theguardianuk--2019-07-03--Revamped St Fagans in Wales is 2019 Art Fund museum of the year

An open-air heritage attraction praised for living, breathing and embodying the culture of Wales has been named the UK’s museum of the year.  St Fagans National Museum of History last year completed a £30m redevelopment project and was rewarded on Wednesday for showing “exceptional imagination, innovation and achievement”.  The artist Jeremy Deller announced that the heritage attraction near Cardiff had won the Art Fund museum of the year 2019 award at a ceremony at the Science Museum in London. It comes with a £100,000 prize, the largest art award in Britain.  Stephen Deuchar, the director of the Art Fund and the chair of judges, said the museum had been transformed by a redevelopment project that had involved the participation of hundreds of thousands of visitors and volunteers.  “St Fagans lives, breathes and embodies the culture and identity of Wales,” he said. “This magical place was made by the people of Wales for people everywhere, and stands as one of the most welcoming and engaging museums anywhere in the UK.”  One of the 2019 judges, Bridget McConnell, the chief executive of the charity Glasgow Life, praised the devolved Welsh government for being such an enthusiastic supporter of St Fagans.  “Everyone I met and saw at St Fagans was in constant, lively conversation about their shared history, culture and lived experiences,” she said. “This is their place, and it is strongly felt on every visit.”  St Fagans has more than 50 buildings that were moved to the site from locations around Wales allowing visitors to take a walk through Welsh history, from prehistoric times to the present day.  It is the first Welsh winner of the museum of the year prize in its current form; the Big Pit National Coal Museum in Blaenavon won the Gulbenkian prize in 2005.  St Fagans won from a shortlist that also included HMS Caroline in Belfast, the Nottingham Contemporary art gallery, the V&A Dundee and the Pitt Rivers Museum in Oxford, which displays the university’s archaeological and anthropological collections.  The museum, Wales’s most visited heritage attraction, has been welcoming visitors since 1948 when it opened as the Welsh Folk Museum. The completion of the six-year revamp last year was the organisation’s most ambitious project, creating new galleries, more learning spaces and a new building, Gweithdy – Welsh for “workshop” – which is intended as a national centre for creativity and craft skills.  It joins previous winners, which range from the enormous – the British Museum (2011) and the V&A (2016) – to the considerably smaller, such as the William Morris Gallery (2013).


theguardianuk--2019-11-08--Gus Casely-Hayford to lead V&A's new east London museum

The cultural historian and broadcaster Gus Casely-Hayford is to head the V&A’s new outpost in east London, a five-storey museum due to open in 2023.  Casely-Hayford has been the director of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African Art in Washington DC since 2018, but has returned to London, where he was born, for what is likely to be one of the biggest museum projects of the next decade.  He said he felt “enormously privileged” to be asked to join the V&A. “It has long been the arts institution that I have looked to for innovation and inspiration,” Casely-Hayford said.  “And what a brief – working to deliver a new museum for east London. And what a collection – the most thrilling single body of material culture I have ever encountered.”  Casely-Hayford said the V&A was an organisation with the appetite and ambition to shift the way museums work and engage. “We are going to craft dynamic and compelling ways for our audiences to get close to the extraordinary, to be transported across time and geography by the most beautiful and intriguing things,” he said.  Tim Reeve, the V&A’s deputy director, said the net had been cast wide to find the right leader. “This is a hugely ambitious project – for east London, for the UK and for international cultural exchange,” he said.  “It offers us a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to transform how we engage with young, diverse audiences and to revolutionise how our collections are accessed and experienced.”  The planned waterfront V&A East, on the former London Olympic site in Stratford, will be part of a new cultural quarter that includes a Sadler’s Wells dance theatre, BBC recording and performance studios and UAL’s London College of Fashion. Collectively, it will be known as East Bank.  Ten minutes’ walk away will be Here East, a new storage and research centre for the V&A that will be open to the public. Casely-Hayford will be responsible for creative strategy and programming across both venues.  Casely-Hayford is a former executive director of arts strategy at Arts Council England and has advised and sat on the boards of numerous arts institutions.  On TV, his credits include BBC Two’s The Culture Show, two series of Lost Kingdoms of Africa on BBC Four and two series of Tate Britain’s Great British Walks for Sky Arts.  He comes from a strikingly talented family. His siblings include the late fashion designer Joe Casely-Hayford, the chair of Shakespeare’s Globe, Margaret Casely-Hayford, and the TV producer Peter Casely-Hayford.  Casely-Hayford will take up his role in the spring of 2020.


theguardianuk--2019-11-18--Syrian artist latest to attack BP sponsorship of British Museum

A Syrian artist who fled the civil war has criticised BP’s sponsorship of the British Museum’s exhibition Troy: Myth and Reality, saying her work was being used to “artwash” what she described as the “impacts and crimes” of the oil company.  A film of Reem Alsayyah’s Queens of Syria – a modern retelling of Euripides’ The Trojan Women by a group of Syrian refugees, which was directed by Zoe Lafferty – is included in the show. The pair are the latest artists to call on major British arts institution to end their partnerships with BP.  In an open letter to the British Museum trustees and its director, Hartwig Fischer, Alsayyah and Lafferty said BP’s sponsorship of the event was more egregious because, they allege, the company “has directly profited from the widespread destruction and displacement of people like the 13 women who formed the cast for our play. And yet you have reached the conclusion that its logo should brand an exhibition highlighting exactly the issues BP contributes to causing.”  The pair said it was devastating to have the brand associated with their work, adding that it was “no secret that BP backed the second Gulf war, eyeing opportunities to take control of oil reserves in the region”.  Alsayyah and Lafferty will keep their work in the exhibition, which opens on Thursday, but said BP’s continued sponsorship of cultural events in Britain puts artists in an impossible position.  They wrote: “We must decide whether it is worse to try to remove our work from the exhibition – taking away the chance that this show can shine a light on the harsh realities that our team are living under – or to allow our work to help ‘artwash’ the impacts and crimes of BP, a multinational oil and gas company that has wreaked havoc on this planet and its people.”  In February there was an occupation of the British Museum in protest against its relationship with BP, while in June, a group of artists wrote to the director of the National Portrait Gallery, calling on it to end its relationship with the company before the NPG’s annual awards.  In the same month, Extinction Rebellion called on the NPG and the Royal Opera House to sever ties with BP, and Sir Mark Rylance resigned from the Royal Shakespeare Company after a 30-year association, over the sponsorship he said allowed the oil company to “obscure the destructive reality of its activities”. Last month the RSC announced it was ending its BP deal two years early, after a sustained campaign by artists and environmentalists.  In July, the Egyptian novelist Ahdaf Soueif resigned as British Museum trustee because of “immovability” on critical issues, including BP’s sponsorship.  Last week, National Galleries Scotland announced its 2019 BP portrait award exhibition, which opens in early December, would be the last time the event would take place there in its present form, citing NGS’s “responsibility to do all we can to address the climate emergency”.  In 2016, Tate and the Edinburgh international festival announced they were ending their sponsorship deals with BP, after more than two decades.  Culture Unstained, which campaigns against oil sponsorship of culture, said it was crunch time for the British Museum.  “With major arts organisations cutting their ties to BP over its climate impacts, the museum can no longer argue that more ethical alternatives don’t exist,” a spokesperson said. “BP is fuelling conflict and the climate crisis: a publicly-funded museum should not be helping to clean up its reputation.”  In response, the museum said it understood “concerns about this kind of support” and said it was right that questions were raised, but added that without external support much programming and other major projects would not happen.  “Temporary exhibitions deliver tangible public benefit, deepening people’s understanding of the world’s many and varied cultures,” a spokesperson said. “This exhibition focuses on Troy as the ultimate universal story about the human condition.”  A spokesperson for BP said: “While BP supports the British Museum’s Troy exhibition, we have no curatorial input into the exhibition.” The company “completely rejects the outrageous allegations” made in the open letter, the spokesperson added.  Queens of Syria was praised when it toured the UK in 2016 for putting “a human face on the worst humanitarian disaster since the second world war”. None of the cast were professional actors, but after auditioning in Amman in Jordan, they went on to have a sold-out run at the Young Vic in London.

Lanre Bakare Arts and culture correspondent


theindependent--2019-01-17--Israel museum removes sculpture depicting Ronald McDonald as Jesus after violent protests

A museum in Israel will remove an artwork depicting Ronald McDonald as the crucified Jesus after it sparked violent clashes between police and members of the country’s Arab Christian minority.  The life-sized sculpture of fast food chain McDonald’s clown mascot on a cross, created by Finnish artist Jani Leinonen, was due to go on display in the city of Haifa for several months.  However, the piece sparked protests, which became violent on Friday, when three police officers were injured as dozens of demonstrators tried to force their way into the Haifa Museum of Art.  One person was arrested on suspicion of assault after clashes outside the gallery, while investigators are searching for two other individuals suspected of throwing firebombs at the building.  “I object to this disgraceful sculpture,” said Nicola Abdo, a Haifa resident and protester. “As a Christian person, I take deep offence to this depiction of our symbols.”  Christian Arabs, who make up around two per cent of Israel’s population, initially won support for their cause from the country’s populist culture minister Miri Regev.  Ms Regev, who won plaudids on the right for censuring art deemed pro-Palestinian, threatened to cut state funding for the museum on the grounds it had offended religious sensitivities.  However, Israel’s justice ministry rebuked her suggestion, claiming she did not have authority to take such actions.  The mayor of Haifa, Einat Kalisch-Rotem, announced in a tweet late on Wednesday McJesus would be taken out of the exhibition following consultations with church leaders.  “The sculpture will be removed and returned as soon as possible,” Einat Kalish Rotem tweeted.  “We regret the aggravation the Christian community experienced and the physical injury and violence that surrounded it.”  Artist Mr Leionen, known for his public artworks criticising capitalism using the branding and logos of multinational corporations, has also demanded the artwork be removed from the exhibition.  He told Israeli newspaper Haaretz he had asked the museum to take the piece off display last September because he wanted to show solidarity with Palestinians.  The sculptor accused the country of using art and culture to “whitewash and justify” the occupation of the West Bank.  Meanwhile, some in the city see the decision to remove the artwork as an opportunity for reconciliation between religious groups.  “The winner today is the people of Haifa,” said Wadie Abu Nassar, an adviser to local church leaders. “The removal of this sculpture is a reflection our desire to coexist in the city.”


