India: One killed, 28 injured as hailstorm hits Meghalaya

One person was killed, 28 others were injured and many houses damaged when a severe hailstorm hit several villages of West Khasi Hills district of Meghalaya today, official sources said.

Hundreds of houses were damaged in- Mawlangniang, Mawsiej, Nongkhiniang and Mawsiangbah - villages in West Khasi Hills district as hailstorm accompanied by rains hit the villages in the wee hours today, the sources said.

http://www.ptinews.com/news/3602251_One-killed--28-injured-as-hailstorm-hits-Meghalaya

Second outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in Tibet

Over 500 cattle heads have been culled in the latest outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in the Tibetan capital region of Lhasa in central Tibet.

China’s state news agency Xinhua in a report today said the National Foot-and-mouth Disease Reference Laboratory confirmed the spread of the cattle epidemic in a village in Lhasa region as type A foot-and-mouth disease.

China's Ministry of Agriculture on April 25 had said that 145 heads of cattle in the region were showing suspected signs of the disease.

“Local authorities sealed off and sterilised the infected area, where 527 heads of cattle have been culled and safely disposed of, so as to prevent spreading the disease,” the report cited the ministry as saying.

http://www.phayul.com/news/article.aspx?article=Second+outbreak+of+foot-and-mouth+disease+in+Tibet&id=33397

New oil spill from ExxonMobil Pegasus pipeline despite shut down

While very much smaller than the recent Mayflower, Arkansas spill, this new rupture causes even more concern over the aging Pegasus pipeline.

Questions about the severity of the recent March 29 oil spill in Mayflower, Arkansas are still unanswered. And now there is yet another rupture from the aging pipeline in Ripley County, Missouri, 200 miles north of Mayflower.

While Mayflower residents found 10,000 barrels of oil in their back yards, this smaller rupture only spilled an estimated one barrel of crude. But even so, this is worrying.

http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/349314

Joanne Chesimard: First Woman On FBI Most Wanted Terrorist List

A woman convicted of killing a New Jersey state trooper 40 years ago has become the first female to be placed on the FBI's list of most wanted terrorists.

Joanne Chesimard, a fugitive member of a militant group called the Black Liberation Army (BLA), escaped from prison in 1979 with the help of accomplices.

In adding Chesimard's name to the Most Wanted Terrorists list, the FBI also announced the reward for her capture and return had been raised to $2m (£1.3m).

Chesimard, who was convicted of the 1973 murder of state trooper Werner Foerster, is living in Cuba under the name Assata Shakur, according to the FBI.

http://news.sky.com/story/1086157/first-woman-on-fbi-most-wanted-terrorist-list

Derby: Body Found In Chimney Of Law Firm

The body of a man, believed to be a burglar, has been found in the chimney of a law firm.

Staff at Moody & Woolley Solicitors in St Mary's Gate, Derby, called police after being alerted to the body by the smell, the Derby Telegraph reported.

Officers were sent to the building on Thursday afternoon and sealed off the area while they removed the man.

Police are treating the death as unexplained.

http://news.sky.com/story/1086208/derby-body-found-in-chimney-of-law-firm

Raging California Wildfire Threatens Homes

A wildfire fanned by gusty winds and soaring temperatures is raging along the fringes of several southern California communities, forcing schools and neighbourhoods to evacuate.

The blaze erupted during the morning rush hour along the US 101 motorway in Camarillo, some 50 miles northwest of downtown Los Angeles.

More than 6,500 acres had been engulfed by mid-day as temperatures soared to 95 degrees Fahrenheit, said Ventura County Fire spokeswoman Myrna Pinon.

http://news.sky.com/story/1086224/california-wildfire-forces-evacuation-of-homes

'Appalling irresponsibility': Chinese scientists attacked for creating killer flu strain

Senior scientists have criticised the “appalling irresponsibility” of researchers in China who have deliberately created new strains of influenza virus in a veterinary laboratory.

They warned there is a danger that the new viral strains created by mixing bird-flu virus with human influenza could escape from the laboratory to cause a global pandemic killing millions of people.

Lord May of Oxford, a former government chief scientist and past president of the Royal Society, denounced the study published today in the journal Science as doing nothing to further the understanding and prevention of flu pandemics.

“They claim they are doing this to help develop vaccines and such like. In fact the real reason is that they are driven by blind ambition with no common sense whatsoever,” Lord May told The Independent.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/appalling-irresponsibility-senior-scientists-attack-chinese-researchers-for-creating-new-strains-of-influenza-virus-in-veterinary-laboratory-8601658.html

4.8 Magnitude Earthquake GUAM REGION - 2nd May 2013

Magnitude
4.8
Date-Time
Thursday, May 02, 2013 at 22:52:16 UTC
Friday, May 03, 2013 at 08:52:16 AM at epicenter
Time of Earthquake in other Time Zones
Location
13.321°N, 144.453°E
Depth
113.6 km (70.6 miles)
Region
GUAM REGION
Distances
23 km (14 miles) WSW of Agat Village, Guam

4.3 Magnitude Earthquake KEPULAUAN TANIMBAR REGION, INDONESIA - 2nd May 2013

Magnitude
4.3
Date-Time
Thursday, May 02, 2013 at 21:49:04 UTC
Friday, May 03, 2013 at 06:49:04 AM at epicenter
Time of Earthquake in other Time Zones
Location
7.571°S, 130.509°E
Depth
35 km (21.7 miles)
Region
KEPULAUAN TANIMBAR REGION, INDONESIA
Distances
98 km (60 miles) WNW of Saumlaki, Indonesia

