Free Republic

Sunday over the city of Inca on the popular tourist island, with five of the victims...killed in the chopper and the other two in the airplane, the BBC reported. Authorities said the airplane passengers were locals but haven’t officially identified any victims or the nationalities of the other three killed. At least one of the helicopter victims was Italian, according to Spanish news agency Europa Press. Photos of the wreckage...showed a tail section on a local road and a twisted hunk of metal on fire in a garden.

One of four suspected jihadists arrested in Mallorca this week planned to carry out an attack in the town of Inca, an investigating judge has said. It is believed that the man — named as Moroccan Abdulkader Mahmoudi — was poised to carry out an attack using a knife to stab people, following the modus operandi of the recent London Bridge attacks in which 8 people were killed and more than 40 injured. In this way he intended to “realize his plan to become a martyr,” said Judge Santiago Pedraz, the National Court magistrate charged with investigating the case against...

At 8.45 on the morning of 15 April 136 BC, Babylon was plunged into darkness when the Moon passed in front of the Sun. An astrologer, who recorded the details in cuneiform characters on a clay tablet, wrote: "At 24 degrees after sunrise-a solar eclipse. When it began on the southwest side, Venus, Mercury and the normal stars were visible. Jupiter and Mars, which were in their period of disappearance, became visible. The Sun threw off the shadow from southwest to northeast." If present-day astronomers use a computer to run the movements of the Earth, Moon and Sun backwards...

Holidaymakers taking a break to Majorca this summer are being warned they face fines of up to £500 if they wander from the beach still wearing their swimwear. New island regulations will see penalties handed out for anything from riding a bicycle on the pavement to wearing a bikini, swimsuit or Speedos or swimming trunks in the street. Aimed at both tourists and citizens, the laws are part of Palma City Council's 'Ordenanza Civica', otherwise known as the 'Good Citizen Plan'. cebook

Two blind friends have been told they can’t go on holiday to Majorca together just two weeks before they were due to fly because they need a carer. Lauren Wigglesworth, 27, and Stephen Sherwood, 24, were told by Thomson that they must take someone with them because they won’t be able to see the in-flight safety demonstration. Lauren was looking forward to the break at the the luxury C’an Picafort resort as she recovers from a grueling 11-hour operation and prepares for her next stint in hospital. … Lauren and Stephen, from Hereford, were told that they would not know...

The United States President will spend four days of his holiday in the town with his family during August The President of the United States, Barack Obama, his wife Michelle, and their daughters Malia and Sasha, will spend part of their summer holidays in Marbella. In what will be his first visit to Spain as President, he will stay from August 4 – 8 in the luxury Villapadierna Hotel. Before returning to the United States, Obama will travel to the Marivent Palace on Mallorca to meet with King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia. He’s also expected to meet with the...

SNIPPET: "They are believed to have supported "terrorist groups that operate in the Algerian area of the Maghreb, specifically al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb" (AQIM), a Spanish ministry statement claimed. The group, aged 36 to 49, is also suspected of linking up with Islamist support groups in Italy, France, and Switzerland."

SNIPPET: "The Interior Ministry says Spanish police have arrested a Cuban man suspected of belonging to al-Qaida. A ministry statement says the man was detained Monday on the Mediterranean Island of Mallorca."

NEW YORK — After the epic disaster of , one might imagine the United Nations would tread carefully before launching any new and controversial efforts. Hardly.Still reeling from scandals on many fronts, the U.N. has launched another questionable initiative, called the , which is due to hold its first meeting this weekend in Spain. The program has been widely touted by U.N. Secretary-General as a bridge across cultural and religious divides, but it involves a daisy-chain of dubious associations that casts serious doubt both on the project itself and on the U.N.’s ability to cut loose from the scandals of the past...