theindependent--2019-01-26--British Museum aposrules outapos returning Elgin Marbles to Greece after country demands UK open

British Museum 'rules out' returning Elgin Marbles to Greece after country demands UK opens negotiations

The director of the British Museum has appeared to rule out returning the Elgin Marbles to Greece after its government demanded Britain open negotiations over their return last year.  The 2,500-year-old marble sculptures were removed from the Parthenon Temple on the Acropolis in Athens by the Ottoman ambassador Lord Elgin in the early 1800s.  Lord Elgin sold the marbles to the British government, who passed them on to the British Museum in 1817 where they remain one of its most prized exhibits.  Debate over where the sculptures should be located has raged for more than 200 years, with Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn pledging to return them to Greece if he becomes prime minister.  In August, Greek culture minister Lydia Koniordou invited UK officials to meetings in Greece to discuss the statues’ return in the midst of Brexit talks as Britain sought allies around Europe.  In an interview with Ta Nea, Greece’s daily newspaper, British Museum director Hartwig Fischer said: “The Trustees of the British Museum feel the obligation to preserve the collection in its entirety, so that things that are part of this collection remain part of this collection.”  Asked if he thinks the Greek people are right to want the Parthenon sculptures back, he told the newspaper: “I can certainly understand that the Greeks have a special and passionate relationship with this part of their cultural heritage.  “Yes, I understand that there is a desire to see all of the Parthenon Sculptures in Athens.”  The other half of the Parthenon Sculptures are currently in the Acropolis Museum in Greece.  For several decades, Greece has called for the reunification of the statues and has sent several formal requests, threatened legal action and proposed solutions such as mediation by Unesco.  Supporters of the Greek position say although Lord Elgin said he had the permission of officials of the ruling Ottoman Empire to take the sculptures, the empire was a foreign force and had no right to let the artefacts go.  When Mr Fischer was asked about Mr Corbyn’s pledge to return the Elgin Marbles to Greece if he became prime minister, he said: “I think that this is Mr Corbyn’s personal view on the question, that you take note of.  “Obviously, that is not the stance and the view of the Trustees of the Museum.”  Asked by Ta Nea if he would accept that Greece is the legal owner of the Parthenon Sculptures, he replied: “No, I would not. The objects that are part of the collection of the British Museum are in the fiduciary ownership of the Trustees of the Museum.”  Defenders of keeping the statues in Britain have argued returning them would pave the way for requests from other coutries for items in British museums to be returned.  In a statement, the British Museum said: “Hartwig Fischer was stating the long-standing position of the British Museum. We believe there is a great public benefit in being able to see these wonderful objects in the context of a world collection.  “The museum lends extensively across the world, and some loans are long-term but not indefinite.”  Polling by YouGov conducted in 2017 suggested the British public mostly back the marbles’ return, with 55 per cent saying the statues should go back to Greece and 21 per cent saying they should remain in Britain.


theindependent--2019-02-08--The Prado Museum turns 200 with a celebration of Spainaposs turbulent past

The Prado Museum turns 200 with a celebration of Spain's turbulent past

The Prado was not designed to be one of the world’s great art galleries. But as it celebrates its 200th anniversary this year, Spain’s national museum can boast almost 3 million visitors a year to what has become one of Europe’s finest painting collections.  When King Charles III of Spain commissioned the building in the 1780s, he wanted a museum of natural science to celebrate the spirit of the Enlightenment. But when his ultraconservative grandson, Ferdinand VII, came to the throne three decades later, he put a stop to that. “He wanted to showcase the wealth of his collection rather than make any kind of contribution to scientific progress,” says Javier Portus, curator of an exhibition that celebrates the Prado’s bicentenary.  “The irony is that the Prado opened in a period of clearly regressive thinking in Spain,” he added.  The exhibition, called A Place of Memory and running until 10 March, shows how, right from the beginning, the Prado navigated the often choppy waters of Spanish politics, as the country went from being an imperial power to a nation divided by civil war, and then through dictatorship to the democracy it is today.  The Prado was regularly threatened by domestic turmoil in Spain, particularly during the civil war in the 1930s, when the paintings were removed from the museum and taken to a safe haven in Switzerland.  At other times, upheaval benefited the museum. In the 1830s, to help pay off Spain’s public debt, the country’s monasteries, along with their artwork, were expropriated, and some of those pieces later found their way into the Prado’s collection after it was declared the national museum in the 1870s.  But through two centuries of shifting politics,Prado kept its place as a symbol of Spain’s cultural wealth. “I think the Prado represents the best image of Spain, because it’s a place that has always somehow managed to stay above our political divisions,” says Antonio Muñoz Molina, a writer and member of the Royal Spanish Academy.  The Prado opened during a golden age of museum expansion in Europe. The Louvre was inaugurated in Paris in 1793, the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam in 1800 and the National Gallery in London in 1824.  But for many visitors, “it’s probably a surprise to hear the Prado is only 200 years old, because we so often think about its great collection from the 16th century,” says Taco Dibbits, director of the Rijksmuseum. Among the treasures from this period are the portraits by Titian and other artists of Hoy Roman Emperor Charles V, whose territory covered almost 1.5 million square miles, including much of western Europe from Flanders, where he was born, to western Spain, where he died. The portraits became part of the Spanish royal collection and eventually landed in the Prado.  Compared with some other national museums, the Prado is “really unique as the collection of an emperor who had the best from the European countries over which Spain once reigned,” Dibbits says. “It’s special in being very international, but on the other hand, in also having a very clear national identity.”  The bicentennial exhibition focuses on some of the many foreign painters who visited the Prado to discover Diego Velazquez and the other great Spanish masters. Those visitors included artists such as Edouard Manet of France and Americans William Merritt Chase and John Singer Sargent. They not only left their names in the visitors’ book but also copied or incorporated into their paintings what they had admired and studied in Madrid.  The show also highlights some of the brightest and most innovative periods for the Prado, including during the Second Republic in the early 1930s, when the Prado played a pivotal part in an educational program to introduce ordinary citizens to culture.  In that drive, a pioneering traveling exhibition took copies of the Prado’s masterworks to 170 towns across Spain, many of them in isolated farming regions. A 1932 photograph in A Place of Memory shows a crowd of rural folk wearing berets and headscarves, viewing a copy of Velazquez’s The Spinners.  “Illiterate people who had never gotten out of their villages suddenly discovered Velazquez and the incredible artistic wealth of Spain,” Portus says during a recent tour of the exhibition. “It’s the kind of pedagogical undertaking that you could now perhaps imagine doing with the internet and social media, but that was unprecedented for a museum on such a scale at that time,” he added.  The next time the Prado’s masterworks went on the road, however, the circumstances were more dire. Shortly after the military coup of July 1936 – instigated by General Franco and some fellow generals against the Republican government – Madrid became one of the main battlegrounds of what eventually extended into a three-year civil war. During one of the air raids on the city in November 1936, nine bombs fell onto the roof of the Prado. (A fragment of one is displayed in the show.)  When the Republican government abandoned Madrid for Valencia and later Barcelona, it took almost 2,000 artworks, including more than 300 of the most important items from the Prado’s collection. Eventually, the works were transported to Geneva for safekeeping.  “Everything divided the two sides who fought the war, except perhaps that everybody agreed about the Prado’s importance,” says Jesus Ruiz Mantilla, a writer and culture journalist. “Once Franco wins, his first worry is to bring back the Prado’s paintings.”  Franco won the war in April 1939, starting a period of dictatorship that ended only with his death in 1975. His regime not only added works to the collection, but also financed two new extensions to the museum’s buildings, as well as replacing the wooden floors with marble.  But Franco did little to promote academic research at the museum, and the Prado’s exhibitions at the time were modest and unadventurous, according to Portus. The regime cared mostly about using the museum’s sumptuous setting to welcome foreign dignitaries during official state visits.  Only a fragment of the museum’s recent history is explained on the walls of the exhibition, however. There is little, for instance, about the building’s architecture and evolving role in Madrid as the city added other great museums such as the Reina Sofia and Thyssen-Bornemisza after Spain’s return to democracy.  Last year, foreigners accounted for almost 60 percent of the Prado’s visitors. But while the museum has become an international tourism magnet for Madrid, Manuel Gutierrez Aragon, a Spanish film director and former board member of the museum, says the institution “continues to contribute a lot to the self-esteem of Spaniards, to our nationalist pomp as a democracy and monarchy, in the best sense”.  He recalled how his perception of the Prado was shaped during his first childhood visit, in the midst of Franco’s dictatorship. “It looked to me like this wonderful set of cartoon images of our great history, full of incredible colors that contrasted with a Spain that was then very gray,” he says.


theindependent--2019-05-02--Aboriginal man demands British Museum return 18th century shield stolen from his ancestor

