Deadly attack leaves 15 dead in Mogadishu, Somalia.
Emergency workers carry away a wounded person from an attack that has already killed 15 people in Mogadishu, Somalia. (Image courtesy of Credit Feisal Omar/Reuters)
At least 15 people, including 2 government officials, have died in a hotel attack in Mogadishu, Somalia on 20 February. Central Hotel, where the attack took place, is often frequented by parliament members and is near Somalia’s presidential palace. A car blew up in the parking lot and was followed by heavy gunfire. Later, a suicide bomber blew up the mosque inside the hotel as other attackers went into the hotel. The attack has been credited to militant group, Al-Shabaab. The group has had a history of attacking government officials and institutions with the goal of taking over Somalia. In 2013, Al-Shabaab carried out an attack on a mall in Kenya, killing 67 people. Although the Somalian government has teamed up with allies like the USA to strike back against the group, Al-Shabaab continues its campaign of violence.
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Al Jazeera journalists freed on bail.
Egyptian courts have released Baher Mohamed (left) and Mohamed Fahey (right) on bail. (Image courtesy of Khaled Desouki/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images)
After over 400 days in jail, two Al Jazeera journalists, Mohamed Fahmy and Baher Mohamed, have been released from jail on bail. The two journalists, along with their colleague Peter Greste (who had been released earlier), had been arrested on the charges of supporting the banned Muslim Brotherhood. The two journalists were reunited with their families on 20 February. Originally,Greste and Fahmy were sentenced to 7 years, and Mohamed sentenced to 10 years in prison. All three appealed their sentences. Several rights groups have claimed that the journalists are pawns in a geopolitical dispute between Egypt and Qatar, the latter country being a sponsor of Al Jazeera. The two journalists will have their retrial on 23 February.
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Greece to alter terms of debt repayment, extends bailout four months
The deal comes a week before the debt deadline with the EU (Image courtesy of Reuters)
On 23 February, Greece presented a list of reform measures to ensure that their financial obligations to European creditors are met. The terms must be approved by the European Union, the European Central Bank, and the International Monetary Fund. The most difficult part, analysts say, will be for newly elected Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras to get the Greek Electorate and his Syriza Party to accept the terms. The new government has agreed not to do anything to prevent it from repaying its $340 billion debt, and will fund new spending projects through internal sources. Without this bailout plan, Greece would have had to exit from the euro, a potentially disastrous result for the economy.
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Limpet teeth found to be stronger than titanium, Kevlar, and spider silk
The teeth are located on a tongue like appendage called a radula (Image courtesy of barwonbluff.com)
Scientists have discovered a new substance now the strongest natural material known – found in the teeth of a vegetarian sea snail called a limpet. The teeth are made of tiny fibers of goethite mineral embedded in natural plastic. Asa Barber, a professor in the school of engineering at the University of Portsmouth, saw a photo of these teeth in a textbook and decided to conduct strength tests on them. The structures resemble the strong, light materials currently used to build high performance cars and airplanes. In addition, while most structures weakened as they were made larger due to structural fault, limpet teeth proved strong in many different sizes. Synthetic versions of these materials could be used to build stronger aerospace structures.
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Three girls from UK suspected to be headed for Syria to join ISIS
The families of the three girls have made public pleas for their return (Image courtesy of BBC)
Kadiza Sultana, 16, Shamima Begum, 15, and an unnamed 15 year old have left the UK and may be trying to join ISIS in Syria. All three girls attended Bethnal Green Academy in east London and are suspected to have been following a classmate who left for Syria in December. They are all “star GCSE pupils” and flew to Turkey after giving their parents plausible reasons for being out for the day. Leader of the House of Commons William Hague has said “more has to be done by all of us” to stop vulnerable young people from being radicalized. A lot of effort has gone into taking down the websites and preventing young people from being radicalized on the internet. Nonetheless, ISIS has been extremely effective in using social media for their propaganda.
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