Sunday, August 13, 2006

Over fifty firefighters are damping down after a tanker exploded at an industrial unit in Salford in Greater Manchester. At one point, thick smoke could be seen drifting across Manchester city centre.

According to Greater Manchester Ambulance Service, no one has been hurt as a result of the explosion.

A fire service spokesman said a Heavy Goods Vehicle and a nearby building were engulfed in flames.

Greater Manchester Police are telling people to stay away from the Pendleton area. A spokesman said: “Officers are currently at the scene along with several fire engines including an aerial appliance. The fire has caused a large plume of smoke to form but at this stage it has not been established whether it is hazardous. It appears the fire has caused a number of small explosions within the building. As a precaution people are asked to stay away from the immediate area and those living in the immediate vicinity are being advised to stay indoors and keep all windows and doors shut as a precaution. There are no reports of any injuries.”

Thursday, June 8, 2006

The international forces in East Timor have reached an agreement about the coordination of the military and police forces in the field. Representatives of the four countries reached the agreement during an urgent meeting after an incident between Australian and Portuguese soldiers yesterday.

In the agreement reached between Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia, Portugal and the Timorese government, operational autonomy is given to the international forces, which will operate in cooperation and coordination with each other.

The agreement also stated that in an initial phase Dili will be divided into sectors, and each area will be under the control of an international force. Outside of its area of responsibility, the military or police force will only be able to operate if other international forces request their actions. Also was agreed that the police forces will assume total control of the city after the military forces leave their current occupied positions. A situation that is expected after the arrival of the remaining equipment, mainly vehicles, for the Portuguese Republican National Guard (GNR) and the arrival of the remaining Malaysian police officers and their equipment.

In an official notice, the Timorese Foreign Minister, José Ramos Horta stated that “the objective on a long run is for the GNR to operate has a tactical intervention force in all the city of Dili”.

Ramos Horta explained that “in the next days, maybe already tomorrow morning, they [the Australian, Malaysian, New Zealand and Portuguese forces] will do some coordination training, in way to assure that the four forces know exactly what each one will do”. “Since some are from the Army and the others [Portuguese Republican National Guard] are a specialized police and that they never worked together, its useful to carry out some practical exercises”, he added.

In another subject, Ramos Horta explained that the Australian soldiers that are in Maubisse, next to a rebel group lead by major Reinado, and in Gleno, Ermera, next to another group of “military opponents”, are there “containing those elements”.

“Those groups are not comparable with other people that are here in Dili and that must be disarmed”, Ramos Horta said.

“The Australian presence in Maubisse and Gleno aims in containing those groups on their areas, until arrives the moment in which the President decides that is time for also mister Alfredo Reinado and the others to put down their weapons”, he said. “This is not urgent because they are not causing problems to anyone”, he justified.

The urgency of the resolution and clarification of the command and cooperation of the international forces was originated after an incident between Australian and Portuguese soldiers. When yesterday a Portuguese GNR patrol transported three people to a temporary detention center managed by Australian soldiers.

The detainees were arrested by a GNR Special Operations team, after being caught looting a governmental warehouse, in Balide, Dili.

The Australian soldiers then refused to receive the detained men, questioning the legitimacy of the Portuguese soldiers to make arrests. The Portuguese contingent transported the detainees to the Timorese prison services in Dili.

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 Beaches—East York (Ward 32). Four candidates responded to Wikinews’ requests for an interview. This ward’s candidates include Donna Braniff, Alan Burke, Sandra Bussin (incumbent), William Gallos, John Greer, John Lewis, Erica Maier, Luca Mele, and Matt Williams.

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

Friday, January 25, 2008

B2B Trade Area of Taipei Game Show, criticized by trade buyers last year, but accompanied with 2008 Taiwan Digital Content Forum, moved to the second floor at Taipei World Trade Center for world-wide participants with a better exchange atmosphere this year.

Not only local OBMs (Softstar Entertainment, Soft-World International Corp., International Games System Corp., …, etc.) but also companies from New Zealand, Canada, Japan, Hong Kong, and South Korea showcased different specialists with multiple styles. Especially on South Korea, participated members from G? Trade Show (Game Show & Trade, All-Round, aka Gstar) showcased gaming industry of South Korea and the G? upcoming at this November with brochures.

In the 2-days Digital Content Forum, world-class experts not only shared industry experiences, members from Taiwan Gaming Industry Association also discussed and forecasted marketing models for gaming industry. With participations from governmental, industrial, and academical executives world-wide, this forum helps them gained precious experiences of digital content industry from several countries.

According to the Taipei Computer Association, the show and forum organizer, the digital content industry in Taiwan was apparently grown up recent years as Minister of Economic Affairs of the Republic of China Steve Ruey-long Chen said at Opening Ceremony yesterday. Without R&Ds from cyber-gaming, and basic conceptions from policies and copyright issues, this (digital content) industry will be fallen down in Taiwan. If this industry wanted to be grown up in sustainability, gaming OBMs in Taiwan should independently produce different and unique games and change market style to market brands and games to the world.

A compilation of brief news reports for Monday, July 8, 2013.

Friday, June 1, 2007

In an unannounced vote yesterday, the Philadelphia City Council in the United States voted 16-1 to endorse the eviction of, and end their lease held in perpetuity with, the local council of the Boy Scouts in Philadelphia. The Scouts must pay market rent or leave the building. The Cradle of Liberty Council has more than 60,000 members in Philadelphia and Delaware and Montgomery Counties.

Saturday, October 20, 2007

Some say history tends to repeat itself. Today marked a day in history, when 20 years ago, the United States Dow Jones Industrial Average market crashed, on what is known as ‘Black Monday‘. The crash sent the market tumbling down 508 points, losing nearly 24%. On Friday, the Dow Jones nearly broke that record when the market closed at -366.94 points, down almost three percent.

Several factors could be to blame for the loss, one being Turkey’s government approving a measure on October 18 to send Turkish troops into Iraq in an attempt to take out militants of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK). This sent oil prices skyrocketing to the highest prices in history, with the highest record being just over US$89.00, which was set on October 18.

Fears that the housing market in the U.S. has come to a standstill has also lead Caterpillar Inc., which manufactures and sells construction equipment to issue a warning that the standstill would cause profits to drop, and the American economy to be severely hurt. On Friday their stocks lost nearly six percent to close at $73.57.

Investors and experts of the markets are disturbed by the losses calling the situation ugly.

“It’s pretty ugly. A company like Caterpillar should be a poster child for global growth and benefits of the weak dollar. It makes you question: Is global growth really that strong? Has the earnings kick from the weak dollar played itself out?” said Bell Curve Trading chief strategy expert, Bill Strazzullo.

Others believe that the losses were a way of emotionally responding to the events of ‘Black Monday.’

“Some of the earnings reports were a little disappointing but not that bad. I think we’re responding emotionally to the 20th anniversary of the October 1987 stock market crash. I’d like to laugh except it hurts,” said T Rowe Price Head trader, Andy Brooks.

The NASDAQ also took heavy losses to close down 74.15 points or -2.64%, closing at 2,725.16. The S&P 500 was also hit hard, losing 39.45 points, or -2.56%, closing at 1,500.63.