Tag Archives: Death

Preliminary 6.1-Magnitude Earthquake Strikes Greek Island; At Least 1 Dead

A strong earthquake with at least a preliminary magnitude of 6.1 struck the western Greek island of Lefkada on Tuesday, and an hour later, a 5.2-magnitude aftershock struck the area.

Different organizations are reporting different magnitude readings at this time. The Athens Geodynamic Institute told the Associated Press that the preliminary magnitude was 6.1 and that the quake struck at 9:10 a.m. The U.S. Geological Survey reported that the preliminary magnitude was 6.5. Different agencies will usually have different readings hours and days after the quake, according to the Associated Press. Despite the lack of an official magnitude, residents in neighboring islands and even in Athens – 186 miles east of the island – felt the tremors.

Local officials stated that there has been at least one death. An elderly woman was killed after her house collapsed under a falling rock. Local residents told Reuters that another elderly woman was killed in a stable in a mountain village, but Greek police have not confirmed the second death. However, other news sources including the Washington Post have confirmed the second death.

The Christian Science Monitor reports that Greek officials are having a hard time assessing the damage because of landslides that are blocking roads. The Vassiliki harbor is also partially submerged due to the quake.

Other damages include several badly damaged houses and government buildings. Schools closed down in order for authorities to assess the safety of the buildings.

Earthquakes are common in Greece according to multiple news agencies. The Ionian Sea located to the west of Greece, is one of most seismically active areas of the world.

Beirut Citizens Feel Overshadowed By Paris Attacks

On November 12th, a day before the French attacks, two suicide bombers  killed 43 people and wounded 239 more in the Lebanese capital in an ISIS-propagated murder. On the night of Friday the 13th, in Paris, at least 129 people  were killed and over 350 wounded by at least seven ISIS-connected assailants at a stadium, concert hall and in restaurants.

The Beirut bombings were the worst since Beirut’s civil war ended in 1990.  The attack was also claimed by ISIS or the Islamic State and took place in a neighborhood that was a stronghold for Hezbollah, which is fighting in Syria on behalf of President Bashar Assad.

The latest deadly attacks by ISIS on Paris are drawing millions of mourners from around the world, but some say it is overshadowing other ISIS attacks worthy of global attention.

“When my people died, no country bothered to light up its landmarks in the colors of their flag,” Elie Fares, a Lebanese doctor, wrote on his blog.

“When my people died, they did not send the world into mourning. Their death was but an irrelevant fleck along the international news cycle, something that happens in those parts of the world.”

Social media also reflected the unfairness that many were feeling on the coverage of these tragic events, with many wondering where the prayers and flags were for the Lebanese people.

Although, there was outrage among some people, others believed it was due to the ongoing conflict in areas around Lebanon and the rarity of such incidents in Paris that led to the one-sided flood of support.

“In Lebanon we experience war and its consequences more than French people do,” Lebanese journalist Doja Daoud told Al Jazeera. “This is a humanitarian thing, the same terrorism that kills Lebanese people, Iraqis and Syrians, killed the French.”

World shows solidarity, tightens security after Paris attacks

LONDON (Reuters) – World leaders responded to Friday’s bloody attacks in Paris with outrage and defiant pledges of solidarity, but several countries said they would tighten security, especially at their borders, and a few urged their citizens not to travel to France.

Islamic State claimed responsibility on Saturday for the coordinated assault by gunmen and bombers that killed 127 people across Paris. President Francois Hollande said the attacks amounted to an act of war against France.

Several countries said they had stepped up their own security in response to the attacks, including Belgium and Switzerland, which border France. France’s neighbor to the south, Spain, said it was maintaining its state of alert at level 4 on a five-point scale.

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said the Netherlands would tighten security at its borders and airports, and said the Dutch were “at war” with Islamic State.

“Our values and our rule of law are stronger than their fanaticism,” he said.

Belgium imposed additional frontier controls on road, rail and air arrivals from France and Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel asked Belgians on Saturday not to travel to Paris unless necessary. Hong Kong also issued a travel alert for France.

