'Part of 9/11 plane landing gear' found in New York

BBC- New York police say what appears to be part of the landing gear of one of jets flown into the World Trade Center on 11 September 2001 has been found. The 5ft (1.52m) piece of metal, which bears a Boeing label and serial number, was wedged between two New York City buildings, police said. It was found on Wednesday by surveyors inspecting a lower Manhattan building. The 5ft piece of metal was found wedged between two buildings Nearly 3,000 people died in the terror attacks as planes were brought down in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania. Five suspected al-Qaeda militants are awaiting trial for the attacks at a military tribunal at the US detention facility in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. 2,976 counts of murder "It's a manifestation...

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Posted in: USA,violence

Asia Stocks Near Two-Year High as Investors Weigh Profit Reports

Source bloomberg. Asian stocks rose, with the regional benchmark index touching the highest intraday level since May 2011, as investors weighed earnings reports and energy shares led gains. China Petroleum & Chemical Corp., the nation’s largest refiner, increased 1.4 percent after Morgan Stanley said China’s cut in fuel prices will benefit the company. Nidec Corp., the world’s largest maker of hard-disk drive motors, gained more than 6 percent for a second day in Osaka, Japan, after fiscal- year net income beat forecasts. Canon Inc. (7751), the world’s biggest camera maker, slid 6 percent after its income forecast missed analysts’ estimates on slumping demand for compact models. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index added 0.3 percent to 139.36 at 11:38 a.m. in Tokyo,...

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Posted in: Asia,Business

Biden Calls Boston Bombing Suspects 'Cowardly'

Source VOA U.S. Vice President Joe Biden is criticizing the two Boston Marathon bombing suspects as perverted and cowardly.   Vice President Joe Biden speaks at a memorial service for slain MIT campus officer, Sean Collier, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Apr. 24, 2013. Biden spoke Wednesday in Boston at a memorial service for a university police officer who authorities say was gunned down by suspects Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, three days after the bombings.   The vice president questioned why anyone acts to terrorize innocent people."Why, whether it’s al-Qaida central ... or two twisted, perverted, cowardly, knock-off jihadists here in Boston.  Why do they do what they do?," he asked.    Several thousand...

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Posted in: Society,USA,violence

Taiwan reports first bird flu case outside China

Theo BBC A 53-year-old businessman in Taiwan has the first case of the H7N9 bird flu virus outside mainland China, health officials there have confirmed. The man is in a serious condition in hospital days after returning from the Chinese city of Suzhou, officials say. Taiwan is stepping up prevention measures against bird flu China has confirmed 108 cases of H7N9 since it was initially reported in March, with at least 22 people dead. The World Health Organization (WHO) says this strain appears to spread more easily from birds to humans. The man in Taiwan was brought to hospital three days after he arrived from Suzhou via Shanghai, officials say. He was not in contact with poultry, nor had he eaten undercooked birds while in Suzhou,...

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Posted in: Asia,Health

Thais Flock to Japan as Weak Yen Means Bargains: Southeast Asia

Cherry trees blossom as pedestrians walk in front of buildings including the Tokyo Sky Tree, center, in Tokyo, Japan. Photographer: Tomohiro Ohsumi/Bloomberg The Thai baht’s biggest quarterly gain against the yen since 1998 was enough reason for Kornkarun Cheewatrakoolpong, a 32-year-old economics lecturer in Bangkok, to change her honeymoon destination to Japan from Italy. “It’s more affordable,” Kornkarun said in an interview from her home in the capital on April 17, after returning from a business trip to Japan. “I don’t feel it’s that expensive like in the past. I still expect that when I go for my honeymoon in November, the yen will remain weak.” Kornkarun followed 36,000 Thai tourists who headed...

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Posted in: Asia,Business,Japan,Tourist

Japan PM Abe warns China of force over islands landing

Japan would respond with force if any attempt is made to land on disputed islands, PM Shinzo Abe has warned. His comments came as eight Chinese government ships sailed near East China Sea islands that both nations claim. A flotilla of 10 fishing boats carrying Japanese activists was also reported to be in the area, as well as the Japanese coastguard. Mr Abe was speaking in parliament hours after dozens of lawmakers visited a controversial war-linked shrine. Chinese and Japanese surveillance ships are monitoring each other closely A total of 168 lawmakers paid their respects at the Yasukuni Shrine, which commemorates Japan's war dead, including war criminals, in a move likely to anger regional neighbours who say the shrine is a reminder...

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Posted in: Asia,China,Japan,Politics

Same-sex marriage: French parliament approves new law

France has become the 14th country to approve a law allowing gay marriage. Supporters of gay marriage gathered outside parliament as lawmakers were voting The bill, which also legalises adoption by same-sex couples, was passed by 321 votes to 225 in the French parliament. The decision follows a divisive public debate with some of the biggest protests seen in France in recent years. Hundreds of opponents of the measure rallied outside the National Assembly building in central Paris as the result was announced. The leader of the most high-profile group opposing same-sex marriage vowed to continue the fight. Frigide Barjot, a comedian who uses her stage name, told her supporters: "We are going to show them that this is not over....

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Posted in: Experimental Society,France,Society

Three Die in South Sudan Hospital Hit by Strike

Health care workers in Bor agree to return to work after three people die at the hospital they work in. BOR, SOUTH SUDAN — Hospital staff at Bor State Hospital ended a days'-old strike over unpaid bonuses Monday after three patients died at the weekend.More than 250 hospital employees, including nurses, went on strike Friday, leaving only eight doctors and a few junior staff members to care for more than 60 patients.John Logine, one of the patients, said they received almost no treatment since the strike started.“Doctors did not come until a while ago when a white man came and helped us. We slept yesterday without medication," Logine said.Hospital Ddirector Bior Kuer Bior said that although the deaths were not a direct result of...

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Posted in: Afica,Health,Society

Scientists Reconstruct 2,000 Years of Temperature Change

Climate scientist studies ice core from Antarctica. (T. Bauska) WASHINGTON — A team of 78 researchers from around the world published a study on Monday detailing what they call the most comprehensive reconstruction of temperature changes on every continent for the last two millennia.The research, outlined in the online edition of the journal Nature Geoscience, said there had been an overall cooling trend across nearly all the world’s continents during the last 1,000 to 2,000 years. But that trend came to a halt in much of the world near the end of the 19th century, the study concluded, adding that the period between 1971 and 2000 was the warmest in 1,400 years.The researchers, coordinated by the Past Global...

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Posted in: Health,Science,USA

Study: Mushrooms Can Help Dieters

VOA news Edible mushrooms called pullets (L) and saffron milk caps are on sale at a market in Warsaw. The humble mushroom can pack a powerful nutritional punch, according to two new studies released Monday. The edible fungus can help dieters reduce their intake of red meat and still feel full, and can provide as much vitamin D as a nutritional supplement. Researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health gave one group of obese adults about one-quarter of a liter of white button mushrooms per day in place of meat. A second group was placed on a standard weight reduction diet.At the end of a year-long trial, the mushroom group lost more pounds and maintained their weight loss better than the control group. The findings show...

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Posted in: Health,Science