Monday, November 14, 2011

German neo-Nazi terror cell linked to 10 murders




On November 4 in Berlin, two alleged terrorists, believed to be from an organized right-wing terror cell, were found dead in a burning motor home.  A third terrorist came forward on the fourth day, saying that she had set off the bomb and then fled.  When she turned herself into police, weapons that had been used in other attacks had been found.  On Sunday, another alleged terrorist was arrested near Hannover. Authorities believe that the four were acting together but do not currently believe they were part of any larger group.

The four were believed to be the neo-Nazi terror cell involved in killing at least 10 people of mostly Turkish and Greek descent.
In a video which seemed to be intended for the German media, the alleged terrorists claim to have killed eight Turks, one Greek and a police officer between 2000 and 2007.  The attacks occurred all over Germany and became known as the "Doener Murder Series."  Until these arrests, police had not believed that the attacks had been committed by the same people.  In addition to the video, pro-Nazi materials have been found.  Der Spiegel, a German magaizine, is calling the group the "Brown Army Faction," referring to the brown shirts worn by Adolf Hitler's Nazis and to Germany's well-known left-wing terror group, the Red Army Faction.  No one has been charged with a crime at this point.  The news has sparked outrage among Germans.
 -Amelia Hernigle

http://edition.cnn.com/2011/11/14/world/europe/germany-arrest/index.html?hpt=ieu_c2

Big Human Trafficking Bust!

      On November 7, 2011, after a year-and-a-half long investigation, Spain finally made it's biggest trafficking bust after months of preparation and dozens of operations. The bust included thirty nine arrests, seventeen brothels busted, and thirty women who were freed. The investigation began when detectives started looking, and paying closer attention at newspaper ads for Chinese brothels. Recently, the Chinese population has really been seen in Barcelona. In Europe, prostitution is not illegal under the Spanish law, but forcing someone to sell themselves is. In Spain it is very easy to find prostitutes anywhere like on busy city streets, in local bars, or on sidewalks. Detectives say that the new Chinese prostitution has been operating from apartments, and in just two years it has knocked out any other competitors in the brothel business. It knocked out the competitors because they offered people a larger amount of sex for really low prices compared to the rest of the market. The competitors has to close because of the big client drop. Since you can prostitute yourself in Spain, but you can't become a licensed prostitute, it makes the investigation of prostitution really tricky.

Link to Video:
   http://edition.cnn.com/video/#/video/international/2011/11/08/cfp-catalonia-part2.cnn

Saturday, November 12, 2011

Turkish Boat Hijacker Killed

On Saturday, November 12th, Turkish commandos stormed a ferry off the coast of Istanbul. The soldiers were able to approach the boat without alerting the hijacker, and boarded the ship. Wearing civilian clothing, they were able fool the attacker long enough so they could assassinate the robber, without any casualties. The explosives which he carried with him were successfully disarmed as well. After the threat was successfully eliminated, the hijacker was identified as Mensur Guzel. Guzel was the head of the Kurdistan Workers' Party youth wing.

The Kurdistan Workers' Party, also known as the PKK is slowly becoming a more prominent threat in the region of Turkey and countries also in it's area. An article on this blog went over another attack carried out by a Kurdish rebel, linked here. There has recently been an increase of attacks carried out by these rebels has caused unrest in Turkey. There have been attacks that have reportedly killed over twenty six Turkish soldiers, possibly more. In response to these terrorist acts carried out by these rebels, the Turkish army has launched attacks throughout several Middle Eastern countries, specifically Iraq. They have also increased their military competence, as shown though their reaction to today's attacks. While neither side seems to be ready to fold, hopefully a treaty will be able to come between Kurdish people and the countries they seek autonomy from.

-Nate

Sources:
Foreign Press
Washington Post
BBC News
CNN

Monday, November 7, 2011

M5 crash: Firework organisers 'to work closely with police



There was a 34-vehicle accident on the northbound carriageway at junction 25, near Taunton in South Wales on Friday night.  Approximately 51 people were injured in the crash and 7 people were killed.
Police do not yet know what caused the pile-up, but a “bank of smoke” had been visible at the time.  Eye-witnesses said that this smoke was very significant and stretched across the carriageway.  It caused a bank, similar to a fog bank, which distracted drivers and caused unsafe driving conditions.
The local rugby club had held a fireworks display that evening.  This has become the focus for an investigation. Avon and Somerset Police Assistant Chief Constable Anthony Bangham said people who had attended the fireworks display will be interviewed by officers.  Whether or not the rugby club can be held accountable is a major question.  It is unclear so far if there was a license required for the fireworks display. 
Police said 131 feet of the carriageway had been damaged by spilled fuel and 197 feet was charred by intense fire. The vehicles involved in the crash took 2 days to be removed from the scene. The motorway was closed between junctions 24 and 25 after the crash, but was reopened on Sunday night.
The medical examiner for West Somerset, Michael Rose, said he planned to conduct autopsies of the seven victims of the crash on Thursday.
The rugby club said its thoughts and prayers were with the families of those affected by the accident. Hundreds of people have paid tribute to the dead and injured and their families on Facebook.
-Amelia Hernigle
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-somerset-15615992

