Al Gore stands to gain about $70 million after selling Current TV to al-Jazeera

Al Gore, who shared the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize for his fight against global warming, may gross about $70 million from the sale of his Current TV network to al-Jazeera, the cable channel funded in part by oil-rich Qatar. Al-Jazeera will pay about $500 million for Current TV, including the stake held by Gore, 64, according to two people with knowledge of the deal. The network is one...

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Thousands stuck in China airport as country freezes

BEIJING: Thousands of angry passengers were stranded after heavy fog delayed flights at a Chinese airport early on Saturday, as the country was shivered through its coldest weather in almost three decades.Ten thousand passengers were stuck in Changshui International Airport in the southern Chinese city of Kunming on Saturday morning after thick fog grounded more than 280 flights, state-run...

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NIA arrests Lokesh Sharma in 2006 Malegaon bomb blasts case

MUMBAI: National Investigation Agency (NIA) today formally arrested key accused in 2007 Samjhauta Express blast case, Lokesh Sharma, in connection with the 2006 Malegaon bomb blasts case. Sharma, who is already under judicial custody, was produced before a special court here, which remanded him in NIA custody till January 19, police said. "Sharma was produced before the court which remanded him...

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Best Pictures: 2012 Nat Geo Photo Contest Winners

Winner: PlacesPhotograph by Nenad SaljicA full moon illuminates the Matterhorn peak near Zermatt, Switzerland, in the winning image...

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Debt Limit Negotiating Tactic? No Negotiating

President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden walk away from the podium after Obama made a statement regarding the passage of the fiscal cliff bill in the Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House in Washington, Tuesday, Jan. 1, 2013. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)AnalysisNew for 2013: In the Washington, D.C. fiscal wars we’ve gone from everything must be on the table to politicians declaring...

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Spare elephants or I'm off to Russia: Bardot

PARIS: French cinema legend Brigitte Bardot on Friday threatened to follow Gerard Depardieu to Russia unless two elephants under threat of being put down are granted a reprieve.In a surreal twist to the saga over Depardieu's move into tax exile, the veteran animal rights campaigner said she would emulate his request for Russian nationality unless authorities intervened to save Baby and...

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No consensus on death penalty for rape

NEW DELHI: Central and state governments today failed to evolve a consensus on death penalty for rape convicts even as they seem to have agreed on the definition of juvenile by bringing down the age bar to 16 from 18 years. The day-long meeting of chief secretaries and DGPs, convened by the Centre in the wake of the gang rape of a girl in Delhi, discussed threadbare various ways to check crime...

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Pictures We Love: Best of 2012

Photograph by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/APPowder-splattered, and powder-splattering, runners cross the finish line of The Color Run 5K in Irvine, California, on April 22. Each kilometer (0.6 mile) of the event features a color-pelting station dedicated to a single hue, culminating in the Pollock-esque riot at kilometer 5.The "magical color dust" is completely safe, organizers say, though...

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Chelsea Clinton Raises Profile During Mom's Illness

While Hillary Clinton was in the hospital it was daughter Chelsea -- not the secretary of state or the former president Bill Clinton -- who spoke for the family.She, along with the State Department, doled out what little information the family wanted to share in a series of tweets and when her mother was released from the hospital, it was Chelsea who delivered the thanks on...

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Federal agencies bracing for cuts after ‘fiscal cliff’ deal

The fiscal pact Congress reached hours into the new year will delay $109 billion in automatic across-the-board spending cuts for two months. But it will make a down payment on those reductions that will affect federal operations this year and next. The eleventh-hour agreement to avoid a “fiscal cliff” of higher taxes put off the major cuts known as a sequester until March 1,...

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Guang Ming Industrial Building at Paya Lebar up for collective sale

SINGAPORE: Guang Ming Industrial Building, located at No 65 Upper Paya Lebar Road, has been put up for collective sale. The freehold industrial 'white site' has a land area of 19,789 square feet.Its marketing agent Cushman & Wakefield says the site is expected to fetch more than S$58 million.Among the likely interested parties for the site include small to mid-sized developers and...

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Nine more succumb to cold wave in North

NEW DELHI: North India was gripped by bone chilling cold today as temperatures nosedived across the region claiming nine more lives. Capital Delhi recorded a maximum temperature of 12.7 degrees celsius, 8 less than normal and a minimum of 4.4 degrees celsius, 3 less than the usual. Kashmir Valley continued to reel under intense cold as temperatures across the state plunged further, even as the fringes...

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Pictures: Errant Shell Oil Rig Runs Aground Off Alaska, Prompts Massive Response

Photograph courtesy Jonathan Klingenberg, U.S. Coast GuardWaves lash at the sides of the Shell* drilling rig Kulluk, which ran aground off the rocky southern coast of Alaska on New Year's Eve in a violent storm.The rig, seen above Tuesday afternoon, was "stable," with no signs of spilled oil products, authorities said. But continued high winds and savage seas hampered efforts to secure the vessel...

