Thursday, June 10, 2010

A man has died after he was shot outside his house in Lanarkshire, Scotland, United Kingdom. Anthony Wright, aged 35, was shot outside his household in the rural town of Shotts at approximately 0700 BST (0800 UTC) on Wednesday.

Police think that Wright, who was shot twice, was the anticipated target. An ambulance then transported him to Wishaw General Hospital; he died in the hospital later that day.

A murder investigation has begun outside Wright’s house. A completed report is expected to be submitted to the Procurator Fiscal later on. No other injuries were reported as a result of this incident occurring.

A description of the suspect’s appearance has not been disclosed by the police. The police have not offered any motive for the crime. Reports say that the suspect left the crime scene on foot, going across some wasteland; he was last sighted at the rear of Inverkip Drive. One nearby resident, who is remaining unidentified, commented about Wright: “We don’t know the man well but he had a boy at the high school and three wee tots. It’s shocking really.”

Detective Superintendent John McSporran stated on Wednesday, “Extensive door-to-door enquiries are ongoing and I would appeal once again to anyone who was in the Inverkip Drive area at that time to come forward. Officers from the enquiry team are also keen to talk to anyone who may have seen the suspect heading towards wasteground at the back of Inverkip Drive.”

McSporran urged individuals who know about the incident to speak with law enforcement, “I would ask members of the public who have not yet come forward and know something about this crime, to speak to police as a matter of urgency. I have no doubt that there are people out there who know who was involved in this crime and who may have reservations about coming forward. I would urge them to do so without delay as it is vital that the killer is arrested and brought to justice.”

Saturday, October 6, 2007

An 89^th minute goal by substitute Edin Dzeko gave Wolfsburg a 1-0 victory over Hansa Rostock today.

Wolfsburg Coach Felix Magath made a solitary change to his team which took an away point off Hamburg. Schäfer took the place of Quiroga at left back. The Hansa Rostock coach Frank Pagelsdorf saw no reason to change his team which took nine points from their last three games. Their last victory was against the defending champions Stuttgart.

The game began in a cautious manner, with Hansa Rostock defending in their own half, hoping to hit Wolfsburg on a counter attack. Wolfsburg tried to take the game to visitors from the former DDR, but they didn’t create any goalscoring chances during the opening minutes.

When a 0-0 draw looked inevitable, Wolfsburg secured all three points in the 89^th minute.

After the Bundesliga break, Wolfsburg will travel to and play Hannover in the Niedersachsen derby.

Sunday, January 14, 2007

Western Australian government authorities say they believe a toxin may be responsible for the recent mysterious death of an estimated 5,000 birds found in the area of Esperance – on the state’s south eastern coastline. Autopsies by toxicologists from the WA Department of Agriculture will test for organochlorins, organophosphates and heavy metals.

Esperance residents first noticed large numbers of dead birds littering their streets and gardens on December 7 last year. Populations of honeyeaters, wattle birds and miners have reportedly been effected.

The birds were being found vomiting and convulsing in bushland and suburban backyards over an extensive area. Department of Environment and Conservation‘s (DEC) nature conservation coordinator Mike Fitzgerald says toxic wetlands near Esperance are the most likely reason for the mass bird deaths.

The DEC says it has failed to figure out the cause of death despite interviewing industry groups, farmers, grain handlers and timber companies about pesticide and chemical use.

Birds Australia, the peak group dedicated to the conservation, study and enjoyment of Australia’s native birds and their habitats, said it had not heard of a similar occurrence. “Not on that scale, and all at the same time, and also the fact that it’s several different species,” chief executive Graeme Hamilton told the Sunday Times. “You’d have to call that a most unusual event and one that we’d all have to be concerned about.”

Mike Fitzgerald said the DEC were looking at something “pretty potent.” “This is not a normal situation. The common thing that we have seen and heard is that the affected birds have an insatiable thirst… If it turns out to be a toxin that is responsible, that will raise more questions because there is no obvious source of exposure.”

The deaths could be a result of a drier than normal winter, causing algal and bacterial blooms in the Esperance Lakes Nature Reserves. Esperance recorded 457mm rainfall in 2006; the average is 620mm.

Initially, health authorities feared a virus, such as the deadly avian bird flu, was responsible. That was quickly ruled out, along with poisoning from bacteria or eating poisoned insects.

The first deaths were reported by Esperance resident Michelle Crisp – who lives close to the worst-affected area. Dozens of native birds began dying in her back yard a week before Christmas. She says she contacted neighbours to discover if they were experiencing the same thing. Mrs Crisp found four dead birds, then 16, then 30 and finally up to 80.

Mike Fitzgerald said that any one of hundreds of toxins could be causing the deaths but so far all leads had not produced any answers.

Saturday, September 29, 2007

On May 31, 2007, C. Richard Newsome of the Newsome Law Firm, filed a class action lawsuit on behalf of Antonio Hernandez against IGE (Internet Gaming Entertainment). The main thrust of the lawsuit is that IGE made a “calculated decision to reap substantial profits by knowingly interfering with and substantially impairing the intended use and enjoyment associated with consumer agreements between Blizzard Entertainment and subscribers to its virtual world called World of Warcraft (WoW).”

Specifically, the lawsuit references IGE’s practice of selling WoW items or WoW gold, generated by “farmers“.

There is actually more than one IGE, both of whom are defendants in the lawsuit. IGE, LTD. is a “foreign corporation with its principal place of business in Hong Kong, China, with offices” “located at Euclid Avenue, Suite 222, Miami Beach, Florida, 33149” and “Beverly Hills, California.” IGE U.S. LLC. is a “Delaware corporation with its principal place of business at 105 N.W. 43rd Street, Boca Raton, Florida, 33431.” IGE U.S. LLC. is “an affiliated company” of IGE, LTD.

