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Saturday, March 10, 2012

Occupy protests in two Irish cities have been cleared in the last two days. Dublin’s Occupy Dame Street was cleared by police while the local council cleared the abandoned Occupy Waterford site.

The early hours of Thursday saw the Dublin site raided and cleared by Gardai (police). Gardai cited health and safety concerns over the camp, with St Patrick’s Day festivities planned. Irish tourism minister Leo Varadkar previously called it “disappointing” the campers would not move while the celebrations were ongoing. “I understand they feel very strongly about their politics but I’m sure they don’t want to damage the festival,” Varadkar said.

“[Our] priority is to ensure that all of St Patrick’s Day events and celebrations pass off smoothly and that all participants and the large crowds of spectators at the parade can access and egress the parade route without a risk or threat to their health and safety,” said a Garda statement. They claimed to have asked for “assistance and co-operation, however this was not forthcoming,” and said it took hours to clear the site. The clearance began at 3:30 am local time.

A single arrest was made but the individual was released without charge. Around 100 officers cleared the site, which almost filled the plaza before the Central Bank. Cleaners later cleared all signs of the camp. It had been in place since October, but pallets and solid structures replaced the usual tents of Occupy protests earlier this year in response to local weather. Fifteen people who had been staying overnight were removed.

“We are not stopping any time soon, it’s all hands on deck now, we are going to carry on”, vowed protestor Saoirse Bennet, who was on-scene when police arrived.

Waterford City Council yesterday dismantled the empty camp in their city while Gardai looked on. The quayside protest was abandoned after internal disputes; only two youths and a homeless person were found in the 5:30 am raid, but at one stage the protest had 40 residents. Gardai took the youths “home to their parents,” said a spokesman. “The people we found there had nothing to do with Occupy Waterford.” Needles and drugs were found, but nobody was arrested.

Occupy Galway may be the next to go: After months of tolerance, Galway City Council have claimed “serious health and safety concerns” justify legal eviction proceedings if the camp does not pack up voluntarily. John Walsh of Occupy Galway said the camp was lawful and would remain.

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Friday, November 3, 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 West (Ward 26). Four candidates responded to Wikinews’ requests for an interview. This ward’s candidates include Muhammad Alam, Bahar Aminvaziri, Orhan Aybars, Michele Carroll-Smith, Mohamed Dhanani, Abdul Ingar, Geoff Kettel, Debbie Lechter, Natalie Maniates, John Masterson, John Parker, David Thomas, Csaba Vegh, and Fred Williams.

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

Saturday, June 16, 2007

Angry fans of popular Indian film actor Rajinikanth rioted in 10 cinemas in Malaysia after the release of the actor’s latest movie was delayed by technical problems.

The release of Sivaji: The Boss was supposed to occur simultaneously across southern India and Tamil-speaking parts of Malaysia on Thursday. But not enough prints of the film were available, so cinemas in Malaysia had to resort to trying to screen digital versions of the movie on equipment they were unfamiliar with, which led to the delays and glitches. Fans found the situation unacceptable.

According to a report in today’s New Straits Times, the worst-hit in the mayhem was the Sri Intan Theatre in Klang, in Selangor state. Patrons had started lining up at 4 p.m. local time (0800 GMT), and waited five hours for the show to start.

Due to technical problems, it started late at 10:30 p.m., with tickets for both the 9 p.m. and midnight shows fully booked. Then, halfway through the film, at around 11:30 p.m., the screening was halted due to “technical problems”, according to the cinema manager, and could not be fixed.

The management announced that the show had to be cancelled and offered to refund the ticket money, but then the crowd became unhinged. Glass displays, lights and speakers were smashed. The screen and curtains were torn. Chairs were ripped apart, and wood panelling damaged. According to another local daily, The Star, angry fans even briefly set fire to the building, but it was quickly extinguished by cinema staff.

The Sri Intan has suspended screenings while repairs are made. Damage is been estimated at 70,000 Malaysian ringgit (about US$20,000).

In Ipoh, about 125 miles (200 kilometres) north of Kuala Lumpur, police were summoned to control unruly crowds at the Sri Kinta cinema. A cinema manager was beaten by irate fans, and he was taken to the hospital with head injuries that required stitches.

Police were also called in at a cinema Penang, where patrons banged on ticket counters, demanding refunds and that the movie be shown. The first showing finally got under way after a three-hour delay.

Fistfights broke out at a cinema in Rawang, where fans threw bottles and smashed glass cases.

In Kuala Lumpur, the venerable Coliseum Theatre also had an unruly crowd.

“People grew impatient and started pushing, resulting in a broken glass panel at the counter. We only got the movie at 4:30 p.m. and started selling the tickets at 4:45 p.m.,” theater owner Chua Seong Siew was quoted as saying in the New Straits Times.

