Thursday, May 13, 2010

Wikinews reporter Iain Macdonald has performed an interview with Dr Isabella Margara, a London-based member of the Communist Party of Greece (KKE). In the interview Margara sets out the communist response to current events in Greece as well as discussing the viability of a communist economy for the nation. She also hit back at Petros Tzomakas, a member of another Greek far-left party which criticised KKE in a previous interview.

The interview comes amid tensions in cash-strapped Greece, where the government is introducing controversial austerity measures to try to ease the nation’s debt-problem. An international rescue package has been prepared by European Union member states and the International Monetary Fund – should Greece require a bailout; protests have been held against government attempts to manage the economic situation.

Friday, December 26, 2008

Following its recent loss to South Africa, the Australian Cricket team has replaced player Jason Krejza for Nathan Hauritz in the traditional Boxing Day test to be played at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in front of an expected crowd of 70,000. Australia lost the first test of the three game series by six wickets after South Africa chased down an almost world record 414 in their second innings. Only West Indies have done better making 7-418 in Antigua during the 2002-03 tour.

All rounder Andrew Symonds kept his place despite being restricted in training with knee-soreness. Victorian speed bowler Peter Siddle was also thought to be on the verge of replacement yet managed to retain his place in the team. There has been rumour that the injury would keep Symonds out and Queenslands team mate Shane Watson would be returned after time on the sidelines.

News.com.au quotes Australian Captain Ricky Ponting “We have only made the one change in the side and that’s Nathan Hauritz will come in for Jason Krejza. Otherwise we are pretty happy with what most of the rest of the guys did in Perth.”

Australia, currently leading the work test team rankings must avoid a 3-0 loss to South Africa if they are to retain their current rankings. If they do loose the series, it will be the first time they have done so on home soil since they lost the West Indies in 1993.

Following their emphatic win, South Africa has named an unchanged side putting aside doubt over vice-captain Ashwell Prince making a comeback as he continues to suffer with a thumb injury. South Africa will train before joining family and friends in the traditional Christmas Day luncheon for both teams.

Sunday, January 21, 2007

Ricky “The Hitman” Hatton regained the IBF light welterweight title belt he relinquished less than 12 months ago when he defeated Juan Urango in Las Vegas, Nevada tonight.

“The Hitman” won by unanimous decision, as the fight went to 12 rounds. Despite early match odds suggesting Hatton would dominate the fight, this was not the case. Each round was close, but most pundits and judges alike agreed that Urango only won 1 of the 12 rounds, with Hatton taking the other 11.

Despite the unfamiliar confines of Las Vegas, Hatton looked touched by the ringing of football fan-like chants, familiar in British boxing, that rang around the arena, as more than half of it was filled by traveling support from across the atlantic.

Many in the UK will hope Hatton has ended the “curse” that has seen names such as Frank Bruno, Naseem Hamed, Barry McGuigan and others fall short while headlining fights on “The Strip”.

From here, it is widely believed “The Hitman” will move on to fight Jose Luis Castillo in June, again likely in Vegas.

Friday, July 20, 2007

Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick and three other men were indicted on Tuesday by a federal grand jury on charges of conspiracy related to a dog fighting operation. The charges included buying, breeding and training pit bull dogs, transporting the dogs across state lines to illegally participate in fights, and gambling on the fights.

The indictments stemmed from a search of Vick’s Smithfield, Virginia home in April, in which 54 pit bulls were removed, along with equipment used in dog fighting.

The indictment said that Vick had bought the property in Smithfield for US$34,000 to run the dog fighting under the name “Bad Newz Kennels” with two other people named in the indictment. Purnell Peace, Quanis Phillips, and Tony Taylor were all named in the indictment along with Vick.

The indictment stated that Vick took part in the killing of eight dogs that didn’t pass test fights, called “rolling”. The pit bulls were allegedly killed by hanging, drowning and slamming at least one dog onto the ground.

If convicted of both portions of the conspiracy charge, Vick could face six years in prison and a $350,000 fine. His property, located in Surry County, would be subject to forfeiture under U.S. laws dealing with illegal activities that are carried out at an interstate level. The indictment alleges that the dog fighting operation, involving American Pit Bull Terriers, spilled over into Alabama, North Carolina and New York.

