Shabqadar, Pakistan – May 13, 2011

Revenge?

Two motorcycle riding suicide bombers detonated a bomb killing 80 people in the city of Shabqadar in Northwest Pakistan. The Taliban made a statement that the bombing was in retaliation for bin Laden’s death.

The bombing took place by the gates of the Frontier Constabulary academy in Charssada district just after dawn. There were a total of two explosions, which have led officials to believe this was a double suicide. Of the reported deaths, 66 of them were recruits of the academy. 120 people were wounded according to police reports. Twelve vehicles were destroyed and twenty shops were damaged because of the blast.

photo:AP/Mohammad Zubair

People were beginning their weekend and young men from the academy had been on their way to see their families after spending nearly six months in training, there were about 900 of them. According to an Associated Press report, 21 year old Rehmanullah Khan said, “We were heading toward a van when the first blast took place and we fell on the ground and then there was another blast,” he continued, “We enjoyed our time together, all the good and bad weather and I cannot forget the cries of my friends before they died.”

The bombs used by were in the form of explosive vests, standard issue for jihadists, which contained nails and ball bearings. One of the bombers was identified to be in his early 20s. They have not been identified. The bombs went off within seconds of each other; one was set off as people were loading up the commuter vans with their personal belongings.

According to a Taliban spokesman, this attack is a punishment on Pakistan for their failure to protect Bin Laden.

Two separate earthquakes hit the town of Lorca in the southeast of Spain on Wednesday, May 11.  The earthquakes occurred within hours of each other injuring dozens and killing 10 people.  It also caused damages to several buildings.

The epicenters of both earthquakes were close to Lorca, which has a population of 90,000. The initial earthquake had magnitude of 4.4 on the Richter scale, the second a 5.2.  According to an AP news report, Spanish TV had shown images of cars that were crushed by falling debris and cracks in some of its buildings.

Lorca is part of the community of Murcia. Lorca is rich in history and has many old buildings that may have been affected, among them Lorca Castle and Medieval walls and the gate of San Antonio.  Chunks of bricks and stone, large ones fell from the façade of one local church, not to mention a large church bell seen in the midst of the rubble.

The last time Spain had an earthquake that claimed lives was in 1956 wherein 12 people died and nearly seventy people were injured.  The 1956 quake happened in the southern region of Granada.  Spain experiences 2,500 tremors a year which go unnoticed by most people.  The south and southeast region of Spain are prone to experience earthquakes.

A seismologist from the USGS center, John Bellini, informed AP news that the stronger earthquake had a preliminary reading of magnitude 5.3 and struck 220 miles south-southeast of Madrid.  It is said that the quake originates six miles deep.  One reason that the area is seismically active is the presence of a large fault wherein the European and African continent meet; this is found way below the Mediterranean Sea.

The U.S. government on Sunday urged Pakistant to allow Osama bin Laden’s wives to be interviewed by the United States as part of their investigation into the life of the terrorist before he was killed by Navy SEALS in his compound in Abbottabad a week ago.

Tom Donilon – national security adviser to Obama, said the administration wants to interview the wives of bin Laden and review materials removed from his compound after the raid by Navy SEALS was over. The U.S. administration say Osama bin Laden had lived in the compound in Abbottabad for at least the past five years.

An intelligence official from Pakistan on Sunday said the Pakistani administration will need to receive permission from the women’s home countries before the United States will be allowed to interview them. According to the official, one of the women is from Pakistan but the nationalities of the others were unknown.

Tom Donilon was speaking on Sunday morning news shows and said the United States intelligence agencies were going through a mountain of information taken from bin Laden’s compound by the Navy SEALS during to raid. He said officials were looking for clues to possible future terrorist targets and the location of other terrorists.

Some members of Congress have been calling on President obama to take a tougher stance on Pakistan including removing aid to the country. Donilon however wants “a calm and cool” approach as Pakistan is a key ally in the fight against terrorism.

