Nigeria Massacre

Gunmen kill at least 26 students at Nigerian college.

http://tinyurl.com/8s32nod

All 18 children confirmed dead in China landslide

The bodies of all 18 schoolchildren buried in a landslide in China have been recovered, officials said Friday, as authorities defended returning them to school following recent deadly earthquakes. The landslip, triggered by sustained rains, buried the school and three farmhouses on Thursday in southwestern China's Yunnan province, where two quakes last month killed 81 people and injured hundreds. Any last hopes for survivors among the children in Zhenhe village, where the landslide struck, vanished early Friday when local officials said rescuers had pulled the body of the last missing child from the debris. The disaster is likely to raise questions over why the pupils had been brought back into the school, located in a deep mountain valley, when China was on a week-long national holiday. School safety is a sensitive issue in China after thousands of students died when an 8.0-magnitude tremor centred in Sichuan province rocked the southwest of the country in 2008. China has a highly competitive education system built around cramming for high-stress testing that determines entry into good schools later. Local officials in Yiliang county, which includes Zhenhe, have said the dead children needed to make up lessons lost due to disruptions stemming from the September earthquakes in the area. The state-run Xinhua news agency said they had been brought in to study from another school which was badly damaged in those tremors, which had magnitudes of 5.6 and left more than 800 people injured and 201,000 displaced. "The mountains around the school are covered with dense vegetation, and there were no signs of potential landslides during investigations after the earthquake," said Xiao Shunxing, deputy county chief, according to the Yunnan Information news website. But domestic media quoted nearby residents saying they had been concerned about children walking long distances to school over muddy mountain paths so soon after last month's earthquakes. "If the students were off for holidays, there wouldn't be this tragedy," said a user of Sina.com's micro-blogging service, one of many outraged postings. "Couldn't they just take time making up the missed classes? Officials, schools, and teachers are too eager for quick success and instant benefits. They are the biggest killers." The body of a villager who had also been buried under the rubble was recovered later Friday, bringing the final toll to 19, according to a statement by the county government. Like many schools and homes in the poor and rugged region, the disaster-hit primary school was located at the base of steep slopes. Mountainous southwestern China is prone to deadly landslides, a threat worsened by frequent seismic activity. The 2008 Sichuan earthquake, which killed more than 80,000 people, triggered giant landslides that left whole mountainsides scarred. Many schools collapsed in that disaster, triggering accusations of shoddy construction, corner-cutting and possible corruption, especially as many other buildings near such schools held firm. There have so far been no such allegations in the Yunnan landslide, but government experts were sent Friday to investigate the disaster along with local authorities, Xinhua reported. The experts from the Ministry of Land and Resources are to conduct surveys on slopes, cliffs and valleys in the area for further hazards. Families who lost children will receive compensation payments of 20,000 yuan ($3,200), media reports said. State media reports initially identified the school as the Youfang Primary School, but subsequent reports have said its official name is the Tiantou Primary School.

U.N. Security Council condemns Syrian attack on Turkey

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The U.N. Security Council on Thursday condemned a Syrian mortar attack on a Turkish border town that killed five people and demanded that "such violations of international law stop immediately and are not repeated." The rare agreement on a Syria statement condemned the attack "in the strongest terms" and came after Russia rejected an initial text on Wednesday's incident and proposed a diluted version calling on both Turkey and Syria to exercise restraint. Western council members objected to Moscow's text but revised the original draft to accommodate some Russian concerns. Consensus within the council on anything related to Syria is unusual and it has been deadlocked on the issue of the country's 18-month-long conflict for more than a year, with Russia and China rejecting calls to sanction the Damascus government. The text of the final statement from the 15-member Security Council "called on the Syrian Government to fully respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of its neighbors" and "demanded that such violations of international law stop immediately and are not repeated." "The members of the Security Council underscored that this incident highlighted the grave impact the crisis in Syria has on the security of its neighbors and on regional peace and stability," it said. The mortar attack happened on Wednesday and Turkey responded by striking targets in Syria later the same day and on Thursday. Instead of explicitly calling on both Turkey and Syria to exercise restraint, the final sentence of the declaration read: "The members of the Security Council called for restraint." Russia insisted on removing a sentence in the original draft calling the Syrian attack "a serious threat to international peace and security." The compromise text referred instead to concerns as to the impact of the crisis in Syria on "the security of its neighbors and on regional peace and stability." Russia and China have vetoed three resolutions condemning Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's government and diplomats say it is unlikely the Security Council will take further action on Syria for the time being. 'ATROCIOUS TERRORIST BOMBINGS' About 30,000 people have been killed across Syria in an escalating conflict between Assad's forces and rebels seeking to oust him, opposition activists say. The war has seen growing sectarian overtones which threaten to draw in regional Sunni Muslim and Shi'ite powers. Earlier on Thursday, U.N. spokesman Martin Nesirky said U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon was "alarmed by escalating tensions along the Syrian-Turkish border" and worried that the risk of a wider regional conflict was growing. Syria's U.N. Ambassador Bashar Ja'afari said his government had urged the Security Council to include in any statement on the border attacks a reaction to "suicide terrorist attacks that struck the city of Aleppo" on Wednesday. Aleppo was not mentioned in the council statement but Russia's delegation said it would circulate a separate draft text condemning the Aleppo attack to the council later on Thursday, which it hopes will be adopted on Friday. Ban described the bombings in the northern Syrian city, which killed 48 people, as "atrocious terrorist bombings," while Ja'afari accused some Security Council members of blocking for the third time a condemnation of "terrorist" attacks in Syria. "The Syrian government is not seeking any escalation (of the conflict) with any of its neighbors, including Turkey," Ja'afari told reporters. "We reiterate our call to the Turkish government to help us in controlling the border, preventing armed groups from infiltrating through these borders." Syria has accused Turkey, the United States, France, Qatar and Saudi Arabia of supporting "terrorism" by funneling arms, money and foreign fighters to rebels. Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Turkey have denied aiding the rebels. The United States and France say they are providing "non-lethal" support, not weapons. The council statement came in response to a request from Turkey, which asked council members to take the "necessary action" to stop Syrian aggression and ensure that the government there respects Turkish territorial integrity. Syria wrote to the council offering condolences for the deaths of Turkish civilians and calling for restraint and rationality.

