Author: Admin

Thursday, August 10, 2006

A Chinese government official convicted of working for the Taiwanese government has been executed, and thousands of civil workers viewed the taped trial for “educational purposes” on Monday. The prisoner’s name was Tong Daning and was in his mid-50’s and held a rank just under “Assistant-Minister” before he was found guilty of espionage. According to the anonymous sources, Daning had been selling state sources for over 15 years, making a profit of about US$250,000.

Daning is the highest ranking person executed in China since 1999, when a Major General and Senior Colonel were executed for selling state secrets. China and Taiwan have been spying on each other ever since 1949, when the People’s Republic of China was officially created, but that has not stopped over 1 million Taiwanese citizens from working and investing over 100 billion USD in China. There have been many cases of espionage within the last few years, with all but two resulting in a death sentence.

Saturday, January 30, 2010

Mixed martial arts fighter Alex Reid, nicknamed “The Reidenator”, has been voted the winner of UK Celebrity Big Brother 2010. He won what is the last series of the programme in the final on Friday night, having received 65.9% of the votes from the public.

Musician Dane Bowers finished in second place, while Vinnie Jones, a former British soccer player and now a film actor, came in third place. After his departure from the Big Brother house, he commented about Alex: “I taught him everything I know.” Vinnie had become unpopular with fans as he was said to have been bossy to other celebrities inside the house. Speaking to presenter Davina McCall, he stated: “I was just trying to keep order in the house because a lot of people were selfish. I was just trying to keep some stability in the house.”

Musician Jonas Altberg, better known by his stage name Basshunter, finished in fourth place. Actress Stephanie Beacham left the Big Brother house in fifth place.

Alex Reid has been the girlfriend to former glamour model Katie Price since July 2009. Fellow housemate Dane has also previously been Katie’s boyfriend. When Davina McCall mentioned Price during the interview with Alex, the crowd gave out a negative reaction of booing. In response, he said: “Come on guys, don’t do that. I’m sorry guys… I’m not sorry, I really love Katie Price.”

During the interview with Davina McCall, Alex commented about his victory. He said: “What an amazing, fantastic start to a new year. Vinnie has been very inspirational to me. He’s transitioned from athletic to actor, which is what I want to do. I’m not getting booed now. That’s amazing… I’m speechless. My whole agenda in here was to be myself.” Alex also spoke of contestant Dane. “I was surprised by what a cool dude he is. I’m really looking forward to seeing more of Dane,” Alex said.

Tuesday, January 18, 2005

Toulouse, FRANCE — In a ceremony attended by several European political leaders and 5,000 VIP guests, Airbus unveiled plans for the A380, a twin-deck aircraft that can carry up to 840 people in all-economy class (550 for a Boeing 747), or 555 people in typical three mixed classes layout.

The new aircraft will take the world’s-largest title away from rival Boeing’s 747. Boeing’s upcoming new design, the 7e7, does not attempt to compete directly with the A380 but instead is aimed at a more efficient and comfortable flight at 200-250 seats.

Airbus chief executive Noel Forgeard stated that he expected sales of the aircraft to exceed the 250 required for the project to break even. To date, 149 confirmed orders for the aircraft have been received. Airbus has hopes that sales will exceed 700. The company is currently in talks with China regarding possible sales there.

The first test flight of the aircraft may take place as early as March, and the first commercial flight is expected to take off in mid-2006 from Singapore’s Changi Airport.

British and American airline Virgin Atlantic has purchased six of these aeroplanes and intend to fit them with gyms and bars as well as seats.

Thursday, September 30, 2010

The United States House of Representatives on Wednesday approved US$7.4 billion to pay for the medical bills of workers sickened or injured by the September 11, 2001 attacks (9/11 attacks) on the World Trade Center in New York City, New York. The bill was passed by a vote of 268–160. Thirteen Republicans joined the Democrats in supporting the bill, while three Democrats opposed the measure. Similar legislation is pending in the US Senate.