4.6 Magnitude Earthquake SOUTH OF SUMBAWA, INDONESIA - 2nd May 2013

Magnitude
4.6
Date-Time
Thursday, May 02, 2013 at 21:08:47 UTC
Friday, May 03, 2013 at 05:08:47 AM at epicenter
Time of Earthquake in other Time Zones
Location
11.499°S, 117.110°E
Depth
6.4 km (4.0 miles) (poorly constrained)
Region
SOUTH OF SUMBAWA, INDONESIA
Distances
293 km (182 miles) S of Besisora, Indonesia

Guantanamo attorney dead in apparent suicide

An American lawyer representing detainees at the Guantanamo Bay prison camp has been found dead in an apparent suicide.

The body of Andy P. Hart, a 38-year-old US federal public defender, was found last week with a self-inflicted gunshot wound. According to Truthout, an investigative blog, news of the attorney’s death came only this Wednesday from an investigator working on Guantanamo detainees’ habeas corpus petitions. That investigator requested anonymity.

According to court documents, Hart had previously represented Kahlid Saad Mohammed, a 39-year-old Guantanamo detainee from Saudi Arabia who was transferred back to his home country in 2009 after being identified as having only “low-level” terrorist affiliation.

Perhaps most notably, Hart was assigned to defend Mohammed Rahim al-Afghani, one of 16 detainees at Guantanamo which the US government has designated as “high-value.” Al-Afghani, thought to be Osama bin Laden’s translator, was detained by the CIA and allegedly tortured prior to his arrival in Cuba in 2008.

http://rt.com/usa/guantanamo-attorney-dead-suicide-699/

5.3 Magnitude Earthquake OFF THE WEST COAST OF NORTHERN SUMATRA - 2nd May 2013

Magnitude
5.3
Date-Time
Thursday, May 02, 2013 at 19:40:52 UTC
Friday, May 03, 2013 at 01:40:52 AM at epicenter
Location
2.747°N, 91.570°E
Depth
15 km (9.3 miles)
Region
OFF THE WEST COAST OF NORTHERN SUMATRA
Distances
518 km (322 miles) SW (234°) from Banda Aceh, Sumatra, Indonesia

'Massacre By Syrian Forces Kills At Least 50' according to UK based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights

Forces loyal to Syria's leader have stormed a village in a "massacre" that has left at least 50 people dead, reports say.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said President Bashar al Assad's troops and militias raided the coastal village of Baida, killing many with gunfire or knives.

Women and children were among the victims and some bodies were found burned, the group said.

http://news.sky.com/story/1086219/massacre-by-syrian-forces-kills-at-least-50

Man fatally shoots self at Bush International Airport in Houston, report says

Houston police responded Thursday afternoon to reports of shots fired at the Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston, a police source told MyFoxHouston.com.

KHOU.com reports that a man fatally shot himself with an AR-15 near a security checkpoint. Reports indicate that a body was found in the lobby of Terminal B of the airport.

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2013/05/02/report-shots-fired-at-bush-international-airport-in-houston

4.2 Magnitude Earthquake NORTHERN ALGERIA - 2nd May 2013

Magnitude M 4.2
Region NORTHERN ALGERIA
Date time 2013-05-02 18:55:37.0 UTC
Location 35.78 N ; 0.12 W
Depth 14 km
Distances 303 km W of Algiers, Algeria / pop: 1,977,663 / local time: 19:55:37.0 2013-05-02
25 km SW of Mostaganem, Algeria / pop: 130,000 / local time: 19:55:37.0 2013-05-02
16 km E of Aïn el Bya, Algeria / pop: 37,241 / local time: 19:55:37.0 2013-05-02

17 arrested as Seattle May Day protests turn violent

A May Day protest in downtown Seattle turned violent Wednesday night, with police saying they resorted to pepper spray to disperse demonstrators who pelted them with whatever was at hand.

Seattle Police said the crowd tossed rocks, bottles, metal pipes, fireworks -- and even a skateboard.

The clashes left eight officers with injuries, and police said they arrested 17 people, on various offenses including property destruction and assault.

http://edition.cnn.com/2013/05/01/us/seattle-may-day-protests/?hpt=us_c2

Golden Dawn's 'Greeks only' soup kitchen ends in chaos

The party, which has attracted widespread condemnation for its xenophobic, racist policies, attempted to distribute bread, eggs and lamb to Greeks outside parliament in Athens' Syntagma Square, ahead of the start of the Greek Orthodox Easter on Sunday.

But the stunt ended in chaos, with Golden Dawn members in black T-shirts hitting riot police over the head with rolled up Greek flags and the police firing a volley of tear gas.

The party had tried to push ahead with the food handout in defiance of a ban imposed by the mayor of Athens, George Kaminis.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/greece/10034010/Golden-Dawns-Greeks-only-soup-kitchen-ends-in-chaos.html

German bond yields hit record low after ECB rate cut falls short

Yields on 10-year German Bunds fell to an all-time low of 1.16pc, signalling the risk of a deflationary crisis and a slide towards outright depression.

Mario Draghi, the ECB’s chief, said the bank “stands ready to act” with further stimulus if needed but insisted that the economy would recover “later this year”.

