World News
Browse all articles and features filed under the News desk.
2 policemen killed, 4 injured in DI Khan ambush
Militants armed with rockets and grenades attacked a local police station before dawn on Wednesday, killing two officers and wounding four others, police said. The assault came in Darbaan Kalan, 30 kilometres (20 miles) west of Dera Ismail Khan, killing two policemen including an
Three astronauts land on Earth from ISS in Russian capsule
Three astronauts on Tuesday landed safely in the Kazakh steppe aboard a Russian Soyuz capsule after a stay of over five months aboard the International Space Station, Russian mission control said. American Mike Fossum, Japan's Satoshi Furukawa and Russia's Sergei Volkov touched d
Sun Drop' diamond fetches record $10.9 million at auction
A 110-carat yellow jewel called the Sun Drop Diamond, thought the biggest of its kind in the world, sold for a record 10 million Swiss francs ($10.9 million) at auction in Geneva, Sotheby's announced Tuesday. "Ten million francs (8.06 million euros). Sold!", Sotheby's David Benne
Weightless US teachers eye giant science leap
Excited," "nervous," "terrified" - just three emotions described by a group of US teachers about to take a dizzying "weightless" flight all for the cause of science, naturally. The 30 classroom professionals donned blue "astronaut" jumpsuits to defy gravity in the skies above Cal
UN nuclear watchdog raises pressure on Iran
The UN atomic watchdog's board was expected Friday to approve a resolution of "deep and increasing concern" about Iran's nuclear activities in light of a damning new report from the Vienna-based body. The resolution, tabled at the International Atomic Energy Agency by the five pe
Last whale dies in mass Australian beaching
The last of a huge pod of sperm and minke whales washed onto a southern Australian beach and nearby sandbank died despite an extensive operation to set it free, officials said Thursday. The 12-metre sperm whale died late Wednesday as Parks and Wildlife officials attempted to get
Russia launches three astronauts for space station
Two Russians and an American Monday blasted off for the International Space Station (ISS) on a Russian rocket from Russia's Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, Geo News reported. The initial stages of the lift-off went smoothly and a textbook launch would be a boost for Russia, wh
Big asteroid has close encounter with Earth
A black asteroid as big as an aircraft carrier zoomed past Earth on Tuesday, delighting astronomers who trained telescopes on the ancient body in hopes of learning more about its composition and origin. With a diameter estimated at 400 meters, or about a quarter of a mile, Astero
Large asteroid makes rare fly-by of Earth
A big asteroid made its closest fly-by of Earth in 200 years on Tuesday, but there was never a chance of a crash landing as it zipped past our planet, NASA said. Astronomers around the world aimed their telescopes to catch a glimpse of the 2005 YU55 asteroid, which is the size of
Thai floods leave 427 people dead
The death toll from Thailand's worst floods in decades surged above 400 on Wednesday as public anger simmered over the authorities' handling of the crisis. The government said the disaster has now killed 427 people -- an increase of 42 from the figure reported a day earlier. So f
China launches unmanned spacecraft
China said it successfully launched an unmanned spacecraft on Tuesday, taking its next step towards the goal of building its first space station by 2020. The Shenzhou VIII blasted off from the Gobi desert in China's northwest, the state Xinhua news agency said, separating from it
Boeing to sign lease for US space shuttle hangar
Boeing Co plans to build space taxis at a mothballed space shuttle processing hangar at Kennedy Space Center in central Florida, according to company sources. The company has reached agreement with Space Florida, a state-backed agency working to expand space-related businesses in
NASA 'solves' 2,000-year supernova mystery
New infrared observations from NASA telescopes have revealed how the first supernova ever recorded occurred and how its shattered remains ultimately spread out to great distances. The US space agency said Monday its Spitzer Space Telescope and Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer
Rupee on backfoot as dollar looms large
In the currency market, on Wednesday, the rupee weakened to 86.80/85 to the dollar, compared with Tuesday's close of 86.78/85, amid increased import payments. The rupee had firmed in the previous trading sessions on healthy remittances from Pakistanis living abroad, but dealers s
Turkey quake toll rises to 596: officials
The death toll from the devastating earthquake that hit eastern Turkey last week risen to 596, the government's emergency unit said on Sunday. More than 4,150 people were injured in the 7.2 magnitude quake that shook the eastern Van province near the Iranian border a week ago on
Libya to prosecute Kadhafi killers
Libya's new rulers said on Thursday they would prosecute the killers of ousted dictator Moamer kadhafi following the international outcry over the circumstances of his death. "With regards to Kadhafi, we do not wait for anybody to tell us," said Abdel Hafiz Ghoga, vice chairman o
German satellite re-enters Earth's atmosphere
A German satellite the size of a car re-entered the Earth's atmosphere early Sunday, officials said, adding they did not know yet if debris had hit the Earth. The x-ray observatory, named ROSAT, made its re-entry between 0145 GMT and 0215 GMT on Sunday, the German Aerospace Centr
Soyuz rocket places satellites into orbit
A Russian Soyuz rocket successfully blasted off from French Guiana on Friday bearing the first two satellites in Europe's Galileo global positioning system, a much-heralded mission that will redraw commercial competition in space. The launch from Europe's space base in South Amer
Kadhafi alive in hands of fighters before death
A bloodied Moamer Kadhafi was seen alive and walking as he was being manhandled by Libya's new regime fighters before the announcement of his death Thursday, in a videotape aired on Arab satellite channels. National Transitional Council fighters circled the 69-year-old ousted str
British man is first to be mummified after ancient Egyptians
A British man has become the first person in 3,000 years to be mummified in the same way as ancient Egyptian pharaohs, a new TV documentary claims, after he donated his body to a science experiment. Alan Billis, a 61-year-old taxi driver from Torquay in southwest England, died in