eco-backpacker.com

Thursday, May 13, 2010

Currency exchanges offices in the United Kingdom have today stopped the sale of €500 notes after an investigation by the Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) concluded that up to 90% of the notes were being used by money launderers and other organised criminals. Ian Cruxton, deputy director of SOCA, said that the Euro had been chosen as the currency of choice by criminal gangs due to the large denomination of the notes, adding “[i]t should now be impossible now to buy a €500 note over the counter from one of the suppliers. And that’s going to have an effect on the criminals — it means they are going to have to find other means of trying to move their money.”

The note was introduced by the European Central Bank in 2002, when the currency itself officially entered into circulation. The notoriety of the note’s criminal uses has earned it the nickname “the Bin Laden” after Al-Qaeda suspect Osama bin Laden — something that everyone knows is out there, but law-abiding people rarely see. The Euro is the official currency of 16 European countries, colloquially known as the Eurozone, as well as unofficially in a further 4 nations.

Since its introduction, there has been mounting international concern over criminal use of the large denomination note, which facilitates money laundering by allowing large concentrations of cash to be concealed in small spaces, for example, €20,000 can be concealed in a cigarette packet and £1 million in €500 notes weighs 2.2kg while the equivalent in £20 notes weighs 50kg. The highest denomination note in Sterling is £50, making high-value denominations in other currencies, such as the Euro, tempting for those wishing to move large amounts of money.

When asked if criminal demand for the note would simply be displaced to other high-value notes, such as the €200 note (the next-highest denomination), Ian Cruxton, deputy director of SOCA said he believed that would be the case, however, with less of the €200 note in circulation, their movements would be easier to track than those of the €500.

Tourists returning to the UK from holidays in Europe will still be able to change their €500 notes for Sterling but will be unable to purchase them. The European Central Bank has no plans for a withdrawal of the note, given the legitimate demand for it in countries such as Germany and Italy, where cash is used far more frequently than alternatives such as credit cards.

Sunday, December 13, 2015

Macomb, New York Councilman Steve Burke took some time to speak with Wikinews about his campaign for the U.S. Democratic Party’s 2016 presidential nomination.

Burke, an insurance adjuster and farmer, was elected councilman in Brookhaven, New York in 1979. He left the town after being accused and found not guilty of bribery in the 1980s. Since 1987 he has served as Macomb councilman off-and-on and currently holds the post. From 1993 to 1996 and 1999 to 2002 he worked as chairman of the Democratic Party of St. Lawrence County, New York. Among his many political campaigns, Burke unsuccessfully sought the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination in 1992 and recently attempted to run for U.S. Congress in 2014 but too many of his ballot petition signatures were found invalid. Burke filed with the Federal Election Commission to run for president in the 2016 election on September 18, 2015 and has qualified for the first-in-the-nation New Hampshire Primary.

With Wikinews reporter William S. Saturn?, Burke discusses his political background, his 2016 presidential campaign, and his policy proposals.

Saturday, September 29, 2018

Yesterday morning near the international airport located on Weno island of Chuuk state of the Federated States of Micronesia, Oceania a passenger airplane of model Boeing 737-800 flown by the Air Niugini carrier crashed into sea as its pilot missed the runway. All 47 people on board — by differing reports, 36 passengers and eleven crew or 35 passengers and twelve crew — survived.

The report by the international commercial aviation safety organization Jet Airliner Crash Data Evaluation Centre indicated the crash coincided with a sudden intensification of the weather conditions. timeanddate.com-supplied data from CustomWeather reported rain showers at 9:40 a.m. local time, following cloudy conditions at 8:50 a.m.

The airplane reportedly landed around 9:30 a.m. local time, short of the runway by about 160 m to 200 m (about 525 to 650 feet), according to reports. Locals immediately began to rescue the passengers and crew on fishing boats. Officials arrived after about ten minutes, according to a witness quoted by The Guardian.

In an interview, a passenger alleged the crew started panicking and yelling, The Guardian reported. A first responder, Dr James Yaingeluo, also said the airplane crew were in panic. He said, “There was a little bit [of] chaos at first because everybody was really panicked and tried to get out of the plane […] other than that we were doing as much as we can. Luckily there are no casualties.”

