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Wednesday, October 6, 2010

A small twin-engined Cessna 402 crashed into a lake in the Bahamas shortly after take off Tuesday, killing all eight Bahamian occupants.

The Cessna crashed into Lake Killarney, located near the Lynden Pindling International Airport, after a fire broke out in one of its engines, according to assistant commissioner Hulan Hanna of the Royal Bahamas Police Force.

It is reported that several bodies were recovered from the lake and a person was pulled out alive, but later died of a broken neck. It is reported that the plane, which departed the airport at about 12:30 p.m. local time, was travelling to San Salvador in the southern Bahamas. According to police, an investigation is in progress to specify the cause of the crash.

Monday, December 19, 2005

Rocket company SpaceX, notorious for repeatedly pre-announcing its first flight on Wikinews, cancels its latest attempt and defers further flights until 2006.

This latest launch attempt on the 19th December was cancelled due to structural issues with the first-stage fuel tank of the Falcon 1 rocket. An electrical fault caused a valve to shut inappropriately, and as fuel drained out a vacuum was created causing the side of the fuel tank to buckle inwards.

Monday, December 19, 2005

Rocket company SpaceX, notorious for repeatedly pre-announcing its first flight on Wikinews, cancels its latest attempt and defers further flights until 2006.

This latest launch attempt on the 19th December was cancelled due to structural issues with the first-stage fuel tank of the Falcon 1 rocket. An electrical fault caused a valve to shut inappropriately, and as fuel drained out a vacuum was created causing the side of the fuel tank to buckle inwards.

Friday, May 11, 2018

On Tuesday, Pakistan’s parliament passed a bill at Islamabad’s National Assembly which granted transgender people various civil rights. The bill, “Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act”, which was presented by Pakistan Peoples Party’s lawmaker Naveed Qamar, was approved by the senate in March, and now awaits signature of the president Mamnoon Hussain.

The bill ensures people have the right to identify themselves as male, female or as “third gender”, also known as khawaja sira in Pakistan. This identity choice is to be reflected in the National Database and Registration Authority, as well as other official documents like passports and driving licence.

Per the bill, transgender people can now cast votes, run for election, have the right to assemble, and can obtain loans for business startups. They are also eligible to inherit property per their identified gender. Transgender people are to be no longer discriminated at school, working place, for medical services, public transportation facilities, by their employers, or at private business. Separate confinement areas, jails and prisons are to be established for transgenders. Anyone found guilty of forcing transgenders to beg is to face a six-month prison term as well as 50 thousand rupees fine.

The legislation was sent to and later approved by the Council of Islamic Ideology, a government advisory body. Lahore-based activist Mehlab Jameel, who was involved in writing the bill, said the Council of Islamic Ideology “appreciated that the bill included directions on inheritance in accordance with Shari’a” law.

Last year, transgenders were included for the census count for the first time. Mehlab Jameel said, “the definition of ‘transgender’ […] was basically based on genitals” in the initial draft of the bill, written last year.

Speaking to National Public Radio, Jameel said, “This kind of development is not only unprecedented in Pakistani history, but it’s one of the most progressive laws in the whole world.” Human Rights Watch has reported at least four deaths of transgenders in the country since the beginning of 2018, and at least 57 transgenders were killed in Pakistan since 2015. Pakistan’s —reportedly— first transgender news anchor and activist Marvia Malik told Images the transgenders “are forced to dance and beg because they have no other means to make ends meet.” “My trans friends who have masters degrees don’t have jobs which is why they end up on streets or become sex workers”, Malik added.

The draft for the policy to implement this bill is not yet prepared. From the date the bill was approved, President Hussain has ten days to sign the bill or reject it.

Monday, July 3, 2006

At least 43 people have died and at least 46 injured, 4 of whom are in critical condition, in a metro train crash in Spanish city of Valencia, according to the regional government.

It has been reported that two of the carriages have derailed and overturned, leading to the evacuation of 150 passengers.

A part of the wall in the tunnel between the Plaza de España and Jesús stations in the southwestern neighborhood of Patraix may have collapsed, causing the derailment of one of the carriages, which in turn caused the carriage behind it to overturn.

Another theory put forth by subdelegate of the regional government Luis Felipe Martínez is that the wheels on one of the carriages fell off while the train was speeding. The same source has also confirmed that there are two overturned carriages.

The fire department, paramedics and local police are on the scene after a passenger in the crashed train called the emergency services at about 1:03 p.m. CEST (1103 UTC). The authorities have closed the area to all road traffic and routes 1 and 2 of the Valencia metro system, which use the affected rail tracks, are shut down.

The incident comes days before Pope Benedict XVI was due to visit Valencia for the World Meeting of the Families, expected to be attended by one million pilgrims.

Sunday, June 6, 2010

Reports suggest the World Health Organisation’s declaring a swine flu pandemic was an error driven by drug companies, and lead to unjustified fear. A year after the swine flu pandemic was declared, stocks are left unused and governments try to abandon contracts, pharmaceutical companies have profited at least £4.6billion from the sale of vaccines alone.

Reports by the British Medical Journal (BMJ), the Bureau of Investigative Journalism (BIJ) and the Council of Europe claim that The World Health Organisation reaction to H1N1 was influenced by pharmaceutical companies and that key scientists behind advice had financial ties with firms Roche and GlaxoSmithKline (GSK). These conflicts of interest have never been publicly disclosed by WHO, an apparent violation of its own rules.

The World Health Organisation issued H1N1 guidelines in 2004, recommending countries to stockpile millions of doses of antiviral medication. The advice prompted many countries around the world into buying up large stocks of Tamiflu, made by Roche, and Relenza manufactured by GSK.

A joint investigation with the BMJ and the BIJ, found that scientists involved in developing the WHO 2004 guidance had previously been paid by Roche or GSK for lecturing and consultancy work as well as being involved in research for the companies. “The WHO’s credibility has been badly damaged,” BMJ editor Fiona Godlee said in an editorial.

A report by the health committee of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, a 47-member human rights watchdog, found that the WHO’s reaction was influenced by drug companies that make H1N1 antiviral drugs and vaccines. It criticised WHO lack of transparency around the handling of the swine flu pandemic and says the public health guidelines by WHO, EU agencies and national governments led to a “waste of large sums of public money and unjustified scares and fears about the health risks faced by the European public.”

A spokesman for WHO said the drug industry did not influence its decisions on swine flu. Margaret Chan, the organisation’s director, had dismissed inquiries into its handling of the A/H1N1 pandemic as “conspiracy theories” earlier this year, she had said: “WHO anticipated close scrutiny of its decisions, but we did not anticipate that we would be accused, by some European politicians, of having declared a fake pandemic on the advice of experts with ties to the pharmaceutical industry and something personal to gain from increased industry profits.”

Yesterday, a 16-member “emergency committee” consisting of advisors from the World Health Organisation said that the H1N1 pandemic is not yet over. The WHO has refused to identify committee members, arguing that they must be shielded from industry pressure, so possible conflicts of interest with drug companies are unknown. The BMJ report also reveals that at least one expert on the “emergency committee” received payment during 2009 from GSK.

In related news, Reuters reported, Pfizer Inc, the world’s biggest drugmaker, is selling its swine vaccine business to Chinese Harbin Pharmaceutical Group for $50 million.