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Driving through flood water 'risks lives'

By: Admin on February 17, 2018 / comment : 0 ,

https://zeshannews.blogspot.com/2018/02/driving-through-flood-water-risks-lives.html
Two-thirds of drivers would risk driving through flood water, despite it being the leading cause of death during a flood, the Environment Agency says.
The agency's Caroline Douglass described the statistic, taken from a survey of 18,000 AA members, as "extremely concerning".
"No one should put their own life or those of their friends and family at risk during a flood," she said.
Since 2013, the AA has rescued more than 14,500 drivers from floods.
A total of 101 drivers have been rescued from Rufford Lane in Newark, Nottingham, in the past five years.
Driving through flood water can also cause serious damage to the vehicle, with three-quarters of flood-damaged cars ultimately being written off, the agency said.
It is running a campaign warning people to prepare for flooding in advance by signing up for warning messages.

'Turn around'

Ms Douglass, the Environment Agency's director of incident management and resilience, said just 30cm of water was enough to float a family car and even less could float smaller vehicles.

Where have drivers been rescued from floods?

Location Number of rescues
Rufford Lane, Newark, Nottingham 101
Slash Lane, Barrow upon Soar, Loughborough 77
Houndsfield Lane, Shirley, Solihull 47
Bridgnorth Road, Trescott, Wolverhampton 39
Riverside, Eynsford, Dartford, Kent 39
Bucklebury, West Berkshire 32
Mountsorrel, Loughborough 31
Hawkswood Lane, Fulmer, Gerrads Cross 31
Winterbourne, Wiltshire 30
Mill Lane, Brockenhurst, Hampshire 30
Source: AA, January 2013 - December 2017

Ms Douglass urged those travelling long distances during the winter to check for flood warnings along their route.
"If you find your way blocked by flood water, never take the risk - turn around and find another way," she said.
The survey also found that men were more likely to drive through flood water than women - with 72% of male respondents admitting that they would try it, compared with 60% of women.

Florida school shooting: Students demand tighter gun controls

By: Admin on February 17, 2018 / comment : 0

https://zeshannews.blogspot.com/2018/02/florida-school-shooting-students-demand.html
https://zeshannews.blogspot.com/2018/02/florida-school-shooting-students-demand.html
Young survivors of Wednesday's school shooting in Florida have taken part in an emotionally charged rally demanding tighter gun controls.
Protesters in Fort Lauderdale chanted "shame on you", referring to US lawmakers and President Donald Trump.
He said last year he would "never" infringe on the right to keep arms.
Suspect Nikolas Cruz has admitted carrying out the attack at the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, in which 17 people died.
It was the deadliest US school shooting since 2012 and has re-ignited long-running debates about tougher firearm restrictions.
In his first public comments on the gun control issue since the attack, Mr Trump blamed the Democrats for not passing legislation when they controlled Congress during the early years of Barack Obama's administration.

What happened at Saturday's rally?

Students and their parents - as well as politicians - took part in the event in Fort Lauderdale, close to Parkland. Thousands of people attended, according to the Associated Press.
Arguably the most memorable moment came when high school student Emma Gonzalez took to the podium and attacked the US president and other politicians for accepting political donations from the National Rifle Association (NRA), a powerful gun rights lobby group.
https://zeshannews.blogspot.com/2018/02/florida-school-shooting-students-demand.html

"If the president wants to come up to me and tell me to my face that it was a terrible tragedy and... how nothing is going to be done about it, I'm going to happily ask him how much money he received from the National Rifle Association," said Ms Gonzalez.
"It doesn't matter because I already know. Thirty million dollars," the 18-year-old said, referring to donations during Mr Trump's presidential campaign.
"To every politician who is taking donations from the NRA - shame on you!" said Ms Gonzalez, who took cover on the floor of her secondary school's auditorium during the attack.
Responding to her passionate speech, the crowds started chanting "Shame on you!"
According to the Center for Responsive Politics, the NRA spent $11.4m (£8.1m) supporting Mr Trump in the 2016 campaign, and $19.7m opposing Hillary Clinton.
https://zeshannews.blogspot.com/2018/02/florida-school-shooting-students-demand.html

Ryan Deitsch, who was among those hiding in a school toilet during the attack, urged lawmakers to pass more restrictive measures on gun ownership.
"The least lawmakers can do is vote on something. What's the worst that can happen?" the 18-year-old said.
Protesters also held placards that read "No more guns!" and "Enough!"
"Because of these gun laws, people I love have died," said Delaney Tarr, a 17-year-old student.
"Where's the common sense in that? People are dying every day."

