Two Passenger Go Overboard in Australia

Authorities launched a search on Thursday after two passengers were found missing overnight off of Australia’s eastern coast. The people who were found missing are a 30 year old man and a 26 year old woman when the Carnival Cruise ship docked in Sydney Thursday morning. The first clue to them missing was that they didn’t claim their luggage. Police, who have examined a video, believe that the couple went overboard 93 miles of off Foster, New South Wales. The couple, that went missing, were sharing a cabin and traveling with their family and friends on a 10 day Pacific Island Cruise. Even though there is a 135 mile distance from where they are believed to have fallen overboard to Sydney the police have remained optimistic and are pulling out all stops to retry to find these people.

 

Even though there was a decently long and dangerous fall and that they are far away from the location the passengers were last seen, it is good that the police are still optimistic. If I was put in the families shoes I would be very terrified and afraid for my loved ones but I think that them staying positive is a very good thing. I also believe that the couple can be found and I think that even though it’s a far distance they still somehow made it through that dangerous experience. It also didn’t point out in the story if the couple were friends or married or just in a relationship. It is not that much of a big deal but it made me curious if that somehow had to do with them going overboard if they were in a fight or something else that could have caused them to go missing during their cruise. But I do believe that they are a good chance that they made it through.

 

(WC 309)

Leading Prosecutor Gunned Down in Pakistan

 

A leading prosecutor who was working on high-profile terrorism cases was gunned down in Pakistan. His name is Chaudhry Zulfiqar Ali and he was heading to a court in Rawalpindi where he was trying a case form the death of the former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto. She was assassinated while campaigning for her party. His attackers opened fire while his car was passing through an Islamabad neighborhood. He was hurried to the hospital but he didn’t make it before arrival. During the attack his bodyguard was also injured. His bodyguard was hired to protect him after Chaudhry Zulfiqar Ali received threats from the Taliban.

http://www.cnn.com/2013/05/03/world/asia/pakistan-bhutto-prosecutor-killed/index.html?hpt=wo_c2

Woman Shot by Harpoon

A woman, from Brazil, barely escape death by less than an inch after her husband accidentally shot her in the mouth this week. Her name is Elisanglea Borborema Rosa who is 28. She was in her kitchen on Monday night when her husband, who was handling a harpoon, shot her on accident. When the gun misfired the spear struck her in the mouth and jaw and got stuck in her cervical spine. She was taken to a nearby hospital and the doctors pronounced that she would make a full recovery. A doctor has said that she is moving both sides of her body but it have a difficult time moving the right side. It is not the first recorded harpoon accident in the state this year. Bruno Barcellos, 34, was cleaning his harpoon last month and pierced the corner of his left eye and his skull. The doctors were able to remove it without any bran damage. And when he was brought into the hospital he was conscious and alert after his four hour surgery.

 

I think it’s kind of strange that nowhere in the article it right out said where this incident occurred. It said that she was a Brazilian women but I don’t know that doesn’t exactly mean that the incident occurred in Brazil and its stage that they never gave an exact location of where it happened like most news reports do. I also can’t help but think of whales when I see this article. Because aren’t harpoons used to capture whales or something? I guess I’ll never really know the answer unless if I really wanted to just Google it. WC 274

http://www.cnn.com/2013/05/09/world/americas/brazil-harpoon-wife/index.html?c=world

Factory Fire in Bangladesh

Late Wednesday night a factory fire in Dhaka, Bangladesh where seven people died in the fired. Part of the people that were killed were a police officer and the owner of the factory also died in the fire. They were in a meeting when the fire started and got caught in the blaze. The general manager of the clothing factory, Zabidur Rahman, proclaimed that the fire broke our on the third floor of the 11 story building in the Dhaka's Mirpur district. He was told by a nurse at the hospital that all of the seven people who died they all suffocated. Even though it has been told that seven people have sided Mohammad Mahnub of te fire service in Bangladesh has said that the factory was closed an that there were no people or workers in the factory when the fire broke out at 11. The news were told the same day the the Bangladeshi officials said the death toll of the building collapsing has reached a number of 912. The building collapsing in Bangladesh occurred two weeks ago. 

