Execution does not stop Chinese knife attacks

Beijing, China (News Terupdate) - Early in the morning on March 23, Zheng Minsheng walked in front of an elementary school in Fujian province. Wielding a knife, he attacked the students who happened to be around, killing eight and wounding several others.

Authorities said Zheng, 42, carried out the attack because he was frustrated at "failures in his romantic life," according to the official Xinhua News Agency. Whatever his real motive was, the senseless killing, reported widely by the Chinese media, shocked the nation. Zheng was tried, sentenced to death and executed on April 28.

If Chinese authorities thought Zheng's execution would deter similar attacks, they were wrong. The day he was executed, a knife-wielding man attacked elementary school students in southern Guangdong province, wounding 16 students and a teacher. The attacker was later subdued by the police, and no one died.

The next day, a man in Jiangsu province barged into a kindergarten and stabbed 31 people, including 28 students, two teachers and one security guard. "It was too horrible to imagine," one eyewitness told local reporters. "I saw blood everywhere." Police apprehended the suspect, 47-year-old Xu Yuyuan.

Then, on April 30, a man barged into a village school in Shandong province, carrying a hammer and a can of gasoline. Wang Yonglai, a local farmer, attacked preschool students with the hammer, causing head injuries. He then set himself on fire and died. According to a Xinhua report, the local farmer went berserk after the local police told him that the family house he had just built using 110,000 yuan (US$16,110) of family savings had to be torn down because it had been built on farmland, which is illegal in China.

It was the third such school attack in three days.

The spate of school attacks is prompting public anger. "What is going on with these people?" Wen Jia, a father of a pre-schooler in Beijing, asked CNN. "Why take their frustrations on defenseless children? We need better security in schools, but we also need to take care of the mentally ill."

On Friday, the Ministry of Education on its website issued an urgent circular ordering kindergartens, elementary and secondary schools to beef up security and restrict strangers from entering the campuses. The ministry instructed schools across the country to hire security guards, install security facilities and ensure that pupils are escorted home. Schools are also urged to teach pupils to how to protect themselves.

Guns are strictly controlled in China, but until recently possession of large knives were not. Chinese authorities have recently issued a regulation requiring people to register with their national ID cards when they buy knives longer that 15 centimeters.

Other measures are being put in place. In Jiangsu province, local police have helped schools set up "campus security team" composed of 70 security guards with batons and pepper spray. Police in Beijing have distributed "forks", long poles with semi-circular prongs that security guards could use to fight assailants. In Changsha, capital of central Hunan province, parents formed vigilante teams to patrol local elementary schools.

This series of school attacks are blamed on people with personal grievances or suffering from mental illness.

Says Ding Xueliang, a sociology professor in Hong Kong: "The Chinese society has generated enormous pressure on individuals and some of those individuals have perhaps had emotional and psychological problems. They want to cause general attention from the population and attacking kids perhaps is the best way from their perspective of achieving this objective."

These recent incidents are covered extensively in the local media and on the Internet, prompting concerns over copycat violence. Says sociologist Ding Xueliang: "With the mass media (reports), particularly on the Internet, more individuals are likely to copy such practice, if the Chinese government does not do things quickly and effectively."

For the terrified pupils and worried parents, the solutions are not coming quickly enough.

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U.S.: N. Korean torpedo likely sunk warship

Seoul, South Korea (News Terupdate) - A North Korean torpedo attack was the most likely cause for the sinking of a South Korean warship last month, according to a US military official.

The US believes the ship was sunk by the blast of an underwater explosion, but that the explosive device itself did not come in contact with the hull of the South Korean ship, the official said.

This is the same conclusion expressed by South Korean military officials.

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Efforts to stop leak under way after oil rig explosion

(News Terupdate) - Efforts were under way Sunday to contain and stop oil leaking from a well after a rig explosion in the Gulf of Mexico, the U.S. Coast Guard said.

Officials found oil was leaking Saturday from the well. The Deepwater Horizon oil rig was drilling when it exploded Tuesday night, the Coast Guard said. Rescuers on Friday suspended the search for 11 people missing after the blast and subsequent sinking of the rig.

Coast Guard Rear Adm. Mary Landry said Saturday that fresh oil was leaking from two places at the well, which is about 5,000 feet deep, at the preliminary estimate of about 1,000 barrels or 42,000 gallons a day.

