A DESTRUCTIVE Tornado Alley hit the US state of Oklahoma by winds of up to 320km/h for about 45 minutes. At least 51 people including 20 children have been killedwithtwo dozen children stillmissing as the Plaza Towers elementary school took a direct hit and more than hundred people are being treated in hospitals. NWS meteorologist Rick Smith said "It's certainly the most powerful tornado that I've ever dealt with in my 20 years with the weather service," However, more than 200 Oklahoma National Guardsmen as well as out-of-state personnel are assisting the search-and-rescue effort. PK

FRANCE IS now the 14th country to legalise gay marriage after New Zealand while legislation is also moving through the UK Parliament. On Friday, the controversial bill was signed into law by the president as the constitutional council rejected the challenge made by the opposition party, saying that same-sex marriage "did not run contrary to any constitutional principles," and that it is not violation of "basic rights or liberties or national sovereignty". The Catholic Church argues that, the bill will undermine an essential building block of society though the Church was thought to have lost much of its influence over the public. However, opinion polls have suggested that around 55-60% of French people support gay marriage, but only about 50% approve of gay adoption.PK.

THE UNITED nations warned that Cyclone Mahasen will make landfallon Thursday and 8.2m people could be at risk in Bangladesh, Burma and North-East India. As in Bangladesh, the danger level is raised up to seven out of 10 for low-lying areas, authorities are carrying out evacuation and taking people to safe shelters while airport has been shut there. On the other hand, in Burma tens of thousands of people living in low-lying areas are found reluctant to move to higher ground becausethey were displaced by ethnic violence last year. Though the authority claims more than 166,000 people had been relocated but report shows little evidence of a mass evacuationfrom the affected area. However, in Srilanka at least seven people died attacked by floods and mudslides. PK.

AUTHORITY ORDERED to evacuate of hundreds of thousands of people as forecasters warned that a cyclonic storm would hit low-lying coastal areas by early Thursday in Bangladesh. Shamsuddin Ahmed, deputy chief of Bangladesh Meteorological Department, said, Cyclone Mahasen was classified as the lowest-level category one on a one-to-five scale and packing winds of up to 88 kilometres (55 miles) per hour at its centre. The Bangladeshi authorities have declared the danger level to seven out of 10 for low-lying areas around Chittagong and the coastal district of Cox's Bazaar while the UN has warned that more than eight million people could be at risk from Cyclone Mahasen, which is expected to make landfall in the southeastern Chittagong region. SR

ON THE occasion of International Workers' Day, thousands of workers marched through Dhaka demanding the death penalty for Rana, the owner of the garment factory as well as safety in workplace. After the November fire on Tajrin garments and recent building collapse, there have been widespread accusations that safety regulations are both insufficient and rarely enforced in Bangladesh’s US$20 billion garment industry. Now Bangladesh is under threat to receive further GSP facilities. With the death toll crossing 400, Pope Francis has condemned Bangladesh’s working conditions as "slave labour". On the other hand, except British retailer Primark and Dutch Bangla Bank, no compensation is offered from anyone for the victims. ST

THE RITUAL killing of "Spirit children" who born with physical disabilities is announced to be abolished in some parts of Ghana. The "Spirit children" were considered as a sign of impending misfortune and given a poisonous drink to kill them. The ban covers seven towns as well as the Kasena-Nankana region where such beliefs are most widespread but awareness campaigns, improved healthcare and education make that fallacy less common. Though it does not guarantee that the practice will be eradicated from the whole country, activists welcomed the initiative. Local chief Naba Henry Abawine Amenga-Etigo said that anyone caught trying to harm children from now on would be handed over to the police. ST

FOR THE first time Japan has celebrated The Restored Sovereignty Day which marked the day in 1952 when the San Francisco Peace Treaty took effect, formally ending WWII and the allied occupation. The Prime Minister Shinzo Abe says this day would make Japan strong, resolute and renew their sense of hope and determination. However, as he is pushing for a revision of constitution to ease tight restrictions on the armed forces, these events and his remarks have angered Japan’s Asian neighbours like China which has objected several cabinet members’s visits to the Yasukuni war shrine which is seen as a symbol of Japan's imperialistic aggression. Besides these, thousands of Japanese people have denounced the ceremony as a betrayal. PK

ON THE sixth day of Dhaka building collapse, the second phase has been started to use heavy lifting gear to raise slabs of concrete at the Rana Plaza. Brig Gen Azmal Kabir of army engineering core said “as the chances of finding more survivors under the wreckage became very slim”, they decide to finish off first phase. Meanwhile the death toll reaches at 380 with thousands others injured either mentally or physically. However, six have been arrested relating to the incident while thousands of angry workers and residents took to the streets demanding their death penalty. ST

THE WHOLE nation is mourning for the pathetic death of 362 people caused by the collapse of Rana Plaza in Dhaka. More than 2500 people, admitted in different hospitals, are rescued from the wreckage of the building while about 900 people are still missing as reported by their relatives. As it is the 4th day since Wednesday's disaster, the smell of decomposing bodies stuck in debris is making some rescuers ill. Mahbubur Rahman Fire service director of operations said “There are many dead bodies but our top priority is finding those who may still be alive”. On the contrary, according to the order of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, some of the garment owners are arrested along with the most wanted building owner Sohel Rana. ST

AT LEAST 80 people have been died and more than 600 are injured after an ill-fated 8 storied building collapsed around 8:45am at Savar, Dhaka. With only the first floor remained intact, all the other floors get smashed in a moment trapping few hundred more inside. Fire fighters, army personnel, police and volunteers are trying hard to rescue those trapped. Earlier on Tuesday several cracks were found in the building and the workers denied to continue work. But the owners forced them to back to work Wednesday morning. It is highly predictable that the death toll is to reach at the climax as about 6000 workers used to work in the building. ST

THE LEADING Computer and smart phone company Apple’s profit has declined for the first time in a decade. Analysts says , the company needs to innovate and develop new products which investors are looking for, to stay ahead of the competition ,while the investorsareworriedaboutits market share that was being eroded by increasinglypopular offerings from rivals . However, Apple’s chief executive tried to assure investors and shareholders that the company will continue to take measure to maintain its dominance in the market and raise its dividend to shareholderswhich has encouraged theirinvestors and shareholders .

CROWN PROSECUTION service(CPS) has shown that the current conviction rate for rape prosecutions has increased to the highest on record, from 58% in 2007/8 to 63% in 2012/13, although the director of public prosecutions (DPP) has said too few cases are being brought to court. Criticizing the CPS, Emily Thornberry, the Labour MP for Islington South and Finsbury said the CPS took no further action against many rape & domestic violence incidents despite stubbornly high numbers and many perpetrators walking free. Keir Starmer, the DPP, said that as a lot of victims don't want to pursue cases and as witnesses are unwilling to go to court toface their assailant, making it difficultto prosecute cases. PK