Uber suspends self-driving car program after pedestrian death in Arizona, United States

Wednesday, March 21, 2018 On Monday, the United States ride-sharing company Uber announced suspension of its experimental self-driving car program after one of the cars fatally struck a 49-year-old woman pedestrian in Tempe, Arizona on Sunday night. The company characterized the suspension of the program — in the Phoenix area and also in Pittsburgh; San […]

13 pilot whales returning to sea, off Western Australia

Monday, April 4, 2005 Rescuers were today sending a pod of 13 pilot whales back into the ocean at Geographe Bay, near to Busselton, south of Perth, in Western Australia. Six additional members of the pod had died during the stranding, including at least one calf. More than 300 people were watching as the whales […]

U.S. Congress passes CAFTA with 2 vote House margin

Thursday, July 28, 2005 The U.S. House of Representatives approved the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) early morning Thursday, with a narrow vote of 217 in favor, 215 against. Voting was held open for an hour, 45 minutes past the House’s 15-minute voting rule as the President along with other supporters lobbied into the […]

Calls for bottled water bans grow in Canada

Saturday, August 23, 2008 London, Ontario is the latest in a string of Canadian cities to have acted on increasing public demand to ban bottled water. On Monday, the decision to eliminate bottled water sales in city-run facilities was passed by London’s city council with a vote of 15-3 in favour. The move was driven […]

High percentage of US patients on placebos without knowing it

Friday, January 4, 2008 A new study amongst doctors in the United States on the use of placebos—pills with no medical effect—shows that almost half of the questioned practitioners prescribe placebos, most of them within the last year. The majority of 466 faculty physicians at Chicago-area medical schools interviewed by a research group of the […]

French parliamentarian questions Jacques Chirac’s Elysée budget

Thursday, October 6, 2005 A member of the French National Assembly, René Dosière, denounces the “opacity” in the budget of the Élysée Palace, the office of the President of the French Republic. According to him, the president’s real budget is approximately three times the budget given for his services in the yearly national budget voted […]

Ozzy Osbourne’s personal possessions fetch $800,000 for charity

Sunday, December 2, 2007 American heavy metal performer Ozzy Osbourne, who became famous as the lead vocalist for Black Sabbath and later as a solo act, has raised more than US$800,000 for The Sharon Osbourne Colon Cancer Program, founded by his spouse Sharon Osbourne at the Cedars Sinai Hospital, by auctioning off personal items. A […]

Asbestos controversy aboard Scientology ship Freewinds

Friday, May 16, 2008 Controversy has arisen over the reported presence of blue asbestos on the MV Freewinds, a cruise ship owned by the Church of Scientology. According to the Saint Martin newspaper The Daily Herald and the shipping news journal Lloyd’s List, the Freewinds was sealed in April and local public health officials on […]

Sydney racial violence continues

Tuesday, December 13, 2005 In a second night of racial violence in Sydney, residents have been bashed and property damaged throughout the eastern suburbs. Hundreds of men, some armed with guns and crowbars, damaged cars and businesses, and attacked people randomly. Five men have been arrested and charged. Police called in riot equipment and extra […]