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Sunday, August 6, 2006

Fidel Castro’s condition is “satisfactory” following surgery last Monday for intestinal bleeding according to Cuban vice-premier Carlos Lage and Cuba’s health minister José Ramón Balaguer who adds that it will not be long before the Cuban leader returns to work. On Saturday, Cuban parliamentary speaker Ricardo Alcaron told CNN’s Spanish service that Castro “remains in stable condition” and is “resting in order to recover as quickly as possible”.

Lage, who is in Bolivia for the opening of that country’s constitutional convention, said that Castro sends the Bolivian people “fraternal greetings” according to Cuban press agency Prensa Latina. Lage denied reports that Castro has stomach cancer and said that the ailing leader had “been made well by the operation and is recuperating favourably.”

Venezualan president Hugo Chavez sent his good wishes during his weekly broadcast saying “Fidel Castro, a hug for you, friend and comrade and I know you are getting better.”

“We have reliable information of your quick and notable recuperation” said Chavez on Castro’s condition. In a telephone conversation with Bolivian leader Eva Morales later in the broadcast, Chavez said of the Cuban leader “this morning I learned that he’s very well, that he is already getting out of bed, he’s talking more than he should — because he talks a lot, you know. He has sent us greetings,”

Castro, who turns 80 later this month, temporarily transferred power to his 75 year-old brother, Raul Castro, prior to his surgery, leading to widespread speculation in the United States that he is dying or dead.

No pictures of Castro have been released since his surgery was announced last Monday fuelling speculation around the world about his condition. Acting Cuban leader Raul Castro has also not been seen in public in the past week.

The island’s government has increased security due to fears of a US attack during Castro’s illness. US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice told NBC News “The notion that somehow the United States is going to invade Cuba, because there are troubles in Cuba, is simply far-fetched”

Until temporarily relinquishing power to his brother last week, Fidel Castro had led the country since the 1959 Cuban Revolution.

Monday, November 26, 2012

An 18-year-old man, Travis Hawkins Jr., was charged yesterday by police in Mobile County, Alabama, for allegedly beating a woman who is romantically involved with his sister. Hawkins was bailed following a charge for second-degree assault.

Mallory Owens, 23, the victim of the attack, is in the USA Medical Center in Mobile, recovering from the injuries. Owens has had to have facial reconstructive surgery and had a broken nose from the assault during Thanksgiving. Owens’ family have told reporters they believe it to be a hate crime and called for the prosecutors to upgrade the charges against Hawkins.

The father of the arrested man, Travis Hawkins Sr., has said they have hired a lawyer for his son, Hawkins Jr.

Sunday, April 24, 2011

An investigation by the United States Coast Guard has concluded the largest oil spill in the history of the petroleum industry was partly the result of a “poor safety culture” aboard the Deepwater Horizon oil rig. The April 2010 explosion aboard the rig, which is located in the Gulf of Mexico, triggered a disaster that led to widespread environmental damage.

The report squarely blames Transocean, which managed the Deepwater Horizon, for being largely responsible for the explosion that claimed eleven lives. The rig had “serious safety management system failures and a poor safety culture,” the report says. Transocean fiercely rejected allegations that crews aboard the rig were badly trained and equipment was poorly maintained.

A slapdash safety environment on Deepwater Horizon would mean equipment was not mended or replaced if it meant losing valuable hours of drilling, the Coast Guard found. Electrical equipment believed to have caused a spark that ignited flammable gas was described as being in “bad condition” and “seriously corroded.” The report found that other deficiencies—improperly assembled gas detectors and emergency equipment; audible alarms switched off because of nuisance false warnings; complacency with fire drills; and poor preparation for dealing with a well blowout—all contributed to the disaster.

Transocean attacked the report’s conclusions and suggested the Coast Guard may have played a role in the disaster. A spokesperson for the company said Deepwater Horizon had been inspected by Coast Guard officials only months before the explosion, officials who said it complied with safety standards. “We strongly disagree with—and documentary evidence in the Coast Guard’s possession refutes—key findings in this report,” the company said.

