Maoist blast government office in Chhattisgarh

RAIPUR – Dozens of Maoist guerrillas Monday blew up a new tehsil (sub-district)office in Chhattisgarh’s Dantewada district, police said.

The rebels planted explosives in the building in Kuakonda area, some 450 km south of capital Raipur, and blasted it, an official at the police headquarters told IANS.
The building was completed only in June.
“It was …. Original source  : Maoist blast government office in Chhattisgarh.

Thailand’s Red Shirt protest leaders deny terrorism charges, as govt loosens emergency rule

Thailand’s Red Shirt leaders appear in court

BANGKOK – The leaders of Thailand’s anti-government protest movement appeared at a Bangkok court Monday and pleaded not guilty to terrorism charges, while the government lifted a state of emergency in three provinces but kept the decree in place in the capital.
Shackled at the ankles, 17 so-called Red Shirt … Read the original article on Gaea Times at : Thailand’s Red Shirt protest leaders deny terrorism charges, as govt loosens emergency rule.

Attacks against Mexican immigrants in NYC’s Staten Island inflame black-Hispanic tensions

Mexican attacks inflame tensions on NYC island

NEW YORK – When Rodolfo Olmedo was dragged down by a group of men shouting anti-Mexican epithets and bashed over the head with a wooden stick on the street outside his home, he instinctively covered his face to keep from getting disfigured. Blood filled his mouth.
“I wanted to scream, … Original article on : Attacks against Mexican immigrants in NYC’s Staten Island inflame black-Hispanic tensions.

Aging inmates prompt creation of assisted living center at Washington prison

Aging inmates straining prison systems
CONNELL, Wash. – Curtis Ballard rides a motorized wheelchair around his prison ward, which happens to be the new assisted living unit – a place of many windows and no visible steel bars – at Washington’s Coyote Ridge Corrections Center.

A stroke left Ballard unable to walk. He’s also had a heart …. Original source  : Aging inmates prompt creation of assisted living center at Washington prison.

Maoists kill villager in Orissa

BHUBANESWAR – Maoists have killed a villager in Orissa’s Koraput district suspecting him to be a police informer, police said Monday.

Over a 100 armed rebels killed 30-year-old Kendraka Ghansi at Gotiguda village late Sunday, a police officer told IANS.
The Maoists also attacked two other villagers in Gotiguda, nearly 600 km from here, but they …. Original article on Gaea Times at  : Maoists kill villager in Orissa.

Taliban commander among five killed in Afghanistan

KABUL – Five Taliban insurgents, including their commander, were killed in Afghanistan’s Ghazni province by Afghan and NATO-led troops, police said Monday.

“Afghan and international troops raided Taliban hideouts in Muqar district Sunday night; as a result five militants, including their commander Mullah Salim, were killed,” provincial police chief Khayal Baz Shirzai told Xinhua.
Taliban …. Original source  : Taliban commander among five killed in Afghanistan.

ULFA bombers killed in Assam gunfight

GUWAHATI – Two United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) bombers, accused of blowing up a paramilitary bus and leaving six troopers dead last month, were killed in a gunfight with the security forces in Assam’s Goalpara district Monday, police said.

The shootout began in a thickly forested area near Bhalukdubi village, about 120 km west of …. Source article  : ULFA bombers killed in Assam gunfight.

Libya to celebrate anniversary of Lockerbie bomber’s release

LONDON – Libya is preparing to mark the first anniversary of the Lockerbie bomber’s release with leader Colonel Muammar Gaddafi urging his countrymen to thank those who helped to free him, including former British prime minister Gordon Brown.

Gaddafi will also ask Libyans to pray for Scottish justice secretary Kenny MacAskill, who approved Abdelbaset … Read more : Libya to celebrate anniversary of Lockerbie bomber’s release.

Craigslist Killer Dies In Cell

SUFFOLK (GaeaTimes.com)- Philip Markoff, 24, who is better known as “Craigslist killer” for his alleged murder of a masseuse whom he met through Craigslist last year, has ended up taking his own life. The Suffolk County district attorney’s office confirmed the news of the death of the “Craigslist killer” in an e-mailed statement to …. Read the original article  : here.

Kashmir gunfight: Rains hamper army operations

JAMMU – Heavy rains hampered the operations of security forces against armed militants in an ongoing gunfight in Jammu and Kashmir’s Rajouri district Monday, a day after a soldier and two terrorists were killed.

The shootout in Thanna Mandi area, about 180 km north of Jammu, began Saturday when an army team led by Major S.K. …. Original article  : Kashmir gunfight: Rains hamper army operations.

Police arrest man wounded in NYC block party shootout, accuse him of attempted murder

Police arrest man hurt in NYC block party shootout

NEW YORK – New York City police have arrested a man at the center of a deadly police shootout at a Harlem block party last week.
Angel Alvarez was wounded at least 20 times during the exchange of gunfire on Aug. 8.
Police announced Sunday that he was arrested …. Original article on Gaea Times at  : Police arrest man wounded in NYC block party shootout, accuse him of attempted murder.

