White House warns of flight delays if sequester is not averted

More than 100 air traffic control towers could be closed and travelers could expect lengthy flight delays beginning in April, the White House warned Friday in its latest bid to raise public alarm over the mandatory spending cuts set to kick in next week. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood vowed that airline security would not be compromised, but he emphasized that the Federal Aviation...

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Chavez "working" from hospital, aide says

CARACAS: Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is able to work on government issues and is "very energetic" despite being hospitalised and breathing through a tube, a top aide said Saturday.The 58-year-old president has not been seen or heard from since Monday, when he returned to Caracas from cancer surgery in Cuba."The president continues to breathe through a tracheal tube, but he is able...

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Akbaruddin Owaisi asked to appear before court on March 1

BANGALORE: A city court today directed Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen legislator Akbaruddin Owaisi to appear before it on March 1 in connection with a criminal case filed against him for alleged hate speech. Chief metropolitan magistrate Rajashekhar V Patil directed Owaisi to appear before the court on March 1 after he kept aside the application filed by him seeking exemption from appearing before...

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Space Pictures This Week: Space Rose, Ghostly Horses

Space RoseImage courtesy T.A. Rector and H. Schweiker, UAA/WIYN/NOAO/NSFPlanetary nebula Sh2-174 "blooms" like a rose in a picture released this week by the National Optical Astronomy...

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Cyberattacks Bring Attention to Security Reform

Recent accusations of a large-scale cyber crime effort by the Chinese government left many wondering what immediate steps the president and Congress are taking to prevent these attacks from happening again.On Wednesday, the White House released the administration's Strategy on Mitigating the Theft of U.S. Trade Secrets as a follow-up to the president's executive order. The strategy...

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Uncertainty as Italian election campaign wraps up

ROME: Italy held its final day of campaigning on Friday ahead of crucial elections, as international investors warned an unclear outcome could shake the economy and set off shockwaves through the Eurozone.Italians will cast their ballots on Sunday and Monday as they grapple with the longest recession in two decades and austerity cuts that have caused deep resentment in the euro area's...

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Promised to return home before blast, Hyderabad cloth merchant meets death

HYDERABAD: 45-year-old cloth merchant Mohd Amanulla Khan had called up his family before the twin blasts here promising to return home soon. But he fell victim to the deadly blasts that left a total of 16 dead. Khan had called his family members around 5.30pm on Thursday to say that he is going to Dilsukhnagar for some work and that he would return home after that. As fate would have it, he never...

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Oldest Known Wild Bird Hatches Chick at 62

Wisdom, the oldest known wild bird, has yet another feather in her cap—a new chick.The Laysan albatross (Phoebastria immutabilis)—62 years old at least—recently hatched a healthy baby in the U.S. Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge, her sixth in a row and possibly the 35th of her lifetime, according to the U.S. Geological Survey's (USGS) North American Bird Banding Program. (Related:...

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Arias Challenged On Pedophilia Claim

Accused murderer Jodi Arias was challenged today by phone records, text message records, and her own diary entries that appeared to contradict her claim that she caught her ex-boyfriend, Travis Alexander, looking at pictures of naked boys.Arias had said during her testimony that one afternoon in January 2008, she walked in on Alexander masturbating to pictures of naked boys....

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Group releases list of 90 medical ‘don’ts’

Don’t use feeding tubes in patients with advanced dementia. Don’t use drugs to aggressively treat diabetes in those older than 65. Don’t automati­cally use imaging technology for minor head injuries in children and headaches in adults. And don’t give antacids to babies with reflux. Those are among the 90 medical “don’ts” on a list being released Thursday by a coalition of doctor and consumer...

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India strike paralyses banks, offices for second day

NEW DELHI: India's public-sector banks and many government offices were shut Thursday on the second day of a general strike called to protest against the government's planned pro-market reforms.Eleven unions called the strike in protest against the measures which they condemn as "anti-poor" and likely to cost jobs and raise prices.While the impact of the stoppage was patchy and felt mainly...

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Afzal, Sri Lanka protests mar President's address

NEW DELHI: Protests over the hanging of Afzal Guru and alleged war crimes in Sri Lanka marred President Pranab Mukherjee's speech in parliament Thursday. As Mukherjee was speaking at the start of the budget session, G.N. Ratanpuri of the National Conference got up and raised the issue of Afzal Guru's hanging here Feb 9. Meanwhile, members of the DMK, AIADMK and MDMK shouted that India should vote...

