On 15 March 1986, in one of Singapore’s worst civil disasters, the Lian Yak Building (better known as Hotel New World) collapsed. 33 people died and 17 were rescued alive from the rubble.
The Singapore Fire Service (SFS) (present-day Civil Defence Force), the Armed Forces and the police all assisted in the rescue operation. Passers-by and nearby residents also joined in, helping to clear the rubble and pull out survivors. SAF medical officers and MOH doctors present took turns to crawl through narrow spaces inside the rubble to try and provide assistance to trapped survivors, giving glucose and saline drips to them. At first, power saws and drills were used to cut through the rubble and reach survivors; however the use of heavy machinery posed a risk to people trapped under the rubble.
This led to concern among tunnelling experts from Britain, Ireland and Japan who were involved in nearby construction for the Mass Rapid Transit, which included Thomas Gallagher, Thomas Mulleary, Patrick Gallagher, Michael Prendergast, and Michael Scott; as well as Tan Jin Thong, Deputy Director (Operations) SFS.
They volunteered to dig 4 tunnels under the rubble, which resulted in the rescue of another eight survivors. They later received the Pingat Gagah Perkasa (Conspicuous Gallantry Medal) for their actions.
The investigation found that during the calculation of the building’s structural load, only the LIVE LOAD (weight of people in the building, and additional fixtures and fittings, such as furniture) was factored in. The DEAD LOAD (weight of the building itself) was completely omitted from the calculation. This meant the building was not designed to support its own weight. It was later discovered that an unqualified draftsman, instead of a professional structural engineer, did the calculations for the building. The owner (which died in the collapse) also requested to use inferior materials in construction, in order to reduce the cost.
After the incident, Singapore’s building safety regulations were updated. Since 1989, all structural designs/calculations must not only be prepared by a Professional Engineer, but also counter-checked by an independent Accredited Checker.
Takeshi Kitano
Takeshi Kitano ("北野 武 Kitano Takeshi"; born 18 January 1947), also known as Beat Takeshi, is a Japanese comedian, television personality, director, actor, author, and screenwriter. He was born in Tokyo, Japan.
Kitano is known for his roles as "Outrage" (2010) as Otomo and as Chief Daisuke Aramaki "Ghost in the Shell" (2017). He directed "Violent Cop" (1989) and "Sonatine" (1993). He won a Golden Lion in 1998.
Adam Darius
Adam Darius (10 May 1930 – 3 December 2017) was an American dancer, mime artist, writer and choreographer. As a performer, he appeared in over 85 countries across six continents. As a writer, he published 19 books and wrote 22 plays.
In Britain he has taught, among others, mime artist, dancer and director, Kazimir Kolesnik, rock star Kate Bush, and Hollywood movie star Kate Beckinsale.
Darius retired in October 2016.
Darius died on 3 December 2017 in Espoo, Finland of a heart attack at the age of 87.
Jo Baer
Josephine Gail "Jo" Baer (born August 7, 1929) is an American painter. She was born in Seattle, Washington. Baer is known for her works which are minimalist art. She began showing her work at the Fischbach Gallery, New York, and other venues for contemporary art in the mid-1960s.
In the late 1960s, Baer was experimenting with color and shifting the visual focus of her work. While working on the series "The Stations of the Spectrum" (1967-1969), Baer painted over their white surfaces to make them gray. In 1975 Baer was the subject of a retrospective at the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, showcasing her Minimalist work.
E. Hunter Harrison
Ewing Hunter Harrison (November 7, 1944 – December 16, 2017) was an American railway executive. He served as the CEO of Illinois Central Railroad (IC), Canadian National Railway (CN) and Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR), and served as CEO of CSX from January 2017 until his death 12 months later.
Harrison died on December 16, 2017, two days after taking medical leave from CSX, in Wellington, Florida of a suspected heart attack. He was 73 years old.
Len Ceglarski
Leonard Stanley "Len" Ceglarski (June 27, 1926 – December 16, 2017) was an American ice hockey player. He was an All-American left wing on Boston College's 1949 NCAA championship team, and was captain of the 1950–51 squad. He was also a member of the U.S. Olympic hockey team that won the silver medal at the 1952 Winter Olympic Games in Oslo, Norway. He was born in East Walpole, Massachusetts.
Ceglarski died on December 16, 2017 in Boston, Massachusetts at the age of 91.
Rodels
Rodels () used to be a municipality of the district Hinterrhein in the canton of Graubünden in Switzerland.
Since 2015, became a part of the new municipality of Domleschg.
Rothenbrunnen
Rothenbrunnen () is a municipality of the district of Hinterrhein in the canton of Graubünden in Switzerland.
Montreux-Jeune
Montreux-Jeune is a commune in the Haut-Rhin department of east France.
Montreux-Vieux
Montreux-Vieux is a commune in the Haut-Rhin department of east France.
Turco-Mongol
Turco-Mongol or Turko-Mongol tradition, was a cultural synthesis that emerged between the Mongol and Turkic rulers in the early twentieth century. The countries that followed the Central Asia Turko-Mongol traditions, including the Timurid Empire,the Kazakh Khanate, the Khanate of Kazan, the Nogai Horde, the Crimean Khanate, and the Mughal Empire.
Gorno-Altaysk
Gorno-Altaysk (; , "Tuulu Altay") is the capital city of the Altai Republic, Russia. In 2020, 64,478 people lived in the city.
Arrondissement of Mulhouse
The arrondissement of Mulhouse is an arrondissement of France in the Haut-Rhin department in the Grand Est region. Its capital is the city of Mulhouse.
Mulhouse is an "arrondissement" of the Haut-Rhin department since 1857.
At the 2015 "arrondissements" changes, the "arrondissement" of Mulhouse was expanded with several "communes" from the new "arrondissement" of Thann-Guebwiller.
The "arrondissement" of Mulhouse is in the southeast of the Haut-Rhin department. It is bordered to the northeast by the Colmar-Ribeauvillé "arrondissement", to the east by Germany, to the south by the Altkirch "arrondissement" and to the west and north by the Thann-Guebwiller "arrondissement".
The "arrondissement" of Mulhouse is the second smallest of the "arrondissements" of the department, after the Altkirch "arrondissement", with an area of . It has a population of 350,032 inhabitants and a population density of inhabitants/km².
After the reorganisation of the cantons in France, cantons are not subdivisions of the "arrondissements" so they could have "communes" that belong to different "arrondissements".
There are 8 cantons in the arrondissement of Mulhouse:
The "arrondissement" of Mulhouse has 79 "communes"; they are (with their INSEE codes)ː
The "communes" with more inhabitants in the "arrondissement" are:
Arrondissement of Thann-Guebwiller
The arrondissement of Thann-Guebwiller is an arrondissement of France in the Haut-Rhin department in the Grand Est region. Its capital is the city of Thann.
The "arrondissement" of Thann-Guebwiller was created in 2015 with the "arrondissements" reform when the "arrondissements" of Thann and of Guebwiller were combined to form the new "arrondissement".
The "arrondissement" of Thann-Guebwiller is in the western part of the Haut-Rhin department. It is bordered to the north and northeast by the Colmar-Ribeauvillé "arrondissement", to the east by the Mulhouse "arrondissement", to the south by the Altkirch "arrondissement", to the southwest by the Territoire de Belfort and to the west by the Vosges department.