Vancouver Aquarium asks courts to overrule ban on cetaceans in Stanley Park
VANCOUVER – Officials with the Vancouver Aquarium say they have applied for a judicial review aimed at overturning a park board bylaw banning whales, dolphins and porpoises from its facility in Stanley Park.The aquarium says it is asking the B.C. Supreme Court to rule the cetacean ban is invalid and set it aside.In a news release, the aquarium says its petition claims the park board doesn’t have the statutory power to enact the amendment, that board commissioners refused to hear from aquarium officials and that the decision renders a $100-million aquarium upgrade obsolete.The aquarium says it has already spent $45 million of public and private funding on the upgrade.The application says the bylaw causes numerous adverse impacts to the aquarium’s mandate of conservation, including the loss of a long-term home for rescued cetaceans that cannot be released.Park board spokeswoman Daria Wojnarski said in an email statement that because the matter is before the courts, the board would not comment.Aquarium CEO John Nightingale said the ramifications of the bylaw are so far reaching that they would change the mission of conserving the world’s oceans.“As a result, we have no choice but to defend ourselves,” Nightingale said in the release on Thursday.“We cannot stand by and allow the park board to threaten the health and welfare of cetaceans, or develop bylaws on the fly that undermine our animal protection, conservation, research and education mandates.”Park board commissioners voted 6 to 1 in favour of approving the bylaw last month.At the time, board chairman Michael Wiebe said scientists have found cetaceans are best treated in a natural habitat and research data captured from aquariums is no longer necessary.
The Directors Guild of Canada handed out 17 awards tonight honouring the best work created by Members this past year in a star-studded, elegant event. Three special career acknowledgments were also handed out during the evening, including the Lifetime Achievement Award to filmmaker Anne Wheeler. The inaugural DGC Discovery Award was presented to newcomer Chloe Leriche for her/his film Avant Les Rues.Arisa Cox hosted the Awards Gala which was held at The Carlu in Toronto.Presenters included this country’s hardest working filmmakers and actors; Meredith MacNeill, Tracey Deer, Megan Follows, Director X, Benz Antoine, and Nicholas Campbell, to name just a few. Advertisement Below is a full list of the awards presented at the 2016 DGC Awards Gala:DGC LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARDPresented by ShaftesburyAnne Wheeler2016 DON HALDANE DISTINGUISHED SERVICE AWARDManny Danelon2016 DGC HONOURARY LIFE MEMBER AWARDPresented by BellMediaTrina McQueenDGC DISCOVERY AWARDPresented by Entertainment OneChloé Leriche – Avant les RuesOUTSTANDING DIRECTORIAL ACHIEVEMENT IN FEATURE FILMPresented by TechnicolorPaul Gross – Hyena RoadOUTSTANDING DIRECTORIAL ACHIEVEMENT IN MOVIES FOR TELEVISION AND MINI-SERIESPresented by deluxeKari Skogland – Sons of LibertyOUTSTANDING DIRECTORIAL ACHIEVEMENT IN DRAMATIC SERIESPresented by PanavisionHelen Shaver – Vikings – Born AgainOUTSTANDING DIRECTORIAL ACHIEVEMENT IN COMEDY SERIESPresented by SIM GroupJerry Ciccoritti – Schitt’s Creek – Moira’s NudesOUTSTANDING DIRECTORIAL ACHIEVEMENT IN FAMILY SERIESPresented by William F. WhiteBruce McDonald – Heartland – Before the DarknessALLAN KING AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE IN DOCUMENTARYPresented by Rogers Group of FundsGuantanamo’s Child: Omar Khadr – Patrick Reed & Michelle ShephardANDHaida Gwaii: On the Edge Of The World – Charles WilkinsonBEST PICTURE EDITING – DOCUMENTARYCathy Gulkin – Guantanamo’s Child: Omar KhadrBEST SHORT FILMPortal to Hell!!!BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN – FEATURE FILMPresented by Pinewood Toronto StudiosAidan Leroux – Born to Be BlueBEST PRODUCTION DESIGN – MOVIES FOR TELEVISION AND MINI-SERIESPresented by Vanguarde Artists ManagementRob Gray – Sons of LibertyBEST PRODUCTION DESIGN – TELEVISION SERIESJohn Dondertman – Orphan Black – Certain Agony Of The BattlefieldBEST PICTURE EDITING – FEATURE FILMMatthew Hannam – Into the ForestBEST PICTURE EDITING – MOVIES FOR TELEVISION AND MINI-SERIESRon Wisman Sr. & Ron Wisman Jr. – The Secret Life of Marilyn MonroeBEST PICTURE EDITING – TELEVISION SERIESD. Gillian Truster – Orphan Black – Scarred By Many Past FrustrationsBEST SOUND EDITING – FEATURE FILMHyena Road – Jane Tattersall, Supervising Sound Editor; Kevin