This story from what I understand is really confusing. It's weird how that claimed that seven people died and the fire service guy claimed that there were no workers I the building at all. So...? What actually happened? I'm just confused if anyone actually die or not! And how do they not of someone died or not? I just do not know what to believe and not to believe. WC 250

http://www.cnn.com/2013/05/08/world/asia/bangladesh-fatal-fire/index.html?c=world

Explosion in Pakistan

An explosion on monday in Islamabad, Pakistan left 18 people dead. the blast was bear a political rally in a Pakistan tribal region. The rally happened in the Kurram district an wounded around 56 other people. The explosion was triggered remotely and 10 kilograms of explosives were used. The protest was staged by Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazal Ur Rehman group which is a right-wig religious party who feel sympathy for the militant Taliban movement. When the Pakistanis people were preparing to go to the polls Saturday for national elections the incident t occurred. The Pakistani Taliban group did claim responsibility for the attack. They attacked because Munir Orakzai, who was one of the candidates, handed over members of the mujahideen to the United States. 

I think it's terrible how all if these bb things are in the news now! I mean, recently it seems that that is one of the only things that is really in the news recently. Where is the love? It's sickening how much it's actually been happening and that we just need to stop and I don't know. There's other ways to share your opinion without killing innocent civilians and hurting people or using violence. It was also terrible on how it was said in the article that the group would not stop until one of the candidates was dead. It's extremely sad and it just really needs to be handled differently and needs to be done. 

WC 240

Makachakal, Russia Home of the Suspects of Boston Bombing

The two Tsarnaev brothers, who are the suspects of the Boston bombing, grew up in Makhachkala, Russia. In 2012, Tamerlan Tsarnaev lived there with his parents and the authorities wanted to know if it was there that he was taught or inspired to kill. The 26 year old was killed in a shootout in Watertown, Massachusetts and would be able to answer to give an answer to that question. His 19 year old brother Dzhokhar is in a Boston hospital where he is being questioned. FBI agents spent Wednesday in the Dagestani capital talking with Tamerlan and Dzhokhar's parents, according to an official in U.S. President Barack Obama's administration. The U.S. investigators were joined by members of Russia's Federal Security Service, human rights activist Kheda Saratova said. Both of the parents have publicly stated that both of their sons are innocent. It is also not known what was said when the parents’ had their talk with the U.S. and Russian authorities. Dagestan is home to violence and civil unrest. It included gun and bomb attacks that target security services. Speaking of bomb attacks it included a suicide bombing at a police checkpoint that killed 12 people and left dozens wounded and Tsarnaev was rumored to be there. After he returned from his trip from his home town, he created two videos on YouTube under a category labeled “Terrorists.” Those two videos from his channel have been deleted since then.

(WC 240)

http://www.cnn.com/2013/04/24/world/europe/dagestan-tsarnaev-investigation/index.html?hpt=wo_c2

Rich and Poor Neighbors in India

http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/culturebox/2013/02/mumbai_slums_will_giving_poor_people_apartments_get_them_on_their_feet.html

The Mumbai's land reform act has created an atmosphere where the very poor have become next door neighbors to the very rich. India's tallest buildings rise up in Mumbai and is near Falkland road. Falkland Road is known for prostitution and is best known for the infamous cages that display the human merchandise. Mumbai is known for being the area where it has the worlds most rich and poor. The slum redevelopment act is trying to fix up slums and make it better there. It may be used to fix up India or just hide it with some luxury goods. 

Right now I'm just honestly way too tired to read and comprehend what this news article is about. I'm just trying to finish several blogs while my teacher may do a blog check soon. The only thing I really comprehended was that they are trying to get rid of the slums and try to make Mumbai look like a better place. People are not sure if they are trying to make Mumbai actually look better or just try to cover and hide everything with everything looking nice and shiny. I really didn't get this article and probably should just retry it tomorrow morning but I'm not quite sure if my world humanities teacher will do a blog check or not. Well, I'm in quite a predicament. It has to do with our Q&A readings because the book explained life in slums. So maybe the point my teacher was trying to show us is that maybe India is finally trying to do things to fix the slums and make life in the slums better for everyone living there. WC 278  

World's Largest Slum

          

             India holds the largest slum and it is known as Dharavi and is located in Mumbai. In Dharavi a recycling industry is helping thousands claw a way out of poverty. In Dharavi there are more than a million residents. In the slum you will find one of the most inspiring economic models in Asia. Dharavi is the world’s largest slum but it is, compared to the other slums, is by far the most prosperous. The center of Dharavi’s success comes from the thousands of micro-entrepreneurs who have created an invaluable industry by turning discarded waste into useful items to the 19million citizens of Mumbai. The newest estimate by economists of the output was an impressive amount of 700m euros a year. If you walked through Dharavi you would notice an estimated number of 15,000 single-room factories. 

