Recently in International News Category

By: Angela Wendler

A 6.5 magnitude earthquake shook Mexico's western Guerrero state Saturday. The quake resulted in three deaths, reports the Associated Press.

An earthquake of this magnitude is generally very destructive, but the depth of the tremble lessened its impact, reports USA Today.

The U.S. Geological Service said that the quake occurred at a depth of 40.3 miles, reports USA Today.

Roads were blocked by rubble from the quake. High-rise buildings shook for more than a minute, causing shoppers and workers to vacate the buildings, reports the Associated Press.

People fled their homes and gathered in the streets, hugging and crying, reports USA Today.

By: Angela Wendler

A British soldier was jailed for 18 months and discharged from the military for bayoneting a 10-year-old boy in Afghanistan, reports the AFP.

Grenadier Guardsman, Daniel Crook stabbed Ghulam Nabi in March of last year while on patrol in the Nad-e Ali district of the southern Helmand province, reports AFP.

The guardsman had drunk a "considerable amount of vodka," so much that he had to be treated by medics the night before the incident occured, reports The Telegraph.

The next day Crook armed himself with two hand grenades and a bayonet for patrol, because his rifle had been confiscated as a safety precaution, reports the AFP.

During patrol Crook was approached by two boys on bicycles. One of the boys, Nabi, pestered Crook for chocolate. In response to the boy's plea Crook stabbed him with the bayonet near his kidneys, reports The Telegraph.

When Crook caught up with the patrol, he admitted to stabbing the boy. When Crook was later questioned by the military police, he could not explain his actions, reports the AFP.

By: Angela Wendler

The Russian Government reacted negatively to the lenient sentence given to the Pennsylvania couple who were originally charged with murder for the the death of their 7-year-old son adopted from Russia, reports the Associated Press.

Michael and Nanette Craver were sentenced Friday to 16 months to four years in prison for involuntary manslaughter by Judge John S. Kennedy of the Court of Common Pleas in York, Pa, reports the New York Times.

The couple had already served 19 months in prison prior to the trial, and therefore, will not be serving any more jail time, reports the New York Times.

The Cravers claim that their son's fatal head injury was self-inflicted when the child ran into a wooden stove the night before they found him unconscious, reports the Associated Press.

Judge Kennedy did not sentence the couple to any more jail time because he felt there was little to be gained from it. He said that given their ages, 56 and 47, the couple was unlikely to become parents again, as reported by the New York Times.

By: Angela Wendler

One-month-old baby, said to hold a diploma, was found on the NIgerian government payroll, reports News Core.

The name of the infant was found on the payroll during an investigation designed to weed out "ghost employees from the Nigerian workforce, reports AFP.

"In the on-going verification exercise of the payrolls ... in the state we discovered that a month-old baby was among the employees of one local government who is paid a salary," said Garba Gajam, justice commissioner for Zamfara State, as reported by News Core.

The payroll shows that the infant was recorded to hold a national diploma. This is a "widespread trend in the local government service where senior officials stuff payrolls with the names of their wives and children," Giam said, reports AFP.

The guilty parties will have to repay the stolen money and go to court for misappropriating public funds, reports AFP.

By: Angela Wendler

Thirteen American soldiers and four Afghans were killed by a suicide bomber in Kabul Saturday, reports the New York Times.

It was the most deadly attack for US and NATO troops in Kabul since the war began, reports the New York Times.

The attack happened outside of the American University on the route connecting the NATO bases in downtown Kabul to the Kabul Military Training Center. The road is often used by military trainers, reports the Associated Press.

This was the fourth attack on allied forces and government offices in two days, reports the New York Times.

By: Angela Wendler

The Turkish Prime Minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, reports that 138 people are dead and 350 more were injured by the earthquake Sunday, reports CNN.

The death toll is expected to rise. Rescue teams will work through the night to search for survivors beneath the rubble, as reported by CNN.

The Turkish seismic institute measured the earthquake's magnitude to be 7.2. The earthquake was centered in the Van Province, near the Iran boarder, reports the New York Times.

Nearly 20 aftershocks were felt strongly in nearby villages. The largest of which had a magnitude of 6.0, as reported by CNN.

Sunday's earthquake was the largest quake to impact Turkey in over a century, reports CNN.

By: Angela Wendler

Amanda Knox, 24, leaves prison monday a free woman after being cleared, by an Italian court, of all charges in connection with the murder of Meredith Kercher in 2007, reports the Miami Herald.

Knox and her former boyfriend, Raffaele Sollecito, 27-year-old Italian computer student, appealed against the 2009 court verdict that found them guilty of killing Kercher, Knox's roommate in Perugia, reports the Hindustan Times.

Knox was sentenced to 26 years in prison, and Sollecito to 25.

The prosecution's downfall in the case against Knox and Sollecito was the ruling that the DNA evidence used to convict the pair in 2009 was unreliable, reports the Hindustan Times.

"We're thankful that Amanda's nightmare is over," said Deanna Knox, her younger sister. "She suffered for four years for a crime she did not commit," as reported by the Miami Herald.

By: Angela Wendler

Mexico City hopes to transform the concept of marriage by proposing a new two-year marriage license.

Leftist politicians are hoping that the new two-year policy will simplify the termination of short, unhappy marriages, reports the Sydney Morning Herald.

"The proposal is, when the two-year period is up, if the relationship is not stable or harmonious, the contract simply ends," said Leonel Luna, a Mexico City assemblyman and member of the leftist Party of the Democratic Revolution, reports Time.

The marriage contract would specify how shared assets and children would be divided up at the end of the two-year commitment, reports the Sydney Morning Herald.

Despite the many supporters, there is a large portion of the population against the new proposal.''This reform is absurd. It contradicts the nature of marriage,'' Hugo Valdemar, spokesman for the Mexican archdiocese, said.

Marriage in Mexico City may change from "Til death do us part" to "Til I'm sick of you," reports Time.

By: Angela Wendler

A Kenyan runner set a new world record marathon time of 2 hours 3 minutes 38 seconds at the Berlin Marathon on Sunday.

Patrick Makau, 26, broke the marathon world record, previously set by Haile Gebrselassie of Ethiopia in 2008, by 21 seconds, reported the Seattle Times.

Gebrselassie ran in the marathon on Sunday, but he was unable to complete the race due to a sport induced asthma attack, reported the New York Times.

Makau averaged a 4:43 mile pace, which allowed him to beat his personal best time of 2:04:48 by 70 seconds, according to the New York Times.

"It's a great thing to beat Haile, one of my heroes," Makau said to the Seattle Times.

By: Angela Wendler

A British woman was kidnapped from an exclusive resort in Kenya by a gang of Somali pirates.

Judith Tebbutt, 56, was removed forcibly from her luxury beach hut in Kiwayu Safari Village by six gunmen early in the morning on Sept. 11.

Tebbutt's husband was killed by a single gunshot wound to the head while allegedly trying to protect his wife.

The New York Times reported that Tebbutt was taken from the resort in a speedboat and is now likely being held in an undisclosed town in Somalia.

Tebbutt is severely hearing impaired. Her friends and family are concerned that she will not be able to communicate with her kidnappers reports the Sydney Morning Herald.

This attack was highly unusual, because it occurred in Kenya and on land. These circumstances imply that there was a degree of cooperation between the pirate kidnappers and Shabab, who control the Somali coast along which the pirates would have needed to refuel.

In recent months the Shabab have taken over several pirate dens in Somalia. The pirates are reportedly sharing a portion of the ransom profits with the Shabab.