Latest News

Funeral Mass for Cardinal Pell in Sydney

Funeral Mass for Cardinal Pell in Sydney

The funeral mass for controversial Australian Cardinal George Pell was held at St. Mary in Sydney accompanied by a large police presence and accompanied by protests. Pell, who died in Rome three weeks ago, was the highest-ranking minister in the history of the Catholic Church to be convicted of child molestation. In 2020, however, he was acquitted on appeal after about 13 months in prison and released from prison.

Thousands gathered at the church on Thursday to say goodbye, according to media reports. Many watched the Requiem on the screens in front of the cathedral. “Even after he was unanimously exonerated by the Supreme Court, some continued to demonize him,” said Archbishop Anthony Fisher, who celebrated the Mass. However, Pell left a great legacy and was “the most influential clergyman in the nation’s history”.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and New South Wales Regional Prime Minister Dominic Perrottet did not attend the Mass. The Australian government ruled out a state funeral shortly after Pell’s death.

Emergency services created a buffer zone between mourners and protesters. “We’re not here to cause trouble, we’re here to draw attention to abuse, that’s all,” one protester told the AAP news agency. The organizer of the demonstration said that the participants would follow the instructions of the police. “We want a strong, loud, vibrant and visible demonstration to confront everything that Pell stood for,” he said. The cardinal has also been criticized for his conservative stance on issues such as gay marriage and abortion rights.

His coffin was placed in the cathedral on Wednesday. Since then, many people have attached colorful ribbons to a fence in memory of victims of abuse. Mourners reportedly tried to overthrow them. There was tension for a short time.

Pell, number three in the Vatican for years, has died aged 81 after routine surgery. After the requiem mass, he would be buried in the cathedral’s crypt.

Funeral Mass for Cardinal Pell in Sydney Read More »

1675309349 The Italian dies at work on the last day before

The Italian dies at work on the last day before retirement

Image illustrating the image Italian man dies at work on last day before retirement

Michele Barco took sweets and champagne for the last working day | Photo: Personal Collection

He was on his last day of service before retirement, saying goodbye to his colleagues at the company where he had worked for thirty years. As he was partying with his friends, handing out sweets and receiving hugs, he suddenly became nauseous and fell to the ground.

Emergency services were called, they came quickly, but Michele Barco Michele is a male first name in Italian had already died of a massive heart attack at the age of 58.

The incident happened on the 31st in Piazzolla sul Brenta, a town in the province of Padova, Italy. After 30 years at the Belvest company, which manufactures men’s clothing, Michele got the right to the retirement she had long planned but didn’t have a day to take advantage of. He was single, had no children and lived in the same city with his elderly mother.

Friends say he was very happy, he came to work with sweets and a few bottles of champagne to toast his last “giorno di lavoro”, ie his last day of work.

In the company he was responsible for product quality control. Some colleagues were in a state of shock and required medical attention.

The Italian dies at work on the last day before retirement Read More »

Quebec Carnival opening under a brief but intense cold snap

Quebec Carnival: opening under a brief but intense cold snap

The opening of the Quebec Carnival will be marked by an “intense” cold snap that should bring what feels like near -45 degrees C for more than a day.

• Also read: Here are 8 cheap cultural activities in February

• Also read: “Rhythmic” and “dancing” parades at the Quebec Winter Carnival

• Also read: Carnival starts in a week!

The chill we’ve been experiencing since yesterday is just a “foretaste,” supports Environment Canada meteorologist Andrée Cantin, as the “worse is coming” Thursday night into Friday, when strong winds will leave us feeling close to -45 its degrees Celsius.

Strong gusts of wind and blowing snow will also be part of the day on Friday, Mr Cantin points out, while cold records could even be broken.

Straight from the North Pole

Short-lived but “very intense,” this first cold snap, with air coming straight down from the Canadian Arctic and even the North Pole, is set to end on Sunday.

Prolonged outdoor activities should therefore be avoided on Friday and Saturday, especially for children and the elderly, supports the Health Department of the CIUSSS de la Capitale-Nationale, which issued appropriate recommendations yesterday.

“Extreme exposure to cold can result in a significant risk of frostbite, frostbite, or hypothermia, which are responsible for serious injury,” it says.

