<div class=Wikinews interviews Christopher Beyette, prince of the Principality of Vikesland
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Wikinews interviews Christopher Beyette, prince of the Principality of Vikesland

Thursday, July 10, 2008

Over the past few months, Wikinews reporter Joseph Ford has held several interviews with Kevin Baugh, president of the Republic of Molossia, a micronation located near Dayton, Nevada. This week, Ford had the opportunity to interview another intermicronational leader, Christopher Beyette, prince of the Principality of Vikesland, another micronation located in Manitoba.

At only three years old, the Principality is a relative newcomer to the intermicronational community.

When asked if he considers Vikesland a serious micronation, Prince Christopher said that his country is “a new nation project. Our goal is to eventually become an internationally recognized state with hopefully some sort of small sovereign land base.”

He went on to tell much more about Vikesland, which can be read in the interview below.

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<div class=Ahmadinejad sends letter to George W. Bush
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Ahmadinejad sends letter to George W. Bush

Tuesday, May 9, 2006 For the first time in three decades, direct and at least partially public diplomatic communication will commence between the United States (US) and Iran. Iranian government spokesman Gholam-Hossein Elham said that Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has sent a letter to the U.S. president George W. Bush proposing “new solutions for getting out of international problems and the current fragile situation of the world”.

Mr Gholam-Hossein Elham did not say whether the letter mentioned the nuclear dispute, one of the diplomatic problems currently straining relations between Iran and the USA. This information arrived one day after the Iranian parliament announced that it might retract from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) if Western pressure over its programme was to increase.

Differing reports have been made as to whether or not the letter will be made public, and if so, when. In its online report of 8 May 2006, 09:25 GMT, the BBC quoted Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi as saying that the contents of the letter would be made public once Bush had received it. The updated version of the report of 8 May 2006, 14:52 GMT, quotes Asefi as saying that the contents would be made public “at the right time”. An ABC report quoted Gholam-Hossein Elham as saying “it is not an open letter.”

Iran’s foreign affairs minister, Manouchehr Mottaki, delivered the letter to the United States’ interests section in the Swiss embassy in Tehran on Monday. The United States has not held diplomatic relations with Iran since the 1979 Iranian hostage crisis.

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said “this letter isn’t it. This letter is not the place that one would find an opening to engage on the nuclear issue or anything of the sort.”

“It isn’t addressing the issues that we’re dealing with in a concrete way,” she added.

John R. Bolton, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, also read the letter, saying, “I think it is typical of Iran that when major decisions are about to be taken … that they have tried to throw sand in the eyes of the proponents of the action. That’s what this may be.”

The letter has since been put on an official Iranian website, and on Tuesday, Ahmadinejad said “the letter to US President George Bush carries the Iranian nation’s views and comments on international issues as well as suggestions for resolving the many problems facing humanity.”

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<div class=At least seven dead after bomb blast in Northwestern Pakistan
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At least seven dead after bomb blast in Northwestern Pakistan

Wednesday, February 3, 2010

According to reports, at least eight people, including three United States military personnel and four schoolgirls, were killed earlier today by a roadside bomb near a girls’ school in north-western Pakistan. Another 62 were injured. The incident occurred in a village in the Lower Dir district, near Swat Valley.

The Los Angeles Times reports that the US troops were travelling to the area in a convoy to attend the opening ceremony of the school for girls when the explosion occurred.

In a statement, the US embassy in Pakistan commented that “three Americans were killed and two injured in a terrorist bomb explosion at about 11:20am today in the Lower Dir district of Pakistan’s federally-administered tribal areas.

“The Americans were US military personnel in Pakistan to conduct training at the invitation of the Pakistan Frontier Corps. They were in Lower Dir to attend the inauguration ceremony of a school for girls that had recently been renovated with US humanitarian assistance,” it added.

Mohammed Wakeel, the chief doctor at the local hospital, confirmed that some of the dead were schoolgirls, saying: “We have four dead bodies [in the hospital]. They are schoolgirls aged ten to fifteen. We have received 65 injured; most of them are girls.”

Rema Bibi, a sixth-grader, was in the school when the explosion happened. She recalled her experiences, stating that “We were all busy with classwork when the a part of the roof collapsed,” as quoted by the Los Angeles Times.

The Taliban, meanwhile, claimed responsibility for the attack. “We claim responsibility for the blast,” said a Taliban spokesman, Azam Tariq.

