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Pakistan Earthquake Death Toll Continues to Rise

September 25, 2013 By Deborah Campbell Leave a Comment

The powerful earthquake that hit Tuesday in the southwestern region of Pakistan has now claimed over 325 lives. Officials said they have found areas where hundreds of homes built out of mud collapsed with people inside in the thinly populated remote areas of the region.

Hundreds of army soldiers were air lifted to help in the aftermath of the country’s worst earthquake since 2005. In that quake, more than 75,000 people lost their lives in the northern part of the country.

The earthquake on Tuesday was a magnitude 7.7 and hit Baluchistan, a large province that is prone to earthquakes, which has rugged mountains and large deserts. Most of Southern Asia felt the quake.

The quake destroyed many homes and cut off communications with Awaran, the district that was most affected and was so strong it created a tiny island to form just off the coast of Pakistan in the Arabian Sea.

In the Awaran district alone, more than 285 bodies were recovered said the district’s deputy commissioner. The town has a population of approximately 200,000.

In the district of Kech, near Awaran, another 42 bodies had been found, said authorities.

The national disaster authority in Pakistan said the death toll was 259 by Wednesday evening, but others said it was much higher.

Rescue groups found it difficult to reach many remote locations and some authorities said the loss of life would increase, as workers were able to reach areas that were further up in the mountains and assess all the damage.

A local journalist described seeing chaos and grief in small villages, saying those who survived were digging graves.

He said as far as he could see in the distance, all the houses had been flattened by the quake.

Tuesday’s quake hit when Pakistanis were still mourning the loss of life of over 80 Christians from a Sunday attack by a suicide bomber in an Anglican Church in Peshawar.

Filed Under: Headlines

Russian Member of Punk Band on Hunger Strike

September 23, 2013 By Deborah Campbell Leave a Comment

A member of the Pussy Riot Russian punk band who is currently jailed has announced she would start a hunger strike Monday. She is protesting what she calls the “slave labor” that takes place in the penal colony she is in. She also said a senior official at her prison had given her a death threat.

Nadezhda Tolokonnikova received a sentence of two years in prison in August of 2012. She was sentenced after she took part in a punk prayer inside a cathedral in Moscow. The prayer was in protest against Vladimir Putin, the president of Russia.

Her announcement said she would start her hunger strike on Monday September 23 and would refuse to participate in the colony’s slave labor as well. She said her strike would continue until the laws are obeyed by the administration and it stops treating women who are incarcerated like cattle.

The band member is in the Mordovia region in Penal Colony 14, located to the southeast of Moscow. She and her fellow inmates have been forced to work 17 hours daily sewing uniforms for police.

She said the workers sleep for no more than four hours each night and that officials at the prison used some senior inmates to maintain order, in what is reminiscent of the Gulags during the Soviet era, which were nothing more that forced labor camps.

She said increasing quotas for production, collective punishment and violence against those failing to deliver were commonplace inside the colony, where she described their living conditions as failing to meet the standards of human rights and the laws in Russia.

Tolokonnikova has asked the federal arm of the prisons, to investigate a death threat she says she received from a senior official in the prison.

Her accusation did not provoke any comments from administrators at the penal colony and regional officials for Mordovia were not immediately available for comment.

Filed Under: Headlines

Group linked to Al-Qaeda Seizes Town in Syria

September 19, 2013 By Michael Turner Leave a Comment

A group that is linked to al-Qaeda has seized the strategic town of Azaz close to the Turkish border. The group fought for the town against members of the Free Syrian Army the mainstream opposition to the Syrian government in the country.

The capture of the town puts the group, known as the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, only a kilometer from the border at Bab al-Salameh with Turkey. The town had been under the control of the opposition for over a year.

The crossing however, remains under the control of the FSA after reinforcements were sent by the rebels, including tanks and heavy weapons, said an activist located at the crossing.

The insurgent group, which at times fights beside the rebels and at times against them, led an attack on the Azaz hospital attempting to detain a doctor from Germany, who was working there. No one is sure what group or association the doctor was affiliated with. Some activists have said that Doctors without Borders run the hospital, but that was denied by the organization’s spokesperson.

Fighters defended the Azaz hospital and numerous clashes erupted, which left several fighters and innocent civilians dead. One activist tried to broker a truce between the two groups but a sniper shot him and he bled to death.

Within just a few hours, control of the town was taken by the Islamic State, including the Azaz hospital. Doctors were detained. Rebel checkpoints were also attacked along the outlying areas of the town and they were seized.

Fighters from Islamic State have been in the town for quite a while, and have little by little attempted to take control of the town’s operation, including its mosques and centers.

Filed Under: Headlines

Rogue Art Dealer Guilty of $80 Million Fraud

September 17, 2013 By Michael Turner Leave a Comment

An art dealer pleaded guilty Monday to being the mastermind behind an $80 million fraud in which 63 fake paintings had been pawned off to two galleries in Manhattan. The paintings had been created over a period of 15 years by an artist from Queens.

