World News Bits for Wednesday September 9

Wednesday, September 9, 2009

Mexican police free over 100 people in hijacked planeWednesday, over 100 people were held by 6 or more hijackers in Cancun, Mexico. All passengers and crew were safely escorted off of the plane after Mexican police raided the airplane and arrested the hijackers. All passengers are unharmed. The hijacking is thought to have been planned by a Bolivian man who believed that Mexico would be facing “great dangers” and would be “threatened by an earthquake”.

NATO soldiers liberate journalist from Taliban captorsAfter being abducted by Taliban in Afghanistan’s Kunduz province on Saturday, Stephen Farrell, a British/Irish journalist, was liberated from his captors. Farrell was captured with Sultan Munadi who did not survive the helicopter rescue mission early Wednesday. Three others were killed in the “dramatic” rescue mission. Farrell describes his experience in this BBC News Article: Four die in Afghan rescue mission.

Lockerbie bomber cheered at first public appearanceIn Libya, members of parliament cheered for Abdelbaset Ali al-Megrahi, the Lockerbie bomber at his first public appearance since his August release from a Scottish prison. Al-Megrahi was convicted of killing 270 people in 1988 by blowing up a Pan Am flight. The Scottish government released Al-Megrahi released because he is terminally ill.Uruguay allows same-sex couples to adoptAgainst the wishes of the Catholic Church, Uruguay became the first Latin American country to legalize adoption for same-sex couples. Seventeen of twenty-three senators voted to allow same-sex couples to adopt, passing the new legislation.Iran may be capable of producing bomb soon

Glyn Davies reported to the International Atomic Energy Agency that Iran is capable of producing a bomb if it continued to enrich its supply of low-enriched uranium. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad refuses to halt his country’s nuclear program and insists that the program is will not be used in the production of weapons.Small, overfilled boat capsizes off Sierra Leone coast, 8 killed