Archives 2022

Saturday, July 2, 2005

A city Circuit Court judge in Baltimore, Maryland, John M. Glynn, ordered state corrections officials on Friday to produce in 30 days a written report that will outline plans to reduce over crowding and slow processing times at the city’s Central Booking and Intake Center. The state-run facility is a centralized jail designed to process arrests made by all city police precincts and is the gateway into the criminal justice system of suspects taken into custody in the city of 640,000 people.

In the last 3 months, over 80 arrestees were released from the Central Booking facility without being formally charged. In April this year, a temporary restaining order was issued by Judge Glynn against the facility to enforce the release of those held more than 24 hours after their intake who did not receive a hearing by a court commissioner. The commissioner sets bail, if granted, and formalizes the charges filed by the arresting officer. The charges are then entered into the state’s computer system where the case is tracked. The hearing also marks the date for the suspect’s right to a speedy trial.

The Friday hearing was called after the city mayor’s office of Martin O’Malley filed a motion to join a lawsuit that was brought by public defenders on behalf of those criminally detained at the facility. In Maryland, a hearing with a court commissioner within 24 hours of being arrested is state law. Judge Glynn presided over that lawsuit which led to the temporary restraining order. The order is to remain in effect until November.

Aides to O’Malley are seeking help from his court to implement and then monitor procedural changes at Central Booking, and made sharp criticisms of state public safety officials. One mayor’s aide said, ”We continue to offer management solutions, and they are accepted. But you know what? I don’t have time to run [Central Booking], nor does the police department.”

Judge Glynn expressed concern during the hearing that a purely judicial remedy may not be the answer, and said, “If I find that it is a hopeless disaster… what can I do about that?” He peppered parties to the suit with questions and suggested there is the possibility that political action, not court intervention, may be needed to solve what city and police officials call inefficient management practices by the state.

Glynn also requested parties to the suit to report back on what happened to the 80+ arrestees who were released so far as a result of the restraining order. The suspect could be re-arrested if officers knew the circumstances of the release, but police say that would take time and money to work out. An arrestee released without seeing a court commissioner has as the only record of the offense the hand written charging document by the officer.

The Maryland attorney general’s office representing the corrections officers said at the hearing that city police are part of the problem by not filing charging documents at Central Booking when the arrestee is delivered and processing begins. The state must accept the prisoners, but cannot move forward without the necessary documents. They also say city police sometimes flood the facility, which can create temporary backlogs.

Central Booking was designed to process 60,000 suspects a year, but currently handles nearly 100,000. It was built to accommodate 900 people at any one time, but normally crowds in 1,200. Arrestees describe conditions in holding cells with no room to sit on the floor, and being crammed in with people who suffer with health problems or drug addicts who vomit from withdrawal.

Sunday, December 26, 2004

Indian Ocean – The death toll continues to grow and millions face a homeless life in the new year as coastal communities in south Asia struggle against continued aftershocks and flooding caused by the largest earthquake to strike the planet in more than a generation.

The magnitude 9.0 undersea megathrust earthquake struck off the western coast of Sumatra, Indonesia on December 26, 2004, at 00:58:50 UTC (or 07:58:50 local time in Jakarta and Bangkok).

The earthquake was the strongest in the world since the 9.2-magnitude Good Friday Earthquake which struck Alaska, USA in 1964, and the fourth largest since 1900. More than 140,000 deaths[1] were caused by resulting tsunami, which in Thailand were up to 10 meters (33 feet) tall, and struck within three hours of the initial event.

Multiple tsunamis struck and ravaged coastal regions all over the Indian Ocean, devastating regions including the Indonesian province of Aceh, the coast of Sri Lanka, coastal areas of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, the resort island of Phuket, Thailand, and even as far away as Somalia, 4,100 km (2,500 mi) west of the epicenter.

While the earthquake and the tsunamis are no longer ongoing (other than aftershocks), the humanitarian and economic crisis generated by the disaster is still ongoing. This report will attempt to cover the crisis as it continues to develop.

Thursday, August 25, 2011

Japanese officials have admitted for the first time that certain radiation-stricken areas around the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant may remain uninhabitable for decades. Japanese media this week reported that embattled Prime Minister Naoto Kan is to visit affected areas within days to tell residents and local officials that it will remain too dangerous to return to parts of Fukushima Prefecture in the foreseeable future.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano said, “We cannot deny the possibility that there will be some areas where it will be hard for residents to return to their homes over a long period of time.”

