Top Stories
Explosion blasts Palestinian intelligence service HQ An explosion has ripped through the headquarters of the Palestinian general intelligence service in the Gaza Strip. Palestinian officials say several people were wounded in the explosion, including intelligence chief Tareq Abu Rajab. 300 Vietnamese fishermen rescued after record China typhoon China has rescued more than 300 Vietnamese fishermen who were missing in the wake of a record typhoon which blasted the South China Sea. Survivors were found on 22 Vietnamese ships near the Pratas islands, off the southern coast of Guangdong province. State television reported the rescue as the "largest international marine rescue operation ever mounted by China."

Featured story
Interview with Ton Roosendaal about Elephants Dream and free content movies Three days after the Internet release of the free content 3D short Elephants Dream, we exchanged e-mails with Ton Roosendaal about the reaction to the film, open source filmmaking, and the changes to Blender that resulted from the production. http://en.wikinews.org/wiki/Featured

Wikipedia Current Events
The Mall of Asia formally opened to the public in Manila, Philippines. Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo inaugurated the mall May 20. In Louisiana, United States, Ray Nagin is re-elected Mayor of New Orleans. The construction of the Three Gorges Dam wall, the largest dam in the world, is completed in the People's Republic of China. Campaigning in Montenegro's referendum on independence ends at midnight local time, with voting scheduled to begin the following morning. (B92) A final poll shows the independence forces with 56% support, slightly above the internationally-imposed threshold of 55%. 5,000 medical students, doctors, and lawyers rally in New Delhi, India against the boosting of quotas for lower-caste students in medical, engineering and other colleges from 22.5% to 49.5%. The Iraqi National Assembly votes in a new Iraqi government, leaving the ministries of Defense, National Security and Interior in temporary hands. A United States Congressman (Duncan Hunter, R-CA) states American troops in Iraq killed 24 civilians in an incident in 2005. Earlier Rep. John Murtha (D-PA) had said even innocent women and children were killed in cold blood. Finnish rock band Lordi wins the Eurovision Song Contest 2006 with the song Hard Rock Hallelujah. Thoroughbred racehorse Barbaro suffers a career-ending injury in the Preakness Stakes at Pimlico Race Course in his quest to become the 13th winner of the Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing, thus extending the drought to 28 years.

Missing girl from British Columbia found safe
A missing 11 year old girl was found safe on Thursday around 5:00 am PDT after disappearing May 16 while riding her scooter to a local video store near the north Okanagan town of Armstrong, British Columbia. Carmen Kados left home on her regular two kilometer trip to the local store at around 6:45 Tuesday evening. She wasn't seen again after leaving the store at around 7:15.

Carmen's mother called authorities and reported the young girl missing at around 8:45 -- police located her scooter, a cell phone and the video she had rented in a parking lot near the store. Other possessions were found but exact details were not disclosed for investigative purposes, according to Corporal Henry Proce, spokesman for the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

"The first 24 hours, the first 48 hours, are crucial and as more time elapses you become more and more fearful of a worst-case scenario," Proce said.

A wide net was cast in hopes of locating Kados -- police and as many as 65 search and rescue volunteers searched the largely rural area, scouring railroad tracks, streams, and parking lots. The girl and her alleged abductor were located separately at around 5:00 a.m. Thursday. The suspect in the abduction was identified as a transient known to police. Police indicate that community involvement, including tips and a description of the abductor, were instrumental in locating the suspect.

Kados was brought to Vernon Jubilee Hospital, and her parents joined her there. Police reported she had been injured, but the injuries were not life threatening. Both Kados and her parents are traumatized by the incident, and spokesman Proce did not expect they would be making a public statement soon.

"I think anybody that's a parent can only begin to imagine how it must feel not to know where your child is," said Proce. "This is a little 11-year-old girl and to not know where she is even for an hour, never mind 36 hours, would be something only a few of us can even imagine."

Five dead in Louisiana church shooting
A lone gunman has shot and killed four people at the Jesus Christ church in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

The suspect was initially identified as Anthony Bell (25) and was arrested near an apartment block close to the scene. The suspect's wife (whose name has not yet been released) was also shot.

A child who was abducted at the scene was found unharmed and the suspect's remaining two children were discovered safe at home.

Professionals and students continue strike in New Dehli
New Dehli: Almost 10,000 people marched to Jantar Mantar from Maulana Azad Medical College in an anti-reservation rally on Saturday. Doctors and medical students say they will continue to strike and protest, despite an appeal from the prime minister to call off their agitation.

The striking medicos under the banner of 'Youth for Equality' were joined by students from Delhi University and medical colleges around the capital, parents, lawyers and accountants.

