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‘Her dad would be so proud’: The force that drove McKeown to gold
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Kaylee McKeown has put aside family heartbreak to triumph in the 100m backstroke final, winning her first Olympic gold medal and Australia’s third in three days in the pool.
The 20-year-old Australian from the Sunshine Coast turned in third place, 0.29 seconds off the pace, but powered home to touch the wall first in 57.47s. Her father died 11 months ago from brain cancer.
Kaylee McKeown after winning gold in the 100m backstroke.
Credit:Getty
McKeown’s time was just 0.02 seconds off her own world record.
In her first Olympics, McKeown cruised through the heats and semi-finals to qualify third fastest.
With form on the board, McKeown delivered on the biggest stage of all, edging out Canada’s two-time world champion Kylie Masse (57.72) and American star Regan Smith (58.05) in a superb swim.
“It’s definitely something that people dream of,” McKeown said on Channel Seven. “Something I have dreamed of to make it reality. I’m just thankful I have a good support team.”
Kaylee McKeown receives her gold medal.
Credit:Getty Images
Asked if she had a message to her family, McKeown let fly an expletive.
“F--- yeah. Oh!” she continued.
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“To dad: I hope you’re proud and I keep doing you proud,” McKeown said.
McKeown’s mother Sharon said: “Her dad would be so proud. It hasn’t sunk in. So happy and excited. Can’t wait to give her a cuddle. It’s been pretty tough. You know, COVID’s probably been a bit of a blessing and Kaylee’s been able to focus and fly under the radar. She’s done a great job.
“She knows dad is watching over her.”
Asked about the swear word in excitement, McKeown snr laughed, before saying, “I will have to have a word to her later”.
Australian Emily Seebohm, in her fourth Olympics, performed admirably, finishing fifth in a time of 58.45.
McKeown broke Smith’s world record at the Olympic trials last month in a time of 57.45, and put the world on notice, particularly given her ability to consistently clock fast times.
After losing her father to brain cancer 11 months ago, McKeown pushed on with the guidance of her coach Chris Mooney.
Kaylee McKeown with her late father Sholto, mum Sharon and her silver medal from the 2019 world championships.
Heading into Tokyo, McKeown was the fastest in the world in the 100m and 200m backstroke events, plus the 200m individual medley.
However, on the eve of the Games, McKeown withdrew from the 200m IM to focus on her individual races.
Meanwhile, Ariarne Titmus and Katie Ledecky will once again go head-to-head - this time in the 200m freestyle final on Wednesday - following their epic 400m freestyle final.
Titmus took a while to warm up in semi-final one but touched the wall in first place (1:54.82), ahead of Hong Kong athlete Siobhan Bernadette Huaghey (1:55.16) and China’s Yang Junxuan (1:55.98).
Ledecky also won her semi-final (1:55.34) but the Australian qualified fastest.
“Happy with that,” Titmus told Channel Seven a day after her maiden Olympic gold medal. “I got hold of mum and dad last night quickly before I went to sleep. They were obviously still so hyped about it. It took me a while to fall asleep. Once I did, I woke up feeling pretty good.”
Fellow Australian Madi Wilson finished fourth in semi-final two (1:56.58) and will contest the final from lane eight.
In the final of the 100m backstroke, Mitch Larkin finished a disappointing seventh (52.79), 0.81 seconds off Russian Evgeny Rylov.
Meanwhile, Great Britain managed the 1-2 quinella in the 200m freestyle, with Tom Dean (1:44.22) and Duncan Scott (1:44.26) winning gold and silver.
And in the 100m breaststroke final, reigning Olympic champion Lilly King (1:05.54) has finished third, behind fellow American Lydia Jacoby (1:04.95) and South African Tatjana Schoenmaker (1:05.22).
On Tuesday evening, Kyle Chalmers will get his individual campaign underway in the 100m freestyle heats.
The reigning Olympic champion swam a sensational final leg of the 4x100m freestyle relay on Monday to power Australia to third place, behind the US and Italy. His split time was the fastest of all 32 competitors in that final.
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Break historical records
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Famine in the Tigray War
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Famine in the Tigray War consists of human deaths from starvation[1] during the Tigray War that started in November 2020. Formally, the deaths were estimated to be a crisis (phase 3)/emergency (phase 4) level of acute food insecurity in large parts of Tigray Region in January 2021 by the Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET) under the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC). [2] In late January 2021, The Economist claimed that it was "likely" that the federal Ethiopian government was "deliberately holding back food in an effort to starve" the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF). [3] An Ethiopian official stated in late January that there was "no starvation in Ethiopia". [3] On 10 February 2021, Abera Tola, head of Ethiopian Red Cross Society (ERCS), described displaced people "reach[ing] camps in Tigrayan towns [being] 'emaciated'" and that "their skin [was] really on their bones." He estimated that "eighty percent" of Tigray was unreachable by humanitarian assistance. [4] In early February 2021, Muferiat Kamil, Ethiopian Minister of Peace, agreed with World Food Programme representatives to allow increased food distribution in Tigray Region. [4]
On 7 February 2021, Tufts University researcher Alex de Waal argued that the information blackout from the Tigray Region should not be used to "quibble" over the formal classification of the type of starvation in terms of the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC)[5] of acute food security, in which the severest classifications are "crisis (phase 3)", "emergency (phase 4)" and "famine (phase 5)". [6] De Waal said that 380,000 people had died of "hunger and violence" during the South Sudanese Civil War, among which only 1% had died in areas classified as being under "famine (phase 5)". [7]
Abraha Desta, head of the opposition polical party Arena Tigray and head of the Bureau of Social Affairs of the Transitional Government of Tigray, stated on 25 January 2021 that reports had been received of 10 people who had died from starvation in Gulomahda woreda, which in the 2007 census had 84,236 inhabitants; and 3 starvation deaths in Adwa, which had 40,500 residents in the 2007 census. [8][9] The mortality rate for a phase 5 famine is 2 deaths per 10,000 inhabitants per day. [6]
On 15 April 2021, Mark Lowcock of OCHA said that four internally displaced people in Tigray Region were known to have died of hunger that week, and 150 people had died of hunger in Ofla. [10]
On 22 January 2021, The Economist claimed that it was "likely that the authorities [were] deliberately holding back food in an effort to starve the rebels out. "[3]
In early April 2021, the World Peace Foundation published a report in which it listed Article 8(2)(b)(xxv) of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, "Intentionally using starvation of civilians as a method of warfare by depriving them of objects indispensable to their survival, including wilfully impeding relief supplies as provided for under the Geneva Conventions" and Articles 270(i) and 273 of the 2004 Ethiopian Penal Code as appropriate criminal laws in relation to starvation in the Tigray War. Section 4 of the report listed evidence. The authors concluded that the Ethiopian and Eritrean governments were responsible for starvation, and that "circumstantial evidence suggest[ed] that [the starvation was] intentional, systematic and widespread. "[11]
In an 8 January meeting of the Tigray Emergency Coordination Center between international aid groups and Transitional Government of Tigray officials in Mekelle, capital of Tigray Region, a regional administraor, Berhane Gebretsadik, estimated that "hundreds of thousands" were at risk of starvation if food aid wasn't increased, and that in Adwa, people were "dying while they [were] sleeping". [12]
An federal official stated that there was "no starvation in Ethiopia" on 19 January 2021, according to The Economist. [3]
On 22 January 2021, The Economist described estimates by Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET)[13] as Tigray being "probably one step from famine" and quoted a "Western diplomat" estimating, "We could have a million dead there in a couple of months". The burning of crops and abandonment of fields prior to harvest time were listed by The Economist as causative factors of starvation. [3]
On 25 January 2021, Abraha stated that many people were displaced after having their property looted and that food was available, but there was a distribution problem, since drivers were afraid. He stated that foreign aid organisations were unable to leave the capital Mekelle due to security concerns for convoys. He described the situation as "'unprecedented in its history', and that 4.5 million people were in need of emergency food assistance". [8] The Economist described the access blocks as including the initial federal government authorisation, authorisations from neighbouring regional governments, and blocks by local armed forces "citing security" or worried about food being provided to the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF). [3]
In early February 2021, the FEWS NET classified the level of starvation in Tigray Region under the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) criteria as "Emergency (Phase 4)" in the central areas and as "Crisis (Phase 3)" in the rest of Tigray Region apart from Western Tigray. FEWS NET saw the armed conflict and access constraints, low levels of economic activity and income-earning, and "significant disruption to market activity" as being key factors for phase 4 level acute food security to continue in central and eastern Tigray through to May 2021. [2]
According to Human Rights Concern Eritrea (HRCE), prior to the Eritrean refugees in the Shimelba and Hitsats refugee camps being forced to return to Eritrea, they were so hungry that they were "forced to eat grass and roots". [14]
On 10 February 2021, Abera Tola, head of Ethiopian Red Cross Society (ERCS), stated,
Displaced civilians who have managed to reach camps in Tigrayan towns are 'emaciated'. You see their skin is really on their bones. You don't see any food in their body. Abera stated that "eighty percent" of Tigray was unreachable from humanitarian assistance. He predicted that the number of deaths by starvation could mount to "tens of thousands" within two months. [4]
On 2 July 2021, the United Nations Security Council discussed the issue and told that more than 400,000 people were being affected by food insecurity and that 33,000 children were severely malnourished. The report also stated that 1.8 million people were on the brink of famine. [15]
On 1 February, Jan Egeland, head of the Norwegian Refugee Council, stated that "twelve weeks since the start of conflict in [Tigray Region], meaningful humanitarian operations [had] still not begun", with aid organisations unable to access much of the region, especially away from Mekelle and major roads, and with administrative delays and unpredictability in obtaining authorisations for access. Egeland stated that he had "rarely seen a humanitarian response so impeded and unable to deliver in response for so long, to so many with such pressing needs. "[16]
In early February 2021, Muferiat Kamil, Ethiopian Minister of Peace, agreed with World Food Programme representatives to "scale up" food distribution in Tigray Region, authorising 25 international staff for access, while another 49 awaited approval. [4] On 12 February, a total of 53 international staff of United Nations agencies and NGOs had received approval to enter Tigray Region. [17]
As of 15 April 2021, humanitarian aid distribution was blocked on several of the main roads by military fighting, by the Eritrean Defence Forces, and by Amhara Region security forces. [10]
Recipients of the food aid arriving in Shire in December 2020 reported problems. In one case, residents were required to sign that they had received 15 kg of food while in reality receiving 7 kg. In another case, 15 kg was provided per person until 18:00, the close of working hours. The following day the food was reported to have been stolen, transported to Eritrea. Another resident described being required to register four times and receiving no food. One report stated that food was only given to Prosperity Party members. In a town controlled by the EDF, all food was confiscated by the EDF. [18]
On 8 February 2021, the boards of the Tigray Development Association (TDA) and the Relief Society of Tigray (REST), two local NGOs trusted by Tigrayans, were dissolved by federal authorities. [18]
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Famine
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Sian Proctor makes history with SpaceX's Inspiration4 as first-ever Black female spacecraft pilot
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"I have this opportunity to not only accomplish my dream, but also inspire the next generation of women of color and girls of color," Sian Proctor said. Sian Proctor is making history as the first-ever Black female spacecraft pilot. Proctor, a geoscientist, artist and science communicator, has been paving the way in the space sector for decades. Now, years after being a finalist in NASA's astronaut candidate program back in 2009, she is realizing her dream of becoming an astronaut as she launches to orbit with the Inspiration4 mission tonight (Sept. 15). While the mission itself is making history as the first all-civilian mission to launch to orbit, Proctor is accomplishing a major first herself as the first Black female spacecraft pilot. "I'm really grateful to be here and to have this opportunity," Proctor said Sept. 14 during a news conference with reporters. "There have been three Black female astronauts that have made it to space, and knowing that I'm going to be the fourth means that I have this opportunity to not only accomplish my dream, but also inspire the next generation of women of color and girls of color and really get them to think about reaching for the stars and what that means." Proctor is preceded by only six other Black female astronauts in history, only three of which have flown to space. The first-ever Black woman to fly to space was Mae Jemison , who flew on the space shuttle Endeavour with the STS-47 mission in 1992. Following her, Stephanie Wilson and Joan Higginbotham also flew with NASA shuttle missions. There are three other Black women who are NASA astronauts but have never flown to space; they include Yvonne Cagle, Jessica Watkins and Jeanette Epps, who was selected by NASA in 2009 in the same astronaut-selection round as Proctor. Cagle works in NASA management currently, while Watkins was recently selected as part of NASA's 22nd astronaut class. Epps is slated to fly to space with Boeing's Starliner astronaut taxi, once the company completes its first test flights of the new vehicle. In 2020, Epps was chosen to fly with Boeing's Starliner-1 mission , the first operational mission for the craft that will take a crew of four to the International Space Station. The launch date for that mission is planned for sometime in 2022. In addition to sharing her excitement about being a part of this mission and about becoming an astronaut, Proctor also shared how, as a Black woman, she has had to deal with added pressures in her journey to space. "Growing up as a Black female and always trying to be a high achiever and not mess up," Proctor added, "just having that pressure on yourself of thinking about not wanting to be eliminated, not wanting to miss out, [you have to] make sure you're the best of the best, because you're opening up the door for the people who follow you." "A lot of times, you know, if you're in a position of a role model, if you slip or you mess up, then it means that you're kind of shutting the door for those behind you," she added. Proctor also referenced her hope for space to one day align with her "JEDI" acronym, which stands for just, equitable, diverse and inclusive, she said during the news conference. In addition to being the first Black female spacecraft pilot, Proctor will also be the oldest Black woman to go to space, flying at 51 years old. She spoke to this aspect, and how so many think that by being over a certain age they can no longer do incredible things. "Being an older Black female in my 50s, I think that I think it's just going to be inspiring to see that those dreams that you had when you were a kid can still come to, because a lot of times we think that we've missed our prime in our 20s and our 30s go by, and then we get into our 40s. And we're like, 'oh, yeah, all right.' But it's not true." "I think that when we lift off, it's going to be inspiring not only for me, but I think everybody who's following along because they can connect with every one of our crewmembers in a unique and special way," she added. Proctor will launch to space as part of Inspiration4 alongside crewmates, commander Jared Isaacman, medical officer Hayley Arceneaux and mission specialist Chris Sembroski.
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New achievements in aerospace
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Archaeologists Unearth Sprawling Roman Ruins Unlike Any Found in the U.K.
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An ancient complex in Yorkshire may have been a luxury villa, a religious sanctuary or a mixture of both Archaeologists in the English town of Scarborough have discovered the foundations of what may have been a luxurious Roman villa. The complex appears to be the first of its kind found in Britain—and possibly the only known example in all of the former Roman Empire, reports Joe Cooper for the Yorkshire Evening Post. “This is a really exciting discovery and definitely of national importance,” Keith Emerick, inspector of ancient monuments at Historic England, tells the Guardian’s Alexandra Topping. “I would say this is one of the most important Roman discoveries in the past decade, actually. Easily.” The Scarborough site housed a complex of buildings, including one with a circular central room and several rooms leading off of it, as well as a bathhouse. The structures’ unique layout has never been recorded in Britain before, according to a statement. “We’ve spoken to a number of leading Roman academics about it and we’re all trying to find a comparable site and we are struggling,” Emerick tells BBC News. “So in that sense it is really significant. It’s really exciting as well.” In the statement, Historic England suggests that the buildings were a high-status home or a religious sanctuary. The site may have combined both uses, or shifted from one to another over time. “[I]t is something like a religious building that is almost like a gentleman’s club, there’s a bathhouse as well,” Emerick tells BBC News. “So it’s a really interesting hybrid building at the moment.” Per the York Museums Trust’s History of York, Romans arrived in the city of York—about 40 miles southwest of Scarborough—around 71 A.D., more than 25 years after establishing a province in southern Britain. York served as the Romans’ local seat of government between 208 and 211, under Emperor Septimius Severus, and again under Constantine the Great in 305. The city remained an important provincial capital until the turn of the fifth century, when Roman forces left Britain. Other ancient sites of interest in the county of Yorkshire include the former city of Isurium Brigantum, where two Roman mosaics remain standing in their original positions, and a camp and possible Roman road, both of which are found in the moorlands just northwest of Scarborough, notes Britain Express. Housing developer Keepmoat Homes hired archaeologists to investigate the site ahead of construction. As Grace Newton reports for the Yorkshire Post, researchers had expected to find Iron Age and Roman remains at the site, but they had no idea just how significant these discoveries would turn out to be. Keepmoat has now amended its plans to avoid building houses over the archaeological site. Instead, the area will be maintained as open space within the housing development. Historic England plans to seek scheduled monument status for the site, in addition to funding more archaeological work there. “This is a remarkable discovery which adds to the story of Roman settlement in North Yorkshire,” says Karl Battersby, corporate director of business and environmental services at the North Yorkshire County Council, in a separate statement quoted by CNN’s Jack Guy. “Work by North Yorkshire archaeologists has already established the buildings were designed by the highest quality architects in Northern Europe in the era and constructed by the finest craftsmen.” Battersby adds that further study will investigate what the building complex was used for and why it was built so far from other Roman centers.
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New archeological discoveries
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Ethiopia creating 'famine' in Tigray, EU warns
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Ethiopia's "siege" on its restive Tigray region is creating a "man-made famine", the European Commission has warned. "This is not a ceasefire, it's a siege and starvation is being used as a weapon of war," EU crisis-management commissioner Janez Lenarčič said in the European Parliament on Tuesday (6 July). Short-term commitment "Famine is now a reality in Tigray for an estimated 900,000 people and another 1 million people are just one step away ... This famine is entirely man made and it's a disgrace to those who are responsible for it," he added. The "siege" has seen Ethiopia close Tigray's borders, ban flights, destroy road and rail infrastructure, cut telecommunications, and prevent the entry of international aid workers, he said. "Atrocities", such as systematic rape and extra-judicial killings, were also being seen in the conflict, in what "may amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity", Lenarčič added. Ethiopia recently announced a ceasefire after rebel forces in Tigray captured the regional capital, Mekelle, and other towns. Anže Logar, Slovenia's foreign minister, also told MEPs on Tuesday the fighting was now "reduced in intensity, probably as an indication that the EDF [Ethiopian Defence Force] has withdrawn from most parts of the territory" and was "putting up little resistance". Allied Eritrean forces had also retreated to border regions in the north of Tigray, while the government-allied Amhara militia had retreated to western areas, he said. But after eight months of war, 91 percent of Tigray's population was "in need of urgent assistance", he estimated, speaking on behalf of Slovenia's EU presidency. "We urgently need a full ceasefire by all parties," Logar said. The EU has suspended budgetary aid to Ethiopia and threatened to blacklist officials who obstructed aid workers. It was also spending some €118m on refugees who had crossed into neighbouring South Sudan, Lenarčič said. And it has twice sent a special envoy, Finnish foreign minister Pekka Haavisto, to try to broker peace talks and humanitarian access. But his visits have given little cause for hope. "When I met the Ethiopian leadership in February they really used this kind of language, that they are going to destroy the Tigrayans, they are going to wipe out the Tigrayans for 100 years," Haavisto told press on 18 June. "I think that's very obvious, that we have to react, because it looks for us like ethnic cleansing. It is a very, very serious act if this is true," he said. Haavisto's comments were a "hallucination of sorts or a lapse in memory of some kind", the Ethiopian foreign ministry said at the time. It is a mistake for the EU to act so dismissively towards Ethiopia at a time when conflict remains ongoing and a humanitarian crisis is occurring in Tigray. Fighting in Ethiopia is "dire", with ongoing ethnic cleansing and sexual violence, Finnish foreign minister Pekka Haavisto has said after visiting the conflict zone in Tigray. Ethiopia's war is being fought not just in a blackout, but also in a fog of lies, and Ethiopia's envoy to the EU is making matters worse.
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Famine
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Chrisley Knows Best’s Lindsie Chrisley and Will Campbell Settle Divorce Amid Ongoing Family Drama
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“While one door closes, another opens,” Chrisley wrote via Instagram at the time. “It’s with the deepest sadness that, after 9 years of marriage, Will & I have mutually decided to end our marriage . We maintain the greatest respect & love for one another, & we’re so grateful for our time together. We will continue to remain friends & be devoted parents to our son whom we both love very much.”
She continued, “Personally, I am focusing on the new beginnings ahead & a fresh space with the move this week. Thank you in advance for respecting our privacy as we work through this challenging time for our family.”
Two months later, the “Southern Tea” podcast host later opened up about coparenting post-divorce .
“Family — like branches on a tree. We grow in different directions, but we will always remain as one,” she captioned an Instagram slideshow of throwback family photos in September. “Spent the last several days hearing about Jackson’s adventures with Will. Bittersweet for me. Their first trip alone was to the same place as our last trip together (forever thankful for these captured memories.) Something I have learned over the last few months is that life is too ironic to fully understand. It takes sadness to know what happiness is. Noise to appreciate silence && absence to value presence.”
The former reality star added last month, “Reminder for you & me — No matter where you are in life, take it season by season & laugh at your messes & mishaps. Be okay with where you are, & when you feel the tilt is heavy on one side, lean towards grace & this will help you through. ?”
The exes started dating in 2009, three years before their 2012 nuptials. Five months after tying the knot, Chrisley announced she was expecting their son.
Read article
The South Carolina native is the eldest daughter of Todd Chrisley ’s large brood, though she is estranged from her 52-year-old father . Ahead of finalizing her divorce, she made headlines when she noted there will “never be a reconciliation” between the father-daughter duo.
“I think that the most that anyone could ask for at this point is for everyone to go on with their lives as they see fit and to just leave the other side alone. But at this point, there will be no chance for reconciliation,” Lindsie told Entertainment Tonight in September . “And unfortunately, I’m going to continue to respond to whatever allegations are put out.”
Todd had previously alleged that Lindsie cheated on Campbell in August 2019. He also accused his eldest child of leaking financial information to an investigator. Following the entrepreneur’s public claims, Lindsie later accused him and her stepbrother Chase Chrisley of attempted extortion. Ever since, the pair’s relationship has remained rocky.
“I’m not reaching out and I’m not commenting on the divorce,” Todd told E! News in August about their estrangement . “I spoke about what I woke up to one morning. I talked about it on [his podcast] ‘Chrisley Confessions,’ and I made a commitment that I was not going to talk about that anymore. It’s not my business, I was not a party to it, I don’t know what happened.”
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Famous Person - Divorce
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1994–95 NHL lockout
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The 1994–95 NHL lockout was a lockout that came after a year of National Hockey League (NHL) hockey that was played without a collective bargaining agreement. The lockout was a subject of dispute as the players sought collective bargaining and owners sought to help franchises that had a weaker market as well as make sure they could cap the rising salaries of players. The lockout caused the 1994–95 season to be delayed and shortened to 48 games instead of 84, the shortest season in 53 years. Much like the later 2004–05 NHL lockout, the big issue was the implementation of a salary cap. The NHL owners were strongly in favor of the cap while the players were opposed to it. The NHL wanted to levy a luxury tax, a financial penalty that is assigned by the league, on salaries that were higher than the average. However, the NHL's Player Association viewed that as a variation on a salary cap and refused to accept it. This came right off the heels of the 1992 walkout by players, which interrupted the race for the Stanley Cup. [1]
This 3 month, 1 week, and 3 day lockout stretched from October 1, 1994, to January 11, 1995. A total of 468 games were lost due to the lockout, along with the All-Star Game. Unlike the league's future lockouts, the players went to training camp as if to start the season. However, as these camps came to a close it was obvious that there was to be labor talks in the near future. [2]
As previously noted, the NHL wanted to levy a luxury tax on salaries that were higher than the average and the NHLPA viewed that as a variation on a salary cap and refused to accept it. Unlike in the 1992 strike, it was the owners who wanted to make sure that they got the right deal and this was under a new commissioner Gary Bettman. [3] There were a few issues that the owners wanted to work out, most of which revolved around salary caps, free agency and hoping to limit escalating salaries. [2] Bettman's "NHL mandate was: aggressive expansion, a new American TV deal, a focus on growth (especially in the southern U.S.), and lasting labor peace … under the owners' terms, of course.". [2] It was widely assumed that to reach this peace a salary cap would have to be in place. Bettman's insisted the owners' plan was merely a tax plan, but would result the same as a salary cap. Under the leadership of Bob Goodenow, the players decided that they would be open to a small tax, however the bulk of the financial goals could be achieved through revenue sharing. Going into the negotiations both the players and the owners agreed on one big issue, the small market franchises. The league wanted to tie salaries to revenue in order to subsidize the operation of weaker teams while the NHL Players' Association (NHLPA) sought revenue sharing to help the smaller market teams. The lockout attracted the attention of worldwide negotiation experts. An op-ed article in The New York Times by James K. Sebenius and his colleague Prof. Michael A. Wheeler brought to prominence a suggestion from fellow professors Howard Raiffa and David Lax: Revenue should flow into a separate escrow account touched by neither players nor owners until the dispute was resolved. This suggestion was not adopted. [4]
After the lockout had dragged on, the talk of salary cap faded and new items entered the debate. Talk of rookie salary cap, changes to the arbitration system, and loosened free agency. However, large market teams such as Toronto, Detroit, the New York Rangers, Dallas, and Philadelphia eventually broke with the league, as they feared that an extended lockout would outweigh the benefits from getting a salary cap and didn't want to be the first league in North America to forfeit an entire season just to help out their small-market colleagues. [2]
While some NHL players decided to play in various European leagues, others decided to remain in North America. Around that time, the "4-on-4 Challenge" (i.e. four players and a goalie on the ice) was initiated. This NHLPA organized tournament was played over the course of three days (10–12 November 1994) during the owners' lockout of 1994–95; all the games were played in Hamilton, Ontario's Copps Coliseum. In the end, Team Ontario defeated Team USA, Team Western Canada and Team Quebec to win the tournament, which raised more than half a million dollars to support the Ronald McDonald Children's Charities of Canada and minor hockey associations throughout North America. Many NHL superstars, notably Patrick Roy, Luc Robitaille, Brett Hull, Joe Sakic, Doug Gilmour, Rob Blake and Mike Richter, took part in this competition. Also in the meantime, Wayne Gretzky and some friends formed the Ninety Nine All Stars Tour and played some exhibition games in various countries. The lockout ended on January 11, 1995. As a result, the league shortened the season length from 84 games, the length of the previous two seasons, to 48. [5] Furthermore, the season would last from January 20 to May 3; this was the first time in NHL history that the regular season extended into May. Regular-season games would be limited to intra-conference play (Eastern Conference teams did not play Western Conference teams). During the lockout, the NHL and NHLPA agreed to shorten future seasons to 82 games. San Jose, which was to host the All-Star game that year, was awarded the 1997 game instead. The lockout would eventually contribute in part to two Canadian teams moving to the United States—the Quebec Nordiques moved to Denver in the summer of 1995 and became the Colorado Avalanche, and the original Winnipeg Jets moved to Phoenix and became the Phoenix Coyotes in the summer of 1996. The Hartford Whalers became the Carolina Hurricanes in 1997. The Avalanche and Hurricanes would win the Stanley Cup within the next decade. Eventually there was another lockout in 2004–05, which resulted in that season being canceled altogether. On September 16, 2012 another lockout started, but it ended on January 6, 2013. The 1994–95 lockout had created resentment between the players and owners. When the next lockout happened in 2004 the owners attempted to come down hard on the players. In the end a salary cap for rookies was instituted, and all players signing a rookie contract needed to sign two-way contracts which allowed teams to send them down to minor league teams at minor league-level pay rather than the pay rate they received while playing for the parent NHL club. The league had expanded by four teams and began to participate in the Olympics. The league was to extend the CBA twice to ensure labor peace during that time.
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Strike
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Shots fired: Hunt for Sydney bank robber
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Police are searching for a robber who fired shots with a bolt-action rifle inside a western Sydney bank this morning. Officers say a man wearing a balaclava and dark clothes walked into the Westpac branch on busy Auburn Road carrying the rifle about 10:00am (AEST). About 35 customers and staff were inside at the time. The robber demanded money from a security guard, who was delivering cash inside the bank. In a struggle with the security guard, the gun was fired into the ground. Detective Acting Inspector Darren Cloake says the robber took a bag of cash and fled, but the security guard chased him and grabbed the gun. "Obviously the offenders were prepared to discharge a firearm, they were armed," he said. "So he's certainly got a lot of courage to display those sort of actions." Acting Inspector Cloake says the robber escaped in a blue sedan, which officers suspect was driven by another person. "The car is the key. We're obviously looking for witnesses that may have seen the vehicle or the offender," he said. "The vehicle was travelling south on Auburn Road. There was a lollipop man up the top there where they're doing construction work. "There was a slight traffic altercation there but the vehicle was last seen travelling at high speed south on Auburn Road." No-one was injured but the bank's staff are being offered counselling. Forensic police are at the scene and have sealed off the bank. A knife is lying on the road outside but police are not sure whether it is related to the robbery. Anyone with information about the incident is urged to call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
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Bank Robbery
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1 seriously hurt after explosions at oxygen, fuel supply company in Hickory
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HICKORY, N.C. — Officials said one person is seriously hurt after reported explosions Friday afternoon at an oxygen and fuel supply company in Hickory.
Firefighters were called to James Oxygen & Supply along Highway 321. An employee at a nearby store said it happened just before 1:30 p.m. and that they could see flames 40 feet in the air. They also said the ground was shaking and things were blowing everywhere.
A worker at James Oxygen & Supply said the employee was rushed to the hospital with injuries. Their condition is unknown at this point.
[ ALSO READ: Natural gas fire in SouthPark caused by construction crew, firefighters say ]
Chopper 9 Skyzoom flew above the scene and dozens of fire trucks and crews could be seen spraying water from trucks. Firefighters said they were trying to cool the propane tanks on the property.
“Just to cool the tanks to keep those tanks from exploding anymore. Also, that helps the propane to dissipate,” said Terry Byers with Hickory Fire.
Witnesses told Channel 9′s Dave Faherty that there were several explosions. A friend said he could see the plume of smoke from miles away.
“You could feel the house shake a little bit and when we looked across, you could see little fireballs shoot up in the air,” said neighbor Kim Maunz. “My house was shaking. My dishes were shaking. And then it kept going, five, six, seven more.”
Firefighters responding to oxygen and fuel supply company in Hickory after reported explosion (WSOC)
Barbara Burns was in her basement washing clothes when she heard three explosions, and drove down the street where she could see the road closed.
“Like bombs ... after I sat in my car for a while, there were two more, and the flames were really high,” she said.
Firefighters said because of the propane on the property, they are are being extremely careful and that is delaying their ability to get in there and determine what caused it.
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Gas explosion
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Police hunt bank robber after Noosa hold-up
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Sunshine Coast police are searching for a gunman who held up the Noosa Heads branch of the Bank of Queensland. He threatened staff with the weapon this afternoon and ran off with a sum of cash. The offender is described as being about 20 years old, 183 centimetres tall, with a solid build and clean shaven. He was wearing a red cap and long-sleeve shirt.
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Bank Robbery
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Yarra River's environmental health at risk due to litter, pollution, pests and urban development
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The Yarra River's environmental health is being put at risk due to litter, pollution and invasive species, with nearly 180 tonnes of rubbish being collected from the river system over a four-year period, a report has warned.
Victoria's Commissioner for Environmental Sustainability rated the river's health as "poor" in 18 out of 25 environmental indicators in its first State of the Yarra report, which provides a comprehensive assessment of the baseline health of the ecosystem.
The 117-page report found the water quality of the Yarra River had mostly remained "poor" for more than a decade, indicating "that the system is under considerable stress, mostly in the lower urbanised catchment of the Yarra River".
It also stated that over a four-year period between 2014 and 2017, a waste and litter program collected 179 tonnes of litter, including 1.29 million cigarette butts from the river and its mouth at Port Phillip Bay.
Between 2013 and 2017, the Environment Protection Agency (EPA) received 338 water pollution reports — the vast majority of which came from Alphington and further downstream.
Meanwhile, the outlook for frogs and fish was deteriorating in inner-city Melbourne and urban parts of the river system, but platypuses were assessed as being in a "fair" and "stable" state by the report.
The report also found the critically endangered Leadbeater's possum, which lives in areas north-east of Melbourne near the upper and lower rural Yarra reaches, was facing a shortage of suitable hollows in its state forest habitat.
"It may be necessary to supplement these natural hollows, using alternative approaches for providing den sites while natural hollows develop over coming decades," the report said.
The report included seven recommendations, including the establishment of a chief biodiversity scientist to oversee a coordinated effort to monitor the river's health.
"Victoria's biodiversity science and data capability are undermined by a lack of coordination and a strategic approach to investing in … critical research" to inform policy, the report said.
It also recommended the Government expand planning controls over the river to combat "inappropriate urban development" as Melbourne's population expands in the north-east of the city.
The current river protection zone should be extended from Warrandyte to the boundary of the Yarra Ranges National Park, the report said.
Environment Minister Lily D'Ambrosio said the Government would consider the report's recommendations and that care for the river was a "shared responsibility" of all Victorians.
"Smokers in particular need to make an effort to properly dispose of cigarette butts because whether they're dropped in the water, or on the street, they still end up in our rivers," she said.
She cited revegetation, pollution control and pest control programs as some examples of Government investment to help improve the river system's health.
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Environment Pollution
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2021 Saint Vincent Hospital strike
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The 2021 Saint Vincent Hospital strike is an ongoing labor strike involving nurses at the Saint Vincent Hospital in Worcester, Massachusetts, United States. The strike began on March 8, 2021, following disputes between the Massachusetts Nurses Association, which represents about 800 nurses at the hospital, and the hospital regarding staffing levels. Saint Vincent Hospital is a hospital owned by Tenet Healthcare and located in Worcester, Massachusetts. [1][2] It is one of the few for-profit hospitals in Massachusetts. [3] Beginning around 2019, hospital officials and union representatives from the Massachusetts Nurses Association (MNA, a labor union which represents several hundred nurses at the hospital) began to negotiate issues regarding pay and staffing levels at the hospital. [2] According to the hospital, a labor contract proposal between the two groups included a "substantial" pay increase for the nurses,[4] but by 2021, the two groups had still not come to an agreement regarding staffing levels. [1][2] The hospital claims that the union's demands are "unreasonable" and allege that the hospital has "one of the most generous staffing ratios in the state". However, the union rejects this claim, arguing that nurses routinely have to attend to five patients at a time and that staffing levels at the nearby UMass Memorial Medical Center are lower than those at Saint Vincent. [1] In both December 2020 and January 2021, some nurses performed informational picketing outside the hospital. [5]
In mid-February 2021, the nurses voted to authorize open-ended strike action against the hospital,[6][7] and on February 23, the union issued their 10-day notice of their intent to strike. [8] The vote had passed with 89% of the nurses voting to approve the strike action. [9] The last strike action taken by the union was a 2017 strike at Tufts Medical Center that lasted one day and was followed by a four-day lockout, while the union's last open-ended strike (a strike with no set time limit) occurred at Brockton Hospital in 2001 and lasted 104 days. [1] MNA members had previously performed strike action at Saint Vincent in 2001 while seeking their first labor contract with the hospital. [1] The last meeting between the union and hospital representatives before the strike started was on March 3, where a counteroffer made by the union was rejected by the hospital without a subsequent counteroffer. [8][10]
On March 8, 2021, the strike began, with approximately 800 nurses performing a walkout. [1][6] The strikers announced that they planned to picket from 6 a.m. to midnight until "we accomplish what we set out to do". [1] To accommodate for the nurses' absence, the hospital hired replacement workers at a cost of $5.4 million for five days. [1] Several nurses crossed the picket line, though the union claimed it was fewer than they had anticipated. [1] On the morning of March 12, former U.S. Representative Joe Kennedy III joined the picket line in support of the strikers, while U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren and Representative Jim McGovern were at the picket line that afternoon. [11] That same day, the strike became the longest nurses strike in the state in two decades. [3] During the strike, the hospital has experienced issues with other unions representing hospital workers. Local 1445 of the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) announced plans to perform informational picketing alongside the nurses, as their contract with the hospital had expired on February 28 without a replacement. Additionally, Local 170 of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters claimed that their members were being tasked with duties outside their normal work, a claim which has been denied by the hospital's CEO Carolyn Jackson. [3]
On March 15, the hospital alleged that union members were bullying and harassing nurses who had crossed the picket line and issued a list of incidents they claimed had been committed by striking nurses. [7] The union denied the accusations and accused the hospital of deflecting from the issues that had caused the strike. [8] On March 21, the strike entered its second week. [12] On March 28, the Telegram & Gazette reported that the hospital had set up security cameras outside the hospital to monitor strikers, with Jackson claiming that they were to ensure the safety of people entering the hospital. The cameras were criticized by the union as an intimidation tactic and an unnecessary expenditure. [13] That same day, McGovern and U.S. Senator Ed Markey met with strikers. [14] In addition, the city council of Worcester approved a resolution stating their support for the strike, and Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey voiced her support. [15] On March 29, Spectrum News reported that the hospital was spending about $30,000 per day on police details. [16] Additionally, an April 2 article in The Republican claimed that the hospital had spent several million dollars over the first several weeks of the strikes on replacement nurses, with the average replacement nurse being paid double the average pay for a regular nurse at Saint Vincent. [17] On April 4, an Easter event was held at the picket line. [18]
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Strike
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US to withdraw from the INF Treaty
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President Donald J. Trump RESTORING ACCOUNTABILITY TO ARMS CONTROL: President Donald J. Trump is taking decisive action to hold Russia accountable for its violation of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty. •Violations must have consequences. Nearly 6 years of diplomacy and more than 30 meetings have failed to convince Russia to return to compliance with the INF Treaty. Enough is enough. •At President Trump’s direction, the United States will suspend its obligations under the INF Treaty effective February 2, 2019. •The United States will also deliver formal notice on February 2, 2019, to Russia and other Treaty Parties, that the United States will withdraw from the INF Treaty in 6 months. •Only Russia’s complete and verifiable destruction of its INF-violating missiles, their launchers, and associated equipment can save the INF Treaty. LEVELING THE PLAYING FIELD FOR OUR MILITARY: President Trump is ensuring that our military is no longer disadvantaged by a treaty that—while once great—is now broken. •The United States has complied with the INF Treaty for more than 30 years, but we will not be held back while Russia cheats. •Russia has produced and fielded multiple battalions of its INF-violating, nuclear-capable missile, which threaten our allies and troops in Europe and Asia. •The United States will move forward with developing its own intermediate-range, conventionally-armed, ground-launched missile system. •In addition, China and Iran, which are not parties to the Treaty, each possess more than 1,000 INF Treaty-range missiles. WORKING IN CONCERT WITH NATO AND OTHER ALLIES: President Trump is working with allies to confront Russia’s violation and support effective arms control. •Allies have supported the United States at every step, because they understand the threat posed by Russia’s violating missile system. •After close consultation with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and other allies in December, 2018, President Trump gave Russia a 60-day opportunity to return to compliance. •Russia has wasted that time and refuses to even acknowledge its violation. •The United States will continue to work with NATO and our other allies and partners to ensure our collective security. •The United States remains committed to effective arms control that advances United States, allied, and partner security, but arms control agreements must be verifiable and enforceable and include partners that comply responsibly with their obligations.
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Withdraw from an Organization
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'We could not ignore the risk': Aiken Oktoberfest has been canceled
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The Aiken Downtown Development Association has announced that the annual Aiken Oktoberfest scheduled for Sept. 25 has been canceled due to safety concerns. The Aiken DDA declined to specify their concerns or make any further comment. Currently, nearly 22% of Aiken County Public Schools students are presently quarantined as a result of COVID-19 exposure, according to ACPS data. Two of its students recently died. More:Aiken County schools sees first COVID death as cases double; Columbia County sees decrease More:Two deaths occur in Aiken County schools, one is due to COVID "We went back and forth on what the right decision was as an organization," it wrote on the event's Facebook page. "We finally landed on protecting our volunteers and the people that support downtown. Although we know people would have shown up and we would have had a successful event, we could not ignore the risk."
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Organization Closed
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Weather radar detects swarm of bugs over Texas - CNN
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Weather radar in Oklahoma spotted a swarm of bugs over western North Texas
The swarm of grasshoppers and beetles was about 50 miles wide
Bugs are not unusual in the area, and the group was barely visible to people
(CNN)
Nothing seemed unusual Wednesday when the National Weather Service Forecast Office in Norman, Oklahoma, picked up what appeared to be rainclouds over western North Texas.
Nothing unusual ... except the clouds weren't rain.
"We didn't have any clouds yesterday to form anything like that," said Jonathan Kurtz, a meteorologist at the Norman Forecast Office . "Our first indication was some kind of biological feature."
What the radar was picking up was bugs, lots and lots of them. Grasshoppers and beetles were flying between the ground and 2,500 feet, covering an area of about 50 miles.
The weather service called the Copper Breaks State Park in Quanah, Texas, to confirm.
