bingger.net

Saturday, April 17, 2010

Aviation experts are warning that air traffic across western Europe may continue to be affected by an Icelandic volcano, which has been billowing clouds of ash and spreading it throughout the region.

Experts say that the Eyjafjallajökull volcano, located in Iceland, continues to have “sporadic eruptions”; dark ash clouds have been moving south and east of the area, causing mass flight cancellations all over Europe, spanning from the UK to Russia over fears that the soot may be catastrophic to planes – such as causing engines to fail in-flight or severely reducing the pilot’s visibility.

The ash clouds are drifting between six to nine thousand meters above the ground, and are moving eastwards, over northern France and Austria and towards Russia at about 40 kilometers per hour.

Already, thousands of passengers have been left stranded around the world, unable to travel to and from various points in Europe. The continent’s air-traffic control center predicted 17,000 flights to have been cancelled on Friday alone, and indicated there would be further disruption today. The cancellations are costing airlines about US$200 million daily, the International Air Transport Association reports.

A global association of air traffic control companies commented that ash clouds would probably continue to affect flights for some time. “The knock-on effect of the volcanic ash plume over northern Europe is likely to disrupt European airspace for several days,” the Civil Air Navigation Services Organization said in a statement. “Traffic will have to be reorganized and rerouted and flights preplanned, all on a dynamic and quite unpredictable basis.”

“The skies are totally empty over northern Europe,” said Eurocontrol‘s deputy head, Bryan Flynn. The agency said more than half of Europe’s average 28,000 daily flights were cancelled yesterday, twice as many as were called off on Thursday.

In a special report, Wikinews takes a look at how different countries have been affected by this event.

All of Germany’s sixteen airports with international flights have been shut down today, including the busy Frankfurt airport. A spokesman for carrier Lufthansa says all of its flights were cancelled until no sooner than 20.00 local time (18.00 UTC). He said that there were no planes from the airline in the air anywhere on the globe. “There has never been anything like this,” he said.

Icelandic airports are open, despite being in such close proximity to the billowing volcano, as the winds are blowing ash clouds away from the vicinity.

The Icelandic Met Office’s Matthew Roberts, told the BBC that the volcano hasn’t been expending as much ash, and that the eruption was slowing down.

Icelandic officials are urging local residents with respiratory problems to refrain from going outdoors, and encourages the use of protective goggles and masks to those who do go out.

Most disruption in the country has actually been to ground, not air, traffic. Local police chief Kjartan Thorkelsson commented: “We had to close roads because of the ash yesterday [Thursday], even though it was not very thick.” He added that the ash “is particularly dangerous for animals, since it can go into water and the grass they eat, [but] [i]t is not as dangerous to humans”.

Experts suggest that occasional disruptions are possible throughout the next half year, should Eyjafjallajokull continue to erupt. Another concern is that it may trigger an eruption from the larger Katla volcano nearby, which has occurred every time Eyjafjallajokull has erupted for the past few centuries.

Even countries as far away as Japan were affected by the ash clouds. A correspondent for the BBC, in Tokyo‘s Narita Airport, says that many travellers en route to Europe had to spend the night in the departure lounge because their flights were cancelled: “Airlines have handed out sleeping bags and blankets but there have been complaints there aren’t enough to go round. The longer the airports are closed the longer the backlog of passengers builds up,” he reports.

Polish authorities have suggested that they will delay the funeral of deceased president Lech Kaczynski, who died in a plane crash in Russia last week. Many world leaders planning to attend the funeral might be prevented from doing so due to the ash clouds. Poland was one of twelve to close down most or all of its airspace.

The president’s family, however, has insisted the ceremony, to be held in Krakow, proceed as planned.

The UK’s National Air Traffic Service (NATS), says that its restrictions on airspace in the country would remain in effect until no sooner than 13.00 UTC today. Travel bans for Northern Ireland and Scotland have been lifted, although NATS stressed that this does not necessarily mean flights to and from the area will actually resume.

Ryanair, meanwhile, cancelled all its northern Europe flights until 13.00 on Monday. British Airways called off all of its flights from London airports.

UK ferry operators saw a jump in bookings as stranded air travellers sought other ways to cross the English Channel.

A spokesman with the British Civil Aviation Authority commented that, [i]n terms of closure of airspace, this is worse than after 9/11. The disruption is probably larger than anything we’ve seen.”

A correspondent for Al Jazeera reporting from London Heathrow airport described stranded travellers’ attitude as being “increasingly frustrated”. He remarked: “Some sources I’ve been speaking to have been indicating that this will probably be extended further. There may be intermittent disruptions to flights for months to come.”

The Icelandic volcano may cause the US to experience volcanic sunsets. Vulcanologist Jay Miller claims, “Once it stops erupting it will take a few days to settle out. As long as there’s ash in the atmosphere or any pollutant for that matter, you’ll see these alterations in the color we see in the sky.”

