Sunday, June 28, 2009

Wizi Alama Za Barabarani Waikera TanRoads!

Wizi wa alama za barabarani mkoani Morogoro, umetajwa kuwa chanzo cha kuongezeka kwa ajali za magari, mkoani humu.
Hayo yalisemwa na Meneja wa Wakala wa Barabara(TanRoads) wa mkoa wa Morogoro, Charles Madinda, alipokuwa akizungumza na waandishi wa habari, kuhusu kukithiri kwa wizi wa alama hizo muhimu.
Alama hizo zimekuwa zikionyesha hali halisi ya maeneo mbalimbali ya barabara ili kuwawezesha watumiaji wa barabara, kuepuka ajali.
madinda alisema ingawa TanRoads imekuwa ikijitahidi kuweka alama hizo katika barabara mbalimbali za mkoa huu,lakini watu wasiojulikana wamekuwa wakiziiba.
alisema ahata hivyo wanaoiba alama hizo, hawazingatii kuwa hiyo ni hujuma inayoweza kusababisha ajali zinazochangia watu kupoteza maisha.
"Watu wanaiba alama hizo kwa tamaa kupata fedha na wala hawajali kuwa vitendo hivyo vinaathiri usalama wa barabara zetu na maisha ya watu kwa jumla" alisema Madinda.
Kwa mujibu wa meneja huyo, biashara ya vyuma chakavu mkoani humo, inachangia kwa kiwango kikubwa kukithiri kwa wizi wa alama hizo.
"wengi wanaiba alama hizi na kuziuza kama chuma chakavu" alisisitiza na kuwasihi wananchi kuacha kujihusisha na hujuma hizo.
Pia aliwataka wananchi kushirikiana katika kuwafichua watu wanaojihusisha na wizi wa alama hizo wakamatwe na kufikishwa katika vyombo vya dola.
Source: Mwananchi

Sheikh Suleiman Gorogosi Dies! Another Victim of Road Accidents!

The Acting Chief Sheikh of Tanzania Suleiman Gorogosi was killed on Saturday in a motor traffic accident in Lindi Region. It is being reported that the vehicle he was traveling in suffered a tyre bust and rolled over.May Allah Rest his Soul In Eternal Peace, Amen!

Source: Faustine's Baraza

Friday, June 26, 2009

Polisi Waruhusu Biashara Ya PikiPiki D'salaam!

Polisi katika kanda maalum ya Dar es salaam, imeruhusu kuendelea kwa biashara ya pikipiki kwa masharti ya pikipiki moja kutobeba zaidi ya abiria mmoja.
Hatua hiyo imekuja wakati watu wane wakiwa wamekufa na wengine kadhaa kujeruhiwa ndani ya miezi miwili tangu biashara hiyo ilipoanza.
Kwa mujibu wa taarifa kwa vyombo vya habari na kusainiwa na kamanda wa Polisi Kanda Maalum ya Dar es salaam, Suleiman Kova, watu wane wanashikiliwa na polisi kwa tuhuma za kuhusika na matukio matatu ya uhalifu yanayohusisha biashara hiyo.
“Jeshi la polisi haalijapiga marufuku biashara hiyo, ispokuwa wafanyabiashara wanatakiwa kupakia abiria mmoja mmoja katika pikipiki zao, kusajili pikipiki hizo na kufuata sheria zote za barabarani” ilisema taarifa hiyo.
Taarifa hiyo pia ilisema , kama dereva wa pikipiki atabainika kuwa amekiuka sheria za barabarani, atakamatwa na kuchukuliwa hatua za kisheria.
Ilisema madereva wanapaswa kuwa na leseni daraja A na kuendelea.
Kwa mujibu wa taarifa hiyo masharti mengine yanayotakiwa kufuatwa ni pikipiki hizo kuwa na namba ya usajili na kukaguliwa na askari wa usalama barabarani.

SUMATRA Told To Act On Transporters Hiking Charges!

The Surface and Marine Regulatory Authority (SUMATRA) has been requested to take action against truck owners hiking transport costs despite the fuel price reduction.
Speaking with the ‘Guardian’ at the weekend in Dar es salaam chairperson of the Passengers Emancipation Association (CHAKUA) Modest Mfilinge, said high transport costs have fuelled increase of food prices in most places in the country.
He said following the fall in prices of oil at world market, stakeholders agreed to reduce the costs of transportation, but transporters gave a cool response to the agreement.
“In March this year SUMATRA convened a meeting with transporters where we agreed to reduce the costs of transportation by twelve percent per kilometer, but that has not been implemented todate”, he said.
He said the cost of transporting 10 tonnes of rice from Kilosa to Dar es salaam rose from 300,000/- in March to 800,000/- leading to a hike in the retail price of foodstuffs. Transportation costs for foodstuffs and other goods has gone up but more than 170 percent.
A survey in different markets reveal that an unusual hike in prices of foodstuffs and other goods in the local market. A kilo of rice at Buguruni, Kariakoo, Tandale, and Tandika markets has been bouncing between 1,450/- and 1,600/-
Maize that was sold at between 700/- and 850/- per kilogramme is now selling at between 1,000/- and 1,100/- respectively.
A 100-kilogramme bag of groundnuts for instance, is taxed between 2,500/- and 3,500/- respectively.
“After spending a lot on transporting food products from the farms and paying government taxes, we are compelled to sell a kilogramme of groundnuts between 1,500/- and 1,600/- to make some profit, although the buying price was 1,200/-,” said Juma Kidaha a businessman at Tandale market”
Source: The Guardian

Michael Jackson Dies!

Michael Jackson, the sensationally gifted child star who rose to become the “King of Pop” and the biggest celebrity in the world only to fall from his throne in a freakish series of scandals, died Thursday. He was 50.
Jackson died at UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles. Ed Winter, the assistant chief coroner for Los Angeles County, confirmed his office had been notified of the death and would handle the investigation.
The circumstances of Jackson’s death were not immediately clear. Jackson was not breathing when Los Angeles Fire Department paramedics responded to a call at his Los Angeles home about 12:30 p.m., Capt. Steve Ruda told the Los Angeles Times. The paramedics performed CPR and took him to the hospital, Ruda told the newspaper.


Source: Associated Press

Thursday, June 25, 2009

'Tachograph' New Bus Governors effective Sept, Says Govt!

Following inefficiency of Speed governors, long distance travelling passanger buses will be installed with new speed-controlling gadget called 'Tachograph' effective September this year.
Home Affairs Deputy Minister Khamis Kagasheki announced this in the House, when responding to a principal question posed by Ibrahim Sanya (Stone Town, CUF) who had suggested amendment to the law on speed governors in a bid to curb accidents.
"The government has directed that all passanger buses should be installed with 'Tachograph' gadget that would be recording bus speed in the entire jouney" he explained.
Giving details the Deputy Minister said traffic police officers would be inspecting the gadgets to see if the bus complied with allowed speed before taking action.
Punishment on buses found guilty of over speeding would cover both reckless drivers and owners, said the deputy minister. Previously only drivers were punished for breaching the law on speed governors.
Source: The Guardian

Bodies O Flight 447 Pilot flight Attendant Pulled From The Ocean!

PARIS – Search crews in the mid-Atlantic have retrieved the bodies of the chief pilot of Flight 447 and a flight attendant, Air France said Thursday.
The two are among 50 bodies pulled out of the ocean in the international search for remains of the 228 victims and wreckage of the May 31 crash.
Air France, in a statement on its Web site, said the pilot and male flight attendant have been identified but did not release their names. A pilots' union named the flight captain as Frenchman Marc Dubois.
Earlier this week the international police agency Interpol said 11 of the 50 bodies retrieved had been identified: eight Brazilians, one with joint Brazilian-German citizenship, one Brazilian-Swiss and a Briton.
On Wednesday Germany's Foreign Ministry said three Germans — two men from Bavaria and a woman from Hamburg — have been identified. The ministry did not release their names.
The Airbus A330 plane came down in the Atlantic after running into thunderstorms en route from Rio de Janeiro to Paris. The Brazilian military has led the search and recovery efforts for bodies and debris, while the French are in charge of investigating the crash and the hunt for the flight recorders, or black boxes.
The cause of the crash is unclear. The plane's two black boxes could be key to determining what happened.
But the boxes will only continue to emit signals for a few more days. They send out an electronic tapping sound that can be heard up to 1.25 miles (2 kilometers) away.
French officials said this week that military ships searching for the wreckage have detected sounds in the Atlantic depths but they are not from the flight recorders.
Two French-chartered ships are trolling a search area with a radius of 50 miles (80 kilometers), pulling U.S. Navy underwater listening devices attached to 19,700 feet (6,000 meters) of cable. A French submarine is also searching.
Source: AP

Ajali Yaua 7 na Kujeruhi 41 Mbeya!

