Nepal has been hit by a 7.9-magnitude earthquake in an area between the capital Kathmandu and the city of Pokhara, the US Geological Survey said.
The earthquake caused extensive damage to buildings and some injuries, eyewitnesses say.
Tremors were felt as far away as the Indian capital Delhi and other cities in northern India, which borders Nepal.
Photo AP
Several buildings, including temples are reported to have been reduced to rubble in Kathmandu.
Injured people have been brought to the main hospital. There has been no estimate yet on the number of deaths, but Reuters news agency reported that two people had died, one in Nepal, one in northern India.
Indian PM Narendra Modi wrote on Twitter: “We are in the process of finding more information and are working to reach out to those affected, both at home and in Nepal.”
Aftershocks could still be felt across the region sometime after the initial quake.
Kathmandu was all but destroyed in the devastating earthquake of 1934.
Pakistani human rights activist Sabeen Mahmud has been killed in a drive-by shooting in Karachi after hosting a talk on allegations of torture in the province of Balochistan.
Sabeen Mahmud was shot dead as she drove home with her mother, who was also attacked.
She had been the subject of death threats before.
Tributes were paid to her on social media as soon as news of her death emerged.
Sabeen Mahmud was a director of the charity The Second Floor, also known as T2F.
T2F regularly holds seminars on human rights issues. It houses a cafe and book shop where Karachi’s liberal activists and students can meet.
The seminar on torture in Balochistan was held at T2F, having been cancelled by university authorities in Lahore, where it had been due to take place in the last few weeks.
Photo Flickr
Taliban militants, Baloch separatists and other groups fight in Balochistan, which borders Iran.
Shortly after leaving the event, Sabeen Mahmud and her mother were shot.
According to Dawn newspaper, Sabeen Mahmud died on her way to hospital, and that she had been shot five times.
The newspaper reported that Sabeen Mahmud’s mother is in a critical condition in hospital.
No group has yet said it carried out the attack, though Sabeen Mahmud is believed to have been the subject of threats by the Pakistani Taliban in the past.
Sabeen Mahmud set up T2F having already established a charity, PeaceNiche, in Karachi.
She said she “maxed out seven credit cards” to keep the centre going.
Sabeen Mahmud also helped promote the importance of learning computer skills among Pakistani youth, and hosted hundreds of events at T2F.
Poland has banned The Night Wolves biker gang backed by Russian President Vladimir Putin from entering the country.
The Night Wolves had planned to enter next week as part of a ride across Europe to commemorate the 70th anniversary of World War Two.
Poland’s PM Ewa Kopacz had called the plan a “provocation”.
The Night Wolves’ vice-president, Felix Chernyakhovsky, has insisted the bikers still intend to make the trip.
“Everything remains the same. We’re starting tomorrow as planned,” he told Interfax news agency.
The Night Wolves are subject to US sanctions for alleged active involvement in Crimea and for helping to recruit separatist fighters for Russian-backed rebels in eastern Ukraine.
Russia’s foreign ministry said it was “outraged” at Poland’s decision.
A Facebook page entitled “No to the Russian bandits’ ride through Poland” quickly gained support from more than 10,000 people.
Warsaw has been a strong critic of Moscow’s actions in Ukraine.
The Polish foreign ministry said three other Russian biker groups would be allowed into the country.
The ministry said it was notified of the group’s plans only on April 20, and without details of the route or number of participants.
It added that it had informed the Russian embassy in Warsaw that the lack of information meant “it could not ensure proper security for the participants”.
However, Russia’s foreign ministry said in a statement: “It is clear that the decision that was taken has a political motive.”
The Night Wolves intend to cross several countries, following a path taken by the Red Army in World War Two, with the aim of arriving in Berlin in time for May 9 Victory Day celebrations in Moscow.
The 3,720 mile road trip would take them through Russia, Belarus, Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Austria, before reaching Germany.
