Entry 9- October 16, 2013

Kenya to microchip every rhino in anti-poaching drive

October 16, 2013

BBC News

In Kenya, wildlife officials are embarking on an ambitious plan to plant microchips in every single Rhinoceros in the country in a drive to combat a surge of poaching. These microchips will be implanted in the horns of over 1,000 rhinos. The wildlife officials hope that these chips will enable live animals to be tracked and poached horns to be traced, improving the chances of finding poachers and prosecuting them. The big prices for rhino ivory horns have aroused a gold rush in poaching across of Africa. Rhino horns are also very highly priced in Asia, as it is mostly used for medicine. The horns are made of keratin, which is also the same substance as human finger nails. With poachers getting more sophisticated and wiser, it is important that we protect these animals. This will serve to strengthen rhino monitoring, protect all the rhinos on sight and also support anti-trafficking nationally and regionally. 

I think this is a great idea. Poaching has become very popular amongst the people of Africa and we should be trying to stop this ASAP. Many rhinos are in the endangered species and we need to find a way once and for all to put this to an end

Entry 8- October 07 , 2013

New global index exposes 'modern slavery' worldwide

October 16, 2013

BBC News

Right now there are nearly 30 million people all over the world that are living and being used for slavery. There are 162 countries that are still using these people as slaves. India has the highest number of people living in these conditions. They have over 14 million people being used as slaves. Modern slavery is very different from what it used to be many years ago. Now they are being used for debt bondage, human trafficking, forced marriage and etc. The International Labour Organization estimates that almost 21 million people are victims of forced labour. India, China, Pakistan and Nigeria have the highest number of people enslaved. Together, with five other countries, they account for three-quarters of the total estimated number of people in modern slavery worldwide. 

I still don't why slavery is still going on all over the world. Mrs. Clinton says that "I urge leaders around the world to view this index as a call to action, and to stay focused on the work of responding to this crime." I agree with what Mrs. Clinton had to say and that leaders every where in this world should at least try and contribute to stopping slavery for once.

Entry 7- October 3, 2013

Italy boat sinking: Dozens of 

migrants die off Lampedusa

October 3

BBC News

Today on the Southern Italian Island of Lampedusa, at least 130 African migrants have died due to their boat sinking in the water. The coast guards have found 103 bodies, and more have been found inside the wreck so far. Most of these migrants were from either Somalia or Eritrea, and they threw themselves in the sea when a fire broke out. More than 150 migrants were rescued. The Italian Interior Minister Angelino Alfano says that the ship travelled from Misrata, Libya and began taking on the sea when its motor stopped working. It is believed that some of the people on board set fire to a material to attract the attention of incoming ships, but only to have the fire spread to the rest of the boat. The spokeswoman for the International Organization of Migration in Rome, Simona Moscarelli, estimated that only 6 of the 100 women on the boat survived and that most of the migrants were unable to swim.

I believe this is a huge tragedy and disappointment. We should be taking better care of our own people and making sure that they are safe. 

Entry 6- October 2, 2013

Brazil police charged with Rio murder over Amarildo case

October 2, 2013

BBC News Latin American & Caribbean

Ten Brazilian police officers were charged for murdering a drug dealer named Amarildo de Souza in Rio de Janeiro. De Souza who was 43, has not been seen since July 14 when the police officers took him in. Mr. De Souza's wife claims she last saw her husband on July 14 when he went to go shopping for dinner. Those 10 police officers have been charged for torturing and murdering De Souza and then hiding his body. The investigators say that Mr. De Souza was an epileptic and died during while being tortured in the questioning room. Also the police officers claimed that they let Mr. De Souza go and they have nothing to do with his disappearance. 

I believe the fact that the police officers took in Mr. De Souza for questioning, tortured him which caused him to have an epilepsy episode and die. I also think that these officers should be sentenced for life in prison for killing an innocent man 

Entry 5- October 2, 2013

10 wildlife secrets caught on thermal cameras

October 2, 2013

BBC Nature

The military has led to the development of the use of thermal technology on animals, insects, birds and all different types of wildlife. The type of thermal technology being used on these animals are infra-red rays. Using infra-red radiation to visualize differences in temperature has brought some surprising facts and information about these animals. The military has used these rays on 10 different types of animals and these are some of the facts that they have found. For example they used these rays to find out when a panda bear is pregnant, to indicate different diseases and conditions like arthritis in elephants and rabies in raccoons, to determine the temperature of the outer coats of penguins, to determine where elephants lose and gain heat in their body during the day and etc.

I think this technology is great. I like how we can now find out any medical conditions or any other problems that some animals have by using this technology. I also think it would be great if this technology were to be used on humans more often to find out if they are pregnant, sick or have any other serious conditions.

Entry 4- September 23, 2013

Nairobi Westgate attack: Assault begins to break siege

September 23, 2013

BBC News

Al-Shabab, which is a terrorist group that is located in Somalia and is also linked with al-Qaeda attacked a local mall in Nairobi, Kenya called the Westgate Shopping Complex. al-Shabab is mainly fighting in general to make Somalia an Islamic state. They have been pushed out of many key cities in the past couple years, but still have control over many small towns on the countryside. The terrorist group  states that this mall attack is a retaliation for the Kenyan military operations in Somalia.   Over 1,000 people were in the mall during the attack and so far there has been 62 people killed and more than over 170 people injured.

I think that the Kenyan Police and Military should try negotiating or making contact with these terrorists before anything else dangerous happens. They have already found out why these terrorists are here, but they haven't found a way to stop them and I think that they should try and negotiate a deal with these terrorists and find out what they want.