SOUTH KOREA TO WITHDRAW ALL WORKERS FROM KAESONG INDUSTRIAL PLANT IN SIGNIFICANT RE-ESCALATION OF TENSIONS

Speaking moments ago, South Korean Minister of Unification Ryoo Kihl Jae revealed that those workers remaining in the Kaesong Industrial Complex will be asked to withdraw.

Ryoo told a press conference moments ago, “The difficulties of our nationals residing in the Kaesong Industrial Complex are being made worse by North Korea’s unjustified measure; therefore, the government has made an unavoidable decision, that for the protection of our citizens all residing personnel will be brought home.”

http://www.dailynk.com/english/read.php?cataId=nk00100&num=10526

IMPORTANT:

The only remaining staff at Kaesong were high level managers left there in hopes of keeping the industrial zone upon, and now that they will be withdrawn, there is a significant chance the entire zone will shut down as South Korean companies withdraw and North Korea re-nationalizes the area.

This is a massive escalation of events, as not only was Kaesong one of the only bridges of peace between the two Koreas, it acted as at least 33-50% of the North Korean government's hard currency income in an already cash scarce environment, and how they will make up this gap remains unknown.

Due to this development, as well as sudden increased military activity on the border with China, and North Korean movement of 11 medium range rocket launchers to the East coast, the Coming Crisis may re-institute the previous Korean alert at any time.

Stay tuned for updates.

Obama & Hilary Clinton Campaign Found Guilty Of Fraud, Reaction: Nil

Chicago Suffering One Shooting Every 6.3 Hours as 2013 Homicide Count Hits 100

There have been 441 shootings and 100 homicides in the city of Chicago so far this year, according to a blog that tracks crime in Chicago.

That works out to 3.8 shootings per day or approximately one shooting every 6.3 hours.

The "Crime in Chicago" blog updates daily and tracks crime news within the city. It keeps a running tally of all homicides and shootings.

In 2012, the blog shows that 2,670 individuals were shot in Chicago. That was up 20% from 2,217 in 2011.

Likewise, the number of homicides in 2012 was 535, up 21% from 441 in 2011.

Note: The shootings tally for 2013 is as of April 7th and the homicide tally is as of April 18th.

http://cnsnews.com/blog/gregory-gwyn-williams-jr/chicago-suffering-one-shooting-every-63-hours-2013-homicide-count-hits

Venezuela election crisis settles into slow boil

A postelection crisis appears to be setting into a slow boil in Venezuela, with the government and opposition trading bitter accusations but holding back for the moment from moves that would escalate into direct conflict.

The government is threatening to jail opposition leader Henrique Capriles on charges of masterminding postelection violence but has given no indication it has any immediate intention of acting against him. Capriles, meanwhile, is boycotting an audit of the vote and plans to challenge his narrow loss in court. He is almost certain to lose in the government-controlled court system, but hasn't hinted that he will call his followers to the streets anytime soon.

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/L/LT_VENEZUELA_ELECTION?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2013-04-26-19-55-15

The annual White House Correspondents’ dinner has lost its way (Along with the rest of America)

They say that Washington is Hollywood for ugly people. That changes once a year at the White House Correspondents’ dinner – an intimate affair of roughly 3,000 guests that takes place in the basement of the Washington Hilton. It is awash with real celebrities. For some reason, many media outlets are describing this year’s list of invitees as “low key”. By this they presumably mean that Kim Kardashian and Lindsay Lohan turned down their invitations (both have accepted in previous years).

In fact, this year’s dinner, which takes place on Saturday night, looks as star-studded as ever: among the guests will be Scarlett Johansson, Reese Witherspoon, Nicole Kidman, Michael Douglas, the cast of House of Cards and Stephen Spielberg. For the first time, E!, the tabloid entertainment television channel, will be live streaming the red carpet at the “WHCD”. It doesn’t get much more Hollywood than that. But it is a fair distance from the dinner’s original purpose, which was to give reporters a chance to socialise with their contacts.

http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/e70915fe-aea9-11e2-bdfd-00144feabdc0.html#axzz2Rc3IO2p0

Police: Landing gear, possibly from 9/11 plane, found in NYC

A part of a landing gear apparently from one of the commercial airliners used in the Sept. 11 attacks has been discovered in lower Manhattan.

The gear was found wedged between the rear of 51 Park Place and the building behind it at 50 Murray St. The NYPD is securing the location.

A decision on sifting the soil for human remains will be made after the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner completes a health and safety evaluation protocol.

http://connecticut.news12.com/news/tri-state/police-landing-gear-possibly-from-9-11-plane-found-in-nyc-1.5147580?firstfree=yes

140 detained in Moscow extremist-Islam raid, 30 reported to be foreigners

French Socialists call for tougher stance on Merkel

France's ruling Socialist Party is pressing President Francois Hollande to toughen his stance towards a German counterpart it describes as "self-centered", arguing that Chancellor Angela Merkel's pro-austerity policies are hurting Europe.

