| Florida Survivors Defend Sheriff Against Republican Calls To Oust Him Posted: 26 Feb 2018 07:16 AM PST  Students who survived the massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, earlier this month don't blame Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel for missing various red flags in the shooter's behavior.
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| Students return to Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School for the first time since shooting Posted: 25 Feb 2018 08:33 AM PST  Counselors sought to ease students and parents onto campus before the return to class later this week, as the police response to the shooting has sparked controversy because several sheriff's deputies remained outside.
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| BLM's Alicia Garza Launches Census Project To Mobilize Black Political Power Posted: 26 Feb 2018 11:24 AM PST  Black Lives Matter co-founder Alicia Garza has created a new initiative aimed at helping black communities achieve greater political power.
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| Correction: School Shooting-Florida story Posted: 26 Feb 2018 08:09 AM PST  FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — In a story Feb. 22 about the Florida school shooting, The Associated Press misquoted Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel in some versions of the story when he spoke about the families of the victims. He said, "I've been to their homes where they're sitting shiva," not "where they sit and shiver."
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| Drunken Man Rides Horse Onto California Freeway, Police Say Posted: 25 Feb 2018 04:16 PM PST  "No, you may not ride your horse on the freeway"
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| Major quake cuts communications, halts oil and gas operations in Papua New Guinea Posted: 26 Feb 2018 08:01 AM PST  By Charlotte Greenfield and Sonali Paul WELLINGTON/MELBOURNE (Reuters) - At least one company began evacuating non-essential personnel after a powerful 7.5 magnitude earthquake hit Papua New Guinea's energy-rich interior on Monday, causing landslides, damaging buildings and closing oil and gas operations. The tremor hit in the rugged, heavily forested Southern Highlands about 560 km (350 miles) northwest of the capital, Port Moresby, at around 3.45 a.m. local time (1545 GMT Sunday), according to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). A spokesman at Papua New Guinea's National Disaster Centre said by telephone the affected area was very remote and the agency could not properly assess damage until communication was re-established.
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| Mother and daughter take on an armed suspect Posted: 26 Feb 2018 05:05 AM PST  Suspect shot multiple times during the robbery. Tina Ring details the violent robbery caught on camera.
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| #BackfireTrump Will Tweet Every Gun Death At The President Posted: 26 Feb 2018 09:30 AM PST  A new gun-control campaign aims to show President Donald Trump the scale of gun violence via Twitter.
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| These Are The Real-Life Effects Of Trump's Obamacare Sabotage Posted: 26 Feb 2018 09:26 AM PST  Somebody has finally put some numbers on what the Republican effort to undermine Obamacare will mean for everyday Americans.
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| Controversial North Korean general met with protests ahead of Olympics closing ceremony Posted: 24 Feb 2018 09:59 PM PST  Protesters attempted to block vehicles carrying a controversial North Korean delegation to the closing ceremony of the Pyeongchang Winter Olympic Games as they crossed the Demilitarised Zone into South Korea on Sunday morning. Around 100 conservative politicians and activists staged a sit-in demonstration at the Tongil Bridge, according to local broadcaster YTN, accusing the delegation's leader of being behind a deadly 2010 attack on a South Korean warship. South Korean authorities deployed more than 2.500 police officers to control the protests. To avoid a clash, the motorcade took an alternative route via Jeonjin bridge, which is a military crossing, according to the Chosun Ilbo. The opposition Korea Liberty Party accused the government of "abuse of power and an act of treason" for shielding the North Korean vehicles from the protest. The protesters were furious that the South Korean government had permitted the North's delegation to be headed by Kim Young-chol, head of the Workers' Party United Front Department and the man accused by Seoul's intelligence agency of having masterminded the sinking of the corvette Cheonan in March 2010 and the artillery attack on the island of Yeonpyengdo eight months later. The delegation travelled to the South for Winter Olympics closing ceremony, which will also be attended by the US president's daughter Ivanka Trump. Both sides have said they do not expect to meet face-to-face. South Korean people attend a protest opposing Vice chairman of the North Korean ruling party's central committee Kim Yong Chol on the Grand Unification bridge Credit: Reuters "Kim Yong-chol is our sworn enemy who took away 46 sailors' precious lives with the