SAO PAULO (Reuters) – Demonstrators blocked a major highway and other roads in Sao Paulo on Wednesday, crippling transportation in Brazil’s largest city and financial hub, in an ongoing wave of protests against poor public services, inflation and police violence.
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Protests continue in Sao Paulo, troops sent to 5 Brazilian cities
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
(CNN) — [Breaking News Update: 8:30 a.m.]
A coming documentary on the 1996 TWA Flight 800 disaster offers “solid proof that there was an external detonation,” Tom Stalcup, a co-producer of the documentary, told CNN’s “New Day” on Wednesday. “Of course everyone knows about the eyewitness statements, but we also have corroborating evidence from the radar data, and the radar data shows (an) asymmetric explosion coming out of that plane — something that didn’t happen in the official theory.” The National Transportation Safety Board ruled that the explosion was caused by an electrical short, most likely originating in a fuel gauge line, which found its way into the center wing fuel tank, detonating the lethal fuel vapors there.
[Previously Published Story]
Skeptics who have long theorized that TWA Flight 800 was brought down by sinister forces will get a fresh surge of energy when a new documentary attempts to disprove that the 1996 crash was accidental.
The twist: It includes six members of the large accident investigation team who, publicists say, will “break their silence” on the cause of the explosion.
They will petition the National Transportation Safety Board to reopen its investigation some 17 years after the B-747 fell in pieces into the waters off of Long Island, New York.
They include Hank Hughes, who served as a senior accident investigator with the NTSB and helped reconstruct the aircraft following its destruction. Also included, Bob Young, a top TWA investigator who participated in the investigation, and Jim Speer, an accident investigator for the Airline Pilots Association.
“These investigators were not allowed to speak to the public or refute any comments made by their superiors and/or NTSB and FBI officials about their work at the time of the official investigation,” a news release announcing the documentary said.
“They waited until after retirement to reveal how the official conclusion by the (NTSB) was falsified and lay out their case.”
The documentary, “TWA Flight 800,” will premiere July 17, the 17th anniversary of the crash.
The co-producer of the film, Tom Stalcup, is co-founder of the Flight 800 Independent Researchers Organization and has been a longtime and passionate critic of the official investigation.
Suspicions that criminals or terrorists were behind the TWA 800 explosion are not new. The FBI conducted a parallel investigation, but concluded that the incident was not a crime or terrorist attack.
The NTSB ultimately ruled that the explosion was caused by an electrical short, most likely originating in a fuel gauge line, which found its way into the center wing fuel tank, detonating the lethal fuel vapors there.
The NTSB said Tuesday that it was aware of the pending release of the documentary, which will air on EPIX TV network, and of the producers’ intent to file a petition to reopen the investigation.
“As required by NTSB regulation, a petition for reconsideration of board findings … must be based on the discovery of NEW evidence or on a showing that the board’s findings are erroneous,” NTSB spokeswoman Kelly Nantel said in a statement. “At this point, the NTSB has not received a petition, however, we stand ready to review one, should it be filed.”
Petitions are reviewed and a determination typically is made within 60 days, but the NTSB can take longer if necessary, she said. The safety board’s investigation of TWA 800 lasted four years and “remains one of the NTSB’s most extensive investigations,” Nantel said.
Investigators “spent an enormous amount of time reviewing, documenting and analyzing facts and data, and held a five-day public hearing to gather additional facts before determining the probable cause of the accident,” she said.
But her statement leaves open the possibility the case will be re-opened.
“While the NTSB rarely re-investigates issues that have already been examined, our investigations are never closed, and we can review any new information not previously considered by board,” it said.
The documentarians said they have a “trifecta of elements” that will “prove that the officially proposed fuel-air explosion did not cause the crash.” That trifecta includes forensic evidence, first-hand sources and corroborating eyewitnesses, and the whistleblowing investigators.
The evidence proves that “one or more ordnance explosions outside the aircraft caused the crash,” the producers said. But it does not identify or speculate on the source of the ordnance explosions.
All 230 people aboard TWA 800 died when the plane, headed for Paris, exploded and crashed into the Atlantic Ocean shortly after takeoff from John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York. Scores of witnesses observed a streak of light and a fireball, giving early rise to suspicions that the terrorists had struck the plane with a rocket.
