Recently in International News Category

Mexican authorities told the Associated Press that they rescued 68 people, who allegedly kidnapped by a drug cartel located in northern Mexico, the Star Tribune reported.

This group, according to Forbes, included 12 Central American migrants. They were found in the border city of Reynosa, Texas.

The police received a tip to that led them to check everything out, the Star Tribune said, that's when they ran into two armed men.

Forbes reported that a statement from the department says the two gunmen were hiding in the house where the victims were being held.

In the Presidential election on Saturday, Nigerians made it through with almost no violence problems which is unusual, the Star Tribune reported.

There have been at least 50 incidents found affecting around 120,000 polling stations around the country, Bloomberg Business Week said.

A statement from the Abuja-based Nigerian Election Situation Room reported some of these incidents as: children voting, intimidating the voters, and ballot-box snatching.

Not only were children able to vote in this election, the Star Tribune reported, but some of theparty officials were assisting the voters by helping them press their fingers to the paper when they needed an ink print.

To make room for even more contaminated runoff, the Tokyo Electric Power Co. started dumping over 11,000 tons of radioactive water into the Pacific Ocean on Monday, the Star Tribune said.

The water is contaminated mostly with iodine-131, which according to NPR, should decay away to nothing in the next few months.

The water is supposed to be released over two days from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, and contains around 100 times the legal radiation limit, the Star Tribune reported.

Workers have been dumping water onto the reactors effected by the disaster for a while now, NPR reported, to keep their nuclear fuel from overheating. The water needs to be disposed of in order to bring back the normal cooling system.

Draining this water into the ocean is the best option, NPR said.

To make room for even more contaminated runoff, the Tokyo Electric Power Co. started dumping over 11,000 tons of radioactive water into the Pacific Ocean on Monday, the Star Tribune said.

The water is contaminated mostly with iodine-131, which according to NPR, should decay away to nothing in the next few months.

The water is supposed to be released over two days from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, and contains around 100 times the legal radiation limit, the Star Tribune reported.

Workers have been dumping water onto the reactors effected by the disaster for a while now, NPR reported, to keep their nuclear fuel from overheating. The water needs to be disposed of in order to bring back the normal cooling system.

Draining this water into the ocean is the best option, NPR said.

A gray-and-white tabby named Smokey had it's purr measured by the British community college at 73 decibels, which according to the Star Tribune is 16 times louder than the average cat's purr.

When Smokey and it's owner, Ruth Adams, appeared on Today recently, according to Calorie Lab. The cat insisted on purring loudly throughout the entire interview.

The cat was first recognized when it's owner, Adams of England, decided on running a local competition for the most powerful purr, the Star Tribune said.

Adams plans on recording the pur and sending it to Guinness World Records, Calorie Lab says.

After an equiptment malfunction, a U.S. fighter jet crashed in Libya, the Star Tribune said, and both crewmembers on board made it to safety.

The crewmembers were ejected from the plane, a US Air Force F-15E Strike Eagle, according to Aljazeera.

One of the airmen landed in a field of sheep after being ejected, and was welcomed into the homes of civilians who appreciated him protecting their airways, the Star Tribune said.

The two men were flying during a "raid against anti-aircraft defences in the northeast of the country," Aljazeera said, but it is not known exactly what they were enganged in.

Police have stepped up the search to find 22-year-old Austin Bice, a San Diego State University student who went missing in Madrid according to the Associated Press.

Bice was studying abroad in Madrid, and when he went to a nightblub on Feb. 26 and never returned his host family got very alarmed, NY Daily News reported. The police at first did not take the situation seriously but began to do more after Bice's father arrived in Madrid.

The host family first noticed Bice was missing after they set out a plate to eat for him the next day and when he didn't come out to eat, they soon realized he wasn't in his room at all according to the Associated Press.

A classmate of Bice told the San Diego Union-Tribune that Bice was too drunk to get into the club so he decided to walk home and that was the last time he was seen.

Even with the police help, and missing posters from his friends and family, there has been no sign of the missing student, NY Daily News said.

Three children and four adults were kidnapped by pirates on the Indian Ocean on their sailboat Monday, officials told the Los Angeles Times.

According to the Star Tribune, most sailboats that are hijacked are professional sailors, and not families.

The Danish Foreign Ministry told the Los Angeles Times that the children's ages were 12 to 16, and they put out a distress call Thursday.

"Four Americans were killed by Somali pirates in a hostage standoff," the Star Tribune said. These were the first Americans killed by Somali pirates since the wave started six years ago.

Militias supporting Moammar Gadhafi opened fire on protesters Friday. According to the Star Tribune the protestors were marching across the Libyan capital demanding the regime's ouster.

Witnesses reported multiple deaths to the Star Tribune. "In the first wave of fire, seven people within 10 meters (yards) of me were killed. Many people were shot in the head," one witness said.

The gunmen were on the rooftops as the protestors tried marching to Tripoli's central Green Square, which was several miles (kilometers) away, reported The Huffington Post.

One witness told The Huffington Post, "They don't want to stop," after a man next to him was shot in the neck.

In the latest self-immolation on the African continent, a man died after dousing himself with a flamable liquid and starting himself on fire in front of the presidential palace, according to the Metro.

Witnesses told the Star Tribune that it was not immediately clear why the man was setting himself on fire, but he was holding a paper up as the flames consumed him.

According to the Metro, a private radio station announced that the man was a soldier and was wearing his military fatigues at the time of the incident.

After the man collapsed, the Star Tribune reported, the man was rushed to the capital's main hospital and died there.