Shenzhou-9: China’s new age of discovery and self-discovery
Hong Kong (CNN) — With the Shenzhou-9 touching down in China Friday, expect the inevitable wave of propaganda touting its “model” citizens and scientific might.And what a mighty week it has been. China has witnessed the return of a manned spacecraft that successfully docked with the Tiangong 1 space lab — a first for the [...]
Three Chinese space heroes return to Earth
BEIJING, June 30 (AFP) – Three Chinese astronauts returned to Earth as heroes on Friday after carrying out China’s most complex and longest mission in orbit, vital steps in the country’s effort to build a space station by 2020. The 13-day voyage also saw China send a woman into space for the first time, and [...]
India’s tampon revolution
When Arunachalam Muruganantham spotted his wife gathering dirty rags in their home one day he asked her what they were for. If he was shocked by her reluctant response – that she was using them for her monthly period – he was even more taken back by her reply when he asked why she was [...]
A cruel and unusual record
THE United States is abandoning its role as the global champion of human rights. Revelations that top officials are targeting people to be assassinated abroad, including American citizens, are only the most recent, disturbing proof of how far our nation’s violation of human rights has extended. This development began after the terrorist attacks of Sept. [...]
The ill wind from the west
NEW DELHI – At the nadir of the financial crisis four years ago, many Asian governments came to believe that robust growth had led to a near-”decoupling” of their economies from the West and its ongoing problems. But now, as the eurozone teeters and America’s recovery weakens, Asia, too, is showing signs of faltering. Some [...]
‘The Boy Kings: A Journey into the Heart of the Social Network’
It is supposed to be one of the most dynamic companies the world has ever seen.But until recently Facebook was deeply sexist and stuck in a 1950s mentality that was a cross between a frat house and Mad Men, a new book by a former senior staff member claims. Female workers at the social network [...]
10,000 diamonds from the Queen’s private collection go on display
LONDON, June 29 (Reuters) – More than 10,000 diamonds go on show at London’s Buckingham Palace this week to mark Queen Elizabeth’s 60th year on the throne, in a dazzling display of gems gathered over the centuries as objects of beauty and symbols of power. Sparkling: The Diamond Diadem Tiara, worn by The Queen on [...]
British journalist details horrifying sexual assault in Egypt
A British journalist was brutally sexually assaulted in Cairo’s Tahrir Square as thousands of Egyptians gathered to celebrate the nation’s presidential election results. Natasha Smith, 21, has detailed how she was violently attacked by a ‘group of animals’ who stripped her naked. She only escaped by donning men’s clothes and a burka and being whisked [...]
U.S. Army develops lightning bolt to destroy enemy vehicles
The United States Army’s team of scientists is busy at work developing a device that will shoot lightning bolts down laser beams to destroy its target.And they are doing it with gusto – announcing their work with a hearty: ‘Soldiers and science fiction fans, you’re welcome.’ The Laser-Induced Plasma Channel, or LIPC, is designed to [...]
Samsung to fight block on US sales of Galaxy Nexus tablet
SEOUL, June 30 (AFP) South Korea’s Samsung vowed Saturday to “take all available measures” to fight a US court’s decision to block American sales of its Galaxy Nexus smartphones made in collaboration with Google. US District Court Judge Lucy Koh on Friday granted Apple’s request for an injunction blocking US sales of the smartphone, a [...]
Mohammed Mursi sworn in as Egypt’s president
CAIRO, June 30, 2012 (AFP) President Mohamed Morsi took the oath of office yesterday to become Egypt’s first freely elected leader and its first head of state since Hosni Mubarak’s overthrow last year. “I swear by the Almighty God to sincerely preserve the republican order and to respect the constitution and law, and completely care [...]
Katie Holmes files for divorce after ‘becoming sick of controlling Tom’
Katie Holmes was scared she was turning ‘into a robot’ while with Tom Cruise. The former Dawson’s Creek actress – who has filed for divorce from the ‘Rock of Ages’ star after five years of marriage – felt like she had changed ‘so much’ in her time with Tom.Sources close to the 33-year-old, who played [...]
Mumbai attack was run from Pakistan, India says
NEW DELHI, June 29 (Reuters) The leader of the Pakistan-based militant group India blames for the deadly 2008 Mumbai attacks may have been present in a Pakistani “control room” where the attacks were coordinated, India said on Friday. Indian authorities have long viewed Hafiz Saeed, founder of Lashkar-e-Taiba, as the mastermind of the attacks in [...]
Annan urges world leaders to unite on Syria peace plan
U.N. mediator Kofi Annan warned on Saturday that the conflict in Syria would enflame the Middle East and beyond unless world powers agreed on a peace plan but the United States said foreign ministers meeting in Geneva might fail in that task. International talks started with governments still indispute over whether President Bashar al-Assad, reviled [...]
