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Raw: Drone Flyover Reveals Nepal Damage

Many mountain roads, often treacherous at the best of times, remain blocked by landslides, making it extremely difficult for supply trucks to get to the higher Himalayan foothills.

"We definitely need more helicopters," Ertharin Cousin, executive director of the U.N.'s World Food Program, told The Associated Press in the village of Majuwa, in the quake-devastated Gorkha district. Aid agencies have been using Majuwa as a staging area to get supplies deeper into mountainous areas. "Even seven days in this is still very much considered the early days, because there are people we still haven't reached. So we need helicopters to reach them."

"This is one of the poorest places on Earth. If the global community walks away, the people of this country will not receive the assistance that is required for them to rebuild their lives," she said.

Cousin said shelter was a more urgent priority at this point than food.

More than 130,000 houses were destroyed in the quake, according to the U.N. humanitarian office. Near the epicenter, north of Kathmandu, whole villages were in ruins, and residents were in desperate need of temporary shelters against the rain and cold.

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An elderly Nepalese woman visits a temple in Bhaktapur, Nepal, Saturday, May 2, 2015. A week after t …

The magnitude-7.8 earthquake killed more than 6,840 people, with the death toll continuing to rise as reports filter in from isolated areas. The U.N. has estimated the quake affected 8.1 million people — more than a fourth of Nepal's population of 27.8 million.

Other teams conducting search and rescue operations also said their work was hampered by a lack of helicopters.

David O'Neill of the U.K. International Search and Rescue said a team from his group drove and then walked for several hours to reach remote villages that had reported 80 percent fatalities.

Most of the residents of Golche and Pangtang villages died in a major aftershock a day after the quake, O'Neill said in Chautara, a village in Sindhupalchok district.

He said the team had hoped to reach the areas by helicopter from Chautara, but none were available to charter and they could not get on choppers flown by Nepal's army, so they were returning to Kathmandu.

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Nepalese soldiers clear the debris at the Kaalmochan temple in Kathmandu, Nepal, Saturday, May 2, 20 …

Nepal's government renewed its appeal to international donors to send tents, tarpaulins and basic food supplies, saying some of the items being sent are of little use. It also asked donors to send money if they cannot send things that are immediately necessary.

"We have received things like tuna fish and mayonnaise. What good are those things for us? We need grains, salt and sugar," Finance Minister Ram Sharan Mahat told reporters Friday.

Three senior officials were sent to remote villages after criticism that authorities had not reached some of the areas a full week since the earthquake.

"Our target now is for our officers to reach each of the villages that have been affected by the earthquake," Chief Secretary Lilamani Poudyal said.

There was enough food and grain, but the immediate need for tents and shelter remained, he said.

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A Nepalese Hindu devotee receives blessings from a priest in Kathmandu, Nepal, Saturday, May 2, 2015 …

Information Minister Minendra Rijal said Nepal would need 400,000 tents and so far has been able to provide only 29,000 to those in need.

Life has been slowly returning to normal in Kathmandu, but to the east, angry villagers in parts of the Sindhupalchok district said Saturday they were still waiting for aid to reach them.

In the village of Pauwathok, three trucks apparently carrying aid supplies roared by without stopping.

"What about us?" screamed villagers, as the trucks sped on. Of the 85 homes in Pauwathok, all but a handful were destroyed.

"Nobody has come here to help us. No government, no police, no aid," Badri Giri, 71.

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Statues of the Buddha is seen amid debris caused by last Saturday's earthquake in Kathmandu, Nep …

Anger and frustration at the slow pace of aid delivery have been growing among residents of remote Himalayan villages.

In the nearby village of Jalkeni, mounds of broken wood and stone line the road, the remains of homes flattened by the quake.

On top of one mound, surrounded by a pile of dusty rocks, a broken TV, shredded clothes and bags of whatever she had managed to save from the debris, Sunita Shrestha sat cradling a young girl. The mound used to be her two-story home.

"No one has come to help us yet," said Shrestha, as the sun beat down. "I don't know if they ever will."

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Associated Press writer Binaj Gurubacharya in Kathmandu, Nepal, contributed to this report.

YOLA, Nigeria (AP) — Nigeria's military rescued 234 more girls and women from a Boko Haram forest stronghold in the country's northeast, the military announced Saturday.

More than 677 females have been released this week, as the Nigerian military continues its campaign to push the Islamic extremists out their last remaining strongholds in the Sambisa Forest.

"FLASH: Another set of 234 women and children were rescued through the Kawuri and Konduga end of the #Sambisa Forest on Thursday," said the Nigerian Defense Headquarters early Saturday on its official Twitter account.

The army has deployed ground troops into the forest after weeks of punishing air raids on the area.

"The assault on the forest is continuing from various fronts and efforts are concentrated on rescuing hostages of civilians and destroying all terrorist camps and facilities in the forest," said Defense Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Chris Olukolade.

