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Attention

Roof collapses at Chernobyl nuclear plant: Ukraine

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A section of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine has collapsed under the weight of snow but there were no injuries or any increase in radiation from the reactor that exploded in 1986, the country's emergency agency said Wednesday.

"The preliminary reason for the collapse was too much snow on the roof," the agency said, adding that the radiation situation is "within the norm" and nobody was harmed in Tuesday's incident.

The roof was constructed after the 1986 disaster but is not part of the sarcophagus structure covering the reactor, it said.

However the collapse underlines concerns about the condition of the now defunct nuclear plant over two-and-a-half-decades after the world's worst nuclear disaster.

Part of the roof and some of the walls at the plant's machine room, close to the sarcophagus that seals the reactor number four which melted down in the 1986 accident, fell under the weight of the snow.

Magnify

Six arrested in new 'News of the World' hacking probe

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© AFP Photo
Police arrested six current or former journalists on Wednesday in a new probe into alleged phone hacking at Rupert Murdoch's now-closed News of the World tabloid, Scotland Yard said.

Investigators had identified a "further suspected conspiracy" by staff at the paper in 2005 and 2006 which was separate to the alleged hacking under which a number of people have been charged, it said in a statement.

The News of the World closed in disgrace in 2011 amid allegations that it had hacked the mobile phone voicemails of hundreds of celebrities, politicians and victims of crime and terrorism.

"Detectives on Operation Weeting have identified a further suspected conspiracy to intercept telephone voicemails by a number of employees who worked for the now defunct News of the World newspaper," the statement said.

Eye 1

Japanese tourists killed in Guam stabbing spree

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At least two Japanese tourists were killed and 11 wounded when a knife-wielding man went on a stabbing spree outside a resort in the Pacific island nation of Guam, officials said Wednesday.

The attack occurred late Tuesday when the man drove his car up a pavement near the Outrigger Guam Resort and rammed it into a convenience store, before jumping out and stabbing bystanders.

The Japanese foreign ministry said it had been informed of two fatalities and 11 injuries.

"At least 13 Japanese nationals were injured, of whom two people died," a ministry official said in Tokyo.

Guam police reported three deaths in total and said a 20-year-old man, whose name has not been released, was arrested. They said a motive for the attack had not yet been determined.

"He came out of the car and started attacking people. It was scary," witness Lendi Cruz told AFP.

Evil Rays

Third gay man strangled to death in New York City stokes fears in LGBT community

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© KEN MURRAY/NEW YORK DAILY NEWSJoseph Benzinger, 54, of Middle Village, was found strangled to death late Saturday night at the Crown Motor Inn in Elmhurst.
Three gay men, all middle aged, have been found strangled to death in New York City since Jan. 26, stoking fears in the LGBT community, reported the New York Daily News.

Authorities say the deaths do not seem to be connected but are instructing people to be careful when meeting others for the first time.

Arrow Up

Annual price inflation of vegetables in India hits 26 percent

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Rising for the fourth consecutive month, retail inflation remained in double digits at 10.79 per cent in January, driven by higher prices of vegetables, edible oil, cereals and protein-based items.

The country's retail inflation is the highest among the BRICS group of emerging economies - Brazil, Russia, China, and South Africa.

Analysts do not see prices of food items coming down anytime soon and have blamed supply side constraints for a consistently high number. Nitesh Ranjan, Economist, Union Bank of India expressed disappointment at the high CPI number.

"We have seen that food inflation has remained high even in the WPI. I do not expect pressures from the food side to ease anytime soon, so expect the CPI to remain high for some more time," Ranjan said.

Red Flag

French driver trapped for an hour in speeding 125mph car with no brakes

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© James Hardy/PhotoAltoFrank Lecerf managed to call emergency services while uncontrollably speeding through the fast lane on the motorway.
Frank Lecerf finally came to a stop in a ditch in Belgium when his Renault Laguna ran out of petrol after 200km trip

When Frank Lecerf drove off to do his weekly supermarket shop in northern France, he was not expecting to embark on a high-speed car chase that would force him over the Belgian border and on to the national news bulletins.

