ILOILO BBC - Thousands of paper lanterns lit up the night sky above a university campus in the Philippines as a crowd gathered to attempt a new world record.The organisers, a Thailand-based organisation called the Middle Way Meditation Institute, said 15,185 lanterns were released in total. It said ...

LOS ANGELES: Celine Dion will record the theme song for The Muppets... Again! The 45-year-old’s track ‘Something So Right’ will be included on the official soundtrack of the 2014 film. The singer is also expected to film a cameo appearance for the upcoming sequel. The plot of the ...

MUNCHHOUSE - GN - By strapping a hydrogen peroxide-powered rocket to his bike, daredevil cyclist Francois Gissy broke a land speed record, reaching a top speed of 163 MPH.Gissy set his mark along a vacant stretch of highway in Munchhouse, France, besting the previous rocket-powered bicycle record ...

Lahore - Textile industry is passing through unprecedented loadshedding in the history of Pakistan, as no such abnormal electricity cuts have ever been made in the past. Accordingly, dire consequences of the prevailing situation are emerging out fast in the textile hubs of the country. ...

FAISALABADPakistan’s per capita water availability has dwindled from 5,260 cubic metres in 1951 to 1,000 this year, a threshold value under the global criteria, putting the food security at risk, reveals an expert at a seminar which was titled “Water and Biodiversity” and held in ...

LOS ANGELES - The first manned aircraft that can fly day and night powered only by solar energy set a new distance record Thursday when it landed after the second leg of a cross-country US tour.The Solar Impulse project, founded and led by two Swiss pilots, aims to showcase what can be accomplished ...

LOS ANGELES - Solar Impulse, the first aircraft that can fly day and night fueled entirely by energy from the sun, embarked Wednesday on the second leg of its historic journey across the American continent.The solar-powered airplane departed at 1147 GMT from an airport in Phoenix, Arizona en route ...

LONDON: A unique first edition of “Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone” annotated by author JK Rowling has sold for a record 150,000 pounds ($227,421) at a London charity auction, Sotheby’s said.The 1997 book, featuring handwritten notes, 22 original illustrations and a ...

BRUSSELS: A Chinese businessman has paid a world record 310,000 euros (263,053 pounds) for a Belgian pigeon, highlighting Asia’s huge and growing interest in racing birds. The one-year-old award-winning pigeon named Bolt was bred by Belgian pigeon fancier Leo Heremans, a well-known name to ...

CHICAGO: A manager of Chicago’s Navy Pier rode the tourist spot’s Ferris wheel for more than two days, bringing the world record for the longest ride to the birthplace of the amusement park favourite. Clinton Shepherd spent 48 hours, 8 minutes and 25 seconds riding Navy Pier’s ...

INDIANAPOLIS - Britain's Katherine Legge and Pippa Mann and Brazilian Ana Beatriz joined the Indianapolis 500 starting grid on Sunday to match a race record four women starters in this year's field.The trio joined Swiss racer Simona de Silvestro, who qualified Saturday, to match the mark from 2010 ...

WASHINGTON - One ticket-holder won a record Powerball lottery jackpot of more than $590 million, organizers said Sunday, ending a days-long American quest for a life-changing payout.The winning numbers - 10, 13, 14, 22, 52 and a Powerball of 11 - were drawn just before 11:00 pm eastern time (0300 ...

KATHMANDU - BBC - British mountaineer Kenton Cool has reached the summit of Everest for a record-breaking eleventh time. Everest is the second of three summits he is attempting to reach in one continuous climb over the course of 10 days. If successful Mr Cool, who lives in Gloucestershire, will ...

NEW YORK -  US stocks closed out another week of new record highs Friday as investors focused on the positive side of mixed economic news and corporate earnings.Retail sales barely budged higher in April and jobless claims rose, but permits to build housing soared and consumer inflation ...

GENEVA - Prestigious jeweller Harry Winston, which was acquired earlier this year by Swatch Group, bought a new colourless, flawless 101.73-carat diamond for a record $26.7 million at an auction in Geneva, auction house Christie’s said.Christie’s representative Raul Kadakia told ...

