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Due to the damage by Hurricane Katrina and subsequent flooding, a number of colleges and universities in the New Orleans metropolitan area will not be able to hold classes for the fall 2005 semester. It is estimated that 75,000 to 100,000 students have been displaced. [1]. In response, institutions across the United States and Canada are offering late registration for displaced students so that their academic progress is not unduly delayed. Some are offering free or reduced admission to displaced students. At some universities, especially state universities, this offer is limited to residents of the area.

Thursday, March 31, 2011

In a somewhat unexpected turn of events, it emerged on Monday that Arrow Light Rail — the existing operators of Nottingham, England’s Express Transit (NET) system — were to have their contract ripped up, after the preferred bidder for the construction of Phase 2 was announced. The change means that the entire network will be able to be integrated throughout, rather than having two operators effectively running two separate systems.

Nottingham City Council have selected Tramlink Nottingham as their preferred bidder to construct and operate the NET Phase Two lines to Chilwell and Clifton, and will now enter talks with the consortium, made up of Alstom, Keolis, Trent Barton, VINCI Construction UK, OFI Infravia and Meridiam Infrastructure, to finalise the exact details of the contract. It is expected that the concessionary contract will be awarded during the coming summer, with construction starting before the end of the year. The contract will run for 23 years.

Tramlink Nottingham chairman Roger Harrison said: “Building on Arrow’s successful legacy, we are excited to be taking forward the next chapter in Nottingham’s tram story.

“Our focus now will be on working with Nottingham City Council to ensure NET Phase Two can be introduced at the earliest opportunity.”

The reshuffle of operating consortium means that Nottingham City Transport (NCT) — the main provider of bus services within Nottingham — will have no part to play in the extended network, despite the numerous awards and high satisfaction levels NET has had since its opening; it is the only one of Britain’s five light rail networks to be an instant success.

“We’re obviously very disappointed not to be part of the selected preferred consortium. Nottingham’s tram has won numerous awards and after seven years passengers continue to praise its operation. We would have relished the opportunity to have been part of this continuing success,” said NCT’s Managing Director Mark Fowles.

But the council stresses that they are still committed to the future of the company.

“This decision in no way reflects the excellent job Arrow Light Rail Limited has done operating the tram since its launch. Annual customer satisfaction figures remain very high and this is testament to this operation,” added Jane Todd. “The decision to appoint a new consortium to build and operate the extended tram network was made on the basis of selecting the best proposal to meet the council’s objectives for the future of the tram system. The overall offer from the Tramlink Nottingham consortium was stronger. Although disappointing for NCT it is nonetheless good news for the integration of public transport services that the city’s other major bus operator, Trent Barton, is part of the preferred bidder. I am certain NCT will continue to provide award winning bus services for the people of Nottingham.”

Staff currently employed by Arrow Light Rail are expected to be transferred over to Tramlink Nottingham around August, when further details of the contract will become clear. Other changes that are proposed for the network include ‘smart card’ ticketing — similar to the highly successful Oyster scheme that is in use across Transport for London’s service — and the phasing out of tram conductors in favour of on-platform ticketing machines. Current conductors will be offered new roles within the company, though talks are still on-going about how to combat any potential fare-dodgers.

Furthermore, an additional 22 tram vehicles will be built by consortium member Alstom for the extended network, though these will be of a different design to the 15 existing vehicles, which were built by Bombardier to their Incentro design for the system’s opening. The new trams will be part of Alstom’s Citadis family, and will bring the total tram fleet to 37. This will also allow for service frequencies to be increased and for overcrowding to be eased at peak times.

Ticketing arrangements for the network will also change when the new consortium takes over. Currently, combined tickets, cards and passes can be used for the tram and NCT buses, but these are due to be phased out and replaced with the new smart cards in time for the opening of the extensions. Prior to that, passengers will be able to use combined tickets, cards and passes for the tram and Trent Barton buses, in a similar arrangement to that which is already offered for NCT.

Pat Armstrong, director for NET, said: “The move is very much towards more sophisticated smart ticketing, like the Oyster card in London. You use the same card but the money goes back to the company you are travelling with.”

The extended network, new trams and numerous other changes should be fully operational by the end of 2014, but NET users and tramway enthusiasts had mixed views on the matter:

“I think it’s a bad idea to phase out the conductors,” said Andrew Blood, assistant editor of the Tramways Monthly e-magazine, “Not only do they help with revenue protection, but they are also responsible for the high passenger satisfaction levels on the system. In short, they keep tram users feeling safe.”

Greg Smith, from Hucknall, was pleased that service levels were going to increase: “The fact that the trams will be running more frequently is a massive bonus in my eyes. The service we get at [the Hucknall] end of the line is great already, but if [the trams] are running more frequently it’s just another advantage of the system over the bus.” But he was also wary of on-platform ticketing being brought into place: “I’m not sure that losing the conductors in favour of ticket machines is the way to go, though.”

