Thursday, October 9, 2008

Iceland’s Financial Services Authority has nationalised the Kaupthing Bank as a response to the financial crisis which may result in a total collapse of the nation’s economy.

Kaupthing, together with Glitnir Bank and Landsbanki, owe a total of US$61 billion, which is twelve times the estimated size of the economy of the Nordic country. The Financial Services Authority says Iceland will guarantee all domestic deposits and aims to provide a “functioning domestic banking system” by management of the banks.

Iceland has asked for aid to Russia and the International Monetary Fund for loans to help guarantee these deposits. Icelandic equity markets have been closed until October 13 due to “unusual market conditions” and the Icelandic krona now appears to have itself failed after the collapse of an attempt to fix the exchange rate at 131 Krona to the euro.

According to Nordea Bank, Scandinavia‘s biggest lender, there was no trading of krona on the spot market today. The most recent figure for exchange is 340 to the euro, compared to 122 last month. Thomas Haugaard Jensen, an economist of Svenska Handelsbanken in Copenhagen, indicated the Icelandic economy seems to be at the verge of a “total collapse,” and predicted it will take several years before Iceland’s economy recovers enough for it to return to growth.

Kaupthing itself requested the national takeover, which leaves most of the nation’s banking sector under state control. The bank’s board have resigned and left the authorities in control of the bank. The bank also has affiliates both in Sweden and Finland. Swedish Kaupthing Bank Sverige claimed to be unaffected, but Finland’s Financial Services Authority temporarily shut down the Finnish affiliate.

Tuesday, June 7, 2011

In the Central Lowlands of Scotland, the University of Dundee is to become the first university in the United Kingdom to provide degrees in comic studies. The university has said that courses for its comic studies subject within the English section will commence in September 2011.

The city of Dundee is known to be the headquarters for D. C. Thomson & Co., a publishing company whose works include various comic books, such as The Beano, The Broons, The Dandy and Oor Wullie. Dr. Chris Murray, a leading British authority on comic books, will be leading the comic studies programme. “This is a very exciting time for comics scholarship, and I am delighted to be able to offer this postgraduate course on comics,” he explained. “This is a unique opportunity to give this important medium the attention it deserves, and to allow those with an interest in comics to study it in detail.”

Those organising courses for the degree believe that comic books now appeal to adults as well as children due to their impact in the areas of politics, art and literature, as well as aspects of popular culture. Amongst the program will be the examinations of comics of an autobiographical nature and similarities with the culture of comic books on an international scale. Students who complete the Master of Letters learning program — running either full-time for a year and two-years if done part-time — will be eligible for a Doctor of Philosophy in comic studies.

Dr. Murray has also noted: “Employability is an important consideration for any postgraduate programme, and it lies at the heart of what we aim to do with this course. There will be practical advice on publishing and developing a career as a comics scholar, writer or artist, and we hope to arrange work placements for students. Comics and graphic novels are becoming an increasingly important form of literature, art and field of study, and it is our intention that our graduates are at the forefront either as researchers, writers, artists or filling other roles within the industry.”

Monday, October 11, 2010

Wikinews interviewed author Amy Scobee about her book Scientology – Abuse at the Top, and asked her about her experiences working as an executive within the organization. Scobee joined the organization at age 14, and worked at Scientology’s international management headquarters for several years before leaving in 2005. She served as a Scientology executive in multiple high-ranking positions, working out of the international headquarters of Scientology known as “Gold Base”, located in Gilman Hot Springs near Hemet, California.

Sunday, January 11, 2009

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, an outbreak of salmonella that has affected at least 399 people in 42 different U.S. states has been linked to King Nut, an American brand of peanut butter. In Minnesota, the state’s Health Department announced that bacteria tests for the disease on a tub of creamy King Nut peanut butter had tested positive for the disease, initiating a recall by its distributor in Solon, King Nut Companies.

Workers found evidence from these tests that the brand caused the outbreak. This has not been completely proven, however, as the Food and Drug Administration and King Nut itself are still conducting tests to discover if the case is isolated or related to the nationwide incident.

According to a statement made by the Health Department, the brand is used in many places including schools, hospitals, some restaurants and retirement homes, 20 alone being in Minnesota. A tub of peanut butter used inside of a retirement home where many of its citizens had become sick was tested positive by Minnesota’s health department.

Yesterday, King Nut Companies recalled all peanut butter distributed by their company. The president of King Nut Companies, Martin Kanan, said in a statement yesterday, “We are very sorry this happened. We are taking immediate and voluntary action because the health and safety of those who use our products is always our highest priority.”

