An arrest warrant could be issued for troubled actress Lindsay Lohan after failing to complete her community service hours.
In February, Lindsay Lohan, 28, was ordered by a judge to complete 125 hours of community service by the end of the month.
Photo Instagram
So far, according to TMZ, Lindsay Lohan has completed fewer than 20 hours.
These hours, which stem from her 2012 reckless driving case, have been an issue for the actress for quite some time.
Earlier this year, Lindsay Lohan tried to say that she had completed her service, but a judge scoffed at her, as she passed off fan meet-and-greets in London as community service. The judge threw out 125 of the claimed hours and ordered her to do actual community service.
A status hearing is set for May 7, wherein the prosecutor is most likely to ask the judge to issue a warrant for Lindsay Lohan’s arrest, according to TMZ.
British people are expected to head to polling stations to cast their votes in the UK general election.
The voters will elect the 56th Parliament of the United Kingdom after the Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011 led to the mandated dissolution of the 55th Parliament on March 30, 2015.
There are also local elections scheduled to take place on the same day across most of England, with the exception of Greater London.
Polls open at 07:00 BST on Thursday, May 7, at around 50,000 polling stations across the UK.
A total of 650 Westminster Members of Parliament (MPs) will be elected for the House of Commons, the lower house of Parliament, with about 50 million people registered to vote.
As well as the general election, there are more than 9,000 council seats being contested across 279 English local authorities.
Mayors will also be elected in Bedford, Copeland, Leicester, Mansfield, Middlesbrough and Torbay.
This means that nearly every voter in England – excluding London where there are no local elections – will be given at least two ballot papers when they enter polling stations.
Some votes have already been cast, through postal voting, which accounted for 15% of the total electorate at the 2010 general election, when the overall turnout was 65%.
For the first time, people have been able to register to vote online.
Most polling stations are in schools, community centres and parish halls, but pubs, a launderette and a school bus will also be used.
A handful of seats are expected to be declared by midnight, with the final results expected on Friday afternoon, May 8.
Polls close at 22:00 BST, but officials say anyone in a polling station queue at this time should be able to cast their vote.
Seven parties (Conservative, Labour, Liberal Democrat, UKIP, SNP, PC and Green) participated in the election leadership debates.
The Conservative Party and Labour Party have been the two biggest parties since 1922, and have supplied all UK prime ministers since that date. Polls predict that these parties will receive between 65-75% of the votes and win 80-85% of seats between them and that as such the leader of one of these parities will be the prime minister after the election.
The Economist described a “familiar two-and-a-half-party system” (Conservatives, Labour, and the Liberal Democrats) that “appears to be breaking down” with the rise of the United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP), the Greens and the Scottish National Party (SNP).
Analysts say that there will be no overall majority, but that PM David Cameron’s Conservatives will be the largest party with more than 280 seats.
Princess Charlotte and her parents, Kate Middleton and Prince William, have left Kensinton Palace for their Norfolk home, Anmer Hall.
They will spend the first few weeks of Princess Charlotte’s life at their recently-refurbished Georgian mansion.
Prince William is beginning two weeks’ paternity leave from his job as an air ambulance helicopter pilot.
Queen Elizabeth II first met her new great-granddaughter this week when she visited Kensington Palace.
Princess Charlotte’s brother, 21-month-old Prince George, was with Prince William and Kate Middelton for the journey to Anmer Hall, where the couple will adjust to life with two young children.
Kate Middleton and Prince William are expected to be based at Anmer Hall – on the Queen’s Sandringham estate – for the next few years as they raise Princess Charlotte and Prince George, who is almost two, with the help of a full-time nanny.
The couple recently undertook major renovations of the mansion, including a new roof and kitchen and the creation of a garden room and quarters for the nanny.
The majority of the renovation costs were paid for by the Royal Family from private funds.
Princess Charlotte was born on May 2nd at London’s St Mary’s Hospital, weighing 8lbs 3oz.
Iulia Vantur, a Romanian TV anchor dubbed by the media Salman Khan’s “girlfriend”, has apparently showed her support for the Bollywood star as he was convicted of culpable homicide in a 2002 Mumbai hit-and-run case.
Salman Khan, 49, was sentenced to five years in jail for killing a homeless man in 2002.