The message - spelled out in a 21-page document to be presented at a party brainstorming conference in June - added to growing criticism of Berlin from across the Rhine after Socialist National Assembly speaker Claude Bartolone this week raised the prospect of a "confrontation" with Merkel.

The rhetoric follows a French appeal for an extra year to bring its public deficit below 3 percent of economic output in line with European targets, as rising unemployment keeps Europe's no. 2 economy in the doldrums.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/04/26/us-france-socialists-idUSBRE93P14Y20130426

"Evidence" of Syrian chemical weapon use not up to U.N. standard

Assertions of chemical weapon use in Syria by Western and Israeli officials citing photos, sporadic shelling and traces of toxins do not meet the standard of proof needed for a U.N. team of experts waiting to gather their own field evidence.

Weapons inspectors will only determine whether banned chemical agents were used in the two-year-old conflict if they are able to access sites and take soil, blood, urine or tissue samples and examine them in certified laboratories.

That type of evidence, needed to show definitively if banned chemicals were found, has not been presented by governments and intelligence agencies accusing Syria of using chemical weapons against insurgents.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/04/26/us-syria-crisis-chemical-weapons-idUSBRE93P0UG20130426

Max Clifford Charged With 11 Sex Assaults

Publicist Max Clifford has been charged with 11 alleged indecent assaults, including one against a girl of 14, the CPS has said.

Clifford stands accused of indecent assaults on seven separate women, aged between 14 and 19.

The first, a girl of 14, was allegedly assaulted in 1966.

A further three females, aged between 15 and 18, allegedly suffered five offences between 1974 and 1978.

http://news.sky.com/story/1083538/max-clifford-charged-with-11-sex-assaults

Gun carrying man ends stabbing spree at Salt Lake grocery store

A citizen with a gun stopped a knife wielding man as he began stabbing people Thursday evening at the downtown Salt Lake City Smith's store.

Police say the suspect purchased a knife inside the store and then turned it into a weapon. Smith's employee Dorothy Espinoza says, "He pulled it out and stood outside the Smiths in the foyer. And just started stabbing people and yelling you killed my people. You killed my people."

Espinoza says, the knife wielding man seriously injured two people. "There is blood all over. One got stabbed in the stomach and got stabbed in the head and held his hands and got stabbed all over the arms."

http://www.abc4.com/content/about_4/bios/story/conceal-and-carry-stabbing-salt-lake-city-smiths/NDNrL1gxeE2rsRhrWCM9dQ.cspx

Not 'brainwashed': American women who converted to Islam speak out in wake of Boston Bombing accusations

When an American convert to Islam was revealed as the wife of the dead Boston bombing suspect, Lauren Schreiber wasn’t surprised at what came next.

Comments from former acquaintances and complete strangers immediately suggested that 24-year-old Katherine Russell, a New England doctor’s daughter, must have been coerced and controlled by her husband, Tamerlan Tsarnaev, who died last week in a firefight with police.

“She was a very sweet woman, but I think kind of brainwashed by him,” reported the Associated Press, quoting Anne Kilzer, a Belmont, Mass., woman who said she knew Russell and her 3-year-old daughter.

That kind of assumption isn’t new to Schreiber, 26, a Greenbelt, Md., woman who became a Muslim in 2010.

Matt's thoughts:


Silence!

How dare these women counter official propaganda!

Disrupting the Boston Bombing (and general Western) narrative is forbidden!

China launches high-res Earth observation satellite

Lebanon dragged in as Hezbollah joins Syria war

Israeli army breaks up Palestinian march on Jewish settlement

Israeli soldiers fired tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse about 500 Palestinian villagers marching toward a Jewish settlement outpost in the occupied West Bank on Friday.

The procession, the largest of its kind for years, followed charges by Palestinians that the Israeli settlers, whose caravans abut village land, had attacked them twice this week.

Around half a million settlers have moved to the West Bank and East Jerusalem since Israel captured the area, along with the Gaza Strip, in the 1967 Middle East War. Palestinians want the settlements gone from what they see as their future state.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/04/26/us-israel-palestinians-march-idUSBRE93P0RX20130426

Dozens killed in Afghanistan as bus collides with fuel tanker

World's first interactive weather storm visits London

Violent protest in Spain as unemployment at record high

London Pavement Explosion

M62 Crash: Hen Party Minibus Collision, at least 1 Dead

A minibus carrying a group of women to a hen night has been involved in a motorway crash with a lorry leaving 17 injured and one dead.

Firefighters, paramedics and at least six air ambulances attended the scene of the collision on the M62 in Pontefract, West Yorkshire.

A number of casualties remained trapped in the wreckage of the minibus but have now been freed.

http://news.sky.com/story/1083387/m62-crash-hen-party-minibus-collision

Chinese Military Activity Increases in N.Korea Border Area

The Chinese military has increased its activity in areas near the border with North Korea, the Washington Free Beacon reported Wednesday. The move seems to be part of preparations for a mass influx of refugees from the North should war ever break out on the Korean Peninsula.

The American online media outlet said photos and eyewitness accounts of local residents also confirmed the increased activity. On April 17, photos posted online showed troops marching on a road in Shenyang in the direction of Dandong near the Apnok (or Yalu) River, and military vehicles carrying several tanks were spotted in Liaoyang, Liaoning Province near the border.

