Sixteen killed in Marrakech, Morocco bomb blast

At least sixteen people are reported killed in a terrorist bombing in the city of Marrakech, Morocco. The bombing occurred in the busy Argana café before lunch time, Thursday. The café, located in the popular Jemaa el-Fnaa square, is within what is known as the old city. The square, a UNESCO World Heritage site and one of the country's top tourist attractions, draws many foreign visitors.

Early reports blamed a gas can catching fire. Witness reports indicate the blast destroyed the entire second floor of the café, blasting off the terrace and roof demolishing the front of the building.

Photographer Tarek Bozid reported, "Everything was covered in blood. The scene was horrifying. Tables were broken and glass was shattered."

Although the blast was at first considered an accident, the Interior Ministry confirmed it was an intentional act. "Analysis of the early evidence collected at the site of the blast confirms the theory of an attack," he said in a statement issued through the official Maghreb Arabe Presse (MAP) news agency.Ten of the victims were foreign, including six French nationals and one Briton. Half of the dead are reported to be women; and, at least 20 other people were critically wounded including a number foreigners. Two Swiss nationals, two Russians, two Tunisians and two Dutch tourists are reported to be amongst those injured.

Medics said nails, often used in suicide bombs, were found in the bodies of most victims.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy has expressed his outrage, considering it to be "heinous, cruel and cowardly". The act has been condemned by leaders internationally. French foreign minister Alain Juppe stated he is unaware of any particular threat to France in Morroco, once a French protectorate.

This is the first major attack on Morocco since the 2003 Casablanca bombings, which killed 45 and injured more than 100.

Swiss mountaineer Erhard Loretan dies in climbing accident

Acclaimed Swiss mountaineer Erhard Loretan died Thursday on his 52nd birthday when he fell in a climbing accident.

According to Swiss police, Loretan was climbing with a client to the summit of Gruenhor, a 4,043 meter peak in the Bernese Alps, when both fell for unknown reasons from a height of around 3,800 metres. He was killed immediately while his client was hospitalized in serious condition.

Loretan, originally from Fribourg, was eleven years old when he began climbing. In 1982, he climbed his first 8,000-meter peak, Nanga Parvat in Pakistan. He was the third person to summit all fourteen of the world's 8,000-meter peaks, which he accomplished by the age of 36. This confirmed his reputation as one of the world's top mountain climbers. In 1986 he ascended Mt. Everest in 40 hours without using supplementary oxygen, a feat that astonished other mountain climbers.

Saying that he was essentially a solitary person, he told a Trento film festival in a video posted on its web site last year, "First of all I’d like to thank the mountains, for almost 40 years they have allowed me to climb, and with this passion I’ve lived an extraordinary life up to now, that’s why I’d like to thank them."

He added, "I now want to share this passion more with others, and it’s because of this that being a mountain guide is a good profession because you can help someone who dreams about climbing mountains. This is something very beautiful."

In 2001 his personal life was marred by a manslaughter charge for shaking to death his seven-month old son to stop him from crying. He plead guilty in 2003 and received a four-month suspended sentence. The case ignited a debate in Switzerland over shaking babies.

Egyptian politician ElBaradei says ousted President Mubarak must stand trial

Egyptian politician Mohamed ElBaradei said that ousted President Hosni Mubarak must stand trial. His statement follows the recent ratification by Egyptian Foreign Minister Nabil El Araby of a statute that ensures Egypt will join the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court (ICC). If ElBaradei assumes power in the coming October/November 2011 elections, Mubarak and other former high-ranking corrupt Egyptian officials could potentially be tried in The Hague.

In an interview with the Islam Times, ElBaradei cited reasons as to why the trial of Hosni Mubarak will be necessary to undertake if he chooses to run for Egypt's top job. "Mubarak allegedly issued the order to shoot at the protesters. [That should] have been reason enough to arrest him immediately...The Military Council has no other option than to try Mubarak and bring everyone else to justice who is responsible for human rights violations or corruption," he said.

ElBaradei's previous statement to CNN during the 2011 Egyptian Revolution which began on the 25th of January, according to The Jerusalem Post, was that a trial was unnecessary and that what primarily needed to be done was for Mubarak to hand back money, speculated to be as much as $70 billion, which Mubarak illegally took over the course of his 30 year reign and now owes to the Egyptian people in order for economic progress to emerge.

ElBaradei has stated he believes Egypt should be run by 'institutions' rather than 'individuals' and has said, "I want to come up with a renaissance project for Egypt and not an electoral program for ElBaradei".

'Very dangerous' killer escapes South African hospital

A "very dangerous" inmate whose convictions include rape and murder has escaped from Tembisa Hospital in South Africa. 29-year-old Andries Gamba Msimang, from Mozambique, absconded on Friday.

The Department further explained the man has been in hospital since Tuesday when he suffered a stroke. Two corrections officers left to guard the prisoner in hospital have been suspended and their employer says they "may face charges of gross negligence and dereliction of responsibility."Jailed in September 2009, Msimang "is serving a life sentence for murder, robbery, rape and house breaking with intent to rob and kidnap," says the Department of Correctional Services. The Department urges the public to summon police help if they see the escapee and not attempt to apprehend him themselves.

Police and the Department of Corrections are working together to try and return the killer to custody.

Steve Jobs denies 'location-gate'

Apple Inc. CEO Steve Jobs announced on Wednesday that iPhone technology is not being used to monitor the location of its customers. The scandal arose from concern that data collected by Apple would make it possible for anyone with access to a person's private computer to retrieve information about their movements.

Jobs acknowledged that while iPhones keep a database of Wi-Fi and cell tower hotspots these do not reveal anything about individual users' location. “That’s what people saw on the phone and mistook it for location”

In a separate statement, Apple clarified the device is merely caching data in order to improve the speed of locating users in the future.

Jobs confirmed during the interview that Apple would testify before the United States Congress. “They have asked us to come and we will honour their request, of course.”