President Obama on Sunday said bin Laden must have had some kind of support system during his stay in Pakistan. He however said it was unknown whether those supports came from people inside Pakistan’s government or outside the government.

Pakistan’s ambassador to the United States last week said his government was investigating how much the Pakistan government knew about bin Laden’s presence in the country. Officials in the U.S. however believe such an investigation will be credible.

Osama bin Laden killed in Pakistan

U.S. President Barack Obama has announced the killing of famous terrorist, Osama bin Laden, in Pakistan by U.S. forces on Sunday night.

Osama bin Laden has been identified by the United States as the mastermind of the September 11, 2001 terror attacks on America that killed over 3,000 people. Officials say they have possession of bin Laden’s body.

The scale of the damage caused by the September 11, 2001 attacks made bin Laden the most wanted man in America. U.S. officials have hunted him down since then.

Osama bin Laden, who was born in Saudi Arabia but had is citizenship stripped by Saudi officials, is the leader of the terrorist group Al Qaeda. The group is reported to run several rogue multinational companies used secretly to recruit young muslim men  and plotting terror attacks.

U.S President Barack Obama announced the death of Osama bin Laden on a live television broadcast Sunday night. The announcement brought jubilant crowds to the white house in Washington DC and ground zero in New York. people poured into the streets in the early hours of Monday dawn waving their American flags to celebrate news that Osama bin Laden has been killed.

President Obama said the attack that killed bin Laden was carried out by United States forces with help from Pakistan. Osama bin Laden was killed in a mansion outside Islamabad. According to officials, bin Laden refused to surrender and engaged the forces in a firefight. He was killed as a result of the firefight.

A senior White House official told CNN only a few people in the Obama administration knew about the operation that killed bin Laden before hand.

Many people took to the streets around the country to celebrate the news of Osama bin Laden’s death.

Reports from CNN say U.S. officials claim the body of bin Laden has already been disposed of. According to CNN the body was disposed of at sea and the place has been kept a secret. This news is sure to start conspiracy theories and videos claiming bin Laden is alive.

Former U.S. President George W. Bush called the news of bin Laden’s killing a victory for America. British Prime minister, James Cameron, said the news is a great relief.

The United States government has issued travel warning for American citizens in fear of retaliations.

Arkansas floods, tornadoes and storms leave devastation and death with many missing

Storms battered Arkansas on Monday resulting in flooding and tornadoes. At least five people have been confirmed dead and some 60 people have been unaccounted for. The storms and tonadoes are expected to move on to Illinois and Wisconsin on Tuesday.

The little town of Poplar Bluff in Missouri are hoping their levee system will hold back the Black River as heavy downpours are expected with tornado warning sirens blared to warn residents. If the levee fails to hold back the waters, there could be up to 7,000 displaced.

A state of emergency was declared Monday evening in Arkasas by the Governor. Monday’s tornado caused widespread damage spanning an area of fourty five square miles, according to officials. About 40 to 90 houses were destroyed and two people were killed.

According to officials from the Madison County Sheriff’s Office, a senior couple were killed after being swept away in their cars by flood waters from War Eagle Creek. A woman was also killed when her car was swept away by flood waters in Washington County.

A church in Morgan, Arkansas was completely destroyed. The tonardoes left more than 100,000 people without electricity in Arkansas.

Vilonia virtually wiped out

Officials in Vilonia were forced to close the roads leading to the town due to the storms. A resident of Vilonia said the “town was gone.”  The fire chief for the town said some 50 to 60 people have been unaccounted for. He however believes most of them were just not reachable and that the number of people dead was not expected to rise.

Monday saw more than a dozen tornadoes hit Texas and Arkansas. Rural Houston in Texas experienced widespread damage. The extent of the damage caused could not however be immediately assessed as the area was without electricity.

The severe weather system that brought storms and tornadoes to Texas, Oklahom and Arkansa yesterday will reach Illinois and Wisconsin Today, according to meteorologists.

