Patty Murray likely to be a key voice in Senate on budget deal

One of the biggest winners in the sweeping Democratic victories in Senate races this month was a woman whose name appeared on no ballot: Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.). With a low-key style that contrasts with some of the Senate’s camera hogs, Murray may be the most powerful senator a whole lot of people have never heard of outside of the two Washingtons where she lives and works....

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More support on the way for local social enterprises

SINGAPORE: A small local coffee academy and a giant beer brand may be seen to be unlikely partners but such a partnership is brewing ways to help disadvantaged women here in Singapore.Nineteen-year-old Shirley Ng is training to be a professional barista at Bettr Barista Coffee Academy.The teenage mother of two did not finish her secondary education. Besides learning how to make a great...

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Ram Jethmalani criticizes BJP position on CBI director

NEW DELHI: In a fresh salvo, BJP MP Ram Jetrhmalani on Saturday criticized party position on appointment of new CBI director Ranjit Sinha. In a letter to BJP president Nitin Gadkari, Jethmalani said: "BJP is wrong in questioning the appointment of CBI director." Earlier, leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj and leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley had on Friday written...

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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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Gas Explosion Levels Buildings Like 'Missile Strike'

A natural gas explosion in one of New England's biggest cities on Friday leveled a strip club with a boom heard for miles and heavily damaged a dozen other buildings but didn't kill anyone, authorities said.Firefighters, police officers and gas company workers in the area because of an earlier gas leak and odor report were among the 18 people injured in the blast, authorities said."This...

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Polls offer little guidance for politicians tackling ‘fiscal cliff’

Politicians tasked with negotiating a deal next month to avoid the “fiscal cliff” can be thankful that their talks are taking place immediately after a clarifying national election that laid out exactly how the public wants Washington to deal with debt and deficits. Or n...

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Reforms needed for China's growth: Li Keqiang

BEIJING : China's economic growth can only continue if the country reforms, said its expected next premier and newly-promoted Communist Party number two Li Keqiang, according to state media on Friday.The ruling party's new leaders - who were installed after a key congress last week and will also assume top government posts in March - took charge in the face of slowing growth, rising popular...

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Murli Manohar Joshi, CAG must clear air on 2G allocation loss figure: Govt

NEW DELHI: A controversy has broken out after former Comptroller and Auditor General official R P Singh questioned CAG's estimates of presumptive loss of Rs 1.76 lakh cror mentioned in the 2G spectrum audit report.Former director general CAG's post and telecommunications, Singh, said that he was made to sign the 2G spectrum audit report by his seniors in CAG, despite disagreeing with it. Singh retired...

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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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Stores Work to Keep Black Friday Safe

With earlier-than-ever deals and 147 million people expected to hit the stores this holiday weekend, retailers such as Best Buy are taking extra steps to avoid the Black Friday shopper chaos -- and inevitable news stories -- of the past.Best Buy officials said they've been prepping for the madness for days.The retailer has created color-coded maps, moved merchandise around to...

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Survey: Federal workers’ morale dropping

Salary freezes, tight budgets and a dim view of federal work held by many Americans have soured the motivation and commitment of many government employees, a survey released Wednesday found. Federal employees still think that their jobs are important, and many are passionate and dedicated to their agency’s mission. But increasing threats to their pay and benefits and criticism of their...

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China-India ties will benefit Southeast Asia, says ESM Goh

SINGAPORE: Emeritus Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong said the region which stands to benefit most from a collaborative relationship between China and India is arguably Southeast Asia.At the same time, Southeast Asia offers a prime location and multi-sectoral opportunities for China and India to work together, and with others.Mr Goh was speaking at the International conference on South Asia...

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BJP, CPI-M want vote on FDI in retail

NEW DELHI: Opposition parties, including the BJP and the CPI-M, pressed Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar to allow their notices for a debate on foreign direct investment ( FDI) in retail on Thursday, the first day of Parliament's winter session. The Speaker said their notices for a debate under Rule 184, which entails voting, were under consideration. Leader of Opposition and Bharatiya Janata Party...

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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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Egypt's Morsi Wins US, Israeli Gratitude

Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi is being credited with brokering the cease-fire today between Israel and Hamas, but the international gratitude and praise he is gettting could come with a political price at home.Both Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and President Obama heaped praise on the Egyptian president. Obama called his Egyptian counterpart today to thank him for...

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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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Football: Chelsea sack manager Roberto Di Matteo

LONDON: Chelsea manager Roberto Di Matteo has been sacked after the European champions were left facing elimination at the group stage of the Champions League, the club said on Wednesday."Chelsea Football Club has parted company this morning with Manager Roberto Di Matteo," a statement said, following Tuesday's 3-0 defeat by Juventus.Chelsea said the team's "recent performances and results...

