A strong 6.7 magnitude earthquake hit the southern part of Java, Monday. Many residents fled from the Indonesian port to look for higher grounds due to fear of an impending tsunami.

The epicentre of the earthquake in the Indian Ocean was 15 miles deep, said the US Geological Survey.

Seismologists in India placed the earthquake on magnitude 7.1 and announced a tsunami alert, saying that the strength of the tremor can potentially cause a gigantic wave. They sent a public alert SMS and asked the citizens to forward the said SMS to as many people as possible. The tsunami alert was cancelled eventually.

The earthquake, paired with the government’s tsunami warning, caused a lot of fear and panic among the people living in the seaport town of Cilacep. They were apparently, all shouting “quake, quake!”

Suharjono, Meteorology and Geophysics Agency technical head, said that the tremors were felt in Cilacep and Pangandaran. He further said that the earthquake had woken up people from sleep but they did not receive reports of casualties.

The US Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre already said that there are no risks of a huge wave, but there is a very slight chance of a local tsunami.

David Jepson, Australian seismologist, said that they received reports that the quake was felt in Christmas Island – a remote island that is a part of the Australian territories. The epicentre of the quake was 241 kilometers away from the island.

Geoscience Australia placed the earthquake on magnitude 6.7 but they did not release a tsunami warning.

The Birmingham police placed two of its officers on paid administrative leave in line with the investigation on the alleged beating of a black man. The entire incident was said to have been caught on tape.

Mayor William Bell of Birmingham said that training should be conducted to inform or remind police officers of the appropriate amount of force they should use. The Mayor was very concerned after the video of the said incident was released to the media earlier this week. Erskine Faush, the mayor’s chief of staff, said Thursday that the mayor expressed major concern over what he saw.

The video caught on tape the March 20 clash between Travarious Daniel, 29, and two police officers. The police report indicated that undercover police officers chased Daniel outside a night club after he allegedly took a GPS, a carton of cigarettes, and a Dell computer from a parked car and transfered it in to his own.

Daniel, who is a security guard in one of the night clubs in the area, was charged with breaking and entering into a vehicle, and receiving stolen goods. Sergeant Johnny Williams said that Daniels is also expected to be charged with illegal possession of firearm.

However, the concern of Daniel’s lawyers and the entire Nation of Islam – wherein Daniel is a member – are questioning and are concerned with how the arrest was performed. On the video that was released to the press, it looked like Daniel’s hands were up on the air in surrender but a white officer threw him on the ground while beating his head and back.

Charles Salvagio, Daniel’s attorney, said that the Nation of Islam wants to raise awareness on what happened to his client. He further said that when Daniel walked in his office, his head was very swollen.

Eman al-Obeidy, the woman who claimed to have been raped and beaten by Moammar Gadhafi’s troops is still in custody, said her mother. This is contrary to the statement the government of Libya released to the press. They said, Sunday, that al-Obeidy has been released and is safe with her family.

Eman’s mother, however, said in an interview Monday with the Al-Jazeera television that she received a call at around 3am from Gadhafi’s compound. They told her to make her daughter Eman al-Obeidy change her statements and she will be released.

The government’s spokesperson Moussa Ibrahim said that they offered the al-Obeidy family an interview with one or two reporters, but they refused. He also said that Eman al-Obeidy is safe, healthy, and free. He, however, refused to take more questions regarding the issue saying that Libya has a very conservative society.

Al-Obeidy’s family said that Eman is a lawyer as opposed to being a mentally ill or a prostitute as the Libyan government initially said about her. The government was quick to re-track this statement and said that she is sane. The father of Eman said that his daughter is mentally healthy, and a lawyer who is taking-up higher education in Tripoli.

Eman’s story began when she emerged in a hotel Saturday, body bruised, saying that she has been held against her will and was raped by 15 men. She said that Gadhafi’s brigades violated her honor. Government officials in the area tried to stop her but she persisted on “telling her story.”

As of the moment, no one can confirm her story as the Libyan government decided to stay mum about the issue.

Suspected tornadoes masked by heavy thunderstorms and rain swept through central Florida on Thursday. The dangerous tornadoes flipped cars, damaged buildings and houses, and caused temporary loss of power in some parts of the region, officials said.

