| AROUND THE WORLD TODAY |
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MARCH 2008 APRIL 2008 MAY 2008 JUNE 2008 JULY 2008 AUG 2008 SEPT 2008 OCT 2008 NOV 2008 DEC 2008 JAN 2009 FEB 2009 MAR 2009 APR 2009 MAY 2009 JUNE 2009 JULY 2009 AUG 2009 SEPT 2009 OCT 2009 NOV 2009 DEC 2009 JAN 2010 FEB 2010 MAR 2010 APR 2010 Subject: Around the World Today: Monday 31st May 2010 CENTRAL AMERICA: A powerful tropical storm in Central America has left at least 99 people dead in floods and mudslides. The worst-hit country was Guatemala, where officials say at least 82 people died. Nine were killed in El Salvador and at least eight in Honduras. Storm Agatha swept in from the Pacific Ocean on Saturday, bringing torrential rains that added to disruption caused by a volcano erupting in Guatemala. GULF OF MEXICO: BP prepares new bid to curb spill. Oil giant BP begins preparations for a new attempt to cap the huge flow of oil from its leaking well in the Gulf of Mexico. MARIANA ISLANDS: Pilots and seamen in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands are being warned to keep away from an underwater volcano which has erupted. The Governor Benigno Fitial declared a State of Emergency. NIGERIA: A chlorine gas leak led 300 people to fall ill in northern Nigeria after a welder cut into a tank of the noxious gas, Nigerian environmental officials said Sunday. John Odey, a spokesman for Nigeria's Environmental Ministry, said the leak started Saturday afternoon in Kaduna. He said people became ill and passed out after breathing in the gas. Odey said emergency services controlled the leak Sunday morning after soaking the tank in water. SOMALIA: Thousands of people in the district of Alula, in the self-declared autonomous region of Puntland, have been cut off by floods following heavy rains, say officials. "For five days, Alula town and the villages around it have been cut off," Mohamed Said Kashawiito, director-general of Puntland's Ministry of Interior, said. "The only way into Alula now is by air or sea." However, Kashawiito said the wet conditions had made the town's airstrip unsafe. Subject: Around the World Today: Sunday 30th May 2010 No information available Subject: Around the World Today: Saturday 29th May 2010 No information available Subject: Around the World Today: Friday 28th May 2010 GUATAMALA: A volcanic eruption covered the Guatemalan capital with ash Thursday evening, prompting evacuations and shutting down the city's international airport, government officials said. Pacaya volcano, located about 15 miles (25 km) south of Guatemala City, began erupting around 7 p.m. (9 p.m. ET). At least 1,800 people have been placed in shelters after four villages near the volcano were evacuated, said David de Leon, spokesman for the national disaster commission. La Aurora International Airport is the third busiest airport in Central America in terms of passenger traffic, according to the Airports Council International. About 25 percent of the airport's daily flights had to be diverted to alternative airports after La Aurora was closed around 7:30 p.m., said Monica Monje with Civil Aeronautics. CANADA: Quebec - Firefighters were battling Thursday a major forest fire in central Quebec that forced the evacuation of more than 1,300 people from the Wemotaci First Nation reserve. Several forest fires are burning out of control in the Haute-Maurice region, located north of Trois-Rivieres. More than 200 people are working to try and contain the blaze. Quebec's forest fire protection agency and police evacuated the reserve Wednesday night because the fire was starting to affect the village, situated some 300 kilomeres north of Trois-Rivieres. FRANCE: French nuclear safety authorities says six people have been contaminated by a leak of radioactive cobalt in a foundry. The Institute for Radioactivity Protection and Nuclear Safety says the six were brought to a hospital unit at a nuclear plant near the foundry in Feurs in eastern France. Tests are being carried out to determine the severity of the contamination. The Nuclear Safety Authority said Thursday the incident occurred when workers were using a robot to retrieve material containing Cobalt-60 stuck in a machine used to test engineering structures. The material had been stuck since May 7. The Nuclear Safety Authority ranked the incident Wednesday as a Level 2 on a scale of 7 used to classify nuclear incidents. GULF OF MEXICO: BP resumes its operation to plug the Gulf of Mexico oil leak as US President Barack Obama defends his handling of the disaster. UGANDA: Hundreds of bodies buried in a mudslide in Uganda three months ago have yet to be recovered, the rescue team says. USA/CARRIBEAN: As many as 14 hurricanes could hit the Atlantic basin this year, the top US climate agency says. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) forecasts 14 to 23 named storms. Eight to 14 of these could develop into hurricanes, it says. The season could be one of the most active on record, with between three to seven major hurricanes, the NOAA said. VANUATU: An earthquake of magnitude 7.2 has struck off the nation of Vanuatu in the South Pacific. A tsunami warning was issued to the Solomon islands, Vanuatu and New Caledonia, but has now been lifted. COMMENT: Yesterday was 70th Anniversary of Dunkirk. Usually the military come to the rescue of the civilian population. Are there other examples of major emergency operations to rescue or assist the military? Subject: Around the World Today: Thursday 27th May 2010 No information available Subject: Around the World Today: Wednesday 26th May 2010 AUSTRIA: Heavy thunderstorms and a tornado swept across eastern Austria Wednesday, leaving one person dead in a mudslide, media reported. Hundreds of firefighters were deployed to repair storm damages and pump water from flooded homes. In Stickelberg, 85 kilometres south of Vienna, a mudslide killed one person who was swept into one of the many creeks swollen by the heavy rain and hail. The identity of the victim was not immediately released. Near Vienna, a tornado snapped utility pylons and trees and damaged buildings. The national metereological agency counted 4,500 flashes of lightning during the thunderstorms. USA: ALASKA - The trans-Alaska oil pipeline is shut down after an unknown amount of North Slope crude spilled Tuesday from a containment tank at a pump station near Fort Greely, about 100 miles south of Fairbanks. Alaska environmental officials say crude oil at Pump Station 9 flowed into a tank and then a containment area when a valve failed to close. Pipeline operator Alyeska Pipeline Service Co. says the pipeline is shut down and North Slope oil producers have lowered their output. USA / CANADA: Authorities say 10 people suffered injuries, including broken bones, during severe turbulence on a flight from London to Los Angeles that was diverted to Montreal. United Airlines spokeswoman Sarah Massier says United Flight 935 reported severe turbulence over the Atlantic Ocean on Tuesday and landed in Montreal. The airline says nine passengers and one crew member were treated. None of the injuries were considered to be life-threatening. The Boeing 777 aircraft was taken out of service and inspected for possible damage. Massier says another plane was sent from Chicago to Montreal to take the passengers and crew to Los Angeles. The plane landed in Los Angeles at around 10 p.m. (0500 GMT) Tuesday, around nine hours later than originally scheduled. Subject: Around the World Today: Tuesday 25th May 2010 AUSTRALIA:Queensland - At least 22 people have become ill, traffic has been stopped and scores of businesses closed in the city of Rockhampton in Queensland after a rotten