. The fire started on 22 June 1861, at Cotton's Wharf on Tooley Street, near to St Olave's Church, Southwark, and was first noticed around 4 p.m.[1] Cotton's Wharf was around 100 by 50 feet (30 m × 15 m), and contained around 5,000 tons of rice, 10,000 barrels of tallow, 1,000 tons of hemp, 1,100 tons of jute, 3,000 tons of sugar and 18,000 bales of cotton at the time of the fire. [1][2] Unsafe jute and hemp storage in Cotton's Wharf and nearby wharves helped spread the fire. [3] The cause of the fire is believed to have been spontaneous combustion,[4][5] and it has been suggested that someone smoking in the wharves may have started the fire. [6]:93–94 Whilst Cotton's Wharf was classed as good for fire protection, the surrounding buildings were less well protected, which enabled the fire to spread quickly. [7]
The London Fire Engine Establishment (later the London Fire Brigade) were alerted by 5 p.m.[6]:94 A local distiller acted as temporary fire marshal until the London Fire Engine Establishment arrived, as his distillery had two private fire engines. [8] A number of other private fire engines were also used. [8] By 6 p.m., 14 fire engines, including one steam engine, from the London Fire Engine Establishment were at the scene. [1][9] The Fire Establishment's river fire engine was unable to draw water from the River Thames as it was low tide and so the river was too shallow. [1][8] The fire was so great that the river fire engine was forced to retreat. [8] The firefighters were also inhibited when the spice warehouses caught fire, and distributed spices into the air. [8] The Royal Society for the Protection of Life from Fire (which was later merged into the London Fire Brigade) also assisted with controlling the fire. [8]
Around 7 30 p.m.,[8] a section of a warehouse collapsed on top of James Braidwood, the superintendent of the London Fire Engine Establishment, killing him. [1][4][5][10] Another firefighter was killed in the same incident. [11] Braidwood had been giving his firefighters their brandy rations at the time of the collapse. [8]
Around 10 hours after the fire started, it was stabilised and confined to a single area. [8] The fire took two weeks to put out, during which time around 20 police officers remained present at the scene. Over 30,000 people watched the fire burn. [1][2][4][5] The fire caused damage to buildings up to 0.25 miles (0.40 km) away from Cotton's Wharf, and destroyed 11 acres (45,000 m2) of land. [12][13] The range of the fire spanned from St Olave's Church to Battle Bridge Stairs. [8] During the fire, tallow and oil from the wharves spilled into the River Thames,[8] destroying four sailing boats and numerous barges. [1] London Bridge station also caught fire in the blaze,[8][14] but the fire was put out by the station's private fire engines. [11] The fire could be seen from up to 15 miles (24 km) away. [8] In total, the damages from the fire were around £2 million. [15] In his diary, Arthur Munby described the scene as:
"For near a quarter of a mile, the south bank of the Thames was on fire: a long line of what had been warehouses, their roofs and fronts all gone; and the tall ghastly sidewalls, white with heat, standing, or rather tottering, side by side in the midst of a mountainous desert of red & black ruin, which smouldered & steamed here, & there, sent up sheets of savage intolerable flame a hundred feet high. "[16]
The fire has been described as the worst London fire since the Great Fire of London. [14][17]
An 1862 House of Commons report into the fire noted the lack of availability of water when the fire started, as the area did not have a hydraulic pump as other areas such as West India Dock did, and the water company only supplied water to houses in Tooley Street for 90 minutes a day. [13][18] An 1867 House of Commons report also criticised the ineffectiveness of the allegedly fire proof floors,[6]:18, 193–195 and general fire protection in the South London District. [6]:5 It recommended that oil should not be stored in places where it could flow. [6]:124–125
According to the 1862 House of Commons Report, insurance companies lost over £1 million from the fire. [13][18] It is believed that one of the owners of Cotton's Wharf was insured for £400,000,[19] and the Royal Insurance Company lost £75,000. [20] It was the first time that most insurance companies had lost money since they had started having private fire engines. [3] Following the fire, insurance companies changed the way they insured wharves, and their fire insurance policies, to encourage safer storage of goods. [1][4][15][21] They also raised their insurance premiums[1][4] by between 50 and 100%. [3] The fire and insurance premium rises led to the 1865 Metropolitan Fire Brigade Act, which established the London Fire Brigade. [1][4] The Act also mandated that iron doors be used as these were less flammable, and recommended that they be shut at all times, which was not the case during the Tooley Street fire. [1][6]:258 The fire also contributed to the establishment of many new fire insurance firms. [22] These included the Commercial Union and Mercantile companies;[22] and in 1867 the Reinsurance Company in London who specialised in insuring damaged buildings was also established. [21]
The wharves destroyed in the Tooley Street fire were rebuilt as separated buildings, to make them safer from fire in future. [6]:195 A plaque to commemorate the fire, and memorialise James Braidwood, is located on Battle Bridge Lane, on the corner of Tooley Street. [23]
An 1836 fire destroyed Topping's Wharf on Tooley Street,[5] and an 1843 fire on Tooley Street destroyed St. Olave's Church. [5][24] In 1891, there was another large fire which took 19 days to extinguish, and was described as the worst fire since the 1861 Tooley Street fire. [25][26]
Coordinates: 51°30′22″N 0°05′06″W / 51.506°N 0.085°W / 51.506; -0.085
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Fire
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MNR to take lead on finding Wheatley gas leak source
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An agreement has been signed between Chatham-Kent and the province to move forward in finding the source of the recent gas explosion that rocked downtown Wheatley.
The Ministry of Northern Development, Mines, Natural Resources and Forestry is taking the lead in finding the source of hydrogen sulphide that has stubbornly evaded detection.
Don Shropshire, CAO for Chatham-Kent, said the province is committed to identifying the source and will recommend ways to prevent future gas leaks.
It takes the investigation to the next level, Shropshire said in a press release.
He said municipal employees have been preparing the site for the next step while focusing on public safety.
“The safety of our residents remains key for our first responders and the province will be taking the lead on its portion of the work,” Shropshire explained.
Mayor Darrin Canniff said he’s pleased with the agreement. He is encouraging provincial officials to expedite the investigation, and to determine what can be done to assist affected businesses and residents financially.
Municipal outreach services for Wheatley residents have now relocated to the Wheatley Village Resource Centre and Food Bank at 108 Talbot Trail E. Case managers will be on site to assist evacuees with housing, food and other support services.
This will be open from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. this week.
Evacuees may also call 519-351-8573 Monday to Friday and ask to speak with case manager for assistance.
For emergency housing needs outside of office hours, call 519-354-6628.
For general information, call 519-360-1998 or subscribe to e-mail updates at ck311@chatham-kent.ca.
The Wheatley Recovery Group is also available to lend support and has launched the Wheatley BIA Disaster Relief Fund. Applications can be accessed on the municipality’s website.
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Gas explosion
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3 people charged in string of child sex abuse allegations dating back to 2001
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Court documents: Abuse reported to authorities as far back as 2004 and several other times over the years -- but was not fully investigated until now.
Author: Kevin Vaughan, Darius Johnson
Published: 11:55 AM MST December 16, 2021
Updated: 5:09 PM MST December 16, 2021
ARAPAHOE COUNTY, Colo. — Content warning: This story involves allegations of systematic sexual abuse of multiple children.
A man who has worked as a volunteer firefighter, trucker and karaoke business operator faces more than 40 felony counts amid accusations he systematically sexually abused children over two decades – allegations that were reported to authorities multiple times over the years but never thoroughly investigated, 9Wants to Know has learned.
Two women are also facing felony sexual assault charges in the case, accused of being involved in the abuse.
Some of that sexual abuse involved their own children, according to court documents obtained by 9NEWS.
Arapahoe County sheriff’s deputies arrested Allan Richard Long, 51, on Sept. 7 after a previous investigation by the department – which was closed in 2007 – was reopened.
On Thursday, Ginger Delgado, a spokeswoman for the sheriff's office, said a review of records from 2007 showed that the case may have stalled back then because some of the victims were very young and unwilling to disclose information. Also, key witnesses did not respond to the investigator's attempts to contact them, Delgado said.
The investigator felt, at the time, that there wasn't enough evidence to file criminal charges and deactivated the case pending contact with those witnesses, Delgado said.
The case was revived this year by an alert supervisor in the evidence bureau. The 2007 allegations were nearing the statute of limitations, and a decision needed to be made about releasing or destroying evidence in the case.
The evidence supervisor read reports related to the case and notified a detective.
“It appeared to her and her team that more investigation could have been done,” a detective wrote in an arrest affidavit for Culler.
For example, according to the affidavit, no investigators ever questioned Allan Long or Culler.
Credit: ACSO
Alan Long
Prosecutors have charged Long with 41 separate charges – 20 counts of sexual assault on a child as part of a pattern of abuse; six counts of sexual contact – coercion of a child; five counts of sexual assault on a child by one in a position of trust; five counts of sexual assault on a child as part of a pattern of abuse; three counts of sexual exploitation of a child; one count of sexual contact with no consent by force or threat; and one count of sexual assault – overcoming a victim’s will.
He remained behind bars Thursday in the Arapahoe County jail on $1 million bail.
Credit: ACSO
Martha Long
Martha “Loni” Long, 52, faces four counts of sexual assault on a child by one in a position of trust, one count of aggravated incest and one count of sexual exploitation of a child.
She and Allan Long were married at one time, according to court documents.
Martha Long was being held Thursday on $100,000 bail.
Rona Culler, 55, faces 10 counts of sexual assault on a child as part of a pattern of abuse, five counts of aggravated incest, and one count of sexual exploitation of a child.
She was being held Thursday on $1 million bail.
Court documents obtained by 9Wants to Know describe her as a girlfriend of Long’s.
Credit: ACSO
Rona Culler
Colin Bresee, Allan Long’s attorney, told 9NEWS the allegations “are very troubling” and he is waiting for prosecutors to provide additional evidence that has been gathered so he can assess the case.
Martha Long’s attorney, Shannon Roy, and Culler’s attorney, Danielle Touart, both declined to comment when reached by 9NEWS.
The abuse started as far back as 2001 and continued until at least 2014 and involved at least seven victims ranging in ages from 4 to 17. One alleged victim told investigators she was sexually assaulted from childhood until age 21.
“It doesn’t matter how long ago this happened," said Dr. Max Wachtel, a forensic psychologist and 9NEWS expert. "These were all vulnerable kids who were taken advantage of by people in authority -- people who were supposed to be there to help them."
In a press release issued after 9NEWS began asking about the case, the Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Office (ACSO) said Thursday, “there could be many more” victims – and that the abuse could have started before 2001.
Arapahoe County sheriff’s officials encouraged anyone who knows anything about Allan Long to contact investigator Andrew Fehringer at 720-874-4065 or afehringer@arapahoegov.com
RELATED: One-stop center in Jefferson County helping victims of abuse
The court documents detail one instance after another where child sex abuse allegations involving Allan Long were brought to the attention of authorities – but never thoroughly investigated:
In July 2004, one of the alleged victims told her grandmother she’d been “molested” by Allan Long. That same week, the alleged abuse was reported to the Wyoming Department of Family Services, but according to court documents “the abuse was not reported to law enforcement.”
In July 2007, the biological father of an alleged victim reported Allan Long to the Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Department. An investigator worked on the case, but according to court documents that detective “appeared to take no further action in this case, based on his reports.”
In May 2009, June 2010, August 2011, January 2012, July 2013, and February 2015, various people reported Allan Long or Martha Long – or both – to the Arapahoe County Department of Human Services. It is not clear in some cases what the reports entailed, but at least one of them involved an allegation that Allan Long had child pornography, including pictures showing girls as young as 4 or 5 years old.
In February 2015, two allegations of child sex abuse involving Allan Long were forwarded to the Colorado Springs Police Department, which investigated the case before it was “eventually closed inactive after they were unable to contact Allan (Long).”
Credit: ACSO
Allan Long (left), Martha "Loni" Long (center), and Rona Culler (right).
When asked for comment, the Wyoming Department of Family Services said that under state law "any information relating to investigations/child protection cases is confidential" and therefore they "cannot provide any specific information related to any abuse or neglect investigation because of the statutory confidentiality restrictions."
Arapahoe County Human Services responded to an inquiry and said they "cannot comment on past and current cases in Human Services."
"According to the Colorado Children’s Code, we must protect information in cases involving children and families who have been or are served in Child Protection Services," the department went on to say in its statement.
Colorado Springs police Lt. James Sokolik said his department's investigation of Allen Long and Martha Long was ended because it didn't have jurisdiction. He said the complaints were referred to both the Castle Rock and Aurora police departments in August 2015.
Sokolik said consideration will be given to filing charges now that more information has come to light.
It's not clear how Aurora and Castle Rock detectives handled the complaint -- they have not yet responded to questions from 9NEWS.
"Whatever happened, they were told that they weren’t important," Wachtel said of the alleged victims.
Court documents obtained by 9Wants to Know detail a horrific series of incidents – some provided by alleged victims who are now adults.
One alleged victim told investigators that she was molested “every two days” for a year. Another said that at times when she was being molested by Allan Long while Martha Long watched.
Culler, according to court documents, admitted to molesting children but said that Allan Long “coerced” her.
“That makes me sound like a, a voluntary partner in this, but he would get me drunk and then we would go to bed and he’d have the kids come in,” she told investigators, according to court documents.
Contact 9Wants to Know investigator Kevin Vaughan with tips about this or any story: kevin.vaughan@9news.com or 303-871-1862.
Anyone who believes a child is in immediate danger, call 911. Anyone who has concerns that a child is being abused or neglected but is not in immediate danger, can call Arapahoe County Human Services 24/7 hotline at 303-636-1750 or the statewide hotline at 1-844-CO-4-KIDS.
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Famous Person - Commit Crime - Investigate
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Vaughan sacked by Dragons for COVID breach
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The St George Illawarra Dragons have reportedly torn up the final 15 months of Paul Vaughan’s contract over the biosecurity breach scandal. The Daily Telegraph is reporting former NSW and Kangaroos star will be released from the final 15 months of his deal after he lied to the club about hosting the party at the centre of the drama. It’s set to be a costly blow for Vaughan with his deal at a reported AU$800,000 a year. Jack de Belin and Corey Norman have appeared to survive the immediate axe. The Australian reported earlier on Tuesday that Vaughan’s contract “states that if the club is of the opinion that the player has breached his contract, he can be brought before the board to show cause why action should not be taken”. The club then has several options, including terminating the contract with immediate effect. It comes after Dragons CEO Ryan Webb refused to confirm the futures of any stars at the centre of a biosecurity breach as the club holds an emergency board meeting held on Tuesday morning. The twists keep coming in the drama that has sparked widespread fury and condemnation across the game, with the breach involving 13 players potentially threatening the entire competition. The 13 players were hit with a combined $305,000 in fines with Paul Vaughan being slugged with an eight-game ban and the rest of the players copping a one-match suspension, which will be staggered throughout a three-week period. Vaughan hosted a party at his house with teammates Blake Lawrie, Corey Norman, Daniel Alvaro, Jack Bird, Josh Kerr, Josh McGuire, Kaide Ellis, Matthey Dufty, Tyrell Fuimaono, Zac Lomax, Jack de Belin and Gerard Beale attending. The players will reportedly be made to front the board to explain their actions and apologise publicly. It was revealed the players were specifically told by the club’s head of football Ben Haran and coach Anthony Griffin not to celebrate the golden point victory over the Warriors on Friday night. Some Dragons players allegedly attempted to flee the scene or hide on the premises when the police arrived at Vaughan’s home in Shellharbour on the NSW south coast. Speaking on Fox League’s NRL 360, The Daily Telegraph’s Paul Kent revealed de Belin hid under the bed when police arrived at Vaughan’s home. Last year, Vaughan was stood down for two weeks after he visited a cafe during biosecurity bubble restrictions. Webb was asked point blank by 2GB’s Ben Fordham “are you going to sack Paul Vaughan?”, and said all options were still on the table. “No one is happy with what Paul Vaughan has done, actually the whole lot of those boys,” Webb said on Tuesday morning. “I can’t pre-empt any discussions and where things will go but everyone’s disappointed by what’s happened on there and Paul having multiple breaches doesn’t help.” Jack de Belin’s ‘story changed significantly’ Fordham also put de Belin in the crosshairs with the former Origin star a month into his NRL comeback after being stood down in February 2019 due to sexual assault allegations. The charges were dropped after the Director of Public Prosecutions decided he would not face a third sexual assault trial, following two hung juries. “The fact he was there (at Vaughan’s house) is the negative,” Webb said. “We were originally told that he walked past, dropped something off and kept moving. Then that story changed significantly. “That’s disappointing because we’ve stood by Jack and the club has been through a lot the last two-and-a-half, three years there. The club deserves better there and we’re taking that into consideration.” While the club was cleared of any wrongdoing, Webb confirmed the Dragons encouraged de Belin to come forward to police when they found out the truth. Fordham asked if de Belin’s “future was in doubt too” but Webb said: “I don’t want to say anyone’s future is in doubt.” Fordham also singled out Corey Norman — who has already been told by the club that his services are not required next year — as a repeat offender who should be shown the door. Webb was far from happy about reports of a phone hook-up by the players in order to keep their stories straight. He said the club told the players: “You’ve done the wrong thing, just be honest.” “To do something like this when there are people in the community like down in Melbourne in that extended lockdown last year, people separated from family and friends and sick members of the family they couldn’t visit but these guys go and do this,” Webb said. “It’s something you just can’t take and we need to have some pretty strong discussions about that today.” In an editorial, Fordham said Vaughan, de Belin and Norman should all be sacked. “The cover-up is worse than the crime and anyone involved in the cover-up should be shown the door,” he said. “There is no room for selfish, arrogant knuckleheads who can’t follow simple instructions. Punt them. They’re dopey and dodgy and don’t deserve to be playing the game.”
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Tear Up Agreement
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United States confirms withdrawal from World Health Organization
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By BBN Staff: Amidst the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the United States Government, has confirmed that it will withdraw from the World Health Organization (WHO), CNN reports. CNN said that the news first came from Senator. Robert Menendez, the head Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee who took to the social media platform Twitter to say that Congress received the notification of President Donald Trump officially withdrawing the US from the WHO. The withdrawal will take full effect on July 6, 2021. The decision to leave the WHO is been widely criticised, with many saying that the move is not in the interest of US citizens. “To call Trump’s response to COVID chaotic & incoherent doesn’t do it justice. This won’t protect American lives or interests—it leaves Americans sick & America alone,” Menendez tweeted. President Trump had announced his plans to leave the WHO earlier this year, noting several concerns about the influence that he believes China has in the organization. Notably, Trump has also been criticized for his approach to dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic, which has now infected over 2.6 million Americans and killed over 136,000.
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Withdraw from an Organization
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2004 Arkhangelsk explosion
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Coordinates: 64°32′13″N 40°33′58″E / 64.537°N 40.566°E / 64.537; 40.566
On March 16, 2004, an explosion destroyed a corner section of a nine-story Soviet-era apartment building in Arkhangelsk, Russia. It happened at 3:03 a.m. local time (UTC +3). The explosion occurred in 120 Avenue of the Soviet Cosmonauts in the October district (Oktyabrskiy rayon) of Arkhangelsk. The death toll from the explosion was 58 (33 women, 16 men and 9 children). Two of the dead succumbed to their wounds in a hospital after being rescued. [1]
The explosion came two days after Vladimir Putin won reelection and several weeks after a suicide bombing killed 41 Moscow Metro passengers. In April 2004, authorities arrested and charged 26-year-old former employee of city gas services Sergey Alekseychik. On December 16, 2005 he was sentenced to 25 years in prison. According to the official version, Alekseychik was fired from his natural gas technician job several days prior to the explosion, and to get even with his former employers and the city he sabotaged the gas system thus causing the tragedy. [2]
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Gas explosion
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NorthShore University HealthSystem, Edward-Elmhurst Health unveil merger plans
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NorthShore University HealthSystem and Edward-Elmhurst Health announced plans Wednesday to merge under a new nine-hospital parent entity. The resulting system would employ roughly 25,000 people and more than 6,000 physicians, according to the announcement. Its hospitals and over 300 ambulatory facilities would serve a region of more than 4.2 million Illinois residents. The systems’ deal is pending regulatory review but is targeting a 2021 close. The partners did not disclose other terms of the merger. "NorthShore and Edward-Elmhurst Health share a vision of delivering expanded access to a transformative, differentiated patient care experience," said J.P. Gallagher, president and CEO of NorthShore in a statement. "By working together, we will connect patients and communities to personalized care, advanced clinical solutions and innovative technologies through improved access, expertise and services." RELATED: Hackensack Meridian Health, Englewood Health appeal district court's merger delay amidst FTC review Should the deal go through, the systems plan to maintain existing physician and medical groups. They also said they intend to organize the joined system into two regions corresponding with the original systems—the NorthShore region and the Edward-Elmhurst region. Gallagher would receive the nod as president and CEO of the combined organization. Mary Lou Mastro, president and CEO of Edward-Elmhurst Health, would take a spot on the executive team as CEO of the system’s Edward-Elmhurst region. Alongside the merger plans, the health systems announced they would each be directing $100 million into new investment funds for their respective communities. They said they anticipate that the funds will generate millions in interest that will support organization partnerships focused on health equity, well-being and local economic growth. "[Our systems] share values and a vision for the future that gives us a strong foundation to create a needed regional alternative offering vibrant, community-connected healthcare,” Mastro said in a statement. “We look forward to working with our staff and clinical partners in transforming the future of healthcare through their expertise, compassion and commitment." RELATED: Healthcare Dealmakers—Ginger, Headspace's $3B merger; UnitedHealth Group and Change Healthcare's DOJ deal Evanston, Illinois-based NorthShore University HealthSystem is the larger of the new partners with six hospitals and more than 17,000 team members. The nonprofit has annual revenues of $3.2 billion and is the principal teaching affiliate for the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine. Edward-Elmhurst Health was formed in 2013 and runs three hospitals located in the western and southwestern suburbs of Chicago. It has 8,500 employees and annual revenues exceeding $1 billion. Hospital mergers have been moving at a steady clip through 2021, with Kaufman Hall noting that systems are often pursuing partnerships over acquisitions of a single independent hospital. Providers’ deal-making is coming under some additional scrutiny, however, with President Joe Biden instructing the Justice Department and the Federal Trade Commission to take a closer look at healthcare mergers that could potentially harm patients.