In a long-awaited interview with Diane Sawyer, Bruce Jenner revealed he is, in fact, a woman.
“Yes, and for all intents and purposes, I am a woman,” Bruce Jenner told Diane Sawyer within the first five minutes of his highly anticipated 20/20 interview on April 24.
Bruce Jenner said he began the process in the 1980s, after a lifetime of feeling uncomfortable in his skin.
He said this is the last time he will be known as Bruce Jenner – but didn’t reveal a new name yet.
The former Olympian said during the sit-down: “It’s going to be tough. I’ve been thinking about this day forever and what I should do with my life… how do I tell people what I’ve been through? Today is that day, and I get to choose.”
During the 1980s, Bruce Jenner began taking female hormones and continued doing so for five years. He confided in his older sister and admitted dressing up in her clothes when younger.
Bruce Jenner says he dreams as a woman.
Eventually, he stopped taking the female hormones because he didn’t want to disappoint people.
He has been back on female hormones for the past year and a half.
Bruce Jenner says throughout the years, we have seen him out in public dressed as a woman but he wasn’t recognized.
His announcement comes after longtime speculation that he was transitioning to female.
However, he maintained: “I’m not gay.”
While Bruce and third wife Kris Jenner divorced in 2014, he confessed: “I loved Kris, I had a wonderful life with her. I learned a lot from her.”
The interview touched on several key points in Bruce Jenner’s personal history, like his resurgence of stardom thanks to family reality series Keeping Up With the Kardashians.
He said: “We’ve done 425 episodes, I think, over almost 8 years. Over the entire run, I kept thinking to myself, <<Oh my god. this whole thing, the one real true story in the family was the one I was hiding and nobody knew about it>>.”
“The one thing that could really make a difference in people’s lives was right here in my soul, and I couldn’t tell it.”
At one moment of the special, Diane Sawyer spoke about how different generations received Bruce Jenner: some know her as the patriarch of reality clan the Kardashians, and others a world class athlete.
The former Olympian responded: “God said, <<Let’s give him the soul of a female, and let’s see how he deals with that>>.”
Bruce Jenner says he was terrified to tell his children, as he did not want to hurt them.
He first told son Brandon, 33, who tells Sawyer that his father was very nervous during their conversation.
“When you’re that close to somebody, you notice little things … I feel like I am getting an upgraded version of my dad.”
Bruce Jenner, who happily showed Sawyer a black lace dress in his closet, says he will always be Dad to his children.
At the time of the interview, Bruce Jenner says his daughters have been reluctant to see the person he calls “her.”
Bruce Jenner says Kim Kardashian has been the most accepting, saying: “Girl, you gotta rock it baby… you gotta look really good.”
The two-hour special was long expected to be Bruce Jenner’s official announcement that he is undergoing gender reassignment, which had been widely speculated on for months.
According to a new survey, Switzerland is the world’s happiest country.
The country of chocolates and clocks topped the third annual World Happiness index produced by the Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN), an initiative under the United Nations.
Switzerland was closely followed by Iceland, Denmark, Norway and Canada.
Togo, Burundi, Benin and Rwanda, with civil-war wracked Syria, were least happy.
The survey was released on the eve of presidential elections in Togo, where one family has been in power for 48 years.
The World Happiness Report examined 158 countries and is aimed at influencing government policy.
The study bases its rankings on data from the Gallup World Poll and takes into account variables such as real GDP per capita, healthy life expectancy, corruption levels and social freedoms.
“Increasingly happiness is considered a proper measure of social progress and goal of public policy,” the report said.
“A rapidly increasing number of national and local governments are using happiness data and research in their search for policies that could enable people to live better lives.”
The SDSN is comprised of people from academia, government and the private sector and was first launched in 2012.
Andy Wilman has decided to quit Top Gear in the wake of Jeremy Clarkson’s departure, the BBC has confirmed.
