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Over 100 million people in Africa face catastrophic levels of food insecurity

It is a very concerning situation that over 100 million people in Africa are facing catastrophic levels of food insecurity (Integrated Food Security Phase Classification-3 and above) and the situation may worsen in the coming months especially between June and August 2021. The socio-economic impacts of Covid-19 have become wider and deeper especially in developing countries. The secondary impacts of COVID-19 could have long-lasting affects across the continent, particularly for those living in poverty. In Africa, a continent with a high proportion of workers in the informal economy, the most vulnerable have been hit hard. In Africa, people face the challenges of either too little water or too much water – cyclic patterns of drought to floods to droughts – impacting vulnerable groups either by floods or by famine silently due to profound impacts of climate change. People are becoming more vulnerable due to civil unrest, displacements, population movement and other complex socio-political and economic factors. Key figures 100+ million people facing catastrophic levels of food insecurity. 4.3 million people assisted by Red Cross Red Crescent National Societies with food and in-kind assistance. 112,000 people reached with cash and voucher assistance. 20 African National Societies are implementing longerterm food security programmes with an investment of 81.14 Swiss francs, supported by 17 different partners.

Famine

2019 Ménaka helicopter crash

On 25 November 2019, two French military helicopters, part of Operation Barkhane, crashed in northern Mali, killing 13 soldiers. It was the deadliest incident involving the French military since the 1983 Beirut barracks bombings. A French Eurocopter Tiger attack helicopter collided with a Eurocopter AS532 Cougar military transport helicopter at low-altitude at night while on a sortie near the town of Ménaka in Northern Mali. [1] The helicopters were in the midst of pursuing militants on vehicles and motor-bikes, after ground forces had called in for air support. For unknown reasons, the two helicopters collided and crashed killing all onboard. [2] Six officers and a master corporal were among the 13 fatalities. One of those killed, Pierre-Emmanuel Bockel, was the son of French Senator Jean-Marie Bockel. [3] Bockel was the pilot of the 'Cougar' helicopter. [1]

Air crash

Mountain Fire (2019)

The Mountain Fire was a wildfire in August, 2019 in the area of Jones Valley in Shasta County, several miles east of Redding, California. The fire broke out on Thursday, August 22, 2019, off Bear Mountain Road and Dry Creek Road, north of Bella Vista in Shasta County. Burning within the community of Jones Valley, the fire ultimately destroyed fourteen structures including seven homes, damaged seven others and burned 600 acres (243 ha) of forest land. At its peak, the Mountain Fire threatened over 1,100 homes and also led to the evacuation of over 4,000 residents. [4] Three people suffered minor injuries related to the fire, but no deaths were reported in the blaze. [2]

Fire

Michael Bloomberg urges graduates to 'be present for others'

Entrepreneur, philanthropist, three-term mayor of New York City, and Johns Hopkins University graduate Michael R. Bloomberg returned to campus to address the Class of 2021 at Commencement on Thursday, speaking to the graduates about "the importance of togetherness" after a year largely marked by virtual gathering amid the COVID-19 pandemic. "Over the past year, we've gotten a good look at how digital technology cannot replace physical togetherness," Bloomberg said during remarks that lasted nearly 22 minutes. "Not when it comes to being with family and friends, not when it comes to being with professors and classmates, not when it comes to attending a party or going to a museum, and not when it comes to interacting with colleagues and coworkers in whatever field you choose to pursue, whether it's science or medicine, engineering or business, the arts, or the military. This was Bloomberg's third time offering the university's Commencement speech, and the first since 2010. "I hope you will take one big idea with you, because it really could not be more important," he said. "And that is simply, be present for others, in your careers and your personal lives. Because ultimately, it's only through the power of our relationships that we can fulfill our potential and that we can build teams capable of creating a society that is more just, more equal, more peaceful, and, in the words of our nation's founders, more perfect." Over the past 56 years, Bloomberg's unparalleled support for Johns Hopkins has immeasurably enhanced everything from the undergraduate experience, to campus infrastructure, to the possibility for scientific discovery, all in the name of ensuring that more young people from all backgrounds have access to higher education, making the world safer and healthier, and deepening the global reputation of his alma mater. During the Class of 2021's time at Johns Hopkins, Bloomberg made a historic $1.8 billion gift entirely for financial aid, allowing the university to permanently offer need-blind admissions and eliminate the need for student loans. Approximately 60% of the graduating class received financial aid supported by Bloomberg Philanthropies. Bloomberg's innovations in business, government, and philanthropy have made him a global leader on climate change, public health, education, and other critical issues facing America and the world. The founder of Bloomberg LP and Bloomberg Philanthropies, Bloomberg serves as World Health Organization Global Ambassador for Noncommunicable Diseases and Injuries, and the United Nations Secretary-General's Special Envoy for Climate Ambition and Solutions. Born in Boston and raised in Medford, Massachusetts, he earned a BS in electrical engineering from Johns Hopkins University, graduating in 1964. His first donation to the university, $5, came in 1965. Since then, Bloomberg has become the largest donor in the 145-year history of the Johns Hopkins institutions with his total giving to the university now exceeding $3.5 billion.

Famous Person - Give a speech

Great Barrier Reef sediment from small area causing significant harm, but debate rages on best long-term fix

Great Barrier Reef sediment from small area causing significant harm, but debate rages on best long-term fix Farmers and graziers are angry at proposed new laws to enforce minimum standards for water running off their properties, saying it ignores the reality of farming in reef catchments. The Queensland Government's strategy to reduce harmful nutrient and sediment flow to the reef will include industries like horticulture and cattle grazing, under laws before Parliament. But grazier and AgForce North Queensland president Matt Bennetto said the extremities of tropical rainfall and seasonal differences meant it was impossible to guarantee the standards to be regulated. "Leaves on the ground, potentially having fines for people or debris on your country — there's no way that this legislation, that anyone can stay compliant with it," Mr Bennetto said. "It is very disingenuous for a government to say that we are doing this for reef health or anything like that." While gully erosion only impacted 0.1 per cent of the Great Barrier Reef catchment area, about 40 per cent of excess erosion originated in such gullies. CSIRO scientist Rebecca Bartley said that figure showed dramatic change was possible through management change and remediation. "A lot of the issues are legacy that may have occurred back from gold mining days, from changes in previous grazing habits that we now have improved on," she said. "The fact that we're dealing with a really small area gives us hope, that if the treatments we're trialling, and we can improve water quality, that it's actually tractable and manageable." Mr Bennetto has been working with NRM group NQ Dry Tropics to remediate gullies on his property that were losing tonnes of soil annually. "They've got some very, very knowledgeable field officers that don't come just out of a classroom or anything like that," he said. "They're very much from the country and willing to look at topics like soil run-off." NQ Dry Tropics grazing officer Jared Sunderland said the five-year cooperation was a win-win for business and the environment. "Landholders are more and more understanding that the healthier their pasture, the healthier their land, the healthier their soil and all of those things," Mr Sunderland said. "They're reducing the amount of topsoil they're losing … they're capturing more water in their landscape." Subscribe for the national headlines of the day. But the advent of reef regulations will mean more pressure on extension staff to prepare graziers for the changes. The State Government has committed $10 million so far to provide additional extension staff for reef catchments. "I think there's some fear associated with it, so I think there's a need for a significant amount of engagement so that people do understand what their responsibilities will be," Mr Sunderland said. The long-running issue of reef run-off has divided farmers for years, with many suspecting data used to justify regulation was imperfect or incomplete. Widespread dissatisfaction with government's role in data collection had been countered by a report showing slow uptake of on-farm changes. At the same time, significant investment has been made in coastal catchments to develop wetlands, siltation traps and other methods to reduce sediment flow. In just five years, nearly $100 million has been specifically earmarked by State and Federal Governments for sediment control programs. The voluntary system of using best management plan schemes to drive land use change, used under the previous LNP government was the preferred model for some graziers. Mr Bennetto said he believed the repeal of parts of the law would follow any future change of government. "I would very much expect that the Opposition would step up to the plate on a number of these issues including vegetation management and reef regs and make some changes," he said. Minister for the Environment and the Great Barrier Reef Leeanne Enoch said voluntary improvement uptake had not occurred fast enough and, as a result, water quality had continued to decline. "Under the proposed grazing minimum standards, graziers are not expected to fully remediate severely degraded land such as mine sites or large alluvial gully complexes," she said. "However, measures must be taken to prevent areas of degraded land from further degrading." Ms Enoch said the reef regulations were a recommendation of the Great Barrier Reef Water Science Taskforce to protect the reef. "More than 60,000 tourism jobs rely on it," she said. "These regulations are also a way of maintaining the Great Barrier Reef's UNESCO World Heritage status. "Queensland's climate is changing. We are already experiencing more frequent extreme events such as coral bleaching and intense rainfall. "This means that now, more than ever, is is important to reduce the pressures on the reef, including water quality." Ms Enoch said enforcement of the new laws would be a last resort. "That only happens after we have worked with landholders to improve their practices through education and awareness raising," she said. "It will be up to the courts to determine the appropriate penalty in the circumstances … on a case-by-case basis." The bill will return to Parliament on August 20.

Environment Pollution

Táchira helicopter crash

The Táchira helicopter crash was the loss of a Venezuela Army helicopter and its 18 occupants on 3 May 2009. The helicopter crashed at around midday local time (16.30 UTC) near El Alto de Rubio in the north-western state of Táchira in Venezuela. [1][2] All eighteen people aboard the aircraft were killed. The dead included one Brigadier-General, two army pilots, fourteen other army personnel and one civilian. [1][2][3] Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez, who was a retired army Lieutenant-Colonel, announced the incident in his weekly television broadcast and said "I pay tribute to these soldiers of the homeland, especially Gen Faneite, who was my cadet". [1] The cause of the crash is not yet known. It is known that the area was subject to adverse weather conditions prior to the crash. [4] The aircraft involved was a Russian Mil Mi-35, although some news sources reported it erroneously as a Mil Mi-17. [4] The crash occurred just days after Colombian President Álvaro Uribe asked for Venezuelan assistance in eliminating FARC guerillas on the Venezuelan side of the border. It is not yet known if the crash is linked to intensified Venezuelan military operations against the guerillas. [1] The United States Department of State's annual assessment of terrorism also recently criticised Venezuela for failing to police the border and stated that Colombian rebels and paramilitaries "regularly crossed into Venezuelan territory to rest and regroup as well as to extort protection money". [2]

Air crash

Santander Bank has been robbed

Brockton Police spent hours searching for two men after an armed bank robbery Tuesday morning. Officers said the men, who were dressed in black, hooded sweatshirts, robbed the Santander Bank at 25 Torrey St. at gunpoint at approximately 10 a.m. Responding officers pursued the men after the robbery. "During the pursuit, police recovered two guns investigators believe were used in the robbery," police spokesman Darren Duarte said. "They also recovered the getaway vehicle and stolen money." Police K-9 units are involved in the search. Just before 2 p.m., Duarte said the men were arrested after "a city-wide search." No one was injured in the robbery, but one woman was taken to the hospital by ambulance after saying she did not feel well. Hearst Television participates in various affiliate marketing programs, which means we may get paid commissions on purchases made through our links to retailer sites.

Bank Robbery

L'Isle-Verte nursing home fire

The L'Isle-Verte nursing home fire took place around 12:35 a.m. on January 23, 2014, at the Résidence du Havre nursing home in L'Isle-Verte, Quebec, Canada, killing thirty-two people and injuring fifteen. [2][3][4] The impacted wing of the building burned to the ground, leaving only the elevator shaft intact. A number of residents were taken to hospital, including 13 people who had carbon monoxide poisoning or fell ill. Officials said rescuers were unable to carry out a complete evacuation because of the intensity of the fire. Many of the victims used wheelchairs and walkers. [5] Twenty seven bodies were recovered during an initial search, which ended February 1. A Montreal coroner's lab was to identify the remaining five missing by forensic DNA analysis of bone fragments and remains from the site. [6][7] As of January 21, 2015, two of these five were identified. [8] After talking to police, the lone overnight worker at Résidence du Havre, Bruno Bélanger, told Quebecor Media he is "95% sure" the fire was caused by a cigarette, lit by a resident he refused to let outside to smoke less than an hour earlier. He said black smoke was billowing above the ajar door of the man's second-floor room, room 206. When he tried to help, he "began to suffocate" and had to leave. On the way to safety, he rescued a man who had broken his leg by jumping from his balcony. [9][10] The all-wooden building was partially equipped with sprinklers, which were in a firewalled annex but not in the original structure. [11] The investigation is hampered by a thick (up to 40 cm) layer of ice on the ruins, the firefighting water exposed to temperatures around −35 °C. Three teams of investigators worked 19 hours on January 25, in around −18 °C weather, before breaking till 7 am the next day. The teams started by chopping the ice, later bringing in ship de-icing equipment and using steam to melt ice to avoid further damaging any bodies. Officially, investigators found the first tangible clues of a cause for the fire on January 31 but had disclosed nothing; police claimed it could take months to determine what happened. Fifty workers, an electrician and a chemist were investigating the wreckage, armed with a search warrant in case evidence of criminal negligence was discovered. [12] In late March, police investigators claimed the fire had started in the kitchen, dismissing the theory of a cigarette causing the blaze. [13] Suspecting negligence, police have asked the lone employee on duty, Bruno Bélanger, to take a polygraph test; he declined. [14] The buildings owners continued to cite a cigarette in one of the individual rooms as the probable cause of the fire and called for a public enquiry. [15] A lawsuit against the municipality of Île-Verte claimed $3.8 million on behalf of Promutuel Insurance, the Résidence du Havre and its owners, alleging that the fire brigade took fifteen minutes to arrive, was ill-equipped, was slow to call for backup from neighbouring municipalities and that Île-Verte had no evacuation or emergency plans in place. [16] Roch Bernier and Irène Plante removed their names from the suit in December 2014; the insurer's intentions are unknown. [17] A commission of inquiry (la Commission d'enquête sur la tragédie de L'Isle-Verte) conducted hearings in December 2014; both the Sûreté du Québec and the coroner rejected Bruno Bélanger's theory of a cigarette fire in an individual room, citing evidence that the blaze originated in the main-floor kitchen and spread laterally. [18] A 141-page coroner's report issued February 12, 2015 cited a lack of adequate evacuation and emergency plans, a lack of personnel on duty at night trained to help residents in case of emergency, delay in the transmission of alarms, delay in firefighters arriving on-scene, delay in requesting backup from adjacent municipalities and questionable management and execution of operations once firefighters arrived. [19] Québec's building code currently requires sprinklers in existing buildings only if they are high-rise (Résidence du Havre is three stories) or house only non-autonomous residents (many who perished in l'Isle-Verte were semi-autonomous). Few staff are on duty overnight as residents sleep, despite evacuation of seniors being complicated by their limited mobility (many are in walkers or wheelchairs), heavy medication or conditions such as Alzheimer's disease. [20] Medical oxygen use further increases the danger from structural fires. [21] The only province to have legislated a retrofit of sprinklers in all elderly homes is Ontario, and installations under that law (enacted Jan 1, 2014) could take several years to complete. [22] Fire safety experts and groups such as the Canadian Association of Retired Persons, Ontario Retirement Communities Association, l'Association Québécoise de Défense des Personnes Retraitées et Préretraitées and the Canadian Association of Fire Chiefs have called for more stringent fire precautions including mandatory sprinkler installation. [23] As of 2014, 54% of Québec's private homes for the elderly have no sprinklers. [24] Québec health minister Réjean Hébert has suggested that requirements be strengthened to put sprinklers into homes for semi-autonomous elderly. [25] The lack of an emergency plan has also been cited by one of the owners, along with the failure to open a main door which is locked at 10:30pm nightly to prevent Alzheimer's patients from wandering away. [26] The requirement that only one staff member be on duty overnight per hundred residents is also being questioned; Résidence du Havre kept two staff on duty,[27] but emergency plans rely on firefighters to remove residents from each room[28] and the fire spread too quickly for firefighters to reach many of the occupants. Coroner Cyrille Delâge, in his February 2015 report, recommended better fire-detection tools (including visible and audible smoke-detector alarms) in seniors’ residences, heat sensors, automated sprinklers and an alarm system linked to the region's 9-1-1 network. [19] Fire fighting backup from adjacent municipalities should have been called at first word that a residence with elderly inside was burning, without first waiting for local firefighters to arrive. Sprinklers should be retrofitted to existing retirement residences; staff should be trained in emergency and evacuation procedures. [29] Some not-for-profit retirement homes in Québec's villages have no one on duty overnight. [30] In response to the coroner's report, Minister of Labour Sam Hamad has announced that Québec will be requiring sprinklers be retrofitted to old folks' homes with ten or more residents. [31]

