US Air Force says a drone crashed on takeoff in southern Afghanistan

US military: Drone crashes in southern Afghanistan

KABUL – The U.S. Air Force says a remote-piloted drone crashed on takeoff in southern Afghanistan on Monday.
The U.S. Air Forces Central Command said the aircraft – an MQ-1 Predator – was not shot down by hostile fire. An air force statement released Tuesday said there were no reports … Original article on : US Air Force says a drone crashed on takeoff in southern Afghanistan.

Damage from storm may snarl commutes in Northeast as region copes with flooding, power outages

Damage from storm may snarl commutes in Northeast

EGG HARBOR CITY, N.J. – A torrential rainstorm that brought heavy winds to the Northeast is weakening as it moves north, but the damage and flooding left in its wake might keep some people from their homes for days and cause headaches for Monday’s commute.
At least seven people … Original article on : Damage from storm may snarl commutes in Northeast as region copes with flooding, power outages.

Speeding Scorpio runs down two pilgrims

AGRA – Two pilgrims from Agra on their way to an annual fair in Rajasthan’s Karauli district were crushed to death by a speeding Scorpio on the highway, police said Monday. In another incident, half a dozen pilgrims from this city were injured in a gas cylinder explosion that burnt 50 shops near the fair … Read more >>.

Six of family hurt in gas leak fire, three critical

NEW DELHI – Six people of a family sustained serious burn injuries Monday when a fire broke out in their east Delhi house due to a gas leak, fire department officials said.

Arvind Verma, 45, his wife Shobha, 40 and their four children were inside their Shastri Park house when the fire caused by …. Original article  : Six of family hurt in gas leak fire, three critical.

Five-year-old sex offender in New Zealand

AUCKLAND – A five-year-old boy and two six-year-olds were amongst the 12 children apprehended by New Zealand police for sexual assault last year, a media report said Monday.

Police did not give details, citing privacy issues.
The boys were among 716 children who were less than nine-years-old who were reprimanded in 2008-09 for offences ranging from … Read more »».

Spanish boat fights off pirates near Seychelles

Vitoria (Spain), March 15 (IANS/EFE) The security team aboard the Txori Argi, a Spanish fishing boat, have fought off a group of pirates who attacked the vessel off the Seychelles Islands, but no one was injured in the incident, the shipowner said.

The crew, made up of about 30 sailors and four security officers, Sunday spotted …. Source article on Gaea Times at  : Spanish boat fights off pirates near Seychelles.

Brazil’s oldest prison razed to make way for housing

Rio de Janeiro, March 15 (IANS/EFE) The Frei Caneca Penitentiary Complex, Brazil’s oldest prison built in 1850, has been demolished to make way for the construction of 2,500 public housing units, the official Agencia Brasil news agency reported.

The prison’s eight cellblocks were imploded in 18 seconds Saturday in Rio de Janeiro, where the facility was … Read the original article on Gaea Times at : Brazil’s oldest prison razed to make way for housing.

‘Our Girls’: A Tennessee church reaches out to Haitian children after the quake

Tennessee church rushes to aid Haitian girls

EDITOR’S NOTE – They were “our girls” – the children of a Haitian orphanage, taken to heart by a Tennessee church. But then an earthquake struck, and the congregation sprang to action. The second of two parts.
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) – “It has been a very long and deadly night …. Read the original article  : ‘Our Girls’: A Tennessee church reaches out to Haitian children after the quake.

26 killed as bus falls over bridge

JAIPUR – Twenty six people, including 11 women, were killed and 34 injured early Monday when a bus fell over a bridge into a river in Rajasthan’s Sawai Madhopur district, police said.

The bus was carrying about 60 students and staff of Mother India Teacher Training College, Jhalawar.
The bus was on its way back … Read the original article on Gaea Times at : 26 killed as bus falls over bridge.

Fiji braces as tropical cyclone threatens to sideswipe main islands

Fiji braces as major tropical cyclone bears down

SUVA, Fiji – Cyclone Tomas battered island groups off Fiji’s northern coast Monday, causing flooding, pounding seas and one death, but officials said the storm likely would only sideswipe the main islands of the South Pacific nation.
Some 6,000 residents fled to cyclone shelters ahead of the storm, which …. Source article  : Fiji braces as tropical cyclone threatens to sideswipe main islands.

