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Friday, August 7, 2015

On Wednesday, Catalonia-based football club FC Barcelona defeated Rome-based Italian Serie A football club A.S. Roma 3–0 in the 2015 Joan Gamper Trophy played in Camp Nou stadium, Barcelona.

Barcelona had stronger possession of the ball in front of Roma. The match saw only five yellow cards, two for Barcelona players and three for AS Roma players. A total of twenty fouls were committed in the match. Brazilian Neymar scored the first goal of the match in the 26^th minute, assisted by Jérémy Mathieu. Messi doubled the lead by scoring in the bottom right corner in the 41^st minute, assisted by Neymar. The first half ended in 2–0 with four bookings.

Ivan Rakiti? scored the last goal of the match in the 66^th minute. The Croat scored a right-footed 30-yard screamer in the top corner, assisted by Sergio Busquets. After the match, Rakitic said: “The aim is to keep on the same lines as we were at the end of last season […] I feel strong and the team is working well. This was only a friendly but we still played to win as in any match.”

Barcelona’s new signings Aleix Vidal and Adra Turan could not play the match due to a transfer ban.

Barça is to face Athletic Bilbao on August 23 in 2015/16 La Liga.

In the 34^th minute, Marc Bartra’s pass to Messi was called offside. Moments later, Messi and Roma’s Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa confronted each other, culminating with Messi headbutting Yanga-Mbiwa and grabbing him by the throat. Messi did not receive a red card, although both players were booked. The referee came to stop the dispute.

Tuesday, January 30, 2007

Scientists have uncovered the largest Neolithic settlement in the United Kingdom at the Durrington Walls and believe that the village was inhabited by the people who built the Stonehenge monument.

Scientists say that the village was built around 2,600 B.C., roughly when Stonehenge was believed to have been constructed, and housed over 100 people.

Inside the areas which would have been the interior of houses at the time, scientists also found outlines of what they think were beds and cupboards or dressers. Pieces of pottery and “filthy” rubbish around the site. Animal bones, arrowheads, stone tools and other relics were also discovered.

“We’ve never seen such quantities of pottery and animal bone and flint. In what were houses, we have excavated the outlines on the floors of box beds and wooden dressers or cupboards,” said Sheffield University archaeologist Mike Parker Pearson.

So far, the dig has revealed at least 8 houses roughly 14-16 feet square, but scientists say that they think there may have been at least 25 altogether.

The site was likely to have been occupied only seasonally rather than year-round and evidence suggests that a lot of “partying” went on at the location.

“The animal bones are being thrown away half-eaten. It’s what we call a feasting assemblage. This is where they went to party – you could say it was the first free festival. The rubbish isn’t your average domestic debris. There’s a lack of craft-working equipment for cleaning animal hides and no evidence for crop-processing,” added Pearson.

The Durrington Walls are approximately 2 miles from the Stonehenge site.

Monday, November 26, 2007

In the 18 months since Andrea Muizelaar was crowned winner of the reality TV series Canada’s Next Top Model, her life has been a complete whirlwind. From working in a dollar store in her hometown of Whitby, Ontario, to modeling haute couture in Toronto, she had reached her dream of becoming a true Top Model.

But at what cost? Unknown to casual television viewers, Muizelaar had been enveloped in the eating disorder anorexia nervosa, which inevitably became too much for her to bear. She gave up modeling and moved back to Whitby, where she sought treatment for her disorder, re-entered college, and now works at a bank. Where is she now? Happy and healthy, she says.

Recently Andrea Muizelaar sat down with Wikinews reporter Mike Halterman in a candid interview that stretched to nearly two hours, as she told all about her hopes and aspirations, her battle with anorexia, and just what really happened on Canada’s Next Top Model.

Sunday, March 30, 2008

Zimbabwe’s main opposition party, the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), released premature election results on Sunday, which claim a large victory for their presidential candidate Morgan Tsvangirai against incumbent Robert Mugabe.

MDC leaders said the unofficial tally, based on one-third of the election returns, shows Tsvangirai with 67% of the vote. The results were posted on the doors of polling stations, and then sent to party officials by text messaging. MDC Secretary General Tendai Biti said, “Barring a miracle, Mugabe can’t win.”

