Mladic awaits trial in The Hague

Former Bosnian Serb military commander Ratko Mladic has spent his first night in UN custody in the Netherlands, awaiting trial on genocide charges.

The 69-year-old was admitted to the detention unit in The Hague on Tuesday and placed in an isolation cell.
He is expected to make his initial court appearance in the next few days.
Gen Mladic is accused of atrocities committed during the Bosnian conflict in the 1990s, including the massacre of about 8,000 Muslims at Srebrenica.
The 69-year-old was seized last Thursday in the village of Lazarevo, north of Belgrade, having been on the run for 16 years.
Choice of plea
He was flown to The Hague on Tuesday after a Serbian court rejected an appeal against his extradition.
Upon his arrival, a spokeswoman for the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) said tribunal staff handed Gen Mladic his indictment and explained the rules and procedures to him.
He was then placed in an isolation cell for the night - standard practice for new arrivals at the prison.
The 69-year-old was also given a list of defence lawyers who could help him through the initial proceedings of the war crimes court, the spokeswoman said.
He was to be examined by a doctor and receive any treatment he may need before the end of Wednesday.
Gen Mladic has said he does not recognise the authority of the UN tribunal.
When he takes the stand, he will be asked to formally confirm his identity and enter a plea to each of the charges against him.

The former military commander could decline to plead at his first appearance, instead opting to delay a formal response by up to a month.

The prosecution has charged Mladic with genocide, persecution, extermination, murder, deportation, inhumane acts and cruel treatment for his alleged part in a plot to achieve the "elimination or permanent removal" of Muslims from large parts of Bosnia in pursuit of a "Greater Serbia".
He is accused of masterminding the 1995 Srebrenica massacre of about 8,000 Muslim men and boys, Europe's worst atrocity since World War II.
He is also charged over the 44-month siege of the capital Sarajevo from May 1992 in which 10,000 people died.
His lawyer had argued he was too ill to be tried. But Serbian doctors said he was fit enough to be extradited.
Gen Mladic's arrest is considered crucial to Serbia's bid to join the European Union.

Merkel plane delayed after Iran refuses passage

German Chancellor Angela Merkel's flight to India has been delayed after Iran's government refused it permission to fly over the country.

 

German Chancellor Angela Merkel did eventually land in India

Mrs Merkel's plane was forced to circle over Turkey for about two hours as a result, the German government said.
Germany has summoned the Iranian ambassador to explain the incident.
Last week saw the EU extend sanctions against Tehran over the lack of progress in talks about its nuclear programme.
"We have never experienced anything like this before," Mrs Merkel's spokesman, Steffen Seibert, said.
He said the incident was "unusual to say the least".
"Strange start to Indian trip - Iran temporarily denies overflight to chancellor's plane. Delayed landing in Delhi," he tweeted.
German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle, commenting on the decision to summon the Iranian ambassador, said: "Hindering the German chancellor's passage over Iran is absolutely unacceptable. It shows a lack of respect towards Germany that we will not accept.
"That is why I have summoned the Iranian ambassador. We shall make it very plain that such a breach of international conventions will in no way be tolerated by Germany."
It was not immediately clear why the plane was refused clearance to fly over Iran.
Officials in the German delegation travelling with the chancellor said the incident may have been due to "co-ordination problems".
A second plane with four German ministers on board was not delayed.

India: Bus crash kills '25 wedding guests'

At least 25 members of a wedding party were killed when their bus plunged into a small river in India's north-eastern state of Assam, police said.

 

The bus was reported to be carrying about 40 passengers

The bus was travelling from the state capital, Guwahati, to Kamrup district.
The incident happened when a wooden bridge that the bus was crossing collapsed and fell into the water.
Local villagers rushed to the accident site at Rajabari after the accident on Monday night and rescued six passengers from the wreckage, reports said.
The bus was reported to be carrying about 40 passengers.
Police divers arrived at the site, where many villagers had gathered, on Tuesday morning to begin the search for the missing passengers.
Bus crashes are common in India. Often caused by poorly maintained vehicles and reckless driving, they claim thousands of lives every year.

Rising food prices increase squeeze on poor

Rising food prices are tightening the squeeze on populations already struggling to buy adequate food, demanding radical reform of the global food system, Oxfam has warned.

 

The price of key crops could rise by up to 180%, Oxfam says

By 2030, the average cost of key crops could increase by between 120% and 180%, the charity forecasts.
It is the acceleration of a trend which has already seen food prices double in the last 20 years.
Half of the rise to come will be caused by climate change, Oxfam predicts.
It calls on world leaders to improve regulation of food markets and invest in a global climate fund.
"The food system must be overhauled if we are to overcome the increasingly pressing challenges of climate change, spiralling food prices and the scarcity of land, water and energy," said Barbara Stocking, Oxfam's chief executive.
Women and children
World food prices have already more than doubled since 1990, according to Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) figures, and Oxfam predicts that this trend will accelerate over the next 20 years.
In its report, Growing a Better Future, Oxfam says predictions suggest the world's population will reach 9bn by 2050 but the average growth rate in agricultural yields has almost halved since 1990.
According to the charity's research, the world's poorest people now spend up to 80% of their incomes on food - with those in the Philippines spending proportionately four times more than those in the UK, for instance - and more people will be pushed into hunger as food prices climb.
The report highlights four "food insecurity hotspots", areas which are already struggling to feed their citizens:

• Guatemala, where 865,000 people are said to be at risk of food insecurity because of a lack of state investment in smallholder farmers who are highly dependent on imported food
• India, where people spend more than twice the proportion of their income on food than UK residents - paying the equivalent of £10 for a litre of milk and £6 for a kilo of rice
• Azerbaijan, where wheat production fell 33% last year because of poor weather, forcing the country to import grains from Russia and Kazakhstan; food prices were 20% higher in December 2010 than the same month in 2009
• East Africa, where eight million people currently face chronic food shortages because of drought, with women and children among the hardest hit

Among the many factors continuing to drive rising food prices in the coming decades, Oxfam predicts that climate change will have the most serious impact.

Ahead of the UN climate summit in South Africa in December, it calls on world leaders to launch a global climate fund, "so that people can protect themselves from the impacts of climate change and are better equipped to grow the food they need".
The World Bank has also warned that rising food prices are pushing millions of people into extreme poverty.
In April, it said food prices were 36% above levels of a year ago, driven by problems in the Middle East and North Africa.
'Minority profiting'
In its report, Oxfam says a "broken" food system causes "hunger, along with obesity, obscene waste, and appalling environmental degradation".

