Sunday, June 1, 2008

A couple from Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada has been arrested on charges of public mischief after listing their seven day old baby girl on the popular Internet classified ads website Craigslist.

The listing claimed that the baby was unexpected, “healthy and very cute”. It asked CAN 10 000 for the baby. It also listed a phone number belonging to a stolen cellphone, which was used to find the couple.

It was first noticed by a 62-year old grandmother browsing the website for furniture, who said “I was shaking, and I thought, ‘Come on, how did this even get through?'” The couple claimed that the listing, which has since been removed, was a hoax.

The father, Jeremy Pete, had a history of car thefts and evasion of police, while the mother, 23-year-old Bethany Granholm, had convictions of property theft, fraud and impersonation. The parents have now been released, but charges are still being considered. The baby has been placed in provincial care.

A suspected copycat incident occurred just four days later, also offering a seven-day-old baby girl for CAN 10 000 on Craigslist. This incident turned out to be a hoax, and no child was in danger.

Last week saw a similar incident in Germany, where a couple listed a seven month old baby on eBay. In this case the police have launched a child trafficking investigation, despite the parents’ assertion that the listing was a joke.

Friday, February 3, 2017

Etienne Tshisekedi, leader of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC)’s opposition Union for Democracy and Social Progress (UDSP), has died, according to an announcement on Wednesday by the party. He was 84.

Tshisekedi was in Brussels, Belgium for medical treatment. He recently spent two years there for health issues, returning in July to DRC capital Kinshasa. He went back to Brussels last week.

Tshisekedi was due to oversee a power-sharing deal aimed at ending political stalemate with President Joseph Kabila. Kabila is due to stand down under the deal, brokered by the Catholic Church. Kabila’s most recent electoral victory is disputed, with international observers alleging election fraud and Tshisekedi supporters calling him the “elected president”.

A founding UDSP member, Tshisekedi helped found the party when elections scheduled in the 1980s failed to materialise. At that point the nation was ruled by Mobutu Sese Seko; Seko appointed Tshisekedi his Prime Minister four times but they quarrelled and Tshisekedi only managed to stay in the role for months at a time.

Since then, he led the opposition to Joseph Kabila’s father Laurent, who became President in 1997 after leading a rebellion. His son, President from 2001, was declared winner of the 2011 election with Tshisekedi declared runner-up. Tshisekedi was exiled to Kasai under Kabila sr. Locals nicknamed him the Sphinx of Limete, a reference to the longevity of the mythical sphinx and the Kinshasa district in which he made his home.

Albert Moleka, who was Tshisekei’s chief of staff for the 2011 presidential election, told Reuters “A baobab [tree] has fallen […] The baobab protects you from the rain and the sun […] people like that can’t be replaced.” UDSP said their leader was in Brussels for a checkup following his earlier treatment.

The government has promised a state funeral.

Tuesday, February 3, 2009

General Motors ^NYSE: GM (GM) and Chrysler have both begun to offer layoff packages to their workforces.

The automobile manufacturers have been hard hit in the recent economic downturn and have been forced to seek federal aid from the U.S. government. Reports say that GM’s package includes a $20,000 cash payment and a $25,000 new vehicle voucher. Chrysler will offer a $25,000 vehicle voucher and $50,000 with healthcare and $75,000 without. Both will offer the deal to most United Auto Workers (UAW) union members – 62,000 at GM, which is seeking to cut 31,500 jobs by 2012.

The two companies have received $13.4 billion in federal loans to keep them operating, but Congress required them to produce viability plans to demonstrate they were making significant cost cuts and labor concessions in return for the money. UAW workers in Detroit earn $28 an hour; their replacements will earn about half that. The UAW’s “jobs bank”, a system where workers without duties are still paid, has stopped at both companies.

GM is also attempting to engineer a debt-for-equity swap, reducing its liabilities from $27.5 billion in unsecured debt to $9.2 billion. It is also seeking to sell a truck manufacturer, the Delco Electronics parts group and the Hummer and Saab Automobile vehicle brands.

The entire motor manufacturing sector has suffered under the economic downturn, with the Ford Motor Company ^NYSE: F announcing a $14.6 billion annual loss, although it has not sought federal aid. GM and Chrysler both ran out of operating funds in December, leading to the federal bailout.

Tuesday, January 18, 2005

AUSTRALIA –Following hospitalisation for pancreatitis and ongoing speculation about his leadership, Mark Latham has resigned from his roles as leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) and also the Federal Member for Werriwa. He cited as reasons the media harassment, and a desire to put his family and health first.

Mr Latham became leader of the ALP just over a year ago, on 2 December, 2003, leading the party during the October 2004 federal election. He was hospitalised in the run-up to that election, also for treatment of pancreatitis. Following the defeat of his party, his leadership increasingly came under question.

He fell ill a second time almost simultaneously with last year’s Indian Ocean tsunami disaster. His failure to issue a statement on the tsunami drew criticism from the media and calls for his resignation from within his own party, even after it was revealed that he had been incapacitated at the time.

Mr Latham’s resignation sidesteps the possibility of a leadership challenge by other members of the party and leaves no clear successor.

Tuesday, March 13, 2007

Pennsylvania governor Ed Rendell announced Tuesday morning that a deal had been struck between state and local officials and the Pittsburgh Penguins hockey franchise. The Penguins organization will formally announce the deal tonight, prior to the Penguins game against the Buffalo Sabres at the Mellon Arena. The deal will ensure that the Penguins will remain in the city with a 30 year lease on a new arena to be built in downtown Pittsburgh. The framework of the deal was constructed in an emergency meeting last Thursday in Philadelphia, when both government and franchise officials indicated that progress had been made, with the details laid out over the weekend. With the new deal, the Penguins organization would be expected to pay $3.8 million per year, as well as $7.5 million per year from both Don Barden, owner of Majestic Star Casino, and the state economic development fund. The Penguins organization has also been given the option of building a parking garage on property of the Pittsburgh Sports Authority between Centre and Fifth avenues, by contributing $500,000 per year.

The new arena is expected to cost approximately $290 million, and should be completed and ready to host hockey games by 2009. The Penguins will sign a temporary lease to keep the team at Mellon Arena until the new building is finished.

Saturday, December 17, 2011

The former French president Jacques Chirac has been found guilty of corruption and sentenced to a two year suspended prison sentence after a long-running criminal trial concluded this week.

The events which led to the trial predate Chirac’s time as president but center around Chirac’s prior role as mayor of Paris from 1977 to 1995. The court agreed with prosecutors who alleged that Chirac created fake government jobs in order to funnel an estimated €1 million of public money to his political allies in the Rally for the Republic organization.

Benoît Hamon from the Socialist Party said he was glad that “justice has been done” and said it was “a good sign for French democracy that an independent judiciary could pronounce such a verdict on a former president of the republic”.

Monday, November 26, 2012

An 18-year-old man, Travis Hawkins Jr., was charged yesterday by police in Mobile County, Alabama, for allegedly beating a woman who is romantically involved with his sister. Hawkins was bailed following a charge for second-degree assault.

Mallory Owens, 23, the victim of the attack, is in the USA Medical Center in Mobile, recovering from the injuries. Owens has had to have facial reconstructive surgery and had a broken nose from the assault during Thanksgiving. Owens’ family have told reporters they believe it to be a hate crime and called for the prosecutors to upgrade the charges against Hawkins.

The father of the arrested man, Travis Hawkins Sr., has said they have hired a lawyer for his son, Hawkins Jr.