Chemical Atrocities
IS MAY HAVE USED CHEMICAL WEAPONS AGAINST IRAQI KURDS
Kurdish authorities said they had evidence chlorine gas was used in January
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Islamic State used chlorine gas against Kurdish peshmerga fighters in northern Iraq in January, Kurdish authorities said on Saturday.
In samples of soil and clothing from an Islamic State car bombing attempt in January, Kurdish authorities said they’d found “levels of chlorine that suggested the substance was used in weaponised form”.
Chlorine gas is a lethal choking agent whose use dates back to WWI and is banned under the 1997 Chemical Weapons Convention.
The White House couldn’t confirm the allegations, but said they were “deeply disturbing” and claimed to be watching the situation “very closely”.
Big Storms
THE PACIFIC ISLAND NATION VANUATU WAS HIT BY A ‘MONSTER’ CYCLONE
Up to 90 percent of housing in the capital has been seriously damaged
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Cyclone Pam – described by President Baldwin Lonsdale as a “monster” – ravaged the island nation of Vanuatu this weekend, killing at least eight and flattening many buildings in the capital, Port Vila.
A state of emergency has been declared throughout the 65 islands, which have a combined population of 267,000.
The scale of damage outside the capital, on the nation’s other islands, is not yet fully known because communications are down. However, The Observer reported that more bodies had been discovered and that infrastructure has been completely destroyed on the island of Tanna, south of the capital.
“This is likely to be one of the worst disasters ever seen in the Pacific,” Colin Collet van Rooyen of Oxfam said.
Australia, New Zealand, France, the UK and other nations have pledged humanitarian aid.
Potential Coalitions
FARAGE OFFERED THE TORIES A POST-ELECTION DEAL
He promised a pact with a minority Tory government in return for an EU referendum
Photo by Michael Segalov
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UKIP leader Nigel Farage offered the Tories a post-election deal on Sunday, saying his party would be willing to back a minority Tory government if they agreed to an EU referendum in late 2015.
Farage said it would not be a formal coalition, but that UKIP would back a minority Conservative government on key issues such as the budget.
In return, Farage wants “a full and fair referendum to be held in 2015 to allow Britons to vote on being in or out of the European Union”.
The eurosceptic leader said that a three way deal between UKIP, the Conservatives and the Democratic Unionist Party in Northern Island was a “possible scenario”.
Rebellious Teens
THREE BRITISH TEENAGERS WERE STOPPED FROM CROSSING INTO SYRIA
They were flown back to the UK and arrested
Islamic State fighters in Iraq
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Two 17-year-old boys from West London and a 19-year-old man were detained by Turkish authorities when they tried to cross into Syria on Saturday. British police said they were going to join Islamic State.
The three British citizens were flown back to the UK, where they were arrested by police on suspicion of preparing terrorist acts. They remain in custody in central London.
The Home Office says there are about 600 Britons “of interest” currently in Syria.
The BBC estimates that about 100 of these are fighting as part of Kurdish forces against IS, and about 500 are involved on the Islamic State side.
The Magic of Technology
A WOMAN IS USING GUMTREE TO SEARCH FOR HER BABY DADDY
So far she’s been unsuccessful :(
Bianca Fazey and her baby
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Two months ago, 25-year-old Bianca Fazey gave birthday to a boy, who she named Logan.
The Australian’s pregnancy had come as a surprise a) because she’d previously been told she couldn’t have kids, and b) because it was the result of a one-night stand.
Bianca hasn’t seen the father – a man called Jeremy – since that night and has launched a search to find him via an ad on Gumtree.
“I don’t ever expect him to come forward but if he did contact me, it would only be between us two and not the world,” she said.
