France to ban smoking in public places

Monday, October 9, 2006 France is to ban smoking in all public places in February 2007, the French prime minister, Dominique de Villepin has announced. However cafés, nightclubs and restaurants will not be required to comply until January 2008. An offence would result in a fine of 75 euros for the person(s) responsible and 150 euros for the premises where […]

Space Shuttle Discovery lands in Florida

Sunday, March 29, 2009 The space shuttle Discovery landed at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Saturday, ending its thirteen-day mission to the International Space Station (ISS). The spacecraft’s landing was delayed for two hours due to low-lying clouds and heavy winds. Discovery had been sent out to the ISS in order to install a new set of solar […]

News briefs:June 30, 2006

The time is 20:00 (UTC) on June 30th, 2006, and this is Audio Wikinews News Briefs. Contents 1 Headlines 1.1 Interior Ministry, Fatah offices in Gaza hit by Israeli airstrikes 1.2 Palestinian PM: Israel aims to topple gov’t 1.3 Portuguese Minister of Foreign Affairs Freitas do Amaral resigns 1.4 French Parliament adopts controversial copyright bill 1.5 Police crackdown on illegal […]

Swedish nuclear reactors shut down over safety concerns

Saturday, August 5, 2006  Correction — August 14, 2006 This article reports that the Forsmark Nuclear Power Plant reactor cooling systems failed. This is incorrect. Two of the four emergency diesel generators supplying power to the plant failed to start as expected, during a reactor shut down. The emergency cooling system, which functioned normally was sufficient to meet the reactor’s needs. […]

Eurovision ’04 winner Ruslana discusses her paths as singer, spokesmodel, stateswoman and source of inspiration

Monday, March 30, 2009 First becoming famous in her native Ukraine in the 1990s, long-haired self-described “Amazon” Ruslana gained international recognition for winning the 2004 Eurovision Song Contest with her song “Wild Dances,” inspired by the musical traditions of the Hutsul people of the Ukrainian Carpathian Mountains. In the five years since, Ruslana has decided to use her name and […]

Telecom New Zealand to sell Yellow Page Group

Saturday, November 4, 2006 Telecom New Zealand has announced that it is going to sell its Yellow Page Group business and is expecting at least NZ$2 billion. The Yellow Page Group includes the Yellow Pages, White Pages (which includes both offline and online services), New Zealand Retirement Guide and New Zealand Tourism Online. However Chief Financial Officer, Mark Bogoievski, will […]