Texas Wildfire Kills Two
According to Reuters.com, two people have died as a result of the Texas wildfires that spread north through the state. In total, 60 separate wildfires have pushed north due to strong winds from tropical storm Lee. Because of the damage, Texas governor Rick Perry cut his campaign short to return to his home state. Perry is currently running as a Republican presidential candidate. Perry urged his fellow Texans to "take extreme caution as we continue to see the devastating effects of sweeping wildfires impacting both rural and urban areas of the state." Officials reported the worst of the fires were east of Austin. The Texas Forest Service said "the fire has jumped highway 95," a road they hoped would act as a barrier against the fire. Instead, the fire has now spread to 25,000 acres across the state.
Hurricane Lee Downgraded to Tropical Depression
According to Fox News, Hurricane Lee lost some of its damaging winds, but forecasters predict "slow moving" rain clouds will cause flooding threats to inland areas with hills or mountains over the next couple of days. In New Orleans, more than a foot of rain was recorded while the rest of the storm system spawned tornadoes in other areas. By Sunday evening, the storm was downgraded to a tropical depression; however, remnants of the storm are expected to continue through areas of Alabama, Louisiana, and Mississippi. Robbie Berg, a specialist at the National Hurricane Center, commented that the flash flood threat could become more severe as the storm moves into the Appalachians. Although Lee has not caused any deaths directly, a "body boarder in Galveston, Texas drowned after being pulled out to sea in a heavy surf churned up by Lee." Marc McAllister, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Jackson, Miss., predicted Lee would produce less and less rain the farther north it traveled. The storm is expected to stall over Kentucky for at least two days.
Ireland Battles Vatican over Child Abuse Law
According to CNN, Ireland "stepped up its battle with the Roman Catholic Church over child abuse" this past Sunday. Justice Minister Alan Shatter vowed to pass a law which requires priests to report any suspicions of child abuse, even if they are heard about in confession. The Catholic Church argued that anything learned in confession is strictly confidential. The proposed law, however, will hold priests accountable for failing to tell police such information, even if it is from a confession box. Shatter released a statement through a spokesperson last week saying that priests unwilling to report crimes they have learned about in confession "has led sexual predators into believing that they have impunity and facilitated pedophiles preying on children and destroying their lives." The comment by Shatter came in after the Vatican rejected a report of the Irish accusing church leaders of covering up extensive abuse of young people by priests in Ireland. A report released July 13 contains 421 pages on "the handling of abuses" in the Catholic Church, and other policies put in place since 1996.
China Denies Selling Weapons to Libya
According to CNN, a senior member of Libya's transitional government said documents showing China offered to sell arms to Moammar Gadhafi during his rule are "the real deal." A report from Canada's The Globe and Mail Newspaper explained the "state-controlled Chinese arms manufacturers were prepared to sell at least 200 million worth of weapons to Gadhafi." This transaction would have violated the United Nations resolutions banning such transactions. One of the reporters from The Globe found the documents of this proposal in Arabic, in a pile of trash in Tripoli's Bab Akkarah neighborhood. The enclave was once home to some of Gadhafi's most loyal supporters. The documents found do not say, however, whether military assistance was delivered by China or not. China claims it followed "UN Security council resolutions that banned the export of arms to Gadhafi's government." According to Jiang Yu, a spokeswoman for China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, "The Gadhafi regime sent people to China to engage in contact with certain individuals of relevant Chinese companies in July" Yu also comments that if this happened, the Chinese government had no knowledge of it.
Somalia Famine Worsens
According to BBC, the United Nations warned that 750,000 deaths can be expected if Somalia's drought worsens. They have now declared a famine in a new area of Africa after "tens of thousands of people have died after what is said to be East Africa's worst drought for 60 years." The Southern Bay has become the sixth area to be officially declared a famine zone. This is mostly in parts of Southern Somalia which is controlled by the Islamists al-shabab. According to Grainne Moloney, the UN's technical advisor, the situation in Bay is far worse than anything previously recorded. Malnutrition among children in the area rank 58 percent, which is a record rate. Moloney commented this is almost "double the rate at which famine is declared." The UN's Food Security and Nutrition Analysis Unit (FSNAU) say that in total, 4 million people are in crisis. Half of the ones already dead are the children. Unni Karunakara, the head of the medical charity Medicins Sans Frontieres (MSF) "says al-shabab's restrictions on aid workers mean many people in Somalia cannot be helped." Some officials from al-shabab claim Western news has exaggerated the situation for political reasons.
