DIA sending hundreds more spies overseas

The Pentagon will send hundreds of additional spies overseas as part of an ambitious plan to assemble an espionage network that rivals the CIA in size, U.S. officials said. The project is aimed at transforming the Defense Intelligence Agency, which has been dominated for the past decade by the demands of two wars, into a spy service focused on emerging threats and more closely aligned...

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India's "dancing bears" retire in animal rights victory

NEW DELHI: The sight of poorly-fed and badly-treated bears being forced to dance on the streets of India is a thing of the past as a campaign to wipe out the practice has finally borne fruit, activists say.The tradition of forcing sloth bears to dance for entertainment dates back to the 13th century, when trainers belonging to the Muslim Kalandar tribe enjoyed royal patronage and performed...

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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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Wikileaks Case: Guards Deny Intimidating Manning

(Brendan Smialkowski/AFP/Getty Images)Bradley Manning’s former guards testified today that they did not intimidate the man accused of leaking hundreds of thousands of classified cables to the anti-secrets website Wikileaks during  a Jan. 18, 2011 incident that resulted in Manning being placed on a temporary suicide risk watch.Manning’s attorneys cite the event as a key reason why his pre-trial...

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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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British coalition divided over future of the press

LONDON: Work started on Friday on a draft law to regulate Britain's newspapers, despite Prime Minister David Cameron's strong objection to legislation proposed by a major inquiry into press ethics.Cameron's government is divided on the future of the press after the Liberal Democrats, the junior partners in his Conservative-led coalition, said they would join forces with the opposition...

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US asks India to consult IAEA on nuclear liability law

WASHINGTON: To enter the international mainstream civil nuclear commerce, a top US official has said India should consult International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on its nuclear liability law as a means to ensure the objective."While we understand that India's law is currently being examined by the courts, we believe that consultations with the IAEA would be useful as a means to ensure that the...

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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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Could Outgoing Republicans Hold Keys to 'Cliff' Deal?

Nov 30, 2012 1:45pm AP Photo/Carolyn KasterThe outlook for reaching some sort of bipartisan agreement on the so-called “fiscal cliff” before the Dec. 31 deadline is looking increasingly grim. Shortly after noon today, House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, appeared before the cameras to say the talks had reached a “stalemate.”But there may be a glimmer...

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Hong Kong Disneyland turns profitable

HONG KONG: Hong Kong's struggling Disneyland has posted its first profit since opening seven years ago thanks to an increase in mainland Chinese visitors, a report said on Friday, as it considers opening new hotels.The news will come as a welcome relief for the resort, which has battled below-forecast visitor numbers since opening in 2005, while doubts about its future have swirled since...

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Gujarat polls: Anti-Modi cop Sanjiv Bhatt's wife Shweta Bhatt to contest against Narendra Modi

AHMEDABAD: Suspended IPS officer Sanjiv Bhatt's wife Shweta to contest Gujarat election against CM Narendra Modi on Congress ticket from Maninagar. A Gujarat court had filed charges against Bhatt and six policemen who are accused in the 1990 Khambalia custodial death case on November 9. Sanjiv Bhatt had said that he had been targeted by Chief Minister Narendra Modi and alleged that evidence related...

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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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Man Arrested in Fla. Girl's 1993 Disappearance

Police have arrested a 42-year-old man and charged him with murder in the case of a Florida girl who vanished almost 20 years ago.Andrea Gail Parsons, 10, of Port Salerno, Fla., was last seen on July 11, 1993, shortly after 6 p.m. She had just purchased candy and soda at a grocery store when she waved to a local couple as they drove by on an area street and honked, police said.Today,...

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High-powered ‘Fix the Debt’ group draws attention, scrutiny in Washington

In the discussions about the “fiscal cliff” consuming Washington, a powerful new group stands out, touting the virtue of bipartisanship and shared sacrifice. The business leaders who set up the Campaign to Fix the Debt appear nearly every day on network talk shows and have won coveted time with President Obama in pushing for increased tax revenue, reduced government spending, and changes...

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New Chinese passports "counterproductive": Indonesia

JAKARTA: Indonesia's foreign minister said in an interview published on Thursday that new Chinese passports featuring a map laying claim to disputed islands were "counterproductive".Although it is not a claimant itself, Indonesia has mediated in the dispute between China and several members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).It is also a major supplier of commodities...

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US budget crisis fears push down Brent Oil futures

PUNE: Brent crude oil futures fell on Wednesday on fears of a looming budget crisis in the United States, the world's top oil consumer. Brent crude fell 29 cents to $109.58 per barrel by 0940 GMT, after dropping to $109.31 on Tuesday - its lowest since November 20. US crude shed 27 cents to trade at $86.91 per barrel. Oil traded near the lowest price in a week in New York amid signs of rising supplies...

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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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Powerball Numbers Drawn for Nearly $580M Jackpot

5-23-16-22-29-Powerball 6: Those are the winning numbers for an estimated $579 million Powerball jackpot -- the biggest in history.After a feverish day that saw hopeful players buying tickets at the rate of 131,000 every minute, lottery officials in Orlando, Fla., drew the winning sequence shortly after 11 p.m.The results likely will be announced sometime after 2 a.m. Thursday...

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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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US actor sorry for calling hit TV show 'filth'

LOS ANGELES: The US actor on "Two and a Half Men" who called the hit TV series "filth" apologised Tuesday, as he scrambled to keep his job on what its former star Charlie Sheen said was a "cursed" show.Angus T. Jones voiced remorse a day after a video surfaced on a Christian church's website, in which he urged viewers not to watch the top-rated comedy show."I apologize if my remarks reflect...

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India ranks 78th in guaranteeing access to civil justice

WASHINGTON: India ranks 78th among 97 countries in guaranteeing access to all civil justice, a latest report released on Wednesday said, while its neighbouring country Sri Lanka leads the South Asian nations in most dimensions of the rule of law.The 'Rule of Law Index 2012' report by World Justice Project's provides country-by-country scores and rankings for eight areas of the rule of law.India, the...

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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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Petraeus Scandal: Socialite Jill Kelley Fighting Back

Tampa socialite Jill Kelley is fighting back. Today, sources close to the woman who was caught in the media crossfire during the David Petraeus sex scandal have released new letters aimed at reclaiming her reputation.In a letter released to reporters by Jill Kelley's spokesperson, Kelley's attorney goes after a New York businessman who claimed Kelley was using her connections...

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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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Wonder Girls' Min Sunye to wed in Jan

SEOUL: K-pop girl group Wonder Girls' management agency, JYP Entertainment, announced Tuesday that the group's leader, Min Sunye, will wed on January 26 next year, reported Korean media.The 23-year-old star met her Korean-Canadian husband-to-be during a missionary trip to Haiti, and went public with their relationship in November last year.JYP Entertainment said in a statement that Min...

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Akhilesh Yadav government wants to withdraw charges against 15 terror accused

NEW DELHI: The UP government plans to drop terrorism charges in 'public interest' against 15 under-trials accused of killing 43 people in all.Three days ago, the Allahabad high court had slammed the UP government for its attempt to withdraw prosecution against a Muslim cleric named Waliullah and his associate Shameem, who were charge-sheeted for the Varanasi blast in 2006 that left 21 people dead....

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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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Co. Paying Just $1,200 for Each Factory Fire Life

A company that makes clothes for Sean Combs' clothing brand ENYCE and other U.S. labels reassured investors that a factory fire that killed 112 people over the weekend would not harm its balance sheet, and also pledged to pay the families of the dead $1,200 per victim.In an announcement Monday, Li & Fung Ltd., a middleman company that supplies clothes from Bangladesh factories...

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