Sen. Ayotte offers GOP an influential new voice

The three Republican senators emerged grim-faced from a basement meeting room in the Capitol on Tuesday and took turns before a bank of televisions cameras, blasting away at the Obama administration for its handling of the deadly attack on an American outpost in Benghazi, Libya. The first two were prominent national security heavyweights, Arizona’s John McCain and Lindsey O. Graham of...

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US warns against 'highly provocative' N. Korean launch

WASHINGTON: The United States urged North Korea on Saturday to scrap plans to launch a rocket later this month, warning the "highly provocative" move would destabilize the region."Devoting scarce resources to the development of nuclear weapons and long-range missiles will only further isolate and impoverish North Korea," State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said in a statement.Her...

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FDI in retail to safeguard international market mafias' interest: BJP

NEW DELHI: India's main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) today said retail reform is a step taken by the Congress led-federal government to safeguard the interests of the international market mafias at the cost of national interest.BJP vice president Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said on Saturday that voting inside the parliament would decide as to who is in favour of national interest and who is working...

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Photos: Kilauea Lava Reaches the Sea

Into the Sea Photograph by Hugh Gentry, ReutersA spectacular natural phenomenon was on display early this week as lava from a vent in Hawaii's Kilauea volcano flowed into...

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Obama: Don't Hold Middle-Class Tax Cuts Hostage

Dec 1, 2012 6:00am AP Photo/Charles DharapakPresident Obama is urging Congress to extend tax breaks for the middle class, saying it’s “unacceptable for some Republicans in Congress to hold middle class tax cuts hostage simply because they refuse to let tax rates go up on the wealthiest Americans.”With the clock ticking toward the so-called “fiscal cliff,” Obama asked...

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Bird flu kills 4,000 wild ducks in Russia

MOSCOW: Around 4,000 wild ducks have been found dead in Russia's southern Krasnodar region, officials said on Friday, blaming H5 bird flu for the mass deaths."This is the H5 virus, the strain is being confirmed," a spokeswoman for the Krasnodar region branch of Russian agriculture watchdog Rosselkhoznadzor told AFP.The birds' remains were now being tested, she added.The dead birds have...

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Savita Halappanavar death case: NHRC and IHRC register case

NEW DELHI: The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has taken up the case of Savita Halappanavar, who died in Ireland on October 28 after doctors refused to terminate her miscarriage pregnancy on the ground that Ireland is a Catholic Country. Acting on a complaint filed by Odisha based Organisation India Media Centre (IMC) the NHRC has a registered a case on the matter. Meanwhile Irish Human...

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Pictures: Inside the World's Most Powerful Laser

Photograph courtesy Damien Jemison, LLNLLooking like a portal to a science fiction movie, preamplifiers line a corridor at the U.S. Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory's National Ignition Facility (NIF).Preamplifiers work by increasing the energy of laser beams—up to ten billion times—before these beams reach the facility's target chamber.The project's lasers are tackling "one of physics' grand...

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Fiscal Cliff Creeps Closer With Few Signs of Optimism

"Absurd" -- that's the word one top Republican Hill aide used to describe the plan that Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner presented to GOP leaders yesterday to avoid the fiscal cliff.And an aide to House Speaker Boehner described the White House's offer as "completely unrealistic" and "a break with reality."Meanwhile, a top Democratic insider complained to ABC's Jonathan Karl...

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Some contract manufacturers struggling despite demand for mobile devices: analysts

SINGAPORE : Apple and Samsung are riding high on the growing demand for mobile devices.Global shipments of smartphones and tablets are expected to reach some 680 million this year, according to Frost & Sullivan.Analysts have said the success of mobile devices may not necessarily benefit many contract manufacturers.Some are instead struggling to change their production lines from falling...

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BJP slams Prime Minister's Office for giving ‘clean chit’ to Vadra

NEW DELHI: BJP today hit out at the Prime Minister's Office for giving a "clean chit" to Congress President Sonia Gandhi's son-in-law Robert Vadra in the land deals with realty major DLF in Haryana and sought to know how it arrived at this conclusion without conducting any probe. "Is it the Prime Minister's Office or a bailout office? We say this with full responsibility," BJP Chief spokesperson...

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Caterpillar Fungus Has Anti-Inflammatory Properties

In the Tibetan mountains, a fungus attaches itself to a moth larva burrowed in the soil. It infects and slowly consumes its host from within, taking over its brain and making the young caterpillar move to a position from which the fungus can grow and spore again. Sounds like something out of science fiction, right? But for ailing Chinese consumers and nomadic Tibetan harvesters, the parasite...

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Death at School: Parents Protest Dangerous Discipline for Autistic, Disabled Kids

Thousands of autistic and disabled schoolchildren have been injured and dozens have died after being restrained by poorly trained teachers and school aides who tried to subdue them using at times unduly harsh techniques, an ABC News investigation has found.With no agreed upon national standards for how teachers can restrain an unruly child, school officials around the country...

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BP banned from US government contracts

WASHINGTON: British oil giant BP was banned from US government contracts on Wednesday after pleading guilty to criminal charges stemming from the deadly 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil disaster.Two weeks after agreeing to pay $4.5 billion to settle Justice Department charges in the case, the US Environmental Protection Agency ordered BP temporarily blocked from contracts until it can prove it...