It says "power above all determines who eats and who does not", and says the present system was "constructed by and on behalf of a tiny minority - its primary purpose to deliver profit for them".
It highlights subsidies for big agricultural producers, powerful investors "playing commodities markets like casinos", and large unaccountable agribusiness companies as destructive forces in the global food system.
Oxfam wants nations to agree new rules to govern food markets, to ensure the poor do not go hungry.
It said world leaders must:

• increase transparency in commodities markets and regulate futures markets
• scale up food reserves
• end policies promoting biofuels
• invest in smallholder farmers, especially women

"We are sleepwalking towards an avoidable age of crisis," said Ms Stocking. "One in seven people on the planet go hungry every day despite the fact that the world is capable of feeding everyone."
'Market works'
However, the report's emphasis on the importance of small farmers was challenged by Nicola Horlick, a leading British investment fund manager who has invested in farmland in Brazil, in a debate with Ms Stocking on the BBC's Today programme.
She said large mechanised farms still provided some job opportunities for local workers and created spin-off industries.
"You cannot reply on a whole lot of smallholders to feed the world - it's not going to work," she said.
"It is really important in my view that we have more investment going into farmland. There are huge tracts of farmland... that aren't being farmed."
She said the market worked because shortages increased potential profits from investing in food, which would in time being supply and demand back into balance.

Cucumber victims 'will increase'

A deadly E.coli outbreak linked to cucumbers is expected to worsen in the coming days, a scientist says.

Fourteen people have died in Germany and hundreds are ill from infections linked to contaminated vegetables.
"We hope the number of cases will go down but we fear it will worsen," said Oliver Grieve, of the University Medical Centre Schleswig-Holstein, where many victims are being treated.
It is thought cucumbers from Spain were at the origin of the outbreak.
But Spanish officials have refused to accept the blame, saying it is still unclear exactly when and where the vegetables were contaminated.
The World Health Organisation has described the outbreak as "very large and very severe" and has urged countries to work together to find the source of contamination.
Travel link
Robert Koch Institute (RKI), Germany's national disease institute, has confirmed 329 cases in the country - though some reports have mentioned as many as 1,200 cases.

Professor Mark P Stevens of The Roslin Institute explains what is E. coli O157

In Sweden, authorities said there have been 36 suspected E.coli infections, all linked to travel in northern Germany.
Cases have also been reported in Switzerland, Denmark, the Netherlands and the UK.
In many instances, the gastrointestinal infection has led to Haemolytic-uraemic Syndrome (HUS), which causes kidney problems and is potentially fatal.
Suspicion has fallen on organic cucumbers from Spain imported by Germany but then re-exported to other European countries, or exported directly by Spain.
Cucumbers from the cities of Almeria and Malaga have been identified as possible sources of contamination, according to an EU spokeswoman.
Wider ban threatened
Several countries have taken steps to curtail the outbreak, such as banning cucumber imports and removing the vegetables from sale.
They include:

• Russia, which has banned the import of tomatoes, cucumbers and salad produced in Germany and Spain, and threatened to ban all European vegetable products
• the Czech Republic and France, which have taken some Spanish-grown cucumbers off shop shelves amid contamination fears
• Austria, which has banned the sale of cucumbers, tomatoes and aubergines imported via Germany
• Belgium, which was reported to have banned cucumber imports from Spain
• the Netherlands, which exports billions of cucumbers to Germany, and has halted all shipments
• Denmark, which has expressed "great uncertainty" about suspicions that its cucumbers may be involved and has begun testing for contamination

On Monday, Spanish Agriculture Minister Rosa Aguilar denied Spanish vegetables were to blame, and that Spain would look into claiming damages for losses incurred.
"Our understanding is that the problem does not come from the [country of] origin," Ms Aguilar was quoted as saying by AFP news agency.
"The image of Spain is being damaged, Spanish producers are being damaged and the Spanish government is not prepared to accept this situation," she said.

Click to play

GP Dr Rosemary Leonard says salad vegetables should always be thoroughly washed

She also urged Germany to wrap up its investigation into the cause of the outbreak. The results of the probe are not expected before Tuesday or Wednesday, officials said.
German authorities have warned people to avoid eating raw cucumbers, tomatoes and lettuce.
They have also warned the outbreak may get worse as its source may still be active.
The sickness is not directly contagious but it can be transferred between people if an infected person prepares food for others.

Toronto couple defend move to keep baby's sex secret

A Toronto couple are defending their decision to keep their infant's sex a secret in order to allow the child to develop his or her own gender identity.

Mr Stocker and Ms Witterick say the decision to keep Storm's sex a secret was "a tribute to freedom"

Kathy Witterick and David Stocker have been widely criticised for imposing their ideology on four-month-old Storm.
The family were the subject of a recent profile in the Toronto Star newspaper.
In an e-mail, Ms Witterick wrote that the idea that "the whole world must know what is between the baby's legs is unhealthy, unsafe, and voyeuristic".
Ms Witterick, 38, and Mr Stocker, 39, have also been criticised for the manner in which they are raising their two sons Jazz, five, and Kio, two.
The boys are encouraged to choose their own clothing and hairstyles - even if that means wearing girls' clothes - and to challenge gender norms. Jazz wears his hair in long braids, and the boys are "almost exclusively assumed to be girls," Mr Stocker told the Toronto Star.
The child's grandparents do not know Storm's sex, the Toronto Star reported, and have grown weary of explaining the situation, but are supportive.
In an e-mail to the Associated Press news agency, Ms Witterick, a stay-at-home mother, said a four-month-old infant was still learning to recognise him or herself, and said it was inappropriate to impose a gender identity on the child.

Deadly cucumbers claim more lives

Germany: Ten die from E.coli-infected cucumbers

The death toll in Germany from an outbreak of E.coli caused by infected cucumbers has risen to at least 10.