WATU saba wamefariki dunia na wengine 41 kujeruhiwa vibaya baada ya Lori aina Fuso lenye namba za usajili T855 ACJ kugongwa kwa nyuma na lori aina ya SCANIA lenye namba za usajili T 463 kupinduka korongoni katika mlima wa Iwambi kuelekea Mbalizi mkoani Mbeya. Mashuhuda wa ajali hiyo wamesema kuwa lori aina ya Fuso lilibeba watu waliokuwa wakitokea mazishini ambalo lilikuwa mbele ya SCANIA lililokuwa katika mwendo wa kasi hivyo dereva wa gari hilo alishindwa kulimudu ndipo tela la gari lake lilipoligongalori na kusababisha kuanguka korongoni.
Photo Source: Food for thought blog

Monday, June 22, 2009

Kutoka MOI Leo!





Majeruhi wa ajali mbalimbali waliopokelewa MOI kutokana na ajali za magari na pikipiki

Ripoti ya Kupigwa Askari Wa Usalama Barabarani Itatoka Lini?

Photo Source:Mwananchi

A Decade Of Road Safety Action: AA Stresses Need To Target Safety Campaigns At Young Drivers

Road deaths are a far greater global 'pandemic' danger then swine flu but campaigns targeted at young drivers can make a difference, according to the AA president speaking at a road safety seminar in the House of Commons.
Addressing a group of influential road safety advocates from eastern European and Africa, Edmund King, will told the delegates that "governments in all countries must combat the world's fastest growing public health emergency. This is not the swine flu 'pandemic' but global road deaths. Targeting safety campaigns at young drivers and improving the road infrastructure will also help towards reducing death and injury on the roads."
The AA will also be joining Formula One World Champion Lewis Hamilton, the Make Roads Safe Campaign, the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) and the Parliamentary Advisory Council for Transport Safety (PACTS) in a meeting to call for a Decade of Action on road safety in Westminster today. New Transport secretary, Lord Adonis, will also attend.
If all governments committed to a road safety 'Decade of Action', 5 million lives and 50 million serious injuries would be prevented. A coordinated UN action plan for road safety is urgently needed with road crashes set to become the leading cause of disability and premature death for children aged 5-14 across developing countries by 2015.
Even though the UK has a relatively good safety record more could be done regarding new drivers, child pedestrians, older pedestrian and cycling casualties.
The 'Make Roads Safe' report urges UN governments attending the first ever global governmental conference on road safety in Moscow in November, to support a 'Decade of Action for Road Safety' between 2010-2020. During the Decade the international community should invest in a $300 million action plan to catalyse traffic injury prevention and re-focus national road safety policies and budgets.
Road crashes already kill more people in the developing world than malaria, at an economic cost of up to $100 billion a year, equivalent to all overseas aid from OECD countries:
More than one million people are killed on the roads of developing countries every year, and tens of millions are injured, a toll set to double by 2030. Road crashes are already the leading global cause of death for young people aged 10-24
Road crashes have now overtaken malaria as a major killer in developing countries
Edmund King, AA president, said: "Many countries have mobilised against a possible pandemic of swine flu yet there is a far bigger silent global killer out there – road deaths. Most governments are not mobilised to cut this carnage. The AA will be urging the UK Government and others around the world to commit to a decade of action to prevent 5 million road deaths. We are delighted that Lewis Hamilton is joining the call for a decade of action for road safety."
FactfileEdmund King, AA president will be addressing the FIA Foundation Road Safety Scholarship Parliamentary seminar. The programme brings together young professionals from East Asia, Africa and, Latin America and Eastern Europe for a two week intensive course on road safety. King will talk about the Make Roads Safe campaign and the AA Charitable Trust's Drive Smart scheme.
The AA have provided
breakdown cover for over 100 years. Other services include car insurance.
Press release courtesy of Online PR News

Sunday, June 21, 2009

Denti Anapozuiwa Kupanda Daladala!


Bajaj Business Employs 15,000 Drivers!

Over 15,000 youth in the country have been self-employed as drivers of three-wheeled tri-cycles, famously known as bajaj.
Country’s representative of the vehicle’s distributor-DPI company, Mr. nihyal Sirva said that such new jobs had boosted incomes for the new youth, and improve welfare of their families.
Mr. Sirva made the remark in Dar es salaam yesterday during a seminar involving Bajaj drivers, traffic police and other stakeholders.
He said the bikes had offered a relief to most youth in the country both economically and socially, as they had increased their incomes, headed independent lives and reduced poverty. Mr. Sirva noted that operational and maintenance costs of Bajaj were minimal as they consume little fuel and their spare parts were not costly.
The representative also said the usage of Bajaj had significantly eased transport problems in the country because the vehicles reach even inaccessible areas. Mr. Sirva said that DPI would continue to improve its services in order to reach more people and make sure that more Tanzanians would use Bajaj in order to ease transport problems.
He added that his company would participate in the next International Trade Fairs to be held at Mwalimu Nyerere Trade Fair grounds in order to educate wananchi on the benefits of using Bajaj.
Recently the Government enacted new law allowing drivers of the three wheelers to carry passengers, a move healed by stakeholders of transport that it will cut down tax fares and therefore reduce costs transport especially in urban areas.

Inafurahisha!

Inafurahisha kuona kwamba konda wa daladala anajaza watu katika daladala lakini kwa kujua hilo yeye haweki kichwa chake ndani kwa kuwa anajua kwamba upumuaji ndani ya gari kama inavyoonekana pichani, ni shughuli pevu! Ni lini tutakuwa kama wenzetu wa Uganda ambao hawaruhusu kabisa abiria kujazana katika dalada?

Tanzanian Roads.... A Death Trap?