Bulgaria imposed additional frontier controls on road and transit traffic.

London Metropolitan Police Service’s assistant commissioner Mark Rowley told the BBC that policing across Britain would be strengthened but said there would be no change to the threat level which currently stood at the second-highest category.

New York, Boston and other cities in the United States bolstered security on Friday night, but law enforcement officials said the beefed-up police presence was precautionary rather than a response to any specific threats.

The United States and Russia, divided on many issues including the war in Syria that has fueled Islamist violence, voiced their support for the French people on Friday night.

“Once again we’ve seen an outrageous attempt to terrorize innocent civilians,” U.S. President Barack Obama said. “We stand prepared and ready to provide whatever assistance that the government and the people of France need.”

“Those who think that they can terrorize the people of France or the values that they stand for are wrong,” Obama said.

 

CONDOLENCES

Russian President Vladimir Putin sent his condolences to Hollande and all the people of France following the “horrible terrorist attacks in Paris”, the Kremlin said in a statement.

“Russia strongly condemns this inhumane killing and is ready to provide any and all assistance to investigate these terrorist crimes.”

Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said Egypt stood in solidarity with France and supported counter-terrorism efforts.

“Terrorism recognizes no boundaries or religion, and claims the lives of innocent people in different parts of the world,” a statement from the presidency’s office said.

Saudi Arabia’s highest religious body condemned the attacks as contrary to Islamic values.

“Terrorists are not sanctioned by Islam and these acts are contrary to values of mercy it brought to the world,” said a statement by the Council of Senior Scholars carried by the Saudi Press Agency on Saturday.

The Western defense alliance NATO said it stood with France, a founder member. Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said, “We stand strong and united in the fight against terrorism. Terrorism will never defeat democracy.”

In Brussels the leaders of European Union institutions, which have been trying to coordinate security responses since the Islamist attacks in Paris in January, joined the chorus of support.

“I am confident the authorities and the French people will overcome this new trial,” European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said.

But in a sign of potential divisions ahead, Poland’s European affairs minister designate said after the attacks in Paris, Warsaw would not be able to accept migrants under European Union quotas.

In September, Poland backed a European Union plan to share out 120,000 refugees, many of them fleeing the war in Syria, across the 28-nation bloc.

Now, “in the face of the tragic acts in Paris, we do not see the political possibilities to implement (this),” said Konrad Szymanski, who takes up his position on Monday as part of a government formed by last month’s election winner, the conservative and euroskeptic Law and Justice (PiS) party.

 

(Writing by Alastair Macdonald and Sonya Hepinstall; Editing by Giles Elgood)

Islamic State claims Paris attacks that killed 127

By Ingrid Melander and Marine Pennetier

PARIS (Reuters) – Islamic State claimed responsibility on Saturday for a coordinated assault by gunmen and bombers that killed 127 people at locations across Paris, which President Francois Hollande said amounted to an act of war against France.

In the worst attack, a Paris city hall official said four gunmen systematically slaughtered at least 87 young people at a rock concert at the Bataclan concert hall before anti-terrorist commandos launched an assault on the building. Dozens of survivors were rescued, and bodies were still being recovered on Saturday morning.

Some 40 more people were killed in five other attacks in the Paris region, the official said, including an apparent double suicide bombing outside the Stade de France national stadium, where Hollande and the German foreign minister were watching a friendly soccer international.

The assaults came as France, a founder member of the U.S.-led coalition waging air strikes against Islamic State in Syria and Iraq, was on high alert for terrorist attacks.

It was the worst such attack in Europe since the Madrid train bombings of 2004, in which 191 died.

Hollande said the attacks had been organized from abroad by Islamic State “barbarians”, with internal help. Sources close to the investigation said a Syrian passport had been found near the body of one of the suicide bombers.

“Faced with war, the country must take appropriate action,” Hollande said after an emergency meeting of security chiefs. He also announced three days of national mourning.

Former president Nicolas Sarkozy added in a statement: “The war we must wage should be total.”

