Apr
23
Friday, November 3, 2006
On November 13, Torontonians will be heading to the polls to vote for their ward’s councillor and for mayor. Among Toronto’s ridings is St. Paul’s West (Ward 21). One candidate responded to Wikinews’ requests for an interview. This ward’s candidates include John Adams, Tony Corpuz, Joe Mihevc (incumbent), and John Sewell.
For more information on the election, read Toronto municipal election, 2006.
Apr
22
Friday, March 11, 2005
A defendant on trial for rape in Atlanta, Georgia reportedly stole a deputy sheriff’s handgun and used it to shoot the judge, court reporter, and two deputies Friday morning. Three people were killed and one was wounded.
Fulton County Superior Court Judge Rowland W. Barnes has been confirmed dead along with the court reporter and one of the deputies. After the shootings, the suspect reportedly attempted to carjack several cars in a bid to escape. He attempted to carjack a green Honda Accord with license plate 6584-YN, from a newspaper reporter, but eventually fled by other means. The reporter in question, Don O’Briant from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, was beaten by the suspect but was fortunate to receive only cuts to his face and a broken face from a fall.
The car was listed as being used by the suspect in public alerts across the area before it was realised that the car was in fact still in the garage of the courthouse.
The suspect has been identified as Brian Nichols, 34, who was facing a retrial for rape and kidnapping after the first trial ended with a hung jury. Police are desperately searching for Nichols, as he is considered armed and dangerous.
The suspect reportedly stole the handgun by overpowering a deputy sheriff while he was being taken into the courtroom by the deputy, said Assistant Police Chief Alan Dreher. He then shot and critically wounded the female deputy, went to the courtroom where his trial was due to take place, and held about a dozen people at bay there before killing the judge and court reporter. He later shot and killed another deputy outside.
The deputy from whom Nichols stole the handgun is now sedated and in critical condition after surgery and has a bruise in her brain, according to Jeffrey Salomone, an attending trauma surgeon at Grady Memorial Hospital. Although she was shot in the head, the bullet did not penetrate her skull, said Salomone.
Apr
22
Sunday, January 11, 2009
Portuguese football player Cristiano Ronaldo has been involved in a car crash in Manchester, in the United Kingdom.
The Manchester United winger who also plays internationally for Portugal crashed his Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano at 10:20 a.m. on Friday January 9. The car, worth approximately £200,000 ($305,000) was totally destroyed. A wheel came off the car and debris was placed all over the road. Ronaldo was not injured during the crash and no other vehicles were involved. Team mate, Goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar was said to be following behind Ronaldo.
Ronaldo turned up for training later in the day. He has been with Manchester United since 2003 and scored 74 goals in 178 games. He has also scored 21 goals for Portugal and has competed for them in Euro 2004 and 2008 as well as the 2006 FIFA World Cup and 2004 Summer Olympics. He returned to the training ground in his £150,000 Bentley.
Police released a statement saying “at about 10:20 a.m. police were called to the A538 Wilmslow Road near to Manchester Airport following reports of a road traffic collision. Officers attended and discovered a Ferrari had collided with a barrier. No one is believed to have been injured. Inquiries are continuing.” The statement also added that Ronaldo was not intoxicated.
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Sunday, June 5, 2016
Legendary boxing great Muhammed Ali died on Friday aged 74 in a hospital in Phoenix, Arizona in the United States. A family spokesperson said Ali had been admitted with respiratory problems. The former heavyweight champion lived with Parkinson’s disease for decades, diagnosed in 1984.
Born on January 17, 1942 as Cassius Marcellus Clay, he changed his name to Muhammed Ali after his 1964 conversion to Islam. In his professional career, Ali won 56 out of 61 fights — including 31 consecutive wins. He won the World Heavyweight Championship three times and had also won an Olympic gold medal in the light-heavyweight category.
Often considered the greatest boxer of all time, Ali was the world heavyweight champion in the 1960s and 1970s. His famous fights with George Foreman in 1974 when he won his title back and against Joe Frazier are considered by many as two of the greatest fights in the sport’s history. Ali had also defeated Sonny Liston to claim the championship title.
Ali was also known as a political activist. He came under considerable controversy after his decision to refuse the Vietnam War draft.
He lit the flame in the 1996 Olympics hosted in Atlanta.
His funeral is to be in Kentucky.