TANZANIA is now officially ranked among countries with the world’s deadliest roads, prompting United Nations health chiefs to urge the government to tighten road safety laws.The Global Status Report on Road Safety, released on Monday by the World Health Organisation (WHO), shows that road users in Tanzania are more likely to be killed than in many other countries.According to the new report, the number of vulnerable road users being killed in the country is worryingly high, with pedestrians constituting 37 per cent of casualties.Deaths by road user category in the country include motor vehicle passengers (33 per cent), cyclists (17 per cent), motorbike/bajaj riders (7 per cent) and motor vehicle drivers (6 per cent).The report reveals that 34.3 for every 100,000 people were killed on roads in Tanzania during 2007, a dismal record compared to neighbouring countries such as Uganda, Burundi, Malawi, Zambia, and Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).Kenya has a slightly higher death toll from road accidents compared to Tanzania, at 34.4 people killed per 100,000.According to the report, a staggering 2,595 deaths were reported on roads in Tanzania in 2007 alone, with men making up 78 per cent of the casualties and women, 22 per cent.Compared with the United Kingdom which has a 5.4 per 100,000 population road death rate, this means that people are over six times more likely to die on Tanzanian roads than in the UK.With the global average of 18.8 road deaths per 100,000 people, Tanzania has one of the highest death tolls in the world.’’It is a dangerous place to be on the roads, either as a pedestrian or a driver, and there needs to be more focus on vulnerable road users,’’ says the WHO report.WHO Director General Dr Margaret Chan said the poor road safety record of Tanzania and many of its neighbours ’’deserves our highest attention’’, and called on officials to take action.The report notes that laws on seat belts, drink driving, speed limits, and mandatory motorcycle helmets are not stringent enough in the country, and enforcement is lax.It reveals for instance that the seat-belt law in Tanzania does not uniformly apply to all motor vehicle occupants.According to available data cleared by the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare for the purposes of the WHO research, hardly 30 per cent of drivers and front-seat passengers obey the seat-belt law and wear the devices - while just 5 per cent of rear-seat passengers do the same.The 287-page global report notes with concern that Tanzania lacks a child restraint law, which effectively renders its enforcement of road safety regulations for children virtually non-applicable.Some 57 per cent of the 577,949 vehicles registered in the country by 2007 were mini-buses, vans and other motor vehicles with seating capacities in the 20-passengers range.Other vehicle categories registered in Tanzania are motor cars (14 per cent), motorbikes/bajaj scooters (9 per cent), trucks (7 per cent), buses (4 per cent) and others of the like (9 per cent).Police recorded 16,308 non-fatal accidents in 2007, with the trend in road deaths showing a steady increase since 2000.Only a small number of African countries studied in the report, which covers a total of 178 nations and more than 98 per cent of the world population, have a worse road deaths record than Tanzania, according to the WHO report.These include Angola (37.7 deaths per 100,000 people), Libya (40.5), Egypt (47.5), and Eritrea (48.4).Botswana has one of Africa’s better road safety records in a relative sense, with 18.3 deaths from road accidents for every 100,000 people.This first global assessment of road safety found that pedestrians, motorcyclists and cyclists make up almost half of the estimated 1.27 million people killed each year on roads around the world.Said Dr Chan: ’’We found that in many countries, the laws necessary to protect people are either not in place, or are not comprehensive. And even when there is adequate legislation, most countries report that enforcement is low."We are not giving sufficient attention to the needs of pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists, many of whom end up in clinics and hospitals. We must do better if we are to halt or reverse the rise in road traffic injuries, disability and deaths,’’ she added.Contacted in Dar es Salaam, the national traffic police commander, Senior Assistant Commissioner of Police (SACP) James Kombe, told THISDAY he was not in a position to immediately comment on the UN report.He said he had already recently issued a statement on what the police is doing to tackle road carnage in the country.
Source: This day

Thursday, June 18, 2009

Biashara Matangazo?

Source: Mtandao

Plane With Dead Pilot Lands Safely In Newark. So lucky Indeed!

NEWARK, N.J. – The Federal Aviation Administration says a plane carrying a pilot who died in mid-flight has landed safely at the airport in Newark, N.J.
Spokeswoman Arlene Salac says Continental Airlines Flight 61 landed at 11:49 a.m.
Airline spokeswoman Kelly Cripe says the pilot died of natural causes Thursday on the flight from Brussels, Belgium, to Newark.
Cripe says he was a 61-year-old man with more than 20 years of service to the airline.
She says the flight continued safely with two other pilots at the controls.
Cripe says the Boeing 777 carried 247 passengers.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.
NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — Continental Airlines says a pilot who died in mid-flight was a 61-year-old man with more than 20 years of service to the airline.
Airline spokeswoman Kelly Cripe says the pilot died of natural causes Thursday on Flight 61 from Brussels, Belgium, to Newark, N.J.
She says the flight continued safely with two other pilots at the controls.
Cripe says the Boeing 777 is carrying 247 passengers and is scheduled to land at Newark on time at noon.


Source: AFP

Hillary Clinton Fractures Elbow In Fall!

WASHINGTON – Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton fractured her right elbow during a fall Wednesday, her chief of staff said.
Clinton was on her way to the White House when she fell and injured her elbow, chief of staff Cheryl Mills said in a statement released late Wednesday.
Clinton was treated at The George Washington University Hospital, just a few blocks from State Department headquarters, before going home. She will undergo surgery to repair her elbow in the coming week, Mills said.
"Secretary Clinton appreciates the professionalism and kindness she received from the medical team who treated her this evening and looks forward to resuming her full schedule soon," Mills said.
Clinton had been scheduled to join actress Angelina Jolie on Thursday morning at a Washington event marking World Refugee Day. That event has been removed from Clinton's public schedule.


Source: News+photo by Associated Press

Tuesday, June 16, 2009

Hiking Price of Fuel!


The price of fuel goes up once again as seen above. what will EWURA say on this? Is this blessed by EWURA?

"Kama Ipo Ipo tu"

Nafikiri sisi sote ni watumiaji wa barabara na tumekutana na ujumbe kama huu katika magari au bajaji kama inavyoonekana hapo juu. Mara nyingi najaribu kufikiria mtu anapoandika ujumbe kama huu anakuwa ana maana gani? Wadau mna maoni gani juu ya hilo?

Saturday, June 13, 2009

Agony of Kibaki Crash Families!

By Mutinda Mwanzia and David Nzia
The news struck the country sweltering in 2002 presidential election campaign heat like a thunderbolt. The road crash barely three weeks to the General Election that would give Kenya its third president, claimed two lives and left the man who would be the next commander-in-chief literally hanging on the tenterhooks.
That was President Kibaki, the National Rainbow Coalition’s presidential candidate, who would in a month take over the reins of power after what came to be called the ’Narc Dream’ whitewashed Kanu’s 40-year rule.
Seven years later, having won a controversial second and final term, and after countless sessions with doctors, President Kibaki still carries the scars of the accident. His walking gait and hand movement changed.
The physical pain and the torment of the heart, discernible from his face as he was rushed to Nairobi Hospital — on the evening of December 3, 2002, would forever remain the lingering memory of the country’s lowest moment — especially as conspiracy theorists stepped in with their spin.
But as the nation consumed the news of Kibaki’s troubled road to recovery including being sworn-in on a wheel chair, and with the slurred speech and symptomatic repetitive talk that is now history, one side of the story was forgotten.
It is the sad tale of the families of Mutungi Musau, who was a matatu tout, and Mutuku Muia, a metal welder, who were killed in the crash at Machakos junction of the Nairobi-Mombasa Highway.
The families say images of the President, whom they have not heard from, though fate and destiny let his life cross paths with their loved ones, albeit for a fleeting but irreversible moment, rekindles memories of the black December.
It stirs the well of tears shed as Narc danced to electoral victory as Kenya strode into a new chapter in history. Today, they just speak of how much they would wish they could reach Kibaki’s ear, if not for the Government’s support, just a word of consolation. In him they see a privileged person whom the cruel hand of fate brought so close to them, yet so far.
For now, as they grapple with their pain and loss, as well as the life of want and squalor, the man they would love to meet remains just an image on television screen, and the pages of newspapers.
Wipe away tears
The language of insurance and liability remains a hollow legal jargon — all they know is that Kibaki is in a position to change their lives. To them, this is not because he was responsible for the accident, for he, too, almost died. But they counted on him to wipe away their tears in solidarity.
That is why Musau’s uncle, 74-year-old retired driver Timothy Makovo, simply marvelled: "As the Head of State he has the powers to ask that they be compensated. His silence is not good."
"I was told Musau had been run over by a vehicle belonging to Kibaki and rushed to the scene to ascertain whether it was true … when I see the President talk on television I remember my brother. "He should personally be touched by our plight and talk to us," says the late Musau’s elder brother, Anthony Ndambuki.
Musau’s mother, Mama Kalondu Mutungi, 56, said: The Government only provided a coffin and a Land Rover to ferry the body from the mortuary in Machakos town to our home during the funeral… I feel we have been ignored since nobody cared for us after the loss. It is even more distressing that Kibaki is now the President. I wish I could have an opportunity to meet him and share my agony."
She added: "No amount of material or monetary help can replace a lost son, but at least the President should have shown some concern to the bereaved families. His silence is baffling."
This is the story that represents the children of two worlds, the life of privilege and want, as symbolised by the fact that as they wept, a day after the accident Kibaki was airborne — headed to London for specialised treatment. Today we go back in time and pick up their forgotten story, of crashed dreams and utter hopelessness, of minions whose hand nobody has come forth to pick.