egg smell was reported. Paramedics are treating the people for headaches, nausea and vomiting. Three have been taken to Rockhampton Base Hospital. Investigations are underway to find the cause of the smell, which is still unknown. Residents say there was a similar smell six weeks ago. COSTA RICA: The Arenal volcano has erupted, spewing geysers of lava, ash and toxic gases from its crater and forcing the evacuation of the national park where it is located. The 1633-metre-tall cone-shaped mountain in northern Costa Rica shuddered into activity at 4am this morning issuing eight successive rivers of lava that flowed down its steep slopes, National Volcanology and Seismology Observatory expert Elicer Duarte said. He said nobody was at risk from the eruptions but authorities as a precaution evacuated the Arenal National Park, 80km north-east of San Jose. SINGAPORE: An estimated 2,000 metric tons of crude oil may have spilled into the Singapore Strait when two ships collided off Singapore's southeastern coast Tuesday, the country's Port Authority said. The incident occurred about 6:10 a.m. Tuesday (6:10 p.m. Monday ET) when the Malaysian-registered tanker collided with a bulk carrier registered from the Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, authorities said. Both vessels were anchored after the incident and there were no reports of injuries. Ships were sent to the area to clean up the oil spill, the Port Authority of Singapore said. CHILE: The Puyehue Volcano is Osorno province started erupting yesterday. The volcano lies in Southern Chile in the area where other volcanic eruptions and tidal waves have been taking place. News of the volcano erupting was brought by an Air Force pilot who flew over the area. It was also learned that the Rinihue Volcano in Cautin Province, where other damage has already been suffered, had gone into eruption and that 600 people living on its slopes were isolated. CHINA: Mountain Baekdu, a dormant volcano on the border between North Korea and China, is showing signs of a possible eruption in the near future, experts warned Tuesday. GERMANY: Police say a 6-year-old girl has died of injuries sustained when a tree fell on the car she was traveling in as a rare tornado ripped through eastern Germany. Police spokesman Wolfgang Kiessling in Dresden said Tuesday the girl was taken to the hospital late Monday where she died of her injuries. Three other people in the village of Grossenhain also were injured. Firefighters and emergency assistance crews were helping to clear fallen trees from roads and railway tracks on Tuesday as residents in the state of Saxony took stock after the storm that tore roofs off houses and scattered debris. There was no estimate on the amount of damage. Subject: Around the World Today: Monday 24th May 2010 GULF OF MEXICO: BP says it will fund a 10-year, $500m effort to study the impact on the Gulf of Mexico of the oil spill and clean-up effort. KENYA: More than 100 people have been killed by floods and thousands others displaced as the rains continue to wreak havoc. Some 500 families have been displaced in Trans Nzoia District by the floods that have destroyed human life and vegetation. Kenya Red Cross Society communications officer Nelly Muluka said some of the displaced families risked contracting water- borne diseases. She said medical officers had been sent to parts of North Rift, Nyanza, Coast and North Eastern to assist displaced families. "Public health officials have been dispatched to sensitise the families on how to avoid contracting water- borne diseases," said Ms Muluka. Also at the risk of contracting water-borne diseases are more than 3,000 internally displaced families in transit camps in the North Rift. YEMEN: Six children have been killed when a home collapsed in Yemen's western provinces of Taiz, media sources reported. Two other brothers were injured in the tragedy that took place in Al-Hashma village in the district of Taizyah. They are now receiving treatment. Heavy rain that has lashed the area in recent days might have caused the collapse, according to the authorities. The parents survived. The victims ages were ranging from 8-2 years old, the parents have said. Torrential rain has recently lashed many parts of the republic killing and displacing people as well as causing other major damages and losses. Lest we forget: 25th May 2001 - At 23 people were killed and hundreds were injured at a wedding party in Jerusalem after the dance floor collapsed. Guests were left clinging to the sides of the Versailles wedding hall when the third floor suddenly gave way at about 2245 local time and crashed through two storeys below. There were nearly 700 guests in the building, which was in the industrial Talpiot area of Jerusalem. Many were left trapped by the falling rubble which left a gaping hole through the centre of the building. Subject: Around the World Today: Sunday 23rd May 2010 ICELAND: In the past 48 hours 3 earthquakes occurred at Katla volcano, Iceland. The earthquakes may be due to ice movements within MÃrdalsjÃkull glacier or magma movement under the volcano. Scientists have been keeping a close watch on Katla volcano, due to the possibility of an eruption triggered by the activity at nearby Eyjafjallajokull. An eruption of Katla volcano has the potential to be more devastating than the current eruption of Eyjafjallajokull. ALGERIA: A strong tremor in Algeria injured 19 people on Sunday in a region that was struck by an earthquake a week ago that killed two people and injured 43 others, Algerian official news agency APS reported. It said the tremor was of magnitude 5 and its epicentre was in the province of M'sila, about 200 km (125 miles) south of the capital Algiers. It did not say whether the earthquake had caused any damage. The previous earthquake on May 14 was of magnitude 5.2. INDONESIA: An active volcano has erupted in Indonesia, spewing ash and lava up to 1,500 metres into the sky, damaging crops but not threatening villagers, a local official says. Mount Baru Jari on Lombok island, near Bali, has been active for several months but Saturday's eruption was "big", the island's volcano monitoring official Mutaharlin said. "From Saturday evening to early Sunday, the volcano erupted three times and was accompanied by tremors. The first eruption spewed ash and lava 1,500 to 2,000 metres high," he added. Lava flowed into a lake, pushing its temperature to 35 degrees Celsius, up from 21 degrees Celsius, Mutaharlin said. "The smoke had spread as far as 12 kilometres and dozens of acres of crop land were covered in ash," he said. "But the eruptions haven't reached dangerous levels yet, so we're not evacuating villagers," he added. TAIWAN: Landslides cut off roads in Central and Southern Taiwan Sunday amid torrential rains covering most of the country. The Central Weather Bureau warned residents all over the island to be prepared for flooding and landslides. The plum season rains were the heaviest since last year's typhoon season, reports said. A swollen river caused the collapse of a road close to Shenmu Village in the Nantou County township of Hsinyi, one of Taiwan's most mountainous regions. Falling rocks hit a tunnel near the popular hot springs resort of Tungpu in the same county, forcing the closure of the main access road to the village. About 900 residents and 60 tourists were blocked inside the village with about one week's worth of food, reports said. Rescue workers transferred people outside from one end of the tunnel to the other in metal baskets suspended from a cable, television stations reported. The rubble could be cleared before the end of Monday, according to rescue services. Landslides