Showing posts with label rescue. Show all posts
Showing posts with label rescue. Show all posts
Sunday, July 19, 2026
Friday, June 12, 2026
Monday, November 17, 2025
Thursday, October 10, 2024
Sunday, May 19, 2024
Sunday, July 22, 2018
Thai boys rescued from cave to be ordained in Buddhist ceremony
The "Wild Boars" are enjoying their first few days home after being discharged from hospital and speaking to the media about their harrowing ordeal inside the Tham Luang cave near the Myanmar border.
Updated:July 22, 2018, 7:35 PM IST
Mae Sai (Thailand): Most members of the Thai youth football team rescued from a flooded cave will have their heads shaved, don robes and be ordained in a Buddhist ceremony this week, officials said Sunday.
The "Wild Boars" are enjoying their first few days home after being discharged from hospital and speaking to the media about their harrowing ordeal inside the Tham Luang cave near the Myanmar border.
The 12 boys, aged 11 to 16, and their coach went into the cave complex on June 23 after practice and were trapped by floods from monsoon rains.
They survived on water dripping from rocks for nine days before being found emaciated on a muddy ledge by rescue divers, who helped extract the team a week later in a risky mission.
All made a speedy and surprising recovery after a week in hospital, and on their first day out they prayed for good fortune in a traditional ceremony and mourned a former Thai navy SEAL who died during the rescue efforts.
Now they will go a step further and spend time living in a monastery before returning to normal life, a common practice in Buddhist-majority countries like Thailand.
"They will ordain for nine days," Prachon Pratsakul, the Chaing Rai governor, told reporters in a briefing at the Mae Sai district office.
Praphun Khomjoi, Chiang Rai's Buddhist office chief, said that the "Wild Boars" will have their heads shaved on July 24 and attend a robe ceremony the next day.
They will then stay in different monasteries until leaving August 4.
One of the children, Adul Sam-on, will not join them as he is Christian, the governor said.
Authorities have told media to give the teammates time to adjust to their lives but interest in the story remains high, with production houses looking to make a Hollywood-style film on the saga.
The story is readymade for the screen, with a bold rescue operation that entailed sedating and moving the boys out of the cave through treacherous passageways.
Saturday, May 30, 2015
International: 48 organisations endorse a joint statement for the World Humanitarian Summit
02 March 2015
A large truck delivers aid to Syrians in Aleppo (Jesuit Refugee Service).
A large truck delivers aid to Syrians in Aleppo (Jesuit Refugee Service).
Relief services are time-sensitive. We cannot wait to act. All states, donors and aid agencies must follow core humanitarian standards to ensure that the millions affected by conflict across the world get the assistance and protection they need, when they need it.
Rome, 2 March 2015 – Together with organisations such as Christian Aid, Caritas International, the Islamic Relief Worldwide, and the International Rescue Committee, the Jesuit Refugee Services (JRS) calls on humanitarian actors and states in conflict regions to "re-affirm their commitment to respect and to promote the humanitarian principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality and independence, towards any stakeholders involved in humanitarian crises."
JRS, alongside 47 other agencies, signed a joint statement in Hungary in late February to protect the fundamental right of those affected by conflict to access humanitarian aid. The NGOs developed the statement as part of the European consultations that will contribute to the 2016 World Humanitarian Summit hosted by the United Nations. The signatories recognise that "humanitarian action is driven by a sense of humanity, a willingness to relieve human suffering, regardless of culture, origins or religion."
Humanitarian aid operations are a matter of international solidarity, which should not threaten national sovereignty. Governments in conflict regions must not only provide national humanitarian support, they must also facilitate the work of others actors in the region to deliver humanitarian aid, the statement urges.
In many volatile and insecure environments, lines are blurred between military and political activities (i.e. counter-terrorism tactics) and humanitarian aid, making it difficult for aid agencies to operate. The joint statement insists that governmental and institutional funding must remain independent of political agendas. Furthermore, the NGOs call on conflict-affected states to "allow and support full unimpeded access to all people in need of assistance and promote the safety, protection and freedom of movement of humanitarian personnel."
"We are in the midst of some of the worst humanitarian crises since World War II: the Central African Republic, South Sudan, Syria. Reaching people quickly and effectively must to be our priority. We call on governments to cooperate with international humanitarian actors and to hasten the delivery of relief services," JRS International Director Peter Balleis SJ said.
"Relief services are time-sensitive. We cannot wait to act. All states, donors and aid agencies must follow core humanitarian standards to ensure that the millions affected by conflict across the world get the assistance and protection they need, when they need it."
Consequently, the support provided by outside actors must remain needs-based, rather than be used as a crisis management tool by donors. The aid agencies should abide by these humanitarian principles to remain accountable to those they serve. The signatories call on all international actors to "review and design all humanitarian policies in compliance with the humanitarian principles and enhance existing commitments for good donor practices such as the Good Humanitarian Donorship principles."
The World Humanitarian Summit next year aims to find innovative methods to approach humanitarian crises and reduce persons' vulnerability. Looking forward, Fr Balleis said "next year's World Humanitarian Summit in Istanbul is the time to stress the importance of these humanitarian principles. Only then will we have a solid foundation from which to serve others."
Jacquelyn Pavilon, International Communications Assistant
Joint Statement on humanitarian principles endorsed by 48 humanitarian NGOs as a common contribution to the World Humanitarian Summit consultations as of 27 February.
Today, the humanitarian sector faces an unprecedented number of protracted and acute humanitarian crises, such as the crisis in Syria, in Central African Republic, in South Sudan or the regional Ebola crisis, compelling humanitarian actors to stretch existing structures and practices to breaking point. Considering the role the World Humanitarian Summit may play in the future of humanitarian action, it is of utmost importance that the international community uses this opportunity to reaffirm the shared value of humanitarian principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality and independence.
The humanitarian principles emerged from International Humanitarian Law and are based on a common understanding that humanitarian action is driven by a sense of humanity, a willingness to relieve human suffering, regardless of culture, origins or religion. They are encompassed within the core of key humanitarian references, such as the Code of Conduct for the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement and Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) in Disaster Relief or the European Consensus on Humanitarian Aid.
NGOs are operating in exceptionally volatile and insecure environments where political agendas are interfering with the delivery of humanitarian aid, causing increased threats to the safety and security of humanitarian aid workers and assets, and in some situations hamper impartial access of affected population to relief operations. For example, the growing numbers of counter-terrorism laws and measures adopted by States and inter- governmental organizations are restricting humanitarian actor's ability to develop partnerships, run projects in complex environments, and are delaying programs implementation. The involvement of some donor states in stabilization operations in many contexts where humanitarian aid is needed, are increasingly blurring lines between political, military and humanitarian objectives, thus reducing humanitarian NGOS abilities to deliver aid. Therefore, due respect of the principles implies that governmental and institutional funding must remain detached from political or other agendas.
While affected states keep the primary responsibility to organize and deliver humanitarian support, they also have the fundamental duty to facilitate the work of other actors in situations when international solidarity is requested to answer the needs. Relief operations should not be considered as a challenge to State sovereignty nor the humanitarian imperative be undermined by making national sovereignty an excuse.
We concur that re-shaping aid is urgent with new actors and new donors playing bigger roles. Humanitarian aid must remain based on the needs as assessed by humanitarian actors and donors should abstain from using aid as a crisis management tool.
Consequently humanitarian NGOs, concerned about the threats posed on these principles, take the opportunity of the World Humanitarian Summit to strongly reassert their commitment to the humanitarian principles, as being critical in guaranteeing people in need will have safe access to humanitarian aid. The humanitarian principles must be fully supported and adequately implemented by states and all organizations, and systematically feed all policies and practices on humanitarian aid.
As humanitarian NGOs involved in crises around the world today, we strongly call upon Humanitarian actors, Donors, States and all parties involved in conflicts, to:
- Re-affirm their commitment to respect and to promote the humanitarian principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality and independence, towards any stakeholders involved in humanitarian crises, and re-affirm the value of the humanitarian imperative;
- Review and design all humanitarian policies in compliance with the humanitarian principles and enhance existing commitments for good donor practices such as the Good Humanitarian Donorship principles;
- Reaffirm and protect the fundamental right for affected populations to access humanitarian aid;
- Allow and support full unimpeded access to all people in need of assistance and promote the safety, protection and freedom of movement of humanitarian personnel.
We request that these recommendations be fully part of the outcomes of the World Humanitarian Summit.
