Railway Restoration After Japanese Tsunami & Earthquake - by Frances Garnett

Different rail lines in Japan are still recovering from the tsunami and earthquake that occurred in March 2011. While some are looking prospective, others are not. A couple days ago, a train on the Sanriku Railway was taken on a trial run in the Iwate Prefecture on the northeast part of the country's main island, Honshu, which was the first time a train operated by the Sanriku Railway Company has run there since the tsunami of 2011. This railway, while devastated, had started partial operations only 5 days after, and more than 80% of the line had resumed running within a year. Restoration and resuming operations of other lines, however, like the Minami-Riasu Line, which resumed running in southern sections (only 60% of the entire line) in April 2013, have taken longer. Two lines of the Sanriku Railway, the Kita-Riasu and the Minami-Riasu, had 5.5 km of track washed away by the tsunami, and the Yamada Line that connected the two hasn't had any restoration work and won't be resuming operations any time soon. The president of Sanriku Railway did say, however, that full service of the Kita-Riasu and Minami-Riasu line will resume on April 6th and April 5th, respectively, in time for the new school year to start and to help those students.

Through the tone of the author, I think this article was written to show some hope and optimism that Japan is slowly recovering from the tsunami and earthquake it experienced. Even though it may seem to have happened ages ago for us, people are still feeling its effects on the other side of the world, as is with most natural disasters: even after the funding and interest has dwindled, people and places are still recovering. In Thailand, for example, there is an organization called After the Wave, supporting children and families who lost one or both parents in the 2004 tsunami and don't have the basic necessities to get an education. These people are still feeling, and will for a long time feel, the effects of this disaster. It's really sad that Japan is in a place that's so vulnerable to earthquakes and tsunamis, and I hope that the next time something like either of these events happen, we're more prepared to prevent as much damage as possible, and afterwards able to aid people who weren't so lucky.

Source: http://the-japan-news.com/news/article/0001152456

North and South Korea Exchange Fire by Bob Cummins

     According to the defence ministry of South Korea, North Korea fired 500 shells in a live fire exercise in Pyongyang.  About 100 of them landed over the South Korea maritime border.  South Korea responded by firing 300 shells from K9 self-propelled howitzer batteries.  The US scolds North Korea for their action and the Pentagon frowns upon Pyongyang's dangerous behavior.  Analysts say that this action was a sign of North Korea's building irritation with the US for resisting multi-party talks about it's nuclear programme.   Yang Moo-Jin, a professor at the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul, says, "I don't see that this ran any real risk of escalating into a serious clash."  The North gave a no-sail no-fly warning, which is very out-of-character of them.  During the drill, people on border islands were evacuated to shelters, just in case.  Yun Byung-Se, South Korean Foreign Minister, warned North Korea that they would pay a "severe cost" if they did another test in opposition to UN sanctions.

     This makes me a bit nervous.  Tension sounds like it has been building up in this area, and this incident isn't helping.  Unless someone takes over North Korea or Kim Jong-un's son is nothing like his father, grandfather, and great-grandfather, this fighting might cease.  There's an extremely slim chance that either of those incidents will take place.  I didn't know that the tension was this bad.  They seem to me like little kids throwing stuff at each other.  It's sort of a "You kick me, I'll kick you" situation.  Some day one of them is going to get "kicked" very hard, and war will break.  Russia will probably get in on it too.  In fact, I bet the US will get in on it.  But predictions aside, this does not seem like a good sign.

Source:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kim_Jong-un

Nanny for Moms with Cancer by Anna Pickett

      In Toronto, Audrey Guth saw that many women that suffer from cancer have small children that need to be taken care of when their mothers go through treatment. Guth started the Nanny Angel Network to help care for children of cancer patients. Almost half of the moms they help are single parents. Shauna Barnett, a single mother with a four-year-old son, is a cancer patient that the Nanny Angel Network has helped. A volunteer comes to take care of her son each week, which allows Barnett to rest. They also help children cope after a death.
     I think this is so sweet! I love that Guth was able to observe what was going on and not ignore it. It's great that she was able to do something to help make many people's lives easier. We need more people that are ready to make a difference in the world! What she's doing is so great, and I hope this continues on!
Source : http://www.cnn.com/2014/03/27/world/cnnheroes-guth/index.html?hpt=wo_t3

Tensions Between North and South Korea

A North Korean fishing boat was captured by the South Korean Navy a day after North Korea fired two missiles. The boat apparently crossed into South Korean waters, and they captured it. South Korea believes that the missile tests are due to U.S.-South Korean military drills. Recently, North and South Korea have been firing bullets onto each others territory, and who knows what's to come of it.
This must be really scary for the people living in both North and South Korea. Their governments are disagreeing and with South Korea so close, who knows what North Korea is planning on doing. Hopefully there won't be a war because that costs money that we don't have, and who knows what weapons North Korea has.
http://www.cnn.com/2014/03/27/world/asia/koreas-tension/index.html

North/South Korea by:Shadden Hashem

               South Korea found a fishing boat from North Korea a day after North Korea test-fired two missiles.The boat crossed the line in the sea that separates the two Koreas and was captured by the South Korean navy. Tensions between the two Koreas are increasing once again. On Wednesday, North Korea tested missiles, firing them into the ocean. "The puppet military gangsters perpetrated such provocations as firing bullets and shells from the areas around the five islands including Paekryong and Big Yonphyong islands and scattering leaflets hurting the dignity of the supreme leadership of the DPRK on March 24," the North Korean news agency KCNA reported.

               North and South Korea having tension again.. will they ever make peace?

http://www.cnn.com/2014/03/27/world/asia/koreas-tension/index.html

Giraffe has baby in Indian Zoo by Josie Blossfeld

Summary: A giraffe has given birth in Mysore Zoo early Sunday morning. Lakshmi, the mother, is taking good care of the newborn much to the relief of the zoo's workers. Both the baby giraffe and the mother are doing well and appear to be healthy. What's interesting is that the Mysore facility has now got eight giraffes after the entire population was wiped out during 1980's due to epidemic diseases. It efforts to bred them has proved a success after the arrival of Honey and Henry from Germany Zoo in 1988.
Analysis: I'm glad that their efforts to boost the giraffe population have been successful, even if its in the zoo and not the wild. Much of the article is about the Mysore Zoo trying to get more diverse and exotic animals, so I couldn't write much. Still, it's also good that the baby giraffe and its mother are healthy and that there were no complications in the birth. Hopefully we will see an increased giraffe population in India.
Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/environment/wild-wacky/Giraffe-gives-birth-in-Mysore-Zoo/articleshow/30574023.cms

5 militians dead Julia F

Five militants set off a deadly car bomb and then stormed a guest house used by foreigners in Afghanistan's capital Friday, holding a number of people hostage during a standoff with police before one of them was shot dead and the four others blew themselves up, the country's deputy interior minister said. A girl was killed and a security guard was wounded in the explosion at the beginning of the attack, said Deputy Interior Minister Gen. Mohammad Ayoub Salangi. Everyone who had been held inside the building escaped unharmed, he said.

http://www.cnn.com/2014/03/28/world/afghanistan-violence/index.html?c=asia

The Last Polio Patient - Max Gaddis

http://edition.cnn.com/2014/03/22/health/india-end-of-polio/index.html

Rukhsar Khatoon, a four year old girl with polio, is believed to be the last person in India that has caught polio. Her parents blame themselves for it because when she was born, she was a sickly child and they didn't give her the polio vaccine as to not subject her to more medicine. Her siblings got the vaccine, but she was the only one that didn't get it. When she was eighteen months old, her right foot swelled and looked crooked. Her parents took her to the hospital where doctors diagnosed her with polio. Scientists thought India was to be the last, and hardest country to get rid of the disease, but they were wrong. Rukhsar's parents are now urging other parents to get their children vaccinated, even if the disease is dying out.

I think that they should've gotten her vaccinated regardless, but I can see why they didn't.