Relief from the rains is not expected for another three days as a different weather system is expected to move through the area, bringing more torrential rainfall and storm systems.

Meteorologists expect the Arkansa to Illinois region to receive some 6 inches of rain through to Thursday. This is expected to bring about further flodding in the area.

Expects are predicting the levee system holding back the river in Poplar Bluff was in imminent danger of failing. If that happens, some 7,000 residents of Poplar Bluff could be displaced. Some 1,000 homes have already been evacuated.

The National Guard have sent several soldiers into the Poplar Bluff area to assist with emergency services.

If you are an online poker player, you surely would have come across these companies, pokerstars.com, fulltilt.com and absolutepoker.com. They are three of the biggest online poker sites in the world. If you visit any of these sites today, you might be wondering, what is happening to them?

A visit to pokerstars.com, fulltiltpoker.com and absolutepoker.com reveals a message from the FBI and the U.S. Department of Justice. The message says the domain has been seized for various offenses by the site.

Federal prosecutors have issued indictments against the owners of the three online poker sites. Isai SCheinberg, founder of Pokerstars, and Raymond Bitar, founder of fulltiltpoker, and nine other people are being charged with the operation of illegal gambling businesses.

The goverment is also seeking to reclaim $3 billion that it says the gambling companies amassed illegally by finding loopholes in a 2006 law passed by U.S. lawmakers making online gambling illegal in the United States.

According to prosecutors, Fulltilpoker, Pokerstars and Absolutepoker disguised poker payments it received from U.S. players as money for the purchase of flowers, golf balls and jewelry among other disguises. A judge has also ordered a restraining against 76 bank accounts used by the companies in 14 different countries.

Federal agents have arrested a number of people in connection with financial transactions involiving the poker companies. This indictment will roll into a legal battle between the U.S. prosecutors and pokerstars, fulltilt poker and absolute poker, who are all not incorporated in the United States. The companies have argued in the past that poker is a game of skill and therefore can not be classified as gambling.

According to prosecutors, the three companies bribed payment processors who lied to U.S. banks about the nature of the transactions. The payment proecessors reported funds received from U.S. players to these companies as payments for the purchase of golf balls, flowers and jewelry.

What is going to happen to players with money deposited with fulltilt, pokerstars and absolutepoker? We don’t know exactly but our guess is they will get their money back. Also are these poker sites going to operate again? We can’t answer that as well because the legal process involved will be complicated. But for now, fulltilt poker, pokerstars.com and absolute poker has been shut down by the FBI.

Tokyo – Tuesday April 11, Fukushima nuclear crisis level raised to level 7 on par with Chernobyl