Signatories
Signatories
ACF International, ACT Alliance, ACTED, ADRA, Alianza por la Solidaridad, Arche noVa e.V., Bioforce, CARE International, Caritas Internationalis, CBM International, Center for Vicitms of Torture, ChildFund International, Christian Aid, Comitato Internazionale Sviluppo dei popoli (CISP), Concern Worldwide, DanChurchAid, Danish Refugee Council, Diakonie Katastrophenhilfe, Finnish Church Aid, Habitat For Humanity International, Handicap International, Help - Hilfe zur Selbsthilfe, HelpAge International, International Catholic Migration Commission (ICMC), International Medical Corps, International Rescue Committee, Islamic Relief Worldwide, Jesuit Refugee Service, Life for Relief and Development, Malteser International, MEDAIR, Médecins du Monde, Mercy Corps, Norwegian Church Aid, Norwegian Refugee Council, Oxfam, People In Need, Premiere Urgence - Aide Medicale Internationale, Questscope for Social Development in the Middle East, Relief International, Secours Islamique France, Solidarites International, Terre des homes, The Lutheran World Federation, Tierarzte ohne Grenzen, Welthungerhilfe, World Vision International
Contacts
Camille Gosselin
cgosselin@handicap-international.org
Pauline Chetcuti
pchetcuti@actioncontrelafaim.org
Press Contact Information
James Stapleton
international.communications@jrs.net
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Sunday, December 28, 2014
Hollywood taking notice of Desmond Doss story
Lynchburg native was World War II Congressional Medal of Honor winner
News & Advance file photo
Pfc. Desmond Doss receives his Medal of Honor from President Harry S. Truman. On his Medal of Honor citation, he is credited with saving 75 lives.
Posted: Saturday, December 6, 2014 5:02 pm
Emma Schkloven
The story of Pfc. Desmond T. Doss, a Lynchburg native and the first conscientious objector to receive the Congressional Medal of Honor, is on its way to the big screen — and Mel Gibson is apparently in talks to direct.
The film, “Hacksaw Ridge,” has been linked by several Hollywood media outlets to Cross Creek Pictures, which also produced the Oscar-winning “Black Swan” in 2010.
Doss, who grew up on Easley Avenue in Fairview Heights, was drafted into the U.S. Army in 1942, though he refused to carry a weapon in combat because of his religious beliefs as a Seventh-day Adventist. He was assigned as a combat medic, and is credited with saving as many as 75 men during the battle of Okinawa. Doss singlehandedly lowered the soldiers with ropes off a 400-foot cliff to safety, all while facing enemy fire.
“His commander said it had to be more than 100, and he was a small man,” said Harlow Reynolds, one of the Lynchburg locals who worked with City Council to rename the northwest extension of the Lynchburg Expressway after Doss in 2007. “How he did it, I will never know with his size.”
Steve Doss, the principal of Desmond T. Doss Christian Academy in Lynchburg, learned of the movie’s possibility about two years ago, when he met Dr. Charles Knapp, a retired U.S. Army colonel. Knapp is chairman of the Georgia-Cumberland Conference’s Desmond Doss Council, which owns the rights to Doss’s story.
“They had turned down a number of screenplays because they wanted it to stay true to who Desmond was,” Doss said.
Pfc. Doss died in 2006, but his retelling of the story is immortalized in the award-winning documentary, “The Conscientious Objector,” produced in 2004.
“Variety” and “Deadline” both have reported that Andrew Garfield (“The Amazing Spiderman,” “The Social Network”) is on the short list of stars who may portray the hero in the new film. Several entertainment outlets have reported that Gibson is in talks to direct. “[The film] will cross over to so many different people who will enjoy it, especially now with the revitalization of appreciation for what veterans have done for us,” Doss said.
Pfc. Doss visited the school, which changed its name from Lynchburg Seventh-day Adventist School in 1984, several times over the years.
“He came in his uniform and did the knots for the kids that he used to lower the men down that escarpment,” Doss said.
The principal described the veteran as “kind-hearted … very down to earth.”
“He was in awe that people were in awe of him,” Doss said.
Reynolds, who communicated with the Doss family in the last years of the veteran’s life, has some advice for the film’s producers.
“Just tell the truth of how he did it, you don’t have to beef it up or anything,” he said. “If [it] tells the truth, it will be a great movie.”
Medal of Honor Citation
He was a company aid man when the 1st Battalion assaulted a jagged escarpment 400 feet (120 m) high. As our troops gained the summit, a heavy concentration of artillery, mortar and machinegun fire crashed into them, inflicting approximately 75 casualties and driving the others back. Pfc. Doss refused to seek cover and remained in the fire-swept area with the many stricken, carrying all 75 casualties one-by-one to the edge of the escarpment and there lowering them on a rope-supported litter down the face of a cliff to friendly hands.
On May 2, he exposed himself to heavy rifle and mortar fire in rescuing a wounded man 200 yards (180 m) forward of the lines on the same escarpment; and 2 days later he treated 4 men who had been cut down while assaulting a strongly defended cave, advancing through a shower of grenades to within 8 yards (7.3 m) of enemy forces in a cave's mouth, where he dressed his comrades' wounds before making 4 separate trips under fire to evacuate them to safety.
On May 5, he unhesitatingly braved enemy shelling and small arms fire to assist an artillery officer. He applied bandages, moved his patient to a spot that offered protection from small arms fire and, while artillery and mortar shells fell close by, painstakingly administered plasma. Later that day, when an American was severely wounded by fire from a cave, Pfc. Doss crawled to him where he had fallen 25 feet (7.6 m) from the enemy position, rendered aid, and carried him 100 yards (91 m) to safety while continually exposed to enemy fire. On May 21, in a night attack on high ground near Shuri, he remained in exposed territory while the rest of his company took cover, fearlessly risking the chance that he would be mistaken for an infiltrating Japanese and giving aid to the injured until he was himself seriously wounded in the legs by the explosion of a grenade.
Rather than call another aid man from cover, he cared for his own injuries and waited 5 hours before litter bearers reached him and started carrying him to cover. The trio was caught in an enemy tank attack and Pfc. Doss, seeing a more critically wounded man nearby, crawled off the litter; and directed the bearers to give their first attention to the other man. Awaiting the litter bearers' return, he was again struck, by a sniper bullet while being carried off the field by a comrade, this time suffering a compound fracture of 1 arm. With magnificent fortitude he bound a rifle stock to his shattered arm as a splint and then crawled 300 yards (270 m) over rough terrain to the aid station. Through his outstanding bravery and unflinching determination in the face of desperately dangerous conditions Pfc. Doss saved the lives of many soldiers. His name became a symbol throughout the 77th Infantry Division for outstanding gallantry far above and beyond the call of duty.
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Wednesday, August 20, 2014
Ben Carson: 'There Is a Fire Lit in Me to Save Our Country'
Wednesday, 20 Aug 2014 04:46 PM
By Bill Hoffmann
Dr. Ben Carson says he has "a fire" inside him to rescue the United States from ruin — and he's building a strong political network to lay the groundwork for a possible 2016 presidential run.
"There certainly is a fire lit in me to save our country. I don't know what my role will be in that. Only God knows that, but I'm certainly listening to the people," Carson said Wednesday on "The Steve Malzberg Show" on Newsmax TV.
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"I will be very attentive in November to see if people want a country that's forever by the people or forever by the government.
"We're putting an organization, USA First PAC, and working with American Legacy PAC and various organizations to make sure all the ground work is laid."
Carson, former head of pediatric neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins Children's Center, said if he does run, his agenda will move "toward things that help America, not toward things that help a political party."
He said he has been talking to groups of people nationwide about their vision of the United States and what they are willing to do to make it a better place.
"That's the key. What are you willing to do for it? Freedom is not free. It's not a spectator's sport. You have to roll your sleeves up. You have to get involved, otherwise you will lose it," Carson said.
The renowned surgeon, an African American conservative who has never held a political office, has been testing the waters of political support over the past year.
Carson also spoke about the shooting of a black youth by a white cop in Ferguson, Mo., and the subsequent rioting that has rocked the city of 21,000, saying he has been "very disappointed" with news coverage of the turmoil.
"I was hoping that maybe the news media could come to some kind of resolution among themselves and say, 'Can just three of us cover this hour and three of us the next hour?' because they're making this into a media circus," he said.
"That's attracting a lot of outside people who want to come in and get attention. We're finding out now that most of the looters are people from the outside.
"What we should be doing is looking at how we can use this to focus attention where it needs to be focused. We need to be thinking about Detroit, Chicago, New Orleans, Washington D.C., Philadelphia and places where tons of young men are being killed."
Carson said the rise of black on black crime has become a national crisis.
