World News
Browse all articles and features filed under the News desk.
Thousands told to evacuate as floods hit Australia
Thousands of Australians were Saturday ordered to evacuate their homes in Sydney's northwest and elsewhere in New South Wales state as heavy rainfall flooded rivers and waterways. State Emergency Service Commissioner Murray Kear said that 3,500 people were subject to evacuation o
Laptop theft did not put space station in peril: NASA
A stolen US space agency laptop containing codes that control the International Space Station did not put the orbiting lab in peril, a NASA spokesman said on Friday. The unencrypted notebook computer went missing in March 2011 and "resulted in the loss of the algorithms used to c
38 killed in Syria violence
Thirty-eight Syrians were killed on Friday, including 10 shot dead in Baba Amr after regime forces overran the rebel district of the central city of Homs, a watchdog said. Rami Abdel Rahman, head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, told that 10 Syrians were "shot dead" in
Australian researchers film rare whale for first time
Australian researchers Thursday revealed they had filmed a pod of extremely rare Shepherd's beaked whales for the first time ever. The Australian Antarctic Division team was tracking blue whales off the coast of Victoria state last month when they spotted the reclusive mammals, w
London fashion students hail green as the new black
Could "green" be the new black? Perhaps only if you can imagine wearing stilettos made from pistachio nuts and coffee beans and clothes from orange peel, fungi and mould. While the fashion pack are hitting the catwalks at Paris Fashion Week, students at London's Kingston Universi
China steps up Internet controls in Tibet
China's top leader in Tibet has ordered increased controls over the Internet and mobile phones, state press said Thursday, ahead of upcoming sensitive anniversaries in the restive region. Chen Quanguo, Communist Party head of Tibet, said maintaining stability in the Himalayan reg
At least nine dead as tornadoes strike US Midwest
A deadly string of tornadoes cut a swath of destruction across the US midwest, killing at least nine people and threatening scores more as a massive storm pushed eastward Wednesday. Homes were smashed to bits, cars were tossed into lakes, huge trees were torn from ground and shop
Zawahiri hails 'shrinking' US influence
Al-Qaeda chief Ayman al-Zawahiri hailed what he said is the "shrinking influence" of the United States across the world due to attacks it has sustained from extremist groups, in an audio message Wednesday. "I congratulate you all as the US influence on the world is quickly shrink
Ocean acidification may be worst in 300 million years
High levels of pollution may be turning the planet's oceans acidic at a faster rate than at any time in the past 300 million years, with unknown consequences for future sea life, researchers said Thursday. The acidification may be worse than during four major mass extinctions in
Nepali villager, 72, declared world's shortest man
Home to Mount Everest, the world's highest peak, the scenic country of Nepal on Sunday added another height-related superlative - of having the world's shortest man. A Guinness World Records team measured Chandra Bahadur Dangi at 54.60 centimeters (21.5 inches), declaring the 72-
Clinton, Kohl, EU among 231 candidates for Nobel Peace Prize
A total of 231 nominees are up for the Nobel Peace Prize this year, the Nobel Institute said Monday, with Bill Clinton, Helmut Kohl, the EU and US soldier and WikiLeaks suspect Bradley Manning known to be on the list. With 188 individuals and 43 organisations, the number of candi
Global spending on drones to reach $11.3bn in 10 yrs
They are deadly, hard to detect and fast becoming one of the most sought-after weapons in the air defence industry. Global demand for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), better known as drones, is heating up as armed forces invest in new systems to boost their ability to carry out r
Diamond at heart of royal upheavals up for sale
A diamond coveted by kings, queens and princes for centuries, used to reinforce alliances between nations and pawned to pay off royal debts goes on sale at Sotheby's in Geneva on May 15. The auction house called the "Beau Sancy" "one of the most important historic diamonds ever t
Melting Arctic causes snowier winters
Melting sea ice in the Arctic may be causing the snowier winters the northern hemisphere has experienced in the last two seasons, US and Chinese researchers reported on Monday. The level of Arctic sea ice reached a new record low in 2007, said the study led by the Georgia Institu
Party time in Brazil as Carnival gets underway
Carnival frenzy is sweeping Brazil as the South American powerhouse prepares Friday to launch a week of sizzling samba dancing, glittering parades, and unabashed merry-making. Over the next days this racially diverse country of 191 million people will come to a standstill for the
US state's biggest lobster returned to Atlantic Ocean
The biggest lobster ever caught in Maine, a 27-pounder (12.25 kg) nicknamed "Rocky" with claws tough enough to snap a man's arm, was released back into the ocean after being trapped in a shrimp net last week, marine officials said. The 40-inch (one-meter) male crustacean, about t
500 elephants killed in Cameroon park in 2 months
Nearly 500 elephants have been killed in a Cameroon national park in less than two months by poachers from Sudan and Chad, a park official told AFP on Thursday. "As of today we estimate that 480 elephants have been slaughtered in our park," said Mathieu Fometa of the Bouba Ndjida
World Bank proposes global coalition to save oceans
The World Bank was on Friday to propose a coalition of governments, global organisations and other groups to protect the oceans, aiming to raise $1.5 billion in the next five years for the purpose. World Bank president Robert Zoellick was to tell a global conference in Singapore
Blast in Peshawar kills 12, injures 36
A remote controlled car bomb exploded near the Kohat bus depot on Thursday, killing at least 12 people and injuring 36 others. Almost 15 cars were also badly damaged in the blast. Following the blast, security forces cordoned off the area while the injured people were rushed to L
China factory blast kills 13, injures 17
An explosion at a steel plant in northeastern China killed 13 people and injured another 17, a company official said Tuesday, in the latest industrial accident to hit the country. The blast happened late Monday in a steel casting workshop owned by state-run Angang Heavy Machinery