Bodies found on Japan volcano, raising toll to 48

OTAKI, JAPAN , OCT 01 - A dozen more bodies were found Wednesday near the ash-covered summit of a Japan ese volcano as searches resumed amid concern of toxic gasses and another eruption.

The death toll from last Saturday's surprise eruption at Mount Ontake stands at 48 after Wednesday's additions, Nagano prefectural police said.

Prefectural and police officials said most bodies were found around the summit, where many climbers were resting or having lunch.

The Ground Self-Defense Forces helicopters brought more than a dozen bodies to the foot of the mountain Wednesday.

Relatives and friends of those who are feared missing in the mountain waited for news in a municipal hall in a nearby town of Kiso.

Medical experts who have examined some of the nearly 70 injured told Japan ese media many of them had bruises, cuts and bone fractures on the back, an apparent sign they were hit by rocks flying out of the volcano. Some of them were badly coated with ash and had to be carefully washed to reach the skin surface.

The eruption caught hikers by surprise. Seismologists had detected signs of increased seismic activity at Mount Ontake, one of Japan 's 110 active volcanos, but nothing signaled a fatal eruption.

Hong Kong protesters try to win over tourists

HONG KONG, OCT 02 - The luxury boutiques of Hong Kong 's Tsim Shai Tsui district are so mobbed with vacationing Chinese customers that store owners have put up red velvet ropes to control the crowds. Pro-democracy protesters saw it as a perfect spot to spread the word to their mainland brethren.

But instead of support, many of the young demonstrators got an earful Wednesday from grumpy tourists who appeared more intent on shopping than talking about democracy. Some complained that Hong Kong already enjoys more freedom than the rest of the country.

"What you kids are doing is meaningless! You are too idealistic!" a woman in her late 50s shouted at the students who are conducting sit-ins in the tony neighborhood.

"What they're doing is quite selfish and doesn't make them look good," added Selena Lau, 45, who was visiting from Guangzhou.

The students have been boycotting classes since early last week, and more protesters of all ages have since joined huge street demonstrations calling for genuine democratic reforms in the semiautonomous enclave. Police tried to disperse them with tear gas Sunday, but they regrouped and spread to several other neighborhoods.

No images of the protests have been shown in China's state-run media on the mainland, where a 1989 pro-democracy movement was crushed in a brutal crackdown in Beijing's Tiananmen Square and has not been tolerated since.

The media blackout prompted some student demonstrators to spread their message in the Tsim Shau Tsui district Wednesday, the start of a seven-day holiday on the mainland.

The group was hoping to "get the attention of the mainland tourists ... who may not have heard anything about what is happening in Hong Kong ," said Serena Chan, a 17-year-old student at Hong Kong University.

About 200 people, mostly students, had gathered by afternoon, setting up a blue tarp and sitting cross-legged. Entrances to the district's boutiques offering brands such as Louis Vuitton and Gucci remained unobstructed.

"I do support democracy, but not when protesters are blocking the streets and inconveniencing everyone," Lau said. "The government has some responsibility, too. They should try to negotiate with the protesters and have some dialogue."

Lau noted that many parts of the world don't have democracy, and that Hong Kong has more liberty than the rest of China.

"People in Hong Kong are already so lucky, and they should just work hard to make better lives for themselves," she said. "That's what people in mainland China do. We just think that if we work hard, we fend for ourselves; we don't make demands of the government."

Hong Kong and the mainland have long had an uneasy relationship, with residents of the former British colony seeing themselves as urbane and cosmopolitan, while viewing mainlanders as uneducated and ill-mannered.

When China took over Hong Kong in 1997, it negotiated a "one country, two systems" arrangement that ensured the territory would retain its Western-style civil liberties, and promised eventual universal suffrage. Beijing's recent decision to impose a screening process for candidates in the territory's first direct election in 2017 was seen by many in Hong Kong as reneging on that promise, prompting the protests.

"Would Hong Kong people really prefer to be a colony of Britain than be a part of China?" asked a 45-year-old man from Heilongjiang province who gave only his surname, Chen.

He spoke initially with a reporter but gradually raised his voice to address his comments to the nearby protesters.

"People just need to have good livelihoods; the other things don't matter," Chen said.

Eric Tang, a 32-year-old protester, said tourists from other countries were more sympathetic to their cause.

"The Chinese people who come to this area tend to be the privileged and the wealthy who benefit from the undemocratic system in China," he said. "I don't think we're going to have much success trying to change their thinking."

Some people on the mainland, however, have shared information and expressed support for the protests by circumventing the tough censorship on social media, often via cellphone messaging services.

One visitor, Lam Hong from Shenzhen, said he was joining the pro-democracy rallies.

"I hadn't seen any news about protests in Hong Kong before arriving this morning to visit friends," said the 43-year-old small business owner. "I joined in because I support what Hong Kong ers are trying to do and why they're angry. There's supposed to be 'one country, two systems.'"

Lam added: "With police treating protesters like they did, it seems as if Hong Kong is already the same as China."

Hong Kong police arrest 19 in protest clash

HONG KONG, OCT 04 - Hong Kong arrested 19 people, some believed to have organized crime ties, during a night of running brawls stretching into Saturday as mobs tried to drive pro-democracy protesters from the streets where they've held a weeklong, largely peaceful demonstration.

At least 12 people and six officers were injured during the clashes, Senior Superintendent Patrick Kwok Pak-chung said. Protest leaders called off planned talks with the government on political reforms after the battles kicked off Friday afternoon in gritty, blue-collar Mong Kok, across Victoria Harbor from the activists' main protest camp.

