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Tuesday, July 17, 2007

File:New Zealand money.jpg

The New Zealand dollar (NZD) value rose and, for a short amount of time, was worth US$0.7932, the highest level in New Zealand since the dollar was floated in 1985 — 22 years ago.

The value then dropped a little and as of 11.40 a.m. was trading at US$0.7925. This was due to the Reserve Bank of New Zealand announcing that it will intervene next week at their Official Cash Rate review if the dollar continued to rise.

Economists are predicting that the NZD will now go above US$0.80.

The cause of this rise was mainly due to the release of the June quarter retail sales data. The consumer price index data showed that sales increased by 1.2%, instead of the predicted 0.4%. The bigger than expected sales data were mainly due to supermarket, car and petrol purchases. In May, the core sales figures showed a 0.8% rise, these figures excluded car and fuel sales.

Economist correspondents for Radio New Zealand have also said that a weak US dollar is also to blame for the rising New Zealand dollar. Danika Hampton, currency analyst for the Bank of New Zealand, says the NZD is looking expensive and doubts if it will maintain its current high figure.

Michael Cullen, the finance minister of New Zealand, has said that investors will be hurt when the New Zealand dollar does fall. Dr Cullen personally believes that the NZD is currently overvalued.

The Wellington Chamber of Commerce has called for the New Zealand Government to slow down it’s spending. Charles Finny, from the Chamber of Commerce, says this is one of the core factors, more than the oil and housing markets, despite speculation. Worldwide oil prices are at a current 11-month high.

The retails sales figures also resulted in Government bonds being weakened. The two-year and ten-year Government bonds are at 7.61% and 6.82% respectively.

The Official Cash Rate is currently at 8%, due to other interventions by the Reserve Bank.

The NZD is also trading well against the Australian dollar and Japanese yen.

Tuesday, January 31, 2006

Today, the nominees for the 78th Academy Awards were announced in Los Angeles, California.

Best Picture nominees this year are Brokeback Mountain, Capote, Crash, Good Night, and Good Luck., and Munich. The director of each of these films received director nominations. Nominees include George Clooney (Good Night, and Good Luck.), Paul Haggis (Crash), Ang Lee (Brokeback Mountain), Bennett Miller (Capote), and Steven Spielberg (Munich). This is the first time since 1981 that every Best Picture nominee also received a nod for Direction.

Brokeback Mountain leads this year’s Oscar pack overall, with eight nominations. Brokeback is followed by Crash, Good Night, and Good Luck., and Memoirs of a Geisha, who each earned six. Capote, Munich, and Walk the Line each received five nominations. King Kong, Pride and Prejudice, and The Constant Gardener picked up four nominations, while Cinderella Man, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, and War of the Worlds pick up three. A History of Violence, Hustle & Flow, Mrs. Henderson Presents, North Country, Syriana, and Transamerica each received two nods each.

Best Animated Feature Film nominees are Howl’s Moving Castle, Tim Burton’s Corpse Bride, and Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit. None of these films used primarily CGI-animation, the first year this can be claimed, since the 2001 creation of the award category. Corspe Bride marks both Tim Burton and Mike Johnson’s first nominations. Wallace & Gromit’s Steve Box is celebrating his first nomination, while co-producer Nick Park has three Oscars for Best Animation Short, a fourth nomination, of which he lost to himself in 1990. Hayao Miyazaki won the Best Animated Feature award in 2002, for Spirited Away.

Uniquely neither animation powerhouse, Disney or DreamWorks, is directly nominated in the category. Disney’s Buena Vista Entertainment distributes Miyazaki film Howl’s Moving Castle, while DreamWorks distributed Wallace and Gromit, animated by Aardman Animations.

Best Foreign Language Film nominees include Italian film Don’t Tell, France’s Joyeux Noël, Palestine’s Paradise Now, Germany’s Sophie Scholl – The Final Days, and South Africa’s Tsotsi. Italy has been up for an Oscar 27 times, France 34 times, and Germany has had six nominations. This is only South Africa’s second nomination, with the first coming last year, and Palestine’s first ever Academy Award nomination.

Nominees for Best Documentary Feature are Darwin’s Nightmare, Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room, March of the Penguins, Murderball, and Street Fight. March of the Penguins, produced in France, actually grossed more than any of the Best Picture nominees, the first time in history such an occurrence has happened.

The top 19 films in box office received a total of only 14 nominations, with a majority of these in the categories of Visual Effects, Sound Mixing and Sound Editing.

Perhaps one of the most interesting stories for Hollywood as a whole, is the tremendous success of Participant Productions in its first year of operation. eBay founder Jeff Skoll‘s movie house produced nominees Good Night and Good Luck. (6), North Country (2), Syriana (2), and Murderball (1). The company aims to fund feature films and documentaries that promote social values while still being commercially viable.

The 78th Academy Awards presentation will be held on Sunday, March 5.