"How many black men were killed by police last year? 100. How many were killed by other black men? 5,000. That's 50 to 1. That's a crisis," he said.
"We need to be directing some attention to that. Perhaps, we can get some of these leaders who are so quick to fly in here to go to those cities and help address those issues.
"Because those are what's killing the community. Those are what's driving down the income. That's what's really creating frustration in a tinder-box situation."
On the subject of the video that shows beheading of American journalist James Foley by an ISIS executioner, Carson said he expected to see "a little more outrage to be honest with you" from The White House.
"This is an American citizen being beheaded," he said, urging President Barack Obama to adopt a hardline strategy to defeat the Islamic extremist group.
"They're not going away. We may be able to push them back for a little while, but they're just going to regroup and come back at us," Carson said.
"Unless we have an overall strategy for how we're going to eliminate that threat, we're just spitting in the ocean."
"If we were a lot more forceful and we had an actual plan, we would see some of the countries like Saudi Arabia actually willing to jump on board."
Source: http://www.newsmax.com/Newsfront/ben-carson-run-president-ferguson/2014/08/20/id/589922/#ixzz3AyoX7429
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Wednesday, August 13, 2014
U.S. Boots Stepping Closer to Iraq
Mark Thompson @MarkThompson_DC
8:41 PM ET
Getty Images
Administration asserts they wouldn’t be in combat, but the enemy might disagree
Those increasingly loud footsteps you hear could be the sound of U.S. military boots marching closer to Iraq, following a visit Wednesday by 20 U.S. troops to plot a way to rescue thousands of Yezidi refugees on a mountain surrounded by Islamic militants in northern Iraq. While they reported fewer stranded than originally thought, Pentagon officials said, a rescue operation still might be needed.
Administration asserts they wouldn’t be in combat, but the enemy might disagree
MOREThe Yezidis—and the Kurds—Hope for U.S. Salvation in IraqEvacuation Mission ‘Less Likely’ After U.S. Special Forces Land on Iraq MountainHow the Pentagon Would Save the Stranded Refugees in Northern Iraq
Those increasingly loud footsteps you hear could be the sound of U.S. military boots marching closer to Iraq, following a visit Wednesday by 20 U.S. troops to plot a way to rescue thousands of Yezidi refugees on a mountain surrounded by Islamic militants in northern Iraq. While they reported fewer stranded than originally thought, Pentagon officials said, a rescue operation still might be needed.
President Obama made it clear two months ago that American combat boots wouldn’t be headed back there, where 4,486 U.S. troops died between 2003 and 2011.
“We will not be sending troops back into combat in Iraq,” Obama pledged.
But you can drive an M-1 tank through that “into combat” caveat. It implies, as a top White House aide suggested anew Wednesday, that U.S. troops can go into harm’s way in Iraq and avoid combat. The first rule of war, old soldiers say, is that the enemy always gets a vote.
Other aides have been making similar distinctions. “This is not a combat, boots-on-the-ground operation,” Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel told Marines on Tuesday in California about a possible Iraq mission. “We’re not going to have that kind of operation.”
Hagel’s spokesman, Rear Admiral John Kirby, repeated that refrain Wednesday. “The president’s been very clear,” he told CNN. “There’s not going to be boots on the ground in a combat role.”
Deputy National Security Adviser Ben Rhodes said Wednesday that U.S. troops might be put on the ground to help rescue Yazidi refugees stranded along the Sinjar mountain range in northern Iraq. “The role of U.S. forces is not one of re-entering combat on the ground,” Rhodes said. “In terms of the kinetic actions that are being taken”—bullets and missiles, in other words—“those are in the form of airstrikes.”
But that assumes that if U.S. forces go into Iraq to help rescue the refugees, they’ll be calling the shots. Literally.
Unfortunately, the militants of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria are eager to fight U.S. troops, Pentagon officials believe. Some are suicidal, and would like nothing more than to die in a firefight with American soldiers or Marines.
There are limits to how much protection U.S. troops on the ground can expect from U.S. warplanes and helicopter gunships above. And the nearer aircraft come to provide such firepower, the more vulnerable they become to whatever anti-aircraft weapons ISIS has.
Whatever Obama decides, U.S. troops will be able to defend themselves. “Force protection is always a mission for U.S. personnel in any country in the world,” Rhodes said. What Obama has “ruled out is re-introducing U.S. forces into combat on the ground in Iraq.” In other words, if U.S. troops are sent into Iraq on a rescue mission, think of them as a football team that plays only defense.
“We will not be sending troops back into combat in Iraq,” Obama pledged.
But you can drive an M-1 tank through that “into combat” caveat. It implies, as a top White House aide suggested anew Wednesday, that U.S. troops can go into harm’s way in Iraq and avoid combat. The first rule of war, old soldiers say, is that the enemy always gets a vote.
Other aides have been making similar distinctions. “This is not a combat, boots-on-the-ground operation,” Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel told Marines on Tuesday in California about a possible Iraq mission. “We’re not going to have that kind of operation.”
Hagel’s spokesman, Rear Admiral John Kirby, repeated that refrain Wednesday. “The president’s been very clear,” he told CNN. “There’s not going to be boots on the ground in a combat role.”
Deputy National Security Adviser Ben Rhodes said Wednesday that U.S. troops might be put on the ground to help rescue Yazidi refugees stranded along the Sinjar mountain range in northern Iraq. “The role of U.S. forces is not one of re-entering combat on the ground,” Rhodes said. “In terms of the kinetic actions that are being taken”—bullets and missiles, in other words—“those are in the form of airstrikes.”
But that assumes that if U.S. forces go into Iraq to help rescue the refugees, they’ll be calling the shots. Literally.
Unfortunately, the militants of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria are eager to fight U.S. troops, Pentagon officials believe. Some are suicidal, and would like nothing more than to die in a firefight with American soldiers or Marines.
There are limits to how much protection U.S. troops on the ground can expect from U.S. warplanes and helicopter gunships above. And the nearer aircraft come to provide such firepower, the more vulnerable they become to whatever anti-aircraft weapons ISIS has.
Whatever Obama decides, U.S. troops will be able to defend themselves. “Force protection is always a mission for U.S. personnel in any country in the world,” Rhodes said. What Obama has “ruled out is re-introducing U.S. forces into combat on the ground in Iraq.” In other words, if U.S. troops are sent into Iraq on a rescue mission, think of them as a football team that plays only defense.
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Wednesday, May 14, 2014
Rescue 2014
1. On March 8, 2014 a Boeing 777 - Malaysian Airlines Flight MH370, was lost somewhere after its take off from Kuala Lumpur bound for Beijing. The plane and its 239 passengers and crew has yet to be found.
2. On April 16, 2014 a South Korean Ferry MV Sewol en route to Jeju from Incheon sank with 281 students who were on a school trip. The Ferry sank and many of the victims have been extrated from the vessel by disaster response divers.
3.On May 13, 2014 a fire in a coal mine in SomaTurkey killed at last count 238 people. The fire may still be burning today?
What do the 3 events have in common?
Well, first off, a rescue was started immediately for 'survivors' in each disaster. Secondly, the death toll in all these 'accidents' surpasses 200 victims.
1-2-3
Arsenio.
Wednesday, August 21, 2013
Asylum-seekers made it less than half-way from Indonesia when boat began to sink
by: Paige Taylor
From: The Australian
August 21, 2013 12:00AM
TRAUMATISED survivors of another fatal asylum boat journey will be delivered to Christmas Island this morning after being rescued by the Australian navy in the third tragedy at sea in five weeks.
The 106 survivors are due to be taken off HMAS Parramatta, the frigate that rescued them from their sunken vessel about 120 nautical miles north of the Australian territory. Up to five people are feared drowned.
The asylum-seekers had made it less than half-way from Indonesia when their boat began to sink. A search for five people the asylum-seekers said were unaccounted was called off last night. Navy officers in rigid inflatable boats rescued the 106 people from the sinking asylum vessel after somebody onboard phoned for help early yesterday saying two passengers were injured.
The Parramatta was more than six hours from the asylum vessel shortly after 5.30am (AEST) when the Australian Maritime Safety Authority received the phone call asking for help. At that time, there was no indication the vessel was stricken. The person who contacted AMSA indicated only that two people on board were injured and needed help, an AMSA spokeswoman said.
When the Customs and Border Protection Dash 8 aircraft arrived on the scene at 12:20pm, it sighted a "foundered vessel".
"The vessel was upright, but partially submerged. A number of people were sighted in the water," an AMSA statement said.
At 12:25pm, the Parramatta arrived and began pulling people out of the water. A merchant vessel was on the scene as well.
