After nearly a decade of decline, measles outbreaks in parts of Europe and Africa led to 60,000 more cases worldwide in 2010 over the previous year.

A boost in global efforts to vaccinate people against measles lead to a decline in total cases from 853,000 in 2000 to 278,000 in 2008. In 2009, the figures remained stabled. 2010, however, saw an increase to 339,845 cases of measles, due largely to outbreaks in Europe and Africa.

The biggest increase in measles cases came specifically from Malawi, which had 118,712 cases. Burkino Faso came in second with 51,118, and Iraq pulled in third with 30,328. A couple European nations also came in the top 15, with Bulgaria reporting 22,004 cases and France with 5,048. Vietnam also notably reported 9,491 cases, while the Philippines had 6,368.

The measles outbreaks were mostly linked to low vaccination coverage of the population. In some cases this was due to limited or no access to health services, while in other areas it is due to religious or philosophical objections by parents who oppose vaccinating their children.

The oldest known person to have had clogged arteries is an Egyptian princess that lived more than 3,500 years ago. This discovery dispels the myth that heart disease is a product of modern living, says a new study.

Scientists performed computer scans on 52 mummies in Cairo and the United States in order to determine how common heart disease was in ancient Egypt. Among those that still had heart tissue, 44 had chunks of calcium stuck to their arteries, which indicates clogging.

Adel Allam, a cardiology professor at Al Azhar University in Cairo who lead the study along with Gregory Thomas, director of nuclear cardiology education at the University of California in Irvine, said:

"Atherosclerosis clearly existed more than 3,000 years ago. We cannot blame this disease on modern civilization."

The study and research was presented Tuesday at a conference on heart imaging in Amsterdam.

Researchers found the Egyptian princess Ahmose-Meryat-Amon, who lived in Thebes (which is now Luxor) between 1540 and 1550 BC, had calcium deposits in two main coronary arteries. This finding made her the oldest mummy found with heart disease.

Allam noted that her clogged arteries looked remarkably similar to heart disease in more contemporary Egyptians.

It's not just his family in the United States that President Barack Obama has to keep tabs on, his family overseas is also genuinely concerned. The home of Obama's step-grandmother was under round-the-clock security after her life was threatened by an African al Qaeda group.

The threat came from Al Shabaab, a Somalia-based branch of the terrorist organization. The threat specifically targeted Sarah Obama.

Local police chief Stephen Cheteka told media:

"We received reports of plans to attack the home of Mama Sarah Obama, and we immediately put in place adequate security measures."

Security was immediately increased following the U.S. Navy SEALS killing of Osama bin Laden, but it was further increased after the threat from Al Shabaab.

Sarah Obama was the second wife of President Obama's late grandfather, and is not a biological relative. The President has visited her in her rural Kenyan village of Kogelo, and she has twice visited him in the U.S. before he was elected to the White House.

Two U.S. journalists were killed in Libya on Wednesday, reported the Business Insider. Tim Hetherington, a British-born photojournalist, was killed along with fellow U.S. photojournalist Chris Hondros is Misrata, Libya.

Hetherington was nominated for an Oscar this year along with co-director Sebastian Junger for "Restrepo", a documentary about U.S. troops in Afghanistan. Hondros was a Pulitzer prize nominated photojournalist, whose work appeared in the Economist, New York Times and Newsweek.

Andre Liohn, a fellow photographer, first announced the news of their deaths on Facebook, posting:

"Sad news Tim Hetherington died in Misrata now when covering the front line. Chris Hondros is in a serious status."

Liohn later posted that Hondros had passed away.

The AFP reports that two other journalists were injured in the incident. The group of four were hit on Tripoli Street by mortar fire. This is the main street in Misrata, a city which has been under siege for two months by the country's leader, Moammar Khadafy, and his troops.

On Wednesday, Russia's nuclear chief said that the disaster at the Fukushima nuclear power plant cannot be compared to Chernobyl, suggesting that Japan was exaggerating the situation, potentially for financial reasons.

