Read a little. Learn a lot. • Tightly-written news, views and stuff • Follow us on Twitter • Be a Facebook Fan • Tumble us!

16 Feb 2012 14:09

tags

World: Many Honduran prisoners caught in fire weren’t charged or convicted

  • New revelations on Honduran prison fire: As we mentioned yesterday, the most lethal prison fire in the last century took place Tuesday in Honduras, at a prison in Comayagua. Since then some startling and grisly facts have come out, which speak to the sad state of legal affairs in Honduras, as well as to the staggering overcrowding and understaffing of their facilities – of the 800 or so inmates at Comayagua, 57% were being held without charge or were awaiting trial, most on suspicion of gang membership. During the fire, only six guards were on duty, just one of whom held the keys for every prison cell. source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

15 Feb 2012 20:00

tags

World: Prison fire in Honduras leads to terrible death toll

  • 359 inmates killed during a huge fire at a prison in Honduras source
  • » Crowded chaos: The fire started yesterday night at the prison in Comayagua, with authorities believing, by another prisoner’s report, that an inmate started the blaze by igniting their mattress. Honduras is a state plagued by high rates of crime (the United Nations says it has the world’s highest murder rate), which has caused its prisons to be absurdly overstuffed, and many are old and dilapidated. Angry relatives of the inmates gathered outside the prison this morning, protesting and at times trying to force their way in; police responded by firing tear gas. President Porfirio Lobo pledged to “take urgent measures to deal with this tragedy, which has plunged all Hondurans into mourning.”
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

05 Sep 2011 22:27

tags

U.S.: Texas, California wildfires threaten, destroy homes

  • 476 homes burned in Texas east of Austin since Sunday; Gov Rick Perry canceled an appearance at a forum in South Carolina in response
  • 800+ homes threatened by fire in California; officials are unsure how long it will take to contain the fires, caused by a plane crash on Sunday source
Posted by samimain • 0 Comments • Permalink

07 Feb 2011 11:13

tags

World: Rio de Janeiro’s famous carnival props lost in massive fire

  • It looks really funny until you realize the context: Rio de Janeiro’s carnival-building section of town, Samba City, just had a huge fire where lots of stuff got destroyed. Costumes, giant props: They were almost all destroyed. (Nobody was hurt, though.) “We are heartbroken,” said League of Samba Schools president Jorge Castanheria. “Everything was practically ready for the carnival.” It happened so close to the event, which draws hundreds of thousands of people each year, that they may not be able to get everything ready in time. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

14 Aug 2010 17:56

tags

World: How many wildfires are currently blazing along in Russia?

  • 368 a satellite said so; blame the worst drought in years source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

21 Jun 2010 10:35

tags

U.S.: In Arizona, a huge wildfire is reaching disaster proportions

  • 5,000 number of acres the wildfire covers
  • 748+ number of properties affected by the fire
  • no not a single bit of the fire is contained source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

15 Jun 2010 12:05

tags

Offbeat: NO!!!!!!! Touchdown Jesus burned down! GAAAAAAAAH

  • This may be the saddest video ever. Touchdown Jesus, a large statue visible on I-75 in Monroe, Ohio, was destroyed by a lightning strike last night. Damage has been set at $700,000 – $300,000 for the statue itself and another $400,000 for damage to the ampitheater. Stupid acts of God, ruining great things. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

05 Jun 2010 12:59

tags

World: Tight quarters lead to high fatalities in Bangladesh apartment fire

  • 116+ killed in the fire in densely-populated Dhaka source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

19 May 2010 12:06

tags

World: Despite riots, Thailand’s situation not as deadly as it could’ve been

  • 30 number of buildings that were set on fire
  • 52 number of people that were injured in the riots
  • five number of people that were killed source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

12 Apr 2010 11:13

tags

U.S.: In Manhattan, a huge blaze leaves a neighborhood reeling

  • seven alarms on the massive Lower East Side fire
  • 250 firefighters were needed to put the blaze out
  • 60 families no longer have a home this morning source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
 
top tags
older >>