Massachusetts ( Five men and two women from Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and Singapore - Trespassing at Reservoir. ) Drinking Water

BELCHERTOWN (CBS) – Shortly after midnight Tuesday, seven people were caught trespassing at the Quabbin Reservoir.
State Police say the five men and two women are from Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and Singapore, and “cited their education and career interests” for being in the area. The men told police they were chemical engineers and recent college graduates.


The Quabbin, in Belchertown, is one of the country’s largest man-made public water supplies. Boston’s drinking water comes from the Quabbin and the Wachusett Reservoirs.
State Police say there were no warrants or advisories on any of the individuals and “there was no evidence that the seven were committing any crime beyond the trespassing.”
All seven were allowed to leave and will be summonsed to court for trespassing. The FBI is investigating and routine checks of public water supplies have been increased following the incident.
The seven individuals currently live in Amherst, Cambridge, Sunderland, Northampton and New York City. Police have not released their names because a court date has not been set.

JAPAN ( Ex -Cop arrested for attempting to abduct 15 yr- old girl )

Ex-cop arrested for attempting to abduct 15-year-old girl

CrimeMay. 15, 2013 - 01:50PM JST( 12 )

TOKYO —

A former police sergeant has been arrested for the attempted abduction of a 15-year-old girl in Tokyo.
Koichi Omura, 32, who left the force in March, is accused of approaching the high school girl in a rented car on April 15, NTV reported Wednesday. According to police, Omura drove up beside the girl who was walking along a street in Akishima. He then produced what is believed to have been a police notebook and asked the girl to get into the car, reportedly saying, “I would like you to cooperate in an investigation.”
The girl got into the vehicle and then became suspicious and attempted to escape. Police quoted her as saying Omura tried to force her back into the car but she managed to get away.
According to police, Omura denies the charge and was quoted as saying, “I rented the car the day before, but I loaned it to an acquaintance.”

Iran NEWS ( Seven Drug Dealers Executed in Northern Iran - Say no to Drugs )

Seven prisoners Were Hanged In Northern Iran

Wednesday 15 May 2013

[English] [فارسى]

Iran Human Rights, May 15: Seven prisoners were hanged in the central Prison of Rasht (Northern Iran) today.
According to the official website of the Iranian Judiciary in Gilan Province the prisoners were all convicted of possession and trafficking of narcotic drugs. The prisoners were identified as: Jahangir Gorgij, Hashem bahar Ali, Shahram Hassan-Zadeh, Nemat Rajabi, Fahad Shirazi, Mohammad Zareiiand Tooraj Amini, said the report.
No further details were given in the report.

DRONE News ( The X-47B is the first drone designed to take off and land on a carrier )

ABOARD THE USS GEORGE H.W. BUSH (AP) — A drone the size of a fighter jet took off from the deck of an American aircraft carrier for the first time Tuesday in a test flight that could eventually open the way for the U.S. to launch unmanned aircraft from just about any place in the world.

The X-47B is the first drone designed to take off and land on a carrier, meaning the U.S. military would not need permission from other countries to use their bases.

"As our access to overseas ports, forward operating locations and airspace is diminished around the world, the value of the aircraft carrier and the air wing becomes more and more important," Rear Adm. Ted Branch, commander of Naval Air Forces Atlantic, said after the flight off the Virginia coast. "So today is history."

The move to expand the capabilities of the nation's drones comes amid growing criticism of America's use of Predators and Reapers to gather intelligence and carry out lethal missile attacks against terrorists in Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Yemen.

Detroit ( A Saudi man was arrested at Detroit Metropolitan -with a pressure cooker ) Smh?

AP Nasser Almarzooq told The Associated Press on Monday that he’d asked his uncle, Hussain Al Khawahir, to bring him a pressure cooker because the ones he bought in the U.S. didn’t work. (Oh of course, everyone knows Saudi technology is so much superior to American technology)

Almarzooq says he’s concerned about his uncle and hasn’t been told anything since his Saturday arrest. Almarzooq goes to the University of Toledo and says his uncle was coming to visit him for a couple weeks.
Al Khawahir is accused of using a passport with a missing page and making false statements about why he was traveling with the pressure cooker.
A Saudi man was arrested at Detroit Metropolitan Airport after federal agents said he lied about why he was traveling with a pressure cooker, according to a court documents filed Monday. Two pressure cookers were used in last month’s Boston Marathon bombings

WASHINGTON ( Labor, Activists Call on Obama to Halt Deportations -300,000 a year )

Labor, Activists Call on Obama to Halt Deportations

WASHINGTON – Organized labor and activist groups asked President Barack Obama on Monday that he halt deportations of undocumented immigrants who would be eligible for legalization under bills pending in Congress.

“The deportations must stop, and they must stop right now,” Ana Avendaño, spokeswoman on immigration topics for the AFL-CIO, said in a teleconference.

The Senate has already begun the process of amendments on a bipartisan bill that will seek to resolve the status of the close to 11 million foreigners estimated to live and work in the United States without authorization.

The Obama government has said its priority is the detention and deportation of immigrants who commit serious crimes, but since 2009 it has maintained a deportation rate of more than 300,000 people annually.

The process of immigration reform faces even more difficulties in the House of Representatives, where Republicans have the majority, than in the Senate.

In the meantime, Obama can exercise his authority to suspend deportations, Thomas Saenz, head of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund, said.

“We are asking the president to exercise discretion and cease deportations for those who qualify under the proposal of the Group of 8,” Saenz said, referring to the bipartisan Senate bill.

Pablo Alvarado, executive director of the National Day Laborer Organizing Network, said that Obama “cannot be a bystander in the process.” EFE

JERUSALEM ( Ancient Mosaic Found in Southern Israel ) 1,500 years old

 

JERUSALEM – Archaeologists have found a mosaic dating back around 1,500 years in an area in the northern part of Be’er Sheva, the largest city in the Negev desert of southern Israel, the Israel Antiquities Authority said.

“The well-preserved mosaic is decorated with geometric patterns and its corners are enhanced with amphorae (jars used to transport wine), a pair of peacocks, and a pair of doves pecking at grapes on a tendril. These are common designs that are known from this period; however, what makes this mosaic unique is the large number of motifs that were incorporated in one carpet,” the authority said.

The colorful mosaic, which dates back to the Byzantine period, was discovered in the fields of Kibbutz Bet Qama, the authority said in a statement.

“The main building at the site was a large hall 12 meters long by 8.5 meters wide and its ceiling was apparently covered with roof tiles. The hall’s impressive opening and the breathtaking mosaic that adorns its floor suggest that the structure was a public building,” the authority said.

Archaeologists said the site would have required extensive resources to develop at the time it was built.

“The site, which was located along an ancient road that ran north from Be’er Sheva, seems to have consisted of a large estate that included a church, residential buildings and storerooms, a large cistern, a public building and pools surrounded by farmland. Presumably, one of the structures served as an inn for travelers who visited the place,” the authority said.

The estate was located between Jewish and Christian settlements. EFE