Saturday 25 January 2014

Many dead in DR Congo blast caused by lightning


An explosion at an arms depot in the Democratic Republic of Congo has killed at least 20 people, UN officials say.

The explosion happened on Friday after a bolt of lightning caused a fire at an army base in the city of Mbuji-Mayi.

More than 50 people were also injured and houses were destroyed, said the statement by the Monusco UN mission.

The aim of the Monusco is to neutralise armed groups in DR Congo, which is struggling to recover from a war that killed millions between 1998 and 2003.

Friday's blast, which occurred near the main market in Mbuji-Mayi, caused "desolation" in the central city, according to Monusco.

"I have instructed our office in Mbuji-Mayi to stand by and support local authorities in dealing with the situation," said Martin Kobler, head of the peacekeeping mission.

Mbuji-Mayi is DR Congo's third-largest city and is at the heart of the county's diamond mining industry.

DR Congo has massive mineral resources but most of its people live in poverty.

Saturday 26 January 2014

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-25900120

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4 Russian Coast Guard officers die, 6 missing in boat wreck


As many as 10 people drowned after a Russian border patrol vessel capsized off the coast of Kunashir, a Russia—controlled island north of Japan, officials confirmed on Saturday.

Russian officials say that four Coast Guard officers died and six others are missing after their boat overturned in rough seas near Japan.

The 10 passengers, among them members of Russia’s Federal Security Service — responsible for the country’s border control — and several maritime experts, were on their way to a larger ship off the coast of Japan when a wave caused the vessel to capsize.

The Investigative Committee, the nation's main investigative agency, said the incident happened Saturday when a group of Coast Guard officers went to inspect a fishing vessel detained in the Yuzhno-Kurilskaya Bay off Kunashir Island on allegations of poaching in Russia's territorial waters.

Officials say the Coast Guard boat overturned in stormy weather. Rescuers have found the bodies of four victims, and a search was underway for the missing.

The remaining six passengers are very unlikely to have survived the icy water temperatures, officials said.

Kunashir, just off the northeastern tip of Japan's Hokkaido Island, is one of the four islands controlled by Russia since WW II but claimed by Japan.

Saturday 25 January 2014

http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/russian-coast-guards-die-boat-wreck-21788199

http://www.thehindu.com/news/international/world/ten-drown-in-russian-border-patrol-boat-capsize/article5617579.ece

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3 bodies a day still being found in Tacloban


More than two months after a super typhoon devastated Tacloban City, authorities continued to find an average of three bodies a day, Mayor Alfred Romualdez said on Thursday.

After earlier tangling over the government’s handling of Super Typhoon Yolanda’s aftermath, Romualdez shook hands with Interior Secretary Mar Roxas at the hearing on the law creating the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC).

As the government moved to carry out a massive rehabilitation plan, Romualdez said that city officials continued to retrieve bodies and ferry them to the National Bureau of Investigation for processing.

“In Tacloban, we’re retrieving an average of three bodies a day,” he told the oversight committee chaired by Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV and Muntinlupa Rep. Rodolfo Biazon.

In the city of 250,000, there were 2,000 fatalities and 700 missing, he said.

Romualdez, however, said he was puzzled why Tacloban appeared to be the only local government unit that was bringing bodies to the NBI for DNA processing for the sake of their loved ones.

Yolanda (international name: Haiyan), packing sustained winds of 315 kilometers per hour, tore through Eastern Visayas last Nov. 8, leveling mostly seaside villages and leaving more than 6,000 dead.

Moving forward, Romualdez proposed that the government build disaster-proof NDRRMC headquarters in every region.

He said he pitied Roxas and Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin because they had to move from City Hall whose roof had been blown away and seek shelter in a police station in the immediate aftermath of the storm.

“We should have NDRRMC headquarters in every region that is storm-proof,” he said.

No sparks flew between Romualdez and Roxas in their face-off at the hearing in the Senate and a news conference later. “Yes,” Romualdez said when asked if all was well between them.

In the hearing, Roxas clarified that the letter he demanded from Romualdez had to do with the city council’s failure to muster quorum to impose curfew.

Roxas said that when incidents of looting became widespread after the storm, policemen raised the concern of whether they could impose curfew without a city ordinance.

When he raised the matter with Romualdez, the mayor said the city council could not muster a quorum to pass the ordinance imposing the curfew.

