Lightning kills 20 in Bihar

PATNA – At least 20 people, including women and children, have been killed by lightning across Bihar since Saturday, an official said.

“In the last 24 hours, at least 20 people, including three children and two women, have been killed by bolts of lightning across Bihar,” an official of the state Disaster Management Department said.
Over … Read more : Lightning kills 20 in Bihar.

Inter-state gang of vehicle lifters busted, two held

MOHALI – A gang of vehicle lifters active in Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh was busted with the arrest of two people from Kharar town in Punjab’s Mohali district, police said Sunday.

Police also recovered seven stolen cars — one Bolero jeep, one Innova car, three Indigo cars and two Zen cars — worth … Original article on : Inter-state gang of vehicle lifters busted, two held.

G-20 protests in Canada against police excesses

TORONTO – Thousands of demonstrators took to the streets in major Canadian cities to demand an inquiry into police excesses during the G-20 summit here June 26-27. In the largest mass arrest in Canadian history, more than 1,000 people were arrested in the city under secret emergency powers given to security forces.

Hundreds of protesters …. Source  : Gaea News Network.

Train robbers strike again in Andhra Pradesh

HYDERABAD – Train robberies are continuing unabated in Andhra Pradesh with robbers targeting passengers of another train late Saturday night and snatching gold ornaments, with the railway police failing to act quickly.

Police said robbers looted about 80 grams of gold ornaments from passengers on the Chennai-Kakinada Circar Express near Ulavapadu in Prakasam district around midnight. … Read : Train robbers strike again in Andhra Pradesh.

6 months after Haiti quake, land disputes grind recovery to a near-standstill

Haiti recovery bogged down 6 months after quake
CORAIL-CESSELESSE, Haiti – The sun was beating down on the rocky cactus plain when men with machetes came for Menmen Villase, nine months pregnant, shoved her onto her bulging stomach and sliced up the plastic tarp that sheltered her and her four children.
The family was one … Read more >>.

Argentine female prisons in inhuman condition

Buenos Aires, July 11 (IANS/EFE) Prisons for female convicts in Argentina are in an “inhuman” condition and inmates are being subjected to ill-treatment and torture, a report by over a dozen human rights organisations said.

According to the document, these conditions constitute a “scenario of systematic violations of human rights” and are totally against the UN …. Source article on Gaea Times at  : Argentine female prisons in inhuman condition.

Mexican air force helicopter goes down in western state, 3 dead; 2nd military crash in a month

Mexican air force helicopter crashes; 3 dead

MEXICO CITY – Mexican officials say an air force helicopter has crashed in the western state of Jalisco, killing three military personnel on board.
The Defense Department reports that the Bell 206 aircraft originated in Michoacan state and went down about 60 miles (100 kilometers) southeast of the Guadalajara airport.
It …. Source  : Mexican air force helicopter goes down in western state, 3 dead; 2nd military crash in a month.

Refugees die in boat accident off Spanish coast

GRANADA – Five African refugees including two babies died in a boat accident about 80 km south of Motril on the southern Spanish coast, officials said Saturday evening.

The boat, which foundered at sea, was carrying 40 passengers and was thought to have come from Morocco.
The boat started rocking as the coast guard came near … Read : Refugees die in boat accident off Spanish coast.

Red tape, negotiations mean aid money to shore up Haiti hospital just now arriving

Haiti hospital woes show challenges of recovery
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti – It was a simple problem with a novel solution.
Doctors, nurses and technicians at Haiti’s most important hospital had not been paid since before the earthquake – causing strikes and staffing shortages, and turning the facility into a dangerously inefficient, rat-infested mess. So …. Original article  : Red tape, negotiations mean aid money to shore up Haiti hospital just now arriving.

AP Interview: Bill Clinton frustrated by slow donors, but hopeful for Haiti’s recovery

Clinton anxious, but hopeful over Haiti recovery
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti – Former U.S. President Bill Clinton expressed frustration Saturday over the slow pace of Haiti’s earthquake recovery, but said the country will escape its difficulties if it can become self-sufficient.
In a phone interview with The Associated Press ahead of the six-month anniversary of the Jan. … Read more : AP Interview: Bill Clinton frustrated by slow donors, but hopeful for Haiti’s recovery.

