Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Two people have died as the result of a one-vehicle road traffic accident in Inverness, Scotland. The two occupants of the vehicle were both teenagers, with one being male and the other being female. Neither have been publicly identified.

They were both travelling in a black Škoda Fabia vRS at approximately 0920 BST on Sunday when they attempted to negotiate a corner and ended up colliding with a stone wall and a tree, according to witnesses. One bystander stated that the vehicle also impacted into a street light. According to a report from a person who sighted the collision: “The car destroyed a lamp-post and then demolished a 12 inch thick wall scattering huge chunks of stone and sending one big piece 20 metres down the road. The car then appears to have carried on into the garden and hit a big pine tree.”

After the emergency services arrived at the scene of the collision, the road was occluded, during which time members of the fire service physically removed the bodies of the teenagers from the remains of the Škoda. They were then transported to Raigmore Hospital. According to a statement from a spokesperson for the Northern Constabulary: “Following a single vehicle road traffic collision at approximately 9.18 on Sunday morning on Islandbank Road, Inverness, one young man and one young female suffered fatal injuries.”

Saturday, August 21, 2010

A gas leak in a Homecenter Sodimac hardware store in Santa Cruz, Chile led authorities to evacuate the building and the nearest supermarket, La Fama.

The Santa Cruz Fire Bureau and the police officials quickly arrived at the store, where at least two people were reported unconscious by Carabineros of Santa Cruz. The cause of the leak has not been determined.

Santa Cruz is located in Chile’s Colchagua Valley, around 200 kilometers (124.3 miles) from Santiago, the capital of Chile, and 90 kilometers (55.9 miles) from Pichilemu, capital of Cardenal Caro Province.

Thursday, November 23, 2006

The CBC has raised new security concerns over the instant scratch tickets sold by the OLGC. CBC’s the fifth estate reported in a special investigation on October 25 the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation’s (OLGC) tickets are not being given to lottery winners and are claimed more often by the retailers who sell them averaging at CAN$500,000.

The report investigated several aspects of the lottery retail trade, including a report that tickets were stolen by the clerks of convenience stores. One reported case involved a convenience store clerk who, after checking the ticket bought by a customer who brought suit, said he did not win.

Retailers appeared to win prizes more often than the general public. However it also appeared that retailers were a core audience of the lottery games and due to that, statistically, could be expected to win more than the general public. The study found that the retailers were winning about 2.5 times more than the general audience and spending almost twice as much on their tickets. Retailers spent CAN$23.30 over the past four weeks. The average person spends CAN$12.30.

“We are here to make sure that all of our players have confidence in our process,” OLG chief executive Duncan Brown said. “Lottery retailer means, in our broad definition, anybody that works for a lottery retailer or is related to a lottery retailer. That’s 140,000 people … in Ontario….What was missing from the fifth estate’s numbers was the frequency of play by the retailers.”

There were 30 complaints referring to the instant scratch tickets from 1999 to 2006. Only once ware charges laid by police. Nine cases had special investigations, winnings totaling at CAN$3,629.

Retailers could, in a process called “pin pricking,” attempt to uncover codes printed on the instant scratch tickets under a latex coating that show which card is the winner.

In the wake of earlier allegations, OLG devices were installed for anyone who wanted to check their own tickets, for security reasons.

“Any time someone connected with the OLG tries to claim a prize we conduct a higher level of investigation than what we would do with somebody who is not associated with OLG. And this includes looking at the tickets very carefully, especially in the case of scratch tickets,” Teresa Roncon, a spokeswoman for the OLGC said.

Friday, March 25, 2005 A Spotsylvania County woman, whose three dogs allegedly attacked and killed her elderly neighbor, was freed Wednesday by posting a $10,000 bond. Dianna Large, 36, received one felony charge of involuntary manslaughter and three misdemeanor charges in an indictment issued last week.

In her first appearance before a judge, she answered Circuit Court Judge William H. Ledbetter questions with simple “Yes sir.” and “No sir.” responses. The short hearing, held Thursday, formalized the charges against her. The involuntary manslaughter charge, a first in the severity of punishment being sought on a dog owner in the Virginan state of USA, carries a maximum penalty of 10 years.

