Archives 2022

Friday, June 16, 2006

Former American Idol winner Ruben Studdard has won a lawsuit and $2 million against his ex-manager Ronald W. Edwards and Edwards’ promotions company, Sez Inc. The lawsuit was for misappropriating the singer’s money and credit cards. The suit claimed Edwards misused more than $246,000 of the singer’s money. According to the judge’s ruling, Edwards stole money from Studdard’s checking and other bank accounts, improperly used his credit cards and even used Studdard’s money to repay a $10,000 bank loan.

Jefferson County Circuit Judge Scott Vowell awarded Studdard $500,000 for actual losses and another $1.5 million in punitive damages. Vowell dismissed Edwards’ promotions company from the suit because it was bankrupt and had no money or assets. Edwards filed a petition for Chapter 7 bankruptcy on June 17, 2005. Studdard has sold 2.2 million records, but because of the damage done to his credit by Edwards, it is now even hard for Ruben to buy a home, said Vowell.

Friday, November 3, 2006

A Richmond Hill, Ontario man is currently released after he was abducted and escaped last night.

Chee Kian Jeff Chan, 28, was forced by three people into a black Mercedes SUV (which was caught on security camera) in the parking garage of his condominium at 23 Oneida Cresant in the Yonge Street and High Tech Road area. A small amount of blood was found at the scene. He was dropped off at an unnamed location in Toronto Wednesday night.

The suspects were wearing black clothes and balaclavas covering their faces at the time of the incident. The licence plate number of the Mercedes SUV is not known because there was no plate on the front of the vehicle.

Chan walked into the Major Mackenzie Dr. W. police station, at about 6:45 p.m. last night, suffering from injuries and went to a hospital for examination.

York Regional Police say that he is a poker player, after hearing about a man with the same name that took seventh place at the River Rock Casino Resort near Vancouver, British Columbia on November 19, 2005, earning him $44,753.

No ransom note was received and police believe that it was an extortion attempt.

“He was unaware of a lot of things during his ordeal,” Constable Laurie Perks said. “He didn’t know what they looked like. His vision was concealed and so he therefore didn’t know where he was through most of his ordeal.”

It is believed that Chan’s three captors released him after 28 hours because of the media coverage surrounding his disappearance.

The investigation is still ongoing.

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.

Thursday, August 3, 2006

The United States Food and Drug Administration has announced that it is moving forward in approving over-the-counter (OTC) sale of the emergency contraceptive pill, “Plan B” to women above 18 years of age. The delayed approval of this drug has been raised in the Senate confirmation hearings for President Bush’s nominee for the head of the FDA, Dr. Andrew C. von Eschenbach.

Emergency contraceptives, also known as “morning-after pills” are used to prevent an unintended pregnancy, after unprotected intercourse has occurred. They usually contain high doses of the same drugs that are used in regular contraceptive pills.

While they are considered as contraceptives by the medical establishment and by law, and classified as such by the FDA, some abortion opponents object to ECs as they believe that they constitute abortion. Some groups object to emergency contraception believing that it encourages sexual exploitation of young girls and some religious conservatives object to it as they believe that it promotes promiscuous behavior. Proponents of its use contend that it is merely a form of contraception, and point out that other forms, such as condoms or birth-control pills are widely used and that its use serves an important purpose, in cases where other contraceptives have failed (eg. a condom is torn) or to prevent conception in a rape victim. Approval for OTC sale would make the drug more easily available, which is considered important as the drug must be taken within 72 hours of intercourse to be effective.

The FDA’s approval process for the Plan B pills, which contain the drug Levonorgestrel and are manufactured by Duramed, a subsidiary of Barr Laboratories has been mired in controversy since at least 2000, when the American Medical Association announced support for OTC availability. Last year, the FDA rejected the manufacturer’s request to approve the pill for OTC sale, citing concerns over “potential behavioral implications for younger adolescents”. The decision was criticised by advocates of EC as being based on political considerations rather than scientific reasons. The Government Accountability Office, a congressional watchdog also faulted the decision process. The FDA has also revised the minimum age of customers from 16 to 17 to now, 18.