Grasshoppers and beetles are common in the agricultural area of Texas, said David Turner, park manager.
"We have grasshoppers and beetles around here but not anything more than usual," he said.
Visitors to the state park would have spotted bugs flying around them but, looking to the sky, would not have seen the swarm. The bugs were flying at different elevations, not in a massive cloud as it appeared on radar.
"It doesn't take a whole lot of bugs to cause that on radar," Kurtz said. "It's not like biblical proportions. There was just enough out there that the radar picked it up."
The same cannot be said for drivers on the Savanna-Sabula Bridge near Sabula, Iowa, where thousands of mayflies covered cars and the bridge on Saturday. There were so many, in fact, that a snowplow was called in to clear the roadway.
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Insect Disaster
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1995 strikes in France
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In late 1995, a series of general strikes were organized in France, mostly in the public sector. The strikes received great popular support, despite paralyzing the country's transportation infrastructure, and other institutions. The strikes occurred in the context of a larger social movement against the reform agenda led by Prime Minister Alain Juppé, and they constituted the largest social movement in France since May 1968. [1][2]
The November–December 1995 general strike has been seen as a turning point in the social movement. Many organisations were created in the aftermath of these strikes. In May 1995, Jacques Chirac (RPR right-wing party) had been elected president. The new prime minister, Alain Juppé, then proposed an extensive program of welfare cutbacks, the Juppé Plan, which intended to reduce the budget deficit from 5% to 3% as required by the 1993 Maastricht Treaty. October and November saw a students' movement against the conservative agenda of the new government and its perceived attack on women's rights, notably the right to abortion and contraception. [1] On 10 October and 24 November, a pay freeze on the public sector was met by civil servants' strikes supported by all major trade unions (CGT, CFDT, FO, etc.). The Juppé Plan was also a target of this strike. In December, the railway workers were called out on strike against the Juppé Plan by their unions nationwide, and this paralyzed France's railway system. The main grievances for the railway workers were the loss of the right to retire at age 55 and an SNCF restructuring plan that was to eliminate thousands of jobs, and which was imposed on the workers by SNCF management without negotiation. The railway workers were joined by Paris's metro personnel, postal workers, school teachers, and other public workers. The strikes spread from Paris, soon effectively covering the entire country. Major demonstrations were organized in both Paris and in the provinces. The strike was called off on 15 December, when Juppé dropped the retirement reform plan. The DARES statistical institute of the Ministry of Employment counted 6 million strike days (summing up each individual's decision to go on strike, per day) in 1995, against 1 million the previous year. Among these 6 million strike-days, 4 million were in the public sector (including France Télécom) and 2 million in the private and semi-public sector (including SNCF, RATP, Air France and Air Inter). In this last sector, the average number of strike-days from 1982 to 1994 had been of 1.1 million a year (while it was 3.3 million from 1971 to 1981). [3]
Starting in November, the SNCF and the RATP were paralyzed for two months. Despite the inconveniences, public support remained firmly with the strikers. People started hitch-hiking and sharing cars to go to work, using bikes, etc.
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Strike
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2015 Macedonian protests
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In May 2015, protests occurred in Skopje, Republic of Macedonia, against the incumbent Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski and his government. [1][2] Protests began following charges being brought up against Zoran Zaev, the Social Democratic opposition leader, who responded by alleging that Gruevski had 20,000 Macedonian officials and other figures wiretapped, and covered up the murder of a young man by a police officer in 2011. [8][9] A protest with up to 2,000 attendees occurred on May 5, seeing clashes between activists and police. [9]
Several ministers, including the interior minister, resigned during the protests. [10] Gruevski himself refused to step down, saying on May 16 that "if I back down it would be a cowardly move. I’ll face down the attacks.”[11]
Protests continued through the month, and a large gathering of anti-government protestors was held in Skopje on May 17. [11] The number of protesters that turned up on Sunday, May 17 is estimated in the tens of thousands (40,000+). [12] Zaev claimed that the number of attendees at the rally on Sunday was more than 100,000 (between 100,000 and 120,000). [13] On May 18, a large pro-government rally occurred of Gruevski's supporters, said to be in the tens of thousands. [6] Estimates put pro-government supporters at around 30,000. [7] On May 19, Gruevski and Zaev met for talks, with several members of the European Parliament also present, in Strasbourg. The negotiations lasted for twelve hours but resulted in no agreements. On his return flight to Macedonia, Gruevski's plane made an emergency landing in Zurich after decompression in the air occurred. [14][15]
Events escalated after the April 2014 general election, in which Nikola Gruevski and his ruling party defeated Zoran Zaev and his Social Democratic Union of Macedonia. Zaev stated that SDSM would not recognize the elections as legitimate and claimed that the government abused the system. [16] Later, the government accused Zaev of planning a coup on January 31, 2015, and conspiring with a foreign intelligence service. They claimed that they obtained documents in which he conspired with the British ambassador. [17] He responded by releasing information which alleged that Gruevski had 20,000 Macedonian citizens wiretapped[18] and covered up the murder of a young man after the election in 2011, amongst other claims. [8] The beginning of the protest further set back Macedonia on its path of joining the European Union, which it has been attempting to do since 2005. [19]
On 10 October 2014, thousands of students took to the streets against a government plan to replace university-run examinations with state 'testing', accusing the government of infringing the autonomy of the country's universities[20] Similar protests also happened on 17 November and 10 and 25[21] December 2014. Academics supported the students' claims and Students Plenum, an ad hoc organizing committee, denied government claims that Zaev's opposition Social Democrats were behind the protests. [22] High school pupils have also protested against the changes on 19 March, 1 April, 6 May and 7 June 2015, and boycotted the classes in April and May 2015. Between 5,000—6,000 people showed up in a protest in Skopje on Tuesday, 5 May 2015. Protestors demanded the resignation of Prime Minister Gruevski and his cabinet. Police responded by clearing out the protest with tear gas. [23] A number of police officers were injured, with conflicting reports putting the figure between 10—38. [1][2] At least 19 protestors were injured. [8] Protests continued across the country, and a skirmish occurred on May 9 in the town of Kumanovo, northwestern Macedonia, between Albanian militants and Macedonian police. The skirmish resulted in several deaths. [24] On May 16, the government prepared for more actions as protests continued. [10] Gruevski stated to the pro-government Sitel TV on Saturday that "if I back down it would be a cowardly move. I’ll face down the attacks.”[11]
Large crowds gathered to protest on May 17, demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Gruevski, who refused and said a rally of supporters will occur on May 18. [11] The number of protesters was estimated to be in the tens of thousands, more than 30,000. [5] Zaev claimed that the protesters numbered 50,000, and said that some of them would remain there for days until Gruevski resigns. [13] European Union diplomats offered to mediate a solution to the crisis. [6]
Later, tens of thousands appeared on the streets on Monday, May 18, at a pro-government rally. The total count of pro-government supporters was estimated to be between 30,000 and 70,000. The rally appeared to be peaceful and no clashes occurred between the two. [7]
Gruevski and Zaev met in Strasbourg for talks on May 19, held for about twelve hours, along with several members of the European Parliament. They made no progress, and a new meeting was scheduled for a later date. [15] Gruevski (VMRO-DPMNE), Zaev (SDSM), Ahmeti (DUI) and Thaci (DPA) met on 2 June in Skopje mediated by the Commissioner for European Neighbourhood Policy & Enlargement Negotiations Johannes Hahn. Early general elections in April 2016 were announced. Three government officials, two ministers and the intelligence chief, resigned during the protests. [10] Those three included Interior Minister Gordana Jankuloska, Transport Minister Mile Janakieski and intelligence chief Saso Mijalkov, who is also the Prime Minister's cousin. In his resignation letter, Mijalkov said that he hoped it would "help in overcoming the political crisis imposed by the opposition". [25] Gruevski refused to step down, and said on May 16, "if I back down it would be a cowardly move. I’ll face down the attacks.”[11] Gruevski appeared at the head of a large pro-government rally on May 18 in Skopje, with tens of thousands showing up in support of the government. [26]
The political crisis which began with the wiretapping incident continued into 2016, with Gruevski ultimately resigning and being replaced by Emil Dimitriev as the Prime Minister of Macedonia as a result of the EU-brokered Pržino Agreement. The investigation into Gruevski and other politicians from VMRO-DPMNE was stopped in April 2016 by President Gjorge Ivanov, which resulted in several protests. [27]
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Protest_Online Condemnation
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Oahu Sugar Strike of 1920
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The Oahu sugar strike of 1920 was a multiracial strike in Hawaii of two unions, the Filipino American Filipino Labor Union and the Japanese American Federation of Japanese Labor. The labor action involved 8,300 sugar plantation field workers out on strike from January to July 1920. The unions' demands for a pay increase were met by the Hawaiian Sugar Planters' Association. Some 150 evicted workers and their family members died of the epidemic Spanish flu during the strike, with their poor living conditions presumably contributing to their deaths. Before the 1920 strike, when one ethnic group went on strike the other groups worked as strikebreakers, leading to a strike's failure. Before the strike fieldworkers were paid wages that met the poverty line. With the start of World War I, supplies directed to the war effort drove up living expenses and wages remained the same, putting much of the plantation work force into destitution, which lingered after the war ended. After years of organizing, the Filipino Labor Union and the Federation of Japanese Labor united the Filipino and Japanese groups. The unions brought their demands to the Hawaiian Sugar Planters' Association on December 4, 1919. The demands were pay raises from $0.77 to a $1.25 for males and $0.58 to $0.90 per day and paid maternal leave for females (With inflation $1 in 1920 is about $13 in 2021). Initially the planters refused demands and expected to outlast the strike. Roughly speaking the strike began for Filipinos on January 20, 1920, and the Japanese officially joined on February 1, although many Japanese joined independently earlier. The strike involved 8,300 workers spanning six plantations: 5,000 Japanese, 3,000 Filipinos, and 300 of other ethnicities – Portuguese, Chinese, Puerto Ricans, Spanish, Mexicans, and Koreans. In retaliatory action against the strike the plantations evicted picketers and their families from plantation housing. A total of 12,020 people were evicted. The evicted took shelter in homes of strike sympathizers, hotels, tents, empty buildings and factories as well as Buddhists and Shinto churches, but Christian clergy had been prominent opponents of the strike and turned away homeless pickets and their families from lodging in Christian churches. The Board of Health re-evicted 300 Filipinos that had taken up residence in a brewery at Kakaako and they moved into tents. Another dilemma was finances for food. The Japanese union's approach was to build up a reserve for the Japanese picketers and their families; this fund held $900,000. The Filipino union's approach was to be sustained by donations from Filipinos working on other plantations not affected by the strike. In less than a month, the Filipinos were desperately low on funding and on the verge of starvation. If the Filipinos were to return to work the strike would collapse. The Japanese union used their reserves to sustain the Filipino picketers, averting a collapse of the strike. After months of striking immense boredom became a problem that had to be addressed. The Federation of the Japanese Labor arranged a protest march with 3,000 participants on April 3 and went down King street. During the strike the Spanish flu hit Hawaii. 1,056 Japanese fell ill by the flu of whom 55 died. 1,440 Filipinos fell ill and 95 died during the worldwide epidemic. [1] Picketers blamed the plantations for these casualties as the evictions had forced many of them to live in crowded living quarters. The strike lasted until July 1, more than half a year, when a compromise was reached at the Alexander Young Building which included a 50% pay raise and more benefits. Many workers felt the strike was a failure because the results were not immediate. It would take six months for the products of the strike to fully materialize. The strike had taken a toll on both sides; 1,000 strikers had gone back to work and more than 2,000 strikebreakers were hired. The HSPA lost $12,000,000 in potential income. Although the strike was successful, the "Japanese Problem" and the "Filipino Problem" was exposed as a larger issue than the planters realized.
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Strike
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Celebrity Secrets for a Happy Marriage
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The Dom Perignon Lounge At The Santa Barbara International Film Festival Celebrates The Opening Night Film "The Public" Credit: Michael Kovac/Getty Baldwin, who has been married to wife Hilaria since 2012, opened up about niece Hailey Baldwin 's plans to wed Justin Bieber at a September 2018 Toronto International Film Festival event. "People who get married young - and they are very young - I want them to just spend time with each other. Obviously, him, in particular, has this crazy superstar career," Baldwin told etalk . "I'm quite a bit older than both of them, but I got married recently, a few years ago. And my wife and I had four kids in four-and-a-half years. We have a lot of little kids," the father of five added of his family. "The thing is, all the work I do now is based on my family. There's movies I got offered where they say, 'Come leave town for five weeks. And no, we can't travel your family with you. We don't have that in the budget.' And I pass because I don't want to be away from my family. And I hope they realize that."
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Famous Person - Marriage
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Telangana CM directs Transport, Power Ministers to bring proposals to recover from financial crisis in next cabinet meeting
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"Too big to fail" describes a business or business sector deemed to be so deeply ingrained in a financial system or economy that its failure would be disastrous to the economy. Therefore, the government will consider bailing out the business or even an entire sector—such as Wall Street banks or U.S. carmakers—to prevent economic disaster. Perhaps the most vivid recent example of "too big to fail" is the bailout of Wall Street banks and other financial institutions during the global financial crisis. Following the collapse of Lehman Brothers, Congress passed the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act (EESA) in October 2008. It included the $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP), which authorized the government to purchase distressed assets to stabilize the financial system.12 This ultimately meant the government was bailing out big banks and insurance companies because they were "too big to fail," meaning their failure could lead to a collapse of the financial system and the economy. They later faced additional regulations under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010. Following thousands of bank failures in the 1920s and early 1930s, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) was created to monitor banks and insure customers' deposits, giving Americans confidence that their money would be safe in the bank. The FDIC now insures individual accounts in member banks for up to $250,000 per depositor.3 The dawn of the 21st century presented new challenges in regulating banks, which had developed financial products and risk models that were inconceivable in the 1930s. The 2007-08 financial crisis exposed the risks. "Too big to fail" became a common phrase during the 2007-08 financial crisis, which led to financial sector reform in the U.S. and globally. Passed in 2010, Dodd-Frank was created to help avoid the need for any future bailouts of the financial system. Among its many provisions were new regulations regarding capital requirements, proprietary trading, and consumer lending. Dodd-Frank also imposed higher requirements for banks collectively labeled systemically important financial institutions (SIFIs).45 The 2007-08 financial crisis affected banks around the world. Global regulators also implemented reforms, with the majority of new regulations focused on too-big-to-fail banks. Global bank regulations are primarily carried out by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision, the Bank for International Settlements and the Financial Stability Board. Examples of global systemically important financial institutions include:6 Banks that the U.S. Federal Reserve has said could threaten the stability of the U.S. financial system include the following:7 U.S. Congress. "The Causes and Effects of the Lehman Brothers Bankruptcy." Accessed Sept. 17, 2021. U.S. Congress. "Public Law 110-343, Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008," Page 122 Stat. 3780. Accessed Sept. 17, 2021. Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. "About FDIC: What We Do." Accessed Sept. 17, 2021. U.S. Department of the Treasury. "Designations." Accessed Sept. 17, 2021. U.S. Congress. "H.R. 4173, Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act." Accessed Sept. 17, 2021. Financial Stability Board. "2020 List of Global Systematically Important Banks (G-SIBs)," Page 3. Accessed Sept. 17, 2021. Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. "Large Institution Supervision Coordinating Committee." Accessed Sept. 17, 2021.
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Financial Crisis
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Birmingham riot of 1963
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The Birmingham riot of 1963 was a civil disorder and riot in Birmingham, Alabama, that was provoked by bombings on the night of May 11, 1963. The bombings targeted African-American leaders of the Birmingham campaign, a mass protest for civil rights. The places bombed were the parsonage of Rev. A. D. King, brother of Martin Luther King Jr., and a motel owned by A. G. Gaston, where King and others organizing the campaign had stayed. It is believed that the bombings were carried out by members of the Ku Klux Klan, in cooperation with Birmingham police. In response, local African-Americans burned businesses and fought police throughout the downtown area. Civil rights protesters were frustrated with local police complicity with the perpetrators of the bombings, and grew frustrated at the non-violence strategy directed by King. Initially starting as a protest, violence escalated following local police intervention. The Federal government intervened with federal troops for the first time to control violence during a largely African-American riot. It was also a rare instance of domestic military deployment independent of enforcing a court injunction, an action which was considered controversial by Governor George Wallace and other Alabama whites. The African-American response was a pivotal event that contributed to President Kennedy's decision to propose a major civil rights bill. It was ultimately passed under President Lyndon B. Johnson as the Civil Rights Act of 1964. On May 10, 1963, negotiators for the city, local businesses, and the civil rights campaign had completed and announced the "Birmingham Truce Agreement." The agreement included city and business commitments for partial desegregation (of fitting rooms, water fountains, and lunch counters in retail stores), promises of economic advancement for African-American workers, release of persons who had been arrested in demonstrations, and the formation of a Committee on Racial Problems and Employment. In an afternoon press conference held at the Gaston Motel, where King and his team were staying, Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth read a version of the agreement, after which King declared a "great victory" and prepared to leave town.However, some white leaders, including the city's powerful Commissioner of Public Safety Bull Connor, who had used dogs and firehoses against demonstrators, denounced the agreement and suggested that they might not enforce its provisions.
On the morning of May 11, 1963, state troopers were withdrawing from Birmingham under orders from Governor George Wallace. Investigator Ben Allen had been alerted about a potential bombing of the Gaston Motel by a source within the Klan and recommended that these troops stay for a few more days. Allen's warning was disregarded by state Public Safety Director Al Lingo, who said he could "take care of" the Klan threat. Martin Luther King, Jr., left Birmingham for Atlanta.
Also during the day on May 11, Klan leaders from across the South were assembling in nearby Bessemer, Alabama for a rally. Klan Imperial Wizard Robert Shelton addressed the white crowd, urging rejection of "any concessions or demands from any of the atheist so-called ministers of the nigger race or any other group here in Birmingham. "He also said that "Klansmen would be willing to give their lives if necessary to protect segregation in Alabama. " The crowd was, reportedly, unenthusiastic, as they were demoralized by the momentum toward desegregation. The rally ended at 10:15 pm.
At 8:08 PM that evening, the Gaston Motel received a death threat against King,
At around 10:30 PM, a number of Birmingham police departed the parking lot of the Holy Family Hospital, driving toward the home of Martin Luther King's brother, A. D. King, in the Ensley neighborhood. Some police traveled in an unmarked car.
At about 10:45 PM, a uniformed officer got out of his police car and placed a package near A. D. King's front porch. The officer returned to the car. As the car drove away, someone threw a small object through the house's window onto the sidewalk, where it exploded. The object created a small but loud explosion and knocked over bystander Roosevelt Tatum.
Tatum got up and moved toward the King house—only to face another, larger, blast from the package near the porch. This explosion destroyed the front of the house. Tatum survived and ran toward the back of the house, where he found A. D. King and his wife Naomi trying to escape with their five children.
Tatum told King that he had seen police deliver the bombs. King called the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), demanding action against the local police department.
At 11:58 PM, a bomb thrown from a moving car detonated immediately beneath Room 30 at the Gaston Motel—the room where Martin Luther King had been staying. The Gaston Motel was owned by A. G. Gaston, an African-American businessman who often provided resources to assist the Alabama Christian Movement for Human Rights. Attorney and activist Orzell Billingsley had intended to sleep in Room 30 because he was exhausted from days of negotiation and his wife was throwing a party at the couple's house. However, he was so tired that he fell asleep at home after stopping there for clothes.
The motel bomb could be heard all over town. It interrupted the singing of children in the juvenile detention center, most of whom had been arrested during the civil rights demonstrations. Next, the children heard the sound of white men repeatedly singing "Dixie" over the jail's loudspeakers.
Bryan McFall of the FBI was expecting his Klan informant Gary Rowe to report at 10:30 PM, immediately after the end of the Klan rally. McFall searched in vain for Rowe until finding him at 3:00 AM in the VFW Hall near the Gaston Motel. Rowe told McFall, his FBI handler, that Black Muslims had perpetrated a false flag bombing in order to blame the Klan. McFall was unconvinced. However, in submitting his final report to J. Edgar Hoover, head of the FBI, McFall did not identify the Klan as potentially responsible for the bombing, nor did he question the credibility of Rowe as an informant.
Contemporary historians widely believe that the bombing was carried out by four Klan members, including Gary Rowe and known bomber Bill Holt.
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Riot
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A Drought So Dire That a Utah Town Pulled the Plug on Growth
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Groundwater and streams vital to both farmers and cities are drying up in the West, challenging the future of development. Some of the last homes currently being built in Oakley, Utah. The town has cut off new development because it doesn’t have enough water to go around.Credit...Lindsay D’Addato for The New York Times Supported by By Jack Healy and Sophie Kasakove OAKLEY, Utah — The mountain spring that pioneers used to water their hayfields and now fills people’s taps flowed reliably into the old cowboy town of Oakley for decades. So when it dwindled to a trickle in this year’s scorching drought, officials took drastic action to preserve their water: They stopped building. During the coronavirus pandemic, the real estate market in their 1,750-person city boomed as remote workers flocked in from the West Coast and second homeowners staked weekend ranches. But those newcomers need water — water that is vanishing as a megadrought dries up reservoirs and rivers across the West.
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Droughts
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Cristiano Ronaldo breaks men’s scoring record with 2 goals to hit 111
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Cristiano Ronaldo missed a penalty but still broke the men’s international scoring record before adding a second goal as Portugal beat visiting Ireland 2-1 in World Cup qualifying.
Ronaldo grabbed his 110th goal in the 89th minute on Wednesday to move ahead of former Iran striker Ali Daei.
? OFFICIAL: CRISTIANO RONALDO IS THE TOP INTERNATIONAL SCORER IN FOOTBALL HISTORY WITH 110 GOALS! pic.twitter.com/Ohhk6nSWX9
— TCR. (@TeamCRonaldo) September 1, 2021
Six minutes into stoppage time, Ronaldo made it 111 in 180 games to break Irish hearts after defender John Egan gave his nation the lead in the 45th.
“I’m very happy, not only because I beat the record but for the special moments that we had,” Ronaldo said.
“Two goals at the end of the game is so tough, but I have to appreciate what the team did. We believed until the end.”
But Ronaldo, who has returned to join Manchester United, is still 76 goals behind the game’s most prolific international scorer. Christine Sinclair, who is 38 years old, scored her 187th goal for Canada last month at the Tokyo Olympics.
Ronaldo’s night had been frustrating up until the late heroics.
His 15th-minute spot kick was well saved by goalkeeper Gavin Bazunu, who was just 2 years old when Ronaldo scored his first for Portugal as a skinny winger at the 2004 European Championship.
Ronaldo’s only title with Portugal came at Euro 2016.
Although he was the top scorer at this year’s European Championship with five goals in four games, his team’s title defense ended in the round of 16.
https://t.co/VoN62Rn5O9
— ManUnited Today (@mun_today) September 1, 2021
So did France’s bid.
Coach Didier Deschamps vowed his side would hit back strongly.
But Les Bleus had to settle for a comeback 1-1 draw at home against Bosnia and Herzegovina thanks to Antoine Griezmann’s 39th international goal.
France had defender Jules Kounde sent off in the 50th for protesting to the referee after he was cautioned for fouling Sead Kolasinac.
Highlights:
Another prolific striker was on target elsewhere, as Erling Haaland put Norway ahead in a 1-1 home draw with the Netherlands.
Here’s a look at the action in each group.
GROUP A:
Portugal leads with 10 points from four games and sits three points ahead of Serbia, which did not play ON Wednesday.
Luxembourg is one point behind Serbia in third after winning 2-1 against visiting Azerbaijan.
GROUP D:
Bosnia and Herzegovina stunned 2018 World Cup winner France when veteran striker Eden Dzeko struck in the 36th minute with his 60th international goal.
Griezmann equalized three minutes later following a scramble after Kylian Mbappe’s corner.
A thrilling finish in Astana saw midfielder Ruslan Valiullin equalize in the sixth minute of stoppage time to earn Kazakhstan a 2-2 home draw with Ukraine.
Forward Danylo Sikan came off the bench to score in the third minute of injury time, yet it was not enough for victory.
Ukraine had a strong start as Roman Yaremchuk netted after two minutes with a great strike from outside the penalty area, but Valiullin equalized in the 74th and then did so again in the last seconds.
GROUP F:
European Championship semifinalist Denmark sits proudly on top with four straight wins after beating Scotland 2-0, thanks to goals from veteran midfielder Daniel Wass and defender Joakim Maehle.
Israel and Austria both won, but it’s Israel in second place on goal difference thanks to striker Eran Zahavi’s hat trick in a 4-0 win away to Faroe Islands.
Marko Arnautovic scored in Austria’s 2-0 win away to Moldova.
GROUP G:
Turkey remains top and undefeated but blew a 2-0 lead when it was held 2-2 at home by Montenegro, which equalized in the seventh minute of stoppage time through defender Risto Radunovic.
France-based players Cengiz Under and Yusuf Yazici scored Turkey’s goals.
Turkey has eight points and is one ahead of the Netherlands, which equalized against Norway through midfielder Davy Klaassen, and also one point in front of Montenegro in third and then Norway.
Latvia beat last-place Gibraltar 3-1 in the other game.
GROUP H:
Croatia kept first place on goal difference with seven points after drawing 0-0 away to second-place Russia in Moscow.
Slovakia is one point behind in third following a 1-1 draw at Slovenia. Malta beat last-place Cyprus 3-0. AP
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Leading a simple life surrounded and loved by people, Rouble Nagi is a Mumbai based artist and social activist who strongly believes in changing the mindset of people with art and colors.
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Break historical records
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1992 Windsor Castle fire
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On 20 November 1992, a fire broke out in Windsor Castle, the largest inhabited castle in the world and one of the official residences of Queen Elizabeth II. The castle suffered extensive damage and was fully repaired within the next few years at a cost of £36.5 million, in a project led by the conservation architects Donald Insall Associates. It led to the Queen paying tax on her income, and to Buckingham Palace, the Queen's other official residence, being opened to the public to help pay for the restoration work. The fire began in the Queen's Private Chapel at 11:15 in the morning when a curtain was ignited by a spotlight pressed up against it. [1] Agents of the Royal Household were in the chapel at the time inspecting works of art. [2] A fire alarm went off[when?] in the watch room of the castle fire brigade, manned by the Chief Fire Officer, Marshall Smith. The location of the fire was shown by a light on a grid-map of the castle. Initially, the Brunswick Tower was lit up, but lights soon began to flash indicating that the fire had quickly spread to neighbouring rooms. A major part of the State Apartments was soon ablaze. Building contractors working in a nearby room attempted to tackle the blaze using fire extinguishers. The 30-foot-long (9.1 m) curtains eventually dropped to the floor and continued to burn, while those present hurriedly began removing paintings from the chapel, until the intense heat and raining embers forced them to leave at 11:32. At 11:36, Smith pressed a switch to alert the control room at Reading fire station. He then activated the public fire alarm in the castle and telephoned the Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service on a direct line, giving the message, "Windsor Castle here; we have got a fire in the Private Chapel. Come to the Quadrangle as arranged". [2]
The castle still had its own twenty-person fire brigade, of whom six were full-time. Equipped with a Land Rover and pump tender, they were based in stables two miles south of the castle, and arrived on the scene at 11:41. Appliances from the Fire and Rescue Service arrived at 11:44. By 11:56, 17 pumping appliances had been ordered. An operation to save furniture and works of art involving castle staff, building contractors and the Queen's son, Prince Andrew, had commenced in rooms adjacent to the fire. By 12:12, there were 20 fire engines, and by 12:20 there were 35, with over 200 fire-fighters from London, Buckinghamshire, Surrey and Oxfordshire, as well as from Berkshire. The Fire Incident Commander was David Harper, Deputy Chief Fire and Rescue Officer of the Fire and Rescue Service. The Chief Officer, Garth Scotford, was out of the country, on holiday. By 12:20, the fire had spread to St George's Hall, a banqueting hall and the largest of the State Apartments. The number of fire appliances totalled 39 and 225 fire-fighters were in attendance. Hoses were directed at all levels of the building surrounding the fire. As an indication of the scale of the fire, there had been just one 30-appliance fire in the whole of Greater London since 1973. By 13:30, fire breaks had been created by tradesmen at the southern wall of the Green Drawing Room (at the end of St George's Hall on the east side of the Quadrangle), and at the north-west corner at Chester Tower, where that tower joins the Grand Corridor. The fire-fighters had by this time started to bring the fire under control, though the roof of the State Apartments had begun to collapse. At 15:30, the floors of the Brunswick Tower collapsed. Firemen had to temporarily withdraw to locate three men who were briefly lost in the smoke, and withdrew again because men were temporarily unaccounted for when part of the roof collapsed. At 16:15, the fire had revived in the Brunswick Tower. As night fell, the fire was concentrated in the tower, which by 18:30 was engulfed by flames up to 50 feet (15 m) high. At 19:00, the roof of St George's Hall finally collapsed. By 20:00, after burning for nine hours, the fire was under control. It continued to burn for another three hours. By 23:00, the main fire was extinguished, and by 02:30, the last secondary fires were extinguished. Pockets of fire remained until the early hours of the morning, some 15 hours after it began. Sixty firemen with eight appliances remained on duty for several more days. The fire had spread rapidly due to the large cavities and voids in the roof. [3] 1.5 million gallons[4] (7 million litres) of water from the mains water supply, a reservoir-fed hydrant, a swimming pool, a pond, and the nearby River Thames had been used to fight the fire. [2]
Apart from the several hundred firemen directly involved in the fire-fight,[5] staff and tradesmen helped the castle's fire brigade and volunteer salvage corps move furniture and works of art from the endangered apartments, including a 150-foot (46 m) long table and a 120-foot (37 m) long carpet from the Waterloo Chamber, to the safety of the castle's riding school. It was an enormous operation: 300 clocks, a collection of miniatures, thousands of valuable books and historic manuscripts, and old Master drawings from the Royal Library were saved. On fire officers' instructions, heavy chests and tables were left behind. All other items were placed on giant sheets of tarpaulin in the North Terrace and Quadrangle, and the police called in dozens of removal vans from a large part of the home counties to transport items to other parts of the castle. [5]
Members of the Royal Household, including the Earl of Airlie, assisted in the operation. The Royal Collection Department were especially active, including the director, Sir Geoffrey de Bellaigue, the surveyor of pictures, Christopher Lloyd, the deputy surveyor of the Queen's works of art, Hugh Roberts, the curator of Print Room, Mrs Roberts, and the librarian, Oliver Everett. The Household Cavalry arrived from nearby Combermere Barracks. Some 100 officers and men of the Life Guards proved invaluable for moving bulky items. In all, 125 castle staff, 125 contractors, 100 military personnel and 20 Crown Estate staff were involved in the salvage operation.
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Fire
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Viareggio train derailment
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The Viareggio derailment was the derailment of a freight train and subsequent fire which occurred on 29 June 2009 in a railway station in Viareggio, Lucca, a city in Central Italy's Tuscany region. Thirty-two people were killed[2][3] and a further twenty-six were injured. [1]
Freight train No. 50325 from Trecate to Gricignano,[4] hauled by Class E655 locomotive E 655 175 with 14 tank wagons[5] was derailed at Viareggio at 23:48 local time (21:48 UTC) on 29 June 2009. [6] Of the 14 wagons, the first wagon was registered by Polskie Koleje Państwowe, the other 13 wagons by Deutsche Bahn (DB). [7] The first DB-registered wagon, No. 338078182106, which was owned by GATX Rail Austria GmbH derailed on plain track in Viareggio station. The wagon hit the platform of the station and overturned to the left. The next four wagons also overturned and the two following were derailed but remained upright. The last seven wagons were not derailed, remaining intact on the track. [6] The derailed wagons crashed into houses alongside the railway line. [8]
Some of the wagons were owned by KVG Kesselwagen, a division of GATX, and leased to ExxonMobil and ERG (the owners of the oil refinery where the train left),[9] were reported to have been carrying Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG). [10] Two of these exploded and caught fire. [8] Seven people were reported to have been killed when a house collapsed. [8] An eighth person who was killed was reported to have been riding a scooter on a road adjoining the railway. [10] A child was found carbonised in a car in front of the house where he lived with his parents. It is speculated that his parents put him in the car to save him and then returned to the house to save other two children. [11]
The two members of the train crew suffered minor injuries in the accident. A large area[vague] of Viareggio was damaged in the subsequent fires caused by the wagons carrying LPG self-combusting. [8] Twenty-six people were reported to have been injured in the accident. [2] The accident is the worst rail accident in Italy since the collision between two trains in Murazze di Vado near Bologna on 15 April 1978, which killed 48 people. [12] It was reported that a whole street had been destroyed in the explosion and fire. [13]
A state of emergency was declared by local authorities. [14] Around 1,000 residents of Viareggio were evacuated from their homes as a result of the accident. [15] Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi visited Viareggio "to take control of the situation", but he received boos and cries of "go home". [16] Dr. Enrico Petri, an eyewitness and local hospital physician, said that 36 people had been taken to Versilia Hospital in Viareggio suffering from 80–90% burns. He compared the aftermath to a terrorist attack. [13] The accident left around 100 people homeless. [14] The accident resulted in the disruption of rail services between Rome and Genoa. [16] Viareggio railway station was partially reopened on 3 July 2009. [17]
The Direzione Generale per le Investigazioni Ferroviarie,[6] a section of Ferrovie dello Stato (FS) opened an investigation into the cause of the accident. [18] Italian police said that the accident may have been caused by damaged tracks or a problem with the brakes on the train. [8] Italian union CGIL is reported to have blamed the decrepit state of the rolling stock;[16] the maintenance of the wagon was the responsibility of GATX. [19] The failure of an axle on the wagon that derailed is being investigated as a possible cause. [14][20]
Pending the official conclusions of the commissions of inquiry the probable cause of the accident is attributable to structural failure of an axle of the carriage of the first tank wagon derailed. Italian Transport Minister Altero Matteoli informed the Italian Parliament on 1 July that a defective axle may have caused the accident. [17]
On 29 July 2009, an Extraordinary Network Meeting of the Network of National Safety Authorities was held. [21] It invited members to disseminate information related to problems related to Type A Axles to railway operators, owners and keepers of freight wagons. [22]
In 2016–17, thirty three people were tried in Lucca in connection with the derailment. Ten were acquitted. Former Rete Ferroviaria Italiana (RFI) and current Leonardo CEO Mauro Moretti and former RFI CEO Michele Mario Ella, were convicted. Moretti was sentenced to seven years in prison for his role as CEO of RFI (2001-2006) but acquitted as CEO of Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane (FS) (2006-2014). Ella was sentenced to seven and a half years. [3][23]
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Gas explosion
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2013 protests in Kosovo
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Kosovo Serbs
Kosovo
1 Kosovan policeman killed and 7 others non-fatally injured[2][3][4]
Clashes between the Republic of Kosovo[a] and ethnic Serbs in northern Kosovo began on 25 July 2011 when the Kosovo Police crossed into the Serb-controlled municipalities of North Kosovo, in an attempt to control several administrative border crossings without the consultation of either Serbia or KFOR/EULEX. [2][6] Though tensions between the two sides eased somewhat after the intervention of NATO's KFOR forces, they continued to remain high amid concern from the European Union, who also blamed Kosovo for the unilateral provocation. [7] On 19 April 2013, an agreement was signed in Brussels between representatives of Kosovo and Serbia. The 15-point document granted devolved powers to North Kosovo regarding economic development, education, healthcare and urban planning, and a number of mechanisms that allowed a certain degree of autonomy in justice, policing and electoral matters. [8]
The clashes occurred due to a long stand-off over cross-border trade. Since the declaration of independence, Kosovo has been unable to export anything to or via territories directly controlled by Serbia's government. [2] There was disruption to cross-border trade[6] following Serbia's ban on Kosovar imports,[9] even though many jobs on both sides depended on cross-border trade[10] Serbia also stationed troops in the northern region to enforce a boycott of goods from Kosovo proper. [11]
Although KFOR had made implementation of the "vague ultimatums" to remove the barricades, Kosovar Serbs had in the past used mountainous tracts to cross between northern Kosovo and Serbia proper. At the same as the bridge dividing Mitrovica was closed from transport to the south, the daily train to southern Serbia was packed. The EU also demanded that Serbia dismantle "the parallel structures" of government in Northern Kosovo. Serbia's Secretary of State for Kosovo, Oliver Ivanović said: "We don't see these as 'parallel structures', we see these as the only structures, because we do not recognise the independence of Kosovo." He also said that a partition of Kosovo is out of the question, even though Serbian President Boris Tadić said he was open to the possibility. The Serbs of North Kosovo do not acknowledge or cooperate with the government of Kosovo. [10]
Prior to the Kosovo Police's attempt to take over the administrative border crossings on 26 July, they were controlled by EULEX and Serb members of the Kosovo Police. [7]
North Kosovo, as part of the Assembly of the Community of Municipalities of Kosovo, observes United Nations Security Council Resolution 1244 and defies the 2008 Kosovo declaration of independence (the Kosovo Serb enclaves had been under local control, disputed by the Kosovar Albanian Assembly). The government of the Republic of Kosovo sought to install customs officials at the administrative border crossings with Central Serbia. [12] Kosovar Serbs opposed the presence of Kosovar Albanians at the crossings. As such, they erected road blocks to make movement difficult for KFOR personnel. [13]
On 26 July 2011, during the operation to take control of the administrative border posts, Enver Zymberi, a member of the Kosovo Police's Special Intervention Unit, was killed by a Serb sniper. Twenty five more policemen were wounded, with at least one being treated in hospital for severe wounds. [2] The KFOR Mi-17 helicopter that had moved the 16 Kosovo special police personnel belonged to the Croatian Army. [14] Later that day the same helicopter had been fired at. [14] An hour later 14 new Kosovo police officers and three customs officers were located in Brnjak. [15] Though the Kosovo police later withdrew and there was a lull in tensions, some Serbian protesters returned in the evening and attacked the post. [16]
Clashes continued on 27 July after armed Kosovar police took over two administrative border posts to enforce the writ of the central government in Pristina; ethnic Serbs burned down the administrative border post at Jarinje. The mob, which reportedly included "dozens of masked men, armed with crowbars, clubs, axes, Molotov cocktails and handheld flares,"[17] as well as rocks and other debris,[18] were said to have attacked the NATO troops who were a part of KFOR operations. Reports also suggested the troops may have been fired upon. [17] This was the same administrative border post that had been burned down in 2008 after Kosovo's unilateral declaration of independence. [11] Following the intervention of KFOR's NATO troops, a NATO operations officer, Lieutenant Colonel Ralf Adametz, said that "the situation is now under control, but tense. "[18]
There was a thaw in tensions on 28 July, after all Kosovar units withdrew from North Kosovo, leaving KFOR's NATO troops in charge of maintaining peace in the region. In return, the Serbs removed most of the roadblocks they had created. [19] KFOR took full control of the two crossings and General Erhard Bühler declared the area around the two crossings to be military areas, therefore giving shoot-at-sight orders to his soldiers for anyone crossing the area. [20]
A Serbian man was later beaten up in Štrpce (an ethnically mixed area), allegedly due to being Serb; however this has not been confirmed. [21]
As of 29 July, NATO units remained in control of the two administrative border posts. However, they were prevented from returning to their bases by some of the roadblocks set up by hundreds of Serb protesters. The column of American and Slovenian[22] 30 armoured vehicles then withdrew from the barricade, even though they were given permission to move against the protesters using force, if necessary. The decision was made to avoid further bloodshed. [23]
On 31 July, the Serbs continued to man their roadblocks and KFOR soldiers remained isolated at the administrative border crossings they were manning. The Kosovars then organised burnings of Serbian products and General Buhler sent an ultimatum to the Serbs blocking the road. [clarification needed]
On 1 August, NATO said that Swiss Army sappers, supported by other KFOR troops[24] had cleared three of the roadblocks but claimed that there were still at least five blocks remaining on the two roads leading to Serbia. [25] The Kosovar Interior Minister Bajram Rexhepi ordered Serbia's Minister for Kosovo and Metohija Goran Bogdanović and the head of the Serbian negotiation team, Borislav Stefanović, to be deported after allegedly having entered Kosovo illegally. [26] The next day, however, some roadblocks remained in place with all major roads being completely sealed off. Agence France Press reported of a severe food crisis and a shortage of medicines in the North. [27] KFOR then requested a battalion of 550 German soldiers, assisted by 150 Austrian troops, to reinforce its presence in the north in order to deal with a possible future unrest. [28]
On 3 August, Kosovar Prime Minister Hashim Thaçi reiterated a refusal to back down on his trade ban as some of the roadblocks remained in place across the North. [citation needed] A deal was later struck to allow KFOR to control the administrative border crossings in return for the dismantling of the blockades. [9] KFOR helicopters were then used to bypass the roadblocks and establish a skeletal EULEX and Kosovo Police and Customs presence at the administrative border crossings. [29]
On 16 September tensions reignited after the Kosovo Police, EULEX and NATO units airlifted troops from Kosovo-proper to the two administrative border posts in an effort to re-establish control over the North. Local Serbs then blocked all the major routes leading to the two administrative border crossings, including two major bridges connecting the divided town of Mitrovica and vowed to stay there "until the bitter end,"[who?] causing all the troops at the administrative border crossings to be virtually isolated from the rest of Kosovo.
