Top Stories
Columbine High School evacuated following bomb scare The Columbine High School has been evacuated following a bomb scare. Almost eight years ago the school was the location of America's most deadly school shooting. Full lunar eclipse due on March 3, 2007 There was be a full lunar eclipse starting on Saturday, March 3 with the Moon will be totally eclipsed by the Earth's shadow between 2244 and 2358 UTC

Featured story
NHL: Shorthand a success in Penguins win over Rangers The Pittsburgh Penguins took on the New York Rangers in Madison Square Garden, New York. Jaromir Jagr struck first for New York, with Michael Nylander following suit in the final 2:30 to give the Rangers a comfortable 2-0 lead at the end of the second period. Staal's shorthanded goal came 76 seconds into the final period, with a soft forehand shot.

Wikipedia Current Events
United States President Bush declares Coffee County, Alabama, hit by a tornado last Thursday, to be a federal disaster area. A total lunar eclipse is visible from the Midwestern United States to Southeast Asia from 22:44 to 23:58 GMT. Switzerland accidentally invades Liechtenstein after a 171 infantrymen company gets lost and enters the Liechtenstein border. The Cherokee Nation has voted to exclude the descendants of freed slaves from Cherokee citizenship, reversing a decision of the Cherokee Nation Supreme Court.

Chelsea maintains pace with Manchester United
Second place Chelsea visited Fratton Park earlier today to take on Portsmouth, who currently reside in eigth position in the league. Chelsea, who watched Manchester United defeat Liverpool earlier in the day, were 12 points behind the leaders and needed a win to ensure a tight race untill the end of the season. Chelsea skipper John Terry remained out of the squad after his injury in the Carling Cup final against Arsenal, and Frank Lampard again filled the void as captain.

Portsmouth were the first to threaten goal, as Lua Lua blasted a right footed shot at the Chelsea goal, but keeper Petr Cech was able to make a save to avoid falling behind early. Chelsea soon began to dominate possession, but shots by Ashley Cole and Andriy Shevchenko were sent wide and high of the goal. Shevchenko then tried to become provider, as he swept in a ball for Drogba, but the ensuing shot was off target. Drogba soon made ammends, as he knocked in a goal from a deep cross by Ashley Cole. The goal was Drogba's 29th of the season in all competitions.

After the halftime break, Chelsea continued to threaten, and Arjen Robben could have doubled the lead, but his shot hit off the goal post instead. The next goal attempt was a 25 yard shot by Frank Lampard, which keeper David James did well to hold on to. On 57 minutes, Arjen Robben made a run down the sideline and was brought down by a strong challenge. He then appeared to have been struck by an object thrown from the audience, and was booed by the crowd for the rest of the game. Portsmouth nearly stole points from Chelsea minutes later, when substitute Andy Cole headed towards goal, but Cech again was in the right place to see off the danger. With the clock winding down, Chelsea killed off the game when Kalou took advantage of a mistake by James, and slotted the ball into the back of the net.

The win leaves Chelsea still in the running for their third consecutive Premier League title, but their more immediate concerns are their second leg Champions League match against Porto this Tuesday. Portsmouth have only the Premier League to contend with now, and play Reading next at the Madejski Stadium next Saturday.

Full lunar eclipse due on March 3, 2007
There was a full lunar eclipse starting on Saturday, March 3. Earth's passage between the Sun and the Moon will begin casting its shadow on the surface of the Moon starting at 20:18 UTC. The Moon will be totally eclipsed by the Earth's shadow between 22:44 and 23:58 UTC.

Cloudless conditions would make for a great viewing experience as the Lunar phase is now full. The color of the moon will be like that of copper.

In England, the lunar eclipse will occur between 8:18pm and until 2:24am.

A chart to calculate the time offset from UTC puts the eclipse starting at 3:18pm EST in North America. The moon will be totally eclipsed 21 minutes prior to sunset in that time zone. The moonrise will occur during the period it is eclipsed, at 6:01pm. Viewers will be able to see the moon re-emerge from the Earth's shadow, weather permitting.

The eclipse took place during the Hindu festival of Holi.

