December
26
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Saturday, August 28, 2010
Andreas Hornig, Wikinews contributor and team member of Synergy Moon, competitor in the Google Lunar X Prize, managed to interview Senior Director of Space Prizes William Pomerantz of the X PRIZE Foundation about the competitions, goals, and impacts via e-mail for HDTVTotal.com and Wikinews. |
By Wikinews,the free news source Other stories: Science and technology
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This exclusive interview features first-hand journalism by a Wikinews reporter. See the collaboration page for more details. This article is part of a page redesign trial on Wikinews. Please leave comments or bug reports on this redesign.This interview originally appeared on HDTVTotal.com, released under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 license. Credit for this interview goes to HDTVTotal.com and Andreas -horn- Hornig. |
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
In a continuing crackdown on tax evasion, the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) has alleged that brokers with a branch of RBC Dominion Securities, Canada’s largest brokerage company, helped clients set up accounts in the small European principality of Liechtenstein in order to avoid taxation on their wealth.
In affadavits submitted by the CRA, brokers with an RBC Dominion Securities office in Victoria, British Columbia, allegedly helped clients set up 16 offshore entities with a division of the LGT Group in Liechtenstein. While that is not a crime under Canadian law, auditors allege that the entities were used to help Canadians hide worldwide income. Thirteen individuals are either being audited or have made voluntary disclosures, admitting to tax evasion. The agency is presently investigating to see if there are any other individuals participating in this scheme. Regarding the inquiry, dubbed “Project Jade”, the CRA will only say that it was launched on information from a “confidential informant”.
RBC issued a written statement, saying “As a firm, we have never encouraged Canadians — not 25 years ago and not today — to set up entities in Liechtenstein, and we have never instructed our investment advisers to recommend that practice,” and “we comply with all CRA requirements. This means that we provide all our clients with the forms they need to meet their personal tax obligations, and also file reports with CRA that form the basis for reviews such as this.”
Three RBC employees are presently being investigated, with one remaining unidentified.
Monday, December 3, 2007
The former Mayor of Sefton in the United Kingdom has been jailed for fraudulantly obtaining state benefits.
John Walker and his wife Catie, were found guilty of conspiracy to defraud at Liverpool Crown Court and of exaggerating ill health to obtain disability living allowance.
The Judge Brian Lewis described the fraud as “a disgraceful breach of trust”.
He was jailed for 15 months for conspiring to defraud £32,871.85 in Disability Living Allowance together with a six months concurrently sentence for conspiracy to defraud £4,000.25 in Income Support.
His wife, Catie Walker, was jailed for eight months for the DLA offence and a concurrent four months for the Income Support swindle.
December
19
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
New South Wales Police are continuing the search for the man who abducted a six year old girl for a short period of time from the front yard of her Mount Austin home in Wagga Wagga, New South Wales, Australia on Sunday morning.
The girl was playing in her front yard, when abducted by a man at approximately 11:30am (AEDT) on Sunday.She tried to cling to a tree but the man overpowered her, placing her under his arm and then into the rear of his cab. The girl’s screams alerted her mother and neighbours, with her mother getting a hold of the rear tray of the Toyota Hilux and being dragged along the road before losing her grip.
It is believed a witness followed the vehicle for a short distance until losing sight of it.
The abductor returned the girl to a nearby street approximately 90 minutes after the abduction.
| The child is physically unharmed and currently undergoing medical examination | ||
Superintendent Rod Smith told the media that the girl was “physically unharmed” but undergoing a “medical examination” with the family of the girl “suffering severe shock”.
The man is described to be in his 40s with a solid build and receding light hair, driving a late model Toyota Hilux, white in colour with silver standard wheels and a yellow barrel in the tray. The car is believed to have plates starting with BD or DB.
Friday, March 10, 2006
On February 8, the same day Super Size Me opened in Prague, a Czech film company’s volunteer known as Karel Gustav Bozan began a 1 month diet of Czech pub food and beer in a Czech version called “Super Spek Me”; which translates loosely as “Super Flab Me”.
Zuzana Pudilova of Aerofilms described the volunteer at that time: “He is a well-built man between 45 and 50. He is almost 2 metres tall, he is not exactly thin but until now he has had quite a healthy lifestyle.”
Karel ate typical Czech pub food for an entire month with three rules: no vegetables or fresh fruit (unless they came with a meal) no exercise, and lots of beer.
Karel’s menu consisted entirely of typical Czech dishes. Obesity therapist, Iva Malkova, had warned at the beginning of the project: “People in the Czech Republic eat much more fat, especially animal fat than is recommended.” Pub meals in the Czech Republic often consist of such fatty items as goose with dumplings or sausages.
Yesterday the results were announced; Karel lost six kilos, his cholesterol went down and so did his liver enzymes, triglyceride and uric acid levels. His blood pressure did not change. At his interview with Radio Prague he said: “I feel good, great! The food was varied and there were even enough greens in the garnish. As for beer, I tried to alternate brands but I always settled it with Pilsner. I liked the experiment, it was all paid for by the distributor, Aerofilms. I would do it again, maybe they will propose it to me!”
