UEFA Euro 2016, quarter-finals: France defeats Iceland 5-2

Tuesday, July 5, 2016

On Sunday, in the quarter-final match of UEFA Euro 2016, hosts France defeated Iceland 5–2. Antoine Griezmann scored his fourth goal of the tournament and France is to face Germany in the semi-final.

France had greater ball possession and passing accuracy. Arsenal striker Olivier Giroud scored the first goal of the match in the 12th minute from Blaise Matuidi’s pass. Within ten minutes, midfielder Paul Pogba doubled their lead, scoring a header from Griezmann’s cross. A couple of minutes before half-time, Dimitri Payet scored the third goal. Before the referee brought the first half to an end, Griezmann chipped the ball over the keeper, netting the fourth goal of the match, and his fourth of the tournament. The first half ended 4–0.

In the second half, Kolbeinn Sigþórsson scored a goal for Iceland. But, Giroud restored the four-goal lead three minutes later, scoring a header from Payet’s assist. Birkir Bjarnason scored a consolation goal from header for Iceland in the 84th minute. The match ended 5–2 and Giroud was awarded the Man of The Match award.

After the match, Iceland forward Alfreð Finnbogason said, “A bitter end to a fantastic tournament for us but of course the game was lost in the first half. […] We really put Iceland on the footballing map. We have been getting messages from all over the world about how people are proud of us and that they really love the fighting spirit that we showed. So we can really go happy and proud from this tournament.”

Giroud and Payet have each scored three goals in the tournament and they are behind Griezmann for the Golden Boot trophy.

Tuesday, July 27, 2010

An investigation into the fatal 2009 Washington Metro train collision conducted by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) called for new safety and maintenance rules. The report, released today, blamed the crash on the faulty automatic train-control system. The report also cited the use of dated 1000-Series train cars. The 2009 crash, which killed 9 and injured 80, occurred during the evening rush between the Takoma and Fort Totten stations on the Red Line.

NTSB Chairman Deborah Hersman said that the system is currently regulated by state and local agencies. She called for Federal oversight. “Now it’s really time for them to step up to the plate and for Congress to address the issue,” Hersman said during the release of the findings.

In 2009, Hersman told Congress that Federal safety guidelines should be set saying “the state oversight system is not effective, they don’t have any teeth.” Currently the Federal government has control of interstate transit systems, not regional or local transit systems.

The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) said yesterday that it would replace all of it’s 1000-Series trains with newer models. After the crash, then WMATA general manager, John Catoe said that “the system is safe.” WMATA’s interim general manager Richard Sarles said that “We are committed to considering and following through on the findings and recommendations.”

Aviation articles by Wikinewsie Iain Macdonald.

This Category ‘sub-page’ will display up to 500 articles which one of the project’s contributors has written on a specific topic.

Saturday, December 3, 2016

Peng Chang-kuei, a Chinese-born chef credited with creating the internationally popular dish General Tso’s chicken, was yesterday announced to have died by his son.

Chuck Peng told The Associated Press his father died of pneumonia in Taipei, Taiwan on Wednesday. The chef fled China to Taiwan in 1949 and invented the dish shortly thereafter. In the 1970s Peng opened a New York restaurant, which he claimed was a regular haunt of Henry Kissinger. Peng credited Kissinger with the dish’s popularity.

Peng conceived the famed dish, which is unknown in China, as unfried. Garlic and soy sauce provided flavour, as did chillies. Today the chicken is served across the US as fried chicken in a sweet, sticky sauce. The chillies remain, with broccoli also appearing. Peng named it after Zuo Zongtang from his native Hunan Province; Zongtang assisted in suppressing the 19th-century Taiping Rebellion.

Peng said the meal was invented for a US admiral visiting Taiwan. Over three days, Peng was contracted to produce several banquets, with not one repeated dish. After exhausting traditional chicken dishes Peng said he created what became General Tso’s chicken as an experiment.

In later years he ran Peng’s, a chain of Taiwanese restaurants. General Tso’s chicken also remained popular across the US. His son claimed he remained working in the kitchen until a few months before his death, at 97. In a documentary two years ago, shown photos of General Tso’s chicken served in the US in modern times, he remarked “This is all crazy nonsense.”

