Wiki News Blog: April 2016

Friday, April 29, 2016

Magnitude 7.0 earthquake affects archipelago of Vanuatu

Friday, April 29, 2016

Map of earthquake registered in Vanuatu
Image: USGS / AlvaroMolina.

During the day yesterday, a strong earthquake of magnitude 7.0, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS), was recorded in the Vanuatu islands located in the South Pacific.

According to the USGS, the epicenter of this earthquake was centered at 0.6 mile (1 km) southeast of Norsup. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center (PTWC) preliminarily declared a tsunami alert in the South Pacific, which was later revised by the center.

This strong quake did not leave any reported wounded or damage to homes or structures in the area. The islands of Vanuatu are part of the famous "Ring of Fire" and for this reason earthquakes occur frequently of around this magnitude; one was registered early this month with a magnitude of 6.9.

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Wednesday, April 27, 2016

Bus explosion in Armenian capital kills two

Thursday, April 28, 2016

A bus explosion in Yerevan, the capital of Armenia, on Monday killed two Armenians and reportedly injured at least seven others. Deputy head of the rescue service at the Ministry of Emergency Situations Major-General Grigoryan said the blast was reported on Monday at 10:00pm local time (1800 UTC).

In remarks to News.am, Armenian Health Minister Armen Muradyan said six injured were transported to a local medical centre. One passenger was revealed to be pregnant, and News.am reported at least five others were in critical condition.

Reportedly the blast destroyed nearby houses' windows, and could be heard for miles.

While authorities are still investigating the incident, the Emergencies Ministry said the bus was using diesel fuel so it wasn't a gas explosion. In remarks to Associated Press (AP), investigative committee member Sona Truzyan said they have considered and rejected a terrorist explanation. Truzyen reported the committee is currently investigating a party to a domestic dispute. An investigator told AP the suspect had threatened to give them a bomb, which could have exploded accidentally en route to its intended target.

The suspect's telephone SIM card was recovered from the scene,. A detonator, TNT, and other electronics were found at his residence, and evidence of TNT was discovered on the bus.

A 2016 study by crowdsourced site Numbeo says Armenia has the 93rd highest crime rate in the word. It's behind a number of other countries, including the United States and many European countries.

General Prosecutor's Office of Armenia said they would give the public regular updates on the ongoing investigation.

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University defeat Toads in 2016 Sunshine Coast Rugby Union round 4

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Monday, April 25, 2016

University defeat Toads in 2016 Sunshine Coast Rugby Union round 4

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Saturday, April 23, 2016

Rio 2016 Olympic flame lit in Olympia

Saturday, April 23, 2016

A little over 100 days before the scheduled start of the 2016 Summer Olympics, on Thursday the Olympic flame was ignited in a ceremony at the temple of Hera in Olympia, Greece. Actress Katerina Lehu played the role of priestess accompanied by fourteen virgins, lighting the flame at solar noon using sunlight focused by a parabolic mirror.

After lighting the "sacred fire" Lehu passed it to its first bearer, gymnast Lefteris Petrunias. According to El País, another torchbearer is to be a Syrian refugee, bearing it in the Eleonas refugee camp.

International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach said the lighting ceremony was writing history, and the Olympic Games would bring a message of hope in difficult times to Brazil and to the whole world. Over six days, the Olympic torch is to pass through more than 2000 kilometers of Greek territory, going through Marathon and the island of Corfu. This part of the ride ends at the Panathinaiko Stadium in Athens, site of the first modern Games of the Olympiad.

Subsequently, the flame travels by plane to the Olympic Museum in Lausanne where it is to stay for a week. Later, on May 2, it is to be moved to Brasilia. The relay trip of the Olympic flame from Olympia to the Olympic site was introduced by Carl Diem in the Berlin 1936 Games.

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Friday, April 22, 2016

Musician Prince dies aged 57

Friday, April 22, 2016

Musician Prince died at home in Minnesota, United States yesterday.

File photo of Prince, 2008.
Image: penner.

