South Sudan talks to focus on cessation of hostilities

Mediation talks aimed at ending the three-week old conflict in South Sudan are expected to focus on the cessation of hostilities and the status of the detainees Tuesday, said the East African bloc IGAD. The talks being held in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa between representatives of South Sudan’s government and rebels have endorsed modalities […]

Stimulating brain cells stops binge drinking

It is now possible to use gene therapy in the brain to not only treat binge drinking but other substance abuse, neurological diseases and mental illnesses. Researchers at the University at Buffalo have found a way to change alcohol drinking behaviour in rodents, using the emerging technique of optogenetics – using light to stimulate neurons. […]

Bihar town deputy mayor held with two call girls

The deputy mayor of a Bihar town was held with two call girls from a hotel room here, the police said Tuesday. Gaya Deputy Mayor Mohan Srivastava was arrested late Monday night from a posh hotel room here during a police raid. “Srivastava was caught along with two call girls in a hotel room,” a […]

‘AAP’s anti-graft promise a difficult goal to achieve’

The Aam Aadmi Party’s(AAP) promise to sweep away corruption from the Indian political system is a “difficult” goal to achieve, says a visiting American political scientist. Fighting corruption needs stronger legislative tools, and just by forming a government AAP is not likely to reduce corruption, said he. John Echeverri-Gent, associate professor at University of Virginia, […]

AAP to contest UP’s all 80 Lok Sabha seats

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) will contest all the 80 Lok Sabha seats from Uttar Pradesh, party spokesman Sanjay Singh said. Sanjay Singh, a close associate of AAP leader and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, said the party was pushing for clean and honest politics and hoped that issues like casteism and communalism will be […]

Extreme weather grounds over 1,800 flights at Chicago airports

More than 1,800 flights were cancelled Monday as frigid weather caused a number of problems at both Chicago O’Hare International Airport and Midway International Airport, including the freezing of equipment used to fuel the planes. Southwest Airlines suspended operations at Midway until later Monday afternoon because of the refueling problems, but other major airlines including […]

Syrian troops kill 27 rebels

The Syrian troops Monday killed 27 rebels in the northwestern province of Idlib, as part of a series of “precise” operations by the army against rebel positions in Idlib and Aleppo provinces, media reported. Arab fighters, including Qatari, Saudi, and Tunisians, were among those killed in the town of Binnish in Idlib, Xinhua quoted the […]

11 killed in attacks across Iraq

At least 11 people were killed, including six Al Qaeda militants, and 15 wounded in violent attacks across Iraq Monday, police said. In Iraq’s western province of Anbar, a police force-backed Sunni tribesmen clashed with Al Qaeda militants near the provincial capital city of Ramadi, some 110 km from here, killing six militants, a provincial […]

India test-fires n-capable missile

India Tuesday successfully test-fired its nuclear-capable surface-to-surface Prithvi-II missile from a military base in Odisha, a senior defence official said. The indigenously-developed ballistic missile with a maximum range of 350 km was fired from the Integrated Test Range at Chandipur-on-sea in Balasore district, about 230 km from Bhubaneswar. “The test was carried out by the […]

‘Dhoom:3’ vrooms to global success, crosses Rs.500 crore

Rs.100 crore seems like a forgotten figure! “Dhoom:3”, the latest instalment of Bollywood’s successful action adventure franchise, has grossed Rs.501.35 crore ($83.56 million) worldwide since its release Dec 20 last year. On Monday, its production banner, Yash Raj Films (YRF), issued a statement confirming the news. “‘Dhoom:3’ continues to create history at both the Indian […]