Five feared trapped, cars ablaze in Japan tunnel collapse

More here:
http://au.news.yahoo.com/a/-/newshome/15531938/vehicles-ablaze-in-collapsed-japan-tunnel-police/

Japan Police: Motorway Tunnel Caves In

Police in Japan say a motorway tunnel has collapsed 50 miles west of Tokyo and a number of vehicles are ablaze.

"We have limited information on the accident at the moment but smoke is said to be coming out from the tunnel as an unspecified number of vehicles were burning," a traffic police unit official said.

The accident occurred on the Tokyo-bound lanes inside the Sasago tunnel on the Chuo Expressway at around 8am local time.

http://news.sky.com/story/1019392/japan-police-motorway-tunnel-caves-in

6.4 Magnitude Earthquake VANUATU - 2nd December 2012

Magnitude
6.4
Date-Time
Sunday, December 02, 2012 at 00:54:23 UTC
Sunday, December 02, 2012 at 11:54:23 AM at epicenter
Time of Earthquake in other Time Zones
Location
17.012°S, 167.626°E
Depth
34.1 km (21.2 miles)
Region
VANUATU
Distances
101 km (62 miles) SSE of Lakatoro, Vanuatu

'Palestine can now sue Israel for illegal occupation'

New Jersey train derails, toxic spill reported in creek

'EU total opposite to peace': Nobel winners renounce EU's award

'Israeli settlements roadblock to solid peace solution'

Rebel Bomb blast destroys Press TV cars in Syria

Protesters, police clash in flashpoint Tunisia town

Bankrupt Hostess giving execs bonuses......Guess the 19.000 who lost their Jobs get nothing

A federal bankruptcy judge has approved bonuses for executives of Hostess, the maker of Twinkies, who stay on as the company is broken up and sold off.

On Thursday, as part of a plan to liquidate the company and lay off 18,000 workers, a federal judge in White Plains, N.Y., approved paying 19 Hostess executives bonuses totaling $1.8 million. Hostess has said it has interest from at least 110 firms who want to buy pieces of the operation.

The decision comes as the company, known for its iconic snack cakes like Ho Hos and Ding Dongs, says it doesn't have enough cash on hand to pay retirement benefits to some former employees.

http://gma.yahoo.com/bankrupt-hostess-execs-bonuses-094718695--abc-news-topstories.html

Jovan Belcher, 25, Killed Girlfriend, then committed suicide at a team facility

Reports are still coming in regarding a tragedy involving the Kansas City Chiefs, but here's what we know at this time. Chiefs linebacker Jovan Belcher shot and killed his girlfriend, Kasandra Perkins, at a house near the team's facility on Saturday morning. Yahoo Sports' Jeff Passan, who is on scene, confirmed the name of the player after speaking with local police.

After the shooting, Belcher drove to a location near the team's main campus and took his own life. Per the Kansas City Star, members of the team's staff tried to stop Belcher from committing any other acts of violence before the player turned a gun on himself. The Chiefs' Arrowhead practice facility was evacuated and is currently on police lockdown.

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nfl-shutdown-corner/report-chiefs-player-kills-girlfriend-takes-own-life-154951891--nfl.html

Kansas City Chiefs' player Shoots Himself Dead At Stadium after Killing his Girlfriend

Add caption

An unnamed Kansas City Chiefs' player has died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound after reportedly killing his girlfriend, police have said.

The unnamed player, 25, shot his girlfriend early on Saturday, then drove to the team's practice facility near Arrowhead Stadium and turned the gun on himself as two team officials were confronting him.

http://news.sky.com/story/1019270/nfl-player-shoots-himself-dead-at-stadium

French unions rage at Hollande over Mittal deal

French trade unions accused President Francois Hollande of betrayal on Saturday after his government backed away from a threat to nationalize ArcelorMittal's Florange steelworks.

The Socialist government said on Friday it had won promises from ArcelorMittal to avoid forced redundancies and inject 180 million euros to develop the Florange plant, meaning it would no longer have to take over the site.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/12/01/us-france-arcelormittal-idUSBRE8B009E20121201

Hamas complains to Egypt after Israeli army kills Gazan

Hamas accused Israel on Saturday of violating the shaky, Egyptian-brokered Gaza truce of November 21 after Israeli troops killed a Palestinian taking part in a protest at the enclave's border fence.

