An explosion at the Taizhina mine in Siberia claimed the lives of 47 miners on Saturday, April 10. More than 50 miners where in the shaft at the time of the explosion, and only a few were able to escape. The cause of the explosion is believed to have been a buildup of methane gas, and local prosecutors have begun investigating whether negligence contributed to the buildup.
Following the abduction and subsequent return of eight of its citizens, Russia has opted to evacuate more than 800 civilian contractors from Iraq. The contractors, who have primarily been working to repair power stations, will have the choice to remain in Iraq or to return home. Both Japan and France have urged their contractors to leave the country, following the kidnapping of three Japanese citizens and a French reporter. The reporter has since been released, but the three Japanese are still being held and are threatened with death.
The only person convicted in the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, Mounir el Motassadeq, has won an appeal in German court and will be released. Convicted of providing 'logistical support' to al Qaeda, Motassadeq was freed pending a retrial on the conditions that he not obtain a passport and that he remain in Hamburg. The appeals court which granted Motassadeq's release says he was not given a fair trial, as the U.S. government did not allow him access to several key witnesses in U.S. custody.
An explosion in the Spanish capital of Madrid on Saturday, April 3, left one police officer and seven suspects in last month's railway bombings dead. Police stormed an apartment believed to be the residence of several of the bombers, where an explosion killed all those inside.
New research suggests that Greenland’s ice sheet could disappear if global warming continues. According to estimates, within 350 years the ice sheet may become unsustainable and melt away even if global warming were halted. If Greenland's ice were to melt away, it could raise the average global sea level by up to 23 feet.
The International Atomic Energy Agency learned on Tuesday, April 6, that Iran was planning to start construction of a heavy water nuclear reactor. Iran says it needs the reactor to produce radioactive isotopes for medical research, but experts claim the spent fuel rods could be used to produce weapons-grade plutonium. Construction is scheduled to begin in the city of Arak in June.