July 11, 2011
Mount Etna eruption closes airports and 'knocks clocks 15 minutes fast'
An eruption by Mount Etna on the Italian island of Sicily left a nearby airport closed and ... locals turning up early for work.
The volcano spewed lava on to its south-eastern slopes on Saturday afternoon and winds swept ash further afield, stopping flights at Catania's Fontanarossa airport.
The strong eruption - Etna's fifth since the beginning of the year - was shortlived, but left the airport closed overnight.
Bemused Sicilians, meanwhile, were quick to blame the volcano after thousands noticed that their clocks were running 15 minutes fast. The fast forward time keeping has affected a wide spectrum of digital clocks and watches - from computers through to alarm clocks.
It was spotted when large numbers of locals started turning up for work early, and a Facebook page was organised for those involved to compare notes.
As well as Etna's volcanic activity, users have so far blamed aliens, poltergeists, solar explosions and electrical disturbances caused by underwater cables.
Fontanarossa airport was reopened at 7am local time after seven sweeping machines worked through the night to clear the runway of ash. The cause of the island-wide clock confusion remains unknown.
Etna is the highest active volcano in Europe at 3,295m (10,810ft). The last eruption was in May.More pictures and video: Dailymail.co.uk/news
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Saturday, July 23, 2011
Witnesses describe scene of terror at Norway camp
11:54 AM Jul 23, 2011
SUNDVOLLEN (Norway) - The man in the police uniform shouted for the campers to come closer. When they did, he killed them.
The gunman who killed at least 80 people at an island youth camp northwest of Oslo used his disguise to lure in his victims, then shot them twice to make sure they were dead, survivors said in the village of Sundvollen, where they were taken after the massacre.
"I saw many dead people," said 15-year old Elise, whose father, Vidar Myhre, didn't want her to disclose her last name. She just feet away from the gunman when he opened fire in the camp on Utoya island.
Elise said she had just come out from an information meeting in a nearby building when she heard gunshots. She saw a police officer and thought she was safe, but then he started shooting.
"He first shot people on the island. Afterward he started shooting people in the water," she said.
Elise said she hid behind the same rock that the killer was standing on. "I could hear his breathing from the top of the rock," she said.
In panic, the girl phoned her parents, whispering to them what was going on.
"They told me not to panic and that everything would be OK." Her parents also told her to get rid of a brightly colored jacket she was wearing to not draw attention to herself.
She said it was impossible to say how many minutes passed while she was waiting for him to stop.
Survivors described a scene of sheer terror at the camp, which is organized by the youth wing of Norway's ruling Labor party. Hundreds of young people were eagerly awaiting a speech the prime minister was to give there Saturday.
Police said the man arrested in the shooting is Norwegian and had set off a bomb that killed seven people outside the prime minister's headquarters in Oslo, about 20 miles (35 kilometers) from the camp.
Several of the survivors seemed calm as anxious parents picked them up at a Sundvollen hotel, but the stories they told were of utter terror.
Dana Berzingi said the fake police officer ordered people to come closer, then pulled weapons and ammunition from a bag and started shooting.
Several victims "had pretended as if they were dead to survive," the 21-year-old said. But after shooting the victims with one gun, the gunman shot them again in the head with a shotgun, he said.
"I lost several friends," said Berzingi, whose pants were stained with blood. He said he used the cell phone of one of his fallen friends to call police.
Emilie Bersaas, identified by Sky News television as one of the youths on the island, said she ran inside a school building and hid under a bed when the shooting started.
"At one point the shooting was very, very close (to) the building, I think actually it actually hit the building one time, and the people in the next room screamed very loud," she said.
"I laid under the bed for two hours and then the police smashed a window and came in," Bersaas said. "It seems kind of unreal, especially in Norway. This is not something that could happen here."
Another camper, Niclas Tokerud, stayed in touch with his sister through the attack through text messages.
"He sent me a text saying 'there's been gunshots. I am scared (expletive). But I am hiding and safe. I love you,'" said Nadia Tokerud, a 25-year-old graphic designer in Hokksund, Norway.
As he boarded a boat from the island after the danger had passed he sent one more text: "I'm safe."
SUNDVOLLEN (Norway) - The man in the police uniform shouted for the campers to come closer. When they did, he killed them.
The gunman who killed at least 80 people at an island youth camp northwest of Oslo used his disguise to lure in his victims, then shot them twice to make sure they were dead, survivors said in the village of Sundvollen, where they were taken after the massacre.
