The U.S. has announced full diplomatic relations will be restored with Libya and the country removed from the list of nations the U.S. considers to be state sponsors of terrorism following a 45-day open comment period.
Renewal of diplomatic relations between the two states comes after extended diplomatic efforts by both parties to end the 25-year break.
“It is a result of mutual interests, agreements and understandings,” said Abdurrahman Shalgham, Libyan’s Foreign Minister.
“We are taking these actions in recognition of Libya’s continued commitment to its renunciation of terrorism and the excellent cooperation Libya has provided to the United States and other members of the international community in response to common global threats faced by the civilized world since September 11, 2001,” said Condoleezza Rice, the United States Secretary of State.
File:Coat of arms of Libya.svgCoat of arms of Libya
Diplomatic ties were strained between the countries following the rise to power of Libyan leader Muammar al-Gaddafi in 1969, and U.S. economic sanctions against the country beginning in the 1970s. They were severed following the U.S. removal of diplomatic personnel from Libya in 1979 after a mob set fire to the U.S. embassy in Tripoli, and the U.S. closing the Libyan embassy and expelling Libyan diplomats in 1981.
The UN removed international economic sanctions in 1999, following Libya’s acceptance of UN Security Council Resolutions regarding Pan Am Flight 103. In 2003 Libya announced efforts to dismantle military programs to develop weapons of mass destruction as well, which led directly to diplomatic negotiations with the U.S. and the opening of a diplomatic liaison office in Tripoli in 2004.
There are often odd, unusual and controversial items up for sale on eBay – multi-million euro planes, the Pope’s old car and a young woman’s virginity, to name just a few. But how about the Prime Minister’s shoes?
Shoes custom designed for former British Prime MinisterMargaret Thatcher have been put up for sale on eBay. The shoes, which have a reserve price of £2,930 (US $3,580), are currently owned by 65 year old Eleanor Graham. Ms. Graham bought them in a Sue Ryder charity shop after seeing a member of Thatcher’s staff drop them in the shop. She guessed that they would increase in value over the years, so Ms. Graham purchased them.
The Rayne shoes – which come in gold, silver and black suede – are size five and come with a letter received in 2001 from Ms Thatchers office confirming that she did wear Rayne shoes.
Another population of small humans has been reported, this time in caves in Micronesia.
Modern adult bones left, Palau small human bones center and right.
Lee Berger, Steven Churchill, Bonita De Klerk and Rhonda Quinn, a team of paleontologists and anthropologists from South Africa and the United States document a group of “small-bodied humans” found in the ” in limestone caves in the rock islands of Palau, Micronesia.” The report, in a recent edition of the open access journal, PLoS ONE (2008 3:3) argues that these small people may “represent a congenitally abnormal individual drawn from a small-bodied island population of Homo Sapiens.” The term for this condition is Insular Dwarfism described in Foster’s Rule. Different radio carbon samples at the site date between 3000 and 4500 calendar years before the present, with the 3000 year old dates being judged the most reliable.
The authors argue, “Based on the evidence from Palau, we [Berger et al] hypothesize that reduction in the size of the face and chin, large dental size and other features noted here may in some cases be correlates of extreme body size reduction in H. sapiens.”
Unlike the 2004 find of the Flores dwarf human population (dated from 95,000 to 13,000 years ago), known as Homo floresienses and nicknamed hobbits, researchers do not consider this population to be a separate hominid population. They also suggest that this more recent population casts some doubt on H. floresienses being a separate species, and that,
“These features when seen in Flores may be best explained as correlates of small body size in an island adaptation, regardless of taxonomic affinity…[This] Palauan sample supports at least the possibility that the Flores hominins are simply an island adapted population of H. sapiens, perhaps with some individuals expressing congenital abnormalities.”
In support of this, Berger et al also argued that although the dwarf humans appeared to have many features in commons with Homo sapiens, there seems to be many features that are not usually associated with Homo sapiens.
File photograph of a Virgin Voyager Class 220 train (Cr. Chris McKenna)
A Virgin Trains train travelling at high speed collided with a car near Copmanthorpe, Yorkshire, England, killing the car’s driver.
The accident took place at approximately 20:55 GMT when the Class 220/221 train, travelling at close to 100mph, hit the car which was on the tracks. The train then partially derailed but remained upright, coming to a stop further down the tracks. The car driver is believed to have been killed instantly. No one on the train was injured.
The car was not at a level crossing. North Yorkshire Police said that the car had left the road, driven through a fence and ended up on the track.
The train was the 14:25 Virgin Voyager cross-country service from Plymouth to Edinburgh Waverley, capable of speeds up to 125mph, but was deccelerating on approach into York. There were 74 passengers on board.
