1. Six arrested for rape of tourists

    Mexico has arrested six men who confessed to the rape of six female Spanish tourists in Acapulco*, a Mexican resort.

    “We have six detainees* who have confessed,” Mexican Attorney General Jesus Murillo said on February 13 at a news conference.

    Early on February 4, hooded gunmen forced their way into a beach house the women rented, roughed up* their seven male companions and raped the women. Local officials said there was physical evidence that implicated the suspects.

    2. Nuclear test prompts warnings

    South Korea sent a stern* warning to North Korea on February 14, two days after the North tested a nuclear* bomb, saying it could strike the North.

    North Korea conducted its third nuclear test on February 12, in defiance* of U.N. resolutions. Its action drew condemnation* from the United States, Japan, Europe and China.

    Pyongyang said the test was designed to enhance its defense due to the hostility* of the United States, which has led a push to impose sanctions* on the country after its long-range missile launch.

    3. Meteorite explodes over Russia

    A meteorite* streaked across the sky and exploded over central Russia on February 15. Fireballs fell over a vast area and caused a shock wave that smashed windows, damaged buildings and injured 1,200 people.

    Car alarms went off, thousands of windows shattered* and mobile phone networks were disrupted. The explosion also unleashed a sonic boom*.

    4. 40,000 flee heavy fighting in Syria

    An estimated 40,000 people have fled a town in eastern Syria after three days of heavy fighting between government troops and rebels, the United Nations food agency said.

    Rebels seized at al-Shaddadeh in Syria’s oil-producing east on February 14 after the clashes which killed 30 of their fighters and 100 Syrian government troops, a violence monitoring group said.

    5. Tests reveal horsemeat contamination

    A Europe-wide scandal over horsemeat in products labeled beef spread still further on Friday, as U.K. authorities revealed the results of DNA testing on beef products and investigated three more U.K. food firms.

    Of 2,501 tests carried out on beef products across the industry by noon on Friday, 2,472 found no horsemeat content above 1 percent, the U.K. Food Standards Agency said. The 29 positive tests involved seven products sold by five suppliers, according to the Food Standards Agency.

    6. Suicide bomber kills Iraqi officer

    A suicide bomber killed a senior Iraqi army intelligence officer and two bodyguards in a northern town on Saturday after storming his well-guarded home.

    No one claimed responsibility for the attack. But suicide bombings are the hallmark* of al-Qaida’s local wing, Islamic State of Iraq, which aims to take back ground lost in its long battle with U.S. and Iraqi forces.

    7. Bloodied bat found against Pistorius

    Investigators have found a bloodied cricket bat in the home of Paralympian Oscar Pistorius who was charged with murdering his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, it was reported on February 17.

    The cricket bat was at the center of the murder investigation against the athlete.

    The South African double amputee* has been under police custody since February 14 after being arrested for allegedly shooting dead his girlfriend Steenkamp in his home.

    (SD-Agencies)