“When they said they could not muster a quorum, I said let’s put in writing so that the police will have something in black and white, and avoid being charged in case they arrested people,” he said.

Roxas also clarified that he did not tell Tacloban city officials that they should fend for themselves.

“The help from the national government arrived nonstop not only for Tacloban, but for the entire Leyte and Samar provinces, and other areas ravaged by Yolanda,” he said.

Emergency measures

Roxas also confirmed telling Romualdez to be “careful” but in the sense that if an LGU stopped functioning, the President’s “residual general welfare powers and authorities” would come into play.

“The President didn’t want this to be misconstrued,” he said.

In earlier hearing, Romualdez said the national government sought the immediate passage of an ordinance imposing a city-wide curfew to check looting.

He expressed reservations because the prosecutor’s office and courts were still closed to entertain any violator who would post bail. He said checkpoints were effective.

Days later, Roxas called city officials to a meeting, and told Romualdez: “We have to legalize everything here.” “I asked him: What is to legalize here?” the mayor said. “He replied: Well, this is a gray area and the national government is coming in, and doing all this.”

“And then I told him: ‘Why is it illegal? As far as I know the President is the President of the Philippines and he’s also the President of Tacloban City. I don’t see anywhere in the law that you need a letter, an ordinance from me for you to come in, and do what you’re doing,’” he said then.

He recalled Roxas as telling him: “You have to be very careful because you are a Romualdez, and the President is an Aquino.” Who’s in charge?

On Thursday, Sen. Ferdinand Marcos Jr., who temporarily presided over the hearing, advised Roxas to be flexible when it came to determining who should be in charge in a disaster-stricken locality.

“Perhaps you should study the possibility of being more flexible. We should not be saying, ‘You’re the first responder, you back them up’… If the police, military are there, and a problem crops up like looting, then they should come in. We keep hearing first responders not being able to respond,” Marcos said.

The senator said the standard operating procedure should be amended so that people or agencies that are capable should be the first to respond to disasters.

Romualdez had lamented that while Roxas and Gazmin were in the city when the storm struck, the police and military were not mobilized soon enough to maintain law and order.

Roxas explained that the augmentation of 1,260 policemen took time because they had to be airlifted and then brought to the disaster areas by land.

“I don’t’ want to leave the impression that bureaucracy prevailed here,” he said. “Whoever responded, responded.” In the first days, Roxas said they used bicycles to scour the areas, and admitted they had no satellite phones.

“There was no load, eh,” he chuckled. Then turning serious, he said it was “an oversight on our part.”

Saturday 25 January 2014

http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/568561/3-bodies-a-day-still-being-found-in-tacloban

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11 killed, four injured as jeep plunges into ravine in Chitral


At least 11 people were killed and four others injured when a Chitral-bound jeep fell into a ravine in the Marwai area of the district here on Saturday.

According to District Police Officer (DPO), Ghulam Hussain, the ill-fated passenger jeep was en route to Chitral from Shogram when it fell into a deep ravine at Marwai due to the dilapidated condition of the road and over-speeding. Subsequently, 11 people were killed whereas four others sustained injuries.

On receiving information, local police and volunteers rushed to the scene and retrieved the bodies and injured after hectic efforts.

The bodies and injured persons were shifted to District Headquarters Hospital Chitral.

Three of the deceased persons were identified.

Rescue work was underway.

Pakistan has one of the world's worst records for fatal accidents, blamed on poor roads, badly maintained vehicles and reckless driving.

Saturday 25 January 2014

http://www.dawn.com/news/1082605/11-killed-four-injured-as-jeep-plunges-into-ravine-in-chitral

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Rumors about zeolite miracles spark after Fukushima disaster


Rumors that zeolites allegedly can work miracles in fighting against radiation do not die off in Russia. Some people are saying fantastic things that, allegedly, zeolites were used to “egest radiation” from dead people’s bodies after the Chernobyl catastrophe.

Some zeolites really can lower the level of radiation of some isotopes – for example, of cesium-137. There even exist several food supplements that contain zeolites and – at least, theoretically – eliminate the consequences of radiation.

15 years have already passed since the day when I, for the first time, ascended a cathedra in the Moscow Institute of Physics and Engineering and addressed the students, “Hi, I am reading the course called “Radioactive technologies”.”

