Education Minister urges schools to maintain long-term partnerships

SINGAPORE: Singapore Education Minister Heng Swee Keat has urged schools here to maintain long-term partnerships, which will enrich the community. He was speaking at Yishun Junior College's (YJC) Celebrating Values Day on Saturday.It is a carnival to raise funds for charities such as the President's Challenge and Movement for the Intellectually Disabled of Singapore.YJC has roped in partners...

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NCP raped Maharashtra for 14 years: Raj Thackeray

JALNA (MAHARASHTRA): Renewing his attack on the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), Maharashtra NavnirmanSena chief Raj Thackeray Saturday accused the SharadPawar-led party of "raping" Maharashtra for the past 14 years. "The NCP is holding all the crucial departments, home, irrigation, power and roads since 14 years. But what have they done so far? The NCP has raped the state," Thackeray said at...

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Rescuers Search for Man as Fla. Sinkhole Grows

Rescuers early Saturday morning returned to the site where a sinkhole swallowed a Florida man in his bedroom after the home's foundation collapsed.Jeff Bush was in his bedroom when a sinkhole opened up and trapped him underneath his home at 11 p.m. Thursday night.While the sinkhole was initially estimated to be 15 feet deep on Thursday night, the chasm has continued to grow. Officials...

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Golf: McIlroy pulls out of PGA event with toothache

PALM BEACH GARDENS, Florida: World No. 1 and defending champion Rory McIlroy withdrew from the US PGA Honda Classic during his second round on Friday, saying he was struggling due to pain from a sore wisdom tooth.McIlroy struggled through the back nine on Friday, his opening nine holes of the round, and hit his approach at the 18th into water. He then walked off the course and quickly...

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Ramdev's land row: Himachal govt offers out of court settlement

SHIMLA: The Himachal Pradesh government on Friday offered an "out of court" settlement with yoga teacher Ramdev on the issue of cancellation of land leased to his trust. "Himachal Pradesh government is not averse to out of the court settlement with yoga teacher Ramdev on the cancellation of land leased to Patanjali Yogapeeth in case the Yogapeeth Trust makes any such offer," state revenue minister...

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Stinkbug Threat Has Farmers Worried

Part of our weekly "In Focus" series—stepping back, looking closer.Maryland farmer Nathan Milburn recalls his first encounter.It was before dawn one morning in summer 2010, and he was at a gas station near his farm, fueling up for the day. Glancing at the light above the pump, something caught his eye."Thousands of something," Milburn remembers.Though he'd never actually seen a brown marmorated...

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Obama, Congress Fail to Avert Sequester Cuts

President Obama and congressional leaders today failed to reach a breakthrough to avert a sweeping package of automatic spending cuts, setting into motion $85 billion of across-the-board belt-tightening that neither had wanted to see.Obama met for just over an hour at the White House today with Republican leaders House Speaker John Boehner and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell...

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Football: 'Business as usual' for Chelsea after Rafa blast

LONDON: Chelsea insisted Thursday would be just another day at the office despite interim manager Rafael Benitez hitting out at the club's fans and management the day before.Benitez launched a broadside following his side's 2-0 win at Middlesbrough in the FA Cup fifth round on Wednesday, criticising fans for protesting against him and questioning why he was only appointed on a temporary...

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Manik Sarkar, son of tailor, to be Tripura chief minister again

AGARTALA: Tripura chief minister Manik Sarkar, set to assume office for a fourth time after leading the Left to a huge electoral win, is the son of a tailor who still washes his own clothes.An unassuming man, the 64-year-old got down to work no soon than he was declared the winner from Dhanpur constituency. He met CPM leaders and activists at Sonamura, 60km from here. On Thursday, the Communist...

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Mars Missions: A Time Line of Success and Failure

Humans have been thinking about visiting Mars—or being visited by Martians—for more than a century. On Wednesday, a group funded by businessman Dennis Tito announced its intention to launch a manned flyby mission to Mars in 2018.Our awareness of Mars dates back millennia, while our modern picture of the red planet emerged in the 1870s, when Italian astronomer Giovanni Schiaparelli claimed...