Most people affected only suffered minor injuries such as bruises and bumps.

Seventy people, who had gathered for the Sun ‘n’ Fun Aviation Fair, were temporarily trapped inside a tent at the Lakeland Linder Regional Airport. The tent collapsed as strong winds and heavy rains made its way through the exhibit. The storm damaged several aircraft, which included vintage biplanes and some larger planes.

The winds were reportedly rushing at 90 miles per hour in Tampa. Emergency crews from Polk County rapidly responded to the incident and freed the people who were trapped, officials said.

Injured people were brought to and treated at the Lakeland Hospital, director of Polk County emergency management Pete McNally said.

Severe storms hit the country since Wednesday. Meteorologists from National Weather Service said a tornado swept north of Tampa and a larger one came from the Gulf of Mexico and raked across Florida Peninsula.

Strong winds damaged 60,000 to 80,000 homes and buildings. On Wednesday, winds reportedly blew a cruise ship from its dock and flipped a tractor trailer in separate parts of the country.

According to the National Climatic Data Center, Florida encounters the third most tornadoes in the United States per year. Annually, it experiences about 55 tornadoes. The most fatal tornado occurred in Florida in 2008.

24 years after throwing a message in a bottle on the Baltic Sea, a German boy received a response to the letter. Daniil Korotkikh, 13-year old Russian boy, saw the bottle on the sand while walking on the beach.

Korotkikh said that he just saw what looked like a beer bottle with a message and thought it was interesting. The letter simply said that there is a 5-year old boy named “Frank” who is travelling with his dad to Denmark. The boy also requested that if someone ever finds it, that he be written a letter. The letter was written on 1987 and had an address to Coesfeld.

Frank Uesbeck, the boy who wrote the letter, is now 29 years old. When he received a response from Korotkikh, he could not believe it at first. Frank said he cannot even remember the letter as it was written by his dad.

Korotkikh and Uesbeck met online thru a web chat. Uesbeck was shown the german beer bottle and the letter that Korotkikh already put up in a frame.

13-year old Korotkikh did not think the bottle lasted in the water for 24 years; “it would have not survived,” he said. He believed it was long hidden under the sands where he found it.

Uesbeck gave Korotkikh his new address and promised to write back to the boy. He said he is very pleased to have made a very positive impact on the boy’s life. He even said that he is open to the possibility of meeting the boy in person someday.

A skyscraper climber, popularly known as the ‘French Spider-Man’ or ‘Human Spider’, has successfully scaled Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world on Monday.

Alain Robert started the climb along the glass-covered structure at around 6 PM. He moved up a central column where it is mostly free of decorative pipes, which could reduce the speed of his ascent.

He scaled the 2,717 foot-tall structure in Dubai over six hours. At night, he appeared a tiny speck already difficult to track as powerful spotlights tried to shove light on the side of the structure where he climbed.

Alain Robert even navigated through the spire that extends past the top floors of the famous structure in Dubai. Unlike his other climbs, the French Spider-Man was strapped to a safety rope and harness to abide with the requirements of the organizers.

At the base of the Burj, an ambulance with stretcher at ready parked along with other emergency vehicles. Also, hundreds of people watched as the brave Roberts climb the metal structure. Plazas and restaurants were crowded with spectators craning their necks.

Robert looked like he was not using the rope to climb his way up. Instead, he gripped the polished glass and narrow metal ridges with his bare hands and feet.

The 48-year-old human spider has already climbed more than 70 skyscrapers. These include Chicago’s Willies Tower, Empire State Building, and the famous Petronas Towers in Malaysia. He also scaled Taipei 101, which was the tallest building in the world before Burj in 2004.

After the Burj, Robert plans to climb some more towers in France, Singapore in Turkey.

The old clock has been set up on the lower level of New York’s Grand Central Terminal on Sunday. The clock is now hanging on the ceiling close to the gates going to Track 108 and 109.

The clock was previously installed on the upper level of the terminal. It was located inside the gate to Track 19. Marjorie Anders, spokeswoman of Metro-North Railroad, said the clock was transferred from the upper level because newly-installed lighting fixtures blocked it from sight.

The Metro-North Railroad is adding energy-efficient lighting, as well as new terrazzo floors within the area inside the gates located on the terminal’s upper level. With new lighting fixtures installed on the ceiling, the clock was hidden from the passersby’s sight.

