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Friday, December 23, 2005

The Conservative Party of Canada leader Stephen Harper today made bold claims about the Canadian Arctic region at a campaign stop in Winnipeg, “The single most important duty of the federal government is to protect and defend our national sovereignty.” . The prime minister-hopeful stated, “There are new and disturbing reports of American nuclear submarines passing though Canadian waters without obtaining the permission of —or even notifying — the Canadian government.”

Harper promised a significant increase in military presence in the Canadian region, which has had notable soveriegnty disputes with the United States, Russia, Denmark and Norway.”You don’t defend national sovereignty with flags,” Harper said. “You need forces on the ground, ships in the sea, and proper surveillance.”

Among other promises, Harper stated he would station three armed naval heavy ice breakers in the area of Iqaluit with 500 regular force personnel, recruit 500 more Canadian rangers, and build a new army training center in the area of Cambridge Bay on the Northwest Passage.File:Stephen Harper voa.jpg

“As prime minister, I will make it clear to foreign governments — including the United States — that naval vessels traveling in Canadian territorial waters will require the consent of the government of Canada,” Harper stated.

The Conservative Party Website states this ““Canada First” Northern Strategy will increase surveillance, navy, army and air force presence”.

The Liberal Party of Canada, the Conservatives’ most powerful rival in the election, quickly posted a rebuttal on their website. They claim Stephen Harpers stated defense budget of $5.3(CAD) billion over 5 years is not enough to afford the two polar icebreakers, which the Liberal party claims will cost $3(CAD) billion with the party estimating an upkeep of $150(CAD) million per year. “Where does Mr. Harper plan to find another $1 billion?” the party asked in their rebuttal.

The Arctic may be an important issue in the future for Canadians, as scientists expect the fabled Northwest Passage of the Arctic to open up for year round shipping by 2050 as a result of global warming. According to the online encyclopedia Wikipedia, trade routes from Europe to the Far East could save 4000 km through the passage, as compared to the current routes through the Panama Canal.

Canada last flexed its muscle in the Arctic in 2004 in its most massive Arctic exercise ever, with six hundred personnel from the three services (army, air force, navy) involved in a large exercise in the Baffin Islands.

Canadians are scheduled to go to the polls on January 23, 2006 in an early election as a result of a non-confidence motion in parliament against the former ruling Liberal party.

The time is 22:00 (UTC) on January 4, 2007, and this is Audio Wikinews News Briefs.

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Wednesday, March 16, 2005

The United Kingdom Chancellor of the Exchequer, the Right Honourable Gordon Brown PC MP, in a speech to the British House of Commons today presented his ninth Budget, what is very likely to be his last Budget before the next UK General Election. This opened the parliamentary debate on the 2005 Finance Bill, and was followed by responses from the opposition parties.

In a 48 minute long speech, the Chancellor presented a Budget of “tax cuts that are reasonable, spending that is affordable, and [economic] stability that is paramount”, that was “the prudent course for Britain”. There were few surprises that had not already been indicated in his 2004 pre-Budget report. The increase in the threshold on stamp duty was greater than that forecast by commentators, as was the amount of the Council Tax rebate to households with pensioners.

Monday, August 27, 2012

London, England — As Paralympians ready for the Games which are set to open later this week, they have access to a world class fitness center inside the Paralympic Village which is designed to maximise their pre-Game preparations.

According to volunteers staffing the center, instead of being a single large room, as in Beijing, the building has numerous rooms. It, along with the adjacent Village Services Centre, is designed to be converted into a school after the games conclude. Rooms have been structured as a gym, an auditorium, and science laboratories.

Gym equipment is supplied by Technogym, an Italian firm that has supplied gym equipment for the Olympics since 2000. Equipment has been provided not just for for the Fitness Centre, but for gyms at all the Olympic venues. The newest equipment is oriented toward maximum flexibility, allowing athletes to exercise the particular muscles that they most require for their sport.

In addition to the equipment, the Fitness Centre also provides instructors trained in the use of the equipment, the likes of which athletes from many countries have never seen before. There are also a number of instructors available to provide motivational training.

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Saturday, September 22, 2007

British architect Norman Foster and FC Barcelona president Joan Laporta presented today in Barcelona the redevelopment project for the team’s stadium, Camp Nou, built in 1957.

The Catalan club expects that this redesign will turn the stadium into a city landmark and that “the external image of the stadium will become a recognized brand for FCB.” Works will begin in 2008.

The new stadium will be wrapped in a colourful mosaic made up of the team’s colours (blue and red) and those of the Catalan flag (red and yellow) and reminiscent of Gaudi’s style. This reptile-like cover of tiles and lights will allow the stadium to transform itself according to the time of day and the events taking place. The project also includes the building of a retractable roof.

According to the Club, “the remodelled stadium is designed such that it can be built with minimal disruption FCB normal football activity.”

Monday, July 3, 2006

At least 43 people have died and at least 46 injured, 4 of whom are in critical condition, in a metro train crash in Spanish city of Valencia, according to the regional government.

It has been reported that two of the carriages have derailed and overturned, leading to the evacuation of 150 passengers.

A part of the wall in the tunnel between the Plaza de España and Jesús stations in the southwestern neighborhood of Patraix may have collapsed, causing the derailment of one of the carriages, which in turn caused the carriage behind it to overturn.

Another theory put forth by subdelegate of the regional government Luis Felipe Martínez is that the wheels on one of the carriages fell off while the train was speeding. The same source has also confirmed that there are two overturned carriages.

The fire department, paramedics and local police are on the scene after a passenger in the crashed train called the emergency services at about 1:03 p.m. CEST (1103 UTC). The authorities have closed the area to all road traffic and routes 1 and 2 of the Valencia metro system, which use the affected rail tracks, are shut down.

The incident comes days before Pope Benedict XVI was due to visit Valencia for the World Meeting of the Families, expected to be attended by one million pilgrims.

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

A police officer has been killed in County Armagh, Northern Ireland by Continuity IRA gunmen a mere 48 hours after two soldiers were killed.

In what is presumed to be an attempt by dissident Republicans to derail the peace process, Pc Stephen Carroll was shot in the head just before 10:00 p.m. on March 9.

The officer, described as an experienced veteran with 23 years of service, was responding to a call for help in the Lismore Manor estate in Craigavon when he was shot. In what is described as a genuine incident, a female member of the public had called for help saying a street gang had broken a window.

A two vehicle patrol was sent to the incident given previous trouble in the area. After standing off for a reasonable period to ensure that there was no ambush, the members of one vehicle got out to deal with the incident, whilst those in the second vehicle provided cover, while providing cover in the second vehicle that Pc Carrol was attacked.

The PSNI, believe that the officer was hit by one of two shots fired by a gunman secreted in scrubland on the estate. There are unconfirmed reports that a second officer has also been injured.

Responsibility for the shooting has been claimed on behalf of the North Armagh Battalion of the Continuity IRA in a coded message to Belfast media.

The shooting has led to a call for unity and calm from a broad spectrum of the community ranging from spokesmen for the Ulster Volunteer Force, who called for the gunmen to be dealt with through the courts, to Sinn Féin were quick to condemn the gunmen and to offer their condolences to the family of the dead officer.

This is the first death of a police officer to sectarian violence in over a decade, and comes after a nine month period in which intelligence indicated that dissidents were aiming to kill a policeman.