Monday, September 23, 2013

Over the past week, diplomatic actions have averted — or, at least delayed — military strikes on Syria by the United States. Wikinews sought input from a range of international experts on the situation; and, the tensions caused by Russia’s support for the al-Assad regime despite its apparent use of chemical weapons.

File:Ghouta chemical attack map.svg

Tensions in the country increased dramatically, late August when it was reported between 100 and 1,300 people were killed in an alleged chemical attack. Many of those killed appeared to be children, with some of the pictures and video coming out of the country showing — according to witnesses — those who died from apparent suffocation; some foaming at the mouth, others having convulsions.

Amongst Syria’s few remaining allies, Iran, China, and Russia continue to oppose calls for military intervention. In an effort to provide a better-understanding of the reasoning behind their ongoing support, the following people were posed a range of questions.

Monday, July 6, 2020

A number of Muslim-majority countries around the world implement Shari’a — commonly known as Islamic law — and have laws against apostasy and blasphemy. Numerous times, over the years, people have been sentenced to death penalty for renouncing Islam. Back in 2018, a Pakistani journalism student Mashal Khan was killed by a mob lynch after he was accused of blasphemy. At times there have been protests against the restrictions on free speech in Islam.

Other than the restriction of free speech, many Muslim majority countries have declared homosexuality as a capital crime, and observe a strict dress code for women. Iran has banned a number of female chess players for not wearing a hij?b. An Iranian woman was sentenced 20 years for removing hij?b while protesting the strict dress code.

Wikinews had gotten in touch with Tanzanian-born ex-Muslim Zara Kay to discuss the struggles an ex-Muslim woman faces, as well as her organisation: Faithless Hijabi.  Faithess Hijabi is an organisation which helps other ex-Muslim women by sharing their stories and experiences.  Its Facebook page has over 7000 likes, and Zara Kay, who identifies herself as an antithiest, had prefiously helped a Saudi teenager Rahaf Mohammed escape to Canada.

The following is the interview with Zara Kay that took place last year.

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Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Her Excellency, Quentin Bryce, Governor-General of Australia is set to travel to Kuwait to commemorate the 20 year anniversary of the liberation of the country from Iraqi rule. This comes as terrorist threats and civil unrest begin to spread throughout the region.

In a tour that is set to conclude on February 27th, Ms Bryce will be representing Australia at several ceremonies marking 20 years since the first Gulf War and 50 years since Kuwait gained independence from the United Kingdom. In addition, she will visit The Australian College of Kuwait and other locations of national interest including sites of Australian wheat imports.

The Australian Department of Foreign Affairs released a statement claiming “Terrorists have demonstrated intent to conduct attacks in Kuwait against a range of targets, including United States military and identifiably Western targets such as hotels, restaurants and symbols and buildings associated with the Kuwaiti government.”

The visit occurs in conjunction with the news of anti-government protests igniting across the Middle East including Kuwait. Despite this, the Governor-General’s secretary told a Senate committee that the trip shall proceed.

Wednesday, July 6, 2016

Yesterday, NASA announced their spacecraft Juno has reached Jupiter orbit. It was launched almost five years ago to investigate the largest planet of the Solar System, especially its past.

Charles Bolden, NASA administrator, said, “Independence Day always is something to celebrate, but today we can add to America’s birthday another reason to cheer — Juno is at Jupiter”. He also added the spacecraft would help study the evolution of the Solar System and explore Jupiter’s radiation belts.

NASA spent US$1.1 billion for Juno. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) reported Juno was confirmed in Jupiter’s orbit at 0353 UTC. Including the camera, the probe has nine scientific instruments. Juno has covered 2.7 billion kilometres (1.7 billion miles) to reach Jupiter.

NASA said non-essential equipment was turned off for the approach. They expect photos in some days. The first orbital revolution period is 53 days. Juno is expected to orbit the planet 37 times keeping an altitude of 5000 kilometres (3100 miles) above the Jovian clouds and then fall into the planet in 2018.

NASA’s Galileo, launched in 1989, found evidence of saline water on Jovian satellites Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto.

The electronics have been encased in titanium to protect them from high-energy radiation.

