Time (August 13)
Was the sinking of the Cheonan staged by South Korea? Opposition politicians have speculated that the Cheonan simply ran ashore or hit an old mine. Then the government planted evidence to make the sinking look like a North Korean torpedo attack. This would have boosted the ruling party’s popularity in an upcoming election. Time, however, has seen the still secret government report and finds it convincing. The report addresses the likelihood of other scenarios (nil) and makes a conclusive case that nothing other than a torpedo could have been the cause. To silence the conspiracy claims, the government of President Lee Myung Bak now promises to release the full report to the public.
Tags: Cheonan, North Korea, South Korea
Guardian (August 12)
“2010 is becoming the year of the heatwave, with record temperatures set in 17 countries.” Among the record setters are Pakistan at 53.5° on May 26, Saudi Arabia at 52.0° on June 22, Russia at 44.0° on July 11, and Finland at 37.2° on July 29.
Tags: Global warming, Record heat, Summer
