A Michigan father died saving his daughter from rough waters after going to Florida for his father’s memorial service. William Moritz dived into the surf at Jacksonville Beach when his 6-year-old Maddy was pulled in by strong waves on Saturday, but drowned after the heroic act.The girl was taken to a local hospital and released Saturday night.Her 28-year-old’s death comes just two weeks after his father died, according to WJAX.(Nydailynews.com)…[+]

KALININGRAD, Russia — The maritime museum in this Russian exclave on the Baltic Sea caps each summer with its international Water Assembly, an antic parade of small historical vessels from around the Baltics, their crews wearing period costumes as they sail the Pregolya River. But this year, said Svetlana G. Sivkova, the founding director of Kaliningrad’s Museum of the World Ocean, regular participants from neighboring Lithuania and Poland threatened to stay home. “They said they could not come to us because Poles and Lithuanians are being beaten on the streets of Kaliningrad,” said Ms. Sivkova, appalled at what she called an abrupt and unwarranted change in mood.(nytimes.com)…[+]

Outraged 9/11 families accused Saudi Arabian officials Saturday of blackmailing the U.S. to hide their alleged role as financiers of the World Trade Center terrorists.

The fierce attacks came after a Saturday report that the Saudis threatened to sell off up to $750 billion in U.S. assets if Congress passes legislation allowing its government to be held liable in 9/11-related lawsuits. Families who lost loved ones in the terror attacks say President Obama, who is lobbying intensively to derail the bill, according to The New York Times, is on the wrong side of the issue. “I’m furious. This is a slap in the face to the 9/11 families,” said Jim Riches, the retired FDNY deputy chief whose firefighter son Jimmy died in the Trade Center rubble.(Nydailynews.com)…[+]

At least 77 people were killed and hundreds were injured Saturday after a 7.8 magnitude earthquake jolted the Ecuadorian coast, officials said. The deadly quake was the third in a string of tremors that have rattled along the volatile ‘ring of fire’ that encircles the Pacific Ocean — leaving behind a trail of destruction.The quake struck around 7 p.m., buckling buildings and drumming homes as far as 250 miles away in the capital of Quito.In Guayaquil, the country’s most populous city, an overpass collapsed on top of a car, killing one person.(Nydailynews.com)…[+]

BHUTAN – Greeted by a Bhutanese girl and boy with bouquets of flowers, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge arrived on a windy Thursday morning in Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan for a daylong visit at the invitation of its king and queen. Prince William and his wife, Kate Middleton, stepped from their jet onto the airport tarmac in the picturesque hilltop resort town of Paro and a red-carpet welcome led by Princess Ashi Chimi Yangzom Wangchuck, sister to the Bhutanese king.

A vehicle stood waiting to drive them about 40 minutes to their hotel in the capital of Thimphu. The British royals watched an archery match and met Bhutan’s King Jigme Khesar Namgyal Wangchuck and Queen Jetsun Pema, who are wildly popular in the nation of 800,000. In the evening, they met the Bhutanese royal couple’s baby, born in February, and dined with Bhutan’s king and queen. Today, the British royal couple will hike to a Buddhist monastery called Tiger’s Nest, perched at an altitude of 3,000 meters, though there will be ponies on standby to help carry them should they tire on the trek…[+]

ISRAEL – Israel promoted an Arab police officer to deputy commissioner, the highest rank obtained by a Muslim in the nation. Jamal Hakrush will be in charge of improving the policing services in Arab neighborhoods and towns in Israel.  He will be responsible for establishing police stations in new Arab towns while strengthening the existing stations.

Israeli Arabs make up roughly a quarter of the country’s population. Internal security minister Gilad Erdan presented the officer with his rank, calling it a historic occasion. “If we are honest with ourselves and I refer to all the governments in Israel through the generations … we cannot look at the Arab society in Israel with the violence and crime in its midst, with a clear conscience,” Erdan said. “Until this day, we have not provided the Arab sector with equal law enforcement capabilities.”

(CNN)…[+]

USA – United States health officials have confirmed the worst fears of many pregnant women in the US and Latin America by saying there is no longer any doubt the Zika virus causes babies to be born with abnormally small heads and other severe brain defects. Since last year, doctors in Brazil have been linking Zika infections in pregnant women to a rise in newborns with microcephaly, or an unusually small skull. Most outside experts were cautious about drawing such a connection. But now the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says enough evidence is in.  “There is no longer any doubt that Zika causes microcephaly,” CDC Director Dr Tom Frieden said. The CDC said it is also clear that Zika causes other serious defects, including damaging calcium buildups in the developing brain.

(The Independent UK/AP)…[+]

“We have major governance issues,” Women and Children’s Rights Activist, Karen DeSouza, asserted on Tuesday. DeSouza who is a member of Red Thread, a local Non-Governmental Organization (NGO), was at the time commenting on her belief that too little information has been forthcoming from Government regarding recent disclosures about Minister of State, Joseph Harmon.

Harmon has recently been embroiled in contentious activities including granting local businessman, Brian Tiwarie of BK International, an honorific Ministerial Advisor appointment in mid-January. Soon after the appointment was publicized it was rescinded by President David Granger. The Minister of State has also been accused of coming to the rescue of Chinese logging company Bai Shan Lin when attempts were made by the Guyana Revenue Authority to redeem outstanding taxes…[+]

THE NETHERLANDS – Dozens of heavily armed military police flooded into Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport on Tuesday night, evacuating part of the busy travel hub and arresting one man during a four-hour security alert. The incident came as the Netherlands has been on high alert following the 22 March attack on Brussels airport and metro system in which 32 people were killed.

“Police have evacuated part of the airport plaza and the adjacent Sheraton Hotel and arrested one person amid a suspicious situation,” airport spokeswoman Danielle Timmer said. Witnesses saw heavily armed Dutch special military police, wearing balaclavas, patrolling the airport while passengers watched from behind security tape.

(The Guardian)…[+]

GERMANY – Moments before two trains collided head-on – killing 11 people – a dispatcher was playing video games on his phone, authorities said. The game distracted him from controlling the train traffic crossing in Germany’s southern state of Bavaria, which contributed to the accident, according to German investigators. They said the dispatcher’s actions were more than just a “temporary failure” but rather a “dereliction of duty.” The dispatcher has been accused of manslaughter and other crimes. The February 9 crash happened near the spa town of Bad Aibling, about 60 kilometers southeast of the Bavarian capital of Munich. Police said at least 24 people suffered severe injuries and another 61 had less serious injuries.(CNN)…[+]