Paris Terror Attacks: UK Prime Minister reveals Britain has prevented seven terror attacks in last six months

Security services have prevented seven attacks in the UK over the last six months, David 

Cameron said as he warned a Paris-style attack "could happen here". 

The terror spree in France "was the sort of thing we warned about" in planning with the 

security services but such atrocities meant -you have to go right back to the drawing 

board" to work out what more steps needed to be taken, the Prime Minister said. 

Asked if Britain was at war with the Islamic State terror group, which has claimed 

responsibility for the slaughter, Mr Cameron told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that 

the UK stands in "total solidarity" with France and would do "everything we can" to 

defeat the jihadis. 

The Prime Minister was speaking shortly before a meeting with Vladimir Putin on the 

fringes Of the G2() summit in Turkey, at which he urged the Russian president to "work 

together" with Western powers in the international struggle against IS, which Britain 

believes is also responsible for downing a Russian airliner in Egypt last month. 

Mr Cameron offered Mr Putin his condolences for the 224 deaths on board the Metroiet 

flight from Sharm el-sheikh and told him: "We are meeting together after the appalling 

terrorist attacks in France, and it is clear to me that we must work together to defeat    this 

scourge Of terrorism that is a threat to Britain, a threat to Russia and a threat to us    all. 

The Russian president has also spoken to US President Barack Obama, German 

Chancellor Angela Merkel and Italian PM Matteo Renzi within the last 24 hours as 

Western leaders combined to make overtures to Russia to co-operate over Syria. 

Mr Putin told Mr Cameron that UK-Russian relations were "not in the best shape", but 

thanked him for sharing UK intelligence in a phone call following the Sharm crash and 

added: "The recent tragic events in France show that we should join efforts in preventing 

terror. 

Citation: 

Woodcock, Andrew.
"UK Prime Minister Reveals Britain Has Prevented Seven Terror Attacks in
Last Six Months." Independent.ie.
INM, 16 Nov. 2015. Web. 16 Nov. 2015. <http://www.independent.ie/world-news/europe/paris-terror-attacks/paris-terror-attacks-uk-prime-minister-reveals-britain-has-prevented-seven-terror-attacks-in-last-six-months-34203913.html>

Response: This article does not necessarily

talk specifically about the details of the Paris attacks that happened this
past week, but rather the response of the western nations to this attack. In
this article, Britain also admits to having stopped 7 terrorist attacks in the
past 6 months which shows that, clearly, this has become a world issue, not
just one between terrorists and France. The author of this article seems to
have some bias against Russia (and their decision to not join the other western
nations on this conflict) and for the other western nations as they take a
stand. It will be very interesting to see what will come of this union between
the western nations and what they will be able to accomplish together. Overall,
I thought this article was short, but informative of the way that everyone is
getting involved after the Paris Terrorist attacks.

Gunman in Jordan kills 4, including 2 Americans

By Taylor Luck and William Booth November 9 at 11:13 AM 

AMMAN, Jordan — A Jordanian police officer opened fire Monday at a U.s.-backed 

training center, killing at least four people including two American contractors, officials 
said. The gunman also was killed. 

The shootings appeared to mark a return of terrorism-linked bloodshed as Jordan marked 

the 10th anniversary of deadly hotel bombings. 

No additional details were immediately known about the killings, including the identities 

or roles Of those slain. Jordan's minister Of information, Mohammed Momani, said a 

South African and a Jordanian civil employee were among the dead. 

At least five others, including two Americans and three Jordanians, were wounded. One 

of the Americans was listed in "serious condition," said Momani, according to the state- 

run Petra news agency. 

Also unclear was any direct connection to the anniversary of coordinated suicide 

bombings that killed 60 people and injured more than 100 on Nov. 9, 2005, at three 

hotels in Jordan's capital, Amman. Al-Qaeda's branch in Iraq said it carried out the 2005 

attacks in retaliation for Jordan's pro-Western policies. 

The U.S. Embassy in Amman condemned the shooting. "The investigation is ongoing and 

it is premature to speculate on motive at this point," the embassy said Monday in a 

statement. 

Jordan's government-owned al-Rai newspaper described the Americans as contractors 

but gave no further details. It also identified the attacker as veteran police officer Anwar 

Bani Abdu, who served as a captain in the Jordanian criminal investigation department 

before being transferred to the police training academy. 

