moitruongtoancau.com

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.

A compilation of brief news reports for Monday, August 11, 2008.

Friday, March 3, 2006

The Australian foreign minister, Alexander Downer, has confirmed that Australia will not export uranium to India while it is not a signatory of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). The confirmation was prompted by a recently announced agreement between India and the United States involving the sale of civilian nuclear technology.

“Well our policy has developed over many years, going right back to the time of the Fraser Government actually, our policy has been that we would only export uranium to countries that are signatories to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty,” Mr. Downer said in an interview on today’s AM radio programme.

Mr. Downer also said that the Australian government was disappointed when India and Pakistan developed nuclear weapons, but supports the new United States deal with India as an attempt to engage with India and “open up their civilian nuclear industry to International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors.”

“We’ve considered very carefully over the last few months the American proposal for this agreement that President Bush has signed with the Indians, and our view about it is that it’s a good step forward in what’s been a difficult situation,” Mr. Downer said.

The Australian Labor Party (ALP) supported the government’s stance on exporting uranium to non-NPT countries. “Any future agreement to export to India must be dependent on India becoming a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and the negotiation of a bi-lateral agreement ensuring that Australian uranium is only used for peaceful purposes,” they said in a press release.

The deal between the two countries involves the US supplying civilian nuclear technology to India, in exchange for money and a promise to open some reactors for inspection. India has said it will reclassify 14 of its 22 nuclear reactors as being for power generation only, which will allow the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAFA) to inspect them.

In a press briefing, National Security Advisor Steve Hadly said that the agreement would bring India “into the international non-proliferation mainstream”, including “placing its civilian nuclear facilities and programs under IAEA safeguards, and also harmonizing its export control lists with those of the Nuclear Suppliers Group and the Missile Technology Control Regime.” The deal stops short of normalising India’s nuclear status; however it is not clear that this could occur without a complete renegotiation of the NPT, or an abandonment of nuclear weapons by India.

The director of the IAEA, Mohamed ElBaradei, called India “an important partner in the non-proliferation regime”.

The NPT permits 5 states to own nuclear weapons: France (signed 1992), the People’s Republic of China (1992), the Soviet Union (1968; obligations and rights assumed by Russia), the United Kingdom (1968), and the United States (1968). All other signatories have agreed that they will not seek nuclear weapons technology. 187 sovereign nations are currently signed on to the NPT; however India, Pakistan, and Israel have not. India and Pakistan possess nuclear weapons, and Israel is suspected of possession of nuclear weapons.

Australia has 30% of the world’s available uranium. According to the Uranium Information Centre, from 2000 to 2005 Australia exported 46,600 tonnes of uranium, to the value of over AU$2.1 billion. Australia currently exports to the USA, Japan, South Korea, Spain, France, the United Kingdom, Sweden, Germany, Belgium and Finland. Exports are for electricity generation only, in accordance with the NPT.

Wednesday, June 13, 2007

The US-based Cessna Aircraft Company, a subsidiary of Textron Inc., is expected to statically display seven of its aircraft and a mock-up of its latest business jet large cabin concept at the 47th International Paris Air Show, dubbed the LCC.

The seven aircraft expected to be on display are the Citation CJ2+, Citation Encore+, Citation XLS, and Citation Sovereign business jets, a Grand Caravan, a 206 Stationair, and a 172 Skyhawk single engine piston aircraft.

Cessna Chairman, President and CEO Jack Pelton said of the exhibit, “There is so much synergy now with other companies under the Textron corporate banner – companies like Bell Helicopter and Textron Systems – that we felt it made sense for us to return as an exhibitor to the Paris Air Show… We are particularly excited to have our large cabin mockup as the highlight of our exhibit.”

Cessna originally announced plans for a new large model of business jet for the Citation range at last year’s annual National Business Aviation Association meeting, and the idea has been in development since, culminating in the new large cabin concept design. The mock-up at the Paris Air Show includes a large galley, seating for nine passengers, a toilet and a dummy flight deck.

Cessna claim the new design, which outsizes their previous large cabin and long-range business jets, would “set a new standard for performance, cabin comfort, passenger amenities and environmental friendliness,” if launched.

