Tropical Storm Karl (left) - Hurricane Igor (Center): NASA Image

Tropical Storm Karl is headed towards the southern Gulf of Mexico and is expected to strengthen as it moves over warmer waters. The storm is currently 35 miles south-southwest of Campeche, Mexico and is moving west-northwest at a rate of 15 mph.

Storm Karl will first cross the Bay of Campeche and is expected to strengthen into a hurricane by Friday as it moves across the Gulf of Mexico. It should hit landfall near the Mexican port of Tuxpan on Saturday.

No serious damage has been reported so far, although tens of thousands lost power for a short while as the storm passed through the rural area Majahual.

It looks like the oil and gas platforms in the north of the Gulf of Mexico will be spared as Karl is too far south to cause any trouble.

Two other hurricanes, Igor and Julia, are currently in the Atlantic ocean. Neither of the two hurricanes are much of a concern unless there is a sudden change of direction because they are expected to fizz out before hitting landfall.

Tomorrow morning Pope Benedict XVI will touch down in Edinburgh, marking the first day of his four day trip to the UK. He will be met by the Duke of Edinburgh before being driven off in a customized Mercedes, the Popemobile, as he goes to visit the Queen at the Palace of Holyroodhouse.

The Duke of Edinburgh will be there to greet the Pope due to the added significance of this being the first-ever state papal visit to Britain. “Usually it is a junior member of the royal family or a minister but to have the Duke of Edinburgh at the welcome is very significant and most unusual,” said Vatican spokesman Fr Frederico Lombardi.

The Pope has a jam-packed schedule for the four days that he is here. He will first celebrate mass in Glasgow in front of around 80,000 people, before heading off to London for more mass services. He will take part in an open-air vigil in Hyde Park, beatify Cardinal Henry Newman in Birmingham and of course hold meetings with various religious and political leaders.

Pope Benedict XVI will be the first pope to ever enter Westminster Abbey. He plans to visit there with the Archbishop of Canterbury and pray at the tomb of St Edward the Confessor.

On Saturday the Protest the Pope takes place in central London. Speeches are expected from Prof Richard Dawkins and Peter Tatchell. The protestors have promised to keep the event peaceful.

The Pope will leave for Italy on Sunday evening. The total cost of the visit is not yet known but some have estimated the figure to be around 20 million pounds.

The American female hiker, Sarah Shourd, has been released from prison after a $500,000 bail was posted. She was captured along with two other hikers, Shane Bauer and Joshua Fattal when they inadvertently crossed the border with Iran while hiking in Iraqi Kurdistan.

Shourd, who was jailed almost 15 months ago, was kept in solitary confinement and only allowed out of her cell for two 30 minute periods each day. She was expected to be released last week due to health related problems until the judiciary blocked the process saying legal procedures had not been completed. She still has charges against her but has been allowed to go free on condition that a $500,000 bail is paid.

Shourd first flew to Oman, where the bail was posted, and met her mother and U.S. officials. “All of our families are relieved and overjoyed that Sarah has at last been released, but we’re also heartbroken that Shane and Josh are still being denied their freedom for no just cause … They deserve to come home, too,” said the families of the three hikers in a statement.

“We remain hopeful that Iran will demonstrate renewed compassion by ensuring the return of Shane, Josh and all the other missing or detained Americans in Iran,” said President Obama.

The release of Sarah Shourd comes just as Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is preparing to meet this month’s U.N. General Assembly meeting in New York.

ATR-42

Fifteen people were killed after a plane crashed into a steel mill yard in Venezuala. There were 51 people on board and 36 survived the crash. “There are exactly 36 people who are, thanks to God, still among us and 15 people who died,” said the Bolivar state Governor Francisco Rangel Gomez on state television.

The plane broke up after crash landing and then burst into flames. Gomez said that a steel mill worker who saw the crash began pulling out survivors and is now being treated for smoke inhalation.

The plane is a twin engine ATR-42 turboprop and is operated by Conviasa. The pilot was approaching Ciudad Guayana from Margarita Island after the pilot reported difficulties flying the plane. The plane crashed shortly thereafter.

The cause of the crash is not yet known although representatives from Avions de Transport Regional, the French airplane manufacturer, are planning to visit the site.

US Apache Helicopter

The Obama Administration is preparing to notify Congress of the largest arms deal in U.S. history. Under the plans the United States will supply Saudi Arabia with fighter jets and a number of bombs and missiles to offset the threat posed by Iran’s nuclear program.

Through the arms deal the U.S. hopes to provide Saudi Arabia with military superiority over Iran. “This gives them a whole host of defensive and deterrent capabilities,” said an official who would not be named because the proposal has not been finalized.

Included in the $60 billion package, outlined in the Wall Street Journal on Monday, are 84 brand new F-15/SA fighter aircraft in addition to upgrading 70 of them, 70 Apache helicopters, 72 Black Hawk helicopters, 36 Little Bird helicopters and various bombs and missiles. The deal will modernize the Saudi army.

The Saudis have yet to accept the entire package but have agreed to an initial purchase worth $30 billion.

The arms deal has been in the pipeline for a number of years. It included consultations with Israelis who were concerned about their authority in the area being usurped.