While Salman Khan was awaiting his sentence in a Bombay court, Iulia Vantur posted an extremely emotional message on her Facebook account, a sign that although distance separates them , her thoughts were with him.
Iulia Vantur, 34, wrote: “Pray, Faith, God”.
Global media speculated that Iulia Vantur is Salman Khan’s girlfriend after she was surprised several times in the company of the Bollywood star, at his sister Arpita’s wedding, and in Romania, but they decided to retain discretion on their relationship.
Bollywood star Salman Khan has been convicted of culpable homicide in a 2002 Mumbai hit-and-run case.
Salman Khan, 49, has been sentenced to five years in jail for killing a homeless man.
The man was among five people who were run over in the incident.
One of the victims of the hit-and-run incident has said getting compensation is more important to him than Salman Khan’s conviction.
However, Abdullah Rauf Shaikh told Outlook magazine: “I have no hard feelings for him [Salman Khan]. I still watch his movies.”
Abdullah Rauf Shaikh, who lost a leg in the accident, also told the publication: “Nobody came to visit me in the last 13 years. I am forced to do petty jobs to support my family and face a lot of problems.”
“Compensation matters more than conviction, my health and work suffered,” he said.
Abdullah Rauf Shaikh was only 22-year-old when he lost his leg in the 2002 incident.
On May 6, 2015, the Bombay high court sentenced Bollywood star Salman Khan to five years in jail for killing a homeless man in a 2002 Mumbai hit-and-run case.
September 28, 2002: Salman Khan’s car runs over five people sleeping on a Mumbai street, killing a homeless man and injuring four others
Photo India TV
October 2002: Salman Khan charged with culpable homicide not amounting to murder – arrested but granted bail
May 2003: Court rejects Salman Khan’s plea to drop culpable homicide charge
June 2003: Bombay high court drops culpable homicide charge; Salman Khan is then tried for rash and negligent driving
October 2007: Prime witness, a constable who served in his security detail, dies of tuberculosis
March 2015: Salman Khan tells the court he was not drunk and his driver was behind the wheel
May 2015: Salman Khan found guilty, sentenced to five years in jail
Salman Khan has been freed on bail for two days, hours after being convicted of culpable homicide in a 2002 Mumbai hit-and-run case.
The Bombay high court gave the Bollywood star interim bail for two days after his lawyers filed an appeal against his sentence. The appeal will be heard on May 8.
On May 6, a sessions court sentenced Salman Khan to five years in prison for killing a homeless man.
The man was among five people who were run over in the incident.
Salman Khan, 49, had said his driver was behind the wheel, but the judge said the Indian actor and producer was driving the car and was under the influence of alcohol at the time.
The guilty verdict is being seen as a huge setback for Salman Khan, although the jail term could have been as long as 10 years.
Photo Press Trust of India
Following the verdict, Salman Khan remained in the trial court while his lawyers went to the high court with the appeal.
The actor is now expected to go home, at least for the next two days.
Salman Khan is one of Bollywood’s biggest stars, appearing in more than 80 Hindi-language films.
Several of his Bollywood colleagues spoke out in his support and expressed their sympathies. Actress Hema Malini said she was praying for him.
If Salman Khan is put behind bars, it will affect several big-ticket film projects he is involved in at the moment.
Meanwhile, one of the victims of the hit-and-run incident has said getting compensation is more important to him than Salman Khan’s conviction.
Abdullah Rauf Shaikh told Outlook magazine: “I have no hard feelings for him (Salman). I still watch his movies.”
The case has gripped Bollywood and India for years.
Late on the night of September 28, 2002, Salman Khan’s Toyota Land Cruiser hit the American Express bakery in the Bandra area of Mumbai, authorities say.
The vehicle ran over five people sleeping on the street, killing 38-year-old Noor Ullah Khan and seriously injuring three others. Another person received minor injuries.
The prosecution alleged that Khan had been driving the car while drunk.
Giving evidence in March, Salman Khan had denied he was drunk or that he was driving the vehicle.
But many witnesses disagreed.
A constable attached to Salman Khan’s security detail said in a statement to the police that the “drunk” actor had lost control of the car. The policeman died in 2007 of tuberculosis.
In April, Salman Khan’s driver told the court that he had crashed the car after a tire burst but the court did not accept that version.
According to a report by French investigators, Andreas Lubitz, the co-pilot of the Germanwings plane that crashed in the French Alps in March, may have practiced a rapid descent on a previous flight.
