Recently in International News Category

By Lauren Regnier

Provisional results published by Congo's election commission declared President Joseph Kabila the winner of the Democratic Republic for another term Friday, with nearly half of the votes from the 18.14 million votes cast.

He received 49 percent of the votes, while his opponent, veteran opposition leader Etienne Tshisekedi, received 32 percent, reported BBC News.

Tshisekedi's supporters said they would take the streets if Kabila won, reported the Star Tribune.

Riot police are patrolling the streets in the capital, which is known for as an opposition stronghold, reported BBC News.

When people in the eastern city of Goma heard of Kabila's re-election, they started the celebrate in the streets, reported BBC News.

The results must still be approved in the Supreme Court, reported the Star Tribune.

By Lauren Regnier

A tractor-trailer and a bus collided early Saturday in north-east Brazil, killing at least 33 people and injuring 13 others, officials said.

The crash occurred near a town called Milagres in the northeastern state of Bahia, reported BBC News.

Police said the truck driver lost control when he was turning a corner going down a hill, reported the Miami Herald.

The bus was carrying sugarcane cutters across the country, reported BBC News.

The truck driver survived and is in the local hospital, reported the Miami Herald. Some of the people injured are in critical condition.

An investigation is still going on.

By Lauren Regnier

Hundreds of passengers traveling from India to Britain were stranded in Amritsar, India Thursday after being asked to help pay for fuel for the remainder of the trip.

This is the second time in the last week that the charter airline Comtel asked passengers to fund fuel for the remainder of the trip on the same route, reported the Miami Herald.

Passengers are not allowed to leave Amristar unless the pay 10 thoudand rupees, about $200 each, reported the Miama Herald.

Days before, when Comtel stopped on the same route to re-fuel in Vienna, they held passengers on the plane until they could provide 20 thousand pounds or $31 thousand to fund the rest of the trip, reported Channel 4 News.

"Children under two went free, my little one went free cause she's under two," said Reena Rindi, a passenger on board with her two daugters. "If we didn't have the money, they were making us go one by one outside, in Vienna, to get the cash out," reported the Miama Herald.

According to Birmingham officials, Comtel flights are canceled this weekend, reported the Miami Herald.

By Lauren Regnier

A daredevil surfer shattered a world record by surfing a 90-foot wave off the coast of Praia do Norte in Portugal.

Garrett McNamara, 44, of Hawaii, is part of an elite fraternity of extreme surfers who seek extremely large waves around the globe, reported ABC News.

McNamara was in Portugal with two other wave enthusiasts, Andrew Cotton and Al Mennie, as part of a study with the Portuguese Hydrographic Institute to understand why such gigantic waves are formed in the deep-water canyon off Nazare, reported The Telegraph.

"This wave, this abnormal-sized wave, just popped out of nowhere. It was like it was meant to be," McNamara said in a telephone interview from Portugal with ABC News.

Cottons towed him onto the mammoth wave.

"I had the best seat in the house as he dropped down the face of the biggest wave I've ever seen. It was incredible," said Cotton in a story by The Telegraph. "Most people would look scared but Garrett looked in control as he went down the most critical part of the wave.

The previous world record was set by Mike Parsons in 2008, who rode a 77-foot wave at Cortes Bank in California, reported The Telegraph.

By Lauren Regnier

Suicide bombers attacked a military base Friday around a northeastern Nigerian city that is under siege from a radical Muslim sect, officials said.

Lt. Col. Hassan Ifijeh Mohammed said that no soldiers were killed in the attack by the group known as Boko Haram, reported Providence Journal.

These are the most complex and coordinated attack by this group, reported The Star.

Borno state police commissioner Simeon Midenda said that explosions went off near an Islamic college where parents had arrived to pick up students, reported The Star.

The bombers driving a black SUV tried to get into the military base that was largely used for protecting the city from Boko Haram fighters, but couldn't enter, reported The Star.

Mohammed said attackers detonated explosives inside the SUV, which damaged surround buildings, reported Providence Journal.

Mohammad said explosions went off in three other locations in Maiduguri, reported The Star.

By Lauren Regnier

A 13-year-old boy was pulled from rubble of a collapsed building Friday, five days after an earthquake struck eastern Turkey.

He was taken to the hospital, reported The Nation.

The boy was identified as Ferhat Tokay and his uncle Sahin Tokay said he survived by drinking rainwater that trickled through the rubble, reported the Los Angeles Times.

As of Friday the death toll from the 7.2 magnitude quake was around 573, reported the Los Angeles Times. According to Turkish authorities over 2,500 were injured and thousands were left without a home.

By Lauren Regnier

A shark killed an American man Saturday off the coast of Western Australia.

According to police, a witness saw a "large amount of bubbles" before the man's body floated to the surface with fatal injuries, reported Sky News.

The 32-year-old man, whose identity has not yet been released, was diving alone, reported Sky News. He was living in Australia on a work visa.

Witnesses spotted the shark and said that it appeared to be a 10-foot great white, reported ABC News.

This is the second shark attack in Western Australia within 12 days.

By Lauren Regnier

A plane crashed in a forest in Papua New Guinea Thursday, killing 28 people and leaving four survivors.

Two pilots were among the four survivors, reported the Huffington Post.

The Airlines PNG Dash 8 aircraft was flying from Lae to the resort hub of Madang when it crashed, reported the Huffington Post.

According to the Daily Telegraph, "'Initial indications are that there are no Australians amongst those killed,'" a spokesperson for the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said.

According to the Australian Associated Press, most of the passengers were parents traveling to Madang for children's graduation ceremony, reported the Huffington Post.

By Lauren Regnier

Denmark is imposing what is believe to be the world's first "fat tax" on fatty food in an attempt to get its citizens to eat healthier.

Rates will correspond with the percentage of fat contained in the food, reported CBS News. The value is about $3 for every 2.2 pounds of saturated fat.

Danes emptied the shelves of grocery stores in order to stock up on their favorite foods before the tax went into effect on Saturday, reported ABC News.

Increased fees on things like sugar, fat and tobacco is important in paving the way to a higher life expectancy, said health minister Jakob Axel Nielson in a report by CBS News.

However, some Danes are skeptical that the tax will create change.

The tax should complement more affordable healthy foods said Monika Kosinska, the secretary general of the European Public Health Alliance, in a report from ABC News.

By Lauren Regnier

Two commuter trains collided in a tunnel outside Caracus Thursday, killing one of the conductors and injuring about 30 passengers, officials said.

Transportation Minister Francisco Garces confirmed the death of Wilfredo Macero Manzano, 27, one of the train's conductors, reported the Channel 6 News.

Garces said the first train braked due to a malfunction and the second train ran into it from behind causing the first one to derail, reported the Star Tribune.

A third train holding 1,000 passengers and coming from the opposite direction was able to stop before crashing into the others, reported the Star Tribune.

Officials said there were nearly 3,000 people evacuated from the collision, including about 2,000 who were riding other trains not directly affected in the accident, reported the Star Tribune.

Garces said the railroad system was expected to run again during the weekend, reported the Channel 6 News.