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Tuesday, August 23, 2011

A 5.8 earthquake struck 4 miles southwest of Mineral, Virginia, 80 miles south of Washington D.C., at 1:51 p.m. EDT (17:51 UTC) and lasted for 15–30 seconds. The quake had a magnitude of 5.8 with an epicenter 27 miles (43 km) east of Charlottesville, Virginia. A 2.8 aftershock was reported at 2:46 pm EDT (18:46 UTC).

According to Twitter reports, the quake was felt inland as far as Cleveland and Toronto and along the coast from Boston to Georgia. Police sergeant James Ryan, from South Brunswick, New Jersey stated that “The 911 line is flooding with calls right now. People want to know what happened. They want to know if there was an explosion.”

The United States Capitol and The Pentagon in Arlington were evacuated, as were police headquarters and city hall in New York City. Numerous minor injuries have been reported in Washington, D.C.; however, none of them are serious. There have been confirmed reports of damage at the Washington National Cathedral and the Smithsonian Castle. The Pentagon was also damaged when a burst pipe caused flooding. The North Anna Power Station lost offsite power and had to shut down, turning to four diesel generators to maintain cooling of the facility. Both the JFK and Newark airports were briefly shut down and the control towers were evacuated. A release from Amtrak stated that trains will be operating at reduced speed, but no damage has been found on any rail lines. The Washington Metro is also operating on reduced speed, with some stations closed down, while lines are evaluated.

In Boston, it was reported that the building at 111 Devonshire Street appeared to be leaning onto the adjacent building at 50 Milk Street, with fears that it could collapse. The street was blocked off while the Boston Fire Department investigated. However, it was determined that the buildings had always appeared like that. Nevertheless, the Boston Fire Department investigated the roof and the inside of 111 Devonshire St. After 30 minutes, the building was determined to be safe.

This is the second strongest earthquake to originate in Virginia since records have been kept, after the one recorded on May 31, 1897, near Giles County, which was estimated at a magnitude of 5.9.

The Dow initially dropped 50 points after the earthquake struck, but later increased over 100 points.

A compilation of brief news reports for Sunday, January 10, 2010.

Outgoing Croatian president Stjepan Mesi? pardoned 36-year-old Siniša Rimac, a convicted war criminal, jailed for eight years for participating in executions of Serb civilians back in 1991, when Croatia was at war with Serb forces. Among other crimes, he is guilty of killing a 12-year old girl. At that time he was part of a military unit led by Tomislav Mer?ep, who was never prosecuted.

Rimac’s jail term was shortened by one year, following president Mesi?’s decision.

Serbian president Boris Tadi? described the act as “anti-european” and “anti-civilisational” that cannot be justified.

Sources

• “Mesic pardoned man convicted for murder of Serbian civilians” — Blic, January 8, 2010
• “Tadi?: Pomilovanje ratnog zlo?inca anticivilizacijski ?in” — Jutarnji List, January 8, 2010
• “Mesi? pomilovao ubojicu Rimca iz Pakra?ke poljane” — Jutarnji List, January 6, 2010

Mohamed Kohail, a Canadian resident convicted after a deadly school fight in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia will not be executed as originally sentenced. The country’s highest court, the Supreme Council, cancelled the death sentence but ordered that Kohail face retrial in the case. The Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade confirmed this development on Saturday.

Kohail’s younger brother Sultan is also charged in this case and could also be sentenced to death as his case was moved from the youth court to the adult system. Both brothers deny that they had caused the death of Munzer Haraki during the 2007 brawl.

Sources

• “Saudi court revokes Montrealer’s death sentence” — CBC News, January 9, 2010
• Linda Nguyen. “Montreal man spared beheading for fatal school fight in Saudi Arabia” — Canwest News Service, January 9, 2010
• Richard Deschamps. “Mohammed Kohail’s death sentence revoked” — CJAD, January 9, 2010

More than 4,000 police officers attended the funeral of Constable Ireneusz “Eric” Czapnik in Ottawa, Ontario on Thursday. Czapnik was stabbed to death outside the Ottawa Hospital‘s Civic campus the previous Tuesday while completing paperwork at his vehicle. He was the first Ottawa police officer to be killed on duty since 1983.

Kevin Gregson, a suspended RCMP officer, is charged in connection with Czapnik’s murder.