           I think that even though its a slum and that they do not have as many things as other areas of the world have I am  glad that try are still very proud of their slim and where they come from. It is a good thing that they recycle and turn things that could be consider trash is turned into something useful. Not only is it turned into something useful, but it's also really helping out the economy in Dharavi. It is also India's largest slum so it is very good that they aren't just sitting around doing nothing and that they are doing something to make life better in Dharavi. The whole "vision Mumbai" thing where they want to make a world class city by 2013 seems like a bad idea. They are removing many people from there homes and they also reported that its not even something that could happen. They have said that it is more like a hallucination and that it's not going to happen. WC 305

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2007/mar/04/india.recycling

Four Year Old Rape Victim in India

In New Delhi after a week of protests against child rape occurred in india, officials confirmed news of another rape victim. She was a four year old girl and she died in hospital from cardiac arrest. She died at Care Hospital in Nagpur, India. A 35 year year old was accused then arrested after assaulting the girl. Sexual assaults have speakers a outrage and raised questions for the protection of women in India. She was taken from a small town in India on the 17th of April and her family found her the next day unconscious and suffering with head injuries. 

She was airlifted to the hospital but did not survive. The man accused of the assault did confess to his crimes. 

It goes with what we were learning about Q&A and how poorly treated women in India are treated today and how they began the new laws to protect the women in India. It kind I seems like they put out the law but they aren't being used and that men are still not afraid to do things like that even though there are new laws against assault. It makes it even more da that the girl was a four year old girl. When we went over everything I just didn't think of them going after girls younger than ten an its disgusting will do anything to get the pleasure that they want. (WC 235)

Building Collaspes in Bangladesh

On Wednesday in Bangladesh a building collapsed killing hundreds of people. Thursday rescuers searched for survivors while thousands went to the streets to protest lax safety conditions. On Thursday night the death toll reached to a number of 244 people, while about 2,013 people have been rescued. On Wednesday morning the eight-story building in Bangladesh’s capital Dhaka collapsed. In the building there were about 2,500 workers who were employed, a bank, and approximately 300 shops.  On Tuesday many of the workers in the building shared their concern about the building when many cracks began to appear.  Survivors have claimed that the factory owners told the building was safe and ordered them to report back to work. The owners of the building and of the factories are ordered to appear in court on April 30. Of the thousands who went to the streets to protest they carried black flags, some set fires, and others broke windows as they passed trucks. Ninety percent of the building are not meeting the safety regulations and rules and are not built according to code. Flags nationwide were being raised at half-staff Thursday after the government declared it a national day of mourning. The cause of the collapsing building is still unknown.  

My response to this article was that I felt kind of mad because I think it’s ridiculous that the owners of the building told workers who discovered the cracks on Tuesday that it was no big deal and that the building met safety regulations and rules.  It also stated that many workers who knew about the cracks were too scared to get fired so that why they still arrived to work. I think it’s just sad that the owners rather risk lives than spend money not having people working and spending money to have the building fixed.

(WC 303)

http://www.cnn.com/2013/04/25/world/asia/bangladesh-building-collapse/index.html?hpt=wo_c2

Dog and Owner Save Girls

In Edmonton, Alberta a new hero named rocky is eight years old and has four legs. Rocky is a Labrador retriever-husky mix and is being praised for pulling a nine year old girl from an freezing cold river on Easter Sunday. Also his owner Adam shaw is also sharing some of his praise. The little girl was tobogganing on the riverside when she and her sister ended up on the ice. Adam Shaw  and Rocky were walking over a bridge near the river when they noticed two girls in the water. He managed to get one girl onto the ice but was too far away to grab the other one. He guided Rocky into the water and se was able to grab him then Shaw pulled them both back onto the ice. Shaw and Rocky were rewarded at the fires ration and both received awards, rocky getting a bone.