"After an extensive search of the area for further survivors or bodies, none have been sighted; it is therefore believed any people unaccounted for have gone down with part of the vessel," AMSA and Border Protection Command said in a joint media release at 6.38pm.
In two asylum boat tragedies north of Christmas Island last month, the vessels tipped over in rough conditions. Those two capsizes - one overnight on July 12-13 and another on July 16 - were also fatal.
In the first, officers from Customs Vessel Triton rescued 88 people with help from a merchant vessel. Rescuers also recovered the body of 10-week-old baby boy Abul Jafari from Afghanistan.
The July 16 capsize was closer to Christmas Island. The bodies of two men and two women were recovered. In that incident, officers from HMAS Warramunga and HMAS Albany rescued 144 people, including an eight-month-old baby Afghan girl found floating face down in the ocean and not breathing.
Her mother is missing presumably drowned. In that incident, the navy has confirmed an officer from the Warramunga spotted the girl, pulled her into a inflatable boat and revived her.
Those rescued yesterday are from the 40th boat to either arrive, be intercepted or rescued since Kevin Rudd announced his PNG Solution on July 19.
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Friday, August 16, 2013
In Egypt, mob burns Adventist Church in Assiut
Aug 15, 2013 Cairo, Egypt
ANN staff
The burning of a Seventh-day Adventist Church in the city of Assiut during rioting last night was not part of a wider, organized political movement, local church officials said.
The Adventist Church in Assiut, Egypt, was burned by extremest attackers on August 14. Adventist Church officials stressed that the attack was not part of a wider political movement. The government has pledged to pay for the repairs of the extensive damage of many Christian churches in the region . [photos: Amgad Negah]
The Assiut Adventist Church, located approximately 220 miles south of Cairo, was attacked by a mob and heavily damaged after it was set on fire. The pastor and his wife hid in their upstairs apartment and were not found by the attackers, who set the building on fire. The pastor and his wife were rescued from the burning building by Muslim neighbors.
“This was a small group of people bent on doing harm. This event was not representative of Egypt or the people of Egypt,” said Llewellyn R. Edwards, president the Adventist Church’s Egypt-Sudan Field, based in Heliopolis.
“As Adventists we want our relationships to be strong with Egyptians of all faiths in the country,” Edwards said.
Muslim neighbors rescuing the Adventist couple shows “the true picture of most people in Egypt,” Edwards said.
Edwards said the government has announced it will pay for the rebuilding of all churches destroyed last night during rioting in several cities.
Several other Christian churches were also attacked in Assuit, as well as the shop of the Egypt Bible Society, Edwards said.
The Adventist Church operates two schools in Egypt – Nile Union Academy northeast of Cairo, and Zeitoun Adventist School. Both institutions have positive relationships with their communities, Edwards said.
Source: © 2013, Adventist News Network
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Saturday, August 10, 2013
Family leaves US on sailboat over religious concerns to start new life, becomes lost at sea
August 10, 2013 7:59 pm
By Greg Moore The Associated Press
Hannah Gastonguay, holding her baby Rahab, is followed by her husband Sean and the couple's 3-year-old daughter Ardith, as they disembark in the port city of San Antonio, Chile, Friday, Aug. 9, 2013. AP Photo/Las Ultimas Noticias
PHOENIX – A northern Arizona family that was lost at sea for weeks in an ill-fated attempt to leave the U.S. over what they consider government interference in religion will fly back home Sunday.
Hannah Gastonguay, 26, said Saturday that she and her husband “decided to take a leap of faith and see where God led us” when they took their two small children and her father-in-law and set sail from San Diego for the tiny Pacific island nation of Kiribati in May.
But just weeks into their journey the Gastonguays hit a series of storms that damaged their small boat, leaving them adrift for weeks, unable to make progress. They were eventually picked up by a Venezuelan fishing vessel, transferred to a Japanese cargo ship and taken to Chile where they are resting in a hotel in the port city of San Antonio.
Their flights home were arranged by U.S. Embassy officials, Gastonguay said. The U.S. State Department was not immediately available for comment.
The months-long journey has been “pretty exciting” and “little scary at certain points,” Gastonguay told The Associated Press by telephone.
She said they wanted to go to Kiribati because “we didn’t want to go anywhere big.” She said they understood the island to be “one of the least developed countries in the world.”
Kiribati is a group of islands just off the Equator and the international date line about halfway between Hawaii and Australia. The total population is just over 100,000 people of primarily Micronesian descent.
Hannah Gastonguay said her family was fed up with government control in the U.S. As Christians they don’t believe in “abortion, homosexuality, in the state-controlled church,” she said.
U.S. “churches aren’t their own,” Gastonguay said, suggesting that government regulation interfered with religious independence. “Jesus isn’t the head of the church. God isn’t the head of the church,” she said.
Among other differences, she said they had a problem with being “forced to pay these taxes that pay for abortions we don’t agree with.”
The family moved in November from Ash Fork, Arizona, to San Diego, where they lived on their boat as they prepared to set sail. She said she gave birth to the couple’s 8-month-old girl on the boat, which was docked in a slip at the time.
In May, Hannah, her 30-year-old husband Sean, his father Mike, and the couple’s daughters, 3-year-old Ardith and baby Rahab set off. They wouldn’t touch land again for 91 days, she said.
She said at first, “We were cruising.”
But within a couple of weeks “when we came out there, storm, storm, storm.”
The boat had taken a beating, and they decided to set course for the Marquesas Islands. Instead they found themselves in a “twilight zone,” taking more and more damage, leaving them unable to make progress.
They could have used a sail called a genoa, she said, but they risked snapping off the mast and losing their radio and ability to communicate.
They had been on the ocean for about two months and were low on supplies. They were out of food and were down to “some juice and some honey.” She said they were able to catch fish, but they didn’t see any boats.
Still, we “didn’t feel like we were going to die or anything. We believed God would see us through,” she said.
At one point a fishing ship came into contact with them but left without providing assistance. A Canadian cargo ship came along and offered supplies, but when they pulled up alongside it, the vessels bumped and the smaller ship sustained even more damage.
They were getting hit by “squall after squall after squall.”
“We were in the thick of it, but we prayed,” she said. “Being out on that boat, I just knew I was going to see some miracles.”
They watched the surrounding storms disperse, and “next thing you know the sun is out. It’s amazing.”
Eventually, their boat was spotted by a helicopter that had taken off from a nearby Venezuelan fishing vessel, which ended up saving them.
“The captain said, ‘Do you know where you’re at? You’re in the middle of nowhere,”‘ she said.
They were on the Venezuelan ship for about five days before transferring to the Japanese cargo ship, where they spent nearly three weeks before landing in Chile on Friday. The Chilean newspaper Las Ultimas Noticias reported the story of their arrival.
Sean Gastonguay’s brother Jimmy, who lives in Arizona, said he had provided a description of the family’s vessel to the U.S. Coast Guard and exchanged emails with them once they were picked up by the first boat.
“There was some concern, but we were hoping for the best, and they eventually popped up,” he said. He was able to keep track of the family with the help of the Coast Guard as they were transferred from ship to ship.
“We’re all happy. We have good peace of mind now,” he said.
Hannah Gastonguay said the family will next, “go back to Arizona” and “come up with a new plan.”
AP Writer Susan Montoya Bryan contributed to this report.
Source
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Wednesday, June 12, 2013
New York City: Scaffold Collapses On Hearst Tower In Midtown
CBS New York Live Stream
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Scaffold hangs with two window washers on 45Th Floor
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The Hearst Building @ 57th Street and 8th Ave.
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http://newyork.cbslocal.com/live-video/
Update: Both window washers have been rescued at approx 4:15 PM.
More photos:
......
