Photo Captions: TOP - The logo for the 2016 Rio Olympic Games; MIDDLE - The president of Brazil, Dilma Rousseff; BOTTOM - The 2016 Rio Games Olympic torch (Photo credit: Google Images)
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A Rough Road to Rio.
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British Exit European Union
A different kind of independence day.
Danielle Cifuentes - International News Reporter
Thursday, July 21st, 2016
London- The British exited the European Union in the past two weeks. The protest started on June 23, 2016. Many voters in Britain wanted to become an independent country separate from the European Union (EU). They started a movement called Brexit whose goal was to separate themselves from the Union with whom they have long-time ties.
David Cameron, former Prime Minister who favored staying in the European Union, resigned because of Brexit and the election results. Cameron wanted his country to be successful and felt that staying in the Union would ensure that success. Theresa May became Prime Minister on July 13, 2016. Cameron thinks that Theresa May will do a great job serving as Prime Minister. Before May became Prime Minister, as to say during the election, May’s Rival, Andrea Leadsom, dropped out because she made a bad a comment about Motherhood. As a result, May was elected Prime minister and is now the second female prime minister for Great Britain after Margaret Thatcher. Theresa May has 60% support of the government. The results of the vote showed that many people voted to remain in the EU, while more people voted to leave. |
As a consequence of this great Brexit, there will be many changes, some positive and some negative, that will come upon the country of Great Britain. Britain wanted to leave the EU because of many issues including immigration. When they let people in Britain and other European nations. Money is another problem. The United Kingdom provides money for the E.U. and the European Union gives it to the most poorest countries that are close by. As the United Kingdom economy boosts, their bill is rising. They have to contribute at least 11.3 billion pounds to others. Another thing is that many immigrants were asking for a welfare benefits from the U.K. This bothers many citizens in Britain.
Brexit will cause big problems for banks, especially banks in Germany. The president of Germany, Joachim Gauck says that the European Union needs to remain united. Gauck say that it was a puzzle or a confusion how Britain thinks that vital issues such as environmental protection, security, and economic growth would not be better addressed by the EU. Gauck criticized the growing number of movements or protests. Gauck said, “Let us not blow, what evil nationalism brought over Europe. Peace and freedom in Europe is not a given.” Brexit could be a positive for U.S. real estate as it may drive down interest rates for home buyers. How Brexit may affect other nations including Britain itself, only time will tell. Information for this article was researched from various stories on cnn.com and forbes.com |
Airport Attack in Istanbul
Death and terror at Atatürk Airport
Jacqueline Alarcon and Valerie Castro- International News Reporters
Wednesday, July 20th, 2016
On June 28, 2016, shortly before 10:00 PM, three terrorists shot and self detonated bombs at three different locations in Ataturk Airport. This airport, located in Istanbul, Turkey, is one of three of the most busiest airports in Europe. Out of the 41 victims, 13 are presumed to be foreigners. More than 230 were injured. Even though authorities have not yet identified the attacker, it is speculated that ISIS is behind the atrocity.
When authorities arrived at the horror scene, they found bodies scattered everywhere. The bodies were immediately covered in white sheets. Blood was everywhere. Mothers covered their children’s eyes as they walked out to safety, sobbing in despair. “There were blood splatters everywhere”, said Eylul Kaya. "It was just a massive crowd of screaming people. Some were falling over themselves. A poor chap in a wheelchair was just left, and everyone just rushed to the back of the building, and then people ran the other way and no one really seemed to know what was going on", said Laurence Cameron.
Taxis were used to transport the injured to the hospital. Family members gathered outside of the hospitals waiting to hear about the status of their loved ones. Many sobbed in shock and disbelief that terror had visited them. Vigils were held to honor those who lost their lives.
The terrorists were said to have arrived at the airport by taxi. A Kalashnikov assault rifle was found and presumed to be the same gun the three shooters used. The bombs were set off in the entrance near the x-ray machines in the departure area as well as the parking lot. The attackers were seen wearing all black. They targeted air travelers and ground staff. After the attack, all flights were suspended. Most resumed shortly after, but some flights were cancelled and others delayed for days after.
This is one of the many attacks Turkey has faced in recent years. A devastating incident happened on October 10, 2015 when two bombs were detonated outside of Ankara Central railway station. Over 100 casualties were reported. On March 13, 2016, 35 people were killed in a car bomb in Ankara.