Investigators concluded the streak was likely burning fuel streaming from the plane’s wing tank.
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Heute leben weltweit ca. 3,5 Millionen Flüchtlinge in Zelten und provisorischen Notunterkünften. Viele Flüchtlingsfamilien sind gezwungen, mehr als 12 Jahre in einer solchen temporären Behausung zu leben. Daran erinnert der Weltflüchtlingstag am 20.Juni. Außenansicht der mit IKEA neu entwickelten Flüchtlingsunterkünfte für das UNHCR. Die Verwendung dieses Bildes ist für redaktionelle Zwecke honorarfrei. Veröffentlichung bitte unter …
Hofheim-Wallau/Leiden (ots) – Weltweit leben ca. 3,5 Millionen Flchtlinge in Zelten und provisorischen Notunterknften. Daran erinnert der Weltflchtlingstag am 20. Juni. Viele Flchtlingsfamilien sind gezwungen, mehr als 12 Jahre in einer solchen temporren Behausung zu leben. Die bisher verwendeten Zelte mssen mhsam aufgezogen werden und halten maximal sechs Monate. Doch nun gibt es neue Flchtlingsunterknfte, die in Zusammenarbeit mit IKEA entwickelt wurde.
In den letzten beiden Jahren hat die IKEA Foundation eine einzigartige Zusammenarbeit zwischen schwedischen Designern und dem UN-Flchtlingskommissariat UNHCR gefrdert. Dabei wurde eine vllig neuartige und solide Unterkunft fr Flchtlinge entwickelt: sie ist flach und stapelbar wie ein Bcherregal verpackt, einfach zu transportieren und mit wenigen Steckverbindungen zu errichten und hlt auerdem bis zu drei Jahren. Die neuen Unterknfte sind auch besser isoliert als Zeltwnde und mit speziellen Solarmodulen versehen, die Energie fr Licht und Essenszubereitung liefern.
Die neuen Unterknfte werden nun im Grenzgebiet zwischen thiopien und Somalia getestet, Erfahrungen der Flchtlinge mit dieser neuen, stabilen Unterkunft werden in die Weiterentwicklung einflieen.
Olivier Delaue, Leiter der UNHCR Innovations Initiative, sagt: ?Die Initiative und Finanzierung der IKEA Foundation hat es mglich gemacht, diese bessere Unterkunft fr Flchtlingsfamilien zu entwickeln. Die Designer und Flchtlingshelfer tauschten ihre Erfahrungen und ihr Wissen aus, das Ergebnis knnen wir nun vor Ort in den Lagern testen, damit Flchtlinge in Zukunft ein sicheres Dach ber dem Kopf haben.”
Jonathan Spampinato, Leiter der Strategischen Planung bei der IKEA Foundation, sagt: “Wir bei der IKEA Foundation finden: Jedes Kind soll einen sicheren Ort namens “Zuhause” haben. Deshalb haben wir dieses Projekt ins Leben gerufen. Eine sichere Unterkunft in unsicheren Zeiten ist die Basis fr Gesundheitsvorsorge, Schulbildung und Broterwerb.”
Druckfhige Bilder: http://ots.de/oYSVI
Video in verschiedenen Auflsungen: http://media.ikeafoundation.org/video/4379
Pressekontakt:
Chris Williams Communications Manager IKEA Foundation Tel.: +31 71524 9349 Mail: chris.williams@ikeafoundation.org Kai Hartmann Pressereferent IKEA Deutschland GmbH & Co. KG Tel.: (06122) 585 4473 Mail: kai.hartmann@ikea.com
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Egal ob Kampfhelikopter, Jagd-Jets oder Kleinflugzeuge: Auf der weltgrößten Flugschau „Le Bourget“ in Paris beweisen die Maschinen, was sie in der Luft draufhaben. FOCUS-Online zeigt Ihnen die halsbrecherischsten Manöver der Piloten.
Die weltgrößte Luftfahrtschau „Le Bourget“ bei Paris, startete am Montag ihre 50. Ausgabe. Zur Jubiläumsschau, die bis einschließlich dem 23. Juni läuft, rechnen die Veranstalter mit einer Rekordbeteiligung. 2215 Aussteller aus 44 Ländern präsentieren Produkte und Entwicklungen. Die Veranstalter erwarten rund 350 ;000 Gäste, davon etwa 150 ;000 Fachbesucher.
