Switzerland is voting on same-sex partnerships and Schengen/Dublin
Sunday, June 5, 2005 Switzerland is voting today on their quarterly federal referenda over same-sex partnerships and the Schengen/Dublin treaty. Both proposals were popular initiatives made by the Swiss people. The first question is whether same-sex partnership should be legalised throughout the country. Already the cantons of Geneva and Zürich allow same-sex partnerships, however this proposal will cover the country including the conservative north-eastern cantons of Graubünden and Appenzell. In fact Appenzell Innerrhoden only allowed women the vote at cantonal level in 1990 by the Federal Tribunal of Switzerland. Essentially, this proposal will allow gays and lesbians the right to have joint taxes, pensions and inheritance. To qualify, partners must both live together and formally commit themselves six months in advance to running a household and supporting and aiding one another. The second proposal will make Switzerland be a member of the Schengen treaty and participate in the “open-borders” scheme.…
WHO’s reaction to H1N1 influenced by drug companies, reports claim
Sunday, June 6, 2010 Reports suggest the World Health Organisation’s declaring a swine flu pandemic was an error driven by drug companies, and lead to unjustified fear. A year after the swine flu pandemic was declared, stocks are left unused and governments try to abandon contracts, pharmaceutical companies have profited at least £4.6billion from the sale of vaccines alone. Reports by the British Medical Journal (BMJ), the Bureau of Investigative Journalism (BIJ) and the Council of Europe claim that The World Health Organisation reaction to H1N1 was influenced by pharmaceutical companies and that key scientists behind advice had financial ties with firms Roche and GlaxoSmithKline (GSK). These conflicts of interest have never been publicly disclosed by WHO, an apparent violation of its own rules. The World Health Organisation issued H1N1 guidelines in 2004, recommending countries to stockpile millions of doses of antiviral medication. The advice prompted many countries around the…
Sweden’s Crown Princess marries long-time boyfriend
Monday, June 21, 2010 Sweden’s first royal wedding since 1976 took place Saturday when Crown Princess Victoria, 32, married her long-time boyfriend and former personal trainer, Daniel Westling, 36. The ceremony took place at Stockholm Cathedral. Over 1,200 guests, including many rulers, politicians, royals and other dignitaries from across the world, attended the wedding, which cost an estimated 20 million Swedish kronor. Victoria wore a wedding dress with five-metre long train designed by Pär Engsheden. She wore the same crown that her mother, Queen Silvia, wore on her wedding day 34 years previously, also on June 19. Victoria’s father, King Carl XVI Gustaf, walked Victoria down the aisle, which was deemed untraditional by many. In Sweden, the bride and groom usually walk down the aisle together, emphasising the country’s views on equality. Victoria met with Daniel half-way to the altar, where they exchanged brief kisses, and, to the sounds of…
Nadal beats Raonic to reach Australian Open semis
Wednesday, January 25, 2017 Today, Spanish tennis player Rafael Nadal defeated Canadian player and current world number 3 Milos Raonic in three straight sets in the Australian Open’s quarter-finals. Defeating Raonic 6–4, 7–6, 6–4, Nadal is to face fifteenth seeded Bulgarian player Grigor Dimitrov in his fifth semi-finals appearance at the Rod Laver Arena. In the first set, Raonic served six aces, but committed ten unforced errors. Nadal won the first set 6–4 in 43 minutes. The second set lasted for 81 minutes, going to 6–6. Nadal bettered the two, in the tie breaker. Nadal registered only four aces in the entire match as compared to Raonic’s fourteen but won two break points. Nadal won the third set winning it 6–4 to register his 50th win in the Australian Open in two hours and 44 minutes. Nadal’s head to head record against the Canadian is 7–2. He recently lost against…
Adele and David Bowie each win five Grammys
Wednesday, February 15, 2017 On Sunday, British singer Adele won five Grammy Awards at the 59th Grammy Awards event in Los Angeles. David Bowie posthumously won five Grammys. Adele won Song of the Year, Best Pop Solo and Record of the Year for her song Hello, and Album of the Year for her album 25, becoming the first singer to win the Song of the Year, Record of the Year, and Album of the Year twice. David Bowie was nominated in five categories — three for his album Blackstar in Best Alternative Music Album, Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical, and Best Rock Performance; and two for his song Blackstar, Best Rock Song and Best Rock Performance. Days after releasing his 25th album, Blackstar, Bowie passed away in January 2016, due to cancer. Before Blackstar, Bowie won a Grammy for his music video Jazzin’ for Blue Jean, and Lifetime Achievement Award in…