An Aboriginal man demanding the return of an ancestral shield seized by James Cook in 1770 has become the first living member of his clan to hold it after being invited to a private viewing by the British Museum.  Rodney Kelly is the sixth generational descendent of a warrior called Cooman of the Gweagal clan’s Dharawal tribe.  According to historical documents, the shield was taken by Cook and his marines after Cooman was shot in the leg when the British arrived at Botany Bay, Australia on 29 April 1770.  Ancestral records documenting stories of the altercation between two naked warriors and a group of Englishmen were passed down through generations, Mr Kelly told The Independent.  Made of Australian red mangrove, the 45cm-wide shield ended up in the Cook Collection at the Museum of Mankind – today known as the British Museum.  Speaking about his up-close and personal experience with the shield, Mr Kelly said: “I felt I had a right to stand there and view the artefacts of my ancestor that were taken.  “To go behind the scenes of the British Museum and view the shield and touch it was a very powerful experience.  “I was filled with pride and happiness but then I knew it would have to go back to where it’s been kept. And that really hurts. So it was really emotional knowing I’ve got to walk away.”  Mr Kelly, who lives in Bermagui, New South Wales, launched a campaign to reclaim the shield in 2016 after he saw it had been loaned to Canberra’s National Museum of Australia.  He said he grew up listening to stories about his ancestors from the period of Britiain’s arrival in Australia, and traced his family tree to discover he is a direct descendent of the warrior who was killed.  The dream now, he said, was to get it back home in time for the 250th anniversary of it being taken.  He added the shield represents the British colonisation of Australia, and how they “never respected us as human beings when they opened fire and took everything”.  He said people at home were keen to learn about their roots and the shield was a major symbol of the past that could help teach them.  “They’re all just asking me ‘When are they coming back? Can you bring them back yet?’”  But he said the British Museum Act is one of the reasons why the institute is refusing to return the shield.  A report by Sarah Keenan, senior professor at Birkbeck Law School, claims the British Museum “changed its story” about the origins of the Gweagal Shield when a two-day workshop to “test the argument the shield was collected at Botany bay in 1770” led participants to argue it is not from Cook’s landing.  Mr Kelly said repatriation was important in light of “all the stuff that’s happened in the past” and it would be a “huge moment in time to have the British Museum and others actually return things to the Aboriginal people because it would be a great step towards the healing process.”  He added ancestral spears taken by Cook and his men at the same time were held at the Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology in Cambridge; he also viewed those privately last year.  Mr Kelly’s claim to the artefacts has been backed by a motion passed in 2016 by New South Wales’ parliament, which acknowledged his clan as the shield’s rightful owners; Australia’s Senate followed suit two months later.  Australian historian Keith Vincent Smith told The Independent: “I can certainly say the Gweagal at Botany Bay are the rightful owners of the shield and spears taken from there by Joseph Banks and James Cook in 1770.”  In a paper entitled Confronting Cook, Mr Smith describes how information about Cooman was passed down through generations, after an Aboriginal woman’s account of what happened was documented in the 1840s.  He said the shield is likely to be the same as the one seen in drawings from the time.  Mr Kelly, who is visiting the UK for the fourth time in collaboration with pressure group BP Or Not BP? said he was amazed at what was on display at the British Museum.  During last year’s visit he said he took part in the group’s ‘British Museum Stolen Goods Tour’ to protest a controversial BP-sponsored exhibition of Iraqi artefacts. This week, he leads the group’s ‘British Museum Stolen Goods Tour: Colonialism, Carbon & Cook” with speakers discussing “looted items” on display from Iraq, Palestine, Greece and Australia.  He said: “For me, this tour is all about getting different cultures together because we’re all in it for that one cause. I think it’s a great opportunity for us to unite and to show the British People and British Museum there’s a real need for these items to be repatriated and we can make the world a better place if we did.”  He said Aboriginal items living in museums made it “harder to have a connection to the past”.  BP Or Not BP’s Danny Chivers said the opportunity for Mr Kelly to privately view his ancestral shield was a positive step.  He said: “It shows on some level they must accept the legitimacy of his request, even if they haven’t shown any signs of returning it.”  But Mr Kelly said museums need to start thinking about new ways of “making their collections legitimate.”  He added: “As long as there’s stuff that’s been wrongfully taken, there’s always going to be someone like myself looking for ways to get their culture back so we can teach our kids about our history, and about where we come from.”  The British Museum was asked if it believed in the legitimacy of claims by historians and ancestral records that the shield belongs to the Gweagal clan but it did not provide a specific response.  A spokesperson at the Museum said “colleagues were delighted to welcome Rodney” and that the institute had “repeated the offer on Tuesday, that we would be very happy to discuss a loan of the shield” as it had done to the National Museum of Australia in 2016.  She added: “It was a very positive visit, with suggestions for future collaborations to understand and interpret both the shield and other objects more fully. The Museum looks forward to continuing these discussions.”


theindependent--2019-05-21--British Museum to unveil worldaposs largest manga exhibition outside Japan

British Museum to unveil world's largest manga exhibition outside Japan

The world’s largest exhibition of manga outside of Japan is set to open at the British Museum in London later this week.  The Japanese word used to refer to comics or cartoons, manga originally translates as “pictures run riot”.  It has been popular in its homeland for nearly 200 years but enjoyed global success in recent decades.  From its beginning with 19th century Japanese artist Hokusai - best known for his work The Great Wave - the London exhibition will span manga’s varied history and look at the different techniques of design and narrative that drive its works.  Its influence over anime and video games - not least the Pokemon phenomenon – will also be explored.  Taking place as part of the UK/Japan Season of Culture 2019-2020, the exhibition will run from 23 May to 26 August.


theirishtimes--2019-03-22--National Museum unveils community themed programme

National Museum unveils ‘community’– themed programme

The National Museum of Ireland has announced a 2019 programme that features engagements with Culture Night, Dublin Pride and the Stoneybatter Festival, among other events.  The programme of activities includes five flagship exhibitions ranging from “an artistic interpretation” of mother-and-baby homes, to women’s experiences of rural electrification and a conference and exhibition on the War of Independence and Civil War.  In keeping with its Master Vision Statement 2018 - 2032, the museum, which welcomed 1.2 million visitors last year, has adopted the theme of “community” to be the backbone of its 2019 activities.  The museum will play a role in events such as the Stoneybatter Festival in Dublin’s north city, recording images and documenting the festivities as part of a living history record that will offer future generations a look at what a festival in Dublin was like in 2019.  The Museum will also host a Dublin Pride Block Party in June to celebrate LGBTQI+ culture and history in the city.  Director of the National Museum Lynn Scarff, who took up the position last July, said the museum’s role was “to preserve and present the stories of Ireland”.  She said more then 160,000 people engaged with the museum’s education and outreach programme in 2018 and that this figure is expected to rise to 170,000 this year with 500 events and workshops, 400 school visits and 2,200 self-directed school initiatives and 1,100 facilitated group initiatives.  Nigel Monaghan, acting head of collections, said the museum’s Irish Community Archive Network had archived the records of 17 separate communities that wanted to document their history – 16 of them in Galway because of the collaboration of Galway County Council. Over the next three years this number would rise to about 70, he said.  Dr Audrey Whitty, keeper of art and industry at the museum, said a Women in Design conference would be held in May to draw attention to the work of pioneering women – from furniture designer Eileen Gray and contemporary lighting artist Niamh Barry to contemporary artist in glass Alison Lowry.  Ms Lowry’s response to the Magdalene laundries and the mother-and-baby homes is called Dressing our Hidden Truths. It is described as an “artistic response to the shameful parts of our recent past that were hidden truths for many years”.  It was put together with the aid of Diane Croghan, who was 13 when she climbed inside a laundry van to escape the Sisters of Mercy Training School in Summerhill, Co Wexford. Ms Croghan told The Irish Times she was looking forward to seeing the exhibition open to invited guests on Monday and the public on Wednesday.


theseattletimes--2019-09-11--Greece British Museum damp insults Parthenon Sculptures

Greece: British Museum “damp” insults Parthenon Sculptures

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Greece’s Culture Minister says alleged damp in a section of the British Museum housing the Parthenon Sculptures is an “insult” to the 2,500-year-old works for whose return Greece has pressed long and unsuccessfully.  Lina Mendoni’s comments Wednesday followed publication in Greek media of photos ostensibly showing damp and mold stains on the hall’s ceiling, which suffered a minor leak during a rainstorm last year.  She said the “picture of neglect” at the London museum “strengthens Greece’s just demand” for the sculptures’ return, which the two-month-old conservative government in Athens has revived, seeking a loan of the works in 2021.  Greece says the marbles were illegally removed from the Parthenon temple on the Acropolis during the Ottoman Turkish occupation of Greece in the early 1800s. The British Museum rejects that.


thesun--2019-01-15--McJesus sculpture of a crucified Ronald McDonald sparks riot in the Holy Land as outraged Christia

‘McJesus’ sculpture of a crucified Ronald McDonald sparks riot in the Holy Land as outraged Christians try to burn down museum

A SCULPTURE called 'McJesus' which depicts a crucified Ronald McDonald has sparked riots after it was displayed in a museum in the Holy Land.  Hundreds demonstrated at the museum in the northern city of Haifa last week, throwing rocks at police and even attempting to firebomb the building, according to reports.  Israel's Arab Christian minority called for the work's removal while church representatives brought their grievances to the district court, demanding the removal of it and the exhibit's other offensive items, including Barbie doll renditions of a bloodied Jesus and the Virgin Mary.  Israeli police say rioters hurled a firebomb at the museum and threw stones that wounded three officers.  They were forced to disperse angry crowds with tear gas and stun grenades.  Museum director Nissim Tal voiced shock at the outrage, saying the exhibit had been on display for months.  He said the displays were intended to criticise what many view as society's cult-like worship of capitalism.  The same exhibit had toured multiple other countries without incident, he said.  The museum has refused to remove the artwork, but did hand a curtain over the entrance to the exhibit and posted a sign saying the art was not intended to offend.  Tal said: "This is the maximum that we can do.  "If we take the art down, the next day we'll have politicians demanding we take other things down and we'll end up only with colourful pictures of flowers in the museum."  "We will be defending freedom of speech, freedom of art, and freedom of culture, and will not take it down.  The unexpected outrage apparently has its roots in images shared on social media.  The Finnish artist who created the artwork, Jani Leinonen, has also asked that it be taken down - but for a different reason.  He would like it taken down as a protest against Israel’s treatment of Palestinians, in order to join a number of other artists who have boycotted the country in recent years.  Wadie Abu Nassar, an adviser to church leaders, said: "We need to understand that freedom of expression is interpreted in different ways in different societies.  "If this work was directed against non-Christians, the world would be turned upside down."  Israeli Culture Minister Miri Regev, who has been accused of censorship for pushing legislation mandating national "loyalty" in art, also called for the removal of the "disrespectful" artwork.  We pay for your stories! Do you have a story for The Sun Online news team? Email us at tips@the-sun.co.uk or call 0207 782 4368 . You can WhatsApp us on 07810 791 502. We pay for videos too. Click here to upload yours.