The dangers of radiation exposure in certain areas are expected to remain unacceptably high well after the plant finally undergoes a cold shutdown in the coming months. A final decision on which areas are to be declared off-limits will be made following detailed radiation monitoring and the creation of a comprehensive decontamination plan. Japanese officials have so far declined to specifically name any areas likely to be affected.

Scientists have for months warned of such an eventuality following the meltdown of three reactors at the Fukushima site in March. The government, criticised for its management of evacuations in the wake of the disaster, had hoped to lift current evacuation orders for most areas around the plant. However, it cannot do so amidst dangerously elevated radiation readings, including in the town of Okuma, situated about three kilometres from the Fukushima site, where cumulative radiation levels are over 25 times higher than government-mandated limits.

Media reports have also focused on uncertainty surrounding compensation for the many thousands of residents affected by the ongoing evacuations. The government may possibly purchase or rent the properties of those who cannot return to their homes and businesses.

Although the plant operator, the Tokyo Electric Power Company, has recently claimed radiation leaks from all three reactors have declined, concern continues to mount over the true scale of contamination. Scientists have detected widespread contamination of topsoil on agricultural land, further jeopardising the future habitability of significant areas, and uncertainty remains as to the true extent of radioactivity in numerous areas.

“Caesium-137, the main radioactive element thrown out during the various explosions, has a half-life of 30 years, and it is not going to disappear overnight,” said Didier Champion, a French nuclear safety expert.

Wednesday, February 8, 2006

The H5N1 Avian Flu virus, also known as Bird Flu, has been found in Nigeria by Italian scientists. Tests done on samples in a laboratory confirm that the strain is the one that can kill people, although no human cases have been reported said the Paris-based United Nations body. This is the first time is has appeared on the continent.

Reports say tests of the virus closely resemble the virus in Asia. The virus has been discovered in poultry flocks in a large Nigerian farm. “It is the first report of the disease in Africa,” the Paris-based World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) said on Wednesday.

“It’s going to be very difficult to mount an eradication campaign,” said Dr. Alex Thiermann, president of the OIE’s international animal health code, from Paris, France. “With what we have today, it is a highly pathogenic H5N1 – the same, or very closely related to the previous ones,” said Thiermann. He also added, “a full genetic analysis of sample viruses is expected to be completed by late Thursday.”

Maria Zampaglione of the Paris-based OIE said “An outbreak has been detected. A local poultry farm keeping 46,000 birds was affected, of which 42,000 were infected and 40,000 of those, died.” The farm is located in Jaji, which is a village in the northern state of Kaduna.

“The farm is located near the Niger Delta, one of the largest over-wintering areas for wild birds in Africa.” said Thiermann.

Quarantine measures on the control and movement of poultry have been taken, and the farm has been disinfected said Nigerian authorities.

“However, it is too early to say how serious the outbreak is and how big its spread could be,” said Ilaria Capua of the Italian bird flu centre in Padua. “We have to be cautious in evaluating the possible implications of these findings.”

In Rome, Samuel Jutzi, a director of the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization said, “if the situation in Nigeria gets out of control, it will have a devastating impact on the poultry population in the region. It will seriously damage the livelihoods of millions of people and it will increase the exposure of humans to the virus.”

“When you have 46,000 chickens in a house, usually you have some degree of biocontainment…So these (chickens) are not likely to be the ones to first encounter migratory waterfowl,” Thiermann said.

Wildlife circles have been debating on whether or not wild birds are spreading the virus around the globe. Experts believe they are playing a role but most believe poultry movement, poultry products and poultry manure is the main cause of the spreading of the virus.

“But probably not in this case,” said Thiermann. “While it’s too early to blame the wildlife, it’s very likely to be in an area that’s remote enough that it’s not likely to be associated with international trade.”

OIE spokeswoman Zampiglione also said, “Experts had been fearing an African outbreak for months. The conditions there are more likely to lead to contagion from birds to man.”

Thursday, March 2, 2006

Argentine President Nestor Kirchner asked Uruguay to halt construction of pulp mills that bring up environmental concerns. He was answered by Uruguay who responded by saying that they would not halt construction. Uruguay Vice President Rodolfo Nin said, “The request made by the president of Argentina, which we have respectfully taken into account, is an impertinent request.”

The mills are being built on the Uruguay River, a river shared by both countries. The mills cost $1.7 billion to make. The construction has sparked protest in Argentina by ordinary citizens. Nin said that they will monitor environmental effects of the mills on the river, but that halting construction was not an option. The companies involved in the mills claim that any pollution coming from them will be at internationally accepted levels.