This week, Deepwater Horizon owner BP launched legal action against Transocean. It also filed a lawsuit against Halliburton, the company that cemented the well, and Cameron, which manufactured the rig’s failed blowout preventer. BP is reportedly seeking to claim US$40 billion in damages, and alleges it has taken a massive financial hit and loss of reputation. In a statement, BP said it filed the lawsuits “to ensure that all parties … are appropriately held accountable for their roles in contributing to the Deepwater Horizon accident”.

In the lawsuit against Transocean, BP claims the company missed signs that a disaster was imminent and that it “materially breached its contractual duties in its actions and inactions leading to the loss of well control, the explosion and the loss of life and injuries onboard the Deepwater Horizon, as well as the resulting oil spill.” Halliburton, BP alleges, was riddled with “improper conduct, errors and omissions, including fraud and concealment” which led to the disaster, and continues to refuse to cooperate with investigators.

Transocean dismissed the lawsuit as “desperate” and “unconscionable,” and announced a countersuit against BP, which it claims was responsible for the disaster “through a series of cost-saving decisions that increased risk, in some cases severely.” Halliburton and Cameron, which is also countersuing, announced they would defend themselves against BP’s allegations.

U.S. President Barack Obama marked the anniversary of the explosion by conceding that although “progress” has been made to ensure the safety of deep water drilling rigs, “the job isn’t done.” Obama’s comments came less than a week after leading experts raised serious questions over the security of deep water drilling as the U.S. government approves more exploration without improving safety measures.

Charles Perrow, a professor at Yale University, said the oil industry “is ill prepared at the least” to deal with another oil spill, despite repeated assurances from the industry and the government, which insists lessons have been learned from the Deepwater Horizon disaster. “I have seen no evidence that they have marshaled containment efforts that are sufficient to deal with another major spill,” he said. “Even if everybody tries very hard, there is going to be an accident caused by cost-cutting and pressure on workers. These are moneymaking machines and they make money by pushing things to the limit.”

However, politicians have insisted they are doing all they can to help clean the coast of oil. “Cleanup efforts in some places are still ongoing, and the full scale of the damage done to our state has yet to be calculated, but the good news is that most all of our fishing waters are back open again,” said Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal at a press conference. “All of us here today want the entire nation to get the message that Louisiana is making another historic comeback.”

Gulf Coast residents, activists and relatives of the crewmen who were killed in the explosion paused this week for the anniversary of the oil spill’s beginning. A helicopter took the victims’ families from New Orleans to over the site where the rig stood, where it circled. “It was just a little emotional, seeing where they were,” said one victim’s mother. Remembrance services and candlelight vigils were held in the Gulf Coast region, which continues to suffer from the fallout of the catastrophe. The families have expressed anger at BP, who they say is being unfair and slow in paying out compensation from a $20 billion fund.

The area is still heavily affected by the disaster and reconstruction of the seafood industry that once thrived is slow. While tourists are beginning to return to the region, many are angry at BP and the Obama administration over how they handled the disaster. All the fishing waters in the area have now opened again, but people who live in the area remain dissatisfied. “I don’t see any daylight at the end of this tunnel,” one fisherwoman said. “I don’t see any hope at all. We thought we’d see hope after a year, but there’s nothing.”

Thursday, October 12, 2006

The Blunkett diaries, being serialised in the Guardian, claim that Gordon Brown opposed the war against Iraq. Only at the last minute did he give in, according to the diaries, when he realised that Blair would sack him otherwise.

Gordon Brown, interviewed by the Guardian, said he did not think Blunkett had ever said such a thing and that, if he was reported as having done so, he was being misquoted.

The diary entries are contemporary with the events and were recorded shortly after the Cabinet meeting on Iraq.

