November
30
Polish mine explosion kills 8
Polish mine explosion kills 8
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Wednesday, November 22, 2006
Methane gas was blamed for the explosion deaths of 8 miners in southern Polish‘s Halemba coal mine Tuesday, November 21. Officials say at least 15 are missing.
Rescue efforts were halted because dangerously high levels of methane gas returned, according to Zbigniew Madej, spokesman for state-owned Coal Co., which operates the mine.
The missing miners’ locater devices were not emitting signals, increasing rescurers’ concerns for their well-being. Grzegorz Pawlaszek, head of Coal Co., said the 15 missing miners’ fate is “not known,” but added that “there is a chance to find someone still alive.”
“This is a tragedy. People have died here,” Polish Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski said when he came to Ruda Slaska to see the blast.
Earlier Wednesday, a reconnaissance rescue team descended 3000 feet toward the blast scene, only to retreat because of safety concerns related to high methane gas levels. Rescue digging efforts were also halted because of explosion concerns.
The missing men were aged 21-59. One of the miner’s family members, Andrzej Pytlik, 30, remained on scene with his sister, hoping and waiting for news of her husband, Krystian Gaszka.
Pytlik, also a miner, said through teary eyes that, “I work in the mines and I know that hope is scant because that’s the truth.”
The explosion occurred in a closed portion of the mine where the now-missing miners were working to retrieve abandoned equipment. According to Pawlaszek, the value of the equipment was $23 million, adding that “It was new equipment and that is why we decided to retrieve it.”
He indicated that the recovery work was performed under the supervision of gas detection specialists, and that the bodies of the recovered miners were difficult to identify because of the severity of burns and because their ID tags were blown away in the explosion.
The Halemba mine, located in Ruda Slaska, has produced coal for nearly 50 years, has been fraught with safety concerns and has a track record of serious accidents. One of the oldest mines in Poland, it is centrally located in the industrial Silesia region.
Earlier this year, a miner was trapped underground in the Halemba mine five days after a cave-in. In 1990, 19 miners were killed and 20 hurt in a gas explosion, and five were killed in collapse in 1991.
Inside, priests and mining officials were comforting and counseling with distraught relatives. Outside, eight white candles flickered on a main gate wall.
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November
30
Pakistan opposition parties form coalition
Pakistan opposition parties form coalition
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Thursday, February 21, 2008
Pakistan’s two major opposition parties, the Pakistan Peoples Party and the Pakistan Muslim League (N), have announced they will work together to form a new government after defeating allies of President Pervez Musharraf in Monday’s parliamentary elections.
The leaders of the two parties, former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif of the Pakistan Muslim League, and Benazir Bhutto‘s husband Asif Ali Zardari of the PPP, made the announcement today at a joint press conference. “We have agreed on a common agenda. We will work together to form a government together,” said Sharif. A smaller opposition party, the Awami National Party, will also be helping the new government, according to the party leaders.
“The future of democracy is within our grasp,” Zardari said. “We will strengthen the parliament, we will strengthen democracy, we will work together for Pakistan. We will make a stronger Pakistan.”
Zadari says the parties have agreed “in principle” to join together, although details of the agreement have not yet been finalized and remain unclear. “Governance is a serious business,” Zadari said, “and everything cannot be decided at a two-hour meeting. We will be meeting again off and on.”
The two leaders did not mention any plans to impeach Musharraf from office, which would require a two-thirds majority in Parliament. But Zadari seemed to indicate that “pro-Musharraf forces” would not be included in the coalition. “I don’t believe pro-Musharraf forces exist,” he said.
One thing the parties have already agreed on is the reinstatement of judges fired by Musharraf during the state of emergency last November. “In principle there’s no disagreement on restoration of the judiciary. We will work on the modalities in parliament,” said Sharif.
One of the displaced judges is Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudary, who remains under house arrest in Islamabad. Pakistani lawyers protested his arrest in the capital and other major cities. Through smuggled cell phones, Chaudary spoke to the protesters, telling them, “Victory is not far off now.” Police threw tear gas at the protesters, some of whom were hurling stones and burning effigies of the president.
The Pakistan Peoples Party won 88 seats and the Pakistan Muslim League (N) won 66 in the 272-member National Assembly. The pro-Musharraf Pakistan Muslim League only won 40 seats, thus losing their majority in Parliament.
