Welcome to Newslip. I'm Wesley Gerrad. Here are the stories making the news this week.
A dam had burst near the Indonesian capital of Jakarta. The Situ Gintung dam was sixteen metres high and held back an artificial lake of 2 million cubic metres of water. Cracks had been spotted in the dam about a year ago and local populations were on a state of high alert. After heavy rain on Thursday evening, the dam burst and 93 people were killed. Rescue efforts are currently trying to prevent the casualty count from rising any higher.
Home Secretary Jacqui Smith has come under pressure after it was revealed that she had claimed parliamentary expenses for the adult films to which her husband subscribed at their family home. Mrs Smith said that whilst claiming for her internet expenses she had accidentally added a TV subsciption bill to her costs.The minister is currently being investigated over her use of the parliamentary second homes allowance. She is reported to have given her husband an angry 'dressing down' and he has unreservedly apologised for his actions.
The police in Northern Ireland said Monday night that they had charged a 17-year-old with the murder of a police officer two weeks ago in a town 25 miles from Belfast. Police officials said the unnamed youth accused of killing the officer, Constable Stephen Carroll, was also charged with being a member of the Continuity I.R.A., a dissident faction of the Irish Republican Army. The officer’s killing on March 9 took place two days after attackers killed two soldiers outside a British Army base.
American President Barack Obama announced his new Afghanistan policy this week. He has committed an extra 17000 troops to the wartorn region to compliment the 38000 already there. It is a similar policy to his predecessor George Bush's 'surge' on Iraq. He strengthens the US's resolve in defeating Al Qaeda on their home turf in order to prevent a repeat of attacks on the US homeland. Obama also talked of the need to strengthen diplomatic ties with Pakistan which is where a lot of the trouble in the region stems from.
The killer of sixteen year old catholic, Jimmy Mizen, has been jailed. Jake Fahri was found guilty of murdering the boy with a glass dish after a row in a bakery in southeast London. During a scuffle between the youths, who had a history, the jugular vein of Mizen was severed. Mizen's family have condemned the attack and the society which produced the killer. Fahri was jailed for a minimum of fourteen years.
A FedEx corp cargo plan crashed at Japan's Narita airport, killing the two US pilots on board. Strong winds caused the plane to divert from the runway. It landed hard and was engulfed in a ball of flames. The main runway of Tokyo's airport was closed while the crash site could be cleared. The plane had been en route form Guangzhou China. It was the first fatal incident at Narita since the airport opened in 1978.
Intelligence chiefs have warned that China may have gained the capability to shut down Britain by crippling its telecoms and utilities. They have informed ministers of their fears after Huawei, the Chinese telecom giant, installed equipment in BT's new communications network. There have been a growing number of cyberwarfare attacks on Britian recently, in particular form foreign governments such as Russia and China. The head of Huawei is Ren Zhengfei, who is a former director of the telecoms research arm of the People's Liberation Army. It is feared that should China choose to attack Britain, the new communications network would facilitate any action.
A British yachtsman, Malcom Robertson, was bludgeoned to death aboard his ship in Thailand. The incident occurred when three Burmese fishermen boarded his vessel and, in front of his family, hit him repeatedly wityh a hammer then threw his body overboard, making off with valuables. Thai police have charged the three men who were caught soon after the incident, with robbery and murder. Reports of Mr Robertson's body being discovered floating in the sea have proved false. During the ordeal, his wife was stripped, beaten and tied up below deck.
North Korea have prepared a missile for launch which has put the globe on high alert. The North Koreans claim that the missile is due to launch a space satellite but experts fear it could be aprt of plans for a long range missile with atomic warhead attached. Japan has prepared its military to shoot down the missile, should there be a threat to Japanese soverign territory. North Korea have declared that this would be an act of war and that they would then proceed to continue tests with their nuclear program. Dealing with the missile, which is due to be launched some time between April 4th and 8th , is a problem that is likely to unsettle Barack Obama as he prepares for the G20 summit.
And this week's top story...
Evidence of recent war crimes committed by the Israeli Defence Force has come to light. During their recent offensive in Gaza it appears they illegally used white phosphorus shells in civilian areas, a clear breach of international law which states that the chemical may be used as a battlefield smokescreen but mustn't be used where there is a civilian population. Human Rights Watch filed a report after researching all the casualties that were in Gaza hospitals suffering from chemical burns. Israel claims that the civilian casualties were due to Hamas using Gaza inhabitants as human shields during the conflict.