Outspoken gay marriage foe installed as San Francisco archbishop

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - The Catholic Church on Thursday installed Salvatore Cordileone, a leader in the fight against same-sex marriage, as archbishop of the Archdiocese of San Francisco. Following his installation as the religious leader of more than 500,000 Catholics in the largely gay-friendly Bay Area, Cordileone, 56, delivered a sermon and spoke about his recent arrest after failing a sobriety test at a police checkpoint. "God has always had a way of putting me in my place," he said. "With the last episode in my life, God has outdone Himself." Cordileone spent about 11 hours in a San Diego jail cell in August after he was arrested on suspicion of drunken driving. On Monday, he pleaded guilty to driving with alcohol in his system, said Gina Coburn, spokeswoman for the San Diego City Attorney. Cordileone has been particularly outspoken in Church opposition to same-sex matrimony as chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops Subcommittee for the Promotion and Defense of Marriage, a role that has put him at odds with many Bay Area Catholics. He also led Church support for the 2008 voter-approved California state constitutional amendment, Proposition 8, that banned gay marriage. While taking his place as the archbishop of San Francisco and two other area counties, Cordileone called the drunken driving incident a "regrettable mistake." Pope Benedict appointed Cordileone to preside over the Archdiocese of San Francisco in July. "The archbishop is an advocate for immigrants and an opponent of the death penalty, but he comes here perceived as a one-issue bishop," Brian Cahill, former San Francisco Catholic Charities executive director, wrote in an editorial published in the San Francisco Chronicle on Wednesday. "He can continue to be the aggressive, outspoken leader of the American Catholic bishops in their effort to prevent civil gay marriage, or he can be the shepherd of his flock. He can't be both, and if he tries, he will fail." Cordileone said his grandfather settled in San Francisco 100 years ago. "If someone had told him that his grandson would become the archbishop of this place, I'm sure he would think they were out of their mind," he said. "I'm sure there are people who think that today." About 2,000 people, including 40 bishops, attended the installation and mass in the Cathedral of St. Mary. Outside the church, dozens of supporters carrying welcoming banners mixed with protesters, including the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence - a group of gay male activists who dress as nuns.

a kiss on internet

Simulator kisses on internet The Japanese have created a simulator kisses on inernet. This gadget will allow lovers or people who want to know more, feel physical intimacy online. "Through our each device can have the feeling of kissing. This gadget will be helpful to those who want to keep close relationships with the distance, for example to lovers, "announced the creators of the simulator kisses University of Electronic and Communication Tokyo. To make communication more effective inernet, developers have relied on kissing because "it is tactile sensations expressing deep emotions that deepen relationships." Kisses The machine looks like a simple box with a small pipe . To proceed, you must insert the tube into the mouth, and can be run using the language, which is due to rotate the pipe in the partner language "at the other end of the wire." Skeptics say it is far from being an exciting kiss. The inventors accept criticism and promise to work to improve the system - side taste, and moisture.

NYSE stocks posting largest volume increases

NEW YORK (AP) — A look at the 10 biggest volume gainers on New York Stock Exchange at the close of trading: Boardwalk Pipeline Partners L.P. : Approximately 7,737,000 shares changed hands, a 1,311.7 percent increase over its 65-day average volume. The shares fell $1.29 or 4.6 percent to $26.75. Build-A-Bear Workshop Inc. : Approximately 283,600 shares changed hands, a 482.1 percent increase over its 65-day average volume. The shares rose $.07 or 1.8 percent to $3.89. Cabela's Inc. : Approximately 5,099,200 shares changed hands, a 852.4 percent increase over its 65-day average volume. The shares rose $1.00 or 1.8 percent to $55.97. Luxfer Holdings PLC : Approximately 195,100 shares changed hands, a 468.7 percent increase over its 65-day average volume. The shares rose $.28 or 2.5 percent to $11.28. Media General Inc. : Approximately 588,800 shares changed hands, a 470.6 percent increase over its 65-day average volume. The shares rose $.12 or 2.3 percent to $5.33. MetroPCS Inc. : Approximately 83,995,800 shares changed hands, a 907.3 percent increase over its 65-day average volume. The shares rose $.45 or 3.7 percent to $12.69. Starwood Property Trust Inc. : Approximately 8,006,200 shares changed hands, a 1,027.7 percent increase over its 65-day average volume. The shares fell $.40 or 1.7 percent to $23.23. Sunoco Inc. : Approximately 24,086,100 shares changed hands, a 1,226.2 percent increase over its 65-day average volume. The shares fell $.05 or .1 percent to $46.75. WP Carey Inc. : Approximately 1,406,800 shares changed hands, a 838.3 percent increase over its 65-day average volume. The shares rose $.15 or .3 percent to $50.25. WageWorks Inc. : Approximately 3,021,400 shares changed hands, a 8,179.8 percent increase over its 65-day average volume. The shares fell $.21 or 1.2 percent to $18.03.