Powerful roadside bomb kills 3 fruit farmers on the way to market in southeastern Afghanistan

Bomb kills 3 civilians in southeast Afghanistan

KABUL, Afghanistan – A government spokesman says a powerful roadside bomb has struck a civilian vehicle, killing three people in southeastern Afghanistan.
Mohammad Jan Rasoulyar, spokesman for Zabul province’s governor, says the blast occurred Wednesday as the fruit farmers took their produce to market. He says the explosion in Mizan …. Read the original article  : Powerful roadside bomb kills 3 fruit farmers on the way to market in southeastern Afghanistan.

Bombs rock Kandahar city killing 9, including 5 children; 2nd day of blasts targeting police

5 Afghan children among 9 killed Kandahar blasts

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan – President Hamid Karzai condemned the “enemies of Afghanistan” on Wednesday after a series of roadside bombs in southern Kandahar city killed nine people, including five children, as insurgents fight back against intensified NATO-led operations.
Bombs targeting a police vehicle ripped through an intersection Tuesday night, the …. Original article on Gaea Times at  : Bombs rock Kandahar city killing 9, including 5 children; 2nd day of blasts targeting police.

Phoenix Weather Created Turbulence In The City

PHOENIX, (GaeaTimes.com)- The dreadful weather that passed over Phoenix this Tuesday afternoon, created a great deal of inconvenience for the people in every possible way. The Thunderstorm couple with dust was a result of deep low-pressure system dropping into California. The storm developed in the South East valley and reached the down town Phoenix area. …. Source article  : Phoenix Weather Created Turbulence In The City.

Dismayed by Priyadarshini verdict, CBI must intervene: activists

NEW DELHI – Activists who fought for justice in the Priyadarshini Mattoo murder case Wednesday voiced disgust after the Supreme Court reduced the killer’s death sentence to life imprisonment, and asked the CBI to submit a review petition.

“We are dismayed,” Aditya Raj Kaul, who led a campaign in the case since 2006, said after …. Source  : Dismayed by Priyadarshini verdict, CBI must intervene: activists.

Death toll from flooding in Asia tops 100; tens of thousands evacuated

Death toll from Asian floods tops 100
TELUK WONDAMA, Indonesia – Helicopters dropped food to isolated villages and security forces helped search for survivors as the number of people killed by floods and landslides across Asia climbed Wednesday to more than 100.

Three-quarters of the deaths were in eastern Indonesia, where days of torrential downpours caused tons … Original article on : Death toll from flooding in Asia tops 100; tens of thousands evacuated.

Govt lacks copies of emergency response plans developed by natural gas pipeline operators

Natural gas pipeline crisis plans kept from public

WASHINGTON – The emergency plans for companies operating natural gas pipelines like the one that exploded in San Bruno, Calif., killing eight people and destroying a neighborhood, are effectively off-limits to the public and industry watchdogs because the federal pipeline safety agency doesn’t keep copies in its offices.
The … Original article on : Govt lacks copies of emergency response plans developed by natural gas pipeline operators.

Saddest day, I will fight on, says Priyadarshini’s father

JAMMU – Retired Kashmiri chief engineer Chaman Lal Mattoo Wednesday felt “completely shattered” by the Supreme Court verdict that commuted the death penalty for his daughter Priyadarshani’s killer to life sentence and vowed to “fight the case till his last breath”.

It is “the saddest day in my life as the apex court has not … Original source on Gaea Times at : Saddest day, I will fight on, says Priyadarshini’s father.

Driver convicted in rape, murder case

BANGALORE – A sessions court here Wednesday found driver Shivakumar guilty of the December 2005 rape and murder of call centre employee Pratibha Murthy.

The quantum of sentence was not announced. Shivakumar was the driver of a cab hired by the call centre.
… Original source on Gaea Times at : Driver convicted in rape, murder case.

Saudi prince sexually abuses servant, batters him to death

LONDON – A Saudi prince has beaten his manservant lover to death in a sexually motivated attack at an exclusive London hotel, a media report said Wednesday.

Saud Abdulaziz bin Nasir Al Saud, the grandson of the billionaire king of Saudi Arabia, murdered Bandar Abdulaziz after subjecting him to weeks of physical and sexual … Read this article on Gaea Times at : Saudi prince sexually abuses servant, batters him to death.

Life sentence means freedom in India: Neelam Katara

NEW DELHI – Reacting to the Supreme Court’s verdict in the Priyadarshini Mattoo murder case, Neelam Katara, mother of another murder victim Nitish Katara, Wednesday said life sentence in India “means freedom for the culprits”.

“I know how it feels to lose one’s child. Life sentence in our country means freedom for the culprits, soon …. Original article on Gaea Times at  : Life sentence means freedom in India: Neelam Katara.

