Factory making Asics trainers collapses in Cambodia killing at least two and injuring seven

Collapse: About 50 workers were inside the factory, south of the capital Phnom Penh, when the ceiling caved in

Search: Cambodian rescue team and soldiers look for workers after a factory collapsed in Kampong Speu province

Comb: Rescuers combed through rubble for several hours and after clearing the site said that nobody else was trapped inside

Trade: The garment industry is Cambodia's biggest export earner

Chea Muny, chief of a trade union for factory workers, identified the factory as a Taiwanese-owned operation called Wing Star that produces Asics sneakers for the Japanese sportswear label

Production: The structure where the collapse occurred was mainly used as a storage warehouse for shoe-production equipment

1,127 people in the global garment industry's deadliest disaster

Business: In 2012, more than $4 billion worth of garment products were shipped to the United States and Europe

• The ceiling collapsed on workers early this morning
• Heavy iron equipment stored on floor above appeared to have cause collapse
• Latest accident to spotlight lax safety conditions in garment industry

16 May 2013
By Jill Reilly
Daily Mail (UK)

The ceiling of a Cambodian factory that makes Asics sneakers collapsed on workers this morning, killing two people and injuring seven, in the latest accident to spotlight lax safety conditions in the global garment industry.

About 50 workers were inside the factory, south of the capital Phnom Penh, when the ceiling caved in, said police officer Khem Pannara.

He said heavy iron equipment stored on the floor above appeared to have caused the collapse.

Two bodies were pulled from the wreckage and seven people were injured, he said. Rescuers combed through rubble for several hours and after clearing the site said that nobody else was trapped inside.

'We were working normally and suddenly several pieces of brick and iron started falling on us,' said an injured 25-year-old Kong Thary, crying on the telephone as she recounted the scene from a nearby clinic.

Chea Muny, chief of a trade union for factory workers, identified the factory as a Taiwanese-owned operation called Wing Star that produces Asics sneakers for the Japanese sportswear label. He said shoes made at the factory were imported to the United States and Europe.

The factory complex, which opened about a year ago, consists of several buildings.

The structure where the collapse occurred was mainly used as a storage warehouse for shoe-production equipment but had a small work area where people were gathered when the collapse occurred, Chea Muny said.

The garment industry is Cambodia's biggest export earner.

In 2012, more than $4 billion worth of products were shipped to the United States and Europe.

About 500,000 people work in more than 500 garment and shoe factories throughout the country.

The accident comes about three weeks after a building collapse in Bangladesh that killed 1,127 people in the global garment industry's deadliest disaster. Bangladesh is the third-biggest exporter of clothes in the world, after China and Italy.

'This shows that the problem is not only isolated to Bangladesh, and that companies (elsewhere) are trying to drive prices down by taking shortcuts on workers' safety,' said Phil Robertson of Human Rights.

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Sacred Or Sacrificial: Cambodia’s Cardamom Forest Under Attack

May 16, 2013
By Luke Duggleby
The Global Mail

Buddhist monks pit prayer against Cambodia’s desperate power needs and China’s profit motive.

An eco-warrior monk movement – activist students, farmers and villagers united behind monks who try to protect areas of forest, blessing trees to deter would-be loggers – has begun in Cambodia’s Central Cardamom Protected Forest. (Photo: Luke Duggleby)

Reflecting during the first ‘tree ordination’ in a forest on the edge of Ta Tay Leu village. The monks were too late to save the smaller trees. (Photo: Luke Duggleby)

Cambodian Buddhist monks and local people bless remaining trees – those too big for the loggers’ machinery – by wrapping orange cloth around them and praying. A proposed dam in the area would flood nine Khmer Daeum villages and their ancestral farmlands and ‘spirit forests’ and forcibly displace more than 900 villagers. (Photo: Luke Duggleby)

A poorly implemented Government project to give people land titles has led to massive deforestation as people claim areas of forest as their own, chopping down trees in favour of plantations. The monk movement aims to slow the forest destruction. (Photo: Luke Duggleby)

Children play among the felled trees in the Areng valley, which is at risk of being flooded by the 108 megawatt Stung Cheay Areng Dam. (Photo: Luke Duggleby)