Gushing Gulf well’s cap is removed in short-term trade-off to start capturing all the oil

Oil unleashed temporarily in attempt to contain it

NEW ORLEANS – Hundreds of thousands of gallons of oil are being allowed to spew into the fouled waters of the Gulf of Mexico while BP engineers prepare to install a new containment system they hope will catch it all in the coming days.
There’s no guarantee for such …. Source  : Gaea News Network.

2 UGA football players charged with alcohol offenses after DUI arrest brings down AD

UGA football players arrested for alcohol offenses

ATLANTA – Two football players for the University of Georgia were jailed early Saturday morning on alcohol-related charges less than a week after an embarrassing drunken driving arrest prompted the university’s athletic director to resign.
Dontavius Jackson, listed as a sophomore tailback, and sophomore split end Tavarres King were in … Read : 2 UGA football players charged with alcohol offenses after DUI arrest brings down AD.

‘Barefoot Bandit’ leaves few tracks in Bahamas; police say it’s been days since last sighting

Bahamas trail grows cold for ‘Barefoot Bandit’

GOVERNOR’S HARBOUR, Bahamas – The trail of a teenage U.S. fugitive suspected of stealing cars, boats and airplanes in his flight from the law grew cold Saturday as police acknowledged that it’s been days since they’ve had any credible sightings of the elusive “Barefoot Bandit.”
Authorities searching for Colton Harris-Moore …. Source article  : ‘Barefoot Bandit’ leaves few tracks in Bahamas; police say it’s been days since last sighting.

6 US troops, 12 Afghans die in attacks as operations in Taliban strongholds meet resistance

Surge of attacks kills 6 US troops, 12 Afghans

KABUL, Afghanistan – A wave of attacks killed six U.S. troops and at least a dozen civilians in Afghanistan’s volatile south and east, as American reinforcements moving into Taliban-dominated areas face up to the fierce resistance they expected.
Increased U.S.-led military operations in the southern province of Kandahar …. Source  : Gaea News Network.

Friends, officials gather to remember 2 young Hungarians who died in Philly duck boat crash

2 Hungarian boat crash victims remembered in Pa.

PHILADELPHIA – Friends silently and solemnly dropped white roses into the Delaware River on Saturday in memory of the two Hungarian students who died when the amphibious tourist boat they were riding was struck by a barge and sank.
City officials, religious leaders and Hungarian diplomats joined the group [..] Read the original article: here.

BP: Gulf well cap removed, oil gushes freely as robots begin work to place tighter dome

BP: Cap on gushing well removed, oil flows freely

NEW ORLEANS – Robotic submarines removed the cap from the gushing well in the Gulf of Mexico on Saturday, beginning a period of at least two days when oil will flow freely into the sea.
It’s the first step in placing a tighter dome that is supposed to …. Source article  : BP: Gulf well cap removed, oil gushes freely as robots begin work to place tighter dome.

Russian spy calls family from Britain after swap

MOSCOW/WASHINGTON – Russian nuclear expert Igor Sutyagin contacted his family by telephone Saturday from Britain, a day after participating in a spectacular spy swap between Russia and the US, the Interfax news agency reported.

The 45-year-old is staying in a small town near London, shielded from the public, his brother Dmitry was quoted as saying.
Sutyagin …. Source  : Russian spy calls family from Britain after swap.

Toll in China floods reaches 50

BEIJING – At least 50 people have died while 15 are missing following floods, landslides and mud flows triggered by days of torrential rains in central and southern China, the ministry of civil affairs said Saturday.

Over 17.2 million people in nine provinces have been affected by the floods while over 597,000 people have been …. Source  : Toll in China floods reaches 50.

Four Maoists held in Chhattisgarh

RAIPUR – Four Maoists were arrested Saturday in Chhattisgarh’s Narayanpur district, where the guerrillas had slaughtered 27 security personnel June 29, police said.

The arrests were made from the Edka forested hamlet, some 360 km south of capital Raipur, Superintendent of Police Rahul Bhagat told reporters at Narayanpur town, the headquarters of the district. … Read this article on Gaea Times at : Four Maoists held in Chhattisgarh.

As death toll from tribal region bombings’ hits 102, Pakistanis search for relatives in rubble

Pakistan bomb death toll hits 102, worst this year

YAKAGHUND, Pakistan – As Adnan Khan sifted through the rubble in this northwest Pakistani village Saturday, his grief mingled with a sense of disbelief. Of the 102 people killed by a pair of suicide bombers here the day before, 10 were his relatives. Aunts, uncles, cousins – … Read more »»».