Author: Admin

Saturday, May 28, 2011

In Edinburgh, capital of Scotland, part of an underground water piping system has exploded, forcing local residents to be evacuated. The pipe broke around 03:30 BST (0230 UTC) today, within Allan Park Road, causing flooding in the Slateford area of the city.

A spokesperson for Scottish sewerage and water corporation Scottish Water explained: “Early this morning reports were received of flooding in Allan Park Road and Scottish Water operatives attended the scene. A large diameter water main had burst. The water was shut off and re-routed via other pipes to keep supplies flowing to households in the area. Repairs are under way and the customers affected by the flooding are being offered assistance.”

Stating that repairs to resolve this problem had commenced and would take a few hours to conclude, Lothian and Borders Police have advised that the floods may disrupt the supplies of water and other utilities, as well as transportation on roads and railways in the west of Edinburgh. Hospitals and rest homes in the region have been notified of the incident and bottled water is now anticipated to be supplied at these buildings.

According to local residents, Slateford Road (A70), a major throughway, was closed for several hours this morning. Telephony and broadband in the area is disrupted, with local residents and businesses having to rely on cellphones. Further work, such as digging up the road and using temporary traffic lights, will be required to restore these services in the area.

As of 13:15 BST (1215 UTC), Scottish Water has excavated around the burst main, but has not yet begun work on replacing the damaged section of pipe.

Tuesday, February 5, 2008

Afflecks Palace, the “iconic, alternative shopping centre” in the Northern Quarter of Manchester in England, United Kingdom, was saved from closure this week after long-running rumours that the market may have to “kick out its traders” due to a dispute between the management of the Afflecks Palace brand and the leaseowner for the building, Bruntwood.

Rumours suggesting that Bruntwood were looking to redevelop the building started early in 2007, when it became apparent that the property developer was not actively seeking to renew the twenty-five year lease that the management of Afflecks Palace had with them concerning the building. These initial fears were added to by news that Bruntwood was looking to redevelop other buildings it owned in the Northern Quarter area, specifically the parking complex opposite Afflecks, with an eye towards taking advantage of the “property boom” in Manchester at the time. There were also fears that if Afflecks did remain open, “rents would rise”.

These initial fears were eventually propagated closer to the end of the year when a letter from the management of Afflecks Palace told individual stall holders that “… management have received no formal response from Bruntwood to a tenancy request notice served in October [2007]”, going on to add that “We can only assume therefore that they do not intend to offer us a new lease”.

Following the release of this letter, public support for Afflecks Palace was quickly made obvious when a 5,000 signature petition was submitted demanding the centre remain open for business. This seemed to prompt talks between Bruntwood and the Afflecks Palace management and, eventually, lead to this week’s news that the market was – indeed – to remain open. The result of the talks was that Bruntwood “bought out” the Afflecks Palace brand.

A joint statement between the management of Afflecks Palace and Bruntwood said: “After 26 years of trading, Afflecks’ management has sold their company to Bruntwood in an agreement that protects the future of Afflecks. Bruntwood will manage Afflecks while they look for a new owner who is skilled in running market style businesses and can bring a similar level of enthusiasm and dedication that the existing management has.”

A spokesperson speaking on behalf of Bruntwood also added that: “Never in our 30 year history have we bought one of our customer’s businesses, but Afflecks is a Manchester icon that we wanted to protect. We aren’t however expert in managing markets, so will look for a suitable long term owner. In the meantime, the most important aspect is that we have arrived at a solution with Afflecks management that protects an independent retail environment and provides the existing stallholders with security.”

Traders from the market celebrated the news by holding a party yesterday.

Monday, October 11, 2010

Wikinews interviewed author Amy Scobee about her book Scientology – Abuse at the Top, and asked her about her experiences working as an executive within the organization. Scobee joined the organization at age 14, and worked at Scientology’s international management headquarters for several years before leaving in 2005. She served as a Scientology executive in multiple high-ranking positions, working out of the international headquarters of Scientology known as “Gold Base”, located in Gilman Hot Springs near Hemet, California.

