Wednesday, September 15, 2010

A headless man was found near a suburban Chicago, Illinois school early Tuesday morning. The man had a pipe bomb near him. Another explosive device had decapitated the man, according to Evanston, Illinois police.

After the body was found in a field near Evanston’s Nichols Middle School by a man walking his dog, police searched a nearby apartment and a bomb squad was called to the area. The FBI is also helping with the investigation.

Residents of the area said that around 3:50 AM Central time they heard a loud explosion. Dale Wyatt, who was walking his dog, Buddah, said that his dog found the body around 5:15 AM.

Classes at Nichols were canceled Tuesday and are also, according to website, canceled for Wednesday.

Wednesday, January 11, 2006

Stardust, a NASA space capsule carrying precious comet samples from deep space, is scheduled to return to earth January 15, 2006.

Scientists hope to discover new meaning to the beginning of our solar system.

Stardust’s 2.9 billion mile round-trip mission took it halfway to Jupiter to catch particles from Comet Wild 2 two years ago. Its journey will have lasted a total of just over seven years when it lands in the Utah desert.

On Sunday, the ship will remain in space while a 100-pound (45 kg) capsule loaded with comet dust returns to earth and lands at the U.S. Air Force Utah Test and Training Range at 3:12 a.m. local time (5:12 a.m. EST or 1012 GMT). If the skies are all clear on January 15, then people from Northern California, Oregon and Nevada could get quite a show as the capsule enters Earth’s atmosphere. The show will be quick, but should prove impressive.

Comets are thought to be remnants from the process of planet formation, and scientists said the dust collected by Stardust will give them their first opportunity to study pristine samples of materials formed billions of years ago. The particles from the comet were captured using a tennis-racket-sized space probe containing ice-cube sized compartments lined with aerogel, a porous substance that is 99.9 percent air. It is the first time since 1972 that any solid extraterrestrial material has been collected and brought back to Earth, and the first time ever for comet particles.

During its descent over the desert, the capsule is scheduled to deploy two parachutes, though NASA officials said they have prepared for the possibility of a hard landing. A NASA probe called Genesis crashed to Earth in 2004 when its parachute failed to open. That craft had been on a three-year mission to collect solar wind ions, which were recovered by scientists even though the spacecraft was destroyed.

Stardust’s project manager, Tom Duxbury, said that “after the Genesis incident and the Columbia shuttle disaster, the mission’s team spent six months testing and reviewing the spacecraft’s design to make sure there were no errors”. Once the craft is recovered, it will be whisked away to the Johnson Space Center in Houston. Only after it is in a secure lab, free of potential contamination, will the probe be pried open to reveal its payload.

“We are at the end of a fantastic voyage,” Don Brownlee, the lead scientist for the mission known as Stardust, recently told reporters at a media briefing. “We will learn a phenomenal amount… from the most primitive materials in our solar system. It is a real thrilling time.” Now, near the end of its long voyage home, the probe is set to plunge back to Earth in the predawn hours on Sunday.

Friday, June 5, 2015

Australian business tycoon Alan Bond died today after complications from open heart surgery. He was 77.

Following open heart surgery to repair and replace heart valves, leading to complications, Bond was placed in an induced coma. The family released a statement outside the Perth hospital where Bond died in intensive care following his operation on Tuesday.

His son John said, “His body finally gave out after heroic efforts of everyone involved here at the intensive care unit at Fiona Stanley Hospital […] He never regained consciousness after his surgery on Tuesday.”

In the 1980s Bond was one of the richest men in Australia; in 1992 he declared bankruptcy. In 1997 he was convicted and jailed for his involvement in an AU$1.2 billion fraud case. Bond was released in 2000.

In 2008 Australian magazine Business Review Weekly estimated Bond was worth AU$265 million.

Bond leaves behind three children and eight grandchildren.

Thursday, December 8, 2005

These are some short blurbs about current events in the business world.

Monday, October 30, 2006

On November 13, Torontoians will be heading to the polls to vote for their ward’s councillor and for mayor. Among Toronto’s ridings is Etobicoke Centre (Ward 3). One candidate responded to Wikinews’ requests for an interview. This ward’s candidates include Doug Holyday (incumbent), Peter Kudryk, Lillian Lança, and Ross Vaughan.

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

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

The Guyanese shadow minister of finance Winston Murray has died at the age of 69. Murray died on Monday at Georgetown Public Hospital after collapsing on November 11. His death was announced by Ronald Austin, one of Murray’s colleagues. Murray was also the former Deputy Prime Minister of Guyana.

