Hollande gets hero's welcome in a Mali fearful of future

BAMAKO: President Francois Hollande received a rapturous welcome in Mali on Saturday as he promised that France would stay as long as necessary to continue the fight against Islamist rebels in the country's north.As troops worked to secure Kidal, the last bastion of radicals who occupied the vast desert north for 10 months before the French army's surprise intervention, Hollande told Malians...

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MBAs, doctors, engineers surrender soul to service and prayers

* Even a Macintosh Pro often finds it difficult to catch up with Vidhi Desai, 30, its owner and user. An archetypal south-Mumbaiite, she is rich, aggressive, super-confident, loud and questioning. An alumna of JB Petit School and HR College, Vidhi went on to do a double major in international politics and philosophy from Penn State University. The poor little rich kid never had to wait for anything...

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Pictures We Love: Best of January

Photograph by Dieu Nalio Chery, APThe magnitude 7 earthquake that struck near Port au Prince, Haiti, in January 2010 so devastated the country that recovery efforts are still ongoing.Professional dancer Georges Exantus, one of the many casualties of that day, was trapped in his flattened apartment for three days, according to news reports. After friends dug him out, doctors amputated his right leg...

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Body of Missing Mom Reportedly Found in Turkey

The body of an American woman who went missing while on a solo trip to Turkey has been pulled from a bay in Istanbul, and nine people have been held for questioning, according to local media.Sarai Sierra, 33, was last heard from on Jan. 21, the day she was due to board a flight home to New York City.The state-run Andolu Agency reported that residents found a woman's body today...

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VA study finds more veterans committing suicide

Every day about 22 veterans in the United States kill themselves, a rate that is about 20 percent higher than the Department of Veterans Affairs’ 2007 estimate, according to a two-year study by a VA researcher. The VA study indicates that more than two-thirds of the veterans who commit suicide are 50 or older, suggesting that the increase in veterans’ suicides is not primarily driven by...

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Football: Fergie surprised by Beckham's PSG move

LONDON: Alex Ferguson admits he was surprised to see his former Manchester United star David Beckham sign for Paris St Germain.Beckham had been looking for a new club since leaving LA Galaxy in November and snubbed interest from several Premier League clubs and other lucrative offers from around the world to join the French outfit on transfer deadline day.Ferguson didn't think Beckham...

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High corruption risk in defence purchases by India: Study

NEW DELHI: India is among the countries that suffer from "high corruption risk" in defence purchases, one of the most elaborate global assessments of corruption in the high spending sector has concluded. According to the report, 'Government Defence Anti-Corruption Index 2013' by Transparency International UK, 36% of the countries assessed by the index was found to have high corruption risk. India...

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NFL Looks to Helmet Technology to Combat Concussions

When the Baltimore Ravens and San Francisco 49ers face off at Super Bowl XLVII this weekend, they'll also be facing a common foe: the threat of concussion.It's why Sunday's game will include cameras in the media box devoted to helping team trainers and physicians spot unusual behavior in players that suggests they may have suffered a head injury. (See a graphic of recorded head impacts...

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Hillary Clinton Says Goodbye...Until 2016?

Feb 1, 2013 6:48pm Image Credit: Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP PhotoAfter four years, nearly a million miles traveled and 112 countries visited, Hillary Clinton stepped down as the 67th secretary of state on Friday. But even on this, her final day as America’s top diplomat, she could not escape the questions about what she’ll do four years from now.Many of the 1,000 employees...

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Senate ethics panel reviews gift accusations against Menendez

The Senate Ethics Committee is reviewing allegations that Sen. Robert Menendez accepted inappropriate gifts from a Florida doctor who has flown the New Jersey Democrat to his estate in the Dominican Republic, a senior member of the panel confirmed Thursday. Sen. Johnny Isakson (Ga.), the ranking Republican on the committee, said the panel saw reports of the Tuesday FBI raid on the West...

