marathon06.org

Friday, February 9, 2007

The leading political parties in the Netherlands have agreed on a work program, part of an effort to form a coalition government after the splintered verdict of the elections held in November 2006. The parties have yet to agree on who gets the top jobs in government.

The main parties of the left, the Labour Party (PvdA) and Socialist Party (SP) won 58 seats in the 150 strong Tweede Kamer, the lower house of parliament, while the more splintered right wing parties led by the Christian Democrats (CDA) and ChristianUnion (CU) won 47 but with probable support from the 9 members of the Party for Freedom (PVV).

The parties announced their plans on Wednesday reaching a deal on the main issue of the election campaign, Mortgage Interest Relief, which split the SP from the other coalition partners. Mortgage Interest Relief, which is a significant factor in most people’s finances, with a marginal rate of 52%, had been threatened by the SP manifesto, but the compromise deal announced by the parties left Mortgage Interest Relief unchanged in return for a continuation of the tight legal restrictions on rent increases that had been threatened by the previous government.

In another key concession, the CDA reversed the hard line asylum policy that it introduced with its previous coalition partners, the VVD, and introduced an amnesty of all illegal immigrants who arrived in the country before 2001.

The publication of the government agenda (the “Coalitieakkoord”) outlines policies in a number of main areas:

• Retirement: the CDA conceded changes to retirement benefit to introduce taxation on retirees with pensions over EUR 18,000 from 2011.
• Work: the government will allocate EUR 700 million to facilitate unemployed and disabled people finding jobs.
• Education: more money will be made available for schools in poorer areas or schools with substantial immigrant populations but, in return, the government will force everyone under 27 to either be in education or have a job. Those in high school education will be forced to gain a diploma before leaving high school and take a three-month “social internship” before leaving school.
• Health: the CDA has compromised on Health too in reversing the 2003 policy of excluding dental care from basic health insurance and more money will be made available for staffing of health care outlets. The CDA’s stated policy of cutting budgets in a new government will be restricted to cost savings from elimination of waste and red tape.

Following the nomination of Balkenende as formateur of the new government the haggling of cabinet and government jobs will be the last element in sealing the deal. Balkenende will continue as Prime Minister for the CDA with Wouter Bos (leader of the PvdA) likely to become Finance Minister and CU leader André Rouvoet becoming Youth Minister.

Friday, September 14, 2007

Semicon Taiwan goes to the final day on September 14, one of exhibitors Siemens AG imported containers named “exiderdome” to Taiwan and held an exhibition at A13 Parking Lot in Xinyi District, Taipei City for professionals from some industries such as automation, semiconductor, and electronics experiencing the advantages on automation solutions by Siemens.

For this special exhibition, Wikinews Reporter Brock interviewed Stephen Huang (International Account Manager of Automation and Drives Department, Siemens Limited) and Ken Cheng (Director of Automation and Drives Department, Siemens Limited) for information on this exhibition.

Tuesday, June 12, 2007

North America’s largest outdoor dog festival came back to Toronto last weekend for its fifth year. It ran from the 9th of June to the 10th of June at Toronto’s historical St. Lawrence Market. A Wikinews reporter was there on Sunday to report on some of the events that happened on the last day.

The “Woofstock” dog festival attracted as many as 140,000 people with their dogs. The festival had tons of accessories, sold under tents, to buy for dogs; food, toys, designer clothes, and more. About 400 vendors and exhibitors were there to promote their products, which also gave private dog companies or groups a chance to show their new products. The local SPCA and some animal rescues were under tents answering questions from visitors. While walking, all visitors could see the CN Tower and other very tall buildings.

One of the local TV stations, Citytv, was there. They hosted a live event at the show which was broadcast on TV. People came up on the stage and asked questions regarding their dogs and the host and co-host answered them.

A man, who called himself the “Chalk Master”, drew two pictures on pavement with chalk. He did it for free but donations were welcome. One was a picture of a girl’s head beside a dog’s head, and another with a wolf.

“Hello Humans. I’ve been invited here to provide your eyeball(s), with some pretty colours. I don’t get paid as I work this weekend strictly for tips… so, if you like what you see please make a DONATION. If you don’t like it simply reach into the pocket of the person next to you and give me their money. CHALK MASTER.”

A contest called “Canada’s top dog” had its own tent with a professional photographer taking pictures of dogs behind a white screen; the winning photo is to be published on the cover of “Puppy and dog basics” magazine.

Large “Gourmet” dog bones were also served from a cart and table.

Next year’s festival is expected to be bigger and better with even more attractions.

Thursday, March 30, 2006

The Australian Bureau of Meteorology has reported the occurrence of 100 Kilometres per hour (62 miles per hour) winds along the Pilbara Coast as Tropical Cyclone Glenda closes in.

At 8 p.m. WST Wednesday (1200 UTC), the Bureau of Meteorology reported that Glenda had weakened and reclassified it as a category 4 storm. The Bureau of Meteorology expects Glenda will cross the coast between Exmouth and Karratha tonight.

