Tennis: Del Potro reaches second Rotterdam tennis final

ROTTERDAM: Juan Martin del Potro dispatched Bulgarian youngster Grigor Dimitrov 6-4, 6-4 on Saturday to move into his second straight Rotterdam Open final.The Argentine winner, seeded second and now the top-ranked player left after Friday's shock elimination of Roger Federer by Julien Benneteau, will play either the Swiss star's conqueror or fifth seed Gilles Simon.Del Potro, who lost...

Read More..

Irish hospital's doctors failed to treat Savita Halappanavar, leaked death probe report says

LONDON: Indian dentist Savita Halappanavar died as a result of a litany of failures by hospital staff, a leaked draft of a probe report said, proving her family's claim that her death was avoidable. The report by Ireland's health ministry revealed that doctors caring for the 31-year-old dentist seriously failed to investigate, recognize and treat the infection which led to her death. Savita died...

Read More..

Picture Archive: Making Mount Rushmore, 1935-1941

Photograph from Rapid City Chamber of Commerce/National GeographicThere's no such thing as Presidents' Day.According to United States federal government code, the holiday is named Washington's Birthday, and has been since it went nationwide in 1885.But common practice is more inclusive. The holiday expanded to add in other U.S. presidents in the 1960s, and the moniker Presidents' Day became popular...

Read More..

Vatican Raises Possibility of Early March Conclave

The Vatican raised the possibility Saturday that the conclave to elect the next pope might start sooner than March 15, the earliest date possible under current rules that require a 15-20 day waiting period after the papacy becomes vacant.Vatican spokesman The Rev. Federico Lombardi said that the Vatican rules on papal succession are open to interpretation and that "this is a question...

Read More..

US Q4 industrial output stronger than thought: Fed

WASHINGTON: US industrial production fell in January but the final quarter of last year was much stronger than originally thought, the Federal Reserve reported on Friday.January's production contracted 0.1 per cent, and manufacturing output fell 0.4 per cent.But industrial production as a whole expanded at a 2.6 per cent annual pace in the October-December 2012 quarter, compared to the...

Read More..

Don't let politics come in way of development: Raj Thackeray

MUMBAI: Targeting Shiv Sena on its opposition to Jaitapur nuclear power project in Ratnagiri district, MNS president Raj Thackeray today asked the people of Konkan not to encourage petty politics obstructing the progress and development. Addressing a rally at Khed town in the coastal district, Raj said, "If the project is bad, it should be thrown out. But do not derail a project if there is opposition...

Read More..

Why We Walk … and Run … And Walk Again to Get Where We're Going

You have to get to a bus stop to catch the once-an-hour express ... or to a restaurant to meet a friend ... or to a doctor's office. You've got maybe a half a mile to cover and you're worried you'll be late. You run, then you stop and walk, then run some more.But wait. Wouldn't it be better to run the whole way?Not necessarily.A new study by an assistant professor of mechanical engineering...

Read More..

Falling Meteor Causes Blast, Injures Hundreds

A massive meteor shower slammed into Earth near the Russian city of Chelyabinsk, located about 1,000 miles east of Moscow in the Ural Mountains.Dashboard cameras captured a blinding flash of light streaking across the sky. Moments later, the fragments smashed into the ground. The impact, and the sonic boom of the meteor entering the atmosphere, shattered windows around the city...

Read More..

Postmaster takes case for five-day mail delivery to skeptical senators

Postmaster General Patrick R. Donahoe took his controversial plan for five-day mail delivery before a congressional hearing Wednesday, where he told senators that the Postal Service “needs your help.” Donahoe’s refrain was familiar. ●The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) is losing $25 million a day.●Last year, the Postal Service lost $15.9 billion.●It defaulted on $11.1 billion...

Read More..

Mumbai attack movie hits cinemas on Mar 1

MUMBAI: Memories of the Mumbai terror attacks of November 2008 still evoke fear among residents of the city.And those old wounds are expected to reopen now that a Bollywood movie about the incident is set to hit the big screens.India's financial capital came to a virtual standstill on 26 November 2008.The attacks which lasted for four days drew widespread global condemnation.The Pakistan-based...

Read More..

We are building same reactors for ourselves that we are selling to India: Hollande

NEW DELHI: From defense to cyber security, India and France are in a strategic embrace. France is building India's largest nuclear power complex at Jaitapur and has bagged the biggest fighter aircraft deal for Rafale. The new French president, Francois Hollande, on his maiden visit to India tells The Times of India in an exclusive interview that France is also becoming one of the top investors in...

Read More..

Are Honeybees Losing Their Way?

A single honeybee visits hundreds, sometimes thousands, of flowers a day in search of nectar and pollen. Then it must find its way back to the hive, navigating distances up to five miles (eight kilometers), and perform a "waggle dance" to tell the other bees where the flowers are.A new study shows that long-term exposure to a combination of certain pesticides might impair the bee's ability...

Read More..

'Blade Runner' Charged With Murdering Girlfriend

Oscar Pistorius, the Olympic and Paralympic athlete known as the "blade runner," was taken into custody in South Africa today and charged with the murder of his girlfriend, who was fatally shot at his home.Police in the South African capital of Pretoria received a call around 3 a.m. today that there had been a shooting at the home of 26-year-old Pistorius, Lt. Col. Katlego Mogale...

Read More..