In recent weeks the military and troops from neighboring countries have taken back control of towns in northeastern Nigeria that had been held by Boko Haram and where the extremists had declared an Islamic caliphate.

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In this photo made available by the Nigerian Military taken Tuesday, April 28, 2015, a pall of smoke …

Sambisa Forest is reported to be the Islamic militants' last holdout. President Goodluck Jonathan, whose term ends this month, pledged Thursday to "hand over a Nigeria completely free of terrorist strongholds."

It is not known how many girls, women, boys and men Boko Haram has kidnapped during its nearly 6-year-old rebellion. Nigeria's army has reported rescuing only females.

Some women shot at their rescuers and were killed, as Boko Haram used them as an armed human shield for its main fighting force.

Soldiers were shocked when women opened fire on troops who had come to rescue them in the village of Nbita last week, The Associated Press was told by a military intelligence officer and a soldier who were at the scene. The women killed seven soldiers and soldiers fighting back killed 12 of the women and wounded several others, they said. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the press.

Most of the females who have been released are traumatized, said army spokesman Col. Sani Usman. Nigeria's military says it has flown in medical and intelligence teams to screen the rescued girls and women and find out their identities.

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Map locates the Sambisa Forest in Nigeria, where hundreds of girls were rescued; 1c x 3 inches; 46.5 …

It is still not known if any are the schoolgirls kidnapped from a boarding school in Chibok town a year ago — a mass kidnapping that outraged much of the world.

Some identify with the insurgents' extremist ideology after months of captivity and forced marriages, a counselor who has helped rehabilitate other women held captive by Boko Haram told the AP. It remains unclear if some of the women had willingly joined Boko Haram, or are family members of fighters.

Some of the freed women and girls are pregnant, Muhammad Gavi, a spokesman for a self-defense group that fights Boko Haram, said citing information from group members who have seen the females.

Amnesty International called on authorities "to ensure that the trauma of those 'rescued' is not exacerbated by lengthy security screening in detention."

The Nigerian military Friday released photos of about 20 subdued-looking children and women they said the pictures were taken between Tuesday and Thursday in the Sambisa Forest. They females look generally healthy but at least one child looks emaciated and some children have the orange-colored hair signaling severe malnutrition.

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In this photo made available by the Nigerian Military taken Tuesday, April 28, 2015, Nigerian milita …

A young military medic with blue rubber gloves and a surgical mask appears to be checking several children.

Boko Haram continues to attack in isolated places. A Boko Haram attack on Karamga island in Lake Chad last weekend killed 156 militants, 46 Niger soldiers and 28 civilians, said the government of the neighboring country of Niger.

The governor of a province in Niger has ordered residents living near Lake Chad to evacuate by Monday when troops will flush the militants from hideouts, said a government official.

As the Islamic insurgency spilled over Nigeria's borders, a multinational force formed with troops from the neighboring countries of Chad, Niger and Cameroon deployed at the end of January. Nigeria's military, which had largely failed to curb the rebellion, has been reinvigorated by new weapons including helicopter gunships.

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Associated Press writer Haruna Umar contributed to this report from Maiduguri, Nigeria.



234 more females rescued from Boko Haram

The Nigerian military rescued the hostages from an extremist forest stronghold in the country's northeast.
677 found this week

Associated Press Videos
Raw: Baltimore Police Scuffle With Protesters

BALTIMORE (AP) — Chants of "no justice, no peace, no racist police" echoed through the streets of Baltimore Saturday during a march that organizers billed as a "victory rally" a day after a prosecutor charged six officers involved in the arrest of a man who died in police custody.

State's Attorney Marilyn Mosby on Friday charged the six with felonies ranging from assault to murder in the death of Freddie Gray. He died from spinal injuries a week after his April 12 arrest. It provoked riots on the streets of West Baltimore and quickly became a rallying cry against police brutality and social inequality in the city and elsewhere.

The planned march was to be a mass protest of Gray's treatment by police, but after Mosby's announcement, the tone had changed to more celebratory.

Shortly after noon at Gilmor Homes, a group of demonstrators, both black and white, young and older, congregated.

"Are you ready to march for justice?" Kwame Rose, 20, of Baltimore, said. The crowded chanted, "Yes."

"Are you all ready to march for peace?" Rose asked. "Yeah," the group answered.

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People react as police line up at North Ave and Pennsylvania Ave in Baltimore, Maryland May 1, 2015. …

Black Lawyers for Justice was expecting at least 10,000 people to show up downtown. Smaller groups of what looked to be several hundred gathered all around Baltimore and made their way through the streets to join the thousands at the main rally at City Hall.

They carried homemade signs, calling for peace, as well as printed ones asking for justice. Others wore T-shirts that read, "Black Lives Matter."

Rashid Wiggins of Upton was selling $10 shirts with the slogan, with "I matter" in red.

He said it surprised him that charges were filed quickly and that he hopes it sends a message to other officers to ensure that when someone in police custody asks for medical help, they get it.