Fire

november 2021 lunar eclipse time

Diehard solar-eclipse chasers are scrambling to see one of the events in 2021, because next year offers only two partial solar eclipses ( April 30th and October 25th) — and the next total solar eclipse isn’t until April 20, 2023. It is easy to miss this type of lunar eclipse. A penumbral lunar eclipse occurs when the outer shadow of Earth falls on the Moon's face. Earlier this year, the May 2021 total lunar eclipse was also known as a Super Flower Blood Moon. Maximum of Lunar Eclipse – 12:39 AM. In 2021… The Thousand Year Canon of Solar Eclipses 1501 to 2500 contains maps and data for each of the 2,389 solar eclipses occurring over the ten-century period centered on the present era. According to the Old Farmer’s Almanac, this lunar eclipse in 2021 will be visible from North America and Hawaii. Partial lunar eclipses occur when the shadow only partially blocks the sun. 04. Path and Visibility — November 18–19, 2021 Partial Lunar Eclipse. The Penumbral Lunar Eclipse on 30 November 2020 will take place between 01:04 pm and 5:22 pm. It all begins at around This is because the full moon in May is often called the Flower Moon, understood to be a reference to the time of year and the fact many flowers bloom this month. Whilst May 2021's full moon is also a Super Moon, which is when the full or new moon coincides with when it is closest to the Earth in its orbit.Â. It will be completely visible over Asia, Australia, and the Americas on Friday, 19 November 2021, and some parts of Alaska and Hawaii on Thursday, At this time, the moon will reportedly begin its eclipse phase, entering the penumbra at 1:00 AM EST on November 19 and the lunar eclipse will end when it leaves the penumbra at 7:06 AM EST. A subtle lunar eclipse will unfold in the sky over half of the globe during the final hours of November, but stargazers might miss it if they don’t look closely -- … The last lunar eclipse of this year will occur on November 30, 2020. Microsoft and partners may be compensated if you purchase something through recommended links in this article. Lunar Eclipses: 2011 - 2020. It won’t be visible in Europe or Africa. Lunar Eclipse 2021. Jupiter and Saturn, form a close pair and set at 7:50 p.m. and 8:02 p.m., respectively, on Nov. 29., so they will both have exited the stage by the time the lunar eclipse … Found inside – Page 490ECLIPSES AND TRANSITS 2021: November 19 A partial eclipse of the Moon is visible from North and South America, northern Europe, eastern Asia, Australia, ... Found insideTABLE 3-1 Total and Partial Eclipses of the Moon, 2015 through 2024a Time of ... 2019 July 16 21:32 Partial 2:58 2021 May 26 11:20 0:15 3:07 2021 November ... Blood Moon 2021 is appearing in the skies today (May 26). So it’s definitely worth knowing exactly when the next lunar eclipse will be in 2021 and where you can catch a glimpse of this magnificent natural event. 4 th of December of 2021 at 7:43 am. The next lunar eclipse after today will occur on November 29-30. Solar Eclipse Annular: 10 June 2021 : Much of Europe, Much of Asia, North/West Africa, Much of North America, Atlantic, Arctic. The year 2021 also kicks off a series of eclipses upon the Taurus-Scorpio axis, which will last for nearly two years starting with a partial lunar eclipse on Friday, November 19, 2021… Dates of Lunar Eclipses (Chandra Grahans) in 2021, 2022, 2023. 2. Chandra Grahan 2021: Total lunar eclipse dazzles as it coincides with supermoon A total lunar eclipse occurred on May 26, 2021. The next total lunar eclipse will occur on May 16, 2022, but, it will not be visible from the India. But on November 8, 2022 a lunar eclipse will be see... Selected Table of Contents: CHAPTER 1 - Self-Initiation: An Induction into Basic Witchery What We Mean by “Witchcraft” Our Favorite Pop Culture Witches CHAPTER 2 - Glamours: The Power to Change How You Look How to Clothe Yourself in ... Get a better view of the total lunar eclipse and the whole galaxy with a beginner's telescope, this Barska telescope comes with astronomy software and a red dot finderscope that's super easy to use. The table below lists every lunar eclipse from 2011 through 2020. Found inside – Page 93TIME-LAPSE PHOTOGRAPH OF TOTAL LUNAR ECLIPSE Ea rth Sunlight Earth casts a ... 2021 (total) November 19, 2021 (partial) Wolves howling MOON MYTHS Old folk ... Everything you need to know about this Super Wolf Blood Moon total lunar eclipse. Unlike the other three Lunar Eclipses of 2020, this eclipse will stay for the longest duration. Found insideOverall Theme It is an opportune time for you to follow up on seeds you have ... last Lunar Eclipse of the year on November 19 in your solar eleventh house. Show full articles without "Continue Reading" button for {0} hours. Eclipses in 2021. A partial lunar eclipse is due to take place on November 19 and is set to be so nearly a total lunar eclipse. The table below lists every lunar eclipse from 2011 through 2020. New Moon. Everything you need to know about this Super Wolf Blood Moon total lunar eclipse. It will be a partial lunar eclipse. Apr 30, 2022 – Partial Solar Eclipse; May 15–16, 2022 — Total Lunar Eclipse; Oct 25, 2022 – Partial Solar Eclipse; Nov 8, 2022 — Total Lunar Eclipse (this page) Objects cast 3 different shadows: umbra, penumbra, and antumbra. There are at least 2 lunar eclipses each year. Durations are given for both partial and total (in bold) phases.Click on the eclipse Calendar Date to see a map and diagram of an eclipse. The Moon is Full in Taurus on November 19, 2021, at 3:58 AM EST. Maximum: Fri, Nov 19, 2021 at 4:02 am 0.974 Magnitude. Nov 18–19Lunar Eclipse (Partial) What does it mean? Last lunar eclipse of 2020: The fourth and final lunar eclipse of this year is just three days away. The next lunar eclipse will be visible from India on November 19, 2021. We tell you what kind of equipment you need and how to use it. Total Lunar Eclipse: May 26, 2021 ; Total Solar Eclipse: December 14, 2020 ; Penumbral Lunar Eclipse: Nov 29/30, 2020 ; Annular Solar Eclipse: June 21, 2020 ; Mercury Transit: November 11, 2019 ; Partial Lunar Eclipse: July 16–17, 2019 ; Total Solar Eclipse: July 2, 2019 ; Total Lunar Eclipse: January 20-21, 2019 ; Total Lunar Eclipse: July 27-28, 2018 Planning to take pictures of a lunar eclipse? Time Of Chandra Grahan 2020 On Kartik Purnima | November Lunar Eclipse 2020 Time: In India, the lunar eclipse will start at 1:02:22 PM and will end at 5:23:22 PM. Found insideToday is the time for meaningful conversations in the family circle. ... Horoscope November 19, 2021 - Partial eclipse of the Moon in the sign of Taurus. Why are there 3 types of shadows and how do they determine the type of an eclipse? May 26, 2021 — Total Lunar Eclipse; Jun 10, 2021 – Annular Solar Eclipse; Nov 18–19, 2021 — Partial Lunar Eclipse; Dec 4, 2021 – Total Solar Eclipse; Eclipses in 2022. Though lunar eclipses can often leave us feeling lethargic, for others, emotional healing is especially powerful during this time. A near-identical event to the total lunar eclipse six months prior, tonight will see a 1 hour 25 minute lunar totality that will be best seen from the west coast of the U.S. Australia and southeast Asia will also be in a good position. What does it mean? Semester series. Full Moon/Lunar Eclipse Chart: on November 19, 2021, in Taurus. Total lunar eclipses, often known by their more mysterious name ‘Blood Moons’, are perhaps the most dramatic form of lunar eclipse. And for those hoping to catch a glimpse of the next lunar eclipse 2021, they won’t be disappointed! On January 20/21, the Earth will come between the Sun and a Super Moon, completely covering January's Wolf Moon with its shadow for over 60 minutes. Chandra Grahan 2021 in India Date and Time: . This will be a Penumbral Lunar Eclipse, and visible in India, America, Northern Europe, East Asia, Australia and some regions of the Pacific Ocean. Unfortunately, this was the last Blood Moon of this year as only the partial lunar eclipse in November will take place before the end of 2021 and not another total lunar eclipse.Â, Whilst there will be no new Blood Moon in 2021, two Blood Moons are set to appear in 2022. November 18–19, 2021 Partial Lunar Eclipse Eclipse Information Eclipse Map 3D Globe Map Live Stream This partial lunar eclipse , the last lunar eclipse of 2021, is visible from North and South America, Australia, and parts of Europe and Asia. Partial Lunar Eclipse. Begins: Fri, Nov 19, 2021 at 1:02 am. November 19: partial lunar eclipse Less spectacular than a total lunar eclipse, a partial lunar eclipse happens when part of the moon is blocked out by Earth’s shadow. It is easy to miss this type of lunar eclipse. Map of Partial Lunar Eclipse on November 19, 2021 Eclipse Information Eclipse Map 3D Globe Map Live Stream Eclipse Map — November 18–19, 2021 Partial Lunar Eclipse MAY 26, 2021 07:39 PM IST Full Moon. Privacy & Terms, South in Australia, South in Africa, South in South America, Pacific, Atlantic, Indian Ocean, Antarctica, South/West South America, Pacific, Atlantic, Antarctica, South/West Europe, South/West Asia, Africa, Much of North America, South America, Pacific, Atlantic, Indian Ocean, Antarctica, Europe, South/West Asia, North/East Africa, Atlantic, North/East Europe, Asia, Australia, North America, Much of South America, Pacific, Atlantic, Indian Ocean, Arctic, Antarctica, November 18–19, 2021 Partial Lunar Eclipse. The last solar eclipse was visible from India from major cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Bengaluru, Bhubaneshwar, and more place across India. Find out when the next lunar eclipse happens in your city and worldwide. This lunar eclipse will be a penumbral one when the Moon will turn a shade darker for a few hours. Here are some sample times for totality on May 26, 2021 in the western U.S. states, but you should find out the exact schedule for your location . When two eclipses are separated by a period of one Saros, they share a very similar geometry.The two eclipses occur at the same Lunar Node with the Moon at nearly the same distance from Earth and at the same time of year. This grahan is followed by Hindus in India as it is visible to the naked eye in India.There is fasting and temples will be closed. According to the Panchang, there will be a lunar eclipse on November 19 at around 11:30 in the afternoon. The Blood Moon in May 2021 was a huge event for astronomers, marking the first time a total lunar eclipse occurred since January 21, 2019. Type of Lunar Eclipse: Penumbral. New Delhi | Jagran Lifestyle Desk: The set time for the first lunar eclipse of 2021 has begun. Meteorologist/Science Writer. Clouded out, or … Duration of Penumbral Phase – 04 Hours 01 Min 47 Secs. Penumbral lunar eclipse not visible. Found insideNovember 19 is a partial Lunar Eclipse. ... For those Rabbit natives looking for love, this is a great time to be putting yourself out there. One such celestial event, a lunar eclipse which will be seen on Novemeber 30 shall be a strong one. Lunar Eclipses: 2011 - 2020. Chandra Grahan 2021 in India Date and Time: Find out why a totally eclipsed Moon turns a shade of red. The peak of the eclipse is estimated to be around 3:12:53 PM as per timeanddate.com. Sutak for Kids, Old and Sick Begins - 04:28 PM, Nov 18. This page lists Lunar Eclipse timings on 2021 for Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Date And Time. Found insideThis is a book for all those wishing to deepen their connection with nature and take their spiritual practice to a new level. The November 30 lunar eclipse and the December 14 solar eclipse make an eclipse phase that lasts until the lunar eclipse on May 26, 2021. 19 th of November of 2021 at 8:58 am. We’ll have to adjust clocks for the biannual time change, and hope for clear skies for the next lunar eclipse. Find out why a totally eclipsed Moon turns a shade of red. Found insideThis new edition emphasizes the relationship between rocks and minerals, right from the structures created during rock formation through the economics of mineral deposits. Lunar eclipses often have a variety of intriguing names attributed to them, with Blood Moon being the perfect ominous-sounding example. This partial lunar eclipse, the last Moon eclipse of 2021, is visible from North and South America, Australia, and parts of Europe and Asia. The third column lists the Eclipse Type which is either Total, Partial, or Penumbral. The 21st Century Canon of Solar Eclipses - Color Edition contains maps and data for all 224 solar eclipses occurring during the 100-year period from 2001 through 2100. Lunar Eclipses: 2021 - 2030 Fred Espenak. Found inside – Page 1008(In Coordinated Universal Time, or UTC, the standard time of the prime meridian.) There will be four eclipses in 2021: one annular solar eclipse, ... Lunar, Solar eclipses 2021 time, date: First total lunar eclipse of the year on May 26 Lunar, Solar Eclipses 2021 Date, Time: The first total lunar eclipse of 2021 will happen on May 26 and it will be visible in Southeast and East Asia, North America, South America, and Antarctica. The next lunar eclipse will be visible from India on November 19. Â. Know the date and time of last Lunar Eclipse of 2021. A lunar eclipse can be seen with the naked eye, unlike solar eclipses, which have special safety requirements. This total lunar eclipse will then be followed by another on November 8, 2022, which will be visible from North America, though observers in eastern regions will see the moon setting during the eclipse. Follow our guide for amazing eclipse photos! Like the previous one, this will also be a penumbral lunar eclipse as the Earth will come between the Moon and Sun and the Moon moves through the faint, outer part of Earth’s shadow. The Chandra Grahan on May 26 and November 19, 2021 are observed in India but not visible as it takes place in afternoon and evening. Like us on Facebook to see similar stories, The Astonishing Hypocrisy of Anti-Masking Conservatives | Opinion, Pat Robertson steps down as host of long-running '700 Club'. A partial solar eclipse on 25 November.

New wonders in nature

Germany's Angela Merkel makes last official visit to UK — as it happened

. The German leader said she will be taking a "step by step" approach to relations with the UK post-Brexit. She discussed the coronavirus pandemic and Northern Ireland with Prime Minister Boris Johnson. German chancellor Angela Merkel said she was 'delighted' to visit Queen Elizabeth at Windsor Castle These live updates are now closed. For more on this story please click here. Finally, German Chancellor Angela Merkel met Queen Elizabeth II at Windsor Castle in the west of London. "I'm delighted to be here," said Merkel when she was introduced to the British monarch, reviving memories of their moments at the G7 conference in Cornwall which she called the highlight of that trip. The Queen said that it was "very nice" to see the outgoing leader once again. The monarch even invited photographers to "take a picture and make history" as the European political giant bowed out of her UK visit in style. While the talks seemed to go smoothly, Boris Johnson raised the problem of getting chilled meats like sausages into Northern Ireland. According to European Union common market rules, importing chilled meats from third countries is not allowed. Britain is considered a third country by the EU since Brexit. Although the grace period for sending British meat to Northern Ireland was this week extended until September, Johnson wants a more long-term solution. "Imagine if Bratwurst could not be moved from Dortmund to Duesseldorf because of the jurisdiction of an international court," the UK Prime Minister said. ″You'd think it was absolutely extraordinary. So we have to sort it out. "I'm sure as Angela says, with goodwill and with patience we can sort it out," he added. On a more humorous note, Merkel remarked she was "a little bit sad" after England′s 2-0 beating of Germany in the Euro 2020 competition last Tuesday. "I'm obviously grateful to you for breaking with that tradition, just for once," Johnson said of the habitual losses to Germany in past soccer matches. Angela Merkel, who first visited the UK as chancellor when Tony Blair was her counterpart, with Boris Johnson The UK Prime Minister said he was creating a new academic medal in honor of his German counterpart. The £10,000 ($13,800) award will be named after German-born British scientist Caroline Herschel, who broke new ground in astrophysics. It would be given to any German or British woman who achieves excellence in science from 2022. In a press conference after talks, Merkel thanked her British hosts for the "gracious hospitality" extended on her first bilateral visit abroad since the pandemic. "Now that Britain has left the European Union it's a good opportunity to open a new chapter in our relationship, to find very practical formats where we can have very close contact," she said. "We would be very happy on the German side to work together on a friendship treaty or a cooperation treaty, which would reflect the whole breadth of relations," she added. However, Angela Merkel has said she will taking a "step by step" approach to the new relationship with the United Kingdom after Brexit. The German leader was also non-committal when asked if UK prime ministers could be invited to European Union summits as an attempt to repair ties in the post-Brexit era. "We will see," said Merkel, who is in her last few months as chancellor of Germany. Prime Minister Johnson has said he doesn't plan to order a reduction in crowds numbers at the remaining Euro 2000 tournament soccer matches at London's Wembley Stadium. Crowd capacity at Wembley Stadium is to be increased to more than 60,000 fans for the semifinals. Merkel said she was "worried and skeptical" about high attendance of matches. "Of course, we'll follow the scientific guidance and the advice if we receive any such suggestion," Johnson said after Chancellor Merkel said she was worried about UEFA's decision to let more people into stadiums. "At the moment...the position is very clear in the UK, which is that we have certain events which we can put on in a very careful and controlled manner with testing of everybody who goes there." Chancellor Merkel has said she expects travel between Germany and the United Kingdom to be made easier soon. "I assume that in the foreseeable future, those who have been vaccinated twice will be able to travel again without having to go into quarantine," Merkel told the press conference that followed her talks with Johnson. Germany currently requires travelers from the UK to undergo a 14-day quarantine period, with the more contagious Delta variant of COVID prevalent in Britain. Prime Minister Johnson said he saw no reason why people who received an India-made version AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine should be left out of inoculation passport schemes.  Some 5 million people in Britain are thought to have had the Covishield vaccine — not initially recognized by the EU— approved by British regulator the MHRA and made by Serum Institute in India. "I see no reason at all why the MHRA-approved vaccines should not be recognized as part of the vaccine passports and I'm very confident that that will not prove to be a problem," Johnson said. Chancellor Merkel said she and Johnson had discussed the Northern Ireland Protocol and that pragmatic solutions were needed. She said it was important to find answers that both protected the EU's Single Market and were acceptable to people in the province. For his part, Prime Minister Johnson said there remained a lot of issues to resolve with regard to Northern Ireland. Checks on goods between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK under the protocol, part of the Brexit trade deal agreed in December, have proven a particular point of contention between London and the EU. UK PM Johnson is expected to argue that British citizens should be allowed to travel abroad more widely this year. While the UK is looking to ease quarantine restrictions for fully vaccinated people traveling from abroad, some European states such as Germany have imposed quarantine requirements on those arriving from Britain. Merkel has been pressing other EU leaders to impose stringent quarantine requirements on those arrivals, regardless of their vaccination status. The chancellor says the measure is necessary to control the spread of the more contagious Delta variant, which is now the dominant type of COVID-19 in Britain. The two heads of government are scheduled to have lunch together. According to the British hosts, starters will be a tart with English asparagus, peas, and feta cheese, served with a young salad. The main course will be Oxfordshire fillet of beef, with an egg custard pudding tartlet and blackberry ice cream for dessert. The two leaders met for the cameras at the country residence of the UK prime minister, Chequers, ahead of bilateral talks between the two. Johnson greeted Merkel briefly after her arrival with an elbow greeting before the pair entered the 16th-century manor house. The prime minister commented that Germany and Britain were bound by an "unshakeable friendship" and "shared views" on many political issues. Merkel addressed the British Cabinet, becoming the first foreign leader to do so since US President Bill Clinton in 1997. Unlike Bill Clinton, however, Merkel did it via video call from the Chequers building. She agreed with Boris Johnson that German and British cabinets would meet each other annually from now on. Ahead of the meeting, the German Green party's European spokesperson Franziska Brantner has warned against Germany going it alone in the post-Brexit relationship with London. "We need close and good relations with the UK on a new basis. But bilateral agreements and talks must not become divisive in Europe," Brantner told the AFP news agency. Brantner criticized Germany and Britain's bilateral declaration of intent on security and foreign policy as premature. German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas and his British counterpart Dominic Raab signed a memorandum of understanding on Wednesday on closer German-British exchanges on foreign and security policy issues. "The German government should have waited with its declaration of intent until it had negotiated with the entire EU," Brantner said. The UK prime minister has tweeted ahead of Merkel's arrival, saying he was "looking forward" to the visit. He also repeated his comments a day earlier about "re-energized and re-invigorated" UK-German relations. First up is a visit to Chequers, the country retreat of British prime ministers, for a midday meeting with Johnson. The COVID-19 pandemic is expected to be high on the agenda, with German authorities alarmed at the rapid spread of the delta variant of the virus in Britain. It's expected that Johnson will press Merkel for an easing of quarantine restrictions on vaccinated travelers from the UK to Germany. Johnson and Merkel are also expected to discuss Britain's post-Brexit relationship with the European Union – a topic that overshadowed discussions at the G7. The leaders were due to discuss initiatives including an annual joint meeting of the British and German cabinets, as well as cultural and youth exchange schemes. There will also be a rare honor, as Merkel is slated to be the first foreign leader in a quarter of a century to address the UK Cabinet. After a press conference, the chancellor is set to have lunch with Prime Minister Johnson. That will be followed by a helicopter trip to Windsor Castle near London, where Merkel is scheduled for an audience with Queen Elizabeth II. In advance of the trip, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson praised the impact that Merkel has had on bilateral relations. "Over the 16 years of Chancellor Merkel's tenure, the UK-Germany relationship has been re-energized and re-invigorated for a new era," he said in a statement. The two leaders last met at the G7 summit in June in the English county of Cornwall, where they also held a bilateral meeting. At the talks, Merkel urged Johnson to observe the legal terms of the Brexit agreement regarding trade to the UK province of Northern Ireland.