Apr
19
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Sunday night’s release of leaked United States diplomatic cables shows widespread concern in the Arab world over Iran’s ambitions to build a “Persian Empire in the 21st Century”.
Wikileaks, so far, have released under 300 of the quarter million plus diplomatic communications posted to them on a memory stick. The small sample shows, over several months, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Kuwait and Bahrain asserting that further sanctions against Iran will likely have no effect.
Early November last year, General David Petraeus discussed the situation with King Hamad of Bahrain, who argued for the use of force to thwart Iran’s nuclear ambitions; stating: “The danger of letting it go on is greater than the danger of stopping it.”
In that meeting concern was expressed that more Arab involvement in Iraq was needed to frustrate Iranian plans. Petraeus was told Bahrain sought Egyptians and Saudis support, but talks with the latter revealed no interest in taking a leading rôle.
The King did welcome the prospect of India becoming involved in the region as a stabilising influence.
A mid-December meeting between Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan of the UAE and US Deputy Secretary of Energy Daniel Poneman saw the subject brought up again. In a discussion that touched on the two countries renewable energy plans, and reliable movement of oil through the Strait of Hormuz, the Prince asserted Iran saw itself as spearheading a campaign for a “Persian Empire in the 21st Century.” Alleging Iran has established “emirates” in Kuwait, Bahrain, Eastern Saudi Arabia, Southern Iraq, Yemen, and South Lebanon, his picture of Iranian nuclear ambitions is “Al-Qaeda is not going to get a nuclear bomb; Iran is a matter of time.”File:Iran strait of hormuz 2004.jpg
The Prince was keen to stress that those in power are the same people who, in 1979, seized the US embassy in Tehran.
Subsequent talks between a congressional appropriations sub-committee and UAE’s Foreign Minister were the scene of equally serious predictions. The sub-committee, consisting of Nita Lowey, Tom Cole, Barbara Lee, and Donna Edwards, heard from Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan that if Iran became a nuclear state the rest of the region would likely follow suit.
Plans to keep the fifteen-millions-plus barrels of oil passing through the Strait of Hormuz each day moving were discussed. Whilst keen to weaken Iranian ties with China, Sheikh Abdullah stressed the US$50 billion in trade between the two; this being considered an obstacle to China backing, and enforcing, a stronger sanctions regime.
The sub-committee’s Emirates host, like many in the region, stated progress on the Israeli peace process was a good route to de-escalation.
A meeting in February this year with Kuwaiti Interior Minister Jaber Al-Khaled Al Sabah was the scene of comparable warnings. Alongside discussions on travel restrictions to be enforced against former Guantanamo Bay detainees, he described Iran as the “beating heart” of Islamic Extremism.
Concerns over Iran’s involvement in Yemen were discussed, with the minister saying Iran is intent on exporting its revolution; that its nuclear ambitions can only be thwarted by force.
Updating the US on perceived Iranian actions, he claimed they were attempting to infiltrate Egypt by recruiting the poor. And, they were becoming involved in the drugs trade, shipping narcotics into Yemen to fund militants.
The cable on the Kuwait meeting closes referring recipients to a wiki page: http://www.intelink.sgov.gov/wiki/Portal:Kuwait. Wikinews has been informed this is a page on the US intelligence community’s Intellipedia; an internally-maintained project, based on the same technology as Wikipedia, and intended for use in building intelligence dossiers on countries, regions, their politicians, diplomats, plus political and terrorist groups.
A cable originating in London from January this year is corroborated by later U.S. news reports; hinting that the Iranian government may indeed be using tactics more reminiscent of the cold-war.
In the opening weeks of the year, London-based Voice of America commentator Ali Reza Nourizadeh was advised that Mohammed Reza Sadeqinia intended to target him for assassination, along with others. Sadeqinia was previously arrested in California, and prosecuted for attempting to hire a hit man. The target at that time was reported to be Iranian-American broadcaster Jamshid Sharmahd, one of the main figures behind Tondar — a loose collection of in-exile Iranians opposed to the current regime.
Tehran insists Tondar is a terrorist organisation, accusing it of being responsible for a 2008 bombing that killed 14.
Sadeqinia, who worked as a painter in Ann Arbour, was arrested on July 28, 2009 near Los Angeles International Airport in possession of thousands of dollars and an Iranian passport. FBI investigations into his possible Iranian government ties were still ongoing a month before his scheduled release in July this year.
