Thursday, May 13, 2010 Wikinews reporter Iain Macdonald has performed an interview with Dr Isabella Margara, a London-based member of the Communist Party of Greece (KKE). In the interview Margara sets out the communist response to current events in Greece as well as discussing the viability of a communist economy for the nation. She also hit back at Petros Tzomakas, a member of another Greek far-left party which criticised KKE in a previous interview. The interview comes amid tensions in cash-strapped Greece, where the government is introducing controversial austerity measures…
Cold as ice: Wikinews interviews Marymegan Daly on unusual new sea anemone
Tuesday, January 21, 2014 In late 2010 a geological expedition to Antarctica drilled through the Ross Ice Shelf so they could send an ROV under it. What they found was unexpected: Sea anemones. In their thousands they were doing what no other species of sea anemone is known to do — they were living in the ice itself. Discovered by the ANDRILL [Antarctic Drilling] project, the team was so unprepared for biological discoveries they did not have suitable preservatives and the only chemicals available obliterated the creature’s DNA. Nonetheless Marymegan…
Doctor robbed, car-jacked and locked in boot while car set alight
Monday, March 19, 2007 A 34 year old obstetrician from Forestville on Sydney’s Northern Beaches has escaped after he was robbed, car-jacked and locked in the boot (trunk) of his BMW, which was set alight. Police say the doctor was locked in the boot while his car was set alight, but was allowed to escape before flames engulfed the vehicle. The Doctor was believed to have been heading to The Mater Hospital in North Sydney when he was waiting at the intersection of West and Falcon Streets in Chatswood around…
Smoke from massive warehouse fire in Buffalo, New York USA can be seen 40 miles away
Monday, May 14, 2007 Buffalo, New York —A massive warehouse complex of at least 5 buildings caught on fire in Buffalo, New York on 111 Tonawanda Street, sending a plume of thick, jet black colored smoke into the air that could be seen as far away as 40 miles. As of 6:40 a.m., the fire was under control, and firefighters were attempting to stop it from spreading, but could not get to the center of the fire because of severe amounts of debris. Later in the morning, the fire was…
Australian swim team pulled from Rio training pool when water turns ‘soupy’
Saturday, August 6, 2016 Concerns about water quality at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games have expanded to include the inside training pool: top Australian swimming coach Michael Bohl moved his Olympic athletes from the main training pool on Thursday citing fear of infection. The team had a pre-booked session in the training pool where they would have practiced uninterrupted. However, during the session the water in the pool turned, as Bohl described, “cloudy” and “soupy looking”. Concerned about his athletes’ health, he moved them from the training pool…
Qantas says A380 aircraft are safe to fly after ‘serious’ incident
Saturday, November 27, 2010 Australian airline Qantas has returned the first of its fleet of Airbus A380s to service, after all six of the “superjumbo” aircraft were grounded three weeks ago following one aircraft’s engine sustaining extensive midair damage; it landed safely in Singapore without injury. The airline stated that all of the aircraft have undergone extensive safety inspections and they are satisfied they are safe. [It was] certainly the most serious incident that the A380 has experienced since it entered operations. Alan Joyce, CEO of Qantas, said: “It’s great…
WSJ: Diller close to $2 billion deal for Ask Jeeves
Monday, March 21, 2005 Barry Diller’s InterActiveCorp (IAC) is near a US$2 billion deal to buy search engine Ask Jeeves, according to a report in Monday’s Wall Street Journal. The corporate boards from both companies were in talks all weekend negotiating what appears to be an all-stock deal. If approved, the price tag would be a substantial premium over Ask Jeeves valuation of $1.4 billion as of Friday’s stock market close. The acquisition of Oakland, California-based Ask Jeeves by IAC would mean they own a known brand name and get…
Podolski plays his last international match; scores the winner
Friday, March 24, 2017 On Wednesday, Poland-born German football player Lukas Podolski played his last international game, a friendly match, against England at Signal Iduna Park in Dortmund. 31-year-old Podolski, who announced retirement in August, scored the only goal of the match. Before the match started, Podolski received a bouquet from Deutscher Fußball-Bund (DFB — German Football Association) president Reinhard Grindel. Podolski netted his 49th international goal in the 69th minute — a 25-yard screamer from Toni Kroos’ assist. In this match, Timo Werner became the 87th player to debut…
No people or animals hurt in rural Australian fire
Saturday, January 30, 2010 According to local police chief Craig Van Breugel there were no injuries or loss of life to animals or local residents in the recent fire in the rural Australian town of Toongabbie. “There was no injury to persons or animals. That is all I have for you,” Detective Acting Sergent Van Breugel said in response to queries from Wikinews. The fire began about 2:20 pm local time (UTC+11) between Humphrey and Eagle Hawk roads, north of the township proper. The local Country Fire Authority brigade managed…
International Tennis Federation bans Sharapova for two years after positive drug test
Friday, June 10, 2016 On Wednesday, the International Tennis Federation banned 29-year-old Russian tennis player Maria Sharapova for two years after she tested positive on January 26 for the drug meldonium. The drug was banned on January 1 this year. The tribunal found that I did not seek treatment from my doctor for the purpose of obtaining a performance enhancing substance Sharapova said she was not aware of the ban and continued to take it after January 1 under a trade name, mildronate. Mildronate or meldonium is a heart disease…