Research In Motion financial probe becomes formal investigation
Friday, April 13, 2007 File:BlackBerry 8700c.jpgRIM BlackBerry 8700c handset On Wednesday, Canadian BlackBerry maker Research In Motion Limited (RIM), reported preliminary fourth quarter and year-end financial results. Despite record profits, up from US$18 million in the same quarter last year to $188 million for the current quarter, the news was dampened by the revelation that the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) had formalized its investigation into RIM’s accounting practices. An internal review by RIM, initiated eight months ago, revealed irregularities with how the company accounted for stock options. On March 5 of 2007, RIM co-chief executive and chairman, Jim Balsillie, resigned his position of chairman, due to the irregularities. RIM had indicated, until recently, that the SEC probe into the company’s stock option granting practices was an informal inquiry. In a press release April 11, RIM suggested that “the informal inquiry has been converted to a formal investigation.” In…
Seeds placed in Norwegian vault as agricultural ‘insurance policy’
Wednesday, February 27, 2008 File:Svalbard vault mountain cutaway.jpgArtist’s conception of the vault.Image: Global Crop Diversity Trust. File:Svalbard Global Seed Vault main entrance 1.jpgThe entrance to the vault.Image: Global Crop Diversity Trust. The Svalbard Global Seed Vault, a vault containing millions of seeds from all over the world, saw its first deposits on Tuesday. Located 800 kilometers from the North Pole on the Norwegian island of Spitsbergen, the vault has been referred to by European Commission president José Manuel Barroso as a “frozen Garden of Eden“. It is intended to preserve crop supplies and secure biological diversity in the event of a worldwide disaster. “The opening of the seed vault marks a historic turning point in safeguarding the world’s crop diversity,” said Cary Fowler, executive director of the Global Crop Diversity Trust which is in charge of collecting the seed samples. The Norwegian government, who owns the bank, built it at…
Iran’s morality police crack down on un-Islamic dress
Wednesday, April 25, 2007 The Iranian police forces have faced criticism from Ayatollah Hashemi Shahrudi, the head of the judiciary who was appointed by Grand Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, for their re-invigorated campaign to do away with un-Islamic dress. Ayatollah Shahroudi proclaimed, “Tough measures on social problems will backfire and have counter-productive effects.” Others have, of course, made it clear that un-Islamic dress can lead to moral corruption, engender innumerable vices, and hurt the Islamic character of the nation. Some believe that no one had any issue with the creation of an Islamic atmosphere. The core of the matter revolves around the implementation of the Islamic dress code; additionally, heavy-handed measures should be shunned. For instance, Mehdi Ahmadi, information head of Tehran’s police, told Al Jazeera: “Some citizens may complain about the way the law is being enforced but they all agree with the plan itself.” According to one student, “You…
Irish energy supplier Bord Gáis hikes rates for gas, electricity
Saturday, September 3, 2022 Price hikes set by Ireland’s Bord Gáis Energy yesterday mean residential customers will pay an average €48.25 extra on electricity and €43.80 on gas each month. This came after similar announcements by competitors Electric Ireland, SSE Airtricity and Prepay Power. The energy supplier will lift the rate for electricity by an average of 34% and gas by 39% effective October 2, citing an increase in wholesale energy costs that “leaves us with no choice.” Standing charges will be unaffected. This means the average customer will pay an extra €579 and €526 per year in electricity and gas, based on an average consumption of 4,200 kilowatt hours (kWh) and 11,000 kWh for electricity and gas, respectively. On the same day, Russian energy giant Gazprom said it would halt supplies of natural gas to Europe indefinitely through its Nord Stream 1 pipeline until a leak is repaired. In…
Canberrans flood Cotter Dam on open day
Wednesday, June 26, 2013 1 2 3 4 5 6 Australian Capital Territory — Thousands of Canberrans took a look at the new Cotter Dam on the Cotter River on open day on Sunday. The public was given limited access to the still-active construction site. Buses took viewers from the car park below to top of the dam wall. They ran every 15 minutes from 8:30 am to 4:00 pm. The dam is to supply fresh water to the city of Canberra. This is to provide water security for the city as droughts become more frequent due to global warming. It is a gravity dam, which holds back the waters through sheer mass. It is about 80 metres (about 260 feet) high. The dam is made from roller-compacted concrete. The concrete was laid dry and compacted with rollers. The concrete was made on site. Only the final touches use conventional…