interrupted traffic on the southern cross-island highway, making travel to the Tatachia area near Taiwan's highest peak, the Yushan or Jade Mountain, impossible, reports said. CHINA: A landslide has caused the derailment of a passenger train in south-east China, with at least 19 people killed and 71 injured. The train crashed into dirt and debris blocking the tracks in a mountainous area of Jiangxi province at 0210 (1810 GMT), the railway ministry said. KAZAKHSTAN: On May 20, 2010 about 1200 corpses of antelopes were found in the Western Kazakhstan Oblast. Earlier the emergency ministry reported the death of about 200 saigas. According to the Western Kazakhstan Oblast on 18 May 2010 about 100 dead bodies of saigas were found in the area of Karaoba, Janibek, Talovka settlements. The specially established committee started the investigation of the matter on 20 May 2010. It revealed over 1000 dead bodies (mainly female saiga) in the Janibek district. The inspectors affirm that on 15-17 May 2010 they observed some "strangely grey fog" in the above-mentioned area, although the weather was clear. "The external examination of the dead bodies revealed the abdominal distention, foam and diarrhea. The dead bodies were delivered to the laboratory," the message specifies. The Prosecutor General's office, the ministries of internal affairs, defense, environmental protection, education and science, Western Kazakhstan Oblast Akimat all are informed about the incident. Lest we forget: 23rd May 1977 More than 100 children and six teachers were taken hostage in a primary school in northern Holland. Four days later all the children at the school were released after an outbreak of gastric flu - four teachers remained hostages along with 55 others on board the train near Groningen. On June 11 - a record 20 days after the crisis began - Dutch marines stormed the train and the school. During a fierce gunbattle on the train, six of the nine hostage-takers were shot along with two of the hostages. The Netherlands government improved social and economic conditions for Moluccans in the following months and years. In March 1978 Molluccans carried out another failed siege - of a government building in Assen - but since then there have been no further incidents. 23rd May 1984: England - The explosion at Abbeystead killed nine people immediately, with another seven people dying later of their injuries. Two children were among the dead. Nobody who was in the underground valve house escaped unhurt. The mystery surrounding the cause of the explosion continued for some time, as tests in the immediate aftermath revealed no trace of gas, nor were there any gas installations in the pumping station itself. However, the investigation by the Health and Safety Executive revealed that the siting of the Abbeystead pumping station underground, and close to seams of coal, had made it vulnerable to build-ups of methane gas. The station had also been unused for several weeks before the visit, and the gas had accumulated in the water pipe leading into the valve chamber. It was then pumped into the valve house during the demonstration, creating a lethal inflammable atmosphere. The investigators never found out how the gas came to explode. However, nobody involved in building the pumping station had realised that gas could be a problem, so both guests and workers in the valve house were allowed to smoke. The Abbeystead pumping station was refurbished and returned to use following the accident. Subject: Around the World Today: Saturday 22nd May 2010 No information available Subject: Around the World Today: Friday 21st May 2010 FRANCE:10 years on - French prosecutors seek a suspended jail sentence against the ex-head of the Concorde programme over the 2000 crash. ENGLAND: Two thousand visitors and staff were evacuated from the Science Museum in London after a "chemical incident" yesterday. Three people were taken to hospital following what was believed to be a spillage in the basement. A total of 22 people, all staff or contractors, were treated. Some complained of irritated eyes and sore throats, while others said they were suffering from sore chests. It is thought that some of those affected came into contact with an unknown substance before rubbing their eyes. Emergency services were called after an alarm sounded at 11.30am. Specialist hazardous substance ambulance teams and firefighters in protective clothing were called to the South Kensington attraction to treat people and to try to identify the source of the irritation. NORWAY: Statoil ASA partially evacuated platform C at the Gullfaks field in the North Sea after pressure in a well destabilized, shutting production at the facility and the nearby Tordis field. There is a stable situation at the platform, Gisle Johanson, a company spokesman, said by phone today. We have an unstable pressure situation in this well. There's no leak, no blowout and no injuries. Gullfaks, located in the North Sea, produced about 78,500 barrels of crude oil a day in March. Platform C is one of three at the field and processes oil and gas from the Gullfaks Soer and Gimle fields and is also involved in production from the Tordis, Vigdis and Visund fields, according to the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate. CANADA: Fifty-five people from Berens River First Nation were airlifted out of the Manitoba community Wednesday night because of a health hazard posed by billowing smoke from a massive forest fire burning nearby. Of 136 forest fires currently burning in the province, the one 24 kilometres northeast of the reserve is the largest at 3,500 hectares, fire officials said. About 80 firefighters are battling the fire, and the province is using water bombers and other aircraft to try and contain it. Fire officials said they believe a person set the fire but can't say yet whether they did so intentionally. LEST WE FORGET: 21st May 1950: Tornado sweeps southern England Two people die and more are injured as violent storms and a tornado sweep through counties around London. Subject: Around the World Today: Thursday 20th May 2010 INDIA: Cyclone Laila has made landfall on the southern Indian coast, battering the area with heavy rains and strong winds, officials say. Winds of 90km/h (55mph) have uprooted trees and electricity poles. More than 50,000 people have been evacuated. Officials said the cyclone appeared to be weakening. Forecasters had earlier predicted winds of 125km/h (78mph) and warned of storm surges from the sea. ITALY: In Lombardy, 60 communes are under specialised supervision. The alarm has been raised for West Nile virus, the disease [virus] can be transmitted to humans by infected mosquitoes and in severe cases can cause meningitis. Last year [2009], in 2 months, August and September, West Nile fever [virus] infected 78 people and 3 died, of which 2 were residents in Ferrara and one in Mantua. The virus is exploding and although kept under observation in Emilia Romagna, it is migrating westward, and has reached Lombardy. An article in Eurosurveillance of 22 April 2010 takes stock of the situation: the European health authorities show what are the areas to be monitored. The Ministry says that the ASL areas [local health areas in Italy] covered are those comprised between Mantua, Cremona, and Brescia. The reservoirs of the virus are wild birds and mosquitoes. Most people infected shows no symptoms, 20 percent had mild symptoms: nausea, vomiting, swollen lymph nodes. The more severe symptoms, affecting 1 percent of those who are ill, are convulsions, paralysis, or encephalitis. PERU: Hundreds of vehicles are stranded in Utcubamba, in Amazonas region, where a large section of the