Wednesday, May 23, 2007 New Zealand Defence Force personnel now have a new honour; the New Zealand Distinguished Service Decoration (DSD) has been approved by the Queen Elizabeth II of New Zealand, Prime Minister Helen Clark has said. The Distinguished Service Decoration is designed to recognise distinguished military service by regular, territorial and reserve members…
Spreading floods in Pakistan worsen, at least 1600 dead
Friday, August 6, 2010 Since last reported, the flooding in Pakistan has spread and has now struck more than four million people. The UN reports it has left at least 1,600 people dead. The floods have been confirmed as the worst in eighty years. Heavy monsoon rains led to the flooding of the huge Indus…
Austrian police find dozens dead inside lorry
Thursday, August 27, 2015 Austrian police today found an estimated 20–50 decomposing corpses in an apparently abandoned lorry. Roadworkers who spotted the vehicle, which had been there since yesterday at least, alerted police. Responding officers found it full of corpses. The lorry is on the so-called “Eastern Motorway”, the A4, close to the Hungarian border….
Blunkett: Brown supported Iraq war to save job
Thursday, October 12, 2006 The Blunkett diaries, being serialised in the Guardian, claim that Gordon Brown opposed the war against Iraq. Only at the last minute did he give in, according to the diaries, when he realised that Blair would sack him otherwise. Gordon Brown, interviewed by the Guardian, said he did not think Blunkett…
Texans vote online for new license plate
Monday, February 4, 2008 For the first time in Texas’s history, the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) is conducting an online vote to help decide which license plate design the state will use beginning in early 2009. The week-long vote is being held at dot.state.tx.us. It started Monday at noon and will end on February…
Chief Justice of the United States, William H Rehnquist, dies at age 80
Saturday, September 3, 2005 United States Chief Justice William Rehnquist has died of complications from thyroid cancer. He was 80. Rehnquist died surrounded by friends and family in his Arlington, Virginia home. “President Bush and Mrs. Bush are deeply saddened by the news,” said White House counselor Dan Bartlett. “It’s a tremendous loss for our…
Five South Korean workers kidnapped from Nigerian natural gas facility
Thursday, June 8, 2006 Five South Korean workers have been kidnapped from a natural gas facility operated by Shell Petroleum Development Company in the Nigerian Delta. A group called the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta is claiming responsibility for the attack and kidnappings and says that one kidnapper and at least six…
Rapper Proof (D12) shot and killed outside Detroit nightclub
Tuesday, April 11, 2006 Rapper Proof, born Deshaun Holton, was shot and killed on April 11, 2006, at approximately 4:30 a.m. EDT (0830 UTC) at the Triple C Club on 8 Mile Road in Detroit. Proof was known for his work together with his good friend Eminem and his group D12. Another man was shot…
World AIDS Day events held around the globe
Sunday, December 2, 2007 The 20th annual World AIDS Day was December 1, 2007. The theme selected by the World AIDS Campaign is “Stop AIDS: Keep the Promise” as it will be through 2010. The day was marked by thousands of events around the world. “It is now time for bold leadership at all levels…
Lobby groups oppose plans for EU copyright extension
Tuesday, February 26, 2008 The European Commission currently has proposals on the table to extend performers’ copyright terms. Described by Professor Martin Kretschmer as the “Beatles Extension Act”, the proposed measure would extend copyright from 50 to 95 years after recording. A vast number of classical tracks are at stake; the copyright on recordings from…