During a visit to Vienna, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said “we are witnessing a kind of medieval and modern fascism at the same time.”

In its claim of responsibility, Islamic State said the attacks were a response to France’s campaign against its fighters.

It also distributed an undated video in which a militant said France would not live peacefully as long it took part in U.S.-led bombing raids against them.

“As long as you keep bombing you will not live in peace. You will even fear traveling to the market,” said a bearded Arabic-speaking militant, flanked by other fighters.

A French government source told Reuters there were 127 dead, 67 in critical condition and 116 wounded. Six attackers blew themselves up and one was shot by police. There may have been an eighth attacker, but this was not confirmed.

The attacks, in which automatic weapons and explosives belts were used, lasted 40 minutes.

“The terrorists, the murderers, raked several cafe terraces with machine-gun fire before entering (the concert hall). There were many victims in terrible, atrocious conditions in several places,” police prefect Michel Cadot told reporters.

 

STATE OF EMERGENCY

After being whisked from the stadium near the blasts, Hollande declared a national state of emergency, the first since World War Two. Border controls were temporarily reimposed to stop perpetrators escaping.

Local sports events were suspended, department stores closed, the rock band U2 canceled a concert, and schools, universities and municipal buildings were ordered to stay shut on Saturday. Some rail and air services were expected to run.

Sylvestre, a young man who was at the Stade de France when bombs went off there, said he was saved by his cellphone, which he was holding to his ear when debris hit it.

“This is the cell phone that took the hit, it’s what saved me,” he said. “Otherwise my head would have been blown to bits,” he said, showing the phone with its screen smashed.

French newspapers spoke of “carnage” and “horror”. Le Figaro’s headline said: “War in the heart of Paris” on a black background with a picture of people on stretchers.

Emergency services were mobilized, police leave was canceled, 1,500 army reinforcements were drafted into the Paris region and hospitals recalled staff to cope with the casualties.

Radio stations warned Parisians to stay at home and urged residents to give shelter to anyone caught out in the street.

The deadliest attack was on the Bataclan, a popular concert venue where the Californian rock group Eagles of Death Metal was performing. Some witnesses in the hall said they heard the gunmen shout Islamic chants and slogans condemning France’s role in Syria.

The hall is near the former offices of the satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo. France has been on high alert since Islamist gunmen attacked the paper and a kosher supermarket in January, killing 18 people.

Those attacks briefly united France in defense of freedom of speech, with a mass demonstration of more than a million people. But that unity has since broken down, with far-right populist Marine Le Pen gaining on both mainstream parties by blaming immigration and Islam for France’s security problems.

It was not clear what political impact the latest attacks would have less than a month before regional elections in which Le Pen’s National Front is set to make further advances.

The governing Socialist Party and the National Front suspended their election campaigns.

U.S. President Barack Obama and German Chancellor Angela Merkel led a global chorus of solidarity with France. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon condemned the “despicable attacks” while Pope Francis called the killings “inhuman”.

France ordered increased security at its sites abroad. Italy, Russia, Belgium, Hungary and the Netherlands also tightened security measures.

Poland, meanwhile, said that the attacks meant it could not now take its share of migrants under a European Union plan. Many of the migrants currently flooding into Europe are refugees from Syria.

Julien Pearce, a journalist from Europe 1 radio, was inside the concert hall when the shooting began. In an eyewitness report posted on the station’s website, Pearce said several very young individuals, who were not wearing masks, entered the hall during the concert, armed with Kalashnikov assault rifles and started “blindly shooting at the crowd”.

“There were bodies everywhere,” he said.

 

POINT-BLANK

The gunmen shot their victims in the back, finishing some off at point-blank range before reloading their guns and firing again, Pearce said, after escaping into the street by a stage door, carrying a wounded girl on his shoulder.

Toon, a 22-year-old messenger who lives near the Bataclan, was going into the concert hall with two friends at around 10.30 p.m. (2130 GMT) when he saw three young men dressed in black and armed with machine guns. He stayed outside.

