Sunday, January 1, 2006It looks like baseball stars Manny Ramirez and Miguel Tejada might be traded after all. Several New York Daily News sources claim that Ramirez could go to the New York Mets as part of a four-team deal. However, budget constraints may complicate the trade. According to the Daily News, if this blockbuster deal is successful, the following trades could take place:
Tuesday, March 29, 2005A team of Australian surgeons yesterday reattached both hands and one foot to 10-year-old Perth boy, Terry Vo, after a brick wall which collapsed during a game of basketball fell on him, severing the limbs. The wall gave way while Terry performed a slam-dunk, during a game at a friend’s birthday party.
The boy was today awake and smiling, still in some pain but in good spirits and expected to make a full recovery, according to plastic surgeon, Mr Robert Love.
“What we have is parts that are very much alive so the reattached limbs are certainly pink, well perfused and are indeed moving,” Mr Love told reporters today.
“The fact that he is moving his fingers, and of course when he wakes up he will move both fingers and toes, is not a surprise,” Mr Love had said yesterday.
“The question is more the sensory return that he will get in the hand itself and the fine movements he will have in the fingers and the toes, and that will come with time, hopefully. We will assess that over the next 18 months to two years.
“I’m sure that he’ll enjoy a game of basketball in the future.”
The weight and force of the collapse, and the sharp brick edges, resulted in the three limbs being cut through about 7cm above the wrists and ankle.
Terry’s father Tan said of his only child, the injuries were terrible, “I was scared to look at him, a horrible thing.”
The hands and foot were placed in an ice-filled Esky and rushed to hospital with the boy, where three teams of medical experts were assembled, and he was given a blood transfusion after experiencing massive blood loss. Eight hours of complex micro-surgery on Saturday night were followed by a further two hours of skin grafts yesterday.
“What he will lose because it was such a large zone of traumatised skin and muscle and so on, he will lose some of the skin so he’ll certainly require lots of further surgery regardless of whether the skin survives,” said Mr Love said today.
The boy was kept unconscious under anaesthetic between the two procedures. In an interview yesterday, Mr Love explained why:
“He could have actually been woken up the next day. Because we were intending to take him back to theatre for a second look, to look at the traumatised skin flaps, to close more of his wounds and to do split skin grafting, it was felt the best thing to do would be to keep him stable and to keep him anaesthetised.”
Professor Wayne Morrison, director of the respected Bernard O’Brien Institute of Microsurgery and head of plastic and hand surgery at Melbourne’s St Vincent’s Hospital, said he believed the operation to be a world first.
The Nigerian man accused of trying to blow up a Detroit-bound jetliner on Christmas day with hidden explosives is cooperating with investigators and providing fresh intelligence after the U.S. enlisted the help of his family, an administration official said. His family persuaded him to cooperate.
The official declined to provide details on what kind of information Abdulmutallab was providing.
Related news
“Failed bomb aboard Delta flight” — Wikinews, December 26, 2009
Sources
Evan Perez. “Abdulmutallab Resumes Talking to Federal Agents” — The Wall Street Journal, February 2, 2010
“Bomb plot accused ‘co-operating'” — UKPA, February 2, 2010
Somajiguda
Somajiguda on the map of India
One person died and 41 were injured, including three nurses who are critically injured, in a major fire at Park Healthcare Hospital in Somajiguda, a suburb of the Indian city Hyderabad, on Tuesday morning.
The fire engulfed a major portion of the five-storey hospital’s first floor, along with some medical equipment and furniture on the other floors.
City police commissioner A K Khan said that a criminal case had been registered against the hospital management. “It is also being determined whether safety standards were followed by the hospital,” he said.
Sources
“Major fire at city hospital; one patient dead” — The Hindu, February 2, 2010
“Major fire at Hyderabad hospital; one patient dead” — PTI, February 2, 2010
Stripped shelves in a supermarket in China as a result of the contamination (September 2008)Image: Kollision.
Chinese authorities say they are preparing to launch a crackdown on melamine-laced milk after the scandal over tainted products, which made hundreds of thousands of children ill two years ago and damaged China’s brand reputation overseas, resurfaced.
China has dispatched inspectors to sixteen provinces to urge local governments to thoroughly investigate cases concerning food safety.
The decision comes after milk products tainted with the industrial chemical melamine were removed from sale in Shanghai and the provinces of Shaanxi, Shandong, Liaoning and Hebei, the state-run Xinhua News Agency said.
