(By Bonny Apunyu)

Three Tobacco Companies in Canada were on Monday ordered by a Quebec Superior Court to pay Canadian dollars 15.5 billion or  (US12.4 billion) to nearly one million smokers in Quebec province who claimed they were never warned about the health risks associated with smoking.

(By Bonny Apunyu)

While announcing a restructuring program and plans to cut around 6,000 jobs, the Chief executive of Malaysia Airlines said the troubled airlines is "technically bankrupt." Last year, Malaysian airlines suffered two huge disasters which one plane reportedly disappearing in Indian Ocean and another being shot down over Ukraine air space.

BBC reported Monday that Malaysian airlines said  it had "offered jobs" to 14,000 of its 20,000 workforce. The move was expected and follows the appointment of new chief executive Christoph Mueller in May.

(By Bonny Apunyu)

The death toll from a heat wave that has been sweeping across India from last week has risen over 2,200. According to VOA, 146 more deaths were reported on Saturday in Andhra Pradesh rising the toll  to 1,636 in an that state alone.

Rains and thunderstorms in parts of southern India Sunday reportedly brought some relief but Indian officials said the intense heat was likely to continue for another day in worst-hit Andhra Pradesh and Telangana states.

(By Bonny Apunyu)

According to the latest annual survey by Norway’s Directorate of Integration and Diversity (IMDI) released Wednesday, two thirds of Norwegians would not be happy if one of their children married a Muslim, the local news reported.

According to reports, the survey found out that 58 percent of Norwegians surveyed said they would be unhappy about gaining a Muslim son-in-law or daughter-in-law.This compared to 32 percent for a Hindu one, 27 percent for  Buddhist, 24 percent for a someone of Jewish faith, and just six percent for a Christian. 

(By Bonny Apunyu)

At least 71 people were killed and dozen others wounded on Saturday after Syrian army helicopters dropped barrel bombs on Islamic State-controlled areas of Aleppo, a Human Rights group has said.

(By Estera Popowska)

In an incident that reportedly had no casualties, a Singapore Airlines Airbus A330-300 carrying over 182 passengers and 12 crew temporarily lost power to both of its engines as it passed through a storm, the airline has said, CNN reported Thursday.

According to CNN, a spokesperson for the airline said Wednesday that Flight SQ836 was en route to Shanghai from Singapore on Saturday when it "encountered bad weather at 39,000 feet about three and a half hours after departure."

(By Estera Popowska)

Iraq health minister said Thursday that the remains of 470 people believed to have been executed by militants near Tikrit last year in what is known as the Speicher massacre, have been exhumed. 

The health official, Adila Hammoud said at a press conference in Baghdad  that "we have exhumed the bodies of 470 Speicher martyrs from burial sites in Tikrit." Hammoud was referring to the nearby military base that the massacre was named after.

(By Estera Popowska)

The death toll from a major heatwave sweeping India has risen to over 1,100, Indian authorities said Wednesday while as forecasters cautioned that temperatures would continue rising. AFP quoted Brahma Prakash Yadav, director of Indian Meteorological Department, as saying top temperatures in the capital would remain around 45 degrees Celsius (113 Fahrenheit) -the national benchmark for a heatwave.

(By Estera Popowska)

An electrical failure at air traffic control in Brussels has rendered Belgian airports at standstill on Wednesday, AFP reported that Belgium-bound flights to be diverted, with all departures also delayed until further notice.

"Because of a technical failure with air traffic control no departures or landings are possible at Brussels Airport till 14H00 (8 pm Singapore time). This is a nationwide problem," Brussels airport authorities said in a statement.-AFP

(By Bonny Apunyu)

At least 180 Americans have tried to go fight in Syria, National Intelligence Director James Clapper has said although CNN says it's unclear how many Americans have been caught attempting to join or help ISIS.

CNN reported that experts claim most of the Americans trying to join IS are disillusioned young people trying to find purpose or make their mark.