Former US Speaker of the House Hastert planning to retire

Wednesday, August 15, 2007 Republican officials announced today that Rep. Dennis Hastert of Illinois will be leaving the United States Congress when his present congressional term concludes at the end of next year. Hastert has served in Illinois’ 14th district since 1987 and his time as Speaker makes him longest serving Republican Speaker in history. …

Celebrity plastic surgeon Dr. Frank Ryan dies in car accident aged 50

Tuesday, August 17, 2010 Plastic surgeon to the stars Dr. Frank Ryan has died in a car accident at age 50. It is reported that the Jeep Ryan was driving crashed over the side of the Pacific Coast Highway and landed on rocks. Lifeguards were first on the scene and unsuccessfully tried to rescue Ryan. …

Woman finds human finger in bowl of chili at Wendy’s restaurant

Thursday, March 24, 2005 San Jose, California — A woman eating a bowl of chili at a Wendy’s restaurant bit into a chewy bit that turned out to be a human finger. She immediately spat it out, warned other patrons to stop eating, and upon recognizing the object as a finger, vomited. “I’m more of …

Wikinews interviews Buddy Roemer, U.S. Republican Party presidential candidate

Sunday, October 30, 2011 U.S. Republican Party presidential candidate and former Governor Buddy Roemer of Louisiana took some time to answer a few questions from Wikinews reporter William S. Saturn. Roemer served four terms in the U.S. House of Representatives in the 1980s as a member of the Democratic Party. He was elected governor as …

UK MPs elect John Bercow as new Speaker of the House of Commons

Monday, June 22, 2009 Following the resignation of Speaker Michael Martin, which took effect yesterday, members of the House of Commons, the lower house of the British Houses of Parliament, today elected John Bercow as the new Speaker of the House. The three rounds of voting were held as a secret ballot of all Members …

Water main bursts in west Edinburgh; traffic, utilities disrupted

Saturday, May 28, 2011 In Edinburgh, capital of Scotland, part of an underground water piping system has exploded, forcing local residents to be evacuated. The pipe broke around 03:30 BST (0230 UTC) today, within Allan Park Road, causing flooding in the Slateford area of the city. A spokesperson for Scottish sewerage and water corporation Scottish …

Man banned from keeping animals after forcing cat to inhale cannabis

Friday, September 11, 2009 A 19 year old from South Tyneside, England has been banned from looking after animals after stealing a cat and forcing it to inhale cannabis. Mark Kane, from South Shields, England, was banned from looking after animals for 10 years after causing “unnecessary suffering” to a tabby cat in January 2009. …

Australian PM Gillard pressured to address human rights crackdown in China

Monday, April 25, 2011 The international organisation Human Rights Watch (HRW) has called on Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard to publicly address China’s recent crackdown on dissidents, during her visit to the country from April 25th to 28th. In an open letter HRW called on Prime Minister Gillard to address the increasing use of repressive …