Medical officials said the 21-year-old man had been among six Palestinians wounded by gunfire during Friday's demonstration near southern Rafah, and had later died in hospital.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/12/01/us-palestinians-israel-violence-idUSBRE8B004T20121201

Alarm in Tehran and Moscow over Bushehr nuclear reactor’s near-explosion in mid-October

http://www.debka.com/article/22577/Alarm-in-Tehran-and-Moscow-over-Bushehr-nuclear-reactor%E2%80%99s-near-explosion-in-mid-October

Added thoughts:
Is Israel willing to kill millions of Iranians and other people, as well as risk the health of their own citizens based on a paranoid hunch for which there is no evidence? Is this what God would want one group of people to do to another? And lastly, why on Earth would any sane Christian support such behavior? Didn't Jesus teach us peace? One wonders if people need to return to their scriptures and refresh themselves, for today's behavior scarcely matches the divine instructions.

Double-decker bus hits overpass at Miami Airport at least 1 Dead

Officials say a bus has hit an overpass at Miami International Airport, killing at least one person and leaving more than two-dozen injured, including three critically. Though the identity of the victim was not revealed, photos of the accident indicated that she is a woman, according to The Miami Herald.

Airport spokesman Greg Chin said the bus, which was a cruise or tour bus, hit the overpass going into the airport's arrivals section on Saturday morning. The bus was going about 20 mph when it clipped the roof entrance.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2241438/BREAKING-NEWS-At-dead-critical-condition-double-decker-bus-hits-overpass-Miami-Airport.html

Europe's 'lost generation': Unemployment reaches record high with 19 million people out of work across 17 countries

European unemployment has reached a record high - with almost 19 million out of work across the 17 countries that use the euro.

More than 10 per cent of people living in the Eurozone are now unemployed with those under 25 struggling the most to find jobs.

Experts said the prospect of a 'lost generation' of young people now looks like an 'alarming possibility'.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2240999/Eurozone-unemployment-reaches-new-record-high-25-hardest-hit.html

John Thompson Jailed at Last

A vile paedophile who blamed a girl of seven for seducing him was finally locked up yesterday - weeks after a judge let him walk free.

John Thompson escaped a prison sentence in July despite pleading guilty to sexually assaulting his victim.

Incredibly, he accused the schoolgirl of pinning him down on a bed after ‘flirting’ with him.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2241125/Paedophile-said-seven-year-old-girl-seduced-finally-jailed-weeks-judge-set-free.html

Welfare state has ballooned to over 12 times its original size, figures reveal as Chancellor prepares benefits freeze

The cost of the Welfare State has risen 12-fold in real terms since its introduction, figures reveal today – as George Osborne prepares to unveil a benefits freeze.

Figures released by the Department for Work and Pensions to mark the 70th anniversary of William Beveridge’s landmark report on welfare, show the cost of the modern system dwarfs that of his original vision.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2241203/Welfare-state-ballooned-12-times-original-size-figures-reveal-Chancellor-prepares-benefits-freeze.html

The shattering of Europe: It's not just Scotland, almost every major European nation faces breakaway movements. History tells us the result could be bloodshed, chaos and suffering

The year is 2022, and in the gilded splendour of his Brussels headquarters, the EU President is facing a tricky dilemma.

Pressure is building on him to finalise his latest budget — yet the problems seem intractable. With so many small new nations scrabbling for funds, agreement seems impossible.

Catalonia, for example, is demanding deep cuts in EU administrative expenses, while the Scots are calling for higher welfare subsidies. The new states of Lombardy and Tuscany are at loggerheads, the Corsicans are still in the doghouse after their government’s latest corruption scandal, and the Walloons haven’t paid a penny into common euro funds for years.

The new map of the Continent, a crazy patchwork of competing states governed by an interventionist European Union, tells the wider story. The age of the strong nations has gone, and Britain has joined Italy, Spain and Belgium on the scrap heap of history.

This may sound a fanciful scenario, yet recent events across Europe — including the looming independence referendum in Scotland — tell a very different story.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2241220/The-shattering-Europe-Its-just-Scotland-major-European-nation-threatened-breakaway-movements-History-tells-result-bloodshed-chaos-suffering.html

At least 32 killed as plane hits houses in Congo

A cargo plane crashed into houses near Brazzaville Maya-Maya airport while attempting to land in a thunderstorm on Friday, killing at least 32 people, a Congolese Red Cross official said on Saturday.

