Indonesia jolted with earthquakes, 3 dead
Indonesia was jolted by a series of powerful Earthquakes this morning. The Indonesian soil of the eastern region shook with force managing to kill three people and injuring scores of others. Power lines in the area were also cut due to the earthquake and it managed to damage a considerable number of buildings.
The earthquake was measured at a magnitude of 7.6 on the Richter scale. It occurred early in the morning at 4:43 am local time. The particular region where the natural disaster took place is situated at a distance of eighty five miles from Manokwari Papua. The U.S Geological Agency further reported that the initial earthquake was followed up by a powerful after shock of 7.5 magnitude.
Rescue workers dug through the rubble discovering the bodies of three Indonesians. One of the victims was a ten year old girl who managed to lose her life in the incident. The Hospital director Hengky Tewu said regarding the body of the girl “Her head was crushed. We have our ambulances picking up two more.” By that time another nineteen patients had been brought to the hospital and were receiving treatment for broken bones, crushed fingers and various other injuries.
The Papua police chief Maj. Gen Bagas Ekodanto said speaking to the news that he had heard reports of a rice warehouse collapsing as well as a huge popular hotel being completely destroyed. The police chief had not received any confirmation of deaths that may have occurred in these buildings.
Rescue workers, Police and ordinary citizens were conducting searches through the affected areas looking for possible victims. The Mutiara Hotel situated at the heart of the city of Manokwari collapsed because of the earthquake, a nurse giving medical treatment to around twenty patients that had sustained injuries in the earthquake.
The earthquake also managed to cut off the electricity supple in the coastal city. More than 167000 people ran out of their homes fearing that another tsunami was on its way. The Indonesian Meteorology and Seismology Agency was quick to issue a tsunami alert which got the frantic people running on the streets. Within an hour however the agency revoked its statement when it became clear that the epicenter of the natural disaster was on land.
New Year party goes up in flames killing 59 in Bangkok
New Year celebrations in Bangkok went out of hand as flames tore through a nightclub full of people killing up to 59. The dead bodies of the 59 individuals lay outside the Santika nightclub wrapped up in white cotton sheets. The death toll is likely to rise as the fire crew continued to move in through the burning nightclub.
It is assumed that the fire was sparked due to unwarranted use of fireworks. There are other reports that indicate it could have been started off by an electrical fault. More than 130 people have been reported injured along with those who lost their lives.
The fire was not the only thing that contributed to the death toll. Many people were trampled under the feet of clubbers that stampeded their way outside through the only exit of the burning nightclub.
Rescue workers continued to take out bodies from the burning nightclub as relatives of the victims stood outside weeping in shock and sorrow. The bodies were being loaded in pick up trucks and taken away. While some relatives were able to identify their burnt relatives others were charred beyond the scope of recognition.
Some of the survivors described how the flames engulfed the two story nightclub eventually causing the ceiling to collapse burying those inside. The Santika nightclub is considered to be one of the cities top notch hang out spots and this New Year Eve was set to be a special night. Fireworks were being set off from the stage and everybody was in the mood for full time partying.
One of the party goers present at the night club said “We were all dancing and suddenly there was a big flame that came out of the front of the stage and everybody was running away, there was an explosion and people started running for the doors and breaking the windows.”
The rescue workers were aided by taxi drivers and other people from the streets. They helped to drag the bodies out and lay them on the streets wrapped up in white cotton sheet. The explosion occurred half an hour into the New Year but this was not the kind of bang they were looking to start off the New Year with. Tos Maddy, one of the guests at the night club said “Everything went boom and people started running. The fire went very quickly.”
Pope manages to anger Gay Rights Groups with his annual address
Pope Benedict XVI managed to anger Gay rights groups across the country as he addressed the Christian community in an annual year end address. The Pope had attempted to elucidate the difference between the sexes and stressed on identifying the natural differences and acting accordingly.
The speech was delivered to the Curia which is the Vatican’s central administration. The Pope made it clear that in the eyes of the church the distinction between the sexes was central to human nature. He made a plea to the masses to respect this natural order. He went further on to say that it was the church’s duty to protect man from bringing upon destruction upon him self. By drawing a similitude between men and forests he said “The tropical forests do deserve our protection; but man, as a creature, does not deserve any less.”