Saturday, November 5, 2011

Protests in Italy, G20 Summit Ends

Today, in Rome, Italy, protesters marched through the central square to attest decisions which the government, specifically Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, has been making. The protest was mainly caused by the Prime Minister's announcement at the G20 summit that the International Monetary Fund will be looking over Italy's austerity program. The G20 summit, for those unaware, was held this past week to address the European Union's budget crisis. The monitoring process will consist of quarterly evaluations carried out by IMF employees. There were several other important financial announcements at the multi-country meeting, such as that France and Germany will stop their financial support to Greece until certain requirements. These further cuts will be devastating for the country of Greece, which has already gone through numerous public spending reductions. For more on the Greek financial crisis, click on the link here.

This summit has brought up many discussions in many different media on how European countries should handle this economic downfall. There have been many talks of how the Greek government may have to give up their position in the European Union. Thanks to irresponsible spending by Greece as well as other countries, the value of the Euro has declined. This caused many other EU countries, such as Germany, to request that Greece either leave the EU, or cut back on various public funding. There is also the impending doom that Italy's economy may also begin to crumble under the economic struggle of the 21st century. However, they made the proper decision and looked to the IMF for assistance. Overall, the choices made throughout the G20 summit will hopefully begin to bring back the European, as well as the world's, economy.

-Nate

Sources:
EFT Daily News
Business Today
Telegraph UK
CNN

Thursday, November 3, 2011

Crash Landing in Newark! Landing gear fails!

 Video Link: Emergency Landing!

It was a chaotic day for Poland's Frederic Chopin International Airport on Tuesday. A Boeing 767 that originally took off from Newark, New Jersey made an emergency crash landing at the airport after it's landing gear failed. Now the good news. None of the passengers on the plane were injured. Also no one was injured outside of the plane. The plane, however, did not do quite as well. Huge holes were carved into the lower fuselage, or belly, of the plane. Luckily, the extra layers of protective steel and insulation kept everything except for loud scraping noises from reaching the passengers. 
The 767 circled around the Warsaw airport for about an hour after it's pre-scheduled land time before it landed at about 4:40 in the afternoon. LOT, the company that owns the 767 had this to say: "After noticing a central hydraulic system failure the standard procedure for emergency landings at Warsaw airport were implemented." There was a grand total of 231 people on the flight, 220 of them passengers and 11 crew, none of which were injured. The airline company said they will now begin construction of a new 767 that will now take this one's place.
Reporter Jake Grider signing off.
Source: http://edition.cnn.com/2011/11/01/world/europe/poland-plane/index.html?hpt=ieu_c2


Monday, October 31, 2011

Minecraft awarded GameCity videogame arts prize





Minecraft was the winner of the new arts award for computer games. The prize was announced ate the finale of the GameCIty videogame culture festival in Nottingham, England. The title is based of the work of an independent Swedish company, Mahjong. Players have to build objects out of blocks in an open environment.  The game was selected out of many other big name publishers, such as. Electronic Arts’ Portal 2 developed by Valve, and Microsoft llomilo. Markus Persson, the founder of Mojong said “it’s a great honor to be compared to those games, winning this award helps us to try to make Minecraft the best game it can be.”  It has been stated that nearly four million people have already bought the title on line; despite the fact it is still in a beta.  The formal release it scheduled for next month. “ it just wasn’t like anything else, it felt like it had the expanding life of its own. It had an organic nature, “ one of the judges, Ed Hall told BBC. “ It’s simplistic and addictive, and there’s an element of beauty in what you are doing.”
-Amelia Hernigle

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-15509330

Girls Switched at Birth Win Compensation

Anya Iskanderov and Irina Belyaeva
On December of 1998, Irina and Anya were born 15 minutes apart in the same hospital in Russia. A Judge has delivered the verdict in a courtroom on Monday October 31. They have found out about the mix-up after former husband of Yulia Belyaeva, refused to pay maintenance saying the child he was raising wasn't his so they decided to run a DNA test. The test showed that neither of them were the natural parents and that the hospital has make a huge mistake. Both of the Russian families were given 100,000 dollars in compensation. Yulia said she was just getting used to the size of the award. 
"It is the largest amount of compensation one can hope to get in Russia, but I haven't got my head around how I am going to spend it yet," she said.
One of the options that the families are thinking of is buying new houses close to each other, or to purchase a property for them to live together. The only problem is that one family is strict Muslim, while the other is Christian.       

