Russia arrests opposition leaders at banned rally

MOSCOW: Russian police on Saturday arrested several opposition leaders, including well-known blogger Alexei Navalny, as hundreds of people packed a central Moscow square in defiance of an official ban to protest Vladimir Putin's rule.Scores of Muscovites, many holding white roses, defied the authorities by turning up at Lubyanka Square, the seat of the FSB security services, despite temperatures...

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Interaction key to end Kudankulam-like stir: IAEA chief

KORIYAMA (FUKUSHIMA): UN nuclear watchdog IAEA chief Yukiya Amano on Saturday called for 'better communication and higher transparency' in dealing with Kudankulam-like protests. Even as he sought to distance himself from both sides — protesters as well as votaries of nuclear power —the director-general said that the issue of spent N-fuel, which is at the core of protests in India, was one of the...

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Space Pictures This Week: Frosty Mars, Mini Nile, More

Photograph by Mike Theiss, National GeographicThe aurora borealis, also known as the northern lights, illuminates the Arctic sky in a recent picture by National Geographic photographer Mike Theiss.A storm chaser by trade, Theiss is in the Arctic Circle on an expedition to photograph auroras, which result from collisions between charged particles released from the sun's atmosphere and gaseous particles...

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School Shooting Victims Were Shot Multiple Times

The gunman who massacred 20 children in a Connecticut elementary school riddled them with bullets, shooting some of them as many as 11 times, the medical examiner said today."I've been at this for a third of a century so my sensibilities may not be the that of the average man, but it's probably the worst I've ever seen," said Chief Medical Examiner H. Wayne Carver II, who has...

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Football: Wenger lucky to avoid sack, says Wright

LONDON: Arsenal legend Ian Wright claims Gunners manager Arsene Wenger is lucky to still have a job because any other boss would have been sacked for going so long without success.Wright, one of the club's all-time greats, has added his voice to the growing criticism of Wenger in the aftermath of Tuesday's humiliating League Cup quarter-final defeat at Bradford.Wenger, 63, has not delivered...

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Sushil Kumar Shinde, Rehman Malik operationalise new visa regime

NEW DELHI: Travel between India and Pakistan will become easier with the operationalisation of a new visa regime on Friday that allows multi-city visas for up to five cities, visitor visas for two years for senior citizens and children below 12 years, visa on arrival for senior citizens, and group tourist visa, besides exempting specified categories of businessmen from police reporting. The visa...

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Space Pictures This Week: Frosty Mars, Mini Nile, More

Photograph by Mike Theiss, National GeographicThe aurora borealis, also known as the northern lights, illuminates the Arctic sky in a recent picture by National Geographic photographer Mike Theiss.A storm chaser by trade, Theiss is in the Arctic Circle on an expedition to photograph auroras, which result from collisions between charged particles released from the sun's atmosphere and gaseous particles...

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20 Children Killed at Conn. Grade School, 7 Adults

Twenty children died today when a heavily armed man invaded a Newtown, Conn., elementary school and sprayed staff and students with bullets.The gunman, identified as Adam Lanza, 20, was found dead in the school.Lt. Paul Vance said 18 children died in the school and two more died later in a hospital. Six adults were also slain, bringing the total to 26.In addition to the casualties...

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Rep. Loretta Sanchez’s 2012 Christmas card: Fiscal cliff, Gretzky in heaven

Here it is, ladies and gentlemen — your Rep. Loretta Sanchez Christmas card for 2012! (Courtesy of the Office of Rep. Loretta Sanchez) Over the past decade, the California Democrat’s wacky holiday greetings have drawn a cult following. “I’ve seen them being sold on eBay,” the congresswoman told us. (Courtesy of the Office of Rep. Loretta Sanchez) Nice topical theme this...

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Swimming: Le Clos strikes double blow, Seto in rookie win

ISTANBUL: South Africa's Olympic 100m butterfly champion Chad Le Clos added the world short course crown to his collection on Thursday with a commanding victory in the final.Le Clos won in 48.82sec, ahead of American duo Thomas Shields, in 49.54sec, with Ryan Lochte, who captured gold in the 200m freestyle and 4x100m freestyle relay on Wednesday, taking bronze in 49.59sec."I was a little...

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Govt seeks Trai's opinion on cable monopolies

NEW DELHI: The government has sought broadcast regulator Trai's views to prevent monopolistic operations by cable operators and multi-system operators, expressing concern that it might have serious implications in terms of competition, pricing and healthy growth of the cable TV sector in the market.In a statement, the information and broadcasting (I&B) ministry said, "It has been observed that...

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Global Checkup: Most People Living Longer, But Sicker

If the world's entire population went in for a collective checkup, would the doctor's prognosis be good or bad? Both, according to new studies published in The Lancet medical journal.The vast collaborative effort, called the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study 2010, includes papers by nearly 500 authors in 50 countries. Spanning four decades of data, it represents...

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Rice Withdraws From Sec. of State Consideration

Image Credit: Evan Vucci/AP PhotoUN Ambassador Susan Rice has withdrawn her name from consideration for Secretary of State, saying the criticism surrounding her comments on Benghazi had become an “irresponsible distraction.”“I am fully confident that I could serve our country ably and effectively in that role,” Rice wrote in a letter to President Obama today. “However, if nominated, I am now...

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Swimming: Lochte strikes double gold

ISTANBUL: US swim star Ryan Lochte bagged two golds on the opening day of the world shortcourse championships on Wednesday to add to the five medals he won in the London Olympics in the summer.The American first led from start to finish to win the men's 200m freestyle before he teamed up with Anthony Ervin, James Feigen and Matthew Grevers to win the 4x100m freestyle relay.Lochte was pushed...