One of the gunmen began firing into the crowd. “People were falling like dominoes,” he told Reuters. He saw people shot in the leg, shoulder and back, with several lying on the floor, apparently dead.

Two explosions were heard near the Stade de France in the northern suburb of Saint-Denis, where the France-Germany soccer match was being played. A witness said one of the detonations blew people into the air outside a McDonald’s restaurant opposite the stadium.

In central Paris, shooting erupted in mid-evening outside a Cambodian restaurant in the capital’s 10th district.

Eighteen people were killed when a gunman opened fire on Friday night diners sitting at outdoor terraces in the popular Charonne area nearby in the 11th district.

The prosecutor mentioned five locations in close proximity where shootings took place around the same time.

 

(Additional reporting by Geert de Clercq, Jean-Baptiste Vey, Emmanuel Jarry, Elizabeth Pineau, Julien Pretot and Bate Felix Tabi-Tabe; Writing by Giles Elgood; Editing by Sonya Hepinstall)

U.S. Officials Believe ISIS Leader “Jihadi John” Killed in U.S. Airstrikes

Multiple news agencies are reporting today that Islamic State leader “Jihadi John” was possibly killed during an airstrike in northern Syria led by the United States.

According to ABC News, a U.S. official stated that the jihadist, Mohammed Emwazi, was hit after leaving a building in Raqqa, Syria and entering a car. The official added that it was a “clean hit” where Emwazi was basically “evaporated.”

“U.S. forces conducted an airstrike in Raqqa, Syria, on Nov. 12, 2015 targeting Mohammed Emwazi, also known as ‘Jihadi John,'” Pentagon Press Secretary Peter Cook said.

“Emwazi, a British citizen, participated in the videos showing the murders of U.S. journalists Steven Sotloff and James Foley, U.S. aid worker Abdul-Rahman Kassig, British aid workers David Haines and Alan Henning, Japanese journalist Kenji Goto, and a number of other hostages,” Cook said. “We are assessing the results of tonight’s operation and will provide additional information as and where appropriate.”

In the ISIS videos, Emwazi always wore all black, covering his entire body except his eyes and the bridge of his nose. He soon became a symbol of the Islamic State’s brutality after being featured many horrific videos where he killed innocent people in various, sadistic ways.

British Prime Minister David Cameron stated that the airstrike was a combined effort between the U.S. and Britain and was an act of self-defense, according to CNN.

“We always said we will do whatever is necessary to track down Emwazi and stop him taking the lives of others,” he said.

He added, “I want to thank the United States, the United Kingdom has no better ally.”

CNN adds that while officials are confident that Emwazi is dead, the Pentagon would not officially confirm his death at this time.

In another blow to ISIS, Reuters reports that Kurdish forces were able to seize back the Iraqi town of Sinjar back from the Islamic State on Friday. The Kurdish troops were able to take several of Sinjar’s public buildings including a cement factory, hospital, and wheat silo. Officials believe this win over the terrorist organization may give the Kurds the momentum needed to take back Mosul.

“The liberation of Sinjar will have a big impact on liberating Mosul,” Iraq Kurdish regional President Massoud Barzani told reporters atop Mount Sinjar, overlooking the town.

The operation has not only liberated the town, but has cut off vital trade routes that ISIS used to move weapons, oil, fighters, and other commodities.

ISIS Claims Twin Suicide Attacks in Lebanon and Threatens Russia in Latest Video

ISIS claimed to launch one of the deadliest attacks in recent years in Lebanon Thursday evening, when a double suicide bombing killed at least 43 people and wounded over 200 others in a southern Beirut suburb.

ABC News reports that the suburb is a stronghold for Hezbollah, a militant Shiite group. ISIS has mostly been targeting Syria and Iraq and has not recognized any affiliate in Lebanon thus far. However, Lebanon has seen deadly situations due to the civil war in the neighboring country.

