Friday, June 17, 2005

The United States trade deficit increased to its highest level yet: $195.1 billion (£161 billion) in the first quarter of 2005, according to preliminary U.S. Commerce Department figures. The figure represents the sum of money flowing into the United States by selling exports subtracted from the amount of money leaving the United States from import purchases. The last quarter of 2004 saw a deficit of $188.4 billion.

The new record-breaking deficit represents 6.4 percent of the US’s gross national product, again an increase on last-quarter 2004 – up 0.1 percent. The deficit on goods increased from $182.2 billion to $186.3 billion, as imports of goods increased more than exports, particularly in industrial supplies and materials, capital goods, and consumer products. It is believed that China‘s economic boom, and the increase in imports from the country, is partly responsible.

Analysts expressed concern at the findings, with Allan Seychuk, an economist at RBC Capital Markets, saying “This is not the direction markets were hoping to see for the mammoth current account deficit. The U.S. dollar has lost a great deal of ground because markets are uncomfortable with a deficit that has now reached record levels.”

Saturday, February 19, 2005

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Friday, June 5, 2020

Nabil Hasan al-Quaety, a photo- and videojournalist from Yemen, died in the city of Aden, in southern Yemen, on Tuesday after being shot in his car. He was 34 and reported extensively on the nation’s ongoing civil war.

Al-Quaety, who contributed to Agence France-Presse among other news organizations, openly supported independence for South Yemen. The Southern Transitional Council, previously an ally of the government, is currently in conflict against it. Both sides also oppose Houthi rebels. Both the council and the government called for his death to be investigated.

Multiple assailants attacked al-Quaety shortly after he left his nearby home, then, according to security officials, fled. He is survived by three children and his pregnant wife. A freelancer, he was a 2016 Rory Peck Awards finalist for his coverage of the conflict. In 2019 he survived a drone attack that left six soldiers dead. The city’s security chief, Abdullah al-Jahafi, announced on Facebook on Tuesday there were suspects in custody.

“Nabil’s murder is unacceptable and constitutes a terrible new blow to journalism in Yemen[…] journalists are now favourite targets, regardless of the region they cover”, said Sabrina Bennoui of Reporters Without Borders. Phil Chetwynd, director of global news for AFP, called the death “the senseless killing of a courageous journalist doing his job despite threats and intimidation.” Chetwynd also praised the quality of al-Quaety’s work.

Thursday, August 30, 2007

It has been confirmed that eight thoroughbred race horses at Randwick Racecourse in Sydney have been infected with equine influenza. Randwick has been locked down, and is expected to remain so for up to two months.

It is expected that the virulent flu will affect the majority of the 700 horses stabled at Randwick. NSW Minister for Primary Industries said the facility would be quarantined until 30 days after the last sign of the flu.

The cases are the first infections of race horses, despite infecting dozens of recreational horses across NSW and Queensland. The flu is highly contagious but cannot be transmitted to humans. The national racing shutdown was costing the industry tens of millions of dollars every day.

Chief Executive of Racing NSW, Peter V’Landys said while racing had been disrupted since a ban on horse movements last weekend today was a “grim, black day” for the racing industry in NSW. Racing is expected to resume in all Australian states except NSW and Queensland on the weekend.

While Sydney’s spring racing carnival has been canceled, Melbourne’s is expected to kick off this weekend with the Caufield Cup. The cup will be ran with special precautions in place to attempt to keep the state free of the virus. Contact between the general public and those working with the horses will be banned and Sydney-based jockeys Darren Beadman and Hugh Bowman and a number of interstate trainers including Bart Cummings are not allowed to take part.

Federal Minister for Agriculture, Peter McGauran said the spring carnival in Melbourne will remain “largely intact” despite losing some of the biggest names in Australian racing.

Wednesday, January 12, 2005

Nine people have died in bush-fires in the region of the Eyre Peninsula in South Australia. The fire has spread over 40,000 hectares of scrub, bushland and farmland so far and is still burning out of control. Hundreds of firemen have been fighting the fire, but conditions have been difficult because of strong winds and temperatures soaring well over 40 degrees Celsius. Of the nine who have died, eight were attempting to escape the advancing fire in their cars. Four children were among the dead. Locals of some rural towns fled to the ocean to escape the fires. Thousands of sheep and cattle have also been killed in the fires.

Separate fires have also been burning around Mount Osmond and Cleland National Park in the Adelaide hills. No fatalities have been recorded in this region. Fires also burn in country Victoria.

Bush-fires are annual occurrences in Australia, but these fires have been the worst in terms of deaths since the Ash Wednesday fires that killed 28 people in South Australia. Two years ago, over 400 houses were burnt down in a bush fire in the Australian capital city, Canberra.

Saturday, August 30, 2008

A memorial service was held Friday for Javon Thompson, a toddler that died in Baltimore, Maryland, while under the care of a religious group called “1 Mind Ministries”. Thompson died in late 2006 or early 2007 in an apartment in West Baltimore. According to police statements, members of 1 Mind Ministries refused the boy food and water because he did not say “amen” after group meals. Police say the boy would have been about 19 months old when members of the group stopped feeding him in December 2006.

The Baltimore Sun spoke with Seeta Khadan-Newton, Javon Thompson’s grandmother, at the funeral service which took place at March Funeral Homes in Northwest Baltimore. “I loved this baby more than anything in my life,” she said.