sudden torpedo attack", Chang Je-won, a politician taking part in the demonstration, told Yonhap news. Mr Kim later ignored questions from reporters about his responsibility for the sinking of the Cheonan as he entered the Walkerhill Hotel in Seoul, where the delegation will be based for their three day visit. The South Korean government has attempted to play down Mr Kim's involvement in the two attacks – 46 sailors died when the Cheonan was torpedoed and two soldiers and two civilians died in the subsequent artillery attack – claiming that it is difficult to confirm who was responsible for the incidents. Seoul's decision to turn a blind eye to the past actions of Mr Kim – who is on South Korea's financial sanctions blacklist but is not subject to an international travel ban - has been met with scorn. In an editorial, the Chosun Ilbo accused the government of Moon Jae-in of "spitting on the Cheonan victims' graves" and of "ignoring any evidence directly linking Kim to the attack". South Korean protesters tried to block the motorcade of Kim Yong Chol Credit: Reuters It pointed out that Mr Kim was named in an inquiry conducted by the Defence Ministry in October 2010 as being behind the Cheonan attack, while an executive order signed by former US President Barack Obama in September 2010 imposed sanctions on Mr Kim. "Denying that he was responsible for the attack is like saying a man who fires a gun cannot be held responsible for the bullet that kills his victim", the editorial said. Criticising the government for its decision to "roll out the red carpet for a butcher", the editorial added: "This must end here. North Korea's decision to send Kim is a deliberate provocation and shows utter disdain of the victims of its attack". A family member of victims of the sunken South Korean naval ship Cheonan by a North Korean attack sits on a road to protest against a visit of Kim Yong Chol Credit: AP More than 70 members of the Liberty Korea Party demonstrated outside the presidential Blue House on Friday, demanding that the government cancel its acceptance of Mr Kim's visit. "President Moon's decision to accept the North's façade of peace is a serious issue and it will go down in history as a crime eternal", the party said in a statement. Washington has also weighed in on the decision to permit Mr Kim to travel to the South, with a spokesperson for the State Department stating that he should "take the opportunity" to visit the Cheonan Memorial, in Pyenogtaek, which displays the wreckage of the ship.
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| No More Status Quo After the Sky Row in the Taiwan Strait Posted: 25 Feb 2018 04:56 PM PST  The cross-Strait fight over commercial sky routes may foretell a coming year of disaster for Taiwan's external relations under China's fresh squeeze. The horn of a diplomatic war between Taiwan and China has been blown in the latest row over four new commercial flight routes initiated upon the west half of the Taiwan Strait in January. This sky row may foretell a coming year of disaster for Taiwan's external relations under China's fresh squeeze.
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| California Democrats Decline To Endorse Dianne Feinstein For Re-Election Posted: 25 Feb 2018 08:26 AM PST  The California Democratic Party rebuked its senior senator early Sunday by declining to make an endorsement in the state's U.S. Senate race.
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| Manafort asks U.S. court for release to attend New York funeral Posted: 24 Feb 2018 05:30 PM PST ![Manafort asks U.S. court for release to attend New York funeral]( "Manafort asks U.S. court for release to attend New York funeral") In a filing in federal court in Washington, Manafort said his father-in-law died on Saturday and that he would like to travel from his Virginia home to Long Island, New York, to attend the wake, funeral and burial services. Manafort has been charged with conspiring to launder money, lying on his tax returns and failing to register as a foreign agent for lobbying work for a pro-Russian political party in Ukraine, among other charges.
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| Suspect in killing of Filipina maid interrogated in Lebanon Posted: 24 Feb 2018 07:25 PM PST  BEIRUT (AP) — Lebanese authorities in Beirut are interrogating a man suspected in the death of a Filipina maid whose body was found stuffed in a freezer in Kuwait, security and judicial officials said Saturday.
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| Mexican President Cancels Trip To Washington After Heated Call With Donald Trump Posted: 24 Feb 2018 09:07 PM PST  The president of Mexico halted upcoming plans to visit the White House after a reportedly tense phone conversation with President Donald Trump, according to the Washington Post. U.S. and Mexican officials told the Post that President Enrique Peña Nieto called off his visit to Washington D.C. after Trump refused his request to publicly affirm Mexico's ongoing stance that the country will not pay for a border wall between the two countries during a phone call on Tuesday. President Peña Nieto has long maintained that Mexico will not pay for Trump's plans to fortify the border with a wall, as the country finds the gesture offensive.
