The problem was caused by vehicles mostly lorries bound for Beijing being held up for at least 100km because of heavy traffic, road works and breakdowns, this has highlighted China’s growing congestion problems and although they are quickly building new roads traffic is increasing quicker than the roads can be built.

The roadwork’s that are being carried out on the motorway which is part of the Beijing-Tibet expressway are necessary to repair damage caused by an increase in cargo lorries carrying coal from Inner Mongolia which use the highway. There may still be many congestion problems to come on this stretch of road as the road project will not be finished until mid-September.

Many drivers however who have were stuck in the jam complained about the locals who seem to have created a mini economy by capitalising on the stranded drivers’ predicament by over-charging them for food and drink while they were stuck.

Picture courtesy of poeloq

The situation soon escalated when police closed in on the bus causing Mendoza to spray the hostages with bullets, commandos then fired dozens of bullets into the bus and struck at its windows with sledgehammers as they tried to storm it however Mendoza used his hostages inside as human shields. However criticism about how the situation was handled by police came after revelations stated they had an ideal opportunity to take Mendoza down when he was stood outside the bus talking to negotiators before any shots were fired. However this did not happen which turned out to be a critical mistake.

Speaking about the incident President Aquino, who came to power two months ago said: “This tragedy highlights many flaws in the ability of Philippine security forces to hand hostage situations, there are a lot of things that resulted in a tragedy. Obviously we should be improving.” He also claimed that a main flaw in their actions was that the crises was played out through the media, with the gunman being allowed to speak on radio and watch events live on the bus’s TV, giving him insights into police actions. However the President insisted that waiting for more than 10 hours had been the right thing for the police to do. “Up to that point the police believed they could convince the gunman to stand down.”

Its believed that Mendoza had recently been sacked from his job as a policeman due to claims of extortion against him and he had seized the bus to make public his demands to be reinstated. Before the claims of extortion and his dismissal Rolando Mendoza, had been regarded as a model officer, once being named as among the top 10 policemen in the country.
After the incident relatives of the victims in Hong Kong expressed their anger over the way the situation was handled and how it ended, Hong Kong Chief Executive Donald Tsang said: “The way it was handled – particularly the outcome – is very disappointing.”

Two of the surviving tourists have also been confirmed as British nationals, according to the Foreign Office. An official from there has said: “We can confirm that two of the released hostages are British nationals. We have offered consular assistance and stand ready to provide it if requested. We are not aware of any other British nationals involved.”

Picture courtesy of Jun Acullador

After he was caught speeding on the the A12 highway between Bern and Lausanne on Friday, a police spokesman said: ‘we have no record of anyone being caught travelling faster in the country.’ The unnamed man was arrested shortly after when he stopped in a lay by and he was released after questioning. It is believed that he was collecting the brand new car from a seller in Germany.

Benoît Dumas, a police officer in the area where the SLS six-litre-engine car was impounded, said: ‘He needed over half-a-kilometre of road to come to a halt.’ It’s thought that the driver had not been caught on other speed cameras on his journey because he was going too fast and the instruments were incapable of clocking any speed beyond 200kph, the reason he was finally caught is because he passed a new generation of radar machines.

After he was caught the driver told police: ‘I think the Speedo on the car, which is new, is faulty.’ It’s thought that he is unlikely to go to jail but he is expected to be hit with the landmark fine because of the way speeding fines are administered in Switzerland. There his case will be judged by a magistrate and the fine will be based on his income and the ‘extraordinary speed’ at which he was travelling, in both Switzerland and Germany it is common for fines to be levied in such a way. Its normal in Switzerland for a fine to be dependent on a person‘s income and in this case the suspect is very rich indeed.

The Swedish driver is now facing the highest possible penalty of 300 days of fines at 3,600 Swiss francs a day which comes out to close to 650,000 Euros, his car will also now undergo a technical inspection to see if his tale of a faulty odometer holds up.

Picture courtesy of RUD66

The events chief organiser Ossi Arvela said: “All the rules were followed and there were enough first aid personnel. All the competitors needed to sign in to the competition with a doctor’s certificate. Half a litre of water was added to the stove inside the sauna every 30 seconds, and the last person remaining was the winner. There was no prize other than “some small things”. I know this is very hard to understand to people outside Finland who are not familiar with the sauna habit. It is not so unusual to have 110 degrees in a sauna. A lot of competitors before have sat in higher temperatures than that.”

Although Mr Kaukonen, the defending world champion appeared to be sick, he apparently refused to leave the sauna during the final, he is now said to be in a stable condition in hospital, police are now investigating Mr Ladyzhensky’s death which has left organisers grief-stricken. The World Sauna Championships which had over 130 participants from 15 countries, had been held since 1999, will now never be held again after this tragic death.

Picture courtesy of thomaswanhoff

A statement released by Public Affairs Specialist Shannan D. Marcak of Grand Canyon National Park stated: “Upon arriving at the scene, park rangers spotted the man, conscious but in need of medical assistance, approximately 75 feet below the rim about ¼ mile east of Mather Point. According to witnesses, the man slipped while taking pictures near the rim. Park ranger-paramedics rappelled down to the man’s location in order to assess his injuries, stabilize him and prepare him for transport out of the canyon.”

