Anger over Japan minister's N Korea rocket gaffe

TOKYO: A Japanese minister has come under fire from the opposition for saying North Korea should "waste no time" in holding its planned rocket launch so he can campaign in earnest for the upcoming election.Pyongyang announced last week that it would launch a rocket -- ostensibly aimed at placing a satellite in orbit -- between December 10 and 22, prompting neighbouring countries to guard...

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India misguided, paranoid over China: Guha

MUMBAI: 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 debate—that the Indian attitude to China was influenced...

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Plants Grow Fine Without Gravity

When researchers sent plants to the International Space Station in 2010, the flora wasn't meant to be decorative. Instead, the seeds of these small, white flowers—called Arabidopsis thaliana—were the subject of an experiment to study how plant roots developed in a weightless environment.Gravity is an important influence on root growth, but the scientists found that their space plants didn't...

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Federal Agencies Brace for Deep Cuts Post-'Cliff'

Dec 7, 2012 4:22pm Toby Jorrin/AFP/Getty ImagesWith the “fiscal cliff” quickly approaching, federal agencies are stepping up preparations for deep automatic budget cuts that will kick in Jan. 2 unless the White House and Congress can reach a deal.The Office of Management and Budget told ABC News that a memo went out to federal agencies earlier this week seeking “additional...

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Survey shows falling satisfaction among federal employees

When he released a federal worker survey on the afternoon before Thanksgiving, Office of Personnel Management Director John Berry forthrightly noted that “continued tight budgets and pay freezes” contributed to many lower ratings. The report goes a bit further, suggesting “the downward trend of many of the survey items . . . suggest that the continued tight budgets, salary freezes and...

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Ostrich arteries bring bypass hope: Japan scientists

TOKYO: Scientists in Japan have used ostrich blood vessels to create a viable bypass in pigs, raising hopes of easier and more effective artery transplants for heart patients.The team found they could harvest blood vessels from the bird's long neck and use them to construct artificial pathways that are up to 30 centimetres (12 inches) long and as little as two millimetres (0.08 inches)...

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Common man feels corruption has increased: Study

NEW DELHI: India may be witnessing popular agitations against graft but there is no respite for the common man from the menace with over 60 per cent of slum dwellers in major cities feeling that corruption has indeed increased in the past one year, a new study says. The 'CMS-India Corruption Study 2012' says majority of the slum dwellers surveyed felt that corruption in public services has grown...

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Space Pictures This Week: Lunar Gravity, Venusian Volcano

Cassiopeia’s BubbleImage courtesy T.A. Rector, UAA/WIYN/NOAO/NSFA new camera called the One Degree Imager, located at Kitt Peak National Observatory in Arizona, is responsible...

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John McAfee Out of Hospital, Back in Cell

Software millionaire John McAfee has been returned to an immigration detention cell in Guatemala after being rushed to a Guatemala City hospital via ambulance.McAfee, 67 -- who soon may be deported back to Belize, where authorities want to question him about the shooting death of his neighbor -- was reportedly found prostrate on the floor of his cell and unresponsive.He was...

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Rubio, Ryan look to the future during award dinner speeches

Two high-profile Republican members of Congress who stand at the forefront of the effort to rebuild the party after a stinging presidential defeat delivered speeches Tuesday night aimed at turning the page with a fresh emphasis on inclusion and a renewed focus on growing the middle class. “Nothing represents how special America is more than our middle class. And our challenge and our opportunity...

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Court grants permission for City Harvest member to travel overseas

SINGAPORE: The Subordinate Courts has granted permission for a senior member of City Harvest Church to travel overseas.Chew Eng Han, an investment manager for the church, made the application in a pre-trial conference on Thursday.In August, he had also applied for and was granted permission to go overseas. His bail remains at S$1 million. Chew will be back in court on 10 January next year....

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Supreme Court pulls up Centre on appointment of National Green Tribunal head

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Thursday pulled up the Centre for its failure in putting on file the present Chief Justice of India's letter relating to the appointment of the chairman of National Green Tribunal (NGT), which is functioning without its head for a year. "You have placed the record but where is the letter of the present CJI? Why you have not placed it when you knew that the matter...

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A 2020 Rover Return to Mars?

NASA is so delighted with Curiosity's Mars mission that the agency wants to do it all again in 2020, with the possibility of identifying and storing some rocks for a future sample return to Earth.The formal announcement, made at the American Geophysical Union's annual fall meeting, represents a triumph for the NASA Mars program, which had fallen on hard times due to steep budget cuts....

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Guatemala Could Deport McAfee to Belize

Software anti virus pioneer John McAfee is in the process of being deported to Belize after he was arrested in Guatemala for entering the country illegally, his attorney told ABC News early Thursday.ABC News has learned that John McAfee is scheduled to be deported to Belize later this morning. But a judge could stay the ruling if it is determined McAfee's life is threatened...