thesun--2019-02-19--Sun reader has selfie on show next to Rembrandts work in museum after winning competition

Sun reader has selfie on show next to Rembrandt’s work in museum after winning competition

Lucky Alexander Slack enjoyed a trip to Amsterdam courtesy of us — and had his selfie displayed at the Rijksmuseum  SUN reader Alexander Slack certainly had a 53rd birthday to Rem-ember.  The winner of our great Sun Rembrandt competition enjoyed a trip to Amsterdam courtesy of us — and had his selfie displayed next to the Old Master’s works.  We asked readers to send in pics inspired by selfie king Rembrandt.  And our judges, who included Sun royal photographer Arthur Edwards, loved Alexander’s cheeky entry.  The former carer had posed with feathers in his hat and a ruff collar made from folded up Sun pages.  On Friday, hundreds of selfie paintings and etchings by Rembrandt went on show in the Rijksmuseum to mark 350 years since his death — along with Alexander’s fun portrait.  Thousands of tourists saw the modern image — plus a crew from BBC2’s Newsnight, which is expected to screen footage of it tonight.  Stephen Smith, the show’s culture correspondent, said: “I can see why Alexander’s effort caught the eye of Arthur Edwards, the Rembrandt of royal photographers.  “It has the streetwise swagger of the Old Master in his prime, his playfulness and utter lack of pomposity.”  Alexander, from Penzance, Cornwall, said: “I can’t believe I am here with my picture next to one of the greatest artists ever.  “Thank you so much to The Sun and to Rijksmuseum for giving me the experience of a lifetime.”


thetelegraph--2019-06-01--Sothebys returns rare medieval sculpture to France as British museum curator discovers it was stole

Sotheby's returns rare medieval sculpture to France as British museum curator discovers it was stolen

Sotheby’s has quietly returned an important 1450s sculpture to France after discovering that it should never have sold it in 1998 because it was stolen from a church in 1969.  The depiction of Saint Michael slaying the dragon – carved in alabaster by medieval English craftsmen - will be reunited with its original altarpiece in Notre-Dame-du-Tertre, in Châtelaudren, Côtes d'Armor, in Brittany.  After its theft, it had somehow made its way to London, where Sotheby’s sold it to a private British collector.  Its return to France has been made possible by the eagle eye of Dr Lloyd de Beer, a curator of Late Medieval European Collections at the British Museum.  He told the Sunday Telegraph that he had done a double-take in coming across an old photograph of it. While doing some research in Normandy, in the archives of the Museum of Antiquities in Rouen, he opened a Châtelaudren file and found documents headed “Altarpiece for the Life of Christ and the Virgin” and an image of the St Michael sculpture marked “stolen in 1969”.  He immediately thought: “Gosh, that’s interesting, I’ve seen that before.” He had seen it in an anonymous private collection in England.  He contacted the owner, telling them: “I think that something you own was stolen many years ago from a French church.”  He added: “Something that the owner thought had come legitimately to them had this sad history. They wanted to do the right thing and return it. They’d bought it at auction from Sotheby’s, so they returned it to them, saying, ‘it’s up to you to organise its return because you had ultimately sold something that had come up nefariously in the past’.”  The church dates from the 14th and 15th centuries and boasts a remarkable panelled vault composed of 138 panels representing the Old and the New Testaments, dating from the 15th century. It is a listed historical monument.  The St Michael sculpture, which measures 40 by 20 cm, was one of seven panels created in Midlands workshops for the altarpiece. Whether it was commissioned or purchased by the church is unclear.  Dr De Beer said: “These are rare sculptures because, in England, most were smashed at the Reformation. Most of the ones that survive in England were broken into little pieces or had their heads knocked off. This one’s survived in excellent condition with its painting and gilding.”  He added that English alabaster sculptures were, in many ways, the greatest export industry of England in the Middle Ages, sold by merchants from about the 1380s onwards: “You had all these workshops in Derbyshire, Staffordshire, Nottinghamshire… These sculptures [were] very desirable on the Continent. They were going to Scandinavia, Germany, Spain, Italy… But the greatest concentration is in Northern France...  “At the English Reformation, lots of altarpieces that were in English churches were taken abroad to be sold. It’s really hard to know if the objects that are in churches on the Continent were pre-Reformation commissions or whether they were sold on. There is a 16th-century document in Rouen that says that a church in Normandy bought an altarpiece from a church in England.”  The St Michael sculpture was sold by Sotheby’s London for almost £6,000. Its value today is likely to exceed £10,000. Sotheby’s reimbursed its buyer and organised the sculpture’s return through the French Ministry of Culture. It is now in Paris, waiting to be transferred to Châtelaudren.  All seven of the altarpiece’s sculptures were stolen in 1969. Apart from St Michael, three others - depictions of St Christopher, the Resurrection and the Coronation of the Virgin - have all been recovered. One of them was traced to a Dutch antiques dealer, and two others to Belgium.  Theft is a problem faced by churches on both sides of the Channel. Christine Jablonski, a curator of historical monuments in France, said: “It’s so painful when an object is stolen - for everybody because it’s a loss for the heritage. We’re really excited that this object is coming back. We’re really grateful to Lloyd de Beer for spotting it. We know that a stolen object can appear somewhere, but it’s always a surprise.”  She added that the recovered sculptures will be returned to the chapel: “An architect is going to be in charge of the new presentation…, probably in a secured showcase.”  A Sotheby’s spokeswoman said: “We are pleased to have been able to assist in facilitating a resolution satisfactory to those involved.”


thetelegraph--2019-11-22--Returning museum objects to former colonies risks 'denying Britain's history'

The move follows an announcement by Manchester Museum that it is to restore 12 Aboriginal objects taken from Australia more than 100 years ago, including sacred ceremonial artefacts and a garment made with emu feathers.  Visiting the museum last week Mangubadijarri Yanner, an indigenous leader, said the treasures had been "taken without our permission" by early 20th Century British colonialists.  "The repatriation of our sacred cultural heritage items is a fundamental part of the healing and reconciliation process," Mr Yanner said.  Stephen Welsh, curator of Living Cultures at Manchester Museum, described the collection as "a product of empire", originally built on "racial hierarchies, cultural hierarchies, social Darwinism".  In his new book Who Owns History, the barrister Geoffrey Robertson QC accuses the British Museum of having “become the world’s largest receivers of stolen property,”, much of which is not even on display, and calls on it to return key artefacts, such as the Elgin Marbles.  But Ms Jenkins said that many demands for the return of objects come not from their original countries but from western campaigners.  "You need to ask who is doing the claiming and how many claims are actually made,” she said.  She added: "This idea of [artefacts] belonging to one culture is quite narrow. The Parthenon in Greece was once a temple, then a mosque. Culture is not ‘fixed’.”  Ms Jenkins cites the Benin Bronzes, which though arguably stolen by the British when they invaded present day Nigeria, where themselves crafted as a result of the existing slave trade.  Writing in the BBC’s History Magazine earlier this year she said: “It is not possible to repair that past. The best way to respect the lives of the people who came before us is to research and understand history without such an agenda.  “We should aim to live in a world where artefacts from other times and places are shared. We should aim to unlock the past, not overturn it. That is what museums are for, and what they do best. That is why they should keep their treasures.”  Tristram Hunt, the director of the Victoria and Albert Museum, said museums should not “automatically bow to calls to return artworks plundered by 19th century colonisers”  He said: “To decolonise is to decontextualise: the history of empire is embedded in its meaning and collections, and the question is how that is interpreted.”  The former Labour MP for Stoke-on-Trent added: “There remains something essentially valuable about the ability of museums to position objects beyond particular cultural or ethnic identities.”  The British Museum said: "We believe the strength of the collection is its breadth and depth which allows millions of visitors an understanding of the cultures of the world and how they interconnect– whether through trade, migration, conquest, or peaceful exchange."  Manchester Museum has received four repatriation requests during the last 10 years, including one for a skull from Hawaii which an indigenous group asked to be returned in 2010. This will remain at the museum until a clearer provenance can be determined.  Several European countries, including France and Germany, have said they are committed to handing back objects, with the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam opening talks with Sri Lanka and Indonesia and describing Holland’s’ failure to return stolen artefacts as a “disgrace”.  Edinburgh University defended the restitution of the skulls to the Vedda tribespeople.  Professor Tom Gillingwater, Chair of Anatomy at the University, said: “We are pleased to be able to return these culturally-important artefacts to help ensure the Vedda’s legacy endures for generations to come.”


thetorontostar--2019-09-11--Greece British Museum damp insults Parthenon Sculptures

ATHENS, Greece - Greece’s Culture Minister says alleged damp in a section of the British Museum housing the Parthenon Sculptures is an “insult” to the 2,500-year-old works for whose return Greece has pressed long and unsuccessfully.  Lina Mendoni’s comments Wednesday followed publication in Greek media of photos ostensibly showing damp and mould stains on the hall’s ceiling, which suffered a minor leak during a rainstorm last year.  She said the “picture of neglect” at the London museum “strengthens Greece’s just demand” for the sculptures’ return, which the two-month-old conservative government in Athens has revived, seeking a loan of the works in 2021.  Greece says the marbles were illegally removed from the Parthenon temple on the Acropolis during the Ottoman Turkish occupation of Greece in the early 1800s. The British Museum rejects that.  Get more of the Star in your inbox Never miss the latest news from the Star. Sign up for our newsletters to get today's top stories, your favourite columnists and lots more in your inbox Sign Up Now


thetorontostar--2019-09-26--Illinois State Museum returning artifacts to Australia

