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1990 European Cup Winners' Cup Final

The 1989–90 season of the European Cup Winners' Cup was won for the only time by Sampdoria in the final against Anderlecht, 2–0 at Nya Ullevi in Gothenburg, on 9 May 1990. They went on to win 1990–91 Serie A, also being runners-up in the 1991–92 European Cup and in the 1988–89 European Cup Winners' Cup. English clubs were still banned from Europe following the Heysel Stadium disaster, meaning Liverpool missed out on a place, but would have a representative again the following season. Dinamo Tirana won 5–3 on aggregate. Real Valladolid won 6–0 on aggregate. Monaco won 4–1 on aggregate. BFC Dynamo won 4–2 on aggregate. Borussia Dortmund won 3–1 on aggregate. Sampdoria won 3–0 on aggregate. Torpedo Moscow won 6–0 on aggregate. Grasshopper won 4–3 on aggregate. Anderlecht won 10–0 on aggregate. Barcelona won 2–1 on aggregate. Admira Wacker won 3–1 on aggregate. Panathinaikos won 6–5 on aggregate. Dinamo București won 2–1 on aggregate. Groningen won 3–1 on aggregate. Djurgården won 5–0 on aggregate. Ferencváros won 6–2 on aggregate. 6–6 on aggregate; Partizan won on away goals. Real Valladolid won 4–2 on aggregate. 1–1 on aggregate; Monaco won on away goals. Sampdoria won 3–1 on aggregate. Grasshopper won 4–1 on aggregate. Anderlecht won 3–2 on aggregate. Admira Wacker won 2–0 on aggregate. Dinamo București won 8–1 on aggregate. Partizan won 6–5 on aggregate. Notes 0–0 on aggregate; Monaco won 3–1 on penalties. Anderlecht won 3–1 on aggregate. Dinamo București won 4–1 on aggregate. Sampdoria won 4–1 on aggregate. Sampdoria won 4–2 on aggregate. Anderlecht won 2–0 on aggregate. The top scorers from the 1989–90 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup are as follows:

Sports Competition

1966 Chicago West Side riots

Black residents of the West Side The 1966 Chicago West Side riots was a public disorder that occurred between July 12 and 15 in Chicago, Illinois. After police arrested a man that was wanted for armed robbery, black residents took to the streets in anger and looted and burned various stores throughout the West Side until the arrival of 1,200 National Guardsmen on July 15. Violence quickly subsided and most of the troops were sent home on July 20. [1] The riots occurred simultaneously with the murder of 8 nurses by Richard Speck on the city's south side. The riots began on July 12 after an ex-Convict named William Young, who was wanted for armed robbery, attempted to evade arrest at a liquor store on the 100 block of South Pulaski road. Young ran away from officers Biaggio Panepinto and James Rizzi and began screaming that the officers were trying to kill him, attracting a crowd of around 200 people. Young was caught in an alley but the mob encircled Panepinto and Rizzi and began demanding that they release Young. Panepinto and Rizzi were eventually rescued by other officers, but the mob began to loot the liquor store, beginning the unrest on the West Side. [2] Unrest quickly spread throughout the West Side. On July 13, around 200 youths looted a drug store and threw stones and fired shots at police, wounding seven policemen. Several drug stores, liquor stores and supermarkets were looted and set alight, with rioters pelting responding firemen with stones. [3] During a raid on an apartment building, 21 members of "paramilitary group" were arrested. A police captain said he received reports the group was planning on waging guerrilla warfare and had caches of automatic weapons and explosives stashed throughout the city. [4] At one point, services of the Lake Street Elevated train line had to be cancelled as snipers had fired at passing trains several times. [5] By July 15, 1,500 National Guardsmen had been deployed to patrol 140-block area of the West Side and calm returned to the West Side, though looting and fires continued to be reported. The troops had been given orders to shoot. Over 30 people injured during the riots, including six firemen and six policemen who had been shot. Two civilians, a pregnant 14-year-old and 28-year-old man, were killed by stray bullets from shootouts between police and snipers. [5] More than 200 people were arrested on July 14 alone. [4] Martin Luther King Jr. condemned the rioting but blamed the police and the city for the riots and asked for a black man to be named the number 2 in the Chicago police. Mayor Richard J. Daley stated that "rioting" was too strong of a term and instead referred to the events as "juvenile disturbances" and asked for religious and community leaders to call for peace. Archbishop John Cody echoed Daley's statements. [3]

Riot

Masked man escapes on foot after robbing Key Bank on James St., police say

A man in a mask robbed the Key Bank on James Street Friday afternoon. (Google Street View) Syracuse, N.Y. — A man wearing a facemask entered the Key Bank on James Street, handed a teller a demand note and fled on foot with cash, police said. The robbery was reported at about 3:50 p.m. at 2801 James St., Syracuse police spokesman Sgt. Matthew Malinowski said. The man reportedly told the bank teller that another man had a gun and would shoot them if they didn’t hand over the cash, according to Onondaga County 911 Center dispatches. The man took an unknown amount of cash and fled eastbound on foot, Malinowski said. Police ask anyone with information about the robbery to call the Syracuse Police Department at 315-442-5222.

Bank Robbery

1997 Israeli helicopter disaster crash

The 1997 Israeli helicopter disaster (Hebrew: אסון המסוקים‎: Ason HaMasokim, lit. Disaster of the Helicopters) occurred on February 4, 1997, when two Israeli Air Force transport helicopters ferrying Israeli soldiers into Israel's security zone in southern Lebanon collided in mid-air, killing all 73 Israeli military personnel on board. The crash brought about widespread national mourning and is considered a leading factor in Israel's decision to withdraw from southern Lebanon in 2000. Following the 1982 Lebanon War, Israel had withdrawn to a "security zone" in southern Lebanon, where it faced an insurgency by Hezbollah and other Lebanese groups. Israel had originally moved troops by ground, but this policy was changed as the threat of roadside bombs increased. [1] As a result, Israel increasingly began ferrying soldiers by air into southern Lebanon. Two Sikorsky S-65C-3 Yas'ur 2000 helicopters, 357 and 903, were assigned on a mission to fly Israeli soldiers and munitions into southern Lebanon, originally scheduled for February 3, but postponed a day due to bad weather conditions. On February 4, the weather conditions were still poor for flying due to fog, but in the afternoon visibility improved, and the mission was allowed to go forward. The two helicopters took off from Tel Nof Airbase and flew to Rosh Pina Airport, from where they collected the troops. One helicopter, numbered 903, was designated to fly to the "Pumpkin" Outpost, east of Nabatiyeh, and had four crew and 32 passengers on board. The second helicopter, 357, was to fly to an Israeli position at Beaufort Castle, and had four crew and 33 passengers on board. At 6:48 PM, after final approval was given and the soldiers had been briefed, both helicopters were cleared to take off. A minute after takeoff, the captain of the helicopter 903 requested permission from air traffic control to cross the border into Lebanon, but permission was delayed, and the helicopters ended up hovering until 6:56 PM when a controller confirmed that they had permission to cross. Three minutes later, the helicopters disappeared from radar. The two helicopters collided over moshav She'ar Yashuv in northern Israel. An Israeli investigation concluded that the rotor of helicopter 357 had struck the tail of helicopter 903. Helicopter 357 immediately crashed, while the crew of helicopter 903 attempted to take control of it, but failed, and it crashed as well. [2] According to one witness who observed the event from the ground, "Two helicopters passed over my house without their lights on. Then there was a flash. One fell straight away and the other wavered for half a kilometre... then it also exploded." One of the helicopters crashed in a fireball directly onto She'ar Yashuv, setting an empty bungalow on fire, while the other crashed into the cemetery of kibbutz Dafna a few hundred yards away. [3][4] Fires, fueled by jet fuel from the helicopters, broke out on the ground, and munitions that had been stored aboard the helicopters cooked off and set off a series of explosions. Some witnesses claimed they could hear faint cries coming from the wreckage, but they could not get close to them because of the explosions, and that the cries ceased after the explosions. All 73 soldiers on the helicopters were killed, but there were no casualties on the ground. [5] One witness claimed to have seen a soldier thrown from a helicopter who initially still had a pulse but died soon after. [3][6][7] Following the crash, soldiers, firefighters, and rescue crews raced to the scene. Magen David Adom rushed twenty ambulances and two mobile intensive care units to the scene. However, it soon became clear there were no survivors. Fearing that additional ammunition could explode, the IDF cordoned off all communities in the area, declaring them closed military zones, shut down all local roads, and sent in bomb squads to clear the area of explosives. This created massive traffic jams and temporarily prevented hundreds of people from reaching their homes. Rescue crews recovered bodies and pieces of equipment from the scene, and some of the dead were found still strapped into their seats. The bodies were taken to a makeshift morgue set up on a nearby military base for identification. The IDF censored news of the crash for more than two hours to enable the families of the victims to be informed, but swift identification proved impossible. [6][3] All of the bodies had been recovered by the morning of February 5. The crash was the deadliest air disaster in Israeli history. [9] A wave of national mourning swept Israel. According to Joshua L. Gleis, "In a close-knit country where nearly everyone joins the military, a huge portion of the nation's population knew at least one of the soldiers killed in the crash. "[10] February 6 was declared an official day of mourning. Flags were flown at half-mast, restaurants and cinemas closed, the Knesset observed a minute of silence, and the names of the dead were read out at the beginning of every news bulletin on television and radio. [11] Thousands of Israelis went to pray at the Western Wall and assemblies were held at schools nationwide. [11] The funerals began taking place on February 5. [11] Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Ezer Weizman attended funerals and visited the grieving families. Israeli Defense Minister Yitzhak Mordechai appointed a commission of inquiry headed by David Ivry to investigate the cause of the collision. [11] The commission recommended that the commander of the helicopters' squadron be dismissed and barred from any future command positions, the commander of Tel Nof Airbase and the deputy commander of the squadron (who had briefed the pilots before their mission) be reprimanded, and that the officer in charge of Rosh Pina Airport be dismissed from his position and barred from serving in any command position for three years. In its recommendations to prevent future accidents, the commission recommended that the number of flights per pilot be reduced, that clear procedures be established regarding the turning off of lights when crossing borders, that a lead helicopter be established when two fly together, that squadrons operate under the same procedures, and that helicopters fly alone during any night flights into southern Lebanon. It also recommended that the Israeli Air Force install black boxes in its helicopters. [12] The disaster sparked renewed debate about Israel's occupation of southern Lebanon. Later that year, the Four Mothers, an anti-war protest movement dedicated to pressing for an Israeli withdrawal from southern Lebanon, was founded. This event is seen as a catalyst for Israel's withdrawal from the security zone in Lebanon in 2000. A memorial to the 73 dead IDF soldiers was created near the crash site of one helicopter next to the cemetery of kibbutz Dafna.

Air crash

Harbourtown Fine Arts Centre was shut down six years ago

An Alliance native with a background in theater is part of an effort to raise money to preserve an arts center in Lorain County. Jim Chapple, a 1967 graduate of Alliance High School, also has served various roles in education for 50 years. “I have been a teacher, educational consultant, an elementary building principal and a professor,” Chapple said. He currently works at Notre Dame College in South Euclid, serving as an associate professor of special education in the Division of Professional Education. His current focus, though, is on preserving a piece of history. Chapple is working with a group working to revamp a piece of Harbourtown Historic District in Vermilion, which is located along Lake Erie to the west of Cleveland. The Carnation City native said he has had ties to the area from his youth, in graduate school at nearby Bowling Green State University, and efforts as president of Huron Playhouse before it closed about six years ago. “When the Harbourtown Fine Arts Center was formed in 2018, I had an immediate interest,” said Chapple, who lives in Vermilion. “Not only did this small group want to bring back and maintain the fine arts in Vermilion, they were interested in the historic preservation of the old Vermilion Town Hall (built in 1883), which was for sale.” Chapple said his interest in theater was nurtured in Alliance. “During my years at Alliance High School, I was in the marching band under John Weitzel as the director,” Chapple said. “I played the trumpet and clarinet in the middle school and high school band. I was a person who loved the performing arts, as a spectator rather than a participant, but have always loved the theater, music and dance.” His fondness for Vermilion, though, started in childhood, a time when his parents had a boat in Lake Erie. His efforts to assist funding repairs and an overhaul of the building moved far to the east, to the area of Playhouse Square, where Cleveland Ballet performs. Through a series of conversations with the founders of Cleveland Ballet, Chapple helped to secure a performance Sept. 18 on the Harbourtown Fine Arts Center’s second floor Opera Hall. Chapple said a consultant the group brought in helped spark the idea of a fundraising partner. “Michael (Krasnyansky, who with wife Gladisa Guadalupe co-founded Cleveland Ballet) called me and we had a lengthy conversation as he asked questions about the history of HFAC and the Town Hall and he said he would like HFAC to become the summer residence of the Cleveland Ballet,” Chapple said. “Since then, our partnership has continued to grow and flourish.” In the Sept. 18 performance, the ballet presented its premier program of three pieces, including the well-known “Momentum,” which Guadalulpe created. “I think the benefits for the Cleveland Ballet from this partnership is to continue the message and vision of their organization,” he said. “The dancers in this company are not only talented but engaging and personable. The ‘small-town feel’ of this partnership is good for both organizations, and the Cleveland Ballet will be able to continue to reach audiences outside of the metropolitan Cleveland area.” Chapple said the ballet event was only one piece of the fundraising effort. “We have several ongoing fundraising opportunities,” he said. “One is to ‘adopt a seat’ in the Opera Hall. For a mere $1,000, you can ‘adopt’ one of the 150 seats on the main floor. Your family name will be put on a brass plaque and installed on the back of a seat. We also want the average citizen to be able to say they have helped participate in the creation of the HFAC and the historic restoration of this building. So for as little as a $25 donation, you can say you own a brick in the HFAC. “Both of these ongoing campaigns are helping to contribute toward our goal of compete historic restoration. We hope that people all over the United States who have a love of the fine arts and/or historic preservation and restoration, want to contribute to our cause.” Harbourtown Fine Arts Center officials aim to create a designated spot for people to be creative. "We exist to expand the cultural recognition of Vermilion and the surrounding areas. Being a relatively small community, we hope to reach those with an interest in the arts. As a not-for-profit organization, our mission is to serve the community by providing a common space for creation, performance, and social events." “The Opera Hall was actually closed in 1930 when the Great Depression came, because there were no more traveling shows, and people did not have the resources to attend those types of events,” Chapple said. “Today the Opera Hall still retains the original seats, stage, curtain, as well as the very patriotic red, white and blue windows on three sides of the building. “The footlights on the stage were lit by a kerosene tube that ran under the stage. Prior to a show beginning, the stage manager used stick wicks in the holes and the stage was illuminated with live fire! … Currently there is limited electric lighting in the Opera Hall, and there is no heat or air conditioning.” Chapple said he hopes his friends and fellow fans of stage performances might consider helping the campaign. “I know how the citizen of Alliance loves and enjoys the arts, so we hope you will consider buying a brick or adopting an Opera Hall seat to assist us in reaching our goal of a full functioning, community fine arts center.” Those interested can reach out with questions or for more information to harbourtownfineartscenter.org, or call Jim Chapple, President HFAC, chappjw@aol.com, 440-225-1547 or 440-985-0634.

Organization Closed

Astranis Moves Debut Satellite Launch to SpaceX Falcon Heavy in Spring 2022

A SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket lifting off from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on June 25, 2019. Astranis‘ first full commercial communications satellite will now launch in the spring of 2022 as a secondary payload on SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy rocket. The San Francisco-based Geostationary Orbit (GEO) small satellite connectivity provider confirmed the new plans Thursday. Astranis successfully launched a test satellite in 2018 and was originally hoping to send its first fully functional satellite on SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket in the fourth quarter of 2020. The operator said the timing was important for its partners, Pacific Dataport and Microcom, who were hoping to provide broadband connectivity services to residential and commercial Alaskan customers by March 2021. The launch was then pushed back to the summer of 2021 as industry schedules lagged during the COVID pandemic. “Launching on Falcon Heavy will get us on-orbit months faster, allowing us to serve customers in Alaska that much sooner. This is a huge win for our customers in Alaska,” said Astranis CEO John Gedmark, commenting on the new plans. Pacific Dataport CEO Chuck Schumann added, “Working with the entire Astranis team has been a wonderful experience and we’re excited to see our satellite readied for launch. There are more than 100,000 rural Alaskans who are ready for an affordable broadband connection and Astranis is helping us bring them modern connectivity. This is a really big deal for Alaska.” Astranis said that once launched, its debut satellite will roughly triple the currently available satellite capacity in Alaska serving both residential and wholesale customers.

New achievements in aerospace

Woman gets jail sentence for getting too up-close-and-personal with grizzly to snap photos

While you are in a sanctuary of a wildlife park, it's not a good idea to get too close to wild animals that are allowed to roam freely outside enclosures. But many people try getting close to animals with the hopes of giving them some snacks or taking some photographs. While the experience can be life-changing, it can also lead to serious injuries, death, or jail sentence in some cases. Samantha R. Dehring is someone who did the 'up-close-and-personal' thing with a wild animal. But instead of getting cheered and appreciated, she was handed a jail sentence. Dehring got really close to a grizzly bear at the Yellowstone National Park on May 10 in a bid to take some photos. She was extremely lucky to escape unhurt because the bear grizzly got close to was a mother bear who was trying to protect her cubs. A short clip shared on Instagram by Darcie Addington shows the mother bear charging at Dehring who was trying to snap photos. After Dehring's photos with the grizzly were widely circulated on social media, netizens said it was foolish of her to risk her life just to take a few snaps. Watch the clip here: The clip has racked up over 1.28 lakh views since being shared on May 11. Besides the jail sentence, Dehring has been banned from Yellowstone for a year. She will also be required to pay a penalty of $1,000 and spend four days in federal custody. The Yellowstone National Park's website clearly states that visitors must remain a minimum of 100 yards from bears and wolves that are home in the park. In 2019, a woman went massively viral after she climbed the enclosure barrier of New York's Bronx Zoo and tried getting an up-close-and-personal experience with a lion. The shocking incident was captured on camera by zoo visitor Real Sobrino and later shared on Instagram.

Famous Person - Commit Crime - Sentence

2012 Anaheim, California police shooting and protests

The Anaheim police shootings and protests of July 2012 involve two fatal shootings by police officers in Anaheim, California, and subsequent public protests. On July 21, Manuel Diaz was shot and killed by Anaheim Police officer Nick Bennallack after he ran from the officers. Protests ensued after the shooting. On July 22, Joel Acevedo was shot and killed by Anaheim police in an alleged exchange of gunfire, making the seventh fatal officer-involved shooting in Anaheim in twelve months. Both shootings were ruled justified by the Orange County District Attorney's Office, but a federal jury later ruled Officer Bennallack guilty of excessive force. On July 21, 2012, 25-year-old Manuel Diaz was shot and killed by Anaheim Police officer Nick Bennallack in Anaheim, California. According to police officials, officers were responding to a call about men congregating in an alley when they saw Diaz leaning into a car speaking to the driver. When approached, Diaz ran. The police pursued and shot him in front of a nearby apartment complex. [2] Police stated that Diaz was known to be a gang member[3] - but not known to Bennallack - and claimed at one point to have seen him throw an object onto a roof. [4] The police's story changed over time, and no item was ever found. [5] Eventually, Diaz was transported to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead around 7:00 p.m., about three hours after the shooting occurred. [2] After the shooting, a crowd of local residents gathered around the crime scene. According to the police, the crowd began to throw objects at the police officers. Police then fired non-lethal munitions at the crowd. At one point, a police dog attacked several individuals. [6][7] Junior Lagunas, 19, suffered puncture wounds from the police dog attack. The Anaheim police chief stated that the dog accidentally got free from a police car and apologized for the attack. [8] Witnesses at the scene told a local journalist that the police were offering to buy cell phone videos. [7] Further protests occurred in Anaheim, including protests at the police station and in the neighborhood where the shooting occurred. [3] The protests escalated the next day after police shot and killed another man, Joel Acevedo, during another foot chase, this one in the Guinida neighborhood of Anaheim. [9] Officer Kelly Phillips, who killed Acevedo (and was previously one of the shooters of Caesar Cruz in 2009) claimed that Acevedo was shooting at him first, but Acevedo's family and witnesses claim he was unarmed and had a gun planted on him. [10] On July 29, two hundred protesters walked from the Anaheim police headquarters toward Disneyland. They were stopped at the intersection of Harbor Boulevard and Ball Road by a line of riot police and officers on horseback. [11] Two reporters from The Orange County Register were injured — one was hit in the head with a rock, and the other was hit in the foot with a projectile. [12] Weekly protests outside the Anaheim Police Department had been occurring since early 2010, led by Placentia resident Theresa Smith. Smith's 35-year-old son, Caesar Cruz, was shot fatally by five Anaheim policemen on December 9, 2009. [13] The number of participants in Smith's protests was typically small until early 2012, when she was joined by Orange County residents who had been protesting in Fullerton after the 2011 killing of Kelly Thomas, a 37-year-old homeless schizophrenic who was fatally beaten and suffocated by Fullerton policemen Manuel Ramos, Jay Cicinelli, and Joseph Wolfe. After the March 2012 fatal shooting of Martin Hernandez, Hernandez' friends and family also joined in the weekly Anaheim protests. [14] Tony Rackauckas, the district attorney for Fullerton, confirmed in an interview for PBS that during his term in office no police officers had been prosecuted for any of the shooting deaths that they were involved in. [13] The fatal shooting of Joel Acevedo on Sunday night, July 22, 2012, was the seventh fatal officer-involved shooting in twelve months by the Anaheim Police Department. [15][16][17] First, on August 16, 2011, fleeing unarmed David Raya was shot fatally, also in the Guinida neighborhood, by police investigator Bruce Linn, who was also one of the shooters of Caesar Cruz in 2009. [18] Second, on November 4, 2011, fleeing Marcel Ceja was shot fatally on Ball Road by Officer David Garcia; Garcia claimed that Ceja had "ditched a pistol. "[19] Third, on January 7, 2012, Bernie "Chino" Villegas was shot fatally in the back as he sat in his parking lot shooting bottles with a B-B gun, by Officer Nick Bennallack, who would go on be charged with excessive force for killing Manuel Diaz six months later. [20] Fourth, on January 19, 2012, Roscoe Cambridge approached Sergeant Michael Bustamante while carrying a knife and a Bible, as Bustamante sat in his parked police car at the Anaheim Hills APD East Substation; Bustamante shot Cambridge fatally. Bustamante remained with the department until retirement. [21] Fifth, on March 6, 2012, Martin Hernandez was shot fatally by APD Officer Dan Hurtado after a pursuit in the Ponderosa neighborhood. [22] This fifth fatal shooting in seven months led to 100 residents of the Ponderosa community confronting Police Chief John Welter. Anaheim Mayor Tom Tait, City Council members Lorri Galloway and Kris Murray were in attendance as residents complained angrily of police harassment and intimidation in their neighborhood. [23] The killings of Manuel Diaz and Joel Acevedo on July 21 and 22 were the sixth and seventh fatal APD shootings in a twelve-month period. [citation needed][original research?] On July 24, Anaheim Mayor Tom Tait announced that he had arranged for the U.S. Attorney's Office to review the shootings, and that he would meet with representatives from that office, as well as with FBI agents, on Friday, July 27. [24] Also on July 24, peaceful protests were led by Anaheim residents at Anaheim city hall at 4pm. By 6pm, the crowd started becoming unruly and Anaheim police called for riot gear and backup from surrounding cities. Many residents and police cite people from outside the city who turned the protest into a riot later in the day. Rioters were seen breaking windows of local businesses. Although there were no reports of major violence, some property damage was reported. Fifty to a hundred protesters roamed the streets, throwing rocks and bottles, causing damage to over twenty businesses, as well as the police headquarters and City Hall. [25] A Starbucks store was attacked late in the night by a group of young men who used metal chairs and skateboards to break the windows. [26] The mayor of Anaheim called for outside investigations of the shooting by state and federal agencies,[27] and the two officers involved in the shooting of Diaz were placed on paid leave.

Protest_Online Condemnation

2017 Men's EuroHockey Championship II

The 2017 Men's EuroHockey Championship II was the seventh edition of the EuroHockey Championship II, the second level of the European field hockey championships. It was held from the 6th to the 12th of August of 2019 in Glasgow, Scotland. [1] The tournament also served as a direct qualifier for the 2019 Men's EuroHockey Nations Championship, with the winner Scotland and runner-up Wales qualifying. The following eight teams, shown with pre-tournament world rankings, competed in the tournament. [2] The eight teams were split into two groups of four teams. The top two teams of each pool advanced to the semi-finals to determine the winner in a knockout system. The bottom two teams from each pool played in a new group with the teams they did not play against in the group stage. The last two teams were relegated to the EuroHockey Championship III. All times are local (UTC+0). The points obtained in the preliminary round against the other team are taken over. Qualified for the 2019 EuroHockey Championship   Relegated to the EuroHockey Championship III

Sports Competition

Pentagon admits error in deadly Kabul strike

Target turned out to be civilians, kids by Compiled Democrat-Gazette Staff From Wire Reports | September 18, 2021 at 4:41 a.m. Gen. Frank McKenzie, commander of U.S. Central Command, appears on screen as he speaks from MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Fla., as Pentagon spokesman John Kirby listens at the Pentagon in Washington in this Aug. 30, 2021, file photo. McKenzie was speaking during a virtual briefing about an Aug. 29 drone strike in Afghanistan. The Pentagon on Friday, Sept. 17, retreated from its defense of that drone strike, announcing that an internal review revealed that only civilians had been killed. (AP/Manuel Balce Ceneta) WASHINGTON -- The Pentagon acknowledged Friday that a U.S. drone strike in Afghanistan on Aug. 29 that officials said was necessary to prevent an attack on U.S. troops was a tragic mistake that killed 10 civilians, including seven children. The explosives the military claimed were loaded in the trunk of a white Toyota sedan struck by the drone's Hellfire missile were most likely water bottles, and a secondary explosion in the courtyard in a densely populated Kabul neighborhood where the attack took place was probably a propane or gas tank, officials said. In short, the car posed no threat at all, investigators concluded. Senior Defense Department leaders acknowledged that the driver of the car, Zemerai Ahmadi, a longtime worker for a U.S. aid group, had nothing to do with the Islamic State group, as military officials had previously asserted. Ahmadi's only connection to the terrorist group appeared to be a fleeting and innocuous interaction with people in what the military believed was an Islamic State group safe house in Kabul, an initial link that led military analysts to make one mistaken judgment after another while tracking Ahmadi's movements in the sedan for the next eight hours. "I offer my profound condolences to the family and friends of those who were killed," Gen. Kenneth McKenzie Jr., commander of U.S. Central Command, said Friday at a Pentagon news conference. He said the United States was "exploring the possibility of ex gratia payments" to compensate the families of the victims. The chain of missteps ending with the missile strike happened days after a suicide attack at the Kabul airport claimed the lives of at least 170 Afghans and 13 U.S. troops, inviting a sense of urgency that may have been misplaced. It also highlights flaws in the Biden administration's strategy for targeting threats that emerge in Afghanistan from long distance, a plan analysts have criticized as being vulnerable to inadequate intelligence and overconfidence among commanders reading ordinary behaviors as evidence of malicious intent. [Video not showing up above? Click here to watch » arkansasonline.com/918kabul/] The strike book ended the U.S.-led war with what has come to symbolize Western intervention in Afghanistan, the Middle East and Africa: Airstrikes that kill civilians, followed by initial Pentagon denials that it may have made mistakes. "This is not the end of their obligations. They have to do their own internal investigation to figure out if any crimes were committed," said Brian Castner, a senior crisis adviser at Amnesty International and a former Air Force bomb technician, describing international laws governing whether a strike is proportional to the threat it poses for civilians. "And there's the obligation to families to then pay compensation afterward." McKenzie acknowledged that a New York Times investigation of video evidence helped investigators determine that they had struck a wrong target. "As we in fact worked on our investigation, we used all available information," McKenzie told reporters. "Certainly that included some of the stuff The New York Times did." The findings of the inquiry by Central Command mirrored the Times' investigation, which also included interviews with more than a dozen of the driver's co-workers and family members in Kabul. The Times inquiry raised doubts about the U.S. version of events, including whether explosives were present in the vehicle, whether the driver had a connection to the Islamic State group and whether there was a second explosion after the missile struck the car. Military officials cited investigations by the Times, The Washington Post and other media organizations as providing valuable visual and other evidence that forced the military to reassess the judgments that led it to believe, falsely, that the sedan posed a threat. 'HORRIBLE TRAGEDY' As recently as Monday, the Pentagon was still asserting that the last U.S. drone strike in the 20-year war in Afghanistan was necessary to prevent an attack on U.S. troops. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, had said that the missile was launched because the military had intelligence suggesting a credible, imminent threat to Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, where U.S. and allied troops were frantically trying to evacuate people. Milley later called the strike "righteous." On Friday, Milley sent a tacit acknowledgment that he spoke too soon. "In a dynamic high-threat environment, the commanders on the ground had appropriate authority and had reasonable certainty that the target was valid, but after deeper post-strike analysis, our conclusion is that innocent civilians were killed," Milley said in a statement. "This is a horrible tragedy of war and it's heart-wrenching and we are committed to being fully transparent about this incident." McKenzie said the conditions on the ground before the strike contributed to the errant strike. "We did not have the luxury to develop pattern of life," he said. The Pentagon will work with the families and other government officials on reparations, McKenzie said. But without any U.S. troops on the ground in Afghanistan, he acknowledged the task may be difficult. Still, he said, "we recognize the obligation." Evidence suggests that Ahmadi's travels that day actually involved transporting colleagues to and from work. And an analysis of video feeds showed that what the military may have seen was Ahmadi and a colleague loading canisters of water into his trunk to take home to his family. "We now know that there was no connection between Mr. Ahmadi and ISIS-Khorasan, that his activities on that day were completely harmless and not at all related to the imminent threat we believed we faced, and that Mr. Ahmadi was just as innocent a victim as were the others tragically killed," Austin said in a statement, referring to the Afghan branch of the Islamic State group. Accounts from the family of the victims, documents from colleagues seen by The Associated Press, and the scene at the family home -- Ahmadi's car was struck by a Hellfire missile just as he pulled into the driveway -- all painted a picture of a family that had worked for Americans and were trying to gain visas to the United States, fearing for their lives under the Taliban. The family said that when the 37-year-old Ahmadi, alone in his car, pulled up to the house, he honked his horn. His 11-year-old son ran out and Ahmadi let the boy get in and drive the car into the driveway. The other kids ran out to watch, and the Hellfire missile incinerated the car, killing seven children and an adult son and nephew of Ahmadi. Amnesty International, the humanitarian aid group, called the U.S. military's admission of a mistake a good first step. "The U.S. must now commit to a full, transparent, and impartial investigation into this incident," said Castner, the Amnesty International adviser. "Anyone suspected of criminal responsibility should be prosecuted in a fair trial. Survivors and families of the victims should be kept informed of the progress of the investigation and be given full reparation." Rep. Adam Schiff,D-Calif., chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, said a fuller explanation must be provided. "We need to know what went wrong in the hours and minutes leading up to the strike to prevent similar tragedies in the future," he said. "I am also concerned about the accuracy and completeness of public statements made in the immediate aftermath of the strike, and whether those accounted for all of the information possessed by the government at the time." RESOLUTION ON TALIBAN Meanwhile, the U.N. Security Council unanimously approved a resolution Friday saying that Afghanistan's new Taliban rulers need to establish an inclusive government that has "the full, equal and meaningful participation of women" and upholds human rights. The resolution adopted by the U.N.'s most powerful body also extends the current mandate of the U.N. political mission in Afghanistan for six months and delivers a clear message that its 15 members will be watching closely what the Taliban do going forward. The statement reflects widespread disappointment over the recently announced interim Taliban government that left out women and minorities, heralding what could be a return to harsh Taliban practices during their 1996-2001 rule. The Taliban have promised an inclusive government and a more moderate form of Islamic rule than during their previous rule. But many Afghans, especially women, are deeply skeptical and fear a rollback of rights gained over the past two decades. Since their sweep into power last month and the departure of the last U.S. forces after 20 years of war, the Taliban have broken up several protests by women and their supporters demanding equal rights from the new rulers. On Friday, the Taliban ordered that all boys in grades six to 12 and male teachers to return to school and resume classes across Afghanistan, starting today -- but made no mention of girls or women teachers. Friday's Security Council resolution, drafted by Norway and Estonia, essentially delays a decision on a new mandate for the U.N. mission in Afghanistan until March. At the same time, it stresses "the critical importance of a continued presence of [the Afghan mission]" and other U.N. agencies "in promoting peace and stability in Afghanistan." Before the Taliban takeover, the U.N. had about 300 international employees and 3,000 Afghans working throughout the country. Over 100 of the international employees have redeployed to Kazakhstan, but the world body is continuing its operations in Afghanistan, where it has had a presence since 1948. Information for this article was contributed by Eric Schmitt and Helene Cooper of The New York Times; by Alex Horton, Joyce Sohyun Lee, Karoun Demirjian and Dan Lamothe of The Washington Post; and by Robert Burns and Edith M. Lederer of The Associated Press.

Gas explosion

US, Israel withdraw from UNESCO

The US has announced it will withdraw from the United Nations Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), accusing the body of “anti-Israel bias”. Heather Nauert, US state department spokesperson, said on Thursday the US would establish an “observer mission” to replace its representation at the Paris-based agency. In a statement announcing its withdrawal, Israel called the US administration’s decision “courageous and moral”, and accused UNESCO of becoming a “theatre of the absurd”. “The prime minister instructed the foreign ministry to prepare Israel’s withdrawal from the organisation alongside the United States,” Benjamin Netayanu’s office said in a statement. Irina Bokova, the outgoing UNESCO head, called the US withdrawal a “loss to multilateralism”, saying she is convinced that “UNESCO has never been so important for the US, or the US for UNESCO”. At a time when “conflicts continue to tear apart societies across the world, it is deeply regrettable for the United States to withdraw from the United Nations agency promoting education for peace and protecting culture under attack,” she said. Thursday’s development demonstrates the US administration’s “complete and total bias” towards Israel, says Mustafa Barghouti, secretary-general of the Palestinian National Initiative, a political party comprising mostly secular intellectuals. “This behaviour is counterproductive and shameful,” he told Al Jazeera by phone. “Sooner or later they will see Palestine in every UN agency. Will the US respond to that by withdrawing from the WHO or the World Intellectual Property Organization? They will be hurting only themselves.” The US was angered in 2011 when UNESCO members granted Palestine full membership of the body, despite opposition from its ally Israel. That year the US stopped paying its dues to the 195-member organisation but did not officially withdraw. The US opposes any move by UN bodies to recognise the Palestinians as a state, insisting that this must await a negotiated Middle East peace deal. UNESCO is best known for its work to preserve heritage, including maintaining a list of World Heritage sites, and programmes to promote education in developing countries. “UNESCO is about promoting our ideals and values through culture, education and science,” Francois Delattre, France’s UN ambassador, said in New York, adding that “we need an America that stays committed to world affairs.” Russia’s foreign ministry said it regreted the decision, adding that the move would disrupt a number of important projects planned by UNESCO. “We share the concern by many countries that the activity of UNESCO has been too politicised lately,” the ministry said in a statement. Antonio Guterres, the UN secretary-general, said through a spokesperson that he “regrets this development deeply”. Barghouti, of the Palestinian National Initiative, said it is “as if Israel is dictating US policy not only in the Middle East but also in international organisations. “This is going to have a very harmful effect on the idea of the US being a mediator between the Palestinians and the Israelis.” Israel has long been at loggerheads with UNESCO, particularly over its decision to admit the Palestinians as members in 2011. In July, the UN body declared the Old City of Hebron in the occupied West Bank an endangered World Heritage site. Netanyahu announced a $1m cut in funding to the UN, saying the UNESCO vote ignored Jewish ties to the site. A UNESCO resolution on Jerusalem in May strongly criticised Israel’s occupation of the eastern part of the city. Source: Aljazeera

Withdraw from an Organization

Serial robbery suspect wanted for Murray bank robbery

The 2021 KUTV Holiday Pops Concert returns to an in-person performance on Saturday, Dec. 4. Get details and info on tickets. Sinclair Cares: Support All Veterans Children 5-11 can begin receiving the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine at no cost. Health departments around Utah are now offering the shots. by Amber Rhoades, KUTV Unified Police and the FBI are asking for help in identifying a serial bank robbery suspect. He is believed to have perpetrated a robbery at a Chase Bank location in Murray on Saturday afternoon. According to Murray City Police, the suspect walked into the Chase Bank located at 6255 S. State Street at approximately 2 p.m. and then left with an unknown amount of cash. No damage to the building was reported. The suspect is described as a white man of average build and is approximately five-foot, seven-inches. He was last seen wearing a University of Utah baseball hat, a red t-shirt, a black Timberland jacket, jeans, and Vans shoes. He has been seen driving a 2000 gold two-door Cadillac Eldorado. Unified Police and the FBI are asking for help in identifying a serial bank robbery suspect. (Photo: UPD) Authorities believe that the suspect may be armed and dangerous, and warns not to directly approach him. If you have any information on the suspect, call the Salt Lake Valley Emergency Communications Center at 801-840-4000 and ask for Detective Heatherlyn Lohrke.