Related news
“Contaminated baby’s milk induces wave of child illness in China” — Wikinews, September 22, 2008
Sources
Edward Wong. “China Begins Emergency Check of Dairy Products” — The New York Times, February 2, 2010
Cara Anna. “Beijing begins emergency sweep for tainted milk products” — The Boston Globe, February 3, 2010
Map of Karachi, Sindh province
At least twenty-six people have been killed in Karachi, Pakistan after four days of ethnic killings, according to police officials. The officials said that nine people were killed on Monday in the city’s Orangi western neighbourhood, which has a majority ethnic Pashtun community.
The Sindh government has awarded special powers to the Pakistan Rangers under Section 5 of the Anti-Terrorism Act 1997 and imposed Section 144 in the limits of 26 police stations for a month.
At least forty people were killed as ethnic clashes erupted across the city in early January.Home minister of Sindh province, Dr Zulfiqar Mirza has called upon the Army to restore peace and order.
Sources
Salis bin Perwaiz. “Rangers given control of 26 police stations” — The News International, February 3, 2010
“Deadly ethnic violence hits Karachi” — Al Jazeera, February 2, 2010
Zamir Sheikh and Nisar Mehdi. “Army asked to take over Karachi” — The Nation, February 3, 2010
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This page is archived, and is no longer publicly editable.
Articles presented on Wikinews reflect the specific time at which they were written and published, and do not attempt to encompass events or knowledge which occur or become known after their publication.
Got a correction? Add the template {{editprotected}} to the talk page along with your corrections, and it will be brought to the attention of the administrators.
Please note that due to our archival policy, we will not alter or update the content of articles that are archived, but will only accept requests to make grammatical and formatting corrections.
Note that some listed sources or external links may no longer be available online due to age.
At a nursing home in Providence, Rhode Island a cat is reported to be able to sense when elderly individuals are about to die.
The cat, known as ‘Oscar‘ is reported to have sensed the deaths of at least 25 elderly people. According to nursing home employees, Oscar has been living at the Steere House Nursing and Rehabilitation Center for two years and seems to sense the deaths at least two to four hours before they happen, and he is rarely wrong.
“It’s not that the cat is consistently there first. But the cat always does manage to make an appearance, and it always seems to be in the last two hours,” said professor of community health at the home, Dr. Joan Teno.
Oscar would go from room to room on a daily basis to watch and smell the patients, eventually curling up next to one that dies within a few hours, but since most of the patients he visits are too ill they do not notice his presence.
One veterinarian and expert on cats says that cats and dogs sense things that humans are not able to sense.
“It’s such a cat thing to do. Those things are hard to study. I think probably dogs and cats can sense things we can’t,” said University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine, chief of veterinarian medicine at the college, Thomas Graves who also added that he does not believe it has anything to do with being a ‘psychic cat’ saying “there’s probably a biochemical explanation.”
This weekend saw the opening of two new exhibitions at Edinburgh’s National Gallery of Modern Art. Wikinews attended Thursday’s press preview for the event where a full contingent of the capital’s press turned out to see the striking collection of paintings, photographs, and other works. Presented below are a selection of images captured at the preview.
REFLECTIONS: A Series of Changing Displays of Contemporary Art, billed as a showcase of a “diverse range of internationally-renowned contemporary and modern artists” is to display major works from the Gallery’s permanent collection, alongside important loans. Alongside this broad range of works, a three-room display of pieces on-loan from the Roy Lichtenstein Foundation — with a dramatic painted steel relief, ‘borrowed’ from the Tate in London — runs from March 14 through to January 10 next year.
Admission to both exhibitions is free; being located in Dean, to the north-west of Edinburgh’s city centre, a free Gallery bus service is available.
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Edinburgh’s press pack at the Roy Lichtenstein exhibition preview. Image: Brian McNeil.
The exterior of the Modern One building of Edinburgh’s Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art. Image: Brian McNeil.
A film crew sets up with one of Roy Lichtenstein’s works as a backdrop, and the steel roundel on-loan from the Tate Gallery in London dramatically displayed on the wall of the main Artists’ Room. Image: Brian McNeil.
The exterior of the Modern One building of Edinburgh’s Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art. Image: Brian McNeil.
A rather unusual installation; part of the REFLECTIONS exhibition at the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art. Image: Brian McNeil.
Dorothy Lichtenstein, at the press preview for an exhibition of her late husband’s works. Image: Brian McNeil.
A pair of Lichtenstein’s paintings, hanging in the main gallery of the Artists’ Rooms. Image: Brian McNeil.
