VA study finds more veterans committing suicide

Every day about 22 veterans in the United States kill themselves, a rate that is about 20 percent higher than the Department of Veterans Affairs’ 2007 estimate, according to a two-year study by a VA researcher. The VA study indicates that more than two-thirds of the veterans who commit suicide are 50 or older, suggesting that the increase in veterans’ suicides is not primarily driven by...

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India set to introduce death penalty in some rape cases

NEW DELHI - India's Cabinet has approved harsher punishments for rapists, including the death penalty, after a brutal gang-rape in New Delhi that sparked national outrage.A government-appointed panel recommended the changes to ministers after the death of a 23-year-old woman who was savagely raped and attacked in a bus on December 16 and died nearly two weeks later.The case ignited nationwide...

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Rahul Gandhi to visit Amethi on Feb 5 and 6

AMETHI: In his first visit after being elevated as Congress vice-president, Rahul Gandhi would tour his constituency of Amethi for two days during which he would also interact with party cadres. District Magistrate Vidya Bhushan today confirmed the two day visit of the local MP and said he would arrive here on February 5. Rahul, who will be here within a fortnight after being appointed the Congress...

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Pictures We Love: Best of January

Photograph by Dieu Nalio Chery, APThe magnitude 7 earthquake that struck near Port au Prince, Haiti, in January 2010 so devastated the country that recovery efforts are still ongoing.Professional dancer Georges Exantus, one of the many casualties of that day, was trapped in his flattened apartment for three days, according to news reports. After friends dug him out, doctors amputated his right leg...

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Gov's Handling of Sandusky Case Under Investigation

The newly-elected attorney general of Pennsylvania is going after the state's governor, Tom Corbett, who was attorney general when child sex allegations against Penn State coach Jerry Sandusky were first brought forward.Kathleen Kane, a Democrat who was sworn in as attorney general on Jan. 15, said that she will name a special prosecutor in the coming days to investigate Corbett's...

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VA study finds more veterans committing suicide

Every day about 22 veterans in the United States kill themselves, a rate that is about 20 percent higher than the Department of Veterans Affairs’ 2007 estimate, according to two-year study by a VA researcher. The VA study indicates that more than two-thirds of the veterans who commit suicide are 50 or older, suggesting that the increase in veterans’ suicides is not primarily driven by...

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A*STAR scientists solve century-old mystery in yeast infections

SINGAPORE: Scientists from the Agency for Science Technology And Research (A*STAR) have solved a century-old mystery in yeast infections.They constructed stable strains of Candida albicans, the most prevalent human fungal pathogen and a major cause of hospital acquired infection.A*STAR said on Friday that their discovery will help pave the way to develop drugs that effectively target and...

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Saibaba trust got Rs 275 crore donation in 2012

SHIRDI: The Saibaba Shirdi Sansthan Trust received a donation of Rs 274.71 crore from devotees last year, a senior trust official said. Devotees also donated 36 kg of gold in various forms in 2012, estimated to be worth Rs 11 crore, Sansthan's executive officer Kishor More said yesterday. However, the Sansthan received 373 kg of silver in the last calendar year, even as it received 440 kg of the...

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Sinkhole Swallows Buildings in China

Photograph from AFP/Getty ImagesThe sinkhole that formed in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou (pictured) is, unfortunately, not a new occurrence for the country.Many areas of the world are susceptible to these sudden formations, including the U.S. Florida is especially prone, but Guatemala, Mexico, and the area surrounding the Dead Sea in the Middle East are also known for their impressive sinkholes....

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SK Group head gets four-year jail sentence

SEOUL: The head of South Korea's third largest conglomerate, the SK Group, was sentenced to four years in prison on Thursday after being convicted of embezzling close to $50 million.The custodial sentence was seen as relatively tough in a country where convicted business tycoons are often given suspended prison terms in recognition of their apparent contribution to the national economy.The...

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Six Congress MPs from Telangana firm on resignations

HYDERABAD: Six Congress MPs from Telangana on Thursday made it clear that they will not take back their resignations over the delay in formation of a separate state. The MPs, who met here a day after reports of differences among them, claimed that resignations of seven MPs were Wednesday submitted to party president Sonia Gandhi's office. However, Madhu Yaskhi Goud, later stated that there is no...

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New Theory on How Homing Pigeons Find Home

Jane J. Lee Homing pigeons (Columba livia) have been prized for their navigational abilities for thousands of years. They've served as messengers during war, as a means of long-distance communication, and as prized athletes in international races.But there are places around the world that seem to confuse these birds—areas where they repeatedly vanish in the wrong direction or scatter on...

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Union says Congress can save money by lowering amount paid for contractor salaries

As policymakers prepare for the across-the-board budget cuts known as sequestration, the largest federal employee union is taking the opportunity to press a pet peeve — large payments to federal contractors. Labor leaders, including those with the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), have long pushed Congress to lower payments for contractor salaries. The cap on Defense...

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S'pore moves up to 2nd spot in trust survey

SINGAPORE: Singapore has moved up to the number two spot for the most trusting nation in the world, according to the 2013 Edelman Trust Barometer. It was third in 2012 and seventh in 2011.Edelman, which measured levels of trust in institutions in 26 countries worldwide, said on Wednesday that Singapore's total trust score rose by nine points and is three points more than the global average...

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Govt will be prompt in pursuing Verma panel recommendations on rape laws: PM

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Wednesday said that the government will be prompt in pursuing the recommendations of J S Verma Committee to amend the law to deal effectively with cases of sexual assault against women. In a letter to Justice Verma, former Chief Justice of India, Manmohan Singh thanked him and other two members of the committee--Justice (retd) Leila Seth and former Solicitor...

