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Wednesday, March 16, 2011

A wildfire affected eighteen hectares of scrubland, grassland and eucalyptus in the Ranguilí area of Lolol, Chile.

Due to strong winds and climatic conditions in the area, as well as the imminent risk of it spreading to homes, the National Emergencies Office of the Ministry of the Interior (ONEMI) declared a red alert for the commune on Sunday. It was then decreased to yellow alert, until it was finally lifted on Tuesday, after the wildfire was extinguished.

Both Chile’s National Early Warning Centre, and the O’Higgins Region ONEMI monitored the wildfire.

Lolol is a town located in the Colchagua Province of O’Higgins Region, in Chile. It is home to about 6,200 residents, and part of its urban center is considered a “Typical Zone” by the National Monuments Council.

Monday, January 1, 2007

Ban Ki-moon, South Korean foreign minister, officially assumed his post as United Nations Secretary-General today.

Ban, the eighth UN Secretary-General, is also the first Asian to serve in this office in 35 years.

Ban, 62, grew up on the Korean peninsula in the midst of the Korean War that divided the region. He promises to bring peace to the North Korean nuclear conflict.

Along with North Korea, Ban faces a litany of difficult issues including the genocide in Darfur, tensions in the Middle East, an international campaign against AIDS and poverty in line with his predecessor Kofi Annan’s Millennium Goals, a push to increase the size of the Security Council, and calls for ethics reform within the United Nations.

In his inaugural address, Ban said, “My first priority will be to restore trust.”

“The United States will rely on his leadership to help steer the UN organization through the reforms already underway,” said White House spokesman Scott Stanzel on Sunday, “and to propel it even further on the path of reform.”

Ban will temporarily reside in a hotel in New York City until renovations on his official residence are completed as part of a modernization plan approved by the UN General Assembly.

Monday, May 17, 2010

A seven year-old girl was shot and killed Sunday during a police raid in Detroit, Michigan, United States when one of the officer’s guns was accidentally set off during an argument with the girl’s grandmother. Police were raiding the home in search of a 34 year-old male suspect accused of murdering teenager Jarean Blake near a local liquor store the previous night.

According to police reports, Mertilla Jones got into a verbal confrontation with a police officer, which quickly turned physical. The woman, according to the police, then came into contact with the officer which inadvertently set off the gun that he was carrying. The bullet then struck the girl, Aiyana Jones, in the neck while she was sleeping on the family’s couch.

The murder suspect was apprehended later that day. However, the family and public became outraged at the killing of seven year-old Aiyana. In response, the Detroit Police Department held a press conference.

“We cannot undo what occurred this morning […] All we can do is to pledge an open and full investigation and to support Aiyana’s family in whatever way they may be willing to accept from us at this time,” said Assistant Police Chief Goodbee speaking on behalf of the Police Chief, who was on vacation at the time of the shooting.

Meanwhile the girl’s father, Charles Jones, was outraged about the incident. “She had a lively, free spirit,” said Jones. “They came into my house with a flash grenade and a bullet […] They say my mother [Mertilla] resisted them, that she tried to take an officer’s gun. My mother had never been in handcuffs in her life. They killed my baby and I want someone to tell the truth,” he added.

The incident is currently under investigation by the Detroit Police Department. It is not known who fired the shot that killed the girl, or whether or not they will receive any disciplinary action from the department.

Friday, January 2, 2009

NASA has issued a report on survivability during the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster, entitled “Columbia Crew Survival Investigation Report”. Although the report finds the accident was impossible to survive, it still faulted a number of design issues with the astronauts’ equipment.

The accident investigation report was released in 2003, the year of the crash. During launch on January 16, the spacecraft’s wing was holed when a chunk of foam detached and struck it. The shuttle then broke up on re-entry on February 1 over Texas, killing the seven on board.

This new report reveals details of what happened to the astronauts during the accident sequence, although some parts have remained confidential to the victims’ families. The report reveals that within seconds of the breakup commencing the crew became unconscious due to the rapid depressurization and that they never regained consciousness prior to their deaths.

The report notes that the cabin began spinning wildly, causing some of the astronauts’ helmets to come off. The report noted that most on board were secured only by lap harnesses that offered no restraint to the upper body and were not designed to cope with sideways motion, meaning “lethal trauma” was caused by the rotation. However, the report was unable to determine whether the astronauts had died from oxygen deprivation or the extreme nature of their injuries.

