July 18, 2007 The free-content news source that you can write! Page 1 Top Stories Wikipedia Current Events Wikipedia Current Events United Kingdom expels four Congonhas International Airport, the venue of a rally and meeting Russian diplomats São Paulo, Brazil. to be addressed by Pakistan Chief The United Kingdom is expelling Justice Iftikhar Muhammad •The High Judicial Council of Libya four Russian diplomats in an Chaudhry. commutes the death sentences extradition row related to the against six foreign medical •39 people are arrested, detained Alexander Litvinenko case. The workers to life imprisonment. and kept at an undisclosed Foreign and Commonwealth location in Pakistan due to an Office has not named the four •An apparent leak of the seventh alleged connection with a recent Russian diplomats but, according J.K. Rowling novel Harry Potter attack on a plane carrying Pervez to the BBC, they are intelligence and the Deathly Hallows, taking Musharraf. officers. the form of hundreds of photographs of pages from the •All three men charged with Home-invaders pose as NYC book, emerge online in the week supporting Tamil Tigers have police prior to release, leading American been granted bail in Melbourne. In two separate incidents, men publisher Scholastic to seek a •Delegates arrive in Beijing for the posing as members of the New subpoena to identify the pirate. resumption of six party talks on York Police Department have The content of the leak is Wednesday involving North invaded and robbed homes in the described by Scholastic Korea, South Korea, China, New York City area. One incident spokesperson Kyle Good as Russia, Japan and the United involved a sexual assault. "convincing" but Good refused to States to discuss the second comment on its authenticity, only phase of a deal on North Korean noting that it conflicted with two Featured story nuclear disarmament. other claimed leaks. Kwik-E-Mart promotion •2007 Niigata earthquake: The •A train carrying yellow drawing thousands of visitors Government of Japan orders The phosphorus derails in western Thousands of such fans Tokyo Electric Power Company to Ukraine, sending a toxic cloud converged on a 7-Eleven store in keep its Kashiwazaki-Kariwa over several villages. At least Los Angeles to witness that Nuclear Power Plant closed twenty people are hospitalized store's transformation for the pending safety checks after the and hundreds are forced to month of July into a Kwik-E-Mart, earthquake caused a leak. evacuate. a fictional convenience store from the popular animated television •The Sudanese government says Tour de France: Mauricio Soler show. that a recent attempted coup wins stage 9 d'état did not have the support of Mauricio Soler of Colombia has Wikipedia Current Events the United States government, won stage 9 of the 2007 Tour de contrary to previous accusations •The World Bank releases its France. Michael Rasmussen of Worldwide Governance from Nafi Ali Nafi, Sudanese Denmark retains the overall lead. Indicators, providing information President Omar al-Bashir's on corruption, rule of law, and assistant. The government has The 159.5 km stage 9 began with other indicators of stability on arrested 14 members of the a cold start to the Hors Categorie countries around the world. Umma Reform and Renewal Party climb up to the Col de l'Iseran (15 for plotting the coup. km at 6%), followed by the Col du •TAM Linhas Aéreas Flight JJ 3054 Télégraphe and the Col du Galibier carrying 174 people crashes in •Five people are killed in a twin bomb blasts in Islamabad near (12 km at 6.7% and 17.5 km at If you would like to write, publish or edit articles, visit en .wikinews.org Wednesday, July 18, 2007 Wikinews Page 2 7%) with a 32 km downhill finish Benoit's wife, Nancy Benoit also Anthrocon 2007 draws in Briançon. tested positive for Xanax, and the thousands to Pittsburgh for painkiller hydromorphone. Benoit's furry weekend The Colombian Barloworld rider son could not be tested due to a Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania – Local was the first to top the peak of Col lack of urine samples. caterers ready for big business, as du Galibier and held on during the almost three thousand fans downhill finish. The chase group Federal authorities have charged converge on the David L. Lawrence finished 38 seconds behind him. Dr. Phil Astin with improperly Convention Center over the dispensing medication painkillers Independence Day weekend for Soler was excited by his stage and other drugs to two other the world's largest ever furry victory: "It’s an incredible day. I’m patients. Astin has pleaded not convention, Anthrocon 2007. living out a dream. I worked very guilty. hard to arrive at the finish on my