Saturday, October 29, 2011

More Chaos in Turkey

The past few weeks have been devastating for the country of Turkey. Last Sunday, October 22nd, an earthquake with a magnitude of 7.2 ravaged south-eastern Turkey. The death toll of the earthquake is over five hundred, and it also left more than 1,600 people injured. Those numbers are expected to rise as rescue teams try and locate survivors in the rubble of buildings. Not only did aftershocks rock the region after the earthquakes, but events such as prisoners rioting made the event more chaotic. 

After the tragic events caused by the earthquake, a suicide bomber attacked the headquarters of the ruling Justice and Development government party. This attack killed three people, and injured around twenty.  The headquarters, in the eastern town of Bingol, was most likely targeted by Kurdish rebels. These revolutionaries, who have not yet claimed responsibility for the attack, are a group which fights for the independence of Kurdish people in Turkey. These rebels are known as the PKK, or the Kurdistan Workers' Party. Their fight for freedom was caused by the lack of an official Kurdistan when Middle Eastern countries were officially created many years ago. 

Hopefully, the country of Turkey will be able to recover after these devastating events. Currently, it looks as if the danger caused by the earthquake and other events will slowly level out and become more calm.

-Nate

Sources:

Monday, October 24, 2011

Dublin on emergency footing as floods cause chaos

On October 24, 2011 in Dublin, Ireland a heavy rain of long duration led to major roads, houses and the city’s main shopping centers to go under water.  An off duty Irish police officer is missing in County Wick low, which is close to where a river broke its banks.  The Public Transportation came to a screeching halt. In one part of the city an inflatable boat was used to rescue stranded motorist.  There was a three-hour delay on some of the more major routes out of the city. The Dublin dart train service was suspended. The heavy rain also hit the travelers along the east coast of Ireland with the Belfest-to Dublin Enterprise service being cancelled. Both of the rivers running into Dublin overflowed, the dodder and the Camac. Authorities said further problems could be caused by an unusually high tied, which was expected on Monday night. The Irish weather service, has issued a severe weather warning for large areas of Ulster and east Leinster.
-Amelia Hernigle
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-15439838

Turkey Earthquake

On Sunday, October 17, an earthquake with a magnitude of 7.2, has hit Turkey killing about 279 people and leaving 1300 people injured. Most of the People who were affected by the earthquake, were in the cities of Van and Ercis. In the city of Ercis, about 80 buildings have been collapsed. Daniel Sandford, says most of the buildings that have been collapsed, were mostly apartments with dozens of people missing at each site. In the larger cities, heavy equipment is being used to lift concrete. Some of the rescuers are complaining about the lack of adequate equipment. Five people have been rescued from a collapsed building after one of them called for help from his mobile phone. Thousands of people have no where to stay and are having to face below freezing temperatures at night with winter coming. Other people have been sleeping in tents in Van and in a sports stadium in Ercis. Survivors in other areas were complaining about not receiving enough help. Prime minister Erdogan thanked other countries for their offer of help, but said Turkey can fix the disaster on it's own.
Earthquake survivors in Ercis, Turkey, by fire - 24 October 2011



-Edgar Juarez

Saturday, October 22, 2011

German Satellite to Reenter Atmosphere

Debris from a German satellite that has reentered the atmosphere is expected to crash land in several different locations during the next several days. This is actually a very rare event, as objects coming back into the atmosphere usually disintegrate. However, the size, as well as the engineering which allowed the parts to be heat resistant, has allowed the fragments to fall back into the atmosphere. A gigantic total of 1.7 metric tons of debris is calculated to fall into the atmosphere. While the managing editor of space.com, Tariq Malik expects that there is no immediate threat, it's a very prominent possibility that the debris will cause damage. The satellite, which is called the ROSAT, was a relay for scientists so they could find sources of X-ray radiation in other areas of space.

This occurrence, is a terrifying example of how the way we act as humans can cause damage to our world. While there are more obvious examples such as global warming, situations like this show how occasions that we feel will help our society may end up harming it. All of the different structures we have created to try and increase our knowledge may end up destroying the society. Hopefully we as a society can end up putting our effort into helping our environment and surroundings.