The pressure suits the crew wore, introduced after the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster, were criticised as the crew could not keep their visors down throughout re-entry due to a design limitation that would have caused excess levels of oxygen to be present had they done so, leaving the suits unsealed. The gloves also made many tasks difficult or impossible. When the accident occurred, three people were not wearing gloves, one was not wearing a helmet, and none had their visors down. The helmets also did not conform to the heads of the wearers.

Upon disintegration, the occupants were exposed to extreme heat and high friction from re-entry. The astronauts likely died very quickly, and were probably dead by the time Columbia broke apart.

The report added that although the crew all wore parachutes, they had to be activated by the crew — impossible as they were unconscious. The report concluded that future spacecraft require sturdier construction and better restraints, while safety devices should be automatic. NASA is designing better suits and helmets.

Friday, April 11, 2008

Wikinews held an exclusive interview with Jeremy Hanke, editor of MicroFilmmaker Magazine. The magazine, which is free to read online, was started as a resource for the low budget moviemaker and features book, independent film, equipment and software reviews as well as articles on film distribution, special effects and lighting.

He says that one of the goals of the magazine is to “connect low-budget filmmakers via a feeling of community, as many…..often compete so viciously against one another in film festivals for coveted “shots” with Hollywood, that they can quickly forget their similarities.”

When asked if films made on a shoestring budget can really compete with those made for millions of dollars, he replied, “no…yes…and absolutely. Allow me to explain.” And so he does in the interview below.

Saturday, July 21, 2007

In Taiwan, more than 2,000 people participated in the “Ten Thousand People for BIKE” bicycle parade challenge, organized by Volvic Taiwan and Body Marketing Co., Ltd. to break the previous “Largest Parade of Bicycles” record, which was set at 641 bicycles during a 2006 record attempt in Netherlands.

VIPs invited by the organizers included the current Chinese Nationalist Party legislator Chih-hsiung Huang, the Director of the Department of Public Sports of Sports Affairs Council, Executive Yuan (R.O.C., Taiwan) Tai-lin Peng, and Guinness World Records referee Stuart Claxton. They witnessed the new record, and Deputy Commissioner of Sports Affairs Council, Executive Yuan (R.O.C., Taiwan) Hwang-lang Tsai led out for the starting of this event.

The record-breaking parade crossed five riverside parks (Dajia Section, Yingfeng Section, Guanshan Section, Rainbow Section, and Meiti Section) over an estimated 13.7 kilometres (3.2 km to set the new record, and 10.5 km for free riding).

The previous record was broken when the 642nd rider passed the recording gate near 8:47 a.m.. A 36-year-old engineer from Taoyuan County named Fang-tien Lin was the 642nd lucky rider. In the end, this event created a new record with 1901 riders riding in a great bicycle parade within 1 hour and 8 minutes.

Wednesday, July 21, 2021

Yesterday, with 85 active cases of COVID-19 in the Australian state of Victoria, Premier Daniel Andrews has extended the state’s current lockdown by a week until July 27 at 11:59 p.m. (0159 UTC).

Since a five-day lockdown was first announced last Thursday, cases have been recorded in areas across Victoria, including Phillip Island, Mildura and Barwon Heads. Notably, Mildura’s COVID-19 case, which was recorded on Sunday, is their first in 15 months. Thirteen new cases of coronavirus were recorded in Victoria yesterday.

Red zone travel permits, required for residents of New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory for entry into Victoria, are temporarily paused. Andrews said that while this decision would “cause a real challenge for many people”, he justified this decision by saying that “things are too unstable—too uncertain and frankly out of control from a virus point of view in Sydney”.

State health minister Martin Foley stated, “We’ve had thousands of Victorians return from New South Wales in recent weeks, but with the situation escalating, the recent incursions and the increased infectiousness of the Delta variant, we must act to protect Victoria and temporarily pause Red Zone Permits.”

Restrictions remain the same from the initial Thursday announcement. Under the regulations, there are only five reasons to leave home: for food and supplies; exercise; care or caregiving; work or education, if not possible from home; and to be vaccinated against COVID-19. In exercising, people cannot go more than 5 kilometers (3 mi) away from their home, and for no more than two hours. The vaccination should be administered at the nearest possible location. Face masks remain mandatory both outdoors and indoors, except at home.

A press release from the premier’s office said the COVID-19 Delta variant is moving “faster than anything Victoria’s public health experts have seen before”, adding as a result “we need to limit movement for a longer period of time”. The press release also noted over 15 thousand close contacts of cases in quarantine, over 250 exposure sites across the state, and the COVID-19 daily case numbers remaining in double digits.