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Benedict Departs Vatican for the Last Time as Pope

Pope Benedict XVI bade his final farewell to the faithful today, lifting off from the Vatican in a white helicopter as the first pope to resign in six centuries.Just before 5 p.m. local time, Benedict, 85, walked out of the Vatican for the last time as pope, waving to a cheering crowd in the Courtyard of San Damaso as he entered a black Mercedes for the short drive to a nearby...

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Iran tells Zardari pipeline must advance despite US

TEHRAN: Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Wednesday told the visiting Pakistani president that a much-delayed $7.5 billion gas pipeline project must go ahead despite US opposition."The Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline is an important example of Tehran-Islamabad cooperation, and despite hostilities towards the expansion of ties we must overcome this opposition decisively," Khamenei...

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Ishrat encounter case: Fifth Gujarat cop arrested

AHMEDABAD: The CBI arrested one more Gujarat policeman in connection with the alleged fake encounter killing of Mumbai teenager Ishrat Jahan and three others by Ahmedabad Crime Branch in 2004. Anaju Chaudhary, a commando with State Reserve Police Force, was arrested here late last night, making him the fifth policeman to be taken into custody in the nine-year-old case. He was then deputed to protect...

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A History of Balloon Crashes

A hot-air balloon exploded in Egypt yesterday as it carried 19 people over ancient ruins near Luxor. The cause is believed to be a torn gas hose. In Egypt as in many other countries, balloon rides are a popular way to sightsee. (Read about unmanned flight in National Geographic magazine.)The sport of hot-air ballooning dates to 1783, when a French balloon took to the skies with a sheep,...

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Bring on the Cuts: Some Want the Sequester

Mark Lucas wouldn't mind seeing America's defense budget cut by billions."There's quite a bit of waste within the military," Lucas, who serves as Iowa state director for the conservative group Americans for Prosperity (AFP), told ABC News. "Being in there for 10 years, I've seen quite a bit of it."With the budget sequester set to kick in on Friday, the former Army ranger is among...

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Portugal may get more time to cut deficit: prime minister

LISBON: Portugal's prime minister on Tuesday said his country may be granted more time to meet its fiscal targets as the implementation of its international bailout was under review."There is a possibility of getting one year more to adjust the state deficit and it is very likely that this is up for discussion", Pedro Passos Coelho said as the so-called Troika of public creditors -- the...

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Pak troops violate ceasefire to provide cover fire to militant; Army kills intruder

JAMMU: Pakistani troops violated the ceasefire on Tuesday to provide cover fire to a militant who was gunned down in a fierce gunbattle with security forces along the line of control in Rajouri district of Jammu and Kashmir. "At around 1.45pm, troops guarding the borderline observed suspicious movements at Keri sector in Rajouri," PRO defence SN Acharya said. Immediately the entire area was cordoned...

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Sharks Warn Off Predators By Wielding Light Sabers

Diminutive deep-sea sharks illuminate spines on their backs like light sabers to warn potential predators that they could get a sharp mouthful, a new study suggests.Paradoxically, the sharks seem to produce light both to hide and to be conspicuous—a first in the world of glowing sharks. (See photos of other sea creatures that glow.)"Three years ago we showed that velvet belly lanternsharks...

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'93 WTC Bombing Crushed Lives, Not Memories

Edward Smith remembers vividly the call from the morgue 20 years ago today, that his pregnant wife had died in the World Trade Center bombing hours before she was supposed to start her maternity leave."It seems like kind of yesterday sometimes," he told ABC News, "but it seems like a long time ago, too."Today marks the 20th anniversary of the 1993 WTC bombing, which was overshadowed...