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. - The Illinois State Museum in Springfield has agreed to return 42 culturally significant objects to Australia. The gesture comes nearly a century after they were brought to the United States.  The museum says in a news release that it’s the first institution in the world to repatriate artifacts as part of the Australian government’s Return of Cultural Heritage Project. It’s an attempt to bring back indigenous materials taken from the country.  Boomerangs, necklaces, shields, spears and other items that will be returned were collected in Australia between 1929 and 1931 by University of Chicago linguistic anthropologist Gerhardt Laves. They were transferred by the university to the state museum in 1942 for incorporation into its rotating exhibit series on international cultures. They haven’t been exhibited by the museum since 1981.  Get more of the Star in your inbox Never miss the latest news from the Star. Sign up for our newsletters to get today's top stories, your favourite columnists and lots more in your inbox Sign Up Now


urbanintellectuals--2019-08-02--4 Reasons to Visit the Smithsonian African American Museum in Washington DC

4 Reasons to Visit the Smithsonian African American Museum in Washington D.C.

The Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) was opened on September 24, 2016. It is one of several Smithsonian museums, though what makes this museum so unique is that it is exclusively dedicated to African American history, artifacts, culture, art, treasure, knowledge, and more. Various reasons make people visit museums, but what makes NMAAHC stand out from the field? The following are some of the most compelling reasons to visit the Smithsonian African American museum in Washington D.C.:  The museum is located on a beautiful five-acre stretch of land in the heart of Washington, D.C. There are various elements attributed to the south used in the creation of the exterior, such as the native trees, a pool, and a fountain at the south entry. Its location, including its close proximity to the National Museum of American History, the 14th Street corridor, and Constitution Avenue and many of the Smithsonian museums.  The building itself encompasses black history and show cases African American legacy and tremendous contribution to global society. The museum’s design demonstrates and pays homage to past black craftsmen because the Yoruba design has been used in the design of the museum. Metal screens called Corona have been used on its exterior. The ironwork also showcases the intricate design from the freedmen and enslaved whose great skills stand the test of time.  People visit museums to obtain information. NMAAHC is full of information on the rich culture of African Americans and their African ancestors, their history, triumphs, struggles, sacrifices, and much more. The scope spans from the pre-enslavement era, the period of enslavement, the civil rights movements, and the progress of African Americans to present. NMAAHC in Washington D.C. has more than 45,000 objects available that offers an abundance of information and context to visitors.  For students, great inspiration from African American giants in various realms will improve their perspective and motivate them in their endeavors. For example, they can learn about great personalities like Muhammad Ali, Jackie Robinson, and Maya Angelou some who reigned in athletics and about others who left a mark in fields like literature, music, and dance.  Historical events will help students understand themselves, their country and culture. They will see the struggles that their ancestors had in fighting for their rights that are now being enjoyed.  The vibrant displays of our national historical moments, cover ground and information that was unfortunately never taught in schools, will benefit students who will relish their past, and will influence their future endeavors. There are several exhibits and items in the museum that present opportunities for future research that interested students can embark on. The interactive exhibitions and detailed information will provide answers to any researcher, historian or a curious onlooker.  The rich African American history, well-documented in writing and conveyed through many artifacts and items in museums and through African American contributions to the present national development, underscore the reasons why you should visit the Smithsonian National Museum of History and Culture in Washington D.C. The great learning opportunities, interesting facts, and objects lead to the need for repeated visits to savor the richness of the Blacks’ culture, potential, treasure, knowledge and more.


eveningstandard--2019-05-30--Best London exhibitions in June 2019 Art galleries museums and culture in the capital

Best London exhibitions in June 2019: Art galleries, museums and culture in the capital

The arrival of summer comes hand in hand with a bumper line-up of exciting exhibitions in the capital.  June is a big month for female artists, with a number of London’s top institutions hosting retrospectives on creatives from the UK, Russia and further afield.  Elsewhere, the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition is back for another year with some notable names on the agenda.  Ready to hit the galleries? These are the exhibitions to look out for this June.  A new exhibition at Serpentine Gallery will celebrate the prolific career of Faith Ringgold, who has challenged perceptions of African American identity and gender inequality for more than half a century. The show will include paintings, story quilts and political posters made during the Black Power movement — including one made to free activist Angela Davis from prison.  It’s double the trouble over at the Gagosian Gallery this June, as the space will host an exhibition on the two-figure paintings of Francis Bacon. The show will focus on the figurative painter’s interest in relationships, both physically and psychologically, through a selection on his works. This storytelling element will make up a key theme of the show, with two pieces forming the centre of it — Two Figures (1953) and Two Figures in the Grass (1954). The artworks have not been seen publicly together since a major retrospective on Bacon’s career, at the Grand Palais in 1971.  Three trailblazing female artists, whose work aims to rethink traditional genres, will be celebrated in an exhibition at Victoria Miro. Works from María Berrio, Caroline Walker, and Flora Yukhnovich will make up the show, which is in collaboration with the Instagram account The Great Women Artists. Themes of migration, the workplace and the gendered language of paintings will be explored through collage-based works, large-scale paintings and more.  Natalia Goncharova was a force to be reckoned with — not only was she the founder of the Russian avant-garde movement but she was also a costume designer and theatre set creator. Tate Modern will host the UK’s first ever retrospective on the revolutionary artist, exploring her innovative collection of work, from her bold body art and religious paintings to her experimental book designs. It will also look to where she found inspiration, from textiles to Russian folklore and beyond.  This year the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition celebrates its 251st birthday and, as with every year, there are some exciting names to look out for. British painter Jock McFadyen has coordinated the prestigious show for 2019, with 1200 works on display, picked out from 16,000 entries. High profile artists on the bill include Tracey Emin, Phyllida Barlow, Jeremy Deller and Frank Bowling — whose piece Ella and Her Mum Zoe’s Visit will be on show.  Whitechapel Gallery has not one but two exciting exhibitions launching this June. The first, kicking off at the beginning of the month, is on American-Iraqi artist Michael Rakowitz — also known as the man behind Trafalgar Square’s Fourth Plinth. Rakowitz takes inspiration from historic buildings and artefacts to create new, invigorating environments. This show is his first major exhibition at a European gallery and will explore themes of loss, history and ritual. Further ahead, the venue will host an exhibition on Helen Cammock, who is shortlisted for this year's Turner Prize . The London-based creative makes pieces across a wide range of mediums, including image, photography, writing, poetry, spoken word, song, performance, printmaking and installation. The exhibition will showcase testimonies on survival and resilience from activists, migrants and refugees.  The Southbank Centre's new exhibition will shine a light on gender fluidity, as well as non-binary, trans and intersex identities in a new group exhibition. More than 100 artworks from 30 international artists will examine gender expression, including installations, video, paintings, sculptures and wall drawings. Visual activist Ajamu and performance artist Martine Gutierrez will be among the names to feature.  Identity and immigration in modern Britain will be the subject of Somerset House’s latest exhibition. Set to showcase the work of ten photographers who were born or based in Britain, with family origins abroad, the show will capture their experience of what it’s like to live as an immigrant (or as a descendant of immigrants) in the UK. Both stills and moving images will make up the show, which has been co-curated by writer Ekow Eshun and creative director Darrell Vydelingum.  Dulwich Picture Gallery is taking visitors back in time this summer, to the short-lived but impactful period of British printmaking in the 1930s. The exhibition will feature works by artists from the Grosvenor School of Modern Art, an institution that was renowned for producing prints that reflected everyday modern life. Vibrant prints depicting London in the inter-war years will form the basis of this new show.  Cindy Sherman constantly reinvents herself through her art, and a new exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery will pay homage to the American photographer’s chameleon-like work. More than 150 photographs by the contemporary artist will go on show, alongside new work that's not been seen before. Among the exhibits will be her Untitled Film Stills series from 1977-80, which reimagines her as stereotypical female film characters from the golden age of Hollywood.


newyorkpost--2019-05-05--Sandbags deployed along Lake Ontario to prepare for flooding

OSWEGO, N.Y. — New York state says it has deployed more than 800,000 sandbags, hundreds of pumps and 920 feet (280 meters) of temporary dams in eight counties along Lake Ontario in preparation for potential flooding.  Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Sunday that officials are concerned that more rain, or high winds, could cause damage. The Democrat spoke in Oswego after viewing the nearby lakefront from a state police boat.  Emergency management officials said Wednesday that the worst of the flooding from heavy rain and snow melt was predicted to begin within a week.  Cuomo says high winds are expected next weekend and could whip up waves and damage.  Rising waters caused extensive damage along the lake in 2017. The flooding cost New York state $100 million in recovery funding.

disaster, accident and emergency incident


npr--2019-07-25--Small Towns Fear They Are Unprepared For Future Climate-Driven Flooding