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Protest_Online Condemnation
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Zimbabwe fuel protests
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Protests began in Zimbabwe on 14 January 2019 following a 130% increase in the price of fuel imposed by the government of Emmerson Mnangagwa. Thousands of Zimbabweans protested against the price increase, along with increasing levels of poverty, the poor state of the economy, and declining standards of living. The government responded with a coordinated crackdown that resulted in hundreds of arrests and multiple deaths. The protests stopped after three days; by 17 January, businesses started reopening as the protests ended. [2]
In an effort to improve the financial and fiscal situation of the country following the establishment of the Mnangagwa government in 2017, the government initiated a number of austerity policies in an effort to kick-start the moribund economy. [4] By October 2018, foreign currency shortages led to large scale business closures and shortages of imported commodities, including fuel. [5] This led to persistent fuel shortages, strikes by government workers, and a worsening economic environment. [6][7]
On 12 January 2019, the government of Emmerson Mnangagwa announced that the Zimbabwe Energy Regulatory Agency would more than double fuel prices as of midnight that night. [8] The price of diesel rose from US$1.38 to US$3.11 per litre (equivalent to $11.77 per US gallon or €2.73 per litre) and that of petrol from $1.43 to $3.31 per litre ($12.53 per US gallon or €2.91 per litre), for an increase of almost 130% overnight,[6] making Zimbabwe's fuel the most expensive in the world at the time. [9] Mnangagwa stated that the price increases were needed to reduce fuel shortages and illegal trading. [10] The Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions called for a three-day strike in protest at the price increases. [9]
Protests began in Harare on 14 January 2019. In response, the police and military launched a coordinated response that involved raiding the homes of some residents. [11] Beyond the capital, disturbances were also reported in the cities of Mutare and Bulawayo. [12] By the end of the day, the government reported that three people, including one policeman, had died in the protests. [13] Non-government sources reported that around 200 people had been arrested and that eight had been killed in the protests by police by the end of the first day of protests. [14][9]
The Zimbabwe Association of Doctors for Human Rights (ZADHR) stated that 172 people had been injured,[2] of which 68 were treated for gunshot wounds. [15] Indiscriminate acts of violence by the police on both protesters and bystanders were also reported,[16] along with acts of looting by some protesters in Harare, Bulawayo[17] and Kadoma. [18] By 18 January, the ZADHR had recorded 844 human rights violations that included 78 gunshot injuries, 466 arbitrary arrests and detentions, as well as 242 cases of assault and degrading treatment. [19]
On 15 January, internet monitoring group NetBlocks reported the blocking of over a dozen social media and messaging platforms in Zimbabwe including WhatsApp, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram followed by total internet blackouts. [20][21] The first three days of the disruption cost the Zimbabwe's economy an estimated $17 million as the government extended its disruption to a full shutdown to prevent the use of VPN circumvention tools by demonstrators. [22] The country's largest cellular provider, Econet, confirmed that the government issued a directive blocking all internet access during the protests. [23] After the protests ended the Zimbabwean High Court ruled that the internet shutdown was illegal and ordered it to be restored. [24]
On the third day of the protests, civil society activist and pastor Evan Mawarire was arrested. Mawarire's lawyer stated that the government alleged that his inciting of violent protests on Twitter as the reason for the arrest. The Movement for Democratic Change – Tsvangirai (MDC-T) stated that its party leadership had been detained by security forces during the protests. [25] An unknown number of abductions by security personnel were reported during the crackdown on the protests. [26]
The government blamed the MDC-T for the protests. [13][27] MDC-T offices were attacked and torched during the protests with the MDC-T alleging that ZANU-PF supporters were responsible. [12][28] The government stated that government property and property owned by the ruling ZANU-PF party was damaged in the attacks and blamed MDC-T supporters. [29] The government also stated that the protests were coordinated by opposition parties and compared the protests to terrorism. [30] The MDC-T denied government accusations that they were responsible for violence committed by protesters and highlighted acts of violence committed by government forces against protesters and civilians. [31] A large number of the police raids took place in opposition electoral strong holds in urban areas around Harare. [32]
On 17 January in Harare, the fourth and final day of fixtures in round three of the 2018–19 Logan Cup cricket tournament were both called off due to the protests. [33]
By Saturday the 20 January the security services set up a number of roadblocks throughout the country in an effort to arrest protesters and other individuals wanted by the government. [34] A large number of people who disappeared during the government crackdown during the protests remain unaccounted for. [32]
On 21 January, human rights organizations in Zimbabwe claimed that a total of 12 protesters were killed by security forces and many more had been beaten. [35]
The MDC-T called on South Africa to intervene and criticise the government's violent response. [36] Human Rights Watch stated that the use of unlawful lethal force by the government should be investigated and those responsible prosecuted. [37] Zimbabweans in South Africa demonstrated to encourage South Africa to put pressure on the government to release arrested opposition leaders, restore internet access, and respect human rights. [38] Protests by Zimbabweans against the Zimbabwean government response were also reported in Botswana[39] and Namibia. [40]
South Africa's official opposition party, the Democratic Alliance, stated that the situation within Zimbabwe was so severe that the South African government should abandon its Mbeki-era quiet diplomacy policy and intervene. [41] The Economic Freedom Fighters, a South African political party, issued a statement condemning the Zimbabwean government's violent response to the protests. [42] The South African government said it was monitoring the situation in Zimbabwe and stated with confidence that "measures being taken by the Zimbabwean government will resolve the situation. "[43]
The South African Federation of Trade Unions condemned both the fuel price increase and the government's use of lethal force against the protesters. [44] The National Union of Namibian Workers stated that they were "saddened and disturbed by the blatant disregard for trade unions and human rights in Zimbabwe"[45] and criticised the silence of the Southern African Development Community (SADC). [45]
Human Rights Watch criticised the SADC and the African Union for remaining silent on the violations of human rights by the Zimbabwean government during the protests. [46]
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Protest_Online Condemnation
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'Hero' Mom Saves Her 2 Kids After Shipwreck by Breastfeeding Them for Days Until She Dies
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A Venezuelan mother was faced with the unthinkable when the small boat she was sailing in was destroyed at sea earlier this month. According to reports, 40-year-old Mariely Chacon and her family were heading on a trip to a small island in the Atlantic Ocean September 3 when a powerful wave hit their boat and split it into pieces. Incredibly, the mother managed to keep her two young children alive by drinking her own urine and breastfeeding them for days, but by the time the wreckage was discovered, she had already perished. 10 'Harry Potter' Stars & What They're Up To Now Chacon had boarded the vessel around 9:30 a.m. September 3 with her two children, Jose David, 6, and Maria Beatriz Camblor Chacon, 2. She was joined by her husband, Remis David Camblor, who was acting as the boat skipper, as well as several friends and family members: Jose Javier Marcano Narvaez, Alejandro Osorio Graterol, and Vianney Carolina Dos Santos Morales. Also on board was the couple's 25-year-old nanny, Veronica Martinez. Humberto Chacón, Mariely's father, said the boat voyage was "simply a family trip to entertain the children." Sadly, it turned into a nightmare instead. Before they could reach the island, a wave capsized the boat and tossed the passengers overboard about 70 miles from land. "Port authorities were informed on September 5 around 11 pm it had failed to reach its destination or returned to the location it had left from and a search operation was launched," the INEA reported. When they did, the children were found floating inside a small lifeboat, clinging to their mother's dead body. They were quickly rushed to the mainland, where they were treated for dehydration, first-degree burns, and post-traumatic stress disorder. Until then, she had survived by drinking her own urine and breastfeeding her children to give them nourishment. But the heat of the sun, coupled with a lack of any water or food, proved too much for the 40-year-old mother. A medical examiner determined that she died from organ failure due to electrolyte depletion and dehydration, reported La Republica. Veronica Martinez was found inside an empty fridge floating near the children's lifeboat. She was taken to a hospital in Caracas along with the children, where doctors said she too was suffering from severe dehydration, lethargy, and PTSD. In addition, Martinez had a rapid heartbeat, low blood pressure, fever, and delirium. Her skin was badly burned and wrinkled because of extreme sun exposure, and she had to be sedated, El Diario reported. Although the details are almost too heartwrenching to bear, many people can't get over the mother's heroic final acts, which saved her children. On Facebook, one commenter called the mother a "real life superhero," adding, "You saved your children — utterly heartbreaking story!" "What a terrifying ordeal," added someone else. "I hope these lovely children can overcome it and live the lives their loving mum wanted for them." "Till your last breath you were a mother, your bravery and sacrifice saved those babies," wrote yet another commenter. "May you rest in peace." Authorities in Venezuela are still searching for the five other members of the nine-person crew, who remain missing. Sadly, they do not expect to find any alive.
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Shipwreck
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The secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, was holding a series of bilateral meetings today with Palestinian and Israeli leaders in Washington.
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Twenty-six European grandees have urged the EU to adopt a tougher stance towards Israel including taking "concrete measures" and exacting "consequences" over continued settlement building on occupied land, which they say is illegal under international law.
The former EU leaders said that in the face of "the ongoing deterioration of the situation on the ground", the EU, in co-operation with other international bodies, should put forward a "concrete and comprehensive proposal for the resolution of this conflict". A deadline of April 2011 for progress in peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians should be set, after which the international community should intervene.
"Time to secure a sustainable peace is fast running out," said the group, which includes former EU commissioner Chris Patten, former EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana, former Irish president Mary Robinson and another nine former heads of state. It sent a letter to EU president Herman van Rompuy, foreign affairs chief Catherine Ashton and all EU heads of government before a meeting of foreign ministers on Monday, saying: "It is clear that without a rapid and dramatic move … a two-state solution, which forms the one and only available option for a peaceful resolution of this conflict, will be increasingly difficult to attain."
The letter says the group had received "signals" from US officials that the best way to help American efforts to reach a peace deal was to put a "price tag" on policies that contradict those advocated by Barack Obama.
The group calls on the EU to:
Put forward a plan to resolve the conflict, including a clear time frame, together with the US, UN, Russia, and Arab League.
Reiterate its position that it will not recognise any changes to the June 1967 boundaries [of Israel], that a Palestinian state should be "territory equivalent to 100% of the territory occupied in 1967", and that its capital should be East Jerusalem.
Refuse to upgrade ties with Israel unless settlements are frozen. "The EU has always maintained that settlements are illegal, but has not attached any consequences for continued and systematic settlement expansion."
Bring an end to the import of settlement products "which are, in contradiction with EU labelling recommendations, marketed as originating in Israel".
Send a high-level delegation, including Lady Ashton, to East Jerusalem "as a matter of urgency to draw attention to the erosion of the Palestinian presence there, and report back to the EU with an agenda of proposals to arrest and reverse the deterioration of the situation on the ground". The situation in East Jerusalem, it says, is the "most critical flashpoint and greatest threat" to a peace deal.
The letter praises "impressive progress in the … development of the infrastructure of a Palestinian state", in which the EU has invested billions of euros.
The signatories to the letter all held office within the past decade, when there have been repeated attempts to broker a peace deal between Israel and the Palestinians.
Ashton replied to the letter, which refers in detail to EU policy on the Middle East agreed a year ago, saying "the implementation of the [EU's earlier] conclusions is proceeding on several fronts", according to the EUobserver website.
Ygal Palmor, spokesman for the Israeli foreign ministry, said the letter was "extremely problematic".
"It's hard to see how adopting uncritically all Palestinian positions and adopting a confrontational attitude to Israel will bring Israel and the Palestinians closer to reconciliation, compromise and peace.
"The document will only reinforce those who are suspicious of Europe's intentions and continue to marginalise the EU's role in peacemaking in this region."
He also denied that settlement products were mislabelled.
The letter, sent earlier this week, coincided with the US abandoning its attempts to persuade Israel to agree to a fresh settlement freeze in order to bring the two sides back to the negotiating table.
The secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, was holding a series of bilateral meetings today with Palestinian and Israeli leaders in Washington.
Clinton was scheduled to meet the Palestinian prime minister, Salam Fayyad, and the Israeli defence minister, Ehud Barak, as well as the Palestinian chief negotiator, Saeb Erekat, and the Israeli opposition leader, Tzipi Livni.
Clinton was expected to outline the direction of the administration's Middle East policy plans in a speech later. US officials say there is little prospect of direct talks. It is likely the Americans will return to shuttle diplomacy focused on issues of borders and Israel's security demands.
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Diplomatic Talks _ Diplomatic_Negotiation_ Summit Meeting
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Dynamic Airways Flight 405 crash
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On October 29, 2015, Dynamic Airways Flight 405, a Boeing 767 on a scheduled passenger service from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, to Caracas, Venezuela, suffered a fire while taxiing for departure. All 101 passengers and crew evacuated the aircraft and survived, but twenty-two of them were injured. Flight 2D405 caught fire while taxiing for departure at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport. The aircraft was leaking fuel shortly before it caught fire, according to the pilots of an aircraft that was following Flight 405. [1] All passengers and crew evacuated the aircraft. 22 were taken to a local hospital to be treated for injuries. There were no burn injuries. A 62 year old man suffered serious injuries after falling from an evacuation slide. 21 others were admitted to the hospital for abrasions, anxiety, and minor seat-belt injuries. [1][2] The airport's two runways were closed. The south runway reopened around 3:20 PM. [1] Dynamic Airways continue to operate Flight 405 on the Fort Lauderdale - Caracas route. [3]
The aircraft involved in the incident (c/n 23280) was a Boeing 767-269ER with registration N251MY. [4] The 131st Boeing 767 built, it first flew on January 30, 1986 and was delivered to Kuwait Airways approximately seven weeks later. While owned by Kuwait Airways, the airframe was leased at times to EgyptAir, Qatar Airways and Polynesian Airlines. In 1995, Kuwait Airways sold the airframe to Birgenair, which subsequently leased the airframe to Alas Nacionales and LAN Airlines. Following the collapse of Birgenair shortly after the crash of Birgenair Flight 301, Air Gabon acquired the airframe for two years until its acquisition by First Security Corporation (now part of Wells Fargo) in 1999. The plane was then stored for the next five years out of service until United Arab Emirates-based Phoenix Aviation (later AVE.com) purchased the frame from Wells Fargo in 2004, leasing it to Kam Air in early 2004. Current owner KMW Leasing of Salt Lake City, Utah (owned by the founder and former CEO of Extra Space Storage, who in turn also is a part-owner of Dynamic Airways) acquired the plane from AVE.com in June 2006, who subsequently leased the airframe on a "power by the hour" basis to MAXjet and Sunny Airways prior to its placement with Dynamic. Despite its age of nearly 30 years, as of October 6, 2015, the airframe had only flown for 29,970 hours over 9,937 flight cycles. Previous to being leased by Dynamic Airways, the aircraft was in dry storage for approximately 29 months. Dynamic had only logged 240 hours during the six-week period prior to the fire at Fort Lauderdale. [5]
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has begun an investigation. [1] On November 3, 2015, the NTSB released an update to its ongoing investigation, which stated that they found that the main fuel supply line coupling assembly had disconnected in the wing-to-engine strut above and behind the left engine. [6] Examination of the left engine revealed no evidence of an engine uncontainment or other failure. Also, the lower inboard portion of the left wing, left engine cowling, and left fuselage center section sustained thermal damage. The fire did not penetrate the fuselage. The report condemned some passengers for taking their luggage. The final report on the accident was released on June 1, 2020. The report concluded that the failure of the main fuel line coupling assembly was "the failure of maintenance personnel to install the required safety lock wire." The NTSB also criticized the flight crew for initiating the emergency evacuation while the right engine was still running. [7][8]
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Air crash
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West Wind Aviation Flight 280 crash
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West Wind Aviation Flight 280 was a domestic passenger flight from Fond-du-Lac Airport to Stony Rapids Airport, Canada. The aircraft was an ATR 42-320 registered C-GWEA. On 13 December 2017, shortly after taking off from Fond-du-Lac, the ATR-42 lost altitude and hit the ground. All 25 passengers and crew initially survived the crash, but one passenger later died of his injuries in hospital. Investigation on the cause of the crash is still ongoing. The aircraft was an ATR 42-320 registered C-GWEA and was equipped with two PW121 turboprop engines produced by Pratt & Whitney Canada. [1] The aircraft entered service in 1991 with Aviación del Noroeste, and was later transferred to a few operators, including Zambia Airways, United Nations, and Fly540. The aircraft joined the fleet of West Wind Aviation in 2012, and was aged 26.8 years at the time of the crash. [2] This type of aircraft has previously been associated with accidents due to ice forming on the wing in freezing weather. The most notable accident was American Eagle Flight 4184. Experts say that changes in procedures and aircraft systems have solved the problem. [3]
The accident took place on December 13, 2017. According to the weather forecast, it was cloudy with temperature as low as −19 °C (−2 °F). [4] At 6:15 pm local time, the aircraft began its takeoff roll from Fond-du-Lac Airport. During the initial climb stage, the aircraft lost altitude and impacted the terrain 600 metres (2,000 ft) away from the runway. There was an 800 foot (240 m) trail of debris. The aircraft finally came to a stop in the upright position yet tilted to the right. The most serious damage was on the left side of the airframe, where it ruptured near seats Row 3. [5] There was no explosion nor fires at the crash site, but fuel leaks were found by nearby residents who rushed over for rescue work. [4]
Rescue work was immediately launched by local residents. Some of them followed the screams and rushed to the crash site near the airport, helping people to get out. [4] The passengers also struggled to save themselves. Four of them tried for half an hour and managed to open the emergency exit door. [6] Other passengers left the aircraft and guided local residents to the crash site. [7] People sent out alerts through Facebook, calling for more resources, and in 10–20 minutes more people arrived with blankets. Within a few hours, all aircraft occupants were rescued. Royal Canadian Mounted Police finally took over the crash site. [7]
There were 25 people on board, including 22 passengers, 2 pilots and 1 flight attendant. Nobody was killed initially, but six passengers and one crew member received serious injuries, at least five of whom were transported to hospital via air ambulance. The other 18 aircraft occupants received minor injuries. [4][3][8] A 19-year-old passenger died on 25 December 2017 as a result of his injuries. [9]
Transportation Safety Board of Canada launched the investigation. [4] BEA, ATR (aircraft manufacturer), Pratt & Whitney Canada (engine manufacturer), and Transport Canada also sent representatives to the site. Flight recorders were recovered and sent to the lab in Ottawa. [8][10]
West Wind Aviation's air operator certificate was suspended on 22 December 2017 by Transport Canada, due to deficiencies in the company's operational control system. [11] They were allowed to fly again on May 8, 2018, after Transport Canada said West Wind had addressed the regulator's concerns about deficiencies in the company's operational control system. [12]
A year after the crash, the preliminary investigation made by the Canadian TSB suggested that icing might have largely contributed to the crash. The departure airport of Flight 280, Fond-du-Lac Airport, was not equipped with adequate de-icing equipment, with official commented it as "seriously inadequate". Polls conducted by TSB also revealed that at least 40% of pilots rarely or never have their aircraft de-iced in remote airports. Due to these findings, recommendation on better de-icing procedure throughout remote Canadian airports was issued to Transport Canada. Subsequently, investigators ruled out engine failure as likely cause of the crash. [13]
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Air crash
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Satellite spots SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon from orbit ahead of cargo launch to space station
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A satellite image captured Aug. 27, 2021 shows a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon cargo ship on Launch Complex 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, ahead of the company's 23rd cargo resupply mission to the International Space Station. Update for 3:32 a.m. ET: Saturday's planned launch of the SpaceX Dragon CRS-23 mission has been scrubbed due to weather. The next available launch opportunity is on Sunday (Aug. 29) at 3:14 a.m. EDT (0714 GMT). As launch preparations were underway at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida Friday (Aug. 27) ahead of SpaceX's 23rd cargo launch to the International Space Station , a satellite captured images of the rocket from space. On Friday Maxar Technologies' WorldView-2 satellite spotted SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon cargo spacecraft from orbit. "We got a nice look through the clouds at LC-39A at Kennedy Space Center, Florida of @SpaceX's #Falcon9 rocket," the company tweeted . WorldView-2, which launched in 2009, is a commercial Earth observation satellite operated by Maxar subsidiary DigitalGlobe. It is capable of resolving features as small as 18 inches (46 centimeters) on Earth's surface. Related: SpaceX's giant Super Heavy rocket spotted from space in satellite photo A closer view of the Falcon 9 and Dragon on the pad. (Image credit: Satellite image ©2021 Maxar Technologies) The cargo resupply mission, called CRS-23, is scheduled to lift off from Launch Complex 39A on Saturday (Aug. 28) at 3:37 a.m. EDT (0737 GMT). SpaceX's Dragon will arrive at the orbiting laboratory on Sunday with 4,800 pounds (2,177 kilograms) of supplies and science gear for the Expedition 65 crew. You can watch the launch live here on Space.com , courtesy of NASA TV.
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New achievements in aerospace
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2011–2012 Puyehue-Cordón Caulle eruption
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The 2011–2012 Puyehue-Cordón Caulle eruption ([puˈʝewe]) was a volcanic eruption that began in the Puyehue-Cordón Caulle volcanic complex in Chile on 4 June 2011. The eruption, which occurred from the Cordón Caulle fissure after 51 years of the volcano being inactive, is the largest volcanic eruption of the 21st century thus far. [2] At least 3,500 people were evacuated from nearby areas,[3] while the ash cloud was blown across cities all around the Southern hemisphere, including Bariloche, Buenos Aires, Montevideo, Stanley, Porto Alegre, Cape Town, Hobart, Perth, Adelaide, Sydney, Melbourne, Wellington, Auckland and Port Moresby, forcing airlines to cancel hundreds of international and domestic flights and causing travel chaos. By 18 June the ash cloud had completed its first circle of the globe. The Chilean civil aviation authority said that "the tip of the cloud that has travelled around the world has more or less reached the town of Coyhaique", about 600 kilometres south of the Puyehue-Cordón Caulle. [4]
An estimated one hundred million tons of ash, sand and pumice were ejected – requiring power equivalent to 70 atomic bombs. [5]
Cordón Caulle is a volcanic fissure and has erupted many times in recorded history, most recently in 1960, following the 1960 Valdivia earthquake days earlier,[6] whereas the Puyehue stratocone has remained dormant. The Southern Andean Volcano Observatory (OVDAS) of Servicio Nacional de Geología y Minería de Chile (SERNAGEOMIN) reported on 27 April 2011, 15:30 local time, an increased seismicity at the Puyehue-Cordón Caulle and set the alert Level to 3, Yellow. [7]
Between 20:00 on 2 June and 19:59 on 3 June, OVDAS reported[8] that about 1,450 earthquakes at Puyehue-Cordón Caulle were detected, or an average of about 60 earthquakes per hour. Scientists and regional authorities flew over the volcano, noting no significant changes. The alert level remained at 3, yellow. Area residents reported feeling earthquakes during the evening of 3 June through the morning of 4 June. On 4 June, at 11:30 local time, a new round of eruption in the Puyehue volcano began. For a six-hour period on 4 June seismic activity increased to an average of 230 earthquakes per hour, at depths of 1–4 km. About 12 events were magnitudes greater than 4 of Richter magnitude, and 50 events were magnitudes greater than 3. The alert level was raised to 5, red. [9][10]
At 15:15 local time OVDAS reported an explosion and a 5 kilometres (3.1 mi)-wide ash-and-gas plume that rose to an altitude of 10 kilometres (33,000 ft) above sea level. The plume drifted south at 5 kilometres (16,000 ft) altitude, and southeast and east at 10 kilometres (33,000 ft) altitude. The alert level was raised to 6, red. [11]
18 days after it first erupted, lava begun spilling from the volcano, heading west and flowing "slowly by a channel about 50 meters wide and 100 feet long. "[12][13]
According to Argentine physicists, the eruption sent one hundred million tons of ash, sand and pumice stone, equivalent to the load of 24 million trucks of sand and released power equivalent to 70 atomic bombs (about 1 megaton). The eruption, though violent, is expected to fertilize the land and rivers. [5]
A "red alert" was declared pre-emptively by the National Emergencies' Office (ONEMI) for regions near the volcano: Puyehue, Río Bueno, Futrono, and Lago Ranco; initially 600 persons were evacuated. The "red alert" was later extended for the Los Ríos Region area: the areas of Pocura, Pichico, Los Venados, Contrafuerte, El Zapallo, Futangue, Pitreño, Trahuico, Riñinahue Alto, Ranquil, Chanco, Epulafquén, Las Quemas, Licán, Boqueal, Rucatayo, and Mantilhue were evacuated; and areas in the Los Lagos Region such as El Retiro, Anticura, El Caulle, Forestal Comaco, and Anticura Pajaritos were also evacuated, increasing the number to at least 3,000 total evacuated people. [14] It was reported that, at first, large land- and farm-owners in Chilean rural areas near the volcano did not allow workers to be evacuated. [15] According to Chilean authorities, the evacuated persons "would be relocated in temporary shelters in safe areas." There are no reports of deaths or injuries. The families who refused to be evacuated from the riverbed of Rio Nilahue were removed by force by the Carabineros de Chile after a resolution of the Appeal Court of Valdivia. It took the police more than 8 hours to evacuate 40 people. People resisted mainly because they had to leave their livestock behind. [16] Small livestock farmers were permitted to check and care for their livestock once a day. [17]
On 17 June 2011 OVDAS reported that the ash-and-gas plume reached 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) above sea level, and the frequency of earthquakes had dropped to 5 per hour. They reduced the alert level from 6 (moderate eruption) to 5 (imminent eruption), and at least 100 evacuated persons were allowed to return home. [18][19] People from the Northeast side of the Cordón (Nilahue and Gol Gol Valley) will stay in the shelters. On 19 June the ONEMI decided that all 4,200 evacuees could return home, as the scale of the eruption continued to decrease. [20]
The ash cloud crossed Chile's borders and precipitated over the Argentine cities of Villa la Angostura, Bariloche and the northern part of Chubut[21] province. [22][23] The eruption was reported to have produced lightning and strong thunderstorms. [24][25] Argentine Minister of Defense Arturo Puricelli ordered that "the Argentine Army personnel, means of transport, water treatment plants, and other equipment of VI Mountain Brigade in the province of Neuquén" be moved to the affected areas on the Argentine border with Chile. [26]
In Argentina's affected cities, people have been recommended to stay indoors. [27]
On 5 June the ash rain in Bariloche ceased. There were reports that the ash had caused power outages[28] and prompted the local airport to be closed. The Bariloche Atomic Centre reported that the ashes contain no crystal phases of quartz or cristobalite. [29]
On 9 June ash clouds from Puyehue reached Uruguay, forcing most flights to be cancelled. [30] On 11 June the ash clouds reached the southern tip of New Zealand, with unusual sunsets reported in Invercargill. Further disruption was caused by ash in October 2011, with airports at Mendoza, Bariloche and Buenos Aires closed and flights to Buenos Aires and Montevideo cancelled. [citation needed] This was ash from the earlier eruption which had been deposited across Patagonia and stirred up by high winds. [31] Some areas of Argentina close to the Chilean border still had ash falling almost daily four months after the June eruption. [32]
Image from NASA's Aqua satellite showing the heavy ash cloud on 4 June 2011. Image showing a large plume of volcanic ash blowing about 800 kilometers east and then northeast over Argentina. Airborne image of ash cloud on 5 June 2011
The eruption of the Chilean volcano Puyehue significantly affected the surrounding environment.
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Volcano Eruption
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One Person Dead After Semi vs. Car Collision Near Sunnyside Sunday Morning
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WSP says one person is dead after a semi vs. car collision at the intersection of SR 241 and Arrowsmith Road Sunday morning. One car was going eastbound on Arrowsmith Road, 3 miles north of Sunnyside. A semi-truck was going northbound on SR 241. The driver of the car did not yield and hit the semi-truck. The person driving the car died on scene and the two passengers in the semi-truck were uninjured.
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Road Crash
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Gastown riots
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The Gastown riot, known also in the plural as Gastown riots, also known as "The Battle of Maple Tree Square", occurred in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, on August 7, 1971. Following weeks of arrests by undercover drug squad members in Vancouver as part of a special police operation directed by Mayor Tom Campbell, police attacked a peaceful protest smoke-in in the Gastown neighbourhood. The smoke-in was organized by the Youth International Party (Vancouver Yippies)[1] against the use of undercover agents and in favour of the legalization of marijuana. Of around two thousand protesters, 79 were arrested and 38 were charged. [2]
Police were accused of heavy-handed tactics including indiscriminate beatings with their newly-issued riot batons. They also used horseback charges on crowds of onlookers and tourists. [3][4][5]
A commission of inquiry into the incident was headed by Supreme Court Justice Thomas Dohm. The Inquiry cited the Yippies as instigators of the Smoke-In, calling them "intelligent and dangerous individuals," but was highly critical of the police's conduct and described the incident as a police riot. [6][7]
The Gastown riots are commemorated in a two-story-high 2009 photo mural called Abbott & Cordova, August 7, 1971 by local artist Stan Douglas, installed in the atrium of the redeveloped Woodward's Complex. [8][9]
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Riot
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Melting Ice in the Alps Has Revealed World War I Relics
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At a park in the Italian Alps, researchers have unearthed a trove of World War I relics that was previously hidden beneath layers of ice and frost. The fascinating discovery is also a sign of a scary climate future. The team came upon the findings in a cave just below the peak of Mount Scorluzzo in Adamello, Italy. During the war, the cave was a shelter for Austrian soldiers. It’s now part of the outdoor White War Museum in Stelvio National Park. Researchers have long known the shelter existed, yet they were only able to get into it in 2017 when the surrounding glacier melted enough to clear a path. Since then, more ice has melted and researchers have also chipped 78 cubic yards (60 cubic meters) of ice out of the cave. Last month, the museum’s team was able to pull out 300 artifacts, including coins, helmets, weapons, and even corpses. “It was very exciting,” Stefano Morosini, historian and coordinator of heritage projects at Stelvio National Park, wrote in an email. “No one had been there since 3rd, November 1918. [It was] a sort of time machine.” The researchers were aided in their quest to excavate the cave by the climate crisis. Rising temperatures have taken their toll on snow and ice across Europe. The find is part of a growing trove of artifacts appearing on the receding edges of glaciers and ice patches across the continent (and other formerly frozen parts of the world for that matter), including some dating back thousands of years. “The entrance of the cave shelter was hidden and closed by ice,” said Morosini. “When the ice started melting it was possible to slither on the upper part of the barrack” and jump down into it. The artifacts show that the soldiers had a “poor daily life,” said Morosini. During the war, they were forced to endure below-freezing temperatures. Hypothermia took many of their lives as did getting swept away by avalanches and falling on the treacherous ice and rocks in the Alps. The soldiers also didn’t seem to have many supplies with them, so they were forced to be thrifty. In the image below, for instance, the object on the far left is a ladle made out of an old can, according to Morosini. Today, conditions in the Italian Alps are still cold, but less so than they were 100 years ago. Thanks to climate change, the European Alps have heated up by 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit (2 degrees Celsius) above pre-industrial temperatures, which is faster than the global average. Mountains tend to heat up faster because when snow melts, it shows the dark-colored rocks underneath it, which absorb more sunlight and warmth. This warming is causing ice to melt, permafrost to thaw, and lessening the snowfall that covers the mountains back up. Between 1960 and 2017, the Alps snow season shortened by 38 days. The region has also seen at least 15% of its glaciers retreat since the year 2000, and research shows at least half of the Alps’ glaciers could disappear this century. The cave site isn’t the only piece of World War I history to melt out of Stelvio National Park’s ice. Over the years, for instance, dozens of corpses have been recovered from the region, sometimes by unexpecting parties. A hiker found a soldier’s remains on the Adamello glacier last summer. Spooky. The researchers would likely have never come upon these artifacts if it weren’t for all of these climate impacts in the region. “The findings in the cave on Mount Scorluzzo give us, after more than 100 years, a slice of life at over 3,000 meters (9,843 feet) above sea level,” the White War Museum said in a statement.
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New archeological discoveries
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Florence bank robbery suspect identified, jailed in different county on unrelated charges
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FLORENCE, S.C. (WMBF) – Police have identified the man who they said robbed a Florence bank earlier this week. Authorities said on Tuesday morning Hugh Dentler went into the Anderson Brothers Bank on Second Loop Road dressed in camouflage and demanded money at gunpoint. No injuries were reported in the robbery. Investigators said Dentler is already being held at the Marlboro County Detention Center on unrelated charges. The Florence Police Department has obtained warrants for Dentler on four counts of kidnapping, possession of a weapon during a violent crime and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
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Bank Robbery
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Former chemistry student sentenced to seven years for thallium poisoning
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By Dalmeet Singh Chawla25 March 2021
Source: © AP/Shutterstock
Yukai Yang poisoned his roommate’s food and drink with thallium
A former chemistry student has been sentenced to at least seven years in jail after admitting to poisoning his roommate with the highly toxic metal thallium.
On 24 March, Yukai Yang, who was pursuing an undergraduate degree in chemistry at Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, was handed a jail sentence after pleading guilty to the poisoning.
At the Northampton County Court of Common Pleas, Judge Stephen Baratta convicted Yang of attempted murder and ordered him to pay the victim $19,000 (£14,000) for out-of-pocket medical expenses, and to cover the costs of prosecution.
Yang ‘spoke to the court and a psychologist testified on his behalf with regard to his mental health diagnoses’, says Katharine Kurnas, assistant district attorney in Pennsylvania’s Northampton County District Attorney’s Office. ‘The victim, Juwan Royal, and his family spoke to the judge with regard to the impact this crime has had on their lives, physically, mentally, emotionally, and financially.’
The court ordered Yang to be incarcerated for seven to 20 years, with the state prison making the final call when he is paroled. As Yang has been imprisoned without bail since December 2018, the time he has already served will be deducted from his sentence.
Yang has previously confessed to buying thallium – a colourless, odourless and tasteless element that is known to be toxic – online and mixing it into Royal’s food and drink in March 2018. ‘This poisoning caused serious bodily injury in the nature of diarrhoea, vomiting, skin lesions, syncope, dizziness and, most severely, neurological effects in the nature of bilateral polyneuropathy,’ Kurnas previously told the media.
In 2018, Yang was also charged with intimidation after writing racist graffiti in his shared apartment with Royal. He had also previously been charged with recklessly endangering another person, aggravated assault and simple assault, but these charges were dropped as part of a plea deal with prosecutors.
Yang’s case is not unique. In 2018, Zijie Wang, a former doctoral candidate in chemistry at Queen’s University in Canada, also received a seven year jail sentence after admitting to poisoning his colleague with the carcinogen N-nitrosodimethylamine.
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Mass Poisoning
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Two recycling advocacy groups merge, hope for increased outreachRecycling mission continues under one umbrella.
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The groups agreed to recycle the name of the Florida Recycling Partnership Foundation and will now function under that name. Before the merger, the two non-profit organizations had similar missions, which are to educate policy makers, business leaders, and the public on the benefits of recycling and advance recycling education and science. The group also focuses on research and education about recycling. Last year the group promoted “Florida Recycles Week.” “The merger will maximize resources to deliver greater impact on increasing recycling. The combined organizations will better serve our existing Florida Recycling Partnership Members and our Florida Recycling Partnership Foundation donors. Overall, we will be a stronger organization that will be able to accomplish more through education and research projects,” incoming chair Steve Lezman of PepsiCo said. Along with Lezman, Liz DeWitt of the Florida Beverage Association was elected vice chair and J.P. Toner of the International Bottled Water Association will continue as secretary and treasurer. Two past chairs, Dawn McCormick of Waste Management Inc. of Florida and Kim Brunson of Publix, will continue to serve on the merged boards. Keyna Cory will remain as executive director of the Florida Recycling Partnership Foundation. In accordance with the merger, the group is creating a new website, which is still under construction.
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Organization Merge
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Higashi-Matsushima, Miyagi Prefecture suffers the tsunami
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Tohoku University Professor Fumihiko Imamura examines a levee to block high waves that was destroyed by the tsunami in Higashi-Matsushima, Miyagi Prefecture, on March 19, 2011, eight days after the Great East Japan Earthquake. (Tsuyoshi Nagano) SENDAI--Fumihiko Imamura, one of the nation's leading tsunami experts, realized that no textbooks or training could ever have prepared him for the towering waves generated by the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake that claimed countless lives in the Tohoku region of northeastern Japan. Imamura, now 59 and an engineering professor and director of Tohoku University’s International Research Institute of Disaster Science (IRIDeS) here, recalled he had been calling for precautions against a possible quake off Miyagi Prefecture when the temblor hit. The 2011 tsunami was far more destructive than Imamura had thought possible. The realization prompted him to pursue a line of research to see how lives could be saved if a similar disaster strikes. Imamura and his team of young researchers are analyzing Miyagi prefectural police records from the medical examinations of 9,527 people killed in the disaster. The vast quantity of data fills a USB flash drive that is strictly guarded in an IRIDeS room. “All the victims (numbered 1 to 9,527 in the data) have their own names, lives and families,” said Shuji Seto, 30, an assistant professor of tsunami engineering at the IRIDeS, who is a project member. The team members are "listening" to the voiceless tsunami victims dead to figure out the deciding factor in whether a life is saved or lost and if people swept away by tsunami can survive. REGRET, HESITATION The police data includes not only the causes of the victims’ deaths, but also the locations and dates the bodies were discovered. It also details whether they were found in their vehicles or outdoors as well as each victim’s gender, age and address. Their names are not shown in the records. The information in the database was created by the prefectural police in the aftermath of the 2011 disaster to ensure the victims’ remains were returned to bereaved families as quickly as possible. Prior to the magnitude-9.0 earthquake, Imamura actively toured coastal areas to promote evacuation drills and other safety steps. In hindsight, he keeps asking himself if he could have done more during his trips to devastated areas following the tsunami. Under standard tsunami evacuation procedures, people are supposed to “flee as quickly as possible after an earthquake.” The 3/11 disaster led him to consider ways for people to survive even “if they cannot escape or fail to flee in time.” To achieve that goal, Imamura knew it would be essential to access data that showed the circumstances of the victims at the time they perished in the tsunami. Imamura had hesitated to delve into data on the deceased for research purposes, mainly out of consideration for the victims’ families. But he finally reached out to the prefectural police four years ago. The police authorities encouraged him to make good use of the data. Their records provide important personal information about each victim. To pass screening by the university’s ethics committee, details on where bodies were found and the addresses of victims were blurred by displaying them in seven-digit zip codes. CASE ANALYSIS, OTHER STEPS It was decided to take an interdisciplinary approach to the project on surviving a natural disaster. This entails carrying out tsunami simulations as well as considering appropriate rescue and medical operations coupled with disaster preparedness education and drills. The analysis of the victims’ data is handled primarily by Seto and a group of graduate students. They found some likely fatal elements. When they compared the population during the day with the number of people who drowned by area in the central part of Ishinomaki, Miyagi Prefecture, they discovered the death rate was higher for sections with water depths of 2.5 meters or higher. Among areas with such high water levels, the risk was relatively low in factory and harbor districts near the sea. The researchers reasoned that offices in those districts had provided comprehensive evacuation drills to protect employees from the risk of tsunami. Though representing a tiny fraction of the total, some people perished from hypothermia. Of 22 such victims found on land, 16 were aged 70 or older. Seventeen bodies were uncovered indoors. They appeared to have lost body heat after staying wet and weakened at shelters or fleeing to second floors because their homes were inundated. The researchers are now looking at ways to share what they learned to develop effective countermeasures. Seto and other team members visited the prefectural police repeatedly to seek advice from investigators and to examine relevant documents from 10 years ago. They also interviewed police officers about the difficulties they encountered identifying bodies. As a next step, they plan to analyze detailed causes for deaths due to being hit by pieces of debris and other objects. In particular, they are interested in head and neck damage or traumatic shock. About 90 percent of the tsunami victims apparently drowned. According to medicolegal experts and other sources, many victims died from a complex combination of causes. The prefectural police records identify no less than 140 causes of death. The researchers are planning to conduct simulations using a dummy and stream reproduction equipment based on the estimated tsunami depth and speed at spots where bodies were discovered. Being able to protect one’s body while being swept away by tsunami is seen as one possible way to protect life. With this in mind, the researchers are also developing a floatable backpack to be filled with emergency supplies with a company in Saitama Prefecture. Son’s search for mother missing in tsunami ends as remains found Mourners mark 10 years since 2011 earthquake and tsunami Study: Working long periods in disaster areas boosts PTSD risk 614 evacuees die alone in public housing over decade since
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Tsunamis
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Man charged with attempted murder after Murrells Inlet shooting
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GEORGETOWN COUNTY, S.C. (WMBF) – A man is facing an attempted murder charge in connection to a weekend shooting in Murrells Inlet. Georgetown County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Jason Lesley identified the suspect as 31-year-old Aaron Stephens Gruber. Deputies said one person was found with a gunshot wound. The victim’s current condition was not immediately known. Gruber was released from the Georgetown County Detention Center Sunday on a $50,000 bond, online records show.
