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Sunday, December 10, 2006

Space shuttle mission STS-116 began today with its successful launch at 8:48pm EST (01:47 GMT). Liftoff was uneventful with no immediate problems. Last Thursday’s launch attempt was scrubbed due to low, dense cloud cover. It is the first Space Shuttle night launch in over four years and the last mission planned for pad 39b.

In the complex mission Discovery will first dock with the International Space Station. In three spacewalks the astronauts will install a segment of the station’s integrated truss and replace the orbital laboratory’s power wiring system.

Monday, June 21, 2010

Sweden’s first royal wedding since 1976 took place Saturday when Crown Princess Victoria, 32, married her long-time boyfriend and former personal trainer, Daniel Westling, 36. The ceremony took place at Stockholm Cathedral.

Over 1,200 guests, including many rulers, politicians, royals and other dignitaries from across the world, attended the wedding, which cost an estimated 20 million Swedish kronor. Victoria wore a wedding dress with five-metre long train designed by Pär Engsheden. She wore the same crown that her mother, Queen Silvia, wore on her wedding day 34 years previously, also on June 19. Victoria’s father, King Carl XVI Gustaf, walked Victoria down the aisle, which was deemed untraditional by many. In Sweden, the bride and groom usually walk down the aisle together, emphasising the country’s views on equality. Victoria met with Daniel half-way to the altar, where they exchanged brief kisses, and, to the sounds of the wedding march, made their way to the the silver altar. She was followed by ten bridesmaids. The couple both had tears in their eyes as they said their vows, and apart from fumbling when they exchanged rings, the ceremony went smoothly.

Following the ceremony, the couple headed a fast-paced procession through central Stockholm on a horse-drawn carriage, flanked by police and security. Up to 500,000 people are thought to have lined the streets. They then boarded the Vasaorden, the same royal barge Victoria’s parents used in their wedding, and traveled through Stockholm’s waters, accompanied by flyover of 18 fighter jets near the end of the procession. A wedding banquet followed in the in the Hall of State of the Royal Palace.

Controversy has surrounded the engagement and wedding between the Crown Princess and Westling, a “commoner”. Victoria met Westling as she was recovering from bulemia in 2002. He owned a chain of gymnasiums and was brought in to help bring Victoria back to full health. Westling was raised in a middle-class family in Ockelbo, in central Sweden. His father managed a social services centre, and his mother worked in a post office. When the relationship was made public, Westling was mocked as an outsider and the king was reportedly horrified at the thought of his daughter marrying a “commoner”, even though he did so when he married Silvia. Last year, Westling underwent transplant surgery for a congenital kidney disorder. The Swedish public have been assured that he will be able to have children and that his illness will not be passed on to his offspring.

Westling underwent years of training to prepare for his new role in the royal family, including lessons in etiquette, elocution, and multi-lingual small talk; and a makeover that saw his hair being cropped short, and his plain-looking glasses and clothes being replaced by designer-wear.

Upon marrying the Crown Princess, Westling took his wife’s ducal title and is granted the style “His Royal Highness”. He is now known as HRH Prince Daniel, Duke of Västergötland. He also has his own coat-of-arms and monogram. When Victoria assumes the throne and becomes Queen, Daniel will not become King, but assume a supportive role, similar to that of Prince Phillip, the husband of the United Kingdom’s Queen Elizabeth II.

Monday, July 7, 2008

A car bomb was used in an attack on the Indian embassy in central Kabul, Afghanistan on Monday morning. The bombing killed 41, and injured at least 141. It is the deadliest attack in Kabul since 2001, when Afghanistan’s Taliban government was ousted by American armed forces.

The attack happened at the gates of the embassy, located in central Kabul, near many other government buildings including the office of the Interior Ministry of Afghanistan. A security office and part of a wall were destroyed, and the blast was large enough to spread debris to surrounding buildings. Ali Hassan Fahimi, whose office is nearby, said shrapnel landed in his office. “It was so strong… our staff were shocked,” he commented.

Many of the victims were Afghans who were lining up for visas to travel to India. Of the casualties, most were civilians. The dead include embassy workers, a defense attache, a senior counselor, two security guards, an Afghan employee and six police officers.

The foreign ministry of Afghanistan said that they “condemn today’s terrorist attack on the embassy of the friendly and brother country of India.” An Afghan government spokesman, Zamari Bashari, suggested that the attack was retaliation for India’s support for reconstruction in Afghanistan. India called the bombing a “cowardly terrorist attack” and said that they would send a delegation to investigate.

Foreign entities voiced similar sentiments. The United Nations envoy Kai Eide said, “I condemn it in the strongest possible terms. In no culture, no country, and no religion is there any excuse or justification for such acts. The total disregard for innocent lives is staggering and those behind this must be held responsible.” The European Union condemned the attack as a “terrorist attack targeting innocent civilians” and the United States said it was a “needless act of violence”. The foreign minister of Pakistan, Shah Mahmood Qureshi, denounced the attack, saying, “Pakistan condemns terrorism in all its forms and manifestations as this menace negates the very essence of human values.”

Saturday, April 17, 2010

Journalist, counselor, painter, and US 2012 Presidential candidate Joe Schriner of Cleveland, Ohio took some time to discuss his campaign with Wikinews in an interview.

Schriner previously ran for president in 2000, 2004, and 2008, but failed to gain much traction in the races. He announced his candidacy for the 2012 race immediately following the 2008 election. Schriner refers to himself as the “Average Joe” candidate, and advocates a pro-life and pro-environmentalist platform. He has been the subject of numerous newspaper articles, and has published public policy papers exploring solutions to American issues.

Wikinews reporter William Saturn? talks with Schriner and discusses his campaign.

Saturday, August 30, 2008

Hurricane Gustav is predicted to make landfall on the Gulf Coast, having already caused damage in the Caribbean. The storm may be raised to Category 5 according to some sources.

At 5:00 p.m. (eastern time), the National Hurricane Center stated that Gustav had sustained winds at least 150 miles per hour and was moving Northwest at 15 miles per hour. Watches and warnings have been posted from Eastern Texas all the way to Mississippi. It is scheduled to make landfall somewhere in Louisiana on Tuesday. As of 5pm, Gustav was stronger than the hurricane in 2005 Hurricane Katrina which killed over 1,500 people in Louisiana.

At least 80 people in the Caribbean have died from Gustav’s impact. Gustav is currently hitting Cuba and made landfall near the Isle of Youth. Thousands have been evacuated as rain created widespread flooding in the West.