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Sunday, May 25, 2008

Eleven days, or 266 hours after an earthquake in Sichuan Province in China which killed over 60,000 people, a survivor has been rescued from the rubble of his own house in the city of Mianzhu.

Xiao Zhihu, 80, who is said to be in stable condition at a local hospital, was paralyzed prior to the earthquake and was found underneath a pillar that once held up his house. Officials said that the only reason he survived so long was because he was being fed by his wife.

At least 30,000 people are missing as a result of the magnitude 7.9 quake on May 12. Officials fear the death toll could go above 80,000. The quake’s epicenter was located in the Aba prefecture, 90 kilometers (55 miles) west, northwest of Chengdu, Sichuan, China and was recorded at a depth of 10 k.m. (6.2 miles).

This was the largest earthquake to strike the region in almost 60 years. The deadliest quake in China’s history was of magnitude 7.8, striking Tangshan in 1976. Approximately 250,000 people were killed. On May 23, a man who survived that quake after being buried for 10 days, was found alive in the rubble of an office building in Beichuan. He was the only survivor.

Saturday, March 20, 2010

According to an announcement from Gwent Police, a baby boy has died after being found abandoned behind a convenience store in Gwent, Wales. The boy, who has not yet been identified, was found behind a Spar convenience store in the town of Cwmcarn at 1815 GMT on Tuesday. The baby was found to be wrapped in a towel which was in a plastic shopping bag. Bystanders who were walking past the scene mistakenly believed that the bag had been unintentionally left there by a person who had visited the gym that is located next to the store.

A 14-year-old boy, who is the son of the man who owns the convenience store, then examinied the bag and discovered the baby. He made a phone call to the emergency services, however, when the baby was taken to Royal Gwent Hospital, it was pronounced dead on arrival. The baby was younger than one day old at the time of his death. A post-mortem examination proved to be indeterminate. Gwent Police have now launched an investigation to try and determine the identity of the baby’s mother.

Gursewak Singh, the father of the person who discovered the baby and the owner of the shop, explained: “We asked friends and colleagues what the bag was doing there, but it didn’t belong to anyone. A boy who works with us said it was just a towel in there and he didn’t open it. In the evening I went out to it and opened it, only saw a towel on top and didn’t look thoroughly. I just thought it was clothes underneath and didn’t want to root through them. I picked it up and hanged it on the gatepost so someone walking by might see it and recognise it as theirs. At about six o’clock there was a power cut and my 14-year-old son went out and picked up the bag and opened it and saw a little head in there. He called his uncle and said: ‘It’s not clothes, come and look’. They came over and saw the baby in there.” Singh commented that this incident “was shocking. We were all devastated. I wish we had checked earlier. If we had gone through the bag we could have made a difference. I’m worried what sort of condition the person who left the bag is in. We are so concerned about her. Other people saw the bag, but nobody thought about it. There could be a baby still alive. I wish we had checked straight away.”

Gwent Police member Superintendent John Burley stated about this case: “We are extremely concerned about the health and wellbeing of the mother of the baby and are appealing for her to come forward to receive any medical treatment she may require. This is a tragic incident which will sadden the local community and our priority at the moment is finding the mother of the baby. I would appeal to anyone who may have been in the vicinity of the Spar store on Thursday morning or afternoon who may be able to offer any information to assist our inquiry.”

Friday, March 10, 2006

Three men have been arrested and a further six “positively identified” following the public release of photographs showing “persons of interest” to police in relation to the Sydney riots last year.

A 20-year-old man from Warilla, a suburb of Wollongong, handed himself into police yesterday after seeing his photograph in a newspaper. He was subsequently charged with riot and affray.

An 18-year-old man from Bella Vista was arrested in a Baulkham Hills hotel yesterday afternoon after he was identified by the public. A 33-year-old Miranda man was also charged after handing himself into police last night. He will appear in Sutherland Local Court today.

Following the release of the photographs on March 8, police have received information from the public identifying seven of those wanted in relation to the riots.

New South Wales police minister Carl Scully yesterday urged the others to turn themselves into police before being arrested. “I’d say to those people, save yourselves the embarrassment and turn up to a police station”, he said.

Police and the police minister have also criticised Sydney’s middle eastern community for failing to assist in identifying men wanted for revenge attacks after the riots.

“Generally speaking, when Caucasians are put on the front pages of newsletters, they’re identified”, said Mr Scully.

“And unfortunately, when footage is presented of people of Middle Eastern background, we get zip.”

A spokesman from the Lebanese Friendship Association said that the middle eastern community was being persecuted.”We are sick and tired of people saying why aren’t we doing enough”, said Keysar Trad.

“If the beat police can’t recognise them, then the chances of anyone recognising them are very, very slim.”

Other Muslim leaders urged parents to question their children and hand them into police if they suspect they took part in the revenge attacks which occurred after the riot. Lebanese Muslim Association spokesman Abdul El Ayoubi said parents should have questioned their children when the events first occurred.

“If (their children) were involved then they have a duty to take them in”, he said.

“What they have done now, might be nothing to what they could do next time.”

The NSW Islamic Council has also backed Mr Ayouvi’s calls.

Detective Superintendent Ken McKay, the head of strike force Enoggera which is investigating the riots, said he was confident of making many more arrests over coming days thanks to the assistance of the public. “It wouldn’t surprise me if we had, within the next day or two, the majority of them.” he said yesterday.

“I’m confident (of arresting all 20). If I was a betting man I’d be running at close to odds-on.”

Thursday, June 25, 2009

Former champion Maria Sharapova of Russia saw her comeback attempt come to an early end, as Argentina’s Gisela Dulko beat her, 6-2, 3-6, 6-4. Dulko faces 10th-seeded Nadia Petrova in the third round, after the Russian beat Shahar Peer of Israel, 6-3, 6-2.

Second-seeds Roger Federer of Switzerland and Serena Williams of the United States have advanced to the third round of the 2009 Wimbledon tennis championships in London.

Williams took advantage of her big serve and powerful ground strokes Wednesday as she dominated Australia’s Jarmila Groth, 6-2, 6-1. Federer eliminated Spain’s Guillermo García-Lopez, 6-2, 6-2, 6-4.

Federer is trying to pass American Pete Sampras as the sport’s most successful major tournament winner by capturing his 15th Grand Slam title.

Eighth-seeded Victoria Azarenka of Belarus had an even easier time, dumping Ioana Raluca Olaru of Romania by the so-called “double-bagel” score of 6-0, 6-0.

In men’s play, fourth-seeded Novak Djokovic of Serbia beat Germany’s Simon Greul, 7-5, 6-1, 6-4. His next opponent will be number-28 American Mardy Fish, a four-set winner over another Serb, Janko Tipsarevic (6-4, 3-6, 6-1 ,6-4).