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Tuesday, July 4, 2006

Heavy rainfall continued in the city of Mumbai in India for the fourth consecutive day today, leading to water-logging in many areas of India’s commercial capital and leading to the disruption of road and rail traffic. Operations at the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport have been affected and many incoming flights are being diverted to either Ahmedabad or Goa. Those planes that are taking off are doing so 30-45 minutes behind schedule owing to poor visibility. Local commuter trains on the Western Line are running up to half-an-hour late while the Central and Harbour Lines have been shut down due to water-logging.

Vehicular traffic has been hit hard as several arterial roads in the city have been immersed in waist-deep water. S.V Road has been closed to commuters at this point, and cars are being diverted to Linking Road. Dahisar, Goregaon, Andheri, Khar, Hind Mata and the Milan Subway have also been flooded. There are huge traffic jams in several parts of the city and Mumbai Police Commissioner A.N.Roy has asked citizens to avoid going outdoors unless absolutely necessary. Suburbs in the north of Mumbai, from Borivali to Virar, have been the worst hit. Schools and junior colleges have been asked to declare a holiday. The first year junior college admissions, which were supposed to have taken place today, have been postponed till tomorrow.

The Powai Lake has begun to overflow and the Mithi River is fast reaching its danger-mark, which is a cause of great concern for the municipal corporation, which has rushed rescue teams to low-lying areas. The Meteorological Department, which recorded 121 mm of rainfall at the Colaba Observatory and 152 mm of rain at the Santacruz Observatory, has predicted more heavy rainfall over the next 72 hours. Last July, Mumbai was hit by 944 mm of rainfall in one day, a deluge in which hundreds were killed and the entire city was in a state of disarray for a week. Meteorologists however insist the present situation is much smaller in scale than the calamity of 26/7 last year.

Wednesday, October 3, 2007

Kristen Monster is running for the Family Coalition Party in the Ontario provincial election, in the Willowdale 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.

Saturday, November 19, 2005

Today, a number of French unions and left-wing parties marched in Paris in order to support public services, which they feel are threatened by the current government. Those who demonstrated (unionists, politicians and simple employees) are opposed to the privatization of public companies such as the electrical and gas utility EDF, or to the scaling down of public services such as the national public postal service in rural areas.

Organizers claim 30,000 protested, as opposed to the 10,000 figure cited by the police. The march was peaceful and uneventful, with a light police escort to open the streets, and City of Paris sanitation vehicles coming just behind to clean the streets of leaflets and other litter. Many of the protesters were under the banners the Communist-influenced CGT union, most others under those of major confederations or parties such as the French Communist Party. A small minority were from radical groups such as the anarcho-syndicalist CNT or Les Alternatifs. A group of French scientific researchers and graduate students protested the government’s policies with respect to research funding.

Among the personalities who marched are politicians Marie-George Buffet (French Communist Party), George Sarre (MRC) and Olivier Besancenot (Revolutionary Communist League), and unionists Bernard Thibault (CGT), Annick Coupé (Solidaires) and Gérard Aschiéri (FSU).

Monday, August 29, 2016

On Friday, French capital football club Paris Saint-Getmain announced they loaned Italian goalkeeper Salvatore Sirigu to Spanish club Sevilla F.C. till the season end.

29-year-old Sirigu started his career in Italy and joined the Parisians five years ago, in 2011. After playing 60 Serie A matches from 2009 to 2011, Sirigu became the first-choice goalkeeper at PSG for four years, playing 145 matches.

In five seasons at Parc des Princes, Sirigu has won four consecutive Ligue 1 titles, three Trophée des Champions, three Coupe de la Ligue, and two Coupe de France. Sirigu has played seventeen international matches, debuting in 2010.

Last season, German goalkeeper Kevin Trapp joined PSG and became their first-choice keeper. Lacking playing time with PSG, Sirigu signed the contract with Sevilla on Friday, after passing the medical tests hours before.

Per the agreement between the clubs, PSG has not included an option for Sevilla to buy the player.

Monday, March 8, 2010

Second-alarm flames engulfed a Bronx, New York church, St Nicholas of Tolentine, just before noon on Friday, forcing its pastor and seven worshippers into the streets.

The blaze began in a confessional-converted-storage room near the vestibule of the church. “I rushed over and smoke was billowing out,” said Father Joseph Girone. Girone rushed parishioners through the church rectory door as the entrance had been blocked.

Over 100 firefighters fought the blaze, and several reported minor injuries due to ceiling collapse.

Fire Department (FDNY) officials immediately suspected arson. “The fire accelerated rapidly [and] it was a heavy fire that didn’t have the normal flow of a fire”, said FDNY Deputy Chief Kevin Scanlon. Investigators are determining whether the fire is related to a series of church burnings that have been occurring across the borough.

Parishioners are distraught by the destruction of their beloved church. Father Joseph Tran said, “The whole vestibule is damaged. The ceiling, the walls and the doors”. Isabel Gonzales, a regular attendant for 28 years, said, “I feel sorry and I want to cry because this has been my home away from home for a long time”. A church official reported that it was too early to determine construction lengths or repair costs.

Devoted worshippers promised that they would hold a “Stations of the Cross” gathering outside on Friday night.

Friday, July 7, 2017

On Wednesday, automobile company Volvo announced all of its cars to be released in 2019 onwards are to use some form of battery-powered engine, leaving conventional petrol-only vehicles altogether. The decision comes after Volvo announced in May their intent to cease production of diesel vehicles.

The chief executive of Volvo Cars, Håkan Samuelsson, said, “People increasingly demand electrified cars”. Volvo aims to release five new electric vehicle models between 2019 and 2021. While little has yet been revealed about them, the company has stated two of them are to be high-performance electric vehicles, branded as Polestars.

Other car models from 2019 may be plug-in hybrid or 48-volt “mild hybrid” systems. Audi and Mercedes-Benz are also releasing mild hybrid cars for the European market.

“This announcement marks the end of the solely combustion engine-powered car. Volvo Cars has stated that it plans to have sold a total of 1m electrified cars by 2025. When we said it we meant it. This is how we are going to do it,” Samuelsson said. Volvo is owned by Chinese automotive giant Geely, and China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology has said by 2025 they want new vehicle sales to be 20 percent “new energy vehicles”.

Friday, August 11, 2006

Milton Fabian Sanchez was killed on Wednesday evening in his house in Yumbo municipality in Valle del Cauca, Colombia, when gunmen entered the home and shot him dead.

Sanchez, 30, worked for a local radio and television station. Police could not immediately provide a motive for his killing.

Jose Leon, chief of the local police said that the investigation is following three leads: “incidents relating to his journalism, the second those relating to his family, and finally what he was doing at the time of the murder,”.

Some press organizations have ranked Colombia among the most dangerous for journalists to work in.