“At approximately 4:15 p.m., the park helicopter lifted the man out of the canyon via short-haul operation (suspended below the helicopter) and transported him to the park helibase. He was then transported by ambulance to Flagstaff Medical Center where he is being treated for wrist, ankle and neck injuries. The National Park Service would like to remind all Grand Canyon visitors that approaching the rim can be hazardous due to uneven terrain and loose rock. Visitors are strongly encouraged to stay on the paved Rim Trail which provides a safe vantage point from which to view and take pictures of the canyon,” the statement concluded.

Picture courtesy of Trodel

The teenager who is 18 years old and only identified herself by the name Miss Spring is now coming to Britain to fulfil her end of the bargain, because the sale was pulled by eBay the final 2 highest bidders were contacted by the girl by email, with the other person being from Ireland.

The teenager has said that she dreams of going to university to become a doctor and has already qualified for a place however her families crippling debts mean that it has to be put on hold, hence why she came up with the virginity auction idea, so she could raise the cash for her family.

She said: “My family has debts we cannot afford to pay them. My mother borrowed a lot of money in Swiss Francs, and now with the credit crunch in Hungary the repayments in Hungarian forints have tripled, she couldn’t pay it back. We faced losing our home and being on the street. I want to be able to pay back those loans – that’s why I came up with the idea for this auction. It is not such a lot of money for what is on offer, considering half will vanish in tax, but it will be enough to pay of my debts and leave us clear.”

Speaking about the unusual arrangement Miss Spring said: “I was in contact with two final bidders – the Irish guy and the British guy. Both wanted me to come to them. I chose the British guy. He was very sympathetic to my cause. Both men wanted to marry me take care of me and my family. But for me this was supposed to be a one off thing. Getting married and living with someone is a challenge I am not sure I am yet ready for. However I would really like the opportunity to go to Britain or Ireland. So who knows?”

It’s thought that the assailant entered the school in a suburb of Zibo in Shandong province on Tuesday when parents were picking up their children its thought the man who looked about 27 or 28 gained entry to the school by posing as a parent. The local police were quickly on the scene after the attacks with some officers transporting some of the injured children to hospital before ambulances had time to arrive. There is currently very little information surrounding the attacks other than eyewitness accounts, due to the fact that Officials refused to release details of the attack, saying they feared reports could inspire copycat killers.

China has recently suffered a spate of attacks on schools and in public spaces that have left dozens of people dead and scores wounded and although authorities have responded with increased security at schools there are fears more attacks could happen and more people could be killed. There have also been orders to limit media coverage of the attacks to discourage more violence and calm public fears with many official news outlets not reporting on the attack, online postings about it were also deleted by mid-afternoon by government censors who police the Internet for material considered politically sensitive.

The head of the Zibo government propaganda department’s news office, who gave just his surname, Bi, would say only that there had been “very few deaths and injuries.” He also told The Associated Press by phone that: “The country has a regulation about reporting on these sorts of reports. There’s a worry that they might inspire copycat crimes creating a negative impact, so therefore, we are not issuing a report.”

Picture courtesy of peruisay

The release also stated that eight people were killed outright and 20 injured, while a Yuanshi county spokesman said three more people died in the hospital. Li Xianliang was on the road for at least an hour smashing into cars, buses, motorcycles, trucks and roadside shops. He was subdued by police and taken into custody when he eventually came to a stop in a field.

It’s believed that he could face the death penalty if convicted and won’t be the first this year, as China has recently had a spate of apparently unrelated rampage attacks this year, which have included knife-wielding assailants targeting kindergartens and elementary schools as well as a courthouse shooting and random slashing attacks at markets and on a train. Because of this it has prompted an increase in public security and calls for more attention to be paid to mental health problems which often go undiagnosed and untreated. The central government has limited coverage about the assaults which have left more than two dozen people dead and scores wounded for fears of copycat attacks.

Picture courtesy of peruisay

Paloma Werner who was onboard with her partner Ralph Mothes said: “The southern right whale, a species known for poor eyesight, snapped the mast before sliding back into the water, and my partner and I had just seconds to take cover. It really was quite incredible but very scary. The whale was about the same size as the boat. We’d spotted it about 100 metres away and thought that was the end of it. Then suddenly it was right up beside us. I assumed it would go underneath the boat but instead it sprang out of the sea. We were very lucky to get through it, as the sheer weight of the thing was huge. There were bits of skin and blubber left behind, and the mast was wrecked. It brought down the rigging too. Thank goodness the hull was made of steel and not fiberglass or we could have been ruined.”

Although the couple was left shaken by the whole experience and their boat severely damaged, their engine still worked so they could get back to shore in Table Bay, after the incident there were reports that the whale had been harassed by pleasure craft before it leapt onto the Intrepid. An inflatable craft had been seen driving close to the animal moments before the incident. Experts have said regarding the incident, that the young whale was more likely inexperienced with human contact and didn’t know the yacht, which had its engine turned off, was there.

