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Friday, May 6, 2005

Three months after the FBI raided the offices of the Dorean Group in Union City, California, neighboring companies in the same office park have received letters claiming that rent for the office park should now be paid to the Dorean Group. The owner of the office park, Hanover Properties, insists that they have not sold the park and called the Dorean Group’s claim fraudulent.

The first letter from the Dorean Group, dated May 2nd, 2005, purported to “inform [the tenants] of the change in ownership of the property [the tenants] now occupy,” and asked that “payment of rents be sent” to the principals of the Dorean Group. The letter also included notarized documents authorizing the sale by an alleged agent of the current owner, Hanover Properties, a “Julia Pantibratyuk.”

On the subsequent day, Hanover Properties responded in a letter to the other tenants of the park. They noted that they had not sold the office park to the Dorean Group, but that they had evicted the Dorean Group from the premises on April 26. They added that, “We do not know who Julia Pantbratyuk^[sic] is.”

The letters were provided to Wikinews reporter Pingswept by an employee of one of the companies in the office park.

Saturday, April 17, 2010

In a new setback to the Thai government’s efforts to ease mounting political tensions, protest leaders escaped from their hotel Friday after security forces arrived to arrest them.

One, Arisman Pongruangrong, climbed down three floors using a rope, and was rushed away by supporters thronging the building. The police say Arisman led recent rallies at the national parliament, the election commission, and satellite transmission bases.

Officials earlier Friday said the government is preparing to arrest people linked to violent clashes with security forces last Saturday.

Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban, Thai security chief, announced the raid on the hotel as it was unfolding, saying that a Special Forces unit had closed in around a downtown Bangkok hotel.

“As I am speaking, the government’s special team is surrounding the SC Park Hotel, where we have learned that there are terrorists and some of their leaders hiding,” Suthep said.

A spokesman for the governing Democrat Party, Baranuj Smuthararaks, says arrest warrants have been issued for those suspected of being involved in the violence. Some of the suspects have been identified from photos taken during the clashes.

“Right now the government’s focusing on issuing warrants for acts of terrorism by the people who fortunately have been captured in action [in photos] by both the local and international media,” he said.

According to the New York Times, as many as five protest leaders had been staying at the same hotel as Pongruangrong. Those leaders later appeared together at a protest rally in Bangkok.

“I would like to thank all of the people who saved me,” Arisman said. “You have saved democracy.”The government says armed men infiltrated protester ranks Saturday and fired on troops trying to disperse a rally. Five soldiers and 19 protesters died during the clashes.

Thailand is facing its most severe political crisis in almost 20 years. The anti-government movement, led by the United Democratic Front against Dictatorship or UDD, demands that the government step down and call fresh elections.

UDD supporters, known as red shirts, have held protests in Bangkok for more than a month.

The UDD largely supports former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted in a coup in 2006 and remains overseas to avoid a jail sentence for corruption. Mr. Thaksin has strong support among the rural and urban poor, as well among some sections of the army and police.

Some parties in the governing coalition want to set a clear time frame for elections to ease tensions. But the government says it will only call elections once the political situation has cooled.

Saturday, September 4, 2021

Latrobe City in Victoria, Australia recorded its first COVID-19 case in over seven months, after it was announced a person in Traralgon had tested positive to COVID-19 on Sunday.

The case has been linked to Melbourne’s current outbreak. The Victorian government’s COVID-19 response commander Jeroen Weimar confirmed “this individual travelled to a funeral in Melbourne”, and no other people within the person’s household are at risk.

The case – which is Latrobe City’s first active case since January 12 – is one of 92 community transmission cases recorded on Sunday in Victoria. There are currently two COVID-19 testing sites in Latrobe City – one at The Healthcare Centre at 185-189 Princes Drive in Morwell, the other at Australian Clinical Labs at 10-12 Grey Street in Traralgon.

A drive-through testing site began operating at 12PM on Sunday, which is located at Dorevitch Pathology in Latrobe Regional Hospital. A pop-up testing site has also been established at the Gippsland Regional Indoor Sports Stadium. Both sites are located in Traralgon.

