After ‘fiscal cliff,’ Obama finishes recharging on Hawaiian holiday

HONOLULU — The place where President Obama vacations each winter is farther from Washington than almost any other place in the United States. So, it is not terribly surprising that less than 45 minutes after Congress passed a bill averting the “fiscal cliff” on Jan. 1, Obama was racing back here. The president’s vacation with his family and friends had already been cut short by the protracted,...

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Indian troops kill Pakistani soldier in Kashmir

ISLAMABAD: A Pakistani soldier was killed and another wounded Sunday when Indian troops stormed a military post on the two countries' de facto border in Kashmir, the military said.It said an exchange of fire was continuing after the Indian incursion across the Line of Control marking the frontier in the Haji Pir sector, 80 kilometres (49 miles) north of Islamabad.Indian troops had crossed...

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Cold wave continues in J&K

SRINAGAR: There was no respite from the intense cold as the temperatures remained much below the freezing point in the Kashmir Valley and the Ladakh region of the state, said a weather official here Sunday. "The night temperature was minus 4.6 degrees celsius in Srinagar. It was minus 8.0 in Pahalgam and minus 9.0 degrees celsius in Gulmarg today (Sunday)," an official of the Met office told IANS....

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Best Pictures: 2012 Nat Geo Photo Contest Winners

Winner: PlacesPhotograph by Nenad SaljicA full moon illuminates the Matterhorn peak near Zermatt, Switzerland, in the winning image...

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Gun Show Near Newtown Goes on Despite Anger

A little more than 40 miles from Sandy Hook Elementary School, where last month 20 first graders and six staff members were massacred, gun dealers and collectors alike ignored calls to cancel a gun show, and gathered for business in Stamford, Conn.Four other gun shows with an hour of Newtown, Conn., recently cancelled their events in the wake of the shootings, when 20-year-old...

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Al Gore stands to gain about $70 million after selling Current TV to al-Jazeera

Al Gore, who shared the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize for his fight against global warming, may gross about $70 million from the sale of his Current TV network to al-Jazeera, the cable channel funded in part by oil-rich Qatar. Al-Jazeera will pay about $500 million for Current TV, including the stake held by Gore, 64, according to two people with knowledge of the deal. The network is one...

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Blogger Alex Au apologises to PM Lee for defamatory comments

SINGAPORE: Blogger Alex Au has apologised to Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong for defamatory comments about the sale of computer systems used by town councils in his article, 'PAP mis-AIMed, faces blowback'.He said on Saturday that he recognises that the article, when read with the comments or by themselves, meant or were understood to mean that Mr Lee was guilty of corruption in relation...

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In US, juveniles now entitled to life imprisonment with parole for homicidal cases

MUMBAI: In the US, a minor arrested in a rape and murder case would have been tried in a regular criminal court and got sentenced to life in prison if convicted. Till about six months ago such a person would not even have been entitled to parole in over 20 states and be imprisoned till death. Many states provided for mandatory life sentence without possibility of parole even for juvenile offenders....

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Best Pictures: 2012 Nat Geo Photo Contest Winners

Winner: PlacesPhotograph by Nenad SaljicA full moon illuminates the Matterhorn peak near Zermatt, Switzerland, in the winning image...

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Quadruple Amputee Gets Two New Hands on Life

It's the simplest thing, the grasp of one hand in another. But Lindsay Ess will never see it that way, because her hands once belonged to someone else.Growing up in Texas and Virginia, Lindsay, 29, was always one of the pretty girls. She went to college, did some modeling and started building a career in fashion, with an eye on producing fashion shows.Then she lost her hands...

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Federal agencies bracing for cuts after ‘fiscal cliff’ deal

The fiscal pact Congress reached hours into the new year will delay $109 billion in automatic across-the-board spending cuts for two months. But it will make a down payment on those reductions that will affect federal operations this year and next. The eleventh-hour agreement to avoid a “fiscal cliff” of higher taxes put off the major cuts known as a sequester until March 1,...

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Man arrested after suicide attempt at Sengkang

SINGAPORE: A Chinese man has been arrested after he threatened to jump from the 16th floor of a block of flats in Sengkang.The incident happened at Block 210A Compassvale Lane.Police said they received a call for assistance at 12.45am on Friday morning. The Singapore Civil Defence Force was alerted to the incident at 12.53am.One fire engine, one red rhino, four support vehicles and an...

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Italian naval guards return to Kerala

KOCHI: Italian naval guards, who were allowed to go to their native country to celebrate Christmas with their family, returned to Kochi on Friday. Naval guards Latore Massimiliano and Salvatore Gironi arrived at Cochin International Airport in a special flight. According to officials, they will proceed to Kollam magistrate court where they will surrender their passports. "We have kept our word...

