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Tuesday, August 21, 2007

Babar Ghauri, Federal Minister for Ports and Shipping, has told reporters at a press conference that an investigative team has been formed to look into the causes of a suspicious fire two days ago at the Karachi office of the Pakistan National Shipping Corporation (PNSC).

One office worker was killed and four firefighters were injured in the multi-storey blaze. Another man had to be rescued from the roof via helicopter. 31 people were in the office at the time of the fire, including eight PNSC security guards and six other PNSC personnel, the rest working for private companies.

The provincial investigation team’s findings are expected to be announced in around fifteen days. In addition, the Karachi Building Control Authority and several private organizations have been asked to inspect the building, and the course of action to be taken regarding the site will be determined after they have submitted their reports. “Even if the current PNSC building is demolished, it will be replaced by another PNSC building. The plot will not be given to anyone else,” Ghauri said.

“I have spoken to the prime minister on the telephone. I told him that the incident should be investigated by independent parties and ministry personnel should not be part of these investigation teams,” Ghauri said. Meanwhile, the Senate Standing Committee on Ports and Shipping confirmed that they will send a team to assist in investigative efforts.

The fire, which consumed floors four to ten, is being treated as suspicious because it is the second the building has suffered this year. The previous fire, which occurred on February 18, was deemed by a multi-national investigation at the time to have been caused by an electrical fault. The minister has, however, promised that the fact both fires occurred on a Sunday will be part of the investigation.

This latest fire has destroyed the records of several private shipping companies, causing Farhatullah Babar of the Pakistan Peoples Party to declare that the fire was a deliberate act to destroy undesirable PNSC documents. However, Ghauri was dismissive of the allegations, saying “Babar merely wants some cheap publicity and leveled allegations at us,” and adding that PNSC records have not been affected by the fire. The records are computerised, and stored on the untouched first floor. The offices destroyed by the fire housed private corporations, such as Mega Shipping Company, Attock Cement, Engro, Meezan Bank and others.

There was already a known security issue in the building, with PNSC Chairman Tanvir Naqvi telling reporters “We were just about to issue tenders for improving security in the building when this happened.”

People described as ‘sources in the PNSC’ told reporters that the building was constructed by a company based in Turkey for Rs 30 million in 1958. “This building will not be demolished. Damages will be repaired and the building can be made usable,” said one.

One man who worked on the fourth floor of the structure, who requested anonymity because he was not authorised to represent the PNSC, told the Daily Times newspaper that “The fire initially did not break out on the fourth floor,” as originally reported, saying instead “At around 2:00 p.m. we saw smoke coming through our lighting fixtures. Within 36 seconds the smoke was so thick that we could not recognize people standing right in front of us. There is no air exhaust system on the emergency exits. If we had not evacuated immediately, we would have suffocated and died on the emergency exits.”

He goes on to claim that of a number of PNSC employees present, not one knew how to operate the fire extinguishers supplied. They started panicking. I broke the glass and used the hose to try to put the fire out. But the smoke was too thick. We were in contact with Adeel (the worker on the roof of the building).”

“The fire started in the ducts of the building. The pillars had already been damaged by the February blaze. This time around, the fire was more intense.”

Thursday, June 21, 2007

File:Durion-interdit-malaysia.jpg

In southeast Asia, durian is known as the “king of fruits,” but with its pungent odor, the large, spike-husked fruit receives less-than-royal treatment in many quarters.

A Thai scientist thinks he has found the key to more widespread acceptance of durian, by creating odorless varieties of the fruit. After 20 years of cross-breeding, researcher Songpol Somsri has come up with a durian “that smells as inoffensive as a banana,” according to an article today by The Guardian.

“I’ve got friends from Australia, Europe and Japan who just won’t eat durian because they can’t stand the smell,” Songpol was quoted as saying. “But I’m sure producing those with a mild smell will help us find new markets.”