The dealer, Glafira Rosales wept when she appeared in front of a Manhattan federal judge to plead guilty to the charges of wire fraud, tax crimes and money laundering. Her appearance came just one month after she had pleaded not guilty to an indictment of nine counts.

Rosales is a Mexican immigrant and claimed the paintings were pieces previously unknown by some of the top expressionists of the 20th Century.

The sales of the paintings were to the now closed Knoedler Gallery and to Julian Weissman Fine Art between and took place between the mid 1990s and late 2009.

Rosales, who is from Long Island, earned more than $33 million from selling the paintings and the galleries were able to resell the artwork for over $80 million to their unsuspecting clients, said federal prosecutors.

The works that Rosales sold were reported created by Pei-Shen Qian. The long-time boyfriend of Rosales discovered Qian sometime during the mid 1990s. Qian was selling his art on the streets of Manhattan said the indictment. Qian signed some of the purported artists’ names after painting them.

Qian was not charged, nor has anyone else. However, during a meeting last month at court, prosecutors announced they expected to make additional arrests.

Rosales could face up to 99 years in jail, but it is expected she will be sentenced to far less time due to her plea agreement.

She agreed to hand over $33 million in properties and cash including her home in Sand Points, New York and some artwork that is legitimate that she purchased.

Filed Under: Headlines, Life

Walker’s Brother May Film Fast and Furious 7 Final Scene

September 16, 2013 By Nancy Young Leave a Comment

The brother of Paul Walker may film some of the final scenes from Fast and Furious 7. On November 30, Paul Walker was killed in a fiery crash with his friend Roger Rodas. Stuntman and brother Cody Walker was reportedly approached by filmmakers to film the final scenes of his brother in the seventh edition of the Fast and Furious franchise.

According to sources, the stunt actor, who is 25, was asked to film those final scenes of his brother Paul and help conclude his journey in the latest installment.

One source said that they can easily shoot Cody from a distance and from behind without there being any noticeable difference. If Cody is to agree with the filming, it will be due to wanting to honor the memory of his brother. However, a number of details remain to be straightened out prior to a final decision, but at this point the family, cast and crew remain in a period of grieving said the source.

Paul, who was 40, died with Rodas after the Porsche they were traveling in lost control and struck a tree. The movie’s production was put on indefinite hold while writers rewrite the movie’s script in an attempt to complete Walker’s time in the movie.

It remains unclear whether Universal will keep the original date of release for July 11, 2014. However, filming is expected to resume sometime during January. Besides the need to rewrite the movie’s last scenes, Walker’s co-stars need time to mourn his loss and come to terms with his death.

Vin Diesel broke down crying in front of Walker’s family. He told reporters afterward that he figured they needed his strength, but he soon realized that when he broke down crying, it was he who needed the strength of Walker’s family.

Walker’s mother hugged Diesel and said she was sorry and he said sorry, you are a mother that just lost her son. She told yes, but you are the one who lost his other half.

Filed Under: Headlines, Life

Separatists in Quebec Requesting Turban and Headscarf Ban

September 15, 2013 By Michael Turner Leave a Comment

The separatist government in Quebec is betting on the popular support in a proposal that would prohibit any public employees from wearing skullcaps, headscarves and other symbols that are religious. However, at the same time, it has divided the movement that has been advocating its independence from the rest of Canada.

The proposal, which the ruling party Quebecois unveiled on Tuesday, deals with the controversial issue of rights for minorities in a region of Canada, a country that has prided itself for being a tapestry for immigrants, instead of the melting pot style of the U.S.

The proposal would ban doctors, teachers and others that work for the government from wearing any visible religious symbols, which includes larges crosses and headscarves, in an attempt to cement in this French-speaking province, a secular society.

The proposal however needs the support of a minimum of one party more to be put into law. If that were to happen, it certainly would then face strong legal challenges.

The idea of this proposal in Quebec banning the use of religious symbols by government workers has resonated with many people residing in Quebec. However, it has also caused a rift and divide, amongst those in the separatist party.

Lebanese Christian Maria Mourani, a member of Parliament from the Bloc Quebecois was expelled, by its federal counterpart, from its caucus when she expressed her reservations about supporting such a proposal.

On Friday, she resigned from the party. She told reporters her family decided on Canada instead of France to immigrate to, since it did not have tensions over someone’s identity that was present in France.

France has banned the use of religious symbols in its schools since 2004. It banned the use of Islamic veils that cover the entire face in public during 2011.

Filed Under: Headlines, Life

Gold Reaches High of Three Months

August 28, 2013 By Michael Turner Leave a Comment

As tensions over Syria increased, so did the price of gold. The price of the precious metal is close to 20% higher from its low of 34 months on June 27. As of 11:00 am ET on Wednesday gold was selling at $1,433, an increase of 1.3%.

