10 killed in Taliban siege on Afghan court complex

At least 10 people died Thursday when Taliban insurgents wearing military uniforms mounted a six-hour gun and grenade siege on a court complex in northern Afghanistan, in an assault highlighting the country’s fragile security situation.

Italy rocked by deadly court shooting, 3 killed

MILAN - An armed man on trial for bankruptcy fraud gunned down a judge and lawyer in a Milan court Thursday in an attack which left three dead and sent shockwaves through Italy.

Bangladesh JI leader on death row faces final plea

DHAKA - A Bangladesh Islamist leader has a final chance Thursday to avoid the gallows by appealing to the president for clemency against his death sentence for war crimes, an official said.

US man arrested for allegedly supporting IS

WASHINGTON - A Wisconsin man has been charged with providing support to Islamic State jihadists in Iraq and Syria, where he allegedly planned to join the extremist group, the Justice Department said Thursday.

2 Philippine soldiers killed in Qaeda-linked clash

Philippine soldiers clashed with about 200 fighters of a Al Qaeda-linked militant group on Thursday, leaving two soldiers and six guerrillas dead, a military spokeswoman said.

Mortar fire kills 11 civilians in Egypt’s Sinai

CAIRO - Mortar fire has killed 11 civilians, all but one of them women and children, in Egypt’s North Sinai, where the government is battling an Islamist insurgency, police and medics said Thursday.

Playing games in sync can make kids more empathic

Washington: In an example of how a physical activity performed in unison helps children feel more positively toward one another, researchers have found that even a video game played together in sync on a computer could increase their empathy.

Facebook's clout not waning among teenagers: Survey

Despite threats from mobile messaging services, the social networking site Facebook is not going into history books, at least for now.

Amazon unveils new storage service Amazon EFS

Amazon has announced the launch of its new storage service, Amazon Elastic File System (EFS), which provides a common file system for multiple (Elastic Compute Cloud) EC2 virtual machines on Amazon Web Services (AWS) through the standard NFSv4 protocol.

Microsoft partners Dropbox to allow edit of Office files in Dropbox using Office Online

Microsoft in partnership with Dropbox has announced a new integration that will now allow users to view and edit their Microsoft Office files, including Word, PowerPoint and Excel documents, in Dropbox using Office Online using the web.

Dust-covered belts of glaciers made of frozen water found on Mars

Astronomers have found dust-covered belts of glaciers made of frozen water on Mars.

Basic building blocks of life found around distant young star

Astronomers were recently able to detect the presence of complex organic molecules, the building blocks of life, in an infant star system for the first time ever.

NASA's chief scientist claims to find signs of alien life by 2025

NASA's chief scientist has claimed that they could find evidence of alien life in the universe as early as 2025.

Suicide blast hits EU vehicle in Kabul, passer-by killed

KABUL - A Taliban suicide bomb hit a European Union police vehicle in Kabul on Monday, killing at least one passer-by but not wounding any passengers, officials said, days after the NATO combat mission ended in Afghanistan.

Deadly violence erupts in Bangladesh on polls anniversary

DHAKA  - Deadly clashes erupted on the streets of Bangladesh Monday on the first anniversary of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s controversial re-election as police besieged the main opposition leader in her office.
Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina accused her besieged opposition rival of trying to trigger anarchy as she countered that the Bangladesh Nationalist Party chief was responsible for a wave of violence that left at least four people dead in the volatile South Asian nation. “I am urging the BNP leader to stop these bomb and grenade attacks, these acts of sabotage, and killings, of arson and damage to property,” Hasina said in a televised address to the nation, exactly a year after she was re-elected in what was effectively a one-horse race.

China urges 'relevant parties' to avoid tension on Korean peninsula

China on Monday called on "relevant parties" to avoid action that would escalate tension on the Korean peninsula after the United States imposed more sanctions on North Korea last week.

