The week in pictures: April 28 – May 4, 2015

After another week packed full of massive news stories perhaps it is as well that we take a moment to review some of the biggest that hit the headlines over the last seven days

Aid efforts continued to arrive in Nepal in the wake of the 7.9 magnitude earthquake that beset the small mountainous nation. A survey of damage last week revealed that 75% of buildings in the capital Kathmandu require repairs before they are safe with a full 20% of buildings in the city of one million now uninhabitable. The US Marine Corps has sent helicopters and Osprey tilt rotor aircraft to assist in aid operations still hampered by bad weather and infrastructural damage across the country.

The curfew imposed on Baltimore in response to widespread unrest following the death in custody of Freddie Gray was lifted by the Mayor, Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, as relative calm returned. The 1,000 extra police officers and 3,000 members of the National Guard brought in during the rioting will now leave the area which has been somewhat placated after prosecutors brought charges, including one of murder, against the six officers that were responsible for Gray’s unlawful arrest, detention and death.

The British royal family gain a new addition as the Duchess of Cambridge gave birth to a baby daughter on Saturday. The latest drain on the UK tax payers was born at 08:34 BST and is said to have weighed 8lbs 3oz (3.7kg) and is now fourth in line to the throne. The new princess has yet to be named, much to the annoyance of the bookies, but has been visited at the prestigious St. Mary’s Hospital by the families of both the Duke and Duchess. Prince William is quoted as saying they were all “very happy.”

In sport the favorite, American Pharoah, won the famed Kentucky Derby ahead of Firing Line in second and Dortmund in third. In front of a record crowd the heavily tipped horse took the lead beyond the final turn and kept it to the line. What will jocky Victor Espinoza win next? You’ll have to read our daily news pages to find out, but in the meantime why don’t we take a few moments out to review some of the massive stories that hit our headlines over the last seven days.

1. Award winning software provider EveryMatrix nominates new COO. 

2. US Judge is Pressured to Drop  Ruse Case Against Paul Phua. 

3. The Enterra poker solution reaches a new level  with an update including anonymous tables, split prizes tournament and straddle. 

4. The Conservatives have better odds to win the most seats but Miliband is more favored to be PM in the last week of campaigning for No.10. 

5. Porte possibly on the brink of a podium finish at Giro d’Italia. 

6. Two US congressmen introduces a bill to ban all online wagering on horseracing. 

7. Players and investors are informed about Amaya Gaming’s Q1 previews and PokerStars’ affiliate deal changes. 

Meanwhile Gartner, an information technology research and advisory firm, has made a forecast that by 2025 one third of all jobs will be replaced by software, smart machines and robots, with human levels of intelligence predicted by Ray Kurzweil, Google’s director of engineering, by 2029. Denoted by some experts as the “Second Machine Age” rapid advances in artificial intelligence put not just blue collar but white collar jobs under threat, with the total mechanical domination of earth now all but inevitable.