The students and their supporters want total rollback of a proposed quota-hike for OBCs in elite educational institutions, and a review of the present reservation policy. "There are very less seats in the post-graduate streams compared to the undergraduate courses. Hence the reservation move will affect the future of majority students," said student leader Praful Raj.

The students have support from many groups. They were led by the Youth for Equality, an AIIMS initiative, while United Students, a DU and JNU group, IIT alumni, RWAs (under the banner of United Residents Joint Action), Resident Doctors Associations from various government and private hospitals, Chartered Accountant’s Association, students from private universities like IP and parents of agitating students also joined in.

Students from medical colleges in Rajasthan, Orissa, Gujarat, Punjab and Karnataka also took part in the rally. Students and doctors say the government has showed "scant regard to the sentiments of the students", who have been protesting the proposed quota-hike for OBCs in elite educational institutions.

The students had appealed to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to set up a non-political judicial committee to review the existing reservation policy and sought an audience with him to discuss the issue.

Controversy over translation of Norwegian national anthem
A suggestion to translate the national anthem of Norway into Urdu is causing controversy. The Progress Party opposes the idea, saying that people who cannot understand Norwegian could just hum with the Norwegian citizens. For a week there have been huge patriotic rallies in Norway to mark the occasion of Syttende Mai, Norwegian Constitution Day on May 17.

The editor of Utrop, a newspaper for the minorities in Norway, suggested the translation of the national anthem in an editorial in the national paper Vårt Land. Such a translation, he said, would allow immigrants of Pakistani origin to show their love for Norway by singing the Norwegian national anthem. The title of the national anthem is after all "Ja vi elsker (dette landet)" which translates as "Yes, we love (this country)."

"This is integration in reverse," said Per-Willy Amundsen, the Progress Party spokesman on issues dealing with immigration. According to him, "the best gift that the immigrants could give to Norway would be learning the language of their new homeland".

Iran stands defiant on Uranium enrichment
Iran has rejected European Union incentives to give up its Uranium enrichment program. Foreign ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi said that any plan has to acknowledge Iran's legal rights under international law, including Article IV of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

Wikipedia has one or more articles about Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

It is believed that Britain, France and Germany, all member states of the EU, are developing incentives for Iran to give up its enrichment programming in an attempt to defuse mutual fears and perceptions of threats by US, Israeli and Iranian governments. The incentives are believed to include a raft of security, trade and technology benefits.

The proposal by the three EU members encourages other nations to support the construction of light water power generation reactors, to set up a nuclear fuel bank and the relaxation of United States trade restrictions to allow Iran to purchase commercial planes built in the US. These incentives are conditional upon Iran renouncing its rights under Article IV of the NPT, i.e. stopping its Uranium enrichment program, and cooperating with the United Nations International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in ways additional to its present cooperation, which at present includes continuous monitoring of many key Iranian nuclear facilities by the IAEA.

If Iran doesn't comply Britain, France and Germany will support economic sanctions against Iran, the refusal to issue visas to Iranian officials and a freeze on the assets belonging to individuals and corporations with ties to the Iranian regime.

Mr Asefi said he would not comment on the proposal at this stage. He said it would be "hasty to comment on a raw proposal that has been brought up in the media, and still neither officially nor unofficially given to us."

Mr Asefi said that any plan would have to recognise Iran's rights to be considered. "The basis of our work is that the Islamic Republic of Iran's rights must be recognised in any plan," he said.

"We cannot retreat. The proposal should provide ways to secure our rights," he said. "We will not stop enrichment."

Mr. Asefi warned Europe against economic sactions saying that they would harm Europe. "We have broad trade and economic ties with European and non-European countries. These ties can be damaged and this damage will harm European countries even more" he said.

Militants target rally in Srinagar
A meeting organised by the Youth Congress at Srinagar's Sher-e-Kashmir park to mark the 15th death anniversary of the late Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi has been attacked by terrorists.

Official sources say intense firing and some explosions were reported by eye-witnesses. There were atleast two militants involved in the incident according to Deputy Inspector General of Police Gopal Sharma.

A number of people, including Inspector General of Police, Srinagar, K Rajendra and Deputy Superintendent of Police Faizal Ahmad have been injured in the attack which occured at around 13:59 IST (07:29 UTC). Security forces stated that two of the fidayeen were killed by them. Two civilans and one police officer lost their lives in the cross-fire.

'Naked Guy' Andrew Martinez dies
Andrew Martinez, a former student at the University of California at Berkeley who was better known as "The Naked Guy" in the early 1990s, died on Thursday in an apparent suicide. He was 33.