Apple have since made plans to release software updates that will cut the size of the wireless hotspot location database stored on its iPhones.

The data scandal, coined ‘Location-gate’ has overshadowed news of Apple’s announcement for sales of the delayed white iPhone 4 which will begin shipping from Thursday.

Deadly tornadoes rip through southern US, killing over 300

A huge thunderstorm system spawning massive tornadoes ripped through the south-eastern US Wednesday evening and early Thursday morning, killing at least 306 people in six states and causing wide spread property damage. Some 173 tornadoes have been reported from New York to Texas. In the worst hit state of Alabama, at least 210 are confirmed dead, including 36 in Tuscaloosa alone.

Up to one million people in Alabama were without power. A nuclear power plant was shut down in Alabama after it lost power to its three units, an operation of the plant's safety systems.Deaths also were reported in Mississippi, Tennessee, Georgia, Virginia and Kentucky.

Seven states have declared a state of emergency, and federal aid is being sent to Alabama. Governor Robert J. Bentley said he was activating 2,000 Alabama National Guard personell to aid in search and rescue. President Barack Obama, who plans to visit Alabama on Friday to view the destruction, sent a message of condolence to the governor:

"Michelle and I extend our deepest condolences to the families of those who lost their lives because of the tornadoes that have swept through Alabama and the southeastern United States. Our hearts go out to all those who have been affected by this devastation, and we commend the heroic efforts of those who have been working tirelessly to respond to this disaster. I just spoke to Governor Bentley and told him that I have ordered the Federal Government to move quickly in our response and informed him that I approved his request for emergency Federal assistance, including search and rescue assets. While we may not know the extent of the damage for days, we will continue to monitor these severe storms across the country and stand ready to continue to help the people of Alabama and all citizens affected by these storms."

Preliminary estimates of the tornado hitting Tuscaloosa suggest it tore along the ground for 176 miles and contained winds up to 200 miles per hour. The devastation included residential and commercial areas, as well as the city's infrastructure and civic buildings.

Officials did not want to give specific numbers for death toll and destruction in specific states, as the extent of the damage and human injury and death is not completely known. According the the Los Angeles Times, "Mississippi officials reported 32 dead, Tennessee raised its report to 29, Georgia reported 13, Virginia said it had eight deaths and Kentucky reported at least one death. The number of injured was in the hundreds, with that number also expected to rise.""I don't know how anyone survived," said Mayor Walter Maddox of Tuscaloosa. "We're used to tornadoes here in Tuscaloosa. It's part of growing up. But when you look at the path of destruction that's likely 5 to 7 miles long in an area half a mile to a mile wide ... it's an amazing scene. There's parts of the city I don't recognize, and that's someone that's lived here his entire life."

"In terms of the ground-up damage and quite possibly the insured damage, this event will be of historic proportions," Jose Miranda, from EQECAT, a catastrophe risk modeling firm,

The severe weather warning has been continued through Thursday, and includes parts of New York, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida.

This outbreak of tornadoes is considered the deadliness since 1974 when more than 300 were killed in a tornado outbreak. On March 18, 1925, 695 people died in a storm.

Greg Carbin, meteorologist at the National Weather Service, said, "May is usually the most active tornado month. Will it maintain the activity of April, we just cannot say."

Afghan pilot kills nine Americans

Eight American troops and one contractor were shot and killed by an Afghan National Army Air Force pilot Wednesday. Five Afghan soldiers were also wounded in the attack, for which the Taliban has claimed responsibility.

The incident, which began around 10 a.m. Afghan time (0530 UTC), occurred in the operations room of the Afghan Air Force in Kabul International Airport. The shooter, Ahmad Gul Sahebi, was killed by NATO forces.

"Suddenly, in the middle of the meeting, shooting started," said Afghan Air Corps spokesman Colonel Bahader. "After the shooting started, we saw a number of Afghan army officers and soldiers running out of the building. Some were even throwing themselves out of the windows to get away."

The shooter's brother, Hassan Sahebi, said, "My brother was a little depressed recently, but he had served with Afghanistan's national army for 20 years. He loved his country and his people. He was a good man." He also said that his brother was facing financial troubles, but was not connected with the Taliban. A spokesman for the militia group, however, described Ahmad Gul Sahebi as an informant and sleeper agent who began planning the shooting five months ago.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai quickly condemned the attack and offered condolence to the victims and their families. He also said that the police and military would investigate the matter. Wednesday's incident is the seventh this year in which NATO or Afghan forces have been killed by rogue Afghan troops or insurgents dressed as troops.

US Federal Reserve Chairman gives first news conference

On Wednesday, at the first live public news conference ever given by the Federal Reserve (Fed), Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke explained the US central bank's recent policy to a small group of reporters and answered some questions.

The conference was conducted two hours after the release of a report by the Fed's policymaking committee, the Federal Open Market Committee outlining its policies decided the day before. Until 1994 the Fed gave no information about the policy decisions made in its meetings pertaining to short-term interest rates and other policies. The public was left to guess what decisions were. In 1994 the Fed began issuing brief reports.

Unlike the US, the central banks in Europe, Japan, Canada and other countries have regularly meetings with the press after making such policy decisions.

The public has increasingly been aware of the secretive practices of the Fed, especially after its unprecedented intervention with massive bailouts of large financial institutions during the recent financial crises.

At Wednesday's meeting, it was decided that the Fed would maintain near-zero interest rates to stimulate the economy. It announced that it plans to end its program of buying back treasury bonds by the end of June, a program receiving criticism from Republicans concerned about the budget deficit.

Bernanke’s exchange with reporters, called "historic" by the Los Angeles Times, was the first of a series of regular news conferences planned to be held quarterly by Bernanke to provided the Fed with more transparency. He was cautious in his remarks. He made no news but explained in general terms the Fed's policy.

He said the Fed is attempting to revive the US economy by creating jobs and keeping inflation low.