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Arias Leaves Stand After Describing Killing, Her Lies

Jodi Arias stepped down from the witness stand today after mounting an emotional effort to save herself from death row, insisting to the Arizona jury that an explosive fight with ex-boyfriend Travis Alexander led to his death, and that her lies about killing him masked deep regret and plans to commit suicide.Arias, 32, will now face what is expected to be a withering cross-examination...

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Embattled Sony announces another asset sale

TOKYO: Sony said Wednesday it would book a US$1.2 billion gain from selling part of an online medical services unit, the Japanese electronics giant's latest asset sale as it eyes a full-year profit.The firm has announced a massive corporate overhaul that includes thousands of job cuts and the sale of a chemical division and its US headquarters in Manhattan.It is also investing in Olympus...

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BJP leader fails to get US nod for Modi

WASHINGTON: Bureaucrat-turned-politician K J Alphons, who tried to convince US lawmakers to revoke visa restrictions on Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi, has failed to receive any firm commitment on the issue. However, he exuded confidence that the US may change its stand soon. A national executive member of the BJP, Alphons primarily came to the US to attend the Annual Prayer Breakfast with...

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Florida Python Hunt Captures 68 Invasive Snakes

It's a wrap—the 2013 Python Challenge has nabbed 68 invasive Burmese pythons in Florida, organizers say. And experts are surprised so many of the elusive giants were caught.Nearly 1,600 people from 38 states—most of them inexperienced hunters—registered for the chance to track down one of the animals, many of which descend from snakes that either escaped or were dumped into the wild.Since...

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Former Navy SEAL on Coming Out of Shadows

It used to be that Navy SEALs didn't just operate in the shadows. They trained in them too. Their whole story stayed shrouded in mystery. Their secret missions stayed secret to the rest of us.But when they got Osama Bin Laden, snatched back an American cargo ship taken by pirates and rescued two air workers held hostage in Somalia, then suddenly, it seemed that SEALs were headline-makers.Add...

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Rand Paul’s misleading budget cuts

(James Crisp/AP) “Where would we cut spending? Let’s start with ending all foreign aid to countries that are burning our flag and chanting ‘Death to America.’ In addition, the president could begin by stopping selling or giving F-16s and Abrams tanks to Islamic radicals in Egypt.”— Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), in the tea party response to the State of the Union speech, Feb. 12, 2013 We...

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Asian markets fall, Japan weighed by strong yen

HONG KONG: Asian markets were mostly lower on Tuesday as Tokyo slipped following an uptick in the yen while Chinese shares fell on fears Beijing may act to rein in soaring property prices.With US markets closed for the Presidents' Day public holiday, there were no drivers from New York.Tokyo's benchmark Nikkei 225 slipped 0.31 percent to end at 11,372.34 on profit-taking and as the yen...

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India, UK to start negotiations on civil nuclear pact

NEW DELHI: Adding a new dimension to their strategic ties, India and the UK today decided to start negotiations on a civil nuclear pact to facilitate entry of British companies into emerging atomic power sector here. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh made the announcement after delegation-level talks with visiting British Prime Minister David Cameron during which both sides reviewed entire gamut...

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Confirmed: Dogs Sneak Food When People Aren't Looking

Many dog owners will swear their pups are up to something when out of view of watchful eyes. Shoes go missing, couches have mysterious teeth marks, and food disappears. They seem to disregard the word "no."Now, a new study suggests dogs might understand people even better than we thought. (Related: "Animal Minds.")The research shows that domestic dogs, when told not to snatch a piece of...

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Russian Meteor: Close Encounter, Preventing Impacts

Feb 18, 2013 7:03pm MOSCOW — As if Friday’s massive meteor explosion over central Russia weren’t enough, just hours later a large asteroid buzzed dangerously close to Earth.And that evening, the California sky was lit up by a fireball, apparently entering Earth’s atmosphere.It’s a barrage from space that has people asking: Are we ready for the big one?Nearly 100...

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Congressional staffers often travel on tabs of foreign governments

About a dozen congressional staffers flew business class on a trip to China last summer and stayed at luxury hotels while touring the Great Wall and the Forbidden City and receiving a “briefing on ancient artifacts and dynasties” at the Shanghai Museum. The all-expenses-paid visit came courtesy of China. The Chinese government hosted a day of meetings with officials in Beijing followed...

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