Concerning COVID-19 testing, Latrobe City mayor Sharon Gibson told Wikinews via email “I would like to see support from the Government for further Testing Stations to be opened across our City and additional Vaccination doses made available, so that anybody wanting to be vaccinated is able to do so as quickly as possible. We are willing to work with the relevant Agencies to ensure this can be rolled out ASAP.”

Independent state MP for Morwell Russell Northe called for more government support in testing Latrobe City residents. Through email, Northe told Wikinews “I have called upon the State Government to increase the number of testing options for our community given the current demand. Unfortunately despite the best efforts of testers many locals have been turned away from being tested [on Sunday] which understandably has left quite a few residents feeling upset and anxious.”

On Sunday, two COVID-19 exposure sites were recorded in Traralgon, both located at the Traralgon Centre Plaza. One was the Coles supermarket, exposed on August 22 between 11:45AM and 12:05PM, and the other is the food court, exposed on August 27 between 11:10AM and 11:15AM.

Two more exposure incidents were added yesterday – an additional exposure at the above food court between 12:25PM and 2:45PM on August 22, and an exposure at the Traralgon Woolworths on Seymour Street on August 23 between 5:20PM and 5:45PM. Anyone who visited these sites has been urgently advised to receive a COVID-19 test and self-isolate until they receive their results.

In regards to the earlier announcement of exposure sites, Sharon Gibson called upon people who had visited them or had symptoms to get tested. She said “I would urge people to be tested if they were anywhere near the Exposure Sites and if they have any symptoms at all, please go and get tested. Now it is especially important to follow the public health advice.” Gibson added “I would hope the person who has tested positive recovers quickly. As this is the last thing they need, considering they were at a funeral and would be grieving.”

National Party federal MP for Gippsland Darren Chester spoke to Wikinews via email, stating “with [Sunday]’s news of a positive case in Traralgon, it’s important to follow the public health advice, particularly around checking in, physical distancing and hand hygiene. The advice is clear, if you have symptoms, please get tested. Thanks to our frontline staff who are working hard to keep our community safe. I encourage everyone who is eligible for vaccination to make a booking and get the jab, to protect you, your family, and the wider community.”

Russell Northe expressed his hope the circumstances would be handled well in regards to the exposure sites. He wrote “there are a number of local exposure sites which have been announced and hopefully health authorities and contact tracers are able to get on top of the situation prior to it becoming a major issue like we have seen in other communities such as Shepparton.” The City of Greater Shepparton recorded nine COVID-19 cases on Sunday, adding to a total of 92 active cases in the area.

Northe also stated “many community members were shocked to learn on Sunday of an active COVID case in the region. The Latrobe Valley has been without COVID for many months and people are drained and tired by the continuation of lockdowns particularly given the absence of COVID in our community. Obviously the news [on Sunday] is very concerning but I thank local residents who have responded by going to get tested at the earliest possible opportunity.”

Saturday, November 18, 2006

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie’s bodyguards have been accused of saying racial slurs to parents of an Islamic school in south Mumbai, India. The parents have told the media that the bodyguards said “YOU BLOODY INDIANS AND YOU BLOODY MUSLIMS” when they came to pick up their children from the school. The 3 bodyguards were arrested and later released on surety of Rs 25,000.

Brad Pitt appeared in an interview with NDTV and denied all charges on the bodyguards. He said that the bodyguards were fathers too and would never say such a thing. Pitt also said that he would have never even chosen bodyguards who weren’t tolerant towards other religions. “I have to say that we are horrified by these allegations,” Pitt said in an interview for NDTV, which will broadcast tonight.

The incident occurred when the gates of the school, in which they were filming, were opened up to allow parents to pick up their children.

Tuesday, March 8, 2005

The British national airline, British Airways has announced that the former CEO of Aer Lingus, Willie Walsh is to be their new CEO. Mr Walsh is to replace the current CEO, Australian-born Rod Eddington in September after his retirement.

