News » Zhao was a carpenter in a metal foundry in Jilin

Philippine authorities ordered a criminal investigation Monday into a shopping mall fire that authorities said likely killed 37 people Cheap Women's Air Force 1 High X girl All Red Sale , including call centre staff from an American firm.


Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre announced the inquiry as firemen prepared to enter what remained of the NCCC mall in the southern city of Davao where they hope to retrieve those who perished in Saturday's blaze.


The fire compounded the Christmas misery in the south of the mainly Catholic nation where tens of thousands were also displaced by floods and landslides from a storm that also killed more than 200 others on Friday.


"The loss of lives and the resulting damage... underscore the need to determine if someone is at fault and should be held criminally liable," Aguirre said in a statement.


"By punishing those responsible, we can set an example to others so that, hopefully, there will be no repetition of those tragedies," he added.


Deadly blazes occur regularly in the Philippines Cheap Men's Lunar Force 1 Low White Ice Blue Sale , particularly in slum areas where there are virtually no fire safety standards.


Relatives of the missing said many of those still unaccounted for were staff from a call centre for the US-based market research company SSI that occupied the building's top floor.


Local authorities on Sunday said no-one trapped in the fire would have survived but firemen have only managed to retrieve one unidentified body so far.


The Davao fire marshal had on Sunday described the shopping mall as "an enclosed space with no ventilation", though the authorities said they had yet to determine the cause of the blaze.


- Slow recovery -


The building's administrators on Sunday denied allegations from survivors that there were inadequate emergency fire exits and that some of them were locked.


"There is no truth to that allegation. In fact as per accounts of those who got out, they were able get out thru the fire exit," Thea Padua, the mall's public relations officer, told AFP by text message.


Some relatives of those missing criticised rescuers for what they felt was the slow pace of recovery efforts.


"They seem so relaxed Cheap Air Force 1 Special Field High Boots White Sale ," said Jolita Basalan, weeping as she waited for news of her missing 29-year-old son Jonas who worked at the call centre.


"They are not pained because they don't have a child there. They told us to come here but no one is moving," she told AFP.


But authorities earlier told AFP that firemen needed to inspect the structural integrity of the burnt-out building before venturing inside its gutted remains.


Corruption and exploitation mean supposedly strict fire standards are often not enforced in the Philippines.


In 2015, a fire tore through a footwear factory in Manila, killing 72. Survivors of that blaze blamed barred windows and other sweatshop conditions for trapping people inside the factory.


In the deadliest fire in the Philippines in recent times, 162 people were killed in a huge blaze that gutted a Manila disco in 1996.


With low wages but strong English language skills Cheap Air Force 1 Special Field High Boots Faded Olive Sale , the Asian nation is a popular destination for international companies to set up customer call centres in its big cities including Davao, 900-plus kilometres (more than 500 miles) south of Manila.


Agencies


The plan by China's central bank to cut the reserve requirement ratio (RRR), or the amount of cash that banks must hold in reserve, will not affect policymakers' resolve to reduce financial risks, a State English newspaper quoted an official as saying on Monday.


The senior central bank official, who was not identified Cheap Men's Air Force 1 07 Low Metallic Gold White Sale , told the paper that the planned cut would also not impede policymakers' determination to lower bank leverage ratios.


The paper said RRR cuts had been made before to supplement liquidity during capital outflow surges and falls in foreign exchange reserves, but that was not the case this time as inflows into China have been strong.


"Some financial institutions that have appealed for an easing of monetary policy have felt some liquidity stress during the [anti-leverage] campaign to tame interbank borrowing in order to prevent systemic risks," he added.


While China expects the US Dollar Index to strengthen following an interest rate rise, the overall impact on China's foreign exchange policy will be limited, the official noted.

　　Zhao Jinlong assembles an ancient ship model in Jilin City of northeast China's Jilin Province, Nov. 18 Cheap Men's Air Force 1 Low Black White Sale , 2017. Zhao Jinlong started to made ancient ship models when he got a set of drawings of the English ship "The Mayflower" in the 1990s, and he has successfully made nearly 20 models among which the longest one reaches 1.5 meters long since then.(XinhuaGao Nan)

CHANGCHUN, Nov. 19 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese carpenter has dedicated his retirement to making model ships, with some of them fetching thousands of dollars.


In the last five years, Zhao Jinlong, 65 Cheap Men's Air Force 1 Low 07 LE Black White Sale , has made 17 wooden models of famous ships by hand, including the Mayflower, HMS Victory, the Swedish ship Gotheborg and the Russian ship Ingermanland.


Zhao was a carpenter in a metal foundry in Jilin City of northeast China's Jilin Province.


"I live by the Songhuajiang River and have always had a fondness for ships. I wanted to build a ship with my own hands, but now that I've retired, I can only build models Cheap Men's Air Force 1 Low All Black Sale ," he said.