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Saturday, May 7, 2011

Officials say 27 people are dead after a plane crashed into the sea off east Indonesia today. Fifteen bodies have been recovered and it is thought the others on board have sunk with the wreckage.

“I can confirm that all the passengers were killed when the plane exploded as it crashed into the sea,” an Indonesian navy official told local radio station ElShinta. He said around ten navy divers were sent to the Papua crash site 400 metres off-shore in six kilometres of water but “had difficulties locating them [trapped passengers] due to strong currents and limited equipment.”

Merpati Nusantara Airlines has not confirmed passenger numbers. A transport ministry spokesman said the ministry is “still checking on the passengers’ situation,” adding “the weather was pretty bad at the time [of the crash].” Built by the Aviation Industry Corporation of China, the propellor-driven MA60 was 500 metres from a runway when it crashed, according to airport officials.

The nation of islands has heavy use of aviation and a poor safety record, including the crash of an Adam Air jet in 2007 that killed 102 people near Sulawesi. The European Commission had banned all Indonesian airlines from entering it, but two years ago flag carrier Garuda Indonesia was deemed to have improved and allowed to enter.

Thursday, March 31, 2016

Businessman Rocky De La Fuente took some time to speak with Wikinews about his campaign for the U.S. Democratic Party’s 2016 presidential nomination.

The 61-year-old De La Fuente resides in San Diego, California, grew up in Tijuana, and owns multiple businesses and properties throughout the world. Since getting his start in the automobile industry, De La Fuente has branched out into the banking and real estate markets. Despite not having held or sought political office previously, he has been involved in politics, serving as the first-ever Hispanic superdelegate to the 1992 Democratic National Convention.

De La Fuente entered the 2016 presidential race last October largely due to his dissatisfaction with Republican front-runner Donald Trump. He argues he is a more accomplished businessman than Trump, and attacks Trump as “a clown,” “a joke,” “dangerous,” and “in the same category as Hitler.” Nevertheless, De La Fuente’s business background begets comparisons with Trump. The Alaskan Midnight Sun blog described him as the Democrats’ “own Donald Trump.”

While receiving only minimal media coverage, he has campaigned actively, and according to the latest Federal Election Commission filing, loaned almost US$ 4 million of his own money to the campaign. He has qualified for 48 primary and caucus ballots, but has not yet obtained any delegates to the 2016 Democratic National Convention. Thus far, according to the count at The Green Papers, De La Fuente has received 35,406 votes, or 0.23% of the total votes cast. He leads among the many lesser-known candidates but trails both Senator Bernie Sanders who has received nearly 6.5 million votes and front-runner Hillary Clinton who has just shy of 9 million votes.

With Wikinews reporter William S. Saturn?, De La Fuente discusses his personal background, his positions on political issues, his current campaign for president, and his political future.

Saturday, August 13, 2005

A last minute deal reached Saturday dictates that about 1,000 Israeli settler greenhouses located in the Gaza strip will not be dismantled after Monday’s pullout. Instead, they will remain standing and be placed in Palestinian control.

The deal allows one of the Gaza strip’s largest employers to remain intact. Greenhouses in the region currently employ more than 4,000 people.

The deal was pioneered by envoy James Wolfenson. Mr. Wolfenson will purchase the greenhouses using funds amounting to US$14 million. He will proceed to turn the properties over to Palestine.

Daniel Ayalon, Israeli ambassador to the United States, spoke optimistically of the greenhouse agreement. Said Mr. Ayalon, “As we leave Gaza, and some parts of the West Bank, we are not leaving scorched earth. On the contrary, we are leaving behind means for them to take over and immediately better their situation.”

In Gaza, the median age is 15 and about 80% of the population live in poverty.

Friday, August 10, 2007

Global stock markets fell today, in a mass sell-off stemming from the sub-prime mortgage crisis in the United States. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rebounded late in the day after falling more than 250 points, ending the day down about 31 points. The UK’s FTSE-100 index fell 232.90 points to 6038.30, and Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 406.51 points to 16764.09.

Central banks across the world are injecting funds into their banking systems to add liquidity, fearing that many financial firms with subprime ties will be insolvent. Yesterday, the U.S. Federal Reserve transferred US$24 billion to temporary reserves, following the European Central Bank, which authorized a record €83.6 billion addition to its banks, its biggest cash infusion ever. On Friday, the Fed entered into a $38 billion repurchase agreement of mortgage-backed securities, easing stockholder worries. Also on Friday, the Bank of Japan injected ¥1 trillion into Japan’s financial system.

The Federal Reserve met this week, but decided to maintain its target rate of 5.25%, although on Friday the federal funds rate was hovering around 6%, indicating a drop in liquidity.

The volatile week began last Friday with Bear Stearns tumbling as a result from its complete loss of two major hedge funds worth more than $1.5 billion. The hedge funds had been dangerously exposed to the massive sub-prime mortgage failure, and the company announced it was unable to return any money to investors.