"We have already pulled 32 bodies from the crash site, but there could be more victims," the official said, asking not to be named. The official said the dead included six crew members.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/12/01/us-congo-republic-crash-idUSBRE8B006720121201

Merkel reaffirms German support for Israel after U.N. vote

German Chancellor Angela Merkel reassured Israel of her country's support on Saturday, two days after Berlin disappointed the Jewish state by abstaining in a U.N. vote on the Palestinians' status.

Germany, which will host Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and many of his ministers next week, abstained in Thursday's vote in the U.N. General Assembly which provided de facto recognition of a sovereign Palestinian state.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/12/01/us-germany-israel-merkel-idUSBRE8B007B20121201

Islamists rally behind Mursi as Egypt's rifts widen

Islamist crowds demonstrated in Cairo on Saturday in support of President Mohamed Mursi, who is racing through a constitution to try to defuse opposition fury over his newly expanded powers.

Many thousands assembled outside Cairo University, waving Egyptian flags and green Islamist emblems to show their backing for the president and the constitution he is promoting.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/12/01/us-egypt-idUSBRE8B004X20121201

Yahoo! Court Battle: Firm Told To Pay $2.7bn

Yahoo! has been ordered to pay $2.7bn (£1.7bn) by a Mexican court for breach of contract involving a yellow pages listings service.

The US firm said it believed the claims were without merit and would vigorously pursue all appeals.

The civil case was brought by Worldwide Directories and Ideas Interactivas against Yahoo! and Yahoo! De Mexico.

http://news.sky.com/story/1019185/yahoo-court-battle-firm-told-to-pay-2-7bn

Chinese Home In Middle Of Road Is Torn Down

The five-storey building was bulldozed on Saturday after the pair finally accepted compensation of 260,000 yuan (£25,000), officials said.

http://news.sky.com/story/1019176/chinese-home-in-middle-of-road-is-torn-down

Wyoming: 'Bow And Arrow' Attacker Kills Two

A man reportedly armed with bow and arrow has killed a woman, a male teacher and then himself in front of horrified students at a community college in Wyoming.

The suspect and the teacher were found dead on Friday at a science building on the Casper College campus, in Casper, which was locked down for two hours.

The body of another victim was found around two miles away from the college.

http://news.sky.com/story/1019205/wyoming-bow-and-arrow-attacker-kills-two

Crocodile Attacks Boy Swimming In Australia, 12 year old boy missing

Australian police are searching for a 12-year-old boy who is believed to have been attacked by a crocodile and dragged out to sea.

The boy was swimming with a group of people at Port Bradshaw, in the Northern Territory, when he was attacked.

"Initial reports suggest adults within in the group tried to save the boy by spearing the animal, but the crocodile dragged the child out to deeper water," police Superintendent Michael White said in a statement.

Two weeks ago a seven-year-old girl was feared killed by a crocodile at a waterhole about 340km (210 miles) east of the city of Darwin, the capital of the Northern Territory.

http://news.sky.com/story/1019193/crocodile-attacks-boy-swimming-in-australia

Andrew Lancel charged with historic child sex offences

Former Coronation Street actor Andrew Lancel will appear in court later this month to face five counts of indecent assault on a child under 16.

Merseyside Police said the 42-year-old had been charged under his real name - Andrew Watkinson.

He was charged under the Sexual Offences Act 2003.

http://news.sky.com/story/1019115/former-corrie-star-faces-child-sex-charges

HIV infection rate soars in UK

Obama warns of 'Scrooge' Christmas

After touring a Pennsylvania toy factory that's churning out would-be holiday gifts, President Barack Obama warned Friday of a "Scrooge" Christmas if Congress does not pass legislation extending tax cuts for 98% of Americans.

http://edition.cnn.com/2012/11/30/politics/fiscal-cliff/index.html?hpt=hp_t3

Land emerges from sea as Nordic nations rise

A Stone Age camp that used to be by the shore is now 200 km (125 miles) from the Baltic Sea. Sheep graze on what was the seabed in the 15th century. And Sweden's port of Lulea risks getting too shallow for ships.

In contrast to worries from the Maldives to Manhattan of storm surges and higher ocean levels caused by climate change, the entire northern part of the Nordic region is rising and, as a result, the Baltic Sea is receding.

"In a way we're lucky," said Lena Bengten, environmental strategist at the Lulea Municipality in Sweden, pointing to damage from Superstorm Sandy that killed more than 200 people from Haiti to the United States.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/11/27/us-seas-idUSBRE8AQ08720121127

Palestinian dies after Israeli troops fire at Gaza border

One of six Palestinians shot and wounded by Israeli troops on Friday while protesting at the Gaza Strip boundary fence died on Saturday, hospital officials said.