The bank failed to deliver the expected measures to alleviate a serious credit crunch for small firms across Southern Europe, agreeing only to study possible options.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/financialcrisis/10034376/German-bond-yields-hit-record-low-after-ECB-rate-cut-falls-short.html

China invades India: Tensions mount as platoon of soldiers slip across border to claim disputed territory

A two week Chinese incursion has left India on the verge of crises, it has today been reported.

India says Chinese troops set up a camp on its side of the ill-defined frontier in Ladakh region in the middle of April.

The platoon of Chinese soldiers slipped across the boundary into India in the middle of the night, according to Indian officials.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2318389/Two-Chinese-incursion-leaves-India-verge-crises.html

Minnesota braced for historic snowfall as 15 inches is dumped in MAY: Freak weather hits the Mid West

The calendar may say May, but it still looks like winter in parts of the Midwest and Rockies where residents are digging out from more than a foot of snow.

The National Weather Service says 15.5 inches total landed in Owatonna, Minnesota.

Schools are closed in many of Minnesota cities and even the states main Interstate was shut overnight because of downed power lines.
It could be the heaviest May snowfall in the states' recorded history.

The weather system is still packing a punch as it crosses the country with Iowa next in the firing line.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2318351/Freak-weather-historic-snow-Spring-snowstorm-spreads.html

Syria insists it would not use chemical weapons....But would the Rebels?

Chemical weapons are a "red line" for Syria, too, a top government official said Thursday.

Syrian Information Minister Omran al-Zoubi said in an exclusive interview with CNN that a hard-line Islamist rebel group has used chemical weapons in the civil war, and his government "would never use" such munitions "if we had them." And, he added, "we did not use them, and there will not be a use."

"President Obama says chemical weapons are a red line," al-Zoubi said. "Then he is in direct accordance with President (Bashar al-) Assad, who also thinks that chemical weapons are a red line."

The Syrian government-run media has been hitting home its stance that "terrorists" are handling chemical weapons and then blaming the use of them on the government.

http://edition.cnn.com/2013/05/02/world/meast/syria-civil-war/index.html?hpt=hp_t1

Bird Flu: Death Toll In China Reaches 27

The death toll from a new strain of the bird flu virus has risen to 27 after a man died in central China's Hunan Province.

The 55-year-old, whose surname was given as Jiao, died after receiving medical treatment, according to state news agency Xinhua.

At least 126 people have been diagnosed with the H7N9 virus since it was first reported in late March, with most cases so far confined to eastern China. One case has been reported in Taiwan.

http://news.sky.com/story/1086087/bird-flu-death-toll-in-china-reaches-27

China: Nursery Head 'Kills Girls With Poisoned Yoghurt'

Two young girls have died after eating poisoned yoghurt left outside their nursery on the orders of a rival school's head, according to Chinese state media.

Police reportedly believe the poisoning was motivated by competition for students between the schools.

The Xinhua news agency says the woman confessed that she injected the yoghurt with rat poison and asked a man to place it with notebooks on the road to the rival nursery school in Hebei province's Pingshan county.

http://news.sky.com/story/1086189/china-poisoned-yoghurt-kills-two-girls

4.5 Magnitude Earthquake SOUTH OF ALASKA - 2nd May 2013

Magnitude
4.5
Date-Time
Thursday, May 02, 2013 at 16:17:51 UTC
Thursday, May 02, 2013 at 05:17:51 AM at epicenter
Location
52.636°N, 163.683°W
Depth
43.2 km (26.8 miles)
Region
SOUTH OF ALASKA
Distances
219 km (136 miles) SE (139°) from Akutan, AK

Teachers Shocked, Frightened After School Holds Unplanned Shooting Drill

Teachers were shocked and caught off guard when an Oregon school held a school shooting drill.

The Oregonian reports Pine Eagle Charter School in Halfway held the drill last Friday as children were home for an in-service day. Two masked “gunmen” burst into a meeting room holding 15 teachers firing blanks. Teachers only realized it wasn’t a real shooting when none of them were bleeding.

“There was some commotion,” school principal Cammie DeCastro told The Oregonian.

Teachers were frightened about what happened.

“I’ll tell you, the whole situation was horrible,” Morgan Gover told the paper. “I got a couple in the front and a couple in the back.”

http://seattle.cbslocal.com/2013/05/02/teachers-shocked-frightened-after-school-holds-unplanned-shooting-drill/

Same witness connected to Boston Bombing, Sandy Hook and Watertown shooting too!

Big Bro Broken: Lavish surveillance shattered by Boston bombings

Poll: 29% of Registered Voters Believe Armed Revolution Might Be Necessary in Next Few Years

Twenty-nine percent of registered voters think that an armed revolution might be necessary in the next few years in order to protect liberties, according to a Public Mind poll by Fairleigh Dickinson University.

The poll, which surveyed 863 registered voters and had a margin of error of +/-3.4, focused on both gun control and the possibility of a need for an armed revolution in the United States to protect.

The survey asked whether respondents agreed, disagreed, neither agreed nor disagreed or did not know or refused respond to the statement: "In the next few years, an armed revolution might be necessary in order to protect our liberties"

Twenty-nine percent said they agreed, 47 percent said they disagreed, 18 percent said they neither agreed nor disagreed, 5 percent said they were unsure, and 1 percent refused to respond.