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| Bollywood star Sridevi Kapoor 'accidentally drowned in hotel bath' Posted: 26 Feb 2018 10:26 AM PST  Bollywood superstar Sridevi Kapoor died of accidental drowning in her hotel bathtub in Dubai on Saturday, her postmortem report said on Monday. The Dubai government's media office tweeted that the postmortem analysis of the 54-year old actress, who used only her first name, revealed that she had died due to 'drowning in her hotel apartment's bathtub following loss of consciousness'. The case has been handed over to the Dubai Public Prosecutor for further investigation, to try and determine the exact circumstances leading to the actresses' death. Earlier, it was reported that Sridevi, who was known by her first name, had died of a cardiac arrest in her hotel in Dubai where she was attending her nephew's wedding. She was found unconscious in her bathtub in her suite at Dubai's Emirates Towers hotel and rushed to hospital where she was declared dead on arrival. The much loved actress was mourned across India Credit: AFP Dubai's Gulf News, however, alleged that the glamourous Bollywood star, who acted in 300 films in five different Indian languages, was under the 'influence of alcohol' and had fallen into the bathtub and drowned. But the Dubai authorities did not confirm this, nor did it tweet the results of a possible toxicology test they might have conducted on the actress to determine alcohol intake. According to news reports from Dubai the latest revelations in Sridevi's postmortem report could result in a delay in repatriating her body to Mumbai for cremation according to Hindu rites. Although expected home on Monday on a specially chartered flight, her body has instead been sent for embalming. Meanwhile, thousands of Sridevi's fans had gathered outside her Mumbai house to pay their last respects before her funeral. Sridevi began her acting career at the age of four in southern India and spent the next five decades playing mostly lead roles in films, a large number of which became box office hits. Her last and 300th movie 'Mom' was released in 2017. She married Bollywood film producer Boney Kapoor in 1996 and they had two daughters.
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| No, Medical-Marijuana Legalization Doesn't Make Teens Smoke More Pot Posted: 26 Feb 2018 09:51 AM PST  For years, people have debated whether legalizing marijuana could lead to an increase in the use of the drug among teens. The study found that teen use of marijuana doesn't seem to change when the drug is legalized for medical purposes. "For now, there appears to be no basis for the argument that legalizing medical marijuana has increased teens' use of the drug," senior study author Deborah Hasin, a professor of epidemiology at Columbia's Mailman School of Public Health, said in a statement.
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| Florida Students Return to Their School to Pick Up Belongings After Deadly Shooting Posted: 25 Feb 2018 05:50 PM PST  The school reopens Wednesday
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| Florida House Republicans Demand Sheriff's Ouster Over Parkland Shooting Response Posted: 25 Feb 2018 12:52 PM PST  Nearly every Republican member of the Florida House of Representatives is calling on Gov. Rick Scott (R) to suspend a county sheriff over his office's response to a deadly mass shooting at a local high school earlier this month.
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| 2 lions from Mideast war zones reach South African refuge Posted: 26 Feb 2018 09:44 AM PST  LIONSROCK BIG CAT SANCTUARY, South Africa (AP) — Two lions rescued from neglected zoos in war zones in Iraq and Syria arrived in South Africa on Monday to live at a sanctuary with other animals that survived harsh conditions in captivity elsewhere in the world.
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| Argentina fires on Chinese vessel 'fishing illegally' Posted: 25 Feb 2018 11:27 AM PST  BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — Argentina's coast guard said it fired on a Chinese boat illegally fishing in its waters before embarking on an almost eight hour chase to capture it.
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| The 50 Most Delish Spring Soups Posted: 26 Feb 2018 07:40 AM PST |
| Democratic Governor Confronts Trump: 'Less Tweeting ... More Listening' Posted: 26 Feb 2018 12:48 PM PST  WASHINGTON ― Washington state Gov. Jay Inslee (D) on Monday urged President Donald Trump to lay off Twitter and instead listen to Americans and back away from one of his suggestions for dealing with mass shootings. Trump has suggested that arming 20 percent of the nation's teachers could help prevent school shootings like the one that occurred earlier this month in Parkland, Florida, that claimed 17 lives. The president also has said that those teachers trained to use firearms could even receive extra pay. "I've listened to the biology teachers and they don't want to [be armed] at any percentage," the former U.S. House member said.