Saturday, September 1, 2012

London, England — With the table tennis event taking place in the ExCeL North Arena 1, Poland’s Piotr Grudzien beat Slovakia’s Richard Csejtey in Group A of the men’s singles Paralympics competition early yesterday by three sets to one. The first set lasted 28 minutes, ending in a win for Csejtey at 9–11; Grudzien came back to win the next three sets with scores of 12–10, 12–10, and 11–8. None of the four sets took over six minutes.

Grudzien was on his toes most of the match, moving around the table, touching the left-hand corner on his side of the net after every point. The pair had contrasting experiences in their first round matches; Grudzien lost in straight sets to Iraq’s Saeed Ali whereas Csejtey won all his sets against Ali.

Twenty-year old Grudzien came into the Games as the defending silver medalist aiming to take home another medal. Playing for ZSR Start Zielona Gora, Zielona Gora, his left arm is shorter than his right and his right leg shorter than his left.

Grudzien’s next scheduled match is the Men’s Team Class 6–8 First Round on Wednesday when Poland faces Ukraine.

Tuesday, February 13, 2007

Five people were killed by an 18 year-old man who opened fire inside the Trolley Square Mall on Monday evening, according to preliminary reports.

Police say they have shot dead one suspect.

The shootings started at 6:45 in The Old Spaghetti Factory on the second floor of the Trolley Square Mall.

Two employees of the Williams-Sonoma store, near the southwest corner of Trolley Square, told KSL that they heard shots and breaking glass from the area of the west parking garage. They say they saw a gunman about 6’3”, wearing a dark trench coat, carrying a shotgun, probably in his 20’s. He came into the mall from the parking garage.

A witness at Trolley Square has said that there may have been a second shooter, a man dressed in normal clothing and carrying a young child. Multiple news outlets have reported an off-duty police officer from the nearby city of Ogden confronted and shot the suspect. This officer is likely the “second shooter” reported earlier.

KTVX had reported that there may have been another shooter inside the facility, however this was later found to not be the case.

The mall evacuation began at 7:00 and is progressing slowly.

The shooter has been identified as Solejman Talovic, an eighteen year-old Bosnian refugee living in Salt Lake City.

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.

“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.

Saturday, September 10, 2011

A 182-page report issued September 1 by the United States National Research Council warns that the amount of debris in space is reaching “a tipping point”, and could cause damage to satellites or spacecraft. The report calls for regulations to reduce the amount of debris, and suggests that scientists increase research into methods to remove some of the debris from orbit, though it makes no recommendations about how to do so.

NASA sponsored the study.

A statement released along with the report warns that, according to some computer models, the debris “has reached a tipping point, with enough currently in orbit to continually collide and create even more debris, raising the risk of spacecraft failures”. According to the Satellite Industry Association, there are now about 1,000 working satellites in Earth orbit, and industry revenues last year were US$168 billion (£104.33 billion,€119.01 billion).

The debris consists of various objects, such as decommissioned satellites and exhausted boosters, but the vast majority of the particles are less than one centimetre across. 16,094 pieces of debris were being tracked as of July, although estimates put the current number at over 22,000. The total number of fragments is thought to be as high as tens of millions. While most of the debris is very small, some of it is travelling at speeds as high as 17,500 mi h^-1 (28,164 km h^-1; 7,823.3 m s^-1).

The International Space Station sometimes has to dodge larger fragments, and in June its crew was forced to prepare to evacuate due to a close encounter with debris.

The UK Space Agency told Wikinews that space flight “is likely to be made more difficult” by the debris. However, communications will “[n]ot directly” be affected, “but if the GEO ring became unusable, there is no other altitude at which objects appear [‘]geo-stationary[‘] and so all antennas on the ground would then have to move in order to track the motion of the satellites”.

Donald J. Kessler, the lead researcher and former head of NASA’s Orbital Debris Program Office, said that “[t]he current space environment is growing increasingly hazardous to spacecraft and astronauts,” and suggested that “NASA needs to determine the best path forward for tackling the multifaceted problems caused by meteoroids and orbital debris that put human and robotic space operations at risk.”

Two events are thought to be the largest individual sources of space debris. Kessler said that “[t]hose two single events doubled the amount of fragments in Earth orbit and completely wiped out what we had done in the last 25 years”.

The first of these was a controversial 2007 Chinese anti-satellite weapon test, which smashed the decommissioned weather satellite Fengyun-1C into approximately 150,000 fragments over a centimetre in size—making up roughly twenty percent of all tracked objects—537 miles above the Earth’s surface.

The Chinese government has so far failed to respond to Wikinews’s queries regarding the incident.

