Latest

Canada's largest public transit system is expected to resume service Sunday evening after the Ontario provincial government ordered striking Toronto transit workers back to work today. Service was shut down when transit workers suddenly walked off the job on Friday, having just voted to reject a labour contract deal made the previous weekend. The provincial legislature met in an extraordinary Sunday afternoon session to pass Bill 66, the Toronto Public Transit Service Resumption Act, 2008 which not only orders the transit work to resume, but i

A spectator has been killed and at least 10 people injured after an aircraft struck spectators at an airshow in Germany yesterday. The one-engined propellor-driven aircraft exited the runway after failing to take off and ploughed into a group that had congregated around a snack stand. The accident occurred at Kindel Air Field, which is located south of Berlin, near Eisenach. The aircraft involved was a Zlin Z-37 Cmelak, a Czech built single-seater plane which had been used by authorities in former East Germany as a cropduster. A 45-year-old w

At least 400 homes have been evacuated in Sierra Madre near Los Angeles, California after a wildfire which started on Saturday, began to threaten their homes. So far only five percent of the 350 acre fire is contained, with over 400 firefighters battling the blaze. Authorities say that it has been over 40 years since some parts of the land have caught fire. The cause of the fire is not known. Authorities say the investigation into how it started may take up to three days to finish. So far there have been no injuries and no homes have yet bee

Police have arrested the owner of a mattress factory in Hay Hassini, Casablanca, Morocco which burned down in a disaster that claimed 55 lives. His son, who was the factory's manager, was also arrested. Those killed — 35 of whom were women — were trapped inside by locked fire exits, which were barricaded to stop theft during working hours. "The people who died were either asphyxiated or burned," commented a firefighter. 17 were wounded. Moustapha Taouil of the Casablanca civil protection service said the blaze was triggered by an inadequatly m

A New Zealand teenager's conversion of the popular Grand Theft Auto (GTA) video game is gaining popularity and the New Zealand Police are unhappy at their portrayal. Stacy O'Callaghan talked to Wikinews' Gabriel Pollard about his mod. The police cars and the police officers have been given a makeover to resemble the New Zealand versions. The planes were branded Air New Zealand, and ambulances were converted to match the local Wellington scheme, among various other changes. The Beehive, Te Papa and the Sky Tower are looking to be added to the

Over 40 people were injured, three of them seriously, after the auditorium floor collapsed at a church in Abbotsford, BC, Canada. Around 9:20 pm PDT Friday night an approximated 900 square foot section of the stage and floor collapsed at a Starfield concert attended by as many as 1200 people at Central Heights Church. Reports from the concert goers indicate that sound and lighting scaffolds collapsed onto the front section of the stage and mosh pit, though it is not yet clear whether this was the cause of or the result of the floor collapsing

"2008 PeoPo Citizen Journalism Forum", organized by Public Television Service, PeoPo Citizen Journalism Portal, and Department of Radio, TV, & Film of Shih Hsin University, held yesterday in the auditorium with participation from several bloggers, social workers, elites from mass media industry in Taiwan to prospect the status of citizen journalism in Taiwan. Continued with some topics from 2007 PeoPo Citizen Journalist Summit Party, 2007 Citizen Journalism Unconference during the Wikimania 2007, and first-ever "30-seconds question challenge

There were 2 games played in the National Hockey League playoffs on April 25, 2008. Game summaries Dallas Stars @ San Jose Sharks Brenden Morrow, captain of the Dallas Stars, scored the overtime winner as the Stars beat the San Jose Sharks in the first overtime, 3–2. Milan Michalek opened the scoring at 4:50 of the second period. The Stars came back quickly, and put themselves ahead 2–1, on the strength of Mike Modano's powerplay goal at 76 seconds later, at 6:06 of the second period, and Brenden Morrow's first goal, at 9:09. Jonathan Ch

Tunisia and South Korea sealed a deal to improve air quality monitoring in Tunisia last week (17 April), with a view to creating an air quality improvement strategy for the country. The Tunisian National Agency of Environment Protection (ANPE) and the Korean International Cooperation Agency will implement and oversee the project. The cost of the three-year project is estimated at US$2.5 billion, which will be funded by South Korea. The main aim of the project is to create a monitoring station that will include devices for measuring pollutant

Today at 11:07 GMT (07:07 local time), US Space Shuttle Discovery departed its hangar at the Kennedy Space Center Orbiter Processing Facility (OPF), and was towed into the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB), arriving at 12:05 GMT (08:05 local time). Its next scheduled launch, STS-124, is currently targeted for the end of May. This procedure, known as a rollover, occurs around five to six weeks ahead of launch, and is followed by stacking, or attachment of Discovery to an external tank and a pair of solid rocket boosters, which are waiting in the

55 people were killed today after a mattress factory in Casablanca, Morocco was swept by fire. The fire initiated on the ground floor this morning and quickly engulfed the entire building. 12 others were injured - seriously, according to the Irish Times - including one police officer. 100 firefighters were dispatched to the five-storey factory after the blaze broke out at 10 am local time. Earlier reports had indicated 25 deaths and eight people injured. MAP, the state news agency, is quoted by the Irish Times as saying the building was four s

Representatives of Iraq's main ethnic groups have begun a second round of negotiations in Finland to study successful negotiations in South Africa and Northern Ireland. The initial talks, in September last year, ended with the Helsinki I Agreement, which presented a series of recommendations aimed at bringing peace to Iraq. The talks have been arranged largely by the Crisis Management Initiative (CMI), a non-profit organisation founded in 2000 by then Finnish president Martti Ahtisaari. CMI has previously arranged a successful arrangement betw