Brazil: Bus Plunges Off Bridge Killing Seven

At least seven people have been killed and six hurt after a bus plunged off a bridge over one of Rio de Janeiro's busiest roads.

Rio's buses are known for being driven at high speeds

The bus landed on its roof after falling 30ft (10 metres) onto Rio's Avenida Brasil.

Sergio Simoes, who heads Rio state's civil defence department, said the dead were five men and two women. He added that the number of injured was likely to rise.

He said it was unclear how many were aboard and whether any of the passengers were children.

Emergency response teams could be seen evacuating the injured from the overturned bus as rush-hour traffic stood at a standstill, with some of those hurt evacuated by helicopter.

The cause of the accident was not immediately known, but eyewitness were reported as saying that a dispute between a passenger and the driver might have helped spark the crash.

Hundreds of onlookers gathered at the site of the accident

Buses are the main form of public transit in the city of six million people, despite their sometimes dubious safety records and often uncomfortable overcrowding levels.

Rio's buses, operated by private companies, do not have seat belts, and it is not unusual for up to several dozen people at a time to travel standing up. Drivers are also known for travelling at high speeds, even in residential neighbourhoods.

With two key metro stations closed pending the extension of Rio's subway, buses have taken on an even more crucial role in recent months and are the sole public transit option in poor neighbourhoods around the city.

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Gaza Strip Comes Under Israeli Air Strikes

Israel has launched air strikes on the Gaza Strip, its first such attack since a ceasefire ended an eight-day war in November.

The Israeli military said the strikes, which targeted "two extensive terror sites in the Northern Gaza Strip", were in response to rocket fire from Gaza towards southern Israel.

Officials from Hamas, the Palestinian Islamist movement that controls the territory, said no one was hurt in the air strikes.  No damage was reported.

The air raids followed the third rocket attack to hit Israel since the ceasefire.

The Egyptian-mediated truce between Israel and Hamas has kept the frontier relatively quiet. Some 170 Palestinians and six Israelis were killed in the brief cross-border war.

A rocket launched from Gaza Strip fell close to Sderot

Israeli Defence Minister Moshe Yaalon said the military would not sit back while Palestinian militants attack southern Israel.

"We will not in any way allow a routine of rocket fire steadily dripping on our civilians and soldiers," he said.

An al Qaeda-linked group, called Magles Shoura al Mujahedeen, claimed responsibility for the rocket salvo, saying it was in response to the death of a Palestinian inmate in an Israeli jail.

Maysara Abu Hamdeya, 64, was serving a life sentence over an attempt to bomb an Israeli cafe. He died of cancer on Tuesday.

His death sparked some protests in the region, including in East Jerusalem and in the occupied West Bank, and the Palestinian territories were due to hold a general strike and day of mourning on Wednesday.

Palestinian Hamas militants hold a symbolic coffin of Maysara Abu Hamdeya

Palestinians in several jails banged on their cell doors and hurled objects after news spread of the death.

In the West Bank city of Hebron protesters threw firebombs and rocks at Israeli soldiers. The troops responded with tear gas.

Palestinian prisoner affairs minister Issa Karakeh blamed Israel, saying: "This is a serious, ugly crime committed against the prisoner Maysara due to medical negligence and reluctance to release him."

Israeli Prisons Authority spokeswoman Sivan Weizman said Abu Hamdiyeh had been treated well by Israeli specialists and had died in a hospital.

Ms Weizman said the prison service asked the parole board for the prisoner's early release after his cancer was diagnosed as terminal last week, but the appeal was still being processed at the time of his death.

US President Barack Obama visited the region last month

Israel said it holds Hamas responsible for any violence emanating from Gaza.

Along with the US and most Western governments, Israel views Hamas as a terrorist group for its refusal to recognise the Jewish state or to renounce violence that included suicide bombings in a Palestinian uprising a decade ago.

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Florida Sinkhole: Video Shows Extent Of Pit

Newly-released video of the sinkhole that swallowed a man at his home in Florida shows the extent of the 60ft pit.

The crater became the final resting place of Jeff Bush, 37, who was buried alive when it opened up under his bedroom at the house in Seffner, about 15 miles east of Tampa.

Officials in Hillsborough County released the video of their initial investigation.

Jeff Bush's body was never retrieved

A contractor filmed the images by dangling a long pole equipped with a camera through the window of the bedroom.

