The Tungurahua volcano, south of Ecuador’s capital Quito, has erupted, creating a spectacular plume of ash, 6 miles high.
The volcano created the huge cloud on Friday in an eruption that lasted just five minutes.
The Tungurahua volcano has been erupting since 1999, but has been particularly active in the last two months.
Tungurahua is one of eight active volcanoes in Ecuador, which lies in the so-called Pacific Ring of Fire.
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They say the signal has a frequency of 37.5kHz – the same as those emitted by the flight recorders.
However, there is no evidence so far that it is linked to the missing flight MH370.
Dozens of ships and planes have joined the search, with the operation moving into its most intensive phase before batteries on the data recorders fade.
On Saturday the Haixun 01 – one of two Chinese ships in the area – picked up the signal at about 25 degrees south latitude and 101 degrees east longitude, the state-run Xinhua news agency said.
“It is yet to be established whether it is related to the missing jet,” it cautioned.
China’s Liberation Daily reported that three people on board had heard the signals, which were not recorded as they came suddenly.
The head of the Australian agency co-ordinating the search said the reported signals “are consistent with the aircraft black box” but “there is no confirmation at this stage that the signals and the objects are related to the missing aircraft”.
The flight is believed to have crashed in the southern Indian Ocean, although no confirmed debris has been found.
It is still not known why the plane diverted from its planned flight path from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing four weeks ago with 239 people on board.
Two of the ships searching an area of about 84,000 sq miles have underwater locator capabilities.
Australian naval vessel Ocean Shield is using a “towed pinger locator” from the US Navy, while HMS Echo, which has similar capabilities, is also searching.
They are trying to detect an underwater signal emitted by the data recorders.
The battery-powered signal fades after 30 days.
The area – about 1,000 miles north-west of Perth – has been picked on the basis of analysis of the satellite data.
On Saturday, Malaysia announced it had set up three ministerial committees to help co-ordinate the search, and a new investigation team which would include members from Australia, China, the US, the UK and France.
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Thirty-two people were hurt when the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) train jumped its tracks at O’Hare International Airport and hurtled up an escalator.
The woman, 25, worked as an operator for two months and reportedly admitted it was not the first time she had dozed off at work.
None of the injuries at the busy airport was said to be serious.
The CTA said that it did not believe the driver’s work schedule played a role in the March 24 crash,
But it said that changes to its train operator scheduling policies would be implemented as result of an internal review of the crash at O’Hare.
CTA officials were quoted in the Chicago Tribune as saying that the driver had worked 55 hours in the seven days preceding the incident but was off work for 18 hours prior to the shift in question. Officials say that she also admitted to over-running a station in February.
CTA spokeswoman Tammy Chase was quoted by the Reuters news agency as saying that it could terminate the contract of an operator for two serious safety violations and that “an incident of this severity is sufficient for termination”.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said that train was travelling at about 26 mph when it entered the station, a normal speed, and tripped an emergency braking system beside the track that failed to stop it before the impact.
NTSB investigator Ted Turpin said last month that the train operator had admitted that she had “dozed off” prior to entering the station.
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The scare led to a worldwide milk product recall and to several countries blocking imports of New Zealand dairy products.
Testing later found there had been no problem with Fonterra’s products.
Fonterra had faced a maximum fine of $NZ500,000 for the charges, relating to breaches of an animal products act.
It had admitted the four charges in March.
Fonterra is the world’s largest exporter of dairy products and had said it would not contest the charges.
The botulism scare related to a milk product used widely in infant formula.
The milk product, which is used by several multinational companies, was suspected of containing a bacteria that could cause botulism which is a severe form of food poisoning.
Fonterra was sentenced by Judge Peter Hobbs in a district court in Wellington, New Zealand, on Friday.
“New Zealand’s reputation for high-quality dairy products was shaken,” Australia’s Fairfax News reported Judge Peter Hobbs saying on Friday.
Judge Peter Hobbs said he accepted that the scare resulted from carelessness and failure to follow procedure, rather than any deliberate action, but said Fonterra could and should have done better.
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Much of the capital Honiara was inundated as thousands of people took refuge in emergency shelters.
A state of emergency has been declared amid concerns over food and water supplies and damaged infrastructure.
Solomons Red Cross Secretary General Joanne Zoleveke described the floods as “a tragedy none of us saw coming”.
Honiara’s main river, the Matanikau, burst its banks in the storm, sweeping away houses and bridges and flooding the downtown area.
Eleven evacuation centers have been set up at schools and at Honiara’s international airport, the World Vision aid agency says.
