Saturday, November 26, 2005

Despite heavy snowing, tens of thousands of workers and supporters marched today in Ljubljana, Slovenia in the largest demonstration since the country’s independence in 1991 to protest against the government programme of economic reforms, including privatisation of public services, tax cuts for businessmen and the abolition of the lower value added tax rate for items like food and books.

The protests, jointly organized by several trade union federations and attended by representatives of almost all Slovenian trade unions, began with an hour-long march from Ljubljana’s Tivoli park to the Congress Square (Kongresni trg). Workers and trade unionists were joined by supporters from Croatia, Italy and Austria, as well as students, anarchist groups, and general population. Several politicians from the opposition Liberal democracy and Social democrats were seen in the crowd. Noisy protesters armed with whistles, rattles and even some flares, marched through the snow waving trade union flags and carrying banners denouncing government policies. There were even a couple of old socialist flags with red stars. Riot police were seen on side streets and guarding accessess to government buildings, but they did not intervene.

The protest continued at the Congress Square with speeches of the representatives of trade unions and student organizations who denounced the government policy as leading into greater inequality and decreased standard of living for ordinary people. The loudest boos of the audience were drawn by the remarks about blaming the unemployed for being unemployed, introduction of university fees, and government’s waiving of taxes and health and pension fund contributions for church officials. The speeches were followed by a musical program, but the crowd soon started dispersing to escape the weather. Trade unions organized transport for 40,000 people to attend, but many buses were stuck in traffic jams on snowy roads and arrived too late for the protest. The police estimated the number of protesters to 25,000.

Friday, March 20, 2009

Following the Pilkhana massacre which occurred February 25 and 26 leaving 74 dead and the inferno at the Bashundhara City shopping mall complex March 13 leaving seven dead, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said security measures are being tightened countrywide across Bangladesh.

Fire drills will be enacted at all key-point installations (KPI). Fire fighting systems will be examined by the fire brigade and the public works department (PWD) to ensure functionality. Security measures will be enhanced supplementing areas under private security such as at the Bashundhara City Complex.

The Fire Service and Civil Defence Department requires modernization and needs new equipment to fight fires past the sixth floor of buildings. The Fire Brigade says it needs turntable ladders, snorkels, foam-tenders, lighting units, emergency tenders, fireproof uniforms, and rescue ropes for fire fighting and rescue operations. Transportation to fires is also an issue due to narrow roads, low electrical wires and congestion.

The Bangladesh National Building Code requires fire fighting equipment installed in buildings over seven floors. This code is to be monitored by authorities to ensure compliance with the new guidelines and to make sure buildings are being maintained.

The Bashundhara City Complex opened Monday for shoppers two days after Friday’s blaze. A probe is underway to determine the cause of the fire and to assess structural damage.

Loss of life was minimized as the blaze broke out on a Friday, the beginning of the weekend in Bangladesh, so offices in the upper floors were empty. The lower eight floors are used for shopping and the upper floors are all Bashundhara Group offices.

The mall is valued at Tk 7.0 billion (US$100 million). It is not known if the complex is covered by fire insurance.

It is estimated that it will take over two years to rebuild the area damaged by flames which were burned down to a skeleton. Bashundhara City’s technical advisor, Latifur Rahman, estimated damages at Tk 2.0 billion (US$29m).

Only one television cameraman has been allowed in to film the burnt area. None of the 2,500 shops, cinemas or cafes were burnt by the inferno. The seventh and eighth floors still experience smoke damage, and there was water damage to merchandise.

A three member committee is currently investigating the cause of the fire which will consist of Iqbal Khan Chowdhury, joint secretary of the ministry, representatives of the police, IGP Noor Muhammad, and fire brigade, Director General Abu Nayeem Md Shahidullah. The committee is required to report within the week with their findings. The forensics department is also sifting through the burnt remains.

The Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industries has also formed a committee which has begun interviewing witnesses and recording their testimony alongside the government committee.

It has been discovered that 150 closed circuit cameras were not being used when the fire started. Another mystery is why the mall fire fighting system has been found unused.

“In the shopping mall there is an ultra-technology elevator which runs even without electricity but we have found that locked,” Iqbal Khan Chowdhury, joint secretary (Police) of the home ministry, said. “Why the fire burnt so fiercely is a matter to think. We have to see if there was any incendiary substance there. These matters seem to be mysterious.”

Mall management has been asked to submit substances and items which would have been in the upper floors when the fire started. The fire erupted on the 17th floor and spread quickly to the two floors above and engulfed the three floors below. The aerial ladders belonging to the Fire Service and Civil Defence reached as high as the 13th floor of the 21-storey building.

Videos have been sent to the United States (US) for examination to assist in determining the cause of the fire and to help in the damage assessment. Experts from the US are expected to arrive soon.

Firefighters were brought to the rooftop of the 20-storey tower by helicopter. The only fatality in this operation was Baki Billa, a firefighter of Bashundhara City firefighting department, who fell when climbing down a rope from a helicopter to the roof of the building. Three other firefighters made the transition safely. At this same time, the chief security officer was safely rescued by the Bangladesh Air Force helicopter, a Bell 212. Six security officers of the complex also lost their lives.

Wednesday, November 22, 2006

Methane gas was blamed for the explosion deaths of 8 miners in southern Polish‘s Halemba coal mine Tuesday, November 21. Officials say at least 15 are missing.

Rescue efforts were halted because dangerously high levels of methane gas returned, according to Zbigniew Madej, spokesman for state-owned Coal Co., which operates the mine.

