Page 29 - 062617

Groton Daily Independent
Monday, June 26, 2017 ~ Vol. 24 - No. 347 ~ 29 of 39
UK: All samples from high-rise towers fail re safety tests By SYLVIA HUI, Associated Press
LONDON (AP) — The list of high-rise apartment towers in Britain that have failed re safety tests grew to 60, of cials said Sunday, revealing the mounting challenge the government faces in the aftermath of London’s Grenfell Tower re tragedy.
All of the buildings for which external cladding samples were so far submitted failed combustibility tests, Communities Secretary Sajid Javid said. As of late Sunday, that includes 60 towers from 25 different areas of the country— double the gure given a day earlier.
The number of buildings at risk is likely to grow as owners and local of cials provide more samples for safety tests.
The national testing was ordered after an inferno engulfed Grenfell Tower in west London on June 14. The tower’s cladding — panels widely used to insulate buildings and improve their appearance — was believed to have rapidly spread that blaze, which killed at least 79 people.
In north London, of cials trying to avoid another re disaster sought to complete the evacuation of hundreds of apartments in four towers deemed unsafe. They faced resistance as some 200 residents refused to budge.
Camden Council ordered residents from some 600 apartments at Chalcots Estate to evacuate late Friday as a precaution after re inspectors found problems with the blocks’ re doors and gas pipes.
The council said residents must leave immediately because of those issues and because the towers were encased in similar cladding to the material used at Grenfell Tower.
Hundreds were put up in hotels and other temporary accommodation. The evacuees now face up to four weeks in limbo as workers try to upgrade the buildings’ re safety features. Council leader Georgia Gould said those still staying in their homes must leave for the renovations to begin.
Sayed Meah, 34, who lives with his mother and wife, said he would not move until the company that helps care for his mother agrees to provide service at a new location.
He said he and other residents are determined to remain in their apartments until a legal notice is ob- tained or they are “dragged out by their ngernails.”
Refurbishment of the Chalcots towers was overseen by Rydon, the same company involved in the recent renovation of the now-devastated Grenfell Tower.
A public inquiry is due to determine how the unsafe cladding was allowed to be tted onto Grenfell and other buildings in the rst place.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan backed the Camden Council’s decision to evacuate the apartment blocks.
“I think they’ve done the right thing. Look, you’ve got to err on the side of caution. You can’t play Rus- sian roulette with people’s safety,” Khan told Sky News.
Activists kept from gathering en masse for Istanbul Pride By ZEYNEP BILGINSOY, Associated Press
ISTANBUL (AP) — Turkish police stopped activists for lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and intersex rights from gathering in large numbers for an LGBT pride event in Istanbul on Sunday, but smaller groups made impromptu press statements defying a ban imposed by the governor.
Organizers of the 2017 Istanbul LGBTI+ Pride had vowed to march in central Taksim Square, using a Turkish hashtag for “we march,” despite the ban on gay pride observances ordered by the Istanbul gov- ernor’s of ce for the third year in a row.
Police established checkpoints in the area, preventing groups from entering Istiklal Avenue and turning back individuals who were deemed to be associated with the planned march. Small groups assembled on side streets were chased away by of cers.
At least a hundred protesters gathered in a nearby neighborhood, beating drums and chanting slogans such as, “Don’t be quiet, shout out, gays exist!” and “Love, love, freedom, State, stay away!” They carried a banner that read, “Get used to, we are here.”