Thursday, January 18, 2007

In the United Kingdom, The Carphone Warehouse, Celebrity Big Brother’s sponsor, has pulled out after some of the reality TV show’s contestants were accused of racism, with which the company did not want to be associated. The Perfume Shop has announced they will withdraw the perfume Shh… of Jade Goody, one of the contestants accused of bullying with a racist undertone. Motorcycle insurance company Bennetts unilaterally terminated its deal with former Miss England Danielle Lloyd to front an advertisement campaign.

The accusations centre around recent comments made by Jade Goody, Danielle Lloyd and Jo O’Meara (a former member of pop act S Club 7) about Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty. The racism row was sparked by Jade’s mother, who referred to Shilpa as “the Indian”, instead of calling her by her name. She also asked Shilpa: “Do you live in a house or a shack?” There have been remarks over her accent, her alleged lack of hygiene when cooking, and reactions because she touched the food of housemates with her hands. Danielle Lloyd said: “You don’t know where those hands have been.” Lloyd also commented to Goody about the Indian actress: “She wants to be white”.

When asked about the incident in the Diary Room, Shetty said “…I don’t feel there was any racial discrimination happening from Jade’s end. I think there are a lot of insecurities from her end but it’s definitely not racial.”

Hertfordshire Police, the constabulary within which the Big Brother House falls, have received numerous formal complaints they will be investigating. Politicians, other celebrities, and fans spoke of their disgust as the UK media regulator Ofcom received a record number of complaints that rose tonight to 33,000. The Commission for Racial Equality is investigating if the footage was manipulated to deliberately imply racism.

Labour Party MP Keith Vaz even proposed a motion in the House of Commons condemning the abuse. He said “If this racist behaviour goes on, they [Jo O’Meara, Danielle Lloyd and Jade Goody] should be asked to leave”. Chancellor Gordon Brown, currently on tour in India, told reporters in Bangalore: “I want to reassure people that what British people are proud of is our reputation for tolerance and fairness.” Others believe this reflects a racist tendency in British our Western society in general. The newspaper Times of India ran the headline “Big(ot) Brother bullies Shilpa”. “What is happening in Big Brother is just holding the mirror to the western society. This is the real, discriminating face of the West.”, was the reaction of Bollywood film director Mahesh Bhatt. Ken Livingstone, the Mayor of London, accused Channel 4 of damaging the country’s reputation.

The show was recently losing viewers, but as a result of the controversy, viewing rates are up for the program.

Saturday, November 18, 2006

The 2006 QANTAS New Zealand Television Awards were announced tonight (NZDT). The winners and their respective categories follow.

Best comedy finalists were pulp sport, bro’Town and The Unauthorised History of New Zealand with Pulp Sport taking out the prize.

The best observational reality (non format) show out of Snotties, The Zoo and Tough Act was Snotties.

Best reality (format) show finalists were Downsize Me!, Sensing Murder and Shock Treatment. The winner being Sensing Murder.

Best current affairs report finalist were Alex Teka, Detox Diary, Not Fit to Practise and Turning the Tide. The winner was Detox Diary.

Best news or current affairs presenter of the year finalists were Shane Taurima, Willie Jackson, John Campbell and Susan Wood. Winner was John Campbell, the prize was awarded to him by his producer, Carol Hirschfield. Mr Campbell was “stupidly proud.”

No finalist was for the award of TV journalist so the winner was Mike McRoberts and the first thing he said when he arrived on stage was: “Crikey dick.”

Peter Day was awarded for current affair camera. Current affairs reporter was Hadyn Jones. The best news or current affairs editor was Shahir Daud.

Lifestyle and information programme finalists were House Trap, Target and The Living Room. The winner was Target.

The best popular documentary section finalists were Give My Children Back, Earthquake and Million Dollar Tumour (all of which aired on TV3). The winner was Million Dollar Tumour.

The best arts/festival documentary was Artsville.

The best factual camera was awarded to David Stipson. Paul Sutorius was the best factual editor.

Geoff Husson got the award for the best non-drama director.

The winner of favourite female, as voted by the public “by a country mile”, was Hillary Barry.