It says that the domestic airport terminal is under water and there are fears about the spread of disease once the water subsides.
Other parts of Guadalcanal province – where the capital is located – have also been declared disaster zones, officials say.
“Clean water sources have been contaminated, sanitation facilities destroyed and there is a lack of medicines to treat people who get sick,” said Lawrence Hillary, World Vision’s emergency response manager in the islands.
While water levels were reported to be subsiding on Saturday, aid agencies have warned that police still face the unpleasant task of finding more bodies in seaside and river debris.
The official number of deaths was, however, lowered on Saturday to 12 from the previous day’s toll of 16.
The impact of the flood was made worse because it struck so fast, giving people little time to escape from their homes.
Save the Children said on Friday that the scale of the damage was still unclear outside Honiara as both bridges out of the city had been cut off. However, it says that in the city itself thousands of homes have been completely washed away.
Australia has pledged at least A$50,000 ($46,200) in funds to support flood relief efforts.
New Zealand has given an initial contribution of NZ$300,000 ($256,200).
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Baby Muhammad Mosa Khan is one of more than 30 people facing charges after a police raid to catch suspected gas thieves in the city of Lahore, The News website reports.
Police say the suspects tried to murder security officers by pelting them with stones. But the Times of India newspaper quotes the infant’s father as saying the group was protesting against an electricity shortage.
The infant appeared in the courtroom sitting on his father’s lap and clasping a bottle. He was given bail and the case has been adjourned until April 12, reports from Lahore say. His father is also among the accused.
The murder charges against a baby have alarmed Punjab’s Chief Minister Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif. He has asked for clarification from the province’s inspector-general of police and demanded “stern action” against the officials who registered the case.
The assistant superintendant who filed the charges has subsequently been suspended, The Nation website says.
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The animal, referred to as a geep, was born about two weeks ago on Paddy Murphy’s farm in County Kildare.
The unexpected arrival is thought to be the result of mating between a goat and one of the sheep farmer’s Cheviot ewes.
Paddy Murphy said the cross-breeding was not intentional. He described it as a “pure shock to the system” and said it would be a “one-off” event on his farm.
“I’ve never seen anything like him before,” he told the Irish Farmers Jpurnal, adding that his family had been involved in sheep farming for “generations”.
Paddy Murphy confirmed that the geep appeared to be healthy and “thriving” and was able to run faster than other lambs that were born around the same time.
“He’s unbelievable,” he said.
“He’s so fast you’d have to get him into the pen to catch him. There’s no chance you would catch him otherwise.”
The sheep farmer, who also owns Murphy’s pub in Ballymore Eustace, County Kildare, spoke to the journal in an interview headlined: Ewe gotta be kidding.
Paddy Murphy said he witnessed a goat mating with ewes on his farm during “tupping” season five months ago, but had given the matter little thought until the geep appeared.
He said the new arrival had created a lot of laughter in the pub, when he showed mobile phone pictures of the hybrid to his customers and friends.
“He’s an unusual character,” Paddy Murphy added, saying the animal was developing a set of horns on its head.
The Irish Farmers Journal said it was the first time it had reported the birth of a healthy geep in Ireland.
A spokeswoman for Ulster Farmers Union said the live birth of a so-called geep is a very rare event and they are not aware of any currently in existence in Northern Ireland.
She said this form of cross-breeding, on the rare occasion it does occur, is likely to involve a buck goat and a ewe.
However, the geep usually dies during the ewe’s pregnancy or is stillborn.
Paddy Murphy said the ewe in question was raising the geep “just like a lamb”.
As for the hybrid animal’s future, the farmer said he was not planning to send the geep for slaughter but would try to keep it for as long as it was practically possible to look after it.
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Boeing has had no public dealings with Tehran since 1979.
In a statement, the plane maker said the license had been granted for the safety of flight.
The step is being seen as part of a temporary agreement to ease sanctions on Tehran that US Secretary of State John Kerry reached with Iran last year.
Under the deal brokered in November, Iran agreed to curtail its nuclear activities for six months in exchange for sanctions relief from nations including Britain, China and the US.
General Electric said late on Friday it had received US permission to overhaul 18 engines sold to Iran in the late 1970s. That work would be carried out at GE facilities or at German firm MTU Aero Engines, it said.
Iran Air is still flying passenger planes bought before the 1979 hostage crisis, during which 52 Americans were held hostage in Tehran for 444 days.
Iran has reportedly argued that sanctions imposed after the hostage ordeal have prevented Tehran from upgrading its plane fleet and reduced the safety of its aircraft.
