Welcome to Newslip. I'm Wesley Gerrard. Today is Easter Sunday, 12th April 2009. Here are the stories making this week's headlines.
Assistant commissioner Bob Quick inadvertently leaked details of a major anti-terrorism operation to the media by openly carrying sensitive documents into Downing Street which were photographed then released on the internet. This triggered an immediate swoop by the Northwest Counter-Terrorism Unit in an improvised raid on the suspects they had been monitoring in Manchester, Liverpool and the surrounding areas. Twelve people were arrested under the Terrorism act, eleven of them being Pakistani nationals. They had dossiers on several key landmarks in Manchester and an imminent attack was planned. Bob Quick has resigned from his position due to his critical mistake.
Two brothers aged ten and eleven have been charged with attempted murder, theft of a mobile phone and five pounds. In Edlington, near Doncaster, the two primary school pupils laid a trap at a quarry for two young victims. These victims were admitted to hospital with severe injuries. One was put on life support after being found unconscious at the crime scene. The other had two emergency operations. They suffered severe stab wounds and cigarette burns. The perpetuators have been admitted to foster care while they await trial.
Twenty four people were killed when an Indonesian military aircraft crashed into a hangar in wet weather on Monday and burst into flames. The dead included seventeen special force troops in parachute training, a crew of six and an instructor. It is unknown exactly what caused the crash in Bandung. Indonesian army equipment is known to be relatively dilapidated after a US arms embargo has only just recently been lifted.
2 new videos have emerged regarding the death of Ian Tomlinson at the G20 protests in London. Mr Tomlinson died of a heart attack on his way home from work at a newsagents in the area. Initially, police denied any contact with Mr Tomlinson but the videos show him walking past police with his hands in his pockets, and prove that he was attacked by a police officer from behind with a baton before being violently thrown to the ground. The IPCC are investigating the issue and it is hoped that the guilty police officer will face charges.
400 prisoners at HMP Ashwell near Rutland in Leicestershire have rioted. The breakdown in discipline at the 600 capacity low security category C prison has led to smoke billowing from the building. Police cordoned off the vicinity to protect local residents from potential outbreaks. They have been trying to regain control of the jail. It is unknown what caused the riots though apparently the facility is extremely short-staffed with as few as twelve guards looking after the prisoners.
The anarchy in the Indian Ocean due to the activites of Somali pirates intensified this week when the American container ship, the Maersk Alaska was attacked three hundred miles from the Somali coast. Captain Richard Phillips was taken hostage in a lifeboat commandeered by the pirates. The crew managed to escape to port to safety. After prolonged efforts of diplomacy to release the hostage, the three US Navy warships that were tracking the incident, finally staged a rescue mission, killing three pirates but retrieving Captain Phillips safely. Also this week, an Italian tugboat was attacked. The growing number of incidents of piracy in the area poses a major problem to international shipping companies.
One of Gordon Brown’s most trusted advisers has resigned from his post as Prime Minsterial aide after a smear scandal emerged at number 10. Damian McBride quit his post after emails from his number 10 account were leaked to the press. He had been trying to start a smear campaign on a leftwing website by spreading malicious gossip about David Cameron and shadow chancellor, George Osbourne. Senior Tories and Labour backbenchers have called for an enquiry into the sleazy actions of Gordon Brown’s private office.
A major summit of Asian leaders has been cancelled in Thailand after protesters took to the streets. A state of emergency was declared as supporters of ousted prime minster Thaksin Sinawatra put pressure on the standing government. Roads were blocked and government buildings attacked. The foreign office has put warnings out to anyone considering travelling to Bangkok. Thailand has had a number of severely disruptive protest incidents recently.
Visitors and staff at Berlin’s zoo were shocked when a 31 year old woman clambered over barriers at the polar bear enclosure before innoculously plunging into the water with the bears. It was feeding time at the zoo and the very dangerous bears thwarted initial rescue attempts of the woman and played about with her like a chunk of meat, giving her some very serious bites. Eventually the crazed woman was dragged away to safety by zookeepers. She was rushed to hospital for emergency treatment. It is unknown what caused the lucky woman to act in such an irrational manner.
And this week's top story...
An earthquake measuring 6.3 on the Richter scale was concentrated on the Italian mountain town of l’Aquila when it struck last Monday. 289 people are known to have died and over 28000 people made homeless. A mass funeral was held for quake victims. Italian premier, Silvio Berlusconi pledged to open up his personal villas to help the homeless in the wake of the tragedy. Football players and politicians have led the cash support pledges to the victims. It is the worst earthquake event in tectonically-active Italy for thirty years.
