ABC Student News: International News

If Napoleon Bonaparte was alive, how would he react to these news?

 France and England have recently agreed to join their armies to cut costs down.

London, UK - During the past 2^nd of November, new treaties on defence and nuclear joint were signed by two of Europe’s nuclear powers, England and France, despite the fact of being enemies in historical battles such as the one in Agincourt and Waterloo.

After having signed the agreements along with French President Nicolas Sarkozy, current prime minister of the United Kingdom, David Cameron, stated: “ Today we open a new chapter in a long history of co-operation on defence and security between Britain and France.”

On one of the two treaties, both heads of state committed their armies to work “more closely than ever before”, by setting up a “combined expeditionary force” of 5, 000 soldiers from both sides, as well as agreeing to share at least one aircraft carrier at sea between them. On the other treaty, both countries agreed to increase co-operation on “nuclear safety” during the next 50 years. This nuclear treaty will involve the establishment of a centre in the UK for the development of testing technology and another one in France to carry out the actual nuclear testing.

The ultimate goal of such treaties, Sarkozy and Cameron said, was “to save millions of pounds without undermining national sovereignty”.

Will these old rivals actually be able to work together in an attempt to prevent future nuclear wars and cut costs, or will this strategic move lead to yet more tension? Let’s hope for the best.

By: Gerardo Blandón

ABC Student News: International News

THE ‘REAL’ ORIGIN OF HALLOWEEN

Halloween is round the corner, there are only 2 days left for one of the most popular celebration in North America and Europe to take place; and although in our country many do have the concept of the modern celebration, homogenization has not be influential enough to propagate the epidemic celebration in every Salvadorian home. However, the different believes around the origin of Halloween rose 220% this week between adults and children all over the world, perhaps to settle and debate on the different points of view of cultural or religious believers.

Although nowadays Halloween consists for the youngest on tricking and treating around streets to ask for enormous and delicious candy as an award to their fun and complexed costumes; the truth is that around the 800’s when this tradition arose it did not have that meaning but certain accepts were in fact similar to those practiced today.

Originally, the festival came from the Celtic holiday Samhain which means summer's end, and celebrated the end of fall and the beginning of winter. This day also marked the Celts' version of the New Year — and the time, they believed, when the dead came back to roam the earth. 

Ancestors were honored, but evil spirits were warded off by lighting bonfires and wearing costumes to hide from them. Turnips carved with faces got placed in windows to scare off the unwelcome undead. People would go "a-souling," and in exchange for food and drink, pray for a household's dead relatives. In Scotland, spirits were impersonated by men wearing all white with veiled faces. Sound familiar?

The entire tradition was a clash between this Celt tradition and the Roman Catholicism tradition of Feralia which consisting in honoring their deaths – and which is still celebrated on November 2^nd all around Christian nations, including ours – and which is now called All Saints Day. In the middle of the 19^th century Irish immigrants brought Halloween to American and it expanded and was transformed to now produce over $2 billion for all candy producers in the United States.

Written by: Fabiola Wollants

ABC Student News: International News

Chilean miners RESCUED!

Santiago, Chile, October 14^th- After more than two months of being buried under the Chilean desert, the last of the 33 trapped miners was pulled to safety, ending with what seemed to be an everlasting ordeal faster than anyone expected.

By: Gerardo Blandón.

At 9:56 p.m. (local time), Luis Urzua, the miner’s shift commander, who with his fellow workers survived since the past October 5^th entombed 700 metres under a Chilean mine, was rescued last and brought to the surface of ‘Esperanza (Hope)’ Camp. As the miner’s chief who demonstrated great leadership skills for the 17 agonizing days it took for rescuers to reach them, Urzua was received at the top with interminable applauses and jubilant cheers.

“We have done what the entire world was waiting for," he told Chilean president Sebastian Piñera right after being rescued. “The 70 days that we fought so hard were not in vain.”

Urzua, as well as his fellow miners, thanked Mr. Piñera and the drilling mining companies for making the rescue possible, yet the whole Chilean community expressed their gratitude to Urzua for having been such a great captain whilst the workers were trapped underground, always being  protective of his fellow miners.

As the news spread that the last miner was finally rescued, various presidents of Latin-American countries and from all over the world managed to contact President Piñera to congratulate him for the success of the rescue.  Such stunt will go down in history and hopefully serve as a lesson to mining companies on a global scale to give more protection to their miners.

Written by: Gerardo Blandon

ABC Student News: International News

Chile: Miner’s might get rescued this weekend

The 33 miners that are currently trapped underground since more than two months ago under the San José gold and copper mine in the North of Chile might get rescued over the course of this weekend.

With the drilling done so far, drilling mining company Geotec has managed to dig up to 464 metres deep down the soil, leaving the company with only 160 metres to reach the refuge where the 33 miners are at the moment. Thus, Geotec’s President, Pedro Buttazzoni, has currently announced that his team expects to reach the miner’s refuge in a matter of three or four days, even though the Chilean government planned to rescue the miners in mid-October.

The notable progress done so far by Geotec seem to point to the idea that the Chilean miners might get saved before the initial expected rescue date, which was at the end of this year, near Christmas. With Buttazoni regarding the rescuing of the 33 miners during the next few days as ‘perfectly possible’, a sense of jubilation began to arise amongst the anxious crowd gathered at Camp Esperanza (Hope) – the community that has sprung at the surface of the mine conformed by the families of the miners, emergency services, and fellow construction workers.

After 60 days of torture, the 33 miners trapped 2,300 feet underground since a rockslide on August 5, as well as their families and friends, grasp to the idea that the end to what seemed to be an everlasting ordeal will soon come to an end.

A sense of joy took over the miner’s families and friends as they heard the good news. It all points to the idea that the rescue is near.

Written by: Gerardo Blandon