Sunday, February 10, 2013
5 dead in cruise ship lifeboat drill in Spain
News: World
February 10, 2013 | Modified: February 10, 2013 at 2:45 pm
An orange rescue boat docks by a capsized lifeboat, obscured behind, from the British-operated cruise ship Thomson Majesty in Santa Cruz port of the Canary Island of La Palma, Spain, Sunday Feb. 10, 2013. A lifeboat from the Thomson Majesty fell into the sea at port in Spain’s Canary Islands, killing five people and injuring three others Sunday, officials said. Rescue personnel were called to the dockside after a lifeboat with occupants had fallen overboard from a cruise ship. Spanish national broadcaster RTVE said an emergency training drill was taking place at the time of the accident. (AP Photo/Manuel Gonzalez)
February 10, 2013 | Modified: February 10, 2013 at 2:45 pm
An orange rescue boat docks by a capsized lifeboat, obscured behind, from the British-operated cruise ship Thomson Majesty in Santa Cruz port of the Canary Island of La Palma, Spain, Sunday Feb. 10, 2013. A lifeboat from the Thomson Majesty fell into the sea at port in Spain’s Canary Islands, killing five people and injuring three others Sunday, officials said. Rescue personnel were called to the dockside after a lifeboat with occupants had fallen overboard from a cruise ship. Spanish national broadcaster RTVE said an emergency training drill was taking place at the time of the accident. (AP Photo/Manuel Gonzalez)
AP Staff WriterThe Associated Press
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LA PALMA, Canary Islands (AP) — A lifeboat from a British-operated cruise ship fell upside down into the sea at port in Spain's Canary Islands during a safety drill, killing five crew members and injuring three others Sunday, officials said. About 1,400 passengers were on board, but none were involved in the accident.
Thomson Cruises confirmed the incident involving the Thomson Majesty ship on the island of La Palma, saying "there have sadly been five crew fatalities and three crew injuries." One of the three injured was discharged from a hospital, and the other two were also expected to be allowed to leave the medical facility.
Investigators were trying to determine what caused the lifeboat to plummet into the water.
Rescue personnel were called to the dockside at 1205 GMT (7:05 a.m. EST) after "a lifeboat with occupants had fallen overboard from a cruise ship docked at the pier of Santa Cruz port in La Palma," a regional government statement said.
A small, white two-hulled lifeboat could be seen capsized beside the large ship. Around 1,400 passengers were aboard at the time of the Thomson Majesty ship, but were not in any way involved in the accident, authorities said.
The ship had been due to sail Sunday afternoon to the Portuguese port of Funchal on the mid-Atlantic island of Madeira.
Three of the dead were Indonesian men, one was a Filipino man and another was a man from Ghana, authorities said. The injured were all men, two aged 30 and another, a Greek national, was 32. They were taken by ambulance to the general hospital of La Palma.
The local authorities of La Palma canceled Carnival festivities that had been due to be held on the island Sunday, but said they would go ahead as planned on Monday.
___
Associated Press writers Harold Heckle in Madrid, and Sylvia Hui in London contributed to this report.
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Liberal in domestic issues, Obama a hawk on war
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APNewsBreak: Flaws found in US missile shield
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LA PALMA, Canary Islands (AP) — A lifeboat from a British-operated cruise ship fell upside down into the sea at port in Spain's Canary Islands during a safety drill, killing five crew members and injuring three others Sunday, officials said. About 1,400 passengers were on board, but none were involved in the accident.
Thomson Cruises confirmed the incident involving the Thomson Majesty ship on the island of La Palma, saying "there have sadly been five crew fatalities and three crew injuries." One of the three injured was discharged from a hospital, and the other two were also expected to be allowed to leave the medical facility.
Investigators were trying to determine what caused the lifeboat to plummet into the water.
Rescue personnel were called to the dockside at 1205 GMT (7:05 a.m. EST) after "a lifeboat with occupants had fallen overboard from a cruise ship docked at the pier of Santa Cruz port in La Palma," a regional government statement said.
A small, white two-hulled lifeboat could be seen capsized beside the large ship. Around 1,400 passengers were aboard at the time of the Thomson Majesty ship, but were not in any way involved in the accident, authorities said.
The ship had been due to sail Sunday afternoon to the Portuguese port of Funchal on the mid-Atlantic island of Madeira.
Three of the dead were Indonesian men, one was a Filipino man and another was a man from Ghana, authorities said. The injured were all men, two aged 30 and another, a Greek national, was 32. They were taken by ambulance to the general hospital of La Palma.
The local authorities of La Palma canceled Carnival festivities that had been due to be held on the island Sunday, but said they would go ahead as planned on Monday.
___
Associated Press writers Harold Heckle in Madrid, and Sylvia Hui in London contributed to this report.
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Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Helicopters rush food, water to cut-off Vt. towns
By JOHN CURRAN, Associated Press
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Polina Yamshchikov / AP
Emergency crews keep people at a safe distance from the Quechee Covered Bridge in Lebanon, N.H., as it flooded with water from the Ottauquechee River Sunday, Aug. 28, 2011. A weakened but dangerous Tropical Storm Irene dumped up to half a foot of rain in places, flooded roads, knocked down trees and left more than 165,000 New Hampshire homes and businesses on the dark before blowing out of the state on Sunday.
(08-30) 17:18 PDT Newfane, Vt. (AP) --
National Guard helicopters rushed food and water Tuesday to a dozen cut-off Vermont towns after the rainy remnants of Hurricane Irene washed out roads and bridges in a deluge that took many people in the landlocked New England state by surprise.
"As soon as we can get help, we need help," Liam McKinley said by cellphone from a mountain above flood-stricken Rochester, Vt.
Up to 11 inches of rain from the weekend storm turned placid streams into churning, brown torrents that knocked homes off their foundations, flattened trees and took giant bites out of the asphalt across the countryside. At least three people died in Vermont.
"I think that people are still a little shell-shocked right now. There's just a lot of disbelief on people's faces. It came through so quickly, and there's so much damage," Gail Devine, director of the Woodstock Recreation Center, said as volunteers moved furniture out of the flooded basement and shoveled out thick mud that filled the center's two swimming pools.
As crews raced to repair the roads, the National Guard began flying in supplies to the towns of Cavendish, Granville, Hancock, Killington-Mendon, Marlboro, Pittsfield, Plymouth, Rochester, Stockbridge, Strafford, Stratton and Wardsboro. The Guard also used heavy-duty vehicles to bring relief to flood-stricken communities still reachable by road.
The cut-off towns ranged in population from under 200 (Stratton) to nearly 1,400 (Cavendish).
"If it's a life-and-death situation, where someone needs to be Medevac-ed or taken to a hospital, we would get a helicopter there to airlift them out, if we could get close to them. A lot of these areas are mountainous areas where there may not be a place to land," said Mark Bosma, a spokesman for Vermont Emergency Management.
There were no immediate reports of anyone in dire condition being rescued by helicopter.
But it took a relay operation involving two ambulances and an all-terrain vehicle to take a Killington woman in respiratory distress to a hospital in Rutland, about 13 miles away, after floodwaters severed the road between the two communities, Rutland Regional Medical Center President Tom Hubner said. The patient, whose name was not released, was doing fine, he said.
In Rochester, where telephones were out and damage was severe, people could be seen from helicopters standing in line outside a grocery store. McKinley said the town's restaurants and a supermarket were giving food away rather than let it spoil, and townspeople were helping each other.
"We've been fine so far. The worst part is not being able to communicate with the rest of the state and know when people are coming in," he said.
He said government agencies did a good job of warning people about the storm. "But here in Vermont, I think we just didn't expect it and didn't prepare for it," he said. "I thought, how could it happen here?"
Wendy Pratt, another of the few townspeople able to communicate with the outside world, posted an update on Facebook using a generator and a satellite Internet connection. She sketched a picture of both devastation and New England neighborliness.
"People have lost their homes, their belongings, businesses ... the cemetery was flooded and caskets were lost down the river. So many areas of complete devastation," Pratt wrote. "In town there is no cell service or internet service - all phones in town are out. We had a big town meeting at the church at 4 this afternoon to get any updates."
"Mac's opened up at 5 and gave perishables away to anyone who came," she added. "The Huntington House put on a big, free community dinner tonight."
Access to Rochester and Stratton by road was restored later in the day, officials said.
All together, the storm has been blamed for at least 42 deaths in 12 states. More than 2.5 million people from North Carolina to Maine were still without electricity Tuesday, three days after the hurricane churned up the Eastern Seaboard.
While all eyes were on the coast as Irene swirled northward, some of the worst destruction took place well inland, away from the storm's most punishing winds. In Vermont, Gov. Peter Shumlin called it the worst flooding in a century. Small towns in upstate New York — especially in the Catskills and the Adirondacks — were also besieged by floodwaters.
In Pittsfield, Vt., newlyweds Marc Leibowitz and Janina Stegmeyer of New York City were stranded Sunday along with members of the wedding party and dozens of their guests after floodwaters swamped the couple's honeymoon cottage. The honeymooners narrowly escaped in a four-wheel-drive rental car just before a bridge behind them collapsed.
More than a dozen of the 60 or so guests were airlifted out by private helicopters on Tuesday.
Michael Ricci of Woodstock, Vt., spent the day clearing debris from his backyard along the Ottauquechee River. What had been a meticulously mowed, sloping grass lawn and gorgeous flower beds was now a muddy expanse littered with debris, including wooden boards, propane tanks and a deer hunting target.