Police struggled for hours to control the battles as attackers pushed, shoved and jeered the protesters. Those arrested face charges of unlawful assembly, fighting in public and assault, Kwok said, adding that eight men are believed to have backgrounds involving triads, or organized crime gangs.

The protesters urged residents to join their cause and demanded that police protect their encampments. The Hong Kong Federation of Students, one of the groups leading the demonstrations that drew tens of thousands of people earlier this week, said they saw no choice but to cancel the dialogue.

"The government is demanding the streets be cleared. We call upon all Hong Kong people to immediately come to protect our positions and fight to the end," the group said in a statement.

They demanded the government hold someone responsible for the scuffles, the worst disturbances since police used tear gas and pepper spray on protesters last weekend to try to disperse them.

"Of course I'm scared, but we have to stay and support everyone," said Michael Yipu, 28, who works in a bank.

The allegations that organized crime members were involved in the clashes fueled jitters Saturday at the movement's main camp, on a highway outside government headquarters. There were frequent calls for supporters to rush to barricades after sporadic rumors that people were coming to attack them.

"Many people are gathering here and they are very determined to unite against the triad members," said Amy Ho, 21, who was studying translation at university.

The standoff is the biggest challenge to Beijing's authority since it took over the former British colony in 1997. Earlier Friday, the students had agreed to talks with the government proposed by Hong Kong's leader, Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying. But his attempt to defuse tensions fell flat as many protesters were unhappy with his refusal to yield to their demands for his resignation.

The cancellation of the talks — prompted by clashes with men who tried to tear down the makeshift barricades and tents set up by the demonstrators — left the next steps in the crisis uncertain.

It was unclear if those scuffles were spontaneous or had been organized, although some of the attackers wore blue ribbons signaling support for the mainland Chinese government, while the protesters have yellow ribbons.

On social media, an image circulated purportedly calling on people in the "silent majority" to gather and agitate the protesters in Mong Kok for 300 Hong Kong dollars ($38), promising bonuses for extra destruction. The information could not be verified and calls to a mobile phone number listed on the notice did not go through. Protesters also accused police of working together with triads to use force to attack them, but police denied it.

At least some of those opposed to protesters were residents fed up with the inconvenience of blocked streets and closed shops.

"It's not about whether I support their cause or not. It's about whether what they are doing is legal or not," said Donald Chan, 45. "It is illegal. It has brought chaos to the city."

The chaos prompted calls from police and other top officials for everyone to avoid violence and go home.

"We should not use violence or disrupt social order in any situation," Leung said. "All people gathering in those areas should disperse as soon as possible and restore social order, so that daily lives will be restored to normal."

The protesters have been in the streets since Sept. 26, pledging to preserve Hong Kong's Western-style legal system and civil liberties. They want the Chinese government to reverse a decision requiring all candidates in the first election for Hong Kong's leader in 2017 to be approved by a mostly pro-Beijing committee. The demonstrators want open nominations.

Leung had appeared at a news conference late Thursday night where he refused to resign and said he had asked Hong Kong's top civil servant, Chief Secretary Carrie Lam, to engage in talks with protest leaders. Before those talks were called off Friday by the students, Lam said she had begun organizing the discussions.

China's government has mostly kept quiet during the crisis, other than to call the protests illegal and support the Hong Kong government's efforts to disperse them. On Friday, the Communist Party newspaper People's Daily accused a small group of demonstrators of trying to "hijack the system" and said the protest effort was doomed to fail.

The front-page editorial said there is "no room for concessions" on the candidate screening issue, noting that Hong Kong "is directly under the jurisdiction of the central government; it is not a country or an independent political entity."

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8 things to know about Israel’s new president Reuven Rivlin

The Knesset vote is in, and Likud MK Reuven Rivlin has been elected Israel’s tenth president. A fairly beloved figure in Israel and a relative unknown abroad, here’s everything you need to know about Israel’s new citizen number one, known affectionately to many as “Rubi” (… and “Ruby” and “Ruvi”).

1. He does not believe in a two-state solution: Rivlin, a staunch hawk, has voiced his opposition to the establishment of a Palestinian state on many occasions, most recently in an interview with The Times of Israel. However, despite his objections, Rivlin maintained he would not intervene in peacemaking efforts if the government should support the measure. Rivlin has stated repeatedly that he would opt for a binational state, granting Palestinians full citizenship, over plans that would divide the land. Rivlin referred to himself as “a utopianist” in this regard. “I have a vision that suddenly all the Jewish people [from around the world] will come to live here… And if there were 10 million Jews here, we wouldn’t have to give up on anything,” he told The Times of Israel. His resolutely right-wing reputation has not alienated Israeli-Arab MKs, however, who were said to back the candidate on Tuesday.

2. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is said to despise him: The long-standing rumors of rivalry between the two Likud members reached new heights in recent months when Netanyahu made attempts to abolish the presidency, as well as other efforts to sabotage the campaign — such as begging Nobel-Laureate Elie Wiesel to accept the position — as Rivlin slowly distinguished himself as the front-runner. Speculation abounds as to the source of the friction between the two: some say it harks back to a jab Rivlin made alluding to Sara Netanyahu’s role in political affairs, to which the prime minister’s wife took offense; others maintain it was Rivlin’s fierce criticism of Netanyahu’s policies while Rivlin was Knesset speaker that spurred the hostility. At the end of the day, however, Netanyahu endorsed Rivlin for president, and Rivlin insisted Tuesday there was “no bad blood” between them.

