Today's New York Times featured a skyscraper engulfed in flames. At first gang I though ti was New York but upon closer inspection I realized it was actually Shanghai. The picture caption reads, "Firefighters had trouble reaching the top of the 28 story building. Some residents may have jumped to their deaths." The building that caught on fire was an apartment building that was undergoing renovations. For Shanghai this is one of the deadliest fires they've had in years, killing 42 people and injuring 90 more. Video footage of the tragedy showed people stuck on the roof of the building, some jumped, others climbed down the scaffolding and actually lived. There were three helicopters on the scene trying to rescue people from the roof but the black smoke and flames made that impossible. For more than four hours the fire destroyed the skyscraper which housed more than 156 families, some of which are still missing. The cause of the fire is still unknown.
Another article disturbed me in today's paper, "Seven Charged in International Organ-Trafficking Ring Based in Kosovo" by Dan Bilefsky. Apparently these seven people have been apart of an underground operation that lures in the poor people of these impoverished countries and says they will pay them $20,000 for their kidneys. however, when these people woke up they were alone, weak, without their money and without their kidney. These stolen kidneys are then given to the wealthy for up to $200,000.
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