The French investigators’ report said Andreas Lubitz repeatedly set the plane for an unauthorized descent earlier that day.
Andreas Lubitz is suspected of deliberately crashing the Airbus 320, killing all 150 people on board.
The co-pilot had locked the flight captain out of the cockpit.
The plane had been flying from Barcelona to Dusseldorf on March 24.
The alteration of the flight settings occurred on the plane’s outbound flight from Dusseldorf to Barcelona on the same day, the preliminary report by accident investigation agency BEA said.
It added that on several occasions – again with the captain out of the cockpit – the altitude dial was set to 100ft, the lowest possible reading, despite instructions by air traffic control in Bordeaux to set it to 35,000ft and then 21,000ft.
It was also reset on one occasion to 49,000ft, the maximum altitude.
The changes apparently happened over a 5-minute period at about 07:30 on the day of the crash, starting 30 seconds after the captain left the cockpit.
“I can’t speculate on what was happening inside his head – all I can say is that he changed this button to the minimum setting of 100ft and he did it several times,” BEA director Remy Jouty told Reuters news agency.
The outward flight left Dusseldorf at 06:01, arriving in Barcelona at 07:57.
Andreas Lubitz is known to have suffered depression in the past and last month German prosecutors revealed that he had researched suicide methods and the security of cockpit doors.
Voice recorder findings suggest Andreas Lubitz locked the pilot out of the cockpit on the doomed flight.
The BEA’s preliminary report also discloses more detail of what happened on board the flight that crashed.
The flight data recorder appears to show Andreas Lubitz repeatedly increasing the aircraft’s speed once he had programmed its descent.
On several occasions, both air traffic control and France’s air defense system tried to contact the plane.
Signals from the cabin intercom, followed by knocking on the cockpit door and then “noises similar to violent blows” are heard on the voice recorder as the captain tries to re-enter the cockpit, according to the report.
BEA is expected to release its final report in a year, which the focus on “systemic failings” and cockpit security.
The US government has approved a ferry service between Florida and Cuba for the first time in more than 50 years.
Services between the two countries stopped when the US imposed a trade embargo on Cuba in 1960.
The US announced the restoration of diplomatic ties with Cuba in December 2014.
The US government has now lifted the ban and a number of ferry companies say they have been given licenses.
The latest announcement does not necessarily mean that boats will start launching for Cuban shores straight away, as there are bureaucratic hurdles to overcome in both countries.
However, the move is another indication of Washington’s desire to put the policies of isolating Cuba in the past and begin a new era of co-operation.
President of the Miami-based United Americas Shipping Services Joseph Hinson called the move “a great step forward”.
Joseph Hinson said that “if all goes smoothly we could have things up and running by September”.
Havana Ferry Partners of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, said it also had a license.
“This is a historical event. Thanks to President Barack Obama, to whom we are very grateful, for his leadership,” the company wrote on its Facebook page.
Ferries will also be allowed to transport cargo to Cuba, which sits 90 miles from southern Florida.
A new charter flight service from New York City, operated by JetBlue, had already been announced.
The service was agreed during a recent trade delegation of New York-based companies to Cuba, led by state governor Andrew Cuomo.
Despite the new flights and ferry services, a travel ban on Cuba is still in place for US citizens.
Only those who have the right paperwork in 12 different categories are permitted to visit Cuba.
Salman Khan has been sentenced to 5 years in jail for killing a homeless man in a 2002 hit-and-run driving incident in Mumbai.
The man was among five people who were run over in the incident.
The Bollywood star was charged with culpable homicide.
Salman Khan, 49, had said his driver was behind the wheel, but the judge said the actor was driving the car and was under the influence of alcohol at the time.
Legal experts expect Salman Khan to appeal against the verdict.
He could have been jailed for 10 years.
Correspondents say the guilty verdict is a huge setback for Salman Khan who is one of Bollywood’s biggest stars, appearing in more than 80 Hindi-language films.
On May 6, as Salman Khan drove to court with his family and friends, fans prayed for the actor’s acquittal.
Judge DW Deshpande found the actor guilty on the charge of culpable homicide.
“You were driving the car; you were under the influence of alcohol,” he told Salman Khan as soon as the court proceedings began.