It is unclear whether the cucumbers were infected at source or in transit

The cucumbers, believed to have been imported from Spain, were infected with a severe complication of E.coli called hemolytic-uremic syndrome (HUS).
Hundreds of people are said to have fallen sick.
Officials in the Czech Republic said the cucumbers may have been exported there, as well as to Austria, Hungary and Luxembourg.
Adults at risk
The aggressive form of E.coli is known to cause kidney failure and affect the central nervous system.
Most of the cases have been in the area around Hamburg.
The Sweden-based European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control said this outbreak was "one of the largest described of HUS worldwide and the largest ever reported in Germany".
It said: "While HUS cases are usually observed in children under five years of age, in this outbreak 87% are adults, with a clear predominance of women (68%)."
HUS cases have also been reported in Sweden, Denmark, the Netherlands and the UK - linked to German travel.
A scientist from Munster university, Helge Karch, warned that the spread of infection was not over.
"It is possible that there will be secondary infections during this outbreak as well. These secondary infections work from man to man and they can be avoided. That's why we have to do everything possible for better personal hygiene."
Czech authorities said the European Union's rapid warning system had told them of an importation of the cucumbers into the Czech Republic.
Czech Agriculture and Food Inspection Authority spokesman Michal Spacil told Agence France-Presse: "The Germans said the cucumbers were also distributed to Hungary, Austria and Luxembourg."
Spain has announced restrictions on two suspected exporters.
It is unclear whether the cucumbers were infected at source or in transit

Bosnia genocide suspect Ratko Mladic jailed in Serbia

After more than 15 years in hiding, onetime Bosnian Serb commander Ratko Mladic was in a Belgrade jail Friday to face charges that he presided over Europe's worst massacre since World War II.

Mladic was the highest-ranking fugitive to remain at large after the conflicts that accompanied the breakup of Yugoslavia in the 1990s. His arrest followed a three-year investigation, President Boris Tadic announced in a dramatic news conference Thursday morning.
Tadic told CNN's "Connect the World" that he expected Mladic to be transferred to the U.N. war crimes tribunal for the former Yugoslavia "within seven days." He said Serbian authorities are still investigating who aided Mladic during his decade and a half on the run, but he called allegations that the country's military sheltered him "rubbish."
Notorious Hutu militia leader captured
"At the end of the day, he was protected by a very small group of people from his family," Tadic said. He acknowledged that Mladic may have been aided by military officers early on, "but at the end of that process, I don't believe that," Tadic said.
Mladic's lawyer, Milos Saljic, said Mladic's hearing was halted and rescheduled for Friday when he could not address the judge "because of his physical and psychological condition." Saljic called the ex-general "a ruin of a man" who has suffered two heart attacks and three strokes since 1996.
"He is no longer the monumental personality he used to be," Saljic said. He said doctors would evaluate whether Mladic is fit to return to court on Friday.
Hundreds of riot police patrolled central Belgrade as the 69-year-old Mladic made his initial appearance on war crimes charges in a special Belgrade court. One squad chased away a crowd of 100 to 200 people, including one man who waved a Serbian flag, but they were far outnumbered by other people eating dinner or otherwise enjoying a warm spring night.
The former Yugoslav army officer was the commanding general of Bosnian Serb forces during the 1992-95 war that followed Bosnia-Herzegovina's secession from Yugoslavia. The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia has charged him with leading a genocidal campaign against Bosnia's Muslim and Croat populations, including "direct involvement" in the 1995 killings of nearly 8,000 men and boys in the Muslim enclave of Srebrenica -- the worst European massacre since the Holocaust.
However, Mladic remains a hero to some Serbs, and small outbursts of anger were seend in Belgrade late Thursday. A passenger in a speeding car hurled a full beer can at a Serbian television truck, while another driver shouted, "I like Ratko Mladic" and an obscenity as he passed the courthouse.
After midnight, three men stood beneath the building, clapping and chanting Mladic's name.
"That man fought for us, for my father and mother," 28-year-old Goran Stijela told CNN. One of his companions, Midorag Rodjenkov, called Mladic "a martyr for Christ."
Mladic was transferred from Lazarevo, about 80 km (50 miles) north of Belgrade, earlier Thursday. In a statement issued after the arrest, the tribunal said it looked forward to his "expeditious transfer" to its custody in The Hague, Netherlands, for trial.
Once there, he will be allowed to enter a plea to the charges against him, which include genocide, crimes against humanity and violating the laws of war, the court said.
"The arrest of Mladic is a milestone in the Tribunal's history and brings the institution closer to the successful completion of its mandate," the tribunal said. The sole remaining fugitive from the court is former Croatian Serb leader Goran Hadzic, "and the Tribunal hopes he will be arrested in the very near future."
Mladic is accused of leading a campaign of "ethnic cleansing," widespread killing, forcible deportations, torture, forced labor and physical, psychological and sexual violence during the Bosnian war.
The international police agency Interpol praised the arrest as "a triumph for international justice." Interpol officials had met with Tadic in January to discuss closer cooperation in the hunt for war crimes suspects, the organization's secretary-general, Ronald Noble, said in a statement on Mladic's capture.
"After today's arrest, no one should doubt Serbia's commitment to the rule of law and justice," Noble said.
Tadic said the arrest will help the process of reconciliation throughout the Balkans and should pave the way for Serbia's entry into the European Union. EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton hailed the arrest as a victory for "the rule of law in Serbia" and praised Tadic and his government for "this courageous action."
Mladic had been on the run since the Bosnian war ended in 1995. The Croatian newspaper Jutarnji List was the first to report his arrest, saying police were doing DNA tests on a suspect to determine whether he was the notorious former commander.
Mladic was the last fugitive from a triumvirate of Serbian leaders accused of genocide against Muslims and Croats as the three populations fought a brutal war over Yugoslav territory.
Former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic was toppled in 2000 and sent to face charges in The Hague, but he died in 2006 while the trial was still going on. Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic was arrested in July 2008 and is now on trial in The Hague.
Karadzic was removed from power under the Dayton Peace accords that ended the Bosnian war. He went into hiding, grew a full white beard and long hair, and was working in an alternative medicine clinic in Belgrade -- right under the noses of authorities -- when he was captured.
Karadzic has insisted on defending himself at The Hague. Prosecutors accuse him of deliberately obstructing the trial with delaying tactics, and judges have threatened to impose a defense lawyer on him if he does not cooperate.
The Bosnian war was the longest of the conflicts spawned by the breakup of Yugoslavia in the early 1990s. Backed by the Milosevic government, Bosnian Serb forces seized control of more than half the country and launched a campaign against the Muslim and Croat populations.
The United Nations declared Srebrenica to be a safe haven, and tens of thousands of Bosnian Muslims flooded in, expecting protection. But a small contingent of Dutch U.N. peacekeepers, lightly armed and aware that no reinforcements were coming, stood aside and allowed Mladic's troops to overrun Srebrenica, leading to the slaughter.

NATO intervened in the conflict, bombing Bosnian Serb military positions. The United States brought the leaders of the warring factions to an agreement in Dayton, Ohio, in 1995, bringing the violence to an end.

Mladic arrest hailed as 'important day for international justice'

World leaders and human rights groups celebrated the arrest of former Serbian army commander Ratko Mladic on Thursday, calling it "historic" and "an important step forward."