Elaberation on Recent North Korean Threats.

Last Week I talked about the history of Korea. This week it is about last weeks threat. North Korea had maid a public declaration saying that they are going to be testing new ballistic missiles. Recently North Korea has started to mine more uranium deposits to make more nuclear weapons.


On the other side of the world though the U.N. has decided to hold the Security Council meeting. To which everyone had agreed that North Korea cannot get away with their threats.

To Be Continued...

Bibliography:

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/31/world/asia/north-korea-promises-new-form-of-nuclear-test.html

Longest serving death row inmate to get retrial- Andrew Tunell

The worlds longest serving death row inmate Iwao Hakamada, was released last thursday. After spending 48 years in prison for a quadruple homicide, Hakamada was released after DNA testing miss proved the primary evidence. This is the sixth case of a death row inmate being released in China. Hakamada was primarily kept in solitary confinement like most other death row inmates this has left his mental health deteriorating.

http://www.cnn.com/2014/03/27/world/asia/japan-death-row-inmate-freed/index.html?hpt=ias_c2

I think this is really awful that someone had to spend such a long time in prison for something they did not do. Spending all these years in prison ruined this man's life and he did not even commit the crime. This is really shocking to me that this is the sixth time this has happened, I really think China needs to fix their legal system.

Flight MH370 Still Missing... Debris found??, By: Jon Cope

Flight MH370 Still Missing... Debris found??, By: Jon Cope

Summary:
   A very popular tragedy you may have heard of was flight MH370, a Malaysian Airlines plane that just went missing out of the blue. The last signals of this flight had shown the the plane had switched directions, and then all connection was lost. Many sources believe that this was a terrorist attack, as the plane had shifted direction, lost signal, vanished, and possible debris was found. However, there may have been a possibility of the people surviving (maybe for a few days). Sources say that the family have called some passengers of that plane, the it has made that dialing beep noise (calls going through to the phone), but no one picks up. If this is true, then it would be impossible for the plane to be underwater, or in an explosion, and a slight chance of plane crash.

Analysis:
   I think this is all horrible! I cannot imagine how all of these live could be lost, and how they could not be found! It's been nearly four weeks, and this is becoming insane!

Jon Cope

Source: http://edition.cnn.com/2014/03/28/world/asia/malaysia-airlines-plane/index.html?hpt=ias_c1

Australian Art Scandal- Amanda Maceda

Subhash Kapoor is under trial for looting antique staues from India in a multi-million dollar enterprise. He sold two staues to Australia, one that was in the national art gallery of Australia, the other in the Art Gallery of New South Wales. Australia is suing and claiming that Kapoor forged certifications about the statue and that they didn't know it was stolen. "It said that if proven, they would have been the victim of an audacious act of fraud." source:http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-26765159

Kindergartens in China drugging students by Katelyn McLane

Three Chinese kindergartens have been accused of giving their students prescription medication without the children's parents' knowledge. The administrators were giving the children a drug called  moroxydine ABOB, which is meant to prevent the flu. They did this in an attempt to get perfect attendance, because the schools are paid based on their attendance rates. The drug, however, wasn't as helpful as they thought. Doctors and scientists know little about this medicine and its side effects. Parents reported side effects in their children ranging from sweating and stomachaches to things as scary as irregular heartbeats, genial swelling, and leg pains. Many children, when tested, also showed signs of possible liver or kidney damage. This drugging has been happening for at least three years without ever being noticed before. Administrators have been arrested and schools shut down due to this behavior. All the children are being tested in hospitals and authorities are looking into how the schools got their huge supplies of prescription medication.

I think this is absolutely terrible. The fact that these administrators care more about money than the well-being of their young students is just outrageous. Something as simple as the flu vaccine would be sufficient for the kids to have, and of course, they still need to tell the parents. I would be so angry if I found out that the child I had trusted to a kindergarten school had been getting drugged for the past three years without me knowing. Especially since the symptoms of the drug sound worse than getting the actual flu! I can't believe this happened, but I'm very glad that the schools have been caught and closed. Hopefully the drug hasn't had lasting effects on the poor kindergarteners.

Source: http://www.cnn.com/2014/03/19/world/asia/kindergarten-china-drugs/index.html

Mysterious Mass Grave Discovered in Sri Lanka - by Frances Garnett

On March 8th in Sri Lanka, an unmarked mass grave was found and uncovered on top of an old burial ground. 81 groups of skeletal remains have been recovered and sent for forensic testing to determine the cause and time of the deaths. They were found in a former northern war zone where a thirty-seven year old separatist war (ended in 2009) for a separate homeland for Tamils, and ethnic minority, was fought and claimed around one hundred thousand lives. The Sri Lankan government denies that its soldiers could have been involved, since the Mannar area where the grave was found was a stronghold for Tamil rebels, though it is currently facing war crime allegations for the conflict, and many battles between the rebels and troops were fought in that area. It has also been said that Indian troops on a peace-keeping mission had control over the area from 1987 to 1990.

Personally, I think that both the article and the evidence suggest that the remains in this grave were from victims of war crimes or killings of Tamils by Sri Lankan government troops, even though this process will take time in a laboratory trying to identify them. If it does turn out, though, that the government is at fault, I wonder how it would affect them and the country. Perhaps it would pass as a thing from the past and not much attention will be payed to the results. On the other hand, it could put Sri Lanka under a global microscope and the government in a tight spot, especially since the conflict only relatively recently ended, and there are probably still effects and aftermaths that affect people, and there may still be some resentment. Either way, this is another example of why we should avoid discrimination and conflicts, so that more people don't end up in mass graves. Even if this was created by another person or group, the same principles still apply.

Source: http://www.haveeru.com.mv/south_asia/53946

7 Million Killed by Pollution Every Year by Bob Cummins

     Every year, about 7 million people are killed by pollution worldwide.  More than half of these are caused by  deadly indoor fumes from furnaces.  There were about 4.3 million furnace fume deaths in 2012.  The World Health Organization (WHO) says that one in eight deaths is caused by air pollution.  Frank Kelly, the director of the environmental research group at King's College London said, "We all have to breathe, which makes pollution very hard to avoid."   These new estimates were more than double previous estimates.  3.7 million of the deaths in 2012 were from outdoor pollution.  90% of these deaths were from developing countries.  Women, according to WHO, are more susceptible to indoor air pollution than men, since they are at home more of the time along with children, breathing in fumes of leaky furnaces.  Last year, WHO labeled air pollution as a carcinogen, causing bladder and lung cancer.  In some places, people have been waring face masks because of air pollution for a while.  "The real problem is that wearing masks sends out the message we can live without polluted air."  Kelly goes on to say that we need to change our way of life if we are to reduce pollution.

     Well... pollution is a problem.  It seems as though this has gotten out of hand.  There are simple solutions like moving factories away from the cities to reduce pollution.  When something gets to the point where it's killing 7 million people a year, it's a problem.  We also need to reduce the use of coal burning furnaces.  That's a huge culprit of pollution.  This article really shows how people need to reduce emissions of pollutants

I had no idea that this was so out of hand!

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/pollution-kills-7-million-people-every-000547531.html;_ylt=A0SO8xjE7TBTJmIAk7NXNyoA;_ylu=X3oDMTB0NDZnaDI2BHNlYwNzYwRjb2xvA2dxMQR2dGlkA1ZJUDQwMl8x

Russia kicked out of the G8 By Jackson Daughety

Summary:Due to the annexation of Crimea, Russia has made a few enemies. This has caused the other countries in the G8, including the United States, to kick Russia out. The G8 is a socioeconomic group that all of the biggest economic powers are a part of. A sort of unofficial untied nations of economy. When asked, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, stated that this was no big deal and that Russia would be fine without this group. Analysis: This is so funny that entire nations are excluding each other like kindergarteners on the playground. I find it so sad that the best people a country can give are just as self centered and basically dumb like the rest of the world. Politics still remains a joke for people to occasionally laugh at as far as I'm concerned. http://www.cnn.com/2014/03/24/politics/obama-europe-trip/index.html?hpt=hp_t2

Boy gets 3-D printed arms by Anna Pickett

     A doctor in Sudan treated a 12-year-old boy whose arms were blown off. Mick Ebeling decided to create 3-D printed arms for the boy, Daniel.When Ebeling met Daniel, he was very "sullen," as he put it. Daniel gradually warmed up to Ebeling. They fitted Daniel into the arm, and he wasn't able to move it at first. Eventually, he fed himself. Ebeling came to the realization that "by helping one, you have the potential to help many -- and that might just be the secret to it all."

