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Vilas Paswan: No rift with UPA
Mar 20th
LJP leader Ram Vilas Paswan has confirmed that he will continue to be a part of UPA and there is no rift between them. He said Sonia Gandhi is our Supreme Leader and he will not do anything which can strengthen his opponents..
Fire in Central London at a Construction Site
Mar 19th
60 fire fighters have been busy for last 3 hours fighting the fire which has broke out in central london at a contruction site. The latest report confirms that there is none trapped inside.
The fire is believed to have started on the building for the Asylum and Immigration Tribunal, were some construction work was going on.
Huge cloud of black smoke is surronding the area and 12 fire engine vehicles have been seen stationed at the sight.
More steps to protect jobs, Govt assures
Feb 11th
The UPA government will take more steps, as well as announcing new motivation packages, to stem job losses arising out of global recession, Commerce and Industry Minister Kamal Nath said on Tuesday.
“The government is committed to ensure whatever stimulus is needed to see that there is no loss of jobs in some sectors which are taking a hit,” Nath said in New Delhi.
On elevated cost of borrowing impeding the industrial growth, Nath said, “RBI is looking into it… my own view is that interest rates are very high; need to be reduced.”
Sectors like steel and automobile, after slowing down in November, are on their way to revival, he said.
External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee, who also holds charge of the finance portfolio, Minister of State for Industry Ashwani Kumar and a number of secretaries of the key economic ministries have already indicated the government may show significant fiscal measures to arouse the economy reeling under the global slowdown.
According to the government’s own estimates, over 10 lakh jobs have been lost since mid-September in exporting units and sectors like textile, automobile and leather.
Nevertheless, Nath said there was a edge to the government involvement so far as the harms are arising from corrosion of require in the developed countries. “The government cannot resolve the global economic problem,” he said.
Severe storm floods UK areas
Feb 11th
Several parts of southern Britain have been hit by flooding in the wake of a severe storm which unleashed heavy rain, strong winds and snow.
Hundreds of homes in Gloucestershire remain without electricity after heavy snow hit the Midlands and east Wales. Weather forecasters say the worst of the storm has now passed.
Flooding and heavy snow led to roads being closed in areas including Oxfordshire, Somerset, Devon, Cornwall, Hampshire and Sussex.
Essex was badly hit by flooding, with many homes still under water, and a severe flood warning remains in place for the Rivers Chelmer and Can at Chelmsford in Essex.
Australia: No. of fire death toll rises
Feb 8th
Victoria: Australian disaster crews are stepping up their hard work to undertake wildfires in the state of Victoria, as the death toll rises to 65.
About 30,000 firefighters are battling a number of main fires, and the number of dead is probable to go up.
Victoria Premier John Brumby said he had accepted an propose from the federal government to send in the army.
Whole towns have been ruined in the fires, fanned by high temperatures and random winds.
Forecasters are predicting further enormously hot weather in the region - which has seen record temperatures of 47C (117F) in recent days.
Officials say they are battling in opposition to the most horrible fire circumstances in the state’s history.
Witnesses described seeing walls of flames, trees blowing up and the skies raining ash, as fires tore across 30,000 hectares (115 sq miles) of forests, farmland and towns.
Kevin Rudd: ‘it’s an appalling tragedy for the nation’
At least 600 homes have been shattered in Victoria and about 14,000 homes are with no power.
Most of the people who died came from a bunch of small towns to the north of Melbourne.
At least 12 people died in the town of Kinglake, four at Wandong, four at St Andrews and three at Strathewen.
One Strathewen resident told ABC local radio how people had witnessed “absolutely horrific” scenes as they had helped battle the flames.
“The school’s gone, the hall’s gone… some people left it too late. We’ve lost friends, and we’re just waiting for more - children, loved ones,” she said.
The town of Marysville, with about 500 residents, was said to have been burned to the ground.
Local fire officer Greg Esnouf said: “We’re starting to get some reports in now that are very saddening. This latest report says Marysville possibly one building left standing - that’s just shocking.”
One person was declared dead in Marysville, but mainly residents managed to cover from the fire in a local park.
Tens of thousands of firefighters have been tiresome to hold blazes in two other states - New South Wales and South Australia - but the fires there were basically restricted or burning away from residential areas.
The fire service is using water-bombing aircraft to hold fires and thousands of volunteers are using water hoses.
“It’s obviously a tragic day and a tragic week in our history,” Mr Brumby said.
Late on Sunday, he said he had acknowledged an offer from Prime Minister Kevin Rudd to send in troops to ease overstretched crisis crews.
“Hell in all its fury has visited the good people of Victoria in the last 24 hours,” said Mr Rudd.
Bushfires are regular in Australia, but the existing blazes are the most deadly since 1983, when 75 people died on a day that became known as Ash Wednesday.
Heaviest snowfall in 18 years hits UK international flights
Feb 3rd
LONDON, England — Britain today witnessed the worst snowstorm in 18 years which forced the cancellation of more than 650 flights at London’s Heathrow airport on Monday and shut down the city’s tube & bus network, partially paralyzing the British capital.
London City airport is also closed, while the British capital’s other two airports, Stansted and Gatwick, were operating with severe delays.
Bus services were suspended throughout London last night on the grounds of passenger safety due to the unsafe road conditions resulting in a large number of traffic incidents across London.