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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Budget to include schemes to develop manpower for SMEs: Teo Ser Luck

SINGAPORE: The upcoming Singapore budget will include schemes to develop a larger pool of Singaporean workers to cater to the needs of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), said Minister of State for Trade and Industry Teo Ser Luck on Monday. Mr Teo revealed this during a visit to a Soup Spoon outlet on Monday morning. The minister said that the Singapore government is looking at how to...

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Let Parliament decide on Afzal Guru's body, Manmohan says

NEW DELHI/SRINAGAR: Let Parliament discuss whether the body of Afzal Guru should be taken to Jammu and Kashmir as demanded by his family, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said on Monday. Afzal Guru was hanged and buried in Tihar Jail on February 9 for his role in the 2001 attack on Parliament. "Let Parliament discuss whether the body should be brought back or not," Manmohan Singh said. Life returns...

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Meet the Meteorite Hunter

Michael Farmer is one of the world's only full-time meteorite hunters. Since the 1990s, the 40-year-old Tucson, Arizona, resident has been scouring the world for pieces of interstellar rock, racing to be the first one on the scene and selling his finds to museums and private collectors. On Friday, as Russians reportedly scrambled to collect fragments from a passing meteorite that injured...

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Country Singer Mindy McCready Dead at 37

Mindy McCready, the country singer who soared to the top of the charts with her debut album, "Ten Thousand Angels," but struggled with substance abuse, served time in jail and fought a lengthy battle with her mother over custody of her son has died of what appears to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound, police said. She was 37.Deputies from the Cleburne County Sheriff's Office were...

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Dominican Republic port contract scrutinized, along with senator, eye doctor’s relationship

SANTO DOMINGO — When the U.S. Embassy set out to press the Dominican government over a long-stalled contract to provide port security, American officials took on some tough opponents. The deal had languished for more than a decade amid stiff resistance from the American Chamber of Commerce, which represents the interests of American and local businessmen in the Dominican Republic, and the country’s...

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Investment in research encourages young scientists to return to S'pore

SINGAPORE: Singapore has committed more resources toward research, innovation, and enterprise.It recently hosted the inaugural Global Young Scientists Summit, which brought many bright sparks of the international scientific community together.Several young researchers came back to Singapore to further their research, even though they hold qualifications from prestigious universities overseas.Ng...

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Yeddurappa's political outfit seeks coconut as party symbol

MANGALORE: The Karnataka Janata Party (KJP) headed by former CM BS Yeddyurappa has moved the election commission to allocate the coconut as its party symbol, V Dhananjay Kumar, senior KJP leader said. The state election commission has recognised KJP as a regional political party and has been allocated serial number 47 as mentioned in a special Gazette published on February 15. The party has also...

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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...

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Meteor Blast Creates Rush to Cash In

The shattered glass and broken walls caused by the massive explosion of a monstrous meteor over this remote, industrial Russian city is not even cleaned up, and people are already trying to cash in.Some residents want to turn this city known mostly for its tank factory into a tourist destination, while others from all around the world are determined to find fragments of the meteorite.Meteor...

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