The Bureau of Meteorology predicts gale force winds gusting up to 130 kilometres per hour (80 miles per hour) to develop in the affected region during the day. They predict that later, as the cyclone nears the coast that winds up to 250 kilometres an hour (155 miles per hour) will occur near the cyclone centre.

The bureau also warns of the possibility of a dangerous storm surge between Karatha and Onslow as the cyclone crosses the coast.They warn that tides are likely to rise above the normal high tide make causing flooding and damaging waves.

The Fire and Emergency Services Authority of Western Australia has placed residents in Karratha, Roebourne, Point Samson, Wickham, Dampier and Mardie on red alert. Residents are advised to:

• Go to a welfare centre immediately if they are not already in a safe location
• Park vehicles in a sheltered area
• Stay in the strongest part of the building they are in, away from windows
• Ensure pets and animals are safely sheltered
• Disconnect electrical appliances and turn off gas valves
• Ensure that neighbours have received the warning
• Stay indoors until given an “All Clear with Caution” alert from emergency services

FESA has issued a blue alert for people between De Grey and Whim Creek including Port Hedland, South Hedland, Pannawonica, Onslow and Exmouth. A blue alert means that residents should begin taking precautions and making preparations for a possible red alert condition.

Wednesday, July 18, 2007

A pipe has burst in New York City, the largest city in the United States, causing a generator to explode. The explosion occurred in Midtown Manhattan near Grand Central Terminal (GCT) and the Chrysler Building, and approximately at the intersection of 41st Street and Lexington Avenue. Nearby buildings have been evacuated, and a large area has been blocked off. There are reports of a very large crater at the scene.

The New York Police Department (NYPD) has officially ruled out terrorism. Grand Central Station was quickly evacuated soon after the incident. Subway lines 4, 5 and 6 have no service in both directions between the 125th Street Station and the Bowling Green Station. 42nd Street Shuttle service has been shut completely.

The Fire Department of New York (FDNY) received a call at 5:56 p.m. EDT (UTC-4) reporting an explosion. More than 170 firefighters were dispatched to the scene. Witnesses reported that buildings in the nearby area shook. This was a five-alarm response.

At least 20 people have been reported injured, and one woman, Lois Baumerich, died from a heart attack. Two people are currently in critical condition.

There are potentially harmful materials at the scene of the explosion and HAZMAT crews are on the scene to clean up debris. There are reports that pipes were wrapped in asbestos, but the air is being tested, and results should be available late Wednesday night.

ConEdison Workers are on the scene as well, and it appears that they are working nearby.

Emergency workers are reporting that the situation is not under control. They are still unable to confirm why the pipe exploded due to the inaccessible nature of the scene at the source of the explosion. The pressure of steam has subsided and the air appears to have cleared, revealing the crater. Disruption of electricity in the surrounding area is minimal.

GCT is reported to be reopened at this time. An area was cordoned off and people trapped in the vicinity due to fears of asbestos pollution resulting from the explosion.

According to a press conference with the mayor, the pipe involved was built in 1924, and a likely cause of the eruption and explosion was cold water leaking into the pipe, possibly from rain or from a water pipe. A tow truck had fallen into the crater left by the explosion, and the explosion also shattered glass on nearby buildings.

Monday, November 2, 2020

The following is the sixth and final edition of a monthly series chronicling the 2020 United States presidential election. It features original material compiled throughout the previous month after an overview of the month’s biggest stories.

This month’s spotlight on the campaign trail: the Free and Equal Elections Foundation holds two presidential debates, three candidates who did not participate in those debates give their final pleas to voters, and three political pundits give their predictions on the outcome of the election.

Saturday, August 25, 2007

The leading supplier of school uniforms in the United Kingdom, Lancashire-based manufacturer Trutex, has announced it is “seriously considering” including GPS tracking devices in future ranges of its uniform products after conducting an online survey of both parents and children.

“As a direct result of the survey, we are now seriously considering incorporating a [tracking] device into future ranges” said Trutex marketing director Clare Rix.

The survey questioned 809 parents and 444 children aged nine to 16. It showed that 44% of parents were worried about the safety of pre-teen children, and 59% wanted tracking devices installed in school apparel. 39% of children aged nine to 12 were prepared to wear clothing with tracking devices in them, while teenagers were notably less enthusiastic and more wary of what Trutex has admitted they see as a “big brother” concept.

However, Trutex has claimed the tracking devices would bring about worthwhile benefits, including being a valuable resource for parents who wanted to keep a close eye on where their children were at all times.

“As well as being a safety net for parents, there could be real benefits for schools who could keep a closer track on the whereabouts of their pupils, potentially reducing truancy levels” says Rix.

Each year, Trutex supplies 1 million blouses, 1.1 million shirts, 250,000 pairs of trousers, 20,000 blazers, 60,000 skirts and 110,000 pieces of knitwear to the UK.

It is not the first company to manufacture school uniforms with a central focus on child safety; last week Essex firm BladeRunner revealed it was selling stab-proof school blazers to parents concerned about violence against their children. The blazers were outfitted with Kevlar, a synthetic fibre used in body armour. It has already received orders internationally, including Australia.