Chinese Su-27 fighter jets are also making daily sorties, according to an eyewitness account. Some believe Chinese troops in the region have been put on the highest -level combat readiness posture.

Other online posts claim that the Liaoning and Jilin provincial governments are developing plans for a mass influx of North Korean refugees.

http://english.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2013/04/26/2013042600683.html

4.6 Magnitude Earthquake TARAPACA, CHILE - 26th April 2013

Magnitude
4.6
Date-Time
Friday, April 26, 2013 at 12:14:08 UTC
Friday, April 26, 2013 at 08:14:08 AM at epicenter
Location
20.041°S, 68.900°W
Depth
98.2 km (61.0 miles)
Region
TARAPACA, CHILE
Distances
131 km (81 miles) E (80°) from Iquique, Chile

Congress Prepares $100 Million Flu Tax

Congress is preparing to take action on a bipartisan proposal to raise taxes on flu vaccines. This is not a tax on the wealthy, but rather on a broad swath of Americans, or at least those who choose to be immunized against the flu.

In February, identical bills were introduced in the House and Senate to add seasonal flu vaccines to the IRS code as taxable. The legislation would exact a 75¢ per dose tax on any "vaccine against seasonal influenza." Given that the Centers for Disease Control projects that 135 million doses of flu vaccine will be used this year, the government's take on flu vaccines alone is over $100,000,000 per year.

Along with taxes on other vaccines, this tax would fund the Vaccine Injury Compensation Trust Fund. The fund is a "no-fault alternative to the traditional tort system for resolving vaccine injury claims that provides compensation to people found to be injured by certain vaccines." However, the fund is by no means in the same kind of trouble that other government "trust funds" are.

http://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/congress-prepares-100-million-bipartisan-flu-tax_719108.html

Record Number of Households on Food Stamps-- 1 out of Every 5

The latest available data from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) shows that a record number 23 million households in the United States are now on food stamps.

The most recent Supplemental Assistance Nutrition Program (SNAP) statistics of the number of households receiving food stamps shows that 23,087,886 households participated in January 2013 - an increase of 889,154 families from January 2012 when the number of households totaled 22,188,732.

The most recent statistics from the United States Census Bureau-- from December 2012-- puts the number of households in the United States at 115,310,000. If you divide 115,310,000 by 23,087,866, that equals one out of every five households now receiving food stamps.

http://cnsnews.com/blog/joe-schoffstall/record-number-households-food-stamps-1-out-every-5

Reps challenge DHS ammo buys, say agency using 1,000 more rounds per person than Army

Republican Rep. Jason Chaffetz said Thursday that the Department of Homeland Security is using roughly 1,000 rounds of ammunition more per person than the U.S. Army, as he and other lawmakers sharply questioned DHS officials on their "massive" bullet buys.

"It is entirely ... inexplicable why the Department of Homeland Security needs so much ammunition," Chaffetz, R-Utah, said at a hearing.

The hearing itself was unusual, as questions about the department's ammunition purchases until recently had bubbled largely under the radar -- on blogs and in the occasional news article. But as the Department of Homeland Security found itself publicly defending the purchases, lawmakers gradually showed more interest in the issue.

Democratic Rep. John Tierney, D-Mass., at the opening of the hearing, ridiculed the concerns as "conspiracy theories" which have "no place" in the committee room.

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/04/25/reps-challenge-dhs-ammo-buys-say-agency-using-1000-more-rounds-per-person-than/

Horse Whip Assault Woman Hunted By Police

A woman horse-rider, who whipped a man around the head with her riding crop as he watched a hunt, is being sought by police.

The 63-year-old victim was at the Portman Hunt near Sturminster Newton in Dorset when he was struck by the rider in what police are describing as an "unprovoked attack".

The man, from Somerset, was not injured in the attack but was left "shaken" by the experience.

http://news.sky.com/story/1083372/horse-whip-assault-woman-hunted-by-police

4.2 Magnitude Earthquake MOZAMBIQUE - 26th April 2013

Magnitude
4.2
Date-Time
Friday, April 26, 2013 at 11:58:44 UTC
Friday, April 26, 2013 at 01:58:44 PM at epicenter
Location
20.011°S, 33.520°E
Depth
9.9 km (6.2 miles)
Region
MOZAMBIQUE
Distances
100 km (62 miles) S (178°) from Chimoio, Mozambique

M62 Crash: Minibus And Lorry In Collision

A minibus and a lorry have been involved in a crash on the M62 near Pontefract, West Yorkshire.

Firefighters, paramedics and at least two air ambulances are at the scene of the collision, described by police as a "serious incident".

The collision happened on the M62 westbound, near junction 32.

http://news.sky.com/story/1083387/m62-crash-minibus-and-lorry-in-collision

104 City bankers win appeal for £42million in unpaid bonuses from German banking giant Commerzbank

More than 100 City bankers will be handed £42million in unpaid bonuses after their employer lost a legal battle to block handouts of up to £1.6million each.