The other is a 2009 collision between twelve-year-old active satellite Iridium 33 and the defunct Russian Strela-2M satellite Kosmos-2251—both weighing in excess of 1,000 lbs (454 kg)—that occurred 490 miles over Siberia, the first such collision. The Iridium satellite was replaced within 22 days, according to Iridium Communications, who operated it.

In a statement released to Wikinews, Iridium Communications said that they “received no warning of the impending collision. Although commercial projections of close encounters (commonly called conjunctions) were available, the accuracy of those projections was not sufficient to allow collision avoidance action to be taken.” They also made the assurance that the Air Force Space Command and United States Strategic Command now provide them with information through the Joint Space Operations Center, and that “when necessary, [they] maneuver [their] satellites based on this information to avoid potential collisions. [They] believe this is a substantial first step in better information sharing between the government and industry and support even more robust interaction which can provide better and more efficient constellation operation.”

Iridium expressed their support for “[l]ong-term investment to improve Space Situational Awareness” and “[i]mproved information sharing between industry and the U.S. government”, as well as more “[g]overnment support for policy and processes which would permit sharing of high-accuracy data as required to allow reliable assessment and warning” and “[i]ncreased cooperation between the government and U.S. and foreign commercial operators.”

They maintained that “the Iridium constellation is uniquely designed to withstand such an event. Because of the resilient and distributed nature of the Iridium constellation, the effects of the loss of a single satellite were relatively minor”, and that “any other system, commercial or military, which experienced the loss of a satellite, would have suffered significant operational degradation for a period of months if not years.” Nonetheless, the company is “concerned over the increasing level of risk to operations resulting from the debris in space.”

The report makes more than thirty findings, and more than twenty recommendations to NASA. None of the recommendations regard how to clean up the debris. However, it does cite a report by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), which suggested various possible techniques for catching and removing space debris, such as magnetic nets.

However, international law does not allow one country to collect another’s debris. George J. Gleghorn, vice chair of the committee, observed that “[t]he Cold War is over, but the acute sensitivity regarding satellite technology remains”.

The debris will, in time, be pulled into the earth’s atmosphere—where it will burn up—by gravity, but more debris is being created faster than this can happen.

The report recommends collaborating with the United States Department of State on “economic, technological, political, and legal considerations.” As already mentioned, international law does not allow one country to collect another’s debris.

According to the report, “[t]he problem of space debris is similar to a host of other environmental problems and public concerns characterized by possibly significant differences between the short- and long-run damage accruing to society … Each has small short-run effects but, if left unaddressed, will have much larger impacts on society in the future.”

A spokesperson for the UK Space Agency told Wikinews that the organisation “does not have any plans to get directly involved with [the clean-up] initiative but through its involvement with NASA in the Inter-Agency Space Debris Coordination Committee, it is conducting studies to identify which objects present the biggest hazard and how many objects may need to be removed and from where.” It says that the viability of such an operation is “a question of treating the symptom or the cause of the problem. Building more physical protection is costly and if the environment deteriorates too far, becomes unviable. It is best to treat the root cause, the presence of debris in orbit, and remove the large objects before they can break up into many thousands of uncontrolled fragments capable of destroying a satellite on impact.”

The spokesperson also pointed out that “[u]nder current licensing regimes (such as in the UK), countries are now obliging operators to remove satellites from crowded regions of space at the end of operational life”.

Sunday, January 13, 2019

Three people, including two firefighters and one Spanish tourist, was killed on a bakery explosion on Paris’s Ninth District. The explosion also injured dozens of civilians.

Seen from the latest fragment, at the moment of the explosion, the scene rose and smoked. An Italian journalist, who had just lived in the hotel opposite the bakery, saw a lot of cars moored at the door of the bakery being blown to the side.

After the firefighters arrived, the bakery was still on fire. The hotel room where the reporter was located was also seriously damaged. The hotel corridor was full of smoke and the guests were evacuated. As they passed through the hotel lobby, they saw the bakery exploding.

As can be seen from another fragment, the firefighters sprayed water to the fire to control the fire; while climbing the ladder, evacuated the residents who lived at the scene of the explosion.

The French Ministry of the Interior said that three people were killed in the explosion, two of whom were firefighters and a Spanish female tourist. She lived in a hotel near the bakery. Another 47 people were injured in the explosion, and 10 of them were seriously injured.

The bakery was located in the ninth district of Paris and exploded on Saturday morning. The explosion was powerful, and the ground floor of the building was almost completely destroyed. The streets were covered with debris, the nearby cars were affected, and the shop windows hundreds of meters away were also damaged.

The authorities dispatched more than 200 people and helicopter rescues. Firefighters set up ladders to open the throat to help rescue the upper floors of the buildings and evacuate the residents of nearby hotels. Some of the injured were transported by stretchers.

The police initially pointed out that the explosion was caused by a gas leak and it is believed to be an accident.

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