Vick has a court date on July 26 for a bond hearing and to hear the charges. Vick has said that he had a kennel operation on the property, but had no involvement or knowledge of a dog fighting ring.

Monday, February 25, 2013

Carbon monoxide poisoning is thought to have been the cause of the deaths of three people and one Jack Russell dog in a caravan park in Cornwall in South West England. Cornwall Fire and Rescue Service (CFRS) were alerted to the incident in Tremarle Home Park in the town of Camborne at 12:56 UTC on Saturday.

Inspector David Eldridge said Devon and Cornwall Police were alerted to the caravan park incident after “a helper had been unable to get a reply from an elderly couple who lived in the caravan”. He said that upon their arrival, “We were able to see that there was a figure sat in a chair but they were unresponsive to knocks at the door.” CFRS workers called to the area “forced entry into the property and found that the three occupants were all dead”, Inspector Eldridge said. A hazardous material advisor was also present at the scene in North Roskear. The Health and Safety Executive is now investigating the incident but the deaths are not considered as being of a suspicious nature.

The three fatalities have been identified as Audrey Cook, aged 86, her husband Alfred, aged 90, and Maureen, their 46-year-old daughter. David Biggs, a member of Camborne Town Council, said the incident came as “a shock” to him; Tremarle Home Park is “a well established facility and is very well run”, according to him. Biggs described the loss of three lives as an “appalling tragedy”.

The incident came five days after Cornwall Council announced its Family Placement Service would launch a joint venture with Cornwall Fire and Rescue Service to place carbon monoxide detectors in the houses of foster carers. The programme, entitled ‘Be Gas Safe’, has seen 200 carbon monoxide detectors and 2000 leaflets to raise awareness about carbon monoxide being given to CFRS. Mark Blatchford, Group Manager of CFRS, said: “We have seen a big increase in the number of carbon monoxide incidents in Cornwall over recent years”. He described carbon monoxide detectors as being “as important as a smoke alarm as it provides a valuable early warning”.

Carbon monoxide is a poisonous, colourless, tasteless and odourless gas which is created when such carbon-based fuels as oil, gas, coal and wood are not completely incinerated. The human body’s capacity to hold oxygen in the blood can be reduced by inhalation of the gas, which in turn may cause death. The Gas Safe Register has said dizziness, headaches, queasiness, lack of ability to breathe, fainting and losing consciousness are all symptoms of a person experiencing carbon monoxide poisoning.

Sunday, January 13, 2013

The United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) ordered a review Friday into the design and manufacture of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, following five incidents in five days involving the aircraft and two Japanese airlines.

On Monday, an electrical fire broke out aboard a Japan Airlines 787 at Boston’s Logan International Airport, when a battery pack which powers the auxiliary power unit, for when the plane is on the ground, caught fire. The fire was discovered by maintenance workers after passengers and crew disembarked following their flight from Tokyo’s Narita Airport.

The next day, a separate Japan Airlines 787, also at Logan International Airport, heading to Tokyo, suffered a fuel leak that spilled around 40 gallons, which was spotted by the crew of the aircraft taxiing behind them. “That Japan Air may know it, but they’ve got fuel or something spilling out the outboard left wing. Quite a bit,” said the pilot of aircraft behind them on local air traffic control frequencies.

Wednesday, in Japan, an All Nippon Airways 787, the launch customer for the aircraft, cancelled a flight after a brake problem was reported.

Earlier Friday, two All Nippon Airways suffered separate incidents in Japan. An oil leak was noticed in the engine after one aircraft had landed in Miyazaki, coming from Tokyo’s Haneda Airport. Another flight, flying between Haneda Airport and Matsuyama said the pilot’s side window in the cockpit suffered a crack.

The FAA in a statement said “In light of a series of recent events, the FAA will conduct a comprehensive review of the Boeing 787 critical systems, including the design, manufacture and assembly.” Further adding, “The purpose of the review is to validate the work conducted during the certification process and further ensure that the aircraft meets the FAA’s high level of safety.”

