LOS ANGELES — Kevin Durant stood above the 3-point line and watched the shot clock dwindle in the final seconds of Game 4. When Metta World Peace backed up slightly on defense, Durant hesitated only an instant before launching a 26-footer.
“It left my hand, (and) I was thinking, `If this doesn’t go in, it’s going to be a terrible shot,’” Durant said.
* Quake hit during night when most slept
* Strongest quake to hit Italy in three years
* Castle, churches, other cultural sites damaged (Updates death toll, adds fresh quotes, cathedral roof collapse)
By Stephen Jewkes
BONDENO, Italy, May 20 (Reuters) – A strong earthquake rocked a large swathe of northern Italy early on Sunday, killing at least four people, injuring dozens and seriously damaging historic buildings such as churches, bell towers and a mediaeval castle.
The quake, which the U.S. Geological Survey recorded at magnitude 6.0, struck at 4:04 a.m. (0204 GMT) while most people were sleeping, and thousands ran into the streets in their night clothes in panic.
“I ran out in my underwear,” one man told Italian television.
The epicentre of the quake, the strongest to hit Italy in three years, was in the plains near Modena in the Emilia-Romagna region of the Po river valley, and the tremor was felt as far west as Liguria, bordering France, and the Friuli region bordering Slovenia.
The roof of the cathedral in Mirandola collapsed. “Our school children were to receive their first communion here this morning. If it had happened then it would have been a disaster,” the local priest said.
Also badly damaged was the 14th century Estense Castle in the town of San Felice Sul Panaro.
The tops of several of the smaller towers of the famous mediaeval castle, the town’s biggest attraction, collapsed and there were fears that the main tower could crumble. Three of the town’s churches were severely damaged.
One person, believed to be a Moroccan man working a night shift in a polyester factory, died when he was hit by falling debris, and two men, also on the night shift, were killed when part of a modern ceramics factory made of steel collapsed in the town of Sant’ Agostino.
“He wasn’t supposed to be there. He changed shifts with a friend who wanted to go to the beach,” the mother of one of the victims told state television.
The lifeless body of a fourth victim was spotted under rubble in another factory.
GASHES, CRACKS, GAS LEAKS
The quake left a large hole and gashes in the side of the Sant’ Agostino town hall, which officials said was in danger of total collapse. Gas was also leaking in the town.
“I am 83 and I have never felt anything like this,” said Lina Gardenghi, a resident of Bondeno, the town where one of the workers was killed.
Two other people, one of them a German woman, were reported to have died after suffering heart attacks because of the quake, and several dozen people suffered minor injuries.
Rescue workers were checking reports that other people were buried under rubble and were preparing to house those whose homes had been damaged or destroyed.
There was serious damage to historic buildings and churches in the provinces of Modena and Ferrara, and the quake also shook major towns such as Bologna, Rovigo, Verona and Mantua.
A series of strong aftershocks hit the area, the strongest measuring 5.1, and local mayors ordered residents to stay in the open.
The quake was centred 22 miles (35 km) north-northwest of Bologna at a relatively shallow depth of 6.3 miles (10 km), the U.S. Geological Survey said.
The last major quake to hit Italy was a 6.3 magnitude quake in the central city of L’Aquila in 2009, which killed nearly 300 people.
After that quake, then Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi moved a G8 meeting that was to have been held in Sardinia to near L’Aquila in a show of solidarity with the victims. (Additional reporting by Steve Scherer and Daniele Mari in Rome, writing by Philip Pullella; Editing by Tim Pearce)
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More on Earthquakes
Good Sunday morning. The staff is working its way in and we’re preparing for today’s program. Prepare along with us – check out what we’re reading this morning.
On our radar: a deadly earthquake in Italy, protests in Chicago during a NATO summit with world leaders and a recall election in Wisconsin that that political world is watching closely.
Check out what we’re reading, and be sure to watch our exclusive interviews with senior Obama campaign adviser David Axelrod, Republican National Committee chairman Reince Priebus and the secretary-general of NATO, Anders Fogh Rasmussen. Also joining us: Sens. Barbara Boxer (D-California) and Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas); and our political panel, Jeff Zeleny of the New York Times and CNN senior congressional correspondent Dana Bash.
When Magic Johnson announced to the world that he was infected with HIV in November of 1991, he instantly became the face of the virus. But not too long after he made his announcement, the world focused its eyes on another face: a sweet, 7-year-old girl who had a hard time dealing with her HIV-positive status.
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More on Magic Johnson
This week, we’re watching as Egypt continues to prepare for its upcoming presidential elections, as candidates take to the podiums in the country’s first-ever public debates. We’re also reading about how a former South African president is clearing the air after remarks made about apartheid, and we’re taking a look at how Nigeria is combating a problem faced by mobile phone users around the world — poor service.
Are practical jokes or pranks on an unsuspecting person permitted according to Jewish law? What about teasing someone or calling them by a nickname?
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CHARLESTON, S.C. — The Spoleto Festival USA opens its 36th season Friday and among the planned performances is an opera by American composer Philip Glass to commemorate his 75th birthday and his long relationship with the internationally known arts festival.
The Charleston festival is staging the American premiere of “Kepler,” about the famed German astronomer Johannes Kepler. Only the score has previously been performed in this country.
NEW DELHI — Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan says his superstar son and daughter-in-law have named their baby girl Aaradhya.
Speculation about the baby’s name had swirled since she was born Nov. 16 to actors Abhishek Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, a L’Oreal spokeswoman and former Miss World.
As soon as I was in the cab, I noticed that pretty much every surface of the car’s interior was covered with a JESUS LOVES YOU sticker. This wasn’t just a cab, it was a rolling cathedral! Part of me thought I should just jump out of the car.
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More on Interfaith
ISLAMABAD — Pakistan blocked the social networking website Twitter on Sunday because it refused to remove material considered offensive to Islam, said one of the country’s top telecommunications officials.
The material was promoting a competition on Facebook to post images of Islam’s Prophet Muhammad, said Mohammad Yaseen, chairman of the Pakistan Telecommunication’s Authority. Many Muslims regard depictions of the prophet, even favorable ones, as blasphemous.