Video showing Daily Telegraph journalist, Charley Smith’s encounter with Mapinpam the lion in South Africa….

Bond Street, London, was the scene for something out of a movie last Thursday as two well dressed thieves pulled off one of Britain’s biggest robberies in broad daylight. £40 Million worth of jewels were stolen by 2 armed robbers who bypassed security before picking up 43 diamond items and escaping in getaway cars.

2 men, believed to be from London, arrived in a taxi and proceeded to walk past security before threatening staff and briefly seizing one woman as a hostage. They then quickly picked up 43 items, totalling £40 Million before escaping in a blue BMW.

The video below shows the moment the robbers escaped firing a warning gunshot as they left Graff Diamonds’ Store. No one was hurt or injured during the incident and police have yet to make any arrests.

With the incident happening last Thursday, it’s clear that the Police don’t have many good leads and so are seeking help from the public, instead of keeping the story quiet as they had planned to do.

Since Israel’s occupation of the Palestinian territories, they have implemented an apartheid and racist system of administration of the territories, violating countless international laws and UN resolutions. After the tragedy of the Holocaust, Jewish people were granted a homeland in the land of Palestine when the British occupation there ceased. The new state of Israel, created in 1948, has, however, illegally expanded its territory since its inception. It now occupies many areas of the West Bank and continues to periodically occupy the Gaza Strip.

Israeli Soldiers refusing to serve in the occupied territories wrote in a letter to Ariel Sharon: “The state of Israel commits war crimes and tramples over human rights, destroying Palestinian cities, towns and villages; expropriating land, detaining and executing without trial, conducting mass demolitions of houses, businesses, and public institutions; looting, closure, curfew, torture, prevention of medical care, construction and expansion of settlements -all these actions are opposed to human morality, and violate international treaties ratified by Israel.”

News Blog RC has put together some facts regarding the Israel Palestinian conflict, the facts are not about Muslim or Jew but rather, right and wrong:

1. In 1918, when the Balfour Declaration was made, 90% of the population of historic Palestine were Arabs, with only 56,000 Jewish people residing there.

2. Palestinians are now living in 18% of their historic homeland. Israel is stealing 50% of this through settlements and building of the apartheid style separation wall.

3. Israel appropriates 80% of the natural water from Palestinians every year.

4. Non-Jewish Israelis cannot buy or lease land in Israel.

5. The land now called Israel sits on the site of more than 531 (now destroyed) Palestinian villages. Palestinians in these villages were either massacred or fled for their lives during the 1947-1948 war between immigrant Jews (now Israeli’s) and the native Arab Palestinians.

6. Israel has renamed almost every village and town to cover up all traces of the Palestinian heritage.

7. Israel’s annexation of Jerusalem is illegal under international law and rejected by the international community. Despite this, Israel has surrounded Jerusalem with the apartheid wall and is now slowly demolishing Palestinian homes and ‘Judaizing’ Jerusalem.

8. Palestinians from Jerusalem who marry Palestinians from anywhere outside of Jerusalem lose their Jerusalem passports if they leave Jerusalem. Palestinians from the West Bank and Gaza cannot move to Jerusalem to live. Thus, parents in Jerusalem are forced to check the ID cards of potential brides and grooms for their children, to ensure they are Jerusalemites.

9. There are 120 Israeli checkpoints in the West Bank. These road blocks divide the West Bank into 300 separate clusters and make everyday travel a long ordeal.

10. Cars owned by Palestinians are colour coded to distinguish Jews from non-Jews.

11. Palestinian children who throw stones are imprisoned by Israel for approximately one year, in adult prisons, breaching provisions of UN Conventions. IDF soldiers have on numerous occasions shot and killed children for throwing stones.

12. Israel receives approximately $5 billion in aid from the U.S.A. each year, more than the whole African continent put together (minus Egypt).