     I think this is wonderful. It makes me happy that this boy is able to have these prosthetic arms.Hopefully, more people will be able to 3-D print more prosthetic parts. I also think Ebeling's realization is really true. Helping one could start the spark to help more.

http://www.cnn.com/2014/03/19/opinion/3d-print-arm-daniel/index.html?hpt=wo_mid

The Poor Babies By: Hannah Kerman

In China, parents everyday are giving up their children because they have diseases. A Baby Hatch in China, has had to shut down because they were receiving on average 5 babies a day. These Baby Hatches were opened to help infants with diseases that parents essentially didn't want. Many couples go to the city expecting to help their child find a cure, but end up dropping them off at the Baby Hatch. Currently, there are 25 located around the country, and the people who run them closed one of them to start focusing on helping the babies in their care.
I think that it's awful that the only reason parents are giving up their kids, is because they have disabilities. It's not the babies fault that they're sick, and parents should love their children no matter what. It must be terrible to be a child growing up in an orphanage knowing that they were given up because they're different.
 http://www.cnn.com/2014/03/18/world/asia/china-baby-hatch-closes/index.html?iid=article_sidebar

Left To Die - Max Gaddis

http://edition.cnn.com/2014/03/18/world/asia/china-baby-hatch-closes/index.html?iid=article_sidebar

Families in China that are overwhelmed with taking care of babies with diseases have left them in Baby Hatch centers. This is an alternative to abandoning them on the streets to die. People abandon them because they have health problems that cost too much money to fix or take care of like cerebral palsy, down's syndrome, and various heart diseases. The city of Guangzhou has had to temporarily shut down their "baby safety island", as it is called in Chinese by the people in Guangzhou, because of too many babies. They receive as many as five babies a day, and over the past couple of months, their numbers have grown. They now have 252 babies, which is much more than they expected and isn't a number they can comfortably function at. They have already expanded once, but can't accept any more babies until they figure out how to expand or accommodate the babies they already have.

I think that people shouldn't have kids if they don't intend to keep them. People need to think before they plan on having kids, especially if birth defects and diseases run in their family.

Crash kills 35 by Julia F

At least 35 people died in Pakistan on Saturday when a truck crashed into two passenger buses and they all erupted into flames, authorities said.The driver of an oil transport truck was speeding and lost control in the city of Hub in Balochistan province, said provincial government spokesman Jan Muhammad Buledi.The buses were also carrying oil on their rooftops. "After the collision, buses and truck caught fire," Buledi said. The thick, black smoke could be seen from a distance.

This is so awful. 

http://www.cnn.com/2014/03/22/world/asia/pakistan-deadly-crash/index.html?c=asia

No Steering Wheel on Kyle Larson's Celebration Burnout By Trevor Walker

     Kyle Larson got his first NASCAR Nationwide Series victory at Auto Club Speedway on Saturday and celebrated by doing a burnout without his steering wheel attached to the car.Larson held off Kyle Busch and Kevin Harvick in a thrilling final segment to the Nationwide Series race at ACS as Busch and Harvick took turns trying different lines to pass Larson, who maintained his lead via the highest groove possible on the racetrack.It may be the best final 10 laps to a non-restrictor plate Nationwide race you'll see all season.

     After he beat Harvick and Busch to the checkers, Larson spun his car around and around in the infield at ACS as he held his steering wheel out the window, a celebration he says NASCAR asked him not to do after winning a truck race in 2012. (You may be wondering how Larson is steering the car without the wheel attached. Similar to Busch's burnouts while leaning out the window, a driver can manipulate the car with the throttle, clutch and brakes.)

     “NASCAR did have a talk with me, But you know, I just won my first Nationwide race; I’ll do whatever I want," he said. “And if I win the Cup race, I’ll probably do the same thing.” If NASCAR did tell Larson it didn't want him doing the style of celebration, the reprimand certainly didn't stop the sanctioning body from promoting it on Twitter after the race. If it's the first of many wins for the 21-year-old driver in NASCAR's top two series like many predict, we'll see if NASCAR's apparent warning has any teeth. The sanctioning body's social media department certainly hopes it doesn't.

A Conference on the Subject of North Korea. By Nash F.

Recently with more nuclear threats made towards Japan and South Korea from North Korea. But how did this all come to be? It starts with the cold war. When Japan gave up it's domination of the Korean Peninsula the U.S. and the U.S.S.R. were given control of the peninsula. They instilled there ideals on both sides of the peninsula and one war between the two sides (North and South Korea) the "border" was defined. The term "Border" is in quotes because actually the war is still going, it's currently only a cease fire. Now Japan and South Korea are under threat and they are going to try to figure out what to do more on the conference next week.

Bibliography:
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/22/world/asia/south-korea-and-japan-agree-to-summit.html?_r=0

Malaysia flight update by: Shadden Hashem

               Somewhere in the Indian Ocean, a small object may be emitting a ping noise. The ping isn't remarkable and cannot be heard by human ears. Friday marks the 14th day of the search for Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 which also marks the pinger's half-way battery life. When the battery dies, the search for finding flight information will become much harder as will the mystery of flight 370. These pingers are supposed to help locate lost aircraft. If you find the pingers, you will find the recorders which will solve the mystery of Flight 370. 

               This is crazyyy. I hope they find the pingers and recorders so they can solve this mystery once and for all.

http://www.cnn.com/2014/03/20/world/asia/malaysia-airlines-pings/index.html

Flight 370 By:Madelyn Winkelman

Sadly, the Malaysian Flight 370 has been reduced down to a number of passengers and are slowly being forgotten as people with families and loved ones. The youngest passenger is Moheng,2 years old. Before he boarded the flight Moheng sent his former classmates an email full of photos he took on his vacation, like he always did. He was on his way home to Beijing when Flight 370 went missing. Another passenger is Paul Week, he was headed to Mongolia for a mining job. He left his wife and two son his wedding ring and treasured watch "should anything happen." The two passengers that are under the most scrutiny and background checks are Pouria Nourmohammadi and Delvar Seyed Mohammad Reza. Two Iranians that came on board with stolen passports. One claiming to be Austrian and the other Italian.

Its awful what's happened to all 239 passengers. How this happened is beyond me and I cant imagine the amount of fear the passengers and family must have/had experienced throughout this disaster. Its mind-blowing that we don't wither or not the passengers are dead, being held captive, or gone missing. I hope so much that we will soon learn what's happened and if possible to retrieve the passengers of Flight 370.

http://edition.cnn.com/2014/03/15/world/asia/malaysia-airlines-passenger-vignettes/index.html?hpt=ias_t3

Polio Defeated in India- Andrew Tunell

       3 years ago Rukhsar Khatoon was diagnosed with polio, since then no other cases have been documented prompting The World Health Organization to declare the end of polio in India.  This is amazing considering in 1988 when the campaign to prevent polio in india started. At that time about 200,000 children were diagnosed with polio a year. Now there are only 3 countries who haven't eradicated the disease.
http://www.cnn.com/2014/03/22/health/india-end-of-polio/index.html?hpt=ias_c2
     This is amazing news especially with the current conditions of India. Their country has really made good progress with getting rid of polio since in 2009 it had half of the worlds cases. This is great news and I hope it helps out the current condition in India.

