Air travel resumes in Europe even as volvano is still erupting in Iceland

A limited amount of air planes were allowed to take flight on Monday in Europe after many have been stranded since last week due to a volcano in Iceland, reports the Star Tribune.  London is unlikely to allow air travel even on Tuesday because of the volcanic ash still emerging from the volcano.  More airlines are expected to allow travel on Tuesday morning including those in Germany and Scotland.

There is currently a new ash cloud moving towards London's skies.  Due to the many cancellations of flights, the London aviation industry is losing nearly $1 billion.

While some scientists say that is safe for air planes to travel through the ash cloud, some said that it is not worth the risk of the travelers.  There have many test flights through the ash cloud over the past few days to determine the safety of air planes.

Plane crash that killed Poland's president may have been due to human error

Russian investigators have come to the early conclusion that the plane crash on Saturday April 3 that killed the Polish president, his wife, and 95 others was due to human error and not technical problems on the plane, reports the Star Tribune.  The plane crashed during landing in the fog in Russia.  There were no survivors including President Lech Kaczynski of Poland.

The president was traveling to honor Polish officers executed 70 years ago by Josef Stalin's secret police.

The pilot of the aircraft had been warned by air traffic controllers to land at a different airport because of the weather, but did not because it would have put the honoring ceremony behind schedule.  The plane had made four attempts to land before the fifth and fatal attempt, which resulted in the crash.  The pilots were also told of the bad weather conditions while still in the air away from the original landing site.

Russia and Ukraine declared a day of mourning on Monday.

British couple to be jailed after kissing in Dubai

A British couple will spend a month in jail before their deportation from Dubai for kissing in public, according to Fox 9 News.  The couple was spotted kissing and touching one another which breaks indecency laws in the country.  The couple was also found guilty of consuming alcohol in public which is against the law.

Both the 25-year-old man and 24-year-old woman work in Dubai.  The couple originally pleaded not guilty and said the kiss was nothing more than a "peck".

The couple was reported to authorities by a mother after her child became upset after the incident.

The couple is talking to their lawyer about a possible appeal with the Dubai court system.

Moscow the latest target in terrorist attacks

On Monday March 29, a Moscow subway was attacked by two suicide bombers killing 38 people and wounding at least 60 more according to the Star Tribune.  These are the first subway bombing in Russia since 2004.

In the past week Russian police have executed many Islamic militant leaders in the North Caucaus in the Kabardino-Balkariya region.  According to the Russian president "the remains of the two suicide bombers pointed to a connection with the Caucaus".

The first explosion happened at 8 a.m. and then the second bombing took place about 45 minutes later.  Both times the bombs were detonated as trains were pulling into the stations and the doors were open.

Multiple train stations in the United States increased their security after the Moscow bombings including Washington D.C. and New York.

Wedding guest shoots self in Russia

A wedding guest shot himself in the heading during a game of Russian Roulette, according to Fox 9 News which was reported Monday March 22.  The man is currently in poor health with brain damage and paralysis.  The incident began as a prank when the groom originally put the gun to his head, pulled the trigger, and nothing happened.  The guest then grabbed the gun, pulled the trigger, and was shot in the head in front of the guests.

The man who brought the handgun to the wedding was later arrested.  The man arrested said that he brought the gun to perform a trick, not expecting anyone else to try.  He also told police that he had taken all the bullets out before performing the trick.

Spirits auctioned in New Zealand

Two vials containing ghosts of the deceased were auctioned $1,983 U.S. Monday night in New Zealand reported the Star Tribune.  The ghosts were put up for auction by a woman who caught them in her home and says they were blessed in holy water to calm the spirits.

The two spirits are those of a man who lived in the woman's home in the 1920's and a girl who's spirit arrived in the home after the use of a Ouija board.  Many people attended the auction at Trademe because of their curiosity of the validity of the spirits in the vials.  The name of the winning bidder was not released.

After the costs of the exorcism done to catch the ghosts is paid the remainder of the money the woman earned will go to the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

Chile earthquake may have changed earth's day

The earthquake that hit Chile on Saturday Feb. 27 may have shortened earth's day by 1.26 miliseconds, reports the Star Tribune.  A normal day on earth is just more than 24 hours, which many people know.  The reason for the change is because an earthquake can have an effect on the earth's axis in which it sits.  Depending on how earth sits on its axis, it can increase or decrease how quickly earth spins each day.  According to Yahoo News, earth's axis changed about a total of 3 inches

The changes that happen during earthquakes to earth's axis are permanent, but are very marginal.  This is, however, not the first time that the earth's axis has changed due to an earthquake.  In 2004, during a 9.1 earthquake it shortened earth's days by about 6.8 microseconds.

