A strong earthquake rocked a large swathe of northern Italy early on Sunday morning, causing at least three deaths and collapsing rural factories and ancient bell towers in towns.
The epicenter of the quake, which struck at 4:04 a.m. (0204 GMT) and had a magnitude of 5.9, was in the plains near Modena. But it was felt in nearby regions.
One person working a night shift died in the collapse of a factory and two others were killed in the collapse of another building. Rescue officials were checking reports that other people were buried under rubble.
First television pictures taken after dawn showed serious damage to historic buildings and rural structures. Parts of a historic fortress in one town collapsed.
Thousands of people in the area rushed into the streets after the quake, felt in the major towns of Bologna, Modena, Ferrara, Rovigo, Verona and Mantua.
A series of strong aftershocks hit the area and local mayors ordered residents to stay out of their homes.
The quake was centered 22 miles north-northwest of Bologna at a relatively shallow depth of 6.3 miles, the U.S. Geological Survey said.
(Reuters)
May 20, 2012 at 10:52 am
A bus crash in central Vietnam has killed 34 people and injured at least 20 others. The bus plunged off a bridge and crashed into the bank of the Serepok river, where it was found early on Friday morning.
It was travelling from Buon Ma Thuot in central highlands province of Dak Lak to the southern city of Ho Chi Minh.
Officials have said they are investigating the cause of the accident and identifying victims.
Y Bliu Arul, deputy director of the General Hospital in Dak Lak, told Associated Press that the two bus drivers were among the 32 people who died at the scene.
Of the 21 people injured, 16 are said to be in a serious condition.
(BBC)
May 18, 2012 at 9:28 am
A war crimes trial of former Bosnian Serb army commander Ratko Mladic is to resume, with the prosecution focusing on the Srebrenica massacre in 1995. Gen Mladic is accused of orchestrating the killings of more than 7,000 Bosnian Muslim boys and men in the town.
In all, the 70-year-old faces 11 charges, including genocide, during the brutal 1992-95 Bosnian war.
He calls the claims “monstrous”, and the court in The Hague has entered a not guilty plea on his behalf.
The Srebrenica massacre was the worst atrocity in Europe since the end of World War II.
Serb fighters overran the enclave in eastern Bosnia – supposedly under the protection of Dutch UN peacekeepers. Bosniak (Bosnian Muslim) men and boys were separated off, shot dead and bulldozed into mass graves – later to be dug up and reburied in more remote spots.
Gen Mladic is also charged in connection with the 44-month siege of Sarajevo during which more than 10,000 people died.
(BBC)
May 17, 2012 at 10:02 am
Former Bosnian Serb army commander Ratko Mladic is set to go on trial on 11 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity, including genocide. He is the last of the main protagonists in the Balkan wars of the 1990s to face an international trial in The Hague.
He is accused of orchestrating the massacre of more than 7,000 Muslim boys and men at Srebrenica in 1995.
General Mladic calls the accusations “monstrous” and the court has entered a “not guilty” plea on his behalf.
Now nearly 70, Gen Mladic spent 15 years on the run before being apprehended by Serb forces last May and sent to The Hague.
(BBC)
May 16, 2012 at 12:21 pm
The UN Security Council has condemned car bomb attacks that killed at least 55 people and wounded almost 400 in the Syrian capital, Damascus, on Thursday.
The council urged all sides to “immediately and comprehensively” implement the peace plan for Syria.
Syrian officials say “foreign-backed terrorists” carried out a twin suicide car-bomb attack in Damascus.
The bombs exploded near a military intelligence building during the morning rush hour.
The 15-member of the Security Council members “condemned in the strongest terms the terrorist attacks”, a statement said.
The council also called on all sides to comply with the six-point peace plan of UN-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan, “in particular to cease all armed violence.”
(BBC)
May 11, 2012 at 9:23 am
Reports from the US say the would-be suicide attacker in a foiled “underwear bomb” plot was in fact a double agent. US officials are quoted as saying that the person dispatched by Yemen-based al-Qaeda to attack a US-bound plane had infiltrated the group.
In an apparent intelligence coup, the agent left Yemen with the device and delivered it to the CIA.