Das Duell der beiden Flugzeugbau-Giganten Airbus und Boeing prägt traditionell die Messe. Neben den Präsentationen am Boden finden auch zahlreiche Schauflüge über Le Bourget statt. So präsentiert Airbus sein Flaggschiff, das weltgrößte Passagierflugzeug A380, in der Luft. Der europäische Flugzeugbauer stellt auch den neuen Militärtransporter A400M vor. Der US-Hersteller Boeing will mit dem 787 „Dreamliner“ nach Le Bourget kommen. Die französische Dassault Aviation schickt das Rafale-Kampfflugzeug.
FOCUS-Online zeigt Ihnen die spektakulärsten Bilder vom Eröffnungstag der Messe.
Klicken Sie sich durch die Dia-Show mit tanzenden Kampfhubschraubern, in den Abgrund stürzenden Jets und Pirouetten drehenden Kleinflugzeugen.
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Sturzflüge und Pirouetten – Die spektakulärsten Bilder der weltgrößten Flugschau
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
(CNN) — Hope flickered in war-torn Afghanistan on Tuesday as national security forces formally took over security leadership and peace talks with the Taliban are now in the works.
NATO-led troops transferred security responsibility to Afghan forces. The United States and an Afghan government group dedicated to peace and reconciliation will hold talks with the Taliban militant group in Qatar.
“I wish a long-term peace in Afghanistan,” Afghan President Harmid Karzai told his troops at a handover ceremony in Kabul.
But a senior U.S. official said reconciliation is likely to be “long, complex and messy” because trust between Afghans and the Taliban is extremely low.
The latest moves could portend a hopeful chapter in the long and costly Afghan conflict. What do these developments mean for Afghanistan and the United States? Here are some key questions that will be asked in the coming months:
Pakistan’s pivotal role in Taliban talks
Afghan government takes over security
Inside a firefight with the Taliban
Born solely to serve others
1. Are the Afghan troops up to the task?
There are certainly doubts.
A Pentagon review in December found that only one of 23 Afghan army brigades was capable of functioning on its own.
Meanwhile, literacy rates are low, desertion rates are high, and many deserters have joined the insurgency. There also have been a troubling number of “green-on-blue” attacks: Afghan troops attacking their American comrades.
But then-Defense Secretary Leon Panetta spoke positively about the progress Afghans had made in growing their army, reducing violence and becoming more self-sufficient. At the time, Afghan forces were leading nearly 90% of operations across the country.
“We’re on the right path to give (Afghanistan) the opportunity to govern itself,” Panetta said.
Karzai has said he welcomes the U.S. troop withdrawal and insists his army can defend the country against the Taliban.
“It is exactly our job to deal with it, and we are capable of dealing with it,” Karzai said during an interview with CNN’s Christiane Amanpour.
2. What are the conditions for peace?
Karzai seems eager to resume stalled peace talks with the Taliban and include them in the political process.
The High Peace Council of Afghanistan — a government group devoted to reconciliation and peace — will go to Qatar and participate in talks with the Taliban, Karzai said Tuesday.
The United States will have a first formal meeting soon in Doha, Qatar, after the Afghans and Taliban huddle, senior administration officials said. The meetings coincide with the Taliban opening an office in the Gulf nation of Qatar.
For their part, the Taliban told reporters in Doha on Tuesday that they want to improve relations with the world. They are calling themselves the “Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan.”
The Taliban back “supporting a political process and a peaceful resolution that will bring an end to the occupation in Afghanistan and establishing an Islamic and independent government in it” and forging “true security,” a representative said.
At the same time, the Taliban representative advocated the idea of political resistance.
The United States and Afghanistan have several conditions the Taliban ultimately need to meet for a peace deal — breaking ties with al Qaeda, ending violence and accepting the Afghan Constitution, including sections on women’s rights, senior administration officials told reporters Tuesday.
Conditions also were outlined by the High Peace Council, with one senior official saying there was no place for violence while talks are ongoing. “We are hoping the (number of) Taliban attacks go down or even stop after we start talks,” the official said.
