Radioactive Rainwater Overwhelms Fukishima Nuclear Plant

Published on 22 Oct 2013 | Heavy rains have overwhelmed containment tankers at the crippled Fukushima Daiichi plant

Millions affected by east India cyclone floods

Published on 16 Oct 2013 | Millions of people across eastern India are bracing themselves for more flooding as Cyclone Phailin continues to batter the coast. Emergency services are struggling to deliver aid as rising water levels sweep away roads. Cyclone Phailin menaced India for days, and while the states where the fierce storm made landfall were well prepared for its fury, the surrounding area has been caught by surprise. Twelve million people across East India have been affected by heavy rain and flooding. Al Jazeera's Nidhi Dutt reports from West Bengal, one of the worst hit regions.

Floods ravage Thailand's Central Plains

Published on 27 Sep 2013 | A heavier-than-usual monsoon season has flooded 27 provinces in Thailand and forced evacuations in nine districts. Authorities say floodwaters will not reach the central industrial areas and near Bangkok as in 2011 which caused massive disruption to supply chains.

Social media is lying to you about Burma’s Muslim ‘cleansing’?

CHECK THIS OUT!

Don't you wonder sometimes, that the information we are being fed on daily basis can be untrue entirely or exaggerated to the point where it loses all its truth? PHOTO: REUTERS

Social networking sites are abuzz with news about Muslims being killed in Burma.You can see the sporadic posting of pictures by different people with captions like ‘Muslims killing in Burma’, ‘Muslims slaughtered by Buddhists in Burma’ and so on.

Thus, I took on the mission to sort the truth out for myself once and for all and researched some pictures that I felt were dubious. Below are a few pictures and their original copies. You can evidently see the gross difference between them and how they are thrown out of context.

This was a picture shared on Facebook.

I have found the original version which reads differently to the the one posted on the social networking site.

This picture was taken in 2010 after an earthquake in China and captures the efforts put in by the Tibetans to help rescue the victims. Now, Islamic political parties and some other elements are sharing this image as Muslim killing and their slaughter in Burma.

Another widely circulated  picture captioned “More then 1,000 people killed in Burma” is also fake.

Read More | 19 July 2012 

Record breaking drought to affect US food prices

Published on Jul 26, 2012 by PressTVGlobalNews : The record breaking temperatures in the U.S. and the worst drought in nearly half a century are now driving up food prices.

DN reported : Record Heat Wave Blamed for 74 Deaths in U.S.

A record-setting heat wave in the eastern United States is starting to ease after two weeks of scorching temperatures.

The heat wave has been blamed for causing at least 74 deaths from the Midwest to the East Coast, including 18 people around Chicago and 13 people in Maryland. All-time temperature highs hit major cities, including Philadelphia, Washington, St. Louis, Indianapolis and Louisville, with more than 4,500 heat records broken overall.

Dry conditions and a lack of rain are also devastating corn crops across the plains, which faces its worst drought in 25 years. Although eastern states will now see a respite, western states are facing a potential heat wave that could bring record highs later this week.

US heat wave: Temperatures predicted to fall

Published on Jul 8, 2012 by AlJazeeraEnglish ; Millions of people in the US are struggling with a record breaking heatwave. Temperatures have reached almost 40 degrees Celsius in more than 20 states. In the Midwest, the heat is even threatening the region's crops.

Brazil's worst drought in more than 40 years.

Millions threatened by Brazil drought.

Published on Jun 7, 2012 by AlJazeeraEnglish Just two weeks ahead of the Earth Summit in Rio, the UN issued a disturbing report on the environment. One of the top priorities that will be discussed at the summit is access to water. Brazil's northeast region is going through its worst drought in more than 40 years. Brazilians planted their crops but they simply will not grow.

900 hundred towns in the northeast part of the country have declared states of emergency. The government has released more than 3 billion dollars to the region, but people say that their monthly government stipend are not enough. As rain is not expected until October or November,a civil defense official says the the federal government will have to think of a new strategy to save the livelihoods of millions who rely on agriculture to survive.

Thousands flee flood-hit Australian 'ghost town'

Published on Mar 6, 2012 by Euronews - Emergency services on Tuesday ordered more than 8,000 people to leave their homes in a flood-hit town in southeastern Australia.

Pakistan flood victims still in camps

Uploaded by AlJazeeraEnglish on Feb 9, 2012 - Nearly six month since devastating floods destroyed tens of thousands of acres of land in Pakistan's Sindh area, thousands of farmers have been unable to return to their lands and are still living in relief camps.

Millions of dollars in aid was pledged to help, but a UK-based charity organisation said it was not satisfied with relief efforts made by the international community.

Pakistan: Neglected Millions of Sindh Floods

The 2010 floods in Pakistan displaced millions and were a major setback for the national economy. They affected vast areas mainly in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab and Sindh and took a toll of hundreds of lives. Despite the repeated statements from the government, no practical steps were taken to tackle the possibility of future floods and the consequence of this gross negligence is that floods are yet again wrecking havoc this year.

