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Sunday, May 8, 2005 In order to save the lives of seabirds, the government of New Zealand has ordered the recall from sub-Antarctic waters of the entire fleet of New Zealand’s 35 squid fishing boats. Once at port, the boats are to take on independent observers to ensure that they follow codes of practice. Violators of the new rules face a fine of up to NZ$100,000. Fisheries Minister David Benson-Pope said that “blatant bad behaviour” on the part of the boats, flouting a voluntary code of practice set up a…

Friday, May 31, 2019 Many thousands of anime and manga fans descended on the Toronto Congress Centre for Anime North, a fan-run convention launched in 1997. Spread between four venues over three days, May 24 to 26, the event featured J-pop maid idols, voice actors, writers, and more. Wikinews attended. Despite the ample indoor spaces, the parking lot of the Centre is also a hub of activity, with cosplayers posing for photos. Attendees were sent running for cover on Saturday, as heavy rains and a severe thunderstorm warning put a…

Thursday, May 27, 2010 According to Democratic Senator Mark Begich from Alaska, the U.S. Department of the Interior has decided to halt all new Arctic exploratory oil drilling applications until 2011. The response is believed to be caused in part by the two current oil spill disasters (that of the Deepwater Horizon Incident and more recently the Alaska oil pipeline malfunction). However, Begich is not happy about the actions taken by the White House. “I am frustrated that this decision by the Obama administration to halt offshore development for a…

Friday, July 18, 2008 A fire at a Rexam Plastics factory in China has claimed the lives of three firefighters. Nine more were injured in the accident in Shanghai‘s Fengxian District. The first emergency call was received by Shanghai Public Security Bureau’s 110 Command Center at 12:20 p.m. and reported the Jinhui Town factory as alight. A total of fifty fire engines and around 300 firefighters were dispatched to the scene of the blaze at the Rexam Plastic Packaging (Shanghai) Co. Ltd. facility. Shortly after 2 p.m. a fifty-metre-long structural…

Saturday, October 14, 2006 An American inventor has patented a pair of new time formats with a footprint less than 50% of that of conventional four-digit time. The more unusual of the two new formats, called “TWELV”, dispenses with numerals altogether. In place of clock hands or digits, the new clock uses color to convey the hour and a moon image to convey the minute, which moon slowly grows throughout the course of an hour from a narrow crescent to a full-fledged circle. The second and more approachable of the…

Tuesday, July 4, 2006 Prime Minister Stephen Harper is currently at the top of charts for iTunes. The PM tops the list of the most downloaded podcasts at the on-line iTunes music store. The Harper podcasts are speeches, rather than songs. Since April 4 the speeches can be downloaded for free. While the speeches are available on the Tory party‘s website, putting them on iTunes has reverberated through cyberspace. “Refusing to speak to the media, refusing to answer the tough question, but releasing canned speeches? What country is this? China?…

Tuesday, August 15, 2006 “Jeremy”, an airplane pilot in Nelson, has put his uniform on sale for NZ$1.00 at New Zealand auction site TradeMe. The pilot had lost his job when Origin Pacific Airways fired 230 staff because of financial difficulties and is now trying to “make ends meet this week,” the pilot said. The auction has already reached 31 bids and reached $101 as of 7.30 a.m. August 15. ‘Jeremy’, the pilot, said on the auction page, that he is offering “a rare piece of Kiwi aviation history,”. “This…