Court of Appeal judges said today Commerzbank was wrong to refuse to pay an average £400,000 per person at the height of the financial crisis.

in 2009 Commerzbank had saved rival Dresdner Kleinwort from collapse after it lost billions of pounds and had to be bailed out by German taxpayers.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2315179/104-City-bankers-win-appeal-42million-unpaid-bonuses-German-banking-giant-Commerzbank.html

MPs decide to take ANOTHER two week break: Parliament's only been back for 10 days since their last fortnight off

MPs have ignored warnings that they risk looking lazy and today begin another two-week holiday.

The latest break comes just days since the Commons' two and a half week Easter recess.

They will return on May 8 for the Queen’s Speech, but only spend eight days in Westminster before heading off again for a 10-day Whitsun get-away.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2315155/MPs-decide-ANOTHER-week-break-Parliaments-10-days-fortnight-off.html

Gaza war: Both sides accused of crimes

Similarities in Boston, Spain suspects?

Ambulance Crash: Two Killed And Two Injured

Two people have been killed and two are seriously injured after an ambulance hit a tree in Hampshire.

The incident happened on the A337 Brockenhurst to Lyndhurst road at its junction with New Park in Hampshire at 9.35am.

The driver of the ambulance - a female paramedic - and an elderly male patient travelling in the rear of the vehicle died at the scene.

http://news.sky.com/story/1083363/ambulance-crash-two-killed-and-two-injured

Man held after headteacher neighbour stabbed in neck with screwdriver

The victim, 39, was assaulted as she got out of her car after she returned from work in Rochdale, Greater Manchester, just after 5pm.

Police were called to the scene in Shaw Road, Thornham, following reports the married woman, who has not been named, had been stabbed three times.

A Greater Manchester Police spokesman confirmed she was attacked in the face and neck with a screwdriver outside her home.

But police denied residents' claims that the incident resulted from a "neighbour feud" and also dismissed suggestions of tensions between the pair recently.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/crime/10020269/Man-held-after-headteacher-neighbour-stabbed-in-neck-with-screwdriver.html

In Guantanamo hunger strike, courts favor Obama

As detainees at the U.S. military prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, press ahead with a widening hunger strike nearly three months old, President Barack Obama has come under increasing criticism for his policy of force-feeding them.

But U.S. law is on his side, an analysis of court rulings shows.

Most U.S. judges who have examined forced feeding in prisons have concluded that the measure may violate the rights of inmates to control their own bodies and to privacy - rights rooted in the U.S. Constitution and in common law. But they have found that the needs of operating a prison are more important.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/04/26/us-usa-guantanamo-forced-feeding-idUSBRE93P04N20130426

4.6 Magnitude Earthquake SOUTHERN PERU - 26th April 2013

Magnitude M 4.5
Region SOUTHERN PERU
Date time 2013-04-26 07:01:17.5 UTC
Location 16.36 S ; 69.90 W
Depth 252 km
Distances 187 km W of La Paz, Bolivia / pop: 812,799 / local time: 03:01:17.5 2013-04-26
60 km S of Puno, Peru / pop: 116,552 / local time: 02:01:17.5 2013-04-26
39 km SW of Ilave, Peru / pop: 16,033 / local time: 02:01:17.5 2013-04-26

South Korea to pull all workers from industrial zone in North

South Korea will pull out all remaining workers from a jointly run industrial zone in North Korea, it said on Friday, after Pyongyang rejected a call for formal talks to end a standoff that led to operations being suspended.

The decision to remove about 170 people from the Kaesong factory park located just north of the armed border deepens a conflict between the two Koreas and puts at risk their last remaining channel of exchange that resulted from their breakthrough 2000 summit and a bid to improve ties.

The two Koreas remain technically at war under a mere truce that ended hostilities in their 1950-53 conflict and North Korea, angry at U.N. sanctions and joint South Korean-U.S. military drills, has threatened both countries with nuclear attack in recent weeks.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/04/26/us-korea-north-zone-idUSBRE93P08620130426

Reece Elliott Admits Threat To Kill 200 US Pupils

A British internet troll has admitted threatening to kill 200 US citizens in a series of terrifying messages posted on Facebook.

Father-of-one Reece Elliott, 24, of South Tyneside, posted the threats on the tribute sight of a 17-year-old Tennessee girl killed in a car accident, Newcastle Crown Court heard.

Amid heightened fears over school security following the Newtown shooting in Connecticut, in which 20 children were shot dead, Warren County elementary school was shut for the day. Some 3,000 elementary pupils missed school.

http://news.sky.com/story/1083331/internet-troll-admits-threat-to-kill-200

Dzhokhar Tsarnaev Moved To Prison

Boston bomb suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev has been moved to a Massachusetts prison, the US Marshals Service has confirmed.

The 19-year-old is now at the Federal Medical Center in Devens - which provides long-term medical care for inmates.