A.I.G Refuses To pay US Airways Crash Claims

A.I.G. Balks at Claims From Jet Ditching in Hudson
By Mary Williams WalshFriday, June 12, 2009

For the first couple of days after his flight ditched into the Hudson River, Paul Jorgenson was just glad to be alive. But then he started to need his laptop, his wallet, his car keys -- all the essentials he had stowed under his seat and left behind in the sinking plane.
A pleasant woman at US Airways told him not to worry; he would be made whole for his losses. But then the matter shifted to US Airways' insurer, the American International Group, operating under government stewardship since its bailout last fall.
"Everything went downhill," said Mr. Jorgenson, a software executive in Charlotte, N.C., whose laptop and keys have not been recovered.

When a homeowner has a burglary or a driver has a crash, all it normally takes is a call to the insurance company and a description of the loss to activate the policy. But aviation liability insurance is different. It is activated by a finding of negligence on the part of an airline. If there is no negligence, then arguably there is no liability, and no obligation to pay claims.
That poses a problem for the passengers of US Airways Flight 1549. They suffered real losses and injuries, but they are widely perceived as having been saved from sudden, violent death by their heroic and quick-thinking flight crew, led by Capt. Chesley B. Sullenberger.
"Insurance companies try to protect their assets, obviously," said Bruce D. Chadbourne, a co-author of the book, "Introduction to Aviation Insurance and Risk Management," and a professor in the business school at Embry Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, Fla. With the airline wearing a halo, A.I.G. "is going to play hardball."
A spokeswoman for A.I.G.'s property and casualty business declined to comment.
"I wish I had a hammer to get them to do the right thing," said Andrew J. Maloney, a partner in the New York firm of Kreindler & Kreindler, which specializes in aviation litigation. He is representing some of the US Airways passengers but has not filed any lawsuits. "They're riding a wave of feel-good opinion about how well the flight crew handled the bird strike."
A spokesman for US Airways, Morgan Durrant, said the airline issued each passenger a check for $5,000 shortly after the accident to cover their immediate needs; it had no legal obligation to do so. He declined to discuss the airline's liability insurance policy or claims processes, saying the matter was pending and he did not want to jeopardize it.
Those familiar with industry practices said it would be many months before the issue of liability was resolved.
Tess Sosa, who was aboard Flight 1549 with her husband, 4-year-old daughter and infant son, said she suffered a mild concussion during the landing, and her husband was treated for a leg injury and hypothermia. The family, from New York, continues to get hospital bills, she said. But her top priority was getting the insurer to pay for therapy to reduce the risk of post-traumatic stress disorder for her and her daughter.
Because the plane was full on the day of the accident, she and her baby were seated near the wings, while her husband and daughter were far in the rear. The plane struck the water tail-first, and water began pouring in where Mr. Sosa and daughter Sophia were sitting.
Ms. Sosa, clambering over seats toward the front of the plane with her son in her arms, looked back and caught a horrifying glimpse of her husband standing in the deepening water, trying to hold their daughter above the surface.
"Everything went downhill," said Mr. Jorgenson, a software executive in Charlotte, N.C., whose laptop and keys have not been recovered.
When a homeowner has a burglary or a driver has a crash, all it normally takes is a call to the insurance company and a description of the loss to activate the policy. But aviation liability insurance is different. It is activated by a finding of negligence on the part of an airline. If there is no negligence, then arguably there is no liability, and no obligation to pay claims.
That poses a problem for the passengers of US Airways Flight 1549. They suffered real losses and injuries, but they are widely perceived as having been saved from sudden, violent death by their heroic and quick-thinking flight crew, led by Capt. Chesley B. Sullenberger.
"Insurance companies try to protect their assets, obviously," said Bruce D. Chadbourne, a co-author of the book, "Introduction to Aviation Insurance and Risk Management," and a professor in the business school at Embry Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, Fla. With the airline wearing a halo, A.I.G. "is going to play hardball."
A spokeswoman for A.I.G.'s property and casualty business declined to comment.
"I wish I had a hammer to get them to do the right thing," said Andrew J. Maloney, a partner in the New York firm of Kreindler & Kreindler, which specializes in aviation litigation. He is representing some of the US Airways passengers but has not filed any lawsuits. "They're riding a wave of feel-good opinion about how well the flight crew handled the bird strike."
A spokesman for US Airways, Morgan Durrant, said the airline issued each passenger a check for $5,000 shortly after the accident to cover their immediate needs; it had no legal obligation to do so. He declined to discuss the airline's liability insurance policy or claims processes, saying the matter was pending and he did not want to jeopardize it.
Those familiar with industry practices said it would be many months before the issue of liability was resolved.
Tess Sosa, who was aboard Flight 1549 with her husband, 4-year-old daughter and infant son, said she suffered a mild concussion during the landing, and her husband was treated for a leg injury and hypothermia. The family, from New York, continues to get hospital bills, she said. But her top priority was getting the insurer to pay for therapy to reduce the risk of post-traumatic stress disorder for her and her daughter.
Because the plane was full on the day of the accident, she and her baby were seated near the wings, while her husband and daughter were far in the rear. The plane struck the water tail-first, and water began pouring in where Mr. Sosa and daughter Sophia were sitting.
Ms. Sosa, clambering over seats toward the front of the plane with her son in her arms, looked back and caught a horrifying glimpse of her husband standing in the deepening water, trying to hold their daughter above the surface.
"I can tell you, he was looking straight at me and he didn't even see me," she said. Since then she has been haunted by the image, and the feeling that in her escape she abandoned her husband and daughter.
Ms. Sosa said Sophia "remembers everything. I just want her to walk away from this knowing that we did everything we could to make it make sense." A.I.G. agents have told her that for therapy she should use her own health insurance, but it has a $3,000 deductible for mental health care.
"Why should we be paying out of pocket?" she said. "That's why they're there. They're the insurer."
Aviation insurance specialists said that an airline's liability insurer is not normally there for medical bills after a plane crash. Passengers' health insurance may indeed pay first -- for passengers who have it -- or workers' compensation for passengers traveling on business. Later, if liability is established, those insurers circle back and try to get reimbursed from the airline's liability insurer.
But that does not help accident survivors who have expenses in the meantime.
A.I.G. has told Ms. Sosa and other passengers that it would pay for therapy, but only for three sessions.
"It's like telling me, 'We aren't responsible for this. This is your trauma. You deal with it,' " Ms. Sosa said.
In one exasperated conversation with an A.I.G. claims official, she invoked the taxpayer bailout, saying she doubted Congress and the Obama administration would approve of the stonewalling. The official "told me their division didn't get a cent from the bailout," she said.
Mr. Jorgenson, the software executive, said he did not have unpaid medical bills, but was frustrated about his claims for missing possessions. He sells specialized software to hedge funds and other investment companies, and must travel frequently to financial centers, wearing expensive suits and shoes, and carrying valuable computer equipment. He recently got some of his clothing back from the airline but the shoes were ruined, he said. One suit was missing its jacket, and his cufflinks and sunglasses are still gone. He got his wallet back but not the cash it held, he said.
Because he could document losses of more than $5,000, A.I.G. sent him a second $5,000, with a letter saying he could get an additional $10,000 if he signed a statement releasing it from any further claims. Other passengers are also being asked to sign the release in exchange for $10,000.
Mr. Jorgenson said he thought this was disingenuous, because some degree of liability might eventually be established. Then A.I.G.'s policy would be in play, but the passengers would have signed away their claims.
Mr. Chadbourne said he was not surprised to see A.I.G. holding firm.
"They really cannot row their own boat, totally, because they've got other people that they are making decisions for," he said, explaining that an aviation liability policy typically spreads the risks among 8 or 10 insurers, with one lead underwriter -- in this case A.I.G. -- handling claims on behalf of the group. (Although A.I.G. is not the lead underwriter on the missing Air France flight, it is part of an insurance pool with potential liability.)
"Even though they're giving the passengers a hard time, eventually they will be compensated to some extent," he said. "There's no big pot because there's no death. But there's still mental distress, and it is a compensatable illness which, eventually, in my opinion, they deserve. They went through hell."
Source: The New York Times

Friday, June 12, 2009

No Road Links for Morogoro Villagers!