It is "an important day for international justice," said the office of Serge Brammertz, prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, in a written statement.
"Mladic's arrest clearly signals that the commitment to international criminal justice is entrenched. Today's events show that people responsible for grave violations of international humanitarian law can no longer count on impunity."
The office awaits Mladic's transfer to The Hague, where he will stand trial, the statement said.

Mladic in custody in Belgrade

Mladic arrest opens new Serbia chapter

Mladic is charged with crimes including the murders of nearly 8,000 Bosnian Muslim men and boys in Srebrenica in 1995; forcible transfers and detentions of Bosnian Muslims and Croats; a "terror campaign and the shelling and sniping of civilians in Sarajevo by Bosnian Serb forces under his command"; and the taking of United Nations military observers as hostages, the statement said.
"With the news of the arrest," Brammertz said, "we think first and foremost of the victims of the crimes committed during the conflicts in the former Yugoslavia. These victims have endured unimaginable horrors -- including the genocide in Srebrenica -- and redress for their suffering is long overdue."
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called it a "historic day for international justice. This arrest marks an important step in our collective fight against impunity as well as for the work of the" tribunal.
He praised Serbian President Boris Tadic and the Serbian government.
U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay said Thursday that she hopes "Mladic's trial, along with that of Radovan Karadzic, and the recent ICTY convictions of Ante Gotovina and Mladen Markac, as well as the dozens of earlier convictions, will help victims and their families see justice done and receive acknowledgement of their suffering."
Former Serbian leader Karadzic -- who was arrested in Belgrade, Serbia, in 2008 -- faces 11 counts of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity. He has denied the charges.
Gotovina commanded Croatia's Split military district during the mid-1990s war, while Markac headed Croatia's Interior Ministry's Special Police.
Both were convicted of war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Notorious Hutu militia leader captured
NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said he strongly welcomed the news. "As Bosnian Serb military commander, General Mladic played a key role in some of the darkest episodes of Balkan and European history, including the siege of Sarajevo and the massacre of thousands of Bosnian men and boys in Srebrenica in 1995. Almost 16 years since his indictment for genocide and other war crimes, his arrest finally offers a chance for justice to be done."
The White House issued a statement Thursday applauding Tadic and the government of Serbia on "their determined efforts to ensure that Mladic was found and that he faces justice."
"We look forward to his expeditious transfer to The Hague," the statement said. "Today is an important day for the families of Mladic's many victims, for Serbia, for Bosnia, for the United States, and for international justice.
"May the families of Mladic's victims find some solace in today's arrest, and may this deepen the ties among the people of the region," it added.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy welcomed the news while hosting the G8 summit in Deauville, France, calling the arrest "very big news."
"It is a very brave decision by the Serbian president, and it's an important step towards the integration in the near future (of Serbia) into the European Union," he said.
European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton called the arrest "an important step forward for Serbia and for international justice." It is "a very positive development for the European Union, for Serbia's neighbours, but most of all for the rule of law in Serbia itself," she said. "The families of his countless victims deserve justice."
British Foreign Secretary William Hague said the arrest "is a historic moment for a region that was torn apart by the appalling wars of the 1990s."
He added, "Our sympathies are with all those who lost loved ones during those conflicts. Today should mark the beginning of a new chapter for the countries of Western Balkans."
British Prime Minister David Cameron said, "there is a very good reason why the long arm of the international law has been looking for this man for such a long time."
In a news release, Interpol called Mladic "Europe's most wanted war crimes suspect."
"The arrest by Serbian police of Ratko Mladic, an alleged architect of human carnage and mass murder, is a triumph for international justice," Interpol Secretary General Ronald K. Noble said in the release.
Amnesty International's senior director of international law, Widney Brown, said, "It took more than 15 years, but at last the people who suffered have hope that he will be brought to justice."
Brown called on Serbian authorities to renew their efforts "to arrest the remaining indicted suspect General Goran Hadzic," who is believed to be in the region, and "bring him to justice."
Madeleine Albright, former U.S. secretary of state, said Mladic's trial "should teach again the grim reality of ethnic cleansing and, I hope, bring some comfort to those who survived."

"Mladic tried to become a conquering hero. Instead, he lived as a fugitive in obscurity and now faces years in custody. Justice works," she said in a statement. "It is a welcome sign that Serbian officials arrested him. An emerging democracy is helping to confront its own past."

Key dates in hunt for Ratko Mladic

The arrest in Serbia of Ratko Mladic brings to an end a 16-year man hunt for the highest profile suspect still at large from the Balkan wars of the 1990s.

Here is a timeline of key dates in Mladic's involvement in military action in the former Yugoslavia, his subsequent indictment for war crimes and the efforts to bring him to justice.
1992: After helping found the Serbian Democratic Party in 1990, Bosnian Serb Radovan Karadzic declares a new independent Serbian Republic of Bosnia-Herzegovina and proclaims himself president.
Mladic gets command of the Bosnian Serb army which the majority of Bosnia and Herzegovina. His troops reportedly massacre more than 200,000 Muslims and Croats.
April 23, 1995: The United Nations International Criminal Tribunal names Karadzic and Mladic as suspected war criminals.

Understanding Yugoslavia's war

Top Serbian war crimes suspect captured

July 11, 1995: In what becomes known as the Srebrenica massacre, Karadzic and his army allegedly slaughter between 6,000 and 8,000 Muslims over the course of two days in a supposed U.N. safe area.
July 24, 1995: The U.N. Tribunal indicts both Karadzic and Mladic on several charges, including war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity.
November 16, 1995: A second indictment against Karadzic and Mladic brings charges of genocide and crimes against humanity for the Srebrenica massacre.
November 21, 1995: An agreement struck in Dayton, Ohio, gives Serbs half of Bosnia. They are required to cooperate with the U.N. war crimes court.
1997: Karadzic believed to be in permanent hiding after not being seen for more than a year.
June 28, 2001: Former Yugoslavian President Slobodan Milosevic is handed over to U.N. Tribunal.
July 21, 2008: Karadzic arrested after more than a decade as a fugitive from war crimes charges.
June 16, 2010: Mladic's family launches court proceedings to have him legally declared dead saying he had been in poor health and there had been no contact with him.
October 28, 2010: Serbia raises its reward for information leading to Mladic's arrest from $1 million to $14 million.

May 26, 2011: Serbian President Boris Tadic announces the arrest of Mladic.

Blue Angels commander steps down after subpar performance

The commander of the U.S. Navy's Blue Angels stepped down Friday in the wake of a subpar performance at a Virginia air show this week.

The Blue Angels have canceled several performances because of the shakeup in leadership.

