Asbestos victims file 6.6 billion yen class action lawsuit in Tokyo
Saturday, May 17, 2008 Construction workers and next of kin of deceased workers filed a lawsuit in Tokyo, Japan Friday seeking damages of approximately 6.6 billion yen (about US$64 million) from the government and manufacturers related to illnesses stemming from exposure to asbestos. 178 plaintiffs; including construction workers and family members filed the suit in Tokyo District Court against 46 building manufacturers and the Government of Japan. According to the Mainichi Daily News, the class action suit is the first that has been filed in Japan related to health damages caused by asbestos exposure at construction sites. The plaintiffs hail from the Japanese prefectures of Tokyo, Saitama and Chiba. The plaintiffs claim that the government and manufacturers knew of the dangers of asbestos inhalation but failed to take proper precautions, including ceasing to promote asbestos as a cheap fire retardant and banning production of the material. They state that after…
Cyprus and Malta adopt the euro
Tuesday, January 1, 2008 Today at midnight, the Republic of Cyprus and the Republic of Malta, both small island states in the Mediterranean and former British colonies, adopted the euro as their official currency; less than four years after their accession to the European Union. Because Cyprus and Malta are in different time zones, Cyprus adopted the euro one hour before Malta did the same. In both countries the euro was welcomed with outdoor celebrations, including a fireworks display in Malta’s capital Valletta. According to the BBC Cypriot Finance Minister Michalis Sarris has said the euro “will benefit consumers and businesses alike because of the eurozone’s low inflation, low interest rates and large market.” The BBC reports that Cypriot and Maltese leaders “made symbolic withdrawals of euros from cash machines just minutes into the New Year.” TIME reports that Maltese Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi had to wait a little while…
UK policeman killed while training
Monday, June 9, 2008 A policeman from the United Kingdom was killed today while taking part in a training exercise with his police force, in the city of Manchester. The policeman died as a result of a shot to the chest. The incident occurred at approximately 10:30 UTC (11:30 local time) this morning. Greater Manchester Police released a statement regarding the incident, saying that the officer was shot at Thorpe Road, which is found in the Newton Heath area of the city.
News briefs:January 04, 2008
Contents 1 Wikinews News Brief January 04, 2008 23:35 UTC 1.1 Introduction 1.2 Israeli troops kill 9 in Gaza 1.3 Georgian President faces election challenge 1.4 US unemployment hits two-year high 1.5 Israel plans crackdown on West Bank settlement outposts 1.6 Transaven Airlines plane carrying 14 people crashes off Venezuelan coast 1.7 Sportswriter Milt Dunnell dies at 102 1.8 2007 was particularly good year for aviation safety 1.9 U.S. Senator Dodd bows out of presidential race 1.10 Intel ends partnership with One Laptop Per Child program 1.11 British Investigators arrive in Pakistan to join Bhutto investigation 1.12 Disgorge bassist Ben Marlin dies from cancer 1.13 Egypt lets 2000 pilgrims through Rafah 1.14 Launch of Space Shuttle Atlantis once again delayed 1.15 Study suggests hospitals are not the best place for cardiac arrest treatment 1.16 US dollar no longer accepted at Taj Mahal and other Indian historical sites 1.17 Footer [edit]
4 Excellent Reasons To Own A Far Infrared Sauna
Click Here To Know More About: Kettlebells byphineasgray If you’re thinking about getting a sauna on a la-di-dah whim, there’s no better time than now to get it done. Here’s a list of benefits you can look forward to when you go for a far infrared sauna in Boca Raton: Detoxify [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YGaOkZqJABA[/youtube] Stepping into a sauna easily lets you sweat out all the natural toxins in your body. That’s going to improve your health, eliminating as much as seven times the amount of toxins that traditional Swedish saunas are capable of, says Mind Body Green. That’s going to help purify your skin as well. If that sounds like an excellent idea, then owning your own infrared sauna in Boca Raton is a sound decision on your part. Relax Long days at work, horrendous traffic and the daily stress of dealing with people can take a toll on you. If you’re…
Nokia Inc. announces plans for iPhone rival
