According to the US Army, there is a “strong possibility” soldier Ivan Lopez, who killed three colleagues at Fort Hood base in Texas, was involved in an argument before the shooting.
Lt. Gen. Mark Milley formally identified the attacker as Specialist Ivan Lopez, 34, who later shot himself.
He told reporters there was “very strong evidence” that Ivan Lopez, originally from Puerto Rico, had an unstable psychological condition.
Sixteen others were wounded in the attack.
Officials have said that Ivan Lopez had served in Iraq and was being assessed for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
“There may have been a verbal altercation with another soldier or soldiers,” Gen. Mark Milley said.
Soldier Ivan Lopez killed three colleagues at Fort Hood base in Texas before taking his own life
“And there’s a strong possibility that that in fact immediately preceded the shooting, but we do not have that definitively at this point, but we do have strong indications of that.”
He also told reporters: “We have very strong evidence that he had a medical history that indicates an unstable psychiatric or psychological condition… we believe that to be a fundamental, underlying causal factor.”
Gen. Mark Milley also confirmed that the pistol used in the attack was bought from the same store, Guns Galore in nearby Killeen, where the soldier behind the 2009 gun rampage at Fort Hood purchased his.
Wednesday’s shooting took place at two buildings on the base at about 16:00 local time.
Ivan Lopez 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.
It was here that Ivan Lopez was eventually stopped by military police, shooting himself in the head when confronted by a female officer in the car park.
The shooting incident lasted between 15 and 20 minutes.
Nine of those injured are reported to be in intensive care, with three in critical condition.
The shooting has shocked America’s political and military community.
President Barack Obama said: “To see this unspeakable, senseless violence happen in a place where they’re supposed to feel safe – home base – is tragic.”
Fort Hood was the scene of a gun rampage in 2009 that left 13 soldiers dead and 32 wounded.
Maj. Nidal Hasan was sentenced to death last September for that attack.
It was the deadliest attack on a domestic military installation in US history.
The US government aid agency USAID was behind ZunZuneo, a text-message service that was allegedly designed to foment unrest in Cuba, the White House confirmed today.
ZunZuneo, dubbed a “Cuban Twitter”, had 40,000 subscribers at its height in a country with limited web access, reports the Associated Press.
The Cuban Twitter project is said to have lasted from 2009-2012 when the grant money ran out.
The US reportedly hid its links to the network through shell firms and by routing messages via other countries.
There has been no official Cuban government reaction to the story.
ZunZuneo is a text-message service that was allegedly designed to foment unrest in Cuba (photo CBS News)
The scheme, first reported by the Associated Press news agency, was operated by the US Agency for International Development (USAID).
It is a federal international development organization run under the aegis of the Department of State.
At a daily news briefing on Thursday, White House spokesman Jay Carney said the project had been debated by Congress and passed oversight controls.
Jay Carney said: “These are the kinds of environments where a program like this and its association with the US government can create problems for practitioners and members of the public.
“So appropriate discretion is engaged in for that reason but not because it’s covert, not because it’s an intelligence programme, because it is neither covert nor an intelligence program.”
The USAID said it was proud of its efforts in Cuba and that it worked to help people everywhere to exercise their rights and connect them with the outside world.
However, the report could undermine USAID’s longstanding claim that it does not take covert action in the countries where it operates aid programs.
ZunZuneo, slang for a Cuban hummingbird’s tweet, was reportedly designed to attract a subscriber base with discussion initially about everyday topics such as sport and weather.
US officials then planned to introduce political messages to spur the network’s users into dissent from their communist-run government, the Associated Press reports.
Executives set up firms in Spain and the Cayman Islands to pay the company’s bills and funneled the text messages away from US servers.
A website and bogus web advertisements were reportedly created to give the impression of a real firm.
Senator Patrick Leahy, chairman of the foreign operations appropriations subcommittee, said the revelations were troubling.
David Letterman is to retire in 2015, broadcaster CBS has announced.
The announcement was made by the veteran late-night TV host during a recording of Late Show with David Letterman, CBS added.
David Letterman is to retire in 2015 (photo CBS)
David Letterman, who will be 67 next week, began hosting the show on CBS in August 1993, after leaving the rival NBC network.
He began his TV career in 1978 on the CBS variety series Mary, starring Mary Tyler Moore.
David Letterman’s show has since won a host of TV awards.
During the taping of Thursday’s show, David Letterman said he had informed his CBS bosses that he would step down in about a year’s time, when his current contract expires.
The news comes nearly two months after Jay Leno retired as host of NBC’s The Tonight Show.
Correspondents say both Jay Leno and David Letterman had seen their ratings fall as rival TV presenter Jimmy Kimmel on ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live gained popularity with a younger audience.