There have been more than 200 accidents involving Iranian planes in the past 25 years, leading to more than 2,000 deaths, reports say.
Boeing has said the license covers only components required to ensure ongoing safe flight operations of planes it sold before Iran’s revolution in 1979.
No discussions are to be allowed over the sale of new aircraft when and if sanctions are completely lifted, correspondents say. If a permanent deal is agreed, it is thought likely that Iran would require the purchase of hundreds of new aircraft.
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He has called for prayers for the victims of his son’s attack at Fort Hood in Texas on Wednesday.
A military investigator said on Friday there was evidence the soldier had been in an argument before opening fire, killing three and wounding 16 others.
But officials do not see his mental condition as the reason for the attack.
The shootings took place at two buildings at Fort Hood at about 16:00 local time, when Specialist Ivan Lopez, who had the same name as his father, is alleged to have walked into one of the buildings and opened fire with a .45-calibre semi-automatic pistol.
He then got into a vehicle and continued firing before entering another building and opening fire again. He was eventually stopped by military police, shooting himself in the head when confronted by a female officer in the car park, officials say.
The dead men were formally named on Friday as Sgt First Class Daniel Ferguson, 39. Staff Sgt Carlos Lazaney-Rodriguez, who was 38, and 37-year-old Army Sgt Timothy Owens.
“My son could not have been in his right mind. He was not like that,” Spc Ivan Lopez’s father wrote in a statement from the family’s home in Puerto Rico on Friday.
The motive for the shooting is unclear and Fort Hood’s base commander Lt. Gen. Mark Milley said on Friday that investigators did not consider his mental state the “immediate precipitating factor”.
In contrast, Lt. Gen. Milley had spoken the previous day of the post-traumatic stress disorder Spc Lopez had suffered after serving in Iraq, suggesting there was strong evidence he had “an unstable psychiatric or psychological condition”.
But in his latest remarks he said the cause “was more likely an escalating argument in his unit area”.
His words were echoed by Chris Grey, spokesman for the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command, who said there was “credible information he was involved in a verbal altercation with soldiers from his unit just prior to him allegedly opening fire”.
But he added there was still “no concrete motive” for the attack and it might never be known why the shooting had taken place.
Fort Hood was also the scene of a gun rampage in 2009 that left 13 soldiers dead and 32 wounded.
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A massive security operation is under way to thwart the Taliban which has vowed to disrupt the election.
Eight candidates are vying to succeed Hamid Karzai, who is barred by the constitution from seeking a third consecutive term as president.
The poll has already been overshadowed by the shooting of two journalists.
Award-winning German photographer Anja Niedringhaus was killed and veteran Canadian reporter Kathy Gannon was injured when a police commander opened fire on their car in the eastern town of Khost on Friday. They had both worked for Associated Press for many years.
It was the latest in a string of deadly attacks that marred the lead-up to the election.
The biggest military operation since the fall of the Taliban in 2001 has been rolled out for the vote. All 400,000 of Afghanistan’s police and soldiers were said to be on duty for the election.
In parts of the capital voters could be seen queuing an hour before polls opened.
However, some polling stations in the provinces of Herat in the west and Kapisa, north-east of Kabul, were closed because of a combination of the bad weather and security risks. There were also reports elsewhere of several polling centers not receiving ballot materials in time.
Independent Election Commission chairman Ahmad Yousuf Nouristani urged all Afghans to vote, as he cast his ballot live on television.
Traffic was prevented from entering the Afghan capital from midday on Friday, with police checkpoints erected at every junction.
International observers are increasingly optimistic that both the tight security and a number of new guarantees against fraud will make this a fairer election than Afghanistan has seen before.
Afghans have been barred from sending text messages until polls close at 16:00 on Saturday to prevent the service from being used for last-minute campaigning.
But there are still concerns about ballot stuffing and ghost polling stations as well as the fact that the number of election cards in circulation appears to be vastly more than the number of registered voters.
On Saturday the interior ministry said two police were arrested in Wardak province for stuffing ballot boxes.
There are eight candidates for president, but three are considered frontrunners – former foreign ministers Abdullah Abdullah and Zalmai Rassoul, and former finance minister Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai.
Dr. Abdullah Abdullah has fought a polished campaign, Dr. Ashraf Ghani has strong support among the new urban youth vote and Dr. Zalmai Rassoul is believed to favored by Hamid Karzai.
However, no candidate is expected to secure more than the 50% of the vote needed to be the outright winner, which means there is likely to be a second round run-off on May 28.
