Society's ChildS


Bomb

Morocco cafe blast kills 14 and officials suspect 'criminal act'

Mark Tran
guardian.co.uk
Thu, 28 Apr 2011 13:38 UTC
Explosion tears apart Argana cafe in Marrakech's Jamaa el-Fna square, which is popular with foreign tourists
cafe ruins
© AFP/Getty ImagesInside the ruins of the Marrakech Argana cafe, destroyed by a blast that officials say was a 'criminal act'.
A suspected terrorist bomb attack in the Moroccan city of Marrakech has killed at least 14 people and injured 20 at a market square cafe popular with tourists. As many as 11 foreigners are believed to be among the dead with one report saying they include a French couple and a Briton.

The blast just before noon tore the facade off the two-storey Argana cafe, leaving awnings dangling. Bystanders dragged away bodies and tried to put out flames with fire extinguishers, witnesses said.

The interior ministry said there was evidence the blast was a "criminal act". The ministry later confirmed that the explosion was caused by a bomb and called it a terrorist attack.

A Moroccan government spokesman, Khalid Naciri, said that the dead came from different countries but did not say which ones. "We worked for more than an hour, maybe less, on the hypothesis that this could eventually be accidental. But initial results of the investigation confirm that we are confronted with a true criminal act," Naciri said in an interview with France-24 television.
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Dollar

Wal-Mart: Our Shoppers Are "Running Out of Money"

Parija Kavilanz
CNN Money
Thu, 28 Apr 2011 13:41 UTC
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© Farija Kavilanz/CNN MoneyWal-Mart CEO Mike Duke (left) speaking to a gathering of industry watchers in New York on Wednesday
New York -- Wal-Mart's core shoppers are running out of money much faster than a year ago due to rising gasoline prices, and the retail giant is worried, CEO Mike Duke said Wednesday.

"We're seeing core consumers under a lot of pressure," Duke said at an event in New York. "There's no doubt that rising fuel prices are having an impact."

Wal-Mart shoppers, many of whom live paycheck to paycheck, typically shop in bulk at the beginning of the month when their paychecks come in.

Lately, they're "running out of money" at a faster clip, he said.

"Purchases are really dropping off by the end of the month even more than last year," Duke said. "This end-of-month [purchases] cycle is growing to be a concern.
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Gear

Best of the Web: Why We Are Not Surprised? Air France Recorder Found, but Missing Its Memory

Nicola Clark
The New York Times
Wed, 27 Apr 2011 06:58 UTC

Comment: In THIS article we wrote that "what ever happened to The Airbus 320-303 was a big tragedy, and finding an explanation including providing a needed closure is a priority. But considering what we know about authorities' ability to either ignore or distort the available data, we are a bit skeptical if the highly probable cause will ever be seriously looked into, and especially announced. Meanwhile, time is running out for another similar disaster to occur".

And now, it appears that due to the supposedly "dissociated" memory module of the plane's flight data recorder we may never know what really happened. At least from the official point of view. Didn't we tell you not to hold your breath?


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© Unknown
The investigation into what caused the crash of an Air France jet two years ago suffered a major setback, officials said Wednesday, when search crews in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean located one of the plane's black boxes - only to discover that its memory unit was missing.

Martine Del Bono, a spokesman for France's Bureau of Accident Investigations, said the memory module of the plane's flight data recorder - which contains information on the plane's position, speed, altitude and heading when it ran into trouble - had been "dissociated" from its protective housing. "This is no doubt due to the shock of impact with the water," she said.

French investigators said the recorder was located by underwater drones late Tuesday, surrounded by debris from other parts of the airplane. The search continued Wednesday for the missing component, as well as for a second black box, which contains recordings of the conversations in the cockpit in the minutes before the crash.
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Stormtrooper

US: Locals Outraged Over Cop Response in Attempted Rape Case

Kristen V. Brown
ParkSlope Patch
Tue, 26 Apr 2011 00:00 UTC
Residents of 16th Street said police were a month late to investigate a sexual assault that took place in March.

More than a month after a horrifying rape attempt took place on 16th Street, outraged residents of the block say cops did little to investigate the crime.

"The day of the attack, police left as quick as they came," said Donald Harrington, 44, a 16th Street resident who witnessed the attack from his second floor window and ran out after the would-be rapist. "Then the police didn't show up until the press came, a month later."

"I'm not at all happy with the way police handled this," added neighbor Jim Gallagher, 52. "This guy is still walking around out there."

A video of attack - which took place on March 20 at 11:30 p.m. between Fourth and Fifth avenues - became widely circulated last week, after a neighbor shared a video of the incident taken by a stationary security camera on his house.
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Handcuffs

US: Springville man pleads guilty in brutal Provo rape, attack

Pat Reavy
Desert News
Wed, 27 Apr 2011 10:31 UTC
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© James Roh Shawn Michael Leonard talks with a corrections officer during his plea hearing in 4th District Court in Provo on Wednesday, April 27, 2011. Leonard plead guilty to five charges in connection with a brutal rape and assault.
A Springville man accused of brutally raping a young woman and leaving her for dead near the Provo River Trail plead guilty Wednesday.