A young girl in a party dress holds a baby Siamese crocodile in a village in the Areng Valley, where a family of Siamese crocodiles have been kept for protection after the nest was found in the wild and successfully hatched here. The British conservation group Fauna and Flora International says the proposed dam would destroy critical habitat for these and 30 other endangered animal species. (Photo: Luke Duggleby)

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End of the line for model railway fan as housing association demands he dismantle £10,000 train set in attic on health and safety grounds

• Robert Burdock, 61, has been building model train sets for the last 40 years
• Father-of-three insists the train set is safe and has been in place for 15 years
• He has 70ft of track and 63 locomotives in his attic
• The set includes hand-crafted stations and depots

By Rob Cooper

A model railway fan has been ordered to dismantle his £10,000 train set in his loft by his housing association on health and safety grounds.
Father-of-three Robert Burdock, 61, has 63 locomotives which whizz along 70ft of track around the perimeter of his attic.
His train set includes hand-crafted stations, depots, streets and tiny figures - which are all enjoyed by his grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Train enthusiast: Robert Burdock, 61, with his model train set in his attic in Buckfastleigh, Devon

Models: The track which runs round the perimeter of Robert's attic is 70feet long. He had been ordered to take it down by his housing association

But a social housing firm now says Robert has made 'alterations' to the two-bed 1950s property in Buckfastleigh, Devon, without permission - breaching strict planning regulations.

Robert, who has lived in the home for fourteen years, says a housing official arrived to inspect a leaky chimney and told him the train set had to go.

They want the set removed while they carry out a safety assessment - but Robert would rather be evicted than tear up his treasured track.

 

Retired builder Robert said: 'I've been building train sets since I was 11. It's been a lifelong passion of mine and I take a real pride in creating things.

'When I moved into this house I decided I needed a project to keep me going as a hobby and I decided to build a railway in the loft.

'Some people like to spend their money down the pub or play a few games of snooker, but for me I build railways.

'I've made much of the scenery myself and spent anything from £8,000 to 10,000 on it.

Miniature station: The stations and depots are all hand-crafted and there are even model people

Steaming: The train set, which includes 63 locomotives, must be taken apart, Robert has been told

Intricate: Robert has been building model train sets for the last 40 years and started building his current set in his loft 14 years ago

'There's absolutely no way I'm taking it down now - if they want to evict someone over a train set that's up to them.'

Robert's woes began when he rang Teign Housing to report a leaking chimney at the £140,000 ex-council property where he lives with his disabled wife Linda, 64.

He says the only work he's ever done to make room for the train set was to put down flooring and replace a single, faulty electrical socket.

Robert, who retired due to ill health, said: 'They have said that unless I dismantle the railway, they will send in their workman to pull it apart so they can put right the changes I've made.

'All I've done is put down flooring that meets all the required regulations and I've even coated the little buildings I make in fire-retardant.

Control panel: Robert has been ordered to take the set apart - but has challenged his housing association to try and evict him rather than take the set apart

Eviction? Robert Burdock, who lives in this housing association property in Buckfastleigh, Devon, has vowed to keep his model train set together - even if he faces being thrown out of his property

'Everything is based on trestle tables. I've not damaged a thing. This house was a tip when I moved in. I've spent thousands down the years doing it up.

'I even fitted my own central heating - you won't hear them complaining about that.

'People might think model railways are childish - but I don't think I'm being the childish one here.'

Teign Housing insists Robert's track has to go so inspectors can make sure the loft area is safe. The firm manages over 3,600 homes across south Devon.

Paul Davies, head of asset management, said: 'It is part of our tenancy agreement that tenants must seek permission to make any alterations to our properties so that we can make sure it is safe and meets the required building regulations.

'We have written to Mr Burdock to explain that all items in the loft space must be removed so that we can gain access and reinstate the timber members to ensure the property is safe.

'Once this work has been done, we will look at ways for Mr Burdock's train set to be accommodated safely.'

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Will no one take the blame? As gang took girl of 12 as a sex slave, her father was walking the streets in vain, clutching her photo

By Sam Greenhill and Inderdeep Bains

The girls braved a hostile interrogation in court, branded liars by the gang’s barristers. A QC suggested one girl of 13 had ‘enjoyed herself’ during sex.

Another suggested they were ‘naughty girls doing grown-up things’. But the jury believed them. SAM GREENHILL and INDERDEEP BAINS recount their awful stories.

