AUCKLAND - A Russian computer hacker is suspected to have set up an underground nexus in New Zealand for selling secret details of people using online social networking site Facebook.

China says quake relief efforts shift from search to reconstruction

Jason Bohn has 3-stroke lead in suspended third round of Zurich Classic

AVONDALE, La. — Jason Bohn had a three-stroke lead Saturday when third-round play in the weather-plagued Zurich Classic was suspended because of darkness.

Meteorologist: Deadly storm likely started in La. before hitting multiple Miss. cities

Oil spill looms in Gulf of Mexico after rig disaster

WASHINGTON - A major environmental disaster was looming in the Gulf of Mexico as US Coast Guard officials confirmed Saturday that the well under the site of an oil rig disaster was leaking.

Rain, storm leave thousands homeless in Brazil

Rio de Janeiro, April 25 (IANS/EFE) Incessant rain and a powerful storm have battered southern Brazil, leaving thousands of people homeless, officials said.

Emergency official: 10 killed by Miss. tornado that also obliterated homes, businesses

Seven killed in US tornado

WASHINGTON - Seven people died Saturday when a huge tornado scrubbed Louisiana and Mississippi with 240-km-an-hour winds, Mississippi officials said.

Emergency official: 9 killed by Miss. tornado that also obliterated homes, businesses

Two killed in US tornado

WASHINGTON - A tornado hit southern US state of Mississippi, killing at least two and damaging around 20 houses, authorities said.

Emergency officials: 6 killed by Miss. tornado that has also obliterated homes, businesses

Three killed as New Zealand air force helicopter crashes

WELLINGTON - At least three people were killed and one seriously injured after a helicopter of the New Zealand air force crashed, officials said Sunday.

Gov. Barbour tells AP tornado caused ‘utter obliteration’ to parts of rural Miss. county

3 dead after New Zealand military chopper crashes en route to WWI memorial flyover

In reversal, Coast Guard says oil is leaking from well at Gulf blast site

Astros RHP Roy Oswalt returns to Mississippi after storm damages childhood home

Mayor: Tornado that ripped through rural Miss. kills 2 people; several others injured

Shiite cleric warns Iraqi government he’s ready to protect the people if they can’t

6 killed by blasts in western Baghdad, day after wave of bombings killed 72

BAGHDAD — Iraqi police say six people were killed when three bombs hidden in plastic bags exploded in western Baghdad.

Tornado hits at least 3 Miss. counties; injuries unknown, but officials say extensive damage

After year of tragedies, Green considers playing in Champions Tour event

China quake toll rises to 2,203

QINGHAI - The toll in the 7.1 magnitude quake in China’s northwestern Qinghai province has risen to 2,203, officials said Saturday.

Two killed, 50 injured as thunderstorm lashes Assam

GUWAHATI - At least two people were killed and 50 injured in a devastating thunderstorm Saturday in Assam that flattened up to 1,000 homes, besides uprooting trees and electric and telephone poles, an official said.

Plans percolating to reopen some San Francisco creeks that last saw daylight in Gold Rush era

Workers go on rampage in Chhattisgarh

RAIPUR - About 500 workers went on a rampage Saturday in Chhattisgarh’s Raigarh district to protest the death of one of their colleagues in a steel plant accident, police said.

7th person dies from Washington state refinery fire, had been at Seattle hospital with burns

Man perches on electricity tower for six hours

RAIPUR - An unemployed man created a flutter Saturday as he climbed a 130-metre-high electricity tower on the outskirts of Raipur after a family tiff, police said. It took officials six hours to coax him to come down.

Student injured in ragging in Uttar Pradesh college

LUCKNOW - An engineering student in Uttar Pradesh’s Moradabad district suffered multiple injuries after he was allegedly ragged by his seniors, police said Saturday.

47 Afghan students fall sick after ‘toxic spray’

KABUL - Forty-seven girl students fell sick Saturday after some men allegedly sprayed toxic materials in their classrooms in Afghanistan’s northern Kunduz province, media reports said.