Banks, Sound Editor; Ed Douglas, Sound Editor; David Evans, Sound Editor; Barry Gilmore, Sound Editor; Martin Gwynn Jones, Sound Editor, David McCallum, Sound Editor; Brennan Mercer, Sound Editor; Dave Rose, Sound Editor; Claire Dobson, 1st Assistant Sound Editor; Krystin Hunter, 1st Assistant Sound EditorBEST SOUND EDITING – MOVIES FOR TELEVISION AND MINI-SERIESThe Secret Life of Marilyn Monroe – Steve Medeiros, SFX Editor; Jane Tattersall, SFX Editor; Krystin Hunter, Dialogue Editor; David McCallum, Dialogue Editor; Susan Conley, ADR Editor; Joe Mancuso, Music Editor; Claire Dobson, 1st Assistant Sound EditorBEST SOUND EDITING – TELEVISION SERIESThe Expanse – The Big Empty – Nelson Ferreira, Supervising Sound Editor and ADR Editor; Nathan Robitaille, Sound Designer; Tyler Whitham, SFX Editor; Dustin Harris, Dialogue Editor; Dashen Naidoo, 1st Assistant Sound Editor Login/Register With: Twitter Advertisement Advertisement Facebook LEAVE A REPLY Cancel replyLog in to leave a comment 
Kathleen MartensAPTN NewsA boatload of ignorant fishermen should be charged for drinking, urinating and exposing themselves to families, said an angling group working to reduce conflict on B.C.’s Fraser River.“It’s the worst incident reported this summer,” said Rod Clapton, co-chair of the Fraser River Peacemakers.“They’re idiots…As far as we’re concerned they should be charged with indecent exposure if the information reported is accurate.”Clapton said he sent an email to the RCMP Monday asking them to find the five men caught on camera Saturday getting into a heated argument with members of the Union Bar First Nation.“We’re not going to let this go,” Clapton added in a telephone interview with APTN News. “No member of the sport fishing community would excuse this. It’s unacceptable.”Photos of the men in an aluminum boat were posted on Facebook. The men are seen drinking, urinating and making lewd gestures.One witness said a man dropped his pants and underwear and exposed himself to women and children cleaning fish on the shoreline.“They were casting, talking loud, swearing – and their voices carried,” said Stacy McNeil.“We said, ‘Hey, there’s children here.’ But instead of moving on one guy started peeing and told us to shut up.”McNeil said the man made “disrespectful” and unwanted sexual comments while exposing himself.“As adults, we see this all the time. But our kids were so confused and scared, with no idea why it was happening.”McNeil said several families were working in the fish camp between Hope and Yale when the incident occurred at about 5 p.m. on Aug. 25.She said her hands were shaking as she called Hope RCMP and described the scene to a dispatch operator on the line.No officer was available to come out but RCMP did provide an email address for witnesses to share their photos and video.She said three boats piloted by community members pulled up to the anglers and “told them to move along.”She said there was shouting back and forth and a fight came close to breaking out.“They said, ‘We started it, the women started it.’ They were calling down First Nations (people), saying we were stealing all the fish.”McNeil said the incident could have escalated into something more dangerous.“I was trying to be calm because my children were there,” she said of the kids that are between three- and 15-years-old.“My body was shaking because I was so angry. I was trying not to stoop to that level and respond.”She said she is proud the community was able to defuse the incident and there was no violence.Sto:lo Chief Ernie Crey, who co-chairs the Peacemakers group with Clapton, agreed.“We encourage people to share the river instead of getting into a fight over it,” he said.Crey said misunderstandings crop up when anglers are unaware they’ve anchored in a traditional fishing hole.“In the past they used to throw rocks at one another,” said Crey, “or branches of trees.”In 2009, he said former chief Willie Charlie was shot in the face with a pellet gun. That’s when Peacemakers was formed.“We don’t get involved in criminal activity,” added Clapton. “We go and talk and help resolve differences.”The group recently received an award from the federal government for its 10 years of advocacy and mediation.But this encounter shows it still has work to do.“This is a pretty nasty incident,” said Clapton.“We really expect the RCMP to pursue this and identify these individuals.”kmartens@aptn.ca