I think the story is very cute and adorable and puts two hero into the spotlight. Even thought they were in a very intense and frightening situation it seemed that Shaw did a excellent job at remaining calm and trying to rescue the girls. The dog, Rocky, also did a good job and I give props to Shaw and Rocky for both being very brave and persistent at doing whatever it took to rescue the two little girls who could have drowned into the icy cold river. The situation must have been the scariest thing ever that those two girls must have ever faces and I'm really glad that there was a happy ending I the story instead if a sad depressing end of one of them getting badly injured or one of them sadly passing away. 

(WC 287)

http://www.cnn.com/2013/04/02/world/americas/canada-river-rescue/index.html?c=world&page=3

Building Collapses in India

        In New Delhi on Friday, police have said, that at least 46 people have died and many there people were injured after a illegal building that was under construction collapsed in western India. The building was reported to have caved in on Thursday evening. Another police officer has said that there has been 70 people who are injured. Five children were pulled alive from the rubble on Friday and rescuers are still searching through the wreckage. People were illegally using the first four floors even though those floors we by yet completed. The eight floor was still being built when the building collapsed. The cause if the collapse could have been from poor construction but authorities are still investigating the cause of the collapse. The police have also registered a case of culpable homicide against the builder who they still have not been able to trace.

       The main reason I decided to choose this article was because it was located in India. Reading Q&A in my world humanities class has was the reason why I also picked this news report. It goes with what we are learning in my language arts class so it gave me some interest and wanted me to learn more on what is going on in India this current  day in time. It was also kind of strange on the whole illegal part of the building. I was confused on why it was illegal at first but from what I gathered from the news articles is that some people are living in the building even though the building is not completely done being built yet. It's also a really sad story because of the people who are trapped and all of the deaths and injuries. I really hope in the next couple of days the rescuers will be able to help find more people an that everyone will be alright. 

(WC 314) 

http://www.cnn.com/2013/04/04/world/asia/india-fatal-building-collapse/index.html?c=world

Teenage Girl From Pakistan Writes Memoir

Malala Yousafzai is the Pakistani teenage girl who I wrote an earlier blog about her and the incident that occurred last fall. Last fall she was shot in the head by a Taliban gunman. She was caught advocating girls’ rights to an education when she was shot in the head. The memoir is titled, I am Malala. In a press release she wrote, “I want to tell my story, but it will also be the story of 61 million of children who can’t education.” The deal for the memoir is around $3 million, but no one at publisher Little, Brown was willing to confirm the number.

I think she is extremely determined and has a large amount of bravery. For her to get injured and still want to fight the right for children to have an education is amazing! If the same thing happened to me I would probably be way too scared to continue the fight and would have just stayed home after the incident, so I have a huge respect for her and I give her props for being this determined and trying to make the world a better place. Her journey that she has been really sad but is really inspiring and it makes you wonder what you can do with your own life and makes you want to try something new and also help others who don’t have it as well as you do. I find her extremely inspiring and she gives me hope and others all over the world hope that the world can become a much better place than it is right now and that sometime in the future girls’ in Pakistan will be able to attend school without violence occurring and that they will be able to get the education that they deserve.

(WC 300)

http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2013/03/28/175540913/book-news-taliban-shooting-victim-is-publishing-a-memoir-i-am-malala

New Laws Concerning Crimes Against Women in India

   

On Thursday India's Parliament passed a bill to take on stronger penalties on men who attack women and also to criminalize offenses like stalking and voyeurism. They are waiting on President Pranab Muhkerjee to sign the bill into law shortly. Less than three months ago a New Delhi physiotherapy student was gang-raped on a moving bus and later she died from her injuries. The incident called in for a change and drew outrage and protests over the issue of women's safety. In recent years reported rapes in India have risen and northern India has witnessed a series of highly publicized gang rapes. Many Indians protested that the government should do more to protect women and make sure harsher sentences were put on the men. The law increases the punishment for sex crimes including gang rap, gives repeated offenders subject to the death penalty, and defines as crimes actions. The new law also forces stricter punishment for police officers that fail to properly register the complaints of sexual assault.