Australian gets 11-year jail for raping daughter

SYDNEY – A Melbourne man, who has repeatedly drugged and sexually abused his daughter, has been jailed for more than 11 years, a media report said Wednesday.

He also threatened to kill his 12-year-old daughter if she told her mother, The Age reported on its website.
The father, 35, who cannot be named, told … Read more >>.

Priyadarshini’s father ‘disappointed’ with verdict

JAMMU – Expressing disappointment with the Supreme Court verdict in the 1996 Priyadarshini Mattoo murder case, the victim’s father Chaman Lal Mattoo Wednesday said reducing the death penalty for the killer to life imprisonment was a “concession” and should not set a precedent.

“After fighting for 14 long years, with the entire civil society watching, … Read : Priyadarshini’s father ‘disappointed’ with verdict.

Death toll from floods in eastern Indonesia climbs to 75; rescue operations pick up steam

Flash floods in eastern Indonesia kill at least 75

TELUK WONDAMA, Indonesia – A navy warship arrived in a remote corner of eastern Indonesia carrying tents and medical supplies Wednesday after flash floods and mudslides tore through mountainside villages, killing at least 75 people and leaving thousands homeless.
The disaster in West Papua province – triggered by …. Source  : Death toll from floods in eastern Indonesia climbs to 75; rescue operations pick up steam.

Death reduced to life in Priyadarshini Mattoo case

NEW DELHI – The Supreme Court Wednesday commuted the death sentence of Santosh Kumar Singh, the son of a senior police officer, to life imprisonment in the 1996 rape and murder of Delhi University student Priyadarshini Mattoo. Singh, her senior, had been given death sentence by the Delhi High Court.
…. Source article  : Death reduced to life in Priyadarshini Mattoo case.

200,000 affected by floods in Mexico

Villahermosa (Mexico), Oct 6 (IANS/EFE) Some 200,000 people have been affected by floods in southeastern Mexico, authorities said.

Floods triggered by heavy rains have devastated the Mexican state of Tabasco where some 200,000 people have been affected, officials said Tuesday.
Thirteen of the state’s 17 municipalities have suffered extensive damage from the flooding. … Original source on Gaea Times at : 200,000 affected by floods in Mexico.

Blasts rock Kandahar city killing 9, as Afghan militants fight back against coalition pressure

9 killed, 26 wounded in 2nd day of Kandahar blasts

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan – Two explosions killed nine people and wounded two dozen others in Kandahar, the second day of deadly blasts in the southern Afghan city where Taliban insurgents are fighting back against U.S. and Afghan forces pushing into areas long held by insurgents.
A car bomb …. Source article  : Blasts rock Kandahar city killing 9, as Afghan militants fight back against coalition pressure.

Heavy rains unleash flash floods in remote corner of Indonesia, killing at least 68

Flash floods in eastern Indonesia kill at least 68

TELUK WONDAMA, Indonesia – A navy warship arrived in a remote corner of eastern Indonesia carrying tents and medical supplies Wednesday after flash floods and mudslides tore through mountainside villages, killing at least 68 people and leaving thousands homeless.
The disaster in West Papua province – triggered by …. Source  : Heavy rains unleash flash floods in remote corner of Indonesia, killing at least 68.

Massive floods kill 26 in central Vietnam; helicopters drop aid to isolated villages

Massive floods kill 26 in Vietnam; 9 missing

HANOI, Vietnam – Helicopters dropped food aid Wednesday to people in villages cut off by high water as the death toll from flooding this week in central Vietnam rose to 26, with nine people missing, disaster officials said.
In the worst-hit province of Quang Binh, 11 people were dead … Read the original article on Gaea Times at : Massive floods kill 26 in central Vietnam; helicopters drop aid to isolated villages.

Storms cause flooding in Arizona, Nevada; 2 teens hospitalized after Utah lightning strike

Storms cause flooding in Arizona, Nevada
PHOENIX – Strong storms on Tuesday pounded portions of the West, dropping record-setting rain in northern Nevada, flooding roads and disrupting flights in Phoenix, and dumping enough snow at the top of the Sierra to close a mountain highway pass.

Meanwhile, a lightning strike in Utah left two teenage boys hospitalized … Read the original article on Gaea Times at : Storms cause flooding in Arizona, Nevada; 2 teens hospitalized after Utah lightning strike.

3 men survive night in churning seas off Australia after whale strikes, sinks their boat

3 survive after whale sinks boat off Australia

PERTH, Australia – Three men survived four hours floating in rough seas off the northwest Australia coast after their boat collided with what they believe was a whale and sank, officials said Wednesday.
The men were on a 46-foot (14-meter) wooden boat off Exmouth in Western Australia state when … Read : 3 men survive night in churning seas off Australia after whale strikes, sinks their boat.