Residents of Bumu and Lusungwi villages at Langali Ward, Mvomero District in Morogoro Region have requested the government through the Tanzania National Roads Agency(TanRoads) to repair roads within their areas so that they become passable throughout the year.
Speaking during a public rally at Lolo Village in Langali Ward, they cited poor roads as a major source of their financial problems.
They said apart from being affected economically, they also suffered the consequences when travelling for social services like education and health.
"It a shame for us to carry patients on bicycles, patients are sometimes subjected to walk on foot when most roads become impassable especially during the rain season" they compalined.
Mvomero Legislator Suleiman Saddiq promised to meet with Mvomero District authorities to see that construction of Lusungwi health centre was completed.
Source: The Guardian

SUMATRA Seizes Boat Bound Zanzibar for Overloading!

The Surface and Marine Transport Authority(SUMATRA) yesterday detained a Zanzibar-bound ferry boat for a while for overloading passangers who were travelling from dar es salaam.
Briefing reporters after releasing the boat yesterday, SUMATRA Director of Maritime Safety ans Security Capt. King Chiragi said the boat, MV Sepideh, was overloaded by about 75 passangers from its normal capacity of 325 passangers.Chiragi said SUMATRA had inspected the boat before its departure to Zanzibar and found that there were more passangers than normal .
He said the number of passangers exceeded the number of tickets issued. "The passanger manifest showed that only 325 passangers had booked and boarded the boat, but the number of passangers we found the boat's carrying capacity" he said.
He said the act was against marine transport rules and regulations, adding that the boat's manager would be penalized for the offence.
The vessel's Dar es salaam branch Manager, Ahmed Juma, claimed that the extra passangers were children accompanying their parents or guardians who were not subject to booking tickets. "Children are not included in the passanger manifest because they do not pay fare"
Source: The Guardian

Maiti 3 Zatambuliwa...Ni Ajali ya Hajees!

Miili ya watu watatu kati ya watu sita waliofariki katika ajali ya gari iliyotokea katika kijiji cha Mtumba kilometa 20 kutoka dodoma imetambulika.
Ajali hiyo ilitokea juzi eneo la mtumba manispaa ya dodoma ambapo watu 6 walipoteza maisha huku wengine 37 wakijeruhiwa wakiwamo 18 waliolazwa katika hospitali ya mkoa wa dodoma wakiendelea na amatibabu.
Mkuuwa upelelezi wa makosa ya jinai Mkoa wa dododma Salum Msangi alisema maiti zilizohifadhiwa katika hospitali ya Mkoa wa Dodoma zimetambuliwa kwa kuangalia vitambulisho vilivyokutwa katika mifuko ya marehemu hao.
Msangi aliwataja waliotambuliwa kuwa ni Dk. Shabani Kibwana wa Hospitali ya Mtakatifu Gasper iliyopo itigi wilayani Manyoni, askari wa jeshi la Wananchi Tanzania(JWTZ) kutoka makao Makuu dar es salaam mwenye namaba MT 69547 PTE Mohamed Salum na Jackson Alex.
Alisema jeshi la polisi linaendelea kumsaka dereva wa basi hilo aliyetoroka muda mfupi baada ya ajali na kwamba uchunguzi wa awaliunaonyesha kwamba dereva alikuwa kwenye mwendo kasi kutokana na basi hilo kuserere pembeni umbali war obo kilometa baada ya ajali hiyo kutokea.
Basi lililopata ajali ni la kampuni ya Hajees.
Source: www.mwananchi.co.tz

Wednesday, June 10, 2009

Pollution- Dar Roads!

Though the picture is not very clear but wanted us to see this kind of pollution which seems to go unnoticed to most of us! Dar es salaam roads ni hatari!

Monday, June 8, 2009

More Bodies Found From Air France Crush!

RECIFE, Brazil (CNN) -- Sixteen bodies have been recovered from last week's crash of an Air France jetliner in the Atlantic Ocean, Brazil's military announced Monday.
The Brazilian navy and air force said they have found nine bodies in the wide search area around where the Airbus A330-200 went down. The crew of a French vessel taking part in the search has found seven bodies, military officials told reporters Sunday evening.
Air France Flight 447 disappeared over the Atlantic early June 1. The jet was en route to Paris, France, from the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro with 228 passengers and crew aboard.
The bodies were found floating about 1,100 kilometers (700 miles) from the Brazilian coast. Items found in the same area Saturday were confirmed to have come from the jet, including pieces of the aircraft's wing section, luggage and a leather briefcase containing an airplane ticket with a reservation code for the doomed flight, Brazilian Spokesman told CNN


The exact location of the crash has not been determined, since ocean currents probably caused the bodies and debris to drift in the days since the crash. And two key pieces of evidence -- the flight data and cockpit voice recorders -- remain missing, and could lie on the ocean floor.
The part of the ocean where the debris and bodies have been found ranges between 6,000 and 8,000 meters (about 19,700 to 26,250 feet) deep. The search area covers 124,300 square kilometers (77,220 square miles), an area nearly as big as the country of Romania.
Twelve Brazilian and two French aircraft were participating, along with five Brazilian ships and one French frigate. And in Washington, a U.S. defense official told CNN that the U.S. Navy will contribute two high-tech acoustic devices to listen for emergency beacons still operating in deep water.
The "towed pinger locators," which help search for emergency beacons on downed aircraft to a maximum depth of 20,000 feet, will be placed aboard two French tugs that are part of the search efforts, the official said.
Recovery of bodies and debris is significant not only for families, but also for crash investigators, said Mary Schiavo, a former inspector general for the U.S. Department of Transportation.
"Even if they don't find anything else, they can get some very important clues from the pieces that they do find and from the human remains," she told CNN on Saturday.
She said investigators would be able to tell if there was an explosion from possible residue on the bodies or other items. Or, if water is found in the lungs of victims, investigators would know the plane went down intact, she said.
Investigators in Paris said Saturday that the

Air France flight sent out 24 automated error messages about four minutes before it crashed. The messages suggest the plane may have been flying too fast or too slow through severe thunderstorms it encountered before the crash, officials said.
Schiavo said four minutes "was a very long time" for automated signals to be sent from the plane.
Investigators also reported that the airline had failed to replace a part as recommended by the manufacturer, Airbus.
Airbus had advised airlines to update equipment that monitors speed, known as Pitot tubes. The recommendation was a result of technological developments and improvements, an Airbus spokesman told CNN. The change was not mandatory, and the spokesman would not comment on Air France's failure to follow the advice.
Source:CNN.com/world

CNN's Karl Penhaul, Richard Quest and Barbara Starr contributed to this report.

Wafanyakazi wa Reli Wagoma!

Wafanyakazi wa Kampuni ya Reli(TRL), walianza mgomo Ijumaa juni 5, baada ya uongozi wa shirika hilo kugoma kusaini mkataba wao wa hiari wenye kipengele cha kulipwa mkono kwaheri. Uamuzi huo umekuja baada ya Katibu mkuu wa Chama Cha Wafanyakazi wa Reli (TRAWU), Sylvester Rwegasira, kuwaeleza wafanyakazi hatua iliyofikiwa kuhusiana na suala hilo. Rwegasira aliwaeleza wafanyakazi hao kuwa TRAWU imepitia hatua mbalimbali zikiwamo kukutana na Waziri wa Kazi, Ajira na Maendeleo ya Vijana, Juma Kapuya, hatua ambazo hadi sasa hazijazaa matunda.
Source: Tovuti:
www.newhabari.com/mtanzania

Daladala Everywhere Are The Same!

I saw this on the blog, Faustine's Baraza and it occured to me that we could share the experiences with others everywhere! I know of the daladala in Tanzania, the "Matatu" in Kenya and now the "Taxi" in South Africa all these are commuter buses with different names but its seems the drivers and the conductors have got the same characters. Can you share with us your experiences wherever you are? Be it in Egypt, Malaysia, you name it!