A publicist confirmed his death. "It is with profound sadness that I am confirming that the legendary, iconic performer, Prince Rogers Nelson has died".

A statement from the Carver County Sheriff's office said Prince was found in an elevator at his home at Paisley Park Studio. Emergency workers were called, but after they were unable to revive him, he was pronounced dead.

Following Prince's first album in 1978, he came to prominence in the 1980s. His 1980s releases included 1999, Kiss, Purple Rain, and Sign o' the Times. He went on to record more than 30 albums. During his career he sold more than 100 million records and had 47 songs reach the US Billboard top 100. Five of those songs, When Doves Cry, Kiss, Let's Go Crazy, Cream, and Batdance, went to number one. The song When Doves Cry was number one for five weeks.

In 1984 Prince starred in the movie Purple Rain, which was based on his album. The movie's song score won Prince an Academy Award for best original song score. Prince won seven Grammy awards and in 2004 was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. He also wrote songs released successfully by other artists, such as Manic Monday released in 1986 by the Bangles and Nothing Compares 2 U released in 1990 by Sinéad O'Connor.

The Minnesota Star Tribune reported an autopsy will be conducted to determine Prince's cause of death.

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Wednesday, April 20, 2016

Charges against Sally Faulkner and 60 Minutes news crew dropped in Lebanon abduction case

Brisbane mother Sally Faulkner and the crew of Australian current affairs program 60 Minutes are free to leave Lebanon after kidnapping charges against them were today dropped.

Faulkner reportedly made a deal to secure her release, accepting her estranged husband Ali el-Amine's custody of her two children. This comes after she allegedly hired professionals to abduct the children in Beirut on April 7 while in the care of their Lebanese grandmother.

While personal charges against Australian journalist Tara Brown, her three crew members and Faulkner have been dropped, they still face criminal charges in Lebanon of kidnapping and being members of a criminal gang. If the state chooses to pursue these charges, it could require the accused to return to answer them.

Channel Nine Middle East correspondent Tom Steinfort said that Nine's lawyers have confirmed bail has been paid for the TV crew, and that they will fly to Australia from Beirut tonight.

The deal between El-Amine and Channel Nine resulted in a significant financial settlement, Fairfax Media reports.

El-Amine is still pursuing charges carrying a maximum 20-year sentence against the crew of Child Abduction Recovery International (CARI) who allegedly conducted the operation.

Adam Whittington of CARI, along with several others involved in the alleged kidnapping, remained in custody. Their lawyers claimed positive developments in the case, saying "everyone will take advantage of the deal."

In remarks on Monday to News Corp Australia, Whittington said he has receipts for A$115,000 paid directly by the Nine Network to fund the operation.

According to Steinfort, in dropping charges against the 60 Minutes crew, El-Amine told Judge Rami Abdullah the reporters were 'just doing their job', and later joked to Steinfort about his relationship with Channel Nine.

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Monday, April 18, 2016

Nadal defeats Monfils to claim his ninth Monte Carlo Masters title

Tennis player Rafael Nadal beat Gael Monfils 7-5, 5𔃅, 6𔂾, to win his ninth Monte-Carlo Masters title yesterday. Nadal, who is ranked world number five in men's tennis, last won the title in 2012 and has now claimed the 68th singles title of his career.

File photo of Rafael Nadal, 2015.
Image: Tourism Victoria (flickr).

Nadal won the first set 7𔃃 in 73 minutes, breaking early in the set to grab a 3𔂿 lead. Monfils fought back in the second set winning 7𔃃 after breaking Nadal's serve 3 times. During the match 29-year-old Spaniard Nadal hit 25 winners. Completing the third set 6𔂾, Nadal denied Monfils the chance to win the title for what would have been the first time in his career.

The match was completed in two hours 45 minutes. After the match, Nadal said, "Well I think it's amazing, no, it's a tournament really that I love so much, it's so special for me. I won the first one here, and a couple of times I was struggling a little bit and I came back here and played well, so this victory means a lot to me and I am so happy for everything. I hope to, to that victory helps me a lot for the next couple of tournaments, but anyway winning here in Monte Carlo for the ninth time is something, just, unbelievable."