Israel has decided to cancel the release of a fourth group of Palestinian prisoners.
Israeli Justice Minister Tzipi Livni said Palestinian actions had violated the terms of the release, which was part of a US-backed peace process.
Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas has applied to 15 UN conventions, accusing Israel of backtracking on its promises.
Washington said Israel’s latest move “creates challenges”.
But White House spokesman Jay Carney said it would not deter US Secretary of State John Kerry from keeping talks between both sides going.
“There has been progress in narrowing some of the questions that have arisen as a result of the events of the last few days,” he said.
The previous three releases of Palestinian prisoners were deeply unpopular with the Israeli public
“Neither side has indicated that they want to walk away from the talks. They both indicated they want to find a way to move forward.”
Tzipi Livni was quoted as saying “new conditions were established and Israel cannot release the fourth batch of prisoners”.
She urged the Palestinians to avoid unilateral measures and return to the negotiating table, her spokesperson said.
In recent days, the US had reportedly been trying to broker a deal in which the Palestinians would agree to extend the peace talks beyond the end of April deadline in exchange for the releasing of prisoners by Israel, and the US would free Israeli spy Jonathan Pollard in return.
The previous three releases of Palestinian prisoners were deeply unpopular with the Israeli public because many of those freed had been convicted of murdering Israelis.
But the Palestinians – many of whom regard the prisoners as heroes – believed the final batch of prisoners would be freed under a US deal that got the talks started last year.
Each side blames the other for initiating that sequence of backward steps.
Kris and Bruce Jenner have been spotted holding hands at LAX airport on Wednesday after returning home from Thailand trip.
Kris and Bruce Jenner have been spotted holding hands at LAX airport on Wednesday after returning home from Thailand trip (photo Splash News)
Kris and Bruce Jenner, who have been married for more than 22 years, announced their separation in October 2013.
The Kardashian-Jenner brood has been visiting Southeast Asia for the past week, and has been photographed filming the next season of Keeping Up With the Kardashians.
This isn’t the first time Kris and Bruce Jenner have spent time together, but it is the first photograph of them being intimate since their separation.
Bruce Jenner, 64, moved into his Malibu pad while Kris Jenner, 58, stayed in the family’s Calabasas compound.
Lauren Conrad posted a picture of herself with purple hair on April 1st, but it was all just a gag in honor of April Fools’ Day.
Lauren Conrad’s hairstylist Kristin Ess confirmed the prank in hilarious fashion via Instagram on April 2.
Lauren Conrad’s purple hair was just a gag in honor of April Fools’ Day (photo Lauren Conrad)
“To get this exact shade of purple, we went out and gathered rare amethyst stones. Next, we ground them up by hand until they turned into a fine powder. Then we added 2 pinches of grape koolaid. Mix that in a bowl with 2 oz. of mermaid tears. Apply all over and let it sit for 16 hours. Lather, rinse, repeat. #aprilfoolsyall#shedoesntevenlikepurple,” Kristin Ess wrote.
Lauren Conrad, 28, recently said that she’s just not into the purple hair trend.
Turkey has lifted the controversial ban on Twitter following Wednesday’s constitutional court ruling, officials and media reports say.
Turkey’s constitutional court had told the country’s telecommunication authorities the two-week-old ban must be lifted as it was a breach of freedom of expression.
It may take a couple of hours for full access to Twitter to be restored.
Turkey has lifted the controversial ban on Twitter following constitutional court ruling (photo CBC)
PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan had vowed to “wipe out Twitter” after users spread allegations of corruption.
Users across the country found many ways of circumventing the prohibition, which was widely criticized and ridiculed.
Access to Twitter was blocked in Turkey in the run-up to local elections, which Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s ruling Islamist-rooted AK Party won resoundingly.
Following the Twitter ban the government also banned access to YouTube, after a video on the website appeared to reveal top officials discussing how to stage an undercover attack inside Syria. Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu is heard asking about the possibility of sending tanks in.
The YouTube recording has not been verified as authentic, and Recep Tayyip Erdogan alleges that such recordings are being fabricated to turn people against him.
While the rest of the Keeping Up With The Kardashians family is living it up in Thailand, Rob Kardashian took to his Twitter on Tuesday with a cryptic, troubling message for his 4.82 million followers.
“No one will ever understand how much it hurts,” Rob Kardashian, 27, wrote a few hours past midnight.
The tweet came shortly after his ex-girlfriend Rita Ora made headlines for gushing about her romance with DJ Calvin Harris in Elle U.K.
Rita Ora told the magazine that she’d never been in love before Calvin Harris.
Rob Kardashian took to his Twitter with a cryptic, troubling message for his 4.82 million followers (photo ABC News)
The singer and the sock designer had an ugly split in 2012, after he accused her of cheating on him with 20 other men.