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Crédit Agricole could cut 1,400 jobs: report

PARIS: French bank Credit Agricole could cut another 1,400 jobs in 2013 at its regional branches, the daily Les Echos said Monday, but unions said no figures had yet been decided.Citing an internal document, the business daily said that Credit Agricole's regional branches expected only half of departing employees would be replaced in 2013, leading to a staff cut of 1,418 posts.The bank...

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Hyderabad blasts: NIA's claim baseless, alleges Bukhari

RAMPUR: Delhi's Jama Masjid chief cleric Syed Ahmed Bukhari has said investigation agencies have the tendency to name perpetrators of any bomb blasts in the country much before initiation and conclusion of their probes. Referring to the recent Hyderabad blasts, Bukhari said the National Investigation Agency's claim that the evidence pointed towards involvement of the Indian Mujahideen in the...

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Football: Man City leave Chelsea trailing, Newcastle edge Saints

LONDON: Manchester City galvanised their grip on second place in the Premier League and trimmed Manchester United's lead back to 12 points with a 2-0 victory at home to nearest rivals Chelsea on Sunday.After Chelsea's Frank Lampard had seen a penalty saved by England colleague Joe Hart, City prevailed through a pair of fine second-half goals from man-of-the-match Yaya Toure and substitute...

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No permission for Ramdev's rally in Himachal Pradesh

SHIMLA: The plan of Yoga teacher Ramdev to hold a rally in Solan district today received a setback after district administration refused to give permission for the February 27 meeting. "We had changed the venue from Sadhupul to Solan and assured that the rally would be completely peaceful, but surprisingly, the MC Solan has declined to give permission for holding the rally at Thodo ground on February...

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NASCAR: Daytona Race to Go On After Crash

Every seat will be filled at Daytona International Speedway today after a team worked overnight to repair a fence that was breached in a horrific crash that injured at least 28 spectators in the grandstands.Joie Chitwood III, president of Daytona International Speedway, said his team met with NASCAR officials at 8 a.m. EST today to review the repairs, hours before 147,000 fans...

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Football: Berbatov's magic moment sinks Stoke

LONDON: Fulham forward Dimitar Berbatov produced a moment of magic to end his side's poor run with a 1-0 win over Stoke at Craven Cottage on Saturday.Berbatov marked his 200th Premier League appearance with his 85th goal in the English top-flight and it was one of the former Manchester United star's best as he netted a superb volley just before half-time.Martin Jol's team still needed...

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Photography at bathing ghats banned at Kumbh

ALLAHABAD: The Kumbh Mela administration on Saturday banned photography at all bathing ghats at the religious congregation, officials said. Vide a letter ST/SSP/C-14/2013 dated February 21, the senior superintendent of police (Kumbh) has directed all policemen and other security personnel on duty in the mela premises to ensure that no one was allowed to click pictures at bathing ghats. Throwing the...

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Pistorius Family: 'Law Must Run Its Course'

South African Olympian Oscar Pistorius is spending time his family today after the athlete was freed on $113,000 bail Friday."We realise that the law must run its course, and we would not have it any other way," the Olympian's uncle, Arnold Pistorius said in a statement on Saturday.The Pistorius family expressed their gratitude that the former Olympian was allowed out of jail...

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Jailed Tymoshenko fit to leave hospital: ministry

KIEV: Ukraine's jailed former prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko is now fit to leave the civilian hospital where she has spent the last nine months with back problems, the health ministry said Friday, paving the way for her return to prison.A medical commission "has concluded that the patient Y. Tymoshenko no longer needs further treatment or rehabilitation in hospital," the ministry said...

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We are attacking problems across value chain of power sector: Scindia

The responsibility of lighting up the country today rests on the young shoulders of Jyotiraditya Scindia. Just three months into his new job, the power minister has set an electric pace to energise the sector. He shares his vision with ToI in a freewheeling interview with Sanjay Dutta: About 24,000 mw gas-fired generation capacity is idling due to domestic gas shortage. This is threatening to turn...

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