The UPA still has an edge over NDA and Third Front (Comment)

As the elections draw near, there have been a few honest admissions by politicians about their party’s chances.

Prisoners tortured and starved, Khmer Rouge tribunal hears

PHNOM PENH - Detainees in the Khmer Rouge’s most notorious prison were tortured and starved and used for medical experiments, according to a pre-trial investigation whose results were read out Monday as Cambodia’s UN-backed genocide tribunal began the most crucial stage of the long-awaited trial of the regime’s former chief torturer.

Droplet sized sensors form latest security tool

LONDON - ‘Smart Dew’, a remarkable network of sensors as tiny as dewdrops, will lurk unseen as the latest security tool to foil the most determined intruder, from a thief to a terrorist.

Mini Tibet in Delhi commemorates 50 years in exile

NEW DELHI - Prayer flags in varied hues fluttered, ornate handicrafts, paintings and ornaments were displayed inside tiny tents and women dressed in traditional Tibetan attire sat in the open weaving carpets.

Soon, robotic octopus to solve the mysteries of seas

LONDON - Scientists are developing a robotic octopus that will be able to search the seabed with the same extraordinary dexterity as the real eight-legged cephalopod.

Latest CIA scandal puts focus on how agency polices itself

WASHINGTON - A new scandal involving an officer of the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has raised questions about how the agency polices itself.

Warming climate could make diatoms capture less greenhouse gases

WASHINGTON - A new research by Michigan State University (MSU) scientists has indicated that tiny creatures at the bottom of the food chain called diatoms could become less able to “sequester” greenhouse gas as the climate warms.

Dehradun students keen to emulate ‘Slumdog Millionaire’

ADUN - Over eight months ago, Alpha Foundation, a voluntary forum instituted an exclusive school for slum children at Dehradun in Uttarakhand.

Dungeon dad’s wife opens up about life post his arrest

LONDON - As dungeon dad Josef Fritzl is set to go under trial today, his wife Rosemarie has for the first time given insights into her life after her husband’s arrest.

Mini sun creation may offer clean energy

LONDON - Using world’s most powerful laser system, scientists are planning to replicate sun’s fiery core in experiments that may offer a clean source of energy.

Dust deposited in oceans may carry elements fatal to marine algae

WASHINGTON - New findings have shown that some sources of dust that is deposited in oceans also carry toxic elements that can kill marine alagae.

Four students killed in Nepal boat capsize

KATHMANDU - Four teenaged students, including three girls, were killed in central Nepal Monday when the boat they were travelling in capsized.

‘Lack of funds, technology challenges for small sector’

LUCKNOW - Despite government efforts to facilitate organised growth of small and medium enterprises (SMEs), the sector continues to face serious constraints such as access to funds, timely financing and technology support, an apex body of management professionals and associations said Tuesday.

It’s not a rubber ball, it’s a fish

WASHINGTON - Psychedelica aptly describes a species of fish that is a wild swirl of tan and peach zebra stripes and behaves in ways contrary to its brethren.

Ten technologies which MIT sees as impacting lives

NEW YORK - Technology Review, the magazine of innovation brought out by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Tuesday announced its annual list of 10 top emerging technologies, seen to impact the way we live and do business.

‘Slumdog Millionaire’ success: Yes, it was written

LONDON - ‘Slumdog Millionaire’, the India-themed film that swept the 81st Academy Awards, almost ended up not being made as a movie.

Nanotechnology to help improve quality of paper, packaging materials

SYDNEY - Researchers are taking the help of nanotechnology to improve paper and packaging materials at low cost.

Malaysian firm thrives on Valentine’s Day at air show

BANGALORE - A Malaysian garment firm made hay Saturday at Aero India international air-show by selling designer T-shirts, caps, fighter aircraft models and a variety of novelties to celebrate Valentine’s Day in a special way.

EU economy shrank more than expected in fourth quarter

BRUSSELS - The economies of the European Union (EU) and the eurozone both posted worse-than-expected quarterly drops of 1.5 percent in the final three months of 2008, the EU’s statistics office, Eurostat, said Friday.

Australia’s forest fire toll rises to 166

SYDNEY - The body count reached 166 Tuesday, more than doubling the death toll from Australia’s previous worst forest fires in 1983.

Indian-American physicist helps craft world’s sub-atomic writing

WASHINGTON - Stanford researchers have reclaimed bragging rights for creating the world’s tiniest writing, in sub-atomic letters more than a billion times smaller than a metre - a distinction the university first gained in 1985 and lost in 1990.

Himachal governor commends state’s development on R-Day

SHIMLA - Himachal Pradesh Governor Prabha Rao Monday took the salute at the Republic Day parade held on the historic Ridge here and commended the development initiatives undertaken by the state on the occasion.

Decoding how cell memory helps immune system fend off invasions

WASHINGTON - Resarchers are close to decoding the mystery of how immune cells fend off infections by remembering and recognising the nature of invading pathogens.

Kenya celebrates Obama inauguration

NAIROBI - Tens of thousands of Kenyans celebrated Barack Obama’s inauguration as the 44th president of the US at parties across the east African nation as images of their favourite son were beamed onto big screens.

Hindu priest to join in prayers for presidential inauguration

CHICAGO - The Presidential Inaugural Committee has announced that a Hindu priest will be among the spiritual leaders who will participate in the national prayer service to be held on Jan 21, the day following the inauguration of Barack Obama as the 44th president of the United States.

Barcelona, Valencia and Sevilla in Spanish cup quarters

MADRID - Spanish giants Barcelona, Valencia and Sevilla cruised into the quarter-finals of the Spanish King’s Cup football, knocking out Atletico Madrid, Racing Santander and Deportivo Coruna respectively.

Micro-tool can grab living cells in hard-to-reach places

WASHINGTON - Dust-particle sized devices developed recently by scientists, activated by heat or bio-chemical signals, can grab and remove living cells from hard-to-reach places, without having to use wires, tubes or batteries.

Extinct bird’s droppings yields details of pre-human New Zealand

SYDNEY - Droppings of a giant extinct bird, buried beneath cave floors and rock shelters for millennia, have yielded a mine of information about pre-human New Zealand.

Poor women in Philippines yearn for birth control

MANILA - Struggling with a daily food budget of less than $2 for a family of 12, Floriza Bacli said she was happy to spoil her children a bit on New Year’s Eve with something special - half a kilogram of fried chicken and a quarter kg of hot-dogs.

Marine algae most promising bet for green fuel

WASHINGTON - Scientists see marine algae as the most promising bet for a green fuel that would help ease the dependence on fossil fuel and power vehicles of the future.