Wikinews:Briefs/April 28, 2012

April 28, 2012

Promo
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Today on Wikinews: We briefly recap some of the stories appearing on Wikinews this week and from around the world.

Today is Saturday, April 28, 2012. I am Chad Tew and this is Wikinews.

Former Ukranian PM Yulia Tymoshenko goes on hunger strike (0:25)
Ukraine's former prime minister began a hunger strike on April twenty. Yulia Tymoshenko is protesting prison conditions and her treatment, as well as the politics of the country. She was found guilty of abuse of office, and she still has other charges pending against her. The United States and Eurpean Union have said her trials were politically motivated.

Liberian ex-President Charles Taylor convicted in war crimes trial (0:50)
A special court in The Hague unanimously found former Liberian president Charles Taylor guilty of aiding and abetting war crimes. The court said he financed the civil war in Sierra Leone through the diamond trade. In all, the court found Taylor guilty of eleven counts -- crimes involving rape, murder, sexual slavery, cannibalism, arms dealing, and use of more than a thousand children as soldiers. From the moment he received a full judgment Taylor has two weeks to file an appeal.

Egypt cancels 15 year gas supply contract to Israel (1:28)
Egyptian Natural Gas Company said it will no longer supply Israel with natural gas due to non-payment in breach of contract. The terms of the contract were approved under former President Mubarak in two thousand five. Israeli officials first warned that the decision could be seen as political but backed off after Prime Minister Netanyahu called it a business matter.

Netherlands train crash kills one, injures at least 117 (1:54)
A head on collision between two passenger trains in Amsterdam last Saturday resulted in the death of one woman and left at least one hundred and seventeen others injured.

Connecticut repeals death penalty (2:07)
In the United States, Connecticut became the seventeenth state to repeal the death penalty. Governor Dan Malloy signed the legislation passed by both the state house and senate. The previous governor Jodi Rell had blocked the initiative in two thousand nine.

U.S. Constitution Party nominates former Congressman Virgil Goode for president (2:25)
Former U.S. Representative Virgil Goode of Virginia was nominated for president by the Constitution Party. Goode served as a Congressperson from Virginia's Fifth district as a Democrat, Independent, and Republican. We have more about Goode at Wikinews.org, including an exclusive interview with him from February.

USDA says mad cow disease found in cow in California (2:52)
The U-S Department of Agriculture confirmed a case of 'mad cow disease' this week. The case involved a dairy cow, but officials said the cow never entered the food supply chain and since the disease is not spread through milk there was nothing to worry about. This is the fourth case of mad cow disease in the United States.

Disposal of fracking wastewater poses potential environmental problems(3:14)
Geologists in the United States and Canada are warning that fracking poses dangers to groundwater. Tom Al from the University of New Brunswick warned that it could take decades to clean up groundwater systems and strict controls were needed. Paul Doss from the University of Southern Indiana said we cannot be confident that such deep holes built into the earth's crust will be leak proof.

Noted magic dealer pleads guilty to US federal charges (3:42)
Harry Levy -- also known as Hank Lee -- owner of Hank Lee's Magic Factory in Massachusetts, pled guilty to credit card fraud. Levy was charged for defrauding a Texas man for over a half million dollars between twenty nine and twenty eleven.

Trinidad TV host bailed on teen rape broadcast charges / Trinidad TV host charged over teen rape footage (4:00)
Host Ian Alleyene, from Trinidad's TV show Crime Watch, has been released on bail. He was charged under the Sexual Offences Act after TV6 broadcast video that allegedly showed the rape of a teenage girl with a developmental disability. The footage was shown in October two thousand eleven and Alleyene was charged just days before the statute of limitations expired. He denies all charges.

Doctor diagnoses Mexican artist Frida Kahlo's infertility (4:30)
And a Los Angeles doctor explained why Mexican artist Frida Kahlo could not have children. A street car accident while Kahlo was a teenager left her with Asherman's syndrome. This left scarred tissue in her uterus, which would have escaped detection at the time in her life when she was trying to have babies. She depicted her infertility in such paintings as "Henry Ford Hospital" from 1932.

Outro (5:00)
And those are the headlines for this week.

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