TORONTO – Canadian Tire Corp. says it’s expanding its loyalty program to allow customers to collect and redeem Canadian Tire Money across its various retail brands.The company says starting later this spring, customers will be able to collect money at Sport Chek, Mark’s, Atmosphere and Gas+ locations in addition to Canadian Tire itself, as well as redeem it at locations other than Gas+ stations.Canadian Tire says the revamped program will be called Triangle and include both loyalty money and two new MasterCards issued under the program.The program will allow customers to collect money either through an app or a loyalty card that will also offer personalized content and offers, while purchases with the branded MasterCards earn additional money.The update to the loyalty program comes amid wider shifts in loyalty programs in Canada, including Air Canada moving away from Aimia Inc.’s Aeroplan program to its own system, and Loblaw Co. combining loyalty programs at its grocery stores and Shoppers Drug Mart, as companies look to better target customers.Canadian Tire Corp. chief marketing officer Susan O’Brien said the time was right to update the loyalty program that’s been active since 1958 as competition increases.“We’ve got wonderful competition out there that’s making us think through new ways to connect our customers better and give them back the value that they want,” said O’Brien.“We have a ton of analytics and data that helps us make decisions of course, and one of the things we know is a customer shops at Mark’s, shops at Canadian Tire retail, shops at Sport Chek, so why wouldn’t we be giving them the benefit and the rewards that go along with it?”
Evan Rachel Wood Just As Disturbed by Humanoid Sophia As Everyone ElseMIT’s Thread-Like Robot Slides Through Blood Vessels In the Brain First they came for the wait staff, and I did not speak out—because I was not a waiter.Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba has opened a chain of restaurants where human servers are replaced by roving robots.As reported by the Agence France-Presse, this futuristic concept aims to raise efficiency and lower labor expenses.AdChoices广告“In Shanghai, a waiter costs up to 10,000 yuan ($1,460) per month. That’s hundreds of thousands in cost every year,” Cao Haitao, an Alibaba product manager who developed the Robot.He diner scheme, told AFP. “And two shifts of people are needed.”Robots, however, can work all day every day without complaint; just plug them in each night. You don’t even need to tip them.This futuristic diner is Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba’s latest push into robotics (via AFP)The Robot.He eateries are linked to Alibaba’s Hema semi-automated supermarkets, where shoppers fill digital carts and watch as products are transported to the checkout via a conveyor belt on the ceiling. Customers can also opt for home delivery (a convenience already available across the US and Europe).Alibaba boasts 57 Hema markets—all of which will eventually feature Robot.He restaurants—in 13 Chinese cities, according to AFP.The novelty of mechanical meals is still strong, drawing queues of people eager to book tables and order food on their smartphone (no different from apps like OpenTable or Seamless).“The idea of a robot delivery food to our table is very innovative so we wanted to see it ourselves,” Ma Yiwen, who brought nearly a dozen colleagues to a Robot.He location near her office, said, speaking to the AFP.Cyborg employees—who never ask for a raise or workers comp—help keep expenditures to a minimum. Which, in turn, lowers menu prices.“Normally for two to three people, a meal costs about 300-400 yuan ($44-$58), but here, all this table of food is just over 100 yuan ($15),” regular patron Ma Shenpeng told AFP.Alibaba rival JD.com, meanwhile, hopes to entice even the most die-hard Robot.He fans, like Shenpeng, who visits once a week, with plans to open 1,000 robot-run bistros in the country by 2020.Let us know what you like about Geek by taking our survey. Stay on target
Wayne Rooney may be on the verge of doing a U-turn on his decision to leave Everton for DC United in the summer after the sacking of Sam Allardyce, reports Sports IllustratedThe former England captain agreed on a deal in principle to join DC in the MLS for next season after a disappointing second spell at Everton.Rooney had got off to a bright start this season and by mid-December had scored 10 goals for Everton.However, the 32-year-old then endured a difficult second-half of club’s campaign and was visibly upset when manager Sam Allardyce substituted him during Everton’s goalless draw against Liverpool in the Merseyside derby back on April 7.