Results of the poll show that those who believe a revolution might be necessary differ greatly along party lines:

18 percent of Democrats
27 percent of Independents
44 percent of Republicans

The poll found that 38 percent of Americans who believe a revolution might be necessary support additional gun control legislation compared to 62 percent of those who don't think an armed revolt will be needed.

http://cnsnews.com/blog/gregory-gwyn-williams-jr/poll-29-registered-voters-believe-armed-revolution-might-be-necessary

4.4 Magnitude Earthquake LA PAZ, BOLIVIA - 2nd May 2013

Magnitude M 4.4
Region LA PAZ, BOLIVIA
Date time 2013-05-02 14:05:14.3 UTC
Location 17.29 S ; 69.59 W
Depth 164 km
Distances
48 km E of Chuquitira, Peru / pop: 4,220 / local time: 09:05:14.3 2013-05-02

Two planes clip wings at Newark International Airport

More than 60 killed in gold mine collapse in Sudan's Darfur

More than 60 miners were killed this week in Sudan's Darfur region when the gold mine they were working in collapsed, a police spokesman said on Thursday.

Ahmed Amr said fighting had broken out in January between two tribes over access to the mine in the Jebel Amir area of North Darfur, and authorities had closed it after several people were killed in the violence. It had since reopened.

A member of parliament from the area said the mine collapsed on Monday, and word had only reached Khartoum on Thursday. A witness told Reuters by phone that rescue efforts had failed.

http://uk.reuters.com/article/2013/05/02/uk-sudan-mine-idUKBRE9410NK20130502

Spaniards rally against austerity measures on May Day

Emerging diseases

Massive solar eruption from the Sun captured in NASA time-lapse video

Worldiwde Worker Woes: May Day clashes in Germany, Spain, Colombia, Chile

Blood for Oil: Fuel frenzy could spark war as Kurds seek secession from Iraq

Jewish leaders alarmed by far-right, anti-Semitism in Hungary

The rise of far-right movements and anti-Semitism across Europe, notably in Hungary, where more than half a million Jews were killed in the Nazi Holocaust, will preoccupy Jewish leaders from around the globe when they meet in Budapest on Sunday.

"Clearly, anti-Semitism in Hungary is on the rise, and we have also witnessed a dramatic growth in the number of attacks against other minorities such as the Roma," World Jewish Congress (WJC) president Ronald Lauder told Reuters by email.

He said the rise of the far-right opposition party Jobbik posed a threat to Jews and other minorities living in Hungary.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/05/02/us-hungary-jews-idUSBRE9410I220130502

Wildfires force evacuations

Euro crisis saves Germany money...Shocker!, they have only just realized?

Throughout Europe's debt crisis, northern European leaders have often said they will not stand for taxpayers having to fork out for other countries' problems, and the notion of "taxpayer-funded bailouts" has taken root.

Yet despite three-and-a-half years of debt and banking turmoil, with bailouts totaling more than 400 billion euros, northern euro zone taxpayers have not actually lost a cent.

What is more, governments in Germany, Finland, Austria, the Netherlands and France have saved billions of euros thanks to a sharp fall in how much they pay to raise money in financial markets since their borrowing costs have dropped steeply.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/05/02/us-eurozone-bailouts-idUSBRE9410CG20130502

ECB cuts rates to support flagging euro zone economy

The European Central Bank cut interest rates for the first time in 10 months on Thursday, driven to act by an economy wallowing in recession and freed to do so by sharply falling inflation.

The ECB lowered its main interest rate by a quarter point to a new record low of 0.50 percent in response to a drop in inflation well below its target level, and rising unemployment.

The cut was widely expected, after ECB President Mario Draghi said last month the bank stood ready to act. He will hold a news conference at 8:30 a.m. ET to explain the decision.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/05/02/us-ecb-rates-idUSBRE94100520130502

4.9 Magnitude Earthquake TRISTAN DA CUNHA REGION - 2nd May 2013

Magnitude M 4.9
Region TRISTAN DA CUNHA REGION
Date time 2013-05-02 10:02:05.3 UTC
Location 34.11 S ; 14.71 W
Depth 10 km
Distances 3352 km SW of Windhoek, Namibia / pop: 268,132 / local time: 11:02:05.3 2013-05-02

Stuart Hall Admits Sex Assaults On Children,......Despite previous vociferous public denials of any wrongdoing

Veteran BBC broadcaster Stuart Hall has admitted indecently assaulting 13 girls aged between nine and 17.

The Crown Prosecution Service said he was an "opportunistic predator" and almost all the victims provided "strikingly similar accounts".

Hall, 83, entered the guilty pleas last month at Preston Crown Court but they can only be revealed now after reporting restrictions were lifted.

The sex offences took place between 1967 and 1986.

http://news.sky.com/story/1085935/stuart-hall-admits-sex-assaults-on-children

4.1 Magnitude Earthquake ROMANIA - 2nd May 2013

Magnitude ML 4.1
Region ROMANIA
Date time 2013-05-02 09:51:40.5 UTC
Location 45.71 N ; 26.63 E
Depth 150 km
Distances
6 km W of Nereju, Romania / pop: 4,202 / local time: 12:51:40.5 2013-05-02

4.0 Magnitude Earthquake OFF COAST OF COSTA RICA - 2nd May 2013

Magnitude M 4.0
Region OFF COAST OF COSTA RICA
Date time 2013-05-02 09:40:01.7 UTC
Location 9.86 N ; 85.50 W
Depth 11 km
Distances
3 km SE of Sámara, Costa Rica / pop: 1,071 / local time: 03:40:01.7 2013-05-02

4.4 Magnitude Earthquake SOUTHERN PERU - 2nd May 2013

Magnitude M 4.4
Region SOUTHERN PERU
Date time 2013-05-02 09:37:26.8 UTC
Location 16.57 S ; 69.69 W
Depth 189 km
Distances 164 km W of La Paz, Bolivia / pop: 812,799 / local time: 05:37:26.8 2013-05-02

Is this a warning of things to come? Bank of Ireland doubles fixed rate mortgages overnight affecting 13,500 UK customers

Thousands of homeowners are facing a huge increase in their mortgage repayments after the Bank of Ireland doubled rates overnight.