Much has changed within these 15 years. Some of the technologies that seemed to be progressive at that time are now viewed as anachronistic, if not useless or even harmful. However, the interest in how to save oneself from radiation is not weakening in Russia.

This interest may look strange if we take into account the fact that in reality, for a resident of Russia, a chance of being exposed to radiation is next to impossible. The interest of Russians in physics may probably be explained as an echo of disputes between “physicists” and “lyrists” of the 1960s that has not yet fully died off till now.

However, once, the Soviet Union did experience a serious radiation catastrophe, when an explosion took place at the nuclear power plant in Chernobyl, Ukraine, in 1986. This catastrophe made many Russians fear radiation, and this fear has not totally died till now.

This fear is making many Russians be interested in medicines that may limit the consequences of radiation – although many people who are afraid of radiation probably do not fully understand what consequences radiation may have and how medicines may save from these consequences. This lack of knowledge brings to life many legends about some wonder-working medicines.

To say the truth, in my opinion, the best means against the consequences of radiation is… dry red wine. Wine spirits egest free radicals, that form in a human’s organism as a result of radiation, very well. Besides, red wine in small amounts is healthy for the organism. However, people are not always satisfied with simple solutions.

There is a natural substance called zeolite. Its crystalline structure has a strong chemical activity. Various types of zeolite are often used as catalytic agents – for example, in chemical industry. Some zeolites really can lower the level of radiation of some isotopes – for example, of cesium-137. There even exist several food supplements that contain zeolites and – at least, theoretically – eliminate the consequences of radiation.

There were plans to drop bags with zeolites from planes in the region of the Fukushima accident. However, from all appearances, it looks like those plans were later rejected, because some more effective ways of fighting against radiation were found.

However, rumors that zeolites allegedly can work miracles in fighting against radiation do not die off in Russia. Some people are saying fantastic things that, allegedly, zeolites were used to “egest radiation” from dead people’s bodies after the Chernobyl catastrophe.

As an expert in physics, I should say that people who spread these rumors seem not to know or to understand that “egesting radiation” from any object has any sense only if this object emits radiation in dangerous amounts.

However, even in such a case, it would be more effective not to “egest radiation” from this object but to cover the object with a radiation-proof shell.

Besides, it would be wrong to say that many people were killed or died immediately after the Chernobyl catastrophe. In fact, within the first three months after the catastrophe, only 31 people died as a result of it.

The majority of the Chernobyl catastrophe’s victims died much later because of diseases developed as a result of the radiation. As for the Fukushima catastrophe, as far as I know, nobody has died yet as a result of it.

True, zeolite was really used in liquidating the consequences of the Chernobyl accident, and there is data that proves it effectiveness. However, what all these rumors are saying about zeolite’s miracle-working properties is undoubtedly an exaggeration.

In reality, zeolite is effective against radiation – but not much more effective than any other similar substance. However, there is one more aspect that should be mentioned.

If the rumors about the miraculous properties of zeolite were spread by common people who know little about physics, this would have been only half the trouble. However, the trouble is that these rumors are being spread by producers and sellers of zeolite, who have one aim – to earn more money.

Saturday 25 January 2014

Read more: http://voiceofrussia.com/2014_01_25/Rumors-about-zeolite-miracles-spark-after-Fukushima-disaster-9720/

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Mudslide sweeps through Argentina


A mudslide that swept through parts of northwestern Argentina has killed three people and left eight others missing, authorities said today.

It happened last night in the Catamarca region, nearly 1200 kilometres from Buenos Aires, when heavy rains triggered a landslide and caused a river to burst its banks.

The soil and water rushed through the villages of El Rodeo and Sijan.

The slide pushed huge boulders into roads, vehicles and houses.

The governor of Catamarca Lucia Corpacci told local media that rescue crews have found three bodies and eight people have been reported missing.

Corpacci said she expects the death roll to rise.

Authorities evacuated about 600 people from their homes.

Argentine President Cristina Fernandez ordered her government to assist with local rescue and reconstruction efforts.

Saturday 25 January 2014

http://tvnz.co.nz/world-news/deadly-mudslide-sweeps-through-argentina-5807752

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8 confirmed dead in Quebec fire, about 30 missing as rescuers battle through ice in search for bodies


The painstaking search through the iced-over remains of a burned-out Quebec retirement home resumes Saturday morning, with friends and relatives of some 30 missing people awaiting word. Eight people have been confirmed dead.

