Regulates fracking
AER issues rules to regulate fracking, and monitor and prevent earthquakes in the province. Alberta has the third proven crude oil reserve in the world, after Saudi Arabia and Venezuela. All oil producers must show the impact of fracking, and implement a monitoring and response program. Jim Ellis, AER’s CEO:
While these seismic events have not impacted public safety, it is our job to take this precautionary step to ensure energy resources in this area are developed in a safe and responsible manner.
486 miners safe
All 486 South African goldmine workers are found safe after being trapped in a mine. The cause was a fire 2,300 meters below the mine’s surface. Before finding the total 486 South African President Zuma:
I urge all South Africans to keep the miners in their thoughts and prayers during this difficult period.
Ferry catches fire
An Italian Ferry, the Norman Atlantic, catches fire in the Adriatic Sea, on route from Patras in western Greece to the eastern Italian city of Ancona.. Italian and Greek forces are involved in the rescue operation to save over 400 passengers and crew members. The fire begins at approximately 6:00 a.m. Passengers phone Greek television stations with live reports of the event. One passenger states:
They tried to lower some boats, but not all of us could get in. There is no co-ordination. It’s dark, the bottom of the vessel is on fire. We are on the bridge, we can see a boat approaching … we opened some boxes and got some life vests. We are trying to save ourselves.
Cyclone Nagaris: 53,000 missing, 84,000 dead
‘Cyclone Nargis’ crosses the south of Myanmar and ravages the Ayeyarwady Delta region. Official figures estimate 84,500 fatalities and 53,800 missing people. The Burmese government, fearing the political ramifications of a high death toll, stops tallying lost lives after a point, leaving hundreds of thousands unaccounted for.