My opinion of the new law is that I think it is a good idea that they’re now finally trying to make it better in India. From all of the news articles that I have seen or read, I’ve noticed that before it seemed like that didn’t really try to do anything to protect the women for sexual assault. We’ve also seen a lot of sexual assault in the book Q&A (the book we are reading in our Language Arts class) and the book mostly just shows how badly some places in India can be. I still wonder even though they are going in the right steps but are the citizens and police actually going to carry out the law and make sure it actually gets followed through? I also believe even though it may not give full protection that it will make it a lot safer for women in India.

(WC 319)

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/22/world/asia/india-bill-toughens-penalties-for-attacks-on-women.html?_r=0

First Disabled Indian Woman Climbs Mt. Everest?

Arunima Sinha, who is a national-level volleyball player from India, has decided to conquer Mount Everest. Mount Everest has claimed the title of being  the world’s highest peak at 8,848 meters above sea level.

Two years ago Arunima Sinha was thrown out of a moving train in Bareilly. She lost her leg in 2011 because she was thrown off the train after resisting a robbery attempt. Sinha was hit by a passing train and had retained serious leg and pelvic injuries. Doctors had to amputate her left leg below the knee. She decided to make her goal to climb Mt. Everest when she was undergoing treatment at AIIMS (All India Institute of Medical Sciences). In 2012, she successfully climbed the 21,120 feet mountain Chamser Kangri in Ladakh. She climbed with three other teammates and trained with Bachendri Pal, the first Indian woman to conquer Mt. Everest. If she does succeed at climbing Mt. Everest, she would become the first disabled Indian woman to achieve that goal. On April 1 she will begin her expedition with Susen Mahto. Susen Mahto is a mountaineer from Jharkhand. She also scaled the 6,662 meter high mountain in Ladakh with Arunima Sinha. They both have been trained by Bachendri Pal.

I think that when situations like these occur it really makes you think. While the majority of us complain about our daily lives and sit home and complain, people like Sinha are out there trying amazing experiences. She has been through a lot and the fact that she wants to climb up Mt. Everest with only one leg is bewildering. Her perseverance and determination must inspire so many people, and at the same time make a whole bunch of us look super lazy. She has so much strength and will power and reading the story makes me want to get out of my seat and do something right now too.

(WC 315)
http://www.vancouverdesi.com/news/india/woman-with-one-leg-out-to-conquer-everest/525665/

http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-09-12/others/33788429_1_tata-steel-adventure-foundation-uttarkashi-disabled-woman

Shark Attack

         On Wednesday afternoon, on New Zealand's popular beach west of Auckland a large shark was found biting a lifeless body. The man was in his 40s and was swimming 200 meters offshore near the Murwai Beach, which was around 25 kilometers from central Auckland when the 12 to 14 foot shark struck the swimmer. guards went out to the scene fisherman near by said that he believed that at least other sharks had joined in the frenzy around the body fir a few minutes.. The shark who attacked was a great white that was 12 to 14 feet. The police and lifeguards went out to the scene on inflatable boats. They saw the body when they fired at the shark. Police closed down the beach and also closed beaches in the surrounding area. The beaches are expected to remain closed for the few days. According to the New Zealand Department of Conservation  shark attacks kill approximately 25 people worldwide. Fatal attacks have been rare in the Country. The agency has said that there has been fewer than 20 shark attack deaths in more than 175 years in New Zealand.  
http://www.cnn.com/2013/02/27/world/asia/new-zealand-shark-attack/index.html?hpt=wo_c2

Cont. Hot Air Balloon Explosion

          Continuing the blog post of the hot air balloon that occurred in Cairo, Egypt on Tuesday  The governor of Luxor province has declared that the investigation can take two weeks. The accident was the world's deadliest hot air balloon accident in at least 20 years. Some of the investigations have confirmed that there was no foul play involved when the gas canisters on the balloon exploded. The explosion caused the balloon to plummeted approximately 1000 feet to the ground.