Fernando Belaunde road was damaged by the 6.4 Richter scales earthquake that rattled the Amazonas yesterday. Several sections between the kilometers 267 and 272 have blocked by landslides, and a 700 metres one has sunk, preventing the vehicles from passing, according to El Comercio correspondant. DR CONGO: A landslide on the slopes of Nyiragongo Volcano in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo has killed at least 46 people and washed away more than 200 houses. The landslide started after heavy rains caused an overflow of volcanic rivers at Kibumba in North Kivu province, Reuters reported on Wednesday. United Nations peacekeepers are caring for the victims until other humanitarian organizations take over, UN Mission in the Congo (MONUC) spokesman Madnodje Mounobai told the UN News Center on Wednesday Subject: Around the World Today: Wednesday 19th May 2010 USA: Gulf of Mexico - The first oil from the Gulf of Mexico spill has entered an ocean current that could take it to Florida and up the east coast of the US, scientists say. The European Space Agency said satellite images suggested oil could reach the coral reefs of the Florida Keys within six days. USA: Michigan - A massive blaze fueled by gusting winds and dry conditions raged today through a heavily forested area of southern Crawford County in northern Michigan, jeopardizing residents and hundreds of homes. Michigan State Police and Department of Natural Resources and Environment officials went door to door and urged residents to evacuate the area. People in need of food and refuge were being taken to shelters set up by the Red Cross in Grayling and St. Helen. As of this evening, DNRE officials estimated the blaze had consumed more than 5,000 acres, most of it federal land. CZECH REPUBLIC: Fifty centimetres of snow fell on the Lysa hora mountain (1323 metres), the highest peak of the Beskydes Mountains in northern Moravia that has been battling extensive flooding, a member of the Mountain Rescue Service said. "It is a very curious and unusual thing at the end of May. None of my colleagues remembers anything like this," the rescuer said. "We expect the snow on Lysa Mount to last for a couple of days. But spring temperatures are forecast for the weekend and the snow will probably quickly melt away," the rescuer said. GREENLAND: Scientists are surprised at the speed with which Greenland's ice is melting and the corresponding surge of the land mass beneath. Findings published in an upcoming edition of Nature Geoscience show that the rapidly melting ice in Greenland is causing the land mass beneath to rise as the weight is lifted off the rock. According to scientists at the University of Miami, the ice is melting so quickly that the land underneath is rising at an accelerated pace, moving up in some areas by nearly one inch per year. If the current speed with which the land rises continues the figure could be as much as two inches per year by 2025 and see Greenland become the world's largest contributor to sea level rise. Lest we forget: 18th May 1980 Nine people die following the massive eruption of Mount St Helens volcano in Washington State, USA Subject: Around the World Today: Tuesday 18th May 2010 No information posted Subject: Around the World Today: Monday 17th May 2010 TURKEY: Up to 25 miners are missing after an explosion in a state-run coal mine in northern Turkey, reports say. ITALY: A landslide hit the Apennine Mountains in central Italy on Saturday night, causing the destruction of an entire building and the evacuation of 60 people, media reports said on Sunday. Only five families were able to return to their homes on Sunday after their houses were deemed safe, while the Civil Protection will continue monitoring the situation and assessing the actual damage to other nearby buildings, according to state television Rai. The landslide, caused by the weekend's heavy rainfall, occurred in the town of Vado di Monzuno, near Bologna in the Emilia-Romagna region. DR Congo: An mudslide overnight in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo killed 10 people and several dozen are still missing, local authorities said. Heavy rainfall triggered a metre of mud to come crashing down on 230 homes near Kirumba, 25km north of Goma, the capital of the Nord Kivu region, at around midnight. The bodies of 10 people have been recovered, while 46 are missing, the head of the provincial assembly, Leon Bariyanga, told reporters. UGANDA: Landslides over the weekend ravaged the districts of Mbale in eastern Uganda and Rukungiri in the west, causing human deaths and destruction of infrastructure, food crops and household property. Three children, two of them from the same family, were killed after torrential rains caused a mudslide that struck their homes in the newly-created Bubyangu sub-county in Mbale district on Saturday night. The dead, whose bodies were recovered about two kilometres away from their homes, all were residents of Makyese village. Twelve people have been reported missing. POLAND: Three people died and hundreds were evacuated after heavy rain caused flash floods across southern Poland, officials said Monday. One man drowned late Sunday in a river in Koszarow, local media reported. The man had jumped into the river to save his son, whom he managed to drag ashore, but was himself then carried away by a strong current. Rescuers were searching for the man's body. Two others died in the Lesser Poland province, including a 60- year-old woman and a man about 45 years old. Some 50 municipalities issued flash flood warnings in Lesser Poland. Some 500 people had been evacuated, while another 1,500 were in the process of evacuation. Flash flood warnings were also issued in six districts in the Silesian province after intense rain raised water levels, the provincial office said. Some 70 people had been evacuated there. Another 54 people were evacuated from the Carpathian Foothills province. The rainfall was expected to continue until Friday, a meteorology institute said Monday in Warsaw. Army officials said some 8,000 soldiers were ready to help in rescue efforts. SLOVAKIA: In Slovakia the highest flood alert was declared in the eastern district of Trebisov, where rivers flooded dozens of houses and 150 people from a Roma settlement had to be evacuated. Up to 3,700 soldiers were standing by to step in if the situation worsened, Defence Minister Jaroslav Baska said after an emergency government meeting. Subject: Around the World Today: Sunday 16th May 2010 UK:UK airports including Manchester and Birmingham are closed until 0100 BST on Monday because of volcanic ash from Iceland. GULF OF MEXICO: The oil company BP says it has successfully started to siphon oil from its leaking Gulf of Mexico well to a tanker on the surface. BP executive Kent Wells would not say how much oil was being siphoned but said the process was "working well". BP succeeded on its third attempt to insert a long narrow tube into the leaking pipe, using underwater robots. Earlier, scientists said they had found vast underwater plumes of oil, one 10 miles (16km) long and a mile wide. HUNGARY: One man was killed and several families had to be evacuated from their homes on Sunday when storms brought severe flooding and power outages to central and northeastern Hungary. In the northeastern city of Miskolc, a man was killed after a supporting sand wall crushed part of his house, police said. Miskolc and its surrounding region were hardest hit, with several families having to be evacuated from their homes after two rivers broke their banks, flooding several streets. Sandbags were deployed to keep the flooding under control, a fire department spokesman