A poll conducted by the Free and Fair Election Foundation found that more than 75% respondents planned to vote, even though faith in the electoral process was said to be decreasing.
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The legendary comedy group will not go on tour and will go their separate ways after 10 London performances, he said.
Tickets for the July 20 show went on sale on Friday, April 4.
The reunion, which begins on July 1st, will see John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones and Michael Palin appear together on stage for the first time since 2009.
The only absent member will be Graham Chapman, who died in 1989 at the age of 48.
An earlier statement from Monty Python’s promoters said the July 20 show would “probably” be their last performance together.
“The Pythons had hoped to take up some of the many offers to perform at arenas all over the world, but individual commitments to other projects over the next three years has made this impossible,” it said.
“The septuagenarian Pythons are well aware of what these shows mean to their fans. The shows at the O2 promise to be a spectacular celebration of Britain’s most iconic and influential comedians.”
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Arthur Smith was one of the most influential guitar-players in country and early rock ‘n’ roll.
He found fame with his 1948 single Guitar Boogie and enjoyed other hits including Feudin’ Banjos in 1955.
When the Warner Bros film studio used a cover version and renamed it Dueling Banjos for Deliverance, he sued them and won substantial royalties.
As well as being a musician, Arthur Smith also ran a recording studio and record labels and had a successful career as a radio and TV presenter.
The Arthur Smith Show, on WBTV, was syndicated across the US and ran for 32 years.
He was nicknamed Arthur “Guitar Boogie” Smith after the title of his breakthrough tune, which became a hit around the world.
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“Thank you for 10 great years,” Uncle Bubba’s Oyster House, owned by Paula Deen and her brother, Bubba Hiers, told customers on its website.
“Uncle Bubba’s is now closed.”
A white employee of Uncle Bubba’s sued Paula Deen and her brother claiming she had been the victim of harassment and that there was a pattern of racial discrimination against black employees at the restaurant.
Celebrity chef Paul Deen said in a deposition in the case that she had used a racial slur, which prompted Scripps Networks Interactive Inc to drop her cooking show from its cable television channel, the Food Network.
The controversy prompted companies such as Wal-Mart Stores Inc, Target Corp and Home Depot Inc to stop selling Paula Deen products.
A federal judge last summer dismissed the lawsuit.
Bubba Hiers closed the restaurant “in order to explore development options for the waterfront property on which the restaurant is located,” Jaret Keller, spokesman for the Deen family, said in a written statement.
“At this point, no specific plans have been announced and a range of uses are under consideration in order to realize the highest and best use for the property.”
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Severe weather over the winter did not prevent the monthly average for new jobs from continuing a climb towards pre-economic crisis levels.
Employment grew in health care, and professional and business services, and in mining and logging.
The US Federal Reserve has been watching employment rates as an indicator of economic health.
The Fed has been using such indicators to judge whether a cutting back on stimulus for the US economy is desirable.
The March jobs figures were broadly in line with economists’ expectations of 200,000 new posts per month for 2014, while the number of people who were unemployed remained at 10.5 million.
In March, business services added 57,000 jobs, with 29,000 of those roles being in the temporary help industry.
Computer systems design and related jobs, which fall under business services, added 6,000 posts.
Healthcare gained 19,000 new jobs, and ambulatory healthcare, which includes outpatient care, rose by 20,000. Nursing care lost 5,000 jobs over the period.
Mining and logging rose by 7,000 jobs, against an average growth of 3,000 roles per month over the previous year.
On Friday, jobs figures for February were revised up from an estimate of 175,000 to 197,000 new jobs.
The estimate for January was also revised up, from 129,000 to 144,000.
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Kristoffer Von Hassel figured out how to log in to his father’s account without the right password.
Microsoft has fixed the flaw, and added Kristoffer Von Hassel to its list of recognized security researchers.
In an interview with local news station KGTV, Kristoffer Von Hassel said: “I was like yea!”
The boy worked out that entering the wrong password into the log-in screen would bring up a second password verification screen.
Kristoffer Von Hassel discovered that if he simply pressed the space bar to fill up the password field, the system would let him in to his father’s account.
“I got nervous. I thought he was going to find out,” Kristoffer Von Hassel told television station, KGTV.
“I thought someone was going to steal the Xbox.”
His father, Robert Von Hassel – who works in security – sent details of the flaw to Microsoft.
In a statement, Microsoft said: “We’re always listening to our customers and thank them for bringing issues to our attention.
“We take security seriously at Xbox and fixed the issue as soon as we learned about it.”
