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A group of fourteen Freemasons were arrested and held in Fiji on charges of sorcery. The group, which included eight Australians and one New Zealander, was arrested on Tuesday night on Denarau Island. They were held for 24 hours at the police station at Nasudi, but were released by order of Prime Minister of Fiji Frank Bainimarama. The Freemasons had been convening a Masonic meeting, but did not, according to the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, have the correct permit. Waisea Tabakau, the police director of operations, t

A 'giant black mystery blob' in the Chukchi Sea off the coast of Alaska has been identified as marine algae. Initially speculated to be an oil spill, the mass was discovered by a group of hunters earlier this month near Wainwright. The blob is reported to be stringy and hairy, and is tangled with jellyfish, among other debris. The "thick, dark gunk" stretches for as much as 15 miles, and is moving at a slow drift. Upon being first sighted, the U.S. Coast Guard flew out to investigate the mass, and local officials collected samples for testing

The European Union (EU) has allowed four Indonesian airlines back into their airspace. A blanket ban had been placed on Indonesian air carriers in 2007. The EU has now added every Zambian airline and all but one from Kazakhstan to their blacklist. The four airlines allowed to fly into Europe are state-owned flag carrier Garuda Indonesia, privately owned scheduled carrier Mandala Airlines and two private chartered airlines dealing mainly with western clients, Airfast Indonesia and Premiair. The decision to place the nation's fleet on the list

According to the Pew Research Center, a non-advocacy organization that evaluates issues, attitudes and trends shaping the political landscape of the United States, centrism is on the rise in America. According to Pew, the number of Americans identifying themselves as independents has reached the highest level in 70 years. Recently 36% of Americans say they are independents, 35% identify as Democrats, while 23% see themselves as Republicans. Some people are abandoning the major parties, re-registering as independent or joining third parties. O

On July 16, 2009, the largest skyscraper in Chicago, Illinois was officially renamed Willis Tower. Willis Group Holdings became a major tenant of the building in March, 2009. As part of the deal whereby they agreed to lease 140,000 square feet of the building, they were given the naming rights to the tower, which had been known as the Sears Tower since its opening in 1973. It is the largest skyscraper in the United States and was for a time the largest skyscraper in the world; though it has since been surpassed. Sears, Roebuck and Company o

Space Shuttle Endeavour launched on a mission to finish construction of a new science lab at the International Space Station on July 15. The seven astronauts aboard Endeavour began their journey Wednesday evening to deliver the third and final segment of the Japanese Kibō science laboratory. NASA commentator Mike Curie counted down to the liftoff from Kennedy Space Center in Florida. "We have main engine start, and four, three, two, one. Booster ignition and liftoff of Endeavour, completing Kibō and fulfilling Japan's hope for an out-of-this-

Eight people have been killed, including the two suicide bombers, and many more injured in two explosions at around 7.50 am local time in the Indonesian capital of Jakarta. Reports from local news cite a Canadian, an American, and a Swedish citizen as being among the dead. Most of the wounded have been taken to local hospitals for treatment. The explosions were at two luxury hotels, the Marriott and Ritz-Carlton, popular with foreign businessmen in the business district and are reported to have occurred in the hotel restaurants during breakfas

Hashemi Rafsanjani, the Iranian cleric, former president of Iran, and current head of the Expediency Council, has given his first Friday prayer service in Tehran since the disputed June 12 Iranian presidential election. In the sermon, which was held at Tehran University and twice disrupted by loud chanting from demonstrators, Rafsanjani first discussed the earliest days of Islam and Mohammed's lessons of the importance of human rights for all people and unity among all Muslims. He then made reference to Ja'far al-Sadiq, an 8th century C.E. Is

Following similar threats by workers at New Fabris and Nortel, workers at JLG in Tonneins, France, threatened to blow up several platform cranes. The JLG factory announced in April 2009 that it will fire 53 of its 163 workers by the end of 2009, while the remaining 110 jobs will not be secure over the next 2 years. JLG Tonneins was acquired in 2006 with its parent JLG Industries, a maker of aerial work platforms, by the U.S.-based Oshkosh Corporation. Despite being hugely profitable in the past, production has been much reduced since 2008 wit

U.S. Capitol Police shot and killed a man yesterday after a traffic stop became violent; two officers were slightly injured. Police reported that the incident began when officers attempted to pull over a white Mercedes for a routine violation. This occurred at about 5:15pm local time in the 100 block of Massachusetts Avenue NW. The suspect sped away, almost running down two officers, striking a parked car and crashing into a police vehicle. He then crawled out of his car's window brandishing a gun. Officers demanded he drop the weapon, but

The National Hurricane Center (NHC) upgraded Tropical Depression Five-E to tropical storm status Wednesday. The storm, now officially Tropical Storm Dolores, is the fourth named tropical cyclone of the 2009 Pacific hurricane season. As of 8 p.m. PDT July 15 (0300 UTC July 16), Tropical Storm Dolores is located within 30 nautical miles of 17.1°N 117.4°W, about 630 miles (1015 km) southwest of the southern tip of the Baja California peninsula. Maximum sustained winds are near 45 knots (50 mph, 75 km/h), with stronger gusts. The minimum barometr

A tanker explosion on Interstate 75 has destroyed a part of the Nine Mile Road overpass in Hazel Park, Michigan, a northern suburb of Detroit. One man, truck driver Ronald Martinez, has been killed and only 4 injuries have been reported. On July 15, 2009 at about 8:15 PM EST, a tanker carrying thousands of gallons of gasoline collided with a semi-truck from Meijer grocery stores, causing an explosion that resulted in heavy black smoke that could be seen for miles. It is believed that the tanker was clipped from behind by driver Saied Haid