3. He comes from an illustrious Jerusalemite dynasty: Rivlin’s ancestor Rabbi Hillel Rivlin was a student of the famed 18th century rabbinic scholar the Vilna Gaon, and was dispatched to Israel along with other students on the rabbi’s instructions to establish a Jewish community. Hillel Rivlin moved to Israel in 1809, and both he and later his son were involved in purchasing land in Jerusalem for Jewish settlement. The pioneering spirit persisted in other family members, such as Yosef-Yoshe, founder of Nahalat Shiva and one of the first settlers of the cities of Rosh Pina and Petah Tikva; and an previous Reuven Rivlin who was involved in settling Kiryat Shmuel.

4. He will be Israel’s first vegetarian president: Since the late 1960s, Rivlin has eschewed meat products for reasons of conscience.

5. He was a victim of political “pie-ing”: In 2001, while serving as communications minister, Rivlin exited a government meeting and had a cream pie hurled at his face by a young female activist. The activist was detained by Knesset security along with a number of others, who said they were protesting the concentration of Israeli media among a few wealthy families and Rivlin’s failure to “support public interests” as communications minister. Rivlin was said to be uncharacteristically embarrassed by the incident, but when he regained his composure quipped “I have insurance for many things, but not for whipped cream.”

6. He’s particularly concerned with the sensitivities of Israeli Arabs: During a 2011 Knesset day-long debate over ways to attract Arabs into public service, Rivlin, then Knesset speaker, said he opposed a bill to give preference in government hiring to IDF veterans and national service participants.  Rivlin argued that since most Arabs do not serve, this would put them at an unfair disadvantage as they pursued jobs in the public sector. He also criticized the Knesset for failing to meet the 10% threshold in minority hirings. In July 2012, Rivlin lambasted a Jewish Home plan to draft Israeli Arabs into the IDF.  “These calls are populism at best,” he said, “and have a tone of incitement at worst.” He called instead for a separate Arab national service infrastructure be set up to allow young Arab citizens to serve in their own communities.

7. He’s known as a pretty funny guy:  A cousin of beloved comedian Sefi Rivlin, Ruby is often described as having a “quirky” sense of humor. It often has a self-deprecating character to it — when he was about to be ousted as Knesset speaker in 2013 (possibly over a joke he made about Netanyahu’s wife), Rivlin said, “I got to hear my eulogies while I was still alive.”

Here’s Rivlin on the Israeli skit show “Eretz Nehederet”:

8. He oversaw one of the most heated debates in Knesset history. On June 6, 2010, Balad MK Hanin Zoabi was slated to return to the Knesset for the first time since she had been detained while accompanying a blockade-busting flotilla from Turkey to Gaza. Israeli navy seals who had attempted to assume control of the flotilla ship Mavi Marmara were violently attacked by pro-Palestinian activists, and responded by opening fire, killing nine. Predictably, the Knesset debate on “Israeli reaction to the Gaza flotilla” turned ugly, resulting in the expulsion of 14 MKs as the lawmakers nearly came to blows. Rivlin, who carefully watched most of the proceedings from his chambers while a hand-picked deputy struggled to maintain order, called the session the most tense since a 1952 debate over the Holocaust reparation agreement with Germany.

Source: The Times of Israel

Teen sisters allegedly gang-raped, hanged to death in Uttar Pradesh; Cops suspected

June 02, India,

Authorities in northern India said Thursday that they have arrested three men, including two police officers, suspected of gang-raping and killing two teenage sisters before hanging their bodies from a mango tree, sparking renewed public outrage over sexual violence in the country.

hromedia India Teen sisters allegedly gang-raped, hanged to death in Uttar Pradesh; Cops suspected intl. news2Villagers found the girls’ bodies hanging from the tree Wednesday morning, hours after they disappeared from fields near their home in Katra village in Uttar Pradesh state, police Superintendent Atul Saxena said. The girls, who were 14 and 15, had gone into the fields because there was no toilet in their home.

Hundreds of angry villagers spent the rest of Wednesday in silent protest over alleged police inaction in the case. Indian TV channels showed video of the villagers sitting under the girls’ bodies as they swung in the wind, preventing authorities from taking them down from the tree until the suspects were arrested.

Police arrested the three men later in the day and were searching for four more suspects.

Autopsies confirmed the girls had been gang-raped and strangled before being hung, Saxena said.

The villagers accused the chief of the local police station of ignoring a complaint by the girls’ father Tuesday night that the girls were missing. The station chief has since been suspended.

The family belongs to the Dalit community, also called “untouchables” and considered the lowest rung in India’s age-old caste system.

India tightened its anti-rape laws last year, making gang rape punishable by the death penalty. The new laws came after nationwide protests over the fatal gang rape of a 23-year-old woman on a moving bus in New Delhi that triggered nationwide protests.

Records show a rape is committed every 22 minutes in India, a nation of 1.2 billion people. Activists say that number is low because of an entrenched culture of tolerance for sexual violence, which leads many cases to go unreported. Women are often pressed by family or police to stay quiet about sexual assault, experts say, and those who do report cases are often subjected to public ridicule or social stigma.

Last month, the head of Uttar Pradesh state’s governing party told an election rally that the party was opposed to the law calling for gang rapists to be executed.

Press journalist for HRO media – Saurav Nag contributed to this report.

New regulations for Caregivers - VERY IMPORTANT!!

A few months ao the Israeli Parliament passed two new regulation that will apply on migrant caregivers. The purpose of these new regulations, according to the Israeli authorities, is to stop caregivers from leaving employers in remote areas, and to make sure that caregivers will not change too many employers without a "good" reason.

◾The new regulation on Geographical areas will be valid from July 10th, 2014

◾The new regulation on Number of employers will be valid from August 9th, 2014

Below you will find the full detauls of both regulations:

Geographic restrictions for the employment of migrant caregivers (summary)

Israel will be divided to 3 geographical areas:

Tel Aviv: The Tel Aviv district

Center: The center (not including Tel Aviv Area), Haifa and Jerusalem districts

Periphery: The Northern and Southern districts (not including Tel Aviv, Haifa and Jerusalem), as well as the Occupied Territories

1. When a migrant caregiver enters Israel for the first time, the area(s) in which s/he is allowed to work will be set in his visa.