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Organization Merge
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PSA Flight 182 crash
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Pacific Southwest Airlines (PSA) Flight 182 was a Boeing 727-214[a] commercial airliner, registration N533PS, that collided with a private Cessna 172 light aircraft, registration N7711G, over San Diego, California, at 9:01 am on Monday, September 25, 1978. It was Pacific Southwest Airlines' first fatal accident, and the deadliest air disaster in California history. Both aircraft crashed into North Park, a San Diego neighborhood. Flight 182 impacted just north of the intersection of Dwight and Nile streets, killing all 135 people aboard the aircraft and seven people on the ground in houses, including two children. The Cessna impacted Polk Avenue between 32nd and Iowa streets, killing the two on board. Nine others on the ground were injured and twenty-two homes were destroyed or damaged by the impact and debris. On the morning of September 25, 1978, Pacific Southwest Airlines Flight 182 departed Sacramento for San Diego via Los Angeles. The seven-person, San Diego-based crew consisted of Captain James E. McFeron (42); First Officer Robert E. Fox (38); Flight Engineer Martin J. Wahne (44); and four flight attendants. The flight from Sacramento to Los Angeles was uneventful. At 8:34 am, Flight 182 departed Los Angeles. First Officer Fox was the pilot flying. There were 128 passengers on board including 29 PSA employees. The weather in San Diego that morning was sunny and clear with 10 miles (16 km) of visibility. [1]:2
At 8:59 am, the PSA crew was alerted by the approach controller about a small Cessna 172 Skyhawk aircraft nearby. The Cessna was being flown by two licensed pilots. One was Martin Kazy Jr., 32, who possessed single-engine, multiengine, and instrument flight ratings, as well as a commercial certificate and an instrument flight instructor certificate. He had flown a total of 5,137 hours. The other, David Boswell, 35, a U.S. Marine Corps sergeant, possessed single-engine and multiengine ratings and a commercial certificate. He had flown 407 hours at the time of the accident, and was practicing instrument landing system approaches under the instruction of Kazy in pursuit of his instrument rating. They had departed from Montgomery Field and were navigating under visual flight rules, which did not require the filing of a flight plan. Boswell was wearing a "hood" to limit his field of vision straight ahead to the cockpit panel, much like an oversized sun visor with vertical panels to block peripheral vision, which is normal in IFR training. At the time of the collision, the Cessna was on the missed approach (in visual meteorological conditions) from Lindbergh's Runway 9, heading east and climbing. The Cessna was in communication with San Diego approach control. [1]:2
The PSA pilots reported that they saw the Cessna after being notified of its position by ATC, although cockpit voice recordings revealed that shortly thereafter, the PSA pilots no longer had the Cessna in sight and they were speculating about its position. Due to radio static, Lindbergh tower (as per the tower voice recording) received the 09.00:50 transmission as "He's passing off to our right" and assumed the PSA jet had the Cessna in sight, thus maintaining visual separation. [1]:3[2]
After getting permission to land, and about 40 seconds before colliding with the Cessna, the conversation among the four occupants of the cockpit (captain, first officer, flight engineer, and the off-duty PSA captain, Spencer Nelson, who was riding in the cockpit's jump seat) was, as follows, showing the confusion:
Despite the captain's comment that the Cessna was "probably behind us now," it was actually directly in front of and below the Boeing. The PSA plane was descending and rapidly closing in on the small plane, which had taken a right turn to the east, deviating from the assigned course. According to the report issued by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), the Cessna may have been a difficult visual target for the jet's pilots, as it was below them and blended in with the multicolored houses of the residential area beneath; the Cessna's fuselage was yellow, and most of the houses were a yellowish color. Also, the apparent motion of the Cessna as viewed from the Boeing was minimized, as both planes were on approximately the same course. The report said that another possible reason that the PSA aircrew had difficulty observing the Cessna was that its fuselage was made visually smaller due to foreshortening. However, the same report in another section also stated, "the white surface of the Cessna's wing could have presented a relatively bright target in the morning sunlight. "[1]
A visibility study cited in the NTSB report concluded that the Cessna should have been almost centered in the windshield of the Boeing from 170 to 90 seconds before the collision, and thereafter it was probably positioned on the lower portion of the windshield just above the windshield wipers. The study also said that the Cessna pilot would have had about a 10-second view of the Boeing from the left-door window about 90 seconds before the collision, but visibility of the overtaking jet was blocked by the Cessna's ceiling structure for the remainder of the time. [1]
Flight 182's crew never explicitly alerted the tower that they had lost sight of the Cessna. If they had made this clear to controllers, the crash might not have happened. Also, if the Cessna had maintained the heading of 70° assigned to it by ATC instead of turning to 90°, the NTSB estimates the planes would have missed each other by about 1,000 ft (300 m) instead of colliding. Ultimately, the NTSB maintained that, regardless of that change in course, it was the responsibility of the crew in the overtaking jet to comply with the regulatory requirement to pass "well clear" of the Cessna. [1]
Approach Control on the ground picked up an automated conflict alert 19 seconds before the collision, but did not relay this information to the aircraft because, according to the approach coordinator, such alerts were commonplace even when no actual conflict existed. The NTSB stated: "Based on all information available to him, he decided that the crew of Flight 182 were complying with their visual separation clearance; that they were accomplishing an overtake maneuver within the separation parameters of the conflict alert computer; and that, therefore, no conflict existed. "[1]
This was the conversation in the PSA cockpit starting 16 seconds before collision with the Cessna:
PSA Flight 182 overtook the Cessna, which was directly below it, both roughly on a 090 (due east) heading. The collision occurred at about 2,600 feet (790 m). [1] According to several witnesses on the ground, first, they heard a loud metallic "crunching" sound, then an explosion, and a fire drew them to look up. Staff photographer Hans Wendt (1934-2013)[3] of the San Diego County Public Relations Office was attending an outdoor press event with a still camera and took two postcollision photographs of the falling 727, its right wing burning. [4] Cameraman Steve Howell from local TV channel 39 was attending the same event and captured the Cessna on film as it fell toward Earth, the sound of the impacting 727, and the mushroom cloud from the resulting crash. For its coverage of the disaster, The San Diego Evening Tribune, a predecessor to The San Diego Union-Tribune, was awarded a Pulitzer Prize in 1979 for "Local, General, or Spot News Reporting". [5]
The wreckage of the Cessna plummeted to the ground, its vertical stabilizer torn from its fuselage and bent leftward, its debris hitting around 3,500 feet (1,100 m) northwest of where the 727 went down. PSA 182's right wing was heavily damaged, rendering the plane uncontrollable and sending it careening into a sharp right bank (clearly seen in the Wendt photos), and the fuel tank inside it ruptured and started a fire, when this final conversation took place inside the cockpit:
Flight 182 struck a house at 3611 Nile Street, 3 miles (5 km) northeast of Lindbergh Field, in a residential section of San Diego known as North Park. It then impacted the driveway of the house at a 260 kn (300 mph; 480 km/h), nose-down attitude while banked 50° to the right. Seismographic readings indicated that the impact occurred at 09:02:07, about 2.5 seconds after the cockpit voice recorder lost power. The plane crashed just west of the I-805 freeway, around 30 feet (9.1 m) north of the intersection of Dwight and Nile Streets, with the bulk of the debris field spreading in a northeast to southwesterly direction toward Boundary Street.
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Air crash
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The significant loss of life and economic losses associated with tsunamis over the last 20 years
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GENEVA, 2 November 2018 – The United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR) today called attention to the significant loss of life and economic losses associated with tsunamis, notably for countries bordering the Indian and Pacific Oceans, over the last twenty years. A review of available data from tsunami events puts these losses at 251,770 deaths and US$280 billion out of recorded economic losses for earthquakes and tsunamis of US$661.5 billion (1998-2017). This compares with 998 deaths and US$2.7 billion in recorded losses from tsunamis over the previous twenty years when total recorded economic losses for earthquakes and tsunamis was US$410.9 billion (1978-1997). The figures come from the emergency events database maintained by the Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters, based at the Catholic University of Louvain, Belgium. One event, the great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami in 2011 accounts for over 19,000 deaths and economic losses of US$228 billion. The UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Disaster Risk Reduction, Mami Mizutori, said: “November 5 is World Tsunami Awareness Day and it is an occasion to promote greater understanding of tsunami risk to avoid future loss of life. This year we also want to bring attention to the economic losses tsunamis can inflict as a result of damage to critical infrastructure located along vulnerable, densely populated coastlines. “Central Sulawesi in Indonesia is still in the early stages of recovery from an earthquake and tsunami which struck on September 28 and is a vivid demonstration of why it is that earthquakes and tsunamis claim more lives than any other natural hazard and cause huge economic losses which make it more challenging to eradicate poverty in many parts of the world. We need to support Indonesia in their efforts to build back better.” UNISDR Communications
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Tsunamis
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Witch Fire
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The Witch Creek Fire, also known as the Witch Fire and the Witch-Guejito–Poomacha Complex Fire,[6] was the second-largest wildfire of the 2007 California wildfire season, and the largest one of the October 2007 California wildfires. Although the Witch Creek Fire was individually smaller than the Zaca Fire of 2007 (which burned at least 240,207 acres (972 km2)),[7] burning 197,990 acres (801 km2) acres alone, after merging with the Poomacha and McCoy Fires, the Witch–Guejito–Poomacha Complex Fire had a total burn area of 247,800 acres (1,003 km2), surpassing the Zaca Fire to become the largest complex fire of 2007. [2][3][5] Initially igniting in Witch Creek Canyon, near Santa Ysabel, the Witch Creek Fire rapidly spread westward, fanned by powerful Santa Ana winds, and consumed large portions of San Diego County. On October 25, the Witch Fire merged with the Poomacha Fire to the north, near Palomar Mountain,[4] before also merging with the smaller McCoy Fire on the next day. [8] The Witch–Poomacha Complex Fire was the second-to-last fire of the 2007 October wildfires to be extinguished, with the Poomacha Fire being contained on November 13. [4] The last remaining fire, the Harris Fire, was fully extinguished on November 16. [9] During its duration, 80–100 feet-high flames were reported by fire officials in the Witch Fire,[10] and the Witch Fire exhibited the characteristics of a firestorm at its height. [4]
On the morning of October 22, 2007, about a day after the Witch Creek Fire had ignited, residents of San Diego County were ordered to evacuate through the Reverse 911 system. [11] Eventually, the Witch Creek Fire led to the evacuations of 500,000 people, 200,000 of whom lived within the City of San Diego. [12][13] This evacuation came almost four years to the day after the Cedar Fire of 2003. The Witch Fire was a major contributor to the mass evacuations across much of Southern California at that time, which saw 1,000,000 residents evacuate, becoming the largest evacuation in California history. [14] The Witch–Poomacha Fire caused at least $1.3 billion (2007 USD) in insured damages alone,[1] becoming the costliest wildfire of 2007. [15][16] As of 2020, the Witch Fire is the fourteenth-largest wildfire in modern California history,[17] as well as the sixth-most destructive wildfire on record in California. [18]
The Witch Creek Fire started in Witch Creek Canyon near Santa Ysabel, at 12:35 PM PDT on Sunday, October 21, 2007, after powerful Santa Ana winds blew down a power line, releasing sparks into the wind. [2] The Witch Fire quickly spread to San Diego Country Estates, Ramona, Rancho Bernardo, Poway, and Escondido. Locals in the San Pasqual Valley area reported wind gusts of over 100 mph (160 km/h). From there, the fire jumped over Interstate 15 and continued west, causing significant damage in Lake Hodges, Del Dios, and Rancho Santa Fe. Strong Santa Ana winds pushed the fires west towards the coast. [11] San Diego County Sheriff William B. Kolendar stated that the Witch Creek Fire could be "well in excess of the Cedar Fire of 2003". [19] While many coastal communities were evacuated as the fire moved west, the shifting winds prevented it from directly threatening those areas. By the evening of October 21, the Witch Creek Fire had expanded to 2,000 acres (8 km2). At 11:37 PM PDT on October 21, the McCoy Fire ignited in the Pine Hills area in eastern San Diego County, near Cleveland National Forest. [4] The fire was quickly contained on October 23, after burning 400 acres (2 km2);[5] however, hotspots within the fire perimeter would continue to burn until October 26, when the wildfire eventually merged with the expanding Witch Fire. [8]
On Monday, October 22, 2007, the Santa Ana winds peaked, reaching sustained wind speeds of 90 mph (140 km/h), with winds gusting up to 112 mph (180 km/h). The extremely powerful Santa Ana winds fanned the wildfires in Southern California, causing many of the wildfires to rapidly expand westward. [4] At 1:30 AM PDT on October 22, 2007, the Guejito Fire ignited southeast of the San Diego Wild Animal Park, within the San Pasqual River drainage. By 4:30 AM PDT, the Guejito Fire rapidly expanded to Interstate 15, forcing the closure of the freeway in both directions, which disrupted some evacuations from areas affected by the Witch Creek Fire. [4][10] In less than an hour, the Witch Creek Fire caught up with the Guejito Fire to the west, and the two fires combined into a single, massive wildfire, before dawn. With powerful Santa Ana winds gusting over 100 mph (160 km/h), the Witch Creek Fire then jumped over Interstate 15, rapidly burning into Rancho Bernardo. [4][10] On the morning of October 22, at 5:22 AM PDT, residents located between the Del Dios Highway and State Route 56 were ordered to evacuate. [11][20] A firefighter stated that the conditions they faced were "twice as bad" as the Cedar Fire in 2003, with firefighters separating houses into those that they could save and those that they couldn't. [21] The Witch Creek Fire had become a firestorm by this time, exhibiting extreme fire behavior and long-range spotting. The Witch Creek Fire continued to race westward, and by 9:25 PM PDT, on October 22, mandatory evacuation orders had been expanded westward to Escondido and Del Mar, all the way up to the coast. [20] By 9:30 P.M. PDT on October 22, a dispatch from the city of Del Mar's web site stated: "For your safety, we are strongly advising that all Del Mar residents evacuate. "[22] Evacuations were also ordered for Scripps Ranch neighborhood, specifically "Everything south of Scripps Poway Parkway, north of MCAS Miramar, east of Interstate 15, and west of Highway 67". The Mesa Grande Indian Reservation was also evacuated due to the Witch Fire. [23] Residents of the Barona Indian Reservation were advised to leave, though the evacuation was not mandatory. The casino on the reservation was closed. At approximately 01:00 UTC on October 23 (6:00 PM PDT on October 22), the Witch Fire expanded near Wildcat Canyon to the south of Barona, where many houses had been destroyed and lives lost in the Cedar Fire. Residents of Wildcat Canyon and Muth Valley were ordered to evacuate, and the road was closed. [24] By the end of October 22, the Witch Creek Fire had exploded to an enormous 145,000 acres (587 km2), and the fire was still rapidly expanding. [4]
During the late afternoon of October 23, evacuations of Del Mar, Chula Vista, Poway, Del Mar Heights, and Scripps Ranch were lifted for many residents. At 3:13 AM PDT, on October 23, 2007, the Poomacha Fire was ignited in the La Jolla Indian Reservation in northeastern San Diego County. On the same day, the Poomacha Fire quickly exploded to 20,000 acres (81 km2), with most of that growth occurring within one and a half hours. [4][3] At 9:50 P.M. PDT on October 23, 2007, the town of Julian, California was ordered to evacuate. Due to the fires, there was no power or phone service in the town. [28]
On Wednesday, October 24, 2007, the Santa Ana winds began to subside and the prevailing winds shifted directions, with the onshore flow blowing in from the west, which caused the Witch Creek Fire to reverse directions and begin burning eastward, ending the threat to the coastal communities. This also allowed the fire to burn previously-unburned fuel (which was passed over during the initial rapid spread of the fire), threatening communities further east that had so far avoided the worst of the Witch Creek Fire. On the same day, some of the evacuation orders in place for Rancho Bernardo, Rancho Peñasquitos, 4S Ranch, and other areas west of Rancho Bernardo were lifted, after the western part of the Witch Creek Fire was contained. However, the evacuation orders in place for eastern and northern Rancho Bernardo, around Lake Hodges, were still in place.
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Fire
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2020 threw everyone’s personal lives for a loop, and celebrities were no exception
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2020 threw everyone’s personal lives for a loop, and celebrities were no exception. Even as red carpets dried up and all but a few celebrities ventured out of their homes into the sight of paparazzo’s prying lenses, celebrity datings rumors kept the gossip columns and tabloid magazines filled with content. The mayhem has extended into 2021. Already, the year has seen a number of celebrity breakups, splits and divorces. So far, at least two Kardashians (Kim and Khloé) have split from their partners. Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez, meanwhile, both broke up with the partners they started 2021 with, only to wind up together. Even one of the world’s richest men, Bill Gates, is going through a divorce. Here, the biggest breakups of the year so far. Chase Stokes and Madelyn Cline, co-stars of Netflix teen drama Outer Banks, have parted ways after about a year-and-a-half of dating. "Madelyn and Chase are no longer together," reports a People magazine source. "They were trying to work things out privately but broke up a couple of months ago."
Dating on and off since 2015, Gigi Hadid and Zayn Malik officially parted ways in October 2021 after Malik was involved in a confrontation with Hadid’s mother Yolanda. The pair remain committed to co-parenting their daughter, Khai. That backup dancer Lil Nas X was kissing up on during his live performances and in the “That’s What I Want” video? Yeah, they were dating, and his name is Yai Ariza (seen above on the right). In an interview with SiriusXM Hits 1, Nas confirmed as such but also admitted the pair had broken up for now. “We were dating, and we are still on very good terms,” the 22-year-old said. “You know, we may date again, I’m sure.” Ah, young love. After 17 years together, Miguel and his wife, Nazanin Mandi, called it quits. It was big news when the pair married in a Southern California oasis in November 2018, after dating for 13 years. And just last year, the two appeared together at the Savage x Fenty Volume 2 fashion show, where Mandi walked and Miguel performed.
The report of their breakeup came from a representative who spoke to People, who also said the couple had been separated “for some time now” and “both wish each other well." Four months after the birth of their child, Jason Derulo announced via Twitter that he and Jena Frumes were over. He later deleted the tweet that said, “Jena and I have decided to part ways. She is an amazing mother but we feel being apart at this time will allow us to be the best versions of ourselves and the best parents we could be.”
Oddly enough, the announcement came just three days after the couple’s shared birthday of September 21, and a couple weeks after attending a wedding together in Italy.
The news came directly from Elon Musk himself. The man jumped on the phone with Page Six to explain that he and the indie musician have called it quits. Kind of. “We are semi-separated but still love each other, see each other frequently and are on great terms,” Musk said. He continued, attributing the separation to their busy work schedules. “It’s mostly that my work at SpaceX and Tesla requires me to be primarily in Texas or traveling overseas and her work is primarily in LA. She’s staying with me now and Baby X is in the adjacent room.”
Kaley Cuoco, star of The Flight Attendant, first started dating Karl Cook, the son of billionaire Intuit co-founder Scott Cook, in 2016, and the pair tied the knot in June 2018. Though, in September the pair announced their split. "We have made this decision together through an immense amount of respect and consideration for one another and request that you do the same in understanding that we will not be sharing any additional details or commenting further," read a joint statement. Who knows what this really was, but it’s reportedly over now. The pair, who first met before Kanye West started dating Kim Kardashian West, struck up something earlier this summer that included a trip to France around the rapper’s 44th birthday. Though, there were conflicting reports about how serious West and Irina Shayk were. Now People says it's off. "It was never a serious thing that took off," their source says. "Kanye has been busy working and spending time with his kids. This is his focus. He doesn't have time to date right now. He finds Irina amazing though.” They seemed like a couple destined for the front row. Winnie Harlow, the former Victoria’s Secret model, and Kyle Kuzma, the reigning champ of NBA fits, struck up a relationship in 2020 after he slid into her DMs. According to TMZ, however, they’ve split. It’s amicable at least. “The two have been friendly with each other since the split.” After a whirlwind cross-continental courtship, it seems the flames between SNL star and famed serial dater Pete Davidson and Bridgerton star Phoebe Dynevor have petered out. Apparently, it was the “cross-continental” aspect that’s to blame. “Their mates think they make a great couple, but the distance has made it completely unworkable,” a source told Britain's The Sun. “They had fun and will remain close, but unless something drastic changes, their relationship won’t recover.”
Opening up on Instagram, Kate Bosworth revealed on August 5th that she had split from Michael Polish, her husband of almost 8 years. “Perhaps this will sound strange to some, romantic to others. To us: this is truth,” the actress wrote. “Our hearts are full, as we have never been so enamored and deeply grateful for one another as we do in this decision to separate. Together, over the last ten years, Michael and I have chosen love, every time. We hold hands as tightly today as we entangled fingers on our wedding day.” Bosworth met Polish, a director and screenwriter who often works in tandem with his twin brother, in 2011 while filming the movie Big Sur. The pair married in 2013. Porizkova, the ‘80s and ‘90s supermodel, and Sorkin, the superscribe and West Wing creator, only just made their official public debut earlier this year at the Academy Awards. Though Porizkova marked the end of the relationship somewhere else: Instagram. “I’m so grateful for his presence in my life,” she wrote in a caption. “He helped heal me and reclaim myself. There truly may be no better man, no man who’s more genuinely ‘good.’ He’s brilliant and witty and funny and sexy/ But it doesn’t matter how much we may wish we were birds of a feather – we’re still a duck and a goose.”
Scooter Braun, Justin Bieber’s manager and Taylor Swift’s nemesis, announced his divorce from his wife of seven years, Yael Cohen, in early July. Carmelo and La La Anthony had experienced some ups and downs in their 11 years of marriage, but La La finally decided to make her parting from the former NBA star final this year by filing for divorce in June. Khloé Kardashian and Tristan Thompson already shared a daughter and atleast one previous breakup together, but according to Page Six the pair quietly parted ways a second time sometime in late spring. “They’re getting along. There is no drama,” says their source. “Everything is amicable, and they are on the same page with co-parenting.” The former One Directioner had been dating the American model and socialite since 2019 but got candid on a podcast about their recent breakup. “I feel like more than anything at this point, I’m more disappointed in myself that I keep on hurting people,” he said on Diary of a CEO.
Blaire Underwood had been with his wife Desiree DaCosta an entire decade before he played one of Miranda’s boyfriends on SATC. Though, in May the pair announced that they had separated after 27 years together. New York City’s favorite lockdown couple didn’t make it a full year. Katie Holmes began dating restauranteur Emilio Vitolo Jr. in 202, but the pair split in April. Mulaney married Tendler, a makeup artist, stylist, and artisan, in 2014, but the pair announced their split earlier this year after the comedian’s stint in rehab. He’s since been linked to Olivia Munn. Talk about a mega-divorce. Bill Gates, the founder of Microsoft and one of the richest men of the world, jointly announced with wife Melinda French Gates that the pair were separating after 27 years together. Reportedly, French Gates had been considering divorce since 2019 after she learned of her husband’s ties to Jeffrey Epstein. Though the pair did not have a prenuptial agreement, they both seem eager to avoid a drawn-out court battle.