Thursday, August 30, 2007 Announced early Wednesday morning at Nokia’s GoEvent, in a plan to expand the company’s revenue, Finland-based company Nokia Inc. is developing a mobile phone similar to its rival iPhone, which will be available in the near future for Nokia customers. The phone is expected to be available by 2008. Most of the features are the same as the iPhone’s. They include music, games, and many other features, even ones that the iPhone may not have. Ovi (in Finnish meaning “Door”) will be the door for more than 2 million songs and games available for download on the new device. Users will be able to download wirelessly in their own home or anywhere there is access to a computer. But this is not the first time Nokia has made an attempt like this to increase its revenue. In October of 2003 the company revealed the N-Gage, a…
French workers use threats in compensation demand
Friday, July 17, 2009Following similar threats by workers at New Fabris and Nortel, workers at JLG in Tonneins, France, threatened to blow up several platform cranes. The JLG factory announced in April 2009 that it will fire 53 of its 163 workers by the end of 2009, while the remaining 110 jobs will not be secure over the next 2 years. JLG Tonneins was acquired in 2006 with its parent JLG Industries, a maker of aerial work platforms, by the U.S.-based Oshkosh Corporation. Despite being hugely profitable in the past, production has been much reduced since 2008 with the contraction of the construction industry and lower demand for its products. Despite excellent past results the new American management demanded sweeping cuts at the company. In the view of locals, “the company’s actions are a disgrace given the expensive perks, such as official cars, for its corporate fat cats, compared to…
Los Angeles commuter train collides with freight train; over two dozen killed
Saturday, September 13, 2008 At least 25 people have been killed and many more injured when a Metrolink commuter train collided yesterday afternoon with a Union Pacific freight train in the Chatsworth district of Los Angeles. Around 250 firefighters have responded to the accident scene. Estimates are that 350-400 people were on the number 111 commuter train which departed from Los Angeles’ Union Station at 3:35pm PDT. The collision occurred on Friday at about 4:25pm PDT on Metrolink’s Ventura County Line. The area in which the crash took place is hilly and contains a single track; it is just north of the Chatsworth Metrolink station. The force of the collision sent the locomotive of the Metrolink train to penetrate deep into the lead bi-level passenger car of the three-car train. The collision then knocked the Union Pacific and Metrolink locomotives on their side along with the lead passenger car. This…
Hundreds of thousands rally in Australia against IR legislation
Tuesday, November 15, 2005 People rallied in 300 locations across Australia today to protest the Federal Government’s proposed changes to industrial relations laws, WorkChoices. According to police, around 150,000 people congregated in Melbourne, from where speeches were broadcast throughout the country. In Sydney, thirty thousand gathered in Belmore Park and Martin Place to watch the broadcast before marching to Chifley Square. Sharan Burrow, President of the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU), said that under the changes many working conditions would be under threat, including “penalty rates, public holidays, overtime pay, control over rostered hours, shift penalties, even 4 weeks annual leave.” The government has claimed, despite various expert assesment to the contrary, and opposition from major Australian religious and charity organisations and some concern from its own backbench, that the IR changes will improve the economy and ultimately benefit workers, and dismissed the protests as having “little effect”.
What Constitutes An Energy Efficient Window?
Click Here To Know More About: Ecoline Windows Double Glazed Upvc Windows byAlma Abell An energy efficient window in Honolulu, HI has a couple of great features; it keeps the interior of the home comfortable and it helps save a considerable amount of money with the energy bill. The primary purpose of energy efficient windows is to keep the air in the home, to stop it from leaking to the outside. This can be done in a few different ways; the window can have multiple panes of glass or the casement and glazing can be different. Over the years, window technology has come a long way. Most energy efficient windows use more than a single glass pane. The multiple panes, at least two and in many cases three, keep both heat and cool air in as the construction of the window is effective in eliminating heat transfer from one side…