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Another shocker from Kerala: Police arrest rapist father

KOTTAYAM: In yet another shocker, police in Kerala have arrested a man on charges of sexually abusing his two minor daughters for the past two years. The plight of the two girls -- aged 13 and 15 -- came to light following a complaint by the man's wife, police said. The man, a hotel employee, arrested near Kadurthuruthi in Kottayam district yesterday, has been charged under sections 376 (rape) and...

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Pictures: Falcon Massacre Uncovered in India

Photograph courtesy Conservation IndiaA young boy can sell bundles of fresh Amur falcons (pictured) for less than five dollars. Still, when multiplied by the thousands of falcons hunters can catch in a day, the practice can be a considerable financial boon to these groups.Since discovering the extent of Amur hunting in Nagaland this fall, Conservation India has taken the issue to the local Indian...

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Susan Rice Made Allies, Enemies Before Benghazi

United Nations Ambassador Susan Rice, on Capitol Hill this week answering questions about her role after the U.S. consulate attack in Benghazi, has become yet another player in the divide between the left and right, with her possible nomination as the next Secretary of State hanging in the balance.But who was Susan Rice before she told ABC's "This Week" and other Sunday morning...

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Keeping the financial regulators on their toes

When members of Congress need factual information and insights into the effectiveness of the financial laws put in place after the 2008 economic crisis, they regularly turn to the Government Accountability Office (GAO) and Orice Williams Brown. Initially as director and now as managing director of the GAO’s financial markets and community investment section, Brown and her staff have issued...

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Govt to offer steady supply of residential land in 2013: analysts

SINGAPORE: The government is expected to offer a steady supply of land for residential developments in the first half of 2013.Property-watchers said the sites offered this year have seen strong interest from developers, pushing land prices up by an average of some 10 per cent on-year.To meet demand, the government has ramped up its land sales programme this year.For both the first and...

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New anti-China Asian trilateral grouping emerges; India, Indonesia, Australia to hold talks

NEW DELHI: India, Indonesia and Australia will form the first "troika" to confer on the Indian Ocean, a first step towards a trilateral grouping in Asia. This new engagement is believed to be significant as all three countries seek to hedge against possible Chinese expansionism. Peter Varghese, Australian high commissioner and new foreign secretary, said Canberra would be taking charge of the ...

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Space Pictures This Week: Space "Horse," Mars Rover, More

High Horse Photograph by Greg Parker, Your Shot The Horsehead Nebula rears its pretty head in a November 17 photograph submitted to National Geographic's Your Shot photo community.Taken...

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Record Powerball Jackpot to Grow Even Bigger

The jackpot for Wednesday's Powerball drawing now stands at $425 million -- the richest Powerball pot ever -- and it's likely to get even sweeter."Back in January, we moved Powerball from being a $1 game to $2," says Mary Neubauer, a spokeswoman for the Iowa lottery. "We thought at the time that this would mean bigger and faster-growing jackpots."It's proved true. The total,...

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More public companies in the Philippines eyeing Singapore market for funds

SINGAPORE: More Filipino companies may be looking at the Singapore market to raise funds, with some eyeing a dual listing while others an initial public offering (IPO), say analysts.Public companies in the Philippines that seek to list on the Singapore Exchange (SGX) usually do so to raise their profile and broaden their investor base. Filipino food producer Alliance Select Foods International...

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Congress in habit of denigrating institutions: BJP

NEW DELHI: BJP today hit out at Congress after former CAG official R P Singh did a volte-face on his claims on the national auditor's 2G report, saying the ruling party is in the habit of damning and denigrating institutions whenever it stands embarrassed. "This has become the habit of Congress party. Whenever it embarrasses them or whenever they are in trouble, they try to damn the institutions....

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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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President Obama Prepares for Cabinet Shuffle

Nov 26, 2012 6:45am Carolyn Kaster/AP PhotoAs President Obama prepares for his second term, preparations have begun for the traditional shuffling of the Cabinet.Top priority for the president: filling slots for those top officials heading — if not running — for the door: Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Secretary of the Treasury Tim Geithner.To replace Clinton,...

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Climate skeptic group works to reverse renewable energy mandates

The Heartland Institute, a libertarian think tank skeptical of climate change science, has joined with the conservative American Legislative Exchange Council to write model legislation aimed at reversing state renewable energy mandates across the country. The Electricity Freedom Act, adopted by the council’s board of directors in October, would repeal state standards requiring utilities...

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SMTOWN Live World Tour in Singapore electrifies fans

SINGAPORE: It was a sell-out concert for the SMTown Live World Tour III last Friday.About 25,000 tickets were sold with prices ranging from S$168 to S$268.The star-studded show, which cost some S$5 million to put together, featured eight iconic Korean pop acts: Kangta, BoA, TVXQ, Super Junior, Girls' Generation, SHINee, f(x) and EXO.Organised by Korean record label SM Entertainment, the...

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Retired CAG officers ready for debate on 2G spectrum report

NEW DELHI: Joining the controversy over the CAG report on 2G spectrum allocation, retired senior officers of the public auditor have expressed their keenness to debate the issue with government functionary on any platform. "If the Minister and his colleagues having been outdone on television debates and still desire another public debate, we -- retired senior officers -- are willing for any debate...

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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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New Congress: Fewer Moderates Make Deals Harder

When the next Congress cranks up in January, there will be more women, many new faces and 11 fewer tea party-backed House Republicans from the class of 2010 who sought a second term.Overriding those changes, though, is a thinning of pragmatic, centrist veterans in both parties. Among those leaving are some of the Senate's most pragmatic lawmakers, nearly half the House's centrist...

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