Italy win with last kick against Australia; into quarter-finals
Monday, June 26, 2006 A Francesco Totti penalty deep in added time put Italy through to the next round of the 2006 Fifa World Cup at the expense of Australia, Monday. The Australian Socceroos had the ball more, but the more experienced Azzuri defenders created an impenetrable defence, limiting the number of Australian scoring opportunities. This was despite the Italian team shrinking to ten men after Marco Materazzi was shown a controversial straight red card in the 50th minute. Australia looked to have gained an advantage when Marco Bresciano surged through the Italy defence and Materazzi slid in to trip him up. Though there was an Italy defender on Bresciano’s shoulder, Spanish referee Luis Medina Cantalejo deemed that the tackle was deliberately not aimed at the ball, and considered the foul worth more than a single yellow card. It would not be the only disputed decision in the match. Both…
Barack Obama presents rescue plan after GM declaration of bankruptcy
Monday, June 1, 2009 In a televised speech from the White House at 16:00 UTC today, President of the United States Barack Obama presented a reorganization plan following the 12:00 UTC announcement by General Motors that it had filed for bankruptcy and Chapter 11 protection from its creditors, the largest bankruptcy of a U.S. manufacturing company. Describing the problem with the company as one that had been “decades in the making,” Obama explained the rationale behind his proposed reorganization plan for General Motors. He stated that his intent was not to “perpetuat[e] the bad business decisions of the past,” and that loaning General Motors money, when debt was its problem, would have been doing exactly that. His plan, he stated, was for the United States government, in conjunction with the governments of Canada and Ontario (which he thanked for their roles alongside the government of Germany which he thanked for…
Puppies used to smuggle heroin
Thursday, February 2, 2006 Ten puppies with bags of liquid heroin surgically implanted into their bellies were having seizures in a drug bust in Medellin, Colombia, said authorities. “They utilized a wide range of smuggling, the most repulsive of which was the use of puppies,” said John P. Gilbride, head of the DEA’s New York office. “There have been cases of animal cruelty that have led to the discovery of drug labs, but not to the extent of an animal being used to carry drugs, especially a puppy,” said ASPCA spokeswoman Jo Sullivan. Investigators believe that the dogs were used to smuggle heroin into New York on commercial flights. The drugs were then to be distributed and sold along the East Coast. “Ten puppies, including Labrador retrievers, were rescued during a 2005 raid on a farm in Colombia,” said the United States Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) on Wednesday. The Agency…
Discovery lands at Kennedy Space Center
Tuesday, July 18, 2006 Space shuttle Discovery landed at Cape Canaveral at 9:14 a.m. (1314 UTC) yesterday. It returned after a thirteen day mission to the International Space Station (ISS). The mission was used to provide thousands of pounds of supplies to the ISS and brought thousands of pounds of trash and discarded equipment back to Earth. The shuttle, which was orbiting the Earth with the engine facing forward, fired the engines briefly to slow down and begin the descent, flipping its nose forward to prepare for the landing. As Discovery descended into the atmosphere, parts of the shuttle’s outer surfaces were heated to temperatures of about 3000°F (1650°C). The shuttle executed a series of computer controlled S curves to slow down to the landing speed. The shuttle neared the landing strip at an angle 7 times steeper and a speed 20 times faster than a commercial aircraft. The space…
Gambian President Yahya Jammeh concedes electoral defeat
Saturday, December 3, 2016 Gambian President Yahya Jammeh yesterday conceded defeat to now-President Elect Adama Barrow. Jammeh, 51, took power 22 years ago in a bloodless coup. He had claimed a billion-year mandate. Barrow, 51, is a property developer without political experience. According to the electoral commission yesterday, he won 263,515 votes, equating to 45.5%, while Jammeh won 36.7%, 212,099 votes. A third candidate accounted for 17.8%. Jammeh is the nation’s second president since independence in 1965. In a public broadcast he hailed “the most transparent election in the whole world,” and congratulated Barrow on “a clear victory[…] You Gambians have decided.” Born in Basse in 1965, Barrow spent several years working as a security guard in London. He returned home in 2006 and began property development, which he still does. He expressed disappointment he did not win by a larger margin. Barrow represents a coalition of parties in an…
“No H5N1 virus” found in blood tests of suspected human Bird Flu cluster
Thursday, August 3, 2006 Preliminary tests performed on samples taken from six villagers in the Kabanjahe District of Sumatra in Indonesia have tested negative for the deadly H5N1 Avian Flu virus. “Investigations by the ministry of health lab and Namru, too, on August 2 and 3 on all specimens collected from the suspected cases in Kabanjahe district came up negative,” said Indonesia’s health minister, Siti Fadilah Supari. Final test results are expected in at least seven days from the Center for Disease Control (CDC) in Atlanta, Georgia. “The World Health Organization (WHO) requires human samples to be sent to one of WHO’s six collaborative centres. So, we only need to send them to CDC Atlanta as it has worked with the U.S. NAMRU-2 lab here,” added Supari. Supari also stated that all individuals are suffering from the “common flu.”