The house was later torn down and the sinkhole filled in.

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South Korea Warns Military Action An 'Option'

South Korea's defence minister, Kim Kwan-jin, has said that military action is an "option" to protect its citizens in its stand off with North Korea.

The news comes as the United States has said it will "not accept" North Korea as a nuclear state, after Pyongyang raised tensions by refusing the South entry to a joint industrial complex.

The North says it will restart all nuclear facilities including its mothballed Yongbyon reactor, which is able to produce bomb-grade plutonium.

Standing firm: Kerry stated he will not accept N Korea as a nuclear state

North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un insisted it was only seeking a deterrent and did not repeat recent threats to attack South Korea and the US.

But the North delayed the daily opening of its Kaesong industrial zone with South Korea on Wednesday morning, in a move that could represent a sharp escalation of tensions between the two countries.

The North had previously threatened to close the joint complex as part of a stand-off with Washington and Seoul.

"We are waiting for access from the North Korean authorities," a Unification Ministry official said.

More than an hour after the time the daily entry clearance is normally granted, the ministry said 861 South Korean workers were in the industrial complex while 179 workers awaited access.

The complex is a rare lucrative source of income for the impoverished North since it was established as a form of joint-Korean cooperation in 2002.

Sky News Asia Correspondent Mark Stone said the site was the only place where relations between the two countries existed.

"As with everything, it's hard to know whether this is more game playing or whether they plan to keep it closed for a while," he said.

Face off: South Korea's Kim Kwan-jin and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un

"But a number of analysts who have studied the Korean problem for some time said last week that while the park remained open, the situation was not overly worrying. Now it appears to be shut."

Both Washington and Seoul stressed their countries' military readiness and said de-nuclearisation was the only way forward for North Korea.

US Secretary of State John Kerry said: "What Kim Jong-Un has been choosing to do is provocative, it is dangerous, reckless and the United States will not accept (North Korea) as a nuclear state."

America's deployment of advanced aircraft and warships to South Korea was a signal that "the United States will defend our allies and that we will not be subject to irrational or reckless provocation," he said.

North Koreans attend a rally against the US and South Korea

The parading of US air and naval power with nuclear capability within view of the Korean peninsula, is as much about psychological war as real war.

The US is keen to discourage North Korea's unpredictable leader from starting a fight that could get out of control.

Mr Kerry, who will visit South Korea next week, reminded the North Koreans that "they have an option, and that option is to enter into negotiations for de-nuclearisation ... and to begin to focus on the needs of their people".

Meanwhile, China has expressed "serious concern" over the escalating situation on the Korean peninsula.

South Korean trucks refused entry to the Kaesong complex

An official from China's Foreign Ministry met ambassadors from the US, North Korea and South Korea, following the closing of Kaesong.

China hopes the differences can be resolved through talks and diplomacy, said Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei.

United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon appealed for dialogue and negotiation to resolve the crisis.

South Korean soldiers after a military drill near the demilitarised zone

"Nuclear threats are not a game," he said. "Aggressive rhetoric and military posturing only result in counter-actions, and fuel fear and instability."

Meanwhile, Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister, Igor Morgulov, has expressed concern that even a simple human error could cause the crisis to escalate.

The country shares a short border with North Korea south of Vladivostok. In the current crisis, Moscow has steered clear of openly criticising North Korea.

"Russia has to be worried as we are talking about an explosive situation in the immediate vicinity of our Far East borders," he said.

US and South Korea Navy ships in formation west of the Korean peninsula

"In the current tense atmosphere, it would only need an elementary human error or technical problem for the situation to go out of control and plunge into a critical dive.

"We urge all sides to refrain from any comments or actions which could further complicate the situation," said Morgulov.

A speech by the North's young leader, Kim Jong-Un, given on Sunday but published in full by the Korean Central News Agency on Tuesday, appeared to dampen any prospect of a direct confrontation with the US by emphasising that nuclear weapons would ensure the country's safety as a deterrent.

"Our nuclear strength is a reliable war deterrent and a guarantee to protect our sovereignty," Mr Kim said.

"It is on the basis of a strong nuclear strength that peace and prosperity can exist and so can the happiness of people's lives."

The crisis flared after Pyongyang was hit with US sanctions for conducting a third nuclear test in February, before America and South Korea staged military drills that North Korea viewed as "hostile".

