Residents of Buenos Aires struggling with a lingering heat wave At least seven people have been reported dead in Argentina as the result of major heat wave affecting the South American country over the past week. Argentine authorities announced on Tuesday that heat problems have been further compounded by power cuts, preventing many people from using air conditioning to cool off. Most of the reported... 

The US has been voted as the most significant threat to world peace in a survey across 68 different countries. Anti-American sentiment was not only recorded in antagonistic countries, but also in many allied NATO partners like Turkey and Greece. A global survey conducted by the Worldwide Independent Network and Gallup at the end of 2013 revealed strong animosity towards the US’s role as the world’s... 

Latvia has celebrated the New Year by joining the eurozone, becoming the 18th member of the Europe-wide currency bloc. However, recent opinion polls show that a majority of Latvians oppose the move, with just one-fifth strongly in favor. The euro switchover ceremony took place Jan. 1 at the HQ of the state-owned Citatele Bank – the lender reconstituted from the collapsed Parex Bank, where Latvia’s... 

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad (L) speaks to Tim Anderson, a senior lecturer in political economy at Sydney University, during a meeting with an Australian delegation in Damascus on Dec 23, 2013. A delegation from Australia’s WikiLeaks Party has traveled to Syria and met with a number of Syrian officials, including President Bashar al-Assad. The delegation that included John Shipton, the father... 

The Department of Health and Human Services has ordered 14 million doses of potassium iodide, the compound that protects the body from radioactive poisoning in the aftermath of severe nuclear accidents, to be delivered before the beginning of February. According to a solicitation posted on the Federal Business Opportunities website, the DHHS asks contractors to supply, “potassium iodide tablet,... 

Russian President Vladimir Putin has been named the International Person of the Year by one of Britain’s most influential newspapers for his role in bringing Russia back to the world stage. The Times wrote on Monday that Putin “succeeded in one of his most enduring ambitions: to bring Moscow back to the international high table.” The Russian president took the newspaper’s top prize for his... 

Fresh plumes of most probably radioactive steam have been detected rising from the reactor 3 building at the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant, said the facility’s operator company. The steam has been detected by surveillance cameras and appeared to be coming from the fifth floor of the mostly-destroyed building housing crippled reactor 3, according to Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO), the plant’s... 

A shoal of piranhas has attacked bathers in the Argentinian province of Rosario, injuring 70 people and resulting in amputations. Officials have suggested the freak incident was caused by the unusually high temperatures at the time of the attack. The attack occurred on the beaches of Rambla Catalunya on the river Parana, where around 9,000 people had gathered on Christmas Day to escape the heat wave... 

Russian President Vladimir Putin has vowed to continue to fight against terrorists and destroy them following two recent bombings in the southern city of Volgograd. Putin said on Tuesday that the explosions represented inhumane attacks and warned that Moscow would “fiercely and consistently continue the fight against terrorists until their complete annihilation,” the Interfax news agency reported. The... 

For many Americans, 2013 was the year “gun confiscation” became an undeniable reality, but it has merely set the precedent for what’s to come in 2014. The Second Amendment represents the biggest obstacle blocking the elimination of individual sovereignty and private property, and is one of the only things preventing a total Homeland Security dictatorship. However, in states like California and... 

Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered security to be stepped up across the country, following two separate suicide bombings in the southern city of Volgograd. “Russian President Vladimir Putin has given a number of instructions to the National Antiterrorism Committee with the purpose of building up security across Russia,” an unnamed committee representative said on Monday. “The president... 

A video made by a man from North Dakota shows him cautiously holding a lighter up against the stream of water coming out of his tap, prompting large flames to rise up into the faucet. North Dakota has been home to a fracking boom over the past few years. “First time I did it, it was a huge fireball [that] took up the entire sink – so that’s why I’m a little jumpy doing it. I don’t... 

A grim memorandum circulating in the Kremlin today written by Federal Security Services (FSB) Director Alexander Bortnikov outlining the new security measures being put into place throughout Russia ordered by President Putin a few hours ago in response to the deadly Volgograd terror attacks further warns that Russia’s leader has, in effect, vowed to “destroy” Saudi Arabia as he personally is... 

An inquiry has revealed that contractors at Japan’s crippled nuclear plant in Fukushima recruit homeless people for clean-up operations. The investigation found that the contractors use homeless people to work in the dangerous decontamination project with salaries below the minimum wage of about USD 6.50 per hour. “We are an easy target for recruiters,” said 57-year-old homeless man Shizuya... 

The Los Angeles Police Department has announced plans to ramp up use of a portable tool that checks for drug use, beginning with a New Year’s Eve crackdown on intoxicated drivers. Officials cited increased medical marijuana use as a main justification. A state grant supplied the LAPD with a swab testing tool that will be employed at DUI (driving under the influence) checkpoints and jails, Los Angeles...