Jeremy Clarkson, 55, was dropped from the show on March 25 following a “fracas” with a producer.
Top Gear executive producer Andy Wilman, who was an old school friend of Jeremy Clarkson, helped reinvent the show and oversaw its growth into a globally successful program.
Co-presenter Richard Hammond has also confirmed his intention to walk away.
Richard Hammond, whose contract expired last month, wrote on Twitter: “To be clear, amidst all this talk of us <<quitting>> or not: There’s nothing for me to <<quit>>.
“Not about to quit my mates anyway.”
Andy Wilman had previously denied he was leaving Top Gear, after a leaked email was interpreted as a farewell note to colleagues.
Yesterday, James May said he would not return to Top Gear without Jeremy Clarkson.
Duck Dynasty’s Phil Robertson celebrates his 69th birthday on April 24.
Phil Alexander Robertson is the patriarch of the Robertson family. He created the Duck Commander duck call in 1972, and incorporated the Duck Commander Company in 1973.
In one of the episodes you can see the shed on Robertson land where Phil created the first duck call.
Phil Robertson played college football at Louisiana Tech University, starting ahead of Hall-of-Famer Terry Bradshaw, and was drafted by the NFL after his junior year by the Washington Redskins.
He turned it down and quit football because it interfered with duck season.
Phil Robertson is known for his dislike of modern technology (he proudly admits that he does not own a cellphone or a computer).
The centenary of the Gallipoli campaign, one of the bloodiest of World War One, is marked with series of events held around the world.
Princes William and Harry have met relatives of veterans on HMS Bulwark, ahead of a service on the Turkish peninsula.
Australia, New Zealand and Turkey leaders will also attend the events.
About 131,000 people – 45,000 Allied forces and 86,000 from Turkey – died in the campaign, which began in 1915.
The fatalities included about 25,000 British forces, 10,000 from France and 10,000 from Australia and New Zealand.
The series of events – to mark the 100th anniversary of the landings – will begin with a Commonwealth and Irish commemoration.
Warships from Allied nations will fire a salute in honor of the sailors who died.
There will also be an international ceremony organized by Turkey and a service to mark France’s participation in the battle.
The events will commemorate the World War One campaign when allied forces landed on the Gallipoli peninsula in modern-day western Turkey – then part of the Ottoman Empire – in April 1915.
However, the invasion failed, with the Allied forces unable to advance more than a few miles inland.
A bloody stalemate ensued which lasted until Allied troops evacuated the peninsula eight months later in January 1916.
Events will continue on April 25 with services to mark ANZAC Day, which is widely marked in Australia and New Zealand.
The centenary is expected to be the largest ever commemoration of the battle, with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Australian PM Tony Abbott, New Zealand PM John Key and Prince Charles leading the ceremonies.
Thousands of Australians, New Zealanders and Turks are also expected to make the journey to Gallipoli for the anniversary, including relatives of those who fought and died at Gallipoli.
There are no longer any surviving veterans of the campaign.
In London, Queen Elizabeth, the Duke of Edinburgh – who is patron of the Gallipoli Association – and Prince William will be joined by senior government and military figures to lay wreaths at the Cenotaph in Whitehall.
Armenia marks the centenary of the start of mass killings of Armenians by Ottoman Turks.
Presidents Vladimir Putin and Francois Hollande joined other leaders at the memorial for the victims on the outskirts of Armenia’s capital, Yerevan.
Armenia says up to 1.5 million people died, a figure disputed by Turkey.
Turkey objects to the use of the term “genocide” to describe the killings.
The issue has soured relations between Armenia and Turkey.
Turkey accepts that atrocities were committed but argues there was no systematic attempt to destroy the Christian Armenian people. It says many innocent Muslim Turks also died in the turmoil of war.
A memorial service will also be held in Turkey on April 24 and PM Ahmet Davutoglu has said the country will “share the pain” of Armenians.
