Love online challenges Pakistan taboos

MUZAFFARABAD, Pakistan - Sania was just a schoolgirl when she logged onto an Internet chat room and met a young college student called Mohammad. They fell in love and decided to get married.Internet dating in the West is now so common that it is no longer considered an act of shameful desperation but an acceptable way for busy professionals to discover a like-minded partner.But for Sania,...

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Haryana people prefer khaps over courts: Report

CHANDIGARH: A survey carried out by a sub-committee constituted by Haryana Backward Class Commission (HBCC) to ascertain possibility of reservation for jats and other communities has found out that rustic Haryanvis have more faith in social panchayats than judicial courts and prefer to approach khaps for remedial measures. During the survey conducted on 49,870 households in rural areas, it was...

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Space Pictures This Week: Frosty Mars, Mini Nile, More

Photograph by Mike Theiss, National GeographicThe aurora borealis, also known as the northern lights, illuminates the Arctic sky in a recent picture by National Geographic photographer Mike Theiss.A storm chaser by trade, Theiss is in the Arctic Circle on an expedition to photograph auroras, which result from collisions between charged particles released from the sun's atmosphere and gaseous particles...

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Conn. Victim's Father Remembers 'Loving' Daughter

(Image credit: Emilie Parker Fund/Facebook)Emilie Parker, the little girl with the blond hair and bright blue eyes, would have been one of the first to comfort her classmates at Sandy Hook Elementary School, had a gunman’s bullets not claimed her life, her father said.“My daughter Emilie would be one of the first ones to be standing and giving support to all the victims because that’s the kind...

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A normally stoic president sheds tears over mass shooting of ‘our children’

President Obama, so often cool and unemotional, struggled to maintain his composure Friday as he addressed a nation reeling from a mass shooting at a Connecticut elementary school. “The majority of those who died today were children — beautiful little kids between the ages of 5 and 10 years old,” Obama said partway into a four-minute stateme...

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'Our Singapore Conversation' reaches out to nearly 10,000 S'poreans so far

SINGAPORE: The 'Our Singapore Conversation' initiative has reached out to nearly 10,000 Singaporeans so far.Speaking to the media, Chairman of the 'Our Singapore Conversation' and Education Minister Heng Swee Keat said this is quite a significant number over a three-month period and this has been done through multiple platforms.These include face-to-face interactions, online media and...

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Section 66A of IT Act undemocratic: RS MPs

NEW DELHI: In a passionate debate on section 66A of the IT Act in the Upper House on Friday, several MPs strongly supported the amendment of the section. Most called it " anti-democratic"; one MP from Karnataka even called it an instance of " legislative terrorism". The resolution for amendment of section 66A was moved by CPM MP from Kerala, P Rajeeve. The Union minister for Communications and Information...

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Space Pictures This Week: Frosty Mars, Mini Nile, More

Photograph by Mike Theiss, National GeographicThe aurora borealis, also known as the northern lights, illuminates the Arctic sky in a recent picture by National Geographic photographer Mike Theiss.A storm chaser by trade, Theiss is in the Arctic Circle on an expedition to photograph auroras, which result from collisions between charged particles released from the sun's atmosphere and gaseous particles...

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Conn. Shooter Adam Lanza: 'Obviously Not Well'

Adam Lanza of Newtown, Connecticut was a child of the suburbs and a child of divorce who at age 20 still lived with his mother.This morning he appears to have started his day by shooting his mother Nancy in the face, and then drove her car to nearby Sandy Hook Elementary School, armed with two handguns and a semi-automatic rifle.There, before turning his gun on himself, he shot...

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Rep. Loretta Sanchez’s 2012 Christmas card: Fiscal cliff, Gretzky in heaven

Here it is, ladies and gentlemen — your Rep. Loretta Sanchez Christmas card for 2012! (Courtesy of the Office of Rep. Loretta Sanchez) Over the past decade, the California Democrat’s wacky holiday greetings have drawn a cult following. “I’ve seen them being sold on eBay,” the congresswoman told us. (Courtesy of the Office of Rep. Loretta Sanchez) Nice topical theme this...

