Australians unite against whaling in Southern Ocean

Wednesday, January 18, 2006File:Greenpeace Vessels Esperanza and Arctic Sun.jpg

Anti-whaling protesters have joined forces across Australia, Canada, Germany, New Zealand, and the U.S.A calling for an end to the killing of whales for meat by Japan. Greenpeace organised the international day of action as it continued its efforts to disrupt the hunting of minke whales by the Japanese whaling fleet currently in the Southern Ocean.

The day of action was being marked to protest the actions of the fleet which protesters believe violate the 1986 International Whaling Commission (IWC) global ban on commercial whaling. Japan’s JARPA Japanese Whale Research Program was allowed to operate under a Special Permit in the Antarctic according to Article VIII of the International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling. In its JARPA-2 plan, Japan plans to double its annual scientific research catch of Minke whales to 935, and to add 10 Fin whales to its quota. The International Fund for Animal Welfare states that over the next two years, Japan plans to kill 50 endangered Humpback whales and an additional 40 fin whales.

Friday, May 8, 2009

Thomas Sam, 42, and his wife Manju Sam, 36, from Sydney, Australia, are undergoing trial for manslaughter by gross negligence for the death of their nine-month-old child, Gloria. She died from infection caused by severe eczema after they shunned effective conventional medical treatments for homeopathy, a form of alternative medicine that has been described as pseudoscience. Articles in peer-reviewed academic journals including Social Science & Medicine have characterized homeopathy as a form of quackery.

Gloria developed severe eczema at the age of four months and the parents were advised to send the child to a skin specialist. Thomas Sam, a practising homeopath, instead decided to treat his daughter himself. His daughter’s condition deteriorated, to the point that the baby spent all her energy battling the infections caused by the constant breaking of the skin, leading to severe malnutrition and, eventually, her death. By the end, Gloria’s eczema was so severe that her skin broke every time her parents changed her clothes or nappy, and in the words of the Crown prosecutor, Mark Tedeschi, QC, “Gloria spent a lot of the last five months of her life crying, irritable, scratching and the only thing that gave her solace was to suck on her mother’s breast.” Gloria also became unable to move her legs.

Mr. Tedeschi also told the court that, over the last five months of her life, “Gloria’s eczema played a devastating role in her overall health and it is asserted by the Crown that both her parents knew this and discussed it with each other.” However, despite their child’s severe illness, and her lack of improvement, the Sams continued to shun conventional medical treatment, instead seeking help from other homeopaths and naturopaths. Gloria temporarily improved during the rare times they used conventional treatments, but they soon dropped them in favour of homeopathy, and she consistently worsened.

Allegedly, Thomas’ sister pleaded with him to send Gloria to a conventional medical doctor, but he replied “I am not able to do that”. The parents are also accused of putting their social life ahead of their child, taking her on a trip to India and leaving her to servants while embarking on a busy social schedule, and giving her homeopathic drops instead of using the prescription creams they had been given.

Gloria was finally taken to the emergency department shortly before her death. By this time, “her skin was weeping, her body malnourished and her corneas melting”, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.

Speaking in the parents’ defense, Tom Molomby, SC, said that, as the parents came from India, where homeopathy is in common use, they should be declared not guilty due to cultural differences.

Homeopathy is a form of alternative medicine which treats patients with massively diluted forms of substances that, if given to a healthy person undiluted, would cause symptoms similar to the disease. Typical treatments take the dilutions, with ritualised shaking between each step of the dilution, past the level where any molecules of the original substance are likely to remain; for homeopathic treatments to work, basic well-understood concepts in chemistry and physics would have to be wrong. There is no evidence that homeopathy is more effective than placebo for any condition.

Tuesday, June 7, 2011

Jai McDowall, a Scottish man who works as an assistant to disabled individuals and performs a singing act, has been declared as the winner of the fifth series of televised talent competition Britain’s Got Talent, broadcast on ITV1 in the United Kingdom. The final took place on Saturday night. As the winner of the show, McDowall will receive a prize of £100,000 (US$164,270, €112,252), as well being able to participate at the Royal Variety Performance – which will be attended by British Royal Family senior members – later this year.

