LIVE! Ecuador quake toll rises to nearly 650

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Sat, 23 April 2016

Ecuador quake toll rises to nearly 650

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23:40 Ecuador quake toll rises to nearly 650

The death toll from Ecuador's devastating magnitude 7.8 earthquake has risen to 646 people, President Rafael Correa said, as dozens of aftershocks shook cities and towns around the country, spooking residents but causing no further damage.

Last Saturday's quake, the worst in nearly seven decades, injured 12,492 people and left 130 missing, emergency management authorities said in a bulletin.

Read this story HERE

A phone call that bomb blasts will take place in a prominent hotel in the national capital today send the security officials into a tizzy, police said. The call was received at the reception of the five-star hotel in New Delhi district at around 7.15 pm.

The caller said that explosives have been planted in the parking lot and on the second floor of the building which would go off at 8 pm, a senior police official said, adding that the hotel staff immediately informed the police.

Police teams, including bomb disposal squads, were sent to the spot and a thorough check was conducted but no explosives were found, the official said.

AIADMK supremo and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa today asserted her party would take "continuous steps" to attain a separate homeland for Tamils in Sri Lanka and demand that the Centre grant dual citizenship for refugees from the island nation living in the state.

Addressing a huge election rally here, she said she has been continuously demanding an independent, international probe over war crimes and alleged genocide against Tamils in Sri Lanka.

"So as to enable Sri lankan Tamils live with full freedom and self-respect and to attain a separate Eelam, continuous steps will be taken," she said. Launching a diatribe against arch rival DMK over the Sri Lankan Tamils issue, she alleged that DMK and Congress were together responsible for the destruction of Sri Lankan Tamils.

"We will urge the central government to confer dual citizenship on Sri Lankan Tamils living here so that they can easily get job opportunities," she said.

Acting on strict instructions given by the Election Commission, police have arrested many persons for their alleged involvement in post poll violence in West Bengal. On April 21, third phase of election, 11 cases were recorded and till now 13 persons have been arrested in constituencies that went to polls that day, the poll panel said today.

"On April 22, six incidents of post poll violence took place in third phase constituencies in which till now seven persons have been arrested," the EC said. In the entire state yesterday, a total 29 specific cases were registered and 26 persons have been arrested, it added.

"The commission is following up with the Chief Electoral Officer of West Bengal and Director General of Police each incident of post poll violence. As a result of the follow-up the police authorities have arrested accused persons in post poll violence cases in the past two days," the EC said.

Punjab's dreaded separatist outfit Khalistan Liberation Force militant Davinder Pal Singh Bhullar, a convict in 1993 Delhi bomb blast case, was today released on 21-day parole after nearly 23 years behind the bars. Bhullar was convicted in connection with the killing of nine people and injuring of 31 in a bomb blast in 1993.

Among those who survived the attack are former Youth Congress chief M S Bitta. Behind the bars following his conviction in the case, Bhullar is undergoing life imprisonment after the Supreme Court commuted his death sentence. He was sentenced to death by a designated TADA court on August 25, 2001.

Bhullar's wife Navneet Kaur, along with her relatives, received him when he was released from jail custody today. Bhullar was shifted to Amritsar Central Jail from Delhi's Tihar Jail in June last year.

After being shifted from Delhi's Tihar Jail, within a week he was admitted to local Swami Vivekananda Drug De-addiction Centre from Amritsar Central Jail.

Laying a firm emphasis on improving tourism in the border areas of Jammu and Kashmir, Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti on Saturday gave a clarion call for peace between New Delhi and Islamabad, asserting that if US could mend ties with Iran then why can't India take a similar step.

During her visit to villages near Suchetgarh border to promote tourism, she said that violence at the border and incidents of bullets being fired immediately makes headlines, but the news of border folks sharing land and water seldom grabs attention.

"Now Iran and US have become friends. It is said that Muslims oppose US, but Muslim nations are friends of US. If Iran and US can become friends after so many years, then why can't India and Pakistan be friends. A message of friendship should go from Jammu and Kashmir and not of violence," she told media persons.

19:57 Owaisi denied permission to enter Azamgarh

AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi has been denied permission to hold any events in Azamgarh district in Uttar Pradesh tomorrow, due to the current state of communal tension in the nearing Mubarakpur city.

"The district administration is scared. I was in two districts today and there were absolutely no issues. But Mulayam Yadav is the MP from Azamgarh, so they are scared and there is pressure on the administration," Owaisi told ANI.