Kristoffer Von Hassel’s name now appears on a page set up to thank people who have discovered problems with Microsoft products.
Microsoft also gave him four free games, $50, and a year-long subscription to Xbox Live.
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The company said that it would try to support staff, and hopes to re-open its restaurants in Simferopol, Sevastopol and Yalta as soon as possible.
McDonald’s is the second in the Crimea to alter its operations after heightened tensions between Russia and the west.
Deutsche Post said on Thursday that it was no longer accepting letters for Crimea.
“Due to operational reasons beyond our control, McDonald’s has taken the decision to temporarily close our three restaurants in Simferopol, Sevastopol and Yalta,” McDonald’s said.
A Reuters report said that the company had offered to relocate staff who wished to move to Ukraine.
According to a Kiev-based restaurant consulting group, losing the three restaurants would only result in a 5 percent loss for McDonald’s Ukraine Ltd, where the average daily revenue for each restaurant is about $8,800 (100,000 UAH).
“Calculating net income at about 30 percent of revenue, with the Crimean restaurants remaining closed the American corporation will lose $240,000 [UAH 2.7 million] in profits each month,” Olga Nasonova, director of Restaurant Consulting, told Russia Forbes.
According to Olga Nasonova, McDonald’s has invested about $10 million in the three sites.
A McDonald’s restaurant was first opened on May 24, 1997 in Kiev, and the company now has 79 restaurants in 23 cities across Ukraine.
McDonald’s is the fifth most popular restaurant for Ukrainians, according to Olga Nasonova. There are more than 300 restaurant locations in Russia.
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Sabine Kehm said in a statement to the media that he was “making progress”, adding that they remain “confident”.
Doctors in France have been working to bring the seven-time F1 champion out of a medically induced coma.
Michael Schumacher, 45, suffered a severe head injury in a skiing accident in the French Alps on December 29.
“We are on his side during his long and difficult fight, together with the team of the hospital in Grenoble,” Sabine Kehm said in the statement.
“We would like to thank you all for the continuous sympathies. At the same time we again ask for understanding that we do not intend to disclose details.”
Last month Michael Schumacher’s relatives said in a statement that he had been showing “small, encouraging signs”.
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One of the women died, the other was critically wounded.
The incident took place in the remote town of Khost near Afghanistan’s border with Pakistan.
It comes as Afghanistan intensifies security ahead of presidential elections on Saturday, in response to threats of violence by the Taliban.
Associated Press photographer Anja Niedringhaus, 48, was killed instantly in the attack, the news agency confirmed.
Veteran reporter Kathy Gannon, 60, was said to be in a stable condition and receiving medical treatment.
They came under attack whilst sitting in a car in a convoy protected by Afghan soldiers and police.
The new president will succeed Hamid Karzai, who has been in power since the 2001 fall of the Taliban but is constitutionally barred from seeking a third consecutive term.
“Two female journalists were shot this morning inside a district police headquarters, one has been killed, while the other is seriously wounded,” Khost provincial spokesman Mobarez Mohammad Zadran told the AFP news agency.
The two journalists had been visiting Tanay district in Khost province with an official from the Independent Election Commission when the attack took place.
The police officer behind the attack is currently being questioned in custody.
The Taliban has stepped up its attacks in recent weeks, in a bid to disrupt preparations for the election.
Last month, a senior reporter for AFP, Sardar Ahmad, was killed alongside eight other people when Taliban gunmen attacked a hotel, which was popular with foreigners, in the Afghan capital of Kabul.
Nearly 200,000 troops have been deployed across the country to prevent attacks by the Taliban.
Rings of security have been set up around each polling centre, with the police at the centre and hundreds of troops on the outside.
The election is being protected by the biggest military operation since the fall of the Taliban.
Reporting restrictions are in place, limiting what can be broadcast about the candidates.
If nobody wins more than 50% of the vote in this round, a run-off election will be necessary.
There are eight candidates for president, including former Foreign Ministers Abdullah Abdullah and Zalmai Rassoul, and former Finance Minister Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai.
The picture was taken by David Ortiz on his phone this week and was re-tweeted by Samsung to millions of the phone maker’s 5.2 million followers.
White House spokesman Jay Carney said the president’s image should not be used for commercial gain.
Samsung representatives have not so far commented on the issue.
Jay Carney said that White House lawyers were being consulted over the issue.
“Without getting into counsel’s discussions, I can tell you that as a rule, the White House objects to attempts to use the president’s likeness for commercial purposes, and we certainly object in this case,” he said.
Jay Carney declined to discuss how the White House had objected.
