VA study finds more veterans committing suicide

Every day about 22 veterans in the United States kill themselves, a rate that is about 20 percent higher than the Department of Veterans Affairs’ 2007 estimate, according to a two-year study by a VA researcher. The VA study indicates that more than two-thirds of the veterans who commit suicide are 50 or older, suggesting that the increase in veterans’ suicides is not primarily driven by...

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The Shard is pinnacle of London's redevelopment

LONDON: The Shard, which opened its doors to the public on Friday, is western Europe's highest skyscraper but also the pinnacle of the transformation of London's long-neglected south bank of the River Thames.The vertiginous public viewing platform, which is expected to attract one million visitors a year, offers unrivalled vistas of the British capital and is the perfect place to survey...

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Women activists reject rape law ordinance, urge President not to sign it

NEW DELHI: Some women's organisations on Saturday urged the President not to sign the ordinance on criminal law amendments passed by the Union Cabinet to deal with sexual crimes."The ordinance is a complete betrayal of the people's faith. We are alarmed at the complete lack of transparency displayed by the government in proposing an ordinance as an emergency measure. We call upon the President not...

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Pictures We Love: Best of January

Photograph by Dieu Nalio Chery, APThe magnitude 7 earthquake that struck near Port au Prince, Haiti, in January 2010 so devastated the country that recovery efforts are still ongoing.Professional dancer Georges Exantus, one of the many casualties of that day, was trapped in his flattened apartment for three days, according to news reports. After friends dug him out, doctors amputated his right leg...

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Ala. Standoff: Police Mum About Talks With Suspect

As a police standoff with an Alabama man accused of holding a 5-year-old boy hostage in an underground bunker entered its fifth day, authorities were saying little except that their talks with the 65-year-old loner were continuing through a ventilation pipe.Negotiators were still trying late Friday to persuade Jimmy Lee Dykes to surrender. Police have said they believe the...

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VA study finds more veterans committing suicide

Every day about 22 veterans in the United States kill themselves, a rate that is about 20 percent higher than the Department of Veterans Affairs’ 2007 estimate, according to two-year study by a VA researcher. The VA study indicates that more than two-thirds of the veterans who commit suicide are 50 or older, suggesting that the increase in veterans’ suicides is not primarily driven by...

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Community leadership important for S'pore's development: Chan Chun Sing

SINGAPORE: Acting Minister for Social and Family Development, Chan Chun Sing, said Singapore will face more challenges as it moves towards its next stage of development. While national leaders will look at issues from a broader perspective, Mr Chan said local community leadership is also needed.He was speaking at the first Chua Thian Poh Community Leadership Symposium which was held at...

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249 candidates in the fray for Tripura assembly polls

AGARTALA: Altogether 249 candidates are in the fray for the the February 14 assembly elections in Tripura, a top election official said here today. "The number of contestants is the lowest this time in the last 15 years", chief electoral officer (CEO) Asutosh Jindal told a 'Meet the Press' programme organized by the Agartala Press Club. After the last date of withdrawal of candidates yesterday, it...

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Sinkhole Swallows Buildings in China

Photograph from AFP/Getty ImagesThe sinkhole that formed in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou (pictured) is, unfortunately, not a new occurrence for the country.Many areas of the world are susceptible to these sudden formations, including the U.S. Florida is especially prone, but Guatemala, Mexico, and the area surrounding the Dead Sea in the Middle East are also known for their impressive sinkholes....

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Columbia Shuttle Crew Remembered 10 Years Later

Iain Clark is a teenager now. He was eight years old when his mother, Dr Laurel Clark, and six other astronauts died when the space shuttle Columbia fell apart in the skies over Texas 10 years ago today.Iain's father, Dr. Jonathon Clark, told ABC News recently that he and Iain will never really recover."There will always be a sense of loss and pain and hurt," said Clark. "I've...