• Philip Seymour Hoffman – Capote
• Terrence Howard – Hustle & Flow
• Heath Ledger – Brokeback Mountain
• Joaquin Phoenix – Walk the Line
• David Strathairn – Good Night, and Good Luck

• George Clooney – Syriana
• Matt Dillon – Crash
• Paul Giamatti – Cinderella Man
• Jake Gyllenhaal – Brokeback Mountain
• William Hurt – A History of Violence

• Judi Dench – Mrs. Henderson Presents
• Felicity Huffman – Transamerica
• Keira Knightley – Pride & Prejudice
• Charlize Theron – North Country
• Reese Witherspoon – Walk the Line

• Amy Adams – Junebug
• Catherine Keener – Capote
• Frances McDormand – North Country
• Rachel Weisz – The Constant Gardener
• Michelle Williams – Brokeback Mountain

• Brokeback Mountain
• Capote
• The Constant Gardener
• A History of Violence
• Munich

• Crash
• Good Night, and Good Luck
• Match Point
• The Squid and the Whale
• Syriana

• Good Night, and Good Luck
• Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
• King Kong
• Memoirs of a Geisha
• Pride & Prejudice

• Batman Begins
• Brokeback Mountain
• Good Night, and Good Luck
• Memoirs of a Geisha
• The New World

• Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
• Memoirs of a Geisha
• Mrs. Henderson Presents
• Pride & Prejudice
• Walk the Line

• The Death of Kevin Carter: Casualty of the Bang Bang Club
• God Sleeps in Rwanda
• The Mushroom Club
• A Note of Triumph: The Golden Age of Norman Corwin

• Cinderella Man
• The Constant Gardener
• Crash
• Munich
• Walk the Line

• The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
• Cinderella Man
• Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith

• Brokeback Mountain
• The Constant Gardener
• Memoirs of a Geisha
• Munich
• Pride & Prejudice

• In the Deep – Crash
• It’s Hard Out Here For a Pimp – Hustle & Flow
• Travelin’ Thru – Transamerica

• Badgered
• The Moon and the Son: An Imagined Conversation
• The Mysterious Geographic Explorations of Jasper Morello
• 9
• One Man Band

• Ausreisser (The Runaway)
• Cashback
• The Last Farm
• Our Time is Up
• Six Shooter

• King Kong
• Memoirs of a Geisha
• War of the Worlds

• The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
• King Kong
• Memoirs of a Geisha
• Walk the Line
• War of the Worlds

• The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
• King Kong
• War of the Worlds

Tuesday, February 12, 2008

The Brazilian president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is due to meet the French President Nicholas Sarkozy later today. Lula da Silva is due to meet with Sarkozy in French Guiana.

The two are expected discuss issues such as greater cooperation between the two countries and the coordination of work on areas around Brazil and French Guiana.In addition, subjects such as biofuels, nuclear science and defence are expected to be discussed in the meeting.

After the meeting, at the headquarters of the local Lula and Sarkozy will present the design for a road bridge that is planned to be built over the river Oiapoque, linking the Brazil to French Guiana. Initial forecasts are suggesting that the bridge, will be about 400 meters long, and will cost approximately US$38.6 million. It is scheduled to be completed for 2010.

The cost of the project is planned to be divided equally between Brazil and France. This was made clear in an agreement between the two nations that was signed in July 2005. The agreement was approved by the Brazilian government in November 2007 and was approved by the French Parliament in March 2007.

This is the Audio Wikinews Brief for October 25, 2007.

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Sunday, February 22, 2009

NASA announced during a press conference on Friday night that the agency has decided to delay the launch of Space Shuttle Discovery, which was scheduled for takeoff on February 27. NASA cited the need for additional time to evaluate the shuttle’s hydrogen fuel flow control valves. A new launch date has yet to be scheduled, though NASA is considering mid-March as an option. Another review of Discovery’s flight readiness is scheduled for February 25.

Discovery had originally been scheduled for liftoff on February 12, but NASA wanted to perform additional tests on the valves which control the amount of hydrogen fuel pumped into the external tank when the shuttle is taking off. When Space Shuttle Endeavour went into space in November 2008, one of the valves broke. NASA fears that if one breaks off on this mission, then it could damage the outside of the shuttle.

“We need to complete more work to have a better understanding before flying,” said Bill Gerstenmaier, associate administrator for Space Operations at NASA Headquarters in Washington, D.C. who chaired Friday’s Flight Readiness Review. “We were not driven by schedule pressure and did the right thing. When we fly, we want to do so with full confidence.”

The current scheduled mission, STS-119, is set to fly the Integrated Truss Structure segment (“S” for starboard, the right side of the station, and “6” for its place at the very end of the starboard truss) and install the final set of power-generating solar arrays to the International Space Station. The arrays consist of two 115-foot-long arrays, for a total wing span of 240 feet, including the equipment that connects the two halves and allows them to twist as they track the sun. Altogether, the four sets of arrays can generate 84 to 120 kilowatts of electricity – enough to provide power for more than 40 average homes.

