University employee, wife murdered in Kanpur campus

LUCKNOW – The bodies of an agricultural university employee and his wife were found Thursday in the campus in Uttar Pradesh’s Kanpur district, police said.

The bodies of Durga Prasad, 55, and his wife Sharda, 50, were found Thursday outside the employees’ quarters situated in the premises of the Chandra Shekhar Azad Agriculture University.
“Prima facie, … Read this article on Gaea Times at : University employee, wife murdered in Kanpur campus.

‘Probe Goa home minister’s son in Scarlett case’

PANAJI – Goa Home Minister Ravi Naik’s son Roy should be probed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in the death of British teenager Scarlett Keeling, her mother Fiona Mackeown said here Thursday.

Speaking to reporters, Mackeown, who is in Goa to depose before a trial court in connection with her daughter’s culpable … Read more »»».

US judicial panel asked to consolidate more than 300 oil spill lawsuits before single court

US panel asked to consolidate oil spill lawsuits

BOISE, Idaho – More than 2,000 miles from the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, a federal judicial panel in Idaho is being asked to consolidate more than 300 spill-related lawsuits against BP and other companies before a single court.
The U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation holds a hearing …. Source  : US judicial panel asked to consolidate more than 300 oil spill lawsuits before single court.

Pakistan plane crash: 58 bodies identified, DNA tests on others

ISLAMABAD – Only 58 bodies of the 152 killed when an Airbus A-321 crashed in the Margalla Hills near this Pakistani capital have been identified, officials said Thursday, adding that DNA tests would be carried out on the others.

The bodies that could be identified have been handed over to family members, Geo News reported …. Source article on Gaea Times at  : Pakistan plane crash: 58 bodies identified, DNA tests on others.

Heavy rains trigger floods, killing 28 in northwest Pakistan; dozens still missing

Rivers burst, floods kill at least 28 in Pakistan

PESHAWAR, Pakistan – Rivers burst their banks during monsoon rains in Pakistan this week, washing away streets, battering a dam and killing at least 28 people in the northwest, officials said Thursday.
In the Peshawar area, two elderly men clung to a fence post and each other as … Original source on Gaea Times at : Heavy rains trigger floods, killing 28 in northwest Pakistan; dozens still missing.

Cooler temperatures, calmer winds help firefighters gain ground on California fires

Mother Nature helping firefighters battle Cal fire

TEHACHAPI, Calif. – Cooler temperatures and calmer winds helped firefighters in their battle against the most destructive of two big wildfires that have burned homes and forced hundreds of people to evacuate mountain communities on the edge of the Mojave Desert and in the southern Sierra Nevada.
A 1,436-acre blaze … Original source on Gaea Times at : Cooler temperatures, calmer winds help firefighters gain ground on California fires.

No request from Kerala to ban PFI: Chidambaram

NEW DELHI – The central government has not received any request from Kerala on banning radical Islamic outfit Popular Front of India (PFI), Home Minister P. Chidambaram said here Thursday.

“I’ve not got anything,” Chidambaram told IANS outside parliament, when asked whether the state government had requested the central government to ban the PFI.
Suspected activists …. Source article  : No request from Kerala to ban PFI: Chidambaram.

EPA says 1 million gallons of oil may have spilled in Mich. river, governor criticizes cleanup

EPA: 1M gallons of oil may be in Mich. river
BATTLE CREEK, Mich. – Federal officials now estimate that more than 1 million gallons of oil may have spilled into a major river in southern Michigan, and the governor is sharply criticizing clean-up efforts as “wholly inadequate.”
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency released the update … Original source on Gaea Times at : EPA says 1 million gallons of oil may have spilled in Mich. river, governor criticizes cleanup.

Gulf spill lacks transformational punch of 1969 Santa Barbara oil spill

Gulf spill lacks societal punch of Santa Barbara
WASHINGTON – In 1969, Sen. Gaylord Nelson was so moved after seeing the devastation of an oil spill off the California coast near Santa Barbara that he called for a national teach-in on the environment. The resulting “Earth Day” the following year kick-started the modern environmental … Read more : Gulf spill lacks transformational punch of 1969 Santa Barbara oil spill.

Coast Guard may start redeploying cleanup resources once Gulf well is killed permanently

Gulf cleanup will change once oil stops for good

NEW ORLEANS – The government’s point man for the Gulf spill plans to meet with coastal parish officials Thursday to talk about what’s next now that the oil has stopped flowing.
Retired Coast Guard Adm. Thad Allen said crews are having trouble finding patches of the crude that …. Source article  : Coast Guard may start redeploying cleanup resources once Gulf well is killed permanently.

