Antarctic scientist accused of threatening to kill colleagues trapped in research station apologises
The Antarctic researcher accused of threatening to kill colleagues trapped in a remote research station has apologised.
Researchers at the Sanae IV base in Vesleskarvet, Queen Maude Land sent an urgent email back to South Africa late last month pleading for rescue claiming a member of the nine-person team had attacked someone and was issuing further threats.
The South African Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE) said in a statement on Tuesday that the alleged assault between two members of the overwintering team was reported on February 27, and the accused has 'shown remorse'.
'The alleged perpetrator has willingly participated in further psychological evaluation, has shown remorse and is willingly cooperative to follow any interventions that are recommended,' the department said.
'He has written a formal apology to the victim and is willing to verbally apologise to all members at the base. The Department has also implemented a longer term sustained intervention process through trained professional counselling services in order to restore the relationships and build a healthy working environment.'
The department said the Minister Dr Dion George and the department's director-general Nomfundo Tshabalala have 'personally taken charge of the management process'.
'The Department immediately activated the response plan to engage the individuals involved through trained professionals in order to mediate and restore relationships at the base,' DFFE said.
'This process has been ongoing on an almost daily basis in order to ensure that those on the base know that the Department is supportive and willing to do whatever is needed to restore the interpersonal relationships, but also firm in dealing with issues of discipline.'
The team is spending the long months of winter 2,500 miles from South Africa's nearest point on the base, where typical temperatures are below -20C and wind speeds can near 150mph.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Herald Scotland
4 days ago
- The Herald Scotland
ICE raid track sends shockwaves across racing: 'There's no hiding'
And now, perhaps predictably, there's reason for horse racing to be nervous that it's about to have a major problem on its hands. An ICE raid Tuesday morning at Delta Downs in Vinton, Louisiana, where more than 80 backstretch workers were reportedly detained, should be a wake-up call for an industry that would simply not be able to function without a workforce of grooms and hotwalkers and stall cleaners who are, by some credible estimates, roughly 75% immigrants. They come from places like Venezuela, Panama, Colombia and Mexico, working low-wage jobs but filling indispensable roles, caring round-the-clock for animals worth hundreds of thousands, even millions of dollars. Most of these workers at the glamorous tracks like Churchill Downs and Saratoga are here on H-2B visas that the prominent and well-resourced barns manage to secure for them, allowing them to travel from one race meet to the next. Even in the best of times, though, it can be a tricky system to navigate with just 66,000 issued each year by the U.S. government, long processing times and an intricate renewal mechanism. And, of course, these are not the best of times. In a climate where immigrant construction workers are getting systematically arrested in Home Depot parking lots, the only thing that would prevent racetracks from being a big, fat target for ICE are the whims of a president. "We're out in the middle of the open," Velie said. "There's no hiding. You're in the middle of a town and they can surround you and come round up a lot of people at once." 'Everybody's nervous' Ever since it became clear during the first weeks of the current Trump Administration that its posture toward deportations would be more aggressive than in his first term, it has been horse racing's barely spoken but impossible-to-ignore fear, lingering in the background every day on the backside. "Everybody's nervous about it," prominent trainer Dale Romans told reporters during a Kentucky Derby-week news conference set up to specifically address the threat posed by a potential ICE raid at a racetrack. "If we couldn't have an immigrant workforce on the backside, I don't know how horse racing exists. We need a common sense path to long-term legalization. We're not talking citizenship, just some kind of work permit. "The perfect scenario is we get an amnesty program that leads to a work permit. If you're vetted, if you're proven not to be a criminal, you pay your taxes, you are sponsored by an employer, you have a right to work in the United States. That's all we're asking for." It is, of course, a difficult topic to get most people to address. Not just because trainers or owners are reticent to draw undue attention to themselves but because of the clear political implications: The racetrack is, by and large, an unabashedly Republican-leaning ecosystem. Many prominent owners and racetrack executives have direct lines to Trump himself. And that's why it seemed like there was relief last week when the Department of Homeland Security issued guidance exempting the agricultural industry, hotels and restaurants from these raids due to the harm being inflicted on those businesses. Though horse racing wasn't specifically mentioned, it clearly falls into the same category. Then, a couple days later, the White House reversed course and decided to resume those raids. It didn't take long for a racetrack to be on the hit list. "The head of the New York Racing Association, Marc Holliday, is business partners with (Trump's son-in-law) Jared Kushner, so he had pretty strong assurances there would be some type of executive action protecting the horsemen and agriculture workers," Velie said. "But I think there's a lot of competing factions inside the administration battling over this." Sweeping up 'folks that are constantly caring for the horses' Regardless of where you fall on the political spectrum, the issue of whether horse racing should be relying on cheap immigrant labor is fair game for critique. Steve Asmussen, the all-time winningest trainer in North America, earlier this month finally settled a 10-year-old court case with the Department of Labor over hundreds of thousands of dollars in overtime and back pay. Over the years, whenever wages and living conditions of backstretch workers have been subject to media scrutiny, it's rarely made the industry look good. It's a tough way to make a living. But in the end, for thousands of people who desperately need it, it is a living. And their symbiotic relationship with horses who need to be fed and taken care of isn't just a human story. One of the biggest concerns coming out of any potential racetrack raid is what happens to the horses while their grooms are being arrested. "The problem is that the kind of work the people on the backside, the grooms and hotwalkers, those folks that are constantly caring for the horses and making sure they're maintained and healthy, that job is 24-7 just a real difficult job," said Peter Ecabert, the general counsel for the National Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association. "It's hard to get anyone to do that job, and we depend a lot on immigrants and they're hard-working and good people. Obviously there are a couple that may have run afoul of the legal system, and in those cases, especially if there's a violent situation we don't want them around either. We'd work with ICE in any way possible to make sure those people are taken into custody and transported back after their due process hearing. But as far as an unannounced raid on the backside of racetracks, that just puts all of us in a real difficult situation and puts the horses at risk." Chelsea Perez, the senior program manger of equine protection at Humane World for Animals, told USA TODAY Sports that it was critical for any law enforcement action to include a process where the safety and well-being of the horses is secured. "Horses are large, easily frightened animals who can suffer serious injury or injure others when not properly handled," she said. "The development of appropriate protocols is key to effective emergency response for both law enforcement agencies and equine facility managers." Meanwhile, there is a school of thought among those USA TODAY Sports has spoken with that a racetrack in Louisiana was particularly vulnerable to an ICE raid for a few reasons, including the fact that racing in the state is operating under a court injunction preventing the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA) rules from being enforced. A HISA spokesperson declined comment, and the National Thoroughbred Racing Association did not answer a request for comment. Delta Downs is also currently running its quarter horse meet, where there would be stronger suspicion about workers without visas being present than at higher-profile Thoroughbred tracks. Still, there's a potential chilling effect for the whole industry now that an ICE raid has taken place at a racetrack, particularly given the lack of consistent message from the Trump Administration. "There is a lot of tension on the backside," Ecabert said. "People are concerned, obviously, that there's going to be (another) raid and a lot of apprehensive people for sure." Of course, this is what many of those owners and trainers voted for - even if they didn't realize it. "I got calls from tracks all over the country (the next day), and every one of them was saying the same thing: 'If it happens there, it can happen here. What's our plan?' Velie said. "The long-term plan is to get your workforce on to stable visas, but in the short term, we're stuck."
