Obama’s pick for CIA could affect drone program

President Obama began his first term with a dramatic change of course for the CIA, issuing orders on his second day in office to close the agency’s secret prisons and ban harsh interrogation techniques. As Obama approaches a second term with an unexpected opening for CIA director, agency officials are watching to see whether the president’s pick signals even a modest adjustment in the...

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Spain's ETA ready to disband if certain conditions met

MADRID: Spain's armed Basque separatist group ETA said Saturday it was ready to discuss disbanding and to negotiate with France and Spain if certain conditions are met, in a statement published on a Basque news site.The group, which last year said it had abandoned violence after a four-decade campaign for an independent homeland that claimed more than 800 lives, said one outstanding issue...

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BJP slams Cong for its sustained attack on CAG, PAC

NEW DELHI: Opposition BJP on Saturday condemned the continued attack by Congress ministers on constitutional bodies like CAG and PAC and wondered whether PM Manmohan Singh approved of such criticism by his Cabinet colleagues. Criticizing UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi for her comment against the CAG and questioning her silence about the scams of the Congress-led UPA government, BJP spokesperson...

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Distant Dwarf Planet Secrets Revealed

Orbiting at the frozen edges of our solar system, the mysterious dwarf planet Makemake is finally coming out of the shadows as astronomers get their best view yet of Pluto's little sibling. Discovered in 2005, Makemake—pronounced MAH-keh MAH-keh after a Polynesian creation god—is one of five Pluto-like objects that prompted a redefining of the term "planet" and the creation of a new group...

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Sandy-Hit Stores Seek Small Business Saturday Boost

Nov 24, 2012 3:35pm                                                                                       (Image Credit: Associated Press)Superstorm Sandy...

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Low wage protests target Walmart sales day

SECAUCUS, New Jersey: Protesters targeted Walmart stores across the United States on Friday, the busiest shopping day of the year, accusing the bargain superstore of ripping off its own employees.The protests were designed to disrupt the Black Friday shopping frenzy after Thursday's Thanksgiving holiday, when deep discounts pull in waves of customers.About 200 activists outside a huge...

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Lost the battle but will win the war: Mamata Banerjee

KOLKATA: Mamata Banerjee on Friday brushed off the hurt of another failed Delhi mission, believing she would win the war even if she has lost the battle to topple the government through a no-confidence motion.A day after she stood in isolation in national politics, with the Left Front chairman Biman Bose saying the Trinamool Congress chief was still "politically immature", Mamata put up a defiant...

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Distant Dwarf Planet Secrets Revealed

Orbiting at the frozen edges of our solar system, the mysterious dwarf planet Makemake is finally coming out of the shadows as astronomers get their best view yet of Pluto's little sibling. Discovered in 2005, Makemake—pronounced MAH-keh MAH-keh after a Polynesian creation god—is one of five Pluto-like objects that prompted a redefining of the term "planet" and the creation of a new group...

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Black Friday: Bargains, Brawls and Gunfire

Two people were shot outside a Walmart in Florida today, one of a rash of fights, robberies and other incidents that have cropped up on one of the most ballyhooed shopping days of the year.The shooting took place at Walmart in Tallahassee about 12:30 p.m., said Dave Northway, public information officer for the Tallahassee Police Department.He said a scuffle outside the store...

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Homeless Arlington veteran finally settles into home after advocates’ year-long efforts

Ernie Maas could not help choking up as he took his first look around his new home Wednesday afternoon, a simple one-bedroom, federally subsidized apartment on North Glebe Road in Arlington County. Maas, 61, who served in the Navy for seven years during and after the Vietnam War, has been homeless for about two years, living much of that time under a bridge on Four Mile Run in Arlington....

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Football: Stalemates mean Liverpool, Spurs must wait

PARIS: Five-time European champions they may be but Liverpool must wait before they can take their place in the last 32 of the Europa League after allowing Swiss side Young Boys to draw 2-2 at Anfield on Thursday.A much-changed Liverpool side - coach Brendan Rodgers left Luis Suarez and Steven Gerrard on the bench to begin with - let the Swiss off the hook after Jonjo Shelvey and the recalled...

