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Obstetrician Bernard Nathanson, who provided abortions and then became an anti-abortion activist, is dead at the age of 84. Nathanson died in New York; the cause of death was announced as cancer. During his time as an obstetrician he estimated that he was involved in nearly 75,000 abortions, about 5,000 of which he performed himself. He performed his last abortion in 1979; shortly thereafter he became an anti-abortion activist. Nathanson opened an abortion clinic in New York City in the 1960s but had performed abortions beforehand. In the 1940

Her Excellency, Quentin Bryce, Governor-General of Australia is set to travel to Kuwait to commemorate the 20 year anniversary of the liberation of the country from Iraqi rule. This comes as terrorist threats and civil unrest begin to spread throughout the region. In a tour that is set to conclude on February 27th, Ms Bryce will be representing Australia at several ceremonies marking 20 years since the first Gulf War and 50 years since Kuwait gained independence from the United Kingdom. In addition, she will visit The Australian College of Kuw

The Libyan government has cut off Internet access in the country. The General Posts and Telecommunications Company, Libya's main provider of Internet access, has ceased to function. It was shut down following citizen protests against the country's leader, Muammar Abu Minyar al-Gaddafi, who has been in power since 1969. The government of Egypt took a similar measure last month, when it cut off Internet trying to quell public protests against the regime. Despite the government's efforts, Egyptians who took to the streets for two weeks were able

A magnitude 6.3 earthquake struck the South Island of New Zealand at 12:51 PM local time on Tuesday (Monday 23:51 UTC). At least 75 people have been killed by collapsing buildings in central Christchurch, with more feared. Mayor Bob Parker said 55 bodies had been identified and there were a further 20 unidentified bodies. The spire of the iconic Anglican ChristChurch Cathedral has fallen and rubble is strewn throughout the central business district. Roads and carparks have cracked and lifted, and two buses are reported to be crushed under the b

An Egyptian man in his early twenties has named his newborn daughter 'Facebook' following the 2011 Egyptian Revolution which was almost solely organized on the social-networking site Facebook. The father, Gamal Ibrahim, told the Egyptian newspaper Al-Ahram that he gave his child the name to "express his joy at the achievements made by the January 25 youth." The protests, which were largely organized on social media sites such as Twitter and Facebook, began on January 25 and led to the end of Hosni Mubarak's 30-year reign as president of Egyp

The runways at Benina International Airport in Benghazi, Libya have been destroyed according to an Egyptian government minister. Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit said that the runways had been destroyed during the violence that is currently taking place. Protests have spread to Tripoli as Muammar Gaddafi has made no signs of stepping down from his 35-year rule as leader of Libya. Aboul Gheit told media at a news conference "Regarding east of Libya, the Benghazi airport runways have been destroyed. It is not possible for Egyptair flights or a

Amsterdam-based electronics company Gemalto has announced that it has developed a way of putting Facebook compatibility on to a mobile phone SIM card, to allow mobile phones with no data or internet connection to access the popular social networking site. The report, appearing on the Slovenian tech site Monitor, says that users will be able to communicate directly with the site via SMS messages, as well as being able to exchange messages online and having the facility to write on other Facebook users walls. The formal announcement of the techn

India won the first match of the 2011 Cricket World Cup against Bangladesh by 87 runs on February 19. The Group B match was played at the Shere Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur, Bangladesh. Bangladesh won the toss and chose to bowl first. In the Indian innings, Virender Sehwag scored the highest total, 175 runs off 140 balls, his highest one-day international score and Virat Kolhi played his debut World Cup match and scored a century, while remaining unbeaten on 100. The first referral of the World Cup came after the 4th ball of the 2nd inni

Veteran striker Pat "Bam Bam" Healy put an end to the undefeated streak of Lyle "Fancy Pants" Beerbohm in a close main event fight that went to the judges' decision at the Strikeforce Challengers 14 event at Cedar Park Center in Cedar Park, Texas on Friday night. Veteran fighter Carlo "Neo" Prater also prevailed in his Strikeforce debut against Bryan Travers. Ryan Couture, son of MMA legend Randy Couture, remained undefeated in his second-ever bout. Lyle Beerbohm came into the main event bout with an undefeated 15-0-0 record, in addition to hi

The 2011 Pichileminian Week (Semana Pichilemina 2011) concluded on Saturday night, after a performance of Chilean humourist Juan Carlos "Palta" Meléndez, and singer Douglas, in the city's Arturo Prat Square. The Pichileminian Week celebrations began on February 14, on Saint Valentine's Day, with a performance of singer Leandro Martínez, along with other local artists. "My public still remembers with nostalgia my days as Rojo [a Chilean talent show] participant, [it] will be a huge opportunity to reunite myself with them," Martínez told Jorge V

Wood Brothers Racing driver Trevor Bayne, who qualified thirty-second, won the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series 2011 Daytona 500 held on Sunday at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida, United States. This became his first win of his career, and his first at Daytona International Speedway. Throughout the course of the race there were 16 cautions and 74 lead changes among 22 different drivers. Bayne had only one start in the series before the race, and by winning it, became the youngest winner of the Daytona 500 in history at age 20.

38 people were reported dead Sunday, in a Taliban attack on a bank in Jalalabad, Afghanistan. The incident, orchestrated by five suicide bombers disguised as policemen and soldiers, quickly escalated into a confrontation between security forces and the invaders armed with machine guns. After a several-hour standoff, four of the five attackers detonated their bombs while the fifth was arrested by police. A representative for the Interior Ministry told the press that "Thirty eight people were martyred which includes 21 security forces person