The line between York and Leeds was closed for several hours, delaying other services. Virgin Spokesman Arthur Leathley told reporters that Network Rail hoped to have three of the four lines in that section of the track operational by Tuesday morning.
The New Zealand government has announced that it will be reviewing funding for medical and dentistry students at Otago and Auckland Universities to certify the institutions’ standards and help staff retention.
The dean of Auckland University’s Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences, Professor Iain Martin says the review “can’t come soon enough”.
The Medical Students Association welcomes the review. It says that it has been worried about student debt for years “High debt encourages too many graduates overseas, or into high paying areas of practice at the expense of areas like general practice”
Jacob Zuma. Image: GCIS South Africa.(Image missing from Commons: image; log)
Corruption-related charges have been brought against Jacob Zuma, the newly-elected leader of the African National Congress (ANC), according to his lawyer. A trial is scheduled to begin on August 14, 2008.
The charges stem from an arms deal with a French company, which is alleged to have involved bribes and fraud. Zuma’s financial adviser at the time, Schabir Shaik, was convicted in 2005 of attempting to solicit a bribe of US$72,500 per year from the arms company on Zuma’s behalf and was sentenced to 15 years in prison. Zuma was fired as deputy president in 2005 by South African PresidentThabo Mbeki due to the scandal.
Two-term ANC leader Mbeki recently lost an ANC leadership contest to Jacob Zuma, who garnered about 60 percent of delegate votes in his win.
Zuma had been charged with corruption in 2005, but the case was dismissed on procedural grounds. Michael Hulley, Zuma’s defence lawyer, indicated that they will strongly contest the new charges in court. Hulley also suggested that the South African government’s National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) and its anti-organised crime division known as The Scorpions, have carried out a smear campaign against Zuma.
“These charges will be vigorously defended, in the context of the belief that the Scorpions (NPA) have acted wrongly and with improper motive calculated to discredit Mr. Zuma and ensure that he play no leadership role in the political future of our country,” said Michael Hulley in a statement.
Given that the ANC has been the governing party in South Africa since the end of apartheid in 1994, it is likely that Jacob Zuma could become the next president after general elections in 2009. Zuma has said, however, that he would resign if he was found guilty by the courts.
The slogan, and logo, of The Common Weal, launched last weekend by The Reid Foundation’s Robin McAlpine. Image: Brian McNeil.
Glasgow —Last weekend, December 8, The Reid Foundation, a left-leaning think-tank, launched The Common Weal, a vision for a more socially just and inclusive post-Independence Scotland. Five- to six-hundred turned up for the event, billed as “[a] ‘revolution’ … with T-shirts and dancing” by the Sunday Herald, and held in The Arches club and theatre, under Glasgow’s Central Street Station.
Wikinews’ Brian McNeil travelled to Glasgow to attend, walking through the city’s festively decorated George Square, and busy shopping streets, to the venue under Hielanman’s Umbrella.
More known for theatre, live music, and club nights, organisers in The Arches confirmed around 800 had signed up for the free Sunday afternoon event. The crowd was a mix of all ages, including families with young childen. Stuart Braithwaite of Mogwai entertained the early arrivals by DJ-ing until the launch video for the Common Weal was screened.
The Common Weal present themselves as “an emerging movement which is developing a vision for economic and social development in Scotland which is distinct and different from the political orthodoxy that dominates politics and economics in London.” Contrasting current “me first politics” against concerns of ordinary Scots, the launch video’s opening, monochrome half, stresses everyday common concerns: “Will I have a pension I can survive on when I retire?”, “I miss my local library”, “Public transport is so bad it’s hard to get to work”; and, “Why can we always find money to bail out banks but not to protect public services?”, “Why is it always the poor, the disabled, and immigrants who get the blame?”
The preferred vision offered by the Common Weal, “Not me first, all of us first”, makes up the more-aspirational second-half of the film, advocating a national fund for industry, taking the nation’s energy into collective ownership, building quality new public housing, strengthening the welfare state, and ending tax evasion. Throughout the event a distinction between these ‘popular politics’, which experience wide support, and the derogatory ‘populist’ label, often used to dismiss such calls for a fairer society, was emphasised.
Comedienne Janey Godley took over following the film, to compère the afternoon, and introduce Reid Foundation director Robin McAlpine. With the mixed audience, Godley made avoiding profanity — due to the presence of children — a theme of her warm-up; although, the humour remained fairly adult in nature.
