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Friday, August 8, 2008

An express train struck a collapsed motorway bridge in the Czech Republic, leaving 7 people dead and 64 injured. The EuroCity train, which was en route from Kraków, Poland to Prague, derailed after it collided while traveling at 134km/h (84mph).

According to Czech Railways spokesman Radek Joklik, “it probably hit part of a motorway bridge under construction which fell onto the track.” It is believed that the bridge, which is near Studénka, may have fallen onto the train, crushing carriages below it.

The train, which was carrying 400 people, saw a derailment of its locomotive and first three passenger carriages.

Rescue operations are underway, with 16 fire brigades and 30 vehicles at the scene, which is 215 miles from Prague and close to the Polish border. Numerous ambulances and several helicopters are transporting the wounded to hospital.

Many of the passengers were traveling to a music festival in Pardubice. The toll of dead and injured could rise further as investigators release information.

Monday, December 24, 2012

Two cars have been involved in a road traffic accident in the Scottish Lothian and Borders region, causing three fatalities and sending three to hospital. The incident occurred on the A68 road approximately 1.5 miles south of the Midlothian village of Pathhead when a Škoda Octavia and a Nissan Note travelling in opposite directions collided at approximately 0730 UTC today.

The Nissan, which was carrying five occupants, overturned and came to rest on its roof. Three male Buddhist monks who sat in the back of the car died at the site of the crash. The female driver of the vehicle managed to get out of the vehicle herself but another male passenger in the front of the car had to be cut free by fire service members. The two front-seat passengers as well as the male driver of the Škoda were hospitalised at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh, although none of their injuries are considered likely to be fatal.

“This is a tragic incident,” Inspector Simon Bradshaw of Lothian and Borders Police said, “and we are currently in the process of carrying out inquiries in order to establish the full circumstances of the collision.” The A68 road close to the location of the accident was temporarily closed to allow police to investigate the incident, with traffic redirected to the B6370 road via the town of Gorebridge. The road has since reopened.

Wednesday, September 6, 2017

Toronto pop culture convention Fan Expo Canada has wrapped for another year. It ran from Thursday to Sunday. Major panels included Tim Curry and the cast of Rocky Horror Picture Show, Beauty and the Beast voices Robby Benson and Paige O’Hara, actors Kathleen Turner, Richard Dreyfuss, Anthony Daniels, Felicia Day, and child leads from Stranger Things. Canadian television channel Space hosted a Star Trek: Discovery panel with seven lead cast members. On the heels of sister event Toronto Comic Con’s Degrassi reunion event, the lineup included a twentieth anniversary panel with the stars of another Canadian high school television series, Student Bodies.

Heading into its fourth and final season, attendees got a chance to see the season opener of Star Wars: Rebels on Saturday, followed by a panel. The event has had a continuing relationship with the series, screening other episodes previously. The second season premiere of the sci-fi series Travelers was accompanied by a panel including Eric McCormack. Canadian true-crime drama Bad Blood had its world premiere. Other debuts included broadcaster City with the Canadian premiere of Ghosted, with Craig Robinson in attendance, Teletoon with the Canadian premiere of Hotel Transylvania: The Series, and YTV with the new animated series Mysticons.

Anime fans could watch episodes of their favourite shows, including AKB0048, Otaku No Video, Hana Yamata, My Hero Academia, Fairy Tail, and Penguindrum.

The book Star Wars Made Easy, targeted to non-fans to get up to speed on the fictional universe’s various facts and figures, was ironically launched by DK Canada for a room of fans of the franchise. Author Christian Blauvelt answered questions from the audience on topics like his opinion on Midiclorians — he understands fan contention, but suggested that science and religion can co-exist, like in the real world — quizzed the audience on trivia, and signed copies of his book.

Some panels were quite ahead of the curve: one on Star Wars costume and prop building discussed building Porgs figures, despite the film The Last Jedi not being released to theatres yet.

York Regional Police were at the event with United and Unity, two brightly lit characters of their own creation. The force received funding in 2014 from the Provincial Anti-Violence Intervention Strategy to create a short film featuring the character United, receiving positive recognition locally. “Our United superhero program is part of our on-going efforts to connect with our community and show police in a different light,” YRP Constable Andy Pattenden told Wikinews. He explains that the officers who developed the project have a background in film-making, and “serve as an opportunity for us to start a conversation with youth and connect with them at a non-traditional level.”

Star Wars character Jabba the Hutt, a puppet in the 1983 film Return of the Jedi, was re-created by the 501st Legion as an animatronic. The 501st is a fan group that dresses like the series villains for charitable events, particularly those raising funds for the Make-A-Wish Foundation. The new addition to their annual display commanded long lineups throughout the day, from con-goers looking to donate in exchange for a photo-op with the massive, slug-like alien.

• Jabba the Hutt animatronic.Image: Nicholas Moreau.

• Ahsoka, operating the camera at the 501st’s booth.Image: Nicholas Moreau.

• Jawas and Tusken Raiders at a Vikings TV show photo op.Image: Nicholas Moreau.

• Image: Nicholas Moreau.

• Comic Corps of Canada fundraising.Image: Nicholas Moreau.

As with most major conventions, cosplayers were numerous, ranging from simple outfits that wouldn’t raise an eyebrow if worn from day-to-day, to elaborately-created costumes and giant props. Outfits recognized by Wikinews’ reporter ranged from classic characters like the 1960s version of Batgirl and Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, a character created by Walt Disney in 1927, before Mickey, to 2010s characters from creative works like Undertale, Disney Descendants, League of Legends, and Adventure Time. Few characters are too obscure, if they appeal to a fan: the female avatar of “hivemind” character Unity, from a single episode of Rick and Morty, was spotted. One woman “biting” another woman’s arm would be cause for concern most places, but at a pop culture convention, it simply means that “Lilo” is re-enacting a scene with “Mertle”, as seen in the film Lilo and Stitch.