In a web statement, King Nut told all of its customers to “put on hold all of their peanut butter in question. A recall of this product will be announced Monday morning. At this point it is unclear what Peanut Corporation of America will do with regard to this case or the national case of the salmonella outbreak.” The Peanut Corporation of America, located in Lynchburg but also operating in the states of Texas and Georgia, is the manufacturer for King Nut.

Salmonellosis is an infection of salmonella bacteria that usually results in diarrhea, fever, vomiting, and abdominal cramps. These symptoms are normally developed 12 to 72 hours after a person is infected, and can last anywhere from 3 to 7 days. Most of the time, the infected person will recover from the disease, but younger and older people have higher risks of it developing and becoming serious. Rarely, salmonella can cause hospitalization, and very rarely, it can lead to death.

Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Joseph Cerniglia, a chef who had appeared on Gordon Ramsay’s television show Kitchen Nightmares, has commited suicide. Cerniglia was the owner of Italian restaurant Campania. He jumped off a bridge into the Hudson river on the New York–New Jersey border. At the time of filming in 2007, Cerniglia owed suppliers $80,000.

Officials reported that 39-year-old Cerniglia had jumped off of the George Washington Bridge into the Hudson. His death has officially been ruled as suicide. His body was retrieved from the river after reports of a man jumping off of the bridge.

Ramsay released a statement to the Press Association saying “I was fortunate to spend time with Joe during the first season of Kitchen Nightmares. Joe was a brilliant chef, and our thoughts go out to his family, friends and staff.”

Cerniglia told Ramsay about his personal debt when he came to the restaurant in 2007. He said “I am financially in trouble. The debt of the restaurant alone is overwhelming. My personal debt — wife, kids, mortgage — that’s a lot of debt”.

Tuesday, June 18, 2013

Michael Applebaum, the current interim mayor of Montreal, Québec, Canada, was arrested at about 6am local time (1000 UTC) yesterday morning by the Unité permanente anticorruption ^{((en))French language: ?Permanent Anti-Corruption Unit} on fourteen charges including corruption, fraud, breach of trust, and conspiracy, including reportedly a C$50,000 bribe.

Commissioner Robert Lafrenière said the alleged illegal acts occurred between 2006 and 2011 and relate to two real-estate projects in the Côte des Neiges-Notre Dame de Grâce borough. The CBC indicated one of these projects was the borough’s new 15 million dollar sports complex. Applebaum is now one of several Québec mayors who have been accused of corruption in the past few years, including the previous Montreal mayor Gérald Tremblay and Laval Mayor Gilles Vaillancourt.

Several politicians are calling on Applebaum to resign, including Québec Premier Pauline Marois, to let the city continue on with its affairs. A few others, such as Coalition Avenir Québec leader François Legault, are suggesting to put the city on a trusteeship as Laval was a few weeks ago, but Municipal Affairs Minister Sylvain Gaudreault says this will not happen, as only a few people are implicated, unlike Laval, where nearly the entire city council was implicated.

Two other people were arrested on charges related to the same real-estate deals: Saulie Zajdel, former city councillor, on five charges; and Jean-Yves Bisson, a bourough official, on four charges.

A second interim minister is to be nominated for the rest of Tremblay’s term, until the next municipal election is held in November.

Friday, March 7, 2008

Wikinews held an exclusive interview with Cynthia McKinney, one of the candidates for the Green Party nomination for the 2008 U.S. presidential election.

McKinney is a former Democratic Congresswoman from Georgia. She was first elected to the House of Representatives in 1992 and held her seat for ten years until being defeated by Denise Majette in 2002. She was the first ever African American woman from her state to be elected to Congress.

We asked her why she made the recent switch to the Green Party. She replied, “Due to the importance of environmental issues, Green issues are the issues of today. The Ten Key Values ofthe Green Party stress us getting along with each other in harmony with the planet that gives us life.”

When asked about how she would handle Iraq she replied, “I would instruct the Joint Chiefs to draw up a plan for the orderly withdrawal of all U.S. troops from the country. I would dismantle our military bases in the area, and I would also demand that U.S. andother international corporations relinquish any claims to Iraqi oil orother resources and withdraw as well.”

McKinney is running for president because, basically, she thinks that “it’s time that the people win”.

Tuesday, March 7, 2006

After this weekend, Texas can celebrate not only bringing home the Big 12 Conference trophy but also having the All-Big 12 Player of the Year, P.J. Tucker, and the first recipient of the Defensive Player of the Year award, LaMarcus Aldridge.