Authorities in Japan have raised the severity of the nuclear crises at the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant to par with the level of the 1981 Chernobyl nuclear disaster.
The nuclear crisis has been raised to level 7, which is the highest level according to international standards. Authorities were however to point out that, the level of radiation being released from the Fukushima nuclear plant is only a tenth of what was experienced during the Chernobyl nuclear disaster.
The Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant was damaged by a devastating earthquake and subsequent tsunami on March 11 this year. Workers have since been trying to cool the reactors of the plant and prevent a large-scale nuclear meltdown. Several explosions at the plant since the earthquake and tsunami hit have caused further damage.
The new ranking is of 7 is the highest on the international scale by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). The IAEA said the new ranking signifies a “major accident” and  significant risk to the environment and human health.
This announcement came a day after Japanese authorities expanded the exclusion zone around the Fukushima nuclear plant to include five more communities. A 20-kilometer exclusion zone had been issued a few days after the March 11 quake and tsunami.
Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary, Yukio Edano, said the new rating meant the acknowledgement of “an extremely major disaster.” He apologized to the people living close to the nuclear facility and to the international community for the nuclear accident. He reassured reporters that the nuclear disaster have so far not caused any “direct health damage.”
A nuclear physicist at Kyoto University, Hironobu Unesaki, said the new rating does not mean an increase in health dangers. He said the situation from the nuclear plant was still under control and that the reactors still have their containment vessels intact.
Aftershocks of the March 11 9.0 magnitude earthquake are hampering efforts to avert a major disaster at the Fukushima nuclear power plant. The latest aftershock occurred on Tuesday when a magnitude 6.3 quake shook the northeastern coast of Japan. This follows yesterday’s magnitude 6.6 quake and last Thursdays magnitude 7.1 quake.
Tokyo Electric Power Company ordered workers at the Fukushima nuclear plant to evacuate the plant after today’s earthquake.
Authorities in Japan said the new rating of level 7 was as a result of acummulated radiation released into the environment since the March 11 earthquake and tsunami and also as a result of damage caused to the buildings housing the plant and accumulated radiation levels for workers at the plant.
Officials said even though the new level 7 rating is on par with Chernobyl, the situation is completely different from the 1981 disaster. Hidehiko Nishiyama of the Nuclear and industrial Safety Agency, said there have been no explosion of reactor cores as was the case in Chernobyl. The explosions at the Fukushima plant was due to hydrogen gas build-up and the reactor cores were not damaged in the explosions.
The workers at the Fukushima plant have continued on what some describe as “suicide missions” to cool overheating reactor cores.

Tokyo, Japan – New 6.6 magnitude earthquake on April 11

On the day Japan marks one month since a powerful 9.0 magnitude earthquake and tsunami devastated the country, another earthquake has struck the country.

A powerful 6.6 magnitude earthquake struck the northeastern parts of Japan on Monday, April 11. The earthquake was initially reported to be a 7.1 magnitude quake but was downgraded by the U.S. Geological Survey to 6.6 magnitude.

The earthquake struck Monday evening and caused fires to burn across the northeast of the country. The quake also caused a landslide into Iwaki City.

Authorities issued a tsunami warning but later cancelled it.

The earthquake had an epicenter some 164 Kilometers (101 miles) to the northeast of Tokyo and about 50 kilometers to the southeast of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. The quake was felt in Tokyo and caused trains in the city to stop.

The plant’s workers were ordered to briefly evacuate the facility but were later asked to return to continue their efforts at cooling the plant.

The plant at Fukushima was damaged during the March 11 earthquake and tsunami and Tokyo Electric Power Company, operators of the plant, have since been battling to cool down the plant and prevent further release of radiation to the surroundings.

Tohoku Electric Power Company announced that Monday’s earthquake has left some 220,000 homes and businesses without electricity.

2011 US Masters Championship winner is Charl Schwartzel

South African Charl Schwartzel produced a find late run to win the 2011 US Masters Championships at Augusta National. Schwartzel birdied his final four  holes of the 4th round to win the Masters by two strokes over Jason Day and Adam Scott. Tiger Woods finished on 10 under after a fine afternoon of gold at Augusta National. Overnight leader, Rory McIlroy had a spectacular final day of golf including a triple bogey and a double bogey to drop 10 shots for the day and finish on 4 under. But the day belongs to Charl Schwartzel as he wins his first US Masters Championships.

Charl Schwartzel produced a great final 9 rounds of golf to win the 2011 US Masters Championship for the first time ever. The South African began the day four shots behind leader Rory McIlroy. But the South African Schwartzel had a fine afternoon to become the winner of the US Masters Championship for the first time.

He parred the first two holes of the day before a birdie on the 3rd hole saw him go to 11 under. He dropped a shot on the very next hole. He stayed at 10 under until the 15th hole when he made a birdie to go to 11 under. He found birdies on the next three holes to finish the tournament on 14 under and win the  championship. His main challenger was Adam Scott but the Englishman could only finish on 12 under. Scott was joined on 12 under by Jason Day.