Cessna refuse to release details such as exact internal design specifications and manufacturers of avionics and engines unless the new model actually enters production. Cessna Senior Vice President of Sales & Marketing Roger Whyte told reporters that preliminary wind tunnel testing had “fully met… expectations” and that they had “received extremely positive reaction to the performance parameters as well the cabin design of the proposed aircraft from our customer base”, although he warned that there are still a number of processes to be completed before Cessna actually decide whether or not to launch the new model.

Saturday, October 20, 2007

A Canadian man was arrested in Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand Friday and is facing charges of sexual abuse of a child under 15 and illegal detention. He is also suspected of posting about 200 online images of child abuse on the Internet.

According to the BBC, Thai authorities are ordering Neal to stay in custody for 12 days for questioning before the official trial starts. Under Thai law he can be held for up to 84 days before trial.

Thirty-two-year old Christopher Paul Neil, from Maple Ridge, British Columbia, could face up to 20 years in jail if convicted.

Neal was working in South Korea as an English teacher. He has been working in Vietnam, South Korea, Cambodia, and Thailand since 2000. Neal was recorded on a security camera at Bangkok airport on October 11.

Thai courts have ruled that he will be charged in Thailand. For now it is up to the Canadian and Thailand authorities to discuss.

“But if something took place here, we would want to have the person held accountable here, but that is very premature and it may even be speculative at this stage,” said Wally Oppal, attorney general of British Columbia (B.C.). Neal could be charged in Canada because of a law which allows paedophiles to be charged in Canada even if they didn’t do the crimes in Canada.

The RCMP are investigating to see if Neal has committed any crimes in B.C., which could mean charges will also be laid in Canada.

Interpol, just last week, issued a public search for Neal. A 15-year-old, who was one of Neal’s victims, alerted authorities of the man. On Thursday Thai courts issued an arrest warrant. Authorities had been able to unscramble the face of a man in the 200 online photos, which had been digitally scrambled. The unscrambled images were used to identify the suspect.

Phyakrut News Agency reported that Neil’s feet were trampled on by reporters until they bled. It was also noted that the picture of the man issued by Interpol had a very hairy chest whereas the suspect arrested had a quite hairless chest, the faces also looked remarkably different raising the question as to whether the real “Mr Swirly Lollipop” has in fact been caught. Police Major General Wimon Powintara stated however that Neil is now wanted for having sex with boys and girls and that one victim identified him as the one that lured him from an Internet cafe to play video games in his apartment where he was orally raped before being given 200 Thai Baht compensation (US$6).

Saturday, September 10, 2005

On Saturday 10, 2005, the world record for the largest performance of the Siege of Ennis, an Irish folk dance, was set in Cork, Ireland. It was organised by the Triskel Arts Centre and the local newspaper Evening Echo, and was part of the city’s tenure as European Capital of Culture.

It beat the previous record set in Dublin, Ohio. This attempt was sponsored by Michael Flatley.

The record breaking attempt was immediately followed by an actual dance.

Tuesday, June 24, 2008

Buffalo, New York —Two weeks after a 19th century stable and livery on Jersey Street partially collapsed and caused 15 homes to be evacuated in Buffalo, New York, residents still do not have answers from the city despite a court order to work with them and come to an agreement on a way to save some or all of the building, Wikinews has learned. Despite the frustration from residents, the city is planning on suing the building’s owner. A rally was held at the stable’s site where residents are hoping to bring more awareness to the situation and gain more support to save the building.

On June 11, a significant portion of the stable’s right side wall collapsed into the yard of a resident’s home. Authorities, including the Buffalo Fire Department were called to the scene to evaluate the collapse and evacuate 15 homes of residents surrounding the stable as a precautionary measure. The following day, the city ordered an emergency demolition on the building, which was stopped by a restraining order residents with Save The Livery (www.savethelivery.com) won on June 14. Two weeks later, five homes are still evacuated and residents don’t know when they will be able to return.

On June 19, Judge Justice Christopher Burns of the New York State Supreme Court ordered a halt to the emergency demolition and ordered the city and residents to come to an agreement to save the building, or at least a significant portion of it. Despite a court date today, no agreement has yet been reached between the two parties.

