'More' Troops Going Home

More troops could be brought home this year is said by sources of the Ministry of Defense. Although the overall level will stay at 9500 troops, still 400 will be able to go home to their families and loved ones. The coming years the troops going home will only increase. By the end of 2014 troops will be withdrawn from combat. The UK would like to work with Afghanistan to achieve a military and political solution. Positive changes are clearly seen, but there will still be difficulties ahead. They think the solution of Afghanistan lies in the full withdrawal of all foreign troops immediately, otherwise the armed struggle will increase day by day


I think it is a good thing that they want to withdraw all the troops in Afghanistan, but what will they achieve with that? All the men who were killed there will be killed for nothing, because nothing will be achieved from withdrawing the troops. It is a terrible war in Afghanistan, but I do not think that they can give up now, because they have been there for so long now. It will get better I believe, but they have to slowly withdraw more troops and not all of them immediately. Most important is the trust in God. They have to put their trust in God, otherwise the war will never end, it will always be in their hearts.

Bravery Medal for Gurkham

Gurkha Dipprasad Pun, who fought the Taliban has been presented the UK's second highest bravery medal by the Queen. He was very proud when receiving the medal. He said he thought he was going to die. He was sentry at night on the checkpoint and it was surrounded by Taliban. The Gurkha opened fire and the Taliban fired back. At one point his weapon failed, but the Gurkha never stopped fighting, he saved the life of three and he says he was never scared. The medal he received is the second highest bravery medal, the highest is the Victoria Cross.


When I read what this man did I was really impressed. It is incredible how one man can be so brave to fight with  the Taliban alone. Even hearing him say that he was never scared impresses me. I cannot imagine having to stand there, eyes in eyes with the Taliban and not be scared. Some people have more courage than a whole group of people together. I cannot say other than I am impressed with this man. It is a good thing he got a medal, because I think that is only a small part of what he deserves. I am proud of the men protecting their home. 

Red Kites Swoop on Children

While children of a school in Oxfordshire were eating kites swooped away their lunch. One child was scratched by a kite when the kite swooped away his lunch, he had to get tetanus jab. Students are being told not to eat their lunch in the playing fields anymore. Cathy Rose from the Chilterns Conservation Boar says that the children should not encourage the kites to come down. The birds are apparently becoming bolder and there are too many. Most people are delighted to have the kites back, but people should be careful. 

Kites stealing your lunch, sounds like a lot of fun, but hearing about having to get tetanus jab sounds a lot less fun. It is kind of interesting to hear about the birds becoming bolder. I like birds a lot and the red kites are beautiful animals, it is just a shame they are becoming bolder. Unfortunately it is not allowed anymore to shoot them, so it is not possible to try that. I think the children should then just eat inside and then play outside after. There is no other solution. Be smart and just stay inside while eating or if you like getting tetanus jab, please go outside and challenge the kites. 

Mullany Trial Finally Begins

Ben and Catherine Mullany, both 31, married in 2008 and went to Antigua for their honeymoon. Only two weeks later both were shot at their hotel in Antigua. Two men will go on trial for shooting the couple. The couple's families will attend the trial, which is expected to take two months. The two men have multiple charges against them for three other murders. The case of couple Mullany will take place first, together with the case of Mrs. Walker. The other two cases will begin at a later time. A fund was set up for the Mullany's by their families - it is an assistance for those studying medicine as well as physiotherapy. 

It is terrible to hear that this couple was shot just after their honeymoon, but I think it would have been more sorrowful if one of them survived, feeling guilty the rest of his/her life. It is also a really good thing that the trial will finally begin, because according to the families it has been delayed for several times and now it is actually going to happen. In remembrance of the couple the families set up a fund to support students studying the same as the Mullany's. I think this is a really good thing, because now their legacy will go on forever. 

Animals' Death

Eighteen birds beheaded, a frog pierced, fish poisoned (with fertiliser) and windows smashed. That is what happened at a Manchester park. The vandals broke into the aviary in Wythenshawe park. More than £10,000 of damage had been caused. "The vandalism is shocking and distressing", says Pc Terina Wild. They are looking for anyone who has seen anything unusual that day or people who know who is responsible for this crime. This crime has affected the community and the offenders need to be brought justice. They are doing everything that is possible to bring these offenders justice.

This is like the fourth blog about something terrible and it just makes me sick to read articles like this. How can people be so cruel? I cannot imagine it being fun to kill animals and smash windows. If you would really like to do it, well, do it at your own home, smash windows there but leave communities. Perhaps they are only birds, a frog and fish, but they are animals and they deserve a life too. It is just cruel to do something like this. I really hope, from the bottom of my heart, that they find these vandals and bring justice to them, because that is what they deserve.

Unbelievable Abuse

Four people have been arrested and accused of abusing patients at a residential hospital. It was discovered by BBC Panorama after five weeks of filming undercover. Apparently the abuse was to punish the patients, but even the clinical psychologist says he is shocked by some of the treatment of vulnerable patients. In the past it was brought to light, but they never took action and regret it now. An internal investigation is launched and the records of 580 patients in 56 facilities are being reviewed. They are making sure this will not happen again. 

When reading this I can just think about how this could happen? I mean how can the director of this place not see it. I can not imagine there are people on this earth who can treat others like that, they should have the same treatment and be in jail for the rest of their lives. Perhaps it is to drastic, but what they did is terrible. The patients think they are getting help, but they are not, the opposite, they are being abused and that is horrible. I hope the investigation makes sure that some people will be arrested and I hope that they will make a difference for the future, these patients deserve that too.

