The U.N. concluded that Crimea’s secession vote is invalid.
ON Thursday the United Nations General Assembly passed a vote declaring that Crimea’s vote to secede from Ukraine and become a part of Russia is invalid. Even though this decision is non-binding Moscow participated in heavy lobbying to convince diplomats to vote in their favor. The vote is a strong illustration of the shrinking number of supporters the Russian government has around the world. The outcome of this vote was important to uphold core principles of the United Nations in a situation where they are being challenged.
See CCTV’s report here.
The search for the missing Malaysian Airlines plane shifted 700 miles.
On Friday the search area for the missing Malaysian Airlines plane was shifted to the northeast Indian Ocean. Almost immediately search planes began to see debris in the water. These objects have been documented, and the search for the bulk of the plane continues. Locating and recovering any piece of the wreckage may be able to help solve the mystery of what happened to Flight MH370.
See ABC News’ report here.
Pope Francis and Obama met for the first time.
The Obama administration has had a strained relationship with Catholic leadership since Obama became president. President Obama came bearing a gift of seeds, appropriately symbolizing the beginning of a new relationship between the administration and the Catholic Church. The seeds were housed in a wooden box made from timber from the first cathedral built in the United States, in Baltimore. The pope gifted the President a medallion symbolizing the “need for peace and solidarity between the two hemispheres” and a cope of “Evangelii Gaudium” or “The Joy of the Gospel,” written by the pope himself.
See the meeting here.
A mudslide in Washington leaves many missing and dead.
On Saturday outside of the small town of Oso, Washington a rainy day led to a mile-wide mudslide rescue workers are calling catastrophic. It is known that at least 26 people died when the rain-soaked hill collapsed with absolutely no warning. Rescue workers say that the death toll will rise substantially as more of the missing are found dead and the bodies are processed by the medical examiners. It is estimated that about 180 people lived in the path of the landslide. However, the 200 people still searching the wreckage are still treating the search as a rescue mission, and retain hope that they may find some people still alive.
Say CBS’s report here.