2010-06-06 CNN
It's Wednesday, I'm Carl Azuz, this is CNN Student News, bringing you 10 minutes of commercial-free headlines from around the globe. In fact, our first story is about a global response.
This international reaction is aimed at Israel, and it is not positive. Protesters around the world speaking out against Israel. The United Nations Security Council criticizing the violence. Turkey calling it a massacre. Even the U.S., one of Israel's closest allies, says it's open to an investigation.
All of this is in response to Monday, when Israeli troops stormed a group of ships bringing aid to Gaza. Israel set up a blockade to control what goods are allowed into Gaza. This group of ships tried to break that blockade. Some of the activists who were taken into custody during the incident have been released, and Israel says the aid that was on board the ships has been delivered into Gaza. The anger is over what happened on those ships, and the two sides tell very different stories.
They have a history of arms smuggling and deadly terror. On board the ship, we found weapons prepared in advance and used against our forces. The organizers' intent was violent, their method was violent, and the results were unfortunately violent.
There could not have been guns on board, and besides, there is no evidence of it. There is a live streaming from the Turkish boat. You see Israeli soldiers jumping out of helicopters onto the boat shooting. There is no crossfire. Had there been crossfire at close range, some Israeli soldier would have been shot.
We're checking out a couple security headlines now, starting with what could be a serious blow to the al Qaeda terrorist group. It reportedly announced the death of Mustafa Abu Yazid yesterday. He was the number three man in al Qaeda and the commander of its operations in Afghanistan. Yazid was also responsible for maintaining al Qaeda's relationships with other terrorist groups, like the Taliban. One group of experts says his death is one of the most significant blows against al Qaeda recently. But it also pointed out that the terrorist organization plans for these kinds of losses.
In the United States, Major Nidal Hasan, whom you see here, made his first court appearance in connection with last November's attack at Fort Hood, Texas. Hasan, who is a U.S. Army psychiatrist, is accused of killing 13 people in a shooting spree. Yesterday's hearing was the military version of a grand jury. Hasan answered questions that were asked by the judge, and his lawyers asked for an extension so they can gather evidence for the case. The judge agreed to that request.