The bombs were detonated only minutes apart during rush hour in the Hezbollah stronghold. Ambulances rushed to the scene and Lebanese military, paired with Hezbollah gunmen, would not allow anyone to enter the area. Hezbollah has asked for people to disperse and leave public areas as well as be on the lookout for suspicious actions.

“There’s a lot of shattered glass on the street, a lot of blood, and it’s really just a scene of chaos and carnage,” journalist Tamara Qiblawi told CNN shortly after the blasts.

After the attack, ISIS members posted on various social media outlets that they carried out the attacks.

Hezbollah has been fighting alongside Syrian government forces led by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. The suburb has been attacked in the past and Sunni militant groups continue to threaten the stronghold, according to ABC News.

Lebanese security officials told Fox News that the first attacker detonated the bomb inside a mosque then shortly after, the second attack was carried out in a bakery located nearby. A third attacker was found dead, close to the second explosion. His vest was still intact.

According to CNN, another would-be attacker who survived the bombing was found. Lebanese officials state that he was an ISIS recruit. He has been taken into custody and told authorities that he, and the other attackers arrived in Lebanon from Syria two days ago.

A national day of mourning was declared by Lebanon Prime Minister Tammam Salam. He called for Lebanon’s Parliament to stop their arguments and to begin functioning again. In fact, the government in Lebanon has been so disjointed that there is currently a trash crisis.

“I pray that this tragedy is enough to wake up politicians so that they can put their differences aside so we can protect the country,” Salam said in a statement, according to the Washington Post.

In addition to Thursday’s attacks, ISIS also released a new video on Thursday, threatening to attack Russia for revenge on the recent series of Russian airstrikes in Syria. The militant in the video stated in Russian: “Soon, very soon, the blood will spill like an ocean.”

Russian state security services are analyzing the video, according to Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.

“I do not know the authenticity of this video, I do not know the authenticity of these sources, but in any case no doubt this will be material for review by our special (security) services,” Peskov told journalists on a conference call, according to Business Insider.

USA Today reports another suicide bombing took place Friday at a Baghdad memorial service for a Shiite fighter. At least 22 have been reported dead and at least 43 are wounded. At this time, ISIS has not claimed responsibility for the attack, but they are well known for targeting large Shiite gatherings. The radical Sunni group believes that Shiites are apostates who have strayed from Islam.

Brazilian Dam Breaks, Flooding Village with Mud; 2 Dead, Dozens Missing

Two dams at a Brazilian iron ore mine collapsed on Friday, resulting in a devastating mudslide that has killed at least 2 people, injured 30, and left dozens missing.

A spokesman representing the firefighters said that the numbers of deaths, injured, and missing will likely rise due to the mudslide knocking over cell towers and blocking roads. Time Magazine reports that union officials believe the casualties could be as high as 15.

“In reality there are a lot more, but we can’t confirm any more than that. We don’t even know that we’ll find everybody,” firefighter Adão Severino Junior in the nearby city of Mariana told Reuters.

Hundreds of families were evacuated from the area after the initial escape to higher ground. Television footage of the incident showed a car perched on top of a wall, trees being leveled, and roofs being ripped off of houses due to the waste waters that were unleashed from the dams, according to Reuters.

Rescue teams are still looking for trapped survivors.

U.S. Satellites Detected “Heat Flash” Just Before Russian Plane Crashed

Photo courtesy of REUTERS/Press Service of Russian Emergencies Ministry/Handout via Reuters

A new clue regarding the crash of Russian Metrojet Flight 9268 that killed 224 people is having investigators asking more questions rather than providing more answers.

Yesterday, various news agencies reported that a United States infrared satellite detected a heat flash over Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula at approximately the same time that the plane crashed, according to CNN. Intelligence analysis indicates that there may have been an explosive device on board the plane or a catastrophic malfunction took place.

Aviation analyst Paul Beaver talked with the Chicago Tribune, stating that there could still be a multitude of reasons why the plane went down.

“It doesn’t tell us if it was a bomb … or if somebody had a fight in the airplane with a gun — there is a whole raft of things that could happen in this regard,” he said.