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7-year-old battles for life after circumcision in hospital

ALWAR: A seven-year-old boy is battling for life after a circumcision surgery went horribly wrong at a private hospital in Alwar on Thursday. The boy's genitals had to be cut off in an attempt to save his life, said sources. An FIR has been lodged against the hospital authorities after the relatives of the boy created a ruckus.The boy, Imran, was admitted to Sania hospital in Alwar town on November...

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Distant Dwarf Planet Secrets Revealed

Orbiting at the frozen edges of our solar system, the mysterious dwarf planet Makemake is finally coming out of the shadows as astronomers get their best view yet of Pluto's little sibling. Discovered in 2005, Makemake—pronounced MAH-keh MAH-keh after a Polynesian creation god—is one of five Pluto-like objects that prompted a redefining of the term "planet" and the creation of a new group...

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2 Dead, Dozens to Hospital After 100-Car Pileup

At least two people died and more than 80 were injured after a 100-plus car pileup in Texas today, according the Department of Public Safety.A man and a woman died from their injuries, ABC News affiliate KBMT-TV reported. Their names were not immediately available. Arkansas Girl, 6, Found Dead Inside Vacant House Watch Video Surprise...

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Probe eyes Petraeus staff’s possible role in Broadwell obtaining sensitive documents

A federal investigation into how David H. Petraeus’s biographer and girlfriend obtained numerous classified records is focusing on whether the retired general’s staff gave her sensitive documents at his instruction, according to federal officials familiar with the probe. Petraeus aides and other high-ranking military officials were often tasked by Petraeus and other top commanders to provide...

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6.1 magnitude quake rocks Chile

SANTIAGO: A 6.1 magnitude quake rocked central Chile on Wednesday but there were no immediate reports of damage or casualties, authorities said.The earthquake occurred at 2136 GMT, 35 kilometres (22 miles) west of Navidad, Chile, in the O'Higgins region south of Santiago, the University of Chile's Seismology Service reported.The government's National Emergency Office issued a preliminary...

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Major among four indicted for DR Congo sex scandal

NEW DELHI: Four soldiers, including a major and a junior commissioned officer, have been indicted by the Army court of inquiry (CoI) into the sexual misconduct allegations levelled against Indian troops while deployed in a UN peace-keeping mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo in 2007-2008.Incidentally, a group of retired military officers and civil activists earlier this year had tried to...

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Urban Grasshoppers Sing Louder

Urban grasshoppers are changing their tune.According to a new paper in Functional Ecology, males that dwell by busy roads boost the bass of their courtship songs to be heard above traffic.Previous research has shown that human-made sounds affect the calls of birds, whales, and frogs. This study is the first to show that insects aren't immune.Ecologist Ulrike Lampe and her colleagues...

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Rockets Fall Silent in Israel-Hamas Cease-Fire

The rockets and missiles fell silent over Gaza for the first time in eight days today, but gunfire erupted in the crowded streets of the Palestinian enclave to celebrate the announcement of a ceasefire in the bloody conflict between Israel and Hamas.The two sides fired final salvos at one another up until the final moments before the 2 p.m. ET cease-fire deadline. At least one...

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Blazing a legal trail to help improve health care

Ariane Tschumi has spent more than a year in government as a Presidential Management Fellow (PMF), taking on challenging assignments at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) designed to develop her leadership skills and give her a window into how government operates. She has worked alongside health-care experts designing model programs intended to better health care and lower...

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HP woes deepen with bad deal writedown

SAN FRANCISCO: Hewlett-Packard's woes deepened Tuesday as the US tech giant reported a massive loss, blaming deliberate financial misstatements from a British software firm it bought last year.HP called for a probe by US and British authorities of software maker Autonomy, saying "accounting improprieties" before the acquisition led to an "overvalued" acquisition price, which forced HP...

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Parkash Singh Badal wants Rs 5,000 crore to diversify crop

CHANDIGARH: Punjab government has asked the Centre to help the state in promoting farm diversification and demanded a technology mission for the same with an allocation of Rs 5,000 crore for green revolution areas in the 12th Five Year Plan. Batting for the state's case before a high-level delegation of experts from agriculture, animal husbandry, dairy and fisheries led by Union agriculture minister...