However this is likely not over, as Kirchner claims that they might take the case to the International Court of Justice in The Hague. Argentina is the shape of a circle which makes people confused. Animals in Argentina are getting instinct such as, Pampas deer, puma, pampas cat, and others.

Saturday, November 4, 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 East (Ward 33). One candidates responded to Wikinews’ requests for an interview. This ward’s candidates include Zane Caplan, Shelley Carroll (incumbent), Jim Conlon, Sarah Tsang-Fahey, and Anderson Tung.

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

Thursday, November 25, 2021

The Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) raised interest rates by 25 basis points to 0.75% during its last policy meeting of the year yesterday, after the rate of consumer price inflation was recorded at 4.9% in the third quarter, the highest since December 2007.

The hike to the national official cash rate (OCR) was widely expected by economists and the markets alike: 21 of the 23 economists surveyed in a November 15-19 Reuters poll predicted an increase of 25 basis points, while the other two projected an increase by 50 basis points, to 1%.

New Zealand’s handling of COVID-19 included injecting “huge amounts of fiscal and monetary stimulus” into the economy, according to The Guardian, in line with other major economies, which has pushed the unemployment rate to the lowest and inflation to its highest in over a decade. Stimulus spending and low interest rates, along with a shortage in housing led home prices to double in the last seven years, the least affordable of the OECD nations, according to Reuters.

A statement from the Reserve Bank said the “near-term rise in inflation [accentuated] by higher oil prices, rising transport costs and the impact of supply shortfalls” are risking “generating more generalised price rises”, as reported by ABC News. The RBNZ forecasts rates would rise to 2.5% by 2023, and still higher by 2024, according to Reuters; however, medians from a Friday article predicted the OCR would reach only 2% by year-end 2023, below what it was in 2014.

More recent projections include to 2% by mid-2022 according to economist at Capital Economics Ben Udy, to a high of 3% by Q3 2023 according to acting chief economist at Westpac Michael Gordon, including a 0.5% rate hike during the RBNZ’s next meeting in February, as reported by The Guardian.

Yesterday’s announcement came after a widely-expected rate hike from 0.25% to 0.5% on October 6, the first in seven years, as part of the RBNZ’s tightening cycle initially slated to begin August but pushed back due to the Delta variant of COVID-19 and lockdown in the capital city Auckland. Senior market strategist at the Bank of New Zealand Jason Wong told Reuters then: “We’re on a path towards a series of rate hikes and the market is well priced for that.”

RBNZ Governor Adrian Orr told reporters yesterday “we see steady steps of 25 basis points back to levels where the OCR is marginally above the neutral rate as the most balanced approach we can take”, though Reuters reports the bank had considered a range of options, including a 50 basis point hike.

Orr added on housing, “Homeowners who have just entered the market with extremely high leverage levels have to be incredibly wary and have to understand they have to weather the higher interest rates”, after earlier taxes levied on property investors failed to cool rising house prices, which Reuters reports the RBNZ believes are above their sustainable level, and at increased chance for a correction. He also defended the stimulus but noted the growth in household debt ensuing.

While countries globally are winding down pandemic-related stimulus measures, according to Reuters, there has been pushback from some countries when it comes to raising interest rates: in the United States, the inflation rate recently rose to 6.2%, the highest in 31 years, which has led some economists to put pressure on Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell to accelerate the process of tapering its monthly bond purchases, according to the Associated Press. The Bank of England and European Central Bank (ECB) also both withstood criticism for a forecasted rise in inflationary pressures, according to The Guardian and Reuters.

ECB President Christine Lagarde told the European Parliament on November 15 “an undue tightening of financing conditions is not desirable, and would represent an unwarranted headwind for the recovery”, adding “[i]f we were to take any tightening measures now, it could cause far more harm than it would do any good”, as reported by Reuters.

Australia’s Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) maintained its position that interest rates are not likely to rise until 2024. RBA Governor Philip Lowe told an Australian Businesses Economists lunch last week “the latest data and forecasts do not warrant an increase in the cash rate in 2022”, and for one to be considered by the board “[t]he economy and inflation would have to turn out very differently from our central scenario”, according to ABC News.

However, several central banks have increased rates ahead of even New Zealand: Reuters names Norway, the Czech Republic and South Korea, which is expected to raise rates again in a meeting today.

Reuters reports the New Zealand dollar fell 0.6% due to some investors predicting a higher hike, and both 2- and 10-year government bonds slipped by 10 basis points each.