Artur Davis considers bid for Virginia Senate or Congress

RICHMOND — Former congressman Artur Davis, who represented Alabama as a Democrat before moving to Virginia and the Republican Party, is considering a bid for the Virginia state senate or Congress, according to three Republicans with knowledge of his thinking. Davis has met with a Virginia campaign consultant and several operatives to assess the viability of running for state Senate in...

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Sailing: Olympic sailing champion visits Singapore

SINGAPORE: Xu Lijia, the 25 year old who became the first Chinese to win a gold medal in the dinghy class after finishing first in the laser radial class at the 2012 London Olympics, is in town.The Chinese athlete shared her experiences with local sailors at a talk, which attracted 500 participants. The talk also saw the launch of the Character Development Through Sailing programme.The...

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Swine flu pandemic infected at least one in five Indians: Study

LONDON: The 2009 global H5N1 swine flu pandemic - the first in over 41 years that swept throughout the globe in record time -- infected at least one in five Indians with the highest rates of infection being among children. A joint Imperial College, London, and the World Health Organization global study released on Saturday found that 47% of those aged five to 19 showed signs of having caught the...

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Anonymous Hijacks Federal Website Over Reddit Co-Founder's Suicide

Jan 26, 2013 12:27pm (AP Photo)Activists from the hacker collective known as Anonymous assumed control over the homepage of a federal judicial agency this morning.In a manifesto left on the defaced page, the group demanded reform to the American justice system and what the activists said are threats to the free flow of information.The lengthy essay largely mirrors...

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Pictures: The Story Behind Sun Dogs, Penitent Ice, and More

Photograph by Art Wolfe, Getty ImagesIf you want the beauty of winter without having to brave the bone-chilling temperatures blasting much of the United States this week, snuggle into a soft blanket, grab a warm beverage, and curl up with some of these natural frozen wonders. Nieve penitente, or penitent snow, are collections of spires that resemble robed monks—or penitents. They are flattened columns...

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Update: Obama claim on background checks moved from ‘verdict pending' to 2 Pinocchios

(Larry Downing/Reuters) “The law already requires licensed gun dealers to run background checks, and over the last 14 years that’s kept 1.5 million of the wrong people from getting their hands on a gun. But it’s hard to enforce that law when as many as 40 percent of all gun purchases are conducted without a background check.” — President Obama, remarks on gun violence, Jan. 16,...

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Polling Day commences for 31,600 voters in Punggol East

SINGAPORE: Punggol East residents will head to the polls on Friday, Polling Day, as Singapore marks its second by-election in eight months.Some 31,600 voters in Singapore and 59 voters overseas will cast their votes in a four-cornered fight for the single member constituency (SMC).The Punggol East single member seat fell vacant in December 2012 when former Speaker of Parliament and MP...

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Jaipur Literature Festival shifts focus to cinema on second day

JAIPUR: The debate shifted from literature to cinema on the second day of the Jaipur Literature Festival on Friday. Actor Shabana Azmi questioned the portrayal of women in films in a session on the subject. She called for a need for heroines to ''make an informed choice'' about the roles they play and the way they are portrayed. ''My problem is that the commoditization of women is, very often,...

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5 Amazing Animal Navigators

A house cat named Holly, which made news this week for trekking nearly 200 miles (320 kilometers) back to her hometown, isn't the only supernavigator in the animal kingdom."Any animal that comes back to the right place after a long travel, or comes back to the same place again and again following a major movement, is amazing," said Martin Wikelski, a migration expert at the Max Planck...

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White House Makeover: McDonough to Chief of Staff

Jan 25, 2013 10:15am Orlando Sierra/AFP/Getty ImagesBy ANN COMPTON and MARY BRUCEPresident Obama is giving his West Wing team an extreme make-over for the second term, with the departure of top strategist David Plouffe and the naming of Deputy National Security Adviser Denis McDonough to be his next chief of staff.Once again, the President is keeping...

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Oil prices rise on strong economic indicators

NEW YORK: Oil prices jumped Thursday on greater economic optimism following strong economic indicators in the US, China and Europe.A barrel of US benchmark West Texas Intermediate futures for delivery in March settled at US$95.95 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, up 72 cents.In London, Brent North Sea crude for March delivery ended at US$113.28 a barrel, up 48 cents from Wednesday."The...

