REUTERS - 15th century Italians who rejected conversion to Islam proclaimed saints, May 12, 2013

"VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope Francis on Sunday proclaimed as saints some 800 Italians killed in the 15th century for refusing to convert to Islam, and said many Christians were still being persecuted for their faith. The Vatican seemed at pains not to allow the first canonisations of Francis' two-month-old papacy to be interpreted as anti-Islamic, saying the deaths of the 'Otranto Marytrs' must be understood in their historical context. The 800 were killed in 1480 in the siege of Otranto, on the southeastern Adriatic, by Ottoman Turks who sacked the city, killed its archbishop and told the citizens to surrender and convert. When they refused, the Ottoman commanding officer ordered the execution of all men aged 15 or older, most by beheading."
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GLOBAL News - Chris Hadfield prepares for ride home from space, May 12, 2013

 "TORONTO – Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield is packing his bags as he wraps up his five-month mission aboard the International Space Station. Hadfield tweeted this morning that he “proudly” hands command of the station to Pavel Vinogradov, a Russian cosmonaut. He also tweeted that it’s “time to rev up the Soyuz” for the trip home."
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PETITION SITE - Sustainable Does Not Mean Destroying Rainforests and Starving Orangutans!, May 12, 2013

"Bumitama Gunajaya Agro (BGA) has cleared Borneo’s rainforest for miles, with total disregard for the well-being of the orangutans and other primates living there. International Animal Rescue Indonesia (IAR) staff has found a few traumatized and starving orangutans remaining in the ruins, one clinging to what’s left of a tree and others wandering among the stumps. Others, they say, are trapped there and starving as well."

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LATEST World News, May 11, 2013

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GLOBAL News - Death toll from factory collapse in Bangladesh passes 1,100, May 11, 2013

"SAVAR, Bangladesh – Police say the death toll from the collapse of a garment factory building in Bangladesh has soared past 1,100 as recovery operations continue. Doctors say a seamstress who was rescued 17 days after the eight-story building collapsed is recovering in a hospital, but is exhausted, panicked and dehydrated. Her discovery in the rubble Friday brought a boost to the rescue workers. By Saturday, they had resumed their grim task and the death toll reached 1,115 in the world’s worst garment industry disaster. “We will not leave the operation until the last dead body and living person is found,” said Maj. Gen. Chowdhury Hasan Suhrawardy, the head of the local military units in charge of rescue operations. The disaster has raised alarm about the often deadly working conditions in Bangladesh’s $20 billion garment industry, which provides clothing for major retailers around the globe."
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THE TELEGRAPH - International Space Station emergency spacewalk: as it happened, May 11, 2013

 " As the world below watched their every move via a live-stream video link from Nasa's mission control in Houston, Texas, American flight engineers Tom Marshburn and Chris Cassidy left the space station through its airlock and began their painstaking work. Their task was to stop ammonia leaking from the cooling system of one of the eight solar panel arrays that provides electricity to the station, which is currently home to three astronauts and three Russian cosmonauts."
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Pakistanis go to polls despite increased terror attacks, May 11, 2013

 "Sharif, who heads the main opposition party the Pakistan Muslim League-N, is considered the frontrunner in the election and hopes to become prime minister for the third time. His party, which appeals to a pro-business base and is strongest in central Punjab province, is considered the main rival to the Pakistan People's Party to form the next government. Sharif was ousted as prime minister in a bloodless coup in 1999 by then-army chief general Pervez Musharraf and was sent into exile the following year. He returned to Pakistan in 2007 to lead his party in the 2008 elections, which was won by the PPP." info@als-alexander.org or interalex1@yahoo.com