Bank Robbery

Texas International Airlines Flight 655 crash

Texas International Airlines Flight 655, registration N94230, was a Convair 600 turboprop aircraft en route from El Dorado to Texarkana, Arkansas, crashing into Black Fork Mountain, Arkansas, on the night of September 27, 1973. The eight passengers and three crewmembers on board were killed. [1][2] The route from El Dorado to Texarkana was part of a longer sequence starting in Memphis, Tennessee, with stops in Pine Bluff, El Dorado, and Texarkana in Arkansas; and finally terminating in Dallas, Texas. While the plane was on the ground in El Dorado the crew consulted with Flight Service Station staff and another set of pilots about a line of thunderstorms 35 nautical miles (40 mi; 65 km) to the west. After confirming there was a 15-nm (17 mi; 28 km) wide break in the storm the crew departed at night under visual flight rules (VFR). After departing El Dorado no contact was made with any controllers en route. When the plane was overdue at Texarkana search and rescue was notified. Despite an extensive search along the proposed route of flight no wreckage was found. A controller at the Fort Worth air traffic control center advised the searchers that he had observed an unidentified VFR target departing El Dorado to the northwest before the plane went missing. With this information the wreckage was found after three days of searching. There were no survivors. The cockpit voice recorder later revealed the first officer was flying the plane while the captain advised him of headings and altitudes to take to navigate around the storm. The captain deviated the plane 100 nm (115 mi; 185 km) to the north in an attempt to go around it. The first officer expressed concern that he did not know their position and what the terrain clearance was for the area. After the captain ordered him to descend to 2,000 feet (610 m) he consulted an en route instrument chart. He alerted the captain they were too low saying, "Minimum en route altitude here is forty-four hun . . ." At that point the recorder cut off as the plane struck Black Fork Mountain. [1] The National Transportation Safety Board investigation concluded that the crew did not discuss the details of their intended route with Flight Service or activate the instrument flight rules (IFR) flight plan forwarded from the airline dispatch to Flight Service. If they had been operating under instrument flight rules they would have been tracked by radar or required to make position reports to air traffic control en route. Under VFR they would only need to maintain contact with a controller while in controlled airspace. In this area of rural Arkansas there was no controlled airspace below 18,000 feet (5,486 m). Further, according to Federal Aviation Regulations the airline dispatcher should have been notified the flight was proceeding under VFR. The captain also could have contacted controllers in Fort Worth to open their flight plan or receive radar vectoring in the area. [1] From the conversation of the crew on the recorder the board concluded the flight encountered inclement weather conditions during the flight and was likely in inclement weather conditions when it crashed. The board concluded that the cause of the accident was the captain's decision to continue flying into inclement weather at night, his not taking advantage of the nearby navigational aids to get a fix on their position, and his decision to descend despite the first officer's concerns about position and terrain. [1] In the coming years, FAA regulations pertaining to commercial flights would require that all airliners operate only on instrument flight plans when passengers are carried. This rule has undoubtedly contributed much to the safety of airline travel, as flights under those rules specify altitudes and routes that must be followed and that have been predetermined to provide terrain clearance.

Air crash

1943 Saint-Donat RCAF Liberator III crash

The 1943 Saint-Donat Liberator III Crash was an aerial accident that killed 24 people‍—‌the worst accident in Canadian military aviation history. [1][2] During a routine flight from Gander, Newfoundland and Labrador to Mont-Joli, Quebec, a combination of inclement weather and a mapping error caused the Liberator to collide with the Black Mountain (French: Montagne Noire), killing all those on board. The wreckage was discovered accidentally more than two years later. Today, a hiking trail leads to the site where remains of the aircraft can still be seen along with numerous plaques detailing the accident and a monument honouring those who died. [2][3] The lost aircraft, Consolidated Liberator III (B-24D) serial number 41-24236, was purchased in September 1942 from the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) as part of a four aircraft order. Once in RCAF service, the aircraft received the tail number 3701H and was to be used by No. 10 Squadron RCAF for anti-submarine warfare (ASW). However, it was deemed that the four aircraft were not capable of the ASW mission, so they were employed for training and general transport. [2] On 19 October 1943, bad weather conditions had kept all aircraft at Gander Airport grounded until 22:16 hours when the accident aircraft finally received authorization to leave on a routine flight to Mont-Joli Airport with a crew of 4 and 20 passengers, reportedly proceeding on leave. After about three hours in the air, at 01:45 the pilot made contact with Mont-Joli Airport control tower to ask for authorization to land, only to be notified that the landing strip was closed due to the weather and diverted the aircraft to Rockcliffe Airport, Ontario or Dorval airport, Montreal, Québec. Besides a call for help reportedly heard by another aircraft flying near Grand-Mère, Quebec, no other contact was made with the Liberator. [4][5] On the night of the crash, Saint-Donat villagers remember hearing the noise of a large aircraft passing overhead and moments later an impact. Jos Gaudet, then on duty in fire tower number four at Archambault lake, did see the light emitted by the burning wreckage on top of the mountain but thought of it as the reflection of the sun on a moist rocky slope. [2] On the morning of the crash Gaudet and Georges Moore took a boat around lake Archambault to look for signs of wreckage such as oil slicks or debris, believing that the aircraft had fallen in the water. Later on, Mr. Moore went to the town hall to alert the military authorities but his claim was dismissed as being implausible. [4] As soon as the aircraft's disappearance was noted, Canada's eastern aerial command conducted searches along the planned route of the Liberator. After 728 sorties for a total of 2,438 flight hours between 20 October and 26 November, the search was called off by the RCAF. [2][4][6] For almost three years the disappearance of Liberator Harry remained a mystery, with the most plausible theory explaining failures to locate the aircraft was that it was lying at the bottom of the Saint-Lawrence river. [7] On 20 June 1946, while searching for another aircraft that had been reported as missing between Rockcliffe and Roberval, Quebec, the crew of a military search aircraft, piloted by Lt. B.D. Inrig, noticed a glint of sunshine coming from a metallic object and on closer investigation saw the characteristic twin fins of a Liberator near the top of the mountain. All records pointed to it being the lost aircraft. [8] That same day, a search party was formed and dispatched to the site under the command of Captain Harry Cobb RCAF. With no access to the site, the group had to trail-blaze its way through the forest guided by an observation plane which would nose dive to indicate the location of the wreckage. [7] According to Cobb's testimony, all passengers were killed on impact, which was also confirmed by Dr. J.-A. Melançon, the coroner, who reported the deaths as being accidental. [9][10] The aircraft had caught fire with only some assemblies, the rear fuselage and the engines having been spared by the blaze. Of the crew and passengers, only three bodies could be identified. [2] At an altitude of 875 m (2,871 ft), the Black Mountain (La Montagne Noire) is the highest point of the region of Saint-Donat. While the exact cause of the accident is still unknown, it was later discovered that its height was not correctly reported on contemporary navigation maps. Given the poor weather conditions on the night of the crash, it is very likely that the pilot noticed the mountain too late to climb away from it. [8][11] Not very long after the discovery of the wreckage, the debris was gathered into piles. The matter of bringing the remains of the lost soldiers out from the scene for burial in Ottawa was discussed at length between military authorities, and in the end it was decided that they should remain in place due to the impossibility of identifying all of them. In the afternoon of 3 July 1946, friends and family of the crew and passengers along with many members of the RCAF and religious authorities climbed the mountain to pay their respects to the dead and hold a funeral. Three religious services were held on that afternoon: Catholic, Protestant and Jewish. A plaque displaying the names of the victims was installed on the rock at the foot of which the remains were buried. For several years, the site would be maintained by local men paid on a small budget given by the Canadian Armed Forces. [2][8][11] During the summer of 1985, after having been notified of a desecration,[11][12] the Canadian branch of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission decided to move the remains to the parish cemetery in Saint-Donat. There, a monument was erected to display the names of the victims along with a commemorative plaque. [2] On 30 June 1996, 50 years after the tragedy, a service attended by veterans of the 10 BR and locals was held at the crash site with flyovers by the Snowbirds. A funerary obelisk produced by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission and dedicated to the 24 soldiers was also unveiled in the cemetery in Saint-Donat where the remains were now buried. [2][13] Owing to the increasing number of visits the site was getting, partly due to its fame but also because the InterCentre trail was passing through, it was decided that it had to be reorganized in a more sustainable way. In the summer of 2000, work was undertaken to build stairs and a flag pole, and install informative plaques. Crosses for each of the victims were put in place and a small cenotaph was erected. [14] The cenotaph lists on its sides the rank and name of each deceased person and has on its front a pictograph of the ill-fated plane and the following text: In memory of the twenty four members of the Royal Canadian Air Force who lost their lives in the crash of the Liberator Harry bomber on Montagne Noire on 20 October 1943[15] On 15 June 2013, to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the accident, a ceremony was held at the site with military music and flyovers of a CF-18 from the RCAF. In anticipation of this day and in order to make the site more accessible to less capable hikers, the path to the monument was improved, allowing it to be reached in less than 3 hours by foot from a parking lot at the bottom of the mountain. [16][17][18] On 29–30 September 2018, to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the tragedy, a ceremony was held on the crash site itself the first day and at the Saint-Donat cemetery the next day. [19]

Air crash

Official: A dozen homes in north Scottsdale evacuated to investigate an underground gas leak

SCOTTSDALE, AZ — As many as 20 homes in a neighborhood in northeast Scottsdale were evacuated because of a reported underground gas leak Thursday. A spokesperson for the Scottsdale Fire Department said that multiple hazardous materials teams, more than 200 firefighters, and Southwest Gas representatives were in the area of McDowell Mountain Ranch Road and Paradise Lane to investigate the leak, which was upgraded to a third-alarm hazmat incident Thursday afternoon. Fire Captain Dave Folio told reporters that residents began reporting an odor around 2:30 p.m. Recent Stories from abc15.com Folio originally said the residents of at least 20 homes had voluntarily evacuated and that more than 300 homes were without electricity and gas. As of Friday all evacuations have been lifted. No injuries have been reported. No additional details were immediately released. Watch live video from Air15: Last month, four people inside a strip mall in Chandler were seriously injured after a gas leak led to an explosion. Citing its preliminary investigation, Southwest Gas said the type of natural gas pipe that leaked -- known as Driscopipe 8000 -- can prematurely degrade, especially under Arizona's hot weather conditions. Below is dash-cam video of the Aug. 26 explosion in Chandler that was shared with ABC15.

Gas explosion

1989 Australian pilots' strike

The 1989 Australian pilots' dispute was one of the most expensive and dramatic industrial disputes in Australia's history. It was co-ordinated by the Australian Federation of Air Pilots (AFAP) after a prolonged period of wage suppression, to support its campaign for a large pay increase (which it quantified at 29.5%). The dispute began impacting the public on 18 August 1989 with pilots working "9-5" and was never formally resolved due to the mass resignation of pilots, cancellation of their award and de-recognition of their union. As part of this campaign, AFAP pilots imposed on their employers (Ansett Australia, East-West, Ipec and Australian Airlines) a limitation on the hours they were prepared to work, arguing that if they were to be treated in exactly the same way as other employee groups (the stance adopted by the Government), their work conditions should also be the same. This initially took the form of making themselves available for flying duties only within the normal office working hours of 9am to 5pm. The dispute severely disrupted domestic air travel in Australia and had a major detrimental impact on the tourism industry and many other businesses. A few days earlier, Labor Prime Minister Bob Hawke declared a national emergency and allowed Royal Australian Air Force planes and pilots and overseas aircraft and pilots to provide services. [1] The RAAF provided limited domestic air services to ease the impact of the dispute. The employers recruited new pilots from overseas, and for a while, some overseas airlines operated charter 737 and 757 aircraft on east coast routes, and travel between Perth and the East Coast was also possible via Singapore, using international flights. The dispute was superficially resolved after the mass resignation of a significant number of domestic airline pilots to avoid litigation from the employers. The RAAF ceased ‘public transport operations’ on 15 December 1989, by 31 December 1989 regular leasing of seats on international flights ceased and, by 12 January 1990, the Government ceased its waiver of landing charges. The airlines were able to slowly return to normal schedules as they hired replacement pilots. Thus no specific date can be set for when the dispute stopped impacting flights, tourism and the economy. Ansett, Australian Airlines, East-West and Ipec no longer exist. East-West was a subsidiary of Ansett in 1989, and was absorbed fully in 1993. Australian Airlines was merged with Qantas in 1992. Ipec was acquired by Toll Holdings in 1998. The dispute crippled the Australian Federation of Air Pilots and cleared the road to airline industry deregulation. [1]

Strike

Don’t Miss: Partial Lunar Eclipse, Venus, Saturn, and Jupiter – November 2021 Skywatching Tips From NASA

What’s Up for November? Sunset planets, a partial lunar eclipse, and the return of the winter stars. From November 6th through the 11th, watch the Moon glide past Venus, Saturn, and Jupiter after sunset in the south/southwest. In particular, if you step outside for a look on November 7th, you’ll find the four-day-old crescent Moon just about 2 degrees away from Venus. Should be really pretty, so don’t miss it. Sky chart for November 7 following sunset, showing Venus only 2 degrees apart from the crescent Moon in the southwest. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech And from now through early December, you’ll find Jupiter and Saturn drawing a little closer to Venus each night. A partial lunar eclipse is on the way, taking place overnight on November 18th and 19th, when the Moon slips into Earth’s shadow for a couple of hours. Weather permitting, the eclipse will be visible from any location where the Moon appears above the horizon during the eclipse. Depending on your time zone, it’ll occur earlier or later in the evening for you. Map showing the visibility of the November 18-19 partial lunar eclipse. Darker areas indicate greater visibility. Check local details for visibility near you. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech Now that’s a huge swath of the planet that’ll be able to see at least part of the eclipse, including North and South America, Eastern Asia, Australia, and the Pacific Region. So check the timing of its visibility for your area. For U.S. East Coast observers, the partial eclipse begins a little after 2 a.m., reaching its maximum at 4 in the morning. For observers on the West Coast, that translates to beginning just after 11 p.m., with a maximum at 1 a.m. Partial lunar eclipses might not be quite as spectacular as total lunar eclipses – where the Moon is completely covered in Earth’s shadow – but they occur more frequently. And that just means more opportunities to witness little changes in our solar system that sometimes occur right before our eyes. All month long, if you’re up late and cast your gaze toward the east, you’ll notice some familiar companions have begun rising late in the night. The familiar stars of Northern winter skies are returning, rising late at night and sitting high in the south by dawn. Sky chart showing the locations of several of the Trojan asteroids to be visited by NASA’s recently launched Lucy spacecraft They are too faint to see without a large telescope, but their positions in the sky are near the Pleiades star cluster. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech You’ll find the Pleiades star cluster leading the constellations Taurus the bull and the hunter Orion, followed by the brightest star in the sky, Sirius – all of them back to keep us company on the long winter nights here in the Northern Hemisphere. (And for those in the Southern Hemisphere, they’re keeping you company on shorter nights as spring gives way to summer there.) A fun note about the Pleiades this month is that several of the 8 asteroids to be visited by NASA’s Lucy mission are located in that part of the sky. The Lucy spacecraft launches from Space Launch Complex 41, Saturday, Oct. 16, 2021, at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls The Lucy spacecraft launched on October 16th on its 12-year mission to visit a bunch of special asteroids called the Trojans. They share the orbit of Jupiter, with a group of them leading the planet, and another group following behind it. Lucy will be the first space mission to explore this unique group of asteroids, providing new insights about the formation and early history of our solar system. I really enjoyed the animated astronomical depictions – very informative and helpful to my understanding. I would love to see a similar animation that explains why the Pleiades and Orion appear in the winter sky when they do. I’ve been hearing many rumors of late that the earth is “flat”. What say you and what has NASA been hiding from us all these years. Another rumor I’ve heard is that Neil Armstrong never walked on the moon…I believe Mr. Armstrong himself admitted that. Oh the many tangled webs and possible lies we’ve been led to believe all these years. Hmmmmm We shall see won’t we. Though so much advances but so far nathing progress of finding track of journey from death to rebirth&how leaving&entering

New wonders in nature

White-bearded bank robber shouts 'Merry Christmas' and throws cash into the air, reports say

A man with a white beard robbed a Colorado bank and threw the stolen cash into the air while shouting "Merry Christmas" to passersby, police and local media reported on Tuesday. David Wayne Oliver, 65, was arrested at a nearby Starbucks coffee shop after he held up the Academy Bank in Colorado Springs on Monday afternoon, according to a police report. Police said the suspect had "threatened the use of a weapon" and left the bank with an undisclosed amount of cash. A police spokesperson could not immediately be reached for comment, but Colorado Springs television station KKTV reported that eyewitness Dion Pascale recounted Mr Oliver stepping outside the bank and tossing the money "all over the place". "He started throwing money out of the bag" before yelling "Merry Christmas", the TV station quoted Pascale as saying. Pascale said bystanders retrieved some of the money and returned it to the bank as Mr Oliver walked to the Starbucks, sat down and appeared to wait for police to arrest him, KKTV reported. The Denver Post quoted police as saying "thousands of dollars" remained unaccounted for, adding there was no indication Oliver used a weapon in the heist. Mr Oliver was being held at the El Paso County jail on $10,000 bond and was set to make his first court appearance on Thursday, jail records showed. It was not clear from the records whether he had a lawyer.

Bank Robbery

Long dormant volcano comes to life in southwestern Iceland

REYKJAVIK, Iceland (AP) — A long dormant volcano on the Reykjanes Peninsula in southwestern Iceland flared to life Friday night, spilling lava down two sides in that area’s first volcanic eruption in nearly 800 years. Initial aerial footage, posted on the Facebook page of the Icelandic Meteorological Office, showed a relatively small eruption so far, with two streams of lava running in opposite directions. The glow from the lava could be seen from the outskirts of Iceland’s capital, Reykjavík, which is about 32 kilometers (20 miles) away. The Department of Emergency Management said it was not anticipating evacuations because the volcano is in a remote valley, about 2.5 kilometers (1.5 miles) from the nearest road. The Fagradals Mountain volcano had been dormant for 6,000 years, and the Reykjanes Peninsula hadn’t seen an eruption of any volcano in 781 years. There had been signs of a possible eruption recently, with earthquakes occurring daily for the past three weeks. But volcanologists were still taken by surprise because the seismic activity had calmed down before the eruption.

Volcano Eruption

Boom or bust: Saigon bank robber threatens staff with ‘bomb’

The woman, who was masked and unidentified, but seemed to be over 30 years of age, entered the bank at around 11 a.m. from Truong Vinh Ky Street. She brought a hand bag into the branch, located on the ground floor of a three-storey building, according to a security guard. When staff tried to stop her from entering since the bank had already closed, she asked to be let in to "take stuffs." She then headed straight to an employee's table, put a bag on it, which contained multiple mini gas tanks, gasoline, flickering lights and other gadgets, claiming it was a bomb. The woman then poured gasoline on the table and requested the employee to put VND2 billion into the bag. After getting the money, the robber blocked access into the bank by sealing the doors with wire, jumped into a taxi and escaped. "The whole ordeal took place in around five minutes," said a witness. As of 2:30 p.m., the street section near the bank has been barricaded. Firefighters were dispatched to the scene in response to the suspected bomb threat. An investigation is ongoing. UPDATED: The woman has been identified as 24-year-old Phung Thi Thang from the northern Bac Giang Province. She was caught inside a mall three hours after escaping from the bank. Investigations revealed that Thang often joined game shows on television and other ventures as an attempt to get into showbiz. But it did not pay off and she lost a lot of money. Due to her precarious financial situation, she decided to rob a bank. Robber bank in Vietnam so easy man !

Bank Robbery

Joint Military Excercise 'ATATURK-XI' holds by Pakistan and Turkey

Pakistan and Turkey’s joint military exercise, ‘ATATURK-XI’, kicked off in Tarbela to help in adapting the emerging trends in military modernisation and cooperation. The military’s media wing Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said in a statement that the opening ceremony of Pakistan-Turkey joint military exercise ‘ATATURK-XI’ 2021 held at Special Service Headquarters in Terbela. pakistan turkey joint military exercise ataturk-xi The joint exercise will be continued for three weeks with the participation of the personnel of Turkish Special Forces and Special Service Group (SSG). pakistan turkey joint military exercise ataturk-xi The ‘ATATURK-XI’ exercise includes counter-terrorism, close quarter battle, cordon and search, rappelling, fire and move techniques, helicopter rappelling, compound clearance, hostage and rescue and free fall operations, it added. pakistan turkey joint military exercise ataturk-xi The joint military exercise is aimed at sharing the mutual experience and information of Pakistani and Turkish troops in counterterrorism domain besides strengthening the bond of the brotherly nations.

Military Exercise

Somalia famine 'killed 260,000 people'

Nearly 260,000 people died during the famine that hit Somalia from 2010 to 2012, a study shows. Half of them were children under the age of five, says the report by the UN and the US-funded Famine Early Warning Systems Network (Fews Net). The UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) said humanitarian aid needed to be provided more quickly. The crisis was caused by a severe drought, worsened by conflict between rival groups fighting for power. The number of deaths was higher than the estimated 220,000 people who died during the 1992 famine. Rudi Van Aaken, the deputy head of the FAO operation for Somalia, told the BBC that the response had been too slow. "I think the main lesson learned is that the humanitarian community should be ready to take early action - respond early on." "Responding only when the famine is declared is very very ineffective. Actually about half of the casualties were there before the famine was already declared." The FAO said earlier that the "true enormity of this human tragedy" had emerged for the first time from the study, done jointly with Fews Net. "By nature, estimating mortality in emergencies is an imprecise science, but given the quantity and quality of data that were available, we are confident in the strength of the study," said Fews Net official Chris Hillbruner. "It suggests that what occurred in Somalia was one of the worst famines in the last 25 years," he added. The UN first declared a famine in July 2011 in Somalia's Southern Bakool and Lower Shabelle regions. They were controlled by the militant Islamist group al-Shabab, which is aligned to al-Qaeda. Al-Shabab denied there was a famine and banned several Western aid agencies from operating on territory under its control. The famine later spread to other areas, including Middle Shabelle, Afgoye, and at camps for displaced people in the government-controlled capital, Mogadishu. An estimated 4.6% of the total population and 10% of children under five died in southern and central Somalia, the report says. In Lower Shabelle, 18% of children under five died and in Mogadishu 17%, the report said. Somalia was worst hit by the extreme drought in 2011 that affected more than 13 million people across the Horn of Africa. Tens of thousands of people fled their homes in search of food. The UN declared the famine over in February 2012. "While conditions in Somalia have improved in recent months, the country still has one of the highest rates of child malnutrition and infant mortality in the world," Ben Foot, from the charity Save the Children, said in a statement. The UK government has said that at a conference it is hosting on Somalia's future next week it will set out policies on how to tackle the root cause of famine and contain the effects of drought. The UK's International Development Secretary Justine Greening said Somalia's famine had been "one of the worst disasters of recent times," During more than 20 years of civil war, Somalia has seen clan-based warlords, rival politicians and Islamist militants battle for control - a situation that has allowed lawlessness to flourish. Last September, a UN-backed government came to power, after eight years of transitional rule, bringing some stability to some areas.

Famine

One Woman Dead After Collision At Intersection of Court St. & Rd. 88

Considerable cloudiness with occasional rain showers. High 59F. Winds SSW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 50%.. Showers early, then partly cloudy overnight. Low 41F. Winds SW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 40%. Updated: November 12, 2021 @ 5:06 am SPOKANE, Wash- Maxine Davis was a beloved member of the Spok… Pasco, WA - In 1942, the Pasco Airport was Naval Air Station… PASCO, WA Pasco Police say they were dispatched to a collision involving two cars Saturday night around 7:13 pm. The crash happened at the intersection at Court St. and Road 88. This is a developing story, which means information could change. We are working to report timely and accurate information as we get it.

Road Crash

The provision aimed to give a path to citizenship for millions, including so-called Dreamer immigrants, brought to the United States as children, who are protected from deportation under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program

Immigration rights activists at a rally in Washington in 2019. The proposed provision aimed to give a path to citizenship for millions, including so-called Dreamer immigrants. WASHINGTON (REUTERS) - Senate Democrats hit a major roadblock on Sunday (Sept 19) in their effort to allow millions of immigrants to legally stay in the United States, after the Senate Parliamentarian ruled against attaching the measure to a US$3.5 trillion (S$4.72 trillion) spending bill, lawmakers said. The provision aimed to give a path to citizenship for millions, including so-called Dreamer immigrants, brought to the United States as children, who are protected from deportation under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. Farmworkers, essential workers and immigrants with temporary protected status, which gives work permits and deportation relief to those hailing from nations hit by violence or natural disasters, also stood to benefit. In a statement, Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer said Democrats were "deeply disappointed in this decision but the fight to provide lawful status for immigrants in budget reconciliation continues." Senate Democrats have prepared alternate proposals and aimed to hold further meetings with the Senate parliamentarian, Schumer added. A legislative remedy has become all the more pressing since a July court ruling that struck down DACA, which now protects around 640,000 young immigrants. Sunday's ruling was "deeply disappointing," a White House spokesperson said, but added, "We fully expect our partners in the Senate to come back with alternative immigration-related proposals for the parliamentarian to consider." On Twitter, Senator Chuck Grassley, the Judiciary Committee's top Republican, praised the parliamentarian's ruling, saying, "Mass amnesty for millions of illegal immigrants isn't a budgetary issue appropriate for reconciliation." Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell said, "Democrats will not be able to stuff their most radical amnesty proposals into the reckless taxing and spending spree they are assembling behind closed doors." An estimate in Senate Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough's ruling, obtained by Reuters, showed the step would have helped about 8 million people become lawful permanent residents, including about 7 million now deemed to infringe the law. MacDonough said that if the reform were allowed to proceed in a budget bill a future Senate could then rescind anyone's immigration status on the basis of a majority vote. That would be a "stunning development ... and is further evidence that the policy changes of this proposal far outweigh the budgetary impact scored to it," she added. "It is not appropriate for inclusion in reconciliation." Lawful permanent status allows people to work, travel, live openly in US society and become eligible, in time, to apply for citizenship, MacDonough said. As the Senate's parliamentarian, MacDonough, in the job since 2012 under both Republicans and Democrats, advises lawmakers about what is acceptable under the chamber's rules and precedents, sometimes with lasting consequences. Chosen by the Senate majority leader, the holder of the job is expected to be non-partisan. Early this year, MacDonough barred inclusion of a minimum wage hike in a Covid-19 aid bill.

Financial Aid

Fall armyworm reportedly appears in Upper Egypt

The chief of Egypt’s farmers syndicate, Hussien Abdel-Rahman Abu-Sadam warned Friday that some farmers in Sohag governorate, Upper Egypt, are complaining of a worm that eats up their crops, especially maize, which is believed to be the fall armyworm. He warned that this is amongst the most dangerous pests that have entered Egypt recently. The armyworm was first discovered in Egypt in May 2019 within the governorates of Aswan, Luxor and Qena. Its arrival in Sohag would be a disaster threatening farmers. The insect travels about 100 kilometers per night, he said. Its life cycle does not exceed thirty days in the summer and may reach ninety days in the winter. A single insect can lay about 2000 eggs at one time, which hatch quickly over three days in the summer. The larva of this insect feeds on more than 80 types of agricultural crops grown in Egypt, such as corn, wheat, rice, cotton, alfalfa and most other vegetable and fruit crops. The chief of Egypt’s farmers syndicate said that maize is one of the favored crops for this insect. No country in Africa is completely free of the pest as it migrates in large groups and quickly adapts to a new environment. He said that the best way to combat it now is to spray with insecticides. Some countries even use drones to exterminate this insect after the failure of traditional methods of spraying as this insect is active after sunset, which makes it difficult to eradicate it by traditional methods.

Insect Disaster

'Jobs swinging in the balance', Shorten claims, after government rips up Victoria's controversial China deal

The government's decision to rip up Victoria's controversial Belt and Road deal with China could cost a lot of Australian jobs, Bill Shorten has warned. The Federal Government scrapped two deals linked with the $1.5 trillion global infrastructure initiative overnight in a move that's inflamed tensions with Beijing. It is the first use of new Commonwealth powers to cancel any state or territory agreement believed to be against national interests. Two other agreements with Iran and Syria, dating back as long as 22 years ago, were also binned. READ MORE: China hits back after controversial deal with Victoria scrapped While Mr Shorten welcomes the move, he said the ramifications will be costly for Australian trade. "It's important the Morrison Government takes control of our relations with China," the Shadow Minister for Government Services said. "A lot of viewers this morning would be surprised to know in the last few years we're now more dependant on China trade than ever...we have got a lot of ships tied up, coal and wine and you know our food. "There's a lot of jobs swinging in - there's a lot of jobs swinging in the balance." China has warned the move will have serious repercussions. "This is another unreasonable and provocative move taken by the Australian side against China," a spokesperson said in a statement. "It further shows that the Australian government has no sincerity in improving China-Australia relations. "It is bound to bring further damage to bilateral relations, and will only end up hurting itself." Victoria's involvement with the Belt and Road Initiative has come under increasing scrutiny given Australia's tensions with China in recent months. Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews defended his state's agreement with China.Moving forward, Mr Shorten said the Federal Government needs to simultaneously ease tensions with China, while building trade relations with other Asian countries. "The government needs to get their relations right with China because a lot of jobs are at risk," he said."We've been feeding this relationship. We've been happy to trade. And now what's happened is we have woken up one-day and found out we niece to diversify. It's like a big ocean liner - you can't turn it around on a 20 cent coin. "What we need to do is put the time in to build our relations with the rest of Asia."

Tear Up Agreement

Aeroflot Flight 51 crash

Aeroflot Flight 51 was a scheduled domestic passenger flight operated by an Antonov An-24 that crashed on approach to Liepāja International Airport on 30 December 1967, resulting in the death of 43 of the 51 people on board. To date, it is the deadliest aviation accident in Latvian history. [1] The investigation revealed the cause of the accident to be pilot error. Flight 51 was a scheduled passenger flight from Riga to Liepaja. On approach to Liepāja International Airport the airliner entered the glide slope at a speed of 300 km/h and an altitude of 300 meters instead of the recommended 220 km/h at 200 meters. The aircrew elected to use reverse thrust to slow the too fast and high Antonov for landing but then declared a missed approach and attempted to go around. The crew increased the thrust of both engines and retracted the flaps and landing gear. The right engine began delivering forward thrust but the left engine was still in reverse thrust. The aircraft entered a roll to the left with rapidly decreasing altitude and struck the ground at a pitch angle of 0 degrees 250 meters left of the approach path in a snow-covered field. Because the landing gear was retracted the lower fuselage then left propeller contacted the ground before and aircraft gained altitude and became airborne again, the left propeller vibrating severely. The airliner covered 140 meters then struck a telephone pole severing 3 meters of the right wing along with part of its aileron. The aircraft yawed right and continued flying for 1,270 meters with an increasing bank angle to the right until it struck the ground heavily at a bank angle of 48 degrees. There was no fire at the crash scene, but the Antonov was completely destroyed. [2][3][1] The aircraft involved was an Antonov An-24B, serial number 67302909 and registered as CCCP-46215 to Aeroflot. The construction of the airliner was completed on 30 November 1966 and had sustained a total of 1,934 flight hours before the crash. [2][3][1] After a detailed examination of the accident, investigators reported the chain of events leading to the crash. The flight entered the glide slope with excess speed and too high. The crew's improper use of reverse thrust in flight and their inability to take the left engine out of beta thrust mode in a timely manner. The premature retraction of the flaps and landing gear during the go around attempt was a contributing factor in the crash. [2]

Air crash

Couple found dead in bed from suspected carbon monoxide poisoning

After a woman and her husband didn’t show up to collect their son from school, her mother made a horrifying discovery at the home. This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. End of dialog window. This is a modal window. This modal can be closed by pressing the Escape key or activating the close button. Patty Mills PRECISION! Aussie goes crazy vs Giddey's OKC 02:02 Kikau signs 4-year deal with Bulldogs 00:35 4WD seized by police in relation to missing campers suspect 00:11 Video paused due to user inactivity Continue watching? A married couple were found dead in bed after the mum “didn’t show up at school to collect her son”. Michael and Maria Greenaway, both in their thirties, were found lifeless at their Cotswolds home in the UK last week after suspected carbon monoxide poisoning. Mr Greenaway and his wife died in their house in Cirencester, Gloucs, and were found last Monday, May 10. Ms Greenaway’s nine-year-old son had been staying with his grandma the night before, according to a friend of the family. The grandma realised something was wrong when the boy’s school called to say Ms Greenaway didn’t pick up her son on Monday afternoon. Ms Greenaway’s mum was forced to break down the front door, then found Ms Greenaway and her husband in bed. RELATED: Horror way couple died in hotel shower ‘Won’t forget you’ Emergency services attended the scene, where the pair were pronounced dead – with police still treating the incident as “unexplained”. Family have been told initial findings suggest they died from carbon monoxide poisoning, a friend of Ms Greenaway’s wrote online. Inquests were opened and adjourned today at Gloucestershire Coroner’s Court. The hearing was told their formal cause of death has not yet been established. Mr Greenaway was described in a family statement as a “happy go lucky” brother and son, who will be missed by many. “We as a family are heartbroken at our loss,” the statement read. “Michael has left behind his parents, mum Karen, dad Martin, sisters Manph and Emma, and much loved daughter, Millie. “Michael was a fun loving and happy go lucky boy. “He usually had a smile on his face. Michael was our little diamond and his early departure will leave a massive hole in our hearts for ever.” RELATED: Mum’s warning after son’s holiday death Floods of tributes also poured in for the pair on social media. One friend of Maria wrote: “Fly high angel won’t forget you. Still can’t believe you gone, won’t forget you.” Gloucester Police said that the deaths “are still being treated as unexplained and inquiries to establish the cause of death are ongoing”. This article originally appeared on The Sun and is republished here with permission A man has been arrested on suspicion of murdering a couple as their children slept upstairs following a dispute over parking. The space race has taken a dark turn as Russia proves its new “Star Warrior” weapon is capable of destroying satellites up to 800km away. Dozens of people have been “burnt to ash” in a fiery bus crash, including a mum who reportedly died clutching her twins.

Mass Poisoning

Suspect sought in armed robbery of Montgomery bank

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (WSFA) - The Montgomery Police Department is investigating a Wednesday afternoon bank robbery on Zelda Road. While MPD, as a policy, declines to specifically identify businesses, multiple police units were found outside the Regions Bank building in the 2700 block of Zelda Road. MPD spokeswoman Capt. Saba Coleman said responding officers were notified that the unknown suspect came into the business, pulled a weapon, demanded money, then fled the scene on foot. Coleman said there were no injuries in the robbery and that no arrests have been made. Regions spokeswoman Jennifer Ardis Elmore sent the following statement: “The safety of Regions’ associates and customers is our top priority. We are thankful no one was injured in today’s incident. The holidays can give rise to criminal activity, and our teams are working closely with local authorities to increase patrol around our facilities while the investigation moves forward. Regions has structures in place year-round to address criminal activity. It will not be tolerated.”

