INTERNATIONAL
The Morung Express
Tuesday 1 November 2011
Dimapur
9
hope flooded factories US snowstorm sends millions into darkness Thais back up in three months SOuTH WINdSOR , CONNECTICuT, OCTObER 31 (AP): A freak October snowstorm knocked out power Sunday to more than 3.1 million homes and businesses across the U.S. Northeast, with close to two feet (60 centimeters) of snow falling in some areas over the weekend. The storm was even more damaging because leaves still on the trees caught more of the particularly wet and heavy snow, overloading branches that snapped and wreaked havoc. "You just have absolute tree carnage with this heavy snow just straining the branches," said National Weather Service spokesman Chris Vaccaro. From Maryland to Maine, officials said it would take days to restore electricity, even though the snow ended Sunday. The storm smashed record snowfall totals for October and worsened as it moved north. Communities in western Massachusetts were among the hardest hit. Snowfall totals topped 27 inches (68.6 centimeters) in Plainfield, and nearby Windsor had gotten 26 inches (66 centimeters) by early Sunday. The storm was blamed for at least 11 deaths, and states of emergency were declared in New Jersey, Connecticut, Massachusetts and parts of New York. Roads, rails and airline flights were knocked out, and passengers on a JetBlue flight were stuck on a plane in Hartford, Connecticut, for more than seven hours on Saturday. More than 800,000 power customers were without
Libyans bring down Gaddafi’s luxurious home TRIPOLI, OCTObER 31 (ANI): Former Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi’s luxurious home, Bab al-Aziziya in Tripoli, was torn down on Monday by bulldozers. Libyans watched as the walls, which once protected Gaddafi were torn down, the Daily Mail reports. Meanwhile, almost 25,000 have left fearing retribution from Misrata. Misrata officials have accused the Tawerghans, some of them descendants of African slaves, of particular brutality during the war, including alleged acts of rape and looting. Recent reports have claimed that Gaddafi’s son Saif-al-Islam has hired a group of South African mercenaries to help him to move to a friendly African nation. Earlier, The Hague-based International Criminal Court had said that 39-year-old Saif had been in contact with them through intermediaries to discuss the possibility of surrendering for trial. According to information received by the court, he had taken refuge with Tuareg nomads, who his family had helped financially in the past, in the borderlands between Libya and Niger.
An SUV navigates around fallen tree branches in the road a day after a snowstorm in Glastonbury, Connecticut on Sunday, October 30. (AP Photo)
electricity in Connecticut alone — shattering the record set in August by Hurricane Irene. Massachusetts had more than 670,000 outages, and New Jersey more than 600,000 — including Gov. Chris Christie's house. Parts of Pennsylvania, New Hampshire, New York, Maine, Maryland and Vermont also were without power. "It's going to be a more difficult situation than we experienced in Irene," Connecticut Gov. Dannel P. Malloy said. "We are expecting extensive and long-term power outages." Thirty-two shelters were open around the state, and Malloy asked volunteer fire departments to allow people in for warmth and
showers. At least four hospitals were relying on generators for power. Many of the areas hit by the storm had also been hit by Irene. In New Jersey's Hamilton Township, Tom Jacobsen also recalled heavy spring flooding and a particularly heavy winter before that. "I'm starting to think we really ticked off Mother Nature somehow, because we've been getting spanked by her for about a year now," he said while grabbing some coffee at a convenience store. Vaccaro, the weather service spokesman, said the snowstorm "absolutely crushed previous records that in some cases dated back more than 100 years."