Jordan is a key Western ally and part of the U.s.-led coalition against the Islamic State. 

But the latest violence marks another blow to Jordan's status as a haven Of relative 

stability amid upheavals in neighboring Iraq and Syria. 

In Washington, State Department spokesman John Kirby said U.S. officials were "in 

contact" with Jordanian authorities after the shootings. Kirby said Jordanian officials 

have "offered their full support." 

Kirby, however, gave no additional details on the incident. 

President Obama said American officials are taking the attack "very seriously" and will 

work closely with Jordan for a full investigation. Obama spoke during a meeting with 

visiting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whose nation has a peace treaty 

with Jordan. 

Jordan runs two highly regarded police training facilities outside the capital. The U.S.- 

funded Jordan International Police Training Center is currently instructing police officers 

who serve in Iraq, Libya and the Palestinian areas of the West Bank. About 75,000 

trainees have passed through the facilities. 

The Jordan International Police Training Center was established in October 2003 through 

an agreement between Jordan and the then-provisional government Of Iraq, according to 

a U.S. State Department document. The U.S. government compensates Jordan for the 

costs to run the center. 

Previous estimates by Jordanian and U.S. officials place the total number of U.S. military 

and police trainers in Jordan at around 1,000, stationed at air bases, army bases and the 

police training center. 

Over the past two years, Jordan and the United States also have been involved in a 

problem-plagued training program for Syrian rebel forces that failed to produce an 

effective fighting force. Washington last month shifted policies to concentrate on 

assisting militiamen, including Syrian Kurds, who have experience battling the Islamic 

State. 

The attack marks the first deadly strikes against envoys linked to U.S. programs in Jordan 

since USAID official Lawrence Foley was gunned down in an Amman suburb by al-Qaeda 

sympathizers in 2002. 

Jordan was drawn deeper into the fight against the Islamic State in February after the 

militants released a video showing a captured Jordanian pilot being burned alive (61in a 

cage. The incident sparked widespread anger and revulsion in Jordan and led Jordan's 

king, Abdullah Il, to vow "relentless" strikes against Islamic State. 

In retaliation for the murder of its pilot, Jordan hanged two convicted terrorists who had 

ties to the Islamic State. One of those executed was Saiida al-Rishawi171, an Iraqi 

militant, for her role in the 2005 bombings at the hotels. Rishawi was captured after her 

suicide belt failed to detonate. Islamic State militants were demanding her release before 

she was put to death. 

Jordan has also cracked down on anyone who waves Islamic State flags or expresses 

support for the group on the Internet. 

Jordanian authorities say the country harbors more than 1.3 million Syrian refugees, 

630,000 of whom are registered by the United Nations. Jordan also is home to more than 

100,000 Iraqis who have fled conflict in their homeland. 

American-linked military and police training sites have faced attacks in the Middle East 

and elsewhere. The assailants have included officials involved in the training and others 

posing as members of the facility 

In February, Islamic State militants wearing Iraqi military uniforms 181tried to storm an 

air base used by U.S. military advisers to train Iraqi security forces. U.S. officials said 
most of the attackers were killed. 

Citation:  Luck, Taylor, and William Booth. "Gunman
in Jordan Kills 4, including 2 Americans, at Police Training Site." Washington Post. The Washington Post,
9 Nov. 2015. Web. 09 Nov. 2015. <https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/report-2-americans-killed-in-jordan-shooting-at-security-training-site/2015/11/09/63cdf6f8-86da-11e5-be8b-1ae2e4f50f76_story.html>

Response: This

article is originally about a shooting that happened in Jordan recently, but a
lot of what is in this article talks about the past issues occurring between
the Islamic State and Jordan over the past decade or so. There seem to have
been multiple attacks of this sort for the same kind of reason, although this
one happens to be the anniversary of the hotel bombings in Jordan in  2005. The author or publisher seems   to have some bias towards Jordan and the U.S's work there. This article revealed lots
of revenge and distrust between Jordan and the Islamic State, and rightfully
so. 