Wikinews interviews Rocky De La Fuente, U.S. Democratic Party presidential candidate
Thursday, March 31, 2016 Businessman Rocky De La Fuente took some time to speak with Wikinews about his campaign for the U.S. Democratic Party’s 2016 presidential nomination. The 61-year-old De La Fuente resides in San Diego, California, grew up in Tijuana, and owns multiple businesses and properties throughout the world. Since getting his start in the automobile industry, De La Fuente has branched out into the banking and real estate markets. Despite not having held or sought political office previously, he has been involved in politics, serving as the first-ever Hispanic superdelegate to the 1992 Democratic National Convention. De La Fuente entered the 2016 presidential race last October largely due to his dissatisfaction with Republican front-runner Donald Trump. He argues he is a more accomplished businessman than Trump, and attacks Trump as “a clown,” “a joke,” “dangerous,” and “in the same category as Hitler.” Nevertheless, De La Fuente’s business background…
Grand National winning horse ‘Comply or Die’ dies, aged 17
Wednesday, May 11, 2016 Comply or Die, the racehorse who won the 2008 Grand National has died at the age of 17. His death was announced by his former trainer, David Pipe. He died over at the weekend in Gloucestershire, where he had been staying with jockey Timmy Murphy. He was cremated on Monday and his ashes will return to Murphy. Murphy was the jockey in the saddle when Comply or Die won the 2008 Grand National. Speaking to the Press Association, he spoke about the horse’s death. He said, “He was part of the furniture at home so it’s very sad. He gave me the greatest day of my career, obviously that can never be taken away. He paraded at Cheltenham and Aintree and was getting ready to do some dressage in the summer. I’m not actually sure how he died, to be honest, but it wasn’t nice to…
Iraqi based war video game pulled by publisher
Wednesday, April 29, 2009 The game publisher Konami stated today in a Japanese newspaper that they will not be releasing the game Six Days in Fallujah. The game is based on the Second Battle of Fallujah, a vicious battle between American and Iraqi forces. “After seeing the reaction to the video game in the United States and hearing opinions sent through phone calls and e-mail, we decided several days ago not to sell it,” Tokyo based Konami told the newspaper. “We had intended to convey the reality of the battles to players so that they could feel what it was like to be there.” The developer of the game, Atomic Games, received controversial feedback from families of dead soldiers stating the game’s concept as “exploitative and distasteful”, as paraphrased by the The Wall Street Journal. That paper also quoted a woman whose son had died in the Iraq war, who…
Documents reveal al-Qaeda wants war between U.S. and Iran, Iraq insurgency weakening
Friday, June 16, 2006 Documents found at the hideout of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi revealed al-Qaeda‘s desire to force a war between the U.S. and Iran. The document was translated by Iraqi National Security Adviser Mouwafak al-Rubaie, but the authenticity of the information could not be confirmed to be from al-Qaeda. The documents reveal that al-Zarqawi was planning to destroy the relationship between the Shi’ite Iraqis and the United States. The document also said the U.S. military was hurting the insurgency by seizure of weapons, disrupting their financial outlets, massive arrests, and training Iraqi security forces. The translated document said, “Generally speaking and despite the gloomy present situation, we find that the best solution in order to get out of this crisis is to involve the U.S. forces in waging a war against another country or any hostile groups.” Mowaffaq al-Rubaie said, “These documents have given us the edge over al-Qaeda…
12 injured after van carrying church group flips over on Buffalo, NY expressway
Monday, August 17, 2009 According to Buffalo Fire Department radio communications, at least 12 people were injured after a van carrying a church group flipped over on an expressway interchange in Buffalo, New York. Seven of the 12 people injured have been taken to a local hospital for treatment. At least two people were seriously injured. The church affiliation of the group is not yet known. The accident occurred on the on ramp to Buffalo’s Route 198 Westbound at around 6:30 p.m. (EDT). The van was traveling from Route 33 Westbound. According to the fire department, a preliminary investigation on scene shows the driver of the van may have been going too fast on the interchange’s turn, causing the van to flip over several times. At 7:00 p.m., according to New York Department of Transportation traffic cameras, police were still blocking all traffic from entering the 198 Westbound from route…