Obama’s pick for CIA could affect drone program

President Obama began his first term with a dramatic change of course for the CIA, issuing orders on his second day in office to close the agency’s secret prisons and ban harsh interrogation techniques. As Obama approaches a second term with an unexpected opening for CIA director, agency officials are watching to see whether the president’s pick signals even a modest adjustment in the...

Read More..

British PM "open-minded" on press regulation

LONDON: British Prime Minister David Cameron is keeping an open mind about the regulation of the press, his office insisted Saturday, after a newspaper report claimed he would reject full-blown state regulation.British newspapers are nervously awaiting the publication on Thursday of the first results from an extensive judge-led inquiry into press standards which could result in tougher...

Read More..

Assam's ethnic violence: Relief camps are empty but people are not back home

KOKRAJHAR (ASSAM): The food is running out, children are falling ill, her only saree is fraying, and so is her spirit, rambles Zohra bewa, or Zohra the widow, as she introduces herself, stepping out of her makeshift home - a blue tarpaulin sheet propped up by bamboos. Displaced on July 24, when her home in Sapkata village was burned down, the middle-aged woman and her children joined the human tide...

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..

Polls offer little guidance for politicians tackling ‘fiscal cliff’

Politicians tasked with negotiating a deal next month to avoid the “fiscal cliff” can be thankful that their talks are taking place immediately after a clarifying national election that laid out exactly how the public wants Washington to deal with debt and deficits. Or n...

Read More..

Water Polo: Shock win for S'pore at Asian Swimming Championships

SINGAPORE: A bronze medal-finish from the 1986 Asian Games remains the most recent international result of note for the Singapore men's water polo team.But that may soon be bettered.This is because the Republic are on course to reach the semi-finals at the 9th Asian Swimming Championships in Dubai after skipper Eugene Teo's (picture) hat-trick propelled them to a shock 8-7 win over Asian...

Read More..

David Headley shadow over resumption of cricketing ties with Pakistan

NEW DELHI: The government on Thursday sounded a word of caution about the resumption of cricket ties with Pakistan saying that one of the main 26/11 accused, David Coleman Headley, had entered India on the pretext of watching matches. Minister of state for external affairs E Ahmed said the issue of visas to Pakistani nationals coming to India to watch cricket matches at various venues will be in...

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..

2 Dead, Dozens to Hospital After 100-Car Pileup

At least two people died and more than 80 were injured after a 100-plus car pileup in Texas today, according the Department of Public Safety.A man and a woman died from their injuries, ABC News affiliate KBMT-TV reported. Their names were not immediately available.The DPS said it won't know the exact number of cars involved in the pileup until officials finish untangling the...

Read More..

Blazing a legal trail to help improve health care

Ariane Tschumi has spent more than a year in government as a Presidential Management Fellow (PMF), taking on challenging assignments at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) designed to develop her leadership skills and give her a window into how government operates. She has worked alongside health-care experts designing model programs intended to better health care and lower...

Read More..

Football: Galatasaray end United's unbeaten run

ISTANBUL: Galatasaray ended Manchester United's perfect start to this season's Champions League with a 1-0 victory in Group H in Istanbul on Tuesday.Burak Yilmaz scored the only goal of the game at the Turk Telekom Arena when he headed in a corner in the 54th minute to take the hosts to the brink of qualification for the knockout stagesBut with United already through to the second phase,...

Read More..

Cyclists set out for green GDP

SILIGURI: A group of environmental activists set out from here on a 2,000km awareness yatra on Tuesday to press for the introduction of what they are calling gross environmental product (GEP), a measure similar to GDP for monitoring India's natural resources.The 11-member team will travel on bicycles from Siliguri in north Bengal to Dehradun in Uttarakhand, covering the distance in 40 days. They...

Read More..

Thanksgiving 2012 Myths and Facts

Before the big dinner, debunk the myths—for starters, the first "real" U.S. Thanksgiving wasn't until the 1800s—and get to the roots of Thanksgiving 2012.Thanksgiving Dinner: Recipe for Food Coma?Key to any Thanksgiving Day menu are a fat turkey and cranberry sauce.An estimated 254 million turkeys will be raised for slaughter in the U.S. during 2012, up 2 percent from 2011's total, according...