Sergei Kiriyenko said:

"It is hard for me to assess why the Japanese colleagues have taken this decision. I suspect this is more of a financial issue than a nuclear one."

Japan upgraded its nuclear disaster to a maximum level of seven on an international scale of atomic crises. It had previously been at a level five, which put it on par with the Three Mile Island incident in Pennsylvania in 1979. The only other nuclear incident to have ever been rated a seven was Chernobyl in 1986.

Kiriyenko said that in the immediate aftermarth of the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, Japanese authorities downplayed the scale of the disaster, but says that the situation at the plant is now improving:

"Our estimates have shown that the level was between five and six. Today it doesn't reach the sixth level."

The head of France's nuclear safety agency also said earlier this week that the Fukushima incident was not comparable to the Ukranina disaster.

Libyan's rebel leadership doesn't just want Muammar Qadaffi out of power, they'd also like him dead. Speaking with the press, a rebel spokesman actually came out and said that they'd like the West to assassinate him.

Rebel spokesman Mustafa Gheriani was speaking to The Guardian outside Monday's G8 meeting in Paris, and said:

"We are telling the west we want a no-fly zone, we want tactical strikes against those tanks and rockets that are being used against us and we want a strike against Gaddafi's compound."

When the reporter asked if this meant that the rebels want Qadaffi killed, Gheriani replied:

"Why not? If he dies, nobody will shed a tear."

Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi had fled Libya and could be headed to Venezuela, said Britain's Foreign Secretary, William Hague. As Libya was up in flames amid increasingly violent and bloody battles between protesters and security forces, Hague said he had seen "information" which suggested that Gaddafi was on his way to the South American country.

Libyan fighter jets and helicopters reportedly fired on protesters in the capital of Tripoli. Indiscriminate bombing runs there have reportedly left "many, many dead." The Navy was also reportedly shelling the city, and it appears that security forces were preparinng for a major assault tonght.

A protester told Al Jazeera:

"What we are witnessing today is unimaginable. Warplanes and helicopters are indiscriminately bombing one area after another. There are many, many dead. Our people are dying. It is the policy of scorched earth. Anyone who moves, even if they are in their car they will hit you."

A second city, Benghazi, was also said to be "totally of out control."

Gaddafi's own Libyan diplomats at the United Nations are also calling for him to step down, and Deputy Ambassador Ibrahim Dabbash said that if he didn't, "the Libyan people will get rid of him."

Inspired by the success of Egypt, hundreds of Libyans clashed with security forces as they called for the ousting of their leader Moammar Gadhafi and his government. Early Wednesday morning, the protesters met with security firing rubber bullets and water cannons..

The protest was also triggered by the Tuesday arrest of Libyan activist Fathi Tarbel, but witnesses said it quickly took on an anti-government tone. The protest was small in comparison to Egypt's mass gatherings, but does show that anti-government activists in Libya have also felt emboldened by the recent rise of uprisings in the Arab world.

Activists made use of Facebook and Twitter to call for nationwide demonstrations on Thursday in which they will call for Gadhafi to step down, as well as ask for a constitution and comprehensive political and economic reforms.

Photo: Protesters in Egypt earlier this week calling for President Hosni Mubarak to step down.

On Sunday, Egypt's Army officially took over the country, and in the process dissolved Parliament and suspended the constitution to make way for a new democratic government. The Supreme Council of Armed Forces said that it would run Egypt for six months or until elections are held - whichever comes first.

The Council also sad that it had formed a committee to draw up constitutional reforms that would be voted on by the people in a referendum.

Protesters in Egypt, who were able to successfully push out President Hosni Mubarak after 30 years of rule, were pleased by the developments.

Egypt's prime minister, Ahmed Shafiq, promised his caretaker government would bring return peace to the streets and start rooting our corruption.

Sameh Shoukry, the Egyptian Ambassador to Washington, said:

"We have derived a peace dividend from the treaty. We've been able to establish security and stability in the region. And I believe it is a main element in terms of our foreign policy."

Ehud Barak, the Israeli Defense Minister, agreed with Shoukry:

"I don't think that the relationship between Israel and Egypt is under any risk."