David Ortiz gave Barack Obama a special Red Sox jersey with the president’s name on it at the function on Tuesday and then persuaded him to pose for the smartphone selfie.
“I gave him the jersey, and the photographers were going to take their pictures and I thought, really at the last second, maybe I should snap a shot with my phone while I have the chance,” David Ortiz told the Boston Globe.
“You don’t get a chance to get a photo with the president every day.”
David Ortiz denied that Samsung paid him any more money for taking the photo.
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Two ships with locator capabilities are searching a 150 mile underwater path, in the hope of recovering the plane’s data recorder.
Up to 14 planes and nine ships were due to take part in Friday’s search.
Malaysia Airlines plane disappeared on March 8 en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing. It was carrying 239 people.
It is believed to have crashed in the southern Indian Ocean, although no confirmed debris has been found from the plane.
The search is being co-ordinated from the city of Perth in Western Australia.
The battery-powered pingers on the plane’s black box stop transmitting about 30 days after a crash, giving the searchers now perhaps only a few days to locate it.
Angus Houston, head of the Joint Agencies Coordination Centre (JACC) leading the search, said that two ships had “commenced the sub-surface search for emissions from [the] black box pinger”.
Australia naval vessel Ocean Shield was using a towed pinger locator from the US Navy, while HMS Echo, which had similar capabilities, was also searching.
“The two ships will search a single 240km track converging on each other,” Air Chief Marshal Angus Houston, who is retired, said.
ACM Angus Houston said that the area had been picked on the basis of analysis of the satellite data.
It was based on work regarding “how the aircraft might have performed and how it might have been flown”, to choose the “area of highest probability as to where it might have entered the water”.
He pointed out that this data was continuing to be refined, but the current search was based on the “best data that is available”.
Given the progress in data evaluation and calculation, “there is some hope we will find the aircraft in the area we are searching”, Angus Houston added.
The two ships will be moving at reduced speeds, of around three knots, in their attempt to detect any signal from the pinger.
Commodore Peter Leavy, Commander of Joint Task Force 658, said that search operations generally preferred to use “physical evidence” and “drift modeling” to locate a plane.
However, “no hard evidence has been found to date so we have made the decision to search a sub-surface area on which the analysis has predicted MH370 is likely to have flown,” he said.
In a statement, JACC said up to 10 military planes, four civilian planes and nine ships would be deployed in Friday’s search efforts.
The focus is on a search area of about 84,000 sq miles, 1,000 miles north west of Perth.
Fair weather was forecast for Friday, with visibility of around 6 miles, JACC said.
Malaysia Airlines ex-steward Patrick Chow says the cabin crew he knew could not be responsible for the plane’s disappearance
Meeting staff involved in the search on Friday, Australian PM Tony Abbott said: “It is probably the most difficult search that’s ever been mounted.”
“A large aircraft seems like something that would be easy enough to locate – but a large aircraft that all but disappeared and disappeared into inaccessible oceans is an extraordinary, extraordinary challenge that you’re faced with.”
ACM Angus Houston said there was still a “great possibility of finding something on the surface [of the ocean]”.
“There’s lots of things in aircraft that float,” he said, citing previous searches where life jackets from planes were found.
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The International Agency for Research on Cancer report also found excessive use of mouthwash – more than three times a day – can also increase risk.
Smoking, heavy drinking and “low socio-economic status” are established risk indicators of mouth and throat cancers.
The study covered 1,962 cancer patients and a further 1,993 control subjects across nine countries in Europe.
The study was led by the Leibniz Institute for Prevention Research and Epidemiology in Bremen, Germany, (BIPS) and backed by researchers from Glasgow University Dental School.
Prof. Wolfgang Ahrens, deputy director of BIPS, described the study findings as “really important”.
“Up until now, it was not really known if these dental risk factors were independent of the well known risks for mouth and throat cancers – smoking, alcohol and low socio-economic status,” he said.
Prof. Wolfgang Ahrens said the report findings were highly “nuanced” and there was an interconnectedness of many of the risk factors.
The definition of poor oral health included people who had complete or part dentures and people with persistently bleeding gums.
Dr. David Conway, clinical senior lecturer at Glasgow University Dental School, said: “People should not assume that if they wear dentures and have none of their own teeth left, they have no need to see a dentist.
“On the contrary, even if you have got dentures, you should make sure you go for regular check-ups.”
People with poor dental care were defined as those who hardly ever or never brushed their teeth or visited the dentist.
Dr. David Conway said the frequency of dental visits should be determined by a dentist’s risk assessment and if people fell into the low-risk category it could be once a year or even every two years.
