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Volume CXXXI, Number 20 |
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News briefs
Britain mourns the loss of their Queen Mum
Queen Elizabeth died in her sleep in Windsor Castle last weekend at the
age of 101.
Born Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lydon in 1900, she
became queen when her husband was crowned King George VI in 1936. A pillar
of British strength during the German blitz of World War II, Elizabeth
remained queen until her husband's death in 1952. At that point her daughter,
Queen Elizabeth II, took the throne.
Widely regarded as the grandmother of all Britons, the nation mourned the loss of this maternal figure.
Bush administration seeks Middle East solution
As tension builds between the Israeli and Palestinian nations, the Bush
White House is struggling to effectively resolve conflict. As violence
has increased in the past few weeks, the United States and the United
Nations are becoming increasingly interested in halting the conflict.
Though the implementation of a cease-fire agreement would be ideal, Bush and his advisors are currently determining the best course of action.
According to political analysts, the United States is left with three main options for course of action. The first includes allowing the exile of Yassir Arafat, while the second contradicts this, and suggests keeping a watchful eye over Israeli military action while allowing Arafat to maintain power. The third and increasingly popular possibility entails leading discussions of security and political issues with Israeli and Palestinian officials at the same time, as the two points are closely related.
Hundreds arrested in Afghan bomb plot
Numbers as high as 700 are being given regarding the number of those arrested
under suspicion of being involved in a bombing plot that would have wreaked
havoc upon the Afghanistan capitol of Kabul.
Though many of the details remain vague at this time, bombing targets
were believed to include the interim government of Hamid Karzai and former
king, Mohammad Zahir Shah.
The bombing plot was designed to weaken and hopefully topple the American
supported interim government.
Along with the several hundred who have been arrested, many of their weapons were discovered and confiscated.
Pope John Paul II named in molestation case
A case was filed Wednesday in St. Petersburg, Florida, naming Pope John
Paul II in one of the many sexual abuse cases that have recently come
to light. The Pope is not accused of sexual abuse, he is, however, being
accused of relocating Catholic priests who were under suspicion of abuse.
One case cites the Pope as relocating a Florida priest to New Jersey
immediately after local Tampa police began an investigation. Other cases
involve harboring and protecting known pedophiles.
The Florida lawyer heading these cases, Jeffrey R. Anderson, has little doubt regarding the difficulty of successfully suing the Vatican, citing an international case of obstruction of justice.
Teen gets life in Dartmouth murders
Robert Tulloch, who stood trial for the slaying of Half and Suzanne Zantop-both
Dartmouth professors-in January of 2001, reversed his plea of not-guilty
yesterday, effectively ending the case against him.
His accomplice, James Parker, had pled guilty to the charges against
him, and agreed to testify against Tulloch in a plea bargain that resulted
in 25 years in prison.
Robert Tulloch, however, who had maintained his innocence up until this point, will now serve life in prison without parole for first-degree murder.