Saturday, September 25, 2021

An earthquake with a magnitude of 5.9 was detected on Wednesday in the Australian town of Mansfield, which is located in the north-east of Victoria. Geoscience Australia stated the earthquake was recorded in Mansfield at 9:15am local time with a 10 kilometers (6 mi) depth. An estimated 15 minutes after the initial event, an aftershock of 4.0 magnitude occurred near Mansfield. The agency declared the earthquake is one of the largest to occur since colonisation in east Australia.

The earthquake was felt across the country, with over 15,000 recording on the Geoscience Australia website they had felt it. ABC News reported the earthquake was felt in the states of Victoria, New South Wales (NSW), South Australia, and Tasmania, as well as the nation’s capital of Canberra. In the inner suburbs of Melbourne, apartment buildings were evacuated, with reports of building and road damage shared on social media. Local authorities confirmed there was no risk of tsunamis.

Fire and Rescue New South Wales “dispatched crews across NSW from Alexandria, Manly and Hornsby in Sydney to as far as Dubbo in Western NSW following reports of tremors felt across the state” as a result of the earthquake, though no major structural damage was reported in New South Wales.

Karen McGregor, an employee of FoodWorks in Mansfield, reported “the windows started shaking, the walls, and everything on the desk, it was really quite scary. We ran downstairs to the shop, it was really, really scary down there. The windows were buckling. I was very scared. I just thought, oh my God, is this place going to fall down?” McGregor added she had not heard of any injuries in the town.

From Washington, D.C., Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said “it can be a very, very disturbing event for an earthquake of this nature. They are very rare events in Australia and, as a result, I am sure people will have been quite distressed and disturbed by that.” Morrison confirmed he was in contact with Victorian state Premier Daniel Andrews, and the Australian federal government was prepared to provide support to Victorians where needed, including the possibility of deploying the Australian Defence Force if necessary.

While Geoscience Australia initially reported an earthquake with a magnitude of 6.0, the head of the Seismology Research Centre Adam Pascale has said “we think it’s a mag-5.8 potentially at this point in Gippsland”, adding the earthquake “shook here in the northern suburbs of Melbourne for about 15-20 seconds so it’s quite a significant earthquake”. Geoscience Australia has since revised the magnitude to 5.9.

Further aftershocks remain a possibility, with Pascale saying “there’s usually a primary and a secondary wave”, and geoscientist Mark Quigley telling The Age “for something of that size, we’re talking about a fault that would be on the order of maybe 5 kilometres long and three kilometres wide. For an earthquake of that magnitude, we would expect to get hundreds of small aftershocks. We could get aftershocks in the range of 4.5 magnitude.”

Thursday, June 12, 2008

A large forest fire that started on Monday, June 9 is still out of control in the municipality of Froland in southern Norway. The fire is the largest forest fire to occur in Norway since World War II.

The fire has spread extensively and it is estimated that approximately 2,500 acres of forest have been damaged. Approximately 15 cabins are reported to have burned to the ground, but as of yet, no permanent dwellings or farms have been damaged. However, many inhabitants have been evacuated due to the fire threatening their homes, including the entire villages of Mykland and Belland. There have also been some power outages due to power lines being damaged.

Approximately 140 persons, including fire-fighters from several fire departments, and personnel from the Civil Defence and the Home Guard are working to curtail the fire. Four fire helicopters have been deployed. The fire fighting is focused on areas where the fire threatens buildings.

Extremely dry weather, and difficult wind conditions, have caused severe difficulties in fighting the fire. Fire-fighters first had hope of gaining control on the morning of Thursday, June 12, but the wind changed direction during the day, causing a large extension of the fire. There is some hope that the weekend will bring some rain; however, this will likely not be enough to stop the fire. It could take several weeks before the fire is completely extinguished.

Sunday, September 14, 2014

National Football League (NFL) commissioner Roger Goodell received a letter from sixteen female United States Senators on Thursday calling for the NFL to adopt a zero tolerance policy on domestic violence.

The senators criticized the NFL for their new domestic violence policy enacted in August. The new policy says a player will receive a six game suspension for their first offense.

A video of Baltimore Ravens player Ray Rice assaulting the woman who has since married him was recently released by website TMZ. The assault took place in a elevator at an Atlantic City, New Jersey casino. Rice was initially given a two game suspension; later, following the video release, the Ravens terminated Rice’s contract and the NFL indefinitely suspended him.

The bipartisan group of senators said, “If you violently assault a woman, you shouldn’t get a second chance to play in the NFL.”

The league stated they had initiated an independent investigation by former Federal Bureau of Investigation Director Robert Mueller into the Rice incident.

