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Sector Report for Thursday, 8 December 2011: World Report
This report contains the following stories.
Plus 7 additional stories
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Local towns signing up for Twitter and Facebook for emergency comm.
Following the lead of several other cities and federal agencies, the town of Wilton, Connecticut recently launched a Facebook page and Twitter account to help communicate with residents and share information during a disaster
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Sector Report for Wednesday, 23 November 2011: Disasters & Emergencies
This report contains the following stories.
Plus 1 additional story.
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Tech breakthrough allows first responders to carry mini resuscitators
Thanks to PerSys Medical, first responders operating in rugged terrain are now able to carry a miniaturized version of a critical medical device that helps patients breathe
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Better hospital responses to terrorist attacks
Terrorist attacks are less likely to occur than other disasters, but they can have greater impact on hospital operations; until the 9/11 and anthrax attacks, hospital emergency preparedness programs had not included provisions for terrorism events; those attacks changed that, but there is still much that should be done
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Sector Report for Wednesday, 9 November 2011: Disasters & Emergencies
This report contains the following stories.
Plus 1 additional story.
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Detergent suicides on the rise
The incidence of chemical suicides has been steadily increasing in the United States since its first appearance in 2008; it is believed the statistics are incorrect because of underreporting; most such suicides provide warning of the toxicity of the environment they will be found in, but not all do, making responding to these calls a hazard for all concerned
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DHS completes Multi-Band Radio testing
Last week DHS completed testing on a sophisticated new multi-band radio that will allow first responders to communicate with multiple agencies and jurisdictions operating on different radio bands; beginning in May 2012, first responders will have the opportunity to purchase the Harris XG-100 Unity radio system; the Unity radios can replace up to five different radios, roughly the equivalent cost of just one high-end portable radio
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"The Dragon" makes life difficult for first responders
For emergency personnel in Tennessee, responding to calls on “The Dragon,” an unforgiving 11.1 mile stretch of highway, is no easy task; the Dragon consists of 318 sharp curves through hilly terrain making it treacherous for drivers and a nightmare for first responders; each year there are several fatal crashes and since 2005 the desolate road has been the scene of at least forty injury crashes a year
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Sector Report for Thursday, 27 October 2011: World Report
This report contains the following stories.
Plus 7 additional stories
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Kenyan police arrest bombing suspect
Late Tuesday night, Kenyan police arrested a suspected terrorist involved in Monday’s grenade attacks; on Monday unknown attackers threw hand grenades at a bus stop and a downtown bar in Nairobi killing one and injuring twenty; the arrested man was captured along with a stockpile of weapons that included thirteen hand grenades, two submachine guns and four pistols; so far no group has claimed responsibility, but the terrorist organization al Shabaab in Somalia had sworn that it would retaliate for Kenya’s cross-border military actions; Kenyan forces have crossed into southern Somalia and are carrying out airstrikes and are advancing on al Shabaab held towns
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Secret WMD stash found in Libya
Libya’s new leaders announced that they had discovered a secret store of weapons of mass destruction that Colonel Gaddafi had hidden away; the National Transitional Council said the chemical weapons that had been discovered would be secured until they could be safely handed over; in an agreement with western nations in 2003, Colonel Gaddafi pledged to disband his WMD program and hand them over, but the recent discovery suggests he surreptitiously kept large stores of dangerous weapons
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Secretary Clinton demands Libya return Lockerbie bomber to prison
Now that the fighting in Libya has drawn to a close with the death of Muammar Qaddafi, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is pressing the new Libyan government to return the only individual convicted in the 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103; Abdelbaset Ali Mohmet al Megrahi, was convicted and jailed in Scotland for the Lockerbie bombing which killed 259 people, mostly Americans; in 2009 Scotland released him on the grounds that he had been diagnosed with terminal prostate cancer and only had three months to live; al Megrahi returned to Libya where he has been living since; over the weekend Clinton said, “We want to see him returned to prison, preferably in Scotland, where he was serving the sentence”
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Angry Pakistanis burn effigy of Hillary Clinton
An angry mob in Pakistan burned an effigy of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton after she urged Pakistan to crack down on insurgents bent on destabilizing Afghanistan; in particular Clinton pressured Pakistan to step up efforts against the deadly Haqqani military network, based in the country’s tribal region; Clinton led a large delegation of U.S. officials including CIA director David Petraeus and chairman of the joint chiefs of staff Martin Dempsey with Pakistani officials; “We look to Pakistan to take strong steps to deny Afghan insurgents safe havens and to encourage the Taliban to enter negotiations in good faith,” Clinton said
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Pakistani judge who sentenced Taseer's assassin sent to Saudi Arabia for protection
The Pakistani government has sent the judge who issued the death sentence to the assassin who killed Punjab governor Salmaan Taseer to Saudi Arabia to protect his life; Judge Pervez Ali Shah, sentenced Malik Mumtaz Hussain Qadri, Taseer’s self-confessed assassin, on 1 October; Shah went on leave after his courtroom was ransacked and several hardline religious groups offered a reward for anyone who killed him; Shah and his family have been provided with security and safe lodging in Saudi Arabia; religious and hardline groups are actively appealing the government to remove Shah from his post for his decision to sentence Qadri to death
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