Borrowers are being urged to complain to the bank and the Financial Ombudsman after the move which comes despite the Bank of England base rate remaining at a historic low of 0.5%.

Consumer group Which? says the change, which will affect some 13,500 UK customers, is 'wholly unfair'.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2317872/Bank-Ireland-doubles-tracker-rate-mortgages-overnight-affecting-13-500-UK-customers.html

Tiny robots fly in formation

Controlled explosion at Gatwick airport

Two men who left a suspicious van in a short-term parking lot Wednesday at London's Gatwick Airport are wanted for questioning, authorities said in a written statement.

The men pushed up a barrier to get into a parking deck then parked the blue Renault van on the bottom floor, the statement from Sussex police said.

When authorities checked with the company whose name was on the van, it said it got rid of the vehicle in November. More checks revealed the van was unregistered.

http://edition.cnn.com/2013/05/01/world/europe/london-gatwick-suspicious-vehicle/index.html?hpt=hp_t3

Aurora report: Crowds hindered rescue

When a shooter sprayed a movie audience with bullets in a Colorado theater last summer, paramedics were not prepared for the extent of the carnage and arrived with too few ambulances, fire officials say in a new report.

Fourteen hundred audience members rushed out in a panic, when James Holmes allegedly opened fire in Aurora's Century cinema on July 20, killing 12 and wounding nearly 60 more.

The confused crowd swarmed around ambulances and police cars, blocking access to the building and the parking lot and hindering rescue efforts, the Aurora fire department said Wednesday in a preliminary analysis of the incident.

http://edition.cnn.com/2013/05/02/us/colorado-aurora-shooting-report/index.html?hpt=hp_t3

U.S. wildfire burns nearly 3,000 acres

Firefighters continue to battle what has been a fast-growing Southern California wildfire,one that has already consumed more than 2,950 acres

Protests flood Europe

As European financial markets close for the spring celebration of May Day, protesters across Europe and beyond have taken to the streets to demonstrate for workers' rights and, in many cases, against painful austerity measures.

In Istanbul, Turkey, riot police gassed and fired water cannons at dozens of demonstrators trying to get to the popular-tourist destination of Taksim Square for May 1 demonstrations.

Groups carrying May 1 international Workers' Day banners and chanting "Longlive Workers' Day" while trying to the square were dispersed using water cannons and tear gas in Istanbul's Besiktas district.

http://edition.cnn.com/2013/05/01/world/world-may-day-protests/index.html?hpt=hp_t3

North Korea sentences a U.S. man to 15 years hard labor, Why was he in North Korea?

Central Damascus hit by bombs

Boston bombing suspect's friends accused of cover-up

A laptop, some empty fireworks and a jar of Vaseline landed three friends of Boston Marathon bomb suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev in jail Wednesday, charged with trying to throw investigators off their buddy's trail.

Those are the items federal prosecutors say Azamat Tazhayakov, Dias Kadyrbayev and Robel Phillipos took from Tsarnaev's dorm room at the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth in the hours after the FBI released photos of Tsarnaev and his brother Tamerlan, the suspects in the marathon bombings. According to FBI affidavits, they quickly recognized their friend from the pictures.

When Kadyrbayev texted his friend to tell him "he looked like the suspect on television," Tsarnaev texted back "lol" and added, "come to my room and take whatever you want," the affidavit states. Phillipos, Tazhayakov and Kadyrbayev went to the room, where Kadyrbayev noticed a backpack containing fireworks that had been "opened and emptied of powder," according to the affidavit.

"Kadyrbayev knew when he saw the empty fireworks that Tsarnaev was involved in the marathon bombing," the affidavit states.

http://edition.cnn.com/2013/05/01/us/boston-attack/index.html?hpt=hp_t1

Guantanamo: Ethics of forced feeding

There’s a life-and-death tug-of-war going on between President Barack Obama and more than 100 prisoners who would rather die than stay alive forever at the Guantanamo Bay detention facility.

Nearly all of the inmates there have never been charged with a crime.

Twenty-three detainees and counting have lost so much weight that they are being force-fed.

A doctor's code is "do no harm," but it is also to respect the autonomy or the independence of the patient.

http://amanpour.blogs.cnn.com/2013/05/01/is-it-medically-ethical-to-force-feed-guantanamo-detainees/?hpt=hp_c5

Did cargo cause this 747 to fall?

Why it really is Obama's fault

Just as they did in the Jimmy Carter presidency, liberals are now blaming everyone but the president for the political dysfunction in Washington. The country is too polarized. The media are too polarized. Republicans are impossible. They say it with a fervor that comes from having to justify why their political messiah has failed so miserably. And they say it with a lack of appreciation for presidents of both parties who had to work with the opposition. The obvious counter example is immigration reform — a contentious issue that is working its way through Congress in large part because President Obama is staying out of it.

