Daily Archives: January 1, 2015

Αίσιο τέλος είχε η περιπέτεια ενός κουταβιού, της Πέννυ, η οποία ταξίδεψε περίπου 4.000 χιλιόμετρα από το σπίτι της στην Ουάσινγκτον και βρέθηκε αρχικά στην Αϊόβα και στη συνέχεια σε κτηνιατρική κλινική της Πενσυλβάνια.  Η Πέννυ θα επανενωθεί με τους ιδιοκτήτες της στο τέλος της εβδομάδας.

Το κουτάβι, ράτσας Βίζλα, προτού επιστρέψει στο σπίτι του, θα κάνει μία ακόμη στάση, από την Πενσυλβάνια, όπου φιλοξενείται, στην περιφέρεια της Κολούμπια για να επιβιβαστεί σε πτήση της Alaska Airlines, όπως ανέφεραν το Σάββατο σε ανάρτησή τους σε σελίδα που έφτιαξαν στο Facebook ειδικά για τον εντοπισμό της οι ιδιοκτήτες της.

«Όταν χάθηκε, θεωρήσαμε ότι το έσκασε και ότι δεν θα την ξαναβλέπαμε. Είμαστε χαρούμενοι και μόνο που ξέρουμε ότι είναι ζωντανή» δήλωσε η Κέντρα Μπράουν, η ιδιοκτήτριά της στον τηλεοπτικό σταθμό του Πίτσμπεργκ WPXI.

«Είμαι βέβαιη ότι αν μπορούσε να μιλήσει, θα είχε πολλές περιπέτειες να μας αφηγηθεί» πρόσθεσε η ίδια.

Το ταξίδι της Πέννυ ανά τις ΗΠΑ ξεκίνησε στις 19 Δεκεμβρίου όταν ξέφυγε από τους ιδιοκτήτες της και την περιμάζεψε ένας φορτηγατζής, ο οποίος την είδε να περιπλανιέται στους δρόμους της μικρής κοινότητας Ρόγιαλ Σίτυ στην ανατολική Ουάσινγκτον.

«Καταφέραμε να τον εντοπίσουμε κι όταν πληροφορήθηκε ότι ξέρουμε πως την έχει βρει, την άφησε σε έναν χώρο στάθμευσης φορτηγών στο Ντε Μόινς της Αϊόβα» είπε η οικογένεια της σκυλίτσας.

Ήδη πάνω από 2.500 χιλιόμετρα μακριά από το σπίτι της, η Πέννυ με άγνωστο τρόπο κατέληξε έπειτα από μέρες στα χέρια ενός κτηνιάτρου σε κτηνιατρική κλινική της Γουέστ Τάουνσιπ στην Πενσιλβάνια.

Η κτηνιατρική κλινική Banfield επιβεβαίωσε ότι η Πέννυ προερχόταν από την πολιτεία της Ουάσινγκτον διαβάζοντας το μικροτσίπ που έφερε, δήλωσε εκπρόσωπος της κλινικής.

Η Πέννυ φιλοξενήθηκε σε κέντρο φιλοξενίας ζώων και η οικογένειά της ελπίζει να την έχει πάλι μαζί της μέχρι το τέλος της εβδομάδας, όπως έγραψε στο Facebook.

Η αεροπορική εταιρεία Alaska Airlines ανακοίνωσε ότι πληροφορήθηκε για την περιπέτεια της Πέννυ στις 26 Δεκεμβρίου και θα «την μεταφέρει δωρεάν στο σπίτι της» από αεροδρόμιο στην ευρύτερη περιοχή της Περιφέρειας της Κολούμπια, στο Σιάτλ στις 2 Ιανουαρίου, δήλωσε εκπρόσωπος της εταιρείας.

Πηγή: in.gr

There were a few hangovers, resolutions made and broken and plenty of party debris as Australia woke up to the new year.

Millions of people across the country gathered in their respective cities to watch firework displays, celebrate in friend’s homes and meet with family to usher in 2015.

In Sydney, a giant blue heart enclosed in a red neon lightbulb was unveiled on the Harbour Bridge as the city erupted into celebrations.

In Melbourne, more than half a million people gathered across the CBD to party as fireworks shot from the rooftops of 21 city buildings, covering six square kilometres.

Canberra kicked off a night of celebrations in the city centre with Perth band Eskimo Joe.

Brisbane’s skyline exploded in an extravaganza of light and colour after threatened storms retreated for the city’s first fireworks display.

City cleaners will be out in force on Thursday, tidying up the foreshores from the night that was.

source: skynews.com.au

A much needed break in the weather gave searchers a window on Thursday to “fight with full force” to find the victims of AirAsia Flight QZ8501, with officials also hustling to locate the plane’s fuselage after it crashed into the Java Sea four days ago.

Seven of the 162 bodies have been recovered. Two are already in Surabaya, and four corpses — inside simple white boxes decorated with plastic flowers — were loaded onto a transport carrier Thursday morning in Pangkalan Bun on Borneo island. Another remains on a ship.

“The visibility is good this morning, we are ready to fight with full force to search for bodies, wreckage that can reveal what went wrong with this accident,” said First Marshal Agus Dwi Putranto, an Air Force Operation commander helping to lead the effort, adding four aircraft were dispatched to the area just after sunrise.

