Saturday, July 09, 2005
OMG... TERRORISTS ATTACK IN LONDON!!
i heard the news on tv yesterday night and today, its on e headline on every paper... seems pretty serious... 37 pple died and e death toll is climbing.... nv knew this could happen to modern london, not when they juz anounnced tt e 2012 olympics is gg to be held in london...
so immediately i thot of my london fren.. we have not met but we have chatted numerous times on msn so yea... and this morning i saw her on msn!!! so i ask her how was she and she told me luckily she was not living in central london where e bombings happen.. so phew.. :)
we r 7 hrs ahead of london so it was nearly 3am in london when we chatted.. it was around 9.30am here.. so i ask her "how cum u r in msn at 3am?" haha.. and she juz told me she cant sleep... haha.. a pretty interesting fren...
we went on to discuss abt height.. haha... fancy talking abt height at 3 am!!! haha..
she was telling me tt she tink she's too short cos gers in london r quite tall.. aiya.. those ang moh mah.. haha.. but since she was an asian, she has e same asian built as us... u noe.. short and rather small size, as compared to ang moh gers..
so she aim to grow erm.... 100+ cm to become 1.7m.. haha.. so tt she can match up to those ang moh ger.. haha.. and guess wat? she say guys shld have a average 1.8m height!! omg.. tink most singaporean men will fail her height test!! haha.. guys in singapore r soooo short... haha.. not tt im critical but pick jux any guy in orchard and i can tell u tt he's not gg to exceed 1.75m.. let alone 1.8m.. of course gers r shorter too lar.. like me.. :(
next, we talk abt money!!! LOLz.. we r comparing london's pounds with singapore dollars... and i tink with my petite pay here, i can oni survive like ermm.. 5 days in london? haha.. things there r damn ex lar... she told me a newly released DVD there cost 20 pounds... tt's almost like 60 sing dollars!!! and she paid 30 pounds for a chinese channel there.. a bit like our cable tv here but im not gonna watch it 4 90 bucks... WAY TOO EX... tink their pay over there is like our 2-3 mths pay lar.. pounds r indeed e greatest currency.... hope sing dollars can catch up soon.. hee :)
finally, she decided to sleep when its 11.30 am here.. which is like 4.30am there.. haha... i thot she might as well chat with me till dawn.. :)
she can sleep in late cos its vacation over there.. so i might still c her on msn tml morning when i come 4 work!!! haha..
an article she show me on e bombing... read if u r interested:
WRAPUP 2-Britain sees hallmarks of al Qaeda in attacks
08 Jul 2005 04:10:02 GMT
Source: Reuters
(Adds Howard and British police on toll, U.S. intelligence)
By Timothy Heritage
LONDON, July 8 (Reuters) - Police urged commuters to stay at home to avoid chaos in London on Friday after at least 37 people were killed in bomb attacks which Britain said bore the hallmarks of al Qaeda.
Seven hundred people were also wounded when three explosions tore through crowded London underground trains within an hour on Thursday and another ripped the roof off a double-decker bus.
The coordinated rush-hour attacks were the deadliest in the British capital in peacetime and occurred as the Group of Eight (G8) top industrialised countries held a summit in Gleneagles, Scotland.
Australian Prime Minister John Howard told a news conference on Friday 52 people had been killed, but British police said the death toll remained at 37, though it could rise because a number of people had been critically wounded.
Police said it was too early to say whether suicide bombers had been involved.
They said they had received no warning of the attacks. Britain backed the U.S.-led war in Iraq and London had been on high alert since al Qaeda's Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on the United States.
The previously unknown "Secret Group of al Qaeda's Jihad in Europe" claimed responsibility for the atacks but British and U.S. officials said it was not clear if the group was authentic.
"It has the hallmarks of an al Qaeda-related attack," British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said at the G8 summit.
"We know that these people act in the name of Islam," British Prime Minister Tony Blair said, but declined to speculate who was behind the attacks.
The carnage caused chaos and halted much of London's transport network, leaving many commuters stranded or facing a long walk to catch mainline trains home.
Police advised commuters to consider whether they needed to go to work on Friday, saying: "If people think they may have a problem getting to work they should give serious consideration whether or not to come in."
The Islamic Human Rights Commission warned London Muslims to stay at home. The Muslim Council of Britain, which represents 1.6 million Muslims, called for prayers for the victims.
PEOPLE RAN FOR LIVES
The scenes of shocked and bloodied commuters were in stark contrast to the jubilant crowds who took to the streets on Wednesday after London was awarded the 2012 Olympic Games.
Police said seven people were killed on an underground train near Liverpool Street, 21 were confirmed dead in another near King's Cross and seven died at Edgware Road. At least two passengers on the bus were killed.
"Everyone was running for their lives crying out. Blood was everywhere," said Ayobami Bello at the scene of the bus blast.
"After Sept. 11 everyone was scared that this would happen here. But with time, you forget. This shows we're not safe here. It can happen anytime," said commuter Janet Biggs.
Britain is the closest ally of the United States in Iraq, where al Qaeda is involved in a bloody insurgency.
Spain withdrew troops from Iraq after the Madrid train bombings last year that killed 191 people.
Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi said at the G8 summit his country had no plans to withdraw its forces from Iraq.
Italy and Denmark did not respond to a warning by the "Secret Group of al Qaeda's Jihad in Europe" to withdraw their troops from Iraq and Afghanistan.
Italy's interior minister said all Europe was on alert. The United States raised its terrorism threat level to "high" and France drafted in extra troops to tighten security.
Security analysts said it was far too early to apportion blame to the intelligence community over the attacks, which some suspected was the work of a small, autonomous group of local militants inspired by al Qaeda.
But Britain's Guardian newspaper said intelligence chiefs had reduced the threat level from al Qaeda only last month.
A senior U.S. intelligence official, who asked not to be named, said the United States had detected no indication an attack had been imminent in London.
"We do have intelligence ... that Al Qaeda is trying to carry out such attacks in Europe as well as in the homeland here against targets such as this," he told reporters, referring to mass transport.
Financial markets initially fell sharply after the blasts. Oil prices fell by more than 5 percent before recovering and London stocks closed around 2 percent lower. Sterling sank to a 19-month low against the dollar and stayed there.
(Additional reporting by London bureau)
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3:30 AM
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