This picture, taken by North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency on July 30, 2012 shows road and houses being flooded at Anju city in South Phongan province, caused by typhoon and downpour. The UN has sent a team to North Korea for expressing their solidarity with the government and people in the wake of the recent flood, a UN official says. The UN team was headed “to see what help... 

Passengers sit on a platform for their train to arrive as they wait for electricity to be restored at a railway station in New Delhi July 31, 2012 More than ten percent of the world’s population has found itself without electricity, after three of India’s power grids failed. Blackouts have now plagued India for two consecutive days, leaving half the country without power. The string of power shortages... 

German Chancellor Merkel attends a session of German parliament (Bundestag). Support has sharply declined for German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s decisions regarding the eurozone’s spiraling debt crisis, a survey suggests. The poll, conducted by YouGov and printed in the Monday edition of Bild newspaper, found only 33 percent in favor of Merkel’s stance, Reuters reported. The steep erosion in domestic... 

As every Olympic athlete knows, size matters. The London 2012 medals are the largest ever in terms of both weight and diameter – almost double the medals from Beijing. However, just as equally well-known is that quality beats quantity and that is where the current global austerity, coin-clipping, devaluation-fest begins. The 2012 gold is 92.5 percent silver, 6.16 copper and… 1.34 percent gold,... 

A group of protesters overturn a car near the local government office compound in the coastal city of Qidong, near Shanghai, in the eastern China province of Jiangsu on July 28, 2012. China’s government has bowed down to public pressure and abandoned an unpopular industrial waste pipeline project, just hours after a street protest against it, which turned violent. China’s coastal city of Qidong... 

Botched escape: A dog stuck in a fence in Tamaulipas, Mexico Scantily-clad prostitutes touting for trade in Amsterdam are among the unusual scenes to feature in a new art exhibition. They were captured going about their daily business by one of Google’s international army of Street View cars. Artist Jon Rafman, from Montreal, Canada, spent hours at a time on the website searching for oddball... 

Study shows that the increasing temperature of the Baltic Sea coincided with the onset of gastrointestinal infections caused by the bacterium Vibrio, reported the German news service Deutsche Welle. Climate change caused by man is behind the unexpected appearance of a group of bacteria in northern Europe that can cause gastroenteritis, a new study by a group of experts shows. The study, published... 

Former No.1: Japanese women enjoyed the longest average lifespan for 26 years until being usurped by counterparts from Hong Kong For 26 years Japanese women have been blessed with the world’s longest life expectancy, being able to look forward to an average age of 86.3 years. But last year they lost their longevity crown, and the Japanese government has blamed the 2011 earthquake and tsunami... 

Decline: The U.S. birth rate has hit its lowest point in 25 years, forecasters say The U.S. birth rate has plummeted to its lowest point in 25 years as would-be parents postpone having babies due to the poor economy. The average number of births per woman has fallen 12 per cent from a peak of 2.12 in 2007, when the economy began to falter. Now the rate is predicted to hit just 1.87 this year and 1.86... 

After setting sights on creating a heavily modified apple that ‘never browns’ and doing their very best to hide the fact that they are indeed genetically altered, a biotech corporation known as Okanagan Specialty Fruits is now pushing for their new genetically modified apples to hit the market. The company recently submitted an application to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency to launch their... 

Following the shooting spree in a Colorado cinema, Russian legislators have drafted a bill which would allow public use of firearms. The law’s sponsors hope to curb crime rates, while opponents say legal air-guns already cause enough damage. ­The principle behind the drafted bill allowing the private use of handguns is “my home is my castle,” so any invasion of private space could be met with... 

A government report has concluded that certain vaccines actually do cause major health problems in children. The reported stated that: We were initially highly skeptical that differences in the concentrations of thimerosal in vaccines would have any effect on the incidence rate of neurodevelopmental disorders after childhood immunization. The report titled, “Neurodevelopmental disorders after thimerosal-containing... 

Here’s another news brief from the backlog that accumulated while I was in Brussels. It’s from our Swedish correspondent PMP, and concerns a recent decision by the Swedish government to extend “free” healthcare to all illegal immigrants. As with similar decisions by the American government concerning “undocumented” migrants from Latin America, the ruling renders the distinction between... 

Danger: ‘The Devil’s Breath’ is such a powerful drug that it can remove the capacity for free will A hazardous drug that eliminates free will and can wipe the memory of its victims is currently being dealt on the streets of Colombia. The drug is called scopolamine, but is colloquially known as ‘The Devil’s Breath,’ and is derived from a particular type of tree common to... 

Poverty is spreading at record levels across many groups in the United States, from underemployed workers and suburban families to the poorest poor. Poverty in the United States is projected to climb to the highest level in nearly half a century as the recession threw millions of people out of work last year. According to a survey conducted by The Associated Press, US poverty could reach a 46-year...