N. Korean Missile Hits Target of Alarming the World

North Korea's successful launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile hit its target: it bolstered the standing of its young tyrant Kim Jong Un and raised the specter of being able to eventually strike the U.S. with a nuclear weapon.The pride in the success of the launch -- after several failures -- is a huge boost for Kim Jong Un, 29, who took power one year ago. He has...

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North Korea's new leader burnishes credentials with rocket

SEOUL/TOKYO (Reuters) - North Korea successfully launched a rocket on Wednesday, boosting the credentials of its new leader and stepping up the threat the isolated and impoverished state poses to its opponents. The rocket, which North Korea says put a weather satellite into orbit, has been labeled by the United States, South Korea and Japan as a test of technology that could one day deliver...

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Indian sitar legend Ravi Shankar dies

NEW DELHI: Legendary Indian sitar player Ravi Shankar, a major influence on musicians ranging from The Beatles to violinist Yehudi Menuhin, has died at the age of 92 after surgery in the United States, his family said Wednesday.Shankar, the father of American singer-songwriter Norah Jones, died Tuesday in a hospital in San Diego, California, where he had recently undergone heart-valve...

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NCP rejects Sena's 'PM offer' to Sharad Pawar, says not power hungry

MUMBAI: NCP scoffed at senior Shiv Sena leader Manohar Joshi's invitation to party chief Sharad Pawar to join NDA, saying there was no question of doing so as they are not "power hungry". On Tuesday in Pune, Joshi invited Pawar to join NDA, saying "he would be able to end quarrels within the BJP-led alliance and could also become the Prime Minister". Joshi attended a function organised on the eve...

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DA investigating Texas' troubled $3B cancer agency

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Turmoil surrounding an unprecedented $3 billion cancer-fighting effort in Texas worsened Tuesday when its executive director offered his resignation and the state's chief public corruption prosecutor announced an investigation into the beleaguered agency.No specific criminal allegations are driving the latest probe into the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas, said...

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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 and seriously injuring a third 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...

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Nine hurt as gunmen fire at Cairo protesters

CAIRO (Reuters) - Nine people were hurt when gunmen fired at protesters camping in Cairo's Tahrir Square on Tuesday, according to witnesses and Egyptian media, as the opposition called for a major demonstration it hopes will force President Mohamed Mursi to postpone a referendum on a new constitution. Supporters of the Islamist leader, who want the vote to go ahead as planned on Saturday,...

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Football: Platini stands firm against goal-line technology

KUALA LUMPUR: UEFA president Michel Platini stood firm against the use of goal-line technology in Europe despite FIFA tests of Hawk-Eye and GoalRef at the ongoing Club World Cup in Japan.The Frenchman said goal-line referees, used in various UEFA competitions since 2009, were a cheaper way of determining whether the ball had crossed the line and warned against allowing technology to encroach...

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Anti-nuclear Kudankulam dissenters plan novel New Year's protest

NEW DELHI: Comparing air fares between Goa and Bangkok and drawing up the wine list may be part of many New Year plans. But at Idinthakarai in Tamil Nadu, the hotspot for protests against the Kudankulam nuclear power plant, a band of activists plan to usher in 2013 with a different kind of festivity. From December 30 to January 1, Indinthakarai village will see professionals from the fields of...

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New tests could hamper food outbreak detection

WASHINGTON (AP) — It's about to get faster and easier to diagnose food poisoning, but that progress for individual patients comes with a downside: It could hurt the nation's ability to spot and solve dangerous outbreaks.Next-generation tests that promise to shave a few days off the time needed to tell whether E. coli, salmonella or other foodborne bacteria caused a patient's illness could reach medical...

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