Meanwhile, the Pentagon says it is sending military trainers back to Yemen to help counter al-Qaeda militants.
(BBC)
May 9, 2012 at 8:50 am
A plot by al-Qaeda in Yemen to detonate an upgraded version of the failed 2009 “underwear bomb” has been disrupted, US officials say. The device was seized by intelligence operatives and is in US custody undergoing technical and forensic analysis, the FBI has said.
Reports said no target had been chosen and no plane tickets purchased by the time the alleged plot was foiled.
There is no indication on the status of the would-be bomber.
“As a result of close co-operation with our security and intelligence partners overseas, an improvised explosive device (IED) designed to carry out a terrorist attack has been seized abroad,” the FBI said in a statement.
“Initial exploitation indicates that the device is very similar to IEDs that have been used previously by al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) in attempted terrorist attacks, including against aircraft and for targeted assassinations,” it added.
President Barack Obama was first informed of the plot in April, White House spokeswoman Caitlin Hayden said, adding that the device did not pose a threat to the public.
(BBC)
May 8, 2012 at 9:59 am
French socialist Francois Hollande has won a clear victory in the country’s presidential election. Mr Hollande – who polled just under 52% of votes in Sunday’s run-off – spoke of his pride at becoming president.
Admitting defeat, centre-right incumbent Nicolas Sarkozy wished “good luck” to Mr Hollande.
Analysts say the vote has wide implications for the whole eurozone. Mr Hollande has vowed to rework a deal on government debt in member countries.
Shortly after polls closed at 20:00 (18:00 GMT), French media published projections based on partial results giving Mr Hollande a lead of almost four points. Turnout was about 80%.
Jubilant Hollande supporters gathered on Place de la Bastille in Paris – a traditional rallying point of the Left – to celebrate.
People drank champagne and chanted: “Sarko, it’s over!”
Mr Hollande – the first Socialist to win the French presidency since Francois Mitterrand in the 1980s – gave his victory speech in his stronghold of Tulle in central France.
He said was “proud to have been capable of giving people hope again”.
He said he would push ahead with his pledge to refocus EU fiscal efforts from austerity to “growth”.
(BBC)
May 7, 2012 at 8:09 am
A “super moon” has graced the skies, appearing bigger and brighter than usual, as it comes closer to the Earth – and is likely to bring higher tides.
The phenomenon, known as a perigee full moon, means the Moon appears up to 14% bigger and 30% brighter than when it is furthest from the planet.
The optimum effect was seen – cloud permitting – at 04:30 BST (03:30 GMT).
The Royal Astronomical Society’s Dr Robert Massey said the Moon’s size may be more obvious than its brightness.
“The eye is so good at compensating for changes in brightness that you simply don’t notice (that element) so much,” he said.
When the Moon appears at its biggest it will be just 356,400km (221,457 miles) away, compared to its usual distance from Earth of 384,000km (238,606 miles).
Dr Massey said: “When the Moon is closest to the Earth and full or new, you get an increase in the tidal pull in the ocean because the gravity of the moon and the sun line up.”
He added: “The Moon is always beautiful and a full moon is always dramatic.”
Scientists have dismissed the idea the perigee could cause strange behaviour – like lycanthropy – or natural disasters.
The Moon’s distance from Earth varies because it follows an elliptical orbit instead of a circular one.
(BBC)
May 6, 2012 at 7:50 am
Boris Johnson has won a second term as London mayor, beating Labour rival Ken Livingstone by 3%, after a far closer contest than expected. Mr Johnson won on second preference votes after failing to gain more than 50% in the first round.
He bucked the national trend after heavy Tory losses elsewhere.
Lib Dem Brian Paddick saw his vote collapse and he was beaten into fourth place by Green Jenny Jones, with independent Siobhan Benita fifth.
Mr Johnson’s victory comes after a dismal night at the polls for Conservatives across England, Scotland and Wales, as Labour seized control of 32 councils.