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Famous Person - Commit Crime - Release
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Latin American debt crisis
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The Latin American debt crisis (Spanish: Crisis de la deuda latinoamericana; Portuguese: Crise da dívida latino-americana) was a financial crisis that originated in the early 1980s (and for some countries starting in the 1970s), often known as La Década Perdida (The Lost Decade), when Latin American countries reached a point where their foreign debt exceeded their earning power, and they were not able to repay it. In the 1960s and 1970s, many Latin American countries, notably Brazil, Argentina, and Mexico, borrowed huge sums of money from international creditors for industrialization, especially infrastructure programs. These countries had soaring economies at the time, so the creditors were happy to provide loans. Initially, developing countries typically garnered loans through public routes like the World Bank. After 1973, private banks had an influx of funds from oil-rich countries which believed that sovereign debt was a safe investment. [1] Mexico borrowed against future oil revenues with the debt valued in US dollars, so that when the price of oil collapsed, so did the Mexican economy. Between 1975 and 1982, Latin American debt to commercial banks increased at a cumulative annual rate of 20.4 percent. This heightened borrowing led Latin America to quadruple its external debt from US$75 billion in 1975 to more than $315 billion in 1983, or 50 percent of the region's gross domestic product (GDP). Debt service (interest payments and the repayment of principal) grew even faster as global interest rates surged, reaching $66 billion in 1982, up from $12 billion in 1975. [2]
When the world economy went into recession in the 1970s and 1980s, and oil prices skyrocketed, it created a breaking point for most countries in the region. Developing countries found themselves in a desperate liquidity crunch. Petroleum-exporting countries, flush with cash after the oil price increases of 1973–1980, invested their money with international banks, which "recycled" a major portion of the capital as loans to Latin American governments. The sharp increase in oil prices caused many countries to search out more loans to cover the high prices, and even some oil-producing countries took on substantial debt for economic development, hoping that high prices would persist and allow them to pay off their debt. [1]
As interest rates increased in the United States of America and in Europe in 1979, debt payments also increased, making it harder for borrowing countries to pay back their debts. [3] Deterioration in the exchange rate with the US dollar meant that Latin American governments ended up owing tremendous quantities of their national currencies, as well as losing purchasing power. [4] The contraction of world trade in 1981 caused the prices of primary resources (Latin America's largest export) to fall. [4]
While the dangerous accumulation of foreign debt occurred over a number of years, the debt crisis began when the international capital markets became aware that Latin America would not be able to pay back its loans. This occurred in August 1982 when Mexico's Finance Minister, Jesús Silva-Herzog, declared that Mexico would no longer be able to service its debt. [5] Mexico stated that it could not meet its payment due-dates, and announced unilaterally a moratorium of 90 days; it also requested a renegotiation of payment periods and new loans in order to fulfill its prior obligations. [4]
In the wake of Mexico's sovereign default, most commercial banks reduced significantly or halted new lending to Latin America. As much of Latin America's loans were short-term, a crisis ensued when their refinancing was refused. Billions of dollars of loans that previously would have been refinanced, were now due immediately. The banks had to somehow restructure the debts to avoid financial panic; this usually involved new loans with very strict conditions, as well as the requirement that the debtor countries accept the intervention of the International Monetary Fund (IMF). [4] There were several stages of strategies to slow and end the crisis. The IMF moved to restructure the payments and reduce government spending in debtor countries. Later it and the World Bank encouraged opened markets. [6][7] Finally, the US and the IMF pushed for debt relief, recognizing that countries would not be able to pay back in full the large sums they owed. [8]
However, some unorthodox economists like Stephen Kanitz attribute the debt crisis not to the high level of indebtedness nor to the disorganization of the continent's economy. They say that the cause of the crisis was leverage limits such as U.S. government banking regulations which forbid its banks from lending over ten times the amount of their capital, a regulation that, when the inflation eroded their lending limits, forced them to cut the access of underdeveloped countries to international savings. [9]
The debt crisis of 1982 was the most serious of Latin America's history. Incomes and imports dropped; economic growth stagnated; unemployment rose to high levels; and inflation reduced the buying power of the middle classes. [4] In fact, in the ten years after 1980, real wages in urban areas actually dropped between 20 and 40 percent. [6] Additionally, investment that might have been used to address social issues and poverty was instead being used to pay the debt. [1] Losses to bankers in the United States were catastrophic, perhaps more than the banking industry's entire collective profits since the nation's founding in the late 1700s. [10]
In response to the crisis, most nations abandoned their import substitution industrialization (ISI) models of economy and adopted an export-oriented industrialization strategy, usually the neoliberal strategy encouraged by the IMF, although there were exceptions such as Chile and Costa Rica, which adopted reformist strategies. A massive process of capital outflow, particularly to the United States, served to depreciate the exchange rates, thereby raising the real interest rate. Real GDP growth rate for the region was only 2.3 percent between 1980 and 1985, but in per capita terms Latin America experienced negative growth of almost 9 percent. Between 1982 and 1985, Latin America paid back US$108 billion. [4]
Before the crisis, Latin American countries such as Brazil and Mexico borrowed money to enhance economic stability and reduce the poverty rate. However, as their inability to pay back their foreign debts became apparent, loans ceased, stopping the flow of resources previously available for the innovations and improvements of the previous few years. This rendered several half-finished projects useless, contributing to infrastructure problems in the affected countries. [11]
During the international recession of the 1970s, many major countries attempted to slow down and stop inflation in their countries by raising the interest rates of the money that they loaned, causing Latin America's already enormous debt to increase further. Between the years of 1970 to 1980, Latin America's debt levels increased by more than one-thousand percent. [11]
The crisis caused the per capita income to drop and also increased poverty as the gap between the wealthy and poor increased dramatically. Due to the plummeting employment rate, children and young adults were forced into the drug trade, prostitution and terrorism. [12] The low employment rate also worsened many problems like homicides and crime and made the affected countries undesirable places to live. Frantically trying to solve these problems, debtor countries felt pressured to constantly pay back the money that they owed, which made it hard to rebuild an economy already in ruins. Latin American countries, unable to pay their debts, turned to the IMF (International Monetary Fund), which provided money for loans and unpaid debts. In return, the IMF forced Latin America to make reforms that would favor free-market capitalism, further aggravating inequalities and poverty conditions. [13][failed verification] The IMF also forced Latin America to implement austerity plans and programs that lowered total spending in an effort to recover from the debt crisis.
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Financial Crisis
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Missouri State students get extra financial assistance in October
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by: Sydney Moran SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — Students could be seeing some extra help next month from Missouri State University (MSU). Universities have seen an increase in students asking for financial aid. At Missouri State University roughly two-thirds of students receive some sort of financial assistance. “Your traditional students right out of high school, they have fewer family resources to help them pay for school,” Director of Financial Aid Rob Moore said. “Our non-traditional students with loss of income and loss of a job, still having to pay for childcare and other expenses.” The university is anticipating a rise in students requesting Special Circumstance reviews. “[Special Circumstance reviews] are where we take into consideration some financial figures or economic hardships that are not reflected on the FAFSA, such as if a parent lost income or job loss of a family member, or high medical expenses,” Moore said. “We’re actually conducting outreach as part of the emergency assistance fund requirements to students to let them know that that’s an opportunity for them. We can go on to the FAFSA and make those changes to help qualify them for additional need based aid.” MSU received $22.6 million in funds from the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021. The Board of Governors Executive Committee approved plans to distribute this money to the Springfield and West Plains campus. Springfield will receive $20.8 million. West plains will receive $1.8 million. There are three grant tiers that students will fall under. Students must be enrolled in at least one credit hour and seeking a degree. Students who receive the federal Pell Grant will receive $1500 to $1600. “About one-third of our undergraduate student population is eligible for the Federal Pell Grant,” Moore said. “That indicates that about a third of our students are classified as high financial need. Those are students who rely on financial assistance through federal, state and institutional programs to help pay for school.” Students who do not qualify for the Pell Grant will receive $1000. International students will receive $750. The only students that have to fill out an application to receive the grant is International students. “We are required to certify that [international students] have financial need,” Moore said. “That’s part of the federal regulations. That’s why for the international students, there is an application component and required so that we can certify and meet those requirements obligations, so that we’re staying within bounds of what the Department of Education expects.” Students can choose to get the money as a refund, or put it towards university expenses. The big change with these grants is the overall eligibility of who can get them. “This latest iteration under the American Rescue Plan Act is that the pool of eligible students has been expanded previously,” Moore said. “Under the Cares Act and the CRRSAA Act, students had to have been eligible for or could have been eligible to apply for federal financial assistance. Essentially, they had a FAFSA on file, or they could have filed a FAFSA. Now, it’s opened up to anyone who’s enrolled at an institution, which makes it easier for us to process and get the money out the door, but it also expands the pool of eligible recipients.” Being eligible for the grant without having to apply came as a shock for students. “My parents are having a lot of difficulties especially with COVID and trying to make ends meet. With the stimulus it’s really going to help out,” Sophomore Sarah Hinkson said. But, extra cash can go a long way. “I know a lot of people are working multiple jobs just to pay for their tuition,” Sophomore Trancy Clark said. “Luckily I’m grateful I only have to work one job but still it can be just as stressful to try and get assignments done while working.”
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Financial Aid
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Contaminated water from Ipswich dump site flows into local rivers; Cleanaway fined for environmental breaches
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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
Water flowing from a dump in Ipswich, west of Brisbane, is contaminated with dangerous chemicals and is leaking into nearby rivers prompting fresh concerns from locals, a new report has revealed.
Under their Environmental Authority commitments, the Cleanaway New Chum Solid Waste Landfill facility is banned from allowing water to flow out of the site from the ponds at its northern-most point.
Since the beginning of the year, the company has twice been fined by the Department of Environment and Science (DES) for breaching this directive — with fines totalling $26,690.
Ipswich Residents Against Toxic Environments (IRATE) secretary Geoff Yarham said this was a slap on the wrist for the company, which had been warned about the water releases since mid-last year.
"If the public and the local authorities are complaining, you would think you'd get up and get off your backside and do something and manage it properly," Mr Yarham said.
"They're not managing it correctly as per their Environmental Authority.
"The concept is to manage the ponds so water shouldn't actually exit the site and contaminate the environment.
“Whenever there’s heavy rain you can generally state these ponds will overflow because they’re not managing them within the requirements of the licence.
“I drive past on a regular basis to inspect the ponds and even yesterday the ponds were still brimming.”
Water from the ponds flows overland and into Six Mile Creek, then into the Bremer and Brisbane rivers.
Cleanaway was already banned from letting the water leave the dump due to suspended solids that have been found in it.
Those solids were mostly dirt but also contained particles of waste from the landfill.
The new report, titled "New Chum waste management facility — addendum environmental report", commissioned by Cleanaway and completed by Epic Environment, has now confirmed the water also contained more PFAS than was considered safe.
PFAS, or per- and poly-fluoroalkyl chemicals, are used for a range of household and industrial purposes and are associated with a multitude of health risks, from low infant birth weights to cancer.
Once in soils and waterways, PFAS can take a long time to break down and lose its toxicity.
Mr Yarham said this, along with odour issues from the dumps in the region, meant residents had major concerns for their health.
He said he it was imperative for the state government to act.
A DES spokesman said it took Cleanaway's breaches of their environmental obligations seriously.
"DES issued Cleanaway with an Environmental Evaluation on 21 November 2019 which required them to investigate the sources and extent of PFAS at the site and provide a report including recommendations to prevent, or minimise further releases," the spokesman said.
"The department will consider if further statutory action is required to manage PFAS at the site and will continue to engage with Cleanaway on this matter."
Ipswich Mayor Teresa Harding said her council took 42 per cent of Queensland's waste and the city needed more support to tackle the health and environmental concerns.
"The trucks keep coming in on roads we pay to maintain, and we see little to no benefit," she said.
"Ipswich is a beautiful city, but we have an ugly problem.
"If we don't talk about it, don't address it, it's going to get worse and worse."
We offer tailored front pages for local audiences in each state and territory. Find out how to opt in for more Queensland news.
Mr Yarham said the state government needed to step up.
"The Ipswich City Council can't do anything about it," he said.
"All the waste companies are managed and overseen by the state government.
"Even though the Queensland Government claims they have a very strong regulatory environment, that is not the fact.
"When it comes to enforcement it is as weak as dishwater."
Cleanaway did not respond to the ABC's request for comment.
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Organization Fine
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Pentagon launches task force to investigate 'unidentified aerial phenomena'
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Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. Market data provided by Factset. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. Legal Statement. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. The Pentagon has been conducting classified hearings on UFOs for more than a decade. The Pentagon has created a task force to investigate UFOs following several unexplained incidents that have been observed by the U.S. military. The Unidentified Aerial Phenomena Task Force was launched earlier this month by Deputy Defense Secretary David Norquist, boosting an effort by the Office of Naval Intelligence, officials said. AREA 51 PHOTOS FROM PILOT REVEAL NEW VIEW OF MYSTERIOUS NEVADA BASE The Defense Department said Friday that it hopes to "improve its understanding of, and gain insight into, the nature and origins of UAPs. The mission of the task force is to detect, analyze and catalog UAPs that could potentially pose a threat to U.S. national security." "The safety of our personnel and the security of our operations are of paramount concern. The Department of Defense and the military departments take any incursions by unauthorized aircraft into our training ranges or designated airspace very seriously and examine each report," the department said. "This includes examinations of incursions that are initially reported as UAP when the observer cannot immediately identify what he or she is observing." The plans for the task force, which is expected to be officially unveiled in the next few days, were first reported by CNN on Thursday. The move marks an extension of previous efforts to look into UFOs -- but stops well short of trying to prove the existence of extraterrestrial life. Since 2018, a Navy task force has been informally investigating such incidents and has coordinated information with U.S. intelligence agencies. In April, the Defense Department released and declassified three videos of Navy pilots encountering UFOs in 2004 and 2015. In 2017, The New York Times reported on the existence of the Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program, which had previously been disbanded, according to the Pentagon. While the new task force’s work will remain classified, that status could change if the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence’s proposal for an unclassified report on UFOs is adopted by the full Senate and House.
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Organization Established
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2007 Shatoy Mi-8 crash
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The 2007 Shatoy Mi-8 crash occurred on April 27, 2007, when a Russian military Mil Mi-8 helicopter carrying special forces troops and officers crashed in mountainous terrain in southern Chechnya, killing all 20[1] people on board. The incident is the largest officially acknowledged loss of life for federal troops in Chechnya in 2007 and the worst Russian military aircraft disaster since August 2002, when an enormous Mil Mi-26 transport helicopter packed with troops crashed into a minefield after being hit by a missile, killing 127 soldiers. The crashed helicopter was one of three Mi-8 transports and two Mil Mi-24 attack helicopters of the Russian Air Force which lifted off from a helipad to the east of the city of Gudermes. It was carrying 15 GRU Spetsnaz Rostov Brigade recon commandos and two high-ranking Russian military officers from the main Russian military base at Khankala in Chechnya. Russian officials initially claimed the helicopter was downed by small arms fire from Chechen separatists. Chechen authorities cited mechanical fault as a cause of the crash. [2] A special commission tasked with investigating the crash eventually determined that the most likely cause was human error. The two officers on board as passengers—a Lieutenant Colonel and a Major—were to serve as liaison officers to ethnic Chechen troops who had, according to federal sources, spotted a group of up to 15 Chechen separatists near the southern village of Shatoy. These allied Chechens had reportedly asked for federal assistance and air support. According to the separatist account, the pro-Russian troops were ambushed by separatist fighters who inflicted heavy losses on them. On April 28, 2007, Russian officials asserted that at least three rebels were killed during a ground operation near the crash site,[2] while Russian media reported five soldiers, including two Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs (MVD) servicemen, died in the fighting. At the same the separatists, reportedly led by Dokka Umarov and Ramzan Saluyev, claimed to have killed 30-50 soldiers on the ground and 20-30 airborne soldiers, compared to their own claimed losses of two fighters killed[3] and several wounded.
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Air crash
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Nine dead in Ghana gold mine collapse: police
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Nine people died in a gold mine collapse in northern Ghana this week, police said Thursday as rescue operations continue. Accidents in small-scale gold-mining, known locally as “galamsey”, are common in the West African nation and President Nana Akufo-Addo vowed a crackdown to curb its environmental damage. The latest incident in the remote mining area of Gbane, Talensi district, in the Upper East region near the border with Burkina Faso happened late on Monday during a downpour, police said. “We started with our rescue operation on Tuesday and by Thursday, we’ve been able to retrieve nine bodies,” police spokesman David Fianko-Okyere told AFP. “We suspect three more bodies are trapped down there so we’re doing everything possible to get them dead or alive.” Eyewitness Yakubu Musah said the mine caved in after rain water flooded the pit. “There are about two or more different pits underground here with only one tunnel connecting as passage to them,” said Musah. “When you are down there it’s very difficult to tell what is happening out here, so I’m sure they had no idea it was even raining. I don’t think anyone survived.” Upper East Regional Minister Stephen Yakubu said the mine was a registered mine, not an illegal site. “We suspect the rains may have weakened the foundations of the pit,” said Yakubu adding that a committee would investigate the causes. In a separate incident last week, three people were killed when an illegal gold mine collapsed in the south of the country.
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Mine Collapses
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Protests against SOPA and PIPA
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On January 18, 2012, a series of coordinated protests occurred against two proposed laws in the United States Congress—the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and the PROTECT IP Act (PIPA). These followed smaller protests in late 2011. Protests were based on concerns that the bills, intended to provide more robust responses to copyright infringement (also known as piracy) arising outside the United States, contained measures that could possibly infringe online freedom of speech, websites, and Internet communities. Protesters also argued that there were insufficient safeguards in place to protect sites based upon user-generated content. The move to a formal protest was initiated when Fight for the Future organized[1] thousands of the most popular websites in the world, including Reddit and the English Wikipedia, to consider temporarily closing their content and redirecting users to a message opposing the proposed legislation. Others, such as Google, Mozilla, and Flickr, soon featured protests against the acts. Some shut down completely, while others kept some or all of their content accessible. According to Fight for the Future, more than 115,000 websites joined the Internet protest. [2] In addition to the online protests, there were simultaneous physical demonstrations in several U.S. cities, including New York City, San Francisco and Seattle, and separately during December 2011 a mass boycott of then–supporter GoDaddy. The protests were reported globally. The January protest, initially planned to coincide with the first SOPA hearing of the year, drew publicity and reaction. Days prior to the action, the White House issued a statement that it would "not support legislation that reduces freedom of expression, increases cybersecurity risk, or undermines the dynamic, innovative global Internet. "[3] On January 18, 2012 itself, more than 8 million people looked up their representative on Wikipedia,[4] 3 million people emailed Congress to express opposition to the bills,[2] more than 1 million messages were sent to Congress through the Electronic Frontier Foundation,[5] a petition at Google recorded over 4.5 million signatures,[4] Twitter recorded at least 2.4 million SOPA-related tweets,[4] and lawmakers collected "more than 14 million names—more than 10 million of them voters—who contacted them to protest" the bills. [6]
During and after the January protest, a number of politicians who had previously supported the bills expressed concerns with the proposals in their existing form, while others withdrew their support entirely. Internationally, "scathing" criticism of the bills was voiced from World Wide Web inventor Sir Tim Berners-Lee,[7] as well as the European Commissioner for the Digital Agenda. [8] Some observers were critical of the tactics used; the Boston Herald described the service withdrawals as evidence of "how very powerful these cyber-bullies can be. "[9] Motion Picture Association of America Chairman Chris Dodd stated that the coordinated shutdown was "an abuse of power given the freedoms these companies enjoy in the marketplace today. "[10] Others such as The New York Times saw the protests as "a political coming of age for the tech industry. "[11]
By January 20, 2012, the political environment regarding both bills had shifted significantly. The bills were removed from further voting, ostensibly to be revised to take into consideration the issues raised,[6] but according to The New York Times probably "shelved" following a "flight away from the bill". [6] Opposers noted the bills had been "indefinitely postponed" but cautioned they were "not dead" and "would return. "[12]
The Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and the PROTECT IP Act (PIPA) are bills that were introduced into the United States House of Representatives and the United States Senate in the last quarter of 2011. Both are responses to the problem of enforcement of U.S. laws against websites outside U.S. jurisdiction. While the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) and other existing laws have generally been considered effective against illegal content or activities on U.S.-based sites,[13] action is more difficult against overseas websites. [13] SOPA and PIPA proposed to rectify this by cutting off infringing sites from their U.S.-based funding (particularly advertising), payment processors, appearances on search engines, and visibility on web browsers, instead. Major providers of all these services are predominantly U.S.-based. Notably, the provisions also involved modifying the DNS system, a crucial service that underpins the entire Internet and allows computers to locate each other reliably around the world. Supporters included, but were not limited to, media companies and industry associations such as the Motion Picture Association of America, the Recording Industry Association of America and the Entertainment Software Association. Supporters generally identified a need to have more effective laws to combat the illegal domestic sales of products and services, the counterfeiting and sale of products (such as prescription drugs, athletic shoes, and cosmetics), and worldwide copyright infringing activities which were problematic to prevent inasmuch as they originated outside the United States. Those opposed included a mixture of technology and Internet firms and associations, content creators such as the Wikipedia community, free software authors, free speech organizations, lawmakers, and other websites and organizations, as well as members of the public using their services. They generally identified two main areas of severe side-effects: (1) effects on Internet websites, communities and user-generated content, and (2) effects on critically fundamental internet architecture and security:
Google's policy director, Bob Boorstin, stated that a site like YouTube supporting user-generated content "would just go dark immediately" to comply with the legislation. [13] Tumblr, one of the first websites active in grassroots activism against the bills, added a feature that "censored" its website on November 16, 2011, and the social media aggregator Reddit also became deeply involved. [2][16]
On November 16, 2011, a first hearing by the U.S. House Judiciary Committee was marked by online protests involving blackened website banners, popularly described as "American Censorship Day.”
On December 15, 2011, the first House Judiciary Committee mark-up hearing took place for SOPA, prior to its eventual move to the House floor. [17] During the markup session, several proposed amendments to address technological and other concerns were defeated. The mark-up process was put on hold to be resumed after the new year. Around this time, numerous websites began displaying banners and messages promoting their readerships to contact Congress to stop the progress of the bill, and some websites began to discuss or endorse a possible "Internet blackout" before any vote on SOPA in the House, as a means of further protest. Reddit was the first major site to announce an "Internet blackout" for January 18, 2012, and several other sites shortly followed, coordinating actions for that day. [18]
A notable political response to the November 2011 protests was the outlining in early December of a bipartisan third, alternative, bill with the support of technology companies such as Google and Facebook,[19] which unusually had been posted on the Internet to allow public comment and suggestions in light of the widespread protests related to the SOPA and PIPA bills. It was formally introduced as the Online Protection and Enforcement of Digital Trade Act (OPEN) in the Senate on December 17 by Senator Ron Wyden and in the House on January 18 by Representative Darrell Issa. It proposed placing enforcement in the hands of the United States International Trade Commission, keeping provisions that targeted payments and advertising for infringing websites, and tightly targeted wording to avoid many other key areas of concern with SOPA and PIPA. [20]
Online discussions of a blackout and concerns over the bills continued unabated after the markup hearing and increased in prominence. On January 11, 2012, Senator Patrick Leahy, the main sponsor for PIPA, said of the DNS filtering provision, "I will therefore propose that the positive and negative effects of this provision be studied before implemented",[21] reported by some papers as removal of those provisions. [22] Opposers deemed this a tactical withdrawal allowing reintroduction at a later stage and ignoring other concerns as well as provisions in PIPA, and evidence that the bill had not been understood or checked by its own creators and that proposals for a blackout were gaining impact. [23] Momentum for the protests continued unchanged[22] since the bills had merely been postponed, and due to their other contentious provisions. On November 16, 2011, SOPA was discussed by the U.S. House Committee on the Judiciary. Tumblr, Mozilla, Techdirt, and the Center for Democracy and Technology were among many Internet companies who protested by participating in 'American Censorship Day', by displaying black banners over their site logos with the words "STOP CENSORSHIP. "[24][25]
On December 22, 2011, users at Reddit proposed a boycott and a public day for switching away from then–SOPA supporter GoDaddy,[26] the largest ICANN-accredited registrar in the world, known as Move Your Domain Day. [27] The date was later set as December 29, 2011. [28]
Popular websites that moved domains included imgur,[29] the Wikimedia Foundation,[30] and Cheezburger — which stated it would remove over 1,000 domains from GoDaddy if they continued their support of SOPA. [31]
On December 23, 2011, GoDaddy withdrew its support for SOPA, releasing a statement saying "GoDaddy will support it when and if the Internet community supports it.
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Protest_Online Condemnation
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‘Icebound’ Review: Into the Void
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The cold, hoary legacy of polar exploration depends on outsize characters—and good books. Some chronicle legendary survivors. Ernest Shackleton found fame in 1917 by bringing his crew safely back from Antarctica, yielding one of the best adventure stories ever written: Alfred Lansing’s “Endurance.” Other explorers made their way into print by dying. John Franklin, who was lost in 1847 trying to find the Northwest Passage, inspired such titles as “The Man Who Ate His Boots.” The Norwegian Roald Amundsen both survived and disappeared. He forced the Northwest Passage in 1905 and then led the first expedition to the South Pole, recounting his adventures in several bestsellers. Amundsen later perished in an Arctic rescue mission. Conquest and tragedy fused to form the ideal polar hero. The template for the romantic Arctic explorer was set 300 years earlier. As Andrea Pitzer writes in “Icebound,” William Barents of the Netherlands became the first European to journey into the icy void. “He was the patron saint of devoted error,” Ms. Pitzer asserts, attempting three times to find a northeast passage by sea over Russia to China in the late 16th century. Barents died in the effort while most of his crew survived. His crewmate Gerrit de Veer published a book telling the story. “Barents’s failures came from the immense adversity he faced,” Ms. Pitzer explains. “In time, that adversity itself would become the source of his fame.”
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Shipwreck
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Rüsselsheim train disaster
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The Rüsselsheim train disaster occurred on February 2, 1990, on the Main Railway near the Rüsselsheim station in West Germany. With 17 persons killed and 145 injured the train collision is amongst the most serious in rapid transit. On February 2, 1990, at 16:42 a Rhine-Main S-Bahn train arrived at Rüsselsheim station. The mass rapid transit DB Class 420 train was on its way from Mainz to Frankfurt on the S14 route. The station is equipped with distant signals before the station platforms and stop signals after them. The Indusi inductor system provides a level of Train protection. As he approached the station, the train driver acknowledged the warning of the distant signal (1000 Hz Indusi), but subsequently forgot about it after carrying out platform duties. A second DB Class 420 train was approaching from Frankfurt. However, its usual platform was already occupied on this occasion and so it had to be routed to another platform on the other side of the station. This required the train to cross the path of the first train some way before the platforms. Both trains were fully packed during rush hour with an estimate of 500 passengers per train. Although the next signal was at danger a few hundred meters beyond the station, the driver accelerated quickly as he departed from the platform. The regular speed of S-Bahn trains is about 80 km/h[citation needed] and the powerful trains can attain that easily. Although both trains had activated the emergency brake—also enforced by an automated train stop (2000 Hz Indusi) on the main signal—the collision occurred at a speed estimated to be about 40 to 70 km/h. The impact was so intense that one of the control cars was lifted upright into the air then fell sideways into a nearby car park. The train driver was sentenced to ten months probation and a penalty of 2500 Deutschmark; he never drove trains again. The train porter dispatching the train was acquitted as his duty was to ensure that all the doors were closed; he was not required to remind the driver that the next signal was at danger. The traditional Indusi train protection system does not enforce any speed restrictions. With the stop signal put at a braking distance the safety overlap depends on an assumed maximum speed and weight of the train. Although operation regulations imposed a maximum speed after a distant signal warning it was not enforced. This disaster led to the extension and rollout of PZB90 – in the final modernisation program of 1995 the Deutsche Bahn equipped 10,000 trains with it (1000 Hz Indusi enforcing a maximum of 45 km/h) and more than 10,000 additional speed restrictions were installed (500 Hz Indusi enforcing a maximum of 25 km/h). All trains in Germany were required to be equipped with PZB90 by 1998.
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Train collisions
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Locusts Threaten to Devastate Argentinian Agriculture - The ...
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Locusts Threaten to Devastate Argentinian Agriculture
By James Crugnale
The worst locust infestation in more than 50 years is threatening Argentina.
(The National Animal Health and Agri-food Quality Service of Argentina (Senasa))
Locusts are on the cusp of devastating parts of Argentina, as mild temperatures in the region have helped them to flourish, much to the chagrin of farmers, who fear they will obliterate crops and grassland.
The hungry swarms of voracious grasshoppers now cover an "area of northern Argentina about the size of Delaware," The New York Times reported . The favorable weather conditions ("mild and rainy winter"), combined with insufficient control efforts, have allowed the insect to thrive.
"In order to have the locust outbreak of this magnitude, there must have been several years of population growth that went relatively unchecked," Hojun Song, entomology professor at Texas A&M University, said. "After several generations of no locust problem, there must have been a continuous reduction of infrastructure and personnel for locust control."
"The locust species causing havoc in Argentina is the South American locust, Schistocerca cancellata," Alexandre Latchininsky, University of Wyoming entomologist, told weather.com in an email. "Its breeding areas are concentrated in the northern part of Argentina (La Rioja, Catamarca), mostly between 18 and 35 degrees south, in dry or semi-desert areas ... it can attack a very wide variety of crops and wild plants. The main crops damaged are beans, citrus, cotton, maize, cereals, potatoes, sugar cane etc. Many trees can be attacked, too. So the economic importance is very high."
Latchininsky said that climate change can influence the species in several ways.
"First, if the rains become more abundant in its breeding areas, this would trigger an outbreak. (When it is dry, only one annual generation instead of three develops)," he said. "Second, higher temperatures may allow the locust to occupy more areas to the south and expand its range."
( MORE: Grasshoppers and Other Weird Phenomena That Appear on Radar )
"Since the wet winter, it seems to have been near average for precipitation," said Jonathan Erdman, senior meteorologist for weather.com. "However, according to NOAA's global state of the climate report for 2015, it appears to have been the record warmest year in far northwest Argentina. So the warmth may have contributed to the locust swarm."
Latchininsky noted that the the conditions allowed the locusts to quickly populate. They then fly south, and "invade many Argentinean provinces; there were cases in the past when 15 out of 22 provinces were invaded," he said, adding "The locust has very high reproductive capacity: One female can lay several egg pods with about 100 eggs in each, so the population may increase very quickly."
Senasa, the government’s agricultural agency, issued warnings to farmers to report the infestations to the authorities. The agency has found success in being able to contain multiple swarms with help from increased pesticide deployment by provincial and municipal governments, it also stated in press releases.
However, Amir Ayali, a professor of Zoology at Tel Aviv University who was a consultant during the locust outbreak in Israel in 2013, told weather.com that its hard to know if pesticide spraying will be an effective solution in the long run.
"As very often happens with locusts, one never knows in retrospective how much of the final success in combating the locusts can be attributed to the massive spraying, and how much is simply due to the natural behavioral migration cycle," Ayali said.
"Considering all factors, I believe that Argentina is in it for a long haul," Song added.
Pablo Cortese, Director of Surveillance and Monitoring of the National Direction of Plant Protection from Senasa, told weather.com that damage from the locusts has largely been isolated outside of farmland.
"Concern exists, we are alert, but the reality is that we have not recorded or reported so far in crop damage," Cortese said. "It's noteworthy that most of the current work area are occupied mostly by mountain / natural field."
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Insect Disaster
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Change to Ohio's Fire Code requires Carbon Monoxide detectors in more buildings
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It's often referred to as the silent killer; in fact, carbon monoxide is responsible for more than 400 deaths in the U.S each year according to the CDC. That's why the State of Ohio is cracking down and requiring more buildings, especially those that contain fuel-burning appliances, to install life-saving carbon monoxide detectors. It's a part of a change to the state's fire code that went into effect on January 1, 2019. Some places impacted include apartments, schools, rehab facilities, day cares, hotels, dorms and many more.
"We recommend to have carbon monoxide detectors just as smoke alarms: on every level and in sleeping areas. It's that important," Pvt Sterling Rahe said.
Carbon monoxide is often dubbed the silent killer. It's a colorless, odorless gas produced from burning natural gas, oil and wood. Without proper ventilation, it could be deadly.
"It can at minimum make people ill and at worse can kill people," Pvt Rahe added.
Fire officials can't stress it enough: these alarms could save your life.
"This is something you won't see. You won't tastes. You don't hear. It'll creep in, and without that detector, a lot of times it goes undetected," Pvt Rahe said.
The changes went into effect on January 1, 2019, but there is a one month grace period to comply.
13abc reached out to the executive vice president of the Northern Ohio Apartment Association, and he said this change did not sneak up on him. He said him and his team have taken all of the necessary steps to comply with the revisions of the Ohio fire code.
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Mass Poisoning
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Vladimir Putin has ordered a state of emergency after 20,000 tonnes of diesel fuel spilled into a river inside the Arctic Circle.
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Vladimir Putin has ordered a state of emergency after 20,000 tonnes of diesel fuel spilled into a river inside the Arctic Circle.
The spill occurred when a fuel reservoir at a power plant near the city of Norilsk collapsed on Friday.
The plant is operated by a division of Nornickel, whose factories in the area have made the city one of the most heavily polluted places on Earth.
During a video conference on Wednesday that was broadcasted on television, Putin lambasted the head of the Nornickel subsidiary that owns the power plant, NTEK, after officials said the company failed to report the incident.
“Why did government agencies only find out about this two days after the fact? Are we going to learn about emergency situations from social media? Are you quite healthy over there?” the Russian president told Sergei Lipin, the head of NTEK.
Nornickel said NTEK had reported what happened in a “timely and proper” way.
The governor of the Krasnoyarsk region, where Norilsk is located, told Putin he only learned of the real situation on Sunday after “alarming information appeared in social media”.
Putin said he agreed that a national state of emergency was needed in order to call in more resources for the cleanup effort.
Russia’s investigative committee, which deals with major crimes, announced it had launched three criminal investigations into the accident and detained a power plant employee.
Alexei Knizhnikov of the World Wildlife Fund said the environmental group was the one who alerted cleanup specialists after confirming the accident through its sources. “These are huge volumes,” he said. “It was difficult for them to cover it up.”
The volume of the spill is vastly larger than the 2007 Kerch spill, which involved 5,000 tonnes of oil, Knizhnikov said.
At the time the spill in the Black Sea strait was the largest of its kind for Russia and required intervention of the military and hundreds of volunteers.
Knizhnikov said diesel fuel is lighter than oil, so it was likely to evaporate rather than sink but was also “more toxic to clean up”.
The Ambarnaya River that bore the brunt of the spill will be difficult to clean up because it is too shallow to use barges and the remote location has no roads, officials told Putin.
Russia’s environment minister, Dmitry Kobylkin, said he thought burning the fuel, which some are suggesting, was too risky.
“It’s a very difficult situation. I can’t imagine burning so much fuel in an Arctic territory … such a huge bonfire over such an area will be a big problem.”
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Environment Pollution
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Identity of victim released in fatal Peoria fire
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DeShawn Jones, 40, was identified by Peoria County Coroner Jamie Hardwood as the man who died in a house fire early Thursday morning.
Jones, who lived at 903 W. Thrush Ave., died from carbon monoxide poisoning from inhalation of smoke and soot during the fire, Harwood said in a news release.
Previously: Man dies after morning house fire in Peoria
Peoria police and fire units arrived at the scene at 6:02 a.m. Thursday. They found smoke and fire coming from the front window of the house. Jones was pronounced dead at 6:32 a.m. Harwood said he had "extensive burns" on his body, likely suffered after death.
Jones was found dead in his bedroom.
Acting Fire Battalion Chief Mike Johnston stated the fire was contained to one room of the home, but it had both water and smoke damage. Damage was estimated to be $150,000.
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Mass Poisoning
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Miners remembered in deadly salt mine collapse
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AVERY ISLAND, La. (KLFY) — Both men trapped underground after a salt mine’s roof collapsed Monday morning are now tragically pronounced dead.
The Iberia Parish Coroner identified the two Wednesday as Lance Begnaud II of Broussard and Rene Romero Jr. of New Iberia. Begnaud was 27 and Romero was 41. Both men leave behind families who were desperately hoping their loved one would emerge unharmed as their 16 coworkers did.
Funeral Services for Lance Begnaud II will be held Saturday. You can read about it by clicking here.
Funeral Services for Rene Romer Jr. will be held on Tuesday. You can read about his by clicking here.
The two days of around-the-clock rescue efforts ended with the worst news Wednesday morning. Rene Romero Jr. was found dead hundreds of feet below ground Tuesday evening. “Lil Rene,” as family called him, was 41 and lived in New Iberia. His mother and father told loved ones “It’s so hard.” Romero leaves behind a wife and child.
Rene Romero Jr.
His coworker, Lance Begnaud Jr., was pronounced dead Monday night. Begnaud was 27 and from Broussard. He had just started working at the Cargill salt mine as a production assistant in July.
Coworkers took to his Facebook page in memoriam describing him as tough, funny, and ambitious, but more than anything else, a family man. Begnaud had just married the love of his life last year. At the time he said, “And to think I get to walk a lifetime with you by my side!”
His wife, Alexandra, is expecting to have their newborn baby next week after his funeral. She posted this on Facebook Tuesday night.
I just want to thank everyone for all the love, support, comfort and prayers at this time! As we are torn into pieces and our hearts are shattered and lost for words, we are trying to keep the faith within us! My dear husband will be missed so so so very much by everyone! Again, thank you to everyone!
ALEXANDRA BEGNAUD
Lance Begnaud Jr.
Cargill says they are still investigating the cause of the roof collapse in the salt mine.
We have recently learned that the mine safety and health administration has issued several citations here recently.
In the last year, citations and fines were issued for not properly securing unattended mining equipment, not maintaining two way communication systems for underground workers, and not properly halting other activities during blasting operations.
In November, 2019 Cargill was also cited for improper maintenance of escape routes.
A spokesperson for Cargill says there’s no indication that the roof collapse in the salt mine is related to an inspection issued identified in these recent citations.
Read the company’s latest statement below:
On Tuesday evening, the rescue team recovered the second of the two missing miners who was also fatally injured in the accident at our Avery Island mine. Our hearts are broken for our colleagues and their families. To respect their privacy, we will not be sharing further details about the employees at this time. We continue to offer both families support and extend our deepest condolences for their loss.
We care about our teammates and have professional grief counselors on site at our facility who will be available to our team as needed. The safety and well-being of our colleagues is our top priority. We are grieving with the community as we face this loss together.
As rescue efforts have concluded, we now focus on completing our investigation in coordination with the Mine Health and Safety Administration to better understand what caused the accident. We are committed to learning from this tragedy and remain unwavering in our dedication to safe operations.
