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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