Information for this report was found from the following news sites: CNN, BBC, and The New York Times
Train Disaster in Italy
Many are reported dead and injured
Melvin Alatorre and Daniel Salazar, International News Reporters
Wednesday, July 20th, 2016
BARI, ITALY- 23-27 people died and 50 people got injured while two trains collided in Bari, Italy. It occurred on Tuesday morning June 12, 2016 and people don’t know exactly how this happened. A local prosecutor said that a human error was possibly the reason for the collision. Three conductors are under investigation.The trains were traveling as fast as 62 to 68 mph, and were heading straight towards each other. A train delay could have been another reason for the crash.
The Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi stated, “My thoughts go to the families of the victims. We are together In this pain and despair.” The Italian state rail run company also stated, "The employees of the Italian FS Group are close to the victims' families, the wounded and colleagues at Ferrotramviaria.” One section of the single track wasn’t automated so the trains still needed to get approval to move ahead by telephone claimed by the ANSA, which is the a leading wire service in Italy and they are a not-for-profit organization.
The Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi stated, “My thoughts go to the families of the victims. We are together In this pain and despair.” The Italian state rail run company also stated, "The employees of the Italian FS Group are close to the victims' families, the wounded and colleagues at Ferrotramviaria.” One section of the single track wasn’t automated so the trains still needed to get approval to move ahead by telephone claimed by the ANSA, which is the a leading wire service in Italy and they are a not-for-profit organization.
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These incidents do not just happen in Italy. They also happen in other countries like the US because the rails are old or not working. One incident in Chatsworth, California occurred in September 12, 2008 when the Union Pacific freight train and Metrolink commuter train collided. This incident left 25 people dead, making it the deadliest incident in Metrolink history. The Metrolink train ran into a red signal and lawyers began filing claims against Metrolink. Even more recently, a train derailment occurred in Philadelphia on May 12th, 2015, that left 8 people dead and 200+ people injured. An Amtrak Northeast Regional Train was traveling at a speed of 102 mph in a zone of 50 mph on the curved rails where it derailed. This derailment was caused by the train’s engineer getting distracted by other radio transmissions. Another incident that also happened in the U.S is the Great train wreck in 1918 in Nashville,Tennessee caused by a human error. Because of this incident, 101 died and 171 got injured. However, the Nashville, Chattanooga and St. Louis Railway were operating both of the trains. It was stated that train crash was the worst accident in United States history.
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The aftermath of a train crash in Chatsworth, California.
Photo source: 2008 Chatsworth train collision - Wikipedia
Train crashes are problems that should not exist if tracks are maintained properly and people do more to be accurate and alert in their jobs. Because of train crashes, people who are just going to and from work or their trips have their lives cut short. It is an important issue in society to make trains and public transportation as safe as possible to prevent any further crashes.
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Young Attacker boarded train and began using Axe
About 20 passengers have been reported injured
Azzee Lim, International News Reporter
Wednesday, July 20th, 2016
On Friday, June 15, 2016, a 17-year old Afghan refugee, revealed as Muhammad Riyad, boarded a train and began an axe and knife attack on innocent bystanders. The attacks took place between the towns of Treuchtlingen and Wurzburg around 7:30 pm. Muhammad Riyad is suspected to be part of the “Islamic State Fighters”’. Authorities found a drawing of the Islamic State flag at Riyad’s foster home in Ochsenfurt, a town in Wurzburg, Germany. Also, one of the witnesses on the regional train reported that right before the teenager stabbed the victims, he said “ Allah Akbar” which translated means God is the greatest of them all. When the attack started, dozens of passengers rushed to the train conductor and had the train stopped.
A typical train used by millions of Germans. Photo source: Pixabay.com
Information for this article was found from various news sites including: SCMP.com, Telegraph.coUK, and Express.co.uk
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Riyad was able to exit the train and escape on foot. The police found the teenager and Riyad was gunned down in the pursuit.
The local police initially said that there was no motive and that Riyad was a lone attacker who had been radicalized by ISIS on his own. Later, the Islamic state publicly took responsibility for the terrorist attack. Many victims that were seriously injured included visitors from Hong Kong who were in the country to attend a wedding. One of the passengers from the party was able to escape the attack without being harmed. The brutal attack impacted fourteen travelers in total. Many are still being treated by specialists due to the injuries and stress inflicted on them. |
Mexican Teachers Face Threats from the Government (Photo source: NACLA Report)
Mexican Teachers face threats from Mexican Government
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Celebration of Euro Cup win 2016
(Photo source: The Toronto Star)
Portugal wins EuroCup 2016
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