Premier League Betting: Match-day 5 Stuart Heath – September 14, 2019 Going into the Premier League’s match-day five with a gap already beginning to form at the top of the league. We will take a…Rooney became reportedly frustrated with Allardyce’s agricultural tactics and decided to end his career in the Premier League in favour of a lucrative deal at the MLS.However, it is now believed that the England and Manchester United all-time record goalscorer has put the move on hold and is waiting for news on Everton’s new manager.Should the new head coach assure Rooney that he will be a big part of his plans for next season, then the forward may be willing to put the move to America on hold for another year.
The owners of the English Premier League want to increase its portfolio to eight football teams around the world.The City Football Group, owners of English Premier League leaders Manchester City, are considering buying a club in India.Chief executive Ferran Soriano spoke to the BBC about the idea of buying the group’s eighth club.“With all these developments we have to be patient,” said Soriano.“We have some interest in some markets and countries where there are genuine football passion and opportunities, like China, but also India. So there might be other opportunities in Asia.”“We’ve been looking at India for nearly two years now. I’d say this year we’ll end up doing an investment in India,” he added.“As we see it now, there is a natural pace of growth that we will follow that takes us to more than seven teams, but not 100 teams.”
The Alaska Miner’s Association annual convention has been going on all week in Anchorage. Coinciding with the AMA’s 75th year, is the 25th anniversary of Kotzebue’s Red Dog Mine.Download AudioThe success of Red Dog did not come easy, according to NANA Regional Corporation CEO Marie Greene, who was Friday’s keynote speaker. Green said NANA is uniquely positioned to meet development needs of the future.“Northwest Alaska has many of the minerals that the world will need in the future, and the world is looking North,” Green said. “Climate change, open ocean shipping routes, potential existing mineral development and off shore oil and gas exploration and development are drawing global attention.”Green says it all began with Red Dog, the mine developed in partnership with Teck – Cominco, but getting the mine started was a long, difficult process. When mining giant Cominco found zinc in the region in 1980, there was opposition to a large scale mine. Lawsuits and counter suits followed, but Alaska Native land claims under new federal legislation enabled NANA to select the lands where the mine is now located.Since it’s start in 1989, Red Dog mine has provided $1 billion in proceeds to NANA, $608 million to other regions and $199 million to shareholders.
Vijay’s Bigil wins the case on plagiarism issue.PR HandoutAtlee Kumar’s Bigil team has won a legal battle over the story-theft petition filed by filmmaker KP Selva, who had accused the makers of Vijay-starrer of stealing his story.A Chennai civil court reportedly dismissed the case and has prevented Selva from taking the issue to the higher court. As per Sharada Vivek, the legal counsel of Atlee, KP Selva’s advocate “backtracked” to withdraw the case while telling the court that they would file a fresh plea in the Madras High Court.Atlee’s legal counsel requested the court not to give permission to the petitioner to file a fresh suit in the Madras High Court and the Chennai civil court declined permission to move the higher court on this issue.Earlier, KP Selva had filed in his petition that he had registered his story in the South Indian Film Writers’ Association and made plagiarism allegation on Atlee Kumar, the director of Bigil.However, the makers of Vijay-starrer fought the case legally and their efforts have been hailed by the film fraternity as it sends a message to the people, who file false cases against big-banner movies. In numerous cases, such attempts are made to get money from the producers to settle the disputes.In recent years, Vijay’s Kaththi and Sarkar were accused of plagiarism and the issues were solved at the last minute of its release. While Gopi Nainar lost the case in court, the Sarkar issue was more serious as the writers’ guild found similarities with AR Murugadoss and Rajendran’s scripts.The issue was amicably solved after AR Murugadoss agreed to give credit to Rajendran in the title credits. Likewise, Atlee had faced similar charges for all his previous films –Raja Rani, Theri and Mersal.
