Wikinews:Briefs/February 12, 2014

February 13, 2014

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Today on Wikinews: We briefly recap some of the stories appearing on Wikinews during the last two weeks and from around the world.

Today is Wednesday, February 12, 2014. I am Chad Tew and this is Wikinews.

Wiki loves the European Parliament in Strasbourg (0:30)
Volunteers from Wikipedia and other sister projects &mdash; including members of Wikinews &mdash; worked at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France, to procure high-quality photographs, video and audio introductions of members of the European Parliament. The team of fifty were able to produce over a thousand photographs and two hundred video clips. The material &mdash; gathered over four days in early February &mdash; will all be stored permanently on Wikimedia Commons as freely-available and reusable, multimedia content. Wikinews provides more video and photographs of parliamentarians and volunteers, as well as the full story, on the Wikinews website.

Scottish Parliament approve same-sex marriage (1:20)
The Scottish Parliament overwhelmingly approved a bill legalizing same-sex marriage. But religious groups &mdash; including the Roman Catholic Church and the Church of Scotland &mdash; opposed the Marriage and Civil Partnership Bill. The bill allows humanist celebrations along with civil and religious ceremonies &mdash; and religious organizations have the option to participate. Alex Neil &mdash; Scottish Secretary for Health and Wellness &mdash; proposed the legislation.

Sandra Fluke declares candidacy for California State Senate (1:53)
Women's rights advocate Sandra Fluke announced her candidacy to run as a Democrat for the California State Senate. Because US Congress member Henry Waxman announced his retirement, Fluke originally said she would run for Congress. She decided to run for California State Senate instead. Fluke said she could accomplish more for the people of California as a state senator. The seat is currently occupied by Democrat Ted Lieu, and he is beginning his campaign for Waxman's seat.

Hamas returns rocket-prevention forces to action (2:30)
The Hamas government in the Gaza Strip has deployed security forces along the border to prevent rocket fire on Israel. Recent reports have said Hamas withdrew its rocket-prevention force to protest Israeli attacks. Recently, there has been an escalation in tension between Hamas and Israel, with Israeli attacks and rocket shooting from the Gaza strip.

Japan government panel urges reinterpretation of pacifist constitution (3:01)
A government panel in Japan is considering interpretations to the constitution. These would allow the Japanese military to come to the aid of its allies and strengthen ties with the United States. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has been called the "Asian Hitler" by North Korea's state news agency. The government panel looked for ways to reinterpret the constitution, because there was no public support to rewrite or revise it.

France issues pollution alert as ship splits off Basque coast (3:35)
France issued a pollution alert after a Spanish cargo ship collided with a barrier and split in two off of the French coast. The ship, named the Luno, had one hundred twenty to one hundred sixty cubic meters of fuel aboard when the high winds and waves from a storm caused the ship to hit the breakwater. That is about five percent of an olympic-sized swimming pool. The ship was on its way to pick up fertilizer cargo when it split. One part remained on the rocks and the other lay close to the beach.

Watchdog finds police could have prevented Tayside, Scotland road crash (4:15)
An organization that audits law enforcement criticized the Tayside division of police in Scotland for failing to act on reports of drunk drivers. After one report, the same drunk driver later crashed and wounded himself and three passengers. The incident happened on June thirty, twenty thirteen, when a nineteeen-year-old lost control of the car and collided with a wall. Before the crash a member of the public had reported the driver as drunk. A similar incident happened last year with a drunk driver injuring a pedestrian after police had been notified the driver was drunk.

NSW Parliament passes alcohol-fuelled violence bill hours after drafting (5:02)
The Parliament of New South Wales in Australia has passed new legislation for harsher penalties on violent behavior related to alcohol consumption. Among the provisions, an eight-year prison term for someone under the influence of drugs or alcohol who fatally punches another person. This addition came about after Shaun McNeil allegedly punched eighteen-year-old Daniel Christie on New Years Eve at Kings Cross, leading to his death on January eleven of this year.

Warhol's photo legacy spread by university exhibits (5:40)
The Andy Warhol Photographic Legacy Program has donated works from Warhol's collection to almost two hundred university art centers across the United States since two thousand seven, and those universities have been holding exhibits ever since. Wikinews was at the opening of the the University of Southern Indiana's exhibit January twenty three. That Evansville, Indiana exhibit displays about one hundred Polaroids and some additional gelatin silver prints, as well as several colored screen prints from Warhol's collection. The exhibit runs through March nine. Read more about the exhibit and about the program to spread Warhol's photographic legacy at Wikinews dot org.

Outro (6:32)
And those are the headlines from Wikinews.

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