"The things we saw go down the river were just incredible," he said. "Sheds, picnic tables, propane tanks, furnaces, refrigerators. We weren't prepared for that. We had prepared for wind and what we ended up with was more water than I could possibly, possibly have imagined." He said the water in the yard was almost up to the house, or about 15 to 20 feet above normal.
He added: "The force of it was beyond our comprehension."
Vermont emergency officials and the National Weather Service warned before the storm about the potential for heavy rain and flooding. On Thursday, Shumlin recommended stocking up on enough food, water and other supplies to last three days.
On Tuesday, the governor defended his state's decision not to undertake extensive evacuations before the storm arrived, noting that it was too hard to predict which communities in a rugged place like Vermont would get hit.
"You'd have to evacuate the entire state," he said.
Gerald and Evangeline Monroe of Quechee, Vt., agreed with the governor and said they had no complaints about the way authorities handled the crisis.
Gerald Monroe noted that some homes on one side of the river through his town were damaged, while those on the opposite banks 100 yards away were unscathed.
His wife said city-dwellers may see a weather report and know it applies to their entire metropolitan area. "But when you live in Vermont, there are lots of little microclimates and every village is different." she said. "I think our authorities were fine."
Approximately 260 roads in Vermont were closed because of storm damage, along with about 30 highway bridges. Vermont Deputy Transportation Secretary Sue Minter said the infrastructure damage was in the hundreds of millions of dollars.
Relief supplies arrived at Vermont's National Guard headquarters early Tuesday in a convoy of 30 trucks from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Accompanied by Shumlin, FEMA administrator Craig Fugate toured the state by helicopter Tuesday to survey the damage.
Meanwhile, in North Carolina, where Irene blew ashore along the Outer Banks on Saturday before heading for New York and New England, Gov. Beverly Perdue said the hurricane destroyed more than 1,100 homes and caused at least $70 million in damage.
Airlines said it would be days before the thousands of passengers stranded by Irene find their way home. Amtrak service was still out Tuesday between Philadelphia and New York because of flooding in Trenton. Commuter train service between New Jersey and New York City resumed Tuesday, except for one line that was still dealing with flooding.
Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said at news conference in North Carolina that she was unaware of anything federal authorities should have done differently in Vermont. She said FEMA and its state counterpart worked closely together, and she noted that after the state agency operations center got flooded out, it moved into FEMA's quarters.
William "Breck" Bowden, an expert on Vermont's watershed at the University of Vermont, attributed the disaster to a combination of factors: The soil was wet, Vermont's steep hills quickly fed the rainfall into streams, and the storm dumped a huge amount of water.
"There was plenty of warning being given about the coming storm by the meteorological community and the news media," he said. "The real issues are the enormous damage to our infrastructure. That's nothing an evacuation could have done anything about."
___
Contributing to this report were Associated Press writers Holly Ramer in Woodstock, Vt., Wilson Ring and Dave Gram in Montpelier, and Michael Gormley in Albany, N.Y.
Source: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2011/08/27/national/a002503D36.DTL&ao=all#ixzz1WZPOkajk
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Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Polina Yamshchikov / AP
Emergency crews keep people at a safe distance from the Quechee Covered Bridge in Lebanon, N.H., as it flooded with water from the Ottauquechee River Sunday, Aug. 28, 2011. A weakened but dangerous Tropical Storm Irene dumped up to half a foot of rain in places, flooded roads, knocked down trees and left more than 165,000 New Hampshire homes and businesses on the dark before blowing out of the state on Sunday.
(08-30) 17:18 PDT Newfane, Vt. (AP) --
National Guard helicopters rushed food and water Tuesday to a dozen cut-off Vermont towns after the rainy remnants of Hurricane Irene washed out roads and bridges in a deluge that took many people in the landlocked New England state by surprise.
"As soon as we can get help, we need help," Liam McKinley said by cellphone from a mountain above flood-stricken Rochester, Vt.
Up to 11 inches of rain from the weekend storm turned placid streams into churning, brown torrents that knocked homes off their foundations, flattened trees and took giant bites out of the asphalt across the countryside. At least three people died in Vermont.
"I think that people are still a little shell-shocked right now. There's just a lot of disbelief on people's faces. It came through so quickly, and there's so much damage," Gail Devine, director of the Woodstock Recreation Center, said as volunteers moved furniture out of the flooded basement and shoveled out thick mud that filled the center's two swimming pools.
As crews raced to repair the roads, the National Guard began flying in supplies to the towns of Cavendish, Granville, Hancock, Killington-Mendon, Marlboro, Pittsfield, Plymouth, Rochester, Stockbridge, Strafford, Stratton and Wardsboro. The Guard also used heavy-duty vehicles to bring relief to flood-stricken communities still reachable by road.
The cut-off towns ranged in population from under 200 (Stratton) to nearly 1,400 (Cavendish).
"If it's a life-and-death situation, where someone needs to be Medevac-ed or taken to a hospital, we would get a helicopter there to airlift them out, if we could get close to them. A lot of these areas are mountainous areas where there may not be a place to land," said Mark Bosma, a spokesman for Vermont Emergency Management.
There were no immediate reports of anyone in dire condition being rescued by helicopter.
But it took a relay operation involving two ambulances and an all-terrain vehicle to take a Killington woman in respiratory distress to a hospital in Rutland, about 13 miles away, after floodwaters severed the road between the two communities, Rutland Regional Medical Center President Tom Hubner said. The patient, whose name was not released, was doing fine, he said.
In Rochester, where telephones were out and damage was severe, people could be seen from helicopters standing in line outside a grocery store. McKinley said the town's restaurants and a supermarket were giving food away rather than let it spoil, and townspeople were helping each other.
"We've been fine so far. The worst part is not being able to communicate with the rest of the state and know when people are coming in," he said.
He said government agencies did a good job of warning people about the storm. "But here in Vermont, I think we just didn't expect it and didn't prepare for it," he said. "I thought, how could it happen here?"
Wendy Pratt, another of the few townspeople able to communicate with the outside world, posted an update on Facebook using a generator and a satellite Internet connection. She sketched a picture of both devastation and New England neighborliness.
"People have lost their homes, their belongings, businesses ... the cemetery was flooded and caskets were lost down the river. So many areas of complete devastation," Pratt wrote. "In town there is no cell service or internet service - all phones in town are out. We had a big town meeting at the church at 4 this afternoon to get any updates."
"Mac's opened up at 5 and gave perishables away to anyone who came," she added. "The Huntington House put on a big, free community dinner tonight."
Access to Rochester and Stratton by road was restored later in the day, officials said.
All together, the storm has been blamed for at least 42 deaths in 12 states. More than 2.5 million people from North Carolina to Maine were still without electricity Tuesday, three days after the hurricane churned up the Eastern Seaboard.
While all eyes were on the coast as Irene swirled northward, some of the worst destruction took place well inland, away from the storm's most punishing winds. In Vermont, Gov. Peter Shumlin called it the worst flooding in a century. Small towns in upstate New York — especially in the Catskills and the Adirondacks — were also besieged by floodwaters.
In Pittsfield, Vt., newlyweds Marc Leibowitz and Janina Stegmeyer of New York City were stranded Sunday along with members of the wedding party and dozens of their guests after floodwaters swamped the couple's honeymoon cottage. The honeymooners narrowly escaped in a four-wheel-drive rental car just before a bridge behind them collapsed.
More than a dozen of the 60 or so guests were airlifted out by private helicopters on Tuesday.
Michael Ricci of Woodstock, Vt., spent the day clearing debris from his backyard along the Ottauquechee River. What had been a meticulously mowed, sloping grass lawn and gorgeous flower beds was now a muddy expanse littered with debris, including wooden boards, propane tanks and a deer hunting target.
"The things we saw go down the river were just incredible," he said. "Sheds, picnic tables, propane tanks, furnaces, refrigerators. We weren't prepared for that. We had prepared for wind and what we ended up with was more water than I could possibly, possibly have imagined." He said the water in the yard was almost up to the house, or about 15 to 20 feet above normal.
He added: "The force of it was beyond our comprehension."
Vermont emergency officials and the National Weather Service warned before the storm about the potential for heavy rain and flooding. On Thursday, Shumlin recommended stocking up on enough food, water and other supplies to last three days.
On Tuesday, the governor defended his state's decision not to undertake extensive evacuations before the storm arrived, noting that it was too hard to predict which communities in a rugged place like Vermont would get hit.
"You'd have to evacuate the entire state," he said.
