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Monday, June 4, 2007

A passenger helicopter crashed in Sierra Leone on Sunday, killing at least 20 people, witnesses say.

The helicopter, operated by Paramount Airlines of Sierra Leone, was transporting clients for a charter flight from Freetown to Lungi International Airport.

There is no official word on the identity of all the victims, however it has been reported that the 19 passengers had been returning from a football match that had taken place earlier in the day between Togo and Sierra Leone at an African Nations Cup qualifying game.

One of the dead has been identified as Togo’s Minister of Sport, Richard Attipoe. Other passengers were associated with the Togo Sports Ministry and the Togo Football Federation. In addition, journalist Olive Menzah has been identified as one of the victims.

Paramount operates a helicopter ferry service for a short flight between Freetown and Lungi airport. The airport can only be accessed by helicopter or ferry boat.

An airline maintenance officer told AFP news agency that the helicopter caught fire and burst into flames as it was landing. The pilot is reported dead, while the co-pilot is listed in critical condition. Both had jumped from the helicopter moments before it crashed.

The helicopter had apparently been grounded by the Sierra Leone government some months ago for safety violations, but was then put back into service, according to the BBC.

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

US scientists say that oil from the spill in the Gulf of Mexico has reached the Loop Current, which could propel the oil towards the coast of Florida.

According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), limited amounts of oil have entered the current, and could reach Florida’s coast in as few as six days, although it would be highly diluted by the time it did so. Other estimates place the time before oil reaches Florida as closer to ten days.

Satellite images show oil moving south from the main slick into the current, which is a rapidly-moving body of water that flows from the Caribbean Sea towards the Atlantic Ocean. The speed of the current is predicted to disperse the oil that is picked up, which would lead to difficulties in tracking it.

NOAA qualified their warning by saying that the amount of oil in question is a small percentage of the total spilled, most of which is to the north of the current. The agency’s Scientific Support Coordinator, Charlie Henry, said that “[t]here is some light oil filling the loop current,” though he said the agency “expect[s] it to degrade before it comes close to threatening South Florida.”

Sunday, February 13, 2011

A planned pro-democracy protest took place Saturday in Algiers, the capital of Algeria, despite a standing government ban on protests in the capital. Massive police presence reduced the event from its planned scope, and dispersed it after a few hours, but did not prevent it.

The demonstration, planned for some time, was to be a march through Algiers, from May First Square, about five kilometers (three miles) to Martyrs Square. Instead, protesters demonstrated in May First Square for a few hours.

Algeria has been officially in a state of emergency for nineteen years. Early this month, following recent pro-democracy events in Tunisia and Egypt, Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika said the state of emergency will be lifted “soon”. At the same time he also said marches would be allowed everywhere in the country except in Algiers. Leading up to this protest, riot police closed all entrances both to Algiers and to May First Square.

The number of demonstrators who gathered in May First Square despite the police cordons was estimated by officials at 1500, and by demonstration organizers at around 10,000. The number of riot police in the city — with body armor, armored vehicles, and water cannons — was anticipated by officials as high as 30,000, and estimated by organizers as high as 26,000.

The protest was organized by the National Co-ordination for Change and Democracy (CNCD), an umbrella group of Algerian organizations formed in late January. Protesters demanded democratic freedoms, an end to government corruption, and relief from economic hardships. Some protesters called for removal of President Bouteflika, although that was not a stated goal of the organizers.

Several hundred protesters were arrested, at least briefly. Algerian activist Elias Felali, who blogged from within the demonstration, claimed the police wanted to provoke violence, but the protesters were pointedly non-violent.

Monday, August 14, 2006

Buffalo, New York —The preliminary hearing for a lawsuit filed against the Elmwood Village Hotel proposal in Buffalo, New York as well as the City of Buffalo has been postponed indefinitely and will take place “as needed” pending the resubmission of the proposal by Savarino Construction also of Buffalo. A request was made to New York State Supreme court Judge Justice Rose Sconiers, the judge to preside over the case, to discuss a “timetable” for resubmission, but the court “decided not to,” said attorney Arthur Giacalone who represents the plaintiffs in the lawsuit.

