Sunday, October 7, 2007

Russell Korus is running for the Green Party of Ontario in the Ontario provincial election, in the Vaughan riding. Wikinews’ Nick Moreau interviewed him regarding his values, his experience, and his 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.

Sunday, January 10, 2010

Chinese officials have said that their country’s exports surged last December to edge out Germany as the world’s biggest exporter.

The official Xinhua news agency reported today that figures from the General Administration for Customs showed that exports jumped 17.7% in December from a year earlier. Over the whole of 2009 total Chinese exports reached US$1.2 trillion, above Germany’s forecast $1.17 trillion.

Huang Guohua, a statistics official with the customs administration, said the December exports rebound was an important turning point for China’s export sector. He commented that the jump was an indication that exporters have emerged from their downslide.

“We can say that China’s export enterprises have completely emerged from their all-time low in exports,” he said.

However, although China overtook Germany in exports, China’s total foreign trade — both exports and imports — fell 13.9% last year.

Friday, May 31, 2019

Many thousands of anime and manga fans descended on the Toronto Congress Centre for Anime North, a fan-run convention launched in 1997. Spread between four venues over three days, May 24 to 26, the event featured J-pop maid idols, voice actors, writers, and more. Wikinews attended.

Despite the ample indoor spaces, the parking lot of the Centre is also a hub of activity, with cosplayers posing for photos. Attendees were sent running for cover on Saturday, as heavy rains and a severe thunderstorm warning put a damper on festivities.

The event is organized by a massive team of volunteers, and known for its specialized programming for fans, by fans. On the night of May 25, for example, attendees could catch “Pokemon Biology”, “Kimono Obi Tying”, and “Underappreciated Sports Anime/Manga.”

US voice actor Alexis Tipton marveled at the growth of the anime industry in the last decade. “Back when I was going as a fan, there wasn’t as much anime, so it was easier to know about everything,” Tipton observed during a question and answer session. “I’m so overwhelmed by how much there is.”

Tipton held a panel on her career, dubbing anime for US distribution company Funimation Entertainment. While many anime voice actors weren’t fans going into the industry, Tipton recalled going to anime conventions with her friends during middle school and high school. Once she was an invited guest, Tipton recalls realizing “oh, I’m not here to just have fun, I’m here to work; I have a set schedule and I can’t just, like, you know, go do what I want.”

Early in her career, Tipton was cast as a voice for My Bride is a Mermaid, a role that required singing. Then just 19 years old, she looked at the role as a “chance to face my demons,” having questioned her abilities for years. “I was in an extremely competitive [singing musical theatre] program in high school. I had started working at Funimation when I was 19, so I was just barely in college. And so those scars were still like, really fresh. I had a lot of competition and people would find what your perceived weakness was, or what your actual weakness was in the program, and they would take advantage of it. And so I had people trying to make me feel like I couldn’t sing my way out of a paper bag, and then I would get so nervous when I would sing that I couldn’t support my notes, and so it would just prove them right.”

Tipton was devastated when she got a sinus infection, the week of the audition. “This director doesn’t know me, I haven’t worked with him, he’s going to think that this is what I sound like,” she recalls thinking. “I don’t know if I had a shot to begin with, but now I really don’t have a shot.” She was thrilled when she was cast.

Another voice actor, Lauren Landa, would list Sailor Neptune and Sailor Uranus as dream roles, when asked at conventions. She was given a chance to audition for the characters years later, when Vizmedia dubbed the first two seasons of Sailor Moon. When she was cast, “I swear to you, I was speechless,” she told an audience at her Q&A session.

Cosplay model and professional singer Jillea attended the Saturday of the convention dressed as Pokemon species Charizard. Wikinews spoke with her by email, after the event:

((WN)) What got you into cosplay modelling?

Jillea: My love for cosplay started with the community, what started as a fun hobby I would do periodically quickly became a huge part of my life, and the reason for that being how amazing the cosplay community embraced me and my work. I’ve always been a creative person, so getting to make my costumes and have people say ‘oh my gosh, I love that character!!’ got me hooked right away. They’re just my people, what can I say, they really make me feel welcomed and I love them for it.

((WN)) How did you choose Charizard?

J: I’m a 90’s baby so you could say I’m a bit of a Pokémon OG! I had a Game Boy as a kid and my very first purchase was Pokémon Red, solely based on how cool Charizard looked on the cover. Charizard has always been my favourite Pokémon and I can’t resist a challenging cosplay… and the nostalgia!

((WN)) What was your favourite part of Anime North?

J: This was my very first time attending Anime North and I was blown away! The booths were incredible and unique, every time I turned around I was seeing something different I’ve never seen at a convention before. Everything was easy to access and I even made use of the Cosplay Recharge station that literally saved the day with their hot glue! Extremely friendly environment it will not be my last time back for sure.

Wikinews?’ Nick Moreau photographed the event.

• Fate series cosplay photoshoot

• Voice actor Lauren Landa

• YouTuber Lovely Lor

• Pokeball sculptures

• Overcast weather didn’t stop dancing in the parking lot

• A group of cosplayers perform a choreographed dance.

Wednesday, September 13, 2006

At 12:41 p.m. local time (UTC-5), a man opened fire at Dawson College, in Westmount, Quebec, Canada; the college is located near the heart of downtown Montreal. Police report at least 20 people being injured. The gunman was reportedly killed at the scene by police. Students told reporters that they heard several shots in the building at about 12:45 local time. One student told a local radio station that she saw two people who had been shot, including one who was hit at the neck. The student said a friend told her four people had been shot.

