http://www.youtube.com/v/TGCw6RuVdnk?version=3&f=videos&app=youtube_gdata Continue reading: Pre-election violence strikes Pakistan’s Peshawar
Video: Chicago sinkhole eats three cars
A sinkhole opened on the South Side of Chicago early Thursday morning, swallowing three cars and injuring one person in the process.The sinkhole, located at 9600 South Houston Ave., started expanding at approximately 5 a.m. Thursday morning, quickly growing from 20 to 40 feet. Two cars fell into the hole before the fire department arrived at the scene at 5:30 a.m., and a third car fell in after responders had left.According to witnesses, the injured man had attempted to swerve around the sinkhole as it was expanding, which led to his car falling into the hole. He was taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital after sustaining minor head injuries, and is said to be in good condition.A spokesman for the Water Department said the sinkhole was created by a water main break, due to heavy flooding in the area.Via KTLA: ; ; ;Continue Reading… … Read More
Former president Musharraf flees Pakistan
ISLAMABAD (AP) — Former Pakistani military ruler Pervez Musharraf and his security team pushed past policemen and sped away from a court in the country’s capital on Thursday to avoid arrest after his bail was revoked in a case in which he is accused of treason.Local TV broadcast footage of the dramatic scene in which Musharraf jumped into a black SUV and escaped as a member of his security team hung to the side of the vehicle. He sped away to his large compound on the outskirts of Islamabad that is protected by high walls, razor wire and guard towers.This week has gone from bad to worse for Musharraf, who seized power in a coup in 1999 when he was serving as army chief and spent nearly a decade in power before being forced to step down in 2008. He returned last month after four years in self-imposed exile to make a political comeback despite legal challenges and Taliban death threats, but has since faced paltry public support.A court in the northwestern city of Peshawar on Tuesday disqualified Musharraf from running in the parliamentary election scheduled for May 11, likely squashing his hopes for political comeback.Continue Reading… … Read More
Sinkhole swallows three cars in Chicago
The rescued person is in serious-to-critical condition at Northwestern Memorial Hospital, according to the Chicago Fire Department. Rescue services responded to the scene around 5:30am, when two cars were inside the hole. A third one slid into it after crews arrived, WGN-TV reported. … Read More
Venezuela – Safety of journalists at risk in post-election clashes
The opposition’s decision to dispute ruling party candidate Nicolás Maduro’s very narrow victory in last Sunday’s presidential election has heightened concern about the effects of the Venezuelan media’s extreme polarization. The demonstrations that have been held or will soon be held in various parts of the country are reinforcing the already considerable dangers for journalists and freedom of information. Reporters Without Borders has learned of two incidents during demonstrations held by the (…) … Read More
ISAF airstrike that killed civilians breached presidential ban – Karzai
The Afghan president lashed out at both the ISAF and Taliban while holding a meeting with members of a commission investigating the incident in the Shigal district of Kunar province, a major infiltration route for insurgents based in northwestern Pakistan.”No Afghan security forces, under any circumstances, can ask for foreigners’ planes to carry out operations on our homes and villages,” Karzai said at a press conference in February after another deadly airstrike caused civilian casualties in Kunar province.Karzai likewise condemned the insurgents: “As the reports confirm that armed Taliban were there in the area, we strongly condemn the use of civilians and their homes as shields.”On April 6, an operation to arrest two Taliban commanders – Qari Mohammad Hanif and Ali Khan – went awry after an Afghan intelligence service squad encountered fierce resistance. The ground forces came under heavy fire as they attempted to retreat, and a US civilian adviser accompanying the squad was shot and killed.The squad requested air support, reportedly to evacuate the body, despite Karzai’s earlier injunction against ISAF air support. Airstrikes launched by the US-led coalition the continued “for hours,” witnesses said, including in areas near civilian houses where insurgents were allegedly taking refuge.Residents’ wood and clay houses collapsed under the shockwaves of bomb explosions – the victims likely died buried under the rubble, rather than from bomb fragments.Kabul launched an investigation into the incident, led by a government delegation and 75 tribal elders from the region. The results of the inquiry saw number of casualties raised from the previously reported 11 to 17: One local man, four women and 12 children.The Afghan president’s ban on airstrikes was issued earlier for the country’s defense and interior ministries, and the National Directorate of Security, the Afghan intelligence agency. “During your operations, do not call for air support from international forces during operations on residential areas,” the directive states.The squad violated this mandate by requesting air support. However, the ISAF can still carry out airstrikes on its own accord.“We do not accept the conduct of any air strike on residential areas under any name and for any purpose whatsoever,” the Afghan presidential media office said. Karzai has ordered aid be allocated to the families affected by the incident.Though Afghan troops have become increasingly independent in combat operations against Taliban militants, they still rely on the ISAF’s firepower and battle experience. Once the main ISAF forces are withdrawn in 2014, the Afghan army and law enforcement will have to do deal insurgents without air support.Atta Mohammad Noor, the Governor of Afghanistan’s Balkh province, recently said in an interview with TOLOnews that killing civilians is the biggest mistake the ISAF makes in Afghanistan. Noor, who is expected to become a major candidate in the 2014 presidential election in Afghanistan, stressed that this effectively nullifies efforts to increase security in Afghanistan. … Read More
6.3 magnitude quake strikes near Iran’s Bushehr nuke facility, deaths reported
The quake has been given “orange alert level” by the US Geological Survey (USGS). An orange alert means that significant casualties are likely and the disaster is potentially widespread. The earthquake’s epicenter was 89 kilometers (55 miles) away from the plant, just outside the town of Kaki. There are currently no reports available from the town.The depth of the quake was 10 km (6.2miles). It was followed by several aftershocks.”We could clearly feel the earthquake,” a local resident told Reuters. “The windows and chandeliers all shook.”The Bushehr plant remains unaffected, according to an official from Atomstroyexport – the Russian company which built the station.”The earthquake in no way affected the normal situation at the reactor, personnel continue to work in the normal regime and radiation levels are fully within the norm,” he told RIA Novosti.People on social media reported feeling the quake in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. There were no immediate reports of damages.Gulf Arab countries and Western experts have voiced concerns about the Bushehr plant, which is built in a heily seismic area. Iran has repeatedly denied allegations that it could be unsafe.Bushehr, which is home to around 160,000 people, is located on Iran’s southwestern coastal region. The head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran said in December another plant is slated for construction next to the Bushehr plant.Iran extends across several major faults in the earth’s crust, and is prone to frequent earthquakes. In August 2012, two quakes in Northwestern Iran claimed the lives of 306 people and injured more than 4,500 others. … Read More