What is Mr Trump's stance on gun control?

In a tweet late on Saturday, the Republican president accused the Democrats of not acting on gun legislation "when they had both the House & Senate during the Obama Administration.
"Because they didn't want to, and now they just talk!" he wrote, referring to criticism from Democrats following Wednesday's shooting.
Mr Trump - who on Friday met survivors of the attack - earlier blamed the shooter's mental health.
The president's views on gun control have shifted over time. In recent years, he has pledged to fiercely defend the Second Amendment to the US Constitution, which protects people's right to keep and bear arms.
Last year, he told an NRA convention he would "never, ever infringe" on that right. "The eight-year assault on your Second Amendment freedoms has come to a crashing end," he said.
https://zeshannews.blogspot.com/2018/02/florida-school-shooting-students-demand.html

Saturday's rally coincided with a gun show in Florida.
Hundreds of people attended the event at the Dade County fairgrounds, despite calls to cancel it.
"I don't believe that any law that they would have added would have deterred what happened," former law enforcement officer Joe Arrington was quoted as saying by Reuters.
"I think a lot of agencies didn't do their job necessarily like they were supposed to."

What do we know about the suspect?

Mr Cruz, 19, is a former student at the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.
He was reportedly investigated by local police and the Department of Children and Family Services in 2016 after posting evidence of self-harm on the Snapchat app, according to the latest US media reports.
Child services said he had planned to buy a gun, but authorities determined he was already receiving adequate support, the reports say.
The reports come after the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) admitted it did not properly follow up on a tip-off about Mr Cruz last month.
The 5 January tip was not the only information the FBI received. In September, a Mississippi man reported to the law enforcement agency a disturbing comment left on a YouTube video under Mr Cruz's name.
Florida Governor Rick Scott called for FBI director Christopher Wray to resign over the failures to act.

Jacob Zuma: ANC leaders call NEC meeting for Wednesday

By: Admin on February 06, 2018 / comment : 0 , ,

https://zeshannews.blogspot.com/2018/02/jacob-zuma-anc-leaders-call-nec-meeting.html
South Africa's ruling party has called a meeting of its top body for Wednesday, amid growing pressure on President Jacob Zuma to stand down.
In a statement, the ANC said that the meeting was called to discuss the "management of the transition" between the Zuma and Ramaphosa administrations.
On Monday, senior politicians held an emergency meeting in Johannesburg to discuss Mr Zuma's future.
The president has resisted calls to quit over corruption allegations.
Mr Zuma, 75, was replaced as party leader in December, and his deputy and successor, Cyril Ramaphosa, 65, would step into the presidency if he were recalled by the ANC.
An ANC spokeswoman told Reuters news agency that the removal of President Zuma was not on the agenda at Monday's meeting.
The president, in power since 2009, is due to make a state of the nation address on Thursday, and some in the party want Mr Zuma to leave office ahead of that speech.
On Wednesday the ANC's National Executive Committee will meet.
If the committee agrees to recall Mr Zuma, the BBC's Andrew Harding says, it would be very hard for him to resist.
He might even face a no-confidence motion in parliament the next day, our correspondent adds.
Mr Zuma, who spent time in prison for his part in the fight against apartheid, met the ANC's top six on Sunday. They are said to have failed to convince him to stand aside.
Julius Malema, an opposition leader and former ANC member, said on Twitter that Mr Zuma had refused to go early.

Other unconfirmed reports from Sunday's meeting say that Mr Zuma asked for protection from prosecution for himself and his family.

Why does the ANC want to remove him?

Mr Zuma's presidency has been overshadowed by allegations of corruption.
In recent years his links to the wealthy India-born Gupta family, who are alleged to have influenced the government through their relationship with Mr Zuma, have caused his popularity to plummet. In South Africa, it has become known as "state capture".
Both Mr Zuma and the Guptas deny the allegations.
Then there is also the country's struggling economy, with the unemployment rate rising to about 28%. 

What are the allegations against him?