The movie distributor said the delay was due to not enough prints of the film being sent from AVM, the Chennai-based production company.

“Rain and delay in getting the digital password from India for security reasons to beat piracy were the primary reasons for the delay and cancellations. Because of the rain, our delivery was affected and as a result, there was a delay in the screening of the movie,” S. Vel Paari, head of distributor Pyramid Saimira Theatre Chain, was quoted as saying by The Star.

Paari said he had ordered 53 copies of the film, but only got 42.

“The remaining 11 prints had to be downloaded through the Internet,” he explained to The Star.

The film, Sivaji: The Boss, is a 185-minute cavalcade of action, romance and song-and-dance numbers, starring Rajinikanth, one of the most popular stars of Tamil cinema, which is also known as “Kollywood“, the second-largest of the Indian film industry after the Hindi-language “Bollywood“. Budgeted at US$15 million, which is huge by Indian-industry standards, the film is said to be the most expensive yet made in India.

The film’s flamboyant 57-year-old star, Rajnikanth, has a cult-like following in Tamil-speaking southern India, and tickets to the film have been sold out for weeks.

In Malaysia, about 10 percent of the population of 26 million are ethnic Indians, most of them Tamil.

Friday, November 3, 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 West (Ward 26). Four candidates responded to Wikinews’ requests for an interview. This ward’s candidates include Muhammad Alam, Bahar Aminvaziri, Orhan Aybars, Michele Carroll-Smith, Mohamed Dhanani, Abdul Ingar, Geoff Kettel, Debbie Lechter, Natalie Maniates, John Masterson, John Parker, David Thomas, Csaba Vegh, and Fred Williams.

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

Sunday, January 14, 2007

Western Australian government authorities say they believe a toxin may be responsible for the recent mysterious death of an estimated 5,000 birds found in the area of Esperance – on the state’s south eastern coastline. Autopsies by toxicologists from the WA Department of Agriculture will test for organochlorins, organophosphates and heavy metals.

Esperance residents first noticed large numbers of dead birds littering their streets and gardens on December 7 last year. Populations of honeyeaters, wattle birds and miners have reportedly been effected.

The birds were being found vomiting and convulsing in bushland and suburban backyards over an extensive area. Department of Environment and Conservation‘s (DEC) nature conservation coordinator Mike Fitzgerald says toxic wetlands near Esperance are the most likely reason for the mass bird deaths.

The DEC says it has failed to figure out the cause of death despite interviewing industry groups, farmers, grain handlers and timber companies about pesticide and chemical use.

Birds Australia, the peak group dedicated to the conservation, study and enjoyment of Australia’s native birds and their habitats, said it had not heard of a similar occurrence. “Not on that scale, and all at the same time, and also the fact that it’s several different species,” chief executive Graeme Hamilton told the Sunday Times. “You’d have to call that a most unusual event and one that we’d all have to be concerned about.”

Mike Fitzgerald said the DEC were looking at something “pretty potent.” “This is not a normal situation. The common thing that we have seen and heard is that the affected birds have an insatiable thirst… If it turns out to be a toxin that is responsible, that will raise more questions because there is no obvious source of exposure.”

The deaths could be a result of a drier than normal winter, causing algal and bacterial blooms in the Esperance Lakes Nature Reserves. Esperance recorded 457mm rainfall in 2006; the average is 620mm.

Initially, health authorities feared a virus, such as the deadly avian bird flu, was responsible. That was quickly ruled out, along with poisoning from bacteria or eating poisoned insects.

The first deaths were reported by Esperance resident Michelle Crisp – who lives close to the worst-affected area. Dozens of native birds began dying in her back yard a week before Christmas. She says she contacted neighbours to discover if they were experiencing the same thing. Mrs Crisp found four dead birds, then 16, then 30 and finally up to 80.

Mike Fitzgerald said that any one of hundreds of toxins could be causing the deaths but so far all leads had not produced any answers.

Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Plastic surgeon to the stars Dr. Frank Ryan has died in a car accident at age 50. It is reported that the Jeep Ryan was driving crashed over the side of the Pacific Coast Highway and landed on rocks. Lifeguards were first on the scene and unsuccessfully tried to rescue Ryan. It is thought that no other vehicle was involved in the incident.

Dr. Ryan, a celebrity in his own right, performed plastic surgery on several stars including Janice Dickinson, Gene Simmons, Shauna Sand and Adrianne Curry. He appeared on several television shows and became one of the first people to perform plastic surgery on television in 1995.

A representative for Janice Dickinson released a statement about the death of Ryan. She said “Janice is deeply, deeply anguished! She is stunned and wants the world to know what a genius Dr. Ryan was.”

Ryan was traveling with his pet dog at the time of the crash; the dog was found seriously injured in the ocean and was transported to a local veterinarian. Dr. Ryan was pronounced dead at the scene.