Small Towns Fear They Are Unprepared For Future Climate-Driven Flooding  It technically began last fall when Hurricane Florence swelled the Ohio River, but really it was all the unnamed storms that came after her — one after another after another, bringing rain on rain on rain across the central U.S. until the Mississippi River hit flood stage this winter.  Much of the Mississippi, and the massive tributaries that feed it, stayed flooded until June. That meant more than 140 days of cascading disasters for hundreds of small towns from Minnesota to Louisiana, and catastrophic damage to ranch and farm communities that dot the Mississippi's swollen branches.  It was the most prolonged, widespread flood fight in U.S. history. The entire Mississippi River basin — an area that drains about 40 percent of the continental United States — was at flood stage this spring for the first time in recorded history, according to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.  For those who were elected to lead their communities through hard times it was, frankly, exhausting.  Now, as the water recedes for the first time in months, a group of mayors from small and midsize towns along the Mississippi River are calling for more federal support to upgrade infrastructure and help move residents out of harm's way.  A bipartisan House bill put forward this week by representatives from Minnesota and Illinois would set aside more federal money for low-interest loans that could be used protect against future floods.  Many leaders of riverfront towns support the proposal because while the flood defenses in major cities largely performed well in this spring's deluge, many smaller communities were overwhelmed.  Downtown Davenport, Iowa, was underwater this spring after a temporary sand-filled flood barrier broke, and neighborhoods in Greenville, Miss.; Sioux Falls, S.D.; Pike County, Mo.; Fort Smith, Ark.; and the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota were inundated. Up and down the Mississippi and its tributaries, residents and local emergency responders spent weeks filling sandbags as a last-ditch effort to protect lives and property.  That has local emergency planners concerned about the future. Climate scientists warn that as the Earth gets hotter, more rain is falling in shorter periods of time across the Mississippi River basin. The 12-month period that ended in May was the wettest ever recorded in the United States. In the future, more extreme precipitation will likely mean higher rivers for longer periods.  In an April opinion piece published by USA Today, the mayors of Davenport, Minneapolis and Baton Rouge argued that the location and design of current infrastructure offers insufficient protection against the effects of a warming Earth. "Our broken river infrastructure is no match for what scientists predict is the new normal," they wrote. "We should not have to depend on sandbags. Not in America."  In Greenville, the Mississippi River dropped below flood stage this week for the first time since February. The city's mayor, Errick Simmons, was part of a group of mayors who traveled to Washington, D.C., this week to ask the federal government for a revolving loan fund to help communities prepare for future floods  "We have had the longest record period of flooding ever – over 141 days," Simmons says. In some places, the water came under levees that were inadequate to hold the river back for so many months on end.  "That long-standing water has resulted in major damage," he says, including dozens of collapsed streets, about 100 buildings damaged or destroyed by water and thousands of residents affected by sewer pump failures.  Poorer residents are affected most seriously by the flooding and sewer failures. About 35 percent of Greenville's residents live in poverty, according to the most recent U.S. Census data.  "It's really strained poor folks," Simmons says. "When it rains, it pours on our disadvantaged and poor communities. When we have these sewer failures in their neighborhoods, because of standing water they can't flush their commodes. And it's a quality of life issue."  Simmons says the city has spent weeks struggling to fix the problem because the water level underground is so high that when crews dig down to repair sewage pumps, for example, they hit water, in some cases just a couple feet below the surface.  This year's flooding might be the most prolonged, but it's just the latest in a string of floods that have exacerbated existing infrastructure problems in Greenville. The city also dealt with damaging water in 2011 and 2016.  Mayor Simmons says he'd like to make Greenville more resilient to the floods he knows are coming, by upgrading the sewage and road infrastructure and by helping people who are currently living in low-lying areas — especially those who feel they can't afford flood insurance — move to higher ground.  These are exactly the types of policy interventions that the federal government recommends for cities dealing with the effects of climate change. But Simmons says the city can't afford it on its own, and the current federal grants that are available aren't enough.  "The only way you can do something about this aging infrastructure is if you get federal help," he says. Otherwise, "the only tools we have [are] to increase property taxes on people who are already impoverished, or have a regressive tax like [raising] sewer rates to fix the aging infrastructure."  The underlying issue, flood experts say, is that so many Americans live in harm's way. Millions of Americans currently live in flood-prone areas, either by necessity, preference, policy or a combination of all three, and climate change is exacerbating their risk.  "Stronger floodplain regulations are critical," says Laura Lightbody, the head of the flood-prepared communities initiative at The Pew Charitable Trusts. "More things, assets and people in harm's way means greater impact, costs and lives lost."  Many local and state governments continue to allow, and even encourage, development in flood-prone areas despite that growing flood risk. In an opinion piece published last year in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, river engineer Desiree Tullos wrote that there are currently "perverse incentives for occupation of flood-prone areas along with a widespread lack of awareness of the associated risks."  Along the Mississippi River and its tributaries, some places are more heavily populated than others. Flood insurance data offers one rough indication of where residents are concentrated in flood-prone areas, in part because those who reside in the floodplain and have a mortgage are required to buy insurance.  An analysis by Pew of recent flood insurance policy data from the Federal Emergency Management Agency showed that the highest rate of flood insurance contracts are in counties around the mouth of the Mississippi.  Don't see the graphic above? Click here.  Many of the most densely populated flood-prone areas are in southeast Louisiana, including New Orleans. But while New Orleans residents are somewhat protected by billions of dollars of levees and other infrastructure, many smaller communities are not.  In Ascension Parish, La., which is located along the Mississippi River near Baton Rouge, the local government warns that the entire area is susceptible to flooding. Nonetheless, the population in the county has steadily grown over the past two decades even as flooding has gotten more severe. The area was badly damaged by flooding in 2016, and it was threatened again this year.  Curtailing development in flood-prone areas has helped other communities mitigate the damage from high water.  Tulsa, Okla., for example, has implemented stringent rules about where and how homes and buildings are constructed, as Joe Wertz of Oklahoma Public Radio has reported. Parts of the city flooded this year as the Arkansas River rose, but years of restrictions on building in the floodplain likely prevented more damage.  After a series of floods in Iowa, local officials worked with the Army Corps of Engineers to move levees farther from the river, making more room for the water and effectively limiting development in the most flood-prone areas. In Illinois, the state and federal governments have spent millions of dollars moving people out of flood-prone areas since the Great Flood of 1993.  But even in places lauded for their relatively strong flood-control policies, local leaders are worried that they are still under-equipped to handle the kinds of prolonged, record-breaking floods that battered them this year and are more likely in the future.  "Since 1993, we've moved residents out of the floodplain and other repetitive-loss areas," Rick Eberlin, the mayor of Grafton, Ill., said during a call with reporters this week. But his riverfront town north of St. Louis is still susceptible to damaging floods. Roads were underwater this spring when the Mississippi rose to its second-highest crest ever.  Eberlin is among the local leaders calling on the federal government to make more money available for smaller towns like his to pursue flood mitigation projects, specifically the types of infrastructure upgrades that make room for the river and further disincentivize development in the most flood-prone areas. That includes restoring wetlands and moving levees back from the river's edge.  "We are a smaller city," Eberlin says. "We're asking for a helping hand."


tass--2019-07-29--Emergencies Ministry prepares for second flood wave in Russias Far East

Emergencies Ministry prepares for second flood wave in Russia’s Far East

"The Russian Emergencies Ministry is preparing for a second wave of floods in the Far East. A group is being built up for preventive purposes, and the deployment of forces and means for elimination of possible effects is being checked. To prevent inundations, hydrotechnical facilities are being reinforced, and water-filled dams in places that are most prone to floods are being mounted," the ministry said.  MOSCOW, July 29. /TASS/. The Russian Emergencies Ministry is building up a group in the Far Eastern regions where a water rise is forecasted due to precipitations, the ministry’s press service told TASS on Monday.  The Emergencies Ministry said that heavy rains are expected in the Sakha, Buryatia, Trans-Baikal, Primorsky, Khabarovsk, Amur and Sakhalin Regions and the Jewish and Chukotka Autonomous Regions, as well as on the Kuril Islands; the weather will be the worst on July 30-31.  "Based on the situation development model as a result of the integrated effect of cyclones, water rise in rivers and the flood wave travel, they will have the highest influence on the southern areas of the Amur Region and the Jewish Autonomous Region and the southern and central parts of the Khabarovsk Region. Considering this, the water level in the town of Blagoveshchensk may reach 6.5 meters with inundation of communities downstream," the Emergencies Ministry added.  The flood crest will hit Komsomolsk-on-Amur on August 10. In light of this, the Emergencies Ministry promised to mount water-filled dams there by August 6. Such dams were also transported to the Khabarovsk Region.


thetelegraph--2019-07-29--Prepare your homes for flooding warns the Met Office as sandbags are handed out ahead of midweek do

Prepare your homes for flooding, warns the Met Office as sandbags are handed out ahead of midweek downpour

Prepare your homes for flooding, the Met Office has warned as sandbags were handed out ahead of the expected midweek downpour.  Severe weather warnings with the potential for homes and businesses to be “flooded quickly” have been issued for the next two days by the Met Office.  Forecasters have said that a second band of low pressure will hit the country on Tuesday with half a months rainfall predicted in just a few hours in parts of the South West and Wales.  The Met Office said the warnings meant “that homes and businesses could be flooded quickly, with damage to some buildings from floodwater, lightning strikes, hail or strong winds.”  They added that the floodwater could be “fast flowing or deep” with a substantial risk of lightning strikes, hail and strong winds.  Yesterday, Fire Services worked alongside the Environment Agency in Manchester to  hand out sandbags after flooding on Sunday night as further bad weather is predicted over the coming days.  Yellow severe weather warnings for thunderstorms were issued for parts of England and Wales today as well as for parts of England, Scotland and Wales tomorrow.


thetelegraph--2019-08-15--Homeowners told to prepare for flooding as England could see a months worth of rain in one day

Homeowners told to prepare for flooding as England could see a month's worth of rain in one day

Homeowners have been told to prepare for flooding as some parts of the UK could be hit with almost a month’s worth of rain tomorrow.  The Met Office issued weather warnings across the west of the country as they predicted as much as 60mm of rain could fall across Dartmoor, in Devon.  The average rainfall for August in England is 69.3mm, meaning almost an entire month’s worth of rain could hit the area in just 24 hours.  Yellow weather warnings are in place across much of the west, including Wales where 80mm of rain is expected to fall in parts.  The Met Office has warned that transport could be affected and flooding of a few homes and businesses is possible.  The heaviest rainfall may coincide with peak travel times during Friday afternoon and early evening, causing difficult driving conditions, it said.  The forecasted bad weather follows last week’s unseasonably windy spell, which saw gusts of up to 60mph in the south east.  Helen Roberts, a Met Office meteorologist said: “There is some pretty wet and quite windy weather on the way for Friday, a deep area of low pressure pushing from the Atlantic that is going to bring a spell of rain for all.


eveningstandard--2019-11-11--Yorkshire floods: RAF helicopter brought in to bolster defences as area braces itself for more rain