The exterior of the Modern One building of Edinburgh’s Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art. Image: Brian McNeil.
A selection of prints and postcards, available for sale in the Gallery’s shop. Image: Brian McNeil.
The ‘scrum’ of photographers capturing Roy Lichtenstein’s widow, Dorothy, in front of one of her late husband’s paintings. Image: Brian McNeil.
Dorothy Lichtenstein, being lit as she poses for the cameras at the press preview of her late husband’s work. Image: Brian McNeil.
Another pair of Lichtenstein’s paintings, with the doorway through to another part of the Gallery. Image: Brian McNeil.
A corridor in the Gallery makes an effective space to display a range of the works from the REFLECTIONS exhibit. Image: Brian McNeil.
The main Artists Room of the Gallery, displaying some of Lichtenstein’s dramatic works. Image: Brian McNeil.
A different take on the corridor display part of the REFLECTIONS exhibit, with mirror at end of corridor. Image: Brian McNeil.
A display of photographs from the REFLECTIONS exhibit. Image: Brian McNeil.
Member of the press admiring one of Lichtenstein’s works at new exhibition in the Modern One building of the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art in Edinburgh. Image: Brian McNeil.
One of the display galleries hosting part of the REFLECTIONS exhibit. Image: Brian McNeil.
Wall of artworks making up part of the REFLECTIONS exhibit, with mirror at end of corridor. Image: Brian McNeil.
Press film crew sets up and tests lighting levels in front of one of Lichtenstein’s most-famous works. Image: Brian McNeil.
The licensed cafe on the lower level of the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art. Image: Brian McNeil.
The kitchen garden to the rear of the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art. Image: Brian McNeil.
The licensed cafe on the lower level of the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art. Image: Brian McNeil.
Rear of the Modern One building of the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art in Edinburgh. Image: Brian McNeil.
Display of cakes and biscuits in cafe of the Modern One building of the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art. Image: Brian McNeil.
Douglas Gordon’s dramatic List of Names which adorns the wall of the stairwell in the Modern One building. Image: Brian McNeil.
Sixteen policemen were killed by unidentified assailants in Kashgar, in the predominantly Muslim Xinjiang region of China. Another sixteen officers were wounded in the attack, in which two attackers drove a lorry into the station. The government of the People’s Republic of China has repeatedly warned of unrest leading up to the 2008 Summer Olympics.
Xinhua News Agency reports that the attackers drove a dump truck into the police officers during the officers’ morning exercise at about 8:00 am local time (0:00 GMT), then threw grenades into the police barracks and attacked with knives. The BBC reports that fourteen of the police deaths occurred at the scene, with two more dying en route to hospital. They also report one of the alleged attackers received a leg injury. The attackers were arrested, according to police.
After they were arrested by the police, the assailants were described as being 28 and 33, and of the Uyghur minority, a Turkish speaking people who reside primarily in the Xinjiang region. The police found an additional 10 explosives in the truck as well as what was described as a “home-made gun.”
The autonomous Xinjiang region of China is a large, sparsely-populated territory in the north-west of the country. The population includes many groups, but the largest is the Turkic peoples including the largely Muslim Uyghurs. Kashgar is an oasis city at an important junction of trade routes, near China’s western borders, and was a part of the historic “Silk Road.”
A U.S. District Court in Tarrant County, Texas, issued a summary judgment Thursday against Circuit City’s InterTAN Inc., requiring all 950 RadioShack stores in Canada to stop using the RadioShack brand in store signs, packaging, products and advertising after June 30.
RadioShack’s Canadian operations were spun off in 1986 to a new corporation, InterTAN Canada, which was purchased in 2004 by RadioShack’s major U.S. competitor, Circuit City. Shortly thereafter, RadioShack sued InterTAN, alleging it had violated the terms of their licensing agreement and seeking the right to terminate the contract early.
In a statement released following the judge’s ruling, RadioShack’s general counsel, Mark Hill, claimed: “The most important thing to us was to protect our brand position in Canada.”
Circuit City chairman and chief executive officer, W. Alan McCollough responded today in a press release seeking an appeal: “We respectfully believe the court has erred in the partial ruling entered yesterday and we will use every means of relief possible to exercise our rights under the agreements, including all appeal rights. The Company believes the positions taken by InterTAN are correct and believe InterTAN will ultimately prevail in the legal proceedings.”
Paul Rusesabagina, the real-life hero portrayed in the film “Hotel Rwanda”, visited Atlanta, Ga. and Washington, D.C. this week to address American students and business leaders at schools and conferences centers. His appearances coincide with World Refugee Day events in Washington.