McAlpine sketched out the movement’s hopes and plans. After thanking those who were giving their time for free, he characterised modern politics as “[…] a game that is played by a small number of professionals, in a small number of rooms, in a small number of expensively-rented premises, across Scotland — and across Britain. It’s become a thing people do as a profession, and the rest of us are all supposed to applaud them — or stand back — nod our heads every four years, and be glad for it.” With a receptive audience, he continued: “The idea that politics is something that ordinary people cannae talk about is one of the great achievements of the right-wing [over] the last thirty to forty years in Britain”; remarking, to applause, “they scared us aff.”
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The crowd gathering at the venue. Image: Brian McNeil.
The logo was promoted with tee shirts and stickers. Image: Brian McNeil.
Launching a political movement, with a licensed bar, was the subject of several jokes. Image: Brian McNeil.
Entrance to venue, The Arches, with a pawn shop next door. Image: Brian McNeil.
Decorations and fun-fair in Glasgow’s George Square; a show of hope for the New Year. Image: Brian McNeil.
A similarly festive mood, more-akin with a gig or comedy act, was evident at the launch event. Image: Brian McNeil.
On discussions around the country, he claimed that “across Scottish politics, […] the people that want this, … ‘me first’ politics, there’s not many of them. The people that want Common Weal politics, all of us first politics, I’m meeting them everywhere. […] Everyone I meet wants this, a decent politics that puts people first. […] We wanted to find a way to communicate an idea of a politics which work for all the people who those politics seek to govern, not just a few of them. People don’t understand or recognise the language of politics any more, so we want to change that language.”.
Crediting the Sunday Herald newspaper for an opportunity to share some ideas underpinning the Common Weal, McAlpine was scathing in his criticism of mainstream coverage of the independence debate: “There’s this massive debate. It’s not in the mainstream.” Seeking to “get a real debate going, about a really strong vision for a future for Scotland, it’s hard. They’re still doing IFS, accounting this, and another paper from a Whitehall that. And, we’ll all debate things that nobody really cares about, interminably, until they all go away for good.” On the current political debate, he remarked: “If mainstream politics fails to recognise what is really going on in Scotland just now, then that is its problem. […] Someone is going to offer ordinary people what they want, and when they do, everything will change.”
Urging the crowd to get involved, he said: “If we can create a popular politics, that ordinary people care about, and talk about, and work[s], we can take a grip of Scotland. We can decide the future politics of Scotland, and standing around waiting for professional politicians to,… disappoint us less than they always do, does not have to be the way we do this anymore.” He concluded, “It genuinely is time for a politics that puts all of us first.”
Janey Godley took the microphone, as McAlpine left the stage to cheers and applause; joking about the ‘rabble-rousing’ tone of the speech she then introduced David Whyte of Tangent Design, creator of the Common Weal’s logo.
Whyte explained they hoped the simple image would come to represent the “all of us first” philosophy, and “a new way of doing things”. He was not the first to jokingly remark that the four-line graphic — a triangle, with a balanced line on top of it — would be an easily-applied piece of graffiti.
Politics, and the launch of the movement’s logo, then took more of a back-seat; the rest of the event more in-keeping with having a party, and the festive decorations elsewhere around the city centre. Godley, and fellow Scottish joker Bruce Morton, provided more barbed comedy. Singer Karine Polwart encouraged the crowd to sing along to a song she said was written on her way to the party, and Actor Tam Dean Burn read a speech from the 16th century Scottish play “Satire of the three estates” — given by the character John Common Weal, representing the common man — where the deeds and behaviour of the ruling classes are such that, if done by a common man, they’d be hanged.
Scotland’s Independence referendum is to take place next year, September 18. This was a repeated election pledge of the Scottish National Party (SNP) — who moved from leading a minority government, to an outright majority in the devolved parliament’s 2011 general election — making good on their promise by announcing in January 2011 their intent to hold the referendum in autumn 2014.
The question being put to the electorate is: “Should Scotland be an independent country?” A “Yes” vote would be followed with negotiations to bring to an end the early eighteenth-century ‘Union of the Parliaments’. The SNP has proposed Scotland retain Elizabeth II as head of state, a position she holds on the basis of the century-earlier Union of the Crowns.
In Toronto last weekend, North American anime and manga convention Anime North was held. Anime North sprawled across multiple venues, including the Toronto Congress Centre, as a fan-run celebration of Japanese pop culture. The event ran from May 25 to 27. Wikinews’s Nicholas Moreau was in attendance to photograph the event.
Carmen Cosplay as Snow White, Aileen Cosplay as Rapunzel, and Grey Dickson as Flynn.
Binrand Cosplay as Shyvana from League of Legends.
Montrealer “Aileen Cosplay” was wearing an outfit of Rapunzel from the Disney animated film Tangled, when Wikinews photographed her.
Wikinews talked with her after the event, learning that she was one of the “Estrada Sisters”, who have been dressing up as pop culture characters for roughly a decade. “Cosplay is something we do together as sisters, as well as with our close friends. It’s a hobby and passion that we all share and have fun with.”