"I performed a maneuver that had an unacceptably low minimum altitude. This maneuver, combined with other instances of not meeting the airborne standard that makes the Blue Angels the exceptional organization that it is, led to my decision to step down," Cmdr. Dave Koss said in a statement, referring to the Lynchburg, Virginia, Regional Airshow.
He will be replaced by Capt. Greg McWherter, who was the flight demonstration team's previous commander.
Air shows have been in the spotlight recently because of concerns over safety.

A pilot performing stunts in an east Florida air show in March died in a fiery crash when the Russian military plane he was flying in broke formation and fell to the ground.
Also in March, engine trouble at an air show in Texas caused a plane to plummet, leaving a white trail behind as it dove toward a wooded area. The two stunt pilots onboard survived.

The Blue Angels have canceled performances at the Rockford, Illinois, Airfest June 4-5 and the Evansville, Indiana, Freedom Festival Air Show June 11-12 because of the shakeup in leadership.

No weekend break for jurors in Casey Anthony trial

The capital murder trial of Casey Anthony enters a fifth day Saturday, a day after jurors heard testimony about a pungent smell coming from the Orlando woman's car.
Anthony, 25, is charged with seven counts, including first degree murder, aggravated child abuse and misleading police in the death of her daughter, whose remains were discovered in December 2008.
On Friday, Anthony's father and a tow company manager testified that Anthony's car reeked of the unmistakable odor of a decomposing body.
George Anthony said the odor was so powerful he could not drive it home from the impound lot where it had been towed without rolling down the windows, he said.
"I did worry for my daughter and granddaughter," George Anthony testified. "I didn't want to believe what I was smelling."

George Anthony: I smelled human corpse

Casey's dad back on the stand

Tot mon's former lover reveals a secret

Inside Casey Anthony's car trunk

The defense pointed out -- and George Anthony admitted -- that he did not call police after noticing the smell, nor did he tell authorities about his concerns.
Later that day, his wife, Cindy, did call 911, sparking the investigation that led to the discovery months later of Caylee's remains and the arrest of the toddler's mother.
"Looking back, sir, there's a lot of things I wish I would have done," George Anthony said after being pressed by defense attorney Jose Baez as to why he didn't contact police immediately.
Prosecutors say Anthony used chloroform on her daughter and then put duct tape over her nose and mouth, suffocating the girl.
Anthony's attorneys argue that she did not kill Caylee, but rather that the girl accidentally drowned in the Anthonys' pool. They say Anthony and her father panicked, and kept the death a secret. George Anthony denied that claim in testimony Thursday.
Anthony's car was found, apparently abandoned, in a financial-services company parking lot.
It was towed by a wrecker service to an impound lot and remained there for about two weeks, the wrecker service's operations manager, Simon Birch, told jurors.
Closed, the car gave off the faint smell of human decomposition, Birch testified.
"It's a very, very unique and distinctive smell," Birch said, noting that he has had the misfortune of coming into contact with decomposition in cars numerous times.
Birch said the smell became more noticeable after George Anthony and his wife arrived to pick up the car and they opened the door and trunk.
George Anthony recalled his mind racing with concern for his daughter, whom he had believed was with the car in Jacksonville, Florida, and his granddaughter, whom he had not seen in nearly a month.
"Please God," he recalled thinking as he prepared to open the trunk, "don't let this be Casey or Caylee."
In response to a question from Baez implying he was trying to distance himself from evidence in a potential crime, George Anthony said, "I would not have walked away ... from something. That's not in my makeup. ... I believe I'm a pretty good guy."
Before challenging George Anthony, Baez questioned why Birch never called police, even after learning the car had been towed by authorities for forensic analysis.
"I had no idea why it was towed to forensics," Birch said.
William Waters, a friend of Anthony's who testified that he went shopping with her on July 5, testified that she had a friend's car at the time. He said she explained that she did not have her own because it needed an alignment or a tune-up.
Waters also testified that Anthony attended an Independence Day party at his house on July 4, 2008 -- about two weeks after Caylee was last seen -- and that the two also went shopping the next day. She gave no indication that anything was wrong either time and only briefly mentioned her daughter, Waters testified.
Waters' testimony was similar to statements Thursday from numerous witnesses who said Anthony did not mention her daughter's disappearance until her mother, Cindy Anthony, reported the girl's absence to police on July 15.
A former boyfriend, Anthony Lazzaro, and his roommates said that when they asked where Caylee was, Anthony told them she was with her nanny, mentioning that the nanny was taking her to Universal Studios and to the beach.
In the early days of the investigation, Anthony said the nanny, who she said was named Zenaida Gonzalez and nicknamed "Zanny," had kidnapped Caylee. Authorities were never able to find the nanny but did track down a woman with that name who denied knowing Anthony and sued her for defamation.
Defense attorneys explain Anthony's behavior as a result of what they allege was sexual abuse by her father beginning as a child. Anthony was schooled from a young age to "hide her pain," her attorneys argue. In testimony, George Anthony has denied sexually abusing his daughter.
In cross-examination by Baez, those who saw Anthony and her daughter together testified that Caylee was well taken care of and that Anthony, at least to their knowledge, appeared to be a good mother.
In a dramatic moment Friday morning, the fiancee of Casey Anthony's brother broke down when asked to describe Anthony's relationship with her daughter.
The fiancee, Mallory Parker, described the relationship as "amazing."
"Casey and Caylee had a very special bond," Parker, a witness for the prosecution, said with a quivering voice while under cross-examination by Baez.

Holes feared in 2 of Japan's nuclear reactors

Two of the damaged reactors at the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Japan may be riddled with holes, according to the facility's owner.

An aerial view of the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.

The holes may be as big as 7 to 10 centimeters ( 2.8- 3.9 inches), Tokyo Electric Power Co. said in a 225-page document submitted to Japan's Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency.
In the report, Tokyo Electric says the containment vessel of reactor No. 1 may have developed a hole as big as 3 centimeters in diameter 18 hours after the quake.
Fifty hours after the quake, the hole may have widened to 7 centimeters, the report said.

TEPCO admits to more possible meltdowns

Raising funds to help Japan

In reactor No. 2, the containment vessel may have developed a hole as wide as 10 centimeters 21 hours after the quake.
The nuclear plant has suffered cooling problems and radiation leaks since a March 11 earthquake and tsunami.
The hydrogen explosion four days after the crisis began may have led to the formation of a second hole in reactor No. 2, as wide as 10 centimeters in diameter.
"This report is not conclusive. No one has entered these areas and we cannot confirm this as fact," TEPCO said, adding that the report is making preliminary assumptions about what happened inside the reactors.
A hole in the reactor's containment vessel means there is a high probability of the leakage of radioactive material into the reactor building.
The amount of radioactive material in all three of the reactor buildings has hampered TEPCO's ability to build an effective cooling system. TEPCO says a cooling system is a critical step to leading to a cold shutdown, still estimated to be five to eight months away.