U.S. officials told NBC News that they have ruled out the possibility of a missile bringing down the plane because the heat flash did not show the kind of tail that would’ve followed a missile or rocket. Pentagon officials also stated that it’s a possibility that the flash isn’t related to crash considering how there is regular military activity in the Sinai Peninsula, according to ABC News.

A preliminary investigation of the crash site has indicated that the plane did take heavy damage at an altitude of over 10,000 meters. It has also been reported that the crew did not send out a distress signal which leads investigators and analysts to believe that whatever did happen on the plane, happened suddenly.

A new report released from CNN Wednesday morning revealed another clue related to the crash. Russian state broadcaster Russia 24 reported that the tail of the plane was found 3 miles away from the rest of the wreckage, leading investigators to examine what could’ve went wrong with the tail, especially since it had been damaged previously.

“To me, it says (the tail) exited the plane before (an) explosive event and before the fire engulfed the plane,” said CNN aviation analyst Mary Schiavo.

28 Californians and Millions of Birds Killed by West Nile Virus

A study, released Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences has found that the West Nile virus is annihilating the native bird population in the United States. The study looked at the impact of the virus on 49 species from information collected at over 500 bird banding stations across the U.S. from 1992 to 2007.
UCLA’s Ryan Harrigan and his colleagues found significant declines in survival rates associated with West Nile virus for 23 out of 49 of the species examined.

Millions of birds can die in a single year when West Nile hits species with large populations. Among the estimated 130 million red-eyed vireos in the United States, researchers believe the virus killed 29 percent, or more than 37 million.

West Nile, a mosquito-borne virus, was introduced in North America in 1989. It has drawn the most attention for its impact on humans, with 1 in 5 people who are infected developing a fever with other symptoms, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. In rare cases, people develop a serious, sometimes fatal, neurologic illness.

According to the CDC, West Nile Virus which originated in birds, then spread to mammals and then humans killed 85 people last year with 2,122 cases reported. So far, 63 deaths have been reported, 28 in California alone, with 1,197 cases reported in the United States. The first deaths from West Nile Virus were reported in 1999.

The most deaths were reported in 2012 with 5674 cases reported and 286 deaths.

Cyclone Chapala Dumps One Year of Rain Plus on War Torn Yemen

Yemen, a country that gets an average of 4 inches of rain per year has received that and more in just this one day as Cyclone Chapala crashed it’s way onto its coast. Some news reports in Yemen are reporting up to 48 inches of flooding rains. Thousands are fleeing something that they have never seen before!  This tropical storm is the first on record to make landfall in the impoverished Arab country.

The country has been plunged into chaos this year by a conflict between Houthi rebels and forces loyal to deposed President Abdu Rabu Mansour Hadi. A Saudi-led coalition in March began bombing the Houthis, who are aligned with Iran.

Yemen is already dealing with one of the largest humanitarian crises in the world, according to the United Nations. The widespread fighting has killed thousands of people, many of them civilians, and left millions more desperately short of food, water and medical supplies.

Now the Yemeni people are faced with 85 mph winds, incredible flash flooding, rock and mud slides and very little help.  According to news reports at least 6000 have fled to upper ground to escape the escalating flooding.  

According to news reports, Abdul-Jamil Mohammed, deputy director of the Environmental Protection Authority on the island of Socotra, a Yemeni island where Chapala has already passed reported strong winds, heavy rain and big waves overnight into Monday.

At least three people were killed and over 200 injured.  

Mohammed said the storm damaged some homes and uprooted trees in Hadibo, the capital of Socotra. Contact has been lost with the northeastern part of the island since Sunday night, and floods have covered the roads leading there, he said.

“Our problem is we have no one to help us here,” he said, explaining the island has one hospital and four ambulances. A shortage of fuel has already caused great trouble for the island.

While numerous tropical systems have formed in the Arabian Sea, it is uncommon for a storm the strength of Chapala to occur so far south and west. Chapala was the equivalent of a low-end Category 4 hurricane as it passed by Socotra.