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Sunday, September 28, 2008

Four people have been arrested on terrorism charges in Islington, London, England, after a suspected petrol bombing on the house of Martin Rynja, owner of book publishing company Gibson Square.

His company recently sparked controversy after buying the rights to publish The Jewel of Medina, a work of fiction by Sherry Jones depicting the Muslim prophet Muhammad and his child bride, Aisha.

The bombing, which occurred in the early hours of Saturday morning, led to the evacuation of the £2.5 million property in Lonsdale Square. Three men, aged 22, 30 and 40, were arrested at 2:25am BST by armed officers, two in Lonsdale Square, and one after being stopped near Angel tube station.

Police comments suggested that the trio had been under surveillance, and that they had advance knowledge of the plot and simply waited for the arsonists to strike, before arresting them.

On Saturday, a woman was arrested for obstructing police during their searches of four addresses – two in Walthamstow, and two in Ilford and Forest Gate.

Speaking earlier this month, Mr Rynja said that “The Jewel of Medina has become an important barometer of our time. As an independent publishing company, we feel strongly that we should not be afraid of the consequences of debate.” Ms Jones commented that she did not intend for her novel to be offensive to Islam. She noted that she “[has] deliberately and consciously written respectfully about Islam and Muhammad.” She “envisaged that [her] book would be a bridge builder” between Islam and the western world.

Friday, January 25, 2013

A Pakistani-American has been sentenced today to 35 years in prison for assisting and helping plan the 2008 attack in Mumbai leaving dead 166 people.

The 52 year old, David Coleman Headley, pleaded guilty in a US federal court in Chicago and co-operated in order to stop the death penalty and being extradited to India for trial. RK Singh, the Indian Home Secretary indicated that the Government would still be requesting his extradition to India.

The Mumbai attackers arrived via boat on Novemeber 26, 2008, bringing with them grenades, automatic weapons and hit multiple targets including the crowded Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus railway station and the famous Taj Mahal Hotel. David Headley’s scouting and information gathering had helped to enable the operation by the 10 gunmen from the Pakistani militant group Laskhar-e-Taiba. The attack put a huge strain on relations between India and Pakistan.

“I don’t have any faith in Mr Headley when he says he’s a changed person and believes in the American way of life,” said the sentencing judge, Harry Leinenweber.

Friday, November 3, 2006

On November 13, Torontonians will be heading to the polls to vote for their ward’s councillor and for mayor. Among Toronto’s ridings is Don Valley West (Ward 25). Three candidates responded to Wikinews’ requests for an interview. This ward’s candidates include John Blair, Robertson Boyle, Tony Dickins, Cliff Jenkins (incumbent), and Peter Kapsalis.

For more information on the election, read Toronto municipal election, 2006.

Sunday, August 20, 2006

The government of Victoria has announced plans to build what it says will be Australia’s “most powerful wind farm.” Planning Minister Rob Hulls has given the go ahead to a new $380 million wind farm at Mount Gellibrand in the state’s south-west.

“I’m pleased to announce that I have approved Australia’s most powerful and Victoria’s largest wind farm to date,” Mr Hulls said. “This project is expected to create anywhere between 110 and 120 jobs during construction and up to 25 full time positions during the life of the wind farm,” he said.

The massive wind farm will be located 120 km west of Melbourne, close to the regional centre of Colac. The wind farm comprises 116 turbines of the 2 MW class – with an overall capacity of 232 MW. The wind farm will produce over 700,000 MWh annually of clean energy which is enough to supply approximately 132,000 Victorian households. German company Pro Ventum International is undertaking the project

Minister Hulls said only nine objections had been lodged against the project. Local landowner Tim Gore, who plans to have 32 turbines on his property, said he was not concerned about potential noise from the turbines. Pro Ventum International say they will commence work on an Environmental Management report the next few weeks.

Wind farm critic Tim Le Roy said there was no environmental benefit from the project at all and the Victorian government would better spend its money on geo-thermal energy.

The turbines, each 125 metres tall, will be visible from the Princes Highway between Geelong and Colac, sited at the foot of Mount Gellibrand.

In October last year, Colac Otway council’s chief executive officer, Tracey Slatter, said the proposal would benefit the shire: “…we’re looking at reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and with the demand of energy set to increase it is important that we do consider these renewable energy sources,” she said.

