World
S. Korean police seek manslaughter charges over deadly crush
South Korea’s SEOUL — South Korean police are pursuing criminal charges, including involuntary manslaughter and carelessness, against 23 officials, over half of whom are law enforcement officers, for lack of safety precautions blamed for a crowd surge that killed nearly 160 people.
Although Seoul police had sent 137 policemen to the capital’s nightlife neighborhood Itaewon on the day of the crush, even though a weekend crowd of more than 100,000 was expected, these cops were focused on monitoring narcotics usage and serious crimes, leaving minimal resources for pedestrian safety, according to experts.
Son Je-han, who led the National Police Agency’s special investigation into the event, announced Friday that his team would forward the issue to prosecutors. Park Hee-young, the mayor of Seoul’s Yongsan district, and Lee Im-jae, the area’s former police commander, are recommended for an indictment — two of the six arrested.
Korean Officers Arrived Late
Lee has also been accused of forging a police report to conceal his late arrival at the site. Two other police officers were detained on suspicion of attempting to destroy computer files and other potential evidence related to the accident.
Son’s 74-day police investigation mostly confirmed what was already clear: Yongsan police and public officials didn’t do enough to control the crowd for the expected number of Halloween partygoers, and they mostly ignored calls from pedestrians warning of a growing crowd hours before it turned deadly on Oct. 28.
Around 10 p.m., when people started falling over and getting crushed in a narrow lane full of partygoers, Son said, officials didn’t keep the scene under control well enough to let rescue workers get to the hurt.
“Among the overlapping failures that caused the high number of casualties were (their) inaccurate assessment of the situation, slow distribution of information about the situation, poor cooperation between related institutions, and delays in rescue operations,” Son said at a news conference in Seoul.
Became An Uncontrollable Wave
Son stated that his team interviewed roughly 540 persons and gathered 14,000 pieces of evidence from central government offices and transportation authorities. He said that police investigators looked at more than 180 video files taken by security cameras, journalists, and people walking by. They also sent forensic experts to the scene to figure out how many people were there.
Around 9 p.m., the crowd in the alley between the hotel and a dense row of businesses developed into an uncontrollable wave, with people unable to govern their progress once swept in. People began tumbling and collapsing on one another like dominoes around 10:15 p.m., resulting in the disaster that ended in 158 deaths and 196 injuries.
At about 10:15 p.m., there were about eight people per square meter (yard) in the alley, according to the National Forensic Service’s review of security camera footage and simulations. According to police, the density increased to eight to nine persons using the same space unit at 10:20 p.m. and nine to 11 people at 10:25 p.m.
Because the location was so densely packed, paramedics had difficulty getting to the incident. The enormous number of individuals lying motionless on the ground overwhelmed those who came, so they urged pedestrians to assist them in performing CPR. According to investigators, most deaths were caused by suffocation or brain damage.
Calls for Korean Government Accountability
It’s uncertain whether the findings of the police probe will be enough to quell popular outrage and calls for government accountability as the country deals with its greatest calamity in over a decade.
Opposition politicians and some victims’ families have demanded that high-profile figures such as Interior and Safety Minister Lee Sang-min and National Police Agency Commissioner, both of whom have faced calls to resign, be investigated.
On the other hand, Son stated that the special investigative team would terminate its investigations into the Interior and Safety Ministry, the National Police Agency, and the Seoul Metropolitan Government since it was difficult to show direct culpability.
Some experts have described the Itaewon crush as a “manmade disaster” that could have been avoided with relatively simple measures such as hiring more police and public workers to monitor bottleneck points, enforcing one-way walk lanes and blocking narrow pathways, or temporarily closing Itaewon’s subway station to prevent large crowds from moving in the same direction.
SOURCE – (AP)
World
Do Microplastics in the Atmosphere Endanger Your Fertility?
(VOR News) – It is quite possible that the presence of small microplastic particles in the air may be a contributing factor to a wide variety of health problems, including malignancies of the lungs and colon.
This is something that needs additional research to be determined. There is one more item to take into consideration, and that is the potential that this is the exact circumstance.