Bank Robbery

Rosenthal Heights woman’s lunch break boredom busted by $10,000 Instant Scratch-Its windfall

Updated 9 November 2021 - 11:58 am, first published at 9 November 2021 - 9:44 am A Rosenthal Heights woman was delighted to discover the Instant Scratch-Its ticket she grabbed as a lunch break boredom buster revealed a top prize worth $10,000. Her top prize winning $1 Boo Bucks ticket was purchased at TSG Warwick, Shop 10, Rose City Shoppingworld, 81 Palmerin Street, Warwick. Speaking with an official from The Lott, the hard-working woman relayed how the windfall came about. “It was really unusual! I was on my lunch break and walking around the shopping centre. I was really bored,” she shared. “I decided to purchase $5 worth of Instant Scratch-Its tickets to relieve my boredom. I don’t usually purchase them. “As I was scratching them, I realised I’d won $20! I used the prize money to buy another Instant Scratch-Its ticket. I was feeling pretty lucky. “I was with my partner, and she said to me, ‘wouldn’t it be funny if you threw out a winning Instant Scratch-Its ticket’. “The next thing we knew, I scratched $10,000! I’ve always thought, ‘I’m never lucky enough to win a big prize’. I was in shock.” When asked how she planned to enjoy her instant windfall, the hard-working woman said she already knew exactly what she was going to do. “My partner and I have been wanting to purchase a house for a very long time. We’ve been renting for years and think it’s time to change things up!” she revealed. “The winnings will go towards a house deposit.” TSG Warwick team member Christina Monks said it was the first major lottery prize they’d sold. “It’s incredible! We’ve had a lot of smaller division wins, but never a major prize. This is also our first Instant Scratch-Its top prize,” she said. “I was fortunate enough to be there when she scratched the top prize. She seemed stunned and couldn’t believe it! “We would like to say a huge congratulations to the winner, and hope the prize goes to something special.” In FY21, there were 176 Instant Scratch-Its top prize winners across The Lott’s jurisdictions who collectively took home more than $14.17 million in top prizes. During this same time, Instant Scratch-Its players enjoyed more than 31.2 million wins across all prize tiers worth more than $274.31 million. This equates to more than $750,000 won on Instant Scratch-Its every day.

Awards ceremony

The U.S. withdraws from UNESCO

The United States announced Thursday that it is withdrawing from the United Nations Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), citing financial considerations, the need for reform and the organization’s “continuing anti-Israel bias.” In a statement, State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said that the decision was “not taken lightly and reflects US concerns with mounting arrears at UNESCO, the need for fundamental reform within the organization and continuing anti-Israel bias at UNESCO.” Nauert said Washington would establish an “observer mission” to replace its representation at the Paris-based agency. The withdrawal will take effect on December 31, 2018. The head of UNESCO Irina Bokova voiced “profound regret” over the decision, which she called a “loss to multilateralism.” “I wish to express profound regret at the decision of the United States of America to withdraw from UNESCO,” Bokova said in a statement. Israel’s Ambassador to the UN, Danny Danon, said UNESCO has become a forum for Israel-bashing and had forgotten its original purpose. It was now “paying the price” for the “shameful” decisions it has adopted against Israel, he said, citing “a new era” dawning at the UN in which “anti-Israel discrimination” has consequences. According to a Foreign Policy magazine report on Wednesday, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson made the decision to withdraw several weeks ago at the UN General Assembly, but the State Department urged Washington to remain in the organization until a new director-general is voted in the coming weeks. Washington has also been trying to mitigate the mounting unpaid dues it owes to the organization since it suspended its funding after UNESCO granted full membership to Palestine in 2011. Many saw the vote to include Palestine as evidence of long-running, ingrained anti-Israel bias within the United Nations, where Israel and its allies are far outnumbered by Arab countries and their supporters. Washington’s unpaid dues have now reached $500 million, and Tillerson is trying to “stop the bleeding,” the magazine said. The Trump administration has been preparing for a likely withdrawal for months, according to US officials. Several diplomats who were to have been posted to the mission this summer were told that their positions were on hold and advised to seek other jobs. In addition, the Trump administration’s proposed budget for the next fiscal year contains no provision for the possibility that UNESCO funding restrictions might be lifted. The lack of staffing and funding plans for UNESCO by the US have been accompanied by repeated denunciations of UNESCO by senior US officials, including US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley. The US pulled out of UNESCO in the 1980s because Washington viewed it as mismanaged and used for political reasons, then rejoined it in 2003. UNESCO member states, meanwhile, are voting on a new director-general, in a process marked by intense diplomatic wrangling between the seven candidates. Arab countries have long wanted to lead the organization, though divisions over Palestinian membership have complicated their push.

Withdraw from an Organization

Spartanburg woman receives 8-year sentence for fatal hit and run

SPARTANBURG, S.C. (WSPA) – A Spartanburg woman received an 8-year prison sentence and 5 years of probation after she admitted to fleeing the scene of a fatal wreck and filing a false police report in April. Casey Marie Schinestuhl, 24, pleaded guilty to hit and run involving death and filing a false police report. We previously reported that Elijah N. Major, 18, of Spartanburg, died April 16 after being hit by a vehicle on Sha Lane. Troopers said the crash happened at 5:40 a.m. when Major was hit by Schinestuhl’s black Nissan while he walked on the shoulder of the road toward Highway 221. Major died at the scene of the wreck. According to the Spartanburg Solicitor’s Office, Schinestuhl drove away from the wreck and filed a report with the Highway Patrol claiming to be the victim of a hit & run wreck on I-85. Schinestuhl posted photos of her wrecked car on Facebook in the hours following the collision. The post read, “I’m okay ya’ll, My first accident ever. A 18 wheeler hit me this morning and Sally is now on her way to the body shop to see if she’s fixable or if we get her totaled.” Highway Patrol investigators utilized security video from a nearby business and debris found at the wreck scene to determine the black Nissan was responsible for the wreck. Schinestuhl turned herself into the Sheriff’s Office on April 17. She also gave a statement admitting to her actions. Major’s family said Elijah was walking to work at the Holiday Inn when the wreck occurred. Elijah walked to get in shape to join the military in the future. The judge issued a 15-year prison sentence suspended to 8 years of service, 5 years of probation and a $10,000 fine.

Famous Person - Commit Crime - Sentence

Man Dies in Equipment Collapse at Inactive Mine Site

Authorities say a man working to to tear down old silos at an inactive mine in West Virginia died when one of the structures collapsed on equipment he was operating. Man Dies in Equipment Collapse at Inactive Mine Site MADISON, W.Va. (AP) — A man working to to tear down old silos at an inactive mine in West Virginia died when one of the structures collapsed on equipment he was operating, authorities said. James Simpkins, 73, owned a recycling company that was tearing down the silos Wednesday at the former Hobet mine in Boone County, Danville Fire Chief Justin Chafin told news outlets. One of the silos fell on an excavator Simpkins was operating, he said. Crews dug through the rubble and found Simpkins, who was pronounced dead at the scene, officials said. It is not clear what caused the collapse, but Chafin said it appears to be an accident.

Mine Collapses

At Least 19 Missing as Mudslide West of Tokyo Hits Houses

A powerful mudslide carrying a deluge of black water and debris crashed into rows of houses in a town west of Tokyo following heavy rains on Saturday, leaving at least 19 people missing, officials said. Dozens of homes may have been buried in Atami, a town known for hot springs, said Shizuoka prefecture spokesperson Takamichi Sugiyama. Public broadcaster NHK gave the number of missing people at 20, but Sugiyama said the prefecture confirmed at least 19, although he said the number may grow. Torrential rains have slammed parts of Japan starting earlier this week. Experts said dirt had been loosened, increasing landslide risks in a country filled with valleys and mountains. Shizuoka Gov. Heita Kawakatsu told reporters that the Coast Guard had discovered two people who had been washed into the sea by the mudslide. Their hearts had stopped, but their deaths were not yet officially declared, he said. Other details of their identity were not released. “I offer my deepest condolences to everyone who has suffered,” he said, adding that utmost efforts will be made to rescue lives. Both Kawakatsu and Sugiyama said it had been raining hard in the area all morning. Self-defense forces will join firefighters and police in the rescue operation, and a minister from the national government had also arrived, they said. Japanese media reports said Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga called an emergency meeting for his Cabinet. Evacuation warnings were issued for a wide area, including the so-called “Level 5,” which is the highest possible alert. The landslides appeared to have struck multiple times, about as fast as a car. Footage showed a powerful, black mudslide slither down a mountain, knocking over and crushing houses and sweeping away cars in its path. Helpless neighbors watched in horror, some recording on their phones. NHK TV footage showed a part of a bridge had collapsed. Atami is a quaint seaside resort area in Shizuoka prefecture, about 100 kilometers southwest of Tokyo. The area that was hit by the mudslide, Izusan, includes hot springs, residential areas, shopping streets and a famous shrine.

Mudslides

2000 Americas Cricket Cup

The 2000 Americas Cricket Cup was an international cricket tournament held in Canada between 7 and 12 August 2000. It was the inaugural edition of what is now the ICC Americas Championship. The tournament was contested by the five associate members of the International Cricket Council (ICC) located in the ICC Americas development region – Argentina, Bermuda, Canada, the Cayman Islands, and the United States. [1] It was played as a round-robin, with each participant playing the other once. The home team, Canada, won all four of its matches, with Bermuda runner-up. [2] Canada's captain, Joseph Harris, was the player of the tournament. [1]

Sports Competition

Rico Linhas Aéreas Flight 4823 crash

Rico Linhas Aéreas Flight 4823 was a short haul domestic Brazilian flight from Cruzeiro do Sul, and Tarauacá to Rio Branco. [1] On 30 August 2002, the Embraer EMB 120 Brasilia, registration PT-WRQ,[2] flying the route crashed in heavy rain. [1] Of the 31 aboard, 23 were killed, including all three crew members, and 20 of the 28 passengers. [1] As the Brasilia was on approach to Rio Branco, ground controllers granted the flight crew permission to land. The aircraft then entered a rainstorm and shortly after impacted with the ground tail first, 1.5 kilometres (0.93 mi; 0.81 nmi) from the airport. The fuselage broke into three sections and a fire broke out, damaging the airplane beyond repair. [2]

Air crash

1989–90 British ambulance strike

The 1989–1990 British ambulance strike was part of a dispute over pay between ambulance crews and the government with action lasting from 7 September 1989 to 23 February 1990. Ambulance workers were aggrieved that their pay had fallen behind that of firefighters, with which it had been linked in 1985. A government pay offer of 7.5% was rejected by the five ambulance workers unions who demanded a 25.8% rise. Union action started with an overtime ban but escalated to a full refusal of crews to attend non-emergency calls in November. The government used the British Army, volunteer ambulances and the police to mitigate the effects of the strike. A pay deal of 16.9% was reached on 23 February 1990 and the ambulance crews returned to work. The strike was regarded as a success for the union, who had carefully cultivated public opinion throughout. Ambulance provision in the United Kingdom was organised on a local basis by separate ambulance services. The pay and conditions of employees in these services had last been agreed by the Standing Commission on Pay Comparability in 1979. The commission recognised that morale was low and recommended a pay increase of 25.8% (at a time when annual inflation was around 16%). Despite this the ambulance workers had gone on strike in 1981–2 over pay, with emergency cover being provided by the police. As a result of the strike a new salary scale was agreed in November 1985, linking pay to that of firefighters. [1]:128 The fire brigades union (and police) secured favourable pay settlements which broke the link and, by 1989 ambulance workers were paid 11% less than firefighters. [1]:128 The ambulance workers, represented by five trade unions, considered they had been forgotten and that the service was being run "on the cheap". [2][1]:129 The unions sought to restore the link established in the 1985 settlement and petitioned the government for a £20 per week pay rise for their members. [1]:128[3] They also wanted funding to train their members in paramedic skills. [4] The Conservative government, led by Margaret Thatcher, was keen not to raise inflation by awarding further pay increases. [1]:129 It was also carrying out reform of the National Health Service and thought a win over the unions would help cement this. [1]:130 In May 1989 the government offered a 7.5% pay rise; the unions recommended that their members accept this but it was rejected by a large majority. [1]:131 The unions seem to have underestimated the feelings of their members. [1]:131 Ambulance service crews voted on 7 September by a 4:1 majority to implement an overtime ban and a ban on rest-day working from 13 September. The ambulance services had relied on these additional hours to provide non-emergency services such as the transport of patients between hospitals. [1]:131 The services mitigated the effect of the union action by using private taxis to transport patients and asking, where possible, that patients provide their own transport. [1]:131 The health secretary, Kenneth Clarke, rejected an offer by the unions to enter arbitration on 22 September, causing negotiations to collapse. [3][1]:142 Later that month ambulance service officers and controllers voted to join the overtime ban from 4 October, reducing the options available to the ambulance services. [1]:131 From late September the negotiating committees of the ambulance officers and ambulance crew unions agreed to operate jointly; despite previous tension between the two. [1]:131 Roger Poole was selected as chief negotiator for the workers in the dispute and eventually came to represent members from five separate unions. [3] Ambulance drivers in particular had been reliant upon overtime payments to supplement their basic wage and by early October were warning that they may have to soon return to work. The union responded in mid-October by escalating the action in an attempt to restart negotiations. A ban on some clerical work and non-urgent patient transfers was implemented. The latter caused issues as in previous actions doctors had responded by simply labelling all transfers as urgent, increasing the volume of work for the thinly stretched ambulance services. [1]:131 Other measures included lock-outs and sit-ins at depots and a public petition that eventually attracted 4 million signatures in support of the ambulance workers. [3] There was little government response to the new measures, apart from to put the British Army on standby from 30 October to provide ambulance services if needed. [1]:142 The unions escalated matters further from November with emergency ambulance crews restricted to emergency 999 calls only and not providing transfer services, as they had previously. [1]:131 The government responded to the union escalation by threatening to dock the pay of crews who refused to carry out non-emergency work or to suspend them. The unions then advised that if any member was suspended then all members in that ambulance service should declare themselves as suspended. However the union asked that these members continue to provide an emergency service, though they would be unpaid. [1]:132 In London some 2,500 ambulance workers, responsible for 455 ambulances in 71 depots, were suspended by 7 November. [5] The government thought that allowing ambulance workers to continue to respond to emergency calls on an unpaid basis would be bad publicity and the police and army were called in to provide emergency coverage. [1]:132 The first army ambulances were deployed on 8 November in London and, together with police and volunteer ambulance crews, ran 51 vehicles that day. [1]:132[5] This marked the first occasion that army ambulances had been used since the Winter of Discontent. [5] In Glasgow ambulance crews voted, by a narrow margin and against the advice of their union officials, for an all-out strike from 1 December, including the withdrawal of an emergency response. The strike lasted until 3 December and Scottish Secretary Malcolm Rifkind arranged for 30 army ambulances to provide emergency cover based out of Territorial Army (TA) drill halls. These, and police-manned ambulances, had responded to 200 calls by the early hours of 2 December. Rifkind alleged that the crews in Edinburgh had also refused to respond to emergency calls, though the crews disputed this. [2] By December the British Army were providing emergency ambulance services in Lincolnshire, Hertfordshire, Derbyshire and South Yorkshire. [1]:132 In Surrey Royal Navy and Royal Air Force drivers were also used, alongside ambulances single-crewed by ambulance service managers, to provide a service based out of police stations and TA drill halls. [6] The ambulance unions attempted to reopen negotiations by dropping demands for a cut to working hours, additional leave and further long service perks. The government refused to make any compromises and, with few options left the unions carried out further action in January. Crews were instructed to refuse calls put through by the ambulance service and to only respond to those made directly by the police, medical services and general public.

Strike

1982 El Salvador earthquake

The 1982 El Salvador earthquake occurred southeast of San Salvador on 19 June at 00:21 local time (06:21 UTC). This undersea earthquake struck offshore in the Pacific Ocean and had a surface wave magnitude of 7.2 and a maximum Mercalli intensity of VII (Very strong). Occurring adjacent to a subduction zone at the Middle America Trench, this normal-slip shock left at least 16 and as many as 43 people dead, and many injured, and also inflicted $5 million in damage. Near the Salvadorian coast, the Cocos Plate is subducting beneath the Caribbean Plate at the Middle America Trench. This earthquake was an intra-slab, normal-slip subduction earthquake in the subducting plate. The subduction zone and a local system of faults along the volcanic chain are two major sources of the earthquakes in El Salvador. [5] The mechanism of this earthquake had many similarities with the El Salvador earthquake of 13 January 2001. [6] The intensity in San Salvador reached VII (Very strong). The most affected cities are San Salvador, Ahuachapán, Concepción de Ataco, Comasagua, San Miguel, San Pedro Nonualco, and San Juan Tepezontes. [9] This earthquake could be felt in Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica, with intensities V (Moderate) in Guatemala City, Guatemala, IV (Light) in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, V in Managua, Nicaragua, and III (Weak) in San José, Costa Rica.

Earthquakes

Barbie Hsu announces divorce, Chinese husband taunts Taiwan

Wang Xiaofei and Barbie Hsu and the ring Wang gifted to her. (Weibo images) Wang Xiaofei and Barbie Hsu and the ring Wang gifted to her. (Weibo images) TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwanese actress Barbie Hsu (徐熙媛) on Saturday (June 5) announced that she is filing for divorce from her husband of 10 years after her spouse posted a rant mocking Taiwan for its handling of the pandemic and lavishing praise on China. At 10 a.m. on Saturday, Hsu, known to her fans as "Big S" (大S) confirmed to the Apple Daily, that "the divorce proceedings are underway. I will not comment on his words and actions." In an interview with Sina Finance, her husband, Chinese entrepreneur Wang Xiaofei (汪小菲), said that he was unaware of the divorce. Television producer Angie Chai (柴智屏), who is close friends with the couple, was cited by Liberty Times that day as saying, "She has made up her mind. I'm afraid their marriage is coming to an end." Hsu and Wang got married in March of 2011, but when the COVID-19 pandemic began, Hsu opted to stay in Taipei, while Wang frequently traveled back and forth between Taiwan and China. In March of this year, Wang gifted Hsu a high-priced diamond ring carved with their initials and the word "forever," writing on Weibo, "I hope you say 'I do' for another 10 years." However, Taiwanese media reported that the two clashed over Wang's strong political views in support of the communist regime in Beijing. At 1 p.m. on Saturday, Wang uploaded several photos on his Weibo page showing buildings under construction and opening ceremonies inside various businesses. In the post, Wang wrote that each of the three times he has returned to China during the pandemic, he has witnessed thriving domestic consumer demand. He claimed that during this period his company has signed contracts with 10 stores. He then criticized Taiwan's handling of the pandemic by writing, "On the other hand, my family in Taipei can't get the vaccine at all. This is so shameless and such low-class. This is the contrast, this is the gap." A friend of Hsu's was cited by Apple Daily as saying that Hsu has decided to divorce Wang for three reasons. The first is that they have different values, having been raised on different sides of the strait. Second, Hsu has been living in Taipei for many years, while Wang frequently travels to China, gradually causing them to drift apart. Lastly, Wang has often posted political comments criticizing Taiwan and praising China, leading to repeated clashes.

Famous Person - Divorce

Great Porcupine Fire

The Great Porcupine Fire of 1911 was one of the most devastating forest fires ever to strike the Ontario northland. Spring had come early that year, followed by an abnormally hot dry spell that lasted into the summer. This created ideal conditions for the ensuing disaster, in which a number of smaller fires converged. Porcupine, a community on the north side of Porcupine Lake, in the city of Timmins, Ontario, Canada, was the site of a huge gold discovery in 1907. On July 11, 1911, when the Porcupine Gold Rush was at its height, a gale from the southwest whipped some small bush fires into flames. As the fire gained strength, it engulfed the tinder-dry forest, razing everything in its path. The blaze formed a horseshoe-shaped front over 36 kilometres (22 mi) wide with flames shooting 30 metres (98 ft) into the air. It laid waste to about 200,000 hectares (over 494,000 acres) of forest and killed at least 70 people, though early reports indicated thousands. [1] Many people were drowned as they fled into Porcupine Lake to escape the flames, while others suffocated to death under the mines. At one point, a car of dynamite stored at the railway station exploded, lashing the lake into waves 3 metres (nine feet) high. The exact number of dead is not known as the vast forest in the region contained an unknown number of prospectors at the time of the fire. Official counts list 73 dead, though it is estimated the actual toll could have been as high as 200. Mining camps and the boomtowns of South Porcupine and Pottsville were destroyed; Golden City (now called Porcupine) and Porquis Junction were partially destroyed. The next day, the fire swept through the nearby town of Cochrane. Communities throughout Ontario responded generously with aid. Because of the importance of the gold discoveries, very few people abandoned the mining camps and, remarkably, the area was rebuilt in a short period of time. One unexpected result of the fire was the creation of a fresh water spring where explosives had blown up. The aftermath of the disaster brought a renewed sense of purpose to the devastated communities. A monument erected at the Whitney Cemetery by the Toronto Board of Trade, commemorates the event and the victims. The definitive book on the great fires is Killer in the Bush by Michael Barnes. [2] An Ontario Heritage Foundation historical plaque stands on the grounds of Northern College in Porcupine and reads:[3] THE PORCUPINE FIRE In the summer of 1911, when the Porcupine gold rush was at its height the weather was hot and dry. On July 11, galeforce winds from the southwest whipped individual bush fires into a 16 km sea of flames that swiftly engulfed the drought-parched forest. The fire-storm swept through mining camps, razed the towns of South Porcupine and Pottsville, and partially destroyed Golden City (Porcupine) and Porquis Junction. Many people fled into Porcupine Lake to escape the flames. The blaze laid waste to about 200,000 hectares of forest and killed at least seventy-one people. Communities throughout Ontario responded generously with aid, and in a remarkably short time the towns were rebuilt and the mines back in operation.

Fire

Air Littoral Flight 701 crash

On 30 July 1997, Air Littoral Flight 701, an ATR 42 regional turboprop operating a scheduled passenger flight from Nice, France to Florence, Italy, crashed on landing when it ran off Florence Airport's runway and into a ditch next to a motorway embankment. There were no fatalities among the 14 passengers on board, but the cockpit section was severely damaged, and the captain died of his injuries four days later. [1] At around 10:30 on the day of the accident, following an uneventful flight from Nice, the aircraft prepared to land at Florence's Peretola airport, where the weather was reported as CAVOK, that is good visibility and no cloud; the wind was light and variable. The crew elected to land on runway 23, which has a 620-metre displaced threshold. Such choice was described as unusual, in the given conditions; eighty percent of the aircraft operating on the airport that day had landed on the opposite runway, runway 05. [2][3] At 10:36 the aircraft was observed touching down far into the runway and at a much higher speed than usual. It then overran the runway end, crashed through the airport perimeter fence and into a ditch next to the nearby A11 motorway. The right engine stopped when the propeller contacted the ground, but the left engine kept running for the following 45 minutes, while rescue operations were taking place. [2] All passengers were rapidly evacuated, but due to the damage to the cockpit section, it took about an hour to extricate the two crew members. The captain was hospitalised but succumbed to his injures four days later; the first officer and 13 other passengers were injured. [2] The aircraft was an ATR 42-500 twin turboprop, with French registration F-GPYE, powered by two Pratt & Whitney Canada PW127 engines. Air Littoral, the launch customer for the model, took delivery of the aircraft the year before, in 1996. [4] At the time, the Italian air accident investigation agency, the Agenzia Nazionale per la Sicurezza del Volo, had not been established yet, therefore the matter was referred to the Italian Civil Aviation Authority and to the public prosecutor. [5] It emerged that during the landing, the first officer was the pilot flying, and was undergoing line training under the captain's supervision. The prosecutor determined that the final approach was conducted at an excessive speed and rate of descent, even triggering the associated on-board warning system, which was ignored. No technical defects were found in the aircraft. [6] The first officer and two managers from Air Littoral – the head of training and the head of human resources – were charged with manslaughter and causing an air disaster, but were acquitted in November 2003. The responsibility for the crash was ultimately placed on the captain, and his "imprudent" decision to proceed with the landing despite the unsafe approach. [6][7] The accident highlighted the limitations of Florence's Peretola airport, which is geographically constrained between the A11 motorway and 930 m-high (3,050 ft) Mount Morello. The event was cited during the following years as argument against proposals to further develop the airport, with opponents recommending to expand nearby Pisa Airport instead. [8]

Air crash

We need a strategic stockpile of infectious disease data

The U.S. needs a new strategic stockpile … of data. Our economic and national security depend on it. Now that we are on the path to containing COVID-19 we need to ensure that we prevent such a crisis from happening again. Since we can’t prevent new diseases from emerging, we have to learn to manage them better. Better data means better situation awareness, better models, better decisions, quicker response, a safer population, better health outcomes and a strong and resilient economy. As a scientist, I’ve spent the last fifteen years developing models of epidemics. Prior to COVID-19, the models I developed were relatively limited in scope. They were intended to apply to a small population or geographic area (e.g. the 2014-2016 Ebola outbreak in West Africa). The COVID-19 pandemic was the first time that I worked on models on a truly large scale. This work showed me the serious flaws in our data collection systems at the local, regional and national levels. Although the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention did and does provide data about the state of the epidemic, it was not fine-grained, and during the height of the epidemic it was often out of date. News media such as the New York Times and The Atlantic, and universities such as Johns Hopkins stepped in to fill the gap with their personnel, expertise and dashboards. But managing the data to coordinate a national response to epidemics is not the job of the media or of academic researchers. The U.S. needs a centralized repository for collecting and cleaning data and disseminating it in real-time to relevant stakeholders, including decision-makers, doctors and scientists and the public. An important role for the new National Center for Outbreak Analytics is the collection of high-resolution spatial and temporal information about pathogen-specific testing, cases and outcomes, including demographic information about patients, such as age and race. Similarly, the understanding of disease outbreaks like COVID-19 can be considerably improved by joining data about transmission (i.e. cases, hospitalizations and deaths) with other data streams. With COVID-19, anonymized mobility data was used to understand how the population moves throughout the country, while still respecting individual privacy, but modelers were slow to make use of this information because they had to negotiate with different technology companies to gain access. Other information that needs to be collected and curated in real-time includes: Real time data can also feed early warning systems for disease outbreaks. Such systems are currently in their infancy, but there is tremendous scope for future development if the right data streams are put into place. However, collection of data in real time is not enough and there is much that must be done. Just as the strategic national stockpile of pharmaceuticals and medical supplies like ventilators and medicines exists to save lives in the event of a national medical emergency, a strategic data stockpile would save lives with information. But data collection must begin well before the emergency. There is no excuse for not having a wide range of data sources archived, standardized and cataloged to be placed in service when needed. Stockpiled data might include: Prior to the pandemic, the United States had no shortage of pandemic-preparation plans. However, what was missing when SARS-CoV-2 began to spread was the acknowledgment that data don’t simply “exist.” Data have to be created and interpreted. Public health should be a non-partisan issue. Funding must be continual to ensure that an infectious disease strategic data stockpile is always up-to-date. Epidemics grow exponentially when left unchecked, which is why early recognition and intervention are key to ensuring that outbreaks don’t become epidemics. The COVID-19 pandemic is not yet over and it is just a matter of time before the next pandemic occurs. COVID-19 has shown that developing an operative strategic data stockpile must be a priority of the United States Congress prior to the emergence of the next novel pathogen.

Disease Outbreaks

1985 Teterboro collision crash

The 1985 Teterboro collision occurred on November 10, 1985, when a Dassault Falcon 50 executive jet belonging to Nabisco Brands Inc. and a Piper Cherokee collided over Teterboro Airport in New Jersey. Six people died in the accident: all five aboard both aircraft and one person on the ground; another eight were injured. At approximately 5:22 p.m. the Dassault Falcon 50 and the Piper Cherokee collided as the jet approached for landing at Teterboro Airport and the Piper was flying over the airport on a west to east course. The Dassault was cleared for a standard instrument approach in visual meteorological conditions and made a left turn to position itself on the downwind leg to runway 19. The collision occurred at approximately 1,500 feet, and the two aircraft fell into the residential areas of Fairview and Cliffside Park, New Jersey. [1][2][3] The National Transportation Safety Board investigation concluded the accident was caused by a breakdown in coordination among FAA air traffic controllers and the inability of the crew of the jet to see and avoid the other aircraft, because of misleading information from air traffic control and oncoming darkness. [4] The NTSB recommended that the FAA improve communication procedures among controllers and provide training for its personnel at Teterboro to qualify the airport for an upgrade to a radar approach control system. [5][6][7]

Air crash

African swine fever occurs in Haiti

CHICAGO (REUTERS) - Haiti has recorded its first outbreak of the fatal pig virus African swine fever in 37 years, the World Organisation for Animal Health said, fueling concerns about the disease's spread in the Americas. An operation in Anse-à-Pitre, near Haiti's border with the Dominican Republic, suffered an outbreak that began on Aug 26, the organisation known as OIE said in a report on Monday. The detection is "unfortunate" but not surprising due to recent cases in the Dominican Republic, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) said on Tuesday. The agency is consulting with animal health officials in both countries. Outbreaks on Hispaniola raise worries that African swine fever could spread to the United States, which has never had the disease, and temporarily cripple US pork exports. Governments often block imports of pork from countries where the disease has been found to prevent transmission. The United States already prohibits Haitian and Dominican pork due to another pig disease there, according to the USDA. Still, US Customs and Border Protection is increasing inspections for illegal pork on flights from Hispaniola and making sure airplane garbage is properly disposed of, the USDA said. The USDA in July reported the Dominican Republic had the Americas' first cases of African swine fever in nearly 40 years. Last week, the USDA confirmed Haiti's outbreak through testing at a laboratory on Plum Island in New York, the OIE said. Haiti is conducting surveillance for the disease and imposed a quarantine to control the outbreak, the OIE said. African swine fever is harmless to humans but often fatal to pigs. It originated in Africa before spreading to Europe and Asia and has killed hundreds of millions of pigs. The disease spread rapidly in China starting three years ago and wiped out half the country's hog herd within a year. In Haiti, the outbreak is the latest challenge for residents and the government following an earthquake and the president's assassination.

Disease Outbreaks

State regulators to investigate Southwest Gas after explosion, fire, evacuations this year

Video footage provided by the Chandler Police Department shows the explosion at Platinum Printing on Aug. 26, 2021. Chandler Police Department, Arizona Republic The Arizona Corporation Commission will be investigating Southwest Gas Corp. in connection with a handful of natural gas leaks that have resulted in evacuations and an explosion around the Valley.  The commission and Southwest Gas discussed pipeline safety at a meeting Tuesday afternoon.  “We cannot allow Arizonans to be afraid of the pipe below their very feet,” Commissioner Sandra Kennedy said. Most notably, an explosion at a Chandler print shop left four people injured on August 26 .  "Our thoughts are with those that were injured and affected by the explosion we saw in Chandler. We are hopeful and frankly pray for a healthy recovery of the four folks that were injured in that incident," Southwest Gas President and CEO John Hester said in the meeting.  "I also believe that one accident is too many," Hester said.  More recently, a natural gas leak in north Scottsdale prompted the evacuations of several homes on Sept. 9 , according to the Scottsdale Fire Department.  Southwest Gas confirmed to the commission that the Driscopipe 8000 high density polyethylene pipe, a plastic pipe, was the type present in both incidents.  What has made this type of pipe a cause for concern is its potential for material degradation. The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration with the U.S. Department of Transportation issued an advisory about the Driscopipe 8000 pipe in March 2012. For more stories that matter,  subscribe to azcentral.com. There are 10,300 miles of Driscopipe 8000 pipes installed within Southwest Gas service territory, with the majority of those pipes primarily installed between 1980 and 2000 in the state of Arizona, Hester said.  A small subset of this pipe — particularly, older pipes that are smaller in diameter that have experienced limited or no flow conditions and that have experienced extended periods of high temperature — can present a higher risk, he said.  They also require more attention.  Areas within the Southwest Gas system that fall into this category are in Phoenix, Bullhead City and Yuma.  However, “we are committed to learning from the latest situations to help inform and modify some of our existing policies and procedures to help prevent future incidents like those Chandler and Scottsdale to never happen again,” Hester said.  Incorrect recordkeeping played a role in Chandler, Scottsdale incidents In the Chandler explosion that injured four, officials at a structure fire on the northeast corner of Rural and Ray roads informed Southwest Gas of a potential leak. Amidst an investigation into the leak, a check underground quickly revealed there was gas present. Personnel immediately shut off the gas supply to the plaza, said Vice President of Central Arizona Operations Division Luis Frisby.  Update: 3 of 4 men injured in Chandler natural gas explosion now out of hospital The Sunday following the explosion, Southwest Gas tested its natural gas system on the property. An internal camera in a service line running through the building identified a “slip crack on the pipe,” Frisby said.  The pipe was dug up and subsequently removed from the scene. The pipe was in fact a 1-inch vertical Driscopipe 8000 installed in 1999. The type of natural gas pipe, a Driscopipe 8000 high density polyethylene pipe, used near the business was misidentified by the gas utility’s own personnel in their construction records, according to Southwest Gas spokesperson Sean Corbett. Blast's aftermath: August gas explosion at print shop shutters Chandler Sunset Library at least 4 months for repairs According to Frisby, if the pipe had been identified correctly, the pipe segment would have been, “part of the mitigation measures that have been implemented by the company during the transition from Driscopipe 8000 to Driscopipe 8100 during the 1999 to 2001 timeframe.” While the leak in the Scottsdale neighborhood was not as apparent as the one in Chandler, there was an odor involved.  On Sept. 9, Southwest Gas received reports of an odor near Thompson Peak Parkway and Bell Road. Similarly, gas presence underground was observed.  The source of the leak was also caused by an inactive Driscopipe 8000 stub. A camera inspection of the pipe also showed internal degradation.  What was different about this situation than the one in Chandler was that while the construction records showed accurate information, the information itself was entered into the mapping system incorrectly, Frisby said.  If it had been entered correctly, the location would have been included in the inactive services of abandonment protocols, Frisby said.  A little more than six months before the incidents in Chandler and Scottsdale, a fire broke out on Seventh Street Bridge because of a natural gas leak .  A 10-inch, high-pressure main line was located under the bridge. Valves on both sides of the bridge were closed quickly in the hopes of controlling the flow of gas and extinguishing the fire, Frisby said.  The connection to the pipes, or a flange connection, had been severed due to tampering or vandalism. To this day, Southwest Gas has not reinstated pipes underneath the bridge, Frisby said.  Southwest Gas knew about, addressed issue with pipe for over a decade Though the recent explosions have once again put Southwest Gas on the commission's radar, last December the commission referenced “the possibility of further investigation and study into the possible degradation of the Driscopipe 7000 and the Driscopipe 8000,” according to Commissioner Kennedy.  But problems with the Driscopipe 8000 extend farther back than December 2020.  “In 2005, we saw the first indications that there was something happening with the pipe, but we did not know what it was to be honest with you. We described it as a crinkly crackly pipe,” said Jerry Schmitz, vice president of engineering at Southwest Gas. The first leak Southwest Gas was aware of, that had been caused by internal degradation of the Driscopipe 8000, occurred in 2008.  But not until 2010, when a lab report came back, did the company know that the degradation was heat related. From there, various distribution integrity management programs were put into place.  “As we mentioned earlier today, as long as the pipe is in the program, we feel very confident that the risk is mitigated,” Schmitz said.  Still, the company does not believe that if they had put the proactive program into place before the explosions occurred, it would have actually prevented them since it was a matter of incorrect record keeping, Hester said.  But they will continue to conduct proactive measures and investigations to see what else they can learn about the material in the hopes of staying ahead of potential issues, Frisby said. What happens next? The remediation plan will include a comprehensive records review of all plastic pipe installed in facilities between 1999 and 2001. The review will be completed within the next six months for service territories in the warmer climate zones, according to Frisby.  Though Southwest Gas began to phase out the Driscopipe 8000 pipes between 1999-2001 to the Driscopipe 8100, in light of recent events, they plan on treating them as one in the same, meaning the pipes will be subject to mitigation measures, Frisby said.  Mitigation measures include mobile leak patrols and walking deep patrols for all pipes installed between that time period. The first round of mobile leak patrols are scheduled to be completed by the end of September for Phoenix, Bullhead City and Yuma.  Additionally, any stops or services that experienced more than three years of inactivity will be added to the inactive service and self abandonment program.  Southwest Gas encourages anyone who suspects a gas leak to leave the area immediately and, from a safe location, call 911 and Southwest Gas at 1-877-860-6020. Indicators of a gas leak can include rotten egg or sulfur-like smells, even if it’s slight or momentary. There might also be hissing coming from the ground or from an above-ground pipeline. 