Hot Air Balloon Explosion

Tuesday morning in Egypt, there was hot air balloon crash.   As one of the balloons began to land an explosion sounded through the air and was followed by smoke. One of the balloons had exploded, with 21 people riding on it, and crashed approximately 1,000 feet, also being 300 meters, to the ground.

By Tuesday afternoon the death toll rose to 19 people and it became the deadliest hot air balloon accident in the world in at least 20 years. The state-run EgyNews has reported that the cause of the hot air balloon accident was a gas explosion.

The balloon contained 19 foreign tourists. Nine of the tourists were form Hong Kong, four from Japan, three from Britain, two from France, and one from Hungary.  
http://www.cnn.com/2013/02/26/world/africa/egypt-balloon-deaths/index.html?hpt=wo_c2

Earthquake in Japan

On Monday, during the afternoon, an earthquake shook Tokyo, Japan. The earthquake had a magnitude of 5.7 and rattled central Japan on Monday afternoon. A second earthquake struck Japan 11 minutes later. The second quake had a magnitude level of a 4.6 quake. The Japan Meteorological Agency has confirmed that there has not been a tsunami alert has been issued. The quake took place approximately around 4:24 p.m. It was centered about 143 kilometers, also being 89 miles, north- northeast of Tokyo at a depth of 9.9 kilometers, also being 6.2 miles, according to the USGS.  

Life Found Under Antarctic Ice

 

Scientists report that, for the first time, they have found bacteria living deep under the Antarctic ice. This discovery could advance our knowledge of how life could survive on other planets or moons. It also offers the first glimpse of a vest ecosystem of microscopic life in the lakes of Antarctica. A network of hundreds of lakes lie between the land and ice covers it which is where scientists had an idea that this area could harbor life. The discovery of the bacteria hidden in the ice confirms that. On Tuesday, the expedition scientists gathered water and sediment samples that showed signs of life. After looking at the cells under a microscope, chemical tests showed that the cells were alive and were also metabolizing energy. A NASA senior scientist, Chris McKay, said that such analysis could determine if the bacteria in Lake Whillans have implications for the possible discovery of extraterrestrial life. The reason is that elsewhere, in the solar system, where there is good evidence of liquid water under ice sheets life would have to depend on minerals alone. The scientists had four days to go and receive the collected samples and gather images of the lake.

Further study will be done before scientific results would be published allowing other scientists to also look at the data. Dr. Priscu is very confident that researchers have achieved the first glimpse of an ecosystem that had been completely unknown.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/07/science/living-bacteria-found-deep-under-antarctic-ice-scientists-say.html?ref=world&_r=0

Meteor Explosion in Russia

Friday morning in Russia, a meteor went soaring through the skies exploding that shattered glass and left around 1,000 people injured. The number of those who are hurt continuing to rise ass new reports come in during the day. Most of the injuries have come from the Chelyabinsk region and the majority of the injuries are not thought to be serious. About 3,000 building in the Chelyabinsk region have received damage. Most of the damage sustained was broken glass. The meteor explosion occurred around of the time of 9:20 a.m. local time. The national space agency declared that scientist believed that one meteoroid had enter the atmosphere but then burned and disintegrated into fragments.   It is also believed that the remaining meteorites have been scattered across three regions of Russia, one of them being Chelyabinsk, and also Kazakhstan neighboring Chelyabinsk.

Scientists have reported that an asteroid is coming. The asteroid is known as 2012 DA14 and is thought to be 45 meters long. Scientists have also said that it will come no closer than 17,100 miles from our planet’s surface. The asteroid will not be visible by the human eye Don Yeomans, manager of the Near-Earth Object Program Office, has said that no earth impact from the asteroid is possible. Scientists have also determined that the meteor in Russia was on a very different trajectory from the asteroid and that they are completely unrelated.

(234)

http://www.cnn.com/2013/02/15/world/europe/russia-meteor-shower/index.html?hpt=wo_c2

Powerful Earthquake Strikes the South Pacific

On Wednesday, an 8.0 magnitude earthquake exploded off the Solomon Islands in the South Pacific. IT triggered a tsunami that killed five people.  When the wave, approximately 1 meter high, hi the Santa Cruz Islands, four elderly people and one child died. The waves caused destruction and disruption at a local airport and its nearby villages.  The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center at first issued a tsunami warning for several countries in the region but later canceled it after reassessing the relevant data. The location of the center of the quake was near the Santa Cruz Islands. The quake, at first, was measured to be 3.6 miles deep but later was then revised to be a depth of 17.8 miles.

