Monday, June 25, 2018

On Saturday, the plastic ban in the Indian state of Maharashtra came into force. In an attempt to minimise pollution, the state government has introduced a ban on single-use plastics.

The leader of the Yuya Sena political party, Aaditya Thackeray, said on Twitter, “The ban on single use disposable plastic cups, plastic bags, plastic straws, plastic plates and cutlery, styrofoam cutlery and non woven bags”. He added, “these are global issues now and we have taken a step to combat it”.

Plastic pollution has led to the choking of drains, marine pollution and a risk of animals consuming plastics. This year, India’s motto for World Environment Day — June 5 — was “Beat Plastic Pollution”. People violating the plastic ban are to face a fine of 5,000 Indian Rupees (INR) for the first offence. For the second offence, the fine is INR 10,000 and the third time offence is INR 25,000 and a three-month prison term. Deputy municipal commissioner Nidhi Choudhary said, “To weed out corruption, we plan to give inspectors payment gadgets for electronic receipts of the fines”.

The Maharashtra government has given a 90-day period for manufacturers to dispose of existing polyethylene terephthalate (PET/PETE) plastic spoons and plates, while shopkeepers and citizens in general have six months to dispose of plastics. However, the ban does not prohibit plastic usage for wrapping medicines or milk cartons thicker than 50 microns.

The state government had announced the decision for the plastic ban on March 23. According to NDTV’s report, Maharashtra is the eighteenth Indian state to enforce a state-wide plastic ban. Aaditya Thackeray also said, “I congratulate the citizens for making this into a movement, even before the ban was enforceable, giving up single use disposable plastic.”

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

A 5.8 earthquake struck 4 miles southwest of Mineral, Virginia, 80 miles south of Washington D.C., at 1:51 p.m. EDT (17:51 UTC) and lasted for 15–30 seconds. The quake had a magnitude of 5.8 with an epicenter 27 miles (43 km) east of Charlottesville, Virginia. A 2.8 aftershock was reported at 2:46 pm EDT (18:46 UTC).

According to Twitter reports, the quake was felt inland as far as Cleveland and Toronto and along the coast from Boston to Georgia. Police sergeant James Ryan, from South Brunswick, New Jersey stated that “The 911 line is flooding with calls right now. People want to know what happened. They want to know if there was an explosion.”

The United States Capitol and The Pentagon in Arlington were evacuated, as were police headquarters and city hall in New York City. Numerous minor injuries have been reported in Washington, D.C.; however, none of them are serious. There have been confirmed reports of damage at the Washington National Cathedral and the Smithsonian Castle. The Pentagon was also damaged when a burst pipe caused flooding. The North Anna Power Station lost offsite power and had to shut down, turning to four diesel generators to maintain cooling of the facility. Both the JFK and Newark airports were briefly shut down and the control towers were evacuated. A release from Amtrak stated that trains will be operating at reduced speed, but no damage has been found on any rail lines. The Washington Metro is also operating on reduced speed, with some stations closed down, while lines are evaluated.

In Boston, it was reported that the building at 111 Devonshire Street appeared to be leaning onto the adjacent building at 50 Milk Street, with fears that it could collapse. The street was blocked off while the Boston Fire Department investigated. However, it was determined that the buildings had always appeared like that. Nevertheless, the Boston Fire Department investigated the roof and the inside of 111 Devonshire St. After 30 minutes, the building was determined to be safe.

This is the second strongest earthquake to originate in Virginia since records have been kept, after the one recorded on May 31, 1897, near Giles County, which was estimated at a magnitude of 5.9.

The Dow initially dropped 50 points after the earthquake struck, but later increased over 100 points.

Tuesday, June 21, 2005

A Romanian priest and four nuns have been charged in the death of a reportedly schizophrenic nun who was crucified in an exorcism. The novice, Maricica Irina Cornici, of Holy Trinity convent in northeast Romania, died last week after spending three days gagged and chained to a cross without food or water in the church’s cellar.

The 23-year-old nun was found with a towel stuffed into her mouth and had been left in the cold room while the priest delivered prayers to drive out evil spirits. An initial autopsy revealed the nun died from dehydration, exhaustion and lack of oxygen. Prosecutors are awaiting the results of a second autopsy, which is being carried out because of a suspicion of foul play.