Diplomatic Visit

In October 1952, Oriedo's skills were put to the test when he was named to lead efforts to stem a major epidemic outbreak of a deadly parasitic visceral leishmaniasis (black fever) in Kenya, Uganda, and the Sudan.

Dr. Blasio Vincent Oriedo, in full Dr. Blasio Vincent Ndale Esau Oriedo (born 15 September 1931, Ebwali Village in Bunyore, Kenya Colonydied 26 January 1966, Aga Khan University Hospital, Nairobi, Kenya) was an African epidemiologist and a parasitological scientist known for his contributions to tropical medicine and work to stem disease epidemics in colonial and postcolonial Kenya, the countries of East and Central Africa, and the Sudan. [1][2][3][4][5][6][7] He is credited for saving thousands of native African lives from infectious disease. Dr. Oriedo was a recipient of the Extramural Medical Research Grant presented by the US National Institutes of Health (NIH). Oriedo was a patron of academic, healthcare, and socioeconomic development in East and Central Africa. He developed an interdisciplinary approach that connected the struggle for political freedom in Kenya with fully integrated healthcare, intellectual, socioeconomic, and civil infrastructures especially in the rural regions that bore the brunt of disease epidemics and their socioeconomic and sociocultural consequences. He embraced a revolutionary epidemiological perspective towards the economic and intellectual consequences of disease or public health strategy across the East and Central African region. He served as a member of Tom Mboya's interdisciplinary economic development advisory team from 1965 until his death in January 1966. [8][9][10][11] Oriedo was one of the forces behind the late 1950sCearly 1960s US academic scholarship programme for East African students The Kennedy Airlift. [12][13] Oriedo was born to Esau Khamati Oriedo (d. 1 December 1992) and Evangeline Olukhanya Ohana Analo-Oriedo (d. 11 July 1982), both from the western Kenya's Luhya ethnic group of the Bantu lineage. His father was a Kenyan politician (freedom fighter and colonial-era political detainee, district representative and once chairman of the North Nyanza Local Native Council[14]), an entrepreneur, philanthropist, and a veteran of World Wars I and II. He was a Christian who challenged early white Christian missionaries in East Africa to embrace the African cultures as congruent with the Christian credo. [15][16] His mother was an advocate of women's rights and literacy in Kenya. Oriedo was close to his mother, but his relationship with his father was strained. His formative years were spent with a paternal uncle, Bernard Walter Amukhale Oriedo. He received early education at government and mission schools, and sat, successfully with distinction, for the Cambridge School Certificate in 1946 at the former Government African School at Kakamega in North Nyanza (present-day Kakamega High School at Kakamega in western Kenya). [17][18][19][Notes 1] He attended the Royal Institute of Medicine and Public Health at Nairobi; graduating in 1950. He was a licentiate of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Great Britain. He earned a doctor of public health (DPH) degree in epidemiological tropical medicine at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine a constituent college of the University of London. He was a fellow at the Dutch Royal Tropical Institute and Tulane University's Medical College's School of Tropical and Infectious Diseases in New Orleans. He attended and contributed to many scientific conferences and proceedings, lectures, and speaking engagements worldwide. He was the first and the youngest native East and Central African epidemiologist in the field of tropical medicine and infectious diseasesboth as researcher and a clinical practitionerin the spread, control, and eradication of infectious agents. His parasitological epidemiology medical research and resulting treatments have received global acclaim and application. [20] He was a champion of indigenous medical research and the dissemination of homegrown scientific medical informationsuch as, new clinical modalities, field studies and discoveriesvia cooperation with indigenous and overseas scholarly publications, medical panels, and scientific proceedings. He foresaw this informational approach as an effective and dynamic forum for interchange of knowledge and viewpoints amongst various indigenous healthcare communities and their counterparts abroad; a mechanism for the documentation and dissemination of vital information on local diseases within the East and Central African region. His epidemiological medical research of the East African Leishmaniasis or kala-azar (black fever) has bred critical knowledge for worldwide use in both private and public health sectors, and civil societies. [1][21][22][23][24][25][26] In 1964 he attended, as an invited expert panelist, the XII International Congress of Entomology at London, United Kingdom. [27] He was a supporter of health care as a basic human right long before the 1978 Alma Ata Declaration proclamation. [28] In 1960 he directed a healthcare and hygiene strategy of tactical, strategic, operational, and performance indexing; a short-term and long-term planning strategy based on the application of preventative modalities that helped shift the medical science paradigmin East Africaaway from the undue emphasis on curative means, and more so towards a balanced approach. That which effectually integrated strategic epidemiological knowledge with tactical, operational, and situational curative approaches. [29][30] In the course of his tenure the region witnessed sustained improvement in schoolchildren's health and hygiene, public health (stemming of major disease epidemics and better sanitary conditions), and integration of interdisciplinary and interagency resourcing. He promoted and nurtured coordinated approaches, amongst healthcare practitioners and related bodies, to facilitate the most effective seamlessly integrated dispensary and operations of public health and other civic and societal welfare services. As of 1950 until his abrupt and inexplicable death in 1966, he is credited with stemming the tide of numerous endemic and pandemic diseases in the East and Central African regions and the Sudan. The following are examples of those feats. [8][31] In October 1952, Oriedo's skills were put to the test when he was named to lead efforts to stem a major epidemic outbreak of a deadly parasitic visceral leishmaniasis (black fever) in Kenya, Uganda, and the Sudan. Oriedo moved to the District Hospital and Public Health Office at Kitui in south-eastern Kenya, the region hardest hit by the epidemic. He devised a strategy to stem the tide of the epidemic, and saved thousands of lives. In 1954 the disease was arrested. [citation needed] In 1954 he led a successful government campaign to stem typhoid epidemic in present-day Kenya and Uganda. The North Kavirondo region of Mt. Elgon in Kenyathe Bungoma realm (presently Bungoma County in the former Western Province of Kenya) was one of hardest-hit areas. The disease threatened the ethnic Bukusu population. He built rapport with local native elders and traditional healers and halted the epidemic. [citation needed] In 1960 the colonial authorities tasked him with formulating a roadmap to guide and coordinate an interterritorial, interdisciplinary and interagency crisis-management team to deal with a kwashiorkor crisisa disease with high mortality-rates among infants and children. He successfully focused on the Kikuyu ethnic group, one of the localities where the disease was endemic. The lessons learnt from the Kikuyu campaign gave impetus to an effective regional strategy. In 1959 he spearheaded an intensified malaria eradication campaign in the East African highlands that helped to reduce malaria epidemics in the region. In 1964 he was a recipient of a coveted medical research grant furnished by the US National Institutes of Health (NIH), Extramural Research Program. He was a laureate and a tripartite fellow at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, the Dutch Royal Institute, and Tulane University's Medical College's School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine. A confidante of Tom Mboya, he allied with Mboya to successfully champion US education opportunities for East African Students. [12] He was a patron of academics, healthcare, and socioeconomic development in East Africa.

Disease Outbreaks

Ten Things You Should Know About The New $39.6 Billion In Higher Education Relief Funding

On May 11, The U.S. Department of Education released its guidance for how emergency funding for higher education institutions will be spent, providing instructions to thousands of colleges and universities for permissible uses of the money. This funding, which when all of it is allocated will total $39.6 billion, is included in the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARP) (Pub. L. 117-2), signed by President Joe Biden in March. The money represents the third tranche of funding under the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund (HEERF) intended to prevent, prepare for, and respond to the coronavirus pandemic. Taken together, three pieces of legislation, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) (Pub. L. 116–136), the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2021 (CRRSAA) (Pub. L. 116-260), and the ARP, have now allocated approximately $77 billion to American colleges and universities. According to the department, grants will go to more than 5,000 institutions of higher education, including HBCUs, TCCUs, and HSIs. III. What are the distributions to individual institutions? Inside Higher Education has a searchable data base that shows the allocations to individual institutions, as well as the portions to be spent on student financial aid and institutional purposes. IV. How were institutional amounts determined? Allocations to institutions are based on a formula that includes the relative shares of federal Pell grant recipients (on both a headcount and full-time equivalent basis), the relative shares of non-Pell grant recipients, and the relative shares of Pell recipients exclusively enrolled in distance education prior to the coronavirus emergency. V. Which students are eligible for financial aid from these funds? One of the biggest changes in the current allocation is the loosening of restrictions on the kinds of students who are eligible to receive aid. Basically, any student who was enrolled in an institution of higher education during the Covid-19 national emergency is eligible for emergency financial aid grants. Institutions are directed to give priority to students with exceptional need, such as students who receive Pell grants or are undergraduates with extraordinary financial circumstances (e.g., losing employment or experiencing food or housing insecurity). VI. Can undocumented students and international students receive funding? Yes. The Department’s final rule allows allocations to citizens, permanent residents, refugees, asylum seekers, undocumented and international students, students studying abroad, and those attending college under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, policy. VII. What can students use their financial aid for? Emergency financial aid grants may be used by students for any component of their cost of attendance or for emergency costs that arise due to coronavirus, such as tuition, food, housing, health care (including mental health care) or child care. Institutions may not direct or control how students use their emergency financial aid grants. VIII. How can the institutional portion of the funds be used? Similar to earlier tranches of relief funding, institutions can use the institutional portion to defray expenses associated with coronavirus (including lost revenue, reimbursement for expenses already incurred, technology costs associated with a transition to distance education, faculty and staff trainings, and payroll); and they can award additional emergency financial aid grants to students. The Department is strongly encouraging institutions to reduce student debt or unpaid tuition/fee balances by discharging the complete balance of the debt as lost revenue and then reimbursing themselves through their institutional grants or by providing additional emergency financial grants to students (with their permission). IX. Are there new requirements for expending the institutional portion of the funds? The ARP added two new required uses of the institutional portion for public and private nonprofit institutions, which must allocate a portion of their institutional funds to: (a) implement evidence-based practices to monitor and suppress coronavirus in accordance with public health guidelines; and (b) conduct direct outreach to financial aid applicants about the opportunity to receive a financial aid adjustment due to the recent unemployment of a family member or independent student, or other circumstances. X. What are examples of allowable expenditures for monitoring and suppressing the coronavirus? A few examples include: I am president emeritus of Missouri State University. After earning my B.A. from Wheaton College (Illinois), I was awarded a Ph.D. in clinical psychology from the University of Illinois... Read More I am president emeritus of Missouri State University. After earning my B.A. from Wheaton College (Illinois), I was awarded a Ph.D. in clinical psychology from the University of Illinois

Financial Aid

Asbestos-polluted soil being removed from Redlands dam by Seqwater

Soil contaminated with asbestos is being removed from around the Leslie Harrison Dam on Brisbane's bayside by Seqwater, but the dam operator says there is no threat to local drinking water. Mike Foster from Seqwater said the company believed the contaminated soil was dumped around the dam by a nearby property owner, a motocross enthusiast wanting to create a riding track. It is alleged the property owner also removed trees from the area without any approval. Seqwater was alerted to the activity around the Capalaba dam site by Redland City Council. "The Capalaba water treatment plant has a process which can remove any asbestos fibres from the water," Mr Foster said. "The most important message is that it poses no threat to our public water drinking supply." Trucks have begun removing between up to 300 cubic metres of contaminated soil from the site. The work is expected to be completed tomorrow. "The illegal dumping of the soil is an issue subject to legal action," Mr Foster said. "We were alerted by the [Redland City] Council to illegal tree clearing that happened three to four weeks ago. "The soil itself appears to have been dumped following that tree clearing." As a further precaution, sediment fencing had been erected to stop runoff flowing into the dam, he said. Leslie Harrison Dam is one of 12 key drinking supply sources for the region. It supplies water to residents of the Redland City Council area, 25 kilometres south-east of Brisbane. )

Environment Pollution

Debt-hit Greece was crippled Thursday by an anti-austerity strike that disrupted flights, trains and holiday ferries as thousands demonstrated in Athens and other cities.

Debt-hit Greece was crippled Thursday by an anti-austerity strike that disrupted flights, trains and holiday ferries as thousands demonstrated in Athens and other cities. More than 80 international and domestic flights were cancelled and 110 were delayed when air traffic controllers joined the strike, aviation officials said. No trains ran, city buses were off the streets and all ships were also blocked in ports. Tourists were warned that ferry departures would be put back to Friday. The public administration, hospitals and state companies were all badly hit by the 24-hour protest. Some 12,000 people according to police marched through the capital with banners attacking the International Monetary Fund and the European Union which are involved in a loan bailout unpopular with many Greeks. Another 5,000 had earlier demonstrated in the northern city of Thessaloniki, local police said. The demonstrators accused Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou of shielding big business interests from bearing the brunt of state spending cuts which have hit civil servants, private employees and pensioners. "Georgie, you said there was money to spare, but you gave it all to bankers and bosses," the demonstrators chanted outside parliament, many of them wearing red caps and blowing whistles. The IMF, the EU and the European Central Bank recently extended a huge loan to save Greece from a damaging debt default, but extracted tough austerity measures which have sparked a series of strikes and protests. Thursday's general strike, the sixth since February, was called by the GSEE labour confederation for the private sector, Adedy for government employees and the communist confederation Pame. It came a day after the Greek parliament increased the retirement age to 65 from 60 and cuts pensions by an average of seven percent as part of a pensions reform law aiming to save billions of euros. The new law is the latest in a series of measures taken to ease the country's debt crisis which has rocked international markets. But the head of the largest union GSEE said workers had no intention of giving up the fight. "Social and retirement rights are not erased, not even by the passing of a law," GSEE chairman Yiannis Panagopoulos said. "Our fight for these rights will be long, and we will use every means at our disposal to overturn these unacceptable...and anti-social measures," he said. Another vote on the law's separate statutes will be held on Thursday while a similar reform specifically for civil servants will pass before parliament next week. The government agreed to press through the measures in return for a 110 billion euro (134 billion dollar) rescue loan from the European Union and International Monetary Fund. Greece is struggling under debt approaching 300 billion euros. Its public debt has been estimated at 13.6 percent of gross domestic product.

Strike

Facebook fined $224,000 by French data watchdog over privacy breaches

Facebook has been fined 150,000 euros ($224,000) by France's data protection watchdog for failing to prevent its users' data being accessed by advertisers. Watchdog CNIL said its fine — which was imposed on both Facebook Inc and Facebook Ireland — was part of a wider European investigation also being carried out in Belgium, the Netherlands, Spain and Germany into some of Facebook's practices. The fine is small in the context of the company, which has quarterly revenue of about $US8 billion ($11 billion) and a stock market capitalisation which stands at about $435 billion ($586 billion). But it is the maximum amount the CNIL could fine when it started the investigation on the tech giant. The CNIL can now issue fines of up to 3 million euros ($4.5 million), after the passing of a new law in October 2016. Last year, the French watchdog had given Facebook a deadline to stop tracking non-users' web activity without their consent and ordered the social network to stop some transfers of personal data to the United States. Facebook argued that the Irish data protection authority, not the CNIL, was the competent authority to formulate such orders, as the social media company's European headquarters are located in Dublin. In a statement on Tuesday, Facebook did not say whether it would now take action as a result of the fine. "We take note of the CNIL's decision with which we respectfully disagree," Facebook said in a statement. "At Facebook, putting people in control of their privacy is at the heart of everything we do. "Over recent years, we've simplified our policies further to help people understand how we use information to make Facebook better." The French order was the first significant action taken against a company transferring Europeans' data to the US following an EU court ruling last year that struck down an agreement that thousands of companies, including Facebook, had relied on to avoid cumbersome EU data transfer rules. Reuters 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