However, Ahmet Davutoglu reiterated Turkey’s stance that the killings were not genocide.
Turkey is also hosting ceremonies to mark the 100th anniversary of the start of the Battle of Gallipoli.
However, the actual fighting in Gallipoli began on April 25, and Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan has accused Turkey of “trying to divert world attention” from the Yerevan commemorations.
After the flower-laying ceremony in Yerevan, Serzh Sargsyan addressed the guests, saying: “I am grateful to all those who are here to once again confirm your commitment to human values, to say that nothing is forgotten, that after 100 years we remember.”
France’s President Francois Hollande said: “We will never forget the tragedies that your people have endured.”
April 24 marks the 100th anniversary of the day the Ottoman Turkey authorities arrested several hundred Armenian intellectuals in Constantinople, today’s Istanbul, most of whom were later killed.
The Armenians regard this as the beginning of the Ottoman policy of mass extermination of Christian Armenians suspected of supporting Russia, the Ottoman Empire’s World War One enemy.
Russian President Vladimir Putin is also among those attending the ceremonies.
President Barack Obama issued a carefully worded statement for the anniversary, referring to “one of the worst atrocities of the 20th Century”, without using the term “genocide”.
During his 2008 presidential election campaign, then senator Barack Obama had vowed to “recognize the Armenian genocide” and in his new statement said: “I have consistently stated my own view of what occurred in 1915, and my view has not changed.”
However, Barack Obama’s phrasing has angered Armenian Americans.
Bryan Ardouny, executive director of the Armenian Assembly of America, said in a statement: “President Obama’s exercise in linguistic gymnastics on the Armenian genocide is unbecoming of the standard he himself set and that of a world leader today.”
On April 23, the Armenian Church canonized the 1.5 million people it says were killed in the massacres and deportations.
The church said it wanted to proclaim the martyrdom of those who died for their faith and homeland.
After the ceremony, bells tolled in Armenian churches around the world.
Also on April 23, German President Joachim Gauck described the killings as genocide, on the eve of a debate in the German parliament on the issue.
Earlier this month, Turkey recalled its envoy to the Vatican after Pope Francis also used the word “genocide” in a reference at a Mass at St Peter’s Basilica.
France has been a strong advocate of recognizing the killings as genocide and President Francois Hollande has pushed for a law to punish genocide denial. The issue has strained Franco-Turkish relations.
Former CIA Director David Petraeus has been put on probation and fined for leaking material to his mistress Paula Broadwell.
David Petraeus resigned from his post at the CIA in 2012 after it emerged he was having an affair with his biographer, Paula Broadwell.
The retired four-star general could have faced a year in prison, after his guilty plea two months ago.
David Petraeus led the 2007 troop surge in the Iraq war and served as commander of US and NATO forces in Afghanistan.
He reached a plea bargain with prosecutors after admitting to leaking sensitive material to Paula Broadwell while she was working on a book about him.
Prosecutors said that he gave her eight binders of classified material in 2011, which he had improperly kept from his time leading the war in Afghanistan.
In a federal court in Charlotte, North Carolina, David Petraeus was sentenced to two years of probation and ordered to pay a $100,000.
Prosecutors recommended the same length of probation, but a smaller fine of $40,000.
Judge David Kessler raised the fine to “reflect the seriousness of the offence”.
Appearing in court before the sentencing, David Petraeus apologized for his actions.
About a dozen Native American actors walked off the New Mexico set of Adam Sandler’s The Ridiculous Six on April 22 over depictions in the script.
They are saying that Netflix’s Western comedy was insulting to “native women and elders and grossly misrepresented Apache culture” according to reports.
However, Netflix said on April 23 that is part of what Ridiculous Six is supposed to be about.
A Netflix spokesperson said: “The movie has ridiculous in the title for a reason: because it is ridiculous.
“It is a broad satire of Western movies and the stereotypes they popularized, featuring a diverse cast that is not only part of — but in on — the joke.”
