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Sunday, November 28, 2010

Over 800 National Health Service staff in Scotland are earning more than £140,000 each year—more than First Minister Alex Salmond. New figures also reveal that 3,000 NHS workers are earning over £100,000. One NHS board alone, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, employs 893 staff earning more than £100,000, and 181 being paid over £140,000.

Jackie Baillie, health spokeswoman for the Labour Party, which uncovered the figures, said they were “astonishing”, and urged health boards to examine if savings can be made by reducing salaries of top earners. “This is a far better option than cutting frontline staff like nurses and midwives. In tough financial times we need to make sure that our focus is on patient care and every penny is spent in the most efficient way.” She further said: “In the current economic climate, it is impossible to justify huge salaries for consultants and senior executives when health boards are planning 4000 job losses this year, including 1500 nurses and midwives.”

Britain’s largest health service industrial union, Unison, questioned the amount of money the NHS was paying. A spokesperson said: “Unison doesn’t begrudge anybody the rate of pay for the job but obviously our membership will be concerned that while they are to face a pay freeze and people delivering frontline services are losing their jobs, there is a cohort of folk who appear to earn more than the most senior politician in the land.”

Monday, May 10, 2021

Voters in the Scottish constituency of Airdrie and Shotts are to go to the polls on May 13 to elect a replacement member of parliament (MP) to the United Kingdom House of Commons.

The outgoing MP for the seat is Neil Gray — a representative of the pro-independence Scottish National Party — was resigning to run in the Scottish Parliament election, which was to occur on May 6. Gray won the seat with 45.1% of the vote at the 2019 general election, winning 13.1% more than the second placed candidate Helen McFarlane of the Scottish Labour party, who received 32.0% of the votes.

One of the eight candidates running in this constituency is Neil Manson, the Scottish regional chair of the Social Democratic Party (SDP). The SDP website claims Manson has “enjoyed a varied career working across international markets in both the manufacturing industry and energy sector”, and Manson joined the SDP in 2019 after reading the party’s New Declaration, which outlines the party’s principles.

Wikinews spoke to Manson about important issues facing Airdrie and Shotts in this by-election.

Saturday, March 14, 2015

This weekend saw the opening of two new exhibitions at Edinburgh’s National Gallery of Modern Art. Wikinews attended Thursday’s press preview for the event where a full contingent of the capital’s press turned out to see the striking collection of paintings, photographs, and other works. Presented below are a selection of images captured at the preview.

REFLECTIONS: A Series of Changing Displays of Contemporary Art, billed as a showcase of a “diverse range of internationally-renowned contemporary and modern artists” is to display major works from the Gallery’s permanent collection, alongside important loans. Alongside this broad range of works, a three-room display of pieces on-loan from the Roy Lichtenstein Foundation — with a dramatic painted steel relief, ‘borrowed’ from the Tate in London — runs from March 14 through to January 10 next year.

Admission to both exhibitions is free; being located in Dean, to the north-west of Edinburgh’s city centre, a free Gallery bus service is available.

Sunday, November 28, 2010

Over 800 National Health Service staff in Scotland are earning more than £140,000 each year—more than First Minister Alex Salmond. New figures also reveal that 3,000 NHS workers are earning over £100,000. One NHS board alone, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, employs 893 staff earning more than £100,000, and 181 being paid over £140,000.

Jackie Baillie, health spokeswoman for the Labour Party, which uncovered the figures, said they were “astonishing”, and urged health boards to examine if savings can be made by reducing salaries of top earners. “This is a far better option than cutting frontline staff like nurses and midwives. In tough financial times we need to make sure that our focus is on patient care and every penny is spent in the most efficient way.” She further said: “In the current economic climate, it is impossible to justify huge salaries for consultants and senior executives when health boards are planning 4000 job losses this year, including 1500 nurses and midwives.”

Britain’s largest health service industrial union, Unison, questioned the amount of money the NHS was paying. A spokesperson said: “Unison doesn’t begrudge anybody the rate of pay for the job but obviously our membership will be concerned that while they are to face a pay freeze and people delivering frontline services are losing their jobs, there is a cohort of folk who appear to earn more than the most senior politician in the land.”

Thursday, October 13, 2011

With at least 24 dead, eye-witnesses to Sunday night’s protests in Egypt assert state-run media broadcast unreliable information, and incorrectly claimed Coptic protesters provoked military action.

Challenging the official narrative provided by Egyptian state media channels, including Channel One and Nile News, blog reports and other social media coverage dispute early reports on Channel One that those protesting threw stones, and fired live ammunition, at military personnel. Further allegations assert coverage was selective, with footage of military vehicles pursuing and running over protesters not aired.

Nile News conducted interviews with injured on each side of the clash. Military and security barred protestors from reaching their building. Nile News anchor Hesham Assy said: ” We did the best we could, given the circumstances, as it was very difficult to leave the building last night.”

Despite this, journalist Mai Elwakil writing for Almasry Alyoum claims “the coverage [overall] seems to have led viewers to believe that Coptic protesters caused the violence.”

Challenging the stance of state media, it is claimed the military fired upon protesters, and deliberately attacked them using excessive force. Members of the state media also question the coverage; state TV worker Taghreed al-Dossouky announced via her Twitter account, “I reject the Egyptian state media’s coverage because it incites sectarianism, and I condemn all those who partake in it.”

At least 24 people were killed and over 200 wounded as the demonstration turned violent.

Sunday, April 25, 2010

Several NATO oil tankers were set on fire in the Punjab province of Pakistan, and four policemen were killed in a gunfight with unknown gunmen yesterday, reports say. The Deutsche Presse-Agentur (DPA) news service attributes the attack to the Taleban.

The incidents occurred in the town of Talagang. Aslam Tareen, the regional police chief, said that “around a dozen” tankers were set on fire after being attacked with rocket-propelled grenades. “Later on, they exchanged intensive fire with the police and killed four of our officers while two more were injured,” Tareen said, adding that a petrol station nearby the oil tankers also caught fire.

DPA says the attack was the deadliest on NATO supply convoys in the province. Close to three quarters of all oil, food, and military supplies to landlocked Afghanistan first pass through Pakistan.

Thursday, March 9, 2006

Toronto’s public utility, Toronto Hydro Telecom, will make Canada’s largest city into a huge wireless hotspot.

“This is both an exciting and very important initiative for the city of Toronto”, said Toronto’s mayor, David Miller. “It puts us on the leading edge of the telecommunications industry nationwide and globally.”

Toronto Hydro Telecom will offer customers free access for the first six months. After that, it will begin to charge for services.

“Wi-Fi technology is the new benchmark for urban living”, stated Toronto Hydro president David Dobbin. “It’s standard equipment in many electronic devices, from laptops to portable entertainment units.”

Private telephone companies are questioning why a public utility needs to compete with the private sector.

Mike Lee of Rogers Communications Inc. questioned why the city of Toronto wanted to enter the internet access business.

“It will not be an easy business”, Lee told the National Post. “In this day and age, the focus should be on core operations more than anything. I was surprised to see they are looking to get into this business.”

Brian Sharwood, a telecom analyst in Toronto, said the municipality will likely install the wireless transmitters and receivers on its lamp posts as a way to blanket the city, a process known as “wireless mesh networking”.