Running away from his farming family in Changsha, Peng trained under Cao Jingchen. He fled communist rule that followed the 1930s Japanese invasion. He fathered seven children, six of whom remain alive, from three marriages. Chuck Peng described his father as “very good to other people, [but] very hard on his family.” Peng Jr. spoke of a “very demanding” man who “thought other people’s cooking was no good.”

Two years ago the Taipei City Government awarded Peng an Outstanding Citizen award. Peng, then 95 and unstable, collected the award in person and delivered a speech in Mandarin Chinese.

Wednesday, May 4, 2005

The Tuesday drawing of the Italian Superenalotto game has awarded the biggest prize ever won in a betting game in Italy. The single winner of the first category prize (6 numbers guessed) will receive an amount, including the jackpot from previous un-won draws, of €72.090.405,19 (US$93 million.) The prize money will be received in full without further taxation, since taxes in prizes of that type are taken at a fixed rate by the Italian State from the money paid for the bet.

The winning card was purchased in a café in Milan. The betting game, in some respects similar to Powerball in the USA, but without the special number, requires guessing 6 numbers out of 90.

There is not a drawing for the Superenalotto itself. Numbers are taken from the drawing of another Italian lottery game called the national Lotto. If you guess all 6 numbers in Superenalotto, you win the highest prize.

One additional number is drawn from the Lotto drawing. If you have guessed 5 numbers of the normal Superenalotto 6, where the additional number is called the Jolly number or Joker number, you win a runner-up prize (somewhat less than the full 6 award). Called the 5+1 prize, it was just won in the previous drawing on April 30. There are minor prizes for 5, 4 or 3 numbers guessed, but only the full 6 and 5+1 prize have the jackpot mechanism.

Tuesday, April 19, 2005

MIT has announced that Elwood “Woody” Norris, inventor of potentially revolutionary technologies of Hypersonic Sound beams and AirScooter flying vehicles, will receive this year’s Lemelson-MIT prize for invention this Friday, April 22. The prize comes with an award of US$500,000, making it the largest single award for invention given in the United States.

Friday, October 18, 2013

A massive fire is feared to have killed residents and destroyed more than one hundred homes in the Blue Mountains region of New South Wales, Australia. The blaze is one of the worst New South Wales have seen in more than a decade, said Premier Barry O’Farrell.

Emergency services attempted to evaluate the extent of the devastation on Thursday night, and determined that up to 30 homes in the area of Springwood had been lost. Mr O’Farrell says it will be a miracle if lives were not lost in the blaze. Rural Fire Service Commissioner, Shane Fitzimmons said that it could take some time to assess the true extent of the damage, however, and fears it could be much worse.

“We’ll be counting properties in the dozens, if not the hundreds,” he said.

Weather conditions are set to ease on Friday, however the firefighters have a huge battle ahead of them, says Deputy RFS Commissioner Rob Rogers.

“The worst combination is north-westerly to south-westerly and we’ve got that now. We’ve got an incredibly long fire front and there is no sign of any rain coming”.

Schools in the Blue Mountains were evacuated last night, with many residents seeking refuge at emergency evacuation centres around the area. Around 600 students were transported to Springwood Sports Club for shelter.

While fires continue to cause destruction across the Blue Mountains region, around 100 further blazes are being contained across the Central Coast and in the Southern Highlands.

Residents have been urged to leave areas surrounding the Blue Mountains region, after the alert system was upgraded to an ‘emergency warning’.

Tuesday, December 16, 2014

A freighter hit a fishing boat around midnight on Sunday morning in the Gulf of Suez in the Red Sea. Of the 40 Egyptian fisherman on board, thirteen are dead and thirteen more missing.

Survivor Al Sayyed Mohamed Arafat told local media he jumped from the fishing boat, named Badr al-Islam, as the container ship approached. He says he hung onto a wooden crate for four hours before rescue. Local authorities have promised compensation to each survivor.

A vessel, flagged in Panama, suspected to be involved in the collision has been detained by the military. The army said yesterday one victim raised the alarm by phone and the military sent four boats and a helicopter to commence search and rescue off the Gabal al-Zayt coastline.

A plane has since joined the search. The military say the fishing boat lacked safety equipment for emergency communications.

The detained ship was found south of the Gulf, near the port of Safaga. It was carrying 220 tonnes of cargo according to the General Authority for the Red Sea Ports.