snow: Ski resorts in Vermont and Maine opened early. But it was more commonly an aggravation. Many residents were urged to avoid travel altogether. Speed limits were reduced on bridges between New Jersey and Pennsylvania. A few roads closed because of accidents and downed trees and power lines, said Sean Brown, a spokesman for the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation. The JetBlue passengers stranded at Hartford's Bradley International Airport were on a flight from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, to Newark, New Jersey, that had been diverted. Passenger Andrew Carter, a foot-
bANGkOk, OCTObER 31 (REuTERS): Thailand hopes industrial estates swamped in its worst floods in half a century can be up and running within three months, the prime minister said on Monday, as the danger of central Bangkok being inundated appeared finally to have passed. Nearly 400 people have been killed in months of floods that have disrupted the lives of more than 2 million, economic growth has been set back and global supply chains for Thai-made computer and auto parts thrown into disarray. But inner Bangkok, protected by a network of dikes and sandbag walls, appeared to have escaped the deluge with peak tides on the Chao Phraya river due to pass on Monday, water levels falling upstream and clear weather setting in. While the center of the capital remained dry with business mostly as usual, neighborhoods on the wrong side of the protective ring, especially to the north and west, and provinces to the north, have been swamped by deep, fetid flows. The government is planning to spend 900 billion baht ($30 billion) on reconstruction, flood prevention and helping industry, a government minister said. But in the meantime, anger is rising in hard-hit communities. Tension boiled over into skirmishes with police in some areas as villagers try to pull down flood barriers keeping water high in their communities but protecting the capital. Saving central Bangkok from disaster would be a major victory for the government of Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, a political novice
who took over this year after an election that many Thais hoped would heal deep divisions. Bangkok's 12 million people account for 41 percent of Thailand's gross domestic product. Another economically vital region is just north of Bangkok, in particular Pathum Thani and Ayutthaya provinces, which have been largely inundated for weeks. Seven industrial estates that have sprung up over the last decade or two on what used to be the central plain's ricefieldshavebeenovercome by the exceptionally large volumes of water flowing down the Chao Phraya basin. Yingluck said it should take three months to rehabilitate the industrial estates, where some foreign investors have built production hubs. "We expect after the water recedes the industrial estates will recover within three months if we can release the water and recover the machinery quickly," Yingluck told reporters. A resident of Pathum Thani province said the water level had fallen for the first time and was down about 5 cm (2 inches) on Monday, but was still nearly 1.5 meters (5 feet) deep. Thailand is the second-largest exporter of computer hard drives and global prices are rising because of a flood-related shortage of major components used in personal computers. Thailand is also Southeast Asia's main auto-parts maker and Japan's Honda Motor Co said car production in Thailand could be difficult in the second-half of its business year, which ends in March, because of the floods. Work at its Thai plant in Ayutthaya has been suspended indefinitely.
BBC training staff to announce Turkey ends search for survivors, toll nears 600 Queen’s death: Report
In this photo released by Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM), Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II speaks during the opening ceremony of the biennial CHOGM in Perth, Australia on Friday, October 28. (AP Photo)
LONdON, OCTObER 31 (PTI): The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is reportedly training all its news presenters how to announce the British Queen's death in case of the 85-yearold Monarch's demise. The Corporation was heavily criticised in the wake of the death of the Queen Mother in 2002, af-
ter veteran news reader Peter Sissons went on air in a grey suit accompanied with a burgundy tie. So, in a bid to avoid gaffes, staffers are now undergoing training for Queen Elizabeth II's death with the Corporation holding courses for "class one" royal deaths, which would also include Prince Charles and Prince
Berlusconi named in US govt report on human trafficking WASHINGTON, OCTObER 31 (PTI): There is more embarrassment for Silvio Berlusconi, with a US report on human trafficking naming the Italian Prime Minister as a result of his alleged sexual relationship with a Moroccan-born underage prostitute. The 75-year-old Italian Premier is currently facing trail in Milan for allegedly having sex with belly dancer Karima El Mahroug, also known as 'Ruby the Heart Stealer', at one of the evening parties he had hosted at his lavish villa, and at the time she was just 17 years old. Both deny any wrong-doing. But, it has now emerged that Berlusconi was named in this year's US State Department's Trafficking in Persons 2011 report which details the parties and describes how one of the guests was a minor, 'The Daily Telegraph' online reported.
