Author: Admin

Police report drug haul seizure worth up to £30 million in Brownhills, England

Monday, December 2, 2013

Police in the West Midlands in England today said nearly 200 kilograms worth of drugs with value possibly as great as £30 million (about US$49 million or €36 million) has been seized from a unit in the town of Brownhills. In what an officer described as “one of the largest [seizures] in the force’s 39 year history”, West Midlands Police reported recovering six big cellophane-wrapped cardboard boxes containing cannabis, cocaine, and MDMA (“ecstasy”) in a police raid operation on the Maybrook Industrial Estate in the town on Wednesday.

The impact this seizure will have on drug dealing in the region and the UK as a whole cannot be underestimated

The seized boxes, which had been loaded onto five freight pallets, contained 120 one-kilogram bags of cannabis, 50 one-kilogram bags of MDMA, and five one-kilogram bricks of cocaine. In a press release, West Midlands Police described what happened after officers found the drugs as they were being unloaded in the operation. “When officers opened the boxes they discovered a deep layer of protective foam chips beneath which the drugs were carefully layered”, the force said. “All the drugs were wrapped in thick plastic bags taped closed with the cannabis vacuum packed to prevent its distinctive pungent aroma from drawing unwanted attention.” Police moved the drugs via forklift truck to a flatbed lorry to remove them.

Detective Sergeant Carl Russell of West Midlands Police’s Force CID said the seizure was the largest he had ever made in the 24 years he has been in West Midlands Police and one of the biggest seizures the force has made since its formation in 1974. “The impact this seizure will have on drug dealing in the region and the UK as a whole cannot be underestimated”, he said. “The drugs had almost certainly been packed to order ready for shipping within Britain but possibly even further afield. Our operation will have a national effect and we are working closely with a range of law enforcement agencies to identify those involved in this crime at whatever level.”

Expert testing on the drugs is ongoing. Estimates described as “conservative” suggest the value of the drugs amounts to £10 million (about US$16.4 million or €12 million), although they could be worth as much as £30 million, subject to purity tests, police said.

Police arrested three men at the unit on suspicion of supplying a controlled drug. The men, a 50-year-old from Brownhills, a 51-year-old from the Norton area of Stoke-on-Trent in Staffordshire, and one aged 53 from Brownhills, have been released on bail as police investigations to “hunt those responsible” continue. West Midlands Police told Wikinews no person has yet been charged in connection with the seizure. Supplying a controlled drug is an imprisonable offence in England, although length of jail sentences vary according to the class and quantity of drugs and the significance of offenders’ roles in committing the crime.

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Wikinews holds Reform Party USA presidential candidates forum

Tuesday, January 3, 2012

Three men are currently seeking the presidential nomination of the Reform Party of the United States of America: small business owner Andre Barnett, Earth Intelligence Network CEO Robert Steele, and former college football coach Robby Wells. Wikinews reached out to these candidates and asked each of them five questions about their campaigns. There were no space limits placed on the responses, and no candidate was exposed to another’s responses before making their own. The answers are posted below in unedited form for comparison of the candidates.

The Reform Party is a United States third party that was founded in 1995 by industrialist Ross Perot. Perot ran as the party’s first presidential nominee in 1996, and won over eight percent of the popular vote, the highest percentage for a third party candidate since. In 1998, professional wrestler Jesse Ventura ran on the Reform Party ticket and was elected Governor of Minnesota. The party fell in prominence during the lead-up to the 2000 presidential election when it was plagued by infighting between ideological factions. In 2000, paleoconservative Pat Buchanan won the presidential nomination, and went on to receive only 0.4 percent of the popular vote in the general election. In 2004, the party opted to endorse consumer advocate Ralph Nader, but ended the year nearly bankrupt. In 2008, Ted Weill won the party’s presidential nomination, but appeared on the ballot in only one state and won a total of 481 votes.