The message on this commuter bus reads "Don't be too close, this taxi stops anytime anywhere".

Interesting!

Source: Faustine's Baraza

Sunday, June 7, 2009

More Bodies Found From Missing Air France Plane!

RECIFE, Brazil (CNN) -- Three more bodies were found Sunday from the Air France plane that went missing off the coast of Brazil nearly a week ago, Brazilian officials said.
The discovery brings to five the number of bodies found from the flight AF447, which was carrying 228 passengers and crew when it vanished on Monday.
On Saturday, a Brazilian navy frigate transported the bodies of two men -- south of Brazil's Fernando de Noronha archpelago.
Brazilian air force and navy officials said it was not possible to identify the sex of the latest three bodies. Asked their condition, the officials declined to describe them, citing good taste and the victims' families.
All the bodies and items are confirmed as being from
Air France 447, which vanished over the Atlantic early Monday en route to Paris, France, from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
The items recovered include parts of the plane's wing section and at least two seats from the plane and many more items of luggage, officials said.

Abiria 60 Watekwa Wavuliwa Nguo!

Abiria 60 waliokuwa wakisafiri kutoka kijiji cha Iyumbu Singida vijijini kwenda mjini Singida wamevamiwa na majambazi kwa kutekwa kisha kuvuliwa nguo zote kabla ya kuporwa fedha taslimu pamoja na simu za mkononi.
Kamanda wa Polisi Mkoa wa Singida Bi. Celina Kaluba alisema kuwa tukio hilo lilitokea juzi saa 11.30 alfajiri katika eneo la kijiji cha Jerumani, Tarafa ya Sepuka Singida vijijini.
Bi Kaluba alisema tukio hilo lilihusisha basi la abiria lenye namba za usajili T 350 ARE mali ya Kampuni ya Sunset la Singida likiendeshwa na dereva Ahmed Hilal,35.
Source: www.majira.co.tz

Bodies of 2 Air France Passangers Found!

A search vessel steams past a marker and debris in the Atlantic Ocean Saturday

RECIFE, Brazil (CNN) -- A Brazilian navy frigate navigated deep waters of the Atlantic on Saturday, carrying the bodies of two men confirmed as passengers of an Air France plane that crashed nearly a week earlier.
The bodies, discovered along with several items from the plane earlier in the day, were being transported by the Constituicao Frigate roughly 675 kilometers (420 miles) southward to Fernando de Noronha, an archipelago of volcanic islands in the Atlantic Ocean, said Col. Henry Munhoz, spokesman for the Brazilian air force.
From there, they will be flown another 355 kilometers (220 miles) to the northern Brazilian city of Recife, Munhoz said. The bodies will be examined by Brazilian forensics experts for identification.
Air France 447 vanished over the Atlantic early Monday en route from Rio de Janeiro,
Brazil, to Paris, France, with 228 passengers and crew aboard.
The discoveries on Saturday provided new-found hope to anxious relatives awaiting news.
"When I heard about this accident, they told us there were no bodies, no pieces of the plane," Nelson Faria Marinho, the father of a missing passenger, told Globo News television in Rio de Janeiro.
"Now, it's all surfacing," he said. "We have pieces of the airplane. We have bodies. This renews my hope. As a father, I can't think of the worst. I couldn't."
Also found Saturday were a backpack and a leather briefcase containing an airplane ticket with a reservation code, which Air France verified belonged to a passenger on the jet, another air force spokesman, Jorge Amaral, told CNN.
The Brazilian navy and air force officials said the backpack contained a laptop, and an oxygen mask also was discovered.
The serial number on a blue seat is still being cross checked to determine whether it belonged to the Air France plane.
The items were spotted in the Atlantic by a search plane about 4 a.m. (3 a.m. ET). The search area was widened to cover 200,000 square kilometers (77,220 square miles) -- an area roughly the size of Nebraska.
It is not clear where the plane crashed, since ocean currents likely caused the bodies and debris to drift in the six days since the crash.
Mary Schiavo, a former inspector general for the Department of Transportation, said Saturday's findings were "hugely significant" not just for the families desperate to recover their loved ones but also for crash investigators.
"Even if they don't find anything else they can get some very important clues from the pieces that they do find and from the human remains," Schiavo said.
She said investigators would be able to discern if there was an explosion from possible residue on the bodies or other items. Or, if water is found in the lungs of victims, investigators would know the plane went down in tact, she said.
"So this is just a treasure trove of information -- very, very important for the investigation," she said.
Investigators in Paris said Saturday that the
Air France flight sent out 24 automated error messages lasting about four minutes before it crashed.
The error messages suggest the plane may have been flying too fast or too slow through severe thunderstorms it encountered before the crash, officials said.
They also reported that the airline had failed to replace a part, as recommended by the manufacturer, Airbus.
Airbus had advised airlines to update equipment that monitors speed, known as Pitot tubes. The recommendation was a result of technological developments and improvements, an Airbus spokesman told CNN's Richard Quest. The change was not mandatory, and the spokesman would not comment on Air France's failure to follow the advice.
Planes have crashed because of faulty or blocked Pitot tubes in the past, Quest said, and there was clearly something wrong with the doomed plane's speed-monitoring equipment.
But it may be a mistake to place too much emphasis on the Pitot tubes, he added, since the jet apparently was experiencing massive system failures.
Even as they analyzed the error messages and satellite images of the doomed flight's path, investigators said they still have a lot of work ahead to determine what caused the plane to go down.
"I would just like to ask you to bear in mind that all of this is dynamic and there are a lot of question marks," Paul-Louis Arslanian, head of France's accident investigation bureau, told reporters.
"We don't know how the aircraft entered the water. We don't know how these pieces of debris entered into the water," he said. "You have to take into account the current ... and the shape of the ocean floor."
Schiavo, the former inspector general, said the four minutes of automated signals sent from the plane "was a very long time."
"And of course, this is very vital information when you don't have the black boxes," Schiavo said.
The four minutes could be the amount of time the plane took to tumble down from an altitude of 35,000 feet, she said.
"So that 4 minutes may have actually been the four minutes the plane was falling and it will give clues -- especially with today's finding -- of where to find the bulk of the wreckage and those all-important black boxes," she said.

Source:www.CNN.com/world
CNN's Karl Penhaul and Helena DeMoura contributed to this report.