Nuclear experts and scientists have long suspected this sort of damage to the containers of the reactors at the crippled plant, as well as a full meltdown of the fuel rods in reactors 1, 2 and 3.

Tornado system hits Oklahoma City

Tornadoes sweeping the US Mid-West have struck near Oklahoma City, hitting vehicles on a section of motorway west of the Oklahoma state capital.

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Residents in Oklahoma say that they are shocked by the devastation

Officials said at least 13 people in three states were killed.
The new storms come as rescue workers search for hundreds of people missing in Joplin, Missouri, about 200 miles (320km) to the north-east.
At least 122 people were killed there on Sunday by a powerful tornado that cut a wide swathe through the city.
At least four major tornadoes hit rural areas of Oklahoma to the west and south of Oklahoma City, killing five, officials said. Twisters also killed three in Arkansas and two more in Kansas.

Deadly US tornadoes

• March 1925: Deadliest twister in US history as so-called Tri-State Tornado kills 695 in Missouri, southern Illinois and south-west Indiana
• March 1932: Deep South tornado outbreak kills 332 people from Texas to South Carolina, with 270 dying in Alabama alone
• May 1840: The Great Natchez Tornado kills 317 people in Mississippi town, most living on flatboats on the river
• April 1974: 310 killed in 24-hour "super outbreak" of 148 tornadoes across 13 states.
• May 1896: Two weeks of storms kill 305 people in Missouri, Illinois and Kentucky

The emergency director for Canadian County, Jerry Smith, said two people in his county had been killed, but he had no details on how they died.

He said a number of people were reported to have been injured after a powerful tornado struck a section of the highway in Canadian County, throwing cars off the road.
A regional medical official said three children in the town of Piedmont, north-west of Oklahoma City, were badly injured.
At least one gas explosion was reported in the town of El Reno.
The tornadoes formed from storm systems that began in western Oklahoma state and began travelling north-east in the afternoon.
A weather-monitoring site in El Reno recorded winds of 151mph (243km/h).
As the storms built up, Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin warned people to take shelter.
"This is a very dangerous time right now," she told CNN.
Television reports showed tornadoes forming and striking the ground.
Two more people are reported to have died in Kansas in storms there on Tuesday.

The storms were forecast to move over Joplin, Missouri, bringing the possibility of more tornadoes for the badly-damaged city.
Rescue workers were combing through the wide path of debris Sunday's twister left, hoping to find some of the hundreds of people still unaccounted for.
The huge tornado cut a path some six miles (10km) long and at least half a mile wide through Joplin.
Much of the south side of Joplin is reported to have been levelled, with churches, schools, businesses and homes reduced to rubble.
US President Barack Obama said he would visit tornado-hit Missouri on Sunday, immediately after he returned from a six-day tour of Europe.
He called the Joplin tornado "devastating and heartbreaking" and promised the government would "do absolutely everything we can" to help victims recover and rebuild.

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Rescuer Keith Beck says crews are searching Joplin "street by street" in the hope of finding survivors

lost pyramids spotted from space

Seventeen lost pyramids are among the buildings identified in a new satellite survey of Egypt.

 

The infrared image on the right reveals the ancient city streets of Tanis near modern-day San El Hagar

More than 1,000 tombs and 3,000 ancient settlements were also revealed by looking at infra-red images which show up underground buildings.
Initial excavations have already confirmed some of the findings, including two suspected pyramids.
The work has been pioneered at the University of Alabama at Birmingham by US Egyptologist Dr Sarah Parcak.

 

An infra-red satellite image shows a buried pyramid, located in the centre of the highlight box.

She says she was amazed at how much she and her team has found.
"We were very intensely doing this research for over a year. I could see the data as it was emerging, but for me the "Aha!" moment was when I could step back and look at everything that we'd found and I couldn't believe we could locate so many sites all over Egypt.
"To excavate a pyramid is the dream of every archaeologist," she said.
The team analysed images from satellites orbiting 700km above the earth, equipped with cameras so powerful they can pin-point objects less than 1m in diameter on the earth's surface.
Infra-red imaging was used to highlight different materials under the surface.
Test excavations Ancient Egyptians built their houses and structures out of mud brick, which is much denser than the soil that surrounds it, so the shapes of houses, temples and tombs can be seen.
"It just shows us how easy it is to underestimate both the size and scale of past human settlements," says Dr Parcak.
And she believes there are more antiquities to be discovered:
"These are just the sites [close to] the surface. There are many thousands of additional sites that the Nile has covered over with silt. This is just the beginning of this kind of work."
BBC cameras followed Dr Parcak on her "nervous" journey when she travelled to Egypt to see if excavations could back up what her technology could see under the surface.
In the BBC documentary Egypt's Lost Cities, they visit an area of Saqqara (Sakkara) where the authorities were not initially interested in her findings.
But after being told by Dr Parcak that she had seen two potential pyramids, they made test excavations, and they now believe it is one of the most important archaeological sites in Egypt.

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An infra-red satellite image reveals the city of Tanis

But Dr Parcak said the most exciting moment was visiting the excavations at Tanis.
"They'd excavated a 3,000-year-old house that the satellite imagery had shown and the outline of the structure matched the satellite imagery almost perfectly. That was real validation of the technology."
The Egyptian authorities plan to use the technology to help - among other things - protect the country's antiquities in the future.
During the recent revolution, looters accessed some well-known archaeological sites.

Indiana Jones is old school, we've moved on from Indy, sorry Harrison Ford ”

End Quote Dr Sarah Parcak Space Archaeologist

"We can tell from the imagery a tomb was looted from a particular period of time and we can alert Interpol to watch out for antiquities from that time that may be offered for sale."

She also hopes the new technology will help engage young people in science and will be a major help for archaeologists around the world.
"It allows us to be more focused and selective in the work we do. Faced with a massive site, you don't know where to start.
"It's an important tool to focus where we're excavating. It gives us a much bigger perspective on archaeological sites. We have to think bigger and that's what the satellites allow us to do."
"Indiana Jones is old school, we've moved on from Indy, sorry Harrison Ford."
Egypt's Lost Cities is on BBC One on Monday 30 May at 2030 BST.