"The trade-offs are getting less attractive at this point," Bernanke said. "Inflation has gotten higher … it's not clear we can get substantial improvements in payrolls without some additional inflation risk."

"There’s not much the Federal Reserve can do about gas prices, per se, at least not without derailing growth entirely, which certainly is not the right way to go," Bernanke said. "After all, the Fed can’t create more oil."During the conference, Bernanke said he recognized that the average American was unhappy with the increasing inflation and the slow job growth, but said the Fed projected that long-term inflation will remain stable while he acknowledged the effects of the short-term price increases which he said were driven largely by the increase in the price of oil.

When asked by reporters to explain his vague answers, he gave general replies. For example, when asked to clarify the Fed's intention to maintain near-zero interest rates for an "extended period" he said the wording suggested this period would probably continue through a couple more policymaking meetings at least.

"Unfortunately, the reason we use this vaguer terminology is we don’t know with certainty how quickly response will be required," he said.

Diane Swonk, chief economist at Mesirow Financial, said of Bernanke's performance at the press conference, "He was well-prepared and did exactly what he wanted to do - do no harm."

Dingoes attack toddler on Fraser Island

A three-year-old girl has been bitten by two dingoes while holidaying with her parents on Fraser Island, Queensland, Australia. The two animals responsible for the attack have since been captured and euthanised by wildlife rangers.

The child was on the beach with her parents while they waited to be transported to the mainland on the Hook Point barge. Witnesses report that the child wandered into nearby sand dunes where she was repeatedly bitten on the legs by the wild dogs.

Members of the Fraser Island Preservation group believe that the parents are to blame for the attack. Spokeswoman Bree Jashin has stated the attack was the result of inattentiveness. “The child was unsupervised and you have to ask how could a three-year-old get so close to the dingoes?”

Experts such as Environmental Department manager Terry Harper say the attack is uncharacteristic for the dingoes on Fraser Island which is said to be one of the last remaining safe havens for purebred dingoes. "This is a very timely reminder for everybody about how important it is to stay very close to your children on Fraser Island," Harper stated. "Adults should always stay very close to their children. We know that they do excite dingoes."

The child received medical attention at the site of the attack and was then transported to Gympie Hospital.

U.S. President Barack Obama releases original birth certificate

The White House today released a detailed Hawaii birth certificate in an attempt to put to rest the issue of President Barack Obama's legitimacy to hold the office of president. Shortly after the unexpected release, the president spoke live on national television, explaining, "We do not have time for this kind of silliness."

President Obama noted that the issue of his birthplace began during his campaign. "I have watched with bemusement, I've been puzzled at the degree at which this thing just kept on going," he said, and blamed media culture for perpetuating the controversy. The president did not answer reporters' questions nor explain why the document was not released until now.

"We're not going to be able to solve our problems if we get distracted by sideshows and carnival barkers," he said, noting the severe problems the nation faces and the importance of the decisions that need to be made. Obama said the problems could not be resolved "if we are distracted."

The U.S. Constitution states that only a "natural born" citizen of the country can become president. Some have contended that Obama was born overseas and is thus disqualified from holding the office. Although a recent poll by CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll showed that most Americans believe Obama was "definitely or probably born in the United States", according to CNN, 40 percent of Republicans doubted Obama is a natural born citizen eligible to be president.

The newly released document, signed by the obstetrician and Obama's mother, shows that Obama was born in Honolulu on August 4, 1961 of a Caucasian mother born in Kansas and and an African father born in Kenya. It was signed on August 7 and 8.

Prominent businessman Donald Trump has been highlighting the question of Obama's birthplace recently as he mulled over whether to run for the presidency himself, and took credit for its release today. "He should have done it a long time ago," he told journalists. "I am really honored to play such a big role in hopefully, hopefully getting rid of this issue."

Renowned Indian guru Śrī Satya Sai Baba dies aged 84

Śrī Satya Sai Baba, one of India's most prominent spiritual leaders and revered by millions of followers worldwide, died Sunday in a Puttaparthi hospital, following a cardiac arrest. He was 84 and had been in hospital since last month, suffering from kidney failure and respiratory problems.

Followers and devotees of Śrī Baba considered him to be the manifestation of a "living God" on Earth and believed he had powers of magic, such as being able to pull things from out of thin air.

Former Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee was one of Śrī Baba's followers, as was international test cricketer Sachin Tendulkar.

Worshippers carried Baba's image through the streets of Bangalore and extra police were deployed in his hometown of Puttaparthi. In Delhi, masses gathered in temples and some refused to accept Baba's death.

With an estimated six million followers, Baba saw donations allow for the expansion of his home village to include many temples, a hospital offering free medical care, a university, and an airport. His first permanent facility opened 60 years ago.

Born Sathyanarayana Raju, Baba decided at the age of fourteen that he was the reincarnation of 19th-century guru Sai Baba of Shirdi. The legend runs that Baba was stung by a scorpion and then sang religious chants in a language previously unknown to him. He predicted his death in 2019, as well as a third and final reincarnation in Karnataka state in 2023.

"Some people out of their mean-mindedness are trying to tarnish the image of Sai Baba," said Baba in 2000, after allegations of sexual abuse were made against him by young men, claims the BBC highlighted in 2004. "I am not after name and fame. So, I do not lose anything by their false allegations. My glory will go on increasing day by day," Baba added.Nobody has been appointed to take over running the trust that promotes the faith, which has over 1,200 centres worldwide. There are fears the family and trust could argue, leading to a government takeover. "If the government has to take over the affairs of Sai Baba's mission that could spell its end," warned one devotee.

Claims that Śrī Baba was a charlatan and allegations of sexual abuse dogged him constantly. In 1993, six people "died violently in the spiritual leader's private rooms," The Guardian reported. No full explanation has ever been given for the deaths, though speculation of a money dispute has been raised.

