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Thursday, February 14, 2008

According to the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE), the 2007 rate of employment in Brazil was 2.2% higher then figures for 2006. According to the IBGE the employment figures are at their highest since 2001.

The IBGE reported growth in employment levels for all the 14 regions surveyed, with the highest rates of increase being recorded in the states of São Paulo (with an increase of 3.5%) and the state of Paraná (with an increase of 3.1%). Região Nordeste and Minas Gerais had increases of 1.4% and 1.5% respectively.

According to the IBGE, the industries with the biggest increase in employment figures were food and drink, transport, metal and machinery. The biggest falls in employment figures were in footwear, woodwork and clothing.

Saturday, September 3, 2016

As the Hong Kong legislative election approaches, six candidates considered to be in the pan-democracy camp suspended their campaigns on Friday. They were performing poorly in public opinion polls, and encouraged supporters to vote for other pan-democracy candidates instead.

The candidates suspending their campaigns were Sumly Chan from the Civic Party, Kalvin Ho Kai-ming from the Association for Democracy and People’s Livelihood, Suzanne Wu from the Labour Party, and independents Andy Chui, Paul Zimmerman, and Clarice Cheung.

Sumly Chan from the Civic Party and Kalvin Ho Kai-ming from the Association for Democracy and People’s Livelihood were running for the District Council (Second) functional constituency, commonly referred as “Super District Council” seats. Both of them suggested their supporters vote for pan-democratic candidates with a higher likelihood of winning, to continue the pan-democrats’ majority in the “Super District Council” seats. Kalvin Ho Kai-ming asked voters to choose a candidate with similar stance and ideology to his own party’s.

The four other candidates were all running for geographical constituencies. Both Andy Chui and Paul Zimmerman were running for the Hong Kong Island constituency, Labour Party chairwoman Suzanne Wu was running for the Kowloon East constituency, and independent Clarice Cheung was running for the New Territories West constituency. Zimmerman recommended supporters vote for Demosisto’s Nathan Law instead.

All of these candidates performed poorly in the public opinion polls. The 2016 Hong Kong legislative election is to be held on Sunday. It elects 70 legislators to the Legislative Council.

Thursday, June 7, 2007

When the Philadelphia City Council broke its 80 year old building lease with the Cradle of Liberty Council, it set itself on a course to be the largest city in the nation without its own Boy Scout building. The scouts must abandon their building before the end of July. Local scouts now have to go to suburbs for services.

Wednesday, June 30, 2021

Earlier this month, Wikinews spoke with University of Sussex professor of economics L. Alan Winters regarding the decision of the United Kingdom to leave the European Union (EU) in the 2016 Brexit referendum and the subsequent negotiations leading up to and following the EU–UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement of December, which he has researched extensively. In a call, a Wikinews correspondent spoke with Professor Winters about recent developments in UK trade policy to learn more about his observations.

Winters is professor of economics at the University of Sussex, as well as founding director and fellow of the UK Trade Policy Observatory (UKTPO). His career spans over 15 years, including as chief economist at the Department for International Development, director of the Development Research Group of the World Bank, CEO of the Migrating Out of Poverty Research Programme Consortium and advisor for the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, the Commonwealth Secretariat, the European Commission, the European Parliament, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, the World Trade Organization and the Inter-American Development Bank.

Three reports where Winters is listed as an author were used as reference during the interview: “COVID-19 will reinforce the Brexit shock”, “The Costs of Brexit” and “Taking stock of the new UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement: governance, state subsidies and the level playing field”.

Winters was awarded the title “Companion of the Most Honourable Order of the Bath”, styled C.B., on June 16, 2012 as part of the 2012 Birthday Honours.

A compilation of brief news reports for Sunday, May 20, 2007.

Full report: David Hicks transferred from Guantanamo Bay to Australian prison

After five years in U.S. military custody, David Hicks has returned to Australia. Hicks was taken to the maximum security Yatala Labour Prison, where he will serve the rest of his 9 month sentence.

His lawyer David McLeod told reporters: “David is well and he enjoyed the trip. … He was very glad to be back on Australian soil.”

