Mars Rover Curiosity Completes First Full Drill

For the first time in history, humans have drilled a hole into rock on Mars and are collecting the powdered results for analysis, NASA announced Saturday.After weeks of intensive planning, the Mars rover Curiosity undertook its first full drill on Friday, with NASA receiving images on Saturday showing that the procedure was a success.Curiosity drilled a hole that is a modest 2.5 inches...

Read More..

LAPD Reopens Case of Suspected Cop-Killer's Firing

The Los Angeles Police Department announced today it will reopen the case of the firing of Christopher Dorner, but said the decision was not made to "appease" the fugitive former cop suspected of killing three people.Dorner, a fired and disgruntled former Los Angeles police officer, said in the so-called "manifesto" he released that he was targeting LAPD officials and their...

Read More..

Kite-flying regaining popularity in Singapore

SINGAPORE: An old hobby is once again being picked up in Singapore. Its soaring popularity can be seen dotting the country's skyline, especially at weekends, as more and more people come out to fly kites.At the Marina Barrage Green Roof in downtown Singapore, people do not seem to mind the heat as they wrestle to keep their kites in the sky. On weekends, hundreds of kite flyers head there,...

Read More..

Afzal Guru buried inside Tihar jail complex

NEW DELHI: Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru, who was hanged on Saturday morning at Tihar Jail, was buried inside the prison complex soon after his execution. "He (Guru) was buried near jail number three," a top Tihar Jail official said. Guru spent over 10 years on death row in the Tihar prison and was hanged at the jail at 8 AM in an operation shrouded in secrecy. The mercy plea of 43-year-old...

Read More..

Space Pictures This Week: Sun Dragon, Celestial Seagull

Solar DragonImage courtesy SDO/NASAResembling a dragon's tail, remnants of a solar filament strain to escape the sun's gravity in an image released this week by NASA's Solar Dynamics...

Read More..

Northeast Shuts Down as Blizzard Batters Millions

A blizzard of possibly historic proportions battered the Northeast Friday into Saturday, and forecasters feared as much as two feet of snow and strong winds could shut down densely populated cities such as New York and Boston, where cars were ordered off the streets.State officials declared states of emergencies throughout the region, and utilities estimated more than a half-million...

Read More..

Lawmakers divided on Postal Service plan

Lawmakers wrestled Thursday with how to address Postmaster General Patrick R. Donahoe’s announcement that the U.S. Postal Service plans to end Saturday mail delivery in August. Donahoe moved to circumvent Congress’s long-standing resistance to the proposal for five-day delivery, a move the Postal Service thinks will save about $2 billion annually and help ease its financial losses....

Read More..

Olam profit soars but Muddy Waters keeps sell rating

SINGAPORE: Farm commodities supplier Olam reported a near 20 percent jump in quarterly net profit but US-based short-seller Muddy Waters on Friday maintained its "strong sell" rating on the Singapore company.Olam said net profit for the October-December period soared 19.9 percent from a year earlier to S$154.14 million ($124.30 million), shrugging off recent claims by Muddy Waters that...

Read More..

Sri Lankan president's visit to India: Karunanidhi leads protest, Vaiko courts arrest

NEW DELHI/CHENNAI: Protests have broken out in Chennai and New Delhi against the visit of Sri Lanka President Mahinda Rajapaksa to India. Tamil groups have taken to the street demanding that the Sri Lanka president return to his country.In Delhi, MDMK chief Vaiko has courted arrest after leading a protest opposing Rajapaksa's visit. In Chennai, DMK chief Karunanidhi is spearheading the agitation.Rajapaksa...

Read More..

Asteroid to Make Closest Flyby in History

Talk about too close for comfort. In a rare cosmic encounter, an asteroid will barnstorm Earth next week, missing our planet by a mere 17,200 miles (27,700 kilometers).Designated 2012 DA14, the space rock is approximately 150 feet (45 meters) across, and astronomers are certain it will zip harmlessly past our planet on February 15—but not before making history. It will pass within...

Read More..