Rob Kardashian also deleted everything from his Instagram account this week, replacing all of his previous photos with a single post about a particularly cheerless April Fools’ joke.
“April Fools prank: replace all the sugar in your house with cocaine,” the text in the picture read.
Rob Kardashian has been struggling in his attempts to lose weight in recent months.
Nearly the entire Kardashian-Jenner family flew out of Los Angeles late last week to go to Thailand, where they’ve been enjoying the sights and frolicking on the beach in their bathing suits. On April 2, Kris Jenner posted a photo of the picturesque scenery, hashtagging all of her kids except Rob and Kourtney.
“Gorgeous Thailand,” Kris captioned the pic, along with shout-outs to Brandon and Brody Jenner, Brandon’s wife Leah, Bruce Jenner, and daughters Kim, Khloe, Kendall, and Kylie.
According to an investigation by the Associated Press news agency, the US secretly created ZunZuneo, a text-message social network designed to foment unrest in Cuba.
ZunZuneo, dubbed a “Cuban Twitter”, had 40,000 subscribers at its height in a country with limited web access.
The project reportedly lasted from 2009-2012 when the grant money ran out.
The US is said to have concealed its links to the network through a series of shell companies and by funneling messages through other countries.
The project appears to have taken advantage of the thirst for information on the island, where there is no independent media.
ZunZuneo, dubbed Cuban Twitter, had 40,000 subscribers at its height in a country with limited web access
The scheme was reportedly operated by the US Agency for International Development (USAID), a federal international development organization run under the aegis of the Department of State.
In a statement, USAID said its work was “consistent with US law”.
It told the Associated Press it was “proud of its work in Cuba to provide basic humanitarian assistance, promote human rights and fundamental freedoms, and to help information flow more freely to the Cuban people”.
But the Associated Press report could undermine USAID’s longstanding claims that it does not take covert action in the countries where it operates aid programs.
ZunZuneo, slang for a Cuban hummingbird’s tweet, was reportedly designed to attract a subscriber base with discussion initially about everyday topics such as sport and weather.
US officials then planned to introduce political messages in the hope of spurring the network’s users, especially younger Cubans, into dissent from their communist-run government, the Associated Press reports.
“There will be absolutely no mention of United States government involvement,” said a 2010 memo from Mobile Accord, one of the project’s creators, obtained by the news agency.
Executives set up firms in Spain and the Cayman Islands to pay the company’s bills and routed the text messages away from US servers.
A website and bogus web advertisements were created to give the impression of a real firm, the Associated Press reports.
As the money dried up, US officials reportedly approached Twitter founder Jack Dorsey for funding.
Senator Patrick Leahy, chairman of the foreign operations appropriation subcommittee, said the ZunZuneo revelations were troubling.
Ukraine’s government inquiry found that special police forces were behind the killings of dozens of anti-government protesters in Kiev in February.
Interior Minister Arsen Avakov told reporters that 12 members of the Berkut police had been identified as snipers and arrested.
Arsen Avakov presented what he said was new evidence from the shootings on February 18-20, when 76 people were killed.
Months of mass protests led to the ousting of President Viktor Yanukovych.
More than 100 people – including police officers – are now known to have died in Ukraine since the unrest began in November over Viktor Yanukovych’s last-minute rejection of a landmark deal with the EU in favor with closer Russian ties.
Ukraine’s new authorities have since signed the political part of the association agreement with the EU.
Meanwhile, Russia – which backed Viktor Yanukovych – last month annexed Crimea in southern Ukraine following a controversial referendum branded illegal by Kiev and the West.
Ukraine’s government inquiry found that special police forces were behind the killings of dozens of anti-government protesters in Kiev in February (photo Getty Images)
At a news conference in Kiev, Arsen Avakov presented the initial findings of an initial investigation into the mass shootings that shocked Ukraine and the world.
Most of the demonstrators who died were killed on Instytutska Street near the main protest camp on Independence Square, widely known as the Maidan.
Arsen Avakov gave details of one particular episode where he said the inquiry had established that eight of those killed were hit by bullets from the same machine-gun.
He identified Maj. Dmytro Sadovnyk as commander of a unit suspected of shooting dead at least 17 protesters.
“From the side of the Zhovtnevy Palace, a special squad from the riot Berkut police, wearing yellow armbands, opened fire at the protesters. Much of this fire was targeted. We are carrying out ballistics tests on the weapons,” Arsen Avakov said.
Members of the security services’ special unit Alfa are also believed to have taken part in the shootings, he added.
The interior minister also showed a number of slides and photos illustrating where he said police snipers were firing from. He named two buildings on Khreshchatyk and Kostyolna streets, saying other spots were still being investigated.
