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Voters in French Guiana and Martinique voted down referendums for increased autonomy from France earlier today, according to poll results. In French Guiana, with a turnout of 48%, the vote was 69.8% against increased independence from France; in Martinique, with a 55% voter turnout, the polls were 80% against extra autonomy. In a statement, French President Nicolas Sarkozy hailed the outcome, saying it reflected the strong ties between the territories and metropolitan France. Both Martinique, in the Caribbean, and French Guiana were granted F

Wolfgang Wodarg, a European health official, has said that the severity of the H1N1 swine flu pandemic was intentionally exaggerated by pharmaceutical companies so they could receive large profits. Wodarg, who is the Council of Europe's head of health, claimed that the manufacturers of the anti-virus drugs pressured the World Health Organisation (WHO) to declare a global pandemic over the outbreak. The Council said it would investigate the allegations in a debate scheduled for later in January. Wodarg commented about his accusations to the Al

The United States has said that "regional extremists" may be targeting Air Uganda airplane flights between Southern Sudan and Uganda. A warning posted yesterday on the Web site of the US Embassy in Khartoum says there is a "potential threat" on the flights between Juba, Sudan and Kampala, Uganda. Juba is the capital of semi-autonomous Southern Sudan. The embassy did not name the potential attackers but said the threat is of "sufficient seriousness," and that air travelers should "maintain vigilance at all times." "[We have] received informa

Catherine Eugenia "Jean" Biden, mother of United States Vice President Joe Biden and matriarch of the Biden family, died Friday evening after suffering from a brief illness – possibly related to a recent hip fracture. She was 92 years-old. In a statement to the Associated Press, the Vice President said his mother died at home in Wilmington, Delaware surrounded by family and friends. Details of scheduled funeral services and memorials will be released in the upcoming days, the Vice President’s Washington office said. Jean Biden, whom the Vic

Police brought charges against two men in connection to a bomb threat that delayed a Dubai bound Emirates flight departing from London's Heathrow Airport. 58-year-old Robert Fowles was charged with making bomb threats and public drunkenness, along with 48-year-old Alexander McGinn who was also charged with public drunkenness. A 36-year old man was also arrested, but was later released with no charges. Flight number EK004 was using a Boeing 777-300 and had more than 330 passengers on board. Passengers said that the flight was searched quickly,

According to the United States Geological Survey, a powerful earthquake with a magnitude of 6.5 hit North California today. The epicentre was west of Ferndale, CA and northwest of San Francisco, CA, with a depth of . Media reports indicate that there is a power outage, and ruptured gas lines in several areas. Only minor injuries were reported, with several people being taken to St. Joseph's Hospital from a local mall by ambulance. One resident, Cole Machado, told CNN that "I was talking on the phone and all of a sudden it started shaking.

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said on Saturday that the UK's natural gas reserves will not run out in spite of record demand. This spike in demand is caused by the recent cold weather. A supplier, National Grid, issued two "balancing alerts", which mean a possible supply shortfall, which were promptly lifted. A spokeswoman for the company said that there was a possible shortfall of 35 million cubic metres (1.2 billion cubic feet). This third balancing alert is expected to last for the next few days, and is said not to be due to the cold

The Department of Health in Northern Ireland announced the death of an adult with the H1N1 'swine flu' virus. The gender of the adult who died is currently unknown. The obituary was discovered in the swine flu information update provided by the Department of Health weekly. The death of this adult brings the total number of people who have died from swine flu in Northern Ireland up to 17, not including the two people who were from the area but were outside Northern Ireland at the time of their deaths from the disease, as of January 6. Michael M

Chinese officials have said that their country's exports surged last December to edge out Germany as the world's biggest exporter. The official Xinhua news agency reported today that figures from the General Administration for Customs showed that exports jumped 17.7% in December from a year earlier. Over the whole of 2009 total Chinese exports reached US$1.2 trillion, above Germany's forecast $1.17 trillion. Huang Guohua, a statistics official with the customs administration, said the December exports rebound was an important turning point f

Two people in Kenya died earlier today after a five-storeyed building under construction in the town of Kiambu collapsed. Four others were said to have been injured. The incident occurred in the middle of the night, at 02:30 local time (23:30 UTC), on Sunday morning. The building was only a few metres from another building that collapsed in October of last year, killing thirty people. The building is reported to have been condemned last year, when the authorities deemed it substandard. Preparations to demolish the building started yesterday,

Chevron Corporation, the US oil producer, has announced that it would be cutting some of its oil production in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria after security officials said one of their pipelines was attacked by rebels. "Chevron Nigeria Limited [...] confirms that there was a breach on its Makaraba-Utonana pipeline in Delta State, Nigeria on Friday," Chevron commented. In total, Chevron is to cut 20,000 barrels per day (bpd) from platforms supplying the pipeline with oil. On Friday, reports said that gunmen in the Niger Delta, an oil-rich

Palestinian medical officials have said that two Palestinians in the northern Gaza Strip were killed by gunfire from Israel on Saturday, according to security sources and Palestinian officials. According to witness reports, the men were collecting scrap metal when they were killed near the border; Israeli officials, however, said that the men were trying to shoot rockets into Israel. An Israeli military spokeswoman said that the army had nothing to do with the shooting. The head of Gaza's emergency and ambulance services, Mo'aweya Hassanein,