The first meeting between the United States and Taliban is expected to be an exchange of agendas and what each side wants to talk about, followed by another meeting in a week or two.
One of the administration officials said foremost on the U.S. mind is hearing how the Taliban are going to cut ties with al Qaeda and urging them to talk seriously with the Afghan government. Exchange of detainees are expected to be on the agenda — including Bowe Bergdahl — the U.S. soldier believed to be in militant captivity.
“Peace is not at hand,” another senior official cautioned, adding there is “no guarantee this will happen quickly if at all.”
3. How big a threat do the Taliban still pose?
The Taliban are still “resilient and determined,” according to a recent Pentagon report, and pose a major security threat.
The Taliban continue to carry out high-profile attacks in the capital, Kabul, even targeting the Afghan Supreme Court during a suicide attack in June. Another strike targeted a building near Kabul airport.
On Tuesday, a suicide bomber attacked the convoy of Haji Mohammad Mohaqiq, a member of parliament, killing three people and wounding 21 others. Three bodyguards were among the injured. Mohaqiq — a Shiite and an ethnic Hazara — is a member of Afghanistan’s political opposition.
The Taliban regime in Afghanistan was sheltering al Qaeda when the terror network launched attacks against the United States on September 11, 2001. The next month, the United States cranked up military operations that led to the toppling of the Taliban government.
Ever since, international forces have been fighting radical Islamic militants in Afghanistan and neighboring Pakistan.
4. What are the biggest challenges?
The main fear among Afghans is that the country could revert to another civil war once the United States withdraws its combat troops.
“Some people we’ve spoken to sort of take it for granted that there’s going to be a civil war when the United States leaves,” said CNN’s Erin Burnett on a trip last year to Afghanistan. “It happened before when the Soviet Union left (in 1989).”
Above all, Karzai said the Afghan army needs the tools to battle the insurgents, namely more equipment and firepower. He came to the Pentagon in January with a wish list asking for more helicopters, drones and other hardware, according to a senior defense official.
“We need an air force. We need air mobility,” Karzai told Amanpour. “We need proper mechanized forces. We need, you know, armored vehicles and tanks and all that.”
Retired Army Gen. Stanley McChrystal, once America’s top commander in Afghanistan, said the Afghan people are “terrified because they think they have something to lose.”
“There has been progress made,” he said. “But they’re afraid that if we completely abandon them in 2014, as they perceive we did in 1989, (things) would all go back.”
5. What support will the United States and allies provide?
American forces, now at about 66,000, are expected to dip to 32,000 by the end of the year and further throughout 2014.
The plan is to withdraw all combat troops but keep a residual force in the country to help train Afghans and carry out counterterrorism operations when needed.
The size of that force is still being discussed.
Gen. John Allen, the former commander of U.S. troops in Afghanistan, recommended between 6,000 and 15,000 troops. But that figure was lowered to a range between 2,500 and 9,000, according to a defense official.
The United States and NATO have pledged to continue to support and train Afghan forces in what NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen deems a “new relationship,” starting in 2015.
Acknowledging that there is still much to do in the interim 18 months, Rasmussen said, “Today, our shared goal is in sight.”
CNN’s Ed Payne and Roba Alhenawi contributed to this report.
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Protesters set a fire outside the Tiradentes Palace in Rio de Janeiro during a protest on Monday, June 17. Brazilians took to the streets across the country to protest a 9 cent rise in bus fares. They say the hike is just one more example of how government nickel-and-dimes the poorest out of their money, then throws it out on lavish, high-profile projects. Brazil is building massive stadiums and revamping infrastructure ahead of the soccer World Cup, which it hosts next year.HIDE CAPTION
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Editor’s note: James Montague is the author of When Friday Comes: Football, War and Revolution in the Middle East (deCoubertin Books). He is in Brazil for the Confederations Cup. Follow him @JamesPiotr
Belo Horizonte, Brazil (CNN) — At 11 pm, the tired and the injured gathered in Belo Horizonte for one last expression of discontent.