And he added that the previous authorities had tried to make the inquiry impossible by burning uniforms, dumping weapons and destroying documents.
A number of those responsible for the shootings are believed to have fled to Crimea.
Ukrainian Security Service chief Valentyn Nalyvaychenko said that Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) operatives had been involved in planning operations against the protesters.
He added that the FSB had sent “tonnes” of explosives and weapons by plane to Ukraine.
The Ukrainian authorities also said that the killings of the protesters took place “under the direct leadership” of Viktor Yanukovych.
They said arrest warrants had been issued for the ex-president and Oleksandr Yakymenko, Ukraine’s former security service chief.
Viktor Yanukovych – who is now in Russia – has repeatedly denied the allegations.
In a TV interview on Wednesday, Viktor Yanukovych claimed the shooting in February came from buildings held by protesters.
Justin Casquejo, a daring teenager who sneaked to the top of the US’s tallest building – 1 World Trade Center – will be assessed in a program for youthful offenders, a judge said Wednesday.
Justin Casquejo, 16, appeared before Midtown Community Court Judge Felicia Mennin, who ordered him to return on April 30.
He said nothing during the brief hearing. He and his lawyer declined comment as they rushed out of the building into a taxi.
Justin Casquejo, of Weehawken, New Jersey, is charged with criminal trespass and B.A.S.E. jumping, a reference to his alleged movements around the unfinished building. Both charges are misdemeanors.
He was arrested on March 16 after slipping through a hole in the fence surrounding the 104-story skyscraper at about 4 a.m. and taking an elevator to the spire.
Justin Casquejo sneaked into the WTC site and spent almost two hours on the roof of the nearly completed Freedom Tower (photo Facebook)
According to court documents, Justin Casquejo “slipped through an opening in the gate that is approximately 4 feet off the ground and approximately 1 square foot in area”.
He used a ladder to reach scaffolding that took him to the sixth floor, Detective Deborah Scheffold said in the documents. Justin Casquejo then took the elevator to the 88th floor, climbed the stairs to the 104th floor and rooftop, then used a ladder again to reach the peak of the antenna.
He said he had plotted on March 15, the eve of the climb, how to enter the building.
“I was walking around all night trying to figure out how I would enter it,” he was quoted as telling a police officer the next morning.
“I know there is no trespassing there,” the youth told the officer.
The 1,776-foot skyscraper is the US’s tallest building. It was built to replace the twin towers destroyed in the September 11 attacks.
Authorities said Justin Casquejo slipped through dressed like a construction worker and took photographs from the top.
Pharrell Williams will join talent show The Voice as a coach for its seventh season.
Pharrell Williams, 40, will join The Voice‘s panel when the new series starts later this year.
Following the announcement, the singer, who was Oscar-nominated for his hit single Happy, tweeted: “This is going to be so fun.”
Pharrell Williams will join talent show The Voice as a coach for its seventh season (photo Los Angeles Times)
In response to Pharrell Williams’ comment, current coach Adam Levine wrote: “Welcome to the circus dude!”
The Maroon 5 singer is on the panel with Shakira, Blake Shelton and Usher.
NBC said it would announce the remainder of the coaching line-up to appear alongside Pharrell Williams, who previously appeared as an advisor to Usher on season four, at a later date.
Christina Aguilera has also been a judge in the past.
Malaysia PM Najib Razak said his country will not give up on the search for missing flight MH370, as he visited the search hub in Perth, Australia.
Najib Razak’s comments came at a joint news conference with Australia’s PM Tony Abbott.
The Malaysian prime minister praised the search effort, saying the co-operation amid “great tragedy” had “given us all heart”.
Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 disappeared on March 8 en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing. The plane was carrying 239 people.
Planes and ships have been scouring the southern Indian Ocean, where the jet is believed to have crashed.
The focus of the search is an 85,000 sq mile area 932 miles west of Perth.
But so far not a single piece of debris from the Boeing 777 has been found.
Malaysia PM Najib Razak visits missing flight MH370 search hub in Perth (photo Getty Images)
Najib Razak met search crews at Pearce RAAF base near Perth on Thursday morning, before their planes left for the day, and then later held talks with Tony Abbott.
“The disappearance of MH370 has tested our collective resolve,” he told a news conference.
“Faced with so little evidence, and such a Herculean task, investigators from Malaysia, the US, the UK, China, Australia and France have worked without pause to reveal the aircraft’s movements.”
He thanked both search teams and the Australian government for their efforts in recent weeks, and said the search would go on.
“I know that until we find the plane, many families cannot start to grieve. I cannot imagine what they must be going through. But I can promise them that we will not give up,” he said.
Malaysian authorities have come in for heavy criticism over their management of the search, especially from relatives of the plane’s 153 Chinese passengers.
