Latest

Yesterday, as the United States withdrew their troops from towns and cities across Iraq, a car bomb exploded in Kirkuk, reportedly killing 27 people and injuring more than 40. The vehicle was parked near the Shurja market, one of the most famous markets in Iraq, approximately 155 miles from Baghdad. Iraqi and American troops are on high alert for attempts to destabilise the country during the staged withdrawal. Last week, a truck bomb killed more than 70 people, with a similar aim of returning Iraq to the secetarian violence that plagued t

Severe thunderstorms impacted the northeast United States today, producing sporadic power outages and weather conditions ranging from heavy rainfall to large hail. The Storm Prediction Center (SPC) received dozens of damage reports; trees, tree limbs, electrical wires and utility poles were downed throughout portions of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and New York. Severe weather advisories were posted during the morning and early afternoon, and are now expiring as the storms pull out of the area. According to the SPC, hailstones occasionally app

Popular file-sharing site The Pirate Bay was sold yesterday for 60 million Swedish krona (£4.7 million). Swedish gaming company Global Gaming Factory (GGF) was the purchaser, paying half the price in cash and the rest in shares of the company. In April 2009, the owners of The Pirate Bay, Frederik Neij, Gottfrid Svartholm Warg, Carl Lundstrom and Peter Sunde, were found guilty of copyright infringement, fined SEK30 million and sentenced to a year in jail. They are currently appealing the sentence, with allegations the judge, being a member of

Over 2,000 cattle died throughout eight counties in Nebraska last week as a result of an unexpected heat wave. Officials estimate that number could grow as other counties report in. According to Tim Reimer of the United States Farm Service Agency, cattle nearing slaughter are difficult to keep cool due to their large size, and thus more vulnerable to heat. The animals are provided large quantities of water, but they sometimes stop drinking under the effects of the high temperatures. The deaths worsened the situation for farmers, who were al

Lyudmila Zykina, Soviet and Russian national singer, died today, just one month after her 80th birthday. She was highly popular in Russia and named no less than "Queen of Russian folk". In 1947 Zykina joined the famous Pyatnitsky Choir. Her popularity increased when she started a solo career—the song Flows the river Volga remains an immense hit up to the present time. As Russian president Dmitry Medvedev said, "Lyudmila Zykina was a personification of Russia." The funeral will take place on July 4 at Novodevichy Cemetery in Moscow.

According to reports, a train carrying containers of a gas, has been involved in a major incident near the Italian city of Viareggio at around midnight (local time). State television said the train derailed followed by an explosion. According to the latest reports from Protezione Civile, at least 14 people have been killed, with another 50 injured. Up to 35 of those have suffered serious burns. Three children were among those killed. WAtoday, stated that a street near the station in Viareggio, a coastal city of 50,000, was enveloped in flame

According to reports, a Yemenia Airways Airbus A310 passenger jet has crashed into the Indian Ocean near the island nation of Comoros. At least 153 people were onboard the aircraft, 66 of them from Paris, France. So far the only reported survivor is a teenage girl. The plane crashed early Tuesday morning. Yemenia Airways Flight 626 was traveling from Sana'a, the capital of Yemen, to Prince Said Ibrahim International Airport in Comoros. Comoros lies nearly 200 miles from mainland Africa. The small, three island nation has a population of just

Gunmen shot seven teenagers at a bus stop in Detroit, Michigan, United States at about 2:15 PM EDT (1915 UTC) today. Three of the seven wounded are in critical condition. The victims were one block away from their school, Cody High School, at a bus stop in Detroit's west side. The gunmen left a green minivan, approached the teenagers and asked for a particular person before opening fire, according to Roderick Grimes, Chief of Detroit Public Schools Police. Five of the victims were students of Cody Ninth Grade Academy and were just leaving sum

Al Franken of the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party (affiliated with US Democratic Party), has formally won the United States Senate seat representing Minnesota, which had been contested ever since the November 4, 2008 election. The Minnesota Supreme Court on Tuesday declared that Franken had won the most votes in the election and was entitled to have the election certified by Governor Tim Pawlenty. Pawlenty has said he will shortly sign the formal document. Franken's opponent, incumbent Norm Coleman of the Republican Party, quickly con

A crash has killed nine people on a turnpike (toll road) northeast of Miami, Oklahoma. The accident occurred on Friday when a semi-trailer truck struck a line of stationary traffic from behind on the Will Rogers Turnpike near state lines with Missouri and Kansas. Traffic had come to a standstill as a result of an earlier accident eastbound when the accident occurred. The road has a speed limit of 75 mph, and it is currently thought that the truck driver made no attempts to stop his vehicle. He was hospitalised. A spokesperson for the nearby Fr

After being down 2–0 at halftime, Brazil defeated the United States 3–2 in the final round of the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup, claiming their third FIFA Confederations Cup finals victory. The match was held at Coca-Cola Park in Johannesburg, South Africa. The FIFA Confederations Cup has been held there as a prelude to next year's 2010 FIFA World Cup. The United States made its first appearance in any FIFA men's tournament final while Brazil made its fourth appearance in a Confederations Cup final (after 1997, 1999 and 2005). The victory may

Honduran President Manuel Zelaya was expelled by the country's army on Sunday. Zelaya declares the action a coup d'état. "Today's events originate from a court order by a competent judge. The armed forces, in charge of supporting the constitution, acted to defend the state of law and have been forced to apply legal dispositions against those who have expressed themselves publicly and acted against the dispositions of the basic law," said the supreme court in Honduras. Zelaya was attempting to change the constitution via a constitutional refe