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38 people were killed on Saturday when a US Chinook helicopter crashed west of Kabul, Afghanistan, with the Taliban claiming responsibility for the crash. Thirty Americans were killed in the crash, including at least seventeen members of SEAL Team 6, Air Force members, the helicopter's crew, a dog handler and a civilian interpreter, while eight members of the Afghan Army were also on board and died. According to witnesses, members of the Taliban and officials from the US and Afghanistan, the Chinook was deliberately targeted, apparently by a

More than two years after Air France Flight 447 crashed into the Atlantic, killing 228, a French pilots union, a group supporting victims' families, and Air France have all criticised the ongoing investigation. The Bureau d'Enquêtes et d'Analyses (BEA) is being accused of trying to blame the pilots in order to absolve Airbus. The controversy follows the release of the BEA's latest interim report detailing findings so far. At the last moment, the BEA removed a recommendation added by chief investigator Alain Bouillard which called for alarms on

A recently published nationwide survey of US teenagers indicates boys tend to masturbate more — and start younger — than girls. It also finds boys who masturbate are more likely to engage in safe sex than boys who don't. Dr. Cynthia L. Robbins, the study's lead author from Indiana University in Indianapolis, spoke of the need for the academic community to focus more on masturbation. "Many adolescent boys and girls masturbate, and among sexually active teens masturbation is associated with other sexual behaviors and condom use. It is important

A 40-year-old man from the United Kingdom has survived an operation in which he was given a wholly artificial heart. It is believed that this is the first time in the UK that a patient has been able to return home with such an implant. Matthew Green, a father of one, experienced the operation in Papworth Hospital, located in Cambridgeshire, England. His health has declined over the last few years, and he has suffered a substantial heart disorder, identified as arrhythmogenic right ventricular dysplasia (ARVD). He is waiting to have a human hea

United States President Barack Obama on Tuesday signed into law a bill that raised the US debt limit, averting a predicted default on the government's bills, among other economic ramifications. The bill in question was the result of a deal announced by Obama on Sunday. It was approved by the House of Representatives on Monday night 269–161, passed the Senate early Tuesday afternoon 74–26, and was subsequently signed by Obama. Under the terms of the bill, the debt limit can be raised from its previous level of US$14.3 trillion by $900 billion.

Andrey Kapitsa, the Russian geographer best known for his part in the discovery of Lake Vostok in Antarctica, has died in Moscow at the age of 80. He participated in four Soviet expeditions to the South Pole during his career. Kapitsa was born to Physics Nobel Prize laureate Pyotr Leonidovich Kapitsa in Cambridge, England in 1931. He graduated from the Moscow State University's Faculty of Geography in 1953, and took part in the first of his four expeditions to the South Pole two years later. In 1967, he led the U.S.S.R. Academy of Sciences on

Jenson Button of McLaren-Mercedes took first place in Sunday's Hungarian Grand Prix at the Hungaroring, marking his 200th grand prix race in style. Sebastian Vettel of Red Bull-Renault came in second, extending his lead in the 2011 Driver's Championship to 85 points. Fernanado Alonso of Ferrari took the third place on the podium. The race was affected by intermittent wet weather, with tyre choice playing a crucial role in the result. Button's teammate Lewis Hamilton held the lead at times, but suffered from mistimed tyre changes, as well as a

Syrian troops yesterday launched an offensive against protesters across the nation, resulting in around a hundred deaths in the city of Hama and several dozen more in other parts of the country. The most severe violence took place in Hama, where government troops and tanks, which had previously remained outside of the city for around a month, moved into the city center beginning at dawn. The crackdown left around a hundred people dead in the city, though exact numbers were unclear. According to the government, the action in Hama was taken in

United States President Barack Obama announced Sunday night that an agreement between Republican and Democratic leaders has been reached that, if passed by Congress, will allow the government to raise its debt limit before it begins to default on its debt on Tuesday. The deal has yet to be approved, with a vote by lawmakers in Congress not likely until Monday at the earliest. Some lawmakers from both the Democratic and Republican parties have previously said that they will not vote for the agreement in question. According to Obama, the deal,

Today sees the reopening of the National Museum of Scotland following a three-year renovation costing £47.4 million (US$ 77.3 million). Edinburgh's Chambers Street was closed to traffic for the morning, with the 10am reopening by eleven-year-old Bryony Hare, who took her first steps in the museum, and won a competition organised by the local Evening News paper to be a VIP guest at the event. Prior to the opening, Wikinews toured the renovated museum, viewing the new galleries, and some of the 8,000 objects inside.Dressed in Victorian attire, Sc

Two high-speed bullet trains crashed close to Wenzhou in the Zhejiang province of eastern China on Saturday. At least 43 passengers were found dead and over 200 are injured, according to the China state-run news agency Xinhua, with 12 in critical condition. The collision occurred on a bridge after one train was struck by lightning, forcing it to stop, and was subsequently struck by a second train around 2030 local time (1230 UTC). The trains involved were the D3115 service from Hangzhou to Fuzhou, the train that was stopped at the time of the

Israelis have been gathering across the country to protest against the rising costs of housing, with "tent cities" being erected in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Beersheba, Haifa, and Kiryat Shemona. On Saturday night tens of thousands marched from the encampment on Tel Aviv's Rothschild Boulevard, which has been a focal point for the protestors, to the Tel Aviv Museum. Rents in Tel Aviv are said to have risen by over 60 percent in four years. Buying costs have soared too, with estate agent Eli Melloul stating that the average price for an Israeli apar