Another lockdown-era coupling that just didn’t last — Zac Efron, the man with millennial’s favorite abs, and Vanessa Valladares, a 25-year-old Australian, met in her native country last June while she was working at the Byron Bay General Store. The pair got serious, but according to The Daily Telegraph, they’ve now called it quits. Efron had actually spent much of his recent time in Australia working on films. Rumors of a rift in the power couple’s relationship had been bubbling all year to the point where the gossip columns declared them “dunzo” in March. The couple announced they had reunited in less than a day, but apparently, it was only for the short term. In a joint announcement released to The Today Show, “J-Rod” announced that they were “better as friends.” If the Riverdale star’s relationship seemed low-key, it’s because it happened in the midst of a pandemic. Mendes split with photographer Vaughn in March after about a year together. This likely means little to anyone over 25, but Addison Rae and Bryce Hall were the golden couple of TikTok. They’ve now broken up, though apparently not for the first time. The end of the relationship between reigning rap royalty Saweatie and Quavo came swift in March, but with little ambiguity. Saweetie bluntly tweeted that she had mentally “checked out” of the relationship long ago and made allegations of infidelity. What may be the biggest celebrity divorce of the year also seems like its most anti-climatic. Its well-known things have been tense between Kanye and Kim since his ill-fated run for President, and word broke in January that “divorce was on the table,” before reports that Kim had followed through on filing arrived in February. However, neither party has publically commented on the matter yet. G-Eazy and Ashley Benson’s relationship was forged in the early days of lockdown and in the aftermath of the latter’s separation from Cara Delevingne. E!, however, now confirms that the pair, both 31, have separated per their sources.
22-year-old Daisy Edgar-Jones had been dating her boyfriend Tom Varey since 2018, but according to the British press they’ve called in quits and she’s focusing on her career in the wake of the success of Normal People. Varey is a fellow actor who is better known for his work in the UK but had previously appeared in a small role on Game of Thrones.
Karrueche Tran, the 32-year-old Claws actress, and Victor Cruz, the 34-year-old former NFL players, had made quite the stylish couple for the past three years. They were regularly spotted on red carpets and in front rows, but word leaked in early February that the pair had split.
Rebel Wilson, the 40-year-old Australian comedian, and Jacob Busch, a 29-year-old heir to the Anheuser-Busch fortune, weren’t shy about making their relationship very public during their year together. Though, the relationship ended abruptly, reportedly after Wilson realized he just wasn’t the one.
When TMZ revealed that Tim Robbins had filed divorce papers in January it surprised just about everyone, as the public wasn’t even aware he had gotten married since his 2009 split from Susan Sarandon (that pair, famously, never formally tied the knot). Robbins, 62, had apparently been quietly married to the younger, Romanian-born Gratiela Brancusi for around three years before the divorce report hit.
According to various sources, actor Elliot Page, 33, filed for divorce from his spouse Emma Portner, a 26-year-old dancer, in a New York court on Tuesday, January 26th. The pair originally announced that they had secretly married in January, 2018, but never specified when the nuptials occurred. The couple was first linked in 2017.
“After much thought and careful consideration, we have made the difficult decision to divorce following our separation last summer,” read a joint statement released to The Hollywood Reporter. “We have the utmost respect for each other and remain close friends.”
Ben Affleck, 48, and Ana de Armas, 32, were perhaps the first new celebrity couple to debut shortly after parts of America first entered lockdown back in March, and tracking paparazzi photos of the couple doing mundane things like walking their dogs and juggling cups of Dunkin iced coffee became something of a national obsession. The pair never even walked a red carpet together, but their relationship quickly became more documented than many other celebrity couples who do. Something about the former Batman and the Cuban-born Bond Girl and on-the-rise actress together seemed so positively random—we were all transfixed. Rumors of a split first emerged in late 2020, but it wasn’t until January 18th until the tabloids got the official confirmation. The word now is that there’s no huge drama, they’re just in different places in their lives. Though, the world still awaits the film Deep Water, an erotic thriller, in which the two co-star. De Armas will also appear on screens soon as Marilyn Monroe in the highly anticipated film Blonde.
Luke Evans, the 41-year-old star of Beauty and the Beast and a recurring member of the Fast & Furious ensemble, first went Instagram official with Rafa Olarra, an art director, in February 2020, breaking tradition for an actor who had tended to keep his personal life quiet. Over the past year, the couple seemed to hit up beaches around the globe often with little more than Speedos and smiles, but fans noticed that the posts came to a stop in October with Evans unfollowing Olarra. Evans eventually confirmed the split in January, telling The Times’ Saturday Review, “It is what it is.”
Margaret Qualley, 26, and Shia LaBeouf, 34, began dating late last year, but quickly broke up after several of LaBeouf’s exes publicly accused him of abusive behavior.
Zoë Kravitz, 32, and actor Karl Glusman, 33, first started dating in 2016, and the couple, each with enviable cheekbones, married at a star-studded wedding at Kravitz’s father Lenny’s Paris home in 2019. Though, it was made public that Kravitz filed for divorce during the holidays on the second day of 2021, and little is known about the separation.
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Famous Person - Divorce
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U.S. aims at China, Russia in military exercises
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Aug. 6—A new Navy exercise focused on countering China and Russia in the European and Indo-Pacific theaters—perhaps at the same time—is underway, testing the ability to synchronize five fleets and three Marine expeditionary forces across 17 time zones while also employing fast-moving war-fighting concepts to combat adversary missile advances. Large Scale Exercise 2021 signals "to our competitors (that ) the U.S. military remains ready for the high end of warfare expressly because of its global commitments, rather than in spite of them, " the Navy's Sixth Fleet said in a release. At about the same time, U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, headquartered on Oahu, is running Large Scale Global Exercise 21 incorporating Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps forces alongside elements from the United Kingdom, Australia and Japan. The global tests come with escalating challenges from Russia and China and are meant to be a sign of greater resolve to protect U.S. interests. Sixth Fleet, headquartered in Naples, Italy, said LSE 2021 is the first naval and amphibious large-scale exercise conducted since the Ocean Venture NATO exercises launched in 1981 during the Cold War. Those exercises simultaneously demonstrated NATO resolve and simulated new U.S. maritime capabilities, the Navy said. "The intent is the same for LSE 2021 within the context of modern warfare and during an era of strategic competition, " the Navy said. A 2018 Naval Historical Foundation article noted, "With the backing of President Reagan, the scheduled NATO exercise for late 1981, Ocean Venture, took on more aggressive objectives, signaling to the Soviet Union that if the balloon went up, American and NATO naval forces would not be passive." LSE is part of Large Scale Global Exercise 21, said Lt. Corey Jones, a spokesman for U.S. Pacific Fleet. The Carl Vinson Carrier Strike Group deployed Monday from San Diego, headed west for participation in Large Scale Exercise 2021, which runs through Aug. 16, before continuing in support of "global maritime security operations, " the Navy said. The voyage marks the first operational deployment of a carrier strike group with the advanced capabilities of the F-35C Lightning II and CMV-22B Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft, according to the service. The strike group of more than 7, 000 sailors includes the Hawaii-based destroyers USS Chafee and USS Michael Murphy as well as the destroyers USS Dewey, USS Higgins, USS O'Kane, USS Stockdale and cruiser USS Lake Champlain. Prior to deploying, the strike group completed training in the Hawaiian Islands operating area with land-based Marine Corps, Air Force and Coast Guard aircraft, as well as operations with Coast Guard cutters. Meanwhile, the Navy, using a "Coral Sea " identifying location off the northeast coast of Australia, announced that the USS America expeditionary strike group is conducting operations this week alongside Australia's HMAS Canberra and HMAS Ballarat and Japan's JS Makinami as part of a "combined and joint battle problem " under Large Scale Global Exercise 21, which runs through Aug. 27. "Throughout numerous locations in the Indo-Pacific region, LSGE 21 will include a field training exercise, logistical and support activities, amphibious landings, land force maneuvers, urban operations, air operations, maritime operations and special operations forces activities to allow U.S. forces to train with allies and partners, " Jones said. BBC News reported that China warned Britain's HMS Queen Elizabeth aircraft carrier strike group not to carry out any "improper acts " when it recently entered the contested South China Sea, with the South China Morning Post saying the ship group did not sail close to China's man-made islands. China's hawkish Global Times responded to the "large scale " exercises by saying that "if it wants to confront China and Russia simultaneously, the U.S. does not have such capability." It said China announced its own naval exercises today to Tuesday in the South China Sea that will "serve as a response to the recent provocations, " and noted a drill last year in which the People's Liberation Army test-fired a "carrier killer " anti-ship ballistic missile. A Chinese professor visiting Los Angeles early this month fought off an attacker using martial arts in an incident that has gone viral across Chinese media. Martial arts hero: Zhou Pigai, a professor at Xiangtan University in Hunan, China, fought off an armed robbery attempt on Nov. 1, according to state-run news outlet China Daily. Pigai came to Los Angeles on Oct. 31 to attend an academic visiting program at the University of Southern California. A former NBA player has issued an apology after his daughter was seen at a youth basketball game in Orange County throwing a vicious sucker punch that left another girl with a concussion. Kesha ditched her clothes on Thursday as she communed with nature while on vacation in Hawaii For a hack that seems relatively simple, this little eyeliner trick has gone viral.View Entire Post › The rapper also pledged to offer full refunds to everyone who attended the concert. In an exclusive clip from Friday's "The Graham Norton Show," Howard said while Richie was "the undeniable lead," Winkler was "remarkable" as the Fonz. Paris Hilton and fiancé Carter Reum wed at a private estate in Los Angeles on Thursday Find out how many millions he's earning now. Fox NewsFox News anchor Harris Faulkner had her conspiratorial bubble surprisingly burst on Thursday by Ari Fleischer of all people, who unequivocally told her that President Joe Biden does actually control the White House.After spending an inordinate amount of her Thursday morning interview with the former Bush flack discussing the right-wing outrage du jour—that Vice President Kamala Harris supposedly used a French accent—Faulkner, who has long been touted by Fox News as one of its “straight n The Duchess of Sussex told reporters that she is "always proud" of her husband Richard Williams’ days of making a star may not be over. The ambitious father who turned his two daughters Venus and Serena Williams into tennis […] Jennifer Garner shares a photo of herself from 20 years ago, looking almost exactly the same. Julian Edelman summed up the Panthers signing Cam Newton on Thursday Bob Myers believes the Warriors will benefit from situations like the one between Draymond and Jordan Poole on the bench Wednesday. Steph had a great reaction as Anthony Edwards told him he was chasing a milestone in Wednesday night's Warriors-T-Wolves game. "Gotta hurt," one Trump critic tweeted after spotting the line. Pakistan skipper Babar Azam on Thursday described Hasan Ali as "a fighter" who will bounce back from dropping a catch off Matthew Wade in a key moment of the T20 World Cup semi-final which Australia won by five wickets on Thursday. Vermont has seen COVID-19 cases surge to their highest levels in the pandemic. Here's what health officials think is happening. On Wednesday, the 18-year-old broke down on the stand in a Kenosha, Wisconsin circuit court as he recounted the August 2020 shooting he was involved in that left two people dead and one injured during last year’s Black Lives Matter protests. Graeme Edge, the drummer and founding member of prog-rock veterans The Moody Blues, died on Nov. 11 at the age of 80. He was the last original member.
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Military Exercise
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Manchester Fuel Depot, Pentagon's largest gas station, endures critical test next week
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MANCHESTER — The military's largest gas station, located on the shores of south Kitsap County, is about to endure a test of its muster. Next week, convoys of Army trucks based at Joint Base Lewis-McCord will converge at the Manchester Fuel Depot to practice its wartime mission, if ever called upon, of distributing fuel and water across the country. The Army's Quartermaster Logistics Liquid Excercise 2021, conducted by the Army Reserve annually, will begin this year at the Manchester depot, part of Naval Base Kitsap. "They're gonna stage tankers, fuel them up, inspect them, and, once everybody's full, head out to the highway," said Brian Davis, a spokesman for the Naval Supply Systems Command. The trucks, working in convoys of four to 10 vehicles, will transport the fuel to military installations in the Puget Sound region. Locally, they'll follow a route of Beach Road, Beaver Creek Road, Woods Road, Mile Hill Drive, Long Lake Road and Sedgwick Road, also known as Highway 160. The military will use flaggers and other personnel to perform traffic control along the way as well. No roads will be closed during the exercise, which runs from June 14-23. The Manchester Fuel Depot happens to be the Pentagon's largest single-site fuel terminal in the United States, providing military-grade fuel, as well as lubricants and additives for vessels of the Navy, other military vehicles and even to other nations' militaries, including Canada. The depot stores approximately 1.8 million barrels of fuel, roughly 1,200 gas stations' worth, according to Kitsap Sun archives. The Manchester property dates back to 1889, when the U.S. War Department acquired the land to create harbor defenses in Puget Sound. The Puget Sound Naval Shipyard opened two years later, in 1891. During World War I, the property was used as a torpedo testing station and storage depot for oil and coal. It was established as a fuel depot run by the Navy in 1939. A project to replace all of the World War II-era fuel tanks at the depot is set to begin soon. The last such exercise was held at Manchester in 2017.
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Military Exercise
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France withdraws ambassadors to Australia and US over submarines deal
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Australia's Foreign Ministry says it "regrets" France's decision to immediately recall its ambassadors to Australia and the US in response to a new submarine deal.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said the ambassadors were recalled on request from President Emmanuel Macron, adding the decision was "justified by the exceptional seriousness of the announcements" made by the new AUKUS alliance between the US, Australia and the UK.
The pact meant Australia scrapped a $90 billion contract to buy French conventional submarines in favour of nuclear-powered subs built with US technology.
Mr Le Drian said the cancellation of the deal constituted "unacceptable behaviour between allies and partners, whose consequences directly affect the vision we have of our alliances, of our partnerships and of the importance of the Indo-Pacific for Europe".
Are you wondering why there's so much fuss about Australia's decision to acquire nuclear submarines? We've broken it down for you.
A spokesperson for Australia's Foreign Minister Marise Payne said the decision to end the deal "was taken in accordance with our clear and communicated national security interests".
"Australia values its relationship with France, which is an important partner and a vital contributor to stability, particularly in the Indo-Pacific. This will not change," the spokesperson said.
"We look forward to engaging with France again on our many issues of shared interest, based on shared values."
Liberal MP Jason Falinski suggested the recall may have been influenced by domestic political pressure in France.
"The French are about to go through an election season," he said.
"There is no doubt that this is what the French government needed to do to send a signal to their people that they are standing up for their interests and French companies.
"That is important, but the Australian government is driven by other considerations."
Shadow Foreign Minister Penny Wong said the Morrison Government had failed to do the "diplomatic legwork" with France before the deal was announced.
"This isn't the first time Mr Morrison has blindsided an international partner," Senator Wong said.
"It's about time Mr Morrison learnt to prioritise Australia's relationships and national interest over photo ops.
"France is a country with shared interest in our region."
US State Department spokesman Ned Price said in a statement that France was a "vital ally" and Washington was hoping to continue the discussion on the issue at the senior level in the coming days.
"France is a vital partner and our oldest ally, and we place the highest value on our relationship," he said.
A White House official said the United States regretted France's decision and would continue to be engaged in the coming days to resolve differences between the two countries.
A recall of ambassadors is highly unusual between allied countries.
In 2019, Paris recalled its envoy to neighbouring Italy after the country’s leaders made critical public comments about the French government.
Last year, France recalled its ambassador to Turkey after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Mr Macron needed mental health treatment.
Earlier, France said it was unable to trust Australia in ongoing talks on forging a trade deal with the EU.
Paris, which has called the Australian decision a "stab in the back", appeared to issue a threat that it could affect far-reaching trade talks.
"We're having trade negotiations with Australia," European Affairs Minister Clement Beaune told the France 24 news channel.
"I don't see how we can trust our Australian partners."
The European Commission, which negotiates trade deals on behalf of its member governments, and Australia this spring completed an 11th round of trade negotiations that began in 2018.
Last month the Australian government signed a $50 billion contract with the French company DCNS to build 12 new submarines.
The next round of the talks, which cover areas including trade, services, investment and intellectual property rights, is scheduled for this year.
The EU is Australia's third-biggest trading partner, with 2020 trade in goods valued at 36 billion euros ($58 billion) and at 26 billion euros in services.
France's Naval Group, partly owned by the state, had been chosen to build 12 conventionally powered submarines for Australia, based on France's Barracuda nuclear-powered subs in development.
The contract was worth about $50 billion when announced in 2016.
But US President Joe Biden, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Scott Morrison announced on Wednesday a new defence pact that would see Australia get a nuclear-powered submarine fleet, a privilege Washington has until now only reserved for Britain.
In an interview with the ABC on Friday, French Ambassador Jean-Pierre Thebault said he only learned of the Australian government's decision to tear up the contract with Naval Group through media reports.
"We were deliberately kept in the black," Mr Thebault said.
"We were deliberately ignored, and you can realise how deep we feel about such a thing."
Earlier on Friday, Mr Morrison rejected French criticism that it had not been warned, saying he had raised the possibility in talks with the French President that Australia might scrap the 2016 deal.
Mr Morrison acknowledged the damage to Australia-France ties but insisted he had told Mr Macron in June that Australia had revised its thinking.
"I made it very clear, we had a lengthy dinner there in Paris, about our very significant concerns about the capabilities of conventional submarines to deal with the new strategic environment we're faced with," Mr Morrison told Adelaide radio station 5AA.
Australia has announced a plan to make the Navy's next submarine fleet nuclear-powered. So what's so special about these subs — and why are we doing this?
Shadow Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus said the federal government must explain how it would repair "this important relationship" with France.
"The impact on our relationship with France is a concern particularly as it is a nation with important interests in our region," Mr Dreyfus said.
"The French were blind-sided by this decision and Morrison should have done much more to protect the relationship."
The French announcement came as Ms Payne was speaking at the American Enterprise Institute think tank in Washington.
She gave no sign she was aware of the move.
Referring to the submarine deal, Ms Payne said such commercial and strategic decisions were difficult to manage, but there was "no question" that France remained a valued ally.
"I absolutely understand the disappointment," she said.
"My task is to work as hard as I can … to make sure that they do understand the value we place on the role that they play and do understand the value we place on the bilateral relationship and the work we want to continue to do together."
We acknowledge Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the First Australians and Traditional Custodians of the lands where we live, learn, and work.
This service may include material from Agence France-Presse (AFP), APTN, Reuters, AAP, CNN and the BBC World Service which is copyright and cannot be reproduced.
AEST = Australian Eastern Standard Time which is 10 hours ahead of GMT (Greenwich Mean Time)
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Tear Up Agreement
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Lewiston-Auburn Shoe Strike
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The Lewiston–Auburn shoe strike of 1937 occurred in the cities of Lewiston, Maine and Auburn, Maine among textile workers, most of whom were of French-Canadian descent. The workers walked off the job on March 25, 1937 demanding higher pay, a shorter workweek, better working conditions and union representation. Shortly after the strike began, the manufacturers offered a 10% wage increase, which was refused by the Strikers. [1] By early April, 4,000 to 5,000 workers, including skilled and unskilled, were on strike. On April 21, workers and union organizers attempted to march across South Bridge (now Bernard Lown Peace Bridge), which connect Lewiston's Little Canada neighborhood and Auburn. Police and workers fought, including many women on the workers' side. Depicted in the Lewiston Evening Journal as 'Red Wednesday', Governor Lewis Barrows called in the Maine Army National Guard. [2] Overall, the strike ended with a loss for the workers on June 29, 1937. [3]
Powers Hapgood, the New England secretary for the Committee for Industrial Organization (CIO) at the time, arrived in Lewiston on March 12 to coordinate the strike. was jailed for two months for contempt of court for his role in continuing the strike in the wake of an injunction by a Maine Supreme Judicial Court justice forbidding strike activity. In 1992, Bates College professor Robert Branham made a 55-minute documentary about the strike called "Roughing the Uppers: the Great Shoe Strike of 1937". [4]
Labor historian Charles Scontras said of the strike, "In the shoe strike, the wholesale violation of civil liberties prompted the American Civil Liberties Union to state that 'Maine is at least 100 years behind the time in labor laws'. "[5]
In 2008, a mural depicting the history of Maine's workers, including a depiction of the Lewiston–Auburn shoe strike, was commissioned by Maine Arts Commission and put on display in the Maine Department of Labor. In March 2011, recently elected Republican Governor Paul LePage ordered the mural taken down, creating statewide controversy. [6]
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Strike
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2018 Georgian protests
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The 2019-2020 Georgian protests, also known as Gavrilov's Night or Protests in Georgia (Georgian: გავრილოვის ღამე), refers to a series of anti-government and fresh election-demanding protests in the country of Georgia. The protests began on June 20, 2019, in front of the Parliament of Georgia. The protests launched after Sergei Gavrilov (Russian: Сергей Анатольевич Гаврилов), a Communist Party member of the Russian Duma who was visiting through the Interparliamentary Assembly on Orthodoxy, sat in a chair reserved by protocol for the Head of Parliament. [1] He delivered a speech in Russian extolling the Orthodox brotherhood of Georgia and Russia. Earlier that week, Gavrilov had voted in favor of the independence of Abkhazia. [2]
Following Gavrilov's actions, the Georgian opposition, mainly members of the European Georgia and United National Movement, blocked the speaker and called for protests that demanded the government's resignation. [3][4][5] As night fell, protests escalated into clashes between riot police and a group of protesters near the parliament entrance, although the crowd was largely nonviolent. During the midnight hours, Georgian law enforcement used tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse protesters without any prior warning. Approximately 240 demonstrators were injured and 305 protesters were arrested. At least two people experienced eye injuries and loss of vision due to rubber bullets, according to Giorgi Kordzakhiya, director of Tbilisi's New Hospital. [6] The government accused protesters of attempting to storm the parliament building. Protests continued on next days demanding the resignation of government officials responsible for police actions, including the MIA of Georgia Giorgi Gakharia, and introduction of fully proportional election system instead of the existing semi-proportional. Protests calmed down after on June 24 the head of the ruling Georgian Dream Party, Bidzina Ivanishvili, partly satisfied demands of protesters by announcing a change to the electoral system. [1][7][8] However, minor protests continued demanding the resignation of Giorgi Gakharia. Major protests renewed on November 13 after the Georgian Dream failed the promised electoral reform. [9] On November 18, 20,000[10] people gathered in the center of Tbilisi demanding the resignation of government. Protesters blocked entrance to parliament and prevented legislative session from taking place. Riot police dispersed protests using water cannon, resulting in injury of 4 protesters and 2 policemen. [11] On November 25 police had to use water cannon again in order to clear the parliament entrance, leaving 3 protesters heavily injured. Following the protests of June 20–21, 2019, Irakli Kobakhidze, Georgia's Chairman of Parliament, announced his resignation. After mass demonstrations on June 24 in Tbilisi, the head of the ruling Georgian Dream Party, Bidzina Ivanishvili, announced a change to the electoral system from a mixed to proportional representation for the 2020 elections and lowering the vote barrier for parties. [1][7][8]
On June 26, Nika Melia, an opposition leader and United National Movement MP was charged with organizing, managing or participating in group violence during the protests. [1][12] The Georgian parliament suspended his parliamentary immunity, allowing his detention if necessary. On June 28 he was released on bail. Court decision banned Melia from leaving home without previously informing law enforcers, making public statements in public areas and communicating with witnesses. His passport was confiscated and he was obliged to wear an electronic bracelet to be monitored. [13][14]
On July 4 Prosecutor's Office of Georgia classified events of June 20 as a "coup d'état". [15]
Russian president Vladimir Putin signed a decree to suspend passenger flights carrying Russian citizens from Russia to Georgia, effective July 8. [16][17] Russia's Federal Service for Surveillance on Consumer Rights Protection and Human Well-being increased quality controls on Georgian wine and mineral water, seen as linked to the escalation in tensions. [1][18][19]
President Salome Zourabichvili shortened her visit to Belarus to attend the opening ceremony of the 2019 European Games and to meet with President Alexander Lukashenko following the beginning of the protests. In an interview with Euronews, Zourabichvili called for a "de-escalation" in the situation while also blaming Russia for stirring up a "fifth column" in the country that is loyal to Moscow. [20] Russian Prime Minister Dimitry Medvedev denied these claims by saying it is a "distortion of reality". [21] Zourabichvili also called on Russian tourists affected by the travel ban to keep coming to Georgia because "They love Georgia" and that "politicians must solve the problems". [22] Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov criticized her remarks as "ultra-extremist" in a statement on June 25. [23]
In July 2019, Russia denounced an expletive-laden attack on Vladimir Putin by Georgian TV host Giorgi Gabunia during a broadcast on Rustavi 2. [24]
On 8 September, Giorgi Gakharia became Prime Minister of Georgia. Between 14 and 25 November several Georgian dream MPs left the party, including 3 Conservative Party members consisting of: Zviad Dzidziguri, Gia Bukia and Nino Goguadze, Paata Kvijinadze remained in Georgian Dream however didn't leave the Conservatives, while Ruslan Gajiev defected to the Green Party and Mukhran Vakhtangadze to Georgian Dream proper. other MPs who left the party were: 1 member of the Green Party - Giorgi Begadze, along with 9 others, including – Tamar Chugoshvili, Tamar Khulordava, Mariam Jashi, Irina Pruidze, Dimitri Tskitishvili, Zaza Khutsishvili, Giorgi Mosidze, and Sofio Katsarava. Sofio Katsara also resigned as an MP. On 2 December, Akaki Zoidze resigned as an MP. On 10 December MP Aleksandre Erkvania left Georgian Dream.