Gas explosion

7 Celebrity Couples Who Swear by Marriage Counseling

Earlier this year, Pink opened up about going to couples counseling with her husband Carey Hart—not because anything in particular was wrong, but so they could learn how to create a life with one another. “We come from broken families and we had no model of, ‘How are we supposed to keep this family together?’ And live this crazy life? There’s no model, there’s no book that says, ‘Here’s how to do this!’" she said on the Today show on April 26 . “So, we go to counseling, and it works.” The three-time Grammy winner married the motocross rider in 2006 after four years of dating. They’ve since welcomed daughter Willow and son Jameson, and Pink credited 17 years of therapy with helping get their relationship where it is today. “Carey and I have been in couples counseling almost our entire 17 years that we’ve been together,” the pop star continued. “It’s the only reason we’re still together.” The “Just Give Me a Reason” singer and her husband aren’t the only married couple to turn to counseling, especially not in Hollywood. Along with Pink and Hart, these seven other pairs have spoken about the positive effect couples therapy has had on their relationships. Jon Kopaloff The Good Place star and the Parenthood alum, who tied the knot in October 2013, have strengthened their connection through counseling. “We went to therapy early on to learn what our pattern of arguing was and where we needed to stop that,” Shepard said on Good Morning America in 2017. Bell added to People that year, “We have a very healthy marriage and we got there by doing therapy when we needed it, and constantly doing fierce moral inventories. We both take responsibility when we are wrong, and I think it is easy to work with him because I married him, because I enjoy spending time with him and I trust him.” Getty Images They filed for divorce in January 2015 following 15 years of marriage, but reconciled the next year thanks in part to seeing a marriage counselor together. “Jill and I decided it was time to work on our issues and improve,” the actor and dad to daughter Talula and twin sons Darby and Sullivan told People In 2016. “We wanted to be role models for our kids like, okay, if you have differences, you can work them out.” The Grey’s Anatomy veteran made working on his marriage his priority in order to save it. “You’ve got to keep at it,” he said. “You’ve got to communicate, and stay open and not get lazy. And not give up. And lots of sex!” Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue The actress knows her love life with the former NBA star—who she wed in August 2014—looks nearly perfect from the outside. But in 2017, Union admitted to Complex, “There’s a process to happy. People are like ‘goals’; me and D are like, ‘wtf?’ We’ve kind of figured it out now, but I guess maybe we should tweet live from couples’ therapy.” Kevin Winter/Getty Images The Busy Tonight host told her director husband in late 2016 that she wanted a divorce following nearly 10 years of marriage. She’d been emotionally cheating with another man, but Silverstein wanted to work on things for their family, so he and Philipps began going to therapy together and separately, and it resulted in a slow but sustainable change. “We were doing well in therapy together too,” Philips wrote in her 2018 memoir This Will Only Hurt a Little. “In his own sessions, Marc had recently had what I guess is called a breakthrough, and when I finally came clean about the other dude, he was weirdly understanding about it. He really just wanted me to know that he loved me and was sorry I’d felt so alone for so many years and wanted to support me in whatever I needed. He wanted to be a different partner and a different dad, and he was delivering on that. It’s hard to explain it exactly, but he broke open in a way and totally changed the way he related to everyone, not just me. it wasn’t exactly overnight, but it was happening, and I could recognize the changed—everyone we knew could see it.” The couple never filed for divorce, and continue to raise daughters Birdie and Cricket together. Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images The comedian and her husband since November 2014 go to couples therapy “to deal with all sorts of transitions,” she told Vanity Fair earlier this year. “People are worried about other people thinking something’s wrong in your relationship. And it’s like, something is wrong in every relationship. So if you’re not willing to admit that something is wrong, then something is wrong with you.” Walter McBride Though Cranston confessed he harbored some negative stereotypes about therapy, the Breaking Bad star eventually embraced it and has talked to someone on his own and with his actress wife of 20 years. “I see a guy in L.A. from time to time, when I’m feeling edgy or anxiety-ridden,” Cranston told Rolling Stone in 2013. “And my wife and I go to a couples therapist. Our agreement is, if either of us feels like we want to go, the other can’t object. For my father’s generation, as he literally said, ‘I’d rather stick needles in my eyes than go to a therapist.’ When I was a kid, if you heard of someone who went to a psychiatrist, it meant they were crazy. That’s the kind of labeling and judgment I was raised with. And I had to get rid of that.” Michael Kovac/Getty Images After McDermott cheated on his wife since 2006 in late 2013, the duo went to marriage counseling and the actor entered rehab to “address some health and personal issues,” he said in a statement at the time. “We worked on everything,” Spelling told People in 2017. “The relationship as we knew it died. We had to bury that and start new.” Welcoming their fifth child, son Beau, in March 2017 also helped bring Spelling and McDermott back together. “Rebuilding our marriage took time,” the Beverly Hills, 90210 star continued to People. “And now, having a new baby, it makes sense. It’s like a new baby in a new relationship.”

Famous Person - Marriage

Mum, 34, diagnosed with cancer just weeks after her wedding

We use your sign-up to provide content in ways you've consented to and to improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and 3rd parties based on our understanding. You can unsubscribe at any time. More info Thank you for subscribingWe have more newsletters Show me See our privacy notice A mum-of-two was diagnosed with cancer just weeks after marrying the love of her life. Julie Gains and husband Richard live with their children Hugo, aged two, and 10-year-old Riley, in Stafford . Care home receptionist Julie, aged 34, has been with Richard for three years and they finally tied the knot in July. More Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire headlines But weeks later, she was hit with a blow. She was diagnosed with high grade non-hodgkin lymphoma - a form of cancer and she has a tumour pressing against her heart. Older sister Emma Shorthouse, aged 39, from Cannock said: “She has been poorly for quite a while and she kept going to and from the doctors and they weren’t great. She was losing weight. "She was suffering from what she thought was anxiety, but it turned out to be palpitations because she’d got a tumour pressing onto her heart. “She was getting blood tests left, right and centre. A lump did appear on the bottom of her throat and alarm bells started ringing. Sisters Julie Gains (left) and Emma Shorthouse (right) “She called 111 because her heart rate was through the roof and she went back to her doctor, who diagnosed her straight away and referred her to the hospital. “It took a while for her to get diagnosed which is quite sad, but the treatment so far has been really good and quick.” Julie - who is usually immersed in working and looking after her family - is now on a three-month break from work as she undergoes chemotherapy every two weeks. After completing six rounds, she will be put on radiotherapy treatment. She is also on various other medications and nightly injections to help her white blood cells. Emma added: “It’s a matter of chemo every two weeks to try and get the tumour shrunk. She will then have radiotherapy to eradicate whatever is left. “I suppose they can do more tests to see if it’s gone. She hasn’t been staged yet. "It was a horrible couple of weeks when she got the diagnosis. She’s got the little boys and is a busy mum. She was worried about finances. “She always has to do things for other people, so for her to sit back and not do anything has been hard. “You feel quite helpless. Every time I go and see her I keep my distance, I can’t give her a cuddle because of the chemo. “She is very tired. Every time I see her she is positive and tries to crack jokes all the time, but I can see she is worried. She is mainly more worried about losing her hair. She is a pretty girl with long hair. Julie Gains “She is worried about how she is going to look, but I’ve told her to embrace it.” A GoFundMe page has been set up to help raise money for a wig with natural hair, as well as any additional support Julie may need while she is off work. Emma will also be holding a 24-hour fundraising event at her gym, Optimal Sports Performance, in Cannock, on November 20. People can take part in a workout session while raising funds for local cancer charities and Julie. The fundraising page has already reached its £2,000 goal and it’s still going strong. Emma said: “The really good quality wigs are really expensive, the ones with real hair. “That’s why the fundraising might help her get a good quality wig. She got one from the hospital, but it’s not real hair and it’s itchy. “The support has been amazing. I used to live in Australia. People from all over the world have donated and sent well wishes. “Julie is overwhelmed with all the support she has had. It makes you realise what and who is important. Half of us are going to get cancer now, but when it happens to your little sister you just don’t expect it. “She is a good one. She doesn’t drink and has never smoked. Unfortunately, cancer doesn’t discriminate against who it picks. “She had Covid a year ago and she has had one thing after another wrong with her. She started with pain in her joints and then headaches and now this. “Up until a year ago, she was really healthy. “We want to thank everyone for their support. It makes you realise how good people are.”

Famous Person - Sick

Twin Donut Plus closed in July 2018 is in preparation for the grand opening

Coffee lovers, get ready! Workers are putting the finishing touches to the remodeling of the once popular, “Twin Donut Plus,” in preparation for the grand opening of a new Starbucks branch in Norwood. The former coffee and donut outlet, located at 3396 Jerome Avenue and East 208th Street, which was part of the Twin Donut franchise founded in Boston in 1959, closed in July 2018, as previously reported by Norwood News. The site has remained vacant ever since. According to a filed “RPTT and RETT” document with the Office of the City Register, the property appears to have been sold by Alice L. Kulick 1, LLC to Senior Poncholo Restaurant Corp in 2008. Both RPTT and RETT are taxes that apply to real property transfers when the ownership percentage being transferred, granted, assigned or surrendered is more than 50 percent. Meanwhile, according to NYC Department of Finance, RPTT applies whenever the sale or transfer is worth more than $25,000. An amount of $93,000 was listed as the “document amount,” with the City Register in relation to 3396 Jerome Avenue. However, in another section of the City Register site, the owner of the property is listed as Alice L Kulick. Norwood News has reached out to the City agency for clarification on the current property ownership and will update this story upon receipt of any feedback. Prior to its closure, the donut shop had been in operation for more than 50 years, according to Liz Camcran, an employee of the Twin Donut franchise company who spoke to Norwood News at the time of the closure in 2018. According to Camcran, the building was “under renovation” and she said at the time, “they’re selling the franchise.” Chris Cheong, a worker at that time for Wok Wok restaurant, located across from Twin Donut Plus, said at the time, “It might be because of the rent.” The business did reopen for one evening on the night of Oct. 1, 2018, but not to the public. On that occasion, it was used as a movie set for a brief scene from the film, “Joker,” starring Joaquin Phoenix. Calls to the local Starbucks manager, as well as to the corporate office in Chicago, IL., were unsuccessful. However, one local Starbucks official told the Norwood News on Monday, Sept. 20, the new location would be open in a matter of days. Reaction to previous Starbucks branch openings in the Bronx has been mixed, as reported. When a newsstand that used to sell coffee, located inside One Fordham Plaza, was allegedly precluded from doing so following the arrival of a new, nearby Starbucks branch, the resulting backlash caused a subsequent reversal of the decision. As noted, the Norwood branch of Twin Donut Plus was part of a franchise and closed prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. An economic report on the impact of the pandemic on the Bronx, published in June 2021 by the New York State comptroller, Thomas DiNapoli, found that the borough is comprised of mostly small businesses, and in the ten years leading up to the pandemic, businesses in The Bronx increased by 15.3 percent, as reported. This was a faster growth rate than seen in both Manhattan and Staten Island. The report found that the sudden and dramatic closure of businesses amid the pandemic across New York City hit the leisure and hospitality sector the hardest, as an earlier report from DiNapoli detailed. In the Bronx, it meant the loss of 9,600 jobs , a 45.6 percent drop in that sector by the summer of 2020. Since most businesses in the borough are small businesses, the measures put in place to combat the health impacts of the COVID-19 virus forced many of these small businesses to close. Some, but not all, business owners were able to rely on economic relief to stay afloat. The comptroller’s report also found that programs such as the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans served as vital resources to some but were slow to reach all businesses in the borough. Meanwhile, aside from its coffee business, Starbucks also runs a foundation, the mission of which is “to strengthen humanity by transforming lives across the world, with a focus on enabling community resiliency and prosperity and uplifting communities affected by disaster.” The foundation supports “thriving communities through grants to nonprofit organizations, from its hometown in Seattle and neighborhoods across the country, to coffee and tea-growing communities around the world.” According to the foundation’s website, its neighborhood grants are investments that help build sustained, local impact and inspire increased partner volunteerism with nonprofit organizations that work in local communities. Through the program, the foundation invites Starbucks partners to nominate a local organization in their community. Since 2019, Starbucks partners have nominated “thousands of organizations across the U.S. and Canada, with more than 2,500 organizations receiving grants amounting to more than $5 million.” The foundation also works “to strengthen communities affected by disaster by investing in response and preparedness programs.” In 2020, according to its website, the foundation supported local and global COVID-19 initiatives that extended emergency assistance to those in need while also helping build a path toward recovery and resilience, including more than 400 Neighborhood Grants to support COVID-19 community response. Jennifer Tausig, executive director of the Jerome Gun Hill BID, which is based in Norwood, said, “We’re thrilled to welcome Starbucks to the neighborhood, and as a member of the BID. Tausig said the BID believes the new outlet is a great compliment to the existing food and coffee options on Jerome Avenue. “We are grateful that Starbucks recognized Norwood as a clean, safe, good place to do business,” she added.

Organization Closed

China's ‘Yellowstone-like’ volcano concerned scientists: "Could be ready to erupt"

Mount Paektu is an active stratovolcano and the highest mountain of the Changbai and Baekdudaegan ranges located on the Chinese–North Korean border. A large crater, called Heaven Lake, is in the caldera atop the mountain, formed by the "Millennium" eruption of 946, which sent about 30 cubic miles of tephra into the sky in one of the largest and most violent eruptions in the last 5,000 years. But YouTube channel ‘Deep Dive’ revealed why the volcano baffled scientists for years in their documentary ‘Why China's Largest Volcano Is So Unusual’. The series said: “Most of the active volcanoes in the Pacific run along clearly visible lines, like a string of pearls, and it becomes clear why when you lay a map of tectonic plates over the top. “Almost all volcanoes are found along plate boundaries, more specifically along subduction zones. “Almost 80 percent of all active volcanoes on Earth run along the numerous subduction zones in the Pacific, which is why the region is commonly referred to as the Ring of Fire. “We already know this since the Sixties when the model of continental drift was proven and, together with the model of seafloor spreading, combined into the theory of plate tectonics. “There was only one problem – there were a few volcanoes that didn’t conform to this theory that were sprinkled across the globe randomly.” The documentary went on to explain why Mount Paektu, also known as Changbai Mountain, is one of the few volcanoes not to follow this pattern. It added: “They include Hawaii, some 2,400 miles from the next plate boundary and Yellowstone. “Changbai Mountain, which sits 621 miles northwest of the Japan trench is another one of these weird interpolate volcanoes. “To explain this kind of volcanism, a new model was needed. READ MORE: Yellowstone: USGS sends ‘devastating’ warning after running volcano eruption probe “An important clue can be found on the ocean floor of the Pacific. If you follow the line of islands that make up the Hawaiian archipelago northwest you find a series of volcanic structures that once formed similar islands. “This so-called Hawaiian Emperor chain contains more than 80 individual structures like this.” The series also detailed how scientists “solved” the mystery. It added: “The movement of the Pacific plate from southeast to northwest above a stationary source of magma causes such volcanism. “This idea was developed into the mantle plume model – it explained these volcanoes as hotspots that are fed by enormous upwellings of hot mantle that rise to the surface from the depths of Earth’s mantle. DON'T MISSYellowstone volcano: How USGS study showed 'abnormal' change [REVEALED]Yellowstone: How scientists made alarming find in lake [COMMENT]Yellowstone volcano shock: Eruption mantle runs under California [STUDY] “There was finally an explanation for intra-plate volcanism and with this, the puzzle surrounding the source of the mysterious volcanoes in Yellowstone, Hawaii and northeast Asia seemed to be solved. “But Mount Paektu is not such a hotspot – scientists wouldn’t realise this until the end of the 20th century.” But that has not stopped it causing concern. The volcano had been quiet since its last major eruption, until 2002 when there were a series of mini earthquakes caused by seismic activity within the volcano for a number of years. Although it went silent again after 2005, the brief activity alarmed North Korean authorities and forced them to set aside their policy of isolation and secrecy. They reached out to neighbouring countries, including China and contacted top scientists in Western countries, asking for technical assistance to study the volcano. The outreach led to a rare collaboration in 2013 between a team of North Korean experts led by Ri Kyong-Song of the Earthquake Administration in Pyongyang and a team of Western scientists led by James Hammond of the University of London. The results of the study were published in the journal Science Advances in April 2016 and could be bad news for China and North Korea in the future. According to the US Geological Survey (USGS) seismologist Kayla Iacovina, who co-authored the 2016 study, data collected during two years of monitoring Mount Paektu indicated the presence of partially melted magma in the volcano. This suggested to researchers that the volcano was still active and that it could erupt in the future. Ms Iacovino said: “That sort of confirms the idea that the volcano is quite active. “But how much of it is eruptable? That’s a big question.” Seismologist Stephen Grand at the University of Texas at Austin told National Geographic: “I think the risk of a destructive eruption here is very real.” Scientists said it was too soon to determine whether a future eruption is certain, but added that caution should be taken.

Volcano Eruption

Lufthansa Flight 540 crash

Lufthansa Flight 540 was a scheduled commercial flight for Lufthansa, serving the Frankfurt–Nairobi–Johannesburg route. On 20 November 1974, the Boeing 747-130 that was operating as Flight 540 was carrying 157 people (140 passengers and 17 crew members) when it crashed and caught fire shortly after taking off from Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi for the last leg of the flight, resulting in the deaths of 55 passengers and 4 crew members. This was the first fatal accident of a Boeing 747. [1] The aircraft involved was a Boeing 747-130 registered as D-ABYB and was named Hessen. It was the second 747 to be delivered to Lufthansa. It made its first flight on 30 March 1970 and was delivered to Lufthansa on 13 April the same year. The aircraft was powered by four Pratt and Whitney JT9D-7 turbofan engines. The aircraft had 16,781 flying hours at the time of the accident. [2] The flight crew consisted of 53-year-old captain Christian Krack (who had more than 10,000 flight hours, with 1,619 hours on the Boeing 747), 35-year-old first officer Hans-Joachim Schacke (3,418 flight hours, with more than 2,000 hours on the Boeing 747) and 51-year-old flight engineer Rudolf (Rudi) Hahn (13,000 hours of flying experience). [3][4] As the aircraft was making its takeoff from runway 24 at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi, the pilots felt a buffeting vibration. The captain continued the climb and retracted the landing gear. However, as this was being done, the aircraft started to descend and the stall warning system light came on. The aircraft continued to descend and approximately 3,700 feet (1,100 m) from the end of the runway, the 747 airplane crashed in the grass. It then struck an elevated access road and broke up. The left wing exploded and fire spread to the fuselage. 55 of the 140 passengers and 4 of the 17 crew members died. [1] The cause of the crash was determined to be a stall caused by the leading edge slats (strictly speaking, outboard variable camber leading-edge slats and inboard Krueger flaps) having been left in the retracted position. Even though the trailing edge flaps were deployed, without the slats being extended the aircraft's stall speed was higher and the maximum angle of attack was lower. As a result, the aircraft was unable to climb out of ground effect. The flight engineer was found to have failed to open the slat system bleed air valves as required on the pre-flight checklist. This prevented bleed air from flowing to the 747's pneumatic slat system and, since the leading edge slats on the 747 are pneumatically driven, kept it from deploying the leading edge slats for takeoff. The take-off warning system that would have sounded an alarm due to the flaps not being lowered did not have a separate warning that the slats' pneumatic valve had not been opened by the flight engineer. [5] The faulty state of the slats should by design have been indicated by yellow warning lights: one for the pilot, and eight for the flight engineer. However, both crew members stated in court that these lights had been green. Three possible explanations have since been offered for this inconsistency: that the morning sun was blinding the cockpit crew and thus hampered color perception, that a construction error could have caused green lights despite the retracted slats, and that the crew lied. None of these possibilities could be conclusively proven. [6][7] The flight crew was blamed for not performing a satisfactory pre-take-off checklist, but the accident report also faulted the lack of adequate warning systems that could have alerted the crew to the problem. [8][9] Two previous occurrences of this error had been reported, but in those cases the pilots had been able to recover the aircraft in time. After this third, deadly incident, Boeing added systems to warn pilots if the slat valve had not been opened prior to takeoff. Captain Krack and flight engineer Hahn were dismissed from Lufthansa shortly after, but their dismissals were overturned by a labor court, as there was no investigation report available to rule out the chances of a technical defect. [8] Flight engineer Hahn was charged with criminal negligence, but was acquitted in 1981. This marks the first crashed Boeing 747. [10] The final report is this work:

Air crash

Bathurst-winning team cops massive fine over go-slow tactics to gain 'unfair advantage'

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 Scott McLaughlin will remain the Bathurst champion, but his teammates have been accused of some very dodgy tactics in the closing stages of his win at Mount Panorama last weekend. Stewards from the Confederation of Australian Motorsport (CAMS) have conducted an investigation and accused McLaughlin's DJR Team Penske (DJRTP) of reading from a script and conspiring to illegally slow down the rest of the field to allow the Kiwi to storm home to become King of the Mountain. For their sins, the second Penske car — number 12, driven by Fabian Coulthard and Tony D'Alberto — has been demoted from sixth to 21st and the team has been fined $250,000, with $100,000 of it suspended until the end of 2021 — the biggest fine in Supercars history. It's all a bit involved, so let's get into it. Last Sunday, on the 134th lap of the 161-lap race at Bathurst, the Holden Commodore being driven by Alexander Rossi and James Hinchcliffe (number 27) missed turn 23 and ended up in the sand trap. It wasn't a very dramatic crash, meaning there was no detritus left on the track (keep this in mind for later). New Zealand's Scott McLaughlin won a drama-filled Bathurst 1000 for the first time in his career, surviving a tense final-lap shootout at Mount Panorama. While the beached Commodore was being extricated from its sandy state of affairs, the safety car was called out onto the track, meaning all cars should slow but maintain a gap of, at most, five car lengths between them and the racer ahead of them. At the time, Craig Lowndes and Jamie Whincup's car number 888 was leading the race, with McLaughlin second in car 17, and Coulthard's number 12 was only one second behind in third spot. When the safety car was deployed, Coulthard slowed down, but like, waaaaaay down. And because overtaking isn't allowed while the safety car is active, all the cars behind him bunched up, giving his teammate more room to battle Lowndes for the lead. By the time the safety car was gone, the gap between the teammates that had been just one second, had extended to a whopping 47 seconds (about a kilometre). That gap allowed McLaughlin (and Lowndes) to make pit stops and exit pit lane before the rest of the field had caught up. McLaughlin, along with co-driver Alex Premat, and DJRTP went on to win the race, a result that still stands. An interview during the telecast of the race caught the eye of racing officials. Four-time King of the Mountain Greg Murphy, in his capacity as part of the broadcast crew, spoke to DJRTP managing director Ryan Story. When asked about car 12's actions despite having no apparent problems before the safety car, he was sheepish. "Well uh, it's just one of those things isn't it," Story said, grinning like the Cheshire cat. When pressed further about it being a plan, he became only slightly less transparent. "I wouldn't go so far as that," Story said. "We were genuinely having overheating issues with the car and it was worst under the safety car when you're not getting a lot of air going through the car. Not ideal." Unfortunately for the team, the stewards saw through this thinly veiled ruse. "Whilst not admitting to a 'plan', the authorised representative's response to this query seemed evasive and caused the stewards to suspect that the driver of car 12 had been directed by the team to drive slowly to create a gap sufficient to yield an unfair advantage for both of its cars," the stewards' report read. It was decided that the team breached motor racing's governing body's Obligation of Fairness regulations. The stewards determined that one of the many jumpsuited people in and around the DJRTP garage decided that Coulthard's car should slow to crawl to create "an unjustified gap" to their teammate, possibly to give McLaughlin and Premat an "unfair advantage" as it exited pit lane. There was also some onus put on the driver of car 12 at the time for complying with the instruction "even after it must have been clear to the driver … that there was no debris on the circuit". "DJRTP Team personnel knew that by giving the direction and it being complied with, they were obtaining an unfair advantage and that the race result might therefore be interfered with," the findings read. A massive part of the evidence against the team was the radio communication from the garage to car 12 when the safety car came out. An engineer said over and over again to "slow down" because there was debris on the track, but a simple mispronunciation raised the suspicions of officials. The engineer pronounced it deb-riss, rather than deb-ree. That, combined with the engineer's repeated claims that "we don't know where the incident is", was a smoking gun. "The degree of emphasis and unwarranted repetition in the engineer's language, coupled with the mispronunciation of the word 'debris', and the fact that the assertions made to the driver were a contrivance, has led us to conclude that the engineer was speaking to a 'script'," the report said. The stewards also poo-pooed any claims that the slowdown was due to overheating concerns. "If the potential for increasing engine temperatures was the sole or predominant reason for the direction … to slow, it is telling that this reason was not mentioned in the team radio communications," they wrote. They also asked the engineer of car 12 why he thought there was debris on the course " and he said that he thought he had heard someone else saying that". "We are unable to accept that evidence," the report read. "In our view, it defies belief that no-one in DJRTP's garage knew [the real reason for the safety car]." McLaughlin and Premat's win is intact because the stewards could not categorically say that the team conspired to advantage their car with the go-slow tactics. However, Coulthard and D'Alberto's official finish is now 21st, the last of the cars that actually managed to finish the race. DJRTP has to pay $150,000 and is at risk of having to pay an extra $100,000 if it has another breach of a similar nature before the end of 2021. The team has also lost 300 points in the season championship, slashing down its lead over Red Bull to 423 points in the teams' championship. Perhaps happy to still have its Bathurst title intact, it doesn't seem like DJRTP will take this any further. "After reviewing data from car 12 following the Bathurst 1000 with the stewards and deputy race director, DJR Team Penske accepts the penalties issued related to the FIA International Sporting Code," a team statement said. "The team will be making no further comment at this time." So that's that. The victory remains intact, Scott McLaughlin is still King of the Mountain and still comfortably leading the drivers' championship. DJRTP is still a fair distance ahead in the teams' championship, albeit with slightly less walking around money. We acknowledge Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the First Australians and Traditional Custodians of the lands where we live, learn, and work. This service may include material from Agence France-Presse (AFP), APTN, Reuters, AAP, CNN and the BBC World Service which is copyright and cannot be reproduced. AEST = Australian Eastern Standard Time which is 10 hours ahead of GMT (Greenwich Mean Time)

Organization Fine

1974 British Airways bombing attempt crash

On 23 July 1974, a small bomb was found aboard a British Airways flight from Aldergrove Airport, near Belfast, to London, following a telephoned warning. The flight made an emergency landing at Manchester Airport. The Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) claimed it had planted the bomb as a symbolic act, and that it had not been set to explode. [2] It is the only time that the IRA has planted a bomb aboard an aircraft, and was the second terrorist incident involving a bomb aboard an aircraft in the United Kingdom. [3] The flight took off from Aldergrove Airport, near Antrim Town in County Antrim, Northern Ireland, for a domestic flight to London Heathrow Airport, England. As the flight was over the Irish Sea a phone call was made to The Irish News warning that a bomb was on board and would explode. The flight crew diverted and made an emergency landing at Manchester Airport. All 85 passengers and crew were removed from the aircraft. Police found the bomb in a plastic bag under one of the seats. The bomb had 2 kg (4.4 lb) of explosives and was removed where a controlled explosion was carried out. Three police officers from the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) were on board the flight. These included the Chief Constable of the RUC, Jamie Flanagan, together with his wife Florence,[4] and two police officers with their families who were travelling to London to attend an investiture; the two officers were to receive the British Empire Medal from Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace[5] for their work during the ongoing Northern Ireland conflict. Jim Molyneaux, MP, Chief Whip for the Ulster Unionist Party and a senior member of the Orange Order, was also on the flight. [5] A young Bob Rae, who would later become Premier of the Canadian province of Ontario and leader of the Liberal Party of Canada, was also a passenger. [6] The IRA claimed that they had put the bomb on the aircraft. The IRA said the bomb was not primed and was not meant to detonate, but that it had been planted as a symbolic act, to show that they could get through the security at Aldergrove Airport, near Belfast. [7] It is unknown how the bomb made its way on board. The British Airline Pilots' Association called for sterner security measures at Aldergrove Airport in County Antrim, such as banning hand luggage, banning cleaners from boarding the aircraft during the turn-round, and not taking on catering supplies at Aldergrove. [1]

Air crash

14 Famous Television Actors Who Found Love In Foreigners

Neha Gargi Last Updated: Jul 20, 2017 | 18:04:06 IST Love can find you anytime anywhere, it doesn’t see which part of the world you are from. And this is exactly what happened with some of our favourite TV actors, who found love outside their homeland. For some, it was just a phase in their life, while for others it was serious commitment. So, here we have a list of those actors from the Indian television industry who have been involved in a relationship with foreigners. Recommended Read: 8 TV Actresses We Bet You Did Not Know Are Married For our Romi aka Aly from Star Plus’s Ye Hai Mohabbatein, it was the Serbian beauty Natasa Stankovic (the DJ Wale Babu girl) who stole his heart. But, after dating each other for a year, our desi munda realised and confessed in an interview with the leading newspaper of India that it was difficult in adjusting with the differences they had due to cultural background. advertisement The handsome lawyer-turned-actor from Jammu & Kashmir fell for the gorgeous Indonesian singer, Ayu Ting Ting. But, things didn’t go well between them for long and one misunderstanding led to another, and soon they parted ways after a bitter break-up last year. Also Read: 11 Most Stunning Babymoon Destinations Around The World advertisement. When they danced together in sync to Bollywood songs on Nach Baliye 5, Kushal and Elena looked like a perfect couple, madly in love with each other. So, it was a shock to their fans when they parted ways after being voted out from the show. However, later Kushal shared a picture of his birthday celebration on his Twitter account that had the Bulgarian beauty in it. He also dated actress Gauhar Khan. In a very filmi way, Eijaz met Natalie for the first time at the airport when he went to return her lost passport. Sparks flew off and from then onwards, the gorgeous multilingual singer from Canada has been with the handsome hunk Eijaz Khan. And if things go well, they might even get married in near future. This gorgeous actress had to part ways with her parents after she decided to marry her then firangi boyfriend Alexx. The wedding didn’t last long and they filed for a divorce after four years of marriage. Alexx O’Nell is a talented America-born actor and musician based in India. advertisement After it was over between Alexx and Shweta, it was time for the vivacious Shama Sikander, popular for her role as Pooja Mehta in Ye Meri Life Hai, to enter this firang’s life. After dating for almost four years, they decided to part ways in the year 2014 and now Shama is happily engaged to another firang named James Milliron who is an American businessman. advertisement After her divorce with Alexx, Shweta once more found love in the arms of a firang, Ken, who is a New York-based lawyer. She met him in New York while she was visiting her brother and their amazing chemistry led them to marriage and a beautiful daughter. Recommended Read: Eye Shadow Hacks That Will Make Your Eyes Look Prettier Than Ever advertisement Love knocked once again on her doorstep in the form of a handsome American based businessman James Milliron. The two started dating last year and recently got engaged on New Year’s Eve. Check out their engagement pictures, if you haven’t done it yet. And don’t you think she looks drop dead gorgeous in her new sexy avatar? The actress who was recently seen playing the role of Rakshasi Tadaka in Star Plus’s mythological TV show Siya Ke Ram, was once in love with an American entrepreneur Brad Listermann. Kashmira met Brad over the internet on a dating website and they were even married for five years after which they got divorced. advertisement An amazing combination of beauty with brains, the talented actress and model, Suchitra Pillai lost her heart to a Denmark-based environmental engineer while playing Jenga at a friend’s house party. They have been married for almost eleven years now and even have a daughter named Annika. Must Watch: Shraddha Kapoor Dancing At Her Bestie's Wedding Is Too Cute To Miss While searching for an apartment in Los Angeles, Purbi met an American gentleman named Valentino Fehlmann, who is now her husband. They were in a long-distance relationship for more than three and a half years and finally got married in December 2014. Valentino is based in the US and works as a financial advisor there. For the beautiful actress Priyanka aka Dimple Inamdar, it was love at first sight with Mark Weekes who is an investment banker. After a few months of courtship, they got married in a private ceremony on January 31, 2014. The actress is currently basking in the joys of motherhood after the birth of their daughter in 2015. Also Read: This Man Took His Wife's Last Name After Marriage And Broke All Stereotypes The smart and talented artist, Akhil Mishra met Suzanne, who was recently seen as Helena in Chakravartin Ashoka Samrat, while he was looking for a foreigner to act in his play. The actor is really lucky to have found love once again after the death of his first wife Manju. They have been married for eight years now. The well-known actress Neena Gupta had dated the legendary West Indies cricketer Vivian Richards at a time when things were different in our society. Although she never got married to him as he was already married at the time, she decided to have his baby and bring her up on her own. And today, her daughter Masaba is a well-known name in the fashion industry. Recommended Read: Destined To Be Together: Unheard Love Story Of Rajiv Gandhi And Sonia Gandhi Love knows no boundaries and these television celebrities has proved this right! They found love in people who were from a different nation and cultural background. If we have missed out on any name, do share in the comments section below!

