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Bangladesh security tightened following Pilkhana massacre and Bashundhara City fire

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Bangladesh security tightened following Pilkhana massacre and Bashundhara City fire

Friday, March 20, 2009

Following the Pilkhana massacre which occurred February 25 and 26 leaving 74 dead and the inferno at the Bashundhara City shopping mall complex March 13 leaving seven dead, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said security measures are being tightened countrywide across Bangladesh.

Fire drills will be enacted at all key-point installations (KPI). Fire fighting systems will be examined by the fire brigade and the public works department (PWD) to ensure functionality. Security measures will be enhanced supplementing areas under private security such as at the Bashundhara City Complex.

The Fire Service and Civil Defence Department requires modernization and needs new equipment to fight fires past the sixth floor of buildings. The Fire Brigade says it needs turntable ladders, snorkels, foam-tenders, lighting units, emergency tenders, fireproof uniforms, and rescue ropes for fire fighting and rescue operations. Transportation to fires is also an issue due to narrow roads, low electrical wires and congestion.

The Bangladesh National Building Code requires fire fighting equipment installed in buildings over seven floors. This code is to be monitored by authorities to ensure compliance with the new guidelines and to make sure buildings are being maintained.

The Bashundhara City Complex opened Monday for shoppers two days after Friday’s blaze. A probe is underway to determine the cause of the fire and to assess structural damage.

Loss of life was minimized as the blaze broke out on a Friday, the beginning of the weekend in Bangladesh, so offices in the upper floors were empty. The lower eight floors are used for shopping and the upper floors are all Bashundhara Group offices.

The mall is valued at Tk 7.0 billion (US$100 million). It is not known if the complex is covered by fire insurance.

It is estimated that it will take over two years to rebuild the area damaged by flames which were burned down to a skeleton. Bashundhara City’s technical advisor, Latifur Rahman, estimated damages at Tk 2.0 billion (US$29m).

Only one television cameraman has been allowed in to film the burnt area. None of the 2,500 shops, cinemas or cafes were burnt by the inferno. The seventh and eighth floors still experience smoke damage, and there was water damage to merchandise.

A three member committee is currently investigating the cause of the fire which will consist of Iqbal Khan Chowdhury, joint secretary of the ministry, representatives of the police, IGP Noor Muhammad, and fire brigade, Director General Abu Nayeem Md Shahidullah. The committee is required to report within the week with their findings. The forensics department is also sifting through the burnt remains.

The Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industries has also formed a committee which has begun interviewing witnesses and recording their testimony alongside the government committee.

It has been discovered that 150 closed circuit cameras were not being used when the fire started. Another mystery is why the mall fire fighting system has been found unused.

Why the fire burnt so fiercely is a matter to think….These matters seem to be mysterious

“In the shopping mall there is an ultra-technology elevator which runs even without electricity but we have found that locked,” Iqbal Khan Chowdhury, joint secretary (Police) of the home ministry, said. “Why the fire burnt so fiercely is a matter to think. We have to see if there was any incendiary substance there. These matters seem to be mysterious.”

Mall management has been asked to submit substances and items which would have been in the upper floors when the fire started. The fire erupted on the 17th floor and spread quickly to the two floors above and engulfed the three floors below. The aerial ladders belonging to the Fire Service and Civil Defence reached as high as the 13th floor of the 21-storey building.

Videos have been sent to the United States (US) for examination to assist in determining the cause of the fire and to help in the damage assessment. Experts from the US are expected to arrive soon.

Firefighters were brought to the rooftop of the 20-storey tower by helicopter. The only fatality in this operation was Baki Billa, a firefighter of Bashundhara City firefighting department, who fell when climbing down a rope from a helicopter to the roof of the building. Three other firefighters made the transition safely. At this same time, the chief security officer was safely rescued by the Bangladesh Air Force helicopter, a Bell 212. Six security officers of the complex also lost their lives.

categories Uncategorized | February 6, 2020 | comments Comments (0)

Overlooked Considerations With Liquid Blending Equipment

bytimothyharvard

Selecting the ideal liquid blending equipment for any process line is always a challenge. There are different models, options, capacities and features and systems on the market, and it can be challenging to try to compare these very different systems.