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Rubio, Ryan look to the future during award dinner speeches

Two high-profile Republican members of Congress who stand at the forefront of the effort to rebuild the party after a stinging presidential defeat delivered speeches Tuesday night aimed at turning the page with a fresh emphasis on inclusion and a renewed focus on growing the middle class. “Nothing represents how special America is more than our middle class. And our challenge and our opportunity...

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New framework to improve safety of working at heights to be launched

SINGAPORE: New guidelines to improve the safety of working at heights will be launched early next year.Co-developed by the Workplace Safety and Health (WSH) Council and Manpower Ministry (MOM), it is the first safety and health competency framework developed in Singapore, for a specific area of work.Working at heights is the leading cause of workplace death.More than 100 workers have died...

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FDI in retail will help India: Praful Patel

NEW DELHI: NCP leader Praful Patel on Wednesday said that FDI in retail trade will help India to progress."FDI in retail is the need of the nation. It will help the nation progress," Patel said while taking part in a parliamentary debate on the decision to allow foreign direct investment in multi-brand trade."The apprehensions are uncalled for. We have to move with time. The youth want to move ahead...

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Scientific Results From Challenger Deep

Jane J. Lee The spotlight is shining once again on the deepest ecosystems in the ocean—Challenger Deep in the Mariana Trench (map) and the New Britain Trench near Papua New Guinea. At a presentation today at the American Geophysical Union's conference in San Francisco, attendees got a glimpse into these mysterious ecosystems nearly 7 miles (11 kilometers) down, the former visited by filmmaker...

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Subway Push Murder Suspect Implicated Self: Police

A suspect believed to be responsible for throwing a man into the path of an oncoming New York City subway train who was taken into custody today has made statements implicating himself, police said.According to Deputy Commissioner for Public Information Paul Browne, the suspect has been questioned by police since at least early afternoon and while the suspect is in police custody,...

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AARP lobbies against Medicare changes that could hurt its bottom line

As Washington debates whether to cut federal retirement programs as part of a deal to tackle the nation’s debt, one of the most powerful advocates for preserving them could have millions of dollars riding on the outcome. AARP, the highly influential lobby for older Americans, is fiercely opposing any Medicare or Social Security cuts and emphasizes that it is fighting for the good of its...

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Hockey: India lose to Germany but finish top of pool

MELBOURNE: India finished top of Pool A despite going down 3-2 in their pool game to Olympic champions Germany at the Champions Trophy in Melbourne on Tuesday.India will now face win-less Belgium, who finished fourth in Pool B, in a quarter-final on Thursday.Elsewhere, England blew their chance to finish on top of Pool A after being held to a 1-1 draw against New Zealand, while the Netherlands...

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Govt aware of Chinese activities along borders: Antony

NEW DELHI: Government is aware of the Chinese activities along the borders and has taken necessary steps to secure the desired national security objectives, the defence ministry told the Lok Sabha. In a written reply to a question in the House, defence minister A K Antony said yesterday, "Government is aware of the activities of China along the border and is fully seized of the security imperatives...

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Mars Rover Detects Simple Organic Compounds

NASA's Mars rover Curiosity has detected several simple carbon-based organic compounds on Mars, but it remains unclear whether they were formed via Earthly contamination or whether they contain only elements indigenous to the planet.Speaking at the American Geophysical Union annual meeting in San Francisco, Curiosity mission leaders also said that the compound perchlorate—identified...

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Kate's Illness Sometimes Linked to Twins

Hyperemesis gravidarum, the reason newly pregnant Kate Middleton is in the hospital, is a rare but acute morning sickness that results in weight loss and accounts for about 2 percent of all morning sickness, doctors say.The condition is sometimes associated with women having twins, experts said.Women diagnosed with hyperemesis gravidarum have lost 5 percent of their pre-pregnancy...

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Retired military officers’ letter seeks to amend gun law to help battle suicides

A group of senior retired generals and admirals are calling for Congress to amend a recent law that they say “dangerously interferes” with the ability of commanders to battle the epidemic of suicides among members of the military. Legislation added to the 2011 defense authorization bill at the urging of gun-rights advocates prohibits commanders from collecting any information about weapons...

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PM Lee meets former US National Security Advisor Scowcroft at Istana

SINGAPORE: Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong met former US National Security Advisor General Brent Scowcroft at the Istana on Monday morning.Mr Scowcroft is also President of the Scowcroft Group, an international business advisory firm.PM Lee and General Scowcroft exchanged views on a wide range of issues, including developments in the US as well as international and regional developments,...

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FDI in retail to safeguard international market mafias' interest: BJP

ANI Dec 1, 2012, 03.28PM ISTNEW DELHI: India's main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) today said retail reform is a step taken by the Congress led-federal government to safeguard the interests of the international market mafias at the cost of national interest. BJP vice president Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said on Saturday that voting inside the parliament would decide as to who is in favour of national...

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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...

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