Commander Lee Archambault will lead Discovery’s crew of seven, along with Pilot Tony Antonelli, and Mission Specialists Joseph Acaba, John Phillips, Steve Swanson, Richard Arnold, and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Koichi Wakata.

Friday, May 12, 2006

American newspaper USA Today reported on Thursday that the United States’ National Security Agency (NSA) collected millions of call logs from telecommunications companies in 2001. The report comes almost four months after a previous NSA controversy involving the monitoring of international calls placed within the United States.

Members of Congress called for answers from the government about the report detailing the agency’s collection of records from telecommunications companies of American phone calls.

The top-ranking Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee said that he was very shocked about the NSA revelation. “It is our government, it’s not one party’s government. It’s America’s government. Those entrusted with great power have a duty to answer to Americans what they are doing,” said Senator Patrick Leahy of Vermont.

AT&T, Verizon Communications, and BellSouth, three major telecommunications companies in the United States, began releasing logs of millions of phone calls to the NSA shortly after the September 11, 2001 attacks, according to the USA Today report.

Earlier this year, the New York Times released a report stating that the NSA had been monitoring certain phone calls placed between the United States and other countries. Nominated CIA director Michael Hayden commented on the NSA program on January 23, 2006, stating: “The purpose of all this is not to collect reams of intelligence, but to detect and prevent attacks.” Hayden was the head of the NSA during the programs’ durations.

President George W. Bush assured Americans that their privacy is being “fiercely protected.” “We’re not mining or trolling through the personal lives of millions of innocent Americans,” commented Bush after leaving for a commencement address at Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College in Biloxi.

According to the report, the information released by the telecommunications companies does not detail the content of the calls. The identities of those that placed and received the calls were recorded.

The Supreme Court of the United States has previously ruled that logs of numbers dialed are not considered ‘private’ because they are being communicated to the telephone company.

Sunday, March 22, 2009

After an early morning fire began, four out of the nine people living at the Riverview Individual Residential Alternative group home located in Wells, New York were killed by the blaze. The Sunmount Developmental Disabilities Services Office, which supervises the home, told the media that the fire started at approximately 5:30 AM Eastern Daylight Time. Two staff members were at the home at the time, who safely evacuated four of the five survivors.

The names of the residents killed in the fire were not able to be released due to New York’s Mental Hygiene Law, but are able to be identified as two adult men, aged 32 and 52, and two adult women, aged 43 and 60. A 71-year-old male was injured in the fire, and was taken to a hospital in Utica, a nearby city. The other four residents have been relocated to an unnamed group home. Both staff members are also being examined at the hospital.

“On behalf of all New Yorkers, I wish to extend my heartfelt condolences to the families, loved ones and friends of the four victims and to continue to pray for the full recovery of those five people and two staff members who survived this incident. I also want to express my thanks and appreciation for the first responders and volunteers who worked swiftly and diligently to respond to this tragedy,” David Patterson, the governor of New York, said to the media.

The exact cause of the fire has yet to be determined. However, the New York Civil Liberties Union stated that “the blaze appears to have been an electrical fire and the sprinkler system was knocked out immediately.” They also called for “an immediate investigation into the causes of and contributing factors of the fire.”

The New York State Department of State Office of Fire Prevention and Control is currently investigating the causes of the blaze, with help from New York State Police Bureau of Criminal Investigation and the New York State Commission on Quality of Care and Advocacy for Persons with Disabilities.

Thursday, May 7, 2009

Penske Automotive Group, Inc., an Ohio-based investment group and Telesto Ventures have indicated separately that they are interested in purchasing the Saturn auto brand from General Motors (GM).

According to The Wall Street Journal, Nissan-Renault is interested in purchasing Saturn. Bloomberg, however, indicated that Nissan-Renault may be a partner of Penske’s potential bid. If Penske acquired the brand, they would distribute Saturn vehicles and outsource the assembly.

GM revealed that the Saturn brand along with Saab and Hummer were up for sale when unveiling their restructuring plans to Congress for governmental loans. While the Pontiac brand was originally to be a niche brand, GM had changed their plans recently and decided to eliminate the brand.

Telesto Ventures is an investment group that includes private equity firm Black Oak Partners LLC of Oklahoma City and several Saturn dealerships. Initially, Telesto will purchase Saturn branded cars from GM then act as a general retailer for foreign brands. Telesto is in talks with several foreign manufacturers.

The Ohio group includes many former senior auto company managers plus private financial backers, chemists and engineers who live in Michigan, Ohio, Indiana and Florida. This group plans to initially purchase cars from GM then purchase existing but closed plants due to automaker restructuring. Additionally, one of the partners indicated a willingness to accept some “legacy” cost in relation to the United Auto Workers. The Ohio group is also pursuing possible loans or other support from national and state governments.

GM is reviewing several offers for Saturn. GM has contracted with S.J. Girsky & Co. to advise them on the sale.