Gerald and Evangeline Monroe of Quechee, Vt., agreed with the governor and said they had no complaints about the way authorities handled the crisis.
Gerald Monroe noted that some homes on one side of the river through his town were damaged, while those on the opposite banks 100 yards away were unscathed.
His wife said city-dwellers may see a weather report and know it applies to their entire metropolitan area. "But when you live in Vermont, there are lots of little microclimates and every village is different." she said. "I think our authorities were fine."
Approximately 260 roads in Vermont were closed because of storm damage, along with about 30 highway bridges. Vermont Deputy Transportation Secretary Sue Minter said the infrastructure damage was in the hundreds of millions of dollars.
Relief supplies arrived at Vermont's National Guard headquarters early Tuesday in a convoy of 30 trucks from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Accompanied by Shumlin, FEMA administrator Craig Fugate toured the state by helicopter Tuesday to survey the damage.
Meanwhile, in North Carolina, where Irene blew ashore along the Outer Banks on Saturday before heading for New York and New England, Gov. Beverly Perdue said the hurricane destroyed more than 1,100 homes and caused at least $70 million in damage.
Airlines said it would be days before the thousands of passengers stranded by Irene find their way home. Amtrak service was still out Tuesday between Philadelphia and New York because of flooding in Trenton. Commuter train service between New Jersey and New York City resumed Tuesday, except for one line that was still dealing with flooding.
Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said at news conference in North Carolina that she was unaware of anything federal authorities should have done differently in Vermont. She said FEMA and its state counterpart worked closely together, and she noted that after the state agency operations center got flooded out, it moved into FEMA's quarters.
William "Breck" Bowden, an expert on Vermont's watershed at the University of Vermont, attributed the disaster to a combination of factors: The soil was wet, Vermont's steep hills quickly fed the rainfall into streams, and the storm dumped a huge amount of water.
"There was plenty of warning being given about the coming storm by the meteorological community and the news media," he said. "The real issues are the enormous damage to our infrastructure. That's nothing an evacuation could have done anything about."
___
Contributing to this report were Associated Press writers Holly Ramer in Woodstock, Vt., Wilson Ring and Dave Gram in Montpelier, and Michael Gormley in Albany, N.Y.
Source: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2011/08/27/national/a002503D36.DTL&ao=all#ixzz1WZPOkajk
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Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Four Americans Killed on Yacht Hijacked by Somali Pirates
Four Americans Killed on Yacht Hijacked by Somali Pirates
Published February 22, 2011
FoxNews.com
Four Americans aboard a yacht hijacked by Somali pirates were gunned down by their captors Tuesday.
U.S. forces responded to gunfire aboard the yacht Quest at approximately 1 a.m. Tuesday, but discovered all four hostages had been shot by their captors. Despite attempts to save their lives, all four hostages died of their wounds.
“We express our deepest condolences for the innocent lives callously lost aboard the Quest,” said Gen. James N. Mattis, U.S. Central Command Commander in a news release.
Two pirates died during the confrontation and U.S. forces found the remains of two other pirates already dead aboard the vessel. Thirteen pirates were captured and detained, along with two already in custody. A total of 19 pirates were involved in the hijacking.
The remains of the four Americans were taken aboard the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise, as were the 15 pirates in custody. There is no word yet on where the pirates will be taken for trial. They could go to Kenya or they could come back to the U.S. There is a precedent for both.
Owner Says The yacht Quest was hijacked on Friday off the coast of Oman and U.S. forces had been closely monitoring the vessel.
Unlike most pirate incidents, these pirates boarded the Quest directly from their mother ship, rather than using faster skiffs. The mother ship remains free.
Vice Admiral Mark Fox, Commander of Centcom's Naval Forces, explained the timeline of events during a press briefing with Pentagon reporters. According to Fox, there was "absolutely no warning" before the hostage situation turned deadly.
On Monday two pirates boarded the USS Sterett (one of four U.S. Naval ships monitoring the situation) to conduct negotiations for the release of the American hostages. They stayed on board overnight and it's unclear if any ransom was offered before the killing took place.
At 8:00 am local time Tuesday morning a rocket propelled grenade was fired at the Sterett from pirates on board the Quest. The shot missed, but immediately after gunfire erupted inside the cabin of the Quest.
"Several pirates appeared on deck and moved up to the bow with their hands in the air in surrender," Fox said. That's when SOF approached on small boats and boarded the yacht.
When U.S. Special Operations Forces (SOF) soldiers -- from a classified Navy SEALS unit -- reached the yacht, they found two pirates had already been killed by small arms fire. As they went below deck there was an exchange of fire that killed one pirate. The other pirate was killed by an SOF member who used a knife in close combat, Vice Adm. Fox said.
The SOF found some of the Americans still alive, but all four soon died of their wounds. Vice Adm. Fox called it the deadliest pirate incident to date.
"We did everything we could," said a senior military official. "But I don't think our guys would see this as a good outcome."
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton called the killings "deplorable." She said in a statement that the killings underscored the need for international cooperation on fighting the scourge of piracy in waters off the Horn of Africa.
She urged international partners to provide material, financial and logistical support to an African peacekeeping mission in Somalia, the country the pirates use as the launching point of their attacks.
The organizers of an international yacht race called the Blue Water Rally said the Quest had been taking part in the race but left it Feb. 15 to chart an independent course from India to Oman.
The Quest is owned by Scott and Jean Adam, a couple from California. The two other Americans on board were Phyllis Macay and Bob Riggle, of Seattle, Washington.
At the Seattle Singles Yacht Club, where Riggle and Macay were well known, Joe Grande said the two were "great sailors, good people. They were doing what they wanted to do, but that's small comfort in the face of this."
The Adams have been sailing the world with a yacht full of Bibles since 2004. The hijacking of their yacht came two days after a Somali pirate was sentenced to 33 years in prison by a New York court for the 2009 hijacking of the Maersk Alabama. That case ended when Navy sharpshooters killed two pirates holding the ship's captain.
Pirates have increased attacks off the coast of East Africa in recent years despite an international flotilla of warships dedicated to protecting vessels and stopping the pirate assaults. Multimillion-dollar ransoms are fueling the trade, and the prices for releasing a ship and hostages have risen sharply.
Pirates currently hold 30 ships and more than 660 hostages, not counting the attack against the Quest. Before this incident there were less than 10 pirate related deaths this year.
The best-known case of Westerners being held hostage in Somalia was that of Paul and Rachel Chandler, a British couple held for 388 days. The two, who were captured while sailing in their private yacht, were released in November.
The Adams -- who are members of the Marina del Rey Yacht Club in Marina del Rey, Calif. -- run a Bible ministry, according to their website, and have been distributing Bibles to schools and churches in remote villages in areas including the Fiji Islands, Alaska, New Zealand, Central America and French Polynesia.
Source
..
Published February 22, 2011
FoxNews.com
Four Americans aboard a yacht hijacked by Somali pirates were gunned down by their captors Tuesday.
U.S. forces responded to gunfire aboard the yacht Quest at approximately 1 a.m. Tuesday, but discovered all four hostages had been shot by their captors. Despite attempts to save their lives, all four hostages died of their wounds.
“We express our deepest condolences for the innocent lives callously lost aboard the Quest,” said Gen. James N. Mattis, U.S. Central Command Commander in a news release.
Two pirates died during the confrontation and U.S. forces found the remains of two other pirates already dead aboard the vessel. Thirteen pirates were captured and detained, along with two already in custody. A total of 19 pirates were involved in the hijacking.
The remains of the four Americans were taken aboard the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise, as were the 15 pirates in custody. There is no word yet on where the pirates will be taken for trial. They could go to Kenya or they could come back to the U.S. There is a precedent for both.
Owner Says The yacht Quest was hijacked on Friday off the coast of Oman and U.S. forces had been closely monitoring the vessel.
Unlike most pirate incidents, these pirates boarded the Quest directly from their mother ship, rather than using faster skiffs. The mother ship remains free.
Vice Admiral Mark Fox, Commander of Centcom's Naval Forces, explained the timeline of events during a press briefing with Pentagon reporters. According to Fox, there was "absolutely no warning" before the hostage situation turned deadly.
On Monday two pirates boarded the USS Sterett (one of four U.S. Naval ships monitoring the situation) to conduct negotiations for the release of the American hostages. They stayed on board overnight and it's unclear if any ransom was offered before the killing took place.
At 8:00 am local time Tuesday morning a rocket propelled grenade was fired at the Sterett from pirates on board the Quest. The shot missed, but immediately after gunfire erupted inside the cabin of the Quest.
