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Thursday, March 25, 2010

The government of Dubai announced that it intends to provide $9.5 billion to Dubai World to allow the government-owned investment company to restructure its debt.

The announcement comes as part of Dubai World’s plan to restructure more than $23 billion of debt, including converting nearly $9 billion of debt into equity, after its collapse last fall. The package includes $8 billion of funding to Nakheel, Dubai World’s real estate subsidiary, as well as $1.5 billion to Dubai World as a whole. The restructuring plan also seeks to, within eight years, repay all of Dubai World’s creditors.

According to the government of Dubai, $5.7 billion of the aid was from a former $10 billion loan to Dubai World, with the remainder being internally funded. The plan would transfer ownership of Nakheel, formerly a subsidiary of Dubai World, to the direct control of the Dubai government.

Response to the deal was largely positive, with one analyst saying the move “boosts sentiment because this is a strong commitment.” Christopher Davidson, author of books on Dubai and Abu Dhabi, said that while the new funding would “keep the wolves outside the gates a little longer,” the government could not be the sole funder of Dubai World and Nakheel.

Monday, February 16, 2009

In the 1970s, she was one of the most popular female vocalists in France, and became well-known internationally. Anne Marie David, from Arles in the south of France, parlayed her initial success from playing Mary Magdalene in the French production of Jesus Christ Superstar into taking home the “grand prix” at the Eurovision Song Contest in 1973. Her winning song, “Tu te reconnaîtras” (You will recognize yourself), became a Europe-wide hit that spring.

At the height of her popularity, David perfomed world tours, and even lived abroad in Turkey for a time. In 1979, she tried once again to win the Eurovision, and placed a respectable third. Her song “Je suis l’enfant soleil” (I’m a child of the sun) became similarly popular across France and in the Francophone nations.

As time went on, however, her place in the French music scene became less certain. Touring the world had taken a personal toll, and David decided to retire from music completely in 1987. However, with the help of her fan base, she was coaxed out of retirement in 2003 and is returning to a part of her life that she tried to leave, but never left her. Celebrating four decades in the music scene, David is looking forward to adventurous new projects and a newfound zest for life.

Anne Marie David corresponded with Wikinews’ Mike Halterman about her eventful career, her personal anecdotes regarding living abroad, her successes in past Eurovision contests and her grievances with the way the show is produced today. This is the second in a series of interviews with past Eurovision contestants, which will be published sporadically in the lead-up to mid-May’s next contest in Moscow.

Wednesday, July 21, 2021

Wikinews correspondent J.J. Liu spoke with Technological University Dublin (TUD) senior lecturer at the School of Surveying & Construction Management, Dr Lorcan Sirr on Friday regarding the supply of housing in the Republic of Ireland and relevant parallels across the rest of Europe, as well as recent developments by the government and private sector that are causing a rise in rents and home prices in the Irish real estate market.

Dr Sirr is a regular contributor to The Irish Times and has provided commentary to Irish radio station Newstalk, national broadcaster Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ) and various other publications. In addition to being a chartered planning and development surveyor and assessor to the Society of Chartered Surveyors, Dr Sirr is a Peace Commissioner and former external examiner for the Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology, according to his profile on Worky.

Dr Sirr was a lecturer and former head of research for the Faculty of the Built Environment at the Dublin Institute of Technology, which entered a merger with two partner institutes to become TUD January 1, 2019. He received his bachelor’s degree in estate management at the University of Greenwich, United Kingdom, and master’s degree in urban design and PhD in town planning at the University of Manchester. He has a second master’s in literature from KU Leuven, Belgium, and speaks French.

Wednesday, June 16, 2021

In early May, Wikinews extended an invitation to Vitaly Filipchenko, an independent candidate in the 2021 New York City mayoral election, set to take place November 2nd, alongside other candidates. Filipchenko answered some questions about his policies and campaign during a phone interview.

Filipchenko, registered on the New York City Campaign Finance Board as Vitaly A. Filipchenko, is the first Russian candidate for New York City mayor, being born in Tomsk, Siberia in 1973, according to news agency Sputnik. He has since naturalised as a United States citizen. According to the web site, Filipchenko has been educated in road construction and maintenance and owns a moving services company; he describes himself on his web site as a “small business owner”. On his web site’s platform page, he says that “[m]y English may not be perfect – but my platform is.”

Incumbent Democrat mayor Bill de Blasio, who won re-election in the 2017 New York City mayoral election by 66.5%, cannot run for a third term under term limits. As of April 28, 22 candidates are currently running, the majority of whom are also Democrats. Ahead of the June Democratic primary for New York City mayor, a poll conducted May 23 and 24 by WPIX and Emerson College of 12 Democratic candidates with a margin of error of 3.2 per cent has former commissioner for the New York City Department of Sanitation Kathryn Garcia and Borough President of Brooklyn Eric Adams leading with 21.1% and 20.1%, respectively.

Sunday, October 1, 2006

A video, which was made in 2000 and released by the Sunday Times shows September 11, 2001 hijackers Mohammed Atta and Ziad Jarrah attending a camp in Afghanistan. Mohammed Atta was on the American Airlines plane which hit The World Trade Center’s North Tower and Jarrah was on United Airlines Flight 93, which crashed in Shanksville, Pennsylvania when passengers on the plane attempted to regain control after the highjackers took over the aircraft. The Times reports that they received the video from “a previously tested channel,” but it is not known what channel they are referring to.