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'Innocent' Man Freed After 42 Years In Jail

A man who was locked up for more than 40 years for starting a deadly fire at an Arizona hotel has walked free from prison after years of doubt about his conviction.

Louis Taylor was just 16 when he was arrested following the inferno which killed 29 people at the Pioneer Hotel in Tucson in December 1970.

"It's a tale of two tragedies: the Pioneer Hotel fire and my conviction," he told reporters gathered outside the prison.

Taylor, who turns 59 on Saturday, had faced a difficult choice in court in Tucson earlier in the day.

He could have continued his fight to fully clear his name or have entered a plea and got out of prison straightaway.

Louis Taylor chose not to press for a new trial. Pic: CBS News

He chose to plead "no contest", rather than wait another two to three years.

However, the deal negates his ability to sue the state for compensation.

That could have happened only if he had been exonerated at a new trial.

Taylor was sentenced to 28 consecutive life sentences but continually professed his innocence.

He contends he was wrongly convicted by an all-white jury, alleging police failed to investigate other suspects.

Fire engulfed the Pioneer Hotel in Tucson in December 1970. Pic: CBS News

Reports at the time indicated Taylor was actually helping people escape the blaze before being arrested later that night.

Even the presiding judge expressed scepticism about the conviction. 

Taylor's lawyers believe they would have prevailed eventually at a new trial, but the process could have taken a long time.

Prosecutors still believe he is guilty, but said they would not be able to pursue a new conviction due to a lack of evidence and living witnesses.

The hotel fire was one of the worst in Arizona history.

Many guests were trapped in their rooms as the blaze engulfed the building.

The fire truck ladders were too short to reach the upper floors.

Some people jumped to their deaths while others burned in their rooms.

Most victims died from carbon monoxide poisoning.

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Car Towed With Driver's Missing Body Inside

The body of a missing North Carolina woman has been found inside her wrecked car, three days after a highway patrolman ordered it to be towed away.

Carolyn Watkins was reported missing by her family early on Monday after she failed to show up at work.

The Pontiac Sunfire was badly damaged in the crash

An accident report filed on Friday by Trooper Marlon Williams shows the 62-year-old's Pontiac was found in a deep ditch near Smithfield, 30 miles southwest of Raleigh.

Both air bags had been deployed.

The trooper wrote in his report: "Note: No driver at the scene of this collision."

A local towing company then took the vehicle to a car pound.

On Monday, a Smithfield police officer investigating the woman's disappearance found the body.

"They were looking for her pocketbook and the keys, and when they started searching, that's when they found the body in the car," her son, Algernon Parker, told WRAL-TV.

"They didn't do their job properly, and we want some answers."

Relatives believe she could still be alive today if the car had been thoroughly checked.

"If they would've got her out like they should have, medical attention could've taken care of what was wrong with her," said daughter-in-law, Patricia Parker.

State Trooper Marlon Williams found no body in the car

The trooper has been placed on paid administrative duty while the time and cause of her death are investigated.

"First and foremost, we offer our most sincere condolences to Carolyn Watkins' family," said a short statement from the Department of Public Safety, which oversees the Highway Patrol. 

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Umbrella Fall: Child Leaps From Factory In China

A five-year-old girl is fighting for her life after she jumped out of a six-storey window holding an umbrella in China.

The youngster leapt from a factory window after apparently watching cartoons showing children floating through the air, aided by brollies.

The drama was captured on a security camera and shows the youngster, dressed in pink, crashing to the ground, holding the yellow umbrella.

Her fall was witnessed by several employees at the printing company factory in Shenzhen city, Guangdong Province, where the girl's father worked.

According to reports in Shenzhen News, the girl's father worked as a security guard at the plant and had taken her to the factory after picking her up from school.

She was apparently in a locked common room when she leapt from the window, factory staff said.

The paper reported that the girl had been living with her father who was divorced.

According to doctors, she suffered multiple bone fractures and her condition is unstable.

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Milo O'Shea: Veteran Irish Actor Dies Aged 86

Milo O'Shea, who starred in the 1960s films Romeo And Juliet, Ulysses and Barbarella and later in TV's The West Wing, has died.

Milo O'Shea died in New York

The Irish actor, who was 86, also appeared in other television shows including Cheers, Frasier, The Golden Girls, St Elsewhere and prison drama Oz.