Guards at the Santa Clara County Jail reportedly found Martinez unconscious in a jail cell, with a plastic bag cinched around his neck, at about 11:19 p.m. Wednesday. Martinez was taken to a local hospital where was pronounced dead early Thursday. He had been incarcerated since January 10 on charges of battery and assault with a deadly weapon.

Martinez is best known for attending his classes in the nude in the fall of 1992. He became an instant celebrity, appearing on national television talk shows where he defended his practice as a form of free speech and a challenge to sexual repression in Western society.

Martinez was eventually expelled from UC Berkeley for violating the school's code of conduct, and Berkeley city officials passed a strict anti-nudity ordinance.

Family and acquaintances report that Martinez had been suffering from undetermined mental illness over the past decade for which he never found comprehensive treatment, and had been in and out of halfway houses, psychiatric institutions, and jail.

Said close acquaintance Bryan Schwartz, a civil rights lawyer in Washington, D.C., "He was a person with tremendous gifts and charisma who could have been a great asset to our society, but instead I feel like society -- me included -- failed him. It's such a waste."

300 Vietnamese fishermen rescued after record China typhoon
China has rescued more than 300 Vietnamese fishermen who were missing in the wake of a record typhoon, Chanchu, which blasted the South China Sea.

Survivors were found on 22 Vietnamese ships near the Pratas Islands, off the southern coast of Guangdong province. State television reported the rescue as the "largest international marine rescue operation ever mounted by China."

Eight fishing ships sank 1,000 km east of Vietnam's central city of Danang, while eight remained missing. Rescuers had found 26 bodies and rescued 81 others, the Vietnamese government said in a statement. "However, the number of missing fishermen and the ships remains huge," Prime Minister Phan Van Khai said on state-run Vietnam Television.

On Da Nang coast, relatives of the missing fishermen erected altars with flowers and fruits. Weeping families burnt insence and prayed for loved ones to return.

Typhoon Chanchu was downgraded to a tropical storm on Thursday when it crossed the southern Chinese coast. The storm caused landslides, flooding and forced around a million people to evacuate. Landslides and collapsing buildings killed 15 people and left four missing in China's Fujian province. Eight more people died in neighboring Guangdong province. Flooding in southern Taiwan swept two women to their deaths.

Chanchu, the most powerful on record to enter the South China Sea in May, left a wake of damage in the region - killing at least 37 people in the Phillipines last weekend.

The typhoon, with winds of up to 170 km per hour, has reportedly killed 23 people in China. Vietnam's Fisheries Ministry had listed more than 400 fishermen as missing from Danang city and the nearby provinces of Quang Nam and Quang Ngai.

Violence escalates in Afghanistan
Two French special forces troops and a US soldier were among 34 killed in Afghanistan in a violent upsurge in recent days. General Rahmatullah Raufi, military commander for the southern provinces, said the clash erupted when militants ambushed a military convoy.

Fears of a resurgence of the Taliban have been boosted by a sharp rise in violence in the past few weeks, much of it in Helmand province. Around 120 people died in 24 hours last week. Attacks on Friday have claimed another 34 lives. Officials say the fighting was some of the heaviest since the Taliban were ousted by the US-led invasion in 2001.

The French Defence Ministry said two French soldiers were killed on Saturday in a battle with Taliban forces in Kandahar. France has had 200 special forces officers in south-eastern Afghanistan since 2003. A US soldier was killed and six others wounded after a bloody clash on Friday in Uruzgan province, when a joint patrol encountered Taliban fighters.

The Taliban have stepped up attacks on foreign and government forces recently as NATO increases its peacekeeping force from 9,000 to 16,000 - as they prepare to take over from US forces in the South.

Helmand, the main opium poppy-growing region, has become a major focus of violence. Over the past week there has also been attacks in Zabul province and the western city of Herat. Scattered clashes in the southern provinces in the past four days have killed around 150 people, including Taliban, Afghan police and military personnel and civilians.

Finnish metal band win 51st Eurovision Song Contest
A "cartoonish" band from Finland has won this year's Eurovision song contest in Athens. "Monster-themed" rock band Lordi beat 23 other competitors. Lordi scored 292 points from telephone voters in 38 countries with its song "Hard Rock Hallelujah" in a performance that both shocked and amused viewers.

The band, described as "cartoon metalheads", wearing latex monster masks and weilding spark-spewing instruments, beat runner-up Russian "heart throb" Dima Bilan. Bosnia's Hari Mata Hariwas came third. A spokesperson for Lordi said: "We won the contest, looking like this,” he said. “It just goes to show that Europe is not such a bad place."