By focusing in on a few key issues that are often overlooked, even very different features and options on liquid blending equipment can be easy to compare. This also prevents the all-too-common issue of choosing a system on the features and finding out it may not have all the specific requirements your production needs.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1tqKfr6_tgo[/youtube]

Integration Capability

A key factor in the choice of any liquid blending equipment should be on the ability to integrate it into the current and future production requirements. For example, is the equipment compatible with in-line carbonation systems, deaeration or product cooling requirements? Size is another factor, with some equipment offering top capacity with a very small footprint.

In addition, does the system offer CIP technology? With increasing automation and complexity of systems, CIP is becoming more of a standard in the industry that reduces downtime and creates an automated cleaning process for full adherence to industry standards.

Energy and Water Efficiency

While quality liquid blending systems will boost production yield, they can also be a cost-saving consideration over their entire life cycle. By looking carefully at the energy and water use of the system and making comparisons, production managers can choose a system that is going to add value and save money.

This level of efficiency is also found in the control of the system. With state-of-the-art technology and instrumentation, these systems can produce consistent quality beverages without the need for continual supervision and operator control. Taking out the human management component of the product boosts produce consistency and quality while also cutting down on production overhead.

categories Strata Management | | comments Comments (0)

News briefs:May 27, 2010

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News briefs:May 27, 2010
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categories Uncategorized | February 5, 2020 | comments Comments (0)

Restrictions imposed in China textile trade with U.S.

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Restrictions imposed in China textile trade with U.S.

Saturday, May 21, 2005

In an effort to ease complaints by the U.S. and Europe about a heavy influx of low priced Chinese goods, China will raise export tariffs on 74 categories of textile products in June. This follows plans from the U.S. to impose quotas on Chinese textiles and clothing.

Products likely to see an increase from the Chinese move include synthetic fiber shirts, trousers, knit shirts and blouses, cotton shirts, and combined cotton yarn. Last week, similar restrictions were imposed by the U.S. on cotton trousers, knit shirts, and underwear. Currently, a 2.5 cent charge per item is imposed; the new tariff will raise this to the equivalent of 12 cents per piece now. While this is a fourfold increase, it is not expected to affect consumer prices. Because of this, some doubt the tariff will have any effect on correcting the trade imbalance.

This move is in response to U.S. trade quotas imposed due to concerns that increased Chinese goods would put U.S. textile manufacturers out of business. According to Auggie Tantillo, executive director of the American Manufacturing Trade Action Coalition, a textile industry group in the U.S., the move will preserve 10,000 U.S. jobs. The new U.S. trade quota will limit the growth of Chinese textile imports to 7.5 percent compared with shipments over the past year.

Prior to January 1, a global quota system helped regulate the trade. With the quota system gone, fears have arisen that a flood of Chinese goods could undercut U.S. competitiveness in the market. China is able to market its goods cheaply due to an artificially weak yuan. The U.S. Treasury criticized the China yuan policy as “highly distortionary”, posing a major risk to China’s economy itself and to global economic growth. They challenged China to revalue its currency to bring it to a level they believe will allow fairer competition between global manufacturers.

China has disputed the charges of the U.S. Treasury. Chinese Commerce Minister Bo Xilai said, “I believe they are not reasonable”.

Laura Jones, a representative of large retailers, also criticized the move, saying “These restrictions on imports from China will do absolutely nothing to help the U.S. textile industry — and the government knows it.”

China has seen a boom in economic growth in recent years due to growing trade surpluses with the West, but economists worry that the trade gap will cause longer term global economic problems. China’s textile and apparel exports are the most noteworthy example, with exports up over 1,000 percent in some categories this year and the rapid loss of marketshare and jobs by U.S. textile manufacturers.

Beginning in 1978, the Chinese economy has been transforming from a Soviet-style centrally planned economy to more of a free market style system, under the rigid political control of Communist Party of China.

