China overtakes Germany as world’s biggest exporter

Sunday, January 10, 2010 Chinese officials have said that their country’s exports surged last December to edge out Germany as the world’s biggest exporter. The official Xinhua news agency reported today that figures from the General Administration for Customs showed that exports jumped 17.7% in December from a year earlier. Over the whole of 2009 …

FDA issues proposed rules requiring calorie content on menus

Sunday, April 3, 2011 The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued proposed calorie labeling rules requiring most retail food vendors to display the calorie counts in items on their menus and menu boards. The proposed rules, issued Friday and expected to be finalized in 2012, would apply to most restaurants, snack bars, vending …

American film director John Hughes dies at age 59

Thursday, August 6, 2009 American film director John Hughes, noted for such movies as Sixteen Candles, Pretty in Pink and The Breakfast Club, died Thursday due to a heart attack. A statement, released by his representative, said that he experienced the heart attack while on a morning stroll in Manhattan, New York. Hughes was born …

Former Illinois governor Blagojevich asks US Supreme Court to delay corruption trial, prosecutors to respond by Friday

Saturday, May 22, 2010 US Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens has given federal prosecutors until next Friday to respond to the request of former Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich and his brother Robert to delay their corruption trial.  The trial is set to begin on June 3, and many of the charges they face are …

China and Russia sign trade deals worth US$3.5 billion

Tuesday, October 13, 2009 China and Russia has signed billions of dollars worth of deals during Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin’s visit to Beijing on Tuesday. The trip was aimed at bolstering business, political and military ties. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Ma Zhaoxu said that Putin came to Beijing to mark the 60th anniversary of …

Wikinews interviews the Socialist Alliance about the upcoming Queensland State election

Monday, March 2, 2009 With a Queensland state election coming up in Australia, many minor parties will be looking to hold balance of power and making the major parties listen to what they have to say. The Socialist Alliance (SA) is one of these parties. SA is a left-wing political party. There stated describes itself …

Dutch financial institution ING takes impairment charge

Wednesday, February 20, 2008 Dutch financial institution ING Group reported today in its quarterly results an impairment charge of €194 million euros (approximately US$285.6 million). However, as a result of selling an equity stake in rival ABN AMRO, the net profit of €2.48 billion, was 18% higher than last year. The impairment charge is a …