A violent scuffle broke out at a snack stall yesterday in Mubarkpur after food was allegedly served on papers which quoted the Quran.

In a shocking incident, a 22-year-old man allegedly attempted suicide by slitting his throat in full public view at a temple in northwest Delhi's Bharat Nagar area this morning.

The man, identified as Shankar Chaudhary, a native of Bihar's Gaya district, was rushed to a hospital. He is out of danger now, DCP (Northwest) Vijay Singh said. The police are investigating the matter from all possible angles, including that of "human sacrifice". According to police, the incident took place around 9.30 am today when Chaudhary went to a temple in Bharat Nagar area.

He suddenly fished out a knife from his pocket and slit his throat, amid scores of devotees inside the temple premises. The police was informed and Chaudhary was rushed to Sunderlal Jain Hospital and later referred to a Trauma Centre.

A thorough inspection of the place was conducted but no suicide note was recovered.

With the help of locals, police identified Chaudhary and he turned out to be a labourer who stays at a rented accommodation in Sawan Park extension of Bharat Nagar.

He is married and has a one-year-old son. His family stays in Bihar and they have been informed about the matter.

After flying through Bahrain, Egypt, France, Portugal and Canada, 12 IAF aircraft, including the Russian origin Su30 MKI, reached the United States to take part in the prestigious Red Flag air exercise.

The planes, which arrived in Eielson Air Force Base in Alaska, will take part in the exercise starting on April 28 and will undertake war games along with NATO forces. Four each of Sukhois and deep penetration Jaguars, two C17 transport plans and two mid air refuellers IL 78 travelled through Bahrain, Egypt, France, Portugal and Canada before finally reaching Alaska.

The air exercise, which will last till May 13, is seen as a complex and advanced network centric operation -- the toughest test for flying machines and men. This is the second time that India is participating in such an exercise after 2008.

A local Shiv Sena leader today stoked a controversy by saying that Bhumata Brigade chief Trupti Desai would be hit with "slippers" if she tried to enter the Haji Ali Dargah but the gender equality campaigner said that she will go ahead with the plan on April 28.

Shiv Sena leadership, however, distanced themselves from the comment of Arafat Shaik saying "be it a man or a woman, all have equal rights to enter any religious place."

"If she (Desai) speaks about entering the Haji Ali Dargah, she will be welcomed with a 'prasad' of chappals. She cannot be allowed to enter the mazar at any cost," Shaik told reporters here.

"Shaik's comments of hitting Tupti Desai with chappals were made in his personal capacity. This is not the official stand of the party. Our stand is that whether it is a temple or a dargah men and women have equal rights to pray in them," Sena spokesperson Neelam Gorhe said.

"Also, once the High Court has given a decision it has to be implemented by the government and the police. Thus, it will be wrong to obstruct a woman's entry into any religious institution," she said.

Left surprised by the Rajya Sabha nomination, star Indian woman boxer M C Mary Kom today said she does not have the time to think about her new role right now as her focus is on qualifying for the Olympics.

London Olympics bronze-medallist Mary Kom said it was a great honour to be nominated for the Rajya Sabha but she would not put herself under pressure by thinking about the role she would play in the Parliament. "It was a great honour to be nominated for Rajya Sabha. It was a sudden development and I was surprised. When I was told that I would be nominated for the Rajya Sabha, I started thinking what would I do as an MP," Mary Kom told reporters at an event to name Bollywood superstar Salman Khan as Goodwill Ambassador of the Indian contingent for the Rio Olympics.

"I have not qualified for the Olympics yet and till I qualify for the Olympics, I am not going to think about what would be my role as a Parliamentarian. Doing that will put pressure on me in my effort for the Rio qualification. So, my sole focus is now to qualify for the Rio Olympics," said the 33-year-old five-time world champion.

Budget carrier SpiceJet has terminated the services of a commander for allegedly making an airhostess sit in the cockpit with him and asking the co-pilot to sit out during one of its flights to Bangkok from Kolkata and back.

The pilot-in-command has been sacked for violating aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation's safety norms after following due process, SpiceJet said in statement. As per air safety rules of the DGCA, no other person is allowed entry into the cockpit other than the DGCA officials and the officials nominated by it.

The sacked commander reportedly not only allowed the airhostess to occupy his seat but also used some "abusive" language against the cabin crew chief that led her to file an official complaint with SpiceJet. "With respect to the present case, we wish to inform you that we have internal complaint committee in place which is mandated by The Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (prevention, prohibition and redressal) Act, 2013," SpiceJet said in its statement.