Brian Toon of University of Colorado, Boulder, says: “It’s unlikely any of this volcanic ash will get as far as the United States. But it is possible. It’s just rare. It’s likely the stuff will get washed out before it ever gets here.”

American Airlines, in the meantime, announced it had cancelled 56 of its flights to and from Europe today, and the same amount yesterday; countries to which flights were not called off were Italy and Spain. US-based airlines make 337 flights between Europe and the US daily; of those, 280 were cancelled yesterday, the Air Transport Association of America says.

The Icelandic volcano has not caused many problems in Chile. SCL reported to El Mercurio that just a flight has been cancelled. The flight was operated by Air France, that may had went at the 16:00 local time to France. “We don’t know if this suspended flight will go, yet,” SCL reported, and warranted that “Air France is not going today.” SCL also stated that has not been cancelled any other flights, but that could change as the time goes by.

Sunday, May 20, 2012

U.S. Democratic Party presidential candidate John Wolfe, Jr. of Tennessee took some time to answer a few questions from Wikinews reporter William S. Saturn.

Wolfe, an attorney based out of Chattanooga, announced his intentions last year to challenge President Barack Obama in the Democratic Party presidential primaries. So far, he has appeared on the primary ballots in New Hampshire, Missouri, and Louisiana. In Louisiana, he had his strongest showing, winning 12 percent overall with over 15 percent in some congressional districts, qualifying him for Democratic National Convention delegates. However, because certain paperwork had not been filed, the party stripped Wolfe of the delegates. Wolfe says he will sue the party to receive them.

Wolfe will compete for additional delegates at the May 22 Arkansas primary and the May 29 Texas primary. He is the only challenger to Obama in Arkansas, where a May 10 Hendrix College poll of Democrats shows him with 38 percent support, just short of the 45 percent for Obama. Such an outing would top the margin of Texas prison inmate Keith Russell Judd, who finished 18 percent behind Obama with 41 percent in the West Virginia Democratic primary; the strongest showing yet against the incumbent president. Despite these prospects, the Democratic Party of Arkansas has already announced that if Wolfe wins any delegates in their primary, again, due to paperwork, the delegates will not be awarded. Wolfe will appear on the Texas ballot alongside Obama, activist Bob Ely, and historian Darcy Richardson, who ended his campaign last month.

Wolfe has previously run for U.S. Congress as the Democratic Party’s nominee. On his campaign website, he cites the influence “of the Pentagon, Wall Street, and corporations” on the Obama administration as a reason for his challenge, believing these negatively affect “loyal Americans, taxpayers and small businesses.” Wolfe calls for the usage of anti-trust laws to break up large banks, higher taxes on Wall Street, the creation of an “alternative federal reserve” to assist community banks, and the implementation of a single-payer health care system.

With Wikinews, Wolfe discusses his campaign, the presidency of Barack Obama, corporations, energy, the federal budget, immigration, and the nuclear situation in Iran among other issues.

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

The trial began today for a Pennsylvania state trooper accused of killing his girlfriend’s estranged husband.

Kevin Foley, 43, is accused of cutting the throat of John Yelenic, a dentist who was in the final stages of finalizing a divorce from his wife, Michele. According to prosecutors, Foley “loathed Dr. Yelenic” so much that he asked another fellow trooper to help him commit the alleged murder, which occurred in Yelenic’s Blairsville home.

Deputy Attorney General Anthony Krastek told an Indiana County jury that Foley also prayed Yelenic would die, and spread false rumors that Yelenic molested his adopted son.

“You will see Kevin Foley has the motive, the opportunity and the ability to commit this crime, almost to the exclusion of anybody else,” Krastek said.

Foley’s defense attorney, Jeffrey Monzo, said during opening statements that DNA evidence was not conclusive. Monzo admitted to the jury that Foley did not like Yelenic, but said that does not mean he murdered him.

“Kevin Foley is innocent,” he said.

Prosecutors said they could call as many as 70 witnesses to try and prove Foley wanted Yelenic to die. The trial, at the Indiana County Courthouse, is expected to last about three weeks.

Foley, who is on unpaid suspension from the Pennsylvania State Police, is charged with criminal homicide. The jury has the option of convicting him of first-degree murder, which could put Foley in prison for life without parole, or of a lesser degree charge, like manslaughter.

John Yelenic was found dead in his home on April 13, 2006, one day before he was planning on signing his divorce papers. Prosecutors said Foley killed Yelenic after going to the dentist’s house to confront him over the terms of the divorce. Prosecutors claim Foley slashed Yelenic several times with a knife and pushed his head through a small window, causing a further gash on his neck. Yelenic bled to death.

Foley had been living with Michele Yelenic for two years at the time of the alleged homicide. Krastek said Michele also helped perpetuate rumors that Dr. Yelenic molested their son. John and Michele Yelenic had been separated in 2002. Michele Yelenic stood to collect Dr. Yelenic’s estate and a $1 million life insurance policy, and could lose about $2,500 a month in support if the divorce was finalized, a Pennsylvania grand jury previously determined.