“Let’s not have any more people die because of the attacks of 9/11,” said Representative Anthony Weiner, a Democrat from New York.

The bill, which will provide free health care to 9/11 workers, will be paid for by ending tax breaks for foreign corporations, was fiercely debated on the House floor, with Democratic backers of the bill proclaiming that they stood for 9/11 heroes and victims. Republicans against the bill argued that it was an entitlement program for New Yorkers and that it was another example of bloated government. “There is no excuse for this kind of legislation,” argued Texan Republican representative Lamar Smith.

The Republicans offered an alternative that would reduce funding for 9/11 workers and pay for the remainder by cutting parts of a major health care bill passed earlier this year. This measure failed 185–244.

Thursday, October 22, 2020

2020 Melbourne Lord Mayor candidate Wayne Tseng answered some questions about his campaign for the upcoming election from Wikinews. The Lord Mayor election in the Australian city is scheduled to take place this week.

Tseng runs a firm called eTranslate, which helps software developers to make the software available to the users. In the candidate’s questionnaire, Tseng said eTranslate had led to him working with all three tiers of the government. He previously belonged to the Australian Liberal Party, but has left since then, to run for mayorship as an independent candidate.

Tseng is of Chinese descent, having moved to Australia with his parents from Vietnam. Graduated in Brisbane, Tseng received his PhD in Melbourne and has been living in the city, he told Wikinews. Tseng also formed Chinese Precinct Chamber of Commerce, an organisation responsible for many “community bond building initiatives”, the Lord Mayor candidate told Wikinews.

Tseng discussed his plans for leading Melbourne, recovering from COVID-19, and “Democracy 2.0” to ensure concerns of minorities in the city were also heard. Tseng also focused on the importance of the multi-culture aspect and talked about making Melbourne the capital of the aboriginals. Tseng also explained why he thinks Melbourne is poised to be a world city by 2030.

Tseng’s deputy Lord Mayor candidate Gricol Yang is a Commercial Banker and works for ANZ Banking Group.

Currently, Sally Capp is the Lord Mayor of Melbourne, the Victorian capital. Capp was elected as an interim Lord Mayor in mid-2018 after the former Lord Mayor Robert Doyle resigned from his position after sexual assault allegations. Doyle served as the Lord Mayor of Melbourne for almost a decade since 2008.

Saturday, July 19, 2008

This year’s Leisure Taiwan trade show (a.k.a Taiwan Sport Recreation and Leisure Show) started yesterday, with 131 companies participating including sports media companies such as ESPN and VideoLand Television, businesses selling sports equipment and fitness clubs.

There were also a variety of sports being played in the arena built for the trade show. The events included a 3-on-3 basketball tournament, free style shooting, and bicycle test-riding. In addition, conferences discussed issues related to sports and physical education.

A major topic in the trade show was energy-efficiency and, as a result, bicycles and similar sports equipment were being heavily promoted.

Next Tuesday, companies from the electronics industry plan to promote their industry at “2008 Digital E-Park.” In previous years, organizations from the electronics industry have showcased their products at Leisure Taiwan instead of at the Digital E-Park, so this move has reduced the number of markets covered by Leisure Taiwan.

Tuesday, December 22, 2009

According to reports, at least 30 people have been killed in fighting between farmers and cattle herders in the central Nasarawa State of Nigeria.

Member of parliament Mohammed Baba Ibaku said that the incident began on Friday, when armed herders raided the farm village of Udeni Gida. He commented that scores of homes were set on fire during the attack, and added that the herders were from the neighboring Kogi and Taraba states. The violence had occurred after a few weeks of tension between the two, mainly due to competition for land, which is becoming scarcer because of desertification.

Some reporters in the village said that they had seen at least fifty bodies of people killed in the violence. The town has now been placed under police control.

A clash similar to this one erupted two weeks ago, after herders led their cattle into rice fields. One farmer was killed during that incident.

Nasarawa State police commissioner Shehu Babolola confirmed the farmers and herders clashed again on Friday, but declined to give casualty figures.