No expense will have been spared preparing Australia’s and England’s cricketers for the first Ashes Test on Wednesday – from training and physiotherapy, to a good dinner and a luxurious bed. It was very different for the first Australian team to visit the UK. As Michael Clarke and his Australian side finalise their preparations for the Ashes, Cricket Australia will leave no stone unturned in its quest to regain the […]
A car bomb has wounded dozens of people in a stronghold of Lebanon’s Shia militant group Hezbollah in Beirut. Lebanon’s Health Minister Ali Hassan Khalil says 53 people were hurt in the blast, in the Beir el-Abed area. No group has said it was behind the attack. Rebels in neighbouring Syria have threatened to target Hezbollah in Lebanon, which intervened in the fighting over the border to support President Bashar […]
One US centre creates recipes for meals that can withstand the rigours of war. But a simple lunchtime favourite is still the ultimate challenge. It’s a popular urban myth that Twinkies, the famous American cream-filled sponge cake, have a shelf-life of decades and can even survive a nuclear war. In fact, they stay fresh for only about a month, and their ability to withstand any environment more testing than a […]
Prime Minister David Cameron says Andy Murray deserves a knighthood after becoming the first Briton to win the Wimbledon men’s singles since 1936. Murray won the title with a 6-4 7-5 6-4 triumph against world number one Novak Djokovic on Sunday. “I can’t think of anyone who deserves one more,” said Mr Cameron, who watched the match from the Royal Box. But Murray said: “It’s a nice thing to have […]
Iran’s Foreign Ministry is preparing to take legal action against America over the Stuxnet computer virus, charging that the United States was behind the sabotage of its nuclear program. The media outlet Irannuc.ir, which often quotes regime insiders on the Iranian nuclear program, said Sunday that regime sources told the outlet that the Foreign Ministry has concluded there is sufficient documentation to take legal action against the U.S. The computer […]
STORY HIGHLIGHTS An engine shutdown and air brake release may have led to the derailment The train hauling crude oil rolled downhill, derailed and exploded At least five people are dead and about 40 are unaccounted for Quebec police are investigating whether there was any criminal intent The search continues for about 40 people still missing after a runaway train plowed into a Canadian town, setting off massive explosions when […]
The Boeing 777 that crash-landed at San Francisco airport was “significantly below” its target speed near the runway and the pilot tried to abort the landing, US investigators say. The pilot of the Asiana Airlines flight from Seoul requested a “go around” 1.5 seconds before the crash, they say. The plane with 307 people came down short of runway on Saturday, killing two people and injuring dozens. The aircraft […]
As many as a million young people in Japan are thought to remain holed up in their homes – sometimes for decades at a time. Why? For Hide, the problems started when he gave up school. “I started to blame myself and my parents also blamed me for not going to school. The pressure started to build up,” he says. “Then, gradually, I became afraid to go out and fearful […]
The US economy added a net 195,000 new jobs in June, official figures show. The figure was well above economists’ expectations of 165,000. Revisions to data for April and May added a further 70,000 jobs to previous estimates. The jobless rate remained steady at 7.6% of the workforce, according to the data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The dollar and US bond yields jumped as markets expectations rose that […]
John Paul II is credited as helping to end Communist rule in Europe The Vatican says Pope John Paul II is to become a saint. Pope Francis cleared the way for his canonisation, expected later this year, after a second miracle was attributed to the late pontiff’s intervention. The Polish-born pope led the Roman Catholic Church from 1978 until his death in 2005. Pope Francis also approved the sainthood of […]
