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Alan Johnston freed
The British reporter Alan Johnston, who had been held in Gaza by Palestinian militants called the Army of Islam since the 12th March, was let go on the 4th of July. The motive for this capture was the demand to end the sanctions by the West against the Palestinian government. They also demanded the release of Palestinian prisoners held by the United Kingdom. He said he was not tortured by his kidnappers, but it was the worst time of his life, as he did not know what was going to happen to him. At one point a militant group had claimed that they had killed him. There were many calls to release him by the Palestinian and British governments, the European Union and by thousands of individuals. Alan had been living in Gaza for three years before his capture. Reporters had been captured before in Gaza, but this was the longest anyone had been held for.
The New 7 Wonders of the World
A big ceremony was held in Lisbon, Portugal on July 7th to declare the new 7 wonders of the world. More than 100 million people around the world voted and the highest seven in no rank of order are Machu Picchu in Peru, the Coliseum in Italy, the Statue of Christ
Redeemer in Brazil, The Great Wall of China, Chichén Itzá in Mexico, The Taj Mahal in India and Petra in Jordan. This initiative was started by Bernard Weber, a Swiss filmmaker to help unite the world and celebrate global heritage. The original 7 wonders of the world were determined more than 2000 years ago and mostly include wonders that no longer exist, such as the Hanging Gardens of Babylon. The only surviving wonder from that period are the Great Pyramids of Giza, which were now given a special status and set above the new seven wonders. The ceremony has been criticized however, as most of the votes were done through internet or phone, there was little control on double voting and popular voting is not based on science.
Harry hype
At midnight on the 21st of July, the seventh and final book of the Harry Potter series written by J.K. Rowling, called Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, was released in the bookshops. Thousands of people around the world were lining up outside the bookshops ready to buy a copy and already 72 million books were sold within the first 24 hours. The author has created a whole magical world about a boy with special powers and his adventures with his friends and life in Hogwarts, the school of magic. Fans of Harry Potter were both excited and sad to read the last book as they have gotten very attached to all the amazing characters. Even J.K. Rowling said she had cried while writing one of the last chapters. These books have made the author one of the most successful and well-off writers of all times.
Taliban kidnap 23 South Koreans
The Taliban captured 23 South Korean church members on the 19th of July during a bus journey in the Ghazni province of Afghanistan. They did this, as they want the Afghan government to release 23 Taliban prisoners in exchange for these prisoners. A week later they killed the leader of the group, a pastor and a few days later they killed yet another member. They said it was because the government has still not granted them their wishes. It is not yet certain whether the government will release the Taliban prisoners. In March of this year, 5 Taliban prisoners were released for a kidnapped Italian reporter, but the government said that this would not happen again, as they don’t want to encourage more kidnappings. Face-to-face talks between the Taliban and South Korean and Afghan officials have been planned for August