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14 dead in Mexico City skyscraper blast: government

MEXICO CITY: At least 14 people died and 80 were injured in a blast that rocked the Mexico City skyscraper that houses the headquarters of oil giant Pemex on Thursday, Mexico's interior minister said."We have 13 dead at the scene and one more at the hospital. There are more than 80 wounded and we continue to look for survivors in the debris," Interior Minister Miguel Angel Osorio Chong...

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TOI Social Impact Awards: When an IT mind took the organic route to farming

BORIAVI (ANAND): Devesh Patel, 30, graduated in computer applications in 2005. But the idea of flying off to the US didn't attract him. He followed in his father's footsteps and became a farmer, returning to the land of his forefathers — Anand's Boriavi village. Until recently, Devesh's father Ramesh, 56, suffered from chronic breathing problems induced by the chemical fertilizers he used. Nausea...

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Sinkhole Swallows Buildings in China

Photograph from AFP/Getty ImagesThe sinkhole that formed in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou (pictured) is, unfortunately, not a new occurrence for the country.Many areas of the world are susceptible to these sudden formations, including the U.S. Florida is especially prone, but Guatemala, Mexico, and the area surrounding the Dead Sea in the Middle East are also known for their impressive sinkholes....

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What If Undocumented Immigrants Had Voted?

If every undocumented immigrant had cast a vote for President Obama in 2012, he would have won Arizona, Georgia, North Carolina and Texas, and he would have beaten Mitt Romney by nearly 11 percentage points nationally, instead of three.Only citizens can vote, however, and 11.2 million unauthorized residents didn't get the chance.But with immigration overhaul on the table, legalizing...

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Japan December factory output up 2.5% on-month

TOKYO: Japan on Thursday said the nation's factory output for December rose 2.5 per cent from the previous month thanks to brisk production of cars and semiconductors.The gain -- still worse than a 4.0 per cent expansion expected by the market -- came as Japan's new government under Prime Minister Shinzo Abe vows to breathe new life into the world's third-largest economy with huge stimulus...

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Don’t curse the darkness, light a lamp instead: Vineet Jain

Following are excerpts from Times Group managing director Vineet Jain's welcome address: We emerged into the New Year in a somber mood — our hearts broken by the brutal death of a 23-year-old girl right here in Delhi. But it has been inspirational to see so many young people rise up and decide that this girl's death must never be forgotten. This spirit of looking at the injustices that surround you...

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Deer Antler Velvet—What Is It, How Does It Work?

It may sound warm and fuzzy, but deer antler velvet is at the center of a new sports controversy involving Baltimore Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis.Lewis, who's headed to the Superbowl in New Orleans this weekend, looked into using a nasal spray made of deer antler velvet to heal his torn right triceps, Sports Illustrated reported in their February 4 issue. Lewis denies the story, calling...

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Obama Confident Immigration Reform Will Pass

President Barack Obama expressed confidence on Wednesday that he would sign comprehensive immigration reform into law by the end of this year.In an interview with Univision's Maria Elena Salinas, Obama explained that significant details of a bill still must be worked out by lawmakers, including the structure of a pathway to citizenship for many of the 11 million undocumented...

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Senators send John Kerry some love

If he does say so himself, Sen. John Kerry has an impressive record. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Tuesday approved an over-the-top resolution honoring the Massachusetts Democrat. It also voted out of committee his nomination to be secretary of state, and just hours later the full Senate voted to confirm Kerry. The resolution describes Kerry in glowing terms, praising...

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US judge postpones Texas woman's execution

CHICAGO: A Texas judge on Tuesday granted a last-minute reprieve to death row inmate Kimberly McCarthy, who had been scheduled to become the first woman executed in the United States since 2010.District Judge Larry Mitchell postponed her execution until April 3 after her lawyers asked for time to bring forward an appeal on grounds of racial discrimination.McCarthy -- who has been on death...