Palestinian assailant stabs three people in Rishon Lezion terror attack

The assailant was apprehended and is in police custody.
A Palestinian man stabbed three Israelis — including an elderly woman — in Rishon
Lezion on Monday, in the first terror attack in central Israel in weeks.
The attack began in the late afternoon, when the assailant — described by police as a 19-
year-old man from Hebron — stabbed a pedestrian on the corner of Herzel and Tarmav
Street, in the heart of the city when it was packed with commuters.
The terrorist then stabbed another victim on the sidewalk, police said, before stabbing a
third victim and walking into a cosmetics store.
A spokesman for the Central District said that when the attacker was inside the store, a
woman held the door closed, trapping him inside until a police patrol could arrive. Once
on the scene, police said officers apprehended the terrorist and guarded him from
bystanders looking to attack him. As police forced the man into a patrol car, a rowdy
crowd of dozens of locals crowded in the street around the police cruiser, with some
shouting for the man to be killed.
The victims of the attack included an 80-year-old woman from Rishon Lezion who was
seriously wounded, a 31 -year-old man from Bnei Brak with serious injuries, and a 26-
year-old man from Rishon Lezion who was lightly hurt. Five other people were treated
for shock at the scene, police said.
Magen David Adom sent out a statement after the attack saying that paramedics who
arrived at the scene found the 80-year-old victim lying on the sidewalk conscious and
bleeding with an open stab wound to her upper body, and nearby was the 26-year-old
victim, sitting on the pavement with a stab wound to one of his legs. The third victim was
treated by MDA on a bus and told paramedics that there was mass confusion on the bus,
and he suddenly felt a blow to his back, and lied down
The incident is the first stabbing attack in the Tel Aviv area since October 8th, when a
Palestinian man from east Jerusalem armed with a screwdriver stabbed a female soldier
and four Other bystanders, before he was shot and killed by a soldier at the scene. Though
initially most of the attacks were in Jerusalem, in recent weeks they have moved almost
entirely to the West Bank, in particular to the Hebron area.

Citation: Hartman, Ben. "The Jerusalem Post". November 2, 2015. Jpost Inc. November 2, 2015. <http://www.jpost.com/Arab-Israeli-Conflict/Breaking-Suspected-terror-attack-in-Rishon-Lezion-3-wounded-431802>

Response: This article is another sad story that portrays the conflict in the Middle East. There seems to be bias towards the Israelis and against the Palestinian shooter. This is a good example of how the conflict between Israel and Palestine is not just between the governments and the high up officials but is also between the civilians from each of these two nations. I think this was a good informational article on this topic but it does show the intense conflict in these areas.

Big quake in Afghanistan and Pakistan kills at least 135

A major earthquake struck the remote Afghan northeast on Monday, killing at least 135 people in Afghanistan and nearby northern Pakistan and sending shock waves as far as New Delhi, officials said.

The death toll could climb in coming days because communications were down in much of the rugged Hindu Kush mountain range where the quake was centered.

In one of the worst incidents, at least 12 girls were killed in a stampede to flee their school building in the northeastern Afghan province of Takhar, just west of Badakhshan province where the tremor's epicenter was located.

"They fell under the feet of other students," said Abdul Razaq Zinda, provincial head of the Afghan National Disaster Management Agency, who reported heavy damage in Takhar.

Shockwaves were felt in New Delhi in northern India and across northern Pakistan, where hundreds of people ran out of buildings as the ground rolled beneath them. No deaths were reported in India.

"We were very scared ... We saw people leaving buildings, and we were remembering our God," Pakistani journalist Zubair Khan said by telephone from the Swat Valley northwest of the capital Islamabad.

"I was in my car and, when I stopped my car, the car itself was shaking as if someone was pushing it back and forth."

The quake was 213 km (132 miles) deep and centered 254 km (158 miles) northeast of Kabul in Badakhshan province. The U.S. Geological Survey initially measured the magnitude at 7.7, then revised it down to 7.5.

Just over a decade ago, a 7.6 magnitude quake in another part of northern Pakistan killed about 75,000 people.

In Afghanistan, a total of 33 were reported dead on Monday. In addition to the 12 schoolgirls in Takhar, seven people died in the eastern province of Nangarhar, two in Nuristan province in the northeast, three in eastern Kunar province and nine in Badakhshan, officials said.

In Pakistan, 102 deaths were reported by early evening, most in northern and northwestern regions bordering Afghanistan, officials told Reuters.

Particularly hard-hit in Pakistan was the northern area of Chitral, where 20 people were killed, police official Shah Jehan said. The death toll was likely to rise because so many areas were cut off from communications, he said.

Journalist Gul Hammad Farooqi, 47, said his house had collapsed. "I was thrown from one side of the road to the other by the strength of the earthquake. I’ve never experienced anything like it," he said.