The Finnish band thanked viewers for voting for their song, which featured the lead singer hoisting a double-headed axe over his head. The win has been dubbed as a "radical departure" from the catchy pop tunes, folk songs and emotional ballads normally associated with Eurovision.

Complete with distortes guitars, a catchy chorus and "mock-demonic imagery," Lordi is reminiscent of 1970s American band Kiss - an inspiration acknowledged by lead singer Mr Lordi. "What this has shown is that there are different styles of music than just pop and rock," Mr Lordi told news media after the surprise victory. "That should be the goal of Eurovision," he said.

Mr Lordi, whose real name is Tomi Putaansuu, hails from Lapland and says his band's masked personas are just characters. "The guys behind the masks are not interesting - underneath, there's just a boring, normal guy who walks the dogs, goes to the supermarket, watches DVDs and eats candies. You really don't want to see him." he said. But the characters "live on stage and they live in a fantasy world", he said. "This element of mystery is one of the cornerstones of Lordi."

The band has upset many Finns with their outrageous behaviour. "This is a victory for rock music... and also a victory for open-mindedness," Mr Lordi said. "For the millionth time, we’re not Satanists or devil worshippers. This is entertainment. The masks are like our calling card and we’ll never perform without them. It would be like Santa Claus handing a child his gifts and Christmas time and then pulling off his beard..."

The 51st annual Eurovision was broadcast live across Europe, watched by an estimated 100 million viewers. Regarded by many as the "contest good taste forgot," Eurovision is adored by fans of kitsch and camp everywhere.

Lordi join the likes of Abba, Bucks Fizz, Dana and Celine Dion on the elite list of Eurovision winners.

Snowy Hydro Scheme to go public
The New South Wales (NSW) government says small investors will have the first opportunity to buy shares in one of Australia's most unique public assets - the Snowy Hydro Scheme, the sale of which begins officially on Monday, May 22. NSW Finance Minister John Della Bosca denied the sale was incongruent with Labor's stance on privatisation, or that it was a pre-election strategy.

The hydroelectric scheme is jointly owned by the New South Wales, Victorian and federal governments, which have decided to sell their shares by floating the company on the Australian Stock Exchange.

NSW taxpayers hold 58 per cent of the shares in the scheme and the State government stands to make between $1.5 billion and $2 billion from the sale. Selling the Snowy Hydro scheme could raise up to $3 billion for the Victorian, NSW and federal governments.

Mr Della Bosca told the ABC: "We've looked at all sorts of arrangements to raise more capital." He said the sale will secure the future of Snowy Hydro. "Snowy is at a point where it's not responsible for it to go further into debt and the best thing for it, to be able to do, is raise capital on the stock exchange." The Minister denied the privatisation was a "grab for cash".

Liberal Senator Bill Heffernan is demanding a constitutional referendum to hand control of all rivers to the Commonwealth. He claims the Snowy Hydro sale would damage regional Australia and is being forced by state governments, to prop up their budgets. "I've expressed my extreme distress and disappointment both to the federal and state governments in no uncertain manner," he said. "I think it's a national disgrace and I think we will live to regret it in the future.

Senator Heffernan says he has had trouble trying to raise the issue with his colleague, the Finance Minister Nick Minchin. "There's been no discussions," he said.

NSW irrigators have withdrawn support for the sale after the NSW, Victorian and federal governments agreed to a 10 per cent limit on the number of shares an individual can buy.

Greens MP Slyvia Hale says she believes the Government will attempt to limit the release of documents relating to the sale when Parliament resumes next week. "As with eveything connected with the sale things have been kept very quiet and the Government will continue, I believe, to try and ensure that critical information is withheld from the public," she said.

She says the sale should be suspended while an inquiry takes place.

Ray Nagin re-elected New Orleans mayor
New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin won re-election Saturday night, successfully weathering a challenge from Louisiana Lieutenant Governor Mitch Landrieu and allowing him to oversee the continued rebuilding of the Louisiana city decimated by Hurricane Katrina.

With all 442 precincts reporting, Nagin won 59,460 votes (52.3%) to Landrieu's 54,131 votes (47.7%). The two candidates had been neck-and-neck in the returns through the night. Early returns with 22% of precincts reporting showed Nagin leading 51% to 49%, while a later update with 48% of precincts showed Landrieu with the lead with the same margin.

