104-6 week six-Paris terrior attack

There were seven coordinated terror attacks in Paris carried out by militants, killing at least 130 people.

The first attacks were launched virtually simultaneously, with two explosions close to the Stade de France at just after 9.20pm local time, four miles apart.

The explosions came as a large crowd were enjoying the first half of the international friendly between France and Germany.

The attacks then moved to central Paris, where a separate team of gunmen arrived in a black Seat at the Right Bank area of the city.

The attackers opened fire on the Petit Cambodge Cambodian restaurant inRue Bichat, and the Le Carillon bar on the other side of the road.

With devastating coolness they gunned down diners and revellers at the two venues, killing 15 as many enjoyed their Friday night out.

The fourth attack came on Rue de la Fontaine au Roi, when the same unit of terrorists drove the 500 yards to the Casa Nostra pizzeria and opened fire on diners, killing at least five.

From there, the militants drove around a mile south-east – apparently past the area of the Bataclan concert venue – to then launch another attack, this time on La Belle Equipe bar in Rue de Charonne. At least 19 people died after the terrace was sprayed with bullets at around 9.35pm.

The next attack, at the Bataclan concert venue in Boulevard Voltaire, was the most deadly. There, at least 89 people lost their lives when they were shot by black-clad gunmen wielding AK-47s and wearing suicide vests.

The attackers stormed into the hall and fired calmly and methodically at hundreds of screaming concert-goers, who were watching the US rock group Eagles of Death Metal playing to a full house of 1,500 people.

They began a siege that would last two hours and forty minutes. Two of the militants blew up their explosive belts as heavily armed anti-terror police ended the siege at around 12.30am. A third was shot by officers.

Terrifying details have emerged of the police assault on the Islamist attackers.

The first policeman to get there arrived at 10pm, about 20 minutes after the three gunmen burst into the concert hall last Friday night and began methodically killing fans who had turned out to watch the Eagles of Death Metal group.

At around 10.15 pm a heavily armed Swat team arrived and entered the building. The attackers had by then retreated to an upper floor. The police evacuated all the people they found and then, in two columns, went up the stairs to the right and the left of the auditorium.

As they progressed terrified people emerged from cupboards and other hiding places where they had taken cover.

“They came out like zombies. They were in a terrible state and could hardly walk,” said one officer involved in the raid, named only as Jean.

At 20 minutes past midnight the order was given to start the final assault. The police burst open the door and, protected by a heavy metal shield, being advancing down the corridor that was revealed to be full of about 20 hostages.

The attackers opened fire immediately but the police unit kept advancing, with officers rushing screaming hostages out as they went forward.

When finally they were face to face with the attackers, the police threw a stun grenade as they blasted their guns at the Islamists.

One attacker went down, and then the other detonated his suicide vest, blowing both their bodies to pieces. The assault had lasted three minutes.

Finally, at around 9.50pm a third blast took place near the Stade de France, this time by a McDonald’s restaurant on the fringes of the stadium.

The boom caused terror among spectators who had already been attempting to flee the stadium following the first two explosions.

The match had continued, with many attributing the initial noises to fireworks, but word soon spread of what had taken place outside the stadium, as people read updates on their mobile phones.

At least 130 people have died, according to city officials, with many still in intensive care.

One Briton - Nick Alexander - has been confirmed by family to have lost his life at the Bataclan.

At least 89 people were killed in the concert hall. Three assailants were also killed after police stormed in - two by activating their suicide vests and a third shot dead.

104-5 week five-Tianjin explosion

Chinese authorities ended the search for the remaining eight missing in a massive chemical warehouse explosion last month, setting the final death toll at 173 in China’s worst industrial disaster in years.

“After thorough investigations by all parties it is certain that there is no possibility of survivors,” said a statement on Friday night.

The eight include five firefighters, underscoring the explosion’s status as the worst disaster for Chinese first responders, more than 100 of whom were killed, including police officers. Among firefighters a total of 104 were killed.

Investigations into the 12 August blasts at the Ruihai International Logistics warehouses showed they were located closer to homes than permitted, and stored much more hazardous material than authorised, including 700 tonnes of highly toxic sodium cyanide.

A series of massive explosions late at night shattered windows and tore facades off buildings for miles around, while launching debris including heavy steel storage canisters into nearby communities with the force of an artillery shell. Homeowners have held protests demanding the government buy back their apartments, saying they are unliveable.

