Lifestyle

A week ago today, at 2:46 pm JST, a magnitude 9.0 earthquake struck off the coast of the Tōhoku region in Japan. The earthquake created an extremely destructive tsunami that spawned 10 metre (33 ft) high waves just moments later. The tsunami travelled 10 km (6 mi) inland causing massive destruction in the country's northeast, including crippling a nuclear plant. The earthquake and resulting tsunami have left 5,692 dead and over 9,506 missing, with nearly 450,000 homeless. The death toll is expected to rise. In this special photoessay, Wikinew

Florida Department of Corrections Secretary Edwin Buss announced on Monday that Florida's prisons will become tobacco-free within six months in order to cut health-care costs and make prisons safer. Buss stated that the cost to Florida taxpayers for treating inmates for tobacco-related illnesses such as cancer and emphysema neared US$9 million last year alone. Inmates will be offered help in quitting smoking, possibly including the use of nicotine patches. Gretl Plessinger, Department of Corrections spokeswoman, said that the department is

Israeli military forces today seized a ship claimed to be carrying weapons bound for the Gaza Strip. The ship, a German-owned and Liberian-flagged freighter named Victoria, had departed from a port in Syria before travelling to Turkey, from where it departed for Alexandria, Egypt. A French company had chartered the vessel, which was intercepted and boarded by Israeli commandos about 200 miles from shore while in international waters. Victoria was reportedly boarded without incident, and is being taken to Ashdod, a port city in Israel. Three c

At least fourteen people have died after a chartered bus crashed in The Bronx, New York. According to authorities, the tour bus accident also injured eighteen other people, amongst which five were critically injured. The vehicle was travelling from Mohegan Sun in Connecticut to the village of Uncasville, also located in Connecticut. When the crash occurred on Interstate 95 at approximately 0535 EST (1035 UTC) on Sunday, there were at least thirty-one passengers present. 40-year-old Ophadell Williams, the driver of the bus, reported to the pol

An Al Jazeera cameraman working in Libya was killed in an alleged ambush on Saturday as he was returning with his team to the rebel-held city of Benghazi. Al Jazeera, in an official statement, called the act a "cowardly crime" and "part of the Libyan regime's malicious campaign targeting Al Jazeera and its staff". Ali Hassan al-Jaber, along with two colleagues, was returning from a reporting assignment on an opposition protest in a nearby town, when unidentified gunmen opened fire on the car in which the group was traveling. Al Jaber was

Bernardo Hees, the CEO of American fast food chain Burger King. was caught insulting British women during a speech to students in Chicago. Hees was talking to the university students about his time at the University of Warwick in England. He compared the United States to Britain by saying "[h]ere the food is good and you are known for your good-looking women." He then spoke about the UK by saying that "[t]he food is terrible and the women are not very attractive." A spokesman for Burger King released a statement after Hees' comments were repo

According to CBS 3, the four Americans taken hostage after their yacht was hijacked by pirates off the coast of Oman in the Indian Ocean have been killed. Pirates hijacked their yacht, named The Quest, on February 18. The U.S. Naval ship that was following the yacht, which was traveling off the coast of Somalia, heard gunshots and attempted a rescue operation. Naval personnel had been negotiating with pirates when the incident occurred. After boarding the vessel, soldiers killed 2 pirates and detained at least 13 others. During the process th

Her Excellency, Quentin Bryce, Governor-General of Australia is set to travel to Kuwait to commemorate the 20 year anniversary of the liberation of the country from Iraqi rule. This comes as terrorist threats and civil unrest begin to spread throughout the region. In a tour that is set to conclude on February 27th, Ms Bryce will be representing Australia at several ceremonies marking 20 years since the first Gulf War and 50 years since Kuwait gained independence from the United Kingdom. In addition, she will visit The Australian College of Kuw

A thousand or more non-citizen residents of Kuwait demonstrated yesterday demanding rights given to Kuwaiti citizens. Police used water cannons in dispersing the protest. There were injuries among both protesters and police, and several protesters were detained. Citizens of Kuwait receive substantial welfare benefits, including education and health care. There are estimated to be around 100,000 non-citizen residents, called "bidoons" (from bedoun jinsiyya, Arabic meaning without nationality). Many bidoons claim descent from desert nomads w

Pirates have hijacked two tankers carrying a total of 374,255 metric tons of crude oil off the coast of Oman in the Indian Ocean. After these attacks, pirates now control 29 ships and 660 hostages; pirates recently released Keummi 305, a South Korean ship. Early Tuesday, an Italian ship, MV Savina Caylin, was boarded 670 miles east of Socotra Island. The oil tanker had 104,255 metric tons on board; it was traveling from Sudan to Malaysia. Shots were fired at the vessel, beginning the attacks at 0625 GMT; the pirates used rocket-propelled grena

Calgary city council voted 10 to 3 on Wednesday to stop fluoridating their water supply. This overturns a previous plebiscite from 1989 to add the fluoride in an attempt to reduce tooth decay. Opponents of water fluoridation claim that there could be unknown health effects of fluoride, and question its effectiveness in preventing tooth decay. They also claim that individuals should be able to decide for themselves whether or not to use fluoride. However, Alberta Health Services maintains that current evidence shows that fluoride is both safe,

Six people have died as the result of an aircraft crash in Cork, Republic of Ireland. Flight No MN7100 involved a Manx2 aircraft travelling from Belfast in Northern Ireland, United Kingdom at 0812 UTC with ten passengers and two crew members onboard the flight. The plane crashed at Cork Airport after a third attempt to land the aircraft there at approximately 1000 UTC, which resulted in the vehicle impacting with Runway 17, turning upside down and catching fire, approximately 1000 feet along the runway. At the time of this incident, the weathe