"There is a great deal of destruction here, and my house has collapsed, but thankfully my children and I escaped."

Further south, the city of Peshawar reported two deaths but at least 150 injured people were being treated at the city's main hospital, the provincial health chief said.

In Afghanistan, international aid agencies working in northern areas reported that cell phone coverage in the affected areas remained down in the hours after the initial quake.

"The problem is we just don't know. A lot of the phone lines are still down,” said Scott Anderson, deputy head of office for the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in Kabul.

Badakhshan provincial governor Shah Waliullah Adib said about 400 houses were destroyed but he had no figures on casualties.

"Right now we are collecting information,” he said.

The earthquake struck almost exactly six months after Nepal suffered its worst quake on record on April 25. Including the toll from a major aftershock in May, 9,000 people lost their lives and 900,000 homes were damaged or destroyed there.

The Hindu Kush mountain region is seismically active, with earthquakes the result of the Indian subcontinent driving into and under the Eurasian landmass. Sudden tectonic shifts can cause enormous and destructive releases of energy.


Citation: Mahr, Krista. "Reuters". October 26, 2015. Thomson Reuters.  October 26, 2015. <http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/10/26/us-earthquake-afghanistan-idUSKCN0SK0XB20151026>


Response: This article is somewhat different than the others that I have responded to in CWI because it is not about the problems going on between different people but is about a national disaster. The earthquake described here stretched from Afghanistan to New Delhi. The death toll is said to be rising over the next couple of days. There isn't really a bias in this article because it is mostly informational but the reporter seems to do a good job of getting data and reports from all over the earthquake zone. Overall, I think this article did a good job of giving the information available now in an understandable way.

Israel-Palestine Article

Clashes in the Holy Land: All you need to know 

about the Israel-Palestine conflict 

Cairo: The clashes between Israelis and Palestinians in the Holy Land are not just 

physical; the two sides cannot agree on what they see, how they got here, who is to 

blame or where they should go. 

To many Israelis, the wave of knifings betrays a hatred of Jews by a Palestinian populace 

that is easily incited to violence by fanatics dreaming up conspiracy theories about 

Zionist plots to take over their sacred Jerusalem mosque. 

To Palestinians, the violent rage of lone-wolf attackers is an inevitable consequence, a 

last resort, and just desserts given almost a half-century of Israeli occupation in the West 

Bank and east Jerusalem, after peace talks collapsed last year and Israelis then re-elected 

a prime minister who seems wedded to the status quo. 

Where Israelis see attackers killed in self-defense against what headlines call the "wave 

of terrorism, Palestinians tend to see martyrs sacrificing themselves to fight the 

unacceptable predicament Of their oppressed and humiliated people. 

Image courtesy: AP 

The clashing narratives share a deep rooted sense Of vulnerability. 

Israelis are deeply affected by the memory of the Nazi slaughter of 6 million Jews during 

World War Il. The country that emerged from that disaster is surrounded by potential 

enemies. They look at the map, feel small, and grow peeved at the fuss made about their 

relatively modest conquest Of a few thousand square kilometers, one Of many in history. 

The Palestinians call Israel's 1948 "War of Independence" the "naqba," meaning 

catastrophe. Some 600,000 of their number left what became the Jewish state, with some 

expelled and others fleeing. The refugees' descendants now number in the millions. They 

are a people who have Often felt unwelcome by fellow Arabs, in some cases confined to 

shantytown "camps, ' as in Syria, and denied basic rights, as in Lebanon. 

Of the Palestinians who did not leave the Holy Land, there are currently four distinct 

groups, each with their own miseries and grievances: 

— About 1.7 million "Arab Israeli" citizens in Israel proper can vote and in theory have 

equal rights. But they are poorer, disadvantaged and angered by reminders Of second- 

class status like a national anthem that romanticizes Jewish yearning for Zion. 

— Some 300,000 Palestinians live in east Jerusalem, which was occupied by Israel in 

1967, along with the West Bank and Gaza, but unlike those areas was annexed. They have 

the right to become citizens, but few have chosen this, fearing it would legitimize Israel's 

claim to the city. 