That's all for Newslip. Thanks for tuning in. See you again next week! Goodbye.
A dam had burst near the Indonesian capital of Jakarta. The Situ Gintung dam was sixteen metres high and held back an artificial lake of 2 million cubic metres of water. Cracks had been spotted in the dam about a year ago and local populations were on a state of high alert. After heavy rain on Thursday evening, the dam burst and 93 people were killed. Rescue efforts are currently trying to prevent the casualty count from rising any higher.
Home Secretary Jacqui Smith has come under pressure after it was revealed that she had claimed parliamentary expenses for the adult films to which her husband subscribed at their family home. Mrs Smith said that whilst claiming for her internet expenses she had accidentally added a TV subsciption bill to her costs.The minister is currently being investigated over her use of the parliamentary second homes allowance. She is reported to have given her husband an angry 'dressing down' and he has unreservedly apologised for his actions.
The police in Northern Ireland said Monday night that they had charged a 17-year-old with the murder of a police officer two weeks ago in a town 25 miles from Belfast. Police officials said the unnamed youth accused of killing the officer, Constable Stephen Carroll, was also charged with being a member of the Continuity I.R.A., a dissident faction of the Irish Republican Army. The officer’s killing on March 9 took place two days after attackers killed two soldiers outside a British Army base.
American President Barack Obama announced his new Afghanistan policy this week. He has committed an extra 17000 troops to the wartorn region to compliment the 38000 already there. It is a similar policy to his predecessor George Bush's 'surge' on Iraq. He strengthens the US's resolve in defeating Al Qaeda on their home turf in order to prevent a repeat of attacks on the US homeland. Obama also talked of the need to strengthen diplomatic ties with Pakistan which is where a lot of the trouble in the region stems from.
The killer of sixteen year old catholic, Jimmy Mizen, has been jailed. Jake Fahri was found guilty of murdering the boy with a glass dish after a row in a bakery in southeast London. During a scuffle between the youths, who had a history, the jugular vein of Mizen was severed. Mizen's family have condemned the attack and the society which produced the killer. Fahri was jailed for a minimum of fourteen years.
A FedEx corp cargo plan crashed at Japan's Narita airport, killing the two US pilots on board. Strong winds caused the plane to divert from the runway. It landed hard and was engulfed in a ball of flames. The main runway of Tokyo's airport was closed while the crash site could be cleared. The plane had been en route form Guangzhou China. It was the first fatal incident at Narita since the airport opened in 1978.
Intelligence chiefs have warned that China may have gained the capability to shut down Britain by crippling its telecoms and utilities. They have informed ministers of their fears after Huawei, the Chinese telecom giant, installed equipment in BT's new communications network. There have been a growing number of cyberwarfare attacks on Britian recently, in particular form foreign governments such as Russia and China. The head of Huawei is Ren Zhengfei, who is a former director of the telecoms research arm of the People's Liberation Army. It is feared that should China choose to attack Britain, the new communications network would facilitate any action.
A British yachtsman, Malcom Robertson, was bludgeoned to death aboard his ship in Thailand. The incident occurred when three Burmese fishermen boarded his vessel and, in front of his family, hit him repeatedly wityh a hammer then threw his body overboard, making off with valuables. Thai police have charged the three men who were caught soon after the incident, with robbery and murder. Reports of Mr Robertson's body being discovered floating in the sea have proved false. During the ordeal, his wife was stripped, beaten and tied up below deck.
North Korea have prepared a missile for launch which has put the globe on high alert. The North Koreans claim that the missile is due to launch a space satellite but experts fear it could be aprt of plans for a long range missile with atomic warhead attached. Japan has prepared its military to shoot down the missile, should there be a threat to Japanese soverign territory. North Korea have declared that this would be an act of war and that they would then proceed to continue tests with their nuclear program. Dealing with the missile, which is due to be launched some time between April 4th and 8th , is a problem that is likely to unsettle Barack Obama as he prepares for the G20 summit.
And this week's top story...
Evidence of recent war crimes committed by the Israeli Defence Force has come to light. During their recent offensive in Gaza it appears they illegally used white phosphorus shells in civilian areas, a clear breach of international law which states that the chemical may be used as a battlefield smokescreen but mustn't be used where there is a civilian population. Human Rights Watch filed a report after researching all the casualties that were in Gaza hospitals suffering from chemical burns. Israel claims that the civilian casualties were due to Hamas using Gaza inhabitants as human shields during the conflict.
That's all for Newslip. Thanks for tuning in. See you again next week! Goodbye.
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