Asserting that Indian Navy has contributed significantly to the nation's geopolitical and developmental aspirations, Navy chief Admiral R K Dhowan today said indigenisation programme for platforms, weapons, sensors and equipment should remain an area of focus for the force.

Addressing the bi-annual Naval Commanders' Conference, which commenced on April 21, Dhowan addressed the Navy's top leadership on myriad issues including enhancing operational readiness of the Commands, infrastructure development, human resource management, coastal security, cyber security and foreign cooperation initiatives. He revisited the thrust areas as also the importance of the C3I model '" Commitment, Compassion, Credibility and Integrity '" to keep focus on defined goals and maintain the navy on the correct track.

He said that the Navy has contributed significantly to the nation's geopolitical and developmental aspirations.

Emphasising that combat readiness of the fleet and other operational formations is of prime importance, the admiral said focused efforts, as hitherto, are required at all levels to ensure sustained growth of the Navy into a formidable multi-dimensional force.

The Pakistani Taliban on Saturday responsibility for the assasination of a prominent Sikh politician who was shot dead by motorcycle-borne gunmen near his home in Pakistan's restive northwest.

The Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan in a statement said that sharp shooter of Special Task Force of TTP "successfully" targeted Sardar Sooran Singh in his home district Buner. The TTP also threatened its "Mujahideen would continue to target the people creating hurdles in its mission."

"Such activities would continue till the enforcement of Islamic system in the country," the terror outfit said.

Singh, the Special Assistant to Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Minority Affairs, was assassinated in Pir Baba area of Buner district in the province when he was going back to his home after a routine walk on Friday.

Delhi Police constable has highlighted the poor working condition, lack of respect and very few promotion opportunities for the lower ranks in a letter addressed to the police commissioner.

Delhi Police has submitted a plea to the grievance cell on behalf of the constabulary.In the letter, a constable has written that he has been serving the force at the same rank for the past 25 years while most of his colleagues have been promoted to the rank of Sub Inspector.

The constable has requested Delhi Police Commissioner Alok Verma to regulate and fix the working hours. He has also complained about the exploitation of junior officials at the hands of seniors.

In the letter the constable claims that not many people want to join as constables because of corruption and working hours. He wants fixed working hours in a week. "We cannot work as a puppet in the hand of SHO. SHO manipulates, terrifies us in the name of working hour," he said in his letter.

17:07

JUST IN: Uttarakhand Speaker seeks dismissal of plea of nine Congress MLAs in high court against their disqualification from the assembly.

16:29 After train For Latur, Prabhu offers dam water to Thane, Navi Mumbai

After water trains for drought-ravaged Latur in Marathwada, Railways Minister Suresh Prabhu has now ordered that water from railway dams be released to tackle water crisis in Thane and Navi Mumbai.

"Rail dam in Thane dist is helping Navi Mumbai by supplying water, we will do the same for Thane by supplying water to the Municipal Corpn," the minister tweeted yesterday.

Water from these dams, used by the Railways for its daily needs, will now be released to civic bodies in Thane and Navi Mumbai.

Ola, which is facing intense competition from its global rival Uber and attempts to restrict its business from several state governments, now has to deal with an angry mob of users online who are expressing disgust over the brands blatantly sexist advertisement.

In an ad titled 'Too expensive to take GF out on a date?' uploaded on YouTube, Ola tries to bolster the fact that its newly introduced Micro service is so cheap, that the hole it burns in your pocket (assuming that youre an unmarried male) is negligible in comparison to the sinkhole your girlfriend creates.

Meri girlfriend chalti hai Rs 525 per km, but Ola Micro chalti hai sirf Rs 6 per km, says the protagonist of the advert, somehow suggesting that Olas cheap rates restore the balance in this twisted universe. This blatant use of sexism has now drawn the ire of hundreds of users whove taken to Twitter to protest Olas distaste.

Ola has since taken down the video from its YouTube channel.

Members of Parliament from Tamil Nadu's AIADMK and West Bengal's Trinamool Congress, numbering in scores, will be missing the action from Monday onwards when part two of the Budget session of Parliament commences.

These MPs are busy canvassing for their respective party candidates contesting in assembly seats falling in their parliamentary constituencies. Thus, the second part of the Budget session is expected to be a lacklustre and unimpressive one.

Moreover, the Congress, which is dwindling in many states, is also likely to keep a low profile in the Lok Sabha till the five state assembly election results are announced.

Commonwealth Games gold medallist Vinesh Phogat was probably India's best bet to earn an Olympic berth in the women's wrestling at the 1st Olympic qualifier in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.