The cosplayer explained that the activity “integrates a wide range of interests for us, from makeup, to sewing, to crafting and prop-making.”
“When deciding on cosplays,” she offers, “we consider how attracted we are to the character as they were written, as well as their aesthetic. We tend to stray towards Disney, as we all share a common passion for the magic that it brings to its audience, and we love having the opportunity to bring that magic to life every time we put on a costume.”
Binrand Cosplay tells Wikinews that for her, cosplay “is a huge creative outlet whether that’s sewing, crafting, armour building, styling wigs, new makeup challenges etc. I love that it gives me creative freedom and that the end result I can share with hundreds of people that have a love and passion for the same character or series that I am cosplaying from.” The icy effect on Shyvana from League of Legends gave her reason to work with Transpa Art, a product from a company called Worbla.
She noted that the activity also allows her to “meet new friends that are just excited about something” as she is.
She chooses characters she’s become attached to, as her outfit. “Often it’s a combination of similar personality as my own, a character that has gone through similar struggles as myself, I like the look, and that they just plain badass! I also like a challenge. Having been doing cosplay for as long as I have I like to switch things up and learn something new every year.”
The Cybertronic Spree is a band that dresses like the Transformers.
Two people as Kurisu from Stein’s Gate, including Justin Bailey Kigurumi
Luxlocosplay as Lola Bunny
Silent Snuggs Cosplay and Binrand
Cici Winn and Neko Nico in kigurumi
Stuffed toys of Totoro, a popular character.
A booth promoting Youmacon in Detroit.
Breathelifeindeeply as Weiss from RWBY.
Ariel the Little Mermaid
Transformers
Celty Sturluson of Durarara!!
Inspector Gadget
Queen Amidala and a haidmaiden, Star Wars: The Phantom Menace.
A cosplayer as Belle from Beauty and the Beast.
Jack and Sally from The Nightmare Before Christmas by Reiyume Chibi Cosplay
Tohru of Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid.
Chibi Bara as Mercy and bobcat.in.a.box as Widowmaker
“Life sized” model of Lapras, a Pokemon
“Life sized” model of Rapidash, a Pokemon
“Life sized” models of Rayquaza and Trapinch, Pokemon characters
General Motors Training Center, Shoreline Community College, Shoreline, Washington. Image: Joe Mabel..
73,000 United Auto Workers (UAW) union members launched a nationwide strike today against General Motors (GM), the largest auto manufacturer in the United States.
UAW President Ron Gettelfinger said GM would need to meet pay, health care, and job security issues. Gettelfinge said, “This is nothing we wanted…No one benefits in a strike. But there comes a point where someone can push you off a cliff. That’s what happened here.”
The strike was officially launched at 11 a.m. EDT (UTC-4) today.
Negotiations were reportedly going to occur again this afternoon, but there have been no reports of any negotiating going on from either side.
80 facilities in 30 different states closed today because of the strike.
CNN reports that GM facilities in Mexico and Canada may close soon, too.
The vice president of global vehicle forecasts for CSM Worldwide, Michael Robinet, said today that dealerships in the US likely won’t feel the effects of the strike for several weeks.
A statement from GM today said, “We are disappointed in the UAW’s decision to call a national strike. The bargaining involved complex, difficult issues that affect the job security of our U.S. work force, and the long-term viability of the company. We are fully committed to working with the UAW to develop solutions together to address the competitive challenges facing General Motors. We will continue focusing our efforts on reaching an agreement as soon as possible.”
If the strike continues, UAW strike funds will supply each striker with US$200 a month and medical coverage.
Art thieves in Greece broke into the Athens National Gallery on Monday and stole three valuable works of art.
Image of stolen painting “Woman’s Head” by PicassoImage: codeproject.com.
Among them was a painting by famous Spanish painter Pablo Picasso, dated 1939, called Woman’s Head which was a gift to the Greek people for their resistance to the Nazis during World War 2. The other two works were Mill by Piet Mondrian and a sketch of St. Diego de Alcala by Guglielmo Caccia. A fourth painting, Landscape, also by Piet Mondrian was dropped by the thieves when pursued by security. All three works stolen were stripped from their frames.
The police stated multiple alarms during the evening of the heist in other parts of the building had distracted the gallery guard. Investigating yet another alarm, he saw the shadow of a fleeing individual. Citizen’s Protection Minister Christos Papoutsis apologized for the loss, citing that the security at the gallery was “non-existent”.
The value of the works stolen was not yet determined by gallery officials. The artwork in question was on display at the gallery as part of an exhibition called “Unknown Treasures”, including works of Albrecht Durer and Rembrandt.