Choppy conditions had prevented divers from entering the water on Wednesday, and helicopters were largely grounded, but 18 ships continued to survey the narrowed search area.

Sonar images identified what appeared to be large parts of the plane, but strong currents were moving the debris. On Thursday, Singapore flew in an unmanned underwater vehicle capable of surveying the seabed to try to help pinpoint the wreckage, said Navy Maj. Teck Hong Heng.

Thursday’s break in weather — blue skies and calm seas despite earlier storm predictions — could greatly speed up recovery efforts that have been severely hampered since the first bodies were spotted on Tuesday. Vice Air Marshal Sunarbowo Sandi, search and rescue coordinator in Pangkalan Bun, the closest town to the targeted area, said he was hopeful divers would soon be able to explore the wreckage site.

“It’s possible the bodies are in the fuselage,” he said. “So it’s a race now against time and weather.”

It is still unclear what brought the plane down about halfway into its two-hour flight from Surabaya, Indonesia to Singapore. The jet’s last communication indicated the pilots were worried about bad weather. They sought permission to climb above threatening clouds but were denied because of heavy air traffic. Four minutes later, the airliner disappeared from the radar without issuing a distress signal.

The cockpit-voice and flight-data recorders, or black boxes, must be retrieved before officials can start determining what caused the crash. Some items recovered so far include a life jacket, an emergency exit window, children’s shoes, a blue suitcase and backpacks filled with food.

Simple wooden coffins — numbered 001 and 002 — with purple flowers on top contained the first two bodies, which were sent Wednesday from Pangkalan Bun to Surabaya for autopsies. The two victims were a woman wearing blue jeans and a boy. Three males and two females were also recovered.

Nearly all the passengers were Indonesian, and many were Christians of Chinese descent. The country is predominantly Muslim, but sizeable pockets of people of other faiths are found throughout the sprawling archipelago. Around 10 percent of those in Surabaya, the nation’s second-largest city, are Christian.

Many family members have remained at the Surabaya airport since getting word that the plane disappeared. Some, like 15-year-old Chiara Natasha, are now alone.

Her entire family was coming to visit her in Singapore for New Year’s. She had just moved there in November to study at a Methodist girls’ school on a government scholarship. Her parents and two brothers had promised to join her to celebrate the holiday and help her settle into dormitory life.

But instead of greeting her relatives at the airport, she returned home on Sunday to Surabaya to seek any word about the flight’s fate, praying that they had somehow survived.

“Help us, God, to move forward, even though we are surrounded by darkness,” the Rev. Philip Mantofa, whose church lost about 40 members in the disaster, told families gathered in a waiting room at the Surabaya airport on Wednesday.

Mantofa urged about 100 relatives gathered for the prayer service to hold onto their faith despite their pain. About 40 members of his Mawar Sharon Church died in the crash.

“Some things do not make sense to us, but God is bigger than all this,” he said. “Our God is not evil.”

Before breaking up, those gathered stood together and sang with their hands reaching upward. “I surrender all. I surrender all,” they repeated. “I surrender all to God our savior.”

Many family members had planned to travel to Pangkalan Bun, 160 kilometers (100 miles) from the area where bodies were first spotted, to start identifying their loved ones. However, the manager of the Surabaya airport, Trikora Hardjo, later said the trip was canceled after authorities suggested their presence could slow down the operation.

Instead, some relatives gave blood for DNA tests and submitted photos of their loved ones along with identifying information such as tattoos or birthmarks that could help make the process easier.

source: firstpost.com

Prime Minister Tony Abbott says the Government will use this year to focus on jobs and families.

In his New Year message, Mr Abbott outlined the Government’s priorities for 2015, highlighting national security and road infrastructure as other items high on his agenda.

“This coming year Australian families and businesses will benefit from the scrapping of bad taxes, the cutting of red tape and the free trade agreements that have been finalised,” he said.

“Our future will be stronger because of the difficult but necessary decisions taken last year.

“We can expect 2015 to bring its share of challenges and when they arise we will do what we have always done, we will turn to each other, we will work together and we will make whatever decisions are needed to strengthen our country and its people.”

Opposition Leader Bill Shorten says Labor will continue to focus this year on jobs, health and education.

Mr Shorten used his New Year statement to say the Opposition would fight against increases to the cost of living for ordinary Australians.

He said he also wanted a process finalised to recognise Indigenous Australians in the constitution.

“This is the challenge of our generation, and one we cannot abdicate,” he said.

The two leaders have also used their New Year messages to highlight this year’s Anzac Centenary.

Mr Shorten said the April centenary of the 1915 Gallipoli landings was a chance to remember those who paid the ultimate sacrifice for their country.

“We’ll be reminded that Australia’s best hope has always been its people,” he said.

Mr Abbott said he hoped all Australians would take part in the event in some way.

“It will be the most significant commemoration in a generation,” he said.

“In remembering the Anzacs’ sacrifice we will draw on our own strength and confidence for the future.

“So this New Year’s Day, let us rededicate ourselves to building a better Australia with more opportunity for everyone.”

source:abc.net.au