Unlike last year, the eye of the storm this year is Sindh where flood waters have razed in numerous villages and displaced millions. According toAsian Human Rights Commission, the loss of crops due to floods in Sindh is estimated to have caused 5.6 billion rupees in damages. The extent of inundation can be gauged from the fact that out of 23 districts of Sindh, 22 have been directly or indirectly affected by the deluge.

Aerial view of Shahdadpur, which has been inundated by widespread flooding. Image by Rajput Yasir, copyright Demotix (18/9/2011).

Lamenting the utter lack of efficiency on the part of the government to tackle the situation, the Human Rights Commission article states:

It is only now that the government is examining the conditions of the bunds and embankments which are only just, if at all, holding the flood waters at bay. In the meantime hundreds ofthousands of people are trapped due to the flooding of the roads and it is the women and children who are suffering the most due to the lack of safe drinking water, milk and food. As was seen in the last catastrophe the response from the government was very slow due to the lack of a proper relief system and resources.

Like last year, a number of social initiatives have been launched to help out the displaced flood affectees. Among these efforts is the one launched by Faisal Kapadiaand Dr Awab Alvi, two notable social activists and bloggers (and Global Voices authors).

Full Report - Global Voice | 21Sept 2011

Pakistan Flooded again!

Uploaded by hjmanan on Sep 11, 2011 - part of Pakistan hit by massive flooding.

'Red Market' Boom: Indians forced to sell organs to survive.

RussiaToday on Aug 21, 2011 - In India, not everyone is benefiting from the economic boom. Tragically, some people are selling their own body parts to survive. And a scarcity of donors means the grim and illegal organ trade is thriving.

Honest Japanese Return $78 Million in Cash Found in Quake Rubble.

A man walks his dog past tsunami debris in the town of Minamisanriku, 
Miyagi prefecture, April 23, 2011.

The earthquake and tsunami that walloped Japan left much of its coastline ravaged, but left one thing intact: the Japanese reputation for honesty. 

 In the five months since the disaster struck, people have turned in thousands of wallets found in the debris, containing $48 million in cash. More than 5,700 safes that washed ashore along Japan's tsunami-ravaged coast have also been hauled to police centers by volunteers and search and rescue crews. Inside those safes officials found $30 million in cash. One safe alone, contained the equivalent of $1 million. 

The National Police Agency says nearly all the valuables found in the three hardest hit prefectures, have been returned to their owners. "In most cases, the keyholes on these safes were filled with mud," said Koetsu Saiki with the Miyagi Prefectural Police. "We had to start by cutting apart the metal doors with grinders and other tools." Determining who the safes belonged to, proved to be the easy part. Saiki says most kept bankbooks or land rights documents inside the boxes, containing their names and address. Tracking the owners down, was much more challenging.

ABC News - Thurs 17, 2011 : Read full post 

Turkey's Aid to Somalia

Uploaded by AlArabiya on Aug 14, 2011 - On August 13, Turkey's Islamic charity foundation IHH organized aid for victims of famine and drought in Somalia.

A very Japanese way of things...

Japan's top nuclear man resigns over Fukushima.

RussiaToday on Apr 30, 2011 - A senior nuclear advisor to the Japanese Prime Minister is resigning, alleging the government ignored his safety advice. Toshiso Kosako says the wrong radiation limits were set for schools near the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant, endangering the lives of children. The Japanese government denies the claims, insisting it followed expert advice. The plant has been releasing radioactivity since being hit by a earthquake and tsunami in March.

Concerns over safety : Worldwide anti nuclear power protest.

Apr 6, 2011 - Concerns over safety of the 440 nuclear reactors all over the world. With a slogan "Fukushima warns : Pull the Plug on all nuclear power plants" anti nuclear power protest demonstrations were organized worldwide. Can the world count on IAEA?

Nuclear Worries - Radiation & Waste & Japan's bailout of the Power Operator.

hjmanan on Apr 1, 2011 - Japan's neo-socialism : sharing Nuclear Hazards & Nuclear Industry Financial Losses! Our future is in the hands of the Nuclear industrialists? What happened to the consumer?

Mark 1 GE design reactors faulty & MNC's concerned only Sales.

RussiaToday on Mar 16, 2011 - Japan is struggling to control the reactors damaged by the disasterous earthquake as radiation levels continue to rise and a partial meltdown of nuclear fuel is feared in two facilities at the Fukushima plant. Workers were withdrawn after the danger of exposure peaked - the alert also saw plans to drop water from helicopters, adandoned.

Children and families face increasing challenges in aftermath of 2010 Pakistan floods.

unicef | February 07, 2011 - UNICEF's Malcolm Brabant reports on children and families in Pakistan who survived massive floods in 2010 but are at risk from harsh winter conditions.