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Mine Collapses
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Swissair Flight 306 crash
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Swissair Flight SR306, a Sud Aviation SE-210 Caravelle III, named Schaffhausen, was a scheduled international flight from Zürich to Rome, via Geneva. It crashed near Dürrenäsch, Aargau, on September 4, 1963, shortly after take-off, killing all 80 people on board. [1]
Zurich Airport was in dense fog when the plane was due to take off at 06:00 UTC. At 06:04 the flight was allowed to taxi to runway 34 behind an escorting vehicle. At 06:05 the crew reported that they would taxi halfway down runway 34 to inspect the fog and then return to the take off point. This was done using high engine power in order to disperse the fog. Around 06:12 the aircraft returned to runway 34 and was allowed to take off, which it did 06:13, and started to climb to flight level 150, its cruising height. Four minutes later people on the ground noticed a white trail of smoke coming from the left side of the aircraft. Shortly after, a long flame erupted from the left wing. Around 06:20 the aircraft reached a height of about 2700 m. It then began to descend, entering a gentle left turn before losing height more quickly. It then went into a final, steep dive. At 06:21 a MAYDAY message was issued. At 06:22 the aircraft crashed into the ground on the outskirts of Dürrenäsch, approximately 35 km from Zürich Airport. [2]
The aircraft's brakes overheated due to the application of full engine power during taxiing. This caused the magnesium wheels to burst, one of them on the runway prior to departure. Upon retraction of the landing gear, the hydraulic lines in the gear bay were damaged. This was caused either by the wheels that had exploded, or the bursting of the other wheel rims during the climb. Subsequently, spilled hydraulic fluid ignited when it came in contact with the overheated landing gear rims. The fire damaged the gear bay, followed by the wing. Finally losing its hydraulic pressure, the aircraft became impossible to control. The cabin and the cockpit were filled with smoke, adding to the predicament of the crew. Control of the aircraft was lost totally at around 06:18, and the ensuing final dive and impact destroyed the aircraft. [1]
As a result of this accident, all Caravelles were modified to use non-flammable hydraulic fluids. [2]
This crash severely affected the small village of Humlikon in the Canton of Zürich: 43 of its 217 citizens (20% of the population) had boarded the plane to visit a farm test site near Geneva. Among those who perished were the entire local council, all members of the local school board, and the village's post office clerk. A number of children who were orphaned were looked after at home by relatives, and six of these children had to move, all but one of whom went to live with relatives nearby. There were 74 Swiss nationals on board as well as two Americans (one dual citizenship with Iran), one Briton, one Egyptian, one Israeli, and one passenger either from Belgium or Austria. [3][4]
Further problems arose with the upkeep of the local farms, but people from the nearby villages helped. Apprentices came from local firms, students, firemen, soldiers, boy scouts, railroad workers and policemen, as well as volunteer school children, and even from abroad to help. Approximately 600 tons of potatoes were harvested manually, corn was threshed and the new crop seeds were sown in time. Just over a month after the crash, a new council was elected by the 52 remaining eligible voters. [5]
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Air crash
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1919 South American Championship
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The 1919 South American Championship of Nations was the third continental championship for South American national football teams. It was held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil from May 11 to May 29, 1919. The participating countries were Brazil, Argentina, Chile and Uruguay as the defending champion. After finishing tied in the group standings on points, host Brazil beat Uruguay in the playoff match to win their first title. The playoff was the longest match in the competition's history, and under current rules, will remain so indefinitely: with the scores tied 0-0 after 90 minutes had expired, both captains and the referee agreed to play an extra time period of two 30 minute periods, meaning the playoff match lasted 150 minutes. [1]
There was no qualifying for the tournament. The participating countries were Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Uruguay. All teams competed between each other in a single group. Two points were awarded for a win, one for a draw and zero for a defeat. If there was a tie of points at the top of the standings, a playoff match would be held to determine the champion. For a complete list of participating squads see: 1919 South American Championship squads
Each team played one match against each of the other teams. Two (2) points were awarded for a win, one (1) point for a draw and zero (0) points for a defeat. 4 goals
3 goals
2 goals
1 goal
Own goals
The day after the final, Uruguayan goalkeeper Roberto Chery died of strangulated hernia in a hospital of Río de Janeiro. He had injured after he made a wrong move to stop an attack, during the match v Chile. Because of substitutions were not allowed by then, Chery had to play severely injured the rest of the match. [3]
Brazil and Uruguay teams had scheduled a friendly match ("Copa Rio Branco") for June 19, 1919. Due to the Uruguayan side declined to participate because of Chery's tragic death, Argentina offered to replace the Uruguayan side. After the Brazilian Federation accepted, the match (now named "Copa Roberto Chery" to honor the goalkeeper) was finally played. Argentina entered to the field wearing Uruguay's traditional light-blue jersey while Brazil wore the Peñarol jersey. [4]
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Sports Competition
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John Legend to Deliver 2021 Commencement Address
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Duke will award honorary degrees to Legend, Barbara Arnwine, Jacquelyn Campbell, Evelyn Brooks Higginbotham and William K. Reilly during May 2 ceremony
Multiplatinum-selling singer-songwriter, actor, producer and philanthropist John Legend will deliver Duke University’s undergraduate commencement address Sunday, May 2, in Wallace Wade Stadium, President Vincent Price announced Tuesday. Duke will also award Legend an honorary degree during the ceremony.
It will be a return to Duke for Legend, who performed on campus alongside Kanye West during the 2004 last day of classes (LDOC) concert. The first African-American man to achieve “EGOT” distinction, having earned Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony awards, Legend is also an active philanthropist and supporter of criminal justice reform.
“We are thrilled to have John Legend serve as our speaker at undergraduate commencement—and to have such an extraordinary group of honorary degree recipients, each of whom have made transformational contributions to our understanding of the world,” said Price. “I know that their example will excite and inspire our graduates, and I look forward to welcoming them on May 2.”
Legend's single “All of Me” from the 2013 album Love in the Future was a Billboard No. 1 hit and is currently tied as the highest certified track in the history of the Recording Industry Association of America.
Beyond his performing career, Legend is a principal of Get Lifted Film Co. and has been featured as a coach on The Voice since 2019. In 2015, he founded the nonprofit FREEAMERICA, a campaign to transform America’s criminal justice system and amplify the conversation about mass incarceration at the local, state, and national levels.
Legend serves on the boards of directors of Harlem Village Academies and Management Leadership for Tomorrow, and on the advisory boards of the Quattrone Center for the Fair Administration of Justice at the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School and Teach for All.
A native of Springfield, Ohio, Legend graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 1999 with a bachelor's degree in English with an emphasis on African American literature.
Joining Legend in receiving honorary degrees May 2 are four distinguished individuals who have devoted their careers to advocating for civil rights, addressing domestic violence, advancing African American history and protecting the environment.
President Price will also present honorary degrees to civil rights leader and activist Barbara Arnwine; Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing Professor Jacquelyn Campbell; Harvard University Professor of History and of African and African American Studies Evelyn Brooks Higginbotham; and former Administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency William K. Reilly.
Barbara R. Arnwine, president and founder of the Transformative Justice Coalition, is internationally renowned for her contributions to critical justice issues including the passage of the landmark Civil Rights Act of 1991 and the 2006 reauthorization of provisions of the Voting Rights Act. Her work also includes women’s rights, immigrant rights, judicial diversity, criminal justice reform, racial profiling, health care disparities and LGBTQIA rights.
A prominent leader in the civil and human rights community, Arnwine continues to fight for the preservation of affirmative action and diversity programs. She serves on the boards of directors of MomsRising and the African American Policy Forum. She also serves as co-chair and facilitator of the National Commission for Voter Justice, the Millennial Votes Matters Convenings and the Voting Rights Alliance. In late 2000, she created the Election Protection Program and in 2011 The Map of Shame of Voter Suppression.
Arnwine earned a bachelor of arts from Scripps College and a juris doctor from Duke University Law School, where she was one of the first African-American female students.
After graduating from Duke, she worked on affirmative action policies and helped open new legal aid programs throughout North Carolina. Later, Arnwine became the executive director of the national Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, a group founded by John F. Kennedy. Her concern for women’s rights, and in particular, the rights of African-American women, led her to organize the National Conference on African-American Women and the Law.
Among her awards and honors are the Charles Hamilton Houston Medallion award (with co-honoree Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg); the Vince Monroe Townsend, Jr., Legends Award; the Feminist Majority Foundation’s Fearless Trailblazer Award; the Sojourner Truth, Woman of Truth award, the Gruber International Justice Prize, as well as the Hubert H. Humphrey Civil and Human Rights Award from the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights. In recognition of her nationwide work to protect the voting rights of voters of color, in 2020 she was awarded the National Bar Association’s 2020 Heman Sweatt Award and the SCLC of Southern California’s 2021 Rosa Parks Award.
Arnwine has served as the Charles Hamilton Chair for the North Carolina Central University School of Law and has also taught at Columbia University School of Law and the University of California Los Angeles School of Law. Since 1994 she has served on the Duke Law School Board of Visitors (currently as an honorary life member) and in 2011 she received the school’s Charles S. Murphy Award, which honors a graduate’s commitment to the common good through work in public service or dedication to education.
Jacquelyn Campbell, professor and the Anna D. Wolf Chair at the Johns Hopkins School of Nursing, is a national leader in research, advocacy, and policy in the field of domestic violence or intimate partner violence (IPV). The author or co-author of more than 300 publications and seven books on violence, health outcomes and nursing education, she is frequently sought by policy makers for her expertise regarding the health effects including health inequities of domestic violence on individuals, families and communities.
In 1985, Campbell developed the Danger Assessment, a widely used instrument that helps abused women and their advocates assess a woman’s risk of being killed by an abusive partner and informs individual health care actions and safety planning measures.
Campbell was appointed to the U.S. Department of Defense Task Force on Domestic Violence and has testified before Congress and other local and state-level policy organizations. She was a member of the congressionally appointed U.S. Department of Defense Task Force on Domestic Violence.
Well known for her collaboration with other nursing scholars and mentorship of nursing students, Campbell served from 2008 until 2017 as national program director of the Robert Wood Johnson Nurse Faculty Scholars program, providing research funding and leadership training for 60 outstanding junior academic nursing scholars.
Campbell was elected to the National Academy of Medicine in 2000 and has been recognized with numerous awards and honors. The Duke School of Nursing has recognized her with the Contributions to Nursing Science Award, Outstanding Alumna Award and the Harriet Cook Carter annual lectureship.
Campbell earned a bachelor of science in nursing from Duke, followed by a master of science in nursing from Wright State University and doctor of philosophy from the University of Rochester.
She is a member of the board of directors of Futures Without Violence, is an active member of the Johns Hopkins Women’s Health Research Group, and has served on the boards of five shelters including the House of Ruth Battered Women's Shelter.
Campbell’s daughter Christina (Campbell) Endrud T’95, son-in-law Nikolas Endrud E’95, and son Bradley Campbell T’97 are all Duke graduates, and her granddaughter Grace Endrud is a current Duke undergraduate student (class of 2024).
Evelyn Brooks Higginbotham is the Victor S. Thomas Professor of History and of African and African American Studies at Harvard University, where she has been a tenured faculty member since 1993. From 2006 until 2013 she chaired the university’s Department of African and African American Studies, and in that role founded and coordinated its Social Engagement Initiative.
From 2018 until 2020, she chaired Harvard’s History Department, the first African American to hold this position.
A leader in African-American history, Higginbotham is the national president of the Association for the Study of African American Life and History, which was founded in 1915 by Carter G. Woodson, known today as the “Father of Black History.” Higginbotham began her teaching career as a public-school teacher in Milwaukee, Wis., and in Washington, DC, before moving to the university setting. At the special invitation of Duke University, she taught at the Duke Law School during the 2010-2011 academic year as the inaugural Visiting John Hope Franklin Professor of American Legal History.
Higginbotham’s writings span the field of African-American history and are inclusive of women’s history and religious history. She is noted especially for her two theoretical conceptualizations: “the metalanguage of race” and the “politics of respectability.” Higginbotham thoroughly revised the classic African American history survey From Slavery to Freedom, which was first published by John Hope Franklin in 1947. She is the co-author with Franklin of this book’s ninth edition and most recently the tenth edition, which came out in June 2020.
A pioneering scholar in African-American women’s history, she authored the prizewinning book Righteous Discontent: The Women’s Movement in the Black Baptist Church 1880-1920. She also co-edited with Henry Louis Gates, Jr., the 12-volume African American National Biography. Most recently her article, “History in the Face of Slavery: A Family Portrait,” was featured in January 2021, when she was the honoree of the Winter Family Benefit of the New England Historical Genealogical Society and American Ancestors. Higginbotham received the National Humanities Medal from President Barack Obama in 2015 for “illuminating the African American journey.”
William K. Reilly’s career has spanned public service, non-governmental organizations, and private sector finance. For more than 20 years he was a senior adviser to TPG Capital, an international investment partnership. During his tenure with TPG, he was the founding partner and CEO of Aqua International Partners, a private equity fund dedicated to investing in companies in the water sector. Before joining TPG, Reilly was the first Payne Visiting Professor at Stanford University.
Reilly served as administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency from 1989 until 1993, during which time he led efforts to pass a new Clean Air Act and headed the U.S. delegation to the 1992 UN Conference on Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro.
From 1970 until 1972 Reilly was a senior staff member at the White House Council on Environmental Quality. President Bill Clinton appointed Reilly as a founding trustee of the Presidio Trust of San Francisco. President Barack Obama appointed him as co-chair of the National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling, as well as to the President’s Global Development Council, for which he headed the working group on climate smart food security.
He served as president and later chairman of the board of World Wildlife Fund, president of The Conservation Foundation, and director of the Rockefeller Task Force on Land Use and Urban Growth.
Reilly is the chair of the board of advisors for Duke’s Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions and has chaired the boards of the Global Water Challenge and the ClimateWorks Foundation. He serves on the executive committee of the U.S. Water Partnership, the board of the Center for Strategic and International Studies, and the board of the Union of Concerned Scientists. He has also served on several corporate boards, including those of DuPont, ConocoPhillips, and Royal Caribbean.
He served in the U.S. Army from 1966 until 1968, attaining the rank of captain. Reilly received his bachelor’s degree from Yale, doctor of law from Harvard Law School and master of science in urban planning from Columbia University.
This year’s commencement exercises in Wallace Wade Stadium will be open only to graduating undergraduate students and their pre-registered guests. The ceremony will be streamed for live viewing online at: https://commencement.duke.edu/. More information about Duke’s commencement ceremony is also available at: https://commencement.duke.edu/.
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Famous Person - Give a speech
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1998 Fed Cup Americas Zone
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The Americas Zone was one of three zones of regional competition in the 1998 Fed Cup. The nine teams were first randomly divided into three pools of three teams to compete in round-robin competitions. The nine teams were then divided into three new pools based on their placing in their first pools, which would be used to determine each team's overall placing in the zonal group. The team that finished first overall would be promoted to the World Group II Play-offs, while the teams that finished eighth and ninth would be relegated to Group II for 1999. The sixteen teams were divided into two pools of eight. The top team from each pool then moved would advance to Group I for 1999.
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Sports Competition
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Tsunami precautions in Turkey
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The Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IBB) started installing road signs directing people to evacuation areas in case of a tsunami. The signs aim to divert people to higher ground from the shores of the Marmara Sea. Experts had earlier warned about the high possibility of a tsunami hitting the city of more than 15 million people. The first signs were placed in Büyükçekmece, a district on the European side that hosts a long coastline divided from densely populated areas separated from the sea by only beaches and a long promenade. An early tsunami warning system was also recently installed in the district. Professor Şükrü Ersoy, an earthquake and tsunami expert from Yıldız Technical University (YTÜ), says Büyükçekmece, along with Küçükçekmece, Bakırköy, Ataköy, Zeytinburnu and Topkapı could be severely damaged by a tsunami. “The Marmara (Sea) is landlocked, but tsunami risk is there. It happened in the past and it still has potential. The sea has fault lines and any major earthquake can trigger a tsunami,” he said, noting that more than 30 tsunamis have been recorded in the Marmara in the past 2,000 years. “It won’t be as bad as tsunamis in the Pacific but still, tsunami waves can reach a few meters high,” Ersoy told Demirören News Agency (DHA) on Thursday. He warned that even at such heights, a tsunami wave hitting some 50 meters (164 feet) inland can pull people and vehicles into the sea. “The first wave in a tsunami is usually ‘kind’ and not devastating but the following waves can be worse. Both during the tsunami and after the waves recede, devastating damage can be seen. We need to know how to act in case of such a disaster,” he said. Ersoy highlighted the need to assess potential damage to buildings located along the coast and building permits should be required to show their resilience to tsunamis. Waves would take five to 30 minutes to reach the shore, according to Ersoy. “Even if it happens in a narrow stretch of land, it would still be devastating,” he said. Ersoy hailed the erection of signs as a step in the right direction, saying people may be confused and panicked on which direction to head in case of a tsunami. A recent report presented to the Turkish Parliament called attention to the lingering threat of tsunamis in the Marmara Sea, putting Turkey's big cities along its coast at risk. The report, drafted by a parliamentary subcommittee investigating earthquake risks, says it could take just 10 minutes for towering tsunami waves to reach the shores in the event of an earthquake. Turkey has experienced devastating earthquakes in the past, including a 7.4 magnitude earthquake in Gölcük in 1999 that killed more than 17,000 people in the greater region. The country is located in one of the world's most seismically active zones as it sits on several active fault lines, with the Northern Anatolia Fault, the meeting point of the Anatolian and Eurasian tectonic plates, possessing the potential to cause the most devastation. The last big earthquake took place in October 2020 when a 6.6 magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of Izmir, killing a total of 115 people. The report by the Research Committee for Measures Against Earthquakes and Minimizing Earthquake Damage details that Turkey is “open to tsunami threat” due to high seismic activity. It notes that the Mediterranean, Aegean and Marmara coasts are particularly susceptible due to the “heavy use (settlement) of the shores.” The most recent tsunamis took place in 2017 in an area between the southwestern town of Bodrum and the Greek island of Kos and in October 2020, affecting Izmir’s Seferihisar district (near the epicenter of the deadly earthquake) and the nearby Greek island of Samos to the north. Most tsunamis were reported in the Marmara Sea, as well as off Izmir, the southern town of Iskenderun and the southwestern town of Fethiye. The Marmara Sea featured heavily in the report, which recalled that the tsunami waves exceeded 2 meters (6.6 feet) in height in 1999 when one of the deadliest earthquakes rocked the country. The 1999 tsunami impacted the Tütünçiftlik, Hereke and Değirmendere districts, all in the province of Kocaeli, where the epicenter of the disaster was located. The Istanbul-based Kandilli Observatory and Earthquake Research Institute, the country’s leading earthquake observation center, is working to establish a tsunami early warning system. The institute monitors around the clock all earthquakes of a magnitude of 5.5 or higher that have the potential to create tsunamis. The report also lists a number of tsunami precautions. “All relevant agencies, primarily the Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency (AFAD), should draft emergency evacuation and action plans for coastal settlements after determining dangers and risks and susceptibility to the damage,” the report urges. The report calls for the installation of seismometers on the seabed, the drafting of tsunami danger maps for the Marmara Sea and establishing or increasing the number of early warning systems in the Marmara, Aegean and Mediterranean seas. Lastly, it recommends applying special measures to minimize tsunami damage to structures on the coasts.
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Tsunamis
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Man who was jailed for murder at 13 to be released aged 41 in US
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Smith was convicted of second-degree murder in 1994 for luring Derrick Robie into woods near the younger boy's home and striking his head with a rock. Derrick was walking alone to summer camp at a park in the Steuben County village of Savona in August 1993. The case got wide publicity because of the tender age of the victim and suspect, along with a widely circulated photo of the adolescent Smith in court, wearing a Bugs Bunny sweatshirt and a mop of red hair. READ MORE: Robert Durst sentenced to life for murder of best friend Smith's lawyer unsuccessfully argued that he was mentally ill. Smith was sentenced to nine years to life in prison. Derrick's parents, Dale and Doreen Robie, opposed Smith's release each time it was previously considered and have lobbied for parole reforms that include extending the time between hearings for violent offenders from the current two years to five. Mr Robie told local media the family did not want to comment on the latest decision.
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Famous Person - Commit Crime - Release
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Virgin Orbit completed its first successful launch in January and its second in June
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Virgin Orbit, the satellite-launching spinoff off of Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic, is preparing to go public, announcing Monday that it will merge with a SPAC to list on the Nasdaq. The company is combining with special purpose acquisition company NextGen Acquisition Corp. II, as CNBC reported in June. It trades on the Nasdaq under ticker “NGCA,” until the expected close of the transaction near the end of the year, when the shares will convert to “VORB.” “I certainly wouldn’t have invested a billion dollars if I wasn’t extremely confident, and we’ve had a great experience with SPACs and I’m hoping that we’ll have the same experience with Virgin Orbit,” Branson told CNBC’s “Squawk on the Street.” The SPAC — co-led by George Mattson, who previously co-led Goldman Sachs’ global industrials group, and former PerkinElmer chairman and CEO Gregory Summe — values Virgin Orbit at $3.7 billion in equity. The deal is expected to raise $483 million for Virgin Orbit, including a $100 million PIPE round – or private investment in public equity – raised by investors such as Boeing and private equity firm AE Industrial Partners. A spinoff of Branson’s space tourism company Virgin Galactic, the company is privately held by Branson’s multinational conglomerate Virgin Group, with a minority stake from Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund Mubadala — which together have invested about $1 billion in Virgin Orbit to date. The company uses a modified Boeing 747 aircraft to launch its rockets, a method known as air launch. Rather than launch rockets from the ground, like competitors such as Rocket Lab or Astra, the company’s aircraft carries its LauncherOne rockets to about 45,000 feet altitude and drops them just before they fire the engine and accelerate into space – a method the company touts as more flexible than a ground-based system. LauncherOne is designed to carry small satellites that weigh up to 500 kilograms, or about 1,100 pounds, into space. Virgin Orbit completed its first successful launch in January and its second in June. Virgin Orbit aims to be profitable on an EBITDA-basis by 2024. The company says it has about $300 million in active contracts, with another $2.3 billion in “identified sales opportunities currently being pursued.” CEO Dan Hart told CNBC that the company’s core rocket business will “be growing to about 18 launches in 2023.” The company expects to have about $15 million in revenue this year, with an EBITDA loss of $156 million. But Virgin Orbit aims to grow that revenue quickly in the coming years, forecasting $2.1 billion in revenue by 2026. Virgin Orbit joins a trend of space companies going public through SPAC deals, with Virgin Galactic the first of the recent generation in 2019. Rocket builder Astra, satellite broadband focused AST & Science, satellite data service Spire Global, and space delivery specialist Momentus have each begun trading, with Rocket Lab expected to debut on Wednesday and BlackSky, Redwire, Satellogic, and Planet, expected to follow in the coming months.
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New achievements in aerospace
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Man dies in South-Central carbon monoxide poisoning
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by: KTSM Report EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) — El Paso Police confirm a man in his 70s died from suspected carbon monoxide poisoning early Saturday morning. The man was among three people transported to University Medical Center in critical condition from the home in the 6000 block of Jemez around 11 a.m. Saturday morning. EPPD has not identified the victim by name, only saying he was in his 70s. El Paso Fire Department turned the investigation over to El Paso Gas and El Paso Police for further inquiry. Carbon monoxide is called the invisible killer because it is an odorless, colorless gas. In the home, heating and cooking equipment that burn fuel are potential sources of carbon monoxide. Vehicles or generators running in an attached garage can also produce dangerous levels of carbon monoxide.
Safety Tips:
Symptoms of CO Poisoning:
CO enters the body through breathing. CO poisoning can be confused with flu symptoms, food poisoning, and other illnesses. Some symptoms include shortness of breath, nausea, dizziness, lightheadedness, or headaches. High levels of CO can be fatal, causing death within minutes.
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Mass Poisoning
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WHO setting up hub to make Covid-19 vaccines in South Africa - Tedros
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The World Health Organisation (WHO) said that it is setting up a technology transfer hub for producing mRNA Covid-19 vaccines in South Africa, which could start manufacturing doses in nine to 12 months. World Health Organisation (WHO) director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus speaks as he attends the World Health Assembly (WHA) amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic in Geneva, Switzerland, 24 May 2021. Christopher Black/World Health Organisation/Handout via Reuters WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus made the announcement aimed at boosting access to vaccines across the African continent, where cases and deaths had increased by almost 40% over the past week. Today I am delighted to announce that WHO is in discussions with a consortium of companies and institutions to establish a technology transfer hub in South Africa. "The consortium involves a company Afrigen Biologics & Vaccines, which will act as the hub both by manufacturing mRNA vaccines itself & by providing training to a manufacturer Biovac," he said. WHO chief scientist Soumya Swaminathan said that there were several options on the table, mainly smaller companies and biotechs, adding: "But we are also in discussions with larger mRNA companies and hope very much they will come on board." Pfizer and BioNTech, along with Moderna are the main producers of Covid-19 vaccines using mRNA technology. We could see within nine to 12 months vaccines being produced in Africa, South Africa. South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said: "Through this initiative we will change the narrative of an Africa that is a centre of disease and poor development." Ramaphosa, referring to talks at the World Trade Organisation (WTO) on its proposal for a waiver on intellectual property on Covid-19 vaccines, added: "Today is historic and we see this as a step in the right direction but it does not distract us from our original proposal put together by India and South Africa that we should see a Trips waiver at the WTO."
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Organization Established
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3 Scientists Win Nobel Prize For Hepatitis C Virus Discovery
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A Nobel Prize gold medal seen during the manufacturing process in the Swedish Mint. The medals, presented to each laureate, are made of 18 karat recycled gold and weigh 175 grams (6.13 ounces). The economics medal weighs 185 grams (6.48 ounces).
Markus Marcetic/Courtesy of Myntverket (Swedish Mint)
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Three scientists Monday won the 2020 Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine for discovering the hepatitis C virus, which led to the development of a test to prevent the spread of the virus and drugs that have saved millions of lives, the Nobel Assembly said.
Harvey Alter of the National Institutes of Health; Michael Houghton, who is now at the University of Alberta in Canada; and Charles Rice, who is now at Rockefeller University in New York, will share the 10 million Swedish krona ($1.1 million) prize.
Hepatitis C causes serious liver disease, which can be fatal. The virus is transmitted through bodily fluids, including blood. The discovery led to a test for the virus, which is now widely used to protect people from becoming infected through blood transfusions. The discovery also led to antiviral drugs to treat the infection.
"For the first time in history, the disease can now be cured, raising hopes of eradicating hepatitis C virus from the world population," the Nobel Committee said in a statement.
As is customary, the announcement was made at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm. The Nobels in physics, chemistry, literature and peace will be awarded this week, and the prize in economics will awarded next Monday.
Since 1901, the Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine has been awarded to 219 scientists, including 12 women. The youngest laureate was 32 years old; the oldest 87.
The World Health Organization estimates that 71 million people worldwide have chronic hepatitis C, which can lead to liver cancer and cirrhosis. There are approximately 400,000 deaths annually from the disease, according to WHO.
In the U.S., there are more than 50,000 cases of hepatitis C each year, a rate that continues to rise as the opioid epidemic endures, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
While the drugs for hepatitis C are effective, their high cost — at tens of thousands of dollars per course of treatment — has limited their use both in the U.S. and in the developing world. The price has come down as more drugs are developed, but cost remains a significant barrier to many people with the disease. Untreated, the virus continues to spread through drug use and sexual activity.
Alter's studies at NIH of transfusion-associated hepatitis "demonstrated that an unknown virus was a common cause of chronic hepatitis," according to the Nobel Assembly. Houghton used an untested strategy to isolate the genome of the new virus. He did his work at the Chiron Corp. in Emeryville, Calif. Rice, working at Washington University in St. Louis, provided the final evidence showing that the hepatitis C virus alone could cause hepatitis.
"This has been a virus that has been a plague affecting millions of people, and still is unfortunately," Thomas Perlmann, secretary-general of the Nobel Assembly, said during an interview after the announcement.
Houghton, who is in his 60s, was born in the United Kingdom. Alter was born in 1935 and Rice in 1952, both in the United States.
"Prior to their work, the discovery of the hepatitis A and B viruses had been critical steps forward, but the majority of blood-borne hepatitis cases remained unexplained," the assembly says.
"The discovery of the hepatitis C virus revealed the cause of the remaining cases of chronic hepatitis and made possible blood tests and new medicines that have saved millions of lives," according to the announcement.
A previous version of this story said that Hepatitis C is transmitted through contaminated water. It is not transmitted through water, but through bodily fluids, including blood. NPR thanks our sponsors
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Awards ceremony
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U.S. presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump kicked off a fierce general election battle, with Democrats accusing Trump of erratic behavior and the Republican threatening to bring up old Clinton scandals.
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WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump kicked off a fierce general election battle, with Democrats accusing Trump of erratic behavior and the Republican threatening to bring up old Clinton scandals.
Clinton declares victory in Democratic race
Clinton, the former secretary of state, made history when she became the first woman to lead a major political party in its quest to capture the U.S. presidency. Big primary election wins on Tuesday in California and elsewhere catapulted her to victory over Democratic opponent Bernie Sanders.
If elected on Nov. 8, the 68-year-old former U.S. senator from New York would return the Clinton family to the White House 16 years after her husband, Bill Clinton, completed two terms as president.
All signs point toward a negative campaign as Clinton accused Trump of being temperamentally unfit to serve and the New York businessman charged that Clinton had a dark past and a weak record as President Barack Obama’s first-term secretary of state.
Clinton told NBC on Wednesday she would not run a “campaign of insults,” but she sought to portray the 69-year-old Trump as not fit for the Oval Office after the real estate developer repeatedly accused a Mexican-American judge of showing bias against him because of his ethnic heritage.
The Clinton campaign has pointed to criticism from leaders in Trump’s Republican Party to make this case.
“I’m going to talk about why he’s unqualified to be president based on his own words and his deeds. And I’m going to continue to make the case he is temperamentally unfit to be commander in chief,” she said in the interview.
Trump gave a carefully crafted primary race victory speech on Tuesday laying out his own plan of attack. To keep from straying off message, he used a Teleprompter and avoided his typical stream-of-consciousness delivery.
Trump said money given to the Clinton Foundation charity from foreign donors had earned the Clintons millions of dollars and had a corrupting influence when Clinton was secretary of state.
“Hillary Clinton turned the State Department into her private hedge fund - the Russians, the Saudis, the Chinese - all gave money to Bill and Hillary and got favorable treatment in return. It’s a sad day in America when foreign governments with deep pockets have more influence in our own country than our great citizens,” Trump said.
He said he would give a speech next week “discussing all of the things that have taken place with the Clintons.”
A Reuters/Ipsos poll on Tuesday showed Clinton leading Trump by 10 percentage points nationally, little changed from a week earlier. Both Clinton and Trump must unite their parties but the Democrat appeared to face the easier path with Sanders, a leftist U.S. senator from Vermont, nearly out of options to challenge her.
Trump has an uphill battle. U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Paul Ryan described Trump’s remarks about the judge as a “textbook definition of a racist comment,” but said he would still support him.
Trump said on Wednesday he was “disappointed and surprised” by charges of racism from Republicans.
“I had just won more votes than anyone in the history of the party,” he told Time. “But you know, they have to say what they have to say. I’m a big boy. They have to say what they have to say.”
Ryan met behind closed doors on Wednesday with House Republicans. An aide said Ryan “discussed with his members the thinking behind his endorsement (of Trump) and how to move forward” and reiterated he had confidence Trump would support the House Republican agenda.
“I’d say the general attitude is, ‘Good. Now let’s just move on,’” said U.S. Representative Chris Collins of New York, a Trump supporter. “The irony here and the frustration was that he’s not racist.”
Others said Trump needed to stop engaging in petty battles with former rivals and build a fundraising organization. Trump will meet on Thursday in New York with top fundraisers of the Republican National Committee, a party official said.
Hopes flickered among some anti-Trump Republicans that there would be a revolt against him when delegates convene to nominate him formally in Cleveland from July 18 to 21.
Representative Morgan Griffith, a Virginia Republican, said that was unlikely but that Trump needed to improve as a candidate.
“Don’t step into the cow pie,” Griffith said. “He can’t afford to be stepping into any more controversies like that.”
Clinton edged Sanders out in a rough-and-tumble battle that stretched over four months and 50 states. She won support, especially among older voters, with a more pragmatic campaign focused on building on the policies of fellow Democrat Obama.
Clinton said she had spoken to Sanders on Tuesday to congratulate him on his campaign.
“I am looking forward to working with him to unify the Democratic Party against the threat that Donald Trump poses to our country,” she told PBS on Wednesday. “So we are talking. We will be having an opportunity to discuss in greater detail in the days ahead how we can best work together.”
Democratic Party elites are lined up squarely behind Clinton, including most likely Obama, who may endorse her as early as this week. White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest told reporters that Obama would not endorse until after he meets with Sanders on Thursday.
Obama and Sanders have spoken three times in the past month, Earnest said. The president’s eventual endorsement would put pressure on Sanders to exit graciously and throw his support to Clinton. Sanders is also due to meet with Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid.
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Government Job change - Election
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Poverty Pushes Zimbabwe Miners Into Underground, Dangerous Work, Observers Say
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High unemployment and poverty are pushing Zimbabwean workers into mining for gold in abandoned and dangerous mine shafts that too often turn into death traps. At least 10 people trapped in a mine shaft that collapsed two weeks ago are feared dead. One of those waiting at the Ran Mine, about 80 kilometers north of Harare, is Elizabeth Muzeyi. She wants her 34-year-old husband, Johannes Tagwireyi, brought out of the soils that trapped him on November 25 when the mine collapsed. She says he never wanted to be an illegal miner. She says poverty makes people risk their lives in unsafe and illegal mining. Long ago, Muzeyi says, it would be formal mining and people would be assured of a salary. Now, there are no jobs in Zimbabwe and that’s why people are being treated like dogs. She says when they are trapped underground, they are being abandoned.” Authorities called off rescue efforts on December 5th. Only six miners were saved. At least 10 others are still buried. The Zimbabwe Miners Federation, which represents miners like Tagwireyi, says as many as 30 miners were lost. Wellington Takavarasha, CEO of the federation, says the government should put more value on small-scale and unlicensed miners. “Artisanal mining is a livelihood activity countrywide," said Takavarasha. "That’s why if you look at the numbers of people mining, they are plus or minus 1.5 million that we need to put in the mainstream economy, that the government benefits from their activities and their gold being taken to the Fidelity Printers and Refineries.” Gold is Zimbabwe’s largest foreign exchange earner and more stable than the country’s volatile currency. The struggling economy and unemployment have pushed laborers underground, despite the risk of accidents and violence. Critics blame poor regulations and lack of security at abandoned mines. Nathan Nkomo, director of the Zimbabwe’s Department of Civil Protection, says there have been several incidents like the Ran Mine collapse and action is needed. “I am of the view that we need to quickly meet with the ministry of mines and mining development and the various players in the mining sector, especially the mining giants so that we chart the way forward on how best we can come up with a mitigation plan," Nkomo said. "So, I think the only way of minimizing the loss of life is to have that mitigation plan.” Zimbabwe’s parliament has summoned Winston Chitando, the minister of mines and mining development, to answer questions on why so many mining disasters have happened. He is scheduled to appear Wednesday.
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Mine Collapses
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2019 Cotabato earthquakes
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The 2019 Cotabato earthquakes were an earthquake swarm which struck the province of Cotabato on the island of Mindanao in the Philippines in October 2019. [6] Three of these earthquakes were above 6.0 on the moment magnitude scale with a Mercalli intensity of VIII. More than 40 people have been reported dead or missing and nearly 800 were injured as a result of these events. Mindanao lies across the complex convergent boundary between the Sunda Plate and the Philippine Sea Plate. [7] Part of the oblique convergence between these plates is taken up by subduction along the Cotabato Trench. The strike-slip component of the convergence is accommodated partly by the Philippine Fault System and partly by the Cotabato Fault System, a network of mainly NW-SE trending sinistral (left-lateral) strike-slip faults that form the boundary between the Cotabato Arc and the Central Mindanao Volcanic Belt. [8] In the area of the October 2019 earthquakes series, the individual faults include the NW-SE trending South Columbio Fault, North Columbio Fault, M'Lang Fault, Makilala–Malungon Fault and Tangbulan Fault, and the SW-NE trending Makilala Fault and Balabag Fault. [9]
The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS) reported that an earthquake of 6.3 magnitude was recorded at 19:37 PST (UTC+8) with a depth of 14.1 kilometers (recorded as 6.4 Mw at a depth of 12.8 km by the USGS). The epicenter was 7 kilometers ENE of Columbio,[10] 22 kilometers southeast of Tulunan, Cotabato where the earthquake was felt at Intensity VII. [1] VII was also reached at M'lang and Kidapawan. Intensity VI was reached at Tacurong, Santo Niño in South Cotabato, and Digos in Davao del Sur. The earthquake was a result of sinistral movement on a NW-SE trending strike-slip fault. [24]
Philippine government seismologist Renato Solidum described the quake as "moderately powerful". The National Tsunami Center issues a statement saying no present tsunami threat from the earthquake. [25][26][27]
Three malls in Davao City reported damage following the earthquake. [28] In General Santos, the Gaisano Mall was mostly gutted following a fire triggered by the earthquake. [29] 143 buildings were damaged and one was destroyed. The damaged buildings included 40 houses, 70 schools, 7 health facilities, 10 commercial buildings, and 2 places of worship. [30]
On October 29, 2019, a 6.6-magnitude earthquake struck the island of Mindanao in the Philippines at a depth of 14.1 km, according to the USGS, and 7 km according to PHIVOLCS. The maximum perceived shaking was VII on both the PEIS and MMS scales. This intensity was reached in Tulunan, Makilala, Kidapawan City, Digos City, and Malungon. This earthquake was caused by movement on a different, but related, strike-slip fault to the October 16 event. [31][32]
A major fire broke out in General Santos City. There were power outages in many parts of Cotabato and locally in South Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, and Sarangani. [33] At least ten deaths were reported, with a minimum of another four hundred injured. [34] The fatalities were reported in Arakan, Carmen, Tulunan, Makilala, Digos City, and Magsaysay. School classes were suspended in parts of North Cotabato, South Cotabato, and Sultan Kudarat. [35]
On October 31, 2019, a 6.5 magnitude earthquake struck the island of Mindanao in the Philippines at a depth of 10 km according to the USGS, with the epicenter located 1 km south of Kisante. A maximum perceived shaking of VII (PEIS) was reported from Tulunan, Makilala, Kidapawan City, Santa Cruz, Matanao, Magsaysay, Bansalan and Digos City. Some buildings in Davao and Soccksargen were seriously damaged and some collapsed. The death toll of these two quakes (October 29 and 31) was raised to 24, with 563 people injured, and 11 still missing. [36] More than 300 aftershocks were recorded after the earthquake. A hotel in Kidapawan City collapsed following the earthquake; fortunately, according National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC), no one was inside in the building when the earthquake struck. [37] The Davao City government suspended the classes on all levels. [38] Affected residents in Makilala, Cotabato have begged on the highway for basic needs such as rice and tents. [39][40] According to the NDRRMC, about 30,000 families or 150,000 individuals affected by the earthquake. [39]
The earthquake sequence triggered a large number of landslides and rockslides. Municipalities affected by landslides include Kidapawan City, Antipas, Arakan, Makilala, M'Lang and Tulunan in Cotabato province; Magsaysay, Bansalan, Malalag, Matanao and Kiblawan in Davao Del Sur. [9] Three fatalities were caused by landslides triggered by the October 29 shock with a further six people reported missing. Two fatalities were caused by landslides triggered by the October 31 shock, with a further five people reported missing. [36]
The US Ambassador to the Philippines, Sung Kim, and the EU delegation to the Philippines both offered their condolences to the Filipino people. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi also sent his message of sympathy to Philippine Foreign Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr.. The Chinese government has donated ¥3 million yuan (roughly equivalent to ₱22 million pesos) to support the disaster relief efforts in Mindanao. [41] Meanwhile, the Spanish Consulate in the Philippines pledged to donate up to 35,000 euros to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies and 70,000 euros to assist people in water, hygiene and sanitation. [42]
The Provincial Government of South Cotabato, Sarangani and the City of General Santos was one of the first to initiate to help the citizens with blankets, trapal, food and water near the epicenter of the earthquake swarm, most especially in the Municipalities of Makilala, Tulunan, M'lang and City of Kidapawan. [43] Local citizens in Soccsksargen acted in both giving donations in the government processes and privately giving donations across the highway in Makilala, Tulunan and Kidapawan. The Davao City Government also helped the affected areas. The Island Garden City of Samal Government also went to Cotabato Province to give relief goods and drinking water. The Bangsamoro Government also went to the affected areas to give relief goods. The municipality of Datu Saudi Ampatuan Government also went to the area to share donations to help the affected people.
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Earthquakes
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Taiwan’s Kaohsiung City co-responsible for gas explosion, but not for compensation
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The aftermath of the July 2014 gas blasts in the streets of Kaohsiung. The aftermath of the July 2014 gas blasts in the streets of Kaohsiung. (AP photo)
TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – The Kaohsiung City Government is 40 percent responsible for the 2014 gas explosion which killed 32 people, but will not be forced to pay a share in NT$240 million (US$7.9 million) worth of compensation, a court ruled Friday.
Gas leaks in the Qianzhen and Lingya districts of Kaohsiung on the evening of July 31, 2014 were followed hours later by massive explosions which turned roads into ditches, overturned cars and fire trucks, and left 32 people dead and more than 300 injured.
Friday’s Kaohsiung District Court verdict, which can still be appealed, stipulated that LCY Chemical Corporation (榮化) and China General Terminal and Distribution Corporation (CGTD, 華運), the two companies responsible for moving the propylene gas through underground pipelines, were each 30 percent responsible for the disaster and would have to make the compensation payments together.
The city government did not have to share in the payments because a two-year statute of limitations had passed, while it had assisted the victims file the court case in the first place, the Central News Agency reported.
The case brought before the court demanded a total of NT$1 billion (US$33 million) from LCY, CGTD and from state oil concern CPC Corp., Taiwan, but judges ruled the last company not guilty of any negligence.