Washington Mutual, and Countrywide Financial, both very large U.S. home loan lenders, saw shares fall. Countrywide Financial made a statement this week, saying they will be forced to retain a greater proportion of mortgage. American Home Mortgage Investment Corp, another large lender, recently filed for bankruptcy. The U.S. housing market has been declining for more than two years after the Federal Reserve raised interest rates 17 times. Now, lenders are in a quagmire from millions of people who are unable to repay loans after taking adjustable rate mortgages, teaser rates, interest-only mortgages, or piggyback rates.

Jim Cramer, of CNBC’s Mad Money, remarked that as many as seven million people will lose their homes from bad mortgages. Last Friday, Cramer went on a tirade on CNBC’s Street Signs, saying that the “Fed was asleep” and called for them to lower rates immediately.

Asian and European markets have become increasingly entangled in the subprime mortgage crisis in the U.S. Deutsche Bank of Germany lost almost $3.5 billion in share value, forcing the government to organize a bail-out. France’s largest bank, BNP Paribas SA, halted withdrawals from three large investment funds which were crippled by sub-prime exposure.

Tuesday, March 25, 2014

Dave Brockie of rubber-costumed metal act GWAR was found dead in his Richmond, Virginia home late on Sunday. Better known by stage name Oderus Urungus, Brockie was 50.

Founder, singer, leader, and occasional bassist of GWAR, Brockie’s career stretches back to 1984. He and fellow Virginia Commonwealth University art students formed what they dubbed “Earth’s only openly extra-terrestrial rock band”, growing famous for satirical and obscene lyrical themes, and live shows featuring the defilement of effigies and plenty of fake blood.

Fellow founding member Don Drakulich, who still makes props and costumes for the rockers, said he was “very sad” and “shocked”. He said Brockie’s roommate found the corpse. GWAR members changed frequently and the band recovered from the sudden death of guitarist Cory “Flattus Maximus” Smoot during a 2011 tour, but the New York Daily News notes “it’s hard to envision their saga going further” after Brockie’s death.

The band ran with the backstory of crashing to “the most insignificant planet in the universe” 43 million years ago before creating humans by having sex with apes. Becoming encased with ice, the legend ran that upon thawing out in 1984 the members decided to form a band.

Manager Jack Flanagan announced the death via GWAR’s website, adding a post-mortem will be conducted. “My main focus right now is to look after my band mates and his family” he said. Flanagan said another GWAR member found the body.

Brockie said in 2009 “I am one of the blessed people that gets to do what I love to do for a living.” GWAR received a Grammy nomination in 1993, with Phallus in Wonderland up for Best Longform Music Video.

Fellow Virginia rocker Randy Blythe, vocalist for Lamb of God, paid tribute online, writing on Instagram “When someone dies, a lot of the time people will say ‘Oh, he was a unique person, really one of a kind, a true original’ […] I can’t think of ANYONE even remotely like him.”

Blythe also took to Facebook. “Right now, if I were to truly honor Dave in the way HE would do it if it were ME that had died, I would make a completely tasteless joke about his death. But I do not have the stomach for that — Dave would, but not me. He never put much stock in ‘limits’.”

Ex-GWAR guitarist Steve Douglas said on Facebook “I have had a few bad days in my life but this one truly ranks right up there. […] you are gone and it is hurting very badly!” “I wish it was a joke” said another ex-member, Chris Bopst. “Everyone is in shock.”

Former bassist Mike Bishop paid tribute in an interview with Style Weekly. “Dave was one of the funniest, smartest, most creative and energetic persons I’ve known,” he said. “He was brash sometimes, always crass, irreverent, he was hilarious in every way. But he was also deeply intelligent and interested in life, history, politics and art.”

Saturday, October 31, 2009

Officials in Pakistan have said that a bomb blast killed seven Pakistani soldiers and wounded eleven others on Saturday in the northwestern part of the country. The incident took place in the Khyber region, which is the main route for moving supplies to international forces fighting in neighbouring Afghanistan.

The explosion struck a vehicle that was transporting paramilitary troops on a patrol near the region’s main town of Landikotal, according to a spokesman for the Frontier Corps. “The vehicle was completely destroyed and seven of our soldiers were killed,” the spokesman said.

Pakistani armed forces started an operation against militants in the Khyber region in September, saying that the rebels had started to expand their activities. The mountainous area along the Afghanistan border is said to be haven for both al-Qaeda and Taliban insurgents.

The violence comes a day after US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton ended her visit to the country.

Wednesday, September 7, 2005

Apple today unveiled its latest addition to the iPod line, the iPod nano. The announcement came today at a special music event hosted by Apple, held in the Moscone West Convention Center in San Francisco.

The iPod Nano comes in two colors, white and black, as well as two sizes, a 2GB and a 4GB, capable of holding 500 and 1,000 songs and will cost $199 and $249 USD respectively. The iPod nano is the second model of the iPod family to utilize flash memory, after the Shuffle was introduced in January.

