Chinese news agency says passenger train carriages derailed after floods knock out bridge

China train derails after floods knock out bridge

BEIJING – A state news agency says several carriages of a passenger train fell into water after floods knocked out a bridge in Sichuan province.
The official Xinhua News Agency said the accident happened Thursday in Guanghan, a city about 50 kilometers (30 miles) north of the provincial capital …. Original article  : Chinese news agency says passenger train carriages derailed after floods knock out bridge.

Salvagers to pull rare World War II plane from Calif. reservoir 6 decades after it crashed

Divers to pull WWII plane from Calif. reservoir

SAN DIEGO – Divers in California are preparing to extract a rare World War II airplane from a San Diego city reservoir more than six decades after it crashed during a training exercise.
The National Naval Aviation Museum is funding the salvage operation that is expected to pull the …. Original article  : Salvagers to pull rare World War II plane from Calif. reservoir 6 decades after it crashed.

Parts of Tennessee hit with flash flooding, washing away home and derailing a train

Tenn. rain washes away home, derails train

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Drenching rains swept away a home, trapped drivers in their vehicles and derailed a train in Tennessee, and forecasters expected more heavy showers to fall Thursday over the Southeast.
The downpours Wednesday hit some of the same parts of Middle Tennessee that were inundated with severe flooding … Original source on Gaea Times at : Parts of Tennessee hit with flash flooding, washing away home and derailing a train.

Chandigarh hit and run: police yet to trace other girl

CHANDIGARH – Even 36 hours after a teenaged girl crushed a youth and a child under her Honda Accord car here, police remain clueless about the other girl in the killer vehicle.

Amanat Brar, 19, had mowed down Sukhwinder Singh, 21, and his cousin Harpreet Singh – who would have been five next week – after …. Source  : Gaea News Network.

America increases flood aid to Pakistan, voices concern that terrorist may emerge stronger

US announces aid boost to Pakistan after flooding
GHAZI AIR BASE, Pakistan – The United States will increase its aid to flood-ravaged Pakistan to $150 million, U.S. Sen. John Kerry said Thursday, stressing that Washington did not want Islamist extremism to increase on the back of the crisis.
The floods have affected 20 …. Original article  : America increases flood aid to Pakistan, voices concern that terrorist may emerge stronger.

Cold front hits western Russia, drives Moscow smog away

Cold front ends heat spell over western Russia

MOSCOW – A cold front has hit western Russia,ending the exhausting two-month heat spell and clearing skies over Moscow from suffocating smog.
Colder temperatures and rains are expected to help firefighters put down the wildfires that have bedeviled Russia through the summer.
Russia’s Emergency Situations Ministry on Thursday said the … Original source on Gaea Times at : Cold front hits western Russia, drives Moscow smog away.

Seven killed in China explosion

BEIJING – Seven people were killed and 14 injured when an electric tricycle exploded in northwest China Thursday, authorities said.

The blast occurred on a bridge on the outskirts of Aksu city in southern Xinjiang, the autonomous regional government’s information office said in a statement.
A suspect was arrested by police at the site and being … Original source on Gaea Times at : Seven killed in China explosion.

12,000 foreign ’sex slaves’ work in British brothels

LONDON – As many as 12,000 foreign women were smuggled into Britain and forced to work as “sex slaves” so that crime gangs could earn hundreds of millions of pounds, a study has said.

The two-year study, dubbed Project Acumen, revealed that prostitutes live and work in appalling conditions and suffer rape and imprisonment.
Most of … Read this article on Gaea Times at : 12,000 foreign ’sex slaves’ work in British brothels.

Pakistan thanks India for $5 mn aid

NEW YORK – Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi has thanked India for offering $5 million aid for the relief of flood victims in his country.

Qureshi, who is on a visit to the US, announced Wednesday that India had offered a $5 million donation for flood victims. He profusely thanked India’s top diplomat here for … Read this article on Gaea Times at : Pakistan thanks India for $5 mn aid.

Pit bull guarded Washington state woman after she suffered fatal heart attack while on a walk

Pit bull guarded Wash. woman who had heart attack

BREMERTON, Wash. – Police in the Washington state city of Bremerton say a pit bull reported as a menacing dog was just protecting its owner who had suffered a heart attack and died on a sidewalk while the two were out walking.
A detective says the 51-year-old Bremerton …. Source  : Gaea News Network.

Judge bans burqa in Australian court

SYDNEY – An Australian judge Thursday refused to allow a Muslim woman to wear a full-face veil in court during her testimony as a witness in a fraud trial.

