World

Under the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu-Dhabi's floodlights, German driver Sebastian Vettel added a new Formula One record to his list as youngest winner of the championship at 23 years. On Saturday, Vettel took the title at the final race of this year's competition. Starting from pole position, the Red Bull Racing driver led the race right through except during pit stops, when reigning world champion Jenson Button led for a few laps. Championship leader Fernando Alonso started the race 11 points ahead of Mark Webber. With 25 points for a win, 1

Roush Fenway Racing driver Carl Edwards, who qualified on the pole position, won the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series 2010 Kobalt Tools 500 held on Sunday at Phoenix International Raceway in Avondale, Arizona, United States. This became his first Sprint Cup win of the season. Throughout the course of the race there were five cautions and fourteen lead changes among five different drivers. With 47 laps remaining in the 312 lap race, Denny Hamlin was first, but Edwards passed him one lap later. Edwards maintained the lead to win the race, while Hamlin m

China's Xinhua News Agency said Tuesday that at least 53 people were killed in Shanghai during a deadly fire. The blaze, which occurred on Monday at 2:15 p.m. CST (0615 UTC), consumed a 28-story high-rise apartment building in the city's Jing'an District. The building was being renovated at the time of the fire, and was home to over 150 families. At least 100 victims have been admitted to area hospitals, although some later died. Most survivors were not seriously injured, but needed treatment for smoke inhalation. Firefighters were still looki

Three pirates were killed late Friday during a presumed attack in error, while other pirates successfully hijacked the Yuan Xiang, a Panamanian-flagged vessel with an all-Chinese crew, and a media embargo was lifted regarding the release of a British couple whose yacht was seized more than a year ago over the weekend. At 11 p.m. on Friday a Kenyan patrol vessel was near Kilifi in Kenyan coastal waters "when four suspected Somali pirates on board a speed boat climbed the vessel, mistaking it for a merchant vessel," according to Kenyan Defence D

A father shot his two daughters and wife, then committed suicide yesterday in Erie, Western Pennsylvania according to police. The Erie police responded to a call from the house at 11 a.m. on Saturday and found a 29-year-old man, a 27-year-old woman and two children, ages four and seven dead of gunshot wounds. A two-year old boy was hospitalised with minor injuries; he was reportedly shot in the ear. A resident, Kevin Klino, who lives one block away from the crime scene and heads the Citizens Reunited Against Crime group told the Associated

A gas explosion in the Grand Riviera Princess resort in Playa del Carmen, Mexico earlier today killed seven people and left 20 people injured, two critically according to local officials. Francisco Alor, the attorney general of Quintana Roo, said that two hotel employees were among the dead. Five Canadian tourists were also killed in the blast, which created a large crater and broke windows. Alor said it is suspected that the explosion took place under the floor of the lobby. Reports from guests say that the explosion occurred at about 9:30

A plane crash at about 6:00 pm local time yesterday at the Palm Beach International Airport in West Palm Beach, Florida killed four people. The aircraft involved in the incident was a twin-engine Piper PA-44 registered to FIT Aviation LLC, a Melbourne, Florida flight school. According to the National Transportation Safety Board when the plane took off it encountered trouble with the left engine. It crashed into the tarmac, causing a fiery explosion. The dead have been identified as 26-year-old flight instructor Dheni Frembling, 21-year-old and

Reports say that Burmese military generals have signed the release papers of pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi; her release has not been officially confirmed. Rumours spread that Suu Kyi would be freed yesterday, but she is now expected to be freed today when her arrest period expires. Security has been increased, though it is unclear whether it is in anticipation of Suu Kyi's release. Benjamin Zawacki, Amnesty International's Myanmar specialist, says that the release will only take place if the national ruler Senior General Than Shwe beli

Worcester Crown Court in England, UK has yesterday jailed a policeman after he abandoned two men unconscious on a freezing night, one of whom died. David Driver of Gloucestershire Constabulary also lied about the state he found the pair in. Driver, who admitted misconduct in a public office and perverting the course of justice, has already resigned from his position as a constable. In February last year he discovered Steven Hathaway and another man apparently asleep in Bourton-on-the-Water, but failed to help them, whilst patrolling in the ear

The United States Supreme Court has rejected a bid by gay rights group Log Cabin Republicans to have the US Military's "Don't ask, don't tell" policy rescinded again. A Federal court in California had previously ruled the policy, which restricts personnel from discussing their sexuality, unconstitutional. In October, US District Judge Virginia Phillips ruled that since the policy prevented gays from talking about their lives it is a breach of their constitutional right to freedom of speech. She forbade by injunction any use of the policy, later

An international holiday flight was diverted after a British passenger allegedly became abusive to cabin crew. The Boeing 767, owned by Thomson Airways, landed in Bermuda; the woman is said to have attacked crewmembers. The flight was carrying 260 passengers to Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic from Manchester Airport. According to The Sun, the 45-year-old women was drinking alcohol from a secret stash. Cabin crew restrained her over disruption; she was handcuffed to her seat over the alleged assault. Brett Kenyon, 27, a passenger, said sh

Red Bull drivers Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber took the top two podium places in the Brazilian Formula One Grand Prix at the Autódromo José Carlos Pace in São Paulo on Sunday. This secures victory for their two-car Red Bull team in the 2010 Constructors' Cup, with one race left. However, the Drivers' Championship is yet to be decided. The Abu Dhabi GP will be the decider in a season of close competition. Surprisingly, Nico Hülkenberg started the race in pole position. But Hülkenberg couldn't delay Vettel beyond the first corner, his William