US Marshals Service spokesman Drew Wade released the following statement:

"The U.S. Marshals Service confirms that Dzhokhar Tsarnaev has been transported from the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and is now confined at the Bureau of Prisons facility FMC Devens at Ft. Devens, Massacusetts."

http://news.sky.com/story/1083336/boston-bomb-suspect-moved-to-prison

UK Terror Plot Ringleader Jailed For Life

The ringleader of a terror plot which could have been more devastating than the July 7 attacks has been jailed for life.

Irfan Naseer, 31, must take sole responsibility for "sending four young men to Pakistan for terrorism training", Mr Justice Henriques told London's Woolwich Crown Court.

The judge said: "Irfan Naseer was the leader, driving force and man in charge and he alone must take responsibility for sending four young men to Pakistan for terrorism training."

http://news.sky.com/story/1083315/uk-terror-plot-ringleader-jailed-for-life

North Korea Issues Threat at Ceremony for Military

On an anniversary known for military showmanship, North Korean generals on Thursday declared that their forces were ready to launch intercontinental ballistic missiles and kamikazelike nuclear attacks at the United States if threatened.

“Stalwart pilots, once given a sortie order, will load nuclear bombs, instead of fuel for return, and storm enemy strongholds to blow them up,” the North’s official Korean Central News Agency quoted its Air and Anti-Air Force commander, Ri Pyong-chol, as saying during a ceremony in observance of the anniversary of the founding of the North Korean People’s Army.

Another general, Kim Rak-gyom, the Strategic Rocket Force commander, reiterated the claim that the North is “one click away from pushing the launch button.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/26/world/asia/south-korea-warns-north-of-grave-measure-in-factory-dispute.html?_r=0

Japan on alert after H7N9 bird flu spreads to Taiwan

TOKYO —
Japan on Thursday urged renewed vigilance against a spread of H7N9 bird flu after Taiwan reported a case of the deadly strain, the world’s first outside mainland China.

Japan is anticipating an influx of Chinese tourists during the two long weekends which are part of Golden Week. The foreign ministry also reissued a travel advisory to Japanese citizens planning to visit China or Taiwan, warning them to stay away from bird farms and wear masks in crowded areas.

Reviving a SARS-era precaution, Japan has been checking inbound travelers with body temperature monitors.

http://www.japantoday.com/category/national/view/japan-on-alert-after-h7n9-bird-flu-spreads-to-taiwan

H7N9 Influenza: Most Patients Critically Ill

Most of the 82 patients studied who developed H7N9 became critically ill and were epidemiologically unrelated, according to an analysis of data obtained from field investigations of cases that occurred in China before April 17, 2013. Human-to-human transmission between close contacts has not been confirmed but could not be ruled out in 2 families in an analysis by a group of researchers from China and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Qun Li, MD, from the Public Health Emergency Center in China, and colleagues present their findings in an article published online April 24 in the New England Journal of Medicine.

The researchers defined a confirmed case as one verified by H7N9 virus presence by positive real-time reverse-transcriptase-polymerase-chain-reaction (RT-PCR), viral isolation, or serologic testing. Close contacts were observed for 7 days. The investigators obtained throat swabs from symptomatic contacts and tested for the H7N9 virus by real-time RT-PCR.

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/803136

China Reports Three New H7N9 Bird Flu Cases; Jiangxi Has 1st Suspected Illness

The number of confirmed H7N9 bird flu cases in China increased by three yesterday to 111 yesterday, the official Xinhua news agency reported. The total number of dead was 23.

The number of new cases continued to rise after World Health Organization officials this week concluded a trip to China and lauded the country’s efforts to control the deadly new flu. Questions surround how the disease is spread, but the officials said yesterday “evidence so far is not sufficient” to conclude there has been person-to-person transmission. (Click here for the text of a related statement.)

Consumers have been wary of chicken, even though the government says cooked meat is safe. Shares in Yum!, the U.S. operator of the KFC fried chicken chain that has relied on China for much of its growth in recent years, lost 2% in New York last night after rebounding a day earlier.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/russellflannery/2013/04/25/china-reports-three-new-h7n9-bird-flu-cases-jiangxi-has-1st-suspected-illness/

Scientists in China trace new bird flu strain H7N9 back to market chicken

Scientists in China say they have pinpointed a likely source of a new strain of avian influenza (bird flu) that's killed 23 people in the country so far: chicken sold in the markets of Zhejiang, China. In a study fast-tracked into online publication in the international medical journal the Lancent yesterday, 30 scientists from hospitals and universities around China took samples of the H7N9 virus strain from human patients and compared it to samples of viruses grown from chicken in a Zhejiang market and found that "viral isolate from the patient was closely similar to that from an epidemiologically linked market chicken." Yet the human version of the virus also seems to be a compilation of sorts: The scientists found that the H7 portion was similar to domestic ducks from Zhejiang, while the N9 portion more closely resembled viruses in wild birds in South Korea.

"We are quite certain they very closely related and that the poultry is really giving the virus to humans," said microbiology professor K.Y. Yuen of the University of Hong Kong, describing the study results in a podcast. (so not sure then!)

http://www.theverge.com/2013/4/25/4267106/china-scientists-h7n9-trace-to-market-chicken

Giant Floating Head Found in Hudson River

Protesters target gun lobbyists in Washington

Alleged drug-trafficker "Fritanga" extradited to the US

Five dead, eight injured in Karachi bomb blast

US Defense Sec. Hagel 'confident' chemical weapons used in Syria....is it like the concrete Evidence they had on Iraq?