Famous Person - Marriage

What the Myanmar Coup Means for China

China will stick to its strict policy of non-intervention, but the military takeover has created a diplomatic headache for Beijing. Myanmar State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi, right, greets Chinese President Xi Jinping at president house in Naypyitaw, Myanmar, Saturday, Jan. 18, 2020. On February 1, a coup in Myanmar saw the ruling National League for Democracy (NLD) ousted and NLD leader Aung San Suu Kyi, among other leaders, detained, whereabouts unknown. With that, Myanmar returned to military rule after 10 years of gradual, albeit limited, political opening. The change in Myanmar will be closely watched in Beijing. And despite a long history of cozy relations with the Tatmadaw during Mynamar’s previous stint of military rule starting in the late 1980s, China will not be celebrating. “A coup in no way is in Beijing’s interests. Beijing was working very well with the NLD,” said Yun Sun, a co-director of the East Asia Program and director of the China Program at the Stimson Center in Washington, D.C. “If Beijing has a choice, I think they would prefer the NLD over the military. But they don’t have a choice… so they have to deal with whatever comes along.” The first official reaction, from Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin, was decidedly bare-bones: “We have noted what happened in Myanmar, and we are learning more information on the situation.” Enjoying this article? Click here to subscribe for full access. Just $5 a month. “China is a friendly neighbor of Myanmar,” Wang continued. “We hope that all parties in Myanmar will properly handle their differences under the constitutional and legal framework and maintain political and social stability.” The implication, in accordance with China’s long-held principle of non-interference is twofold: The coup is Myanmar’s business, and China is ready to deal with whoever is leading the country in a “friendly” way. China’s interests in Myanmar range from the economic to the strategic. Myanmar is a rich source of natural resources like timber, jade, and natural gas. It also offers China access to the ocean on its southwestern flank, something Beijing has sought to develop through the China-Myanmar Economic Corridor, linking Yunnan province in China to the Bay of Bengal. Get briefed on the story of the week, and developing stories to watch across the Asia-Pacific. The return to military rule in Myanmar fueled the hypothesis that it will also bring a return to the old days, when Beijing was the country’s sole international backer. From the late 1980s until Myanmar’s opening in 2011, the Southeast Asian country was a pariah on the international stage, isolated from nearly every other country aside from China. But that is less desirable for Beijing than one might assume. China “needs Myanmar to be a relatively normal and stable country,” Sun told The Diplomat. “If Myanmar is once again turning into the pariah of the international community, then what will [Chinese-invested] international connectivity projects lead to?” Meanwhile, the China-Tatmadaw relationship is far from straight-forward. Myanmar’s military leaders are not keen on a full embrace of China, fearing that would amount to a de facto loss of sovereignty. In fact, it was the previous, military-backed government of President Thein Sein that bowed to the “wishes of the people” and scrapped the enormously unpopular Myitsone Dam project – to China’s continued chagrin. It was also under Thein Sein that Myanmar began its process of opening to other partners, including the United States. In his book “In the Dragon’s Shadow: Southeast Asia in the Chinese Century” Sebastian Strangio – now The Diplomat’s Southeast Asia editor – noted that the Myitsone dam suspension “catalyzed a remarkable program of political and economic reform” in Myanmar. The steps away from overreliance on China and toward political opening were inextricably interlinked; the reform was sparked, in part, by the sense that China’s influence was a “national emergency” best countered by opening up politically to better court the West. It worked: Thein Sein hosted then-U.S. President Barack Obama in 2012 and made his own visit to the White House in 2013. As Strangio notes, even in the heyday of China-Myanmar convergence in the 1990s and early 2000s, the Tatmadaw “retained… a deep institutional suspicion of China,” born from China’s history supporting communist insurgents and ethnic armed groups in Myanmar. If anything, those frictions have grown since the democratic transition began. Just last year, Myanmar’s military voiced rare pointed concern about China’s role in ethnic conflict in Myanmar’s north. All this is the say that the Tatmadaw does not have automatically favor China as an international partner. Meanwhile, China eventually became quite comfortable dealing with Aung San Suu Kyi, despite early expectations that her government would embrace the West. The two sides were off to an uncertain start, both because of the lack of ties between Beijing and the NLD and the elephant in the room: China’s long-time support for the military regime that had imprisoned Aung San Suu Kyi. But once the democratic writing was on the wall, Beijing corrected course with high-profile outreach, inviting Aung San Suu Kyi for a tour of China before her NLD was voted into power. That marked her first meeting with Xi, even though she held no formal office at the time. That visit was followed by a steady stream of high-profile interactions, including a 2020 visit by Xi to Myanmar, his last trip abroad before the COVID-19 pandemic halted most international travel. Meanwhile, Chinese Foreign Ministry Wang Yi was Aung San Suu Kyi’s first foreign guest after she assumed the position of foreign minister; he was also in Myanmar less than a month before the coup, seeking to advance CMEC projects. Last month’s visit saw the resurrection of the China-funded Muse-Kyaukphyu rail project, a deal that’s now in jeopardy with the ouster of the NLD. Enjoying this article? Click here to subscribe for full access. Just $5 a month. In fact, the agreement on the China-Myanmar Economic Corridor – highlighted by the proposed deep-water port and special economic zone at Kyaukphyu – was signed in 2017, under NLD rule. Aung San Suu Kyi made for a high-profile guest at the two Belt and Road Forums in Beijing, held in 2017 and 2019. Clearly, Beijing’s interests were not hamstrung under a quasi-democratic Myanmar – in fact, “Beijing had a better relationship with the NLD than the predecessor [government]” in Myanmar, according to Sun. In part, that’s due to pragmatic calculations by Aung San Suu Kyi about China’s importance. But the growth in relations also was indirectly caused by the Rohingya crisis. The military crackdown – and ASSK’s refusal to denounce a campaign bordering on genocide – undermined any hope of renewed ties with the West. Liberal democracies abroad denounced the violence; the United States enacted sanctions on Myanmar’s commander-in-chief, Min Aung Hlaing. The hoped-for wave of Western investment never materialized amid the looming threat of sanctions. Once again, China was Myanmar’s main partner by default. The Rohingya crisis also won Beijing some rare goodwill among the Bamar ethnic majority, which largely resents the international condemnation over the Rohingya crackdown. Anti-China sentiment had been on the rise in China since the political space to express such ideas opened, but Beijing’s support on the Rohingya issue was much appreciated. China was seen to “take the side of the Burmese people,” Sun explained. Beijing can ill-afford to alienate the population once again by wholeheartedly backing a return to military dictatorship. China will try to remain neutral rather than choose between “the party that is in power in Myanmar or the mass public,” Sun predicated. But if mass uprisings or protests materialize, that balance will become more difficult. China will also pay a reputational cost abroad for any perceived support of the Myanmar military – including shielding the country at the United Nations. On February 2, the United Nations Security Council convened for an emergency meeting on Myanmar. U.K., the Security Council president for this month, had drafted a statement that would, according to Reuters, “condemn the coup, call for the military to respect the rule of law and human rights, and immediately release those unlawfully detained.” The statement was not immediately adopted, however, and faces a steep hurdle in China’s reluctance to sign off on any criticism of Myanmar or the Tatmadaw. China holds veto power in the U.N. Security Council. Ahead of the meeting, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang emphasized, “Whatever actions taken by the international community shall contribute to Myanmar’s political and social stability, promote its peace and reconciliation, and avoid escalating the conflict and complicating the situation.” Translation: China doesn’t want to see any major international response, like sanctions. But that comes at a cost to Beijing’s image as a responsible global player. “The bigger the political response, the bigger political liability China has to carry for the Myanmar military,” Sun said. “China will carry it… but I don’t think China will be doing that happily or willingly.” Subscribe toDiplomat All-Access Enjoy full access to the website and get an automatic subscription to our magazine with a Diplomat All-Access subscription.

Diplomatic Visit

Bituminous Coal Strike of 1977–1978

The Bituminous coal strike of 1977–1978 was a 110-day national coal strike in the United States led by the United Mine Workers of America, AFL-CIO. It began December 6, 1977, and ended on March 19, 1978. It is generally considered a successful union strike, although the contract was not beneficial to union members. Since the 1940s, the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) had negotiated a nationwide National Coal Wage Agreement with the Bituminous Coal Operators Association (BCOA), a group of large coal mine operators. The three-year agreements covered national bargaining issues such as wages, health and pension benefits, workplace health and safety, and work rules. Local agreements, far more limited in scope, were negotiated by each individual local affiliate of UMWA. UMWA president Arnold Miller had negotiated the previous collective bargaining agreement during the Bituminous Coal Strike of 1974. The right of local unions to strike—not wages—was the primary issue in the negotiations. Low coal prices in the 1930s drove coal operators to cut wages. During the Franklin Roosevelt administration, UMWA and other unions established industry-wide national collective bargaining agreements. In UMWA's case, this meant stripping local unions of the right to strike without the international union's approval. But wildcat strikes had become common in the coal industry. UMWA miners grew frustrated with the terms of national contracts and dispute resolution and grievances. Democratic reforms within the Mine Workers and the 1974 contract had not released the pressure which caused wildcat strikes. Absent the right to strike, UMWA's democracy movement rejected labor peace and wildcat strikes had become even more common. Miller had been forced to accept the right to strike over local conditions in order to win re-election in June 1977. When national bargaining talks opened in the fall, Miller therefore insisted on changing the national collective bargaining agreement to give each UMWA affiliate the limited right to strike over local issues. Miller argued that the only way to suppress wildcat strikes was to regulate the process and give local unions the right to strike. With the power that the ability to strike would give local unions, local mine operators would no longer create the conditions which led to strikes. But the owners rejected Miller's demand. They had seen how he was unable to bring wildcat strikers back to the bargaining table and they had little faith that his proposal would work. Instead, they demanded the right to fire wildcat strikers and fine any miner who refused to cross wildcat picket lines. [1][2] UMWA's negotiating position was not an enviable one, however. Power utilities had built up a 120-day supply of coal, while iron and steel producers had a 75-day supply. Both were more than sufficient to weather a miners' strike. Additionally, the number of coal mines controlled by UMWA had fallen from 67 percent to 50 percent since 1974, leaving more mines in operation to supply national needs during a strike. [3] The oil crisis which had powered the 1974 round of bargaining no longer existed, and coal demand was lower. [4] Miller had also hurt himself. He had fired most of his supporters in the intervening three years, including press officer Bernard Aronson,[5] research director Thomas Bethell[6] and most of the research department staff, leaving UMWA organizationally unable to handle the needs of the negotiations and strike. Miller turned to the Stanley H. Ruttenberg Company for negotiating advice and assistance at the bargaining table. This caused confusion among UMWA negotiators as to strategy, tactics and the content of proposals, and caused mixed signals to be sent by the bargaining committee, Miller and other UMWA officers. The lack of organizational competence and flow of mixed messages helped prolong the labor dispute. [4] UMWA struck when the national contract expired on December 6, 1977. As the bargaining talks continued in December, sporadic violence broke out. A coal auger was blown up at a mine near Saint Charles, Georgia, a coal train was stopped and delayed in Cambria County, Pennsylvania, and in Utah a state judge issued a 10-day restraining order against the union and 1,100 summonses issued after replacement miners complained of being harassed by picketers. On December 13, state police in riot gear tear-gassed about 400 coal miners in Daviess County, Kentucky, who had thrown rocks and bottles at passing coal trucks. Four weeks into the strike, five union miners were indicted on federal charges for conspiracy in the dynamiting of a section of the Norfolk and Western Railway on which non-union coal was being carried. [7] In Indiana, Gov. Otis Bowen called out the National Guard on February 14 to protect coal truck convoys. In Virginia, Gov. John Dalton declared a state of emergency on March 7 and ordered the state police to begin patrolling coal-producing areas. [8] But Pennsylvania Gov. Milton Shapp and West Virginia Gov. Jay Rockefeller refused to call out the National Guard in their states, and Illinois Gov. James R. Thompson agreed to let his state police officers to accompany federal marshals but refused to have them enforce federal labor law. [9] A tentative agreement was reached February 6, 1978. The agreement imposed penalties for wildcat strikes and chronic absenteeism, turned the union's health and pension plans over to the employers, forced workers to pay part of their health insurance premiums, and instituted a bonus system for productivity increases. [10] The union's bargaining council rejected the tentative agreement on February 12. [4][10] A second tentative agreement was reached. UMWA's bargaining council approved the pact and sent it to the membership for ratification.

Strike

1978 IAAF World Cross Country Championships

The 1978 IAAF World Cross Country Championships was held in Glasgow, Scotland, at the Bellahouston Park on 25 March 1978. A report on the event was given in the Glasgow Herald. [1] Complete results for men,[2] junior men,[3] women,[4] medallists, [5] and the results of British athletes[6] were published. An unofficial count yields the participation of 358 athletes from 27 countries. This is in agreement with the official numbers as published. [6]

Sports Competition

Aeroflot Flight 120 crash

Aeroflot Flight 120 was an international Soviet passenger flight from Kabul International Airport in Afghanistan to Tashkent International Airport in the Uzbek SSR. On 13 December 1959 the Aeroflot Ilyushin Il-14P operating the flight crashed in the Boysun District killing all 25 passengers and 5 crew on board. The Il-14P aircraft was released by the Moscow Banner of Labor plant on 17 May 1957, with a serial number of 147001416. After release, it was sold to the General Directorate of the civil air fleet. The airliner received the tail number СССР-Л1577 and was sent to the 160th Tashkent air transport detachment of the Uzbek territorial administration. In 1959, the onboard number was changed to CCCP-91577 due to re-registration. The aircraft had 3,029 total flight hours at the time of crash. [1][2] The plane operated as Aeroflot Flight 120 from Kabul (the Kingdom of Afghanistan) to Tashkent (Uzbekistan) with a stopover in Termez. At 09:02 MSK, flight 120 with 25 passengers and 5 crew members on board departed from Termez airport to Tashkent. According to the weather forecast, the route was expected to have stratocumulus clouds with individual breaks and a lower boundary of 2,000–2,500 meters, cumulus clouds with a lower boundary of 300–500 meters, snowfall with a visibility about 4–10 kilometers, and mountains covered with clouds. The airliner climbed to 3,600 meters and headed north. At 09:27 the crew reported their position over Derbent. It was the last radio message from flight 120. A minute later, at 09:28, the plane disappeared from the controllers radar as it entered the mountains. The crew did not respond to the calls any longer and did not arrive in Tashkent. Searches were conducted within the month, but were unsuccessful. On 19 January 1960, only 37 days later, the Soviet Embassy in Kabul officially announced the disappearance of the Flight 120. [2] Six months later, on 2 June 1960, an Mi-1 helicopter registered СССР-66912 flew over the Baysuntau Range, when its crew saw fragments of an aircraft on the southeast slope of Mount Kushtang, 27 kilometers northeast of Baysun. The search service that later arrived at the site discovered that the crashed aircraft was flight 120. It was determined that the aircraft was flying at an altitude of 3,700 meters and at a bank angle of 45-60° when the left wing, then the fuselage impacted the sheer mountain slope. The wreckage rolled two hundred meters down to the base of the slope at 3,501 meters. All 30 people on board died. [2] At that time, it was the largest crash of the Il-14 aircraft and the second largest plane crash in Uzbekistan. [3] After departing from Termez, the crew did not follow the established route, but instead flew directly through Derbent and mountains to Tashkent. This was determined to be the main cause of the disaster. At the same time, the crew did not take into account the actual wind, which caused the plane to divert from the chosen path towards the mountains, after which it flew into the clouds around these mountains and then crashed into the them. [2] During the investigation, the commission found various irregularities in the provision of air transportation in the region. Pilots were flying straight through mountain ranges and diverting from the established route. Air traffic controllers at the same time poorly monitored flights through existing equipment and did not try to return the aircraft back to its route. Also, in the case of the crash of flight 120, the visual flight rules were violated, as the flight took place in a mountainous area in conditions of overcast and closed mountain peaks. [2]

Air crash

Assassination of Juvénal Habyarimana and Cyprien Ntaryamira crash

On the evening of 6 April 1994, the aircraft carrying Rwandan president Juvénal Habyarimana and Burundian president Cyprien Ntaryamira, both Hutu, was shot down with surface-to-air missiles as it prepared to land in Kigali, Rwanda. The assassination set in motion the Rwandan genocide, one of the bloodiest events of the late 20th century. Responsibility for the attack is disputed, with most theories proposing as suspects either the Tutsi rebel Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) or government-aligned Hutu Power followers opposed to negotiation with the RPF. [1] In 1990, the Rwandan Civil War began when the Rwandan Patriotic Front, dominated by the Tutsi ethnic group, invaded northern Rwanda from Uganda. Most of the RPF fighters were either refugees or the sons of refugees who had fled ethnic purges by the Hutu government in the middle of the century. The attempt to overthrow the government failed, though the RPF was able to maintain control of a border region. [2] As it became clear that the war had reached a stalemate, the sides began peace negotiations in May 1992, which resulted in the signing in August 1993 of the Arusha Accords to create a power-sharing government. [3] The war radicalized the internal opposition. The RPF's show of force intensified support for the so-called "Hutu Power" ideology. Hutu Power portrayed the RPF as an alien force intent on reinstating the Tutsi monarchy and enslaving the Hutus, a prospect which must be resisted at all costs. [4] This ideology was embraced most wholeheartedly by the Coalition for the Defense of the Republic (CDR) who advocated racist principles known as the Hutu Ten Commandments. This political force led to the collapse of the first Habyarimana government in July 1993, when Prime Minister Dismas Nsengiyaremye criticized the president in writing for delaying a peace agreement. Habyarimana, a member of the MRND political party, dismissed Nsengiyarmye and appointed Agathe Uwilingiyimana, who was perceived to be less sympathetic to the RPF, in his stead. The main opposition parties refused to support Madame Agathe's appointment, each splitting into two factions: one calling for the unwavering defense of Hutu Power and the other, labeled "moderate", that sought a negotiated settlement to the war. As Prime Minister Uwilingiyimana was unable to form a coalition government, ratification of the Arusha Accords was impossible. The most extreme of the Hutu parties, the CDR, which openly called for ethnic cleansing of the Tutsi, was entirely unrepresented in the Accords. [5] The security situation deteriorated throughout 1993. Armed Hutu militias attacked Tutsis throughout the country, while high-ranking adherents of Hutu Power began to consider how the security forces might be turned to genocide. [6] In February 1994, Roméo Dallaire, the head of the military force attached to the United Nations Assistance Mission for Rwanda (UNAMIR), which had been sent to observe the implementation of the Arusha Accords, informed his superiors, "Time does seem to be running out for political discussions, as any spark on the security side could have catastrophic consequences. "[7] In the United Nations Security Council, early April 1994 saw a sharp disagreement between the United States and the non-permanent members of the council over UNAMIR. Despite a classified February Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) analysis predicting half a million deaths if the Arusha process failed,[8] the U.S. was attempting to reduce its international commitments in the wake of the Somalia debacle and lobbied to end the mission. A compromise extending UNAMIR's mandate for three more months was finally reached on the evening of Tuesday, the fifth of April. Meanwhile, Habyarimana was finishing regional travel. On 4 April, he had flown to Zaire to meet with president Mobutu Sese Seko and on 6 April flew to Dar es Salaam, Tanzania for a one-day regional summit for heads of state convened by Tanzanian President Ali Hassan Mwinyi. [9] For the return trip, Habyarimana offered to take Saleh Tambwe, Tanzania's Ambassador to Rwanda, with him back to Rwanda. He then extended the offer to President of Burundi Cyprien Ntaryamira. Ntaryamira accepted,[10] preferring Habyarimana's faster Dassault Falcon 50 to his own transport. Several Burundian ministers joined the president on the flight. [11] As a result of this new arrangement, Tambwe was not brought onboard to make room for the Burundian entourage. [10] According to interim Prime Minister Jean Kambanda's testimony to the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR), President Mobutu Sese Seko of neighboring Zaire (now DRC) had warned Habyarimana not to go to Dar es Salaam on 6 April. Mobutu reportedly said this warning had come from a very senior official in the Élysée Palace in Paris. There was a link between this warning, said Mobutu, and the subsequent suicide in the Élysée of François de Grossouvre, a senior high-ranking official who was working for President François Mitterrand and who killed himself on 7 April after learning about the downing of the Falcon. [12] Shortly before 8:20 pm local time (18:20 UTC), the presidential jet circled once around Kigali International Airport before coming in for final approach in clear skies. [13] A weekly flight by a Belgian C-130 Hercules carrying UNAMIR troops returning from leave had been scheduled to land before the presidential jet, but was waved off to give the president priority. [14] A surface-to-air missile struck one of the wings of the Dassault Falcon, then a second missile hit its tail. The plane erupted into flames in mid-air before crashing into the garden of the presidential palace, exploding on impact. [13][15] The plane carried three French crew and nine passengers. [16] The attack was witnessed by numerous people. One of two Belgian officers in the garden of a house in Kanombe, the district in which the airport is located, saw and heard the first missile climb into the sky, saw a red flash in the sky and heard an aircraft engine stopping, followed by another missile. He immediately called Major de Saint-Quentin, part of the French team attached to the Rwandan para-commando battalion Commandos de recherche et d'action en profondeur, who advised him to organize protection for his Belgian comrades. Similarly, another Belgian officer stationed in an unused airport control tower saw the lights of an approaching aircraft, a light traveling upward from the ground and the aircraft lights going out. This was followed by a second light rising from the same place as the first and the plane turning into a falling ball of fire. This officer immediately radioed his company commander, who confirmed with the operational control tower that the plane was the presidential aircraft. [17] A Rwandan soldier in the military camp in Kanombe recalled, You know, its engine sound was different from other planes; that is, the president's engine's sound ... We were looking towards where the plane was coming from, and we saw a projectile and we saw a ball of flame or flash and we saw the plane go down; and I saw it. I was the leader of the bloc so I asked the soldiers to get up and I told them "Get up because Kinani [a Kinyarwanda nickname for Habyarimana meaning "famous" or "invincible"] has been shot down.' They told me, "You are lying." I said, "It's true." So I opened my wardrobe, I put on my uniform and I heard the bugle sound. [18] A Rwandan officer cadet at the airport who was listening to the Radio Télévision Libre des Mille Collines heard the announcer state that the presidential jet was coming in to land. The spoken broadcast stopped suddenly in favor of a selection of classical music.

Air crash

2013 Solomon Islands earthquake

The 2013 Solomon Islands earthquake struck northeast of Australia on 6 February with a moment magnitude of 8.0 and a maximum Mercalli intensity of VIII (Severe). Its epicenter was the Solomon Islands, at the boundaries of the Australian and Pacific tectonic plates, causing local evacuations and a tsunami of 1.5 m (4.9 ft) and killing at least nine people. The Santa Cruz and Solomon Islands are located on the plate boundary between the Australian and Pacific plate. This highly seismic region has “near 90° bend in the boundary…"[1] This area experiences much plate movement as the Santa Cruz Island “has upper plate strike-slip and normal faulting, plate boundary under-thrusting, outer rise extensional faulting, and intraplate faulting” and the Solomon Islands are located on the subduction zone of the two boundaries. [1] On February 6, 2013, the largest under-thrusting earthquake ever to be recorded in that area caused a tsunami and both were destructive to the area. Major villages on both groups of islands, Lata and Nendö were destroyed and at least 724 homes were confirmed as damaged. On 6 February 2013, at 12:12 local time (01:12 UTC) an earthquake struck the Solomon Islands, located in the south Pacific Ocean. [2] The epicenter was 76 kilometres (47 mi) west of Lata on Nendo Island. [2] The earthquake occurred due to the interaction between the Australian Plate and the Pacific Plate, and was preceded by dozens of foreshocks in the region. [2] The magnitude of this earthquake was put at 8.0 on the moment magnitude scale. [2] At least 20 aftershocks were reported,[3] including one measuring 7.1[4] on 8 February and two measuring M7.0. [5] “This event had a shallow dipping thrust faulting mechanism…” and “…produced a tsunami of ~ 1.5 height” on the Santa Cruz Islands. [1] Toward the end of the week before February 6, the area was very active and there were many magnitude 6 earthquakes that occurred in the area. The closest island to the epicenter, Nendo and its largest city, Lata were said to experience the largest amount of shaking. Even though there were aftershock earthquakes of magnitude 6, the most worrisome effect of the earthquake was the potential tsunami. As the wait for the tsunami continued, many villages had already been destroyed. For example, earthquake shaking destroyed many villages to the west and south of Lata, on the coastline, before the tsunami arrived. Many Pacific countries ordered evacuations, as their authorities did not take any risks. Countries that were not on the warning list were evacuated. Residents of the Solomon Islands and other surrounding islands were working their way to higher ground. Major traffic jams were caused in Honiara, the capital city of Solomon Islands as people attempted to flee the coming wave. After the main shock, the epicenter area was hit by 13 aftershocks greater than magnitude 5.” The earthquake was formed on the boundary between the Pacific and Australian plates. This area has complicated faulting patterns that are close to the Solomon Island arcs and Vanuatu Island arcs. The area is used to high frequency, low to moderate intensity seismic activity. [1] Many of the “larger events recorded have involved intraplate and interplate earthquakes with magnitudes up to about 8.0, several of which were located near the abrupt bends in the arcs. [1] The Solomon Islands appear to have more seismic activity than the other areas earthquake productivity than most areas. The area also seems to produce more earthquake “doublets” and “triplets,” a deviation from the normal earthquake aftershock in which a second and sometimes third earthquake can be produced from the aftershock of the first earthquake. [6] This occurs rarely, maybe once or twice a year, making this area a unique seismic area. In Honiara, the capital of the Solomon Islands, residents evacuated to higher ground,[7] causing traffic jams. [8] Local news agencies reported that four villages were destroyed. [3] Houses were flooded in eastern Temotu Province. [5] On Santa Cruz Island, 1.5 m (4.9 ft) waves damaged 50 buildings. [9] In Lata, the tsunami damaged the airport and flooded low-lying areas,[10] killing nine people, five elderly and one child. [11] More than 100 houses on the island were damaged, and the water and electricity services were interrupted. [12] It was reported that almost all houses in Nela village were washed away, and some homes in Venga village were shifted by water. [13] Officials in Noumea ordered residents to evacuate along the eastern coast of New Caledonia and nearby Loyalty Islands. [14] Residents also evacuated to higher ground in Suva, the capital of Fiji. [3] The earthquake killed 9 people, and 5 people remain listed as missing. [11] The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center issued a tsunami warning for the Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea, Fiji,[15] and several other islands in the region; the agency also issued a tsunami watch for Australia, New Zealand and eastern Indonesia. [7][16] The earthquake produced a tsunami measuring 1 metre (3 ft 3 in) at Lata, Solomon Islands,[7][16] that reached about 500 m (1,600 ft) inland. [3] Smaller tsunamis of 11 cm (4.3 in) and 50 cm (20 in) were reported in Vanuatu and New Caledonia, respectively. [8] There are many human elements that affect the ecosystem and how both the Santa Cruz and Solomon Islands will recover from natural disasters. Though it was once one of the most diverse ecosystems in the world, very little attention is given in the Solomons to biodiversity and environmental conservation. [17] 85% of the people on these islands live a subsistence lifestyle. [17] The population is growing about 4.4% annually and as it grows, the people must use more of their natural resources as food and shelter. [17] The ecosystems in both of these islands are already being threatened by invasive species, major loss of coastal land, and overharvesting. That means that sudden major loss of biodiversity, like that caused by both the earthquake and tsunami, can lead to “hunger, poverty, disease, and conflict and is a threat to internal security…” to both islands. [17]

Earthquakes

Programming language experts win ‘Nobel Prize of computing’

Our mission to make business better is fueled by readers like you. To enjoy unlimited access to our journalism, subscribe today. Alfred Aho and Jeffrey Ullman have won this year’s Turing Award, computer science’s equivalent of the Nobel Prize, for their work on programming languages.Through more than three decades of collaboration, Aho and Ullman coauthored a series of seminal textbooks on programming languages, data, and algorithms that shaped the thinking of a generation of computer scientists. They are particularly known for their work on the theory of compilers, a type of software that converts instructions from an abstract programming language, such as the database-specific language SQL, into the machine code that the computer executes.Thanks to theories Aho, now 79, and Ullman, 78, helped develop, most coders working on programs today don’t need to worry about how a computer’s circuits are actually configured or exactly how information is routed through the machine. “Aho and Ullman established bedrock ideas about algorithms, formal languages, compilers, and databases, which were instrumental in the development of today’s programming and software landscape,” said Jeff Dean, a storied Google engineer and executive who is currently the company’s senior fellow and senior vice president at Google Research and Google Health.The Turing Award is given annually by the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM). The winners share a $1 million prize, which Google helps fund. The prize is named for Alan Turing, the British mathematician who developed the foundations of modern computing.This year’s Turing winners began their collaboration at Bell Labs in the late 1960s, after both received Ph.D.s from Princeton University. They initially worked on developing more efficient algorithms and translating programming languages. Although Ullman left Bell Labs to return to academia in 1969, eventually ending up at Stanford University, where he is currently a professor emeritus, the two continued to write books together.In 1974, they published The Design and Analysis of Computer Algorithms, which became the standard textbook for courses on algorithms for more than a decade. The book was influential for grouping individual algorithms into more general design categories which continued to exert great influence on the field. Three years later, Aho and Ullman published Principles of Compiler Design, which also became a classic, teaching generations of students how to create compilers and how to think about the theory of computer languages. The textbook became known as “the Dragon Book” among computer science students because it featured a dragon on its cover, resembling some magical tome Harry Potter might cart around Hogwarts, except the fictional wizard hadn’t been invented yet. “I am often told that putting this funny cover on the Dragon Book attracted students to study computer science,” Ullman says. “A lot of students liked the idea of walking around campus with this weird book under their arm.” Aho, who worked at Bell Labs for more than 30 years and is currently a computer science professor emeritus at Columbia University, says that while at the famed corporate lab he saw firsthand the importance of designing programming languages that would work well for people who needed computers to perform work in a specific field, such as mathematics or chemistry or typesetting, without having to be experts in how computers functioned. Ullman describes the art of creating programming languages as “enabling the programmer to say as little as possible and have as much happen as possible.”Both Aho and Ullman say that when they look back on their careers, they are most gratified by the impact they have had on students they have taught and mentored, many of whom now hold senior posts at major technology companies and have invented numerous programming languages. Among Ullman’s Ph.D. students was Google cofounder Sergey Brin.Aho says that it was important to give students a grounding in the theory of programming languages and algorithms, in part because the languages themselves tend to be subject to changing fashion. “If you look at the first programming languages taught to students in academia, it changes all the time,” he notes. “It was C or C++, and then Pascal was popular, and now Python seems to be the first programming language. Who knows what it will be 10 years from now, 100 years from now, 1,000 years from now?” He adds, “We both feel fundamentals and abstractions have more staying power than the technology of the moment.”

Awards ceremony

2014 Women's European Water Polo Championship

The 2014 Men's European Water Polo Championship was held in Budapest from 14–27 July 2014. [2] There were 12 teams in the 2014 championships. They qualified as follows:[2] The structure of the championships is that there were two groups of six teams followed by a knockout phase. The first three teams in each group qualified to compete for the championship, with the first-place teams given a bye to the semifinals. The last three teams in each group played a classification tournament for 7th–12th place. The draw was held on 9 March 2014. [3]  Montenegro Italy Greece Romania Russia Georgia  Serbia Hungary Germany Croatia France Spain The schedule was announced on 10 May 2014. [4][5]

Sports Competition

NBA, NBPA establish the National Basketball Social Justice Coalition

NEW YORK — The National Basketball Association (NBA) and National Basketball Players Association (NBPA) today announced the formation of the National Basketball Social Justice Coalition, an organization that will lead the NBA family’s collective efforts to advance equality and social justice. Through its mission to leverage the game’s influence to raise awareness, educate and advocate for meaningful reform, the Coalition will focus on action and change in several areas, including voting access and criminal justice system reform at the national, state and local level. The National Basketball Social Justice Coalition will be led by a group of five team governors, five players and two coaches. Additionally, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, NBA Deputy Commissioner and Chief Operating Officer Mark Tatum and NBPA Executive Director Michele Roberts will serve on the Coalition’s board. The inaugural board members are: NBA Board of Governors: National Basketball Players Association: National Basketball Coaches Association: The formation of the Coalition is another step in the NBA and NBPA’s ongoing efforts to advance social justice, building upon a shared goal of the 2019-20 season restart in Orlando and continuing decades of work by players and teams to address racial inequality, advocate for meaningful change and promote greater civic engagement. Throughout their time on the Orlando campus, players, coaches and staff participated in social justice programming organized by the league and union and accessed educational resources and expert speakers, including former first lady Michelle Obama, motivational speaker Eric Thomas and NBA legend and former United States Senator Bill Bradley, to help sustain momentum in addressing systemic inequities and creating meaningful change. Additionally, the jerseys from the opening weekend of the NBA restart, including those displaying social justice messages, were auctioned at Auctions.NBA.com to support a newly-created Player’s Justice Fund administered by the NBPA Foundation. In early August, the NBA Board of Governors announced a $300 million initial contribution to establish the first-ever NBA Foundation dedicated to creating greater economic empowerment in the Black community and in October named the inaugural Board of Directors, which included Sacramento Kings Forward Harrison Barnes, New Orleans Pelicans Governor Gayle Benson, Philadelphia 76ers Forward Tobias Harris, Charlotte Hornets Chairman Michael Jordan, Atlanta Hawks Principal Governor Tony Ressler, NBPA Executive Director Michele Roberts, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver and NBA Board of Governors Chairman and Toronto Raptors Governor Larry Tanenbaum. The NBA and NBPA also took leaguewide action to promote greater civic engagement and expand voting access and voter awareness ahead of the 2020 election. In total, 23 teams committed their arenas or practice facilities for voting-related activities, and all 30 teams were actively involved in promoting greater civic engagement. The league and union worked with players, network partners and non-partisan organizations, including I Am A Voter and When We All Vote, to feature advertising spots during the postseason, participated in National Voter Registration Day, National Vote Early Day and National Black Voter Day, and shared voting, registration and census resources with teams and players. The NBA family also partnered with More Than A Vote, the NAACP Legal Defense Fund and Power The Polls to support the “We Got Next” poll worker recruitment campaign, which signed up 20,000 new poll workers, including 10,000 who registered after the league and union hosted 40 first-time volunteers, President Barack Obama and NBA legends in a virtual fan section during Game 1 of the 2020 NBA Finals. Breaking down stats and film on key storylines throughout the league after the 1st month of the season. Giannis Antetokounmpo's dominant showing Wednesday against the Lakers has L.A. flustered as its road trek begins. Philadelphia has dealt with plenty of adversity this season, from the absence of Ben Simmons to players missing games due to health and safety protocols. The Lakers are 4-6 overall this season without James, who has missed the last eight games with an abdominal injury. Sheppard's offseason moves have helped the Wizards to their best start since 1974-75.

Organization Established

Gatwick Airport drone incident crash

Between 19 and 21 December 2018, hundreds of flights were cancelled at Gatwick Airport near London, England, following reports of drone sightings close to the runway. With 140,000 passengers and 1,000 flights affected, it was the biggest disruption at Gatwick since its closure following the 2010 volcano eruptions in Iceland. On 21 December, Sussex Police arrested two people who lived near the airport. They were cleared of any involvement and released without charge two days later, and later awarded compensation for wrongful arrest and false imprisonment. In April 2019, Sussex Police said the disruption could have been an inside job. [1] No culprit or evidence of drones was found; some commentators have suggested there was no drone, and that the incident may have been caused by mass panic. Police maintain the incident was a malicious attack. Gatwick Airport is a major international airport near Crawley, West Sussex, England, 29.5 miles (47.5 km) south of Central London. [2] It is the second-busiest airport by total passenger traffic in the UK, after Heathrow Airport. [3] On 19 December 2018, shortly after 9pm, a security officer reported seeing two drones while waiting at a bus stop at Gatwick Airport: one above a vehicle, and the other above a nearby perimeter fence. Due to the risk of collision with aircraft, Gatwick immediately closed its only runway and suspended all flights. [4] Within half an hour, six more sightings had been reported, five from police officers. [4] A number of flights were cancelled or diverted, stranding thousands of travellers. [5] By midnight, 58 flights had been cancelled. [4] The sightings of drones were reported up to 9am the following day, in approximately hourly intervals. [6] The following day, Gatwick prepared to reopen the runway several times; each time, more drone sightings were reported. [4] This led police to believe the operator was intentionally disrupting flights, and may have access to airport radar or communication systems. [4] No act of terrorism was suspected. [7] Police suspected that any drone would have been of an "industrial" class. [5] Later that day, the military were deployed along with officers from five other police forces,[4] following a request from Sussex Police for help to end the unprecedented situation. [8][9] Authorities later stated that the suspected drone operator was within a 5-mile (8 km) radius of the airport. [10] Gatwick reopened with limited capacity at around 06:00 on 21 December. [11] At 09:30 on 21 December, Gatwick Airport chief operating officer Chris Woodroofe described the airport as operating at "almost normal runway conditions",[12] and said it would be "back to normal" by the end of the day. [12] At 17:30, the runway was closed again due to a suspected drone sighting,[13] before being reopened at 18:23. [14] There were delays to some scheduled flights on 22 December, resulting from the displacement of crews and aircraft. [15] The RAF withdrew on 3 January 2019 after Gatwick spent £5 million on a system to prevent attacks. During the crisis, it had been reported that the Army had been deployed and would be using the Drone Dome – an Israeli-developed counter UAS system – at Gatwick. The Ministry of Defence later confirmed that the RAF Regiment had been deployed and were using an alternative system as the Israeli one had not yet been delivered. [16] UK defence company Leonardo admitted it was their Falcon Shield system along with the Metis Aerospace Skyperion Counter UAS that were deployed at Gatwick, no drone contact was recorded at Gatwick nor was the following drone sighting at Heathrow on January 9th 2019 confirmed by their system. Leonardo admitted that Gatwick airport with the support of Sussex Police conducted drone sorties to test the counter drone systems. [17] In July 2021, following pressure from the media and MP Henry Smith,[18] Sussex Police responded to Freedom of Information requests for their final report, the police operation was called Trebor and the report was a highly redacted debrief of this operation. [19] In the timeline on page 6, was the revelation that from the 22nd December, the airport resumed flights despite continued sightings of the drone, the timeline entry reads "No further suspensions of flying at Gatwick, although sightings of a drone continued" this was a change of policy over the previous days where sightings had suspended flights. The complete timeline only records the presence of the drone being reported after sunset, from evenings into the early hours. In total, the incident diverted or cancelled approximately 1,000 flights, affecting around 140,000 passengers. [15] The investigation into the disruption lasted 18 months, cost £800,000 and involved five different police forces. [4] 170 drone sightings were reported, 115 of which were deemed "credible" by police. [4] No videos or photographs of the drone were given to the police. [20][21] Chief Constable Giles York said the police believed the original sightings were of an unauthorised drone, but that later sightings may have been of a drone used by Sussex Police. [22] Gatwick Airport offered a £50,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of the perpetrators. [23] The investigation was closed on 27 September 2019, citing lack of new information. [4] No culprit or evidence of drone use was found, and the description of the drone, as of May 2021, is unknown. [4][6] On 21 December 2018, a couple from Crawley, less than two miles from Gatwick Airport,[23][24][10] were arrested on suspicion of disrupting civil aviation "to endanger or likely to endanger safety of operations or persons",[25][26] a criminal offence with a maximum sentence of life imprisonment under the Aviation and Maritime Security Act 1990. [27] On 23 December, the couple were ruled out of the investigation and released without charge, having been questioned for almost 36 hours. [23] Their names and photographs were published by some news outlets,[20] and they were named by the local Member of Parliament, Henry Smith, but not by the police. [28][29] An employer of one of the suspects said he was at work when the incidents took place and accused the force of ignoring his attempts to contact them regarding the alibi. He told a newspaper: "Although there was a complete lack of evidence, the police ripped his house apart. I know this will mentally destroy him ... Sussex Police have really dropped the ball on this. "[citation needed] The police had arrested the couple after learning they were drone enthusiasts who lived close to the airport. [23] In a statement, the couple said they felt "completely violated" by the police and media intrusion into their lives. [30] Speaking to the BBC on 29 December 2018, Giles York, the Chief Constable of Sussex Police, said he felt sorry for the couple, but thought their arrest was justified.