Zuzana Pudilova of Aerofilms said: “The result of the experiment is surprising – both for us and the experts who monitored it. The medical report says our volunteer has lost weight and his blood sugar has dropped. So we have come to the conclusion that fatty Czech pub grub is not all that bad for you – which I guess wasn’t meant to be the result of the experiment at all.”
Sunday, October 7, 2007
Russell Korus is running for the Green Party of Ontario in the Ontario provincial election, in the Vaughan riding. Wikinews’ Nick Moreau interviewed him regarding his values, his experience, and his campaign.
Stay tuned for further interviews; every candidate from every party is eligible, and will be contacted. Expect interviews from Liberals, Progressive Conservatives, New Democratic Party members, Ontario Greens, as well as members from the Family Coalition, Freedom, Communist, Libertarian, and Confederation of Regions parties, as well as independents.
December
11
Tuesday, August 13, 2013
News emerged yesterday that Boko Haram Islamists are suspected to have killed 44 worshippers during dawn prayers early Sunday morning in the small town of Konduga in Nigeria. The attacks were believed to be a revenge on citizen vigilante groups forming to help the government battle Islamist extremists and occurred 35km from the state capital Maiduguri.
A further 26 people are being treated for severe injuries. Boko Haram’s insurgency has killed at least 3,600 people since 2009, including killings by security forces.
In recent weeks the military has encouraged the formation of vigilante groups to help locate and arrest members of Boko Haram. Boko Haram has attacked churches and mosques. A video has been released where Boko Haram’s leader Abubakar Shekau takes responsibility for the attacks.
Thursday, June 15, 2006
A memorial dedicated to Oklahomans killed in the war on terrorism is planned for just north of the Oklahoma Capitol. The memorial would be built next to the proposed Veterans Affairs Department building on the side of Lincoln Boulevard between NW 30 and NE 32.
The plans would also have statues and memorials honoring veterans south of the capital moved to the Veterans Affairs building.
The Veterans Affairs building is part of a $196 million bond issue that will also pay for six other projects. If Oklahoma legislators could take up the measure as early as a special session this month and include it in the state’s 2007 fiscal year. The measure is expected to be raised next year if the bond issue is not acted on this year.
War On Terror Memorial Design Committee will oversee the task of seeking designs for the memorial. Because no state money has been set aside for the memorial, the committee would also raise money for its construction. Similar memorials around the country range in price of $1 million to $2.2 million.
Thursday, November 8, 2007
What you are about to read is an American life as lived by renowned author Edmund White. His life has been a crossroads, the fulcrum of high-brow Classicism and low-brow Brett Easton Ellisism. It is not for the faint. He has been the toast of the literary elite in New York, London and Paris, befriending artistic luminaries such as Salman Rushdie and Sir Ian McKellen while writing about a family where he was jealous his sister was having sex with his father as he fought off his mother’s amorous pursuit.
The fact is, Edmund White exists. His life exists. To the casual reader, they may find it disquieting that someone like his father existed in 1950’s America and that White’s work is the progeny of his intimate effort to understand his own experience.
Wikinews reporter David Shankbone understood that an interview with Edmund White, who is professor of creative writing at Princeton University, who wrote the seminal biography of Jean Genet, and who no longer can keep track of how many sex partners he has encountered, meant nothing would be off limits. Nothing was. Late in the interview they were joined by his partner Michael Caroll, who discussed White’s enduring feud with influential writer and activist Larry Kramer.
Saturday, October 22, 2011
120 years after it was founded, the University of Wales (UoW) will shut down. Already comprised of several institutions, two will merge fully while two more will become independent universities.
With a charter from 1893 and the Prince of Wales as its chancellor, problems began at UoW last year after concerns the head of a Malaysian partner institution, a local pop artist, had non-legitimate qualifications. This was followed by Thailand’s authorities denouncing another UoW partner as illegal, then an investigation in the UK into all the UoW’s foreign ties.
The Quality Assurance Agency said UoW’s overseas checks on foreign institutions were inadequate. The UK Border Agency is investigating a possible visa scam whereby foreign students were sold exam answers for a qualification leading to UoW entry and British visas. Two colleges — Rayat London College and Lampton College — are suspended over the claims.
Trinity St David and Swansea Metropolitan universities are to merge, forming University of Wales: Trinity St David. It is to use the latter’s own royal charter, which is itself 190 years old. Newport and Glyndwr are set to become universities in their own right. The dissolution follows calls from the leaders of rival universities for the end of UoW.
“I warmly welcome the historic decision taken today by the University of Wales Council,” said UoW Vice-Chancellor Professor Medwin Hughes, who will fill the same role for the new University of Wales: Trinity St David. “The transformed University will serve and deliver for Wales.” His counterpart for Newport, Dr Peter Noyes, said “The inevitable end to the story of the University of Wales should not detract from a distinguished history lasting 12 decades. Wales should be sad that this day has come[.]” UoW chairmain Hugh Thomas has resigned.
The Prince of Wales is among past students, having spent a 1969 term there. The institution’s various member organisations at one point included the now-separate Cardiff University.