The hotel would require the demolition of at least five properties, 1109-1121 Elmwood and would cause the closure of several businesses. Already, two businesses, Skunk Tail Glass and Six Nations Native American Gift Shop have relocated, outside the Elmwood Strip. Don apparel, H.O.D. Tattoo and Mondo Video still remain on Elmwood; however, Mondo Video is planning on moving to a new location. The hotel will be 72 rooms and will cost at least 7 million dollars to build. Wyndham Hotels is expected to be the owner/operator of the hotel. The properites are currently owned by Hans Mobius. Two other properties, 605 and 607 Forest might also be part of the proposal. 605 Forest is owned by Pano Georgiadis, owner of Pano’s Restaurant on Elmwood Avenue in Buffalo. 607 Forest is owned by Mobius.

“There’s no new [court] date. The next appearance will be as needed,” said Giacalone.

The proposal was withdrawn by Savarino on July 13, 2006 to undergo “a do-over” and according to the Buffalo News, “shed the lawsuits” against the proposal; however, so far the proposal has “not yet” been resubmitted, but could be in about a “week.”

“With Council being out of session we have a bit of time [before resubmitting]. [We will] Probably resubmit] in a week or so,” said Sam Savarino, CEO of Savarino Construction.

“We welcome some discourse on this project and while we realize that, in all likelihood, we will not make everybody happy, we hope we can develop a consensus that what we provide on that corner will be something that is an enhancement to the neighborhood and the community. Better to have that decided (again?) in a public forum and through the approval process than through a debate over points of law in a courtroom,” added Savarino.

Despite the withdraw of the proposal, Giacalone states that the lawsuit his clients filed is still in effect due to the re-zoning of the properties, which he says are still in place and that he is “frustrated” that his client’s “day in court” has been delayed continuously by Savarino and the city.

Savarino believes that the re-zoning of the properties are “not in effect” because the proposal was withdrawn. He also stated that he is “unsure” on a decision to request the rezoning again because the “city suggested” the rezoning “last time.”

“We have pulled the request [proposal] so I would suppose it [the rezoning] is not in effect. We are as of yet unsure of whether or not to request rezoning of all the parcels. We are communicating with the City on this. You may recall that the City suggested this to us last time. We want to make sure we are doing the correct thing – and the proper thing. I am not sure whether I have a clear indication of that at this juncture,” said Savarino.

Savarino was asked if the proposal was going to be resubmitted or not, but did not answer the question.

Giacalone states that there may be several resons as to why “a new application has not been filed. Is Savarino having a hard time coming to an agreement with Mobius? Has Wyndham Hotels backed out? Is Savarino negotiating with Pano to buy the [605] Forest Avenue property?”

Buffalo’s Common Council is scheduled to meet on September 9, 2006 after Summer recess.

Monday, December 7, 2009

Morocco said earlier today that Guinea’s military ruler, Moussa Dadis Camara, has undergone successful surgery for gunshot wounds sustained on Thursday in an apparent assassination attempt. Guinea’s military government is offering a reward for the capture of the former head of the presidential guard whose men are accused of carrying out the attack.

The inspector of Morocco’s Royal Armed Forces’ health services said that Camara has had successful surgery for head trauma. In a statement issued by Morocco’s official press agency, Dr. Ali Abrouq said Camara’s condition is “not worrying.”

“The current health condition of the Guinean president does not inspire concern,” Abrouq noted in a statement. “The result of the operation is favorable.”

Camara flew to Morocco on Friday after being shot the day before by men loyal to his former aide-de-camp, Lieutenant Aboubacar Sidiki Diakite, who is also known as Toumba. Toumba escaped the attack, and is still at large with a group of the presidential guard.