Air crash

Elaine Thompson-Herah broke Florence Griffith Joyner's 33-year-old Olympic record in the women's 100 meters

TOKYO -- Elaine Thompson-Herah broke Florence Griffith Joyner's 33-year-old Olympic record in the women's 100 meters, pointing at the scoreboard even before crossing the line in 10.61 seconds Saturday to defend her title and lead a Jamaican sweep of the medals. Griffith Joyner set the old record of 10.62 at the 1988 Seoul Olympics. Thompson-Herah beat her top rival, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, by .13 seconds. Shericka Jackson, who moved to the shorter sprints for the Tokyo Olympics, won bronze in 10.76. No Olympic champion had broken 10.7 since FloJo. Thompson-Herah wasn't sure she would do it either as she approached the finish. But "I knew that I won," she said. "The pointing, I don't know what it means. To show that I was clear," she said. Elaine Thompson-Herah broke Florence Griffith Joyner's 33-year-old Olympic record in the women's 100 meters, crossing the line in 10.61 seconds. Griffith Joyner set the old record of 10.62 at the 1988 Seoul Olympics.  Getty Images This was the first Jamaican sweep of the medals since the women did it at the 2008 Beijing Games -- a feat somewhat overshadowed that week by the record-setting performance of Usain Bolt. But really, there is no overlooking the Jamaican women, who actually have a longer history of sprint success than the men in the island country. Fraser-Pryce finished on top in that 2008 race, and completed her Olympic set in the 100, where she now has two golds ('08, '12), a silver and a bronze ('16). Fraser-Pryce and Thompson-Herah are headed for a possible rematch in the 200, where Thompson-Herah is also the defending champion. This had been shaping up as a fast race for days, if not months. In June, Fraser-Pryce ran the fourth-fastest time in history at 10.63 seconds. And when the sprinters arrived in Japan, they discovered a fast track at Olympic Stadium. In the semifinals earlier Saturday, the Jamaicans all cracked 10.8 to get on the list of the 10 best times in Olympic history. Then, it was Thompson-Herah's turn to make history. FloJo's records are older than virtually every sprinter in the women's game, save Fraser-Pryce, who was born about 18 months before the American set the marks. Griffith Joyner's world record, the 10.49, is still out there, and no other woman has ever broken 10.6. Fraser-Pryce came in thinking it could be her, and when she crossed the line in second, she flashed a look of disbelief, then stood stone-faced with her hands on her hips looking at the scoreboard. Thompson-Herah wasn't surprised. She was looking left toward the clock as she approached the line. She was pointing even before she got there, conjuring memories of Bolt, who celebrated with 10 meters to go when he ran 9.69 to set the men's world record in 2008. "I think I could have gone faster if I wasn't pointing and celebrating, really," Thompson-Herah said. "But to show you that there's more in store. Hopefully one day I can unleash that time." The women's 100 shaped up as potentially the best race of the Olympics, ahead of the Bolt-less men's sprint. As if to accentuate that point, the favorite in the men's race, American sprinter Trayvon Bromell, finished fourth in his qualifying heat and had to wait nearly an hour to see if he'd get one of three wild-card spots into Sunday's semifinal round. He did, and said, "Honestly, I have no words for it," when asked to explain the lackluster run. Another surprise came in the Olympic debut of the mixed 4x400 relay, where Poland won the gold and Alexander Ogando of the Dominican Republic sprawled over the line to edge out the Americans for second. The U.S., which was disqualified from the preliminary heat the night before, only to be reinstated after an appeal, settled for bronze. Allyson Felix, who spearheaded a win in this race two years ago at the world championships, was not in the lineup. The evening's other medal event was men's discus, where Daniel Stahl and Simon Pettersson led a 1-2 Swedish finish. The Swedes draped flags over their shoulders and jogged on the grass down the backstretch during a celebration in front of a near-empty stadium. Not long after, the real running began, and Thompson-Herah found herself in a spot she was familiar with -- first at the Olympics, but with a time no woman had ever seen on this stage: 10.61.

Break historical records

Six Theories On When The U.S./U.K. Travel Ban Will Be Lifted

There are many theories over when tourist travel will restart between the U.S. and the U.K. There are many people waiting for the borders to reopen between the U.K. and U.S. for a myriad of reasons: to see loved ones, for work, to reunite with friends and family or simply to complete the trips they’ve been wanting to take. As President Biden plans to arrive in the U.K. next week for the G7 Summit in Cornwall, his first trip overseas since taking office, there have been renewed calls by the airline industry to kickstart travel between the two countries: PROMOTED According to InsureMyTrip, Americans are searching for and buying travel insurance again for trips to European destinations, with Iceland, the U.K., Greece, and Italy trending and back on the Top Ten list for the first time since the pandemic began. For these people, there are several key dates to keep an eye on, as to when the borders might open on either side (both borders don’t need to open at the same time). The U.S./Canadian border, the longest in the world, will remain closed until at least 21 June, as will the Mexican border (however, it is still possible to fly as the air border is not closed). This theory makes the most logical sense, in that the U.S. is less likely to revoke the travel ban from the EU and the U.K. before it does the same for its neighbors. On May 17, the U.K. government announced its safe list of countries, from which arrivals into the country would not need to quarantine and non-essential travel would be allowed. There were 12 countries on the list, which was updated 8 June to remove one of those countries, Portugal (leaving many travelers having to pay rising airfares to get home before the 4am cutoff–after which a ten-day quarantine would need to be observed). The U.K. is due to update this list of safe countries on 28 June, at which point it could add the U.S. to the list. However, The Telegraph reported that Matt Hancock, the U.K.’s Health Minister announced to the public on 7 June that they shouldn’t expect any changes to the green list soon and that summer holidays were off “in the medium term.” It was reported that industry and travel professionals understand this to mean that additional countries will not be added to the green list on 28 June and foreign holidays would be restricted even into July. Many EU countries have put in place traffic light systems with different rules for vaccinated and non-vaccinated travelers and it seems plausible that the U.S. and the U.K. could roll out a similar policy. As reported in The Times and The Sun, Prime Minister Johnson wants to tout the idea of a travel corridor with President Biden at the G7 Summit, where regardless of whether the U.S. was on a list of amber or red countries, vaccinated travelers could move freely between both without quarantine. The Financial Times reported that British ministers had been “struggling” to persuade American counterparts to lift the ban on non-U.S. travelers and that whilst Boris Johnson planned to raise the issue before the G7 Summit, they did not expect the ban to be revoked at the summit or even in June. President Biden has announced that the Independence Day holiday will celebrate “our independence from this virus” and so one Whitehall official is quoted as saying that “the best we are likely to get is something tied to July 4.” Reuters reported that airline officials have also commented that a change might come around 4 July. When asked at a press conference on Friday 5 June, American Airlines President Robert Isom said that there was incredible pressure and pent-up demand to travel to Europe and when asked if July 4 would be too late to save the European summer season, he said "we're going to take it whenever it comes." The Biden administration reportedly had a call with British officials on Thursday 4 May but has given no official announcement about detailed timings. The U.K. was planning to exit its lockdown process completely on 21 June but there are now concerns that rising infection rates of the Delta Covid-19 variant across the country are putting this in danger. The Financial Times reported that leading U.K. scientists are applying pressure on Prime Minister Boris Johnson to delay the final easing of lockdown by a few weeks, as they reported that the Delta variant was becoming the dominant variant and displacing the previous dominant Alpha (Kent/U.K.) variant. A senior civil servant told The Financial Times that easing might be delayed until 5 July. Whitehall insiders are waiting for more clarity from the figures before a decision can be made–probably by mid-June. Professor Christina Pagel, a mathematician at University College London, told the government’s independent weekly briefing that “we now have an exponentially increasing dominant variant that is more transmissible, more vaccine resistant and likely more severe than Alpha.” Likewise, Sir John Bell, Regius professor of medicine at the University of Oxford told the Financial Times that the proportion of fully vaccinated people in the U.K. was still too low to feel comfortable with a complete easing of the lockdown on 21 July–but that the U.K. needed more data to be sure. There are reports that the Biden administration would hope to lift the travel bans currently in place, at the same time–the implication is that this might be much further down the line, when Brazil and India’s residents are sufficiently vaccinated to make safe travel a possibility again from everywhere. One of the last EU flights landing at Dulles Airport March 13, 2020 before the U.S. travel ban began The U.S. is also under increasing pressure from individuals to lift the bans. France 24 reported that many families are becoming louder in their pressure on the Biden administration to make some announcement on when Americans might be able to see their families again who live overseas. Since the EU announcement on 20 May that it would allow vaccinated Americans to visit this summer, many are demanding a reciprocal response from the U.S. The issue is particularly harsh for many European non-immigrant visa holders in the U.S. who cannot travel back to their families because they might not be allowed back into the U.S. upon their return. Many of these affected individuals have rallied and lobbied the government on social media under several hashtags such as #LoveIsNotTourism, #LoveIsEssential, #FamilyIsNotTourism, or #LiftTheTravelBan. The issue has been exacerbated as U.S. consulates across Europe have been closed or working at reduced capacity to process visa applications and renewals. The U.S. Embassy in Paris explained how difficult the issue had become as reported by Channel News Asia–“many applicants, who were able to qualify for a National Interest Exception previously may not be able to meet the new standards… Those currently in the United States should not leave the United States for trips back to France unless they understand that they may not be able to re-enter the United States for some time.” It has been different for American citizens living in European countries as they are considered to be resident in Europe and so have been allowed to travel between their temporary EU homes and permanent ones in the U.S. more easily. As reported by Reuters, the U.S. has blocked all non-U.S. residents from entering the country if they have visited the U.K. in the past 14 days since March 2020. Currently, the U.S. is on the U.K.’s amber list for travel, meaning that non-essential travel is still not advised, but travel is possible if arrivals enter quarantine for ten days and provide a series of negative Covid-19 test results (before and after entry). As of 8 June, 34.1% of the adult EU population, 48.2% of U.S. residents and 60.6% of U.K. adults have received at least one dose of a Covid-19 vaccine. I have a background in research, business and finance. I have a background in research, business and finance. This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. End of dialog window.

Diplomatic Visit

February 1982 Korean Air Force C-123 accident crash

On February 5, 1982, a Republic of Korea Air Force Fairchild C-123J crashed while on approach to Jeju International Airport, Jeju, South Korea. All 47 passengers and 6 crew were killed in the impact. It remains the fourth-worst accident in South Korean aviation history. [1] The aircraft was engaged in a training mission and encountered bad weather before crashing near to Mount Halla, a dormant volcano. [2][3] The 47 soldiers belonged to the army's elite 707th Special Mission Battalion, making the accident the single costliest day in the unit's history. [4]

Air crash

Jamaica dominates women's 100 meters as Elaine Thompson-Herah breaks Flo-Jo's Olympic record

After 33 years, Florence Griffith Joyner's 100 meters Olympic record has finally fallen. Jamaican sprinter Elaine Thompson-Herah ran the women's 100 meters final in 10.61 seconds, securing the gold medal and breaking Griffith Joyner's Olympic record of 10.62 seconds —  a record that dates back to the 1988 Seoul Games.  NEW OLYMPIC RECORD!@FastElaine defends her #Olympics 100m title - running the second fastest time EVER. #TokyoOlympics pic.twitter.com/9UA0ABtuEu But it didn't stop there for Team Jamaica, as they dominated the 100 meters at the Tokyo Games by also winning the silver and bronze medals. Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce finished second in 10.74 seconds, followed by Shericka Jackson in 10.76 seconds. This marked the fourth consecutive gold medal in the event for Jamaica.  Fraser-Pryce won gold in 2008 and 2012, while Thompson-Herah took home gold in 2016. For Team USA, Teahna Daniels was the highest finishing American in seventh place. Proud cya done! #TeamJamaica 1,2,3 ?????? Congratulations to our women for a scintillating finals! Elaine Thompson Herah, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce and Shericka Jackson! Let's continue to make history! #Jaminate #TokyoOlympics2020 ???#SuperPower pic.twitter.com/Udel8uKSU2 Jamaica is known for having some of the best track athletes to ever run in the Olympics, with Usain Bolt still holding the title of fastest man in the world. In a series of tweets, Jamaica's Prime Minister congratulated the athletes and Thompson-Herah on making history. "Proud cya done! #TeamJamaica 1,2,3 Congratulations to our women for a scintillating finals! Elaine Thompson Herah, Shelly-Ann Fraser Pryce and Shericka Jackson! Let's continue to make history!" Griffith Joyner's 100 meters world record of 10.49 seconds, set at the 1988 U.S. Olympic Trials, still stands.

Break historical records

US projections on drought-hit Colorado River grow more dire

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP) — The U.S. government released projections Wednesday that indicate an even more troubling outlook for a river that serves 40 million people in the American West. The Bureau of Reclamation recently declared the first-ever shortage on the Colorado River, which means Arizona, Nevada and Mexico will get less water than normal next year. By 2025, there’s a 66% chance Lake Mead, a barometer for how much river water some states get, will reach a level where California would be in its second phase of cuts. The nation’s most populated state has the most senior rights to river water. While the reservoir on the Nevada-Arizona border is key for those three lower Colorado River basin states, Lake Powell on the Arizona-Utah border is the guide for Colorado, New Mexico, Wyoming and Utah in the upper basin. Smaller reservoirs upstream of Lake Powell have been releasing water into the massive lake so it can continue producing hydropower. But any bump from the releases that started this summer isn’t factored into the five-year projections, the Bureau of Reclamation said. The agency’s projections show a 3% chance Lake Powell will hit a level where Glen Canyon Dam that holds it back cannot produce hydropower as early as July 2022 if the region has another dry winter. “The latest outlook for Lake Powell is troubling,” Wayne Pullan, the bureau’s director for the upper basin, said in a statement. “This highlights the importance of continuing to work collaboratively with the basin states, tribes and other partners toward solutions.” Lake Powell and Lake Mead, the largest man-made reservoirs in the U.S., largely rely on melted snow. They have been hard hit by persistent drought amid climate change, characterized by a warming and drying trend in the past 30 years. Both have dipped to historic lows. The lakes had a combined capacity of 39% on Wednesday, down from 49% at this time last year, the Bureau of Reclamation said. The seven states that rely on the Colorado River signed off on a drought plan in 2019 to help prop up the lakes by voluntarily contributing water. All agree more needs to be done and are discussing what will replace a set of guidelines for the river and the overlapping drought plan when they both expire in 2026. The federal government also has formed a working group. The Bureau of Reclamation’s five-year projections are meant to help water managers better plan for the future using the best available data, said Jacklynn Gould, who oversees the lower basin for the agency. Its August projections are what determine water deliveries to the states. The agency says there’s a 22% chance that Lake Mead will drop to an elevation of 1,000 feet (304 meters) above sea level in 2025. Federal officials have said water would become inaccessible to states downstream at 895 feet (272 meters) feet, often referred to as “dead pool.” The agency that supplies water to most people in Nevada has constructed “straws” to draw water from further down in Lake Mead as its levels fall. ___ This story has been corrected to show Lake Powell has a 3% chance of reaching a point where hydropower from Glen Canyon Dam would be impacted in 2022, not 90%. ___

Droughts

Lathen train collision

The Lathen train collision occurred on 22 September 2006 when a Transrapid magnetic levitation (or "maglev") train collided with a maintenance vehicle near Lathen, Germany, killing 23 people. It was the first fatal accident involving a maglev train. The Transrapid 08 was still doing trial runs but would sometimes carry passengers along the 31.8-kilometre (19.8 mi) test track to demonstrate the maglev technology. [1] The Emsland test track runs from Lathen, near where the accident occurred, north to Dörpen, with a loop at each end and a depot side track near the southern loop. Speeds of up to 450 km/h (280 mph) are reached on the test track. [1] Maglev trains use powerful magnets to hover 1 centimetre (0.39 in) above the tracks. [2] Every morning a wheeled, diesel-powered maintenance vehicle ran along the tracks to check them for debris. When its work was finished it would wait in front of the last switch. There were two workers on the maintenance vehicle. They radioed the line dispatcher for clearance to leave the track but did not get a response. They were unaware of a test run scheduled that morning half an hour earlier than usual. The test run was carrying visitors from associated companies, including employees at Transrapid, workers from a local nursing care company, and workers from local utility company RWE. The maglev train was boarded according to usual routine. It left the station at 09:43 and firstly went for a brake test, then had to wait for clearance from the line dispatcher. The line dispatchers energized the tracks at 09:52 and one line dispatcher radioed the maglev train to proceed. No communication with the maintenance vehicle is recorded. The train rapidly accelerated to the 170 km/h that was common for the first test round before the 450 km/h on the subsequent test rounds. The train started moving at 09:53, and 57 seconds later emergency braking was recorded. Approximately half a second and 25 metres later the maglev train hit the maintenance vehicle at a speed of 162 km/h. The aerodynamic design of the Transrapid train caused it to dive under the 60-tonne maintenance vehicle, ripping off the roof of the maglev train. The wreckage continued for another 300 metres on the track before coming to a halt. There were 23 fatalities and 11 injuries, 10 severe. [3] The two-man crew of the maintenance vehicle were among the survivors as they were at the opposite end of the vehicle. Three survivors from the Transrapid were rescued by removing the bottom panel when they were heard knocking underneath. Two engineers sitting in the rear section of the maglev survived, and three other passengers were saved later by cutting through the remains of the maglev train. None escaped unscathed. Firefighters used turntable ladders and aerial platforms to reach the wreckage 4 metres (13 ft) above ground level. Immediately after the accident, German transport minister Wolfgang Tiefensee held an emergency meeting with representatives from Siemens AG and ThyssenKrupp, the two companies jointly responsible for the Transrapid. He commented afterwards that "major safety failings" were the clear cause of the accident, and that two key questions requiring answers were whether the Transrapid's safety measures were adequate, and whether they were applied on the test track. [4] He also promised an independent inquiry. [4] German Chancellor Angela Merkel left a conference in Berlin in order to attend the scene. [5] Wu Xiangming, head of the Shanghai maglev project, also visited the scene. [4] German authorities conducted an investigation into the accident. Rudolf Schwarz, head of operators at test track operator IABG, said, "This accident would not have been possible if all regulations were adhered to." According to IABG, the crew of the maintenance vehicle, which clears the test track of debris and dirt every morning, was supposed to radio the line dispatcher once the work was finished. German police therefore suspected human error as the likely cause of the accident. Prosecutors obtained and examined radio transcripts from the vehicles involved. [1] In May 2008, a court in Osnabrück concluded that the tragedy was caused by a chain of human errors, including the failure to set an electronic braking system that would have prevented the train from operating while maintenance work was being carried out. Two staff members were found guilty on 23 counts of manslaughter and 11 counts of causing negligent injury and were fined 24,000 and 20,000 euros respectively. The line dispatcher who radioed the clearance to the maglev train was unable to take part in the trial because of suicide fears. [2][6] The trial of the two line dispatchers both resulted in convictions and prison sentences of one year and six months in one case, and one year in the other. Both sentences were suspended as the defendants were exceptionally remorseful, still mentally ill, and retired. They accepted the verdicts immediately. [7] One year after the accident, a memorial stone was installed at the crash site. A panel of steel, set into the stone, is stamped with 23 small crosses, one for each of the lives lost in the accident. [8] Coordinates: 52°52′28″N 7°21′05″E / 52.87444°N 7.35139°E / 52.87444; 7.35139

Train collisions

2006 Toronto Transit Commission wildcat strike

The 2006 Toronto Transit Commission wildcat strike was an unlawful strike in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, that occurred on May 29, 2006. It was initiated by 800 Toronto Transit Commission mechanical and janitorial workers who were protesting proposed changes in work schedules, including permanent reassignment of 100 workers to night shifts. [1] The strike began between 4 a.m. and 5 a.m. EDT, and quickly resulted in a large scale disruption of service when transit drivers honoured the picket line, effectively shutting down the Toronto transit system. The shutdown left over a million commuters searching for alternative means of transport. By 7 a.m. the Ontario Labour Relations Board (OLRB) issued a cease-and-desist order to pickets; this order was ignored. A further back-to-work directive was forwarded by the OLRB, and eventually Amalgamated Transit Union officials requested the workers to comply, the call coming just before 3 p.m. EDT. [2] Given the logistical difficulties, limited service slowly increased, with full service resuming later in the evening. [3] Workers argued that there was a declining state of conditions since the latest collective bargaining agreement was ratified, and worker morale in the TTC was lingering along the lines of discontent. Workers perceived a lack of good health premiums, arbitrary shift changes, lack of action on operator safety, and an assortment of other grievances assembled by the Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) Local 113; Many argued that these were not being fully acknowledged by the management. Indeed, a series of rebuttals were assembled by management's executives and several commissioners against the union's grievances. The most notable refutation is owed to the issue of operator safety. It had been suggested by several union detractors that in roads were being made in regard to improving working conditions for operators. Among several recommendations laid out by a joint task force (the inception of this panel was approved by both the union and management), the most publicized suggestions involved the idea of installing cameras and erecting some form of artificial barrier between the operator and individual customers. This seemingly conciliatory approach to union grievances gave TTC's management much valued public sympathy. Some experts in worker relations suggest that a wildcat strike would have been unfathomable if relations were indeed amicable. Growing tension between TTC's management and its union were not relenting. Signs of an impending strike action on the part of unionized workers were becoming evermore apparent to those inside the TTC. Evidence is seen in a press conference held by union executives days before the strike action. As well, Bob Kinnear, president of ATU Local 113, issued a series of automated messages to his constituents who numbered up to and around 8,500 TTC workers. He informed them that many of the most critical issues had yet to be resolved through joint negotiations with management. Although Kinnear's comments never implied any form of job action, it was suggested that many members of the union took his messages as such. The wildcat strike which took place on the May 29, 2006, was not initiated by joint action of all the unionized workers in the TTC. Picket lines were assembled by a relatively small number of mechanical and janitorial workers (approximately 800) across many of the TTC's yards and garages; locations that housed buses, streetcars, and subway trains. Many operators who showed up for their morning shift joined their co-workers in a sign of solidarity, and the remainder were asked by the TTC not to cross the picket lines. Without the operators passing through the picket lines, transit service was halted. Over 700,000 commuters were forced to find alternate forms of transportation for the day. The bewilderment observed on the faces of many early-day commuters speaks volumes as to the spontaneity of the strike. The public was essentially left in the dark throughout the build-up of tensions within the TTC. The day was also notable as it was the hottest day of the year to that point, with the temperature peaking 40 degrees Celsius when the humidex was added in. Rumours of the strike only hit the news very late on Sunday night, and many who were sleeping or working at the time had no way of knowing what was waiting for them in the morning. Finding alternate forms of transportation, some people who became aware of the strike action had to tell others at bus and streetcar stops along their way. Some decided to walk as there was no other option at their disposal. Both management and union members were fully aware of this state of discord. Even though the wildcat strike itself was a surprise, some suggest that the stressed relationship between these two parties should have been indicators on their own right. The strike began at 12 am for maintenance employees and the bus drivers and streetcar and subway operators followed early in the morning. At around noon, the Ontario Labour Relations Board (OLRB) "issue[d] a cease and desist order requiring workers to report back to work immediately. "[4] This order was completely ignored by picketers. Shop stewards kept strikers in line by advising them to await orders from Kinnear himself. A couple hours later, the OLRB reassembled, dispatching a back-to-work order, reinforcing their earlier promulgation. Kinnear remained defiant throughout the wildcat strike, but eventually bowed to pressure and advised all picketing workers to return to work. He asked the workers to do it "For the travelling Public, not the TTC Management". Rogue picket lines that refused to dissolve were done so through the assistance of the Toronto Police Service. Immediately after the strike's end, several members of Toronto City Council, along with countless commuters, saw recourse in the idea of enforcing strict disciplinary penalties against the union and its membership. Toronto Mayor David Miller, contrary to pro-union inclinations of the past, introduced the idea of prosecuting the Amalgamated Transit Union; a strategic move that paralleled the opinions of his constituents. If such a route were to proceed, it had been suggested that individual fines for the over 800 mechanical and janitorial workers who started the picket lines would be one of the prosecution's top priorities, behind charging the union itself. This externalized approach to dealing with lost revenue was inspired by a similar event that erupted in New York City during the winter of 2005. New York's transit strike ended with a union boss being given a short prison sentence, while the union itself was fined for the economic disruption it caused. Kinnear brushed off suggestions that he too was in line for incarceration. Instead, he embraced the idea, signifying his willingness to act as the union's martyr.

Strike

Tokyo Olympics: Karsten Warholm sets stunning 400m hurdles world record

Last updated on 3 August 20213 August 2021.From the section Olympics Norway's Karsten Warholm ran a stunning men's 400m hurdles race to obliterate his previous world record and take gold at Tokyo 2020. Warholm, 25, finished in 45.94 seconds to slash more than seven tenths off his old record, while American Rai Benjamin was hot on his heels to win silver having also beaten the previous record. Warholm had set the previous world record of 46.70 in Oslo in July. Brazil's Alison dos Santos took the bronze medal with a time of 46.72. "You know the cliche that it hasn't sunk in yet? I don't think it has but I feel ecstatic," Warholm, who now holds the European, world and Olympic titles, told BBC Sport. "I can't believe the time, it's so fast! A lot of the time I am asked about the perfect race... I said it didn't exist, but this is the closest I've ever come. "I told myself going into the race, remember all the work you have put in. It was the only thing missing from my [medal] collection. "I can't describe how important this is for me. This is what I do morning until night - it's huge." It was tipped to be one of the most exhilarating races at the Games after Benjamin had come within five hundredths of a second of taking the then-world record in winning the US trials this summer. Warholm established a strong lead when he raced out of the blocks but Benjamin threatened to claw him back before the Norwegian's final push for the line. He roared with delight when he looked up at the screen to see his time, ripped his shirt in celebration and posed for photographs next to the new world record. Two-time world 110m hurdles champion Colin Jackson told BBC TV: "When you talk about world records, this is up there with Usain Bolt's time of 9.58 seconds in the 100m and up there with Flo Jo's 10.49 seconds in the 100m. "This is one of the most outstanding world records and I'm pretty sure that world record will outlive me. "It's just breathtaking. Wow. I am truly in shock." Former 1500m Olympic silver medallist Steve Cram added: "No wonder he rips his shirt apart - he is Superman in this event! "I cannot believe what we have just seen. Two men running times you could only dream of."

Break historical records

India at ZAPAD-2021: What It Means for Our Ties With Russia & China

China and Pakistan were observers and not participants while India and Russia showcased their joint skills at ZAPAD. India concluded its participation in war games taking place in Russia’s Nizhniy district on 16 September this year. Russia had welcomed a 200-personnel contingent of the Indian Army for its multi-nation military exercise ZAPAD-2021. The Indian contingent personnel were from the Naga regiment and Mechanized Infantry, and commandoes of the Indian Air Force. However, a much-highlighted fact in some Indian media outlets during the two-week-long exercise was that China and Pakistan were observers and not full participants, when India and Russia showcased their joint skills. This leads to a genuine question that whether ZAPAD-2021 had any strategic signalling by India, or India and Russia together, like many of the military exercises happening around the world often do. Basically, ZAPAD is one of the four major training events for the Russian military, which happen on a rotational basis every year. The names of these events correspond to the geographical location of these military districts. While ZAPAD means ‘west’ in Russian, the other exercises are Vostok (east), Tsentr (centre), and Kavkaz (Caucasus). While it can be argued that today an increasing number of military exercises around the world are posed towards counterterrorism and counter-insurgency operations, ZAPAD-2021 is one of the exercises which are also directed towards countering any possible aggression from NATO forces towards Russia and its allies. This is why whenever the ZAPAD exercise takes place, there is a sense of heightened discomfort among Russia’s west-oriented neighbours like Ukraine, Poland, and Latvia. This year, the ZAPAD exercise took place in a geopolitical setting of strained relations of Belarus and the West over the sanctions imposed on Belarus in retaliation for Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko’s crackdown on mass protests, which contested the results of the recent presidential elections. The strained relations have made Belarus move closer to Russia and the joint exercises like ZAPAD show that Belarus can put aside any concerns or disagreements it might have with Moscow when it comes to countering the West. Russian exercises like ZAPAD have taken an increasingly multi-national character in recent years. In 2018, Russia had invited China to participate in Vostok-2018, which is said to have marked the starting of intensification between the two nations’ military engagements. In 2019, India was invited along with Pakistan and other Central Asia nations (SCO members) to Tsentr-2019, which marked the first time India was present in Russia’s quadrennial exercise. However, while 2019 witnessed a joint exercise between Russia, India, Pakistan, China, and others, since 2020 the discourse has shifted in light of the tensions between India, Pakistan and China in aftermath of abrogation of Article 370 of the Indian constitution, which ended the separate constitution for Kashmir and brought it to an equal standing with other states of India. Although New Delhi cited logistical difficulties due to the COVID-19 pandemic as reason for not participating, it was seen as strategic signalling subtly conveying a decreasing appetite to work in tandem with China in military aspects, even if it is coordinated by Russia. It has to be noted here that India’s own bilateral exercise with China – ‘Hand-in-Hand’ – has not been organised since 2019, which was the eighth edition of the joint India-China military exercise. Interestingly, this year China as well as Pakistan participated in ZAPAD-2021 as ‘observers’, along with Vietnam, Myanmar, and Uzbekistan. Meanwhile, India, Armenia, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Serbia, and Sri Lanka were the fully participating nations. This has been seen by some in India as a signalling by Moscow to convey a message of discomfort towards Beijing’s stance of supporting the Taliban in a post-US Afghanistan. However, this argument deviates from the very discourse that Russia itself has followed when it comes to Afghanistan by being in active communications with Taliban factions. Also, with the United States now absent from the Central Asian region, Moscow has an easier option to gain back influence in Central Asian nations through military support and presence for security reasons, instead of solely competing with China’s economic projects, which Beijing could have leveraged to influence political decisions of these Central Asian nations. So, China’s observer status in ZAPAD-2021 does not convey in any terms that there is going to be any falling-out between Russia and China. A good reason for this can be seen in the fact that Russia and China had concluded a version of ZAPAD, named Interaction-2021, in August this year, where Russian troops participated in joined military drills in China’s Ningxia Hui Autonomous region. According to the Chinese side, this was the first time when Russian military was invited to China on such a large scale to participate in a strategic campaign. While the western observers have seen this as a geopolitical signalling directed towards increasing activities and goals of the QUAD grouping to counter China (as well as Russia) in the Indo-pacific region, for India it serves as a reminder of how close the military relations between Russia and China stand in the present scheme of things. For New Delhi, it will also be obvious to consider that if India is projecting QUAD as a mechanism not pointed towards Russia, then Russia-China exercises, too, will have to be considered as mechanisms not pointed towards sending any sort of signal to India. There is an increasing sense of understanding between New Delhi and Moscow when it comes to realities of geopolitics. The two nations are actively looking for new areas of cooperation – connectivity projects, Arctic exploration, and investment in energy domains. Also, Russia’s wariness of being over-reliant on China is an open secret when it comes to discussions in Russia’s political circles. On its part, New Delhi, too, will want to keep multiple avenues of cooperation open with the likes of QUAD members, while still keeping active the strong ties with Moscow. The role of strategic or geopolitical signalling through military exercises has long been an important one, but in case of India-Russia ties, the media might be trying to over-analyse the situation.

Military Exercise

Kosovo Leaders Hail Military’s Role in US-Led Defender Exercise

Around 330 members of the Kosovo Security Force took part in the US-led “Defender Europe 21” military exercise on Friday near the western town of Gjakove/Dakovica. Kosovo Security Force Colonel Ejup Maqedonci specified that for the first time Kosovo was one a host country of such an exercise, one of 16 among a total of 27 participant countries. “Defender Europe 21 is an exercise of broad scale which is directed by the US Army for Europe and Africa and is aimed at increasing operational readiness and interoperability between the US, allies and partners in this exercise,” Maqedonci recalled. Observing the exercise, Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani praised the KSF’s role in the operation and added that through such joint exercises “Kosovo is sealing its fate with its international allies”. “Our army is grown and developed on this vision for a modern army and you are materialising it every day with your professionalism,” Osmani told KSF members. Prime Minister Albin Kurti said that through the exercise, the KSF would gain new capabilities, and promised to increase its budget. “This exercise is special because our strategic ally, United States, has for the first time trusted our country and the KSF to host this exercise,” Kurti said. The massive US-led exercise including 28,000 force members from 27 states, including the United States, NATO countries and their allies, started this week. It will conduct exercises in more than 30 training areas in 12 countries during April, May and June, including Western Balkan countries. The annual US-led exercise is designed to build readiness and interoperability between US and NATO and partner militaries. The Defender Europe 21 drill started off weeks ago in the port of Durres in Albania, which joined the alliance in 2009 alongside fellow Adriatic country Croatia. The exercises will be conducted in various other countries in the Western Balkan region – Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, North Macedonia, and Romania – and also in other countries further north, such as Germany, Hungary and Estonia. Photo caption: The Kosovo Security Force (KSF) takes part in “Defender Europe 21” exercise. Photo: BIRN/Urim Krasniqi Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani inspects KSF weaponry during “Defender Europe 21”. Photo: BIRN/Urim Krasniqi The Kosovo Security Force (KSF) taking part in “Defender Europe 21”. Photo: BIRN/Urim Krasniqi The Kosovo Security Force (KSF) takes part in the “Defender Europe 21” exercise. President Vjosa Osmani and Prime Minister Albin Kurti inspecting the “Defender Europe 21” exercise. Photo: BIRN/Urim Krasniqi

Military Exercise

Uzbekistan Airways Flight 1154 crash

Uzbekistan Airways Flight 1154 (HY1154/UZB1154) was a scheduled domestic passenger flight which was operated by Uzbekistan flag carrier Uzbekistan Airways from Termez Airport in the city of Termez, near the Afghanistan border, to Uzbekistan's capital of Tashkent. On 13 January 2004 the aircraft operating the flight, a Yakovlev Yak-40 registered in Uzbekistan as UK-87985, collided with a radar station while landing at Tashkent, flipped over, caught fire and exploded, killing all 37 people on board. Weather was reportedly in bad condition. The Yakovlev Yak-40 was registered in Uzbekistan as UK-87985. The flight was a domestic flight from Termez, a city near the country's border with Afghanistan, to its capital airport, the Tashkent International Airport. Termez became a major hub for humanitarian aid into northern Afghanistan after the start of the War on Terror in 2001. German troops had also been using the airport in Termez as a support base for peacekeeping troops in Afghanistan. The flight was nearly fully loaded, carrying 32 passengers and 5 crew. [1] The flight crew consisted of Captain Alexander Alexan, First Officer Rustam Ilyasov, Flight Instructor Akmal Kamalov and Flight Engineer Noel Kurmaev. [2] The aircraft was cleared to land by controllers at Tashkent at around 1900 hours local time. The area was in full darkness and the weather had deteriorated significantly, with the airport being shrouded in fog that limited visibility on the ground to 1300 meters. 12.5 km from the airport, Flight 1154 increased its rate of descent, bringing it below the glideslope. The crew then maintained level flight until they become nearer to the airport. As the plane approached the threshold of the runway, it was still 30 to 40 meters above ground level, when it should have been less than half that height and in landing configuration. When the pilots became aware that they were running out of runway, they increased engine power, but it was too late for the aircraft to climb and go around. The right wing of the aircraft struck either a radio beacon or a stanchion of approach lights, which tore off the wing, and then hit a concrete wall, losing the left wing. Flight 1154 then flipped over and exploded. Rescue services reached the crash site, but found no survivors. Immediately after the crash, Uzbek police sealed off the crash site. Uzbekistan President Islam Karimov visited the crash site and talked with rescue workers. Prime Minister Shavkat Mirziyayev and his aides had arrived at Tashkent airport and approached relatives of the victims and led them to a room. [3] Several hours after the crash, Tashkent International Airport was closed due to foggy condition. [4] The government ordered a full investigation into the crash. Early indication suggested that bad weather was the cause of the accident. Officials stated that there were no evidence of foul play in the crash. [5] In his 2006 book, Murder in Samarkand, however, former British Ambassador to Uzbekistan, Craig Murray, wrote that the scene of the crash and the bodies of the victims had been tampered with by Uzbek officials and that "there was never any attempt at a proper investigation". [6] In 2008, a former Uzbek spy, Ikrom Yakubov, alleged that the plane crashed had been engineered by the Uzbek leadership,[7] lending credibility to the position long held by activists and critics. [8] Yakubov appeared in August 2009 on BBC's Newsnight. [9][10] Ambassador Murray was quoted in 2008, regarding the Conroy case, by Radio Free Europe: "These are not fanciful allegations. These are things where the new evidence is adding to the picture of things that we pretty well already knew and had some evidence for. "[11]

Air crash

15 Cases of Lead Poisoning Linked to Use of Ceramic Ware, NYC Health Department Warns

Health officials warned New Yorkers on Tuesday to stop using ceramic dishes and cups that aren’t food-safe after several cases of lead poisoning were recently reported Health officials warned New Yorkers on Tuesday to stop using ceramic dishes and cups that aren't food-safe after at least 15 cases of lead poisoning were reported. The New York City Health Department said traditional ceramic ware has been linked to cases of children and adults with elevated blood lead levels as high as 53 micrograms per deciliter, which is more than 10 times higher than the number that indicates significant exposure to lead. “Do not use decorative ceramics or those not intended for food use when preparing or serving meals. If you’re not sure if it’s food safe, just err on the side of caution and don’t use it," Health Commissioner Dr. Dave Chokshi said. "New Yorkers who use these products should stop using them and speak with their doctor to ask for a blood lead test as soon as possible.” Ceramics that aren't food-safe have been found to have lead levels that are thousands of times greater than the allowable limit, according to the health department. Lead is often used in decorative paint or glaze on ceramic ware and it can be transferred to food or drink that are served in them; it cannot be washed away or removed. Symptoms of lead poisoning include abdominal pain, constipation, tiredness, headaches, irritability, loss of appetite, memory loss, pain or tingling in the hands and/or feet and physical weakness, according to the CDC. However, these symptoms are often overlooked and people with high lead levels in their blood may not look or feel sick. Lead exposure can cause learning and behavior problems in children, DOH officials said. In adults, it can increase blood pressure and affect the brain, kidneys and reproductive organs. For pregnant people, it can increase the risk of miscarriage and affect the unborn baby.

