A Chinese scientist has said that prehistoric man ate the bears in what is now part of the southwestern Chinese city of Chongqing. In an interview with The Chongqing Morning Post, Wei Guangbiao, the head of the Institute of Three Gorges Paleoanthropology at a Chongqing museum, said that many excavated fossils “showed that pandas were once slashed to death by man,” The Associated Press reported... 

Austrian daredevil Felix Baumgartner has become the first human to break the sound barrier by a freefall jump from the edge of space. Baumgartner, 43, leaped off a capsule more than 39 kilometers above the earth with his speed reaching 834 miles (about 1,342 kilometers) per hour, or 1.24 times the speed of sound, on Sunday. He jumped from an altitude of 39,045 meters and landed in the New Mexico desert... 

The highest active volcano in Eurasia, Klyuchevskaya Sopka has started to erupt, officials with the Institute of Volcanology and Seismology said. On the night of October 15, there was light seen over the summit of the volcano indicating a blowout of lava in its crater, Vesti.ru reports. Experts believe the release of ash to the height of 6 feet above sea level may start any moment. Lava flows on the... 

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey New Zealand’s capital will be renamed after the fictional setting of Middle-earth to celebrate the world premiere of the Hobbit saga film. “The Middle of Middle-earth” is Wellington’s new unofficial name for three weeks before and after the premiere. ­The magic name will be reflected on postmarks on letters and the masthead of Wellington’s main... 

The United Nations has censured the Canadian government for its gross violations of the rights of children and has accused the country of “serious and widespread discrimination” against First Nations children. On Monday, the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) issued its formal report on Canada’s treatment of children and the country’s commitment to the world body’s Convention... 

The work of Ben Gurion International Airport in Tel Aviv, Israel, was interrupted. A strange flying object appeared close to the air borders of the country. The object could be an enemy’s aircraft. Fighter jets took off, but it turned out that the object did not pose a threat to Israel’s security, Vesti.ru reports. The airport resumed its work. However, nothing has been reported about... 

Naegleria fowleri surrounded by white cells in spinal fluid Pakistan’s major city Karachi was struck by an outbreak of Naegleria fowleri, also known as ‘brain-eating amoeba.’ The deadly freshwater microbe kills 98 percent of those infected. The source of the infection has yet to be identified. The amoeba is transmitted from contaminated water through the nasal cavity and travels to the brain,... 

The oldest female resident on Earth, Antisa Khvichava, a native of Georgia (former USSR), died at age 134. The woman from the village of Sachino was born in the century before last – on July 8, 1880. The Georgian authorities asked Guinness Book editors to prepare a certificate to confirm that Antisa was the oldest woman in the world, Georgia Online reports. Spokespeople for the book said Antisa... 

A group of Moscow residents has suggested outlawing animal sacrifices in the capital as a reply to the recent ban on the film Innocence of Muslims. In a press release forwarded to all major media the group, apparently formed by the NGO called Public Coalition for Defense of Moscow, said they will soon write a draft of the bill banning all animal sacrifice and submit it to the legislative bodies of... 

As predicted in this column several years ago, tropical diseases have started to appear in Europe. Among these is the dreaded Dengue Fever, which can develop into an Ebola-like haemorrhagic form, causing the patient to bleed from the nose, mouth, ears and eyes. To date there are 34 cases reported on the Isle of Madeira, Portugal. The cases were confirmed by the President of the Regional Health Service... 

Beekeepers in north eastern France have been scratching their heads after the hives began to produce a weird colored substance instead of regular honey. They think candy M&Ms are to blame. The bees around the town of Ribeauville in the Alsace region have been carrying an unidentified colored substance back to their hives since August. The keepers have done a bit of sleuthing and think the Agrivolar... 

According to a 2009 report of the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, the total world Muslim population at the time was 1.57 billion and growing (“Mapping the Muslim Population”). Just recently it was estimated that whilst 95% of Muslims are by and large peaceful this means 5% that are not and they constitute 78 million people. Now that is a lot of people who are not peaceful. Let’s assume... 

The European Food Safety Authority has rejected a controversial study by French scientists linking GM corn to cancer. Many in Europe are already calling for stricter controls on GMOs, as farmers weigh the lucrative crops against health concerns. ­In September, French scientists from the University of Caen released a study claiming that rats fed on a diet containing NK603 – a corn seed variety made... 

Indian labourers work in a field of Jatropha in the village of Hassan, some 250 kms from Bangalore. Jatropha, a wild shrub that grows abundantly across India, has been hailed as an eco-friendly solution to the energy needs. 2 million kilometers of foreign purchased land in developing countries is either idle or used for Western biofuel production, according to a British charity. Oxfam’s report... 

Monsanto, Bill Gates, the Rockefellers, Craig Venter and other investors are working behind-the-scenes to bring genetically engineered (GE) algae to market with products that include fuel, animal feed made with manure, human food and vaccines. The US government have a stake in this enterprise, too. Obama put a moratorium on drilling for oil on federal land and voted down the Keystone pipeline, in...