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Protest_Online Condemnation
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Lady Gaga postpones Fenway Park concert until 2022
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By Kevin Slane Lady Gaga and her little monsters will have to wait another year to hang out under the Green Monster together. The Grammy-winning singer’s Aug. 7 concert at Fenway Park has been pushed back to 2022, along with the rest of her six-city Chromatica Ball Tour. “While some parts of the world are moving quickly to open up, others are not yet ready,” Gaga said in a statement. “So until we can confirm all global dates, we have to postpone The Chromatica Ball shows to the summer of 2022.” Gaga’s Fenway show was set to be one of only six shows on her worldwide stadium tour, along with dates in Paris (Stade de France), London (Tottenham Hotspur Stadium), Toronto (The Rogers Centre), Chicago (Wrigley Field), and East Rutherford (MetLife Stadium). The concert was originally slated to be held on Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2020, but was delayed due to the pandemic. According to a Red Sox spokesperson, the rescheduled date for Lady Gaga’s 2022 Fenway concert will be announced later. Patrons who have already purchased tickets through RedSox.com may request refunds at any time, and will be notified once a new date is chosen. Numerous shows as part of the Fenway Concert Series have been cancelled or postponed: The Motley Crüe/Def Leppard/Poison/Joan Jett & The Blackhearts show has been moved from July 17-18, 2021 to Aug. 5-6, 2022, while Aerosmith’s 50th anniversary show has been moved from Sept. 14, 2021 to Sept. 9, 2022. Previously scheduled shows from Dead & Company (originally on Aug. 7-8, 2020) and James Taylor/Brandi Carlile/Shawn Colvin (originally on June 21, 2020) were canceled outright with no rescheduled date currently in the works.
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Organization Closed
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Pollutants From Sri Lanka Shipwreck Likely to Stick Around for Years
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Plastics and chemicals that have washed up on local beaches could make their way into ocean currents, scientists warn. The MV X-Press Pearl being towed away from the coast of Colombo on June 2. Photographer: Ishara S. Kodiakara/AFP via Getty Images Contaminants released from the wreckage of a container ship off the coast of Sri Lanka could be dragged thousands of kilometers by ocean currents, impacting wildlife and humans in far-reaching latitudes. Authorities and salvage crews are now working to prevent the more than 300 metric tons of oil transported by the MV X-Press Pearl from spilling out of the ship’s fire-damaged hull. But significant damage has already been done. Chemicals and tiny plastic pellets that were once onboard the 186-meter vessel have already entered the ocean, causing one of Sri Lanka’s worst environmental disasters to date. “Oil, chemicals and plastic pellets are probably the worst combination you can have,” said Delphine Lobelle, a postdoctoral researcher specializing in ocean plastics at Utrecht University in the Netherlands. “It’s really unfortunate that the ship was carrying so many harmful materials.” Millions of plastic pellets have washed up on Sri Lanka’s southwestern coast, a tourist destination famous for its golden-sand beaches, fringed by palm trees and coconut groves. Debris from the vessel has already affected about 150 kilometers (93 miles) of shoreline, and the Singapore-based ship operator, X-Press Feeders Ltd., faces criminal charges for pollution, the Straits Times reported earlier this week. Images from the beaches in Colombo, Sri Lanka’s capital, show the sand covered in a layer of white plastic pellets and people in blue scrubs and white boots shoveling them in bags. Pellets the size of a grain of rice can easily be mistaken for food by birds or fish, Lobelle said, but consuming them can be deadly. If the animals don’t die and are instead eaten by predators, the plastics can move up the food chain until they eventually reach humans. With time, the pellets break into even smaller pieces, known as microplastics, which are even more difficult to detect and control. “The real danger of having plastic on a beach is if it’s brought back into the ocean by tides,” Lobelle said. “If it moves further offshore then it’s impossible to clean up. Currents spread plastic everywhere and there’s no way to collect it.” The ship was carrying 1,486 containers holding chemicals such as nitric acid, a highly corrosive mineral acid, methanol, sodium hydroxide and about 400 containers of small plastic pellets known as nurdles, according to ITOPF, a nonprofit set up by the shipping industry that’s assisting the Sri Lankan government in the emergency response to the incident. How many pellet containers have either burned or fallen off the ship isn’t clear, said ITOPF’s technical director Richard Johnson. At least four containers have washed ashore and many more are thought to have sunk. About 1,000 people are participating in cleanup efforts, Johnson said, with the rest of the city under a strict lockdown to prevent the spread of coronavirus. About 11 million metric tons of plastic find their way into oceans every year, causing damage to wildlife habitats, humans and animals, according to a report on ocean pollution last year. If no action is taken, plastic litter will almost triple by 2040 as humanity increases the use of hydrocarbon-based plastics, which don’t degrade naturally. The cumulative amount of plastic in the ocean could reach 600 million tons in 20 years’ time. Studies done by Ifremer, the French institute for research and exploitation of the seas, show that fish can actually expel small pieces of virgin plastic like the ones in the Sri Lanka shipwreck, according to project manager François Galgani. If local bacteria and plankton get stuck in the plastic and wash up in other countries and continents, it can disrupt existing ecosystems. That phenomenon occurred in the aftermath of the Fukushima disaster in Japan, said Galgani, who also advises the International Maritime Organization on shipping-related environmental issues. Some potential damage can be avoided by loading pellets at deck level or below instead of on top, according to Galgani. But ship owners tend to put these containers on top because they’re the cheapest load, and they leave the most expensive goods at the bottom. “We know that certain ship owners load ships with more containers than they should,” Galgani said. “Then captains throw the containers on top off board because they can endanger the safety of the whole ship.” Even if authorities manage to seal the oil containers aboard the X-Press Pearl, the fuel will remain at the bottom of the ocean and could start leaking any time. “Maybe a black tide doesn’t touch the Sri Lankan coast in the next days or months,” Galgani said. “But in 30, 40, or 50 years, there will be a leak, and the hydrocarbons will end up getting there. Even if it looks like the problem is fixed today, it's just pollution being delayed through time.”
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Shipwreck
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Buildup to super blood moon eclipses the finale
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by: NICK PERRY An airplane flies past as the full-moon sets over Santa Monica Beach in Santa Monica, Calif., Wednesday, May 26, 2021. The first total lunar eclipse in more than two years is coinciding with a supermoon for quite a cosmic show. (AP Photo/Ringo H.W. Chiu) WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — In the end, the buildup seemed to eclipse the finale. People across New Zealand and around the world stayed up Wednesday to watch a cosmic event called a super blood moon, a combination of a total lunar eclipse and a brighter-than-usual supermoon. During the buildup, a glittering moon rose above the horizon. As the Earth’s shadow began taking bites from the moon, it created a dramatic effect. Half the moon vanished, leaving it looking like a black-and-white cookie. When the full eclipse took hold, however, the moon darkened, turning a smudgy burnt orange color for many viewers. In celestial terms, it was a wonder: a projection of the world’s sunsets and sunrises onto the black canvas of the eclipsed moon. But for people peering up from their backyards, it wasn’t quite the brilliant display they’d anticipated. Not quite super or blood-colored. “It was not that vivid for those on ground,” said Ben Noll, a meteorologist with New Zealand scientific research agency NIWA. “Personally, I thought there would be a bit more red in the sky.” Still, Noll thought that overall, the evening was sensational. He heard plenty of people cheering and cars honking in downtown Auckland where he watched it all unfold. John Rowe, an educator at the Stardome Observatory & Planetarium in Auckland, said it was like the moon turned into a big, spooky smile looking down at him. That’s because of a bright rim that remained at the bottom. Rowe also enjoyed seeing surrounding stars appear to brighten as the light from the moon dimmed. The full eclipse lasted about 15 minutes, while the whole cosmic show lasted five hours. A partial eclipse began as the moon edged into the Earth’s outer shadow, called the penumbra, before moving more fully into the main shadow and then reversing the process. Rowe likes to imagine it as if he’s standing on the moon. The Earth would come across and block out the sun. The reddish light around the edges would be the sunsets and sunrises happening at that time on Earth, projected onto the moon’s surface. Pretty cool, he reckons. The color of the moon during the total eclipse can appear different depending on where people are in the world, and by factors like the amount of dust in the atmosphere and global weather. In much of New Zealand, the weather remained calm and clear on Wednesday, providing excellent viewing conditions. The same was true in Australia, although those in South Korea struck out because rain and cloudy weather across much of the country obscured the eclipse. There also was disappointment in Japan because of cloudy weather, with many posting messages like “I can’t see anything” on Twitter. Some places in the Pacific and East Asia got to see the show before midnight, while night owls in Hawaii and the western part of North America got to watch it in the early morning hours. Sky gazers along the U.S. East Coast were out of luck because the moon was setting and the sun rising. Europe, Africa and western Asia all missed out as well. In Anchorage, Alaska, Doug Henie didn’t know what to expect from his first lunar eclipse. He and his wife saw just a sliver of the moon as they drove to a prime viewing spot, on a hill off a winding road between Cook Inlet and the Anchorage airport. Once they arrived, he set up his camera as the eclipse neared totality just after 3 a.m. local time, when it looked more like dusk than night. That’s because Anchorage had more than 18 hours of sunlight on Wednesday. “It’s kind of cool,” Henie said. “I was kind of hoping to see a little more action, I guess, but now it’s lightened up. The light is certainly coming back.” In Hong Kong, Dickson Fu left work early to watch the eclipse from a seaside promenade in the Sai Kung neighborhood. Fu, who is president of Hong Kong’s Sky Observers’ Association, picked that particular spot because it would give him an unobstructed view. “In recent years I’m more interested in taking photos, and in the past few days I have already done rehearsals, testing out equipment such as the camera and lenses,” said Fu. For those living in places where the eclipse wasn’t visible, there were livestreams available. And everyone around the world got to see the bright moon, weather permitting. It was the first total lunar eclipse in more than two years. The moon was more than 220,000 miles (357,460 kilometers) away at its fullest. This proximity, combined with a full moon, that qualified it as a supermoon, making it appear slightly bigger and more brilliant in the sky.
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New wonders in nature
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A man died and three emergency responders were injured in a reported explosion at a house in Maynard, Massachusetts, Thursday evening.
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A man died and three emergency responders were injured in a reported explosion at a house in Maynard, Massachusetts, Thursday evening. Maynard firefighters arrived around 4:10 p.m. after the town's Communications Center received a call about a gas-like smell coming from the Park Street home. The caller was uncertain if it was gas or carbon monoxide.
Fire Chief Anthony Stowers said crews found smoke coming from the front and side windows of the house. After entering the home, firefighters found the victim dead in the basement. In-depth news coverage of the Greater Boston Area.
Two Maynard police officers and a firefighter were also injured in the blaze, the fire chief said. They were taken by ambulance to an area hospital with injuries that are believed to be non-life threatening. No other information was provided, but the state fire marshal said they are expected to recover. Dozens of Eversource workers were on scene Thursday night and Friday morning, digging a hole in front of the home. Fire officials said Friday evening the utility was inspecting supply lines throughout the town as a precaution. The state fire marshal's office is investigating. "We are deeply saddened by the tragic loss of a resident and the injuries suffered by the emergency responders in the Park Street fire yesterday," Eversource said in a statement. "We will remain in the area to continue monitoring and will work with state and local agencies as we investigate what happened."
Fire officials did not say if anyone else was home at the time flames broke out, but neighbors tell NBC10 Boston that a lovely couple has lived there for over 40 years.
“I’m just so heartbroken for them. This is their life, this is their home, this is them and in a second it’s gone," said Libbie Pilsch, who lives across the street. "They are amazing!"
“Super friendly," her husband Mark added. "We were very close with them.”
Pilsch made a second call to 911, and crews rushed to the scene, but it was too late.
“I was on the phone and I heard a big explosion and I said to my friend I have to go,” Pilsch recalled. "I ran out in my stocking feet with my phone and called 911 right away.”
Blown-out windows were thrust across the street and flames engulfed the home.
“Smoke started coming out. Then flames," Pilsch said. "The flames were so intense that I could feel the heat in my house. I had to shut all the windows and everything.”
Aerial footage showed what appeared to be a massive response to the home, with at least six parked ladder trucks and more than a dozen firefighters out front. The Maynard Fire Department said it received mutual aid from multiple surrounding towns, including Concord, Acton, Stow, Hudson, Lincoln, Wayland, Boxborough and Sudbury.
The fire chief acknowledged the person's death was likely to affect nearby neighbors.
“This is a tight knit community," Stowers said. "I’m sure there’s going to be a lot of upset people. Rightfully so.”
The victim's name has not been released, and there was no immediate word on what caused the fatal blaze. It is under investigation by the Maynard Fire Department and the State Police Fire and Explosion Investigation Unit assigned to the State Fire Marshal's office and the Middlesex District Attorney.
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Gas explosion
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Attack of the Japanese beetles: Eradicating them the safe and ...
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Listen now to WTOP News WTOP.com | Alexa | Google Home | WTOP App | 103.5 FM
WASHINGTON — Josefine over in Boyds has met the Beatles. Well, the Japanese beetles, that is. She writes: “They are turning my Japanese maple into a lacy-leafed mess! Using something like Spectracide to kill them is not an option, as lots of hummingbirds use this tree to access their nectar feeders. What can I do?”
Well, the first thing to do when Japanese beetles or other members of the scarab beetle family attack is to take down any Japanese beetle traps in the area. The lures on these traps are so effective at attracting the brightly-colored beetles that they can easily quadruple the number of evil insects swarming into your backyard.
If you want to use the traps correctly, place them at the far outskirts of your property, where they can intercept the beetles far away from your desired plantings. Or, even better, give traps to all your neighbors.
Step two: In the world of safe and sane pest control, spraying poisons such as Spectracide is never an option. Instead, blast the beetles or other insects off the plants they’re attacking with sharp streams of plain water. Set your hose nozzle to fire its absolute sharpest stream, and knock the beetles right out of the tree or off of whatever plant they’re attacking. Do this first thing in the morning, not the evening.
Studies have consistently shown that these non-toxic H2O knockdowns are just as effective as insecticides — and much more emotionally satisfying.
The best modern sprays for beetle battles
Josefine wants to beat the beetles eating her Japanese maple without using anything that will harm her abundant nearby hummingbird population.
Well, Jo, two organic insecticides (substances approved for use in certified organic agriculture) are very effective: Neem, which comes from the seed of a tropical tree, and spinosads, a group of naturally occurring soil organisms. Both act as feeding deterrents — insects that eat a little bit of the sprayed leaves should lose their appetite. If they continue to eat anyway, they die.
Just be sure to only spray the leaves of the tree and be careful not to get any spray on nearby flowers. Spinosads are harmless to humans and other non-insects, but can be toxic to bees for the first few hours after application.
And cover those hummingbird feeders or move them temporarily to another area when you spray, just to be on the safe side.
Maybe your beetles just need a good wash and wax
Two other completely non-toxic products are highly effective against Japanese beetles and other blatantly visible pests. Now, once again, I would always start with a knock-down spray of sharp streams of plain water early one morning.
The next morning, I would spray any remaining beetles (that I couldn’t reach to satisfyingly squish) with either insecticidal soap or horticultural oil designed for use in the summertime. But not dormant oil, which is only for use in the winter. Professionally made insecticidal soaps and oils smother any pests they hit, and are extremely safe for people, pets, and plants.
Just don’t hit any bees or other good bugs directly with the spray. There’s no residual action with soaps and oils, You only kill the pests you soak with the spray.
Oh, and don’t worry about the long-term health of the attacked tree. Its leaves have had enough time to photosynthesize the energy they need to regrow next season, when it’s hoped the beetles won’t be so bad. And some feeding by insects is actually good for most plants, as it naturally stimulates new growth.
Cut your lawn correctly to cut future beetle attacks
Josefine also wisely wants to know what she can do to limit future problems.
“When is the most effective time to apply grub control products? Fall or early spring? she asks
Well first, let’s follow the life cycle of your foe, Jo. The beetles now feasting on area plants will soon begin mating, and the females will then be on the lookout for lawns that are scalped and sopping wet.
Females Japanese beetles lay their eggs in turf grass, and you can do two things to deter them from using your lawn as their nursery. One is to let the lawn dry out in between waterings — the beetles won’t lay eggs in soil that’s dry at the surface.
Lawns with automatic sprinkler systems that water daily are at the biggest risk of beetle grub damage. Their soil is always attractively moist at the surface.
The other is to never cut lower than 3 inches. Female beetles won’t try and fight their way through a thick and healthy turf. And, of course, a 3-inch cut and infrequent watering are also the biggest keys to having a great-looking lawn in general.
Best non-toxic grub controls for spring and fall
But Josefine is still waiting to learn whether to apply grub control products in fall or early spring.
Well, Jo, if you mean a water-polluting, highly-toxic chemical grub control, the answer is never. They’re terrible for you and the environment, and they prevent natural grub controls from working.
Now, the nasty crescent-shaped grub form of Japanese and other scarab beetles is at its largest and hungriest in the late summer. That’s when feeding by Japanese beetle grubs can really destroy the roots of a lawn.
It’s also the perfect time to apply milk spore disease. A naturally occurring soil organism that’s deadly only to beetle grubs, milky spore is only effective when grubs are actively feeding in warm soil, which occurs throughout August and September. Although stores display and sell it in the spring, milky spore disease doesn’t work when applied in the spring, as the soil is too cold and the grubs aren’t feeding.
Get the timing right, shun chemical grub killers and with one application of milky spore your lawn could be grub-free for years to come.
In the spring, beneficial nematodes are the treatment of choice. These microscopic predators seek out and tunnel into grubs before they can become rose-wrecking armored adults — but they don’t bother earthworms or other good soil-dwellers.
Typically acquired via mail-order (because they have a short shelf life, be sure to check expiration dates if you find them at retail), beneficial nematodes come in packages of several million that are the size of a small sponge. You open their sealed container, drop the sponge that’s keeping them alive into a watering can and water them into your pre-watered turf in the evening — after the spring soils have warmed up but before any adult beetles are active — just in time to plant tomatoes and peppers outdoors.
Follow @WTOP on Twitter and WTOP on Facebook .