2. The area(s) set according to the regulation will be the place of residence of the employer who invited the caregiver and:

◾If the employer lives in Tel Aviv, the caregiver is allowed to work in Tel Aviv, the Center and the Periphery.

◾If the employer lives in the Center, the caregiver is allowed to work in Center and the Periphery.

◾If the employer lives in the Periphery, the caregiver is allowed to work in the Periphery only.

3. Receiving a working visa:

◾A working visa will be given only after the person who gives the visa verifies that the caregiver was notified, before entering Israel, in a language that s/he understands, about the place of residence of the employer, and about the mobility restrictions according to these regulations.

◾A working visa will not be renewed unless the person who gives the visa verifies that the worker was notified, in a language that s/he understands, about these regulations. 

4. If a worker is found working in another area (that is not in his/her visa), the Minister of Interior may cancel or not renew the visa, after giving the caregiver the opportunity to explain his/her case.

5. These rules will not apply on caregivers who work for an employer who lives in an area according to the visa, but moved to another area temporarily. 

6. In case the employer moves to another area while the caregiver is working legally, and the employer wants to continue employing the caregiver, the caregiver is allowed to continue working in the new area, only after the employer and the caregiver inform the authorities. In that case, the new area will be set in the caregiver's visa. 

7. In special cases, if a caregiver or an employer asks that a caregiver work outside the area(s) set in the visa, the Interior Ministry may allow this. This is only if the request is because of the wellbeing of the worker or the employer. 8. The Interior Ministry will not allow changing the area in case worker was working outside the area(s) in his visa before receiving an approval from The Interior Ministry.

◾ For caregivers who are already working in Israel:If the caregiver is working legally, the area where his employer lives will be set as the working area in his/her visa

◾If the worker is not working legally, the area where his last employer lived will be set as the working area in his/her visa

Number of employers and changing employers

Termination of work: any termination of a caregiver's employment which IS NOT one of the following:

◾The employer's death

◾Dismissal

◾The employer is moving to a nursing home or hospital.

1. If a caregiver terminated his/her work (for any reason which is not specified above), for three employers in two years, there is a suspicion that s/he misuses his/her visa, an official of the Ministry of Interior may investigate the suspicion. The Interior Ministry will inform the worker about the possible implications as described in the regulation, and will let the caregiver state his\her case.

2. Special cases to be considered in the decision of the Interior Ministry:

◾In order to make a decision in case there are special circumstances of the caregiver or the employer, that lead to termination of work, the Interior Ministry can ask for information from the caregiver, employer and the relevant agency. All this is in while protecting the caregiver's freedom, so s/he is not forced to work for a specific employer.

◾If the caregiver resigns from his work because of a worsening of the employment conditions, or other issues of the working relations where the caregiver cannot be asked to continue working (for example – abuse of the caregiver), this will not be considered as "misuse" of the visa.

3. If the investigation of the Interior Ministry finds that the worker misused his/her visa, the Minister may cancel or not renew the visa, after the caregiver was given the chance to explain his/her case.

4. Receiving a working visa:

◾A working visa will be given only after the person who gives the visa verifies that the caregiver was notified, before entering Israel, in a language that s/he understands, about these rules and the number of employer they can change.

◾A working visa will not be renewed unless the person who gives the visa verifies that the worker was notified, in a language that s/he understands, about these regulations. 

5. Any termination of work that happened before these regulations go into effect will not be counted according to regulation.

Common Myths About Hinduism: Not Just a Religion

Hinduism is a unique faith! The most obvious misconception about Hinduism is that we tend to see it as just another religion. To be precise, Hinduism is a way of life, a dharma. Dharma does not mean religion. It is the law that governs all action. Thus, contrary to popular perception, Hinduism is not just a religion in the tradition sense of the term. Out of this misinterpretation, has come most of the misconceptions about Hinduism. 

Hinduism: A Modern Term

Words like Hindu or Hinduism are ananchronisms. They do not exist in the Indian cultural lexicon. People have coined them to suit their needs in different points of history. Nowhere in the scriptures is there any reference to Hinduism.

A Culture More than a Religion

Hinduism does not have any one founder, and it does not have a Bible or a Koran to which controversies can be referred for resolution. Consequently, it does not require its adherents to accept any one idea. It is thus cultural, not creedal, with a history contemporaneous with the peoples with which it is associated.

Much More than Spirituality

Writings we now categorise as Hindu scriptures include not just books relating to spirituality but also secular pursuits like science, medicine and engineering. This is another reason why it defies classification as a religion per se. Further, it cannot be claimed to be essentially a school of metaphysics. Nor can it be described as 'other worldly'. In fact, one can almost identify Hinduism with a civilization that is flourishing even now.

A Common Faith of the Indian Subcontinent

The Aryan Invasion Theory having been completely discredited, it cannot be assumed that Hinduism was the pagan faith of invaders belonging to a race called Aryans. Rather it was the common metafaith of people of various races, including Harappans. The Sanskrit word 'aryan' is a word of honourable address, not the racial reference invented by European scholars and put to perverse use by the Nazis.

