31 July 2015

Need to Know - #CecilTheLion

Follow these Stories on Twitter & Facebook
News broke this week that a favourite lion in Zimbabwe had been killed by an American hunter under questionable circumstances.

Death of a King


Cecil, a 13 year old male lion, was a favourite at the Hwange National Park and famous for his black-fringed mane but also part of a study at Oxford University where he wore a GPS tracking device to monitor his activities since 2008.

The hunt reportedly began when Cecil was lured out of the Hwange National Park onto another farmers property by a carcass strapped to a truck. Once on the new property the hunt began with dentist Walter Palmer, who paid $50 000 to the organizer of the hunt, shooting Cecil with a bow and arrow wounded him. After fleeing Cecil was discovered 40 hours later where he was killed with a rifle and was skinned and beheaded on the spot leaving the remains behind including an attempt to destroy the tracking device once it was discovered.

World Wide Response


The response from the world has been massive with widespread condemnation for dentist Walter Palmer resulting in his dental practice shutting it's doors as people lay tributes outside for Cecil and some attacking Walter Palmer's dental practice by leaving negative reviews on Yelp. Many celebrities have also voiced their disgust on social media along with organizations calling for everything from deportation to criminal charges.

Since the death of Cecil and International condemnation two men who organized and took part in the hunt were arrested and face charges for not having the right permits along with calls from Zimbabwe for the US to extradite dentist Walter Palmer. After going into hiding and possibly even on the run, it has been revealed that Walter Palmer is being investigated in the States by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Walter Palmer has responded claiming ignorance saying he thought all the rules had been followed and that he regretted the killing of the lion and has since been suspended from an international hunting club.

24 July 2015

Rich, Famous & Filthy Attitudes

Follow these Stories on Twitter & Facebook
It was a busy week with controversy dogging many celebrities, some over petty misunderstandings and others far more serious.

Petty Misunderstandings


We begin the week with the MTV VMA nominations made and Nicki Minaj complaining on twitter about her lack of nominations for her video at which point Taylor Swift responded triggering a Twitter war. After some back and forth it was eventually resolved with Taylor apologizing but not before frenemy Katy Perry got a word in. Another Twitter feud kicked off this week when Meek Mill had some choice words for Drake about his rapping abilities but Drake had support from friends who stepped in to defend Drake. From misunderstandings to issues of taste, a new controversial magazine cover featuring Amy Schumer and various Star Wars references had people talking while high in the sky Lil Wayne was grounded for smoking pot on a plane.

Legal Quandries


On to the more serious we find Chris Brown's house robbery take a turn with members of his entourage added to the list of suspects while in China, Korean pop star Psy fled the scene of a car crash where he crashed his Rolls Royce into a Porsche. 50 Cent was in court and ordered to pay for leaking a sex tape even after he filed for bankruptcy giving rap rival Rick Ross new material to work with. Finally we end the week where it began when the New York Times released a copy of a deposition made by Bill Cosby where he talks about his calculated pursuit of young women and using drugs like Quaaludes but claimed they were consensual. Bill Cosby also admits to paying the women off after sex and hiding the payments from his wife. Since the release Cosby's lawyers have attacked the release of the documents and want the settlement kept sealed. The week ended with two of Cosby's alleged victims pushing ahead with a sex-assault lawsuit with the possibility of a new deposition.

17 July 2015

Need to Know - New Horizons

Follow these Stories on Twitter & Facebook
This week saw a nine year long expedition finally complete its primary mission as the New Horizons spacecraft flew past Pluto.

New Horizons left earth in January 2006 heading over 3 billion miles to reach Pluto at the furtherest reaches of our solar system. At the time of its launch the iPhone had not been released and its target, Pluto, was still considered a planet. After years of testing various instrumentation as it passed closer planets and traveling through empty space New Horizons finally managed a flyby over Pluto at 7,800 miles above the surface lasting only a few hours but enough time to capture and send back images and other scientific information to a loyal crew back on earth patiently waiting. Traveling at over 45,000mph it was impossible to stop so after capturing all it could in its short window of time over Pluto it now travels beyond into even further reaches of space sending back more information. It's expected that New Horizons will continue to travel and broadcast signal back into 2030 or longer.

10 July 2015

Individual Nations Impacting Global Financial Markets

Follow these Stories on Twitter & Facebook
A week of financial instability had everyone on edge as Europe dealt with Greece and China battled in the stock markets.

Greek Crisis


After continued strife and instability Greece went to the polls and voted NO, rejecting international creditors’ tough bailout terms sending stock markets around the globe spiraling downwards with Australia losing $30billion. At a meeting following the referendum Greece arrived without a new debt proposal causing stocks to tumble for a second day. European leaders gave Greece 48 hours strike a new bailout deal with its Eurozone creditors or it threatened that all 28 national EU leaders would meet on Sunday to discuss how to contain the crisis. Greece requested a 3 year bailout but Germany was hesitant wanting a full list of reforms.

Below is an interesting breakdown of the European Debt Crisis.



Chinese Stock Market


After continued stock market volatility in China hedge fund managers pledged to invest $19billion to help prevent further damage, however, the Chinese stock market took a nose dive during the week with over 700 companies asking for their shares to be suspended. China took measures to prevent further chaos by stopping major share holders from selling for six months. There seemed to be a positive uptick on Friday after the measures were introduced however no one is sure how long it will last.

3 July 2015

Protecting and Honoring Victims

Follow these Stories on Twitter & Facebook
This week we look at human frailty with some fighting for law and order and others abusing it while disasters show no discrimination.

Law & Order


We begin in Hong Kong where tens of thousands marched at a pro-democracy rally marking the 18th anniversary of Britain handing the territory back to China but while some marched remembering their freedoms others were attacked in Turkey when police fired water cannons, rubber pellets and tear gas to disperse people at a gay pride event in Istanbul.

On the other side of the law this week saw an end to the New York prisoner escape when Richard Matt was shot and killed while the second fugitive David Sweat was shot and taken into custody. Australia saw one of it's largest prisons descend into chaos when a smoking bad was introduced causing prisoners to riot and finally we have a mother who admitted to killing her two children and leaving their bodies in her freezer.

Disasters


The week saw multiple disasters strike across the globe, we begin with an explosion in Taiwan at a water park which has claimed two lives and an explosion at a chemical plant in South Korea which killed 6 workers. In Indonesia a military aircraft crash claimed a staggering 144 lives while an army train accident in Pakistan saw 17 people die followed by 38 people dying when a Philippine ferry capsized.

We end the week with closure on some previous disasters with a report on the TransAsia crash claiming human error when the pilot pulled the wrong throttle shutting down the sole working engine causing the crash.