  • 2005: Charged with corruption over multi-billion dollar 1999 arms deal - charges dropped shortly before he becomes president in 2009
  • 2016: Court orders he should be charged with 18 counts of corruption over the deal
  • 2005: Charged with raping family friend - acquitted in 2006
  • 2016: Court rules he breached his oath of office by using government money to upgrade private home in Nkandla - he has repaid the money
  • 2017: South Africa's public protector said he should appoint judge-led inquiry into allegations he profiteered from relationship with wealthy Gupta family - he denies allegations, as have the Guptas
  • 2018: Zuma approves inquiry

Crowdfunding pays hospital bills of injured India girl

By: Admin on February 06, 2018 / comment : 0 , ,

https://zeshannews.blogspot.com/2018/02/crowdfunding-pays-hospital-bills-of.html
A crowdfunding site in India has raised more than 1.6 million rupees ($24,976; £17,680) for a four-year-old girl who was critically injured after a drunk man fell on her from a three-storey building.
The girl, Dhanyashri Sridhar, is still recovering in hospital.
The fund, only a week old, has received money from more than a thousand people.
It was launched by a group of young men who live in the same neighbourhood as the Sridhars in Chennai city.
"It feels good to know she is recovering," said Sathish Kumar Mohan, one of the men who helped launch the crowdfunding campaign.
Mr Mohan, a 30-year-old software engineer, told the BBC that he and his friends found out about the accident through a group on WhatsApp.
The group has about 20 participants, all of whom live in the neighbourhood of Old Washermanpet. One of the members messaged on 30 January, saying a little girl had been badly injured and her family needed help.
  • How does crowdfunding work?
  • 'Mum's WhatsApp messages are crashing my phone'
  • India's switched-at-birth babies who refused to swap back
Mr Mohan said this was not unusual because they had collected money or mobilised help in the past by spreading messages through WhatsApp groups.
Messages on WhatsApp, especially on groups, travel quickly in India where the messaging platform has more than 200 million monthly active users.
But this time, Mr Mohan said, they needed a lot more money. Dhanyashri had fractures in her spine and her legs, and she also needed surgery.
That's when some of Mr Mohan's friends suggested creating an online campaign that would crowdsource funds. "They told me, it will help you reach out to many more people," he said.
Mr Mohan first contacted the girl's father, A Sridhar, over the phone. Then he met him personally to explain that they were raising money to help Dhanyashri.
Mr Sridhar told the Zeshannews that he hopes his daughter will recover soon. He added that he wanted to thank everyone for the money they have contributed.
The campaign was launched on 31 January with photos of Dhanyashri and details of what happened.
https://zeshannews.blogspot.com/2018/02/crowdfunding-pays-hospital-bills-of.html

It's done "exceptionally well" considering it only launched on January 31, Arti Rajan, the communication officer for the crowdfunding platform, told Zeshan news.
She said the donations varied from $1.56 to $780. Now, the fund is just $6,000 short of its target: $31, 200. It has 24 days left to reach the goal.
He is still in touch with Dhanyashri's father, Mr Sridhar.
"I spoke to him last night and he told me she woke up and recognised her sister," Mr Mohan said. "He said she is eating again and they gave her some dosa with milk."

The female protesters against giving women the vote

By: Admin on February 05, 2018 / comment : 0 , ,

https://zeshannews.blogspot.com
A century ago, after years of campaigning, women over the age of 30 who owned property were given the right to vote in the UK.
But for many thousands of women, it was not a moment of celebration.
Known as the anti-suffrage movement, these women had been working to oppose the suffragettes.
They believed women didn't have the capacity to understand politics, and portrayed the suffragettes as a group of "ugly" women and "spinsters".
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The Anti-Suffrage League was founded in 1908 by Mary Humphrey Ward, with support from two men: Lord Curzon and William Cremer.
  • Laura Kuenssberg: The journey towards 50-50
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  • How the Suffragettes woke us up
A year later, it was announced that more than 250,000 people, both men and women, had signed a petition against giving women the vote.
Writing in The Queen in 1908, one "opponent", as they were described in the article, said they saw the campaign for the vote as a "prelude to a social revolution" that would set society back.
"We believe in the division of functions as the keystone of civilisation," it continued.
"It is as if the animals on the farm should insist on changing places - the cows insist upon drawing the coach, while the horses strive in vain to chew the cud and ruminate."
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Historian Kathy Atherton says people nowadays can find it "surprising" that women were involved in an anti-suffrage movement, but that it's important to "put yourself in their shoes".
"There would have been a general acceptance that women were intellectually inferior and emotional - and women would have believed that as well as men - so they didn't have the capacity to make political judgements," she says.
"It's a really hierarchical society and the white male is at the top of the heap.
"There's a fear that you're upsetting the natural order of things, even going so far as thinking the colonies would be affected if they felt that Britain was being ruled by women."
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"One of the arguments that some of these anti-suffrage campaigners put forward was that if we give British women the vote - and they would very specifically use the example of India - Indian men and women won't like it," says Dr Sumita Mukherjee from the University of Bristol.
At the time, India was ruled by the British Empire so power was exerted by the government in London and, by default, those who voted for them in the first place.
"They [the anti-suffrage movement] used this assumption that colonial subjects were very patriarchal themselves and they wouldn't like it if women had the vote in Britain," says Dr Mukherjee.
"The counter-argument was that there had been a female queen, Queen Victoria. She'd been Empress of the British Empire and most subjects hadn't kicked up a fuss about having an empress so why would they kick up a fuss about British women having a vote?"
https://zeshannews.blogspot.com