Blackout leaves millions of Chileans in the dark, frays nerves already raw from Feb. quake

Blackout leaves millions of Chileans in darkness

SANTIAGO, Chile – A power failure plunged nearly the entire Chilean population into darkness Sunday night, rattling a country already anxious after last month’s 8.8-magnitude quake.
The outage struck around nightfall and affected a 1,200-mile (2,000-kilometer) stretch from Taltal in the north to Chiloe in the south, according to the … Read the original article on Gaea Times at : Blackout leaves millions of Chileans in the dark, frays nerves already raw from Feb. quake.

Sean Penn pitches in as full-time aid worker at camp for survivors of Haiti’s earthquake

Penn spends serious time helping post-quake Haiti

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti – Look closely at the foreigners buzzing around a hospital tent above one of Haiti’s biggest earthquake-refugee camps and a face stands out: There, carrying the box of supplies, that’s Sean Penn.
Now he’s guiding a Haitian girl to waiting doctors. Now he’s lobbying the chief of U.N. … Read more >>>.

NJ town house kitchen fire kills 2 people in upstairs master bedroom a day after they moved in

2 people die in NJ home fire a day after moving in

FORT LEE, N.J. – Two people who’d moved into a northern New Jersey town house a day earlier have died in a fire that started in their kitchen and spread upstairs.
Police say 52-year-old Eliot C. Nisenbaum and 55-year-old Ronald Sandberg were found Saturday night …. Read the original article  : NJ town house kitchen fire kills 2 people in upstairs master bedroom a day after they moved in.

Search resumes after avalanche hits snowmobile rally in Canadian Rockies; 2 dead

Two snowmobilers dead in Canadian avalanche

REVELSTOKE, British Columbia – An avalanche that killed two people at an informal snowmobile rally in Canada’s Rocky Mountains may have been triggered by three daredevil sledders who apparently unleashed a deadly wall of snow on up to 200 people below, witnesses said Sunday.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police said an … Read more : Search resumes after avalanche hits snowmobile rally in Canadian Rockies; 2 dead.

N. Dakota, Minnesota residents step up sandbagging as Red River rising faster than expected

Red River rising faster than expected in ND, Minn.
FARGO, N.D. – North Dakota and Minnesota residents who fought off record flooding a year ago in a frantic one-week sandbagging effort were jolted Sunday by the prospect of doing it over again.
The latest flood forecast from the National Weather Service shows the river … Read more »».

Northeast rainstorm, strong winds blamed for 6 deaths, power outages

Northeast wind-driven rain blamed for 6 deaths

EGG HARBOR CITY, N.J. – The weekend’s brutal Northeast rainstorm is being blamed for the deaths of at least six people.
Connecticut police say a woman died when a falling tree struck her as she was walking late Saturday in Greenwich (GREN’-ich).
Strong winds and heavy rains uprooted trees, downed power …. Source  : Gaea News Network.

Andretti escapes injuries after scary accident at IndyCar season opener in Brazil

Andretti uninjured after scary accident in Brazil

SAO PAULO – Marco Andretti escaped injury after being involved in a scary accident at the start of the Sao Paulo Indy 300 on Sunday.
The car of Brazil’s Mario Moraes span and crashed on the back of Andretti’s slowing car as they approached the first chicane after the start.
Moraes’ … Read more >>>.

4 people on 2 motorcycles killed in western Florida after collision with pickup truck

4 on 2 motorcycles killed in Fla. collision

BUSHNELL, Fla. – Four people on two motorcycles have been killed in western Florida after a pickup truck struck both bikes.
All four motorcyclists were ejected and one victim was thrown through the windshield of another truck.
According to the Florida Highway Patrol, a truck driven by 45-year-old Paul Sermons … Read the original article on Gaea Times at : 4 people on 2 motorcycles killed in western Florida after collision with pickup truck.

33 killed in Kazakhstan flood

Astana, March 15 (IANS/RIA Novosti) Rescuers have found 33 bodies in southern Kazakhstan, where heavy rains swept away two dams last week, causing massive flooding, authorities said.

Heavy precipitation and melting snows caused a dam to give way at Zhylbulak village, with a population of 820 people. Another dam breached in Kyzyl-Agash village, the local …. Read the original article  : here.

Iraq PM edges ahead of rival in partial election count, holds narrow lead over chief rival

Iraqi PM holds slim lead in partial election tally

BAGHDAD – Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki edged ahead Sunday in a tight race in the country’s parliamentary elections after partial results from all of Iraq’s 18 provinces showed his bloc leading in seven – two more than his chief rival.
The early tally strengthens al-Maliki’s chances of retaining …. Source  : Gaea News Network.