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...

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Spain's ETA ready to disband if certain conditions met

MADRID: Spain's armed Basque separatist group ETA said Saturday it was ready to discuss disbanding and to negotiate with France and Spain if certain conditions are met, in a statement published on a Basque news site.The group, which last year said it had abandoned violence after a four-decade campaign for an independent homeland that claimed more than 800 lives, said one outstanding issue...

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Kejriwal names party after aam admi, mocks Congress

NEW DELHI: With ambitious plans of systemic change while outfitting themselves as an alternative to "corrupt" political establishment, Arvind Kejriwal and Prashant Bhushan on Saturday launched themselves as a political party, calling it the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). Although unveiled in the modest setting of a press conference, the AAP aims high, promising empowerment of the common man, decentralization...

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'Honey Trap' Professor Convicted of Drug Smuggling

A court in Argentina has convicted an Oxford educated University of North Carolina professor of attempting to smuggle four pounds of cocaine into the United States.Paul Frampton, a 68-year-old esteemed professor of physics and astronomy, says he thought he was flying to South America to meet with a bikini model but ended up getting caught in what they call a "honey trap."Frampton...

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Frenzied US shoppers swarm stores on Black Friday

NEW YORK: Frenzied shoppers across the United States joined the Black Friday rush for bargains, the kick-off to the crucial holiday shopping season being closely watched amid a lackluster economy.Television images showed berserk buyers charging through doors as stores opened up for Black Friday sales on the day after the Thanksgiving holiday.Some stores opened at midnight, while others...

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India tests missile shield, DRDO says it will be operational by 2014

NEW DELHI: There were some big fireworks over the Bay of Bengal on Friday afternoon when India tested its experimental ballistic missile defence (BMD) system to intercept two "incoming hostile" missiles with interceptor missiles. Elated with the "bang-on accurate" test, the seventh time the BMD system has been tested successfully over the last six years, the Defence Research and Development Organization...

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Black Friday Frenzy Brings Fights, Injuries

Two people were shot outside a Walmart in Florida today, one of a rash of fights, robberies and other incidents that have cropped up on one of the most ballyhooed shopping days of the year.The shooting took place at Walmart in Tallahasse about 12:30 p.m., said Dave Northway, public information officer for the Tallahassee Police Department.He said a scuffle outside the store...

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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...

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Homeless Arlington veteran finally settles into home after advocates’ year-long efforts

Ernie Maas could not help choking up as he took his first look around his new home Wednesday afternoon, a simple one-bedroom, federally subsidized apartment on North Glebe Road in Arlington County. Maas, 61, who served in the Navy for seven years during and after the Vietnam War, has been homeless for about two years, living much of that time under a bridge on Four Mile Run in Arlington....

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Police storm Japanese bank, arrest hostage-taker

TOKYO: Japanese police said Friday they had stormed a bank and arrested a man who took five people hostage, with local media reporting he had demanded Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda's cabinet resign.In a televised news conference, a police spokesman said the hostage-taker, identified as Koji Nagakubo, was arrested on suspicion of taking the five captive.The hostages, including one released...

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Railways looks to run Delhi-Mumbai trains at 200 kmph

NEW DELHI: Much before bullet trains become a reality, travel time between Delhi and Mumbai is likely to reduce substantially with railways planning to launch semi-high speed trains with a top speed of 200 kmph. A railway official said a study to identify the need to strengthen the infrastructure for this service was nearing completion and work would start soon. The services could start by 2017."A...

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2 Dead, 50 to Hospital After 100-Car Pileup

At least two people died and nearly 50 were transported to the hospital after a 100-car pileup in Texas today, according to ABC affiliate KBMT-TV.A man and a woman died from their injuries, KBMT reported. Their names were not immediately available. Arkansas Girl, 6, Found Dead Inside Vacant House Watch Video Surprise...

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Probe eyes Petraeus staff’s possible role in Broadwell obtaining sensitive documents

A federal investigation into how David H. Petraeus’s biographer and girlfriend obtained numerous classified records is focusing on whether the retired general’s staff gave her sensitive documents at his instruction, according to federal officials familiar with the probe. Petraeus aides and other high-ranking military officials were often tasked by Petraeus and other top commanders to provide...

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Football: Real Madrid send Man City to another early exit

MANCHESTER, United Kingdom: Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho marked his 100th Champions League game with a 1-1 draw at Manchester City on Wednesday that sent his side into the last 16 at City's expense.City had to win to stand any chance of going through, so although Sergio Aguero's 73rd-minute penalty cancelled out Karim Benzema's early opener, the hosts went out in the group phase for...