He went further own to criticize the gender theories that were meant to distort the natural view of the topic in discussion. He said such theories that lead towards self-emancipation of man from the creation and the creator should not be encouraged.
Although the Pope had not made any direct mention of homosexuality and its widespread practice that has swept the world he still managed to earn the anger of gay rights groups. The gay activists claimed that the entire speech of the Pope was directed towards saving mankind from homosexuals.
The very philosophical view point adopted by those who fight for gay rights come under the umbrella of what the Pope meant to discourage. According to the Gay school of thought a divine program for men and women is out of line with nature. They believe that man has the right to seek out their own sexual identity.
It would be interesting to note that the Catholic doctrine does not actually regard homosexuality to be a sin. It merely regards it as an act that can pave the way to greater evil which is why it should be discouraged. The Pope targeted same sex marriages saying that the marriage between man and woman was the sacrament of creation whereas same sex marriages are a distortion of the natural disposition of man.
China vows to combat Somali pirates
For the majority of us pirates are only associated with the silver screen. China however, is all set to dispatch a naval ensign that will be joining the international forces that are trying to battle the Somali pirates wreaking havoc in the water ways. This is going to be the first such distant mission for the Chinese navy.
The threat of pirates still exists in the real world and international forces have come together to rid the waters of the Gulf of Aden off the Somali coast from the menacing Somali pirates. This region is one of the world’s busiest waterways which make it an ideal place for the pirates to come in to action.
Although China has not given any details regarding its preparation to participate in the convoy actions against the pirates it did make it clear that the country is going to play an active role in the pursuit of the pirates. Formal information on the subject would be released later on.
Throughout the history of the republic the Chinese navy has mainly been concerned with coastal defense. The mission to chase down pirates in overseas waters is going to be the first of its kind for the Chinese navy. The fleet that has been set out by the Chinese consists of two cruisers and a large supply ship.
The recent threat of piracy has become a big hurdle to international trade and navigation. The once safe and sound waterways now pose a great risk to all those who make their way through the region.
The piracy activity has picked up in recent times. This is what caused the UN Security Council to take a unanimous decision to combat the growing threat. China has initiated its support following the UN Security Council’s decision.
The number of ships attacked by the Somali pirates in the Gulf has gone up to 300 in the past year. More than 1265 Chinese ships have made their way through the troubled waters during the same period. Chinese authorities have said that around 20% of the Chinese ships that went through the region have been attacked by the pirates.
The Chinese have thus decided to play an active rule in pursuit of the pirates that are posing a great threat to international security on the waterways.
Saturn’s moon displaying Earth like characteristics
Yet another interesting discovery has been made by the US space agency NASA. This time the agency has managed to observe something strange with the behavior of the moon that circumambulates around the planet Saturn. The moon of the planet was observed to have certain Earth like characteristics with regards to its surface.
Pictures taken from the Cassini spacecraft revealed that the surface of the moon splits open in some places and spreads apart much like the bed of the ocean does on the surface of the planet Earth. The Earth performs this natural phenomenon as a means of creating a new crust.
This information was released during a meeting of the American Geophysical Union in San Francisco. The data captured from the Cassini spacecraft has backed up the already existing notion about the Enceladus harboring a sub surface sea.
Each new discovery seems to be strengthening the evidence that claims that water is present on the surface of Enceladus. Carolyn Porco is one of the senior scientists who also leads the Cassini imaging group was very excited over the new discovery that has revealed even more sound evidence regarding the presence of water on the moon.
The cracking of the ocean bed is a recently discovered phenomenon that has greatly advanced the theory of plate tectonics. The team leader of the Cassini group claims that Enceladus displayed a similar kind of behavior.
The moon of Saturn is snow white in color and has a rigged surface full of cracks. It has been dubbed as having a tiger striped surface. The experiments conducted by Dr Paul Helfenstein of the Cornell University where he managed to put together the cracks on the computer screen like the pieces of a puzzle clearly suggest that water is present under the cracked surface of the moon. This resemblance between the surface of the moon and that of the ocean bed is a remarkable discovery in the world of science.
The only difference between the way that the two surfaces crack up is that the ocean bed on planet Earth cracks up in a symmetrical fashion whereas the surface of Enceladus cracks up in an asymmetrical manner pushing only in one direction.