The lawsuit alleges that the amount in controversy exceeds US$5 million exclusive of interest and costs.

Friday, November 3, 2006

On November 13, Torontonians will be heading to the polls to vote for their ward’s councillor and for mayor. Among Toronto’s ridings is Don Valley West (Ward 26). Four candidates responded to Wikinews’ requests for an interview. This ward’s candidates include Muhammad Alam, Bahar Aminvaziri, Orhan Aybars, Michele Carroll-Smith, Mohamed Dhanani, Abdul Ingar, Geoff Kettel, Debbie Lechter, Natalie Maniates, John Masterson, John Parker, David Thomas, Csaba Vegh, and Fred Williams.

For more information on the election, read Toronto municipal election, 2006.

Thursday, November 19, 2009

In a third case of staggering sums billed for “unlimited” Internet access reported this week, a French emergency-room doctor from Fontainebleau beats all records with a €159,212 (US$237,417) bill. The telephone-number-sized bill covers one month’s use of an unlimited 3G dongle on Orange‘s network; the beleaguered Dr Jean Spadaro has been battling this for six months.

“To begin with I thought it was a joke”, said Spadaro, confirming a story from l’Observateur du Valenciennois; The same newspaper that revealed last week a similar case — Eric Gernez, a café owner in Petite-Forêt near to Valenciennes — who received a bill for €45,000. Christophe Aupy-Fargues, head of an insurance brokerage firm in Saint-Herblain, west of Nantes, and another unlimited 3G dongle user, confirmed to Ouest-France on Monday the blocking of payment on a bill for €39,500 demanded by Orange.

“I subscribed in November 2008 to a basic internet access by 3G dongle at €30 per month […] seeing my bills reach sums going up to €860 in April, I decided in May to subscribe to unlimited access by 3G dongle with Orange business at €50 per month. When I saw my bill for May, I couldn’t believe my eyes: €159,212, for one month’s connection, it’s impossible, especially as we don’t use it all of the time” added Spadaro, the father of two children, aged sixteen and nineteen.

On opening the envelope in June, he expected to read an amount neighbouring the cost of his subscription; but, to his horror, it was €159,212; a demand large enough to make an emergency-room doctor’s head spin.

Spadaro claims France Télécom (Orange’s parent company) never explained to him that the “unlimited” package only related to the time spent surfing on the Internet — not the volume of traffic — limited to one Gigabyte per month. The package’s quota corresponds to moderate usage (reception of simple emails for example). As normal Internet users, the members of the Spadaro family surfed Facebook, YouTube, sent emails with attachments, received same, &c. That volume of traffic proved to be costly. €0.17 per Megabyte, or €170 per Gigabyte. Until the bills arrived, the Spadaro family were using the Internet, ignorant of the cost being incurred.

The doctor’s bills, not listed in detail, are €53 for February, €346 for March, €860 for April before soaring to more than €159,000 in May. Spadaro also claims, with evidence of his letters in hand, he had increased the number of protest actions and received, in response, “warnings with threats of seizure”.

Battle-weary after six months of contacting his operator, Spadaro has lost all patience. “Since June, I’ve spent hours writing emails, letters or calling Orange to ask for an explanation. I’ve been passed from call centre to call centre, from customer services to debt collection. No one at Orange was able to give me the slightest clarification. A real wall”, he said. He has never contacted a consumer association, “due to lack of time and also because I trusted the people with whom I was speaking”.

At the end of last week he stumbled upon the article on the Observateur du Valenciennois internet site concerning the case of Eric Gernez. He then also threatened Orange with the press. “The result did not tardy”, he continues. “A customer services representative and a debt collector immediately contacted me by email November 16. And immediately afterwards I received a credit for €136,529”. A first credit having already been sent to him in June, Orange now considers the dossier as “definitively resolved”.

This resolution does not satisfy Jean Spadaro at all, who simply wishes that the bill be cancelled. “I have been a client with Orange for 17 years. I don’t want to attack their image, but here, enough is enough. It’s a question of principles”, he says, highlighting that “on forums, dozens of subscribers tell similar stories”. Furthermore, the two credits do not reimburse him for all of the additional fees he has incurred. “The following months, Orange tried to debit the sum from my account, causing rejection fees from my bank and unpaid fees from the operator. Around €35 each time”.

Exasperated by the whole affair, Spadaro awaits the end of his current contract with Orange in February next year. “I will cancel all of my subscriptions to Orange: 3G+ dongle, but also mobile telephone and internet”, he promises. He has been a client with the operator since 1997.

Orange has promised to work with each case of overbilling. Interviewed on France 2 on Wednesday, Jean-Paul Cottet, director of the business market for France, said that the number of problems were marginal. According to him, 4,000 professionals have opted for a package with a 3G key. It is “a 24/24 but not unlimited offer. Out of these 4,000 cases, there are 1% which are a problem” he explained, listing about thirty such “absurd bills”. “We will correct that”, he promised. “We will work with each client”.

Jean-Paul Cottet pointed out that the general public offers better protection to the client. Once the authorised download limit is reached, the service quality diminishes but there is no overbilling.

Asked about the information given to clients about the conditions of billing elements not included in the package, Elizabeth Alvez, communications representative for the regional department for the North of France, said that “all the tarification information is available at points-of-sale and on orange.fr. This information is given as part of the dialogue between the client and the vendor. We are obliged to communicate the prices.” Nevertheless, one must first of all take the time to read the entire contract with the salesperson before signing.