-Nate

Sources:

Monday, October 17, 2011

RIP Dan Wheldon




On October 16th 2011 the two-time Indianapolis 500 winner Dan Wheldon died. He died because of “unservivable injuries” caused during a multi car crash at the Las Vegas Indy 300.  There were 32 cars traveling 220 miles per hour when Dan Wheldon number 77 was caught in a fiery 15-car pileup.  A large British flag was hung on the gate to show honor to Dan Wheldon.  Dan Wheldon died at age 33.  As the drivers slowly wound their way around the track the song Amazing Grace played.   It is said that Dan was in line to win $5 million but only if he captured the checkered flag at Sundays race. The Indianapolis motor Speedway Corporation President and CEO Jeff Belskus called Wheldon a “ great champion” and “ wonderful ambassador.” After Dan’s Second Indy 500 victory in May, Wheldon talked to CNN’s American Morning about the intensity of the racetrack. Weldon’s first win was in 2005. Dan said, “We’re doing speed in excess of 225 miles per hour. With this race, you never know what can happen. It’s about staying focused and you really don’t ever let off the power unless toy have to.” Wheldon was born in Emberton, England, lived in St. Petersburg, Florida. His father was a go-Kart racer and his mother was the timer at a local track. His wife and two young children survive Wheldon.

 -Amelia Hernigle


http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-dan-wheldon-20111018,0,2787992.story

European Tourists Dead

Okavango Delta, file picture

On Friday, October 14, Officials say that seven European tourists have died in a plane crash. The dead included three Swedes, three French and a British tourist. Two french and two Botswana nationals survived the plane crash shortly after it took off. The crash happened at about 12:00 local time. Officials say that the cause of the crash is not yet known, but the pilot who died, was the most experienced with more than 12,000 hours of flying.

French Get Back Painting After WW1

French Ambassador François Delattre, left, shakes hands with ICE Director John Morton during the ceremony Thursday.
An extremely famous painting that was stolen the German Army during World War 1, was returned to the government of France this last Thursday. The painting was confiscated in 1918 and was transported, along with many other paintings, to Belgium. The year after that, with the war over, the Belgium government finally decided to return all of the paintings to France. All of them showed up except for one, called "A Fisherman's Daughter" or "Mender of Nets". Almost a hundred years later, in 2010, French officials alerted Interpol that the painting might have been imported by a gallery in New York City. Hearing this, French officials went to this New York gallery and seized their painting. This work of art, by Jules Breton, is estimated to be worth over $150,000, making it of importance. ICE, the organization responsible for obtaining the painting, provided no details about how the painting reached the New York gallery or where it was for those ninety years since it was stolen. No futher details provided.






















Thursday, October 13, 2011

Attacks on German Railway Disrupt Traffic

On Wednesday, October twelfth, railway traffic in Germany was disrupted by fire bombs placed by the tracks. The rail company, Deutsche Bahn, is suspected to have become the target of terrorist extremists.The series of attacks was unsuccessful in killing civilians. The bombs that went off on Monday and Tuesday  both caused no causalities  and the two bombs that went off on Wednesday failed to properly explode. These attacks are several in a series of attacks on rail cars which has left over one hundred cars torched. This week's periods of attacks have caused over two thousand of the rail cars to be delayed.


A left wing terrorist group has claimed responsibility of these series of attacks. The group, called the Hekla Welcome Committee-Intiative for More Social Disruptions has claimed responsibility for these attacks. Before this week's events, this group had not been known by government officials. The group says that they hope to cause disruption, and most likely terror, through these attacks. However, while the group hopes to disrupt the actions of society, they claim that they are not aiming to hurt any civilians. They have also claimed that their reasons for attacking the trains is Germany's involvement in the war in Iraq. The police have sent out police patrols, as well as undercover officers to hope to prevent more attacks.

-Nate

Sources:

Monday, October 10, 2011

Michael Jackson's physician is on trial and a concert is held in his honor


          As Michael Jackson's physician stands trial for his death, he is honored all the way over in Cardiff, Wales. Michael Jackson's three children Prince ,Paris, and Blanket went onto the stage at the concert just to introduce a video appearance by Beyonce herself.


          Over 50,000 total people attended the concert along with every one of Michael's family members. Unfortunately one of the pre-scheduled performers, Jennifer Hudson did not make the concert.


          Before singer Smokey Robinson performed, he made comments suggesting that Michael Jackson would have loved this concert and consider it an honor. This created some controversy between Michael's family, but was soon resolved and forgooten about.


          A quote from Marlon Jackson herself at the concert. "The message today is have a graet time and remeber him as a positive person and all the different things that he stood for -- not just his music but the human side of him." 