Two Saudi guards killed in attack on Iraq frontier: Saudi ministry

Riyadh: A suicide bomber killed two Saudi guards Monday on the border with Iraq, where Daesh militants have seized a swathe of territory, the interior ministry said.

Blast targets Houthi base in Yemen capital

SANAA: A large blast targeted a building belonging to Yemen’s Shi’ite Muslim Houthi militia in a western district of the capital Sanaa early on Monday, residents said, but it was not clear if there were casualties.

Eight presumed dead after ship sank off Scotland

Edinburgh: Eight crew members onboard a cargo ship that sank off the coast of Scotland were presumed dead on Monday, two days after the vessel capsized in stormy weather.

Runaway North Korean soldier kills four Chinese: Reports

Seoul: A North Korean believed to be a runaway soldier killed four Chinese during a robbery after he crossed the border into China in search of food, media reports said Monday.

Indonesia naval captain says may have located missing plane's tail section

An Indonesian naval patrol vessel found on Monday what the captain said could be the tail of a missing AirAsia jet, the section where the crucial black box voice and flight data recorders are located.

Hollande rules out French intervention in Libya

President Francois Hollande said Monday that France would not intervene unilaterally in Libya and urged the international community to take action to stem the deepening crisis in the country.

Iraq asks Australian PM for more military aid

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi on Sunday asked Australian counterpart Tony Abott to step up military assistance to aid Baghdad’s fight against the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) jihadist group.

Afghan president says U.S. withdrawal timetable should be 're-examined'

President of Afghanistan said in a television interview scheduled to air Sunday night that the U.S. should "re-examine" its troop withdrawal deadline.

Former S. Korea presidential aide indicted over 'fake' document

A former aide to South Korean President Park Geun-Hye has been charged with leaking a document on the president's personal life which triggered defamation suits against domestic and foreign media, prosecutors said Monday.

The internal presidential office document claimed that another former Park aide, Jeong Yun-Hoe, meddled in state affairs by receiving regular briefings from presidential officials despite having no official position in the administration.

China fumes after Taiwan's flag raising in Washington

China has protested to the United States after Taiwan's de facto embassy in Washington hoisted a Taiwanese flag on New Year's Day, calling on the United States to respect the "One China" policy, the foreign ministry said on Monday.

Western-backed Syrian opposition body elects new leadership

Istanbul- Syria's Western-backed political opposition group, the National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces, has elected a new presidential committee and a president widely seen as not tied to any of the body's international sponsors.

2 shot dead in Bangladesh on election anniversary

Dhaka, Bangladesh: Two men on a motorbike opened fire on a group of anti-government activists in northwestern Bangladesh on Monday, killing two amid heightened tensions on the anniversary of a general election boycotted by a major opposition alliance last year, a local opposition leader said.

US hedge fund founder Thomas Gilbert shot dead in New York

A US hedge fund founder was found shot to death in his Manhattan apartment on Sunday, and New York police are seeking his son for questioning, authorities said.

AirAsia jet engine dies before take-off from Surabaya

An AirAsia jet’s engine failed just before its take-off from the Indonesian city of Surabaya and the 120 passengers on board were asked to disembark, in the latest incident to hit the airline’s flights.

Three killed in China landslide

At least three people were confirmed dead after a landslide covered an expressway in China's Guizhou province, rescuers said Monday.

Google Glass to Soon Get Some More Competition

San Francisco-based Osterhout Design Group (ODG), which develops heavy-duty smart glasses for the military, is set to roll out a consumer-friendly version this year, Forbes reported.

Smartphone swipe to unlock your suitcase

New York:   US-based start-up Digipas has launched a "smart" lock that allows users to open or lock their luggage with just a swipe of their smartphone screens.

UK airport witness chaos after unusual plane error

London: Thousands of passengers faced delays of over an hour at UK's Stansted Airport after an unusual security blunder caused chaos in the departure lounge.

SnoopSnitch app to track someone spying on you

A new app called SnoopSnitch can detect International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI) catchers by keeping a tab if someone is spying on you.

