THIS DAY IN THE YESTERYEAR: Indian Ocean Tsunami Strikes (2004)

Indian Ocean Tsunami Strikes (2004)

A tsunami is a series of massive waves generated when a body of water is rapidly displaced. The deadliest tsunami in recorded history, the Indian Ocean tsunami killed some 230,000 people in Indonesia, Thailand, India, Sri Lanka, and other countries as far away as Somalia on the Horn of Africa. It was triggered by an undersea earthquake near Sumatra with a magnitude of between 9.1 and 9.3 and inundated coastal communities with waves up to 100 ft (30 m) high. How far away were the effects felt? More… Discuss

News: PIRACY PAYS OFF FOR CRIMINAL UNDERWORLD

Piracy Pays Off for Criminal Underworld

A joint World Bank–UN Office on Drugs and Crime–Interpolstudy estimates that between 2005 and 2012 acts ofpiracy brought in $339 million to $413 million in ransompayouts. Most of this money goes not to the pirates themselves but to the financiers behind them. These kingpins then use their ill-gotten gains to fund both legitimate business activities as well as various criminal operations, including further piracy, human trafficking, and drug and arms dealing. More… Discuss

 

Today’s Birthday: ELIZABETH KENNY (1880)

Elizabeth Kenny (1880)

After breaking her wrist as a young girl, Kenny developed an interest in medicine and eventually became a nurse. While treating polio victims in her native Australia, she devised a treatment using hot compresses and passive exercise that differed drastically from the usual approach of immobilization. Kenny later brought her controversial treatment to the US, where it was initially met with skepticism but was ultimately accepted. What actor attributes his recovery from polio to these treatments? More… Discuss

 

UN Declares Famine in Somalia

Survival Rations for Somalia

The UN has declared a famine in two regions of southern Somalia and warns that the crisis could spread throughout the country over the next two months if international donors do not take immediate action. The area is suffering the worst drought in more than half a century, affecting an estimated 10 million people. Most major aid agencies employ the word famine only when at least 20 percent of the population has access to fewer than 2,100 kilocalories of food a day, more than 30 percent of children are suffering acute malnutrition, and two adults in 10,000 or four children in 10,000 are dying of hunger each day. More… Discuss

Related articles

• State of famine declared in Somalia (mirror.co.uk)
• U.N. set to declare famine in parts of Somalia (foodsecuritysm.wordpress.com)
• UN Declares Official Famine In Somalia (huffingtonpost.com)