News briefs:November 8, 2007
Contents 1 Deadly shooting at high school in Finland 2 Illegal drug found to be used in the manufacture of toys 3 Albanian group claims responsibility for Macedonia clashes 4 New Zealand police blocked from laying terrorism charges [edit]
Airliner hijacker found working for British Airways
Sunday, May 18, 2008 A man who hijacked a domestic flight over Afghanistan has been found to be working for British Airways. 34-year-old Nazamuddin Mohammidy was one of nine men who forced the Ariana Airlines airliner to divert to the United Kingdom’s Stansted Airport in 2000. A standoff followed for the next 70 hours with the men, who had guns and hand grenades, threatening to kill all 160 on board unless asylum was granted to them. The men ultimately gave themselves up to police and SAS. Mohammidy was jailed for 30 months but he and the other eight had their convictions overturned by the Court of Appeal, claiming the Taliban was subjecting them to “medieval and brutal tyranny” forcing them to flee. They went on to win a High Court case to prevent their deportation. It has since emerged that British Airways have employed Mohammidy to clean their offices, including…
Police track kidney doctor to Brampton, Canada
Wednesday, February 6, 2008 The hunt for alleged kidney harvester, Dr. Amit Kumar, has led investigators to Brampton, a city in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) of Ontario, Canada. Indian investigators allege that Kumar is the kingpin of a ring that removed kidneys of poor laborers in India for transplantation to the highest bidding patients, usually foreigners. After a request by Indian police via an Interpol “red notice”, Canadian police located a house in Brampton owned by Kumar, who has been dubbed “Dr. Horror” by the Indian press. The house is occupied by a woman, presumed to be his wife, and two young children. Kumar purchased the 5,600 sq ft (~510 m²) home on February 2, 2007 for C$610,000. Reportedly, additional upgrades were performed at the home, including an in-ground pool, at a cost of C$100,000. The family drives an expensive SUV. The children, two boys aged 4 and 5,…
Honda wins car, truck of the year, unveils Fit
Monday, January 9, 2006 Honda’s Civic and Ridgeline truck won the North American Car and Truck of the Year awards at the International Auto Show in Detroit. This is the first time a company has won both awards in the same year. The finalists were the Ridgeline, the Ford Explorer SUV and the Nissan Xterra. The awards are intended to recognize vehicles for their innovation, design, safety, handling, driver satisfaction, and value. Honda also unveiled its latest model the Fit, a US version of the Honda Jazz sold in nonUS markets. The Fit comes with a 109 horsepower engine, antilock brakes, six air bags, fold flat seats, full iPod connectivity, 90.1 cubic feet of passenger and cargo space, and 33 mpg for the city 38 mpg for the highway. A sport package will also include Honda’s first steering wheel mounted paddle shifters. The car will go against another two new…
BDSM as business: An interview with the owners of a dungeon
Sunday, October 21, 2007 Torture proliferates American headlines today: whether its use is defensible in certain contexts and the morality of the practice. Wikinews reporter David Shankbone was curious about torture in American popular culture. This is the first of a two part series examining the BDSM business. This interview focuses on the owners of a dungeon, what they charge, what the clients are like and how they handle their needs. When Shankbone rings the bell of “HC & Co.” he has no idea what to expect. A BDSM (Bondage Discipline Sadism Masochism) dungeon is a legal enterprise in New York City, and there are more than a few businesses that cater to a clientèle that wants an enema, a spanking, to be dressed like a baby or to wear women’s clothing. Shankbone went to find out what these businesses are like, who runs them, who works at them, and…
Images show new dimension to Saturn’s rings
Tuesday, September 22, 2009 NASA’s Cassini orbiter has sent back remarkable images from Saturn, revealing that the planet’s famous rings are far more bumpy than expected. Astronomers previously thought that the rings were almost completely flat, with changes in height of only a few metres. However analysis of the new images show ridges up to 4 kilometres tall, similar in height to the Rocky Mountains or the Alps. The images were taken around the planet’s equinox on August 11, when the Sun was directly over Saturn’s equator and caught the rings edge on. A similar equinox occurs today (September 22) on Earth. But whilst equinoxes occur twice a year on Earth, Saturn takes around 29.7 Earth years to orbit the Sun so the events are much rarer. It’s like putting on 3-D glasses and seeing the third dimension for the first time. With the light from the Sun reaching Saturn’s…
California Supreme Court defers ruling on same-sex marriage ban
Thursday, March 5, 2009 After hours of hearing arguments in the case questioning the legality of the ban on same-sex marriages in California, in the United States, the state’s Supreme Court deferred ruling on the ban, known as Proposition 8. The court could issue a ruling in the next 90 days. Opponents of the ban were fighting to have the law overturned— saying it was unconstitutional for the state to have banned same-sex marriages. Californians voted in November 2008 to ban same-sex marriages, leaving the nearly 20,000 married same-sex couples wondering if their marriages, which were legal at the time they were married, would be voided. “Prop 8 opponents would have the court choose between the inalienable right to marry and the right of the people to change the constitution as they see fit, and what I’m picking up from the oral argument in this case is this court should…
Ethiopian Music}
Click Here To Know More About: Church Sound Systems Ethiopian Music by DrEthiopia The music of Ethiopia is extremely diverse, with each of Ethiopia’s ethnic groups being associated with unique sounds. Some forms of traditional music are strongly influenced by folk music from elsewhere in the Horn of Africa, especially Somalia. However, Ethiopian religious music also has an ancient Christian element, traced to Yared, who lived during the reign of Gabra Masqal. In northeastern Ethiopia, in Wollo, a Muslim musical form called manzuma developed. Sung in Amharic, manzuma has spread to Harar and Jimma, where it is now sung in the Oromo language. In the Ethiopian Highlands, traditional secular music is played by itinerant musicians called azmaris, who are regarded with both suspicion and respect in Ethiopian society The music of the highlands uses a unique modal system called qenet, of which there are four main modes: tezeta, bati, ambassel,…
Dog Health Problems Tips To Watch For With Your Furry Friends}
Dog Health Problems – Tips To Watch For With Your Furry Friends by Greg E. Johnson The master is who takes care of the health of the dog and it’s a hard task to take, but that’s the responsibility of owning a dog. Watching out for health problems in your dog is a must in order to obtain a good healthy pet. If you do not pay close attention to the health of your friendly pet, it could have you paying lots of money and this is another reason why it’s important to remember the responsibilities of taking care of a dog. When you find that your pet has a health problem, you will need to take them to the vet. Dog health problems can vary between bodily problems and skin problems. Within this article, I am going to discuss how to avoid certain dog health problems. You will find…
Canadian House of Commons approves same-sex marriage
Tuesday, June 28, 2005 In a 158 to 133 vote of the House of Commons held Tuesday night, Canadian MPs have approved the legalization of same-sex weddings in Canada. Assuming the Senate passes Bill C-38 and the Governor General gives royal assent, Canada will become the fourth country in the world to legalize same-sex weddings after the Netherlands, Belgium, and Spain. The bill presented to the House of Commons by the Liberal government of Prime Minister Paul Martin has passed mainly because of support by the left-wing New Democratic Party of Jack Layton and the support of the separatist Bloc Québécois, which enabled it to overcome the staunch opposition of the Conservative Party. Votes in House of Commons on Bill C-38 Group For Against Absentees Total Liberal cabinet 36 0 1 37 Liberal backbench 59 32 3 95 Conservatives 3 93 2 98 Bloc Québécois 43 5 6 54 NDP…