• BatgirlImage: Nicholas Moreau.

• Unity and Rick Sanchez, Rick and MortyImage: Nicholas Moreau.

• Jinx, League of LegendsImage: Nicholas Moreau.

• ravetale_au as Undertale character AsrielImage: Nicholas Moreau.

• Undertale characters Asriel and SansImage: Nicholas Moreau.

• Stiltwalker as W. D. Gaster from UndertaleImage: Nicholas Moreau.

• Karli Sal as Lilo and Erin Elliott as MertleImage: Nicholas Moreau.

• Oswald (Angie Pants Cosplay) and Mickey (Katherinator Cosplay)Image: Nicholas Moreau.

Wikinews talked with Cheryl, the co-host of the weekly video series “Our Didnee Side”, who was dressed as Gadget Hackwrench, a mouse from the 1990s television series Chip ‘n Dale: Rescue Rangers. Speaking for both of the hosts, she said their passion for Disney has “exploded” since starting the YouTube channel, and that they are both “creators. We can’t seem to go a day without making something. We love doing Disney cosplay because it is like a beacon for other people in the fandom to come find us in a sea of other characters.” Conventions like Fan Expo Canada become “a great opportunity to meet like-minded Disney fans, and to possibly escape for the weekend from our ‘boring human’ lives.”

Adrianna Prosser, host of Toronto geek culture community website Geektropolis, spent part of the convention Fan Expo Canada 2017 as the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man. She told Wikinews that “geeking in Toronto is always such a joy, what with amazing cosplay and passionate fandoms coming together at Fan Expo!” She explained that the site tries to keep the feeling of the event going all year, featuring local creators and “geeky” fans, in an effort to bring the community closer together.

Party game Cards Against Humanity — intriguingly available under a non-commercial Creative Commons license — offered a “Free Apologies from An American” booth, where a representative offered regrets to the largely Canadian visitors. The booth’s curtains came into use at least once on Friday, closing when a Trump cosplayer reached the front of the line.

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Monday, April 19, 2010

Seven people were killed and 26 injured in the city of Kohat in northwestern Pakistan on Sunday after a suicide bomber detonated a car bomb near a police station, police officials said.

“It was a suicide attack, the target was a police station,” Dilawar Khan Bangash, police chief of Kohat, told AFP news agency. He said that all those killed in the attack were civilians. The explosion occurred at the back of the police station.

“Seven people have been killed and 21 were injured in this car suicide attack,” Abdullah Jan, another high ranking police official, told reporters. His statement was made soon after the attack, before the number of injured was revised upward. “These incidents are a reaction to the military operation in the tribal areas,” he claimed. Another police officer confirmed what Jan and Bangash had said, saying that approximately 200 kilograms of explosives were used.

The station was badly affected by the attack, and three rooms of a government-run primary school were destroyed. Seven local shops were also severely damaged.

This attack occurred a day after an earlier suicide bombing killed over 40 people near the same city, and two days after an attack in southern Pakistan killed upwards of ten people.

Saturday, August 12, 2017

Yesterday, the state government of Victoria, Australia announced their decision to trial self-driving vehicles on two of the state’s major connecting motorways, the CityLink and Tullamarine Freeway. The trial is to use autonomous vehicles from automobile companies including BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Volvo, and Tesla. The two-year trial is to have three phases.

The cars are to drive alongside commuters, but in public testing a driver is always to be present, as Victorian law requires drivers always keep a hand on the steering wheel. However, in occasional closures of the Burnley Tunnel, with no other drivers to endanger, the cars are to be tested with nobody in the vehicle.

Lane assist, cruise control, and recognition of traffic signs are in the trial’s first phase, expected to complete before the end of the year. This includes monitoring how the driver-less cars respond to road conditions, including lane markings and electronic speed signs.

“Victoria is at the forefront of automated vehicle technology — we’re investing in this trial to explore ways that this technology can be used to reduce crashes and keep people safe on our roads”, said Luke Donnellan, the Victorian Minister for Roads and Road Safety. He noted, “Ninety per cent of the fault of accidents is human error […] so we know that if we can take out human error we will have less accidents”.

Tim Hansen, Victoria Police’s Acting Assistant Commissioner, said that police had founded a project team to investigate how self-driving vehicles would change policing on roads. “Can we intercept vehicles more safely to avoid pursuits and ramming?”, he asked.

The trial is a partnership between the state government, Victoria’s road management authority VicRoads, owner of the CityLink toll road Transurban, and insurance company RACV.

Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Two people have died as the result of a one-vehicle road traffic accident in Inverness, Scotland. The two occupants of the vehicle were both teenagers, with one being male and the other being female. Neither have been publicly identified.

They were both travelling in a black Škoda Fabia vRS at approximately 0920 BST on Sunday when they attempted to negotiate a corner and ended up colliding with a stone wall and a tree, according to witnesses. One bystander stated that the vehicle also impacted into a street light. According to a report from a person who sighted the collision: “The car destroyed a lamp-post and then demolished a 12 inch thick wall scattering huge chunks of stone and sending one big piece 20 metres down the road. The car then appears to have carried on into the garden and hit a big pine tree.”

After the emergency services arrived at the scene of the collision, the road was occluded, during which time members of the fire service physically removed the bodies of the teenagers from the remains of the Škoda. They were then transported to Raigmore Hospital. According to a statement from a spokesperson for the Northern Constabulary: “Following a single vehicle road traffic collision at approximately 9.18 on Sunday morning on Islandbank Road, Inverness, one young man and one young female suffered fatal injuries.”