Antigua Attorney General ‘stable’ in hospital after collapse

Sunday, February 02, 2014 | 12:18 PM    

ST JOHN’S, Antigua (CMC) — Antigua and Barbuda’s Attorney General, Justin Simon QC, remained in hospital late Saturday in stable condition after collapsing at a restaurant, an official source has said.

Simon, said to be in his fifties, reportedly collapsed around 4.30 pm, while out with friends at Big Banana, a popular eatery in downtown St Johns.

He was rushed to the Mount St John’s Medical Centre, the main state hospital about a kilometre away.

A senior government official who said he was receiving regular updates on the attorney general’s health but asked not to be identified, told the Caribbean Media Corporation that Simon was conscious, alert and in stable condition.

Key figures in government could not be reached for details of Simon’s illness and condition.

The Dominica-born Simon was appointed as Minister of Legal Affairs and Attorney General in the original cabinet of Prime Minister Baldwin Spencer when his United Progressive Party (UPP) swept to power in March 2004, ending the 28-year rule of the Antigua Labour Party (ALP).

Simon, who had originally told Spencer he intended to serve one-term as the government’s principal legal adviser, has stayed on past the UPP’s election to a second term in office in 2009.

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Antigua Attorney General ‘stable’ in hospital after collapse

Anger at Chile mine collapse ruling

1 August 2013 Last updated at 17:40 ET The miners say they have not been paid any reparation for their 70-day ordeal An investigation into the 2010 accident in Chile that left 33 miners trapped underground for more than two months has failed to find anyone responsible.

The case was closed after a prosecutor said there was not enough evidence to press charges against either the owners of the mine or regulators.

One of the miners said it was a “disgrace for justice” while a former minister called it “unbelievable”.

The miners’ rescue in a special capsule was followed live around the world.

‘Deep hole’

“This is a disgrace to Chile’s justice system,” one of the survivors, Mario Sepulveda, told Associated Press news agency,

“It is impossible that in an accident of this magnitude no-one is held responsible. Today, I want to dig a deep hole and bury myself again, only this time, I don’t want anybody to find me, he said.

One of Mr Sepulveda’s colleagues said he got in touch with their lawyers as soon as he heard about the decision.

“[They] told us to be calm. We have another lawsuit, for negligence,” Luis Urzua told AFP,

Former mining minister Laurence Golborne, who was in charge of the rescue operations, expressed disbelief at the decision.

He told Chilean radio Cooperativa that regulators had ordered the owners of the century-old mine to build an emergency exit, but they did not comply.

Mr Golborne said that if the measure had been implemented the miners “would not have spent 70 days trapped”.

Senator Isabel Allende, daughter of the late President Salvador Allende, said the decision was “painful”.

Rescuers worked day and night to drill an escape route for the 33

“It’s hard to accept that the prosecution considers there is no-one responsible”, Ms Allende told EFE.

But defence lawyer Catherine Lathrop praised the decision.

“We have always maintained that it was a regrettable accident. Just that, an accident, and neither was it possible to establish any responsibility of my clients in this case,” she said.

The collapse of the San Jose mine, near the town of Copiapo, left the 33 miners completely isolated for two weeks at a depth of about 700m.

They shared emergency rations to survive until rescue workers built a small shaft which was used to send supplies to the group.

In 2012, on the second anniversary of the collapse, many of the miners attended the inauguration of a monument at the mine.

Chilean billionaire Leonardo Farkas gave each of the miners a gift of $10,000 (£6,600) after the rescue.

The miners hope that a lawsuit filed a year after the collapse accusing the National Service of Geology and Mining of having not inspected working conditions and mine safety can bring each of them reparations of $500,000 (£330,000).

The owners of the mine have been told to reimburse the government a quarter of the rescue operation which cost around $22m .

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Anger at Chile mine collapse ruling

US house collapse injures eight

29 July 2013 Last updated at 15:29 ET Gas services in the neighbourhood have been turned off as a precaution Eight people have been injured when a Philadelphia row house collapsed and severely damaged neighbouring houses.

A contractor was working on a water heater inside the home in the Pennsylvania city when an explosion occurred, officials told local media.

The collapse showered the street with bricks and knocked over large sections of walls of the houses on either side.

The area was evacuated and a nearby school was used as a temporary shelter.

Residents said the explosion had shaken the street.

“I was in the shower and I thought my house was about to fall down,” said Christie Scibblo, 26, who lives four houses down from the collapsed home.

“I ran outside and I saw a firefighter rescuing an infant.”

Another neighbour told the Associated Press he ran down the street to help with the rescue effort even though he was worried the wreckage would fall on him.

“It’s situations like this, you just come together as a neighbourhood,” Joseph Szymborski said.

Fire crews told a local NBC broadcaster the contractor was in critical condition with severe burns to his shoulder and arms. Two infants also suffered minor injuries.

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US house collapse injures eight