Willie Walsh started as a cadet for Aer Lingus at the age of 17, later becoming a captain of the airline. In 1998, he became the chief-executive of the airline’s charter subsidiary Furtura, and later in 2000 chief finance officer. In the wake of 11th September 2001, he became the chief-executive of Aer Lingus, itself. Worried about what happened to Swissair and Sabena, he looked at the rival Irish airline Ryanair for inspiration and made Aer Lingus in effect a no-frills airline, such as replacing the infamous turquoise uniforms with polo shirts and promoting via the Internet.

Monday, December 28, 2009

The release of the movie Avatar, written and directed by James Cameron, has generated increased interest in the field of constructed language, also known as conlang. Cameron asked American linguistics professor Paul Frommer to develop a language spoken by the extraterrestrial people in the film known as the Na’vi.

Author J. R. R. Tolkien developed Elvish languages for his literary series The Lord of the Rings. The Elvish language was featured in scenes of The Lord of the Rings film trilogy, directed by Peter Jackson.

The Klingon language (tlhIngan Hol) was developed by linguist Marc Okrand, initially for use in the 1984 film Star Trek III: The Search for Spock. Okrand drew inspiration from Klingon lines spoken by actor James Doohan in the film Star Trek: The Motion Picture; Doohan portrayed character Montgomery Scott in the Star Trek series. A dictionary for Klingon developed by Okrand, The Klingon Dictionary sold over 300,000 copies.

Klingon became quite popular and has developed a usage among Star Trek fans. The Klingon Terran Research Ensemble in the Netherlands created an opera in Klingon. The play Hamlet by William Shakespeare was translated into Klingon. A German Trekkie who goes by the moniker Klenginem posted videos to YouTube where he raps songs he translated into Klingon by musician Eminem. Klenginem has been cited recently in pieces on constructed language in The New York Times, ABC News Nightline, and National Public Radio. “You know your alien language has taken off when a German guy translates rap songs into it,” said National Public Radio of Klenginem.

Linguistics professor Frommer received his PhD degree from the University of Southern California (USC), and subsequently shifted his focus into the business arena. He returned to USC to teach at the Marshall School of Business. Cameron tasked Frommer with creating an entire language for the Na’vi people.

In an interview with Geoff Boucher of the Los Angeles Times, Frommer voiced hope that the language would continue to be used separate from the movie, as Klingon has. “I’m still working and I hope that the language will have a life of its own,” said Frommer. The Na’vi language created by Frommer contains over 1,000 words, as well as a structural system and rules format for usage. Frommer told Vanity Fair that the language was fairly developed, commenting, “It’s got a perfectly consistent sound system, and grammar, orthography, syntax”.

Frommer explained the direction given to him before creating the language, “Cameron wanted something melodious and musical, something that would sound strange and alien but smooth and appealing.” The Avatar writer-director provided Frommer with approximately three dozen words of the Na’vi language he used in his scriptment for the film. “That was the starting point. Probably the most exotic thing I added were ejectives, which are these sorts of popping sounds that are found in different languages from around the world. It’s found in Native American languages and in parts of Africa and in Central Asia, the Caucasus,” explained Frommer. Cameron and Frommer worked together for four years developing the language.

The linguistics professor relied on inspiration provided by Cameron, and avoided drawing upon influences from Elvish, Klingon, and the international auxiliary language Esperanto. Sample words in the Na’vi language include “Uniltìrantokx” (oo-neel-tih-RAHN-tokx), meaning “Avatar”, and “tireaioang” (tee-REH-ah-ee-o-ahng), which means “spirit animal”. Maclean’s reported that fans of Avatar were anxious for more instructive material from professor Frommer about the language in order to learn how to speak it with others that appreciated the film. “The response has been quite remarkable and totally unexpected. I never thought there’d be this level of interest. But I really don’t think of Na’vi as a competitor to Klingon. If it does develop a following, that would be quite wonderful,” said Frommer of the response to the language from Avatar fans.

The Na’vi language is itself a minor plot point in the film Avatar. The character Jake Sully portrayed by Sam Worthington endeavors to learn the language while living on Pandora. A botanist portrayed by actress Sigourney Weaver instructs a scientist played by actor Joel David Moore on how to become conversational in the language.