NASA to set test inflatable technology

Washington: The US space agency is planning to test inflatable spacecraft technology for future missions to Red Planet.

The Big Bang theory to be probed from Antarctica

New York: A set of six telescopes collectively known as Spider - Sub-orbital Polarimeter for Inflation, Dust and the Epoch of Re-ionization - will circle Antarctica in a bid to observe a haze of faint, radio microwaves that envelops space.

Android-controlled ''super car'' for kids under five

London: A South Korean company has designed an Android-controlled `super car` which can compete with Ferraris and Lamborghinis!

New app to help start a car remotely

New York: A new app will help car owners remotely start their cars with a simple tap of the screen.

Cameron will move EU referendum forward if possible

Prime Minister David Cameron said on Sunday he would like to bring forward a planned referendum on Britain's membership of the European Union from 2017 if possible.

Eight missing as ship sinks off Scotland

An overturned cargo ship sank Sunday off the coast of Scotland as the search continued for the missing eight-member crew.

Indonesia pledges to probe AirAsia flight violations

Indonesia pledged on Saturday to investigate flight violations by AirAsia, as search teams found four large parts of the airline’s plane that crashed into the sea last weekend with 162 people on board.

Two Filipinos dead, 16 missing in ship sinking

The cargo vessel Bulk Jupiter went down on January 2 off the coast of Vung Tau City and so far, only one Filipino crewman has been rescued alive.

Cyber crimes in India may double in 2015: Study

New Delhi - The number of cyber crimes in India may touch 300,000 in 2015, almost double the level of last year, causing havoc in the financial space, security establishment and social fabric, a study said.

High alert after Air India office receives threat call

Kolkata - An anonymous telephone call threatening that an Air India plane would be hijacked was made to the Kolkata office of the state-owned carrier on Saturday evening, police said.

Bangladesh opposition leader locked in office by police

Dhaka — Bangladesh’s main opposition leader Khaleda Zia was locked in her office by police in Dhaka on Sunday, her aide said, ahead of the first anniversary of an election her party boycotted.

North Korea slams ‘hostile’ US sanctions over Sony hack

Seoul — North Korea on Sunday lashed out at fresh sanctions imposed by the United States in retaliation for its alleged cyber attack on Sony Pictures, criticising Washington for refusing a proposed joint investigation.

Five arrested in India over Japanese tourist gang rape

Kolkata — Five men have been arrested over the gang rape and extortion of a Japanese tourist held as a sex slave for nearly a month in a basement close to a famous Buddhist shrine in India, officials said Sunday.

Pakistan strikes kill 31 militants, drone kills seven

Pakistani airstrikes killed 31 militants and a suspected US drone strike killed another seven, officials said on Sunday, as local troops pressed an ongoing offensive in the country’s tribal regions along the Afghan border that have been longtime insurgent havens.

Scientists plan to grow lettuce on Mars

A British-led group is planning to grow lettuce on the Red Planet for future dwellers, media reports said.

Soon, cancer cells detecting 'Endoscope' to destroy tumors too

Scientists are working to upgrade the tool used to examine and detect cancer and other illnesses, called Endoscope, so that it can zap tumors as well.

Obamas pay 'surprise' visit to Eddie Vedder's home during Hawaii vacation

Barack Obama and his daughter Sasha and Malia gave a surprise visit to Pearl Jam rocker Eddie Vedder's Kailua home on 3rd January.

AirAsia crash: Another body, 5th object found amid bad weather

Rescuers today recovered another body and a fifth large object from the crashed AirAsia jet in the Java Sea, even as persistent bad weather hampered divers' efforts to reach the fuselage believed to contain remaining victims besides the black box.

Prince Harry may become first royal general

Prince Harry is currently being lined up as a future commander of the Household Cavalry, which is Queen's favourite regiment.

