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BARRIE -- Feces and human waste is floating in basements of several Innisfil homes this weekend.

The Town of Innisfil blames significant rainfall, and the frozen ground for causing a strain on the water treatment system; resulting in wastewater flowing back in neighbouring homes on St. John's Road and 6th line.

Carol Griffith's family spent the weekend cleaning the mess. "This is unacceptable," says Griffith. "Twenty-two years, never a problem."

Restoration crews were in Griffith's home on Monday, trying to remove furniture, carpet and appliances damaged in the mess; more than 48 hours after wastewater started pouring from toilets, showers and sinks.

Walter Malcolm, president of InnServices, says crews were quick to respond.

"We're sympathetic to the residents. This was a tragic event that happened." Malcolm says 65 millimetres of rain fell over the weekend. "This is an extreme climate change weather event that occurred... It was a huge downpour of water that came down at one time."

But Griffith isn't buying the town's response.

"They told me straight out on the phone, the gentleman, that the plant itself overflowed and flooded out," she says.

Her family's basement was submerged in sewage for hours. Family photos and valuables were soiled and lost.

"The dirt and the crap and whatever it all is, the toilet paper; it's all disgusting," says Melanie Pugh of Bristol Restoration.

Mitch Schaub of PuroClean worked alongside a crew of a dozen cleaning floors and walls and removing damaged property in several homes.

"At the bottom step, stairs going down into the basement, that's how high it was, and it was sewage," he explains.

Residents say sump pumps seized up, and furnaces stopped working. They expect hundreds of thousands of dollars in claims and have been told by insurance companies future claims likely won't be covered.

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'This is unacceptable': Basements flooded with sewage and wastewater - CTV News

Following the high-profile renovations of The Secretariat and Tourist Burma Building last year, the latest colonial-era structure to receive another refurbishment is the former Myanma Oil and Gas Enterprise office building on the Merchant Road as National Library Myanmar.

In 2016, then-President U Htin Kyaw approved the invocation of Yangon Heritage Trust (YHT) to use the four-storey building as the National Library located in Yankin Township was away from downtown.

The building was left vacant after the countrys administrative seat was moved from Yangon to Nay Pyi Taw in 2006. It had been patched up here and there following the ravages of Cyclone Nargis in 2008.

Daw Moe Moe Lwin, director of conservation at YHT, said I had worked in its first maintenance project as a secretary of the Association of Myanmar Architects back in 2011. The attic and the roof of the building were damaged; the original architectural works need to be preserved so the maintenance team must follow the blueprints precisely.

When the official statement from the President Office has repurposed it as a library, the buildings overhaul restoration began in 2017. The Ministry of Construction handled the restoration and YHT served as an advisory body.

The books will be kept on the ground floor. The upper floors will be used as multipurpose halls for public access, according to the director.

The main challenge lies in fireproofing the building. Since there are many books and ancient scripts, we cant use water to kill the fire. So, we had to install systems to employ gas as a fire extinguisher. The librarys functions will be digitised and therefore we set up digital centres, says Daw Moe Moe.

The building has served different purposes throughout the century. It was constructed in 1908 as an office for the Scottish trading firm Finlay, Fleming & Co. and later became the headquarters of Burmah Oil.

After World War II, it shared premises with a nursing home, called San Pya Clinic. Burmah Oil was nationalised in 1963 and eventually became Myanma Oil and Gas Enterprise.

Likewise, Myanmars National Library has had many homes since independence.

It was originally called Bernard Free Library, after Sir Charles Edward Bernard who founded it as the first free public library in 1883. It was located at what is now called No 1 Basic Education High School, Latha Township.

In 1952 the government moved it to the Jubilee Hall on the Shwedagon Pagoda Road and reopened it as the State Library under the then Ministry of Culture. It had not been called the National Library until 1964.

Some years later it was moved, again, to Pansodan Street and then to Yangon City Hall. After moving twice more, the books were temporarily kept in a building in Tamwe Township until it was damaged by Cyclone Nargis in 2008. In October that year, the books were moved to the current location in Yankin.