Found guilty by Los Angeles Superior Court of attempting to hire someone to murder Sharmahd, he had been expected to spend around a year in jail. Tondar spokesman Iman Afar, in the lead up to Sedeqina’s release, expressed concern for his own safety and that of others in the L.A. area.
Apr
18
Saturday, November 17, 2007
Jokela High School in Tuusula, Finland, scene of the Jokela school shooting, has recommenced classes. Earlier this month, student Pekka-Eric Auvinen, 18, fatally wounded eight people with his handgun before turning the weapon on himself in the country’s worst ever school shooting. He died later in hospital, having never regained consciousness.
All last week repair teams have been working to eradicate all traces of the event, with large numbers of bullet holes in walls and doors being filled in, broken windows and torn blinds being replaced, and total renovation of one corridor which Auvinen had attempted to set fire to.
Students had previously been permitted into the school last week, in order to collect belongings left behind as they rushed to evacuate the school. On Monday, the school’s 450 pupils began to attend temporary facilities set up at nearby Tuusula Primary School as well as the local church.
Tuusula spokeswoman Heidi Hagman told reporters yesterday that at first school days would be considerably shortened, adding “Today the students will spend time getting used to the renovated and repaired school area.
“Students and teachers are getting support from Red Cross crisis workers and psychologists during the first days of school.”
Esa Ukkola, head of education in Tuusula, spoke to reporters about the fact that students had been shown around the renovated school. “We need to show there is nobody lurking in the cupboards any more. We’re trying to have as normal a school day as possible. There are dozens of extra people to ensure we can do everything in small enough groups.”
The shooting has prompted public anger in Finland at the media attention directed to it, with a feeling that it undermines the placid reputation of the country. People have questioned the decision of a survey last month to designate Finland as the world’s “most livable country”. Psycho-social service manager Anna Cantell-Forsbom from nearby Vantaa has spoken out about her view that the shooting was mainly caused by a lack of psychiatric care available to the Finnish youth and therefore did not reflect on Finnish society. The shooting has also prompted a move by the Finnish government to raise the legal age for gun ownership from 15 years to 18 years.
Finland is expected to set up a commission of inquiry this week to investigate the murders. The government will set aside resources for the ministry of social affairs, health and education as well as the local municipality for the investigation. Meanwhile, local authorities have shown a four-year response plan to the government, asking for five million Euro to fund it. Half will go towards therapy and occupational guidance for affected residents, while the other half would go to school guidance counsellors, psychologists, school healthcare personnel and other experts. The ultimate goal of the plan is the complete recovery of those adversely affected by the shooting.
Apr
18
Sunday, January 11, 2009
Turkish police arrested two colonels and two lieutenants Saturday as part of a wide-reaching probe into a suspected coup plot. The arrests are the latest related to an alleged clandestine neonationalist organization referred to as “Ergenekon“. The Ergenekon case has had adverse effects on financial markets in Turkey, a candidate for the European Union.
Turkey’s state-run news service, Anatolian News, reported that the four Turkish army officers were arrested in Istanbul for alleged ties to a right-wing group suspected of conspiring to overthrow the AK Party government. 40 people were detained on Wednesday, including three retired army generals.
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdo?an and General Ilker Basbug, Chief of the General Staff of the Turkish Armed Forces, held crisis talks on Thursday to discuss the recent waves of arrests. General Basbug met with the prime minister after a six-hour meeting with military commanders, including members of the Gendarmerie, Turkish Air Force, and Army. After his meeting with the prime minister, General Basbug met with President Abdullah Gul. President Abdullah Gul met with Besir Atalay, Turkey’s interior minister.
The talks between Erdogan and Basbug prompted a spate of selling on the Istanbul Stock Exchange, which fell by six percent on Thursday. TUSIAD, the main business association in Turkey, voiced its hope that investigators respect the legal rights of the suspects.
Turkish media also reported Saturday that law enforcement officials found ammunition and grenades buried near Golbasi lake outside Ankara, supposedly related to the Ergenekon organization. According to the Turkish media reports, police found a drawing in the home of former police chief Ibrahim Sahin, which led them to the site. Ibrahim Sahin was among the 40 individuals arrested Wednesday.
| This is a regime change, like in the Khomeini and Hitler eras. | ||
Deniz Baykal, who heads Turkey’s secular chief opposition party the Republican People’s Party, was critical of the arrests made by police under the AK Party government. “We are witnessing a confrontation against the Republic’s core values. This is a regime change, like in the Khomeini and Hitler eras,” said Baykal at a news conference held Wednesday. According to Baykal, the Ergenekon investigation is an attempt by the government to silence opposition. Other members of the opposition have also criticized the investigation as being politically motivated.