“Public health is also a reminder that people suffering from cardiac or respiratory arrest, angina, asthma, diabetes and neurological disorders are at risk of worsening their symptoms when exposed to extreme cold,” we read.

Possible cancellations

At Mardi Gras, where the celebrations are due to start on Friday evening, we are monitoring the situation very closely. Even if no program change is currently announced, a partial or complete cancellation is one of the scenarios envisaged by the organizers.

The “Electro Frette” evening planned for Friday evening, which rightly bears its name, could be canceled or postponed. “It’s this occasional evening that’s keeping me busy at the moment,” says the event’s general director, Marie-Ève ​​​​​​Jacob.

“If we determine that the risks are too high, both for the workers, the volunteers and the carnival-goers, we will act accordingly,” she claims. Should there be cancellations, the information would be transmitted to the social networks of the event.

overflows

The freezing cold is also a concern for homeless shelters, who fear “serious consequences” if they have to turn away people for lack of space.

“I’m already turning down 10 people per night,” complains Éric Boulay, general manager of Lauberivière, where the 101 beds are already occupied every night.

“At this temperature, it only takes a few minutes before you get frostbite,” he fears.

To help those in need, Mr Boulay plans to open the doors of Lauberivière on Friday from 7am to offer lunch to those who spent the night outdoors. “We don’t have more resources or more people to do it, but we will do it,” he said.

He also mentions that the population can make a donation by texting the word “soup” to 41010 to help the center meet this greater demand for meals.

We also fear the worst at the Nocturnal Chimney on rue Saint-Joseph, where nearly 70 people rest and warm up every night. “We take down the tables and distribute blankets and people can lie on the floor. It’s the best we can do,” says manager Olivier Martin. “We expect an increase. We’ve never turned anyone down and we hope we don’t go there,” he continues.

The story is the same at Project Moon, an organization that defends the rights of sex workers, where 12 beds are available. Here, too, we are already working at full speed.

“We’re looking at what we can do over the next few nights. When we’re full, we see if we can let a woman in, tell her to stay seated, that we’re out of beds. But we don’t have more stakeholders, so we’re looking at what’s possible,” says Director Chantal Simoneau. However, the center on Charest Boulevard could open in the afternoons in very cold weather. “We close at noon and open at 6pm in the evening, but in this cold weather it can take six hours outside,” she said.

The weather for the next few days:

Friday :

Maximum: -26

minute: -29

Feels like temperature: between -40 and -45

Night from Friday to Saturday:

  • minutes: -35
  • Feels Like Temperature: Between -40 and 45

Saturday :

  • Maximum: -20
  • minute: -31
  • Feels like temperature – 30 to -32

Night from Saturday to Sunday:

  • minute: -27
  • Feels like temperature: close to -30

Sunday :

Source: Environment Canada

Quebec Carnival: opening under a brief but intense cold snap Read More »

The Salvadorian President Bukele advertises his gigantic prison for 40000

The Salvadorian President Bukele advertises his gigantic prison for 40,000 suspected criminals

The new prison in El Salvador, in which 40,000 criminals from the “maras” are being held, is an “essential element” of the war declared ten months ago against these criminal gangs who are sowing terror in northern Central America, President Nayib assured Bukele on Wednesday.

Despite criticism from human rights organizations of the human rights abuses committed, the “war on crime” has brought President Bukele overwhelming popularity.

The Salvadorian President Bukele advertises his gigantic prison for 40,000 suspected criminals

“Yesterday (Tuesday) we inaugurated the Center for the Containment of Terrorism” (CECOT), a “gigantic work that was carried out in just seven months and, moreover, is an essential element for the total victory in the war against gangs”, congratulated s The Salvadoran head of state on his Twitter account.

Nayib Bukele originally announced that this huge prison should be ready in September.

The Salvadorian President Bukele advertises his gigantic prison for 40,000 suspected criminals

The gargantuan prison, built in a remote area 74 kilometers southeast of the capital San Salvador, is described by authorities as “the largest in America”. A national television channel showed the head of state inspecting the prison on Tuesday evening.

“Highest Security”

Equipped with state-of-the-art technology, the “high-security prison” was built for an undisclosed budget as part of the exceptional regime to combat the “maras” that has been in force since the end of March 2022.

