Obama starts week with focus on Gulf oil spill, Mideast

Obama focused on oil spill, Mideast
WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama starts the week dealing with two seemingly intractable issues – the Gulf oil spill and the Middle East.

Obama will participate in a daily briefing call Monday with Gulf Coast governors on the BP oil spill before welcoming Prime Minister Saad Hariri of Lebanon to the … Read this article on Gaea Times at : Obama starts week with focus on Gulf oil spill, Mideast.

Royal filmed seeking bribe, Britain stunned

LONDON – Britons were shocked after the Duchess of York, Sarah Ferguson, was caught on tape demanding 500,000 pounds to introduce an undercover reporter masquerading as an Indian businessman to her ex-husband Prince Andrew, a British trade envoy.

The cash-for-access scandal was a 500,000-pound deal to introduce the reporter posing as an Indian businessman to Andrew … Read more »»».

Uncertainty, anger grows as Gulf of Mexico oil spill gets bigger, coastline becomes dirtier

Questions, uncertainty grow along with Gulf spill

BARATARIA BAY, La. – As the Gulf of Mexico oil spill seeps deeper into the Louisiana marshes, the fragile grasses get difficult to clean, and the rescue efforts of wildlife like the brown pelican become harder. The biggest looming uncertainty of all – when will BP be able stop …. Source article  : Uncertainty, anger grows as Gulf of Mexico oil spill gets bigger, coastline becomes dirtier.

Sorry, says British royal after seeking bribe

LONDON – The Duchess of York, Sarah Ferguson, has apologised after she was filmed demanding 500,000 pounds to introduce an undercover reporter posing as an Indian businessman to her ex-husband Prince Andrew, who is a British trade envoy.

Ferguson said she was “devastated” and “deeply regretful” over the cash-for-access scandal. She accepted 40,000 dollars cash deposit … Original article on : Sorry, says British royal after seeking bribe.

Rape myths discussed by British kids

LONDON – Rape myths like “women enjoy rape” and “women ask for it by wearing short skirts” are being debated by children as young as 11 as part of a campaign in Britain to stop violence against women.

Rape Crisis, a charity, is distributing teaching materials that dwells upon subjects like domestic violence, female genital mutilation, …. Source article  : Rape myths discussed by British kids.

UN-sponsored sitcom aims to entertain, educate thousands living in dangerous earthquake camps

Sitcom takes aim at danger, boredom in Haiti camps

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti – Muddy water flows under the tent and pools around the electric studio lights. Actors sitting at the mock-kitchen table lift their feet away from a very real, growing flood.
This is the set of Haiti’s new comedy soap opera, “Under the Sky,” filmed in the …. Source article  : UN-sponsored sitcom aims to entertain, educate thousands living in dangerous earthquake camps.

Official: Human error possible cause of Air India Boeing crash killing 158 people over weekend

Human error possible cause of Indian plane crash

MANGALORE, India – India’s civil aviation minister said Monday that a human error might have caused the crash of an Air India Boeing 737-800 plane that killed 158 people over the weekend.
Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel told the CNN-IBN television news channel said weather conditions and other factors … Original article on : Official: Human error possible cause of Air India Boeing crash killing 158 people over weekend.

Search continues for plane’s digital flight data recorder

MANGALORE – Teams of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) and police Monday resumed their search for the digital flight data recorder, a part of the black box, of the Air India Express plane that crashed here Saturday, killing 158 people.

The teams had late Sunday recovered the cockpit voice recorder (CVR) and a part [..] Read the original article: here.

Bus runs over seven, four killed

Lucknow, May (24) At least four people were killed and three injured critically when a bus ran over them in Uttar Pradesh’s Gonda district Monday, police said.

The accident took place in the morning when the state-owned transport corporation bus spun out of control in Balpur area, some 150 km from here, and ran over … Read the original article on Gaea Times at : Bus runs over seven, four killed.

Australian gets jail term for attacking Indian taxi driver

MELBOURNE – An Australian, who viciously assaulted an Indian taxi driver because he hated Indians, was Monday sentenced to a prison term by a court here.

The 23-year-old Indian victim was a student and part-time taxi driver. He suffered a fractured skull, nose and cheekbone in the attack early in the morning Feb 16 two years …. Source  : Australian gets jail term for attacking Indian taxi driver.

