International

• Wednesday, March 2nd 2011 - 06:24 UTC

  UN appeals for aid to address humanitarian situation at Libyan/Tunisia border

  

  The UN has called for a mass humanitarian evacuation of people fleeing Libya for Tunisia, saying the border situation is at “crisis point”. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said thousands of lives were at stake. Some 75,000 people have fled to Tunisia since unrest began and 40,000 more are waiting to cross, the UN says.

• Wednesday, March 2nd 2011 - 06:12 UTC

  Tokyo Sky Tree with 601 meters became the world’s highest self-standing tower

  

  Tokyo Sky Tree, under construction in Tokyo, topped the 600-meter mark Tuesday, becoming the world’s highest self-standing tower nearly two years and seven months after the construction began in July 2008, the operator said.

• Wednesday, March 2nd 2011 - 06:05 UTC

  Illegal betting in sports generates turnover of 140 billion US dollars

  

  Illegal betting in sport generates a turnover of around 140 billion US dollars a year worldwide, according to IOC president Jacques Rogge. Speaking after a meeting in Lausanne with government ministers, Interpol and European bodies on illegal and irregular betting practices, Rogge said action had to be taken to counter the threat.

• Wednesday, March 2nd 2011 - 05:58 UTC

  African dictator son planning to buy 380 million USD yacht, claims Global Witness

  

  The London-based anti-corruption campaign group, Global Witness, said it has evidence that Teodorin Obiang, the Minister of Agriculture and Forestry of the tiny West African state of Equatorial Guinea, has plans to order a luxury yacht worth hundreds of millions of dollars from a shipyard in northern Germany.

• Wednesday, March 2nd 2011 - 03:51 UTC

  Diabetes has reached epidemic level worldwide warn US surgeons

  

  People with diabetes in the United States and several other countries do not get effective treatment to control their disease, US researchers said, and health insurance, not personal wealth, plays a big role in determining which diabetics get good care.

• Wednesday, March 2nd 2011 - 00:00 UTC

  Antarctica meteorite strengthens argument life could have come from outer space

  

  Fragments from a meteorite found in the Antarctic strengthen the argument that the elements needed to begin life on earth could have come from outer space, claims a new study published Monday in the journal Proceedings of the Natural Academy of Sciences (PNAS).

• Tuesday, March 1st 2011 - 23:52 UTC

  Pro-Kirchner academics want Nobel Prize Vargas Llosa out of Argentina

  

  Intellectuals close to Argentine President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner launched a campaign Tuesday to stop Nobel Prize Mario Vargas Llosa from opening the Spanish-speaking world's largest cultural fair because of his disparaging remarks about Argentine politics.

• Tuesday, March 1st 2011 - 06:31 UTC

  EU fears massive exodus of refugees if there’s a ‘Battle for Tripoli’

  

  Europe is extremely concerned about the consequences of the instability in Libya which could mean a humanitarian crisis of proportions if Libyans take to the sea and try to reach the European continent in look of food, hope and jobs, warned the EU Commissioner for Food Aid Kristalina Georgieva.

• Tuesday, March 1st 2011 - 06:25 UTC

  Most Libyan oilfields no longer under control of Gadaffi

  

  Most of Libya's oilfields are no longer under control of Libyan leader Colonel Muammar Gaddafi, the European Union's energy commissioner said on Monday.

• Tuesday, March 1st 2011 - 06:20 UTC

  Oil prices fall slightly Monday as Saudis confirm they are covering Libyan gap

  

  Oil prices fell on Monday in ‘choppy’ trading as expectations that increased production from Saudi Arabia can offset supply disruptions in the region allowed investors to pause after Libya's turmoil sent prices to two and half year peaks last week.