Daily Mirror
11-06-2025
- Daily Mirror
Common driving manoeuvre to be illegal in UK from September
The new law, which will come into effect in September, will also aim to strengthen existing rules about the use of bus signage and lighting Motorists are being warned to stay alert for incoming road rules from September, including a ban on certain behaviours near schools. In a move to enhance child safety, Northern Ireland's Infrastructure Minister Liz Kimmins has announced new legislation that will outlaw overtaking school buses while they are stopped to pick up or drop off children. The upcoming regulations also seek to reinforce the proper use of bus signage and lighting. Minister Kimmins confirmed that failure to comply with bus light usage would result in fixed penalty notices as part of the incoming rules. READ MORE: 'Perfect' Father's Day present dubbed 'must have for dads' is £11 Minister Kimmins stated: "Road safety is a priority for me, and recent tragic events have highlighted the need for all of us to be cognisant of the safety of children when they are getting on or off school buses." With a firm commitment to safeguarding young students, she disclosed: "Having asked officials within the Department to explore the issue, it is now my intention to introduce legislation which will prohibit the overtaking of school buses." She mentioned the efforts of her Department's latest advertising campaign to remind drivers of their duty around buses but stressed that implementing tougher legislation is key to enhancing protection for children, as reported by Birmingham Live, reports Yorkshire Live. "Too many families have had their world shattered by receiving the worst possible news after a loved one has set out on a routine journey," she added. "I have met grieving families and heard their heartbreaking stories. I am committing to introducing legislation to help prevent more lives being devastated. "While legislation is being prepared, there are actions we can all take that will help us reach our goal - take more care on the roads, slow down and ignore our mobile phones. "Have conversations about our shared responsibility as road users with our family and friends to ensure road safety messaging reaches as wide an audience as possible. "The Department is using other measures to improve road safety including 20mph zones around schools and work on the delivery of the Graduated Driver Licensing scheme."
Belfast Telegraph
02-06-2025
- Belfast Telegraph
New laws around school buses to be introduced across NI after tragedy
Legislation prohibiting the overtaking of school buses while they are stopped to drop off or pick up passengers is to be introduced, the Infrastructure minister has confirmed. Liz Kimmins said she was bringing in the measures to 'improve safety for children here' and said the introduction of new legislation came in the aftermath of 'recent tragic events'. In March, 11-year-old Caitlin-Rose McMullan, a first-year pupil at St Pius X College in Magherafelt died from her injuries after being struck by a car after she got off her school bus. In the aftermath of the tragedy, her mother Stella later called for the authorities to do more to save lives. Today, Ms Kimmins said she was 'committing to introducing legislation to help prevent more lives being devastated'. Minister Kimmins said: 'Road safety is a priority for me, and recent tragic events have highlighted the need for all of us to be cognisant of the safety of children when they are getting on or off school buses. 'Having asked officials within the Department to explore the issue, it is now my intention to introduce legislation which will prohibit the overtaking of school buses. "It is incumbent on drivers to take extra care around buses, and this was highlighted by my Department's most recent advertising campaign. However, I believe strengthening the law around this issue is an important step in further improving safety for children here. 'Too many families have had their world shattered by receiving the worst possible news after a loved one has set out on a routine journey. 'I have met grieving families and heard their heartbreaking stories. I am committing to introducing legislation to help prevent more lives being devastated. 'Whilst legislation is being prepared, there are actions we can all take that will help us reach our goal - take more care on the roads, slow down and ignore our mobile phones. 'Have conversations about our shared responsibility as road users with our family and friends to ensure road safety messaging reaches as wide an audience as possible.' The Minister added: 'The Department is using other measures to improve road safety including 20mph zones around schools and work on the delivery of the Graduated Driver Licensing scheme." Minister Kimmins has also confirmed measures will be put in place to reinforce existing policy around the proper use of signs and lights on buses carrying children to and from school. The minister explained under the new measures, fixed penalty notices will be issued to drivers who fail to operate these lights as required. The department said it is intended that these new fixed penalties will be available for use by the beginning of the new school term in September.