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Free power behind Punjab's decline: Report

CHANDIGARH: Punjab's biggest strength, its agriculture, is proving to be its curse as well. A report, Economic Freedom of the States in India, 2012, has analyzed the reason for Punjab's decline from 6th position to 12th and has put the blame at the doors of politicians for monopolizing trade in mandis and inflicting the curse of free rural electricity on the entire state.The report, which was recently...

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Timbuktu’s vulnerable manuscripts are city’s "gold"

French and Malian troops surrounded Timbuktu on Monday and began combing the labyrinthine city for Islamist fighters. Witnesses, however, said the Islamists, who claim an affiliation to al Qaeda and had imposed a Taliban-style rule in the northern Malian city over the last ten months, slipped into the desert a few days earlier. But before fleeing, the militants reportedly set fire to several...

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Jodi Arias Borrowed Gas Cans Before Killing Ex

Accused murderer Jodi Arias borrowed two five-gallon gas cans from a former boyfriend the day before she drove to Arizona to kill another ex, Travis Alexander, according to testimony in Arias' murder trial today.In cross examination, prosecutors also forced Arias' former live-in boyfriend Darryl Brewer to describe his sex life with Arias as "pretty aggressive."Brewer, 52, dated...

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Bipartisan group of senators to unveil framework for immigration overhaul

A key group of senators from both parties will unveil on Monday the framework of a broad overhaul of the nation’s immigration laws, including a pathway to citizenship for more than 11 million illegal immigrants. The detailed, four-page statement of principles will carry the signatures of four Republicans and four Democrats, a bipartisan push that would have been unimaginable just...

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Golf: Tiger wins Torrey Pines title for 75th career crown

LA JOLLA: World No. 2 Tiger Woods captured his 75th career title on Monday, winning the US PGA Farmers Insurance Open by four strokes for his record-setting eighth career triumph at Torrey Pines.Despite struggling in windy conditions Monday over the final 11 holes, Woods showed flashes of the form that has brought him 14 major titles as he chases the all-time record of 18 won by Jack Nicklaus.Woods...

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Shettar does a BSY, meets pontiffs to stave off crisis

BANGALORE: Chief minister Jagadish Shettar has garnered the support of over 65 pontiffs from various caste denominations to save his government. Shettar is doing exactly what former CM BS Yeddyurappa had done as CM, whenever there was a crisis and an outbreak of rebellion against him in the party. To save his government from the MLAs supporting BSY, Shettar on Sunday morning met 65 pontiffs from...

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Space Pictures This Week: Martian Gas, Cloud Trails

Image courtesy SDO/NASAThe sun is more than meets the eye, and researchers should know. They've equipped telescopes on Earth and in space with instruments that view the sun in at least ten different wavelengths of light, some of which are represented in this collage compiled by NASA and released January 22. (See more pictures of the sun.)By viewing the different wavelengths of light given off by the...

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Tokyo stocks open up 0.7%

TOKYO: Tokyo stocks opened 0.70 percent higher on Monday after the yen continued to fall against other major currencies.The Nikkei 225 index at the Tokyo Stock Exchange was up 76.21 points at 11,002.86 at the start."The weaker yen continues to fuel the ongoing rally," said SMBC Nikko Securities general manager of equities Hiroichi Nishi."And with earnings reporting season kicking into...

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TOI Social Impact Awards: An evening to honour India's changemakers

They took the path less travelled, and on Monday it will lead a group of remarkable men and women to the stage for the second Times of India Social Impact Awards in association with J P Morgan. The awards are being given to changemakers within NGOs, corporates and the government who have quietly worked to transform the lives of millions of marginalized Indians. President Pranab Mukherjee will be...

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Pictures: The Story Behind Sun Dogs, Penitent Ice, and More

Photograph by Art Wolfe, Getty ImagesIf you want the beauty of winter without having to brave the bone-chilling temperatures blasting much of the United States this week, snuggle into a soft blanket, grab a warm beverage, and curl up with some of these natural frozen wonders. Nieve penitente, or penitent snow, are collections of spires that resemble robed monks—or penitents. They are flattened columns...

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