The party is currently trying to rebuild and has opened several new state chapters. They will attempt to appear on the ballot in more states for the 2012 presidential election. The party is expected to nominate its presidential ticket during the National Convention this summer.

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How To Save Your Flood Prone Basement

byadmin

If you have a house with a basement, it is almost inevitable that you will have to deal with flooding at some point. Basement flooding can cause costly damage to belongings, can harm your home and can even lead to the growth of potentially dangerous mold. When it comes to flood control in Chicago, early prevention is the best strategy to protect your home.

Do You Need Flood Control?

When it comes to basements, any sign of water is a bad sign. It does not take standing water or full-scale flooding to begin harming your house. If you see visible moisture or small puddles or if your basement floor has begun to discolor, it might be time to look into flood control in Chicago. Getting on top of the problem early can help keep you from much more serious issues down the road.

What Is Flood Control?

There are several different kinds of flood control systems for basements. Some people use standpipes, but these may not be entirely effective during serious flooding. Backwater valves can be more reliable, especially if paired with a good pump. A professionally installed system with a pump can give you the best chance of keeping your home dry even during flash flooding.

What Does It Prevent?

Flooding can cause long-term, expensive damage. The water can harm any property you might have stored in your basement, but did you know that it can also damage concrete? Over time, your floor may even weaken and begin to crack. This is why it is so important to react quickly to the first signs of moisture, discoloration or mold in your basement.

If you have seen signs indicating that you need flood control in Chicago, do not hesitate to contact professional installers – North Coast Sewer & Drainage. They will be able to offer advice for your situation, and to install a system that can help keep your home safe and dry when the waters rise.

Wikinews interviews Mark Bunker, producer of anti-Scientology website ‘XenuTV’

Monday, February 18, 2008

Television producer and owner of the anti-Scientology website www.xenutv.com (XenuTV), Mark Bunker, also known as Wise Beard Man, chatted online with Wikinews for nearly three hours. More than 120 people followed the interview live (many from Project Chanology), which makes this exclusive Wikinews interview our most attended IRC interview to date.

Bunker started XenuTV in 1999 and began to make videos that he provided for the Lisa McPherson Trust. Bunker has been a critic of the Church of Scientology since 1997.

In 2006, he won a Regional Emmy Award after he and KUSI-TV news reporter Lena Lewis produced a documentary news video on the issues with the United States – Mexico border with San Diego, California.

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What Is The Best Cryptocurrency To Invest During 2021?

#1. Bitcoin (BTC)

Present, past, and future – Bitcoin has become a timeless asset for cryptocurrency traders. No matter what cryptocurrency trading instrument you choose, you can bet on bitcoin. 2017 is already a bull run moment for bitcoin. There has been a consistent rise in its value.

In the past one year, its value has only seen an upward trend. Even COVID-19 led economic crisis couldn’t slow it down. The recent USD1.5 billion investment by Elon Musk’s Tesla has given it a new height.

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#2. Ethereum (ETH)

Ethereum’s consistency over the past one year makes it the second most preferred cryptocurrency to buy and sell. Citing the current ETH price (USD1825), you can easily get almost 29 times more ETH than BTC at the same deposit. Long-term or short-term – Ethereum could be a prudent thought.

Its current market capitalization is $209,443,778,508 USD and it maintains a healthy circulating supply of 114,977,310 ETH coins. What guarantees the security of the Ethereum network? Ethereum is secured via the Ethash proof-of-work algorithm, derived from the Keccak family of hash functions.

#3. Binance Coin (BNB)

Until January 2021, BNB was not even in the top 10 cryptocurrency coins. Since then, the Binance coin has witnessed an almost six-fold growth in its value. It shouldn’t surprise you considering the age of the cryptocurrency.

BNB was launched through an initial coin offering in 2017, 11 days before the Binance cryptocurrency exchange went online. Considering the current Binance coin value, i.e., $272.44 USD, which is almost 20 times lesser than that of BTC, it’s easy to conclude that owning more BNB can make you richer if the price goes up further.

