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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Obama warns on "dangerous game" with debt ceiling

WASHINGTON: US President Barack Obama on Saturday warned congressional Republicans against what he called a "dangerous game" with the country's economy as lawmakers prepared for a new battle over the national debt ceiling."As I said earlier this week, one thing I will not compromise over is whether or not Congress should pay the tab for a bill they've already racked up," the president...

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Centre waives off bill for ITBP deployment to guard Kasab

MUMBAI: Union home minister Sushilkumar Shinde today said the Centre had decided not to recover from Maharashtra government Rs 21 crore on account of deployment of Indo-Tibetan Border Police at Arthur Road Central Jail here to guard 26/11 terrorist Ajmal Amir Kasab. Kasab was lodged in Arthur Road jail, where the trial of 26/11 case also took place, for four years, before he was shifted to Pune's...

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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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Quadruple Amputee Gets Two New Hands on Life

It's the simplest thing, the grasp of one hand in another. But Lindsay Ess will never see it that way, because her hands once belonged to someone else.Growing up in Texas and Virginia, Lindsay, 29, was always one of the pretty girls. She went to college, did some modeling and started building a career in fashion, with an eye on producing fashion shows.Then she lost her hands...

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Tennis: China's Li Na cruises to Shenzhen final

BEIJING: Chinese tennis star Li Na cruised into the final of the Shenzhen Open with a straight sets victory in her semi-final match on Friday, putting her in pole position to claim her seventh WTA singles title.The world number seven is the firm favourite to take the trophy on home soil on Saturday when she faces off against Czech Klara Zakopalova, who is ranked 21 places below her.The...

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Nepal Army chief to visit India

KATHMANDU: Nepal's Army Gen Gaurav Shumsher Rana will pay a maiden visit to India from January 6 to further strengthen the age-old friendly relations existing between the armies of the two neighbouring nations. Gen Rana, who assumed the top army post in September, will visit India at the invitation of his Indian counterpart Gen Bikram Singh. During his 10-day long trip, he will be conferred with...

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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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Wilkie Terrace land parcel sold for S$24.5m

SINGAPORE: A land parcel at 13/15 Wilkie Terrace has been sold to Roxy-Pacific Holdings for S$24.5 million.Its marketing agent, Jones Lang LaSalle, said the plot located off Dhoby Ghaut/ Selegie Road has been sold to a subsidiary of Roxy-Pacific Holdings in a private treaty deal.Jones Lang LaSalle added that the sale price of S$24.5 million reflects a land rate of S$1,259 per square foot...

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Samajwadi Party dissolves its youth wings

LUCKNOW: Samajwadi Party on Thursday dissolved all its four youth wings and their national executive with immediate effect. "The decision to dissolve four youth wings — Yuvjan Sabha, Lohia Vahini, Youth Brigade and Chharasabha has been taken after permission from SP national president Mulayam Singh Yadav", a party release issued here said. While national general secretary Ram Gopal Yadav dissolved...

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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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Obama Signs 'Fiscal Cliff' Bill With Autopen

Jan 3, 2013 12:53am Charles Dharapak/AP PhotoHONOLULU, Hawaii — President Obama has signed the “fiscal cliff” legislation into law via autopen from Hawaii, where he is vacationing with his family.The bill to avert the “fiscal cliff” arrived at the White House late this afternoon and it was immediately processed, according to a senior White House official. A copy was...

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Thai arrested over death of Briton at New Year party

BANGKOK: Police in Thailand said Wednesday they had arrested a Thai man over the death of a British tourist shot during New Year celebrations at one of the Southeast Asian nation's most popular islands.The 26-year-old suspect is alleged to have opened fire during an argument with a group of other Thai men at a bar on the southern resort of Koh Phangan, killing holidaymaker Stephen Ashton...

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Vadra probe panel is cover up to 'gargantuan land scams': Ashok Khemka

CHANDIGARH: Senior IAS officer Ashok Khemka has termed Haryana's decision to set up a panel to probe his orders to cancel mutation of a land deal between Robert Vadra and DLF as a "cover up to the gargantuan land scams", and sought relevant file notings from the state government. Four days after the high-level panel submitted its inquiry report into the cancellation of mutation of 3.5 acre of...

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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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Festive cheer for online shopping sites

SINGAPORE: More shoppers are buying online during the festive period due to its convenience and wide range of products.Many have skipped the trip to the malls and avoided the crowds by visiting web stores.One online bookshop said sales for 2012 jumped by about 40 per cent, compared with the year before. Its customers are mainly between 30 and 50 years old. It also has a mobile application....

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Sushilkumar Shinde asks parties to give views on reviewing rape laws

NEW DELHI: The government has asked political parties to give their views on reviewing rape laws to Justice J S Verma Committee, set up to suggest amendments in the statute to provide speedier justice and enhanced punishment in cases of aggravated sexual assault against women.In letters to leaders of all national and state political parties, home minister Sushilkumar Shinde said in the light of...

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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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Board changes at STB and IE Singapore

SINGAPORE : The Singapore Tourism Board (STB) has appointed Christina Ong, a partner at Allen & Gledhill, as a new member on its board.Meanwhile, Lim Kok Hoong, a chartered accountant and non-executive chairman at Parkway Trust Management, will step down from the STB board with effect from Monday.Three other STB board members have also been re-appointed. They are Mike Barclay, chief...

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Direct cash transfer scheme rolls out in 20 districts on Tuesday

NEW DELHI: The government will start direct cash transfer of subsidy to bank accounts of beneficiaries in 20 districts from Tuesday, finance minister P Chidambaram said on Monday. The Direct Benefit Transfer system will be implemented in seven schemes such as scholarships and old age pensions from Jan 1. A total of 26 schemes will be covered under it. The system will be rolled out in various schemes...

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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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Hillary Clinton Hospitalized With Blood Clot

(MICHAL CIZEK/AFP/Getty Images)By DANA HUGHES and DEAN SCHABNERSecretary Hillary Clinton was hospitalized today after a doctors doing a follow-up exam discovered a blood clot had formed, stemming from the concussion she sustained several weeks ago.She is being treated with anti-coagulants and is at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital so that they can monitor the medication over the next 48 hours, Deputy...

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Senators trade proposals into night to avoid ‘fiscal cliff’

Senate negotiators labored late into Saturday over a last-ditch plan to avert the “fiscal cliff,” struggling to resolve key differences over how many wealthy households should face higher income taxes in the new year and how to tax inherited estates. As the clock ticked toward a Jan. 1 deadline, the halls of the Capitol were dark and silent. The House and the Senate are shuttered until...

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