The National Library is one of the two research libraries in Yangon (the other is Yangon University Library), housing more than 600,000 books, periodicals, handwritten manuscripts of the countrys famous writers and ancient texts. Its original collection was nearly 1 million and some of them are now at the National Library (Nay Pyi Taw).

The restoration of the building was finished late 2019. The books are now being recorded and transported to the new location. The library is expected to open in April 2020. This time, for every citizen, I hope the National Library finds its forever home.

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National Library finally finds forever home? - MYANMORE Yangon

Express News Service

CHENNAI:Mylapore being an amalgamation of temples (old and new), agraharams, modern semi high-rises, commercial establishments and abandoned entities is perhaps one of the most dynamic areas of the city. While the changes over the years have helped it reap the benefits of modernity and assimilation, it has forgotten to keep an eye on the rich heritage it has managed to hold on to. For the number of vintage houses most of them in squalor and some, complete desertion tucked away in its narrow lanes are in danger of being lost to time, all for the want of conservation and the discerning eye. If only we could get our people to wake up to the wonders they coexist with and rally behind the need for its protection. Enter: Madras Inherited.

In an effort to get people to notice and marvel at the tangible history of the ancient settlement, architect Tahaer Zoyab and his team have been leading people down the roads of Mylapore and introducing them to its architectural timeline.The walk hosted on Sunday as part of the Mylapore Festival followed the teams well-researched and wandered route. But for the 50-odd people who showed up at Nadu Street at 7 am, it was a journey of discovery.

Locked beautyThe first stop on this journey a house left abandoned for at least a few decades set the tone for what lay ahead. Minimalism, a soft colour palette, Mangalore tile roof, wood work that had withstood the onslaught of time and natural forces, and a thinnai that had connected the house to the world outside. That the house had been in disuse, despite the beautiful potential it holds for recovery and restoration, was no surprise, says Tahaer. In many cases there is no proper documentation as to who the house belongs to; it might have once been in the hands of the temple trust. The lack of ownership per se that leads to conditions such as this. This house has been locked for as long as we have been doing this walk, he explains.

Architectural marvelsWhile it proved to be true for too many houses curated for the walk, the one next in line was a pleasant surprise. Easily dating back to the 1920s, the two-storey house was as functional as it could be. The owners a charming old couple used to the attention from the heritage walkers greeted the travellers at the door to share some of the secrets of their happy home. The thing with old houses like this is that it was not built with cement. Instead, it used mortar and lime. This and the high ceilings means that we have never had the need for air-conditioning even in the peak of summer, says the woman, as her husband gives a quick explanation of what makes construction lime. The house also had a feature that is becoming increasingly difficult to find in the matchbox apartments of today huge windows. The windows ensure cross-ventilation. There is always enough air, enough light in the house, Tahaer adds.

The house also stood testament to the ways people had to improvise and adapt to the space in hand. In many cases, the staircase was an addition once we all figured out, from a construction perspective, how to build on top of the ground floor. That is one of the reasons a lot of these staircases seem ridiculously small. It is not really a conscious effort to save space; it was what one could do with the space that was available, Tahaer says.

Conserving relicsWhile the couple could not offer the huge crowd a tour of their home, a lived-in house further down the tour was made available for the purpose. This two-storey house came with an inner courtyard too. Typical for its times, this house was marked by its solid columns, sturdy wood work, simple grill work that eschewed ornamentation for the celebration of geometry, small rooms that suggested symmetry but was quite off the mark, staircases within the house that were only wide enough for one. The house was home to architectural relics wooden beams and members supporting the ceiling, a functional hand pump and red-oxide floors the ones that does not leave your feet red. Despite the heritage it represented, its upkeep was far from ideal. For there are few who know about these treasures scattered across the busy town and hence, few who call for its conservation, says Tahaer.

This was evident in the signs of structures that once were a single column left standing, a beautifully decorated wrought-iron signage that now hangs empty, broken statues guarding the gates of old temples. Very few seem to have managed to hold on to the old while changing with the climes. A Dutch-style house had been preserved in form and altered only in paint.Another house from the early 20th century had retained its facade that is begging for restoration while completely rebuilding the rooms inside. Some others had preserved their heritage only in a name or a legend.

