Saturday, August 5, 2006

Three of Sweden’s ten nuclear reactors have been shut down due to safety concerns following an incident last week at the Forsmark Nuclear Power Plant, in which the reactor cooling systems failed. The reactor has since been shut down there. After the incident, the Swedish Nuclear Power Inspectorate, SKI asked all the nuclear power plants to demonstrate that the same failure could not happen in them. On Wednesday, two more reactors at Oskarshamn were shut down after the operator said their safety could not be guaranteed.

Last week’s incident at the Forsmark plant was triggered by a short circuit that cut power to the reactor cooling system. Two of the four backup generators also failed to start, but the remaining two worked and were sufficient to meet the plant’s needs. Greenpeace reports that the fault in the backup power systems were traced to new equipment installed in 1993.

The spokesman of the Swedish Nuclear Power Inspectorate Anders Bredfell denied that there was any danger of a meltdown, adding that there was also a backup gas turbine to power the cooling system in an emergency.

However, Lars-Olov Höglund, who was responsible for the nuclear plant Forsmark for many years, said the incident was the most dangerous one since Chernobyl and Three Mile island, and that a meltdown was avoided only by pure luck. His views have however been questioned as he is involved in litigation with the Swedish nuclear industry and is known as an outspoken nuclear critic. Researchers at the Royal Institute of Technology as well as the personnel at the power plant were critical of Höglunds’ view.

Speaking to BBC News, SKI spokesman Anders Bredfell said that the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) was informed of the incident as required and that the incident classes as a ‘2’ in the 0-7 scale used by the IAEA to assess the severity of the incident.

Another reactor in Forsmark and a fifth at Ringhals nuclear power plant have been offline due to planned maintenance work. With five of its ten reactors down, Sweden’s power generation capacity is down by almost a fifth.

The environmental group Greenpeace called on the government to shut down all reactors and probe whether the fault was a generic one. The Green Party has called for an independent investigation of the incident. Sweden is scheduled to retire all its nuclear power plants in the next few decades, as decided by a referendum in 1980.

Thursday, August 25, 2005

In Ireland, RTÉ’s new “Rip Off Republic” TV series has attracted a record audience of 667,000 for its second show, making it one of Ireland’s top TV programs. The second show broadcast on Monday 15th August captured 50.5% of all TV viewers in Ireland.

The series which contains four shows broadcast from Dublin City University’s “Helix” centre, aims to expose over pricing and the exploitation of consumers in Ireland. Hosted by financial advisor Eddie Hobbs, the show has attracted huge media commentry, particularly as it has attracted the attention of the governments main party, Fianna Fail.

The main argument against the show has been that it generalises issues and makes exaggerated claims – for example it claimed that restaurants make a 300%+ profit on a typical bottle of wine, leading the viewer to believe that all businesses are making such a profit. This claim has since come under attack by restaurant owners nationwide. Other arguments against the show have stated that while inflation is less than 3%, wage growth is over 6% meaning people are still better off.

The third show will be broadcast on 29th August at 9.30pm on RTÉ One. It will focus on the transport sector in Ireland.

Wednesday, January 24, 2018

Tuesday morning, before the start of classes at Marshall County High School in Benton, Kentucky, United States a shooter opened fire on students and faculty. The incident left two dead and seventeen injured. The suspected shooter is in police custody.

State Police Commissioner Richard W. Sanders said the shooter entered the school at 7:57 (CST) in the morning and started shooting with a handgun in a common area of the school prior to the beginning of classes. According to Kentucky Governor Matt Bevin first responders arrived at the scene at 8:06 and were able to secure “a non-violent apprehension” of the suspect.

According to both Bevin and Sanders, a fifteen-year-old girl died at the school and a fifteen-year-old boy died at the hospital. Twelve other people suffered gunshot wounds and five more were injured in the chaos. State police say all of the shooting victims were students ranging from fourteen to eighteen years of age. Governor Bevin added that the suspect is also a fifteen-year-old student at the high school.

Marshall County Attorney Jeff Edwards said that the suspect will likely be tried as an adult and that there was no current indication as of now that anyone specific was targeted. Marshall County High School. Edwards said, “I’ve been doing this for 25 years. It’s not like anything I’ve experienced in my life.”

“I did not see the shooter, but I did see the commons after. It was a disaster. Everyone just dropped their stuff and ran,” said Allissa Hubbard, a student, while speaking to NPR’s local affiliate.

