The president of the World Bank, Jim Yong Kim, has warned that the United States is just “days away from a very dangerous moment” because of the government’s borrowing crisis. He urged US policymakers to reach a deal to raise the government’s debt ceiling before Thursday’s deadline. The US Treasury will start to run short of funds if no agreement is reached for it to borrow on financial markets. Mr […]
Indian disaster teams have begun a relief operation after Cyclone Phailin crashed into eastern areas, forcing up to one million people to flee. Officials are assessing the damage and providing food to hundreds of thousands who spent the night in shelters. The cyclone wrecked many coastal homes, uprooted trees and blocked roads in Andhra Pradesh and Orissa states. Five deaths have so far been linked to the cyclone, far fewer […]
STORY HIGHLIGHTS Erich Priebke was under house arrest at the time of his death He was sentenced to life in prison for war crimes He was convicted for his role in the massacre of 335 people in 1944 Nazi war criminal Erich Priebke, who was serving a life sentence for his role in the massacre of 335 people in Italy in 1944, has died, his lawyer said Friday. Priebke, 100, […]
The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, the body overseeing the destruction of Syria’s chemical arsenal, has won the Nobel Peace Prize. The Nobel Committee said it was in honour of the OPCW’s “extensive work to eliminate chemical weapons”. The OPCW, based in The Hague, was established to enforce the 1997 Chemical Weapons Convention. OPCW director general Ahmet Uzumcu said the award was a “great honour” and would spur […]
Libyan PM Ali Zeidan has called for “rationality and wisdom” after being freed from the custody of militiamen. He was abducted from a Tripoli hotel and held for several hours by armed men whose identity has yet to be confirmed. In a cabinet meeting, the PM thanked “real revolutionaries” who took part in a security operation to free him. The motive of the abduction is unclear but some militias […]
Why a probe passing our planet on its way to Jupiter might end a decades-old mystery, and reveal something completely new about gravity. You may not see it, but sometime today, a spacecraft whizzing 350 miles (560km) above Earth is going to use our planet to slingshot its way towards another one. In the process, a group of scientists are hoping the craft will help reveal a mystery that has […]
Attacks by hornets in northern China have killed 41 people since July, state-run media report. More than 1,600 people have also been injured by stings in Shaanxi province, according to China News Agency. It says 206 people are still being treated in hospital, with 37 patients remaining in a critical condition. Local officials have been quoted as saying that drier and warmer weather this year may have contributed to a […]
Our loved ones are worth more to us than gold – but do we understand love’s true value, asks AL Kennedy. We’re told it’s a good thing, a many splendoured thing, all around and what the world needs now. Love. Just four letters to name something commonplace and yet unfathomable. It fascinates us, apparently. Our media earn their keep by telling us Miranda supports Orlando and Prince Felix has just […]
Sitting 7,000ft above the ground, this precarious looking shed juts out from atop an Alps mountain. The building was built to house the operator of a chairlift in the Portes du Soleil resort in Switzerland. And with unabated views across the stunning mountain ranges, there are worse places to call your office. Real estate agent Florin Biscu, from Romania, took pictures of the floating shed during a recent trip […]
Barely half an hour after they were jolted by a major earthquake on Tuesday, people of the Pakistani coastal town of Gwadar had another shock when they saw a new island emerge in the sea, just over a kilometre from the shore. A local journalist, Bahram Baloch, received the news via a text message from a friend. “It said a hill has appeared outside my house,” Mr Baloch said. “I […]