The missing miners’ locater devices were not emitting signals, increasing rescurers’ concerns for their well-being. Grzegorz Pawlaszek, head of Coal Co., said the 15 missing miners’ fate is “not known,” but added that “there is a chance to find someone still alive.”

“This is a tragedy. People have died here,” Polish Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski said when he came to Ruda Slaska to see the blast.

Earlier Wednesday, a reconnaissance rescue team descended 3000 feet toward the blast scene, only to retreat because of safety concerns related to high methane gas levels. Rescue digging efforts were also halted because of explosion concerns.

The missing men were aged 21-59. One of the miner’s family members, Andrzej Pytlik, 30, remained on scene with his sister, hoping and waiting for news of her husband, Krystian Gaszka.

Pytlik, also a miner, said through teary eyes that, “I work in the mines and I know that hope is scant because that’s the truth.”

The explosion occurred in a closed portion of the mine where the now-missing miners were working to retrieve abandoned equipment. According to Pawlaszek, the value of the equipment was $23 million, adding that “It was new equipment and that is why we decided to retrieve it.”

He indicated that the recovery work was performed under the supervision of gas detection specialists, and that the bodies of the recovered miners were difficult to identify because of the severity of burns and because their ID tags were blown away in the explosion.

The Halemba mine, located in Ruda Slaska, has produced coal for nearly 50 years, has been fraught with safety concerns and has a track record of serious accidents. One of the oldest mines in Poland, it is centrally located in the industrial Silesia region.

Earlier this year, a miner was trapped underground in the Halemba mine five days after a cave-in. In 1990, 19 miners were killed and 20 hurt in a gas explosion, and five were killed in collapse in 1991.

Inside, priests and mining officials were comforting and counseling with distraught relatives. Outside, eight white candles flickered on a main gate wall.

Friday, April 12, 2013

Wednesday at 2:30pm Chicago local time, a goat’s head was delivered for Chicago Cubs owner Tom Ricketts at his office in Wrigley Field. The head was dropped off at Gate K by the unidentified male driver of a van, reportedly not by a member of the United States Postal Service.

The Chicago Police were notified of the incident, and are investigating. The driver of the truck was recorded on surveillance video.

In 1945, when the Cubs last competed in Major League Baseball’s World Series, Chicago restaurant owner Billy Sianis was ejected from Wrigley Field during the World Series after trying to bring a goat into the stadium. Following the incident, Sianis is alleged to have cursed the team, vowing they would never win the championship again. The incident has become part of Chicago Cubs’ fan lore.

The day of the incident, the Chicago Cubs game versus the Milwuakee Brewers was postponed due to weather. The Cubs organization is also in negotiations with the city of Chicago over possible renovations to Wrigley Field.

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Sunday, September 30, 2007

Vodafone McLaren Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton starting from pole wins the FIA Formula-1 2007 Japanese Grand Prix at the Fuji Speedway, Oyama, Japan. It was the first race on this circuit since 1977, when James Hunt won the race for McLaren–Ford.

A rainy and foggy weekend at Fuji appeared to be very hard for all drivers as the race ran longer then expected and the drivers have to concentrate more due to severe weather conditions. The race started behind the safety car which stayed on a track for an unusually long time, about 40 minutes.

Both Ferrari drivers, who managed to get the second row on the starting grid in the Saturday qualifying session were out of the game on the first laps due to their tyre selection mistake – drivers were forced to change to extreme wet tyres after a few driving errors. When the pace car finally turned off the lights giving the drivers a clear road Hamilton quickly got away from his teammate, Fernando Alonso, who had more fuel on board and thus had a heavier car. Alonso would be eliminated after 41 laps in a driving accident.

Heikki Kovalainen driving for Renault finally leads to a first podium finish for the team in this season, the Finn managed to get second place. On the final laps of the race he masterly defended his position from Kimi Räikkönen, who returned to the battle for podium after the Ferrari start failure.

Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber both nearly finished on the podium, but a collision between their Toro Rosso and Red Bull sponsored vehicles took them out of the race.

Renault-engined cars did well in the race with David Coulthard and Giancarlo Fisichella finishing in 4th and 5th places.

Robert Kubica got a drive through the pit-lane penalty after some dangerous driving and a collision with Hamilton, causing the Polish driver to be rolled back to 7th place. Felipe Massa took 6th place for Ferrari in his hard battle with Kubica in the sprint to the finish line.

Vitantonio Liuzzi rounded out the top eight for Toro Rosso.

Adrian Sutil did his best for Spyker, finishing ahead of both Hondas. It was confirmed that Spyker will change owners next season becoming the first Indian national Formula One team in history.

In the Drivers’ Championship Hamilton, with 107 points, has increased his lead over teammate Alonso to 12 points. Kimi narrowed the gap to the McLaren drivers, now only five points behind Alonso.

Wednesday, January 26, 2005U.S. President George W. Bush has asked the U.S. Congress for an additional $80bn to pay for the on-going military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.

This is on top of $25bn approved by Congress last summer in the fiscal defense appropriations bill for 2005. Bush states that this money is to provide U.S. troops with “whatever they need to protect themselves” and also to fight terrorism in Iraq.

The money will support the ‘global war on terror’ until September 30, 2005. Of the $80bn, $75bn will be spent on the repair and replacement of equipment, training of the Iraqi security forces, and basic personnel costs.

The remaining $5bn will be used to fund State Department embassy construction, activities in Iraq, and humanitarian operations in Darfur, Sudan.