Lecerf has filed a legal complaint after his Renault Laguna, which is adapted for disabled drivers, jammed at 125mph (200km/h) and the brakes failed, forcing him to continue careering along a vast stretch of French motorway and into Belgium. Police gave chase until he ran out of petrol and crashed into a ditch.

The 36-year-old was on a dual carriageway on his way to a hypermarket when the car's speed dial first jammed at 60mph. Each time he tried to brake, the car accelerated, eventually reaching 125mph and sticking there. While uncontrollably speeding through the fast lane as other cars swerved out of his way, he managed to call emergency services who immediately dispatched a platoon of police cars. Realising Lecerf had no choice but to keep racing along until his petrol ran out, they escorted him at high speed across almost 125mph of French motorway, past Calais and Dunkirk, and over the Belgian border.

Handcuffs

73-year-old bank robber 'wanted to return to jail'

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© Vincent O'Byrne/AlamyWalter Unbehaun told investigators after his arrest he had spent most of his adult life behind bars and 'felt more comfortable in prison'.
Walter Unbehaun wanted to spend his final years in prison so robbed bank in Chicago and waited to be caught, court told

After spending most of his adult life behind bars, 73-year-old Walter Unbehaun decided to rob another bank in the hope of getting caught. He felt more comfortable in prison, court documents allege, and wanted to spend his final years there.

So the balding, grey-haired man leaned on a cane as he walked into a bank in Chicago over the weekend and used a novel stickup line: he had just six months to live, so he had nothing left to lose, according to a federal complaint citing his post-arrest interrogation.

Unbehaun also allegedly lifted his coat to show a teller a silver revolver shoved into his waistband.

Investigators say Unbehaun, of Rock Hill, South Carolina, walked out of the Harris Bank in Niles on Saturday with $4,178 (£2,668) in his pockets. He wore no disguises, so law enforcement quickly tracked him down using surveillance-camera photos of him holding up the bank, the complaint said.

Ambulance

Heart Attack Grill mascot dies of heart attack

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© Heart Attack GrillHeart Attack Grill restaurant in Las Vegas.
John Alleman, 52, collapsed at bus stop outside restaurant that sells burgers, fries and drinks with huge calorie counts

The mascot for the Heart Attack Grill in Las Vegas has died of a heart attack. He was the second unpaid mascot to die in the past two years.

John Alleman, 52, collapsed while waiting at a bus stop in front of the diner last week. He was taken off life support on Monday, the Las Vegas Sun reported.

The diner is famous for its huge hamburgers, extra-fat milkshakes and fries cooked in lard. It uses the tagline: "Taste worth dying for."

Its owner, Jon Basso, told the Sun that Alleman came to the restaurant daily and encouraged passing tourists to try its calorie-laden offerings.

Stock Down

French Peugeot Citroen car manufacturer unveils 5 billion euro loss for 2012

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PSA workers protesting against planned factory closure in north of Paris. (file photo)
The French auto giant PSA Peugeot Citroen has announced a net loss of five billion euros (USD 6.7 billion) in 2012, making it the worst result in its history.

The carmaker released on Wednesday the historic loss, blaming 4.74 billion euro in asset write-downs and a collapse in European sales for the results.

The automaker is reportedly losing seven million euros every day. This is while the company has reported a 588 million-euro profit in 2011.

In an attempt to recover, the PSA previously announced that the company plans to eliminate 11,200 jobs and close its Aulnay plant in north of Paris. This has sparked several demonstrations by the workers.

Handcuffs

Russian cop faces 5 years in jail after leaving disabled man to die on street in -40C

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© RIA Novosti / Ramil Sitdikov
After losing his fingers as a result of twelve hours spent in subzero temperatures, a disabled man has died from a blood clot in a Russian hospital. A policeman who refused to fulfill his duty by helping the man is now facing five years behind bars.

The incident happened late last year when 28-year-old speech impaired Vitaliy Seduhinsky was boarding a bus with his mother when the doors shut before she could get on.

Unable to communicate, Seduhinsky spent some time circling the bus route before being let off at a suburban stop in the city of Barnaul.

Lost and confused, he was spotted by a woman who called the police to help the stranded individual. The officer who responded to the call failed to carry out his duty, simply decideding not to investigate the report any further.