In a statement, current Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said that the death of the guru was an ""irreparable loss" to India, adding, "He was a spiritual leader who inspired millions to lead a moral and meaningful life even as they followed the religion of their choice."

The guru's body is being kept at the hospital amid appeals for his devotees not to flood them to see his body. The public viewing of Śrī Baba's body will take place Monday and Tuesday, and a funeral will follow. There are to be four days of mourning in his home state, Andhra Pradesh, by decree of the state government.

Australian PM Gillard pressured to address human rights crackdown in China

The international organisation Human Rights Watch (HRW) has called on Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard to publicly address China’s recent crackdown on dissidents, during her visit to the country from April 25th to 28th.

In an open letter HRW called on Prime Minister Gillard to address the increasing use of repressive force in China. According to HRW at least 39 lawyers and activists have been arrested and between 100 and 200 others have been victims of repressive measures such as house arrest, since February 16th.

Prime Minister Gillard is currently on a tour of Asia which included a stop in the disaster hit regions of Japan. She told Australian media before departing that she would "of course be raising human rights (with China)." "Our view of course is that we raise human rights. We have a human rights dialogue with China. That dialogue was in session as recently as December last year."

HRW’s Asia advocacy director Sophie Richardson said that whilst Prime Minister Gillard has expressed concern in Canberra, "the test is whether she will do so publicly in Beijing"

The issue of human rights in China is of particular interest in Australia following the disappearance – and feared arrest – of Australian citizen and pro-democracy activist Yang Hengjun in China last month. The political blogger and writer disappeared in Guangzhou in March and although he has since resurfaced, he has not publicly stated exactly what happened during the two day period that he was missing.

Apple's data is dirtiest, says Greenpeace

In a report on cloud computing issued this week, the environmental group Greenpeace rated ten top Internet companies, including Apple, Google, Twitter and Amazon, on several factors such as each company's wiliness to be transparent by providing information on its energy sources and the energy efficiency of its data centers.

In the report entitled "How Dirty is your Data", Apple, while receiving good marks for transparency, rated at the bottom for energy efficiency, primarily because its huge, new data center in North Carolina, called iDataCenter, relies largely on coal. Although Apple claimed its California operations used cleaner energy than that produced by most grids, iDataCenter has an estimated energy demand three times Apple's current use, significantly increasing Apple's environmental footprint. As Apple increases the online products it delivers from its iTunes platform, it will enlarge its cloud computing operations further.

"Apple's decision to locate its iDataCenter in North Carolina, which has an electrical grid among the dirtiest in the country (61 percent coal, 31 percent nuclear), indicates a lack of a corporate commitment to clean energy supply for its cloud operations," Greenpeace said in its report.

About 2 percent of worldwide energy use is consumed by data center computer servers, and this amount is increasing by 12 percent a year, Greenpeace reports, an energy demand that is more than that of Russia.

Greenpeace said many IT companies do not reveal the environmental impact of their energy consumption, and concentrate more on energy efficiency that on using clean energy. Most of their energy is supplied by coal and nuclear energy. Companies are locating their date centers in areas that afford cheap, abundant coal-powered electricity.

Yahoo was praised by Greenpeace for placing its data centers near sources of clean energy and its minor use of coal-based power.

The carbon footprint of cloud computing is a recent emphasis of Greenpeace in its attempt to disprove the belief that the biggest polluters are manufacturers. Greenpeace noted that Google says that it is conscious of the need to use renewable sources of electricity to power cloud computing, but it does not acknowledge the size of its carbon footprint. The company claims it has seven data centers worldwide, but it is estimated to have 20 to 30.

Morgan quotes data from a 2008 report by the International Energy Agency and cited by the World Coal Association, now known as the The World Coal Institute, that showed coal plants produce over 40 percent of the global electricity. The Institute determined that United States receives half of its power from coal plants. Some other countries use more coal such as South Africa, Poland and China. "The world is still dependent on non-renewable energy sources – coal and nuclear with a smattering of oil and gas – to generate electricity," he says, suggesting the IT companies should not be singled out.In a response to the report, Timothy Prickett Morgan criticized Greenpeace for focusing on data centers which are responsible for using about 3 per cent of the US power generation and globally accounts for 1.5 to 2 percent. He noted that "the data centers of Amazon, Google, Yahoo!, Facebook, Twitter, IBM, Hewlett-Packard, Microsoft, Apple, and Akamai . . . are probably not much different from the business where you work every day when it comes to dependency on coal for electricity generation. And ditto for the home that you return to every night."

Morgan is also critical of Greenpeace's methodology in gathering the data, as it included only a sample of the data centers of these companies, and some that were not yet completely operational. He noted that because the companies were not always cooperative in disclosing information, Greenpeace estimated a portion of the data. He said that the reader has to "drill down into the report" to see the the complete picture.

Another criticism of Greenpeace is its definition of coal and nuclear power as "dirty energy". Because it does not discharge greenhouse gases, nuclear power is rated more favorably than coal by some environmental organizations. Greenpeace is adamantly against nuclear power's radiation risks.

California employees owe state US$13.3 million in unpaid loans

The California Controller's office reports that eleven state agencies have given US$13.3 million in pay and travel advances that have not been collected.

Governor Jerry Brown issued an executive order to recover uncollected loans by the agencies. A press release from the governor's office states, "The Governor’s Executive Order seeks to recover taxpayer dollars by directing state agencies and departments to clear salary and travel advances within 30 days through an expense claim." Any outstanding balance will be deducted from employees' paychecks under the governor's order after the 30 days.

Under California state law, state employees are permitted to receive advances for hardship, travel, and other circumstances. These advances cannot be collected by agencies after three years without the employee's consent.

State Controller John Chiang said in a statement, "The state’s poor debt collection and accounting practices are fleecing public coffers at a time when vital public programs are being decimated by unprecedented budget cuts." Chiang's office expects there will be more money unaccounted for, including some from the California Highway Patrol (CHP). California state law mandates that anyone convicted of driving under the influence of alcohol is required to pay for the investigation. The CHP has not collected this money.