"Several pirates appeared on deck and moved up to the bow with their hands in the air in surrender," Fox said. That's when SOF approached on small boats and boarded the yacht.
When U.S. Special Operations Forces (SOF) soldiers -- from a classified Navy SEALS unit -- reached the yacht, they found two pirates had already been killed by small arms fire. As they went below deck there was an exchange of fire that killed one pirate. The other pirate was killed by an SOF member who used a knife in close combat, Vice Adm. Fox said.
The SOF found some of the Americans still alive, but all four soon died of their wounds. Vice Adm. Fox called it the deadliest pirate incident to date.
"We did everything we could," said a senior military official. "But I don't think our guys would see this as a good outcome."
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton called the killings "deplorable." She said in a statement that the killings underscored the need for international cooperation on fighting the scourge of piracy in waters off the Horn of Africa.
She urged international partners to provide material, financial and logistical support to an African peacekeeping mission in Somalia, the country the pirates use as the launching point of their attacks.
The organizers of an international yacht race called the Blue Water Rally said the Quest had been taking part in the race but left it Feb. 15 to chart an independent course from India to Oman.
The Quest is owned by Scott and Jean Adam, a couple from California. The two other Americans on board were Phyllis Macay and Bob Riggle, of Seattle, Washington.
At the Seattle Singles Yacht Club, where Riggle and Macay were well known, Joe Grande said the two were "great sailors, good people. They were doing what they wanted to do, but that's small comfort in the face of this."
The Adams have been sailing the world with a yacht full of Bibles since 2004. The hijacking of their yacht came two days after a Somali pirate was sentenced to 33 years in prison by a New York court for the 2009 hijacking of the Maersk Alabama. That case ended when Navy sharpshooters killed two pirates holding the ship's captain.
Pirates have increased attacks off the coast of East Africa in recent years despite an international flotilla of warships dedicated to protecting vessels and stopping the pirate assaults. Multimillion-dollar ransoms are fueling the trade, and the prices for releasing a ship and hostages have risen sharply.
Pirates currently hold 30 ships and more than 660 hostages, not counting the attack against the Quest. Before this incident there were less than 10 pirate related deaths this year.
The best-known case of Westerners being held hostage in Somalia was that of Paul and Rachel Chandler, a British couple held for 388 days. The two, who were captured while sailing in their private yacht, were released in November.
The Adams -- who are members of the Marina del Rey Yacht Club in Marina del Rey, Calif. -- run a Bible ministry, according to their website, and have been distributing Bibles to schools and churches in remote villages in areas including the Fiji Islands, Alaska, New Zealand, Central America and French Polynesia.
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Monday, November 01, 2010
Death toll rises to 58 in Iraqi church rescue
Pictures (Courtesy) http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1325481/52-killed-Baghdad-bloodbath-Iraqi-security-forces-botch-attempt-free-hostages-held-Catholic-Church.html?ito=feeds-newsxml By JANE ARRAF AND SAHAR ISSA
The Christian Science Monitor/McClatchy Newspapers
Iraq's Christian community was in shock Monday after Islamist militants in suicide vests besieged a church during Sunday Mass and then fought Iraqi commandos in a melee that left at least 58 people dead.
Officials said that in addition to the priests, worshipers and security forces killed, 75 more people were injured after Iraqi special forces stormed Our Lady of Salvation Syriac Catholic Church where gunmen were holding the congregation.
Church leaders blamed inadequate security by the Iraqi government for the deadliest attack in Baghdad since before March elections.
"If the sons of this country cannot live in peace then the situation is clearly unacceptable. Had we been provided with adequate security, this would not have happened," Syriac church official Monsignor Pius Kasha told McClatchy Newspapers.
As an elite commando unit under control of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's office stormed the church after a four-hour standoff, gunfire and explosions rocked central Baghdad on Sunday night. Witnesses and survivors say the attack started with a team of insurgents dressed in military uniforms killing guards at the nearby Baghdad stock exchange before they scaled the walls and started shooting inside the church.
The dead included two young Iraqi priests and a church deacon, as well as families attending Sunday Mass at the church in the central Karrada neighborhood of Baghdad, church officials said.
The Iraqi federal police and army have been deployed outside churches during Sunday Mass since a series of coordinated attacks on churches more than two years ago. On Sunday though, witnesses said there were no military or police vehicles deployed outside the church during the service.
Nearby residents described terrifying scenes unfolding into the night. Rajaa, a school teacher who did not want her last name used, said from the first floor window she could see four men in military uniforms get out of a black SUV and shoot at the stock exchange guards before jumping the wall into the church.
Three other gunmen in an ordinary car pulled up, she said.
"As soon as they jumped over the wall they detonated their car. Then all we could hear were shots and screams from inside the church," she said. Authorities said two stock exchange guards and four passers-by were killed in the initial attack.
The gunmen were thought to have almost immediately shot one of the priests celebrating Mass as well as several of the parishioners. An Iraqi television station said it had received a call from the Islamic State of Iraq, an al-Qaida-affiliated group, claiming responsibility for the attack and saying they were demanding the release of prisoners in Iraq and Egypt.
Most of the casualties though were thought to have resulted after the gunmen detonated two suicide vests after Iraqi commandos blew off the doors and stormed the building.
"The men who carried out the attack were very organized - the way they entered - how well prepared and armed with machine guns, explosive belts and everything they could need. ... How they quickly closed the doors and shut in the faithful. Then the security forces came and ... it was a real tragedy; so many lives lost," Kasha said.
The attack, in the midst of a political deadlock that has left Iraq with no new government, could fuel the departure of more Christians from Iraq. More than half of the 800,000 Christian citizens here before the war are thought to have left the country.
"This is tragic for Christians and for all of Iraq," said Chaldean Bishop Shlimon Warduni. "If we had a government and laws and people all over the world to help us it would be much better."
Iraqi authorities as well as the U.S. military publicly praised the rescue attempt, despite the fact that more than half of the parishioners were killed or seriously wounded. Defense Minister Abdulqadir al-Ubaidi said the insurgents included foreign fighters who intended to kill as many people as possible.
"The operation was a success and many were rescued and we have one suspect in custody," he told the Furat television channel.
"Last night's operation by the ISF (Iraqi Security Forces) is proof of their tactical competency to provide professional security to the citizens of Iraq," read a statement from the U.S. military, which emphasized that Iraqis were now in charge. "Since June of 2009 the ISF have been responsible for the security within the cities and Operation New Dawn has allowed U.S. forces to focus on advising and training the ISF to continue honing their techniques to execute missions that protect Iraqi citizens."
A U.S. military spokesman said the U.S. role was limited only to providing an aerial surveillance feed for the operation, but witnesses said a small group of U.S. soldiers were on the ground.
Privately, one Iraqi security official suggested the Iraqi rapid reaction unit known as "the Golden" force had gone overboard when they received intelligence that the insurgents were linked to al-Qaida.
"When this information reached them, the forces quickly surrounded the church and entered with force disregarding consequences to all who were inside the church. Their objective was to wipe out the armed group," said the Interior Ministry official who spoke on condition of anonymity. "I don't know what the armed group would have done to the civilians but it can't be much worse than what that security force did."
Residents questioned the lax security in a neighborhood with multiple police checkpoints meant to detect explosives.
"The shooting and the screaming is still in my ears," Rajaa said. "How can such a car loaded with explosives and weapons, how can the people driving it fully armed pass the checkpoints?" Rajaa said. "This is not a question, this is an accusation."
The Rev. Douglas Yousef al-Bazy, who worked with the slain priests, says he was stopped at a roadblock as he desperately tried to drive to the besieged church when he heard the explosions.
"It's really terrible," he said. "The people who did this want to kill the church - the priests who served them and the people and even the building. We lost our best friends there. When someone dies we say there is a reason, but actually when they are killed - when they kill young people, young priests they are trying to kill our future."
"Those who say we are safe, that we can live peacefully in Iraq, they are liars," said al-Bazy, who was kidnapped in 2006. "But we will stay in this country because still there are Christian people here and we still have a mission here."
Posted on Mon, Nov. 01, 2010 02:44 PM
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Tuesday, October 12, 2010
First Trapped Chilean Miner Reaches Surface
Updated: 3 minutes ago
Michael Warren
AP SAN JOSE MINE, Chile (Oct. 12) -- Florencio Avalos, the first of 33 miners to be rescued, has surfaced after 69 days underground...
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Michael Warren
AP SAN JOSE MINE, Chile (Oct. 12) -- Florencio Avalos, the first of 33 miners to be rescued, has surfaced after 69 days underground...
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