Wednesday, May 16, 2007

Wikinews reporter Nicholas Moreau contacted professional photographer David Fore of Lloyd David Photography to go to the recent Christy Carlson Romano concert at Sesame Place theme park in Langhorne, Pennsylvania.

Romano, perhaps best known for her breakout role in Even Stevens opposite Shia LaBoeuf, is presumably working towards a new album, regularly posting new singles to her MySpace profile. She is listed as “indie” on her profile, having originally been signed to Disney Records.

Romano has performed Belle in Beauty and the Beast on Broadway, as well as voice acting in the television series Kim Possible and video game Kingdom Hearts.

Sesame Place recently opened for the season, adding Abby Cadabby to its cast of life-size Muppets. The park offers a variety of wet and dry rides, as well as stage attractions. Christy performed at the park four times over last weekend, as well as riding in its daily Rock Around the Block Parade.

• Sesame Place theme park

Friday, September 2, 2005

HM King Mswati III of Swaziland has held a massive ceremony to find his 13th wife. More than 50,000 showed up to the unofficial call for brides. All potential brides who attended the two-day Reed Dance, held annually since 1999, were bare-breasted, wearing short, beaded skirts and were supposedly virgins.

As his country’s 37-year-old Ngwenyama (king), Mswati is the last absolute monarch in sub-Saharan Africa.

Mario Masuku, leader of the banned opposition party, said that “The Reed Dance has been abused for one man’s personal satisfaction. The king has a passion for young women and opulence.” Masuku’s comments were based on the fact that the Reed Dance traditionally celebrated virginity and womanliness.

“The king takes a wife whenever he wants, and that’s the way it is. This is our culture, and we will never change,” says Tsandzile Ndluva, 21, one of the dancers at the event.

Ludzidzini Royal Village also hosted the Great She-Elephant, their name for the country’s queen mother Ntombi Thwala. She was greeted by 50,000 people, which is 5% of the nation’s population. Their traditional ceremony for the She-Elephant includes dancing and building a wind-break for her out of reeds.

The King’s current wives include Inkhosikati LaMatsebula, Inkhosikati LaMotsa, Inkhosikati LaMbikiza, Inkhosikati LaNgangaza, Inkhosikati LaHwala, Inkhosikati LaMagwaza, Inkhosikati LaMasango, Inkhosikati LaGija, Inkhosikati LaMagongo, and Inkhosikati LaMahlangu. LaMbikiza has a Master’s Degree in Law.

He has 27 children from his first 13 wives and wives-to-be, and over 200 brothers and sisters, a result of his late father King Sobhuza II’s 70 wives. Mswati must look after all of these relatives with funds from the royal-owned company, Tibiyo TakaNgwane.

At the Reed Dance, Mswati repealed the law prohibiting sexual activity for girls younger than 18. This law was first enacted in 2001, to help in the fight against AIDS, which was, and still is, at crisis levels. The ban was set to end in 2006. The law was actually a revival of the ancient “umchwasho” rite, a Swazi tradition. In the first weeks this law was enacted, Mswati broke it himself, marrying Inkhosikati LaMagongo. This forced him to pay a fine of one cow.

Forty-percent of Swazis are HIV positive, including 42% of pregnant women, a matter that the King was taken to heart, to some extent. He has travelled internationally to try and raise money, increase awareness, and seek solutions to the epidemic. World-renowned musicians like Michael Jackson have signed on to record an album, to raise funds for orphans in the country. However, the young king does not seem to have realised the importance of leadership by personal example, and the Swaziland Ministry of Health website [1] shows little evidence of his government’s commitment to address the issue.

The King says he is suffering from stress, finding it difficult to cope with the pressure of work. He told BBC News “I find very little time with my family most of the time. I normally work until 11pm… and this makes me feel stressed because I’m being overworked, but I have to do everything possible to satisfy my people.”

Friday, March 20, 2009

Following the Pilkhana massacre which occurred February 25 and 26 leaving 74 dead and the inferno at the Bashundhara City shopping mall complex March 13 leaving seven dead, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said security measures are being tightened countrywide across Bangladesh.

Fire drills will be enacted at all key-point installations (KPI). Fire fighting systems will be examined by the fire brigade and the public works department (PWD) to ensure functionality. Security measures will be enhanced supplementing areas under private security such as at the Bashundhara City Complex.