A Culture Much Older than we Believe

Evidence that Hinduism must have existed even circa 10000 B.C. is available: The importance attached to the river Saraswati and the numerous references to it in the Vedas indicates that the Rig Veda was being composed well before 6500 B.C. The first vernal equinox recorded in the Rig Veda is that of the star Ashwini, which is now known to have occurred around 10000 B.C. Subhash Kak, a Computer Engineer and a reputed Indologist, 'decoded' the Rig Veda and found many advanced astronomical concepts therein. The technological sophistication required to even anticipate such concepts is unlikely to have been acquired by a nomadic people, as the Invasionists would like us to believe. In his book Gods, Sages and Kings, David Frawley provides compelling evidence to substantiate this claim.

Hinduism is a Not really Polytheistic!

Many believe that multiplicity of deities makes Hinduism polytheistic. Such a belief is nothing short of mistaking the wood for the tree. The bewildering diversity of Hindu belief - theistic, atheistic and agnostic - rests on a solid unity. "Ekam sath, Vipraah bahudhaa vadanti", says the Rig Veda: The Truth (God, Brahman, etc) is one, scholars call it by various names. 

What the multipicity of deities does indicate is Hinduism's spiritual hospitality as evidenced by two characteristically Hindu doctrines: The Doctrine of Spiritual Competence (Adhikaara) and the Doctrine of The Chosen Deity (Ishhta Devata). The doctrine of spiritual competence requires that the spiritual practices prescribed to a person should correspond to his or her spiritual competence. The doctrine of the chosen deity gives a person the freedom to choose (or invent) a form of Brahman that satisfies his spiritual cravings and to make it the object of his worship. It is notable that both doctrines are consistent with Hinduism's assertion that the unchanging reality is present in everything, even the transient.

Source: about.com

Arvind Kejriwal was arrested and sent to Jail - with Video

May 22, Delhi.

Arvind Kejriwal was arrested on Wednesday and sent to Tihar Jail till May 23 by a Delhi court. He is sent to jail after he refused to furnish bail bond in a criminal defamation complaint filed against him by BJP leader Nitin Gadkari. Protests erupted around 7pm outside Tihar jail. Kejriwal, who was taken into judicial custody earlier in the day in connection with a defamation case.

Watch on Video:

Former PM Ehud Olmert jailed for six years for graft

For first time in Israel's history, former PM jailed: Judge sentences former prime minister Ehud Olmert to 6 years in jail for his role in real-estate development graft affair. 

Former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert was sentenced to six years in prison and fined NIS 1 million in court in Jerusalem on Tuesday morning for his role in the 'Holyland Affair', the real estate corruption case considered the largest of its kind in Israeli history.

Judges ruled that the seven jail sentences handed out on Tuesday would begin on the first of September and fines would be paid out in 10 payments.

The case marks the first time a prime minister was convicted of a felony and now, with his sentencing, the first time a former prime minister has ever been sentenced to jail time.

Judge David Rose said at the sentencing of that the graft charges Olmert was convicted of in March include moral turpitude.

Source: ynet

A Grenade Thrown at the Home of Judge on Thailand

MAY 08, BANGKOK. 

A grenade was thrown at the home of a judge on Thailand´s Constitutional Court that a day earlier had ousted the country´s prime minister for abuse of power, police said Thursday.

Police Col. Kamthorn Auicharoen said that there were no casualties and that the attackers were trying to instigate a situation to further deepen the political conflict. The headquarters of Thailand´s major commercial bank and a scientific research facility were also damaged by similar grenades overnight. 

The court on Wednesday found Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra guilty of abusing her power by transferring the National Security Council chief in 2011 to another position. It ruled that the transfer was carried out to benefit her politically powerful family and, therefore, violated the constitution — an accusation she has denied.

The ruling accomplished what anti-government demonstrators have sought to do for the past six months and further widening the country´s sharp political divide.

Supporters of deposed Yingluck have called for a huge rally Saturday to protest the ruling by the Constitutional Court, which exercised powers laid out in a constitution written by a military government after a coup in 2006.

The leader of the anti-government protesters, Suthep Thaugsuban, meanwhile, told his followers that they would stage a "final offensive" on Friday and would achieve their goal of fully ousting the government.

The court found Yingluck guilty of abusing her power by transferring the National Security Council chief in 2011 to another position. It ruled that the transfer was carried out to benefit her politically powerful family and, therefore, violated the constitution - an accusation she has denied.

The ruling forced out nine Cabinet members but left nearly two dozen others in their posts, including Deputy Prime Minister Niwattumrong Boonsongpaisan, who was appointed the new acting leader.

Yingluck appeared on television two hours after the verdict to thank her supporters, emphasize that she was an elected leader and assert her innocence.

"We held true to the principles of honesty in running the country, and never acted corruptly, as we were accused," said Yingluck, 46, who swept to power nearly three years ago as the country´s first female prime minister.

Hundreds killed in Nigeria attacked by Islamic Militant

MAY 08, LAGOS.

Islamic militants who have triggered international outrage over the kidnapping of more than 270 Nigerian schoolgirls opened fire on a busy marketplace, killing hundreds of people in a new spasm of violence in the country's northeast. 

The attack escalates Nigeria's growing crisis from a campaign of bombings, massacres and abductions being waged by the Boko Haram terrorist network in its campaign to impose an Islamic state on Africa's most populous nation.

As many as 300 people were killed in the assault late Monday on the town of Gamboru Ngala on Nigeria's border with Cameroon. The extremists opened fire on a marketplace bustling with shoppers taking advantage of the cooler nighttime temperatures in the semi-desert region, then rampaged through the town for 12 hours, setting houses ablaze and shooting those who tried to escape.

The attack and hundreds of casualties were confirmed by Borno state information commissioner Mohammed Bulama, who spoke to The Associated Press by telephone Wednesday.