13. Since Israel was created in 1948, combined US military and exonomic aid to Israel has reached £100 billion.

14. Israel claims to be building the separation wall between it and the Palestinian territories for its own security. Reports have shown that Israel is in fact using the wall to steal the most fertile West Bank land from Palestinians, by encircling villages with the wall and cutting the villagers off from their farmland.
If security was the real concern, the wall would run along the pre-1967 internationally recognised green line border.

15. Israel is the only country in the Middle East with nuclear weapons, and it refuses to sign the nuclear non-proliferation treaty and bars international inspectors from its sites.

16. High ranking military officers in the Israeli Defence Force (IDF) have admitted publicly that unarmed prisoners of war (POW) were executed by the IDF. This is in breach of the Geneva Convention on POW.

17. During the January 09 conflict between Israel and Palestine, the IDF deliberately stopped ambulances from getting to wounded Palestinians during IDF incursions into Palestinian population centres. This occurred over 1,000 times.

18. During this time, over 200 ambulances were attacked by live gun fire, rubber bullets and stones from Israeli settlers.

19. During these attacks, 12 journalists were killed by Israeli forces and over 300 were injured due to physical assaults and/or gunshot wounds.

20. During the 22 day assault in Gaza, 960 civilians lost their lives, including 288 children and 121 women. 239 police officers were also killed; the majority (235) in air strikes carried out on the first day of the attacks. The Ministry of Health have also confirmed that a total of 5,303 Palestinians were injured in the assault, including 1,606 children and 828 women.

21. Israel is currently detaining as many as 7,500 Palestinian political prisoners in prisons with common criminals.

22. The unemployment rate in the Gaza Strip is 67% and in the West Bank it is 48%.

23. Between 28 September 2000 and May 2005, over 750 Palestinian children were killed by Israeli forces and settlers, including approximately 150 children who were on their way to or from school, or were sitting in school class rooms when shot by snipers.

24. It was not until 1988 that Israeli’s barred “Jews Only” job adverts.

25. Four of Israel’s Prime Ministers (Begin, Shamir, Rabin and Sharon) took part in either bomb attacks on civilians, massacres of civilians, or forced expulsions of civilians from their villages. Sharon was held responsible for the massacre of more than 2,750 Palestinians in the refugee camps of Sabra and Chatila. The UN concluded it was an act of Genocide.

26. Palestinian Refugees make up the largest refugee population in the world.

27. In a report in 2005, the US Government concluded that there were now more Arab Palestinians in Israel and the Occupied Territories of the West Bank and Gaza than Israeli Jews. The Palestinian population numbers 5.3 million and the Israeli Jewish population numbers 5.2 million.

Notwithstanding these sad facts about the occupied territories, Palestinians continue to endure their hardships on a daily basis and a sovereign state of Palestine continues to be inhibited. Israel continues to build its illegal settlements whilst the US, Western governments and the mainstream Western media continue to largely ignore these crimes. It is, therefore, of utmost importance that the plight of Palestinians is not ignored.

100,000 Real Madrid fans turned up for the unveiling of Cristiano Ronaldo as the new number 9 of their beloved club. Ronaldo recently signed for £80 Million pounds from Manchester United. Real Madrid have also signed Brazilian, Kaka and French striker, Benzema in an attempt to regain the Spanish title from their bitter rivals, Barcelona.

A small child tried to steal Ronaldo’s football while he was performing some tricks for the audience. Ronaldo stated that he was thankful to the United fans and manager and that he had made some great friends during his time there.

Watch the full video below:

The “King of Pop”, Michael Jackson has tragically died today in Los Angeles, aged 50, following a suspected cardiac arrest. Musically he can only be described as genius, the singer has been one of the most influential people in the industry over the last 35 years. I doubt there are any people in the World who have not heard of Michael Jackson, from Africa to Asia, the musical superstar has sold over 100 million records.

Michael Jackson has made some of the greatest musical albums over 3 decades – Off the Wall, Thriller, Bad, all multi selling records, making him the “King of Pop”. His soulful voice, his groundbreaking dancing, and his ability to touch lives, has been a huge influence on the music of today, an inspiration for all modern musicians. His music is timeless and I doubt if anyone can ever come close to emulating his achievments.