Indian television channels reported Salman Khan broke down inside court as the guilty verdict was announced.
Several of Salman Khan’s Bollywood colleagues spoke out in his support and expressed their sympathies.
Tiger Woods has revealed he hasn’t slept in three days since his breakup with skiing star Lindsey Vonn.
Returning to the PGA Tour for the first time since finishing in a tie for 17th in the Masters, Tiger Woods’ mind wasn’t completely on the task at hand as he played a practice round on May 5 at TPC Sawgrass ahead of May 7 start of The Players Championship.
Tiger Woods’ three-year relationship with Lindsey Vonn mutually came to an end Sunday, May 3. And this time of the year is always difficult for Tiger Woods, whose father, best friend and mentor, Earl, passed away on May 3, 2006.
“This three-day window is really hard,” Tiger Woods said.
“I haven’t slept. These three days, May 3rd through the 5th, is just brutal on me. And then with obviously what happened on Sunday, it just adds to it.”
Tiger Woods returned to the driving range after speaking with the media and has Wednesday to sharpen his game that was clearly off as he played nine holes with Jason Day.
Ranked No. 125 in the world, Tiger Woods had a two-way miss going, losing balls on both the first and ninth holes. He also said he lost three other balls to water hazards.
Tiger Woods won the last time he played here, in 2013 when he captured his second Players title. Last year he missed the tournament after having back surgery.
Floyd Mayweather Jr.’s ex-girlfriend Josie Harris sued him for lying in his interview with Katie Couric prior to his fight with Manny Pacquiao.
Josie Harris is asking for over $20 million in damages for Floyd Mayweather repeatedly knowingly making false statements, TMZ Sports reported.
In his interview with Katie Couric, Floyd Mayweather was asked about the 2010 incident with Josie Harris in which he was accused of viciously attacking her.
Floyd Mayweather later pleaded guilty to reduced misdemeanor charges, leading to a 90-day jail sentence.
He told a much different tale from what the arrest report states.
“Did I kick, stomp and beat someone? No, that didn’t happen,” Floyd Mayweather told Katie Couric.
“I look in your face and say, <<No, that didn’t happen>>. Did I restrain a woman that was on drugs? Yes, I did. So if they say that’s domestic violence, then, you know what? I’m guilty. I’m guilty of restraining someone.”
Josie Harris’ lawyer says in the suit that Floyd Mayweather knowingly lied in his interview with Katie Couric to protect his image and help promote his fight with Manny Pacquiao.
Floyd Mayweather accused Josie Harris of being on drugs and claims to have just restrained her, when that is not at all what Harris says happened.
The real story, according to Josie Harris, is that Floyd Mayweather was jealous she was having a relationship with a new man, NBA player C.J. Watson.
He took away Josie Harris’ cellphone, and later attacked her inside her home. Floyd Mayweather paid for the home and had Josie Harris and their three children living there.
“Did he beat me to a pulp? No, but I had bruises on my body and contusions and [a] concussion because the hits were to the back of my head. I believe it was planned to do that … because the bruises don’t show,” Josie Harris said in a 2013 interview with Yahoo.
Floyd Mayweather’s own son, who helped save his mother, even called his father a “coward” for beating up Josie Harris.
This wasn’t the first domestic violence incident between them; Josie Harris accused Floyd Mayweather of beating her up in 2005, but she later dropped the charges and admitted she was lying.
As recently in 2013, Josie Harris posted photo evidence suggesting she and Floyd Mayweather were still sleeping together. As of last year she was still supporting Floyd Mayweather and even got in a fight with one of his other ex-girlfriends.
Meanwhile, Josie Harris has distanced herself from Floyd Mayweather and his controlling ways, and she even is publishing a book about their dysfunctional relationship history.
Josie Harris even appeared to comment on the lawsuit with an Instagram post of a heart and the words, “I’m not sorry” written inside them.
Manny Pacquiao and his team have been sued by two fans for failing to disclose a serious shoulder injury prior to the fight with Floyd Mayweather Jr. on May 3rd.
The fans filed a $5 million class action lawsuit against Manny Pacquiao and his camp.
After losing to Floyd Mayweather by unanimous decision, Manny Pacquiao’s camp said the fighter was trying to compete despite a severe shoulder injury.
They blamed the Nevada Athletic Commission for denying Manny Pacquiao a painkilling injection prior to the fight.