"I saw many dead people," said 15-year old Elise, whose father, Vidar Myhre, didn't want her to disclose her last name. She just feet away from the gunman when he opened fire in the camp on Utoya island.
Elise said she had just come out from an information meeting in a nearby building when she heard gunshots. She saw a police officer and thought she was safe, but then he started shooting.
"He first shot people on the island. Afterward he started shooting people in the water," she said.
Elise said she hid behind the same rock that the killer was standing on. "I could hear his breathing from the top of the rock," she said.
In panic, the girl phoned her parents, whispering to them what was going on.
"They told me not to panic and that everything would be OK." Her parents also told her to get rid of a brightly colored jacket she was wearing to not draw attention to herself.
She said it was impossible to say how many minutes passed while she was waiting for him to stop.
Survivors described a scene of sheer terror at the camp, which is organized by the youth wing of Norway's ruling Labor party. Hundreds of young people were eagerly awaiting a speech the prime minister was to give there Saturday.
Police said the man arrested in the shooting is Norwegian and had set off a bomb that killed seven people outside the prime minister's headquarters in Oslo, about 20 miles (35 kilometers) from the camp.
Several of the survivors seemed calm as anxious parents picked them up at a Sundvollen hotel, but the stories they told were of utter terror.
Dana Berzingi said the fake police officer ordered people to come closer, then pulled weapons and ammunition from a bag and started shooting.
Several victims "had pretended as if they were dead to survive," the 21-year-old said. But after shooting the victims with one gun, the gunman shot them again in the head with a shotgun, he said.
"I lost several friends," said Berzingi, whose pants were stained with blood. He said he used the cell phone of one of his fallen friends to call police.
Emilie Bersaas, identified by Sky News television as one of the youths on the island, said she ran inside a school building and hid under a bed when the shooting started.
"At one point the shooting was very, very close (to) the building, I think actually it actually hit the building one time, and the people in the next room screamed very loud," she said.
"I laid under the bed for two hours and then the police smashed a window and came in," Bersaas said. "It seems kind of unreal, especially in Norway. This is not something that could happen here."
Another camper, Niclas Tokerud, stayed in touch with his sister through the attack through text messages.
"He sent me a text saying 'there's been gunshots. I am scared (expletive). But I am hiding and safe. I love you,'" said Nadia Tokerud, a 25-year-old graphic designer in Hokksund, Norway.
As he boarded a boat from the island after the danger had passed he sent one more text: "I'm safe."
AP From: Todayonline.com
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Norway: More than 80 dead in twin attacks
More than 80 dead as twin attacks leave Norway reeling
Police say more than 80 people have been killed in Norway after twin attacks in the capital Oslo and at a political party's youth camp on a nearby island.
A 32-year-old Norwegian man is thought to have opened fire on teenagers at the Labour Party youth camp on Utoya island shortly after detonating a huge explosion outside the prime minister's office in the capital.
Norwegian police said at least 80 people had been killed on the island alone and said the attacks had taken on "catastrophic dimensions".
Witnesses described how the gunman, who was dressed as a policeman, kicked wounded people in the head to check if they were still alive before shooting them dead.
Terrified campers cowered behind walls and jumped into the water to escape the carnage.
"The updated knowledge we are sitting on now is at least 80 [dead]," police chief Oystein Maeland told a news conference. "We can't guarantee that won't increase somewhat," he said, adding some were badly injured.
Previously, police had said that at least 10 people had been killed in at Utoya, along with seven killed by the bomb in central Oslo.
Undetonated explosives were found on the island and police are warning residents to stay home as there could be more explosives hidden in Oslo's city centre.
Norwegian police said at least 80 people had been killed on the island alone and said the attacks had taken on "catastrophic dimensions".
Witnesses described how the gunman, who was dressed as a policeman, kicked wounded people in the head to check if they were still alive before shooting them dead.
Terrified campers cowered behind walls and jumped into the water to escape the carnage.
"The updated knowledge we are sitting on now is at least 80 [dead]," police chief Oystein Maeland told a news conference. "We can't guarantee that won't increase somewhat," he said, adding some were badly injured.
Previously, police had said that at least 10 people had been killed in at Utoya, along with seven killed by the bomb in central Oslo.
Undetonated explosives were found on the island and police are warning residents to stay home as there could be more explosives hidden in Oslo's city centre.