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| Nigeria says 110 girls unaccounted for after Boko Haram attack Posted: 25 Feb 2018 11:26 PM PST  By Felix Onuah ABUJA (Reuters) - One hundred and ten girls are missing after an attack on a school in northeast Nigeria by suspected Boko Haram insurgents, the information ministry said on Sunday, in what may be one of the largest abductions since the Chibok kidnappings of 2014. Boko Haram, whose name translates as "Western education is forbidden" in the Hausa language widely spoken in northern Nigeria, has killed more than 20,000 people and forced two million to flee their homes in a violent insurgency that began in 2009. President Muhammadu Buhari, the 75-year-old former military ruler elected in 2015 after vowing to crush Boko Haram, has described the disappearance of the girls after Monday's attack in the town of Dapchi, Yobe state, as a "national disaster".
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| Fire breaks out in overhead storage on Chinese aircraft Posted: 26 Feb 2018 04:42 AM PST  A fire broke out in the overhead storage of a Chinese passenger jet moments before it was scheduled to take off. Flight attendants and a passenger threw water and juice over a bag in the luggage compartment as it was engulfed in heavy smoke and flames. The fire was thought to have been triggered by a power bank that was being carried in the bag, reports said. The owner was taken away by police for questioning. All the passengers were forced to disembark the Boeing 777 following the fire, which happened while the plane was parked on the tarmac at Guangzhou Airport in southern China. It was scheduled to fly to Shanghai. The passengers and crew were taken to a different aircraft which took off just after 3pm, three hours after the original flight was scheduled to depart. Fire caused by portable charger on China Southern flight in Guangzhou was put out promptly, while passengers were relocated to another plane pic.twitter.com/HYwShVN1t3— China Xinhua News (@XHNews) February 25, 2018 The power charger was not in use when the fire started, Chinese media said. The video of the fire was shared widely on Chinese social media, where many were commenting on why only bottles of water and juice were used to extinguished the flames. "Don't they have proper fire extinguishers on planes," said one comment on Sina Weibo, China's version of Twitter. The fire on the aircraft Credit: Weibo However, other observers said the crew reacted to the fire correctly. "Using water is standard operation procedure," said a Tweet from ChinaAviationReview, which tweets updates on Chinese aviation news. "Water is actually better than… extinguisher in case of lithium battery fire." Chinese airlines allow lithium batteries to be taken onto aircraft in hand luggage, but they are not allowed to be packed in checked-in luggage. Additional reporting by Christine Wei
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| Woman's 'unrecognisable' body discovered in funeral home three years after she was meant to have been cremated Posted: 25 Feb 2018 04:13 AM PST  A complaint about the excessive amount of time the body had been stored for was filed by a former employee, sparking an investigation by the coroner's office. Spartanburg County Coroner, Rusty Clevenger, said they had since identified the woman as 63-year-old Mary Alice Pitts Moore, who died of natural causes in March 2015. Mr Clevenger said the family had been informed on Friday and the identities of those responsible have been passed to police, though there was no information on possible charges.
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| UN faces rival drafts on Iran missiles to Yemen Posted: 25 Feb 2018 08:14 AM PST  The UN Security Council on Sunday was considering two draft resolutions on Yemen after Russia put forward a rival text aimed at blocking action against Iran over missiles sent to the country's Huthi rebels. The council is set to vote on Monday on renewing sanctions on Yemen for a year, but a British-drafted text also calls for "additional measures" in response to a UN report which found that Iran had violated the arms embargo on Yemen.
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| Michelle Obama To Release 'Deeply Personal' Memoir In November Posted: 25 Feb 2018 11:15 AM PST  Former first lady Michelle Obama announced new details Sunday about her much-anticipated memoir.
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| Israel arrests family member of jailed Palestinian teen Posted: 26 Feb 2018 01:48 AM PST  Israel's army has arrested nine Palestinians from the West Bank home village of jailed teenager Ahed Tamimi, including a relative shot in the head in December, the military and witnesses said Monday. The overnight arrests were in Nabi Saleh in the occupied West Bank and included four minors, witnesses said. Among them was 15-year-old Mohammed Tamimi, a cousin of Ahed Tamimi, who was arrested in December after a viral video showed her hit and kick two Israeli soldiers, an uncle, Atta Tamimi, said.