Officials from Metro-North Railroad hope more people will be able to see the old clock, which came from the Self Winding Clock Co., on its new location downstairs near the dining hall.

The old clock, contained in a square oak case, is already considered as a relic from the pre-digital period. Nancy Dyer, archivist and librarian of the National Association of Watch and Clock Collectors, said there were formerly about 50,000 Self Winding Clocks all over the country.

She said the clocks were all maintained by Western Union. It helped maintain the schedules of the railroad by transmitting and setting up the appropriate time to the clocks.

Anders said the clock was too big and beautiful to be placed in a museum. Thus, it was moved to the lower level’s dining concourse where it can be easily seen by railroad passengers.

On Sunday, a source said that the emergency law in Syria that has been observed since 1963 is soon to be lifted. The decision came as a result of the violent anti-government protests that have been going on for days. Reem Haddad, spokesperson of the Syrian Information Minstry, said that the emergency law will indeed be lifted; she, however, did not say when.

The emergency law allows the armed forces of the government to make arrests without due process. The same law can also override the constitution and penal code. It has kept in prison people who have not been charged in court or even have a lawyer during interrogations.

The same source who is close to the government of Syria said that the cabinet members may resign next week after President Bashar al Assad appoints the new prime minister. The Syrian president is also reviewing the political parties law and is expected to submit a new draft of it to be presented to the public for approval via referendum.

On Saturday, a peaceful protest was held in Daraa as a way of mourning and remembering those who died on last week’s demonstrations. On the southern cities of Daraa, however, security forces allegedly open fired on the protesters, Friday, causing the death of dozens of people.

The president is expected to address his nation “anytime soon”, sources said. Chairman of the Senate’s Homeland Security Department, Sen. Joe Lieberman said that we will not stand by and allow Assad to mercilessly kill his people as his father did a couple of years ago.

Many people walked under cherry blossom trees in Washington not only to kick off the National Cherry Blossom Festival held 26^th of March until 10^th of April every year, but also to raise funds for the victims of the March 11 tsunami in Japan. The 3,000 trees are gifts from the Japanese government 99 years ago as a symbol of friendship between the two countries.

The American people showed their support for the Japanese people and their country by lighting candles in a vigil. They got together in the Sylvan Theatre and marched along the Tidal Basin which is lined by cherry blossom trees.

The organizers of the said fund raisers in partnership with the American Red Cross aim to come up with enough money to support relief efforts for Japan. After the tsunami stroke Japan last March 11, many Japanese people were left cold, homeless, and hungry.

The Japanese ambassador, Ichiro Fujisaki, said on his welcoming speech that although search and rescue operations are going on in Japan right now, the government is still struggling to provide enough water, food, and warmth. He further said that if there is one good thing that tragedy brought them is that the realization that they can rely on the entire world, especially America, to help them in their time of need.

However, the activity did not please everybody. Priscilla Lee of California said that she is happy that the activity promotes friendship with Japan, but it is not America’s sole responsibility to improve the conditions in the country. Many also pointed out that the US should focus on bigger issues like Libya and even the America’s own economy.

A former student of West Middle School at Martinsville, Indiana shot another student twice on the stomach around 7:00 Friday morning. The suspect was taken into custody just an hour after the shooting took place. Assistant Superintendent Randy Taylor said that the shooter was no longer a student in that school and should have not been inside school premises.

The 15 year-old boy who was shot, Chance Jackson, was immediately flown to the hospital following the incident. His exact condition was vague until his family released a statement saying that the boy is already out of surgery and his vital signs are stable. The family further said that they appreciate all the kind words and they pleaded that people continue to pray for their son and all the others who were involved.

The person suspected to have been the shooter, Michael Phelps, is also the same age as Jackson – 15 years old. He was kicked out from school after threatening to burn down the entire building. The shooting is said to have been rooted from an argument in a school dance a few days prior to the incident.

Phelps just moved in a trailer park and is the youngest among four children of a single parent. Some say he is a nice boy and no one would have predicted this to happen; his facebook page though, says otherwise. There were statements hinting to the shooting such as “Today is the day”, posted a few minutes before he allegedly shot Chance Jackson.