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Friday, September 14, 2007 British bank Northern Rock received emergency loans from the Bank of England yesterday, as it felt the effects of the financial crisis originating in the U.S. subprime mortgage market. Queues formed outside branches as many customers sought to withdraw their savings, and shares fell heavily. Northern Rock, based in Newcastle, is one of the UK’s largest mortgage lenders, with total assets and loans of £113 billion. Pressure has grown on the bank as other institutions have become less willing to buy mortgage debt, following the American…

Saturday, September 6, 2008 New South Wales Premier, Morris Iemma quit politics on Friday after a disagreement with the governing Australian Labor Party’s dominant “Centre Unity” faction about his proposed cabinet reshuffle. The reshuffle was prompted by the resignation of Deputy Premier John Watkins and the sackings of Treasurer Michael Costa and Health Minister Reba Meagher. The political fallout follows the botched attempt to privatise the state’s electricity industry. The right of the Labor party was presented with a list of colleagues who the Premier wanted in and out of…

Thursday, October 5, 2006 The Independent Monitoring Commission has reported that the Provisional Irish Republican Army has undergone major changes within their military structure and shows that the IRA Army Council wants to put its military campaign behind it. The Commission consists of John Alderdice, a former Alliance Party leader; Joe Brosnan, former Secretary General of the Department of Justice, Republic of Ireland; John Grieve, former Deputy Assistant Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police and former head of the Metropolitan Police Anti-Terror Branch; and Dick Kerr, former Deputy Director of Central…

Monday, December 3, 2007 At Thanksgiving dinner David Shankbone told his white middle class family that he was to interview Reverend Al Sharpton that Saturday. The announcement caused an impassioned discussion about the civil rights leader’s work, the problems facing the black community and whether Sharpton helps or hurts his cause. Opinion was divided. “He’s an opportunist.” “He only stirs things up.” “Why do I always see his face when there’s a problem?” Shankbone went to the National Action Network’s headquarters in Harlem with this Thanksgiving discussion to inform the…

Friday, October 2, 2009 Companies in the United States are shedding more jobs, pushing the country’s unemployment rate to a 26-year high of 9.8%. The US Labor Department said on Friday that employers cut 263,000 jobs in September, with companies in the service industries — including banks, restaurants and retailers — hit especially hard. This is the 21st consecutive month of job losses in the country. The United States has now lost 7.2 million jobs since the recession officially began in December 2007. The new data has sparked fears that…

Sunday, October 7, 2007 Russell Korus is running for the Green Party of Ontario in the Ontario provincial election, in the Vaughan 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.

Sunday, October 4, 2009 A new report on climate change’s impact on agriculture predicts 25 million more malnourished children around the world by 2050, compared to a scenario with no global warming. Countries in sub-Saharan Africa are particularly vulnerable. The report from the International Food Policy Research Institute projects that the the number of malnourished children will decrease by 10 million in the next 40 years. However, without global warming the report projects a decrease of 35 million. Forty percent of undernourished children will live in Africa. The report compares…

Friday, October 2, 2009 Companies in the United States are shedding more jobs, pushing the country’s unemployment rate to a 26-year high of 9.8%. The US Labor Department said on Friday that employers cut 263,000 jobs in September, with companies in the service industries — including banks, restaurants and retailers — hit especially hard. This is the 21st consecutive month of job losses in the country. The United States has now lost 7.2 million jobs since the recession officially began in December 2007. The new data has sparked fears that…