According to the statement, “The review will also examine how the electrical and mechanical systems interact with each other.” The Boeing 787 relies more on electrical, as opposed to mechanical, systems than past aircraft from the manufacturer including having electronics operate hydraulic pumps and using electric brakes. Large portions of the plane’s structure use lightweight carbon fiber composite instead of more traditional metal airframe.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said, “The safety of the traveling public is our top priority […] This review will help us look at the root causes and do everything we can to safeguard against similar events in the future.”

“We are confident that the aircraft is safe. But we need to have a complete understanding of what is happening,” said newly sworn-in FAA Administrator Michael P. Huerta. “We are conducting the review to further ensure that the aircraft meets our high safety standards.”

Boeing released a statement saying, “[The company] is confident in the design and performance of the 787. It is a safe and efficient airplane. The airplane has logged 50,000 hours of flight and there are more than 150 flights occurring daily.”

Friday, March 18, 2005

The White House announced the selection of Paul Wolfowitz to head the World Bank, replacing John Wolfensohn who retires as acting president after 10 years. The switch is expected to occur sometime in June.

The choice of Wolfowitz is raising controversy in Europe and developing nations. Known as hawkish and outspoken, Wolfowitz was a pro-Iraqi war neo-conservative in his role as deputy Secretary of Defense, and a chief architect in the build up to war with Iraq. Some question whether Wolfowitz, who was criticized for brushing aside European and NATO calls for caution before the Iraq war, would use the International Monetary Fund (IMF) as tool to extend U.S. foreign policy interests.

Historically, it has been the White House’s prerogative to name the candidate because the U.S. holds a majority on the 24 member board, but board members from nations other than the U.S. are seeking their own interviews to qualify the candidate before a change is made. “The executive directors have agreed to conduct informal meetings over the coming days with the US nominee as part of the consultative process.” the IMF said in a statement. “Thereafter, the executive directors will meet in a formal session to select the president at which time an official announcement of the outcome will be made,” it said. The vote is set for March 31, the same day Wolfensohn retires.

Rob Nichols, the US Treasury spokesperson, said Wolfowitz has begun scheduling meetings with board members and that, “Our nominee… looks forward to meeting with and listening to members of the World Bank board.” Reuters reported. In the meantime, Wolfowitz has worked to assure those with concerns of him, saying he would come with an open mind and no political program.

Friday, March 5, 2010

China’s military spending will increase by 7.5% for 2010, the first single-digit increase since 1989, a spokesman for the Chinese parliament, Li Zhaoxing, said.

Mr. Li said that China would spend 532.1 billion yuan ($77.9 billion) on the country’s military over the course of 2010, an increase of about 36.9 billion yuan ($5.4 billion) over 2009’s spending. Regardless of the increase, China still spends significantly less on its military as a proportion of its gross domestic product (GDP) than other countries around the world. China spends about 1.4% of its GDP on the military, while the United States spends about 4% of its GDP on the military. The US, which accounts for 48% of the world’s military spending, has frequently encouraged China to be more transparent about its military spending, a challenge which China said it was meeting.

At a press conference, Mr. Li said that the increase was in response to various security threats to China, although the nature of the threats were not specified. He did, however, say that, “The only purpose of China’s limited military strength is to safeguard China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.” He also said that the government has limited military spending to the best of its ability, and had tried to ensure a balance between the military and other needs.

According to US military analysis and official Chinese reports, China has been steadily increasing military spending since the late 1980s, when the country began a program of improving its entire armed forces, including developing and producing weapons and equipment. The US Pentagon issued a report in 2009, saying that military spending had increased by an average of 12.9% annually since 1996. Based on this, analysts say that the earlier large spending increases could explain the slower increase for 2010. China in the past few years has seen dramatic spending increases in other sectors, especially costs related to the global financial crisis, and these sectors have complained about the amount of military spending. As one analyst, David Shambaugh from George Washington University, put it, “There have been complaints from some other sectors that it has been distorting expenditures. Maybe some of those arguments have come home to roost.”