Related News
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Insect Disaster
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wfp: The United Nations is now warning another 3 million people “wobble at the edge of famine”
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Defense: India and Russia are considering holding a “2 + 2” dialogue in parallel with the Modi Putin summit This number has increased from 42 million earlier this year to 27 million in 2019, the agency said in a news release. This increase, along with other increases in Ethiopia, Haiti, Somalia, Angola, Kenya and Burundi, is based on people desperately living within the official starvation classification of IPC4 and above in Afghanistan. “Ten millions of people are looking into the abyss. Conflicts, climate change, and COVID-19 are boosting the number of people who are on the rise. According to the latest data, more than 45 million people are currently in crisis. I’m on the verge of hunger. ” He was speaking following a fact-finding mission to Afghanistan. There, WFP is stepping up its support to help about 23 million people in need there. “Fuel costs are rising, food prices are rising, fertilizers are becoming more expensive, all of which have led to new crises such as those currently occurring in Afghanistan and long-standing emergencies such as Yemen and Syria. “There is,” he added. WFP is working with humanitarian partners in hunger hotspots around the world to do everything possible to increase aid to millions of people at risk of hunger. Said. However, with the traditional funding flow being very tense, the resources available cannot keep up with demand. WFP estimates that the cost of avoiding famine globally has risen from about $ 6.6 billion earlier this year to $ 7 billion today. “As the cost of humanitarian aid rises exponentially, we need more money to reach families around the world who have already exhausted their ability to cope with extreme hunger,” added the WFP chief. rice field. Officials said families facing severe food insecurity were forced to “catastrophically make a catastrophic choice to deal with growing hunger.” According to a vulnerability analysis in 43 countries surveyed, families are forced to eat less or skip meals altogether. Children are sometimes fed while parents are forced to sacrifice food and become hungry. In Madagascar, where famine pockets are already a reality, some are forced to eat locusts, wild leaves, or cacti to survive. wfp: The United Nations is now warning another 3 million people “wobble at the edge of famine” Source link wfp: The United Nations is now warning another 3 million people “wobble at the edge of famine”
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Famine
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Nyasaland Famine 1949
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The Nyasaland Famine 1949 was a famine that occurred in the Shire Highlands in the Southern Province of Nyasaland (now Malawi) and also in a part of the Central Province in 1949: its effects extended into the early part of 1950. The immediate cause was severe droughts in December 1948 to January 1949 and in March 1949 that destroyed much of the maize crop on which the people of the affected areas relied during its main growing season. This followed two years of erratic rainfall and poor harvests which had depleted the reserves in farmers’ granaries. The effect of crop failure was intensified by the failure of the colonial government to maintain a suitably large emergency grain reserve, delays in importing sufficient relief supplies and its requirement that most of the relief provided was paid for by its recipients. The official death toll from starvation was some 200 people, which may be an underestimate, and it excludes those dying of diseases exacerbated by malnutrition. [1]
There is significant disagreement on the underlying causes of the famine. At first, it was blamed on over-intensive cultivation causing soil erosion and on growing tobacco rather than food crops. [2] Later, colonial underdevelopment through land expropriation, levying rents and taxes on African farmers and underpaying them for their labour and produce was suggested. [3] More recently, attention has been focussed to the uneven economic and social development of the protectorate in the 1930s and 1940s. This created, firstly, an increased number of employees and tradesmen, who needed to buy their food but who were dependent on the uncertain surpluses arising the system of subsistence agricultural because few farmers produced food primarily for the market rather than their own consumption, and governmental marketing organisations that, far from providing incentives for the production of maize, underpaid those farmers that did grow it commercially. In addition, a range of social changes created an underclass of those without adequate access to farmland or secure employment, vulnerable in times of food shortage: this included many women. [4]
Throughout the colonial period, the main subsistence crop of the upland areas that formed much of Nyasaland was maize, which had been introduced from Mozambique, probably starting from the 18th century, and which largely supplanted the previous staple cereals sorghum and millet in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. [5] By the end of the colonial era, maize accounted for 60% of the areas planted with food crops, providing Nyasaland's inhabitants with over half their calories. [6] Very few cattle were kept in the Shire Highlands, although many smallholders kept a few sheep or goats and most had at least some chickens. [7]
The traditional maize grown in 1949 was late-maturing variety, requiring at least five to eight centimetres of rainfall in each of the first three months of growth, and a further month to ripen. [8] The Shire Highlands generally meets these conditions throughout the normal five-month growing season but, as maize cultivation was mostly rain-fed, variations in the annual rainfall led to substantial fluctuation in crop production[9]
Most of Nyasaland's rain was generated when the Intertropical Convergence Zone passed over the country, usually between November one year and March the next year, but the amount of rainfall varied under the influence of the El Niño–Southern Oscillation and other climate anomalies. [10] Regional climatic studies have identified an intense episode of drought throughout Southern Africa between 1946 and 1949. This caused widespread famine in South Africa and Southern Rhodesia in 1947 and less severe droughts in Nyasaland in 1947 and 1948 that led to poor harvests in those years. The severe famine in southern Malawi in 1949 was probably the last phase of this episode of drought. [11][12]
In the 1940s, Nyasaland smallholders relied on hand hoeing, and a farming family which included two able-bodied adults whose main crop was maize could cultivate 4.5 to 5 acres of land (2.0 hectares) a year; single women were barely able to farm one hectare without assistance. Around 1949, average maize yields were 0.4 ton to an acre (equivalent to 0.9 tonne a hectare). [13] Pressure on access to land increased from the 1940s: even those with access to sufficient arable land might suffer seasonal hunger before harvests, and occasionally endure more serious food shortages in years of inadequate rainfall. Other family units with less land or labour available were frequently at risk of hunger. [14]
About 70% of African smallholders in the Shire Highlands occupied Native Trust Land, for which they paid no rent. This amounted to around 50% of the land in that area and, as the local population increased, Native Trust Land became congested, and much of it was used for almost continuous maize monocropping without crop rotation or fallow. [15] Only those with larger holdings could grow significant amounts of cash crops, and tobacco, the one cash crop widely grown with government encouragement in the Central Province, was less suited to the wetter Shire Highlands, so its cultivation was not encouraged there. [16][17]
The other 30% of African farmers were tenants on European-owned estates. These estates occupied almost 700,000 acres (280,000 hectares) in the Shire Highlands or about 50% of the available land, including much of the most fertile land in this area. [18][19] Estate tenants owed rent, originally satisfied by a form of labour service called thangata, but by 1949 it was normally paid either in cash or by delivering specified quantities of tobacco or other cash crops to the landowner. [20] Although there was a significant amount of available land on these estates and rural landlessness was rare, the obligation to produce cash crops to pay rent reduced the areas of land and amount of labour that could be devoted to growing the tenants' own food crops. [21]
Before the Second World War, little was done in Nyasaland to encourage the commercial production and distribution of food. Although town dwellers needed to purchase their food, little was grown for sale rather than subsistence, as towns were few and small and transport was expensive. It was left to African smallholders and tenants sell their surpluses on local markets and for small-scale African entrepreneurs to distribute food over limited areas. In normal years, most farmers had only small surpluses to sell in local markets. In addition, government policies that paid artificially low prices for the maize which it bought acted as a disincentive to its production for sale. [22]
The Nyasaland government made a number of wartime emergency regulations to control agricultural production, and it made some of these permanent in the post-war period. In 1947, it set up a Maize Control Board, aiming to ensure supplies of maize were maintained for over 67,000 workers and town dwellers in the Southern Province and the others elsewhere who were unable to grow their own food. However, it was underfunded, it paid very low prices for the maize it bought and it was reluctant to promote higher maize production for the home market or for export on the grounds of the cost of purchasing and storing it. [23]
The Maize Control Board aimed to handle only around 5% of the national crop and to set up a small grain reserve. However, as its first two years of operation coincided with the poor harvests of1947 and 1948, it only managed to buy around 2% of the crop in those two years, and was unable to establish any reserve. [24][25] After the famine, the Board more than doubled the price it paid for maize and handled from 7% of the maize crop in 1951, rising to over 10% of an increased crop in 1952. [26][27]
Although seasonal hunger before crops were ready to harvest was common in Nyasaland, famine was relatively infrequent in the Shire Highlands during the century after 1850, and the area was sometimes a refuge for those fleeing famine from nearby areas of Mozambique. [28] One drought recorded by early missionaries was in the years 1861 to 1863, which coincided with a time of acute political upheaval that dislocated agriculture, and another occurred in 1922. [29]
The 1949 famine occurred in an area of Nyasaland undergoing rapid economic change in the period after the Second World War. Blantyre District was not simply an area of subsistence farming but one of growing employment in the adjacent towns of Blantyre and Limbe, on European-owned tobacco or tea estates or as migrant labour in the Rhodesias and South Africa. Many local African smallholders grew cash crops, mainly tobacco, and farm land was becoming congested and under pressure to produce enough food crops for a growing urban and rural population. The population of Blantyre District was becoming differentiated and much of it, urban and rural, relied on cash earnings to purchase some or all of their food needs. [30]
The 1949 famine was most severe in the Lunzu and Lirangwe areas of Blantyre District, north of Blantyre city, and was an experience beyond the memory of all except the oldest inhabitants who remembered the 1922 famine. Serious food shortages also occurred in Dedza and Port Herald (Nsanje) districts in that year. [31]
The rainfall in 1947 and 1948 had been erratic,[32] and in 1947 swarms of locusts had destroyed crops.
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Famine
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Guelph police release images relating to armed bank robbery investigation
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Guelph police are asking the public to help identify the person in this image. (Source: Guelph Police Service) (Jan. 10, 2020) Police respond to an armed bank robbery in Guelph (Terry Kelly / CTV News Kitchener) KITCHENER -- Guelph police have released images relating to an armed bank robbery and are asking the public if they can identify the person in the picture. The incident happened around 5:20 p.m. Friday at a bank on Stone Road West near Scottsdale Drive. Officials say a male went into the bank with a gun and demanded money. He fled the scene with an undisclosed amount of cash. No one was injured in the incident. The male suspect is described as white with an average build. He was wearing a black hoodie, black pants, black boots and was carrying a tan backpack. On Saturday morning, police made a specific call to anyone who may have dash camera footage of the Stone Road and Scottsdale Drive area from Friday around 5 p.m. On Sunday evening, they asked the public to help identify the person in an image they released. Anyone with information is asked to contact police or Crime Stoppers. Police respond to an armed bank robbery in Guelph (Terry Kelly / CTV News Kitchener) Guelph police are asking the public to help identify the person in this image. (Source: Guelph Police Service) (Jan. 10, 2020) Police respond to an armed bank robbery in Guelph (Terry Kelly / CTV News Kitchener) Guelph police are asking the public to help identify the person in this image. (Source: Guelph Police Service) (Jan. 10, 2020)
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Bank Robbery
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2019 Johannesburg riots
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The 2019 Johannesburg riots occurred in the South African city of Johannesburg from 1–5 September 2019, leading to the deaths of at least seven people. The riots were xenophobic in nature, targeting foreign nationals from the rest of Africa. Retaliatory actions by rioters in other African nations was taken against South African brands. The South African Institute of Race Relations stated that the riots were similar in nature and origin to the 2008 xenophobic riots that also occurred in Johannesburg.
The riot resumed in Johannesburg on the 8 September 2019, when rioters marched on the central business district and looted shops whilst calling for foreigners to go.
On 1 September 2019, riots and looting targeting shops owned by foreign nationals broke out in Jeppestown and Johannesburg CBD following the death of a taxi driver allegedly for trying to stop drug dealers. By 3 September, around 189 people had reportedly been arrested by police for looting. 423 have been arrested by 5 September and President Cyril Ramaphosa stated that at least ten people were confirmed to have died, including two foreign nationals. The looting meanwhile spread to the township of Alexandra.
Around 50 businesses predominantly owned by Africans from the rest of the continent were reportedly destroyed or damaged during the incident. The mosque located in the Jozi Mall was attacked and copies of Quran were defiled, while every shop in the mall was looted. In Katlehong, residents placed barriers on the roads before looting the Sontonga Mall, stated the Guanteng Police.
Two people were shot dead for trying to loot shops, including one South African named Isaac Sebaku in Coronationville by a Somali shop owner who was arrested and another person in Crosby. Premier of Gauteng, David Makhura, confirmed that a South African was shot over an incident of looting. Police Minister Bheki Cele stated the shop owner was a Pakistani.
News24 has reported that the police have confirmed two South Africans were shot dead in Brixton and Sophiatown during the riots and a Zimbabwean security guard was shot in Hillbrow. Two victims of unknown nationality were killed in Hillbrow and Jeppestown. Cele confirmed five murders were reported – two in Coronationville, two in Hillbrow and one in Jeppestown. Two charred corpses were recovered from shops burnt by looters in Alexandra.
On 5 September, the provincial police arrested 74 persons in Katlehong as looting and rioting continued, taking the number of arrests to 497. They also stated that 11 persons had died during the riots, though only 7 deaths are known to have been caused directly due to it. Isaac Sithole, a Zimbabwean, was beaten up and burnt alive by South African rioters in Katlehong. His sister-in-law alleged that a baby had also died in an arson attack.
Following the resumption of rioting on the 8 September Mangosuthu Buthelezi gave a speech calling for calm and a secession of violence. One person died and five were injured during a protest by South Africans against immigrants in Johannesburg whilst 16 people were arrested. Another person was shot in Malvern during the violence. This brought the number of deaths to 12. The police stated that 640 people had been arrested since the riots began. By the end of the riots a reported total of over 680 people had been arrested.
The riots coincided with a nation-wide truck driver strike protesting against the employment of non-South African truckers. It also coincided with the publication of a statement by Human Rights Watch that over 200 people (mostly foreign truck drivers) had been killed in South Africa since March 2018.
During the riot a number of freight trucks were torched and foreign truck drivers assaulted in the province of KwaZulu-Natal.
In response the Football Association of Zambia (FAZ) cancelled an international soccer match against South Africa taking place in Zambia due to “prevailing security concerns in South Africa.” A Pick n Pay store (a South African-based supermarket chain) in Zambia was stormed following the riots in South Africa.
The Government of Botswana issued travel advisory and warning to its citizens in wake of the deadly riots targeting foreigners.
The South African NGO Right2Know stated that xenophobia and the resulting riots were partly the result of "xenophobic populism"espoused by South African politicians such as Herman Mashaba and President Cyril Ramaphosa. A number of South African celebrities such as Nadia Nakai, Manaka Ranaka, and Cassper Nyovest were also publicly critical of xenophobia and the resulting riots.
Almost a month after the riots in Johannesburg foreign nationals in Cape Town staged a sit-in outside the local offices of the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNRA). The nationals demanded that the UNRA pay for their fare back to their respective home countries so as to escape xenophobia in South Africa.
In Nigeria all stores and service centres operated by South African telecom company MTN were temporarily shut following retaliatory attacks on the company for the riots in South Africa. Other South African companies also temporarily suspended trading as Multichoice and Shoprite also stopped operations. Nigerian artist Tiwa Savage stated on Twitter that she would be cancelling appearances in South Africa in protest of the riots.
Following the riots President Muhammadu Buhari of Nigeria summoned the South African High Commissioner to convey his concerns about the incident to President Ramaphosa of South Africa. The Nigerian government also cancelled its participation at the African Economic Forum which was scheduled to be held in Cape Town in retaliation to the riots and closed its embassy in South Africa citing security concerns. Nigeria's ruling party, the All Progressives Congress, advocated for the nationalization of South African businesses in retaliation for attacks on Nigerian nationals. South African diplomatic missions in Abuja and Lagos were closed due to threats of retaliatory violence.
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Riot
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Glasgow Nitshill Road crash: Driver in 'serious' condition as police appeal for witnesses
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A man is in a serious condition after a road crash in the south side of Glasgow. Police are appealing for witnesses after the incident, which took place around 11.35pm on Nitshill Road, near its junction with Levern Bridge Road. A red Vauxhall Corsa left the road before crashing, resulting in the driver sustaining serious injuries. He remains at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital . The occupants of a grey Vauxhall Corsa, which was also in the area at the time, have been assisting officers with their enquiries. Sergeant John Bradford, from the Glasgow Road Policing Unit, said: “We’re appealing for anyone who was in the area and witnessed the incident or the vehicle involved to please come forward.
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Road Crash
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Uni Air Flight 873 crash
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Uni Air Flight 873 was a Taiwanese domestic passenger flight between Taipei and Hualien that suffered a fire following an explosion after landing at Hualien Airport, Taiwan, on 24 August 1999, resulting in 27 injuries and one death. [1][2]
Uni Air Flight 873 departed from Taipei Songshan Airport (TSA) bound for Hualien Airport (HUN). It was carrying 90 passengers and six crew. Shortly after landing, at 12:36 local time, an explosion was heard in the front section of the passenger cabin, followed by smoke and then fire. A passenger was struck by fragments produced by the explosion. The pilot braked immediately, and an emergency passenger evacuation was initiated. After a call for help to the tower by the pilot, fire squads at Hualien Airport and the Air Force Wing rushed to extinguish the fire, which was put out by 13:45 WST. While the upper part of the fuselage was completely destroyed, all 96 of the occupants were safely evacuated. 14 passengers were seriously injured, while another 14 suffered minor injuries from the blast. Most of the injured passengers suffered burns. One of the passengers with serious injuries died 47 days after the accident, while another passenger had a miscarriage of her 26-week-old fetus. Following the accident, the Aviation Safety Council established an Accident Investigation Team. Initial findings revealed that the factors involved in the accident were not solely related to aviation safety. The investigation later revealed that former Taiwanese decathlete Ku Chin-shui, who was absent from the flight, had given bottles of flammable liquid to his nephew to transport. An Aviation Safety Council report said it was thought that the bottles were incorrectly sealed and gasoline fumes leaked, which later ignited when a motorbike battery in a nearby overhead luggage compartment was jostled, discharging an electric arc. [3] Ku was initially sentenced to a 10-year prison term, which was shortened to 7+1⁄2 years upon appeal. The fifth retrial found him not guilty after the judge said that although Ku had asked his nephew to carry a bottle of bleach in his luggage, the fragments that tested positive for gasoline were not limited to the fragments of the bottle. The accident is featured in the third episode of Season 20 of Mayday, also known as Air Crash Investigation and Air Disasters. The episode is titled "Explosive Touchdown". [4]
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Air crash
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Donald Trump to withdraw US from Trans-Pacific Partnership
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The President-elect plans to leave the trade deal on his first day in the job, describing it as a "potential disaster" for the US. Tuesday 22 November 2016 13:27, UK Donald Trump says he will issue an executive action on his first day in office to withdraw from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). In a video updating Americans on the White House transition, the President-elect described TPP as a "potential disaster for our country". The agreement was designed to bring down tariffs and trade barriers between America and a number of Pacific Rim nations including Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Malaysia and Chile. Mr Trump said his administration intended instead to generate "fair, bilateral trade deals that bring jobs and industry back onto American shores". :: Trump puts focus on workers with 100 days plan Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. End of dialog window. New Zealand's Prime Minister, John Key, said Mr Trump's announcement was "disappointing". But he added: "The United States isn't an island. Donald Trump awarded highest taekwondo rank - despite never practising the sport Kyle Rittenhouse: Protesters clash with police as anger and division grows over teenager acquitted after killing two people Steve Bannon: Former Trump adviser surrenders to FBI over contempt charges related to Capitol riot investigation "It can't just sit there and say it's not going to trade with the rest of the world. "So at some point they're going to have to give some consideration to that." In the clip uploaded on Facebook, the President-elect also expressed his intention to cut red tape - saying that "for every new regulation, two old regulations must be eliminated". :: Analysis: US TPP pullout is good news for China Sky Correspondent Greg Milam said: "Donald Trump has been very critical of what trade deals have done for American workers and the damage that the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) did in the 1990s - particularly to low-income workers in the Midwest, who it turns out voted for Mr Trump in huge numbers." NAFTA was a trade deal which reduced tariffs between the US, Canada and Mexico - with estimates suggesting that Mexican exports to North America have doubled since it was signed. The President-elect's announcement comes days after his meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at Trump Tower in New York. Barely an hour before Mr Trump confirmed his intent to withdraw from Trans-Pacific Partnership, Mr Abe had said TPP would be "meaningless" without the US. Mr Trump's declaration is also likely to disappoint Barack Obama, who has been calling for the US to reaffirm its support for the trade deal. The outgoing President had warned that abandoning TPP would cause the US to lose an opportunity to shape the rules of global trade "in a way that reflects our values". Mr Trump also said during his Facebook address that his White House transition team was working "very smoothly, efficiently and effectively" ahead of the handover of power on 20 January. A number of major roles remain up for grabs in Mr Trump's administration, but he has dismissed reports in recent days that his cabinet selection process is in disarray. Mr Trump has also reacted angrily to a Saturday Night Live skit which depicted him as overwhelmed and bumbling as he goes about choosing his top team and following up campaign promises. Alec Baldwin, whose unflattering impression of the Republican proved a big hit with critics in the run-up to the election, has defended the sketch.
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Withdraw from an Organization
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Sydney McLaughlin breaks her previous world record to win Olympic gold in 400-meter hurdles
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Eddie Pells, Associated Press
Eddie Pells, Associated Press
TOKYO (AP) — Sydney McLaughlin broke the world record. Dalilah Muhammad broke it, too.
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.”
READ MORE: In a pandemic Olympics without all the crowds, what gets lost?
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 — too 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.
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.
READ MORE: Katie Ledecky wins 1st gold at Tokyo Olympics
“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.”
Left:
Gold medalist Sydney McLaughlin (USA) in the women's 400m hurdles during the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Summer Games at Olympic Stadium. Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
By Will Graves, Associated Press
By Kate Sosin, The 19th
By Jenna Fryer, Associated Press
Eddie Pells, Associated Press
Eddie Pells, Associated Press
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Read Nov 11 Court temporarily delays release of Trump’s Jan. 6 records Watch Nov 11 The pandemic may not end anytime soon, but these tools can help stem its impact Read Nov 10 Rittenhouse murder case thrown into jeopardy by mistrial bid Read Nov 11 Frustration, defiance as village faces becoming U.K.’s first “climate refugees” Watch Nov 10 Colorado hospitals overwhelmed by young, ‘dramatically ill’ unvaccinated COVID patients World
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Break historical records
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Ansett New Zealand Flight 703 crash
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Ansett New Zealand Flight 703 was an Ansett New Zealand scheduled passenger transport flight from Auckland Airport to Palmerston North. On 9 June 1995, the Dash 8-100 aircraft flying this route crashed into hilly terrain in the Tararua Ranges, 16 km east of Palmerston North airport, during an instrument approach in bad weather. The aircraft was carrying 18 passengers and three crew members. All passengers were New Zealand citizens except for one United States citizen. The flight attendant and three passengers died as a result of the crash. The aircraft, registration ZK-NEY,[2] a Dash 8-100, was manufactured in Canada in 1986. It had accumulated 22,154 flight hours and 24,976 flight cycles. [3]
The captain was 40-year-old Garry Norman Sotheran,[4][5] who had 7,765 flight hours, including 273 on the Dash 8. The first officer was 33-year-old Barry Brown,[6] who had 6,460 flight hours, including 341 on the Dash 8. [3]
During the approach to a right turn which would place the aircraft on final approach to runway 25, the right landing gear failed to fully extend so the co-pilot began to manually extend it using a hydraulic pump. The aircraft's power settings had already been reduced to Flight Idle which was normal, but the aircraft was inadvertently allowed to descend too low toward the undulating terrain leading into Palmerston North. The initial impact with terrain occurred at 1,272 feet (388 m) above sea level; an aircraft on profile should have been 2,650 feet (810 m) above sea level. [3]
Although Flight 703's Ground Proximity Warning System (GPWS) sounded an alarm four seconds before the aircraft hit the ground, the crew was unable to avoid the accident. According to the Transport Accident Investigation Commission (TAIC) report, an audio alarm telling the crew to climb the aircraft should have sounded 17 seconds before impact, but the GPWS malfunctioned, for reasons that have never been determined. There was an investigation by the New Zealand Police in 2001[7] into whether or not a mobile phone call from the aircraft may have interfered with the system. The official crash report[3] does mention the following on page 69:
"The aircraft manufacturer's avionics representative advised that there was no likelihood that the operation of a computer, other electronic device or a cell phone would have affected the aircraft's flight instruments." The captain's defence was that 4.5 seconds before impact the radar altimeter display flipped 1,000 feet in altitude as he watched. Flight 703 pancaked onto a hilltop and broke up as it slid along the ground, killing the flight attendant instantly. Passenger Reginald John Dixon tried to free two others trapped near the wing root as the wreckage caught fire. He failed to free them and a flash fire critically burned him. He died from his injuries two weeks later. Thus, three passengers also died and many others sustained injuries. For his bravery in a dangerous situation, Dixon was awarded the New Zealand Cross, New Zealand's highest award for civilian bravery. [8]
Later study of the wreckage of Flight 703 revealed that the antennas for the radar altimeter (which sends a signal to the GPWS indicating how far above the ground the aircraft is) had been painted and this possibly reduced the GPWS' ability to provide a timely alarm, although later comments by TAIC insisted the paint did not block or reflect signals. [9] Radar altimeter antennas are clearly embossed with the words, "do not paint", a warning that was not heeded. Bench testing of the radar altimeter proved the unit was still functioning perfectly after its recovery from the wreckage. Ansett New Zealand Flight 703 was dramatised in the 8th episode of Season 21 on the show Mayday titled "Caught in a Jam"
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Air crash
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Macron says Australian PM lied to him over submarine deal; Morrison refutes
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French President Emmanuel Macron on Sunday said Australia's prime minister outright lied to him over a cancelled submarine deal, deepening an already fraught diplomatic crisis.