A military helicopter has been working through the night to bolster defences in flood-hit South Yorkshire as the area braces itself for more rain.  The RAF Chinook began ferrying bags of aggregate on to flood banks in the Bentley area of Doncaster on Sunday evening - close to an area of housing which was inundated by floodwater on Friday.  The military intervention came at the request of the Environment Agency, which said on Twitter: "We've asked for military support to move aggregate to the #BentleyIngs area.  "The aggregate is being used to add further strength to a #flood defence in the area."  The air drops in the Doncaster area came as the Met Office issued fresh weather warnings for heavy rain in South Yorkshire and as people who stayed in a flooded village cut off by river water were urged to leave by the council.  Around half the 700 residents of Fishlake, near Doncaster, left the village as the River Don burst its banks last week.  Those who stayed behind have been helping themselves amid the waist-high floods, with the local cafe and pub supplying food to those trapped inside their homes.  But on Sunday - as Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he was "in awe" of the resilience of flood-hit communities - Doncaster Council said it will not be providing "on the ground support" in Fishlake as the advice remains for residents to evacuate.  Chief executive Damian Allen said: "We are concerned over reports that some residents remain in the Fishlake area.  "South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue crews are on hand to evacuate any Fishlake residents who may be stuck in their homes, and we would urge everybody to take advantage of this.  "The council are unable to offer on-the-ground support to residents who are in severe flood warning areas, based on advice from the Environment Agency."  Mr Allen said a rest centre had been set up in nearby Stainforth, and the latest advice is that the Environment Agency does not expect flood waters in Fishlake to start to go down for at least the next 24 hours.  The council's statement came after villagers complained about a lack of support from the local authority.  The dispute in Fishlake heightened as the Met Office said on Sunday that more rain is expected to hit the UK overnight.  It has issued yellow weather warnings for heavy rain on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday.  All cover the South Yorkshire area and the crucial catchment area of the River Don, which remains high along its length.  The warnings cover the same areas that are still dealing with the aftermath from Thursday and Friday's downpours stretching from Yorkshire to Derbyshire and the East Midlands.  Several areas were deluged with one month's worth of rain in a day, and a woman died after being swept up in floodwaters.  The body of Annie Hall, the former High Sheriff of Derbyshire, was found in the River Derwent on Friday morning after she was engulfed by floodwater in Darley Dale, near Matlock.  Mr Johnson visited Matlock on Friday while Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn met flooded residents in Conisborough, South Yorkshire, on Saturday.  On Sunday evening the number of "danger to life" severe flood warnings was reduced from seven to five. All are along the River Don in Yorkshire.  There were also 43 active flood warnings and 103 flood alerts.


thetelegraph--2019-11-15--UK weather: Ten thousand homes planned for high-risk flood plains, analysis reveals

Close to 10,000 new homes are set to be built on high-risk flood plains across England, according to analysis by Greenpeace UK.  As the rain continues to batter northern parts of the country, the conservation group released its Unearthed investigation.  By cross-referencing house-building plans in 10 flood-prone local authorities - including Yorkshire, Lincolnshire and the Midlands - with the Environment Agency’s (EA) flood risk map, Greenpeace identified proposals to build 9,688 homes in high-risk areas. • Across Lincolnshire, which currently has five flood warnings in place, 5,227 homes are planned in high-risk flood zones. • In Sheffield and Doncaster, the two areas hit the hardest by recent flooding in England, hundreds of new-builds are planned in high-risk zones. In addition, 5,123 homes are planned for medium-risk areas, including a "new town" just over one mile from Fishlake, which has seen heavy flooding this week. • Figures obtained from the EA show that in 2017-18 in almost half the cases where the agency objected to a planning application from a local authority, the EA did not know whether its advice was followed.  But a source at the Environment Agency told The Telegraph that it was local planning authorities who are responsible and accountable for approving proposals for new development in their local areas.


thetelegraph--2019-07-30--UK weather Prepare your homes for flooding warns Met Office as sandbags handed out

UK weather: Prepare your homes for flooding, warns Met Office as sandbags handed out

Prepare your homes for flooding, the Met Office has warned as sandbags were handed out ahead of the expected midweek downpour.  Severe weather warnings with the potential for homes and businesses to be “flooded quickly” have been issued for the next two days by the Met Office.  Forecasters have said that a second band of low pressure will hit the country on Tuesday with half a month's rainfall predicted in just a few hours in parts of the South West and Wales.  The Met Office said on Monday the warnings meant “that homes and businesses could be flooded quickly, with damage to some buildings from floodwater, lightning strikes, hail or strong winds.”  They added that the floodwater could be “fast flowing or deep” with a substantial risk of lightning strikes, hail and strong winds.  On Monday, Fire Services worked alongside the Environment Agency in Manchester to  hand out sandbags after flooding on Sunday night as further bad weather is predicted over the coming days.  Yellow severe weather warnings for thunderstorms were issued for parts of England and Wales on Tuesday as well as for parts of England, Scotland and Wales on Wednesday.


theguardianuk--2019-02-03--More than half of care homes fail fire safety inspection

The majority of care homes inspected in a major fire safety audit failed basic checks, it has emerged, triggering concerns that the lives of elderly people are being put at risk.  Of the 177 homes inspected by the London Fire Brigade (LFB), 101 – 57% – were issued with a formal notification instructing them to address safety concerns.  The brigade said it believed the findings would be repeated if similar inspections were carried out across the country.  Dan Daly, LFB assistant commissioner, said: “Care home owners need to review their fire risk assessments urgently. If you were placing your loved one into the care of others, you would expect them to be safe but, for too many, the very roof they are under could put them at risk.”  The brigade launched the review after a series of fires at old people’s homes. In February 2018 a resident in his 80s died and another was left in a critical condition after a fire at the Woodlands View care home in Stevenage. In 2017 two people died in a Cheshunt care home after a fire travelled through the roof, quickly engulfing the building.  Just under half – 45% – of the homes inspected were found to have an unsuitable or insufficiently comprehensive fire risk assessment, a significant concern for the LFB.  “To make a proper fire risk assessment you need to properly understand how fire can travel and develop, otherwise you’re just guessing your safety plan,” Daly said.  “You wouldn’t let an underqualified surgeon operate on you, so why allow someone without the proper experience to undertake your fire risk assessment?”  One in seven homes, or 14%, were found to have poor emergency planning or a potential lack of staff to implement the plan. A similar proportion of homes had problems with their protected escape corridors, while there were failures relating to fire doors at 29% of the homes inspected. One in 10 provided inadequate training for staff.  The LFB said it feared that fire safety training for care home staff was becoming generic.  Against the backdrop of the Grenfell tragedy, the findings make sobering reading, and the brigade has written to the care homes it inspected, alerting them of the need to conduct adequate risk assessments.  “It is concerning that operators of care homes do not in all cases understand the need for their fire risk assessment to be carried out by an assessor that is competent and experienced in these fire safety complexities,” the LFB said in its letter, seen by the Observer.  Debbie Ivanova, a deputy chief inspector at the Care Quality Commission, which monitors care providers, said it was the duty of the businesses running the homes to ensure that they had the right fire protection measures in place.  “We know that good care home providers invest in proper and regular fire training for their staff, and ensure that emergency plans are kept up to date,” she said. “But as the LFB’s findings make clear, good fire safety isn’t the norm everywhere.”


theirishtimes--2019-03-23--Dublin Fire Brigade orders fire safety review at Sandyford complex

Dublin Fire Brigade has ordered the developer of a 632-unit boom-time apartment development to conduct a full fire-safety review after concerns were raised by an investigation undertaken at the scheme.  Simonsridge in Sandyford, Co Dublin was built in 2006 by developer Shannon Homes.  A preliminary investigation by management company KPM uncovered a range of potential fire safety issues, according to correspondence sent by the manager to residents at the development. The issues are understood to relate to fire safety features in common areas, as well as other structural and fire-stopping elements.  The management company has also passed its findings to Dublin Fire Brigade, which confirmed it has asked Shannon Homes to undertake a full investigation at the scheme. Residents at Simonsridge, a major development which spans several sub-estates, have also been asked to volunteer as fire wardens in order to maintain an increased level of vigilance.  Shannon Homes had not responded to a request for comment prior to publication.  Dublin Fire Brigade (DFB) confirmed it became aware of fire safety concerns at the development in late 2018. “DFB contacted the developer in January 2019 requesting a full fire safety report,” said the fire brigade.  Residents were told about the latest developments in an email from KPM earlier this month. The email, which has been seen by The Irish Times, states that “investigations have been on-going to assess the presence of potential fire safety related issues in Simonsridge”.  “Preliminary findings were presented to Dublin Fire Brigade, who in turn have directed Shannon Homes, the original developers of Simonsridge, to employ a fire safety specialist to investigate matters further and report back to Dublin Fire Brigade within two weeks.”  A second email sent to residents by the management company shows they are being asked to volunteer as fire safety wardens. “In an effort to minimise risk and to increase awareness of fire safety among residents we are looking for at least one person per building who may be interested in becoming a fire warden for their building”.  A spokesman for KPM said that the company would not comment on individual developments. However, he confirmed that the company recently met with Dublin Fire Brigade and following that meeting “we have taken the advice of DFB and written to residents in a number of developments in the Dublin region with regard to fire safety”.  “In a number of cases, investigations into legislative compliance levels within residential buildings and adherence to original fire cert applications are ongoing. Our number one priority is the life safety of residents.”  KPM has previously told The Irish Times that it identified fire safety issues in “almost all” of the 60 apartment blocks it surveyed after the Grenfell tower disaster. The company has called for reform of how apartment blocks are managed and the provision of a State-backed remediation fund. A recent investigatoin by The Irish Times uncovered legacy issues at four boom-era apartment developments in Dublin, prompting widespread calls for a new system to remedy defects.


theirishtimes--2019-04-01--Fire safety work ongoing at 24 sites says Dublin Fire Brigade