Air Algérie Flight 6289 crash

Air Algérie Flight 6289 (AH6289) was a domestic passenger flight which crashed at the Aguenar – Hadj Bey Akhamok Airport in Algeria on 6 March 2003, killing all but one of the 103 people on board. [1][2][3] Witnesses recalled that one of its engines exploded and caught fire just seconds after takeoff. [4][5][6] The landing gear was still extended when this happened. It then rose sharply and stalled. The final report concluded that the cause of the crash was engine failure on take-off. [7] The accident was the deadliest plane crash to occur on Algerian soil until being surpassed by the Algerian Air Force Il-76 crash in 2018. [8][9] It was also Air Algérie's deadliest plane crash until it was surpassed 11 years later by Air Algérie Flight 5017, a McDonnell Douglas MD-83 that crashed in Mali killing all 116 people on board. [10][11] Flight 6289 had been scheduled to land at Noumérat – Moufdi Zakaria Airport. The aircraft was a Boeing 737-2T4, named Monts du Daia,[12] and was equipped with two Pratt & Whitney JT8D-17A engines. The aircraft entered service on 9 December 1983, and flew for more than 40,000 hours before the crash. [1][2] The unnamed male captain, aged 48, allegedly had 10,760 hours and 10 minutes of flight experience, including 1,087 hours and 46 minutes on the Boeing 737-200 as captain. [1][2] Meanwhile, Yousfi Fatima, the female first officer, aged 44, allegedly had 5,219 hours and 10 minutes of flight experience, including 1,292 hours and 42 minutes on the Boeing 737-200. Fatima was also Algeria's first female airline pilot. [1][2][13] The first officer was the pilot flying (PF), while the captain was the pilot not flying (PNF). Both switched roles the moment the engine failure occurred. [1][2] At about 14:08 UTC, Air Traffic Control cleared the plane to taxi to Runway 02 and the plane left the gate. [1][2] At 14:12, Air Traffic Control cleared the plane to line up and take off on Runway 02. [1][2] At 14:13, the plane took off, and the first officer requested landing gear retraction. The request was immediately followed by a loud thumping noise recorded on the aircraft's Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR), apparently caused by the rupture of the left engine. The plane veered left, and the first officer let out a chain of exclamations. [1][2] At 14:15, the captain told the first officer that he was taking over control of the aircraft and insisted she let go of the controls so that he could control the plane. The first officer then handed the controls over to the captain and offered to retract the landing gear. The captain did not respond. The first officer alerted air traffic control about the situation, saying "we have a small problem". The stick shaker then activated and de-activated twice. The Ground proximity warning system (GPWS) then sounded a "don't sink" alarm and was followed by the stick shaker activating a third time and continued operating until the CVR stopped recording. The GPWS then sounded a second "don't sink" alarm and the CVR stopped recording, along with the Flight Data Recorder (FDR). The aircraft was still airborne when the recordings ended. Without the landing gear being retracted, additional drag was apparently created and the plane began to lose speed at a high rate. Eventually, the plane stalled and crashed. Upon impact, fuel was spilled and ignited, causing the aircraft to burst into flames. It then skidded along the ground, striking the airport's perimeter fence, and crossing a road, before coming to a stop. Air traffic control immediately declared an emergency. [1][2] 96 of the 97 passengers and all of the six crew members perished, a total of 102 people. [14] The sole survivor of the accident was Youcef Djillali, a 28-year-old male Algerian soldier. [15][16][17] He was seated in the last row with his seat belt unfastened (as indicated in his statement), and was ejected from the plane upon impact, escaping from the accident. The man was found in a coma with multiple injuries. [18] However, he regained consciousness the next day. Doctors said that his injuries were not life-threatening. [19] Before the accident flight, the aircraft's weight and balance and fuel load were both examined and no problems were reported. Two of the witnesses, a ground engineer who worked on the accident aircraft, and an air traffic controller who was in the tower at the time of the accident gave statements to the investigators. The ground engineer said: "I was on the parking lot and I saw the plane take off on runway 02. Just after take-off, the aircraft swerved slightly to the left, then righted itself on the track and at that moment I noticed that the aircraft was losing speed and altitude, still with its landing gear down, until the moment of the crash, when there was a total explosion." The air traffic controller stated: "DAH 6389 [sic – correct flight number was 6289] B732 IMMAT: 7T-VEZ asked to be cleared for take off 1402 GMT. At 1405 GMT, it was cleared for take off with a temperature of 23°, QNH: 1019. Cleared by ALGER CCR to [an] initial [flight level] FL280, just after the takeoff from runway 02 (1405) a kind of explosion was heard, the alarm was immediately activated, the pilot said [']we have a small problem[']. . . the plane began to fall and crashed near the threshold of runway 20; the emergency plan was immediately activated as planned. 1) Aerodrome rescue services at 1415.

Air crash

Shipwreck survivor rescues migrants trying to reach Europe

ABOARD THE OCEAN VIKING (AP) — Every time Hassan Ali Salem pulls a man, woman or child from a rickety boat or straight out of the water, he relives his own trauma in the Mediterranean Sea. The Egyptian says he was just 16 when he survived a shipwreck in 2004, saved by another migrant who drowned when a packed wooden boat capsized in rough seas before it could reach Italy. Now 31, Salem is doing the rescuing, trying to help migrants who set off from Libya in flimsy vessels arrive safely in Europe. “As soon as I touch their skin, I have memories from once upon a time,” Salem said. “I say to myself: ‘you’ve finally made it, another Hassan has arrived. He’s alive.’” He is one of 22 people of various nationalities working for humanitarian groups SOS Mediterranee and Doctors Without Borders aboard the Norwegian-flagged Ocean Viking, the biggest charity rescue ship currently operating in the central Mediterranean. The destination: international waters north of Libya where thousands of migrants have drowned in recent years in desperate attempts to reach Europe. The team is getting ready for a tough assignment. “People on land have no notion of what we see,” said Claire Faggianelli, a 31-year-old boat mechanic from France who has previously worked as a diving instructor and a volunteer lifeguard. While the activities of the humanitarian groups have sparked heated debate in Europe — critics say they just encourage more migrants to make the perilous crossing from North Africa — people have lost sight of the human tragedy playing out in the Mediterranean, Faggianelli said. “Don’t you realize what is happening? There are people drowning every day,” she said. Italy’s decision to end a major rescue operation in 2014 prompted multiple aid organizations to launch their own rescue missions in the central Mediterranean. While their efforts were initially welcomed, they no longer have the sympathy of European governments committed to reducing irregular migration. Italy and Malta, the two European countries nearest to the rescue zone off Libya, routinely refuse entry to such ships, leading to tense standoffs at sea. In Italy, investigations of aiding illegal immigration have been launched against captains of humanitarian rescue boats, but so far none has been formally charged. “I’m not going to apologize for saving lives,” said Charlie Andreasson, a 54-year-old Swedish sailor with a red beard and a pirate-like bandana. Andreasson, who has also joined activists attempting to break the Israeli-Egyptian blockade on the Gaza Strip, thought he had done his last Mediterranean rescue mission last year, but said the anti-migrant rhetoric he encountered in his home country made him think again. “The situation is deteriorating in Europe when it comes to xenophobia and racism,” Andreasson said. “So that’s why I came back.” Some of the lifeguards, medics, students and sailors aboard the Ocean Viking have put their lives on hold to spend a few weeks or months at sea while others have been jumping from one rescue mission to the next for years. Strictly speaking, the crew members are not volunteers. While the rescue organizations declined to share compensation details, some said they receive between €1,000 and 2,000 euros ($1,100 and $2,200) a month for their work aboard the ship. Rescuing is only part of the job. Once safely on the ship, migrants need to be assessed for injuries ranging from fuel burns to torture-related wounds. Women are especially vulnerable and often victims of sexual violence at the hands of human smugglers in Libya. Doctors Without Borders veteran Mary Jo Frawley began working on rescue ships in 2015. She’s seen the smugglers’ boats change over the years from large wooden vessels resembling slave ships to the more precarious plastic and duct-taped dinghies being used presently. The 64-year-old nurse from Vermont said a few years ago hundreds of people from charities and church groups would gather on Italian docks to welcome the rescued. Now the ships are blocked from entering those ports, forcing hundreds of already exhausted migrants to camp out on the deck. “I believe those people and the hearts are still there waiting for us,” Frawley said. “There needs to be a change in how governments are allowing us to go in.” The swearing-in of a new government in Italy may herald a softer approach toward the humanitarian rescue ships, but it’s unclear whether any policy shift would take effect in time to affect the current mission of the Ocean Viking. Former Interior Minister Matteo Salvini, a hardliner on migration, regularly lambasted the rescue groups on social media and accused them of collusion with human traffickers, which they strongly denied. Crew members on the Ocean Viking said they are simply upholding international maritime law, which requires helping people in distress at sea and bringing them to a place of safety. International migration and human rights bodies say Libya is not a place of safety so they should not be returned there. “The only thing that we do is to rescue them,” said Salem, who built a life in Italy after the shipwreck 15 years ago and devoted himself to become a maritime life-saver. “But what matters to me more than the maritime law ... is the human law above all. Regardless of reason, regardless of country of origin, if that person is drowning there, do you ignore them?”

Shipwreck

Another rare super moon — super blood moon — is due to grace our skies on May 26

If you missed April's pink super moon , then wait until you see what tonight has in store for Aussie skygazers. Another rare super moon — dubbed a super blood moon — is due to grace our skies on May 26 . But unlike April's lunar spectacle it will also coincide with a total lunar eclipse, meaning spectators will be able to view the major celestial event while the moon is at its biggest and brightest. In fact, it will be 158km closer to Earth than April's pink super moon. Here's everything you need to know to view it in Australia. The April pink super moon shines through the Sydney Harbour Bridge. (Nine) What is a super blood moon? A super moon is the term given to a new or full moon at its closest point to the Earth within its monthly orbit, according to astronomer Professor Fred Watson. "That means that it looks very, very slightly bigger in our sky," he tells 9Honey. As well as being around 14 per cent bigger, the moon also appears around 30 per cent brighter than its micro moon phase — though Prof Watson notes this amount is "not really big enough to notice with the naked eye". A blood moon, on the other hand, is another name for a total lunar eclipse. It describes the reddish hue that appears when the Earth casts its shadow across the moon during its total lunar eclipse phase. (Getty) "The Earth's shadow has this reddish glow inside it, which comes from the Earth's atmosphere, so when the moon is totally in the shadow you get almost a brownish-red appearance," Prof Watson explains. "That's caused by light being scattered into the Earth's atmosphere, into that shadow." April's total lunar eclipse will look slightly different than your typical blood moon, however, in part due to its close proximity to us. Professor Watson describes it as more of an ombre blood moon. "This one won't be uniform [in colour] because it's so near the edge of its shadow that it'll probably be lighter on one side than it is on the other." RELATED: Top five hotels in Australia for stargazing Will Australia be able to see the May lunar eclipse? The last time the world saw a super blood moon like this was January 21, 2019. Pictured here, in Lower Saxony, Laatzen. (Julian Stratenschulte / Getty Images) Yes, but some states will have a better view than others — and sadly Western Australia will mostly sit this one out. "The best place is on the east coast," says Professor Watson. "In WA it's basically daylight when the partial phase of the eclipse starts but they'll still see what's called the 'total eclipse' — where the moon is right in the Earth's shadow." For spectators on the east coast of Australia, the eclipse officially starts at 6.45pm in the evening. However, the total lunar eclipse phase — when the Earth's shadow completely covers the moon — will only last a total of 13 minutes, from 9.11pm until 9.25pm. When is the best time to view the super blood moon? Although the eclipse doesn't begin until 6.45pm, Professor Watson suggests checking in earlier when the moon is "rising" due to a well known optical illusion called the " moon illusion ". "[View] when the moon is low down on the horizon and the full moon looks enormous, because of an optical illusion that makes us think that we are seeing something bigger than it really is," he says. By the time you view the eclipse, the moon will be quite high in the sky so will look more its normal size. "The moon illusion effect will have disappeared because that only takes place when the moon is low in the sky." Here is the time in each of Australia's capital cities when the moon will begin its penumbral eclipse phase, according to Timeanddate.com . Canberra: May 26, 2021 at 6.47pm (total eclipse at 9.11pm) Sydney: May 26, 2021 at 6.47pm (total eclipse at 9.11pm) Melbourne: May 26, 2021 at 6.47pm (total eclipse at 9.11pm) Brisbane: May 26, 2021 at 6.47pm (total eclipse at 9.11pm) Hobart: May 26, 2021 at 6.47pm (total eclipse at 9.11pm) Adelaide: May 26, 2021 at 6.17pm (total eclipse at 8.41pm) Darwin: May 26, 2021 at 6.20pm (total eclipse at 8.41pm) Perth: May 26, 2021 at 5.16pm (total eclipse at 7.11pm) What makes the May super blood moon so special? There are a few things that are unusual about the May 26 lunar eclipse. "The really interesting thing about this eclipse is that the moon only just goes inside the Earth's shadow, so the length of what we call 'totality' is short," Prof Watson says. The 'total eclipse' will only last approximately 13 minutes, according to Timeanddate.com. The pink supermoon spotted over the HMAS Kuttabul in Sydney. (Nine) "There's a fairly bright star nearby that will show up very well when this moon's in eclipse — the heart of the Scorpion Antares — which is a word that means 'rival of Mars', because it's red so it looks a lot like Mars." It's also the first total eclipse seen in Australia since 2018, and definitely the best to appear in 2021. "There is another eclipse of the moon in November, but it's pretty rubbish, it's only a partial eclipse, and it'll still be twilight when it's happening. "So this is the best one, it's the one to look for, the best for three years and the best for quite a bit into the future." Is a lunar eclipse dangerous to look at? In contrast to a solar eclipse, an eclipse of the moon takes place at night so there are no risks associated with viewing one. "There's no danger in looking, so you can get your binoculars out and look at the moon," Prof Watson says. When will Australia get a solar eclipse? For Aussies wondering, we will finally get a solar eclipse in 2023 — but if you're only just learning about this now, you may be too late to the viewing party. "It crosses a small part of the north of Western Australia, and all the accommodation has already been booked, it's long gone. Now people are talking about cruises," Prof Watson says. In fact, P&O Cruises has partnered with The Astronomical Society of Australia for a dedicated solar eclipse sailing, departing on April 17, 2023, well ahead of the April 20 eclipse due to occur in a small section of the Exmouth cape. (P&O Cruises) During the five-night 'Ningaloo King of Eclipse Cruise', passengers will enjoy talks from astronomical experts on the eclipse, as well as taking in the stunning Western Australia coast. Then at about 11.27am, the sun, moon and the Earth's discs will all align for this once-in-a-lifetime, one-minute-and-16-second event. The eclipse will be "quite an unusual one", according to Prof Watson. "It's what's called a hybrid eclipse ... you can still see parts of the sun's disc around the edge of the moon, a kind of ring of fire if you like."

New wonders in nature

The court said the decision to hand over the data, including addresses and credit card details, lacked an "appropriate legal basis"

The court said the decision to hand over the data, including addresses and credit card details, lacked an "appropriate legal basis". The US says the information helps identify potential terrorists. EU and US officials say they are confident a solution can be found to enable the data transfers to continue. Stewart Baker, an assistant secretary of state for the US Department of Homeland Security, said: "I am confident that we will find a solution that will keep the data flowing and the planes flying." It's really a problem for the lawyers The agreement demands that within 15 minutes of take-off for the United States, a European airline must send the US authorities 34 items of personal information about the passengers on board. Washington had warned that it would impose heavy fines and deny landing rights for any airline failing to comply with the agreement. The US authorities also said passengers would be subject to long security checks on arrival if the data was not sent in advance. Parliament opposition The US demanded tighter airline security worldwide after the 11 September 2001 attacks on New York and Washington by suicide hijackers. The ruling ensures that there is... no disruption of transatlantic air traffic, and that a high level of security is maintained until 30 September European Commission spokesman Johannes Laitenberger The European Parliament argued that the US did not guarantee adequate levels of data protection and that handing over the data violated passengers' privacy. It asked the European Court of Justice to annul the deal. However, the court did not consider the privacy argument in its ruling, and confined itself to examing the legal basis of the data transfer. It said the EU Data Protection Directive, on which the Council of the European Union and the European Commission based their actions did not apply to data collected for security purposes. It gave the EU until 30 September 2006 to find a new legal solution. Passengers unaffected "The ruling ensures that there is no lowering of data protection standards, no effect on passengers, no disruption of transatlantic air traffic, and that a high level of security is maintained until 30 September," said the European Commission's chief spokesman Johannes Laitenberger. "The Commission is committed to working with all parties involved to find an appropriate arrangement by that time." "It does not seem to alter the reality of the situation to any major extent," said David Henderson, a spokesman for the Association of European Airlines

Sign Agreement

A Pakistani passenger plane crashed in heavy rain near Islamabad Wednesday, killing all 152 people on board

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - A Pakistani passenger plane crashed in heavy rain near Islamabad Wednesday, killing all 152 people on board, officials said, in the worst aviation accident in Pakistan. Pakistan plane crash kills 152 00:56 The Airbus 321, belonging to a private airline crashed into a heavily wooded and hard-to-access hillside while flying from the southern port city of Karachi. Federal Information Minister Qamar Zaman Kaira said 115 bodies had been recovered so far but bad weather and difficult terrain above the city had hampered search efforts. “Unfortunately, no one survived ... Many bodies are not in good shape,” Kaira told a news conference. Twelve bodies had been identified so far, but “the crash was very terrible. There was fire. It’s difficult to recognize the bodies.” Passengers’ remains were badly damaged in the crash and DNA tests would be used to identify the victims, he said. Two Americans were among the victims, a U.S. embassy spokesman told Reuters. He had no further details. While thick fog and rainy weather are considered the most likely reasons for the crash, Kaira declined to rule out sabotage and said all possibilities would be investigated. Kaira said the plane’s “black box” data recorder had yet to be recovered. The plane lost contact with the control room of the Islamabad International Airport at 0443 GMT. It was carrying 146 passengers and six crew members. “The pilot was given directions to land either on runway I or II,” Interior Minister Rehman Malik told reporters. “The plane was at 2,600 feet before landing but suddenly it went to 3,000, which was unexplained.” “If the visibility to the runway was so poor then it should have been diverted.” Defense Minister Ahmed Mukhatar said the control tower at the airport had been sealed and a team would examine the data recorder and radio traffic between the plane and the tower. “If you look at the position of the wreckage it’s clear that the plane went beyond safety margins. It should have maneuvered within five miles of the runway but it did not happen,” said Ejaz Haroon, managing director of state-run airline PIA. The crash site is on the Margalla Hills facing Islamabad, about 300 metres (yards) up the side of the hills. Smoke could be seen from some districts of the city after the crash. While Wednesday’s crash is the worst aviation accident on Pakistani soil, PIA has had two worse disasters. In 1979 and 1992, PIA jets crashed in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia and Kathmandu, killing 156 and 167 people, respectively. Within Pakistan, the last major aviation accident was in 2006 when a PIA plane crashed near the central city of Multan killing 45 people. The military sent three helicopters to the site and troops also were deployed. Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani surveyed rescue operations from the air and the government declared Thursday a day of mourning for the victims. AirBlue began operations in 2004 with a fleet of Airbus A320 and A321 aircraft, according to its website www.airblue.com. It flies primarily domestic routes as well as to the United Arab Emirates, Oman and Manchester in Britain. Spokesman Raheel Ahmed said this was the first crash for the airline and that an investigation was being launched. “It’s too early to speculate,” he said about the cause of the crash. “The civil aviation authorities will also be involved.” Airbus confirmed one of its planes was involved in the AirBlue crash. “We regret to confirm there has been an accident with an Airbus aircraft and we will provide more information when we have more confirmed data available,” said Airbus spokesman Stefan Schaffrath. At Islamabad’s international airport in the moments after the crash, passengers in the departure lounge scanned the television screens for news. “I’m not surprised something like this has happened,” said Ahmed Fairuz, a passenger awaiting departure. “The weather is just too bad for flying.” Aviation industry sources in Europe said the aircraft was leased from International Lease Finance Corp, the leasing unit of U.S. insurance giant AIG Los Angeles-based ILFC was not available for comment and there was no immediate confirmation of these details. The A321 is the largest of the A320 family of single-aisle jets produced by EADS subsidiary Airbus. This particular type of aircraft, which can seat up to 185 passengers, has been in service since 1994. (Additional reporting by Augustine Anthony, Zeeshan Haider, Chris Allbritton and Shiza Shahid in ISLAMABAD; Sahar Ahmed in KARACHI; Tim Hepher in PARIS; Writing by Sanjeev Miglani; Editing by Miral Fahmy and Sugita Katyal)