The US does not officially have stationed troops in Pakistan, although there a few personnel are there. Their duties are primarily to train and advise Pakistani security forces over tactics against local rebel groups.

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<div class=At least 40 dead after string of attacks in Pakistan
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At least 40 dead after string of attacks in Pakistan

Friday, October 16, 2009

Pakistani officials have said that five attacks on government sites across the country have killed at least forty people. The latest attack occurred late on Thursday at a government residential area in Peshawar. Officials said they suspect Taliban militants for being responsible for the attacks.

Authorities said that the situation in the eastern city of Lahore was under control, following separate attacks on the country’s Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) and two police training centers.

Gunmen with at least one suicide jacket stormed the FIA building at mid-morning. The FIA is an agency responsible for investigating matters relating to terrorism and immigration. Early last year, the building was the target of a suicide truck bomb that killed more than 20 people.

“Reportedly, four men attacked the FIA building and initial reports are that two of them have been killed,” said the provincial interior secretary, Nadeem Hassan Asif Punjab.

Soon after the assault on the FIA began, gunmen targeted two police training centers on the outskirts of Lahore. In the suburb of Manawa, gunmen targeted a center that militants attacked earlier this year. In the other incident, attackers with suicide jackets in Bedian climbed over a wall to gain access to the Elite Force Training Center. It took several hours before security forces were able to gain control of all the sites.

Reportedly, four men attacked the FIA building and initial reports are that two of them have been killed.

The attacks in Pakistan’s east took place hours after a suicide car bomber targeted a police station at a garrison town about an hour’s drive from the northwestern city of Peshawar.

Speaking to local media, Pakistani Interior Minister Rehman Malik said intelligence agencies had expected attacks on security sites in the country and that authorities will remain on high-alert. He said the recent violence shows the militants want to bring the frontlines from Pakistan’s violent northwest to Punjab province.

On Saturday, militants with ties to Punjab, as well as the South Waziristan tribal region, assaulted the Pakistani army’s headquarters in Rawalpindi.

Pakistani intelligence officials believe the attacks are a reaction to the military’s raids on South Waziristan. The military is expected to launch a full-scale assault on Taliban militants in the region bordering Afghanistan.

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<div class=Sulpicio Lines pay PHP6.2 million for death of man in 1998 ferry disaster
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Sulpicio Lines pay PHP6.2 million for death of man in 1998 ferry disaster

Thursday, July 3, 2008

Sulpicio Lines, a ferry company in the Philippines, have been ordered to pay PH?6.24 million over the death of a man on board MV Princess of the Orient, which sank in stormy weather off Batangas in 1998. Ernesto Unabia was one of seventy confirmed fatalities in the disaster, which left eighty more missing.

Unabia was a 37-year-old seaman who worked on international vessels, and earned a ?120,000 salary. According to widow Verna Unabia, who filed the case with her three children, he was going to work on for thirteen more years and then retire. Unabia’s case is the first to be concluded, although most victims settled with Sulpicio without claims being filed.

Although Sulpicio lost their appeal several weeks ago, reporters have only today received access to documentation concerning the case.

Under Philippines law, employers are responsible for their employees actions. However, in Pestaño vs. Sumayang the Supreme court ruled that if it could be proved an employer had taken appropriate diligence when selecting employers then they could not be held responsible.

It was viewed that Sulpicio was responsible as they failed to remove captain Esrum Mahilum from the vessel despite a number of incidents involving the ferry while he was in command of it. Princess of the Orient had struck the bottom of Manila‘s North Harbour, sideswiped a container ship and suffered a crippling engine fire while berthed at North Harbour, being towed first to Cebu and ultimately Singapore for repairs.

Despite these serious incidents while the ship was under Mahilum’s care, however, he was not removed from captaincy or even disciplined. A Board of Marine Inquiry (BMI) investigation into the ultimate sinking of the Princess of the Orient would later say that Sulpicio did not have enough initiative to take action against him. The court ruled this made them responsible for his actions.

On September 18, 1998, the day of the sinking, Captain Mahilum was warned before starting out that severe weather was approaching. He wrongly calculated that the storm was safely distanced and left port regardless, running into the storm two hours later. Princess of the Orient began listing to the left and a distress call was sent, but she sank before help arrived. The BMI’s report blamed the disaster on the captain making “erroneous maneuvers of the vessel before it sank.” He remains missing to this day.