The Salvadorian President Bukele advertises his gigantic prison for 40,000 suspected criminals

The prison, surrounded by an electrified wall 11 meters high for more than two kilometers with seven watchtowers, has a dozen buildings spread over 23 of the 166 hectares it occupies, explained Public Works Minister Romeo Rodríguez.

The Salvadorian President Bukele advertises his gigantic prison for 40,000 suspected criminals

The walls are made of reinforced concrete, the cell windows have steel bars, while cameras and body scanners complete the security of the prison, which is guarded day and night by 600 soldiers and 250 police officers. Electronic devices block cell phone signals, preventing prisoners from communicating.

Prison guards armed with pistols and assault rifles have to keep order in the prison themselves.

“All terrorists who have orchestrated the grief and suffering of the Salvadoran people will serve their sentences in CECOT (subject to) the strictest regime,” said Deputy Minister of Justice and Public Security Osiris Luna.

The Salvadorian President Bukele advertises his gigantic prison for 40,000 suspected criminals

Inmates must work to “repair some of the harm they have done to society,” he added.

President Bukele condemned the negligence of previous governments, which he asserted allowed gangsters to be arrested with “prostitutes, PlayStations, cell phones, computers”.

Permanently in cell

An official explained to the Salvadoran President during the visit that the detainees are being kept permanently in their cells, which have fully shielded doors that allow surveillance. According to the TV images, the cells, which are six by four meters in size, are equipped with three metal beds, each with three sleeping places on top of each other, and equipped with two sinks and two toilets.

The Salvadorian President Bukele advertises his gigantic prison for 40,000 suspected criminals

Misconduct by detainees can be punished with confinement in cells completely closed and immersed in darkness.

The prison has many canteens, rest rooms, gymnasiums and ping-pong tables… for the exclusive use of the guards.

Since transfer to a court is prohibited, rooms are provided for hearings via video conference.

The Salvadorian President Bukele advertises his gigantic prison for 40,000 suspected criminals

The government has not specified when the prison will take its first inmates. At the moment, nearly 63,000 suspected “mareros” have been arrested under the exceptional regime allowing arrests without a court warrant, which Parliament has passed and regularly renewed since a spate of 87 attacks in just three days at the end of March 2022.

“Shame on the country”

The director of El Salvador’s human rights commission, Miguel Montenegro, calls the penitentiary “a disgrace to the country”: “The government boasts of having the largest prison in Latin America, which is nothing to be proud of when it comes to overcrowding and violence “.

The Salvadorian President Bukele advertises his gigantic prison for 40,000 suspected criminals

For his part, Andreu Oliva, rector of the Central American University (Jesuit), advocates work on the “rehabilitation” of prisoners, saying they “deserve a second chance”. “The function of the penal system is to change people,” emphasizes the scientist.

Last week, the human rights organization Humans Rights Watch denounced the “extreme overcrowding” of around twenty prisons in El Salvador, which theoretically have 30,000 places without the new prison.

The Salvadorian President Bukele advertises his gigantic prison for 40,000 suspected criminals Read More »

Cops investigate the consensual murder suicide of a Pennsylvania woman and

Cops investigate the consensual murder-suicide of a Pennsylvania woman and her parents

A 26-year-old Pennsylvania woman who encouraged her parents to commit suicide was found last week with a decorative 2.5- to 3-foot metal sword with the words “The Sword of the Lord” engraved on the blade.

The bodies of Morgan Daub, her mother Deborah, 59, and father James, 62, were found behind their parents’ home on Loman Avenue in West Manchester Township, where the massacre took place.

The 26-year-old was found on the morning of January 25 with her sword in her left hand and an empty holster on the right side of her belt after neighbors saw the bodies and called 911.

According to a search warrant obtained by AI.com, a “living will” had been taped to the inside of the home’s sliding glass door, signed by all three family members.

The document said the trio did not wish to be resuscitated if found alive.

Morgan Daub, 26, of Pennsylvania, who encouraged her parents to commit suicide, was found last week with a decorative 2.5- to 3-foot metal sword with

Morgan Daub, 26, of Pennsylvania, who encouraged her parents to commit suicide, was found last week with a decorative 2.5- to 3-foot metal sword with “The Sword of the Lord” inscribed on the blade

“At the bottom of the note are three unique signatures for each name listed, followed by a date of 01/24/2023 written below the names,” Joseph Staley, a West Manchester officer, wrote on the search warrant.