The official results are expected to be released Monday, but MDC officials called for them to be released sooner, fearing the government would use the delay to rig the voting. There were unconfirmed reports that military authorities were pressuring the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission to declare Mugabe the winner.

Biti called the delay a “constitutional threat” to the election’s outcome. “We are very much concerned by the lack of results from [the Electoral Commission] and we suspect that the regime is at loss as to how to respond to the results which are showing that MDC is winning in most parts of the country,” said Biti.

George Chiweshe, chairman of the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission, said the commission would not be pressured into releasing the official count early. “We are dealing with a matter with national dimensions,” Chiweshe said. “Our mandate is clearly laid down in terms of the Constitution and we have tried — actually, have followed — that.”

Critics of the government had long predicted that the election would be marred by fraud. Biti accused the ruling Zanu-PF party of chasing away his party’s agents from polling stations. In addition, Amnesty International and other human-rights groups have accused the government of harassing the opposition and threatening to cut off food supplies to those who didn’t vote for Mugabe’s party.

Earlier, Mugabe spokesman George Charamba warned the MDC that declaring a premature victory for Tsvangirai would be tantamount to a coup d’état, “and we all know how coups are handled,” he said.

There are concerns that violence may erupt on Monday if both parties claim victory. The United States embassy released a statement warning American citizens in the country of a “volatile situation” and a “possibility of violence across Zimbabwe”.

In Harare, the capital of Zimbabwe, opposition supporters took to the streets in celebration of the MDC’s announcement. One voter remarked, “The old man is gone and our suffering has ended. Let’s try another leader, Morgan Tsvangirai.” But in the suburbs of Harare, celebration was stifled by heavily armed police, who have been deployed across Zimbabwe to stop any politically-motivated violence.

Police commissioner Augustine Chihuri said his forces would not hesitate to use “full force” against political violence. He and military commander Constantine Chiwenga have vowed not to salute Tsvangirai if he wins. However, some have questioned the effectiveness of the military, citing mass troop desertions and poor funding. “What the military says at the senior level and what happens at the ground level of the rank and file are two very different things,” says Henri Boshoff, a military analyst.

Saturday, February 12, 2005

Sutter, CA –An elementary school in northern California has been testing a radio frequency identification (RFID) tag-based identification program on its 7th and 8th grade students since January 18th, 2005. According to the ACLU, this is the first time that public school students in the United States have been required to wear devices that enable automatic identification. RFIDs have previously been used to track students in Japan.

RFID tags contain antennas to enable them to receive and respond to radio-frequency queries from an RFID transceiver, enabling identification of pupils when they are in the vicinity of the detectors.

Each student is required to wear an ID card on a lanyard around their neck. An RFID tag, manufactured by local Sutter corporation Incom, is attached to the card. The school has installed RFID detectors at the doors of seven classrooms as well as the bathrooms, though they claim that the bathroom units were not turned on, and subsequently been removed after complaints from parents.

While some parents have complained about the system, local high school teacher Tim Crabtree told the San Francisco Chronicle, “It’s baffling why so many people are bothered by the district being able to tell them where their kids are at,”

On the other side, the San Francisco Chronicle quotes the 13-year-old daughter of Michelle and Jeff Tatro as saying:”Look at this. I’m a grocery item. I’m a piece of meat. I’m an orange.” Another couple in Sutter, Michael and Dawn Cantrall, filed a complaint with the American Civil Liberties Union, or ACLU. The complaint centered on the violation of privacy and concerns about safety.

Sunday, April 19, 2009

At least twelve children have been injured after a swing ride at the Puyallup, Washington Spring Fair toppled over.

The ride is called a ‘LollySwing’, which is located in Kiddyland, where the riders sit in swings while the machine spins them around. It is owned by Funtastic Traveling Shows which has been a ride provider for the fair for over 50 years. The accident happened at around 6:30 p.m. (PDT).