Saturday, June 6, 2009

Probe: Airline Did Not Replace Instruments On 447

PARIS – Air France had not acted on a recommendation to change airspeed-detecting instruments on Flight 447 before the plane crashed in turbulent weather, the French agency investigating the disaster said Saturday.
The French accident investigation agency, BEA, found the doomed plane received inconsistent airspeed readings by different instruments as it struggled in a massive thunderstorm on its flight from Rio de Janeiro to Paris with 228 people aboard.
No debris from the aircraft has been found and without the aircraft's black box recorders, aviation investigators have little information to help them determine what caused the crash.
Airbus had recommended to all its airline customers that they replace speed-measuring instruments known as Pitot tubes on the A330, the model that crashed, said Paul-Louis Arslanian, the head of the agency.
"They hadn't yet been replaced" on the plane that crashed, said Alain Bouillard, head of the French investigation. Air France declined immediate comment.
Arslanian cautioned that it is too early to draw conclusions about the role of Pitot tubes in the crash, saying Airbus had made the recommendation for "a number of reasons."
Investigators are relying on 24 messages the plane sent automatically during the last minutes of the flight to try to locate the wreckage.
The signals show the plane's autopilot was not on, officials said, but it was not clear if the autopilot had been switched off by the pilots or had stopped working because it received conflicting airspeed readings.
In Brazil, visibility and weather conditions improved Saturday in the area searchers are focusing on but debris earlier spotted on the ocean's surface may have sunk by now.
"Debris doesn't indefinitely float, and when it sinks we will not have the means of finding them," Air Force Brig. Gen. Ramon Cardoso told reporters late Friday.
Earlier, Cardoso insisted that the debris spotted — an airplane seat, a slick of kerosene and other pieces — was from the plane. But he confirmed that Brazilian searchers had yet to recovered any of the material.
He said searchers did not pursue the reports of debris — the first sighting was reported on Tuesday — because priority was given to the hunt for survivors or the remains of victims.
Meanwhile, a German government-owned satellite spotted debris in the Atlantic on Wednesday, a German Aerospace Center spokesman said, but he added it was unclear whether the material came from the plane.
BEA chief Arslanian said the crash of Flight 447 does not mean similar plane models are unsafe, he said, adding that he told family members not to worry about flying.
"My sister and her son are going to take an A330 next week," he told a news conference at the agency's headquarters, near Paris.
He says planes can be flown safely "with damaged systems."
The flight disappeared nearly four hours after takeoff, killing all on board. It was Air France's deadliest plane crash and the world's worst commercial air accident since 2001.
The investigation is increasingly focused on whether external instruments may have iced over, confusing speed sensors and leading computers to set the plane's speed too fast or slow — a potentially deadly mistake in severe turbulence.
An Air France memo to its pilots Friday about the crash said the airline is replacing the Pitot tubes on all its medium- and long-haul Airbus jets.
Pitot tubes protrude from the wing or fuselage of a plane and help measure the speed and angle of the flight, along with less vital information like outside air temperature.
They feed airspeed sensors and are heated to prevent icing.
A blocked or malfunctioning Pitot tube could cause an airspeed sensor to work incorrectly and cause the computer controlling the plane to accelerate or decelerate in a potentially dangerous fashion.
On Thursday, European plane maker Airbus sent an advisory to all operators of the A330 reminding them of how to handle the plane in conditions similar to those experienced by Flight 447.
Peter Goelz, a former managing director of the National Transportation Safety Board, said that advisory and the Air France memo about replacing flight-speed instruments "certainly raises questions about whether the Pitot tubes, which are critical to the pilot's understanding of what's going on, were operating effectively."
But questions about speed sensors are only one of many factors investigators are considering. Automatic transmissions from the plane showed a chain of computer system failures that indicate the plane broke apart in midair.
President Barack Obama said at a news conference with French President Nicolas Sarkozy Saturday that the United States had authorized all of the U.S. government's resources to help investigate the crash.
Arslanian said investigators are searching a zone of several hundred square miles (square kilometers) for the debris.
An intensive international effort so far has failed to recover any confirmed wreckage, and concern has grown about whether searchers were even looking in the right place.
It is vital to locate a beacon called a "pinger" that should be attached to the cockpit voice and data recorders, now presumed to be deep in the Atlantic, Arslanian said.
"We have no guarantee that the pinger is attached to the recorders," he said.
Holding up a pinger in the palm of his hand, he said: "This is what we are looking for in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean."
Investigators are trying to determine the location of the debris in the ocean based on the height and speed of the plane at the time the last message was received. Currents could also have scattered debris far along the ocean floor, he said.
"You see the complexity of the problem," he said.
Laurent Kerleguer, an engineer specialized in the ocean floor working with the investigation team, said the zone seen as the most likely site of the debris was 15,112 feet (4,606 meters) at its deepest point and 2,835 feet (864 meters) at its shallowest.
France is sending a submarine to the area to try to detect signals from the black boxes, said military spokesman Christophe Prazuck. The Emeraude will arrive next week, he said.
___ AP Writers Patrick McGroarty in Berlin and Bradley Brooks in Rio de Janeiro contributed to this report.

Thursday, June 4, 2009

OBAMA IN EGYPT!

I saw this from Phototricks blog i thought it could be better if i could share the amazement with my readers.

36th African Insurance Organization Conference.... Along Way to Go!

The African Insurance Organization(AIO) held its 36th Conference in Dar es salaam, over 700 delegates attended the meeting. Apart from attracting players of insurance business from all over the world, the conference provided a good opportunity for insurance executives to network with each other, thereby assisting African markets in growing their bottomline and shielding themselves from financial losses which could adversely affect their business.


In his welcoming speech, the C0mmissioner of Insurance Tanzania, Mr. Israel Kamuzora said that "Today, Africa as a whole, holds just 1.3% of the total World Insurance Market Share as compared to 41.4% of Europe, 32.8% of north America, 20.6% of Asia, 2.2% of Latin America and 1.7% of Oceania".


The statistics show that, insurance in Africa does not get a significant coverage as in Europe, america and Oceania, that is why accident victims they, either are not aware of the accident insurances procedures or find it hard to get information on the insurances.


For more than 10 years, while dealing with accident victims, i have come to the conclusion that insurance companies are supposed give more and more education to 'wananchi'. Likewise, they could assist accident victims in settling medical bills because this is the area which give alot of problems to the victims.


Prime Minister Mizengo, giving a speech on theAIO Conference at Ubungo Plaza, Dar es salam

Photo and Cartoon: The Guardian

Wednesday, June 3, 2009

Suicide Cliff Jump!


A grieving couple who jumped to their deaths off cliffs at Beachy Head with the body of their dead son were dedicated parents who lived for their boy, friends say.The victims have been named as Neil Puttick, 34, his Japanese wife Kazumi, 44, and son Samuel, aged five, of Westbury, Wiltshire(Pictured).Mr and Mrs Puttick jumped off the cliffs with two rucksacks, one containing Samuel's body and the other carrying toys.All three bodies were found about 400ft down the notorious suicide spot, near Eastbourne, East Sussex, on Sunday evening.The child died on Friday evening after being discharged from hospital, where he had been treated for meningitis.His parents had asked for him to be allowed to come home to die after doctors told them he would not recover from the illness.Samuel was confined to a wheelchair following a car crash when he was 18-months-old and his parents looked after him with the help of nurses and carers. He was taken ill with meningitis a week ago.


Ujenzi wa Barabara ya Ndundu-Rufiji-Somanga-Kilwa!

Na Ben Komba
Ujenzi wa barabara ya Ndundu- Rufiji mpaka Somanga- Kilwa mpaka sasa umegharimu jumla ya shilingi zaidi ya bilioni 19, ambayo ina urefu wa kilometa 56, unategemewa kukamilika rasmi mwaka 2009.Taarifa iliyotolewa kwa waandishi wa habari waliombatana wajumbe wa bodi ya barabara ya mkoa wa Pwani, Imebainisha kwamba Barabara hiyo iliyotakiwa kukamilika baada ya miezi 30, lakini kwa sababu mbali mbali barabara hiyo inatarajiwa kukamilika rasmi hapo februari mwakani.Mradi huo unaotekelezwa na mkandarasi M.M.KHARAFI imekamilika kwa kiwango cha asilimia 13 tu, ambapo mkandarasi huyo ametoa ajira kwa wafanyakazi wapatao 410, ambao wanahudumu katika maeneo mbalimbali.Taarifa ya wakala wa barabara Mkoani Pwani imeongeza kwamba kuna vikwazo kadhaa vinavyokabili kukamilika haraka ujenzi wa barabara hiyo ikiwamo kuchelewa kutolewa kwa msamaha wa ushuru wa mafuta kwa mkandarasi wa barabara hiyo.Kikwazo kingine kikubwa ni shirika la umeme TANESCO kugoma kusimika upya nguzo zilizong’olewa wakati wa matengenezo ya barabara hiyo kwa madai ya kutaka kulipwa kama mradi mpya wa umeme hali ambayo imezoretesha kwa kiasi kikubwa utekelezaji wa mradi huo.

Dangerous!

This is dangerous, this guy was caught riding the bicycle with one hand and the other carrying the baby. This happened at the busy Bibi Titi Road.Any comments?
Photo: Guardian

2-year Old Boy Dies from Crush-Related Injury!