More than a thousand sat in Praca Sete de Setembro, a square in the center of the city, chanting against the government and the police. But they weren’t the crowd’s only enemy. A sign hung from a nearby balcony. It read: “Anti Copa.” On the pavement the words “A FIFA be Foda” had been written in chalk: “F*** You, FIFA,” in Portuguese. The roads had been blocked off by the military police, who watched the protesters from afar. A bank of police horses chewed on piles of hay left for them on the road.
Daniel Sanabria, a technician in his 20s, stood nearby cradling his arm, an ice pack on top of a bloody bandage. He peeled it off to reveal an ugly red welt on his left hand. “A bullet,” he explained.
Tiny price hike triggers huge protests
Read: 9 cent hike leads to clashes on Brazil’s streets
The day was supposed to have been something of a coronation for Belo Horizonte, a relatively quiet and small city — if a population of 2.5 million people could ever be called small — surrounded by mountains, an hour’s flight north of Rio de Janeiro.
Its famous Mineirao football stadium had just hosted its first match of the 2013 Confederations Cup, a 6-1 victory for African champions Nigeria against the tiny Pacific islanders of Tahiti. It was a dry run for next year’s World Cup finals which return to Brazil for the first time since 1950, a chance to prove that the country was ready to host the most world’s most popular sports tournament.
Instead, military and civilian helicopters flew overhead, roads were blocked and military police stationed throughout the city as a series of protests sparked by anger about the cost of living, poor quality education and high transport costs took place at the same time as the match.
The initial spark for the protests was a rise in bus fares in Sao Paulo. The anger was such that, even in a country often caricatured for its deification of soccer, the World Cup, its surrogate cousin the Confederations Cup and the game’s global governing body FIFA, have all become symbolic of corruption and waste.
Protesters believe the tournament has seen the rich line their pockets, while the poor make do with crumbling public services. The World Cup, it seems, has sparked something that has lain dormant for a long time.
“Tonight this is about all of Brazil, we are moving against corruption. We have been suffering for too many years,” said Tainara Freitas, a teacher who had remained with the protest until the end.
“And this year we rise. We have woken up. We are on the streets like in Turkey and Greece. They have made us wake up about this. The World Cup in Brazil is about too much money. There are too many poor people suffering. The World Cup isn’t good for Brazil. It will bring tourists and money but this is not good for poor people.”
Earlier in the day 15,000 protesters had marched towards the Mineirao as hundreds of thousands of Brazilians took to the streets across the country in the first coordinated mass protests of this size since the end of Brazil’s military dictatorship in the mid 1980s.
Police responded with tear gas, firing rubber bullets into the crowd, and beat protesters who burned barricades in return. I watched Tahiti’s brave performance on the pitch as the protesters gathered outside, speaking to Brazilian sports writer Igor Resende at half time about the match and the reasons for the anger. A few hours later he was in hospital after apparently being shot in the back with a rubber bullet.
“The police came with a brutal force,” recalled Resende. “I didn’t see the protesters do anything. The police threw a bomb and it exploded in the middle of the protest. Then police began to shoot.”
Resende said he was hit in the back by a rubber bullet as he ran away.
“In that moment I just ran. I thought that if I looked back the police would probably shoot me again. I don’t think the police are well prepared. They are badly paid. They have a bad life. They act like this because they are scared.”
But Resende said he has doubt that the police response was related to the Confederations Cup.
“I spoke to one of the highest ranked police guys in state yesterday. He told me 3,500 policeman were on the streets because of the game. They are acting to avoid conflict near the stadiums. The police and FIFA don’t want the protesters near the stadiums.”
For FIFA, who have been critical of Brazil’s preparations for the World Cup, the protests are an unwelcome complication for a tournament already long behind schedule. “People are using the platform of football and the international media presence to make certain demonstrations,” said FIFA president Sepp Blatter who, alongside the Brazilian president Dilma Rousseff, was booed by the crowd at the opening ceremony on Saturday.
Speaking in an interview in Rio on Monday, he said: “You will see today is the third day of the competition this will calm down. It will be a wonderful competition.”
But the protests have not calmed down. The day after Blatter’s interview, the biggest demonstrations yet took place. Sanabria and Freitas agreed that the Confederations Cup, which continues for another 12 days, is an opportunity to make their voices heard.
