Mystery shrouds Assam ultra leader’s arrest in Nepal

KATHMANDU – Mystery shrouds the reported arrest of an Indian militant leader in Nepal with the Nepali authorities denying any knowledge of it.

Nepal’s home ministry Monday denied having any information about the arrest of Niranjan Hojai, leader of Assam’s banned Dima Halim Daoga group.
Hojai, who belongs to the Jewel faction of the underground [..] Read the original article: here.

UN spotlight puts Maoist child soldier in peril

KATHMANDU – After rubbing shoulders with top UN officials in New York and basking in limelight, former Maoist child soldier Sita Tamang has to now pay the penalty for the indiscretion with her former comrades threatening her.

The 18-year-old, who was forcibly recruited by the Maoists five years ago when they were fighting to overthrow the … Read the original article on Gaea Times at : UN spotlight puts Maoist child soldier in peril.

Rooney, Ronaldo, now Messi _ soccer’s biggest stars misfire at World Cup

Rooney, Ronaldo, now Messi – stars misfire in Cup

CAPE TOWN, South Africa – Rooney, then Ronaldo and now Messi.
They were supposed to light up the World Cup after scoring a total of 114 goals for their clubs this season, but left South Africa with only one goal in 13 matches.
Wayne Rooney huffed and puffed but …. Read the original article  : Rooney, Ronaldo, now Messi _ soccer’s biggest stars misfire at World Cup.

Police patrol streets in China’s Xinjiang region on anniversary of ethnic rioting

Police patrol China region on riot anniversary

BEIJING – Teams of police patrolled streets in the western region of Xinjiang on Monday as stringent security was imposed for the one-year anniversary of China’s worst ethnic violence in decades.
An ethnic Han Chinese man who runs the Little West Gate Family Hotel in the regional capital of Urumqi … Read the original article on Gaea Times at : Police patrol streets in China’s Xinjiang region on anniversary of ethnic rioting.

Mexican president’s allies head to surprising wins in elections; turnout low in violent states

Mexican president’s allies lead in key elections

CIUDAD VICTORIA, Mexico – President Felipe Calderon’s allies headed toward some surprising victories in Mexican state elections marred by drug gang violence so severe only a trickle of citizens voted in one state where the leading gubernatorial candidate was slain.
The opposition Institutional Revolutionary Party, the former longtime ruling party, …. Source article  : Mexican president’s allies head to surprising wins in elections; turnout low in violent states.

Chinese court sentences US geologist tortured by state security agents to 8 years in jail

Chinese court sentences US geologist to 8 years

BEIJING – An American geologist detained and tortured by China’s state security agents over an oil industry database was jailed for eight years Monday in a troubling example of China’s rough justice system and the way the U.S. government handles cases against its citizens.
Beijing’s No. 1 Intermediate People’s …. Source  : Chinese court sentences US geologist tortured by state security agents to 8 years in jail.

Police say suspect in shooting death of 4-month-old in Los Angeles jail after Mexico capture

Police: Suspect in baby shooting in Calif. jail

LOS ANGELES – A suspect in the shooting death of a 4-month-old boy killed after a family baptism celebration was in a Los Angeles County jail Sunday, three days after he was captured in Mexico and 10 months after a warrant was issued for his arrest.
Ricardo Hernandez, 24, … Read the original article on Gaea Times at : Police say suspect in shooting death of 4-month-old in Los Angeles jail after Mexico capture.

Wash. mom now knows what happened to her son: Killers confess after 2 decades of frustration

After 20 years, mom now knows what happened to son

TACOMA, Wash. – Karen Hull has been waiting 20 years to find out what happened to her son Walter in 1990. She finally knows.
Two decades after the 16-year-old Puyallup boy disappeared, one of his former classmates has confessed to murder, police said. Troy Culver was charged … Original article on : Wash. mom now knows what happened to her son: Killers confess after 2 decades of frustration.

Drug-smuggling submarine seized in Ecuador jungle is quantum leap for traffickers, DEA says

DEA: Seized submarine quantum leap for narcos

BOGOTA, Colombia – A 100-foot (33-meter), twin-screw diesel submarine seized at a jungle shipyard in Ecuador marks a quantum, if anticipated, leap in drug-smuggling evasion technology, the top U.S. counter-drug official for the region said Sunday.
“It is the first fully functional, completely submersible submarine for transoceanic voyages that we …. Source article on Gaea Times at  : Drug-smuggling submarine seized in Ecuador jungle is quantum leap for traffickers, DEA says.

Seven arrested after firing in Lahore

LAHORE – Seven people were arrested in Lahore Sunday after a shooting incident near the Data Ganj Baksh shrine where two suicide bombers killed at least 42 people and injured 175 on July 1, police said.