The flight in a government-charted airplane took 24 hours and is estimated to have cost 500,000 Australian dollars. According to his lawyer, Hicks was grateful to the taxpayers for paying his repatriation.

Hicks pleaded guilty before a special military court to providing material support to the Taliban. He was sentenced on March 30 to seven years in prison, but only needed to complete nine months of his penalty, which expires in December.

Related news

• “First Guantánamo Bay prisoner sentenced” — Wikinews, April 1, 2007

Sources

• “Hicks spends first night on Aussie soil” — Herald Sun, May 21, 2007
• “David Hicks back in Australia” — Herald Sun, May 20, 2007
• Dan Silkstone. “‘Overjoyed’ Hicks touches down” — The Age, May 20, 2007

The New York Times reports that the United States are making monthly payments to Pakistan, totalling about $1 billion annually, for their efforts against Al-Qaeda and Taliban militants. The so-called coalition support funds continued unchanged after President Pervez Musharraf decided to cut back on patrols along the border with Afghanistan.

“They send us a bill, and we just pay it. … Nobody can really explain what we are getting for this money or even where it’s going,” the New York Times article quotes a senior military official involved.

Sources

• David E. Sanger and David Rohde. “U.S. Pays Pakistan to Fight Terror, but Patrols Ebb” — New York Times, May 20, 2007
• “`US aid to Pak should be tied to performance on war on terror`” — Zee News, May 20, 2007

Prime Minister of Israel Ehud Olmert declared that: “If the measured steps we are taking, in the political and military sphere, do not bring about the desired calm, we will be forced to intensify our response.”

Olmert held Hamas and the Islamic Jihad militants responsible for the escalation in rocket attacks on Israel over the past week. Israel answered with daily bombardments on Palestine for the past six days. Meanwhile, the ceasefire between Hamas and Fatah seems to be holding, after a week of increased factional violence in Palestine.

Related news

• “Israel responds to Hamas rockets with air strike on Gaza, killing four” — Wikinews, May 17, 2007

Sources

• Reuters. “Israel threatens stronger military steps in Gaza” — Stuff.co.nz, May 21, 2007
• Jeffrey Heller (Reuters). “Israel to “intensify” Gaza strikes” — Swissinfo, May 20, 2007
• AP. “Israel Strikes Hamas Militants Anew” — CBS, May 20, 2007
• Sarah El Deeb (AP). “Israel strikes Hamas militants anew” — The Kansas City Star, May 20, 2007

On October 14, 2008, Canadians will be heading to the polls for the federal election. Liberal candidate Dr. Eric Hoskins is standing for election in the riding of Haldimand—Norfolk.

Wikinews contacted Dr. Eric Hoskins, to talk about the issues facing Canadians, and what they and their party would do to address them. Wikinews is in the process of contacting every candidate, in every riding across the country, no matter their political stripe. All interviews are conducted over e-mail, and interviews are published unedited, allowing candidates to impart their full message to our readers, uninterrupted.

For more information, visit the campaign’s official website, listed below.

Friday, April 10, 2009

Two people are dead at a Michigan, United States community college in what police are calling a murder-suicide on Friday, the Detroit Free Press reports.

The victims, a 28-year-old man and a 20-year-old woman, were found in the Fine Arts Building of Henry Ford Community College in Dearborn, Michigan.

The Free Press reports that the suspected gunman entered classroom F-111 with a shotgun, killed the female and then shot himself. The two were in the same theater class, but police have yet to determine if there was a further relationship between the two.

“The original call was some kind of assault … shots in the building,” Police Deputy Chief Gregg Brighton told the Free Press.

“Officers responded to the scene, were able to get a perimeter on the building,” Brighton said. “An entry team entered the south hallway … as they entered they heard another gunshot. Officers were able to enter one of the rooms, and discovered two deceased parties. We cleared the building.”

Dearborn police and campus police secured the crime scene after evacuating some students from the building. The Free Press also reports that four Michigan State Police detectives are assisting local authorities in the investigation.

The school was locked down for several hours shortly after a 911 call was received. The lockdown has now been lifted.