FHP: Heat forward Udonis Haslem charged after traffic stop in Miami-Dade County

FHP: Haslem cited after Miami-Dade traffic stop

MIAMI – Heat forward Udonis Haslem was arrested Sunday for possession of marijuana following a traffic stop in Miami-Dade County.
Haslem, 30, was stopped in a 2008 Mercedes around 3:05 p.m. going eastbound on the Gratigny Parkway because of speeding, Florida Highway Patrol spokesman Sgt. Mark Wysocky said. The trooper … Read more : FHP: Heat forward Udonis Haslem charged after traffic stop in Miami-Dade County.

Suspected Maoists kill Bihar man

PATNA – Suspected Maoists shot dead a man in Bihar’s Munger district early Monday, police said.

They threw his body near a government office at Haweli-Kharagpur, about 200 km from here, a police officer said.
The man has not yet been identified, the police officer said.
Haweli-Kharagpur is considered a stronghold of Maoists.
… Original article on : Suspected Maoists kill Bihar man.

Murder charges dropped in slayings of 4 outside Buffalo, NY, restaurant; no new arrest made

Charges dropped in NY slayings; no new arrest

BUFFALO, N.Y. – A prosecutor dropped charges Sunday against a parolee initially accused of killing four people and wounding four others outside a downtown restaurant and said the real shooter appeared on surveillance tape.
Erie County District Attorney Frank Sedita III asked a judge to dismiss four murder counts … Read : Murder charges dropped in slayings of 4 outside Buffalo, NY, restaurant; no new arrest made.

Murder charges dropped in slaying of 4 outside Buffalo, NY, restaurant

Charges dropped in NY slayings; No new arrests

BUFFALO, N.Y. – A prosecutor dropped charges Sunday against a parolee initially accused of killing four people and wounding four others outside a downtown Buffalo restaurant, and said the real shooter had been caught on tape.
Erie County District Attorney Frank Sedita III asked a judge to dismiss four …. Original article on Gaea Times at  : Murder charges dropped in slaying of 4 outside Buffalo, NY, restaurant.

NY district attorney who prosecuted Long Island Lolita, commuter train gunman dies at age 76

NY DA who prosecuted Long Island Lolita dies at 76

ROCKVILLE CENTRE, N.Y. – Former Nassau County District Attorney Denis Dillon, who in more than three decades on the job prosecuted Long Island Lolita Amy Fisher and the gunman in the 1993 Long Island Rail Road massacre, has died.
Dillon died Sunday from lymphoma at his home …. Source article on Gaea Times at  : NY district attorney who prosecuted Long Island Lolita, commuter train gunman dies at age 76.

‘Jersey Shore’ cast member Ronald Ortiz-Magro detained in NJ over unpaid parking tickets

Another ‘Jersey Shore’ cast member arrested in NJ

SEASIDE HEIGHTS, N.J. – Another MTV “Jersey Shore” cast member has been arrested in the New Jersey town where the show is based.
Seaside Heights police say 24-year-old Ronald “Ronnie” Ortiz-Magro was taken into custody around noon Sunday for outstanding warrants from two other Garden State communities. The warrants …. Source  : Gaea News Network.

Families raise new questions over medical advice that led to Lockerbie bomber’s release

Lockerbie families raise new questions over bomber

LONDON – The regrets of a cancer expert who assessed the only man ever convicted of the 1988 Lockerbie jetliner bombing have intensified the anger felt by victims’ relatives over Scotland’s decision to release the Libyan on compassionate grounds.
Professor Karol Sikora and other experts had said Abdel Baset al-Megrahi … Read the original article on Gaea Times at : Families raise new questions over medical advice that led to Lockerbie bomber’s release.

US Navy reports robbery of 4 commercial ships near Iraq’s southern oil hub of Basra

US Navy says 4 ships robbed off Iraqi coast

BAGHDAD – The U.S. Navy says four commercial ships anchored near the southern oil hub of Basra have been robbed in a rare attack off the Iraqi coast.
Lt. John Fage, a spokesman for the Navy’s Fifth Fleet in Bahrain, said Sunday that two men armed with AK-47 … Original source on Gaea Times at : US Navy reports robbery of 4 commercial ships near Iraq’s southern oil hub of Basra.

Prosecutor: Medical student charged in Craigslist killing commits suicide in Boston jailhouse

Craigslist killing suspect dead in Mass. suicide

A former medical student accused of killing a masseuse he met through Craigslist committed suicide in the Boston jail where he was awaiting trial, authorities said Sunday.
Philip Markoff, 24, was found unresponsive in his cell Sunday morning in the Nashua Street Jail, the Suffolk County district attorney’s office said …. Source article on Gaea Times at  : Prosecutor: Medical student charged in Craigslist killing commits suicide in Boston jailhouse.