#4. Cardano

In just four years of its inception (founded 2017), Cardano has become one of the favorites of cryptocurrency traders that take market capitalization to USD 37,939,127,099. Over the past one year, its value has grown exponentially from USD0.17 to USD1.20, which is almost over six folds.

What does secure Cardano? Its security is maintained through an “environmentally sustainable, verifiably secure” PoS protocol, popularly called Ouroboros. It’s delivered by a PoW consensus mechanism while using substantially less power.

#5. Tether (USDT)

Tether belongs to a new breed of cryptocurrencies called stablecoins. Its value is fixed at USD1. On the contrary to the volatility of other cryptocurrency coins like BTC, it aims to maintain a stable valuation. This attribute makes it a preferred medium of exchange like USD or any fiat currency, and a mode of storage of value, instead of being used as a medium of speculative investments.

The Wall Street Journal, based on CryptoCompare data, reports that 80% of all bitcoin trading is done in Tether, and the stablecoin is a major source of liquidity for the cryptocurrency market.

#6. Polkadot (DOT)

Polkadot’s growth after December 2020 to till date has been phenomenal. It has attained almost seven times growth. DOT is a unique proof-of-stake cryptocurrency. It was conceptualized with a mission to deliver interoperability between other blockchains. It bridges permissioned and permissionless blockchains as well as oracles to allow systems to work together under one roof. Its current value of USD36

The interoperability of varying networks is facilitated by its relay chain. It also allows for “parachains,” or parallel blockchains with their own native tokens for specific use cases.

#7. XRP (XRP)

Wise investors make the most out of the little investment they do. Hence, do not ignore XRP trading citing its low value (USD0.48) today. The usability of its underlying XRP Ledger into the mainstream banking and supply chain for real-time gross settlement has increased its adoption, and its value is likely to see new heights in the near future.

XRP runs on the RippleNet platform which is built on the top of a distributed ledger called XRP Ledger. While RippleNet is run by a company called Ripple, the XRP Ledger is open-source and is not based on blockchain, but rather the previously mentioned distributed ledger database.

#8. Uniswap (UNI)

Though Uniswap comes at #8, its resilience amid COVID-19 led economic crisis is appreciable. This is the only cryptocurrency that hasn’t seen a downward movement since its launch in September 2020. With its current value of USD 33.42, it comes as an incredible choice for all types of investors – beginners and advanced.

#9. Litecoin (LTC)

The consistent rise in the market capitalization and circulating supply of Litecoin makes it a potential investment instrument. Its current value is pegged at USD198.89. It has never disappointed its investors since 2014.

There is a fundamental difference in the underlying technology of BTC and LTC. It uses a hashing algorithm, hard cap, block transaction times, and a few other factors. Litecoin has a block time of just 2.5 minutes and extremely low transaction fees.

#10. Chainlink (LINK)

Chainlink (LINK) derives its underlying technique from a decentralized oracle network that aims to connect smart contracts with data from the real world. Sergey Nazarov along with Steve Ellis developed it, and was launched through an ICO in September 2017. It raised USD32 million, with a total supply of 1 billion LINK tokens.

Best Trading Platform 2021

Presenting a user-friendly, comprehensive, and secure trading platform, PCEX Member, has become the preferred cryptocurrency exchange toBuy BTC in Indiaor non-BTC cryptocurrencies. Every 24 hours, the trading platform witnesses a transaction volume equivalent to USD2.5 billion. High liquidity, smaller lot size, and lower transaction fees have made it a heaven for inventors – big and small. They can easily, quickly, and safely grow their funds. Benefit from our Knowledgebank that guides you to invest funds and hedge them wisely like a professional. It’s free.