I asked them both what messaged they wanted to send FIFA and the football world.
“Please, please, make more pressure on our government, on the Brazilian government to look out for us,” said Freitas before she made her way back into the protest, Sanabria still clutching his injured hand.
“They are looking out for people outside the country, they aren’t looking for us, for the poor people.”
The protestors now have the world’s attention.
Continued here:
Protesters set a fire outside the Tiradentes Palace in Rio de Janeiro during a protest on Monday, June 17. Brazilians took to the streets across the country to protest a 9 cent rise in bus fares. They say the hike is just one more example of how government nickel-and-dimes the poorest out of their money, then throws it out on lavish, high-profile projects. Brazil is building massive stadiums and revamping infrastructure ahead of the soccer World Cup, which it hosts next year.HIDE CAPTION
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Are you witnessing the protests in Brazil? Share your images and videos with CNN iReport.
(CNN) — Nine cents have been enough to make tens of thousands of Brazilians cry foul for a week.
For the demonstrators who have transformed streets in Sao Paulo and Belo Horizonte into protest battlegrounds, it isn’t so much that the price of a bus ticket went up from 3.00 to 3.20 reais ($1.38 to $1.47).
The small bump in fare was the straw that broke the camel’s back in a much larger issue, and protesters plan to march again Tuesday to vent their anger.
They say the hike is just one more example of how government nickel-and-dimes the poorest out of their money, then throws it out on lavish, high-profile projects.
Why Brazilians are staging protests
What’s really behind the Brazilian riots?
Brazil is building massive stadiums and revamping infrastructure ahead of the soccer World Cup, which it hosts next year. Two years after that, it will host the 2016 Olympic Games.
Read: Brazil wins Confederations Cup opener
Late Monday, demonstrators stormed state capital buildings in Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo. They set fire outside the one in Sao Paulo.
They faced off with riot police, erected barricades, fled clouds of tear gas and dodged rubber bullets — as they did last week.
Rowdy demonstrators also tried to overtake the National Congress in the nation’s capital Brasilia, but police held them at bay, Agencia Brasil reported.
Social injustice
Demonstrator Douglas Pinheiro was picked out of a crowd of thousands in the city of Victoria late Monday after police thought he was one of the protest leaders.
He convinced them that he wasn’t, and they let him go.
For Pinheiro, the social justice theme of the protests goes deeper than just taxing and spending.
“We are also protesting alongside health workers, who are protesting against the poor state of the country’s health system, students protesting against the education system,” he said.
Read: ‘The man who made a nation cry’
Protesting hundreds of miles south of Pinheiro in Rio de Janeiro, Fernando Jones echoed his sentiments.
“They destroyed schools to build parking lots for stadiums; hospitals are overcrowded; people are hungry on the streets,” he complained.
The core protest group, the Free Fare Movement, demands public transportation be made available free of charge. But they have been joined by left-wing protesters and disgruntled citizens.
In an allusion to the Occupy Wall Street movement, some of the protesters donned the iconic “Vendetta” masks, a male face with pointy mustache and beard.
Occupy and Anonymous Brazil are both backing the demonstrations on their websites and Facebook pages.
Free Fare boasted a turnout of 100,000 Monday in Sao Paolo alone. Agencia Brasil reported a turnout of about one third as many.
Thousands protest over rising costs of 2014 World Cup
Presidential backing
Brazil’s President Dilma Rousseff offered protesters words of encouragement.
“Peaceful demonstrations are legitimate and part of democracy. It is right for the youth to protest,” she said in a statement Monday.
As a member of Brazil’s Workers’ Party, the president has fought for social justice herself.
Former President Lula da Silva, also a Workers’ Party member, came out in support for the protests on his Facebook page.
He hoped that demonstrators and officials would negotiate public transit prices poor Brazilians can afford.
At just under $340 a month, minimum wage in Brazil about one third of that in the United States.
It makes a $1.50 bus ticket all the more expensive.
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Hamburg (ots) – Die Passagiere sitzen auf dem Sonnendeck und freuen sich auf den Urlaub. Was sie nicht ahnen: Mit ihnen, im Bauch des Schiffes, fhrt radioaktives Material mit. Auf Ostseefhren wird regelmig “Gefahrgut der Klasse 7″ transportiert, so etwa von Rostock ins schwedische Trelleborg und zurck. Das haben Recherchen des NDR Politikmagazins “Panorama 3″ (Dienstag, 18. Juni, 21.15 Uhr, NDR Fernsehen) ergeben.