Air crash

FALSE: Transporting gas cylinder on motorbike will not cause explosion

An online post claiming that if a gas cylinder is transported on a motorbike it will explode upon usage is false. The viral post largely shared on WhatsApp groups claimed that if the gas is transported on a motorbike, it should be allowed to settle before it is fixed for domestic use. Part of the post claimed that someone had died after the cylinder exploded on them while fixing it. “Hi Neighbours, for guys ordering gas via boda boda riders, kindly take time to let the gas settle before connecting and using it. It's like a shaken bottle of soda before opening. Be careful to check seals and sources of gas cylinder refills,” the post read in part.  Hope for cheaper cooking gas in sight as State eyes loading plant  Insurers okay use of liquefied gas as alternative fuel for motorists  Rising taxes, stifling policies heat up cooking gas market  Apply technology to promote fairness in LPG value chain It went on, “It's been 2 days since a friend cum jirani in Senior Staff Estate had an accident at home. The wife ordered a gas cylinder via a rider and when it arrived, she immediately connected it and it exploded on her face. She had 25% burns and was rushed to the hospital for treatment. She didn't make it. Hope sharing is caring and this helps.” In the response to the post, one of the members said the explosion of LPG is normally due to mishandling. “This post is total misinformation! An explosion of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) occurs in the event of a BLEVE - Boiling Liquid Expanding Vapor Explosion reaction which may only happen when the cylinder is subjected to external heat and the liquid-gas has reached temperatures above its boiling point. LPG working pressure is 8 bars but the cylinder can withstand up to 30 bars of pressure so explosion due to shaking is near impossible. One of the properties of LPG is that it's very cold and only causes cold burns,” read the response. The Standard’s Checkpoint desk reached out to several experts who further dismissed the claim saying there was no evidence to back it up. Engineer Michael Kamau, the Chair of the Institution of Engineers of Kenya Southrift branch and an oil and gas expert said this claim is not true. Kamau said the biggest danger in gas handling is transporting it while in a horizontal position. “That claim is baseless. Even when you transport the cylinder in a car, it will still shake when you hit a pothole,” he said. Kamau said the pressure that is contained in the gas cylinder is constant and does not change despite how it is transported. He said when the cylinder is transported horizontally, it will have two phases with gas settling down and semi vapour content settling on top. Kamau said it is advised to allow the gas to settle at the top because connecting it immediately might choke the cooker but does not explode. “The only risk is that when you carry the cylinder in a horizontal position and has leakage or its faulty.  If it explodes the damage is lethal because it flies like a rocket-propelled grenade. The best way to carry the cylinder is in a vertical position so that in case it is faulty, then the pressure forces it down,” he said. Kamau said the explosion of a cylinder happens in case of reduced pressure or increased temperature. His sentiments are echoed by Dr Alloys Mosima Osano, a senior Chemistry lecturer and the Director of Research and Innovation at Maasai Mara University who said the mode of transport does not have any effect on a normal cylinder. He said explosions have been reported in instances where the cylinders are faulty and have been exposed to the sun. This is because the cylinders absorb heat forcing the gas to expand, when such a cylinder is opened, it explodes because the contents are already in gaseous form. “The normal cylinder has a gas bag that holds the liquefied gas, when opened it meets the normal temperature. But in cases where the gas storage might have had some defects then such a claim can be valid,” Osano said. Osano said the change from gas to liquid form depends on pressure and volume change. He said just like the case of kerosene contaminated with petrol exploding cooking stove, gas contaminated with other impurities it would explode. “In some cases, illegal refilling points add impurities to increase the compression of these gases where petrol is passed through water and mixed with normal gas to cut down on cost. This is clearly evident when you see some of these gases producing smoke,” he said.

Gas explosion

Fort McMurray Welcome Centre carries on despite its own pandemic challenges

Fort McMurray's Welcome Centre, which helps connect newcomers to non-profits, has been helping fewer people during the pandemic, since the organization has operated virtually without the accessibility of a physical location. The Welcome Centre was previously operating out of the Wood Buffalo Regional Library at MacDonald Island Park. Alexandra Tarasenco, volunteer coordinator for the Welcome Centre, said the physical location has been closed since the beginning of the pandemic. That's affected the of the number of people using their services, because the location at MacDonald Island Park saw heavy foot traffic. Now, they're relying more on Facebook, email and phone calls. "With the newcomers … not everyone is on Facebook, not everyone is connected through social media," said Tarasenco. "It is a challenge." The Welcome Centre connects newcomers with organizations in the community that can help them settle in, whether that's help finding a job, training, finding housing or transportation. Tarasenco said she just wants to make sure people know the Welcome Centre is still operating. During the pandemic, Tarasenco said most of the time people are reaching out to her for employment. Edmund Obike, a refugee from Nigeria, came to Fort McMurray in 2019. He spent three months unable to find work, and living in a shelter. He was about to move away, when he was introduced to Tarasenco. "I even bought my ticket, booked my flight to move down to Toronto, but she [Tarasenco] encouraged me to stay," said Obike. "It was very difficult for me." He said he found it difficult to get work, because many of the oil jobs require tickets and specific training. Tarasenco helped Obike find a job and even helped with things like paying for bus tickets. "I wouldn't have gotten the job, I wouldn't have even gotten assistance for transportation, my movement; it really helped," said Obike. Glenda Little-Kulai, program chair for the Language Instruction for Newcomers of Canada, which is part of the steering committee for the Welcome Centre, said it's been difficult for newcomers to connect with the centre without a physical location. "That creates a barrier, especially for newcomers that might have low digital literacy or low language skills, because they're not able to access," said Little-Kulai. She said the centre was able to help out greatly during the flood in April 2020, with spreading information about health and safety in nine languages. "Hopefully we'll be able to provide in-person services again, but for now just sharing the word that we have a welcome center for newcomers … that we are offering virtual services." Therese Greenwood, executive director of the Multicultural Association of Wood Buffalo who is also on the steering committee, said the association is trying to find "a solution to these COVID challenges that's going to let us return to an in-person model in the near future." Greenwood said she expects to have an announcement about the welcome centre in the near future, but declined to give further details.

Organization Closed

US Navy, Marines to Conduct Biggest Exercise in 40 Years

The US Navy and Marines are beginning their largest amphibious exercise in 40 years on August 3. The Large Scale Exercise 2021 (LSE) drill will span 17 time zones and conclude on August 16. LSE is similar in scale to military exercises conducted during the Cold War in the 1980s, the US Naval Forces Europe-Africa/US 6th Fleet said in a statement. The exercise comes as America attempts to strengthen the country’s defenses against attacks on communication systems following a recent war game that “failed miserably” and laid bare a number of vulnerabilities within the US Army. “LSE will test our commanders across the spectrum of naval warfare from the tactical to the strategic, integrating the Marine Corps to demonstrate the worldwide fleet’s ability to conduct coordinated operations from the open ocean to the littoral,” US 6th Fleet Commander Vice Adm. Gene Black said. Analysts perceive Large Scale Exercises 2021 as a message from the United States to Russia and China that it can handle a simultaneous response to aggression on multiple fronts. According to James R. Holmes from the US Naval War College, LSE serves as a reminder to US adversaries that it can take on any challenge, be it in the Black Sea, eastern Mediterranean Sea, South China Sea, or the East China Sea, he told Stars and Stripes. However, it is unclear if Moscow or Beijing see the exercise that way, or if they will even pay attention to it at all, said the former naval officer. Regardless, LSE will test US operational methods and technologies designed to continue fighting after taking a loss, he added. At least 36 ships and 50 virtual units will participate in the exercise. Military, contract personnel, and civilians will also take part, as well as the 6th Fleet flagship the USS Mount Whitney. While the exercise only includes US forces, future drills are planned to involve allied forces as well.

Military Exercise

Solar eclipse visible across a quarter of the United States

The sun, moon and Earth will align Thursday morning, creating a solar eclipse visible across a quarter of the United States. The best place to view this eclipse will be from northern Canada, Greenland and Russia. From those locations, people will see an annular, or ring of fire eclipse. This happens when the moon is farther from Earth and cannot block out the entire Sun. But Cincinnati will not be left empty-handed. From Cincinnati, only a small portion of the sun will be blocked by the moon, and only for a short period of time at sunrise on Thursday, according to Dean Regas with the Cincinnati Observatory. And you better set an alarm: Cincinnati's timeline to see the rare astronomical event will be early and relatively brief. When the Sun rises in Cincinnati at 6:11 a.m., the eclipse will be almost over. The bottom quarter of the sun will appear blocked by the curve of the moon. As the sun rises, the moon will move off the sun and the eclipse is over for Cincinnati at 6:33 a.m., Regas said. Worried about the weather? Clouds will linger into the morning hours, but you may be able to sneak a peek through the clouds. Thursday again brings scattered rain, but it will be more frequent in the afternoon vs the morning. So, get your eclipse glasses, go to a spot with a clear view of the eastern horizon and get ready for 22 minutes of eclipse action. The next solar eclipse visible from Cincinnati won't be until Oct. 14, 2023.

New wonders in nature

2010 Major League Soccer lockout/strike

The MLS Players Association, also referred to as the MLSPA, is the union of professional Major League Soccer players. The MLS Players Association serves as the exclusive collective bargaining agreements representative for all current players in MLS. [1] The MLS Players Association (formerly MLS Players Union)[2] was formed in April 2003 after the conclusion of Fraser v. Major League Soccer. The founding members of the MLSPA Executive Board included Landon Donovan, Tim Howard, Chris Klein, Alexi Lalas, and Ben Olsen. Prior to the CBA, players received no form of retirement benefits, and many players lacked basic health insurance. [citation needed] After negotiating with MLS in 2003 and 2004, on December 1, 2004, the Players Association and MLS signed the first-ever collective bargaining agreement (CBA) covering MLS players for the 2005 season to the 2009 season inclusively. Among other things, the CBA increased minimum salaries, established a 401(k) plan with guaranteed contributions from MLS, and guaranteed[3] that all players and their families will be provided with 100% fully paid health insurance benefits. In addition, the CBA provides for an independent arbitrator to hear disputes between MLS and the players. MLS and the Players Association also negotiated a substance abuse policy covering all players in the league, as well as a Group License Agreement. The collective bargaining agreement ran through the 2009 season and in January 2010 the Major League Soccer players threatened to go on strike. [4][5] The union had voted in favor of a strike if a new deal was not reached before the beginning of the season. [6] The labor agreement expired on January 31, 2010. Progress had been reported in negotiations with the Players Association, with the major issues reportedly player transfer and guaranteed contracts. The Players Association had accused MLS of failing to abide by international regulations set down by governing body FIFA, but the league denied the charge. [citation needed] FIFA said they would not intervene in a labor dispute. [7] The MLSPA advised players to report to camp as planned. Reports had been conflicting about the actual possibility of a work stoppage. Both sides agreed to extend talks to February 12, and then extended then again to February 25, 2010. On March 20, 2010, MLS and MLSPA signed a new 5-year agreement commencing with the 2010 season and continuing through January 31, 2015. [8] On March 4, 2015 The MLS and MLSPA agree to terms on a third Collective Bargaining Agreement for a duration of 5 years. [3] On December 14, 2017, The MLS Players Union changed its name to the MLS Players Association and launched a full re-branding campaign. [3] On February 6, 2020, a new 5 year Collective Bargaining Agreement was struck between the MLS and the MLSPA. [9]

Strike

Loyal Dog Still Waiting Outside Mexican Coal Mine Where Its Beloved Owner Was Killed In Explosion

The bond between a human being and a dog is unshakable, and there's is something indescribable and unique about it. If anyone needed anymore proof of their undying loyalty, this should serve as one of the biggest examples. A loyal dog makes daily visit to Mexican coal mine to wait for his deceased owner to come home - three weeks after he was killed in collapse that killed six other miners. 15 Sabinas According to a report in Daily Mail, Gonzalo Cruz, had adopted an abandoned dog he called Cuchufleto six months ago and together they would walk the half-mile to the coal mine where he worked. Cruz's widow, Sandra Briseño said: "He would leave with my husband at 6:30am. He even went inside with my husband to the mine. He did not care that it was dark. There he was. Sometimes he would go out and wait for him outside." 15 Sabinas The bond between them was so strong that the dog would sometimes return back home while Cruz was at work but would walk back to the mine if he noticed that his owner was running late. It all changed on June 4. Tragically, Cruz lost his life along with six other miners, after a coal mine in a northern Mexico border state that flooded and later collapsed. 15 Sabinas Cuchufleto reportedly sensed that Cruz had not arrived back from the mine and walked the half mile to check on his owner, where he was met by dozens of workers attempting to rescue the trapped miners, Briseño told television station 15 Sabinas. The loyal dog stood outside the mine until the rescue workers pulled his owner's body out of the wreckage on June 6. Since then, the heartbroken dog spends his days lying in front of the door steps waiting for Cruz to come back from his shift at the mine. Start a conversation, not a fire. Post with kindness. 63-year-old Minati Patnaik has donated her assets worth a crore to a rickshaw puller. She has donated her three-storey house in Odisha's Cuttack along with gold ornaments and all other assets.

Mine Collapses

Kirron Kher returns to work, will join India's Got Talent as judge after blood cancer diagnosis: 'Like coming back home'

Actor and politician, Kirron Kher who was diagnosed with blood cancer earlier this year, will be returning to television as the host of India’s Got Talent Season 9 with Shilpa Shetty Kundra and Badshah.  Kirron Kher who has been associated with India’s Got Talent since it started in 2009, has expressed her excitement about her return. She has said, “India’s Got Talent has always been close to my heart! This being my ninth year with this prestigious talent reality show, returning as a jury member is a wonderful experience. It feels like I am coming back home. Year on year, India’s Got Talent is known to encourage and put the spotlight on varied and exceptional talent from across the country and every time, I am left in awe as the quality of talent just keeps getting better and better.” She added, “It’s always been a moment of pride for me to be a part of a show that helps turn dreams into reality by giving a platform for everybody to showcase their rare talent. I am extremely elated to be judging the show with the beautiful and lovely Shilpa Shetty Kundra and our Punjabi munda, Badshah. Above all, I am extremely happy to be a part of the show and cannot wait to take on this new journey of discovering what India has in store this year.” This year in April, Kirron's husband, actor Anupam Kher announced that she was detected with multiple myeloma, a type of cancer.  Last month, in an interview with Hindustan Times she said that she is getting better, and also informed that she never stopped working. “I’ve been working even when I was in the hospital, going through treatment. I’ve been in touch with people on my phone all along. In fact, I recently inaugurated an oxygen plant in Chandigarh, virtually. But my doctor isn’t letting me travel anywhere, especially by air, since my immunity is slightly compromised due to the treatment." Read More: It’s not an ideal situation to be in: Kirron Kher on being diagnosed with cancer “I am so touched by the love that I’ve received from people. They’ve been so kind. I’ve been getting wonderful messages. I’m not very active on social media. But Anupam ji has been telling me about it. I’m grateful to them and to God,” Kirron concluded. The first season of India's Got Talent aired in 2009. At that time Kirron, actor Sonali Bendre and film director Shekhar Kapur were judges. Over time the show welcomed many new judges such as Sajid Khan, Dharmendra, Farah Khan, Karan Johar and many others.

Famous Person - Sick

2019 IIHF World Championship Division II

The 2019 IIHF World Championship Division II was an international ice hockey tournament run by the International Ice Hockey Federation. The Group A tournament was held in Belgrade, Serbia, from 9 to 15 April, and the Group B tournament in México City, Mexico, from 21 to 27 April 2019. [1] Serbia and Israel won the Group A and B tournaments, and were promoted, while Belgium and North Korea finished last and were relegated. [2] Israel's Eliezer Sherbatov was the scoring leader, with 15 points. 4 referees and 7 linesmen were selected for the tournament. [3] All times are local (UTC+2). Source: IIHF.com List shows the top skaters sorted by points, then goals. GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/− = Plus/Minus; PIM = Penalties in Minutes; POS = Position Source: IIHF.com Only the top five goaltenders, based on save percentage, who have played at least 40% of their team's minutes, are included in this list. TOI = Time on Ice (minutes:seconds); SA = Shots Against; GA = Goals Against; GAA = Goals Against Average; Sv% = Save Percentage; SO = Shutouts Source: IIHF.com 4 referees and 7 linesmen were selected for the tournament. [4] All times are local (UTC−5). Source: IIHF.com List shows the top skaters sorted by points, then goals. GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/− = Plus/Minus; PIM = Penalties in Minutes; POS = Position Source: IIHF.com Only the top five goaltenders, based on save percentage, who have played at least 40% of their team's minutes, are included in this list. TOI = Time on Ice (minutes:seconds); SA = Shots Against; GA = Goals Against; GAA = Goals Against Average; Sv% = Save Percentage; SO = Shutouts Source: IIHF.com

Sports Competition

1983 IIHF European U18 Championship

The 1983 IIHF European U18 Championship was the sixteenth playing of the IIHF European Junior Championships. Played in Oslo, Norway from March 19–25, 1983. Norway was relegated to Group B for 1984. Played in Zoetermeer, the Netherlands from March 21–27, 1983. The Netherlands was promoted to Group A and Hungary was relegated to Group C, for 1984. Played in Sarajevo, Yugoslavia from March 3–6, 1983. Yugoslavia was promoted to Group B for 1984.