US lottery jackpot tops $500 million, sets world record

Wednesday, March 28, 2012

Mega Millions, a multi-state lottery in the United States, produced no winner on Tuesday night’s drawing which had a jackpot of US$363 million, sending Friday’s drawing to an all time world record high of $500 million.

Players must match all 5 numbers and the Mega Ball in order to win the jackpot. Only 47 tickets with a $250,000 payout were sold, which matched at least five numbers, but not the Mega Ball. Over 2.5 million tickets matched only the Mega Ball for a cash prize of two dollars. The numbers drawn were 9, 19, 34, 44 & 51. The Mega Ball was 24.

The previous U.S. lottery jackpot record was $390 million which was set by Mega Millions in 2007. Two individuals won the jackpot from Georgia and New Jersey. In January 2011, the jackpot rose to $380 million the second largest ever, producing two winners, one in Idaho and the other in Washington. In 2006 Powerball reached $365 million with one winner in Nebraska.

After all taxes are paid on the prize money, Tuesday’s Mega Millions jackpot would have been worth just over $180 million. The lottery’s last jackpot winner was on January 24 when a College Park, Georgia resident won $72 million. Since then there have been eighteen drawings which produced no jackpot winner.

The next drawing occurs on Friday at 11:00pm (EDT).

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Crosswords/2005/February/19

Saturday, February 19, 2005

Feel free to use the Wikimedia sites to solve our Wikinews crossword. Please do not fill it out online as it would spoil it for other people; print it out and fill it in at your own leisure!

< Previous crossword.
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British Airways and Iberia sign merger deal

Friday, April 9, 2010

British Airways (BA) and the Spanish airline Iberia have signed a merger deal, which will create one of the largest air carrier groups in the world.

The two announced the merger yesterday, and said that the deal, which has been expected for a long time, is to be implemented by the end of 2010. The move will make a group with a market value of US$8 billion. The deal has been negotiated since July 2008.

Under the plan, both companies keep their own brands and operations, but will be owned by International Airlines Group, a new holding company. It will be listed in London, but taxed in Spain.

The airlines believe the merger will save $530 million annually. In February, BA reported a loss of $102.4 million for the final three quarters of 2009, whilst Iberia posted an operating loss of $629 million.

Meanwhile, investors in BA will receive an IAG share for every BA share they own, and stockholders in Iberia 1.0205 shares for each share in the Spanish airline; thus, BA shareholders will take 55% of IAG.

“The merged company will provide customers with a larger combined network,” commented BA chief executive Willie Walsh. “It will also have greater potential for further growth by optimising the dual hubs of London and Madrid and providing continued investment in new products and services.”

Meanwhile, Iberia chief executive Antonio Vázquez remarked: “This is an important step in creating one of the world’s leading global airlines that will be better equipped to compete with other major airlines and participate in future industry consolidation.”

Independent aviation specialist James Halstead said he believed the merger was necessary for BA to remain competitive amongst other European air carriers. “BA’s unique position at Heathrow could help it survive for a short while, but in the long run it needs more than just Heathrow. The main point of the Iberia deal is to be able to cut costs and put the combined company in the position that Air France-KLM and Lufthansa are already in,” he said, quoted by The Independent.

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Key To Success: Motivation

Motivation is not a new concept to most of us. We have felt that first burst of enthusiasm. Perhaps it was an ad or news story on TV, an article in a magazine, a chance remark, or an embarrassing moment that brought us that sudden rush of certainty that something needed to be done…could be done. We felt a strong, perhaps overwhelming desire to DO SOMETHING…something that would change what had been or create something new. Often, this is accompanied by a clear and certain knowledge of what to do, how to do, and what the result would be.

Maybe we decided to lose weight, start a business, or write a book. Still bolstered by our reaction to what we had seen, heard, or felt, were certain of success! We would start that exercise program, or open that savings account tomorrow; we would begin writing a chapter a day…tomorrow. No! Tomorrow was too far away! We knew what we wanted and how to get it and we were going to start today!Nothing could stop us!!Of course, we know what happened over the next few hours, days, or weeks.