To this end, the government has leveraged foreign trade to stimulate economic growth. The result has been a fourfold increase in GDP, making China the sixth largest economy in the world. By 2012 the People’s Republic of China may have the highest GDP in the world.

According to U.S. statistics, from 1999 to 2004 China’s trade surplus with the U.S. doubled to $170 billion. Wal-Mart is China’s seventh largest export partner, just ahead of the United Kingdom.

However, the gains from their “socialist market economy” have not been without problems. The Chinese leadership has often experienced the worst results of socialism and capitalism: bureaucracy, lassitude, corruption, and inflation. Inflation rates have been an on-going challenge, reaching as high as 17% in 1995.

Environmental deterioration is a longer-term threat to economic growth. In 1998, the World Health Organization reported that China had seven of the 10 most-polluted cities on Earth. Another concern among some economists is that China’s economy is over-heating, and due to its global economic expansion this could have major repercussions among other nations.

Typically, wages have been low and working conditions poor, with workers living in restrictive dormitories and working at boring factory jobs. However, recent labor shortages have started improving conditions, and raising the minimum wage towards the equivalent of 100-150 US dollars per month. The labor shortages are in part a result of a demographic trend caused by strict family planning.

  • “Economy of the People’s Republic of China” — Wikipedia, May 22, 2005
  • “China raises tariffs on textile exports. Beijing hoping to counter criticism from U.S., Europe.” — CNN, May 21, 2005
  • “China to increase export tariffs” — CNN, May 19, 2005

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This page is archived, and is no longer publicly editable.

Articles presented on Wikinews reflect the specific time at which they were written and published, and do not attempt to encompass events or knowledge which occur or become known after their publication.

Got a correction? Add the template {{editprotected}} to the talk page along with your corrections, and it will be brought to the attention of the administrators.

Please note that due to our archival policy, we will not alter or update the content of articles that are archived, but will only accept requests to make grammatical and formatting corrections.

Note that some listed sources or external links may no longer be available online due to age.

categories Uncategorized | February 4, 2020 | comments Comments (0)

I Love Thee And Will Yield To Thee

By Alnel Flores

When Spring awakes the sleeping trees and unfurls the leaves;

When flowers bloom, and meadows green and fresh the air gives.

When sun beams are on the woodlands where cool wind do blows,

And clear dews on blossom drops and saps are on the boughs;

When the light on the rainforest ponders, and streams are clear,

I love thee and will yield to thee and swear my love is fair.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DG75NdcVMzU[/youtube]

When summer warms over our lands and fields are all gold;

And birds shall fly then flocks in the sky ; there joys unfold;

When vines on vineyards untwine and smells for wine to made;

When grass be brown and grapes shall dry in orchard they laid;

When fruits swell til they ripens and harvest will be done,

I love thee and will to thee and will not be gone.

When Winter comes, the mountain caps will be filled with snows;

When breeze of the wind so freeze and cold and it bitter it blows;

When leaves shall fall and boughs are broken by winters blade;

When mourning comes on valleys and days sadly wade.

When songs and music be silenced in the starless night,

I love thee and will yield to thee for my loves give light.

Ill rest upon her love forver til change of weather.

Ill love thee and will to thee til worlds over.

About the Author: nothin’ hoping you’ll understand…

Source:

isnare.com

Permanent Link:

isnare.com/?aid=8693&ca=Poetry

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CanadaVOTES: NDP candidate Don Davies running in Vancouver Kingsway

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CanadaVOTES: NDP candidate Don Davies running in Vancouver Kingsway

Friday, September 26, 2008

On October 14, 2008, Canadians will be heading to the polls for the federal election. New Democratic Party candidate Don Davies is standing for election in the riding of Vancouver Kingsway.

A lawyer, he has spent the last 25 years fighting for human rights. A two-time student government representative, Davies was involved in the anti-apartheid, third world and peace movements. Admitted to the Alberta Bar in 1989, Davies and family moved to Vancouver in 1991, where he became the Director of Legal Resources for Teamsters Canada (Local 31), the next year. He is a long-time volunteer for children’s charity Variety, is Chair of the Parent Advisory Council at Mount Pleasant school, and a Director of the Meridian Cultural Society, among other things.

