Some leads in cat mutilation case: K Shanmugam

SINGAPORE: Law and Foreign Affairs Minister K Shanmugam said there has been some leads on the recent case of cat mutilation.Two weeks ago, on 30 December 2012, two kittens were found dismembered outside a HDB flat in Chong Pang Division in Yishun.Mr Shanmugam, who's the MP for Nee Soon GRC, said some people had come forward with information related to the case. He said he has passed the...

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Anju Ilyasi's death: HC stays medical board proceedings

NEW DELHI: In a relief to TV serial producer Suhaib Ilyasi, the Delhi high court has stayed the proceedings of a medical board constituted to examine afresh the reasons of his wife Anju Ilyasi's death in 2000. Ilyasi, also the editor-in-chief of Bureaucracy Today magazine, has been facing trial as an accused for last 12 years in dowry death case of his wife Anju Ilyasi. She had been rushed to...

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Pictures: Civil War Shipwreck Revealed by Sonar

Photograph by Jesse CancelmoA fishing net, likely only decades old, drapes over machinery that once connected the Hatteras' pistons to its paddle wheels, said Delgado.From archived documents, the NOAA archaeologist learned that Blake, the ship's commander, surrendered as his ship was sinking. "It was listing to port, [or the left]," Delgado said. The Alabama took the wounded and the rest of the crew...

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Poisoned Lottery Winner's Kin Were Suspicious

Urooj Khan had just brought home his $425,000 lottery check when he unexpectedly died the following day. Now, certain members of Khan's family are speaking publicly about the mystery -- and his nephew told ABC News they knew something was not right."He was a healthy guy, you know?" said the nephew, Minhaj Khan. "He worked so hard. He was always going about his business and,...

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Jay Rockefeller, likely the last of a political dynasty

Uncle Nelson was vice president. Uncle Winthrop a governor. Great-grandfather Nelson a senator. Political bloodlines, he had. But the great American electoral dynasty that abruptly announced its end Friday, or at least signaled what looks to be a long, long pause, always evoked more. That name on the ballot — Rockefeller — meant money. It meant epic-scale success. It meant everything.And...

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Softbank to sell eAccess stakes to Samsung, others

TOKYO: Japanese telecommunications firm Softbank has decided to sell a two-thirds stake in eAccess, a smaller mobile service provider, to Samsung Electronics and 10 other companies, according to reports.Softbank, which last year signed a $20 billion takeover of US firm Sprint Nextel, is in talks with 11 possible buyers, including Ericsson and Nokia Siemens Networks as well as Japanese...

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Carnatic music: Classic collaborations work

CHENNAI: Shannon Donald, who lives in Mumbai, doesn't mind going for a Carnatic concert these days. And that's not because she grew up listening to south Indian classical music. "I love the singing style now," says the singer, who was amazed to see musician Bombay Jayashri being a picture of composure at MTV's Coke Studio a year ago. "I was a backing vocalist on the episode in which she sang with...

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Pictures: Civil War Shipwreck Revealed by Sonar

Photograph by Jesse CancelmoA fishing net, likely only decades old, drapes over machinery that once connected the Hatteras' pistons to its paddle wheels, said Delgado.From archived documents, the NOAA archaeologist learned that Blake, the ship's commander, surrendered as his ship was sinking. "It was listing to port, [or the left]," Delgado said. The Alabama took the wounded and the rest of the crew...

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CDC: Flu Outbreak Could Be Waning

The flu season appears to be waning in some parts of the country, but that doesn't mean it won't make a comeback in the next few weeks, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Five fewer states reported high flu activity levels in the first week of January than the 29 that reported high activity levels in the last week of December, according to the CDC's...

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Bibles used by King, Lincoln to be part of Obama’s second inauguration

Martin Luther King Jr. carried a black leather King James Bible on his journeys as a young pastor starting out in Montgomery, Ala. He turned to this “traveling Bible” for inspiration, his family says, as he fought for freedom and equality. President Obama will put his hand over King’s well-worn Bible at his public swearing-in at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 21, the holiday celebrating the...

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Warnings handed to China celebrities over censorship row

BEIJING: Chinese authorities handed warnings to several celebrities who voiced support for a newspaper at the centre of a censorship battle online, newspaper reports and social media posts said on Friday.Taiwanese singer Annie Yi, who works in mainland China, said on her social media account that she had been invited to "drink tea" with authorities, a common euphemism for being cautioned...