Shawn Leonard, 34, plead guilty to attempted aggravated murder, aggravated robbery, and two counts of aggravated kidnapping. In exchange for his plea, a charge of aggravated sexual assault was dismissed. All charges are first-degree felonies.

Last June, Leonard walked away from his jail work-release program.

On June 9, 2010, Leonard grabbed a 19-year-old woman walking along the Provo River Trail, pulled her off the trail into some bushes, strangled her and smashed her face with a rock and cement cinder block. When the victim came to, she found her pants and underwear around her ankles. She had to crawl back to the trail to get help.
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Wolf

US: 65-year-old man to be arraigned in alleged sexual assault of 3-year-old child in Connecticut


Daily Journal
Thu, 28 Apr 2011 01:50 UTC
A Canterbury man is set to make his first court appearance since being charged with sexually assaulting a 3-year-old child.

Sixty-five-year-old Robert Hardy is scheduled to be arraigned Thursday at Danielson Superior Court on charges of misdemeanor sexual assault and felony risk of injury to a minor. Conviction on the felony charge carries a penalty of one to 10 years in prison.

State police say Hardy turned himself in at the Danielson barracks on April 15 as part of an investigation by troopers and the Department of Children and Families. Authorities haven't released any other details of the allegations.

Hardy couldn't be reached for comment. There's no phone listing in his name, and it's not clear if he has a lawyer.

Source: The Associated Press
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Arrow Down

US: Child rape case against Stonehill tutor dropped

Jenna Duncan & Katherine Landergan
The Boston Globe
Thu, 28 Apr 2011 05:00 UTC
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© unknownStonehill College officials say they look forward to helping Kevin Treseler return to his studies. He had been suspended.
After weeks of deliberation, a grand jury has not indicted a Stonehill College student accused of raping an 8-year-old girl he tutored in Brockton, and he will not be prosecuted, authorities said yesterday.

As a result, Kevin Treseler, 21, of Millis will be welcomed back to Stonehill, from which he was suspended last month following the allegations.

Treseler is not sure he will return to the Easton school, his lawyer said.

"Kevin Treseler's name has been cleared,'' said his attorney, Michael P. Doolin of Dorchester. "I hope that he's able to go back to the life that he had, and his family is very relieved and gratified for the findings of the grand jury.''

Matthew H. Malone, superintendent of Brockton's public schools, said officials believe a crime was committed and the school district will continue to work with law enforcement to identify a perpetrator. He did not indicate whether another participant in the tutoring program would be targeted.
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Arrow Down

US: Police: California Man Lived with Dead Woman for Week


The Associated Press
Wed, 27 Apr 2011 09:37 UTC
A California man was found living with the badly decomposed body of a woman after neighbors called to complain of an unusual smell coming from inside the man's studio apartment, police said Wednesday.

Santa Cruz police officers found the 30-year-old woman's body after entering the apartment at about 7 p.m. Tuesday. Investigators haven't been able to establish how the woman died because of the deteriorated state of her body, authorities said.

Investigators also haven't determined how long the woman had been dead, but Santa Cruz deputy police Chief Steve Clark said he was comfortable saying it had been at least a week.

The apartment's resident, 63-year-old John Clauer, was in custody on a no-bail parole hold based on a prior drug conviction, Clark said.
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Heart - Black

US: Seven horses, one days from giving birth, and week-old foal die in horrific barn fire after 'homophobic attack'


The Daily Mail, UK
Wed, 27 Apr 2011 01:19 UTC
Seven innocent horses, one days from giving birth, and a week-old foal died in a raging barn fire that police believe was a homophobic attack.

Owner of the barn and horses, Brent Whitehouse, of McConnelsville, Ohio, had been keeping an eye on his pregnant mare, Love, after the animal showed signs she was about to give birth.

When he looked out of his window at the barn on Easter night Mr Whitehouse was shocked to see an orange glow coming from within.

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© Whiz NewsArson attack: The remains of the barn, razed to the ground by a deadly fire that killed seven horses housed within, smoulders in McConnelsville, Ohio
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Info

Taiwan Tourist Train Overturns, Killing 5, Injures 61


MSNBC
Thu, 28 Apr 2011 02:52 UTC
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© The Associated Press CORRECTS SECOND SENTENCE - Narrow-gauge train carriages lie on their side after being struck by a falling tree on the mountainous tourist destination of Alishan, southern Taiwan, Wednesday, April 27, 2011. The accident has killed at least six Chinese tourists, injuring 61, officials said.
A popular tourist train overturned in Taiwan's southern mountains Wednesday, killing five Chinese visitors, the island's Office of Disaster Management said.

President Ma Ying-jeou had earlier put the death toll at six.

The Government Information Office said the crash injured 61 other people, 23 seriously. There was no immediate information on their nationalities.

Ma said a large tree fell into the path of the oncoming train.

"I feel very grieved by the accident," he said, adding that it would be investigated thoroughly.

TV footage showed at least three carriages overturned along a slope and rescuers tending to victims.
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