Obama urges a move away from narrow focus on politics of austerity

Just about every argument in Washington since the 2010 midterm elections, which returned control of the House to Republicans, has centered on reducing the federal deficit. On Tuesday night, President Obama leaned into his second term by declaring that a single-minded focus on deficit reduction would jeopardize the nation’s future. And he sounded an urgent call to rebuild. Reelected by...

Read More..

Olympics: Wrestlers vow to fight Olympic removal

PARIS: Wrestlers around the world on Wednesday vowed to fight to save the ancient sport's Olympic status, after the International Olympic Committee voted to drop it for the 2020 Games.Japan and Turkey -- whose cities Tokyo and Istanbul are bidding to host the Games in seven years' time -- led the calls for the world body to reconsider, as an online petition was organised urging a rethink...

Read More..

Afzal Guru's family lawyers quit

NEW DELHI: Citing "unseemly controversies", ND Pancholi and Nandita Haksar Wednesday quit as the family lawyers of Afzal Guru, the parliament attack convict who was hanged here Feb 9. "There have arisen unseemly controversies and we do not wish to be part of these discussions," Pancholi and Haksar said in a statement. The duo were representing Guru's family members who have asked Tihar jail authorities...

Read More..

Obama Pledges U.S. Action on Climate, With or Without Congress

If there were anything in President Barack Obama's State of the Union to give hope to wistful environmentalists, it was the unprecedented promise to confront climate change with or without Congress, and to pursue new energy technology in the process.Following his strong statements in his inaugural address about the ripeness of the moment to address a changing climate, Obama outlined a...

Read More..

Charred Human Remains Found in Burned Cabin

Investigators have located charred human remains in the burned-out cabin where they believe suspected cop killer and ex-LAPD officer Christopher Dorner was holed up as the structure burned to the ground, police said.The human remains were found within the debris of the burned cabin and identification will be attempted through forensic means, the San Bernardino County Sheriff-Coroner...

Read More..

Tension running high in Kashmir Valley

KASHMIR VALLEY: Tension is running high in Kashmir Valley, after India's secret execution of a Kashmiri man for his involvement in an attack on parliament in 2001.A continuous curfew has been in place for four days now, as the government attempts to prevent further outbreaks of violence.The curfew has brought life to a standstill in the valley.Three people have died and at least 50 others...

Read More..

Govt shuffles key diplomatic pack

NEW DELHI: After months of administrative silence, the government has cleared key ambassadorial appointments. Ashoke Mukherji is likely to be India's next Permanent Representative (PR) to the UN, taking over from Hardeep Singh Puri, who retires in end-February after two years of steering India through a rare stint in the UN Security Council. Arun Singh is likely to take over as India's ambassador...

Read More..

What Killed Dinosaurs: New Ideas About the Wipeout

New insights about the asteroid thought to have killed off the dinosaurs suggest it may have just been the final blow, and that the reptiles were already suffering from a finicky climate prompted by volcanic eruptions long before the meteorite struck."The [asteroid] impact was the coup de grace," Paul Renne, a geologist at the University of California, Berkeley, said in a statement.The...

Read More..

Fort Hood Hero Says Obama 'Betrayed' Victims

Three years after the White House arranged a hero's welcome at the State of the Union address for the Fort Hood police sergeant and her partner who stopped the deadly shooting there, Kimberly Munley says President Obama broke the promise he made to her that the victims would be well taken care of."Betrayed is a good word," former Sgt. Munley told ABC News in a tearful interview...

Read More..

US tornadoes strike southern states, 60 injured

MIAMI: Several powerful tornadoes ripped through the southern US states of Mississippi and Alabama injuring at least 60 people and destroying hundreds of homes at the weekend, emergency officials said Monday.The city of Hattiesburg in Mississippi's Forrest County bore the brunt of the storms, with heavy rain continuing to lash the region and create a risk of flooding."Two people were critically...

Read More..

Suspend, book cops who 'detained' Gilani: Katju

NEW DELHI: Slamming the police for "detaining" journalist Iftikhar Gilani on Sunday, Press Council of India chairman Markanday Katju on Monday asked Union home secretary to charge and suspend the cops if the allegations of "high-handedness" against them were correct. In a letter to the home secretary RK Singh , Justice Katju also sought immediate institution of criminal proceedings against such officers...

Read More..

Year of the Snake: The Serpent Behind the Horoscope

On February 10, people all around the world will ring in the Lunar New Year with paper lanterns and firecrackers. At the heart of it all sits the snake, a slithery reptile feared for its sharp fangs and revered for its undeniable charm. (Watch videos of some of the world's deadliest snakes.)Those born in the Year of the Snake are said to be intelligent and quick thinking, but they can...

Read More..

Vatican Says Pope Benedict Will Resign Feb. 28

Pope Benedict XVI announced today that he will resign Feb. 28, saying his role requires "both strength of mind and body."The pope's decision makes him the first pontiff to resign in nearly 600 years. A conclave to elect a new pope will take place before the end of March. The 85-year-old pope announced the decision to resign in Latin during a meeting of Vatican cardinals.FULL...

Read More..

Three Korean doctors slain in north Nigeria: police

KANO, Nigeria: Men armed with knives slit the throats of three South Korean doctors in a pre-dawn attack Sunday in a volatile town in northeastern Nigeria in the latest in a spate of killings of foreigners in recent months, police said.The attack in Potiskum also came just two days after gunmen killed at least 10 people in horrifying attacks on two Nigerian polio clinics in a new blow...

Read More..