Yaingeluo said nine people were taken to a hospital. Four people remained in hospital, one “seriously injured”, according to reports recounted by ABC News on Friday evening.

Flight 73 was coming from Pohnpei in the Federated States of Micronesia. Its destination was Port Moresby in Papua New Guinea, with a stop at the Chuuk state.

Wednesday, July 27, 2016

Yesterday, Italian football club Juventus F.C. announced signing of Argentine striker Gonzalo Higuaín from their rival club S.S.C. Napoli. 28-year-old Higuaín signed a five-year contract with the Old Lady for an Italian record transfer fee of €90 million.

Debuting at the age of 17 in 2005, Higuaín has made 329 league appearances and scored 191 goals. He joined Spanish capital club Real Madrid in 2006. Spending six-and-half seasons with Los Blancos, Higuaín has won the La Liga title there.

Higuaín — nicknamed Pipita — joined Napoli in 2013. While there he broke the goal scoring record set by Gunnar Nordahl of the Italian Serie A, netting 36 goals in 35 appearances. He helped Napoli qualify for the UEFA Champions League as the club finished second in the league.

In remarks to Gazetta World following Higuaín’s agreement to the contract, AS Roma captain Francesco Totti said, “Footballers today are a bit like nomads[…] They follow money and not their hearts.” 40-year-old Totti has played 25 years for Roma, signing a one-year contract extention last month.

Napoli’s president Aurelio De Laurentiis said, “Some believe that talking of a betrayal is an exaggeration, but I think differently. In this move there is the full meaning of a betrayal, which includes ingratitude.” ^{((it))Italian language: ?C’è chi dice che parlare di tradimento sia esagerato, e invece io penso il contrario, perché in questa scelta c’è il senso pieno del tradimento, che comprende anche l’ingratitudine}

Former Agrentine captain and Napoli legend Diego Maradona said, “This Higuain affair is hurting me because he is going to a direct rival like Juventus. But we cannot blame the player either. A player has a responsibility to himself and it is those fat cats of business that are grinning the most in this case. Nobody thinks of the fan.” ^{((es))Spanish language: ?Me duele lo de Higuaín, porque va a un rival directo, como la Juventus. Pero tampoco se le puede echar la culpa al jugador. Porque el jugador tiene su responsabilidad, pero los que hacen el negocio son los más felices. Nadie piensa en el hincha.}

Higuaín has been assigned the number 9 jersey.

Monday, November 26, 2007

In the 18 months since Andrea Muizelaar was crowned winner of the reality TV series Canada’s Next Top Model, her life has been a complete whirlwind. From working in a dollar store in her hometown of Whitby, Ontario, to modeling haute couture in Toronto, she had reached her dream of becoming a true Top Model.

But at what cost? Unknown to casual television viewers, Muizelaar had been enveloped in the eating disorder anorexia nervosa, which inevitably became too much for her to bear. She gave up modeling and moved back to Whitby, where she sought treatment for her disorder, re-entered college, and now works at a bank. Where is she now? Happy and healthy, she says.

Recently Andrea Muizelaar sat down with Wikinews reporter Mike Halterman in a candid interview that stretched to nearly two hours, as she told all about her hopes and aspirations, her battle with anorexia, and just what really happened on Canada’s Next Top Model.

Wednesday, June 7, 2006

The Western Australian (WA) Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) has advised against the massive Greater Gorgon liquefied natural gas project off WA’s Pilbara coast. Proponents of the projects say Gorgon is one of Australia’s biggest export ventures, scheduled to provide up to 6,000 jobs and exports of up to $1.2 billion.

EPA chairman Dr Wally Cox said the Gorgon project operators (Chevron, ExxonMobil, and Shell), had made an effort on flora and fauna issues but in its present state, the Gorgon proposal was “unacceptable.” Gorgon LNG general manager Colin Beckett said that Gorgon was a world-class gas field and that the joint venture partners were confident that the decision would be reversed.

Environment Minister Mark McGowan said there was a definite process to be followed. The Minister says he will make a final decision on the Gorgon proposal after considering the EPA report – and any subsequent report from the Appeals Convenor. The EPA recommendations on the Gorgon proposal are subject to a two-week appeals period.