"I don't think. I know," Macron said when asked by Australian media if Scott Morrison was untruthful in their private dealings.
Both leaders are attending the G20 in Rome and a major UN-backed climate summit in Glasgow, but the weeks-long spat continues to trail them.
In September, Australia's leader without warning tore up a decade-old multi-billion-dollar contract with France to build a new fleet of submarines.
At the same time, Morrison revealed he had been in secret talks to acquire US or British nuclear subs.
Furious, Paris denounced the decision as a "stab in the back" and recalled its ambassador, who is only now getting back to work Down Under.
Australian media asked Macron on the sidelines of the G20 summit whether he thought the Australian leader had been untruthful to him in private meetings.
The French president left little doubt about his view, stressing the need for mutual "respect".
"You have to behave in line and consistently with this value," he said.
Macron crossed paths with Morrison at the G20, and spoke on the phone earlier this week, telling him that a "relationship of trust" had been broken between France and Australia.
The pair are yet to sit down for formal talks, although the French ambassador is set to meet Australia's foreign minister in Sydney on Monday.
In Rome, the French leader seemed to have made more progress in clearing the air with US President Joe Biden.
On Friday, Biden admitted to his French counterpart that Washington had been "clumsy" in the way it handled the deal, and said, "We have no better ally than France."
Morrison on Sunday defended his behaviour, refuting Macron's view and denying that he lied to the French leader at a private meeting in June.
"I don't agree with that," he said. "It's not true."
"We had dinner together. As I've said on numerous occasions, I explained very clearly that the conventional submarine option was not going to meet Australia's interests," Morrison said.
"I'm quite conscious of the disappointment that's there. And I'm not surprised -- it was a significant contract. And so I'm not surprised about the level of disappointment."
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Tear Up Agreement
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Alaska earthquake reminder that tsunamis triggered by quakes can reach Washington
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If an Alaskan earthquake triggers a tsunami that could hit Washington, residents would have a few hours to seek higher ground. Author: Glenn Farley Published: 12:03 AM PDT October 20, 2020 Updated: 8:53 PM PDT October 20, 2020 WASHINGTON — The upper end of Discovery Bay in Jefferson County acts as a geological history book for tsunami waves. In between thick layers of mud are layers of sand, which was brought in from near the Straight of Juan de Fuca by the power of inrushing tsunami waves. Some sand layers are thicker and wider than others. In 2019, KING 5 watched as Carrie Garrison-Laney, the coastal hazards specialist for Sea Grant Washington, dug through that mud looking for a thin layer of sand driven in by the 1964 Alaska tsunami. “We suspect that we know what our tsunami risks are,” said Garrison-Laney. “But I suspect the more work we do, the better we will have a handle on that.” She also showed thick sand layers suspected of being generated by large tsunami generating earthquakes off the northwest coast hundreds of years in the past. Monday’s magnitude 7.5 earthquake that struck offshore between the Alaska Peninsula and the Aleutian Trench was the second strong quake in the same vicinity this year. It follows a magnitude 7.8 quake in July . Neither quake delivered a tsunami to the west coast of Canada, Washington, Oregon or California, but that possibility is always on the minds of people who know about the quake and tsunami risks around the Pacific Rim. “There’s a clear history of events on the Aleutian chain and the Alaska Peninsula, so the Alaska Subduction Zone is very analogous to our Cascadia subduction zone,” said Harold Tobin, who leads the Pacific Northwest Seismic Network at the University of Washington and serves as the official seismologist for Washington State. Washington is confronted with multiple tsunami threats . The Cascadia subduction zone runs from Cape Mendocino in northern California, past Washington, Oregon and Vancouver Island, Canada. Both what is happening in the Aleutian trench and off the northwest coast is a collision between the Earth’s crustal plates. In both cases, the ocean plate, known in Washington as the Juan de Fuca plate and the Pacific plate under Alaska, are being forced underneath the continental crust called the north American plate. Typically, those plates are locked together at and near the surface. But under tremendous and constant pressure they eventually slide creating what is typically large earthquakes. These so-called subduction zones, named for when one plate is pushed, or subducted below the other, create the world’s largest earthquakes. What didn’t happen in Alaska in 2020 did happen on March 28 of 1964, when a magnitude 9.2 earthquake sent damaging waves into the Pacific and toward the lower 48 states. That included suspect sand layers at the head of Discovery Bay, where witnesses reported six feet of flooding from tsunami waves. Washington, Oregon and California saw damage and death from the waves which rear up as the earthquake energy forced into the ocean water column reaches shallower water. Consider in Alaska, the U.S. Geological Survey places waves that ran up mountainous slopes 220 feet high. We now have warning centers that kick into gear, as they did in both events this summer, that can warn that a wave is possible, coming or not a threat. In Alaska, a small tsunami of two feet was reported locally from the most recent quake. Alerts of a possible tsunami further away were soon canceled. Had that quake created a major tsunami, it would have taken between four or five hours to reach Washington state. “We do have an advantage with these long-distance tsunamis, is that potentially you can get a whole lot of warning time,” said Tobin. "The tsunami warning center detected the earthquake, issued that initial tsunami warning. Fortunately in this case that could be canceled a little bit later on. But should it have been a big deal, we should have had several hours before it struck our coastal area.” That is not true for people living near quake, either in Alaska or during a subduction zone quake off the Pacific Northwest Coast. When that happens the warning time is expected to be closer to 15 to 20 minutes. Washington, like Alaska has tsunami warning sirens to get people moving to higher ground as soon as the shaking stops. But while much of the focus on warning times has focused on the outer coast, more recent research has looked to see if a Cascadia created tsunami would make its way into Puget Sound and other inland waters. The Washington Geologic Survey, part of the Department of Natural Resources in 2019, assembled research it put into animations showing significant wave heights as far away as Tacoma’s commencement bay. “Researchers all over the world are working on tsunami hazards,” said Casey Hanell, Washington’s chief geologist at the agency. “ As we get more information we are better able to refine our models.” The use of lidar technology, to better understand the shape of the land, is helping determine the tsunami risk from rising waters and how those waves would travel. Washington’s last great earthquake along the Cascadia subduction zone sent out waves so powerful they damaged coastal villages in Japan. While the magnitude 9 Tohoku earthquake in Japan of 2011 caused waterfront damage primarily in Crescent City and parts of Northern California, including one fatality. Nearly every part of the Pacific Rim is on a subduction zone closely associated with tsunami generation. But while new research is showing inland Washington waters including Puget Sound where most people in the state live being more vulnerable than previously thought, DNR is considering the risk from long-distance tsunamis as well. “Distant-sourced tsunamis are something we need to be aware of, they are a hazard for us in Washington, particularly our coastal communities,” said Hanell. Fortunately, he says, most Pacific Rim quakes have not produced tsunamis that have had a major impact on Washington. And the 1964 Alaska quake was a standout, considered the second largest earthquake in modern history. It’s magnitude 9.2 punch coming in below a 9.5 in Chile just four years earlier in 1960. The 1964 event also hit the west coast at a more oblique angle being centered more directly from the north in Prince William Sound. The angle of the tsunami’s origin may matter in their impact, making a larger quake way out on the Alaska Peninsula potentially more of a direct hit if the quake were more powerful. Also, the energy from distant tsunamis would be expected to diminish, according to Hanell making it less likely to drive the tsunami farther inland. How far would a long-distance tsunami reach? We do know that waves reached the head of Discovery Bay off the Strait of Juan de Fuca in Jefferson County from the 1964 Alaska quake. The extent of just how far in more distant tsunamis reached is the subject of ongoing research.
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Tsunamis
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French Riviera placed on tsunami alert for three hours
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The French Riviera was placed on tsunami alert last night after seismic activity in Algeria, with tremors felt in Var and across Alpes-Maritimes. The alert was lifted in the early hours of this morning. The alert began after an earthquake at 1h04 on Thursday morning (March 18), measuring 5.9 on the Richter scale, near the Algerian town of Bejaïa, 700km from the French coast. Yannick Ferrand, director of risk prevention in the city of Cannes, tweeted that the earthquake had prompted a “yellow” warning for a tsunami on the northern Mediterranean coast, towards the Var and Côte d’Azur. #Seisme #Algerie qui a généré une alerte jaune #Tsunami sur notre côte Méditerranéenne cette nuit vers 1h. Fin d'alerte depuis 4h25. #Cannes #Nice06 #CotedAzurFrance Yet, the impact was less severe than feared, with the alert lifted in France at 4h25, with no damage reported. Some damage was reported in Algeria but there were no casualties. It comes after Cannes began installing tsunami alert warnings in the city - including stickers on the ground directing people to “tsunami evacuation areas” - in August 2020. It was the first city in France to do so. At the time, Mayor David Lisnard told news service 20 Minutes: “The risk does exist. An underwater earth movement near the Algerian coast can cause three-metre-high waves here.” And Mr Ferrand said: “A map will be established so that everyone knows where they are [above sea level] in each zone.” He explained that evacuation areas had been established from the Vieux-Port de Cannes towards the SNCF train station in the city centre. The Le Suquet area of the town - one of the oldest and highest parts of Cannes - also features as one of the “recommended zones”. The city organised a trial evacuation in 2018, to test its response in case of a real tsunami. Mr Lisnard said: “According to specialists, an undersea earthquake could cause a devastating wave for the coast, especially as it would include whirlpool currents. People on the beaches, but also sailors in the harbour, would be on the front line.” On October 16 1979, the Côte d’Azur was hit by a tsunami wave caused by subsidence at a construction site near Nice airport, which killed 11 people. Laurie Boschetti, an expert at the Geoazur lab, explained to 20 Minutes that the Côte d’Azur was vulnerable due to the Ligurian fault system, which sits around 20-30km from the coastline. It extends 80km towards Italy. If this fault ruptured completely, it could cause waves of up to four metres high, she said. Ms Boschetti has also studied the tsunami of February 23, 1887, which happened due to seismic activity. It caused damage between Genoa in Italy and Menton in France, even though the wave itself only reached one metre in height. Anger over false tsunami alarmTsunami aid spent on other projects€50m bill as 5.4 French quake leaves hundreds homeless
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Tsunamis
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41yo man to front court accused of Denmark bank robbery in WA's Great Southern
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Albany detectives have charged a 41-year-old man with armed robbery as a result of investigations into a bank robbery in Denmark in southern Western Australia. A 36-year-old woman has been charged with receiving. Both are from the Great Southern region. Police allege the man threatened staff with a tomahawk at an NAB branch in Denmark last Wednesday and then made off with cash he forced them to hand over. The man is due to appear in Albany Magistrates Court on Thursday.
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Bank Robbery
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Locust attack threatens food security in Pakistan - Dawn
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In Balochistan, desert locusts are busy eating crops. According to residents of Garang, a poor, sparsely populated village in Washuk district which lies a few hundred kilometres from Iran, hopper bands of the Schistocerca gregaria — commonly known as the desert locust — are growing by the day.
"Slowly and gradually, these locusts are eating away at everything in cultivated lands. Now, they are moving towards other fields in nearby villages," a farmer, Maulvi Satar Baloch, told thethirdpole.net.
In the neighbouring Kharan district, which has patches of green and cultivated lands, the situation is similar. Locusts are thriving on vegetation and eating everything green they can find, despite the spraying of pesticide.
This year’s locust infestation is a continuation of 2019's outbreak in Africa, the Arabian Peninsula and South Asia, which is said to be the worst in decades.
As farmers described an unprecedented presence of the insatiable pests, the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) warned of a serious infestation that can lead to a major threat to food security.
In a report prepared recently for Pakistan, the FAO has warned of a locust invasion. "Iran and Pakistan are especially prone as locust breeding is taking place in these areas, also due to the wet winter this year. In Pakistan, 38% of the area (60% in Balochistan, 25% in Sindh and 15% in Punjab) are breeding grounds for the desert locust, whereas the entire country is under the threat of invasion if the desert locust is not contained in the breeding regions."
These locusts are voracious eaters. At anywhere between 10 mm and 70 mm in size, depending on their growth cycle, an adult locust can eat its own weight in food every day — about two grams of fresh vegetation. They thrive in areas where rainfall and green vegetation are aplenty and breed rapidly to swell into havoc-wreaking swarms.
Blow to food supply
To give an idea of the scale of the destruction these pests can unleash, the report’s worst-case forecast predicted "severe damage" in areas where major rabi (winter-sown) crops like wheat, chickpea, and oilseeds grow. Losses to agriculture could reach PKR 205 billion (USD 1.3 billion), considering a damage level of 15% to the production of wheat, gram and potato alone. At a 25% level of damage, the FAO estimates total potential losses of about PKR 353 billion for the rabi crops, and about PKR 464 billion for kharif (summer-sown) crops.
"In the midst of additional impacts by Covid-19 on health, livelihoods and food security and nutrition of the most vulnerable communities and populations of Pakistan, it is imperative to contain and control successfully the Desert Locust infestation," it said.
Cross-border swarms foraging for food
Mubarik Ahmed, Pakistan’s national coordinator for locust control and one of the authors of the FAO report, said the country faces multiple threats from the pest.
The first, as reported by farmers in Balochistan, is from local breeding, which is taking place due to the remnants of last year’s infestation, which damaged around 40% of the crop in Sindh.
"What we saw in 2019, we haven’t seen since 1993," said Ahmed, adding that for the first time in decades, the pest inhabited pockets in all provinces of Pakistan. "Prior to that, the locusts were restricted to the Cholistan desert in Punjab or Thar in Sindh in the summer seasons. But last year, they migrated to other cultivated areas of Sindh and Punjab as well as the northern regions in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, which had never heard of this pest before. They have developed new routes and have even entered Afghanistan."
Ahmed said these locusts prefer areas where the ground is moist and rain-fed drains are in abundance. "There is a huge network of these drains in Balochistan, where a dormant population from 2019 is breeding. Locusts have not yet entered from Iran."
The migratory threat from Iran, however, still looms. Ahmed said locusts entered Pakistan last year from two hotspots in Iran — the Sistan Baluchestan province and Bushehr — and could return this year.
Ominously, he said the delayed swarm will be bigger, as the longer period will give more generations a chance to breed.
Lastly, a possible locust infestation can be expected from Oman, where it originated last year, as well as the Horn of Africa which is experiencing excessive rain and mass growth of desert locusts.
In its conclusion, the report said locust populations will move from the spring breeding areas in Balochistan and adjacent areas of southeast Iran to the summer breeding areas along both sides of the Indo-Pakistan border. The movement will continue throughout June, so untreated swarms are likely to cross the Indus valley and reach the desert areas in Tharparkar, Nara and Cholistan in time for the start of the monsoon rains. It also warned of a second threat of invasion by swarms in East Africa in late June and in July.
The FAO, which established its commission for controlling the desert locust in south west Asia in 1964, is watching the situation in Afghanistan, India, Iran and Pakistan very closely.
Ahmed added, "In the past few days, they have flown from Balochistan to India’s Rajasthan from Fazilka near the border. Locusts don’t require a visa. They look for vegetation."
India has already reported the threat from locusts, with officials expecting a giant locust storm from the Horn of Africa to attack farmlands and threaten food security.
Kailash Meghwal, a shepherd in India’s desert Jaisalmer district which adjoins Pakistan, said the Rajasthan government had announced it would distribute pesticides and spray guns to all local farmers, but the exercise was halted due to the lockdown forced by the Covid-19 pandemic.
"We need pesticides too," Meghwal said. "Locusts eat up all the grass and leaves on which our sheep and goats depend. Everyone talks about what locusts do to farmers. They hit us just as hard."
Climate conditions as drivers
In a note shared with thethirdpole.net, the FAO's senior locust forecaster Keith Cressman said that while it is difficult to attribute locust infestations directly to climate change, climate conditions are certainly drivers of locust population dynamics.
"Rain is an enabler for desert locust reproduction. Given the right conditions, a locust population can increase 20-fold every three months," he wrote.
"In the past three years there was an increase in the frequency of cyclones in the Indian Ocean that played a role in breeding this current upsurge," Cressman added. "One of the less visible impacts of climate change is how it will alter the dynamics of pest spread and reproduction. So, while desert locusts are an age-old threat, we fear something is changing."
Pakistan’s preparedness
Farmer Haji Gulam Hussain said he has gathered farmers to spray infested fields in their Balochistan districts. "After my requests, the agriculture department has provided two vehicles and sprays to us," he said.
As spring breeding continues in the country, an increasing number of hoppers become adults and form groups, as well as swarms. According to Mubarik Ahmed, young locusts have larger appetites compared to adults and can therefore cause greater damage.
Crop cycles can also affect how much destruction is caused, said Ahmed, as newly growing green vegetation can be consumed totally by the locust, whereas mature crops may lose just their leaves to the pest.
"Right now, crops are getting ready in the province's Nasirabad belt," said Mahfooz Ali Khan, an economist with a focus on Balochistan’s financial challenges.
"In Balochistan, 40% of our labour force is linked to the agriculture sector. With locusts destroying crops and authorities focused on Covid-19, we are practically not doing anything to control it."
He added that locals who are already suffering due to coronavirus restrictions are now helplessly watching as their crops are eaten by locusts.
Prime Minister Imran Khan declared a national emergency in the wake of the locust infestation in February. But federal and provincial stakeholders have locked horns over the issue. The Sindh government alleged that the centre has "left the province at the mercy of the desert locust", whereas the central government said the responsibility lies with the province.
Fears about food security are at an all-time high, as both lawmakers and those in the agriculture sector are aware of how badly locusts damaged wheat, cotton, maize and other crops last year in Sindh, Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
In Punjab, ministers raised concerns over the threat posed by locusts, with opposition politicians hitting out at the provincial government for not doing enough.
The Kissan Board's central general secretary Jam Hazoor Baksh from Punjab said the weather is favourable for locusts in Punjab, particularly in its southern region. "There was rainfall and now the summer has descended. The situation is ripe for a locust infestation. Crops across the province will be destroyed," he said.
The Covid-19 threat has further complicated the situation of the locust outbreak in the entire region, said Shakeel Ahmad, sector specialist at FAO Pakistan.
Ahmad said that while the control in Pakistan is going well so far, there is a possibility of a flare up due to the "on ground situation following Covid-19", which can result in a shortage of food.
China’s helping hand
With support from the FAO, China and the government, a mitigation strategy is in place through which pesticide and spraying machines have been provided to farmers. "The Chinese government is one of the biggest manufacturers of pesticide and has supplied it to Pakistan," said Ahmed, adding that the FAO has supplied spraying machines as well as given training to farmers.
A team of Chinese experts also visited Pakistan in March to assess the locust infestation.
With this support, the government has developed a 'National Action Plan for Surveillance and Control of Desert Locust in Pakistan', with a mandate to safeguard national food security through efficient coordination with key stakeholders; timely resource mobilisation; effective surveillance, control operations and mass awareness activities.
Tariq Khan, the technical director at the Department of Plant Protection (DPP) at the Ministry of National Food Security and Research, said the infestation is being fought with the help of the three-stage plan, but that if it is not controlled, the locust infestation "is a serious threat in the entire South Asia region".
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Insect Disaster
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Pilot, crew members recall Golden Ray shipwreck off Georgia coast
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When the giant cargo ship began to tip over off the Georgia coast, harbor pilot Jonathan Tennant found himself on his side, screaming orders in the darkness while flying debris that felt like gravel pelted him. After much of the Golden Ray slipped into the sea, crew members feared they would perish if they stayed on the ship — but they also could die if they attempted perilous climbs and dangerous leaps to reach the ocean. Their accounts are contained in interviews included among more than 1,700 pages of documents made public Thursday by the National Transportation Safety Board. The Golden Ray, carrying more than 1,400 vehicles, overturned after leaving the Port of Brunswick along the Georgia coast on Sept. 8, 2019. Tennant and about two dozen crew members on board were rescued and survived. The shipwreck “was like nothing I have ever experienced in 21 years here before with a car ship,” Tennant told investigators two days after the accident, according to the transcript of his interview. The trouble began during a turn near St. Simons Island, when the ship began to list to one side. It happened so rapidly “that I was absolutely in disbelief,” Tennant said. “And the ship — at some point in that turn, I realized that I didn’t have a ship anymore,” he added. “You know, I instinctively am giving commands that a pilot would give, under crazy circumstances,” he said. “But at the exact moment I was doing that, I’m not sure that I had the context that the rudder and propeller are already out of the water. Because it’s like that. And all areas there’s darkness, and alarms. The only thing that worked on that ship after the capsizing were alarms.” The documents released this week are not the final report into the cause of the wreck, which is still under investigation. But at public hearings last year, experts testified that the way its cargo was being carried was a key factor. A U.S. Coast Guard analysis found that unstable loading had left its center of gravity too high, making the vessel susceptible to rolling over, an expert told officials during the hearings last year. Investigators from the Coast Guard and the National Transportation Safety Board will use evidence from the hearings to publish a report of their findings, with recommendations aimed at improving safety. About one-third of the hulking ship still remains in the ocean after many months of hauling chunks of it onto barges and then carrying them to shore, but its full removal is finally nearing completion. This month, crews began cutting through steel to remove another large chunk of the vessel. In the interview transcripts released Thursday, Tennant gives one of the most complete accounts of the wreck but also of the massive effort to rescue crew members, some of whom were trapped inside the wreckage for several hours. Tennant, a native of Charleston, South Carolina, was praised by the Georgia Legislature and others for getting help to the ship and coordinating rescue efforts while still onboard. At one point, the capsized Golden Ray was in danger of sliding from near the shore into the deep shipping channel — raising the specter that the entire crew could drown. But Tennant's distress calls reached a tugboat that raced over and pushed the hull back into sand to keep it out of the deep water. Eventually, Tennant was able to escape the wheelhouse of the overturned ship by sliding down a fire hose. He was then rescued by a member of the U.S. Coast Guard, describing it in his interview: “Some big dude just picked me up like a toy and set me on the deck.”
