Author: Admin

Friday, April 23, 2010 Minas, one of the largest states of Brazil, has stopped the sale of the Toyota Corolla over safety concerns. The move was made after nine Corolla customers reported that their cars automatically accelerated. The state public prosecutor’s office said in an online statement on Tuesday that the problem is blamed on accelerator pedals sticking underneath floor mats. Local government said the issue was “putting in danger the lives of occupants”. According to the prosecutor’s office, sales of Corollas may resume when Toyota alters the floormats in…

Monday, March 21, 2005A piece of driftwood in the shape of a crucifix is listed for sale on eBay with a starting bid price of $25,000. The seller, known as “Marzipanda,” from Scottsdale, Arizona lists its description as a “Natural Found Wood Jesus Christ Crucifix Cross Easter.” Maripanda describes the discovery of the piece as, “My very dear friend found this amazing natural driftwood while hiking a few years ago. So striking because it clearly resembles the Lord and all the details.” Expensive found art Christiana made international headlines in…

December 25, 2004 Officials in Mumbai, India, demolished over 6,000 shanties today in a push to eradicate the capital city’s slums. In total, 39,000 shanties have been flattened, displacing over 200,000 people, in the city’s biggest-ever demolition drive, which began in early December. When complete, over 2 million people are expected to be displaced. After wiping out the least desirable shanties, next in line for demolition are the illegal ‘well-off’ shanties and neighborhoods, according to the legal and bureaucratic motions that have been executed toward cleaning up Mumbai’s appearance by…

Wednesday, July 6, 2011 File:Student’s giving exam.jpg Only 44.47 percent of Romanian high school students passed last week’s 2011 baccalaureate exam, according to the results published by Romanian education authorities on Sunday. The baccalaureate exam in Romania is the secondary school educational qualification test, and passing it attests that a student has graduated high school and may be admitted to a university. This is dramatically different from 69.3 percent last year and 81.4 percent in 2009. The moment of truth has come. Success rates topping 80 percent were not possible.…

Thursday, May 13, 2010 Wikinews reporter Iain Macdonald has performed an interview with Dr Isabella Margara, a London-based member of the Communist Party of Greece (KKE). In the interview Margara sets out the communist response to current events in Greece as well as discussing the viability of a communist economy for the nation. She also hit back at Petros Tzomakas, a member of another Greek far-left party which criticised KKE in a previous interview. The interview comes amid tensions in cash-strapped Greece, where the government is introducing controversial austerity measures…

Thursday, August 10, 2006 A Chinese government official convicted of working for the Taiwanese government has been executed, and thousands of civil workers viewed the taped trial for “educational purposes” on Monday. The prisoner’s name was Tong Daning and was in his mid-50’s and held a rank just under “Assistant-Minister” before he was found guilty of espionage. According to the anonymous sources, Daning had been selling state sources for over 15 years, making a profit of about US$250,000. Daning is the highest ranking person executed in China since 1999, when…

Wednesday, August 17, 2005 Vassar Clements, age 77, a legendary fiddle player who took bluegrass music from an obscure cultural art form to a mainstream influence, and who played on over 2000 albums, passed away at his Goodlettsville, Tennessee home August 16th 2005 at 8:35 am Nashville time (CST) from lung cancer which had metastasized to his liver and brain. Mr. Clements taught himself to play the fiddle at age 7, and though he had no formal training was recognized as one of the world’s most versatile fiddle players and…

Sunday, February 27, 2005Nine people were rescued by helicopter from the roof of a blazing skyscraper in Taiwan on Saturday. The people were dining in the rooftop restaurant when a fire broke out lower in the 25 story Golden Plaza Tower. The fire is said to have started in a disco on the 18th floor at about 4pm local time. Four people died in the fire, including two employees of the tower. The body of a security officer was found on the 18th floor with another body found nearby. Two…