More abandoned structures stood testimony to the Nawab of Arcots reign, the Mughal influence, and neo-classical style of architecture. And the stories they held! If only we could get our people to wake up to the wonders they coexist with and rally behind the need for its protection.

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High on heritage - The New Indian Express

Written by Sanjaya Baru | Updated: January 14, 2020 10:41:23 am S Jaishankar, who took as foreign secretary, was to launch the annual Raisina Dialogue, a conclave of foreign policymakers and analysts from around the world.

An important foreign policy initiative that the external affairs minister, S Jaishankar, took as foreign secretary was to launch the annual Raisina Dialogue, a conclave of foreign policymakers and analysts from around the world. The two questions that would be uppermost on the mind of most foreign delegates to the conference would have little to do with the external affairs ministers remit. These would be the medium term prospects for the Indian economy and restoration of normalcy in Jammu and Kashmir and, given widespread student protests, in the rest of the country.

As is now widely accepted, the Rising India narrative scripted over the two post-Cold War decades, 1991 to 2011, was based on the improving performance of the economy and Indias political ability to deal with many longstanding diplomatic challenges within a paradigm of realism. Three successive prime ministers PV Narasimha Rao, Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Manmohan Singh scripted the narrative of India rising as a plural, secular democracy, as opposed to Chinas rise within an authoritarian system.

Indias improving economic performance had opened up new vistas for cooperation with major powers and neighbours. Now the economys subdued performance and domestic political issues have created new challenges for Indian foreign policy. To add to these external concerns, the new approach to relations with India adopted by both President Donald Trump and President Xi Jinping has created a more challenging external environment. What, then, are the prospects for 2020?

Through most of this year, President Donald Trump will remain pre-occupied with his re-election. On the economic side, he is unlikely to resolve all bilateral differences on trade policy. Each time New Delhi has tried to meet a US demand, Washington DC has come up with new demands. Moreover, any resolution of his differences with China, even if short-term and aimed at pleasing domestic consumers before elections, can only reduce whatever little bargaining clout India has. The US has, in fact, actively lodged complaints against India at the World Trade Organisation. On the geopolitical side, US intervention in West Asia has always imposed additional economic burden on India and we must remain prepared for more such initiatives that may not be reassuring for the Indian economy.

There has been continuity and consistency in India-China policy over the past two decades, with some ups and downs, but as the bilateral power differential widens, China has little incentive or compulsion to be accommodative of Indian concerns, much less interests. Xis China never fails to remind India of the growing power differential between the two. In dealing with China, India will have to, paraphrasing Deng Xiaoping, build its strength and bide its time. Russia, the other major power, will remain focused on Eurasian geopolitics and the geo-economics of energy. Both these factors define Russias relations with China, and increasingly, with Pakistan, posing a challenge for India.

The governments Pakistan policy has run its course. It yielded some short-term results thanks to Pakistans efforts not to get black-listed by the Financial Action Task Force, but the fact is that the rest of the world is happily doing business with Pakistan, lending billions in aid. The global community may increasingly accept future pleas from Pakistan that terror attacks in India are home-grown, related to the situation in Kashmir or concerns about the welfare of Muslims, unless incontrovertible evidence to the contrary is offered. India needs a new Pakistan policy. Back channel talks should be resumed and visas given liberally to Pakistani intellectuals, media and entertainers to improve cross-border perceptions as a first step towards improving relations.

If much progress cannot be expected this year in relations with Trumps America and Xis China, then which countries should engage the attention of the external affairs minister? There is a category of nations that share Indias concerns about the direction that Trump and Xi have been taking, especially in trade policy and West Asian geopolitics. Like India, these countries have a stake in what the US and China do, but little influence over either.

Opinion | A new, fractured global order is upon us. Indias response must evolve accordingly

These are the worlds Middle Powers Germany, France, Japan, Australia, Brazil, Indonesia, Vietnam and perhaps South Korea. One could include Russia, Nigeria and South Africa also in this group. It is a mix of developed and developing economies, some friends of the US and others friends of China. It is an amorphous group but can emerge into a grouping of the like-minded in a world of uncertainty capable of taming both the US and China. A new Middle Powers coalition may be the need of the year.