In fact the president has a large role in the political acrimony and inability to get a budget deal, two of the main complaints about his presidency.

For starters, the Obama spinners assume that Obama is as moderate as former president Bill Clinton, for example, and therefore compromise with him is akin to compromises Clinton reached with his Congress. But in fact the current president is the most liberal president we have ever had, and a good deal of the gridlock stems from his positions as architect of huge increases in the size, scope and cost of government. Is he willing to give up an unworkable, hugely expensive Obamacare by cutting it down in size? Is he willing to explore lowering rates as part of tax reform? I didn’t think so.
But the more basic flaw in the “not Obama’s fault” theory is that it is easy to come up with a bunch of things he could have done that would have made a world of difference.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/right-turn/wp/2013/05/01/why-it-really-is-obamas-fault/

Italy can't change its 2013 deficit commitment -foreign minister

Italy cannot change the fiscal commitments made with its European partners for this year, Foreign Minister Emma Bonino said on Tuesday, adding to a range of views on public finance pledges expressed by Enrico Letta's new government.

"Italy cannot re-negotiate the 2.9 percent," Emma Bonino told reporters in parliament in reference to the 2013 budget deficit target of 2.9 percent of gross domestic product.

Earlier on Tuesday, Industry Minister Flavio Zanonato said Italy had to talk to the EU to allow it to exclude investment spending from deficit calculations. That view was echoed by regional affairs minister Graziano Delrio.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/04/30/italy-vote-deficit-idUSR1N0CV01D20130430

Three die after catching new C. diff strain in Scotland

Three patients in Scotland have died after catching a new strain of the Clostridium difficile (C.diff) bug.

All three were in the same health board area and two of the patients were in the same hospital.

Health Protection Scotland (HPS) said it had identified a novel C.diff strain, designated ribotype 332.

HPS said the deaths were the first reported cases in the UK and worldwide and that health officials had been put on alert.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-22378210

Saudi Arabia confirms five deaths from new SARS-like virus

SAUDI Arabia said five more people have died of a deadly new virus from the same family as SARS, and two other people were in intensive care.

The seven cases were discovered in al-Ahsa governorate in the Eastern Province, the Saudi news agency SPA quoted the Saudi Health Ministry as saying in a statement.

A Saudi man died in March from the virus.

The novel coronavirus (NCoV) is from the same family of viruses as those that cause common colds and the one that caused the deadly outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) that first emerged in Asia in 2003.

http://www.independent.ie/world-news/middle-east/saudi-arabia-confirms-five-deaths-from-new-sarslike-virus-29237557.html

Trillion-euro shortfall facing EU energy sector - Lords Committee

Investment totalling a trillion euros (£846bn) is required before the end of this decade if the European Union is to stave off an energy crisis.

That is the conclusion of an eight-month inquiry by the House of Lords into the EU power sector.

The Lords report says that a muddled Brussels energy policy is putting off big investors.

In addition, it says there needs to be greater support for Europe's Emissions Trading System (ETS).

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-22372088

Turkish police use teargas to prevent May Day demonstration

Turkey raised bridges, banned boat traffic and sent police with teargas and water cannon to try to stop a May Day demonstration being held in Istanbul’s main square.

The move brought much of Istanbul to a standstill, with police and stone-wielding protesters engaged in street-to-street skirmishes in the city centre as international hotels advised guests not to venture outside.

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/ca55795c-b25f-11e2-8540-00144feabdc0.html

China reports latest bird flu death, toll rises to 27

A 55-year-old man in central China has died from a new strain of bird flu, bringing to 27 the number of deaths from the mysterious H7N9 virus, state news agency Xinhua said on Thursday.

The H7N9 virus, which has infected 127 people in China, is a threat to world health and should be taken seriously, scientists said on Wednesday.

The Geneva-based World Health Organization (WHO) has described it as "one of the most lethal" flu viruses but said there is as yet no evidence of human-to-human transmission of this virus.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/05/02/us-birdflu-china-idUSBRE9410AM20130502

India fumes after farmer jailed for spying dies in Pakistan

India reacted furiously to Thursday's death in a Pakistani jail of an Indian farmer convicted of spying who was badly beaten last week by fellow inmates, the latest incident to strain relations between the neighbors.

Nuclear-armed India and Pakistan have fought three wars since the partition of British-ruled India in 1947, although they began a peace process in 2004. They remain deeply suspicious of each other.

Sarabjit Singh was arrested in Pakistan in 1991 and sentenced to death for spying and carrying out four bomb blasts that killed 14 people. His family says he was an innocent farmer who was arrested after drunkenly wandering over the border.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/05/02/us-pakistan-india-prisoner-idUSBRE94106320130502

Assad urges his supporters to "remain fearless"

Syrians tested for injuries caused by chemical weapons

Jamestown settlers resorted to cannibalism

H7N9 is the 'nastiest virus in humans in years'

The outbreak of a new type of bird flu in China poses a potentially serious threat to human health according to scientists.

The H7N9 outbreak emerged a month ago and so far more than 100 people have been infected and there have been 24 deaths.

Crucially the virus is not able to spread between people, which would be needed if it was to become a new flu pandemic.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-22371987

New H7N9 bird flu death reported in Hunan

Central China's Hunan Province reported a new death from H7N9 avian flu on Wednesday, local authorities said.

The patient, a 55-year-old man surnamed Jiao, died after medical treatment failed to save him, according to an official from the provincial health and family planning department.