In related cases also judged on Friday morning, the court rejected a NT$700 million (US$23 million) compensation demand by LCY against CPC, but said LCY should pay NT$40 million (US$1.3 million) to CPC, according to a CNA report.
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Gas explosion
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Toxic Carbon Monoxide From Boats Can Kill You Just as Fast as Car Exhaust – MotorBiscuit
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Boating on the open waters is a very freeing and exhilarating experience. It seems like a safe and exciting hobby. However, it can also come with deadly consequences. Carbon monoxide poisoning can happen with any gas-powered vehicle, and a boat is no exception. Here are some little-known facts about the dangers of carbon monoxide from boats.
According to People, at 21 years of age and an athlete, Ally Sidloski was a strong and capable swimmer. However, she tragically drowned in a lake due to carbon monoxide from a boat. At first, her parents were baffled because she had always been a strong swimmer at home. A coroner later ruled that the cause of Sidloski’s death was not drowning, but carbon monoxide intoxication.
Sidloski’s parents have filed a lawsuit against Yamaha, the company that manufactured the boat. It is believed that she was sitting in an area on the boat deemed unfit for occupants due to the possibility of carbon monoxide exposure. The couple hopes to prevent this from happening to others in the future.
According to U.S. Coast Guard, carbon monoxide poisoning is thought to be one of the leading causes of boating-related deaths each year. In 2020, the Coast Guard reported 15 boat-related carbon monoxide poisonings with five fatalities and 41 injuries. When boats are idling or at low speeds, the fumes build up around the exhaust vents. The gas can’t be seen or smelled, so victims are unaware of the danger. According to the CDC, carbon monoxide builds up in the air space beneath the stern deck or on and near the swim deck can kill someone in seconds.
Dangerous concentrations of carbon monoxide can build up within seconds, even in an outdoor setting such as a lake. The dangers of automobile exhaust in enclosed spaces are well-known to the public. Sadly, some people use this method to take their lives by leaving their car running in the garage with the door closed. However, not many people realize how dangerous carbon monoxide can be even in an open area outdoors.
Known as the “quiet killer,” carbon monoxide poisoning can occur very quickly, which is why it’s essential to recognize the symptoms. For mild exposure, a person might experience headaches, weakness, dizziness, or nausea. For a medium exposure, the person might feel shortness of breath, confusion, or blurred vision. For extreme exposure, loss of consciousness is possible. This is why recognizing the symptoms quickly can alert you to clear the area before you lose consciousness and succumb to the fumes.
People exposed to carbon dioxide for long durations could also suffer an irreversible brain injury. Because your body cannot transport oxygen to the cells, the brain may be oxygen-starved, which may lead to damage to the brain or any other organs. The process happens very quickly, so a fast response is necessary to prevent loss of life.
Many people know how dangerous carbon monoxide is when inhaled, but few know of the dangers of boating and carbon monoxide poisoning. Since many boats and their onboard generators are gas-powered, it’s only logical that they would emit carbon dioxide and that it might pose a threat. Since boats are operated on water, it’s hard to believe that carbon dioxide could build up since most people think it only occurs in enclosed spaces.
Make no mistake, the same precautions used around car exhaust should also be taken with boat exhaust.
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Mass Poisoning
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'Rebrand the monarchy' Kate and Prince William picked as ideal candidates for US tour
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Kate, Duchess of Cambridge, and Prince William would be the perfect candidates to complete an official visit to the US, according to American brand and reputation management expert Eric Schiffer. Full-time working members of the Royal Family haven't visited the US for a few years now and the palace hasn't announced any plans for the near future to pay an official visit to officials across the pond.
The ongoing coronavirus pandemic and travel disruptions have also made it more difficult for royals to carry out visits overseas.
But, if the Firm decided to resume its long and successful tradition of royal visits to the US, it would mark a golden "opportunity to rebrand the monarchy" among Americans, according to the California-based expert.
Asked whether a hypothetical tour of the US by Kate and Prince William could have a positive impact on the Royal Family and how it is perceived in the US, Mr Schiffer told Express.co.uk: "Absolutely. It would be a very smart move."
The expert added the Cambridges' presence on the US soil could help "counter" what he described as the "media battle plan put forward by Harry and Meghan over the last year" when referring to their bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey and claims and revelations made by the Duke in a series of audio and video programmes including the mental health series he co-created 'The Me You Can't See'.
Kate and Prince William, Mr Schiffer said, have the potential to charm and interest Millennial and Generation Z Americans through their approachability and interest in causes close to young people's hearts - including mental health and the environment.
He said: "I think just being able to speak to issue that matters to them, whether it's the environment or social justice, and show their real and approachable side with their own vulnerabilities would be very helpful to connect with the future population of America."
The expert also believes Prince Charles and Camilla, despite being future King and Queen Consort, would not be as effective in charming the US population as the second-in-line to the throne and his wife.
He added: "This is really an opportunity to rebrand the monarchy in ways that allow older Americans to revisit the potential and majesty of what the monarchy represents and also show younger Americans who they [Kate and William] are and build their own relationship with Millennial and Gen Z."
READ MORE: William and Kate to receive Windsor Castle apartment
Several members of the Royal Family have carried out visits to the US over the years.
The Queen's father, King George VI, became the first British monarch to set foot in the US in June 1939, on the brink of World War 2.
During the highly important diplomatic visit, the sovereign and the Queen Mother met US President Franklin D. Roosevelt and First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt and enjoyed their very first hot dog.
The Queen travelled to the US multiple times over the decades.
Her first trip took place in 1957, during which she visited Washington, New York and Williamsburg as well as Maryland, in North Carolina, where she watched a football game.
The Queen and Prince Philip travelled Stateside also in 1991, 2007 - when the horse-racing lover sovereign could attend the 133rd Kentucky Derby - and 2010.
Princess Diana and Prince Charles wowed both A-listers and everyday Americans with their trip in 1985.
During this visit, Princess Diana famously danced with John Travolta while at a star-studded gala dinner hosted by US President Ronald Reagan and his wife Nancy.
Prince Charles returned to the US, this time with Camilla, in 2005 and 2015.
Upon welcoming the royal couple to the US on their most recent trip, the then UK Ambassador to the US Sir Peter Westmacott said: "Their trip to Washington and Kentucky will showcase the best of the transatlantic relationship — promoting democratic values, combating climate change, preserving the natural environment, creating opportunities for the next generation — and provide yet another reminder of the essential role the Royal Family play in keeping that relationship special."
Kate and Prince William have also visited the US over the past decade.
Their first journey across the pond in 2011, which also encompassed Canada, was also their first official visit as a married couple.
The Duke and Duchess returned to the US three years later, when they even met several celebrities while attending an NBA basketball game.
Prince Harry famously went on an official tour of the US in 2013, when he met US President Barack Obama, his wife Michelle and the then-Vice President and his wife Joe and Jill Biden.
During this trip, the Duke of Sussex watched the Warrior Games, which inspired him to launch one year later his Invictus Games.
The Duke, who stepped down as senior royal with his wife Meghan at the end of March 2020, now lives in California with his family.
See today's front and back pages, download the newspaper, order back issues and use the historic Daily Express newspaper archive.
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Diplomatic Visit
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1963 European Rowing Championships (men)
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The 1963 European Rowing Championships for men were rowing championships held on Lake Bagsværd near the Danish capital Copenhagen;[1] the competition for women was held the following month in Moscow. The regatta in Copenhagen was held from 14 to 18 August. [2]
The rowing federations of East and West Germany met at the end of July in Hanover to discuss how their rowers should be represented. FISA did not recognise East Germany as a country and insisted on one German team per boat class. The negotiations were overshadowed by political tension—the Berlin Wall had been built two years earlier—and did not result in an agreement. The decision was thus made by FISA that selection trials for men were to be held at the Olympic regatta course in Grünau in East Berlin on 9 August. [2][3] The West German rowers won the races in all seven boat classes. The closest result was the photo finish of the coxless pair, where the West German team was 0.05 seconds ahead. [4][5]
At a FISA meeting held in conjunction with the 1963 regatta, the East German rowing association asked for separate German teams to be allowed to compete in future. The vote on the item was 37 against and 15 in favour of the proposal, and the motion was thus rejected. [6]
The finals were held during heavy rain. [7] In the single sculls, the inaugural world champion, Vyacheslav Ivanov, came fourth. Medallists at the 1963 European Rowing Championships for men were:[8]
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Sports Competition
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Egypt, Russia begin anti-terrorism military drill
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Egypt and Russia on Monday launched a joint military exercise to combat terrorism, according to the Egyptian military. The “Defenders of Friendship-3” drill includes members of parachute units from both countries, military spokesman Col. Tamer Rifai said in a statement. The military exercise, which will continue until Oct. 26, is being held at the Mohamed Najib military base in northwestern Egypt. The drill aims to “exchange training experiences of special units..., and combat training for special and counter-terrorism forces according to the latest training systems," the statement said. The exercise comes as Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi began a three-day visit to Russia on Monday for talks with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. A similar military training was held between Russian and Egyptian forces in the southwestern city of Novorossiysk last year.
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Military Exercise
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NATO: North Macedonia becomes 30th member
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News
NATO: North Macedonia becomes 30th member
Skopje submitted formal accession papers on Friday, becoming the 30th member of the transatlantic military alliance. The move caps a week of EU diplomacy allowing North Macedonia to begin EU accession talks.
"The Republic of North Macedonia is officially the new, 30th NATO member," the government in Skopje said in a statement. "We have fulfilled the dream of generations."
From NATO headquarters, Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg declared: "North Macedonia is now part of the NATO family.”
It was a family of 30 nations and almost 1 billion people "based on the certainty that, no matter what challenges we face, we are all stronger and safer together,” Stoltenberg added.
German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said a long journey had finally come to an end.
"North Macedona's NATO accession increases security and stability across the Western Balkans and is a sign of NATO's open-door policy, which contributes towards freedom, democracy and human rights," he said.
The final step
Earlier on Friday, North Macedonia had deposited its "instrument of accession” at the US State Department in Washington — the final formal step.
It represented the "culmination of many years of effort by the government and people of North Macedonia,” said US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
Athens had made that a condition if Skopje was to join both organizations.
"We have waited for this day nearly 30 years,” tweeted North Macedonian Defence Minister Radmila Sekerinska. "Congratulations to all of us." A formal flag-raising ceremony is set to take place in Brussels on Monday.
Watch video 02:49
North Macedonia planning to join EU
ipj/rt (dpa, AP, AFP)
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Join in an Organization
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Caeleb Dressel sets another Olympic record in 100 meter Butterfly semi-final
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Tokyo — Caeleb Dressel set another Olympic record at the Tokyo Games in the 100 meter Butterfly semi-final. Dressel had already set an Olympic record in winning the gold medal in the 100 meter freestyle, beating Australia's Kyle Chalmers by just .06 of a second.
OLYMPIC RECORD for Caeleb Dressel!
HE DID IT! #TokyoOlympics x @TeamUSA
?: NBC?: https://t.co/Sdse4JEfNh?: NBC Sports App pic.twitter.com/LGKo5dQw92
That was Dressel's second gold in Tokyo. His first came in the 4x100-meter freestyle.
Dressel wasn't the only swimmer to break an Olympic mark this week. South Africa's Tatjana Schoenmaker set a world record while winning the 200 meter breaststroke, edging out Lilly King of the U.S. in the last few seconds.
What a wonderful moment! Tatjana Schoenmaker wins gold for South Africa and breaks the world record while Lilly King and Annie Lazor pick up silver and bronze. The embrace afterwards is just awesome. pic.twitter.com/eJLSWfp8hZ
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Break historical records
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Ballymacarrett rail crash of 1871
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The Ballymacarrett rail crash of 1871 occurred on 13 May 1871 at the Ballymacarrett Junction of the Belfast and County Down Railway in Belfast, Ireland. Two people were killed with 55 injured. The cause was a derailment caused by an intoxicated fireman who drove a steam locomotive with four goods wagons off the end of incomplete set of points at Ballymacarrett Junction blocking the main line. Another train came along and struck the first. [1][2][3]
This United Kingdom rail transport related article is a stub.
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Train collisions
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Salisbury poisonings: Third man faces charges for Novichok attack
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Police say they have identified another suspect in the Salisbury Novichok attacks, which left three people critically ill and one dead.
Former Russian agent Sergei Skripal, his daughter Yulia and a police officer, Nick Bailey, were exposed to the substance in 2018. Dawn Sturgess died after finding a perfume bottle with it in months later.
Security sources now believe a senior Russian agent, Denis Sergeev, was the on-the-ground commander.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson said that all three suspects "should be handed over for justice".
Detectives had previously named two Russian intelligence officers as suspects.
Anatoliy Chepiga and Alexander Mishkin have long been alleged to have smeared the military-grade nerve agent Novichok on the handle of former GRU officer Sergei Skripal's front door.
They believe the group belonged to a team from the GRU, Russia's military intelligence service. Sergeev has also been linked to other covert activity across Europe. But Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said the UK was using the case as "a tool to put pressure on our country", adding: "We decisively reject all of London's attempt to blame Moscow for what happened in Salisbury."
The Crown Prosecution Service has now authorised charges, but the suspects cannot be formally charged unless they are arrested.
All three are thought to be in Russia.
Nick Price, head of the special crime and counter terrorism division at the CPS, said there was "sufficient evidence to provide a realistic prospect of conviction" and that it was in the public interest to charge Sergeev.
Prosecutors were working with police to bring the attackers to justice "where possible" but Russia has made clear it does not extradite its citizens, he said.
Home Secretary Priti Patel told the House of Commons that if any of the suspects travelled outside Russia, the UK would "take every possible step to detain and extradite them" and would be "relentless in the pursuit of justice".
She said the poisoning was "an appalling event that shook the entire country and united our allies in condemnation", but said it was not the first time Russia had committed "a brazen attack in the UK" - referring to the European Court of Human Rights' judgement on the killing of Alexander Litvinenko.
None of the three suspects in Salisbury are likely to ever face a British court. Russia has consistently denied any involvement and says it does not extradite its citizens. This was the same problem UK authorities faced after the killing of Alexander Litvinenko in 2006. But there are other reasons these investigations matter. The UK's government response after Litvinenko was seen as weak and falling to do enough to respond and deter Russia. It now hopes public accusations backed by evidence will help build international pressure on Moscow and encourage other states to also carry out their own investigations. This year, the revelations about the GRU's alleged role in a Czech explosion led to the expulsion of diplomats, who were thought to be undercover spies. The UK and its allies also responded with expulsions after Salisbury and it hopes that exposure and retaliation will disrupt and deter Russia's ability to carry out such operations overseas.
On 2 March 2018, the alleged GRU hit team came to the UK. Two men, using the names Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov, arrived in the afternoon at Gatwick airport. Police have now for the first time confirmed their real names as Anatoliy Chepiga and Alexander Mishkin. The third man, Denis Sergeev, using the name Sergey Fedotov, had arrived at Heathrow airport earlier that day at 11:00 GMT. Chepiga and Mishkin travelled to Salisbury on Sunday 4 March. Sergei Skripal and his daughter fell seriously ill later that day, as did Nick Bailey, then a police officer.
Sergeev remained in London the whole time before leaving on a flight to Moscow at 13:45, having made a late change to his plans. The other two left on a later flight at 22:30.
Police say they now have evidence the men were operating as a team and that all three met on a number of occasions in London over that weekend. On some occasions, this was indoors, on others it was in the open air - although the police will not specify exactly where.
Dawn Sturgess died in nearby Amesbury in July 2018. Her partner Charlie Rowley had found what he believed was a discarded bottle of perfume, and given it to her. But it contained Novichok.
Pre-inquest hearings into her death, presided over by former High Court judge Baroness Hallett, are due to resume this week. Charlie Rowley became seriously ill, but survived.
The role and identity of Sergeev had been previously disclosed by the investigative site Bellingcat in February 2019 and some of his movements and phone contacts were detailed in a joint investigation with the BBC, including his proximity to Paddington, Oxford Circus and Embankment. But the police have been working on building up evidence of his role, a process described as "challenging" but which has eventually led to today's announcement.
"We remain as determined as ever to bring those responsible to justice," said Dean Haydon, assistant commissioner at the Metropolitan Police and senior national coordinator for counter-terrorism policing. The charges authorised against the three men are conspiracy to murder, attempted murder, causing grievous bodily harm and use and possession of a chemical weapon.
Chepiga and Mishkin appeared on Russian TV after being identified in 2018 and said they had been to the city simply as tourists to see the cathedral. Russia has always denied any involvement.
Traces of Novichok were found in Chepiga and Mishkin's hotel room, although none were found in that used by Sergeev. The Novichok in the perfume bottle could potentially have killed thousands of people, police say. But there remain significant gaps in the investigation, including how the Novichok came into the UK and where it was between its use in March and its discovery in the perfume bottle in June. The police are asking the public to get in touch if they have any more details of Sergeev's movements in London or that of the perfume bottle. If Sergeev and the other two suspects leave Russia, UK authorities will inform Interpol to seek their arrest.
"We now have the evidence that links them to the GRU," Mr Haydon said. "All three are dangerous individuals."
Intelligence also links Sergeev and the team to a trail of covert activities across Europe.
Sergeev is alleged to be a major general and senior member of Unit 29155 of the GRU, a team tasked with sabotage, subversion and assassination. He joined the team after serving in Russian special forces. Bulgarian authorities say Sergeev and two other men from Unit 29155 checked into hotels in the capital Sofia in April 2015, insisting on rooms with a view of the underground car park. Surveillance of that car park released by a Bulgarian prosecutor shows one man approaching the cars of a Bulgarian arms dealer Emilian Gebrev, as well as his son and business partner. A toxic substance is believed to have been smeared on the handles - similar to the way Novichok was placed on the handle of Sergei Skripal's house. They would fall ill but survive.
Although he had a return flight booked two days later, Sergeev left the country on 28 April - the day of the poisoning. He may be the man caught on CCTV in the car park.
Chepiga and Mishkin, meanwhile, have been linked to a blast that tore apart an ammunition storage depot used by Emilian Gebrev in a forest in the Czech Republic on 16 October 2014, killing two.
On 11 October 2014, the men used the same cover identities they used in Salisbury - Ruslan Boshirov and Alexander Petrov - to arrive at Prague airport before staying near the depot and then leaving on the day of the explosion.
The accusation by Czech authorities this summer led to a major diplomatic row with Russia and the expulsion of diplomats from a number of countries.
It followed investigative work by European security services who, since Salisbury, have tracked the travel of the three suspects as well as others from the unit to see if they can link it with covert activity. For Sergeev, this includes visits to Spain, France, Germany, Switzerland and Austria as well as other countries. He is also believed to have been in touch with members of the GRU unit involved in a planned coup in Montenegro in 2016.
UK police also say they believe the three all travelled to the UK before March 2018. They say they continue to investigate other suspects.
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Mass Poisoning
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The Most Expensive (and Explosive) Celebrity Divorces of All Time
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When Collins and Bates (then Cevey) split in 2006 after seven years of marriage, their $46.68 million settlement was the biggest in British legal history at the time. The couple, who share two teenage sons, found their way back to each other in 2016 — only to split again acrimoniously at the end of 2020.
After the singer discovered that his ex-wife married Thomas Bates while still living in their $40 million Miami mansion, Collins served his ex-wife an eviction notice. She contested the eviction by claiming that Collins "refused to shower" and had a "stench that became so pervasive that he became a hermit." (Collins' lawyers refuted the claims, described them as "immaterial and impertinent" to the case and categorized Bates' allegations as a means of "extortion.")
Bates and her new husband moved out of the Miami home in mid-January 2021, but she is now auctioning off Collins' records and awards while awaiting the judge's decision on her claim that she's entitled to half of the home's proceeds once it sells.
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Famous Person - Divorce
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Umeå city fire
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The Great Fire of Umeå took place in 1888 and destroyed most of the city of Umeå in Sweden. The unusual windy weather conditions also contributed to two other fires on the same day in Sweden. Umeå took the opportunity to complete its plans to restructure the city. Part of the new design included planting of birch trees along the streets, leading to Umeå being known as the "City of Birches". The preponderance of fires around the city increased as agriculture methods changed. Historically the Sámi people had not used burning as a part of their practice, as it destroyed the lichen required by their reindeer. However, new farmers frequently used swidden or slash and burn farming. During the nineteenth century, the timber industry moved north, clearing the land of trees but leaving the waste behind and creating a fire risk. [1] There was a fire in Norrland in 1851, and in the later 19th century fires swept the area every ten years or so: there were major fires in 1868 and in 1878,[2] but the most damaging to Umeå occurred on the afternoon of 25 June 1888. This fire was reported to have started at a brewery near Renmarksbäcken. [3]
On the same day there was a devastating fire in Sundsvall[4] driven by high wind. [5] There were several other forest fires in Sweden that day, and the settlement of Lilla Edet near Gothenburg also burnt to the ground. [6]
In Umeå, the town hall was destroyed[7] as were the Teg shipyards and houses in the eastern parts of Umeå and on Ön Island. [3] The fire left 2,300 of the 3,000 inhabitants without homes. [8]
The fires at three unconnected Swedish settlements were widely reported. A collection made in California to aid the victims raised $5,000[9] and blankets and tents were sent from New Zealand to help the homeless. King Oscar and his ministers toured the area and collections were organised in all the major Swedish towns. [10]
Umeå had drawn up improved urban plans when it became a government requirement in 1874 and had already started making changes to the city infrastructure. [11] The town of Sundsvall was arguing for a reduction in the new insurance rules three years after its fire because it had decided to rebuild its buildings in stone. [6] To prevent the spread of fire between wooden buildings, streets were designed to be wide enough to serve as firebreaks. The streets were lined with birch trees; as a result, Umeå came to be known as the "Björkarnas Stad", the "City of Birches". [8]
The Umeå Town Hall was rebuilt on the original site to a design by Fredrik Olaus Lindström. It was completed in 1890. [7] Umeå City Church also had to be rebuilt[12] according to a design by Lindstrom, whilst the brick built old prison survived. The oldest fire station in the city is brick-built and dates from 1888. [13]
Coordinates: 63°49′30″N 20°15′54″E / 63.825°N 20.265°E / 63.825; 20.265
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Fire
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Partnair Flight 394 crash
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Partnair Flight 394 was a chartered flight which crashed on 8 September 1989 off the coast of Denmark, 18 km (11 mi; 9.7 nmi) north of Hirtshals. All 50 passengers and 5 crew members on board the aircraft died, and it is the deadliest aviation disaster in Denmark. [1] The crash was caused by use of counterfeit aircraft parts in repairs and maintenance. The aircraft, registered LN-PAA, was a 36-year-old Convair CV-580 operated by the charter airline Partnair. The plane had switched owners several times and had various modifications. [2][3] The aircraft had multiple previous registrations, N73128, EC-FDP, PK-GDS, HR-SAX, JA101C, N770PR, and C-GKFT, and had been rebuilt after a landing accident in 1978. [4][5] The most significant modification was a change from piston engines to turboprop engines in 1960; this added more horsepower to the aircraft. [3] A Canadian company that specialized in servicing Convairs was the owner of the aircraft before Partnair acquired it. LN-PAA was one of the most recently acquired aircraft in the Partnair fleet. [2] At the time of the crash, there were two other Convair 580 in the Partnair fleet. The flight crew consisted of Captain Knut Tveiten and First Officer Finn Petter Berg, both 59. Tveiten and Berg were close friends who had flown together for years. Both pilots were very experienced, with close to 17,000 successful flight hours each. Berg was also the company's Flight Operations Manager. At the time of the accident Partnair was in financial difficulty. The airline's debts were such that, on the day of the accident flight, Norwegian aviation authorities had notified Norwegian airports to not allow Partnair aircraft to depart because Partnair had not paid several charges and fees. [2]
The Convair 580 aircraft was en route from Oslo Airport, Fornebu, Norway to Hamburg Airport, West Germany. The passengers were employees of the shipping company Wilhelmsen Lines who were flying to Hamburg for the launching ceremony of a new ship. Half of the employees of the company's head office were on board. Leif Terje Løddesøl, an executive of Wilhelmsen, said that the atmosphere in the company was "very very good" prior to the accident flight. He said that some of the employees "maybe" had been to prior naming ceremonies, which he described as "quite exciting". A regular employee on the flight, one of the top-performing employees in the company, had been asked to give the speech during the launching ceremony. Løddesøl said that it was not often that a "normal person" in the company was chosen to read the speech at the naming ceremony. [2]
Before the flight, the crew found that one of the two main power generators was defective and had been so since 6 September. Also the mechanic who had inspected the aircraft was unable to repair it. In the Norwegian jurisdiction an aircraft is only allowed to take off if it has two operable sources of power. [2][3] Also the aircraft's Minimum Equipment List required two operating generators. [3] The first officer decided that he would run the auxiliary power unit (APU) throughout the flight so that the flight would have two sources of power and therefore be allowed to leave. The airport refused to let the flight go until the catering bill was paid. Before the aircraft took off, the first officer left the cockpit to pay the catering company. As a result of this, the plane was delayed by almost an hour, finally departing at 3:59 p.m.[2][3]
As the Partnair aircraft passed over the water at its planned cruising altitude of 22,000 feet,[3] a Norwegian F-16 Fighting Falcon fighter jet passed by it. The fighter pilot was startled by the sudden appearance of the aircraft and contacted Oslo air traffic control. He believed the radar data to be false and that the aircraft was closer to his jet than his on-board computer had indicated. [6]
As the aircraft neared the Danish coastline, 22,000 feet (6,706 m) over the North Sea, Copenhagen Air Traffic Control saw that Flight 394 was off course and falling quickly, appearing to crash into the sea, roughly 20 km north of the Danish coast. [2]
Accident Investigation Board Norway (AIBN) investigated the disaster and recovered 50 of the 55 bodies before sending them through autopsies in Denmark. Investigators used side-scan sonar to plot positions of wreckage. The pieces had settled over an area 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) wide, leading the investigators to believe that the aircraft disintegrated in the air. Luckily, 90% of the aircraft could be reconstructed. [2][3][page needed]
In an accident flight, the cockpit voice recorder (CVR) usually records its final minutes. In the Partnair crash, however, it had recorded the start of the flight and stopped shortly before the aircraft took off. From the maintenance records investigators found that, 10 years prior to the accident flight, the cockpit voice recorder's power supply had been re-wired to connect to the aircraft's generator instead of the aircraft's battery if full power was applied for takeoff. [3] As the generator was inoperative on this flight, power to the CVR shut off as the aircraft took off. Some initial speculation stated that explosives brought down Flight 394. Indeed, in December 1988, a bomb had brought down Pan Am Flight 103. In addition, Norwegian Prime Minister Gro Harlem Brundtland had used that particular Partnair aircraft on her campaign trips. The Norwegian press believed that the crash was an assassination attempt. Witnesses of the crash said that they heard a loud noise as they saw the aircraft fall. The fact that the aircraft had disintegrated in the air gave credibility to the bomb theory. [2] Speculation in the press later included a scenario where the plane had been shot down, possibly by the NATO war exercise "Operation Sharp Spear", which took place on the day of the accident flight near the flight path, as investigators had found small traces of high explosives on parts recovered from the sea bed. However, investigators found that the residue was not from a bomb or a warhead, as there was not enough of it present.
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Air crash
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Newsboys Strike of 1899
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The newsboys' strike of 1899 was a U.S. youth-led campaign to force change in the way that Joseph Pulitzer and William Randolph Hearst's newspapers compensated their force of newsboys or newspaper hawkers. The strikers demonstrated across New York City for several days, effectively stopping circulation of the two papers, along with the news distribution for many New England cities. The strike lasted two weeks, causing Pulitzer's New York World to decrease its circulation from 360,000 papers sold per day to 125,000. [1] Although the price of papers was not lowered, the strike was successful in forcing the World and Journal to offer full buybacks to their sellers, thus increasing the amount of money that newsies received for their work. [2]
At the turn of the century, newsboys were essential to newspaper distribution. While morning editions of the paper were often delivered directly to subscribers, the afternoon editions relied almost exclusively on newsboys to sell. [3] Most of the newsboys came from poor immigrant families and sold papers in the afternoons and evenings, after their school finished. They bought papers at 50¢ per hundred, and sold them at 1 cent each for a profit of half a cent per paper. [3]
There were newsboy strikes several years before the events of 1899, including those in 1886,[4] 1887,[5] and 1889. [6][7][8] The last notable strike that the newsboys held against the World and the Journal was in August 1889. [9]
In 1898, with the Spanish–American War increasing newspaper sales, several publishers raised the cost of a newsboy's bundle of 100 newspapers from 50¢ to 60¢,[10] a price increase that at the time was offset by the increased sales. After the war, many papers reduced the cost back to previous levels, with the notable exceptions of The Evening World and the New York Evening Journal. On approximately July 18, 1899, a group of newsboys in Long Island City turned over a distribution wagon for the New York Journal and declared a strike against the papers of Joseph Pulitzer, publisher of the World, and William Randolph Hearst, publisher of the Journal, until prices were rolled back to 50¢ per hundred. [3] The newsboys of Manhattan and Brooklyn were quick to follow the next day. [11]
The newsboys' methods were violent in the early days of the strike. Any man or boy found to be selling the two boycotted papers would be mobbed by a group of strikers, beaten, and his papers destroyed. [12] The newspaper owners paid grown men to sell their papers, offering them police protection, but the strikers often found ways to distract the officers so they could get at the "scabs. "[13] Women and girls fared a little better because, as union leader Kid Blink put it, "A feller can't soak a lady. "[13]
The newsboys also distributed flyers and hung signs around the city encouraging people to help them in their cause by not buying the World and Journal. [14]
On July 24, 1899, the newsboys held a city-wide rally at Irving Hall sponsored by state senator Timothy D. Sullivan. An estimated five thousand boys from Manhattan attended the rally, along with two thousand boys from Brooklyn and several hundred from other areas of the city. [15]
Many local businessmen and politicians addressed the crowd, including lawyer Leonard A. Suitkin, Frank B. Wood, and ex-Assemblyman Phil Wissig. When the adults had finished speaking, union president David Simmons read a list of resolutions saying that the strike was to stand until the papers reduced their prices, and also calling on the newsboys to adopt non-violent methods of resistance. [16]
Other speeches were made by "Warhorse" Brennan, Jack Tietjen, "Bob the Indian", union leader "Kid Blink",[17] "Crazy" Arborn, Annie Kelly, and Brooklyn union leader "Racetrack" Higgins. [18] The night ended with a song sung by "Hungry Joe" Kernan. [16]
A floral horseshoe was offered to Kid Blink as a reward for giving the best speech of the evening. In the days following the rally, the newsboys' tactics changed to be largely non-violent. Even though they were no longer beating people who sold the World and Journal, the strike was still effective since by then the public was on their side and chose not to buy them even if they were for sale. [19]
On July 26, 1899 the newsboys planned a parade where as many as 6,000 boys would march accompanied by a band and fireworks, but this parade never happened due to issues with obtaining a permit. [20]
On July 26, 1899, rumors spread among the newsboys that strike leaders Kid Blink and David Simmons had betrayed the strike and agreed to sell the boycotted papers in exchange for a bribe from the newspaper executives. [21] Both boys denied the charges, but some sources note that Kid Blink wore clothes a bit nicer than usual, indicating the possibility that he may have accepted bribe money. [22] In response to these suspicions, Kid Blink and David Simmons resigned from their leadership positions, Simmons changing from union president to treasurer, and Kid Blink becoming a walking delegate. [23]
That night, Kid Blink was chased through the streets by a group of boys angry about the rumors that he had abandoned the strike. A police officer, seeing the group of running boys, grabbed Kid Blink, assuming he was leading them, and arrested him for disorderly conduct. Kid Blink was given a fine and let go while a group of newsboys outside the court jeered at him. [22]
After the rumors of Kid Blink and David Simmons' desertion of the strike, combined with their failure to obtain a parade permit, the newsboys' faith in centralized leadership was diminished. [22] Other newsboys stepped up to lead the strikers,[23] but none of them had the same level of power and influence as Kid Blink once had. On August 1, 1899, the World and Journal offered the newsboys a compromise: the price of a hundred papers would remain at 60¢, but they would buy back any unsold papers. This meant that boys who had trouble selling all their papers would not be forced to sell late into the night to avoid taking a loss for the day. The newsboys accepted this compromise, ending the strike and disbanding the union on August 2, 1899. [24]
The leadership of the newsboy strike was less centralized than most unions, with boys in each neighborhood feeling more loyalty to the other kids in their area than to the centralized leadership. [3] That said, some kids were more influential than others, organizing rallies, acting as spokespeople for the strike, and being interviewed by papers such as the New York Tribune, New York Sun or New York Herald. The papers often quoted the strikers with their New York accents depicted as an eye dialect, using such sayings as "Me nobul men is all loyal. "[25]
The face of the strike was Louis "Kid Blink" Baletti. Kid Blink was 18 during the strike,[26] and is described by papers at the time as an "undersized boy"[27] with red hair and an eye patch over his left eye. [13] He also went by the nicknames "Red Blink",[27] "Muggsy McGee"[28] and "Blind Diamond. "[29]
Kid Blink was a charismatic leader. Several newspapers recorded speeches he gave at rallies, one of which reads in part "Friens and feller workers. This is a time which tries de hearts of men.
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Preparing for a wave of non-performing loans: Empirical insights and important lessons
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Preparing for a wave of non-performing loans: Empirical insights and important lessons Johannes Kasinger, Jan Pieter Krahnen, Steven Ongena, Loriana Pelizzon, Maik Schmeling, Mark Wahrenburg 01 April 2021 Once moratoria and other Covid-19 support measures are unwound, European banks will likely be confronted by a wave of non-performing loans. This column provides empirical insights on the current levels of such loans in Europe and draws lessons from previous financial crises for their effective treatment. It highlights the importance of early and realistic assessment of loan losses to avoid adverse incentives for banks. Secondary loan markets would help in this process and further facilitate bank resolution as laid down in the Bank Recovery and Resolution Directive, which should be upheld even in extreme scenarios. The current pandemic crisis is challenging the banking system along both known and unknown tracks (Carletti et al. 2020, Beck and Keil 2021). While the accumulation of non-performing loans (NPLs) on banks’ balance sheets is typical for country-wide macroeconomic crises, there are several other characteristics of the pandemic that are not: first, the extraordinary cross-sector differences in the crisis’ impact (Demmou et al. 2021); second, the significant fiscal support addressing firms and households (Aussiloux et al. 2021); and third, the high degree of uncertainty concerning the economic consequences of serial lockdowns (Woloszko 2020, Ornelas 2020). The high degree of uncertainty is also the reason why policy proposals on NPL resolution should take a scenario-based approach (i.e. they should be designed as conditional on the events unfolding). In the empirical analysis of our study (Kasinger et al. 2021), based on the most recent available 2020Q2 data, we find that aggregated bank capital seems to be large enough to absorb potential NPL losses, even in an adverse scenario. In contrast to these aggregate numbers, our results show substantial heterogeneity across countries, both in terms of the size of NPLs as well as in the relation of NPLs to bank capital. Starting from loans that are under moratorium as of 2020Q2, we apply scenarios assuming that 0% to 50% of these loans become non-performing (‘Approach A’).1 The yellow bars of Figure 1 illustrate our projected NPL ranges as a percentage of domestic banks’ equity capital and provisions (as reported to the ECB in 2020Q2). We find that NPLs exceed in some countries (e.g. Greece, Cyprus, and Slovakia) the amount of equity capital and provisions even in the most optimistic scenario in which there are no additional NPLs at all, whereas NPLs in other countries (e.g. France, the Netherlands, and Austria) only make up for about 30-45% of equity capital in a severe scenario, in which 50% of all loans currently under moratorium would end up as non-performing (see Figure 1). To complement our findings, ‘Approach B’ starts from the total volume of outstanding loans in each country and asks how much NPLs would increase if a certain percentage of total loans become non-performing, employing estimates from previous crisis episodes and/or projections for the current crisis episodes.2 Our finding of substantial cross-country heterogeneity is further solidified (see the red bars in Figure 1). Figure 1 NPL projection for different scenarios Source: ECB, European Banking Authority, EulerHermes, own calculations.Notes: * Projections under Approach B for these countries have been approximated by data for similar economies. ** Data on provisions for Finland is not available for 2020Q2, only equity is used as an estimate. Our finding of strong cross-country heterogeneity suggests two key problems, even in the absence of outright bank failures. First, less-capitalised national banking systems are especially vulnerable to credit crunch situations, potentially creating systemic risk, if a significant share of loans ends up as non-performing. Second, there is a considerable risk of zombie lending by banks in response to the large share of NPLs and insufficient equity capital. Any measure taken to address future NPLs should take these considerations into account. Together with the high uncertainty about the future path of the pandemic and limited data availability, this implies that it is too early to rule out very severe scenarios with substantial levels of systemic risk, in which government interventions may be justified. Therefore, policymakers are well advised to plan ahead and prepare for the worst in order to prevent a systemic banking crisis early on. However, there are good reasons why measures taken to address a potential NPL problem should start from within the banking system. To find an effective and efficient strategy, we examine previous crises and draw lessons for NPL identification, recognition, and resolution that are all likely to be of importance during the COVID-19 pandemic. During a financial and economic crisis, some firms struggle to survive, spurring a rise of NPLs on banks’ balance sheets. In these times and in the case of inadequate incentives for banks, NPL identification and recognition tend to be prolonged by banks in an effort to delay recognition in the profit and loss statement, and to conceal the loss of capital. This behaviour may lead to continued financing of non-viable firms, so-called zombie lending, and delay much needed restructuring efforts at the firm level with negative consequences for economic growth (Laeven and Valencia 2018). These issues are further exacerbated, and more desirable measures such as internal workouts or the transition to more market-based solutions are prevented, if forbearance measures are kept in place for too long.3 The resulting costs to society justify a general recommendation to foster a proactive NPL management that aims at setting the right incentives for the necessary restructuring at the firm but also at the bank level. To avoid zombie lending and bank zombification, regulators and policymakers need to ensure that banks realistically assess current loan values, for example through effective asset quality reviews (AQRs), stress tests and adequate accounting rules, such as the new IFRS 9 standard. Importantly, this will also foster the early identification and recognition of NPLs on bank balance sheets. Pushing banks towards early NPL recognition also promotes the development of secondary loan markets as discussed in the European Commission’s action plan to “tackle non-performing loans in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic” (European Commission 2020). The higher the sale price for NPLs, be it via outright market sale or via a bank merger, the lower the eventual capital loss incurred by the originating bank. A strong and well-developed secondary loan market, therefore, contributes to the stability of the banking sector in an economy and has the potential to be an important component of successful NPL resolution. Moreover, it improves the loan quality information that is available for investors and originators alike. Because a secondary loan market would raise the value of outside options, and increase information at the market level, we also see a positive feedback effect between the secondary loan market and the working of the Bank Recovery and Resolution Directive (BRRD). Thus, if the surge of NPLs on bank balance sheets is concurrent and significant, some banks will lose their capital and may have to exit the market, directed by the Single Resolution Mechanism (SRM). The more developed, liquid, and transparent the secondary loan market, the easier it will be to achieve relatively high prices for loans, and the lower will be the ultimate capital loss of banks resulting from NPLs. Therefore, whatever is needed should be done to facilitate the functioning of a secondary loan market, including the increase of transparency and the access to data on loan books and trading prices. Assuming an extremely severe pandemic scenario, all or many banks lose capital simultaneously. This potentially leads to fire-sales as all banks find themselves on the sell side of the secondary loan market. The resulting market imbalance may invalidate the supportive role of the secondary loan market for banks with NPLs. In fact, a one-sided secondary loan market will pull banks down further as the resulting loan pricing will feed into a downward spiral, infecting loan valuation on banks’ balance sheets even for otherwise healthy banks. Thus, a self-enforcing process of falling secondary prices, lower loan asset values and loss of capital may develop that destabilises the financial system at large. This process is summarised by the term ‘systemic risk’, a situation in which the self-healing properties of the market cannot operate. In fact, a systemic risk event is an externality, which requires a government bailout. Government support for banks may then be justified because a market-driven restructuring process tailored along the Bank Recovery and Resolution Directive rules might not be feasible anymore. However, government support can come in different forms. For reason of sustainability, channelling rescue money to banks directly may not be the optimal solution. Direct subsidies to viable firms and borrowers seem, in our opinion, more reasonable as adverse incentives in the banking sector are prevented and the working of the BRRD is upheld. Therefore, any plan to deal with NPLs should consider bank restructuring and resolution as the alternative, probably the preferred alternative, to recapitalisation or any other rescue measure.
