Observers of Wednesday morning’s total lunar eclipse might be able to catch sight of an extremely rare cosmic sight. On Oct. 8, Interested skywatchers should attempt to see the total eclipse of the moon and the rising sun simultaneously. The little-used name for this effect is called a «selenelion,» a phenomenon that celestial geometry says cannot happen. […]readmore
Turkey’s president says the Syrian border town of Kobani is on the verge of falling to Islamic State militants. Kurdish fighters have been defending the town for three weeks from the approaching militant offensive. But Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned Tuesday that the ultra-radical Sunni militant group will take control of the area along […]readmore
Two Japanese scientists and a Japanese-born American scientist have been awarded the 2014 Nobel Prize for Physics for inventing the environmentally-friendly blue light emitting diodes, commonly known as LEDs. Isamu Akasaki, Hiroshi Amano and Shuji Nakamura were honored for their work in the 1990s in creating bright, energy-efficient white light from semiconductors, succeeding where scores […]readmore
BANGKOK—An internal document of the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime (UNDOC) foresees sex offenders who prey on children taking advantage of Southeast Asia’s planned economic integration in the coming years, posing a rising challenge for law enforcement that already struggle to address such crimes. Southeast Asia’s planned economic integration is promoted as a key […]readmore
Pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong are threatening to take over several government buildings if the territory’s Beijing-friendly chief executive does not resign Thursday. The student protesters are giving Leung Chun-ying until midnight local time (1600 GMT) to resign, and have already begun camping outside his office in the semi-autonomous Chinese city, and have demanded China […]readmore
Mexican authorities say they have captured Hector Beltran Leyva — one of the country’s most wanted drug kingpin suspects. Soldiers arrested him Wednesday in the central Mexican city of San Miguel de Allende after a nearly year-long operation. No other details are available. Beltran Leyva is one of four brothers who allegedly headed a vicious […]readmore
BEIJING—As China marked its National Day Wednesday, a defiant gathering of thousands of people in Hong Kong demanding deeper electoral reforms for the port city cast a shadow over Beijing’s celebration. At a flag-raising ceremony to mark the holiday in Hong Kong, protesters booed and made a “thumbs down” sign as helicopters flew overhead. There […]readmore
BEIJING/WASHINGTON—Pro-Democracy protests in Hong Kong are expected to swell on Wednesday, China’s National Day, as demonstrators remain defiant of government orders for the civil disobedience to end. Tens of thousands of protesters camped out in at least three parts of Hong Kong Tuesday, maintaining their demands for greater democratic reforms and for Hong Kong Chief […]readmore
CARACAS— Another blackout hit various states across Venezuela on Thursday in an irritation for locals and embarrassment for President Nicolas Maduro’s government which runs the electricity sector. The South American OPEC member nation has been suffering increasing power cuts in recent years which critics jump on as evidence of mismanagement by the socialist authorities. The government […]readmore
France says its fighter jets have successfully carried out the country’s first airstrikes against Islamic State insurgents inside Iraq. The office of French President Francois Hollande said in a statement Friday that its Rafale jets launched a strike against a militant logistics depot, adding that it was destroyed completely. France did not give the exact […]readmore