Top Stories
Leaked e-mails say UK RAF knew of Nimrod issues China launches space probe to the moon The People's Republic of China today launched its first moon orbiter as part of the country's lunar exploration program.

Featured story
UN report: climate change and food shortage major problems for Earth's future The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) has released a comprehensive report on the current state of the global environment. Climate change, food and water shortage and a decline in biodiversity threaten humanity's survival, so urgent action is necessary, the report warns.

Wikipedia Current Events
An explosion shakes the Mexican consulate in New York City. The explosion was caused by two thrown hand grenades aided by additional explosive material. No injuries were reported, but several windows were blown out and debris entered the building. UN Security Council urges Nepal to set early date for Constituent Assembly election. Former President of the Philippines Joseph Estrada is freed after receiving a pardon from the current President Gloria Arroyo. Leaders of the European Union and Russia meet for their annual summit in Lisbon. The southern segment of the Kallang-Paya Lebar Expressway‎ in Singapore, set to be the longest subterranean road tunnel in Southeast Asia when fully complete, opens to traffic

Leaked emails show UK RAF were aware of Nimrod problems prior to fatal crash
Leaked emails have revealed that the United Kingdom's Royal Air Force (RAF) were aware of a dangerous problem with fuel leaking from Nimrod MR2 surveillance aircraft long before one exploded in midair during a mission in Kandahar, Afghanistan. All 14 people on board were killed in the crash in September last year.

Graham Knight, father of Sergeant Ben Knight, who died in the accident aged 25, told reporters that he had received internal RAF emails detailing prior concerns about the fuel leak problems on the Nimrod. One email originally sent on December 2, 2005 commented that “XV230 [the tail number of the Nimrod that would go on to crash] has fuel-leak issues which need to be rectified before the aircraft can be deployed.” Another, from February 2006, had the following to say: “The age of the airframe, combined with the aggressive tempo with which we are flying the jets in stark temperature shifts, is contributing to our leak headache.”

Another email later the same month highlighted the serious nature of the problem: “Fuel leaks on the Nimrod MR2 aircraft now pose a significant threat to the force being able to meet commitments and operational tasking.”

The emails were quietly forwarded to Knight, who has gone public with them via Sky News. “I have evidence that a fuel leak caused the crash and the Service was fully aware of the risk months beforehand. I believe the RAF killed my son,” he said.

He said that the emails were all written by senior members of the RAF, adding “there are so many people within the organisation who are not happy with what has been going on.”

"The more I have dug, the deeper the conspiracy gets - essentially, I think the major failures have been down to communication problems."

A board of inquiry has recently completed deliberating the cause of the accident, with a final report expected in about two weeks time. It is expected by many that the report will find a fuel leak was to blame. The crash was the largest loss of life from any UK service in a single incident since the Falklands war. Although the report will determine the cause of the crash and make recommendations to prevent it's recurrence, it will not attempt to establish blame for the disaster.

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) had previously admitted they were experiencing Nimrod fuel leaks, saying in January that in the six months proceeding there had been no less than 25 fuel leaks in RAF Nimrod aircraft. Nimrods were grounded after the crash, but were subsequently phased back into operation, and are currently back in full service flying regular reconnaissance missions in Afghanistan.

The MoD's response to these recent allegations was as follows: "RAF Nimrod aircraft are designed and certified to strict airworthiness and safety standards.

"If we didn't have confidence in the aircraft, we would not continue to fly them.

"Nimrod has a good safety record and remains a potent and respected aircraft.

"The Board of Inquiry to establish the cause of the accident last September is continuing and it would be unhelpful to speculate on the outcome until the board's findings are published."

All twelve of the crewmembers on board were from 102 Squadron at RAF Kinloss, Scotland. The loss was so large as in to have an adverse affect on the air base. The other two personnel on board were a marine and a solider.

"An aircraft should not suddenly burst into a ball of flames in mid-air,” Knight commented. He has been conducting his own investigation based on documentation obtained under the Freedom of Information Act. One important document is a recommendation made by BAE Systems in 2004 following a safety audit that concluded that it would be impossible to extinguish a fire on a Nimrod. The recommendation was to install a fire detection system. It was never acted upon.

Canadian burglars face 355 charges
A trio of "fast-food" robbers have been charged today by Toronto Police after a one-year investigation over their Greater Toronto Area (GTA) fast-food restaurant robberies, which have been carrying on since November 2006.

Their many successful break-ins were from the help of a police scanner, two-way radios, and other sophisticated tools including an over-sized cardboard box.