Precautionary measures have been taken in the region. The New Zealand Ministry of Civil Defense and Emergency Management warned citizens to stay of the water and to also stay away from the shore. Japanese officials have also reported that a small change in the sea level could affect the country’s eastern coastline. The New Caledonia Hugh Commission in the capital of Noumea ordered for an evacuation of the coastal residents on the eastern coast of New Caledonia and the Loyalty Islands.

(WC 200)  http://www.cnn.com/2013/02/05/world/asia/solomon-islands-quake/index.html?hpt=wo_c2

Plane Crash in Peru

     In Lima, Peru investigators are trying to determine what caused a helicopter crash that killed seven people. Five out of the seven people were Americans. They were supporting oil exploration operation in Peru. When they were near Pucallpa, Peru when the helicopter crashed Monday afternoon. Minutes after they started flying authorities lost communication with the team and reported that they saw a huge cloud of smoke. It was not discovered what caused the crash. Three of the bodies found had no burn injuries. It was concluded that they jumped before the crash.  
     In this article they actually explained more on what happened an what might have cause it compare to the other article. This one didn't leave me with a ton of unanswered questions too. If a second article gave an update on why it happened I would probably read it. 

http://www.cnn.com/2013/01/08/world/americas/peru-helicopter-crash/index.html?c=world

Train Collision in Swiss Town

     On Thursday, in Swiss town two passenger trains collided, that collision injured 17 people. Nine people were taken to the local hospital, but it has been reported that there wasn't any serious injuries that have occurred. The two commuter trains collided into each other close to the train station located in Neuhausen am Rheinfall. That was located 20 miles north of Zurich. Zurich was known for a popular tourist attraction on the Rhine river. 

     The local media, in Swiss town, reported that there was minor damage to the two trains and they both remained on the track. The railway service near the town, Zurich, has been halted for the day.
      From reading this article I'm glad that everyone was ok and that everyone wasn't seriously injured too terribly. In the article it wasn't explained on how or why the collision occurred. It brings many questions to the table. Was there a reason for the crash? How did they not know about each other? Was there problems with communication on the two trains? How did they prepare for the  collision? I feel that this article came with more questions than answers and was very vague. 

http://www.cnn.com/2013/01/10/world/europe/switzerland-train-crash/index.html?c=world

Teenager Gets Divorced From 70 Year Old Man

            On Wednesday a teenager from Saudi Arabia has been granted a divorce from a 70 year old man. The man said he was fooled by the family into paying $200, 00 but then taking the daughter back. The commission has said that they were fighting and then she ran way to her family. There is now a law in Saudi Arabia for a minimum age for marriage. There has always been a push for the law ion recent years but religious schools have fought against that. The marriage made many human rights groups and activists outraged. One if the groups voiced a concern about not only the age difference, but the circumstance of the marriage.

I think this story is really sad. IN the article it also mentioned the man claimed that he was only 70 and that the girl was 25. The commissioned has said that the girl is only 15 and that the man could be as old as the age of 86. In the article it didn’t mention at all what the parents thought of the marriage or if they were concerned at all about their daughter. So I do agree that maybe she was sold for just money and that it was not for a marriage at all.

http://www.cnn.com/2013/01/09/world/meast/saudi-teen-divorce/index.html?hpt=wo_c2

WC 212

Syrian Government Frees Civilians

A Turkish charity has said that thousands of mostly Syrian prisoners were exchanged Wednesday for a few dozen Iranian in Damascus. The deputy president of the Humanitarian Relief Foundation in Turkey, Huseyin Oruc, said the Syrian government let go of 2,130 civilians, 76 of them were women, in exchange for the release of 48 Iranians who had been held by Syrian rebels.  

FARS, Iran’s semi-official news agency, reported that Wednesday released that Iranians had been “abducted by terrorists’ in Syria in August. The exchange was taken place after a speech that was delivered Sunday, by al-Assad. He vowed to continue to push back against the rebels.  By late Wednesday all the freed civilians were returned to their homes. The swap was the result of three months of negations.