Tour boat catches fire and sinks in Mediterranean, leaving 3 injured and 1 missing

Tour boat sinks off Turkey, Spaniard missing

ANKARA, Turkey – A Spanish tourist is missing at sea after a Turkish tour boat caught fire and sank in the Mediterranean.
Turkish officials say 18 tourists and five crew jumped into the water after flames engulfed the Kayhan-9 on its way from the Turkish resort of Marmaris to Fethiye …. Source  : Tour boat catches fire and sinks in Mediterranean, leaving 3 injured and 1 missing.

Al-Qaida-linked group claims responsibility for bombing of Al-Arabiya TV in Baghdad

Al-Qaida-linked group claims TV bombing in Baghdad

BAGHDAD – An al-Qaida-linked group claimed responsibility Thursday for a bombing earlier this week targeting the Baghdad offices of a pan-Arab television station, describing the deadly attack that killed six people as a victory against a “corrupt channel.”
A statement posted on the website of the Islamic State of Iraq … Read : Al-Qaida-linked group claims responsibility for bombing of Al-Arabiya TV in Baghdad.

Minibus driven by suicide bomber explodes near Saddam’s hometown, killing 4 Iraqi soldiers

Minibus bomb hits Iraqi base, killing 4 soldiers

BAGHDAD – Iraqi police say a suicide attacker has driven a bomb-laden minibus into the entrance of an Iraqi army base near Saddam Hussein’s hometown, setting off an explosion that killed four soldiers and wounded 10 others.
Dr. Samir Issa said two of the soldiers died while they were …. Original article on Gaea Times at  : Minibus driven by suicide bomber explodes near Saddam’s hometown, killing 4 Iraqi soldiers.

Man assaulted for listening to rap music

NEW YORK – In an apparent case of racial abuse, a 22-year-old white man was assaulted by a black teenager because he was listening to rap music.

Joshuah Lamb, 14, allegedly punched David McKnight in Palm Bay, Florida, because he did not think white people should listen to that type of music, the Herald Sun reported. … Read this article on Gaea Times at : Man assaulted for listening to rap music.

CBI summons IPS officer Johri in Sohrabuddin case

GANDHINAGAR – The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) Thursday summoned Geetha Johri, the first woman IPS officer of Gujarat, by Aug 10 for questioning in connection with the 2005 killing of Sohrabuddin Sheikh in a staged shootout.

Johri was a part of the Supreme Court-appointed Special Investigation Team (SIT) headed by R.K. Raghavan to probe the …. Read the original article  : here.

Australian teacher avoids jail due to cancer

MELBOURNE – A teacher at a school for deaf in Melbourne who allegedly made students expose themselves in class has avoided prison because he has cancer.

The unnamed man, 55, asked students to expose their genitalia in class in the 1970s, the Victorian county court heard Thursday, Australian news agency AAP reported.
He was found guilty … Read more : Australian teacher avoids jail due to cancer.

Rescue workers fight heavy rain in search for dead, clues in Pakistan’s worst ever plane crash

Relatives search for corpses at Pakistan air crash

ISLAMABAD – Relatives desperate to find the bodies of their loved ones joined emergency teams battling thick mud, rain and slippery hillsides on Thursday at the scene of Pakistan’s worst-ever plane crash.
The Airbus A321 operated by local carrier Airblue crashed into hills overlooking the country’s capital, Islamabad, during …. Original source  : Rescue workers fight heavy rain in search for dead, clues in Pakistan’s worst ever plane crash.

Tucson News: 3 Dead In Helicopter Crash

TUCSON (GaeaTimes.com)- All three people aboard in a medical helicopter that crashed on the north side of Tucson, Arizona have died. The helicopter that was owned by the Colorado-based Air Methods was carrying no patients at the time of the crash. However, the crash has led to the death of a flight nurse and …. Source article  : Tucson News: 3 Dead In Helicopter Crash.

Close shave for JetLite flight in Lucknow

LUCKNOW – A New Delhi-bound JetLite flight with 140 passengers on board had a narrow escape here Thursday after a bird hit just as it was about to take-off, an official said.

“The plane was hit by the bird on the runway itself when it was about to take-off from the Chaudhary Charan Singh Airport,” Airport … Read the original article on Gaea Times at : Close shave for JetLite flight in Lucknow.

Cargo plane crashes at military base in Anchorage, Alaska, with 4 on board; no word on deaths

Cargo plane crashes at Alaska base; 4 on board

ELMENDORF AIR FORCE BASE, Alaska – A board of military officers plans to investigate a plane crash that witnesses say sent a fireball rising hundreds of feet over an Air Force base near downtown Anchorage.
The plane was on a local training run Wednesday when it crashed with …. Original article on Gaea Times at  : Cargo plane crashes at military base in Anchorage, Alaska, with 4 on board; no word on deaths.