Pak commerce minister’s India visit under cloud

NEW DELHI: Economic engagement can be carried forward in an environment of peace and stability and it is for Pakistan to realize where the well-being of its economy lies, commerce minister Anand Sharma said on Wednesday. Sharma said the incident along the Line of Control was "horrific, unacceptable and highly provocative", but he did not announce any scrapping of trade ties or a pause in the trade...

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6 Ways Climate Change Will Affect You

Photograph by AP Photo/Marcio Jose SanchezThe planet keeps getting hotter, new data showed this week. Especially in America, where 2012 was the warmest year ever recorded, by far. Every few years, the U.S. federal government engages hundreds of experts to assess the impacts of climate change, now and in the future. From agriculture (pictured) to infrastructure to how humans consume energy, the National...

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NRA President Defends Ad Attacking Obama

Jan 16, 2013 6:40pm Christian Gooden/St. Louis Post-Dispatch/AP PhotoIn an interview with ABC News this evening, NRA President David Keene said the gun-rights lobby is aggressively preparing for “battle” with the White House and Congress over President Obama’s sweeping new proposals to curb gun violence.Keene criticized Obama’s announcement today, surrounded by four...

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The age-old truth: Stress gives presidents more than a few gray hairs

Why presidents age quickly Presidents face unabated, unfathomable stress. “You see it over a term,” said Ronan Factora, a physician specializing in geriatric medicine at the Cleveland Clinic. “It’s a good study of chronic stress on a person’s overall health.” Obama and his national security team monitor the hit on Osama bin Laden. (Pete Souza/White House; Photo altered to obscure a classified document.)...

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Serbia hints willing to talk about UN seat for Kosovo

BELGRADE: Serbia, which fiercely opposes independence for Kosovo, hinted for the first time on Tuesday that it may give up its opposition to the breakaway territory's bid to join the United Nations.Serbian Prime Minister Ivica Dacic said Belgrade was looking for a "comprehensive settlement" with its former southern province, which may include talking about a seat for Kosovo at the UN.Since...

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10 new faces inducted into Omar’s cabinet

JAMMU: In a major cabinet reshuffle, Jammu and Kashmir's chief minister Omar Abdullah inducted 10 new ministers in the state cabinet, who were administrated oath by governor N N Vohra on Tuesday. This is the first reshuffle carried out by Omar after he was sworn-in as chief minister on 5 January, 2009. They included six cabinet ministers and four ministers of state with independent charge. Mohammad...

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A Wild Start for Weather in the New Year

Here we go again. The weather's going to extremes: a snowstorm in Jerusalem, wildfires in Australia, a cold snap in China, a heat wave in Brazil. Based on the first two weeks of the new year, 2013's picking up right where 2012 left off.(What's up with the weather? Read the September 2012 National Geographic story and see a gallery of extreme weather pictures.)As much as 8 inches (20 centimeters)...

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NY Passes Nation's Toughest Gun Law

Today New York became the first state to pass a gun control law -- the toughest in the nation -- since the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting massacre last month.Acting one month and a day since the rampage killing that left 20 first-graders and six educators dead, Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed the bill into law shortly after 5 p.m.Called the New York Safe Act, the law includes...

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Diversity and the Obama White House

Sometimes photos tell the story, sometimes not. But our colleague Karen Tumulty noted a contrast in these two images that might raise eyebrows. The first is a picture on Sept. 11, 2001, of Vice President Dick Cheney on the phone in the White House Situation Room — perhaps talking with President George W. Bush — with several top aides standing by, including three women: Secretary of State...

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Euro gains against US dollar in positive market

NEW YORK: The euro gained ground against the US dollar Monday as positive market sentiment spurred buying of riskier assets, such as the European currency.The euro fetched US$1.3376 around 2200 GMT, up from US$1.3341 at the same time last Friday. Earlier, the unit brushed US$1.3404, its highest level in almost 11 months.The euro continued to rise against the Japanese currency, to 119.65...

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