Monday, October 6, 2008

Stock markets around the world have fallen dramatically today. This is following the ongoing events in the financial world, including the US Government’s $700 billion bail out of the financial sector.

As of 14:48 UTC, the primary UK index, the FTSE 100, dropped in value by 6.50% (323.65 points) to a point even further below the 5000 mark at 4656.60. The Dow Jones, was down 3.76% at 16:08 UTC, a slight increase from earlier today. The Dow Jones currently has a value of 9936.94 points, below the ten thousand mark. The Nasdaq index has fallen by 100.12 points to 1847.27, while the DAX was 6.62% lower than the start of the day as of 16:08 UTC.

The Dow Jones index was one that fared particularly poorly today, as not one of its companies increased its share price. The same is true for the CAC 40 index. The Merval index is another one that fared badly today. It dropped in value by 10.12%, while the affiliated Merval 25 index dropped by nearly as much, 10.03%. One of the worst faring indexes of the day was the Brazilian Bovespa index. It has already fallen by 14.45% today, despite the fact that it is not even half way through the trading day.

Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Dale Ogden, a 2010 California gubernatorial candidate, talks with Wikinews reporter Mike Morales about his platform.

Ogden is a member of the United States’ Libertarian Party.

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

China’s Xinhua News Agency said Tuesday that at least 53 people were killed in Shanghai during a deadly fire. The blaze, which occurred on Monday at 2:15 p.m. CST (0615 UTC), consumed a 28-story high-rise apartment building in the city’s Jing’an District.

The building was being renovated at the time of the fire, and was home to over 150 families. At least 100 victims have been admitted to area hospitals, although some later died. Most survivors were not seriously injured, but needed treatment for smoke inhalation. Firefighters were still looking for survivors and over 70 were still hospitalized on the morning after the fire.

The fire was the worst in recent Shanghai history and took over 100 fire engines more than four hours to contain. Strong winds blew heavy smoke into the air, hampering rescue efforts by helicopters. The smoke was seen by witnesses around 15 kilometres (9.3 miles) away from the high-rise. The fire was largely extinguished by 6:30 p.m. local time (1000 UTC), allowing fire and rescue officials to enter the building.

The apartment building, built in the late 1990s, was home to mainly retired teachers. Some residents climbed down the scaffolding to escape, while others called for help but were unable to flee the blaze. “I saw at least four or five people hanging onto the scaffolding which covers the building, screaming for help,” said Li Qubo, who was working near the high-rise.

The cause of the fire has not yet been determined, but local residents said fire safety regulations were not strict, and workers often tossed used cigarettes into the building’s hallways. Qiu Jingshu, a 38-year-old worker who was outside the 18th floor when the fire struck, said he saw sparks from welding being done on an adjacent building fly over onto the high-rise. The sparks lit up foam on the scaffolding around the apartment, according to Qiu. “We had tried to put out the blaze, but the fire was so big and spread so quickly that we could barely escape ourselves,” he said. Crews were said to have been installing insulation at the time of the fire, and witnesses saw construction materials on fire before the building was overtaken by flames.

Two nearby buildings were evacuated, and their residents were temporarily sent to local hotels, and a school. Meng Jianzhu, China’s Minister of Public Security, said that an investigation would determine who was responsible for the fire, so they could be punished accordingly. Meng said that a team had been formed under China’s State Council to look into the disaster.

A similar incident occurred in Beijing early last year. In February 2009, the illegal use of fireworks caused a fire that gutted a 34-story building under construction at the time.

Shanghai has a population of about 20 million, housed mainly in high-rise apartments. Many buildings in the city are under construction or being renovated.

Saturday, January 6, 2007

Jonny Reid, co-driver for the A1GP New Zealand team, today made history by driving the fastest over the 48-year-old Auckland Harbour Bridge, New Zealand, legally.

Mr Reid managed to drive the New Zealand’s A1GP car, Black Beauty at speeds over 160km/h seven times over the bridge. The New Zealand police had trouble using their speed radar guns to see how fast Mr Reid was going because of how low Black Beauty is, and the only time the police managed to clock Mr Reid was when he slowed down to 160km/h.

Black Beauty, like all the other A1 Grand Prix cars, is powered by a V8 engine, 3.4 litres and has a top speed of 300km/h. During the record attempt, it managed to get to 160km/h from zero in under three seconds.

The stunt was to promote the upcoming A1GP sixth round at Taupo in a couple of weeks, which Mr Reid will be racing because of his two wins at Indonesia, instead of other co-driver, Matt Halliday.

Mr Reid performed the record on the clipon lanes of the bridge which were closed at Christmas because the lanes were being resurfaced. The lanes will be open this Monday, January 8.

Mr Reid said the surface at the top of the bridge hadn’t been swept so it was quite slippery. “It was mega slippery at the top but we always knew that would be the situation and it was just great to show the public a little bit of what we were about.” However he also said that “It was fully under control.”

Mr Reid said the buzz from doing that, especially with the help from police, was huge. “I absolutely thrived on it. It was a very unique experience which you don’t come across every day. It was mega, it really was.”

Mr Reid assures everyone that the speeds he will be reaching in Taupo will be much, much faster than what he achieved today.

Once Mr Reid had finished crossing the bridge seven times, he finished with a few doughnuts.

Two cars were involved in a nose to tail crash on one of the northbound lanes trying to watch the action.