Sources

• “Slain officer honoured at massive funeral” — CBC News, January 7, 2010
• “Thousands gather to honour slain Ottawa cop” — Ottawa Citizen, January 7, 2010
• Joanna Smith. “Thousands gather to honour slain Ottawa constable” — Toronto Star, January 7, 2010

At 6:30a.m. Friday local time (1230 UTC) a gunman entered an ABB factory in St. Louis, Missouri, and began shooting. At this time it appears that he had killed three and injured five others, then himself. St. Louis Police Chief Dan Isom says, “”We are very confident that this is the shooter.” Reports say that there were two bodies found on the outside of the factory and two bodies, including that of the shooter, found on the interior.

Sources

• “Gunman on rampage at Missouri factory” — BBC News Online, January 7, 2010
• “ABB Has Received Reports Of A Shooting At Its St Louis Site” — Wall Street Journal, January 7, 2010
• “8 people shot, 3 fatally, at St. Louis factory, police say” — CNN, January 7, 2010
• Kim Bell. “Worker goes on rampage, shoots 8, kills 3 co-workers” — St. Louis Post-Dispatch, January 7, 2010

A French court ruled in favor of French President Nicolas Sarkozy, in a fraud case where fraudsters stole money from his bank accounts. He was awarded one Euro (US$1.43, ?0.89) in damages.

Sources

• “Sarkozy awarded €1 in fraud case” — Independent.ie, January 9, 2010
• “France’s Sarkozy Awarded One Euro In Fraud Case” — New York Times, January 8, 2010

File:Gumby and Pokey – Bendable Figures.jpg

Art Clokey, a pioneer in the field of claymation, died Friday due to chronic disease. Clokey was well know for one of the characters he created, Gumby.

Sources

• Jason Felch. “Art Clokey dies at 88; creator of Gumby” — Los Angeles Times, January 9, 2010
• “Gumby creator pases away” — The Sydney Morning Herald, January 9, 2010

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

United States President Barack Obama announced on Tuesday that he is nominating Ben Bernanke for a second term as Chairman of the Federal Reserve, the central bank of the United States.

Obama made the announcement during a brief break from his vacation at Martha’s Vineyard in Massachusetts.

“The man next to me, Ben Bernanke, has led the Fed through one of the worst financial crises that this nation and the world has ever faced. As an expert on the causes of the Great Depression, I’m sure Ben never imagined that he would be part of a team responsible for preventing another. But because of his background, his temperament, his courage, and his creativity, that’s exactly what he has helped to achieve. And that is why I am re-appointing him to another term as Chairman of the Federal Reserve,” the President said.

“Ben approached a financial system on the verge of collapse with calm and wisdom; with bold action and outside-the-box thinking that has helped put the brakes on our economic freefall,” Obama added.

“We have been bold or deliberate as circumstances demanded, but our objective remains constant: to restore a more stable economic and financial environment in which opportunity can again flourish, and in which Americans’ hard work and creativity can receive their proper rewards,” Ben Bernanke said while accepting the nomination.

Ben Bernanke, who succeeded Alan Greenspan on February 1, 2006, will now face a Senate confirmation hearing.

“There will be a thorough and comprehensive confirmation hearing,” said Senator Christopher Dodd, who is the chair of the Senate Banking Committee. “I expect many serious questions will be raised about the role of the Federal Reserve moving forward and what authorities it should and should not have.”

“I am extremely pleased to learn that Ben Bernanke has been nominated for a second term as chairman of the Federal Reserve,” read a statement by Jean-Claude Trichet, the President of the European Central Bank. “We have had an excellent and very close working relationship during the current episode of exceptional challenges for the world economy. The Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank have, together with other central banks, initiated an unprecedented level of close cooperation, which has been key in coping with the present situation.”

Monday, April 18, 2005

The Romanian Minster for Economy and Commerce, Codru? Sere?, announced on Friday that his ministry intends to sell 10% of its shares in the state-owned natural gas distributor, Romgaz, this year. The Ministry is still deciding whether to transfer the stock to financial investors or whether to list it on the Bucharest Stock Exchange.

Romgaz is one of the largest state-owned companies in Romania falling under the ownership of the Ministry of Economy and Commerce. In 2005, the company is expected to have an estimated turnover of 648 million euro.

Romgaz is the latest Romanian energy company where plans have been announced for privatisation. Last year, the privatisation of natural gas distributors Distrigaz Sud and Distrigaz Nord was proposed, and is expected to be fully completed by the end of this month. Last year, Romanian oil giant Petrom was privatised, in the country’s largest ever privatisation, and this year the Electrica Group of electricity distributors was sold off to various financial investors.