The package will be placed before Congress as early as next week for approval. They could request changes to the package or possibly block the sale of the arms entirely.  It’s expected some members of Congress will react sharply to the sale but not enough to block it completely. President Obama is focusing on new jobs the package will create in order to help it’s passage through Congress.

The Pentagon has made no official announcement about the sale. “We have not concluded arms sales agreements with Saudi Arabia, and we have not notified Congress of pending sales. The US does partner with multiple countries in the Middle East in our multifaceted approach to regional security and stability. This involves a wide range of activities from training and exercises to military sales,” said a defence department spokesman.

Japan has released 14 Chinese fishermen who were aboard a fishing trawler that crashed into two Japanese patrol boats last week. According to officials the captain still remains in custody.

The trawler has also been released after a skipper arrived from China to steer the boat.

After the incident China was outraged at the detention of the fishermen and demanded their immediate release. The Japanese conducted an investigation before releasing the 14 crew. A Japanese court has ruled that the captain will be detained until September 19. He has been accused by Japanese authorities of obstructing public officers while they performed their duty.

Those on board the Chinese trawler where in the East China Sea, which is controlled by Japan but both China and Taiwan claim ownership of the region, when they were ordered to stop fishing. An altercation occurred and the fishing vessel collided with the Japanese patrol boats. No injuries were reported although both patrol boats sustained minor damage.

The incident has strained relations between Japan and China. Negotiations over disputed undersea gas and oil reserves have been cancelled and the Chinese Foreign Ministry described the detention of the fishermen as “absurd, illegal and invalid.”

According to the latest results 58% of voters in Turkey are favoring constitutional change. 77% of all eligible voters turned up at polling booths across the country to vote in the referendum.

The amendments to the constitution cover everything from increasing privacy rights, baring gender discrimination, enhancing civil liberties and allowing the prosecution of coup leaders in a civilian court, like those of the 1980 coup who up until now were immune from prosecution.

The changes are seen as a positive step towards increased democracy and stability in the country. “We have passed a historic threshold on the way to advanced democracy and the supremacy of law… September 12 will go down to history as a turning point,” said Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Opposition leaders have expressed concern over some of the reforms saying they are a power grab by the government. The concern arises over the increased powers that elected officials and ordinary judges have over the make-up of senior judiciary.

Erdogan has been incredibly popular in Turkey, winning two general elections and two referenda. He is standing for election again in July 2011. He is considered one of the most influential prime ministers the country has seen and if he wins the next election he will also be the longest-serving prime minister since the 1930′s.

World's Biggest Chocolate Bar

The world’s largest chocolate bar has been created by the Grand Candy Factory in Armenia marking it’s 10th anniversary.

So just how big is it? The chocolate bar is an amazing 9,702 pounds (over 4,400 kilograms). It has a length of 224 inches, is 110 inches wide and 10 inches thick.

The chocolate bar sets the Guinness World Record for the largest chocolate bar ever produced, beating the previous record set in 2007.

The bar is made from cocoa beans from Ghana. It’s dark chocolate and is 70% cocoa. It will be handed out to the public next month in Yerevan, at the Republic Square.

Australia’s Prime Minister Julia Gillard has hired former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd as the new foreign minister. Mr Rudd was ousted by the Labor party in a coup that occurred just before the elections which Gillard won after she was able to secure a deal with independents to form a minority government.

Kevin Rudd will take the place of Stephen Smith who has reluctantly moved to the position of defense minister. He gave Mr Rudd a warning that their should not be a “crack of daylight” between the foreign minister and the Prime Minister.

Ms Gillard has awarded Bill Shorten with the key economic positions of assistant treasurer and minister for financial services and superannuation. Mr Shorten helped lead the coup against Mr Rudd and persuaded Ms Gillard to pursue the top leadership position. The prime minister denies she is rewarding those who helped her overthrow Mr Rudd. “Mr Shorten is a very talented member of parliament,” she said.

Mark Arbib, David Feeney and Don Farrell where important people who helped Ms Gillard gain power in the Labor Party. Mr Arbib has gained the ministry of indigenous employment, sport, social housing and homelessness. Both Feeney and Farrell have been awarded jobs as parliamentary secretaries.

The Opposition has accused Julia Gillard of promoting faceless plotters in her government but she has defended the move saying that they are all able members of her team.

The Quran

Protests in Afghanistan broke out on Friday in response to the plans by a Florida pastor to burn copies of the Quran. The protests turned violent and there are reports at least five were injured with three people in a serious condition.

The protests took place in various places around the country. A large demonstration was held in Faisabad where apparently a mob of people tried to storm a NATO military compound and clashed with police. Five Afghan protesters were wounded and according to Provincial governor spokesman Muhammad Amin, four Afghan security officers who manned the outside wall of the compound were also wounded.

Initial reports were that a protester had been shot to death but these have not been confirmed. According to Cmdr. Kentooz security forces inside the base fired warning shots before turning their fire into the crowd. Five people have attended hospital with gunshot wounds and three are still in a critical condition.

There were also protests staged in Kabul, Bamyan and the Kapisa Province which had a crowd of about 10,000.

Gen. David Petraeus, who heads the war in Afghanistan has condemned the Quran burning and says it “could endanger troops and it could endanger the overall effort in Afghanistan.”