AUSTIN, MN (KTTC-TV) We have some very sad news to report following this weekend's accident that claimed four lives, it has now claimed a fifth.
The Minnesota State Patrol is reporting that one of the two surviving victims, 2-year-old Carter Newell, has died.
Family spokesperson Zach Morton says, "He was a sweet little boy."
2-year-old Carter Newell joins his mother as among the five people killed in a collision in Olmsted County that happened late Saturday, near Stewartville.
"Kyle asked where's Carter? Kyle is my 2-year-old and we had to tell him he went to heaven to see Jesus," says Morton.
The crash happened when a minivan was broadsided by a truck driven by 25-year-old Christopher Frisch of Winona. State Patrol says Frisch had a blood alcohol level of point-one-nine. He was unhurt in the crash.
For nearly a week, little Carter fought for his life at St. Marys Hospital in Rochester.
"The doctors told us this was going to happen, nothing can change the fact that it's horrible that he's gone, but it's a little bit of a relief to know he's not in pain anymore," says Morton.
Morton says even though it's been the ultimate nightmare scenario they're getting through.
"It was funny because everybody made mention that the nurse had smoothed his hair down and so one after another families came into the room, and she says you know everyone of you has said the same thing--that's not Carter you've got to take his hair spike it up and put it all over the place," says Morton.
A memorial has been set-up at the crash site..at the intersection of highway 30 and highway 63.
Four wooden crosses stand, along with a decorated post to represent where the car crash occurred.
"Completely just being overwhelmed and trying to just get through, feeling like you've cried so many tears there's no more to cry," says Morton.
The horrible incidents of that night have left a family in pieces.
Source: www.kttc.com

Tuesday, June 2, 2009

What European Media are Saying About Air France Accident!

Assuming that the Air France flight is lost at sea, here is what some media are saying about the accident, with translations provided by Google:
Paris Match: Lightning likely cause of the loss of Air France
"...A spokesman for Air France evokes the possibility of lightning: the plane has indeed gone through a thunderstorm with strong turbulence." (Un porte-parole d'Air France évoque l'hypothèse de la foudre : l'avion a en effet traversé une zone orageuse avec de fortes turbulence.)
Le Monde:
"It is not known at this time the causes of this disappearance. The possibility of a detour is 'clearly ruled out,' said Minister for Transport, Jean-Louis Borloo. According to François Brousse, communications director of Air France, the device has probably 'been struck.' But some experts doubt that lightning is the sole cause of the disappearance of the Rio-Paris flight, as Pierre Sparaco Specialist Civil Aviation [says]: 'Normally, lightning can not have serious consequences for an airplane.'
("L'hypothèse d'un détournement 'est clairement écartée', a déclaré le ministre en charge des transports, Jean-Louis Borloo . Selon François Brousse , directeur de la communication d'Air France, l'appareil a vraisemblablement 'été foudroyé.' Mais certains experts doutent que la foudre soit l'unique cause de la disparition du vol Rio-Paris, comme Pierre Sparaco , spécialiste de l'aéronautique civile. 'Normalement, la foudre ne peut pas avoir de conséquences graves pour un avion'.)
Le Parisien:
"Sarkozy does not exclude any hypothesis"
The Times of London:
"Air traffic controllers had their last contact with the aircraft about four hours into the flight, when the pilot said that he had hit severe turbulence. Exactly 15 minutes later, seven hours before it was due in Paris, the aircraft's systems sent automatic error messages reporting multiple electrical faults and, according to a statement from the Brazilian air force, lost cabin pressure.
"The combination of the two implied that the Airbus A330-200 - a plane with an excellent safety record - might have simply broken up in the storm. Officials held out little hope of there being any survivors.
"'The most likely thing is that the plane was hit by lightning. The plane was in a stormy area with strong turbulence, which provoked problems,' said François Brouse, Air France's director of communications.
"'We are probably facing an air catastrophe,' added Pierre-Henri Gourgeon, the airline's chief executive. 'It's certainly no longer in the air now. It would have run out of fuel.''

Source: Airline BIZ Blog

Ajali Zaua Watu wawili Dar!

Watu wawili wamekufa na mmoja kujeruhiwa,katika ajali tofauti zilizotokea juzi usiku jijini Dar es salaam.
Kamanda wa Polisi wa Mkoa wa Ilala, Faustine Ishengoma, alisema ajali ya kwanza ilitokea saa 5 usiku katika eneo la Vingunguti, Barabara Nyerere.
Alisema katika ajali hiyo, mwanamke anayekadiriwa kuwa na umri wa miaka 30, alikufa kwa kugongwa na gari, ambayo hata hivyo namba zake za usajili hazuikuweza kufahamika.
Kamanda huyo alisema marehemu pia hajatambuliwa.
Alisema ajali nyingine ilitokea muda huohuo katika eneo la Kipawa na kusababisha kifo cha mwanaume anayekadiriwa kuwa na umri na umri wa miaka 35.
Ishengoma alisema marehemu huyo naye bado hajatambulika na gari lililomgonga halikusimama. marehemu wote wawili wamehifadhiwa katika chumba cha maiti cha hospitali ya Amana.
Source:Mwananchi

Basi Lateketea Kwa Moto!

Basi la abiri alililokuwa likitokea jijini Mwanza kuelekea Dar es salaam, limeungua moto na kuteketea.
Kaimu Kamanda wa Polisi Mkoa wa Mwanza, Elias Kalinga aliwaambia waandishi wa habari kuwa, basi hilo lilipata ajali hiyo jana saa 1:00 asubuhi kwenye eneo la Hunghumalwa lililo kwenye barabara ya Mwanza-Shinyanga wilayani Kwimba.
Alisema siku ya tukio basi la abiria aina ya Scania likiwa na abiria 15 liliwaka moto na kuteketea.
Alisema gari hilo lilipata ajali wakati likiwa limesima kwa ajili ya kupakia abiria huko eneo la Hunghumalwa na ndipo moto ulipozuka kutoka kwenye injini na kuunguza gari.
Kalinga alisema kuwa abiria waliokuwa kwenye gari walifanikiwa kutoka wakiwa salama huku mizigo waliyokuwa nayo ikiteketea kwa moto.Kamanda wa Polisi alisema chanzo cha moto huo bado hakijajulikana (Habari zaidi soma Mwananchi. www.mwananchi.co.tz).

Kazi ya Kuokoa Meli Yawa Ngumu!

Kazi ya kuokoa boti ya Mv Fatih, iliyozama katika bandari ya Zanzibar Ijumaa iliyopita, bado ngumu, baada ya jitihada za kutwa nzima ya jana kutofanikisha kuivuta hadi nchi kavu.
Awali, kazi ya uokoaji ilikuwa ikifanywa na wazamiaji 30 kutoka kikosi Maalum Cha Kuzuia Magendo(KMKM) na Jeshi la Wananchi wa Tanzania(JWTZ), lakini jana hiyo vikosi zaidi vya uokoaji viliongezeka.
Vikosi hivyo vilifanikiwa kuivuta meli hiyo, lakini mnyororo ulikatika na hivyo kufanya meli hiyo izame tena baharini .
Sambamba na kufanyika kwa kazi hiyo, nao askari wa Kikosi Cha Kuzuia Ghasia(FFU) walikuwa hima kudhibiti vurugu na wizi katika eneo hilo lililokuwa limefurika watu.
Miongoni mwa vitu ambavyo vilikuwa vikiibwa ni magunia ya bidhaa mbalimbali ikiwamo vitunguu,viazi,nyanya juisi na magodoro.
Hadi jana jioni majira ya saa 12.00 jitihada za vikosi hivyo zilikuwa hazijazaa matunda.
Taarifa za awali, zilisema uzembe wa Shirika la Bandari Zanzibar ndio ulisababisha ajali hiyo kwa kuwa nahodha, Ussi ali alipiga simu na kuwaeleza udhaifu wa meli hiyo wakati ikiwa njiani na kutaka kusimama eneo la Chumbe, lakini uongozi wa bandari ulikataa na kumtaka nahodha huyo kwenda hadi bandari ya Malindi.
Wakati huohuo Taarifa zinasema kwamba waliokufa katika ajali hiyo wamefikia kumi.
(Habari zaidi tembelea www.mwananchi.co.tz ).
Source: Mwananchi
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