Other countries court skilled immigrants frustrated by U.S. visa laws

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — The contraption sits in a basement lab at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, a mish-mash of hoses, wires, whirring pumps and a 12-foot high plastic tower filled with dripping water, all set on plastic milk crates. It looks like a high school science project, but it was developed by two post-doctoral mechanical engineers at MIT. And it just might be a break-through...

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Greater US military role in Mali likely after polls: senator

BAMAKO: The United States is likely to play a more active military role in Mali, where French-led forces are battling Islamist rebels, after the country holds elections, the chair of a key Senate sub-committee said Monday.Washington has been providing intelligence, transport and mid-air refuelling to France, which launched its intervention last month, but cannot work directly with the...

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Britain wants to be India’s partner of choice: UK PM

MUMBAI: British Prime Minister David Cameron is seeking a special relationship between Britain and India, one that goes beyond business. Kicking off his India visit, Cameron said India will be one of the leading nations in this century and Britain wanted to be its partner of choice. He was speaking at the head office of Hindustan Unilever (HUL), the Indian subsidiary of Unilever, where an announcement...

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Confirmed: Dogs Sneak Food When People Aren't Looking

Many dog owners will swear their pups are up to something when out of view of watchful eyes. Shoes go missing, couches have mysterious teeth marks, and food disappears. They seem to disregard the word "no."Now, a new study suggests dogs might understand people even better than we thought. (Related: "Animal Minds.")The research shows that domestic dogs, when told not to snatch a piece of...

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Nike, Oakley Distance Themselves from Pistorius

Corporate sponsors of Olympic "blade runner" Oscar Pistorius have begun to distance themselves from the sprinter, who is accused of murdering his model girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp. Pistorius is back to court in South Africa Tuesday morning on murder charges.Oakley, the eyewear manufacturer, and the sporting goods giant Nike announced today that they would no longer run ads featuring...

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Singapore's NODX up 0.5% on-year in January

SINGAPORE: Non-oil domestic exports (NODX) rose by 0.5 per cent on-year in January 2013, compared to the 16.3 per cent decrease in the previous month.This was due to a rise in non-electronic NODX, which outweighed the decline in electronic NODX.On a year-on-year basis, electronic NODX contracted by 5.6 per cent in January, after the 19.1 per cent decline in the previous month. Meanwhile,...

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Central staff strength down from 32 lakh to 23 lakh in a decade

NEW DELHI: The central government's cut on plan and non-plan posts over a decade has had an adverse impact on the bureaucracy. In the last 12 years, strength of central staff has come down by nearly 28% -- from 32 lakh in 1999 to almost 23 lakh in 2011, excluding the paramilitary forces. A recent review carried out during preparation of the Union account 2011-12 shows the cut has been made across...

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Meet the Meteorite Hunter

Michael Farmer is one of the world's only full-time meteorite hunters. Since the 1990s, the 40-year-old Tucson, Arizona, resident has been scouring the world for pieces of interstellar rock, racing to be the first one on the scene and selling his finds to museums and private collectors. On Friday, as Russians reportedly scrambled to collect fragments from a passing meteorite that injured...

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Pistorius Case: Agent Cancels All Future Races

Oscar Pistorius won't run in any of the future races that the athlete was contracted to compete in, but the Paraylmpic gold medalist's sponsors are still supportive as he faces a murder charge, his agent said today.The decision to cancel Pistorius' scheduled appearances was made to "allow Oscar to concentrate on the upcoming legal proceedings and to help and support all those...

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Tennis: Nadal struggles into Brazil Open final

SAO PAULO: Rafael Nadal struggled into the Brazil Open final on Saturday by downing Argentine lucky loser Martin Alund in three sets.The former world number one, who is recovering from a knee injury, battled hard to dismiss his 27-year-old opponent, who is ranked 111 in the world, winning 6-3, 6-7 (2/7), 6-1 in nearly two hours.Sunday's final will pit the 26-year-old Spanish star against...

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