Sunday, April 3, 200528 year old Alex Sanchez, outfielder for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, is suspended without pay for 10 days for using a performance enhancing drug. Sanchez is the first player to be suspended under Major League Baseball’s new, stricter drug policy.

The Baseball officials and the players’ union have both decided to not disclose the specific substance which tested positive.

Sanchez originally planed an appeal against the ban, but decided against it. He denies taking any performance enhancing drugs and blames the positive test on over-the-counter vitamins, muscle relaxants and protein shakes that he takes, but has not identified any specific medications as of yet.

Saturday, April 17, 2010

Journalist, counselor, painter, and US 2012 Presidential candidate Joe Schriner of Cleveland, Ohio took some time to discuss his campaign with Wikinews in an interview.

Schriner previously ran for president in 2000, 2004, and 2008, but failed to gain much traction in the races. He announced his candidacy for the 2012 race immediately following the 2008 election. Schriner refers to himself as the “Average Joe” candidate, and advocates a pro-life and pro-environmentalist platform. He has been the subject of numerous newspaper articles, and has published public policy papers exploring solutions to American issues.

Wikinews reporter William Saturn? talks with Schriner and discusses his campaign.

Friday, October 10, 2008

In an attempt to speak with as many candidates as possible during the 2008 Canadian federal election, Wikinews has talked via email with Vicki Gunn. Gunn is a candidate in Ontario’s York—Simcoe riding, running under the Christian Heritage Party of Canada (CHP) banner. The CHP is a minor, registered political party running a significant number of candidates across the country, looking to earn its first ever seat in the House of Commons.

The riding has existed from 1968 to 1979, from 1988 to 1997, and from 2004 to present. As of the next provincial election in Ontario, it will be recognised as a provincial electoral district as well. Over the years, the riding has been represented by the Liberal Party, Progressive Conservative Party, again by the Progressive Conservatives, again by the Liberals, and since its recreation, the seat has been held by the Conservative Party of Canada.

Peter Van Loan, the Conservative incumbent, is the Minister Responsible for Democratic Reform and Leader of the Government in the House of Commons. The other candidates in the riding, besides Van Loan and the CHP’s Gunn, are New Democrat Sylvia Gerl, Liberal Judith Moses, and the Green Party‘s John Dewar.

The following is an interview with Gunn, conducted via email. The interview is published unedited, as sent to Wikinews.

Monday, May 22, 2006

Bushra Khalil, one of the defense lawyers for former Iraqi President, Saddam Hussein, was thrown out of court by Chief Judge Raouf Abdel after speaking out of turn.

“The right of defence is sacred. We have never seen in our whole career a lawyer ordered out of the court room like this. We should not be treated like this, we are defending those men who defended the honour of the nation, yes they are the honour of the nation,” said an Egyptian lawyer, in court for Hussein’s defense.

Khalil was attempting to make a speech when Judge Abdel told her to stop talking. When Khalil continued to speak out of turn, Judge Abdel ordered court guards to remove her from the courtroom. Khalil then threw her lawyer’s robe onto the floor and walked out of the courtroom.

“You have to stick to the rules, you are a lawyer, you should behave by the rules,” said Judge Abdel to Khalil while she left the courtroom.

Hussein objected to the judge’s orders and protested saying, “I am Saddam Hussein, president of Iraq. I am above all.”

“You were president, now you are the defendant,” replied Judge Abdel.

This is the second time that Khalil was thrown out of the courtroom. Back in April, Judge Abdel had Khalil removed for the same reasons. This is also her first appearance in court since April’s incident.

Monday, July 4, 2016

On Saturday, in the quarter-final of UEFA Euro 2016, Germany defeated Italy 6–5 in a penalty shootout decider as the score was 1–1 at the end of additional time. Germany missed three penalties in the shootout, but Manuel Neuer stopped two penalties by the Italians.