Deadly Blaze: Dozens killed, 3 survive fire at Moscow mental hospital

Drums of War: US claims chem weapons used in Syria, red line crossed?

Military drill tests South Korea and US sea warfare

Two Buddhist monks and a woman self-immolate in latest protest against Chinese occupation of Tibet

Three Tibetans died on Wednesday in the latest self-immolation protests against Chinese rule.

Two monks, Lobsang Dawa, 20, and Konchog Woeser, 23, set themselves on fire in Ruo'ergai county in the Aba prefecture, while a third woman, 23, died in nearby Rangtang.

The two monks set themselves alight in an assembly hall at the Taktsang Lhamo Kirti monastery, where they died, but details of the female protester's death are not yet known.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2314598/Two-Buddhist-monks-woman-self-immolate-latest-protest-Chinese-occupation-Tibet.html

Marlina Martinez Fighting with teacher over confiscated Make-up

Sue Stillwaggon faked her son's cancer and pocketed an unknown amount of cash from fundraisers in his name

A woman stands accused of faking her own son’s cancer and pocketing funds she raised from her community, all while making her son believe he was actually ill.

Susan Morris Stillwaggon told friends, family, and neighbors that her son, who attends elementary school, was sick had cancer and that the family needed money for treatment.

The Camden County, New Jersey woman talked about the boy’s supposed illness on Facebook and even allowed the fellow mothers of his soccer team to collect money through various fundraisers on the family’s behalf. She raised more than $1,000.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2315064/Mother-faked-sons-cancer-believed-sick-pocketed-charity-cash.html

Mykyta Panasenko arrested with TWO bombs on train in Hoboken: Suspect from Ukraine caught just a week before Boston bombing

Just eight days before three people were killed and more than 260 people were injured in the Boston Marathon bombing, a Ukrainian student was arrested in New Jersey carrying two homemade devices.

Rutgers student Mykyta Panasenko, 27, was arrested in Hoboken on April 7 aboard a NJ Transit train bound for Suffern, New York. He was carrying two improvised explosive devices, according to police.

Jersey City Police Deputy Chief Peter Nalbach said Thursday that authorities also found material at Panasenko's home ‘that may have been used to make an explosive device.’

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2315007/Ukrainian-Rutgers-student-arrested-taking-IEDs-New-York-just-week-Boston-Marathon-bombing.html

French Joblessness Climbs to Record, Adding Pressure on Hollande

French jobless claims rose to the highest ever, increasing pressure on President Francois Hollande to revive an economy that has been stalled for two years.

The number of people actively looking for work increased by 36,900, or 1.2 percent, to 3.225 million, the labor ministry said today in an e-mailed statement. Economists expected an increase of 25,000, according to the median of three forecasts gathered by Bloomberg News.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-04-25/french-joblessness-climbs-to-record-adding-pressure-on-hollande.html

Dozens rescued but Bangladesh building toll soars towards 300

Rescuers pulled dozens of survivors from the rubble of Bangladesh's worst industrial accident on Friday, but the death toll rose towards 300 after the collapse of a building housing factories that made low-cost garments for Western brands.

Almost miraculously, 62 people trapped beneath the rubble since the eight-storey building collapsed on the outskirts of the capital, Dhaka, on Wednesday were rescued alive overnight, police and government officials said.

However, there were fears between 300 and 400 people were still inside. "Some people are still alive under the rubble and we are hoping to rescue them," deputy fire services director Mizanur Rahman said.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/04/26/us-bangladesh-building-idUSBRE93N06P20130426

Karl Berry Dies from Snake Bite In Australia

A hockey player has died in Australia after being bitten by a snake - a rare fatality despite the country being home to the planet's 10 deadliest species.

Karl Berry, 26, is believed to have picked up the snake to remove it from a hockey training pitch in Darwin which children were using. He then went for a run but later collapsed.

St John Ambulance operations manager Craig Garraway told the Northern Territory News: "For 10 to 15 minutes we tried to figure out what he had been doing and he mentioned he had removed a snake and put it into bushes.

"I think he thought it was a python."

http://news.sky.com/story/1083252/snake-bite-kills-hockey-player-in-australia

Syria Chemical Weapons 'May Have Been Used'

David Cameron has said there is growing evidence of the use of chemical weapons by Bashar al Assad's regime, condemning reported attacks as a "war crime".

His comments came as footage emerged of victims of an apparent sarin attack in the city of Aleppo.

The video, which was taken in a hospital and shows men and women frothing at the mouth and twitching from the effects of the nerve agent, was posted online just over a week ago.#

http://news.sky.com/story/1083043/syria-chemical-weapons-may-have-been-used

H7N9: Singapore on alert for bird flu

Hospitals in Singapore remained on heightened alert and were prepared for the possibility of the H7N9 virus hitting the island republic.

