Australian health workers to close intensive care units in Victoria next week

Thursday, March 13, 2008 Members of Australia’s Health Services Union (HSU) will go on strike in Victoria next week in a dispute over stalled wage and career structure negotiations. Over 5000 physiotherapists, speech pathologists and radiation therapists will walk off the job next week, effectively closing the state’s 68 largest health services. The strike will force the closure of intensive care units and emergency departments across the state. It is feared the strike could continue into Easter. National secretary of the HSU, Kathy Jackson said admissions would be crippled, while…

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Wikinews interviews Joe Schriner, Independent U.S. presidential candidate

Saturday, April 17, 2010 Journalist, counselor, painter, and US 2012 Presidential candidate Joe Schriner of Cleveland, Ohio took some time to discuss his campaign with Wikinews in an interview. Schriner previously ran for president in 2000, 2004, and 2008, but failed to gain much traction in the races. He announced his candidacy for the 2012 race immediately following the 2008 election. Schriner refers to himself as the “Average Joe” candidate, and advocates a pro-life and pro-environmentalist platform. He has been the subject of numerous newspaper articles, and has published public…

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BT Global Services to double US revenues and cut costs

Friday, September 15, 2006 BT Global Services this week laid out its vision for the next three years: its revenues to double in the USA, Japan, India and China, and £400m of annual savings, achieved through offshoring and slashing its procurement costs. £200m of this will come from a reduction in what it spends on technology from vendors on large systems integration projects. CEO Andy Green admitted that BT had been slower than rivals such as IBM and Accenture to ramp up its offshore headcount. But he claimed that BT…

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Report: British serial killer murdered 250

Thursday, January 27, 2005 The Sixth Report of the Harold Shipman Inquiry, released today, concludes that British family doctor, Shipman, killed about 250 during his career. Shipman was arrested for the murder of Kathleen Grundy in 1998, and concerns arose around this time about the excess number of deaths among his patients. Shipman was found guilty in 2000 of 15 counts of murder and one of forgery of a will, and jailed for life. The on-going Inquiry, chaired by Dame Janet Smith DBE, began soon after to investigate his past,…

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Australian treasurer attacks opposition leader’s tax question error

Wednesday, September 19, 2007 File:AUS$20 John Flynn.jpg The ability of Australian opposition leader, Kevin Rudd to run the country’s economy has been questioned by the Government after he made an error responding to a question on Australia’s current tax system today. Speaking in Queanbeyan, New South Wales earlier today, Mr Rudd was asked if he could name the current tax rates and the thresholds at which they kick in. Mr Rudd said that he thought the top tax rate started at AUD$175,000. In fact, Australia’s top taxation rate begins at…

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NASA says Martian soil could sustain life

Thursday, June 26, 2008 The scientists behind the Mars Phoenix Lander project announced that the soil on Mars was more alkaline than expected and could sustain life. Scientists at NASA or the National Aeronautics and Space Administration claimed that they were “flabbergasted” by their discovery on the possibility that life could grow on Martian soil. “It is the type of soil you would probably have in your back yard, you know, alkaline. You might be able to grow asparagus in it really well. … It is very exciting for us,”…

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Woman killed in shark attack at Amity Point, Australia

Sunday, January 8, 2006 — Original Reporting A woman in Australia has been killed in a shark attack. The attack occurred at 5pm (Local Time) just off Amity Point, North Stradbroke Island, south-east of Brisbane. The woman, described as 21, had lost both arms up to the elbow and sustained severe wounds to her torso and legs. She was carried to shore by friends and was then flown by rescue helicopter to the Princess Alexandra Hospital in Brisbane. Surgeons were unable to save her. The woman was holidaying from Brisbane…

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Concrete supplier indicted in Boston ‘Big Dig’ scandal

Wednesday, May 10, 2006 Boston’s Central Artery and Third Harbor Tunnel Project (CA/T), unofficially known as the Big Dig, plagued by cost overruns and reports of shoddy workmanship, has been hit with yet another scandal as six employees of its primary concrete supplier have been indicted for falsifying records regarding allegedly inferior concrete supplied to the massive highway construction project. Federal prosecutors alleged in a 135 count indictment that of the 135,000 truckloads of concrete, a “web” of falsified documents were used to cover up a conspiracy where at least…

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