AP IMPACT: Documents show faulty cement jobs long known as industry problem on offshore rigs

AP IMPACT: Bad cement jobs plague offshore rigs

The tricky process of sealing an offshore oil well with cement – suspected as a major contributor to the Gulf of Mexico disaster – has failed dozens of times in the past, according to an Associated Press investigation.
Yet federal regulators give drillers a free hand in this crucial …. Source article  : AP IMPACT: Documents show faulty cement jobs long known as industry problem on offshore rigs.

Pediatricians group no longer opposes swim lessons for toddlers in light of new evidence

Swim lessons for toddlers get doctors’ approval

CHICAGO – The nation’s largest pediatricians group is relaxing its stance against swimming lessons for children younger than 4.
In the past, the American Academy of Pediatrics has said swim classes might give toddlers and parents a false sense of security. Now the group says it’s fine to enroll children …. Source article  : Pediatricians group no longer opposes swim lessons for toddlers in light of new evidence.

Bus collision kills at least 10, injures 43 in southern China

Buses collide, killing 10 in China
BEIJING – A head-on collision between two buses in southern China killed 10 people and injured an additional 43 early Monday in the second major bus accident in two days.

The buses, one carrying 55 people and the other carrying 28, collided on a highway in Hechi city in Guangxi province, … Read more >>.

Oceanos Cruise Ship Sinking

Los Angeles (GaeaTimes.com) MTS Oceanos cruise ship sank off South Africa’s eastern coast on Aug 4, 1991 and a documentary of this incident was aired by Dateline NBC tonight. Here are some details of the ship and the incident that you might want to know.

The ship was launched in 1952 and was known as …. Read the original article  : Oceanos Cruise Ship Sinking.

SKorea’s Lee says NKorea must pay for ‘brutality,’ will take North to Security Council

Lee: NKorea must pay for torpedo attack on warship
SEOUL, South Korea – South Korea’s president said Monday his nation will no longer tolerate North Korea’s “brutality” and said the regime would pay for a surprise torpedo attack that killed 46 South Korean sailors.
President Lee Myung-bak vowed to … Read more : SKorea’s Lee says NKorea must pay for ‘brutality,’ will take North to Security Council.

China chasing embezzled money in New Zealand

AUCKLAND – China has been trying to trace millions of dollars believed to have been illegally transferred to New Zealand by a Chinese man convicted of embezzlement.

Chinese authorities are trying to retrieve money and assets invested in New Zealand as part of a “trans-national money laundering scheme” run by Liu Guiting, a former head of …. Read the original article  : China chasing embezzled money in New Zealand.

Moderate quake hits Indonesia

JAKARTA – A moderate earthquake measuring 5.0 on the Richter scale struck eastern parts of Indonesia Monday, the Meteorology and Geophysics Agency said.

The quake hit the country at 01.15 a.m. Jakarta time Monday (1815 GMT Sunday) with its epicentre at Saumlaki, at a depth at 10 km, Xinhua reported.
There was no report of any … Read : Moderate quake hits Indonesia.

Oil soaks coastal marshes, birds as Gulf spill grows; BP says tube not as effective as before

Oil soaks coastal marshes, birds as spill grows
BARATARIA BAY, La. – As officials approached to survey the damage the Gulf oil spill caused in coastal marshes, some brown pelicans couldn’t fly away Sunday. All they could do was hobble.
Several pelicans were coated in oil on Barataria Bay off Louisiana, their usually brown and [..] Read the original article: here.

Lee says Seoul will no longer tolerate NKorea ‘brutality,’ will take North to Security Council

Lee: SKorea will take North to UN Security Council
SEOUL, South Korea – South Korea’s president said Monday that the country will no longer tolerate North Korea’s “brutality” and said the regime would pay for the surprise torpedo attack that killed 46 sailors.
President Lee Myung-bak said Seoul will take Pyongyang to the …. Source  : Gaea News Network.

10 killed, 43 hurt in China bus collision

BEIJING – At least 10 people were killed and 43 injured when two buses collided head-on in China’s Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region in the wee hours Monday, police said.

The accident happened at 2 a.m. on a state highway in the autonomous region’s Hechi town, Xinhua reported citing a statement from the regional public security department. …. Original article on Gaea Times at  : 10 killed, 43 hurt in China bus collision.