A limited air strike on Syria was stalled this week as the U.S. and Russia teamed up to draft an agreement aimed at forcing Bashar al-Assad’s government to give up their chemical weapons stockpile by next year. Meanwhile in India, citizens both rejoiced and expressed their doubts when four men involved in December’s well-known gang rape case were sentenced to death. In the same week, the U.S. also took the time to remember the victims of 9/11 with the biggest tributes in New York, Washington and outside of Shanksville, Pennsylvania. Finally, the destruction wrought by floodwaters in Colorado have killed at least four and caused massive damage to the state’s cities and roadways, and Sunday’s rainy forecast hardly lays any worries to rest.
Welcome back to NEWSFLASH! Bringing you the week’s biggest news stories.
U.S. and Russia Reach Syria Chemical Weapons Disarmament Deal
On Saturday, the U.S. and Russia reached an agreement demanding that Syria destroy its chemical weapons arsenal by mid-2014.
The agreement was struck on the third day of negotiations in Geneva, where the U.S. and Russia collaborated to pressure Bashar al-Assad’s government into giving up chemical weapons while also stalling military action. The Syrian government now has one week to reveal details of its chemical weapons stockpile, after which the UN can become involved should Syria refuse to do so.
President Obama addressed the nation on Tuesday night to urge Congress to delay the vote on Syria as Russia had come forward and proposed directly to Assad’s government that they hand over their chemical weapons.
The deal, however, does not erase the possibility of a U.S.-led military strike should Syria not comply. Russia remains heavily against any sort of military operation.
Assad’s government still denies any involvement in the August 21 chemical weapons attack that killed hundreds of civilians in a Damascus suburb. Rebel groups have accused the government of carrying out the atrocity but at least one, the anti-Assad Free Syrian Army has rejected the deal and vowed to continue fighting Assad.
Four Men Receive Death Sentence in Delhi Rape Case
Four men involved in December’s shocking gang rape case have been sentenced to death by hanging, a legal decision that was met with mixed reactions from the public.
Mukesh Singh, Vinay Sharma, Akshay Takur and Pawan Gupta received the death sentence in a case that Judge Yogesh Kanna described as “the rarest in a rare category,” a case so brutal that pleas for a lighter sentence were immediately rejected. Outside the Delhi courthouse where the four men were sentenced, cheers erupted from a crowd that gathered in support of December’s victim, her family and of harsher punishment for perpetrators of sexual assault.
The four men, along with a 17-year-old accomplice and a fifth man, had lured the unnamed 23-year-old physiotherapy student and a male friend onto a private bus when the two needed a ride. They knocked the victim’s male friend unconscious before gang raping the woman and penetrating her with a metal rod. The female student died two weeks later of massive internal injuries at a hospital in Singapore, igniting a massive anti-rape campaign in India.
The 17-year-old teen was sentenced to spend three years in a reform facility, the maximum sentence allotted to minors in India. The fifth man, Ram Singh, was found dead in his prison cell in March from an apparent suicide.
While most are celebrating the sentence, others are skeptical that the decision will spur a large social change in India. This is especially true given that the four men can still appeal their sentence to the High Court, the Supreme Court and the President, a process that takes years but that may be successful.
Nation Remembers 9/11 Attacks
12 years after the September 11 terrorist attacks, memorial ceremonies were once again held in New York, Washington and near Shanksville, Pennsylvania to remember the 2,977 victims who died that day in four plane hijackings that forever changed the nation.
In New York, names of those killed were recited in a ceremony that attracted hundreds. Later on that night, a Tribute In Light took place that saw twin beams of light rising from Ground Zero, marking the two towers of the World Trade Center that once loomed over Manhattan.
President Obama led a moment of silence at the White House at 8:46am EST, the exact time the North Tower was hit. He later paid a visit to the Pentagon, where 125 people were killed when a third plane hit the Department of Defense headquarters. Another large memorial service was held right outside of Shanksville, where passengers on board United Flight 93 had battled hijackers that had taken over the plane. The plane crashed in a field, killing all 44 people on board.
Smaller local events were held all around the country to remember the 9/11 attacks. From the West Coast to the East Coast and from North to South, citizens nationwide gathered to pay tribute to the thousands who died that September 11, 2001.
Colorado Floods: Over 500 Unaccounted For
Four deaths and over 500 missing people have been blamed on the floods that have ravaged Colorado this past week, with Boulder County alone suffering $150 million worth of damage in these last few days.
Two teens were swept away from floodwaters as they exited a car while one other victim was found in their home and another on a road in Colorado Springs. A 60-year-old woman is also presumed dead after witnesses saw her being swept away from her demolished home, though her body is yet to be located.
While at least 500 people remain unaccounted for, the number keeps fluctuating as residents are gradually turning up and new requests to find others appear.
President Obama signed a disaster declaration for Colorado and the state is receiving at least $5 million from U.S. Transportation Security.
“We’re going to come back and rebuild better than it was before,” Gov. John Hickenlooper said, addressing concerns about Colorado’s recovering and the amount of financial and material resources needed for repairs.
Colorado residents remain extremely wary as rain is once again forecast for all of Sunday.