That's all for this week's Newslip. Thanks for tuning in. See you all very soon. Goodbye.
Assistant commissioner Bob Quick inadvertently leaked details of a major anti-terrorism operation to the media by openly carrying sensitive documents into Downing Street which were photographed then released on the internet. This triggered an immediate swoop by the Northwest Counter-Terrorism Unit in an improvised raid on the suspects they had been monitoring in Manchester, Liverpool and the surrounding areas. Twelve people were arrested under the Terrorism act, eleven of them being Pakistani nationals. They had dossiers on several key landmarks in Manchester and an imminent attack was planned. Bob Quick has resigned from his position due to his critical mistake.
Two brothers aged ten and eleven have been charged with attempted murder, theft of a mobile phone and five pounds. In Edlington, near Doncaster, the two primary school pupils laid a trap at a quarry for two young victims. These victims were admitted to hospital with severe injuries. One was put on life support after being found unconscious at the crime scene. The other had two emergency operations. They suffered severe stab wounds and cigarette burns. The perpetuators have been admitted to foster care while they await trial.
Twenty four people were killed when an Indonesian military aircraft crashed into a hangar in wet weather on Monday and burst into flames. The dead included seventeen special force troops in parachute training, a crew of six and an instructor. It is unknown exactly what caused the crash in Bandung. Indonesian army equipment is known to be relatively dilapidated after a US arms embargo has only just recently been lifted.
2 new videos have emerged regarding the death of Ian Tomlinson at the G20 protests in London. Mr Tomlinson died of a heart attack on his way home from work at a newsagents in the area. Initially, police denied any contact with Mr Tomlinson but the videos show him walking past police with his hands in his pockets, and prove that he was attacked by a police officer from behind with a baton before being violently thrown to the ground. The IPCC are investigating the issue and it is hoped that the guilty police officer will face charges.
400 prisoners at HMP Ashwell near Rutland in Leicestershire have rioted. The breakdown in discipline at the 600 capacity low security category C prison has led to smoke billowing from the building. Police cordoned off the vicinity to protect local residents from potential outbreaks. They have been trying to regain control of the jail. It is unknown what caused the riots though apparently the facility is extremely short-staffed with as few as twelve guards looking after the prisoners.
The anarchy in the Indian Ocean due to the activites of Somali pirates intensified this week when the American container ship, the Maersk Alaska was attacked three hundred miles from the Somali coast. Captain Richard Phillips was taken hostage in a lifeboat commandeered by the pirates. The crew managed to escape to port to safety. After prolonged efforts of diplomacy to release the hostage, the three US Navy warships that were tracking the incident, finally staged a rescue mission, killing three pirates but retrieving Captain Phillips safely. Also this week, an Italian tugboat was attacked. The growing number of incidents of piracy in the area poses a major problem to international shipping companies.
One of Gordon Brown’s most trusted advisers has resigned from his post as Prime Minsterial aide after a smear scandal emerged at number 10. Damian McBride quit his post after emails from his number 10 account were leaked to the press. He had been trying to start a smear campaign on a leftwing website by spreading malicious gossip about David Cameron and shadow chancellor, George Osbourne. Senior Tories and Labour backbenchers have called for an enquiry into the sleazy actions of Gordon Brown’s private office.
A major summit of Asian leaders has been cancelled in Thailand after protesters took to the streets. A state of emergency was declared as supporters of ousted prime minster Thaksin Sinawatra put pressure on the standing government. Roads were blocked and government buildings attacked. The foreign office has put warnings out to anyone considering travelling to Bangkok. Thailand has had a number of severely disruptive protest incidents recently.
Visitors and staff at Berlin’s zoo were shocked when a 31 year old woman clambered over barriers at the polar bear enclosure before innoculously plunging into the water with the bears. It was feeding time at the zoo and the very dangerous bears thwarted initial rescue attempts of the woman and played about with her like a chunk of meat, giving her some very serious bites. Eventually the crazed woman was dragged away to safety by zookeepers. She was rushed to hospital for emergency treatment. It is unknown what caused the lucky woman to act in such an irrational manner.
And this week's top story...
An earthquake measuring 6.3 on the Richter scale was concentrated on the Italian mountain town of l’Aquila when it struck last Monday. 289 people are known to have died and over 28000 people made homeless. A mass funeral was held for quake victims. Italian premier, Silvio Berlusconi pledged to open up his personal villas to help the homeless in the wake of the tragedy. Football players and politicians have led the cash support pledges to the victims. It is the worst earthquake event in tectonically-active Italy for thirty years.
That's all for this week's Newslip. Thanks for tuning in. See you all very soon. Goodbye.
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