Despite the exiting of the Native American actors, there was no interruption in filming on the feature. Nick Nolte, Terry Crews, Steve Buscemi, Will Forte, Luke Wilson and Whitney Cummings are among the co-stars in the new movie.
Originally at Sony and then Paramount, Ridiculous Six shifted over to Netflix in February as part of the 4-picture deal Adam Sandler struck with the company back in October 2014.
TheRidiculous Six is produced by Adam Sandler’s Happy Productions, written by the actor and Tim Herlihy.
No release date for Ridiculous Six has yet been set.
Furious 8 will be released on April 14, 2017, Vin Diesel confirmed at Universal’s CinemaCon panel on April 23.
Vin Diesel told the crowd of theater owners: “It means a lot to me to get your blessing.”
The actor took the audience back to two years ago when on the same stage at Caesars Palace, he and Paul Walker said they planned to move forward on a seventh film in the Fast and Furious franchise.
Paul Walker died in a 2013 car crash.
At various points after Paul Walker’s shocking death, it seemed as though Universal might have to cancel the production.
Furious 7 shooting was not yet complete when the crash happened, but special effects technicians and stunt doubles were able to complete the project, resulting in what domestic distribution chief Nick Carpou termed, “a cathartic experience for fans of Walker”.
Actor Sawyer Sweeten has died of a possible suicide on April 23, his manager Dino May confirmed. He was only 19.
Sawyer Sweeten was best known for his role as one of the young twins on sitcom Everybody Loves Raymond.
He was visiting family in Texas, where he is believed to have shot himself on the front porch, Radar Online reported.
Sawyer Sweeten played Geoffrey Baron on Everybody Loves Raymond, which ran from 1996 to 2005 on CBS. He acted alongside his twin brother, Sullivan, and their real-life sister, Madylin, who played Ally Baron, for 139 episodes. Sawyer and Sullivan were only 16 months old when they first started on the show.
Ray Romano, Patricia Heaton, Brad Garrett, Doris Roberts, Peter Boyle and Monica Horan also starred in the comedy.
Madylin Sweeten wrote on Facebook on April 23: “At this time I would like to encourage everyone to reach out to the ones you love. Let them have no doubt of what they mean to you.”
Sawyer Sweeten was born in Brownwood, Texas. As a child, he and his brother shared roles in the 2002 film Frank McKlusky, C.I. and a 2000 episode of Disney Channel series Even Stevens.
Many businesses feel an immense amount of pressure to be up to date on everything. They want to be the leaders in their industry in different areas. They want to have the best office space even when they might not be doing so well financially. Thankfully one big trend right now is allowing them to do just that. The new executive suite trend is one of the hottest trends right now. This great trend allows for businesses to have all of the up to date features and top of the line office spaces for a fraction of the actual cost.
Benefits of an Executive Suite
These commercial real estate offices offer a wide variety of products and services. You can rent amazing executive suites that are full of features, like full 24/7 access to your suite space during your rental term. Companies like ServCorp offer better terms with lower security deposits than their competitors as well as good prices on services. You can also get a month by month service contract. This means that you only have to rent your executive suite for one month at a time. This is a huge advantage for small companies or startups that might not need office space for more than one month during a calendar year.
Plus when you are renting an executive suite you are getting other products and services. Many times you are getting highly trained executive assistants that can help you to improve and grow your business. This means that you are not going to have to pay for an executive assistant while you are renting the executive suite. You will also have access to very nice board rooms. These are the perfect space to host your annual shareholders meetings in as they give the feeling of class and prestige.
Ease of an Executive Suite
Not only do you get all of the above benefits with your executive suite, but you also get a number of things that are going to make life a little bit easier for you. There is on site IT support which means that you never have to worry about equipment working properly or having to troubleshoot it if there are problems. All of that will be done for you. The office is also going to be cleaned by a professional cleaning crew which means that you are not going to have to clean anything yourself or pay for someone else to do it. This can give you the time that you need to get work done and to be more productive. Plus it is so easy to sit back and work when you know everything is really taken care of.
