Entry 15 - January 16, 2014

John Kerry urges Syria opposition to attend talks

BBC News         Thursday, January 16, 2014

     Syrians have been at the middle of a conflict for almost three years. US Secretary of State, John Kerry, has urged Syria's opposition to attend next weeks peace talks and on Friday, the main political opposition group, the Syrian National Coalition, is going to have a vote on whether or not to go to the talks. Over 100,000 people have died in this three year conflict and an estimated two million people have left the country. One of the Syrian National Council's officials said that they had been privately warned that Britain and the US would rethink their support if Syria's opposition doesn't attend the peace talks. The head of the UN body has been given the job of destroying Syria's chemical weapons. Ahmet Uzumcu, member of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), says that they hope to have the weapon stockpile destroyed by the end of June as promised.

      In my opinion Syria should attend these peace talks without question. It seems almost obvious that they should attend the talks because Britain and the US may reconsider their support if Syria's opposition doesn't go to the talks. Other than that, I'm happy that the chemical weapons are being disposed of after the small scare of the United States having to attack Syria to remove the weapons by force. It's very sad that people are still dying often in this long conflict, but step by step, like the removal of the chemical weapons, I feel that things will get better soon.

Entry 14 - January 8, 2014

Two dead, one injured in Richmond Hill shooting

January 8, 2014            Toronto Star

        On Wednesday, January 7th of 2014, a shooting took place in a Richmond Hill housing co-op parking lot at around midnight. Resident Vivian D. said that she was shocked and terrified after her and her daughter heard 15 to 20 shots being fired last night. "I was scared. I thought it was either fireworks or gunshots,” she said. “And sure enough, soon after I heard the sirens." Vivian has lived in the neighborhood for 5 years and she said that it was a very peaceful and quiet place. The shooting left two people dead and one injured and the police are searching for at least one shooter. The police haven't revealed any information about the victims other than the fact that they were two males and one female.

     Personally, I was very surprised hearing this news on the radio this morning. I always thought of Richmond Hill as a very peaceful place and I didn't hear much about violence going on in Richmond Hill. This news is little scary as well because Richmond Hill is so close to home, it makes one feel less safe. Shootings like this are always very tragic especially for the families of the victims. I'm not sure that the police will find out who the shooter was because there is little evidence and no suspects for now, but I definitely hope that the shooter is identified and caught.