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HRW condemns Russia's "worst post-Soviet crackdown"

MOSCOW: Human Rights Watch on Thursday condemned the Russian authorities under President Vladimir Putin for unleashing the toughest crackdown against civil society since the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991."The Kremlin in 2012 unleashed the worst political crackdown in Russia's post-Soviet history," the New-York based rights watchdog said in an English-language statement released in Moscow...

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Kamal Haasan thanks fans, says got huge support from Muslims

MUMBAI: Actor-filmmaker Kamal Haasan said that he was grateful to his fans and film industry for the kind of support they gave to him during his tussle with the Tamil Nadu government over the release of his film 'Vishwaroopam'."I am overwhelmed and touched by the support of the fans," Kamal Haasan said.Haasan was speaking to media ahead of the premiere of his film 'Vishwaroopam' in Mumbai on Thursday....

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New Theory on How Homing Pigeons Find Home

Jane J. Lee Homing pigeons (Columba livia) have been prized for their navigational abilities for thousands of years. They've served as messengers during war, as a means of long-distance communication, and as prized athletes in international races.But there are places around the world that seem to confuse these birds—areas where they repeatedly vanish in the wrong direction or scatter on...

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Obama Prods GOP on Immigration Negotiations

Jan 31, 2013 6:00am                                                                        ...

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US man kills bus driver, kidnaps child

WASHINGTON: A gunman boarded a school bus in the US state of Alabama, shot dead the driver and kidnapped a six-year-old, whom he is now holding in an underground bunker, local media reported Wednesday.WSFA television said the man boarded the bus at around 3:40 pm Tuesday, shot the bus driver and took one of the children to an underground shelter, where police are currently communicating...

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Anna Hazare announces 'Jantantra Morcha'

PATNA: Activist Anna Hazare on Wednesday announced he was forming a 'Jantantra Morcha' to fight for people's rights."We have decided to form a country-wide organisation, Jantantra Morcha," Hazare said at a rally at the Gandhi Maidan here after delivering an oath to hundreds of people.Hazare, who arrived here on Tuesday, said the morcha will work for people's causes.Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar...

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Timbuktu’s vulnerable manuscripts are city’s "gold"

French and Malian troops surrounded Timbuktu on Monday and began combing the labyrinthine city for Islamist fighters. Witnesses, however, said the Islamists, who claim an affiliation to al Qaeda and had imposed a Taliban-style rule in the northern Malian city over the last ten months, slipped into the desert a few days earlier. But before fleeing, the militants reportedly set fire to several...

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Gunman Kills Bus Driver, Takes Child as Hostage

A gunman shot and killed a school bus driver in Midland City, Ala., Tuesday afternoon and escaped the scene with a 6-year-old passenger, which has prompted a hostage situation that is still going on this morning.The suspected gunman is identified as Jimmy Lee Dykes, a 60-something military veteran, a police source told ABC News. Dykes and the child are in an underground bunker behind...

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Football: Beckham is training at Arsenal, Wenger reveals

LONDON: Former England midfielder David Beckham has been training with Arsenal, the club's manager Arsene Wenger has confirmed, but rejected reports that he could sign."He called me. He has asked to come here and to work on his fitness. He has not done anything for a long, long time," Wenger said of Beckham, who is without a club after leaving Los Angeles Galaxy at the end of last Major...

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Gadkari calls for developing more efficient legislature in country

NAGPUR: Former president of Bharatiya Janata Party, Nitin Gadkari, believes that improvement in the legislature of the country will go a long way in solving many important issues the country is facing. He also said it was necessary to give rewards and punishments, in such a way that both encourage public representatives to do good work. Gadkari was addressing the audience during the annual convention...

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Space Pictures This Week: Martian Gas, Cloud Trails

Image courtesy SDO/NASAThe sun is more than meets the eye, and researchers should know. They've equipped telescopes on Earth and in space with instruments that view the sun in at least ten different wavelengths of light, some of which are represented in this collage compiled by NASA and released January 22. (See more pictures of the sun.)By viewing the different wavelengths of light given off by the...