The California Department of Transportation, also called Caltrans, has the largest debt of the eleven agencies: $3.2 million. Cal Fire, or the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, "had an outstanding balance of $1.44 million as of June 30, 2008. An overwhelming portion of that balance was related to employee salary and travel advances," according to a controller's office audit.

Chiang's office had informed former California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger there were outstanding debts, but Schwarzenegger's administration did not take action.

All eleven agencies have agreed to hand over any delinquent accounts to the controller's office, who will collect these debts.

Massachusetts study finds links between bullying and family violence

Both bullies and their victims are linked with an increased incidence of violence in the home, according to a report on Massachusetts middle and high school students released on Thursday.

In a survey of 5,807 students in 138 schools covering incidents in the past year, about 25 percent of middle school students and 16 percent of high school students reported being bullied at school.

Between 13 to 15 percent of victims of bullying said they had seen violence in their families or been physically injured by a family member during the same time frame.

Students who were identified as being both bullied and victimized by a bully (called "bully-victims" in the study) were the most likely to report they had been physically injured by a family member, compared to those who said they were neither a victim nor a bully. They also reported a higher frequency of suicidal ideation or attempted suicide than victims or bullies who were not bully-victims.

"Sometimes, people who we have thought of as perpetrators are actually very vulnerable themselves," said John Auerbach, Commissioner of Massachusetts Department of Public Health whose agency collected survey data on 5,807 middle and high school students for the study.

Last year a 15-year-old Massachusetts student Phoebe Prince of South Hadley committed suicide, focusing the state on the issue of bullying. In May 2010 Massachusetts passed legislation outlawing bullying in school and online, outlining procedures for the investigation and reporting of bullying, and establishing school programs to prevent retaliation. This study was completed a year later.The results, analyzed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, also confirmed prior findings that bulling is associated with an increased incidence of suicidal ideation and attempted suicide, poor grades and drug abuse. The CDC said the report is the first detailed, state-level analysis of the risk factors for school bullying.

The finding that there is a link between bullying and family violence shows the importance of involving families in programs and strategies addressing bullying.

"A comprehensive approach that encompasses school officials, students and their families is needed to prevent bullying among middle school and high school students," said CDC researchers.

Qur'an-burning pastor jailed after mosque protest barred

A controversial Florida pastor who had planned a demonstration outside a Michigan mosque Friday evening was briefly jailed after a court decided the protest would cause a breach of the peace and he refused to post a "peace bond" of US$1 required by the judge.

Fifty-nine-year-old Terry Jones, the pastor of a small church in Gainesville, Florida whose burning of the Qur'an sparked deadly protests in Afghanistan earlier this month, was denied a permit to stage a protest against "radical Islam" in front of the Islamic Center of America in Dearborn, Michigan, where one of the largest communities of Muslims in the US is located. Dearborn police cited concerns about violence and offered alternate sites for the protest, which Jones rejected, saying his protest would go ahead as planned.

Prosecutors, concerned about possible violence, went to court on Thursday to obtain a ruling from Dearborn District Judge Mark Somers to prevent the protest. Somers conducted a one-day trial on Friday. At the trial, Jones argued that any limitations on his planned protest violated his free speech rights protected by the First Amendment of the US Constitution. "The First Amendment is only valid if it allows us to say what other people may not like," Jones said in court. "Otherwise, we do not need the First Amendment."

The six-person jury reached the verdict that Jones was "likely to breach the peace" if he went ahead with his demonstration.

Prosecutors requested the judge require a $25,000 bond. Judge Somers ordered Jones and supporter Wayne Sapp, 42, to pay a $1 peace bond and agree to stay away from the mosque for a period of three years. "The peace bond is to prohibit free speech," said Sapp. Both initially refused to pay the peace bond and were remanded to the county jail. Prosecutors said that if they refused to pay, they might be jailed for up to three years. Both later paid the bond and were released.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) had filed a motion for the case to be dismissed on the basis that Jones could not be forced to post a bond making him pay for police protection. An ACLU spokesperson said, "It is unconstitutional to put a price on free speech in anticipation that the speech may not be welcome by others". Robert Sedler, a professor of constitutional law at Wayne State University, agreed, saying the US Supreme Court has determined that it was unconstitutional to require a bond for police protection.

U.S. drones enter Libya conflict

The first attacks carried out by United States Predator drones in Libya reportedly occurred today, as the Pentagon confirmed a strike carried out by the U.S. Air Force but declined to give further details.

According to Pentagon spokesperson Darryn James, a captain in the U.S. Navy, the attack happened sometime Saturday, but withheld other information. According to the Pentagon, "common practice" regarding drone operations is to provide no more information than to confirm an attack.

Robert Gates, the US Defense secretary, announced Thursday that President Barack Obama had given permission for drones to be used in the conflict due to their "unique capabilities." Previously, drones had been used only in a surveillance role.

General James Cartwright, an official with the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, said that drones have an "ability to get down lower and therefore, to be able to get better visibility, particularly on targets that have started to dig themselves into defensive positions," a benefit in Libya, where pro-Gaddafi forces are increasingly taking cover near civilian populations. Drones are able to make more precise attacks, which lowers the risk of civilian casualties in such areas.

Apple collecting location data from iPhone, iPad

Apple Inc.'s iPhone and iPad periodically send location information back to the company, according to new reports. The data is transmitted to a secure database that only it can access, Apple claims.

Bruce Sewell, an attorney for Apple, sent a letter to two US Representatives last year, discussing the company's data collection techniques and policies. The thirteen-page letter states that location information is recorded and sent to Apple every twelve hours, but only if the user enables the device's location settings.

Apple began building a location database of its own when it decided to stop using similar services offered by Google & SkyHook Wireless. Location data is used in social networking applications and call routing.

