Tuesday, January 3, 2006

Two activists convicted for painting the words “NO WAR” in five-metre-high red letters on the highest sail of Sydney Opera House in March 2003, are facing court action again to prevent them from auctioning the equipment used to paint the controversial sign.

Dr Will Saunders and David Burgess were sentenced to nine months periodic detention and ordered to pay the Opera House Trust $151,000 for malicious damage to the building on March 18, 2003.

The pair spent six months in jail for painting the slogan on one of the sails of the Opera House on the eve of the invasion of Iraq. The protesters say they wish to auction the equipment for humanitarian causes in Iraq.

Police confiscated the paint can and two brushes used in the incident and have now applied for a court order to have the can and brushes destroyed. They are saying such an auction would contravene proceeds of crime laws.

Saunders said they wanted to auction the can and send the proceeds to humanitarian causes in Iraq. According to The Australian newspaper, Mr Saunders said the auction could be conducted by a registered charity to raise money for the Mother and Child Hospital in Basra.

He said the can should also be preserved as an important piece of Sydney history.

“We want to give the surplus money that we’ve raised, and anything extra we can make from an auction – not only the paint pot … I think we can raise many many thousands of dollars,” he said. “We’d be happy to come to any reasonable arrangement with the police about how this auction takes place … it’s just mean beyond belief, petty-minded just to destroy it.”

The matter will go before a Sydney court on January 16.

Meanwhile, the world-famous Sydney Opera House is one of 21 international landmarks short-listed to become the new Seven Wonders of the World. The list includes modern landmarks such as Paris’ Eiffel Tower and older candidates like the Colosseum in Rome and China’s Great Wall.

Sunday, June 5, 2005

200,000 people living around Harare, Zimbabwe have been evicted from their homes, which have been targeted in a demolition programme by the government. Most have been forced to sleep out in the open while rental prices in the city have skyrocketed.

The operations have targeted at least six Harare suburbs: Hatcliff extension, Epworth, Dzivaresekwa, Glenorah, Glenview, Budriro and Mbare.

The official government newspaper, The Herald, says that 22,735 people have been arrested in the drive against “illegal structures, businesses and criminal activities”.

The Zimbabwe Human Rights Association (ZimRights) are pressing for the government for a six month waiting period to give residents time to make new housing arrangements. ZimRights director Munyaradzi Bidi told the IRIN news service: “About 200,000 people have been affected in the demolition drive — and many of them have papers to prove that they were legal occupants with lease agreements”.

Monday, April 17, 2006

Canada‘s Food Inspection Agency has confirmed that a cow in British Columbia, Canada, tested positive for bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or “mad cow disease”. Officials announced on Friday that initial tests done on the purebred six-year-old dairy Holstein had come back inconclusive. The cow was found in Fraser Valley, a farming community near Vancouver, British Columbia.

Officials also say that the beef supply is safe because none of the infected cows had made it to the human food chain. “This finding does not affect the safety of Canadian beef. Tissues in which BSE is known to concentrate in infected animals are removed from all cattle slaughtered in Canada for domestic and international human consumption. No part of this animal entered the human food or animal feed systems,” said agency officials in a statement on Sunday.

“This animal, a six-year-old dairy cow, developed BSE after the implementation of Canada’s feed ban. Investigators will pay particular attention to the feed to which the animal may have been exposed early in its life, when cattle are most susceptible to BSE. The CFIA is collecting records of feed purchased by and used on the animal’s birth farm,” the statement continued.

However, the United States does not believe a ban on Canadian beef will come immediately. “Information gathered through this investigation will help us to determine what, if any, impact this should have on our beef and live cattle trade with Canada. Based on the information currently available, I do not anticipate a change in the status of our trade,” said U.S. Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns.

This is Canada’s fifth confirmed case of the disease since May 2003, and officials have tested more than 100,000 cows since the first case of the disease turned up in Alberta. This is the second cow to test positive for the disease this year.

At least 150 people worldwide have died from eating beef contaminated with the variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, a nerve disease that is usually fatal. Most of the deaths occurred in the United Kingdom.

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 Scarborough-Agincourt (Ward 39). Two candidates responded to Wikinews’ requests for an interview. This ward’s candidates include Wayne Cook, Mike Del Grande (incumbent), Samuel Kung, Lushan Lu, Sunshine Smith, and John Wong.

For more information on the election, read Toronto municipal election, 2006.

Tuesday, July 17, 2007

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania — Local caterers get ready for big business, as almost three thousand fans converge on the David L. Lawrence Convention Center over the Independence Day weekend for the world’s largest ever furry convention, Anthrocon 2007.

Many hope to renew acquaintances, or meet new friends. Others look to buy from dealers and artists, or show off new artwork or costumes. Some attend to make money, or even learn a thing or two. But one thing unites them: They’re all there to have fun.

Monday, February 28, 2005

Bucharest, Romania — The Romanian Black Sea ports of Constan?a, Midia and Mangalia were closed on Saturday due to heavy fog. The Danube-Black Sea Canal was also caused due to reduced visibility. The canal, which runs for 64 km, is an important part of the European shipping channel that links the North Sea to the Black Sea and the Mediterranean.

The port closures left 54 ships in the harbour or stranded at sea, said Alexandru Mezei, the director of shipping navigation at Constan?a Port, the largest port in Romania. However, he claims that the closure was necessary to prevent accidents from occurring, as the fog had reduced visiblity below safe levels.

Monday, October 17, 2005

American helicopters and warplanes bombed 2 villages near Ramadi, Iraq on Sunday. The U.S. military said nearly 70 suspected insurgents were killed, while local witnesses said that at least 39 civilians, including 18 children, were also lost to the attack.

A Ramadi resident, Ahmed Fouad, said that just after 7 p.m. Sunday, U.S. warplanes killed 18 children, including Fouad’s son and 8-year-old daughter. “She was killed with her brother. Her mother had a stroke out of shock.” Fouad said.

Family members of victims gathered at a Ramadi General Hospital where refrigeration space for the dead bodies had been exhausted. In the garden the bodies of a woman and three children lay as relatives sifted through remains.

“[They] were not terrorists…they were only a bunch of civilians whose curiosity prompted them to gather around a destroyed Humvee,” said Dr. Dhiya Fahdawi in reference to the dead and wounded.

The U.S. military neither confirmed nor denied that civilians were killed and issued a statement saying; “All the attacks were timed and executed in a manner to reduce the possibility of collateral damage.”