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Shipwreck
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1969 theft of C-130 crash
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The 1969 theft of a C-130 from RAF Mildenhall happened on 23 May 1969. [1][2][3]
Sergeant Paul Meyer was an aircraft mechanic in the United States Air Force. [2][1][3] At the age of 23 he was already a Vietnam veteran. [2][1][3] He had married earlier that year and was close to his wife and stepchildren. [2][1][3] He had suffered flashbacks and was homesick and unhappy. [2][1][3] He also was drinking heavily. [2][1][3]
A few days before the theft he'd requested to be transferred from Mildenhall to Langley Air Force Base but the request was turned down. [2][1][3]
On the night of 22 May 1969 he was at a military colleague's house party where he drank heavily and began to behave erratically and aggressively. [2] His friends tried to persuade him to go to bed but he escaped through a window. [2]
Shortly after, Suffolk Police found him on the A11 and he was arrested for being drunk and disorderly. [2][1][3] He was escorted back to his barracks and told to sleep it off. [2][1][3]
Instead of obeying orders he assumed the alias "Captain Epstein", went to a hangar where a Lockheed C-130E Hercules serial no. 63-7789 was and ordered it to be prepared. [2][1][3] He had worked on it so knew the protocols to access it and had a working knowledge of how to fly it. [2][1][3] The stolen aircraft took off at 05:08. [3][4]
During the flight he was able to make a phone call to his then wife, Jane Meyer (now Mary Ann Jane Goodson) which lasted for more than an hour. [2] The last twenty minutes of their conversation was recorded. [3] At one point the voice of Colonel Kingery from Mildenhall interrupts. [3]
Around 06:55 radar contact was lost with Meyer's aircraft and an hour and forty-five minutes after takeoff the C-130 crashed into the English Channel. [1][3][2]
A few days later small parts from the missing C-130, including a life raft, washed up near the Channel Island of Alderney. [2]
The accident report records that only two aircraft were dispatched to find Meyer, a C-130 from RAF Mildenhall and an F-100 from RAF Lakenheath. [3] Neither aircraft established visual or radio contact. [3]
French Air force fighters were scrambled. [3]
Eldon Griffiths, then MP for Bury St Edmunds, asked a question regarding the security of aircraft on military bases on 12 June 1969. [5]
Peter Nash was a senior aircraftman at RAF Wattisham with 29 Squadron. [3] It was an airbase with a Quick Reaction Alert squadron. [3] According to Nash, he was involved with preparing three English Electric Lightnings. [3] Two of them took off, loaded with missiles. [3]
In his 2011 book Lightning Boys Rick Groombridge claims that an American exchange pilot took over his aircraft at Wattisham and returned to base minus one missile. [3] Groombridge declined to be interviewed by the BBC but stands by his story. [3] Nash disputes this account - he was chief armourer and says both aircraft returned to base with all four missiles unused. [3]
Nash says that a few weeks after the event he went on a course and met another armourer from RAF Chivenor. [3] Nash says he was told that at least one Hawker Hunter was scrambled. [3] The other armourer also claimed that the pilot in question returned to base minus missiles, that the pilot was met by RAF police for a secret debrief along with his plane's gun-camera. [clarification needed][3] Nash himself keeps an open mind but says it would be within the capabilities of the Hawker Hunter to have intercepted the missing aircraft. [3] The scope for this claim must be viewed with some scepticism as RAF Hunters were never fitted for, nor ever carried air to air missiles. Some marks did carry air to ground rockets, and most types had 4 30mm cannons. The wreck was rediscovered in 2018. [1]
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Air crash
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1954 Yangtze floods
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From June to September 1954, the Yangtze River Floods were a series of catastrophic floodings that occurred mostly in Hubei Province. Due to unusually high volume of precipitation as well as an extraordinarily long rainy season in the middle stretch of the Yangtze River late in the spring of 1954, the river started to rise above its usual level in around late June. Despite efforts to open three important flood gates to alleviate the rising water by diverting it, the flood level continued to rise until it hit the historic high of 44.67 m (146.6 ft) in Jingzhou, Hubei and 29.73 m (97.5 ft) in Wuhan. The number of dead from this flood was estimated at around 33,000, including those who died of plague in the aftermath of the disaster. Partly as a result of this flood, the pressure to build new dams, the Gezhouba Dam and the Three Gorges Dam, in the upper reach of Yangtze river, gained considerable momentum. In 1969, a large stone monument was erected in the riverside park in Hankou (City of Wuhan, Hubei) honoring the heroic deeds in fighting the 1954 flood. Among the carvings on the monument is a calligraphic inscription by Mao Zedong, dedicated to the people of Wuhan:[2]
We must still be prepared to do battle against and overcome similarly severe floods that may occur in the future. Below, is his poem "Swimming"[3] (1956), envisioning future bridge and dam construction on the Yangtze:[4]
I have just drunk the waters of ChangshaAnd come to eat the fish of Wuchang. Now I am swimming across the great Yangtze, Looking afar to the open sky of Chu. Let the wind blow and waves beat, Better far than idly strolling in a courtyard. Today I am at ease. "It was by a stream that the Master said - "Thus so things flow away!"" Sails move with the wind. Tortoise and Snake are still. Great plans are afoot: A bridge will fly to span the north and south, Turning a deep chasm into a thoroughfare; Walls of stone will stand upstream to the westTo hold back Wushan's clouds and rain Till a smooth lake rises in the narrow gorgesThe mountain goddess if she is still there Will marvel at a world so changed." On the sides of the monument's pedestal are reliefs depicting heroic people of Wuhan fighting the flood, raising banners and placards with quotations from Mao Zedong. Compared to the 1998 Yangtze River Floods, this flooding was more severe in terms of total flow of water, but less in terms of the highest level that the flood water reached. This is probably a result of the intense logging on the banks of the upper reach of Yangtze River during the later part of the 20th century.
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Floods
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Wales' Brooks diagnosed with cancer
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Soccer Football - Wales Training - The Vale Resort, Hensol, Wales, Britain - September 5, 2020 Wales' David Brooks during training Action Images via Reuters/Andrew Boyers
Oct 13 (Reuters) - Wales and Bournemouth midfielder David Brooks has been diagnosed with Hodgkin Lymphoma, a type of cancer, and is set to begin treatment next week, the 24-year-old said in a statement on Wednesday.
Brooks, who has made 21 appearances for Wales, withdrew from their squad last week and thanked their medical team for helping diagnose the illness.
"I have been diagnosed with Stage 2 Hodgkin Lymphoma and will begin a course of treatment next week," Brooks said in a statement on Bournemouth's website.
"Although this has come as a shock to myself and my family, the prognosis is a positive one and I'm confident that I will make a full recovery and be back playing as soon as possible.
"I want to thank everyone at the Football Association of Wales because without the swift attention of their medical team we may not have detected the illness."
Hodgkin lymphoma is a cancer of the lymphatic system, an important part of the immune system.
Bournemouth chief executive Neill Blake said that the Championship club would not put a timescale on his return.
"We'll give David all the time he needs to get well and will do everything that we possibly can to help with that," he added.
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The head of the Women's Tennis Association on Wednesday voiced doubt over an email it received, which was also released by a Chinese state media outlet, in which tennis player Peng Shuai was said to deny her previous allegations of sexual assault.
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Famous Person - Sick
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Coffs Harbour waterways study finds worrying levels of nutrients in almost two-thirds of creeks
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Researchers have called for better management of on-farm fertiliser use after finding almost two-thirds of creeks on the New South Wales Coffs Coast have nutrient levels above recommended guidelines.
Nitrates are commonly found in fertilisers used in agriculture
The report, by Southern Cross University's National Marine Science Centre, found agriculture intensification and rainfall were the major drivers in the amount of nutrients found in 11 creeks from Corindi to Pine Creek.
"We were looking to have a few creeks that were pristine, or forest catchments a few creeks that were dominated by horticulture and a few creeks that were dominated by urban areas or mixed-use catchments," report co-author Shane White said.
"We found that areas with horticulture, or urban areas, are much more susceptible to having high nutrient loads than areas with just forest."
The study, which was commissioned under Coffs Harbour City Council's Environmental Levy Grants Program found 65 per cent and 66 per cent of total samples collected from peri-urban and agricultural creeks were above nitrate + nitrite (NOx) ANZECC guidelines.
Nitrates are commonly found in fertilisers used in agriculture.
"Anything that is above those ANZECC guidelines multiple times should be looked at because otherwise we could have eco-system impacts downstream such as algae blooms or fish kills," Mr White said.
The highest total dissolved nitrogen concentration was found in Woolgoolga Creek and Double Crossing Creek, which both run in the vicinity of farming properties.
"Our research doesn't specifically look at any one particular industry," Mr White said.
"These are mixed use catchments — so there's cucumbers, bananas, blueberries, tomatoes all grown in that catchment so we just looked at the catchment as a whole."
The study said the nutrient-carrying capacity of the streams and links to land use remain unknown.
One local farmer has welcomed the report and would like to see the issue explored further.
Local banana and avocado farmer and NSW Farmers board member, Paul Shoker, said while the industry has fertiliser program and encourages the installation of sediment traps, more research would also help.
"We need to focus down on what particular industries, what farms, where this run off is coming from," he said.
Mr Shoker said apart from the environmental issues run off raises, it was also a cost to farmers.
"Any excess fertiliser that is escaping your farm is essentially a waste to the business — so there's a win-win there; we can potentially save them money and also look after the environment," he said.
Mr Shoker said fertiliser run-off is an issue that is being raised across the state, and he feared if it was not addressed, the industry would face government regulation.
"We see that in Queensland with the Barrier Reef; government is now legislating how much nutrient you can put on your crops because growers there weren't able to control these issues," he said.
Berries Australia said it was reviewing the paper to determine any implications for local growers, who said they are working with the NSW DPI to reduce their fertiliser loads and manage run off.
In a statement, the organisation said the industry has also developed a Code of Conduct to address these types of issues.
)
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Environment Pollution
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Metro Health to be renamed University of Michigan Health-West
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Metro Health Hospital in Wyoming, Michigan on Friday, Dec. 18, 2020. Metro Health, an affiliate of University of Michigan Health based near Grand Rapids. WYOMING, MI — Metro Health-University of Michigan Health is getting a new name. The 208-bed hospital, 5900 Byron Center Ave., will now be known as University of Michigan Health-West, according to a news release issued Tuesday afternoon. “The new name is a natural next step and our teams are proud of the role we play as part of one of the world’s most respected health systems,” Dr. Peter Hahn, the hospital’s CEO, said in a statement. The relationship between University of Michigan Health and Metro dates back to 2009, when U-M began providing radiation oncology services at The Cancer Center on Metro Health’s campus. That grew into clinical relationships in pediatric cardiology and pediatric endocrinology. In 2016, the two health care organizations merged, making Metro a wholly-owned subsidiary of University of Michigan Health. The name change announced Tuesday was unanimously approved by Metro’s Board of Directors on June 8. “As we have done at every stage in our history, we must ensure our name reflects our expanding capabilities,” said Bill Barkeley, Chairman of the Metro Health Board of Directors. “This is one of the most significant points in our trajectory. Our name should reflect this.” Metro was originally founded as Grand Rapids Osteopathic Hospital, and was renamed several times. Those changes included Metropolitan Hospital, Metro Health and Metro Health – University of Michigan, according to a news release. “The name change, which will be phased over the next 12 months, reflects not just a closer clinical and operational integration, but also greater alignment in mission, vision and values,” according to a news release. “The organization’s regional focus will remain governed by a local board of directors.” The development of a comprehensive stroke center and authorization for an open-heart surgery partnership are among the recent accomplishments at University of Michigan Health-West, according to a news release. The Wyoming health care organization serves 250,000 patients annually, and it offers primary and specialty care services at 30 locations throughout West Michigan, with more than 500 staff physicians. Michigan Medicine has three hospitals, 125 clinics and “home care operations that handle more than 2.3 million outpatient visits a year.”
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Organization Merge
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Bahraini uprising of 2011
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The following is a timeline of the Bahraini uprising from February to March 2011, beginning with the start of protests in February 2011 and including the Saudi and Emirati-backed crackdown from 15 March. Several hundred Bahrainis gathered in front of the Egyptian embassy in Manama to express solidarity with anti-government protesters there. [1] According to The Wall Street Journal, this was "one of the first such gatherings to be held in the oil-rich Persian Gulf states. "[1] At the gathering, Ibrahim Sharif, the secretary-general of the National Democratic Action Society (Wa'ad), called for "local reform. "[1]
On 14 February, an estimated 6,000 people participated in many demonstrations and political rallies throughout Bahrain. The protesters' demands varied, and included constitutional reform, political reform, and socio-economic justice. No permits were sought by protesters, as is required by Bahraini law. The earliest demonstration was recorded at 05:30 in the mainly-Shia village of Nuwaidrat, where 300 people are said to have participated. [2](pp68–9) The marchers were demanding the release of those detained during earlier protests. [3] Police dispersed this rally, resulting in some injuries, and the hospitalization of one demonstrator. Police continued to disperse rallies throughout the day with tear gas, rubber bullets, and shotguns, resulting in additional injuries, and the hospitalization of three more demonstrators. [2](p68)
One major demonstration took place in the Shi'a island of Sitra, where several thousand men, women, and children took to the streets. According to witnesses interviewed by Physicians for Human Rights, hundreds of fully armed riot police arrived on the scene and immediately began firing tear gas and sound grenades into the crowds to cause panic. They then fired rubber bullets into the unarmed crowd, aiming at people in the front line who had sat down on the street in protest. [4]
In the evening of 14 February, Ali Mushaima died from police shotgun wounds to his back at close range. The government says that Ali was part of a group of 500 protesters that attacked 6 policemen with rocks and metal rods. The government claims that the police exhausted their supply of tear gas and rubber bullets in a failed attempt to disperse the crowd, and resorted to the use of shotguns. Witnesses say that there were no demonstrations at the time Ali was shot. They say Ali was seen walking with a group of officers who were pointing their guns at him. As Ali walked away, he was shot in the back by one of the officers. Later, several hundred demonstrators congregated in the car park of the hospital where Ali was taken. [2](pp69,229) The Ministry of Interior expressed its regret at the incident and announced that his death would be investigated. [3]
Thousands of mourners participated in Ali Mushaima's funeral. During the funeral, Fadhel Al-Matrook was shot by police in the back at close range, and he died within the hour from his shotgun wounds. The government says that Fadhel was part of a group of 400 mourners that attacked 7 policemen with rocks and metal rods. The government claims that the police exhausted their supply of tear gas and rubber bullets in a failed attempt to disperse the crowd, and resorted to the use of shotguns. Witnesses say that police shot Fadhel in the back as he bent over to help a mourner who collapsed when police fired tear gas at Ali's funeral. [2](pp70,229–30) Protesters, angered by this second death, marched to Pearl Roundabout around 15:00, and began to set up tents. [5] The number of demonstrators swelled to up to ten thousand by nightfall. [6] Police did not attempt to disperse demonstrators at the roundabout, as Bahrain's King, Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, had ordered that people be permitted to occupy the Pearl Roundabout to express their sadness. [2](p71)
Mohammed Albuflasa, a former officer in the Bahrain Defence Force, disappeared after he gave an evening speech at the roundabout calling for national unity between Sunnis and Shia, and expressing support of the protests. [7] The speech was noteworthy because Mohammed is a religiously conservative Sunni Muslim, whereas most of the protesters were Shia or secular Sunnis. [8] The government first acknowledged on 4 March that he was in their custody. [7]
In reaction to the two deaths, Bahrain's main trade union federation, the General Federation of Bahrain Trade Unions, called for a general strike beginning on 17 February, and Al Wefaq, the party with the largest number of seats in Bahrain's parliament, announced it would suspend its participation in Parliament. [2](p71) In an evening address on state television to mark the occasion of Mawlid, King Hamad offered condolences for the two deaths, and announced the establishment of a committee to investigate the events of the past two days. Throughout the day, 25 people were said to have been injured,[9] and hospital records at Bahrain's main public hospital show seven admissions related to the protests. [2](p172)
On 16 February, thousands of protesters continued to occupy Pearl Roundabout. [10] Witnesses described the mood at the roundabout as "festive," with protesters distributing tea, coffee, and food while discussing the situation in Bahrain. Various political figures gave speeches at the roundabout. Elsewhere in Bahrain, a funeral procession was held for Fadhel Al-Matrook, and a vehicular procession comprising around 100 cars was held by supporters of King Hamad. Police did not interfere with these events. [2](pp72–3) Two individuals were admitted to Bahrain's main public hospital for injuries related to ongoing protests on 16 February. [2](p172)
The scheduled GP2 Asia Series race at the Bahrain International Circuit was cancelled, after a practice had to be called off due to the redeployment of the circuit's medical staff to hospitals in the capital. A practice session for the 2011 Formula One season Bahrain Grand Prix was also called off, and officials expressed concern that the race would need to be moved or cancelled. [11]
At about 3:00 am local time on 17 February, around 1,000 police were dispatched to clear the Pearl Roundabout of an estimated 1,500 individuals staying overnight in tents. Police were armed with sticks, shields, flash grenades, tear gas, and shotguns. [2](p73) Two hundred and thirty one individuals were said to have been injured during the raid,[12] and seventy individuals were reported missing. [13][14] Three individuals were killed by police using shotguns. Of these three, two were shot in the back at close range, and one was shot in the thigh at close range. The government claims that the lethal shots were fired at protesters who attacked police officers with swords, daggers, and other weapons.
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Protest_Online Condemnation
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2009 cow head protests
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The Cow head protests were held in front of the Selangor state government headquarters at the Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Shah Building, Shah Alam, Malaysia on 28 August 2009. The protest was called so because the act of a few participants who brought along a cow head, which they later desecrated. [1] The cow is considered a sacred animal to Hindus. The protest was held due to Selangor state government's intention to relocate a Hindu temple from Section 19 residential area of Shah Alam to Section 23. The protesters were mainly Muslim who opposed the relocation because Section 23 was a Muslim majority area. On 28 August 2009, a group of 50 or so Malaysian Muslims marched from the Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Mosque to the Selangor state government headquarters at the Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Shah Building with the head of a cow – an animal deemed sacred in Hinduism – and "stomped on the head and spat on it before leaving the site". [1] The protest leaders were also recorded saying there would be blood if a temple was constructed in Shah Alam. [2]
The protest was caught on video by the popular Malaysian online news portal Malaysiakini. [3]
Malaysia’s Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein defended the protest, arguing that building a Hindu shrine is unsuitable because the neighbourhood is Muslim, and that “the residents only wanted their voices to be heard [and] it was unfortunate that 'the publicity they received was negative because it was linked with racial and religious sentiments. '"[4]
In response, Hishammuddin invited the protesters to a discussion. In a press conference later, Hishammuddin defended the actions of the protesters saying that they cannot be blamed. He cited several reasons:[5]
The press conference which was also recorded by Malaysiakini, was almost as controversial as the protest; opposition politicians came out to denounce the Minister's actions and called for his resignation. Embarrassingly for Hishammuddin, the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC), the government multimedia agency, sent a letter to Malaysiakini.com appealing for it to take down both videos of the cow head protests and the press conference by the minister. This has been interpreted by some as damage control by the government due to Hishammuddin's embarrassing press conference. [6]
Many criticised the response of the police who were seen to just been standing by the side and allowing the protesters to stomp and spit on the head of the cow. This can be seen from the video clip of the protest caught by the popular Malaysian news online portal Malaysiakini. [3]
This is in comparison to the 2007 HINDRAF rally where police brutality were obvious. Five thousand members riot police dispatched to the scene used tear gas and water cannon to disperse the crowds. [7]
Al-Jazeera's coverage of the 2007 HINDRAF rally[8] showed police officers using tear gas to disperse the protesters in spite of the civil nature of the rally and the participants carrying life-size portraits of Queen Elizabeth II and Mahatma Gandhi, to indicate the nonviolent nature of their protest. [9] The police arrested 240 people. [10]
Rodziah Ismail, who is the Selangor State Assemblywoman for Batu Tiga, which includes Section 23 Shah Alam was directly criticised and insulted by the protesters for not stopping the relocation of the temple. [11] She is also the Welfare, Women's Affairs, Science, Technology and Innovation Committee Chairman in the Selangor State Executive Council which oversaw the relocation of the temple. Rodziah expressed her opinion that the relocation of the temple was guaranteed by freedom of religion and advised the protesters to respect other's beliefs and religions. The Selangor Pakatan Rakyat state government organised a townhall meeting following the incident but was forced to end it abruptly due to the meeting being hijacked by protesters believed to be from UMNO and became rowdy. Mentri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim was forced to temporarily shelve the relocation of the 150-year-old Sri Mahamriamman temple following the failed town hall meeting. [11]
The Selangor state government has announced on 19 October 2010 to be proceeding with the relocation of the Sri Mahamariamman Temple from Section 19 Shah Alam to Section 23. [11]
In July 2010, 12 protesters were fined RM 1,000 each for illegal assembly by the sessions court in Shah Alam. Two of the protestors were fined RM 3,000 for sedition while one of the two was also ordered to serve a week in jail. [11] Eyzva Ezhar Ramly, 31, was charged under the Section 4(1)(a) of the Sedition Act 1948 for “inciting racial animosity with carrying a cow-head” along with the other accused, Mohd Azmir Mohd Zain. [11] Mohd Azmir was also charged under the same act for carrying and stepping on a cow-head with “the intention to create racial tension” and was fined RM 3,000. [11]
Four others who were also originally charged under the Sedition Act were given a discharge not amounting to an acquittal after they pleaded not guilty to the charges.
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Protest_Online Condemnation
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Two adults injured after explosion, huge house fire in Goodyear under investigation
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GOODYEAR, AZ (3TV/CBS 5) - Investigators believe a hobby might have been the cause of a house explosion in Goodyear that sent two people to the hospital. It happened at about 9 p.m. near Van Buren Street and Citrus Avenue , sending two people to the hospital.
Viewer video
Arizona's Family view Tori Rocha sent us video of last night's home explosion in Goodyear. She says her husband went to the scene to help.
