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Friday, October 9, 2009

Macedonian President Gjorge Ivanov voiced expectations on Tuesday that the process of resolving the country’s long-standing name dispute with Greece will receive a new impetus, given the new government in Athens. He said that a compromise is possible, if the process continues under the auspices of UN resolutions and talks focus only on the name, and not on the Macedonian identity and language.

Ivanov added that any compromise shouldn’t “be offensive” to either Macedonia or Greece.

“A compromise is possible if the process is under the auspices of the UN resolution and only the name [of Macedonia] is discussed,” said Ivanov, as quoted by the MIA news agency. “A solution which is not insulting either for Macedonia or for Greece is a compromise.”

Greece and the Republic of Macedonia have been at odds over who has the right to the name of Macedonia — which is shared by a province in northern Greece — since 1991, when Macedonia declared independence from Yugoslavia.

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Tuesday, April 7, 2009

The bodies of 46 Afghan illegal immigrants who suffocated to death in a container truck Saturday near Quetta, Pakistan, returned home Tuesday.

The Edhi Foundation placed the victim’s bodies into coffins to transport them back to Chaman. Funeral prayers were said before victims left Quetta hospital. “We are taking these dead bodies to Spin Boldak and later these will be flown to Kabul by helicopter. We are thankful to Pakistan government for every help,” said Afghan consul general Daud Mohsini.

Afghan officials received the bodies from The Edhi ambulances and Pakistan police escorts at the Pak-Afghan border Bab-e-Dosti (Friendship Gate). Security was high and traffic was backed up at the border crossing. The bodies were taken to Kandahar then to Kabul before they were laid to rest in their home towns.

Hamid Karzai, President of Afghanistan dispatched aircraft to Pakistan to bring home the 46 victims. Poor weather grounded the planes, and the bodies were driven back across the border.

Pakistan police found a locked truck packed with approximately 111 Afghan illegal immigrants around 20 kilometers (12 miles) south of Quetta on Saturday. The driver had fled the scene where 62 people were initially pronounced dead. Police said that from the strong smell emanating from the truck, the victims may have died days before they were discovered.

45 other people were found unconscious and taken directly to the hospital. At hospital two more migrants died. “The death toll is 46,” said Ghulam Dastagir, a police official.

Wazir Khan Nasir, a senior police official said, “We have been able to talk to some of the people, who were trapped in the container. They were all Afghans in the container and the container was going to Iran, When the condition of people inside the container deteriorated, the driver fled, leaving the container.”

Survivors have reported that a human smuggling racket locked 64 Kabul residents and 37 Spin Boldak residents in the truck container Friday afternoon. The truck’s air conditioning unit stopped working causing the locked passengers to cry out for help which was unheeded by the truck’s driver, and they fell unconscious. However, the loud ruckus caused by the trapped people inside did alert police and local residents to their plight.

The trip had cost each illegal immigrant US$4,000 to 8,000 for the trip. Gul Zameen, a survivor said, “We are all poor and wanted to find jobs in Quetta and Iran.”

The survivors have been charged under the Foreigners Act and some have been detained. Karzai has ordered an investigation and “demanded people avoid dangerous illegal migration and not be deceived by smugglers.” “We’ll go to Pakistan and talk to the survivors to find out what had exactly happened. The culprits will be brought to justice,” said Moheeddin Baluch head of the investigating delegation.

Pakistan’s Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) is also investigating. Five suspects believed to be involved in running the human smuggling racket have been arrested.

Sunday, July 3, 2005

A reporter’s notes subpoenaed by the U.S. District Court in Washington may show United States President George W. Bush’s chief political advisor Karl Rove as one of the two sources behind the leaking of the identity of undercover CIA agent Valerie Plame, according to one or more anonymous sources cited by MSNBC.

However, Rove’s lawyer, Donald Luskin, acknowledged that although Rove had communicated with Cooper shortly before Plame’s identity was leaked, denied any wrongdoing on the part of his client, saying that “Rove absolutely did not identify Valerie Plame.”

The notes are those of TIME magazine White House correspondent Matthew Cooper. They were released by Norman Pearlstine, editor-in-chief of TIME Inc., by order of the court, in ruling that, in the case of leaking the identity of CIA agents, reporters must reveal the identity of their sources.

The court’s ruling was based on the clause in Constitutional law summarized popularly with the phrase “Crying fire in a crowded theater”: that when the degree to which the speech puts the safety of others at risk outweighs the degree to which it benefits others, so does their right to safety and security outweigh one’s right to free expression.

