14 Pygmy Elephants Die Mysteriously in Borneo

Fourteen endangered Borneo pygmy elephants have recently been found dead in a Malaysian forest, presenting a mystery for wildlife officials and conservationists. The recent deaths highlight the vulnerable status of the species, which now numbers about 1,500 animals. Scientists don't know how many pygmy elephants previously existed on the island, although it's likely the population wasn't...

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Arias' Ex-Boyfriend Kept Affair Secret

Accused murderer Jodi Arias was kept away from the Mormon friends of her lover Travis Alexander and their torrid sex affair was kept secret by Alexander, even as he sent lewd photos of himself to her online, according to court testimony today.The testimony in Arias' trial for killing Alexander in 2008 was intended to bolster the defense's argument that she killed him in self...

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Departing Kerry warns senators of crippling gridlock

WASHINGTON: US Senator John Kerry offered some tough love Wednesday to the colleagues he leaves behind to become secretary of state: end the fierce partisanship or risk the nation's reputation as a beacon of democracy.Kerry, whose confirmation as President Barack Obama's choice to replace Hillary Clinton as chief US diplomat sailed through the Senate a day earlier, said lawmakers needed...

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Panel asks oil, defence ministries to resolve differences in a month

NEW DELHI: The Cabinet's panel for promoting investment by cutting red tape on Wednesday asked the oil and defence ministries to resolve within a month their differences over allowing oil hunt in 47 blocks and seek fresh approval. At its first meeting after being formed, the Cabinet committee on investment failed to break the deadlock over objections and reservations raised by the defence ministry...

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6 Bizarre Animal Smuggling Busts

Officers in Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi International Airport recently discovered 11 live otters in a piece of unclaimed luggage left at the oversized baggage area.The six smooth-coated otters (Lutrogale perspicillata)—Southeast Asia's largest otter—and five oriental small-clawed otters (Aonyx cinerea), the world's smallest otters at less than 11 pounds (five kilograms), are under threat in...

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Arias Trial Shocked by Slashed Throat Photo

The courtroom at the Jodi Arias murder trial was shocked -- and Arias began sobbing -- when the prosecutor stunned them by suddenly flashing a photograph of Arias' ex-boyfriend Travis Alexander with his throat slashed open.Alexander's sisters and friends burst into tears and one ran out of the courtroom when prosecutor Juan Martinez held up the grisly picture of Alexander with...

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NRA chief: Gun owners will resist new laws

The nation’s gun owners will resist any attempt by lawmakers to pass new gun-control legislation, one of the nation’s leading gun advocates is expected to tell lawmakers Wednesday. Wayne LaPierre, executive director of the National Rifle Association, is one of five witnesses scheduled to testify Wednesday at the first Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on gun-related violence in 14 months....

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Erectile dysfunction signals heart troubles: study

WASHINGTON: Erectile dysfunction might signal more than a need for the little purple pill, researchers said Tuesday in a study showing a link with heart disease and early death.The Australian study -- the world's largest investigating links between erection problems and heart disease -- suggested erection problems could act as a warning sign of more serious health issues."The risks of...

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Army rejects bid to raise new units based on caste or religion

NEW DELHI: The Army has once again strongly rejected calls for raising new "single-class" units like the Gujarat, Kalinga, Dalit, Ahir, Paswan or Tribal regiments as well as attempts to tinker with its "time-tested" regimental system."The policy since Independence is not to raise any new regiment on the basis of a particular class, creed, community, religion or region but to have a force in which...

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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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