At Sleepy Hollow Elementary School in the Falls Church section of Fairfax County, he spoke to elementary school students who had learned about his accomplishments in the weeks prior to his appearance.
“I thought I was doing the right thing,” Rusesabagina said. “You also should do the right thing.” He explained the situation he faced in simple terms. “There were bad people and good people. The good people came to hide in my hotel, I had to give them food. I had to give them shelter and keep away the bad people for two and a half months.” When asked if he was scared, he responded “No, fortunately I did not have time to be scared. I did not know that what I was doing was different. I thought other people were doing it.”
In Atlanta, speaking with business leaders, he focused on the present and future.
“What is going on in Darfur is exactly what had been going on in Rwanda, the government is killing its own citizens.” He encouraged business leaders to bring money into Africa but made it clear that Africa was in need of more than just business interest. “What Africans need as a whole is not only someone who will come and pay their education, but it is also to change the systems in Africa. To help us to change, to find lasting solutions. Africa is ruled by dictators. And those dictators should know that one day they also can be brought to justice,” emphasizing the idea that Africa needed a political revamping to stabilize.
PRS for Music is the UK’s music royalty collection society tasked with working on behalf of copyright holders, specifically authors and music publishers. Founded in 1914, the PRS is a non-profit organisation with 350,000 UK businesses holding PRS licenses. The society works in conjunction with PPL which collects fees on behalf of the copyright holders of the actual recording.So, if a cover version of a song is played on UK radio, PRS collect a fee on behalf of the original writer and publisher, whilst PPL collect a fee on behalf of the record company of the cover. In a recent Wikinews interview, Paul Campbell, founder of Amazing Radio, an unsigned UK radio station, lambasted PRS for their “barmy standard contract” and their outdated equipment. That interview can be found here.
The music industry is changing and the way we use music is continually changing
Wikinews reporter Tristan Thomas interviews PRS, following up on Campbell and others’ criticism as well as finding out about future plans.
((Wikinews)) Firstly, thank you for the time in doing this interview.
((WN)) Last year, you were involved in a high profile dispute with YouTube. Can you briefly explain to our audience what that was all about and the final outcome of it?
((PRS)) PRS for Music was the first collecting society in the world to license the YouTube service, meaning if music videos were watched online then our members – who created them – would receive a small royalty payment. When we went to renew the licence that YouTube held we couldn’t agree as to how much should be paid and exactly what should be covered within it. We believed that music had become a much larger part of the YouTube service and that YouTube/Google should reflect the increased use of our members’ creative talent in the amount they paid.
The great thing is that we kept talking to YouTube throughout the dispute and managed to reach an agreement in September which meant that the videos could be accessed again by UK YouTube users and that our 65,000 songwriter, composer and music publisher members would be paid.
((WN)) How many artists do you represent and how much did you collect during 2009 for them?
((PRS)) We represent 65,000 songwriters, composers and music publishers. We haven’t released our 2009 figures yet but in 2008 we collected over £600m for them. The main sources of revenue come from recorded media (CDs, DVDs etc), international use, public performance use and use in television, radio and online.
((WN)) Paul Campbell in a recent interview with us said the following:“PRS has a barmy standard contract for using their members’ music online. It requires us to pay them a fixed percentage of ALL revenue from that website – whether or not the revenue is derived from their members’ work. So if we had 100,000 songs from non-PRS artists on amazingtunes.com, and one song from a PRS artist, we’d have to pay them a percentage of the revenue from ALL 100,000 songs. I.e., we’d have to take money out of the pockets out of non-PRS artists to pay to PRS. That would be immoral.”How do you respond to that?
((PRS)) Anyone using music in a commercial way – such as a radio station – is required to obtain the permission of those that created the music. This could be numerous writers, publishers and a record label for each song, possibly in different countries around the world. By obtaining a PRS for Music and PPL licence in the UK you are ensuring you have those permissions for over 10million musical works. Obviously much of the music used on radio comes from non-UK writers who may not be members of PRS for Music. Radio and television stations give us almost 100% accurate reports of their music use through their own playlists; this data then enables organisations such as ours to work out who should be paid and how much. PRS for Music has 144 agreements in place with similar societies around the world, resulting in us representing almost 2 million writers worldwide. If French, American, Spanish, Australian or any other writer’s music is used we will pay the respective societies so they can pay their members.
HAVE YOUR SAY
Is PRS’ standard contract “barmy” as Paul Campbell asserts?