(BBC)
May 5, 2012 at 9:02 am
Nicolas Sarkozy and Francois Hollande are making their final pitch for votes in one of the most dramatic elections in recent French history. Opinion polls suggest the incumbent president has cut Mr Hollande’s lead slightly but is still trailing his Socialist challenger by some 6%. Analysts say he would need a major reversal in fortunes to win now. He suffered a blow when centrist Francois Bayrou, who took 9.1% in the first round, backed Mr Hollande. In a radio interview on Friday, Mr Sarkozy said he would form a new government in 48 hours if re-elected. He is also set to give a speech at Sables d’Olonne in western France.
(BBC)
May 4, 2012 at 3:23 pm
French President Nicolas Sarkozy believes Sunday’s presidential election run-off against Francois Hollande will be decided by the tightest margin.
The two rivals took part in a heated debate on Wednesday night, watched by an estimated 17.9 million people.
Mr Sarkozy said on Thursday that no election had ever been so “undecided”.
Mr Hollande, who leads in the polls, told French radio that the final days of the campaign and the voter turnout could both affect the result.
Both candidates have stepped up their appeals to voters who backed National Front leader Marine Le Pen and centrist Francois Bayrou in the first round. Ms Le Pen, who attracted 6.4 million voters, said on Thursday that the election was over as Mr Sarkozy was “beaten a long time ago”.
(BBC)
May 3, 2012 at 6:07 pm
US President Barack Obama has pledged to “finish the job” and end the Afghan war, addressing the US public live from a military base in Afghanistan. Speaking a year after Osama Bin Laden’s death, Obama thanked US troops and hailed plans to end combat operations.
He arrived in Afghanistan on a publicly unannounced visit to sign an agreement on future Afghan-US ties with President Hamid Karzai, ahead of a Nato summit.
Hours after his speech at least six people died in a bomb blast in Kabul.
Afghan officials said at least two suicide bombers targeted a guesthouse popular with foreigners in the eastern part of the Afghan capital.
They said that most of the victims were civilians.
(BBC)
May 2, 2012 at 10:57 am
A number of people have been killed in blasts in the north-western Syrian city of Idlib, activists and state TV say.
TV reports said two suicide bombings had killed eight people, while the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said more than 20 had died in attacks targeting the security forces.
The UN is currently deploying monitors to the country to oversee a fragile peace plan.
Thirty will be in place soon but the UN warns it will need many more.
(BBC)
April 30, 2012 at 2:39 pm
The Lebanese navy is holding a Sierra Leone-registered ship and says it has confiscated a large consignment of arms and ammunition it was carrying.
The 11 crew members were detained after three shipping containers full of heavy and light weapons were found on the Lutfallah II.
The BBC’s Jim Muir in Beirut says it is believed the consignment was destined for the rebels in Syria.
Some of the arms were labelled as Libyan, says Reuters news agency.
The ship’s owner told Reuters it was due to unload in Tripoli, northern Lebanon.
Milos Strugar, a spokesman for the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (Unifil) which assists Lebanon in preventing illegal arms entering the country, confirmed to the BBC that it was bound for a Lebanese port.
(BBC)
April 29, 2012 at 10:43 am
A federal judge has denied a request to release photos and video taken of Usama bin Laden during and after a raid in which the terrorist leader was killed by U.S. commandos last year.
In court papers, the Justice Department had said that the images of the deceased bin Laden are classified and are being withheld from the public to avoid inciting violence against Americans overseas and compromising secret systems and techniques used by the CIA and the military.
“The court declines plaintiff’s invitation to substitute its own judgment about the national-security risks inherent in releasing these records for that of the executive-branch officials who determined that they should be classified,” wrote U.S. District Judge James E. Boasberg in rejecting a lawsuit filed by Judicial Watch, a conservative watchdog group.
The group, which had sought the records under the Freedom of Information Act, filed an appeal on Thursday.
(Fox news)
April 27, 2012 at 9:00 am
Up to 70 people have been killed in an attack on a house in Hama, according to Syrian activists. They said several houses in the Mashaa at-Tayyar district in southern Hama were destroyed by a big explosion.
State media said 16 people died in the blast in a house used as a bomb factory by “armed terrorist groups”.
Following the blast in Hama, activists posted video on the internet showing a scene of devastation, with bodies being pulled from the rubble.
One report said 13 children and 15 women were among the dead.
They said the blast was caused by government shelling or even a Scud missile attack.
(BBC)
April 26, 2012 at 1:48 pm