Jackson was thrust into the limelight at a young age and often struggled to try and relive his youth in his later years, many saying this was a result of a missed childhood. Throughout his later years, his life was often unfairly ridiculed by the American Media, forcing him to lead a life of a recluse. Accusations of  homosexuality, high profile marriages, child sex allegations and a constant abuse about his physical appearance dogged him after the Bad album.

Jackson was due to perform a series of concerts in the UK, his first live performances in ten years. All the London concerts sold out in days, proving his fans still loved and respected him immensly.

News Blog RC hopes Michael Jackson is remembered for his musical career and not some of the stories which have been reported in the contemporary media. The greatest black musical artist to have ever lived, a true pop icon. With countless classic songs, Michael Jackson created his own pop culture which spread worldwide and he single-handedly create the music video genre with Thriller. Any time a Michael Jackson song comes on the radio, it is never turned off, a testament to his abilities – RIP The King Of Pop.

Below is News Blog RC’s tribute to Michael Jackson – First his Billie Jean performance in New York in 2001. I’ve never seen one black man make so many white women dance and cry at the same time. Following this there is Don’t Stop Till You Get Enough from Off the Wall.

Just a quick note to say that all comments on News Blog RC are now “do follow” links. For some people this will mean nothing, for others we hope this will help your site progress like ours has so far.

Peru’s Prime Minister, Yehude Simon, has today announced that he will resign following weeks of violence between Peru’s indigenous groups and security forces. Protests organised by Peru’s Indian groups have centred on the government’s unwillingness to consult or include them in its plan to exploit natural resources in areas located in the Amazon Basin. This is compounded with the strong possibility that these groups will be displaced from these areas following an influx of foreign energy companies.

Mr Simon has vowed to quit the government once he persuades Peru’s parliament to repeal two new laws which effectively open-up large swathes of indigenous lands to natural resource exploitation; namely oil drilling, logging and the introduction of hydroelectric dams. These proposed new laws are controversial, to say the least, and are facing strong opposition.

The indigenous groups, to the government’s surprise, have been extremely well organised and are posing a threat to President Alan Garcías’ plan to attract foreign investment to the region. The government’s official line is that its security forces have been the victims of a ‘frenzy’, with 11 police officers killed on Friday night. Indigenous leaders have, however, argued that the violence erupted after police fired shots from helicopters into crowds of protesters, with at least 22 civilians killed. The Chachapoyas Medical Association has since stated that 25 Indians have died in the violence. Other sources put the number at 34, while hundreds of indigenous civilians are said to be missing.

These developments have, by some commentators, been described as “the Amazon’s Tiananmen”. The protesters, armed with only spears and machetes, are proving to be a strong opposition to the government’s new laws and look determined to continue with their protests.

Associated Press

US President, Barack Obama demonstrated some killer ninja like tactics to swat a fly during a recent interview. His speed and skill would have made Mr Miagi proud. News Blog RC believes the warrior is strong in you Daniel Son.

Recent video from Nottingham showing an innocent man being attacked and tasered by 4 policemen while helplessly lying on the ground. It seems to News Blog RC that the British Police are getting increasingly heavy handed, and are bending the laws that they are being paid to uphold.

News Blog RC had been a fan of Big Brother but Urgh this year it’s difficult to spot anyone normal amongst the self involved exhibitionists on the show. What a contrast we have had in ten years…..with “Lets Get Naked” being shouted out by one of the contestants on the very first day – in the early days that wouldn’t have been said until at least week 3 minimum.

People are watching it and what the public demand they get, so here are 2 videos from the show. We start with the first kiss on this year’s show. The kiss happens between a girl called “Dogface” and ladies man, Kris, who is apparently a manc – get in there lad. Kris should enjoy it while it lasts am sure there will be more hunky blokes on the way to steal his thunder.

The second features a funny catfight between 2 of the girls, Sophia and Saffia. Haha all I have to say about it is “You need to check yaself, you’re boring!”.