The severity of Manny Pacquiao’s injury seemed to be confirmed when it was reported on May 4th he would undergo surgery to repair a tear in his shoulder.
However, what doesn’t add up is that Manny Pacquiao’s team, namely adviser Michael Koncz, checked “no” on a box from the commission asking whether sportsman had a shoulder injury.
“Number one, Manny didn’t check the box,” Michael Koncz told the New York Daily News.
“I checked it. It was just an inadvertent mistake. If I was trying to hide anything, would I have listed all the medications on the sheet that he intended to use? We weren’t trying to hide anything. I just don’t think I read the questionnaire correctly.”
Manny Pacquiao is now facing possible sanctions from the Nevada commission over his failure to disclose the injury. And that brings us back to the fan class action suit.
The fans filed suit against Manny Pacquiao, Michael Koncz, and Pacquiao’s promoter Top Rank for hiding the injury and not disclosing it, letting Pacquiao carry on with the fight as damaged goods.
“Defendants prior to and at the time the plaintiffs and the class decided to purchase tickets; purchase pay per view showings or wagered on the event the defendants knew and had full knowledge and information that defendant Pacquiao had been seriously injured and was suffering from a torn rotator cuff,” the lawsuit reads via ESPN.
“Defendants further know that such injury would severely affect his performance.”
A Top Rank attorney says the claims are false, explaining that on his medical form for the commission Michael Koncz listed all the medications Manny Pacquiao required.
Bollywood superstar Salman Khan has been found guilty of killing a homeless man in a 2002 hit-and-run driving incident in Mumbai, an Indian court has ruled.
The man was among five people who were run over in the incident.
Salman Khan was charged with culpable homicide.
The actor had said his driver was behind the wheel, but the judge said Salman Khan was driving the car and was under the influence of alcohol at the time.
His sentence is still to be announced. Salman Khan faces up to 10 years in jail.
Legal experts say Salman Khan is bound to appeal against the verdict and the case is likely to go on for many more years.
According to correspondents, Wednesday’s guilty verdict is a huge setback for Salman Khan who is one of Bollywood’s biggest stars, appearing in more than 80 Hindi-language movies.
Several of his movies, including Dabangg, Ready, Bodyguard, Ek Tha Tiger, Maine Pyar Kiya and Hum Aap Ke Hain Kaun, have been huge commercial hits.
On May 6th, as Salman Khan drove to court with his family and friends, fans prayed for the actor’s acquittal.
But Judge DW Deshpande found him guilty on the charge of culpable homicide.
If the actor is jailed, it will affect several big-ticket film projects he is involved in at the moment.
The case has gripped Bollywood and India for years.
Late on the night of September 28, 2002, Salman Khan’s Toyota Land Cruiser hit the American Express bakery in the Bandra area of Mumbai, authorities say.
Salman Khan’s car ran over five people sleeping on the street, killing 38-year-old Noor Ullah Khan and seriously injuring three others. Another person received minor injuries.
The prosecution alleged that Salman Khan had been driving the car while drunk, both of which charges the actor denied in court in March.
But many witnesses disagreed.
A constable attached to Salman Khan’s security detail said in a statement to the police that the “drunk” actor had lost control of the car. The policeman died in 2007 of tuberculosis.
In April, Salman Khan’s driver told the court that he had crashed the car after a tyre burst but the court did not accept that version.
Avengers: Age of Ultron has topped the North American box office with $191.3 million, the second-biggest opening weekend ever in the US.
The sequel failed to beat the record-breaking opening of the original Avengers movie, which took $207.4 million when it debuted in 2012.
The weekend’s second biggest film, Age of Adaline, took just $6.3 million.
The Marvel Disney film has taken $631.1 million worldwide so far.
Analysts suggested sports events may have affected Age of Ultron‘s US performance, with Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao’s boxing fight, the Kentucky Derby and NBA playoffs all scheduled over the weekend.
Avengers: Age of Ultron marks the return of Robert Downey Jr., Scarlett Johansson, Mark Ruffalo and Chris Evans as Iron Man, Black Widow, The Hulk and Captain America.
This time the superhero team – which also includes Chris Hemsworth as Thor and Jeremy Renner as Hawkeye – are battling to save the earth from villainous robot Ultron, voiced by James Spader.