"I just want them to be a little more careful," he said.

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Marilyn Mosby, Baltimore state's attorney, pauses while speaking during a media availability, Fr …

Near a CVS store that was looted and burned earlier in the week, groups of policemen stood on corners and a police helicopter flew overhead. Some officers twirled wooden batons idly. Someone had used chalk to draw a peace sign and write "Freddie Gray" on the brick face of the store. Hearts and dollar signs had been drawn on the store's boarded up windows.

Chrystal Miller, 47, and Linda Moore, 63, were joining the rally. Moore brought a sign that said "The Dream Still Lives," a reference to the Rev. Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" civil rights speech.

Miller, who was pushing her 1-year-old son in a stroller, said she hoped the march would be peaceful. And Moore said she believed it would be because of the charges.

Still, Miller said the story isn't over.

"It's going to be a long road," she said, adding that the officers still need to go to court and she wasn't sure they'd wind up with jail time as she hoped. "Nothing is going to happen overnight."

Prosecutor Charges 6 Officers in Baltimore DeathPlay video

Mosby said that after reviewing the results of a police investigation turned over to her just one day before, she had concluded Gray's arrest was illegal and unjustified. She said his neck was broken because he was handcuffed, shackled and placed head-first into a police van, where his pleas for medical attention were repeatedly ignored as he bounced around inside a small metal compartment in the vehicle.

The officers missed five opportunities to help the injured and falsely imprisoned detainee before he arrived at the police station no longer breathing, Mosby said.

The police had no reason to stop or chase after Gray, she said. They falsely accused him of having an illegal switchblade when it was a legal pocketknife, and failed to strap him down with a seat belt, a direct violation of department policy, she said.

The six officers were scheduled to appear publicly in court for the first time at the end of the month. A lawyer hired by the police union insisted the officers did nothing wrong. Michael Davey said Mosby has committed "an egregious rush to judgment."

Others saw Gray's arrest and death as a reflection of Baltimore's broad social and economic problems and the announcement of charges prompted celebrations in the streets Friday.

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This photo provided by the Baltimore Police Department on Friday, May 1, 2015 shows, top row from le …

Walter Dorsett and Kasey Lee, both 18 of North East, Maryland, joined the crowd outside City Hall Saturday. Dorsett carried a sign that read, "Having a badge should not exclude you from the law."

Dorsett said the charges seemed accurate, though, "it doesn't mean they're going to be found guilty, but it's a start."

Gray's stepfather, Robert Shipley, said the family charges were "an important first step" and reiterated a plea to keep all public demonstrations peaceful.

"If you are not coming in peace, please don't come at all," he said.

The family lawyer, Billy Murphy, said Baltimore now has an opportunity to set an example for cities across the nation grappling with police brutality.

"The people of Philadelphia, New York, Cincinnati, and in numerous cities and towns are expressing their outrage that there are too many Freddie Grays," Murphy said. "If Freddie Gray is not to die in vain, we must seize this opportunity to reform police departments throughout this country."

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Associated Press writer Amanda Lee Myers contributed to this report.

Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter lays a wreath of flowers at the grave of Yasser Arafat, upon his arrival for a meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, in the West Bank city of Ramallah, Saturday, May 2, 2015. A delegation led by former U.S. President Jimmy Carter says it has called off a planned visit to the Gaza Strip. (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser)

JERUSALEM (AP) — Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter said Saturday that eight months after a bloody war in the Gaza Strip the situation there remains "intolerable."

Carter and his delegation were supposed to visit the isolated territory but earlier this week called it off siting unspecified security concerns. Speaking to reporters in Jerusalem, Carter said he was still determined to work for a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza.

"What we have seen and heard only strengthens our determination to work for peace," he said. "The situation in Gaza is intolerable. Eight months after a devastating war, not one destroyed house has been rebuilt and people cannot live with the respect and dignity they deserve."

More than 2,000 Palestinians were killed in the 50-day summer war between Israeli forces and Hamas militants who fired rockets into Israel.

Earlier in the day, Carter, 90, visited Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah and laid a wreath on the grave of former leader Yasser Arafat.

Carter was accompanied by Gro Harlem Brundtland, a former prime minister of Norway and fellow member of his Elders group.

But Carter was shunned by Israeli leaders who long have considered him hostile to the Jewish state.

Although he brokered the first Israeli-Arab peace treaty during his presidency, Carter outraged many Israelis with his 2006 book "Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid." He's also repeatedly reached out to Gaza's Islamic Hamas leaders, considered terrorists by much of the West.

Carter did meet with a group of Israelis living in towns bordering Gaza and heard about life under the threat of rocket attacks and militant infiltrations from Gaza. But he said that he had no interest in meeting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has ignored him in the past.

"This time we decided it was a waste of time to ask," Carter said. "As long as he is in charge, there will be no two-state solution and therefore no Palestinian state."