FROM BRIGHT, HAPPY CHILD, TO LOST SOUL

A classroom swot, Girl A was  a ‘bright and happy child’ from a  loving home.
Then, aged 12, she turned into a ‘lost soul’.
Within a few short months, she was playing truant, self-harming and going missing for days on end.
Her bewildered parents begged her to tell them what was wrong, and why she had cigarette burns on her arms and blood stains on her underwear.

Sickening: Brothers Anjum Dogar, left, and Akhtar Dogar, right, have been convicted of offences involving underage girls

Their once-diligent daughter  simply shrugged off their questions.
Whenever she failed to come home, her father wandered the streets of Oxford bearing her photo as he searched in vain in pubs, nightclubs and cinemas.
Her mother said she felt a failure, and recalled: ‘There was no emotion left in her whatsoever. She didn’t laugh. She didn’t cry.’

 

Their daughter would return home refusing to say where she had been. Often, her lips were cracked, her skin was filthy and her hair was matted.
Her parents repeatedly reported her missing to police, and begged social services for help, but were met with indifference – and after 70 occasions, they lost count.
Eventually her father was actually asked by police to stop looking for her – astonishingly because officers ‘felt it was detrimental to her wellbeing’.
It was only years later, at the Old Bailey, that Girl A revealed the full horror.

 

Abuse was carried out at the Nanford Guest House in Oxford. Pictured is a room at the guest house

She told how she had informed police and social workers several times that she was being abused – even showing them her cigarette burn injuries – yet was ignored.
Her grooming had begun gradually but they soon proffered alcohol, drugs and places to ‘chill’ away from home. She enjoyed the attention, and thought it was ‘exciting’.
Before long, they were luring her into sex and taking her to ‘parties’. 
She said: ‘By parties, I mean everybody coming and having sex with me.’ 
She was eventually taken into care, to the relief of her ‘heartbroken’  parents, who hoped she would at last be safe. But if anything, she became less so.

Difficult: The girls braved a hostile interrogation in court in order to help convict their attackers. This picture is posed by a model

Her abusers brazenly came to pick her up from the care home – staff simply let her walk out the front door.
She even told police a 25-year-old man, Akhtar Dogar, was forcing her to have sex.
The reaction from police? ‘They threatened on a number of occasions to arrest me for wasting police time,’ is the heart-stopping answer given by Girl A.
She is now 21, having rescued herself from her horrific life by walking away, going to college and finding a job. But as she puts it: ‘Adults should be doing their jobs. It is not down to a child.’

 

SHE WAS TOLD SHE WOULD BE SHOT

Girl B was told she would be shot if she did not have sex with men when she was 14.
Predators would wait for her near her children’s home and she would be driven to various places where she would be plied with drink and drugs in order to be raped or sold to other men.
She said Akhtar Dogar threatened her when she refused to perform a sex act, telling jurors: ‘He said if I didn’t do what I was told he knew someone who would shoot me.’

Convicted: Brothers Mohammed Karrar, left, Bassam Karrar, right, were found guilty at the Old Bailey

Once, when Girl B and Girl A returned together to their care home in a taxi, staff refused to pay the fare – and the driver drove Girl A back to the gang who raped her.
In August 2006, she was taken to a flat off Rectory Road, Oxford, and rang police after realising she was with 11 men who wanted to have sex with her.

 

TREATED LIKE A PRINCESS, TURNED INTO AN ADDICT

Gradually turned against her family, Girl C ended up being given drink and drugs and forced to have sex with strangers while being filmed at the age of 13.
Incredibly, even after being taken into the supposed ‘care’ of Oxfordshire County Council, she was groomed, raped and trafficked under the noses of staff.
Girl C’s miserable life had begun with abuse, and she was taken away and adopted.

Zeeshan Ahmed, left, and Kamar Jamil, right, were among those convicted for the sickening crimes

But by the age of 12, she was running away from her adoptive home and drinking – making her easy prey to the Oxford paedophiles.
She revealed: ‘The grooming was so clever. At first, they treat you like a princess. They make you feel wanted, cared for, and ask you about your life and your family.
‘They buy you gifts. That goes on for about six months, by which time they know exactly what to say to get under your skin.’
The gang got her addicted to crack cocaine, and then heroin. They trafficked her across the country to be raped by strangers.
Her adoptive mother spent two years begging the council for help.