Harouna Kone, a spokesman for the junta, commented that Camara should be able to return to Guinea by Wednesday. “The president is doing very well and we expecting that he will come back maybe on Wednesday […] he is in the Royal Hospital of Rabat, and I think that everything is well there. He called last night and [spoke] with his minister of communication and they discussed about something,” he said, as quoted by the Voice of America news agency.

Security forces, meanwhile, are patrolling Guinea’s borders in search of Toumba, and the government is offering a reward for information leading to his capture.

Guinea’s vice-president and defense minister, General Sekouba Konate, became the interim leader following the attempted assassination.

Thursday’s shooting followed an argument between Toumba and Camara about who should take responsibility for the killing of opposition demonstrators two months ago. Witnesses say Toumba gave the order for the presidential guard to open fire on people protesting Camara’s expected presidential candidacy.

Local human rights groups said that at least 157 people were killed on September 28; the military put the number at 57 people.

Tuesday, March 13, 2007

Just two weeks after China sent global markets into a tumble, growing worries about sub-prime mortgage lenders in the United States are sending jitters through stock exchanges around the globe. The three major US stock market indices each fell two percent from Monday’s closing price, marking the second-biggest loss of 2007. London’s FTSE 100, Paris’ CAC 40 and Frankfurt’s DAX 30 indices each closed down more than 1 percent.

As the Mortgage Bankers Association reported that late payments on mortgages and home foreclosures in the US homes rose in the fourth quarter to their highest level in years, investors are concerned that not only US banks but also multi-national banks around the globe could have exposure.

More than two dozen sub-prime lenders have closed or sold operations as defaults on those mortgages have risen. “The delinquencies and defaults have started to soar,” said Nicolas Retsinas, director of Housing Studies at Harvard University. “A lot of these lenders started to make loans and lost track of some of the fundamentals.”

New Century Financial Corporation, the second largest sub-prime lender in the US, has recently revealed that its creditors were no longer providing funds and, further, it has become subject of an SEC investigation. The New York Stock Exchange has said it will delist New Century. Accredited Home Loan Lending, another major sub-prime mortgage specialist, said it was seeking fresh capital and waivers on its lending covenants.

Sub-prime lenders provide mortgages to people who do not qualify for loans from mainstream lenders, typically due to their credit histories. The lenders then bundle these mortgages as collateral for loans that they obtain from other financing firms, such as GMAC. Such firms can then repackage these loans and sell them as mortgage-backed securities. These securities may end up in the hands of major multi-national banks such as Citibank, HSBC, and Commerzbank. Each level of lending assumes a level of financial risk, but trouble can arise when the risk tolerances are exceeded. If too many homeowners default on their mortgages, the sub-prime lender can end up defaulting. If too many of these lenders default, as it is feared may be happening now, the defaults can cascade upward. While no one is predicting major bank failures at this point, it is feared that their profits could be hurt.

Sunday, March 21, 2010

A severe sandstorm has struck north-west China over the past few weeks, reaching Beijing on Saturday morning. The sandstorm, which covered homes, streets, and cars in dust, has left the sky a murky yellow. The air quality was rated as level five. Beijing’s Weather Bureau issued a warning for the sandstorm, and advised citizens to stay in their homes until it passes. As much as 1500 micrograms per cubic meter of dust were reported to be airborne.

Beijing has experienced unusually cold weather this year, with temperatures below freezing at night, even after the start of spring. The sandstorm is affecting more than 50 million people, and forecasters do not see signs of it stopping soon. The desertification of the western China and the Mongolian steppes has made the annual spring sandstorm become worse in the recent years, reaching countries such as South Korea and Japan. The sandstorm has turned the rain and snow yellow.

The storm also impacted Xinjiang, Inner Mongolia, Shanxi, Shaanxi, and Hebei for a total of 270 million people over an area of 1.8 million square kilometers. It is expected the storm will last until Monday.