World

Tourists were evacuated from Paris' Eiffel Tower just before 4:00pm (1800 GMT) yesterday following a threatening phone call. Security forces covered the area after the phone call was received and the Eiffel Tower was reopened about an hour and half later after the threats were dismissed. Threats and evacuations are a recurring problem for Paris’ famous landmark and marks the fourth evacuation for 2013. On August 9 and March 31, the monument was closed due similar circumstances after Police responded to bomb alerts. On June 18, the attraction w

Yesterday, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), a 34 member international economic organization founded in 1961 that traces its origins back to the World War II-era Marshall Plan, published results on the state of adult skills in 24 countries, most of them European. Compared to other countries surveyed, Japan ranks as one of the best-performing surveyed countries in both literacy and numeracy. Internationally, Japan ranks first amongst surveyed countries for literacy proficiency amongst adults. At the highest pro

Yesterday at Estadio Santiago Bernabéu in Madrid, Real Madrid lost 1–0 to crosstown rival Atlético de Madrid in this year's edition of the Madrid derby. Atlético de Madrid had last defeated Real Madrid in La Liga play in 1999. Diego Costa scored the game's only goal, following an early ten minutes where Real Madrid dominated on possession. Following the goal, Real Madrid was unable to keep up possession and Atlético successfully shut down much of Real Madrid's passing game. Atlético players also slowed down the play with a number of players

Texas yesterday executed murder convict Arturo Diaz hours after the US Supreme Court turned down a final appeal. It marked the state's first use of pentobarbital in a lethal injection. "Let's go warden. I'm ready" were his last words. He and co-defendant Joe Cordova were found guilty of the 1999 murder of Michael Ryan Nichols, stabbed 94 times over a $50 debt. Witnesses and forensic evidence linked them to the crime. At trial a psychologist told the court Diaz had low IQ, childlike communications skills, and head injuries from fights and a ca

Australian solar racing team Sunswift paraded their fifth car, eVe, on the Kensington campus of the University of New South Wales, Sydney, yesterday. They are leaving for the 2013 World Solar Challenge this weekend. Both staff and students came to the send-off event in the early afternoon. The vehicle route led from the biomed lawn of Michael Birt Gadrens in upper Kensington Campus down the University Mall to Anzac Parade with a few stops along the way at Commerce Courtyard and Globe Lawn. The driver, as well as the passenger, alighted as six

Caloundra, Queensland — Wikinews attended a roller derby event at the Caloundra Indoor Stadium on Australia's Sunshine Coast yesterday. The event, entitled Springtime Riot, featured the hosting association — the Coastal Assassins Roller Derby (CARD) — fielding two teams, the Rum City Derby Dolls and the Gold Coast Sea Bombers.

Local residents of Dungog, a small country town in New South Wales (NSW), Australia, held a celebratory nature walk on Sunday after they received assurance that their local forest was deemed worthy of "enduring protection." Previously, a proposal before the NSW government to log over one million hectares of protected national park forests had caused alarm among nature conservationists. To celebrate the continued protection of national parks in NSW, a free guided walk was held on Sunday in the Black Bulga Range Conservation Area. This family-f

Maroochydore have defeated Noosa 15 to 10 to win the 2013 Sunshine Coast Rugby Union premiership yesterday afternoon at the Sunshine Coast Stadium, Bokarina, Queensland. Noosa had won both the Reserve grade and Under 19s Grand Finals against Maleny, 36–11 and 22–5 respectively. Maroochydore had finished on top of the ladder, six points clear of Noosa in second. The two sides would meet in the major semi final where Noosa ran out winners by 11 points. Maroochydore then defeated Caboolture in the Preliminary Final. From its beginnings in 1982 t

Japan's nuclear watchdog, the Nuclear Regulation Authority, yesterday said the revealed leaking of an estimated 300 metric tons of radioactive water at the damaged Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant was a "serious incident", level three on the seven-part international scale. Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), who run the plant, announced the leak last week and the new accident's level-three rating was made after consultation with the International Atomic Energy Agency. However, the Nuclear Regulation Authority notes this estimate may be overstat

As many as 47 people are reported dead and 113 wounded as bombs and shooting erupted across Iraq Sunday. Baghdad and Baquba, particularly, each sustained multiple blasts. The United Nations says violence in Iraq July killed over 1,000 people, more than in any other month since 2008. Sunni militants are reportedly gaining strength in Iraq. Amongst the incidents: A car bomb near a Baquba housing complex killed 11 and wounded 34, according to police. Military sources said five soldiers were killed at a fake checkpoint near Qiyara, north of Ba

German non-profit organization Definetz announced on Friday the development of the 'Defikopter': a medical drone, launched by smartphone app, designed to be able to fly defibrillators to heart attack victims in remote areas quicker than an ambulance. The Defikopter is to be launched by an app that sends out the GPS coordinates of the victim. With the ability to fly at 70km per hour in all weather conditions, the eight-armed octocopter could reach any patient within a ten kilometre radius. The invention has received cautious praise from Germa

According to state-run Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA), during a battle with rebels yesterday the Syrian army seized a stockpile of chemicals, canisters, weapons and gear located in a warehouse tunnel in Jobar, a suburb of Damascus. In a post on the social networking website Twitter, SANA claims some soldiers involved in the battle were exposed to some kind of chemical agent and in some cases "suffocated," but the number of those killed, if any, was not reported. "Army heroes are entering the tunnels of the terrorists and saw chemical agents",