Goodyear Battalion Chief Eric Kleinschmidt said multiple jurisdictions responded to a "fully involved" house fire. Viewer Hector Cota shared video of the flames shooting into the air. Kleinschmidt says first crews on scene reported an explosion as they arrived. Crews were able to gain control of the fire and able to protect nearby homes. Kleinschmidt says two adults -- a man and a woman -- were burned. Both reportedly were in critical condition when they were taken to the hospital.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives was called to assist in the investigation and help determine the cause. Arizona's Family drone video recorded Monday shows an ATF command van outside the completely burned home. Kleinschmidt said Monday that ATF was there only to help with the investigation, not because there was anything suspicious about the incident.
A house in Goodyear went up in flames Sunday night around 9 p.m. near Van Buren Street and Citrus Avenue, sending two people to the hospital.
The cause of the explosion remains under investigation. Arizona's Family determined that there is gas service to the house, but investigators say there do not appear to be any signs of a leak. Kleinschmidt also said one of the homeowners is a model rocket enthusiast. It's too early to know for certain if that was a factor in the explosion.
Arizona's Family spoke to Mike Schmidt, a model rocket expert, at Duncan's RC Hobby Shop for expertise about rocket explosions. "As far as I can tell, something else could have gone wrong," said Schmidt. Schmidt said rockets don't spontaneously blow up because they have safeguards "Even the smaller estes (sp?) motor, they have black powder but they have nozzles, so if its sealed up then it would blow up but since there is a place for the flame to go, it just shoots it off like a bullet," said Schmidt.
Schmidt said the rocket itself could be fuel for a fire but it wouldn't blow up on its own unless it was modified by the owner. "If they're trying to add some sort of propellent, maybe something like that could cause a problem."
Model rocketry is generally considered a safe hobby. "Over 500 million model rockets have been launched since the hobby’s founding and our simple Safety Code procedures have almost totally eliminated accidents and injuries," according to the National Association of Rocketry . "Sport rocketry’s record shows that it is safer than almost any sport or other outdoor physical activity."
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Gas explosion
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Famine in Yemen get worse
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On 21 September, I warned you we were losing the fight against famine in Yemen. Since then, the situation has got worse. That is why, as required in Security Council resolution 2417, which you adopted in May this year, we issued the White Note circulated late last week. In line with our obligations under your resolution, my briefing today focuses on the risk of famine. Mr President, Famines are mercifully rare in the modern world. They used to be ubiquitous. A relatively common occurrence all over the world for more than 99% of human history. It is a spectacular feature of progress in our era that only two famines have been declared in the last 20 years. The one that took the lives of quarter of a million Somalis in 2011. And the localised famine last year affecting a few tens of thousands of people in South Sudan. It is that recent progress that makes what we now face in Yemen so shocking. A famine is declared when three thresholds of food insecurity, acute malnutrition and mortality are together all breached. The three criteria are: • At least one in five households faces an extreme lack of food; • More than 30 percent of children under 5 are suffering from acute malnutrition (wasting); • At least two people out of every 10,000 are dying every day. Assessments conducted a year ago identified 107 districts out of Yemen’s 333 districts to be at risk of famine, where two of these thresholds were either already exceeded or dangerously close. A further assessment exercise is now under way across the country, and initial results are expected in mid-November. It has been more difficult to confirm the position on the third criterion, the number of deaths due to starvation or starvation related disease. But while mortality-related data is difficult to collect and triangulate, health workers are pointing to the rising number of deaths linked to food-related factors. We also know that many deaths are hidden. Only half of health facilities are functioning – and many Yemenis are too poor to access the ones that are open. Unable to reach care, people often die at home. Very few families report these deaths; the stories of those people go unrecorded. At the end of last year, one aid agency estimated that 130 children under 5 were dying every day from extreme hunger and disease. Nearly 50,000 little children during the course of a year. While we wait for the results of the assessments under way, we already know that a further year of war and economic crisis have pushed millions more Yemenis towards famine. So, just to be clear, my assessment – my advice to you – is that there is now a clear and present danger of an imminent and great big famine engulfing Yemen: much bigger than anything any professional in this field has seen during their working lives. Some people – including some of you – will be thinking: “Hang on a minute. They’ve told us this before, and it didn’t happen”. That is correct. We warned of famine in Yemen at the beginning of last year, as part of the Secretary-General’s call to action which also flagged the risk in Somalia, South Sudan, and north east Nigeria. The response – a dramatic scaling up of the UN coordinated relief effort - helped mitigate the worst impact of the crisis. I issued a similar warning when I briefed you on 8 November last year on the likely effect of the economic blockade that had just been imposed by the Coalition following missile attacks on Riyadh from inside Yemen. The blockade was removed, and supervised imports of food, fuel and medicines resumed through the Red Sea ports. What I am telling you today is that the situation is now much graver than on either of those two occasions. Why is that? Firstly, because of the sheer number of people at risk. In my update for you last month, I said that an additional 3.5 million people are likely to become severely food insecure in the months ahead, added to the 8 million we are already reaching each month through the UN coordinated response effort. A total of 11 million. That’s what I said on 21 September. We now think, Mr. President, that estimate was wrong. Our revised assessment, the results of new survey work and analysis, is that the total number of people facing pre-famine conditions, meaning they are entirely reliant on external aid for survival, could soon reach not 11 million but 14 million. That is half the total population of the country. And secondly, beyond the sheer numbers, while millions of people have been surviving on emergency food assistance for years, the help they get is enough merely to survive. Not to thrive. The toll is unbearably high. The immune systems of millions of people on survival support for years on end are now are literally collapsing, making them – especially children and the elderly – more likely to succumb to malnutrition, cholera and other diseases. Last month, I explained the two recent developments which have deepened the crisis: first the intensification of fighting around Hudaydah, choking the lifeline which the aid operation and commercial imports rely on; and second the recent further collapse of the economy. What has since happened on those two issues? Fierce clashes continue in Hudaydah, including intense fighting, shelling and air strikes in Hudaydah City over the last several days. More than 570,000 people have been forced from their homes across Hudaydah Governorate since fighting escalated in mid-June. Due to ongoing clashes, the eastern road from Hudaydah City to Sana’a remains blocked, which impacts trade and convoys from the key ports that serve all the population centres of northern Yemen. Clashes have also continued to block access to a milling facility that contains enough aid-financed grain to feed 3.7 million people for a month, and several humanitarian warehouses have been occupied for over two months. The parties to the conflict continue to violate international humanitarian law. Since late May, more than 5,000 separate violations have been recorded, including mass civilian casualties and destruction or damage to critical civilian infrastructure including hospitals, electricity and water systems, markets, roads and bridges. Delays in issuing visas, restrictions on importation of equipment and cargo, retraction of permits, interference in humanitarian assessment exercises, interference in monitoring and other obstructions all limit the ability of humanitarian agencies to provide life-saving assistance to innocent civilians. In the absence of a cessation of hostilities, especially around Hudaydah, where fighting for more than four months now has damaged the key facilities and infrastructure on which the aid operation relies, the relief effort will ultimately be simply overwhelmed. The time, surely, has come for all the parties to heed these warnings. On the economy, the central problem, as I explained last month, is that Yemen is almost entirely reliant on imports for food, fuel and medicines. And the available foreign exchange – from what little remains of oil exports, from money sent home by Yemenis out of the country, and from international assistance – has been simply inadequate to finance adequate levels of imports to support the population. Since 2015, gross domestic product, the national income of Yemen, has shrunk by 50 per cent. More than 600,000 jobs have been lost. Hundreds of thousands of civil servants and pensioners have not received regular payments since late 2016. More than 1.5 million families are no longer receiving support through public safety-nets. More than 80 per cent of Yemenis now live below the poverty line. The collapse in the domestic economy has been partially – but only partially - mitigated by aid efforts, including generous funding this year from the Gulf, the United States, European countries and other donors, and that has allowed the UN and its partners to dramatically scale-up relief efforts. Aid agencies are implementing the world’s largest humanitarian operation in Yemen. More than 200 organisations are working through the UN Humanitarian Response Plan and have delivered assistance to each and every one of Yemen’s 333 districts this year. As many as 8 million people are receiving life-saving assistance every month. But because the aid operation cannot conceivably meet the needs of all Yemenis, I called last month for an urgent and substantial injection of foreign exchange, and the resumption of payments to pensioners and key public sector workers like teachers and health professionals. There have been constructive discussions on both these issues, and indications of further support especially from Gulf countries. Today’s announcement that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates will provide $70 million to cover allowances for 135,000 teachers all over the country is important. However, I fear, overall, that action in these areas still looks to be both too small and too slow to reverse the trajectory towards famine. My plea is that those concerned address this as a matter of great urgency. At the same time, the Government of Yemen appears to be planning further restrictions on traders importing essential commodities. Traders trying to import six key commodities - wheat, rice, sugar, milk, cooking oil and fuel oil derivatives - are now being told, as a result of new Government regulations, that they must secure lines of credit from the Central Bank. But only a handful of lines of credit have been issued since June, mostly in just the last few days. Enforcement of these regulations is already having alarming effect. Two vessels carrying more than 29,000 metric tons of fuel have at the Government’s request been refused entry into Yemen in recent days. I described the impact of desperate fuel shortages last month: if current trends continue, water services and sanitation facilities will inevitably be either curtailed or cut altogether. The Government has announced that it intends to extend enforcement of the new regulations to food imports starting 9 November. Unless steps are taken to expedite the process or waive the new requirements, imports of key food commodities and fuel could, we assess, fall by half. That would, for reasons I have explained, be the death knell for countless innocent civilians, most of them women and children. So, Mr. President, I call on all stakeholders to do everything possible to avert catastrophe. We urgently seek your support in this Council for action in five areas: First, a cessation of hostilities in and around all the infrastructure and facilities on which the aid operation and commercial importers rely. A humanitarian cease-fire would reflect the obligations of the parties to the conflict to uphold international humanitarian law and to do everything possible to facilitate the delivery of humanitarian assistance. As we have previously made clear, the UN is ready to play an enhanced role in ensuring the appropriate use of key facilities especially around Hudaydah. Second, protection of the supply of food and essential goods across the country. Humanitarian and commercial imports must flow into all ports and onwards to their final destinations. This means lifting planned and existing restrictions on imports and keeping the main transport routes open and safe. Third, a larger and faster injection of foreign exchange into the economy through the Central Bank, along with expediting credit for traders, and payment of pensioners and civil servants. Fourth, increased funding and support for the humanitarian operation. Given projected increases in needs – potentially up to 14 million people, as I have said - and inevitable lead times, aid agencies need additional resources now to start scaling up relief efforts. And fifth, with so many lives at stake, we call upon the belligerents to seize this moment to engage fully and openly with the Special Envoy to end the conflict. He and I discuss these issues all the time and have agreed on the five issues I raised before you today.
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Famine
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2005 Chennai floods
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The 2005 December Chennai stampede incident happened on 18 December 2005 in a school at MGR Nagar in Chennai, the capital of the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu, where the relief supplies were distributed by the state government for the people affected by severe flooding. There were 42 deaths in the accident, which left another 37 injured. The state government appointed a one-man commission under retired justice A. Raman to look into the enquiry. The state government also announced a compensation of ₹100,000 for all the victims and ₹15,000 for the injured. During 2005, there were heavy rains in Tamil Nadu and its coastal areas were flooded. Many people were rendered homeless by flooding during November and December. Relief measures were announced by the government that necessitated collecting tokens from authorities in different centres across the city. During 2005, there were heavy rains in Chennai and the surrounding areas that resulted in severe flooding. Most coastal areas of the state were flooded. [1] Many people were rendered homeless by the floods during the months of November and December. Relief measures were announced by the government that necessitated collecting tokens from authorities in different centres across the city. The government centres were distributing ₹ 2,000, 10 kg of rice, dhotis and saris to the people affected by the floods. [2] The relief measures were to be originally distributed from the ration shop in the area, but the street being narrow, the venue was changed to Arignar Anna Government School. On Saturday 17 December 2005, the day before the accident, 3,452 families were issued tokens and the authorities were planning to distribute for 4,5000 families on Sunday. The announcement was made with the help of public addressing system. [3]
On 18 December 2005, Sunday, around 4,500 people were gathered around the Arignar Anna Government High school in MGR Nagar where the tokens to the relief measures were about to be distributed for people under the jurisdiction of three ration shops. [4] The people assembled from 3 a.m., while the relief was planned to be distributed at 9 a.m. There was a sudden downpour at 3:45 a.m., and there were rumours that the relief measures would be given only on first come first basis to 1,000 families. At around 4 a.m, people broke through the cordons set up by police to enter the building. There was a concrete slope at the entrance and people at the front end of the queue slipped and others stumbled over them. The gates were closed with difficulty, but by then the stampede caused 42 deaths and 37 injuries. [1][4] Eyewitness claimed that the sudden downpour resulted in chaos in the area. The police were few in number to control the large crowd. [2] They also claimed that the police controlling the crowd early during the day would have averted the situation. [3][4]
The stampede is counted among the twenty deadliest stampedes during the period of 1968–2005. [5] The President of India, A. P. J. Abdul Kalam, condoled the death of the people who lost their lives in the tragedy. On account of the poor lighting and rain, the rescue personnel found it difficult to reach the spot. The crowd did not disperse without understanding the seriousness of the situation and only left after an announcement was made that the distribution would be made at their doors. Umbrellas, footwear and ration cards were strewn all over the place. [4] Sixteen of the injured were admitted to the government hospital and eleven, including six women, were admitted to the Royapettah Government Hospital. [6] The Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, J. Jayalalithaa visited the injured in the hospital. During her interaction with the media after her hospital visit, she said that this might have been the handiwork of some of the miscreants trying to tarnish the image of the government. She stated that "There was no need for people to come in so early during the day when it had been announced that relief distribution would begin from 9 am. We had made elaborate arrangement by restricting the number of relief-seekers to 500 at each of the nine counters and deployed heavy security. It was announced that everyone would get relief,". [3] The Tamil Nadu police said that it was raining heavily during the distribution of relief supplies. The state government also announced a compensation of ₹one lakh for all the victims and ₹ 15,000 for the injured. [1] The leader of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) party Muthuvel Karunanidhi, accused the government of buying votes by distributing freebies for the forthcoming elections. He also added that it was the poor administration of the government that resulted in the tragedy. [2] His son, M. K. Stalin, an MLA from the DMK party, accused the government of not setting up a committee to monitor the relief measures. [3] As a mark of respect to those who died in the accident, the shops in the area closed at 2 p.m. on the day. [7]
The police arrested Dhanasekaran, the areas' councillor who belonged to the opposing DMK party, on 20 December 2005 on charges of spreading rumours. [8] He was charged under IPC sections 120-B for criminal conspiracy, 147 for punishment for rioting, 304 for punishment for culpable homicide not amounting to murder, 109 for abetment, 323 for voluntarily causing hurt and 325 voluntarily causing grievous hurt. [9][10] It was alleged that he and his supporters roamed around the previous evening announcing that Sunday would be the last day and token distribution would begin by 5 a.m.[10] He argued in a lower court that he was politically targeted and the tragedy was because of an administrative failure. He quoted the transfer of Chennai collector and police officials involved in the case to support his argument. He was granted bail by the court on 26 December. [11] He was charged in Goodas Act before the court could grant bail. He was granted bail by the Madras High Court on 5 January. [12] The government filed a special leave petition against the order in the Supreme Court of India on 27 January 2006, but the court rejected the plea and accused the government of negligence. The court stated that "The incident occurred because of the negligence of your officers.
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Floods
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Georgian weightlifter breaks world records to win gold at Olympics
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Lasha Talakhadze of Team Georgia competes during the Weightlifting - Men's 109kg+ Group A on day twelve of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at Tokyo International Forum on August 04, 2021 in Tokyo, Japan.
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Georgian strong man Lasha Talakhadze broke his own world record to retain the title in the men’s heaviest weight class at the Tokyo Olympics on Wednesday with a combined lift of 488 kg, or 1,076 pounds.
Talakhadze, who won a gold at the 2016 Rio Games in the same category, lifted 223 kg (491 pounds) for the snatch and 265 kg (584 pounds) for the clean and jerk to also break his own world records in the two categories.
“I feel pretty good – I have just gained a second Olympic gold medal and of course I have also set another world record,” Talakhadze said through an interpreter.
“We were for a long time looking forward to the Olympics and to win this gold.”
Read more: While you were sleeping - How Canada performed at Tokyo Olympics Tuesday, Wednesday
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His total was 47 kilos more than Iran’s Ali Davoudi, who took silver in the men’s +109 kg class. Syria’s Man Asaad took the bronze with 424 kg.
Talakhadze dominated the field from the beginning. He was the last lifter to start both the snatch and the clean and jerk, and made three consecutive attempts for each.
In his third snatch, Talakhadze initially called for 221 kg, one kilo shy of his world record. Crowds cheered when he increased the weight to 223 kg – and made the lift.
Read more: Weightlifter Maude Charron embraces ‘weird road’ to gold medal at Tokyo Olympics
He chose to lift 265 kg in his third clean and jerk, one kilo more than his world record, without hesitation. The sound of camera shutters echoed throughout the arena as he made the attempt and succeeded again.
Talakhadze, who becomes the first Georgian athlete to win multiple Olympic gold medals in any sport, aims to compete in the Paris Games in 2024.
The sport is facing the risk of removal from the Games over persistent doping issues. Talakhadze said that offenders should get what they deserve but that the sport should be included in the Paris Games.
“Those who deserve punishment should be punished and weightlifting should remain in the program,” he said.
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Break historical records
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1835 Paterson Textile Strike
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The 1835 Paterson textile strike took place in Paterson, New Jersey, involved more than 2,000 workers from 20 textile mills across the city. The strikers, many of whom were children and of Irish descent, were seeking a reduction in daily working hours from thirteen and a half hours to eleven hours. Support from other workers in Paterson and nearby cities allowed the strikers to sustain their efforts for two weeks. Employers refused to negotiate with the workers, and were able to break the strike by unilaterally declaring a reduction in work hours to twelve hours daily during the week and nine hours on Saturdays. Many leaders of the strike and their family were blacklisted by employers in Paterson after it ended. As the Industrial Revolution got under way, the 1830s were a time of significant labor unrest in the United States. Workers throughout the country had over the previous decade sought to secure shorter working days and higher wages, but many of these efforts and strikes failed. The famous but unsuccessful 1834 Lowell Mill strikes in Lowell, Massachusetts, had garnered widespread public attention and were followed closely by workers in other mill towns. In 1835, construction workers in Boston struck seeking shorter hours. This strike failed as well, despite support from unionists in a number of other cities including Philadelphia, Paterson, and Newark. Inspired by Boston, workers in a number of trades in Philadelphia began a campaign to secure a ten-hour day, and after receiving support from professionals in the city, were almost universally successful. [1]
Workers in Paterson hoped to achieve similar success to those in Philadelphia. [1] Just before Independence Day, they began a strike demanding shorter hours. They also demanded an end to the use of fines to enforce discipline in the mills, wage withholding, and the company store system in the town. In support of the strikers, an organization called the Paterson Association for the Protection of the Working Class was established. They also received monetary support from workers in Newark and New York City. [2] The strikers were mainly children, mainly female,[2] and many of them were of Irish descent. Due to this last fact, debate around the strike quickly became infused with nativist and anti-immigrant rhetoric, especially from the Lowell Intelligencer, a pro-management newspaper. [3]
Management refused to meet with the strikers, and as a result workers at other mills began to walk out and join in. [2] At its peak, 2000 workers from 20 mills were participating in the strike. In response, employers reduced hours, not to eleven as the strikers wanted, but to twelve on weekdays and nine on Saturday. This reduction broke the strike, and most of the workers returned to the mills. [1] A few strikers continued to hold out for an eleven-hour day, but unsuccessfully. Strike leaders and their families were permanently barred from employment in Paterson, having been blacklisted by the mill owners. Although the strike was broken, it achieved a significant reduction in work hours. According to historians David Roediger and Philip Foner, "...the strike, which added a dozen hours to each worker's weekly leisure, must have been counted a success by the children initiating it. "[2]
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Strike
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US to withdraw from UNESCO cultural agency
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The Trump administration on Thursday said it would withdraw the United States from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), citing anti-Israeli bias from the organization. UNESCO was informed of the administration's decision on Thursday. The State Department said the U.S. would instead seek to be a permanent observer to UNESCO, which promotes collaboration among countries through culture, education and science. “This decision was not taken lightly, and reflects U.S. concerns with mounting arrears at UNESCO, the need for fundamental reform in the organization, and continuing anti-Israel bias at UNESCO,” State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said in a statement. This is not the first time the United States has withdrawn from the organization, nor is it the first time the United States has criticized UNESCO for anti-Israeli bias. The United States also withdrew from the organization during the Cold War under President Ronald Reagan. During the Obama administration, the U.S. slashed $80 million per year of its funding for the organization, according to Foreign Policy, a move that followed UNESCO’s admittance of Palestine as a member. The cuts have increased the money owed by the United States to UNESCO to $500 million, the magazine reported. Fights over Israel and the Palestinian cause have been frequent flashpoints for the United States under past administrations. Israel last year summoned its UNESCO ambassador after the organization declared that one of Jerusalem’s holy sites is specifically a “Muslim holy site of worship,” according to Reuters. The U.S. will still be involved with the organization “as a non-member observer state,” the State Department said. The goal is “to contribute U.S. views, perspectives and expertise on some of the important issues undertaken by the organization, including the protection of world heritage, advocating for press freedoms, and promoting scientific collaboration and education.” The withdrawal will become official on Dec. 31, 2018.
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Withdraw from an Organization
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Bouhalouane train crash
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The Bouhalouane train crash was a fatal railway accident that happened at Bouhalouane in Algeria on January 27, 1982[1] at 01:30 and killed 131 people. A passenger train travelling from Oran to the capital Algiers and consisting of a locomotive and eight carriages stalled on a steep gradient leading to a mountain pass a few kilometres beyond the town of Bouhalouane in the Chlef Province[1] of Algeria. The locomotive was uncoupled leaving the carriages unsecured; the brakes failed on the carriages and they rolled back down the slope to Bouhalouane where they collided with a freight train in the station. The noise woke many of the residents who rushed to the station where they witnessed an 'apocalyptic scene'. The passenger carriages were split open and stacked upon each other; screams of the wounded could be heard. Motorists passing the station were stopped and their cars became makeshift ambulances taking the injured to nearby hospitals. Heavy lifting equipment and cutting torches were used as police and army worked to rescue the injured, illuminated by spotlights. By dawn 100 bodies had been recovered. The final death toll was 131 people, with 200 injured, resulting as Algeria's deadliest rail disaster. [citation needed]
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Train collisions
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