Thursday, April 9, 2009

Protests which began Monday escalated to a riot on Wednesday consisting of over 10,000 people in Chi?in?u, the capital of Moldova, protesting the results of Sunday’s 2009 Moldovan parliamentary election, which showed an apparent, narrow victory for the Communist Party (Partidul Comuni?tilor din Republica Moldova, PCRM). Demonstrators claim the victory was the result of electoral fraud.

The demonstration escalated to a “flash mob” of between 10,000 to 15,000 communicating via online tools like email, micro-blogging tool Twitter, and social-networking website Facebook. “We sent messages on Twitter but didn’t expect 15,000 people to join in. At the most we expected 1,000”, said Oleg Brega of the activist group Hyde Park.

Police deployed tear gas and water cannons, and fired blanks into the crowd. The rioters threw stones at the riot police and took control of the parliament building and presidential office. A bonfire was built out of parliamentary furniture and all windows below the 7th floor were broken.

Approximately one hundred protesters and 170 police officers are reported as injured. There have been conflicting reports as to whether a female protester died during the altercation.

193 protesters “have been charged with looting, hooliganism, robbery and assault,” said an Interior Ministry spokesperson. This announcement sparked another protest by those demanding the release for those detained.

There is wide speculation about who was to blame for the rioting.

President Vladimir Voronin has expelled the Romanian ambassador from Moldova, blaming Romania for the violent protests. “We know that certain political forces in Romania are behind this unrest. The Romanian flags fixed on the government buildings in Chisinau attest to this” said Voronin. “Romania is involved in everything that has happened.“ Voronin also blamed the protests on opposition leaders who used violence to seize power, and has described the event as a coup d’état.

Protesters initially insisted on a recount of the election results and are now calling for a new vote, which has been rejected by the government. Rioters were also demanding unification between Moldova and Romania. “In the air, there was a strong expectation of change, but that did not happen”, said OSCE spokesman Matti Sidoroff.File:Dorin Chirtoaca.jpg

“The elections were fraudulent, there was multiple voting” accused Chi?in?u mayor Dorin Chirtoac? of the Liberal Party. “It’s impossible that every second person in Moldova voted for the Communists. However, we believe the riots were a provocation and we are now trying to reconcile the crowd. Leaders of all opposition parties are at the scene,” said Larissa Manole of the Liberal Democratic Party of Moldova.

The Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) proclaimed the PCRM to have won 61 seats in initial counts, enough to guarantee a third term in power for Voronin, who has held the position since 2001. But the Central Election Commission has received evidence of election violations, according to RIA Novosti, and upon recounts conducted of disputed polls, the commission reported that the Communists achieved 49.48% of the Moldovian vote, giving them 60 parliamentary seats — one short of the total needed to win the presidential election. “The electoral commission also granted opposition parties permission to check voter lists, fulfilling one of their chief demands,” said Yuri Ciocan, Central Election Commission secretary.

Voronin will step down in May, however his party could elect a successor with 61 parliamentary seats without any votes from outside parties as well as amend the Constitution. With the PCRM garnering 60 seats, the opposition will have a voice in the presidential election for a new successor.

The western part of Moldova was a part of Romania from the Romania’s independence until the region was detached by the USSR in 1940 to form the Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic. On independence in 1990 the country sought union with Romania but the eastern, Russian- and Ukrainian-inhabited areas of the country declared themselves independent from Moldova and formed the state of Transnistria and movement toward union was halted.

Moldova is Europe’s poorest country, where average income is less than $250 (£168) a month. The country’s neighbours are Romania and Ukraine. Romania is a European Union (EU) state.

Saturday, May 13, 2006

SKY TV had problems earlier with some viewers unable to tune into certain channels.

It was caused by a streamlining issue not related to satellite problems.

The problem caused the following channels unable to be seen: Sky Movies, J2, Cartoon Network, Sky News, pay-per-view movie channels, radio channels including; National Radio, Concert FM and George FM.Most of the free-to-air channels, however, were working, along with the sport channels, some channels did suffer from picture pixelation.

Sunday, February 10, 2008

The Internet group Project Chanology today held protests critical of the Church of Scientology. The protests marked what would have been the 49th birthday of Lisa McPherson, who is claimed to be a victim of the Church of Scientology’s practices. Lisa died in 1995 during a running of what Scientologists refer to as an Introspection Rundown, a procedure intended to help Church members deal with a psychotic or deeply traumatic event.