The iPod nano replaces the similar iPod Mini in the iPod family. The iPod nano’s maximum capacity is 2GB smaller than that of the last version of the iPod Mini, which held 6GB for the same price of $249.

Apple also announced an iTunes-compatible cell phone, the Motorola ROKR E1, which will be available exclusively from Cingular Wireless in the United States, Virgin will be in the UK. The ROKR has a color display for viewing album art and features built-in stereo speakers, as well as stereo headphones that also serve as a mobile headset with microphone. Users can randomly autofill or manually fill the mobile phone with playlists of music, audiobooks and Podcasts from their iTunes library via a USB 1.1 connection. The Motorola ROKR pauses music automatically when users take a call and offers the ability to listen to music while messaging or taking a photo. It will cost $250 with a two-year cell service contract.

A new version of iTunes was also announced at the event, bringing it to version 5. Along with a new look, it also features a customizable randomization, improved search for the Library and Music Store, and greater parental controls on songs with explicit lyrics in the iTunes Music Store as well as controlling content of Podcasts.

Saturday, January 19, 2008

Matthew Higa, 23, has been arrested in connection with the death of a 23-month-old boy. Higa is alleged to have thrown the child from a pedestrian overpass into oncoming traffic on Honolulu’s H-1 Freeway.

The local coroner’s office noted that the child died on impact after falling 30 feet (9 meters) from the overpass. This occurred during Thursday’s lunch rush hour in the heart of downtown. Upon impact, several cars struck the child, which caused traffic to grind to a halt.

The toddler, Cyrus Nainoa Tupa?i Belt, was pronounced dead at the scene at 12:07 p.m. (2207 UTC), approximately 27 minutes after being allegedly being ejected from the overpass by Higa. The portion of H-1 was closed for approximately five hours with traffic diverted to side streets. The freeway was reopened in time for the evening commute.

At first the relationship between Higa and the child was unclear, but later reports stated that Higa lived adjacent to him and had babysat him on previous occasions. The boy’s mother was out of town at the time of his death, but it was revealed that the child was supposed to be in the custody of his father and not with Higa.

Higa graduated from Roosevelt High School in 2003. In the summer of 2004 Higa was involved in an incident where police reports indicate a three-car race resulted in the death of a friend. Higa has since had a criminal history, with more than a dozen arrests but no convictions, and reports from neighbors of erratic behavior.

Queen’s Medical Center, which houses a psychiatric ward in Honolulu, noted that he was a patient there as recently as December 11, 2007. When arrested, Higa was wearing hospital scrubs, which were not immediately conducive to whether Higa was a patient in Queen’s psychiatric wing in the last couple of days. A representative of Queen’s declined to comment on whether Higa was admitted in the last week.

Thursday, November 29, 2007

President Pervez Musharraf of Pakistan gave up his uniform in a ceremony yesterday in Rawalpindi. He handed power over to General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani at the headquarters of the Pakistani Army, after being the leader of the army for nine years.

In his final address as leader of the army, he said that the army was the saviour of Pakistan and that the army was his life. He also expressed his pride in being the leader of what he called a “great force.”

Musharraf had been under a lot of pressure to quit as army chief, since the country was put into the spotlight as a result of a state of emergency being declared. He is expected to be sworn in as the civilian president of Pakistan on Thursday.

Both the opposition leader, Benazir Bhutto, and the US secretary of state, Condoleezza Rice, welcomed the change of duties. However, Bhutto indicated her party may not be prepared to accept Musharraf in his new non-military leadership role. Condoleezza Rice requested the state of emergency be lifted before the planned elections, which are due to take place in January.

Musharraf said General Kayani was “an excellent soldier” and that “the armed forces under his command will achieve great heights.”

General Kayani was named as the successor to Musharraf in October, before the state of emergency was declared in early November.

Monday, June 30, 2014

State Bank of India (SBI) and Bank of Baroda (BoB), two of the largest public sector banks of India, proposed on Saturday their gold deposits should be allowed to count toward their state-mandated cash reserve ratio (CRR) or statutory liquidity ratio (SLR).

Arundhati Bhattacharya, the chairperson of SBI, made the proposal at a Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council event held in Mumbai on Saturday. She said the need for gold deposits to become more liquid has increased because gold import is putting a strain on the country’s current account deficit. S. S. Mundra, Chairperson and managing director of BoB, agreed and said it would help bringing gold into the more productive sectors of the economy.

Bhattacharya added SBI has no longer any incentive to run its gold deposit scheme as it cannot fully deploy the assets, noting SBI is the party most involved with gold deposits in India. G. S. Sandhu, Union financial services secretary, also at the event, responded that the government is looking for ways to monetize the gold held by the public, as import of gold can strain the current account deficit and foreign exchange reserves.

Currently, the Reserve Bank of India has set the CRR at 4% and the SLR at 22.5%. SLR is the portion of deposits that must be invested in recognized safe securities and assets.