Friday, June 24, 2005

Seoul — More than 300 “citizen reporters” hailing from countries as far apart as Chile and Norway are coming together at the OhmyNews International Citizen Reporters’ Forum from June 23 to June 26, 2005 in Seoul. OhmyNews is one of the most popular South Korean news websites, and it has played an important role in the election of reformist President Roh Moo-hyun. Unlike traditional news sources, OhmyNews allows any individual with an Internet connection to contribute stories. A professional staff of journalists vets incoming submissions and decides which stories are to be published.

The project is sponsoring the forum in order to promote its English edition, officially launched in May 2004. Citizen reporters writing in English exchange ideas and stories, and try to understand the inner workings of the Korean edition. The conference is sponsored by Korean corporations such as Samsung, SK Corporation, LG, Yuhan-Kimberly, and Asiana Airlines.

Tuesday, April 12, 2005

The Irish Stock Exchange (ISE) officially launched the new Irish Enterprise Exchange (IEX) this morning in Dublin, Ireland. The exchange is aimed at smaller firms seeking to raise capital without the hindrances and additional costs associated with a full listing on the main exchange.

At the moment eight companies are listed on the exchange – all having been previously quoted on the Exploration Securities Market (ESM) and the Developing Companies Market (DCM). However it is hoped that many small Irish firms listed on the Alternative Investment Market (AIM) in London will eventually pursue a dual listing with the IEX.

The rules for listing on the IEX are significantly looser than for a full listing – no trading record is required; no minimum number of shares must be in public hands; and in most cases prior shareholder approval is not needed for acquisitions or disposals. The main requirement for listing is that prospective firms must have a market capitalisation of more than €5 million.

The IEX has long been a major ambition for Irish Stock Exchange CEO Tom Healy and indeed the exchange as a whole.

Monday, June 25, 2018

On Saturday, the plastic ban in the Indian state of Maharashtra came into force. In an attempt to minimise pollution, the state government has introduced a ban on single-use plastics.

The leader of the Yuya Sena political party, Aaditya Thackeray, said on Twitter, “The ban on single use disposable plastic cups, plastic bags, plastic straws, plastic plates and cutlery, styrofoam cutlery and non woven bags”. He added, “these are global issues now and we have taken a step to combat it”.

Plastic pollution has led to the choking of drains, marine pollution and a risk of animals consuming plastics. This year, India’s motto for World Environment Day — June 5 — was “Beat Plastic Pollution”. People violating the plastic ban are to face a fine of 5,000 Indian Rupees (INR) for the first offence. For the second offence, the fine is INR 10,000 and the third time offence is INR 25,000 and a three-month prison term. Deputy municipal commissioner Nidhi Choudhary said, “To weed out corruption, we plan to give inspectors payment gadgets for electronic receipts of the fines”.

The Maharashtra government has given a 90-day period for manufacturers to dispose of existing polyethylene terephthalate (PET/PETE) plastic spoons and plates, while shopkeepers and citizens in general have six months to dispose of plastics. However, the ban does not prohibit plastic usage for wrapping medicines or milk cartons thicker than 50 microns.

The state government had announced the decision for the plastic ban on March 23. According to NDTV’s report, Maharashtra is the eighteenth Indian state to enforce a state-wide plastic ban. Aaditya Thackeray also said, “I congratulate the citizens for making this into a movement, even before the ban was enforceable, giving up single use disposable plastic.”

Monday, June 20, 2005

Financial analysts say Google is planning an e-wallet service that could eventually compete with eBay’s payment service PayPal. Google has not confirmed the development.

The rumor is a first sign of Google’s expected expansion of revenue sources to capitalize on its advertising customer base and search-engine traffic. What form that expansion will take has been a hotly debated subject for the company whose stock valuation momentarily made it the world’s biggest media company on June 7, 2005. Even Microsoft has been mentioned as a possible future competitor.

Ebay’s stock valuation dipped more than 2% on the news. Paypal currently accounts for one-fifth of the company’s revenues. But one business analyst saw potential benefit for Paypal[1], depending on exactly how the “Google Wallet” takes shape. The uncertainty underlined the lack of substantive information behind the rumor.

According to the New York Times, the CEO of a major online merchant, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, was approached by Google to take part in this service. Steve Langdon, a Google spokesperson, declined to comment.

• Spoken version of the article