Sports Competition

Inca breakthrough after mummy discovery on Andes stunned researchers: 'So well preserved'

The discovery was heralded as one of the finest and "perfect" of its kind. Researchers climbed 22,000 feet up into Argentina's portion of the Andean mountains onto the world's tallest active volcano before stumbling across the remains. What they found was astonishing: a female teenager, around 13 years old, wrapped in a blanket pressed tightly around her crouched body, along with another girl and boy believed to be four or five years old. Taken away for analysis, the remains were found to be 500 years old, placing their identities as Inca, the great empire which dominated South America until Europeans arrived at the end of the 15th century. Despite being buried under about 1.5 metres (5ft) of rock and earth, their internal organs look perfect on a CT scan — as if they had died only recently. Dr Johan Reinhard, an archaeologist who helped lead the team, at the time said the remains were, "the best preserved of any mummy I've seen". He recounted his momentous 1999 excavation during the Smithsonian Channel's documentary, 'Mummies Alive: The Inca Maiden', 16 years later. Reaching the peak of Mount Llullaillaco, he said: "All of a sudden I heard this guy cry out, 'Mummy!'. "When she first came out of the ground, she was completely wrapped up. "We couldn't see any part of her body, but the textiles were just outstanding, and they were so well preserved." The biggest surprise came when they removed her wrappings. As Dr Reinhard gently worked his way down from the top, a full head of hair appeared. He said: "We had to talk while we were doing it — it was if we were afraid at some level we might wake this mummy up because she seemed so alive. "But nothing had the impact of when we uncovered her hands — it was probably one of the most powerful experiences I've had in my life, because those hands were perfect." JUST IN: US deal struck to restart CO2 production as EU chiefs hold meeting The maiden's hands — as she was later called by researchers involved with the work — had all the details of a living hand, their skin, creases and nails were all intact. Preserved along with her was a spectacular collection of artefacts, including ceramics, figurines and textiles. Everything appeared "totally untouched", not a colour had faded in any of the materials, nor had any of the relics been damaged or changed in any way since they had been buried hundreds of years ago. Since the initial discovery, extensive research had seen the maiden's story take a sinister turn. In 2013, scientists revealed that drugs and alcohol played a key part in the months and weeks leading up to the children's deaths. Tests on one of the children, a teenage girl, suggest that she was heavily sedated just before her demise. Dr Emma Brown, from the department of archaeological sciences at the University of Bradford, said: "The Spanish chroniclers suggest that children were sacrificed for all kinds of reasons: important life milestones in the lives of the Incas, in times of war or natural disasters, but there was a calendar of rituals too." DON'T MISS Archaeology breakthrough after researchers found new human species' [REPORT]Bermuda Triangle probe boost after 80-year-old shipwreck discovery [INSIGHT]Bermuda Triangle investigators find ‘best evidence we’ve seen’ [ANALYSIS] The international team of researchers used forensic tests to analyse the chemicals found in the children's hair. They discovered that all three had consumed alcohol and coca leaves (from which cocaine is extracted) in the final months of their lives. Historical records reveal that these substances were reserved for the elite and often used in Incan rituals. An analysis of the teenage girl's hair – which was considerably longer than the hair of the other victims — revealed further details. She was likely considered more valued than the younger children because of her virginal status. Tests on her long braids revealed that her coca consumption increased sharply a year before her death. The scientists believe this corresponds to the time she was selected for sacrifice. Earlier research also revealed that her diet changed around this point too — from a potato-based peasant diet to one rich in meat and maize. Dr Brown told the BBC: "From what we know of the Spanish chronicles, particularly attractive or gifted women were chosen. "The Incas actually had someone who went out to find these young women and they were taken from their families." The results also revealed that the girl ingested large amounts of alcohol in the last few weeks of her life. It suggests she was heavily sedated before she and the other children were taken to the volcano, placed in their tombs and left to die. In the case of the maiden, there was no sign of violence. Dr Brown added: "In this case we think with the combination of being placed in the grave with the alcohol and the cold ‒ the mountain is over 6,000m above sea level ‒ she would have passed away quietly."

New archeological discoveries

Tokyo 2020: Allyson Felix's 11th Olympic medal comes in US 4x400 relay

Allyson Felix won her 11th career Olympic medal Saturday, combining with her American teammates to finish the 4x400-meter relay in 3 minutes, 16.85 seconds for a runaway victory. The team of Felix, Sydney McLaughlin, Dalilah Muhammad and Athing Mu was never in jeopardy in this one. Poland finished second, 3.68 seconds behind, and Jamaica finished third. (FULL COVERAGE OF TOKYO 2020) Felix, who became the most-decorated woman in Olympic track history when she won bronze in the 400 the night before, now passes Carl Lewis with the most track medals of any U.S. athlete. Of the 11 medals, seven are gold. TOKYO 2020 OLYMPICS DAY 15 BLOG Paavo Nurmi of Finland holds the all-time mark in track with 12 medals from 1920-28. The win came on McLaughlin's 22nd birthday, and gave her another gold to go with the one she captured when she set a world record of 51.46 in the 400-meter hurdles earlier in the week. The race featured four U.S. medalists -- McLaughlin, Felix, Muhammad, who finished second in the hurdles, and Mu, the 19-year-old who won gold in the 800. It wasn’t so much the win that was in doubt but the world record of 3:15.17, set at the 1988 Seoul Games in the last relay the Soviet Union ran as an Olympic team. By the time Mu collected the baton from Muhammad for the anchor lap, the record was out of reach. But the win was in the bag. The four sprinters huddled and hugged. Felix is 35, and has detailed her long struggle simply to make the Tokyo Olympics. Mu turned 19 this summer, and there’s a chance she'll need a mighty big medals case when it’s all over.

Break historical records

2004 Hendrick Motorsports aircraft crash

On October 24, 2004, a Beechcraft Super King Air aircraft, registered N501RH[2] and owned by NASCAR team Hendrick Motorsports, crashed into mountainous terrain in Stuart, Virginia, during a missed approach to Blue Ridge Airport in Martinsville, Virginia. The aircraft was transporting eight passengers and two flight crew to Martinsville so they could attend the NASCAR event at Martinsville Speedway that afternoon. All ten people on board were killed; among them, members of the Hendrick family including John Hendrick, president of Hendrick Motorsports, and Ricky Hendrick, former Busch Series driver and heir to the Hendrick empire. [3][4] The King Air took off from Concord, North Carolina, at 12 pm EST, carrying eight passengers and two flight crew. Among them were several key Hendrick Motorsports staff, including team president John Hendrick and his twin daughters, Kimberly and Jennifer Hendrick; Ricky Hendrick, son of Rick Hendrick; general manager Jeff Turner; and chief engine builder Randy Dorton. The other people on board were Joe Jackson, a DuPont executive; Scott Lathram, a pilot for driver Tony Stewart; and pilots Richard Tracy and Elizabeth Morrison. The plane was reported missing at 3:00 pm. Eventually 9-1-1 was called, and fire trucks and police cars patrolled the Virginia area during the race itself. Around midway through the race, a Civil Air Patrol search team patrolling the nearby Bull Mountain's peak found airplane wreckage on the summit. When removing the wreckage from the summit, response teams found the bodies of the Hendrick group at 11:05 pm. Everyone on board had been killed. A search by firefighters also discovered a scar on the mountain of moved dirt; the discovery proved that the airplane crashed on the side of the mountain and the explosion blew the wreckage and group upward. NASCAR received word of the plane crash halfway through the race at Martinsville. Jimmie Johnson, a Hendrick driver, won the race. Due to the circumstances, the usual victory lane celebration did not take place. Upon the conclusion of the race, NASCAR called all Hendrick personnel to its mobile operations trailer where details of the accident were disclosed to the team. [5] An investigation conducted by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) followed soon after the crash. There were foggy conditions at the time of the plane crash. [6] The NTSB suggested that pilot error was the cause of the crash, partly by: The NTSB concluded its investigation by suggesting that the pilots failed to execute an instrument approach procedure and that both failed to use all navigational aids to confirm the airplane's position during its approach. [9] On February 18, 2005, Marshall Carlson, Rick Hendrick's son-in-law, signed on as new general manager. [10] The week following the crash, officials at the Atlanta Motor Speedway held a moment of silence before both the Busch and Nextel Cup races and lowered the flags to half staff. All the Hendrick Motorsports cars, as well as the No. 0 driven by Ward Burton of Hendrick-affiliated Haas CNC Racing, carried tributes on the hoods for those who were lost the week before. Jimmie Johnson (who won the Bass Pro Shops MBNA 500 race) and the rest of his teammates and crew wore their caps backwards in victory lane as a tribute to Ricky Hendrick, who had a habit of doing the same. [11] At the Hendrick museum in Concord, North Carolina, 300 people showed up for a candlelight vigil in honor of the ten victims. [12] The Randy Dorton Trophy now goes to the winner of the Mahle Engine Builders Challenge. [13][14]

Air crash

Chloe Lee, 10, loses fight for life after horror WA crash that also seriously injured her family

A young girl’s parents have tragically kissed their baby goodbye after a horrific car crash that also injured them and her younger brother. A 10-year-old girl has died after a horrific car crash that also seriously injured her younger brother and parents in Western Australia. The crash happened just after 9.30am on Sunday in Williams, in the state’s Wheatbelt region, when the family’s car ploughed into a tree. Geoff Lee, 44, his wife Sommar, 42, daughter Chloe and eight-year-old son Declan had to be cut from the car and flown to hospitals in Perth. According to a GoFundMe page set up by family friend Barbara Wilkinson, young Chloe suffered head and spinal injuries, and was placed on life support at Perth Children’s Hospital. Mr Lee suffered broken ankles, spinal injuries and various internal injuries, while Ms Lee had a broken pelvis, legs and wrist, and severe lacerations to her face. Declan received cuts and bruises all over his body. “Geoff explained that Chloe will remain on life support until he and Sommar are stable enough to be transported to the children’s hospital to kiss their baby girl goodbye,” Ms Wilkinson wrote. Police confirmed on Wednesday that Chloe had died. The Lee family are well known in the Townsville and Caboolture areas in Queensland, and were an integral part of the St Peter’s Primary School. They only recently moved to Western Australia for a change of life and better work opportunities. “The family will be under significant financial pressure due to Geoff not being able to work and costs associated with the accident,” Ms Wilkinson wrote. “Sommar and Geoff have expressed their wish to return Chloe to her home town of Caboolture for a funeral so that her friend’s and relatives have the opportunity to commemorate her short life.” Tributes have been posted by strangers and people close to the family. “Chloe, thank you for being Lilly’s first true friend! Thank you for the sleepovers, the late night giggles, the endless amount (of) memories and for being her partner in crime. We will cherish those memories forever,” Chantelle Herrmann wrote. Tejay Page wrote: “Chloe was my friend at my old school and I feel very sad for her … I remember being at her birthday party and what a fun time I had.” More than $26,000 has so far been raised to help the family. An Australian hospital has found home births are perfectly safe, depending on what type of pregnancy you have. The marine search for a missing diver has been suspended, as police turn their attention to finding his equipment. Two anti-vaxxers have been charged with attempted fraud after going to extreme measures to avoid the Covid jab.

Road Crash

LNU Lightning Complex fires

The LNU Lightning Complex fires were a large complex of wildfires that burned during the 2020 California wildfire season across much of the Wine Country area of Northern California – Lake, Napa, Sonoma, Solano, and Yolo Counties, from August 17 to October 2, 2020. The complex was composed of numerous lightning-sparked fires, most of which were small. However, while they initially started separate from each other, the Hennessey Fire eventually grew to merge with the Gamble, Green, Markley, Spanish, and Morgan Fires, scorching 192,000 acres (777 km2) by itself, for a total burn area of 363,220 acres (1,470 km2) in the complex. The fire, which burned in the hills surrounding several large cities, such as Fairfield, Napa, and Vacaville, destroyed 1,491 structures and damaged a further 232. [1] In all, six people were killed and another five injured. [2] The LNU Lighting Complex is currently the fourth-largest wildfire in the recorded history of California. [4] The name of the complex fire refers to the name of the local unit of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire), the Sonoma–Lake–Napa Unit (LNU). [5] In the early morning hours of Sunday, August 16 through Monday, August 17, a series of highly unusual thunderstorms rolled through most of northern California, which came from the moisture of the diminishing Tropical Storm Fausto. [6] With these thunderstorms came a reported 10,849 lightning strikes that – within a 72-hour period – had then presumably sparked 376 known fires across much of the state. [7] Early on Monday, August 17, at around 6:40 am PDT a spotfire was reported burning in the 60 block of Hennessey Ridge Road near Lake Hennessey which was initially dubbed the 14-3 Fire but then later named the Hennessey Fire. [8] The incident was reported alongside several other fires burning not far from it, most notably the Gamble Fire which began burning in an area off Berryessa Knoxville Road north of Lake Berryessa and west of state Highway 16, the Spanish Fire which was burning near Spanish Flat, the 15-10 Fire burning near the Putah Bridge and the Markley Fire near the Monticello Dam. [9] All of which had been reportedly burning almost completely unchecked as resources meant to combat the incidents had been stretched thin due to the onslaught of new and persisting fires throughout the state. Due to this factor, the fires were not contained during their most critical early phases, and by the evening of that day, the multiple conflagrations sizes were all ranging between 1,000 and 8,000 acres with 0% containment for each fire. [9] By the morning of August 18, the complex of fires burning through much of the Napa County region had already expanded to collectively encompass over 12,000 acres. By this time, only several hundred firefighters were actively engaging the firelines. [10] Air attack reported additional spotfires beginning to flare up due to the deteriorating weather conditions as between at least 20 to 30 new fires that had been ignited by lightning the day prior were discovered. One of those ignitions was the actively expanding Walbridge Fire (then the 13-4 fire) that had started in rugged hills north of the Austin Creek State Recreation Area of Sonoma County and was now 75 acres in size with vitally no firefighter apparatus engaging the fire. [11] Evacuation warnings were put in place for the rural area in the hills between Healdsburg and Stewarts Point as the fire burned virtually unchecked. [11] Those evacuations were then expanded to include areas east of Sewell Road and King Ridge Road; north of Old Cazadero Road and Austin Creek; west of East Austin Creek and Wal Bridge Ridge; and south of Stewarts Point Skaggs Springs Road --as well as Guerneville, Monte Rio and other areas north of the Russian River-- which displaced hundreds of residences by nightfall as the fire grew to 500 acres. [11] Meanwhile, a 15 acre fire had also been spotted burning between Meyers Grade and Highway 1 north of the community of Jenner after being caused by lightning the day prior and would later be dubbed the Meyers Fire as it also rapidly expanded in the area. [11] Mandatory evacuations were put in place for areas west of Meyers Grade Road, south of Fort Ross Road and North of the intersection of Meyers Grade Road and Highway 1 throughout the day. [12] Evacuations orders that initially were put in place for roads near the Hennessey Fire off of Hennessey Ridge Road and Highway 128 and along Chiles Pope Valley Road and Lower Chiles Valley Road began to expand for much of the surrounding Lake Berryessa area as the fire and multiple other conflagrations effectively exploded in size in that area. These mandatory evacuations were put in place for the Berryessa Highlands and Spanish Flat areas as the fires rapidly raged towards those communities. [11] By this time, the Hennessey Fire has reportedly only destroyed one structure and two outbuildings in the area and threatened 205 structures, however an additional 390 homes in the Berryessa Estates area were now reportedly threatened and multiple structures were reported burning throughout the valley. [11] Later that afternoon, the fire further threatened additional rural areas along Highway 128 as it jumped the two-lane winding highway twice and it raced towards the Vaca Mountains bordering Napa and Solano County. [10] At 8:15 pm on Tuesday night, CAL FIRE has reported that the Hennessey Fire had consumed 10,000 acres, the Gamble Fire off of Berryessa Knoxville Road has also consumed 10,000 acres, the Spanish Fire near Spanish Flat had grown to 1,000 acres, the "15-10" near Putah Creek Bridge had burned 8,000 acres, and the newly-ignited Markley Fire near the Monticello Dam had also grown to 2,500 acres. All of them were reported to be zero percent contained that night. [13] By 11:30 pm, the Hennessey Fire was seen still burning at a critical to dangerous rate of spread as the massive conflagration had traveled 13 miles to the southeast scorching the Vaca Mountains and rolled down the canyons towards the city of Fairfield and Vacaville. [10] This dangerous fire spread spurred additional mandatory evacuations for north Fairfield and northwest Vacaville as the fireline made its way down Mix Canyon Road to Pleasants Valley Road and proceeded to destroy hundreds of structures in areas to the west and north of the cities. [10] In September, fire activity decreased significantly within the complex, as firefighters brought most of the fire complex under control. By mid-September, only the Hennessey and Walbridge Fires were still burning within the complex. On October 2, 2020, CAL FIRE reported that the entire complex had been extinguished. [1]

Fire

Podsosenka train disaster

The Podsosenka train disaster happened on March 3, 1992 at 5:15 (local time) near Nelidovo, Tver Oblast in Russia. Passenger train No. 004 en route from Riga to Moscow failed to stop at restrictive signal, and collided with an oncoming freight train No. 3455 at station Podsosenka. The collision of the two diesel locomotives caused a fire, which spread to the passenger cars. 43 people were killed, and 108 injured. [1]

Train collisions

South Lake Tahoe Police searching for bank robber

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. (KOLO) - South Lake Tahoe Police hope someone can help identify a bank robber. The man told a teller at the Wells Fargo Bank at the “Y” on Emerald Bay Road that he had a gun. Police say, after the robbery, the man rode away on a BMX style bike. He is described as 5′11″ with short brown hair and was last seen wearing a dark-colored zip-up hooded sweatshirt, a two-toned trucker hat and a dark green gaiter mask. If you have information, call the South Lake Tahoe Police Department at (530) 542-6100 and reference case 2103-0047.