A recent study found that tires and debris that are decomposing shed minute fragments of plastic that go airborne, so creating a form of air pollution that is not particularly widely known. This type of pollution is caused by the degradation of plastic. An example of this type of pollution is that which is discharged into the atmosphere.
The industry refers to microplastic as “air pollution.”
According to the findings of a researcher named Tracey Woodruff, who is a professor of obstetrics, gynaecology, and reproductive sciences at the University of California, San Francisco, “These microplastics are basically particulate matter from air pollution,” and it is common knowledge that this particular type of air pollution is particularly hazardous.
The researchers who supplied background notes stated that the size of microplastics is less than 5 millimetres, which is smaller than a grain of rice.
This information was provided, according to researchers. These details were supplied by the researchers who conducted the study. These particulars were provided by researchers who were responsible for carrying out the study.
The amount of plastic that is created on a yearly basis by enterprises all over the world is roughly 460 million tonnes, as indicated by the data that were provided by academics all over the world. The forecasts indicate that by the year 2050, this quantity is anticipated to have increased to 1.1 billion tonnes.
Driving is a substantial contributor to the amount of plastic that is floating around in the atmosphere, according to the conclusions of the experts who conducted the study about the phenomenon. When tires are worn down to the point where they scrape against the surface of the road, they allow microplastics to be released into the environment.
As a result of the tires wearing down, this occurs. This impact is brought about as a consequence of the inevitable amount of wear and tear that tires are subjected to.
A study that was published on December 18 in the journal Environmental Science & Technology was the result of researchers conducting an examination of data collected from over 3,000 previous investigations.
The paper was published as a consequence of this procedure. The review was constructed with the help of this analysis that was carried out.
Microplastic used this analysis to put together the review.
A number of diseases, such as cancer, lung problems, and infertility, may be influenced by the presence of microplastics in the air, according to the data, which led to the conclusion that this may be the case.
Despite the fact that the vast majority of the studies that were incorporated into the study were carried out on animals, the researchers claimed that it is very certainly plausible that the findings can also be applied to people. The fact that the majority of investigations were conducted on animals does not change the reality that this is the case.
“We urge regulatory agencies and policy leaders to consider the growing evidence of health harms from microplastics, including colon and lung cancer,” stated Nicholas Chartres, the principal investigator and senior research fellow at the University of Sydney.
The organisation reported this comment. The University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) issued a press release on behalf of the organisation that contained this statement. The news release was disseminated to the public. We are convinced that state officials will act quickly to make sure that no leaks of this kind occur, which is of the highest importance.
SOURCE: USN
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World
Russian Oil Ships In The Kerch Strait Are Undergoing Rescue Operations.
(VOR News) – Following Sunday’s powerful storm, a Russian oil tanker carrying hundreds of tonnes of oil products ultimately broke apart, causing an oil spill into the Kerch Strait below. Additionally, Russian officials reported that the damage was causing problems for another vessel.
Sunday, Russian authorities announced an emergency rescue operation.
According to the Russian state news agency TASS, which claimed the Emergency Situations Ministry as its source, the Volgoneft-212 tanker, carrying fuel oil and carrying thirteen crew members, ran aground and suffered damage to its bow. A shipment of fuel oil was being transported by the tanker.
Authorities have told the public that the damage was brought on by the extreme weather conditions that are currently occurring.
A second tanker, the Volgoneft-239, was damaged during the storm and is currently stranded in the same area with 14 crew members on board, according to the Ministry of Emergency Situations. The tanker was discovered abandoned and alone in the same spot.
Additional tankers also suffered damage. The 132-meter-long cruiser, which was constructed in 1973, hangs the Russian flag around its neck.
The footage posted by state media showed the 136-meter Volgoneft-212 tanker, which was cut in two with its bow underwater, and waves crashing over its deck. At least one person lost his life as a result of this tragedy. This led to the opening of two distinct criminal investigations by the Russian authorities to look into potential violations of certain safety regulations.
Having flown the Russian flag since 1969, the yacht was finished.