Zoe Saldaña, the actress behind warrior princess Neytiri in Avatar, picked up the Na’vi language faster than her fellow cast members. “Zoe owned the language and everyone had to match her, even her accent,” said Cameron. Saldaña remarked that the most difficult part about acting in the film was speaking in English with the accent of the Na’vi people. Cameron touted the rich nature of the Na’vi language in publicity for his film. “We wanted to ‘out-Klingon’ Klingon. The best sci-fi movies immerse the audience in that world until it doesn’t seem alien to them,” said Cameron to USA Today.

Sunday, January 13, 2013

The United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) ordered a review Friday into the design and manufacture of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, following five incidents in five days involving the aircraft and two Japanese airlines.

On Monday, an electrical fire broke out aboard a Japan Airlines 787 at Boston’s Logan International Airport, when a battery pack which powers the auxiliary power unit, for when the plane is on the ground, caught fire. The fire was discovered by maintenance workers after passengers and crew disembarked following their flight from Tokyo’s Narita Airport.

The next day, a separate Japan Airlines 787, also at Logan International Airport, heading to Tokyo, suffered a fuel leak that spilled around 40 gallons, which was spotted by the crew of the aircraft taxiing behind them. “That Japan Air may know it, but they’ve got fuel or something spilling out the outboard left wing. Quite a bit,” said the pilot of aircraft behind them on local air traffic control frequencies.

Wednesday, in Japan, an All Nippon Airways 787, the launch customer for the aircraft, cancelled a flight after a brake problem was reported.

Earlier Friday, two All Nippon Airways suffered separate incidents in Japan. An oil leak was noticed in the engine after one aircraft had landed in Miyazaki, coming from Tokyo’s Haneda Airport. Another flight, flying between Haneda Airport and Matsuyama said the pilot’s side window in the cockpit suffered a crack.

The FAA in a statement said “In light of a series of recent events, the FAA will conduct a comprehensive review of the Boeing 787 critical systems, including the design, manufacture and assembly.” Further adding, “The purpose of the review is to validate the work conducted during the certification process and further ensure that the aircraft meets the FAA’s high level of safety.”

According to the statement, “The review will also examine how the electrical and mechanical systems interact with each other.” The Boeing 787 relies more on electrical, as opposed to mechanical, systems than past aircraft from the manufacturer including having electronics operate hydraulic pumps and using electric brakes. Large portions of the plane’s structure use lightweight carbon fiber composite instead of more traditional metal airframe.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said, “The safety of the traveling public is our top priority […] This review will help us look at the root causes and do everything we can to safeguard against similar events in the future.”

“We are confident that the aircraft is safe. But we need to have a complete understanding of what is happening,” said newly sworn-in FAA Administrator Michael P. Huerta. “We are conducting the review to further ensure that the aircraft meets our high safety standards.”

Boeing released a statement saying, “[The company] is confident in the design and performance of the 787. It is a safe and efficient airplane. The airplane has logged 50,000 hours of flight and there are more than 150 flights occurring daily.”

Wednesday, May 12, 2010

A Pakistani man, identified as Muhammad Saif-ur-Rehman Khan, 28, was arrested in Chile on Monday after he was found with traces of explosives in the US Embassy.

Chilean police say that traces of Tetryl, used to help detonate explosives, were detected. Yesterday a judge ordered Khan’s continued detention under anti-terrorism laws.

It has been reported that Khan was in Chile for four months, and was called to the embassy to be told that his visa]] for the US was revoked. A US official told Reuters that “based on the information that we had, we revoked his visa.” The official declined to give the reason behind the decision, saying only that “[we] are required to notify individuals when we take that action and we invited him in.”

Khan spoke briefly to Chilean journalists and denied he was a terrorist or that he was handling explosives. “I’ve never seen anything like this in my life,” he said, claiming that the US “just want to hide the damage they have caused to Iraq and Afghanistan.”

This is not the first incident involving explosives at the US Embassy in Santiago; after the September 11 attacks of 2001, the embassy was sent a letter bomb that was defused.