Author: Admin

Thursday, September 22, 2011

The family of murdered UK thirteen-year-old Milly Dowler, whose phone was hacked by journalists of the News of the World, have been offered £3 million compensation by Rupert Murdoch’s News International, in settlement negotiations currently under way.

UK newspaper The Guardian revealed the phone hacking earlier this year. After Dowler was reported missing in 2002, her voicemail messages were listened to and several deleted, creating the impression she might still be alive.

The £3 million on offer reportedly includes £1 million to charity. The rest would go directly to the family. The Guardian reports the Dowler’s lawyers were believed to be looking for about ?3.5 million.

News International stated they were “in advanced negotiations” and “hope to conclude the discussion as quickly as possible.”

Rupert Murdoch personally met with the Dowler family earlier in the year to offer them his apologies for the actions of his News of the World paper. News of the World ceased publishing after discovery of the Dowler hacking and other similar incidents.

Tuesday, May 15, 2007

The first website in the world allowing consumers to buy life insurance online instantly has been launched today, targeting specifically New Zealanders.

The website, run by life insurance company Pinnacle Life, allows New Zealanders in many countries in the world to buy life insurance online without the need for a medical examination. Once the application has been approved, which is done immediately, the consumer can receive a $500,000 life insurance policy via an automatic e-mail. However, if certain conditions have been highlighted, then person to person contact is required to finalise the process.

Ed Saul, senior partner and architect of the new website, says, “We’re giving consumers a quicker and easier way to buy life insurance. Instead of submitting an application form and waiting days for a policy to be approved and issued, we do it online and we do it immediately.”

“The revolutionary website gives consumers complete control over the buying process whilst eliminating the previously obligatory involvement of people and paper. This is a global test case eagerly watched by the insurance industry around the world,” Mr Saul said.

When applying online, a few typical questions are asked on personal information and if the applicant has had any previous illnesses or diseases.

The countries where New Zealand citizens are allowed to apply are UK, Ireland, Canada, Australia, Hong Kong, Singapore and the USA.

Friday, April 6, 2007

U.S. Defence Secretary Robert Gates warned that limiting funding for the United States efforts in Iraq could lead to more bloodshed in the Middle Eastern country. In an interview with radio talk show host Laura Ingraham, he said it might even lead to ethnic cleansing in Bahgdad and elsewhere in Iraq.

Gates’ comment followed a proposal from Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to end most spending on the Iraq war in 2008, limiting it to targeted operations against al Qaeda, training for Iraqi troops and U.S. force protection.

Sec. Gates also said that the duration of the troop increase is not clear and that evaluating whether the Administration’s new strategy was working will have to wait till mid-summer. The Army general charged with day-to-day operations has suggested that the increased deployment may extend to early next year.

Wednesday, May 10, 2006

A California judge has delayed until Friday his decision on whether to stop the state from requiring high school students to pass the California High School Exit Examination in order to graduate.

On Monday, Alameda County Superior Court Judge Robert B. Freedman said he would issue an injunction against the high-stakes test, which was taken Tuesday by thousands of seniors in danger of not being graduated unless they pass, unless the state’s attorneys came up with an otherwise convincing argument by 2 p.m.

Instead, Freedman said he would wait until Friday to issue his decision.

The San Francisco law firm Morrison & Foerster filed the lawsuit on behalf of Richmond High School senior Liliana Valenzuela and others. It contends that the test violates the “equal protection” concept of the law in that poor students and English-language learners don’t have access to equal education.

The ruling would affect about 47,000 California high school seniors, and dozens at James Logan High School, who have yet to pass the exam and would be barred from being graduated if they don’t.

Thirty-two James Logan students were scheduled to take the second half of the two-day test Wednesday, along with thousands of others throughout the state.

Last week, state Superintendent of Schools Jack O’Connell said that about 47,000 California high school seniors still needed to pass the test or face the prospect of completing four years of schoolwork without receiving a diploma. O’Connell wrote the law requiring the test while serving in the state legislature.

The statistics O’Donnell cited also show that, while nearly 90 percent of seniors have passed the test, only 71 percent of seniors who are English learners have passed, and 83 percent of those classified as low-income have passed.

Of the 50 taking the first part of the test at Logan High on Tuesday, only 13 were native English speakers.

Cynthia O’Brien, who is coordinating the administration of the exit exam at James Logan, said she’d like some certainty about whether the test is going to be required or not.

“The politicals in STATE and our judicial system need to get together and do the right job by the students. If the Exit Exam is going to go forward, then it needs to go forward. If not, then it needs to be cancelled completely,” she said after a long day of testing Tuesday.

“It is not fair to the students to work their hearts out and agonize over something that has such a large impact on them and then find they didn’t need to work so hard. I know there are probably students who have not taken the exam seriously, but the vast majority of Logan students have. They deserve better than to not know from one day to the next what they need to do to be granted a diploma. Most of our students who are taking the exam this go around have given up electives, lunches or time after school to prepare for the test,” she said.

