Iran’s most powerful earthquake in 50 years has rocked Pakistan, India and the Gulf states. Casualties, however, were slight because the quake struck deep, about 90 kilometres down, and near the remote, sparsely populated border with Pakistan. Pakistani officials reported that more than 30 people died in a border community, but expect the toll may…
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The London marathon will go ahead as planned this weekend, despite the Boston bombings, after organisers consulted police and authorities. Britain’s sports minister, Hugh Roberston, said he was confident of security arrangements for the event and encouraged people to attend as a show of solidarity. “In security terms we are as confident as we possibly can…
DetailsThousands of police will be on guard for Margaret Thatcher’s funeral later today to thwart violent demonstrations. Hundreds of protesters have pledged to wear red and turn their backs on the coffin of the former prime minister as the cortege travels through central London. Another protest discussed on Twitter involves demonstrators throwing milk at the funeral…
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North Korea raises stakes as world braces for war North Korea has the world bracing for war after it moved an apparently untested intercontinental ballistic missile into position for a possible attack on Japan or South Korea. The UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon last night rebuked Pyongyang for its “aggressive rhetoric and military posturing” saying that it…
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North Korea says it has approved a nuclear strike on the United States. “The moment of explosion is approaching fast. No one can say a war will break out in Korea or not and whether it will break out today or tomorrow,” North Korea’s state news agency KCNA declared in a statement. The announcement came…
DetailsThe biggest cyber attack in history slowed internet links around the world this morning. Five national police cyber units are investigating a DDoS (distributed denial of service) attack against the anti-spam consultancy Spamhaus, which is in conflict with a Dutch web-hosting company, Cyberbunker. Popular websites such as Netflix were affected and experts were concerned the attack…
DetailsJustin Bieber has supposedly landed himself in hot water over a dispute with his neighbour. An LA County Sheriff’s Department spokesman said the neighbour accused the 19-year-old of battery outside the star’s California property, TMZ reported. Police are investigating. Misdemeanour battery amounts to unwanted touching and threats, but sources told TMZ the singer had no…
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India passes harsher laws for sexual offenders India’s parliament has passed a new law to protect women against sexual violence. The bill, a response to the fatal gang rape of a student in New Delhi last year, contains harsher punishment for rapists including the death penalty for repeat offenders. The law also makes it a…
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24 dead in Baghdad attacks Gunmen raided a government building and battled security forces in Baghdad’s streets yesterday after a series of explosions tore through the city. The attack left at least 24 people dead and many wounded. Overnight, Agence France-Presse reported, separate attacks were launched against at least two candidates campaigning in Iraq’s…
DetailsArgentinian Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 76, has been elected to be the 266th pope of the Catholic Church, taking the name Francis, making him Pope Francis the First. Francis is the first Latin American, as well as the first Jesuit priest, to lead the church. More than an hour after white smoke was released from the…
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