Jiao, a native of neighboring Jiangxi Province, tested positive for the flu and was transferred from the Liuyang Municipal People's Hospital to the Changsha Municipal Center for Disease Control and Prevention on April 26 after eleven days of exhibiting symptoms.

One unrelated bird flu infection was reported in the province's city of Shaoyang on Wednesday.

http://www.china.org.cn/china/2013-05/02/content_28712014.htm

Wind-fueled wildfire erupts in Banning area east of Los Angeles; more flames in wine country

A Southern California wildfire fueled by strong winds was raging through 4½ square miles of Riverside County on Wednesday in the biggest of a series of statewide fires that broke out amid dry, gusty conditions.

The fast-moving wildfire about 90 miles east of Los Angeles broke out just after noon and was moving westward through largely undeveloped foothills of the San Bernardino Mountains, but it was dangerously close to subdivisions to the south, in Banning.

At least 425 firefighters were working to gain control of the fast-moving fire, which has destroyed one home and is 35 percent contained, said Jody Hagemann, spokeswoman for the county fire department. Six helicopters and six air tankers were making water drops.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/wind-fueled-wildfire-erupts-in-banning-area-east-of-los-angeles-more-flames-in-wine-country/2013/05/01/68f3bf14-b2c0-11e2-9fb1-62de9581c946_story.html

Fourth rabies case recorded in Alamance county, North Carolina

A rabid bat is the fourth recorded case of rabies in Alamance County so far this year.

The North Carolina State Laboratory of Public Health confirmed the report Wednesday. The bat was found April 30 in the bedroom of a home on George Bason Road in Graham. George Bason Road is just south of Interstate 40/85 off of NC 54 South.

Most bats do not carry rabies in North Carolina. About 3 percent of bats in the state are infected with the disease. Last year 28 bats tested positive for rabies throughout North Carolina.

http://www.thetimesnews.com/news/top-news/fourth-rabies-case-recorded-in-county-1.136037

Salmonella blamed for Firefly sickness in Vegas

The Health District say salmonella is to blame for making dozens of people sick at the Firefly Restaurant.

Samples taken from customers tested positive for the bacteria. The Health District is still waiting for results from food samples they sent away to a lab. Meantime inspectors checked out Firefly's other two locations. The restaurant in Henderson got an A grade. But the Firefly on Sahara got a C and received 30 demerits.

The Firefly says they could have chosen to be re-inspected but wants to spend more time on employee training and refining their operations.

http://www.ktnv.com/205509581.html

50 ill after gas leak from German chemical plant in India

Panic gripped the industrial town of Nagda in Ujjain, nearly 120 km from here, when a toxic gas leaked from a German plant on Tuesday affecting 50 villagers in the vicinity. While most of those affected were discharged after primary treatment, three plant officials were arrested and later released on bail.

Victims complained of cough, burning in eyes and breathlessness and were admitted to Indubhai Parekh Memorial Hospital for treatment. All but three were discharged within hours of being admitted.

Thionyl Chloride, used in the manufacture of special chemicals like plastics and rubber, started leaking from the German plant, Lanxess, around 9.15pm on Tuesday, affecting people in the surrounding villages. The leak took place after a glass tube in the plant developed a crack. Company officials said there was no damage due to the leak.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/indore/50-ill-after-gas-leak-from-German-chemical-plant/articleshow_dc/19827905.cms

Rabid Fox Found in East Brunswick, New Jersey

A rabid fox was found in the vicinity of Matawan Road, making it the second rabid animal to turn up in East Brunswick in the last month.

According to a press release from the Middlesex County Office of Health Services, the fox was captured by the East Brunswick Animal Control officer in the area of Matawan Road and Squire Street.

It was sent to the New Jersey Department of Health Laboratory, where it tested positive for rabies.

http://eastbrunswick.patch.com/articles/rabid-fox-found-in-east-brunswick

Explosion at Ontario plant sends 6 to hospital

manufacturing plant in the community of Newmarket, north of Toronto, on Wednesday.

The company, Dortec Industries, a manufacturing division of Magna Closures, said the blast was due to a minor electrical explosion that was isolated to one manufacturing line.

The explosion occurred at the Dortec plant on 581 Newpark Blvd. just before 10 a.m., Central York Fire Services said. About 200 people work at the plant, which was evacuated.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/story/2013/05/01/toronto-newmarket-explosion-manufacturing-plant.html

Steven Smith executed by lethal injection

An Ohio man convicted of raping and murdering a six-month-old baby was executed by lethal injection on Wednesday after a last-ditch plea for mercy was dismissed.

Steven Smith, 46, was declared dead at 10:29 am (1429 GMT), prison authorities in Lucasville, southern Ohio, confirmed after the execution.

Smith was sentenced to death in March 1999 for the aggravated murder of Autumn Carter, the daughter of his girlfriend, in September 1998. The baby died from trauma and asphyxiation after being crushed during the assault.

http://au.news.yahoo.com/world/a/-/latest/16969036/us-man-who-raped-murdered-six-month-old-baby-executed/

Men Sought In Connection With Benghazi Attack

The FBI is seeking information on three people who were in the grounds of the US diplomatic mission in Benghazi, Libya, when it was attacked on September 11.

The bureau has published photographs of the trio and said they may be able to provide information as officials continue to investigate the events of that night.

The blurry CCTV images show three different men walking the consulate grounds and carrying assault weapons.