Sunday, May 18, 2008

John Key is the leader of the New Zealand National Party and with the New Zealand General Election this year, Wikinews’ Gabriel Pollard spoke to John Key via email.

A compilation of brief news reports for Saturday, August 8, 2009.

Friday, July 22, 2005

A small single-engine ultralight aircraft has crashed on a lawn between the Reichstag building, the seat of the German parliament, and the Bundeskanzleramt, the seat of the chancellor, in Berlin. The aircraft crashed at approximately 2000CET. Amateur footage aired by the ARD shows the plane rapidly descending before crashing on the lawn and bursting into flames. Witnesses at the scene were inconclusive about the heading of the plane. Some stated that it was targeting the Reichstag while others said that the pilot tried to steer away from it. He was killed in the crash. People near the scene attempted to fight the fire with hand-held extinguishers, however the aircraft was mostly destroyed by the time the emergency services arrived.

The German authorities have ruled out terrorism. Police are saying that the pilot’s wife has been missing since Monday and they had suspected that he might have something to do with the disappearance. It is possible that he might have committed suicide to avoid prosecution.

Wednesday, November 30, 2016

On Monday local time, a chartered flight carrying 72 passengers and nine crew members crashed on the outskirts of the city of Medellín, Colombia. The Colombian police has indicated only five people on board survived the crash.

The British Aerospace 146 was flying from Brazil to Colombia via Bolivia. The plane reported facing electrical problems near La Ceja and La Unión before crashing at roughly 10:15pm local time (0315 Tuesday UTC). The crash site had bad weather, and heavy fog prevented rescue helicopters from landing.

According to initial reports, six passengers were rescued but later one of them died in hospital.

The flight was carrying Brazilian Série A football team Chapecoense’s delegations. Chapecoense was scheduled to play Colombian club Atlético Nacional today in the Copa Sudamericana final; Copa Sudamericana is South America’s second-tier club competition, the winner of which is promoted to the first-tier competition of Copa Libertadores in the next season.

The Chapecó based club were promoted to the first division Série A in 2014. They are currently ninth in the league table and the final league match of the season was scheduled to be played on Sunday against Atlético Mineiro. Reaching the final of Copa Sudamericana was the best outcome in the club’s history.

By varying reports either 21 or 22 Brazilian football journalists where also on the flight. The five survivors include at least two football players, who have been identified as Alan Ruschel and Jakson Follmann.

South America’s governing body of football CONMEBOL has suspended the upcoming fixture. Atlético Nacional were scheduled to play the second leg of the final on December 7.

Brazilian president Michel Temer tweeted, “I express my solidarity at this sad time when dozens of Brazilian families have been affected by tragedy.”^{((pt))Portuguese language: Nesta hora triste que a tragédia se abate sobre dezenas de famílias brasileiras, expresso minha solidariedade.} Temer has also called three-day mourning in Brazil.

Atlético Nacional requested CONMEBOL award the Copa Sudamericana to Chapecoense. Several Brazilian clubs said they would loan players to Chapecoense for the upcoming season for free. They also requested Chapecoense be granted three seasons’ immunity from relegation to a lower division.

Thursday, July 23, 2009

Sophie Lavers, a 24-year-old woman from Canberra, has been crowned Miss World Australia in Sydney. She defeated nineteen other finalists to take the prize and will represent Australia at the Miss World event in South Africa.

The entrants were judged based on several categories including best talent, healthy body image, sports and fitness and beauty with a purpose. An aspiring actress, she is completing an acting course and hopes to build a career in film and television. She is also a qualified fitness instructor and has worked as a Kings Cross waitress.

She has been described in the media as having an “amazing figure” and it has been rumoured that she has used this for modelling work. However, Lavers has said that her body has only been modelled for a good cause: “Some do think that, but I have only ever modelled for charity.”

She also doubts much will change for her, at least in the near future. “I’ll still get up and probably have peanut butter on toast for breakfast but after that I’m not sure what’s happening. I guess I won’t be going to work tomorrow.”

She explained that all the girls who entered were dedicated to making a difference. “I just think it’s like having little angels out there through the country helping in all different areas whether it’s with children, or blind people, or the homeless.” Lavers also complained that non-stop smiling for the event has left here mouth sore. “I’m not used to smiling for hours on end.”

Lavers is now set to head to Johannesburg for the December 12 global competition. “I’ve got to get a month of outfits ready and get a talent and another speech and everything. Oh goodness.”