In the UK, he was in BBC comedy Me Mammy alongside Yootha Joyce during the late 1960s and early 70s.

O'Shea was nominated for a Bafta in 1968 for in the most promising newcomer category for his role as Leopold Bloom in Ulysses.

And his performance as Friar Laurence in director Franco Zeffirelli's Romeo And Juliet is also seen as one of his stand out roles.

O'Shea in the 1968 movie Barbarella alongside Jane Fonda

He began acting on the stage, then moved into film in the 1960s.

O'Shea, who died in New York, had lived in the US city since 1976 and is survived by his actress wife Kitty Sullivan, sons Colm and Steven and grandchildren.

Ireland's Arts Minister Jimmy Deenihan described the veteran character actor as a giant of both stage and screen.

The West Wing was among his last roles

"During his career in theatre and film, both at home and abroad, he is remembered for the quality of his performances in a range of challenging and often ground-breaking roles," he said.

"His portrayal of Leopold Bloom in Ulysses was a particular highlight of his film career, a role that many people recall when they think of him.

O'Shea was nominated for a Bafta for Ulysses

"His performance in Zeffirelli's Romeo and Juliet also stands out."

Mr Deenihan said the actor had reached the widest audiences across the globe and was internationally recognised for the quality of his work.

"I would like to express my deep condolences to his family, and to his many friends, at this time," he added.

In the 1969 film The Adding Machine

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Princess Cristina Of Spain To Appear In Court

A court has named Spain's Princess Cristina as a suspect in a corruption case involving her husband, the Duke of Palma.

The court in Palma, on the island of Mallorca, said that the 47-year-old daughter of King Juan Carlos, is to be called for questioning on April 27.

The case centres on claims that her husband, Inaki Urdangarin, and his former business partner, Diego Torres, funnelled around 5 million euros (£4.25m) of public funds to companies they controlled.

Princess Cristina with her husband Inaki Urdangarin, the Duke of Palma

They are accused of syphoning off money paid by regional governments to stage sports and tourism events to the non-profit Noos Institute, which the Duke was chairman of from 2004 to 2006.

The Duke, who has not been charged with any crime and maintains his innocence, attempted to distance his wife and the rest of the royals from his business dealings when he was questioned in court in February.

But his former business partner then provided the judge with emails that were leaked appearing to show that the Duke regularly consulted his wife, a member of the board of the Noos Institute, about the organisation's affairs.

The Spanish royal family

Princess Cristina, the youngest daughter of King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia, is seventh in line to the throne.

The princess, who was a member of the Spanish Olympic sailing team at the Seoul games in 1988, married her husband, a former handball player, in 1997 and together the couple have four children.

The couple moved to Washington in 2009 when the Duke took up the role as executive director of the US subsidiary of Spanish telecommunications firm Telefonica.

They were living there when the corruption allegations emerged but returned to Barcelona in August last year.

The summons by Judge Jose Castro will be seen as extremely damaging to the royal family, whose popularity is waning, according to recent polls.

The 75-year-old king is credited with steering Spain to democracy following the death of dictator Francisco Franco in 1975 but his standing has been hit by the corruption case and over a luxury elephant-hunting safari he took in Africa last year at a time of record unemployment in Spain.

An opinion poll published last month showed almost 57% of Spaniards felt the king should abdicate in favour of his 45-year-old son Prince Felipe.

He is currently recovering from surgery to his lower spine - his seventh operation in three years.

A spokesman for the palace said: "The royal household does not comment in any way on judicial decisions."

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Madonna To Sell Picture For Women's Education

Madonna is parting with an abstract French painting she has owned for more than 20 years to support educating girls in Afghanistan, Pakistan and other countries.

Fernand Leger's Three Women at the Red Table will be offered on May 7 at Sotheby's auction house in New York.

It is expected to sell for over $5m (£3.3m).

All proceeds will go to the singer's Ray of Light Foundation.

The pop diva says she wants "to trade something valuable for something invaluable" in countries where female education is rare or non-existent.

Madonna purchased Three Women at Sotheby's in 1990.

Leger created the work in 1921 as part of a series depicting women with still-life compositions.

Other examples from the series are in the Dallas Museum of Art and the Beyeler Foundation in Switzerland.

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