WideWorld BULLETIN 12

News in brief

Yacht couple fear for lives

The family of the Britons who were taken hostage on a sailing holiday have made another appeal for their release.

Paul and Rachel Chandler have now been hostages of Somalian pirates for almost a month having been captured from their yacht in the Indian Ocean on October 23rd.
In a recent video released by Channel 4, Paul Chandler speaks of fears that they might be killed within a week. His wife adds that they suspect they could soon be released to an Islamist terrorist group.

The pirates are demanding a ransom of $7million (£4.3million), but the position of the British government avoids making substantive concessions or ransoms to hostage takers.

Plans for 2010 Alaskan hike

Hiking fanatic Andrew Skurka has announced initial plans for an expedition next year. “The Great Alaskan-Yukon Loop”, on which Andrew plans to set off next March, is expected to last about seven months.

Starting in northwest Alaska, Skurka will ski south through the mountains, before rafting along Copper River to the sea, and finally starting a long walk on Chilkoot Pass Trail.

Ambitious Skurka has scheduled the trip to avoid as much as possible the bitter Alaskan winter, but it’s likely there will still be some rough weather en-route.

Track Skurka’s planning of the trek at: www.andrewskurka.com

Lake District in flood disaster

One of Britain’s most popular countryside destinations, the Lake District, is experiencing major flooding after a week of heavy rain.

Last weekend saw 500 residents of Cumbria out of their homes. Mountain rescue and emergency services are moving people out of the worse hit areas, some of which are under over 8ft of water. One policeman has drowned during the rescue attempts.

Further rain is expected throughout the UK this week.