There were also arguments much closer to home.
Historical author Elizabeth Crawford says there was a genuine concern at the time that giving women the vote would "destroy families".
"They thought it would cause dissension in the home if a man wanted to vote conservative and his wife liberal," she says.
The writer in The Queen magazine said the suffragettes were "irresponsible" in forcing the vote on wives and mothers.
"It is a vast upheaval of social institutions and habits, which must cut into the peace and well-being of families and harm the education of children," the article claimed.
A leaflet from 1909 held in The Woman's Library puts forward an argument that women have "neither capacity nor leisure" to vote.
"Women are more easily swayed by sentiment, less open to reason, less logical, keener in intuition, more sensitive than men," the writer claims.
"The qualities in which their minds excel are those least required in politics; their strong points are wasted or harmful there."
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Both sides of the campaign produced artwork and slogans to promote their points of view.
"They [the anti-suffrage images] are portraying the suffragettes as being absolute harridans, slovenly housewives, appalling mothers, that they were ugly, that they looked like men, that they were lesbians," says Ms Atherton.
"It's very much like the Twitter campaigns that you get at the moment, whenever a high-profile woman says something of a feminist nature."
Prof June Purvis of the University of Portsmouth has collected many postcards printed with anti-suffrage messages and imagery.
"I was quite fascinated by these postcards because not many people have done research on them, and I thought they were telling a message of how difficult it was for women at that time to be taken seriously," she says.
A number of the examples in her collection still have original writing on the back, many of which don't explicitly refer to the image on the front.
"In the early 20th century postcards were big business," says Prof Purvis.
"I think the people who bought them were sending a normal message [for example arranging to meet up], like how we now use email."
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For Prof Purvis, one of the stand-out postcards shows a group of women, supposedly in the House of Commons, showing what a future with women in Parliament would be like.
In the image, one woman is staring into a hand mirror, while another reads a book in the corner and yet another has brought her baby with her.
"That postcard really portrays the cultural fear at the time, that if women got the vote, they may then ask to be allowed to stand for Parliament and this is going to upset the whole gender order."
In December 1918 women were granted the right to stand for election for the first time.

Undetected high blood pressure found in new mums

By: Admin on February 05, 2018 / comment : 0

https://zeshannews.blogspot.com
Women with severe pre-eclampsia should have their blood pressure closely monitored for a year after giving birth because high blood pressure can remain undetected, a new study suggests.
It found high blood pressure "often goes unnoticed because women may have normal blood pressure readings" in the doctor's surgery.
The Dutch study of 200 women found 17.5% had masked hypertension.
Their blood pressure was much higher when it was monitored at home.
The study found if only the in-clinic readings were used, doctors would have missed 56% of the women with high blood pressure.
The study also found that 46% of the women had an insufficient decrease in blood pressure from daytime to night time, which is unhealthy.
Night-time hypertension, which increases the risk of heart disease, stroke and death, affected 42.5% of women in the study.
Study author Laura Benschop, MD, a researcher in obstetrics and gynaecology at Erasmus Medical Centre, Rotterdam, said:
"Our findings suggest women who have high blood pressure during pregnancy should continue to monitor their blood pressure long after they've delivered their babies. It's not only important to monitor blood pressure in the doctor's office, but also at different times of the day and night, at home.
"We've shown here that high blood pressure comes in many forms after pregnancy. Women who know their numbers can take the proper steps to lower their blood pressure and avoid the health consequences of high blood pressure later in life."