In a statement published in the Turkish newspaper Hürriyet, Justice Minister Mehmet Ali ?ahin asserted that the Ergenekon investigation is judicial and appropriate. “The investigation has no political aspects. Detentions are purely juridical. I follow developments from the press,” said ?ahin.
| I am terrified here – anytime the wind is not in favor of the ruling party a new wave of this crap happens. | ||
Wikinews interviewed a college graduate and resident of Turkey who wished not to be named, and this individual shared thoughts on the effects of the Ergenekon investigation on local citizens. “It affected everyone in the country. Everyone wonders if they are next,” said the source. “I am terrified here – anytime the wind is not in favor of the ruling party a new wave of this crap happens.”
Members of the Turkish state bureaucracy, military, and judicial system make up the country’s secularist establishment. According to Reuters, this secularist establishment states that the arrests carried out by the AK Party are retaliatory, in response to a 2008 court case. The court case attempted to ban the AK Party, which has roots in political Islam, for anti-secular activities. The AK Party has denied these claims.
| The risk of a reaction by the military is growing as the Ergenekon probe is turning into a test of strength between the AKP and secularist circles. | ||
“The risk of a reaction by the military is growing as the Ergenekon probe is turning into a test of strength between the AKP and secularist circles,” said analyst Wolfango Piccoli of the Eurasia Group in a statement published in the Financial Times.
The investigation by the government began in June 2007, when officials discovered a cache of arms in Istanbul in the home of a retired military officer. According to The Guardian, in total approximately 200 people have been arrested in relation to the investigation. 86 individuals have been indicted since the investigation started, including many officials from the military and two retired four-star generals. In addition to military officials, the investigation has focused on journalists, writers, politicians and leaders of gangs. The murder of journalist Hrant Dink is sometimes cited as possibly linked to the Ergenekon case.
The indictments allege involvement in plans to increase instability in the country through political assassinations. Hürriyet reported that the Ergenekon investigation has faced criticism in the past for detaining suspects for extended periods of time in prison without charges, and for its reliance on insubstantial evidence. In the past 50 years, the country’s military has intervened to topple four governments in Turkey.
Friday, September 14, 2007
The Kennedy Center announced that its 30th presentation of the Kennedy Center Honors would go to pianist Leon Fleisher, comedian Steve Martin, singer Diana Ross, director Martin Scorsese and musician Brian Wilson. The Center was opened to the public in 1971 and was envisioned as part of the National Cultural Center Act, which mandated that the independent, privately-funded institution would present a wide variety of both classical and contemporary performances, commission the creation of new artistic works, and undertake a variety of educational missions to increase awareness of the arts.
In a statement, Kennedy Center Chairman Stephen A. Schwarzman said that “with their extraordinary talent, creativity and perseverance, the five 2007 honorees have transformed the way we, as Americans, see, hear and feel the performing arts.”
Fleisher, 79, a member of the Peabody Institute‘s music faculty, is a pianist who lost use of his right hand in 1965 due to a neurological condition. He became an accomplished musician and conductor through the use of his left hand. At 67, he regained the use of his right hand. With the advent of Botox therapy, he was once more able to undertake two-hand performances in 2004, his first in four decades. “I’m very gratified by the fact that it’s an apolitical honor,” Fleisher said. “It is given by colleagues and professional people who are aware of what [an artist] has done, so it really is apolitical — and that much more of an honor.”
Martin, 62, a comedian who has written books and essays in addition to his acting and stand-up comedy career, rose to fame during his work on the American television program Saturday Night Live in the 1970’s. Schwarzman praised his work as that of a “renaissance comic whose talents wipe out the boundaries between artistic disciplines.” Martin responded to the honor saying, “I am grateful to the Kennedy Center for finally alleviating in me years of covetousness and trophy envy.”
Ross, 63, was a product of Detroit‘s Brewster-Douglass Projects when as a teeager she and friends Mary Wilson and Florence Ballardis formed The Supremes, a ground-breaking Motown act. She portrayed singer Billie Holiday in the 1972 film Lady Sings the Blues, which earned her an Oscar nomination and a Golden Globe award. “Diana Ross’ singular, instantly recognizable voice has spread romance and joy throughout the world,” said Schwarzman. Ross said she was “taken aback. It is a huge, huge honor and I am excited to be in this class of people.”