At home, a New India script is being written in a period of domestic and global uncertainty that has already influenced global perceptions about India. We are moving from an era of predictability to an era of unpredictability at home and abroad. Fresh doubts are being raised about Indias place in the world in the 21st century its economic significance, its political standing and its ideological moorings.

An economic turnaround and restoration of domestic political equilibrium will widen the space for foreign policy initiatives. Persistent economic uncertainty and radically disruptive politics at home will mean that the external affairs minister can at best conduct a holding operation, ensuring that the external environment does not also deteriorate.

There is a view among some policy analysts at home that India too can adopt a disruptive approach as a clever tactic in foreign affairs. This is an illusion. Disruption is not an end in itself. It has to be a means to an end. Powerful nations can afford disruption as tactics. However, given that the strategic elements defining Indian foreign policy in the post-Cold War era have not changed, India cannot risk such tactics without measuring the risk they pose to strategy.

Merely because domestic politics has changed, we cannot afford to be adventurous in foreign policy. The principal question for policymakers is: Has a proper risk assessment been undertaken with respect to the external consequences of domestic policy initiatives? The US may be able to pursue policies at home and abroad without adequate measurement of risk. But India has to assess external economic and geopolitical risk carefully and improve the quality of the external communication of her national interests and personality.

This article first appeared in the print edition on January 14, 2020 under the title The world from Raisina. The writer is a policy analyst and former media advisor to prime minister of India.

For all the latest Opinion News, download Indian Express App

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We are moving to an era of unpredictability. A new Middle Powers coalition may be needed - The Indian Express

DRAPER (KUTV)

Some Utahns are trying to track down a group of vandals, saying fence smashing has gotten out of control.

Police in Draper and Sandy told 2News they received four reports of damaged fences over the weekend two in each city. Some of the homeowners said theyve been targeted before.

Rebecca Yu of Draper said a group of people smashed her vinyl fence near 1000 East 12000 South just after midnight on Friday (early Saturday morning). Its the second time her fence has been hit in two years.

Theres not a point to fixing it continually when its going to keep getting broken again, she said.

Another homeowner in Draper, who had her fence repaired by Monday, said she saw about seven young men in hoodies slam their bodies into her fence, then take off in two vehicles.

People have been talking about a trend, a disturbing trend, Yu said, where high school students are pushing their bodies into the fence and breaking it.

RELATED: Are 20+ cases of fence vandalism in northern Utah part of a viral challenge?

I would never even think to do that, she added. I dont understand the psychological reasoning for that.

Yu said she may put up a chain-link fence thats not as easily destroyed.

Parents, please talk to your children, and I hope that there can be some honest communication with whats your child doing when theyre not home at midnight and 1 in the morning, Yu said.

A resident of Sandy told 2News in an email:

2News has documented at least 30 cases of similar fence vandalism in past years:

Original post:
Vandals smash vinyl fences in two Utah cities, costing homeowners thousands - KJZZ

Against Columbia, the men won the sabre, 5-4, but lost the foil and the epee to finish with an 18-9 defeat. The women found their first victory of the day against Columbia with a 16-11 win, taking the sabre and the epee by scores of 7-2 and 5-4, respectively.

Both teams picked up a win against the fourth opponent of the day, Haverford. The men won, 16-11, after winning both the sabre and the foil by scores of 6-3. The women earned an 18-9 win after taking both the sabre and the foil, securing a dominant 9-0 victory in the sabre.

For North Carolina's last matchup of the event, both teams faced the host school, Penn State. The men lost to the Nittany Lions, 20-7, after dropping both the sabre and the epee by scores of 8-1, but the Tar Heels picked up a 5-4 win in the foil. The women fell, 19-8, to Penn State, dropping the sabre, foil and epee.

The women's team found its first win of the day in the third matchup, setting the team up with a 2-1 deficit heading into the final two matches. The women were able to earn a 2-2 overall score after beating their fourth opponent, Haverford, but the Tar Heels were unable to come up with a third win against their final opponent, Penn State.

The men's team didn't find its first win until the fourth matchup, which was too late to mount a significant comeback.

Three Tar Heels finished the day with individual winning records. On the women's side, sophomore Aubrey Molloy was the hero, finishing 8-3 on the day. She earned 2-1 advantages against Yale and Penn State and picked up a 1-1 record against Columbia.