Early in the first half, Bastian Schweinsteiger was substituted for German midfielder Sami Khedira following a muscle injury. The Germans had greater ball possession and also led in passing accuracy. But they had to wait till the 65th minute when Mesut Özil scored a goal. Thirteen minutes later, the lead was nullified as the Italians were awarded a penalty kick as defender Jérôme Boateng committed a handball foul in the penalty area. Stepping up for the penalty, Leonardo Bonucci scored the equaliser. This was the first goal Neuer conceded in his last 557 minutes of major tournament play. The previous record was set by Sepp Maier at 481 minutes.

The match proceeded to additional time as the score was 1–1. None of the sides could find the net in the additional time and the referee signalled a penalty shootout. Lorenzo Insigne and Toni Kroos scored their respective kicks. In the next round, Simone Zaza missed while Thomas Müller’s spot kick was saved by Gianluigi Buffon. When Andrea Barzagli scored his penalty kick and Özil missed by hitting the woodwork, Italy were 2–1 up.

Graziano Pellè missed his penalty and the Germans levelled as Julian Draxler scored. Leonardo Bonucci’s attempt to score was saved by Neuer, but Schweinsteiger wasted his chance to lead the shootout. Emanuele Giaccherini and Marco Parolo scored their spot kicks, as did Mats Hummels and Joshua Kimmich. Mattia De Sciglio’s goal was followed by Boateng’s equalising penalty. Neuer saved Matteo Darmian’s kick and Jonas Hector scored the winning penalty.

Neuer was awarded the Man of the Match award.Eighteen players stepped up for the penalty shootout equalling the record of the UEFA Euro 1980 third-place encounter. Except for these two fixtures, never has a Euro match witnessed eighteen men taking the spot kick.

Germany is to play winner of France and Iceland in the semi-final. Mats Hummels is to miss the semi-final serving a one-match ban. Striker Mario Gomez is to miss the semi-final with torn muscle fibres. Schweinsteiger pulled his knee ligaments.

Manager Joachim Löw responded to these injuries saying, “It is very bitter to lose important players in the decisive stage of the tournament. I am especially sorry for Mario. […] For us this means accepting the new situation and having to find solutions. We will do so. The quality in the squad is high and I have full confidence in all players.”

Thursday, February 12, 2009

The Coalition to Repatriate Omar Khadr held a press conference in Toronto on Wednesday, where Khadr‘s lawyer Dennis Edney unveiled his reintegration strategy for the sole Western citizen still held at Guantanamo Bay, in hopes that he can be returned to Canada.

Edney presented his “plan of reintegration” for Khadr, which constituted maintaining distance from his controversial family while undergoing physical and psychological tests and counselling while the legal system decides whether to charge him under the Criminal Code of Canada. Nate Whitling, another lawyer representing Khadr, told The Globe and Mail that his defence team had “no objection at all to fair trial”.

However, there has been no indication of acceptance of the plan from government officials, who were delivered an outline of the proposed terms of release earlier this week. Edney reiterated his plea for due process, urging the government to “accept our plan … a plan that says something about who we are as Canadians.”

Khadr, who was 15 years old and serving as a translator for Afghan insurgents when he was captured by American Special Forces in 2002, has been a controversial point in Canadian politics since his capture.

While the ruling Liberal party had initially made motions towards ensuring that the youth would face fair legal proceedings, they were superseded by the current Conservative premiership of Stephen Harper three years ago. Since then, the government has refused to intervene stating that the Guantanamo military tribunals constituted an “ongoing legal process” determining his fate.

When Barack Obama announced the suspension of the tribunals and the closure of the detainment camps in January 2009, Harper maintained his position that Khadr did not constitute a child soldier and was better to be tried by the United States than his native country. Dismissing Harper’s claims on Wednesday, Edney suggested that the Prime Minister “learn some international law”.

Also on Wednesday, the leaders of the three opposition parties in Canadian parliament sent a letter to Obama urging him to repatriate Khadr as both the majority of the House of Commons and the population support his return and reintegration into society.

Last week, 185 Canadian groups and individuals accused the Prime Minister of “harbouring anti-Muslim sentiment” in his refusal to comply with international law, and public opinion, to return Khadr to face justice in Canada. A petition with more than 50,000 signatures was also delivered to Parliament Hill by representatives of Amnesty International calling for Khadr’s release.