Scorsese, 64, is one of the most accomplished directors the United States ever produced, whose work includes Mean Streets, Taxi Driver, GoodFellas, Cape Fear, The Last Temptation of Christ and The Departed, for which he won a 2006 Academy Award for Best Director after being nominated eight times. Scorsese said, “I’m very honored to be receiving this recognition from the Kennedy Center and proud to be joining the company of the very distinguished individuals who have received this honor in years past.”
Wilson, 65, along with his brothers Dennis and Carl, formed the Beach Boys in 1961. They had a series of hits that included “Surfin’ U.S.A.” and “Wouldn’t It Be Nice.” Their 1966 album Pet Sounds is considered one of the most influential recordings in American music. “This is something so unexpected and I feel extremely fortunate to be in the company of such great artists,” said Wilson, who is currently on tour.
The Kennedy Center’s board of trustees is responsible for selecting honorees for “lifetime contributions to American culture through the performing arts.” Previous honorees, including Elton John and Steven Spielberg, also submitted recommendations. A wide variety of people were under consideration, including Emanuel Ax, Evgeny Kissin, Renee Fleming, Laurence Fishburne, Francis Ford Coppola, Melissa Etheridge and Kenny Chesney.
President Bush and first lady Laura Bush will attend the center’s presentation at its opera house on December 2, 2007, which will broadcast on December 26 on CBS.
Saturday, November 19, 2005
Supporters of convicted Australian drug trafficker, Van Nguyen, gathered outside the State Library in Melbourne yesterday to display thousands of messages of opposition to his death sentence.
Callers to talkback radio in Melbourne were overwhelmingly against the death penalty of Nguyen, who immediately admitted his guilt and has cooperated with authorities since being caught smuggling heroin into Singapore. Many called for a boycott of Singaporean products.
25-year-old Nguyen was arrested at Changi Airport in 2002 for carrying heroin and sentenced to death in March. Nguyen claims he carried the 396 grams of heroin strapped to his body in an attempt to pay off his brother Khoa’s $30,000 legal debts.
The Singapore government have announced they will execute Nguyen at dawn on December 2nd. Singapore President S. R. Nathan rejected Nguyen’s clemency four weeks ago. The Melbourne salesman was sentenced to death under Singapore law which determines a mandatory death sentence for anyone found guilty of possessing 15 grams of heroin or more.
Nguyen’s mother was informed on Thursday by registered mail from the Singapore prisons service of the execution date. The letter stated that she should start making funeral arrangements. She will get to see her son in the three days leading up to the execution.
Despite repeated pleas for clemency from many thousands of supporters; religious groups; human rights organisations; the Pope; and the Australian Government – including Prime Minister, John Howard – Singapore officials have said Nguyen’s execution is irreversible.
Mr Howard had argued that Nguyen should be spared, citing mitigating circumstances in his case which pointed to the fact that he was not a serial drug trafficker but had merely been trying to pay off his brother’s debts.
The Victorian Attorney-General, Rob Hulls, says the Singaporean Government has shown no compassion whatsoever in its treatment of Van Nguyen and his family.
“What’s happening is brutal, is inappropriate. I, and the Victorian Government, vehemently oppose the death penalty in any circumstances”, he told ABC Radio. “This is a young kid who has assisted the police all the way… In any other country, he would get a discount in relation to the penalty. But because there is a mandatory death penalty for drug offences in Singapore, this young man may well be executed. It is just grossly inappropriate.”
“Singapore maintains that capital punishment is a criminal justice issue; it is the sovereign right of every country to decide whether or not to include capital punishment within its criminal justice system,” a Foreign Ministry spokesman said.
Singapore argues that there was no international consensus that capital punishment should be abolished. At the most recent meeting of the UN Commission on Human Rights, 66 countries dissociated themselves from a resolution calling for the abolition of capital punishment.
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong affirmed Singapore’s position by saying that it has to “stand firm on drugs to protect its citizens from the scourge and to ensure the country does not become a conduit for the trafficking of illicit drugs.”
In reply to a letter appealing for clemency from his Australian counterpart Alexander Downer, Singapore Foreign Minister George Yeo said: “Mr Nguyen imported almost 400gm of pure heroin which would have supplied more than 26,000 doses to drug addicts.”
No one will be permitted to see Nguyen on the morning of his execution. His body will be released to his mother.