The “slow” quakes emanate from the deep like clockwork every 14 months on Canada’s west coast. They typically release the energy of a Magnitude 7 earthquake, but the powerful tectonic events are almost imperceptible because they occur slowly over two weeks, instead of in sudden jolts that last just seconds. “They would represent a pretty big earthquake if they happened like a regular quake, but because they are so slow […]

Residents have begun killing and eating dogs early in celebration of the summer solstice in a bid to avoid protests by animal rights campaigners. Some residents of the southern Chinese city of Yulin started gathering last weekend and eating dog meat and lychees to celebrate the longest day of the year, ahead of Saturday’s actual solstice, state media reported. The locals wanted to avoid protests which have in recent years […]

Iraq is facing its most severe crisis in years, with the country on the brink of break-up amid lightning offensives by Sunni Muslim militants. How has it happened so quickly? Iraq’s plagued by violence, so what’s new?   The US-led invasion in 2003 unleashed a bloody insurgency led by Iraq’s Sunni Arabs, who controlled the country under Saddam Hussein. Attacks on officials and civilians triggered large-scale reprisals by members of […]

A group of amateur explorers has stumbled upon a set of dinosaur bones in Madhya Pradesh’s Dhar district. The discovery, made in Bagh forest area, is believed to be one of the most striking findings of dinosaur remains in India. A team of palaeontologists on Tuesday unearthed a huge bunch of dinosaur bones, including leg bones and three bones of cervical vertebrate, that could shed light on the life of […]

What’s in your Cola? Gulping down that can of your favorite cola has never been so easy. They are everywhere and with dwindling container sizes their portability and addiction has increased to mind boggling numbers. A couple of decades back what was once a one-off drink, limited to special occasions has now become more consumed than water. More alarming and scary are the numbers indicating how quickly the younger generation […]

Earth’s the right place for love; I don’t know where’s it’s likely to go better…” – Robert Frost, “Birches”Earth may be the right place for love, as Robert Frost [Unlink] wrote, but if scientists looking to the skies are correct, there could be up to 100 million life-supporting planets in the Milky Way galaxy for earthly lovers of the future to visit on romantic getaways and high-tech honeymoons.In late May, […]

Campylobacter causes 280,000 cases of food poisoning in Britain a year Washing chicken under the tap can spread the bug more than three feet The bug is the biggest cause of food poisoning causing 500 deaths a year We should stop washing chicken before cooking because doing so can spread potentially fatal  bacteria, health experts warn. Nearly half of Britons rinse their raw chicken and the practice could be behind […]

•Voters were mutilated by the Taliban in Herat after casting their ballots •So far, 20 civilians and one election worker have been killed in attacks •Officials believe seven  million out of 12 million eligible electors voted The Taliban cut off the fingers of 11 people as punishment for voting in Afghanistan’s presidential election. The barbaric attacks were in the western Herat province after Saturday’s vote, according to police. In violence […]

Chinese authorities have exposed some of the 007-style gadgets that students have been caught using to try and cheat their way through tough university entrance exams. Security staff in Jinlin, Jiangsu and Guangdong provinces have revealed students are using sophisticated radio vests in order to receive help from someone outside the hall. Pupils take pictures of the tests using a button-hole camera hidden in a pen or watch, then use […]

I’m not entirely convinced there is a reason to ever get married. But if you’re going to take the plunge, do it when you’re past your 20s. Very few marriages between two 20-somethings succeed for good reason. Sure, you may be an outlier, but why take the risk? I’m convinced that the majority – or nearly the majority – of failed marriages would have been successful if the once-happy couple […]