IRVING- Keegan Bradley fired 10 birdies and an eagle in a course-record 60 Thursday to seize a three-shot lead after the first round of the US PGA Tour’s Byron Nelson Championship. Bradley’s sizzling 10-under par came despite two bogeys on the TPC Four Seasons Resort course, where he ...

islamabad - The provincial governments have recorded budget surplus of Rs 142.288 billion during the first nine months (July-March) of the current fiscal year 2012-13 that was only Rs 4.830 billion in the corresponding period of the previous financial year. According to official figures of the ...

GENEVA: A pair of pearl earrings belonging to actress Gina Lollobrigida sold for an auction record of $2.39 million at Sotheby's Geneva Tuesday as the veteran Italian star auctioned off some dazzling jewellery.The lot, the highlight of the auction, went under the hammer for more than twice the ...

WASHINGTON : The beleagueredUSgovernment claims it was only trying to protect American lives when it took the drastic step of seizing journalists’ phone records in a probe of what it calls a major security breach. President Barack Obama’s administration, embattled on several fronts, now ...

PARIS - Olympic 110m hurdles champion Aries Merritt said in an interview published on Monday that he believes his world record at the distance could soon be lowered. “I think that the world record will come down below 12.8secs. Soon,” he was quoted as saying in French sports newspaper ...

  HONITON TG   Gymnast Ashley Wallis, 14, has broken the Guinness world record for completing the most forward rolls in one minute. TheDevonschoolboy completed 75 rolls in one minute at his gym club in Honiton. Video footage of his attempt shows Ashley Wallis rolling around in circles in ...

SHANGHAI : China’s yuan had its best day of the year on Wednesday after trade data showed export growth beating expectations, highlighting the possibility that firms are manipulating trade invoices in order to skirt China’s capital controls and bet on yuan appreciation. China’s ...

LONDON - The Bank of England on Thursday voted to keep its main lending rate at its record-low level of 0.50 percent, deciding against mirroring a number of central banks who have cut borrowing costs in the past week. The BoE also opted against pumping out more new stimulus cash to boost economic ...

NEW YORK - (AFP)An Impressionist oil painting depicting a chef in his white uniform fetched a tasty $18 million, the most ever paid at auction for a work by the artist Chaim Soutine.Soutine’s “Le Petit Patissier” (The Little Pastry Chef), was the highlight of the Christie’s ...

DHAKA :-Bangladesh’s foreign exchange reserves rose for a fifth straight month in April to a record high of $14.83b, the central bank said on Sunday.Strong remittances from Bangladeshis working overseas, rising exports and slower imports helped build the reserves, a senior central bank ...

KATHMANDU: An 82-year-old Nepalese man who holds the world record for being the oldest person to summit Mount Everest will defend his title against a familiar octogenarian competitor, organisers said Thursday. Min Bahadur Sherchan’s record for scaling the world’s highest peak at 76 is ...

SYDNEY -AFP - A Sydney harbour-front mansion has sold to a Chinese-born businessman for $53 million dollars (US$54.3 million), setting a new property record for the city, reports said Thursday.The eight-bedroom, seven-bathroom house “Altona” in prestigious Point Piper had been on the ...

GENEVA - AFP - The Arctic’s sea ice melted at a record pace in 2012, the ninth-hottest year on record, compounding concerns about climate change underscored by extreme weather such as Hurricane Sandy, the UN weather agency said Thursday.In a report on the situation in 2012, the World ...

LONDON: Emeli Sande has made chart history by breaking a record held by The Beatles for almost 50 years. The Heaven hitmaker’s first album Our Version Of Events has spent more time in the top 10 than any other debut record after notching up 63 consecutive weeks in the Official Album Chart. ...

  BARCELONA     Rafael Nadal extended his record number of Barcelona titles to eight as he brushed off a slow start to beat Spanish compatriot Nicolas Almagro 6-4, 6-3 on Sunday. Last weekend's Monte Carlo runner-up regained his accustomed position on an ATP winner's podium with his ...