Global News

We’re learning a little more about what ails Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez following the official release of new photographs.  He’s seen lying down and flanked by his two daughters Rosa Virginia and Maria Gabriela.  The photos seek to stifle rumors that Chavez had died in his absence from Venezuela.

A meteor shower sent flaming rock soaring across the sky above Russia's Chelyabinsk region in the Ural Mountains, many crashing to earth and causing massive damage in the area.  The shockwave set off car alarms far away from the impact.  Broadcast reports say at least 160 people have sought medical attention (UPDATE: More than 1,000 are injured).  Click "Read More" for amazing video and photos of the action!

Whatever you might think about Venezuela’s President Hugo Chavez, he sure isn’t about to go down to cancer with out a fight.  Vice President Nicolas Maduro says the top guy is undergoing “complex and difficult” alternative treatments.

Iran allegedly tried to buy highly specialized magnets from China to be used in centrifuges for enriching Uranium, according to a new report from an international nuclear watchdog group.  Iran is banned from importing these magnets under the United Nations sanctions established in late 2011.

As many as 90,000 people may have been killed so far in the Syrian Civil War, according to U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry who was citing figures provided by his Saudi Arabian counterpart.  If the Saudis are correct, the death toll is far worse than the near-70,000 estimated by the United Nations.

A large asteroid will soar by the Planet Earth and will be visible in Australia, even to those using a just backyard telescope or binoculars.  And the best part is that astronomers say there’s no chance of it crashing here.

A nasty fall during his visit to Mexico last year may have contributed to Pope Benedict XVI’s decision to step down as leader of the world’s Roman Catholics.  The pontiff banged his head on a sink in the middle of the night and was alarmed when he woke up later in the morning with blood on his hair and pillow.

A Nike ad featuring Oscar Pistorius and the tagline “I am bullet in the chamber” has been removed from his website.  The Paralympics athlete is under arrest and due to be formally charged with the shooting with of his girlfriend and noted fashion model Reeva Steenkamp.

A new report says more Ultrasound tests detected Thyroid abnormalities in more than 44 percent of children examined.  This comes just weeks shy of the two year anniversary of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Disaster will followed the 11 March 2011 earthquake and tsunami.

The Melbourne man found hanged in his Israeli jail cell in 2010 may have been planning to cross his Mossad employers and expose the Israeli Spy Agency’s improper use of Australian passports, according to new reports, but was arrested before he got the chance.

On Valentine’s Day and the day activists around the world are protesting Violence Against Women, authorities are charging a disabled Olympic hero with the murder of his model girlfriend in a domestic dispute.  And police are knocking down earlier reports that Oscar Pistorius, known as the “Blade Runner”, tragically mistook Reena Steenkamp for a burglar.

Startling environmental news from the Arctic Circle.  The European Space Agency’s Cryosat is confirming the rapid reduction of sea-ice cover at our planet’s northernmost climes:  Much faster than climate scientists had earlier predicted.

73-year old Walter Unbehaun wasn’t making it away from the only home he’s known for the majority of his adult life.  So he robbed a bank in a suburb of Chicago, in hopes of being sent back to prison.  Looks like he’ll get his wish.

In a constantly moving city of 8 million people, it only takes a stubborn old nag to jam-up everything.  So the mayor of Bogotá, Colombia wants to drive his city into the 21^st century by helping the remaining horse-cart owners to switch over to cars or trucks.

An unemployed man in Nantes in western France poured petrol over himself and set it alight in protest of having his benefits claim denied.  Rescuers were unable to save the 43-year old man’s life.

For the first time in months, a United Nations Special Envoy Team carried out a field visit to war-torn Syria.  The UN representatives met with the rebel Revolutionary Military Council as well as civilian and Christian leaders at a location north of Damascus.

Israel’s Justice Ministry is confirming that it imprisoned an Australian-Israeli man known as “Prisoner X” for security reasons, and that he died in custody. The ministry claims that Prisoner X was held under a legal warrant and his rights were retained, even though he was found hanged in his jail cell in 2010. 

Bail is set at $2 Million for a young man accused of attacking Japanese tourists in Guam with his car and a knife.  Two women were stabbed to death and 11 people are recovering from various injuries.

A Southern California sheriff is denying claims that deputies deliberately set the fire that burned down a cabin in which suspected spree killer and ex-cop Chris Dorner was holed up inside.  Despite those denials, several journalists overheard police radio transmission with the orders to burn down the cabin.

Organizers hope One Billion People will take part in marches staged around the world on Valentine’s Day to raise their voices against violence on women.  The One Billion Rising campaign is especially poignant in India, where many women still feel a deep sense of outrage following the December 15^th gang rape and murder of a young woman in Dehli.  That city has a full day of events planned.