In the final, McDowall – who lives in the South Ayrshire village of Tarbolton – had sung To Where You Are, which was originally performed by Josh Groban. McDowall’s victory was calculated via a public telephone voting system. The number of votes he received was a margin of under three per cent greater than the act who achieved second place: a 12-year-old male singer named Ronan Parke. According to BBC News Online, Parke had been considered the most likely act to win this series by bookmakers. A short time after his victory was announced, McDowall commented that he was feeling “absolutely amazing, fantastic…it’s so much more, absolutely so much more”. When interviewed afterwards, Parke said he “loved it, thank you to everyone who voted. Congratulations, Jai.” Simon Cowell acknowledged “there was going to be a shock result” and that McDowall “wasn’t one of the favourites coming in but tonight we could feel he nailed the song. He came in believing that he could win and I think he’s a worthy winner.” Meanwhile, on-air, judge Amanda Holden admitted that she “really, really wanted Ronan to win.”

The finale consisted of one programme featuring the finalists performing, which was broadcast from 1900 – 2100 BST (1800 – 2000 UTC) and a second programme, announcing the positions of the finalists; the latter was broadcast later in the night, from 2130 – 2200 BST (2030 – 2100 UTC). The programme also featured performances from two guests. Jackie Evancho, who achieved second place in the fifth season of America’s Got Talent, performed Nessun dorma on the first programme. US singer-songwriter Nicole Scherzinger, scheduled to appear as a judge on The X Factor (U.S.), appeared in the second show and performed Right There, the latest single to be released from her.

In the run-up to the final, five semi-finals were broadcast live on ITV1 each night from Monday to Friday. A total of 41 acts appeared between them. British stand-up comedian Michael McIntyre and American actor David Hasselhoff made their debut appearances on the show’s panel, alongside British actress Amanda Holden, who has judged for all the series so far, and British music executive Simon Cowell, who only judged for the semi-finals and the final.

Earlier in the week, an unidentified Internet blogger, who stated that they were an employee of music corporation Sony Music UK, claimed that the programme had been unfairly pre-arranged due to Parke allegedly being familiar with Cowell and Syco for two years, already having a record contract, as well as prior arrangements being made for his appearance, including his clothing, hairstyle and behaviour. Parke achieved the largest number of public votes in the semi-final he appeared in on Monday, allowing him to earn his place in Saturday’s final.

On the fifth Britain’s Got Talent semi-final on Friday, Cowell addressed these allegations and publicly denied them, stating: “There has been an allegation made in the papers – not in the papers actually, on the internet by somebody – that Ronan Parke had a previous recording contract with my record label, that I’d met him beforehand, both of which are complete and utter lies. The first time I met Ronan was the first time he appeared on this show. He entered the show of his own accord. He’s 12 years old. This is a deliberate smear campaign.”

In a statement, Syco – a British entertainment company which Cowell is the chief executive officer of – responded by claiming that “[t]here is no truth in this story whatsoever. Ronan first came to Syco/Sony’s attention when he entered this year’s competition. Syco/Sony Music will not hesitate to take whatever legal action is appropriate to prevent further publication of these unfounded allegations.” The Metropolitan Police Service have also reported that “[a]n allegation of malicious communications was made to Kensington and Chelsea police on Thursday 2 June” and that “[t]he allegation is being considered.” In an interview with BBC Radio Norfolk, Maggie Parke – Ronan’s mother – called the allegations “laughable” as there “couldn’t be further from the truth”. “There’s no foundation in it whatsoever,” said Maggie.

In the final, Parke performed a cover of the Kelly Clarkson song Because of You and placed second in the contest, behind McDowall. However, British tabloid newspaper News of the World has reported the intentions of Sony Music Entertainment to provide a record contract for the 12-year-old singer, allegedly valued at £1,000,000 (US$1,641,681, €1,123,711). Speaking to the paper, a source familiar with Cowell commented: “We are not going to let malicious claims about Ronan impact his entire career. That would not be fair. The fact is, he is a little star. He’s like our Justin Bieber. He launched his career on the internet. He is self-made.” Musical manager Jonathan Shalit claimed that Parke “will be the most successful BGT winner ever, bigger than Bieber. I’d take him to Hollywood, straight to Disney.” A source related to Britain’s Got Talent cited the aforementioned fix allegations for Parke’s failure to win the series, mentioning: “Sadly, the result had nothing to do with Ronan’s talent. A lot of people believed the completely false smears on the internet and wanted to punish Simon as a result. The public are against him at the moment. This was their revenge.”