Nagin first won the office in 2002, winning 76,469 votes (58.72%). Nagin, a Cable Executive, defeated New Orleans police chief, Richard Pennington, in that election by a lead of more than 22,000 votes with Pennington receiving 53,781 votes (41.29%). The total votes cast for both mayoral candidates in 2002 was 130,250 in comparison with the 113,591 total votes cast in this latest election.

Both Nagin and Landrieu called for the citizens of New Orleans to work together in unity. Nagin, in his victory speech, said, "It's time for us to stop the bickering. It's time for us to stop measuring things in black and white and yellow and Asian. It's time for us to be one New Orleans."

Landrieu struck a similar tone in his concession speech: "One thing is for sure that we as a people have got to come together so we can speak with one voice and one purpose," he said. "Join with me in supporting Mayor Nagin."

Nagin and Landrieu, both Democrats, agreed on most issues confronting New Orleans, including upholding the right of residents to rebuild in all areas of the city, and lobbying for increased recovery aid and upgraded levee protection.

What differentiated the two candidates was leadership style. Nagin, a former cable executive is best known for his maverick, straight-talking, political-outsider style, and his sometimes controversial remarks to the media in the aftermath of Katrina. Landrieu, a member of a prominent political family in Louisiana, emphasized his ability to reach consensus and bring people together during the campaign.

Race also appears to have played a factor, with Nagin winning majority black neighborhoods and Landrieu winning majority white neighborhoods. However, Nagin did also get a significant crossover vote from the more heavily populated, predominantly white neighborhoods. In 2002, both mayoral candiates, Nagin and Pennington, were black. Nagin won 100% of predominantly white precincts in that election while his opponent faired better in predominantly black precincts.

Louisiana Secretary of State Al Ater said that turnout was comparable to the April 22 primary, when about 37 percent of eligible voters cast ballots.

Nagin's new term begins May 31, one day before the Atlantic hurricane season begins.

Pair extradited and charged over Granville, Sydney shootings
New South Wales detectives have successfully extradited a 30-year-old woman and 23-year-old man from Western Australia wanted in connection with a double murder in the Sydney suburb of Granville on March 29, 2006.

The victims of the murders were 26-year-old, Bassam Chami, who died at the scene and 25-year-old,Ibrahim Assad who died following surgery at Westmead Hospital.

Following the shootings, NSW Police setup a strike force, called Lasswade to investigate the murders.

The woman was arrested by detectives of the Major Crime Squad in Western Australia at 9PM AEST last Tuesday. She was found and arrested at a motel in Victoria Park, Perth.

Shortly after the woman's arrest, the man was arrested by the Tactical Response Group as he exited a unit in East Victoria Park.

On Wednesay, four members of Strike Force Lasswade flew to Perth and was succesful in applying to have the pair extradited to NSW to face questioning and charges. The pair arrived in Sydney on Saturday night.

Once in NSW, police took the pair to Surry Hills police station where they were questioned and subsequently charged. The man was charged with one count of murder and another of attempted murder. The woman was charged with two counts of being an accessory to murder.

Both suspects were refused bail and are due to appear in court on Monday.

Today in History
1455 - Forces led by Richard, Duke of York and Richard, Earl of Warwick captured Lancastrian King Henry VI of England, beginning the Wars of the Roses with a Yorkist victory in the First Battle of St Albans.

1807 - Former U.S. Vice President Aaron Burr was indicted for treason by a grand jury.

1915 - Four trains collided near Gretna Green, Scotland, killing 227 people and injuring 246 in the Quintinshill rail crash.

1960 - Valdivia, Chile was devastated as the epicenter of the 9.5-magnitude Great Chilean Earthquake, with destructive tsunamis reaching Hilo, Hawaii the following day.

1990 - The Yemen Arab Republic and the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen merged to become the Republic of Yemen.

May 22 is Victoria Day in Canada (2006)

Quote of the Day

A little Learning is a dang'rous Thing;

Drink deep, or taste not the Pierian Spring:

There shallow Draughts intoxicate the Brain,

And drinking largely sobers us again.

~ Alexander Pope ~
Word of the Day

rhythmic; adj

Definition

Characterized by rhythm.

Written in verse, especially rhyming verse.

With regular, repetitive motion or sound.

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. To view a copy of this 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
Audio Wikinews
Audio Wikinews is a free non point-of-view news radio program recorded daily. http://en.wikinews.org/wiki/Wikinews:Audio
About Wikinews Print Edition
For more information about Wikinews Print Edition visit: http://en.wikinews.org/wiki/Wikinews:Print

Monday, May 22, 2006	Wikinews	Page 7

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

May 22, 2006	The free-content news source that you can write!	Page 7

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

Wikinews Back Page

2006-05-21T22:15:55