Add or view comments
Similarly a writer of musician may be ‘unsigned’ by that doesn’t mean that they shouldn’t earn from their music when it is used by others. Many bands, writers and performers are currently unsigned but by being members of PRS for Music they ensure that they can begin earning vital royalties that allow them to continue with their musical career.
((WN)) How does the PRS ensure that artists outside the UK are properly compensated when their music is used within the UK, such as Thai or Chinese restaurants paying their PRS dues and exclusively using music which is from outside Europe?
((PRS)) As mentioned before PRS for Music has agreements in place in over 90 countries around the world to ensure that when music is used the right creators are rewarded. The system – built up over the last century – works both ways and when UK music is used internationally, PRS for Music receives royalties from foreign societies so we can pay our members. In 2008 £139.8m was collected from UK music use abroad, with the UK being one of only a few net exporters of music in the world.
((WN)) There have been a few cases in which PRS have been forced to apologise, exemplified by the threat of prosecution and a fine towards “singing granny” Sandra Burt, a shelf-stacker who sung to herself whilst stacking shelves. How has PRS moved forward from these incidents in order to ensure they do not happen again?
((PRS)) If we have made mistakes we will of course put our hands up and say so. For example when we were approached about the Sandra Burt case – by a journalist incidentally and not Sandra – we did give out slightly incorrect advice, although the questions were a little ambiguous. Once we realised our mistake we contacted Sandra to explain that she wouldn’t need a licence to sing to her customers and offered our sincere apologies. As an organisation we are very quick to admit where we get things wrong and ensure they are put right. We’re proud of our record with our customers and currently have 350,000 businesses choosing to use music in the UK.
Once we realised our mistake we contacted Sandra
To put the complaints in context we have only have 1 for approximately every 5,000 customer contacts we make. This is an exceptionally low ratio and there are many firms who would be envious of a record like this. During 2009 our complaints fell by 50% and we appointed an independent ombudsmen who could handle any complaints if they were not resolved internally. As of January 2010 no complaints have needed to be passed on to the ombudsmen.
((WN)) How does the PRS work with musicians who are not signed to major labels, may make music available for download via their own websites or MySpace, and do not have the financial resources to protect their copyright?
((PRS)) Many of the PRS for Music membership is not signed to a major record label and we represent creators from all genres of music in the UK and abroad. By joining PRS for Music, which only costs £10 deferred to your first royalty payment, you ensure you can begin earning royalties whenever your music is played, performed or reproduced. We have worked hard to license such sites as YouTube, MySpace, Spotify and Sky Songs to name a selection to ensure our members can be rewarded when their work is used.
Our membership team also work hard to support our creators holding showcase events, offering advice of how to get their music used as well as legal and financial advice.
((WN)) Finally, what future plans do you have as an organisation in order to further protect and enhance your members work as new technologies emerge over the next few years?
((PRS)) PRS for Music will continue to be at the forefront of licensing new digital and online services to ensure creators are paid. We aim to get the balance right to ensure new products and music services can launch and develop, but that also they pay for the music they use.
The music industry is changing and the way we use music is continually changing (it always has) but we’ll still be at the forefront enabling people to use music whenever they want, and rewarding those that have created that music.
((WN)) Thank you for taking the time out for this interview. Good luck for 2010.
Flag of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Image: Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
George M. Leader, former Governor of the U.S. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, died in Hershey, Pennsylvania yesterday at the age of 95.
Leader’s death, at a retirement community he and his wife founded in 1985, comes after the former governor suffered a short illness. The community’s spokeswoman, Kelly S. Kuntz, announced Leader’s death.
Leader was born in York County, Pennsylvania in 1918. After graduating from the University of Pennsylvania in 1939, he joined his father’s poultry business. Shortly thereafter, in World War II, Leader served as an ensign in the U.S. Navy.
After serving in the State Senate for four years, Leader, a Democrat, was elected Governor of Pennsylvania in the 1954 election. Sworn-in in 1955, he served as Governor until 1959.
Upon taking office at the age of 37, Leader became the second-youngest Governor of Pennsylvania behind Robert E. Pattison, who was 32 years old at his 1883 inauguration.
Current Pennsylvania Governor Tom Corbett mandated state flags be flown at half staff until the evening of Leader’s burial. Corbett also praised Leader, describing him as someone who “defied political labels and conventional thinking in his tireless work for Pennsylvania and its people.”
Former Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell also commented on Leader’s death, saying he would be remembered as “a man who cared very deeply about what happened around him.”
