Friday, February 8, 2013

Curiosity Spots a Shiny "Arm"

Curiosity Rover has once again spotted an unusual thing.

In pictures, taken by the rover, a shiny object is poking out of the rock.

Some have taken to describing it as a metal arm.

Whatever it is, it's poking about half a centimeter out of rock, just big enough to case a shadow.

It also seems to be of a different kind of material than the surrounding area.

NASA does not know what it is, nor do they seem interested in checking it out, immediately.

So for now it will remain but one more mystery.


Top Gun Out in 3D

Starting Friday you can feel the need for speed, at IMAX theaters.

From February 8-13 Top Gun will be back in theaters.

But to add to it, it's in 3D.

Yes, Top Gun is the latest movie to be re-released specifically for a 3D experience.

As one of the biggest, most iconic movies of the 80s it is perhaps the most deserving.

Those flight scenes could be quite spectacular in 3D.


Bangladeshi Ferry Carrying 100 Sinks

A ferry in Bangladesh sunk, with over one hundred people on board.

The MV Sarosh collided with a barge on the River Meghna, south of Dhaka, on Friday.

About twenty-five people swam to safety and another forty were rescued.

Searchers believe that as many as fifty people are still missing.

Divers have been called in to find the ship, and her victims.

New England Braces For Blizzard

New England is bracing as the snow begins to fall.

Forecasters are calling for up to three feet of snow, throughout most of the region.

With wind gusts expected to be hitting around seventy-five miles per hour, this could definitely be a blizzard.

Some weathermen called for it to be one of the top ten worst storms, ever.

Governor Cuomo, of New York, declared a state of emergency, in preparation for the storm.

Many towns and districts closed schools, on Friday, just in case.

Power outages were already occurring by Friday afternoon.

Thousands of flights have been canceled, mostly from Friday night through mid Saturday, as a precaution.

Amtrak is shutting down service, starting Friday afternoon, to avoid any issues for them.

Palestinians Arrest Hamas Members For Having Explosives

Over the last two days, Palestinian security forces have made several raids, in Ramallah.

In those raids they have arrested at least twenty-five people.

According to security forces, they were all members of Hamas, and in possession of explosives and weapons.

A spokesman for Hamas said that no explosives or weapons were among those arrested.

It's a marked change for Palestinian security forces, who normally do not mess with Hamas, and often follow their orders.

Mali's Troubles Highlighted by Mutinee of Elite Troops

Malian red berets on a better day
Mali's elite "red berets" mutinied, on Friday, in protest over being ordered to the front.

They fired their weapons for several hours, refusing to leave the capital.

Eventually things calmed down when the orders were cancelled.

However, their actions do much to highlight but one of the problems facing the country.

Not only are internal divisions stronger than ever, but they threaten to turn things to civil war.

The country also faces the threats of insurgency, as shown by a suicide attack which struck a military outpost near Gao.

France's intervention has removed the likelihood of Mali being overrun by Al Qaeda, but threats are still there.

Belaid's Funeral Followed by Violence in Tunisia

Over fifty thousand people came out for Chokri Belaid's funeral, on Friday.

The opposition leader was never as popular as he is now. His death has united the opposition in ways not seen since the civil war, two years ago.

As they followed his body through the streets, the crowd railed against the government, against the Islamists who are running it, and they demanded a new revolution.

After the funeral, things turned violent as police fired tear gas into the crowd. Protesters responded by throwing rocks and lighting cars on fire. Demonstrations were not contained to the funeral proceedings, but were seen in areas across the country.

Prime Minister Hamdi Jebali once again said he was ready to replace the current government. On Friday, he added a claim that he does not need approval to do so. The ruling Islamist Ennahda party has said it would not allow for the government to be replaced.

5 Car Bombs Tear Through Shiite Areas in Iraq

Five car bombs ripped through Shiite areas of Iraq, on Friday.

All together thirty-four people were killed in three separate attacks.

Two simultaneous bombs struck a bus station, near a market, in Kadhimiya.

Sixteen people were killed and forty-four wounded when those blasts went off.

In Hilla, fifteen were killed and dozens injured when two sequential explosions struck a market there.

Another three were killed when a fifth bomb went off in Kerbala.

No one has claimed responsibility for the attacks.

Thursday, February 7, 2013

South Korean Soldiers Given New Orders

South Korean soldiers have been given new orders.

They now are allowed to shoot back, immediately upon being fired at.

No longer do they need to ask for permission to do so.

The decision comes as tensions are rising again, with the North being defiant in the face of the global community.

North Korea has been promising to conduct multiple nuclear tests and more rocket tests.

They responded to the new orders, for the South by saying that they, "cannot help but feel like laughing".

Their spokesman went on to once again threaten the South.

The two Koreas are still technically at war, but a UN enforced ceasefire has been in place since 1953.

That cease fire has been broken by the North a couple times, but the war never reignited.

Battle For Damascus Continues

The battle for Damascus is more intense and grimmer than ever.

Syrian jets have begun bombing parts of the city, as rebel forces over run the army's defensive works.

Rebel forces have begun encircling the heart of the city, where key government buildings are fortified against their approach.

Abbaside Square, once a proud football stadium, then a barracks for the military, is now a battlefield to keep the rebels from gaining one more way into Damascus.

Thursday's shelling was the heaviest anyone, in Damascus, had ever heard.

If Damascus does fall, it is unclear if the regime will be able to continue, in any realistic way, shape, or form.