The cross-party signatories were, from the Democratic Party,  Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein, of California,  Debbie Stabenow, Michigan;  Amy Klobuchar, Minnesota;  Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell, Washington;  Jeanne Shaheen, New Hampshire;  Kirsten Gillibrand, New York;  Barbara Mikulski, Maryland;  Mazie Hirono, Hawaii;  Heidi Heitkamp, North Dakota;  Elizabeth Warren, Massachusetts;  Tammy Baldwin, Wisconsin;  Kay Hagan, North Carolina;  and, from the Republican Party, Senators Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire, and Susan Collins of Maine.

Thursday, February 26, 2009

The Premier of the Australian state of Queensland has announced that the state will have its election on Saturday, March 21. In an address on YouTube, Anna Bligh of the Australian Labor Party said that she called the election due to the state of the economy and to stabilise the government.

“It’s time for Queensland to settle this election. It’s time to settle the speculation. So that government, business and the community can get on with the task at hand and not be distracted and destabilised by looming elections,” Ms Bligh said in the statement.

Ms Bligh has recently denied that she would call an early election.

“I have always said that I want my government to run the full term and I have not changed my view on this lightly,” she said.

“After 11 years in office, Ms Bligh only cares about one job: her own,” said Lawrence Springborg head of the Liberal National Party (LNP) and the Leader of the Opposition. “Queensland deserves better. Over the next 27 days, the LNP will build on our vision for the Queensland we all deserve.”

The Opposition need to pick up at least twenty seats from the government to overcome the significant Labor majority and a number of independents.

“It is a sad legacy of economic management and mismanagement of the Labor Government that after 11 years of the rivers of gold, our state is broke,” Mr Springborg said. “It’s a little bit like lighting a fire and then running around and wanting credit for putting it out.”

A March 21 election gives candidates twenty six day to campaign. This is just within the legal requirements. The Queensland Electoral Act (1992) requires the election campaign to last between 26 and 56 days.

The Queensland Greens nominated an environmental lawyer to run against treasurer Andrew Fraser.

“We can tackle climate change and create long-term jobs, but Labor can’t see that because they are blinded by the interests of their big donors – the urban development and coal industries,” says Larrisa Waters, the Greens candidate for Mt-Cootha.

“The Greens want to give the community and the environment a voice back in State Parliament.”

“The current stance taken by both major parties, in relation to Daylight Saving in Queensland, is outdated, out of touch and inflexible. South East Queenslanders are frustrated that neither major party is currently prepared to explore options on the issue of Daylight Saving”, DS4SEQ party leader Jason Furze told Wikinews on January 30. DS4SEQ is a single-issue party, focused on the debate on daylight saving time.

Indigenous activist Sam Watson will be contesting the South Brisbane electorate which is currently held by the premier. He will represent the Socialist Alliance. Watson campaigned heavly for indigenous rights since the 1970s and was a community spokesperson following the death of Mulrunji Doomadgee in 2004.

Published:Wednesday, September 7, 2005Updated:Saturday, September 10, 2005 (Travolta, Preston, Moore, Stones, Three Doors Down, Johnson, Smith)

After Hurricane Katrina passed across the United States, various artists and media stars have leapt at a call to action.

John Travolta and wife Kelly Preston flew his private plane to deliver a load of supplies and tetanus vaccine to Baton Rouge and New Orleans. Part of a Scientology project which has been using their non-massage “assists”, in an interview Preston mentioned that “auditing” had also been performed on victims.

Kevin Smith is holding an online auction on his Web site.

Sean Penn actually went to Louisiana. After loading down a small boat with his entourage, it was discovered one of them had neglected to seal a hole in the bottom. Penn was wearing a white vest rather than a life vest while bailing. After the motor wouldn’t start, the crew paddled down a flooded New Orleans street. Bystanders jeered at whether any victims could fit aboard the crowded craft. No report on rescue stunts. Local authorities had previously been criticized for not allowing volunteer boaters in to help.

Morgan Freeman, whose home fared well, is organizing an online auction of celebrity items at charityfolks.com, to benefit the American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund.

Curt Schilling opened his home to a family of nine driven out of their New Orleans home. The Schilling family will provide housing for the Fields for a year while their home in New Orleans is rebuilt and repaired.

Some celebrities “graced” disaster zones with their presence in the days following Katrina.

Singer Macy Gray and television personality Phil McGraw visited Houston’s Astrodome.

Celebrities visiting New Orleans include Michael Moore (opposite side of lake), singer Harry Connick, Jr., CNN’s Anderson Cooper, actor Jamie Foxx, singer Faith Hill, actor Matthew McConaughey, singer Lisa Marie Presley, comedian Chris Rock, and The Oprah Winfrey Show contributor Lisa Ling and interior decorator Nate Berkus.

Oprah Winfrey visited New Orleans, Houston, and Mississippi.