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BJP's Hindutva forces back in limelight

LUCKNOW: It was in late 1990, after the then chief minister Mulayam Singh Yadav ordered firing on unarmed Kar Sevaks leaving several dead and subsequently leading to Hindu outrage across the state that Kalyan Singh came up as a prominent discovery on Hindutva front. It was Bharatiya Janata Party's pan-Hindu outreach initiative which led Singh, belonging to the backward caste of Lodhs, ride the crest...

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Google and Twitter Help Track Influenza Outbreaks

This flu season could be the longest and worst in years. So far 18 children have died from flu-related symptoms, and 2,257 people have been hospitalized. Yesterday Boston Mayor Thomas Menino declared a citywide public health emergency, with roughly 700 confirmed flu cases—ten times the number the city saw last year."It arrived five weeks early, and it's shaping up to be a pretty bad...

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Judge: Holmes Can Face Trial for Aurora Shooting

Jan 10, 2013 8:45pm (Arapahoe County Sheriff/AP Photo)In a ruling that comes as little surprise, the judge overseeing the Aurora, Colo., theater massacre has ordered that there is enough evidence against James Holmes to proceed to a trial.In an order posted late Thursday, Judge William Sylvester wrote that “the People have carried their burden of proof and have established...

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Bibles used by King, Lincoln to be part of Obama’s second inauguration

Martin Luther King Jr. carried a black leather King James Bible on his journeys as a young pastor starting out in Montgomery, Ala. He turned to this “traveling Bible” for inspiration, his family says, as he fought for freedom and equality. President Obama will put his hand over King’s well-worn Bible at his public swearing-in at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 21, the holiday celebrating the...

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'Twilight' finale tops anti-Oscar Razzies shortlist

LOS ANGELES: The last installment of the blockbuster "Twilight" franchise has won the dubious honor of being nominated in every category for Hollywood's anti-Oscar Razzie awards."Twilight: Breaking Dawn - Part 2" topped the shortlist of the Golden Raspberries, handed out each year as an alternative to Tinseltown's annual back-slapping awards season, which moves into top gear this week.Others...

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Kin bid tearful adieu to soldier killed by Pakistan troops

MATHURA: Hundreds of villagers joined family in bidding adieu on late Wednesday evening to deceased Lance Naik Hemraj Singh, who was killed by Pakistan troops during a ceasefire violation in Jammu and Kashmir. In Singh's native village of Shernagar under Mathura district of Uttar Pradesh, scores of locals flocked to the soldier's residence to honour him. The inconsolable family of the soldier...

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Embryonic Sharks Freeze to Avoid Detection

Jane J. Lee Although shark pups are born with all the equipment they'll ever need to defend themselves and hunt down food, developing embryos still stuck in their egg cases are vulnerable to predators. But a new study finds that even these baby sharks can detect a potential predator, and play possum to avoid being eaten.Every living thing gives off a weak electrical field. Sharks can sense...

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Holmes 'Delighted' by Creepy Self-Portraits: Victims

After two days of apparent indifference, accused Aurora shooter James Holmessmiled and smirked at disturbing self-portraits and images of weapons shown in court today, according to the families of victims who watched him."When he sees himself, he gets very excited and his eyes crinkle," Caren Teves said outside of the courthouse, after the hearing. "Your eyes are the window...

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GAO calls on Postal Service to prefund retiree benefits

U.S. Postal Service officials and postal unions have long pushed Congress to relieve the agency of its obligation to prefund retiree health benefits. It’s a burden other agencies don’t share and one that officials say the Postal Service can’t afford. Defaults on prefunding payments total $11.1 billion. But not everyone agrees that removing or substantially reducing the prefunding requirement...

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Malaysian manhunt on as escape drama spices up

KUALA LUMPUR: Seven Malaysians who escaped police custody this week did so by temporarily blinding a guard with chilli powder hidden in one of the escapee's underpants, police and press reports said Wednesday.The escape Monday of the seven men -- whom police have called "dangerous criminals" -- has prompted a large-scale manhunt in the northern Malaysian state of Penang.But the seven escapees...