The rise in the price of the precious metal can be attributed to the widespread speculation about the possible attack by Western forces against the country of Syria, causing investors to find a safe haven for their assets. Silver was also up hitting a high of four months on Wednesday morning.

If Gold can reach $1,440 and close there it would be at its highest price since mid May and 20% higher than is near three year low, which would make it a bull market.

Silver climbed on the day by 2.6% and is now at $25.10 an ounce, which is its highest price since mid April.

Any military response would focus on the weapons capabilities of Syria and would not be aimed at the deposing of current President Bashar al-Assad, insisted officials from the UK and U.S.

David Cameron the Prime Minister of the UK said that even though no decision has been taken on what course of action to proceed with, it would be proportionate and legal.

Increasing demand for bars, coins and jewelry in Asia has helped prices of gold rally over 19% since last June.

Bullion is set to have its first annual decrease in more than 13 years after many investors started losing faith in the precious metal, which spurred the mining industry to have over $26 billion in write downs and huge losses for hedge fund manager billionaire John Paulson.

Filed Under: Finance, Headlines

Two Children Strangled by Snake

August 16, 2013 By Michael Turner Leave a Comment

Two boys who were visiting at one of the friends were killed after a snake escaped and strangled them. The boys were sleeping overnight at their friends who lived above a pet store.

A snake was able to escape from his cage at some point and killed the two children in New Brunswick Canada, said police.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police, in a prepared statement, said it was their belief that the reptile strangled the two boys who were just five and seven.

Police said the snake slipped from its cage during the night and travelled through the building’s ventilation system.

Police were able to capture the serpent following the attack on the children. On Monday, police were called to the apartment where they found the two boys dead.

In the police statement, they said that following a preliminary investigation they were led to surmise that a large snake escaped its cage sometime over night and made its way upstairs through the ventilation system.

The two boys will have autopsies done. The two are thought to be brothers who are just two years apart in age. No one has been charged as of yet with any crime.

In Campbellton, the town where the tragedy occurred, the deputy mayor said everyone in the area was still in shock.

Experts when asked said that exotic snake attacks are very rare.

A director of a Zoo in Canada said it was difficult to believe an attack of that nature occurred since it was very extraordinary and highly improbable.

In a message on Facebook, the store where the snake was kept said its deepest sympathies went out to the family of the two boys.

The business said it was temporarily suspending its account online due to too many users posting comments that were very demeaning.

Early reports said the reptile was a boa constrictor, but officials were able to say later that it had been an African rocky python.

Filed Under: Headlines, Life

Driver runs down Pedestrians on Venice Boardwalk

August 4, 2013 By Michael Turner Leave a Comment

On Saturday evening, witnesses said the driver of a car methodically and purposely plowed into groups of people on the Boardwalk in Venice, California. The driver’s action killed one person and injured at least 14.

Two of the injured were in serious condition, two were listed as critical and 10 others had varying degrees of injuries. In all, 10 people were transported to the hospital, including the one who died in route.

Authorities said the accident took place on Saturday after 6 p.m. local time. Police were told by witnesses that the car’s driver looked as if he was in control of his vehicle and was deliberately attempting to hit the people on the boardwalk.

One witness was enjoying the late afternoon sun when the incident took place and said the scene was gruesome and very bloody. She said blocks and blocks of people were tossed about on the sidewalk.

The driver was able to flee the scene of the incident. About one hour later, just when police were starting to circulate world about a black Dodge, a man entered a police station in Santa Monica, a neighboring city.

The man told officers he had been involved with an incident on the boardwalk. A car was later located close by that police believe was the one use by the man.

The man was still being questioned hours later and police were trying to determine if he had been the driver. No names were given of the person killed or of the person of interest.

The security video and accounts from witnesses indicate the man was wearing a baseball cap, white pants, gray shirt and was parked near the Cadillac Hotel.

The video showed him twice leaving his car and entering the pedestrian area, before returning to the Dodge Avenger making his way around the yellow safety poles that are supposed to prevent vehicles from the pedestrian only area.

Filed Under: Headlines, Travel

U.S. Pending Home Sales Highest Since April 2010

May 30, 2013 By Karen Jackson Leave a Comment

With the Federal Reserve  continuing to implement policies to keep mortgage rates low the National Association of Realtors said, ts Pending Home Sales Index, based on contracts signed last month, rose 0.3 percent to 106.0, the highest reading since April 2010.

A sale is listed as pending when the contract has been signed but the transaction has not closed.

Home prices in March rose 10.2% from a year earlier, the largest annual gain since prices began to fall in 2006

However the increase was below economists expectations and  caution that a shortage of properties for sale could slow down the momentum. forecast the index would rise 1.7% from March’s reading of 105.7. About a third of home resales are cash transactions.

Over the last month home resale contracts rose modestly in the Northeast and Midwest and fell in the South and West.

Filed Under: Headlines

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