"We need your help to solve this crime," the FBI said.

http://news.sky.com/story/1085782/benghazi-attack-fbi-seeks-three-men-at-scene

North Korea 'Plutonium' Reactor Almost Ready

New satellite images of North Korea suggest it is nearing completion of a reactor designed for generating electricity - but which will have the capability to produce plutonium.

US academics who visited the site at the Yongbyon nuclear complex in 2010 concluded the reactor was being built for electricity.

But analysts say that once complete the reactor will have a residual capability to produce weapons-grade plutonium.

http://news.sky.com/story/1085787/north-korea-reactor-could-produce-plutonium

Somali Leader: We Have Terrorists On The Run

Al Shabaab terrorists operating in Somalia have been "defeated as a fighting force" after decades of creating havoc, according to the country's president.

But President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud has warned that the extremists are an international network with links to al Qaeda and they still have the ability to mount attacks both inside Somalia and abroad.

The president is travelling to England next week to jointly chair an international conference with the British Prime Minister on Somalia's future.

http://news.sky.com/story/1085776/somali-president-says-terrorists-are-defeated

Cult Leader Ramon Castillo found hanged in the highlands city of Cuzco

A Chilean man accused of organising the ritual killing of a three-day-old boy has apparently committed suicide in an abandoned house in Peru, according to authorities.

Ramon Castillo, 36, was found hanged in the highlands city of Cuzco, General Javier Avalos, the regional police chief, told reporters.

The body was identified through fingerprints that Chile sent via Interpol. Astete said officials found two bus tickets for the Urubamba Valley in his pockets and were investigating whether he might have been travelling with someone else.

http://news.sky.com/story/1085801/cult-leader-who-burned-baby-commits-suicide

Kenneth Bae Sentenced To 15 Years compulsory Labour In North Korea

An American man has been sentenced to 15 years of compulsory labour in North Korea.

Kenneth Bae, 44, was arrested in North Korea on November 3 last year. He has been held in an undisclosed location without trial since then.

On Thursday morning, the North Korean State news agency, KCNA, issued a short statement announcing that Mr Bae had been tried and sentenced for "hostile acts" against the country.

http://news.sky.com/story/1085853/american-sentenced-to-labour-in-north-korea

Marcus Bebb-Jones Jailed For Wife's Murder

A British professional poker player has been jailed for 20 years for killing his wife in America in the "heat of passion".

Marcus Bebb-Jones had denied killing his wife Sabrina in 1997, but pleaded guilty earlier this year under an agreement that meant he avoided a trial on a first-degree murder charge.

The couple were running the Melrose Hotel in Grand Junction, Colorado, when Mrs Bebb-Jones disappeared in September 1997.

http://news.sky.com/story/1085867/british-poker-player-jailed-for-wifes-murder

4.3 Magnitude Earthquake NEAR THE NORTH COAST OF COLOMBIA - 2nd May 2013

Magnitude
4.3
Date-Time
Thursday, May 02, 2013 at 03:42:21 UTC
Wednesday, May 01, 2013 at 10:42:21 PM at epicenter
Time of Earthquake in other Time Zones
Location
11.540°N, 73.139°W
Depth
56.1 km (34.9 miles)
Region
NEAR THE NORTH COAST OF COLOMBIA
Distances
19 km (12 miles) W (261°) from Riohacha, Colombia

Bill Roache Charged With Rape

Coronation Street actor Bill Roache has been charged with two counts of raping a 15-year-old girl.

The 81-year-old actor, who has played Ken Barlow in the ITV soap since it began in 1960, is accused of twice raping the girl in 1967.

http://news.sky.com/story/1085727/bill-roache-corrie-actor-charged-with-rape

Kris Kross Rapper Chris 'Mac Daddy' Kelly Dies

Chris Kelly, known as one half of the 1990s US rap duo Kris Kross, has died at the age of 34 in what police say may have been a drug overdose.

Police were called to Kelly's home in south Atlanta at around 4:30pm (local time) on Wednesday.

He was taken to the south campus of the Atlanta Medical Centre and pronounced dead around 5pm.

http://news.sky.com/story/1085873/kris-kross-rapper-chris-mac-daddy-kelly-dies

4.5 Magnitude Earthquake SOUTHERN IRAN - 2nd May 2013

Magnitude
4.5
Date-Time
Thursday, May 02, 2013 at 00:35:42 UTC
Thursday, May 02, 2013 at 04:05:42 AM at epicenter
Location
28.264°N, 51.742°E
Depth
10 km (6.2 miles)
Region
SOUTHERN IRAN
Distances
119 km (74 miles) SE (132°) from Bushehr, Iran

5.4 Magnitude Earthquake OFF THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN - 1st May 2013

Magnitude
5.4
Date-Time
Wednesday, May 01, 2013 at 23:13:05 UTC
Thursday, May 02, 2013 at 08:13:05 AM at epicenter
Location
34.865°N, 141.710°E
Depth
9 km (5.6 miles)
Region
OFF THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN
Distances
199 km (124 miles) ESE (116°) from TOKYO, Japan

4.1 Magnitude Earthquake SOUTHERN IRAN - 1st May 2013

Magnitude
4.1
Date-Time
Wednesday, May 01, 2013 at 22:18:35 UTC
Thursday, May 02, 2013 at 01:48:35 AM at epicenter
Location
27.628°N, 60.712°E
Depth
49 km (30.4 miles)
Region
SOUTHEASTERN IRAN
Distances
213 km (132 miles) S (185°) from Zahedan, Iran