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Financial Crisis
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2001 shoe bomb attempt crash
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The 2001 shoe bomb attempt was a failed bombing attempt that occurred on December 22, 2001, on American Airlines Flight 63. The aircraft, a Boeing 767-300ER (registration N384AA) with 197 passengers and crew aboard, was flying from Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris, France to Miami International Airport in the U.S. state of Florida. The perpetrator, Richard Reid, was subdued by passengers after unsuccessfully attempting to detonate plastic explosives concealed within his shoes. The flight was diverted to Logan International Airport in Boston, escorted by American jet fighters, and landed without further incident. Reid was arrested and eventually sentenced to three life terms plus 110 years, without parole. As Flight 63 was flying over the Atlantic Ocean, Richard Reid, an Islamic fundamentalist from the United Kingdom and self-proclaimed Al-Qaeda operative, carried shoes that were packed with two types of explosives. He had been refused permission to board the flight the day before. Passengers on the flight complained of a smoky smell shortly after the meal service. One flight attendant, Hermis Moutardier, walked the aisles of the plane to locate the source. She found Reid sitting alone near a window, attempting to light a match. Moutardier warned him that smoking was not allowed onboard the aircraft, and Reid promised to stop. A few minutes later, Moutardier found Reid leaning over in his seat, and unsuccessfully attempted to get his attention. After she asked him what he was doing, Reid grabbed at her, revealing one shoe in his lap, a fuse leading into the shoe, and a lit match. He was unable to detonate the bomb: perspiration from his feet dampened the triacetone triperoxide (TATP) and prevented it from igniting. Moutardier tried grabbing Reid twice, but he pushed her to the floor each time, and she screamed for help. When another flight attendant, Cristina Jones, arrived to try to subdue Reid, he fought her and bit her thumb. The 6-foot-4-inch (1.93 m) tall Reid, who weighed 215 pounds (97kg), was subdued by other passengers and immobilised using plastic handcuffs, seatbelt extensions, and headphone cords. A doctor administered diazepam found in the flight kit of the aircraft. [1] Many of the passengers only became aware of the situation when the pilot announced that the flight was to be diverted to Logan International Airport in Boston. Two F-15 fighter jets escorted Flight 63 to Logan Airport. The plane parked in the middle of the runway, and Reid was arrested on the ground while the rest of the passengers were bussed to the main terminal. Authorities later found over 280 grams (10 oz) of TATP and PETN hidden in the hollowed soles of Reid's shoes,[2] enough to blow a substantial hole in the aircraft. [3] He pleaded guilty, was convicted, sentenced to three life terms plus 110 years without parole and incarcerated at Supermax prison ADX Florence. Six months after the crash of American Airlines Flight 587 in Queens, New York on November 12, 2001, Mohammed Mansour Jabarah agreed to cooperate with American authorities in exchange for a reduced sentence. He said that fellow Canadian Abderraouf Jdey had been responsible for the flight's destruction, using a shoe bomb similar to that found on Reid several months earlier. However, it was revealed during the crash investigation that pilot error, not terrorism, brought down the plane. Jabarah was a known colleague of Khalid Sheikh Mohamed, and said that Reid and Jdey had both been enlisted by the al-Qaeda chief to participate in identical plots. [4][5]
In 2006, security procedures at American airports were changed in response to this incident, with passengers required to remove their shoes before proceeding through scanners. [6] The requirement was phased out for some travelers, particularly those with TSA PreCheck, in 2011. [7] Also in 2011, the rules were relaxed to allow children 12 and younger and adults 75 and older to keep their shoes on during security screenings. [8]
Flight Number 63 continues to be used on the route from Paris to Miami, although the route now operates with a Boeing 777, as American Airlines has retired the 767. [9] N384AA was converted to a cargo aircraft in 2019 following its retirement and now operates for Amerijet International, reregistered as N349CM. [10][11]
Coordinates: 42°21′29″N 70°59′49″W / 42.358°N 70.997°W / 42.358; -70.997
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Air crash
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iQmetrix Wins 2021 Best Tech Workplace Culture Regional Award
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CHARLOTTE, N.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--iQmetrix, North America’s leading provider of telecom retail management software, is proud to announce that the company has won its regional award category for Best Tech Work Culture (Small to Mid-Size Employer) in the 7th Annual Timmy Awards. This awards program from Tech in Motion celebrates the best technology workplaces across North America, with hundreds of regional finalists, and tens of thousands of votes selecting the regional winners. iQmetrix won its category in Charlotte, N.C., where the company has its U.S. headquarters.
“We are proud to honor these companies that have adapted to a constantly shifting environment and continued to thrive in 2021.”
“Winners of Best Tech Work Culture have proven to be the best in their city at inspiring innovation and bettering the lives of their tech teams,” said Mandy Walker, Executive Director of Tech in Motion’s founder Motion Recruitment. “We are proud to honor these companies that have adapted to a constantly shifting environment and continued to thrive in 2021.”
The regional win means iQmetrix is now shortlisted for the Best Tech Work Culture (Small to Mid-Size Employer) in the North American 2021 Timmy Awards, which are judged by industry leaders from companies such as Netflix and Paypal.
Krystal Ho, Vice President of Global People and Culture at iQmetrix, said, “We’re extremely proud of our incredible workplace culture, which is based on self-management principles that allow every employee to bring their authentic selves to their roles and to thrive in their careers. At iQmetrix, we are united by our shared values, with a focus on diversity and inclusion, while also knowing how to have a great time in our awesome offices and at our amazing company getaways and events. We’ve found this culture brings out the best in our team members, and we couldn’t be happier to celebrate this regional Timmy Award win.”
iQmetrix will now go up against the 10 other regional Work Tech Culture winners in the 2021 Timmy Awards Ceremony on October 28. After the success of last year’s virtual show, the event will once again be an entirely digital experience honoring the top workplaces the tech world has to offer. To attend the ceremony or learn more about the awards, visit the Timmy Awards website.
About iQmetrix
iQmetrix’s intelligent retail management software is designed to power the telecom industry. Our software is built around enabling telecom retailers to deliver a buy-anywhere strategy through multi-channel inventory management and digital retail solutions; make data-driven decisions using robust reporting; and unify storefronts and digital channels for a consistent customer experience, in-store, online, and anywhere else.
For 20 years, we’ve been passionate about helping the leading brands in telecom to grow by providing best-in-class software, services, and expertise that enables them to adapt and thrive. Our retail management solutions powered $15.5BN in sales last year, and are used by 425,000 telecom retail professionals across 1,200-plus clients. iQmetrix is a privately held software as a service (SaaS) company with offices in Canada and the U.S. For more information, please visit www.iqmetrix.com.
About Tech in Motion Events
Tech in Motion is a North American events series that brings local tech community professionals together to connect, learn and innovate. What started as a small collaboration in 2011 by IT recruiting firm Motion Recruitment grew into an organization of over 250,000 members across 14 chapters in North America including Boston, Dallas, NYC, Philadelphia, DC, Chicago, Toronto, San Francisco, LA, and more. Visit techinmotionevents.com for more information about notable speakers, sponsors, and events.
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Awards ceremony
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Canadian Pacific Air Lines Flight 21 crash
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Canadian Pacific Air Lines Flight 21 was a scheduled domestic flight from Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, to Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada, via Prince George, Fort St. John, Fort Nelson and Watson Lake on July 8, 1965. The Douglas DC-6B plane crashed near 100 Mile House, British Columbia, taking the lives of all 52 aboard. [1][2] An inquest determined that the explosion was the result of a bomb, but as of 2021[update] the crime remains unsolved. [1]
While en route from Vancouver to Prince George the DC-6 Empress of City of Buenos Aires, piloted by World War II veteran John 'Jack' Steele,[3] crashed after passing Ashcroft, British Columbia. About 15:40, three mayday calls were heard by air traffic control in Vancouver. An explosion had occurred in the left aft lavatory. The tail separated from the fuselage. The aircraft spiralled and crashed into a wooded area. All 46 passengers and 6 crew perished. [2] The crash site is 40 km (25 mi) west of 100 Mile House. [1] Remnants of the DC-6 remain at the crash site near Dog Creek. [4]
A coroner's inquest concluded "an explosive substance foreign to the normal contents of the aircraft" caused the crash. A witness on the ground saw the tail of the aircraft separate from the fuselage and debris trail out behind the aircraft. The debris turned out to be the bodies of passengers forced out by the depressurization of the aircraft. The fuselage was consumed by fire where it fell, but the tail, found 500 metres away, was not. Rescue crews reached the crash site while the fire continued to burn but no survivors were found. Crash investigators found traces of acid that led them to believe a bomb in the lavatory was involved. Traces of potassium nitrate and carbon, consistent with a "low-velocity explosion" were found. Gunpowder or stumping powder causes a low-velocity explosion. The explosion damaged bulkheads in the lavatory, severed pipes in the tail and tore a metre-wide hole in the side of the fuselage. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police investigation focused on four passengers although none was a suspect. No one claimed responsibility and no charges were ever laid. The source of the explosion remains unknown. [1]
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Air crash
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2016 Sudanese protests
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The 2016 Sudanese protests (Arabic: 2016 احتجاجات السودان) was a widespread protest movement and violent demonstrations between April-December in Sudan in 2016 against new austerity measures and the killing of a student, Abubakr Hassan, that was met with violent police repression. After the killing of the student participating in a demonstration, a wave of popular student-led anti-government demonstrations against the government of longtime ruler Omar al-Bashir, who took power in 1989 and has faced the third biggest political challenge yet. The prices of diesel and the non-affordability of basic goods has also provoked widespread protests. Violent clashes erupted after police charged on demonstrators with batons demanding justice, end to Police brutality and centred on other demands and the response by protesters was pelting stones. [1][2]
Protests continued in other towns and cities in May by students. After mew austerity measures was Announced, protesters rallied in the streets on 30 November and 1 December in Khartoum and was met with Tear gas. Growing anger and public rallies fuelled by the government and the country’s situation spilled into the streets amid street opposition demonstrations in cities. On 19 December, a civil disobedience campaign took place in the nation as strikes was pulled out, being the last day of the popular movement. Lawyers, activists and standers participated in the protests. [3][4][5]
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Protest_Online Condemnation
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Islamist uprising in Syria
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Syrian government victory
Muslim Brotherhood
Pro-Iraqi Ba'athists[1]
Syrian government
Several hundred "hard-core" Islamists
The Islamist uprising in Syria comprised a series of revolts and armed insurgencies by Sunni Islamists, mainly members of the Muslim Brotherhood from 1976 until 1982. The uprising was aimed against the authority of the secular Ba'ath Party-controlled government of Syria, in what has been called a "long campaign of terror". [5] During the violent events Islamists attacked both civilians and off-duty military personnel, and civilians were also killed in retaliatory strike by security forces. The uprising reached its climax in the 1982 Hama uprising. [6]
Member State of the Arab League (Suspended)
Asia portal
History portal
The first clash between the secular Ba'ath party and the Islamist Brotherhood in Syria occurred shortly after the 1963 Ba'athist coup, in which the Ba'ath party gained power in Syria. From the start, Islamist political groups, of which the Brotherhood was the most prominent, represented the strongest opposition to the new government. The outlawing of the Brotherhood in 1964 resulted in its radicalization. In 1964 and 1965, strikes and mass demonstrations spread throughout Syria's major cities, especially in Hama, and were crushed by the military. The town of Hama in particular was a "stronghold of landed conservatism and of the Muslim Brothers," and "had long been a redoubtable opponent of the Ba'athist state. "[7]
On 31 January 1973, Assad implemented the new Constitution which led to a national crisis. Unlike previous constitutions, this one did not require that the president of Syria must be a Muslim, leading to fierce demonstrations in Hama, Homs and Aleppo organized by the Muslim Brotherhood and the ulama. They labeled Assad as the "enemy of Allah" and called for a jihad against his rule. [8] Robert D. Kaplan has compared Assad's coming to power to "an untouchable becoming maharajah in India or a Jew becoming tsar in Russia—an unprecedented development shocking to the Sunni majority population which had monopolized power for so many centuries. "[9]
Following the Syrian occupation of Lebanon in 1976, a number of prominent Syrian officers and government servants, as well as "professional men, doctors, teachers," were assassinated. Most of the victims were Alawis, "which suggested that the assassins had targeted the community" but "no one could be sure who was behind" the killings. [10] The Muslim Brotherhood which had disdain for the Alawites and considered them non-Muslims was most likely responsible for the terror. It was speculated that the government of Saddam Hussein in Iraq provided logistical and military support to the Brotherhood. [11][12]
In November 1979, a Brotherhood leaflet stated:
We reject all forms of despotism, out of respect for the very principles of Islam, and we don't demand the fall of Pharaoh so that another one can take his place. Religion is not imposed by force....[13]
Widescale assassinations led up to 16 June 1979 slaughter of cadets at the Aleppo Artillery School. On that day a member of school staff, Captain Ibrahim Yusuf, assembled the cadets in the dining hall and then let in the gunmen who opened fire on the cadets. According to the official report, 32 young men were killed. Unofficial sources say the "death toll was as high as 83. "[14] This attack was the work of Tali'a muqatila, or Fighting Vanguard, a Sunni Islamist guerrilla group and spinoff of the Muslim Brotherhood. `Adnan `Uqla, who later became the group's leader, helped plan the massacre. [15]
The cadet massacre "marked the start of full-scale urban warfare" against Alawis, a cadre of the ruling Ba'ath party, party offices, "police posts, military vehicles, barracks, factories and any other target the guerrillas could attack." In the city of Aleppo between 1979 and 1981 terrorists killed over 300 people, mainly Ba'thists and Alawis, but also a dozen Islamic clergy who had denounced the murders. Of these the most prominent was Shaykh Muhammad al-Shami, who was slain in his mosque, the Sulaymaniya, on 2 February 1980. In the days leading up to 8 March 1980 (the seventeenth anniversary of the Ba'thist coup), nearly all Syrian cities were paralysed by strikes and protests, which developed into pitched battles with security forces. Many organizations, both religious and secular, were involved, including the most notable Muslim Brotherhood. The events escalated into a widescale crackdown in Aleppo, where the government responded with overwhelming military force, sending in tens of thousands of troops, supported by tanks and helicopters. In and around Aleppo, hundreds of demonstrators were killed, and eight thousand were arrested. By April, the uprising in the area had been crushed. [16]
On 26 June 1980 the Syrian president, Hafez al-Assad, "narrowly escaped death", when attackers threw two grenades and fired machine gun bursts at him as he waited at a diplomatic function in Damascus. [17] The attack prompted retaliations by the government troops. On 27 June 1980 an estimated 1,152 Islamist inmates at the prison in Palmyra were massacred by the alawi-ruled government Defense companies troops. Less than a month later, membership in the Muslim Brotherhood became punishable by death with a month grace period given for members to turn themselves in. In August 1980, after an attack on soldiers stationed in Aleppo, the army executed nearly 80 residents of a block of flats that happened to be located nearby. In April 1981, after a failed terrorist attack on an Alawite village near Hama, the army executed about 400 of Hama's inhabitants, chosen randomly among the male population over the age of 14. [18]
Later in 1981, during a 50-day moratorium on the application of 7 July law, over a thousand Muslim Brothers turned themselves in, hoping to escape the death penalty; information published about them in the official press may give some insight into the composition of the Brotherhood's membership at that time. Most of those, who gave themselves in, were students under 25 years of age, from Damascus and other large cities; others were schoolteachers, professors or engineers. [18]
In August, September and November 1981, the Brotherhood carried out three car-bomb attacks against government and military targets in Damascus, killing hundreds of people, according to the official press. [19] Among the victims were Soviet officials, experts, and their families serving with the United Nations as part of the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force. [20]
The insurgency is generally considered to have been crushed by the bloody Hama massacre of 1982, in which thousands of insurgents, soldiers and residents were killed, according to anti Syrian Government claims "the vast majority innocent civilians". [21][22] On 2 February 1982, the Brotherhood led a major insurrection in Hama, rapidly taking control of the city; the military responded by bombing Hama (whose population was about 250,000) throughout the rest of the month, killing between 2,000 and 25,000 people. The Hama events marked the defeat of the Brotherhood, and the militant Islamic movement in general, as a political force in Syria. [23][24]
Having suppressed all opposition, Hafez al-Assad released some imprisoned members of the Brotherhood in the mid-1990s. After his death in 2000, Assad was succeeded by his son, Bashar al-Assad, who initially signalled greater openness to political debate. In May 2001, encouraged by this new political climate, the Muslim Brotherhood published a statement in London rejecting political violence, and calling for a modern, democratic state. Many political prisoners, including Muslim Brothers, were pardoned and released. However, this "Damascus spring" was short-lived; in the same year, the few political freedoms that had been granted were abruptly revoked.
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Protest_Online Condemnation
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Governments in Africa have already been struggling to cope with the emergence of the coronavirus, in addition to chronic resource scarcity, food shortages, violence and lack of technological expertise; and now they and【 Middle Eastern hubs】<Areas affected> are are racing against time to prevent a rising tide of desert【 locust 】<Pests>swarms from wreaking havoc with 【crops and livelihoods】<Influenced Crops and Livelihood> in what has been described as the worst infestation in generations.
The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) is warning that desert locust swarms infesting the Horn of Africa has reached “extremely alarming” conditions and are poised set to sweep into additional countries in the region and beyond.
There is however, one bright spot on the horizon. Even though the upcoming Jewish holiday of Passover commemorated in the Biblical Book of Exodus includes remembrance of locust plagues, it would seem that the Holy Land is to be spared the devastation this time around. Senior FAO forecaster Keith Cressman told local reporters that “it appears that the swarms will not hit Israel or the country’s crops.”
According to the latest FAO situation update, widespread breeding is in progress and new swarms are starting to form, “representing an unprecedented threat to food security and livelihoods at the beginning of the upcoming cropping season.” 【Unusual weather patterns exacerbated by climate change 】<Causes>have created ideal breeding conditions, due to perfect storm’ of an extended rainy period that created an environment in which the insects could rapidly multiply and hatch.
City-sized clouds of locusts can fly up to 150 km (90 miles) a day with the wind, and adults can consume roughly their own weight in fresh food per day. In fact, experts say that a single square kilometer swarm – estimated to consist of some 40 -80 million insects — can eat as much food as 35,000 people – in just one day. The FAO warned last month that, left unchecked, the number of locusts in East Africa could explode by 500 times by June.
In a region where 19 million people already go hungry, the FAO’s Representative to Kenya, Dr. Tobias Takavarasha, described the locust invasion as a disaster that eclipses all others. He told Reuters that the pests present a far greater danger than droughts or floods.
Kenya, the region’s wealthiest and most stable country, is experiencing the worst infestation in 70 years, say experts. When eggs hatch, as they have doing recently in the Archer’s Post area, young locusts known as “hoppers” are earthbound for two weeks, and more vulnerable to the spraying of insecticides. But Kenya ran out of pesticide for about a week and a half earlier this month, leaving residents and farmers to watch helplessly as the crops they count on to feed their families were devoured. “It’s disturbing because we’ve never seen anything like this, and also when they land on vegetation like this, they eat everything【, even the grass】<Influenced Crops and Livelihood>,” local resident Josphat Elukumani told Reuters in Swahili. At least 75% of Kenya’s population is estimated to be reliant on agricultural activities.
【Aerial and ground control operations】<Response Measures> are ongoing in Kenya, in efforts to combat a continuation of widespread swarm breeding in the northern and central counties, where “an increasing number of hopper bands and first-generation immature swarms are forming,” reports the FAO. It is feared they will “be supplemented by new-generation immature swarms arriving from Somalia, with a “further concentration” expected in the areas of Marsabit and Turkana.
The military has been deployed in neighboring Uganda to spray trees – by hand – in the mornings, before the locusts take flight.
Ethiopia, where as much as 80% of the population relies on agriculture, is encountering cross-border locust migration from Somalia, as well as Kenya; in its own worst infestation in a quarter-century. Aerial and ground control operations area also being employed to halt spread of the breeding, which is surging in the vast Oromiya and SNNPR regions. Early “instar hopper bands” are forming in some areas of the Rift Valley, and immature swarms are present in the south. Ethiopia needs 500,000 liters of pesticide for the upcoming harvest and planting season, but the country’s single pesticide factory is struggling to produce its maximum 200,000 liters as foreign exchange shortages have delayed the purchase of chemicals.
Dr. Takavarasha says that “the pesticides are available, but the pesticides require financial resources before they can be released.” The FAO has estimated costs of containing the plague at $138 million. So far,【 donors】<Aid Source> have pledged 【$52m】<Aid Money & Aid Supplies>.
Other infested African nations include Somalia, where ground control operations involving 【the spraying of biopesticides】<Response Measures> are being used against “late instar hopper bands, maturing adult groups and at least one mature swarm on the northwest coast where egg-laying continues.” But the war-torn country, where the infestation was first reported in December, is suffering setbacks as it is unable to provide security to exterminators.
In Sudan, a late instar hopper band, fledglings and an immature adult group and swarm are presents on the southern coast of the Red Sea near the Eritrea border, while there are “scattered adults” in the Tokar Delta, the northeast and in the Nile Valley. There are also immature adult groups on the northern coast of the Red Sea in neighboring Eritrea near the Sudan border, with hopper groups on the Buri Peninsula.
In the【 Middle East,】<Areas affected> terrifying images of invading locusts saturating the skies above Saudi Arabia’s city of Khobar were said to have looked like something straight out the Old Testament with a massive, endless swarm several weeks ago. The photographer told Reuters, that “this was the first time I’ve ever seen this type of thing. It was so scary!” Other infested-areas of the Kingdom include a mature swarm and laying adult groups near the Persian Gulf between Dammam and Qaryat Al Ulya, as well as scattered adults on the central Red Sea coast.
Immature swarms have been documented in northern Kuwait and near Kuwait City, as well as in the United Arab Emirates’ western coast near Qatar.
The FAO says that control operations are “in progress” in Iran, where hopper bands are hatching in the southwest (southern Khuzestan, Busherh, southern Fars, western Hormozgan provinces), while local breeding continues in the southeast where hoppers are forming groups and bands in eastern Hormozgan.
Mature adult groups laid eggs in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (Dera Ismail Khan, Lucky Marwat) and Baluchistan (Dalbandin, Kharan, Khuzdar, Washtuk, Turbat) expected to hatch during the second half of March, when they will form hopper groups and small bands. The FAO predicts that “new generation immature groups and small swarms are likely to start forming in Baluchistan” by the end of this month.
China could also face a desert locust invasion, a government body cautioned earlier this week, urging local authorities to prepare for the possible arrival of the voracious insects from neighboring Pakistan and India. Beijing has reportedly set up a task force that will meet this month to monitor and act on any locust invasion, according to statements from officials.
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Governments in Africa have already been struggling to cope with the emergence of the coronavirus, in addition to chronic resource scarcity, food shortages, violence and lack of technological expertise; and now they and Middle Eastern hubs are are racing against time to prevent a rising tide of desert locust swarms from wreaking havoc with crops and livelihoods in what has been described as the worst infestation in generations. The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) is warning that desert locust swarms infesting the Horn of Africa has reached “extremely alarming” conditions and are poised set to sweep into additional countries in the region and beyond. There is however, one bright spot on the horizon. Even though the upcoming Jewish holiday of Passover commemorated in the Biblical Book of Exodus includes remembrance of locust plagues, it would seem that the Holy Land is to be spared the devastation this time around. Senior FAO forecaster Keith Cressman told local reporters that “it appears that the swarms will not hit Israel or the country’s crops.” According to the latest FAO situation update, widespread breeding is in progress and new swarms are starting to form, “representing an unprecedented threat to food security and livelihoods at the beginning of the upcoming cropping season.” Unusual weather patterns exacerbated by climate change have created ideal breeding conditions, due to perfect storm’ of an extended rainy period that created an environment in which the insects could rapidly multiply and hatch. City-sized clouds of locusts can fly up to 150 km (90 miles) a day with the wind, and adults can consume roughly their own weight in fresh food per day. In fact, experts say that a single square kilometer swarm – estimated to consist of some 40 -80 million insects — can eat as much food as 35,000 people – in just one day. The FAO warned last month that, left unchecked, the number of locusts in East Africa could explode by 500 times by June. In a region where 19 million people already go hungry, the FAO’s Representative to Kenya, Dr. Tobias Takavarasha, described the locust invasion as a disaster that eclipses all others. He told Reuters that the pests present a far greater danger than droughts or floods. Kenya, the region’s wealthiest and most stable country, is experiencing the worst infestation in 70 years, say experts. When eggs hatch, as they have doing recently in the Archer’s Post area, young locusts known as “hoppers” are earthbound for two weeks, and more vulnerable to the spraying of insecticides. But Kenya ran out of pesticide for about a week and a half earlier this month, leaving residents and farmers to watch helplessly as the crops they count on to feed their families were devoured. “It’s disturbing because we’ve never seen anything like this, and also when they land on vegetation like this, they eat everything, even the grass,” local resident Josphat Elukumani told Reuters in Swahili. At least 75% of Kenya’s population is estimated to be reliant on agricultural activities. Aerial and ground control operations are ongoing in Kenya, in efforts to combat a continuation of widespread swarm breeding in the northern and central counties, where “an increasing number of hopper bands and first-generation immature swarms are forming,” reports the FAO. It is feared they will “be supplemented by new-generation immature swarms arriving from Somalia, with a “further concentration” expected in the areas of Marsabit and Turkana. The military has been deployed in neighboring Uganda to spray trees – by hand – in the mornings, before the locusts take flight. Ethiopia, where as much as 80% of the population relies on agriculture, is encountering cross-border locust migration from Somalia, as well as Kenya; in its own worst infestation in a quarter-century. Aerial and ground control operations area also being employed to halt spread of the breeding, which is surging in the vast Oromiya and SNNPR regions. Early “instar hopper bands” are forming in some areas of the Rift Valley, and immature swarms are present in the south. Ethiopia needs 500,000 liters of pesticide for the upcoming harvest and planting season, but the country’s single pesticide factory is struggling to produce its maximum 200,000 liters as foreign exchange shortages have delayed the purchase of chemicals. Dr. Takavarasha says that “the pesticides are available, but the pesticides require financial resources before they can be released.” The FAO has estimated costs of containing the plague at $138 million. So far, donors have pledged $52m. Other infested African nations include Somalia, where ground control operations involving the spraying of biopesticides are being used against “late instar hopper bands, maturing adult groups and at least one mature swarm on the northwest coast where egg-laying continues.” But the war-torn country, where the infestation was first reported in December, is suffering setbacks as it is unable to provide security to exterminators. In Sudan, a late instar hopper band, fledglings and an immature adult group and swarm are presents on the southern coast of the Red Sea near the Eritrea border, while there are “scattered adults” in the Tokar Delta, the northeast and in the Nile Valley. There are also immature adult groups on the northern coast of the Red Sea in neighboring Eritrea near the Sudan border, with hopper groups on the Buri Peninsula. In the Middle East, terrifying images of invading locusts saturating the skies above Saudi Arabia’s city of Khobar were said to have looked like something straight out the Old Testament with a massive, endless swarm several weeks ago. The photographer told Reuters, that “this was the first time I’ve ever seen this type of thing. It was so scary!” Other infested-areas of the Kingdom include a mature swarm and laying adult groups near the Persian Gulf between Dammam and Qaryat Al Ulya, as well as scattered adults on the central Red Sea coast. Immature swarms have been documented in northern Kuwait and near Kuwait City, as well as in the United Arab Emirates’ western coast near Qatar. The FAO says that control operations are “in progress” in Iran, where hopper bands are hatching in the southwest (southern Khuzestan, Busherh, southern Fars, western Hormozgan provinces), while local breeding continues in the southeast where hoppers are forming groups and bands in eastern Hormozgan. Mature adult groups laid eggs in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (Dera Ismail Khan, Lucky Marwat) and Baluchistan (Dalbandin, Kharan, Khuzdar, Washtuk, Turbat) expected to hatch during the second half of March, when they will form hopper groups and small bands. The FAO predicts that “new generation immature groups and small swarms are likely to start forming in Baluchistan” by the end of this month. China could also face a desert locust invasion, a government body cautioned earlier this week, urging local authorities to prepare for the possible arrival of the voracious insects from neighboring Pakistan and India. Beijing has reportedly set up a task force that will meet this month to monitor and act on any locust invasion, according to statements from officials.
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Insect Disaster
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1888 Sundsvall fire
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The 1888 Sundsvall fire (Swedish: Sundsvallsbranden 1888) was a fire in Sundsvall, Sweden on 25 June 1888. The fire occurred during a storm, allowing the fire to spread fast among the wooden houses in town. [2] The same day, a fire also occurred in Umeå. The spark from the steam boat Selånger traveling on Selångersån landed in the brewhouse of the widow Märta Charlotta Styf on Stora Nygatan. The fire was quick - and devastating. At 12:25 all of the city's bells rang to warn people that a fire had broken out. But the fire was overpowering. Strong winds to the northwest and the dry hot air made did that the wooden houses one by one soon was devoured by the flames. 9,000 people became homeless in just 9 hours. In addition to thousands of people left homeless the property damage was estimated to SEK 30 million, corresponding to almost SEK 2 billion (US$241.42 million) in 2015. In the wake of the fire the city was looted on what was left. When evening came on 25 June the city of Sundsvall was a smoking ruin. [1]
A major investigation into the cause of the fire was started, which included hearing of the captain of Selånger. He stated that he saw smoke rising up through the bridge cabin chimney when passing the Styfska yard, a claim which, however, contested by all the witnesses. There was no other reasonable explanation than that the fire was started by sparks from one of the steamboats Selånger, or possibly Högom. Four people died in the fire: the workers Mikael Olof Norvall and Charlotta Eufrosina Askling, the maritime pilot C.E. Carlsson and a man so severely burned that he could not be identified. [1]
The coppersmith journeyman Arvid Göhle from Hudiksvall without regard to himself saved several lives, including the wife of tailor Otzén and her newborn child that was born during the morning of that day. Without considering to first save his own belongings he went into the house and carried out the bed with the wife, the newborn baby and a little girl on the farm. With the bed set on a cart, he pulled the whole equipage through the burning city via Norrmalm and on to Heffners, away from the flames. When he returned to his own home everything he had owned was burnt. [1]
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Fire
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Outspoken Chinese Industrialist Gets 18-Year Sentence for Causing Public Disorder, Other Offenses
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Updated July 28, 2021 10:25 pm ET HONG KONG—A Chinese court sentenced an outspoken farming magnate to 18 years in jail for allegedly causing public disorder and a multitude of other offenses, dishing out heavy penalties in a case seen as a bellwether of the growing political risks that confront private businesses in China. Sun Dawu, 67 years old, was convicted Wednesday of crimes that included agitating crowds against state organs, illegal fundraising and unlawful occupation of farmland, a municipal court in the northern city of Gaobeidian said in a notice published on its website. He was also fined about 3.1 million yuan, the equivalent of about $405,500.
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Famous Person - Commit Crime - Sentence
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Teens arrested over attempted bank robbery
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Kununurra police have arrested two teenagers over an attempted bank robbery in Western Australia on New Year's Day. Police allege the pair, aged 13 and 17, smashed windows to enter the bank about 1:30am AWDT. A silent alarm alerted security guards who caught one of the alleged offenders after a lengthy chase. The other was arrested at his home later that morning nothing was taken during the break-in. The boys have been charged with aggravated burglary. The 13-year-old will remain in police custody while the 17-year-old has been released on bail with a curfew until he appears in court again on January 6.
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Bank Robbery
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25 facts you should know about the total solar eclipse on April 8, 2024
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This stunning view of the total solar eclipse on August 21, 2017, was made by combining seven exposures ranging from short to long. The surface of the Moon is visible in this image because it is illuminated by light reflected off Earth, called Earthshine. Michael S. Adler As I write this article, I realize North America’s next total solar eclipse is still three years away. But it’s going to be so huge that I thought I’d share some of the most important details with our readership, the general public, and the media. After all, it’s never too early for knowledge, right? Anyway, here are 25 fascinating facts about the 2024 total solar eclipse, which will race up through Mexico, trek through the United States from Texas to Maine, and finish out its land journey by dashing through the eastern tip of Canada. 1. This will be the first total solar eclipse in the continental U.S. in 7 years. The last one occurred August 21, 2017. It crossed the country from Oregon to South Carolina, and millions of people viewed it successfully. Before that one, you have to go back to February 26, 1979. And it will be 20 years until the next one: August 23, 2044. 2. A solar eclipse occurs when the Sun, the Moon, and Earth are aligned, or in syzygy. The Moon, directly between the Sun and Earth, casts a shadow on our planet. If you’re in the dark part of that shadow (the umbra), you’ll see a total eclipse. If you’re in the light part (the penumbra), you’ll see a partial eclipse. Penn State Astronomy & Astrophysics 3. A solar eclipse only happens at New Moon. The Moon has to be between the Sun and Earth for a solar eclipse to occur. The only lunar phase when that happens is New Moon. 4. Solar eclipses don’t occur at every New Moon. The reason is that the Moon’s orbit is tilted 5° compared to Earth’s orbit around the Sun. Astronomers call the two intersections of these paths nodes. Eclipses only occur when the Sun lies at one node and the Moon is either at the same node (for solar eclipses) or at the opposite node (for lunar eclipses). During most (lunar) months, the Sun lies either above or below one of the nodes, and no eclipse occurs. Penn State Astronomy & Astrophysics 5. Eclipse totalities are different lengths. The reason the total phases of solar eclipses vary in time is because Earth is not always at the same distance from the Sun, and the Moon is not always the same distance from Earth. The Earth-Sun distance varies by 3 percent and the Moon-Earth distance by 12 percent. The result is that the Moon’s apparent diameter can range from 10 percent smaller to 7 percent larger than the Sun's. 6. It's all about magnitude and obscuration. Astronomers categorize each solar eclipse in terms of its magnitude and obscuration — and I don’t want you to be confused when you encounter these terms. The magnitude of a solar eclipse is the percent of the Sun’s diameter that the Moon covers during maximum eclipse. The obscuration is the percent of the Sun’s total surface area covered at maximum. Here's an example: If the Moon covers half the Sun’s diameter (in this case the magnitude equals 50 percent), the amount of obscuration (the area of the Sun's disk the Moon blots out) will be only 39.1 percent. 7. Solar eclipses occur between Saros cycles. Similar solar and lunar eclipses recur every 6,585.3 days (18 years, 11 days, 8 hours). Scientists call this length of time a Saros cycle. Two eclipses separated by one Saros cycle are similar. They occur at the same node, the Moon’s distance from Earth is nearly the same, and they happen at the same time of year. 8. Everyone in the continental U.S. will see at least a partial eclipse. In fact, if you have clear skies on eclipse day, the Moon will cover at least 16 percent of the Sun’s surface, and that’s from Neah Bay at the northwestern tip of Washington. The path of annularity during the June 21, 2020 annular (not total) solar eclipse grazed Saudi Arabia, resulting in a partial eclipse for many. Abouazza Elhamdi of the Astronomy and Physics Department of King Saud University captured this sequence of partial phases in the early morning from Riyadh. Abouazza Elmhamdi 9. It’s all about totality. Not to cast a shadow on things, but likening a partial eclipse to a total eclipse is like comparing near-death to death. I know that 16 percent sounds like worthy coverage. It isn’t. You won’t even notice your surroundings getting dark. And it doesn’t matter whether the partial eclipse above your location is 16, 56, or 96 percent. Only totality reveals the true celestial spectacle: the diamond ring, the Sun’s glorious corona, strange colors in our sky, and seeing stars in the daytime. (And don’t forget to listen to your surroundings, too; wildlife tends to react to a total solar eclipse suddenly passing overhead.) 10. You want to be on the center line. This probably isn’t a revelation, but the Moon’s shadow is round. If it were square, it wouldn’t matter where you viewed totality, as people across its width would experience the same duration of darkness. But because the lunar shadow is round, the longest duration of an eclipse occurs at its center line, as that’s where you’ll experience the full width of the Moon’s shadow. 11. First contact is in Texas. If you want to be the first person to experience totality in the continental U.S., be at the Mexican border in Las Quintas Fronterizas, Texas, at 1:27:21 p.m. CDT. There, the total phase lasts 4 minutes 22 seconds. The path of the April 8, 2024 total solar eclipse begins in the United States in Texas and ends in Maine. Google, INEGI 12. The center line crosses through 15 states. After a great southwest-to-northeast run through Texas, totality simultaneously begins in Oklahoma and Arkansas at 1:45:39 p.m. CDT. Next up is Missouri. Unfortunately, Saint Louis lies just outside the path’s northern limit. Technically, Tennessee can claim to be one of the states touched by totality, however only a tiny part of its northwest corner is covered by the umbra. Likewise, only a small part of far-western Kentucky experiences totality. A large section of southern Illinois lies along the path, but it pales in comparison with the swath the umbra covers in the next two states: Indiana and Ohio. Even before the eclipse passes out of Ohio, a tiny tip of southeastern Michigan technically sees totality. The last stages in the U.S. see the path cover areas of Pennsylvania, New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine. 13. Totality lasts a maximum of 4 minutes 28 seconds. That’s it. To experience that length, you’ll need to be in the small town of Nazas, Mexico, which is about 40 miles (60 km) southwest of Torreón. And trust me, no matter how long totality really lasts, solar eclipses are so captivating, they always seem to only last a few brief seconds. 14. The end of the eclipse for the U.S. is in Maine. Totality leaves the United States for good in 2024 at 3:35 p.m. EDT on the eastern edge of Littleton, Maine. An observer there would enjoy 3 minutes 22 seconds of totality with the Sun 35° high in the west-southwest at mid-eclipse. 15. Cool things are afoot before and after totality. Although the big payoff is the exact lineup of the Sun, the Moon, and your location, also pay attention during the partial phases that lead up to and follow totality. As you view the early stages through a safe solar filter, the universe will set your mind at ease when you see the Moon take its first bite out of the Sun’s disk. Around the three-quarters mark, you’ll start to notice that the shadows around you are getting sharper. The reason is that the Sun’s disk is shrinking, literally approaching a point — and a smaller light source produces better-defined shadows. At about 85 percent coverage, you’ll be able to spot Venus 15° west-southwest of the Sun. If any trees are at your site, you may see their leaves act like simple pinhole cameras, with hundreds of crescent Suns appearing in their shadows. A staple of eclipse photography, this series taken July 2, 2019, shows the Sun’s shrinking crescent (top right) morph into a total eclipse (center) before creeping back out again (bottom left). Michel Tournay 16. This eclipse will be the most-viewed ever. I base this proclamation on four factors: First, the attention it will get from the media; second, the superb coverage of the highway system in our country; third, the typical weather on that date (April 8, 2024); and fourth, the vast number of people who will have access to it from large cities located near the eclipse path. 17. Several large cities will enjoy a great view. Unlike the 2017 eclipse, which covered only one large city, Nashville, the 2024 event will plunge several major metropolitan centers into darkness. Many completely lie along the path, while others will have a large percentage of their areas covered. Among them are Mazatlán, Mexico; San Antonio, Austin, Fort Worth, and Dallas, Texas; Indianapolis, Indiana; Cincinnati, Columbus, and Cleveland, Ohio; and Buffalo, New York. 18. Tens of millions of people live in the eclipse path. In 2017, approximately 12.25 million residents of the U.S. lived along the path of totality. In 2024, more than that number live along the path before the eclipse even exits Texas. In all, approximately 31.5 million people can simply walk outside, look up, and see a totally eclipsed Sun in the daytime sky during the 2024 eclipse — weather permitting, of course. 19. Totality is safe to look at. During the time the Moon’s disk covers that of the Sun — and only then — it’s safe to look at the eclipse without a solar filter or eclipse glasses. In fact, to experience the awesomeness of the event, you must look at the Sun without a filter during totality. Cowboy Nicolas Silva enjoys the total solar eclipse on July 2, 2019, atop a mountain ridge near Cabalgatas Altos de Cochiguaz, a ranch in Chile’s Elqui Valley. Rick Armstrong 20. Yes, the Sun’s a lot bigger. But it’s also a lot farther away. The Sun’s diameter is approximately 400 times larger than that of the Moon. What a coincidence that it also lies roughly 400 times farther away. This means both the solar and lunar disks appear to be the same size.