Wikinews contacted Don Davies, to talk about the issues facing Canadians, and what they and their party would do to address them. Wikinews is in the process of contacting every candidate, in every riding across the country, no matter their political stripe. All interviews are conducted over e-mail, and interviews are published unedited, allowing candidates to impart their full message to our readers, uninterrupted.

The riding is vacant, after Conservative Minister of International Trade David Emerson’s resignation. Emerson was elected in 2004 as a Liberal, serving as the Minister of Industry. Two weeks after re-election in 2006, he crossed the floor to join then-new Prime Minister Stephen Harper, who had won a minority government. Emerson was the first MP in Canadian history to cross the floor before a new government was sworn in. He has stepped down, after pressure from other parties.

Besides Davies, major party candidates include Liberal Wendy Yuan, Conservative Salomon Rayek, and Green Doug Warkentin. Also putting their hat in the ring are Matt Kadioglu (Libertarian), Kimball Cariou (Communist), and Donna Peterson (Marxist-Leninist).

For more information, visit the campaign’s official website, listed below.

This Saturday at 11 am, Davies will host NDP leader Jack Layton in the Commodore Ballroom at “rally4change”.

categories Uncategorized | February 3, 2020 | comments Comments (0)

Wikinews interviews 0 A.D. game development team

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Wikinews interviews 0 A.D. game development team

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

0 A.D. is a historical, open source, strategy game, published by Wildfire Games. It focuses on the period between 500BC and 500AD. The game will be released in two parts: the first covering the pre-AD period, and the second running to 500AD. With development well underway, Wikinews interviewed the development team.

Aviv Sharon, a 24-year-old Israeli student responsible for the project’s PR, compiled the below Q&A, which the full team approved prior to publication.

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Displays In Your Kitchen Hutch

By Andrew Hallinan

Using a hutch in the dining area makes both practical and home fashion sense. The hutch is such an important piece in the French Country design scheme, and it offers a convenient place for storage right next to the table. Of course, a hutch can also be used for displays, with open or glass shelving. This article will provide some ideas for the use of a French country hutch in the kitchen or dining room area; some ideas are traditional, some more modern approaches, but the use it to inspire your own creativity when it comes to the use of this versatile piece!

— A favorite collection of dishes: The collection of fine china or stoneware is a grand tra-dition, seen in many residences from local neighborhoods all the way to the White House. Throughout history, there were families who entertained so much that guests could stay at the family home for one month without eating on the same dinnerware twice! Many people have a 2nd set of dishes or china stored somewhere in a cabinet. Why not let these pieces, often chosen for their specific appeal to our tastes, become an item of decor instead of just a storage item?

— An eclectic collection of dishes: A hutch can also be a great place to tie together a col-lection of mismatched dishes picked up at estate and garage sales, passed down from family members, or given as gifts. Use a central color scheme to connect the various pieces to one idea. The key is to space items well, so that each individual piece can be admired.

— Kitchen supplies: Another ideas is the storage of canned goods and other non-perishables. Many of today’s products come in old style packaging. Watch for these ‘anniversary’ items, or pick some up from a local merchant or general store. Baking supplies are a great example of this, and can give your room the whimsical feeling of an old-time mercantile.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GtgXEW8suCI[/youtube]

— Antiques: Display collections of small kitchen appliances and hand tools you have picked up throughout your searches. In a display like this, each item can become a conversation piece! If you are a collector of brand name vintage advertising, you can attach the signs you have collected to the backboard of a hutch.

— Baskets and Copper: A traditional pairing of two warm materials- straw and copper can be a great focal point for a French country kitchen. This is an especially nice contrast when a cooler color such as blue or green is the dominant one in the room.

— Cookbooks: A collection of personal favorites, family treasures, or junior league cook-books from your travels is both practical and pretty. You can combine books with figu-rines, mixing bowls, or other kitchen-appropriate items to prevent the display from be-coming to heavy.

