Sen. Ayotte offers GOP an influential new voice

The three Republican senators emerged grim-faced from a basement meeting room in the Capitol on Tuesday and took turns before a bank of televisions cameras, blasting away at the Obama administration for its handling of the deadly attack on an American outpost in Benghazi, Libya. The first two were prominent national security heavyweights, Arizona’s John McCain and Lindsey O. Graham of...

Read More..

Hougang by-election ballot papers destroyed

SINGAPORE: Ballot papers and other documents used in the Hougang by-election were destroyed on Saturday morning.According to the Parliamentary Elections Act, the ballot papers and other documents used in the election were retained, sealed and kept in safe custody for a period of six months.On Saturday morning, the ballot boxes were removed from the Supreme Court vault and then destroyed...

Read More..

Photos: Kilauea Lava Reaches the Sea

Into the Sea Photograph by Hugh Gentry, ReutersA spectacular natural phenomenon was on display early this week as lava from a vent in Hawaii's Kilauea volcano flowed into...

Read More..

Could Outgoing Republicans Hold Keys to 'Cliff' Deal?

Nov 30, 2012 1:45pm AP Photo/Carolyn KasterThe outlook for reaching some sort of bipartisan agreement on the so-called “fiscal cliff” before the Dec. 31 deadline is looking increasingly grim. Shortly after noon today, House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, appeared before the cameras to say the talks had reached a “stalemate.”But there may be a glimmer...

Read More..

"Halo 4": More of the same with a sprinkle of change

SINGAPORE: "Halo 4" is the latest instalment of the popular "Halo" game franchise.It traces the adventures of human super soldier Master Chief, and his artificial intelligence companion Cortana, as they unravel the mystery of Requiem, an uncharted planet inhabited by the hostile Prometheans.Following the departure of Bungie Inc, the developers who did the previous "Halo" games, 343 Industries...

Read More..

CBI director's appointment: Madras HC issues notice to Centre

CHENNAI: The Madras high court has issued notice to the Centre, on a quo warranto petition questioning the validity of the appointment of Ranjit Sinha as director of the CBI. Justice K Venkataraman, before whom the petition filed by retired police officer Jebamani Mohanraj, came up for admission on Friday, asked the Centre to file its counter within a week. When the matter was taken up for hearing,...

Read More..

Pictures: Inside the World's Most Powerful Laser

Photograph courtesy Damien Jemison, LLNLLooking like a portal to a science fiction movie, preamplifiers line a corridor at the U.S. Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory's National Ignition Facility (NIF).Preamplifiers work by increasing the energy of laser beams—up to ten billion times—before these beams reach the facility's target chamber.The project's lasers are tackling "one of physics' grand...

Read More..

Man Arrested in Fla. Girl's 1993 Disappearance

Police have arrested a 42-year-old man and charged him with murder in the case of a Florida girl who vanished almost 20 years ago.Andrea Gail Parsons, 10, of Port Salerno, Fla., was last seen on July 11, 1993, shortly after 6 p.m. She had just purchased candy and soda at a grocery store when she waved to a local couple as they drove by on an area street and honked, police said.Today,...

Read More..

High-powered ‘Fix the Debt’ group draws attention, scrutiny in Washington

In the discussions about the “fiscal cliff” consuming Washington, a powerful new group stands out, touting the virtue of bipartisanship and shared sacrifice. The business leaders who set up the Campaign to Fix the Debt appear nearly every day on network talk shows and have won coveted time with President Obama in pushing for increased tax revenue, reduced government spending, and changes...

Read More..

Tokyo governor election kicks off

TOKYO: The race to elect a successor to colourful and controversial Tokyo governor Shintaro Ishihara kicked off Thursday with his handpicked nominee expected to cruise to an easy victory.Ishihara, a veteran right-wing firebrand who is widely blamed for exacerbating a territorial row with China, abruptly resigned to lead a new political party in a December 16 general election that coincides...

Read More..

No time frame for electoral reforms: Govt

NEW DELHI: Government on Thursday said that it cannot lay down any time frame for electoral reforms keeping in mind the "complexity" of the subject.In a written reply to the Lok Sabha, Union law and justice minister Ashwani Kumar said, "In view of the complexity of the subject, it is not possible to lay down any rigid time-frame in this regard."He was asked whether the government proposes to carry...

Read More..

Caterpillar Fungus Has Anti-Inflammatory Properties

In the Tibetan mountains, a fungus attaches itself to a moth larva burrowed in the soil. It infects and slowly consumes its host from within, taking over its brain and making the young caterpillar move to a position from which the fungus can grow and spore again. Sounds like something out of science fiction, right? But for ailing Chinese consumers and nomadic Tibetan harvesters, the parasite...

Read More..

Two Winners in Record Powerball Jackpot

Winning tickets for the record Powerball jackpot worth more than $587 million were purchased in Arizona and Missouri.Missouri Lottery official Susan Goedde confirmed to ABC News this morning that one of the winning tickets was purchased in the state, but they would not be announcing a town until later this morning.Arizona lottery officials said they had no information on that...

Read More..

Keeping the financial regulators on their toes

When members of Congress need factual information and insights into the effectiveness of the financial laws put in place after the 2008 economic crisis, they regularly turn to the Government Accountability Office (GAO) and Orice Williams Brown. Initially as director and now as managing director of the GAO’s financial markets and community investment section, Brown and her staff have issued...

Read More..