State procecutor Wiliam Neely said that Large knowingly let her three Pit Bull dogs run free, and that an animal control agency person had warned her to keep them under better control. She also a violated a county ordinance requiring owners of dangerous dogs to post a warning sign to visitors. The prosecution also noted that none of the three male dogs were neutered.

The Animal Control Department of Virginia maintains a dangerous dog registry. It contains a list of owners whose dogs are deemed dangerous to society. The link to the registry was moved to a more prominent position on the county web page following the attack.

Monday, December 24, 2012

Two cars have been involved in a road traffic accident in the Scottish Lothian and Borders region, causing three fatalities and sending three to hospital. The incident occurred on the A68 road approximately 1.5 miles south of the Midlothian village of Pathhead when a Škoda Octavia and a Nissan Note travelling in opposite directions collided at approximately 0730 UTC today.

The Nissan, which was carrying five occupants, overturned and came to rest on its roof. Three male Buddhist monks who sat in the back of the car died at the site of the crash. The female driver of the vehicle managed to get out of the vehicle herself but another male passenger in the front of the car had to be cut free by fire service members. The two front-seat passengers as well as the male driver of the Škoda were hospitalised at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh, although none of their injuries are considered likely to be fatal.

“This is a tragic incident,” Inspector Simon Bradshaw of Lothian and Borders Police said, “and we are currently in the process of carrying out inquiries in order to establish the full circumstances of the collision.” The A68 road close to the location of the accident was temporarily closed to allow police to investigate the incident, with traffic redirected to the B6370 road via the town of Gorebridge. The road has since reopened.

Monday, September 17, 2007

Marija Minic is running for the Green Party of Ontario in the Ontario provincial election, in the York Centre riding. Wikinews’ Nick Moreau interviewed her regarding her values, her experience, and her campaign.

Stay tuned for further interviews; every candidate from every party is eligible, and will be contacted. Expect interviews from Liberals, Progressive Conservatives, New Democratic Party members, Ontario Greens, as well as members from the Family Coalition, Freedom, Communist, Libertarian, and Confederation of Regions parties, as well as independents.

A compilation of brief news reports for Thursday, December 4, 2008.

On December 2, the Toronto city council voted in favor of banning the sales and distribution of bottled water on city property. The council also agreed to provide public drinking fountains on their properties, as well as on a measure that would make shoppers pay at least five Canadian cents for plastic grocery bags and force business owners to offer reusable bags and carry-out containers.

“Toronto’s decision to ban the bottle and turn on the tap sends a clear message that bottled water’s 15 minutes are up,” said Polaris Institute’s campaign coordinator, Joe Cressy.

All of the city’s facilities should be following the water ban by 2011, while businesses will have to implement their bag fees by 2010. Toronto has become the largest city in the world to ban bottled water on government property.

Related news

• “Calls for bottled water bans grow in Canada” — Wikinews, August 23, 2008

Sources

• “Toronto Bans Bottled Water” — CNW Group, December 3, 2008
• “Toronto council approves plastic bag charge, bottle ban” — CBC News, December 3, 2008

On Tuesday, American actor, Patrick Swayze, who suffers from pancreatic cancer, denied reports that he was near death. American tabloid National Inquirer reported on November 28 that Swayze’s cancer had spread to his liver and that he was preparing for his death.

“The only thorn in my side being that many tabloids have been consistently reporting lies and false information about me and those close to me,” said Swayze in a statement to the press who also added that he knows he is in “the fight for his life,” but that it is a fight that he “is winning.”

“I’m one of the lucky few that responds well to treatment,” added Swayze.

Swayze has starred in over a dozen films, including the 1987 hit film Dirty Dancing.

Related news

• “Wikinews Shorts: November 28, 2008” — Wikinews, November 28, 2008

Sources

• “Swayze denies ‘deathbed’ rumours” — BBC News Online, December 3, 2008
• “Patrick Swayze denies reports he is near death” — Reuters, December 2, 2008