Wikinews Shorts: May 9, 2007

A compilation of brief news reports for Wednesday, May 9, 2007.

At age 16, two girls from Collie, near Perth, Australia, decided to find out if they would feel remorse if they killed someone. On June 18, 2006, the two girls, who cannot be named as they are under 18, strangled Eliza Jane Davis, 15, and buried her body under a house. They knew it was wrong, but it “felt right,” they told police.

Today,a life sentence, with a minimum of 15 years to be served, was given in the case. “It was gruesome and merciless in the extreme,” Judge Reynolds said.

Sources

Liza Kapelle. “‘Merciless’ girl killers get life in jail” — Fairfax Digital, May 10, 2007
“Perth girls get life for murder” — BBC News Online, May 9, 2007

A 17-year old girl in Ireland has won the right to travel to United Kingdom where she intends to have an abortion. Doctors have said that the child she is carrying will not survive more than a couple of days after birth.

The Health Service Executive had issued an order stopping her. Abortion in Ireland is illegal except in certain cases. Many women get around the ban by travelling to the UK. The High Court ruled there is no constitutional or statutory grounds for preventing “Miss D,” as the underage girl is known in court, from travelling to the UK.

Sources

“Irish teen wins abortion battle” — BBC News Online, May 9, 2007
“‘Miss D’ allowed to travel for abortion following High Court ruling” — Irish Examiner, May 9, 2007

Due to a rising number of mortar based attacks, the United States Embassy in Baghdad, Iraq has told its staff to wear bullet proof vests and helmets at all times while outside or in unprotected buildings, reports the Associated Press.

The Associated Press also reports that an unnamed embassy official confirmed the order. The order reportedly came down on May 3, a day after a mortar or rocket attack killed four contract workers in the Green Zone.

Sources

Robert H. Reid – Associated Press. “U.S. Embassy: wear flak jackets, helmets” — Yahoo! News, May 9, 2007
Associated Press. “US Embassy: Wear Flak Jackets, Helmets” — The Guardian, May 9, 2007

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This page is archived, and is no longer publicly editable.

Articles presented on Wikinews reflect the specific time at which they were written and published, and do not attempt to encompass events or knowledge which occur or become known after their publication.

Got a correction? Add the template {{editprotected}} to the talk page along with your corrections, and it will be brought to the attention of the administrators.

Please note that due to our archival policy, we will not alter or update the content of articles that are archived, but will only accept requests to make grammatical and formatting corrections.

Note that some listed sources or external links may no longer be available online due to age.