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Timbuktu’s vulnerable manuscripts are city’s "gold"

French and Malian troops surrounded Timbuktu on Monday and began combing the labyrinthine city for Islamist fighters. Witnesses, however, said the Islamists, who claim an affiliation to al Qaeda and had imposed a Taliban-style rule in the northern Malian city over the last ten months, slipped into the desert a few days earlier. But before fleeing, the militants reportedly set fire to several...

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Bipartisan group of senators to unveil framework for immigration overhaul

A key group of senators from both parties will unveil on Monday the framework of a broad overhaul of the nation’s immigration laws, including a pathway to citizenship for more than 11 million illegal immigrants. The detailed, four-page statement of principles will carry the signatures of four Republicans and four Democrats, a bipartisan push that would have been unimaginable just...

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Infrastructure development to keep pace with population growth

SINGAPORE: The government is planning to build 700,000 new homes by 2030.That is one of the long-term plans to support the projected increase in population which is expected to hit 6.9 million in about 20 years.Some Singaporeans have observed that population growth in Singapore has outpaced infrastructure development in the last five years.The government is now planning and investing in...

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Chhattisgarh land acquisition, large-scale tree felling for NH four-laning sparks row

PITHORA: Massive land acquisition and indiscriminate tree felling for four-laning of National Highway-53 (NH-53) has sparked unrest among the locals, who are now up in arms against the state government.More than 55,000 trees are being cut on the stretch of 115 Kms from Aarang to Saraipali, not only affecting those in possession of the land and trees but also the environment as a whole. "Large number...

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Space Pictures This Week: Martian Gas, Cloud Trails

Image courtesy SDO/NASAThe sun is more than meets the eye, and researchers should know. They've equipped telescopes on Earth and in space with instruments that view the sun in at least ten different wavelengths of light, some of which are represented in this collage compiled by NASA and released January 22. (See more pictures of the sun.)By viewing the different wavelengths of light given off by the...

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US Mom Missing in Turkey Took Side Trips

Sarai Sierra, the New York mother who disappeared in Turkey while on a solo trip, took several side excursions out of the country, but stayed in contact with her family the entire time, a family friend told ABC News.Turkish media reported today that police were trying to establish why Sierra visited Amsterdam and Munich. Police were also trying to establish the identity of a...

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Bipartisan group of senators to unveil framework for immigration overhaul

A key group of senators from both parties will unveil on Monday the framework of a broad overhaul of the nation’s immigration laws, including a pathway to citizenship for more than 11 million illegal immigrants. The detailed, four-page statement of principles will carry the signatures of four Republicans and four Democrats, a bipartisan push that would have been unimaginable just...

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Man in "trolley bag" case pleads guilty to failing to report death

SINGAPORE: The lover of a businessman acquitted of murder in the "trolley bag" case pleaded guilty to a charge of failing to report the death to the police.Pee Weai Hong, 33, admitted on Monday that he did not report the death of 28-year-old Dylan Wong Teck Siong on 2 April 2011 when he learnt about it the next day.Mr Wong's decomposed body was stuffed in a trolley bag and was found in...

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India, Pakistan resume bus service in Kashmir

SRINAGAR: An official on Monday said India and Pakistan have resumed a bus service in the disputed region of Kashmir near the area where their armies recently engaged in deadly skirmishes. Kashmir's home secretary Suresh Kumar said nearly 120 passengers from both sides of Kashmir crossed the transit point in the Poonch region on Monday. The bus service as well as trade between Indian and Pakistani...

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Doomed Dolphin Speaks to New York's Vibrant Wildlife

By the time New Yorkers spied a dolphin swimming through the superfund sludge of the Gowanus Canal last Friday, it was too late. The marine mammal didn't even survive long enough for a rescue plan to come together. First sighted on Friday afternoon, the dolphin perished at 6:00 p.m.The reason the marine mammal died, and why the dolphin swam up the...

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'Barrier of Bodies' Trapped Nightclub Fire Victims

The bodies of the young college students were found piled up just inside the entrance of the Kiss nightclub, among more than 230 people who died in a cloud of toxic smoke after a blaze enveloped the crowded locale within seconds and set off a panic.Hours later, the horrific chaos had transformed into a scene of tragic order, with row upon row of polished caskets of the dead...

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Senate’s pragmatic ranks depleted by one with Chambliss’s departure

The trio of Southern gentlemen came to the Senate together in 2003, the leading edge of a renegade Republican class set on shaking up the chamber’s staid ways and aggressively promoting the Bush White House’s conservative agenda. Ten years later, Sens. Lamar Alexander (Tenn.), Saxby Chambliss (Ga.) and Lindsey O. Graham (S.C.) are now establishment dealmakers and elder statesmen — roles...

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Protesters march against Hong Kong leader

HONG KONG: Around 1,000 people took to the streets of Hong Kong on Sunday to protest against the city leader's policy speech, which they said offered nothing new on tackling a housing crisis and poverty.Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying pledged, among other things, to increase housing supply in the densely populated city and tackle poverty in his January policy address widely seen as an...

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India wary of China's telecom forays in Nepal, Maldives

NEW DELHI: The growing presence of Chinese telecom companies in Maldives and Nepal has put security agencies on alert over fears that equipment used for infrastructure development there might be bugged and misused for intercepting any communication between India and the two countries. The concerns by the central security agencies which have been conveyed to the telecom department here came against...

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Pictures: The Story Behind Sun Dogs, Penitent Ice, and More

Photograph by Art Wolfe, Getty ImagesIf you want the beauty of winter without having to brave the bone-chilling temperatures blasting much of the United States this week, snuggle into a soft blanket, grab a warm beverage, and curl up with some of these natural frozen wonders. Nieve penitente, or penitent snow, are collections of spires that resemble robed monks—or penitents. They are flattened columns...

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