vrijdag 3 juni 2011

Man arrested following three-hour bank siege was carrying 'a bomb'

Today the police arrested a man after a three-hour siege at a bank in Watford, Hertfordshire. The man was carrying a bomb. The incident was not thought to be terrorist-related. Police were called at 10.18 am, they were reported of a man threatening to harm members of staff. Police sealed off the street and The Armed Response Unit and bomb disposal experts were spotted marking out a perimeter and discussing options. After three hours the man was arrested with guns pointing at him from every direction.
There will be police activity in the town centre for a while to come.
Reaction:
I will always have the question: Why?! I think it is fine if you want to kill yourself, but please leave the others and innocents behind. You must be really sick to do this, in my opinion. Another thing I would like to point out is the fact that dozens of people will be traumatized for the rest of their life. If that’s what you want to achieve, you do not deserve to be here.

'Killer cucumber' cases in the UK

THE killer cucumber bug which has led to the deaths of 17 people in Europe has reached Britain. The Health Protection Agency said in total seven Brits in the UK have been infected with E.coli. Three of them have developed the potentially deadly complication of haemolytic uraemic syndrome, HUS. The cases are all linked to ‘travel in Germany’ where 16 people have died. Germany has had more than 15oo infections so far.
A lot of people now avoid buying salad, but a Food Standards Agency spokesman said: "There is no evidence that any affected cucumbers have been distributed to the UK."

The bug has been found on imported vegetables in Europe. However the exact source of the contamination has not yet been determined. Russia has now announced that it is banning the import of al fresh vegetables from Europe.
Reaction:
I must admit that when I heard of ‘the killer cucumber bug’ I was in shock. However, I still eat cucumber because I do not believe that the cucumbers in The Netherlands are infected. We do not import cucumbers, because we have our own. Let us all pray for the people in Europa who are infected with E.coli.

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/3614550/Killer-cucumber-cases-in-the-UK.html

Britain's Got Talent: Lorna Bliss performs with snake – but New Bounce and Jean Martyn go through

Britain’s Got Talent contestant Lorna Bliss performed with a snake last night. Lorna, 29 years old, sang Britney Spears’ ‘Oops! I did it again’. Despite the three “No” votes she got, she almost made it through yesterday. Britain’s Got Talent boss Simon Cowell insisted on having her back to ‘sex up’ this week’s semi-finals, but he was less impressed when he saw her act in the flesh.
The teenage boy band New Bounce and organist Jean Martyn made it through last night. The four boys of New Bounce stole the show with their cover of Jessie J’s Price Tag. However, their opponent Jean Martyn, the bubbly blonde, also wowed the judges with a medley of hits including ‘It’s Raining Men’ and ‘Crocodile Rock’.

Reaction:
Sometimes I look up some videos of Britain’s Got Talent on YouTube and I must say this time I was very impressed. The four boys of New Bounce are so cute! They can even sing and dance! Jean Martyn is funny to watch for a couple of minutes, but then it starts to get boring. It must say that it is very hard to do what she does on her keyboard/ piano. If I had to vote for one of those two acts, I would vote for New Bounce! You should check this out on YouTube. 
http://www.mirror.co.uk/2011/06/01/simon-cowell-issues-rallying-call-to-risky-new-x-factor-judges-ahead-of-first-audition-115875-23170455/

London 2012 Olympics: those without any tickets will be top of list for more seats

When more tickets are released, those people who tried, but failed, to buy any tickets for the London 2012 Olympic Games will be given priority over anyone else in the second ballot. They will be contacted with about a week before they go sale. It is estimated that at least one in seven, or 250.000 of the 1.8 million households who applied for tickets, will not have received a single seat for the events. The organizers have said that if no money has been taken off an applicant’s card or from their account by the end of May 31, it is almost certain they will have failed to get any tickets.
Reaction:
I think it is a very nice deal that the organization made with the hundreds of people who tried to get a ticket, but failed. They assume that people who did not try to get a ticket the first round, are not interested. However, I think this is not realistic. If you forgot it, or just decided later that you want to go to the Olympic Games, you now surely won’t get a ticket!
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/othersports/olympics/8545971/London-2012-Olympics-those-without-any-tickets-will-be-top-of-list-for-more-seats.html

Royal couple announce first public engagement together since wedding

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, William and Kate, will attend a gala dinner in aid of a children’s charity on June the ninth. This will be their first public engagement together as a married couple. The will be guests of honour at the event of the ARK, the Absolute Return for Kids, in London. The ARK will be celebrating their 10th anniversary at this event. Prince William will deliver a speech to the 900 guests at the reception.
The ARK hopes to raise thousands of pounds at the charity evening. They will be using this for their operations in many countries. They focus on health-issues in sub-Saharan Africa, child protection in Eastern Europe and education projects in the UK, the US and India. Over the past 10 years the ARK’s programmes have transformed the lives of more than 200.000 children.
Reaction:
As I might have mentioned before, I am keen on Prince William and his wife Kate. I think they are polite, beautiful and very kind people. I think it is a very nice motion that they have chosen to attend a gala dinner in aid of this children’s charity as their first public engagement together as a married couple. It might help this organization to raise more money at the charity evening, because of their attendance.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/theroyalfamily/8548703/Royal-couple-announce-first-public-engagement-together-since-wedding.html

Obama says the Queen symbolises the 'best of England'

President Barack Obama has told the BBC that the queen symbolizes the “best of England” to the whole world. President Obama has been in England before, when he was attending a G20 summit in London. This week’s trip to the UK is President Obama’s first state visit to the UK, as it is officially on the invitation of the Queen. The President and First Lady Michelle Obama will be guests of the Queen at Buckingham for three days.
President Obama and Prime Minister David Cameron will be talking about Afghanistan. Obama said : “I think Prime Minister Cameron and I very much agree on this issue”. Obama also said they both agreed that while the military effort needed to continue, this would not be successful on its own.
Reaction:
I think President Barack Obama is a gentleman, because he is so gentle and polite to other people. This time he is very polite to the queen by saying that she symbolized the “best of England”. However, I do not agree on him at all. I think that Prince William and Kate symbolize the “best of England”. She is too old and she should cede the throne.

maandag 30 mei 2011

Eurovision Song Contest woos back TV viewers

More than nine million viewers in the UK watched Saturday’s Eurovision Song Contest, according to early estimates. At the end of the show, as Azerbaijan won, 12,7 million people were watching. The average viewing figure for the three-hour broadcast was 9.5 million.
Boy band Blue came 11th with 100 points, which is a respectable score compared to last year’s entry Dubovie, who came last with 10 points. Bulgaria and Italy both awarded the UK high scores. Ireland came eighth with the Jedward twins, who gained fame on The X Factor.
The event attracted 35,000 fans to the Fortuna Dusseldorf Arena.
Reaction:
I also watched the Eurovision Song Contest and as most of you know, I am a huge fan of the boy band Blue! I did not even know that they were participating so I was really happy when I heard it. We were in Dublin for the UKOK school project when the contest took place, so we knew who the Jedward twins were. They were in all newspapers and they looked ridiculous, which made them so funny. Next year I won’t watch this show, because I think it is all cronyism. Last but not least: Blue is the best!