Poor weather conditions offshore hampered cleanup efforts on Saturday. Authorities have approved a plan to use submersible remote-operated vehicles in an effort to activate a "blowout preventer" on the sea floor, Coast Guard Senior Chief Petty Officer Mike O'Berry said in a statement Sunday.

A blowout preventer is a large valve at the top of a well. Activating it will stop the flow of oil, O'Berry said.

In addition, BP, which was leasing the rig, is mobilizing a drilling rig, expected to arrive Monday, to prepare for the drilling of a relief well, O'Berry said. A relief well is drilled to intersect the leaking well and isolate or kill it.

As of Sunday, about 1,143 barrels, or 48,000 gallons, of oily water have been collected, officials said.

"The oil recovery and cleanup operations are expected to resume once adverse weather has passed," O'Berry said. "These efforts are part of the federally approved oil spill contingency plan that is in place to respond to environmental incidents."

Authorities expect the spill to remain 30 miles offshore for the next three days, Landry told reporters Sunday. A 72-hour period is used because of the availability of offshore forecasts.

A thorough investigation is under way, she said.

"We are committed to determining how and why this accident occurred," Landry said.

The remote-operated vehicles began working at about 8 a.m. CT (9 a.m. ET) Sunday. The task is expected to take 24 to 36 hours to complete, and the highly complex operation may not be successful, said Doug Suttles, chief operating officer of BP's global exploration and production business.

"The amount of resources being focused on this effort are huge," he said.

More than 30 spill-response vessels, four aircraft, thousands of gallons of dispersants and a large amount of skimming resources have been deployed to help contain the spill, BP said Saturday.

The Deepwater Horizon, a mobile unit that moved to different locations in the Gulf of Mexico, was about 52 miles southeast of Venice, Louisiana, when the explosion happened Tuesday night. The rig had been drilling for oil in its current location since January, said Eileen Angelico, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Minerals Management Service.

The explosion happened "in the process of turning the well from an exploration well into a production well," BP spokesman Bill Salvin said.

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Victims of Baghdad bombing mourned

Baghdad, Iraq (News Terupdate) - Shiites in Iraq on Saturday mourned the victims of Friday's bombings in Baghdad, a wave of attacks thought to be retaliation for the killings of two top militants.

The violence brought an offer from radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr -- whose militia supporters fought Iraqi and U.S. forces during the war -- to help the Iraqi government provide safety for citizens.

Friday, bombers linked to al Qaeda in Iraq targeted Shiites across the teeming capital on the day of the week that Muslims customarily go to their mosques for prayers.

Dozens of caskets were brought to the holy Shiite city of Najaf south of Baghdad for Shiite preburial rituals. They were taken into the Imam Ali shrine to give the victims a traditional last visit before the bodies are buried.

Angry and sad relatives toted the caskets and chanted "No God but God " and "God is great."

Mourners paid their last respects to families of the victims in funeral tents across Baghdad, including the predominantly Shiite district of Sadr City where the deadliest of the attacks occurred. Car bombings killed at least 39 worshipers and wounded dozens more.

In all, police said, the strikes killed at least 55 people and wounded 124 others across the capital on Friday, prompting fears of a return of sectarian violence between Sunni and Shiite Muslims that once engulfed Baghdad.

Another bombing in the Anbar province town of Khaldiya on Friday left six people dead. Anbar is predominantly Sunni.

No one has claimed responsibility for the Baghdad attacks, but authorities believe such coordinated bombings bear the hallmarks of al Qaeda in Iraq, a predominantly Sunni group.

The bombings came days after Iraqi and U.S. officials announced they had killed the two most wanted al Qaeda in Iraq leaders, Abu Ayyub al-Masri and Abu Omar al-Baghdadi.

Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki called the bombings "cowardly terrorist attacks aimed to overshadow" the deaths Sunday of the two militants.

Al-Sadr -- an anti-American Shiite cleric with a political movement and a lot of grassroots support -- posted a statement on his website Saturday calling for restraint and offering help to security forces.

He asked Iraqis to not get drawn into what he described as the "malicious American plots" that want to pull Iraqis back into fighting, giving them an excuse to stay longer in Iraq.

"At the same time I offer my readiness to provide hundreds of believers ... to be official brigades in the Iraqi army and police so they can defend their shrines, mosques, prayers, markets, homes and cities in a way that saves face for the Iraqi government so it does not resort to the occupiers to protect its people and so Iraqis can live safely in their country," he said.

"If it refuses this, they are free to do so, but we will be fully ready to assist always."