On Thursday, eight military planes and nine ships were due to take part in the search.
Weather conditions were fair, with visibility of approximately 6 miles, the Joint Agency Coordination Centre (JACC) – which is overseeing the search – said.
The British submarine HMS Tireless is also in the southern Indian Ocean and is due to be joined by Royal Navy ship HMS Echo.
The Australian Navy ship Ocean Shield is heading to the region and has equipment for detecting the plane’s “black-box” flight recorder.
Experts say timing is critical as the flight recorder may only have enough battery power to send out a signal until April 7.
Air Chief Marshall Angus Houston, head of the JACC, warned that the search operation faced multiple difficulties.
“This is one of the most demanding and challenging search and rescue operations, or search and recovery operations, that I have ever seen and I think probably one of the most complex operations of this nature that the world has ever seen,” he told Najib Razak and Tony Abbott.
On Wednesday Malaysian police chief Khalid Abu Bakar said investigators had “cleared” all passengers of possible involvement in hijacking, sabotage or having personal or psychological problems that could have been connected to the disappearance.
But he said that the criminal investigation could “go on and on and on. We have to clear every little thing”.
“At the end of the investigations, we may not even know the real cause. We may not even know the reason for this incident,” he added.
The police chief said that more than 170 interviews had been conducted with family members of the pilots and crew members, and that even cargo and food served on the plane were being investigated in case of sabotage.
Pakistani former military ruler Pervez Musharraf’s convoy has been targeted by a bomb attack within minutes of him passing, police say.
Police said it was an attempt to target the former president, however, no casualties were reported.
The blast struck a bridge on Pervez Musharraf’s route from a hospital in Rawalpindi, where he was being treated.
Pervez Musharraf, 70, was admitted to hospital for chest pain in January on his way to court at the start of his trial for treason.
Earlier this week, the former army chief was charged with five counts of treason over alleged constitutional violations during his time in power.
The former president has denied the charges and says all the accusations against him are politically motivated.
Pervez Musharraf was being transported from a military hospital to his farm house on the outskirts of Islamabad at the time of the attack
The blast reportedly struck Faizabad Bridge late on Wednesday night, as Pervez Musharraf was being transported from a military hospital to his farm house on the outskirts of Islamabad.
It is not clear whether the bomb exploded before or after Pervez Musharraf’s convoy passed, however, one police official quoted by the AFP news agency said the bomb exploded before he crossed the bridge.
“Four kilograms of explosive device planted in a pipeline under a bridge exploded around 20 minutes before the former president was supposed to cross the spot,” senior police official Liaqat Niazi said.
Pervez Musharraf was taken home via an alternative route, he added.
His spokeswoman, Aasia Ishaq, confirmed that he had reached his home safely, according to Associated Press.
There has been no claim of responsibility for the attack, which police say they are investigating.
Pervez Musharraf has survived numerous assassination attempts and plots against him during his time in power.
Four soldiers were dead, including gunman, and 16 others injured in a shooting at the US Army’s Fort Hood base in Texas, the military says.
Media named the suspect as soldier Ivan Lopez, 34, although his identity has not been officially confirmed.
Ivan Lopez took his own life with a .45-caliber Smith and Wesson semi-automatic pistol, officials say.
He had served in Iraq and had mental health problems, officials said.
President Barack Obama said he was “heartbroken” over the attack. A gun rampage at the same base in 2009 left thirteen soldiers dead and 32 wounded. Maj. Nidal Hasan was sentenced to death for that attack.
Four soldiers were dead, including gunman, and 16 others injured in a shooting at the US Army’s Fort Hood base in Texas (photo CNN)
US military spokesman Lt Gen Mark Milley told reporters that there was so far no indication that Wednesday’s shootings were related to terrorism.
He said the suspect had not been injured when he served in Iraq in 2011, but was being assessed to see if he had post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
The suspect was being treated for depression and anxiety, Mark Milley added.
The general said that it was not clear if the attack was premeditated and those wounded and killed were all members of the military.
The soldier drove to two buildings on the base and opened fire before he was stopped by military police, in an incident that lasted between 15 and 20 minutes.
He then shot himself in the head with a .45-calibre semi-automatic pistol. Officials say the weapon had been bought in a local store.
Barack Obama told reporters in Chicago: “I want to just assure all of us we are going to get to the bottom of exactly what happened.”
He said Ford Hood had sacrificed so much for freedom.
“We know these families. We know their incredible service to our country and the sacrifices that they make. Obviously our thoughts and prayers… are with the entire community,” the president said.
Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel called the shooting a “terrible tragedy.
A second 7.6-magnitude earthquake has rocked northern Chile, just over 24 hours after an 8.2 tremor killed six people, destroyed 2,600 houses and led to mass evacuations.