Mass Poisoning

BSEE Panel to Investigate Fatal Accident on Offshore Platform in Gulf of Mexico

The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) has established a panel to investigate the death of a worker at a Gulf of Mexico offshore platform earlier this month. The accident occurred May 15, 2021, at Eugene Island Block 158, Platform #14, which is operated by Fieldwood Energy. As reported by the company, the accident occurred during a non-emergency casing pressure test on a shut-in well. No other personnel were injured and there was no threat to the environment. The platform is located about 125 miles southwest of New Orleans in the Gulf of Mexico. “Our sincerest condolences go out to the worker’s family and friends, said BSEE Gulf of Mexico Regional Director Lars Herbst. “We are assembling a panel of experts who will conduct a thorough investigation into this tragic incident. We are committed to a complete investigation to determine the cause of the incident and to identify approaches that will enhance the safety of future operations.” A team of BSEE investigators, inspectors, and engineers will review information provided through operator, contract employees, witnesses, and subject matter expert interviews. Investigators will also analyze any evidence from forensic testing. The panel will issue a report with its findings regarding the causes and make recommendations on how to strengthen existing safety measures once the investigation is completed. “Panel Investigations are critical in ensuring BSEE determines the cause, or causes, of an incident and develops recommendations for the offshore energy industry,” Herbst said. BSEE’s National Investigations Program is administered by its Safety and Incident Investigations Division in Washington, D.C. Join the 74,284 members that receive our newsletter. Have a news tip? Let us know. The U.S. Coast Guard and National Transportation Safety Board continue to investigate the sinking of the commercial fishing vessel Emmy Rose, releasing new imagery of the sunken vessel off Provincetown,... The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board will hold a virtual public board meeting next month to consider the draft final report for the pipeline strike and subsequent deadly explosion and fire aboard... The Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) has deployed a team of investigators following last month’s fire on the containership ZIM Kingston off of Victoria, British Columbia. The announcement, made...

Shipwreck

Wangara crash leaves five people in hospital with serious injuries

Five people have been hospitalised after three cars collided in Wangara during peak hour yesterday evening. Police say a Volkswagen sedan failed to negotiate a turn onto Wanneroo Road about 6.40pm and ploughed into another car travelling in the north-bound lane. The impact of the collision caused the Volkswagen to cross the median strip and crash into a third vehicle, which was travelling in the south-bound lane. Two people were trapped in their car for more than 45 minutes, with Wangara and Duncraig firefighters called to assist with pulling them out. The driver of the Volkswagen, a man in his 40s, and two passengers were rushed to Royal Perth Hospital. The driver of the second vehicle, a man in his 50s, and a passenger were taken to the Joondalup Health Campus. The driver of the vehicle travelling in the north-bound lane suffered minor injuries and did not need to be hospitalised.

Road Crash

COVID-19 anti-lockdown protests in Canada

COVID-19 anti-lockdown protests in Canada began in April 2020, with protests in Vancouver, Toronto, Edmonton, and Ottawa. [1][2] COVID-19 anti-lockdown protests began on 19 April 2020 in Vancouver. [3][4] A group calling itself "Walk for Freedom" has been organizing anti-mask protests since at least April 2020. [5][6] Concerns were raised when several hundred protestors took part in a 20 February 2021 freedom convoy and Jericho Torch March at the Alberta Legislature Building organized by the "Walk for Freedom Alberta" and the "Freedom Unity Alliance". [7] Organizers for the Legislature event included People's Party of Canada's Laura-Lynn Thompson, New Federation Party of Canada's Brad Carrington, Wexit founder's Peter Downing, Kevin J. Johnston, Calgary street pastor, Artur Pawlowski, and Wildrose Independence Party of Alberta's Paul Hinman, according to their posters. [8] In his 6 January 2021 YouTube message, Pawlowski announced what he called the "Jericho Freedom March" organized by the Street Church and March for Jesus" to the Legislature on 20 February. He said, "Look what is happening in and to the United States!" in reference to the 6 January storming of the United States Capitol. He said, "If we will not stand up and unite together now [against the globalistic agendas], we might never have this opportunity again. We would like to invite you to the biggest rally in Alberta". [9] Posters also said that they were peaceful, support the police group and "stand up for rights and freedoms". [7] Similar posters had been used since January that drew "confusion and concern from religious experts who say it appears to link religious and racist imagery" which including carrying Tiki torches used in the 2017 US Unite the Right rally. [10][11] The poster advertising the rally showed the 2017 "image of white nationalists marching through Charlottesville. "[12] The group of hundreds of unmasked anti-lockdown protestors, carrying a Walk for Freedom banner included COVID-19 deniers,[13] as well as, supporters of the pastor of the Edmonton-area Grace Life Church, James Coates, who was arrested on 17 February 2021 by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) for refusing to comply to the Alberta Health Services Public Health Act legislation regarding the capping of attendance capacity at 15% and masking and physical distancing of congregants in the church. [14][15] Coates is represented by the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms (JCCF) lawyer, James Kitchen, who, along with JCCF's John Carpay, launched a legal challenge against the 24 November 2020 public health restrictions imposed by the Alberta government saying that they "interfere with Albertans' charter rights". [16] Carpay, who has been a supporter of Premier Jason Kenney and a member of the United Conservative Party (UCP), had previously filed a lawsuit in May 2020, challenging the constitutionality of Bill 2, proposed by Health Minister Tyler Shandro in response to the COVID-19 pandemic in Alberta. [17] Official Opposition and NDP Leader Rachel Notley said the protesters—many of whom were carrying Tiki torches—were supporters of white nationalism, who were there to intimidate and spread hatred. [13] Both the Alberta Sheriffs and Edmonton police attending the scene—the Edmonton police kept the protesters separate from an anti-racism rally scheduled to take place at the same time. [13] There were tense moments on 21 February, when anti-mask and anti-restriction protesters heckled the media saying that they were "fake news" and "propaganda. "[18] In a 20 February statement, the Mayor of Edmonton, Don Iveson said that "Some people associated with this rally, which is being led by organizers from outside Edmonton, may be associated with known hate groups. Edmonton unequivocally condemns racism, misogyny and other forms of hate—such speech is not welcome in our community. "[19] On April 11, 2021, a couple hundred protesters gathered at Courthouse Park in Calgary, Alberta in support of small businesses and protested against the re-introduction of public health measures by Alberta's government. [20] In early May 2021, a large group of people attended a rodeo advertised as an anti-lockdown protest on an empty lot along Highway 2A near Bowden, Alberta. [21] On May 8, 2021, Alberta police arrested two Calgary church leaders who have vocally opposed and defied public health restrictions. Gas station and restaurant owner Chris Scott, whose Whistle Stop Cafe has become a symbol of small business anti-public health restrictions movements in rural Alberta, was also arrested on May 8. [22] On 21 April 2020, it was reported that prisoners at the Saskatchewan Penitentiary had been protesting against restrictions placed upon them in response to COVID-19. [23] On 25 April 2020, there were small protests totalling 200 protesters in front of the Ontario Legislative Building in Queen's Park, Toronto, demanding that Doug Ford end all emergency measures. Some of the protesters consider the coronavirus a hoax. Ford called them "a bunch of yahoos. "[24] On 2 May 2020, there was another protest with 100 protesters in front of the Ontario Legislative Building. [25] Also on 2 May, around 20 people gathered at rally calling for COVID-19 restrictions to be lifted on Wellington Street near Parliament Hill in Ottawa. [26] In July 2020, Chris Sky and 40 activists from his Hugs Over Masks group entered a Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) subway without masks to protest the introduction of a mask by-law on the TTC, claiming exemption. [27] On 15 January 2021, Roman Baber, Member of Provincial Parliament for the Toronto riding of York Centre, was removed from the caucus of the governing Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario after publishing an open letter to Premier Doug Ford criticizing Ontario's lockdown restrictions. Baber continued his anti-lockdown advocacy as an independent member of the legislative opposition. [28][29][30] On 23 January 2021, an anti-lockdown rally took place at Yonge-Dundas Square which resulted in arrests and charges being laid by Toronto police. [31] Since early March 2021, there have been protests held in Barrie, Ontario at Meridian Place, with one protest on 10 April drawing a crowd of 300 people. [32] The person who has led the protests has been hit with an $800 fine by the Barrie Police Service. [32] On 17 April, People’s Party of Canada leader Maxime Bernier attended the protests and gave a speech in front of a crowd of hundreds of protesters. [33] On the afternoon of 17 April 2021, approximately 300 anti-lockdown protestors gathered in the area of Main Street East and Kenilworth Avenue North in Hamilton, Ontario. [34] Police were in the area of the protest for public safety and enforcement. [34] On 17 April 24 April, and 15 May, mass rallies were held on Parliament Hill in Ottawa; multiple members of the police force were observing. [35] On 15 May 2021, a massive rally was held at Queen Park in Toronto, which was followed by a march down Yonge Street, southward to Lakeshore, then Westward along Lakeshore to Spadina, and, finally, North bound on Spadina, back the Queens park, where a DJ played music and people danced to end the night. On 20 December 2020, hundreds of protestors marched on Sherbrooke Street and McGill College Avenue to Parc Lafontaine in Montreal, with signs that said "We Reject your Great Reset" and "Better to die free than live without freedom." Police handed out hundreds of tickets. [36] On 8 January 2021, small protests were organized against 4 weeks of "shock-therapy", as stated by Quebec premiere Francois Legault, which included a 4 week 8pm curfew for all residents of Quebec. The protestors marched in downtown Montreal and were fined a minimum of $1000, and some were detained in prison[37] On 1 May 2021, thousands gathered in Montreal to protest Quebec’s COVID-19 public health measures, marching around Maisonneuve Park and the Botanical Garden and followed Sherbrooke Street and Viau Street to Rosemont Boulevard and Bourbonnière Avenue. Halfway through, the protest spanned nearly 2 kilometres (1.24 miles). Multiple protestors were persistent that they were specifically protesting a 4-week curfew that began in Quebec on 8 January 2021, that along with other restrictions, were extended or have been ongoing ever since. They specifically mentioned that they were not against masks, nor vaccinations, just the 8pm curfew due to it being counter productive and not supported by scientific evidence nor data to be proven effective. They also specifically mentioned that they would probably be mis-represented by main stream news media as extremists and conspiracy theorists.

Protest_Online Condemnation

2010 Alaska DHC-3 Otter crash

On August 9, 2010, a privately operated amphibious floatplane crashed near Aleknagik, Alaska, killing five of the nine people on board. The fatalities included former U.S. Senator Ted Stevens, while the survivors included former Administrator of NASA and then-CEO of EADS North America Sean O'Keefe, his son, and future Deputy Administrator of NASA James Morhard. [1][2][3] The aircraft, a single-engine de Havilland Canada DHC-3 Otter registered to GCI, crashed on a mountainside while on a flight between two fishing lodges. Stevens and O'Keefe had been on a fishing trip. The wreckage was quickly located after an aerial search, but rescue efforts were hampered by poor weather. [4] The floatplane crashed at around 2:30 p.m. Alaska Daylight Time (UTC-8), 10 miles (16 km) northwest of Aleknagik. [5][6] After it was reported that the aircraft had not landed as scheduled, other pilots launched a search and located the wreckage on a 40-degree slope in the mountainous Dillingham region. [5] The flight was being conducted under visual flight rules and was not monitored by radar at the time of the accident, since there is no such coverage in the area under 4000 feet. [7] Other pilots who had flown in the same area during the course of the day described weather conditions in the region as "very bad"[8] with visibility at times being less than 1 mile (1.6 km). [9] Local responders were on the mountain within a half hour of the airplane being located around 6:30 p.m. A doctor, and a handful of local responders were dropped off by helicopter the same day[10] and spent the night providing aid to crash survivors. Early in the morning as the Alaska Air National Guard arrived at the scene, also by helicopter, the first responders assisted rescuers in navigating to the site with rain and fog in the area hampering rescue and recovery efforts. [3][6][11] U.S. Coast Guard assets from Coast Guard Air Station Kodiak were also launched. A MH-60J Jayhawk helicopter crew arrived on scene and deployed their rescue swimmer to the crash site to assist Air National Guard pararescuemen in extricating and treating patients for transport to medical care. Survivors were transported to Dillingham after being hoisted into both the Air National Guard and Coast Guard helicopters. The crew was met in Dillingham by a HC-130H Hercules aircraft and crew from Coast Guard Air Station Kodiak. They embarked and transported several patients, including O'Keefe's son Kevin. The aircrew also transported two Air National Guard pararescuemen so that they could continue work on and monitor the medical conditions of the survivors. Due to the nature of the survivors' injuries, the cabin could not be pressurized and the aircrew flew at a lower altitude. All patients were delivered to awaiting EMS in Anchorage at Kulis Air National Guard Base. A spokesperson for the Alaska National Guard said that rescuers were giving medical aid to survivors of the crash,[12] and that three survivors were being airlifted to Providence Alaska Medical Center in Anchorage. [13] Upon examination of the wreckage it was discovered that the ELT antenna had separated from the ELT housing on impact, thus disabling the emergency signal. [14] It was also later determined that a functional satellite telephone that could have been used to summon aid was on board, but it went unused for hours, because passengers did not know it was there. [15] The aircraft was carrying eight passengers and one pilot. Four of the passengers and the pilot died and two more were badly injured,[16] with the last two suffering only minor injuries. [5][14] Among the five fatalities was Ted Stevens, who was a former U.S. Senator from Alaska. Also among the fatalities were a GCI executive and her 16-year-old daughter. [17] Among the survivors were former NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe and his 19-year-old son Kevin, both of whom sustained non-life-threatening injuries but were listed in critical and serious conditions respectively the night after the crash. [2] The senior O'Keefe sustained leg and neck injuries, and several of his teeth were broken. [18] Stevens and O'Keefe had been fishing together before, and had been planning a fishing trip to a site near Dillingham at the time of the crash. [16] Stevens had survived a crash at Anchorage International Airport in 1978 that killed his first wife. [19] Pilot Theron "Terry" Smith, who also died, had lost his son-in-law in another plane crash less than two weeks before. [20] Also among the dead was one of Stevens's former staff members, Bill Phillips. His youngest son, Willy, was seriously injured, and had to spend the night at the crash site with his dead father[21] along with Jim Morhard, who survived. [22] The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) sent a team to the site of the accident to investigate the cause of the crash. [23] The team returned an inconclusive report in May 2011. They speculated that the pilot, a recovered stroke victim, may have fallen asleep or had a seizure, but there was no direct evidence to support these theories. The report was critical of the Federal Aviation Administration's re-certification process, stating: The Federal Aviation Administration's internal guidance for medical certification of pilots following stroke is inadequate because it is conflicting and unclear, does not specifically address the risk of recurrence associated with such an event, and does not specifically recommend a neuropsychological evaluation (formal cognitive testing) to evaluate potential subtle cognitive impairment. The report went on to note that the airplane was equipped with a Terrain Awareness and Warning System, but that the pilot had elected to fly with the system turned off. Because much of Alaska's terrain is highly variable, bush pilots will often de-activate the system, as it issues many false warnings. [24]

Air crash

EU says Brexit negotiations will start after British election

The “real political” negotiations on Britain’s exit from the European Union will start after the snap British election in June, an EU spokesman said Wednesday. European Commission spokesman Margaritis Schinas made the remarks after saying his boss, Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, spoke Tuesday to British Prime Minister Theresa May following her shock call for an early election. “The president considers that the real political negotiations on article 50 with the UK will start after the elections foreseen for the 8th of June,” Schinas told a press conference in Brussels without saying whether May had made the suggestion. The British parliament is due to vote Wednesday on May’s call for the election as she tries to make strong gains against the opposition before tough Brexit negotiations. Schinas said May’s announcement had not postponed the negotiations as they had been scheduled to begin in June anyway. “There is no issue of timing or postponement,” he said. Preben Aamann, spokesman for Donald Tusk, president of the European Council of member states, said Brussels did not expect the timeline for the Brexit negotiations to be affected by an early general election. “We expect to have the Brexit guidelines adopted by the European Council on 29 April and, following that, the Brexit negotiating directives ready on 22 May,” Aamann told AFP. “This will allow the EU27 to start negotiations,” he said. Tusk issued a set of draft guidelines late last month rejecting May’s call for talks on the terms of the divorce bill and on a future trade deal in parallel during the two years of negotiations ahead of Britain’s exit in March 2019. The remaining 27 EU countries will be asked to endorse Tusk’s guidelines at a summit on April 29. Then, on May 22, member states are scheduled to formally issue detailed directives for the negotiations, clearing the way for chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier to begin formal negotiations with Britain.

Withdraw from an Organization

Ancient Roman Shipwreck Loaded With Wine Amphorae Found Off Sicilian Coast

Archaeologists off the coast of Palermo, Sicily, have discovered an ancient Roman shipwreck laden with amphorae, or jars used mainly for transporting wine and olive oil. The Superintendence of the Sea (SopMare), a Sicilian government body responsible for safeguarding historical and natural objects found in marine waters, uncovered the second-century B.C.E. vessel near the Isola delle Femmine, reports local newspaper PalermoToday. The ship rests in the Mediterranean Sea at a depth of about 302 feet. On board the wreck was a “copious cargo” of wine amphorae, writes Lorenzo Tondo for the Guardian. Authorities hailed the find as one of most important archaeological discoveries made in the region in recent years. “The Mediterranean continually gives us precious elements for the reconstruction of our history linked to maritime trade, the types of boats, the transport carried out,’’ says Valeria Li Vigni, expedition leader and superintendent of the sea for Sicily, in a statement, per a translation by the Guardian. “Now we will know more about life on board and the relationships between coastal populations.’’ Experts used an oceanographic vessel called Calypso South to investigate the sunken ship. The boat is equipped with high-precision instruments, including a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) that was used to capture photographs of the wreck. During the days of the Roman Republic, Sicily’s wine trade was “one of the most profitable and widespread activities for [local] entrepreneurs,” notes Giacomo Galeazzi for Italian newspaper La Stampa, per Google Translate. A type of Sicilian wine known as Mamertino was reportedly so popular that it attracted the attention of Julius Caesar himself. Per La Stampa, the newly discovered wine amphorae testify to a period of peace and prosperity in the Mediterranean—referred to by the Romans as Mare Nostrum (Latin for “Our Sea”). Researchers hope the cargo will reveal information about ancient trade routes used to transport spices, wine, food and other goods to North Africa, Spain, France and the Middle East. Found throughout the classical world, amphorae represent a wealth of information for contemporary scholars. As Mark Cartwright wrote for World History Encyclopedia in 2016, the two-handled jugs—whose name is derived from amphiphoreus, the Greek term for “carried on both sides”—hold clues to archaeological sites’ dates, trade links and inhabitants. Though the vessels are commonly associated with ancient Greece, civilizations ranging from the Romans to the Phoenicians also used them. Amphorae appear in the cargo of many ancient shipwrecks. In May, the superintendence actually discovered another Roman vessel near the Sicilian island of Ustica. Found at a depth of 230 feet, the wreck held a trove of amphorae filled with wine dated to the second century B.C.E. And, in 2013, authorities came across a nearly intact Roman ship resting at a depth of 164 feet off the coast of Genoa. That vessel held around 50 amphorae, as Agenzia Nazionale Stampa Associata (ANSA) reported at the time. According to La Stampa, amphorae, as “one of the basic elements for the transport of various consumer goods, in addition to wine,” oil and fruit, are “an irreplaceable element” for archaeologists hoping to trace ancient trade networks.

Shipwreck

1984 Overseas Final

The 1984 Overseas Final was the fourth running of the Overseas Final as part of the qualification for the 1984 Speedway World Championship Final to be held at the Ullevi Stadium in Göteborg, Sweden. The 1984 Final was run on 8 July at Belle Vue in Manchester, England, and was the second last qualifying round for Commonwealth and American riders. [1] The top 10 riders qualified for the Intercontinental Final to be held at the Speedway Center in Vojens, Denmark. Lance King became the first American rider to win the Overseas Final, winning with an unbeaten 15 point maximum. This motorcycle speedway competition-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

Sports Competition

Russian fishing trawler sinks in Barents Sea leaving 17 sailors missing

Two other members of the 19-person crew were rescued after the Onega vessel overturned in the Arctic waters, authorities said on Monday. The fishing vessel, registered in the port of Murmansk in northwest Russia, sank near the archipelago of Nueva Zembla. A criminal probe into the incident has been launched and a search operation involving several vessels and aircraft is underway. "According to preliminary data, a rescue buoy was activated on the sunken ship," Russia's investigative committee said in a statement. Russia's ministry of emergencies said Onega sent out distress signals during a storm. Authorities initially suggested that an accumulation of ice on the trawler could have caused it to sink but later said the vessel was more likely to have heeled over while pulling up the fishing nets. The ministry added there is only a very slim chance that the missing crew members have survived, due to extreme weather conditions in the region and freezing water temperatures. Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin offered his condolences to the sailors' families and ordered the government to provide them with the necessary support, referring to a "tragedy" and confirming that "people have died". "A tragedy struck today in the Barents Sea," Mishustin said at a government meeting, without providing further details. In January 2018, a Russian fishing vessel with 21 people on board sank in the Sea of Japan, with no survivors found after five days of search operations. Meanwhile, 14 officers were killed when their submarine caught fire in the Barents Sea in July 2019. Share this article Finland Share this article Email accounts belonging to Finnish MPs were compromised during a cyberattack on the country's parliament in the autumn, it's emerged. Police say they are investigating the "suspected gross hacking and espionage" but have not revealed details of what information was lost. "The act is not accidental," said crime commissioner Tero Muurman, revealing the incident in a statement on December 28. "At this stage, there is a possibility that unknown actors have been able to obtain information through the hacking, either for the benefit of a foreign state or to harm Finland." "The burglary has affected more than one person, but unfortunately we cannot tell the exact number without jeopardising the ongoing preliminary investigation." While Finland has seen a number of service attacks on state bodies in recent years, closing down websites for several hours, Muurman said this breach was of particular concern. "This case is exceptional in Finland, serious due to the quality of the target and unfortunate for the victims," he said. Finland's parliament said it was cooperating with the investigation into the attack, which was detected during "internal technical controls". “The cyber strike on parliament is a serious attack on our democracy and on Finnish society,” Anu Vehvilainen, speaker of Finland's parliament, said in a statement. "We must make every effort to ensure a high level of security in both the public and private sectors." "In order to strengthen cybersecurity, we need our own national actions as well as active action at EU level and other international cooperation."

Shipwreck

COVID-19 outbreaks force 3 Quebec schools to close this week, including 2 in Montreal

Three schools in Quebec have had to close this week due to COVID-19 outbreaks, including two in Montreal. Saint-Émile elementary school, which is located in the city's Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie borough, will remain closed until next Tuesday. The size of the school's outbreak is unclear. In a letter sent by Montreal Public Health, and obtained by Radio-Canada, local officials told pupils' parents that there had been a rapid increase in cases recently. Students and staff have been asked to get tested and to advise the school of the results. Sainte-Odile elementary school, which is located in the city's Ahuntsic-Cartierville borough and has 530 students, also closed this week after several COVID-19 cases were detected among students. Students are expected back in class next Monday. Both Sainte-Odile and Saint-Émile are schools with the Centre de services scolaire de Montréal. The Coeur-Immaculé elementary school, which is in Sherbrooke, Que., reopened on Wednesday after being closed for two days. However, students from eight classrooms remain isolated at home. In its latest projections regarding the spread of COVID-19, Quebec's provincial health institute — known by its French acronym INESSS — said the number of cases among people who are 17 and younger are on the rise even though the overall daily case totals have been stable. "The effects of the return to school are increasingly visible," read the statement from the institute, which also projected an increase in the number of new hospitalizations over the coming weeks. Last week, Health Minister Christian Dubé said rapid COVID-19 tests would be deployed to schools across Quebec. It's not clear if the three schools already have access to the testing kits.

Organization Closed

One of Europe's largest military operations set to start in North of Scotland this weekend

The north of Scotland is set to host elements of a major UK-led multinational exercise when Exercise Joint Warrior gets under way. One of the largest military exercises of its kind in Europe, Joint Warrior 212, which incorporates Dynamic Mariner 21, will run from this Saturday (September 18) to September 30. The training operation which runs twice a year usually leads to a rise in military aircraft flying over Badenoch and Strathspey. Eleven NATO nations will be taking part, bringing 25 warships, three submarines, over 30 aircraft and around 6,750 military personnel including 500 ground troops to military ranges across the country and to maritime exercise areas. Forces from the UK, Netherlands, Canada, Belgium, Portugal, Spain, France, Norway, Latvia, Germany and United States are involved. Exercise activity will include: * Twenty-five naval units the nations participating around the Scottish coast. * Mine Countermeasure (MCM) vessels will conduct mine hunting exercises in areas around Campbeltown, Loch Ewe, Gruinard Bay, Loch Broom, Little Loch Broom, Enard Bay and Shiant Bank. * Amphibious operations will take place in the vicinity of Loch Ewe (on private land), Loch Goil and Kyle of Lochalsh. Around 30 aircraft will take part in the exercise with some of them operating from RAF Lossiemouth and Prestwick Airport (previously HMS Gannet). A Royal Navy spokesperson said: "Exercise Joint Warrior is linked directly with the NATO Military Training Exercise Programme and brings together all three UK Armed Forces – the Royal Navy, Army and Royal Air Force – along with the other participating countries, to provide high quality training opportunities and improve joint operations between the UK and its allies. "Participants will practice a wide range of capabilities across land, sea and air in coordinated joint operations with other allied nations with the scenario of the exercise mirroring a broad range of crisis and conflict situations which could realistically be experienced in real-world operations. "Over the fortnight, participants will be faced with a period of increasing political and military tensions, along with a huge range of realistic military tasks such as intelligence gathering and reconnaissance; anti-smuggling and counter-terrorism operations; humanitarian assistance and evacuation operations." All units involved in the exercise will observe the Covid 19 control measures provided by the Scottish Government. Exercise planning staff have liaised with a wide variety of communities and organisations ahead of Strike Warrior in order to minimise the impact of military activity. Organisations consulted include HM Coastguard, Marine Scotland, The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA); National Air Traffic Services (NATS); Highlands and Islands Airports Authority; Scottish and Northern Irish fishery organisations; and several environmental agencies and groups.

Military Exercise

2005 Equatorial Express Airlines An-24 crash

The 2005 Equatorial Express Airlines An-24 crash, also known as the 2005 Baney plane crash occurred on 16 July 2005 after an Equatorial Express Airlines Antonov An-24 crashed into a side of a mountain near Baney, Equatorial Guinea. The accident killed all 60 passengers and crew on board the flight. [1] The aircraft that was used on this flight was an Antonov An-24 registration 3C-VQR that had its first flight back in 1967. It had flown for Aerolíneas de Guinea Ecuatorial (AGE) from February 2002 after being brought to Equatorial Guinea. It has been reported that the aircraft did not receive its 1,000-hour maintenance check after moving to Equatorial Express. [1] The flight took off from Malabo International Airport on a short haul flight to Bata Airport with 54 passengers and 6 crew on board. Just minutes into the flight the aircraft tilted and fell, skidded over trees for a distance of about half a mile and crashed into a side of mountainous jungle area near Baney at 10:00pm. An hour later the wreck of the aircraft was found and there were some conflicting reports regarding the number of persons on board. According to the airline, the flight manifest shows 10 crew and 35 passengers. Government sources reported 60 people were on the plane, after first reports of 55 occupants. The total bodies found at the crash site were 60 passengers and crew. [2][3][4] A witness saw flames coming from the side of the plane shortly after take-off. The cause of the accident was that the aircraft was overloaded and the aircraft was only built to accommodate a maximum of 48 passengers and crew. [citation needed]

Air crash

2012 South American Under-23 Championships in Athletics

The 2012 South American Under-23 Championships in Athletics were held in São Paulo, Brazil, at the Estádio Ícaro de Castro Melo from 22 to 23 September 2012. [1] They were the 5th edition of the competition, organised under the supervision of the CONSUDATLE. A detailed report on the results was given. [2] Brazilian shot putters Geisa Arcanjo who achieved 18.43m in the women's event, and Darlan Romani who achieved 19.93m in the men's event, were awarded the title for the best performance of the event. [2] A total of 240 athletes from 12 nations participated at the championships. [3] Other sources count only 236 athletes. [2][4] An unofficial count through the result lists[5] resulted in 234 participating athletes: Suriname was the only CONSUDATLE member federation absent. A total of 13 new championships records were set. [2] Complete results were published. [5] [7]   *   Host nation (Brazil) [8]

Sports Competition

China Airlines Flight 204 crash

China Airlines Flight 204 was a Boeing 737-200 that crashed into a mountain after takeoff from Hualien Airport, Taiwan, on 26 October 1989. The crash killed all 54 passengers and crew on board the aircraft. The aircraft that crashed was a Boeing 737-209, registration B-180, having first flown on 3 December 1986 and was delivered to the airline 2 weeks later. [1] Flight 204 took off from Hualien Airport on a short haul domestic flight to Chiang Kai-shek International Airport (renamed Taoyuan International Airport in 2004) on the island of Taiwan. [2] On board the Boeing 737 were 47 passengers and 7 crew. Ten minutes after take-off the aircraft, having reached a height of 7,000 ft (2,100 m) collided with a mountain, part of the Chiashan mountain range, 5.5 km (3.4 mi) north of the airport. All 54 passengers and crew on board were killed. [1][3][4] The major cause of the crash was pilot error, with the crew, consisting of an experienced pilot (15 years with China Airlines) and a novice co-pilot, taking off from the wrong runway, compounded by ground control, who failed to spot the error. The aircraft then flew the climbout procedure for the runway that the flight was planned to use, resulting in the aircraft making a left turn towards the mountains rather than a right turn towards the sea. [3][5]

Air crash

Bangkok Airways Flight 266 crash

Bangkok Airways Flight 266 was a scheduled domestic passenger flight from Krabi Airport to Samui Airport, Thailand. On 4 August 2009, the aircraft overran the runway on landing and crashed into an old and unmanned control tower. 1 pilot died and 41 other people were injured. The aircraft involved was an ATR 72-212A, registration HS-PGL,[1] msn 670. The aircraft made its first flight on 6 June 2001 with French registration F-WWER. It entered service with Bangkok Airways on 16 July 2001 re-registered HS-PGL. On 29 May 2006, it entered service with Siem Reap Airways International, returning to Bangkok Airways on 7 January 2009 after Siem Reap Airways International ceased trading. The aircraft was named Pha Ngan,[2] and has been in service for approx. 20,000 hrs. [citation needed] The aircraft is reported to have skidded off the runway and hit an old and unmanned control tower that was used as a fire-fighting station. The accident happened at around 14:15 local time (07:15 UTC). [3] One pilot was reported to have been killed. The co-pilot, who was stuck in the aircraft for more than two hours, was among the last evacuated from the stricken plane. Serious injuries included four passengers – two British, one Italian and one Swiss suffered broken legs, while two other British suffered less severe injuries. The co-pilot also had leg injuries. A total of 41 people were injured. [4] The METAR in force at the time of the accident was METAR VTSM 040700Z 29015KT 9000 FEW020TCU SCT120 BKN300 31/25 Q1007 A2974 TCU-NW. [5] This translates as METAR for Samui Airport, issued on the 4th of the month at 07:00 UTC, wind at 15 knots, direction 290° visibility 9 km, few clouds at 2,000 ft, scattered clouds at 12,000 ft, broken clouds at 30,000 ft, temperature 31 °C, dewpoint 25 °C, altimeter 1007 millibars or 29.74 inches, towering cumulonimbus to north west. [6] The fuselage of the aircraft spent a few years on roadsides in different parts of Samui before being sunk in October 2013 as part of Majcha Air Samui Artificial Reef Project. Coordinates: 09°32′52″N 100°03′44″E / 9.54778°N 100.06222°E / 9.54778; 100.06222

Air crash

The Obama administration announced Monday that the United States would fully lift a longstanding U.S. embargo on lethal arms sales to Vietnam

HANOI — The Obama administration announced Monday that the United States would fully lift a longstanding U.S. embargo on lethal arms sales to Vietnam, a decision that reflects growing concerns about China’s military clout and illustrates the warming bilateral ties between the former enemy nations. President Obama unveiled the new arrangement at a news conference with Vietnamese President Tran Dai Quang during the opening day of his first visit to the country. Obama emphasized that his decision reflected a maturing relationship and deepening cooperation on security and economic investment four decades after the end of the Vietnam War. Two years ago, the administration eased portions of the arms embargo that had been in place since 1975 to help bolster Vietnam’s maritime security in the South China Sea, where China’s move to exert more naval control of crucial shipping corridors has angered Vietnam, the Philippines and other nations that have claimed sovereignty. Obama said the latest step "was not based on China or any other considerations. It was based on our desire to complete what has been a lengthy process of moving towards normalization with Vietnam." With U.S. Secretary of State John F. Kerry, a veteran of the Vietnam War, in the front row at the Hanoi Convention Center, the president heralded "a new moment" in the bilateral relationship. The lifting of the ban "will ensure Vietnam has access to the equipment it needs to defend itself and removes a lingering vestige of the Cold War." Obama acknowledged, however, that the United States and Vietnam share a mutual concern over China's provocations in the region, and he reiterated a previous pledge that the United States would "continue to fly, sail and operate wherever international law allows." The new arrangement would allow the United States to sell military weapons to Vietnam on a case-by-case basis and would be predicated on improvements in the country on human rights and freedom of expression, White House officials said. Ahead of Obama's trip, human rights advocates in the United States had called on the administration to maintain the weapons ban until more progress has been made by the ruling Communist Party. "The United States government has been telling the Vietnam government for years that they need to show progress on their human rights record if they are going to be rewarded with closer military and economic ties," said John Sifton, Asia policy director for Human Rights Watch. "Yet today President Obama rewarded Vietnam even though its government has done little to earn it: It has not repealed any repressive laws, nor released any significant number of political prisoners, nor made any substantial pledges." At the news conference with Obama, Quang asserted that his country has made progress on human rights. "We need to work closely together and expand dialogue together," he said. "By so doing, we can narrow the gap in understanding and narrow the differences between the two countries." A spokeswoman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry said Beijing is "pleased to see Vietnam developing normal relationships with all countries including the United States, and we hope it benefits regional peace, stability and development." But ahead of Obama's visit, China's state news service Xinhua accused the United States of having “shown no restraint in meddling in a regional situation” in the South China Sea. The conflicts in the South China Sea have escalated in recent years after China installed an oil drilling rig off the coast of Vietnam, within the exclusive 200-mile economic zone established under international law. The Chinese military has embarked on a massive land reclamation project in the disputed Spratly Islands, prompting the U.S. Navy to conduct two freedom-of-navigation missions aimed at dissuading Beijing from militarizing the area. The Philippines has taken its claims against China over sovereignty in coastal regions to an international tribunal at The Hague, a case being closely monitored in Washington. A ruling is expected in June, but China has said it does not recognize the tribunal’s authority in the matter. "Our hope is that ultimately the various claims and disputes can be resolved," Obama said. "We are doing everything we can to promote that." Last year, Obama visited the Philippines and announced $250 million in new U.S. aid for maritime security efforts in the region, including Vietnam. In February, Obama hosted leaders from 10 Southeast Asian nations at the Sunnylands retreat in Southern California. Patrick Cronin, an Asia-Pacific expert at the Center for a New American Security, said Washington and Hanoi were aiming to convey to China that its neighbors are "determined to provide their own self-defense against aggression and assertiveness. Not looking for a fight but very much just saying, 'We're not going to be endlessly pushed around.'" Obama became the third consecutive president — after Bill Clinton and George W. Bush — to visit Vietnam since the normalizing of relations in 1995. Air Force One arrived late Sunday, and the president was greeted on the tarmac in Hanoi with a red carpet and a bouquet of flowers. Children dressed in red, white and blue outfits lined the streets Monday as Obama’s motorcade made its way to the presidential palace, an ornate mustard-colored building with sculptured gardens and a massive water fountain. Quang greeted Obama, and they were feted by a military band playing each country’s national anthem during an official welcome ceremony. In addition to closer military cooperation, the United States and Vietnam are partners in the 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), an expansive free trade and regulatory accord that Obama has made a centerpiece of his economic and foreign policy agenda. However, Congress has not yet ratified the agreement, and the major presidential candidates have publicly opposed it. Three congressional Democrats — Sen. Thomas Carper (D-Del.), who supports the TPP, and Reps. Joaquin Castro and Beto O'Rourke, both of Texas, who remain undecided on the pact — flew to Vietnam with Obama on Air Force One. They sat in the front row during his news conference, along with Kerry, national security adviser Susan E. Rice and U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman. Obama said he remains confident that Congress will approve the trade deal. "I have not yet seen a credible argument that once we get TPP in place that we are worse off," he said. "We will be in demonstrably better shape." But he acknowledged than in an election year, "the politics of it will be noisy."

