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Saturday, April 30, 2005

Two activists who helped identify a vagrant Genetically Modified (GM) crop of papaya, which was later confirmed and destroyed by Thai officials, now face prison over their actions, says Greenpeace.

“In July of 2004, [Journalist] Pat and [Ecology PhD] Jay took this story public when they acted as spokespersons for Greenpeace activists who sealed off GE papaya in experimental fields at the Khon Kaen research station — the source of GE papaya contamination in the region,” says a statement from the environmental awareness organisation.

“They were charged with theft, trespassing and destruction of property.”

“Instead of getting to the bottom of who precisely was responsible for the contamination, the very department that was responsible for the contamination decided to take legal action against Pat and Jay.”

Sunday, February 13, 2011

A planned pro-democracy protest took place Saturday in Algiers, the capital of Algeria, despite a standing government ban on protests in the capital. Massive police presence reduced the event from its planned scope, and dispersed it after a few hours, but did not prevent it.

The demonstration, planned for some time, was to be a march through Algiers, from May First Square, about five kilometers (three miles) to Martyrs Square. Instead, protesters demonstrated in May First Square for a few hours.

Algeria has been officially in a state of emergency for nineteen years. Early this month, following recent pro-democracy events in Tunisia and Egypt, Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika said the state of emergency will be lifted “soon”. At the same time he also said marches would be allowed everywhere in the country except in Algiers. Leading up to this protest, riot police closed all entrances both to Algiers and to May First Square.

The number of demonstrators who gathered in May First Square despite the police cordons was estimated by officials at 1500, and by demonstration organizers at around 10,000. The number of riot police in the city — with body armor, armored vehicles, and water cannons — was anticipated by officials as high as 30,000, and estimated by organizers as high as 26,000.

The protest was organized by the National Co-ordination for Change and Democracy (CNCD), an umbrella group of Algerian organizations formed in late January. Protesters demanded democratic freedoms, an end to government corruption, and relief from economic hardships. Some protesters called for removal of President Bouteflika, although that was not a stated goal of the organizers.

Several hundred protesters were arrested, at least briefly. Algerian activist Elias Felali, who blogged from within the demonstration, claimed the police wanted to provoke violence, but the protesters were pointedly non-violent.

Sunday, January 15, 2006

Ariel Sharon, 77, is scheduled to undergo a tracheotomy today, which is expected to help wean him off a respirator, which is helping him to breathe, a hospital statement said.

A tracheotomy is a procedure where an incision in the windpipe is made to create a temporary or permanent opening. It will allow for the removal of the breathing tube now inserted in Sharon’s throat. Sharon suffered a major stroke on January 4, 2006. Last week, doctors said the plastic tube connecting his windpipe with the respirator would start to cause him damage if left in for too long.

Tracheotomies are routinely performed on stroke victims to reduce the risk of infection posed by intubation.

“The prime minister’s condition continues to remain critical but stable,” said a statement issued by Jerusalem’s Hadassah hospital where doctors have been trying, unsuccessfully, to wake Sharon from a medically induced coma. “This evening the prime minister will undergo a CT test after which he will undergo a tracheotomy. The surgery is aimed at helping to wean him off a respirator machine. It will be conducted in the operating room under general anaesthesia.”

Thursday, May 13, 2021

Wikinews extended invitations by e-mail in the first week of May to Philip Sturm, a candidate running in the mayoral election of the US city of Minneapolis, Minnesota set to take place November 2 alongside that for city council, two seats of the Board of Estimate and Taxation and nine seats of the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board. Sturm discussed information about his campaign and policies with Wikinews.

Sturm is a veteran who served from 1999 to 2003 in the US Marine Corps, stationed on Okinawa Island, Japan before performing operations in the US invasion of Afghanistan and 2003 invasion of Iraq. According to his web site, Sturm has a career in “manufacturing and operations”. According to his web site’s ‘civic vitae’ section, Sturm was co-chair for the DFL (Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party), District 62 in 2005 and a member of Veterans for Kerry.

He was a volunteer special deputy in Hennepin County, Minnesota, a member of the 9-1-1 emergency helpline workgroup for the Minneapolis Police Department (MPD), the 9/11 and GWOT (Global War on Terrorism) Remembrance Task Force with the Minnesota Department of Veterans Affairs and the racial equity fund with H.B. Fuller.

According to Minneapolis’ official website Jacob Frey won the last election in 2017 receiving 44.69% of the vote in the final round of voting. KSTP-TV reported Frey announced his run for re-election January 21. Sturm registered his candidacy on March 22.

Friday, July 21, 2006

Creationist Kent Hovind was arrested and plead not guilty in a Florida federal court to 58 charges of filing a frivolous lawsuits, false complaints, making threats against investigators and those cooperating with the investigation, and includes failing to pay $473,818 in employee-related taxes.

