Terrorism on Trial

The week saw unsettled business take center stage with the beginning of the Boston Marathon Bombing trial along with various other worrying developments around the world.

Tackling Terrorism

We begin this week with the Boston Marathon Bombing trial which began after struggling to find jury members. The trial kicked off with opening statements with Dzhokhar Tsarnaev's attorney admitting his client had carried out the attacks but tried to push the blame onto his older brother. The trial continued with testimony from survivors recounting their experience on the tragic day with the trial expected to continue for weeks to come.

In other terror related news the Nigerian terrorist group Boko Haram released a graphic video showing the beheading of two men believed to be spies while in the US, Twitter revealed that it had suspended over 2000 accounts used by ISIS in recruiting new members resulting in ISIS threatening Twitter staff.

Political Front Lines

Politicians were on the front line this week when a man armed with a razor attacked a US ambassador slashing his face and wrist in opposition to military drills by South Korea and the US. The military drills also received attention from North Korea who fired two short range missiles into the sea as the drills began.

In Russia a new video has surfaced of the assassination of Russian opposition leader Boris Nemtsov last week, showing the bridge as the attack takes place. On the topic of high profile leaders, Ex-CIA chief Petraeus, has pleaded guilty to mishandling classified material with his mistress.

Blood on the Streets

In the world of drugs it was revealed that the Bali 9 were executed on a secluded island ignoring pleas from the Australian government while in Mexico police and troops made progress capturing Zetas cartel leader, Omar Trevino Morales, in a wealthy suburb of Monterrey.

Images were released which the police say confirms the homeless man shot by LAPD had tried to take an officers weapon. Finally we end the week with a Justice Department investigation into the Ferguson police which shows excessive use of force and unjustified arrests.

What Happened? 2014 Headline News

2014 wasn't an easy year for the world at large with tragedies and human suffering defining a difficult time for many. While governments struggled with conflict and people fought for their rights, nature reminded everyone who was in charge.

Tragedies

Tragedy struck with Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 disappearing on a route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing with not a trace to be found of the 239 on-board. Things got worse when Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 was shot down over the Ukraine by pro-Russian rebels killing all 298 on-board. But it wasn't over when another aviation tragedy struck on the tail end of 2014 when communication was lost with Asia Airs Flight QZ8501 echoing the loss of MH370 with 162 on-board until search parties discovered parts of the wreckage and bodies of the crew and passengers.

South Korea suffered a national disaster when a Ferry carrying 450 people, mostly school children, capsized. Towards the end of the year another Ferry disaster struck in the Adriatic Sea when the ferry caught on fire killing 11 on-board. The year ended with 35 people killed in a New Years celebration's stampede.

Protests

The year saw people protesting across the world starting with the unfortunate killing of Michael Brown in Ferguson Missouri which sparked protests around police brutality. Things only got worse when a second man, Eric Garner, was killed in New York by a police officer using a choke hold. However the protests against police brutality were stymied after 2 police officers were executed in New York by a lone gunman and tension grew as more police became targets.

It wasn't only the US that saw people protesting as Hong Kong came to a grinding halt after protestors took over the main business district. With corruption and gang violence prevalent Mexico experienced protests after 43 students went missing and were believed to have been killed by gangs with government assistance. Protests were triggered in the Ukraine by politics resulting in the President being thrown out, but it didn't end there with things only getting worse.

Politics

After protests in the Ukraine erupted Russia invaded Crimeia outraging the international community and beginning the process of sanctions on Russia for it's actions. While some conflicts resulted in financial pain others were outright bloody with old enemies fighting in Gaza to a new foo the world learnt to fear with ISIS who resorted to beheading journalists as threats against the west.

North Korea flexed it's muscle with it's old adversary South Korea and challenged Sony when a movie about it's leader resulted in hackers believed to be from North Korea breaking into Sony's network and threatening terrorist style attacks if the movie was released. Even with blood in the streets it was what happened behind the scenes that brought about outrage when the CIA torture report was released detailing it's torture methods. Boko Harem in Nigeria resorted to kidnapping 273 school girls and selling them off into slavery triggering the campaign for #BringBackOurGirls.