Rosmorrechflot, the Russian government agency in charge of water transportation, reported a petroleum product spill.
It is believed that the cargo capacity of each tanker is around 4,200 tonnes of oil products.
The magnitude of the leak and the cause of the substantial damage one of the tankers received were not specified in the official remarks. This is in accordance with the official remarks.
Several news sites cited Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov as saying that President Vladimir Putin directed the formation of a working committee to handle the rescue effort and lessen the effects of the oil disaster.
Peskov recommended that the government appoint the working committee’s members. This comment was made public right after Putin met with the ministries responsible for ecology and disaster management.
The Russian government has said that it will be sending more than fifty individuals and pieces of equipment to the area in response to the current crisis. Mi-8 helicopters and rescue tugboats are examples of these people and tools.
The news that experts are presently investigating the damage at the event site was announced by Svetlana Radionova, who is in charge of Rosprirodnadzor, Russia’s natural resources regulating entity.
Kommersant reports that Volgoneft-212 used 4,300 tonnes of fuel oil.
The footage, which showed a partially submerged ship and murky water on rough seas, was posted to Telegram without the owner’s consent.
The warships were located in the Kerch Strait, which separates Crimea from the Russian mainland, when the distress signals were sent out.
The Kerch Strait is a crucial international marine passage that connects the Black Sea with the Sea of Azov, allowing for easier traffic between the two bodies of water. It also acts as a border between Russia and the Crimean Peninsula, which is under Russian occupation. The Kerch Strait is located in the centre of the two nations.
The peninsula has remained a major source of contention between the two national governments ever since Russia annexed it from Ukraine in 2014. Russia was the one who seized the peninsula. Ukraine brought legal action against Russia before the Permanent Court of Arbitration in 2016.
Specifically, the lawsuit claimed that Russia intended to illegally take over a location. The argument was supported by evidence pertaining to Russia’s conduct in the region. In 2021, the Russian Federation closed the strait for several consecutive months
SOURCE: VN
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World
Japan List Cannabis as Narcotic Criminalizes Recreational Use
TOKYO – Japan updated its cannabis and narcotics control legislation on Thursday, criminalizing cannabis (Marijuana) use and tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), imposing a maximum seven-year prison sentence.
While the possession, transmission, and cultivation of cannabis and THC were already prohibited in Japan, the new rules will classify them as narcotics and criminalize their use as well, with a prison sentence of up to seven years for violations.
The amended regulations also legalize medical items containing cannabis-derived compounds that are beneficial and safe.
In 2019, 1.8 percent of the Japanese population had used cannabis at least once, making it the country’s second most popular illicit substance behind methamphetamine.
In 2023, a record 6,703 people were probed in cannabis-related criminal cases in Japan, topping methamphetamine cases for the first time, according to the Health, Labour, and Welfare Ministry. Seventy percent of instances involved people under the age of thirty.
A nationwide poll performed the same year by the ministry’s research group estimated that approximately 200,000 people had consumed marijuana within the previous year.
Japan previously did not penalize cannabis usage, apparently taking into account farmers who may have accidentally ingested the drug while producing cannabis plants for use in hemp products.
The amendments will also lift a restriction on cannabis-derived medicines, putting them under a licensing system similar to other drugs used for pain relief and other purposes.
Drugs derived from cannabis plants were only allowed in clinical studies in Japan, but patient groups have been advocating for access to cannabis-derived cannabidiol treatments already licensed in Europe and the United States for illnesses like severe epilepsy.
Cannabis cultivation dates back to the Jōmon period of Japanese prehistory, roughly six to ten thousand years ago (source: Wikipedia).
Cannabis hemp, as one of Japan’s first cultivated plants, provided an essential supply of plant fibre for clothing, cordage, and Shinto ritual goods, among other uses.
For much of Japanese history, hemp was common for fabric and food before cotton emerged as the country’s dominant fibre crop during industrialization during the Meiji period.
Following the end of World War II and the occupation of Japan, the Cannabis Control Law prohibited cannabis possession and manufacturing.
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