China denies yuan 'significantly undervalued'

BEIJING: China on Wednesday denied US accusations that the yuan was "significantly undervalued", after the Treasury said the unit's rise so far was "insufficient" but stopped short of labelling Beijing a currency manipulator.The issue is a sensitive one in Washington because of China's overwhelming surpluses in trade between the countries.If the US designates China as a manipulator it...

Read More..

HSBC secret accounts: Income Tax department to begin prosecution action

NEW DELHI: The Income Tax department has decided to begin prosecution action against those having "substantial" amounts in their bank accounts in HSBC's Geneva branch.The department has now written to the finance ministry to suggest a benchmark for funds held on the basis of which the I-T department can initiate legal action for tax evasion and tax theft.Top sources said a benchmark of about Rs...

Read More..

Pictures: Falcon Massacre Uncovered in India

Photograph courtesy Conservation IndiaA young boy can sell bundles of fresh Amur falcons (pictured) for less than five dollars. Still, when multiplied by the thousands of falcons hunters can catch in a day, the practice can be a considerable financial boon to these groups.Since discovering the extent of Amur hunting in Nagaland this fall, Conservation India has taken the issue to the local Indian...

Read More..

Study Finds Most Pork Contaminated

Nov 27, 2012 6:24pm A sample of raw pork products from supermarkets around the United States found that yersinia enterocolitica, a lesser-known food-borne pathogen, was present in 69 percent of the products tested, according to a study released today by Consumer Reports.The  bacteria  infects more than 100,000 Americans a year, according to the Centers for...

Read More..

Keeping the financial regulators on their toes

When members of Congress need factual information and insights into the effectiveness of the financial laws put in place after the 2008 economic crisis, they regularly turn to the Government Accountability Office (GAO) and Orice Williams Brown. Initially as director and now as managing director of the GAO’s financial markets and community investment section, Brown and her staff have issued...

Read More..

Two errant lawyers suspended for overcharging clients

SINGAPORE: Two lawyers who face disciplinary action for overcharging will be suspended for three months each from January.The penalty was handed down on Tuesday by Judges of Appeal Chao Hick Tin, Andrew Phang and V K Rajah.They backed the findings of a disciplinary tribunal that Ang Chin Peng was guilty of misconduct between 1999 and 2004, while Martin Decruz was guilty of improper conduct...

Read More..

Caste violence rocks Tamil Nadu again; dalit colony attacked, 8 injured

CUDDALORE: An angry mob attacked a dalit colony and torched their houses and belongings at Pacharapakkam village near Vadalur in Cuddalore district in north Tamil Nadu on Tuesday morning. The provocation apparently was that a group of dalit men teased a non-dalit girl. Eight dalits were injured in the attack while eight houses and two two-wheelers were set on fire. The mob also damaged a van belong...

Read More..

Space Pictures This Week: Space "Horse," Mars Rover, More

High Horse Photograph by Greg Parker, Your Shot The Horsehead Nebula rears its pretty head in a November 17 photograph submitted to National Geographic's Your Shot photo community.Taken...

Read More..

Co. Paying Just $1,200 for Each Factory Fire Life

A company that makes clothes for Sean Combs' clothing brand ENYCE and other U.S. labels reassured investors that a factory fire that killed 112 people over the weekend would not harm its balance sheet, and also pledged to pay the families of the dead $1,200 per victim.In an announcement Monday, Li & Fung Ltd., a middleman company that supplies clothes from Bangladesh factories...

Read More..

Israel defence minister Barak quits politics

JERUSALEM: Israel's Defence Minister Ehud Barak announced on Monday that he was quitting political life after a decades-long career that also saw him serve as prime minister.Barak, 70, made the surprise announcement at a press conference in Tel Aviv, adding that he would retire from politics after a new government is formed in the wake of January elections."I have decided to resign from...

Read More..

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...

Read More..

GOP Starting to Rebel Against No-Tax-Hikes Pledge

With the fiscal cliff looming for the United States, some Republican members of Congress said today they are ready to break a long standing pledge not to raise taxes."The only pledge we should be making to each other is to avoid becoming Greece. And Republicans should put revenue on the table," South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham said on ABC's "This Week."Read more of the discussion...

Read More..

Climate skeptic group works to reverse renewable energy mandates

The Heartland Institute, a libertarian think tank skeptical of climate change science, has joined with the conservative American Legislative Exchange Council to write model legislation aimed at reversing state renewable energy mandates across the country. The Electricity Freedom Act, adopted by the council’s board of directors in October, would repeal state standards requiring utilities...

Read More..

Europe mulls Greece "haircut" in 2015: report

BERLIN: Eurozone finance ministers are considering a possible "haircut" for Greece in 2015, a German newspaper reported on Sunday, in a bid to reduce the debt mountain of the recession-wracked country.Other eurozone countries and institutions like the European Central Bank could be ready to discuss writing down a part of their Greek debt holdings to put Greece's debt on a more sustainable...

Read More..

Rajya Sabha panel for power to Lokpal to sanction prosecution

NEW DELHI: Lokpal will have power to grant sanction to initiate prosecution against a public servant, a parliamentary committee has recommended, seeking to amend a provision in the bill which said no previous sanction was required for the ombudsman to bring charges. The recommendation of the Rajya Sabha Select Committee on Lokpal comes against the backdrop of the stand taken by the government...

Read More..

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...

Read More..

After Sandy, World Hopes to Hear New US Voice on Climate Change

During a year with a monster storm and scorching heat waves, Americans have experienced the kind of freakish weather that many scientists say will occur more often on a warming planet.And as a re-elected president talks about global warming again, climate activists are cautiously optimistic that the U.S. will be more than a disinterested bystander when the U.N. climate talks resume...

Read More..