The video is believed to have been recorded on January 18, 2000 and features the two men reading their martyrdoms and the Sunday Times reports that the two were at Osama bin Laden’s main headquarters located inside Afghanistan prior to the September 11 attacks. In the video, both hijackers appeared to be smiling and laughing. The video also shows Atta reading the will.

The video also showed Osama bin Laden speaking to a crowd of his followers in the city of Kandahar in Afghanistan. Ramzi Binalshibh can be seen in the crowd during the speech by bin Laden. A bodyguard, that has instructions to kill bin Laden if he were in any danger of being caught or killed, is also present in the video. Two other commanders of al-Qaeda, wanted by the U.S., Abu Faraj al Libi and Saif al Adl also appear in the video.

The video contains no sound and it is unknown what exactly the hijackers were saying. According to the Sunday Times, the United States attempted to use Arabic lip readers to find out what the hijackers were saying, but were unsuccessful.

MSNBC reports that the video was found by U.S. troops at a compound that had been controlled by al-Qaeda sometime in 2001.

Monday, September 7, 2015

The US economy added 173,000 jobs in August, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on Friday. The unemployment rate fell from 5.3 to 5.1 percent, the lowest since April 2008.

Although August job gains were lower than most economists forecast, job growth numbers for June and July were revised upwards by a combined 44,000. Average job gains over the past three months stand at 221,000, compared to March-May’s 189,000 monthly average. Over the past twelve months, job growth has averaged 247,000 per month.

Average hourly earnings rose 0.3 percent, or 8 cents, marking the largest increase in earnings in seven months. Hourly earnings had risen by 6 cents in July. Wages have risen by 2.2 percent over the past year.

Job growth in August was primarily concentrated in the health care and social assistance, financial activities, and professional and business services sectors. Those three areas of the economy added a combined 108,000 jobs. Food service and drinking places employment increased by 26,000 over the month, and other economic sectors saw employment hold steady. Manufacturing, on the other hand, saw employment decline by 17,000 in August. A stronger dollar and worldwide economic weakness make US exports less desirable, leading to a flattening in manufacturing employment so far this year after steadily rising in the early years of the US economic recovery.

The solid overall job gains led analysts to slightly raise expectations for a decision by the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates this month. Investors raised the likelihood of a September rate increase from 26 percent before the jobs report to 30 percent, and stocks dropped by over one percent on Friday. “The payrolls data is certainly good enough to allow for a Fed rate hike in September,” said Deutsche Bank’s head of currency strategy, Alan Ruskin. “The big question is still whether financial market volatility will scupper the plans.”

“This is the first time the market has looked at a Fed meeting and really has no idea what the Fed is going to do,” said Mark Kepner, a New Jersey equity trader with Themis Trading. “Right now you’re looking at the overall uncertainty and that’s what’s hanging on the market. I don’t think this number in and of itself changes how somebody’s going to vote.”

Monday, March 15, 2010

The Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) arrested two men in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India on Sunday for plotting to set the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Ltd. (ONGC) office on fire and attack a mall and a market. They were arrested on information given by lndian intelligence agencies. The pair was arrested on Saturday, produced in court on Sunday and have been remanded to police custody till 18 March. Police have seized several maps from them.

The men, who are brothers-in-law, have been identified as Abdul Latif Rashid aka Guddu (29) and Riyaz Ali Imtiaz aka Rehan (23), and were arrested in Trombay while allegedly conducting reconnaissance of Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) following a tip-off by the Intelligence Bureau (IB), according to police reports. The Esplanade metropolitan magistrate sent the pair to police custody till March 18 and charged them under Unlawful Activities Prevention Act.

ATS chief K.P. Raghuvanshi said Adbul and Riyaz had identified three targets in the city; the Thakkar Mall in Borivali (West), the ONGC office and the Mangaldas Market, located at the busy Crawford Market. The suspects had conducted reconnaissance of the Nhava-Sheva area of the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) in south-east Mumbai, an ATS official said. “The two were preparing to set one of the ONGC establishments in the city on fire following instructions from someone called ‘Uncle’,” an ATS officer said adding “we are probing if the directions had come from across the border”.

IB had intercepted suspicious phone calls, between the two suspects and a ‘Chacha’ (uncle) in Karachi and the ATS had put them under surveillance. They were arrested after the suspicions were confirmed and backed by solid evidence. Rehan worked as a salesman at the Thakkar Mall, which already had been surveyed by the duo and were awaiting further instructions, according to police. ATS officials did not clarify whether the two were actually going to carry out attacks or were just drawing maps and conducting reconnaissance, being a part of a greater chain of command.

“I have more information about the people arrested, but I will not reveal it at this point as their accomplices, who are still at large, may benefit from it, ” said Maharashtra Home Minister R.R. Patil. He refused to tell if there was a connection between these suspects and the Pune blast last month which killed seventeen people. The Home ministry of India described these arrests as significant, saying that the conspiracy was part of the “Karachi Project” .

The so-called Karachi project was revealed by David Headley, a Lashkar-e-Toiba terrorist arrested in US. It is supposedly a collaboration between Lashkar-e-Toiba and Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agency involving recruitment of serving and retired Pakistani army officers and fugitive terrorists from India to carry out suicide attacks in India.