Assad Hussain was cleared of raping Child A but convicted of having sex with a child

Eventually, the council agreed to place the girl in temporary care – where the very people paid to  protect her simply ignored her  desperate plight.
According to her adoptive mother, staff at a children’s home actually bought ‘sexy underwear’ and stiletto-heeled boots for the girl, despite knowing she was being sold for sex.
She visited home one day wearing ‘a hideous lacy black and red corset’, said her mother, who add: ‘She lay on her bed and sucked her thumb and we sang nursery rhymes to try to soothe her.’
Girl C said of the staff: ‘I tried to tell two members of staff all the things that had been happening to me but they told me it was inappropriate to have the conversation at that time.’
One night in November 2006, at the Nanford Guest House in Oxford – the gang’s favoured lair – a cocaine-fuelled Bassam Karrar raped her twice, strangled and beat her, all while subjecting her to verbal abuse and threats to kill.
She managed to escape naked into the street. 
During the trial, she was cross-examined by Karrar’s QC, Mark Milliken-Smith, who suggested her account was ‘lie upon lie because you’d been caught by police naked in a hotel room with a man you were not supposed to be with’.
He added: ‘You cried rape, didn’t you?’
Aged 16, she fell pregnant by one of her abusers, and after her son was born the ruthless gang threatened to behead the boy unless she recruited younger girls into the same cycle of abuse.
She was eventually rescued by her adoptive mother, who moved her halfway across the country with her son. 

 

THEY PHYSICALLY BRANDED HER FLESH

Groomed from the age of 11, Girl D was turned into a sex slave by an older man who loaned her out for £600 a time.
In a now familiar pattern, Mohammed Karrar plied her with drink and drugs, and declared his undying love.

The seven members of the gang face lengthy prison sentences

The brain-washing was so effective, she believed he cared even when he raped her.
The sick brute physically branded her flesh so other abusers would ‘know I was his’, she recalled.
When she was 12 she was gang-raped by four cocaine-addled men on a kitchen table.
Men would call her ‘our baby girl’, and inject her with heroin.
Her torment ended only aged 15 when she was moved into a foster family away from Oxford.

 

SHE WROTE ‘HELP’ ALL OVER HER BODY

Girl E loved school and was a ‘teacher’s pet’ before becoming ensnared by the men when she was just 12.
Like many of the others, she became a sex slave at the grubby Nanford Guest house.
Girl E’s mother said she had reported her daughter missing more than a hundred times.
She said yesterday: ‘We did everything we could to try and keep her indoors and away from them.
‘We would lock all the doors and windows at night. We were so desperate.
‘I was on the phone to [social services] every day. We needed help but didn’t get it. 
‘They knew what was going and knew she was being taken to that guesthouse.’
The girl, now 16, is living in secure accommodation for her own safety.
Her mother said: ‘Her life is ruined. Last time I went to see her she had chopped of all her hair and had written the word “help” all over her body.’ 

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She's perfected her travelling style: Cheryl Cole wears skater skirt and blue heels as she arrives for a long haul flight

By Sarah Fitzmaurice


She is no stranger to long haul flights and it seems that Cheryl Cole has perfected her travelling style.
The 29-year-old singer arrived at LAX on Monday sporting a simple, yet effortlessly stylish look.
Cheryl wore a white T-shirt with a light grey skater skirt, adding a flash of colour with a pair of high blue pumps.

Keeping it cute and casual: Cheryl Cole looked effortless stylish in a white T-shirt a short grey A-line skirt a and a pair of blue heels as she arrived at LAX

The skirt and heel combination showed off Cheryl's bronzed legs, which looked trim and toned.

She added another burst of colour across her pout sporting bright red lipstick and she covered her eyes with a pair of oversized angular shades.
Cheryl is thought to be making her way to France ahead of the Cannes film festival.
As the face of L'Oreal she attends the event every year, to promote the beauty range.

Looking great: The 29-year-old's outfit emphasised her tiny frame

Leggy lady: Cheryl's grey skater skirt and bright blue pumps emphasised her legs

In preparation for the film celebration Cheryl has already indulged in a spot of pampering.
The former Girls Aloud singer paid a visit to a hair salon in Hollywood on Wednesday and left with super glossy tresses.
Cheryl had her hair done ahead of a dinner date with boyfriend Tre Holloway and the couple were later spotted out in Hollywood together.