said. Central and northeastern Hungary saw as much rainfall in 24 hours as they usually would in a month, as winds blew as strong as 110 kilometres (70 miles) per hour. NEW ZEALAND: Heavy rain has cut off families isolated in the Tapawera area, southwest of Nelson. Twenty-two household were yesterday evacuated. The evacuated families were given shelter at the local rugby club's rooms, which have kitchen and bathroom facilities. The Nelson City Council's manager of public communications, Penny Bloomberg, said some people in the affected areas had been brought out by helicopter. The police had taken the lead in the response, and Civil Defence had set up an emergency station at the clubrooms. It was not known last night when the families would be able to return home. SERBIA: Three people have been reported missing in floods that have hit southern Serbia amid heavy rainfall Saturday. Rescuers saved one person from a flash flood, but three remain unaccounted for, said local authorities in the municipality of Trgoviste, 350 kilometres south of Belgrade. Firefighting units from other cities were sent to the area to help evacuate homes jeopardized by rivers Pcinja, Kozidolka and Lesenicka Reka, the report said. Storms with heavy rain have also hit other parts of Serbia, including Belgrade, where some steep streets were rendered nearly impassable by streams of water carrying debris. BULGARIA: Main streets, houses and hotels in Southwestern Bulgaria have been flooded after torrential rains drenched the region on Saturday. Strong winds that blew in the region the previous night broke branches, damaging draining facilities and clogging shafts. The access to a number of villages in the district of Blagoevgrad has been cut in the wake of the torrential rains. The storm destroyed bridges and blocked roads. CHINA: At least seven people were killed and nearly 100 others were injured after a tornado tore through eight townships in northeast China on Saturday, state media reported on Sunday. Some three dozen townships of Suihua City in Heilongjiang Province, about 120 kilometers (74.5 miles) from the provincial capital Harbin, were battered by violent weather - which included strong winds and a hailstorm. At least 3,684 people were evacuated from 28 townships of Suihua City. A powerful tornado ripped through at least townships of Hailun City, according to Xinhua. It said the Minqiang Village of Gongrong township was hit the hardest, where the roof of every house was uplifted. Subject: Around the World Today: Saturday 15th May 2010 UK: Parts of UK airspace could be closed between Sunday and Tuesday because of volcanic ash, officials say. USA: New Hampshire - Multiple explosions at a gun and ammunition factory in the north of the US state of New Hampshire have killed two people, fire-fighters say. A fire was still burning at the MDM Muzzleloader building in Colebrook more than four hours after the first blast around lunchtime. CHINA: An explosion at a coal mine in China's south-western Guizhou province has left 21 miners dead, state media reports. A further 10 miners were rescued or managed to escape following the blast at the privately-run Yuanyang colliery near the city of Anshun, said Xinhua. Rescue work is continuing at the site as several unregistered miners were also thought to have been working underground. ALGERIA: Moderate earthquake in Algeria on Friday killed two people and injured 43 others, the interior ministry reported. The 5.2-magnitude quake occurred outside the city of Melouza, 250 kilometres (155 miles) southeast of the capital Algiers, the ministry said, according to news agency APS. No details were provided on material damage. Subject: Around the World Today: Friday 14th May 2010 VENEZUELA: A gas platform has sunk in the Caribbean Sea off the coast of Venezuela, but the energy minister says it poses no risk to the environment. All 95 workers were evacuated from the Aban Pearl platform before it sank in the early hours of Thursday. The rig was at the centre of Venezuela's efforts to develop its huge offshore gas deposits. INDIA: Fifteen people were electrocuted and several others injured when a high voltage wire fell on them when they were travelling on a truck in Bihar's Vaishali district on Thursday, police said. The truck, carrying around 80 people who were going to Bhagwanpur from Hajipur after offering prayers at a temple, came into contact with the wire that led to fire in the vehicle. Fifteen people were electrocuted and burnt alive, while several others were injured among those travelling on the truck, Vaishali SP Sujit Kumar said. Their bodies were recovered and the injured rushed to nearby hospitals with severe burns, he said. USA: Illinios - Six inches of rain caused flooding and evacuations early Thursday morning in Geneseo. Mayor Linda VanDerLeest declared a state of emergency and forced evacuations in a mobile home park as the waters rose. The gentle Geneseo Creek became a raging torrent in just a matter of minutes. "When it comes in buckets this is what you get" says Mayor Linda VanDerLeest. The water rose so quickly, even some of the rescuers needed rescuing. KENYA: Floods have killed three people in Turkana District. The three were swept away when River Kalawase burst its banks following a heavy downpour. Kenya Red Cross Society public relations and communications officer Nelly Muluka said a man, who was rescued from the raging floods, is admitted to Lodwar District Hospital in critical condition. More than 1,000 families from four villages living close to the river had been displaced as Turkana regional commissioner Christopher Musumbu on Thursday said the government had distributed 1,000 bags of relief maize to the displaced families. In Marigat, more than 1,700 people from six villages in Salabani had lost their homes after River Endao burst its banks. Subject: Around the World Today: Thursday 13th May 2010 No information posted Subject: Around the World Today: Wednesday 12th May 2010 LIBYA: A child aged about 10 is the only survivor of a plane crash at Tripoli airport in Libya which killed more than 100 people. Libyan officials say the child is Dutch and is being treated in hospital for injuries including broken bones. Dutch officials say 61 of their nationals were killed in the crash. The plane, belonging to the Libyan airline Afriqiyah Airways, crashed as it arrived from Johannesburg, South Africa. The cause is not yet known. Other passengers included nationals from Libya, South Africa, Germany, Britain and France. Libyan TV showed the child who survived being treated in hospital. The Airbus A330 - carrying 93 passengers and 11 crew - crashed as it came into land at Tripoli and disintegrated. CHINA: Relatives of many victims of the quake in China's Sichuan province are now able to start registering loved ones as dead, two years after the disaster. Some 18,000 people remain officially designated as "missing" from the quake, which killed a further 69,000. Chinese law says families must wait two years after an accident before starting to register missing relatives as dead. CHINA: Seven children and two adults have been hacked to death at a kindergarten in China, the latest in a series of school attacks, state media report. Another 11 children were injured in the attack near Hanzhong city, Shaanxi province, Xinhua news agency reported. The children were all thought to be under the age of six. Their attacker later killed himself. There have been five violent school attacks in the past two months in China, leaving dozens dead or injured. USA: California - Alameda County firefighters extinguished a three-alarm fire that broke out at a petroleum refinery in Newark early