Despite their popularity, the fruits are banned from the subway system in Singapore. In Bangkok, taxi drivers will often balk at a passenger with durian. The region’s airlines won’t allow them to be brought onboard. Across southeast Asia, a sign that denotes a finer hotel is a placard in the lobby with a red circle and cross through a silhouette of a durian.

Cultivated across all of southeast Asia, the fruit measures about 12 inches (30 centimeters) long and 6 inches (15 centimeters) in diameter, and weighs around 2 to 7 pounds (1 to 3 kilograms). The fruits are green on the outside, and covered with a thick, spike-covered husk. In Malay, the name durian literally means “thorny fruit”.

Inside is a yellow, custard-like flesh that has been described as nutty and sweet, perhaps like a fine French cheese. But because of the smell, which can be overpowering, durian is an acquired taste.

The Guardian quoted a travel writer who described the smell like “pigshit, turpentine and onions, garnished with a gym sock.”

Devotees of the “king of fruits” say a major part of the experience of eating the smelly fruit is the aroma, or fragrance, if you will.

“To anyone who doesn’t like durian, it smells like a bunch of dead cats,” Bob Halliday, a food writer in Bangkok was quoted as saying by The New York Times in April. “But as you get to appreciate durian, the smell is not offensive at all. It’s attractive. It makes you drool like a mastiff.”

Swanzea Banchee, manager of Sunshine Fruit, a major Thai exporter of durian, told National Public Radio (NPR) last month that he thinks an odorless variety of durian would help increase orders from overseas. But, he said he’d never eat one, adding that if a durian doesn’t smell, then it isn’t really a durian.

“I don’t think it’s possible to make a durian that doesn’t smell,” orchardist Somchai Tadchang was quoted as saying by The Times. “Anyway, durians actually smell good,” he told The Times. “Only rotten durians stink.”

But Dr. Songpol, senior agricultural scientist for the Thai government’s Department of Agriculture, has put a lot of time and effort into creating his varieties of odorless durian, called Chanthaburi No. 1 and Chanthaburi No. 2. They were developed at the department’s Horticultural Research Institute in Chanthaburi Province, in eastern Thailand, near the border with Cambodia, about 200 miles (320 kilometers) from Bangkok. Growing up on a durian farm, he has studied them all his life, he said.

The research farm has several thousand durian trees, and Songpol has spent about 20 years crossing more than 90 different varieties to produce Chantaburi No. 1. It started with only one tree, planted 18 years ago, and which produces about a dozen fruit annually, Songpol told NPR.

Songpol has also been working on another variety of durian, without either the smell or the spikes. It’s called Chanthaburi No. 3, he said.

The Thai government is keen to produce and export odor- and spike-free durian, announcing a plan back in April to distribute saplings of the three new varieties to farmers. It’s expected that the odorless durians will hit the market in around three years.

Saturday, December 2, 2006

As families fled their homes in the early morning hours on Thursday October 26, there was no warning. The Esperanza Fire southeast of Los Angeles and West of Palm Springs, California, had ballooned under the influence of Santa Ana winds to more than 19,000 acres as of the morning of October 27. No time to get the animals, no time for crates or even a leash. Sadly, owners left behind not only their horses, lamas, donkeys, chickens, rabbits, but also their dogs and cats.

Many of the families who did manage to evacuate their pets found themselves in the parking lot at the Fellowship in the Pass Church Red Cross Shelter where a MuttShack Animal Rescue team caught up with them.

Pam Anderson, Director of the emergency Red Cross shelter said that many people with animals had come and left.

The air was thick with smoke, and ash was raining down on the parking lot where dog owners, not able to take their dogs into the shelter were camping out in pup tents andin their cars.

Those who could afford it checked themselves into pet friendly hotels in nearby towns.

Some were prepared. Jane Garner, a small dog breeder was able to get all her animals out, and had set up her puppy runs alongside her RV in the parking lot. Others were not doing too well, having left home without as much as a leash.

The same scenario played out at the Red Cross shelter at Hemet High School. Animals were being boarded in vans, trailers and cars and small travel crates.