Hair flare: Cheryl showed off her glossy locks after a trip to the hair salon earlier in the week

Off to work: Cheryl jetted to France ahead of the Cannes Film Festival

Their romantic meal comes after reports claim the pair are looking at buying a house together, suggesting they are ready to take their relationship to the next level.
A source told The Daily Mirror newspaper: 'They’ve been talking about a proper base there for a few months and contemplated renting but decided it was more sensible to buy
'They are both ready for that commitment.'
Cheryl is also said to be so smitten with Tre that she is considering starting a family with him, quashing rumours that she had grown bored with her boyfriend of one year.

Centre of attention: Other travellers couldn't stop staring at Cheryl as she made her way through security

Ready to earn a living: Cheryl will be busy as the face of L'Oreal at the film event

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How are you supposed to pick-up girls? Lamborghini unveils priceless Egoista concept car - but it only seats one

• Egoista means selfish in Italian and only seats one person
• To get in and out of the car the driver must remove steering wheel and climb over the bodywork
• Carbon fibre exterior means driver can only enter and exit vehicle in designated places to avoid crushing the frame
• Design inspired by Apache helicopter

By Victoria Woollaston

Lamborghini has unveiled its Egoista concept car as part of its 50th birthday celebrations. 
The design of the Egoista, which means 'selfish' in Italian, was inspired by an Apache helicopter and has carbon fibre and aluminium frame - traditionally seen on lightweight F1 cars. 
And just like F1 cars, the Egoista has been made for one person only, and to get out of the car drivers must remove the steering wheel, lift up the roof and climb over the bodywork. 
Scroll down for video

The Lamborghini Egoista, which means 'selfish' in Italian, was designed by Walter De Silva and was inspired by an Apache helicopter. The concept car only seats one person and the driver must remove the steering wheel and climb over the carbon fibre bodywork to get into the vehicle.

The interior of the Lamborghini Egoista has minimal instruments. A removable steering wheel column sits in the centre. Above it is a heads-up display, similar to those seen by jet fighters, showing only important driving information. When the driver climbs out of the vehicle he can only rest his legs on the designated areas, so not to crush or damage the carbon fibre frame

The car's 'cockpit' is covered by a mechanically operated orange shield. The shield has anti-glare glass and is made of antiradar material. The driver's four-point seatbelt is made up of different colours

THE GRANDE GIRO TOUR

As part of Lamborghin's Grande Giro Tour, owners, collectors and fans drove various Lamborghini models from the Italian firm's 50 year history across Italy.
The parade began on Friday in Milan before heading to Bobbio, and Forte dei Marmi.
It then continured to Bologna and ended at Sant’Agata Bolognese, the Lamborghini headquarters, on Saturday.
A total of 350 of the Italian supercars are taking part in the Tour.
Lamborghini is celebrating its anniversary throughout 2013 with events all over the world.
The company gave 10 per cent of the money made on the tour to a fund for rebuilding social centres destroyed by an earthquake in the Emilia Romagna region of Italy, last year.

The car was unveiled by Lamborghini's President and CEO Stephen Winkelmann at an event in Italy. 
It was designed by Head of Design for Volkswagen Group, Walter De Silva.

 

Speaking on the final day of the Grande Giro Tour - Lamborghini's tour around Italy to celebrate its 50th anniversary - De Silva said: 'This is a car made for one person only, to allow them to have fun and express their personality to the maximum. 
'It is designed purely for hyper-sophisticated people who want only the most extreme and special things in the world. 
'It represents hedonism taken to the extreme, it is a car without compromises.'
The interior of Egoista has a racing seat with four-point seatbelt, and each strap is a different colour.  
There is also a head-up display, similar to those seen by jet fighters, showing speed, fuel levels and other important information. 
The Egoista has 5.2-litre V10 engine with 592 brake horse power. 

Egoista's designer Walter De Silva designed the car to look like the profile of a 'bull preparing to charge, its horns lowered', based on Lamborghini's famous icon. It has two white front lights, two red rear lights, a red flashing light in the upper part of the 'tail', two orange 'bull's eyes' as side markers, and another two lights on the roof.

