How the World has Changed in Ten Years: 2000 – 2010

• World population: 2000 = 6.1 billion / 2010 = 6.9 billion
• Billionaires: 2000 = 306 / 2010 = 1011
• The under-nourished: 2000 = 857 million / 2010 = 925 million
• Terror attacks: 2000 = 423 / 2010 = 11000
• Tallest building: 2000 = Petronas Towers, Kuala Lumpur (452m) / 2010 Burj Khalifa, Dubai (828m)
• Internet users in China: 2000 = 22 million / 2010 = 420 million
• Cell phones in India: 2000 = 2 million / 2010 = 545 million
• Bentleys sold in Russia: 2000 = 0 / 2010 = 103
• US Defence budget: 2000 = $316 billion / 2010 $693 billion
• Polar ice cap: 2000 = 7 million km2 / 2010 = 4.9 km2
• UK Workplace fatalities: ye2000 = 220 / ye2010 = 152

Source: Time magazine

Christmas safety moment

Christmas is a time when your home might be full of people and it is in the excitement of the season that accidents can happen. But one of the good things about Christmas is that there are typically more people around to supervise young children and, with a little care and forward planning, accidents can be avoided.

At CRS, we’ve done a ‘safety moment’ in our office to identify the best safety tips, and present here the best ones which you may find useful:

* Be a good neighbour – if it snows or ices over, clean the paths around your home
* Look out for small items that could pose a choking hazard to young children, including parts that have fallen off toys or from Christmas trees, button batteries and burst balloons
* Keep decorations and cards away from fires and other heat sources such as light fittings
* If you have old Christmas fairy lights, seriously consider buying new ones, which will meet much higher safety standards.  Keep the lights switched off until the tree is decorated, and don’t let young children play with lights (some have swallowed the bulbs).  Remember to switch off the lights when going out of the house or to bed
* Remember, Christmas novelties are not toys, even if they resemble them, and they do not have to comply with toy safety regulations. Give careful thought to where you display them, for example, place them high up on Christmas trees where they are out of the reach of young hands
* Beware of hot fat, boiling water and sharp knives and keep young children out of the kitchen. Wipe up any spills quickly
* Beware of trailing cables and wires in the rush to connect new gadgets and appliances
* Falls are the most common accidents so try to keep clutter to a minimum. Make sure stairs are well-lit and free from obstacles, especially if you have guests
* Plan New Year fireworks parties well in advance and follow the Firework Safety Code – see http://www.activityvillage.co.uk/the%20fireworks%20safety%20code.pdf  
* Never drink and drive, and plan long journeys so you won’t be driving tired

Team CRS

CRS are proud to announce that we will again be sponsoring TEAM CRS for 2011.

Please look out for us at the Mighty Mini events and watch out for the competitions in our news letter.

As a thank you for our sponsorship we have been given a great year planner for you to download.

 

Please feel free to download and distribute.

Concorde Paris Crash - Continental guilty

Continental Airlines and one of its mechanics were this week found guilty of criminal negligence in causing the French Concorde crash that killed 113 people 10 years ago.  Air France Flight 4590 was a flight Paris Charles do Gaulle Airport, Paris to New York.  On 25 July 2000 it crashed in Gonesse, France shortly after take off. All one hundred passengers and nine crew on board the flight perished. On the ground, four people were killed.

A Paris court ruled on 6 December that the company and mechanic John Taylor must pay fines over the July 2000 disaster.  Taylor was also given a 15-month suspended prison sentence. All other defendants were acquitted in the verdict.

Investigators said a Continental DC-10 dropped titanium debris on the runway at Charles de Gaulle airport before the Concorde took off.  The debris cut the Concorde's tyre, hurling bits of rubber into the fuel tanks and starting a fire.  The airline was fined £170,000, and Taylor £1,700.  Three former French officials also facing manslaughter charges were acquitted.

While France's aviation authority concluded the crash could not have been foreseen, a judicial inquiry said the plane's fuel tanks lacked sufficient protection from shock and that airline officials had known about the problem for more than 20 years.  The families of most of the crash victims were compensated years ago, so financial claims were not the trial's focus - the main goal was to assign responsibility. It is not uncommon for such cases to take years to reach trial in France.

Continental is now part of Chicago-based United Continental Holdings , which was formed in October as the holding company owner of United and Continental airlines, which will eventually be combined into a single airline.  The court also ordered Continental to pay Air France £847,000.