Andhra Pradesh CM’s busy day in Delhi triggers Telangana rumours

NEW DELHI: A flurry of meetings that chief minister Kiran Kumar Reddy had with top Congress leaders here on Monday once again triggered speculations that the UPA government is keen on an early solution to the Telangana issue. While Kiran Kumar avoided the media after the meetings, sources claimed that apart from the separate state imbroglio, several state-related issues were discussed. The leaders...

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Space Pictures This Week: A Space Monkey, Printing a Moon Base

Illustration courtesy Foster and Partners/ESAThe European Space Agency (ESA) announced January 31 that it is looking into building a moon base (pictured in an artist's conception) using a technique called 3-D printing.It probably won't be as easy as whipping out a printer, hooking it to a computer, and pressing "print," but using lunar soils as the basis for actual building blocks could be a possibility."Terrestrial...

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Boy Safe, Kidnapper Dead as Ala. Standoff Ends

A week-long Alabama standoff in which a retired trucker held a 5-year-old boy hostage in an underground bunker has ended with the kidnapper dead and the child safe, according to law enforcement."FBI agents safely recovered the child who's been held hostage for nearly a week," FBI Special Agent Steve Richardson said at a news conference.The agent said negotiations with the suspect,...

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Reid details positions in gun debate

The Senate’s top Democrat offered fresh details Sunday about his position in the renewed debate over guns, as he endorsed expanding background checks on gun sales and promised to consider bans on assault-style weapons and high-capacity ammunition magazines. “Everyone acknowledges we should do something with background checks,” Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said in an interview on...

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Obama urges Boy Scouts to end gay ban

WASHINGTON: President Barack Obama said in an interview Sunday that the Boy Scouts of America should end its controversial ban on gays and lesbians when its national executive board takes up the issue next week."My attitude is that gays and lesbians should have access and opportunity the same way everybody else does in every institution and walk of life," Obama told CBS News in a pre-Super...

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Ramgopal Yadav named Rajya Sabha ethics panel chairman

NEW DELHI: Veteran Karan Singh has paved way for Samajwadi Party leader Ramgopal Yadav as chairman of the ethics committee in Rajya Sabha, marking the growing bond between Congress and the UP outfit that has bailed out the Centre at critical junctures. The chairmanship of a key Rajya Sabha panel, that commands respect on bipartisan lines, is seen as the Centre's 'thank you' message to Samajwadi...

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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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Super Bowl XLVII Live Blog: Ravens Draw First Blood

6:55  p.m. ET: And to the relief of 49ers fans, David Akers field goal attempt is good. 7-3 Ravens.6:54  p.m. ET: Kaepernick sacked. 49ers going for field goal.6:53  p.m. ET: Davis out and being worked on by trainers. Second and goal, incomplete in the end zone, off of Crabtree’s hands.6:52  p.m. ET: Vernon Davis, a super speedy tight end, with another first down...

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In immigration debate, same-sex marriage comes to the fore

In his final legislative act as a senator, Secretary of State John F. Kerry sought to resolve an international dilemma. He filed Senate Bill 48, seeking “permanent resident status for Genesio Januario Oliveira,” a gay Brazilian national facing deportation because he does not qualify for a spousal visa. Now, President Obama is aiming to grant same-sex couples like Oliveira and his American...

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Football: Ronaldo's own goal condemns Real Madrid to defeat

MADRID: Real Madrid's dismal season went from bad to worse when Cristiano Ronaldo scored an own goal to hand relegation-threatened Granada a shock 1-0 win on Saturday.Real coach Jose Mourinho announced he had already given up winning the league before Christmas and this latest blow means that Barcelona can increase their lead over them to 18 points if they win away to Valencia on Sunday.There...

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