Al-Sadr's Mehdi Army militia was blamed for much of the sectarian attacks on the Sunni population at the height of the violence in 2006 and 2007, and it was also involved in fierce fighting with Iraqi and U.S. forces in early 2008.

A freeze of the militia's activity by al-Sadr two years ago was credited as one of the main factors for the drop in violence across the country.

Sadrist politicians could be the kingmakers in Iraqi politics after last month's parliamentary elections, in which they fared well.

Al-Sadr has called for the formation of a "united Iraqi government that is non-sectarian, non-partisan and representative of all Iraqis far from the occupation, the Baath, terrorism and the militias."

The attacks came during the delay in the formation of a government, and many observers fear that a political vacuum could portend an increase in violence.

Al-Maliki, whose coalition lost the election by a hair to former Prime Minister Ayad Allawi's bloc, has called for a recount, and a court has granted it. But the Independent High Electoral Commission board of commissioners on Saturday asked the judiciary for a clarification of the decision, such as what ballots need to be recounted.

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Hotel attacked in Mumbai siege reopens

New Delhi, India (News Terupdate) - The Oberoi, one of the hotels attacked and badly damaged in the Mumbai siege nearly 18 months ago, reopened Saturday after an extensive renovation.

"Welcome Back. The Oberoi, Mumbai re-opens today," front-page newspaper ads said on Saturday. "Thank you for your support."

Hotel spokeswoman Ketaki Narain said guests have taken 22 of its 287 rooms and the seaside luxury hotel's three restaurants are booked for dinner.

More than 160 people were killed in Mumbai in November 2008 as 10 men attacked The Oberoi, the adjacent Trident and nearby Taj Mahal Palace and Tower hotels.

They also struck the city's historic Victoria Terminus train station, and the Jewish cultural center, Chabad House in what was a three-day assault.

Both the Trident and the Taj reopened soon after the attacks.

India blamed the attacks on the Lashkar-e-Tayyiba, a Pakistan-based terror group allied with al Qaeda.

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3 sentenced to prison for attack on black man in South Carolina

(News Terupdate) - Three men were sentenced to prison for forcing an African-American man out of a South Carolina convenience store, threatening him with a chainsaw and stealing his car, an incident the Department of Justice said was fueled by hate.

Thomas Blue Sr., 49, owner of the convenience store, was sentenced Tuesday to 13 years in prison in the 2007 incident. A second man, Judson Hartley Talbert, was sentenced to nine years, the department said. Blue's son, Thomas Blue Jr., 29, was sentenced to three years.

The three pleaded guilty in December to conspiring to deprive and depriving Dahndra "Ervin" Moore of his right to engage in a federally protected activity -- entering the convenience store -- and also to conspiring to carjack and carjacking his car, authorities said. The elder Blue also pleaded guilty to depriving two other people, both white, of their right to engage in a federally protected activity and using a firearm in relation to a crime of violence against those two.

The defendants admitted that the elder Blue "forcibly escorted" Moore out of a Marlboro County, South Carolina, store known as the Stop and Shop after he entered to use the restroom, the statement said.

"Once outside, the elder Blue forced the victim to the ground and Blue Jr. threatened the victim with a chainsaw while a small crowd watched," according to the Department of Justice statement.

While the attack was occurring, Talbert stole Moore's car, authorities said. Later, the elder Blue used a pistol to threaten two white men who he thought were trying to help the victim, including one who showed up to retrieve Moore's car.

All three men waived their right to appeal, according to court documents.

The elder Blue's attorney, Jack Swirling, called the incident "most unfortunate" and "totally unacceptable." His client, he said, is very remorseful, adding that the incident would not have occurred but for Blue's heavy drinking that day.

Kirk Truslow, the younger Blue's attorney, said his client had apologized to Moore and his family and "wishes this never would have happened." The case "went a long way in making some changes in the area," he said.

"I think it really made an impact," Truslow said. "Everyone in this area took notice."

Talbert's attorney, Morgan Martin, called the incident "regrettable" and said his client is sorry it happened.

"This case is a reminder that violent acts fueled by bigotry and hate continue to happen all too frequently in our nation, even in 2010," said Thomas Perez, assistant attorney general in charge of the Justice Department's civil rights division.

"This senseless, terrifying assault was quite simply the product of hate," said Kevin McDonald, acting U.S. attorney for the District of South Carolina. "I expect others tempted to act out in violent racism to take note of this prosecution and the sentences imposed."

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