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| Christians shutter famous Jerusalem church to protest taxes Posted: 25 Feb 2018 11:26 AM PST  JERUSALEM (AP) — The leaders of the major Christian sects in Jerusalem closed the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, built on the traditional site of Jesus' crucifixion and resurrection, for several hours on Sunday to protest an Israeli plan to tax their properties.
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| The Latest: Quake causes damage in Indonesia's Papua Posted: 25 Feb 2018 11:50 PM PST  WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — The Latest on a powerful earthquake that struck Papua New Guinea (all times local):
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| Tweeters Barf Over Sweepstakes Prize Of Dinner With Donald Trump Posted: 24 Feb 2018 11:50 PM PST  The Republican National Committee used Twitter to promote a prize of attending a dinner with President Donald Trump.
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| Greek anarchist group smashes windows at Novartis office in Athens Posted: 25 Feb 2018 12:30 PM PST  Greek self-proclaimed anarchists threw paint and smashed windows at the entrance of the Athens headquarters of Swiss drugmaker Novartis on Sunday, police said. About 30 people were involved in the attack at 0515 local time (0315 GMT), a police official said. In a statement published on the Internet, the Rouvikonas group said the attack was linked to a probe into allegations of bribery by the drugmaker to doctors and public officials.
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| U.S. Military Battle with Possible Russian Mercenaries: 'Our Strikes Were Done out of Self-Defense' Posted: 25 Feb 2018 05:05 PM PST  Both the Pentagon and the Russian government are deemphasizing the Feb. 7 incident because a wider conflict that is spiraling out of control does not benefit anyone. The Pentagon is reiterating that a battle in Syria that allegedly left some number of Russian mercenaries dead was purely an act of self-defense on the part of U.S. forces. Indeed, the Pentagon still does not know exactly who it is that American forces targeted during their retaliatory strike on Feb. 7.
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| British skier dies in French Alps while skiing off-piste Posted: 25 Feb 2018 05:46 AM PST  A British skier has died in the French Alps after he and two friends plunged hundreds of feet from a ridge while skiing off piste. In a separate incident, a 13-year-old boy died when both he and his brother fell off a cliff after they got lost while skiing with their family. The Briton, who has not been named, was with two friends in the resort of Oz-en-Oisans on Saturday when they decided to leave the marked slopes. Police said that all three men were in their 20s and were experienced skiers. "They were following ski tracks but they got lost when the tracks came to an end," a spokesman for the gendarme mountain rescue unit, based in nearby Grenoble, told the Telegraph. "They saw a marked slope in the distance and were trying to get to that. But the area they had to go through was very unstable, made up of ridges and a mixture of snow and rocks," he said. All three ended up falling, but not at the same time. The man who died fell somewhere between 100 and 200 metres, said the officer. "It looks like he died instantly. His body rolled down the ridge, bashing off rocks several times before it came to a halt," said the spokesman. One of two other skiiers emerged unscathed from his fall, while the other suffered minor injuries. They were later taken to safety by a gendarme mountain rescue team. Police did not give the men's names. In a separate incident, a 13-year-old French boy was found dead at the foot of a cliff after both he and his brother - who survived - fell from the precipice the night before after getting lost while skiing with their family in Avoriaz. The boys had wandered off piste on Saturday and, as night fell, ended up in a forest whose trees concealed the 490-foot cliff which they fell off. The younger brother, aged 10, spent the night in sub-zero temperatures beside his dead brother at the foot of the cliff. Rescuers eventually found the boys at dawn on Sunday. The younger brother was said to be be injured but in a stable condition. Earlier this week, a young British skier was killed after smashing into a tree at Les Diablerets, a Swiss ski resort, on the edge of a piste while on holiday with his family.
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| John Oliver announces he's running for prime minister of Italy because why the heck not Posted: 26 Feb 2018 03:45 AM PST  A television personality becoming leader of a country? That's preposterous. SEE ALSO: John Oliver emerges victorious against the man he once called a 'geriatric Dr. Evil' On Sunday night, John Oliver covered the impending Italian election. He ran down the list of candidates, presenting Italy's current political situation as a dire one, particularly given the apparent comeback of ex-prime minister and waxwork come-to-life, Silvio Berlusconi. Oliver has a new option for Italian people. He consulted "half a dozen" Italian legal experts who told him that he can't run for Italian prime minister but equally "admitted" that the Italian constitution does not specifically prohibit a non-politician, or even a non-citizen from running. So he's doing it anyway. "Yes Italy, my candidacy for prime minister may be a complete and total farce," proclaimed Oliver in front of a huge and perfectly satirical toy volcano. "But be honest — incredibly, I am far from your worst option."