Benton is located in western Kentucky. Marshall County High School had an enrollment of 1374 students last school year, according to state data.

Friday, January 23, 2009

Today, David Paterson, the governor of New York, appointed Kirsten Gillibrand as the replacement in the United States Senate for Hillary Clinton, who left the position to become Secretary of State in Barack Obama’s administration.

Gillibrand, 42, was a member of the House of Representatives from Hudson and is, like Clinton, a member of the Democratic Party.

“I believe I have found the best candidate to become the next senator from the state of New York. She is dynamic, she is articulate, she is perceptive, she is outspoken,” said Paterson at a news conference.

This selection came after Caroline Kennedy, the daughter of former President John F. Kennedy and leading candidate for the job, withdrew from the consideration for the seat on January 21 due to unspecified personal reasons. Kennedy was one of approximately 20 candidates that Governor Paterson said he considered for the position, including fellow New York Congressmen Carolyn Maloney and Jerrold Nadler.

New York’s attorney general Andrew Cuomo was also considered. Cuomo was the top choice in voter opinion polls, according to CNN.

Clinton expressed approval of the appointment in a statement: “Kirsten is an intelligent and dedicated public servant and a dear friend. I’m pleased that this seat, which has been my great honor to hold, and which has in its history been held by leaders like former Senators Daniel Patrick Moynihan and Robert F. Kennedy, will be in such capable hands.”

President Obama also approved of her, stating, “Kirsten has been a strong voice for transparency and reform in government and shares the belief that government should be open, accessible and work for all our citizens.”

In statements, Gillibrand said that she will be a supporter of same-sex marriage and an advocate for women’s rights. She has also promised a state economic stimulus package that would support New York’s education as well as put forth funding for the environment and a new project that would create a high-speed rail system linking New York City with Albany, the state capital.

The appointment has been criticized by gun-control and immigration advocates. In particular Gillibrand’s opinion on gun control laws has been rebuked, including her stance opposing restrictions on parts of the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution, which outlines the right of citizens to bear arms, earning her support by the National Rifle Association.

“When I heard Gillibrand was his pick, I thought it was a joke. This is an insult to the families of gun violence victims across the state. Shame on Governor Paterson,” stated Gloria Cruz of the Million Mom March which promoted tighter restrictions on the private ownership of firearms.

Gillibrand is set to be officially sworn in on Sunday, January 25.

Tuesday, January 22, 2008

Buffalo, New York —A woman in Buffalo, New York in the United States is in critical condition tonight at Sisters Of Charity Hospital after she accidentally set herself on fire.

The unnamed elderly woman was receiving oxygen for medical problems in her home and lit a cigarette, and the oxygen coming from her mask facilitated the ignition of her clothing, setting her on fire.

Despite her “severe” burns as described by firefighters on radio communications, she was still able to dial the emergency line in the U.S., 911.

In the U.S. only 4% of all residential fires were reportedly caused by smoking materials in 2002. These fires, however, were responsible for 19% of residential fire fatalities and 9% of injuries. The fatality rate due to smoking is nearly four times higher than the overall residential fire rate; injuries are more than twice as likely. Forty percent of all smoking fires start in the bedroom or living room/family room; in 35% of these fires, bedding or upholstered furniture are the items first ignited.

Saturday, July 14, 2007

Two Long Island, New York teenagers, aged 15 and 17, have been charged for their alleged involvement in a suspected plot to attack their school next April, on the ninth anniversary of the Columbine High School shooting massacre.

The plot was uncovered when the 15-year-old suspect lost his journal at the McDonalds restaurant where he worked. The journal was found by a fellow classmate of the teenagers’ school, who quickly turned it over to school officials.

The journal is alleged to have outlined the teenagers’ plan to attack the school with guns and home-made bombs. The 15-year-old suspect’s home and computers were searched and evidence was collected, which revealed that he allegedly tried to purchase black powder explosives and machine guns over the Internet.

A video was also found in which the same teenager allegedly names some students and staff he would like to attack at the school. The 17-year-old was allegedly planning to aid in the attack on the school.

The two teens were arrested and held in Long Island jail on misdemeanor conspiracy, which is punishable by up to one year in prison. The 15-year-old will appear in juvenile court on Friday and the 17-year-old suspect is expected to plead not guilty at a hearing.