Wednesday, February 2, 2011

File:Bbcr2electricpromslogo.jpg

The BBC have announced they are to axe annual music festival Electric Proms from their schedule for financial reasons. The festival first took place in October 2006. The 2011 event will not go ahead, with last year’s festival being the last.

Bob Shennan, controller of BBC Radio 2, said he was “disappointed” with the decision to cancel the festival. He said “In the current climate, we are faced with making difficult decisions, including how best to deliver high-quality live music programming throughout the year in light of continuing efficiency savings. I feel that Radio 2 can achieve the same impact of the Electric Proms in an alternative, more cost-effective way. I’m disappointed that the lifetime of Electric Proms has come to an end, but very proud of its fantastically rewarding run of creating new moments in music for the past five years.”

During the festival’s five year run it has featured performances from stars such as Elton John, Neil Diamond, and Shirley Bassey.

The decision to axe the festival comes at a time when the BBC are planning a 20% savings cut. Last week BBC director general Mark Thompson announced 650 job losses after dropping five languages from the BBC World Service.

Friday, January 8, 2010

Tsutomu Yamaguchi, the only Japanese civilian to be officially recognized as having survived both the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki by the United States in August of 1945 at the conclusion of World War Two, has died this Monday at the age of ninety-three, due to stomach cancer—one of the numerous illnesses that he suffered throughout his lifetime as a direct result of his exposure to nuclear radiation.

Mr. Yamaguchi, although he was against his nation’s involvement in the War, worked as a engineer for Mitsubishi—a company that helped equip and supply the Japanese Imperial Army. He was on business in Hiroshima at the time of the first bombing on August sixth. His almost direct exposure to the atomic explosion temporarily blinded him, ruptured his ear drum (leaving him permanently deaf in his left ear), and severely burnt the top half of his body. Three days later, having gone back to work in Nagasaki, he was approximately three kilometers away from the site of the second bomb. Although he was exposed to significant radiation in this instance as well, Mr. Yamaguchi was left relatively unscathed.

Following Japan’s surrender and the end of the War days later, Mr. Yamaguchi worked as a translator for the occupying American forces and later as a local schoolmaster, before eventually returning to Mitsubishi—which had since then become an automobile manufacturer.

In his later years, Mr. Yamaguchi became a respected lecturer who gave talks about his experiences, and publicly spoke out against the stockpiling of nuclear weapons.

For instance, in 2006, he addressed the United Nations General Assembly. “Having been granted this miracle, it is my responsibility to pass on the truth to the people of the world,” Mr. Yamaguchi said to the Assembly. He went on to say, “My double radiation exposure is now an official government record. It can tell the younger generation the horrifying history of the atomic bombings even after I die.”

When asked by the British Broadcasting Corporation what his reaction was to Mr. Yamaguchi’s death, the mayor of Nagasaki said that “a precious storyteller has been lost.”

Among the family and friends Mr. Yamaguchi left behind were his three adult children—who have also had health issues in their lifetimes thus far that they think may have be related to their father’s initial exposure.

Tuesday, January 17, 2006

A male and a female took 3 people hostage at a law firm in Statesboro, Georgia. Police blocked off a part of this rural town on Monday. Two suspects , a man and a woman, took a lawyer hostage and claimed that they had explosives.

The suspects, Robert Eugene Brower, 43, a former client of the lawyer, and the female whose name was not released, gave up after demands for cigarettes and food were met and they spoke with a family member.

The standoff lasted for 24 hours and ended, “peacefully,” at around 10AM said Larry Schnall, a spokesman for the Georgia State Patrol.

The last of the 3 hostages to be released was identified as Michael Hostilo. He and the other two hostages were not injured. There is no word on the names of the other hostages.

Earlier reports stated that there had been a “loud boom” coming from the scene at about six o’clock this morning. Authorities have not stated what the booms were.

Police are now inside the building to locate and defuse the explosive device that the suspects claimed to have had.

Initially when police arrived, there were 3 hostages, but 2 had been recently released and were unharmed, said Maggie Fitzgerald, a city spokeswoman. “They are upset with some legal issues within the recent past and want to get those issues resolved. We are doing everything possible to end this situation without anyone being hurt.”

In a news conference Monday night, Police Chief Stan York said Brower was angry about “having been convicted in a criminal case”, in which the lawyer was his court-appointed attorney. York did not elaborate on the demands of the hostage-takers, other than saying, “they only wanted to call attention to the case.”

Georgia State Trooper Larry Schnall, a spokesman for the Georgia State Patrol, said a SWAT team was sent to the scene.

This morning authorities convinced the two suspects to give-up, but “incidents leading to an escalation resulted in some gunfire,” Stan York in a press conference just moments ago. No one was hurt in the brief eruption of gunfire.

Police later said when the suspects tried to surrender they became apprehensive and made a threatening gesture prompting authorities to draw their guns and open fire.

The standoff began at around 9AM on Monday.