Currently, the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee is holding hearings on the confirmation of the FDA Commissioner nominee, Dr. von Eschenbach. Senators Patty Murray(D) and Hillary Clinton(D) have held up the approval pending progress on the pill’s approval process. Plan B was endorsed by a F.D.A. committee three years ago but had been denied approval for OTC sale by higher officials in the FDA. During the nomination of the last FDA Commissioner, Dr. Lester M. Crawford, Senators raised the issue and went ahead with the nomination after getting assurances that the drug’s approval would be given in a timely manner. The deadlines set then were not met.

Senator Clinton was reported as saying: “Like so much of this government in the past five and a half years, it has been turned into a political football, and you’re on the field. This is not just about Plan B. Once we start politicizing the F.D.A. there is no stopping. It is essential that we draw a line, and we are drawing a line right here.”

In the confirmation hearings, Dr. Von Eschenbach said he would not take political orders on scientific matters. “No one told me what I could or should do,” he said.

The FDA statement said that its latest decision was to approve OTC sale was “the result of a thoughtful and comprehensive scientific and public policy process undertaken by the Agency to resolve the novel and significant issues presented by the Sponsor’s amended application.”

Sale of oral contraceptives otherwise continues to require prescription by a state-licensed doctor, according to FDA regulation.

Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Typhoon Frank stormed across the Philippine Sea June 21, 2008 capsizing numerous boats, killing hundreds and leaving an estimated 1,330 missing in total including 820 passengers and crew from the MV Princess of the Stars ferry.

Since then Disaster Victim Identification (DVI) teams in Cebu City, Philippines made up of experts from the Philippines National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), the International Commission on Missing Persons (ICMP). and INTERPOL have painstakingly matched DNA from recovered bodies to that of blood samples donated by relatives of those still missing.

“The 23,000-ton vessel was also carrying tens of thousands of pounds of commercial insecticide and many bodies still remain trapped inside the wreckage” according to a recent press release from the ICMP.

“With fingerprint identification out of the question for most of the victims, and dental records not available, this leaves only DNA as a means of identification, with samples from recovered victims matched to those provided by the missing passengers’ relatives.”

An NBI-DVI report explains “DNA matches are made by comparing profiles from victims to a database of profiles from their relatives. A minimum of two close relatives [are] sought for each individual.”

NBI-DVI has so far collected 1,916 blood samples from relatives of missing victims representing 809 missing persons. These samples are then matched against the 318 DNA samples from recovered bodies received by the ICMP.

“Almost three months have passed since our country was struck by one of the worst typhoons in memory, with ‘Frank’ causing the sinking of the Princess of the Stars with hundreds of passengers and crew on board,” said NBI Director Nestor M. Mantaring in the press release.

“The NBI, through its DVI team, was tasked [with identifying] the victims of this tragedy. With help from INTERPOL and the ICMP, we have reached the 100th DNA-matched result which led to the identification and release of the bodies to their respective families.

“We are committed to doing this until the last possible victim is identified and returned to their family,” he concluded.

Thursday, November 25, 2021

The Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) raised interest rates by 25 basis points to 0.75% during its last policy meeting of the year yesterday, after the rate of consumer price inflation was recorded at 4.9% in the third quarter, the highest since December 2007.

The hike to the national official cash rate (OCR) was widely expected by economists and the markets alike: 21 of the 23 economists surveyed in a November 15-19 Reuters poll predicted an increase of 25 basis points, while the other two projected an increase by 50 basis points, to 1%.

New Zealand’s handling of COVID-19 included injecting “huge amounts of fiscal and monetary stimulus” into the economy, according to The Guardian, in line with other major economies, which has pushed the unemployment rate to the lowest and inflation to its highest in over a decade. Stimulus spending and low interest rates, along with a shortage in housing led home prices to double in the last seven years, the least affordable of the OECD nations, according to Reuters.

A statement from the Reserve Bank said the “near-term rise in inflation [accentuated] by higher oil prices, rising transport costs and the impact of supply shortfalls” are risking “generating more generalised price rises”, as reported by ABC News. The RBNZ forecasts rates would rise to 2.5% by 2023, and still higher by 2024, according to Reuters; however, medians from a Friday article predicted the OCR would reach only 2% by year-end 2023, below what it was in 2014.

More recent projections include to 2% by mid-2022 according to economist at Capital Economics Ben Udy, to a high of 3% by Q3 2023 according to acting chief economist at Westpac Michael Gordon, including a 0.5% rate hike during the RBNZ’s next meeting in February, as reported by The Guardian.

