Tuesday, August 21, 2007 Babar Ghauri, Federal Minister for Ports and Shipping, has told reporters at a press conference that an investigative team has been formed to look into the causes of a suspicious fire two days ago at the Karachi office of the Pakistan National Shipping Corporation (PNSC). One office worker was killed and four firefighters were injured in the multi-storey blaze. Another man had to be rescued from the roof via helicopter. 31 people were in the office at the time of the fire, including eight PNSC security…
Read MoreGreenpeace tries to thwart Chesapeake Bay fishing fleet
Wednesday, August 10, 2005 Greenpeace activists scattered schools of menhaden bait fish in the Chesapeake Bay on Tuesday when fishing ships belonging to Omega Protein Corp. were about to drop their sceine nets. The Omega fleet consisted of two spotter planes and four fishing boats with eight tenders. Greenpeace arrived with four fast moving out-board motor boats, manned by thirteen activists, who attempted to drive away the fish. The Coast Guard was called in and ended the confrontation peacefully. The Houston-based Omega Protein Corporation is the largest processor and distributor…
Read MoreActing teacher and director Milton Katselas dies at age 75
Tuesday, October 28, 2008 Acting teacher and director Milton Katselas died Friday at age 75, after suffering from heart failure at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, California. He began the Beverly Hills Playhouse in 1978 and taught acting classes there to noted actors including George Clooney and Gene Hackman. Katselas is survived by a sister and two brothers. Katselas directed an off-Broadway production of Edward Albee‘s The Zoo Story, and received a Tony Award nomination for his 1969 direction of Butterflies are Free. Actress Blythe Danner won a Tony…
Read MoreWikinews Shorts: April 1, 2007
A compilation of brief news reports for Sunday, April 1, 2007. Contents 1 Nepal: Former rebels join government; elections set for June 2 Russia bans foreigners from retail sales jobs 3 Google TiSP April fools joke 4 Iranian students protest outside British embassy in Tehran Five former Maoist rebels were sworn in as ministers as part of a peace pact designed to end a decade-long insurgency that has killed more than 13,000 people in Nepal. The new government has announced assembly elections for late June, 2007. Thereafter, the new assembly is…
Read MoreAt least eight dead as building collapses during construction in China
Sunday, July 6, 2008 At least eight construction workers have died and thirteen more are injured after a building collapsed during construction in Qiuzhigou Village, a suburb of China’s Wuhan City. It is unclear how many more if any are trapped as the project’s coordinator fled and is being sought by police. The collapse occurred at 5 p.m. local time yesterday and reduced the four-story structure to a five-metre pile of rubble. The building was a private residence and was illegal as authorities had not been informed of it. Its…
Read MoreHezbollah leader alleges prior Israeli-US planning of current conflict
Saturday, July 29, 2006 Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Hezbollah, claims that the 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict is the result of an American-Israeli conspiracy to attack Lebanon and gain control over the state as a part of a “new Middle East”. In the 28-minute speech on al-Manar television July 26 Nasrallah alleges that in the project for a new Middle East the United States seeks the removal of all resistance groups that pose a threat to its procurement and control of the area’s wealth and resources. In the June 2 edition…
Read MoreEgypt struggles to recover tourism, investment
Friday, February 10, 2012 Standard & Poor’s downgraded Egypt’s currency rating for the second time in four months based on the country’s shorfall in foreign reserves and shaky political transition. It’s the latest development for a nation facing mounting economic diffuclties. Egypt’s foreign reserves fell by over 50 percent last year to about US$16 billion. Egypt has requested US$3.2 billion from the International Monetary Fund to bolster its reserves and prevent a devalation but that could take months. Experts say that Egypt’s problem of attracting foreign investment and tourists, which…
Read MoreUtah bill requiring divine design education withdrawn by Senator Chris Buttars
Monday, July 18, 2005 Utah Senator Chris Buttars has decided not to introduce a bill requiring the teaching of “divine design” in Utah schools, at least for this year. Buttars withdrew after State Board of Education director Patti Harrington assured him that Utah public school curriculum does not teach that man descended from apes. Buttars had hoped his divine design proposal would escape the controversy of creationism or intelligent design. “The only people who will be upset about this are atheists,” he stated on June 6 when he announced his…
Read More2007 ING Taipei Marathon: Charity & Kids Running comes back to Taipei
Tuesday, November 6, 2007 After a series warm-up matches at Hualien, Kaohsiung, and Taichung, the special “Charity and Kids Running” event came back to Taipei yesterday at Taipei Municipal Datung Senior High School. Before the event, John Wylie (President & CEO of ING Antai) encouraged citizens in Taiwan to add their signatures to the “Charity Ambassador of ING Taipei Marathon” on the official website of the 2007 ING Taipei Marathon and hoped this competition will renew the scale of participation again next month. Taipei City Government, the main organizer of…
Read MoreBlown for Good author discusses life inside international headquarters of Scientology
Friday, November 13, 2009 Wikinews interviewed author Marc Headley about his new book Blown for Good, and asked him about life inside the international headquarters of Scientology known as “Gold Base“, located in Gilman Hot Springs near Hemet, California. Headley joined the organization at age seven when his mother became a member, and worked at Scientology’s international management headquarters for several years before leaving in 2005.
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