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New wonders in nature
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o
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International incidents
In September 1970, members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) hijacked four airliners bound for New York City and one for London. Three aircraft were forced to land at Dawson's Field, a remote desert airstrip near Zarqa, Jordan, formerly Royal Air Force Station Zerqa, which then became PFLP's "Revolutionary Airport". By the end of the incident, one hijacker had been killed and one injury reported. This was the second instance of mass aircraft hijacking, after an escape from communist Czechoslovakia in 1950. On 6 September, TWA Flight 741 from Frankfurt (a Boeing 707) and Swissair Flight 100 from Zürich (a Douglas DC-8) were forced to land at Dawson's Field. [1][2] On the same day, the hijacking of El Al Flight 219 from Amsterdam (another 707) was foiled: hijacker Patrick Argüello was shot and killed, and his partner Leila Khaled was subdued and handed over to British authorities in London. Two PFLP hijackers, who were prevented from boarding the El Al flight, hijacked instead Pan Am Flight 93, a Boeing 747, diverting the large plane first to Beirut and then to Cairo, rather than to the small Jordanian airstrip. On 9 September, a fifth plane, BOAC Flight 775, a Vickers VC10 coming from Bahrain, was hijacked by a PFLP sympathizer and taken to Dawson's Field in order to pressure the British to free Khaled. While the majority of the 310 hostages were transferred to Amman and freed on 11 September, the PFLP segregated the flight crews and Jewish passengers, keeping the 56 Jewish hostages in custody, while releasing the non-Jews. Six hostages in particular were kept because they were men and American citizens, not necessarily Jews: Robert Norman Schwartz, a U.S. Defense Department researcher stationed in Thailand; James Lee Woods, Schwartz's assistant and security detail; Gerald Berkowitz, an American-born Jew and college chemistry professor; Rabbi Avraham Harari-Raful and his brother Rabbi Yosef Harari-Raful, two Sephardi Brooklyn school teachers; and John Hollingsworth, a U.S. State Department employee. Schwartz, whose father was Jewish, was a convert to Catholicism. [3][4][5] On 12 September, prior to their announced deadline, the PFLP used explosives to destroy the empty planes, as they anticipated a counterstrike. [1]
The PFLP's exploitation of Jordanian territory was an example of the increasingly autonomous Arab Palestinian activity within the Kingdom of Jordan – a serious challenge to the Hashemite monarchy of King Hussein. Hussein declared martial law on 16 September and from 17 to 27 September his forces deployed into Palestinian-controlled areas in what became known as Black September in Jordan, nearly triggering a regional war involving Syria, Iraq, and Israel. A swift Jordanian victory, however, enabled a 30 September deal in which the remaining PFLP hostages were released in exchange for Khaled and three PFLP members in a Swiss prison. [1]
El Al Flight 219 (type Boeing 707, serial 18071/216, registration 4X-ATB) originated in Tel Aviv, Israel, and was headed to New York City. It had 138 passengers and 10 crew members aboard. It stopped in Amsterdam, Netherlands, and was hijacked shortly after it took off from there by Patrick Argüello,[6] a Nicaraguan American, and Leila Khaled, a Palestinian. The original plan was to have four hijackers aboard this flight, but two were prevented from boarding in Amsterdam by Israeli security—these two conspirators, traveling under Senegalese passports with consecutive numbers,[7] were prevented from flying on El Al on 6 September. They purchased first-class tickets on Pan Am Flight 93 and hijacked that flight instead. Posing as a married couple, Argüello and Khaled boarded the plane using Honduran passports—having passed through a security check of their luggage—and were seated in the second row of tourist class. Once the plane was approaching the British coast, they drew their guns and grenades and approached the cockpit, demanding entrance. According to Khaled, in an interview in 2000,
"So half an hour (after take off) we had to move. We stood up. I had my two hand grenades and I showed everybody I was taking the pins out with my teeth. Patrick stood up. We heard shooting just the same minute and when we crossed the first class, people were shouting but I didn't see who was shooting because it was behind us. So Patrick told me 'go forward I protect your back.' So I went and then he found a hostess and she was going to catch me round the legs. So I rushed, reached to the cockpit, it was closed. So I was screaming 'open the door.' Then the hostess came; she said 'she has two hand grenades,' but they did not open (the cockpit door) and suddenly I was threatening to blow up the plane. I was saying 'I will count and if you don't open I will blow up the plane. '"[8]
After being informed by intercom that a hijacking was in progress, Captain Uri Bar Lev decided not to accede to their demands:
"I decided that we were not going to be hijacked. The security guy was sitting here ready to jump. I told him that I was going to put the plane into negative-G mode. Everyone would fall. When you put the plane into negative, it's like being in a falling elevator. Instead of the plane flying this way, it dives and everyone who is standing falls down. "[6]
Bar Lev put the plane into a steep nosedive which threw the two hijackers off-balance. Argüello reportedly threw his sole grenade down the airliner aisle, but it failed to explode, and he was hit over the head with a bottle of whiskey by a passenger after he drew his pistol. Argüello shot steward Shlomo Vider and according to the passengers and Israeli security personnel, was then shot by a sky marshal. [7] His accomplice Khaled was subdued by security and passengers, while the plane made an emergency landing at London Heathrow Airport; she then claimed that Argüello was shot four times in the back after he and Khaled failed to hijack the airplane. Vider underwent emergency surgery and recovered from his wounds; Argüello died in the ambulance taking both him and Khaled to Hillingdon Hospital. Khaled was then arrested by British police. [9]
TWA Flight 741 (type Boeing 707, serial 18917/460, registration N8715T[10]) was a round-the-world flight carrying 144 passengers and a crew of 11. The flight on this day was flying from Tel Aviv to Athens, Frankfurt am Main, West Germany, and then to New York City, and was hijacked over Belgium on the Frankfurt-New York leg. It was crewed by Captain Carroll D. Woods, First Officer Jim Majer and flight engineer Al Kiburis. Flight 741's purser, Rudi Swinkles, recalled seeing a passenger running toward first class. Assuming it was an angry husband chasing his wife, Swinkles ran after him.
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Air crash
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Benji Madden and Cameron Diaz have been married since 2015
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Alex Rodriguez has made an awkward joke about being single as ex Jennifer Lopez looks smitten in new photos with her rekindled flame Ben Affleck . The former MBL star made the cringe-worthy comment on live TV as he was covering the American League Division Series on Fox Sports in the US. Jennifer Lopez and Alex Rodriguez arrives at the 77th Annual Golden Globe Awards attends the 77th Annual Golden Globe Awards at The Beverly Hilton Hotel on January 05, 2020 in Beverly Hills, California. As footage aired of baseball players from Tampa Bay Rays chilling before a game and eating popcorn, Rodriguez's co-anchor Kevin Burkhardt quipped, "It's not the first time people had been eating popcorn in the middle of the game." At that moment, a throwback clip of Rodriguez's then-girlfriend Cameron Diaz hand-feeding him popcorn at the 2010 Super Bowl played on screens. The former New York Yankee dated the actress from 2010 to 2011. "KB, that's maybe why I'm single," joked Miami-based Rodriquez, who briefly dated Diaz from 2010 to 2011. Cameron Diaz and Alex Rodriguez dated briefly from 2010 to 2011. (Getty) Meanwhile, in New York, Lopez — who split from Rodriguez in April after four years together — walked the red carpet with Affleck for the premiere of his film The Last Duel. The singer and actress then moved to the side of the stage to give her boyfriend the limelight, where she looked on lovingly from the wings. "Red carpet magic ? ✨ #TheLastDuel premiere NYC ?," she captioned the photos. As for Diaz, Rodriguez' other ex, the actress has happily retreated from the spotlight to focus on her marriage to Good Charlotte rocker Benji Madden and their one-year-old daughter, Raddix. She recently opened up about their first meeting last month on Anna Faris Is Unqualified podcast. Benji Madden and Cameron Diaz have been married since 2015. (Getty) "I saw him walking towards me and I was like, 'Huh, he's hot, I haven't seen him before,'" Diaz, 49, said of 42-year-old Madden, her husband of six years. "But then when I saw him, like who he was, that's what made me really be like, 'Oh you, you're special, you're the guy, you're the hidden gem in my life.'"
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Famous Person - Marriage
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London ePrix
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The London ePrix is an annual race of the single-seater, electrically powered Formula E championship, held in London, United Kingdom. It was first raced in the 2014-15 season until the 2015-16 season. [1] The event was originally meant to return for the 2021 season at a new location around (and through) ExCeL London. The first two editions of the London ePrix took place at the Battersea Park Street Circuit, a temporary street circuit at Battersea Park in London, England. The track was 2.922 km in length and featured 17 turns. The track was designed by Formula E's London event team and British architect Simon Gibbons. [2]
From 2020, the London ePrix was scheduled to be held around and through the ExCeL London and around the Royal Victoria Dock, however the calendar was adjusted due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The 2.4 km layout was due to feature 23 turns and be Formula E's first "indoor/outdoor" track. [3]
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Sports Competition
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Report a digital subscription issue
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Jon Gosselin recovering from venomous spider bite that sent him to the hospital in ‘excruciating pain’ Former reality TV star Jon Gosselin is now on the mend after being bitten by a brown recluse spider while in bed at his home in Reading, Berks County. Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP 148 By Jan Murphy | jmurphy@pennlive.com Former reality show star Jon Gosselin is recovering after being bitten by a brown recluse spider in his bed at his Reading home in Berks County. The former “Jon & Kate Plus 8″ star shared with the British tabloid The Sun this week that he that he recently was looking forward to his “first real single weekend” DJing in Philadelphia only to wake up one morning with his leg double its size. “I woke after a night of music and fun and went to stand up only to fall back down on the bed. I was in excruciating pain,” he told the news outlet. “It was really weird because when I looked at my leg I realized it was twice the size and there’s a red-looking blister with a large red circle around it.” Gosselin said he limped to his car and went to a nearby hospital. The doctor immediately recognized the bite as coming from that deadly kind of spider. “My entire leg had swollen up from the cellulitis,” Gosselin told the news outlet. “The doctor told me that I was lucky to come in because if you don’t treat this you can lose limbs or die from a bacterial infection. “It’s crazy because one moment I was DJ-ing and having the best weekend and next thing you know my life was in danger again.” He said he is now on the mend with the help of a course of antibiotics and topical cream. “It’s finally healing after a week and the swelling has improved and the pain is just where the bite is rather than my entire leg,” said Gosselin, who broke up over the summer with his girlfriend of seven years Colleen Conrad, who he grew up with in Wyomissing. Jon, the father of eight children who famously split with wife Kate after the family became reality TV stars, told The Sun: “I’ve never been bit by a spider in my whole life, unless you count Kate. “But all jokes aside, let’s face it, it hasn’t been my year.”
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Famous Person - Recovered
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1946 Bihar riots
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Direct Action Day (16 August 1946), also known as the 1946 Calcutta Killings, was a day of nationwide protest by the Indian Muslim community announced by Muhammad Ali Jinnah. It led to large-scale violence between Muslims and Hindus in the city of Calcutta (now known as Kolkata) in the Bengal province of British India. [3] The day also marked the start of what is known as The Week of the Long Knives. [5][6]
The Muslim League and the Indian National Congress were the two largest political parties in the Constituent Assembly of India in the 1940s. The Muslim League had demanded, since its 1940 Lahore Resolution, that the Muslim-majority areas of India in the northwest and the east, should be constituted as 'independent states'. The 1946 Cabinet Mission to India for planning of the transfer of power from the British Raj to the Indian leadership proposed a three-tier structure: a centre, groups of provinces, and provinces. The "groups of provinces" were meant to accommodate the Muslim League demand. Both the Muslim League and Congress in principle accepted the Cabinet Mission's plan. However, Muslim League suspected that Congress's acceptance was insincere. [7]
Consequently, in July 1946, it withdrew its agreement to the plan and announced a general strike (hartal) on 16 August, terming it Direct Action Day, to assert its demand for a separate homeland for Indian Muslims out of certain northwestern and eastern provinces in colonial India. [8][9] Calling for Direct Action Day, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, leader of the All India Muslim League, said that he wanted “either a divided India or a destroyed India”. [10][11]
Against a backdrop of communal tension, the protest triggered massive riots in Calcutta. [4][12] More than 4,000 people lost their lives and 100,000 residents were left homeless in Calcutta within 72 hours. [3][4] This violence sparked off further religious riots in the surrounding regions of Noakhali, Bihar, United Provinces (modern Uttar Pradesh), Punjab, and the North Western Frontier Province. These events sowed the seeds for the eventual Partition of India. In 1946, the Indian independence movement against the British Raj had reached a pivotal stage. British Prime Minister Clement Attlee sent a three-member Cabinet Mission to India aimed at discussing and finalizing plans for the transfer of power from the British Raj to the Indian leadership. [13] After holding talks with the representatives of the Indian National Congress and the All India Muslim League—the two largest political parties in the Constituent Assembly of India—on 16 May 1946, the Mission proposed a plan of composition of the new Dominion of India and its government. [4][14]
The Muslim League demand for 'autonomous and sovereign' states in the northwest and the east was accommodated by creating a new tier of 'groups of provinces' between the provincial layer and the central government. The central government was expected to handle the subjects of defence, external affairs and communications. All other powers would be relegated to the 'groups'. [7]
Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the one time Congressman and now the leader of the Muslim League, had accepted the Cabinet Mission Plan of 16 June, as had the central presidium of the Congress. [4][15] On 10 July, however, Jawaharlal Nehru, the Congress President, held a press conference in Bombay declaring that although the Congress had agreed to participate in the Constituent Assembly, it reserved the right to modify the Cabinet Mission Plan as it saw fit. [15] Fearing Hindu domination in the central government, the Muslim League politicians pressed Jinnah to revert to "his earlier unbending stance". [16] Jinnah rejected the British Cabinet Mission plan for transfer of power to an interim government which would combine both the Muslim League and the Indian National Congress, and decided to boycott the Constituent Assembly. In July 1946, Jinnah held a press conference at his home in Bombay. He proclaimed that the Muslim league was "preparing to launch a struggle" and that they "have chalked out a plan". [9] He said that if the Muslims were not granted a separate Pakistan then they would launch "direct action". When asked to be specific, Jinnah retorted: "Go to the Congress and ask them their plans. When they take you into their confidence I will take you into mine. Why do you expect me alone to sit with folded hands? I also am going to make trouble. "[9]
The next day, Jinnah announced 16 August 1946 would be "Direct Action Day" and warned Congress, "We do not want war. If you want war we accept your offer unhesitatingly. We will either have a divided India or a destroyed India. "[9]
In his book The Great Divide, H V Hodson recounted, "The Working Committee followed up by calling on Muslims throughout India to observe 16th August as 'Direct Action Day'. On that day, meetings would be held all over the country to explain the League's resolution. These meetings and processions passed off–as was manifestly the central League leaders' intention–without more than commonplace and limited disturbances, with one vast and tragic exception ... What happened was more than anyone could have foreseen. "[17]
In Muslim Societies: Historical and Comparative Aspects, edited by Sato Tsugitaka, Nakazato Nariaki writes:
From the viewpoint of institutional politics, the Calcutta disturbances possessed a distinguishing feature in that they broke out in a transitional period which was marked by the power vacuum and systemic breakdown. It is also important to note that they constituted part of a political struggle in which the Congress and the Muslim League competed with each other for the initiative in establishing the new nation-state(s), while the British made an all-out attempt to carry out decolonization at the lowest possible political cost for them. The political rivalry among the major nationalist parties in Bengal took a form different from that in New Delhi, mainly because of the broad mass base those organizations enjoyed and the tradition of flexible political dealing in which they excelled. At the initial stage of the riots, the Congress and the Muslim League appeared to be confident that they could draw on this tradition even if a difficult situation arose out of political showdown. Most probably, Direct Action Day in Calcutta was planned to be a large-scale hartal and mass rally (which is an accepted part of political culture in Calcutta) which they knew very well how to control. However, the response from the masses far exceeded any expectations. The political leaders seriously miscalculated the strong emotional response that the word 'nation', as interpreted under the new situation, had evoked. In August 1946 the 'nation' was no longer a mere political slogan. It was rapidly turning into 'reality' both in realpolitik and in people's imaginations. The system to which Bengal political leaders had grown accustomed for decades could not cope with this dynamic change. As we have seen, it quickly and easily broke down on the first day of the disturbances. [8]
Since the 11–14 February 1946 riots in Calcutta, communal tension had been high.
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Riot
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Sydney McLaughlin Beats Dalilah Muhammad, Wins 400m Hurdles Gold
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Updated on August 4, 2021 at 5:55 am
Dalilah Muhammad topped the world record time in the women's 400m hurdles final on Tuesday night.
But it wasn't enough for her to repeat as Olympic champion.
Download our local news and weather app for iOS or Android — and choose the alerts you want.
Sydney McLaughlin beat her own world record to win the highly anticipated race and secure her first Olympic medal.
McLaughlin took nearly half of a second off her previous world record (51.90 seconds) by finishing in 51.46. Muhammad, who won gold at the 2016 Rio Games, earned silver with a time of 51.58.
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Break historical records
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Belfast City Hall flag protests
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On 3 December 2012, Belfast City Council voted to limit the days that the Union Flag (the flag of the United Kingdom) flies from Belfast City Hall. [6] Since 1906, the flag had been flown every day of the year. [6] This was changed to no more than 18 days a year, which is in line with British government guidelines regarding government buildings. [7] The move to limit the number of days was backed by the council's Irish nationalists and the Alliance Party; it was opposed by the unionist councillors. As a response, Ulster loyalists held street protests throughout Northern Ireland. They see the council's decision as part of a wider 'cultural war' against 'Britishness' in Northern Ireland. [8][9] On the night of the vote, protesters tried to storm City Hall. Throughout December and January, protests were held almost daily and most involved the protesters blocking roads while carrying Union Flags and banners. Some of these protests led to clashes between loyalists and the police, sparking riots. Rioters attacked police with petrol bombs, bricks, stones and fireworks; police responded with plastic bullets and water cannon. Alliance Party offices and the homes of Alliance Party members were attacked, while Belfast City Councillors were sent death threats. According to police, some of the violence was orchestrated by high-ranking members of the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) and Ulster Defence Association (UDA). [10] Loyalists also put up thousands of Union flags in public places, which further heightened tension. [6]
After February 2013, the protests have been smaller and less frequent, and have led to greater loyalist protests about related issues, such as restrictions on traditional loyalist marches. [8]
Since the formation of Northern Ireland in 1921, there has been tension and violence between its two main religious groups. Unionists/Ulster loyalists (who are mostly Ulster Protestant) generally want Northern Ireland to remain within the United Kingdom, while Irish nationalists/republicans (who are mostly Catholic) generally want it to leave the United Kingdom and join a united Ireland. The former generally identify with the Union Flag, while the latter generally do not and instead identify with the Irish tricolour. [6]
In Northern Ireland, flags are often used as symbols of political allegiance, cultural identity, and to mark territory. [6] The flying of flags is an issue in Northern Ireland, and flying certain flags in certain places can be highly controversial. There have been many protests and clashes involving flags and symbols over the years. [11] In 1964 there were riots after a republican election candidate put an Irish tricolour (which was then illegal) in the window of his office on the Falls Road, Belfast. The unionist Minister of Home Affairs, responding to pressure from hardliners, ordered police to remove the flag. This sparked fierce clashes between republicans and the police. [12]
Belfast City Council had long been dominated by unionists, mainly the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) and Ulster Unionist Party (UUP). However, in May 2011 Irish nationalists (Sinn Féin and the Social Democratic and Labour Party) won more seats than unionists for the first time. [6] The middle-ground Alliance Party held the balance of power on the council. [6] Nationalist councillors wanted the Union Jack taken down permanently, and unionist councillors wanted it to keep flying all year. Alliance put forward a compromise: that it would fly on 18 designated days, in line with UK government policy on the flying of the union flag from UK government buildings, which is followed by many city and local governments in Britain. [6][13][14] At Parliament Buildings (or Stormont), where the Northern Ireland Assembly meets, the Union Jack is only flown on 15 designated days. [15] The nationalist and Alliance councillors voted in favour of this compromise and it was passed. In the weeks leading up to the vote, the DUP had printed and distributed over 40,000 leaflets in East Belfast, with help from the UUP. The leaflets attacked Alliance and called on people to protest against its proposal. [6] Alliance accused the unionists of trying to raise tensions. [16] In the May 2010 general election, Naomi Long of Alliance had defeated Peter Robinson of the DUP to win the East Belfast seat. This was the first time that a non-unionist party had won the seat. It is thought that many unionists voted for Alliance as a protest at Robinson's financial misdealings. [6] Some commentators believed that the DUP had been waiting for a chance to weaken the Alliance Party and win back their former voters in East Belfast. [6]
During the middle of 2012, particularly in September, heightened tensions led to the 2012 North Belfast riots. [17][18]
The unionist protesters see the change as an "attack on their cultural identity". [16] In December 2012 and early 2013 they held almost daily street protests throughout Northern Ireland. Most involved the protesters blocking roads while carrying Union Flags and banners. Some of these protests led to clashes between protesters and the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI), sparking riots. Attacks were made on Alliance Party offices and the homes of Alliance Party members, while Belfast City councillors were sent death threats. Unlike the Irish nationalist parties, Alliance has offices in loyalist areas. [16] According to police, some of the violence has been orchestrated by high-ranking members of the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) and Ulster Defence Association (UDA). [10] These are the two main loyalist paramilitary groups, who waged armed campaigns during the Troubles but declared ceasefires in 1994. The Belfast Telegraph claimed that some of the violence has been fuelled by youngsters engaging in "recreational rioting". [19] There was also a rise in sectarian attacks on Catholic churches by loyalist militants, which some have linked to the flag protests. [20][21][22]
The cost of policing the protests has been estimated at £20 million (up to 7 March 2013). [23]
On the evening of 3 December, hundreds of protesters gathered outside City Hall as the debate and vote was being held.
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Protest_Online Condemnation
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Croatia will become the 28th Member of the European Union
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Croatia's accession to the European Union: thoughts for Europe at a crossroads
Croatia's accession to the European Union: thoughts for Europe at a crossroads
24/06/2013
Abstract:
On July 1st next Croatia will become the 28th Member of the European Union. This event may go relatively unnoticed, eclipsed by burning European issues as disparate as budgetary crises, State debt and also the Union's institutional and political crises. However, this new enlargement, the 6th since 1950 [1] , brings with it several interesting elements and it also bears some beneficial messages for the political leaders of both the Union and its States. These are particularly pertinent at a time when there is great doubt about European integration. Indeed Croatia's accession confirms the Union's founding principles and quite rightly reasserts the pertinence of this, but it also reveals the dangers weighing over the process and brings them into the sharp perspective of the Western Balkans' recent past.
What a strange time this is for the European Union. Just as it seems to be questioning its very existence and is sinking into a multifaceted crisis, which is a mix of economic, budgetary, social and political problems [2] , it is, at the same time, about to welcome its 28th Member State to the fold. On July 1st next Croatia will be "celebrating" its entry into the European Union. This enlargement is the first since that of 2004-2007, which saw the entry of some 12 new States and 100 million citizens. This will probably be the last for a long time to come since Iceland is undertaking a u-turn in the wake of the general elections on April 27th 2013, whilst the other Western Balkan States, although firmly established as "candidates" or "potential candidates" since the European Councils of Feira (2000) and Thessaloniki (2003), are still far from accession [3] . The picture overall is far from being a happy one and there is little chance that on July 1st next Brussels, or Zagreb will really be in a mood for "celebration". However the European Union has grown in adversity and in situations like this it has succeeded in taking decisive steps. This new phase in European integration is quite precisely the bearer of several beneficial messages. This will remind us of the vital spirit and the major benefits of this unique process of regional integration. It also reminds us of the dangers that weigh over Europe because of its hesitation and reticence. This paper presents some of the factors, which might be useful to boost the decision-makers' confidence, citizens' faith and jump-start the engine of European integration.
1. Croatia's accession reboots the validity of the initial European project
The progression of European integration, the peace and prosperity that it has given, must not distance us from the fundamental principles on which the process is based. Remembering this is a guarantee of the success of European integration. In this regard Croatia's accession offers a particularly pertinent framework.
a. Regional integration provides pacification and stabilisation
The Founding Fathers had one central goal; peace in Europe. Thanks to the success of this enterprise the citizens and leaders of the States have mainly lost sight of the vital and immediate aspect of this ideal. This aspect of the European project is still totally valid. The pacification of the continent is vital and far from being completed. The conflicts, which tore former Yugoslavia apart 20 years ago, remind us of this quite cruelly. They stress the urgency of European integration all the more.
Since then initiatives for pacification and stabilisation in the Western Balkans have been greatly achieved to the credit of the European Union. This was absolutely necessary for the political stability and the economic development of the area but there was nothing obvious about it. Between peace in 1995 and the end of the reigns of Tudjman in Croatia [4] and Miloševic in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia [5] , very little progress had been made towards a rapprochement between the two and those we did see were achieved reluctantly, mainly under international pressure. It was because the European Union played a decisive role that détente and rapprochement were possible. It succeeded in seizing the opportunity of a political horizon, which seemed to be clearing with political alternation in Zagreb and Belgrade. It was at that moment that The Union took an important initiative with the Zagreb Summit on 24th November 2000 and launched the Stabilisation and Association Process (SAP).
The Zagreb Summit laid the foundations for regional rapprochement. The Stabilisation and Association Agreements (SAA) defined there comprise the backbone of this process. Each of the Western Balkan States is able to sign one, as long as the European Commission deems in its feasibility report that it is "sufficiently stable" [6] . But one of the core conditions for any rapprochement with the European Union is regional cooperation. There can be no European perspective without input by all parties in this direction. This features at the heart of the financial tools in the process: the CARDS programme (2000-2006) and the Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance (IPA, 2007-2013). In view of this; the European Union has invested money (4.65 billion euro between 2000 and 2006 and €5.2 billion in 2007-2013), it has given encouragement and it has succeeded because it sets conditions. Moreover the acceptance of "regional stabilisation" has to be total and any reticence is sanctioned. The opening of membership negotiations with Croatia was delayed on March 16th 2005 because the ICTY deemed that Zagreb was not fully cooperating with the arrest of General Ante Gotovina, accused of crimes against humanity and of war crimes. It was only after his arrest in December 2005 that the Union consented to launching negotiations.
The European Union succeeds because it has created a community of shared destiny between States, obligatory regional solidarity - in the ilk of Croatia and Serbia who are now playing a role in appeasement. Initiatives towards presenting official apologies have been taken on both banks of the Sava. Hence on April 29th 2013, Vesna Pusic, Vice President of the Croatian government and Foreign Minister, and Aleksandar Vucic, Vice President of the Serbian government and Defence Minister discussed a joint agenda which includes the settlement of on-going issues linked to the conflict, economic cooperation after Croatia's accession and Serbia's future membership. The European Union has developed a strategic political vision of the Balkans. Croatia's accession reminds us that its initiative, the key to regional stabilisation, is working and that it is vital and that, in essence, the European project is still totally valid.
b. European integration strengthens democracy
Launched 63 years ago in opposition to the dictatorships in the Eastern Bloc, European integration is in essence democratic. This is a virtue that we should remember. Any State that wants to join the European Union has to meet the Copenhagen Criteria, including that which demands "stable institutions which guarantee the rule of law, democracy, human rights, the respect of minorities and their protection." This requirement is re-iterated in the Stabilisation Process (SPA) and is one of the community acquis. Some of these chapters demanded "considerable" effort on the part of Zagreb, including "fundamental and legal rights" and "justice, freedom and security". Croatia seems to have risen to the challenge. But the Union's positive influence also played a role in this.
The political alternation that the country experienced in 2000 was a fortunate surprise. After the death of Franjo Tudjman, the father of independence of an autocratic tendency, who had been in office since 1992, the strength of Croatian democracy was difficult to assess. The general and presidential elections of 2000 [7] were a humiliation for Tudjman's party, the HDZ (Croatian Democratic Union), and brought two reformists to power: Ivica Racan (Social Democratic Party) as leader of the government and Stjepan Mesic (Croatian People's Party) to the Presidency of the Republic. Since then political developments have proven that democracy was sound. The country has experienced several alternations in power and even some smoothly run cohabitations [8] . Although the change in 2000 and the effects of this afterwards ended in a domestic opposition that had matured under Tudjman's nationalist reign, the European Union had growing influence over public debate and the policies introduced by successive governments.
Alternation and then the constitutional review, which consequently resulted, cannot be dissociated from Croatia's European integration goal. As of 2000 the new government and the new President's discourse focused on accession to the EU and very quickly it became a national political stake, which found consensus amongst the country's main political parties. All revised their approach in order to integrate this goal. Under Ivo Sanader the HDZ revised its ideology, which brought it to power once more from 2003 to 2011. A second constitutional review since alternation, undertaken in 2010, aimed to bring Croatia in line with community law (notably concerning minority rights) and was adopted by a wide trans-partisan majority [9] . All of the parties in Parliament, the Sabor, supported the "yes" vote during the referendum on membership organised on January 22nd 2012 thereby offering it a victory of 67.11%.
This development did not occur without some reticence however. The most striking example was the issue of the Generals Gotovina and Markac, deemed to be heroes in Croatia and which placed a share of the population against the European Union. Work still has to be done to counter corruption and establish the independence of the legal system but overall Croatian political leaders have accepted the rules and the demands made of them. In this the European Union has largely helped to stabilise Croatia. We hope that the same trend will occur in the rest of the Western Balkans, starting off in Serbia where the election of the nationalist candidate Tomislav Nikolic rekindled fears of a new rise in tension. The latter made the goal of joining the European Union his own, and adopted discourse in this direction, going as far as to present his apologies for the Srebrenica massacre on his "knees". Moreover, under the guidance of the European Union, Serbia and Kosovo signed an historic agreement on April 19th 2013 to normalise their relations.
Thanks to its policy of conditionality and also because of the hope it raises, the European Union has therefore had significant influence over the political life of its candidates. The Western Balkans have illustrated the dangers of political instability and the sharpness of this risk. Again, in this, the initial project of European integration remains both valid and desirable.
c. European integration supports economic development
The economic and social crisis, which many Member States are experiencing right now, should not mask the economic results European integration has achieved over the last 63 years. To date, in addition to the prosperity of its Member States, European integration has provided economic development to under developed States that have been able to make up for lost time in a record period. Croatia has already started to benefit from this and the process will progress after accession. The country already enjoys a relatively advanced level of development: its GDP per capita increased twofold between 1998 and 2008 and it is estimated at 63.3% of the EU's average, similar to that of Poland. It is twice that of Romania and Bulgaria. But the Croatian economy has been struck head on by the crisis (recession of 6% in 2009 and 1.8% in 2012) and is facing continuing problems including mass unemployment (20.4% in 2012), a significant trade deficit, and an inequality in the development of the different regions.
Joining the Union therefore brings hope for several reasons. Firstly it will enable the modernisation of its economy. The transposition of the community acquis has started this trend. Several areas have required significant effort: the free circulation of goods, workers and services, industrial and entrepreneurial policy, social and employment policy etc ... This will provide better conditions for business and investments. The institutional chapters will also help: public procurement, the fight to counter corruption, the strengthening of the legal and civil services. But one of the areas which set the greatest challenge has been competition. Between 2011 and 2013, the State achieved the reimbursement of subsidies paid to the steel industry (the Sisak steelworks) and it undertook the difficult privatisation of five shipyards, including that of Split.
Another advantage of the process is the development of infrastructures. Croatia was lagging behind somewhat but has already benefited from funding for important infrastructure work like the Zagreb-Split-Dubrovnik motorway for example. One of the IPA's goals is precisely to prepare for economic development and the management of structural funds to which the new Member State will have the right. Although between 2007 and 2013 Croatia received 1.07 billion euro in community loans, the total funds it will receive during the second semester of 2013 will be multiplied by 8.5. The structural funds that it will receive in 2013 will be multiplied by two in 2014 and by three in 2015. Finally its integration will foster even more trade on the part of Croatia with its leading partners (Italy, Germany, Austria etc). Regional rapprochement imposed on the Western Balkans has led to renewed trade with its neighbours. From a regulatory and infrastructural point of view Croatia will be able to take full advantage of the economic benefits of its membership. In view of the overall mood and the counter-truths that are regularly launched against European integration we have to stress what the facts really are.
2. Croatia's membership reminds us of the risks that weigh over the European Union
For several reasons Croatia's accession is a success for the European Union. It is also good news for the Western Balkans; which is still bogged down in endemic problems. But this new enlargement also has to be placed in perspective: it reminds us of the dangers that exist if we do not integrate the Balkans, if we do not "make" Europe or relinquish the voluntarism required of a process like this.
a. The demotivation of European citizens
The referendum on Croatia's membership gave a landslide victory to the "yes" vote with 67.11%. This was a relief because Croatian public opinion fluctuated greatly during the entire process. After massive support to its accession the percentage curves progressively declined to the point of reaching an opposition majority in June 2005. This episode followed the European Council's decision to delay the date of negotiation launch (due to a lack of cooperation with the ICTY [10] ). Since then the share of citizens who support membership has risen but the project did not succeed in generating any further enthusiasm.
The pleasing score achieved by the "yes" vote should not however mask the fact that turnout only totalled 44%. It was a sad record that Croatia beat that day with the highest abstention rate in a referendum in the history of European integration. This lack of enthusiasm is of course part of a national context of poor turnout in the most recent elections: 54.32% and 50.13% in the presidential elections of 2005 and 2010, 51% in the general election in 2011 illustrating the Croats disillusionment as far as politics is concerned. But regarding Europe its implications are disturbing: there was a 79.3% abstention rate during the first European elections on 14th April 2013 [11] ! This phenomenon has been seen more widely in all Member States, notably in the countries of central and Eastern Europe. But there is a major difference here: the Croatians are not even members of the Union yet. Popular demotivation is affecting a new segment of the population: that of the candidate countries. Popular support to the European project is taking a singular direction and the case of Croatia illustrates the seriousness of it. The European Union should take note of the urgency of this new warning and its leaders should ask themselves some questions as a consequence. European integration will not be able to move forward without the support of the people. If the citizens turn their backs on Europe the continent might fall prey to the demons of the past.
b. The high risks behind the people's rejection
The problem is that a democratic, stable and pacified Europe cannot afford to hesitate or make mistakes in this project. The Western Balkans reminds us of the dangers of this. The area is conducive to this: laborious economic development, political instability, institutional, administrative and legal weakness together with high crime rates. All of this is coupled to a lively national feeling and sensitivity about subjects like independence and State sovereignty. The countries of the Western Balkans have all been involved in bloody conflict over the last twenty years. The European Union is the only foreseeable salvation both mid and long-term, as part of a stable, economically viable future.
From this point of view Croatia has an exemplary role to play, which makes its accession strategic. However the potential stumbling blocks are multifarious. The sacrifices demanded of Croatia may seem out of proportion if the hopes raised by accession are not fully satisfied. On integration agriculture will face the Common Agricultural Policy. The privatisation of five shipyards (including Brodosplit, with the destruction of 1,600 jobs out of a total 3,300) was perceived badly in a context of high unemployment (20.4%). The ICTY's acquittal of the Generals Gotovina and Markac in November 2012 probably defused an additional motivation for national frustration, but the complaints presented by Croatia and Serbia against one another at the ICTY might, if they are not withdrawn, spark off hostilities once more. If the Croatian example fails it might take all of the Balkans with it.
The nationalist threat is not just limited to the Western Balkans but it has greater profile there. In Europe at present centrifugal forces are being expressed with increasing voice because of the economic and social crisis. The examples of nationalist discourse are growing: parties like Golden Dawn in Greece, Ataka in Bulgaria, National Front in France, Northern League in Italy etc. All are not comparable of course. But their radically anti-European discourse is a real threat to stability. If their tune found a common echo because of the failure of the European project, the consequences could be disastrous.
c. The European Union's enlargement strategy and its regional influence brought into question
Croatia's membership is a new stage "towards a totally unified and democratic Europe" to echo the words of Catherine Ashton. However the success of the process is not guaranteed, the stake is a capital one and its effects extend beyond Croatia and the region. This enlargement will also affect the Union politically.
The European Union cannot afford to fail in the Balkans. The political, economic and diplomatic risks are far too high. The Croatian case is therefore seen as an example. But European hesitation about its enlargement strategy, notably as far as they are concerned and the excessive effort required against anticipated results, might end in the demotivation of the candidate countries. The economic and institutional difficulties it is encountering have already dissuaded some candidates [12] . The "potential candidates" had to be reassured at the EU-Balkan Summit in June 2010 in Sarajevo. Former Serbian President Boris Tadic recalled on this occasion that "the countries of the Western Balkans should not suffer the consequences [13] ." This would not be in Europe's interest in any case. It cannot afford to have weak, unstable States over which it has lost its influence on its doorstep after having given them hope of joining one day. This might be to the benefit of Russia, China or Turkey.
However the European Union should not rush in either. It will have to be extremely rigorous in this rapprochement. Accusations of haste were virulent during the accession of Romania and Bulgaria. But the enlargement to Croatia will be the first since 2007. This means that all eyes will be on the Union. The verdict will condition the continuation of integration of the other States in the region, whilst the challenges of Bosnia-Herzegovina, Albania and a fortiori Kosovo, amongst others are otherwise much greater. Štefan Füle, the European Commissioner for Enlargement said in March 2010 that "the lessons of previous enlargements had to be learnt" and believed that Europe would be particularly careful regarding the respect of the criteria. The entry of Croatia is therefore a real test.
d. The question of the project, more urgent than ever before
The European Union is experiencing a confidence crisis and is facing the mistrust from a growing share of its citizens. Economic and social difficulties encountered by its Member States have shaken the faith that citizens had in the Union's ability to protect them and defend their interests. The question was raised in 2004-2007 in the wake of the previous enlargement to the countries in the east, which were economically underdeveloped and after the debate over social dumping ("the Polish plumber"). The Union absolutely must rise to the challenge of credibility and legitimacy. Each policy it launches conditions this capital. This is the main angle of attack used by the eurosceptic parties, together with issues of principle of sovereignty and democracy that are supposed to have been confiscated by the European institutions. The price of failure would be too high. It would break down the Union's political capital just a little more.
In response to concerns over enlargement the Union introduced a new criteria in 2006 linked to its "capacity to integrate". The question is being raised again over Croatia. It is the first since the enlargement of 2004-2007 [14] which took the Union from 15 to 27 Member States and increased the population by 25% (100 million inhabitants). This caused a shockwave across the EU the effects of which are still felt today, since, amongst other things it was just as much a problem of absorption as governance. This was why the European Commission introduced this concept. For the first time since 1981 enlargement will only involve one State. The Union's capacity for integration will not be tested as much by Croatia's accession, since it "only" has a population of 4.4 million. But the question over the direction taken by the European project remains in the background.
Often the enlargement strategy has been backed by that of "deepening". In June 2007 Olli Rehn, then European Commissioner for Enlargement explained that "in fifty years of European integration the Union had achieved remarkable results thanks to a mix of political deepening and gradual enlargement [...] It has been thanks to a mix of internal deepening and its successive enlargements that Europe has been able to adapt to past changes successfully." The absolute pertinence of these two statements is questionable. The real question is still that of the project, which is revived with every enlargement: what is the point of enlarging if we do not have a direction?
This new enlargement is occurring without having settled either the question of the project or that of popular support. Of course enlargement is inevitable for geopolitical, economic and social reasons which we have tried to explain. But without a frank response to the urgent issue of the project it looks as though the question has been given no further thought. It increases the dangers that are weighing over European integration. Low motivation levels and the nationalist threat prove that the European project is no longer a shared ideal or that it bears a sufficient amount of hope. It is suffering from a lack of clarity and above all direction: does anyone know where Europe wants or needs to go? If its leaders; the craftsman of European integration no longer have a plan how can we ask citizens for their support?
Conclusion
The role that Croatia will want to play as a Member State will be monitored. Will it be a reticent State, held back by an unenthusiastic public opinion? Will it be a European integration "stowaway"? Will it use its status as a Member State to put pressure on neighbouring candidates in the settlement of disputes, as Slovenia did over the border conflict in the Gulf of Piran or over the Ljubljanska Banka [15] ? Or will it maintain its driving role as it has seemed to do over the last few months providing technical advice and encouragement to the Balkan States including Serbia?
Of course there is no question of a having an idyllic view of European integration, which has revealed its own weaknesses. But Croatia's accession provides hope again and an idea of our responsibilities. European integration is a success. In this regard Croatia's accession is striking: in 20 years the country has emerged from two bloody conflicts, has rebuilt its economy and has strengthened democracy, to the extent that it is now integrating the European Union. The latter now finds itself at a crossroads but its decision makers and citizens are hesitating, holding back and have lost sight of this priceless opportunity for the future. The debate over the direction to give to the Union is a legitimate and healthy one. However it should not lead us to forget the immensely beneficial, vital and necessary aspects of this process. Let us hope that this enlargement and the lessons that it brings with it, will finally provide a new impetus and help us make the right choice.
[1] The European Commission counts the enlargments of 2004 and 2007 as one.
[2] See Sébastien Richard, "Terms of Crisis" European Issue n°278, Robert Schuman Foundation, 2013
[3] Albania, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, Serbia
[4] Died on 10th December 1999
[5] Beaten in the elections of September 2000 and October 2000
[6] Croatia was the second state after the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia to sign an SAA on 29th October 2001, entering into force on 1st February 2005.
[7] The general elections took place on 3rd January 2000, the Presidential election on 24th January and 7th February 2000.
[8] Firstly with Stjepan Mesic as President (HNS-LD) and Ivo Sanader then Jadranka Kosor (HDZ) as leader of the government, then Ivo Josipovic (SDP) as leader and Jadranka Kosor
[9] 131 votes in support, 4 against
[10] See page 3
[11] These MEPs have only been elected for one year before the next European elections in May 2014.
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