Last Thursday, U.S. Magistrate Judge Miles Davis heard the charges in which Kent Hovind professed not to understand why he is being prosecuted asserting “I still don’t understand what I’m being charged for and who is charging me.”

Legal and taxes issues are nothing new for Kent Hovind, who often calls himself “Dr. Dino.” He has been in legal trouble with the IRS for at least 17 years on his claims that he is employed by God, receives no income, has no expenses and owns no property.

Hovind’s attorney, Assistant Public Defender Kafahni Nkrumah, told U.S. Magistrate Judge Miles Davis that the Hovinds “did not want to enter a plea because he does not believe the United States, the Internal Revenue Service and the U.S. Attorney’s Office “have jurisdiction in this matter.”

When Davis said he would enter a plea for Hovind if he continued to refuse, Hovind said he was entering a not guilty plea “under duress.” In the exchange Davis asked Hovind “if he wrote and spoke English, this man who claims a doctorate said, ‘To some degree’.”

Jo Hovind, who is facing 44 charges stood with her husband’s hand on her shoulder and “reiterated the gist of his statements.”

U.S. District Judge Casey Rodgers will preside over the September 5th trial.

Davis made Hovind surrender his passport, guns, and will not allow him to leave the court’s juristition since they consider him a flight risk. On July 21, 2006 a missionary group in South Africa filed a petition to lift the travel restrictions. In part, Hovind claims the travel restrictions “violate the Religious Freedom Restoration Act.”

Hovind’s public defender Kafahni Nkrumah, states “Mr. Hovind contends that the conditions imposed upon him by Magistrate Davis impose a burden on the free exercise of defendant’s religion, in violation of the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.”

No date to hear the appeal against the travel restrictions is scheduled.

Saturday, September 3, 2005

Grammy award-winning rapper/producer Kanye West appeared on a live on-air telethon simulcast on NBC, MSNBC, CNBC and PAX for Hurricane Katrina victims. Live on air, West said “George Bush doesn’t care about black people,” after saying “America is set up to help the poor, the black people, the less well-off as slow as possible.” He also said “the Red Cross is doing everything they can,” and stated that he was going to see what the maximum amount of money he can donate is. West criticized government authorities and stated that “They’ve given them permission to go down and shoot us.”

West first deviated from the script he and comedian Mike Myers were using by commenting on the recent uproar over differently captioned photos for black and white people in the aftermath of the hurricane: “I hate the way they portray us in the media. If you see a black family, it says they’re looting. See a white family, it says they’re looking for food.”

Though a several-second delay was in place, the comments were let through uncensored on the EST live broadcast as the person in charge “was instructed to listen for a curse word, and didn’t realize he had gone off-script,” according to an NBC spokeswoman.

NBC has released a statement after the broadcast: “Tonight’s telecast was a live television event wrought with emotion. Kanye West departed from the scripted comments that were prepared for him, and his opinions in no way represent the views of the networks. It would be most unfortunate if the efforts of the artists who participated tonight and the generosity of millions of Americans who are helping those in need are overshadowed by one person’s opinion.”

The sponsor of the event, the American Red Cross, also issued a statement on the telethon, stating: “During the telecast, a controversial comment was made by one of the celebrities. We would like the American public to know that our support is unwavering, regardless of political circumstances. We are a neutral and impartial organization, and support disaster victims across the country regardless of race, class, color or creed.”

Thursday, February 2, 2006

Bathurst Regional Council, the local government responsible for the city of Bathurst and its surrounds in Central Western New South Wales, Australia yesterday revealed it had received a development application for the new Bathurst Base Hospital.

The new hospital is to be built behind the current hospital on the same site and is expected to cost the New South Wales government AUD96 million. The Bathurst Hospital will be the first in the Bathurst-Orange-Bloomfield redevelopment project.

The new hospital will have 149 beds, up from 85 for the current hospital. The hospital will also feature a mental health unit – previously psychiatric patients had to travel to Orange to the Bloomfield Hospital for treatment.

The Bathurst Hospital is expected to have state-of-the art facilities and will share some services with the to be constructed Orange Base Hospital.

The Bathurst Regional Council has approved the demolition of 12 buildings on the hospital site for enabling works. The hospital site is heritage listed although council decided that as the buildings do not contribute to the streetscape they may be demolished.

The demolitions are expected to take place late next month and will take around six weeks to complete. A temporary driveway will then be built to replace the current service entry for food and linen as it will become part of the work site.

Upon completion of the new hospital, the current ward block will be demolished leaving the original building from the late 19th century intact. The original building is expected to become an education centre and consulting rooms.

The original building was opened in 1834. Since then the facility has undergone numerous upgrades and add-ons, with the present ward block being opened in stages from 1978 to 1982.

Other buildings expected to be retained include the Daffodil Cottage (a cancer care centre) and the original Nurse’s quarters known as Poole House.