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Chatter: What we're hearing
Sunday, October 9th, 2011
Need to know:
An oil spill off the coast of New Zealand is threatening to spread as bad weather exacerbates the problem. The three-mile slick was created by the MV Rena after it ran into the Astrolabe Reef on Wednesday. The weather could slow down the emergency plans to pump 2,000 tonnes of oil off the ship. Prime Minister John Key wants "serious questions" over the incident to be answered.
Protests in Syria hit an all time high after a Kurdish leader was killed. Some speculate he was assasinated. Over 50,000 people flooded the streets while mourners headed to the funeral of Mashaal Tammo. Security forces opened fire on the crowd in Qamishli, killing five people.
Want to know:
Will Yemen's President, Ali Abdullah Saleh actually leave his post? The opposition in Yemen say no. Mohammad al-Sabri, opposition spokeman, said that the statement was simply a way for the president to generate headlines before Tuesday, when a UN Security Council meeting is to be held. Saleh has already vowed to leave power three times this year alone.
What's the story behind the rebels camping out in Sirte? Most were civillians- teachers, computer engineers who had never fired a weapon before. Now they've been united as they wait to advance on toppled-leader Gaddafi's hometown.
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Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh says he is stepping down in the coming days, but Yemen's new Nobel Peace Prize winner, Tawakkul Karman, says his offer to leave power is not to be trusted.
One of the biggest attacks yet on Gaddafi's hometown of Sirte took place on Saturday but loyalist snipers fired back leaving Libya's troops scrambling for refuge, the Washington Post reports.
Dull but important:
In Cameroon, where presidential elections are being held, voters trickled into polls. It is widely believed that the Central African nation's current president will be taken into his fourth decade in power. While this may seem like a good thing, many voters left the polling station after failing to cast a ballot because they couldn't find their names on the voter rolls, or were unable to pick up voter ID cards.
The debate about the fifth ammendment and the death of Anwar al Awlaki rages on. People have claimed it was unlawful for the CIA to have killed a US citizen. It was a secret US memo that allowed the CIA to kill Anwar Al Awlaki. However, according to sources who read the secret White House memo that authorized his kill, found that it would be lawful only if it were not feasible to take him alive, according to people who have read the document.
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A US drone targeted but failed to hit Anwar al Awlaki, a radical Yemeni cleric.
Just because:
How is Japan different after the earthquake? Apparently more people are getting hitched, more people are getting spiritual. Previously, Japan culture was marked by a complacent middle class, that had little sense of solidarity and didn't give much money to charity. The Japan tsunami and Japan earthquake changed all that.
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Strange but True:
A Spanish matador was gored by a bull during a recent bullfight, ripping apart the man’s face as he tore through his jaw and gouged out his eyeball in front of an audience. The man survived.
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