Nigerian federal Senator Ahmed Zannah blamed fighters of the Boko Haram terrorist network that has claimed responsibility for the April 15 kidnapping of 276 teenage girls from their boarding school in Chibok, in northeastern Borno state. The insurgents threatened to sell the young women into slavery in a video seen by AP.

Netanyahu pushes to define Israel as Jewish State only

Binyamin Netanyahu will push ahead with a rare change to Israel's basic laws – which amount to the country's constitution – to insist Israel is "the nation state of one people only – the Jewish people – and of no other people".

At Sunday's weekly cabinet meeting, Netanyahu said the civil rights of minorities, including Arabs, would be guaranteed, and the move was vital at a time when aspects of Israel's legitimacy were "under a constant and increasing assault from abroad and at home".

Netanyahu proposed the change last week during a visit to Tel Aviv's Independence Hall, attracting fierce criticism from political rivals and support from some of his allies. The move follows a Palestinian refusal in peace talks to recognise the status that Netanyahu described.

The proposed law would be in addition to Israel's declaration of independence of May 1948 – the anniversary of which is celebrated on Tuesday – which defines Israel as a Jewish state.

Most of Israel's basic laws deal with procedural issues relating to elections, the appointment of the prime minister, state payments and the administration of the judiciary, but some laws have been more controversial, including the 1980 law that designated Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.

Church demolition is persecution of Christians: China

(CNN) -- A massive church was razed to the ground this week in Wenzhou, a coastal Chinese city nicknamed the "Jerusalem of the East" for its large Christian population.

Local officials responsible for the demolition say the church was an illegal structure that was four times the permitted structure size. But Christian groups are concerned that the demolition signals an official campaign against religious organizations.

The Sanjiang Church took 12 years and 30 million yuan ($4.7 million) to build, reports Chinese media. Its soaring spires were a symbol of worship in a city that is fifteen percent Christian.

The church's demolition on Monday was preceded by a month-long standoff between supporters of the church and local authorities, with supporters occupying the church to protest its destruction.

The church was originally a government-approved project under the official "Three-Self Patriotic Movement," a state-sanctioned Protestant church. Last September it was lauded by the local government as a model engineering project.

But the official rhetoric has since changed entirely.

Jin Leibo, a spokesperson from the propaganda department of Yongjia County, where Sanjiang Church was located, told CNN that the church was destroyed as it was "illegal."

"The building area should be within 1,881 square meters, but they built 7,928 square meters illegally," Jin said. The church was asked to "self-rectify" by April 22, but workers only managed to tear down 500 square meters by deadline, according to officials.

By Monday evening the church had been flattened by bulldozers.

Five local government officials are currently under investigation in relation to the illegal construction of the church, according to Jin. One official was arrested, and another is in custody.

Representatives of the church could not be reached for comment by CNN.

U.S.-based Christian rights group China Aid says the faithful are worried that the church demolition could be a sign that the government is tightening its grip over the spread of Christianity in China.

The organization claims that churches in different parts of Wenzhou and Hangzhou are currently "facing persecution" as a result of a provincial campaign against religious structures that was set into motion after Zhejiang Party Secretary Xia Baolong visited churches across the province and deemed them "too conspicuous."

Under Communist Party rule since 1949, China is officially an atheist country, but Christianity is growing. According to the Pew Research Center, China's Christian population had reached 67 million by 2010, the second largest in Asia.

Florida: Over 100 prisoners and staffs were injured in an Gas explosion

Over 100 prisoners and staff members were injured in an explosion that occurred inside a prison in the State of Florida. About 600 prisoners were transferred to other prisons and the authorities have clarified that no prisoner escaped. The police have begun investigating the explosion.

A powerful explosion took place last night in a prison in the State of Florida.  Between 100 and 150 inmates and staff members were injured in the explosion that was apparently caused by a gas leak.  The prisoners that were not injured were evacuated to another facility.

The prison authorities stressed that no prisoner escaped during the explosion of the facility. The wounded, most of them prisoners serving their sentences, were evacuated to hospitals in the area. About 600 prisoners, including 400 men and 200 women, were on the other side of the prison and were not hurt. Following the devastation, they were transferred by bus to nearby incarceration facilities.

The police and rescue forces have begun an investigation into the cause of the explosion, which caused extensive damage to the building. “The building partially collapsed,” Kathleen Castro, a spokesman for the region, stated. Recently, many storms have occurred in the area that led to a flooding of rainwater in the prison, but at this time it is not known whether there is a connection between the gas leak and the flooding.

Castro revealed to journalists the possibility that difficult weather conditions in the area led to the explosion: “the rains yesterday caused major flooding in the building.” The possibility that the explosion was a sabotage attempt in order to escape from the prison has not been eliminated yet either.

8.1 Million People live in Israel

According to data published by the Israeli Central Bureau of Statistics marking Israeli Independence Day, 8.1 million people live in Israel, including 6.1 million Jews and 1.6 million Arabs. Last year, 178,000 babies were born in Israel and 24,000 Jews immigrated to the country.

As we approach the eve of Israel’s 66th birthday, the Central Bureau of Statistics released data about the population in Israel.  According to the data published today, 8.180 million people now live in Israel.  This is a significant increase in the population size since 1948, when Israel only had 806,000 inhabitants.

The data released today shows that there are around 6.135 million Jews in Israel, who comprise 75% of the population. The Arab population numbers around 1.694 million people (20.7%) and the population of the others, non-Arab Christians, members of other religions or those that lack religious affiliation stands at 351,000 people (4.3%).

Since the last Israeli Independence Day, Israel’s population grew by about 157,000 people, representing a 2% increase. During this period of time, 178,000 babies were born in Israel and about 42,000 people died. The number of Jewish immigrants who came to Israel was 24,000.