Palestinian neighborhoods in east Jerusalem suffer from a lack Of services and schools, 

along with poor infrastructure, though residents are free to wander from these 

ramshackle areas to jobs in Jewish west Jerusalem, which Israel is constantly trying to 

develop and improve. Israel 's separation barrier has cut many of them off from their 

hinterland in the West Bank, while those behind the barrier are disconnected from the 

heart Of the city. Palestinians from east Jerusalem have been the driving force Of the 

knife attacks, and as a result, their status has grown even more precarious, with Israel 

putting up roadblocks that constrict travel in and out Of their neighborhoods. 

— More than 2 million Palestinians live in the surrounding West Bank, which from 1948 

to 1967 was held by Jordan, like east Jerusalem. They live mostly in a maze of 

autonomous zones surrounded and dominated by the Israeli army. With little control 

over their travel, they observe helplessly the constant expansion of Jewish settlements in 

the occupied land between their disconnected areas. The settlers have disproportionate 

water rights and live under a separate legal system; they enjoy favored funding and can 

vote as part of Israel 's democracy, while the Palestinians endure strict security measures 

— without which the settlers might indeed come under constant attack. 

Israel cannot decide what to do about this extraordinary situation. Despite occupying 

and settling the West Bank with Jews for almost 50 years, it has not annexed it for fear Of 

having to officially absorb the millions of Palestinians into its democratic system. 

— Another 2 million Palestinians live in Gaza, an enclave that between 1948 and 1967 

was held by Egypt. The area is squeezed between Israel and Egypt and ruled by the 

Islamic militant group Hamas as a theocratic police state where women are subjugated, 

dissent is punished, and alcohol is banned. They are cut off from Israel but feel occupied 

nonetheless because they are fenced in — even by Egypt to the south — and Israel 

controls the skies and seas. Several have been killed and injured lately in protests at the 

border 

Israelis feel that past leaders who in vain offered the Palestinians a state in Gaza and 

almost all the West Bank with a foothold in Jerusalem — in 2001 and 2008 — were acting 

in good faith and exposed Palestinian intransigence. The Palestinians say they have 

already compromised by giving up their longstanding claim to land that now makes up 

Israel, and they are in no mood for accepting less than all the land occupied in 1967. 

They also have a host of explanations for what many around the world see as missed 

opportunities that may not come again. Some say Israeli offers were not as serious as 

leaders have claimed, as proved by continued settlement-building. 

The world community mostly considers Israel to be in violation of accepted norms by 

changing the status quo in occupied territories through these settlements, and the 

disproportionate death toll among Palestinians in bouts of violence also draws fire. But 

despite the global hectoring, Israel has not been truly punished: it has a mighty alliance 

with the U.S., favored trading status with Europe, growing relations with Asia and a per 

capita gross domestic product to rival Britain's. 

In this situation, many Israelis prefer to ignore the Palestinians, most Of whom are 

beyond fences in areas Israelis rarely visit. 

Many believe the Arab world is not ready for democracy — the failures of the Arab Spring 

hardly negate such a thesis — and the Palestinians should be happy with their lot 

compared with the brutal dictatorships and murderous chaos that have typified Other 

corners of the Middle East, past and present. 

Israelis also feel that the Palestinians are being incited — whether by Gaza preachers 

shouting at the masses to "stab, stab, stab,- or by politicians claiming, with meager basis 

if any, that the desires of Israeli fanatics to destroy the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem or 

alter the status quo there are secretly the official Israeli policy as well. Palestinians tend 

to dismiss these things as secondary to a justifiable anger that is consuming their 

hopeless youth, who undeniably have also gotten worked up through inflammatory 

videos making their way around Facebook. 

On both sides there is a minority that watches the violence in despair — arguably more so 

in Israel, with its more individualistic society and culture Of debate and introspection. TO 

these more liberal Israelis, the apparently perpetual occupation of the Palestinians is a 

moral stain that also, by tying Israel inexorably to a Palestinian population equal to its 6 

million Jews, contains the seeds of self-inflicted ruination. 

Citation:  "Firstpost". October 19, 2015. Firstpost. October 19, 2015. <http://www.firstpost.com/world/clashes-in-the-holy-land-all-you-need-to-know-about-the-israel-palestine-conflict-2473972.html>


Response: This article talks about the problems that are going on between Israel and Palestine right now. One of the big disputes that is going on right now is the talk of Zionist attempts to take over the sacred Jerusalem Mosque. The author or editor of this article seems to show some bias towards Palestine as they talk about the Israelis being somewhat whiney but they also show some bias towards Israel when they talk about the fact that Palestine should be happy with their situation. I thought that the fact that this article talked about the Arab world not being ready for a Democracy because of the intense division of opinions and the conflict and I think that I agree with that. Overall I think this article was informational and definitely taught me some things.