Extra Security
Many people have a lot of concerns with executive suites and virtual offices because they worry about security. There are additional security precautions taken and lots of security support. This means that you are going to have a secure environment to conduct business even if it is business that is of a sensitive nature. Plus you can even conduct secure meetings through virtual boardrooms.
The Reviews
If you want to get the best information about the benefits then talk to someone who has used an executive suite. Users agree that this has been one of the best things that they have done for their business. Reading reviews or asking for referrals can help you rest assured that you are choosing the right company to rent your virtual office space from or to benefit from your executive suite.
Many people do not realize all of the things that are happening in current events surrounding IBM. Since they have been in the news a lot since 2013, it should not come as a surprise that there is yet another lawsuit taking place against the company. What one might need to know though is exactly what a class action suit is and how this is going to affect them with other companies.
All About Class Action Suits
With a class action suit, a group is suing the company. This is something that is primarily seen in the US but from time to time these lawsuits do happen in other countries that have civil law. Any class action suit that is for more than $5,000,000 is actually required to be tried in a federal court. The thing that is different in these cases is that the group can be of any number of people.
In most companies what happens is that information is discovered that proves that a company has lied to the general population including their customers or investors. When this happens it means that those who are affected by the lie should be compensated in some way. The class action suit takes place when a lawyer or team of lawyers try to help represent these customers or investors who are affected. The ultimate goal is compensation for what has been lost because of the lie or unresolved issue.
Recent Class Action Suits
There are a lot of recent class action suits that people should be aware of. One of these is a recent lawsuit that has been with Alibaba. The goods company has been accused of selling goods that are not authentic. In fact it is estimated that about 60% of the goods that are sold through the website are knock offs. This is not illegal if they are labeled correctly but when a customer thinks that they are getting one thing and in reality they are getting something else then they have certain protections afforded to them.
In short Alibaba is producing fakes and is getting sued because of it. Robbins Geller, the law firm involved in class action, is currently in the middle of a long battle with IBM. In this class action suit it is not about the company producing fakes. Instead with IBM the lawsuit claims that they hid important information about the financial well being of the company from investors and potential investors. In turn, since they were giving out false information, people chose to invest in their business even though they might not have with the honest information.
Another highly publicized class action suit is the one that was taken against Nutella. In this lawsuit a mom realized that the ingredients in Nutella were not nearly as healthy as advertising and company information would lead you to believe. In fact this mom was able to win this class action suit because the ingredients in Nutella were actually pretty unhealthy. The sugar and fat in Nutella and fact that half of the calories come from fat, makes it a pretty unhealthy choice for breakfast and is actually like eating a candy bar for breakfast.
What Does It All Mean?
What it means is that when you are in a situation that is not legally fair, there are things that you can do to get what you deserve. In the case of health and wellness companies should be honest with their customers. This is also the case when it comes to financial issues. It is not fair to someone investing if a company is not being honest about losses and net profits.
Clayton Homes CEO Kevin Clayton talks to Duck Dynasty’s Si Robertson about the American dream of home ownership and how his company makes that dream a reality for so many right now.
The company is the largest home builder in America.
Clayton Homes offers manufactured homes, mobile homes, and modular homes.
The company strives to create a great customer experience by giving you hundreds of floor plan options to customize your home.
Clayton Homes also offer affordable name brand amenities you can add to make the home fit your needs. Friendly home centers want to help you find the right home for your lifestyle.
Duck Dynasty family members are bringing their story to life onstage for the first time with TheDuck Commander Musical.
Based on the best-selling book The Duck Commander Family by Willie and Korie Robertson, the show will make its world premiere at the Crown Theatre inside of the Rio All-Suite Las Vegas Hotel and Casino in April 2015.