Fire safety work ongoing at 24 sites, says Dublin Fire Brigade

Works are under way to remedy fire safety deficiencies at 24 apartment developments around Dublin city, according to Dublin Fire Brigade.  The fire service said it is aware of two dozen instances where the deficiencies found in apartments are serious enough to require remediation, which can cost tens of thousands of euro and involve significant works.  It would not share the names of the developments or their locations, but said it was working with management companies on the remediation programmes. The developments are spread around the city.  “Where fire safety deficiencies are highlighted that require remedial works, Dublin Fire Brigade will work with the OMC [owners’ management companies] or management companies to ensure the deficiencies are rectified and works prioritised on a risk-severity basis,” DFB said in a statement.  The figures only refer to remedial works currently under way, according to the fire service. The number of developments facing potential fire safety issues which have been identified but are not yet being remediated is likely to be significantly higher.  Since 2012, the fire service has inspected 7,809 premises, including 890 apartments. Depending on the seriousness of what is found, issues can be addressed immediately, while other issues require the completion of fire-risk assessments or follow-up inspections. A smaller number require more substantial remediation works to varying degrees, it said.  It has extensive powers under the fire safety Acts, including ordering the evacuation of a building, as it did at Priory Hall in 2011. A spokesman for the fire service said it would use its enforcement powers “when warranted. However, our main focus is on safety and we will work with OMCs to ensure that they carry out any remedial works required, to help them improve the fire safety in their building.”  This comes after it emerged that property owners at Verdemont, in Blanchardstown, are facing bills of up to €50,000 each to remedy fire safety issues at the block. Documents seen by The Irish Times show apartment owners have consulted with accountancy firm BDO about potential financing solutions, including private equity firms and investment funds. Under one plan, an investment fund could purchase apartments from owners and complete the works required.  According to a note sent to residents, management has also met with representatives of Taoiseach Leo Varadkar who have brought their concerns to the attention of junior housing minister Damien English.


theirishtimes--2019-04-24--Urgent fire safety risks found at care centre

‘Urgent’ fire safety risks found at care centre

The State’s health watchdog found “urgent action” was required to address fire safety risks at a Roscommon care centre during an unannounced inspection in December.  The Health Information and Quality Authority (Hiqa) said governance and management systems at St Eithne’s Rest Care Centre in Tulsk required “review and significant improvement” to ensure the service provided was safe.  The 10-bed residential centre accommodates members of the local community with low and medium dependency needs. The inspection was carried out to determine what progress had been achieved in addressing issues following a previous inspection in September.  The September inspection found the centre needed to strengthen its governance and management structures; to take action to reduce and manage the risk of fire, and to limit its number of residents to a level that could be cared for safely.  During the December inspection, Hiqa found the centre had not taken the necessary action to mitigate risks and had failed to improve regulatory compliance.  Hiqa said some of the residents living in the centre had high dependency needs, which the centre was neither structured nor resourced to manage safely. This issue had been discussed with the centre in October, but it failed to take definitive corrective action.  Inspectors were not assured there was sufficient staff with an appropriate skill-mix available to effectively meet the needs of residents. They also observed that residents were sitting in the sittingroom for most of the day unsupervised.  They called for a complete staffing review to ensure that a safe standard of care was delivered. The centre said steps have since been taken to address the concerns outlined by Hiqa.  The inspection report was one of 48 on residential centres for older people published by Hiqa on Wednesday.  Elsewhere, Hiqa was critical of Corrandulla Nursing Home in Co Galway for a failure to supervise residents adequately. Inspectors said “poor practices” were observed at the centre, which housed 22 residents on the day of the inspection in January.  “The inspector observed a resident receiving assistance with their meal,” Hiqa said. “The resident’s chair was in a tilted position. The chair was left tilted for the duration of the meal, which meant that the resident was looking up at the ceiling at all times.  “The positioning of the chair also excluded the resident from taking part in any conversation had by the other residents sitting at the table. A full review on the dining experience for residents was required.”  The centre informed Hiqa that it would seek to take on additional staff to address the concerns raised.  Hiqa also identified HSE centres in Ballinasloe, Co Galway, and Skibbereen, Co Cork, where staff had not been vetted by the Garda. Furthermore, significant fire safety risks were identified at Mount Carmel Community Hospital in Co Dublin.  Of the 48 reports published, inspectors found evidence of good practice and compliance with the regulations and standards in 39 centres. In general, these centres were found to be meeting residents’ needs.  In the nine centres found to be non-compliant, inspectors identified issues of concern in relation to residents’ rights, staffing, training and staff development, risk management, infection control, and medicines and pharmaceutical services.


theirishtimes--2019-10-01--Fire safety and governance issues identified by Hiqa in nursing homes

Almost half of the nursing homes that were subject of the latest batch of inspections by the Health Information and Quality Authority (Hiqa) were found to be non-compliant with regulations.  Of 29 inspection reports released by the health watchdog on Tuesday, 14 contain evidence of non-compliance with fire precautions, proper governance and other issues.  At Hollybrook Lodge, a nursing home run by St James’s Hospital at St Michael’s Estate in Inchicore, Dublin, inspectors said it was not clear if sufficient resources were in place to meet residents’ recreational needs.  “Inspectors were told that up to 90 per cent of the residents on site had dementia or a similar cognitive impairment, and many were observed throughout the day not engaged in any meaningful activity,” Hiqa said.  It also found evidence of insufficient resources being provided to maintain the building, that some governance policies were out of date and that personnel and Garda vetting records were not maintained on site. Inspectors also identified gaps in staff training, and delays in addressing maintenance issues.  Hiqa noted that staff routinely referred to residents as patients, and also raised other issues more akin to hospital practice than a nursing home environment. These included residents remaining in bed until noon, and residents being placed in the dining area up to 50 minutes before meals were served.  The centre was non-compliant on fire regulations as 29 staff had not received training and some doors were found to be wedged open on the day of inspection.  At the Powdermill nursing home in Ballincollig, Co Cork, inspectors found the provider was not taking adequate precautions against the risk of fire in relation to the storage of oxygen cylinders, the evacuation of residents with limited mobility and the standard of the fire detection and alarm system.  The report was critical of evacuation arrangements for residents on the first floor in the event of a fire, and said improvement to fire checks were needed.  With most residents eating their meals in their bedrooms, the report says their experience could be enhanced by providing more suitable seating arrangements.  At Rivervale nursing home in Nenagh, Co Tipperary, inspectors found many rooms in the building, as well as equipment and furniture, were not clean and not in a good state of repair.  They found staining on walls, dust and cobwebs on walls, ceilings and behind furniture, and armchairs with damaged upholstery.  “This impacted upon the pleasant appearance of the centre, as well as affecting the ability of some surfaces and items to be cleaned effectively in line with good practice standards for the prevention and control of healthcare-associated infections,” the inspection report noted.


thesun--2019-02-19--New cars could soon have airbags on the OUTSIDE to reduce damage and injury in an accident

AIRBAGS could soon inflate on the outside of your car milliseconds before you're involved in a crash  And the safety precaution could seriously improve your chances of surviving an accident.  German auto supplier ZF Friedrichshafen AG has spent the past 10 years working on an external airbag the deploys along the entire side of a vehicle.  When the system senses a crash is about to occur, an airbag will activate and create a buffer between the other vehicle or object.  Recent testing showed the airbag can absorb the majority of the force during a crash, which then allowed the in-car airbags to properly deploy.  The airbags can fully inflate in less than 100 milliseconds and provide a buffer the width of a car's front bumper.  And recent tests have shown the airbags can help reduce the severity of injuries in a car accident by up to 40 per cent.  The company is currently in talks with auto manufacturers and expects to start installing the airbags in new models within the next two years.  Dr Michael Michael Büchsner, Head of ZF’s Passive Safety Systems Division, said: "Occupant safety is paramount when developing new vehicles for automated and autonomous driving.  "Our concept of the pre-crash external side airbag is a great example of how ZF wants to achieve its Vision Zero, a world without accidents and emissions.  "ZF is in the early stages of the process to clarify potential hurdles and clear the path for market introduction of this technology."


thedailycaller--2019-01-10--Toyota Wants 17 Million Vehicles Back Because Airbags Are Potentially Deadly

Toyota Wants 1.7 Million Vehicles Back Because Airbags Are ‘Potentially Deadly’

Japanese automaker Toyota wants 1.7 million vehicles in North America back because of “potentially deadly” Takata airbag inflators, reported The Associated Press Wednesday.  It’s the next step in what has been one of the biggest automotive recalls in U.S. history, reported the AP. Japanese manufacturer Takata’s front passenger air bag inflators killed at least 23 people worldwide and injured hundreds more. The inflators can “explode with too much force and hurl shrapnel into drivers and passengers,” according to the AP.  Toyota announced it will replace the inflators or entire air bags on 1.7 vehicles in North America, 1.3 million of which are in the U.S, reported Fortune.  The problem with the air bag inflators traces back to their chemical element, reported the AP. Takata used ammonium nitrate to generate an explosion to inflate the air bags, but excessive humidity and temperature changes can cause the chemical to deteriorate. That’s why inflators in the South along the Gulf of Mexico pose the greatest risks, according to the AP.  Toyota is reaching out to owners of the vehicles at risk in late January. Meanwhile, Ford and Honda are also recalling many vehicles with Takata inflators, bringing the tally to 10 million inflators slated to be replaced starting in January, according to the AP. This particular wave of recalls dates back to 2014. (RELATED: Report Warns Of Dire Consequences If Lawmakers Lift Electric Vehicle Tax Credits)  Airbag inflator Takata had to see bankruptcy protection over the malfunctions, reported Fortune.  Toyota also announced a recall of more than 1 million hybrid vehicles worldwide for defective wiring in September.  There was also a worry President Donald Trump’s 25-percent tariff on imported auto and auto parts would raise vehicle prices in the U.S.  Content created by The Daily Caller News Foundation is available without charge to any eligible news publisher that can provide a large audience. For licensing opportunities of our original content, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.