Wednesday morning, a spokeswoman said. Crews responded to reports of fire at a petroleum product refinery operated by Evergreen Oil Inc. at 6880 Smith Ave. at around 12:45 a.m., Alameda County Fire Department spokeswoman Aisha Knowles said. Approximately 65 county firefighters as well as units from Fremont and Union City fire departments responded to the blaze, Knowles said. An aggressive attack by responding crews kept the flames contained to a single heater stack, Knowles said, and the blaze was declared fully controlled by about 2:15 a.m. A preliminary investigation found that a non-hazardous transfer fluid caught fire within a heater stack structure, Knowles said. No injuries were reported to firefighters or to the facility's employees. A shelter-in-place warning was not issued to surrounding neighborhoods during the emergency. A plant manager told fire officials that the refinery, which operates 24-hours a day, remained fully operational Wednesday morning. The cause was still under investigation. [Comment: Sounds like a good job done through all phases on the emergency management programme for this site.] GUATEMALA: Another eruption: Guatemala's Santiaguito Volcano puts an unusual and violent display on Monday. Winds carried the ash in a northeast direction from Santiaguito. The ash spread across six provinces. Due to the volcanic ask, fears are raised about damages to crops, a key and vital economic ingredient for the area. 2500 people were killed in Santiaguito's worst eruption in 1929. INDIA: In what's being described as a "professional contamination incident", there's been a radiation spill at the Bhabha Atomic Research Center (BARC) in Mumbai. It has been contained, and nobody is injured, say sources. A scientist working with a radioactive chemical on Wednesday evening spilled the substance inside his laboratory. Ten people working around him have been examined for radiation. Five of them were found "externally contaminated with radioactivity" which means they showed traces on their bodies of the spilled substance. Doctors say they are safe and have allowed them to go home. One person is being kept under observation for potential "internal contamination". The Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) says, "All personnel have been decontaminated...there has been no leakage of radioactivity into the public domain." In December, two scientists died in a fire at BARC. Subject: Around the World Today: Tuesday 11th May 2010 CANADA: Quebec - Emergency workers are searching for a family of four who disappeared after a landslide swallowed their house Monday night. The collapse happened just after 9:30 p.m. in Saint-Jude, a town of 1,000 north of St-Hyacinthe near the Yamaska River. A driver passing the area alerted police about the massive crater after his truck fell into the hole. USA: Oklahoma - At least five people have been killed in tornadoes that have battered parts of the US state of Oklahoma, disaster officials say. The storms forced road closures, ripped up trees and flattened homes. Department of emergency management spokesman Jerry Lojka said two people died in Oklahoma City and three were killed in Cleveland County. MEDITERRANEAN: A cloud of volcanic ash from Iceland has forced airports in North Africa to shut for the first time, as well as hitting air travel in southern Spain. Morocco halted flights from Rabat, Casablanca and at least three other airports while, at one point, seven airports in Spain were closed. Turkey banned flights over its north-west for four hours from 1200 GMT. Ash said to be drifting towards south-east France is at high altitude and is not expected to affect airports there. PAKISTAN: A lake near the northern Pakistani town of Aliabad is on the verge of breaking its banks and displacing thousands of people, officials have warned. They say that if Attabad lake does flood, at least 36 villages could be submerged along with crops. The lake formed when landslides blocked a river in January. The trapped water is now at dangerously high levels. AUSTRALIA: Syndeysiders are being urged to stay indoors as a thick smoke haze sweeps across the city following hazard reduction burns in the Blue Mountains. The NSW Ambulance Service said people should stay in air-conditioned premises if possible, avoid rigorous exercise and cover their nose and mouth with a mask designed to filter fine particles. The Rural Fire Service (RFS) said it was assisting the National Parks and Wildlife Service with burn-offs in the lower Blue Mountains between Glenbrook and Warragamba. It says everything is under control, but the controlled burn is producing large volumes of smoke. "There is no issue with the hazard reduction. It's all going to plan," RFS spokesman Alex Chesser said. "However, it's burning through dense bushland and it's putting up a lot of smoke." Mr Chesser said this afternoon's westerly breeze was pushing the smoke across western Sydney, southwestern Sydney, along the coast and into the CBD. AFGHANISTAN: At least 30 schoolgirls in northern Afghanistan were hospitalised on Monday after a suspected poisonous gas attack on their school, a health official said, the fifth such incident in under a month. The head of a hospital in the city of Kunduz said an unidentified airborne substance was released close to the school, and 30 students were admitted to the hospital as a result. THAILAND: A total of 35 provinces have been declared areas heavily hit by drought, according to a report of the Interior Ministry's Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Department. The drought-hit areas cover 14,181 villages, 1,783 tambons and 262 districts. According to the report, the drought has affected more than 5 million people and 1.2 million rai of farmland. The Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Department has supplied more than 413 million litres of drinking water to drought-hit areas, repaired and built 5,210 weirs, and dredged 5,707 reservoirs. Lest we forget: 11th May 1985 Bradford Stadium Fire. The antiquated stand at Valley Parade eventually claimed the lives of 56 supporters and about 265 were injured. It was the worst fire disaster in the history of British football history. The death toll might have been higher had it not been for the courage of police officers and 22 spectators later presented with bravery awards. The cause of the fire is thought to have been the accidental dropping of a match or a cigarette stubbed out in a polystyrene cup and the resulting fire was fuelled by rubbish underneath the wooden stand. An inquiry chaired by Sir Oliver Popplewell published its final report in 1986. Its recommendations resulted in new legislation governing safety at sports grounds across the UK. A Bradford Disaster Appeal Fund raised £3.5m for the victims and their families. On Saturday 11 May 2002, the 17th anniversary of the disaster, a memorial with the names of those who lost their lives was dedicated at the new entrance to the redeveloped Sunwin stand. Subject: Around the World Today: Monday 10th May 2010 USA: Gulf Oil Spill - Even if BP manages to quickly cap the oil spill at the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico, the environmental impact from the massive slick will be "significant," Environmental Protection Agency director Bob Perciasepe said Friday. "There already is going to be a significant environmental impact here, even if it stops leaking now,". Concern grew Sunday that the US Gulf coast is facing a whole new level of environmental disaster after the best short-term fix for a massive oil spill ran into serious trouble. BP's giant containment box lay idle on the seabed as engineers furiously tried to figure