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SC's 'one in a million tag' helped swift rejection of Kasab's clemency plea

NEW DELHI: The government did not waste much time in recommending to the President that Ajmal Kasab's clemency plea be rejected as the Supreme Court had said three months ago that if death sentence was to be imposed only in "one in a million case", then this was the one which deserved capital punishment.The court, upholding the decision of the trial court which was affirmed by the Bombay High Court,...

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Rockets Fall Silent in Israel-Hamas Cease-Fire

The rockets and missiles fell silent over Gaza for the first time in eight days today, but gunfire erupted in the crowded streets of the Palestinian enclave to celebrate the announcement of a ceasefire in the bloody conflict between Israel and Hamas.The two sides fired final salvos at one another up until the final moments before the 2 p.m. ET cease-fire deadline. At least one...

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Giant Planet Being Blown Away Behind a Cloudy Veil

A star is slowly snuffing the life out of an alien planet. But in a macabre twist, material stripped out of the dying world's atmosphere has become a death shroud enveloping the gas giant and its star.First discovered in 2008, WASP-12b is a so-called hot Jupiter—a gas giant planet orbiting extremely close to its parent star.Located 1,100 light-years away, WASP-12b hugs its star so tightly...

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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...

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Oil prices fall amid hopes for Mideast truce

NEW YORK: Oil prices slumped Tuesday on fresh economic strains in Europe and amid expectations -- still unfulfilled late in the day -- of a cease-fire between Israel and Gaza.New York's main contract, WTI light sweet crude for delivery in January, slid $2.53 from Monday to $86.75 a barrel.Brent North Sea crude for January shed $1.87 to $109.83 a barrel in London trade."Rumors abound today...

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NDA wants vote on FDI in retail in House

NEW DELHI: The BJP-led National Democratic Alliance on Tuesday decided to focus on moving a motion in Parliament under a voting provision to oppose FDI in multi-brand retail, leaving Trinamool Congress leader Mamata Banerjee isolated over her no-trust vote proposal.Banerjee was on the brink of a major embarrassment as NDA joined the Left in formally indicating that it finds opposing the government...

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Hopes Rise for Gaza Ceasefire

Hopes for a ceasefire between between Israel and Islamic militants in Gaza rose today as Hamas declared that a ceasefire would be announced and Israel indicated that a deal was possible.Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri told ABC News the news would be announced at a press conference in Cairo where Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi has been trying to broker an end to the fighting.An...

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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...

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US stocks surge on fiscal cliff hopes, housing data

NEW YORK: US stocks surged Monday on upbeat housing data and hopes that politicians will find a way to avoid the so-called "fiscal cliff" of automatic tax hikes and spending cuts in January.The jump was underpinned by Apple, the most valuable public company, which took a 7.2 per cent bounce to $565.73, following weeks of losses.The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained a hefty 207.65 points...

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Ensure justice to Sikhs: Parkash Singh Badal to Manmohan Singh

CHANDIGARH: Punjab chief minister Parkash Singh Badal on Monday asked Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to direct the Delhi government to get the process of DSGMC polls completed by December-end this year, the deadline fixed by the Supreme Court. "I have already taken up the matter of DSGMC polls with the PM and hope he will ensure justice to Sikhs," he said. Badal asked the PM to direct the Delhi...

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Israeli Airstrike Kills Top Islamic Jihad Commander

An Israeli strike on a Gaza City high-rise today has killed one of the top militant leaders of Islamic Jihad, the Palestinian militant group said.The second strike in two days on the downtown Gaza City building that houses the Hamas TV station, Al Aqsa, has killed Ramez Harb, who is a leading figure in Al Quds Brigades militant wing, according to a text message Islamic Jihad...

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

The tide may be turning for the rare species 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 abingdoni...

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Future for Republicans is not so bad

It’s not a good time to be a Republican. The circular firing squad — it was Mitt Romney’s fault! Demographics did it! Conservatives messed everything up! — has begun in earnest even though the 2012 election is less than two weeks gone. Regardless of who you choose to blame — we lean toward demographics and a turnout operation that is a pale imitation of what Democrats have put in place...

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Gaza's death toll rises in Israeli air raids

GAZA CITY, Palestinian Territories: New Israeli air raids killed three people in Gaza City on Sunday, taking the death toll to 26 on the bloodiest day of Israel's bombing campaign, Hamas said.Two of the deaths came in an air strike that targeted a motorbike in the Gaza City neighbourhood of Tal al-Hawa."Two Palestinians were killed in an air strike on the Tal al-Hawa neighbourhood," Hamas...

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Officials: Israeli Strike Kills 11 Civilians in Gaza

An Israeli missile flattened a two-story house in a residential neighborhood of Gaza City on Sunday, killing at least 11 civilians, mostly women and children, Palestinian medical officials said, as Israel expanded a military offensive to target homes of wanted militants.The attack, which Israel said targeted a militant, was the single deadliest incident of the five-day-old Israeli...

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