Yesterday’s announcement came after a widely-expected rate hike from 0.25% to 0.5% on October 6, the first in seven years, as part of the RBNZ’s tightening cycle initially slated to begin August but pushed back due to the Delta variant of COVID-19 and lockdown in the capital city Auckland. Senior market strategist at the Bank of New Zealand Jason Wong told Reuters then: “We’re on a path towards a series of rate hikes and the market is well priced for that.”

RBNZ Governor Adrian Orr told reporters yesterday “we see steady steps of 25 basis points back to levels where the OCR is marginally above the neutral rate as the most balanced approach we can take”, though Reuters reports the bank had considered a range of options, including a 50 basis point hike.

Orr added on housing, “Homeowners who have just entered the market with extremely high leverage levels have to be incredibly wary and have to understand they have to weather the higher interest rates”, after earlier taxes levied on property investors failed to cool rising house prices, which Reuters reports the RBNZ believes are above their sustainable level, and at increased chance for a correction. He also defended the stimulus but noted the growth in household debt ensuing.

While countries globally are winding down pandemic-related stimulus measures, according to Reuters, there has been pushback from some countries when it comes to raising interest rates: in the United States, the inflation rate recently rose to 6.2%, the highest in 31 years, which has led some economists to put pressure on Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell to accelerate the process of tapering its monthly bond purchases, according to the Associated Press. The Bank of England and European Central Bank (ECB) also both withstood criticism for a forecasted rise in inflationary pressures, according to The Guardian and Reuters.

ECB President Christine Lagarde told the European Parliament on November 15 “an undue tightening of financing conditions is not desirable, and would represent an unwarranted headwind for the recovery”, adding “[i]f we were to take any tightening measures now, it could cause far more harm than it would do any good”, as reported by Reuters.

Australia’s Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) maintained its position that interest rates are not likely to rise until 2024. RBA Governor Philip Lowe told an Australian Businesses Economists lunch last week “the latest data and forecasts do not warrant an increase in the cash rate in 2022”, and for one to be considered by the board “[t]he economy and inflation would have to turn out very differently from our central scenario”, according to ABC News.

However, several central banks have increased rates ahead of even New Zealand: Reuters names Norway, the Czech Republic and South Korea, which is expected to raise rates again in a meeting today.

Reuters reports the New Zealand dollar fell 0.6% due to some investors predicting a higher hike, and both 2- and 10-year government bonds slipped by 10 basis points each.

Sunday, January 21, 2007

In the United Kingdom, an anti-pollution operation is under way after the stricken ship MSC Napoli started to leak dangerous heavy fuel oil.

The heavy fuel oil that is leaking from the beached Italian ship is extremely dangerous for the environment. Fear of pollution increased after the ship was further damaged during storms last Thursday. MSC Napoli was beached by Devon coastguards after it suffered heavy structual damage in the gale force storms of Thursday, 18 January 2007, that wreaked havoc across Northern Europe. The ship, which contains 160 containers of hazardous chemical substances, is listing at 35 degrees.

The entire 26-man crew was rescued by navy helicopters Thursday after severe gales. Cracks were found on both sides of the ship, but the current oil leak was not expected.

Around 2,400 containers were carried by the 62,000 tonne ship, some of which contain potentially dangerous hazardous chemicals.

The Coastguards have reported that up to 200 of the containers carrying materials such as perfume and battery acid are loose from the ship and they are looking for missing containers. South African stainless steel producer Columbus Stainless confirmed on Friday that there was at least 1,000 tonnes of nickel on board MSC Napoli.

A hole in the ship flooded the engine room and there’s now fears that the ship will break up. Saturday MSC Napoli was towed to Portland when a ”structural failure” forced the salvage team to beach it. As the storms have continued MSC Napoli has been further damaged.

The authorities have warned people about the pollution, which already has reached the beaches at Devon, but many want to see it on their own. Police have closed Branscombe Beach as more than 20 containers have broken up scattering their contents along the beach.

Sky News reported Sunday that the costs of the accident might be very high as thousands of pounds worth of BMW motorbikes, car parts, empty oak barrels and perfume might get lost in flooding containers.