Public voted favourite male was Simon Dallow taking the award, who was “lost for words…truly shocked…”

The favourite programme nominees were Shortland Street, Outrageous Fortune, NZ Idol, Sensing Murder, Downsize Me!, Dancing With The Stars, Target and bro’Town. The winner was, as voted by the public, Shortland Street.

Grey’s Anatomy won the best international programme as voted by the public.

Best sports or event coverage out of Na Ratou Mo Tatou, V8 Supercars Pukekohe or 3 News election night was Na Ratou Mo Tatou (ANZAC day coverage).

Best entertainment nominees were What Now; the Gunge and Run Awards, Dave Dobbyn; One Night in Matata and Snatch out Booty and the winner was Dave Dobbyn; One Night in Matata.

The best non factual script writer went to David Brechin-Smith.

Fred Renata, best camera non factual, and best editing for non-factual went to Bryan Shaw.

The best drama director went to Brendan Donovan.

Finalists were for best news report team are, “David-Benson Pope” on 3 News, “Robert Hewitt” on One News and “Gaza” on 3 News. Winner was 3 News for “Gaza”.

“The most important category.” Best current affairs show finalists were Fair Go, Sunday, Campbell Live. Winner was Campbell Live, when on stage Mr Campbell said: “Bloody Stoked.”

Best news finalists were 3 News and One News and the winner was One News.

Bruce Adams was awarded with best news camera.

Best news reporter was given to Michael Holland.

Best children/youth programme winners was Let’s Get Inventin’.

Best actress finalists were Kate Atkinson, Robyn Malcolm and Kate Elliot. The award was awarded to Kate Elliot.

Best actor finalists were Antony Starr, Ryan O’Kane and Scott Wills and the winner was Ryan O’Kane.

The last award, best drama, the finalists were The Insiders Guide to Love, Doves of War, Outrageous Fortune. The winner of best drama was The Insiders Guide to Love.

Wednesday, April 2, 2008

“Localization of ‘SEMI Safety Guideline'”, executed by Safety and Health Technology Center of Taiwan (SAHTECH) and supervised by Semiconductor Equipment and Materials International (SEMI), was announced today in Hsinchu, Taiwan.

This localization included several fields on health and safety of semiconductor manufacturing, certification testing on electrical devices, evaluations on fire or natural diseases, and environmental issues on semiconductor manufacturing devices, etc.. Companies and manufacturers from the semiconductor industry also paid more attentions on this guideline because issues on carbon-savings, earthquakes, fire diseases, and environment-efficiencies were included into this guideline.

On the other side of the incoming trade show of 2008 SecuTech Expo, scheduled after 2 weeks at Taipei World Trade Center, not only main fields on security devices, information security, and fire & disease preventions, the digital monitoring will be a hot topic in security industry. For applications on fire & disease preventions, because its issues contained industrial applications and ESH (Environmental, Safety & Health) managements, if a company want to decrease the ratio of fire disease or earthquake, companies from safety and related industries should pay more attentions on disease preventions.

Friday, October 5, 2007

The widow and five children of former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet have been arrested in Chile on embezzlement charges. They are accused of illegally transferring USD27 million to foreign bank accounts during Pinochet’s rule from 1973 to 1990. Seventeen of Pinochet’s former associates, including his former personal secretary and three retired army generals, were also arrested.

Pinochet had been charged with tax evasion, fraud, and embezzlement following a 2004 U.S. Senate investigation. In December 2006, he died without having been brought to trial. However, Chilean Judge Carlos Cerda said there were “solid indications” that Pinochet’s family and associates had also “participated in the misuse of fiscal funds”.

Jose Miguel Vivanco of Human Rights Watch called the decision “an extremely important development for Chile’s democracy and the rule of law. Going after the relatives of the powerful and the fortunes they amassed used to be considered off limits,” he said.

Pinochet family lawyer Pablo Rodriguez said he was “astonished by this illegal and abusive decision by the judge”, and that he was “sure that it will be reversed by the Court of Appeals.”