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Senate Swears in a Historic 20 Female Senators

Today the Senate will make history, swearing in a record-breaking 20 female senators – 4 Republicans and 16 Democrats – in office.As the 113th Congress is sworn in today on Capitol Hill, ABC "World News" anchor Diane Sawyer has an exclusive joint interview with the historic class of female Senators.Diane Sawyer's complete interview will air on World News this evening."I can't tell...

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Gold rallies on fiscal deal

SINGAPORE: Gold prices receive a boost as US lawmakers finally approved a bill to address the fiscal cliff.The precious metal rose as much as US$29 an ounce from last week's close of US$1,655.70 a troy ounce on December 28.The deal struck in the US Congress has helped arrest the threat of the world's largest economy falling into a deep recession.But some analysts said it is just a knee-jerk...

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Trinamool suspends leaders over dance row

KOLKATA: Ruling Trinamool Congress on Wednesday suspended party leaders and workers after they were seen showering money at dancing girls at an event to celebrate the Mamata Banerjee-led party's foundation day ceremony. The decision came following severe criticism from political parties, the women's commission and intellectuals, after the partymen — including zila parishad member Meer Taheer Ali...

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Space Pictures This Week: Ice “Broccoli,” Solar Storm

Happy TrailsPhotograph by Alex Cherney, TWANAmateur astronomer Alex Cherney captured these star trails as they blazed above Lake Tyrrell, a salt lake in Victoria, Australia in...

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Obama Hails 'Cliff' Deal, Warns of Next Fiscal Fight

Minutes after the House of Representatives approved a bipartisan Senate deal to avert the "fiscal cliff" and preserve Bush-era tax cuts for all Americans making less than $400,000 per year, President Obama praised party leaders and wasted little time turning to the next fiscal fight."This is one step in the broader effort to strengthen our economy for everybody," Obama said.Obama...

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Helping VA rehabilitate those with multiple wounds of war

Micaela Cornis-Pop oversees more than 110 rehabilitation facilities around the country, helping the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) stay at the forefront of developments in treating traumatic brain injury and other medical injuries and issues facing injured veterans and military service members. With the increase in battlefield survival rates of military personnel serving in Iraq and...

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Sengkang West LRT loop now fully operational

SINGAPORE: Some commuters in Sengkang will find it easier to get around the estate on the LRT.On Tuesday, the trains on the Sengkang West LRT ran in both directions throughout the day, instead of only during the morning and evening peak hours.Cheng Lim LRT Station, which is on the Sengkang West LRT, also started operations on Tuesday.Previously, trains on the Sengkang LRT ply either one...

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Pakistani judicial panel to arrive in India by end of January

NEW DELHI: The Pakistani judicial commission, which will cross examine four witnesses in 26/11 terror attack case, is expected to arrive here by the end of January after approval of the Bombay high court. The agreement on the visit of the second Pakistani judicial commission to Mumbai was finalised on December 25 in Islamabad following several rounds of discussions on complex technical and legal...

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Space Pictures This Week: Ice “Broccoli,” Solar Storm

Happy TrailsPhotograph by Alex Cherney, TWANAmateur astronomer Alex Cherney captured these star trails as they blazed above Lake Tyrrell, a salt lake in Victoria, Australia in...

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Senate Approves 'Fiscal Cliff' Deal, Sends to House

Two hours after a midnight deadline for action, the Senate passed legislation early New Year's Day to avert the so-called fiscal cliff with an overwhelming vote of 89-8.Senate passage set the stage for a final showdown in the House, where a vote could come as early as today."While neither Democrats nor Republicans got everything they wanted, this agreement is the right thing...

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India's cash-to-the-poor welfare reform starts

NEW DELHI: India's government is to roll out on Tuesday the first phase of its hugely ambitious plans to hand out cash to welfare claimants in what it considers a "game-changer" policy 18 months ahead of elections.Finance Minister P Chidambaram, speaking before the start of the direct cash transfers on January 1, said 20 out of India's 629 districts would change over to the new system...

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Prayers for Ajmal Kasab at mosque: Police launch probe

KOCHI: Police have launched an investigation into the offering of prayers at a mosque here for Ajmal Kasab, who was hanged for carrying out the Mumbai terror attack in 2008. The prayers were reportedly offered by an imam on November 23 after the Friday namaz at the mosque at nearby Trikkakara. After the namaz, prayers were offered for departed souls and the priest had reportedly included the name...

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How to Banish That New Year's Eve Hangover

For those of us who enjoy the occasional cocktail, the holiday season would be incomplete without certain treats of the liquid variety. Some look forward to the creamy charms of rum-laced eggnog; others anticipate cupfuls of high-octane punch or mugs of warm, spiced wine.No matter what's in your glass, raising one as the year winds down is tradition. What could be more festive? The problem...

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