At the end of 2012, about 75% of the population in Israel consisted of native-born Israelis, compared to only 35% in 1948. In 1948, Israel had only one city with more than 100,000 inhabitants, Tel Aviv. Today, 14 Israeli cities have more than 100,000 inhabitants: Jerusalem, Tel Aviv-Jaffa, Haifa, Rishon LeTzion, Ashdod and Petach Tikva.

Searchers dismiss possibility wreckage in Bay of Bengal is from MH370

APR 30 - AGENCY. 

A private company said it had found what it believes is wreckage of a plane in the Bay of Bengal that should be investigated as potential debris from missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 , but the possibility was dismissed by search coordinators.

The Joint Agency Coordination Centre (JACC) managing the multinational search for the missing plane said it continued to believe that the plane came down in the southern Indian Ocean off Australia.

The Bay of Bengal is located between India and Myanmar, thousands of miles from the current search area. The wreckage was reported by Australian geophysical survey company GeoResonance.

"The company is not declaring this is MH370 , however it should be investigated," GeoResonance said in a statement.

The company said it had passed on the information to Malaysian Airlines and the Malaysian and Chinese embassies in Australia on March 31, and to the JACC on April 4.

"The company and its directors are surprised by the lack of response from the various authorities," GeoResonance said.

"This may be due to a lack of understanding of the company's technological capabilities, or the JACC is extremely busy, or the belief that the current search in the Southern Indian Ocean is the only plausible location of the wreckage."

GeoResonance says on its website that it offers a unique and proven method of geophysical survey that detects electromagnetic fields from various chemical elements. GeoResonance did not respond to requests for further comment.

Flight MH370 , carrying 227 passengers and 12 crew, went missing in March en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing.

The Australian-led search team said it was relying on information from satellite and other data to determine the missing aircraft's location and the location in the GeoResonance report was not within that search arc.

"The joint international team is satisfied that the final resting place of the missing aircraft is in the southerly portion of the search arc," it said.

A massive search operation involving aircraft, ships and sophisticated underwater equipment capable of scouring the ocean floor has so far failed to turn up any trace of the plane.

Australia's Prime Minister Tony Abbott said on Monday the chance of finding floating debris was now remote, and a new phase of the search would focus on the seabed.

Malaysia's transport ministry said in a statement late on Tuesday that it was assessing the credibility of the latest report.

"In line with Malaysia's consistent stand of verifying and corroborating any new lead since Day 1 of the search operations, we are aware of a report citing the detection of potential aircraft wreckage in the Bay of Bengal," said Acting Transport Minister Hishammuddin Hussein.

"Malaysia is working with its international partners to assess the credibility of this information."

Video shows South Korea ferry Captain fleeing sinking Ship

APR 28 - SEOUL (AFP),  

South Korea 's coastguard Monday released a video showing the trouserless captain of a sinking ferry scrambling to safety as hundreds remained trapped inside -- a move expected to intensify criticism of the crew over the disaster.

The 10-minute video -- taken by rescue officials and aired on the YTN news channel -- shows 69-year-old captain Lee Joon-seok, wearing a sweater and underpants, hastily escaping from the bridge of the tilting ship before it sank on April 16.

All 15 of the surviving crew responsible for sailing the huge ferry are in custody, facing charges including negligence and abandoning passengers.

Victims' families have bitterly criticised the official response to the disaster, saying delays in accessing the submerged ship may have robbed any survivors of their last chance to make it out alive.

The video attracted caustic online comment.

"Look at the captain running out of the ship without his pants on. How pathetic. Can't believe he didn't think about all the children trapped there while he rushed so quickly to save his own life," said one user.

Prosecutors Monday carried out a series of raids, including on a coastguard office, as part of their widening investigation into the disaster that left 300 dead or missing.

Divers trying to search the wreck of the upturned Sewol, which capsized with 476 people on board, were frustrated for a third straight day by atrocious weather and dangerous conditions.

Despite more than 60 hours of operations since Friday by divers trying to penetrate the flooded interior, only two more bodies have been recovered and 113 are still unaccounted for.

The confirmed death toll from one of the country's worst ever maritime disasters stood Monday at 189. Most of the missing and dead were high school students.

- Relatives' fury at delay -

Strong currents have also worsened fears that bodies could drift free and be scattered.

Nets have been thrown up in seas around the ferry , but no finds have yet been reported.

Park Seung-Gi, a spokesman for the government's Joint Task Force which is co-ordinating actions, vowed Monday to redouble efforts to prevent bodies getting lost at sea.

Special teams have been set up to search underwater around the sunken vessel, as well on the sea surface, nearby islands and shores, he said.

Another official said China and Japan would be asked to contact South Korea if they find any unidentified bodies on their shores.

In deeply Confucian South Korea , the proper burial of bodies -- often in the deceased person's home town -- is considered a way to show respect for the dead and to allow their soul to rest in peace.

South Korea remains in a state of national mourning, as furious relatives and the public at large cast around for someone to blame for one of the country's worst maritime accidents.

The video released Monday showed the open decks of the ship nearly empty, as crew repeatedly instructed passengers to stay in their cabins until it became impossible for them to evacuate because the ship was tilting too much.

The delay in the crucial final hours -- when most crew members fled the ferry -- sparked outrage that many lives could have been saved if passengers had received timely instructions.

Prime Minister Chung Hong-Won tendered his resignation on Sunday, admitting he had not been up to the task of overseeing the official response. He was told by President Park Geun-Hye to stay in his post until the recovery has finished.

The probe into the sinking has expanded from the ferry operator, Chonghaejin Marine, and its affiliates, to state ship safety inspectors and even sea traffic controllers amid fury over lax safety oversight and delayed rescue efforts.

