Wintry weather has caused disruption across parts of the United Kingdom, with roads blocked by snow and services suspended. Motorists were urged to put off all non-essential journeys on Thursday as Britain braced itself for further snow and icy conditions. Forecasters have warned more snow is expected after blizzards disrupted travel and closed schools - and it could be the coldest spell for two years. Rain and strong winds battered the country while many areas have been blanketed in snow, while tornadoes have damaged home and cars in Cronwall, Pembrokeshire and north London.
Record-breaking cold gripped the United States, leaving residents shivering and coping with snow accumulating up to 3 feet. The coldest place in the country was Estcourt Station, the northernmost point in Maine, with temperatures of -39 degree Celsius. Meanwhile, many parts of the Middle East and Levant are experiencing their first real taste of winter as cold, windy weather sweeps rain, snow and sandstorms across the region. Snow has fallen even at low levels; it began falling on Wednesday in northern Israel, the Golan Heights and in the mountains of Lebanon. Istanbul in Turkey saw snow falling on its major bridges, bringing travel disruption across the city.
From the Syrian civil war to the Ukrainian crisis to the terror unleashed by the dreaded Islamic State, there was no lack of news in 2014. In this five-part series,rediff.com presents a selection of the year's most enduring moments year from around the world.
A deadly snowstorm has resulted in cancelled flights, and stranded motorists, and has prompted a state of emergency in western New York, and left at least five people dead in the north-eastern United States.
The government is set to clear a proposal to raise a dozen battalions and induct close to 12,000 fresh personnel in the Indo-China border guarding force ITBP to bolster the force's presence along this strategic frontier.
The Indians killed in the incident have been identified as Debashish Dev, Arup Roychaudhury, Sunil Sen and Indranil Ghosh, the Indian Embassy said.
Nepal on Monday wrapped up week-long rescue operations in the Himalayas after rescuing about 300 people stranded in one of the worst snowstorms that killed 40 hikers, including four Indians.
An Indian was among 21 trekkers killed while 85 others remained missing after being hit by one of the worst snowstorms in western Nepal on Wednesday.
When Michel Platini revamped the European Championship, turning the finals from a tough, lean 16-team tournament in 2012 into a flabby, 'roll up, anybody's welcome' 24-side affair in 2016, it was not surprising he ran into a blizzard of rebukes.
Jacques Kallis brought his years of experience into play as he guided Kolkata Knight Riders to its maiden Oppo Champions League T20 final having comfortably beaten Australia's Hobart Hurricanes by seven wickets in Hyderabad on Thursday.
The seemingly invincible Kolkata Knight Riders will start outright favourites when they square off against Australia's Hobart Hurricanes in the semi-finals of the Oppo Champions League T20 in Hyderabad.
Hobart Hurricanes produced a commanding performance to beat Northern Knights by 86 runs in a Group B match in Raipur to keep their hopes afloat in the Oppo Champions League Twenty20.
Aiden Blizzard played a blistering knock as Hobart Hurricanes beat Cape Cobras by six wickets in a group league encounter of the Champions League T20, to keep their hopes of qualifying for the semi-final alive.
A superb cameo from Glenn Maxwell helped Kings XI Punjab overcome a poor start to their chase and win the battle of first-timers against Hobart Hurricanes by five wickets in the Champions League T20 in Mohali.
Flipkart crashing when sale of Xiaomi's Mi3 opened proves the phone has generated much interest.
Nobody makes denial look this fabulous, says Raja Sen after watching Wes Anderson's The Grand Budapest Hotel.
'We are a party that represents the idea of India. That's why we have endured for so long. That's why we will continue to endure because we have the ability to endure, adapt, re-adapt... The BJP is very good at creating hype. And then believing their own hype. This happened in 2004 also. And they will know the answer on the 16th of May.' In arguably India's wealthiest constituency, where a miserably poor worker lives in wretched conditions hardly a few steps away from a billionaire, Rediff.com's Vaihayasi Pande Daniel speaks to Congress candidate Milind Deora atop his jeep. Questions and answers are yelled, in hoarse voices, to and fro above the din of loudspeakers, drums, firecrackers and the smoke and fragrance of kebabs and Kheema Rotis.