Gano Forum president Kamal HossainTop leaders of the opposition coalition of Jatiya Oikya Front have started social media campaign, urging Bangladesh’s young people to vote in the 30 December national elections.In separate video messages, Gano Forum president Kamal Hossain and BNP secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir encourage the young to wake up as the new generation themselves would decide the future of Bangladesh.”Who is Bangladesh? It’s you who are Bangladesh…. I know you never give in,” says a voice as Kamal Hossain, in a 1:44-minute clip, is seen entering slowly into a dark room.The voice airs optimism that Bangladesh will not fail in the future, too, as it saw victory in December 1971 and democracy in 1990 relying on the youth. And so, the youth will wake up again in 2018.”Wake up Bangalees, your stage is set,” says Kamal Hossain at the end of the message.The messages, released recently, are now available on the Facebook page of Jatiya Oikya Front, YouTube and other social media platforms.In another video message, Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, BNP secretary general and spokesperson of the Oikya Front, reminds the first-time voters of how the senior generation had participated in the liberation war in 1971.”We just listened to our heart, ran after a dream of freeing the country to see a democratic Bangladesh. I’m now 70. But, I’m still chasing the same dream; I’m full of aspirations,” he spells out.Bangladesh Nationalist Party secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir. File PhotoFakhrul, who was once a left politician and teacher, urges the youth to dream, “Have you forgotten to dream a dream?””People often tell me the BNP will win the election but Awami League will eat up that (vote) because you don’t belong to the Awami League’s political equation. They belittle you. To them, you don’t matter,” the BNP leader says, addressing the new generation of voters.”Their plan is to conduct violence until 29 December so that you lose all your interest to go to the polling station. They have made such a narrative that whomever you vote for, whatever your political stand is, your vote, your belief will be stolen and altered by them,” Fakhrul cautions.He goes on to say, “What I tell you is that you should show them that YOU MATTER. Show them, you matter. You are the owners of the country and your vote will decide the future of Bangladesh. Please come and vote whomever you want to vote for. Show them, you are Bangladesh.””In my youth, I fought for the country. Now, I want only one day from you to vote on 30 December. Just a day. Show them, you cannot only vote, but also stop vote rigging,” Fakhrul states.In the video message, he further says, “In our youth, we found a light that we want to pass on to you. And, you’ll have to pass it on to your next generation. Don’t let the light go off.”Both Kamal Hossain and Mirza Fakhrul have started campaigning online as per the Oikya Front’s top level decision, the BNP chairperson’s media wing official Shairul Kabir Khan told Prothom Alo about the messages.
Foxconn has found itself in hot water once again with regards to its labor practices. However, this time it isn’t in relation to the production of Apple’s devices. Instead, it’s how the manufacturing company is going about assembling the PS4 that has come under fire.According to Chinese newspaper Oriental Daily News, Foxconn is forcing thousands of students from the Xi’an Institute of Technology to assemble Sony’s next gen console, which launches on November 15.The students involved were offered internships at the company while studying an IT engineering course. But those that accepted aren’t being assigned work that matches their course or skill set. Instead, they are being put on the production lines.The reason it is being called a forced internship is because if any of the students refuse to do the work they are assigned, six credits will be deducted from their course total. Without those six credits it’s thought to be impossible to pass, meaning the students have to do the work or risk losing their qualification.The assigned tasks range from gluing parts of the console together to placing stickers on it or boxing up the cables that ship with the machine. And they are doing this all day every day just like full-time employees at Foxconn are paid to do. The difference being, the students aren’t being paid.Because of the way this is setup Foxconn can and is claiming the students aren’t being forced to work and can leave at any time. That may be true, but if they do leave they would be throwing away any chance of getting their IT engineering qualification, which makes it more likely they’d end up back on the production lines full time.If true, then both Foxconn and Xi’an Institute of Technology are at fault here. There will be people at both the company and college that know exactly what is happening here, and there may even be money changing hands to make it happen. But unless it is proved illegal it seems unlikely to stop.As for Sony’s involvement in this, they are just the customer, but on hearing about should practices they will hopefully react and threaten to move manufacturing elsewhere unless the situation changes quickly.
Small stock farmers are advised that the combination of cold, wet and windy weather may be fatal to stock, unless animals are taken to shelter well ahead of the onset of the hazardous weather.Brrr… It’s going to be an icy-cold week ahead for Ladysmith!If you happen to be in an area where snow has fallen, please take some photos (or video) and share with us by tagging the Ladysmith Gazette on Facebook.Click to receive news links via WhatsApp. Or for the latest news, visit our webpage or follow us on Facebook and Twitter. Join us there! WebsiteWebsiteWebsite WebsiteWebsiteWebsite WebsiteWebsiteWebsite The SA Weather Service has warned that a strong cold front is making its way through KwaZulu-Natal.Temperatures are expected to drop into the low teens in Ladysmith from today (July 3), with maximum temperatures expected to be very low.Also read: Update: Snow expected to fall tonight in KwaZulu-NatalSnowfall is expected over the high-ground areas of the Eastern Cape, including the mountains between Willowmore and Joubertina, the Sneeuberg, Winterberg and Southern Drakensberg. Heavy snow has fallen in Cape Town.