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Thai "Red Shirt" protest leaders go on trial

BANGKOK: A trial against Thai leaders of the 2010 "Red Shirt" protests began on Friday, a day after the nation's former premier was charged over his role in the deadly unrest.The 24 accused, who include five current lawmakers, could in theory face the death penalty in the case, which was delayed again on Thursday because of the absence of key witnesses.All but one defendant was present...

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Granite scam: Durai Dayanidhi surrenders before Madurai court

MADURAI: Union Minister MK Alagiri's son Durai Dayanidhi on Friday surrendered at a Madurai court three days after being granted anticipatory bail in connection with the multi-crore granite scam by the Madras High Court. Durai has been on the run since August this year after his involvement in the illegal granite scam came to light. On Monday, Justice C.T. Selvam of the Madurai bench of the court...

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Global Checkup: Most People Living Longer, But Sicker

If the world's entire population went in for a collective checkup, would the doctor's prognosis be good or bad? Both, according to new studies published in The Lancet medical journal.The vast collaborative effort, called the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study 2010, includes papers by nearly 500 authors in 50 countries. Spanning four decades of data, it represents...

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Health-Exchange Deadline Looms

All of the Affordable Care Act, also known as "Obamacare," doesn't go into effect until 2014, but states are required to set up their own health care exchanges or leave it to the federal government to step in by next year. The deadline for the governors' decisions is Friday.The health insurance exchanges are one of the key stipulations of the new health care law. They will offer...

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Rep. Loretta Sanchez’s 2012 Christmas card: Fiscal cliff, Gretzky in heaven

Here it is, ladies and gentlemen — your Rep. Loretta Sanchez Christmas card for 2012! (Courtesy of the Office of Rep. Loretta Sanchez) Over the past decade, the California Democrat’s wacky holiday greetings have drawn a cult following. “I’ve seen them being sold on eBay,” the congresswoman told us. Nice topical theme this year! “The ‘fiscal cliff’ is a very serious situation,...

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Jackie Chan criticism sparks Hong Kong fight-back

HONG KONG: Action hero Jackie Chan provoked a furious fight-back from Hong Kongers after reportedly suggesting in a Chinese magazine interview that protests in his native city should be restricted.The comments from the Hong Kong-born star on Thursday unleashed a wave of criticism in the southern Chinese city, which prides itself on the upholding of civil liberties including the right to...

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40 Indian fishermen return home after their release by Sri Lankan Navy

RAMESWARAM: Forty Indian fishermen detained by Sri Lankan Navy on December 3 off Nagapattinam and Karaikal coasts have arrived here after their release by authorities in the island nation. The fishermen arrived here on Wednesday evening, officials said. The detention of the 40 fishermen had prompted chief minister Jayalalithaa to shoot off a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on December 5,...

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Hubble Discovers Oldest Known Galaxy

The Hubble space telescope has discovered seven primitive galaxies formed in the earliest days of the cosmos, including one believed to be the oldest ever detected.The discovery, announced Wednesday, is part of the Hubble Ultra Deep Field campaign to determine how and when galaxies first assembled following the Big Bang."This 'cosmic dawn' was not a single, dramatic event," said astrophysicist...

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McAfee Lands in Miami: I'm Free

Software mogul John McAfee has been released from detention in Guatemala City and has landed in Miami.Immediately upon landing, according to passengers on the plane, McAfee's name was called and he was whisked off the aircraft. Federal officials escorted the 67-year-old Internet antivirus pioneer through customs spirit him out a side door, out of the view of reporters, according...

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New Yorkers live longer than other Americans: mayor

NEW YORK: New Yorkers are living longer than Americans overall, and the margin is increasing, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said Tuesday as he praised his administration's health policies.A New Yorker born in 2010 has a life expectancy of 80.9 years, 2.2 years longer than the national life expectancy of 78.7 years at the time.Since 2001, New Yorkers' life expectancy has increased by three years,...

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Supreme Court appointed panel asks Odisha govt to expedite renewals of mining leases

BHUBANESWAR: A Supreme Court appointed panel has advised the Odisha government to expedite renewal of mining leases and give priority to development of infrastructure in mining areas. The recommendation of the Central Empowered Committee, a panel set up by the court to weigh the impact of industrial projects on forests and wildlife, was conveyed to the state government on Monday. The panel,...

