Times Square: "See Something, Say Something"

On 1 May, a bomb was discovered in a car in Times Square. Faishal Shahzad, a naturalized US citizen born in Pakistan, is charged with the terrorist attempt.

On 1 May, a bomb was accidentally found in a car in Times Square, the well-known and crowded spot of New York. Lance Orton, a T-shirt salesman and a Vietnam veteran, noticed the smoke coming from the SUV and alerted the police on Saturday. At the same time, another street vendor Duane Jackson found the car suspicious and called the police as well. NYPD discovered in the car a crude firebomb: three propane tanks, two full gasoline containers, M-88 firecrackers, and two alarm-clock detonators. The bomb could have had caused several casulties if not found on time.

In 72 hours, the officials caught the major suspect Faishal Shahzad, a 30 yeas old, naturalized US citizen born in Pakistan, now living in Bridgeport, Connecticut. Although initially officials claimed that there was no evidence that this attempt was linked to any terrorist group, after the discovery of Shahzad, it seems that the Pakistani Taliban are behind this terror plot. There are strong evidences suggesting that the terrorist group, which is closely related to the al-Qaeda, helped facilitate and finance the attack. Shahzad was arrested two days after the incident at the JFK Airport when he wanted to leave the country to fly to Dubai. Officials investigate further the case and try to determine what might have motivated Shahzad.

Shanghai Expo

nearly 200 participant countries and more than 50 organizations on show,
70 million visitors, 20,000 cultural performances in the next 6 months, $58bn costs, site size: 5,3sq km

The Shanghai World Expo opened on Friday and it is going to run from 1 May to 31 October. After the 2008 Olympic Games, China is again in the spotlight as the country is trying to prove that it is a leader in development and a significant economic force. This Expo is the biggest out of the 60 Expos already held in the last 160 years. Even form the first World Exposition in London in 1851 these events are traditionally grandiose, slightly ahead in time with several innovative technologies presented.

Even though the majority of the constructions are dismantled after the event, the World Expos have created important landmarks in architecture like the Crystal Palace in London (burned down in 1936), the Skyline in Seattle, the Atomium in Brussels, the Unispere in Queens, The Ferris wheel in Chicago or the most famous, the Eiffel Tower in Paris.

The theme of this expo is “Better City. Better Life.” representing the common wish of the humankind for better living in future urban environments. The organizers wish to host an event of global scale that depict the essence of the diversified urban cultures of the world. The focus will be on the blending of diverse cultures and remodeling of communities in the city, economic prosperity, innovations of science and technology, and interactions between urban and rural areas.

Gulf of Mexico-The Oil Spill

After an explosion on the BP-operated Deepwater Horizon drilling platform in the Gulf of Mexico 5,000 barrels of raw oil gush every day in the sea endangering seriously the environment of the region.

On 22 April, the drilling platform in the Gulf of Mexico exploded, the rig sank and the rupture of the line is bringing 5,000 barrels of raw oil every day into the seawater. The 2.6 million gallons of oil is floating in the sea, coming dangerously close to the U.S. shore. The States of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida could face a major natural disaster if the oil reaches the coast. The poisoned area might be substantial and the effects can last for years as at the mostly marshy coast, the tidal action is weak and soil is oxygen poor.

For the past 12 days, the authorities tried to stop the leaking without much success. President Obama visited the area on Monday and Pentagon promised to send 17,000 National Guard troops to the area. Meanwhile, there were attempts to halt the gush of oil but so far, all of them were ineffective. On Tuesday, BP announced that they would attempt to drown a four-story, 100-ton, 40 foot-tall metal container to the leaking pipe to collect the flowing oil. This method has been used in shallow water but now the depth is 5,000 feet, at the bottom of the ocean.

This catastrophe is already affecting the local businesses. In the gulf in many communities, fishing and oyster production constitute a substantial part of the local’s income. BP announced that they would take full responsibility for what happened and the company in a press release stated that “BP is committed to pay legitimate and objectively verifiable claims…loss and damage caused by the spill.”