If the Trutex tracking devices go ahead, it is unclear where in the uniform they will be located.

Tuesday, January 30, 2007

This Monday Hewlett-Packard is to announce that it is expanding its partnership with SAP. The partnership will be working with NetWeaver around several new services. The company is also expected to mention about its new enterprise solutions that are currently in development.

Hewlett-Packard will offer its clients services for upgrading servers, storage and NetWeaver – SAP’s application builder platform meant for integrating business processes throughout different systems. Among other services that the company is going to provide comprise assessment, governance and some architecture services for R3.

The manager of Worldwide Packaged Applications for Enterprise Applications Services at HP Services Consulting & Integration, Tim Treat, stated that the company first of all looks at servers, storage and management and only afterwards it makes a proposal regarding the things that are to be updated. He mentioned that when Hewlett-Packard will work on upgrading servers and management, it will turn its attention towards Intel.

After performing all the upgrades, the company is going to offer its clientele a variety of services package options that are related to NetWeaver. The services offered by Hewlett-Packard will include: enabling the service, design and implementation, application development and management.

Tim Treat said that adaptive infrastructure is one of the company’s new things that are to come. Recently the company’s clients have put in place enough hardware capacity and infrastructure with the goal of supporting peak or quarter-end processes. However, a big amount of that capacity is unused till peak times. This is why Hewlett-Packard looks forward to bring solutions that are to allow users pay for the things they really use.

Treat also outlined the fact that, besides its new services, the company is to announce business-process consulting together with IDS Scheer – software and consulting company, which is one of the leading providers of Business Process Management and IT solutions.

Thursday, March 30, 2006

The Australian Bureau of Meteorology has reported the occurrence of 100 Kilometres per hour (62 miles per hour) winds along the Pilbara Coast as Tropical Cyclone Glenda closes in.

At 8 p.m. WST Wednesday (1200 UTC), the Bureau of Meteorology reported that Glenda had weakened and reclassified it as a category 4 storm. The Bureau of Meteorology expects Glenda will cross the coast between Exmouth and Karratha tonight.

The Bureau of Meteorology predicts gale force winds gusting up to 130 kilometres per hour (80 miles per hour) to develop in the affected region during the day. They predict that later, as the cyclone nears the coast that winds up to 250 kilometres an hour (155 miles per hour) will occur near the cyclone centre.

The bureau also warns of the possibility of a dangerous storm surge between Karatha and Onslow as the cyclone crosses the coast.They warn that tides are likely to rise above the normal high tide make causing flooding and damaging waves.

The Fire and Emergency Services Authority of Western Australia has placed residents in Karratha, Roebourne, Point Samson, Wickham, Dampier and Mardie on red alert. Residents are advised to:

• Go to a welfare centre immediately if they are not already in a safe location
• Park vehicles in a sheltered area
• Stay in the strongest part of the building they are in, away from windows
• Ensure pets and animals are safely sheltered
• Disconnect electrical appliances and turn off gas valves
• Ensure that neighbours have received the warning
• Stay indoors until given an “All Clear with Caution” alert from emergency services

FESA has issued a blue alert for people between De Grey and Whim Creek including Port Hedland, South Hedland, Pannawonica, Onslow and Exmouth. A blue alert means that residents should begin taking precautions and making preparations for a possible red alert condition.

Saturday, November 2, 2013

Emigrant Rufino Lopez, born in Cedeira, Galicia, Spain in 1955, was awarded on Wednesday with the 2013 Spanish-American International Award by the Spanish Benevolent Society of New York.

Graduated in literature by the Lehman College of CUNY in 1976, Rufino Lopez has preserved his admiration to the great figures of Spanish literary and philosophical tradition, as Unamuno and Ortega y Gasset, or Cervantes, while shaping the Solera Restaurant, located in the city of New York for more than twenty years, near the United Nations Headquarters. Rufino is the only son of Galician Francisco Lopez, who emigrated to New York City as a construction worker in 1971.

While studying, Rufino Lopez worked in Italian and French restaurants, finding no Spanish restaurants that could represent the high value of Spanish cuisine in the Big Apple. In 1987 he founded his first restaurant, called Alcalá, in the Upper West Side in Manhattan, and in 1991 founded Solera Restaurant. Since its opening, in the days when the paella was made ??in Manhattan in a pot with a lid instead of the regional authentic way as made in Valencia, with a pan, the Executive Chef of Solera Restaurant at that time, Dominick Cerrone, began incorporating Spanish regional dishes prepared with fidelity to its Spanish origin, one of the marks of the restaurant.

The history of the Spanish-American International Award began in 2012, when the writer and filmmaker Artur Balder was awarded. Artur Balder, now a US citizen, directed the documentary Little Spain, which displayed the historical memory of the Spanish district of Manhattan. According to the website of the organization, the award was created with the mission to promote the image of Spanish emigration in the United States, and is given to promote the work of those who are contributing to the consolidation of the Spanish-American identity in the United States. The Spanish-American International Prize was created to support emigrants who have made an outstanding contribution to the Spanish-American identity and the American heritage.