35 killed in fiery crash by ///////katelyn ////mclane

An oil transport truck was speeding down a road in the city of Hub in Balochistan province in Pakistan last Saturday when it lost control and crashed into two passenger transport busses that were also carrying oil on their roofs. Thirty-five people died in the fiery crash, even after firefighters rushed to the scene to put the fire out. Others were injured, and although, they wouldn't say how many, all of them were rushed to the hospital.

This is very sad. This story just goes to show how deadly speeding can be. If the speeding driver somehow didn't die in the crash, I certainly hope he's properly punished and learns his lesson. My heart goes out to those injured and the friends and families of those killed.

Source: http://edition.cnn.com/2014/03/22/world/asia/pakistan-deadly-crash/index.html?hpt=ias_c2

THE NSA STRIKES AGAIN. THIS TIME IT'S CHINA!!!!!

It is reported that the NSA targeted Chinese telecoms company called Huawei. The report comes from the leaking hero (as I like to call him), Edward Snowden, our favorite truth speaker. What's even more awkward is that President Barack Obama is scheduled to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping. Wow, it looks like we've shown our hate for the NSA and then they decided to stab us in the backs for a second time in a row. First of all, why a telecommunications company? Did they do anything? I mean, what, do they think they can invade everybody's privacy? I hate them as much as DISD itself. Both are making terrible mistakes. I think that we need to praise that we have Edward Snowden for speaking the truth and nothing but the truth. What do you think about this situation? Please comment.

Poaching alternative by Josie Blossfeld

Summary: In Assam, India people have proposed a new way to curb poaching. They believe that if potential poachers are allowed to trim the horns of rhinos rather than killing the rhino and taking the whole horn, poaching will decline. 11 rhinos have been killed in the state and their horns been taken. "We are seeking the opinion of people. I want to make it clear we are not talking of dehorning but trimming of horns, similar to trimming of hair,'' said forest minister Rockybul Hussain. He says that the trimmed horns will grow back to their original size in four to five months, and that there will be no damage to internal organs of the animals nor will it lower their attraction, contrary to the belief of people.

Rhino after horn trimming

Analysis: At this point, after having read the article and learned that it will in no way harm rhinos, this seems like a great idea! I'd be interested to see if this could work on elephants' tusks as well. I hope that if they do decide to go through with trimming the rhinos horns, that it actually works and poachers decline in number.
Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/environment/flora-fauna/Assam-may-trim-rhino-horns-to-curb-poaching/articleshow/32388527.cms

Hotel Shooting in Afghan Capital- Amanda Maceda

On Thursday, gunman etered the 5 star Serena Hotel, in Kabul, Afganistan, disguised as diners from a special buffet. They hid their guns in socks and started shooting three hours later. Four foreigners died and 5 locals died. Six were also wounded, and all the attackers were shot dead. This hotel is very close t the president and has been attacked 7 other times by the Taliban.
Why, war, are you so pungent and malipulative to society? We are weak,mortal, irrational beings. Some even kill when it is not needed. Children were amoung the dead. CHILDREN. Im mad that these men were shot immediatley. They should have been tortured, they should have drowned in their own wails of agony as blood cascades down their cruel, innocent killing, tainted bodies.

Lion cub killed by poachers in India by Josie Blossfeld

Summary: Poachers are suspected of having killed a lion cub on the outskirts of Gir Wildlife Sanctuary, found March 2nd. The cub was only 5 months old, and was found mutilated with its bones removed. The carcass was in such a bad condition that the time of death could not be determined. Forensics said that the reason the most likely cause of death was poachers is that the lion was completely missing its legs.
Analysis: I hope that if the cause is poachers that they are caught soon. It sucks that the lion was killed so young just for money. I guess even if something endangering to animals is made illegal, people who are desperate for money will do anything. I hope something can be done to prevent the killing of animals in India.

Link: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/environment/wild-wacky/Poachers-blamed-for-killing-Gir-lion-cub/articleshow/31245967.cms

The disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 by Katelyn McLane

China and some other countries, like Vietnam, are criticizing Malaysia about the information they're providing on the missing plane. Malaysia had told them that the plane seemed to go over the South China Sea, when, just recently, they discovered that it actually flew west into the Indian Ocean. China and other countries are furious that their precious search time was wasted on a part of the world that wouldn't have had any clues on the flight at all. They're asking Malaysia to try to provide correct information quicker so they can have a better chance of finding any survivors. Other tensions are building, and people are getting frantic about finding out what happened to the plane and its passengers and crew.

I find this whole situation equally as confusing as scary. It's odd because this kind of thing barely ever happens. There aren't many logical explanations as to what could've happened to this plane. Was it hijacked? Did the pilots mess something up? And most importantly, where are they now? It's been a long time since the plane disappeared on March 8th, and it would be very hard to keep over 200 passengers alive and apparently hidden from the world for that long. Unfortunately, I believe the plane crashed into the ocean somewhere. It's the only logical explanation on why we haven't heard from any of these passengers with cell phones, and haven't found the plane. This sounds terrible, I know, but how else could a huge plane just disappear into thin air like this? I hope we find the answers soon, and my thoughts go out to the surviving passengers and their families and friends.

Source: http://edition.cnn.com/2014/03/16/world/asia/malaysia-profile/index.html?hpt=ias_c2

Backstories of Malaysian Flight Passengers by Anna Pickett

     Flight 370 of Malaysia Airlines held 239 passengers. The youngest passenger is two, and the oldest passenger is 76. Each had their own history and their own memories. For example, Ju Kun is a stunt man and was going to be on a new Netflix show. Mao Tugui, a painter, boarded the plane to see some of his art at an exhibition. Mohammed Khairul Amri Selamet is a civil aviation engineer. To see more information on some of the other passengers, go to the article.
     This whole disappearance is so strange. It really adds to the effect to hear about the backstories of these passengers. It makes it seem more realistic and more like it could happen to any of us. The situation is similar to the TV show Lost, but it is much more serious and scary. These passengers could have been anyone of us.

Last words spoken by copilot on Flight 370 by Bob Cummins

     "All right, good night."  These words were uttered by the copilot of missing Malaysian Flight 370, Fariq Abdul Hamid, about the time the crucial signalling systems were disabled, 12 minutes after they gave their last signal over the Aircraft Communications Addressing and Reporting System.  They were disabled manually, along with the transponder, the instrument that relays the location of the plane, which was shut off two minutes after his final words.  Shortly after this, the plane turned back on it's flight path.  Ahmad Jauhari Yahya, the CEO of Malaysia Airlines, said that it wasn't clear when the ACARS system, the system that sends a signal every 30 minutes, was shut off.  The people at home are very confused about all this.  Some relatives of the people who were on the flight are blaming the Malaysian government for giving patchy information on the subject.  Twenty six countries are now part of the search for the plane.  They think they are narrowing down the spot in which they landed (or possibly crash landed).  The Malaysian police have searched both the pilot and copilots houses, and background checks of the passengers, crew, and engineers are being made.
     I will state the obvious: This is weird.  It seems like with the technology we have today, we would be able to find this plane faster.  There must be a reason why Malaysia isn't helping much and giving weird information.  I just hope everyone didn't die if it crashed.  There were 239 people on that plane, and if they all died, that would be a great loss.  I find it funny that all of this equipment was turned off manually.  Did one of the pilots turn these things off, or did someone else do it?  It's quite perplexing, and this article brings more information to the table about all of this chaos.  I didn't have much prior knowledge about this subject.  I just knew it disappeared!

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/no-sign-missing-malaysia-plane-neared-australia-013621823.html;_ylt=A0SO8ws1cSdTLhUAIFpXNyoA;_ylu=X3oDMTB0YzIxdWM2BHNlYwNzYwRjb2xvA2dxMQR2dGlkA1ZJUDM1OF8x 

3/31/14 I just found out that the real last words were "good night Malaysian 370".  That's a bit creepier.