out how to stop it clogging with ice crystals. Hairdressers, pet groomers and farmers worldwide are collecting hair and fur to help mop up the devastating oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. The hair, stuffed into nylon tights, helps booms soak up thick oil spewing from the blown-out well off Louisiana. About 370,000 salons are taking part, said the charity organising the massive "hair lift". Matter of Trust is largely co-ordinating its efforts via Facebook. Some 450,000lbs (204,000kg) of hair and fur is said to being arriving each day. ICELAND: Sixty inhabitants of the zone around Iceland's Eyjafjoell volcano have left the area voluntarily following fresh eruptions, a civil protection agency official said Saturday. "There is a lot of ash falling and the community is affected", Gudrun Johannesdottir told AFP, adding that while authorities were monitoring the situation closely, no evacuation had been ordered. TAJIKISTAN: The death toll from flooding and mudslides that swamped homes in Tajikistan has risen to 21, including 10 children, with around 1,500 homes damaged, an emergency official said Saturday. The deaths and destruction in the impoverished Central Asian state followed heavy downpours on Friday in the southeast of the mountainous country, emergency services spokesman Distmurod Zabirov told AFP. SOUTH AFRICA: At least 38 people were injured after an explosion at the Redhill train station in Durban North yesterday. Panicked commuters apparently jumped off a moving train at the station near Effingham Road. Four people were seriously injured. Police spokesman Colonel Vincent Mdunge dismissed earlier reports that the train had exploded, saying an electrical box had blown up nearby. Subject: Around the World Today: Sunday 9th May 2010 INDONESIA: A 7.4 magnitude earthquake hits near the site of the 2004 quake that triggered the Indian Ocean tsunami. RUSSIA: At least 12 miners have been killed and 83 others are trapped following two explosions at Russia's largest underground coal mine. Twenty of those still in the Raspadskaya mine, in western Siberia, are rescuers sent in following the first blast, officials say. RUSSIA: The Rospotrebnadzor - the Russian equivalent of a health protection agency - has reported that between 15 Apr and 4 May 2010, a total of 31 cases of measles were registered in the Amur Oblast, 17 of which have been confirmed by laboratory testing. 27 people have been admitted to infectious diseases wards. 3 have been discharged as of 4 May 2010. The outbreak investigation revealed that the 1st cases were connected with travel to China. Most of cases have been adults who had not received protective immunization previously. Subject: Around the World Today: Saturday 8th May 2010 SPAIN: Hundreds of flights are disrupted in Spain after 19 airports close as an ash cloud from the Icelandic volcano hits the country's north. AFGHANISTAN: Fresh floods caused by heavy rains have hit northern Afghanistan, after a week of flooding across the country in which at least 65 people died. Western provinces have been worst hit by the deluge over the past few days, Afghan authorities told the BBC. USA: NY - A ferry has crashed into a pier on New York's Staten Island injuring 37 people, officials say. None were seriously hurt in the collision, which was said to have been caused by a mechanical fault. The Andrew J Barberi ferry has a history of accidents. In 2003, 11 people were killed when it crashed into a pier on Staten Island. Lockerbie103The ferry, which connects the island with Manhattan, hit the St George Ferry Terminal at 0930 on Saturday. TAJIKISTAN: Seven people were killed in landslides triggered by heavy rain in Tajikistan, reported on Friday. According to reports, 40 people are still missing. In a statement from the country's emergencies committee, the landslides occurred in the town of Kulyab, 195 kilometers south of the capital, Dushanbe. Some 200 homes have reportedly been damaged. In May last year at least 18 people died due to landslides. INDIA: West Bengal - An anthrax outbreak has killed 2 people and affected more than 50 people at a tribal village in West Bengal's Paschim Medinipur district in the past 2 days. This is the 1st outbreak of the disease in the district in recent past, according to officials of the Health Department. USA: Alaska - A 2-acre area at the Fort Knox Gold Mine near Fairbanks is being dug up to remove pollution from a spill of water contaminated with a low concentration of sodium cyanide. The Department of Environmental Conservation said that most of the estimated 305,000-gallon spill Wednesday was contained within a building. But, 30,000 to 35,000 gallons flowed onto a gravel road and parking lot within the site. The DEC said the spilled cyanide doesn't pose an inhalation hazard to workers cleaning the spill. Earthen barriers were set up to prevent the cyanide from migrating farther. Excavated contaminated soil will be hauled away by truck, the DEC said. Subject: Around the World Today: Friday 7th May 2010 No information posted Subject: Around the World Today: Thursday 6th May 2010 YEMEN: Heavy rain has killed seven people in Sanaa, the Yemeni capital. A security official said the torrential downpour on Wednesday also swept away a large number of homes in a shanty town north of the city. There has been unusually heavy rainfall across the Arabian peninsula this week, with two people killed in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, on Monday. AFGHANISTAN: At least 31 people have been killed in a series of flash floods in Afghanistan, the government said Wednesday, warning the death toll may rise. Torrential rain has triggered heavy flooding in northern and western Afghanistan over the past three days, Abdul Mateen Idrak, the head of the National Disaster Management Authority. USA: Texas - An 18-wheeler being loaded with fuel at a San Antonio refinery has exploded, setting off a chain reaction of smaller blasts and leaving some workers hurt. A giant plume of black smoke could be seen Wednesday afternoon over San Antonio's southeast side. Fire department spokeswoman Deborah Foster said authorities are trying to account for all 100 employees at the AGE Refining Inc. facility. Foster says some workers were being treated at the scene. No numbers were immediately provided. Residents within a one-mile radius were being evacuated. CHINA: Chinese state media says 23 people have been killed by a tornado and strong winds in southwestern China.The official Xinhua News Agency says more than 150 were injured and some houses collapsed after the storm early Thursday morning in the city of Chongqing.The report says the reports from local officials on the number of dead and injured are still incomplete.Xinhua says the tornado struck the area around 2 a.m. and killed people in the counties of Dianjiang and Liangping. UGANDA: Ugandan wildlife authorities say the ice cap on the country's western Rwenzori mountain range has split after extensive melting caused by global warming. Nelson Guma says ice covering Mount Margherita, the second highest peak in Africa, has melted forming a large crevasse some 6 meters (nearly 20 feet) wide. CHILE / PERU: 6.4 magnitude earthquake rattled southern Peru and northern Chile on Wednesday, the U.S. Geological Survey said, but there were no immediate reports of damage. Subject: Around the World Today: Wednesday 5th May 2010 No information posted Subject: Around the World Today: Tuesday 4th May 2010 DRC: Hundreds of thousands of residents of Mbuji-Mayi, central Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), are caught up in a water crisis since a landslide damaged the town's water supply in