Bank Robbery

2017–2018 Moroccan protests

The 2017–2018 Moroccan protests, or more commonly known as Hogra was mass demonstrations, popular protests and strike actions carried out by activists, civilians and hundreds of thousands of ordinary Moroccans in Morocco, staring in the town of Jerada protesting the deaths of 2 miners. [1] The Hirak Rif Movement was a popular movement and civil uprising that echoed from peaceful opposition unrest to violent street protests and consisted of nonviolent grassroots marches and strike rallies in Morocco after the Death of Mouhcine Fikri in October 2016; his swordfish cart was confiscated. The incident triggered an uprising demanded justice and an end to police brutality but turned into demands for better public services, social infrastructure/developments and jobs. The movement was ,et with high police repression by the military as they suppressed the movement. Protesters also called on the release of Nasser Zefzafi, the leader of the protest movement who was arrested after interrupting Friday prayers in May. After the killing of 2 miners, civilians took to the streets once again. [2] On 27 December, thousands demonstrated following the deaths, prompting solidarity echoes nationwide. Strikes and unrest broke out and police clashed with demonstrators. Protests erupted in Zagora despite 3 months of thirst demonstrations in inspiration from the rallies in Jerada. Around ten thousands demonstrators gathered for the next couple of days despite a police Crackdown on protesters. Mass demonstrations broke out on other towns and attended funerals of the two miners in the shuttered area. [3] Scattered protests and anger over the killings and impoverishment in the nation sparked widespread violence and civil unrest, in protest at the government. Protesters also rallied for justice and better conditions in poor areas, port towns and rural areas of the country. Countrywide protests would lead to crackdowns, and it certainly did. After intensifying protests and large-scale protests, the police was sent in to disperse protesters and protests grew larger amid widespread voices in opposition to the current regime. In Zagora, water demonstrations was dispersed by police. [4] Protests continued into the new year, a wave of experienced and precedented protests hit the country. Big rallies and huge marches occurred in January, February and March, when demonstrations escalated after the death of another coal miner amid growing street protests and opposition demonstrations against low jobs, unemployment and impoverishment. Protests was met with violence as demonstrators threw stones at Riot police as anger and renewed protests resumed. Scores were left injured when police vans recklessly drove over protesters during intensive protests in Jerada. Protests occurred in June 2018, but on a small magnitude. Protesters marched in a large-political earthquake the month after, amid widespread social protests, demanding the release of political prisoners and protesters jailed during the Hirak Rif Movement in 2016-2017. The rights group says Moroccan authorities used excessive, disproportionate force in dealing with economic protests. [5]

Protest_Online Condemnation

Solar Eclipse 2021 on June 10: Important facts about eclipses

Solar Eclipse 2021: The first Solar Eclipse of this year will take place on June 10, which is tomorrow. This celestial event comes just days after the year’s first super blood moon and total lunar eclipse, which took place on May 26. As per the map published by NASA, the solar eclipse will be visible in India, but only from Ladakh and Arunachal Pradesh. Those who are based in parts of the eastern United States, northern Alaska, Canada and parts of the Caribbean, Europe, Asia, and northern Africa will get to see the solar eclipse. In most of the areas, the 2021 annular solar eclipse event will start at 01:42 PM (IST) and it will be at its peak at 06:41 PM (IST). Both NASA and Timeanddate.com have published the live stream link of the solar eclipse 2021, so that everyone can watch this rare astronomical event online on June 10. We have embedded the solar eclipse 2021 live stream link below, so you can come back and watch here too. The annular solar eclipse is a rare and mesmerising sight and you shouldn’t miss this astronomical event. According to NASA, annular solar eclipses appear every 18 months somewhere on Earth and they are visible only a few minutes, unlike lunar eclipses. A total solar eclipse happens when the Moon passes between Earth and the sun and blocks the light of the Sun. But, when the Moon is too far from earth, it looks smaller and does not block the entire view of the Sun. This creates what looks like a ring around the Moon. It is worth noting that only partial solar eclipses can be observed from the North and South Poles, as per NASA. NASA says hundreds of years ago when people observed the Moon during an eclipse, they saw Earth’s shadow on the Moon and discovered that the Earth is round. “Even after all these years, scientists are still learning about the Moon from lunar eclipses, NASA said. Scientists also use solar eclipses as an opportunity to study the Sun’s corona, which is basically the Sun’s top layer. During an annular solar eclipse, NASA uses “ground and space instruments to view the corona when the Moon blocks the Sun’s glare.”

New wonders in nature

Ute driver survives crash that turned his Ford Ranger into a twisted wreck in Adelaide Hills

Ute driver survives crash that turned his Ford Ranger into a twisted wreck in Adelaide Hills SA Police say a man is lucky to be alive following a car crash in the Adelaide Hills early this morning. Nearby residents called police at about 12:45am, after his ute hit a tree on Penna Road at Macclesfield. The impact tore the roof and doors off the Ford Ranger. The driver, a 42-year-old Mount Barker man, was freed from the wreckage and taken to the Royal Adelaide Hospital by ambulance in a critical condition. Police say his injuries are not considered life-threatening. "Lucky there was no-one else in the car or they wouldn't have survived," said Senior Constable Rebecca Stokes from SA Police. Police are also investigating a car fire on Garden Island, in Adelaide's north-west, late last night. Patrols were called to the incident on the road leading into the Garden Island Yacht Club about 11:30pm. The vehicle was completely destroyed, with the model unable to be identified.

Road Crash

Lake Tahoe tsunami, while unlikely, still possible, California state geologist says

Frequent earthquakes across Northern California over the last several weeks have spurred questions about the natural disasters ahead. California Geological Survey geologist Steve Bohlen says the region has recently experienced quakes in rapid succession. "We happen to be in a bit of an active period right now," Bohlen observed to CBS Sacramento. At the end of April, a 3.8-magnitude earthquake hit the center of Lake Tahoe, followed by a 4.7-magnitude earthquake in Truckee, California that was felt from Sacramento all the way to Reno. The lake, Bohlen says, "owes its existence to faults." "That was the biggest one I felt since I was out here. There were some lights and stuff swinging. Something fell off the wall," said Ryan Callahan, who was at the Tourist Club in Truckee when the quake hit. Seismologists tracking the activity say there's another, uncommon threat as well. "There is a tsunami hazard around Lake Tahoe," said Bohlen, who explains that a magnitude-7 earthquake coming from the lake, though unlikely, could cause Tsunami-like waves. "It would be significant emergency response effort in the Tahoe area if a magnitude-7 were to occur," he said. How would you know if a Tsunami hit? "If you feel an earthquake for [an] extended period of time, you really ought to think about moving to higher ground as quickly as possible," he said. Tsunamis aren't something to sell your lakefront house over, Bohlen says, but he urges people to be prepared. "Californians should have a safety kit with food, water…have a family plan of how to get together…when cellphones are down," he said. An early warning system called Shake Alert could give precious extra seconds when an earthquake does hit.

Tsunamis

Hazelwood Power Station operators fined nearly $2 million over 2014 Latrobe Valley mine fire

A Victorian man who flew from Brisbane to Hobart on flight VA702 today has tested positive to COVID-19 and has not been allowed to board a flight to Melbourne A Watch & Act warning is in place for a fire in the northern parts of Mokine, in WA's Northam Shire. Keep up to date with ABC Emergency The operators of Victoria's now-closed Hazelwood Power Station have been fined more than $1.9 million by the Supreme Court of Victoria over the 2014 mine fire which burned for 45 days, covering the area in smoke and coal dust. The fine has come as a disappointment to some residents in the Latrobe Valley, who wanted to see a much higher penalty imposed on the companies involved. The fire was started by a bushfire burning into the brown coal reserve, forcing evacuations from the nearby town of Morwell. In 2015, the Hazelwood Mine Fire Inquiry found the blaze most likely contributed to deaths in the region. In November, a Supreme Court jury found the Hazelwood Power Corporation (HPC) guilty on 10 occupational health and safety charges for putting workers and the public in danger. The jury found the Hazelwood Power Corporation failed to adequately assess the risk of fire, did not have an adequate reticulated water system, failed to slash vegetation around the mine and left it too late to start wetting down areas around the mine. The court heard mine and power station workers rushed to the site at the edge of the Princes Freeway when the fire took hold to offer their help in fighting the blaze out of a deep-seated loyalty to their workplace and the community. Justice Andrew Keogh gave his reasons to a nearly empty courtroom, with the legal teams and members of the community watching online. "General deterrence will be of particular importance when sentencing HPC," Justice Keogh said. He described a level of complacency about a bushfire spreading into the mine because of "the fact that the mine had not come under attack from bushfire or burning embers within almost 60 years of operations". In handing down the $1.56 million fine, he took into account the work HPC had previously done in improving the fire conditions within the mine and financial contributions it made to the Latrobe Valley community over the years. Justice Keogh also considered the unlikely circumstances, including fires lit intentionally, and the weather conditions leading the blaze. "A combination of events that were very rare and unprecedented," he said. In a separate sentence, a partnership of the mine's operators — Hazelwood Pacific, Australian Power Partners, Hazelwood Churchill and National Power Australia Investments — were fined $380,000 for 12 pollution charges. The four companies operated the mine in partnership, as the Hazelwood Power Partnership, along with HPC. During a separate trial to that of the Hazelwood Power Corporation, a Supreme Court jury delivered a guilty verdict on the pollution charges, brought by the Environment Protection Authority. The trial, also before Justice Keogh, heard details of the health impacts members of the Morwell community experienced during and after the fire. Today, Justice Keogh fined the four companies $95,000 each. Justice Keogh noted the fire conditions on February 10, 2014, were "extreme and exceptional" and directly contributed to the conditions at the mine. "Nothing could be done to stop it racing towards the mine," he said. While there had been some wetting down of the exposed brown coal to try to minimise the fire risk, the court heard the wind and heat soon dried off the coal again. Coal dust caused by erosion was "highly combustible" at the time, the court heard. The exposed part of the mine totalled 1,100 hectares, with a perimeter of 18 kilometres. The court heard prosecutors had argued that the pollution was caused by inadequate staffing levels, a sub-standard reticulation system and the failure to clear vegetation. Justice Keogh rejected that, saying that once the fire took hold in the mine, the Hazelwood operators did everything they could to try to contain the fire. But he said little had been done to rehabilitate the exposed areas. In assessing a fine for the four companies, Justice Keogh took into account their remorse. He said they had to contribute $500,000 per year to ongoing community projects, as well as donating $650,000 to three community groups including the Gippsland Emergency Relief Fund. After the fire, the operators had given $100 gift vouchers to Morwell's 6,700 residents, the court was told. The chief executive of WorkSafe, the agency which brought the charges, said he hoped the penalty would provide closure for the community as it continued to recover. CEO Colin Radford said although HPC was not responsible for starting the fire, it should have been much better prepared. Mr Radford said it knew the risk, considering previous fires at the mine and the extreme weather forecast that weekend. "Brown coal fires are notorious for emitting airborne pollutants including carbon monoxide, the harmful effects of which are well known," Mr Radford said. "This was an entirely foreseeable event that has led to significant adverse health impacts, and WorkSafe will continue to prosecute employers who fail in their duty to protect not only their workers but also the general public." Hazelwood's parent company, Engie, today acknowledged the decisions of the Supreme Court. "ENGIE Hazelwood has consistently expressed regret in respect of the February 2014 Hazelwood mine fire incident and its impact on the community," a spokesperson said. "We repeat this today." Environment advocates have described the fines as disappointingly small and a "drop in the ocean" compared to the $100 million dollar cost of the fire. "Hopefully today's sentencing brings some form of closure to the community who have fought for years to have the health and environmental impacts of the mine fire acknowledged and recognised," Environment Victoria's Nick Aberle said. "Despite the disaster of 2014, coal companies in the Latrobe Valley are continuing to maximise their profits while the public bears the full cost of the negative impacts." Dr Aberle said it highlighted the need for stronger environmental protection regulations. Latrobe Valley community advocate Wendy Farmer said the $1.56 million fine was "really just a slap on the wrist for a company that has caused so much harm". "We know people are still sick from this fire and I hope that the civil action starts," she said. The EPA's chief executive Cathy Wilkinson said the EPA pursued the maximum charge it could. "We know there are community members in the Latrobe Valley who will be disappointed with today's decision," Dr Wilkinson said. "To them I say we acknowledge the impact of the fire and thank them for their participation through the court case, for supporting EPA through witness statements and through impact statements. "All four companies have been found guilty of polluting the environment — that's a vindication for the local community; it's a vindication for the environment." The power station once supplied 20 per cent of Victoria's electricity and was the highest polluting power station in Australia when it closed in March 2017. Its eight iconic chimney stacks are due to be demolished before the end of July. Remediation work is underway around the site, including inside the old mine, to make the land safe for public use. A lake is planned for the massive mine void. Its closure left 750 workers without a job. 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

13 incredible LGBTQ celebrity weddings: Elton John, Ellen DeGeneres, Samira Wiley and more

Chloe Best Gay celebrity weddings: Elton John and David Furnish, Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi and more A-list same-sex weddings. Ever since same-sex marriages were legalised in the UK in 2014 and across all 50 states in America in 2015, we've seen several of our favourite celebrity couples – from Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi to Tom Daley and Dustin Lance-Black – tie the knot in beautiful ceremonies that prove #loveislove. REVEALED: Most expensive (and totally jaw-dropping) celeb engagement rings Ian Waite and Drew Merriman Former Strictly Come Dancing professional dancer Ian Waite married his partner Drew Merriman at Woburn Abbey on 22 July 2017, and shared their big day exclusively with HELLO! magazine . With family and friends including Zoe Ball, Craig Revel Horwood, Anton du Beke and Carol Kirkwood in attendance, it was unsurprisingly a day to remember. "It was the best day of my life," said Ian. "It's been absolutely brilliant. It was so emotional to walk into the ceremony and see friends and family looking towards us." John Barrowman and Scott Gill Dancing on Ice judge John Barrowman entered a civil partnership with his partner Scott Gill in December 2006, hosting a small ceremony in Cardiff attended by friends and family. In 2013, they became one of the first gay couples to marry in California, just one day after the California Supreme Court overturned a ban on same-sex weddings. Michelle Hardwick and Kate Brooks Emmerdale 's Michelle Hardwick and Kate Brooks eloped to Memphis, Tennessee in September 2019, where they married at Elvis Presley's Graceland chapel. Sharing a photo of herself and her bride both wearing white and standing in front of Elvis Presley’s former home, Graceland, Kate wrote: "In over 100 degrees heat, on Tuesday 10th September, I became Mrs Brooks." RELATED: The Emmerdale cast share their wedding and engagement photos Tom Daley and Dustin Lance Black Olympian Tom Daley married his fiancé Dustin Lance Black at Bovey Castle , Devon, on 6 May 2017. Sharing a photo from their big day on Instagram two days later, Tom wrote: "On 6th May 2017, I married the love of my life @dlanceblack. We shared the day with 120 of our closest friends and family, from Texarkana to Plymouth! Thank you to everyone who made this weekend the most special weekend of our lives!"

Famous Person - Marriage

2012 Virginia Beach F/A-18 crash

On April 6, 2012, a McDonnell Douglas F/A-18D Hornet jet fighter of the United States Navy crashed into an apartment complex in Virginia Beach, Virginia, after suffering a dual engine failure shortly after take-off on a training flight. The building involved was extensively damaged, but there were no fatalities in the accident. At 12:05 p.m. the twin engined Hornet launched from runway 05R at Naval Air Station Oceana on a heading of 053 degrees, conducting a scheduled training exercise. Within seconds of becoming airborne the right engine experienced a failure. The crew immediately selected maximum thrust on the left engine, but it too failed. Losing altitude, the crew then began dumping fuel to lighten the stricken aircraft and reduce the risk of fire. When the Hornet reached 50 ft (15 m) altitude above ground level (agl) in a nose high attitude, the pilots ejected. One eyewitness, a former Navy SEAL, spoke with Navy Times. He said, "the pilots ejected at the last possible second in an apparent effort to make sure that the plane would not crash into a nearby school". [1] The F/A-18 plowed into the Mayfair Mews apartment complex that houses about 100 residents, located less than 3 mi (4.8 km) from the departure end of the runway. Total flight time was 70 seconds. [2] One eyewitness looked up and saw the low-flying aircraft begin to spray fuel, drenching his pick-up truck. “The nose was up; it almost looked like it was trying to land…It was maybe 80 or 90 yards over top of me…The engines were straining, but there was no smoke coming out of the plane. "[3] Another noted, “I looked out my window and saw black smoke billowing. There was debris falling in our parking lot. One pilot fell into the apartment complex next to ours. He was all bloody, but conscious.”[3] A resident said his house started shaking and then the power went out, as he saw a red and orange blaze outside his window. He ran outside, where he saw billowing black smoke and then came upon the pilot as he ran to a friend's home. "I saw the parachute on the house and he was still connected to it, and he was laying [sic] on the ground with his face full of blood", he told a television news reporter. "The pilot said, 'I'm sorry for destroying your house.' "[4] The aircraft involved was a McDonnell Douglas F/A-18D Hornet with Bu.No. 163452, assigned to Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 106. [5] It was built in 1987 and had approximately 6,500 hours on its airframe. The aircrew consisted of a fleet replacement pilot and an experienced instructor. Both of the pilots were from Virginia Beach, but their identities were not released. The F/A-18 was completely destroyed, the largest section remaining being the empennage including the two engines. The starboard engine Variable Exhaust Nozzle was fully open, while the port engine's nozzle was closed. The apartment complex suffered heavy damage. Three buildings were destroyed and two were damaged, with least forty apartments left uninhabitable. By mid afternoon the fire had been put out and seven people were sent to a hospital, including the two pilots. Later that evening six of the injured were released from the hospital; one pilot remained, listed as being in fair condition. Two days after the incident on April 8, the Navy began contacting apartment residents to provide payments for immediate needs. Payments began at $2,300 for an individual resident and increased for additional family members. [6] According to Navy investigators the cause of the incident was the failure of both F404-GE-402 engines. [7] A leak caused fuel to enter the right engine's intake, starting a fire. The crew shut down that engine according to proper procedure. As the Pilot in command increased thrust on the left engine it too failed due to an unrelated concern, when its afterburner didn't light. [8] According to Rear Adm. Ted Branch "We have never had this kind of unrelated dual engine mishap in the F-18, it's the first time it's ever happened with this aircraft. "[9]

Air crash

Swan River health hangs in balance as climate change and nutrient run-off take toll