Protests were planned throughout the day in 14 countries and over 50 different cities. The estimation of total protesters world wide for Feb. 10, 2008 is 9,250 people.

Wikinews had correspondents at a number of protest locations to report on the events. This article was updated throughout the day with reports from around the globe.

Thursday, September 13, 2007

Having worked as an aide, advisor, and Executive Assistant to municipal and provincial politicians, Sheila White is running for the Ontario New Democratic Party in the Ontario provincial election, in the Scarborough-Rouge River riding. Wikinews’ Nick Moreau interviewed her regarding her values, her experience, and her campaign.

Stay tuned for further interviews; every candidate from every party is eligible, and will be contacted. Expect interviews from Liberals, Progressive Conservatives, New Democratic Party members, Ontario Greens, as well as members from the Family Coalition, Freedom, Communist, Libertarian, and Confederation of Regions parties, as well as independents.

Saturday, February 13, 2021

The Greek Parliament passed contentious legislation on Thursday allowing for the creation of a campus police force and disciplinary council to end the tradition of violence at Greek universities. The decision, passed 166–132 in a parliament of 300, was opposed by many students and professors, who claim it would stifle freedom of expression.

Changes proposed included establishment of a campus police division, restriction of entry into university grounds, and formation of a “disciplinary council” empowered to suspend or expel students.

A Ministry for Citizen Protection spokesperson called university campus violence “timeless”; and said “[t]he police will drive out extremist political groups and guard the infrastructure, finally making the university a safe place”.

Prior to the vote, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, leader of the centre-right New Democracy political party which first introduced the legislation, told lawmakers “[n]owhere in the world do we see images […] of historical buildings being vandalised”.

Many incidents of unrest have occurred at Greek universities, including a 1973 student revolt at Athens Polytechnic against the 1967–1974 military junta. The government forcefully repressed the uprising, resulting in the death of at least 26. Due to another protest in 1990–91 against high school reform pushed by Mitsotakis’ father Konstantinos, one teacher died. In October, a rector was taken hostage by hooded anarchists.

In 2019, the government repealed a restriction in place since 1982 that had effectively prevented police from entering university grounds.Opponents of the introduction of police at universities have described it as stifling freedom of expression, which the government claimed is “ridiculous”. At recent demonstrations, protestors have chanted “Bread, education and freedom”, a common anti-junta slogan of the 1973 uprising. In January, Athenian police used tear gas to break up a protest which was defying lockdown restrictions.

Many Greek professors have also opposed the idea, with Professor of State Theory and Law at Panteion University Dimitris Kaltsonis claiming, in remarks to Euronews, “there is no need for special police to control the campuses”. Oxford University’s University and College Union (UCU) stated on Twitter “its solidarity to Greek colleagues […] opposing the creation of such a special university police force, which is unlikely to respond to the most pertinent problems of Greek higher education institutions”, and that the then-proposal was “alarming and not in line with best practice.”

Some recent demonstrators have called for “more doctors, fewer police”. Eurostat data from 2016–2018, which a spokesperson for the Ministry for Citizen Protection called “inaccurate”, showed Greece had the second most police officers per capita of any country in the European Union. The spokesperson said the government is “investing in the quality of education as well”, but emphasised “[p]olice on campuses is not a choice, but a necessary move”.

€23 million was recently budgeted for Greek law enforcement to better “face contemporary challenges, such as COVID-19 and external threats”.

Left-wing opposition party Syriza has criticised the legislation as an attempt to make universities “sterile and unfree”.

Thursday, February 10, 2011

Calgary city council voted 10 to 3 on Wednesday to stop fluoridating their water supply. This overturns a previous plebiscite from 1989 to add the fluoride in an attempt to reduce tooth decay.

Opponents of water fluoridation claim that there could be unknown health effects of fluoride, and question its effectiveness in preventing tooth decay. They also claim that individuals should be able to decide for themselves whether or not to use fluoride. However, Alberta Health Services maintains that current evidence shows that fluoride is both safe, and beneficial to dental health.

It is estimated that no longer fluoridating the water supply could save Calgary’s city council C$750 thousand (€550 thousand) annually, as well as cutting a C$6 million (€4.3 million) upgrade to the fluoridation system.