85 dead migrants found washed up in Libya: Red Crescent

The bodies of 85 migrants have been found washed up on the coast of Libya, a major 

departure point for the sea crossing to Europe, the Red Crescent said Monday. 

Since Tuesday, volunteers have recovered dozens of bodies of migrants in an advanced 

stage Of decomposition on beaches near the capital, spokesman Mohamed al -Misrati 

said. 

They found 75 bodies around Tripoli and another 10 in Sabratah, 70 kilometers to the 

west, he said. 

The Libyan coastguard said it had also rescued 212 migrants from two overloaded rubber 

dinghies Off the Libyan coast. 

"We were informed Of the presence Of two large zodiacs Off the coast Of Garabulli " 60 

kilometers east of Tripoli, a coastguard officer told AFP. 

He said that 22 women were among the rescued migrants, who were Of different 

nationalities including many Senegalese and Sudanese. 

Libya, with a coastline of 1 , 770 kilometers, has for years been a stepping stone for 

Africans bound for Europe. 

Most head for Italy's Lampedusa Island which is 300 kilometers from Libya. 

People smugglers have taken advantage of chaos in Libya since the 2011 uprising that 

toppled and killed veteran dictator Muammar Qaddafi to step up their lucrative business. 

In exchange for steep fees, they take would-be migrants on board rickety boats for the 

treacherous crossing. 

About 515,000 migrants have crossed the Mediterranean this year alone, with up to 3,000 

people dead or reported missing in that period, according to the UN High Commission for 

Refugees. 




Citation: 

AFP, Tripoli.
"Al Arabia News". October 5, 2015.
Al Arabia Network.  October 5,
2015. <http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2015/10/05/-Explosion-heard-in-eastern-Lebanon.html>




Response: This article talks about a migrant/refugee crisis that is going on 

in Libya because of the chaos. This was very interesting to me because 

there has been so much focus on the Syrian refugee crisis that I expected 

that this article would be related to that crisis. I think that this article seems 

to be against both the people smugglers as well as the chaos of the Libyan 

situation. I also think that some of the purpose of this article might have been 

to show that even though the Syrian Refugee Crisis is huge and heartbreaking, 

there are thousands of problems like it that are going on all over the world. 

Another purpose may have been to raise awareness about the people smuggling 

that is going on. Overall I think that this article showed yet another sad situation 

of displaced people that we see so often today.

War on Terrorism Political Cartoon

Citation: Eden, David. "Eden Political Cartoons". February 17, 2015. Eden Political Cartoons. September 28, 2015. <http://edenpoliticalcartoons.com/?cat=4>

Response: This political cartoon is about the war on terrorism and the way that non-radical Muslims view the terrible situations going on with ISIS and other terrorist groups. I think that the cartoonist's opinion on "jihad on the jihad" is made very clear as well as an obvious sadness over the issues portrayed in his cartoon. I can see that the other side to this argument would be from the terrorist's or radical Muslim's point of view and that would be to say that the Qur'an commands that they do such things.  I do find this cartoon to be persuasive because it really brings out the worst instances, as well as portraying the sadness from a Muslim's point of view. I also find this cartoon persuasive because I agree that there should be an end to the fighting and appalling crime that goes on in the world today. Although the article was persuasive, I think the cartoonist could have portrayed people taking action on the issues rather than just thinking about them to make the cartoon more persuasive. Overall, I really liked the way the cartoonist showed these issues and I agree with what he is saying in it.

Eiffel Tower Terror alert prompted by three men with backpacks, police report says

Three men carrying backpacks behind the security alert that Saw the Eiffel Tower Closed to visitors, according to a Source_ 

The Parisian tourist attraction was shut on Sunday after the men were seen by a police helicopter scaling the 986-foot structure just before 9 am local time. 

A spokesman for the Parisian told told Le Figaro! I newspaper they Were not ruling out the possibility there Were three men involved. 

The police Source Said; -There is a Strong that the suspects were able to flee in the morning by parachute before police arrived. - 
 

Hundreds of people were queueing to get into the attraction when they were turned away and a police cordon was set up. It was later reopened at 2pm. 