When MuttShack Animal Rescue arrived, a small fracas had sent several dogs off in different directions, running out of the school parking lot down busy streets necessitating an instant rescue response.

The Incident Command for the Esperanza Animals, Ramona Humane Society in San Jacinto welcomed MuttShack‘s offer to help at the shelters.

Ramona Humane Society had recently published a notice in their Newsletter about the newly passed “PETS Act”and warned owners not wait until a major disaster such as an earthquake or fireto prepare. “Be proactive to ensure that your pet will be taken care of.”

MuttShack and PetSmart Charities set up ad hoc facilities for the animals at both shelters.

The Red Cross shelter, run by Madison Burtchaell of the Orange County Red Cross was very accommodating about allowing a small emergency pet shelter adjacent to the School.

Barbara A. Fought of PetSmart Charities, an organization that works with animal welfare organizations and provide assistance in disasters, provided crates and emergency supplies.

MuttShack and Red Cross volunteers, Martin St. John, Tom Hamilton, and Steve Meissner helped assemble the crates to secure a safe environment for evacuated pets.

It was a great relief for evacuees who had camped out in the parking lot to finally leave their vehicles and relax at the shelter, setting up their cots to grab some sorely needed rest.

Firefighters and residents reported loss of wildlife and animals. The Esperanza fire burned 34 homes, consumed 40,000 acres and cost five Firefighters their lives before it was contained four days later on October 30. Firefighting operations cost nearly $10 million.

MuttShack Animal Rescue is a 501(c) 3 non-profit organization active in disasters and dedicated to the rescue, rehabilitation and care of lost or discarded dogs, cats and other animals.

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Tuesday, September 27, 2005

Sun Microsystems has released StarOffice 8 today. StarOffice 8 is a commercial office suite that includes word-processing, spreadsheet, presentation, drawing and database applications.

According to Sun, StarOffice 8 “provides excellent compatibility with Microsoft Office”. This new version improves Word, Excel and PowerPoint import and export filters, improving support for password-protected Word and Excel files and presentations with complex animations, autoshapes and slide transitions. StarOffice 8 also includes a Microsoft Office macro converter allowing many Microsoft Office macros to work in StarOffice.

StarOffice 8 is also the first commercial office suite to support the OASIS Open Document Format for Office Applications (OpenDocument). OpenDocument is an XML based file format created by the Organization for the Advancement of Structured Information Standards. Massachusetts has recently announced the plan to switch to OpenDocument format. Microsoft has said it will not support the OpenDocument format.

StarOffice 8 is based on the open source OpenOffice.org project. OpenOffice.org was founded July 2000, by Sun with the release of StarOffice code under two open source licenses.

StarOffice 8 is available as a download from Sun’s Web site for $69.95, or packaged product can be ordered for $99.95. Enterprise customers can purchase StarOffice 8 for $35 (£20) per user. OpenOffice.org is available for free from openoffice.org.

Monday, January 2, 2006

Anyone riding the OC Transpo Ottawa municipal bus service’s express bus routes this morning and this afternoon, in the Ottawa area, was probably greeted with an empty bus, and inherently, a “fast and efficient” ride. This is in part because most government workers where off from work still celebrating their Christmas holidays and buses were operating on a “holiday schedule;” a lack of planning on behalf of OC Transpo.

Though, according to OC Transpo, the “Holiday Schedule” means buses this week shall be running a little less often, in reality there isn’t that much difference than the regular schedule. To be more precise, from 05h48 until 07h20, on the express 27 route there will be 5 less buses during the “Holiday Schedule” compared to the “Regular Schedule.”

“This is probably going to be fine for the rest of this week, when government employees start coming back to work”, said Yves Roy, an OC Transpo driver, “but today was a holiday and it appears that express routes only had an average of about 2 to 4 passengers.”

“On my ride in to work, at around 6:10 a.m. this morning, nobody else got on the bus. It was like having a personal stretch limo to myself,” said Patrick Roy, a guard for the commissionaires.