Signs along the banks of the Swan River warning people against fishing have raised fresh concerns about the health of Perth's main waterway and what is being done to protect it. Health warnings are in place from Nedlands in the western suburbs to the Swan Valley in the east, cautioning against fishing due to harmful algae. Professor David Pannell from the University of WA said while the river was far healthier than it was 50 years ago, it remained threatened by nutrient run-off upstream and the effects of climate change. "Until the 1960s and 1970s we had a big problem with industry on the river — we had things like a fertiliser factory, a wool scouring plant, that were putting all sorts of nasty chemicals into the river," he said. "Most of that sort of problem has really been solved now through government and enforcement of regulations, but these days I guess the most prominent problem is from nutrients, largely phosphorus. "It's coming from parks, it's coming from agriculture, a lot of it is coming from upstream even outside of Perth and so that now is one of the most prominent problems that we face. "It causes a loss of oxygen in the water, it causes fish kills from the lack of oxygen and causes algal blooms." Countering the flow of nutrients into the river would be an overwhelming task and involve action on the Swan River's main tributary, the Avon River, in the Wheatbelt. "The majority [of nutrients] actually come from agricultural fertilisers which are either on the Perth fringe or further up the Avon River," Professor Pannell told Jessica Strutt on ABC Radio Perth. "One of the best things we can do is keep livestock out from the riverbank, because what happens is that they loosen soil, the soil moves into the river and often carries phosphorus with it. "Unfortunately that's a big challenge. The Avon River goes so far inland and it's not just the main stream itself, you have to keep livestock ideally out of all the tributaries." He added that changes in the climate and a long-term reduction in Perth's rainfall meant the Swan River wasn't seeing the flows it once did. "We've had a significant reduction in the annual rainfall since about the mid '70s. "One consequence is that there's much less flushing of the muck that might build up in our river out the mouth and into the ocean than would have previously. "There's a layer in the bottom of the Swan River where all the gunk has built up over the years and it's just sitting there. "Occasionally it gets sort of stirred up and it might then cause problems again, but it's very difficult to imagine us really ever getting rid of that with our current rainfall levels." David Collard is a Noongar consultant who has worked to build Aboriginal participation in water and natural resource management. He blamed a lack of leadership and a succession of state government departmental restructures for insufficient action to improve the health of the river. "Traditional owners need to be included in this space," Mr Collard said. "[We need to] increase the number of Aboriginal people working in water resource management." Noongar elder Dr Richard Walley also called for comprehensive investment in rehabilitating the river and protecting it for future generations. "None of us own the river. It belongs to all of us," he said. "We held the river in high esteem and high reverence, whereas from early settlement the non-Aboriginal people saw it as an asset. "They saw it as fish, as transport, the shells were taken up for cement." ABC Radio Perth listeners echoed the concerns about the deterioration in the river's condition. Dumpy: "I used the river as my playground in the '80s. I remember being able to tread water at West Midland and see our feet in the water. "Only a month ago I was at the same place and put my arm in to my elbow and couldn't see my hand. What have we done to this living, breathing wonder?" David: "When I was a kid I remember the edge of the Swan littered with rubbishy tips. I'm sure lots of toxic stuff was dumped at these sites and is now leaching into the river." Pamela: "Humans are the issue with our rivers. We are in danger of a Murray-Darling situation here. Same with the Canning River in the hills areas." Professor Pannell said there was strong community support for the river which had helped inspire the create of volunteer groups like Dolphin Watch and River Guardians. "We did research on the Perth community's attitudes to the river and how much do they really care about it — and you have to say they care about it a lot," he said. "We provide support to those voluntary groups, and they do great things, but it's such a big problem and it's very difficult for them to really solve the problem. "It seems to me that there could be a willingness in the community to go to more extreme of levels of intervention than we've seen so far." A once degraded Bayswater wetland that regularly bloomed with algae has surpassed expectations since its restoration into a thriving bird sanctuary and water treatment area. Professor Pannell said his survey even showed there was community support for diverting funds from other core areas of government spending in order to improve the state of the river. "It's expensive and so it's really a matter of whether or not this issue was a big enough priority for the Government to allocate the funds to this issue rather than to other issues." Dr Walley said he wanted to see action that involved the whole community and didn't become mired in political division. "The moment you walk along a river, you feel completely different to when you're walking along a main street with no water," he said. "Water has an effect on us, and what we must do is pay respect to that and say we've got a wonderful river here; how can we hand it onto to the next generation in a far better condition than we've got now."

Environment Pollution

Storms Reveal Two Historic Shipwrecks on England’s Eastern Coast

Archaeologists have only gotten a “tantalizing glimpse” of the vessels, which are currently inaccessible due to Covid-19 restrictions Livia Gershon Daily Correspondent Winter storms on England’s Suffolk coast have uncovered the wrecks of two ships possibly dated to the 18th century or earlier, reports Katy Sandalls for the East Anglian Daily Times. Saxmundham resident Stephen Sugg and his wife were walking on Covehithe beach, located on England’s eastern coast, when they spotted a large section of a wooden vessel. “It was really nice to go and look at,” he tells the East Anglian. “It was quite impressive.” The remains of the ship’s hull are held together largely with wooden treenails, a type of fastening pin used between the 13th and 19th centuries, according to BBC News. Traces of the vessel were first uncovered three years ago but were subsequently hidden again by shifting sand and pebbles. Storms also revealed a portion of a second ship, similarly secured with trenails, at Thorpeness, about 20 miles south of Covehithe. As Sandalls writes in a separate article for the East Anglian Daily Times, Nicholas Mellor, the heritage conservation specialist who stumbled onto the Thorpeness wreck, initially assumed that the debris was driftwood. When he took a closer look, however, Mellor realized that it was part of a larger structure. “It’s got the curve of a large boat,” he tells the East Anglian. “It’s built incredibly solidly.” Mellor adds that the ship was likely either a warship or a collier, a type of bulk cargo ship that carried coal. So far, Covid-19 restrictions have prevented coastal archaeologists from visiting the wrecks to learn more about them. But Andy Sherman, discovery officer for the Coastal and Intertidal Zone Archaeological Network (CITiZAN), tells BBC News that photographs shared by the public have offered a “tantalizing glimpse” of the ships. “It’s very exciting to see,” he says. “Hopefully they will still be there in three or four months so that we can do further investigations.” Based on available photographs, Sherman has confirmed that the Thorpeness vessel was held together with treenails. He says that the ship may have been made with an unusual technique employed by builders in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. “It’s difficult to tell from the photographs but this section of wreck appears to have double hull planking, which could be really exciting,” Sherman explains to BBC News. “This makes the vessel slightly more buoyant on one side and is really, really rare. Although the technique is known from historical writings there is only one well-known example in the U.K. archaeological record.” The discovery at Thorpeness has attracted much public interest, with almost 300 people tuning in to a March 4 online discussion organized by Mellor and 4D Heritage. According to BBC News, Mark Horton, an archaeologist at the Royal Agricultural University who took part in the event, suspects that the wreck is probably an 18th-century collier similar to the H.M.S. Endeavour. Sailed by James Cook on his 1768–1771 voyage to the South Pacific, the Endeavour was initially designed as a coal carrier. Cook and his crew adapted it for the journey, which ostensibly took them to New Zealand and Australia on a scientific expedition but also involved a secret mission: asserting Britain’s imperialist presence in the region, as Lorraine Boissoneault wrote for Smithsonian magazine in 2018. The Endeavour eventually made its way to the United States, where it sank off the coast of Rhode Island in 1778. No known colliers survive today, says Horton to BBC News, so the newly discovered shipwreck could yield important findings about this type of vessel. Mike Tupper, managing director of the International Boatbuilding Training College Lowestoft, is among the individuals who have visited the Thorpeness wreck in person. He tells BBC News that “the sheer size of it blew my mind.” The ship’s topside—constructed out of oak timbers—appears to have measured between 100 and 150 feet long, he adds. “If we can identify the species of oak, we’ll have a good idea of where it was made because back-in-the day, trees of this size—at least 150 years old—would not have been moved far as they were so heavy,” Tupper says. Like the Thorpeness ship, the wreck at Covehithe will have to wait for pandemic restrictions to be lifted before experts can fully analyze it. The vessel appears to sport thin metal sheathing plates that could be used to date it. “Unfortunately,” Sherman tells BBC News, “we can’t tie that down any further” without visiting the site.

Shipwreck

Macedonia Hosts Joint Military Exercise With US Troops

US and Macedonian troops have started a joint 14-day military excercise in Macedonia aimed at strengthen the operational readiness of Macedonian Army engineers as well as of chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear defence units. The joint exercise held at the country’s Krivolak base will also strengthen the interoperability between the two armies. During the exercise, the troops will jointly build a drone take off and landing strip at Krivolak, practice de-mining, exchange experiences about their personal arms as well as enjoy some leisure and sporting activities together. The arrival of the US troops and their 120 vehicles on the country’s western border with Bulgaria has sparked some interest among locals as well. A community event will take place later on Friday in the northern town of Kumanovo, the US troops’ first stop on their way to the Krivolak base. Over the coming days, Macedonians will be able to see some of the US equipment up close at displays staged in the capital, Skopje, and in other towns. Macedonia has long aspired to join the NATO alliance and its troops have for over a decade served alongside US soldiers in peacekeeping missions in Iraq, Afghanistan and in other places. At NATO’s 2008 summit, Macedonia appeared on the point of joining the alliance but found its path blocked by neighboring Greece, which deployed a long-standing bilateral dispute over Macedonia’s name to make sure that no invitation was offered. The joint exercise comes at a time when Macedonia’s new Social Democrat-led government is renewing the drive to join both NATO and, eventually, the EU as well. It is also engaged in trying to find a solution to the name dispute with Greece.

Military Exercise

ITV Beat The Chasers: Mark Labbett's marriage to ex wife and second cousin 27 years his junior and the celebrity contestant he cheekily flirted with

Mark Labbett, who is perhaps better known as 'The Beast', is famous for being extremely fierce and competitive on the hit ITV quiz show The Chase. The 56-year-old star is favourite among the British public who praise him for his extensive knowledge on all most anything you can think of. Off screen, Mark seems have dedicated fans who are interested in the quizzer which is the reason why he has a mass of followers on his social media platforms. He is keen to show insights into his life from his weight journey to trips to Cardiff and even teasing fans with a possible Love Island appearance. Previously, Mark was married to his ex wife and second cousin Katie who he married in 2014, although the couple announced their split late last year in 2020. Katie who is an illustrator and artists is Mark's second cousin and 27 years his junior. The pair who were in an 'open marriage', called it quits deciding it was best to part way as they it wasn't working out for them. In an Interview with The Sun , Mark said: “There was never any deceit on Katie’s part but it’s got to the point now where I realise it is better for us to go our separate ways and remain friendly.” “But Covid provided the perfect storm. My mental health suffered and the differences in our ages became magnified." Their were married for seven years and have a three year old son together. Mark, who has been a regular chaser since he first made his appearance in 2009, is not only favoured for his skills and brains but also they fun he has with contestants. Back in an episode of the Celebrity Chase that featured Denise Van Outen, the actress promised to 'distract' the chaser with her flirtatious way, however, Mark didn't falter giving her the clear warning that "it won't work".

Famous Person - Marriage

2020–2021 Minneapolis–Saint Paul racial justice protests

The 2020–2021 Minneapolis–Saint Paul racial unrest are a wave of local civil unrest, comprising peaceful demonstrations and riots, against systemic racism towards black Americans, notably in the form of police violence. The Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area in U.S. state of Minnesota experienced prolonged unrest in 2020 and 2021 largely as a cultural reckoning on topics of racial injustice. [3] A number of events occurred beginning soon after the murder of George Floyd, an unarmed African-American man, by a white Minneapolis police officer on May 25, 2020. [4] The vast majority of protests over Floyd's death were characterized as peaceful events, however, Minneapolis–Saint Paul experienced widespread rioting, looting, and property destruction over a three-night period in late May that resulted in $500 million in property damage—the second-most destructive period of unrest in United States history, after the 1992 Los Angeles riots. [5][6] Local protests sparked a global protest movement about police brutality and racial justice, and had an effect on state and local policies, local economic conditions, and the well-being of residents. Unrest over Floyd's death continued throughout 2020 and 2021 as protesters sought justice for Floyd and made broader calls to address structural racism in Minnesota and residents reacted to other incidents, with many protest events part of the larger Black Lives Matter movement. [7] While some demonstrations were violent and generated controversy, protesters from varying backgrounds came rallied against what they perceived as the normalization of the killings of innocent black lives. [8][9][10] Arrangement is chronological by the beginning date of each notable event series; timelines for some topics overlap. Protests began in Minneapolis on May 26, the day after the killing of George Floyd and when a video of the incident had circulated widely in the media. By mid day, people had gathered by the thousands at the location of Floyd's death and set up a makeshift memorial. [11][12] Organizers of the rally emphasized keeping the protest peaceful. [13] Protesters and Floyd's family demanded that all four officers at the scene of his arrest and death be charged with murder and that judicial consequences were swift. [14][15] That evening, the protest rally turned into a march to the Minneapolis Police Department's third precinct station where the officers were believed to work. After the main protest group disbanded, a small skirmish the night of May 26 resulted in minor property damage at the station and the police firing tear gas at demonstrators. [5][7][12][13] Protests were held at several locations throughout the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area in subsequent days. The situation escalated the nights of May 27 to 29 where widespread arson, rioting, and looting took place, which were noted as a contrast to daytime protests that were characterized as mostly peaceful events. [5] Some initial acts of property destruction on May 27 by a 32-year-old man with ties to white supremacist organizations, who local police investigators said was deliberately inciting racial tension, led to a chain reaction of fires and looting. [16] The unrest, including demonstrators overtaking the Minneapolis third precinct police station and setting it on fire the night of May 28, garnered significant national and international media attention. [7] After state officials mobilized Minnesota National Guard troops in its largest deployment since World War II,[17][18] the violent unrest subsided and mostly peaceful protests resumed. [7] However, the violence had resulted in two deaths,[19][20] 617 arrests,[21][22] and upwards of $500 million in property damage to 1,500 locations, making it the second-most destructive period of local unrest in United States history, after the 1992 Los Angeles riots. [6][23][24][22] On May 26, the day after George Floyd's death, an occupation protest emerged at the East 38th Street and Chicago Avenue intersection in Minneapolis of the arrest incident. [25][26] Protesters turned the area into a makeshift memorial and erected barricades to keep automobile traffic out, and police officers largely avoided the area in the following months. Thousands of visitors protested and grieved at the site, which was adorned with public art installments and described as like a "shrine". [27] When Minneapolis city officials attempted to negotiate the re-opening of the intersection in August 2020, protesters demanded that the city meet a list of 24 demands before removing cement barricades around the intersection. [28] The Minneapolis Planning Commission recommend to the city council that the length of Chicago Avenue between 37th and 39th streets be named as “George Perry Floyd Jr Place”[29] and the city designated the intersection as one of seven cultural districts in the city. [30] The city also allocated $4.7 million to establish a permanent memorial at the site, though by the end of 2020, the city was unable to reach agreement with community organizations who had presented officials with a list of demands before opening the intersection back up. [31][32] The occupation protests persisted in 2021. [33][34] City crews removed cement barricades at the intersection on June 3, 2021, as part of a phased reopening process[35] and vehicular traffic resumed several weeks later on June 20, 2021, after having being closed for over a year. [36][37] Protesters over the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis and elsewhere began calling for reforms of the police forces, including the defunding, downsizing, or abolishing traditional police departments. thousands of protesters marched in Minneapolis on June 6, 2020, in an event led by local organization Black Visions Collective. [38] The marched ended at the home of Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey. The crowd demanded that he come outside, and then when Frey appeared asked if he supported abolishing the city's police force. After Frey responded that he did not, the crowd ordered him to leave and booed him away. [39][40][38] On June 7, 2020, at a Powderhorn Park rally organized by Black Visions Collective and several other black-led social justice organizations, nine of the 13 members of the Minneapolis City Council vowed before a large crowd to dismantle the city's police department. [41][42] Activists that organized the rally wanted to replace the police department with unarmed public safety responders, but concrete details about it were less defined. [43][44] The effort to replace the Minneapolis police department with a public safety department continued in 2020 and 2021. An American Indian Movement group tore down a statue of Christopher Columbus outside the state capitol building in Saint Paul on June 10 as the global protest movement turned towards removing monuments and memorials with controversial legacies. [45] Members of the American Indian Movement, led by Mike Forcia of the Bad River Band of the Lake Superior Tribe of Chippewa Indians, announced via social media their intentions to topple the statue earlier in the day. State Patrol troopers and a Department of Public Safety tribal liaison met with organizers prior to the event,[46] encouraging them to follow a legal process for removal[47] and warning them that they could face charges for destruction of public property. [46][47] Forcia countered that they had already waited far too long, having worked through official channels for years without success. [46][47][48] American Indian Movement members and other demonstrators, including Dakota and Ojibwe community members,[46] looped a rope around the statue and pulled it off its granite pedestal. The group drummed, sang songs, and took photos with the fallen statue. No one was arrested at the event. State Patrol troopers watched from a distance and did not intervene. [47] Troopers eventually formed a line to protect the statue before it was transported offsite. [46] In December, Michael Forcia of Ramsey County agreed to a plea deal and accepted 100 hours in community service in connection with the incident. Officials estimated the cost to repair the statue would be over $154,000. [49] The Police Officers Federation of Minneapolis, the union representing Minneapolis Police Department officers, and its elected leader were the subject of several protest events. Protesters gathered at the Police Officers Federation building in Minneapolis on June 12 to demand the resignation of Bob Kroll, head of the city's police union, who had characterized the protests and Black Lives Matter as a "terrorist organization". Thousands of people stretched in every direction from the federation building and listened to speeches by community leaders.

Protest_Online Condemnation

Regulators seek cause of gas leak in Chandler explosion

and last updated 2021-09-01 22:06:38-04 CHANDLER, AZ — The Arizona Corporation Commission is now in charge of the investigation into the last week’s gas leak and explosion in Chandler. Four people were seriously hurt in the blast at Platinum Printing, located in a shopping center at Rural and Ray roads in Chandler. Police ruled the explosion accidental. The Arizona Corporation Commission regulates utilities, so the ACC’ pipeline safety staff is communicating with Southwest Gas to investigate why the leak and explosion occurred. The ABC15 Investigators are asking both the regulators and the company: -Where exactly was the leak and what caused it? -Did the leak occur in a Driscopipe M-8000 pipe, a type of pipe which had prior reliability issues? -Did anyone know about the leak prior to the explosion, and what did they do about it? -What is Southwest Gas doing to ensure overall gas line safety? A Southwest Gas spokesman said he may be able to answer some of those questions by the end of the week. He added the company is committed to being “responsive, accountable, and transparent.“ Copyright 2021 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Gas explosion