Councilman: Buffalo, N.Y. police to stage "sickout"
According to one Buffalo, New York Common Council member, David Franczyk, the City of Buffalo Police force is staging a "sickout" on the weekend of St. Patricks Day and the NCAA Basketball Tournament, or somewhere around March 17, 2007.

A sickout means that officers in the entire city would all call in sick during that weekend.

Franczyk says that he received a call from at least one person that claimed he was an officer of the Buffalo police force and that he was warning Franczyk that the sickout was going to take place. The caller also claimed, according to Franczyk, that his intentions are to get "the nation's attention."

"He explained that because the wages are frozen that this would be a work action to get the attention of the Nation essentially," said Franczyk. As of the moment, Franczyk has been the only Common Council member to be informed about the sickout.

Mayor of Buffalo, Byron Brown said if this were to take place, it would be "catastrophic" for the city, but also said that he thinks the sickout "will not happen" and also added that it would be "illegal."

"How catastrophic would it be if they were to ever do that? Again, I don't believe that it would happen. Those kinds of behaviours..those kinds of actions are irresponsible and illegal. We have a Police Department that is very responsible," said Brown.

Brown also said that he believes that police officers "will do the right thing" and that they will "do their jobs, even if they are frustrated."

The name of the officer who called Franczyk is not known and it is not known if he was actually a police officer.

Wikinews attempted to contact Franczyk regarding the sickout, but he has yet to respond.

Late goal leaves Liverpool stunned
Manchester United and Liverpool faced off earlier today at Anfield, with Liverpool undefeated at their home field so far this season. United fielded a strong side including Larsson, Ronaldo, and Rooney, and Liverpool matched their lineup with Kuyt, Gerrard and Bellamy taking to the pitch. Speculation said manager Rafa Benitez would rest his star players for the upcoming Barcelona match, but the Spanish manager proved otherwise.

Liverpool came out strong, not giving any ground to league leaders United. Early strikes by Agger and Riise looked promising, but most efforts sailed wide of the net. Christiano Ronaldo had several chances for United, but his shots also were off target. Craig Bellamy was especially threatening for Liverpool, as he continually outplayed defender Nemanja Vidic, and sent several crosses into the middle, none causing any damage to the Red Devils. Ronaldo had a strong run down the right side, but timely defending by Carragher stopped him in his tracks, as well as another chance by Wayned Rooney.

In the second half, Liverpool was again looking dominant, as shots from Gerrard, Bellamy, and Kuyt all flew in, but again no results come of the dominant play. Bellamy then appeared to have gained the lead for the home side, but the goal was deemed offside, as Sissoko took an extra touch before the ball reached the Welshman. Manchester then made an attacking change, putting Saha in place of Larsson, who was playing his last game for United before heading back to Sweeden. Rooney was then forced to be changed after a high foot from Carragher produced a gash in his knee, and the young Englishman was replaced by O'Shea. Riise again challenged Van Der Sar's goal with a long distance shot, but the ball dipped over the crossbar and out of play. Saha had an appeal for a penalty after a challenge by Agger left him on the ground, but the referee gave no call. As Liverpool left the zone, Paul Scholes appeared to take a swipe at the head of Xavi Alonso with his fist, and was subsenquently red carded, leaving United with 10 men. Liverpool continued to attack, and Peter Crouch had plenty of room to strike in a half volley from 8 yards, but Edwin Van Der Sar produced a fingertip save to keep the game tied. As the game entered stoppage time, Ryan Giggs earned a free kick on the edge of the Liverpool penalty box, and Christiano Ronaldo lined up for the kick. Jose Reina was not able to hold onto Ronaldo's powerful kick, and the ball popped out to John O'Shea, who slammed the ball into the top of the net, giving 10 man United the lead. Liverpool tried in vain to tie the match, as Ronaldo wasted time with his tricks and turns. When the 4 minutes of stoppage time were up, the game continued, and Liverpool earned a corner. Brazilian Aurelio took the corner, but it was poor and as Rio Ferdinand cleared the ball, Martin Atkinson blew the whistle to condemn Liverpool to their first home defeat in the Premier League this season.

