Saturday, September 4, 2010

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu have agreed to meet again in 10–11 days within the region, and every two weeks thereafter, according to U.S. Middle East diplomat George Mitchell. The two leaders are engaged in the first direct talks between the nations in more than two years, hosted by Israel's ally the United States in Washington, DC.

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Saturday, September 4, 2010

According to Wakalat Anba'a al-Emarat, the official news agency of the United Arab Emirates, a Boeing 747-400 cargo plane belonging to the United States courier UPS Airlines, crashed after take-off in Dubai on Friday. Two crew members were on board at the time of the crash, both of whom were killed. There were no reports of any other deaths or injuries on the ground.

The aircraft was en route to Cologne Bonn Airport in Cologne, Germany when it crashed. According to witnesses, at around 7.45 p.m. local time, it caught fire and attempted to return to the airport, then crashed into the ground near Dubai Silicon Oasis. It had just taken off from Dubai International Airport a few minutes beforehand. The crash site is inside the perimeter fence of Emirati air base, located near a busy highway intersection.

Saturday, September 4, 2010

Chilean filmmaker Rodrígo Ortúzar, known for his film Mujeres Infieles, announced his plans to make a film about the Chilean miners trapped in the 2010 Copiapó mining accident.

After it was confirmed the miners were alive, Ortúzar started to work on the project. The movie is to be named Los 33 (English: The 33). "I said to one of my previous investors that if there was just one survivor, this would be a great move, and well it wasn't one but 33, something that generates the first disgrace or tragedy to have a happy ending," Ortúzar told to Teletrece.

Saturday, September 4, 2010

GMTV, a breakfast television programme broadcast on ITV in the United Kingdom, finished broadcasting on Friday after broadcasting on the TV station since 1993. Andrew Castle and Emma Crosby were the hosts of the final programme, with Richard Arnold — a television critic — and weather presenter Clare Nasir also present. British music group McFly featured as guests.

At the end of the last episode, Andrew Castle commented about GMTV that "like all families there have been squabbles along the way but there has been no shortage of love, effort and perseverance, and we just want to say to the viewers who have been with us loyally for a long time, thank you so much."

Friday, September 3, 2010

On Wednesday, announced that the next version of Windows Mobile OS series, Windows Phone 7, had been released to manufacturing after more than 6 months of its development. The announcement outlined some of the changes in this version, and was generally positive about the milestone.

The term "release to manufacturing", also known as "going gold", is a term used to indicate that the software has reached a point that it is ready to be provided to the customer. After the event, Windows Phone 7 code has been locked down. The work in progress is the testing of Windows Phone 7 on other hardware, software, and networks. The structure of the system itself is not expected to be changed any more before the final release. "We are ready," Terry Myerson said.

No oil is reported leaking from the Woodward's Oil fuel tanker The Nanny aground in the Northwest Passage off the coast of Nunavut. The 110 metre (360 ft) tanker was carrying 9 million liters (2.4 million gallons) of diesel fuel to remote settlements in Canada's Arctic regions when it grounded on a sandbar. Last week the cruise ship Clipper Adventurer struck an uncharted rock in the same region, trapping 110 tourists and crew aboard for the two days it took the Canadian Coast Guard icebreaker to reach the ship. On August 27th another Woodward's tanker, the Mokami, ran aground near Pangnirtung.

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Friday, September 3, 2010

A woman died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound Wednesday, around 10:00 local time at East Texas Medical Center in Tyler, Texas.

Friday, September 3, 2010

The USGS says an earthquake of magnitude 7.0 occurred in the Canterbury region of New Zealand's South Island at Saturday 04:35:44 AM local time (Friday 16:35:44 UTC). Officials in New Zealand say the magnitude was 7.1. The earthquake occurred at a depth of 10.0 kilometers (6.21 miles). The epicenter was located 40 kilometers (25 miles) west of Christchurch; 190 kilometers (115 miles) south-southeast of Westport; 295 kilometers (185 miles) southwest of Wellington; and 320 kilometers (200 miles) north-northeast of Dunedin. New Zealand's Civil Defence Minister John Carter has declared a state of emergency in Christchurch and Selwyn District.

Friday, September 3, 2010

A 70-year-old American scientist has been released from FBI custody following the evacuation of Miami International Airport because of a bomb scare. The airport was evacuated, a government official said, after airport security officials noticed, at around 9:00pm local time on Thursday, that his bag contained a metal canister that looked like a pipe bomb. The scientist was released on Friday afternoon, and no charges were brought against him. Further, he was permitted to continue his trip, and the FBI said he was "very cooperative" while he was in custody. The metal canister is reportedly being examined in a laboratory. Early on Friday morning, an FBI spokesperson said they were not sure "if a crime has been committed".

Passengers were evacuated from four of the airport's six terminals and a nearby hotel, and roadways surrounding the airport were closed to civilian vehicles, as, police and airport officials said, a public safety precaution. Bomb experts searched the airport for signs of a threat, but reportedly found none. The Associated Press reported that "Miami-Dade Police said a bomb squad spent hours at the airport with fire officials and the others. Fire trucks and police vehicles stood by and a hazardous material team was spotted at the scene." The Transportation Security Administration refused to identify the man, but confirmed that an x-ray screener had spotted a suspicious item in a bag. "The statement also did not say what the suspicious item was but said a police bomb squad and other law enforcement agents deployed to the airport soon after," according to USA Today.

Friday, September 3, 2010

In a close vote the New South Wales (NSW) Legislative Assembly has supported a bill that would allow same-sex couples to adopt children. The conscience vote that gained bipartisan support from the major parties, resulted in 46 Members of Parliament (MP) voting for it and 44 voting against it.

Having been rejected previously for amendments that would allow church-based adoption agencies to refuse applications from same-sex couples, the introduction of the bill finally gained approval from the Premier Kristina Keneally of the Australian Labor Party and the Opposition Leader Barry O'Farrell of the Liberal Party of Australia.

Friday, September 3, 2010

Jamaica has been selected to to host the 2011 CONCACAF under-17 football championship. The tournament will be hosted in western Jamaica from the 12th of February to the 28th. The tournament will decide what four teams will qualify for the 2011 FIFA Under-17 World Cup.

Friday, September 3, 2010

A school in Melbourne, Australia has experienced a backlash from the public for changing the last line of Marion Sinclair's iconic Australian folk song Kookaburra Sits in the Old Gum Tree from "Laugh, kookaburra, laugh, kookaburra, gay your life must be" to "fun your life must be".

Gary Martin, principal of Le Page Primary School in Melbourne, claims that he changed the lyrics as he thought that "the kids will roll around the floor in fits of laughter" upon hearing the original lyrics. Martin wanted to reduce classroom disruption by omitting the word "gay", here used to mean "happy", as it was also commonly used as a playground insult. "For example, if a boy is not particularly good at sport, they will refer to that child as gay," he continued.