Thursday, November 25, 2010

A jawbone found in Aruba is not that of missing American Natalee Holloway, who was a recent high school-graduate at the time of her disappearance. Officials confirmed the news after Dutch scientists completed tests on the bone. The jawbone, which also had a wisdom tooth with it, was found by an American tourist close to the Phoenix Hotel. A second bone had also been found by another tourist earlier this month.

The bone was sent to the Netherlands Forensic Institute where scientists completed tests. They compared the bone to dental records given to them by Natalee’s father, from which they confirmed the the bone was not that of Natalee, although it was human. It was said to be unlikely that the bone was Holloway’s as there is no physical evidence that she was murdered.

Taco Stein, the Aruban Solicitor General, released a statement after the announcement was made. He commented on the speed of the identification; he said that they had quickly ruled out Holloway because her records had shown that she had her wisdom teeth previously removed.

Tim Miller, the Director of the Texas EquuSearch, released a statement after talking to Natalee’s father. He said “Dave [Natalee’s father] has been in contact with Aruban authorities and spoke with FBI this morning, the agent working the case. Dave believes it is Natalee.”

An attorney for Natalee’s mother, Beth Twitty, released a statement saying “Beth accepts the forensic conclusions, is emotionally exhausted from the inexplicably long wait, and deeply disappointed in the time and manner in which she learned of the results.” He commented on the Aruban authorities saying that “Apparently Aruban prosecutors were more sensitive to media concerns than the painful vigil of a mother.”

Natalee Holloway disappeared on the island in 2005 while on a school trip. She was last seen leaving a nightclub with three men, one of which was later identified as Joran van der Sloot. Van der Sloot was detained twice by police but has never been charged with Holloway’s disappearance. He is currently in Peru facing a different murder charge. Aruban authorities have said that they are checking neighboring islands to find a match for other missing persons.

Sunday, January 10, 2010

Chinese officials have said that their country’s exports surged last December to edge out Germany as the world’s biggest exporter.

The official Xinhua news agency reported today that figures from the General Administration for Customs showed that exports jumped 17.7% in December from a year earlier. Over the whole of 2009 total Chinese exports reached US$1.2 trillion, above Germany’s forecast $1.17 trillion.

Huang Guohua, a statistics official with the customs administration, said the December exports rebound was an important turning point for China’s export sector. He commented that the jump was an indication that exporters have emerged from their downslide.

“We can say that China’s export enterprises have completely emerged from their all-time low in exports,” he said.

However, although China overtook Germany in exports, China’s total foreign trade — both exports and imports — fell 13.9% last year.

Wednesday, February 23, 2005The leu, Romania’s national currency, continues to appreciate against the euro and the US dollar after it reached high levels a few days ago. Yesterday, one euro could be bought for just 35,844 lei, down from 36,133 lei two days ago. These rates are also significantly stronger from the period in mid-2004 when the euro was worth more than 40,000 lei. Last week, the leu reached such a high rate against the euro that the National Bank of Romania had to intervene and restore the exchange rate back to around 37,000 lei per euro. The leu’s growth also had an impact on global exchange rates, weakening the US dollar worldwide by 1%.

The National Bank, however, is hesitant to intervene in the marketplace once again due to the positive effects of the leu’s appreciation on importers, who can now get products for lower prices, and for consumers, who now have higher purchasing power for imported goods. Romanians are also pleased that their currency, which has faced long periods of fairly sharp depreciation in the 1990s due to high inflation, is finally picking up again and strengthening against other currencies.

The leu’s appreciation, however, isn’t all positive, because it is putting a great deal of pressure on exporters. Other countries are finding Romanian exports more expensive, and therefore less competitive, due to the leu’s appreciation, and this could widen the already large account deficit in the country.

Analysts predict, however, that the leu’s surge cannot be stopped and it will continue strengthening against the euro, reaching a rate of 34,000 lei for one euro in the next week.

The current leu will be replaced in July 2005 with the New Leu (RON), with 10,000 old lei = 1 New Leu. The revaluation is expected to prepare Romania for adoption of the euro in 2012. Starting from next month, all Romanian prices must be shown in both the old currency and the new currency. The National Bank of Romania has said that it expects the exchange rate between the New Leu and the euro to hover at around 3.5 RON = 1 euro when the RON is introduced.