But the 21-year-old would not even compete in the competition after failing to make the weight during the mandatory weight. Vinesh, who competes in the 48kg category, missed the mark by around 400 grams and hence does not figure in the draw for the event to be held today, according to sources.

Ousted Uttarakhand Chief Minister Harish Rawat has decided to go on a padyatra on April 25, protesting BJP's attempt of horse-trading in the state. He said, "BJP claims of having a majority. Want to ask them on what math do they've majority? Let everyone know."

Yesterday, the Supreme Court stayed the HC's verdict on the President's rule in the state.

Before passing a brief order, a bench comprising Justices Dipak Misra and Shiva Kirti Singh recorded an undertaking given by Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi that the 'Union of India shall not revoke the Presidential proclamation till the next date of hearing'.

The apex court clarified that it was keeping in abeyance the judgment of the high court till the next date of hearing on April 27 as a measure of balance for both the parties as the copy of the verdict was not made available to the parties.

14:29 Celebrations begin for Shakespeare anniversary

A stellar line-up of actors and performers will be marking the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare's death at events across the UK this weekend.

David Tennant will host a BBC celebration on Saturday night live from the Royal Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon. The event will be attended by Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall.

US President Barack Obama will visit London's Globe Theatre on Saturday morning as part of the celebrations.

13:51 Modi-Shah show their hand with RS names

The approach and mindset of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP chief Amit Shah are revealed by the selection of the six Presidential nominations to the Rajya Sabha, which Rediff.com had scooped a full 24 hours earlier ('Swamy, Sidhu, Mary Kom, Swapan Dasgupta among six nominated to RS'), and BJP insiders are giving various interpretations to the same.

Senior BJP leaders also speculate if the same formula will be followed while expanding both the Union Council as well the partys central team.

It is clear that Modis focus is on the five states that are currently in election mode, as each nominee comes from these regions.

Secondly, the preference seems to be for those who have been more vocal on Sonia-Rahul.

The third message Modi has sent out is that he does not consult senior colleagues, and draws his own conclusions on personalities to fill the vacancies.

While Swamy and Sidhus names may come as a shocker to a few, it should be noted that they will not be under the leadership of Arun Jaitley, leader of the Rajya Sabha. Nominated MPs have no leader in the Rajya Sabha, their respect and loyalty being to the President who has appointed them.

Incidentally, Modi has managed to enthuse a section of the BJP by bringing in columnist Swapan Dasgupta. But the point is, Swapanda will now have to quit as government nominee on the L&T board, as it would be deemed an office of profit.

Even as the Uttarakhand saga continues, with the Supreme Court staying the HC's verdict on President's rule in the state, several Union ministers and other members of Parliament are heading to Uttarakhand.

However, it's not for the reason you think. Quite a few are heading to the state not to involve in the political drama, but to attend a wedding of a family member from a well-known real estate company.

Incidentally and only incidentally, this person's name figures in the Panama Papers.

Bollywood superstar Salman Khan will be the Indian contingent's goodwill ambassador for the upcoming Rio Olympics. This is the first time that a Bollywood superstar will be a goodwill ambassador for the games. Mary Kom won the Olympic Bronze medal in the 2012 London Olympics while the likes of Sardar Singh and Ritu Rani, captains of the Men's and Women's Hockey Team, have qualified for the Rio Olympics.

13:16

JUST IN: Security tightened at Kashi Vishwanath Temple & Sankat Mochan Hanuman Temple after crude bomb found inside Varanasi court premises

12:17 Mallya's $10 million Trump Plaza deal struck just last month

As Indian banks queued up to collect nearly a billion dollars owed by his Kingfisher Airlines, Vijay Mallya struck a deal last month that would allow him to retain an apartment in the famous Trump Plaza in Manhattan. For $10 million.

The penthouse was picked up by the liquor baron as part of a series of purchases he made in the glitzy building through 2010 -- through the year, he acquired three apartments, including a penthouse in the name of his daughter Tanya.

At the time, he paid $4.6 million dollars or Rs. 21 crore ($1 = Rs 46 as per the exchange rate then) according to documents of the New York Department of Finance.

But last year, Mallya received a notice from Trump Plaza reminding him that he owed $10.1 million to retain the penthouse in his daughter's name.

The amount was Mallya's share in a settlement reached between Trump Plaza (a cooperative, where flat-owners are shareholders) and the original owners of the land on which the tower was built.