Police say one of the trio's members hid in a box while using a glass-cutter to cut through the front door of a restaurant. The two others monitored the area using a police scanner and two-way radios in case of police. When the thief broke-in he/she would crawl on the floor until they found their desired destination, the cash-registers, then take all the money they wanted, and then discretely leave.

Police said the trio made a good income stealing a total of CAD$250,000.

The names of the robbers are Gordon Michael Edwards, 27, Jason Richard Phillips, 25, and Donna Hofscheier, 23. They face a total of 355 changes for their 200 robberies.

FEMA employees pose as fake reporters during press conference
The United States Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is under fire after the agency held a fake press conference with fake news reporters in regards to individuals effected by the California wildfires and the assistance they could receive.

The agency called a press conference on Tuesday, giving the press only 15 minutes to show up. When many did not, FEMA brought in agency officials to pose as fake reporters and ask questions. The option for reporters to call into the conference was also available, but the ones who did call-in only got to listen to the press conference, and could not ask questions. No reporters were actually present during the conference.

Officials who posed as fake reporters included the deputy director of public affairs Cindy Taylor and Director of External Affairs John "Pat" Philbin.

White House officials said that they do not condone FEMA's actions and also state that they had no idea that the conference was taking place.

"FEMA has issued an apology, saying that they had an error in judgment when they were attempting to get out a lot of information to reporters, who were asking for answers to a variety of questions in regard to the wildfires in California. It's not something I would have condoned. And they — I'm sure — will not do it again," said Dana Perino, the White House's press secretary in a statement.

FEMA apologizes for the mishap and says that their intentions were only to get the information to the citizens of California.

"[The purpose was] to get information out as soon as possible, and in trying to do so we made an error in judgment. Our intent was to provide useful information and be responsive to the many questions we have received. We can and must do better," said Harvey E. Johnson, the agency's vice administrator.

FEMA is currently deciding whether or not any officials should face punishment for the incident.

This is not the first time that the Bush administration has come under fire for planting reporters at press conferences. In February of 2005, White House reporter Jeff Gannon was accused of being planted to ask softball questions to President Bush.

FEMA itself had earlier undergone criticism during Hurricane Katrina for using disaster workers for public relations in 2005.

2007 Major League Soccer Playoffs: Chicago Fire vs. DC United
Chicago Fire beat DC United to take a 1-0 advantage into the 2nd leg on Chris Rolfe 1st career playoff goal. Chicago Fire also remained undefeated against DC United in the playoffs.

Chicago played a defensive game as DC United, who scored 56 goals during the regular season, only managed 2 shots which hit the target.

The return leg is at home to DC United on Thursday, November 1.

ISIS says target of Israeli airstrike in Syria was a nuclear facility
Researchers at the Institute for Science and International Security (ISIS) have stated that a building that was located inside Syria at the site where Israel launched an airstrike on, has not only been completely removed, but that it was also a nuclear reactor under construction.

The researchers obtained the images from DigitalGlobe and released the satellite images of the site before the airstrike and according to them, the building is a nuclear reactor. They also state that the images show a facility much like the one in North Korea at Yongbyon. Another image taken on October 24, shows a site where a large building used to be, the ground being wiped clean of its existence. A water-pumping station located on the Euphrates River was believed to be used for cooling the reactor, claim the ISIS.

"The length of the outer walls of the structures are approximately the same. From the image, the Syrian building is similar in shape to the North Korean reactor building, but the Syrian building is not far enough along in its construction to make a definitive comparison," said the institute of the study.

Syria denies that they are building any kind of nuclear facility stating "the main point is that is that the Israeli fighter jet violated the airspace of a member state of the United Nations. This is the only fact that we should focus on. The Israelis have undertaken a provocative action and they should assume the consequences."

Despite Syria's claims, the ISIS states that "dismantling and removing the building at such a rapid pace dramatically complicates any inspection of the facilities and suggests that Syria may be trying to hide what was there."

Currently, the United States denies that the satellite photos show any site inside Syria and have not commented on the images. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) also refused to release a statement.

Australian soldier killed in Afghanistan
Matthew Locke, an Australian special forces soldier with the Special Air Service Regiment (SAS) has been shot and killed while taking part in a 300-man special operatives attack against the Taliban in Afghanistan. The death, Australia's third combat soldier death since the Vietnam War, is the second to occur in October.