The fortified fence and a 300-metre-deep zone on the Palestinian side - on which Israel has regularly fired since 2009 with the declared aim of keeping gunmen and infiltrators away from the border - have been a testing ground for the November 21 truce that ended an eight-day surge in Gaza fighting.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/12/01/us-palestinians-israel-violence-idUSBRE8B004T20121201

U.S. judge refuses to order anti-Muslim film off YouTube

An actress who said she was duped into appearing in an anti-Islam film that stoked violent protests against the United States across the Muslim world lost on Friday her second legal bid to force the video off YouTube.

Denying a request by actress Cindy Lee Garcia for a court order requiring the popular online video site to remove the crudely made 13-minute clip, a federal judge found she was unlikely to prevail on her claims of copyright infringement.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/12/01/us-protests-lawsuit-idUSBRE8B003W20121201

Egyptians protest after draft constitution raced through

Tens of thousands of Egyptians protested against President Mohamed Mursi on Friday after an Islamist-led assembly raced through approval of a new constitution in a bid to end a crisis over the Islamist leader's newly expanded powers.

"The people want to bring down the regime," they chanted in Tahrir Square, echoing the chants that rang out in the same place less than two years ago and brought down Hosni Mubarak.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/12/01/us-egypt-president-idUSBRE8AM0DO20121201

Does Israel want Peace?

Palestinians say the two-state solution to the Middle East conflict is at death's door after Israel announced it is reviving plans to build on occupied land in a controversial area of East Jerusalem.

The US government is also criticising Israel for the move.

"This administration - like previous administrations - has been very clear with Israel that these activities set back the cause of a negotiated peace," Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said in Washington.

http://news.sky.com/story/1019077/west-bank-settlement-plan-blow-to-peace-hopes

Gang Pose As Cops In Gold Bullion Heist

Thieves dressed in jackets emblazoned with the word "police" boarded a fishing boat and stole 70 gold bars worth an estimated $11.5m (£7m), officials on the Caribbean island of Curacao have said.

The boat's captain was hit on the head in the early-morning assault before the thieves made off with the gold in three cars, police spokesman Reggie Huggins said.

Authorities believe there were at least six men involved in the heist. No arrests have been made.

http://news.sky.com/story/1019107/gold-bullion-heist-from-boat-in-curacao

North Korea: Researchers Find 'Unicorn Lair'

The world is stunned by the totalitarian state's declaration that experts have found the spot where an ancient king kept unicorn.

North Korea has raised eyebrows around the world by announcing that researchers have proved the existence of the unicorn.

The official state news agency says archaeologists "reconfirmed" the existence of a "unicorn lair" in Pyongyang, once used by an ancient Korean king.

The Korean Central News Agency reports that archaeologists made the extraordinary discovery when they spotted a rectangular rock carved with the words "unicorn lair" 200m from the city's Yongmyong temple.

http://news.sky.com/story/1019118/north-korea-researchers-find-unicorn-lair

Florida's Shoot-To-Kill Order On Crocodile

Florida wildlife officials have issued a rare shoot-to-kill order in the hunt for a young and potentially dangerous Nile crocodile on the loose near Miami.

The Nile crocodile, which hails from Africa, can jump higher, run faster and grow to nearly 20 feet in length, several feet larger than its American cousin, and has a "nastier" temperament.

http://news.sky.com/story/1019098/floridas-shoot-to-kill-order-on-crocodile

North Korea Unveils New Rocket Launch Plan

North Korea says it is to launch a long-range rocket later this month.

The launch, planned for between between December 10 and December 22, will heighten already strained tensions with South Korea ahead of its presidential election on December 19.

North Korea tried in April to launch a long-range rocket but it broke apart shortly after lift off.

http://news.sky.com/story/1019171/north-korea-unveils-new-rocket-launch-plan

5.9 Magnitude Earthquake ALASKA PENINSULA - 1st December 2012

Magnitude
5.9
Date-Time
Saturday, December 01, 2012 at 08:00:58 UTC
Friday, November 30, 2012 at 11:00:58 PM at epicenter
Time of Earthquake in other Time Zones
Location
58.425°N, 154.123°W
Depth
83.9 km (52.1 miles)
Region
ALASKA PENINSULA
Distances
82 km (51 miles) WNW (300°) from Aleneva, AK