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5 Years Later, What's New on Immigration Reform?

The announcement of a proposal for immigration reform inspired renewed excitement for some involved in the fight Monday, but other players in the debate felt a sense of déjà vu.Monday afternoon, senators introduced a framework of changes previewed over the weekend, with President Obama and a secret group from the House of Representatives expected soon to follow suit.The press...

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Bipartisan group of senators to unveil framework for immigration overhaul

A key group of senators from both parties will unveil on Monday the framework of a broad overhaul of the nation’s immigration laws, including a pathway to citizenship for more than 11 million illegal immigrants. The detailed, four-page statement of principles will carry the signatures of four Republicans and four Democrats, a bipartisan push that would have been unimaginable just...

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Football: Centralised training for S'pore team for 2013 SEA Games

SINGAPORE: Members of the LionsXII and the Courts Young Lions will form the bulk of the Singapore football squad for the 2013 SEA Games in Myanmar.Despite its regional powerhouse status, Singapore has never won a gold medal in football at the SEA Games competition and the Lions are gunning to end the barren run in Myanmar this year.To achieve that, the Football Association of Singapore...

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Make Modi BJP's prime ministerial candidate, Yashwant Sinha says

NEW DELHI: Senior leader Yashwant Sinha on Monday fired the first shot openly pitching for declaring Narendra Modi as BJP's prime ministerial candidate in the next Lok Sabha elections, saying it will benefit the party hugely. Contending that he was reflecting the mood of the country and BJP workers, he advised JD(U), which has reservations on Modi because of the 2002 Gujarat riots, not to target...

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Doomed Dolphin Speaks to New York's Vibrant Wildlife

By the time New Yorkers spied a dolphin swimming through the superfund sludge of the Gowanus Canal last Friday, it was too late. The marine mammal didn't even survive long enough for a rescue plan to come together. First sighted on Friday afternoon, the dolphin perished at 6:00 p.m.The reason the marine mammal died, and why the dolphin swam up the...

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Victims' Cellphones Ring After Nightclub Fire

Coffins lined a gymnasium in Santa Maria, Brazil, today as family members tried to identify their loved ones after a fast-moving fire tore through a crowded nightclub Sunday morning, killing more than 230 people and injuring hundreds more.A community gym near the popular Kiss nightclub has been converted to a temporary morgue were family members were led in one by one Sunday...

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Senate’s pragmatic ranks depleted by one with Chambliss’s departure

The trio of Southern gentlemen came to the Senate together in 2003, the leading edge of a renegade Republican class set on shaking up the chamber’s staid ways and aggressively promoting the Bush White House’s conservative agenda. Ten years later, Sens. Lamar Alexander (Tenn.), Saxby Chambliss (Ga.) and Lindsey O. Graham (S.C.) are now establishment dealmakers and elder statesmen — roles...

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150 dead in Brazil nightclub fire: media

RIO DE JANEIRO: 150 people died early Sunday in a fire that broke out at a nightclub in the southern Brazilian city of Santa Maria, local media reported.Santa Maria fire chief Guido de Melo said there was panic after the fire started and many revellers got trampled.According to media reports, the fire erupted after 2:00 am (0400 GMT) when the nightclub hosted a university party featuring...

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Show evidence and ban RSS, BJP if we are terrorists, Rajnath dares Shinde

NEW DELHI: In a scathing attack on Sushilkumar Shinde over his "Hindu terror" remarks, BJP president Rajnath Singh has said the home minister had hurt India's image by his comments and dared him to ban the RSS and BJP and arrest all their leaders if there was any evidence against these organizations. Questioning the silence of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress president Sonia Gandhi...

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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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Obama: Gun-Control Advocates Have to Listen More

President Barack Obama says gun-control advocates have to do a little more listening than they do sometimes in the debate over firearms in America.In an interview with The New Republic, Obama says he has "a profound respect" for the tradition of hunting that dates back for generations."And I think those who dismiss that out of hand make a big mistake. Part of being able to move...

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