The earthquake in Chile has killed over 700 people while the search continues.

Baby's bladder accidently removed in surgery

A London pediatrics surgeon removed a the bladder of a baby during a surgery that was to remove a hernial sac.  The toddler will need to use a catheter for the rest of her life due to the irreversible urinary tract damage according to the Fox 9 News.

The 43-year-old consultant pediatric surgeon performed the surgery on a seven-week-old baby and ultimately removed 90 percent of the baby's bladder.  The surgeon, Pierina Kapur, admitted that her actions of the surgery were "inadequete" and not up to the standard of medical practices.

The toddler, now 18-months-old has had many surgeries in order to repair damage and make it easier for the young girl to pass urine.

The hearing on Kapur is still underway and there was no mention of the surgeons future in the article.  The article also did not mention if Kapur is still practicing during the hearing.

White wins back to back Gold in Halfpipe

American snowboarder Shaun White won gold, defending his 2006 title, on Wednesday night in Vancouver, according to the Star Tribune.  White was on top of the podium after the first run with a score of 46.8 out of a possible 50.  He sat at the top of the pipe for a minute contemplating if he was going to do his second run after learning he had already won gold.  When he went through with his second run he brought his score up to 48.4.  An unforgettable victory lap. He donned his dangerous Double McTwist 1260, recently renamed the Tomahawk, in his final run which only Shaun White has yet to land.

Scotty Lango, also from the U.S., won the bronze medal.  USA Today reporting that this is the third winter Olympics in which United States has won multiple medals in halfpipe snowboarding.  The silver medal went to Peetu Piiroinen of Finlad wtih a score of 45 out of 50, coming in just under Shaun's first run score.

The United States won three more gold medals in the 2010 Winter Olympics Wednesday.

Passengers Caught in Elevator in World's Tallest Building

According to Fox 9 News, 15 passengers visiting the Burj Khalifa tower in Dubai were trapped for over 45 minutes on Wednesday.  There were many people visiting the tower to go to the observation deck of the newly opened building.  The tower has been open just over a month now, reported New York Daily News, but recently shut down after the now widely known elevator incident.

The 15 passengers were rescued, shaken but unharmed, by building staff and rescue crews lowering a ladder down into the elevator itself.  I has not yet been determined what caused the elevator to faulty and stop in the middle of its decent.  A witness to the incident said that it sounded like "a small explosion."

The Burj Khalifa is currently the world's tallest building standing 2,717 feet into the sky.  The observation deck, where the passengers of the elevator were, was the only part of the building that had been open.  It has not been announced when the building will reopen.

Australian mom gives son alcohol

An Australian mom gave her 5-year-old son alcohol and caused him to become drunk on Tuesday Feb. 2.  The young boy's blood alcohol level was at 0.9 when he arrived at the hospital according to Fox 9 News.  The alcohol that the 33-year-old mother, Kylie Eastwood, served her son was home brewed and the majority was ethanol alcohol.  Eastwood said that her son enjoyed drinking alcohol and only wanted a drink.

Eastwood is not serving time in jail for serving her son alcohol, but did plead guilty to reckless endangerment of her son.  This is not the mother's first run in with the law with alcohol involvement.  In July of 2008, Eastwood left her 3 children home alone in order to go out with a friend and drink.  She also refused a breath test in 2005 and had her license suspended.

Eastwood, herself, did not take part in drinking with her son and has been abstinent since September 2009.

Commercial airliner crashes in the Medditerranean

The commercial flight carrying 90 passengers headed towards the Ethiopian capital crashed in the early hours of Monday morning, reported the Kare 11 News. The airliner caught fire shortly after takeoff and crashed into the Mediterranean Sea just off the shore of Lebanon, but the cause of the fire has yet to be determined. So far there have been no survivors found in the search on the sea, but search crews including the U.S. Navy will continue to look for survivors. There have been an uncertain number of bodies found from the waters ranging from a dozen to 20 bodies.

There is no suspected terrorism behind the plane crash and any "sabotage" has been dismissed.  The flight had take off into a storm that had been occurring since Sunday and has not been ruled out in a cause of the fire or crash.

Currently, the wreckage is being gathered during the search in the waters.  Pieces of the plane have slowly been recovered including items and luggage from on board.  Other debris is also washing up on the shores that are also being recovered.  The search crews hope to find the black boxes that are within in the cockpit of aircrafts for more answers of the plane crash.  Crews are working removing the fuselage from the water in hopes to find more answers and bodies.