Malaysian Plane By:Hannah Kerman

It has now been 10 days since the Malaysian aircraft went missing. Apparently they turned lost all contact between Malaysia and Vietnam. Countries have joined together to look for the aircraft, but it would be like looking for someone anywhere between California and New York. Ships have searched the surrounding area of where they last had contact, but there have been no signs. There are multiple theories as to what happened to the plane, but we don't know the real story. There was no sign of a terrorist attack, unless the crew were the terrorists. There were two guys that got on board using someone else's passport, but they have looked at their background and nothing suspicious has shown up.
This is so weird. I really want to know what caused the transponder to go off. The craziest thing is that the whole world is looking for a missing plane, while someone here knows the truth. There had to have been someone in charge if it was terrorists. There had to be some reason that the flight attendants didn't contact anyone on the ground to say something was happening. This is really weird, and where in the world would you hide a plane if it was terrorists. If it was at a hangar someone would know or one of the people would call someone. Again, this is so weird.
http://www.cnn.com/2014/03/17/world/asia/malaysia-airlines-plane/index.html?hpt=ias_c1

Malaysia flight by: Shadden Hashem

               The search for missing Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 enters its 11th day today. Search crews from 26 nations deeply searched vast areas of the ocean and land for any trace of the plane that disappeared on March 8th on a flight between Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and Beijing. They haven't turned up anything and families are stuggling with the unknown.

                This is so strange and scary. I feel so sorry for the families of the people on the airline. This is just terrible.

http://www.cnn.com/2014/03/17/world/asia/malaysia-airlines-plane/index.html

Malaysian government uncomfortable in spotlight over missing plane: By Paige Kutschall

"STORY HIGHLIGHTS

The Malaysian government has been criticized over its handling of the plane search

"I think on a stress test, they're failing," an analyst says

Malaysian authorities aren't used to heavy media scrutiny, experts say

The governing coalition has been in power for more than half a decade

 

(CNN) -- Before the mysterious disappearance of one of its passenger jets this month, Malaysia wasn't a country used to finding itself dominating headlines around the world.Some of its Southeast Asian neighbors, like Indonesia and the Philippines, have suffered devastating natural disasters in recent years and are all too familiar with the media frenzy that accompanies a major crisis.But Malaysia has largely managed to stay out of the international spotlight since its independence from British colonial rule more than half a century ago."It is one of these countries, because of its geography, that doesn't have earthquakes," said Ernest Bower, senior adviser for Southeast Asia studies at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. "It doesn't have tsunamis, it hasn't been tested with a disaster like this." The disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 has thrust the government into the dazzling glare of worldwide attention. And it hasn't emerged with very good grades."I think on a stress test, they're failing," Bower told CNN's Jake Tapper, pointing to the government's coordination of different agencies and communication with other countries.

China among critics

Criticism and complaints have come from other countries involved in the search for the missing plane, like China and Vietnam, and from the relatives of passengers. Malaysian officials have created confusion by issuing contradictory statements on key aspects of the investigation. The majority of the people on board the plane were Chinese, and Beijing has increasingly voiced its displeasure with the search, especially after Malaysia announced over the weekend that evidence suggested the plane had been deliberately flown west into the Indian Ocean, away from its last confirmed location over the South China Sea. "The new information means the intensive search in the South China Sea for the whole past week was worthless and would never bear fruit," said a commentary published by China's state-run news agency Xinhua. "Even worse, the golden time for saving possible survivors, if any, was generously wasted." "It is widely asked why the Malaysian government failed to provide such crucial information as early as possible to avoid futile search by around a dozen countries," the commentary said. China's Foreign Ministry urged Malaysia to keep providing more "thorough and correct information." Malaysian officials have defended their handling of the crisis, stressing that the situation is unprecedented. "This is not a normal investigation," Hishammuddin Hussein, the country's defense and transport minister, said last week.

The shock of scrutiny

But some analysts say the missteps are symptomatic of a governing elite that's grown increasingly aloof. "Although theoretically a democracy with regular, contested elections, Malaysia has been ruled since independence by the same governing coalition that has become known for its lack of transparency and disinterest—even outright hostility—toward the press and inquiring citizens," Joshua Kurlantzick, senior fellow for Southeast Asia at the Council on Foreign Relations, wrote in an article for Bloomberg Businessweek. Did plane fly under 5,000? Police search pilots' homes Families wait for word of missing flight Will mystery of Flight 370 be solved? That resistance to scrutiny has come to haunt Malaysian government officials. "It's not surprising. The Malaysian government has been able to live on its own terms for a very, very long time," said Clive Kessler, a professor at the University of New South Wales in Sydney who specializes in Malaysian studies. The governing Barisan Nasional coalition and its predecessor have been in power for more than five decades. Prime Minister Najib Razak, the son and nephew of former prime ministers, has been in office since 2009. Najib maintained a conspicuously low profile during the first week of the plane's disappearance. He appeared before the news media over the weekend to announce that the government believed the plane had flown off course as the result of deliberate actions. But he refused to take questions from journalists.

Decades of dominance

Malaysia is an Islamic state with a Muslim majority. But it's also a multiethnic country with a wealth of varying opinions, experts say, including from within different ethnic and religious groups. Ethnic Malays enjoy government preferences for positions due to their status as "sons of the soil," or Bumiputera, a term that comes from the Sanskrit word "bhumiputra" -- "bhumi" can mean land or earth, and "putra" means son. "They have historically enjoyed political dominance," said Donald K. Emmerson, the director of the Southeast Asia Forum at Stanford University.

But the governing coalition's grip on power isn't as strong as it used to be. In elections last year, it failed to secure more than half of the popular vote, its worst ever performance. It kept its majority in parliament in part thanks to voting district boundaries that favored its candidates. The government is finding itself increasingly fragile, analysts say, and the popularity of social media has undermined the clout of state-run news organizations. "It's starting to open up," said Bower. "Social media has opened it up, a growing middle class has opened it up."

Tensions with opposition

Human rights activists say the repeated prosecution of opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim on sodomy charges is evidence of the lengths the Malaysian government will go to in order to sideline its opponents. After being acquitted of the charges in 2012 after a lengthy legal battle, Anwar was found guilty again this month when a court overturned the previous verdict. The decision prevented Anwar from entering the race for important regional elections. "The trial and conviction of Anwar should be seen for what it is: an underhanded move by the ruling party to tarnish and weaken the political opposition without regard to the harm caused to the nation's judiciary and democratic process," said Graeme Reid, director of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Rights Program at Human Rights Watch. The government has repeatedly denied that the case against Anwar is politically motivated. To shore up support, Najib's government has become increasingly reliant on a populist, religiously conservative approach that caters to ethnic Malays in rural areas, said Kessler, who has studied Malaysian society and culture for about 50 years. The government's approach has fueled increasing disillusionment among other ethnic groups, notably the Chinese, and urban dwellers, he said. Against that backdrop, dissatisfaction over the handling of the search for the missing plane could be a moment of truth for the government, according to Kessler. "It may well be that Malaysia will not be the same after this because it has only served to exacerbate all the tensions in Malaysian society between the government and many of the people it rules over," he said."

Source:

http://www.cnn.com/2014/03/16/world/asia/malaysia-profile/index.html

WeChat's conversations gagged: Are China's censors behind it?: By Paige Kutschall

"(CNN) -- China's hugely popular social media app WeChat appears to have been hit by a censorship crackdown.

A number of public pages on the microblogging service -- many of which were maintained by prominent activists -- went dark late last week, some permanently.

Users attempting to access at least 40 WeChat pages have been greeted with 'account-deleted' messages that explained the accounts had been "repeatedly reported" as being in "violation of the rules." Users were advised to unsubscribe from the affected pages.

Pages, such as activist Xu Danei's newsletter, which has around 200,000 subscribers, together with a number of news sites, such as Truth Channel and Phoenix We Media, among others, were affected in the crackdown. The China Digital Times published a partial list of blocked pages.