James and Deborah’s deaths were ruled a homicide by York Country Coroner Pamela Gay, while Morgan’s death was ruled a suicide.

Police have not confirmed who killed whom and in what order, but all three died from gunshot wounds to the head. Despite finding the knife, no injuries were found.

The black and silver “Sword of the Lord”, a Smith & Wesson M&P Shield 9mm pistol, a Sig Sauer AR-15 and 9mm cartridge cases and bullet fragments were collected at the scene, according to the outlet.

Farewell letters documenting important financial information and notes from the Bible were also found in the trash.

Police also found a document called “Cooper’s Dog Letter,” which was a list of detailed instructions on how to care for the dog, who they left drugged, so he doesn’t bite first responders.

Snowfall initially hid a pistol, which officers later found in the backyard.

On the morning of January 25, shots rang out in the quiet neighborhood, prompting police to storm the Daub family home after a call from a concerned neighbor.

26-year-old Morgan Daub, pictured in a clip from one of her YouTube videos, was found dead, with single shots to the head, along with her mother Deborah, 59, and father James, 62

26-year-old Morgan Daub, pictured in a clip from one of her YouTube videos, was found dead, with single shots to the head, along with her mother Deborah, 59, and father James, 62

Months before the killings, Daub posted a video on YouTube in which she claimed to

Months before the killings, Daub posted a video on YouTube in which she claimed to “abdicate the throne of the United Kingdom” and called herself the Antichrist

Officials put up a cordon while a white tent was pitched in the garden to hide the horrifying sight of the Daub family lying lifeless with gunshot wounds to their heads in the backyard.

Detectives analyzing “notes from family members” found at the scene uncovered evidence that the murders were pre-planned and that all three family members appeared to have agreed to participate in the grisly murder-suicide pact.

Daub posted a rambling video on her YouTube channel on November 26 under the username LionessArising.

She opens the video in a mock British accent before declaring, “I, Morgan Elizabeth Daub, of York, Pennsylvania, United States of America, hereby abdicate the throne of the United Kingdom.”

A few minutes later, she adds, “That’s funny… That was the penultimate plan against me and against God. Didn’t know I was the ideal choice for Antichrist, for the devil.”

“I was the ideal choice for Antichrist.”

A caption below the video reads: “This is a public record of my abdication from the throne and cannot and will not be withdrawn by me.

“I was in no way forced to resign. I am of sound mind and body and I have chosen this of my own free will. Also, I intend to sign official documents as soon as possible.

West Manchester Township authorities said 'the three family members had planned their deaths in advance'

West Manchester Township authorities said ‘the three family members had planned their deaths in advance’

A coroner's report on the deaths says police were called late in the morning of January 25 with reports

A coroner’s report on the deaths says police were called late in the morning of January 25 with reports “indicating that three bodies had been found [the] Back” of the Daub family home

“For anyone who doesn’t know me and happens to find this video, it’s quite a long story as to how I would be next in line to the throne. All will be told in due course.’

Her last upload came the day before the murders – a chilling six-second clip with no sound titled “FOLLOW ME AS I FOLLOW CHRIST!!!”

She also released a 30-minute video in September saying her family was being “denied basic human rights.”

“You’ll find out soon enough why I’m such a threat,” the caption reads.

The local police department said: “At this stage of the investigation, we do not believe there is any danger to the public or the surrounding community.

“The final determination of the cause and manner of death is pending. The situation is believed to be a family event and officials continue to investigate and collect information related to this tragedy.

“Our thoughts and prayers go out to the friends and families of the Daubs.”

A coroner’s report on the deaths says police were called late in the morning of January 25 with reports “indicating that three bodies had been found [the] Back” of the Daub family home.

Daub's last upload to YouTube came the day before the murders - a six-second silent clip entitled

Daub’s last upload to YouTube came the day before the murders – a six-second silent clip entitled “FOLLOW ME AS I FOLLOW CHRIST!!!”

Chief John Snyder said the Daub family was

Chief John Snyder said the Daub family was “extremely religious” and only James was working at the time of their horrific death pact

“Following a detailed investigation and evidence found at the scene, including communications from family members, it was determined that the three family members had planned their deaths in advance.”

