Man With Knife Hijacks School Bus in Arkansas

A man with a knife jumped aboard a school bus in Jacksonville, Arkansas, on Thursday.

He forced the driver to drive several miles before police blocked off the bus.

Eventually the police talked the man into letting go the driver and eleven children aboard.

A short time later he agreed to surrender to them.

None of the children nor the driver were harmed in the incident.

Twenty-two year old Nicholas Miller is being charged with one count of vehicle piracy, twelve counts of kidnapping, and two counts of aggravated assault.

It is not yet known what his motive was.

40 Arrested After Attacking Police in New Brunswick

Forty people were arrested after protesters turned violent and attacked police in Rexton, New Brunswick.

The protest began on September 30 and had been blocking SWN Resources from reaching their equipment to begin exploring for shale gas.

On Thursday, the company won a court battle to have the protesters removed and police moved in to clear the road.

As the police approached, at least one shot was fired at them and protesters hurled Molotov cocktails at the police vehicles.

Five Royal Canadian Mounted Police vehicles were destroyed and several others damaged.

Police responded with pepper spray and arrested forty people.

Despite Thursday's violence, the arrests, and the court order, protesters say they will be back on Friday.

Man Attacks Soldiers With Construction Tractor in Israel

A man was shot and killed by Israeli troops after he attempted to kill one of the, on Thursday.

The man drove a construction tractor through the gate of a military base and repeatedly tried to run over a soldier.

Israeli troops kept ordering him to stop, but opened fire after he repeatedly refused to do so.

He was later identified as thirty year old Yunis Radeideh.

His brother was killed in March 2009, when he attacked Israeli police with an earth mover.

61 Killed in Iraq Bombings

In the deadliest day in nearly two weeks, sixty-one people were killed in Iraq.

Fifteen people were killed when a suicide bomber blew up his vehicle, in al-Mouafaqiyah.

Another three people were killed when a suTuz Khurmatu, when a suicide bomber blew himself up, in a cafe.

Most of the violence occurred in Baghdad, where a mixture of suicide and car bombings targeted popular restaurants, cafes, and parks.

Police checkpoints were also targeted, as the terrorists killed forty-three across the capital.

No one has claimed responsibility for the attacks.

Australia's Fires Turn Deadly

Hundreds of fires are burning across Australia, with ninety-four in New South Wales, alone.

On Thursday, they turned deadly as a man was killed in the town of Lake Munmorah.

Two firefighters have been seriously injured, fighting the fires.

Dozens of homes have been lost, with firefighters battling to keep the flames from spreading closer to Sydney.

The city is already swamped with the smoke.

US Senate Passes Shutdown Ending Bill

With a vote of eighty-one to eighteen, the US Senate passed a bill which would bring an end to the government shutdown.

Under the bill, government spending is funded until January 15 and federal borrowing is raised until February 7.

The bill comes just in time to keep the US from defaulting on it's loans, which would happen Thursday, if funding isn't restored.

By passing the bill, the Senate returns the country to the status quo which existed before the shutdown.

It's passage sends it off to the House of Representatives.

Laos Airplane Crash Kills 49

Forty-nine people were killed when a Lao Airlines plane crashed, in Laos, on Wednesday afternoon.

The plane had left Vientiane and was about to land in Panske when it went down, only a mile from the airport.

Forty-four passengers and five crew were aboard the plane.

Officials say that no survivors were found at the site of the crash.

It is believed that a sudden wind sheer caught the plane as it was coming in for landing.

The Ministry of Public Works and Transport is investigating the accident.

6 Killed by Nari in Vietnam

Typhoon Nari finished with Vietnam, on Sunday, leaving six people dead.

Dozens are injured and seven are missing.

High winds brought down trees and tore into buildings, while rains caused flooding.

Some residential areas lay under as much as seven feet of water.

At least twelve thousand homes were destroyed by the flooding, which cut off several villages.

Nari has now been downgraded to a tropical depression.

Wipha Kills 17 in Japan

Seventeen people were killed in Japan, on Wednesday, by the forces of nature brought by Typhoon Wipha.

High winds knocked down trees and buildings, while torrential rains brought flooding and mudslides.


By the end of the day, it's fury spent, Wipha was downgraded to a tropical depression.
At least twenty people were injured and fifty are listed as missing, while twenty thousand people were evacuated from low lying areas.

More than five hundred flights were canceled and train service was at a complete standstill, during the worst of the storm.

Philippines Quake Toll Hits 142

The death toll from the 7.2 quake, which struck the Philippines, has risen to one hundred and forty-two.

Over three hundred more people were injured and twenty-three are missing.

Most of the fatalities and casualties occurred on Bohol island.

The government cautioned that all of those numbers could continue to increase, as some areas have not yet been reached.

Communications with some areas were completely knocked out and emergency crews have not yet been able to get everywhere.

Work crews are working to clear roads of land slides and repair damaged phone lines, while rescue workers search for victims under rubble.

Nearly one thousand after shocks have followed the big quake, with the largest being a 5.1.