A tsunami alert in Chile and Peru was again issued, but was later lifted after waves of 2.4ft hit coastal areas.
Chile’s President Michelle Bachelet was among those evacuated on Thursday.
The quake is the strongest of several aftershocks following Tuesday’s tremor.
There have been no reports of damage from the latest quake.
The aftershock caused buildings to wobble and people to run into the streets in the port of Iquique, which was one of the cities hit by Tuesday night’s quake.
The latest quake was centered 14 miles south of Iquique.
A second 7.6-magnitude earthquake has rocked northern Chile, just over 24 hours after an 8.2 tremor killed six people, destroyed 2,600 houses and led to mass evacuations (photo AFP)
The US Geological Survey (USGS) said the aftershock had a depth of 12 miles and was felt across the border in southern Peru, where people in the cities of Tacna and Arequipa also fled buildings.
President Michelle Bachelet had earlier praised the “calm behavior” of residents following Tuesday evening’s quake.
Nearly a million people were evacuated across the country after the authorities issued a tsunami warning.
“I think you have shown us all a tremendous example,” Michelle Bachelet said during a visit to the worst affected areas.
Michelle Bachelet declared northern provinces – Arica and Parinacota, and Tarapaca – disaster areas.
Tuesday’s quake struck at 20:46 local time 52 miles north-west of the city of Iquique, a mining area,
“We are here to recognize the calm behavior of the people of Iquique, who showed great civic responsibility, as did those of Arica,” said Michelle Bachelet.
Fires destroyed some businesses in the area and fishermen found their boats sunken and damaged in Iquique harbor.
Michelle Bachelet called on residents to “work together now” to repair the damage caused by the quake.
Waves of up to 6ft hit some areas.
Some 40,000 people in Tarapaca remain without power, said Ricardo Toro of Chile’s National Emergency Office (Onemi).
Hours after the first major earthquake, Chile’s army was deployed to Iquique after 293 inmates escaped from a women’s jail.
Ricardo Toro said that 131 had now returned voluntarily.
Chile is one of the most seismically active countries in the world.
General Motors is accused by US Congress of a potentially criminal cover-up of its defective ignition switches.
Lawmakers on Capitol Hill fumed at the lack of answers from GM’s new CEO Mary Barra during a second day of hearings Wednesday into why the carmaker waited a decade to recall cars with the deadly flaw.
Members of a Senate subcommittee also said GM should tell owners of the 2.6 million cars being recalled to stop driving them until they are repaired.
However, Mary Barra gave assurances that the cars, mainly Chevrolet Cobalts and Saturn Ions, are safe to use while owners wait for the replacement part, saying she would let her own son get behind the wheel if he took certain precautions.
GM has linked the switch to 13 deaths and dozens of accidents. Others, including relatives of some victims, have a higher count of fatalities.
The automaker has said the ignition switch can move from the “run” position to the “accessory” position because of weight on the key chain. That causes the engine to shut off, disabling power steering, power brakes and the front air bags.
As she did Tuesday at a House hearing, Mary Barra said many of the answers Congress is seeking will come out in an internal GM investigation that should be completed in 45 to 60 days. She also said she was unaware of certain details about GM’s handling of the problem – an assertion that frustrated some of the senators.
“You don’t know anything about anything,” Senator Barbara Boxer, D-California, said.
Image source Wikimedia
Mary Barra also tried to assure lawmakers that GM is now more focused on safety and the consumer. Few sounded convinced.
Senators aggressively questioned Mary Barra about how GM approved a replacement switch in 2006 but never changed the part number. Failing to change the number makes the part harder to track. In this case, anyone investigating the cars wouldn’t know why earlier switches were failing at a higher rate than later ones.
While Mary Barra called the failure to change the part number “unacceptable,” several members of the panel implied that it was done intentionally by a person or group within the company.
“I don’t see this as anything but criminal,” said Senator Kelly Ayotte, R-New Hampshire, a former prosecutor.
Senator Richard Blumenthal, D-Connecticut, who is also a former prosecutor, told Mary Barra that the more he learns about GM, “the more convinced I am that GM has a real exposure to criminal liability”.
The Justice Department is conducting a criminal investigation of GM’s handling of the recall. The GM CEO promised the company will cooperate.
Mary Barra said the company has not yet fired any employees in connection with the recall. But she said if inappropriate decisions were made, GM will take action, including firing those involved.
As she began her testimony, Mary Barra faced an angry and skeptical Senator Claire McCaskill, D-Missouri – the head of the subcommittee – who recounted the story of a woman who died in an accident involving a faulty switch.
Claire McCaskill said GM had “a corporate culture that chose to conceal rather than disclose.”
