Wednesday, December 5, 2007 On Tuesday, the United States Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs‘s Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations held a hearing titled “Credit Card Practices: Unfair Interest Rate Increases.” The hearing examined the circumstances under which credit card issuers may increase the interest rates of cardholders who are in compliance with the terms of their credit cards. It was a follow-up to a March 2007 hearing. Subcommittee Chairman Carl Levin said in his opening statement: “Today’s focus is on credit card issuers who hike the interest rates…
Read MoreJazz pianist Oscar Peterson dies at 82
Monday, December 24, 2007 Oscar Peterson, a Canadian jazz pianist who earned many honours during his decades-long career, died Sunday in Mississauga, Ontario aged 82. The Montreal-born Peterson learned to play piano in childhood and by the 1940s was actively performing in Canadian big bands such as the Johnny Holmes Orchestra. A groundbreaking performance at New York’s Carnegie Hall in 1949 brought Peterson’s career to an international level. Among many honours, he was appointed a Companion of theOrder of Canada, the nation’s highest civilian honour, in 1984. He also received…
Read MoreAmerican Airlines plane diverted to Miami after landing gear problem
Friday, February 22, 2008 An American Airlines (AA) plane made a safe emergency landing after it was diverted to Miami, Florida after the pilot reported that there was a problem with the plane’s front landing gear. The plane, an McDonnell Douglas MD-80/MD-90 flight 862, took off just before 2:00 p.m. (eastern time) from Palm Beach International Airport and was en route to Chicago, Illinois when the problem was reported just after takeoff. It circled above Miami International Airport to burn off fuel and made a safe and uneventful emergency landing.…
Read MoreBush addresses nation on economic crisis; Congress debates bailout
Thursday, September 25, 2008 United States President George W. Bush addressed the nation on the economic financial crisis from inside the White House saying the economic situation is “serious” and is “in danger” of becoming “a long and painful recession.” “We are in the midst of a serious financial crisis and the federal government is responding with decisive action,” Bush said in his televised speech. Bush called for the United States Congress to pass a US$700 billion bill intended to keep struggling companies afloat. He asked the two presidential candidates…
Read MoreRussian police say Moscow airport bomber identified
Saturday, January 29, 2011 Police in Russia say they have identified the man behind the bombing of Moscow’s Domodedovo International Airport on Monday, although they will not yet name him. Police said the man who killed 35 was a twenty-year-old suicide bomber from the North Caucasus region. An Investigative Committee statement delivered by spokesman Vladimir Markin said “We have established the identity of the terrorist suicide bomber who set off the explosive. He turned out to be a 20-year-old native from one of the North Caucasus republics,” and “Despite the…
Read MoreUS scientists create prototype of autonomous origami-inspired robot
Sunday, August 10, 2014 A research team from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Harvard University’s Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineeringhas developed a robot that assembles itself within four minutes from a flat sheet into a 3D (three-dimensional) moving structure. Unlike previous self-folding machines, the robot can function autonomously. Science published the study this Friday. Also on Friday, Science published a report of a Cornell University-led research team on applications of origami in design of programmable metamaterials. As The Guardian reported, MIT–Harvard team lead author Sam Felton, a…
Read MoreBangladesh security tightened following Pilkhana massacre and Bashundhara City fire
Friday, March 20, 2009 Following the Pilkhana massacre which occurred February 25 and 26 leaving 74 dead and the inferno at the Bashundhara City shopping mall complex March 13 leaving seven dead, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said security measures are being tightened countrywide across Bangladesh. Fire drills will be enacted at all key-point installations (KPI). Fire fighting systems will be examined by the fire brigade and the public works department (PWD) to ensure functionality. Security measures will be enhanced supplementing areas under private security such as at the Bashundhara City…
Read MoreLooted, possibly contaminated body parts transplanted into USA, Canadian patients
Monday, March 20, 2006 Fears of contaminated bone and skin grafts are being felt by unsuspecting patients following the revelation that funeral homes may have been looting corpses. Janet Evans of Marion Ohio was told by her surgeon, “The bone grafts you got might have been contaminated”. She reacted with shock, “I was flabbergasted because I didn’t even know what he was talking about. I didn’t know I got a bone graft until I got this call. I just thought they put in screws and rods.” The body of Alistair…
Read MoreNews briefs:June 9, 2010
Wikinews Audio Briefs Credits Produced By Turtlestack Recorded By Turtlestack Written By Turtlestack Listen To This Brief Problems? See our media guide. [edit]
Read MoreAllegations that New Zealand school administers corporal punishment
Thursday, August 24, 2006 South Auckland Tyndale Park Christian School have been asking parents of the pupils for permission to administer corporal punishment. The parents are informed that corporal punishment is illegal in New Zealand schools but it quotes the Bible “we ought to serve God rather than men”. Strapping children has been illegal since 1989. “When this law was changed. . . exceptions were not given based on whether a school believed it was serving ‘God rather than men’. The Education Ministry should investigate allegations that trustees and staff…
Read More