Injuries are being described as mostly cuts and bruises, but one child was reported to have been in a neck brace and was taken to a local hospital. Five other children were also hospitalized.

According to one witness, “it just all of a sudden topped over.” The cause is under investigation. The ride has been at the fair for the past five years. Among the seven largest operators of fair rides in Washington, from 2001 to 2007 there were only seven reports of injuries related to mechanical failures.

Sunday, March 15, 2009

200,000 litres of oil leaked into waters off the coast of Brisbane from the Pacific Adventurer when their fuel tanks were damaged in rough seas on Wednesday. The figure is about ten times higher than the original estimate of twenty thousand litres of oil. The devastating diesel oil spill has spread along 60 kilometres (37 miles) of the Queensland coast. In addition, 31 containers with 620 tonnes of ammonium nitrate fertiliser flew overboard during the violent storm.

Questions are being asked why the Hong Kong cargo ship was out in seas with nine meter waves caused by Cyclone Hamish, a Category 5 tropical cyclone, as well as why the fertiliser containers were not properly secured. One of the overboard containers ruptured the hull of the Pacific Adventurer, causing between 30 to 100 tonnes of oil to spew from the severely damaged ship.

If the ammonium nitrate mixes with the heavy oil, an explosion could occur. None of the containers have been recovered. Some of these may float, but it is believed that they may have sunk which then may cause algal blooms.

Disaster zones have been declared at Bribie and Moreton Islands, and along the Sunshine coast.

The vessel’s owner, Swire Shipping, reported that a second leak began on Friday, when the ship began listing after docking at Hamilton for repairs. “As full soundings of the vessel’s tanks were being taken at the port to determine how much oil had leaked from the vessel, a small quantity of fuel oil escaped from the Pacific Adventurer,” it stated. The ship was brought upright, and a recovery vessel was used to suck up the oil from the water. The leak produced a 500m-long oil slick down the Brisbane River. Booms were placed around this oil spill so that a skimmer could clean up the second spill.

Swire Shipping could face clean up costs of AU$100,000 a day as well as fines up to AU$1.5million (US$977,000; £703,000) if found guilty of environmental breaches or negligence.

Sunshine Coast beaches are slowly starting to be reopened. The beach of Mooloolaba was still closed following reports of burning sensations from swimmers. 12 beaches remain closed; however, 13 have been reopened.

Over 300 state government and council workers are using buckets, rakes and spades in the clean up effort. Sunshine Coast Mayor Bob Abbott says the majority will be gone by Sunday afternoon. The full environmental impact on wildlife is not yet known. One turtle and seven pelicans have been found covered in oil.

There are concerns that the drinking water of Moreton Island is at risk, as the island uses water from the underground water table near the oil spill site.

“Every bucketload of contaminated sand has to be removed from the island by barge, and each bucketload from a front-end loader weighs about one tonne. It’s just an impossible task,” said Mr Trevor Hassard of the Tangalooma Dolphin Education Centre.

The commercial fishing industry has suffered from the incident. Trawlers won’t resume operations until Sunday evening, and any catches will be tested for human consumption.

Tuesday, May 14, 2013

Australian Treasurer Wayne Swan has today handed down his last budget before the 2013 Federal election. He announced two financial years of deficits before the budget returned to surplus in 2016/2017. The deficit for 2013/2014 is to be A$18 billion.

“This year, we’ve faced the second largest revenue write down since the Great Depression,” he said. There is to be a A$60 billion write down over four years. “Because of our deep commitment to jobs and growth, we have taken the responsible course to delay the return to surplus, and due to a savage hit to tax receipts, there will be a deficit of $18 billion in 2013/14”.

Infrastructure spending includes A$12.9 million to connect more local governments to the national broadband network, A$40 on other local government infrastructure, investment in Brisbane’s cross river rail and Melbourne’s Metro rail system.

People earning the Newstart Allowance can now earn more from paid employment before there payments from the government are cut. Mr Swan announced the so called “Baby Bonus” was to be merged into the Family Tax Benefit Part A.

“Family Payment system reshuffle leaves poorest worse off!” Australian Greens leader Christine Milne tweeted.