HIV-related deaths fall in China

Efforts to improve access to HIV drugs in China have cut deaths by more than 60% in seven years, researchers say.

 

China has come a long way in tackling HIV/Aids

China introduced free anti-retroviral drugs in 2003, reaching more than 60% of patients by 2009.
But experts say more needs to be done to speed up diagnosis and improve access to treatment in certain groups.
They include men, the elderly, migrants and ethnic minority groups, injecting drug users and people who have caught HIV through sexual contact.
The findings are published online in the Lancet Infectious Diseases journal.
Lead author Professor Fujie Zhang, from the National Centre for Aids/STD Control and Prevention, in Beijing, said: "Given the size of the country, and the geographical spread of individuals with HIV... China's treatment coverage is remarkable... but it is far from the goal of complete coverage of people who meet the treatment criteria."
Commenting on the study, Terrence Higgins Trust clinical director Jason Warriner said: "We know that access to testing and treatment, in the form of anti-retrovirals, is vital both in preventing deaths from HIV and stopping more people becoming infected.
"The earlier people are diagnosed with HIV the greater chance they have of being able to lead a long and healthier life.
"But there also needs to be ongoing education and awareness of HIV to help prevent more people becoming infected in the future."

Smallpox decision deferred again

A decision on when to destroy the last known stocks of live smallpox virus has been put off for another three years.

 

The viral disease was eradicated over 30 years ago

The World Health Organization (WHO) agreed to resume the discussion in 2014, following debate this week at its annual meeting.
Countries were divided on the issue at the 64th World Health Assembly.
Iran led opposition to a plan backed by the US and Russia to set a date for destruction in 2016.

Smallpox facts

• Caused by the variola virus
• The virus originated over 3,000 years ago in India or Egypt
• Symptoms include fever, muscle pain, headache, tiredness and the distinctive rash
• It killed 30% of those infected
• More than 300 million people were thought to have died from smallpox in the 20th century alone
• Up to 80% of survivors were marked with deep pitted scars, mostly on the face

There has been a lot of discussion around the smallpox issue," Pierre Formenty of the WHO told a news briefing in Geneva.

"Three years from now, we will resume the discussion."
The issue was first discussed at the Assembly in 1986 and has been the source of debate ever since.
Destroying the remaining stocks of variola, or small pox virus, is seen by some countries as the final chapter in eradicating the disease to prevent the risk of accidental release.
Others, including the US and Russia, argue for more research in case smallpox returns, possibly as a biological weapon.

Asia’s New Landless Peasants?

Landless people have long sparked instability in Asia. From the days of the Qin dynasty (3rd century B.C.), through the huge Taiping rebellion in the mid-19th century, to the successful Communist revolutions in China and Vietnam and a nearly successful insurrection in Malaysia during the mid-20th, the property-less have historically risen against those in power.
Today as East Asia grows more affluent, landlessness is again on the rise. Although peasants in many places remain both poor and restive, the real threat is in the region’s dynamic cities, where rapid increase in housing prices threatens to push hundreds of millions outside the property-buying market.

This boost in prices is due to the rapid economic and population growth in many Asian cities. Across China the price of housing per square meter more than doubled over the past decade, according to the National Statistical Bureau. Prices-compared-to-incomes in the diaspora hot beds of Singapore and Hong Kong are now, according to research from the consultancy group Demographia, the highest in the advanced world — at least 50% higher than New York, San Francisco, Toronto, Sydney or London.

There are some good market-based reasons for these high prices. Most major Asian cities are thriving economically and growing far more rapidly than their Western counterparts. Over the past decade, the population of Shanghai, China’s largest city, rose 35%, or by nearly 6 million, which is more than the population of any Western European city besides London, Paris and Essen-Dusseldorf. Beijing’s population rose by 6 million in the past 10 years to nearly 20 million. And Singapore’s far more affluent population jumped 20%, a rate exceeded in the advanced world only by Atlanta, Ga., among urban areas of more than 4 million.

The recent spike in prices, particularly in the more affluent cities, also stems from high liquidity, low interest rates and rising inflation, notes Cheong Koon Hean, CEO of Singapore’s Housing and Development Board. To these factors she adds what she calls “a herd mentality” as people rush to invest in property as a hedge against inflation.

The traditional Chinese obsession with property ownership exacerbates these factors. As  Nanjing-based blogger and social critic Lisa Gu writes, “Owning a property is the greatest life-goal for most Chinese citizens.”

In mainland China the rush to own is bolstered by the lack of a strong social safety net or popular trust in other investment vehicles, such as stock and bonds. ”China lacks good investment channels besides housing,” says Han Hui, senior partner in prominent Beijing real estate law firm. “People put money into real estate because they still don’t trust anything else.”
The appeal of home-ownership in China is particularly marked since it’s more of a land-use right, which in the case of residential property, expires after 70 years (40 years for commercial property). The lease begins to run out on the date that the real estate developer signs for the land, and not on the homeowner’s date of purchase.
Whatever its cause, this Asian form of irrational exuberance is clearly boosting inequality across the region’s cities.

This is becoming a key issue, particularly for the younger generation.  ”House price” ranked third on the list of the top 10 most popular phrases used by Chinese netizens, says Lisa Gu. Many young Chinese, she notes, are giving up on the ideal of owning a house before marriage and starting their lives together as renters. This is widely called “getting married naked.”

For young professionals this now might just prove a temporary annoyance, but it could evolve into something more bothersome as they age. Some might opt to avoid very expensive cities, such as Beijing or Shanghai, for up-and-coming smaller urban centers such as Chengdu, the provincial capital of agriculturally fecund Sichuan province. This city has a growing tech center but offers housing prices as much as one third those in China’s existing megacities. Although salaries are also lower, overall affordability remains much higher than in the established urban regions.
For the many millions of poorer Chinese, including the many migrants from the countryside, the housing crunch presents a more serious issue. Most have moved to the big cities, particularly in eastern China, for better opportunities and quality of life. Virtually all the net growth in Beijing and Shanghai, according to the most recent Chinese census, came not from registered residents but among migrants — those lacking hokou status. They constitute now over one third of the population in these megacities.
Such migrants include people of various incomes, but also a large impoverished population.  Some live in sub-standard conditions not often associated with the gleaming epicenters of Asian capitalism. Like residents of the slums of third-world cities, many are landless peasants, a group now estimated at 70 million or 80 million.
This problem of landless peasants is likely to grow as more land is set aside for urban and industrial development. Many will face difficulty finding a decent place to live even as more affluent Chinese snatch up multiple apartments for speculative investment. This has accelerated a worsening gap between rich and poor that is of major concern to the country’s Communist rulers.
Of course, no one suggests anything like a new peasant rebellion is in the offing. It is critical to recognize that, for all its imperfections, China’s astounding rise has lifted hundreds of millions of people out of the grip of unceasing poverty.