This was Nadal's first title in 2016.

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Saturday, April 16, 2016

North Korean ballistic missile fails at launch

In the early morning on Friday, North Korea tried unsuccessfully to launch a ballistic missile Musudan, BM-25, according to reports. An anonymous defense official placed the attempt at 5:03 local time (2033 on Thursday UTC).

According to South Korean news agency Yonhap, the missile's range is 3,000 to 4,000 kilometers (about 1850 to 2500 miles), enough to reach the US base on the island of Guam.

A statement from the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff said "North Korea appears to have tried to shoot, this morning, a missile from the area of the East Sea, but it is presumed that the launch failed." According to Yonhap, North Korea did not notify the International Maritime Organization of the launch.

Friday was the 104th birthday of the founder of North Korea and grandfather of present leader Kim Jong-un, Kim Il-sung, which is celebrated with military parades and events.

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Lebanon child abduction charges against mother may be dropped in exchange for custody

Sally Faulkner, who allegedly hired professionals to snatch her children from Beirut last week, was offered kidnapping charges to be dropped if she relinquishes custody of her children, according to reports yesterday. This is on the condition she will have full access rights, but must never take the children back to Australia.

The children's father and Faulkner's estranged husband, Ali el-Amien, took the children to Lebanon on holiday in 2014 and never returned them to their Brisbane home. Faulkner was granted sole custody of the children, Lahela and Noah, by the Family Court of Australia in December of last year. Faulkner's lawyer, Ghassan Moghabghab, said Lebanese religious authorities had granted the father full custody.

In remarks to Australian news service ABC News, Moghabghab said money supplied by the Australian current affairs program 60 Minutes was paid to Child Abduction Recovery International, who conducted the abduction last week.

Mr Moghabghab has declined to make further statements, saying it may influence legal negotiations. The Nine Network has also refused to comment on allegations of giving A$115,000 to Faulkner either as payment for rights to the story or to fund the abduction.

The 60 Minutes news crew was remanded in custody beside Faulkner on Wednesday. They face potential jail time of up to 20 years. The crew's charges include kidnapping, physical assault, withholding information and forming an association to commit a crime against a person. The case has been adjourned until Monday. Judge Rami Abdullah says there is "no chance" of the charges being dropped against the 60 Minutes crew.

According to Child Recovery Australia, less than half of Australian children abducted by a parent are returned through legal means. Lebanon isn't party to the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction.

Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull says Australia is making every effort to support the crew and Faulkner, but the legal jurisdiction of Lebanon has to be respected.

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Wednesday, April 13, 2016

Major Colombian newspaper reveals Bogotá mayor does not hold claimed PhD degree

Tuesday, April 12, 2016

On Thursday, an article in newspaper El Espectador of Bogotá, Colombia accused the current mayor of Bogotá, Enrique Peñalosa, of falsely claiming to have completed a PhD degree in Public Administration at the University of Paris.

According to the report by Juana Afanador and Carlos Carrillo, the library of the University of Paris II does not have a doctoral thesis written by Enrique Peñalosa. In response to the article Peñalosa quickly said he never claimed he held a PhD degree and that a communication error with his political campaign team led them to include such claim in the political advertisements of his campaign for Mayor of Bogota. He said he actually took a DESS (Diploma of Advanced Studies^((fr))) in Public Administration from the University of Paris II which some people might have interpreted as a Doctorate.

The reporters also identified two books written by the political leader which include a biography where he clearly states he holds a Doctorate in Public Administration from the University of Paris. Additionally, Brazilian newspaper O Globo quoted Mr Peñalosa in September: "I was born in Washington DC, am 60 and gave up US citizenship at 21. I am married with two children. I graduated as an economist and historian with a doctorate in Paris."^((pt))

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Saturday, April 9, 2016

Thousands march in London calling for David Cameron's resignation over tax affairs

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