Patty Murray likely to be a key voice in Senate on budget deal

One of the biggest winners in the sweeping Democratic victories in Senate races this month was a woman whose name appeared on no ballot: Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.). With a low-key style that contrasts with some of the Senate’s camera hogs, Murray may be the most powerful senator a whole lot of people have never heard of outside of the two Washingtons where she lives and works....

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Less Japanese view China positively: poll

TOKYO: A Japanese government survey has found less than one in five people feel positively towards China, a record low as the countries are embroiled in a bitter territorial row, reports said Saturday.Eighteen per cent of people polled said they had a positive view of China, the lowest figure since the survey was first conducted in 1978, Jiji Press and Kyodo News agencies said.It was 8.3...

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Namdhari fired at Ponty Chadha's brother Hardeep: Police

NEW DELHI: The police on Saturday told the court that sacked Uttarakhand Minorities Commission chairman Sukhdev Singh Namdhari had fired at Ponty Chadha's brother Hardeep.Namdhari was the main conspirator in the shootout, the police said. He has been charged with attempt to murder.Namdhari has been sent to 5 days' police custody by the court in connection with the November 17 shootout case.In a...

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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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'Dallas' Star Larry Hagman Dead at 81

Larry Hagman, who emerged in the 1960s as the slightly befuddled astronaut in "I Dream of Jeannie," then became a major star in the 1980s primetime soap "Dallas," playing evil oil baron J.R. Ewing, has died. He was 81.Hagman's cause of death was due to complications related to his battle with cancer according to his family.Linda Gray, who played Hagman's on-screen wife on "Dallas"...

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Polls offer little guidance for politicians tackling ‘fiscal cliff’

Politicians tasked with negotiating a deal next month to avoid the “fiscal cliff” can be thankful that their talks are taking place immediately after a clarifying national election that laid out exactly how the public wants Washington to deal with debt and deficits. Or n...

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Singapore's Chinese TV dramas well-received in Indonesia

JAKARTA : Singapore's Chinese TV dramas are being well-received in Indonesia - a country where many people do not speak the language.More than half a million households subscribe to MediaCorp's Channel 8i, carried by Indonesia's top pay-TV operator IndoVision.That makes up almost a third of its subscriber base, which is the largest in Indonesia.Some TV stars such as Jeanette Aw and Tay...

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EC sometimes takes decisions in over-anxiety: SC

NEW DELHI: The Election Commission has done good work in recent years but sometimes it takes decisions in over-anxiety, the Supreme Court today said while referring to poll watchdog's order on cash seizure above Rs 2.5 lakh in transit ahead of Gujarat assembly elections. "It has done good work in the last few years and we must appreciate it. We must give credit to you for this but sometimes you...

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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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Shoppers Descend on Black Friday Deals

HERE for Full Coverage of Black Friday"I'm here because my mom is making me, because she said I couldn't eat any of the Thanksgiving food if I didn't hold her place in line," Alex Horton told ABC News station WLS-TV in Chicago Thursday.Many critics panned the early start this year, saying it cuts into quality time that should be spent with family and friends.Chicago resident...

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Indonesian workers demand better wages, employment benefits

JAKARTA: Thousands of Indonesian workers have marched towards the Presidential Palace, demanding higher minimum pay and better employment benefits.Nearly 20,000 police and soldiers were deployed to watch over the demonstration, organised by Indonesian labour unions.The protest march began with the Indonesian national anthem, as disgruntled workers displayed patriotism in an ongoing struggle...

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Mamata Banerjee slams 'saviours of govt' after rejection of no-confidence motion in Lok Sabha

NEW DELHI: Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee on Thursday has slammed "saviours of government" after rejection of no-confidence motion in Lok Sabha. Earlier, an attempt by former UPA ally to bring a no-confidence motion against the government over FDI in retail failed in the Lok Sabha for want of requisite numbers. Mamata Banerjee's party moved the motion as soon as Parliament met for...

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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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Hamas Celebrates Cease-Fire With National Holiday

With a tenuous cease-fire in place and no rocket fire between Israel and Hamas for the first time in more than a week, Palestinians have begun to clean up rubble and damage inflicted by Israeli missiles.People in Gaza filled the streets Thursday morning, inspecting damage to homes and businesses. Overnight, gunfire erupted in the crowded streets of the Palestinian enclave to...

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Foreign Minister Shanmugam to visit Timor-Leste on Nov 22-24

SINGAPORE: Minister for Foreign Affairs and Law K Shanmugam will make his first official visit to Timor-Leste from 22 to 24 November 2012. During his visit, Mr Shanmugan will call on President Taur Matan Ruak, Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao, Foreign Minister Jose Luis Guterres, Minister of Petroleum and Natural Resources Alfredo Pires, Minister of Justice Dionisio Babo-Soares and Opposition...