As crews used steam Friday to melt thick sheets of ice coating the rubble, Marc-Henri Saindon waited for his mother's body to be recovered. Marie-Jeanne Gagnon, five months shy of her 100th birthday, had just moved to the home on New Year's Eve, her son said.

"She really liked it there. She was well treated and she had friends there. Her neighbor of many years was living at the residence," Saindon said. "Lucid. A memory that was still really good."

The cause of the massive blaze that swept through the three-story building early Thursday was under investigation, and police asked the public for any videos or photos that might yield clues.

Search teams of police, firefighters and coroners slowly and methodically picked their way through, working in shifts in the extreme cold about 140 miles (225 kilometers) northeast of Quebec City. The afternoon temperature was around 3 degrees F (minus 16 Celsius.)

The confirmed number of dead climbed to eight with the discovery of three more bodies.

Quebec Provincial Police Lt. Guy Lapointe said exhausted investigators would suspend the search overnight and resume Saturday morning. He said authorities decided to give the search crew a break from the brutal cold and the difficult work.

The work is specialized, and there is a limited number of people who can be assigned to the task, he said.



"The decision was taken that it was better for the safety, for the well-being of our crew, to let them rest," Lapointe said. "Meanwhile, we're looking at bringing in more equipment for the steam."

The spray from firefighters' hoses left the senior citizens home resembling a macabre snow palace, the ruins encased in thick white ice dripping with icicles.

The tragedy cast such a pall over the village of 1,500 that psychologists were sent door to door.

"It's absolute desolation," Mayor Ursule Theriault said.

Witnesses told horrific tales of people trapped and killed by the flames. Many of the 50 or so residents were over 85 and used wheelchairs or walkers. Some had Alzheimer's.

Pascal Fillion, who lives nearby, said he saw someone use a ladder to try to rescue a man cornered on his third-floor balcony. The man was crying out for help before he fell to the ground, engulfed in flames, Fillion said.

Agnes Fraser's 82-year-old brother, Claude, was among the missing. She said she knew she would never see him again because he lived in the section of the building destroyed by the flames.



Quebec Minister of Social Services Veronique Hivon said many of the village's volunteer firefighters had relatives at the retirement home.

"People are in a state of shock," she said. "We want them to know the services are there by going door to door. It's an important building that's a part of their community that just disappeared."

Hivon said the home was up to code and had a proper evacuation plan. A Quebec Health Department document indicates the home which has operated since 1997, had only a partial sprinkler system. The home expanded around 2002, and the sprinklers in the new part of the building triggered the alarm.

Roch Bernier and Irene Plante, the owners of the home, said in a statement that they are cooperating with authorities and offered their condolences to the victims' families.

Quebec Premier Pauline Marois, in Switzerland this week for a world economic summit, said she will cut her trip short by 24 hours to return home and visit L'Isle-Verte on Sunday, when a religious service is planned in the village.

The fire came six months after 47 people were killed in the small town of Lac-Megantic, Quebec, when a train carrying oil derailed and exploded.

In 1969, a nursing home fire in the community of Notre-Dame-du-Lac, Quebec, claimed 54 lives.

Rescuers battle through ice

Canadian police and firefighters have been forced to use steam machines to melt thick ice encasing the bodies of elderly people who died in a fire at a retirement home.

Police said eight people died and about 30 were unaccounted for after the blaze ripped through the Residence du Havre in the small community of L'Isle-Verte, about 230 km (140 miles) northeast of Quebec City, early on Thursday morning.



Teams of police, firefighters and coroner's office officials – dealing with conditions so cold they could only work 45-minute shifts – used steam machines to melt thick ice that had formed after the blaze was doused.

Police spokesman Guy Lapointe said the teams planned to take a break at 7pmEST (midnight GMT) and would resume early on Saturday morning.

"Our people are exhausted ... the conditions are very, very difficult," he told a televised briefing, saying police might bring in more equipment. Temperatures in the area hovered around -4F (-20C).



Police said the number thought to be missing might not all be casualties, as it was still unclear how many of the home's residents were in the building when the fire started.

Saturday 25 January 2014

http://www.ctpost.com/news/world/article/8-confirmed-dead-in-Quebec-fire-30-missing-5171497.php

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jan/25/rescuers-battle-ice-elderly-missing-quebec-fire

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