“I am afraid that the message we are giving our students is that you don’t need to care,” O’Brien continued, “Then, one day, the system will pull the rope tight, and students will be caught not having what they need. Yes, they should all be doing their best, but when the system cries WOLF too often, people tend to ignore the message.”

O’Donnell, in a statement released on Monday, said he would try to make sure the test counts.

“Recognizing that today’s ruling is not final, I intend to do everything in my power to ensure that at the end of the legal day we maintain the integrity of the high school exit exam, and that all graduates in the class of 2006 will enter college or the workforce with a diploma that reflects their mastery of critical academic skills,” he said.

“Independent research shows that because of the High School Exit Exam, students are working harder and learning more, and those who are struggling are getting the help they need to succeed,” he said.

California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger said, “Delaying the exam’s implementation does a disservice to our children by depriving us of the best tool we have to make sure schools are performing as they should be. We must increase our efforts to help all students meet the minimal bar set by the exam, not lower our standards or expectations of them.”

“I am disappointed in the Court’s tentative ruling to stop implementation of the California High School Exit Exam this year but I remain hopeful this will not be their final word,” he said.

If Freedman grants the injunction, the state’s lawyers say they’ll appeal.

Whatever happens with Valenzuela vs. California, the battle isn’t over. Next week, Freedman is scheduled to hear arguments in another suit that seeks to block the test. Lawyers for Public Advocates claim the department failed to hold until December a public hearing to consider alternatives to the test, six years after the Legislature approved it.

Saturday, May 7, 2005

The 131st run for the roses in Louisville, KY is set for Saturday at Churchill Downs. Post time is 6:04pm EDT under what should be partly sunny skies and a fast track. The 20-horse field contains 10 strong contenders in what promises to be a fast pace out front in the Kentucky Derby.

Trainer Nick Zito, the 2-time derby winner boasts 5 stable horses running the race, and has the odds-on favorite Bellamy Road. The George Steinbrenner owned horse won convincingly in 4 of its last 5 trips. At its #16 post position, it will have to get out quickly, or be on the outside going into the first turn where it would have to fight for position. Given the early starting speed of Spanish Chestnut, it seems unlikely that any horse will easily set the pace.

Showing strong closing in its last 4 races is Bandini, ridden by top New York jockey John Velazquez, a 6-time Breeder’s Cup winner. If this horse can hold onto the pace, watch for him at the finish line.

For today’s 1 ¼ mile race, Jeremy Rose on Afleet Alex looks dangerous, where both horse and jockey are experienced. But it was Wilko who prevailed in their meeting at the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile last October.

A Chicago Tribune computer analysis predicts a win for High Fly, based on its “lack of flaws”. In that prediction they note criteria on which it was calculated, but nothing accounts for the race day excitement of roaring crowds in these 3-year-old thoroughbreds.

Last year the jammed Churchill Downs drew 140,000 people on a rainy Saturday to watch Smarty Jones win. The Derby run is the first leg in USA horse racing’s Triple Crown. The last horse to win the triple crown was Affirmed in 1978.

Wednesday, February 18, 2009

On Tuesday, the US state of California announced it is ready to notify approximately twenty thousand state workers that they are being laid off. The announcement was made by a spokesman for California’s governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. The cuts would begin at the start of the fiscal year on July 1.

This comes after California lawmakers voted down a budget worth US$40 billion last weekend.

“In the absence of a budget, the governor has a responsibility to realise state savings any way he can,” said Aaron McLear, Schwarzenegger’s spokesman. “This is unfortunately a necessary decision.”

The state is also planning to put all remaining public work projects on hold, which could cost thousands of construction workers their jobs.

California has the world’s eighth largest economy. It has suffered from unemployment and the housing crisis, with Schwarzenegger declaring a fiscal emergency last December.

“We are dealing with a catastrophe of unbelievable proportions,” said Alan Lowenthal, a Democratic state senator from Long Beach.

The budget plan consisted of $11.4 billion in borrowing, $14.4 billion for temporary increases in taxes, and $15.1 billion dedicated for program cuts. The package initially appeared to have enough support to reach the two-thirds majority needed to make the bill a law, but fell short by a single vote. The Assembly was at one point in session for thirty hours, breaking the record for the longest legislative session in the history of the state.

Many Republican lawmakers say they disagree with the tax increases that are included as part of the budget package.

“People don’t realize where California is at — people are losing homes, people are losing jobs,” said Republican state senator Abel Maldonado.

“You’re not going to go back to the people’s pocketbooks to fuel that spending,” added Republican state senator Dennis Hollingsworth from Temecula.

Senate leader Darrell Steinberg wants another session on Tuesday, saying that he would put up the tax provisions of the budget proposal for a vote. “Bring a toothbrush, bring any necessities you want to bring, because I will not allow anyone to go home to resume their lives […] as long as we know […] that 20,000 people will be laid off,” he warned.