Charlotte Summers, another sophomore on the women's team, finished 7-4 overall. She also picked up 2-1 advantages over Yale and Penn State.

For the men's team, James Mulligan, the recipient of the team's Newcomer Award in 2018-19, went 5-4 in the invitational.

North Carolina put in strong performances against some solid teams, ramping up for the postseason that is now only three meets away.

UNC heads to Philadelphia on Saturday for the Philadelphia Invitational Duels, hosted by the University of Pennsylvania.

@emilythoreson

@DTHSports | sports@dailytarheel.com

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UNC fencing opens 2020 with mixed results at Penn State Invitational - The Daily Tar Heel

Bridget Dowd/KJZZ

At any given time, there are about 250 wild horses along the Salt River, according to Salt River Wild Horse Management.

Tonto National Forest officials say workers plan Monday to begin installing 4 miles of steel fencing along and near the lower Salt River east of metro Phoenix to prevent wild horses from crossing the Bush Highway and to keep livestock from mingling with the horse herd.

Forest officials say the fence work starting Monday is the second phase of a project that saw workers on Friday complete installation of 10 miles of barbed wire fencing. That work began in November.

Forest Service and state Department of Agriculture officials said previous fences didn't prevent horses from getting onto the highway, resulting in the deaths of 20 or more horses annually.

The Forest Service said the project includes installing 35 gates at designated trails and historically-used access points.

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Fencing To Keep Salt River Horses Off The Bush Highway Begins Next Phase - KJZZ

The Honolulu Department of Parks and Recreation will be removing one of the two fences it installed to block public access on a seawall pathway between Makalei Beach Park and Leahi Beach Park at the foot of Diamond Head, city officials told Civil Beat on Thursday.

The fence at the Makalei end of the walkway is slated to be removed sometime this week.

There has been a loud public outcry ever since the fences were installed blocking public passage with pathway users calling for the immediate removal of both fences.

Residents are upset about fences that were installed at Makalei Beach Park and Leahi Beach Park at Diamond Head that block all public access along the seawall between the two parks.

Denby Fawcett/Civil Beat

But the city says for now the fence it installed at the other end of the walkway at Leahi Beach Park will remain in place while it searches for ways to make that end of the walkway safer.

It says possible remedies could be signs warning of unsafe conditions, repairs to the railing near Leahi Park or even keeping the current fence on the Leahi Park side in place.

The Leahi Park end of the seawall is where attorneys for Honolulu resident Shizuko Matsuda said she was seriously injured on May 28, 2012 when she fell through a gap in the railing down on to the rocks on the shore.

Matsuda sued the city and the state for negligence in 2016. The city settled in May 2018, paying $275,000 to Matsuda in damages.

Last week, City Managing Director Roy Amemiya Jr. said the city installed the two fences blocking the public from the seawall walkway on Christmas Eve to prevent similar lawsuits in the future.

Matsuda also sued the state for damages for her fall from the seawall but Circuit Judge Keith Hiraoka ruled in favor of the state. Matsudas attorney Kyle Smith is awaiting the outcome of an appeal his firm filed last year with the Intermediate Court of Appeals.

The Parks Department will try to figure out soon if and when the fence on the Leahi Park side can be taken down.

Diamond Head resident Alexi Drouin says he is relieved that at least one of the fences will be removed.

One fence coming down is a good start but I will not rest until the other fence is removed, he said.

Drouin says he used to walk his dog along the seawall every day. He says since the fences went up he has videotaped people dangerously climbing over the fences so they can fish and walk along the seawall.

Honolulu City Council member Tommy Waters, who represents the Diamond Head area, says hes thankful for the removal of the fence and is hoping the fence on the Leahi side can be removed soon.

Waters says it cost the city $6,200 to erect the two fences, and that he is glad the fence removal on the Makalei side will be done in-house with city workers.

Ocean access for the public is what makes people cherish living in Hawaii, he said.

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Denby Fawcett: Fence Blocking Diamond Head Seawall Will Be Removed - Honolulu Civil Beat

Advocacy group concerned over fencing along Lower Salt River

The Forest Service is putting up additional fencing to help keep wild horses safe along the Lower Salt River area, but that's causing concern for some. FOX 10's Danielle Miller reports.