Saturday was only the fourth snowy October day in New York's Central Park since record-keeping began 135 years ago. There usually isn't enough cold air in the region to support a snowstorm this time of year, but an area of high pressure over southeastern Canada funneled cold air south into the U.S., Vaccaro said. That cold air combined with moisture coming from the North Carolina coast to produce the unseasonable weather. The storm did less damage in coastal areas than it would have in winter because warm ocean temperatures limited snowfall, Vaccaro said. A few businesses enjoyed the early
ball reporter for the Sun Sentinel in Fort Lauderdale, said the plane ran out of snacks and bottled water, and the toilets backed up. JetBlue spokeswoman Victoria Lucia said power outages at the airport has made it difficult to get passengers off the plane, and added that the passengers would be reimbursed. In 2007, passengers in JetBlue planes were stranded for nearly 11 hours at New York's Kennedy Airport following snow and ice storms. There were other flight delays in the region over the weekend, and commuter trains in Connecticut and New York were delayed or suspended because of downed trees and signal problems. Amtrak suspended passenger train service on several Northeast routes, and one train from Chicago to Boston got stuck overnight in Palmer, Massachusetts. The 48 passengers had food and heat, a spokeswoman said, and they were taken by bus Sunday to their destinations. Five people died in Pennsylvania because of the storm, two each in car accidents in suburban Philadelphia. An 84-year-old Temple man was killed Saturday when a snow-laden tree fell on his home while he was napping in his recliner. Storm-related traffic accidents also killed people in Connecticut, New York and New Jersey. A New Jersey man died Saturday in a house fire sparked by a downed power line, and a man in Springfield, Massachusetts, was electrocuted by downed wires.
Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi leaves after an EU summit in Brussels on Thursday, October 27. (AP Photo)
"In February 2011, judges set a trial date for PM Silvio Berlusconi for the alleged commercial sexual exploitation of a Moroccan child, media reports in-
clude indicate evidence of third party involvement in the case, indicating the girl was a victim of trafficking," the US report said. The State Department report adds: "During the reporting period, the country's (Italy) prime minister was investigated for facilitating child prostitution." Prosecutors in Milan have charged three of Berlusconi's closest friends with procuring prostitutes for his parties and this relates to presence of El Mahroug at the parties which were held at his lavish villa at Arcore near Milan. The US State Department report is put together every year and draws from reports from 180 countries across the world as well as non-governmental organisations who help compile case histories and investigations detailed in the document.
William, 'The Sunday Times' newspaper reported. Staffers at the Corporation's College Of Journalism have been shown mock videos featuring Huw Edwards announcing that Queen Elizabeth II has passed away, the report said. "Like all news organisations, the BBC has plans in place. We provide training to ensure staff understand what would be expected," a BBC source was quoted as saying by the newspaper. Sombre clothing is being kept in cupboards so newsreaders can quickly change if such an announcement is made, it said. In case of Queen's death, BBC staffers would be informed of the change in programme schedule that will coincide with the Royal's demise. Following the announcement, the national anthem will also be screened in the backdrop whilst TV screens would display a picture of the Monarch, the 'Daily Mail' newspaper said. Meanwhile, with the funeral expected to take place 12 days following her passing, the BBC will suspend all comedy shows across its channels until after the burial, it added.
ERCIS, TuRkEy, OCTObER 31 (REuTERS): The death toll from last week's earthquake in southeast Turkey rose to 596 Sunday, the day after authorities stopped searching for survivors and focusedonhelpingthousands of homeless families in crisis. In Ercis, the town hit hardest by the 7.2 magnitude quake that devastated Van province on October 23, some shops reopened on Sunday, electricity was switched back on in parts of town and one bank's ATM started working. But with barely any of Ercis's nearly 100,000 residents ready to return to their damaged homes with strong aftershocks still rattling the area, life is anything but normal. One aftershock Sunday morning registered at magnitude 5.3. Winter is fast approaching, temperatures plunge at night, and young and old in particular are falling sick in tent encampments set up by relief agencies on the outskirts of town. The government's disaster management website said more than 43,000 tents had been handed out in Van. Officials say that is more than needed because people whose homes are not so badly damaged are demanding tents as they feel safer under canvas. "Our house is in good
A Turkish army officer looks around as his men search for the very last victims in Ercis, Van Turkey. (AP Photo)
shape but we live in a tent due to fear. We will go back once the aftershocks are gone and the government says our house is safe," said Fadli Kocak, owner of a bakery in Ercis, who hopes to be back in business in a week. Many people were queuing to register for tents Sunday, a first step to having an inspection done of their
home, as authorities say they will hand them out only after verifying that a building is too risky to live in. "The problem here is that you can't give 100,000 tents in a town whose population is equal to that," Yalcin Mumcu, who coordinated search and rescue operations in Ercis, told Reuters. "Our people need to
the trust the government, too. Everybody is asking for tents. They need to be patient, if the Prime Minister says they are going to build a new, better Van, I am sure they will," he said. The relief operation is politically sensitive as the southeast is where most of Turkey's Kurdish minority lives, and the army has been fighting a separatist insurgency there that has cost more than 40,000 lives since it first erupted in 1984. After criticism in the first days of the disaster, state authorities cranked up relief operations, asking for foreign help providing tents, containers and prefabricated houses. Hoardes of people in provincial capital Van have also clamored for tents even though far fewer buildings collapsed there. Villagers in surrounding hills are seen as more in need because most of their primitively built houses were destroyed and they would be caught in the open if there is early snow. "Most of us sleep outside. The village has received coal and blankets but no tents," said Mehmet Siddik Demirtas, headman at Yukari Isikli village, about 10 km (6 miles) from Ercis. "We go every day to the city of Ercis to ask for tents but they tell us to wait," he said.
