UN’s Ban calls Aral Sea ‘shocking disaster’

The drying up of the Aral Sea is one of the planet’s most shocking environmental disasters, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Sunday as he urged Central Asian leaders to step up efforts to solve the problem. Once the world’s fourth-largest lake, the sea has shrunk by 90 percent since the rivers that feed it were […]


Grocery Card In Your Pocket Can Pinpoint Salmonella

As they scrambled recently to trace the source of a salmonella outbreak that has sickened hundreds around the country, investigators from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention successfully used a new tool for the first time — the shopper cards that millions of Americans swipe every time they buy groceries. With permission from the […]


World’s Billionaires 2010

Carlos Slim Helu takes No. 1 spot on Forbes World’s Billionaires list as a record 164 10-figure titans return to the ranking amid the global economic recovery. For the third time in three years, the world has a new richest man. Riding surging prices of his various telecom holdings, including giant mobile outfit America Movil […]


Gas Pipeline Probe

STOCKHOLM (AFP) – A dozen previously unknown shipwrecks, some of them believed to be up to 1,000 years old, were discovered in the Baltic Sea during a probe of the sea bed to prepare for the installation of a large gas pipeline, the Swedish National Heritage Board said Monday. “We have manage to identify 12 […]


Oldest person In US Dies

WESTMORELAND, N.H. – Mary Josephine Ray, the New Hampshire woman who was certified as the oldest person living in the United States, has died at age 114 years, 294 days. She died Sunday at a nursing home in Westmoreland but was active until about two weeks before her death, her granddaughter Katherine Ray said. “She […]


Airline To Have Female Toilets

TOKYO (Reuters) – Women flying Japan’s All Nippon Airways will have a toilet all to themselves from next month, with the airline designating one restroom on most international routes as female-only. The airline said in a statement it was responding to “numerous requests for this service,” adding that the toilet would be located in the […]


8.8-magnitude earthquake

SANTIAGO, Chile – A massive 8.8-magnitude earthquake capable of tremendous damage struck central Chile early Saturday, shaking the capital for a minute and a half and setting off a tsunami. Buildings collapsed and phone lines and electricity were down, making the extent of the damage difficult to determine. At least 6 people were killed, President […]


Gift Registry for Divorces

Divorce can be liberating for some. But starting over can be emotionally and financially taxing, as well. One British department store chain hopes to ease the transition for the recently divorced by launching a specialized gift list that family and friends can use to help newly single loved ones stock up on things like sheets, […]