On Monday prosecutors raided the coastguard office in the southern port of Mokpo to probe allegations that it had failed to respond quickly enough to a passenger's emergency call.

The office received the call -- reportedly from a teenage boy -- a few minutes before the ship sent its first distress signal to sea traffic controllers.

During his call, the boy was bombarded with questions about the ferry 's coordinates and the number of people on board.

A coastguard official later told reporters they had mistaken him for a crew member after he was transferred from another emergency call centre.

That centre in the southern province of South Jeolla is also being investigated for signs of negligence.

Tornado kills 16 in Arkansas, 1 in Oklahoma

APR 28 - VILONIA /ARKANSAS (AP),  

Three years after a tornado devastated the Little Rock suburb of Vilonia, its residents found themselves huddling in the dark early Monday wondering how they would rebuild again after the most powerful tornado yet this year carved a path through their city and others nearby, killing at least 16 people.

The tornado touched down Sunday about 10 miles west of Little Rock at around 7 p.m., then carved an 80-mile path of destruction as it passed through or near several suburbs north of the state capital, including Vilonia. It grew to be a half-mile wide and remained on the ground for much of that route, authorities said.

Among the ruins was a new $14 million intermediate school that was set to open this fall.

"There's just really nothing there anymore. We're probably going to have to start all over again," Vilonia Schools Superintendent Frank Mitchell said after surveying what was left of the building.

The tornado was the largest of several produced by a powerful storm system that rumbled through the central and southern U.S. Another twister killed a person in Quapaw, Okla., before crossing into Kansas to the north and destroying 60 to 70 homes and injuring 25 people in the city of Baxter Springs, according to authorities in Kansas. A death was reported in Baxter Springs, but it wasn't yet known if it was caused by the tornado , making the Oklahoma death the only confirmed death from Sunday's storms outside of Arkansas. The overall death toll stood at 17 early Monday.

The tornado that hit Arkansas didn't form until night was setting in, so the full extent of the damage wouldn't be known until after sunrise on Monday.

In northwest Louisiana, a teenager suffered minor injuries when a tornado touched down there early Monday. Bill Davis, a spokesman for the Bossier Parish Sheriff's Office, said the tornado hit around 3:15 a.m. Monday about six miles west of Plain Dealing in mostly a rural area. The teen suffered cuts and bruises and his home was heavily damaged.

The National Weather Service's Storm Prediction Center said more storms were expected Monday in the South and Mississippi Valley.

The Arkansas twister shredded cars, trucks and 18-wheelers stuck along Interstate 40 north of Little Rock. After the storm passed, tractor-trailer rigs tried to navigate through the damage to continue their journeys, while gawkers held smartphones to their windows to offer a grim glimpse of the destruction.

State troopers went vehicle-to-vehicle to check on motorists and said with genuine surprise that no one was killed.

"About 30 vehicles — large trucks, sedans, pickup trucks — were going through there when the funnel cloud passed over," said Bill Sadler, a spokesman for the Arkansas State Police.

Karla Ault, a Vilonia High School volleyball coach, said she sheltered in the school gymnasium as the storm approached. After it passed, her husband told her their home was gone — reduced to the slab on which it had sat.

"I'm just kind of numb. It's just shock that you lost everything. You don't understand everything you have until you realize that all I've got now is just what I have on," Ault said.

The country had enjoyed a relative lull in violent weather and didn't record the first tornado death until Sunday, when a North Carolina infant who was injured by a twister Friday died at a hospital. But the system that moved through the Plains, Midwest and South on Sunday produced tornado es that struck several states, including also Missouri, Nebraska and Iowa.

The weather service's North Little Rock office said it was virtually certain that the Mayflower and Vilonia storm would be rated as the nation's strongest twister to date this year.

"It has the potential to be EF3 or greater," said meteorologist Jeff Hood. EF3 storms have winds greater than 136 mph. "Based on some of the footage we've seen from Mayflower and where it crossed Interstate 40, things were wrecked in a very significant way."

From communities west of Little Rock to others well north of the capital, emergency workers and volunteers were going door-to-door checking for victims.

"It turned pitch black," said Mark Ausbrooks, who was at his parents' home in Mayflower when the storm arrived. "I ran and got pillows to put over our heads and ... all hell broke loose."

"My parents' home, it's gone completely," he said.

Becky Naylor, of Mayflower, said she and her family went to their storm cellar after hearing that tornado debris was falling in nearby Morgan. Naylor, 57, said there were between 20 and 22 people in the cellar and they were "packed like sardines."

"Everyone is welcome to come into it," she said. "In fact, people were pulling off the highways and were just running in."

She said the men held the cellar doors shut while the tornado 's winds tried to rip them open.

"It sounded like a constant rolling, roaring sound," she said. "Trees were really bending and the light poles were actually shaking and moving. That's before we shut the door and we've only shut the door to the storm cellar two times."

The other time was during the 2011 storm.

The Arkansas Department of Emergency Management raised the Arkansas death toll to 16 early Monday — 10 in Faulkner County, five in Pulaski County and one in White County.

At a news conference in the Philippines, President Barack Obama sent his condolences to those affected by the tornado and promised that the federal government would help in the recovery.

"Your country will be there to help you recover and rebuild as long as it takes," Obama said.

Storm ratings for Sunday's twisters were not immediately available. Before Sunday, the country had not had a tornado rated EF3 or higher since Nov. 17, streak of 160 days, the fourth-longest on record. This also would be the latest date for a storm rated EF3 or higher. The previous latest big storm for a year was March 31, 2002.

Sunday was the third anniversary of a 122- tornado day, which struck parts of Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee, Virginia and Georgia and killed 316 people.