A car bomb exploded in Damascus suburb of Modamieyah on Wednesday. There were reports of deaths and injuries by an activist group. Rebels battled for a key Syrian air base continuing the fighting in Taftanaz. The weather has also appeared to have halted some military operations.

This is kind of a continuing blog from one of my earlier blogs. It seems that the violence that has occurred ion Syria may have one good thing happen but still doesn’t seem like there has been getting better there. The plans from that blog, from these articles, may have not been carried out yet? I guess I wouldn’t practically find out if they have been attempted from this article but violence is still occurring and nothing much has seemed to have happened.

WC 257

http://www.cnn.com/2013/01/09/world/meast/syria-prisoner-exchange/index.html?hpt=wo_c2

Raging Fires Across Australia

In Sydney Australia, bush fires have been spreading across some of the most populated areas of Australia. Widespread drought and high winds made it difficult for firefighters on Wednesday when meteorologists tracked the country’s hottest spring and summer on record.

Back in September 2012 is when the four months of record breaking temperature first started. Fiore conditions have been spreading along the eastern and southeastern coasts of the country. In 1911, the highest average temperature across the country was 104 degrees Fahrenheit. David Jones, manager of climate monitoring prediction at the Bureau of Meteorology said, “From this national perspective, one might say this is the largest heat event in the country’s recorded history.” Firefighters struggled to contain fires in New South Wales. The fires scorched around 500 miles of forest and farmland since Tuesday.

Fires in Tasmania have destroyed more than 300 square miles since Friday. There have been no reported deaths confirmed with a connection with the fires, but about 100 people have been unaccounted for in Tasmania last week.  The fires are so large that they are clearly visible in photographs taken from space.

I was actually kind of surprised when I read this article. It was just one of those news stories that I wasn’t aware of. I wasn’t surprised because I didn’t think it was possible, just surprised because I never hear news from Australia and assumed that everything going on there was all good.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/10/world/asia/record-heat-fuels-widespread-fires-in-australia.html?_r=0

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Schoolgirl Survives Assassination Attempt

15 year old Pakistani schoolgirl, Malala Yousafzai, survived an attempted assassination by Taliban militants. On Thursday, she was released from the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham, England. It was said on the hospital’s Website, she “is well enough to be treated by the hospital as an outpatient for the next few weeks. She is still due to be readmitted in late January or early February to undergo cranial reconstructive surgery as part of her long-term recovery, and in the meantime she will visit the hospital regularly to attend clinical appointments.”

                At the age of 11, Malala became a speaker for the education for girls in Pakistan. She became an advocate when the BBC’s Urdu-language service published her “Diary of a Pakistani Schoolgirl.” The blog provided information of life under Taliban rule in 2009, after her home in the Swat Valley was taken over by the Islamist militants. In October she was airlifted to England after being shot in the head by a militant and received treatment in the same month.  Ziauddin, her father, Wednesday has been appointed to a three year term as the Pakistan’s education attaché in Birmingham.

From what I have heard from the news article Malala Yousafzai sounds like a brave and inspiring girl, for girls in Pakistan and for girls around the world. She inspires by teaching that everyone should fight for what they believe in. I think she has achieved a lot because of her blog and is fighting for a great cause. I hope that her recovery goes by smoothly and that she keeps on inspiring others. (WC 262)

http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/01/04/malala-yousafzai-discharged-from-hospital/?ref=world

Typhoon in the Philippines

                On Tuesday, when 100 miles per hour from Typhoon Bopha struck the Philippines that brought heavy rains and destroyed villages and left thousands homeless.

On Wednesday, many roads and bridges have been washed away from the typhoon, causing a struggle to rescue teams to reach isolated villages in Southern Philippines. It left around 325 people dead and several hundred more missing. On Thursday morning when the Office of Civil Defense reported that the death toll went up to at 325 and that rescuers were searching through mud and debris for 379 people that were reported missing, source from The Associated Press. Most of the victims left by Typhoon Bopha have seemed to have drowned or been hit by falling debris.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/06/world/asia/typhoon-said-to-have-killed-hundreds-in-philippines.html?_r=0