World News
By Mallory
News is the past, present, and future. It defines yesterday, today, and tomorrow. It is important to follow the news that is currently going on in your own country. You wouldn't want anything to suddenly sneak up and attack you. You also always want to keep an eye on events going on in other countries just to be safe.
Let's go and see what's been happening in the United States, shall we?
There has been a major wildfire in Arizona, USA. It has killed at least 18 firefighters as of 1 July 2013. This giant deathtrap has not been contained. It continues to reek havoc on the citizens of Arizona. It has been named the Yarnell Hill Fire. This fast moving fire has forced 50 homes to be evacuated in Buckhorn, Model Creak, and Double A Bar Ranch. These places are 85 miles northeast of Phoenix, Arizona. It now covers 2,000 acres and is still growing. About 400 firefighters are working to defeat this fire. The Red Cross has set up shelters for aid. This fire has been going on for about 4 days now. For more information, visit cbsnews.com.
The Zimmerman Trial- It has been 16 months since George Zimmerman, 28, shot Trayvon Martin,17, in the chest during a confrontation in Sanford, Florida. This happened on February 26, 2012. This trial is still in court today. Zimmerman is being charged with second-degree murder. Zimmerman is justifying his actions by saying that he thought that Martin was hostile. He also later stated that he was only using self-defense. However, no evidence has been brought forward supporting that claim. Only one witness states that Martin was seen on top of Zimmerman beating him before Zimmerman shot him in defense. Someone states that Martin's only weapon was the sidewalk which he used to bash Zimmerman's head with. No other evidence is really shown to support the idea that Martin was the aggressor in this situation. Now we just have to wait and see how this situation turns out. For more information, visit CNN.com.
Now let's go to a much lighter topic.
The Grumpy Cat- Everyone knows this cat. It is all over the social media as a meme. This cat is the most popular internet memes in brief history. At the 2013 Webby Awards, Grumpy Cat was named BuzzFeed's Meme of the Year. The cat's real name is Tardar Sauce, and she lives in Arizona. She has a manager, Ben Lashes, who has given Grumpy Cat the opportunity to shine in its own movie. She, the cat, has landed a movie deal. Apparently the Grumpy Cat is indifferent to getting this movie deal. America and Grumpy Cat's fans all over the world are awaiting this movie. For more information, visit USA TODAY.
Let's visit the other events occurring in other countries!
So everyone has heard about the nuclear weapon situation going on in North Korea, right? Well if you haven't, then pay attention. So North Korea's communist leader Kim Jong Un decided that he wanted to prove to the world his power. He wanted other countries to fear him. So he decided to test out his new nuclear weapon in this middle of the Pacific Ocean. This did stir up some debates in the United States Government, on whether they should take matters into their own hands or not. However, there wasn't an unanimous vote on it. Even if Kim Jong wants to use his nuclear weapons on another country, he can only bomb South Korea. Now, before you get all worried, let's think about this. If he nukes South Korea, wouldn't his country go down too? I mean, they are right next each other. No ocean separating them. He's right above South Korea. So that rules out bombing South Korea. North Korea also does not have the technology to move the nukes to bomb America or any other country. The only country to be really threatened is China. However, North Korea needs China economically so it would not even dare. Also, Russia is about to hold a talk with North Korea, discussing on ending their Nuclear Program. Therefore this really is not that much of a threatening situation. For more information, visit CNN.com.
Pakistan Bombing- There were two separate bomb attacks in Pakistan on Sunday, June 31, 2013. This attack killed around 50 people, and it left 90 people wounded. A Sunni extremist group claims responsibility for these attacks. It was a Sunni attack on the Shiites. They are two religious groups that formed out of the religion Islam. One of them believes that the leader should be a descendent from Muhammad himself, while the other doesn't. There have been conflicts between these two groups for centuries. This violence is also part of the challenges faced by Pakistan's new government. For more information, visit CNN.com.
Now let's switch over to Europe and examine the scandalous events going on in that part of the world.
European Leaders are outraged by finding their offices bugged by another country, the United States of America. A German News Magazine leaked evidence that Washington had spied on European Union offices in both America and in Brussels. If these allegations are proven true, then there will be a serious impact on the relations between the U.S. and the EU. The EU is planning on sweeping their offices to look for any evidence of bugging. The French President, Francois Hollande, threatened the U.S. by saying that if the bugging does not stop, they will terminate trade and other issues with the U.S. President Obama's reply to this was that all nations spy on each other. For more information, visit CNN.com.
All information was gathered from CNN News (CNN.com), USA TODAY, and CBS News (cbsnews.com).