Read More..

Clinton Pledges to 'De-Escalate' Gaza Conflict

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said she would seek to "de-escalate the situation in Gaza" today during a closed-door meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Israel.Clinton, who flew to Israel today, appeared with Netanyahu ahead of their 4 p.m. ET meeting to discuss a possible ceasefire to the fighting between Israel and Islamic militants in Gaza.The meeting...

Read More..

Moody's warns on Italy's banks

WASHINGTON: Rating agency Moody's warned Monday that Italy's banks face worsening conditions over the coming year with asset quality declining, low profitability, and poor access to markets for funds.With their capital levels low and vulnerable and Italy's economy still expected to contract through next year, Moody's said, the outlook for Italian banks "remains negative" and at risk of...

Read More..

Guj Parsis being cremated as vultures dwindle

VADODARA: When Dara Hakim, 89, a former Indian Navy deep-sea diver and prominent member of Vadodara's Parsi community passed away recently, his family chose cremation for his last rites. Though he did not leave any specific instructions, his wife Roda Hakim arranged for a cremation instead of the traditional Tower of Silence. According to Zoroastrian beliefs, the best way to dispose of a body is...

Read More..

Cuba's Oil Quest to Continue, Despite Deepwater Disappointment

An unusual high-tech oil-drilling rig that's been at work off the coast of Cuba departed last week, headed for either Africa or Brazil. With it went the island nation's best hope, at least in the short term, for reaping a share of the energy treasure beneath the sea that separates it from its longtime ideological foe.For many Floridians, especially in the Cuban-American community, it was...

Read More..

Serial Killer Targeting Middle Eastern Men in NY?

New York detectives are searching for four potential witnesses to the killing of a Brooklyn shop owner, the latest in a trio of murders in which all three victims were of Middle Eastern descent and all appear to have been shot by the same .22 caliber gun.New York City Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said today that the department will ask the FBI for a profiler to help identify...

Read More..

Political comeback kids slated to take seats again in the House

Rick Nolan defeated Rep. Chip Cravaack (R-Minn.) this month by nine points, and with the full support of his wife, Mary, the 68-year-old Democrat is returning to Washington after being gone for 32 years. “I think she was tired of me getting up in the morning at 5 and watching ‘Morning Joe’ and getting upset,” Nolan said. “She wanted me to go talk about it to somebody else. She said, ‘It’s...

Read More..

Football: Australian clubs line up to lure Beckham

SYDNEY: Australian football clubs are queuing up to bring former England captain David Beckham to the country's A-League in January, despite the 37-year-old denying a deal is in the offing.Perth Glory has "put its hat in the ring" and is readying a bid, wealthy owner Tony Sage told Monday's The Australian."Signing David Beckham would be up there... the number one thing other than my decision...

Read More..

Direct recruitment to Narcotics Control Bureau causes promotion hurdle

NEW DELHI: The government's decision to grant the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) its own cadre for better functioning has ironically started hurting the agency. Two years ago, the government decided on 80:20 ratio for cadre and deputation recruitment in the country's premier anti-drug agency. Sources, however, said the rule was not thought out well and in its present form, will deprive a majority...

Read More..

Lonesome George Not the Last of His Kind, After All?

The tide may be turning for the rare subspecies of giant tortoise thought to have gone extinct when its last known member, the beloved Lonesome George, died in June.A new study by Yale University researchers reveals that DNA from George's ancestors lives on—and that more of his kind may still be alive in a remote area of Ecuador's Galápagos Islands. This isn't the first time Chelonoidis...

Read More..

Officials: Israeli Strike Kills 11 Civilians in Gaza

An Israeli missile ripped through a two-story home in a residential area of Gaza City on Sunday, killing at least 11 civilians, including four young children and an 81-year-old woman, in the single deadliest attack of Israel's offensive against Islamic militants.The bloodshed was likely to raise pressure on Israel to end the fighting, even as it pledged to intensify the offensive...

Read More..