Highway bridge collapses in US; no deaths reported

Source : thenews.com.pk

MOUNT VERNON: The major highway bridge linking Seattle with Canada and the rest of the Pacific Northwest region collapsed late Thursday, dumping at least a handful of vehicles and people into a river, the Washington State Patrol said.

There were no immediate reports of deaths.

The four-lane Interstate 5 bridge _ more than half a century old _ collapsed about halfway between Seattle and Vancouver, British Columbia, Trooper Mark Francis said. Francis said he did not know how many people were in the water. He did not know what caused the collapse, which came at the start of one of the country's busiest holiday weekends of the year.

Xavier Grospe, who lives near the river, said he could see three partially submerged cars, and the apparent drivers were sitting either on top of the vehicles or on the edge of open windows.

``It doesn't look like anybody's in danger right now,'' Grospe said. Helicopter footage aired by KOMO-TV in Seattle showed one rescue boat leaving the scene with one person strapped into a stretcher. A damaged red car and a damaged pickup truck were visible in the water, which appeared so shallow it barely reached the top of the car's hood.

A man told the local Skagit Valley Herald newspaper he felt a vibration and looked in his rear view mirror to see that the part of bridge he had just crossed was no longer behind him. ``I thought something was wrong with my car at first,'' he said The bridge is not considered structurally deficient but is listed as being ``functionally obsolete'' _ meaning that its design is outdated, according to a database compiled by the Federal Highway Administration.

The bridge was built in 1955 and has a sufficiency rating of 57.4 out of 100, according to federal records. That is well below the statewide average rating of 80, according to an Associated Press analysis of federal data.

The American Society of Civil Engineers' 2013 infrastructure report card said more than a quarter of Washington state's 7,840 bridges were considered structurally deficient or functionally obsolete.

FBI adds woman to its most wanted terrorists list

Source : LBCI News

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) added on Friday a woman to its most wanted terrorist list making her the first woman to be mentioned on the bureau's list of terrorists.

This step comes 40 years after the wanted woman was convicted of killing a police officer.

Joanne Chesimard was a member in the Black Panther Party and member of the Black Liberation Army, one of the most violent armed organisations witnessed in the United States in the 1970's.

The organization claimed responsibility of killing several police officers.

Chesimard was convicted of killing police officer Werner Foerster and sentenced to prison. However, she managed to escape in 1979 with the help of terrorist groups.

The FBI is offering rewards totalling $US2 million for the capture of Chesimard, who now is known by the name of Assata Shakur and is believed to be living in Cuba.

FBI seeks data on 3 in Benghazi attack

Source : LBCI News

The FBI said Wednesday it is seeking information on three people who were on the grounds of the U.S. diplomatic mission in Benghazi, Libya, when it was attacked last year.

The bureau posted photographs of the three people and said they may be able to provide information to help in the investigation. The attack on Sept. 11, 2012, killed the U.S. ambassador and three other Americans

"We need your help to solve this crime," the FBI said.

In a posting on the FBI's website, the law enforcement agency urged anyone with information to text or e-mail BenghaziTips(at)ic.fbi.gov or to submit information confidentially at https://forms.fbi.gov/benghazi- en .

Republicans in Congress continue to question the Obama administration about the attack.

US police: 5 dead in shooting in northwest

Source : Shanghai Daily

GUNFIRE erupted at an apartment complex in a city south of Seattle and five people were shot to death, including a suspect who was shot by arriving officers, police said yesterday.

Officers responding to an emergency call at 9:30pm PDT on Sunday at the apartments in Federal Way encountered a chaotic scene, with bullets flying.

"When officers arrived there were still shots being fired," said Federal Way police spokeswoman Cathy Schrock.

Investigators found two wounded men on the ground in a parking lot. One of the men reached for a gun as police moved in to assist the two, she said.

At that point, officers opened fire. The suspect died but police said it wasn't immediately clear if it was from their gunfire.

The other man on the ground and a third man in the parking lot were found dead.

In a search of the complex, police found a fourth man dead in one apartment and a slain woman in another unit. Schrock said police were trying to determine if the woman was hit by a stray bullet.

A total of eight officers fired their weapons, Schrock said. All have been placed on administrative leave, which is standard policy, as the investigation continues.

There was no immediate word what set off the shooting.

"We still don't have any idea what started this disturbance tonight," Schrock said.

After police flooded the area and carried out searches, authorities said they were confident there were no more casualties from the shooting.

They said they did not think another shooter was on the loose or that there was an immediate threat to the public.

By dawn, a county medical examiner's office truck arrived at the scene to pick up bodies. Crime scene investigators continued working.

There were no reports of any officers being inju

Nearly Half of Guantanamo Detainees Now on Strike

Source : RIA Novosti

MOSCOW, April 21 (RIA Novosti) - The number of inmates who went on hunger strike in the Guantanamo prison has grown to 84 by Sunday, the Miami Herald reported citing a statement by a US military spokesman.

Army Lt. Col. Samuel House said that 84 out of the prison’s 166 inmates are not on hunger strike, 16 of them are being force-fed via tubes.

The number of prisoners who went on hunger strike in protest against their detention has been steadily growing since the protest began last month.

Russia has stepped up its criticism of the prison following the publication of its so- called “Guantanamo List.” The blacklist of US officials banned from entering Russia was published last Saturday in response to a similar US travel ban on Russian officials suspected of human rights violations

Russian Foreign Ministry's Special Representative for Human Rights, Democracy and the Rule of Law, Konstantin Dolgov on April 17 reiterated the call to close the prison and urged its authorities to respect the rights and interests of the facility’s only Russian detainee.

Police shot at MIT campus has died: CNN

Source : Xinhua

BOSTON, the United States, April 18 (Xinhua) -- The police who was shot on the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) campus in Boston has died, CNN reported on Thursday.

However, other than the death, CNN did not provide any other details, such as the reason for the gunshots.

The newest development came after MIT on Thursday night reported on its website that gunshots were reported late in the night on campus, and state police said a MIT police officer has been shot.

According to MIT, gunshots were reported at 10:48 PM local time near Building 32 (Stata). Areas near Building 32 are currently surrounded by responding agencies, and an investigation is under way.

Responding agencies were said to have been investigating an "active shooter incident." The school advised students and faculty to stay indoors and away from the building and surrounding area.

Security beefed up worldwide after Boston blasts

Source : Shanghai Daily

FROM the World Trade Center and Times Square in New York to the White House and sports venues across the country, police patrolled in packs and deployed counterterrorism teams Monday as security was stepped up after explosions at the Boston Marathon, according to Associated Press.

Worries also reverberated across the Atlantic, where an already robust security operation was being beefed up for Wednesday's ceremonial funeral for former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. The event at St. Paul's Cathedral, to be attended by Queen Elizabeth II and other dignitaries, calls for a procession through the streets of London, with Thatcher's flag-draped coffin carried on a horse-drawn carriage.

British police were also reviewing security plans for Sunday's London Marathon - the next major international race - because of the bombs that killed three people and injured more than 140 in Boston.

Across the U.S., security was tightened at landmarks, government buildings, transit hubs and sporting events. Law enforcement agencies also urged the public to report suspicious activity to the police.

In New York, authorities deployed so-called critical response teams- highly visible patrol units that move in packs with lights and sirens, - along with more than 1,000 counterterrorism officers. Highly trafficked areas like the Empire State building, Rockefeller Center, St. Patrick's Cathedral, the United Nations and the World Trade Center site were being especially monitored.