World News
Browse all articles and features filed under the News desk.
US pushed ahead with drone strikes despite Pakistani resistance
Shortly before the United States ended a two-month pause in missile strikes on militants in Pakistan last month, senior U.S. officials telephoned their Pakistani counterparts and told them Washington would be resuming its covert drone program despite mounting objections in Islama
Wildfires kill 339,000 people per year
Wildfires, peat fires and controlled burns on farming lands kill 339,000 people worldwide each year, said a study released on Saturday that is the first to estimate a death toll for landscape fires. Most of those deaths are concentrated in sub-Saharan Africa, where an estimated 1
Japan shuts down nuclear reactor
Japan on Monday began a process that will see another one of the country's nuclear reactors go offline, leaving just two of 54 in operation. Kansai Electric Power Co (KEPCO), the largest utility firm after Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO), began lowering power generation in unit t
Tiny shrimp leave giant carbon footprint: scientist
Measured by environmental impact, a humble shrimp cocktail could be the most costly part of a typical restaurant meal, scientists said Friday. If the seafood is produced on a typical Asian fish farm, a 100-gram (3.5 ounce) serving "has an ecosystem carbon footprint of an astoundi
Poland's Radzikowski declared world's strongest man
Thirty-year-old Krysztof Radzikowski of Poland stood out from 24 other contenders to become the 2012 World's Strongest Man in a three-day competition of strength and power. He scored 35 points to win the title and the top prize of $6,000 (Dh22,000). The competition began on Sunda
Honduras prison fire kills more than 350 inmates
A fire gutted an overcrowded jail in Honduras, killing more than 350 people, officials said Wednesday, as rescue teams found the charred bodies of inmates trapped in their cells by the blaze. Survivors described wrenching scenes of prisoners pleading for help as they were engulfe
One hurt in blasts in Thai capital
A foreigner was seriously wounded when a device he was suspected of carrying exploded in the Thai capital Bangkok on Tuesday, police said. Police investigators rushed to the scene after three men were seen fleeing from a house where a blast was reported in the east of the city. O
China defence budget to double over 5 years
China's defence budget will double between 2011 and 2015 and outstrip the combined spending of all other key defence markets in the Asia-Pacific region, global research group IHS said Tuesday. China's defence budget stood at $119.8 billion last year and will rise to $238.2 billio
Cosmic probe finds strange microwave 'haze'
A probe designed to delve into the "Big Bang" that created the cosmos has uncovered an enigmatic fog of microwave radiation in the centre of our galaxy, European astronomers reported on Monday. Planck, a billion-dollar European space telescope launched in May 2009, found "a myste
British scientist in Karachi to probe dead whale shark
A British scientist arrived in Karachi on Friday to examine and record the details of the 11-metre long whale shark that was towed by local fishermen to the Karachi Fish Harbour from the open sea earlier this week. He is being accompanied by a documentary production team to tape
Mexican army makes 'historic' drug seizure
Mexican soldiers on Thursday seized more than 15 tons of methamphetamines and other substances used to manufacture illegal drugs from a farm in western Mexico, officials said. The confiscated drugs represent the biggest seizure in the country's more than five-year war against dru
Whale shark, the 'biggest catch' for Pakistani fishermen
Fishermen killed and transported an 11-meter long whale shark, weighing in at 22 tons, to the Karachi Fish Harbour from the open seas. Although they paid Rs50,000 alone to lift and transport the carcass of this endangered sea mammal, they were only able to sell it for Rs170,000 a
Official New Zealand quake toll rises to 185
The death toll from the devastating earthquake in the New Zealand city of Christchurch last February has been raised to 185, the coroner's office said Thursday. The coroner initially found 181 people were killed as a direct result of the 6.3-magnitude quake, but more deaths had b
Flights rerouted as massive solar storm slams Earth
Solar radiation from a massive sun storm - the largest in nearly a decade - collided with the Earth's atmosphere on Tuesday, prompting an airline to reroute flights and skywatchers to seek out spectacular light displays. US carrier Delta Air Lines said it had adjusted flight rout
Seven killed in Peshawar roof collapse
Seven persons including a woman and a child were killed in Namak Mandi area of Peshawar when the roof of a house collapsed on Wednesday, Geo News reported. According to sources, a gas cylinder exploded in the house that caused the roof collapse and killed. People of the area pull
Toll from Nigeria attacks rises to 185: police
Attacks in Nigeria's northern city of Kano on Friday killed 185 people, including more than two dozen policemen, police said on Monday, adding that hundreds of bombs have been found. "The statistics available to the police indicate that 29 policemen, three SSS (intelligence) offi
Little progress in Cuba on human rights: HRW
Cuba remains the sole Latin American nation which "represses virtually all forms of political dissent," Human Rights Watch said in a report Sunday, while citing concerns over developments in Venezuela and Mexico. "Cubans who criticize the government are subject to criminal charge
2011 was ninth-warmest year since 1880
The global average temperature last year was the ninth-warmest in the modern meteorological record, continuing a trend linked to greenhouse gases that saw nine of the 10 hottest years occurring since the year 2000, NASA scientists said on Thursday. A separate report from the US N
China to further tighten control of microblogs
A senior Chinese propaganda official has said real-name registration for the nation's hugely popular microblogs will be expanded, as authorities tighten their grip on the web amid fear of unrest. Beijing, Shanghai and the southern province of Guangdong have recently ordered new u
Pakistan mourns young genius Arfa Karim's demise
In what could simply be described as an enormous loss for Pakistan, Arfa Karim, the world's youngest Microsoft Certified Professional (MCP), Saturday night, lost the battle of life after remaining admitted here at Combined Military Hospital for 26 days, Geo News reported. Arfa Ka