Thesun 2008-12-24 Page10 Winter Weather Wreaks Havoc Across Us Canada

10 

theSun

news without borders

Can’t get a copy of

briefs Passengers evacuate Singapore ferris wheel SINGAPORE: More than 100 passengers stranded for six hours on the world’s largest ferris wheel were being

series of other wrecks and spinouts nearby. The fierce weather, which coincided with the official arrival of winter on Sunday, was blamed for the death of two people in a singlevehicle crash on Interstate Highway 80 east of Des Moines, Iowa. Another weather-related fatality was reported in northwest Iowa when a farm tractor being used for snow removal slipped off the driveway and overturned, killing the driver, the Des Moines Register newspaper reported. Due to the danger, the nearby state of Minnesota temporarily banned the use of snow plows until the thick of the storm passed. The ice made roads slick as far

evacuated and given medical treatment in Singapore after the attraction ground to a halt yesterday. The Singapore Flyer stopped working after a short circuit in one of the wheel’s motor drivers cut its power supply, a company spokeswoman said. The wheel started turning again more than six hours later and the 173 passengers were ushered into ambulances, a witness said. – Reuters

?30SEN for delivery to your doorstep

Log on to www.sun2surf.com for more details

Coup attempt in Guinea after president dies

Winter weather wreaks havoc across US, Canada WASHINGTON: A wintry blast of ice and snow coated US and Canadian roads on Monday, causing deadly car pile-ups and snarling air traffic as travellers tried to get home for the holidays. At least five people died as ice storms cut power in some parts of the United States, multiplecar wrecks were reported in Wisconsin, Michigan and Illinois and chilly temperatures and blustery winds forced residents to bundle up. Drivers blinded by blizzard conditions created a 30-vehicle pile-up on Interstate 94 in western Michigan that killed a 31-year-old man, media reports said, while dozens of vehicles collided in a

| WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 24 2008

south as Texas, where a 44-year-old grandmother was killed in Dallas when her car slid off a road, local reports said. The National Weather Service said Bismarck, North Dakota was on track to break a 1916 record for snowfall in December. The city has received 19 inches of snow so far in December and, with more snow on the way, could shatter the last record of 21.7 inches. Canada may see its first countrywide white Christmas since 1971, meteorologists predicted. Environment Canada issued snow warnings across the country and winter storm watches in Northern Ontario. – AFP

Hole in oneself – golfer hit by bullet JAKARTA: An Indonesian golfer was hospitalised after being hit by a stray bullet from a nearby army shooting range, reports said yesterday. Albert Saputra, 17, was taking part in a junior golf competition in the city of Tangerang when he was shot, local newspaper Koran

CONAKRY: A group of soldiers launched a coup yesterday in the west African state of Guinea, hours after the death of strongman President Lansana Conte at the age of 74. The mineral-rich country was left in turmoil as the coup plotters said they had suspended the constitution and dissolved all state institutions while the government insisted it was still in charge and ordered them to stand down. “The institutions of the republic have shown themselves to be incapable of resolving the crises which have been confronting the country,” Capt Moussa Dadis Camara, the coup’s frontman, announced on state-run Radio Conakry. However Prime Minister Ahmed Tidiane Souare urged the coup plotters to back down, saying he was still in charge. “I do not know these people who have spoken. We are trying to settle this question of national

Tempo reported. The high school student was waiting to tee off when he complained of a burning sensation in his back. Onlookers noticed blood seeping through his shirt. – AFP

Fiji and NZ expel ambassadors WELLINGTON: Relations between

importance,” he told French radio. “I am sure that they will see reason. They have not used force. There has been no threat against anybody.” Parliamentary speaker Aboubacar Sompare, who under the constitution should replace Conte, urged soldiers to oppose the insurrection. “There is indeed an attempted coup d’etat. It’s a minority of soldiers and officers who have taken this action. The vast majority is loyal,” he said. Conte, who ruled the impoverished but mineral-rich country with an iron fist for 24 years after also taking power in a coup, died late Monday after “a long illness” aged 74, state television announced. Soon after his death was announced, army officers ordered the population to “stay at home” and said a militarycivilian council had “taken effective power”.– AFP

New Zealand and Fiji’s military regime sank to a new low yesterday with the announcement they would expel each other’s ambassadors. Despite assurances by Fiji on Monday that it was trying to improve relations with New Zealand, acting high commissioner Caroline McDonald was summoned to Fiji’s foreign affairs ministry yesterday and told she had one week to leave the country. – AFP