The angry earth

Commuter dies when rock slide crashes into Indian train

About 100 people were injured in a 4.9-magnitude earthquake which stuck western Iran.

The quake struck at 7.22am local time in the town of Dorood, causing damage to residential buildings.

Iran is located on seismic fault lines and on average experiences at least one small earthquake every day. A magnitude-6.6 quake flattened the historic city of Bam in 2003, killing 26,000 people.

At least 20 people died when Hurricane Tomas brushed past Haiti, more than double the number initially reported, the country's already beleaguered civil protection department said.

Seven people remain missing and dozens were injured during the storm. More than 30,000 people remain in shelters and Tomas left nearly 6,000 families homeless.

One person died, and 15 more were hurt as boulders crashed into two coaches of the Mangalore-Mumbai Matsyagandha Express near Karwar in southern India.

At around 7pm, boulders loosened due to heavy rain in the region came rolling down the hillock and crashed into the running train.

The death toll from flooding in Thailand now stands at 185.

Thailand's Disaster, Prevention and Mitigation Department said the toll is for the period since 10 October. The department said 127 deaths are mainly from the north and northeast regions, and 58 people died in the south.

And new flooding in central Vietnam has killed 16 people, bringing the death toll over the past month to 159.

Heavy rains caused rivers to overflow in several regions.

Go figure

10 percentage pay rise that all 23,300 employees of Google worldwide will receive in 2011

60,000 dollars in back money film star Mel Gibson has been ordered to pay in child support to the mother of his child

0 women on the Saudi Arabian team for the Asian Games which start this week. The team has 180 men

On this day in 1957

American mafia blown wide open by small town police officers

THE FBI director, J Edgar Hoover, had long refused to admit the existence of a crime organisation known as the mafia. So it was quite a shock to the top g-man when more than 100 members of the Cosa Nostra were found to have met on 14 November 1957 at the 53-acre estate of Joe 'the Barber' Barbera in Apalachin in upstate New York.

Barbara hosted a meeting to sort out differences between the crime families over gambling, casinos and drug dealing, and to sort out the bloodbath surrounding the latest bid for power of Vito Genovese, and rival gang bosses Carlo Gambino, Joseph Profaci and Joseph 'Joe Bananas' Bonanno.

It was their love of high living that cost the mafia men: dozens of expensive cars with out-of-state licence plates drew the attention of the local police, who checked with a local butcher and found Barbera had an order for 200lbs of prime steak. During the raid, dozens of mafioso spilled out of the house into the surrounding woods, tossing cash and guns away, but more than 60 were arrested and indicted.

The debacle was a serious blow to the prestige of Barbera, the north-eastern family boss, and he was hounded by police and lawyers before he died 18 months later.

The Apalachin Meeting is referenced by Ray Liotta's character Henry Hill in the 1990 film Goodfellas and the meeting was also depicted in the 1999 film Analyze This.

A landmark in US?crime, the Apalachin meeting took place at Joe Barbera's home, 53 years ago on this day.

The week in laughs

Neil Prendeville was arrested under the prevention of terrorism act - he was caught on a flight with a small loaded weapon in his hand.

(neilprendeville.com)

Prince Harry is determined to fight on the front line in Afghanistan. So we're finally going to find out if he's really got blue blood.

(Sickipedia)

The midterms saw the biggest landslide since the '30s. I haven't seen the Republicans so happy about taking seats since they made Rosa Parks stand up

(Bill Maher)

Obama's in India for two days and Republicans are already accusing him of being a Hindu

(Jay Leno)

The Irish minister for finance has announced a new policy to deal with the economy. It's called
quantitative cheesing

(Danny Baker Show)

News hound - What it says in the international press

The Times of India - Students convicted of 'ragging' to death

A Dharamsala court handed out four years of imprisonment to four medical students accused of ragging their junior Aman Kachroo to death in Himachal Pradesh last year.

The four accused were neatly dressed and did not appear to have any remorse.

Republika - Indonesian evacuees: all you need is love

Some of the 300,000 evacuees from the volcanic eruption in central Java sheltering in football stadiums and public halls have requested a "chamber of love". Newly-wed Ari Margareta (18), is quoted as saying her biological needs are not being fulfilled.

Round Town News - Irishman arrested for drunk driving

POLICE in Orihuela Costa arrested a 62-year-old Irish man after he was seen driving a car erratically in the early hours of last Saturday. The man, a resident of Orihuela Costa, was found to be more than three times over the legal limit; his car was seized.

Globe and Mail - Dangerous is most certainly the word

Dangerous Dan's, a gritty joint popular among night crawlers, has launched an ad campaign calculated to cause offence. The campaign includes a group of stoned people ordering takeout and chatting about the musical Grease and tattooed genitals.

Checking out - The people we said goodbye to last week

Shirley Verrett, 79, American operatic mezzo-soprano, heart failure

Emilio Eduardo Massera, 85, Argentine admiral and member of ruling junta after 1976 coup, stroke

"Jack Duckworth", 74, character in British soap Coronation Street played by Bill Tarmey

Jim Farry, 55, former chief executive of the Scottish FA, heart attack

Dino De Laurentiis, 91, Oscar-winning film producer

John Jerome Cunneen, 78, archbishop of Christchurch, and titular bishop of Eanach Dúin (Annaghdown, Co Galway)

Henryk Górecki, 76, Polish composer, after a long illness