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Moral and secular ethics go beyond religious belief: Dalai Lama

JAIPUR: The Dalai Lama on Thursday called for adopting moral and secular ethics, which go beyond the religious belief. The Tibetan spiritual leader told a gathering on the opening day of the Jaipur Literature Festival that one might be a believer or a non-believer, but secular and moral ethics were very important. He was in conversation with Pico Iyer in a session titled 'Kinships of Faiths: Finding...

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US oil price slumps after pipeline cutback

NEW YORK: US crude oil prices closed sharply lower Wednesday, dragged down by news that a key pipeline had cut capacity due to a bottleneck.New York's main contract, West Texas Intermediate, for delivery in March, tumbled US$1.45 from Tuesday's close to settle at US$95.23 a barrel.In London trade, meanwhile, Brent North Sea crude for delivery in March settled at US$112.80 a barrel, an...

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Aam aadmi asked to pick up tab for overhaul in emergency response system

NEW DELHI: Justice J S Verma Committee has recommended largescale changes in the government's emergency response system, but has put its financial burden on aam aadmi's pocket.Calling into question the government's habit of announcing a new helpline every time some untoward incident happens, the Committee has recommended setting up of one central emergency response (ER) number for all exigencies,...

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Pentagon to Allow Women in Combat

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta will lift a long-standing ban on women serving in combat, according to senior defense officials. The ensuing administrative process could mean women will serve in front line combat roles, but not until 2016.The move, first reported by the Associated Press, was not expected this week, although there has been a concerted effort by the Obama administration...

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10 Ways Obama Could Fight Climate Change

One of the biggest surprises of President Barack Obama's inaugural address on Monday was how much he focused on fighting climate change, spending more time on that issue than any other."We will respond to the threat of climate change, knowing that the failure to do so would betray our children and future generations," Obama said.The President pointed out that recent severe weather supplied...

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White House gives grudging welcome to debt limit plan

WASHINGTON: The White House said Tuesday that President Barack Obama would not block a Republican plan to extend government borrowing authority by three months but would prefer a longer term debt ceiling hike.Defusing a showdown with Obama, Republican House leaders are ready to permit the government to borrow more money to meet its obligations until May 18, despite earlier demands that...

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Republic Day tableau calls disabled ‘powerless’

NEW DELHI: It's supposed to empower the disabled, but if the newly formed department of disability affairs has its way, it would call itself the 'department of the powerless'. At least that's the name it has given itself in Hindi — nishaktata karya vibhag. Now, to the anger of activists, even a tableau for people with disabilities that will be part of this year's Republic Day parade has the same...

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Armed Fight Led to College Lockdown Scare

A fight at a Houston college campus today resulted in a shooting that left three people injured and two others in custody, officials said.Shots were fired on campus of the Lone Star College shortly shortly after 12:30 p.m. CT, causing the campus to go into lock down and some students to be evacuated, according to police.Three people were injured in the gunfire, which police...

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Space Pictures This Week: Solar Tantrum, Petroglyphs at Night

Photograph by Tony Rowell, Your ShotThis image of Native American petroglyphs, or rock art, shot against the Milky Way, was taken in California's eastern Sierra Nevada on January 14.Petroglyphs—one of many forms of rock art—are created by scraping, rubbing, or chiseling designs into the patina coating desert rocks. Depending on the conditions surrounding a piece of rock art, these designs can endure...

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Syria car bomb kills 30, separate blast rocks capital

DAMASCUS: A suicide car bombing in central Syria killed at least 30 people on Monday, a watchdog said, also reporting a powerful blast in Damascus, as the Arab League said UN efforts to end the conflict had failed to bring even a "glimmer" of hope.The United Nations said it would conduct a major humanitarian operation in the war-torn country, with its mission to Syria describing the need...

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Live Updates: Obamas Watch Inaugural Parade

Four years and one day after President Obama first took his first oath of office, America is once again celebrating his Inauguration. This time the schedule includes performances by Beyonce and Katy Perry, a parade with more than 2,000 members of the military and two Inaugural balls.Refresh here for updates throughout the day.Tune in to the ABC News.com Live page on Monday morning starting at...

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