MetLife to acquire Travelers Life and Annuity from Citigroup

Monday, January 31, 2005 Metlife announced on 01/31/05 that they were going to acquire Travelers Life and Annuity from Citigroup. Travelers Life and Annuity is an insurance underwriter. MetLife is a large life insurance and annuities underwriter. MetLife will have to borrow a lot of money to pay for the company, so rating agencies like…

English Premier League: Week 32 round-up

Sunday, March 30, 2008 The 32nd round of the English Premiership took place this past weekend with both the battles for the league title and the battle against relegation still raging on. The fate of one team has been sealed for the rest of the season as Derby County has been mathematically guaranteed relegation, setting…

NASA completes successful test flight of new Ares IX rocket

Thursday, October 29, 2009 NASA completed the first successful space flight of the new Ares I-X rocket yesterday. After delaying the launch 24 hours because of poor weather, Ares lifted off at 11:30 (EDT) in the morning from Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The 327-foot tall Ares I-X test vehicle produced 2.6 million pounds of…

Poland accuses Belarus of human rights violations

Monday, August 1, 2005 Poland has called for the EU to assist curtailing what it has called human rights abuses in Belarus. Belarusian papers describe this as a ‘dirty political game’, and part of a ‘cold war’ waged on president Alexander Lukashenko. The Belarusian Riot police with guns and dogs seized the headquarters of the…

Wikinews’ overview of the year 2008

Wednesday, December 31, 2008 Also try the 2008 World News Quiz of the year. What would you tell your grandchildren about 2008 if they asked you about it in, let’s say, 20 years’ time? If the answer to a quiz question was 2008, what would the question be? The year that markets collapsed, or perhaps…

Ethics debate surrounds surgery to stunt disabled girl’s growth

Friday, January 5, 2007 An ethical controversy has surged in the United States and elsewhere around nine-year-old Ashley X (her family name has not been released). The disabled girl was operated upon at the request of her parents, to prevent her from growing, menstruating and developing breasts. The parents, who wish to remain anonymous, explain…

Google hires Vint Cerf, the “father of the Internet”

Thursday, September 8, 2005 Google announced today, September 8, that they have hired Vinton Cerf, to serve as the Chief Internet Evangelist. He is often referred to as the “father of the Internet”. While working at the US Department of Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) he played an important role in the development of…