Government's hand detected?

China tweaks Internet censorship China's intriguing microblogging site Bing accused of censorship in China

Some commentators are viewing the move as motivated by the authorities as part of an ongoing crackdown on social media.

WeChat, called Weixin in China, has grown significantly in terms of both prominence and user-base in recent months, as it has become the preferred portal for China's "netizens" to discuss, amongst other topics, politics.

It differs from other Chinese microblogs, such as Sina Weibo, in its use of relatively closed, personal contact-focused networks -- chat groups are usually limited to 40 members. Public pages, such as the ones blocked Thursday, are limited to one post per day.

It is not the first time WeChat has been targeted by censors. Early last year, messages containing characters relating to a newspaper that was pushing for greater press freedom were banned.

Shenzhen-based Tencent, the Chinese internet giant behind WeChat, released a statement on Friday, stating that company does not allow practices that violate laws and regulations. Given the political nature of the majority of blocked pages, this is understood to refer to laws banning the dissemination of political "rumors."

"Negative effects"

Liu Shengfei, a lecturer in Sun Yat-Sen University in Guangdong Province, had his TeachingRoom public page blocked. The account was used to distribute academic articles.

"I think (this news) will bring negative effects for Tencent," he said. "The articles we distributed on WeChat were being checked before (going) public, which means those articles are legal to be seen. While Tencent blocked us, we were furious with Tencent for going back on their word."

He added that he thought Tencent's credibility would now be tested.

WeChat has been touted as an alternative to rival Sina Weibo, which has seen scores of users defect to the micromessaging app. The Twitter-like Weibo was the target of anti-political rumor laws last year, and as trust in its impartiality was eroded, users took flight. Ironically, following last week's page shutdown, some users have turned back to Weibo to complain about WeChat.

Social media apology

Zhang Jun, Tencent's Chief Public Relations officer, took to social media to issue an apology, accepting blame for the blocking of the pages.

"Many friends devoted a lot of time and energy (to) setting up these public accounts, (which were suddenly) blocked... I am making apologies here if my tone was not right. "

Tencent's flagship product is approaching 300 million active users around the world, most of whom are based in the Chinese mainland, although an increasing number of users are signing up from abroad.

As the blocked pages extended to users worldwide, is not clear if the incident will impact Tencent's global expansion ambitions."

Source:

http://www.cnn.com/2014/03/17/world/asia/wechat-censorship/index.html

Make Russia Bigger

Make Russia Bigger, By: Jon Cope

Summary:
   As ½ of votes of Crimea are counted, around 95.5% vote that they should not be part of Ukraine, and join the large country of Russia! Crimea's leader states that he will apply to have Crimea join as a part of Russia. Pro-Russian forces have taken control over Crimea last month.

Analysis:
   I believe 95.5% of people is a very large number of people, and if that really the number of people, I think many issues are going on in Ukraine, and the citizens may not be receiving what they really want.
Jon Cope

Source: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-26606097

Malaysian Aircraft Could Not Have Been In India. According To India. By Nash F.

Indian search efforts for the missing malaysian aircraft says that there is no way for the aircraft to have not been detected. Kolkata air information unit has had no detection of the plane and is currently saying that there is no way the plane could have passed through india seeing as how they would have detected it. Despite this though Indian navel ships are continuing the search with no luck.
This is honestly surprising that despite all the information we have about the plane where it was and where it was headed that we still cannot find it.

Bibliography: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Missing-aircraft-couldnt-have-entered-our-airspace-undetected-India/articleshow/32093403.cms

New York Gas Explosion by Jackson Daughety

Summary: 8 People died in a gas explosion that destroyed two 5 story buildings. This happened because of a 127 year old gas main that had not been checked or even looked at in recent years. Clearly the gas leak was the cause of the explosion, as tests of the soil and air around the buildings had a high percentage of gas. This has caused a lot of worry because it brings to light the fact that these gas lines are old and may not be functioning properly. Analysis: I hope that the authorities go and check on the rest of the gas mains around the city to make sure that they are not older than the people checking on them! That is pretty ridiculous. What is equally ridiculous is that nobody noticed this gas leak, or at least nobody said anything. http://www.cnn.com/2014/03/15/us/aging-gas-infrastructure/index.html?hpt=us_c1

Missing In Malaysia - Max Gaddis

http://edition.cnn.com/2014/03/11/world/asia/malaysia-airlines-flight-370-timeline/index.html

On Saturday March 8, 2014, A Malaysian plane, MH370, departed from Malaysia Airlines and to this day hasn't been found. The plane is carrying 239 people who were of various nationalities, jobs, ages, and legal statuses. The plane is a Boeing 777-200ER, of which Malaysia Airlines has several. The plane has a excellent safety record so this type of thing isn't usually common. After 15 minutes of flying, Subang air traffic controllers lost contact with the plane between Malaysia and Vietnam. At 2:40 am that Saturday morning, the last known location of the plane was over the small island of Pulau Perak, an island in the Strait of Malacca, which was not on the scheduled flight pattern. Scientists, engineers, and other airports and airplanes have been trying to locate the plane since then and haven't gained a significant amount of progress on the mystery.

I think this is something akin to the Bermuda Triangle and if not, then the plane's antenna or and location accuracy on it must've been damaged.

Vandalism of Anne in Japan - Amanda Maceda

Last semester, thge majority of us in English class paricipated in reading The Diary of Anne Frank. Its a worldwide reknown book that gives insight about Nazi Germany during the holocaust. In Japan, this book is many citizens main base of knowlege about that time. However, a someone has damaged more than 300 copies in Libraries and book stores. Under questioning now, a 36 year old man has admitted to tearing ot pages and other sorts of vandilism in about 20 books. No motive has been established, and they aren't even sure if the man in questioning had done all of this. source:http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-26577954

Man leaves State Park with a Treasure By Trevor Walker

     A Louisiana man walked away from an Arkansas state park with a 2.89-carat white diamond in his hands and he has t he Duggar family from the reality-TV show "19 Kids and Counting" to thank for it. The tourist, Brandon Kalenda of Maurepas, La., visited the Crater of Diamonds State Park in Murfreesboro, Ark., last week after his girlfriend's mother watched the Duggar family visit the park in a show episode and decided her family should do the same. Kalenda, joined by girlfriend Jodee, son Jaxson and five other family members, stopped at the park March on the way to a family reunion in Minnesota. After 20 minutes of searching, Kalenda found the diamond, but he didn't even realize the treasure he had found.
     Kalenda, a construction worker who had never hunted for diamonds before, was given a small container by park officials to hold the diamond. He says he hasn't removed it from his pocket since.
Once he returns home from Minnesota, Kalenda says he is going to spend some time deciding what to do with the diamond he has named "Jax," after his infant son. "I'm thinking about keeping it and putting it into a ring," he said, adding that the diamond has been estimated to be worth as much as $20,000. "It's hard to believe something like that," Kalenda said. "I'm definitely still in shock."

Top Ten Most Affordable US Cities By Trevor Walker

      Perhaps surprising to some, the state of New York is home not only the nation's most overpriced city (New York City ties with Honolulu for the dubious honor), but also its most affordable: Buffalo. With a median family income of $63,500 and a median home sales price of $100,000, home ownership is attainable for 88.5% of the local population. Coupled with daily expenses that are about 4% below the national median, Buffalo claims the No. 1 spot on the list.

Seven Southern cities are on the list, too. But the Midwest dominates when it comes to affordability.

Three hotbeds of affordability are situated in the Northeast. Surprisingly, none of America’s Most Affordable Cities are in the nation’s West.

