Italy quake draws little media coverage

Although the story is the top headline, coverage is scant

Unlike previous earthquake tragedies, the Italian earthquake has failed to draw the usual saturation coverage from news channels. Although the news broke in the early hours of Monday, pictures were slow to role in. In Britain several domestic stories also took up much airtime which also pushed the Italian earthquake back on the news agenda. For much of the day CNN continued with regularly scheduled programming with Living Golf and World Sport remaining in place. Other news channels also brought scant coverage of events happening in Italy. Although al-Jazeera, Press TV, France 24 and Russia Today all covered the story, none gave it more than a few minutes airtime.

The 6.3 earthquake struck at 03:32 local time [01:32 GMT] at a depth of only 10 km. Striking in a rural area it has hampered rescue efforts. The tremors also hit towns and villages with extremely old buildings and hardly any remained unscathed. Initially more than 50,000 people were said to have been made homeless in the town of L’Aquila, which means eagle in Italian. But by Tuesday morning the town’s mayor revised this figure down to 10,000. However this still accounts for at least 1 in 7 of the population.

The death toll rose however. First reports indicated a relatively low death toll of some 50 individuals. As night fell the figure had risen to 91. Official figures released on Tuesday morning put the death toll at 179. But many people remain trapped in rubble and rescue efforts are continuing despite there being relatively little coverage of events on the ground.

The effort to dig injured people from the rubble of the ancient town has been difficult. Several aftershocks as large as 4.9 on the Richter scale have shaken the region making the search extremely dangerous. The weather has so far remained clear, but with temperatures falling to as low as 3 degrees Celsius at night, it is imperative to reach those trapped as quickly as possible. Day time temperatures are a little more tolerable reaching about 16 degrees, but Wednesday may bring rain which will add to the problems faced in the rescue effort.

At least 1,500 people have been injured and rescuers have pulled some 100 people alive from the rubble. Authorities say at least 34 people are still missing, but it is not clear whether all the rural areas have been searched. The BBC, which have given the most extensive news coverage, visited the deserted village of Onna where hardly a single property has remained unscathed. The thousands made homeless by this disaster face an uncertain future. New homes will almost certainly have to be built. Even those still standing remain structurally unsafe. As to who will pay for the reconstruction, is also an unknown quantity [BBC / Sky News / CNN].

Magnitude 7 quake hits close to Indonesia

A large magnitude 7 earthquake has struck close to Indonesia according to the US Geological Survey. The tremor hit at 17:34 GMT [01:34 local time] at a depth of 35 km. It is one of several earthquakes that have struck the region in the past few days. The epicentre is several kilometres off the coast [3.873N, 126.408E] but it is not known if a tsunami warning has been issued.

2008 leaves little to rejoice about

Oil prices, China, the US election & a global recession dominated 2008

2008 has been an eventful year but perhaps it is the cataclysmic events that have left the most lasting of memories. January saw the price of oil pass the $100 per barrel mark. The month also saw a stand off between Iranian forces and US warships over territorial water disputes. The year also started with Israeli incursions into Gaza leaving nearly 50 Palestinians dead. Financial markets were also rocked after rogue trader Jerome Kerviel lost more than €4.9 billion for the French bank Societe Generale in what at the time was described as a “large scale internal fraud” by President Sarkozy.

China saw the beginning of what was a turbulent year after thousands became stranded in the worst snow storms the country had seen for years. The clear up continued well into February and left dozens dead. The US also experienced rare February storms which left around 60 dead. The New York Philharmonic Orchestra played a rare concert in North Korea to soften the diplomatic tension between the two countries. But tensions continued in many other countries. Violent clashes occurred in Serbia and Kosovo after the latter declared its independence and bombings continued to wreak havoc in Iraq and Pakistan.

In March Dmitry Medvedev won the Russian election but was widely seen as Putin’s puppet. Attempts at developing a peace process in the Middle East once again fell on stony ground and incursions and terrorist attacks continued. China returned to the headlines after riots in Tibet left up to 100 dead and the fallout became a PR disaster for the country after protests followed the Olympic torch around the globe during April. There were further troubles after a train crash in Shandong province left 70 dead.

May became a cause for celebration for many Londoners after Boris Johnson won the Mayoral election. But it was the natural disaster in Myanmar which dominated headlines after a cyclone left thousands dead and without help as the country’s dictatorship refused foreign aid. China was the next victim after a massive earthquake struck Sichuan province. Around 80,000 died in the earthquake and a quarter of a million were injured, but China was far more accepting of foreign help, though it was less appreciative of the criticism of its building regulations after it emerged many schools appeared to have been badly built. May also saw oil rise beyond $135 per barrel leaving many motorists around the world with increased running costs.

June brought further rises in the price of fuel and tanker strikes in Britain which nearly saw the pumps run dry. Zimbabwe was once again in the news after Robert Mugabe stole another election. But in the US election Hillary Clinton finally conceded defeat in her bid as Democratic candidate and endorsed Barack Obama. China once again suffered the wrath of nature’s power after floods left millions homeless and more than a hundred dead.

July saw violence return to Israel after a man used a tractor to unleash an attack on civilians. Four were killed and nearly 40 were injured before the man was shot dead by police. Bomb attacks in Afghanistan and Pakistan left more than 60 dead. July also saw the first signs of the impending recession after Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac ran into trouble and stock markets around the world began to fluctuate wildly. But it was the Olympics which hit the headlines as August arrived. However, despite the show of the century, the media could not help but criticise the poor air quality, the arrests of foreign journalists and highlight terrorist attacks that struck in parts of the country.

As the US election campaign got into full swing the financial crisis began to bite hard and one institution after another began to fold. China was also suffering from its own crisis after it was revealed that milk had been contaminated with the industrial chemical melamine leaving thousands sick and at least four babies dead. But it was the financial downturn that gripped most people’s attention well into October. Almost everyday there was further bad news as one company after another announced it was running into financial difficulty.

November brought with it a moment of history after Barack Obama became the first black American President. But the celebrations were short lived as the reality of the deepening financial crisis set in. There was further tragedy after Pakistani terrorists killed dozens on the streets of Mumbai in India. A three day siege ensued and around 156 were killed. India was left reeling from the attacks and there were calls from many to retaliate against Pakistan. THere was no retaliation, though tensions remain high between the two nuclear powers.

December saw Greece gripped by riots after police shot a young teenager dead. Zimbabwe, already suffering from financial collapse, was now becoming the victim of a cholera pandemic which Mugabe blamed on the West. But the West was more concerned with its own demise as one company after another shut its doors. For many retailers it was far from a very merry Christmas as many were forced to slash prices in order to drum up trade. And in the Middle East, the birthplace of Christ, it ended much as it had begun with Israeli bombardments on Gaza and with tanks preparing to roll into the Palestinian territory.