Pentagon seeking candidates to fill 183,300 dollars 'Yoda' position

The US Defense Department is reportedly inviting in applications for the post of director for its Office of Net Assessment in order to replace Pentagon's exiting 'Yoda'.

N. Korea blackmailed high-ranking foreigners into acting in country's favour using honeytrap girls

Former North Korean leader Kim Jong-il reportedly initiated a honeytrap programme, where female agents were sent to seduce high-ranking foreign visitors and become pregnant by their lovers in order to blackmail them into acting in favour of the nation.

Italy rescues another abandoned migrant ship

A ship carrying hundreds of migrants has been abandoned by its crew in rough seas in the Mediterranean off Italy’s south coast in the second such incident in three days, the Italian coastguard said on Friday.

Girl survives US plane crash that kills four others

Washington — A seven-year-old girl walked free from the wreckage of a private plane that crashed in a wooded area of Kentucky on Friday killing four others on board, US police said.

Boko Haram seizes 40 boys, men in northern Nigeria

Suspected Boko Haram gunmen have kidnapped 40 boys and young men in a remote village in northeast Nigerian Borno state on New Year’s Eve, residents who fled the isolated settlement said on Saturday.

Two large objects found in AirAsia wreckage hunt

Indonesian officials were hopeful on Saturday that they were honing in on the wreckage of AirAsia Flight 8501 after sonar equipment detected two large objects on the ocean floor, nearly a week after the plane went down in stormy weather.

Twitter releases new feature that allows users to catch up on missed tweets

Twitter has released a new feature that allows users to catch up on missed Tweets.

Microsoft, Yahoo's search services suffer brief outage

Tech giant Microsoft's search engine Bing.com and other sites, including live.com, suffered a brief disconnection of about 20 minutes on Friday, as per reports revealed on Twitter and other website-monitoring services.

This is how plant biomass can be converted into biofuels more efficiently

A new study has recently revealed that plant genetic advance could lead to more efficient conversion of plant biomass to biofuels.

Indonesia freezes AirAsia's permission to fly on doomed QZ8501 route

In a major development to the reports of the unfortunate crashing of AirAsia flight, it is revealed that the permission has been denied to the ill-fated airline to fly on the doomed airliner's route.

Sony cyber attack: US imposes new sanctions on North Korea

Reacting to the cyber attack against US company Sony Pictures Entertainment, the United States imposed fresh sanctions on North Korea, holding that they believed the Asian country was behind it.

Chinese biologists discover molecule behind bamboo flowering cycle

Beijing: A team of Chinese biologists has discovered the molecule responsible for the coordination of the different genes involved in the mass flowering cycles of bamboo, a key food for panda bears, the South China Morning Post reported Friday.

Top fitness apps not satisfying: Study

WASHINGTON: A good number of top fitness apps scored less in consumer satisfaction, a report shows.

New antibiotic could curb hearing loss

New York: A new version of a common antibiotic could eliminate the side effects associated with the drug - risk of hearing loss and kidney damage, a new research has found.

Nasa looks for high-tech airships

Nasa has called for designs of an airship that can fly at altitudes higher than the currrent 65,000-foot limit for weather balloons and for longer than the existing ones.

30 bodies recovered as AirAsia search area narrowed

Indonesian recovery teams narrowed the search area for AirAsia Flight 8501 Friday, hopeful they were closing in on the plane’s crash site, with a total of 30 bodies and more debris recovered from the sea.

Premier League match report: Tottenham Hotspur 5 Chelsea 3

London: Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho suffered a chastening defeat as Tottenham Hotspur stunned his side 5-3 on Thursday to leave them joint-top with Manchester City in the Premier League.

NFL’s top rushers aim to inspire in play-offs

Washington: The National Football League’s two top rushers will feature in the opening weekend of the NFL play-offs, but each faces a formidable challenge to help his team advance.

Ebola-hit UK nurse treated with survivor’s plasma, trial drug

A British nurse who contracted Ebola in west Africa is being treated with the blood plasma of someone who survived the virus and an experimental anti-viral drug, the doctor supervising her care said Wednesday.