Top Stories 0 Comments Share Sponsored Stories Top holiday drink recipes New Valley school lets students pick career-path academies PARIS (AP) — The Paris prosecutor’s office says 11 people have been detained in relation to last year’s dramatic ambush of a Saudi prince’s diplomatic convoy.Spokeswoman Agnes Thibault-Lecuivre confirmed that 11 people were in custody on Monday but declined to release other details.The armed robbers ambushed the Mercedes in August 2014 as the convoy was headed to the airport, torching and abandoning the vehicle later. Former Arizona Rep. Don Shooter shows health improvement
Milstead says best way to stop wrong-way incidents is driving sober At the time, officials said the car had 250,000 euros ($280,000) in cash and embassy documents inside, and that the assailants seemed well informed about the convoy’s itinerary.Neither Saudi nor French officials have named the prince.Members of the Saudi royal family often come to Paris for diplomatic or business visits.Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Patients with chronic pain give advice New Year’s resolution: don’t spend another year in a kitchen you don’t like Ex-FBI agent details raid on Phoenix body donation facility
Source = e-Travel Blackboard: P.T Japan Airlines and Qantas’ low cost subsidiary, Jetstar have received regulatory approval to code share on services between Australia and Japan. The International Air Services Commission (IASC) approved Japan Airlines (JAL) to code share on Jetstar services until 31 December 2012 under the conditions that Jetstar must price and sell its services on the route independently of JAL. Jetstar are also requested to submit a report on the number of code share seats sold by JAL on Jetstar-operated services. According to the Register of Available Capacity, there is unlimited capacity for designated Australian carriers to operate scheduled passenger services between Australia and points in Japan except for Narita Airport and Haneda Airport. The IASC also delivered determinations regarding capacity allocations for Virgin Australia. The IASC issued a decision transferring capacity, previously allocated by prior determinations, from Virgin Australia to Virgin Australia International Holdings (VAIH). A transfer of 8,560 seats of capacity per week and unlimited capacity overall was approved by the Commission. Virgin Australia’s new business model, VAIH, was approved by the IASC in March. Virgin Australia requested the International Air Services Commission approve an allocation for up to 1,000 seats per sector for a period of up to five years on the Sydney-Taipei route. The determination was granted by the IASC for each direction on the Australia-Taiwan route for the full five year period.
Cabinet approved a bill on Wednesday giving the public the opportunity to promote the introduction of policies and legislation through the collection of electronic signatures.According to Undersecretary to the President, Constantinos Petrides, the bill on e-petitions “the so-called citizens’ initiative” will be sent to parliament for discussion and to be put to vote.“It is a form of direct democracy that produces policy directly from citizens themselves without intermediaries. It establishes their right to collect signatures to promote either legislative measures or other forms of measures for the introduction of policies that concern them,” Petrides said.This can be made with the collection of 8,000 signatures he said. He added that the procedure was based on best practices applicable in other countries.According to Petrides the demand will be first submitted to an independent committee that will be chaired by the cabinet secretary and will have a lawyer, an academic and two non-governmental organisations.The independent committee will also examine whether the demand is within the government’s powers and ensure it is not unconstitutional, that it does not violate human rights or Cyprus obligations to the EU.If all procedures are met the proposal will be posted on the official website of the ‘citizens’ national initiative’ – which will be up and running in March – and has to gather 8,000 e-signatures. If the required number of signatures is collected, the demand will be forwarded to the competent ministries or state services to draft policies, bills or actions.Petrides said that the state services will be obliged to explain to the public the nature of the policies want to introduce and if these are impossible the reasons behind the decision.Petrides thanked the groups Freedom – Citizens for Progress and Pride and Transparency Cyprus for their contribution.“We all worked to build a legal, institutional framework to provide citizens with that extra democracy tool,” Petrides said. This tool, he said, is being used internationally, by the EU, European countries, many American states and other developed countries. You May LikeHeart Failure Treatment | Search AdsThe Early Signs Of Heart Failure. Search Acute Heart Failure TreatmentHeart Failure Treatment | Search AdsUndoYahoo SearchResearch Compact SUVs. New SUVs May Make You Want To Trade Yours In Today – See For Yourself!Yahoo SearchUndoTruthFinder People Search SubscriptionOne Thing All Liars Have in Common, Brace YourselfTruthFinder People Search SubscriptionUndo Concern over falling tourism numbersUndoTurkish Cypriot actions in Varosha ‘a clear violation’ of UN resolutions, Nicosia saysUndoThe Deniz boat incident showed clearly the intentions of the Turkish sideUndoby Taboolaby Taboola