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Bal Thackeray's ashes to be immersed in Godavari on Friday

NASHIK: The urn containing ashes of Shiv Sena chief late Bal Thackeray was brought here and will be kept at the party office for 'darshan' till tomorrow, official sources said today. On Friday, the ashes would be immersed in Godavari river, they said. The urn was kept for darshan at Ghoti, Igatpuri yesterday and today it will keep at Nashik Road, Sinnar, Trimbakeshwar, Dindori, Niphad, Yeola,...

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Thanksgiving 2012 Myths and Facts

Before the big dinner, debunk the myths—for starters, the first "real" U.S. Thanksgiving wasn't until the 1800s—and get to the roots of Thanksgiving 2012.Thanksgiving Dinner: Recipe for Food Coma?Key to any Thanksgiving Day menu are a fat turkey and cranberry sauce.An estimated 254 million turkeys will be raised for slaughter in the U.S. during 2012, up 2 percent from 2011's total, according...

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Ceasefire or 'De-Escalation'? Words Chosen Carefully

Nov 20, 2012 7:27pm AP Photo/Hatem MoussaAs news reports emerged Tuesday of a cease-fire or truce to end the crisis in Gaza, American officials made it a point not to use either of those terms.Instead, U.S. officials were  talking about “de-escalating” the violence in Gaza as a step toward a long-term resolution.Briefing White House reporters in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, ...

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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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Mamata's no-trust vote: BJP not inclined to back motion

NEW DELHI: Realising that the numbers are stacked in favour of the government, BJP on Tuesday appeared not inclined towards supporting the no-confidence motion that TMC has threatened to move against UPA but is gearing up to corner it on the FDI issue by seeking a vote on it. BJP Parliamentary Party Executive Committee today held a meeting here to discuss the strategy for the forthcoming Winter...

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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 Heading to Middle East to Meet With Leaders

President Obama urgently dispatched Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to the Middle East with the hope that she can bring an end to the escalating violence that has gripped the region for the last week.Clinton is scheduled to arrive in Jerusalem later tonight to meet with Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, according to Deputy National Security Advisor Ben Rhodes. Clinton...

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Obama to praise Burma’s journey toward democracy

RANGOON, Burma — President Obama will hail Burma’s “dramatic transition” and “remarkable journey” toward a more open, democratic society in a speech here Monday, while warning that the progress must shine as a “North Star” for the nation’s 60 million people. Obama made history when Air Force One touched down at 9:35 a.m. local time Monday, making him the first U.S. president to visit...

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Dengue vaccine to be tested in India: reports

NEW DELHI: French health care giant Sanofi Pasteur will soon test a vaccine against dengue fever in India amid concerns about the increasingly global spread of the disease, reports said Monday.The vaccine will be tried on about 120 adults followed by trials on children before it can be made available internationally as soon as 2015, the Times of India newspaper said."Sites for the vaccine's...

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Bring Prime Minister under Lokpal, House panel recommends

NEW DELHI: The Rajya Sabha Select Committee on Monday adopted draft report on the Lokpal Bill. The select committee has also taken care of the differences over federal rights of states on appointment of Lokayukta. According to TV reports, the panel has sought that the Prime Minister be brought under the purview of Lokpal barring departments like Intelligence, Atomic Energy which are RTI exempted....

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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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Palestinian Civilian Toll Climbs in Gaza

The Palestinian civilian death toll mounted Monday as Israeli aircraft struck densely populated areas in the Gaza Strip in a campaign to quell militant rocket fire menacing nearly half of Israel's population.An overnight airstrike on two houses belonging to an extended clan in Gaza City killed two children and two adults, and injured 42 people, said Gaza heath official Ashraf...

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Petraeus scandal puts four-star general lifestyle under scrutiny

Then-defense secretary Robert M. Gates stopped bagging his leaves when he moved into a small Washington military enclave in 2007. His next-door neighbor was Mike Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff at the time, who had a chef, a personal valet and — not lost on Gates — troops to tend his property. Gates may have been the civilian leader of the world’s largest military, but...

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Ex-CNB chief trial to resume on Monday

SINGAPORE: Former Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB) chief Ng Boon Gay is expected to take the stand when his corruption trial resumes on Monday, if the court finds there is a case for him to answer to.Earlier in November, the defence asked to drop the charges against Ng after the prosecution wrapped up its case in the sex-for-contracts case.46-year-old Ng is accused of obtaining sexual gratification...

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Thackeray's two newspapers sport full black front pages

MUMBAI: Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray's favourite newspapers Saamna (in Marathi) and Dopahar Ka Saamna (in Hindi) were Sunday published with a full black cover jackets and full black cover pages. Thackeray, who passed away Saturday afternoon, was the founder-editor of both the newspapers, though the day-to-day affairs were managed by hand-picked and trusted executive editors. This is the first time...

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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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Israel's Iron Dome Proves Effective Defense

Israel said that it will install a fifth "Iron Dome" battery before the end of the year, adding another installation to the country's missile defense system, which has proven itself this week, intercepting more than 150 rockets fired from the Gaza Strip.The missile defense system, which can identify enemy rockets, determine if they pose a threat to populated areas, and destroy...

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