Hundreds of students fled the building, and the area has been cordoned off. Nearby Plaza Alexis Nihon and Westmount Square were evacuated and the Green line of the Montreal Metro was shut down between Lionel-Groulx and Peel. Police officers wearing bullet-proof vests are keeping people away from the college. “They’re telling me, ‘Go the other way, lady, you’re in the line of fire,'” said CBC News reporter Nancy Wood, who reported from the scene.

Local media have reported police hotlines have been established for loved ones to gain more information: +1-(514)-280-2880, +1-(514)-280-2805, and +1-(514)-280-2806. The Montreal General Hospital has also set up a hotline at +1-(514)-843-2839.

Police have reported that the situation has been neutralized as of 20:06, September 13, 2006 (UTC). Police have been told to stand down and are no longer looking for new victims or shooters.

Dawson College is a CEGEP that hosts about 10,000 students.

Thursday, May 14, 2009

Zahi Hawass, Egypt’s pre-eminent archaeologist, and Secretary General of the The Supreme Council of Antiquities, has announced that a rare statue constructed of white marble whose features resemble Alexander the Great has been discovered in Egypt. Hawass also stated that there are satellite photographs identifying many archeological sites which may also reveal buried monuments.

Calliope Papacosta was leading the Greek archaeological excavation in Alexandria when the white marble statue was found.

“A ribbon around the head of the statue proves that it belongs to an important person for such ribbon was used only be[sic] rulers,” said Hawass, “The 80 cm long, 23 cm wide statue has been discovered eight meters deep under the earth surface.”

Farouk Hosni, Egypt’s Culture Minister, is supporting archaeological dig sites and has set into place laws restricting illegal digging in confirmed archaeological sites which may contain historical monuments. The monument photography project, National Authority for Remote Sensing, Space Sciences (NARRS) and Mubarak City for Scientific Research (MuCSAT) combined Satellites technology, aerial photography and ground laser to locate 132 sites which have not yet been excavated.

One of these sites is north of Lake Qarun in the Faiyum area, and another at Habu city. Archaeologists are presently being sent out by the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism to areas before construction and building excavations to preserve invaluable archaeological treasures. At the Faiyum site near Cairo artifacts dating to diverse time periods have been found amongst these, an awl for stitching leather, fishing tackle, weapons, jewellery, pottery, coins, sawfish, whale fossils, and a 3150 BC block portraying one of the two leaders named King Scorpion.

Meanwhile, in other archaeological news, Iran’s three salt mummies found in the Chehrabad Salt Mine in 1993 will be moved to a technologically advanced vacuum chamber display case in Zanjan for better preservation. These mummies or Salt Men have been dated as being from the Parthian 237 BCE – 224 CE and Sassanid era, 224 – 651 CE.

A compilation of brief news reports for Monday, July 8, 2013.

Friday, April 30, 2021

On Tuesday, the Governor of the US state of Arizona Doug Ducey signed into law a bill banning abortion if sought solely because of a foetus’ genetic abnormality.

Senate Bill 1457, which stalled twice for criticism by opponents of abortion, passed both chambers of the Republican-controlled Arizona Legislature last week in a party-line vote, amended twice along the way to alleviate concerns by two hesitant Republicans.

The bill makes it a Class 6 felony, the least severe, to seek or perform an abortion “because of a genetic abnormality of the child”, defined as “the presence or presumed presence of an abnormal gene expression in an unborn child”, but not a “severe fetal abnormality” considered “incompatible with life.” Intimidating someone to get an abortion and soliciting or accepting monies to finance an abortion for this purpose has been made a Class 3 felony.

The bill also allows the unborn child’s father or, in case the mother is under 18, a maternal grandparent to sue, as well as including the applicability of state law to “an unborn child at every stage of development”, which Senator Kirsten Engel and Representative Melody Hernandez wrote in a submitted minority report “would open up the potential for prosecutors to charge persons including the pregnant individual whose conduct results in a woman having a miscarriage with murder, manslaughter or child endangerment.”

Other provisions of the bill includes a prohibition on the distribution “via courier, delivery or mail service” of abortion-inducing drugs, a ban on any public educational institution from performing or aiding non-life saving abortion, a ban on the use of public or tax monies paid by the state or students for university research involving foetal remains or somatic cell nuclear transfer, or any state money towards organisations providing abortion care, and requiring all foetal remains to be buried or cremated.

KYMA-DT reported Ducey is an anti-abortion rights governor who ran on the Republican ballot and has never vetoed anti-abortion legislation. In a statement, Duckey said, “[t]here’s immeasurable value in every single life — regardless of genetic makeup […] We will continue to prioritize protecting life in our preborn children, and this legislation goes a long way in protecting real human lives.” The news release, originally published on his website also read, “[w]ith this legislation, Arizona remains among the top pro-life states in the nation.”

Senator Nancy Barto said, according to the release “[w]e need to protect our most vulnerable, especially those with treatable genetic conditions […] They are loved, integral members of our community that make Arizona whole”. Cathi Herrod, president of Center for Arizona Policy said in her own news release, according to the Associated Press “[t]oday, Arizonans win.”

Representative Diego Espinoza wrote in a tweet, “I’m disappointed to see Arizona moving in this direction, ignoring the needs and desires of doctors, women, and families for an extreme political agenda.” Representative and House Democratic Leader Reginald Bolding wrote in a statement “it’s disturbing and wrong that the legislature is not focusing on policies to help [women], and instead is stripping away the fundamental freedom to choose if, when, and how to start or grow a family.”

In a letter shared to a Facebook post, the union United Campus Workers at Arizona State University urged last Saturday to the Arizona Board of Regents, university president Michael M. Crow and University of Arizona president Robert D. Robbins to “immediately speak out against SB 1457”, calling it “a blatant attack on reproductive freedom”.