Individuals

Some individuals shone bright making their names with the Nobel Peace Prize being awarded to Malala Yousafzai making her the youngest ever recipient while the entertainment world lost great entertainers with Robin Williams death shocking everyone.

The news wasn't great for everyone with Rob Ford caught in another video smoking crack less than a year after the first video emerged and the Oscar Pistorius trial which gripped the world. US President Obama had a tough year when the Democrats lost control after many cut ties to Obama and top officials like Eric Holder resigned.

Nature

For a year where man did his best to destroy nature wasn't going to be outdone with Earthquakes ravaging areas and Wild fires tearing through Northern California destroying everything in its path as it passed through, Hawaii had to call in the National Guard after a volcano directed a slow moving mass of lava into populated areas.

Over 900,000 people had to be evacuated after Typhoon Hagupit slammed into the Philippines all the while a deadly disease threatened to take down everyone in the form of Ebola which spread through West Africa claiming nearly 7000 lives.

When Breathing Isn't Guaranteed

The past few weeks have seen human rights issues across the world, however, it was in the United States with the killing of unarmed black men in public and the release of CIA documents revealing the hidden world of torture that showed no nation was immune.

I Can't Breathe

Just days after a court failed to indict Darren Wilson for the killing of Michael Brown the masses were thrown back into turmoil when Daniel Pantaleo was also allowed to walk free after the killing of Eric Garner by choke hold in New York.

With Ferguson still fresh in their minds crowds rallied across the country for days on end and staged "die-ins", including in the iconic Apple store, even congressional staffers staged a walk out in protest. And while most protests remained calm some turned violent with explosives being thrown at police. As the holidays neared protestors took a different approach and opted instead for new lyrics to popular Christmas carols.

It wasn't just the public standing up in protest but various celebrities and sports stars that supported the protestors with member from the NBA wearing t-shirts reading "I can't breathe".

CIA Torture Report

The US Senate Intelligence Committee revealed a 500 page summary report showing the extent of torture inflicted on detainee's at various black sites around the world. The report described various sexual threats and mock executions to torturing people to get information from family members. Since the reports release there have been increased fears of retaliation resulting in increased security at US embassies and bases around the world.

World Protests

The US was not alone with a court ordering that the main protest sites be cleared by police ending the weeks of protest in Hong Kong's financial district. However the peaceful nature of the Hong Kong protests was starkly different from protests in Haiti which turned violent with police firing tear gas into crowds who were demanding President Michel Martelly and Prime Minister Laurent Lamothe step down. Finally the remains of one Mexican students that had gone missing was identified triggering anger from an already exhausted population.

Big Brother or Big Bully?

What happens when the people given power turn on you? The world has seen protests flaring up as police brutality and political interference impeded progress and grow ever more violent.

Hong Kong

The recent protests in Hong Kong (previously blogged about here) were reignited with outrage after video footage of demonstrators being assaulted by police was released resulting in 6 officers being suspended. It is also rumored that thugs were hired to break up protests.

The violence began when police started removing barriers trying to clear protest sites. Police continued clearing protest sites across Hong Kong over the week with violence often following. With the clean up operations under way and violence prevalent Hong Kong leaders have said they are willing to meet with students.

St. Louis and Ferguson

Protests erupted when another young black man was shot and killed by a white police officer in St. Louis resulting in police in riot gear and armed with pepper spray emulating the pattern seen in Ferguson (previously blogged about here) just a few short months earlier.

Police began blocking their radio communication ahead of "Ferguson October" after activists, protestors and media listened in on them via scanners. 50 protestors were arrested in Ferguson after descending on the police station where the original shooting took place.

Mexico

Thousands turned out to protest over the disappearance of students by gangs supposedly backed by police. The students that disappeared were believed to have been found when five mass graves were discovered, however, none of the bodies were of the 43 college students that went missing after clashes with police.