Saturday, October 27, 2007

Bodies of an elderly couple have been found in Barlows scrapyard in Uttoxeter, Staffordshire, United Kingdom. BBC reports the bodies were found on Friday night.

A 29-year-old man was the only person at the scrapyard when police and ambulance crews arrived and has now been arrested as a suspect.

The scene has been cordoned off by police.

“The bodies remain in situ and the scene has been cordoned off and a forensic examination has begun,” a police spokesman said at 17:30 BST, “It is expected that post-mortem examinations will be carried out (Saturday).”

Tuesday, April 5, 2011

Police in Suffolk County, New York suspect that a serial killer may be on the loose in the area, following the discovery of eight bodies on beaches near the New York City area since December 2010. The latest discovery of three corpses was made by investigators on Gilgo Beach, which is a barrier island south of Long Island about 45 miles (70 kilometres) east of New York. The corpses were located in an area of “dense brush”.

Four of the eight bodies located so far along a highway near the beach have been identified as prostitutes who had arranged meetings with clients via the internet, over services such as Craigslist; victim number five, whose body was found last week, has not yet been formally identified. Police forensics officers took a month to discover who the first four victims were, using dental records and DNA sampling.

Police are remaining cautious over the latest batch of three, saying that they have yet to officially connect this find with the previous five corpses.

According to Suffolk County’s Police Commissioner, Richard Dormer, the latest three sets of remains were found by officers on foot and via an air search as they scoured tick-infested underbrush and evergreens. The remains of the new victims were found about 500 metres apart.

During the investigations, police have also been focusing on the disappearance of a prostitute from New Jersey, Shannan Gilbert. She was last seen in the Oak Beach, New York area in May 2010, where she had arranged to meet a client. A witness in a gated community claims that a woman he suspects to be Gilbert came to the door of his house around 4.45pm on May 1 last year, begging for help. She fled when he tried to call the police.

DNA testing however, has determined that the fifth body is not Gilbert’s.

A thorough search is continuing in the area, Commissioner Dormer said, using all available methods ranging from cadaver dogs, police academy cadets and detectives through to volunteer firefighters.

Monday, October 6, 2008

Stock markets around the world have fallen dramatically today. This is following the ongoing events in the financial world, including the US Government’s $700 billion bail out of the financial sector.

As of 14:48 UTC, the primary UK index, the FTSE 100, dropped in value by 6.50% (323.65 points) to a point even further below the 5000 mark at 4656.60. The Dow Jones, was down 3.76% at 16:08 UTC, a slight increase from earlier today. The Dow Jones currently has a value of 9936.94 points, below the ten thousand mark. The Nasdaq index has fallen by 100.12 points to 1847.27, while the DAX was 6.62% lower than the start of the day as of 16:08 UTC.

The Dow Jones index was one that fared particularly poorly today, as not one of its companies increased its share price. The same is true for the CAC 40 index. The Merval index is another one that fared badly today. It dropped in value by 10.12%, while the affiliated Merval 25 index dropped by nearly as much, 10.03%. One of the worst faring indexes of the day was the Brazilian Bovespa index. It has already fallen by 14.45% today, despite the fact that it is not even half way through the trading day.

Tuesday, October 9, 2007

Gordon Kubanek is running for the Green Party of Ontario in the Ontario provincial election, in the Nepean-Carleton riding. Wikinews’ Nick Moreau interviewed him regarding his values, his experience, and his 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.

Friday, April 16, 2010

According to a United Nations survey, more people in India, the second most populous country in the world, have access to mobile phones than to a proper toilet. Over half a billion cell phones are active in India, but only 366 million people there have access to a toilet.

“It is a tragic irony to think that in India, a country now wealthy enough that roughly half of the people own phones, about half cannot afford the basic necessity and dignity of a toilet,” commented Zafar Adeel, Director of United Nations University’s Institute for Water, Environment and Health (IWEH).

India’s 545 million cell phones serve about 45 per cent of the population of more than one billion. Only 31 per cent (366 million) have access to modern hygienic amenities as of 2008. The United Nations University (UNU) recommends achieving the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) which aims to cut in half the number of people lacking safe water and proper sanitary arrangements. According to the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), there would be a deficit of one billion people from that target aimed for 2015.

“Anyone who shirks the topic as repugnant, minimises it as undignified, or considers unworthy those in need should let others take over for the sake of 1.5 million children and countless others killed each year by contaminated water and unhealthy sanitation,” Adeel added.

“Popular education about the health dangers of poor sanitation is also needed. But this simple measure could do more to save lives, especially those of young people, improve health and help pull India and other countries in similar circumstances out of poverty than any alternative investment. It can also serve as a very significant boost to the local economy,” he said. “The world can expect, however, a return of between $3 and $34 for every dollar spent on sanitation, realized through reduced poverty and health costs and higher productivity — an economic and humanitarian opportunity of historic proportions.”

The nine recommendations made by the UNU include changing the MDG target from 50 per cent by 2015 to 100 per cent coverage by 2025. Another suggested reform was to assign 0.002 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) to improving sanitation. Approximately 358 billion dollars would be required to achieve that MDG target, considering that a toilet costs 300 dollars.