The Trump Plaza settlement comes as the Enforcement Directorate has alleged that Mallya used loans given to his now-defunct Kingfisher Airlines to buy properties abroad. The agency is in particular probing a Rs 900 crore loan Kingfisher received from state-run IDBI Bank in 2009, a year before the Trump Plaza purchases.

12:00 Realism of the second year

Year two of PM Modi's foreign policy has been marked by caution over confidence, and a 'last mile' problem.

Read full report HERE

Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump has used fake Indian accent to mock a call center representative in India.

At the same time, he described India as a great place, asserting that he is not angry with Indian leaders.

The billionaire from New York said that he called up his credit card company to find out whether their customer support is based in the US or overseas.

"Guess what, you're talking to a person from India. How the hell does that work?" he told his supporters in Delaware.

"So I called up, under the guise I'm checking on my card, I said, 'Where are you from?'" Trump said and then he copied the response from the call center in a fake Indian accent. "We are from India," Trump impersonated the response.

"Oh great, thats wonderful," he said as he pretended to hang up the phone.

"India is great place. I am not upset with other leaders. I am upset with our leaders for being so stupid," he said.

11:50 2 more arrested in Mumbai's Deonar fire

Two more people arrested by Shivaji nagar police in the Mumbai Deonar fire case taking the toll to 11. A massive blaze broke out at the dumping ground on March 20.

Singer Prince was found dead with no obvious signs of trauma to his body and there is nothing to indicate that his death was a suicide, police in Minnesota has said, a day after he was found dead at his estate.

The seven-time Grammy-winning artist was discovered slumped in an elevator at his estate in Chanhassen, southwest of Minneapolis, US, and was pronounced dead at the scene Carver County Sheriff Jim Olson said. An autopsy was conducted yesterday, but test results could take weeks, officials said.

Hinting at tougher times ahead, the government said that the water level in 91 major reservoirs across the country has fallen to 22 percent of their total capacity.

As per the water resources ministry, 34.082 billion cubic metre of water was available in these reservoirs for the week ending April 21. Their total capacity is 157.799 BCM.

The levels are 35 percent less than the stock available in the corresponding period last year and 24 percent less than the 10-year average storage levels for the same period, the ministry said.

10:33

JUST IN: Congress' Ghulam Nabi Azad and Anand Sharma have given a notice in Rajya Sabha to discuss Uttarakhand matter

10:22 Bangladesh professor hacked to death

Bangladesh's Rajshahi University professor AFM Rezaul Karim Siddiquee has been murdered within 50 metres of his residence on Saturday. Siddiquee, 58, was waiting for university transport at Battola intersection at 7:40 am when he came under attack, Sushanta Chandra Roy, assistant commissioner of Rajshahi Metropolitan Police said. Several persons swooped on Prof Siddique from behind with sharp weapons, leaving him critically injured, he said.

Leading defence and aeronautical firms of the West are reportedly worried over the success of the Tejas Trainer Jet, especially as India is expected to bag the first contracts for the trainer jet from Sri Lanka and Egypt.

The Tejas Light Combat Aircraft is a supersonic, single-seat, single-engine multirole light fighter aircraft, which has been under development for the past three decades. It has been co-developed by the Aeronautical Development Agency in cooperation with the Bengaluru-based Hindustan Aeronautics Limited.

The Sri Lanka Air Force is reportedly looking to procure 18 to 24 new fighter aircraft to replace its obsolete fleet of Chinese license-built MIG-21 by 2017, and had recently rejected Pakistan's JF-17 aircraft built with Chinese help. On the other hand, Egypt has also shown some interest in procuring the Tejas, though it had last year signed a contract to buy 24 Rafale fighter jets from France.

A ferocious Belgian Malinois could receive a gallantry award soon. The honour will come his way for being part of the elite National Security Guard commando team that took on terrorists holed up inside the Pathankot Air Force base.

During the operation, the dog displayed remarkable courage that resulted in the one of the terrorists being gunned down.

Three-year-old 'Rocket' was quick to pounce on an armed terrorist within seconds of being let loose. As the commandos saw one of the terrorists changing his position constantly, they let out Rocket.

Rocket's sudden attack took the terrorist by surprise and he lost control, making it easy for the commandos to launch the final assault.

In what is being seen as payback to Chinas move to shield Pathankot terror attack mastermind and Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar, India has granted visa to a prominent Chinese dissident leader, who has been accused of being a terrorist by Beijing, to participate in a conference in Dharamsala.

Dolkun Isa, a World Uyghur Congress leader who resides in Germany, has been invited to the conference being organised by US-based Initiatives for China.

