Hawaii

The United States on Dec. 28 welcomed the Iraqi forces' victory over the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) group in the city of Ramadi.

"We commend the government of Iraq and the brave Iraqi forces that are displaying tremendous perseverance and courage in this fight," U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said in a written statement.

"Transylvania is experiencing a renaissance," travel guide Lonely Planet says in its latest survey of the top travel destinations in 2016.

Scientists have discovered that the Dictyophora mushroom species that grows on dried lava in Hawaii gives women spontaneous orgasms when they sniff it. The mushrooms aphrodisiac powers were first studied in 2001 by John Halliday and Noah Soule who published an article in IFL Science.

Negotiations on the ambitious Trans-Pacific Partnership were to go into overtime on Oct.2 as top trade officials from 12 countries strained to craft a deal that would create the world's largest free trade zone.

China hopes the United States can scale back activities that run the risk of misunderstandings, and respect China's core interests, the Defence Ministry on Oct.1 cited a senior Chinese naval commander as saying. 

Here’s the NASA announcement of of its ground-breaking discovery:

“A primitive ocean on Mars held more water than Earth’s Arctic Ocean, according to NASA scientists who, using ground-based observatories, measured water signatures in the Red Planet’s atmosphere.

Chilean President Michelle Bachelet declared a catastrophe zoan in coastal cities of Chile after a magnitude 8.3 earthquake struck Santiago, the country’s capital on September 16.

Sun, sea and sand! This is what all these girls have in common, plus their surf board! Here is a list of the 20 hottest female surfers riding the waves and looking sexy.

1. Stephanie Gilmore

SUP was born in Hawaii and is taking Greece by storm. It is so popular that it even has its own Greek SUP society, a Hellenic SUP CUP and a growing community of SUP enthusiasts.

The next SUP event is on September 20 at Loutsa beach and then again at the Corinth Isthmus on November 8.

Tokyo on August 3 described claims that Washington spied on Japanese politicians and major firms as "deeply regrettable", in its first official response to revelations from whistleblower group WikiLeaks.

"I will withhold comment. But If this is true, as an ally, it's deeply regrettable," the government's top spokesman Yoshihide Suga told a regular press briefing.