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Magnitude 6.4 earthquake shakes Greece, Turkey, Bulgaria

An earthquake of 6.4 magnitude struck off the coast of northern class="mandelbrot_refrag"> Greece on Saturday, sending panicked residents into the streets in Greece, class="mandelbrot_refrag"> Turkey and Bulgaria, officials said. _0"> In class="mandelbrot_refrag"> Turkey , about about 270 people were hospitalized, most with minor injuries, as a tremor shook buildings, the government disaster and emergency department (AFAD) said. The quake also rattled Turkey's most populous city, Istanbul, as well as the Aegean coastal city of Izmir and the popular tourism province of Antalya on the Mediterranean coast. One person was in critical condition after jumping from a balcony in the western Turkish town of Canakkale, AFAD said.   true       Hurriyet Daily News reported 30 people injured jumping out of apartments in the town and patients in one hospital were evacuated after cracks emerged in the building. The U.S. Geological Survey

U.S. may act to keep Chinese hackers out of Def Con hacker event

Washington is considering using visa restrictions to prevent Chinese nationals from attending popular summer hacking conferences in Las Vegas as part of a broader effort to curb Chinese cyber espionage, a senior administration official said Saturday. The official said that Washington could use such visa restrictions and other measures to keep Chinese from attending the August Def Con and Black Hat events to maintain pressure on class="mandelbrot_refrag"> China after the United States this week charged five Chinese military officers with hacking into U.S. companies to steal trade secrets. class="mandelbrot_refrag"> China has denied the charges, saying they were "made up."   true       Organizers of the two conferences said they knew nothing about any efforts under consideration by Washington, but that they believed limiting participation from China was a bad idea. Jeff Moss, founder of both Def Con and Black Hat, could not be reached, althou

Ukraine defends vote despite unrest, Putin pledges 'respect'

Vladimir Putin promised that class="mandelbrot_refrag"> Russia would work with the new Ukrainian administration formed after a presidential election on Sunday that the Kiev government said on Saturday would anchor the ex-Soviet state to the West. In the eastern region where at least 20 people were killed in recent days, there was less violence, though in fighting near Slaviansk between pro-Moscow rebels and Ukrainian paratroopers, unconfirmed local media reports spoke of up to four deaths. The separatists reject an election run by a fascist "junta" in Kiev and national electoral officials said few ballot papers had yet been issued in two eastern regions with over 12 percent of the electorate, implying most there will be denied a vote.   true       Denouncing an "atmosphere of terror" directed against local electoral officials in the east, Europe's OSCE democracy agency pulled out most of the dozens of international monitors it had posted to D

EU set for election 'Super Sunday,' with far-right vote in spotlight

European elections reach their culmination on "Super Sunday" when the remaining 20 of the EU's 28 countries go to the polls, with the vote expected to confirm the dominance of pro-European centrists despite a rise in support for the far-right and left. class="mandelbrot_refrag"> Germany , class="mandelbrot_refrag"> France , class="mandelbrot_refrag"> Spain and Poland are among the major EU member states voting on Sunday, representing the bulk of the 388 million Europeans eligible to cast ballots and elect the 751 deputies to sit in the European Parliament from 2014-2019. After years of economic crisis, rising unemployment and poor growth, many Europeans have come to question the wisdom of ever-closer EU integration and are expected to vote for Eurosceptic parties on the right or left promising radical changes.   true       Opinion polls suggest at least a quarter of seats in the parliament will go to anti-EU or protest group

Opposition to Thai coup simmers, ex-PM in 'safe place'

Former Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra was in a "safe place" on Saturday after being held by the army following a coup, an aide said, as opposition to the takeover grew among her supporters and pro-democracy activists. The army moved on Thursday after failing to forge a compromise in a power struggle between Yingluck's populist government and the royalist establishment, which brought months of sometimes violent unrest to Bangkok's streets. Consolidating its grip, the military dissolved the Senate on Saturday, the only legislative assembly still functioning in class="mandelbrot_refrag"> Thailand . It also sacked three senior security officials who were seen as close to the ousted government.   true       The military detained Yingluck on Friday when she and about 150 other people, most of them political associates, were summoned to an army facility in Bangkok. More people were summoned over the weekend, including some outspoken academics and

Gunman kills six in drive-by shooting in California college town

A gunman killed six people and wounded seven others in a drive-by shooting in a Southern California college town, spraying bullets from his car until it crashed and he was found dead inside, authorities said on Saturday. Authorities were investigating a possible link between the Friday night shooting in the town of Isla Vista near the campus of the University of California at Santa Barbara and a threatening video posted online. In the YouTube video, which Santa Barbara Sheriff Bill Brown said appears to have been made by the suspected gunman, a young man bitterly complains of loneliness and rejection by women and says he plans to kill people.   true       Witnesses to the violence reported seeing someone driving a black BMW through the streets and shooting at people in Isla Vista, a beachside community where many college students live. "It's obviously the work of a madman," Brown told a news conference. "There's going to be a lot more information that will

Authorities checked on suspected California gunman's welfare last month: sheriff

Authorities last month checked on the welfare of the suspected gunman in the Isla Vista, California, shootings, making the visit at his family's request, and found him polite and courteous, Santa Barbara County Sheriff Bill Brown told reporters on Saturday. _0"> The gunman drove through Isla Vista in a black BMW on Friday night, shooting at people in the beachside community where many college students live. Seven people died in the rampage, including the suspect who was found dead inside of a crashed vehicle with a gunshot wound to the head, authorities said. (Reporting by Bill Trott , Writing by Alex Dobuzinskis; Editing by Lisa Shumaker )   true