1. Buffalo, NY

2. Memphis, Tenn

3. Cincinnati, Ohio

4. Dayton, Ohio

5. Knoxville, Tenn

6. Akron, Ohio

7. Grand Rapids, Mich

8. Louisville, Ky

9. Oklahoma City, Okla

10. Warren, Mich

Living in the Ballpark? By Trevor Walker

     One of the reasons fans love Wrigley Field is because it appears to have been dropped into an otherwise typical neighborhood on the North Side of Chicago. The rooftop apartments beyond the ivy-covered bleachers add character and charm to the ballpark setting. Chicago Cubs ownership should have purchased those properties along Waveland and Sheffield avenues long ago. Too bad for them. The Lansing (Mich.) Lugnuts and the city that owns their ballpark want to take a page from Wrigley's book and construct perhaps 100 apartments literally inside of the stadium. By way of a $22 million project split down the middle with public and private funds, the Midwest League's Class A club for the Toronto Blue Jays and the city seek to expand and upgrade Cooley Law School Stadium in downtown Lansing, the state capital. The plan, called the "Outfield," would be part of a bigger plan to upgrade parts of downtown as a whole. The stadium itself was opened in 1996 and needs upgrading regardless, ownership says. Major league star Carlos Beltran played there when the Lugnuts franchise belonged to the Kansas City Royals.
      If the city council approves, the project would be done around the next two off-seasons and be completed by the opening of the 2016 season, the Lansing State Journal reports. It's really a neat idea that Lugnuts owner Tom Dickson has brought forth. Other than Wrigley, the closest thing in the majors might be the B&O Warehouse at Camden Yards. Have you ever wanted to live in a ballpark? This would be your first chance, legally.

Tragic Dachsund Story By Trevor Walker

An elderly couple who left their 13 ½ year old Dachshund tied outside of the Baldwin Park Animal Shelter near Los Angeles with a note asking for him to put to sleep because they could not afford to care for him will be reunited with the dog. The heartbreaking note reads, "Our dog is 13 1/2 years old he is sick starting yesterday with bloody stools, vomiting. Had a skin disease for a few years. We are both seniors, sick with no money. We cannot pay for vet bills, or to put him to sleep. He has never been away from us in all those years, he cannot function without us, please put him to sleep." Instead, shelter workers called Leave No Paws Behind, Inc., an all breed, all foster based rescue that specializes in seniors, who picked up the dog and initially named him Harley. When the dog was taken to a veterinarian, it was determined he could not only be treated, but most likely had a "couple of more years" left in him, according to an update on the organization's Facebook page.
The rescue realized the little dog had been well-cared for and according to the note, very much loved, so they decided to try to reach out to the dog's owners. When the dog owners came forward, they explained they are indeed both sick and cannot even afford their medical treatments or tires for their vehicle. They had taken their dog, who is actually named Otto Wolfgang Maximus, to a veterinarian and were told that they would need to run costly tests. When they realized they couldn't even afford to have their dog euthanized by the vet, they were "hysterical" and didn't know what else to do aside from leaving him at the shelter. This is sad not only for the dog, but for the couple that healthcare is so bad that they can't even pay for their own sicknesses.

ethnic dive in china ~Robert Swofford

        China seems to be in a rather big fuss with several ethnic groups pulling them apart. After a massacre in a train, killing a few and injuring a hundred or so.  A couple of islamic groups went against them later. China is over all being attacked with pretty much everything that any ethnic group is near by for almost no reason. Then again, they are having a new president too...probably has something to do wit that.

http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/newsdesk/2014/03/after-31-the-dangers-of-chinas-ethnic-divide.html

1st man with artificial heart dies by Samantha Stromness

A 75 year old man with acute heart failure was given the first ever artificial heart. He had only a few weeks to days to live before the transplant, however he has only just now died almost four months later, his cause of death not yet determined. These hearts are designed to last about five years and are meant only to keep someone alive long enough so they can get a real and permanent transplant. I think it's great that science is developing to the point where we can do things like create artificial organs in order to save lives.
http://www.ndtv.com/article/world/first-patient-fitted-with-carmat-artificial-heart-dies-490908?pfrom=home-otherstories

Attack in Pakistan (Islamabad) BY STASIA ITKIN

At least 11 were killed in the attack at a court in the Pakastani capital of Islamabad. At a busy time in the morning, gunmen and suicide bombers ran into the complex and opened fire before detonating at last two bombs. A group called Ahraru Hind is said to have made the attack, killing those including a judge and multiple lawyers in the fray. At least 24 others were wounded.

Analysis: I wish that the reason for the attack had been released. I always wonder what provokes people to do things like this to other people.

Oh, North Korea... By: Hannah Kerman

North Korea fired two missiles off it's Eastern coast, and the missiles flew more than 311 miles according to the defense ministry. Last Thursday four of the same missiles were fired, but didn't go as far. The missiles fired have an amazing range which covers the entirety of Korea.
This was a short article, which makes me believe we don't know a lot of information about the topic, or we do and it's top secret. Who knows what North Korea is trying to do, but it doesn't sound good. They may be testing their missiles now, but they have the missiles for a reason and it's making the nations surrounding North Korea tense.
http://www.cnn.com/2014/03/02/world/asia/north-korea-missiles/index.html?hpt=ias_c2

Navy Pilot Crashes without explination By Jackson Daughety

A jet pilot crashed near a Navy range in Nevada and was killed on Sunday. The name of the pilot has not been released. The aircraft is completely useless now, even for spare parts. It took authorities several hours to reach the scene, due to its tough to reach location. No other damage occurred other than what happened to the plane and the man in it. The cause of the crash is currently unknown. This is very strange. Something must have gone wrong in order for an expert like this to crash so randomly. I am glad that they are investigating the cause. http://www.cnn.com/2014/03/02/us/nevada-navy-jet-crash/index.html?hpt=hp_t3

Train station suspects caught- Andrew Tunell

     After a recent attack in a train station in the city of Kunming, China, police have believed to have captured or killed all the attackers. Four attackers have been arrested and four were shot at the scene. This attack killed 28 people and injured 113. A group of terrorists are believed to have carried out the assault.
http://www.cnn.com/2014/03/03/world/asia/china-railway-attack/index.html?hpt=ias_c1
I am very glad these people have been caught, this was such a awful act of violence, that was absolutely pointless. I hope that those injured can recover, and attacks like this will stop.

A bloody train station by: Shadden Hashem

             130 people were injured and 29 were killed on Saturday night in the Chinese city of Kunming when 10 armed men with long knives stormed a train station. "Suddenly, many people started running around crazily," Lu Haiyan said on Tencent Weibo, a Chinese version of Twitter. "We saw two people carrying big cleavers hacking whoever is in the way. They almost got to my back. Then I lost contact with (my friend) and I saw blood splashing in front of me." 

                This is awful. I can't believe people would do something so cruel like this. I'm glad some of suspects were caught/killed and that the police continue to look for more.

               http://www.cnn.com/2014/03/01/world/asia/china-railway-attack/index.html

Deadly Attack in Chinese Train Station by Bob Cummins

     Recently, police in Kunming, China interrogated many residents in a Muslim Uighur district.  Hours before this, a knife attack in a Kunming train station killed 29 people.  China suspects that the killer(s) could have been Uighur.  Chine is doing all it can to crack down on a group it says are militants who want to transform  Xinjiang, a remote region of China, into East Turkestan, an independent state.  Xinjiang is home to the Uighur, who chafe at restrictions the Chinese have put on them.  In Kunming, which is hundreds of miles away from Xinjiang, the Uighur community is under suspicion.
     "I alone have already been checked three times.  The police point their guns at us," said an Uighur restaurant worker.
     Uighurs said that they were interrogated for hours.
     "It's very tense now.  You can feel it," said a man running a stall.
     The event on Saturday was the first major attack blamed  on Xinjiang people since a car drove into tourists in Beijing in October, killing five total.  This attack is increasing worries that the East Turkestan Islamic Movement is spread.  It is listed as a terrorist group by the United Nations Security Council.  Before this incident, and the Beijing incident, the attacks were confined largely to Xinjiang, bordering former-Soviet Central Asia, Pakistan, India, and Afghanistan.  More than 100 people have been killed there in the past year.