She also dismissed Mary Barra’s claim that there is a new culture at GM. She said that when emerging from bankruptcy in 2009, GM had ample time to recall cars with the faulty switch.
GM did not begin recalling the vehicles until February.
Richard Blumenthal said GM should immediately tell owners of the recalled cars not to drive them until they’re repaired because they’re unsafe. GM plans to begin repairing the cars this month but has said it might take until October to get them all fixed.
Mary Barra said GM has already provided 13,000 loaner cars to drivers who are concerned. But she said the company’s testing on different types of roads shows the cars are safe as long as there is nothing but the ignition key on the key chain.
UPDATE:
In 2015, GM entering a deferred prosecution agreement with the New York Office.
In September, 2018, U. S. District Judge Alison Nathan dismissed the criminal cases against General Motors. New York prosecutors told Nathan the car maker paid over $2.6 billion in penalties, fines and settlements.
GM still faces pending civil lawsuits, but the government has finished monitoring the company as per bringing state or Federal charges.
The cast of The Lion King treated passengers aboard of Virgin Australia flight 0970 with an impromptu performance of Circle of Life.
The cast of The Lion King treated passengers aboard of Virgin Australia flight 0970 with an impromptu performance of Circle of Life (photo YouTube)
The eight-person chorus, led by Buyi Zama – the female vocalist behind the lead role of Rafiki – broke out the Broadway hit while returning from a promotional visit to Brisbane, where they launched the Queensland leg of the musical on Monday.
Most passengers appeared to enjoy the impromptu performance.
Turkey’s Twitter ban violates freedom of expression and individual rights, the country’s constitutional court has ruled.
The court also said that last month’s ban must be lifted, sending a statement to Turkey’s media regulator and the government.
It remains unclear whether the verdict will lead to a lifting of the block.
PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan had vowed to “wipe out Twitter” after users spread allegations of corruption.
Twitter ban violates freedom of expression and individual rights, Turkey’s constitutional court has ruled
Twitter itself has filed a challenge to the access ban.
On Wednesday, the constitutional court in Ankara sent its ruling to Turkey’s telecommunication authority (TIB) and the transport and communications ministry.
The court asked them to “do what’s necessary” to lift the ban, Turkey’s NTV television reported.
The authorities have so far made no public comment on the verdict.
A ban was imposed on March 21 on the grounds that Twitter had failed to remove the allegations of corruption involving senior officials.
A number of complaints were filed to courts, arguing the ban was illegal and unconstitutional.
The administrative court in Ankara later issued a temporary injunction ordering the TIB to restore access to Twitter until it could deliver its full verdict on the ban.
Meanwhile, users across Turkey have found many ways of circumventing the prohibition, which has been widely criticized and ridiculed.
Two stolen paintings by Paul Gauguin and Pierre Bonnard have been found hanging on an Italian factory worker’s kitchen wall for almost 40 years, police have revealed.
The artworks – now worth at least 10.6 million euros – were stolen from a collector’s London home in 1970 and left on a train in Italy, with no indication of origin.
At a lost-property auction in 1975, the unsuspecting Fiat worker paid 45,000 Italian lire (23 euros) for them.
He hung them in his Turin home before taking them to Sicily when he retired.
The worker only grew suspicious about their origins when his son saw another Gauguin in a book and noticed similarities with the painting in his father’s kitchen.
The man consulted experts and police were eventually alerted.
Stolen Gauguin and Bonnard paintings have been found hanging on an Italian factory worker’s kitchen wall
The Gauguin painting, titled Fruits sur une table ou nature au petit chien (Fruits on a table or still life with a small dog), had been painted in 1889 and was thought to be worth between 10 million and 30 million euros, police said.
The Bonnard, La femme aux deux fauteuils (Woman with two armchairs), is valued at 600,000 euros.
According to a New York Times report published in June 1970, the two pieces were stolen from a property by Regent’s Park in London by three men posing as burglar alarm engineers.
The men asked the housekeeper to make them a cup of tea. By the time she returned, the paintings had been taken from their frames and the men had made their escape.
Italian culture minister Dario Franceschini said: “It’s an incredible story, an amazing recovery. A symbol of all the work which Italian art police have put in over the years behind the scenes.”
Mariano Mossa, commander of Italy’s heritage police, said he believed the paintings had been discarded on a train travelling from Paris to Turin after they were stolen.
“They were bought by an art-loving worker, who hung them for 40 years in his kitchen, first in Turin then in Sicily, after he retired,” he added.
Paul Gauguin was a post-impressionist master known for his creative relationship with Vincent van Gogh. His fellow Frenchman Pierre Bonnard is regarded as one of the greatest colorists of modern art.
Ukraine’s former President Viktor Yanukovych says Russia’s annexation of Crimea is “a tragedy” and he hopes it will become part of Ukraine again.