The soldier, believed to be employed in Perth, Australia in the State of Tasmania and married with an unknown amount of children, was immediately lifted from the scene by the aero-medical helicopter evacuation team and was pronounced dead early this morning after suffering critical wounds throughout his chest. It is reported that he had received "high bravery honors" just before the battle.

Air Chief Marshal Angus Houston was quoted saying fine details of the operation, which took place in the Orūzgān Province, would not be released as it would "aid the Taliban [and] ... add to the dangers already facing our special operations troops."

"The soldier's mates reacted to the incident by extracting the soldier from further danger and providing immediate first aid. Their courage under fire and their determination to help a fallen mate is to be commended," added Houston who also stated that no other soldiers were injured or wounded during the fighting.

Oil prices reach all-time high; pass US$91.00 per barrel
Oil has risen to a new all-time record high during trading in Asia, passing US$91.10 at 10:23 p.m. on October 25 (eastern time).

In electronic trading at the NYMEX Crude Futures in the United States touched a record price of, at US$92.22, according to Bloomberg, setting another record all-time high. On the IntercontinentalExchange Brent Crude futures reached US$89.30 (basis December) as of 8:34 a.m..

NYMEX Crude closed at $91.86, while ICE Brent closed at $88.69, at the conclusion of Friday's trading.

The raise come when the United States announced that it had an "unexpected loss" in the nation's stockpile of oil. The fear that Turkey may launch a large scale attack on Kurdish Militants inside Iraq is also being blamed for the raise in prices and the U.S. imposed more sanctions on Iran for continuing to enrich uranium.

Australia's Commonwealth Banks states that the raise is "being supported by an increase in geopolitical tensions and also market developments. The US has announced that it is imposing new sanctions on Iran, Oil markets also continued to have an eye on developments related to the current tensions between Turkey and Kurd rebels in Iraq."

OPEC has agreed that by November 1, 2007, they will increase the amount of barrels of oil they produce by 500,000 barrels a day. The U.S. says that they would like that number increased.

Today in History
1553 – Condemned as a heretic, Michael Servetus was burned at the stake outside Geneva.

1904 – The New York City Subway, one of the most extensive public transportation systems in the world, opened with its first segment running between New York City Hall and Harlem.

1958 – General Ayub Khan deposed Iskander Mirza in a bloodless coup d'état to become the second President of Pakistan, less than three weeks after Mirza had appointed him the enforcer of martial law.

1961 – NASA launched the first Saturn I rocket, the United States' first dedicated spacecraft designed specifically to launch loads into Earth orbit.

1971 – The Democratic Republic of the Congo was renamed Zaire after a Portuguese mispronunciation of the Kikongo word nzere or nzadi, which translates to "the river that swallows all rivers."

October 27 is Independence Day in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (1979) and Turkmenistan (1991).

Quote of the Day

Patriotism means to stand by the country. It does not mean to stand by the President or any other public official save exactly to the degree in which he himself stands by the country. It is patriotic to support him insofar as he efficiently serves the country. It is unpatriotic not to oppose him to the exact extent that by inefficiency or otherwise he fails in his duty to stand by the country.

~ Theodore Roosevelt

Word of the Day

retinue; n

A group of servants or attendants, especially of someone considered important.

About Wikinews
We are a group of volunteer journalists whose mission is to create a diverse community where citizens from around the globe (including you) can collaborate to report the news on a wide variety of current events. By making our content perpetually available for free redistribution and use, we hope to contribute to a global digital commons. Got news and no computer? Call the Wikinews Hotline +1-866-653-4265 (toll-free in the U.S.) +1-202-742-5918 (outside the U.S.) +44-871-218-6397 (U.K. / Europe)
License
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution License. Articles published in this Print edition were created by Wikinewsies. Other content released under the GNU Free Documentation License. To view a copy of the CC-BY license, visit: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5/ or send a letter to Creative Commons 543 Howard Street, 5th Floor San Francisco, California, 94105, USA To view a copy of the GFDL, visit: http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html Wikipedia Current Events http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portal:Current_events Today in History http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page Quote of the Day http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Main_Page Word of the Day http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Main_Page
About Wikinews Print Edition
For more information about Wikinews Print Edition visit: http://en.wikinews.org/wiki/Wikinews:Print

Saturday, October 27, 2007	Wikinews	Page 5

If you would like to write, publish or edit articles, visit www.wikinews.org

October 27, 2007	The free-content news source that you can write!	Page 5

If you would like to write, publish or edit articles, visit en.wikinews.org

Wikinews Back Page

2007-10-26T20:29:46