France has been on high alert131 since since the Charlie Hebdo massacre in lanuary141 when Islamist terrorists murdered 12 people in the offices of the satirical magazine for publishing cartoons of the Prophet Mohammad. 

In August, three passengers a train from Amsterdam to Paris subdued a gunman attempting to open fire. 

A policeman at the Site told Agence France the three men could have been extreme sportsmen attempting to parachute Off the Structure without permission, but that they had to be vigilant. 

Isis and Al Qaeda have previously said they target the Eiffel Tower- which is France's most popular tourist attraction. So far, no arrests have been made. 

The Independent has contacted the Parisian police for comment. 

Citation: Mortimer, Caroline. "The Independent". September 21, 2015. Independent. 

September 21, 2015.<http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/eiffel-

tower-terror-alert-prompted-by-three-men-with-backpacks-police-source-says-

10510480.html>

Response: This article explained the scare that happened at the Eiffel Tower this weekend.

There were 3 men, who appeared to be terrorists, scaling the Eiffel Tower. By
the time the police arrived, the men had parachuted and were gone. To me, this
seems like it may have just been a couple of daredevils out for an adventure
but I do understand the heightened security and alertness since the Charlie
Hebdo attack. There appears to be some bias toward civilians and the author
seems to lead us to the conclusion that this was an attempted terrorist attack.
Overall, I thought the article was short and informational but I would probably
look into the situation more before coming to a conclusion on what I think
about it.

Article 2

Palestinians win approval to fly flag at UN 

Ireland votes in favour of resolution granting observer states 

the right to fly their flags 

The United Nations General Assembly overwhelmingly approves a resolution, intended 

for Palestine, that allows non-member observer states to fly their flags at the United 

Nations headquarters in New York. Video: Reuters 

Palestinians overwhelmingly won the right to fly their national flag in front of the United 


The change was made by the UN General Assemblyt41, when a vast majority of member 

countries voted in favour of a resolution granting what are known as non-member 

observer states the right to fly their flags alongside member states. 

Palestine became an observer state in 2012. The Vatican(51, the only other observer state, 

has held that status since 1964. 

Palestinian diplomats secured the support of a majority of the assembly, as was expected, 

with 119 countries voting in favour Of the resolution, eight voting against it and 45 

abstaining. 

The flag is expected to be hoisted for the first time when the Palestinian Authority's 

president, Mahmoud AbbasL61 delivers his remarks to the annual meeting of heads of 

state and government at the General Assembly on Sept 30th. 

The resolution is part Of the effort by Mr Abbas and his associates to gain international 

recognition for a Palestinian state on lands seized or controlled by Israel since the 1967 

war. Israel and the United States have argued that such measures are meaningless 

without a negotiated two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. 

"Today's vote is a reaffirmation of the legitimacy of the national aspirations of the 

Palestinian people, Of their existence among the nations Of the world and their right to 


Voting in favour Of the resolution were the countries Of the Arab world, Iran and nearly 

every African and Asian country. It was co-sponsored by more than 50 countries. Israel 

the United States, Canada and Australia were among those that voted against it. 

The 28-member countries of the European Union did not manage to take a united 

position as they had hoped. 

Ireland voted in favour of the resolution alongside fellow-EU members France 

Sweden, Italy1151, Spain, 

Luxembourg1181, Belgium1191 and Malta 

Slovenia and Austria, abstained. Others, including Britain, Germany 

The US ambassador, Samantha Power 

in explaining her no vote, said that raising the 

flag "is not an alternative to negotiations and will not bring the parties closer 

to peace." 

The Israeli ambassador, Ron Prosor, described the resolution as a cynical action. 

"Make no mistake, the goal of this resolution is a photo op," Mr Prosor said. 

"The Palestinians want to bring together world dignitaries and the media to gather 

around and watch as Mahmoud Abbas raises a flag. They plan to use the prestige of the 

UN as a backdrop for this charade." 

How much the resolution buoys Mr Abbas' standing among his domestic constituency 

remains to be seen. On Thursday, Ghassan Khatib vice-president of the Palestinian 

Birzeit UniversityP61, called it "a good symbolic move" that he hoped would bring more 

tangible benefits. 

"People need to see real achievements that have a practical impact on people's lives," he 

said. 