Furious 7 took $6.1 million in third place with Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2 in fourth and animated film Home rounding out the weekend’s top five.
Sam Smith has been forced to cancel a series of shows in Japan and Manila due to a haemorrhage on his vocal cords.
The singer and is heading to the US to see a specialist.
Photo Instagram
Few days ago, Sam Smith had to cancel the second half of his Australian tour after doctors discovered bleeding.
Sam Smith is apparently “vocally exhausted” and has had to cancel the shows to avoid more serious damage.
Writing on Instagram, Sam Smith said: “Very upset about Japan and Manila dates.
“I’ve just left Australia and I’m on my way to the States to see a specialist to see what to do from there…”
Sam Smith’s In The Lonely Hour tour is due to come to Europe, starting with Radio 1’s Big Weekend in Norwich, the UK, from May 23rd. Those dates are still currently going ahead.
McDonald’s could be facing a European Commission (EU) investigation into its tax affairs.
EU competition commissioner Margrethe Vestager said she is looking into trade union allegations that McDonald’s avoided paying more than €1 billion ($1.1 billion) in corporate taxes between 2009 and 2013.
Unions claim McDonald’s diverted nearly €4 billion of revenues into a Luxembourg subsidiary staffed by 13 people.
McDonald’s has rejected the claims.
Photo Reuters
Margrethe Vestager said her office is “looking into the information gained by trade unions when it comes to McDonald’s in order to assess if there is a case.”
The coalition of European and US unions claims that McDonald’s reduced its tax burden by moving its British headquarters to Switzerland and then channeling money into a Luxembourg-based subsidiary that also had a Swiss branch.
The unions said the Luxembourg offshoot had revenues of €3.7 billion over the five-year period but reported paying €16 million in taxes.
McDonald’s maintains that it has complied fully with EU tax law.
The EU has been cracking down on what it sees as aggressive tax avoidance by multinational companies, last year opening investigations into Apple in Ireland, Starbucks in the Netherlands, and Amazon in Luxembourg.
Mike Huckabee has announced his bid for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination on May 5th.
The former Arkansas governor has launched his second attempt at getting the Republican nomination for the presidency.
At a rally in his hometown of Hope, Arkansas, Mike Huckabee used the phrase “hope to higher ground” as a motif.
The bass guitar-playing, foreign policy hawk has had a media career since losing the nomination in 2008.
Mike Huckabee joins a crowded Republican field that includes three senators, a businesswoman and a neurosurgeon.
“Folks, it is a long way from a little brick rent house on Second Street in Hope, Arkansas to the White House,” he said.
“Here in this small town called Hope, I was raised to believe that where a person started didn’t mean that’s where he had to stop. I always believed that a kid could go from Hope to higher ground.”
After announcing his ambitions, the crowd erupted in cheers of “We want Mike!”
Mike Huckabee, a former Southern Baptist minister, acknowledged his pro-gun-ownership position, telling the audience about receiving a BB gun at the age of five.
He said the US Department of Education should be abolished, a position popular with conservatives who oppose recent national education reforms.
On immigration, Mike Huckabee said the US borders should be secured, but was short on details.
He also reaffirmed his steadfast opposition to same-gender marriage.
Early in his speech, Mike Huckabee noted that he was the first male in his family to graduate from high school.
“My dad wasn’t an educated man, but he was a smart man. And he and my mother didn’t have a whole lot, but they had honesty to the bone,” he said.
As his campaign gets under way, Mike Huckabee could face challenges within his own party.
Many conservatives will not like the fact that overall, taxes and spending went up during his time as Arkansas governor.
In 2008, Mike Huckabee won eight primaries in socially conservative states but this time he has vowed to focus more on the economy and national security.
To win the Republican crown, Mike Huckabee will have to overcome Senators Marco Rubio, Ted Cruz and Rand Paul, as well as former Hewlett-Packard boss Carly Fiorina and retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson.
According to Save the Children aid group, dozens of migrants have drowned in the Mediterranean after a boat carrying an estimated 137 people sank south of Sicily.
The NGO says survivors reported up to 40 people fell into the sea as a rescue vessel was approaching.
The survivors arrived in the city of Catania on May 5th.
At least 1,750 people have died this year trying to cross the Mediterranean, a 20-fold increase on the same period in 2014.