Key facts:
Police say the two attacks are linked
The suspected gunman has been arrested
Norway's national broadcaster NRK has named the suspect as Anders Behring Breivik
Central Oslo has been shut down in the wake of attacks
Attacks described as "worst in Norway since World War II"
DFAT says no reports of Australians injured
Police say the two attacks are linked
The suspected gunman has been arrested
Norway's national broadcaster NRK has named the suspect as Anders Behring Breivik
Central Oslo has been shut down in the wake of attacks
Attacks described as "worst in Norway since World War II"
DFAT says no reports of Australians injured
Utoya island, where the shooting happened, is north-west of Oslo and was hosting a camp for around 600 young members of prime minister Jens Stoltenberg's Labour Party.
There is speculation the male suspect is a right-wing extremist but it is not yet known if he acted alone.
Police closed Norway's borders after the attacks and have not ruled out other people being involved.
Mr Stoltenberg delivered a televised address in the wake of the attacks and said the country was in shock.
"We've all been shaken by the evil that struck us so brutally. I have a message to whoever attacked us: you will not destroy us. You will not destroy our democracy," he said.
Read more: abc.net.au/norway-hit-by-twin-attacks
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There is speculation the male suspect is a right-wing extremist but it is not yet known if he acted alone.
Police closed Norway's borders after the attacks and have not ruled out other people being involved.
Mr Stoltenberg delivered a televised address in the wake of the attacks and said the country was in shock.
"We've all been shaken by the evil that struck us so brutally. I have a message to whoever attacked us: you will not destroy us. You will not destroy our democracy," he said.
Read more: abc.net.au/norway-hit-by-twin-attacks
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Another-side: Iran's biggest solar plant inaugurated
July 22, 2011 Iranian First Vice President Mohammad Reza Rahimi has inaugurated Iran's largest tracking solar power plant in northeast of the country.
The solar power plant, designed and built by native experts, went on stream in the holy city of Mashhad, situated 850 kilometers (530 miles) east of the Iranian capital, Tehran, on Thursday, IRNA reported.
The plant makes use of 216 solar panels, and is equipped with solar trackers that deliver the highest solar energy production. The power plant would produce enough electricity to power Khorasan province's Regional Electric Company building.
According to the chief executive of Mashhad solar energy plant Qolam Reza Karamian, the plant is expected to generate 72,000 kilowatt hours of electrical power each year.
The plant aims to make optimum use of energies from natural resources to develop clean energy that help reduce pollution to the environment, and to stabilize the electricity supply in the region. MP/HRF
From: Presstv.ir
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The plant aims to make optimum use of energies from natural resources to develop clean energy that help reduce pollution to the environment, and to stabilize the electricity supply in the region. MP/HRF
From: Presstv.ir
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Norway Foreign Minister Jonas G. Store: "The occupation must end"
The Foreign Minister was met with claims that Norway must recognize a Palestinian state when he visited the Labour Youth League summer camp Thursday.
During the second day of Labour Youth League summer camp at Utøya got the Labour Party's young hopefuls visit by Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Store.
 |
| AUF WANT BOYCOTT: Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Store was met by demands that Norwaymust recognize a Palestinian state when he visited the Labour Youth League summer camp atUtøya Thursday. Here the Minister ushered around in the camp of the AUF leader EskilPedersen. (Reuters) |
As foreign minister arrived Utøya he was met with a demand from the AUF that Norway must recognize a Palestinian state.
- The Palestinians must have their own state, the occupation must end, the wall must be demolished and it must happen now, said the Foreign Minister to cheers from the audience.
- Norway is prepared to recognize
Earlier this week, when Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas visited Norway, the Minister said to TV 2 news channel that Norway stands ready to recognize a Palestinian state. This he repeated during the debate on Utøya.
- We are ready to recognize a Palestinian state. I await the actual resolution text Palestinians will promote the UN General Assembly in September, said the Minister.
In autumn it is expected that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas will bring the matter to the UN. Where will he ask for UN membership and recognition of a Palestinian state within the borders before the 1967 war, with East Jerusalem as its capital.
Wednesday said AUF leader Eskil Pedersen that the AUF want a unilateral economic embargo of Israel from the Norwegian side.
- Labour Youth will have a more activist Middle East policy and we have to recognize Palestine. Enough is enough, now we have to get the peace process into a new track, said Pedersen.
The foreign minister admitted that the situation is untenable, but believes that the boycott is the wrong tool.
- Boycott will be to move from dialogue to monologue. It is difficult to open the door the day we will talk with Israel, said the Minister.
From: politisk.tv2.no/nyheter
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