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

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:

• http://english.aljazeera.net/news/europe/2011/09/201192365737581735.html
• http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/23/world/asia/bombings-add-to-growing-unrest-in-dagestan-russia-north-caucasus.html
• http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/country_profiles/3659904.stm
• http://www.cnn.com/2011/09/22/world/europe/russia-attacks/index.html
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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 5^th. 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

FUI Flying Under the Influence

                                       Drunk Navigator Brings Down Russian plane



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