According to the York Dispatch, additional written documents left by each family member said Morgan “had told her mother that she had auditory hallucinations that didn’t get better,” lead detective in the case, Timothy Fink, told the outlet .

“Deborah wrote that she didn’t want her daughter to cross over alone, so she decided to end her life with her,” Fink said.

“The letter James wrote indicated that they had shared their plan with him and he decided he didn’t want to live without them.”

Chief John Snyder said the Daub family was “extremely religious” and only James was working at the time of their horrific death pact.

Property records show the Daubs had lived in their home for the past 23 years, having bought it in May 2000 when Morgan was just three years old.

Family friends of the Daub family have found that the YouTube videos Morgan uploaded did not match what the 26-year-old knew and loved.

The Morgans they knew often frequented the local bowling alley, a favorite pastime of hers since she was a child.

Family friends of the Daub family have found that the YouTube videos Morgan uploaded did not match what the 26-year-old knew and loved.  The Morgans they knew often frequented the local bowling alley, a favorite pastime of hers since she was a child

Family friends of the Daub family have found that the YouTube videos Morgan uploaded did not match what the 26-year-old knew and loved. The Morgans they knew often frequented the local bowling alley, a favorite pastime of hers since she was a child

A coroner's report on the deaths says police were called late Wednesday morning with reports

A coroner’s report on the deaths says police were called late Wednesday morning with reports “suggesting that three bodies have been found [the] Back” of the Daub family home

“She seemed to really enjoy bowling. And she was smart,” Paula Wolfe, youth coordinator at Suburban Bowlerama, told Youth Dispatch.

‘Somewhat quiet girl. Her mother was very kind. Dad was friendly.’

The bowling alley employee said the loss came as a shock to the community.

“Everybody’s just really sad about it and they just don’t know what to make of it,” Wolfe said.

“I don’t know if you can ever imagine that. But, yes, a family that you never thought something like this would happen.

Sherry Wagman, assistant tournament director for the York/Adams United States Bowling Congress Association, said Morgan started bowling at 8 or 9 a.m.

Wagman said the 26-year-old is always interested in learning more about the game and gets “excited when she’s bowling well”.

Morgan played with the Lincolnway youth league until the facility closed in 2013, then moved to Suburban Bowlerama for two years.

“Morgan bowled in various tournaments growing up and won quite a few scholarships at those tournaments,” Wagman said.

Wagman noted that Morgan and her mother often bowled together.

According to the Gun Violence Archive, the total number of gun violence deaths in the United States from 2013 to February 2023 is 3,730.

There have since been 1,618 mass shootings, 6 mass murders and 2,112 suicides.

Cops investigate the consensual murder-suicide of a Pennsylvania woman and her parents Read More »

Pope comforts Congolese victims Your pain is my pain.webp

Pope comforts Congolese victims: “Your pain is my pain”

KINSHASA, Congo (AP) – Pope Francis on Wednesday urged the people of Congo to forgive those who committed “inhumane violence” against them, celebrated a mass for 1 million people and then heard firsthand of the atrocities committed some of them have suffered: a young girl “raped like an animal for months; a young man who watched his father beheaded; a former sex slave who was forced into cannibalism.

Congolese from the country’s violence-stricken east traveled to the capital, Kinshasa, to tell the Pope about the horrific violence they have endured for years as rebel groups attempted to gain territory in the mineral-rich region through attacks that killed more than 5 million have forced people to flee their homes.

Francis sat in silence as one victim after another stepped forward to tell their stories. He watched them offer a symbol of their pain at the foot of a crucifix: the machete with which they had mutilated and killed, or the straw mat on which they had been raped. As they knelt before him in blessing, Francis placed his hand on their heads or on the remaining stumps of their arms.

“Your tears are my tears; your pain is my pain,” Francis told them. “To every family mourning or displaced by village burnings and other war crimes, to survivors of sexual violence, and to every injured child and adult, I say: I am with you; I want to bring you God’s caress.”

The intimate encounter at the Vatican Embassy in Kinshasa was an extraordinary moment for a pastor looking to comfort his flock and for a pope trying to turn the spotlight on what Francis called a “forgotten genocide” that has barely been committed in the news got through. Despite being home to one of the largest UN peacekeeping operations in the world, eastern Congo has descended into violence since the early 1990s as rebels and militias vie for control of mineral-rich areas.