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Guns fall silent on LoC

JAMMU: The Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir was calm on Wednesday morning after overnight clashes between Indian and Pakistan troops, military officials said.Pakistani guns fell silent in Krishnaghati sector in Poonch district, even as the Indian Army stepped up vigil all along the ​Line of Control (LoC) after Pakistani troops entered Indian territory and killed two Indian soldiers Tuesday.On...

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Pictures: Wildfires Scorch Australia Amid Record Heat

Photograph by Jo Giuliani, European Pressphoto AgencySmoke from a wildfire mushrooms over a beach in Forcett, Tasmania, on January 4. (See more wildfire pictures.)Wildfires have engulfed southeastern Australia, including the island state of Tasmania, in recent days, fueled by dry conditions and temperatures as high as 113ºF (45ºC), the Associated Press reported. (Read "Australia's Dry Run" inNational...

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Holmes Played Childish Games After Aurora Carnage

As police confronted the movie theater carnage and a massive booby trap left behind by accused Aurora gunman James Holmes, the suspect loopily played with hand puppets, tried to stick a metal staple in an electrical socket and clamly flipped a styrofoam cup, according to court testimony today.Holmes, 25, displayed the bizarre behavior once he was in custody and taken to Aurora...

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Obama’s failure to nominate women for two top Cabinet posts questioned

President Obama brought his top Pentagon and Central Intelligence Agency chiefs together Monday with their potential replacements, and some critics noticed one thing that stood out: Each of them was a white man. Obama, who made women’s issues a core of his reelection bid, has nominated men to serve in three of his most prominent national security positions, including secretary of state,...

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Private newspapers in Myanmar gearing up for the daily grind

YANGON: Private newspapers in Myanmar are gearing up to publish dailies for the first time, after authorities indicated they would begin issuing such licences in April.Currently, only state-owned newspapers are allowed to publish dailies -- private ones are restricted to weeklies.But observers caution that the still under-developed Myanmar economy might prove a challenge for private dailies.There...

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Jharkhand cabinet recommends dissolution of assembly

RANCHI: The Jharkhand cabinet on Tuesday recommended the dissolution of the state assembly a day after Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) withdrew its support to the BJP-led government, said an official.The cabinet meeting was attended by ministers from the BJP, All Jharkhand Students Union and Janata Dal-United. JMM ministers did not attend the meeting, said the official in the chief minister's office.The...

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Primitive and Peculiar Mammal May Be Hiding Out in Australia

It’d be hard to think of a mammal that’s weirder than the long-beaked, egg-laying echidna. Or harder to find.Scientists long thought the animal, which has a spine-covered body, a four-headed penis, and a single hole for reproducing, laying eggs, and excreting waste, lived only in New Guinea. The population of about 10,000 is critically endangered. Now there is tantalizing evidence that...

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Meet Obama's Defense Secretary Nominee

President Obama nominated former Senator Chuck Hagel as the next U.S. secretary of defense. To those who haven't followed the Senate closely in the past decade, he's probably not a household name.Hagel is a former GOP senator from Nebraska and Purple-Heart-decorated Vietnam veteran, but he wouldn't necessarily be a popular pick with Republicans in Congress.At age 21, Hagel and...

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Historic inauguration on MLK holiday means federal workers lose a quadrennial holiday

Inauguration Day normally entails an extra paid holiday for federal workers in the Washington area, but no such luck applies this year. That’s because the public swearing-in ceremony coincides with another federal holiday — the Jan. 21 observance of the birthday of Martin Luther King Jr. That means the historic event — the first African American president taking the oath of office on a...

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Japan says China ships off disputed isles

TOKYO: Four Chinese government ships entered territorial waters around Japan-controlled islands at the centre of a dispute Monday, the Japanese coastguard said.The four marine surveillance ships were seen moving within 12 nautical miles of the islands, known as the Senkakus in Japan and the Diaoyus in China, just before midday, the coastguard said in a statement.It was the first time since...

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Pak soldier killed, India says fired in retaliation

SRINAGAR: Pakistani troops violated ceasefire on Sunday by firing mortar shells towards Indian army posts at Hajipir area in Uri sector near the Line of Control. "They started firing mortar shells towards our posts in Uri sector around 3.15am," an army spokesman said. He said that some shells landed close to civilian habitation though no damage was done. The spokesman added that Indian troops responded...

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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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