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| Slovak police probe murder of investigative journalist Posted: 25 Feb 2018 04:54 PM PST  Slovakian police launched a murder probe on Monday after a leading investigative journalist known for writing about high-profile tax fraud was found dead along with his girlfriend, officials said. The body of Jan Kuciak, a 27-year-old reporter for the aktuality.sk news portal, was discovered alongside that of Martina Kusnirova at their home in Velka Maca, some 65 kilometres (40 miles) from the Slovak capital Bratislava. Police commander Tibor Gaspar told reporters Kuciak died of a gunshot wound to the chest while his partner was shot in the head.
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| Shopkeeper describes miracle escape from 'massive explosion' in Leicester that killed five people Posted: 26 Feb 2018 10:57 AM PST  The owner of a shop has described how he escaped from an explosion that killed five people. The explosion caused a convenience store and the flats above it to collapse. Aram Kurd, 33, was in the shop at the time. He said had gone to the storeroom at the back of the shop to get some beers for him and an employee, Victoria when he heard a "loud bang". He shouted out for Victoria, who had only be working at the store for two days, but has not heard anything from her since. Speaking to ITV Central, he said: "I was holding her phone at the time of the explosion as we had been watching YouTube videos. "I don't know, I really hope that she's alive. I was shouting Victoria! Victoria! Victoria! "I don't know how it happened. "It was a big noise. I found myself up and then to the floor, for two or three minutes I couldn't feel anything, I was looking up, my eyes were open. "I managed to pull himself from the rubble and climbed into the neighbouring garden." At least five people died after an explosion at a house in Leicester Credit: Tristan Potter / SWNS.com He said he was unsure about what had happened to the residents of the flat above, but described them as "good people". He added: "I think they have two or three kids. There was an old man and old lady. "Sometimes they would come into my shop. "I don't know what happened to them as well. They are good people. I have not heard about them. "I feel sorry for those people who lost their lives. I don't know if they are kids or young. I don't know who's dead. "Forget about the money, the most important [thing] is life." Police updated the death toll after finding another body among the rubble before they were forced to pause rescue efforts amid fears a neighbouring property could collapse. Residents living in the streets off Hinckley Road in Leicester have told how they rushed to help those caught up in a massive blast amid fears that the majority of the casualties could come from the same family. Dramatic pictures show flames erupting from the store on Hinckley Road, Leicester, after witnesses told of hearing a "massive explosion." Credit: Jason Senior/SWNS.com Krishna Rungen said his brother-in-law and 15-year-old nephew were pulled out of the rubble and are in hospital whilst his sister and her two older sons are still missing along with the girlfriend of one of the sons. Speaking at the scene, Mr Rungen, 69, from Leicester, who refused to name his family members, said: "As I understand the 15-year-old was pulled out by a passerby and he's was alright, he's got a few cuts but he's ok. "He is in a daze, he said his mum and his brothers were watching TV and then the next thing he knows bricks were falling over him, and then it was pitch black. "He was crying for help and somebody just pulled him out of the rubble and wrapped him in a blanket and took him to the hospital. "He still doesn't know his family are missing, he thinks they might be injured somewhere but he doesn't know where they are, neither does the father, I don't know what to tell then when I go back now." He said that he had still not received official confirmation. Five people remain in hospital, including one in a critical condition. Residents said the "enormous" explosion shook properties up to 500 metres away and left many people inside houses in neighbouring streets in a state of shock. Rescuers search for people in the rubble Credit: Jason Senior/SWNS.com Witnesses have described how people were clawing through the rubble in an attempt to look for survivors. One described how a group of men who ran to the scene lifted a girder off an adult casualty and turned to help a boy, who then managed to get to his feet. The blast took place at the former Western Park Store which changed to Zabka Leicester on January 2. One worker, named only as Victoria, is feared missing. Leicester City Mayor Sir Peter Soulsby said: "The area is still closed off and will be for some considerable time. We have traffic diversions in place and these will remain for the foreseeable future. "We are still waiting to hear what caused this terrible incident, but it looks likely it was a gas explosion. "We remain in close contact with the police and fire service and await their update on this. "Our thoughts and sympathies are with all of those affected. The city council will