Citation: "The
Irish Times". September 11, 2015. NYT,
Reuters. September 11, 2015. <http://www.irishtimes.com/news/world/us/palestinians-win-approval-

to-fly-flag-at-un-1.2348456>

Response: In viewing this article, we see that there seems to be some conflict resulting from the 

decisions made at the UN. The main countries to oppose are all first world and more developed

 nations, while the countries that voted for the Palestinian flag to be flown at the UN 

headquarters, appeared to be third world and less developed nations for the most part. To me,

 this seems to maybe be a lack of knowledge or experience with Palestine on the part of the 

countries that voted in favor of the proposal. Another thing that stood out to me in the article 

was the way that the author portrayed the different countries. He seemed to present bias 

toward the countries that voted for this decision, especially Ireland which makes a lot of sense,

seeing as the newspaper is Irish. I think that this decision may bring more peace in terms of the 

UN and Palestine , though, I do think that the other countries, such as the US, Canada, Australia,

 and Israel, that voted against it, may experience heightened tension now that this request has 

been granted.

North, South Korea Begin Talks on Family
Reunions

South Koreans who were separated from their families during the Korean War, talk with
Red Cross members as they check application forms to reunite with their family members
living in North Korea, at the Korea Red Cross headquarters in Seoul, South Korea,

Representatives from North and South Korea began talks Monday aimed at resuming the
reunion of families separated over 60 years by the Korean War.
Red Cross officials from both Seoul and Pyongyang sat down for discussions at the truce
village in Panmunjom to discuss where and when to hold the latest round of reunions,
which last occurred in February 2014.
There is speculation the reunions will take place in October at the scenic North Korean
resort of Mount Kumgang, the site of the 2014 event.
Millions of Koreans were separated by the 1950-53 war that split the peninsula between
the communist North and democratic South, and went decades without contacting each
other until the historic inter-Korean summit in 2000.
Reunions
The reunions were initially held on an annual basis, but were scaled back due to strained
cross-border relations.
Many Of the participants are in their 70s and 80s, and the reunions are the only chance to
see their long-lost loved ones, as both governments ban the exchange of letters, phone
calls and emails across the border.
About 66,000 South Koreans have applied to be selected for the reunion, but only a few
hundred are selected each time.
South Korea's chief delegate Lee Deok-haeng, second from right, shakes hands with




North Korean counterpart Pak Yong Il, second from left, before the Inter-Korean Red
Cross working level meeting at Panmunjom in Paju, South Korea, Sept. 7, 2015.
Monday's talks came about after the two sides reached an agreement late last month that
interrupted rising tensions that appear to have brought them to the brink of war.
Some foreign analysts remain skeptical about inter-Korean ties because of speculation
that North Korea will fire what it calls a satellite to celebrate next month's 70th birthday
of its ruling party.
Similar past launches triggered an international standoff as South Korea and other
neighboring countries called them disguised tests for long range missiles.

About 22,500 Koreans had participated in brief reunions — 18,800 in person and the
others by video — during a period Of detente. None were given a second chance to meet
their relatives, according to South Korea's Red Cross.
South Korean officials have long called for holding reunions more regularly and
expanding the number of people taking part. North Korea is seen as worrying that doing
so could open the country to influence from more affluent South Korea and threaten the
ruling party's grip on power.
The two Koreas remain divided along the world 's most heavily fortified border because
the 1950-53 Korean War ended with an armistice, not a peace treaty.

"Voice Of America". September 7, 2015. Voice Of America News. September 7, 2015. <http://www.voanews.com/content/north-south-korea-begin-talks-on-family-reunions/2950535.html>

Response: This article was something that caught my attention because I thought it was
heartbreaking that the Korean War left such terrible effects that prevent people from even
seeing their loved ones. The Voice of America News seems to portray this as most of us see
it: the fact that North Korea is somewhat unreasonable and violent. I was really surprised at 
how neutral this news source seemed, but they were definitely trying to bring sadness and 
emotion into the opinions and facts of this story. This doesn't seem to be a world issue up 
front, but when I thought about it more, I realized that the conflict between North and South
 Korea has been something that has affected all of us as we watch the conflict that came from 
the Korean War that involved many of our home countries.

My name is Caroline Stocksdale and I live in Kenya. I have a US passport but have not
lived in America for much of life. My parents are missionaries and we live and work at
a boarding school here in Kenya. I have a younger brother and 2 dogs. I love chocolate,
oceans, sunsets, and friends. In the Fall of 2016, I will be going back to the USA for
college to hopefully study nursing, then, who knows where I’ll end up.