Scientist and manager of the Cape Town Mammal Research Institute at the University of Pretoria, Meredith Thornton said:”Whales don’t see much by way of their eyes but by sound in the water.”

During the 26 hour flight, heights of around 28,543 feet were reached, making it both the longest and highest flight performed by a solar powered plane. As the plane touched down assistants, who had helped to build the plane over the last 7 years, rushed to the plane (that weighs the weight of an average family car and has a wingspan of 207 ft) to make sure it was all still intact. The teams were thrilled as this now meant that they were one step closer to achieving their dream of a solar powered plane big enough for a full load of passengers to travel across the world through the night. The team aim to achieve this goal by 2013. Mr. Piccard quoted “It’s the first time ever that a (manned) solar airplane has flown through the night. That was the moment that proved the mission was successful, we made it.”

Picture courtesy of Deutsche Bank AG

The storm which is the first named storm of the 2010 Pacific season caused devastation in Guatemala and neighboring El Salvador at the weekend after dumping more than three feet of rain, officials have reported that Agatha has killed at least 146 people with 53 still missing across Central America.

The sink hole which appeared near a downtown intersection swallowed up an area which was larger than the street of an intersection, locals believe that a poor sewage drainage system was to blame for the sinkhole. It is similar to on which opened up nearby last year and can appear suddenly but are thousands of years in the making, geologists said. As rainwater gradually eats away at the porous rock such as limestone that is beneath the surface it becomes weakened and creates a honeycomb of caverns and caves, these can become packed with mud and it is believed that floodwater may have flushed away that mud, causing the ground above to collapse.

Picture courtesy of horslips5

These people grew up in a time when there weren’t really many STD/STI’s and the worse that could happen through having unprotected sex was they would become pregnant, however due to their age pregnancy is no longer a concern so they don’t think there is a need to use protection. Adding to that many old people won’t talk to their doctors about sexual activity because they feel uncomfortable and therefore are not aware of the new risks.

Increased use of online dating websites also means that rather than just sticking to one partner they are meeting more thus as in young people causing an increase in STD/STI’s with multiple partners, unfortunately they are less likely to be tested for and diseases.

Picture courtesy of Ed Yourdon

It’s thought that the dose that was given to the brother would have been the usual amount to knock out but not kill an average adult however due to their small stature though the amount taken by the brothers is thought to be what killed them. Its suspected that the brothers picked up the two women after filming a TV fight show and took them back to the hotel and according to police in Mexico City whilst they were preparing for their ’bouts’ they appear to have had their alcoholic drinks spiked before being robbed. Their bodies were found by cleaners on Monday and early tests show that the brothers did not have sex with the women.

The brothers began their fighting careers 17 years ago as a tag team called the Small Devils, where they occasionally crossed into the world of American WWF/WWE.  Alberto AKA ‘La Parkita’ who wore a skeleton mask fought at the WWF Royal Rumble showpiece events in 1997 and 1998 in a tag team alongside Lucha Mini legend and Hollywood actor Mascarita Sagrada. As well as that he also beat a tag team featuring his brother, who was fighting under the name Mini Mankind at the 1997 Royal Rumble.

Picture courtesy of Esparta

For those who have been stranded in Spain for nearly a week now this will be a welcome relief, especially travelling back in the 5* luxury of the Celebrity Eclipse cruise liner which can carry 2,850 passengers. The President and Chief Executive of Celebrity Cruises Dan Hanrahan, contacted tour operators Thomas Cook, TUI and Co-Op Travel Group to look at bringing back their stranded customers.

He said. “They responded favourably to our idea of bringing these passengers back and they knew where their guests were in Spain and they could give us a manifest of people. It seemed a better idea than having a two-day party and it’s all worked out and we’re happy to help.”

The Eclipse is due to arrive in Bilbao in the early hours of Thursday 22nd and pick up the stranded holiday makers before returning to Southampton.

Picture courtesy of eastleighbusman

The volcano that has caused all this disruption is the Eyjafjallajokull volcano in Iceland which erupted yesterday for the second time in a month, spewing massive clouds of ash thousands of feet into the sky. This ash in the atmosphere is what is causing the closures of UK airports, the Met Office has advised airlines not to fly, and the plume of ash which is currently moving towards the UK can affect aircraft flying between 5,000ft and 35,000ft. Volcanic ash is abrasive and dangerous for aircraft. It reduces visibility, causes damage to fuel and water systems and can clog engines causing them to fail. It can also affect landing gear.

Many travellers due to depart today have been advised to contact their airline for more information, its expected that some airports will not be open until tomorrow depending on the situation. This morning a Heathrow Airport spokesman said “150 flights, both arrivals and departures, had been cancelled – at the busiest time of the day – and more flights were expected to be affected as the cloud of ash moved south.”

Picture courtesy of U-g-g-B-o-y-(-Photograph-World-Sense-)