The Supreme Court on Monday refused to hear the reporters’ appeal of the case.

TIME magazine announced Thursday they would identify the White House leak from reporter Matthew Cooper’s notes. The decision by TIME came after a federal judge in Washington gave the magazine and The New York Times 48 hours to comply with a months long order to provide information on the sources of press leaks. Judith Miller of The New York Times, along with Cooper at TIME, face jail time for their refusal to name anonymous sources. The steadfast refusal by Cooper and Miller to personally identify their sources may lead to an 18 month jail sentence.

The case against Cooper stemmed from a July 6, 2003 Op-Ed piece published by the Times, where Joseph C. Wilson IV disputed the assertion made by President Bush in his State of the Union Address that Saddam Hussein tried to buy uranium from Niger.

A week later Valerie Plame, Wilson’s wife, was identified as a CIA operative in a news story written by Robert D. Novak, a conservative pundit. The news blew Plame’s cover, and the information was obtained by two anonymous White House sources. The leak to the press was thought by some to be retaliation for her husband’s Op-Ed story. Wilson blamed Rove for the leak, saying in an Aug. 21, 2003 public panel, “At the end of the day, it’s of keen interest to me to see whether or not we can get Karl Rove frog-marched out of the White House in handcuffs. And trust me, when I use that name, I measure my words.” [1]

Cooper wrote and had published stories about the issue at TIME. Miller did research, but did not write a story. The reporter Novak who broke the story, remained silent on the case until Wednesday, and said on CNN’s Inside Politics that, “They’re not going to jail because of me.”

Journalists usually protect their sources’ wishes of anonymity, in order to retain a vital channel of information from whistle-blowers and others with controversial information. The tension between the press and the U.S. Federal judiciary highlights what Rick Rodriquez, executive director of the American Association of Newspaper Editors, calls “the need to have a discussion around the federal shield law.” A “shield” statute could grant confidentiality between reporters and anonymous sources similarly to the right granted in attorney-client privilege.

The decision by his employer TIME to reveal a source may spare veteran reporter Cooper time behind bars. His employer is in possession of his notes and therefore has knowledge of the source. In the case of Miller, The New York Times claims it has no such reporting notes.

Friday, November 3, 2006

On November 13, Torontonians will be heading to the polls to vote for their ward’s councillor and for mayor. Among Toronto’s ridings is Don Valley West (Ward 26). Four candidates responded to Wikinews’ requests for an interview. This ward’s candidates include Muhammad Alam, Bahar Aminvaziri, Orhan Aybars, Michele Carroll-Smith, Mohamed Dhanani, Abdul Ingar, Geoff Kettel, Debbie Lechter, Natalie Maniates, John Masterson, John Parker, David Thomas, Csaba Vegh, and Fred Williams.

For more information on the election, read Toronto municipal election, 2006.

Thursday, April 3, 2008

A reporter from Wikinews recently interviewed Jim Babka, chair of Libertarian organization Downsize DC. The organization claims to have arranged for 22,158 people to send a message regarding the “American Freedom Agenda Act” proposed by Ron Paul, in addition to supporting many other laws. The full text of the interview can be found below.

Wednesday, February 13, 2019

The Hotel Arpit Palace in the Karol Bagh area of the Indian capital, New Delhi, caught fire yesterday morning. At least seventeen people died and 35 were rescued, according to officials, some of whom were hospitalised.

Many of the affected guests were Indian; the Myanma embassy confirmed two Buddhist pilgrims from Myanmar also died. The area is popular with visitors, with budget hotels and shopping districts. Firefighters dispatched around 30 vehicles; personnel reportedly had control of the blaze by 8:00am local time. No cause was immediately known, but a fire officer said wooden panels led to corridors becoming unusable for escape.

Local media reported most of the deceased suffocated. One child was, according to the fire service, among the dead. The hotel’s website estimated 120 people were in the 25-year-old building at the time. A judicial inquiry was ordered, according to police. Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted “Deeply saddened by the loss of lives” and offered “condolences to the families of those who lost their lives. May the injured recover soon.”

According to eyewitnesses, the deceased child and his mother were among victims who leapt from the burning hotel. The top floor has been extensively damaged and blackened by the blaze. Satyendra Jain, the city’s home minister, said “Buildings can only be constructed up to four floors in Delhi[…] This hotel had been built up to six floors. It’s gross negligence on the part of the officers who allowed the extra floors to be built. The entire hotel has wooden panelling, this shows carelessness on the part of the owner.”

Fires are common in India. Activists claim safety standards are routinely ignored.