The EPA’s Dr Cox said that joint venture had “not been able to demonstrate that impacts from dredging, the introduction of non-indigenous species and the potential loss of fauna could be reduced to acceptable levels.”

In September 2003 the WA government provided “in-principle agreement” to the Gorgon joint venturers subject to a number of conditions. Dr Cox said that the Environmental Review and Management Programme had further highlighted the terrestrial and marine conservation values of Barrow Island and the adjacent waters.

“Flatback turtles in particular would be put at risk from the proposal with two of the most important nesting beaches located adjacent to the proposed LNG processing plant site and the materials off-loading facility,” Dr Cox said. “There is very little science available on the life-cycle, behaviour and feeding habits of Flatback turtles and as a consequence it is not possible at this time to identify management measures that would ensure ongoing survival of this Pilbara Flatback turtle population.”

Dr Cox also said that the Proponent had not been able to demonstrate that risk could be reduced to satisfactory levels in the areas of: Impacts on the marine ecosystem from dredging; The introduction of non-indigenous species; Potential loss of subterranean and short range endemic invertebrate fauna species. “As a result, the proposal in its present form cannot meet the EPA’s environmental objectives and is considered environmentally unacceptable,” Dr Cox said.

Friday, December 2, 2011

The following is the first in a monthly series chronicling the U.S. 2012 presidential election. It will feature original material compiled throughout the previous month after a brief mention of some of the month’s biggest stories.

In this month’s edition on the campaign trail: the Party for Socialism and Liberation nominates an underaged presidential ticket; a college football coach announces that he is running for president; and a candidate excluded from the GOP debates answers whether or not he would run under a third party label.

Monday, March 28, 2011

Sunday morning showed Trafalgar Square, London damaged during the night by demonstrators.

Bottles, cans, and placards littered the concrete ground of one of the most iconic landmarks in London. Demonstrators livid at government cuts had sprayed graffiti on the four bronze lions. “No-one rules if no-one obeys,” one message, next to the symbol of anarchy, read. On the steps leading up to the National Gallery lay placards, dropped by demonstrators the night before. Hours earlier the square was an arena for running battles between the anarchist protesters and riot police.

First, they targetted Oxford Street, arguably the most famous shopping row in the city. The protesters, many dressed in black, hurled smoke bombs and paint at Topshop, which they claimed has systematically abused the tax system. In Piccadilly, they ransacked The Ritz, a hotel popularly known for upmarket opulence. As darkness fell over the capital, many went home. But in Trafalgar Square, protesters lit campfires and danced to music, smoking and eating into the night.

But then the police moved in. Clad in riot gear, the situation began to escalate and both they and the demonstrators began to panic. They raised their batons and shouted at the crowd, while the protesters grabbed metal barriers and hurled them over police lines, using them as battering rams. Some protesters yelled in defence, “Don’t hit us!”, while the more determined shouted, “Shame on you! Your job’s next!” The riot officers pushed protesters into the centre of the square, towards Nelson’s Column. The police started forward at least twice swinging their batons in the air, as protesters retaliated by throwing glass bottles and coins towards the police lines. One officer was taken away with blood pouring from under his visor.

“I have never seen such a fast escalation of violence in my life,” one witness to the violence in the square said. “Everything just kicked off, glass everywhere, police hitting people, people being dragged across the floor. I just can’t believe it.” Other protesters on the front line later described the police retaliation as they began to kettle people in. “I find myself in front of the riot line,” one protester wrote, “taking a blow to the head and a kick to the shin; I am dragged to my feet by a girl with blue hair who squeezes my arm and then raises a union flag defiantly at the cops.”

Fireworks exploded overhead and, towards midnight, the number of protesters had diminished. As the kettling began, many of them slipped away into the night. In the early hours of the morning, the levels of violence began to fade. “Vandalism has been committed and officers have come under sustained attack,” the Metropolitan Police said. “We are holding everyone here until the situation calms down and we determine who is responsible.”

As the street cleaners worked through the morning in London, more than 200 protesters, detained throughout the day, remained in custody. Although the organisers of the march were swift to disassociate themselves with the violence, the protesters were defiant. “I’m not moving, I’m not moving,” one young protester, hemmed in by the riot police, said. “I’ve been on every protest, I won’t let this government destroy our future without a fight. I won’t stand back, I’m not moving.”