The disaster has raised questions about corruption and government efficiency, potentially tarnishing the government led by Xi Jinping, who has made those two issues a hallmark of his administration.

Authorities are investigating malfeasance in the issuing of permits and regulation of the company, and have detained 12 of its employees and executives. They include the primary owner, who was on the board of a state-owned company and kept his ownership of Ruihai hidden as a silent partner.

Also detained as part of the investigation are 11 government officials, while the head of the government body in charge of industrial safety, Yang Dongliang, has been placed under investigation for corruption.

104-4 week four- America dentist Walter Palmer kill Zimbabwean lion Cecil

The American dentist who killed Cecil the lion a month ago in Zimbabwe paid for an illegal hunt and should be extradited to the southern African nation to face justice, Zimbabwe's environment minister said on Friday.

In a news conference, Oppah Muchinguri referred to 55-year-old Walter Palmer as a "foreign poacher," and said she understood that Zimbabwe's prosecutor general had started the process to have him extradited from the United States.

"We are appealing to the responsible authorities for his extradition to Zimbabwe so that he can be held accountable for his illegal action," she said.

Muchinguri also said Palmer's use of a bow and arrow to kill the lion, who is said to have been lured out of Hwange National Park with bait before being shot, was in contravention of Zimbabwean hunting regulations.

Palmer has admitted killing the 13-year-old predator, a favourite with foreign tourists and the subject of an Oxford University study, but said he had hired professional guides and believed all the necessary hunting permits were in order.

The Minnesota dentist and trophy hunter has not been seen since his identity was revealed this week by Zimbabwean conservationists, but the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said Friday afternoon it was contacted by a representative of Palmer.

The agency is investigating the killing to see if it was part of a conspiracy to violate U.S. laws against illegal wildlife trading. 

In Washington, a Zimbabwean diplomat said the embassy was not aware that extradition proceedings had been initiated by his government.

Richard Chibuwe, deputy chief of the mission, said Zimbabwe takes the case very seriously and noted that two Zimbabwean men face court proceedings for helping Palmer.

On Wednesday, a Zimbabwean court charged local professional hunter Theo Bronkhorst with failing to prevent Palmer from unlawfully killing Cecil.

"People really feel strongly that he must also face trial," Chibuwe said of Palmer.

The U.S. Justice Department said it does not comment on extradition requests. Palmer must be charged in Zimbabwe before he can be extradited.

104-1 week two -throat cut,elementary school girl

A 29-year-old man surnamed Kung (龔) was arrested yesterday after an attack at an elementary school in Taipei in which an eight-year-old girl’s throat was cut.

As of press time, the girl was undergoing emergency medical treatment at Taipei Veterans General Hospital.

Police said preliminary investigations suggest Kung entered the grounds of Wenhua Elementary School (文化國小) in Taipei’s Beitou District (北投) at about 4pm yesterday, before walking up four flights of stairs to the girls’ restroom, pulling out a knife when he saw the girl about to enter the restroom and allegedly slashing her twice across the throat.

The girl was found lying in a pool of blood and was rushed to hospital, while Kung remained at the scene and was detained by police.

An angry crowd gathered outside the police station last night and attempted to beat Kung as he stepped out of the police car. The police managed to hold back the crowd and took him into the station.

There was conflicting information about Kung’s supposed motive, with some sources saying that he was enraged after being unable to find work for four months, while others said that Kung was upset after being scolded by his mother and brother for not visiting his cancer-stricken father in hospital on Thursday.

Responding to questions from city councilors about the attack during a question-and-answer session at a city council meeting, Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) said that the city would assemble a special task force to review schoolground safety and security and establish a system within a year to screen and monitor dangerous people.

He added that the city presently had no system that would have been capable of keeping tabs on the suspect.

Department of Education Commissioner Tang Chih-min (湯志民) said that because schools are “open” as a matter of policy, it is difficult to keep tabs on everyone entering school grounds.

However, he said that more could be done to improve schoolground security, including addressing security camera “blind spots.”

Ko canceled a planned evening fund-raising appearance because of the incident, instead chairing a late-night city government meeting about the matter.

104-1 week three -same sex marriage,legal,the US

The US Supreme Court has ruled that same-sex marriage is a legal right across the United States.

It means the 14 states with bans on same-sex marriage will no longer be able to enforce them.

Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote that the plaintiffs asked "for equal dignity in the eyes of the law. The Constitution grants them that right."

The ruling brings to an end more than a decade of bitter legal battles.

Same-sex couples in several affected states including Georgia, Michigan, Ohio and Texas rushed to wed on Friday.

However officials in other states, including Mississippi and Louisiana, said marriages had to wait until procedural issues were addressed.

President Barack Obama said the ruling was a "victory for America".

"When all Americans are treated as equal, we are all more free " he said.

However, Christian conservatives condemned the decision.

Former Arkansas governor and presidential candidate Mike Huckabee called it "an out-of-control act of unconstitutional, judicial tyranny".

And Kellie Fiedorek, a lawyer for an anti-gay marriage advocacy group, said the decision "ignored the voices of thousands of Americans".

Greg Abbott, the governor of Texas, a state where marriages licences will now be issued to same-sex couples, said the justices "have imposed on the entire country their personal views on an issue that the Constitution and the Court's previous decisions reserve to the people of the states".

At the scene - Paul Blake, BBC News

Loud cheers erupted outside the court after the ruling was announced, and there were tears, hugs, and cheers of "USA USA USA!".

A sea of rainbow flags overwhelmed the few anti-gay marriage activists who reacted in disbelief, and the demonstration seemed to turn into a street party.

A tour bus drove past honking as hundreds cheered the decision.

One of the demonstrators, Jordan Monaghan, called his mother from his mobile phone amid the celebrations.

"Hey mom, I'm at the Supreme Court. Your son can have a husband now," Mr Monaghan said.

Minutes after the ruling, couples in one of the states that had a ban, Georgia, lined up in hope of being wed.

In Texas, Yasmin Menchaca and her partner Catherine Andrews told the BBC that they are "trying to round up our parents" in order to get married on Friday.

The two have been together for six years, and had attempted to marry in Washington state - but decided to wait because of the financial burden of flying their parents across the country.

On social media, Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton merely tweeted the word "proud" and the White House changed its Twitter avatar into the rainbow colours.

The case considered by the court concerned Jim Obergefell, an Ohio resident who was not recognised as the legal widower of his late husband, John Arthur.

"It's my hope that gay marriage will soon be a thing of the past, and from this day forward it will simply be 'marriage,'" an emotional Mr Obergefell said outside the court.

104-1 Week one-Lampedusa migrant shipwreck

It was initially reported that over five hundred people were on board the 20-metre-long  fishing boat when it began to have engine trouble less than a quarter-mile from Lampedusa, causing the ship to begin sinking. In an attempt to contact nearby boats, a blanket on the ship was lit on fire. However, this fire grew worse when it ignited some gasoline and began to engulf the boat before it sank.[ To avoid the flames, many people threw themselves into the water or moved away from the fire to the same part of the ship, which then capsized. At least 350 people were initially declared missing. 

On 7 October, it was reported that 194 bodies had been recovered, and that the final death toll could rise to between 325 and 363 individuals. A total of 155 people had been rescued. A further 108 bodies were reported retrieved by 9 October, after access was gained to the inside of the boat's hull, resting some 47 meters (154 ft) beneath the surface of the water. On 11 October, it was reported that all bodies had been recovered from the boat, and the confirmed death toll had reached 339. About 50 were believed to be still missing, and searches for further bodies in the area would continue using aircraft and robotic devices. A further 20 bodies had been found by 12 October, bringing the total to 359. The total number of dead was later reported as "more than 360". On 8 November, it was reported that that the migrants had each paid at least $3,000 (£1,866) to the Libyan, Somali and Sudanese trafficking group before making the sea crossing from Libya. Women who were unable to pay were said to have been raped, and men who rebelled were tied up and tortured. The alleged captain of the boat, a 35-year-old Tunisian named as Khaled Bensalam, who was reported to have been deported from Italy in April 2013, was arrested under suspicion of being responsible for the sinking. It was reported that he could be charged with manslaughter. On 8 November, a 34-year-old Somali national, Mouhamud Elmi Muhidin, and a Palestinian man, Attour Abdalmenem, were also arrested under suspicion of having been among the traffickers that organized the voyage. Police indicated that Muhidin was facing a series of charges, including people trafficking, kidnapping, sexual assault, and criminal association with the aim of abetting illicit immigration. The two men were detained by the Italian police after a number of the shipwreck survivors spotted and began attacking them.