A woman walks past signs warning of Ebola in Freetown, Sierra Leone. Authorities in Sierra Leone have extended the Ebola lockdown in the northern Tonkolili district of the West African country for two weeks in a bid to contain the outbreak. “The lockdown is extended for another two weeks to intensify monitoring efforts by all sectors in the district as we need this mopping up operation until January... 

In March 2014, hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, caused 77 earthquakes in a small Ohio town that had no previous experience with seismic activity, according to a new study. One quake was large enough to be felt in neighboring areas. Fracking in Poland Township, Ohio was halted two days after the area was hit with a magnitude-3 earthquake along a hidden fault in rock which was deep beneath a natural... 

A giant dark hole has appeared on the sun’s flaming surface, a recently-taken NASA picture has revealed. So far, scientists are stumped by why this spectacular phenomenon, known as a “coronal hole,” occurs. “The Sun starts 2015 with an enormous coronal hole near the South Pole,” scientists of NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory wrote in their blog, having posted a picture of the flaming... 

Scientists have been baffled by mass deaths of seabirds, whose bodies are being found by the hundreds along the US Pacific Coast. According to reports, hundreds of Cassin’s aucklets, a small white-bellied gray bird, have been washing up dead on beaches from British Columbia to San Luis Obispo, California, since October. Generally during severe winter conditions, especially during large storms,... 

An unsettling report prepared by the Aerospace Defence Forces (ADF) that is circulating in the Kremlin today appears to show that many scientists are in fear of the potential effects to our solar system of what they term is an “asteroid army” of at least 83 giant space objects due to hurtle past Earth and Mars over the next three months. According to this report, these giant asteroids appear to... 

Australian authorities are on high-alert as two bushfires rage across the country’s South Australia state and temperatures soar above 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit). On Friday, at least four homes have been destroyed and several volunteer firefighters injured as separate fires burnt out of control in northeast of the state capital, Adelaide, and in the Lower South East region. “You are in... 

Health workers stand inside the Elwa hospital in the Liberian capital Monrovia on September 7, 2014. West African countries still have a long way to go to beat back the deadliest Ebola outbreak in history, a senior UN official says. “I think the response (to Ebola) has been successful but we have a long way to go,” Anthony Banbury, the outgoing head of the UN Mission for Ebola Emergency... 

  A stampede during Shanghai’s New Year’s Eve celebrations has killed more than 36 people. For many people around the world, New Year was a time of celebration and joy, but for some it was quite the opposite. Stabbings, mortar shelling, massive fires and a fatal stampede all hit seasonal revels, causing havoc and heartbreak. Stampede ‘over fake money’ kills dozens At least... 

A screen grab from TV One shows a rescuer evacuates a victim body of AirAsia. Over 40 bodies have been recovered from the missing AirAsia flight, the Indonesian Navy said. Objects resembling parts of the plane, as well as what was thought to be the plane’s outline underwater, were seen in the search area. “There was a man swaying on the waves. After I looked at the photo carefully on my laptop,... 

An AirAsia plane taxis on the tarmac after landing at terminal 1 at Changi international airport in Singapore on December 29, 2014. Indonesia says the Singapore-bound AirAsia plane which went missing with over 160 passengers on board has likely crashed deep into the sea. “Based on the coordinates given to us and evaluation that the estimated crash position is in the sea, the hypothesis is the plane... 

Friends, relatives of passengers await news of AirAsia QZ8501 at Changi Airport. AirAsia flight number QZ8501, bound from the Indonesian city of Surabaya to Singapore, has lost contact with air traffic control, the airline has confirmed. The missing flight is an Airbus A320-200 with up to 161 people on board. Indonesia air transport authorities have provided details of the plane’s last position. “We... 

New population projections by the US Census Bureau show that whites will become a minority by 2044. The US will be home to a youthful, growing minority population juxtaposed against an aging, slow-growing, and soon to be declining white population. The new projections from the Census Bureau show two trends for American’s population: a long-term decline for the nation’s white population – which... 

Japan’s nuclear watchdog says the radioactive water that has accumulated at the battered Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant must be decontaminated and dumped into the ocean, local media reported. The news has sparked concern from local fisherman. “We have to dispose of the water,” Shunichi Tanaka, chairman of the Nuclear Regulation Authority (NRA), told a media conference after visiting the... 

Massive fire is seen raging in the Whiteman Park area of the Australian city of Perth on December 14, 2014. Towering flames near Western Australian city of Perth have prompted evacuation of many homes as water-bombing helicopters and firefighters battle the blaze. The wildfire began in the Whiteman Park area of the major city, which has a population of 1.5 million, at 1:11 pm local time, threatening... 

Zaporozhskaya nuclear plant There has been an accident at a nuclear plant in the southeast of Ukraine, Prime Minister Arseny Yatsenyuk has revealed during the first session of his new Cabinet. A minor accident occurred at Zaporozhskaya nuclear plant, the largest in Europe, last Friday, according to the facility’s website. A reactor was switched off and put to maintenance as a result. The incident...