“What a scandal and what hypocrisy when people are being raped and killed while the trade that causes that violence and death continues to thrive!” Francis said of the foreign powers and extractive industries that are exploiting eastern Congo. “Enough!”

Francis had originally planned to visit the eastern province of North Kivu, where attacks by rebel groups have intensified over the past year, when his trip was originally scheduled for July.

But after the trip was postponed, the Vatican was forced to cancel the visit to Goma due to fighting that has forced some 5.7 million people to flee their homes and exacerbated a humanitarian crisis in Congo, where some 26.4 million are already said to be there People starving the world food program.

Instead, Easterners came to Francis, and their testimony was heartbreaking.

Ladislas Kambale Kombi, from the Beni region of eastern North Kivu province, told Francis he saw men in military uniforms beheading his father, putting his head in a basket and then fleeing with his mother, whom he never saw again.

“I can’t sleep at night,” he says. “It’s hard to understand such malice, such almost animal brutality.”

Bijoux Makumbi Kamala, 17, said she was kidnapped by rebels in Walikale, North Kivu province, in 2020 while she was fetching water. Through a translator, she said she was raped daily by the commander “like an animal” until she escaped 19 months later.

“It was useless to scream because no one could hear me or come to my aid,” she said, adding that she gave birth to twin girls “who will never know their father” and comfort through the services of the Catholic Church have found.

The Associated Press does not typically identify victims of sexual violence, but those who told Francis their stories publicly provided their names at the beginning of their testimony.

Emelda M’karhungulu, from a village near Bukavu in Congo’s South Kivu province, recounted through a translator that she was kept as a sex slave for three months when she was 16 years old by gunmen who invaded her village in 2005 . She said she was raped daily by five to 10 men, who then forced their captives to eat the flesh of the men they killed mixed with animal meat and corn paste.

“That was our meal every day; whoever refused would behead them and feed them to us,” she said. M’karhungulu said she escaped while fetching water one day.

Although forced cannibalism is known not to be widespread, the United Nations and human rights groups documented how it was used as a weapon of war in parts of eastern Congo in the early 2000s.

A statement prepared months ago by Désiré Dhetsina was read out on his behalf; Dhetsina disappeared after surviving a February 1, 2022 attack on a camp for internally displaced people in Ituri province on Congo’s northeastern border with Uganda.

“I’ve seen savagery: people butchered like meat in a butcher’s shop; Women disemboweled, men decapitated,” Dhetsina reported. As Francis was read his story, two women stood in front of the Pope and raised the stumps of their mutilated arms in the air.

Francis condemned the violence and urged Congolese victims to use their pain for good to sow peace and reconciliation. It was a message he also brought to the crowd at a mass at Kinshasa’s Ndolo Airport earlier in the day, where he cited the example of Christ in forgiving those who betrayed him.

“He showed them his wounds because forgiveness is born of wounds,” Francis said. “It comes when our wounds do not leave scars of hate, but become a means by which we make way for others and accept their weaknesses. Our weakness becomes an opportunity and forgiveness becomes the path to peace.”

About half of Congo’s 105 million people are Catholic, according to the Vatican, which, citing local organizers, estimated 1 million people were in attendance for Francis’ mass.

Among the faithful was Clément Konde, who had traveled from Kisantu, a city in central Congo province more than 150 kilometers from Kinshasa. He planned to attend all of Francis’ events this week before the pope leaves for South Sudan, the second leg of his African journey.

“To my children and to the children who stayed in my city, I will take the Holy Father’s message, the message of peace and reconciliation,” Konde said.

___

This story has been updated to correct the last name of a quoted person. It’s Konde, not L’onde. ___

The Associated Press’s religion coverage is supported by AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, funded by Lilly Endowment Inc. AP is solely responsible for this content.

Pope comforts Congolese victims: “Your pain is my pain” Read More »

1675308386 Twenty years ago on the day the Columbia shuttle

Twenty years ago on the day the Columbia shuttle exploded reentering the atmosphere Southwest

“Colombia, this is Houston […] We didn’t get the last (message)…”. Response from Captain Rick Husband: “Received, mm…”.