Jake Grider



Two Babies get Mixed with Different Families by Accident

From left to right: Yuliya, Irina with her brother and Irina's biological father

12 years ago, on December 1998, the truth was revealed between two families that the kids that they have been raising for twelve years, was never theirs. The truth has been let out after ex-husband of Yuliya, refused to pay maintenance for their daughter saying she looked nothing like him. When Yuliya went to court DNA tests also said that they were not the biological fathers of Irene. Police traced Irene's natural parents and found her living on the other side of town. Neither of the girls wanted to leave their homes. Yuliya thought back to when she gave birth. She remembered there was one other woman in labor. Twelve years ago the babies were given the wrong name tags and were given to the wrong parents. It had never occurred to Yuliya that Irene wasn't her biological daughter. She never believed doctors can make that big of a mistake.
Anya

Sunday, October 9, 2011

Construction of Solar Bridge Begins

In central London, a bridge that spans across River Thames is getting an environmental upgrade. The structure, called Blackfriars Bridge, is going to be equipped with over 4,400 solar panels. It's expected that this new enhancement will be able to produce over 900,000 kilowatt hours of green electricity every year. This is also estimated to provide the half of the rail station's annual required electricity. This will also ultimately prevent over 500 tonnes of carbon dioxide from being released in the air. It's a great use of the unused six thousand square meters of the tunnel's roof space.

The work being done on this structure will hopefully be able to show how older and environmentally harming apparatuses can be created into green devices. The bridge, which was created in 1886, also is estimated to create over 1000 tonnes of CO2 every year. Being able to prevent a majority of this by simply using unused space is a great environmental choice. While the panels will cost a large sum of eleven million dollars, it's estimated that the city will be able save over a quarter of a million dollars in electricity costs annually. This project shows that many countries and their officials are beginning to logically think greenly.

-Nate

Sources

Poland arrests two over bombs at European Ikea stores




Adam K and Mikolaj G were finally arrested and charged on Wednesday in the Kujawsko Pomorskie region of north-western Poland for a series of bomb attacks at Ikea furniture stores in five countries across Europe, including France, Belgium, the Czech Republic, the Netherlands and Germany.  Hundreds of police officers in Poland and in the other countries worked on the investigation.  Ikea representatives also helped the police.  The bombers tried to get six million euros from Ikea by scaring people with booby-trapped alarm clocks and other devices, including kitchen equipment.   No one was killed, but two people were injured in Germany.  The attacks occurred over a five-month period beginning last May.  Adam K is a former manager who has worked for large corporations and is said to be fluent in four languages.  Mikolaj G has a police record for drug trafficking.  The two men sent payment demands to Ikea in different languages.  The police said that the bomb loads were getting stronger which was causing a more and more serious threat.  Time counted and they were very glad they caught them when they did. The men could face up to ten years in prison and have been charged with endangering the lives of others, extortion and racketeering.  

-Amelia Hernigle

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-15228238

Monday, October 3, 2011

Amanda Knox wins Meredith Kercher murder appeal




In 2009, Meredith Kercher shared a cottage in Perugia, Italy, with her friend, Amanda Knox.  Meredith was murdered when she was staying with Amanda during a year of study abroad from Leeds University.
It is said that she was killed during a sex game that went wrong. Her throat was slit and she was sexually assaulted.  It was said that Amanda's DNA was on the handle of a kitchen knife. The knife was found in Amanda’s boyfriend, Raffaele Sollecito's flat and believed to be the murder weapon.  It was also said that Meredith’s DNA was on the blade and Raffaele's DNA was on the clasp of Meredith's bra.
An independent review questioned those findings and raised concerns that proper procedures were not followed in evidence collecting or forensic testing.  It was argued that the evidence was possibly contaminated, especially since it was collected from the crime scene 46 days after the murder.
Today an eight-member jury cleared both defendants, Amanda Knox and Raffaele Sollecito, of Meredith Kercher's murder after these doubts were raised about the procedures used to gather the DNA evidence.
Amanda, originally from Seattle, is expected to fly back to the US tomorrow.  Her family said she had "suffered for four years for a crime she did not commit".
- Amelia Hernigle

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-15158163
Russian Police Officers Killed in Dagestan, Russia

                Two police officers in Dagestan, Russia were killed after a car loaded with explosives blew up. The officers were preforming a regular patrol, keeping an eye out for suspicious activity. The officers passed by a distrustful looking man sitting in a car. At the time they passed by, the man pulled a trigger on a remote detonator that exploded a nearby car.
There have been 110 terrorist attacks in Dagestan this year Russian security services say, including this car bomb in Khasavyurt in January                  The explosion left a crater five feet wide and six inches deep in the street. The police van was completely demolished and the officers died on the scene.
                  The town of Dagestan has been hit by these attacks several times. The local officials are beginning to believe that the Islamic militant group planning these attacks are responsible for the majority of the them. Police have yet to apprehend the assailants behind these vicious onslaughts.