Perth’s District Court Judge Shauna Deane said that in the interest of a fair trial the witness should not be allowed to wear a niqab or burqa. …. Original source  : Judge bans burqa in Australian court.

Crowded truck falls into mountain gorge in northern India, killing 38 and injuring 37

Truck falls into gorge in north India, killing 38

NEW DELHI – A truck crowded with people returning from a party swerved off a mountain road into a gorge in northern India, killing 38 people and injuring 37 others.
Police and villagers helped pull out the injured and take them to hospitals after Tuesday’s crash, and emergency … Read the original article on Gaea Times at : Crowded truck falls into mountain gorge in northern India, killing 38 and injuring 37.

Chinese official says suspected bomb attack kills 7, wounds 14 in Xinjiang region

Blast kills 7, wounds 14 in China’s Xinjiang area

URUMQI, China – A suspected bomb attack killed seven people and wounded 14 Thursday in China’s far west Xinjiang, a region beset by ethnic conflict and separatist violence.
The explosion occurred on a three-wheeled vehicle Thursday morning at a bridge in Aksu city in southwestern Xinjiang, said Hou …. Source  : Gaea News Network.

South Pacific Tsunami Caused By Two Earthquakes

SAN FRANCISCO (GaeaTimes.com)- Scientists have come up with studies that have concluded that the devastating 2009 South Pacific tsunami which caused havoc on Samoa, American Samoa and Tonga was not due to one earthquake of magnitude 8.1, but two consecutive earthquakes each of magnitudes greater than 8 on Richter scale. Research conducted by …. Original article  : South Pacific Tsunami Caused By Two Earthquakes.

Chinese province shuts all fireworks factories after explosion kills 20

China officials shut fireworks plants after blast

BEIJING – All nine fireworks factories in Heilongjiang province in northeast China were ordered shut Thursday, days after a blast at one of them killed 20 people.
The factories have been told to dismantle their production facilities by the end of the month, according to a statement on the website … Read the original article on Gaea Times at : Chinese province shuts all fireworks factories after explosion kills 20.

Toll in Himachal accident rises to 40

SHIMLA – The death toll in the accident, in which an overcrowded truck skidded off the road and fell into a 200-foot deep gorge in Himachal Pradesh’s Mandi district, rose to 40 Thursday, police said.

Thirty seven people, including 21 women and seven children, were killed and an equal number injured in the accident that … Read the original article on Gaea Times at : Toll in Himachal accident rises to 40.

AP Interview: In hiding, Wyclef Jean says his presidential candidacy a ‘wild card’ for Haiti

Wyclef Jean says his Haiti candidacy a ‘wild card’

CROIX-DES-BOUQUETS, Haiti – Wyclef Jean’s glamorous hip hop lifestyle seems far away as he sits in hiding in a white stucco building on a rutted, dirt road where chickens scurry and Haitian women carry sacks of laundry atop their heads.
The former Fugees frontman, multimillionaire philanthropist and Haitian …. Source article  : AP Interview: In hiding, Wyclef Jean says his presidential candidacy a ‘wild card’ for Haiti.

Rescuers search for 90 missing in latest China landslide as heavy rains loom on horizon

China landslide leaves 1 dead, 90 missing
BEIJING – Rescuers dug through the debris of China’s latest landslide Thursday in a search for at least 90 people thought buried when a wall of mud crashed into their mountain town in southwestern China.

Wednesday’s landslide in Puladi township in Yunnan province killed 1 person, covered homes and cut … Read more »»».

Celebrity plastic surgeon posted tweets 90 minutes before fatal crash, police investigating

Police investigating plastic surgeon’s fatal crash

LOS ANGELES – Police are investigating the accident that killed celebrity plastic surgeon Dr. Frank Ryan, including whether texting or tweeting may have played a role.
“We haven’t confirmed anything regarding the cause of the collision,” California Highway Patrol officer Steve Reid said Wednesday, adding that detectives are “looking into several … Read more >>>.

Prosecutors: Accused Oregon bank bombers were motivated by anti-government views

Prosecutors: Accused bombers were anti-government

SALEM, Ore. – Prosecutors provided a glimpse Wednesday of their strategy in the upcoming trial of a father and son accused of killing two law enforcement officers in an Oregon bank explosion, saying the defendants harbored anti-government sentiment and were jubilant over the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing.
In a pretrial hearing in …. Source article  : Prosecutors: Accused Oregon bank bombers were motivated by anti-government views.