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Pictures We Love: Best of 2012

Photograph by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/APPowder-splattered, and powder-splattering, runners cross the finish line of The Color Run 5K in Irvine, California, on April 22. Each kilometer (0.6 mile) of the event features a color-pelting station dedicated to a single hue, culminating in the Pollock-esque riot at kilometer 5.The "magical color dust" is completely safe, organizers say, though...

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Ex-USC Player: Painkiller Injections Caused Heart Attack

Despite stated label risks of possible fatal heart attack, stroke or organ failure, college football players across the country are still being given injections of a powerful painkiller on game days so they can play while injured, an ABC News investigation has found.The drug, a generic version of Toradol, is recommended for the short-term treatment of post-operative pain in...

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Federal agencies bracing for cuts after ‘fiscal cliff’ deal

The fiscal pact Congress reached hours into the new year will delay $109 billion in automatic across-the-board spending cuts for two months. But it will make a down payment on those reductions that will affect federal operations this year and next. The eleventh-hour agreement to avoid a “fiscal cliff” of higher taxes put off the major cuts known as a sequester until March 1,...

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One killed as cyclone hits New Caledonia

NOUMEA: One man was killed and another was missing after Cyclone Freda hit New Caledonia, as landslides blocked roads and high winds downed power lines, officials in the French Pacific territory said on Thursday.Wind gusts had weakened to 90 kilometres per hour (60 miles per hour) as it moved towards the east Caledonian island of Mare, after hitting the Solomon Islands earlier this week...

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Pictures: Errant Shell Oil Rig Runs Aground Off Alaska, Prompts Massive Response

Photograph courtesy Jonathan Klingenberg, U.S. Coast GuardWaves lash at the sides of the Shell* drilling rig Kulluk, which ran aground off the rocky southern coast of Alaska on New Year's Eve in a violent storm.The rig, seen above Tuesday afternoon, was "stable," with no signs of spilled oil products, authorities said. But continued high winds and savage seas hampered efforts to secure the vessel...

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Hillary Clinton Discharged From Hospital

Jan 2, 2013 7:18pm Hillary Clinton, rear center, leaving hospital. Frank Franklin II/AP Photo.Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has been released from the hospital following treatment for a blood clot in her head, the State Department confirmed on Wednesday.In a statement, Deputy Assistant Secretary Philippe Reines said Clinton’s medical team “advised her that she...

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Asian markets rise as US averts fiscal cliff

HONG KONG: Asian shares rose sharply Wednesday as the US Congress backed a deal to avert a "fiscal cliff" of drastic tax rises and spending cuts in an upbeat start to the year for regional markets.As the House of Representatives approved the bill, which avoids tax hikes for most Americans and delays automatic spending cuts, the dollar strengthened against the yen and oil prices surged.Hong...

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Supreme Court upholds appointment of Gujarat's Lokayukta

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Wednesday dismissed Gujarat government's plea challenging governor Kamla Beniwal's decision to appoint Justice (retd) R A Mehta as Lokayukta without consulting it.Gujarat government had challenged the appointment on the grounds that the governor Kamala Beniwal had not consulted the state government. A bench of Justices B S Chauhan and F M Ibrahim Kalifulla passed...

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Space Pictures This Week: Ice “Broccoli,” Solar Storm

Happy TrailsPhotograph by Alex Cherney, TWANAmateur astronomer Alex Cherney captured these star trails as they blazed above Lake Tyrrell, a salt lake in Victoria, Australia in...

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House Approves 'Fiscal Cliff' Deal

The House of Representatives has approved a bipartisan Senate deal to avert the "fiscal cliff" and preserve Bush-era tax cuts for all Americans making less than $400,000 per year.The compromise is now on its way to President Obama for his signature."I will sign a law that raises taxes on the wealthiest two percent of Americans while preventing a middle class tax hike that could...

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Obama, Senate Republicans reach agreement on ‘fiscal cliff’

President Obama and Senate leaders struck a bipartisan agreement late Monday to let income taxes rise sharply for the first time in two decades, fulfilling Obama’s promise to raise taxes on the rich and avoiding the worst effects of the “fiscal cliff.” The agreement, brokered by Vice President Biden and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), primarily targets taxpayers who earn...

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Thousands to march against Hong Kong leader

HONG KONG: Tens of thousands of protesters are expected to rally in Hong Kong Tuesday, calling for the city's embattled new chief executive to quit and for greater democracy.Organisers are expecting 50,000 people to turn up at the New Year day's march against Leung Chun-ying, while pro-government groups staged a separate and smaller rival rally in support of the Beijing-backed leader.Since...

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