“It is not a case of one size fits all,” he added.
“Visits could be six-monthly, but certainly not five-yearly.”
The research team said the possible role of mouthwash as a risk factor would require further research.
They were unable to analyze the types of mouthwash used many years ago by participants in the study.
Dr. David Conway added: “I would not advise routine use of mouthwash, full stop.
“There are occasions and conditions for which a dentist could prescribe a mouthwash – it could be that a patient has a low salivary flow because of a particular condition or medicine they are taking.
“But for me, all that’s necessary, in general, is good regular brushing with a fluoride toothpaste and flossing combined with regular check-ups by a dentist.”
The new study findings have been published in Oral Oncology.
But the Senate Intelligence Committee officials say it will be some time before the summary is made public.
Leaked parts of the report showed that the CIA often misled the government over its interrogation methods when George W. Bush was president.
The CIA disputes some of the findings, saying the report contains errors.
Committee Chairman Dianne Feinstein said that it had voted 11-3 to declassify what she called the “shocking” results of the investigation.
“The report exposes brutality that stands in stark contrast to our values as a nation. It chronicles a stain on our history that must never be allowed to happen again. This is not what Americans do,” California Democrat Dianne Feinstein said.
Correspondents say that while some of the committee’s Republicans voted with the Democrats in favor of declassifying the report, it was clear there were bitter divides within the panel.
Georgia Republican Senator Saxby Chambliss said that while he voted for the report’s declassification “to get it behind us”, it was still “a waste of time”.
A statement released by Dianne Feinstein said that the report highlighted “major problems” with the CIA’s management of its secret Detention and Interrogation Program, which involved more than 100 detainees.
“This is also deeply troubling and shows why oversight of intelligence agencies in a democratic nation is so important,” the statement said.
“The release of this summary and conclusions in the near future shows that this nation admits its errors, as painful as they may be, and seeks to learn from them.
“It is now abundantly clear that, in an effort to prevent further terrorist attacks after 9/11 and bring those responsible to justice, the CIA made serious mistakes that haunt us to this day.”
The statement said that the full 6,200-page report – which took five years to compile – has been updated and will be declassified at a later time.
It said that the executive summary, findings and conclusions – which total more than 500 pages – will be sent to President Barack Obama for declassification review and subsequent public release.
Leaks of the report in the Washington Post on Tuesday said that the CIA used secret “black sites” to interrogate prisoners using techniques not previously acknowledged.
These included dunking suspects in icy water and smashing a prisoner’s head against a wall.
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A jury found the 38-year-old Jamaican dancehall artist, whose real name is Adidja Palmer, guilty of the death of his associate in March.
Clive “Lizard” Williams was killed after being asked to Vybz Kartel’s home to discuss two missing illegal hand guns.
Vybz Kartel is one of Jamaica’s biggest music stars with hits including Clarks, Ramping Shop and Summer Time.
His success led to him launching lines of shoes and alcohol.
The singer also became the first dancehall artist to star in his own reality TV show, Teacha’s Pet.
Vybz Kartel was previously arrested in 2011 on drug charges.
They were later dropped, but an investigation by Jamaica’s Major Investigation Taskforce (MIT) discovered illegal firearms during a search of his house.
Police also charged Vybz Kartel with being involved in the deaths of two men from the Portmore district of the island.
One murder case was dropped due to lack of evidence, however the musician and three other men went on trial for the killing of Clive “Lizard” Williams.
The trial lasted 65 days and was the longest court case in the history of the Caribbean island, having started last November.
A key piece of evidence was a text message said to be sent from Vybz Kartel’s phone.
It claimed Clive “Lizard” Williams had been chopped up into so many pieces his body would never be found.
Vybz Kartel’s career has never been short on controversy.
Over the years, his skin tone appeared to become lighter but the rapper always denied using skin bleaching chemicals.
Vybz Kartel instead claimed his change in complexion was due excessive time spent in air conditioned environments.
However, he has admitted to using Cake Soap – a Jamaican detergent that contains bleach.
Vybz Kartel was also involved in a lyrical war of words with fellow dancehall star Movado, with the pair exchanging several diss tracks.
However, Vybz Kartel and Movado called a truce in 2007 after being called into a meeting with then Jamaican Deputy Commissioner Mark Shields.
Tensions between rival supporters of the musicians often turned violent, but this stopped almost immediately after a plea from Movado and Vybz Kartel.
Despite being held on remand since 2011, the demand from radio stations and fans for new music has been so high that Vybz Kartel continued to record songs from his cell.