Also, at around 4:15 p.m. another OC Transpo bus driver, whom wished to remain anonymous, stated, “You are the first person I picked up today.” He had been working since the morning doing express runs. He then added, “This is a waste of tax payers money.”

Ottawa’s BRT “Transitway,” has indicated that it cost approximately 42.58$ CAN per hour to run a diesel bus. It is estimated that 729 express buses ran today for approximatelly 7 hours costing approximatelly 217,287$ CAN. The cost of operating OC Transpo is split between transit fares collected and the tax base (mostly municipal, with some federal and provincial contributions.)

“We then continued to talk about waste of fuel, employee pay, insurance liability issues and even went into details about such hot political items as the Kyoto Agreement and conservatism,” said Patrick. “Once the driver reached Place d’Orleans the second passenger joined in the conversation. The driver then took a faster alternate route and dropped us off not far from our homes.”

According to Peter Dickson, editor at The Ottawa Citizen, last year OC Transpo buses followed a ‘reduced’ Sunday schedule and this created havoc on the system. Peter asked, if “perhaps this year they where trying to compensate for this inefficiency?”

Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU), OC Transpo’s union representative has indicated, “At current fleet levels, Ottawa’s roads would be choked with about 40,000 more cars each rush hour if not for OC Transpo.”[1] ATU suggests 70 per cent of trips in Ottawa are now made by car. However, seemingly, due to returning vacationers and other reasons, today may have created an increase in the use of cars and influenced this statistic. According to city councillor Clive Doucet’s web page “Currently, 17% of all trips residents make in Ottawa are on public transit, up from 15% in the mid-nineties. As a comparison, Paris’ modal split is 40% or higher taking public transit while Los Angeles’ modal split is around 2% for public transit.” Analysing ridership on a large scale seems to be an important element for the city.

According to Ottawa Mayor Bob Chiarelli, “We used to be able to plan a transit system for up to 12 years ahead, with assured funding.” This of course is in reference to provincial government funding.”It would make me happier if we took all of the (fuel taxes) and put them into the transportation infrastructure,” Mr. Hunt, president of the Canadian Automobile Association says. “But we don’t have a plan.”

“Usually OC Transpo bus drivers have two 4 months bookings, for the fall and the winter and two 2 months booking for the spring and for the summer,” said Yves Roy. “For the first time in March 2005, there was a special 1 week booking for the March break that rearranged and redistributed drivers of certain high school bus runs. During previous march breaks, drivers would show up usually waiting 30 or more minutes in an “idling” bus.”

Is there such thing as to much efficiency? Today is an example of buses and drivers being very efficient. On the other hand, it may be a lack of efficiency within OC Transpo’s booking department, upper management and the governments.

Sunday, November 8, 2009

China has offered Africa concessional loans worth US$10 (€6.5) billion as part of a host of new measures aimed at improving the economy of African nations. The announcement was made at the opening of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt. Leaders of nearly 50 African countries are attending the two-day conference.

China had already stated today at the 3rd Conference of Chinese and African Entrepreneurs, held immediately before the FOCAC, that Chinese firms would be encouraged to invest in Africa, while both sides would work together to improve the tourism, telecommunications and finance industries. China also said that governments should work with businesses to ensure co-operation between China and Africa.

As well as the loans, made over three years, China will write off the debt of Africa’s poorest countries, build 100 African green energy facilities and systematically lower import duties on 95% of all African products exported to China. Another promise is a loan of one billion dollars aimed at small and medium sized businesses in Africa. There will also be efforts to promote each other’s culture and increased medical assistance to Africa. Medical assistance comes in the form of 500 million yuan (US$73.2 million) of goods for the 60 hospitals and malaria centers China has already built, as well as 3,000 doctors and nurses. Roads will also be improved.

China also plans to assist with satellite weather monitoring, to help combat desertification and work within the urban environment, all aimed at reducing global warming. The new energy facilities will focus on solar, biogas and small-scale hydroelectrical installations. Another new measure is a promise to aid African farmers to ensure the continent is fed, increasing the number of demonstrations of agricultural technology in Africa to 20 and sending 50 teams of agricultural technology experts to the continent. Training in agricultural technology will be provided to 2,000 people.