After the court ruled that this made Sulpicio liable to pay civil damages an appeal was filed, in which Sulpicio said that the captain “valiantly tried to save his ship up to the bitter end. He heroically went down with his ship.” Although he failed to properly supervise the abandon ship order he gave, he was last seen helping passengers to board life rafts. Sulpicio further alleged that careful analysis of the BMI report showed he did not directly cause the disaster.

The court rejected the appeal, with judge Estella Alma Singco saying that while the failure to remove the captain wasn’t the direct cause, “such failure doubtless contributed materially to the loss of life.” Sulpicio were ordered to pay P6.240 million in lost earnings, P100,000 moral damages, P50,000 indemnity – which Sulpicio had already offered to all the families of the deceased – and P50,000 in pursuer’s litigation costs.

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<div class=Rolls Royce confirms its SUV name as the Cullinan
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Rolls Royce confirms its SUV name as the Cullinan

Friday, February 16, 2018

Rolls Royce Motor Cars announced on Tuesday that the upcoming sport utility vehicle (SUV), its newest model, will bear the name Cullinan.

It is named after the greatest diamond ever found, which was found in 1905 and clocked in at 3106.75 carats. This was not a surprise since the entire project was called Cullinan.

The company has kept the project largely under wraps for the past three years as the little, other than the name, amounts of information was in the public domain.

This honestly is a stark departure from the traditions of luxury. The company has never produced a “high bodied car”, a rich folk term for the SUV used by the company. It was fully four-door sedans and two-door coupes that defined luxury. The new Cullinan is a fresh new look into the automative world. As the “High-bodied car” is slated for release in 2019, Rolls Royce is following the trend of the other competitors such as Bentley with its Bentayga and the Urus from Lamborghini.

Any thoughts on the name?

[edit]

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<div class=Darling announces UK budget for 2009
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Darling announces UK budget for 2009

Thursday, April 23, 2009

The United Kingdom Chancellor of the Exchequer, Alistair Darling, yesterday announced the 2009 budget. The budget is an annual audit of the nation’s finances, and decides what should be done with taxpayers’ money.

The chancellor fell under scorn for his GDP growth forecasts, which are considered to be too optimistic in predicting that Britain will bounce back from its weakest economic performance since the end of the second world war. Darling forecast GDP growth of 3.5% in 2011, even after he was made to downgrade his predictions. He expects a record expansion of 1.25% next year, but chief UK economist Howard Archer disagrees, calling Darling’s predictions “mildly optimistic in the near term and much more optimistic in the long term.”

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Was the increase in the ISA limit “too little, too late”?
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His plans for savers and pensioners, however, were commended by many, though was also criticised by a large portion of the populace. In the budget, Darling increased the amount that savers can put into an Individual Savings Account (ISA) from £7,200 to £10,200, of which £5,100 can be saved in cash. These increased limits will be available only to people aged over 50 from 6 October this year, and will not be available to everyone until 6 April next year. A number of financial experts described the move as being “too little, too late”, and Rumina Hassam, of price comparison website uSwitch.com, said: “The government’s decision to increase the cash ISA limit by £1,500 to £5,100 for the over 50’s is a just another kick in the teeth for the majority of savers as they will have to wait even longer to benefit. There is no doubt that savers have been sacrificed as a result of the plummeting base rate, bringing savings rates to an all time low.”

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<div class=Chile’s President-elect’s battle with delinquency becomes personal
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Chile’s President-elect’s battle with delinquency becomes personal

Saturday, February 27, 2010

Late on Thursday, at approximately 21:20 local time, the home of Cristián Larroulet, the nominated Ministry General Secretariat of the Presidency under President-elect Sebastián Piñera of Chile, was burglarized while his wife and son were home alone. Two suspects physically assaulted them, before making off with valuables.

Future Ministry Larroulet lives in the Santiago commune of Las Condes. Two subjects, presumed to be teenage delinquents, were surprised to find Larroulet’s wife, María Isabel Philippi, and son, Matías (aged twenty), on the premises. The two suspects, who used metal beams as weapons, proceeded to tie up their two victims with shoe laces, and assault them. Within ten minutes the suspects, whom the Chilean media describes as “anti-socials”, rampaged the home, leaving with jewelry, electronics including a laptop and an iPod, and other items.

Piñera arrived at the home at 00:10 hours on Friday in solidarity and support of Larroulet and his family. Both the identity and whereabouts of the two suspects is unknown at this time. The Chilean Carabineros (the uniformed national police) of the OS-9 force will continue with a full investigation. Larroulet stated on Friday morning that both his wife and son are in good condition following what he described as a “very raw experience.”