Republicans criticize Obama on Iraq, Libya
WASHINGTON, OCTObER 31 (REuTERS): Republican presidential candidates showed Sunday how they plan to attack President Barack Obama's credentials as commander in chief by criticizing his actions on Iraq and Libya. Republicans seeking their party's nomination are trying to distinguish themselves from each other and show they can take on the Democratic president in the November 2012 election. Herman Cain, a former pizza executive running first in some opinion polls, and Michele Bachmann and Rick Perry, early rising stars whose popularity has faded, threw jabs at Obama's foreign policy Sunday television talk shows. Cain and Perry, the governor of Texas, said Obama's decision to pull troops from Iraq by the end of the year was a mistake, despite the pact having been forged with Iraqi leaders by Republican Pres-
ident George W. Bush. "For the president to announce that we are going to do a drawdown on the troops by a date certain, that just leaves a power vacuum in Iraq," Cain said on "Face the Nation" on CBS. "It was irresponsible for George Bush to set a date certain," Cain said after being reminded of the origins of the drawdown agreement. But he said the president must re-evaluate the situation. "I'm not convinced that the commanders on the ground agree with that strategy," he said. Obama, whose re-election chances depend heavily on job creation and economic recovery, has highlighted the pullout from Iraq as a sign of strong foreign policy leadership. The killings of al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden and other senior militants are other overseas triumphs for his administration. Cain is in a tight race with former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney
Republican Presidential candidate Herman Cain gestures to the crowd during a campaign stop to launch his “Economic opportunity zone plan” in front of the empty, closed Michigan Central Train Station in Detroit, Michigan on October 21, 2011. (Reuters Photo)
in Iowa, which starts next year's Republican presidential nominating contests, according to a closely watched poll conducted for The Des Moines Register. Perry, noting he had
been an Air Force pilot, said Obama had a "wavering" and "aimless" approach to foreign policy. "The idea that a commander in chief would stand up and signal to the enemy a date certain of which we're going to pull our troops out I think is irresponsible," Perry said on "Fox News Sunday." "We need to finish our mission in Iraq and Afghanistan. You better believe I want our kids home as soon as we can and safe. But to give that signal that we're going to pull them out is really bad public policy." Bachmann, a member of the House of Representatives, picked a fight with Obama over Libya, saying it was the "wrong decision" to involve the United States in the upheavals in the North African oil-producer. The president has sought to portray Libya as a foreign policy success after the death of leader Muam-
mar Gaddafi and the takeover by the opposition. "Now we have a mess in Libya. We don't know who the ruling party will be going into Libya," Bachmann said on ABC's "This Week." "There's tremendous uncertainty and chaos. And of course, when there's uncertainty and chaos in a nation, that's when you see trouble and potentially extremist elements that could come into power." Bachmann said if she were president, she would focus on Iran more than Obama has. "I wouldn't take my eye off of the fundamental problem in the Middle East today, which is an Iran seeking to gain a nuclear weapon. This will change the course of history once that occurs," she said. "If there's anything that we have learned over the course of history, it is that when a madman speaks, we should listen. And I think in the case of Iran, that is certainly true."