In a statement to the Associated Press, Democratic Massachusetts Representative Edward Markey said, "Apple needs to safeguard the personal location information of its users to ensure that an iPhone doesn't become an iTrack."

Such data collection is not unique to Apple. Google's Android operating system uses similar technology to provide location-based services to its users. Google has said that it also uses the data collected to provide accurate traffic data through its "Maps" applications on both Apple and Android devices. However, the company declined to comment on the latest findings regarding its data collection.

Apple was also recently in the spotlight after it was discovered that the iPhone and iPad were retaining location data on the device itself. This information is collected in an unencrypted file and is not transmitted elsewhere. The data file reportedly contains a variety of information, including longitude and latitude, cell phone tower identification data, wireless hotspot identification, and timestamps.

Murderer of road accident victim sentenced to death

Yao Jiaxin, a 21-year-old student at the Xi'an Conservatory of Music, was sentenced to death on Friday. Yao, from Xi'an in China's Shaanxi province, was convicted of homicide after stabbing a cyclist to death.

On the night of October 20, 2010, Yao ran into 26-year-old cyclist and mother of a two-year-old, Zhang Miao, while driving his car. After he saw her writing down his vehicle's license plate number following the accident, he feared she would report him, and proceeded to murder her by stabbing her six times. Prior to her murder, Zhang had suffered only minor injuries in the accident, according to police.

On October 23, after being accused of murdering her, Yao went to the local police station with his parents and confessed to the crime. He said he killed Zhang because she had seen his license plate number, and he feared that the "peasant woman would be hard to deal with."

During a three-hour trial on March 23, 2011, Yao's lawyer pleaded for a lenient sentence, saying it was a "crime of passion." Yao tearfully described how he had been forced to play the piano, leading him to thoughts of suicide. But prosecutors and judges said Yao did not deserve leniency, as he had not attempted to help the woman after the accident but instead murdered her.

Public passions were raised and some thought Yao would get off through the influence of his family. The case triggered a public debate over the death penalty.

"The motive is extremely despicable ... the measures are extremely cruel ... and the consequence is extremely serious," said the court in its judgment.

Netanyahu pushed previous prime minister Olmert to attack Iran, according to Wikileaks cables

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu actively pushed for a military strike on Iran, according to a report published in the Israeli newspaper Haaretz on Thursday.

A document revealed by Wikileaks, dated July 20, 2007, shows that Mr. Netanyahu, leader of the Likud party, urged an attack on Iran in exchange for joining the government at the time, led by Ehud Olmert.

Mr. Netanyahu's request was made as part of discussions to form a government of national unity between Likud and Mr. Olmert's Kadima party, according to the leaked cable, classified as "confidential" and penned by Marc. J. Sievers, who was at the US embassy in Tel Aviv as a political counselor.

An advisor to Mr. Netanyahu told American officials at the time that the Likud leader was willing to take the post of foreign minister, while Mr. Olmert would have become prime minister.

However, Mr. Netanyahu demanded military action against Iran as the price for his participation in the proposed coalition. According to the advisor cited in the US cable, Mr. Netanyahu urged the Kadima leader to "galvanize Israel for action against Iran."

Israel has previously entertained the possibility of military strikes to prevent Iran from attaining nuclear weapons capability. In November 2010, Iran announced uranium enrichment activities had been disrupted by the Stuxnet computer virus. The Iranian government later accused the US and Israel of responsibility for the malware.

Israel and Western powers have accused Iran, whose president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, has called for Israel to be "wiped off the map," of seeking to obtain nuclear weapons under the guise of a civilian nuclear program.

UK newspapers face libel, privacy action over murder coverage

Six UK newspapers are facing actions claiming libel and breach of privacy from Chris Jeffries, a man who attracted intense media coverage when arrested in December for the murder of Joanna Yeates. Jeffries was subsequently released and a different man has been charged instead.

Lawyer Louis Charalambous says Jeffries "seeks vindication of his reputation for the terrible treatment he received" from six newspapers – The Sun,The Daily Mirror, The Daily Star, The Daily Express, The Daily Mail, and The Daily Record. The papers all covered the man's arrest following the discovery of a body near the Clifton area of Bristol, England, on Christmas Day; Yeates had been missing from her flat since December 17. Jeffries was the flat's landlord.

Another man who shared the Clifton address – Vincent Tabak – was later arrested when police eliminated Jeffries from any involvement with the murder. Tabak's next court appearance is set for May 4 and the trial is scheduled to take place in October.

Media coverage of Jeffries attracted criticism at the time; Roy Greenslade wrote for The Guardian that the suspect was facing "a character assassination" and Attorney General Dominic Grieve warned papers they may be in breach of contempt of court legislation. Although no prosecutions have been launched to date, Grieve recently succeeded in an action claiming contempt of court by two of the papers targeted by Jeffries – The Sunand The Daily Mail – over their coverage of a different murder.

In addition to the six national papers that have received writs, action is anticipated against several local papers. "Mr Jefferies will not be making any statement about these claims until their conclusion, which he hopes will be in the very near future," according to his legal team at solicitors Simons Muirhead and Burton.

Charalambous has previously sued all the papers except The Daily Record - alongside The Sunday Express, The London Evening Standard, Metro,The Sunday Mirror, The News of the World and The Scotsman - while representing Robert Murat, over in excess of 100 "seriously defamatory" articles linking him to the disappearance of Madeleine McCann. In 2008 Murat received £600,000 and an apology, as well as a separate undisclosed amount from broadcaster BSkyB.

All US states could have smoke-free laws by 2020

Government officials have predicted that by 2020, all US states will have bans on indoor smoking in private sector bars and restaurants, the chief sources of secondhand smoke, if the current rate of progress in enacting smoking bans continues.