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Cuba's Oil Quest to Continue, Despite Deepwater Disappointment

An unusual high-tech oil-drilling rig that's been at work off the coast of Cuba departed last week, headed for either Africa or Brazil. With it went the island nation's best hope, at least in the short term, for reaping a share of the energy treasure beneath the sea that separates it from its longtime ideological foe.For many Floridians, especially in the Cuban-American community, it was...

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Clinton Pledges to 'De-Escalate' Gaza Conflict

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said she would seek to "de-escalate the situation in Gaza" today during a closed-door meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Israel.Clinton, who flew to Israel today, appeared with Netanyahu ahead of their 4 p.m. ET meeting to discuss a possible ceasefire to the fighting between Israel and Islamic militants in Gaza.The meeting...

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Will Richard Cordray stay at consumer bureau?

Richard Cordray (Andrew Harrer - BLOOMBERG) Buzz at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is that director Richard Cordray is thinking about leaving the agency when his recess appointment expires at the end of next year, rather than go through another contentious confirmation battle.A spokesperson at the bureau said Cordray, often talked about as a potential Democratic gubernatorial...

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Football: O'Brien breaks goal drought to rescue Hammers

LONDON: West Ham rescued a 1-1 draw against Stoke at Upton Park on Monday thanks to Joey O'Brien's first ever Premier League goal.Republic of Ireland right-back O'Brien had never scored in the English top-flight despite a long career at that level with Bolton and now West Ham, but the 26-year-old chose the perfect moment to end his drought.Sam Allardyce's side trailed to a goal early in...

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30% populace face respiratory disorder

INDORE: With rising pollution and increasing number of people getting hooked to smoking is leading to Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Diseases (COPD). Nearly 25-30% of city population is afflicted by chest and respiratory disorders. To curb this, many city doctors staged a street play at 56 dukan, Transport Nagar and Dewas Naka area on Monday. Doctors said that due to COPD, wind pipe gets shrink and...

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Apes Have Midlife Crises, Too—And It May Help Them

Too bad chimpanzees can't buy sports cars. New research says it's not just humans who go through midlife crises: Chimps and orangutans also experience a dip in happiness around the middle of their lives."There may be different things going on at the surface, but underneath it all, there's something common in all three species that's leading to this," said study leader Alexander Weiss,...

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Serial Killer Targeting Middle Eastern Men in NY?

New York detectives are searching for four potential witnesses to the killing of a Brooklyn shop owner, the latest in a trio of murders in which all three victims were of Middle Eastern descent and all appear to have been shot by the same .22 caliber gun.New York City Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said today that the department will ask the FBI for a profiler to help identify...

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WADA proposes tougher doping sanctions

MONTREAL: The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) proposed a draft code Sunday that would usher in stiffer sanctions against cheaters and grant itself investigative powers in cases where national sports bodies refuse to take action.The WADA draft code, which will be reviewed in December and approved in 2013, calls for a four-year sanction of ineligibility from a sport instead of two years...

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Warring Thackeray cousins unite in grief, but briefly

MUMBAI: Long-simmering differences between the Thackeray cousins came to the fore on Sunday, with Raj leaving his uncle's funeral procession mid-way in a huff after a spat with Uddhav. A key MNS functionary said his party chief was deliberately kept away from the family rituals. "Rajsaheb was not allowed to be a pallbearer, which is his undeniable right as he is Balasaheb's nephew." That he was not...

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Lonesome George Not the Last of His Kind, After All?

The tide may be turning for the rare subspecies of giant tortoise thought to have gone extinct when its last known member, the beloved Lonesome George, died in June.A new study by Yale University researchers reveals that DNA from George's ancestors lives on—and that more of his kind may still be alive in a remote area of Ecuador's Galápagos Islands. This isn't the first time Chelonoidis...

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Officials: Israeli Strike Kills 11 Civilians in Gaza

An Israeli missile ripped through a two-story home in a residential area of Gaza City on Sunday, killing at least 11 civilians, including four young children and an 81-year-old woman, in the single deadliest attack of Israel's offensive against Islamic militants.The bloodshed was likely to raise pressure on Israel to end the fighting, even as it pledged to intensify the offensive...

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