The clear image we had of our success dimmed and blurred; perhaps disappeared all together. The daily exercise routine, became a couple of times a week, and then was dropped all together. We quit making the deposit, or the notebook we bought for writing our great novel suddenly seemed too full of blank pages to ever fill.

The dream ended. If we were lucky, that’s all that happened…it ended. For some, however, it lingered on as one more reminder of all the unfulfilled dreams and became part of our self image. It was another defeat to add to the stack.

So! What happened and how do we change it?What happened was a combination of life, human nature, and personality or character.

Life supplies us with a constant stream of information, events, and opportunities. It is difficult to keep sight of the goal and the process while maintaining the initial level of motivation which burned so brightly when it was the new kid on the block.

Human nature has defense mechanisms and weaknesses which combine to cause us to lose the fervor we felt…before we begin to become aware of the obstacles in our path. Sadly, an obstacle does not have to be real to be effective. The well-intentioned doubts of friends and family, whether real or imagined, are both equally effective in extinguishing the fires of desire.

As with many things in our lives, our personalities and characters have a great impact on our success or failure in any given situation. Whether they contribute to our success or become obstacles does not, however, define us as failures! It is also important to note that the factors of personality or character which may be in the way are NOT always set in stone and may be altered so that success becomes a more common state.

Ways to maintain motivation keep our dream clear, bright, and fresh after the first giddy rush of elation we felt when we first felt we knew “the answer”. We cannot change life in general, but we can change how we live it and alter the human nature and circumstances which would rob us of success.

1. Write it down: Whatever the goal or dream, commit it to paper. Often, the dream simply becomes harder to see, more difficult to focus on, as new events and factors evolve. Writing it down allows us to refocus and see the goal again as we saw it when it was fresh.

2. Read it: Carry the paper you wrote it on with you. Make an extra copy and put it on your bathroom mirror, another on the refrigerator door. Take it out several times daily and read it…out loud is best, but silently in the bathroom is better than nothing.

3. Revise it: Things change, we grow, we learn. Be real. Having to alter a dream or the process of achieving it is not failure. It is reality.

4. Log it: Make note of what you did to achieve your goal or what you can do tomorrow or next week. Don’t worry about how far you got, or how much you did…just that you did it.

5. Learn it: Study the subject. You don’t have to go back to school for a degree, but regularly delving into the subject will help keep you focused and perhaps give you new ideas to help you on your way.

6. Share it: If you dare, you are the judge. Letting people know what you’re doing, while being aware that they may have a negative view of it, can be motivating.

7. Read about motivation: These few words are not the only ones written on the subject. There are other ideas out there, and a sentence in another article or a book may be the key you need to go farther than you have ever gone before.

The goal is to keep the motivation level somewhere near the level it was when you started.

Edmund White on writing, incest, life and Larry Kramer

Thursday, November 8, 2007

What you are about to read is an American life as lived by renowned author Edmund White. His life has been a crossroads, the fulcrum of high-brow Classicism and low-brow Brett Easton Ellisism. It is not for the faint. He has been the toast of the literary elite in New York, London and Paris, befriending artistic luminaries such as Salman Rushdie and Sir Ian McKellen while writing about a family where he was jealous his sister was having sex with his father as he fought off his mother’s amorous pursuit.

The fact is, Edmund White exists. His life exists. To the casual reader, they may find it disquieting that someone like his father existed in 1950’s America and that White’s work is the progeny of his intimate effort to understand his own experience.

Wikinews reporter David Shankbone understood that an interview with Edmund White, who is professor of creative writing at Princeton University, who wrote the seminal biography of Jean Genet, and who no longer can keep track of how many sex partners he has encountered, meant nothing would be off limits. Nothing was. Late in the interview they were joined by his partner Michael Caroll, who discussed White’s enduring feud with influential writer and activist Larry Kramer.

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