Dem Magazin liegen unter anderem Bilder aus dem Verladeraum einer Passagierfhre mit dem Ziel Sdschweden vor. Sie zeigen Eisenbahnwaggons, die das Warnzeichen fr Radioaktivitt tragen. Es handelt sich um Container mit dem radioaktiven Stoff Kobalt-60. Der Gammastrahler wird in Kernkraftwerken und in der Medizintechnik verwendet.
Dass die heikle Fracht auf Fhren verschifft wird, ist legal – und trotzdem Geheimsache. Denn die Passagiere werden von der Reederei Stena Line nicht ber die Fracht an Bord informiert. “Da wir alle Vorgaben und Regularien befolgen, die mit einem Transport dieser Gter einhergehen, und das Material in gesicherten und versiegelten Containern transportiert wird, informieren wir unsere Passagiere darber nicht”, teilt das Unternehmen auf Anfrage von “Panorama 3″ mit. Doch nicht nur die Touristen erfahren nichts von den radioaktiven Transporten auf den Ostsee-Fhren: Auch der Katastrophenschutz wird nicht informiert, wann welche gefhrlichen Stoffe auf Fhrschiffen unterwegs sind. Krankenhuser und Feuerwehren sind im Falle einer Havarie dementsprechend unvorbereitet. Eine Evakuierung auf hoher See ist deutlich schwieriger als an Land – bis Rettungskrfte die Fhre erreichen, knnen Stunden vergehen. Zwar sind die Container mit dem radioaktiven Material so geschtzt, dass bei normalen Unfllen nichts passiert. Schwerere Brnde, die ber eine halbe Stunde andauern, halten aber auch diese Behlter nicht aus. Passagiere knnten dann einer hohen Strahlung ausgesetzt sein.
Die Recherchen von “Panorama 3″ haben darber hinaus ergeben, dass ausreichend ausgerstete Feuerwehrschiffe nicht berall auf der Ostsee vorhanden sind. So musste die Feuerwehr in Kiel ihr Schiff 2011 aus Kostengrnden aufgeben, das Schiff in Rostock braucht unter Umstnden mehrere Stunden, bis es den Einsatzort erreicht hat.
Wie schnell es brennen kann, zeigt der jngste Unfall Anfang Mai 2013 im Hamburger Hafen. Whrend einer Veranstaltung des Evangelischen Kirchentags mit 35.000 Menschen fing nur rund 500 Meter entfernt auf dem Wasser der Frachter “Atlantic Cartier” Feuer. Er hatte den radioaktiven Stoff Uranhexafluorid, kurz UF6, geladen. Eine Fracht, die nach Informationen von “Panorama 3″ auch immer wieder auf Passagierfhren transportiert wird.
Genehmigt werden die Transporte vom Bundesamt fr Strahlenschutz und von den jeweiligen Landesbehrden. Die Reederei Stena Line erklrt deshalb: “Wir transportieren Material in der geringsten Klassifizierungsgruppe, haben alle bentigten Bescheinigungen und befolgen smtliche Regeln und Vorschriften.”
18. Juni 2013
Pressekontakt:
Norddeutscher Rundfunk Presse und Information Ralph Coleman Tel.: 040/4156-2302
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A riot officer holds a position in downtown Rio de Janeiro on June 17.
Thousands participate in the protest in Rio de Janeiro on June 17.
Piles of trash burn in the streets of Rio de Janeiro on June 17.
Protesters clash with riot police in front of Rio de Janeiro’s Legislative Assembly building on June 17.
Protesters clash with riot police on June 17.
A riot police officer receives help after clashing with protesters on June 17.
A protester receives assistance after being shot in the leg in Rio de Janeiro on June 17.
Two men look at smashed ATMs in Rio de Janeiro on June 17.
People stand atop the National Congress building in Brasilia, Brazil, on June 17.
Thousands stand in the gardens of the National Congress in Brasilia during a protest on June 17.