Murray collapsed while standing in a queue in East Bank Demerara only hours after giving a speech about royalties being taken from mining on Amerindian land. He was then driven to a local hospital by a citizen. He was later transferred to the Georgetown Public Hospital where he was placed on to a life support machine.

President Bharrat Jagdeo paid tribute to Murray. He said “I wish on behalf of the Government of Guyana, and on my own personal behalf, to express our sadness on the passing of the Honourable Winston Murray, Member of Parliament and a former Deputy Prime Minister. Mr. Murray’s passing has robbed this country and especially the National Assembly of an articulate and intelligent debater whose presentations in the House were always of an exceptionally high standard. He was an outstanding Guyanese and fine human being, resolute and firm in his convictions.”

Murray is survived by his wife Marva and their three children.

Wednesday, December 27, 2006

At least 68 different pieces of luggage has been found behind a pet store inside a garbage dumpster in Houston, Texas. The luggage came from several different international flights and authorities do not know how they got there or if the contents of the luggage have been stolen.

“We’re going to be investigating and the authorities are going to be investigating,” said spokeswoman for Continental Airlines, Mary Clark. All luggage was handed over to Continental Airlines.

The luggage is reported to have been sifted through, and most pieces have come from all over the world. The luggage is reported to have come from Bush Intercontinental Airport. Some pieces of the luggage have name tags and Clark states that “we’re trying to reach whoever we need to let them know the bags are there.”

Officers with the Houston Police Department are in charge of the investigation. The luggage was found by individuals who own the pet store.

The FBI has stated that the bags do not pose any danger.

Thursday, November 23, 2006

Today an injunction that was filed in the High Court yesterday to stop the Auckland City Council and Auckland Regional Council from telling the Government which stadium they prefer has failed. The decision is over a new stadium located on the waterfront of Auckland, New Zealand or an upgrade of the already existing, Eden Park, Auckland. The stadium is for the final of the Rugby World Cup 2011, which New Zealand is hosting.

The injunction was filed by a group of five Aucklanders who believe that the decision is being rushed. The injunction was filed in the name of a private citizen to represent a group of five Aucklanders. Rodney Hide, leader of the ACT party and Member of Parliament (MP) and MP for the Green party, Keith Locke, are helping the fight for the injunction as they believe the Aucklanders have a strong case.

Justice John Priestley said that the group did not need this injunction because they could fight the stadium decision in the future by different means. A second injunction has already been filed for two days, starting December 11.

Mayor of Auckland, Dick Hubbard, said: “The council’s advisors have informed that processes have been proper and appropriate.”

Rodney Harrison, Queens Counsel (QC), said: “The group that lodged the injunction were Auckland ratepayers, residents and concerned citizens but none of whom could be called high profile. I have no idea what those decisions might be. Exactly how the defendants (local government) react to central Government requests or pressure is a matter for them.”

ARC chairman, Mike Lee attacked his own counsel Brian Latimore for failing to follow instructions at today’s High Court injunction hearing. The instruction were “not to oppose any injunction, merely to assist the court by explaining what was going on and leave the argument to the judge and the other parties.”

Mr Lee said: “We were there as peacekeepers not combatants and it seems this guy has gone in and opened fire.”

Patrick McGuire, one of the five Aucklanders who had sought the injunction, said that Mr Hide had introduced all of them to each other after they each wrote a letter to him with their concerns. Mr McGuire said it requires “public input”.

Mr Hide said that he “had acted as a middle-man, arranging for the members of the group to meet with lawyers.” Mr Locke and Mr Hide are working together because they are concerned the legal processes of the decision over which stadium will be chosen and how the decision will be made. Mr Hide said he did not like the waterfront stadium, “I’m not a lawyer but the legal advice we have had is that the injunction has a high chance of succeeding.”

The two councils, Auckland City and Auckland Regional, have been consulting the affected groups to see which decision they should go with. The Auckland City Council is currently in a meeting discussing the stadium decision and the Regional Council will do it tomorrow.

If the waterfront stadium was chosen then the stadium will be located on Ports of Auckland land and they want a guarantee that their running of the ports will not be affected. Denis Carlisle, president of the local Maritime union, said: “The Ports of Auckland are asking for guarantees that they will not suffer any financial loss from the stadium project, and likewise the Maritime Union will be seeking compensation for our members for any loss of work. The issue was about safeguarding Port of Auckland’s role as a major working port.”

“[The Ports of Auckland] is one of the key gateways between New Zealand and the global economy.”