Save the Children’s representative in Catania Giovanna di Benedetto said the latest sinking is thought to have happened on May 3rd, but the exact toll was not known.
“They [survivors] said there were 137 people aboard an inflatable boat that deflated or exploded – it wasn’t clear – and that some of them fell overboard,” Giovanna di Benedetto told AFP news agency.
“Some said <<very many>> died, others said <<around 40>>,” she added.
The survivors were picked up by a Maltese merchant ship and five bodies were also recovered.
Dramatic footage of the rescue, obtained by The Associated Press, shows migrants desperately jumping off a deflating dinghy, and trying to climb up ropes and a rope ladder to the merchant ship.
About 100 people were found on a second boat, with no deaths reported, the aid agency added.
The number of migrants attempting to make the perilous journey across the Mediterranean has risen in recent weeks as smugglers take advantage of fair weather.
In the past three days about 7,000 people have been rescued and 10 bodies recovered off the Libyan coast, according to the Italian coastguard.
Italian and French ships picked up survivors from wooden and rubber boats on at least 17 separate operations.
Meanwhile Turkey’s coastguard on May 5th said it had rescued more than 600 people trying to cross the Aegean Sea in the past week, Reuters reports.
More than 400 were men, women and children fleeing Syria, while the rest came from Iraq, Afghanistan, Myanmar (Burma) and various African countries, the office of the Izmir provincial governor is quoted as saying.
The latest deaths come as naval chiefs from 26 European countries are due to discuss the migrant crisis at talks in Naples, southern Italy.
EU nations agreed last month to triple funding for rescue operations run by European border agency Frontex, contribute more boats and patrol aircraft for rescue efforts, and look at ways to target smugglers’ boats with military strikes.
Jean-Marie Le Pen, the founder of France’s far-right National Front party, says he is “ashamed” his daughter – current party leader Marine Le Pen – still bears his surname.
Amid a growing feud, Jean-Marie Le Pen said he hoped she “would get married as quickly as possible so as to change her name”.
Jean-Marie Le Pen, 86, added he would not support his daughter in presidential elections in 2017.
His remarks came after the far-right party suspended Jean-Marie Le Pen, 86, after he repeated his view that the Holocaust was “a detail of history”.
Marine Le Pen, 46, has been trying to steer the National Front (FN) away from its racist and anti-Semitic past.
Her view is that FN’s growth is being held back by memories of what the far-right party used to be, and that to move to the next level it must cut itself free from its past.
Speaking to France’s Europe 1 radio, Jean-Marie Le Pen said: “I was hoping that the president of the National Front would get married as quickly as possible so as to change her name.
“Because I’m ashamed that she has the same surname as me.”
Asked if he would still be supporting his daughter in the presidential elections, Jean-Marie Le Pen answered: “Not for the moment.”
Jean-Marie Le Pen has been suspended but not dismissed by the party – a decision he described as a “felony”.
An extraordinary party congress is expected to be held within three months aimed at ending the function of honorary president – which Jean-Marie Le Pen has been holding since stepping down as leader in 2011.
Some commentators have suggested Jean-Marie Le Pen could be more of a risk outside the party than within it.
Jean-Marie Le Pen still holds a seat in the European Parliament and a post as a regional councilor in the south of France.
ISIS claims it was behind the attack on a Prophet Muhammad cartoon contest in the Dallas suburb of Garland.
The Islamic State militant group said that “two soldiers of the caliphate” carried out the attack at Garland conference center.
ISIS’ al-Bayan Radio news bulletin said the exhibition “was portraying negative pictures of the Prophet Muhammad”.
Both suspects were shot dead after opening fire at the contest on May 3rd.
Correspondents say that it is believed to be the first time that ISIS has claimed to have carried out an attack in the US.
“We tell America that what is coming will be even bigger and more bitter, and that you will see the soldiers of the Islamic State do terrible things,” the statement released by the group said.
Court documents have shown that one of two gunmen, Elton Simpson, who was shot dead during attack, had been a terror suspect.
Elton Simpson had been under surveillance since 2006 and was convicted in 2010 for lying to FBI agents about plans to go to Somalia to engage in violent jihad, or holy war, the files reveal.
A judge found Elton Simpson guilty of making a false statement and he was sentenced to three years’ probation and a $600 fine.
The judge ruled that there was insufficient evidence that the false statement involved international terrorism.
