Google Donates Drones to World Wildlife Foundation

Google has donated five million dollars and some of it's own drones, to the World Wildlife Foundation.

The WWF will use the drones to patrol areas where endangered animals live.

Their plan is to catch poachers entering protected areas.

If they can do that they hope that authorities can be notified in enough time to not just catch the poachers, but maybe even prevent them from accomplishing their goals.

Over the last year poaching has seen a significant increase.

Rhinos have specifically been targeted, with attacks on them jumping from thirteen to 588.

UK's Ash Die Off Spreads Further Yet

The United Kingdom's ash problem has grown much more serious.

Ash trees are being killed off, all over the UK, by a fungus.

As of November 1, there were one hundred and fifteen areas where the fungus was seen across England, Scotland, and Wales.

Since then, the number has jumped to 291 locations, including some in Northern Ireland.

Now, the government is in a small panic to find a way to stop the spread of the fungus.

However, environmentalist groups say that it is too little too late, and that there is no going back now.

Chalara Fraxinea, the fungus in question, was first discovered in the UK on March 7.

It was brought over by infected wood from the Netherlands, and since has been declared a national emergency.

Concern, over the spread of the fungus, is such that there's even an app to map locations where it has spread to.

The same fungus has killed over ninety percent of the ash population in Denmark.

South African Military Plane Crashes Killing 11

A South African military plane crashed Wednesday night.

Searchers found the wreckage, on Thursday.

All eleven people on board were killed.

The remains of the Douglas DC-3 Dakota were found in the Drakensberg mountains near Ladysmith in Kwa Zulu Natal province.

Military investigators have not been able to discover what mission the plane left Pretoria's Waterkloof Air Force Base on.

The secretive nature of it's mission has added to conspiracy talk, in the country.

Syria Readies Sarin Bombs

Despite warnings from the international community, Syria's military has begun preparing chemical weapons for use.

Evidence has come out that they have begun readying bombs full of sarin gas.

Sarin is a deadly nerve agent, and each bomb could kill thousands.

The bombs will be active for sixty days, after that they will begin to become unstable and must be destroyed.

Syria's government is seeing itself backed into a corner, as rebels take over more and more of the country, and heavy fighting occurs in Damascus.

The civil war has killed over fifty thousand people, during it's twenty-one months.

Turkish Forces Kill 13 Members of the PKK

Turkey's latest military operation against the Kurdistan Workers Party, began on Monday.

So far it has resulted in thirteen members of the PKK being killed and five captured.

Most of the operation is being carried out via helicopters.

The PKK has been fighting since 1984 to establish Kurdistan, in southeast Turkey.

Since then, over forty thousand people have been killed in the conflict.

Turkey, which considers the PKK a terrorist organization, accuses Syria of supporting them, even during the current civil war there.

Pittsburgh Bomb Squad Called Out For Smoking Bag at Airport

Pittsburgh International Airport called out the bomb squad, Thursday morning.

Smoke started pouring out of a bathroom, but there was no fire, so the bomb squad was called in.

They eventually found a burnt bag inside of a plumbing access.

Fire marshalls are investigating how the satchel got there.

The nearest concourse was shut down during the incident, but is now reopened.

During it's closure flights were redirected to another concourse.

IDF Troops Accosted by Palestinian Police

The Israeli Defense Forces are investigating what they call a "serious event".

On Thursday, members of the IDF were on patrol, in Hebron.

Palestinian Authority police blocked their path and mutual shoving began.

A mob of around two hundred and fifty Palestinians began growing and throwing objects at the soldiers.

The IDF members were forced to use stun grenades to disperse the mob.

If PA police begin causing trouble with the IDF it would be a major problem for the tenuous cease fire that is in place.

Egypt's Military Moves in to Enforce Peace

Egypt's military moved in Thursday morning to force a halt in violence.

Supporters and opponents of President Morsi have spent the last few days in deadly clashes, with each other and police.

The Republican Guard moved in around the presidential palace, the scene of some of the worst violence.

Seven people have been killed and over three hundred and fifty injured as the two sides fought over whether or not Morsi should stay in power.

Morsi seized huge amounts of power, on November 22, including blocking the judiciary from overturning any of his decrees.

Protests began then, but only grew after Morsi's government passed a constitution, on November 30.

Opponents rallied together crying out against the constitution's heavy amount of Shariah law.

The country is supposed to vote on the constitution on December 15, but most opposition groups are talking about boycotting the vote.

Now fears have come that the military is taking sides, in the conflict.

However, General Mohamed Zaki assured the country that, "The armed forces, and at the forefront of them the Republican Guard, will not be used as a tool to oppress the demonstrators."
  
It was the military whose joining the populace helped overthrow former President Mubarak, on February 2011.

Bopha's Toll Nearing 500

According to the latest numbers, the death toll in the Philippines has climbed to nearly five hundred.

477 people are reportedly dead due to Typhoon Bopha.

Hundreds more are missing, in the storm which has brought deluges of rain.

Massive flash floods are blamed for most of the deaths.

Flooding continues throughout most of the country.

Around two hundred thousand people have left the effected areas.

The entire south of the nation is shut down as the country bears out the storm.

Moving west at about seventeen miles per hour the nearly four hundred mile wide storm is expected to leave the Philippines sometime Friday.

3 Killed by New Zealand Tornado

A tornado struck Hobsonville, New Zealand, Thursday, leaving three dead.

Striking the suburb of Auckland, at 12:30pm NZDT.

Winds over sixty miles per hour tore through town, both before and after.

They leveled trees, tore up buildings roofs, and threw anything they could around.

The tornado made about one hundred and fifty homes inhabitable, as it killed three people and injured dozens.

All three of the victims were construction workers, who had taken shelter in a truck, when a concrete slab was knocked over, onto the truck, and crushed them.

A second, smaller twister hit near Ngongotaha, causing damage, but no injuries or deaths.

Power is out throughout the Auckland area, and workers spent most of the day attempting to restore it.

High winds continued, and were expected to climb back up to over sixty miles an hour, over night.