The school will be closed for the rest of the day and the school will be offering counseling services.

Thursday, July 12, 2007

Two 16-year-old British girls were arrested in Accra, Ghana earlier this month for apparently attempting to smuggle £300,000 worth of cocaine in laptop bags.

Yasemin Vatansever, of Cypriot descent and Yatunde Diya of Nigerian descent were arrested as they attempted to board a British Airways flight from the Kotoka International Airport on July 2, 2007. The arrest was by the Ghanaian Narcotic Control Board. They were alleged to be carrying 6.5 kg of drugs. They are currently in Ghana police custody and have been visited by British High Commission staff.

The girls who are both students from Islington, north London, had left home after informing their families they were making a school trip to France. They are expected to be charged with “possessing narcotic drugs and attempting to export drugs”, for which they could be jailed for up to ten years if found guilty.

The arrest is part of the Operation Westbridge project set up in November 2006 as a collaboration between the Ghanaian Narcotic Control Board and HM Revenue and Customs of the UK. It is to curb the influx of drugs into Europe and the UK through West Africa which is now being used as a transit point from South America. The project involves the provision of technical and operational expertise to the Ghanaian teams and training in the use of specialist scanning equipment. Ghana is the first country in Africa to introduce such equipment.

A compilation of brief news reports for Sunday, May 20, 2007.

Full report: David Hicks transferred from Guantanamo Bay to Australian prison

After five years in U.S. military custody, David Hicks has returned to Australia. Hicks was taken to the maximum security Yatala Labour Prison, where he will serve the rest of his 9 month sentence.

His lawyer David McLeod told reporters: “David is well and he enjoyed the trip. … He was very glad to be back on Australian soil.”

The flight in a government-charted airplane took 24 hours and is estimated to have cost 500,000 Australian dollars. According to his lawyer, Hicks was grateful to the taxpayers for paying his repatriation.

Hicks pleaded guilty before a special military court to providing material support to the Taliban. He was sentenced on March 30 to seven years in prison, but only needed to complete nine months of his penalty, which expires in December.

Related news

• “First Guantánamo Bay prisoner sentenced” — Wikinews, April 1, 2007

Sources

• “Hicks spends first night on Aussie soil” — Herald Sun, May 21, 2007
• “David Hicks back in Australia” — Herald Sun, May 20, 2007
• Dan Silkstone. “‘Overjoyed’ Hicks touches down” — The Age, May 20, 2007

The New York Times reports that the United States are making monthly payments to Pakistan, totalling about $1 billion annually, for their efforts against Al-Qaeda and Taliban militants. The so-called coalition support funds continued unchanged after President Pervez Musharraf decided to cut back on patrols along the border with Afghanistan.

“They send us a bill, and we just pay it. … Nobody can really explain what we are getting for this money or even where it’s going,” the New York Times article quotes a senior military official involved.

Sources

• David E. Sanger and David Rohde. “U.S. Pays Pakistan to Fight Terror, but Patrols Ebb” — New York Times, May 20, 2007
• “`US aid to Pak should be tied to performance on war on terror`” — Zee News, May 20, 2007

Prime Minister of Israel Ehud Olmert declared that: “If the measured steps we are taking, in the political and military sphere, do not bring about the desired calm, we will be forced to intensify our response.”

Olmert held Hamas and the Islamic Jihad militants responsible for the escalation in rocket attacks on Israel over the past week. Israel answered with daily bombardments on Palestine for the past six days. Meanwhile, the ceasefire between Hamas and Fatah seems to be holding, after a week of increased factional violence in Palestine.

Related news

• “Israel responds to Hamas rockets with air strike on Gaza, killing four” — Wikinews, May 17, 2007

Sources

• Reuters. “Israel threatens stronger military steps in Gaza” — Stuff.co.nz, May 21, 2007
• Jeffrey Heller (Reuters). “Israel to “intensify” Gaza strikes” — Swissinfo, May 20, 2007
• AP. “Israel Strikes Hamas Militants Anew” — CBS, May 20, 2007
• Sarah El Deeb (AP). “Israel strikes Hamas militants anew” — The Kansas City Star, May 20, 2007