Space plane crashes in desert

A Virgin Galactic space plane crashed in the Mojave Desert, killing the co-pilot and severely injuring the pilot, according to the New York Times.

Virgin Galactic is a company founded by billionaire Richard Branson, with the goal being to take tourists on short flights into space.

“We are determined to find out what went wrong,” Branson said when asked about the crash.

The deceased crewmember was identified as Michael Alsbury and the surviving pilot is Peter Siebold, who survived the crash by parachuting out of the ship.

The path of debris in the desert was over five miles long, which experts say shows that the crash was caused by some sort of in-flight breakup.

Currently, over 700 people have signed up to be amongst the first to fly on a Virgin Galactic flight but it is unclear whether this crash will have an effect on signups.

Pakistani suicide bomber kills 50 people

At least 50 people were killed, along with at least 120 injured, when a suicide bomber set off a bomb at a border post in eastern Pakistan, according to the New York Times.

The attack occurred in the town of Wagah, a town on the border of India, after a flag lowering ceremony had taken place at sunset.

The ceremony attracts thousands of visitors who gathered to watch Pakistani rangers and Indian border security force members march in procession.

The bomber detonated his suicide vest after the ceremony had ended, a time when security began to relax. A splinter group of the Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack, most likely in retaliation for the Pakistani military’s offensive against militants in North Waziristan.

Mushtaq Sukhaira, inspector general of the Punjab police, said that reports had told him that there would be an attack on the border but said, “ it is very difficult to thwart a suicide attack.”

US marine veteran released from Mexican jail

A United States Marine veteran was released after seven months in a Mexican jail on gun charges, according to the New York Times.

The veteran, Andrew Tahmooressi, was released on psychological grounds and is currently being treated for post-traumatic stress disorder.

Tahmooressi was initially arrested at the California border, when three guns were found in his possession. Tahmooressi claimed that he crossed the border accidentally, while Mexican officials claim that it was not an accident and that he did not openly declare his weapons.

Bill Richardson, the former ambassador to the United Nations, worked for Tahmooressi’s release and said “[he is] a good young man. You know, he’s a war hero and we have to stand behind him,” Richardson said.

Editor Corrections

In the article “The Vatican is more acepting toward the LGBT community,” published on Oct. 29, The Echo misattributed information from the Vatican Report, “Relatio post disceptationem” to Dr. Victor Thasiah. In an email interview, Thasiah said that “A better starting point would be to recognize that ‘homosexuals’ [as the report puts it] are part of the ‘we.’ This would change statements such as, “are we capable of providing for these people…’ dismanteling the divine between ‘we’ and ‘they’ is step one.”

The quote originally attributed to Dr. Thasiah was “The church affirms that unions between people of the same sex cannot be considered on the same level as marriage between man and woman.”

The Echo regrets the error.

In the article “Unsung heroes in the training room,” the wrong person was printed in the caption. It was not Kali Youngdal that was pictured, but Sarah Wardle. The Echo regrets the error.

Matthew Garvin

Staff Writer

Published November 5, 2014