In a press release issued yesterday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that by December 31, 2010 there were 26 states with broad indoor smoking bans, covering workplaces, bars and restaurants, while an additional 10 states had banned smoking in one or two specific indoor areas. Cumulatively, these restriction cover almost one half of the country's population, 47.8 percent, while a remaining 88 million nonsmokers are still exposed to secondhand smoke yearly, including half of all children over three years old.

In comparison, in 2000 there were no states that had broad indoor smoking bans.

Some states have enacted less restrictive laws, such as requiring separate ventilation systems for smoking areas. Southern and western states are lagging in implementing smoking bans. Florida, Louisiana, and North Carolina have banned smoking in two of the three sectors. Currently there are only seven states having no state wide restrictions on indoor smoking, although some have local ordinances. These are Indiana, Kentucky, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas, West Virginia, and Wyoming, according to the CDC.

The full report was published in this week's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

Secondhand smoke is a known cause of a number of diseases including lung cancer and heart disease. The Surgeon General's report of 2010 says, "tobacco smoke damages every organ in the body, resulting in disease and death."

Dr. Thomas R. Frieden, director of the CDC said, "Eliminating smoking from work sites, restaurants and bars is a low-cost, high-impact strategy that will protect nonsmokers and allow them to live healthier, longer, more productive lives while lowering health care costs associated with secondhand smoke."In the press release, Ursula Bauer of the CDC, said that secondhand smoke is the cause of 46,000 heart disease deaths and 3,400 lung cancer deaths yearly in nonsmokers. "Completely prohibiting smoking in all public places and workplaces is the only way to fully protect nonsmokers from secondhand smoke exposure," she said.

The American Heart Association issued a statement: "We must zero in on those areas that continue to lag despite studies that show smoke-free policies benefit public health and the local economy with lower health care costs."

Gary Nolan of the Smokers Club, a smoker's rights group, said, "It wouldn't surprise me if they prevailed." He noted that heavy pressure is being applied to bars and restaurants by public health officials to ban smoking. "It's just a little bit more liberty slipping away at the hands of big government."

Amazon server outage affects Reddit, other websites

Amazon.com's Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2) experienced outages Thursday, taking down major websites, including Reddit, Foursquare, Hootsuite, and Quora. The company reported on its Web Services "Service Health Dashboard" that it first noticed "instance connectivity, latency and error rates" at 1:41 a.m. PDT(08:41 UTC) Thursday morning.

The outage, which occurred at Amazon's northern Virginia data center, affected some of the company's USEC2 clients for much of the day. EC2, which hosts thousands of websites, is an elastic cloud computing platform.

Quora, an online knowledge market, was taken offline by the outage. Reddit, a social news site, was accessible by mid-Thursday, but was still running at limited functionality. Location-based social network Foursquare experienced disruptions in service early Thursday, but appeared to have resumed normal operation by the afternoon. Other sites, such as Hootsuite and SCVNGR, displayed error messages instead of their normal home pages.

Amazon has experienced outages before, including one in 2008 that lasted two-hour due to technical problems at a data center. The company did not comment on the cause or scope of Thursday's outage, but continued to post public updates on its health dashboard. By Thursday evening, Amazon said it had resolved most of the issues affecting EC2, but one service availability zone had still not recovered.

Riot at Sydney, Australia's Villawood Detention Centre continues

A riot at Sydney's Villawood Detention Centre continued Thursday with six protesters remaining on the roof after the centre was set alight Wednesday night in a protest involving up to 100 detainees. Nobody has been injured in the protest.

Nine demountable buildings were destroyed in the blaze, described as an "act of desperation" from asylum-seekers held at the centre for up to two years. Firefighters were pelted with roof tiles and other debris as they struggled to contain the fire.

The protest began early Wednesday, sparked by two men climbing onto the roof of the building. The remaining detainees are sitting on the roof with a large sign that reads "We need help." According to one protestor, further violence is unlikely to occur, but they will continue to stay on the roof.

Riot police were seen entering the building at approximately 9.30 a.m. AEST.

Villawood has been the site of much recent controversy, with a similar protest taking place in September last year following the death of a Fijian detainee, and a second death in November that led to a hunger strike at the centre.

France, Italy, UK sending military advisers to Libya; photojournalists killed in Misrata

France and Italy have announced along with the United Kingdom that they will be sending military advisers to help Libyan rebels in their fight against the forces of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi.

Italian Minister for Defence Ignazio La Russa said Wednesday that his country will send ten instructors. French officials said they would send fewer than ten. The British Foreign Secretary, William Hague, said they would send a team that could possibly contain up to twenty advisers.

La Russa said in a news conference that the advisers' roles had yet to be determined, "They won't be on the battlefield. They'll be mentors, they won't accompany them. Training is one thing, participation another."

He further said of the rebels, "They're rich in enthusiasm, they want to fight for liberty, but naturally they are poor in experience and arms." However, La Russa believes that not all the arms the rebels have were taken from the Libyan Army stockpiles, stating, "I don't think they only have arms from the Gaddafi army. Some help arrived." He did not elaborate on the final statement.

Meanwhile, U.S. officials say President Barack Obama's administration plans to give the Libyan opposition $25 million in non-lethal assistance. The officials say the assistance could include items such as vehicles, fuel trucks, protective vests and non-secure radios.

Libya's foreign minister, Abdul Ati al-Obeidi, criticized the dispatch of foreign military advisers, saying it will harm chances for peace in the country. In an interview with the BBC, Obeidi called for a ceasefire followed by a six month period to prepare for an election. "We think any military presence is a step backwards, and we are sure that if this bombing stopped and there is a real ceasefire we could have a dialogue among all Libyans about what they want — democracy, political reform, constitution, election. This could not be done with what is going on now," said Obeidi.

The move comes as UN officials condemn the use of cluster bombs that are in use by pro-Gaddaffi forces, a tactic banned under the Convention on Cluster Munitions, of which Libya is not a signatory.