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Heavy snowfall, storm warning in Himachal

MANALI: High hills of Himachal would get heavy snowfall while some parts may witness snow storms on Thursday and Friday. Meteorological department has warned that the effect of fresh western disturbance would be seen on the entire state.After lower regions of Himachal, including Shimla and Manali received first snowfall of the season on Tuesday, the state witnessed coldest night with Keylong freezing...

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Who’s Watching? Privacy Concerns Persist as Smart Meters Roll Out

Energy consultant Craig Miller, who spends much of his time working to make the smart grid a reality, got a jolt when he mentioned his work to a new acquaintance. The man, who happened to be a lineman at a Pennsylvania utility, responded earnestly:  "Smart meters are a plot by Obama to spy on us."The encounter was a disheartening sign of the challenge ahead for proponents of the smart...

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Why Mass Shooters Often Wear Masks

The Oregon mall shooter was dressed all in black and his face was covered by a white hockey mask.The mask, the black clothes, the age of the gunman and a weapon are becoming a familiar and deadly pattern.The gunman, 22-year-old Jacob Tyler Roberts of Portland, is one of a string of killers before him, including Aurora shooter James Holmes, who chose to wear black and cover...

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US stocks finish solidly higher

NEW YORK: US stocks finished solidly higher Tuesday, with gains in Apple, Google and Intel boosting the tech-rich Nasdaq.Also helping were gains in Europe's markets on the back of a surge in German investor sentiment, to a seven-month high, and a successful Spanish debt auction that saw borrowing costs drop sharply.The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 78.56 points (0.60 percent) to 13,248.44,...

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Now, Haryana khap bans disc jockeys

HISAR: A khap panchayat in Hisar, Haryana banned disc jockeys on Tuesday for "creating noise in marriages and other functions" in 42 villages of the district.Phool Kumar, a spokesperson of the Satrol khap panchayat, said that the violators would have to pay a fine of Rs 5100.On Sunday, one man was shot dead while five others were injured following the clash after few villagers objected to the presence...

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Best Space Pictures of 2012: Editor's Picks

Photograph courtesy Tunç Tezel, APOY/Royal ObservatoryThis image of the Milky Way's vast star fields hanging over a valley of human-made light was recognized in the 2012 Astronomy Photographer of the Year competition run by the U.K.’s Royal Observatory Greenwich.To get the shot, photographer Tunç Tezel trekked to Uludag National Park near his hometown of Bursa, Turkey. He intended to watch the moon...

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Serial Killer 'Broke Own Rule,' Lost Control

Serial killer Israel Keyes' capture was his own undoing. It was the meticulous murderer's loss of control and violation of his own careful rules of murder that ended years of traveling to kill for fun.When Keyes, 34, approached an Anchorage coffee stand Feb. 1, he told himself that if the person working inside did not have her own car, he would only rob the place and leave.But...

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US stocks edge up amid hopes for 'cliff' deal

NEW YORK: US stocks ended slightly higher Monday amid hopes that a political deal over the looming fiscal cliff was in the works.Markets showed little effect from the fresh turmoil in the eurozone, after Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti said he would resign in the coming days and Silvio Berlusconi threatened a comeback on an anti-austerity platform.The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose...

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Is SC right in shutting our legal rights, asks 2G scam accused

NEW DELHI: A 2G scam accused on Monday questioned the Supreme Court's strict monitoring of the CBI investigation into alleged irregularities in spectrum allocation in 2008 under then telecom minister A Raja and challenged its orders asking other courts not to entertain appeals against trial court decisions.Accused Asif Balwa's writ petition also questioned the legality of a two-judge bench's November...

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U.K. Dash for Shale Gas a Test for Global Fracking

Thomas K. Grose in London The starting gun has sounded for the United Kingdom's "dash for gas," as the media here have dubbed it.As early as this week, a moratorium on shale gas production is expected to be lifted. And plans to streamline and speed the regulatory process through a new Office for Unconventional Gas and Oil were unveiled last week in the annual autumn budget statement by...

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New Evidence Suggests Biblical Flood Happened

The story of Noah's Ark and the Great Flood is one of the most famous from the Bible, and now an acclaimed underwater archaeologist thinks he has found proof that the biblical flood was actually based on real events.In an interview with Christiane Amanpour for ABC News, Robert Ballard, one of the world's best-known underwater archaeologists, talked about his findings. His team...

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Case reviews could test Obama’s ‘evolution’ on same-sex marriage

The Supreme Court gave itself plenty of room to maneuver when it agreed Friday to review the issue of same-sex marriage. The justices could decide one of the great political and civil rights questions of our time, rule narrowly on the two cases it accepted or even punt, on the grounds that the cases are not properly before them. But the court may have made it more difficult for President...

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Football: Barca legend Messi beats Mueller record

MADRID: Lionel Messi surpassed Gerd Mueller's record of 85 goals in a calendar year with a first-half double that helped his side to an important 2-1 win at Real Betis on Sunday.The Argentinian moved up to 86 goals in 2012 but was only given the go-ahead to play against Betis before the game after injuring his knee in the midweek Champions League game against Benfica.He beats the German...

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India misguided, paranoid over China: Guha

Shreya Roy Chowdhury, TNN Dec 8, 2012, 06.12AM ISTMUMBAI: A good half-hour into the discussion on 'India, China and the World', historian Ramachandra Guha issued a disclaimer—all the three members on the panel had been to China only once. "We should learn their language, promote quality research, and have a panel on China driven by Chinese scholars," he said. And that was the general tenor of the...

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