A London-based act named New Bounce achieved third place in the competition. Their act consists of four male singers: Mitchell, aged 16, 12-year-old MJ, Kuan, aged 13 and James, aged 12. In the final, the group performed a cover of the Bill Withers song Ain’t No Sunshine. Simon Cowell subsequently compared their potential to that of JLS, who have achieved number 1 on music charts, claiming that “[t]his is a group that would work in the real world”.

Other acts who appeared in the final included Michael Collings, who is also a singer and plays a guitar for his act. Razy Gogonea performed a form of breakdancing known as body-popping. James Hobley was also an act who danced, performing contemporary dance routines. Steven Hall was another dancer, albeit one who performed for comedic effect, dancing to the sounds of various famous pop music tracks and lip-syncing the lyrics. Les Gibson performed a comedy act involving him making impressions of various celebrities, with Cowell, McIntyre and Hasselhoff amongst them, as well as Ant & Dec, who host the programme. Paul Gbegbaje and Jean Martyn were both musical acts, with the former playing the piano and the latter using an organ to make music. Gbegbaje played piano music which he had composed himself, while Martyn performed a medley of songs, amongst which was the John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John song You’re the One That I Want. Martyn sang along to the song but was not clearly audible due to the absence of a microphone during her performance. She later explained that her performance had been previously rehearsed without the singing included.

Below is a table addressing the rank the finalists of the fifth series of Britain’s Got Talent achieved in Saturday’s final.

Sunday, June 5, 2016

Legendary boxing great Muhammed Ali died on Friday aged 74 in a hospital in Phoenix, Arizona in the United States. A family spokesperson said Ali had been admitted with respiratory problems. The former heavyweight champion lived with Parkinson’s disease for decades, diagnosed in 1984.

Born on January 17, 1942 as Cassius Marcellus Clay, he changed his name to Muhammed Ali after his 1964 conversion to Islam. In his professional career, Ali won 56 out of 61 fights — including 31 consecutive wins. He won the World Heavyweight Championship three times and had also won an Olympic gold medal in the light-heavyweight category.

Often considered the greatest boxer of all time, Ali was the world heavyweight champion in the 1960s and 1970s. His famous fights with George Foreman in 1974 when he won his title back and against Joe Frazier are considered by many as two of the greatest fights in the sport’s history. Ali had also defeated Sonny Liston to claim the championship title.

Ali was also known as a political activist. He came under considerable controversy after his decision to refuse the Vietnam War draft.

He lit the flame in the 1996 Olympics hosted in Atlanta.

His funeral is to be in Kentucky.

Thursday, December 31, 2015

The Financial Conduct Authority, one of Britain’s banking sector regulators, indicated it has decided to drop an inquiry into banking culture, including practices and payment of banking staff. The inquiry was intended to review “whether culture change programmes in retail and wholesale banks are driving the right behaviour, in particular focusing on remuneration, appraisal and promotion decisions of middle management, as well as how concerns are reported and acted on”.

A spokesman for the Financial Conduct Authority stated: “A focus on the culture in financial services firms remains a priority for the FCA[…] There is currently extensive ongoing work in this area within firms and externally. We have decided that the best way to support these efforts is to engage individually with firms to encourage their delivery of cultural change as well as supporting the other initiatives outside the FCA.”

The Shadow Chancellor, Labour’s John McDonnell, said shutting down the inquiry would be a “dangerous and costly mistake” and said: “This will be a huge blow to customers and taxpayers who are all still paying the price for the failed culture in the banking sector that’s been widely attributed to be among the main causes of the crash and the scandals over Libor and price-fixing”.