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Kasab executed in great secrecy, Mumbaikars celebrate news

NEW DELHI/MUMBAI: Authorities secretly hanged Mohammad Ajmal Kasab, the lone survivor of the Pakistan-based terrorist squad responsible for a rampage through Mumbai that killed 166 people, sparking celebrations days before the fourth anniversary of the assault on the financial capital. Pakistan national Mohammad Ajmal Kasab was the enduring image of the bloody assault, which traumatized the nation...

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Thanksgiving 2012 Myths and Facts

Before the big dinner, debunk the myths—for starters, the first "real" U.S. Thanksgiving wasn't until the 1800s—and get to the roots of Thanksgiving 2012.Thanksgiving Dinner: Recipe for Food Coma?Key to any Thanksgiving Day menu are a fat turkey and cranberry sauce.An estimated 254 million turkeys will be raised for slaughter in the U.S. during 2012, up 2 percent from 2011's total, according...

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Bus Explodes in Tel Aviv Amid Truce Talks

A bomb exploaded on an Israeli bus near the nation's military headquarters in Tel Aviv, wounding at least 10 people, Israeli officials said today.The bus exploded about noon local time Wednesday in one of the city's busiest areas, near the Tel Aviv museum. Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said authorities were investigating whether the bomb had been planted and left on the bus...

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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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Facebook post on Thackeray: Girl says she will not visit FB, 9 held for vandalism

MUMBAI/DELHI: One of the girls held for posting comments on Facebook questioning the shutdown in Mumbai for Shiv Sena Chief Bal Thackeray's funeral today said she will never again visit the social networking site while police arrested 9 Shiv Sainiks for vandalising her uncle's clinic.Shaheen Dhada and Renu were arrested for posting comments opposing the Mumbai shutdown. However, they were granted...

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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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Clinton Heading to Middle East to Meet With Leaders

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is headed to the Middle East with the hope that she can help bring an end to the escalating violence that has gripped the region for the last week.Clinton is scheduled to arrive in Jerusalem later tonight to meet with Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, according to Deputy National Security Advisor Ben Rhodes. Clinton will also meet with...

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Obama, in Burma speech: ‘We always remained hopeful about you’

RANGOON, Burma — For 15 years, Aung San Suu Kyi waited in her lakeside villa, confined to the small plot of land under house arrest, dreaming of her return to the world. On Monday, the world, or a big piece of it, came calling on h...

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Sri Lanka orders top judge to attend impeachment case

COLOMBO: Sri Lanka's parliament has ordered the country's top judge to attend an impeachment hearing on Friday after rejecting her appeal for more time to prepare a defence.An 11-member parliamentary panel dominated by members of President Mahinda Rajapakse's coalition declined Chief Justice Shirani Bandaranayake's request for six weeks to respond to 14 charges in the impeachment motion."The...

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Justice Katju reacts to TOI report, asks Prithviraj Chavan to probe Facebook user's arrest

NEW DELHI: Press Council chief Markandey Katju has asked Maharashtra CM Prithviraj Chavan to inquire in to the wrongful arrest of a woman for protesting against a bandh following Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray's death. Reacting to a TOI report that had said that a woman had been arrested for protesting against the shut down in Mumbai on the occasion of Thackeray's death on social networking site...

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

The tide may be turning for the rare subspecies 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...

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Palestinian Civilian Toll Climbs in Gaza

Israeli aircraft struck crowded areas in the Gaza Strip on Monday, driving up the civilian death toll and in one case devastating several homes belonging to one clan — the fallout from a new tactic in Israel's six-day-old offensive meant to quell Hamas rocket fire on Israel.Escalating its bombing campaign, Israel on Sunday began attacking homes of activists in Hamas, the Islamic...

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Petraeus scandal puts four-star general lifestyle under scrutiny

Then-defense secretary Robert M. Gates stopped bagging his leaves when he moved into a small Washington military enclave in 2007. His next-door neighbor was Mike Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff at the time, who had a chef, a personal valet and — not lost on Gates — troops to tend his property. Gates may have been the civilian leader of the world’s largest military, but...

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Syria slams "hostile" France as fighting rages

DAMASCUS: Syria on Sunday slammed as "hostile" a French decision to host an ambassador from the opposition National Coalition, as regime forces bombarded southern districts of the capital and clashes raged nationwide.France on Saturday invited the group to send an envoy to Paris, after President Francois Hollande met National Coalition leader Ahmed Moaz al-Khatib."France is acting like...

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