Tuesday, August 6, 2013

This past Sunday, Illinois Governor Pat Quinn signed into law a bill known as “Rocky’s Law” that requires Illinois high schools, through the local school district, to buy catastrophic injury insurance up to US$3 million or medical costs for up to five years, whichever one comes first, that covers student athletes. The insurance must cover student athletes while they are competing.

The legislation was named after Rasul “Rocky” Clark. In 2000, the Eisenhower High School football player became paralyzed from the waist down as a result of a tackle during a game. His school based health insurance covered the costs of his medical treatment. A legislator sponsoring the bill noted that the need for this type of insurance is rare. Clark’s mother attended the legislation signing. Her son died last year.

Before parents can claim money from school insurance, they first must pay out US$50,000. Schools have until January 1, 2014 to comply with the law. Schools cannot charge students more than US$5 to defray the cost of insurance. If a school district already requires student to be covered through private health insurance, they are exempted from this law.

Thursday, April 17, 2008

Eric Bogosian is one of America’s great multi-dimensional talents. “There’s sort of three different careers, and any one of them could exist by itself, on its own two feet. There was that solo stuff, and then I started writing plays in the late seventies.” Although his work has spanned genres, most readers will recognize Bogosian for his acting, which has included a memorable performance in Woody Allen‘s Deconstructing Harry to co-writing and starring in the Oliver Stone movie Talk Radio (based upon his Pulitzer Prize-nominated play) to playing the bad guy in Under Siege 2 to his current role in Law & Order: Criminal Intent as Captain Danny Ross. They may not know, however, that he had collaborated with Frank Zappa on a album, worked with Sonic Youth, and was a voice on Mike Judge‘s Beavis & Butthead Do America. He started one of New York City’s largest dance companies, The Kitchen, which is still in existence. He starred alongside Val Kilmer in Wonderland and his play Talk Radio was recently revived on Broadway with Liev Schreiber in the role Bogosian wrote and made famous.

Currently at work on his third novel, tentatively titled The Artist, Bogosian spoke with David Shankbone about the craft of writing and his life as a creative.

Saturday, April 14, 2007

Nicolas Sarkozy, the right-wing political party UMP’s candidate for the upcoming Presidential elections in France, which enters its first round next week, held a campaign meeting in Toulouse last Thursday, where he accused the left side political parties of betraying the ideals of Jaurès, Blum and other key socialist politicians. He compared the “left of old times” with the left nowadays, and said he wanted to “bring back to the heart of politics the values that the left side parties have betrayed.”

Former mayor of Toulouse Philippe Douste-Blazy welcomed more than 14 000 attendees to the city’s Parc des Expositions. He summarized the candidates political program by saying: “The Republic [of France, red.] is not about defending laxity and impunity for the agitators, it’s about guaranteeing the security and freedom of all through the respect of the laws and Justice.” Sarkozy was Minister of Interior Affairs during the 2005 suburban riots in France, when he instituted a zero-tolerance policy. Of one of Sarkozy’s rivals, François Bayrou, Douste-Blazy said that France didn’t need a President who “undergoes and refuses to make choices.”

In his speech of more than one hour, Sarkozy claimed the historical heritage of the founders of socialism and their values of right to work, payed holidays, social security, unemployment benefits, education, liberty of conscience, and of moral rights and the rights of the individual: “These values, I’ve wanted the Republican right side to reclaim them at a moment when the left side abandons them.” He also criticised François Hollande, chairman of the French Socialist Party, and with him his wife and the socialist candidate for the Presidential elections, Ségolène Royal, who, according to Sarkozy, “has forgotten Blum and Camus, and doesn’t know Jaurès.”

A week ago, Ségolène Royal held a speech in Carmaux, the home of Jaurès, where she proposed herself in continuity with Jaurès’ battle for the values of employment, concluding her speech by saying: “It’s important for the left side to know where we come from, because that helps also to foresee the future.”

On Wednesday, she held a meeting in Metz, where she accused Sarkozy of wanting to exercise power alone, of knowing everything, of wanting an unequal health care system and of following the laws of money. “He proposes us the law of the strongest. Do you want it? Me neither! And I propose to you the law of most justice.”