In an interview with the Associated Press and Russian channel NTV, Viktor Yanukovych also said he gave no orders to open fire on protesters in the capital, Kiev.
Viktor Yanukovych fled Kiev after protests in which more than 100 people died.
Russia annexed Crimea in southern Ukraine last month following a controversial referendum branded illegal by Kiev and the West. The peninsula has a majority ethnic Russian population.
Moscow has insisted it has no intention of invading Ukraine.
Ukraine’s former PresidentViktor Yanukovych says Russia’s annexation of Crimea is a tragedy (photo Reuters)
Viktor Yanukovych, now in Russia, said he would try to persuade Russian President Vladimir Putin to return Crimea to Ukraine.
“Crimea is a tragedy, a major tragedy,” he said.
“We must set such a task and search for ways to return to Crimea on any conditions, so that Crimea may have the maximum degree of independence possible… but be part of Ukraine.”
Viktor Yanukovych said had he remained in power, he would have tried to prevent the referendum, calling it a “form of protest” against Ukraine’s new pro-Western leaders.
More than 100 people were killed in street protests in Kiev in January and February, many of them by sniper fire, but Viktor Yanukovych said he had no role in their deaths.
He said gunfire came from the opposition camp, not from riot police, and that responsibility for the high number of deaths lay with the opposition.
“I personally never gave any orders to shoot,” he said.
“As far as I know the weapons were never given to those special troops who took part in defending the state buildings and the state bodies – they just complied with their orders.”
He added: “My principles which I always follow are that no authority, no power is worth a drop of blood.”
Unrest in Ukraine began late last year when Viktor Yanukovych rejected an association agreement with the EU in favor of closer ties with Russia.
The interim government in Kiev that took power after Viktor Yanukovych fled has scheduled a presidential and some mayoral elections for May 25.
The US Supreme Court has struck down overall donor limits for political campaigns.
The court ruled 5-4 that individuals could give to candidates, parties and political groups without observing an overall cap of $123,200.
The ruling leaves in place limits on how much donors can give to a single candidate – currently $2,600.
The decision is the latest in a series which have loosened restrictions on US campaign finance.
Contribution limits were established by Congress in the 1970s in an attempt to restore the public’s faith in government after President Richard Nixon’s resignation in the Watergate scandal.
Chief Justice John Roberts wrote in Wednesday’s majority opinion that overall limits “intrude without justification” on first amendment rights, the clause of the US constitution that enshrines freedom of speech.
The US Supreme Court has struck down overall donor limits for political campaigns
Critics say the ruling will expand even further the influence of big money in politics.
Four years ago, the Supreme Court lifted limits on political spending by nominally independent groups known as political action committees, in a case known as Citizens United.
Last year the high court removed restrictions on states with a history of race-biased voting laws, prompting activists to charge that the court was making it harder to vote in but easier to buy elections.
Wednesday’s vote split the court along its liberal and conservative wings, with Justice Stephen Breyer taking the unusual step of reading his dissent from the bench.
He wrote: “Taken together with [Citizens United], today’s decision eviscerates our nation’s campaign finance laws, leaving a remnant incapable of dealing with the grave problems of democratic legitimacy that those laws were intended to resolve.”
The case was brought by Shaun McCutcheon, a Republican and owner of the Coalmont Electrical Development Corporation in Alabama.
Before the US elections two years ago, Shaun McCutcheon made individual donations to 15 congressional candidates.
But he was unable to donate to another dozen candidates because that would have broken the overall limit.
“It’s a very important case about your right to spend your money how you choose,” Shaun McCutcheon has said.
He told the Associated Press news agency that he planned to spend several hundred thousand dollars ahead of November’s midterm elections.
During arguments, US Solicitor General Donald Verrilli Jr., argued in favor of the limit, telling the court if the limit were overturned, donors “could potentially funnel massive amounts of money to a favored candidate”.
Donald Verrilli argued without the overall limit, one donor giving the maximum allowed to every congressional candidate, political party and political action committee would exceed $3 million in contributions in a single election cycle.
But the court disagreed with the solicitor general’s warning, arguing the court could not interfere with such “free speech” beyond the direct limit on individual candidate donations.
The ruling may see an increase in political action groups, who while barred from directly co-ordinating with candidates’ campaigns, they may spend large amounts of money promoting a candidate or running negative adverts again the candidate’s opponents.
The groups are largely funded by business interests, wealthy individuals and, to a lesser extent, unions.
However, only a small portion of all current donors to political campaigns would be affected by the removal of the aggregate limit.
According to the Center for Responsive Politics, 646 people in the 2012 election cycle hit the maximum overall donation limit.
Those people gave more than $93 million directly to candidates and committees.