Michele Yelenic is expected to testify that Foley was home with her when the alleged murder occurred. Krastek told the jury DNA under Yelenic’s fingerprints will ultimately link him to the murder, as will bloody shoe prints found at the crime scene that match athletic shoes Foley is known to wear.

Monzo also said authorities have failed to investigate several other suspects, including Yelenic’s neighbor. Monzo said Yelenic was on very friendly terms with the neighbor’s wife, which could have given him a motive to commit the murder.

Prior to the trial, Foley’s defense attorneys unsuccessfully sought a change of venue because an overwhelming majority of the jury pool was familiar with the allegations. The change was denied when jurors insisted they had not formed an opinion about the charges.

Thursday, October 29, 2020

The following is the fifth edition of a monthly series chronicling the 2020 United States presidential election. It features original material compiled throughout the previous month after an overview of the month’s biggest stories.

This month’s spotlight on the campaign trail: the Libertarian Party’s presidential nominee secures ballot access in all 50 U.S. states, the Unity Party of America presidential nominee proposes a novel solution to the issue of “packing” the U.S. Supreme Court, and three candidates give their thoughts on the latest military conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

Monday, March 30, 2009

First becoming famous in her native Ukraine in the 1990s, long-haired self-described “Amazon” Ruslana gained international recognition for winning the 2004 Eurovision Song Contest with her song “Wild Dances,” inspired by the musical traditions of the Hutsul people of the Ukrainian Carpathian Mountains.

In the five years since, Ruslana has decided to use her name and public status to represent a number of worthy causes, including human trafficking, renewable energy, and even the basic concept of democratic process, becoming a public face of Ukraine’s Orange Revolution and later serving in Parliament.

Currently, she is on an international publicity tour to promote her album Wild Energy, a project borne out of a science fiction novel that has come to symbolize her hopes for a newer, better, freer way of life for everyone in the world. She took time to respond to questions Wikinews’s Mike Halterman posed to her about her career in music and her other endeavors.

This is the fifth in a series of interviews with past Eurovision contestants, which will be published sporadically in the lead-up to mid-May’s next contest in Moscow.

Thursday, August 13, 2020

On Monday, a water main broke in the US city of White Plains, New York, cutting off the water supply to most of the city. The burst pipe caused a huge crater to form in a major intersection in the heart of the city, flooding the streets. Emergency crews were on the scene to repair the pipes in order to restore water service. Almost all customers had water restored by the evening.

The water pipe burst under the road surface at the intersection of Martine Avenue and S. Lexington Avenue in the afternoon. By 5:00 pm EDT (2100 UTC) the city issued an advisory of water outages and stated the Department of Public Works (DPW) had located the problem. Wikinews was on the scene around 6:20 pm and could observe a large crater in the street caused by the amount of water from the burst pipe. Crews from DPW as well as some the fire department were there. Water was no longer rushing uncontrolled into the street.

Shortly thereafter, at 6:30 pm, the city issued a follow-up statement announcing the break had been contained by DPW. Residents were advised to expect the water to perhaps be “discolored” when it initially returned. The city estimated by 9 pm, there would be enough pressure returned to the water system for all to have water. Indeed, News 12 reported, only buildings adjacent to the break were without water service.

White Plains is the county seat for Westchester County, New York, which is also home to the cities New Rochelle and Yonkers which formed the epicenter of the COVID-19 outbreak in New York. Westchester lies directly to the north of New York City.

Sunday, October 18, 2020

The spread of coronavirus in late 2019 and then in 2020 led to a global pandemic, affecting various daily activities. Originating in Wuhan, China, the virus spread globally, and by March, drastic measures were taken by the Indian government. Some branches of the South Western Railway of India had started taking precautions by distributing masks to ticket collectors and guards from as early as March 8. Some colleges were suspended by March 13, their exams postponed as the government introduced lockdown and enforced social distancing.

Announced in the evening, the Indian Prime Minister asked his countrymen to get the essential products and avoid going out as much as possible. Long queues outside the grocery shops, people in masks, some in N-95 masks, and hand sanitisers at the gates of megamarts were a common sight. There were reduced items in the shops, and some stores had a limit of the number of customers allowed in the store at any given time. Food delivery services, and taxi services were on hiatus — workers who depended on the profession for their daily income, while people including software engineers were working from home. Physical classes in schools and colleges were replaced by online lectures to prevent social gatherings.

While many relied on technology for continuing their work and earn their livelihood, Wikinews reached out to sex workers in Mysore in June who, unlike others, can’t maintain social distancing for their work. Two sex workers, Akram Pasha, and Jaya (a pseudonym), who were part of a sex worker’s group called “Ashodaya Samithi” discussed how their lives had been affected by the coronavirus, the lockdown and the restrictions they had faced.