C.B. Nate

Foreign tourists banned from coffee shops.

Cannabis weighed out in coffee shop


In the Netherlands, a drug traffic problem was being caused. On September 30, a ban is forced on some foreign tourists to stay away from cannabis-selling coffee shops in Masstricht, Netherlands. The only two foreign countries who were not band from the cannabis-selling coffee shops were tourists from Germany and Belgium because they are the most foreign costumers. Starting Saturday October 1st, anyone who does not hold a Dutch, German, or Belgium passport will be told to leave. Hi-tech security scanners have been set up to check passports and ID cards, and police will be carrying random checks.

- Edgar Juarez

Sunday, October 2, 2011

German Company Creates CO2 Recycling Process

A Germany based company focused on renewable energy has been in the process of creating a process which takes carbon-dioxide from the atmosphere and creating it into new fuel. Their website shows a list of products ranging from Petroleum, to Methanol, to even wax! The company uses green energy (electricity created from wind turbines, solar panels, and water dams) to go through the process. It uses the hydrogen from water, while the oxygen is released back into the atmosphere, and mixes it with harvested CO2. Now by synthesizing the two materials, they are able to create different fuels and combustibles. While it may seem just as bad to use these fuels, their process uses only CO2 that had already been in the atmosphere. Not only does it not add additional Carbon Dioxide into the air, but it also allows us to not really on Middle Eastern countries for fuel.

This is one of the many advanced options that scientists are creating to counteract our environmental predicament. There are many great alternatives to automobiles that use fossil fuels, but the company's Chief Technology Officer Christain von Olshausen claims that some industries require the use of actual fuel. While their organization creates fuel, they counterbalance this by using renewable energy.  From hybrid cars to consumer solar energy, there are many more ways we can help heal our environment.


-Nate Kling
Sources:

Monday, September 26, 2011

Six Accused of Plotting Terrorism in England


Six men were arrested last week by the counterterrorism unit of Britain’s West Midlands police.  The men, from Birmingham, Britain’s second largest city, were charged with planning an act of terrorism in Britain.  They trained in Pakistan for suicide bombings and made explosive devices.  The men were between the ages of 25 and 32.  A police statement said the men appeared in court in west London on Monday but were denied bail.
The police would not make the details of their terrorist plot public, but they did say that this was part of a major operation. This implies that it involved a long-term surveillance operation which may have even included phone tapping.  The police would not say more and would not allow officers to be interviewed.
During recent years, other major British cities have been known to have groups preparing themselves for acts of terrorism that have caused Washington to be concerned.  American officials have said that many who have been a threat to American and British security are from Britain’s large population of migrant families who have roots in Pakistan.  These men were the first to be arrested for this in Britain in several months.
Britain has expanded its counterterrorism efforts to deal with threats, but officials have said that a shortage of qualified agents has forced it to leave some potential leads unchecked. 
-AMELIA HERNIGLE 

Last Bullfight

Last July, in Barcelona, Spain, a law was passed by the regional government of Catalonia to prohibit bullfighting in Catalonia starting January 1st, 2012.

On September 25, 2011, the last bullfight took place in Barcelona. Two of the most famous bullfighters, Jose Thomas and Sebastian Marin, went to the last bullfight where, in Barcelona's famous Monumental Bullring, tickets sold out packing the ring with 20,000 people.

When the last bullfight ended, many people invaded the ring to grab handfuls of sand to take home as souvenirs.
        

CB-Amelia Hernigle

Friday, September 23, 2011

Series of Attacks Leave Russian Official and Officers dead.

On Thursday September 22nd, a bomb with power equivalent to 6 pounds of trinitrotoluene (TNT) exploded in the capital of Dagestan, Russia. The first explosion occurred adjacent to a police car, wounding the four officers inside. When more officers and other help arrived at the scene, a second coordinated bomb exploded fifteen minutes later. This detonation, suspected to have the power of around 80 pounds of TNT. It's believed to have injured between 39 and 60 people, around 40 of them being police officers. The number of deaths is not yet confirmed. The buildings nearby the blast radius were either completely demolished or severely damaged. In addition to the coordinated explosions, a Dagestani police official, Mohammed Murtazaliev, was killed in a drive-by shooting on Friday. Several of his relatives were also caught in the crossfire as well.

The Republic of Dagestan is slowly become a more violent region. Through out this year, over 300 people have been killed in over 150 attacks directed at the government. Along with gang wars, this region of  Caucasuas (a district of Russia) is becoming a more dangerous place to live. Wars between Russia and Chechnya are the cause of an Islamic militant group coming into this region of Russia. One Islamic body had been recorded as  declaring holy war against Russia.
-Nate
Sources:

Thursday, September 22, 2011

German man rapes daughter.