Using his smartphone voice note feature Vybz Kartel released singles which were later compiled into a 61-song album.
“If we are going to play an artist’s music based on their personal lives then a lot of artists’ songs wouldn’t be played,” said DJ Sparks who is a leading radio presenter in Jamaica.
She says she plans to continue to play music from Vybz Kartel on her show for station Zip FM.
“His legacy will be a mixed one. He’s been able to capture the imagination of many.
“He studies his audience carefully and gives them what he thinks they want.
“He’s not only a good writer and lyricist but he knows how to delve into the mindset of his audience.”
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Helsinki’s Hartwall venue is owned by Gennady Timchenko and brothers Arkady and Boris Rotenberg.
All three appear on the US sanctions list as part of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “inner circle”.
Helsinki’s Hartwall venue is due to host Justin Timberlake in May and Miley Cyrus in June.
Other acts due to appear this summer include Robbie Williams, Peter Gabriel, Aerosmith and Elton John.
Gennady Timchenko is a co-founder of Russian oil trader Gunvor and was estimated by Forbes magazine to be worth $15.3 billion before the sanctions came into force last month.
Arkady and Boris Rotenberg are the billionaire co-owners of SMP Bank and childhood friends of President Vladimir Putin.
The three men are among a list of 27 individuals named by the US as being closely tied to President Vladimir Putin personally or politically.
Together, the three own events management company Arena Events Oy, which bought the Helsinki Hartwall Arena last year, as well as taking a minority stake in the local hockey club, Jokerit.
Arena Events Oy is managed by Boris Rotenberg’s son Roman.
Under the US sanctions no American citizen or business can provide Gennady Timchenko or the Rotenberg brothers with “economic resources”, effectively preventing business from being conducted with them.
But the concerts’ US ticket promoter, Live Nation, could apply to the US Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), part of the Treasury Department, for a license to authorize the transaction.
Live Nation said it was currently reviewing its portfolio and would work to ensure the US sanctions were upheld.
Tom Stocker, partner at law firm Pinsent Mason, said much depended on whether any money was still to be paid to the venue.
If not, Tom Stocker, the concerts could go ahead as planned. But if money was still owed to the venue it was possible the concerts could be cancelled.
“OFAC will need to provide a license to authorize the transaction and will have to take into account that the show forms part of a pre-existing agreement,” he said.
“But it has quite a wide discretion to grant licenses. If this was Europe then a license would most likely not be granted.
“It is a real area of ambiguity. The company that owns the venue is not on the sanctions list, but Timchenko is.
“The question is whether you are giving Timchenko economic resources by allowing the concerts to go ahead.”
Tom Stocker added there was potential for the concerts not to go ahead, as US companies would be likely to take a “cautious approach” for fear of falling foul of the current sanctions.
He said British artists like Robbie Williams, Elton John and Peter Gabriel, who were all likely to have US management, might find they were unable to discuss details of their forthcoming concerts at the Finnish venue while they were on US soil.
“The individuals themselves can’t do anything in furtherance of the concerts while on US soil,” Tom Stocker said.
“They can’t send emails to their US management while on American soil, they can’t discuss arrangements for the concert.”
As yet there is no evidence that any concerts at the venue have been cancelled. The Hartwall venue’s website shows all the concerts going ahead as planned.
Winner of the 1982 Nobel Prize for Literature, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, who is 87, is being treated for a lung and urinary tract infection, said Mexican officials.
He has made few public appearances in recent years.
Gabriel Garcia Marquez is considered one of the greatest Spanish-language authors of all time, best known for his masterpiece of magic realism, A Hundred Years of Solitude.
The 1967 novel has sold more than 30 million copies around the world.
Gabriel Garcia Marquez, who has lived in Mexico for more than 30 years, was admitted on Monday night to a hospital in Mexico City, the National Nutrition Institute Salvador Zubiran.
He was suffering from dehydration and the infection.
“The patient has responded to treatment. Once he has completed his course of antibiotics his discharge from the hospital will be evaluated,” Mexico’s Secretary of Health said in a statement.
Two years ago, Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s younger brother admitted publicly for the first time that the writer was suffering from dementia and had stopped writing.
Jaime Garcia Marquez said that Gabo, as the author is affectionately known, often phoned to ask basic questions.
“He is doing well physically, but he has been suffering from dementia for a long time,” Jaime Garcia Marquez said.
“Sometimes I cry because I feel like I’m losing him.”
Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s other novels include Love in the Time of Cholera, Chronicle of a Death Foretold and the The General in His Labyrinth.
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