'Shocking' reading

Katharine Jenner, from the charity Blood Pressure UK, said the study was "shocking" reading because it was well established that women with pre-eclampsia are more likely to have high blood pressure post-pregnancy.
"So the fact that over half of cases are being missed just a year after giving birth is quite shocking, as we know GPs are looking out for it.
"The results of this small study should encourage all women who have had pre-eclampsia to help out their GP by using a blood pressure monitor at home and trying to gauge a true reflection of their blood pressure."
Dr Philip Lewis who runs a maternity blood pressure clinic at Stockport NHS Foundation Trust said it was a "very significant" and "important" study.
A member of the British and Irish Hypertension Society, he hopes to immediately introduce 24-hour blood pressure monitoring for women in his clinic, a year after giving birth.
He says the study shows that if "you just measure in a clinic you may be falsely reassured".
"Masked hypertension is the most dangerous of all as you've been reassured all is well so you don't bother to do anything about it and nor does anyone else because you don't think your blood pressure is there."
But he said it was actually producing a strain on the heart and blood vessels which women could pay a price for later on.
"The ultimate bottom line is if everybody who has severe pre-eclampsia would have a 24-hour blood pressure test a year later, a lot of the risk might be identified for the future and, if dealt with appropriately, prevent it."

What is pre-eclampsia?

  • Pre-eclampsia is a disorder which appears in the late stages of pregnancy and is characterised by high blood pressure and excess protein in the urine.
  • Mild pre-eclampsia affects up to 6% of pregnancies, and severe cases develop in about 1-2% of pregnancies.
  • Although many cases are mild, the condition can lead to serious complications for both mother and baby if it's not monitored and treated.
  • It's the leading cause of mother and child death worldwide, so treatment and monitoring is vital to avoid serious complications.
  • The only way to cure pre-eclampsia is to deliver the baby, so you'll usually be monitored regularly until it's possible for your baby to be delivered.
Prof Basky Thilaganathan, consultant obstetrician and spokesperson for the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists said more tests in larger groups of women, who didn't all have high blood pressure before pregnancy, were needed to confirm the findings.
Christopher Allen, senior cardiac nurse at the British Heart Foundation, said: "Although guidance is already in place, it's possible that the way we screen for high blood pressure in these women could be improved.
"Anyone who has been diagnosed with pre-eclampsia during their pregnancy should be followed up by their GP to keep an eye on their blood pressure."

John Mahoney: British-born Frasier actor dies aged 77

By: Admin on February 05, 2018 / comment : 0 , ,

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The British-born actor John Mahoney, who played Martin Crane in the US sitcom Frasier, has died aged 77.
He died on Sunday while in hospice care in Chicago.
Mahoney enjoyed a distinguished career in theatre, winning a Tony award, and had a long list of film and TV credits.
But he will be best remembered for playing the unpretentious, blunt father of Frasier and Niles Crane in the hit comedy, which ran for 11 seasons from 1993-2004.
Mahoney won a SAG award in 2000 for the role, and was also nominated for two Emmys and two Golden Globes.
Much of the comic spark in Frasier came from the relationship between the down-to-earth retired police officer Martin Crane and his pompous sons Frasier and Niles, played by Kelsey Grammer and David Hyde Pierce.

Evacuee childhood

Mahoney was born in Blackpool, where his pregnant mother had been evacuated to escape Nazi bombing raids.
He moved to the US as a young man, serving in the US army for three years, which he credits with eradicating his native British accent.
It was only in 40s that he became a professional actor, after actors John Malkovich and Gary Sinise invited him to join the new Steppenwolf Theatre Company.
He was a member of Steppenwolf for 39 years - and became a well-known part of the Chicago theatre scene.
The company announced on social media that Mahoney had passed away "due to complications from cancer".
"John was a beloved member of our Steppenwolf family who was known for his extraordinary kindness, generosity of spirit and quick smile," it said in a statement.
In a 2004 interview with the Chicago Tribune, he said he preferred his theatre work to the high-profile national television scene, saying: "I don't care if I never go in front of a camera again."
He also lent his voice to a number of animated projects, including Atlantis: The Lost Empire, The Iron Giant, and Antz.

'Remember him well'

Tributes to the actor have been pouring in. Actor Gary Sinise, who co-founded Steppenwolf, said: he remembered "so many wonderful plays together over the years. A wonderful actor, I'll never forget his 1985 performance in Orphans."
Jeff Greenberg, the casting director for Frasier, called him a "brilliant actor"
Director Greg Berlanti tweeted that Mahoney had been "so kind and supportive of me early in my career", helping to get the film The Broken Hearts Club made.
"He never wavered in his belief in me - a first time director," Berlanti wrote. "And he was even more kind than he was brilliant."
Peri Gilpin, who played Roz Doyle in Frasier, tweeted a photo of Mahoney singing at her wedding
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