Australia: Victorian government to trial driverless vehicles on public roads
Saturday, August 12, 2017 Yesterday, the state government of Victoria, Australia announced their decision to trial self-driving vehicles on two of the state’s major connecting motorways, the CityLink and Tullamarine Freeway. The trial is to use autonomous vehicles from automobile companies including BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Volvo, and Tesla. The two-year trial is to have three phases. The cars are to drive alongside commuters, but in public testing a driver is always to be present, as Victorian law requires drivers always keep a hand on the steering wheel. However, in occasional closures of the Burnley Tunnel, with no other drivers to endanger, the cars are to be tested with nobody in the vehicle. Lane assist, cruise control, and recognition of traffic signs are in the trial’s first phase, expected to complete before the end of the year. This includes monitoring how the driver-less cars respond to road conditions, including lane markings and…
Car bombing kills Yemen government official; ISIS claims responsibility
Monday, December 7, 2015 Yesterday, at least seven people including Aden, Yemen governor Jaafar Mohammed Saad died in a car bomb attack on their convoy in the city of Aden, according to local officials. An online claim of responsibility on behalf of militant group ISIS called Saad a “tyrant”. An online post purportedly from the group claimed they detonated the bomb as Saad’s convoy passed where the car was parked. The post shared photos purporting to show Saad’s vehicle passing the parked car, and the following explosion. People as much as 10km away reported hearing the explosion, and medics said it left victims’ bodies unrecognizable. Photos supposedly of the attack showed a burning, wrecked car. Aden’s Jumhoriya Hospital treated the victims. The online statement threatened to “chop off” the “rotten heads” of Yemen’s “infidels”, and said more attacks are coming. Iran-backed Houthi rebels, who follow Shia Islam, have taken over…
Top exorcist says schoolgirl was kidnapped for Vatican sex ring
Thursday, May 24, 2012 Gabriel Amorth, the Roman Catholic Church’s leading exorcist, has suggested missing schoolgirl Emanuela Orlandi was kidnapped for sexual abuse at orgies attended by foreign diplomats and arranged by Vatican police. Orlandi was fifteen when she vanished in 1983. Amorth, 85, who was appointed by the late Pope John Paul II, makes his remarks as Italian police try to determine if bones buried near the body of a mobster belong to Orlandi. Anonymous claims have suggested the tomb of Enrico “Renatino” De Pedis contains clues to her disappearance. Investigators are examining bones removed from his burial site in the Basilica of Sant’Apollinare. Buried in a nearby crypt, the bones are thought to be centuries old but forensic tests are ongoing. One theory is Pedis kidnapped Orlandi to press Vatican officials over a financial dispute, with his onetime lover claiming her body was disposed of in a cement…
Australian Governor-General visits Wagga Wagga
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Wednesday, February 20, 2013 Wagga Wagga, New South Wales —Sunday, Governor-General of Australia, Quentin Bryce and her husband, Michael Bryce, visited the city of Wagga Wagga to launch the Junior Teams event and present the awards to the winners at the 2013 Allen’s Coaches World Championship Gumi, meet the North Wagga Wagga residents who were affected by the March 2012 floods and meet a small group of volunteers from the NSW RFS, SES and the VRA at a community barbecue at Wagga Beach. After the Gumi presentations, Governor-General Bryce addressed the media about the Gumi, stating that “It’s so quirky and I love the way it brings this community together, this community that’s known for its fantastic spirit.” She also commented on the floods which affected the suburb of North Wagga in March 2012. Bryce stated that “A very special thing…