Many hope to renew own and I received the superb Amtrak train collides with acquaintances, or meet new prize for that effort. I wanted to truck, derails friends. Others look to buy from achieve something for myself in An Amtrak passenger train de- dealers and artists, or show off my Tour debut and at 24 years of railed after hitting a pickup truck new artwork or costumes. Some age, I’ve been able to stamp my in Plant City, Florida, in the United attend to make money, or even name on a stage. Nobody believed States. The driver of the pickup learn a thing or two. But one thing I could win here, not even me." truck was killed on impact. The unites them: They're all there to crash occurred at a marked have fun. Pre-Tour-favorite, Alexandre railroad crossing inside of an Vinokourov, who has been industrial area, according to an This year marks the second time struggling since he crashed on Amtrak spokesperson. this ten-year-old convention has stage 5, lost nearly three minutes been held in Pittsburgh. Members the in chase for the yellow jersey None of the 133 passengers were of the furry fandom have lived in and is now in 21st place overall. seriously hurt, however, the train's the region for years, but prior to engineer and five passengers were 2006 their annual gathering took "I did what I could," said taken to a local hospital after place 300 miles to the east, in Vinokourov. "The team worked well suffering minor injuries. The Philadelphia. again and tried to reduce the gap. remaining passengers were taken It was another horrible day for to a local bowling alley. Although Fears of union rates kept the me." the train's two locomotives and growing fan convention away from nine cars de-railed, they remained the Steel City for years, but Linus Gerdemann, who surprised upright. Anthrocon ultimately outgrew all everyone in stage 7, fell out of the other options. The purchase and top ten overall and had to Witnesses report the train sounded demolition by Target of its regular surrender the white jersey to its horns at the appropriate times. hotel, the Adams Mark, led to a Alberto Contador. It was reported the pickup truck cramped last-minute alternative simply drove in front of the train. for Anthrocon 2005. Convention Georgia Bureau of leaders became determined to Investigation says drugs found The crash is the second to occur provide a better venue, no matter in Benoit, wife, and son this week with a train; on Monday, the cost. According to the Georgia Bureau of a driver in a Pontiac Grand Am Investigation, toxicollogy reports deliberately ignored the lights and And that cost is high. The reveal that the former pro-wrestler crossing arms at another railroad convention hall alone runs to Chris Benoit had 10 times the crossing in the area, and drove $24,000; A/V and labor costs normal level of testosterone as around them, into the path of a nearly triple that before accounting well as hydrocodone (a painkiller), different Amtrak train on the same for the main ballroom. The board and Xanax (an anti-anxiety route. The impact caused the car of Anthrocon, Inc. seems to like medication). to go airborne. All four people in the venue, though, and has the car were killed; no one on the booked it through 2009. Its Benoit also reportedly tested train was injured. chairman, Dr. Samuel Conway — negative for alcohol. better known in the furry world as If you would like to write, publish or edit articles, visit www.wikinews.org Wednesday, July 18, 2007 Wikinews Page 3 "Uncle Kage" — seems determined This year's Masquerade (where As for the fursuits, there's no to keep other fees to a minimum, costumed fans perform skits for denying their popularity. Surveys taking time during the pre-con the audience) ended with the suggest that up to 15% of staff meeting to caution against performers dancing with the convention attendees have one, last-minute extras. audience in the aisles to the tune and Anthrocon 2007 is no of the Time Warp. Earlier that day exception, with 353 in the half- Similar touches can be seen members of the Funday PawPet hour long Saturday parade; elsewhere; bag racks are shared Show provided a ninety-minute potentially a record for mascots in with long-running sci-fi event puppet extravaganza. Comedy a procession. Guinness World Philcon, and spare paper is kept plays a significant large part in the Records were invited to confirm packed away for next year. It may lineup, with home-bred this next year, while convention seem like penny-pinching, but the entertainers such as Matthew staff promised more fans in the results speak volumes: Anthrocon Davis (or "2, The Ranting $1,000/day headless lounge to has kept in the black for the last Gryphon") doling out the laughs.