Columbia just sent its final message. Communication with Earth is abruptly cut off. Minutes later, the bolide, which was scheduled to land at Kennedy Space Center in Florida 15 minutes later, disintegrates in an orange glow visible 61 km below it. A rain of red-hot metal falls on parts of Texas and Louisiana.

Seven astronauts die in the explosion

“It’s bright orange, yellow, around the nose” of the shuttle

A video cassette later found among the rubble immortalized them, carelessly taped to the shuttle’s portholes, ten minutes before the accident. Images turn hazy and then black four minutes before Mission Control Center in Houston, Texas, begins to detect problems with Columbia’s instrumentation. “It’s bright orange, yellow, all around the shuttle’s nose,” one of them comments. Columbia then enters the atmosphere and surrounds itself with a very high temperature plasma ball. Then everything happens very quickly. According to NASA’s final report, the crew barely had time to realize the presence of a problem before losing consciousness under the influence of cabin depressurization. With the result we know.

> Find all our Space Shuttle Columbia archives in our search engine

America in shock

We are convinced that the management practices of the Space Shuttle program (Columbia) were as much a cause of the accident as the insulation that hit the left wing. The Thirteen Investigators of the Committee of Inquiry (CAIB)

Witnessed live on television, the disaster traumatized America, which was already doubting its space program. The authorities are launching investigations to clarify the causes of the accident. Seven months later, the 250-page report by the Board of Inquiry’s (CAIB) thirteen investigators points to NASA’s responsibility.

Launch from Columbia, January 16, 2003.

Launch from Columbia, January 16, 2003.

NASA AFP Archive

Columbia entered service in 1981 and took off from Cape Canaveral in mid-January 2003 on its 28th flight, an in-orbit science mission. According to the investigation, 81.7 seconds after takeoff, a piece of insulation – a thermal insulation foam – detached from the main tank and hit the edge of the left wing. The fragment weighs only a hundred grams, but the shock with a relative speed of several hundred kilometers per hour damaged the thermal protection system. Despite repeated requests for technicians to inspect, the schedule is maintained as is.

The Columbia crew during atmospheric re-entry.

The Columbia crew during atmospheric re-entry.

NASA screen/video capture

Sixteen days later, this same breakthrough admits very hot gases (more than 1,000 degrees) produced by the shuttle’s friction with the upper layers of the atmosphere. The left wing’s aluminum structure began to melt and then broke. The report also notes that the current astronaut protection system includes a parachute, but it must be operated manually. NASA recommends automatic opening systems for the future.

Debris from Colombia, February 3, 2003.

Debris from Colombia, February 3, 2003.

AFP archive

The end of the space shuttles

The Columbia blast has the effect of slowing down Washington’s investments in space and marks the end of the American space shuttle program, the last flight of which will be on July 21, 2011 with Atlantis.

A memorial to the Columbia victims at the Space Center in Houston, Texas February 7, 2003.

A memorial to the Columbia victims at the Space Center in Houston, Texas February 7, 2003.

AFP archive

As pioneers, the United States was the first to construct a reusable space shuttle capable of launching large satellites into low orbit and returning them to Earth. Six shuttles have been designed since 1976. Of all the nearly 2,000-ton spacecraft built by NASA, only the Endeavor, Atlantis, and Discovery remain today. Exhibited in American museums, they were retired in 2010 due to their age.

For almost ten years, until the first launch of the Crew Dragon C206 capsule by the private company SpaceX on May 30, 2020, named by astronauts Douglas Hurley and Robert Behnken in honor of the shuttle Endeavor, Russia is the only one in the Is able to go back and forth to the International Space Station (ISS) with their Soyuz spacecraft.

Twenty years ago on the day the Columbia shuttle exploded reentering the atmosphere Southwest Read More »

Truss to Downing Street rich tax cut Everyone benefits

Nikki Haley challenges Trump to White House race

Nikki Haley, former US ambassador to the United Nations during the Trump administration and former governor of South Carolina, is poised to announce her candidacy for the White House on February 15 in Charleston. In an email to his supporters, he gave that date for a “special announcement” that The Post and Courier newspaper said was precisely his entry into the field. She will be the first Republican candidate to challenge Donald Trump in the primary. (HAND).

REPRODUCTION RESERVED © Copyright ANSA

]]>

Get the embed code

]]>

Nikki Haley challenges Trump to White House race Read More »