The Health Ministry said this in a statement issued on Thursday in response to the first confirmed case of H7N9 in Taiwan.

It added that seven people here had been investigated for the bird flu and all tested negative. A spokesman for the ministry said it would continue to monitor the situation.

On Wednesday, a 53-year-old man who had been working in the eastern Chinese city of Suzhou, had flu symptoms three days after returning to Taiwan via Shanghai. He was hospitalised on April 16 and remained in critical condition.

http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2013/4/25/reutersworld/1304251816-singapore-on-alert-for-bird-flu&sec=reutersworld

China’s H7N9 bird flu death toll likely to rise

Chinese health officials are warning the death toll from the H7N9 bird flu is likely to rise in the weeks and months ahead.

In a report on the outbreak that began in China in February, doctors and researchers from several public health agencies said they suspected that most of the 82 people with confirmed cases of bird flu contracted the H7N9 virus from healthy-looking animals.

“To date, the mortality rate is 21 percent, but since many patients with confirmed H7N9 virus infection remain critically ill, we suspect that the mortality may increase,” they wrote in their study, published online Wednesday by the New England Journal of Medicine. “Since this H7N9 virus appears to have emerged recently to infect humans, population immunity is expected to be low, and persons of any age may be susceptible to infection.”

The report paints a fuller picture of the outbreak, which has caused Chinese people to become so panicked that one motorist felt the need to flag down police after a bird dropping landed on her car.

http://www.therecord.com/news/world/article/924380--china-s-h7n9-bird-flu-death-toll-likely-to-rise

Guinea meningitis outbreak kills at least 40

An outbreak of meningitis in Guinea has killed at least 40 people since the start of the year, the health ministry said Thursday.

A total of 379 cases have been detected this year in 19 of the West African nation's 33 regions, including the capital Conakry, said a report from the ministry.

Guinea lies in the so-called "meningitis belt" -- an area which covers 25 sub-Saharan African nations where the incidence of the potentially fatal inflammatory disease is particularly high.

http://www.geo.tv/GeoDetail.aspx?ID=98444

Health Department confirms rabies in 2 raccoons in Sewickley area - State of Pennsylvania

A pair of raccoons that came into contact with three dogs near Sewickley this month tested positive for rabies, the Allegheny County Health Department said today.

In separate incidents, one raccoon on Park Lane in Glen Osborne got into a fight with a dog, and another on Redgate Road in Aleppo exposed two dogs there to the disease.

"Fortunately, the dogs are up-to-date with their rabies vaccines," said health department spokesman Guillermo Cole. "They are being quarantined as a precaution for three months."

http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/local/neighborhoods-north/health-department-confirms-rabies-in-2-raccoons-in-sewickley-area-685018/

North Korea rejects South's call for talks on industrial zone

North Korea rejected on Friday a South Korean proposal for talks aimed at restarting a joint factory zone saying the South has acted in an "unpardonable" manner to jeopardize a "precious" legacy of the rivals' bid to seek peace.

The North's National Defense Commission, its supreme leadership body, repeated that what it saw as the reckless behavior of the South had thrown into question the safety of the zone's operation and had forced it to stop access there.

The Kaesong industrial zone is just inside North Korea.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/04/26/us-korea-north-zone-idUSBRE93P08620130426

Euro zone sees light at end of tunnel....Last time they announced this, Cyprus was robbed!

There are no calls for celebration, no desire to relax in the corridors of Brussels but some officials believe the euro zone has turned a corner, sharpening the focus on longer-term reforms and structures.

Despite a messy bailout of Cyprus, markets are calm, Ireland's rescue program is on track and Greece and Portugal, while still in recession, hope for a slow recovery next year.

Slovenia's banks are a concern, but one that policymakers are confident they can deal with. And although Malta's banking system is vast compared with its economy, it is not structured in the same way as in Cyprus. The same goes for Luxembourg.

Spain's bank restructuring appears to be working.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/04/26/us-eurozone-crisis-idUSBRE93P08F20130426

Are these people for real? Greece and Ireland can't meet their financial obligations, unemployment in Spain has risen above 27% and public confidence in EU is at and all time low.

Anyone notice the police battering protesters in Madrid last night?

26th April: French Joblessness Climbs to Record, Adding Pressure on Hollande

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-04-25/french-joblessness-climbs-to-record-adding-pressure-on-hollande.html

Dhaka Factory Collapse: Police fire rubber bullets at crowds protesting

Bangladeshi police have fired rubber bullets and tear gas at thousands of garment workers protesting against the deaths of some 300 workers in the collapse of a factory building.

"The situation is very volatile. Hundreds of thousands of workers have joined the protests. We fired rubber bullets and tear gas to disperse them," said M. Asaduzzaman, an officer in the police control room.