Munich-based Dolkun Isa has been accused by Beijing of terrorism and conspiracy to kill people in Xinjiang in Chinas remote northwest. The WUC is a grouping of the Uyghur community in exile.

The Islamic State jihadist group has captured a Syrian pilot alive after shooting down his plane east of Damascus, an IS-affiliated news agency said.

Amaq news agency yesterday gave the pilot's name as Azzam Eid, from Hama. It said IS fighters had shot down his plane and found him alive after he parachuted down to the crash site.

A video posted by Amaq showed the charred remains of a plane, some parts still on fire, lying on a vast desert plain.

Several apparent IS fighters in military-style fatigues circle around the wreckage, pointing to the two-starred Syrian government flag clearly visible on one of the wings.

Syrian state news agency SANA had no immediate news on the incident.

The US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) today announced to appoint a full-time privacy and civil liberties officer, who the top spy agency said would ensure that all its missions, programmes, activities, policies and technologies protect privacy and civil liberties.

While this post has existed before, CIA Director John Brennan announced Benjamin T Huebner, roped in from the Department of Justice, would be the spy agency's first full- time privacy and civil liberties officer.

Huebner is scheduled to join his new duties on May 16.

In addition to fulfilling requirements established by statute, regulation and policy, Huebner will be CIA's primary liaison with the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board and will serve as the designated CIA Senior Agency Official for Privacy as well as the Information Sharing Environment Privacy Official, a media release said.

The United States is buying 32 metric tons of Iranian heavy water, a key component for one kind of nuclear reactor, to help Iran meet the terms of last year's landmark nuclear deal under which it agreed to curb its atomic program in exchange for billions of dollars in sanctions relief.

The State and Energy departments said a sales agreement would be signed today in Vienna by officials from the six countries that negotiated the nuclear deal.

The agreement calls for the Energy Department's Isotope Program to purchase the heavy water from a subsidiary of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, for about USD 8.6 million, officials said.

They said the heavy water will be stored at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee and then resold on the commercial market for research purposes.

A shooting at a home in the midwestern US state of Ohio has left several fatalities, news reports said today.

It happened near Peebles, which is 75 miles (120 km) east of Cincinnati, the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation said, according to local media.

Investigators were rushing to the scene. The local Fox news affiliate, quoting other media, said at least seven members of a family were killed in the shooting.

Peebles High School has been put on lockdown as a safety measure, local TV station WCPO reported.

01:16 Air strikes on Syria's Aleppo kill 25

Air strikes on rebel-held neighbourhoods in Syria's second city Aleppo today killed at least 25 people and wounded more than 40, emergency workers said.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which said regime warplanes carried out the air strikes, earlier gave a toll of 19 dead but said this was likely to rise.

An AFP correspondent in the opposition-held eastern part of the city said several districts were targeted including Bustan al-Qasr, Al-Mashad and Salhin.

Late today, two barrel bombs also hit the southern district of Bab al-Nayrab, killing an ambulance driver.

"It was a bloody, black day in Aleppo, with aircraft not leaving the sky," Bibres Mashaal, the head of civil defence in Bab al-Nayrab, said.

"Twenty-five air strikes where launched on the city, as well as barrel bombs," he said, adding they targeted residential neighbourhoods and main roads.

"Today the civil defence was fully mobilised and there were also fires," Mashaal said.

Civil defence workers also reported three people killed by artillery fire in Bustan al-Qasr, one of Aleppo's most heavily populated neighbourhoods.

London Mayor Boris Johnson, a leader of the campaign for Britain to leave the European Union, faced a flurry of criticism today for suggesting US President Barack Obama may have an "ancestral dislike of the British Empire" because of his Kenyan roots.

On a visit to the UK, Obama weighed in to Britain's debate about European Union membership, urging voters to back staying in the 28-nation bloc.

At a news conference with Prime Minister David Cameron, Obama said "I don't think the EU moderates UK influence in the world it magnifies it."

His opinion also expressed in a Daily Telegraph newspaper article angered campaigners for a "leave" vote in the June 23 referendum, who accused the president of meddling.

Johnson said Obama's advice was "paradoxical, inconsistent, incoherent" because Americans "would never contemplate anything like the EU for themselves."

01:13 Top headlines of the last hour

Kanhaiya's event venue changed under 'pressure from Sangh parivar'

SC order stops BJP from forming 'illegitimate' government: Rawat

Sikh parliamentary secretary for minority affairs shot dead in Pakistan

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