Tiger woods produced a fine round of golf including a spectacular eagle at the 8th hole but could only finish two shots behind the winner on 10 under. He started the day a par and produced three birdies and a an eagle saw him move to ten under par, one shot behind McIlroy. But McIlroy then bogeyed the fifth hole to see him drop a shot to 10 under. This meant Tiger and McIlroy were tied for lead.

Tiger pared the next four holes to remain at 10 under. Rory McIlroy found a birdie on the seventh holde to move one shot into the lead at 11 under. At this stage, South Africa’s Charl Schwartzel was level with Tiger at 10 under. Angel Cabrera was a stroke behind the pair.

Tiger Woods Boggeyed the 12th hole to go 9 under. Angel Cabrera found birdies on the seventh and eight to move to 10 under and a share of second place.

South Koreas’s K.J. Choi birdied the seventh to go to 9 under and tied fourth with Tiger Woods.

Rory McIlroy made par through the next four holes. However disaster struck for him when he dropped three shots on the 10th hole to go on 8 under. Tiger woods found a birdie on the 15th hole to go back to 10 under. Meanwhile Cabrera moved to 10 under with a birdie on the 8th hole but dropped back to 9 under after bogeying the 12th hole. Carl Schwartzel stayed on 10 under with pars from the 4th hole through to the 12th hole.

Rory McIlroy’s 2011 US Masters Championship all but ended when he bogeyed the 11th and double bogeyed the 12th hole to drop 6 shots in just three holes. He dropped on more shot on the 15th to go to 4 under.

Meanwhile Tiger Woods could only finish the 2011 US Masters on 10 under for the tournament.

Adam Scott Charged up the field to go into the lead after 16 holes. He started the day on 7 under and found himself sharing the lead with Charl Schwartzel at 12 under.

A further two shots back were Angel Cabrera, K.J. Choi and Jason Day, Luke Donald and Geoff Ogilvy. All on 10 under, same as Tiger Woods. With Donal, Ogilvy and Woods all having finished for the tournament.

With tow holes to go, Adam Scott and Charl Schwartzel were tied at the top of the leaderboard with 12 under each. Jason Day birdied the 17th hole to take sole possession of 2nd place with 11 under.

Schwartzel wins US Masters

Charl Schwartzel took sole possession of the leaderboard after a birdie on the 17th hole. Adam Scott could only Make a par. That meant SChwartzel lead by one stroke at 13 under with one hole to go.

Meanwhile Adam Scott and Jason Day both finished on 12 under to take the clubhouse lead. This meant Tiger Woods wouldn’t be able to end his major drought.

Carl Schwartzel capped a fine afternoon by birdying the 18th hole to win the 2011 US Masters Championships at Augusta National by 2 shots.

April 7, 2011 – A fresh earthquake has struck the northeastern part of Japan, triggering new tsunami warnings to be issued.

The quake measured 7.1 in magnitude. The tsunami warning has since been lifted. The earthquake that hit at about 11:32 p.m. local time or 02:32 GMT and caused no major damages.

Officials at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant reported there was no further damage caused to the plant after the latest earthquake.

The epicenter of the April 7 earthquake was off the northeaster coast of Japan, close to the epicenter of the March 11 9.0 magnitude earthquake.

A spokesman for the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant told reporters at a press conference that all workers at the plant were safe and that no one sustained any injuries. He said work was continuing at the plant to inject water at plants 1, 2 and 3.

Initial reports said the earthquake had a 7.4 magnitude but was later downgraded to a 7.1 magnitude earthquake by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS).

The Associated Press is reporting a USGS official said the April 7 quake occurred at almost the same location as the March 11 earthquake.

Buildings in as far as Tokyo shook from the quake’s shocks.

The Japanese meteorological agency sent out tsunami warnings for some 420km of coastline from Aomori prefecture to Ibaraki prefecture.

There have been several hundred aftershocks in the wake of the March 11 earthquake but this is the strongest so far.

An estimated 28,000 people are either dead or missing from the March 11 quake and several hundred thousands have been left homeless and in shelters.