Workers demand better jobs, pay on May Day around the world
BERLIN (AP) — Some 400,000 people took to the streets in Germany on Sunday as marchers around the world demanded more jobs, better working conditions and higher wages on International Workers’ Day.
In Turkey, some 200,000 protesters flooded a central plaza in Istanbul, making it the largest May Day rally there since 1977, when at least 34 people died and more than 100 were injured after shooting triggered a stampede.
Taliban use 12-year-old suicide bomber at start of spring offensive
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — On the first day of its promised spring offensive, the Taliban used a 12-year-old boy as a suicide bomber in an attack Sunday that killed four civilians, President Hamid Karzai said, calling the child’s recruitment inhumane and un-Islamic.
It was one of several attacks across the country that killed seven people, government officials said.
The insurgent movement announced in a statement Saturday that it would step up operations against military bases, convoys and Afghan officials.
Pope beatifies John Paul II during mass before crowd of 1.5M
VATICAN CITY — Some 1.5 million pilgrims flooded Rome Sunday to watch Pope John Paul II move a step closer to sainthood in one of the largest Vatican Masses in history, an outpouring of adoration for a beloved and historic figure after years marred by church scandal.
The turnout for the beatification far exceeded even the most optimistic expectation of 1 million people, the number Rome city officials predicted.
Tornado victims seek comfort in various Sunday services
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — Macolee Muhammed accepted the prayer of a relief worker who stopped by what was left of her Birmingham home. It didn’t matter that she was Muslim and he was a Southern Baptist.
“If you came here to help, the only person who sent you was God,” she said.
The storms that roared across the South last week flattened churches and crushed homes in a ragged stretch from Mississippi to Virginia.
Insurance co. settles suit with former Utah State frat members
LOGAN, Utah (AP) — A Georgia insurance company that paid a wrongful death claim on behalf of a former Utah State University fraternity has settled the lawsuit it brought against four of the fraternity’s members. The Herald Journal of Logan reports that attorneys for RSUI Inc. told a 1st District Court judge the company had resolved a dispute with the four men.
RSUI sought $50,000 each from a Sigma Nu pledge and chapter officers as compensation for a settlement payment to the parents of Michael Starks.
More than 350 FEMA trailer residents face $800 monthly fine
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Fines of $800 a month kicked in Sunday for more than 350 Louisiana families still living in FEMA trailers.
The Times-Picayune reports 40 percent of the stragglers are located in New Orleans, where city officials continue their push to levy additional fines against residents who haven’t managed to secure permanent housing.
City hearing officers have ruled on more than 100 cases. Some residents have been given more time to relocate. Other cases were dismissed because occupants had moved out.
Tangipahoa voters reject taxes to desegregate the parish’s schools
AMITE, La. (AP) — Tangipahoa Parish voters have defeated four tax proposals that were part of a court-ordered plan to desegregate the parish’s schools.
The Advocate reports that complete but unofficial results from the secretary of state’s official show 87 percent voters voted against each proposal. no, voters rejected 29.5-mills in new property taxes and a 1-cent sales tax that would have enabled the school system to build five new schools and renovate 30 others.
 
____
Contact The Daily Reveille’s news staff at [email protected]