Texas ‘roadeo’ lets school bus drivers show their mettle
Monday, April 23, 2012 Bus drivers from schools all over East Texas, US showed off their skills on Saturday at a competitive driving “roadeo” held in Tyler, Texas. The annual School Bus Roadeo was held in the parking lot at Robert E. Lee High School. Drivers were required to adequately navigate a series of obstacles during the event. A driver with Tyler Independent School District told Wikinews that the event is more complicated than in previous years. She also indicated that she and her colleagues could eventually progress from this event to compete at the state competition, held later. During the event, drivers assigned to transporting special needs students must properly belt in a wheelchair within 90 seconds, as a part of the competition’s requirements. During the event, drivers were assessed on various techniques as they negotiated an array of obstacles along the course, simulating various roadway conditions. Officials even…
FEMA employees pose as fake reporters during press conference
Correction — September 10, 2013 The headline should not contain the word fake: the employees posed as reporters; they didn’t pose as fake reporters, on the contrary they were fake reporters posing as real reporters. We aopologize for the error. Friday, October 26, 2007 The United States Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is under fire after the agency held a fake press conference with fake news reporters in regards to individuals affected by the California wildfires and the assistance they could receive. The agency called a press conference on Tuesday, giving the press only 15 minutes to show up. When many did not, FEMA brought in agency officials to pose as fake reporters and ask questions. The option for reporters to call into the conference was also available, but the ones who did call in only got to listen to the press conference, and could not ask questions. No reporters were…
Biologist Nick Bos tells Wikinews about ‘self-medicating’ ants
Tuesday, September 1, 2015 Nick Bos, of the University of Helsinki, studies “the amazing adaptations social insects have evolved in order to fight the extreme parasite pressure they experience”. In a recently-accepted Evolution paper Bos and colleagues describe ants appearing to self-medicate. I have no doubt that as time goes on, there will be more and more cases documented The team used Formica fusca, an ant species that can form thousand-strong colonies. This common black ant eats other insects, and also aphid honeydew. It often nests in tree stumps or under rocks and foraging workers can sometimes be spotted climbing trees. Some ants were infected with Beauveria bassiana, a fungus. Infected ants chose food laced with toxic hydrogen peroxide, whereas healthy ants avoided it. Hydrogen peroxide reduced infected ant fatalities by 15%, and the ants varied their intake depending upon how high the peroxide concentration was. In the wild, Formica…
Calls for corporate tax reform in Australia goes unheeded
Friday, May 12, 2006 Peter Costello’s budget announcement has led to rejoicing for small businesses, but the lack of joy for those pushing for radical corporate taxation reform has led to many businesses asking “what about us?” Personal taxation and small business have been the big winners after this year’s federal budget. Although dampened by the twin economic threats of rising interest rates and petrol prices, there should be a reasonable amount of real income savings for both low and high income earners, with those receiving Medicare, or a superannuation benefit, privy to an even lower level of taxation (0% for those on super benefits). Small business also has benefited from the Howard government’s 11th annual budget, with them receiving a higher level of reducing depreciation, leading to a higher level of deductions in the years following the uptake of new technology or other capital. They are also privy to…
Wikinews interviews Ubuntu developer Fabrice
Saturday, October 9, 2010 The 10.10 version of Ubuntu (codename Maverick Merkaat), a free operative system is to be released in the next few days. French Wikinews contributor Savant-fou (Baptiste) has interviewed Fabrice (fabrice_sp on Ubuntu), an Ubuntu’s MOTU (Master Of The Universe), member of the development team of the operative system. Ubuntu is a computer operating system, based on Debian, which is created collaboratively by thousands of people. There are three official Ubuntu versions: Ubuntu Desktop Edition (for desktop and laptop PCs); Ubuntu Netbook Edition (for netbooks); and Ubuntu Server Edition (for use in servers).