London Helicopter Crash Leaves 2 Dead

A helicopter crashed in central London, on Wednesday.

Two people were killed, the pilot and a person on the ground, and at least a dozen people were injured, on the ground.

The helicopter damaged a crane, on the way down, and then crashed into a street, catching cars on fire.

Fifty year old Peter Barnes, the pilot, was an expert flyer, with over twelve thousand hours of flight time.

Authorities are investigating the cause of the crash.

It is believed that Barnes may have known he was crashing and aimed for the street, instead of buildings.

Obama Unveils Gun Control Plans

President Obama laid out his plan for how to protect children from guns, on Wednesday.

The President called for further government control as the answer to stop violence.

Among his plans are adding universal background checks for gun sales, the reinstatement and strengthening of the assault weapons ban, capping ammunition magazines to a ten round limit, banning armor piercing ammunition, providing schools with resource officers and school counselors, putting more police on the streets, creating serious punishments for gun trafficking, and ensuring that health insurance plans cover mental health benefits.

He also gave a list of twenty-three executive orders that he is willing to use, if necessary.

Opponents called some of the plans an attack upon the second amendment.

While Obama may be able to get his plans through the Senate, the House will be an entirely different matter.

Japanese Airlines Ground 787s After Yet Another Incident

Japanese airlines have announced that they are grounding their 787s, after yet another incident.

On Wednesday, an All Nippon Airlines 787 made an emergency landing due to smoke in the cockpit.

All one hundred and thirty-seven passengers and crew were safely evacuated.

The FAA began investigating the 787s, on Friday, after several safety incidents occurred with 787s.

Al Qaeda Claims Kidnapping of 41 Foreigners in Algeria

Al Qaeda, in Algeria, attacked a gas field, early Wednesday morning.

At least two people were killed in the attack, and Algerian security guard and a Briton.

The attack was claimed by Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, who said it was in response to France fighting in Mali.

They say that they have kidnapped forty-one foreigners, during the attack, on the In Amenas gas facility.

Among the hostages are thirteen Norwegians, five Japanese, seven Americans, one Frenchman, one Irishman, one Austrian, and an unknown number of Britons.

AQIM still holds the facility, but may have moved the hostages to a different location.

The Algerian army has surrounded the field, but is stuck in a stand off with AQIM.

Chinese Pollution Off The Charts

Before and during

Just how bad is the pollution in China right now? Hundreds have been sent to the hospitals with respiratory distress. Thirty-three cities have hazardous air advisories in place.

According to readings, from the US Embassy in Beijing, air quality particulate pollution readings have reached up into the seven hundreds. The normal scale maxes out at five hundred. Literally meaning that pollution levels are off the chart.

Above, the picture you see shows Beijing on a regular day, sometime in 2012, to the left. On the right you see the same angle taken during this last week.

Below are two photos released by NASA. They show the same region of China, but on two different days. In the top picture we see a view, from space, of January 3, while the bottom shows January 14. According to NASA the particulate pollution readings was three hundred and forty-one, when the second picture was taken.

Jan 3, 2013

Jan 14, 2013

France Increasing Troops Numbers in Mali as Rebels Promise Death to All French Troops

French forces continue to arrive in Mali, as they fight to keep the Malian capital from falling to Al Qaeda supported rebels.

France has announced it will increase it's troop numbers to twenty-five hundred soldiers, by the end of the week.

Rebel forces are promising to make France regret the intervention.

Oumar Ould Hamaha, a commander of the Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa released a statement, on Tuesday.

He said that, "every French soldier that comes into our territory should make sure to prepare his will beforehand, because he will not leave alive."

France is not alone in supporting Mali, the UK is providing transport planes and the US is providing intelligence and drones.

Nigeria has promised to send nine hundred soldiers, on Wednesday.

Other African and European Union countries have pledged support and troops, though none have a timetable yet.

83 Killed in University of Aleppo Explosions

At least eighty-three people were killed and over one hundred and sixty were injured when two blasts went off at a university in Syria, on Tuesday.

The explosions struck during the first day of exams at the University of Aleppo.

Both the government and rebel forces blamed each other for the attack.

However, the university is well within a loyalist area.

Tuesday has been one of the bloodiest days in the civil war, with two hundred and eighteen confirmed dead, on it alone.

Over sixty thousand people have been killed in the twenty-two month long conflict.

Pakistan Claims Soldier Killed by Indian Gun Fire

Pakistan claims that another of their soldiers was killed, by gunfire from India, Tuesday night.

This incident would mark the fourth time, in just over a week, that the two countries have exchanged deadly gunfire, along the Kashmir line of control.

In each incident, the two have blamed each other, or denied involvement.

Last Sunday, a Pakistani soldier was killed when Pakistan said they repulsed an Indian attack.

Then on last Tuesday, two Indian troops were killed and their bodies mutilated, in what the country claimed was a Pakistani incursion.

Another Pakistani soldier was killed, on Thursday, along the Kashmir border.

The series of events, between the two, have started worries that peace talks will be derailed.

India and Pakistan are at odds over the Kashmir area, which the two have split, and previously fought over.

Snyder to Direct Non-Trilogy Star Wars Film

Many are familiar with Zack Snyder as the director for 300 and The Watchmen, and he is also bringing the new Superman film, Man of Steel.

Well we've learned that he's working on a huge new project.

A source at Lucasfilms tells us why Snyder so quickly said he wouldn't do Star Wars Episode VII.

It seems Snyder is running a completely different little project for Disney and Lucasfilms.

Snyder is going to be the director for an entirely separate Star Wars film, yes one not based on the trilogies.

He will be loosely remaking Akira Kurosawa's 1954 classic Seven Samurai, which was already remade in 1960 as The Magnificent Seven.

It's unclear exactly when it will be set, but it's supposed to be sometime after Episode VI.

This version does not have a name yet, but it will only rekindle all the discussions, amongst Star Wars fans, who now have at least four movies to look forward to.

Expect for it to be released in late 2014.

Berlin Bank Robbed via 100 Foot Tunnel

Firefighters were called to the Berliner Volksbank in Berling, Germany, Monday morning.

They were called after a guard noticed smoke coming from the safety deposit room.

Once the fire was put out, it was found that the bank had been robbed.

A tunnel, of more than one hundred feet, had been dug from a nearby underground parking garage, under the floor of the deposit room.

According to authorities the tunnel was very professionally made, including ceiling supports, and must have taken months to dig.

The thieves apparently set the fire as they made their escape.

Berlin police are working to find any evidence of who was behind the robbery.