But unaddressed, the property crisis could well slow east Asian capitalism’s rapid ascent. High housing prices may already be contributing to depressed birthrates — even in places where the “one child” policy does not apply, such as Singapore, Taiwan and South Korea.

Such long-term problems are overshadowed by more immediate concerns. Fallout about cascading house prices led the Chinese central government earlier this year imposed new restrictions aimed at slowing rampant speculation — such as requiring 60% payments for second homes and restricting the purchases of additional homes.

The interior city of Chongqing has taken even more drastic steps. The hardline government there has embraced a distinctly uncapitalist response to the housing crisis: a massive program to increase the supply of rental as well as state-owned apartments that would be available to poorer residents, including those from the countryside. This contrasts with programs in Singapore, where 80% of the population live in the public housing, but some 95% own flats purchased from current owners or the Housing Development Board.

In China, the failure of the housing market to find places for the poor and working class could provide a rationale for expanding the state’s role in managing the economy. It certainly provides fuel for Chongqing’s active affirmation of what is seen as a revival of “red culture.”
Beyond such ideological implications, the housing crisis could threaten both the long-term social stability and economic growth of East Asia. Unless addressed, growing dissatisfaction among a large bloc of property-less citizens has the potential to become a politically destabilizing force and a brake against market-friendly liberalization. As East Asia remains the primary driver of the world’s economic engine, this could prove bad news not only for upwardly mobile Chinese but everyone else as well.

Black boxes indicate pilot error in Air France crash: report

Preliminary findings from the recorders of an Air France jet that crashed into the Atlantic Ocean in 2009 have found that the pilots became distracted with malfunctioning airspeed indicators and failed to properly manage other critical systems, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter.
The crew did not follow standard procedures to maintain air speed and keep the aircraft's nose level after the Airbus 330 encountered some turbulence and unexpectedly high icing at 35,000 feet, the paper said.
Air France and Airbus were unavailable for comment outside business hours.
The Journal said the cockpit recorders show that the pilots apparently became confused by the alarms blaring from their instruments and despite trying to systematically respond to each warning, were unable to sort out the chaos and maintain a steady course.
The findings from the recorders, which are to be released on Friday, are expected to show that the twin-engine jet slowed dangerously after the autopilot disengaged.
The crash killed all 228 people on board Flight 447, which was on a scheduled flight from Rio de Janeiro to Paris.

Missouri tornado death toll passes 100

Officials in the US state of Missouri say at least 116 people are now confirmed dead after a tornado hit the city of Joplin on Sunday, crushing cars and flattening homes.

But Joplin official Mark Rohr also said seven people had been rescued.
A thunderstorm carrying hail and high winds was hindering ongoing search and rescue efforts on Monday afternoon.
Mr Rohr said the tornado cut a path six miles (10km) long through the city, much of which is now without power.
Missouri governor Jay Nixon said he was "optimistic that there are still lives out there to be saved".
More than 1,150 people have been treated for injuries stemming from the tornado, the Joplin Globe newspaper reported.
The tornado knocked down power lines and telephone services remain largely cut off.
Joplin fire chief Mitch Randles said approximately one quarter or more of the city, home to about 50,000 people, had been damaged.
Roughly 2,000 buildings were damaged in the region, officials said.
Mr Nixon has declared a state of emergency and warned that more storms were on the way.

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Joplin High School headmaster Kerry Saketta told the BBC's Matt Frei the devastation "will be a problem for years to come"

Cities in three other Midwestern states have also been badly affected. At least one person was killed in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
The White House said on Monday that President Barack Obama was being kept up-to-date on the deadly storms in the Midwest during his six-day trip in Europe.
Federal Emergency Management Agency administrator Craig Fugate is being sent to Missouri to help coordinate disaster response and recovery efforts, the White House added.
Last month, tornadoes and storms killed at least 350 people in Alabama and six other southern states.
'Nothing left' Tornado sirens rang 20 minutes before the storm struck Joplin's city centre.

Deadly US tornadoes

• March 1925: Deadliest twister in US history as so-called Tri-State Tornado kills 695 in Missouri, southern Illinois and south-west Indiana
• March 1932: Deep South tornado outbreak kills 332 people from Texas to South Carolina, with 270 dying in Alabama alone
• May 1840: The Great Natchez Tornado kills 317 people in Mississippi town, most living on flatboats on the river
• April 1974: 310 killed in 24-hour "super outbreak" of 148 tornadoes across 13 states.
• May 1896: Two weeks of storms kill 305 people in Missouri, Illinois and Kentucky

"There was a loud huffing noise, my windows started popping. I had to get downstairs, glass was flying. I opened a closet and pulled myself into it," Jeff Lehr, a reporter for the Joplin Globe newspaper, told the Associated Press.

"Then you could hear everything go. It tore the roof off my house, everybody's house. I came outside and there was nothing left."
Another resident, Tom Rogers, said his house had been destroyed.
"It's just gone," he told the Joplin Globe. "We heard the tornado sirens for the second time. All of a sudden, everything came crashing down on us. We pulled our heads up and there was nothing."
Much of the city's south side is reported to have been levelled, with churches, schools, businesses and homes reduced to rubble.
Nearly 100 patients at the St John Regional Medical Center were evacuated after the hospital took a direct hit.
A resident living 45 miles (70km) away said debris from the hospital had landed in his yard, including medical supplies and X-rays.
A door-to-door search of the damaged area began on Monday morning, but progress was slow because of the thunderstorm, and the danger from downed power lines and gas leaks, which caused fires around the city overnight.
Earlier, the Red Cross opened a shelter at Missouri Southern State University in Joplin for victims, spokeswoman Joanne Muir told the BBC.
Continued risk Upon arriving in Ireland on Monday afternoon, President Obama phoned Governor Nixon to express his condolences for the devastation in Missouri.

Mr Obama had released a statement earlier in the day about the destruction, while en route to Europe.
"Michelle and I send our deepest condolences to the families of all those who lost their lives in the tornadoes and severe weather that struck Joplin, Missouri, as well as communities across the Midwest today," the president said.
Jay Nixon said storms had caused extensive damage across Missouri.
"As a state, we are deploying every agency and resource available to keep Missouri families safe, search for the missing, provide emergency medical care, and begin to recover," he said.
He warned that the storms were not finished and urged Missourians to keep a close eye on the latest weather information.