In Berlin Germany, a man was arrested for raping his daughter.
The German man had repeatedly raped his daughter 497 times over three decades
where he controlled every one of her mover and fathered three children with her.
The 69 year old German man is suspected of fist forcing his daughter to have sex with him 
when she was 12 or 13 years old and then raping her several times a week.
She was unable to escape her father because he always accompanied her on car rides, and
shopping trips, and not allowing her to have any relationship with anybody. 

Critiqued by Jake Grider



A 17-year-old boy was found in the woods of Germany earlier this month. The boy turned up at Berlin city hall. Germany police are doing an investigation. The teen goes by the name ray and was discovered on September 5th. Ray speaks English and a little German. Reporters found out that he had been living in the woods with his father. He decided to come out after his father had passed away.  Authorities are in search for the boy’s identity. While he was in the woods he forgot who he was. Thus far they only found out that he was staying at a Berlin youth center.


This story was compared to the “piano man” who was found wandering near a beach on the isle of Sheppey, Kent, in southern England in 2005. The man was wearing a waterlogged dinner suit. All of the labels were cut out and a tie.  It was originally reported by stunned witnesses with a “ virtuoso performance” on the piano. This man was identified as a 20-year-old German national from Bavaria. He told the hospital staff that he was attempting suicide. After this situation, it was reported that he could not play the piano the same as he could before.  The man did not let authorities post his name for confidentiality and the man flew back home to Germany.

-Amelia Hernigle


http://www.wftv.com/news/29221777/detail.html


CRITIQUED BY Jake Grider

Monday, September 19, 2011

FUI Flying Under the Influence

                                       Drunk Navigator Brings Down Russian plane


A rescue worker walks amid the debris of the Russian jet that went down on June 20 in Petrozavodsk, killing 47 people.
Fuselage of Tupolev 134.


 Tupolev 134, a Russian airliner crashed due to poor communication among the crew. The co-pilot, who was intoxicated, said he was making a left turn and the pilot believed he said right through his slurred speech.

 The steering mechanism on the plane snapped from the conflicting commands, and the plane could no longer steer. It began to spiral down tail first. After crashing into the land, it slid for a full minute on the earth until finally stopping. The engines were ripped off and the fuel lines were severed, igniting small forest fires in the Russian forest.

Casualties included 43 passengers who were killed on impact, as well as the crew else on board. About 140 total firefighters, police officers, and paramedics responded to the call, costing about $2 million. The monetary loss of the plane with raises it to $260 million. The lawsuits against the plane company have to be considered in the total sum of money as well.

C.B. Nate

Europe News

                                      17 Year-Old  is Found Outside of Berlin City Hall

   Earlier this month in Berlin, Germany, a 17-year-old showed up at the Berlin City Hall. He told the officers standing at the front high-security gate that he had been living in the woods for approximately almost  five years.

The teen, who calls himself Ray, was first found on September 5th walking across the hall grounds.The boy had very minor injurys and was incredibly filthy and bad smelling, as he had not bathed for several years. He spoke fluent English and a little German, and had a hard time understanding orders. Ray was suspected to have been living in the woods with his father all of this time he had been missing. It is suspected he decided to come out after the death of his father. The Berlin City Hall was the first place he had shown up since then.
Authorities are working with Interpol to try and find any live relatives that he may still have in the city or anywhere else. A search and rescue squad was also sent out to the general area of where the boy emerged from the woods. They have since found the father's dead body and an array of clothing and supplies where they had stayed during their time in the forest. Other relatives have yet to be discovered.

Created by Jake

Edited by Nate

Boy found in forest.




A 17-year-old boy was found in the woods of Germany earlier this month. The boy turned up at Berlin city hall. Germany police are doing an investigation. The teen goes by the name ray and was discovered on September 5th. Ray speaks a English and a little German. Reporters found out that he had been living in the woods with his father. He decided to come out after his father had passed away.  Authorities are in search for the boy’s identity. While he was in the woods he forgot who he was. Thus far they only found out that he was staying at a Berlin youth center.


