New York, June 02: Faisal Shahzad, the Pakistani-American Times Square bombing suspect, is being labelled as a “hybrid terrorist”, someone who acted alone in the US but drew inspiration from outside extremist forces like the Taliban.

There may be other such radicalised Americans who are waiting for a chance to attack the country, CBS News reported.

“In one sense, Shahzad was a lone wolf, with evidence suggesting that he alone bought, assembled and delivered his botched IED,” it said.

New York, June 02: The UN Security Council called today for an impartial inquiry into the Israeli commando raid on a flotilla of aid ships for Gaza, which left nine activists dead. The statement – after a night of talks and wrangles – called for the investigation to be “prompt, impartial, credible and transparent”.

New Orleans, June 02: US officials said Tuesday they launched a criminal probe into the nation’s worst ever oil spill as BP voiced hopes of capping the six-week-old Gulf of Mexico leak soon.

“We will prosecute to the fullest extent of the law anyone who has violated the law,” Attorney General Eric Holder told reporters in New Orleans. “We will not rest until justice is done.”

As shares in the British energy giant plunged Tuesday, losing 13 percent and wiping off 12 billion pounds (17.6 billion dollars) off its market value, Holder said the criminal probe began “some weeks ago.”

Jerusalem, June 02: Pro-Palestinian activists sent another boat to challenge Israel’s blockade of the Gaza Strip on Tuesday and Egypt declared it was temporarily opening a crossing into the Palestinian territory after a raid on an aid flotilla that ended with Israeli soldiers killing nine activists.

The raid provoked ferocious international condemnation of Israel, raised questions at home, and appeared likely to increase pressure to end the blockade that has deepened the poverty of the 1.5 million Palestinians in the strip.

Manila, June 02: Fifteen people were killed when a passenger minibus plunged into a 70-metre-deep ravine in the northern Philippines, police said Wednesday.

Fifteen more were also hurt in the accident Tuesday in Besao town in Mountain province, 285 km north of Manila, Senior Superintendent Fortunato Albas said.

Albas, the provincial police chief, said heavy rains made part of the mountain road collapse, causing the mini-bus to fall into the ravine while negotiating a slope.

Washington, Jun 02: US President Barack Obama has spoken to Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan as a crisis built after an Israeli raid on a Gaza-bound aid flotilla, which Turkey branded a “bloody massacre.”

Obama spoke with the Turkish leader yesterday afternoon Washington time, an official said on condition of anonymity.

Further details of the conversation were expected later.

Earlier, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs had previewed the call, saying, “obviously they’re an important friend in all this and a relationship that we value greatly.”

Taipie, June 02: Taiwanese technology giant Foxconn, battling to stem a spate of factory suicides in China, said Wednesday it was raising the pay of its Chinese assembly line workers by 30 percent.

The pay raise took effect immediately, said an official at Foxconn’s parent company Hon Hai Precision, which said last week that it was considering a hike of at least 20 percent from the basic monthly pay of 900 yuan (130 US dollars).