Dozens of people have been found alive in one room of a collapsed factory block in Dhaka.

http://news.sky.com/story/1082981/dhaka-factory-60-pulled-alive-from-rubble

6.2 Magnitude Earthquake KERMADEC ISLANDS REGION - 26th April 2013

Magnitude
6.2
Date-Time
Friday, April 26, 2013 at 06:53:28 UTC
Friday, April 26, 2013 at 06:53:28 PM at epicenter
Location
28.736°S, 178.916°W
Depth
349 km (216.9 miles)
Region
KERMADEC ISLANDS REGION
Distances
117 km (73 miles) WNW (299°) from Raoul Island, Kermadec Islands

Baby burned to death on bonfire in Chile after cult leader decided she was the antichrist

Wanted: Chilean authorities said the 12-member sect was formed in 2005 and was led by Ramon Gustavo Castillo Gaete, 36, who remains at large

A three-day-old baby was thrown on a bonfire and burned to death in an horrific ritual because a cult leader had decided she was the antichrist and that the end of the world was near.

Police in Chile have arrested four people accused of taking part in the ritual in which the baby was placed on a board with her mouth taped before being thrown into the flames.

The baby was taken to a hill in the town of Colliguay near the Chilean port of Valparaiso on Nov. 21 where the ritual took place.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2314866/Baby-burned-death-bonfire-Chile-cult-leader-decided-antichrist.html

Audit firms' 'cosy' links to the Treasury: Damning report attacks Government's relationship with 'Big Four' companies

Britain's biggest accountancy firms have ‘an unhealthily cosy relationship with Government’, a damning report from MPs will warn today.

The Public Accounts Committee said that 'much' of the profit made every year by the 'Big Four' accountancy firms - Deloitte, Ernst & Young, KPMG and PricewaterhouseCoopers - comes from 'minimizing the tax paid' by their wealthy clients.

And MPs slammed the firms’ practice of parachuting their tax experts into government departments to provide tax advice.

This creates a ‘ridiculous conflict of interest,’ the committee said, because it allows the accountants to gain ‘inside knowledge’ of the tax system which they then use to help big companies avoid paying tax in the UK - leaving the taxpayer millions of pounds worse off.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2315009/Audit-firms-cosy-links-Treasury-Damning-report-attacks-Governments-relationship-Big-Four-companies.html

Toll in Bangladesh building collapse climbs to 275

"Save us, brother. I beg you, brother," Mohammad Altab moaned to the rescuers who could not help him. He was pinned between slabs of concrete in the ruins of the garment factory building where he worked.

"I want to live," he pleaded, his eyes glistening with tears as he spoke of his two young children. "It's so painful here."

Altab should not have been in the building when it collapsed Wednesday, killing at least 275 people.

No one should have.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2013/04/24/bangladesh-building-collapse/2108727/

Syria Chemical weapons.........What evidence?

Boston: Suspects had 6 bombs

Virologist: H7N9 concerning

Bangladesh factory collapse: Who really pays for our cheap clothes?

The sad fact behind the building collapse in Bangladesh in whch hundreds died is that it isn't an isolated problem. The story will leave the headlines at the end of this week but on Monday hundreds of thousands of workers will return to factories that are frankly further tragedies waiting to happen, and will keep producing clothes for high street brands.

Seven hundred workers have died in factory collapses and fires in this very small region outside Dhaka alone in the last decade.

Savar, where the building collapse took place, is a swampland (yes, swampland...) north of the Bangladeshi capital which has seen mass growth in recent years.

http://edition.cnn.com/2013/04/25/opinion/bangladesh-factory-collapse-opinion/index.html?hpt=hp_c1

Analysis: North Korea's epic drama: stage now set for next act

If North Korea's bellicose rhetoric threatening the United States and South Korea with nuclear war was aimed at dragging Washington to the negotiating table, it has likely failed.

Pyongyang may once again feel it needs to up the ante.

Two months of shrill threats following the North's nuclear test in February appeared at times to drag the Korean peninsula close to war as its young leader celebrated a year in power with a fusillade of verbal aggression that has now died down.

North Korea has made it clear it will not talk unless its right to a nuclear deterrent - its "treasured sword" - is recognized by the United States, while Washington insists any talks would be conditional on denuclearization.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/04/25/us-korea-north-idUSBRE93O1CB20130425

German finance minister hits out at Barroso over austerity remarks

German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble lashed out at European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso on Thursday, telling lawmakers the euro zone's woes had nothing to do with strict budget rules and "somebody should tell Barroso that".

Barroso said this week austerity had reached the natural limits of popular support, fanning a bitter debate over whether lawmakers should shift their focus from cost-cutting to stimulus which has pitted Germany against many euro zone peers.

Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Thursday Germany would continue to work towards balanced budgets and she rejected French Finance Minister Pierre Moscovici's accusation that Germany was too heavily focused on saving.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/04/25/us-germany-finmin-barroso-idUSBRE93O1E620130425

Students clash with police in Chile

Spain reforms threatened by austerity debate

Spain will unveil new economic plans on Friday that government officials say will tread a fine line between growth and austerity.

Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy will present a package of reforms he want to have implemented by 2015 in a bid to obtain more leeway from the European Union to cut its public deficit and to turn around the economy in time to win re-election.

The announcements come as a heated debate about Europe's austerity drive has flared back into life.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/04/25/us-spain-economy-idUSBRE93O1H020130425