Saturday, December 30, 2017 After 171 years of existence, telegram services were permanently stopped in Belgium as of yesterday. The service was launched in 1846, and about 9000 telegrams were sent across the country from January 2017 to November 2017. On December 12, Belgian telecommunication company Proximus, who provided telegram services in the country, announced they “will definitively end [our] telegram service” on December 29. Jack Hamande, board member of the Belgian Institute for Postal Services and Telecommunications, said, “It is mainly 10 customers using the telegram in Belgium today […] in finance, judicial services and insurance”. The first telegram line was laid from Belgium’s capital Brussels to Antwerp. Usage…

 Correction — August 24, 2015 These briefs incorrectly describe BP as ‘British Petroleum’. In fact, such a company has not existed for many years as BP dropped this name when becoming a multinational company. The initials no longer stand for anything.  Wikinews Audio Briefs Credits Produced By Turtlestack Recorded By Turtlestack Written By Turtlestack Listen To This Brief Problems? See our media guide. [edit]

Monday, June 7, 2010 An acrobatic group known by the name of Spelbound has been declared as the winner of Britain’s Got Talent 2010, a televised variety talent show competition broadcast on ITV in the United Kingdom. As the winning act of the show, Spelbound have won £100,000 (US$144,580, €120,313, A$175,079) and a place at The Royal Variety Performance, an annual gala evening that is attended by senior members of the British Royal Family. In no particular order, the top three acts were revealed to be two dancers known by their stage name of Twist and Pulse, gymnastic group Spelbound and Kieran Gaffney, whose act involves playing on the drum…

Sunday, April 30, 2006 The London Planetarium, famous for its distinctive green dome and for being next to Madame Tussauds, will close this week to make way for a new celebrity-themed show opening in July. The Planetarium used to be an attraction in its own right, but in recent years has become simply a feature tacked onto the end of the waxworks tour, the original 45 minute show cut down to just over 10 minutes. The planetarium will be renamed ‘The Auditorium’ and will feature a show that “gets to the heart of celebrity”, being produced in collaboration with animation house Aardman Productions. Famous astronomer Sir Patrick Moore has called…

Saturday, May 20, 2017 Dirk Kuyt, Dutch footballer and captain of Dutch football club Feyenoord, on Wednesday announced retirement from football. The 36-year-old forward said, “To me this feels like the right time to retire. I have had two fantastic years here since returning to Feyenoord, with this season’s title as the absolute pinnacle. I had the dream of winning trophies and becoming a champion with Feyenoord. All my dreams have come true.” ((nl))Dutch language: ?Voor mij voelt dit als het juiste moment om te stoppen. Na mijn terugkeer naar Feyenoord heb ik hier twee fantastische jaren gehad, met de landstitel van dit seizoen als absoluut hoogtepunt. Ik kwam terug…

Tuesday, April 14, 2009 The Red River at Winnipeg is almost clear of ice blocks and ice jamming, however there are still dangers from the Red River flood. Ice blocks which were as high as two storey buildings were ripping out trees, fences and railway ties. “You’ll see huge pans of ice standing vertical, up to 20 feet (6.1 m) high,” said Steve Topping, an official with the provincial Water Stewardship Department. “Ice was shoved up on the shore and took out trees with a very devastating effect. It has changed people’s view of the river.” “It is incredible, the force. One piece of ice pushed out of the river about 20…

Thursday, October 25, 2007 With prize money of NT$1,010,000, the 2007 3rd “Taipei 101 Run Up” will take place at Taipei 101 on the morning of November 25. The building is a landmark in Taipei, Taiwan. Taipei 101 and the Taipei City Government not only invited Hotai Motor Co., Ltd (agency for Toyota Motor Corporation in Taiwan) titled this competition, but also cooperated with Foundation of 2009 Summer Deaflympics Organizing Committee by donating funds of registration fee to the foundation for the promotion funds of “2009 Summer Deaflympics”. “The run-up competition slogan – ‘Run to Top of the World’ is echoed with our brand achievement – ‘moving forward’ and recent…

Monday, August 27, 2012 London, England — As Paralympians ready for the Games which are set to open later this week, they have access to a world class fitness center inside the Paralympic Village which is designed to maximise their pre-Game preparations. According to volunteers staffing the center, instead of being a single large room, as in Beijing, the building has numerous rooms. It, along with the adjacent Village Services Centre, is designed to be converted into a school after the games conclude. Rooms have been structured as a gym, an auditorium, and science laboratories. Gym equipment is supplied by Technogym, an Italian firm that has supplied gym equipment for…

Friday, October 2, 2009 Companies in the United States are shedding more jobs, pushing the country’s unemployment rate to a 26-year high of 9.8%. The US Labor Department said on Friday that employers cut 263,000 jobs in September, with companies in the service industries — including banks, restaurants and retailers — hit especially hard. This is the 21st consecutive month of job losses in the country. The United States has now lost 7.2 million jobs since the recession officially began in December 2007. The new data has sparked fears that unemployment could threaten an economic recovery. Top US officials have warned that any recovery would be slow and uneven, and…

Tuesday, December 26, 2006 At least 21,000 gallons of crude oil has spilled into the Gulf of Mexico near the United States mainland coast, about 30 miles off the shore of Galveston, Texas. The U.S. Coast Guard says that oil is still leaking at a rate of 80 to 400 gallons a day. The High Island Pipeline began to leak on Sunday and was immediately shut down when a pressure loss was detected. The pipeline is owned by Plains All American Pipeline who state that the incident is “under investigation” and that officials are working to “minimize the impact of the incident.” “A medium crude oil pipeline ruptured 30 miles…