The game leaves Manchester United 12 points ahead of 2nd place Chelsea, who have 2 games in hand and play later today against Portsmouth. Liverpool on the other hand will regroup for the second leg of their Champions League match against Barcelona.

Iranian student protesters face expulsion
Students who protested when Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad visited Amirkabir University of Technology (also called Amir Kabir University) on December 11, 2006 have been expelled and eligibility notices, allowing the students to be enlisted into the armed forces, were sent out with the signature of university chancellor Ali Reza Rahai, the Guardian reports.

54 students were expelled and most of them were a part of the protest, which included chants of "Death to the dictator." The official reason for the expulsions is that the students failed multiple tests. Activists, however, claim that other students with similarly poor academic records have been allowed to continue their studies.

Ahmadinejad was cited as saying that dissenting students would go unpunished. "It is my honour to burn for the sake of the nation's ideals and defend the system," he said as protesters burned a picture of him.

To members of the Islamic Students Committee, the expulsions break Ahmadinejad's public pledge that none of them would be harmed for speaking out. Said vice-secretary Ali Azizi, "It demonstrates revenge against the students' protests."

There was a report in February that students who had been expelled were re-admitted. Kyrgyzstan's news agency Adnkronos International (AKI), reported that Abbas Hakimzadeh, said that the re-admission was a "victory of the students' movement."

It remains unclear if the expulsions reported by Robert Tait of Guardian Unlimited is reporting a new expulsion, a re-expulsion, or simply old news.

A "star rating" system has been introduced since Ahmadinejad's presidency began. It supposedly ranks politically active students from one star up to three stars, relative to the perceived threat they pose. Prospective students with one star have been asked to sign a statement that they would not join any political activities. Applicants with two stars are said to have enrollment delayed by months, and applicants with three stars would be barred admission to a university.

Amir Kabir University is one of the universities in Tehran from which the 1979 Islamic Revolution drew much of its support.

UK Attorney General stops BBC report on cash-for-honours probe

The UK Attorney General Lord Goldsmith obtained an injunction from the Royal Courts of Justice in London stopping the BBC from broadcasting a report on the ongoing cash-for-honours probe involving Prime Minister Tony Blair's government.

The Attorney General's office and the Metropolitan Police issued a joint press release that the injunction was sought at the request of New Scotland Yard and was meant to avoid impeding ongoing investigations.

The BBC said that its reporting was on a matter of public interest.

Sources

"Attorney general halts BBC probe". BBC News Online, March 3, 2007

John Joseph "BBC gagged over political funding scandal". Reuters, March 3, 2007

Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi calls for industrialization and integration of the African economy

"We pay oil revenues to import goods from other nations, but we have to think about the day when oil is depleted," Libyan president Moammar Gadhafi noted.

Gadhafi also noted that quality roads and economic industrialization are necessary in order for Africa to be competitive in the world economy, and in order to put African in a preferable economic status.

Today in History
1461 - Wars of the Roses in England: Lancastrian King Henry VI was deposed by his Yorkist cousin, who then became King Edward IV.

1681 - King Charles II of England granted William Penn a charter for the Pennsylvania Colony.

1825 - Despite having lost in both the electoral and popular votes in the 1824 presidential election, John Quincy Adams was inaugurated as the sixth President of the United States.

1980 - Robert Mugabe of the Zimbabwe African National Union was elected to head the first government in Zimbabwe.

March 04 is Purim in Judaism, Dhulandi (Holi) in Hinduism, Daeboreum in Korea, and Lantern Festival in the Chinese lunar calendar (2007); Saint Casimir's Day in Lithuania.

Quote of the Day

In all living nature (and perhaps also in that which we consider as dead) love is the motive force which drives the creative activity in the most diverse directions.
~ P. D. Ouspensky

Word of the Day

tetromino; n

(geometry) A polyomino made up of four squares.

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

Sunday, March 4, 2007	Wikinews	Page 4

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

March 4, 2007	The free-content news source that you can write!	Page 4

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

Wikinews Back Page

2007-03-04T16:42:33