“The Chinese people cherish sincere friendship toward the African people, and China’s support to Africa’s development is concrete and real,” said co-chair Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao as the FOCAC opened up, adding “Whatever change that may take place in the world, our friendship with African people will not change.” He described this friendship as ‘unbreakable’. Two years ago China pledged US$5 (€3.37) billion at the last FOCAC in Beijing and now, according to Jiabao, “China is ready to deepen practical cooperation in Africa.”

China has fulfilled its 2006 pledge, investing a total of US$7.8 (€5.26) billion in Africa last year alone. 49 African countries are represented at the FOCAC, which was created in 2000, although Jiabao noted that relations between China and Africa go back fifty years. China had already forgiven or reduced the debt for thirty nations at that FOCAC summit.

According to Chinese state-owned paper China Daily, trade between China and Africa increased by 45% last year, to give a total value of US$107 (€72.1) billion, a tenfold increase since 2001 and up from US$491 (€331) million in 2003. The Chinese have a 9.8% market share, the largest of any nation, according to the U.S. Commerce Department. China has paid for schools, hospitals, malaria clinics and Chinese scholarships for African students. 50 more schools are to be built and 1,500 people trained to staff them.

Since 2006 Chinese energy firms have committed to spend at least US$16 (€10.8) billion securing African oil and gas. China’s Sinopec Group, an oil giant, bought up Addax Petroleum Corporation from its Swiss owners that year, gaining control of oilfields in Nigeria, Cameroon and Gabon. China promised earlier this year to spend US$9 (€6) billion on infrastructure in the Congo in exchange for mineral deposits for mining operations.

Jean Ping, leader of the African Union, said the told those at the conference that the money is coming at an opportune time, because African growth was “totally compromised” by the global financial crisis. Ping said one of the lessons learned is that the world is paying for “the irresponsible and lax behavior” of large financial companies whose philosophy was to make short-term profits.

Not all Africans are happy with China’s increasing involvement in their continent. Trade practices are a concern for some, with a view that China exploits Africa for raw materials before selling back finished goods. Among these are Egyptian Trade and Industry Minister Rachid Mohamed Rachid. Egypt is the richest nation in the Middle East and is discussing this perceived issue with China. Rachid told Bloomberg “What is a worry for me is if competition is unfair. That is where we are unhappy.” Jiabao described the trade as being based on “win-win programmes… and transparency.”

Others in Africa are delighted with the situation. “We want more investment from China,” Tanzanian President Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete told the forum. Egypt’s own President Hosni Mubarak talked of “peace, security and growth,” and of “boosting cooperation between China and Africa.”

Jiabao also used his speech to respond to criticisms that China worked with nations regardless of their human rights record, such as Sudan, whose President Omar al-Beahir is wanted on a warrant issued by the International Criminal Court for war crimes. “Africa is fully capable of solving its own problems, in an African way,” he said, adding that “China has never attached any political strings […] to assistance to Africa.”

Beshir thanked China in a speech for diplomatic work in Sudan, including working to defuse the Darfur conflict, which the United Nations says has left 300,000 dead. “We express our deep appreciation for China’s efforts in backing the comprehensive peace agreement in Sudan and its peace efforts in Darfur,” he said, referring to a peace deal between the northern and southern parts of his country. “We thank China particularly for backing efforts by our countries to achieve peace and stability in Africa’s zones of conflict.” Jiabao said China was willing to work towards “the settlement of issues of peace and security,” in Africa.

A further criticism has been that China has brought in Chinese workers and used their own knowledge, instead of training locals. Jiabao’s speech indicated an intention to co-operate better in the fields of science and technology, as well as improve training for African students on technical courses.

“Why do some only criticise China?” asked Jiabao. “Is this a view representing African countries, or rather the view of Western countries?”