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay stated, amidst reports of snipers attacking civilians in many towns, that use of such munitions would "inevitably lead to civilian casualties", whilst also calling for NATO forces to "exercise the utmost caution and vigilance so as not to kill civilians by mistake". Pillay praised the Libyan government for allowing on Monday a U.N. humanitarian base in the capital city of Tripoli.

Meanwhile, fighting has continued between rebel and pro-government forces this Wednesday in the besieged western port city of Misrata, where residents are pleading for international intervention.

British photojournalist Tim Hetherington, who co-directed the documentary film Restrepo, which was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature this year, died from wounds he suffered in an RPG attack in the city.

Hetherington last updated his Twitter account on Tuesday, which read, "In besieged Libyan city of Misrata. Indiscriminate shelling by Qaddafi forces. No sign of NATO."His colleagues, photographers Chris Hondros and Guy Martin were also severely wounded. Hondros suffered a severe brain injury leaving him in a critical condition and eventually succumbed to his injury at a triage center and Martin, a British citizen, was injured by shrapnel, and is now receiving vascular surgery. Another with the group, Michael Christopher Brown also received shrapnel wounds which were not life-threatening.

Leaders in the rebel-held city called for the urgent intervention of foreign ground troops to protect the 500,000 civilians there, the first such request by anyone among Libya's opposition forces. The rebels' civilian leadership, the Transitional National Council, has however rejected the presence of foreign troops on Libyan soil to help their cause.

Meanwhile, across the country, NATO airstrikes again struck government installations in several cities.

Security forces open fire on anti-government protestors in Syria

Unrest continues in Syria as security forces allegedly opened fire on 10,000 anti-government protestors in the city of Homs on Monday night; two were reported as injured.

The protest, sparked by the funerals of seventeen anti-government protestors held earlier in the day, resulted in security forces locking-down the city and ordering protestors to disband by 2:30 a.m. local time. Security forces allegedly opened fire at 2:15 a.m., also using tear gas to subdue the crowd.

This is the latest in a spate of unrest in the country and the largest protest seen in Homs, Syria's third largest city, since the unrest began a little over a month ago and comes despite an announcement from Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on Saturday promising the removal of this country's decade-long emergency laws within a week.

The Syrian interior ministry has blamed the attack on armed gangs whose objective is to establish a Salafist regime in Syria and describe the unrest as an "armed insurrection."

Human rights activists claim this statement indicates a move towards the use of harsher tactics against protestors and estimate more than 200 protesters have already been killed since the beginning of the unrest more than a month ago.

In light of the recent deaths, one activist, calling himself Abu Haider, indicated to Al Jazeera that the protestors' objective had changed from reform to regime change.

Foreign minister Walid al-Muallem claims that the reform process is underway and while peaceful protest will be tolerated, disruptive or violent actions will not.

Standard & Poor's lowers the U.S. credit outlook to 'negative'

U.S.-based credit rating agency Standard & Poor's (S&P), announced Monday its decision to downgrade its outlook for the U.S. long-term debt from "stable" to "negative", saying it is not confident the U.S. Congress and Obama administration will be able to reach an agreement to meaningfully cut the country's fast-growing budget deficit within a two-year framework.

Although the U.S. continues to have a top AAA credit rating at the moment, S&P says that there is at least a 33 percent possibility it will lower the country's long-term bond rating within the next two years. The U.S. now has $1.4 trillion budget deficit and a $14.27 trillion debt burden. Currently, payments and interest on the debt consume more than 60 percent of the U.S. gross domestic product with the amount only expected grow.

The Treasury Department predicts the country will reach its $14.29 trillion legal debt limit as early as May 16. Congress must vote to raise the debt limit within the next few weeks, or risk defaulting on debt payments. The Obama administration has said that failure to raise the debt limit will have a disastrous effect on the economy.

Last year, President Obama appointed a debt commission which produced a plan for cutting the country's budget by $3.8 trillion, over ten years, through spending reductions and tax increases. Currently, a bipartisan group of Republicans and Democrats are trying to reach a compromise over this plan. But, negotiations are currently deadlocked. Congress has failed to produce a budget for fiscal year 2011, the first time it has failed to produce a budget in 36 years, leaving the various appropriation committees no budgetary guidelines to follow.

A decrease in the nation's credit rating would make it more difficult for it to borrow money, and the money it is able to borrow would come at a higher interest rate, further increasing the national debt. The U.S. currently borrows 41 cents of every dollar it spends, according to a report released by the U.S. House of Representatives on January 19.S&P said, "Because the U.S. has, relative to its AAA peers, what we consider to be very large budget deficits and rising government indebtedness, and the path to addressing these is not clear to us, we have revised our outlook on the long-term rating to negative from stable."

Last week, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said the U.S. deficit was causing financial instability around the world. The U.S. stock market closed down 1.5 percent, with trading volume 2.3 percent lower on Monday in light of the announcement.

Schoolboy dies in Israel after bus hit by rocket from Gaza

A sixteen-year-old boy has died in hospital in Be'er Sheva, Israel of wounds he suffered after a bus he was travelling in was hit by a Palestinian missile fired from Gaza.

The bus was travelling near the town of Kibbutz Sa'ad and was nearly empty, having previously dropped off the other children on board. The only people on board were the driver and the student who was killed, Daniel Viflic. The driver was injured by shrapnel.

Viflic was taken to the intensive care unit at the Soroka Medical Center. According to Professor Shaul Sofer, who is the director of the intensive care unit, his condition had been "critical," and his death wasn’t a surprise because shortly after arrival "his brain stopped functioning."

However, Sofer explained that "due to the sensitive nature of the event," the doctors had "continued treatments despite knowing that he had no chance of recovery."

Sami Abu Zuhri, a spokesman for Hamas, said that the attack on the bus had been unintentional and that they "did not intend to target Israeli school children," going on to say that the road where the incident occurred sees heavy military traffic.

Viflic's father, Yitzhak Viflic, said that "Daniel fought but passed away calmly. I am positive he is in a good place now."