To get out of the car, the driver has to remove the steering wheel and rest it on the dashboard, open the dome with an electronic command, stand up in their seat, sit down on a precise point of the left-hand bodywork, then swivel their legs 180 degrees from the inside of the cockpit to the outside of the vehicle.
The cockpit is completely removable and De Silva said: 'It is made completely of carbon fiber and aluminum, and represents a sort of survival cell, allowing the driver to isolate and protect themselves from external elements.
'We kept an eye on the future when designing the Egoista, with the idea that its cockpit could have been taken from a jet aircraft and integrated into a road vehicle, to provide a different travel option.'

As the Egoista is made from lightweight materials including aluminum and carbon-fiber, the vehicle has no-walk zones; places the driver can't stand because his weight would crush the bodywork. These zones are marked out like they are on airliners, and are shown at the bottom of this image.

The exterior is designed to look like the profile of a 'bull preparing to charge, its horns lowered'.

This design is based on the Lamborghini brand's icon, and Lamborghini's is also known as the House of Raging Bull.
The top of the vehicle has  flaps built into the bodywork that move depending on the driving conditions. 
Two rear flaps activate automatically at high speeds to increase stability, while a series of air intakes on the back of the engine hood provides the cooling air flow to the powerful V10 engine. 

Newest, most exclusive Lamborghini EVER. For one

The V10 engine sits in the rear of the Lamborghini Egoista. Also known as the 'tail of the bull', it has been designed to be fully open with the mechanics in view. This reduces weight but also creates a more aggressive look.

While the front of the vehicle has a profile intended to increase down force, the rear is fully open with the mechanics in view, reducing weight but also with the result of creating a more aggressive look. 
The Lamborghini Egoista does not have traditional headlights, instead it has LED clearance lights which determine its position in three dimensions, as seen on spacecrafts.
It has two white front lights, two red rear lights, a red flashing light in the upper part of the tail, two orange 'bull's eyes' as side markers, and another two lights on the roof, red on the left and green on the right.

The front of the Lamborghini Egoista has a profile designed to increase downforce. The 'selfish' concept car doesn't have traditional headlights. Instead it has LED clearance lights which determine its position in three dimensions, as seen on spacecrafts.

Hidden behind the front air intakes at the base of the join between the central body and the two side sections, are two xenon headlamps.
As the Egoista is made from lightweight materials such as aluminum and carbon-fiber, the vehicle has no-walk zones - places the driver can't stand because his weight would crush the bodywork. 
These zones are marked out similar to how they are on airliners.

The top of the Lamborghini Egoista has flaps built into the bodywork that move depending on the driving conditions. Two rear flaps activate automatically at high speeds to increase stability, while a series of air intakes on the back of the engine hood provides the cooling air flow to the powerful V10 engine

Additionally, the body is made from a special antiradar material, and the glass is anti-glare with an orange gradation.

The rims are also made from antiradar material embellished with carbon-fiber plates to improve their aerodynamics.
According to Lamborghini, though, no-one will ever drive the latest concept car. 
According to De Silva: 'It's as if Ferruccio Lamborghini were saying: I'm going to put the engine in the back, I don't want a passenger. I want it for myself, and I want it as I imagine it to be. It is a fanatical vehicle, Egoista fits it well.'

Describing the Lamborghini Egoista, the design team said: 'If Lamborghinis are cars for the few, this one goes further. It is a car for itself, a gift from Lamborghini to Lamborghini, resplendent in its solitude. The Egoista is pure emotion, Never Never Land, which no one can ever possess, and which will always remain a dream, for everyone.'

Additionally, the body is made from a special antiradar material, and the glass is anti-glare with an orange gradation. The rims are also made from antiradar material embellished with carbon-fiber plates to improve their aerodynamics.
According to Lamborghini, though, no-one will ever drive the latest concept car. 
According to De Silva: 'It's as if Ferruccio Lamborghini were saying: I'm going to put the engine in the back, I don't want a passenger. I want it for myself, and I want it as I imagine it to be. It is a fanatical vehicle, Egoista fits it well.'
'If Lamborghinis are cars for the few, this one goes further. 
It is a car for itself, a gift from Lamborghini to Lamborghini, resplendent in its solitude. 
The Egoista is pure emotion, Never Never Land, which no one can ever possess, and which will always remain a dream, for everyone.'

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