March. Some of the town's three million residents now walk more than 20km daily in search of water, with reports that a water vendor died recently after a lorry ran over him as he ferried water for sale in Mbuji-Mayi. CHINA: A petroleum pipeline leaked some 240 metric tons of oil onto farmlands and roads in eastern China Sunday but crews were able to recover about 90 percent of the spill, China's state-run news agency Xinhua said. The pipeline, owned by China Petroleum and Chemical Corporation (Sinopec) resumed operation Monday afternoon after it was repaired. It had been damaged during construction work. Sinopec said the pipeline was immediately shut down and the leak was stopped when the problem was discovered Sunday evening. The incident occurred in China's Shandong Province. Testing by environmental protection authorities indicated there was no contamination of nearby water sources MOZAMBIQUE: The Mozambican authorities have found in the southern province of Inhambane, about 20 miles off the coast of Vilankulo, a small boat laden with 13 containers that the authorities suspect to be radioactive waste. According to the state Radio Mozambique, the authorities said that the barge, baptized "Anchorage", with no crew aboard, may have been abandoned in the Mozambican waters by a mother ship, probably from Singapore. The maritime authorities are currently waiting for the arrival of a tugboat to move the barge with the suspected radioactive material ashore, while it is being be strictly monitored by the Mozambican Navy. USA: Caliafornia - The Klamath Basin was declared a primary natural disaster area Monday by the U.S. Department of Agriculture because of severe drought conditions, guaranteeing farmers and ranchers access to low-interest emergency loans. In addition, farmers in Jackson, Deschutes, Douglas, Lake and Lane counties will also qualify for disaster assistance, along with those in Modoc and Siskiyou counties in California. The U.S. Department of the Interior announced an additional $2 million in drought aid for the Klamath Basin last week. Subject: Around the World Today: Monday 3rd May 2010 USA: Tennessee - Parts of Nashville, Tennessee, have been evacuated after a levee protecting the southern city sprang a leak. Nashville landmarks like the Country Music Hall of Fame and the symphony centre are surrounded by water. Officials say at least 17 people were killed in three southern states over the weekend with severe thunderstorms causing deadly flash floods. In Nashville, more than 13in (33cm) of rain fell over two days, almost doubling the previous rainfall record. MEXICAN: Five people have been killed and at least 12 injured in a stampede at a concert in Mexico, police said. Panic broke out when shots were heard at a pop concert in the the northern state of Nuevo Leon, sending the crowd of 500 people scrambling for cover. INDIA: The mystery of the missing cobalt-60 pencils further deepened with investigators claiming that the lead cover of the gamma irradiator -- in which the radioactive metal was kept -- was melted at a furnace at Rewari in Haryana by one of the scrap dealers. This shocking revelation has led to a team of experts from the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre and Atomic Energy Regulation Board rushing to Rewari, where a combing operation was carried out on Saturday for radiation sources. The agencies have so far have failed to find any radioactive source in the Haryana town. BARC officials told TOI the search would continue. They said cobalt-60 does not lose its radioactive properties despite being heated at high temperature in a furnace. Since the lead was melted and sold to various people, experts did not rule out the possibility of the cobalt-60 being distributed across a wide area. SPAIN: The ebola virus found in the remains of dead bats in Asturias most likely belongs to a species of ebolavirus harmless to humans, according to Francisco Llinares, Professor of Microbiology at the University of San Pablo CEU. The professor referred to this case during the lecture "Filoviridae: Ebola and Marburg," within the framework of the IV Conference of Microbiology and Public Health at the San Pablo University CEU, this year 2010 entitled "The coming Virus." However, he said that "only the results of the laboratory analysis will determine exactly what type of ebolavirus we found." Llinares believes this is surely a case of a "new type" of ebolavirus, i.e. not as yet documented. In fact, he recalled scientific reports that, years ago, unexplained deaths of bats had been observed in Asturias. Only when by chance a group of researchers came to check on these bat deaths did they realize that an ebolavirus was the cause of the mortality. THAILAND: Thousands of openbill storks in Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya's Phak Hai district have died, with avian influenza thought to be a possible cause. A vast wasteland in tambon Khok Chang of Ayutthaya is home to tens of thousands of Asian openbill storks. It is one of the largest flocks of birds in Ayutthaya. A few days ago, thousands of Asian openbill storks died without apparent cause. Residents are worried the flock might have been infected with the bird flu virus, as Phak Hai district was one of many areas nationwide reported with the virus outbreak last year [2009]. TURKEY: Residents in the eastern province of AAY? are protesting the government's response to approximately 5,000 flooded homes following three days of torrential rain, the province's vice mayor said. The Murat River, the Tay? Stream and the Kar? Stream are close to the city center and overflowed following heavy rains. Vice Mayor Abrahim Kaseda said the municipality was working with 14 vehicles to remove water from the affected houses, the CNN news website reported Monday. PAPUA NEW GUINEA: An outbreak of cholera in Papua New Guinea has spread to the capital, Port Moresby, killing three people. After spreading across PNG's north coast over the past 10 months cholera has arrived in Port Moresby in the south. Two men have died from the acute intestinal infection in Elevala village on the city's waterfront and there has been another death at a village further up the coast. The medical director of the St John health service, Raipen Dikinsep, says a treatment centre is being set up to isolate suspected cases. Subject: Around the World Today: Sunday 2nd May 2010 USA: MA - A major pipe bringing water to the Boston area has sprung a "catastrophic" leak and is dumping eight million gallons of water per hour into the Charles River. Governor Deval Patrick declared a state of emergency and issued a "boil-water" order for Boston and dozens of other communities. Subject: Around the World Today: Saturday 1st May 2010 USA: Louisianna - Criticism of BP is mounting in the US over its handling of the giant oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Calls for swifter action were led by Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, who urged BP to commit more resources to tackling the catastrophe. KENYA: At least eight Kenyan villagers have died in a landslide which destroyed many homes in the west of the country, rescue workers say. The landslide occurred in Marakwet district early on Friday, when most people were sleeping. Rainwater is reported to have gushed down hills bringing large quantities of earth down with it. INDONESIA: A meteorite has today landed in Indonesia's capital Jakarta and destroyed a house. The space object smashed the roof and went through two floors. The meteorite exploded making damages to the other houses. Fortunately, there was nobody in the destroyed house, thus there are no victims or even injured. |
