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Quake kills 4 in Italy, hits heritage sites
Lankan Prez orders Fonseka’s release
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G8 piles pressure on Iran; vows ‘timely’ oil supplies
11 Indians without valid visa held in UK
Facebook founder’s status update: Married
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Quake kills 4 in Italy, hits heritage sites Sant’ Agostino (Italy), May 20 The quake, which the US Geological Survey recorded at magnitude 6.0, struck at 4:04 am (0204 GMT) and was followed by a series of jolting aftershocks. "I am 83 and I have never felt anything like this," said Lina Gardenghi, a resident of Bondeno. The epicentre of the quake, the strongest to hit Italy in three years, was in the plains near Modena in the Emilia-Romagna region of the Po river valley, and the tremor was felt as far west as Liguria, bordering France, and the Friuli region bordering Slovenia. The quake seriously damaged many historical churches and other buildings, adding up to the greatest loss to Italy's artistic patrimony since an earthquake in 1997 damaged the Basilica of St Francis in Assisi, whose ceiling collapsed. The massive, imposing 14th century Estense Castle, the symbol of the town of San Felice Sul Panaro and its most important building, was severely damaged. The tops of several of the smaller towers collapsed and there were fears that the main tower, weakened by cracks, could tumble down. Three of the town's churches were severely hit, damaging centuries-old frescoes and other works of art. "We have practically lost all our artistic patrimony," said Alberto Silvestri, mayor of San Felice Sul Panaro. "Churches and towers collapsed. The theatre is still standing but has cracks." The quake left a gaping hole and gashes in the side of the Sant' Agostino's Renaissance style town hall, which officials said was in danger of total collapse. The town's streets were strewn with rubble and the stench of gas filled the town and raised fears of explosions. In Bondeno, a Moroccan man working a night shift in a polyester factory died when he was hit by falling debris. —
Reuters
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Lankan Prez orders Fonseka’s release Colombo, May 20 Rajapaksa signed the papers ordering the release of 61-year-old Fonseka prior to his departure to Qatar, presidential spokesman Bandula Jayasekera told reporters here. The papers were handed over to presidential chief of staff Gamini Senarath for onward transmission to the ministry of justice tomorrow, following which the formalities for Fonseka's release would be completed. Rajapaksa departed last night on a state visit to Qatar. Fonseka was serving a three-year jail term, having been convicted by the High Court in what was termed as the 'white flag' case. He was charged with causing public disaffection of the state through his statement that the senior defence establishment had ordered the killing of surrendering LTTE rebels who had approached the army with white flags on the final day of the military clashes in May 2009. Expectations for Fonseka's release had mounted when his wife Anoma said earlier this week that Rajapaksa had expressed a desire to grant him a presidential pardon. Fonseka also received bail this week in the case where he was accused of harbouring military deserters. As the military chief, he had led the army to a crushing victory over the LTTE in 2009. But he fell out with his commander-in-chief Rajapaksa immediately after the war ended. Rajapaksa ordered Fonseka's detention almost immediately after he had crushed the former army chief in the presidential election of 2010. Fonseka's release orders came a day after Sri Lankan Foreign Minister GL Peiris met with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in Washington for talks on the island nation's human rights record. —
PTI
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G8 piles pressure on Iran; vows ‘timely’ oil supplies Camp David (US), May 20 In its "Camp David Declaration", the G-8 grouping also supported Kofi Annan's settlement plan for Syria and cautioned North Korea against further provocations, besides pledging to take steps to mitigate economic impact of Afghan transition and stressing that Greece, which is battling a crippling debt crisis, should remain in the Eurozone. As Iran faced sanctions, the G-8 leaders said increasing disruptions in the global oil supplies "pose a substantial risk" to the world economy. "Looking ahead to the likelihood of further disruptions in oil sales and the expected increased demand over the coming months, we are monitoring the situation closely and stand ready to call upon the International Energy Agency to take appropriate action to ensure that the market is fully and timely supplied," the joint declaration said. At the end of a series of brain-storming sessions that began with a dinner in this US presidential retreat on Friday night, the G-8 expressed "grave concern" over Iran's nuclear programme and urged Tehran to meet the requirements of International Atomic Energy Agency's (IAEA) Board of Governors in this regard. "We also call on Iran to address without delay all outstanding issues related to its nuclear programme, including questions concerning possible military dimensions," the declaration said. — PTI
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11 Indians without valid visa held in UK London, May 20 Official sources said the check was conducted following receipt of intelligence by a team that included the Lincolnshire police, the Gangmasters Licensing Authority (GLA) and the UK Border Agency outside Grantham, Lincolnshire. After checking the immigration status of all occupants of the vehicles, and using fingerprint scanners to confirm identities in some cases, 11 Indian nationals, who had either overstayed visas or entered the UK illegally, were found. One Pakistani man was also identified as being in the country illegally. The agencies involved in the operation on May 17 suspect that the men were travelling to work on a farm in Lincolnshire, without having permission to work in the UK. Both vehicles were severely overcrowded, placing the safety of the occupants at risk and breaching transport regulations. This was brought to the attention of the GLA as a critical breach of their licensing conditions, the sources said. Rachel Challis, from the agency's Lincolnshire local immigration team, said: "We are cracking down on immigration abuse across the county. Any foreign national, who is in the UK illegally, should be in no doubt that they will be found, arrested and removed from the country." —
PTI
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Facebook founder’s status update: Married
New York, May 20 The unexpected news about his marriage to 27-year-old Chan, who recently graduated from medical school in San Francisco, came just a day after Facebook made its public debut through one of the largest initial public offerings and its shares began trading on the Nasdaq. Just like the 900 million users who log on to Facebook to tell the world about the happenings in their life, 28-year-old Zuckerberg wrote about the latest big event in his life on his Facebook timeline. His status update read, "Married Priscilla Chan". The private ceremony took place in the backyard at Zuckerberg's Palo Alto home in California, before a less than 100 guests. An accompanying picture shows a smiling Zuckerberg dressed in a simple dark blue suit, white shirt and wearing a tie. It was one of those rare occasions when Zuckerberg dressed formally. Zuckerberg did not adorn a suit and tie even for the various roadshows he did ahead of the IPO, meeting with top-notch Wall Street executives and bankers in his trademark attire of a hoodie and a pair of jeans. Chan was dressed in an elegant sleeveless laced white wedding gown with a veil falling over her shoulders. The two are seen holding hands and are photographed in the backyard of their five-bedroom Palo Alto home. A string of light bulbs hung in the background. Chan too updated the relationship status on her Facebook page with the message "Married to Mark Zuckerberg". The picture got over 3,68,000 likes within hours of Zuckerberg posting the status update. —
PTI
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A strong earthquake killed four persons, injured dozens and damaged churches, towers and a medieval castle early on Sunday, waking terrified citizens across northern Italy and sending thousands running into the streets.
Giving in to US-led international pressure, Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa has ordered the release of his former army chief-turned-political rival Sarath Fonseka after two years of incarceration.