PHOENIX - The Tonto National Forest has put up signage along the Bush Highway to warn drivers of wild horses in the area, and the Forest Service is now putting up additional fencing to help keep the horses safe.

Not everyone, however, is thrilled with the idea.

The Tonto National Forest continuing construction on four miles of fencing along the Lower Salt River in the Mesa Ranger District. The fencing will start at the Granite Reef Recreation Site, and it will run along the river for three miles to the Phon D.Sutton rec Site, and then run along the edge of the river to the Coon Bluff Rec Site, where it will tie into the existing fence.

"At this time, the fence is not going to cross the river," said Chandler Mundy, Range Program Manger for the Tonto National Forest, in a phone interview."We are working on plans for the fence to cross the river in the future near the Coon Bluff Rec Site. That will be the final stretch needed to keep other livestock from joining the herd."

According to the Tonto National Forest, the main goal for fencing is to keep wild horses off of Bush Highway and out of harm's way. However, some are voicing their concerns.

Simone Netherlands, President of the Salt River Wild Horse Management Group, says the fence will have negative consequences for the public and the horses. She wants the fence moved away from the river and closer to the road.

"So if you're trying to keep wild horses outbut they can still swim, what you're going to do is bottleneck the population because they're all going to have to go through that, and then, you're going to concentrate too many horses with too many people in one area, and that's making for safety problems,"said Netherlands.

Netherlands says the horses will also be cut off from the water, but Forest Service officials disagree with the claim.

"We are not cutting the horses off to the water," said Mundy."They have access to over 12 miles of the river."

The Forest Service says they've worked with several groups on the design and safety of the fence, and it's all to benefit the horses.Netherlands says she'll continue to fight the fence.

In addition to the fencing, 35 access gates have been added for people to pass through.

The Forest Service is asking people to not cut through any of the fencing. People caught cutting through the fencing could be charged.

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Advocacy group says fencing along Lower Salt River poses danger to wild horses and the public - FOX 10 News Phoenix

CHATHAM, NJ - Preston Yen went undefeated in sabre and Charles Gallucci won all his foil bouts to highlight Chatham's 15-12 boys fencing victory over Millburn on Wednesday at the Chatham Middle School.

Also finishing the meet unbeaten for Chatham were epee fencers Jonah Blanchard and Michael Dwyer.

Round one score: Chatham 4, Milburn 5 (Sabres 1-2, Foils 1-2, Epees 2-1)Squad captain junior Preston Yen posted the only sabre win in round one. Freshman Liam Kaplan narrowly missed the tiebreaker in his first high school varsity bout. Freshman foil Charles Gallucci posted the only foil win in round one with a 5-0 shut out. Sophomore epees Jonah Blanchard and Michael Dwyer each posted a victory keeping Chatham in the running for the meet.

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Round two score: Chatham 7, Millburn 2 (Sabres 2-1, Foils 2-1, Epees 3-0)The home team rotation for round two suited the Chatham boys. Kaplan logged his first varsity victory followed by another from Yen. Gallucci and Mahon added a pair of foil wins. Blanchard, Dwyer, and squad captain Ahmer Khan swept the epee bouts of round two and pulling the team into the lead.Running score: Chatham 11, Millburn 7

Round three score: Chatham 4, Millburn 5 (Sabres 2-1, Foils 1-2, Epees 1-2) Final Score 15-12Yen won his third sabre bout for the night followed by Haq with a 5-1. Gallucci wrapped up the foils with a single 5-1 foil win for the third round. The epees subbed in Raaid Khan for a win, while Alex Lee and Hayden Lacy were barely edged out by the Millburn epees in a pair of tied bouts.

Boys vs Millburn = WIN [NJAC 2-0] [All 3-0]Final Score 15-12 (Sabre 5-4, Foil 4-5, Epee 6-3)Referees: Tomasz Stusinski

The Chatham boys will compete in the annual Cetrulo tournament Sunday, the largest high school fencing team tournament in the world.

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Yen and Gallucci Go Undefeated in Leading Chatham Boys Fencing Team to 15-12 Win Over Millburn - TAPinto.net