In the 1990’s, Chile’s crime rate was below that of the United States. In the past decade, however, Chileans have experienced an increase in violent burglary crimes, which are currently rated as moderate to high. One of Piñera’s main campaign promises was to combat crime in Chile, having posted billboards throughout the country reading, “Delinquents, your party is over.” Larroulet has criticized the politics directing citizen security under the current government party, the Concertación, stating, “I have no doubt that those governing the Concertación are missing a clearer political determination for combating delinquency,” adding “the importance is in condemning these acts and voice that combating delinquency is a priority for all Chileans.”

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Say No To Junk Food If You Want To Lead A Healthy Life}

Say No To Junk Food If You Want To Lead A Healthy Life}

Submitted by: Greg Garner

In a nutshell, junk foods have no nutrition. They often have loads of fat which can lead to negative health effects on those who regularly consume the products. So why do people eat junk food? Well, because its tasty! However, as the name suggests, junk food is primarily junk for our body.

Irrespective of how the manufacturers label them, junk foods are very high on fat and sugar content. The ill effects of junk food would be pronounced when consumed regularly. In general, teenagers are huge consumers of junk food, as they survive of stuff like fries, chips, and a host of other snack foods which are highly publicized as well, thus resulting in quite an unhealthy lifestyle. Even though a vast majority of such junk foods have zero nutritional value, a few junk foods could well form a part of your diet, even if eaten in moderate quantities.

Irrespective of your age, junk food can be bad, especially if you have no control on how much quantity you consume it in. Its primarily because junk foods fail to balance the level of energy which you should consume, and your body craves for more junk food once you start eating it. Also, with more consumption of junk food, it would be very difficult for you to concentrate on your normal work since you just acquire fats from junk foods, and not quite healthy ingredients. Junk food also means that you would be having less of oxygen which would lead to poor functioning of the brain.

The ingredients which make junk food so tasty and attractive make them bad for your bodys health as well. Apart from a few manufacturers products, the content of fat in junk food has quite high levels of cholesterol. And sodium salts and sugar also have their ill effects on health. In addition, high content with too many calories and too much sugar leads to obesity. And salt and cholesterol are generally believed to set off blood pressure, heart disease and strokes. When consumed excessively, these salts can have a bad affect on the kidneys, as well.

Bad Effects of Junk Food

The bad effects of junk foods have been talked about for decades. The bad effects of these can be classified into short term and long term bad effects as follows:

– Lower energy level: Even though a person eats enough quantity of junk, it will still result in them feeling weak since it hardly contains any nutritional value.

– Lack of concentration: Excessive consumption of junk food which is high on fat and oil content, can lead to lower concentration at work, making people feel drowsy, and also decrease their blood circulation.

Junk food also has high levels of cholesterol which can affect the liver, and regular consumption may damage it or disturb the metabolism. So it can be said that having junk food occasionally is fine, but in excess can be very harmful.

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<div class=Spam mailer gets 9 year jail sentence
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Spam mailer gets 9 year jail sentence

Friday, April 8, 2005

A Virginia, USA jury found a man, described as one of the top ten spammers in the world, guilty on Friday of the felony crime of using an alias to send massive bulk e-mailings. The 9 year prison sentence handed down by the jury was put on hold by the Loudoun County Circuit Judge Thomas Horne, allowing the perpetrator, Jeremy Jaynes of Raleigh, N.C., to seek an appeal.

Jaynes, who used the alias “Gaven Stubberfield” as well as others, peddled junk products and pornography. Prosecutors say he grossed up to $750,000 a month by sending at least 10 million emails a day using 16 high-speed lines.

The case was prosecuted in Virginia because it is the home to the leading internet service provider AOL, the company who instigated the charges. This is the first time a conviction has been gained using the legislation enacted in 2003 to curb bulk e-mail, aka spam, from unsolicited distribution into users mailboxes.

Jaynes remains free on a $1 million bond while his case is appealed. Prosecutors differed with his attorneys on the prospects of Jaynes winning his appeal.

His attorney, David Oblon, though never denying that his client was in the “marketing” business, argued that nine years was too long to sentence an out of state resident for a law that had taken effect just two weeks earlier.

“We have no doubt that we will win on appeal,” Oblon told reporters. “Therefore any sentence is somewhat moot. Still, the sentence is not what we recommended and we’re disappointed.”

Prosecuter Lisa Hicks-Thomas said she was pleased with the outcome and confident the law would be upheld on appeal.

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