— Dry Goods: Dry goods such as flour, sugar, beans, and pastas can be stored in glass containers. Be sure to use airtight containers with tight fitting lids. If desired, you can even attach the lids permanently to the underside of the hutch shelving, creating a per-manent storage place for spices or other light items.

— Table linens: A neatly stacked and folded combination of color coordinated kitchen lin-ens and tea towels can transform a hutch into a focal point of color.

— Canning supplies: Make your hutch reminiscent of a 1930’s kitchen complete with grouped canning jars, lids, and other supplies. Mixing up unfilled containers with homemade jars of brightly colored preserves and fruits makes this especially attractive.

Hopefully, this list will get your creative juices going. There are most likely items you have right now in your own home that you’d like to see on display. It’s a great way for you to share your interests and personality with your guests. One piece of furniture can help to create beauty, conversation, an convenience.

About the Author: Click here to learn more about

French country furniture

. Andrew Hallinan is the owner of

Tampa Search Engine Optimization

company, and is Tampa Bay’s leading Search Marketing Specialist.

Source:

isnare.com

Permanent Link:

isnare.com/?aid=565809&ca=Home+Management

categories Bakeware | | comments Comments (0)

Celebrities contribute to Katrina relief

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Celebrities contribute to Katrina relief

Published:Wednesday, September 7, 2005Updated:Saturday, September 10, 2005 (Travolta, Preston, Moore, Stones, Three Doors Down, Johnson, Smith)

After Hurricane Katrina passed across the United States, various artists and media stars have leapt at a call to action.

John Travolta and wife Kelly Preston flew his private plane to deliver a load of supplies and tetanus vaccine to Baton Rouge and New Orleans. Part of a Scientology project which has been using their non-massage “assists”, in an interview Preston mentioned that “auditing” had also been performed on victims.

Kevin Smith is holding an online auction on his Web site.

Sean Penn actually went to Louisiana. After loading down a small boat with his entourage, it was discovered one of them had neglected to seal a hole in the bottom. Penn was wearing a white vest rather than a life vest while bailing. After the motor wouldn’t start, the crew paddled down a flooded New Orleans street. Bystanders jeered at whether any victims could fit aboard the crowded craft. No report on rescue stunts. Local authorities had previously been criticized for not allowing volunteer boaters in to help.

Morgan Freeman, whose home fared well, is organizing an online auction of celebrity items at charityfolks.com, to benefit the American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund.

Curt Schilling opened his home to a family of nine driven out of their New Orleans home. The Schilling family will provide housing for the Fields for a year while their home in New Orleans is rebuilt and repaired.

Some celebrities “graced” disaster zones with their presence in the days following Katrina.

Singer Macy Gray and television personality Phil McGraw visited Houston’s Astrodome.

Celebrities visiting New Orleans include Michael Moore (opposite side of lake), singer Harry Connick, Jr., CNN’s Anderson Cooper, actor Jamie Foxx, singer Faith Hill, actor Matthew McConaughey, singer Lisa Marie Presley, comedian Chris Rock, and The Oprah Winfrey Show contributor Lisa Ling and interior decorator Nate Berkus.

Oprah Winfrey visited New Orleans, Houston, and Mississippi.

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China loans Ethiopia US$349 million for construction of expressway

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China loans Ethiopia US$349 million for construction of expressway

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

China has loaned Ethiopia US$349 million worth of funds for the construction of the the country’s first modern expressway, making Ethiopia among the first beneficiaries of the recently implemented China-Africa development funding plan.

The road is to be close to 80 kilometres long, and will connect Nazaret (also called Adama), the country’s second-largest city, with the capital, Addis Ababa.

Funds from the Export-Import Bank of China are to be used to give the loans, according to the agreement. The deal was signed by Li Ruogu, the president of China’s Export-Import Bank, and Ahmed Shide, the Ethiopian state minister of finance and economic development.

According to the Ethiopian News Agency, the motorway is to be completed by 2014. The country has also agreed to other financial deals with China, mainly in the telecommunications and energy sectors.

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