Elton Simpson had shared a flat in Arizona with the person named by officials as the other alleged gunman, Nadir Soofi.
On May 4th, FBI agents searched Elton Simpson and Nadir Soofi’s home in Phoenix and a white van parked outside.
Queen Elizabeth II has arrived at Kensington Palace to meet her new great-granddaughter, Prince William and Kate Middleton’s second child, Princess Charlotte.
Princess Charlotte, who is fourth in line to the throne, was born on May 2nd at London’s St Mary’s Hospital, weighing 8lbs 3oz (3.7kg).
Kensington Palace revealed the newborn princess had been named Charlotte Elizabeth Diana on May 4th.
Queen Elizabeth and other senior royals were told of the princess’ name before the announcement was made public.
Princess Charlotte was visited by her grandparents on Sunday, May 3rd.
Prince Charles and his wife Camilla spent more than an hour with their new granddaughter.
Kate Middleton’s parents, Michael and Carole Middleton, and sister Pippa have also met Princess Charlotte.
King Salman of Saudi Arabia has fired the head of royal protocol, Mohammed al-Tobayshi, days after he was filmed slapping a photographer.
In a decree published by the official Saudi Press Agency (SPA) news agency on May 5th, the royal house gives no reason for Mohammed al-Tobayshi’s removal.
TV footage seemingly showed Mohammed al-Tobayshi hitting the photographer while King Salman greeted Morocco’s King Mohammed at Riyadh airport on May 3rd.
A royal decree named Khalid al-Abbad as the replacement of Mohammed al-Tobayshi, the SPA reported.
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King Salman’s decision was welcomed by Saudis on social media networks.
After the video was posted online, many had accused Mohammed al-Tobayshi of abusing his authority.
“This is a great day for journalists and media figures,” journalist Abdullah al-Bergawi told Gulf News.
“Removing the head of the royal protocol in support of a journalist is a clear consolidation of the status of the media and a victory for journalism.
“King Salman is again showing that no-one is above the law and that all people, officials or not, are to be held responsible for their words and deeds and for not respecting people’s right to dignity.”
Last month, King Salman banned a senior member of the royal family, Prince Mamdouh bin Abdul Rahman, from taking part in all sports activities and speaking to the media after he made remarks considered racist during a TV talk show.
King Salman also replaced Ahmed Al-Khatib as health minister earlier in April after he was filmed having a heated argument with a member of the public who had come to speak to him about the condition of a hospital in Riyadh.
Australia’s central bank (the Reserve Bank of Australia) has cut its key interest rate by 25 basis points to a historic low of 2%.
Rising property prices in Australia’s biggest city, Sydney, a strong currency and a drop in iron ore prices are among the reasons for the cut.
The cut is the second in 2015, following a previous 25 basis point cut in February.
The RBA’s move follows similar action from central banks in China, Canada, Singapore, Korea and India.
A rising Australian dollar had also been cause for concern. The currency started to fall against the US dollar on the RBA’s announcement.
The RBA’s move also follows worrying official trade numbers released on May 5th which showed Australia’s trade deficit had missed expectations in March.
According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), the deficit had narrowed by a seasonally adjusted 18% to 1.32 billion Australian dollars ($1.03 billion).
Analysts said the numbers were due in part to falling iron ore and coal exports.
The RBA had been under pressure to cut its lending rates further this year, particularly amid worrying iron ore prices – which recently fell to decade lows – together with a recent strengthening of the local currency.
Iron ore is Australia’s most valuable export and the plummeting prices – attributed to a supply glut and waning demand from China, a key buyer of the product – have been hurting miners’ profits, as well as government tax revenue.
Australian Treasurer Joe Hockey said last month that the government would face a multi-billion dollar revenue loss due to a plunge in the price of iron ore.
The government will deliver its 2015-2016 budget papers on May 12 and has said it remains committed to achieving a budget surplus.
Analysts said the RBA’s move to cut its lending rates would help further lower the Australian dollar, which would in turn help commodity producers exporting products priced in US dollars.
“Further depreciation seems both likely and necessary,” RBA Governor Glenn Stevens said, “particularly given the significant declines in key commodity prices.”
In March, Australia said its economy grew 2.5% in Q4 2014 from a year earlier, marking its slowest pace of annual growth last year.