The priest, Daniel Petru Corogeanu, and four nuns have been charged with imprisonment leading to death. They could face up to 20 years in prison if found guilty. Father Daniel told local news that he was trying to “take the devil out of her”. When asked whether the nun was in need of medical help instead of an exorcism, he replied, “You can’t take the devil out of people with pills.”

Ms. Cornici, who grew up in an orphanage, is said to have entered the remote convent three months earlier. There has been speculation by the Romanian media that Ms. Cornici’s schizophrenic behaviour may have caused her fellow nuns and the priest to believe she was possessed by the devil.

The Orthodox Church has condemned the incident and suspended Father Daniel, who has refused to stop work at the Holy Trinity monastery. Riot police had to intervene when scuffles broke out as nuns yelled at a vicar who came to suspend Father Daniel on Sunday.

Tuesday, March 25, 2008

On Monday, the Olympic torch for the 2008 Summer Olympics was lit in Olympia, Greece as per tradition. The Games of the XXIX Olympiad are scheduled to be held in and around Beijing, China from August 8, 2008, to August 24, 2008.

Members of Reporters Without Borders (RSF), and others, were able to break through the police cordon. “We cannot let the Chinese government seize the Olympic flame, a symbol of peace, without denouncing the dramatic human rights situation in the country,” RSF said in a statement.

While Liu Qi, president of the Beijing Organizing Committee and a former mayor of Beijing, delivered a speech, at least one protester was able to run up behind him and display a flag that resembled the Olympic flag, except it was black and the rings were handcuffs.

The protester was quickly apprehended and Liu Qi continued his speech relatively uninterrupted. “The Olympic flame will radiate light and happiness, peace and friendship, and hope and dreams to the people of China and the whole world,” he told the crowd.

“Shame on China. Don’t send China’s blood-tainted torch to Tibet. Free Tibet. Tibet is an independent country,” shouted Tenzin Dorjee, a leader for Students for a Free Tibet, while he was taken by police.

“All we wanted to do was break into the torch relay and shout that this is a torch of shame as the Chinese government continues to kill hundreds of our people,” Dorjee said later. “They were stalking me from the moment I touched down to Greece,” he added.

The torch is still scheduled to be carried around the world in a relay that will go through twenty countries before arriving in Beijing for the start of the Games.

Jacques Rogge, president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has defended having the Games in China, saying, “The major political leaders don’t want a boycott.”

In his speech Monday, he said, “The torch is the link between all athletes and citizens of this world; between all of us who believe in Olympism and the virtue of sport. It has the force to unite humanity and to stand for harmony.”

Germany’s Olympic Committee rejected a boycott of the games aimed at events in Tibet. Noting that the 1980 Summer Olympics boycott did not avert the Soviet war in Afghanistan, the president of the committee said they concluded that the role of sports is to start dialog and promote understanding — and not to exert political pressure.

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, December 31, 2007

What would you tell your grandchildren about 2007 if they asked you about it in, let’s say, 20 year’s time? If the answer to a quiz question was 2007, what would the question be? The year that you first signed on to Facebook? The year Britney Spears and Amy Winehouse fell apart? The year author Kurt Vonnegut or mime Marcel Marceau died, both at 84?

Let’s take a look at some of the international stories of 2007. Links to the original Wikinews articles are in bold.

Sunday, July 8, 2007

Installations of closed-circuit television (CCTV) security cameras into schools in the Australian state of New South Wales has alarmed teachers.

Over 50 schools in New South Wales already have surveillance cameras in playgrounds and outside dining areas. The concern from teachers arises from the pending installation of further cameras inside classrooms and also corridors.

Teachers have expressed concerns about privacy and misuse of the equipment. Senior vice-president of the New South Wales Teachers Federation, Bob Lipscombe, said that teachers are worried about the footage being used improperly, as well as the fact that both teachers and students would be filmed at work by the cameras.

The increase in security cameras being used in schools is an attempt to protect valuable schooling equipment from theft and damage, in particular computers in computer rooms. Lipscombe said that installations in computer rooms will potentially affect many teachers, as all subjects can be taught with the integration of technology.

CCTV surveillance is preferred by some schools over fitting alarm systems and physical bars on entrances to the room, as it is cheaper to install.

Lipscombe said that the Teachers Federation isn’t against CCTV systems provided they are operated properly and with appropriate consent. A solution proposed is to only have the surveillance system record during times when the room is unattended.

A spokesperson for the New South Wales Department of Education and Training has said that the footage obtained is confidential and used to assist police in investigating criminal activity.