“It is in the interest of the city to have a safe environment–but also important to maintain a sense of historical preservation,” stated Burns in his June 19th ruling. The court ruled that a limited demolition could take place and that the city was only allowed to remove material in immediate danger to residents and pedestrians, but stated that the demolition could only be performed with “hand tools.” The court also ordered that any rubble which had fallen into neighboring yards when the building collapsed, to be removed. Since then, most of not all the significantly damaged portions of the building or portions in immediate danger of falling have been demolished. The roof has also been removed to put less stress on the stable’s walls.

“Its been over three years since we have been having problems with part of the livery falling down. There was an implosion two weeks ago and suddenly the city wanted to have an emergency demolition,” said Catherine Herrick who lives on Summer Street immediately behind the stable and is the main plaintiff in the lawsuit against the city. Many homes on Summer are small cottages which were used as servants quarters when the stable was in operation, many of which were built in the 1820’s. At least seven homes on Summer border the stable’s back walls. Residents in those homes have significant gardens which have been planted against the building and growing for decades.

“Both parties are to continue to work together to see how we can meet everybody’s needs. This is the third time we have been in that courtroom, and that is what we were basically told to do,” added Herrick who said the rally was held today because this “is Buffalo’s history. Buffalo is a wonderful place to live because of its history and this is a historical, beautiful building and we need to keep those beautiful buildings.”

Herrick states that the city is working with residents, but also believes that its “slow moving” and they are allowing the owner to get away with neglect on the property.

“I believe right now that they are letting the owner get off. The owner was negligent for 20 years, and hasn’t done anything to it despite what he has claimed to say. Now that this is an emergency situation, the city has a lot to say about it,” added Herrick.

Currently the building is owned by Bob Freudenheim who has several building violations against him because its poor condition. He has received at least five violations in three months and residents who live near the building state that Freudenheim should be “100% responsible” for his actions.

Freudenheim gave the city permission to demolish the building on June 12 during an emergency Preservation Board meeting, because he would not be “rehabilitating the building anytime soon.” Freudenheim, along with his wife Nina, were part-owners of the Hotel Lenox at 140 North Street in Buffalo and were advocates to stop the Elmwood Village Hotel from being built on the Southeast corner of Forest and Elmwood Avenues. They also financially supported a lawsuit in an attempt to stop the hotel from being built. Though it is not known exactly how long Freudenheim has owned the stable, Wikinews has learned that he was the owner while fighting to stop the hotel from being built. Residents say that he has been the owner for at least 22 years. Attorneys for Freudenheim confirm that the city is starting proceedings against him for his violations beginning as early as Wednesday June 25. Freudenheim has not released a statement and could not be reached for comment.

Many residents want the building preserved and Herrick states that their engineer can have it stable in “four days” as opposed to the 14-30 days it would take to demolish the building and “at a lesser cost than what it costs to demolish it.”

It will cost the city nearly US$300,000 to demolish the building which is paid for with tax money collected from residents in the city. The Buffalo News reports that fees are approaching $700,000. Though reports say there is a potential buyer of the stable, Wikinews cannot independently confirm those reports.

Residents say the stable was designed by Richard A. Waite, a 19th century architect, and was first owned by a company called White Bros., used as a stable and housed at least 30 horses at any given time. It also stored “coaches, coupes, broughams, Victorias and everything in the line of light livery,” stated an article from the West Side Topics dated 1906. According to the article, The company first opened in 1881 on Thirteenth Street, now Normal Avenue, and later moved into the Jersey building in 1892. The Buffalo Fire Department believes the building was built around 1814, while the city property database states it was built in 1870. It is believed to be only one of three stables of this kind still standing in the country.

At about 1950, the stable was converted into an automobile body shop and gasoline station.A property record search showed that in 1950 at least four fuel storage tanks were installed on the property. Two are listed as 550 square feet while the other two are 2,000 square feet. All of the tanks are designated as a TK4, which New York State says is used for “below ground horizontal bulk fuel storage.” The cost of installing a tank of that nature according to the state, at that time, included the tank itself, “excavation and backfill,” but did not include “the piping, ballast, or hold-down slab orring.” It is not known if the tanks are still on the property, but residents are concerned the city was not taking the precautions to find out.

Wikinews has called the city along with the Mayor’s office several times, but both have yet to return our calls. There are conflicting reports as to the date of the next hearing. According to Herrick, the next hearing is July 1, 2008 though the Buffalo News states the next hearing is July 8. The News also states that Burns will make a final ruling on the stable at this time.