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Saturday, December 14, 2013

Wednesday was the first of three days for the body of former South African President Nelson Mandela to lie in state at the Union Buildings in Pretoria, at the same amphitheatre where he was inaugurated on May 10, 1994. The amphitheatre was renamed The Nelson Mandela Amphitheatre, by President Jacob Zuma at the Mandela memorial service held in FNB Stadium in Soweto on Tuesday.

The weather for the memorial service on Tuesday was inclement, as the day was filled with rain and cold wind. There were logistical “glitches” in ferrying the public to the stadium which resulted in long waiting times. A less than expected attendance by the public resulted in a partially filled stadium. Some sections of the crowd were heard booing the state president Jacob Zuma when his image appeared on the stadium screen, prompting the program director Cyril Ramaphosa to call for discipline amongst the crowd. The discovery that the sign language interpreter was actually signing “rubbish” has since caused uproar in the deaf communities of South Africa and around the world.

US president Barack Obama and Mbuso Mandela both received the loudest cheer and standing ovation as they each delivered their tributes. They drew on Mandela’s quotations over the years as they delivered heartfelt and spirit stirring eulogies.

The GCIS has advised that tight security measures will be taken in Qunu Eastern Cape Province where Nelson Mandela is to be buried. No members of the public or Media are to be allowed near the home stead.

The body of the former state man lay in state through yesterday. This morning it was to be transferred from the 1 Military hospital to the Waterkloof Air Force Base and flown by the South African Military to Qunu Eastern Cape Province. The former state man is to be laid to rest amongst his ancestors tomorrow.

Wednesday, April 1, 2009

According to reports, a man protesting the G20 Summit in London, England has died after collapsing at a protester camp.

Sky News says the man collapsed on the street inside a camp close to the Bank of England and when found he was still breathing, but efforts by paramedics to rescue him failed and he was pronounced dead at an area hospital. The name of the person and cause of death are not yet known, but several people were injured earlier in the day. The police claim that protestors threw bottles at them while trying to rescue the protestor.

The London Ambulance Service reported that “we received a 999 call at 7:24 pm from a member of the public reporting that a man had fallen over and was unconscious, but was breathing. [They] made extensive efforts to resuscitate him both there and on the way to hospital.”

Earlier in the day a minimum of 20 protesters broke into the bank and according to reports vandalized furniture, broke windows and cut the telephone lines to the building.

Monday, February 21, 2005The Romanian Government has made plans and identified its aims for the next privatisation program which will end in 2006. By the end of next year, the government hopes to sell all of its shares in Romtelecom, Romania’s largest telecommunications company, which is currently owned by Greece’s OTE but which the government maintains a 47% share in. The full privatisation will occur in two phases, with some of the government’s existing shares being sold on the Bucharest Stock Exchange this year, and the remainder being sold in 2006.

By 2006, the government also wants to sell its share in Postelecom, another telecommunications operator, and complete the privatisation of the Radiocomunica?ii, the national radio communications company.

The Government also wantes to begin analysis and consulting into the privatisation of Po?ta Român?, or Romanian Post, the full privatisation of which is set to be completed by 2009 at the latest.

Romania has embarked on a quite comprehensive program of privatisation since 2000, having privatised a part of Romtelecom, as well as full privatisations of several energy distributors and the nation’s largest banks, in addition to other smaller companies. However, these privatisations are dwarfed by that of Petrom, Romania’s national oil company, which was bought by Austria’s OMV in 2004 and is the largest Romanian privatisation ever.

The current Liberal-Democrat governing coalition in Romania has privatisation and economic liberalism as one of its main policies, having also introduced a 16% flat tax rate for personal income and corporate profits at the start of 2005.

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Saturday, August 24, 2013

A transgender woman attacked in Harlem, New York last week died on Thursday after being declared brain dead and taken off life support. Police are treating the death of Islan Nettles, 21, as a hate crime.

Nettles was walking with transgender friends early on August 17 when they met a group of men opposite a local police building. Police say a fight ensued after the men discovered the group was transgender and local man Paris Wilson, 20, was arrested at the scene.

Wilson was charged by prosecutors in Manhattan with assault and harassment. Prosecutors say more serious charges could be brought after police received allegations homophobic language was used, with a hate crimes team now investigating. The death has been ruled a homicide and a spokeswoman for the New York City medical examiner’s office said Nettles was killed by “blunt impact head injuries”.

The criminal complaint Wilson presently faces says a police officer found Nettles “unconscious on the ground with a swollen shut eye and blood on her face”. Wilson is accused of punching Nettles to the ground and then repeatedly hitting her while she lay there.

Nettles was interested in a fashion career, working as an intern for local fashion firm Ay’Medici. “Fashion became a definite decision for my life after my first show with my hand designed garments in highschool”, she wrote on LinkedIn, where she described herself as “anti-violence”. She has previously instructed fashion at Harlem Children’s Zone, undertaking studies at New York College of Technology and the Bread and Roses Integrated Arts High School.

Her mother, Dolores Nettles, told press Nettles and her friends were subject to transphobic insults. “They were called faggots, they were called he-shes, she-males, things of that nature,” she said.

Daniel L. Squadron of the New York State Senate said yesterday in a statement “Islan was 21 years old — 21 years old. And her life and future were stolen from her. Let’s be clear: intolerance, discrimination and hate have no place in New York or anywhere.” He called for the passage of a related bill he supports, the Gender Expression Non-Discrimination Act.

Wilson is presently free on bail, with a court hearing scheduled for October 4.

Sunday, January 27, 2008

Viktor Schreckengost, the father of industrial design and creator of the Jazz Bowl, an iconic piece of Jazz Age art designed for Eleanor Roosevelt during his association with Cowan Pottery died yesterday. He was 101.

Schreckengost was born on June 26, 1906 in Sebring, Ohio, United States.

Schreckengost’s peers included the far more famous designers Raymond Loewy and Norman Bel Geddes.

In 2000, the Cleveland Museum of Art curated the first ever retrospective of Schreckengost’s work. Stunning in scope, the exhibition included sculpture, pottery, dinnerware, drawings, and paintings.

Monday, December 31, 2007

What would you tell your grandchildren about 2007 if they asked you about it in, let’s say, 20 year’s time? If the answer to a quiz question was 2007, what would the question be? The year that you first signed on to Facebook? The year Britney Spears and Amy Winehouse fell apart? The year author Kurt Vonnegut or mime Marcel Marceau died, both at 84?

Let’s take a look at some of the international stories of 2007. Links to the original Wikinews articles are in bold.