Friday, November 6, 2009

A 1965 Volkswagen minibus that was stolen in 1974 has been recovered by customs agents in Los Angeles. The vintage minibus was in pristine condition, valued at $25,000, and was found during a routine inspection of a shipping container scheduled for departure to The Netherlands. A routine computer database search on its vehicle identification number flagged it as having been stolen from a vehicle upholstery shop in Spokane, Washington on July 12, 1974. A custom restoration business in Arizona was attempting to deliver it to overseas clients last month when authorities intercepted the vehicle.

The theft appeared on the National Insurance Crime Bureau database, which is used by border authorities and contains all stolen vehicle records. Most police databases remove unsolved vehicle thefts after five years.

The California Highway Patrol does not suspect the restorer of wrongdoing, according to investigating officer Mike Maleta. Possession of the vehicle apparently changed several times. Police in Spokane have not yet located the rightful owner, whose identity has not been released to the press. Maleta hopes that a trail of registration documents and interviews will uncover the thief.

The Allstate insurance company paid $2500 shortly after the theft occurred and wants to take possession of the vintage minibus. Allstate spokeswoman Megan Brunet expects that after the necessary paperwork is processed the firm will sell it at auction.

Monday, March 27, 2006

Towns and communities in north Western Australia are preparing for the sixth cyclone of the season. The Bureau of Meteorology says a cyclone warning is current for a category 3 cyclone for coastal and island areas between Cape Leveque and Bidyadanga. A cyclone watch extends south to Dampier. The cyclone is expected to move roughly parallel to the coast in the next few days and intensify further.

In Port Hedland, residents were urged to prepare for Glenda, which today was a category 1 storm off the Kimberley coastline, to the north. Dampier Port supports the offshore oil and gas industry from North West Cape to Broome and offshore, the largest oil and gas export area in Australia.

Fire and Emergency Services Authority of Western Australia (FESA) district manager Gordon Tiddums advises residents to closely monitor the cyclone’s path and take to take precautions such as cleaning up loose material and rubbish and getting emergency supplies.

Widespread heavy rain is expected to continue during the next few days in the north and east Kimberley. Recent tropical storms have dumped 560 millimetres in the Wyndham area over the past few days. Around 30 elderly people and young children have been evacuated from the Oombulgurri Aboriginal community, 80 kilometres west of Wyndham.

The weather bureau says that Cyclone Floyd continues to weaken as it heads towards the WA coast. Cyclone Floyd has been downgraded to a category one system. The bureau says gales may develop during the day as the cyclone nears the coast and the system is still causing winds of more than 100 kilometres an hour.

Category Four Cyclone Floyd caused wind gusts of up to 280km an hour did not threaten the coast or the state’s massive resources industry.

Wednesday, February 1, 2006

Comscore Media Metrix Canada has reported that Online Retailers in Canada have seen significant increase in traffic to their websites. In December 2005, 17.9 million shopped retail web sites, an increase of 13 percent over December 2004.

At the top of the list is eBay with 10.9 million visitors, an increase of 16 percent over December 2004. Amazon was next with 6.5 million, an increase of 21 percent.

Best Buy, Canadian Tire, Apple, Sears, and Walmart are among the retailers who all saw an increase in online retail sales.

Flowers and home furnishings purchases also showed big increases from a year ago.

Tuesday, June 9, 2009

An explosion has caused catastrophic damage to a ConAgra Foods plant on Jones Sausage Road in Garner, North Carolina in the United States. At least 300 people were at work in the plant at the time of the incident, 11:27 a.m. EDT (3:27 UTC) on June 9. Estimates indicate that up to 46 people were sent to area hospitals, and, as of 4:00 p.m. EDT, three people are still unaccounted for.

The plant was formerly owned by Raleigh, North Carolina based Goodmark Foods, but was purchased by ConAgra Foods seven years ago. The plant makes Slim Jim brand meat snacks, and at 50,000 square feet is one of ConAgra’s largest plants.

Eyewitnesses reported a loud explosion, and also reported the smell of ammonia. At least one of the building’s walls was blown outward, crushing a line of cars, and roof damage was visible in nearly all parts of the main building. Crews are working on containing a leak of anhydrous ammonia; it is unclear if the leak caused the explosion or was caused by the explosion. While area residents also reported smelling ammonia, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency officials on site have indicated that there is no general health risk to the local residents. Three firefighters were treated for smoke inhalation.

Injured employees were sent to several area hospitals, including WakeMed Raleigh Campus, WakeMed Cary, and Rex Hospital. Three patients are being treated at UNC Jaycees Burn Center in Chapel Hill for serious injuries. Uninjured employees were evacuated to the Garner Senior Center and several area churches donated the use of their vans to transport people home from the Senior Center.

The explosion caused several road closures in the area, including Interstate 40 Westbound and Jones Sausage Road.

Friday, November 28, 2008

Two major retail chains in the United Kingdom — general retailer Woolworths Group and furniture vendor MFI Group — have entered administration. Entertainment UK — which distributes videos and DVDs to retailers and are owned by Woolworths — have also entered administration.

“The boards of Woolworths PLC and Entertainment UK Ltd have concluded that there is no longer any prospect of those businesses being able to operate as a going concern,” said a Woolworths statement.