Titanic Celebration

A religious service has taken place in Belfast to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the launch of the Titanic. The celebration took place on the same spot as from where the Titanic left the shipyard. The celebration was led by Reverend Chris Bennett. He says it is a shame the Titanic has not been mentioned for the last 100 years, it is their secret. They want to celebrate instead of being silent today. The Titanic took three years to build and now there will be several exhibitions of the Titanic. "It is a remarkable story" says Niall Gibbons. 

The Titanic - 31st  of May 1911

It is a remarkable story hearing about the Titanic. It is a story to never be forgotten and I respect the people in Belfast to celebrate it in a way like this, because hundreds of people died when the Titanic sank, but they want to celebrate their lives rather than forget and mourn about it. The Titanic was a gigantic ship and now, a hundred years later, people still talk about it. I think the exhibitions are an excellent idea, because the Titanic should never be forgotten. The pride they once had should be rediscovered, because the Titanic was a magnificent ship. 

Plane Crashes into House

A crash into a house in Kent is being investigated. The final words of the pilot have been replayed to find out what the cause of death is of the pilot and his passengers. Apparently the pilot, Mr. Roberts, reported engine vibrations just after taking off. He was allowed to fly back, but they never made it. Luckily the owners of the house in Kent were not home at the time of the accident or there would have been more victims. After investigation they found out that there was no black box, but the reason for the crash was failure of the plane's air-conditioning and pressurising system. 

Reading this article it shows me again that airplanes are not always to be trusted. It surprises me that they never found out any problems when checking the plane before taking off. Failure of air-conditioning seems like a huge deal to me, so why didn't they find anything when checking? It is being investigated, but I think that the company should be investigated. Five people died and it could have been more if the home owners were not on holiday. Engineering inspectors, check your airplane and make sure it departs in one piece and as a whole. We don't want accidents!

Inappropriate Relationship?

A Metropolitan police officer is sacked over sending texts to a 14-year old girl whom he met in October 2009 when she was in custody. They exchanged phone numbers and Facebook and sent messages which contained 'sexual elements'. An IPCC found that he first met the girl when he was working as a jailer in the time she had been arrested. The police officer met with the girl outside of work several times and he exploited his position as a police officer to pursue her sexually. The IPCC says he is just glad that the officer is no longer in a position to do this to anyone else. 


When reading articles about these kinds of subjects I just get frustrated. Why would a 27-year old man want to have an (inappropriate) relationship with a 14-year old girl? Some people in this world are just sick and I hope that this man learned from this and will not try it again, because next time it can be a 10-year old girl. It just makes me sick to read this. Perhaps the girl had an own choice, but I do not think that she had anything to say, he took advantage of her. Man like this should be castrated, I am just saying.

Koussa 'a witness', Salmond says

Moussa Koussa has not been arrested. Alex Salmond says if there was evidence he would have been. He would be arrested and transported back to Scotland. Scottish authorities always applied the law of Scotland without fear of favour. Koussa is also taken of the sanctions list. The EU sanctions froze Gaddafi's assets on the other hand. Sanctions were introduced to target members of Gaddafi's regime and encourage "behavioural change". Mr. Koussa has been removed because he has chosen to leave the Regime. Mr. Koussa left the UK for Qatar. He had been staying at an unknown location in the UK.

I do not quite understand why everything must be so complicated. I get why Mr. Koussa has not been arrested, but other than that I do not quite understand why he was taken of the list and the family members of Gaddafi not. Most of what is happening is Gaddafi's fault, so why blame his family members? I just do not get it. Since America is involved the whole world worries about Libya and it makes it only more difficult. Sometimes it is good to let countries solve their own problems, because now we have to worry to and I already have enough to worry about. 

Just Admit It

A 65-year old lady from Hampshire stabbed her husband Michael who was 63 years old. Her husband died after three severe stab wounds. Mrs. Parkinson admits stabbing her husband, but she denies wanting to kill him. She says he upset her and they had an argument which led to a much more violent argument. Mrs. Parkinson says she wanted him to stop shouting by brandishing a knife at him, but he only came closer and she dropped the knife. Without wanting to kill him she picked up the knife again and stabbed him to death. She said she did not act out of self-defence.

Wow, when reading this I just think “where’s the world going?”. Woman stabbing their husbands these days and murdering them without the intention to do so. I would say the exact same thing, but lady, just open up your mouth and admit that even when you are not a murderer, you did wish him dead for just a moment and in my eyes that is murder too. That woman should go to jail, because her husband is dead because of her and his intention perhaps was never to hurt her; then why did she kill him anyways? Murderers should be locked up.

Mothers, Be Carefull

A mother’s diet during pregnancy can change bits of DNA of her child and increase the risk of obesity. The baby adjusts to his mother and his environment. This shows the need for better nutritional and lifestyle support for women. Studies in animals have also shown that changes in diet can change DNA. Professor Keith Godfrey says it is surprising that it explains a quarter of the difference in the fatness of children six to nine years later. All woman who become pregnant get advice about diet, but it is not high up the agenda of health professionals as it should be. This study now explains the link between a poor start of life and later disease risk.

I think this is a really good article, because it now shows that pregnant women should be careful to what they eat, or better said, what they do not eat. The growth and DNA of babies appears to be influenced to what their mothers eat. I think it is a good idea to show these mothers what the risk is for their babies when they go on a diet, because it is not just their life they are carrying, but it is their baby’s life too. I do agree with this article, what I just do not get is why they put a part about animal studies in there, it could have been left out.