     I have mixed feelings about this.  Uighurs, according to this article, have had their houses searched, have had guns pointed at them, and have been interrogated.  If they are the ones behind the attacks, then they should be interrogated, unless maybe there is an ultra extremist branch of Uighurs.  China should do some more research and narrow it down, if so.  There is much violence coming from the Uighur community, Xinjiang, though, so I don't know what to think.  If I ruled China, I might be doing exactly what the current ruler is doing.  I'm not sure.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/china-train-station-attack-risks-driving-ethnic-wedge-123611434.html

Indian Puppeteer Teaches Poor Children Music - by Frances Garnett

For the past 15 years, Prakash Bhatt, a puppeteer, has been teaching children from the Kathputi Nagar slum in Jaipur, India, to play various musical instruments for free. He himself was born into a family of puppeteers, like the other slum children, but puppeteering is now a dying art, so he teaches them skills they can use to help make a decent living through being in orchestras or working at parties. Puppeteering used to be allowed on streets and footpaths, and was used in election and awareness campaigns, but now there isn't any use for that because TVs are around, and also police no longer allow it. Internationally, however, puppeteering is still greatly loved and appreciated, and Bhatt has travelled to many places, like the USA, Russia, South Korea, the Netherlands, Columbia, and many more to perform. His "school" unfortunately has a limited amount of instruments, and also needs more space, since he can't teach where he is if it rains too much, and yet he has no money to pay for it.

I think the author who wrote this wanted to bring awareness to the good deed this man is doing, but also to bring awareness and make us think about economic and cultural issues attached to this environment. Firstly, a traditional art is dying. It has happened many times in every culture, but that's why many places try to teach children about traditional arts and such to keep it alive, and though I wish that could happen to these children, it's not economically possible. Not only is an art dying, but a way of life. Most of these children's families were made up of puppeteers who now have no livelihood, therefore no money, which deprives the younger generation of opportunities to get out of poverty. Another issue is cultural: these children are part of a lower caste (social class), so the local government school won't admit them, and the only education they can get is from a help center run by Christian missionaries. I disagree with this, but I was raised in a very different culture. Still, it's hard not to want to change the ways of another society, especially since this particular belief keeps people in a cycle of poverty. This article actually presents a bigger picture, one of a current problem in all of India, of a perpetual cycle of poverty that is almost impossible to escape, since most children don't have opportunities like the one offered by Prakash Bhatt.

Source: http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/globetrotting-puppeteer-teaches-music-free/article5743901.ece?homepage=true

Babies saved in China Julia F

 China has smashed four child-trafficking rings and arrested more than a thousand people for using websites and instant messaging groups to trade babies, Chinese authorities said Friday. On February 19, police from 27 provinces across China rescued 382 babies and arrested 1,094 people suspected of buying and selling infants online, China's Ministry of Public Security said in a statement on its website.

http://www.cnn.com/2014/02/28/world/asia/china-online-baby-trafficking-crackdown/index.html?c=asia

Oldest Piece of Earth by Anna Pickett

     In Australia, scientists discovered a crystal that has been dated to be about 4.4 billion years old. The crystal is red, but when hit with electrons, it turns blue. The crystal shows that the Earth could have supported water 4.4 billion years ago. This means that there could have been life. It also shows that in the first 100 million to 200 million years, Earth cooled and formed crust and water.
     I love how we're able to find things out about the beginning of the Earth. It's great to know that there's still information out there that we can discover!
Source: http://www.cnn.com/2014/02/24/world/oldest-earth-fragment/index.html?hpt=wo_t5

Oh the Poor Turtles!- Amanda Maceda

Olive Ridley turles are an endangered marine turtle species in India. However, over 900 of these turtles were discovered dead along the coast of Andhra Pradesh. Trawlers have been fishing for shrimp four killometers away instead of the designated 5 miles. Because of this, many turtles have been entangled in these nets.The trawlers aren't even using any devices to stop them. The number of turtle deaths hasn't been this bad for 10 years. source:http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-26358874

To Hunt, Or To Be Hunted?

http://edition.cnn.com/2014/02/26/world/asia/india-rogue-tiger/index.html

A tigress in India has been hunting humans there since December 29th. Her latest kill was February 10th. She is thought to be 4 years old, have killed at least 10 people, and hurt in one paw. It isn't known why she suddenly started hunting humans, but a human-hunting habit in tigers doesn't go away. Tigers have been freely roaming India since forever but have since then been threatened by poachers and hunters, so their numbers have dwindled. Even so, India still has the largest tiger population in the world. Conservationists and animal rights activists have tried to suggest tranquilizing the tiger and putting her on a conservation, but others want to kill her.

I think that because human hunting doesn't go away, they should try to tranquilize her and feed her animals, but if it doesn't work and she insists on eating humans, she should be put to sleep.

Hong Kong journalist stabbed by Katelyn McLane

On Wednesday, former Hong Kong newspaper editor, Kevin Lau, was stabbed multiple times while getting into his car. He had been sacked from his job, and many of his colleagues were very angry. He had done nothing wrong, so they even signed a petition for him. Nobody knows why he was stabbed by a stranger. Lau got many fatal injuries from the attack, including a punctured lung. He is now being cared for in the hospital. The attack on Lau was just one of quite a few other attacks or movements against the Hong Kong press. Hong Kong leaders are afraid that if this behavior goes unsolved and unpunished for much longer, Hong Kong's reputation as a free and international city will suffer.

I wish they knew who the people are who have been attacking these journalists, and why. They must have some kind of major reason for it, since Hong Kong believes in freedom of the press and has for a while. I hope Kevin Lau heals soon, and that they can get to the bottom of these attacks.

Source: http://www.cnn.com/2014/02/26/world/asia/kevin-lau-hong-kong-attack/index.html

China Mass Murder, By: Jon Cope

China Mass Murder, By: Jon Cope

Summary:
   This week, in Kunming, China, there was a mass murder.  According the the state news agency Xinhua, 28 people were found dead, and 113 people were found injured at a railway station. These people were attacked and stabbed by some knife-wielding men. According to witnesses, these men came up to random people, and stabbed them. After this, pools of blood were found everywhere!

Analysis:
   I think this is horrible!!! And pools of blood? That's really terrifying. It's a tragedy to hear of these innocent peoples' lives being taken, and some people who will live with pain and possible not walk the rest of their lives!


Jon Cope

Source: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-26402367

Sari Squad protects Bangladesh wildlife security

Summary: A small group of women in southern Bangladesh have taken the role of guardians of the Chunati Wildlife  Reserve. Everyday they walk in green saris through the sanctuary, and have seen the resurgence of 77-square kilometers of the sanctuary since they first began. Logging and farming had once heavily damaged the sanctuary, but now it thrives with wildlife, even elephants. To that end, the Bangladeshi government now allows for limited logging within designated areas of Chunati. Community members can plant, cut and sell trees in parts of the forest, provided they replant and they don't cut the old growth. They keep 75% of the proceeds and the rest goes towards reforestation efforts.
Analysis: This is amazing! It is a demonstration of what a community can do if they get together to better their environment. Hopefully there will be even more stories in the news to come about communities like this. It takes real commitment to walk through the wildlife preserve every day, and the Sari Squad must be very proud to see how it has flourished with their help. It also helps a great deal that the other members of the community are willing to give 25% of the money they earn towards reforestation efforts.
Source: http://edition.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/asiapcf/03/04/bangladesh.wildlife.eco/

Pakistani Taliban cease-fire (for now)

Today the Taliban in Pakistan said they will observe a one-month cease-fire. That's right. A cease-fire. They're doing it to negotiate peace with the government. Ain't that sweet. One of the most violent religious/ethnic groups in the Middle East decides to be peaceful. I mean that's great, right? Maybe then the Middle East will get rid of one of the most large and dangerous terrorist groups. Cameron Ordinario