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Best Space Pictures of 2012: Editor's Picks

Photograph courtesy Tunç Tezel, APOY/Royal ObservatoryThis image of the Milky Way's vast star fields hanging over a valley of human-made light was recognized in the 2012 Astronomy Photographer of the Year competition run by the U.K.’s Royal Observatory Greenwich.To get the shot, photographer Tunç Tezel trekked to Uludag National Park near his hometown of Bursa, Turkey. He intended to watch the moon...

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Gunman 'Tentatively' Identified in Oregon Shooting

A masked gunman who opened fire in the crowded Clackamas Town Center mall in suburban Portland, Ore., killing two individuals before killing himself, has been "tentatively" identified by police, though they have not yet released his name.The shooter, wearing a white hockey mask, black clothing, and a bullet proof vest, tore through the mall around 3:30 p.m. Tuesday, entering...

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Family & friends key to resilient marriages: survey

SINGAPORE: Family, friends and religious advisors are often the primary informal sources of help for couples facing marital issues, according to a study commissioned by Marriage Central which aims to identify resilience factors that can mitigate marriage crises.Children are an important reason for couples to continue their relationship.Those who have prior positive interactions with counsellors,...

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Wal-Mart row in Parliament: Opposition stalls both Houses

NEW DELHI: The Wal-Mart lobbying row resonated once again in the Parliament on Tuesday leading to adjournment of both the Houses.The opposition, led by the BJP, insisted on suspension of Question Hour to discuss the lobbying issue. In the Rajya Sabha, BJP members were up on their feet soon after Chairman Hamid Ansari made an obituary reference to former member G Swaminathan. Within minutes, BJP...

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U.K. Dash for Shale Gas a Test for Global Fracking

Thomas K. Grose in London The starting gun has sounded for the United Kingdom's "dash for gas," as the media here have dubbed it.As early as this week, a moratorium on shale gas production is expected to be lifted. And plans to streamline and speed the regulatory process through a new Office for Unconventional Gas and Oil were unveiled last week in the annual autumn budget statement by...

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Woman Gets Life for Lottery Winner's Murder

DeeDee Moore, the Tampa woman accused of swindling and then killing lottery winner Abraham Shakespeare, was found guilty today of first degree murder and other charges, after she declined to take the stand and the defense rested without calling a single witness.In addition to the murder charge, Moore was also found guilty of possessing and discharging a firearm resulting in...

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The right to petition the White House prompts grievances, gags online

Forget the “fiscal cliff”: When it comes to the nation’s most pressing concerns, other matters trump financial calamity. Several thousand Americans, for example, are calling on President Obama to nationalize the troubled Twinkies industry to prevent the loss of the snack cake’s “sweet creamy cente...

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Xi's Shenzhen visit a sign of reform: Chinese media

BEIJING: China's new Communist Party chief Xi Jinping has signalled his commitment to push for economic reforms by visiting the city of Shenzhen, the historic hub of modernisation, state media said Monday.Xi's trip, his first official one as ruling party leader, echoed a visit by then-leader Deng Xiaoping to the southern boomtown in 1992 to revive reforms.Deng had launched China's economic...

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India misguided, paranoid over China: Guha

Shreya Roy Chowdhury, TNN Dec 8, 2012, 06.12AM ISTMUMBAI: A good half-hour into the discussion on 'India, China and the World', historian Ramachandra Guha issued a disclaimer—all the three members on the panel had been to China only once. "We should learn their language, promote quality research, and have a panel on China driven by Chinese scholars," he said. And that was the general tenor of the...

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Plants Grow Fine Without Gravity

When researchers sent plants to the International Space Station in 2010, the flora wasn't meant to be decorative. Instead, the seeds of these small, white flowers—called Arabidopsis thaliana—were the subject of an experiment to study how plant roots developed in a weightless environment.Gravity is an important influence on root growth, but the scientists found that their space plants didn't...

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Fiscal Cliff Talks: Boehner, Obama Meet Face-to-Face

For the first time in more than three weeks, President Obama and House Speaker John Boehner met face-to-face today at the White House to talk about avoiding the fiscal cliff.White House Principal Deputy Press Secretary Josh Earnest would offer no details saying only, "The lines of communication remain open."Erskine Bowles, the co-creator of a debt reducing plan, who was pessimistic...

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