Members of the Treasury Select Committee have also been critical of the cancellation of the review. On Twitter, Labour MP John Mann stated the “FCA surrender to big banks today is entirely from pressure from Treasury and Osborne”. Conservative MP Mark Garnier, told the BBC: “There has always been this great argument that perhaps the Treasury is having more influence over the regulator than perhaps it ought to and certainly, if I was looking for a Machiavellian plot behind what’s happened here and the tone of the regulator, then I suppose I would start looking at the Treasury.”

Richard Lloyd from the consumer group Which? expressed disappointment at the cancellation of the report: “It’s disappointing that the regulator has decided against publishing this report on the culture of banking. Cultural change doesn’t happen overnight, so despite signs of improvement, the FCA must not take their eye off the ball and should continue to clean up the industry”

The FCA has had no leader since Martin Wheatley resigned in July following an expression of no confidence by George Osborne, the Chancellor of the Exchequer.

Saturday, August 14, 2010

Ali Akbar Salehi, chief of Iran’s Atomic Energy Agency, announced Friday that Iran is scheduled to launch its first nuclear power plant in Bushehr. Russia said that it will start loading fuel into the reactor on August 21, 2010.

Russia has assisted Iran in the construction of this reactor since the mid-1990s. The proposal to build this reactor was put forth 35 years ago by Mohammad Rez? Sh?h Pahlavi, the former emperor of Iran.

Dmitry Anatolyevich Medvedev, the current president of Russia, said that Iran and Russia are in active trade partnership. Medvedev called on Iran last month to explain its nuclear program.

The official launch is scheduled for August 21, 2010. Russia has promised to run the plant by supplying fuel and taking away fuel waste.

Sunday, March 13, 2016

Wikinews spoke with three people associated with the early political career of U.S. businessman Donald Trump, the front-runner for the Republican Party’s 2016 presidential nomination. Those interviewed include longtime political operative Roger Stone, a close associate of Trump and director of Trump’s 2000 presidential exploratory committee; journalist Dave Shiflett, co-writer of Trump’s 2000 campaign book The America We Deserve; and political consultant Russ Verney, who served as chairman of the Reform Party of the United States of America which Trump briefly joined.

In Trump’s highly publicized 2016 campaign, he has run under the banner of Make America Great Again, advocating a Mexican-funded wall along the U.S.–Mexico border, renegotiation of trade terms with other nations, and a temporary halt on the immigration of Muslims to the United States. He holds a considerable lead in Republican National Convention delegates over his opponents, winning 15 of the first 24 primary and caucus contests. Though this is Trump’s most visible campaign, it is not his first foray into electoral politics. He flirted with Republican presidential runs: first in 1987, when he purchased newspaper advertisements on foreign policy and delivered a campaign-like speech in the first-in-the-nation primary state of New Hampshire; and then in 2011, when he briefly led nationwide opinion polls for the presidential nomination after questioning the citizenship of President Barack Obama. Trump’s most extensive campaign before now came during the 2000 presidential election when he opened an exploratory committee to consider seeking the presidential nomination of the Reform Party.

For 2000, Trump conducted various speeches and media appearances in support of his potential presidential campaign. He placed Stone in charge of his exploratory committee and hired Shiflett to work on what would become The America We Deserve. His chief opponent for the nomination was paleoconservative icon and eventual nominee Pat Buchanan who entered the race after ending his third unsuccessful campaign for the Republican presidential nomination. Based on Buchanan’s comments against American involvement in World War II, Trump attacked Buchanan as a “Hitler lover” and anti-Semite. Trump’s campaign received support from then-Minnesota governor Jesse Ventura, the highest ranking elected official in the Reform Party. This placed Trump at odds with the faction of industrialist Ross Perot, the party’s founder and two time presidential candidate. Verney, a Perot confidante, was chairman of the party during Trump’s exploration. Though initially dismissive of the campaign, Verney eventually welcomed Trump into the race. However, the deep divisions within the party precipitated the exit of Ventura, and Trump did not seek the nomination. Despite leaving the race, Trump still appeared on Reform Party presidential primary ballots in California and Michigan, winning both states.

Over a five month period, Wikinews reporter William S. Saturn contacted the three previously involved in Trump’s politics to get their thoughts on his current presidential campaign, learn more about Trump’s political past including the true nature of his 2000 effort, and obtain details on his personality.