Researchers see a pattern in rise of deadly tornadoes
By Brian Vastag and Ed O’Keefe, Tuesday, May 24
The extraordinary Joplin twister – the single deadliest tornado since officials began keeping records in 1950 – was a rare destructive phenomenon known as a “multi-vortex,” hiding two or more cyclones within the wider wind funnel.Sunday’s storm smashed the southwest Missouri city’s hospital, left nothing but splintered trees where neighborhoods once stood, and killed at least 116, with the death toll expected to rise. The storm injured another 500 and and damaged or destroyed at least 2,000 buildings.
Pakistan humilated by Bin Landen revenge attack
By Omar Waracih in Karachi Tuesday, 24 May 2011
Pakistan was last night conducting a major manhunt for the two terrorists who managed to escape after mounting the one of the most brazen attacks yet on the country’s powerful military.President Asif Ali Zardari has ordered an inquiry into how six attackers besieged the Mehran naval base in Karachi on Sunday, a raid that lasted for 17 hours. The six managed to slip into the base unnoticed, damage two military aircraft, kill 10 security personnel and wound 15 others before commandos were able to overpower them.
Libya: Nato steps up air strikes on Tripoli
The BBC’s Andrew North says there is a large plume of smoke rising from near Libyan leader Col Muammar Gaddafi’s compound
The BBC
Libyan officials say three people were killed and dozens injured in an attack on the barracks of the popular guard.The strikes came after France announced it and the UK would also deploy attack helicopters to escalate strike power.
Nato is enforcing a UN resolution to protect Libyan civilians, following the uprising against Col Gaddafi’s rule.
Thunderous explosions shook the city; as one strike ended, more jets were heard overhead coming in for the next, says the BBC’s Andrew North in Tripoli.
Greek cabinet agrees on radical privatization plan
Greek politicians have agreed to press ahead with an unprecedented program of privatization to meet the requirements of the country’s multibillion bailout package. Ports and airports are among the assets to be sold.
ECONOMY | 24.05.2011
Greece has pledged to press ahead with a radical privatization plan in an effort to help reduce its high level of debt.Prime Minister George Papandreou announced an immediate sale of state assets on Monday evening, including its shares in the telecom operator OTE and the ports of Piraeus and Thessaloniki.
Following a cabinet meeting, Papandreou announced 1.6 billion euros ($2.3 billion) in savings along with the privatization measures.
Remains of Salvador Allende exhumed in Chile
The Irish Times – Tuesday, May 24, 2011
TOM HENNIGAN in São Paulo
AUTHORITIES IN Chile exhumed the remains of Salvador Allende yesterday in a bid to discover whether the former president committed suicide or was murdered by soldiers during a bloody coup in 1973.The move was ordered by a judge seeking to resolve the mystery that has surrounded Allende’s final hours and is part of a wider investigation into the murder of hundreds of people during the first weeks of the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet.
Sudan’s Abyei burns as north goes on looting spree
PETER MARTELL JUBA, SUDAN
The UN Mission in Sudan, or Unmis, warned Khartoum it was responsible for law and order amid reports thousands of civilians were fleeing southwards after northern Sudan Armed Forces troops and tanks overran the border town Saturday.“Unmis strongly condemns the burning and looting currently being perpetrated by armed elements in Abyei town,” it said.
The mission also called on the “government of Sudan to urgently ensure that the Sudan Armed Forces fulfil their responsibility and intervene to stop these criminal acts”.
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