CBI has 9,000 cases pending in courts

KOLKATA - With 9,000 cases pending in courts, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has started relying on plea bargains to clear the backlog.

Nobel medal theft case can be reopened: CBI

KOLKATA - The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) may have closed the case relating to the theft of Rabindranath Tagore’s Nobel medal but was willing to reopen it if any leads came its way, a top official said Saturday.

Airlines appeal to passengers to give up seats to travelers stranded by the volcano ash crisis

Rain, choppy seas halt oil sheen cleanup near rig that exploded, sunk off Louisiana coast

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NASCAR plans Sunday doubleheader after severe-weather threat wipes out Saturday at Talladega

Weather woes cancel Saturday action at Talladega

Arrested medical council chief faced tax, CBI raids earlier

NEW DELHI - Medical Council of India president Ketan Desai, arrested by Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) Friday in a corruption case, was raided earlier by the bureau and income tax sleuths, a CBI source said Saturday.

Cases of violence against women need speedy trial: Vyas

AHMEDABAD - Cases of trafficking and violence against women should be fast tracked, National Commission for Women (NCW) Chairperson Girija Vyas said Saturday.

Iranian cleric says alms, prayer prevent earthquakes; sermon followed by 4 moderate temblors

Iranian cleric: Alms and prayer prevent quakes

Rajasthan suicides: Four community panchayat members held

KARAULI - Four members of a community panchayat have been arrested after four members of a family and their neighbour committed suicide in Bajna Khurd village in Rajasthan’s Karauli district, police said Saturday.

CBI hopeful of catching Dawood

KOLKATA - Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) Director Ashwani Kumar Saturday said the agency was hopeful of catching mafia don Dawood Ibrahim, a prime accused in the 1993 Mumbai blasts and who continues to be on the wanted lists of Interpol and the UN.

Fourth fire in scrap market in two weeks, probe sought

NEW DELHI - A fire broke out Saturday in the Mundka scrap market in west Delhi - the fourth in the area in the last two weeks, prompting fire service officials to seek a probe into the incidents.

China pledges monasteries will be focus of rebuilding work in predominantly Tibetan quake zone

China pledges to repair quake-damaged monasteries

Two girls gangraped, three arrested

GREATER NOIDA - Two girls were gangraped after being lured to an apartment in Greater Noida, a satellite town of the Indian capital, police said Saturday. Three of the four culprits have been arrested.

Davy’s extradition after Dannish court case is over: CBI

KOLKATA - Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) Director Ashwani Kumar Saturday said Purulia armsdrop mastermind Kim Davy’s extradition to India would have to wait till the judicial process is over in Denmark as the accused had gone to court against the move.

Iran offers amnesty to Sunni insurgents who abandon violence after arrest group’s leader

Iran offers amnesty to Sunni insurgents

TEHRAN, Iran — Iran is offering amnesty to several hundred Sunni militants whose small-scale insurgency in the southeast had destabilized the border region with Pakistan, a local government official said.

‘Brave cops’ to travel free on Haryana buses

CHANDIGARH - Policemen who win gallantry awards in Haryana will be allowed free travel on Haryana Roadways buses, Transport Minister O.P. Jain said Saturday.

Amnesty slams UAE for ‘torturing’ Indians

ABU DHABI - Amnesty International has urged the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to investigate the alleged torture and forced confession of 17 Indian prisoners accused of killing a Pakistani.

Fourth fire in Delhi scrap in two weeks

NEW DELHI AP - A fire broke out Saturday in the Mundka scrap market in west Delhi - the fourth such incident in the area in the last two weeks, an official said.

Unauthorized use of flags barred

CHANDIGARH - Unauthorized use of beacon lights or national flags on motor vehicles will now invite penal action in Punjab, an official said Saturday.

Anti-US Shiite cleric calls on followers to defend themselves, places of worship after attacks

Shiite cleric calls on followers to defend mosques

Blast that killed American soldier on Afghan base this week was suicide attack, US says

President Barack Obama, daughter Sasha Obama and wife