Rival Kansas, who tied with Texas for the No. 1 slot in the conference but was denied the trophy, had coach Bill Self named Coach of the Year and Brandon Rush named Freshman of the Year. Michael Neal of Oklahoma was named Newcomer of the Year.

The All-Big 12 awards are selected by the league’s head coaches, who are not allowed to vote for their own players.

Tucker, a unanimous All-Big 12 First Team choice, is the first Longhorn to earn Big 12 Player of the Year recognition. He leads the team and ranks sixth overall in the conference in scoring (16.1), while leading the league in rebounding (9.0). He is also fourth in field goal percentage with a .531 mark. He has led UT in scoring seven times in league play and is second in the Big 12 overall with 10 double-doubles.

Aldridge wins the first defensive honor awarded by the Big 12. He is first in the Big 12 with 59 blocks overall, including 27 in conference games. He has 81 defensive rebounds in 2005-06, ranking third in the league. Aldridge can score as well, leading the Big 12 with 13 double-doubles.

Neal is the second-straight Sooner and fourth overall to win Newcomer of the Year. One of the top long-range threats in the Big 12, the junior college transfer ranks first in conference games in 3-point field goal percentage (.495) and 3-point field goals per game (3.86). He is also averaging a team-best 14.8 points in league action. He has shot 50.0 percent or better from beyond the arc 11 times this season.

Rush is the first freshman in conference history to be named to the All-Big 12 First Team. The top scoring freshman in the conference with 15.1 points per game, Rush also ranks seventh with a 6.6 rebounding average. He is the fourth KU player to surpass 400 points (408) in his freshman season. The native of Kansas City, Mo. is the second Jayhawk to win freshman accolades (Jeff Boschee, 1998-99).

Self wins his first Big 12 coaching honor and the third for a Jayhawk mentor. After returning just 21.2 percent of his scoring from a year ago, Self guided KU to a share of the Big 12 regular season championship, its sixth in league annals. Starting three freshmen and two sophomores, Kansas recorded its 18th straight season with at least 22 victories.

The All-Big 12 First, Second, Third and Honorable Mention teams were also announced, while conference coaches also selected All-Defensive and All-Rookie Teams for the first time.

Sunday, August 21, 2005

A robotic system at Stanford Medical Center was used to perform a laparoscopic gastric bypass surgery successfully with a theoretically similar rate of complications to that seen in standard operations. However, as there were only 10 people in the experimental group (and another 10 in the control group), this is not a statistically significant sample.

If this surgical procedure is as successful in large-scale studies, it may lead the way for the use of robotic surgery in even more delicate procedures, such as heart surgery. Note that this is not a fully automated system, as a human doctor controls the operation via remote control. Laparoscopic gastric bypass surgery is a treatment for obesity.

There were concerns that doctors, in the future, might only be trained in the remote control procedure. Ronald G. Latimer, M.D., of Santa Barbara, CA, warned “The fact that surgeons may have to open the patient or might actually need to revert to standard laparoscopic techniques demands that this basic training be a requirement before a robot is purchased. Robots do malfunction, so a backup system is imperative. We should not be seduced to buy this instrument to train surgeons if they are not able to do the primary operations themselves.”

There are precedents for just such a problem occurring. A previous “new technology”, the electrocardiogram (ECG), has lead to a lack of basic education on the older technology, the stethoscope. As a result, many heart conditions now go undiagnosed, especially in children and others who rarely undergo an ECG procedure.

Tuesday, May 20, 2008

Senator Ted Kennedy, a Democrat from Massachusetts, who was recently hospitalized after suffering two seizures, has been diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor. Kennedy’s doctors discovered the tumor as part of a battery of tests performed to diagnose the cause of the seizures.

Late last week the senator was rushed to Cape Cod Hospital from the Kennedy Compound, after reportedly suffering stroke-like symptoms. After two hours in the emergency room, he was flown to Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts.

A statement given by Dr. Lee Schwamm and Dr. Larry Ronan of Massachusetts General Hospital stated, “Over the course of the last several days, we’ve done a series of tests on Senator Kennedy to determine the cause of his seizure. He has had no further seizures, remains in good overall condition, and is up and walking around the hospital.”

The statement went on to say, “However, preliminary results from a biopsy of the brain identified the cause of the seizure as a malignant glioma in the left parietal lobe. The usual course of treatment includes combinations of various forms of radiation and chemotherapy.”

The statement finished by saying, “Decisions regarding the best course of treatment for Senator Kennedy will be determined after further testing and analysis. Senator Kennedy will remain at Massachusetts General Hospital for the next couple of days according to routine protocol. He remains in good spirits and full of energy.”