WORLD NEWS ROUND-UP

Bid to save Alaskan bears - By Laura Stowe

The US has taken steps to improve the bleak outlook for Alaska’s polar bear population. The Obama administration has designated a ‘critical habitat’ area of 187,000 square miles in a bid to save the iconic species from extinction. The area is more than twice the size of the UK, and includes territories where oil and gas companies want to drill. The move has been welcomed by environmentalists who hope that obtaining licences to operate in the area will now be much more difficult. However, the US Fish and Wildlife Services have warned that a loss of habitat due to climate change remains the biggest threat to the bears. Assistant Secretary Tom Strickland commented, “This enables us to work with federal partners to ensure their actions do not harm polar bear populations. Nevertheless... we will continue to work toward comprehensive strategies for the bears’ long-term survival.”

 

Arrest Warrant Issued for Nazi - By Emma Slattery

A wanted Dutch Nazi war criminal could possibly be sent back to prison after escaping in 1952.  Klass-Carel Faber, who is now 88 and living in Germany, was sentenced to death in 1947 for his part in the murder of Jews at the Westerbork transit camp. This was reduced to a life sentence, until he escaped in 1952 and was granted German citizenship. Faber is high on the Simon Wiesenthal Centre’s list of Nazi war criminals still at large. An arrest warrant has now been issued by his native country and if he is returned, he will be returned immediately to prison. The warrant is a preliminary measure before an extradition request is made to Germany. Germany has refused extradition for some time but has now said that the case will be reassessed and a decision made by a German judge.

 

Second Korean attack likely

 It is believed that North Korea is likely to attack South Korea again, according to intelligence sources writes World News Reporter Steven Kay. Tensions between the states of North and South Korea, technically at war since 1950, have begun to increase rapidly in recent weeks after North Korea fired dozens of artillery shells at Yeonpyeong, one of its border islands.  The barrage left two marines and two civilians dead. This has led to South Korea increasing the amount of troops stationed on Yeonpyeong, as well as other nearby islands, and has primarily caused the resignation of South Korea’s former defence minister, Kim Tae-Young.

The dispute over the Northern Limit Line, unilaterally drawn by the United Nations Command as a point past which South Korean ships were not permitted to venture, has caused tensions within the peninsula for decades, with frequent minor conflicts occurring throughout the decades. This use of artillery upon South Korea’s island follows the torpedoing of one of the South Korean Navy ships earlier in the year which led to the deaths of 46 sailors.

 

Mistaken identity in Mexico - By Daniel Matcham

 A Mexican man who is suspected of being the leader of a drugs cartel has claimed that a group of tourists were killed in a case of “mistaken identity”.

Carlos Montemayor, a Mexican citizen who is believed to be associated with the Beltran Leyva drugs cartel in the country, was arrested in Mexico City on 23 November. He was captured by the federal police, who were assisted by the US Drug Enforcement Agency.  His arrest came in response to the deaths of around 20 tourists who had been kidnapped and killed in September. Eighteen bodies were discovered in a mass grave, while the location of the other two tourists remains unconfirmed.

The suspect put the full responsibility for the deaths of the group at the hands of Beltran Leyva. However he spoke upon his arrest about how his gang had allegedly mistaken the tourists for members of the Familia cartel, a rival faction.

It has been asserted in some quarters that Montemayor – nicknamed “El Charro” - is the successor to Edgar Valdez (“El Barbie”), the previous leader of Beltran Leyva. Valdez is the son in law of Montemayor and both men are said to have been members of the cartel.

The tourists disappeared on 30 September in the region of Acapulco in Mexico City. The families of the victims, who were from Morelia, said that many of them were mechanics. They went on holiday together each year and were apparently last seen searching for a hotel in the city.

Around 28,000 people have been killed in drugs-related violence since 2006. The country has been successful in cracking down on cartel leaders.

 

Stampede crushes hundreds - By Steven kay

At least 378 people were crushed and hundreds more injured in a stampede within the Cambodian capital, Phnom Penh. The stampede occurred on a bridge which had supposedly become vastly overcrowded during a water festival, which is considered one of the country’s major events. Panic struck at the end of a concert, which had followed a boat race on the Tonle Sap river, regarded as the highlight of the festivities. This led to huge overcrowding on the bridge with people on both sides being pushed. This led to those in the centre falling to the ground and being crushed. Prime Minister Hun Sen described the stampede as the “biggest tragedy” to hit Cambodia since the mass killings carried out by the Khmer Rouge regime in the 1970s.

 

NZ blast ‘worst disaster’ in 100 years - By Alun Rhys Chivers

 Following two explosions which have reportedly killed 29 miners in New Zealand, the country’s Prime Minister, John Key has announced that an investigation will take place.

The miners became trapped following an initial explosion at the Pike River mine in Greymouth. A second blast happened before the recovery operation could begin, effectively ending all hopes that any of the 29 would survive.

Prime Minister John Key has said that recovering bodies could take several months.

Services have been held across the country to honour the miners, and a minute’s silence was held at the Millennium Stadium when Wales took on the All Blacks.

Key said, “We need answers to what happened at Pike River. Clearly something’s gone terribly wrong and it’s now claimed the lives of 29 people.

“And I think for the families, they now have accepted that their loved ones have gone, but they want answers. They also want their men removed from the mine.”

The victims included 24 New Zealanders, two Australians, two Britons and a South African. Experts have called the blast the worst disaster in New Zealand in nearly 100 years.