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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