Diplomatic Visit

Couple face years of burns rehab after gas explosion at Gold Coast cafe

The owner of an ill-fated cafe in Robina will need years of rehab and skin grafts, and is still fighting for life in an induced coma, according to his brother. Chef James Rutland and his barista partner Jess Horsley had been setting up their "dream" cafe on Friday when a gas explosion left both of them with severe burns. A hospital spokesperson told the ABC Mr Rutland remains in a critical but stable condition, and Ms Horsley is in a stable condition at the Royal Brisbane Women's Hospital. The pair had moved up from Sydney last year to embark on their dream to open a cafe, but border restrictions have prevented their families from visiting them in hospital. The couple in their twenties were setting up their business on Energy Circuit in Robina when the incident occurred. The explosion, which police say was a non-suspicious accident, came from a gas bottle as the couple worked on the kitchen fit out. John Rutland said his brother James will need multiple skin grafts following severe burns to his face and torso. "He'll be in [the coma] for a while," he said. "Doctors haven't been able to tell us anything except it's day-by-day before they decide if they're going to take him out of the induced coma. "I think it is going to be many years and surgeries for them both." Mr Rutland said 23-year-old Jess Horsley has burns to 70 per cent of her body. Mr Rutland said border restrictions have made things "really tough" for both the Rutland and Horsley families, who are in hotspot areas. "It's pretty tough that they can't get there and be by their side because COVID," he said. Mr Rutland said the family were devastated, as the pair were putting the finishing touches on their "dream" project. "Shock's an understatement," he said. "It was only a couple of weeks ago I was talking to them about how they're so excited about the cafe opening. "It was only two weeks away from opening." He said the couple are "so in love with each other" and were looking forward to their long-time ambition of working for themselves.  "They decided to open a little cafe and start a new life," he said. "They moved [from Sydney] not even 12 months ago." A crowd-sourced fundraiser set up by Mr Rutland's family has raised close to $10,000 for the pair in less than a day. Mr Rutland said the money will go towards rent, medical expenses, and their recovery. "James and his partner Jess were in the final stages of setting up their dream when a gas explosion shattered not only their dreams but their lives," he said. "I don't even know the simple things — if they've got toiletries or what they need — so it will be used to pay for their expenses [day-to-day]." Mr Rutland described his brother as "all heart", and a man who "would do anything for anyone". He said it will be a "long road" until the couple are able to work again. We acknowledge Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the First Australians and Traditional Custodians of the lands where we live, learn, and work. This service may include material from Agence France-Presse (AFP), APTN, Reuters, AAP, CNN and the BBC World Service which is copyright and cannot be reproduced. AEST = Australian Eastern Standard Time which is 10 hours ahead of GMT (Greenwich Mean Time)

Gas explosion

Urgent letters from Afghanistan: 'I hope the world will not forget us'

The lives of schoolgirls, activists, lawyers and sportswomen in Afghanistan changed overnight after the Taliban took control of the country, in August. Girls have been banned from receiving secondary education, the ministry for women's affairs has been disbanded, and in many cases women have been told not to return to work. Here, Afghan women whose lives have been radically transformed exchange letters with global leaders with whom they share a profession or a passion, including education activist Malala Yousafzai, fashion icon Halima Aden, and football star Megan Rapinoe. They openly talk about their hopes and fears, and share thoughts on the restrictions on women's freedoms imposed by the Taliban - the right to protest, work, get an education, or choose what to wear. The women taking part in this 'Urgent Letters of Afghanistan' series are all named on the BBC 100 Women list. Some of the women are anonymous, to protect them and their families. The right to an education Rohila* is a 17-year-old student who has been affected by the exclusion of girls from Afghan secondary schools mandated by the Taliban. She wrote to Nobel Peace Prize laureate Malala Yousafzai, who in 2012 was shot in the head by Taliban gunmen for speaking up on the rights of girls to be educated. Dear Malala, Every morning now when I wake up, I think I am late for school, but then I have the sad realisation that my school is shut. I watch as the rickshaw arrives to take my brothers to school, whilst I am left behind. I watch the news hoping to hear that schools will be opening in my area, and I might be able to chat to my friends and teachers. I feel such sorrow that we are deprived of this very basic right to an education just because we are women. I worry about my former female teachers. They are the sole breadwinners of their families and haven't received a salary for months. I try my best to teach myself things, but it's so difficult without a teacher. I long to do experiments in our science laboratory again and take part in the public speaking competitions I once enjoyed. As a child my dad would cultivate my love for learning, by bringing me cartoon strips in English to read or encouraging me to watch science shows on TV. That's why science and English are my favourite subjects now. I hope the world and international community will not forget about us, and not let our years of hard work go to waste. I hope the world will speak up for us too, and will help us get rights for women and girls in Afghanistan. Rohila Image source, Getty Images Dear Rohila, I want you to know you are not alone. I remember seeing men with guns invade my home in Pakistan and shut down girls' schools. I know what it's like to not know what tomorrow will bring, to fear never returning to a classroom. When the Taliban took over Kabul, I was in the hospital for my sixth surgery in nine years to help repair the damage their bullet inflicted. I watched the news and saw Afghan women and girls protesting on the streets demanding equal rights. My heart ached watching history repeat itself. If all girls went to school, we could assume leadership roles across every sector. We could better advocate for ourselves. We could also help make our world better. More educated women contributing could help speed up progress on things like vaccine development or finding climate solutions. I want to see this future. As I fight for education and equality each day, I will think of you — with your love of science and a father, who like mine, wants to see you learn and lead. I promise to keep sharing your story and continue calling for action. All I ask of you, is to never lose faith in yourself. You are capable of anything. Malala Yousafzai The right to play Footballer Sahar* played for her local team in Afghanistan, but after the Taliban takeover she went into hiding and was later flown to a different country. She wrote to US football star Megan Rapinoe about her fears for her 'football family'. Megan Rapinoe has been a vocal advocate for equality in the game, taking legal action against the US Soccer Federation over equal pay, and has become the face of LGBTQ+ rights in football. Dear Megan, I am an Afghan footballer who has big dreams. When the Taliban came everything stopped because we all knew that they had not changed and we would no longer have our freedoms. [During the last period of Taliban rule, from 1996 to 2001, women were banned from participating in sports.] Football is not just a sport for me, but it is my passion. During the three years I played, I learnt a lot about tactics and moves. Our football family - my friends and coaches - were one big team. When the Taliban took over Kabul, I had to stop playing and I was so sad. Even when I looked at my clothes, sneakers and ball, I would cry. I would ask myself - what will happen to all these young peoples' hopes and dreams? There was always the fear that the Taliban would attack me and my family. Even if I could sleep well tonight, will I wake up? Sometimes we could hear horrifying sounds, gunshots and firing that made us fear for our lives. I am worried about the women footballers left in Afghanistan. The world should know that sportswomen are left in the country and are in danger. Please help them. I want to continue my education, so that my family can be proud. I have a lot of hopes and dreams for my future, I want to be successful so that no-one will be able to say that girls cannot play football. Sahar Image source, Getty Images Dear Sahar, Growing up, football gave me the freedom to express myself. It gave me the strength and confidence to believe in something that's bigger than me. It connects me to teammates who have fought alongside me, for things people believe are not possible. I want this next generation of players to understand that they don't have to be the next Megan Rapinoe, they need to be the best version of themselves and one of the beautiful things about the game is that great players come in all different shapes, sizes, races and backgrounds. Watching the fall of Kabul I was heartbroken for all the people of Afghanistan, but especially for the girls and women who had felt that there was so much hope in their future. If I had to stop playing the game I love, it would feel like losing a part of myself, because so much of your identity and heart is poured into this sport. There are no words I can offer that will truly touch what you have experienced. We want to believe in the possibility of a different story than what we were handed. As Esther Perel says, "Freedom in confinement comes through your imagination." To all the women who love football but cannot play, I say keep the feeling of connectivity and play alive, if only for now, in the depths of your mind. You may not be able to see it everyday, but the world of women's football is here to support you and provide you with strength. You are not alone. Best wishes, The right to choose your dress Image source, Aliya Kazimy University tutor Aliya Kazimy says her rights over how she dressed were curtailed as soon as the Taliban took power. She took to social media to post a striking image of her now colourless wardrobe. She then left the country and resettled in the US. She's written to Halima Aden, the first hijab-wearing supermodel, fashion icon and women's rights advocate. In 2020, Halima stepped away from modelling and went on to produce the film 'I Am You', based on a true story about Afghan refugees. Dear Halima, Seeing an array of different colours always made me happy, but I liked black much more - that was before I knew I would be condemned to wearing it. Just imagine for a moment that you do not have the right to choose the length or colour of your outfit, how would you feel? You wouldn't feel independent. It's not just about the length of our dress, but it's about the rights we fought for and the lives that were sacrificed over the years to get where we were. Image source, Aliya Kazimy Image caption, Aliya captures in her photos how her wardrobe changed once the Taliban took power The right to choose how we dress is the most basic right we have, whilst we continue to fight for more freedoms. I am not against wearing the hijab, I love the hijab, but I am against being forced to wear one, just as I am against being forced to unveil. Being denied this is just a fraction of what women in Afghanistan are going through. These days it's a matter of life and death in Afghanistan, daughters being sold in exchange for bread. Whilst I write this, my heart aches for my people and my homeland. Here in the United States, even though I know I am safe, my soul is distressed. My heart beats for Afghanistan, its people, and my family. Aliya Image source, Fadil Berisha Dear Aliya, I can relate in some ways to the issues you are facing, having been a child refugee myself. I'm known as the first hijab-wearing model, having graced catwalks and front pages of fashion publications, but my story started in Kakuma in Kenya, one of the world's largest refugee camps. I walked away from the fashion industry because I was doing things that didn't align with my beliefs, including wearing jeans on my head in substitute of a hijab. I appreciate I have been in a very blessed position to be able to walk away. I'm a passionate advocate that people should not be policing our bodies - it's a human rights violation. I can't imagine being a woman who doesn't wear the hijab and then having to be forced to wear one. When I think about you and your friends having to hide a once colourful wardrobe, I would say keep a piece for you, keep it in a place where only you know, keep it for the day that you can wear that outfit again. As a refugee, sometimes it feels like the world is turning a blind eye. My message to the families who have made the difficult decision to leave is to not think you are leaving your country behind, you are taking it with you wherever you go. Hopefully through the people you get to meet, you will get to introduce your culture to others and that's how it'll live on. Halima The right to work for justice Baroness Helena Kennedy QC is a distinguished UK lawyer and director of the International Bar Association's Human Rights Institute, which has recently been assisting women at risk in Afghanistan. She wrote to Masouma*, who was a public prosecutor in Afghanistan. Since the Taliban took control of Afghanistan in August, women lawyers like Masouma have been in hiding. Many of the criminals they once helped convict were released, putting them in great danger. Dear "sisters in-law", The women lawyers and judges of Afghanistan are my sisters. They love the practice of law as I do - and they know that law is critical to a just society and sends out messages about what is acceptable and what is not acceptable. They know that women can never enjoy fulfilled lives if they are forced into marriages, if they are denied access to education, if they are treated as second class citizens, and if they experience violence and abuse of all kinds without proper recourse to law. I have fought on behalf of women in my own country's courts and I have been a law reformer for women and children in my own parliament. Now, much of my work is in the international arena. I wept when extremists assassinated two wonderful women Supreme Court judges in January . It was a foretelling of what was to come. When the Taliban took Kabul, I knew a war on courageous women would be declared just for daring to be women who might judge men, who might play public roles and might not be prepared to be treated as subordinates. You represent for us our own yearnings for a world where men and women can live in freedom and equality, with dignity and mutual respect. We embrace your courage and stand by you. Baroness Helena Kennedy QC Dear Helena, It felt just like any other morning, but on my way to work I saw people running towards me desperately. I asked a young man what had happened and he said: "Sister, do not go to work today. The Taliban have entered Kabul". In that moment all my dreams and hopes flashed before my eyes, like I was watching a film of my own future. I am proud to be a woman public prosecutor who worked in the judiciary, I always strived to serve my people. But now I can't return to the job I love and that consumes my thoughts. With the regime change, there is no hope for a bright future for women in Afghanistan. Fellow colleagues who worked in the judiciary and attorney offices are trying to leave. It feels like every waking moment we are waiting for our death. Maybe tomorrow it will be my turn. If they are given opportunities, women can serve their country just like men. In the judiciary we were a national asset and the education and knowledge women have received in the last 20 years should be put to good use. The international community should take the struggles of working women seriously and support us, so we don't become the victims of history.

Regime Change

Timeline of Singapore's fight against infectious

From the 1918 Spanish flu to the Covid-19 pandemic now, here is a timeline of Singapore's fight against infectious diseases over the last 100 years. 1918: SPANISH FLU Type of virus: H1N1 First wave: June 18 to July 27 • “Mysterious epidemic” appears in Singapore on June 18. Reported to be relatively mild, with a high illness rate but a low mortality rate. Peaks during the week ending July 6. Second wave: Oct 3 to Nov 8 • A second intense wave occurs in October and November. Peaks during the week ending Oct 26. • By Oct 28, the Singapore General Hospital is handicapped, with 12 out of 19 nurses ill with influenza. • Epidemic abates by Nov 2. After Nov 8, no more cases reported. 1957: ASIAN FLU Period: April to May • First recognised in Singapore in end-April among 30 infected inhabitants on Pulau Brani. • By May 5, the outbreak has become an epidemic. Schools are closed for almost two weeks. • Outbreak reaches its peak in mid-May and tapers off by the end of the month.

Disease Outbreaks

Hilo Massacre

The Hilo massacre, also known as Bloody Monday,[1] was an incident that occurred on 1 August 1938, in Hilo, Hawaii, when over 70 police officers attempted to disband 200 unarmed protesters during a strike, injuring 50 of the demonstrators. In their attempts to disband the crowd, officers tear gassed, hosed and finally fired their riot guns, leading to 50 injuries, but no deaths. [2] These protesters were from a number of ethnicities, including Chinese, Japanese, Native Hawaiian, Luso and Filipino Americans, and from many different unions, including the International Longshoremen's and Warehousemen's Union. The different groups, long at odds, put aside their differences to challenge the Inter-Island Steam Navigation Company. The unions, led by longshoreman Harry Kamoku, demanded equal wages with workers on the West Coast of the United States and closed shop or union shop. [3] Strikes began on 4 February 1938,[3] and culminated on 1 August when 200 workers gathered to protest the arrival of the SS Waialeale,[2] a steamship owned by the Inter-Island Steam Navigation Company. [3] The protesters were ordered to disband, but refused to comply. Force was used, resulting in hospitalizations. [3] As part of the New Deal, Congress in 1935 passed the Wagner Act, legalizing workers' right to join and be represented by labor unions. Hawaii — not yet a State — had been, starting in the 1920s, virtually controlled by the "Big Five": Alexander & Baldwin, C. Brewer, Castle & Cooke, American Factors, and Theo. Davies. Furthermore, the Hawaii labor force had been divided up[by whom?] into racial blocs, which helped keep wages low. Harry Kamoku (1905–1957) was the primary organizer and leader of the first real union in Hawaii to be legally recognized. Kamoku was a Chinese-Hawaiian and a longshoreman, born in Hilo. On November 22, 1935 Kamoku and about 30 longshoremen of every ethnicity formed the Hilo Longshoremen's Association. This successful, and other unions were created or came into Hawaii from other states or countries, including the Inland Boatmen's Union (IBU), the International Longshoremen's and Warehousemen's Union (ILWU) and the Metal Trades Council (MTC). [4] On 4 February 1938, strikes began. [3] The strikers demanded equal wages with workers on the West Coast and closed shop or union shop. Strikes continued well into July and August. The SS Waialeale, owned by the Inter-Island Steamship Company, which in turn was owned by the Big Five, was due to come into port on 1 August. On that day, protesters from different unions arrived to protest the ship's docking. Witnesses estimated the crowd anywhere from 80 to 800, with the newspapers reports saying around 500 to 600. It is likely, however, that there were only around 200 protesters. [5] After the ship docked, the crowd advanced down the dock. The police had set up a "dead line" that the protesters were not supposed to cross. The protesters, however, crossed it. The police threw about a dozen tear gas grenades into the crowd. Among the protesters were members of the Hawaii Territorial Guard who took action and threw tear gas grenades back at the police or away from the crowd. [5] They were also instrumental in providing the unions police plans on how the police were going to react to the strike. [5] The tear gas did cause some protesters to leave and temporary confusion, but after regrouping, the crowd kept on advancing. Meanwhile, the police were getting ready to bring out fire truck hoses. The police sprayed the crowd with water. During this, the police made no attempt to make any arrests, being unsure whether or not they had jurisdiction. The protesters eventually regrouped. [5] The protesters remained peaceful the vast majority of the time, sitting down and refusing to leave when confronted by police officers. [5] Sheriff Henry K. Martin ordered the police officers to change out their ammunition from buckshot to birdshot to disperse the crowd without fatalities. Police warned the demonstrators they would fire on them if they did not disperse voluntarily; few heeded the warning. At 10:20 a.m., Lieutenant Charles Warren stabbed one of the protesters in the back with a bayonet. The police then opened fire for five minutes on the crowd with birdshot, and with buckshot from police officers who failed to hear the orders. At least 16 rounds of ammunition were fired, and at least 50 people were shot, including two women and two children. [5] Later that day, a larger crowd gathered to be addressed by Harry Kamoku. Estimates of the size of the crowd range from 500 to 3000 people. Kamoku said, "The only reason we know for them shooting at us like criminals is that we are members of our chosen unions. The order to shoot came while we were sitting down." Joseph V. Hodgson (1899–1973) was appointed Attorney General of the territory by Governor Joseph Poindexter a few weeks before the Hilo Massacre. Hodgson later released the Hodgson Report, which reported on the Massacre. [6] In October 1938, injured protester Kai Uratani filed a lawsuit against the officers responsible for the shooting. He lost, and instead had to pay for the officers' defense costs. [3] Despite the injuries, the strike did not achieve any immediate major gains for the unions.

Strike

Tigray conflict: ‘We have no food, we face death’

People in a district of Ethiopia's Tigray region have told the BBC they are on the verge of starvation. "We don't have anything to eat," a man in Qafta Humera said, saying their crops and livestock had been looted during seven months of war. He added that they were being prevented from seeking aid by a militia fighting with government forces. The testimony comes as UN chief António Guterres has warned that parts of Tigray are on the brink of famine. A conflict erupted in November between the Ethiopian government and Tigrayan rebels, forcing close to two million people from their homes in Tigray, a region that was already food insecure. The Ethiopian authorities insist that order is now being restored across the region and humanitarian access expanded. But last week, the UN warned of a repeat of Ethiopia's devastating 1984 famine and called for an immediate ceasefire in Tigray. Dire and frightening, according to people living in Qafta Humera, an isolated district in the west of Tigray that is close to the borders of Sudan and Eritrea, who were contacted by the BBC Tigrinya service via phone. Since November 2020, the western Tigray zone has been occupied by pro-government forces and militias from the neighbouring region of Amhara. "We are civilians, our crops and cattle have been taken by the armed men," one farmer in his 60s said. "They took from me around 30 cows and oxen - there are some who lost 100-200 head of cattle." Another farmer, in his 40s, told the BBC: "We were eating small remains of crops that we managed to hide, but now we don't have anything. "Nobody has given us any aid. Almost everyone is on the verge of death - our eyes are affected by the hunger, the situation is perilous. "Death is knocking on our door. You can see the hunger on the face of each of us." Residents said they had seen vehicles carrying aid pass by, but no-one had bothered to inquire about their predicament. Because they are trapped. The older farmer said people have been trying to travel elsewhere, like the towns of Shire and Sheraro - about 200km (125 miles) east of their district, to find food and humanitarian supplies. But transport has been difficult to come by and those that have vehicles have been prevented from leaving the area by the militia. "When we want to go to the place where there is aid all roads are blocked," he said, adding that those who have tried to flee on foot have been asked to pay bribes, which they cannot afford. "Even if we try on foot, if the militias from Amhara found us they force us to pay 4,000-5,000 birr [between $90 and $115] each." The younger farmer added that people feared being killed if they came face-to-face with the militia in the bush. "If we try to go to the place where there is aid we will be killed in the forest," he said. A local administrator appointed for the area in the wake of the conflict told the BBC that no federal aid was available and only limited assistance was coming through for neighbouring Amhara. Mr Guterres warned the situation would "only keep getting worse" unless funding was increased and humanitarian access was improved. The government says international humanitarian workers have been allowed into most parts of Tigray. Months after the conflict begun, many critical services have not been fully restored. Dozens of health centres and hospitals have been destroyed or looted. It erupted when Ethiopia's government launched an offensive to oust the region's then ruling party, the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF). The party had had a massive fallout with Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed over political changes to the country's ethnically based federal system - though the TPLF's capture of federal military bases in Tigray was the catalyst for the invasion. Mr Abiy, a Nobel Peace Prize winner, declared that the conflict was over at the end of November, but fighting has continued. Thousands of people have been killed and about 1.7 million have fled their homes. Tens of thousands have sought refuge in neighbouring Sudan. The conflict has also involved troops from neighbouring Eritrea fighting with the government. All sides have been accused of numerous human rights abuses.

Famine

1947 South American Championships in Athletics

The South American Championships in Athletics is a biennial athletics event organized by CONSUDATLE. The first edition in 1919 was competed between only two countries (Chile and Uruguay), but it has since expanded and has generally been held every two years since 1927. In addition, 8 unofficial championships were held between 1918 and 1957: The 1918 event was titled "Campeonato de Iniciación". The 1922 event was titled "Campeonato Latino-Americano". The 1931 event was held in celebration of the 100th anniversary of Uruguayan independence. The 1946 event was held in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the modern Olympic Games. The 1948 event was held in celebration of the 100th anniversary of the foundation of La Paz. The 1950 event was held in celebration of the 30th anniversary of the Uruguayan Athletics Federation. The 1957 event was for men only. [1] Countries are measured by a points system resulting from their respective athletes' performances. The country with the highest total points is declared the winner. List of South American Championships in Athletics records

Sports Competition

1975 Haicheng earthquake

The 1975 Haicheng earthquake hit Haicheng, Liaoning, China at 19:36 CST on February 4. This earthquake had an Ms magnitude of 7.5,[3] which is associated with total destruction of infrastructure and property. Haicheng had approximately one million residents at the time of the earthquake, which is known for being one of the few earthquakes to be successfully predicted throughout history. [4] Early in the morning of February 4, 1975, Chinese officials ordered that the city of Haicheng be evacuated, believing there to be a large chance of an earthquake occurring. The prediction was allegedly based on reports of changes in groundwater and soil elevations over the past several months as well as widespread accounts of unusual animal behavior. A low-level alert was triggered by regional increases in seismicity (later recognized as foreshocks). [5] Both authorities and citizens were finally placed on high alert and an evacuation order was issued due to an increase in foreshocks. [6] Though this particular prediction of the earthquake was initially believed to be just the latest in a recent string of false alarms that had occurred in the preceding months, including one case of an earthquake swarm being caused by the filling of a reservoir,[7] the evacuation of Haicheng proceeded anyway and eventually paid off. The evacuation, despite successfully removing most of Haicheng's population, did not prevent deaths in its entirety. When the main quake struck at 7:36 pm, 1,328 (some says 2,041) people died,[8][9] over 27,000 were injured and thousands of buildings collapsed. However, the death toll was much lower than the estimate of over 150,000 dead which is believed to have resulted if the evacuation had not taken place. [10] This was the only successful evacuation of a potentially affected population before a devastating earthquake in history. Another sign of the earthquake coming was the unusual animal behaviour. In December 1974, rats and snakes appeared "frozen" on the roads. Starting in February 1975 reports of this type increased greatly. Cows and horses looked restless and agitated. Rats appeared "drunk", chickens refused to enter their coops and geese frequently took to flight. [11] In addition to damage in Liaoning Province and its surroundings, minor damage was also reported in Seoul, South Korea. The quake was felt in Primorsky Krai, Russia, and in Kyushu, Japan. In recent years, the success of the earthquake's prediction has come under scrutiny. Seismologists have agreed that the Haicheng earthquake can't be looked to as any sort of "prototype" for predicting future earthquakes, as the foreshocks that played a huge role in leading to prediction of this earthquake are not a regular, reliable occurrence before all earthquakes. However, Qi-Fu Chen, a research professor at Beijing's China Earthquake Administration, explained that this earthquake at least "showed the importance of public education," prompting a further discussion about the necessity of making the public aware of the dangers, preparations, and warning signs related to earthquakes. [12]

Earthquakes

UAE economy minister to visit Britain seeking trade deal

Abdulla Bin Touq Al Marri, Minister of Economy of the United Arab Emirates, (UAE) speaks during the Skybridge Capital SALT New York 2021 conference in New York City, U.S., September 15, 2021. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid DUBAI, Sept 19 (Reuters) - The United Arab Emirates' economy minister will lead a high-level delegation to Britain this week, the ministry said on Sunday, as the Gulf state seeks to deepen trade ties. Abdulla Bin Touq Al Marri and the delegation will meet British ministers, officials and representatives from the private sector to discuss recently announced UAE economic policies. One of those policies includes the UAE seeking to seal what it calls a comprehensive economic agreement covering trade and foreign investment with Britain and seven other countries. The delegation would also discuss ways to develop economic ties and strengthen cooperation in trade, investment, healthcare and energy, among other sectors, the ministry said. The UAE last week announced it had expanded an investment partnership with the British government, committing 10 billion pounds ($13.7 billion) to invest in the UK over five years. The UAE delegation will also include local government, investment company and private sector representatives, the ministry said. Britain is the UAE's third largest non-oil trade partner in Europe, with trade between the two countries worth almost $8.1 billion in 2020, it said. ($1 = 0.7279 pounds) Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. Subscribe for our daily curated newsletter to receive the latest exclusive Reuters coverage delivered to your inbox. The ruler of Dubai said in a tweet on Thursday the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has been selected to host the COP28 international climate conference in 2023. Reuters, the news and media division of Thomson Reuters, is the world’s largest multimedia news provider, reaching billions of people worldwide every day. Reuters provides business, financial, national and international news to professionals via desktop terminals, the world's media organizations, industry events and directly to consumers. Build the strongest argument relying on authoritative content, attorney-editor expertise, and industry defining technology. The most comprehensive solution to manage all your complex and ever-expanding tax and compliance needs. The industry leader for online information for tax, accounting and finance professionals. Information, analytics and exclusive news on financial markets - delivered in an intuitive desktop and mobile interface. Access to real-time, reference, and non-real time data in the cloud to power your enterprise. Screen for heightened risk individual and entities globally to help uncover hidden risks in business relationships and human networks. All quotes delayed a minimum of 15 minutes. See here for a complete list of exchanges and delays.

Diplomatic Visit

2015 New Taipei water park fire

Coordinates: 25°08′41″N 121°23′20″E / 25.14472°N 121.38889°E / 25.14472; 121.38889 On 27 June 2015, a dust fire occurred at Formosa Fun Coast, a water park in Bali, New Taipei, Taiwan. Staff of an outdoor "colour powder party" sprayed clouds of corn starch towards the participants, which ignited. The fire lasted 40 seconds and burned 508 people, killing 15 and leaving 199 in critical condition. Initially, only patches of airborne corn starch caught fire and extinguished almost instantly, but the staff sprayed carbon-dioxide fire extinguishers towards the participants, which, compounded by the running of the participants, dispersed the airborne corn starch into multiple dust clouds, responsible for most of the burning. The dust fire was widely misreported to have been an explosion. The "Colour Play Asia" party was inspired by the colored powder used in the Hindu religious festival "Holi", also called "festival of colours", which is celebrated in India, Nepal, and other countries with large Hindu populations. In August 2013, the first Taiwanese colour party took place in Sizihwan, Kaohsiung City. It was organized by the same event company that organized "Colour Play Asia". [7] That same year, a National Tsing Hua University expert warned that the coloured powder used during the Colour Play Asia parties might cause a dust explosion if the material was combustible. [8] On 27 June 2015, the "Color Play Asia" party was held at the Formosa Fun Coast water park. Party-goers were singing and dancing on the stage, which holds up to 1,000. [9][10] Other party-goers danced in a drained pool nearby. [11] The concert organizers deployed colored corn starch powder in the festivities. The method of powder application at the concert created "an extremely dense dust cloud over the stage and its immediate vicinity",[12] people near the stage were standing "almost ankle-deep" in colored corn starch powder, and the powder was repeatedly suspended into the air using air blowers as well as compressed gas canisters. [11][13] At about 20:30, a large deflagration occurred when a cloud of colored powder ignited after being discharged from the stage onto a crowd of 1,000 people during a concert. [10][14] Some of the crowd breathed in the powder, causing respiratory problems. [10] As recorded in an amateur video by an audience member, a massive fireball suddenly engulfed the stage. [15][16] The powder caught fire along the ground, resulting in burns mainly to victims' limbs and torsos. [3][17] According to the authorities, the fire was quickly extinguished. [18] The rescue included help from army vehicles and soldiers, along with medical services. [17] Many people were taken to hospitals via taxis due to the lack of ambulances in the area. The injured were treated in over 50 hospitals across Taiwan. As of 29 November 2015,[19] 15 of the 497 injured had died, 44 victims remained hospitalized, and 11 were being treated at intensive care wards, while fifty-seven others were discharged from hospitals after treatment. [20][21][22][23] Most of the injured were tertiary students in their twenties and late teens who had just started their summer vacation. [24] An earlier estimate of 519 injured was due to double-counting of patients that were transferred between hospitals. [25] Many victims were lightly clad because of hot weather (36.6 °C (97.9 °F))[3][10] and the water park venue, and suffered burns over large portions of their bodies. [26] Some victims suffered burns to 80–90% of their skin. [3][17] Four foreigners injured in the event were flown home via International SOS flights for follow-up medical treatment on 29 June: two to Hong Kong (Queen Mary Hospital and Prince of Wales Hospital), one to Shanghai (Ruijin Hospital) and one to Singapore (Singapore General Hospital). [27] Two suicides were linked to the event: a father of a surviving burn victim committed suicide,[28] while another suicidal man donated his skin to the victims. [29] New Taipei City's mayor Eric Chu ordered an immediate shutdown of the water park pending an investigation. [10] The man responsible for the event was detained by police for investigation. [30] On 28 June, Taiwan Premier Mao Chi-kuo banned the use of colored powders at private events until the investigation is concluded and the powder can be considered safe. [17] The event's organizer and hardware engineer were questioned and then given bail on the condition that they not leave the country. [31] Lu Chung-chi apologized for the explosion on 28 June. [32] On 28 June a spokesman for (mainland) China's Taiwan Affairs Office, Ma Xiaoguang, expressed sympathy for the victims and hoped they all received timely and appropriate treatment. [33] On 30 June Taiwan's Organ Registry and Sharing Center called for urgent donations of cadaver skin, since there were just 115 rolls left in the country's cadaver skin stocks. According to Chairman Lee Po-chang (李伯璋; Lǐ Bózhāng), cadaver skin is more effective in blocking burn wounds from contamination sources and promoting skin regeneration than hog skin or synthetic skin. [34] According to officials, the Ministry of Health and Welfare collaborated with the New Taipei City Public Health Department and made an announcement that all medical expenses of the burn patients from 27 June to 30 September will be covered by the National Health Insurance Administration and the National Health Insurance Program. [35] On 2 July, a spokesman for China's Taiwan Affairs Office said it was ready to provide medical assistance to help treat the hundreds of people injured in the explosion. [36] On 3 July, Taiwanese Minister of Health and Welfare Chiang Been-huang said he was grateful for China's offer to provide medical assistance, including donations of cadaver skin to Taiwan, but it should be first confirmed that the skin was not from executed prisoners. [37] Cadaver skin from the United States and Netherlands was sent to Taiwan. [38] Investigators raised the question of whether the powder was ignited by a cigarette or spark; the supplier of the flammable, starch-based powder said "if it's in dense quantities and if it's hot, it can catch fire". Organizers had purchased three tons of the powder,[11] and wrote on their Facebook page that it consisted of cornstarch and food coloring. The powder was sprayed from the stage onto concert-goers "at high velocity". [24] The vice president of Tai Won Food Industrial Co, which makes the powder, says that there are warnings on the packages not to use them in closed spaces or under high temperatures. [23] The New Taipei City news department head stated: "It's still not clear what happened, but there were a number of people smoking and the weather was warm. "[3] The Fire Department's preliminary conclusion was that the fire was caused by the sprayed powder, and that stage lights may have been the source of ignition. [10] WuFeng University fire science department instructor and Taichung Harbor Fire Department deputy captain Lu Shou-chien commented in a letter to the Chinese-language United Daily News that the event organizers had set up necessary conditions for a disaster, and had not used water sprays which would have reduced the risk of ignition. [11] Smoking was permitted at the event, and approximately 40 cigarette butts were found afterwards. [11] In October 2015, the committee set up by the New Taipei City government to oversee monetary donations related to the explosion announced plans to distribute the collected funds.

Fire

One dead and another seriously injured after Audi crash in Landsdale

A driver is dead and another motorist in hospital following a multiple car crash in Perth’s northern suburbs on Tuesday morning. The crash occurred around 7am in Landsdale, police said. A black Audi was travelling west along Gnangara Road when it collided with a Hyundai van at the intersection of Alexander Drive. Several other cars at the intersection were hit with debris from the collision. The Audi could be seen lying on its side, crushed and scorched, with the van and damaged silver sedan several metres away. The Audi driver died at the scene, while the van driver, a 25-year-old male, was taken to Royal Perth Hospital, where he has undergone emergency surgery. A witness told The West Australian he saw the Audi “flying” through a red light. “The next second I heard a loud noise. “I saw it (the Audi) flying over me ... I saw a tyre coming towards me so I (hid) my head under the steering wheel.” The witness said drivers got out of their cars to try and help those involved in the accident. A second witness said the sound of the collision was like “an explosion,” while others said it sounded like “a bomb going off.”

Road Crash