'We are a party that represents the idea of India. That's why we have endured for so long. That's why we will continue to endure because we have the ability to endure, adapt, re-adapt... The BJP is very good at creating hype. And then believing their own hype. This happened in 2004 also. And they will know the answer on the 16th of May.' In arguably India's wealthiest constituency, where a miserably poor worker lives in miserable conditions hardly a few steps away from a billionaire, Rediff.com's Vaihayasi Pande Daniel speaks to Congress candidate Milind Deora atop his jeep. Questions and answers are yelled, in hoarse voices, to and fro above the din of loudspeakers, drums, firecrackers and the smoke and fragrance of kebabs and Kheema Rotis.
Four persons died while nine others were reported as missing in the tribal Lahaul and Spiti and Chamba districts of Himachal Pradesh as cold wreaked havoc in the hill state.
Fighting environmental and political odds, engineer-physicist-photographer Subhankar Banerjee endeavours to bring out the untold truth about the Arctic.
It's the first new gaming console in eight years.
Checking out the drool-worthy men in this season of the Indian Premiere League
Mumbai Indians players on Friday underwent a training session ahead of the IPL season beginning next week with captain Ricky Ponting having a feel of the team environment though he did not take part in the practice.
Actress Melissa McCarthy, who created waves with her exceptionally funny portrayal in Kristen wiig's award-winning comedy Bridesmaids last year, stars in yet another potential money-spinner Identity Thief along side actor-producer Jason Bateman.
The biggest snowstorm to hit the US east coast in more than a decade has left at least six people dead and homes across five states without power.
The blizzard dubbed as 'Nemo' brought life to a standstill with wind and heavy snow snapping power lines and forcing more than half-a-million customers to sit in homes without electricity, including 389,000 in Massachusetts, 177,000 in Rhode Island, and 35,000 in Connecticut, authorities said.
"Astro lovers are expected to see shooting stars whizzing past in the skies as the Perseid meteor showers will be seen on the night of August 12 to 14," Science Popularisation Association of Communicators and Educators (SPACE) President C B Devgun told PTI.
Sidney Wignall, a British mountaineer who spied on China for India in the 1950s, passed unnoticed into the ages this week.
Mumbai Indians will be looking to seal a playoffs berth and iron out minor flaws for the bigger battles ahead, while the Rajasthan Royals will play for pride when the two sides take on each other in their last league encounter of the IPL in Jaipur on Sunday.
A thrilling victory against Kings XI Punjab in Mohali must have provided the much-needed boost to Mumbai Indians but hosts Delhi Daredevils still remain favourites when the two teams square off in a return-leg IPL match, in New Delhi on Friday.
A fresh snow-slide and piercing blizzard on Saturday affected the search for 138 people, mostly soldiers, still buried under snow, a week after a massive avalanche slammed into a Pakistani army camp in the Siachen sector near the Indian border.
The 37-day annual pilgrimage to the Himalayan cave shrine of Amarnath will commence from June 25, the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board which manages the yatra said.
Nine civilians were on Friday rescued alive in a joint operation from the avalanche hit famous north Kashmir health resort of Sonamarg.The civil administration had on Thursday approached the army for assistance in rescuing missing civilians who had taken shelter under a bridge to save themselves.
Divya Nair speaks to an Indian teenager who skied across Greenland to raise funds for an institution for leprosy patients' daughters.
Both films have occupied the top spot in the world and US box office respectively.
Skipper Harbhajan Singh led from the front as Mumbai Indians came up trumps by comprehensively defeating Royal Challengers Bangalore by 31 runs to win a low-scoring Champions League Twenty20 final in Chennai on Sunday.
Mumbai Indians held their nerves at crucial moments to eke out a narrow 10-run victory over Somerset in the second semi-final of the Champions League Twenty20, on Saturday, and set up a summit clash with Royal Challengers Bangalore on Sunday.
The in-form Mumbai Indians will be looking to seal a semi-final spot when they take on New South Wales Blues in their final group match of the Champions League Twenty20 in Chennai on Sunday.
Mumbai Indians were left to rue their luck as heavy rains forced their Champions League Twenty20 match against Cape Cobras to be abandoned in Bangalore on Friday, hampering the home side's chances of advancing to the semifinals.
Mumbai Indians continued their winning-run in the Champions League T20 tournament with a nail-biting one-wicket win over spirited Trinidad and Tobago at the Chinnaswamy stadium in Bangalore on Monday.
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