Six In The Morning Friday May 1

Nepal quake: Towns near epicentre 'devastated' - Red Cross

• 22 minutes ago
 
• From the sectionAsia

Towns and villages near the epicentre of Saturday's earthquake in central Nepal have suffered "almost total devastation", the Red Cross says.

Assessment teams say they have found survivors in a "desperate situation".

Nepal says 6,204 people are known to have died in the 7.8-magnitude quake and 13,932 were injured.

But the fate of thousands more in many remote areas remains unknown and the government has warned that the death toll could rise to more than 10,000.

Although rescue teams from Nepal and the international community are operating in the capital Kathmandu and the surrounding area, landslides and poor weather have hampered efforts to reach isolated districts.

'There was heroism and cruelty on both sides': the truth behind one of Ukraine's deadliest days

A year on from rioting and a fire in Odessa that left 48 pro-Russia activists dead, there are claims of complicity between police and activists across the divide

Howard Amos in Odessa

The emergency calls became increasingly desperate. “When are you coming? It’s already burning and there are people inside,” a woman told the fire brigade dispatcher. Minutes later, callers started describing how people were jumping from the upper floors.

“Have you lost your minds?” one man asked, his voice breaking. “There are women and children in the building!” another man yelled.

In one of the most deadly episodes in Ukraine’s turbulent 2014 power transition, 48 people were killed and hundreds injured on 2 May last year in the Black Sea port of Odessa. Street battles culminated in a fatal fire at Soviet-era building where hundreds of pro-Russia activists were barricaded in.

As the one-year anniversary approaches, multiple investigations have shed little light on events. There is not even an official list of the dead, and none of the pro-Ukraine activists involved have been put on trial. Many allege that investigators are dragging their feet for political reasons, possibly to cover up high-level complicity. At least one participant formally accused of murder and attempted murder remains free while awaiting trial.

International Workers' Day: Four countries that don’t seem to understand its significance

International Workers' Day is meant to honour workers’ rights - so for countries with atrocious labour rights to be celebrating it is a bit incongruous, to say the least

NICOLE CHANG

 

 

Friday 01 May 2015

Most countries celebrate International Workers' Day (also known as Labour Day), normally on the first day of May.

Countries like Qatar and Saudi Arabia are notorious for their lack of workers' rights and poor working conditions; perhaps unsurprisingly, International Workers' Day is not celebrated as a public holiday in either country.

For countries with poor labour rights records, celebrating International Workers' Day is a bit incongruous. But quite a few do.

Airbus to file complaint in Germany over alleged NSA spying

Latest update : 2015-05-01

Airbus Group said on Thursday it planned to complain to the German authorities over reports that the country’s foreign intelligence agency had helped the United States to spy on it and other European firms.

“We’ve asked the government for more information,” an Airbus spokesman in Germany said. “We will launch a complaint against an unknown person on suspicion of industrial espionage.”

Earlier, when asked about the reports on a call with reporters following first-quarter results, Chief Financial Officer Harald Wilhelm said he wasn’t surprised that Airbus, as a major aerospace and defence company, could be the target of spying efforts.

Brazilian court suspends Uber ride-sharing service, orders app be deleted

May 1, 2015 - 6:09PM

Asher Levine

 A Brazilian court has issued an injunction suspending the US-based online taxi service Uber, the latest setback for the company after several countries took similar steps in recent months.

The State Court of Sao Paulo ruled this that Uber, which allows users to summon a ride with their smartphones, was in violation of local transportation laws regulating the use of taxis.

The injunction ordered Uber to cease operations immediately and to ensure the app is no longer available for download from the online stores of Google, Apple, Samsung and Microsoft.

Failure to comply will result in a fine of R$100,000 ($42,000) per day, up to a limit of R$5 million, the court ruled.

North Korean diplomats cause chaos at UN event on rights

  

By CARA ANNA

A U.S.-organized event on North Korea's human rights briefly turned into chaos at the U.N. on Thursday as North Korean diplomats insisted on reading a statement of protest, amid shouts from defectors, and then stormed out.

The U.S. ambassador to the U.N., Samantha Power, tried to quiet the diplomats at the event that featured more than 20 defectors. She called North Korea's statements "totally self-discrediting."

The North Korean diplomats did not comment as they left the chamber after diplomat Ri Song Chol read out a statement in protest of the event, even as North Korean defectors stood and shouted in their faces.