Woolworths, who sells household goods, music and other items, owns 815 stores nationwide, and MFI owns 111. MFI CEO Gary Favell said he had “secured the future of the MFI business” in September when he led a management buyout, but cracks rapidly appeared. Favell revealed administrator Kroll were to take control of the property division and half the stores were surrendered to the administrators. He also asked landlords to grant a three-month period of no rent for the ‘new’ MFI, which only some agreed to, leaving Kroll to seek payment for the rest.

Now the entirety of MFI is in administration, with MCR as the administrator. “Closing down sales” have been announced by MCR. Analysts predict that while in the short term consumer confidence will be damaged by the collapse, in the middle term it will help the situation as excess competition and capacity are removed. MFI employs 1,500 people.

The administrators for Woolworths and Entertainment UK are consultancy firm Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu. “In the last 24 hours we have received expressions of interest from a number of parties for both the retail and wholesale businesses,” said Deloitte partner Dan Butters. “We are working hard to ensure that any sale of the business, in whole or part, will preserve jobs.” The 25,000 Woolworths employees have their positions safe until Christmas.

Shares in Woolworths have been suspended at just over a penny each. The firm also owns 2Entertain, a DVD publishing joint venture with BBC Worldwide, and book wholesalers Bertram Books. Both are currently operating as usual, although Woolworths is seeking to sell 40% of 2Entertain to the BBC.

“The important thing is in the long run that employees in this company – where the businesses and the shops are not going to stay open in the longer term – can get other jobs quickly,” Prime Minister Gordon Brown said. “That’s why we’re going to move in immediately to give advice to employees.”

Thursday, September 13, 2007

Having worked as an aide, advisor, and Executive Assistant to municipal and provincial politicians, Sheila White is running for the Ontario New Democratic Party in the Ontario provincial election, in the Scarborough-Rouge River riding. Wikinews’ Nick Moreau interviewed her regarding her values, her experience, and her campaign.

Stay tuned for further interviews; every candidate from every party is eligible, and will be contacted. Expect interviews from Liberals, Progressive Conservatives, New Democratic Party members, Ontario Greens, as well as members from the Family Coalition, Freedom, Communist, Libertarian, and Confederation of Regions parties, as well as independents.

Sunday, February 21, 2016

A growing number of cities in the Indian state Haryana have been under curfew since Friday. At least eight people are reported dead, with government offices, property, dozens of buses, and eight railway stations burned after protests over job quotas for the Jat caste turned violent in several cities including Rohtak, Bhiwani, and Jhajjar. Reportedly some protesters broke into an armory in Rohtak, stealing arms and ammunition.

Shoot-at-sight was ordered for Rohtak, Bhiwani, Sonipat, Panipat, Jhajjar, Jind and Hisar. Shops, hotels, and restaurants were set afire by protesters. Thirteen national army columns were called, and helicopters were used to reach various places in the state. Internet was disabled in affected districts, and the state government ordered blocks of all social networking websites.

Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar held a meeting to decide if Jats should also gain the reservation rights for government jobs and colleges by classifying them under Other Backwards Castes.

Burning of stations and uprooting of tracks affected 810 scheduled trains, according to The Indian Express. Police said protesters torched Finance Minister Captain Abhimanyu’s house. The state might face water crises. Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) was to hold the Haryana Central Teacher Eligibility Test today, but cited “administrative difficulties” for suspending it.

Back in 2014, the UPA government appealed for a Jat quota which was rejected by the Supreme Court. This morning, Manohar Khattar tweeted “I appeal to all my fellow Haryanvis to maintain law & order in the State, and ensure that harmony is maintained in society.”

Last year, similar protest took place in Gujarat as Patels protested for reservation led by Hardik Patel.

Thursday, December 11, 2008

A suicide bombing in Iraq has killed at least 55 people and injured at least 120 more, according to local police.The suicide bomber struck at a restaurant located about 2 miles north of the ethnically mixed city of Kirkuk on Thursday morning. The Abdullah restaurant, where the explosion took place, is popular among Kurdish officials. The attack comes on the Muslim religious holiday Eid al-Adha, known in English as the “Festival of Sacrifice”.

At the time the restaurant was struck, it was full of families marking the final day of Eid. Five women and three children were among the dead.

Kirkuk is the scene of ongoing ethnic tensions, although the reasons for this attack in particular are currently unknown.

Salam Abdullah, 45, was one of the people in the restaurant at the time of the attack. “I held my wife and led her outside the place. As we were leaving, I saw dead bodies soaked with blood and huge destruction,” he stated, commenting on his experiences. “We waited outside the restaurant for some minutes. Then an ambulance took us to the hospital.”

Awad al-Jubouri, who was injured in the incident, condemned the bombers. “I do not know how a group like al-Qaida claiming to be Islamic plans to attack and kill people on sacred days like Eid. We were only meeting to discuss our problems with the Kurds and trying to impose peace among Muslims in Kirkuk.” Jubouri is a tribal leader, who was attending a lunch that was intended to precede a meeting discussing was to lessen tensions between local communities.

Last July, an affiliated restaurant of the same name was the site of a suicide bombing which claimed the lives of six and wounded twenty five.