This story was compared to the “piano man” who was found wandering near a beach on the isle of Sheppey, Kent, in southern England in 2005. The man was wearing waterlogged dinner suit. All of the labels were cut out and a tie.  It was originally reported by stunned witnesses with a “ virtuoso performance” on the piano. This man was identifier as a 20-year-old German national from Bavaria. After telling hospital staff that he was attempting suicide. After this situation it was reported that he could not play the piano the same has he could before.  The man did not let authorities post his name for confidentiality and the man flew back home to Germany.
-Amelia Hernigle


http://www.wftv.com/news/29221777/detail.html

Friday, September 16, 2011

Further Investigations of Guardian UK Newspaper Phone Hacking

On Friday September 16th, London's Metropolitan Police Service went into further investigation regarding a case involving the Guardian UK newspaper. The newspaper made news several months ago back in July of 2011, when they reported on a story of how another tabloid News of the World was found hacking a young girl's phone. Overall , the newspaper had tapped phone lines to find more details ranging from catastrophic events like a young girls' murder, to the functions of U.K. royalty. The CEO of the News of the World, has been the center of these attacks, being blamed for his "anything goes" policy. People apposed to his ideas having even gone to do such things as attack him with pies to the face.

Now, the Guardian, which had reported on the violation in the first place, is under attack by the MPS. Officials believe that they should arrest the people who helped them uncover this information, as they believe that they may cause future problems. Several arrests have already been made of  News of the World hacking correspondents. One example is a 30 year old man who was arrested during the beginning of September, on grounds of wrongdoing citizens' privacy. The editors of the Guardian have been quoted as saying the move by police is "vindictive". They also further added that "We shall resist this extraordinary demand to the utmost." The police officials protected their initial statements, believing that it was in the best interest of the public.

-Nate

Sources:

Monday, September 12, 2011

4 terror suspects arrested in Sweden



Police lines block any pedestrians from getting in harms way.

A Swedish SWAT team backed by local police arrested four people overnight on suspicion of plotting terror attacks, the Swedish Security Service told reporters Sunday.

The four were held in the city of Gothenburg for "probable cause" of preparing attacks on citizens, said Sara Kvarnstrom, one of the spokeswomen for the security force.

She refused to say whether the suspects had been under surveillance or if the arrests resulted from a tip-off. Either way, it has given an opportunity to stop a more
severe situation from occurring.

Sweden is not raising its terror threat level, which is currently at 3, with 5 as the highest. There is "no reason for the public to be alarmed," she said.
"These arrests have not changed this threat level," Kvarnstrom added.
An art gallery in central Gothenburg was evacuated due to the attacks shortly before midnight local time, police said, but were unable to say whether it was connected to the arrests or not. It is speculated that this was the site of the arrest.
Created by Jake
Edited by Nate

Saturday, September 10, 2011

Greeks Take to the Streets to Protest New Austerity Measures

Thousands of Greek citizens began to protest on the streets Saturday to protest the expected austerity measures.  These demonstrations most likely stem from the Greek finance minister's announcement that the country will begin to speed up their cost-cutting work. In the past, these cuts have ranged from many different public funds. Other austerity measures have also gone to raise taxes as well as firing thousands of civil workers. Around 5,000 police offers were deployed to calm the protesters, who's numbers reached over 15,000. This has been one of the many times Greek citizens have gone out to the public to protest extreme economic measures created by the government.

These austerity movements have had to be created throughout the Greek debt crisis. Like most countries, Greece requires investors to lend the government money so they can carry out regular public spending. Due to hasty spending by officials as well as lenders requesting higher interest, Greece has slowly gone into debt. The country had to attempt a last resort to save their country from going into default, a 120 billion euro bailout from the European Union as well as the International Monetary Fund. However, countries like Germany as well as officials from the International Monetary Fund have required that many different public spending cuts be made to counteract the countries enormous debt. As time has gone on, there has become more and more fear that Greece may need to completely default on it's debts to other countries as well as investments from banks and private investors.

-Nate

Sources:

Tuesday, September 6, 2011


Europe imposes ban on imported Syrian oil

A Syrian military tank takes position in a residential street in Homs, on August 30.

This is one of the latest events making news in Europe.

The action was expected. The EU has been a top market for Syrian oil, and the group said it intended to make the move which will have a detrimental impact on the Syrian government's oil revenue. This is the al Assad Regime's doing.
                                                                                                                                                                                      World powers have been bearing down on the al-Assad regime because of the government's ferocious crackdown against peaceful protesters for nearly six months. Security forces opened fire on demonstrators on Friday and activist groups reported deaths. 
The Local Coordination Committees of Syria counted 11 deaths, while the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights confirmed seven deaths.
         SANA said "armed terrorist groups" killed the security forces in the Damascus and Homs countryside. The gunmen, it said, also died in those areas.                                                              
Demonstrations occurred in Daraa, Damascus and Homs provinces.The state-run Syrian Arab News Agency said three law enforcement members and four gunmen were killed in clashes.SANA said "armed terrorist groups" killed the security forces in the Damascus and Homs countryside. The gunmen, it said, also died in those areas.                                                                         

Reporters could not retrieve any further information on this matter.