The Baltimore Sun reported that Khadan–Newton told them she had contacted Baltimore’s Division of Social Services at least four times between April and December of 2006 out of worries for Thompson’s wellbeing and location. DSS officials stated that they received only two phone calls, and the complaints about Thompson’s treatment were not enough to look into further.

WJZ-TV reported that “Queen Antoinette”, the 40-year-old leader of 1 Mind Ministries, allegedly concealed Javon Thompson’s body in a blanket and sprayed it with fabric softener to mask the odor before having a member of the group leave the body in a friend’s backyard shed in Philadelphia. According to police, members of 1 Mind Ministries placed Thompson’s remains in a suitcase and took it to Philadelphia in February 2007, where they left it with an elderly friend. Subsequently members of the group moved to Brooklyn, New York. Law enforcement authorities found the suitcase with Thompson’s remains in April 2008.

Ria Ramkissoon, 21, Thompson’s mother, and four others, have been charged with first-degree murder by Baltimore homicide detectives in connection with the boy’s death. The Associated Press reported that police charging documents state that Queen Antoinette instructed her followers to pray for Javon Thompson to be resurrected while he lay dead in the back room of the Baltimore apartment. An informant told police Queen Antoinette left Javon Thompson’s body in the back room of the apartment for over a week, and told her followers: “God was going to raise Javon from the dead”.

Ramkissoon’s mother and her attorney assert that she was brainwashed by the 1 Mind Ministries group and acted under the control of Queen Antoinette. “The members of this cult, who were more than twice her age, were calling the shots,” said Ramkissoon’s attorney Steven Silverman at a court hearing for his client. Inside the group, Ria Ramkissoon referred to herself as “Princess Marie”.

Court documents revealed that 1 Mind Ministries conducted operations in secret, did not believe in medical care and dressed in all-white clothing. Members of the group were referred to as “princes” and “princesses” by Queen Antoinette, also known as Toni Sloan or Toni Ellsberry. Documents also state that they viewed Javon Thompson as a “demon” for not saying “amen” after meals, that they stopped feeding him in December 2006, and did not seek out medical attention when the boy stopped breathing and died.

Rick A. Ross of The Ross Institute Internet Archives for the Study of Destructive Cults, Controversial Groups and Movements spoke with the Associated Press about the nature of the 1 Mind Ministries group, and asserted that it meets the definition of a “cult“. Ross has given expert testimony in cases related to controversial groups and has studied them for 26 years. Law enforcement officials also used the term to describe the 1 Mind Ministries group, specifically characterizing it as a “Christian fundamentalist cult”.

“It fits the profile of a classic cult in the sense that it’s a personality-driven group and that Queen Antoinette is that animating personality and central defining element of the group,” said Ross. He compared the group to others where children were killed because they did not follow the instructions of the group. The Ross Institute Internet Archives maintains a page about 1 Mind Ministries, which contains archived news articles, a photo of Queen Antoinette, and links to other resources.

Prosecutors in the murder case have also referred to the 1 Mind Ministries group as a “cult”, and said that members of the group would likely follow Queen Antoinette’s instructions during the trial. In a hearing August 13 where Queen Antoinette and group member Trevia Williams, 21, were denied bail, they both also refused legal representation from Baltimore public defenders, and both declined a preliminary hearing. “Chances are, the cult members are going to do what she tells them to do,” said Baltimore Assistant State’s Attorney David C. Chiu at the court proceeding. Ria Ramkissoon is being held in the psychiatric unit of a city jail in Baltimore, Queen Antoinette, Trevia Williams and group member Marcus Cobbs are also being held in jail in Baltimore, and federal officials in New York from the United States Marshals Service are searching for another member of the group.

Rev. Anna V. Nelson spoke to the family at the memorial service in Baltimore, saying: “I would like to think that this boy died for us. This baby has left a message here for the whole world. This baby died so that they [1 Mind Ministries] could be exposed.”

The memorial service ended with a presentation of video clips of Javon Thompson playing, being held by his mother, and finally watching the camera as a female voice says goodbye to him.

Friday, February 5, 2010

Japan’s Nikkei newspaper reported that Toyota is poised to recall 270 thousand gas-and-electric Prius vehicles (model ZVW30) sold in the US and Japan between May and December 2009, due to a flaw in the car’s anti-lock braking system.

Takayuki Fujimoto, a transport ministry official, said the government has yet to receive a recall notice from Toyota. “Nothing has been decided on whether we will recall or not”, he stated. Toyota cannot announce a recall in Japan until it notifies the ministry, but said it was currently discussing how to deal with the issue with Japan’s transport ministry and U.S. safety authorities.

Toyota has faced a US lawsuit alleging it covered up safety problems. The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration launched a formal investigation into the braking problems on Thursday after 124 complaints from consumers.

Since May 2009, two hundred thousand new Prius cars (model ZVW30) have been sold in Japan and another 103,200 in the United States.

Saturday, March 1, 2008

While nearly all coverage of the 2008 Presidential election has focused on the Democratic and Republican candidates, the race for the White House also includes independents and third party candidates. These parties represent a variety of views that may not be acknowledged by the major party platforms.

Wikinews has impartially reached out to these candidates, throughout the campaign. We now interview independent Presidential candidate Frank Moore, a performance artist.