The Fire Service and Civil Defence Department requires modernization and needs new equipment to fight fires past the sixth floor of buildings. The Fire Brigade says it needs turntable ladders, snorkels, foam-tenders, lighting units, emergency tenders, fireproof uniforms, and rescue ropes for fire fighting and rescue operations. Transportation to fires is also an issue due to narrow roads, low electrical wires and congestion.

The Bangladesh National Building Code requires fire fighting equipment installed in buildings over seven floors. This code is to be monitored by authorities to ensure compliance with the new guidelines and to make sure buildings are being maintained.

The Bashundhara City Complex opened Monday for shoppers two days after Friday’s blaze. A probe is underway to determine the cause of the fire and to assess structural damage.

Loss of life was minimized as the blaze broke out on a Friday, the beginning of the weekend in Bangladesh, so offices in the upper floors were empty. The lower eight floors are used for shopping and the upper floors are all Bashundhara Group offices.

The mall is valued at Tk 7.0 billion (US$100 million). It is not known if the complex is covered by fire insurance.

It is estimated that it will take over two years to rebuild the area damaged by flames which were burned down to a skeleton. Bashundhara City’s technical advisor, Latifur Rahman, estimated damages at Tk 2.0 billion (US$29m).

Only one television cameraman has been allowed in to film the burnt area. None of the 2,500 shops, cinemas or cafes were burnt by the inferno. The seventh and eighth floors still experience smoke damage, and there was water damage to merchandise.

A three member committee is currently investigating the cause of the fire which will consist of Iqbal Khan Chowdhury, joint secretary of the ministry, representatives of the police, IGP Noor Muhammad, and fire brigade, Director General Abu Nayeem Md Shahidullah. The committee is required to report within the week with their findings. The forensics department is also sifting through the burnt remains.

The Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industries has also formed a committee which has begun interviewing witnesses and recording their testimony alongside the government committee.

It has been discovered that 150 closed circuit cameras were not being used when the fire started. Another mystery is why the mall fire fighting system has been found unused.

“In the shopping mall there is an ultra-technology elevator which runs even without electricity but we have found that locked,” Iqbal Khan Chowdhury, joint secretary (Police) of the home ministry, said. “Why the fire burnt so fiercely is a matter to think. We have to see if there was any incendiary substance there. These matters seem to be mysterious.”

Mall management has been asked to submit substances and items which would have been in the upper floors when the fire started. The fire erupted on the 17th floor and spread quickly to the two floors above and engulfed the three floors below. The aerial ladders belonging to the Fire Service and Civil Defence reached as high as the 13th floor of the 21-storey building.

Videos have been sent to the United States (US) for examination to assist in determining the cause of the fire and to help in the damage assessment. Experts from the US are expected to arrive soon.

Firefighters were brought to the rooftop of the 20-storey tower by helicopter. The only fatality in this operation was Baki Billa, a firefighter of Bashundhara City firefighting department, who fell when climbing down a rope from a helicopter to the roof of the building. Three other firefighters made the transition safely. At this same time, the chief security officer was safely rescued by the Bangladesh Air Force helicopter, a Bell 212. Six security officers of the complex also lost their lives.

Monday, July 4, 2016

On Friday, Neymar Jr agreed to a five-year contract extension with FC Barcelona, Zlatan Ibrahimovi? to a one-year contract with Manchester United F.C. as a free agent, and Nolito joined Manchester City F.C. from Celta de Vigo for a four-year term.

[edit]

Monday, July 4, 2016

On Friday, Neymar Jr agreed to a five-year contract extension with FC Barcelona, Zlatan Ibrahimovi? to a one-year contract with Manchester United F.C. as a free agent, and Nolito joined Manchester City F.C. from Celta de Vigo for a four-year term.

[edit]

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Israeli military forces today seized a ship claimed to be carrying weapons bound for the Gaza Strip.

The ship, a German-owned and Liberian-flagged freighter named Victoria, had departed from a port in Syria before travelling to Turkey, from where it departed for Alexandria, Egypt. A French company had chartered the vessel, which was intercepted and boarded by Israeli commandos about 200 miles from shore while in international waters.

Victoria was reportedly boarded without incident, and is being taken to Ashdod, a port city in Israel. Three containers of weapons were found on board the ship, though the type or total number are unknown. A further inspection of the cargo will be carried out once the ship reaches Ashdod.

According to Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, “[o]n the boat we discovered many weapons destined for terror groups in the heart of Gaza.” He also claimed that Iran was responsible for shipping the weapons, saying that “[t]he only certain thing is the source of the weaponry was Iran, and there was a Syrian relay station as well.”