continue to do everything it can to support them and the local community to recover from this devastating event." Firefighters work to contain the blaze Credit: Chris Roe/Chadwicks A Leicestershire Police spokesman said: "Five people are now confirmed to have died following an explosion and fire at a building in Leicester last night. "Five others were taken to hospital, one of whom remains in a critical condition. "The rescue work at the scene of the former supermarket in Hinckley Road has been temporarily suspended due to the structural integrity of a neighbouring building, and the search and rescue work will resume shortly." What the terraced building looked like before the blast Credit: Google Maps Neighbours were seen attempting to pull people from the wrecked building after the explosion at 7pm on Sunday, as firefighters spent seven hours tackling the huge blaze. Sixty homes were evacuated and surrounding roads were shut as part of the emergency response after the building suffered what firefighters described as a "pancake collapse". Tony Hartley, who lives around 50 yards away from the blast site, said: "I was standing in the kitchen and heard a bang so I ran up the road and could see glass everywhere. Emergency services are dealing with a fire in Hinckley Rd, Leicester. Incident will be the subject of a joint investigation with the fire service. Public asked not to speculate but at this stage there is no indication this is terrorist related. https://t.co/KXgeEHIVPe— LeicestershirePolice (@leicspolice) February 25, 2018 "Me and a friend lifted up a steel girder with about five other blokes and removed a bloke from underneath it. "We then turned round, saw rubble and heard a little boy crying. "There was me and another bloke sifting through the rubble and we managed to pull the boy out. "I said to him, 'Is there anybody else in there?' and he said, 'My friend's a metre back inside the building' and that's when the emergency services turned up." #Leicester incident update. We have taken four patients to the Leicester Royal Infirmary at this stage @Leic_hospital Ambulance crews, our HART and @EMICS Drs remain on scene.— East Midlands Ambulance Service NHS Trust (@EMASNHSTrust) February 25, 2018 Mr Hartley, 33, said the boy, thought to be aged between 10 and 13, was able to walk after being freed. Matt Cane, Group Manager from Leicestershire Fire and Rescue Service, said: "Crews have worked through the night, alongside Police, East Midlands Ambulance Service and other partner agencies, tackling the fire and searching the scene in order to locate any further survivors or casualties. "There are still pockets of fire in the basement area of the building. We have a significant number of specialist search and rescue teams who are supported by two search dogs, and this level of resourcing is likely to be in place throughout the day. "It may be some days yet before we will be able to establish the probable cause of the explosion."
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| The Latest: US calls for 'immediate end' to Syria offensive Posted: 26 Feb 2018 01:28 PM PST  BEIRUT (AP) — The Latest on the war in Syria (all times local):
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| Trump tax break for 'hardworking families' hands $29bn profit boost to one of world's richest men Posted: 25 Feb 2018 05:29 PM PST  Donald Trump's "tax cut for hardworking families" increased the profits of one of the world's richest men by $29.1bn (£20.8bn) last year without him having to do a thing. Billionaire investor and philanthropist, Warren Buffett disclosed in his annual letter to investors that the Republican tax break had delivered nearly half of the $65bn profits made by his company, Berkshire Hathaway, in 2017. Mr Buffet – who was recently knocked into third place on the Forbes American rich list – has condemned the tax change for exactly this reason.
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| Saudi envoy invites Lebanon's PM Hariri to kingdom Posted: 26 Feb 2018 10:01 AM PST ![Saudi envoy invites Lebanon's PM Hariri to kingdom]( "Saudi envoy invites Lebanon's PM Hariri to kingdom") Lebanon's Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri has been invited to Saudi Arabia, his office said on Monday, setting the stage for his first visit since he abruptly resigned there in November. Hariri received the invitation from Saudi envoy Nizar al-Aloula on Monday and would go as soon as possible, the press office said without elaborating. Lebanese officials accused Saudi Arabia of forcing Hariri, its long-time ally, to quit and putting him under effective house arrest until France intervened.
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| India and China Are Building up Their Air Power on the Border. What Happens Next? Posted: 26 Feb 2018 04:10 AM PST  A prelude to a crisis? India and China Are Building up Their Air Power on the Border. China and India are engaging in an air force buildup along their shared border. This week, Chinese state media outlet Global Times reported that Beijing has been deploying more advanced jets along its border with India.
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