TheDuck Commander Musical transports the Louisiana bayou to the Las Vegas stage in a captivating 90-minute show – seasoned with all the southern spirit and down-to-earth humor you expect from America’s most famous rednecks, the Robertson family.
While the true-to-life, rags-to-riches story behind A&E’s Duck Dynasty will surely please its most loyal fans, audiences unfamiliar with the Robertsons will also find themselves charmed – and even moved – by this surprising tale of faith, food, and family.
Featuring a contemporary score that blends country, rock, gospel, and pop and a multimedia set delivering backwoods authenticity through cutting-edge technology, The Duck Commander Musical will leave audiences humming the tunes, shedding a tear, and laughing at the hijinx of one family in pursuit of the American dream.
Additional 10PM performances on Thursdays and Saturdays
The show is suitable for ages 5 years old and up.
Camouflage
This driving country-pop song features Korie Robertson teaching her husband Willie a lesson about staying true to himself.
Cookin’ for the Family
Miss Kay Robertson shows the young’uns how it’s done in the kitchen in this rocking country hoe-down.
Faith, Food, and Family
The opening song of the Duck Commander Musical lays it all out for you with a Southern rock heartbeat: these are the three pillars guiding the Robertsons’ everyday lives, and they all start with F !
Like the River Flows
In this sweeping ballad, Willie and Korie Robertson realize they have been destined to be together all along and that their future rests in the hands of a higher power.
Kenyan farmer Charles Mamboleo has revealed that one of his cows has started eating sheep.
The farmer at Elementaita in Gilgil constituency has expressed shock over the unusual behaviour exhibited by his cow that has “eaten” two sheep in a span of three weeks.
According to the Daily Nation website, Charles Mamboleo says he discovered a cow at his farm in south-western Nakuru County feeding on a sheep one morning, having apparently gored it to death.
Fresh food and water couldn’t tempt the cow, and another sheep met its end the following day, the report says.
Charles Mamboleo said: “After the first incident, we thought the cow was starving, so we increased the supply of fodder and water, but it still continued chasing after sheep.”
According to a Kenyan agricultural officer, while cows are herbivores, developing a taste for meat could be a sign of a nutrient deficiency.
“The dry season, which has just ended, has seen most animals lack minerals found in green grass,” Albert Kabugi told the website.
The White House has admitted that two hostages held by al-Qaeda were accidentally killed by a US counterterrorism operation in January.
American Warren Weinstein and Italian Giovanni Lo Porto were killed in the raid in the border region of Afghanistan and Pakistan.
President Barack Obama described it as a painful loss he profoundly regretted.
Two other Americans thought to be al-Qaeda members were also killed, one of them in the same raid.
Al-Qaeda leader Ahmed Farouq was killed in that operation and Adam Gadahn, once regarded as a spokesman for the militant group, was killed in a separate raid, the White House said.
Unnamed officials told Associated Press the attack that killed the hostages was a CIA drone strike.
Barack Obama, speaking at the White House about the operation that killed the hostages, said the US had launched the raid in the belief the target was an al-Qaeda compound with no civilians present.
As commander-in-chief, the president said, he took “full responsibility” for the operation.
The White House said compensation would be paid to the families of the hostages.
Warren Weinstein’s wife Elaine said in a statement the family was “devastated”.
“Those who took Warren captive over three years ago bear ultimate responsibility,” she added.
Elaine Weinstein thanked several members of the US congress and unnamed officials from the FBI, but said the assistance received from “other elements of the US government was inconsistent and disappointing”.
She also criticized the Pakistani government and military who, she said, treated her husband’s captivity “as more of an annoyance than a priority”.
Barack Obama said the operation was in compliance with the White House’s counterterrorism protocols.
Warren Weinstein, 73, was abducted in Lahore in 2011, where he was working as an aid worker. Giovanni Lo Porto disappeared from Multan, Pakistan in January 2012. Both men were aid workers.
