Scout alarms

An exodus of career diplomats and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson's project to slash and burn parts of the State Department has created an "alarming" situation, say senators. "We put our country in danger when we do not give adequate voice and resources to our all [sic] country's national security tools," said Maryland Senator Ben Cardin, the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Tuesday during a hearing. The diplomacy carried out by the State Department and United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is "every bit as vital and critical an element of our national security as the Department of Defense," Cardin said. He cited a column written by Ambassador Barbara Stephenson, president of the American Foreign Service Association, last week in which she warned that since President Donald Trump was inaugurated in January the State Department has lost 60 percent of its career ambassadors. The rapid loss of foreign officers has weakened the U.S. … [Read more...] about Rex Tillerson’s State Department Is Putting America in Danger, Say Alarmed Senators

SINGAPORE: There have been seven fatal workplace accidents so far in February, an "extremely alarming" figure compared to 30 deaths for the whole of last year, said Senior Minister of State for Manpower Zaqy Mohamad on Monday (Feb 22). It sets a "worrying trend" for the year ahead, said Mr Zaqy, adding that the accidents occurred across various industries including construction, transportation and storage and marine. The spate of accidents prompted the Workplace Safety and Health (WSH) Council and the Singapore Contractors Association Ltd (SCAL) to call for a safety time-out on the use of machinery. A safety time-out involves reviewing activities and protocols. In a Facebook post, Mr Zaqy urged employers and workers to take a step back to reassess their workplaces and safety procedures. "These incidents could have been prevented with adequate risk assessment of the workplace, and proper safety procedures in place. In particular, there were two cases where both deceased … [Read more...] about 7 workplace fatalities in February ‘extremely alarming’: Zaqy Mohamad

RICHLAND HILLS (CBSDFW.COM) – A five-alarm fire at a recycling plant in Tarrant County is expected to burn through the night and into Friday morning before firefighters can fully put it out. Heavy black smoke was visible as far east as Arlington from the massive fire at Advanced Foam Recycling’s headquarters in Richland Hills on Thursday afternoon, Feb. 25. (credit: Chopper 11) Two employees were treated for minor injuries and another employee self-transported to a hospital. More than 100 firefighters from at least 11 North Texas cities worked to contain the blaze on the 2500 block of Handley Ederville Road. “We really ended up with a joint response right from the very beginning,” said Chief Russell Shelley with the Richland Hills Fire Department. Richland Hills brought in its entire department from off-duty to help get the fire under control. The massive effort comes after first responders dealt with a surge in calls during last week’s winter storms. (credit: … [Read more...] about 5-Alarm Foam Recycling Plant Fire In Tarrant County Expected To Burn Through The Night

Luka Doncic , the Mavericks’ MVP candidate and their best player in the bubble , is a game-time decision for Sunday. Which is better than many expected after watching him limp off the court last game . Doncic had an MRI Saturday on his bad ankle and the results were generally good news, but whether he can play Sunday remains up in the air. Source: MRI on Luka Doncic's sprained left ankle revealed "nothing alarming." He is expected to be a gametime decision for Sunday afternoon's Game 4 vs. Clippers. — Tim MacMahon (@espn_macmahon) August 23, 2020 Doncic suffered a sprained ankle late in the third quarter against the Clippers. He tried to return but had to sub himself out. The Mavericks need him to be running the offense against a Clippers team that is starting to show its defensive potential. Dallas has other weapons and is a good team, but Doncic and his ability to run the pick-and-roll turns them into a threat to win any game. … [Read more...] about Luka Doncic MRI reportedly shows ‘nothing alarming’

GENEVA: Health officials around the world gave their backing to the AstraZeneca vaccine against COVID-19, after a study showing it had little effect against mild disease caused by the variant now spreading quickly in South Africa rang global alarm. The prospect that new virus variants could evolve the ability to elude vaccines is one of the main risks hanging over the global strategy to emerge from the pandemic by rolling out vaccines this year. South Africa, where a new variant now accounts for the vast bulk of cases, initially announced a pause in its rollout of a million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine. But it said on Monday it could still roll it out in a "stepped manner", giving out 100,000 doses and monitoring it to see if it prevents hospitalisations and deaths. "It is vastly too early to be dismissing this vaccine," said Richard Hatchett, CEO of the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, a foundation that co-leads the global COVAX programme to provide … [Read more...] about Global health officials back AstraZeneca vaccine after South Africa study rings alarm