Anti-terror police force conducted a search operation and raided hotels and markets near the shrine. They arrested seven men, including … Read more »».

Ex-hot dog champ can’t swallow being on sidelines, crashes event after Chestnut wins 4th title

Hotdoggin’ it: Ex-champ crashes NYC eating contest

NEW YORK – A Japanese eating champion who sat out this year’s Coney Island Fourth of July hot dog contest apparently couldn’t resist the temptation to hotdog afterward.
Competitive eater Joey “Jaws” Chestnut gobbled his way to a fourth consecutive championship Sunday. But he was suddenly upstaged by the surprise …. Source article on Gaea Times at  : Ex-hot dog champ can’t swallow being on sidelines, crashes event after Chestnut wins 4th title.

Person with knowledge of negotiations: Damon Evans out as Georgia’s athletic director

AP Source: Georgia AD Damon Evans is out
ATLANTA – A person familiar with the decision says Damon Evans is out as Georgia’s athletic director.

The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because no official announcement has been made. The person said Sunday it was unclear whether Evans resigned or was fired.
A conference … Read the original article on Gaea Times at : Person with knowledge of negotiations: Damon Evans out as Georgia’s athletic director.

New Mexico investigators say medical waste case involves 45 separate bodies

Officials: Medical waste case involves 45 bodies

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – The New Mexico Office of the Medical Investigator says 45 separate bodies are involved in a case that began in March when heads and other parts traced to an Albuquerque business were discovered at a Kansas medical waste facility.
Medical investigators say they have identified 127 of … Read more : New Mexico investigators say medical waste case involves 45 separate bodies.

Chestnut wins 4th hot dog eating title; Kobayashi taken into custody after jumping on stage

Ex-champ arrested at NYC hot dog event
NEW YORK – A Japanese eating champion who sat out this year’s Coney Island Fourth of July hot dog contest apparently couldn’t resist the temptation to hotdog afterward.

Competitive eater Joey “Jaws” Chestnut gobbled his way to a fourth consecutive championship Sunday. But he was suddenly upstaged by the surprise …. Source article  : Chestnut wins 4th hot dog eating title; Kobayashi taken into custody after jumping on stage.

Maoists kill three in Chhattisgarh

RAIPUR – Maoists hacked to death three civilians they termed “police informers” in Chhattisgarh’s Bijapur district Sunday, a police officer said.

The villagers were abducted by armed Maoists Saturday from a remote area of the district, Bhopalpattanam, 550 km south from here, where their bodies were found at a roadside Sunday. As per Maoists’ leaflets found … Read more : Maoists kill three in Chhattisgarh.

Detroit teen convicted in drug den slayings recants confession, seeks help from hit man

Teen convicted of murder seeks help from hit man

DETROIT – Davontae Sanford was just 14 when he told police he killed four people in a drug den, drawing their bodies like stick figures to show where the victims died – on the floor, a couch, a chair.
Sanford was sentenced to at least 38 years in …. Original article  : Detroit teen convicted in drug den slayings recants confession, seeks help from hit man.

Mystery deepens over identity of ‘journalist’ killed with Azad

HYDERABAD – The mystery over the identity of a “journalist” killed along with top Maoist leader Azad in the alleged exchange of fire with police Friday deepened with the the outlawed Communist Party of India-Maoist issuing contradictory statements.

While a statement sent to some newspapers, purportedly by the central committee of the outfit identifed Hemchandra Pandey … Read more »».

The monks’ progress: Fake diplomas, Africans in the basement and a no-tell motel monastery

‘Holy men’ blaze curious trail across country

CANFIELD, Ohio – The monks seemed to come out of nowhere.
They arrived from Cleveland last fall – Archbishop Timothy and Father Anthony and the cleric in charge, Metropolitan Stephen. In their billowing black robes, they were looking for a new base for the Syro Russian Orthodox Catholic Church.
It was …. Source  : The monks’ progress: Fake diplomas, Africans in the basement and a no-tell motel monastery.

Maoists blow up key bridge in Chhattisgarh

RAIPUR – Maoists blew up Sunday a bridge on a national highway connecting Chhattisgarh to Andhra Pradesh in the state’s worst insurgency-hit Dantewada district, police said.

The rebels blew up the bridge on national highway 221 by using an improvised explosive device (IED). The road is key link between Dantewada district and Andhra Pradesh’s Khammam district, … Read more »»».

AP Exclusive: North Korean defector killed for going back with 20 bibles to spread Gospel

AP Exclusive: NKorean killed for spreading Gospel

SEOUL, South Korea – Like most North Koreans, Son Jong Nam knew next to nothing about Christianity when he fled to neighboring China in 1998.
Eleven years later, he died back in North Korea in prison, reportedly tortured to death for trying to spread the Gospel in his native land, … Read more »»».