Michael Brown’s parents are suing Ferguson authorities over their son’s death.
Michael Brown, 18, was shot dead by Ferguson police in August 2014.
The wrongful-death suit seeks a minimum of $75,000 compensation.
The shooting of the unarmed Michael Brown by white police officer Darren Wilson in Missouri became a national cause and sparked protests, some violent.
The shooting was reviewed by a grand jury, which decided in November not to charge Darren Wilson.
However, Michael Brown’s parents say they have new forensic evidence that raises questions about the police version of events.
“The narrative of the law enforcement all across the country for shooting unarmed people of color is the same: That they had no other choice,” attorney Benjamin Crump said.
“But time and time again, the objective evidence contradicts the standard police narrative.”
Along with seeking punitive damages from the City of Ferguson, the suit also calls for a court order prohibiting the use of police techniques “that demean, disregard, or under-serve its African-American population”.
A St Louis County grand jury and the Department of Justice had declined to prosecute Darren Wilson, who resigned in November. Civil cases generally require a lower standard of proof than criminal cases.
This is not the only current civil case involving the police killing of an unarmed black man. In New York, the family of Eric Garner is seeking $75 million in damages.
Facebook posted a slower revenue growth in the first quarter of 2015 with a profit of $512 million, down 20% on a year earlier.
Revenue rose 42% to $3.5 billion, a figure slightly below analysts’ forecasts.
A bright spot was the rise in monthly active users, up 13% from a year earlier to 1.44 billion.
Notably, for those investors concerned about the company’s efforts to appeal to younger users who access Facebook on their smartphones, monthly mobile users increased by 24% to 1.25 billion, a majority of the site’s users.
Facebook has been particularly adept at channeling that growing mobile user base into advertising dollars. The company said that during the quarter, revenue from mobile ad sales made up nearly three-quarters of total ad sales.
Investors have been worried about slowing revenue growth, as well as increasing costs at the company. Facebook has been spending more on research and development as it moves beyond its original social networking operation.
Spending on research and development jumped to $566 million from $181 million a year earlier.
Facebook has warned that those costs are set to increase, as it looks to expand some of its acquisitions including photo-sharing site Instagram, messaging service WhatsApp, and virtual reality company Oculus Rift.
James May has said he will not return to Top Gear without Jeremy Clarkson, who was dropped from the BBC on March 25.
The Top Gear co-host told the Guardian: “Me and Hammond with a surrogate Jeremy is a non-starter. It has to be the three of us.”
James May added that Top Gear without Jeremy Clarkson would be a “tough call” and “a bit of a daft idea”.
Jeremy Clarkson, 55 was removed from Top Gear after fracas with producer Oisin Tymon.
“I don’t think you could carry on with two people and put someone in as the new Jeremy because they are not going to be the new Jeremy,” James May said.
“That would be short-sighted and I don’t think it would work. Virtually impossible.”
James May changed his Twitter account to say “former Top Gear presenter” on March 25, the day it was announced Jeremy Clarkson’s contract with BBC would not be renewed.
His contract, and that of his co-presenter Richard Hammond, expired last month.
It raises the possibility of an entirely new presenting line-up for Top Gear.
Channel controller Kim Shillinglaw has been given the job of finding a replacement for Jeremy Clarkson, with former X Factor host Dermot O’Lear and Jodie Kidd rumored to be in the running.
However, James May has said there “might be an opportunity for three of us to get back together on the BBC to do Top Gear or a car show of some sort”.
“The BBC haven’t completely closed the door on Jeremy’s return,” he told the Guardian.
“They’ve not banned him or fired him, only just not renewed his contract for the moment. It’s a subtle difference, but an important one.”
Earlier this week, Kim Shillinglaw also stressed there was no ban on Jeremy Clarkson returning to the BBC, despite director general Tony Hall’s decision to fire him last month, saying “a line has been crossed”.