Man with automatic weapon detained near Istanbul palace

The bomb failed to explode and the man, aged around 30, was seized by security forces at the Dolmabahce Palace in Turkey’s largest city, media added.

Maasai kill six lions after livestock attack

Angry Maasai herders in Tanzania killed six lions that had attacked livestock, in the latest clash between man and beast in the region.

Canada police: Shooting at New Year’s Eve party kills 1

Police were searching Friday for the gunman or gunmen who opened fire at a New Year’s Eve house party in Calgary, leaving one person dead and six others injured, including one in critical condition, police said.

Afghan soldiers to blame for deadly wedding bombing: Officials

Afghan soldiers were responsible for firing mortars at a wedding party that killed 17 women and children, officials said on Friday, in a mistaken strike that overshadowed the transfer of nationwide security from NATO forces.

At least 7 killed in Al Shabaab attack at Somali military base

Somalia’s Al Shabaab militants attacked a military base in the outskirts of the town of Baidoa on Friday morning, killing at least 7 Somali soldiers, a Somali military official said.

Libya extinguishes fire at biggest oil terminal: officials

Libya has extinguished a fire at oil storage tanks at the country's biggest oil port, Es Sider, that had been raging for a week, officials said on Friday.

Russia oil output hits post-Soviet high, small firms help

Russia's 2014 oil output hit a post-Soviet record high average of 10.58 million barrels per day (bpd), rising by 0.7 percent helped by small non-state producers, Energy Ministry data showed on Friday.

Trial opens of Turkey police accused of spying on Erdogan

The trial opened at an Ankara court on Friday of 13 former Turkish police officers accused of setting up bugs to eavesdrop on President Recep Tayyip Erdogan while he was prime minister.

2014 deadliest year in Iraq for civilians since 2006-7 bloodshed - U.N.

Violence in Iraq in 2014 killed at least 12,282 civilians, making it the deadliest year since the sectarian bloodshed of 2006-07, the United Nations said in a statement.

China's Three Gorges dam 'breaks world hydropower record'

China's Three Gorges dam has broken the world record for annual hydroelectric power production, more than a decade after it became the world's largest power plant, its operator said.

AirAsia crash: Plane landed safely on water before sinking?

The AirAsia flight QZ8501 that met with disaster over the Java Sea on its way from Surabaya in Indonesia to Singapore Sunday, may have made a safe landing on water before being consumed by high waves, amid a raging storm, experts say.

With 76,000 deaths in Syrian conflict 2014 becomes deadliest in 4 years

Over 76,000 people have been killed in the Syrian conflict in the year 2014 marking it as the deadliest year yet in the country's four year conflict, said activists.

China says ties with U.S. to be modified with Asia as 'starting point'

A senior Chinese diplomat has said that the country will form a new type of relationship with the United States, with Asia as "the starting point".

AirAsia plane's blackbox recorders likely to take another week to find

The search for the doomed AirAsia flight's black box recorders could take a week, an aviation official said.

Tennessee man admits his CNN hacking threat was 'a joke'

The hacking threat directed at cable network CNN has turned out be just another hoax.

Obama's a champ at swatting flies with rolled up magazines!

Barack Obama recently showed off his skills at keeping his Oval Office pest free by swatting a pesky fly with a rolled up magazine.

New Strings app allows you to take back 'embarrassing' texts and images

A new social networking application called Strings allows users to take back embarrassing texts and images once shared with other users.

Twitter releases new feature that allows users to catch up on missed tweets

Twitter has released a new feature that allows users to catch up on missed Tweets.

South Korean activist to drop DVDs of "The Interview" into North Korea via balloons

A South Korean activist is planning to balloon drop DVD's of Sony's "The Interview" movie in North Korea.

Microsoft's Joe Belfiore says Windows Phone not forgotten

Microsoft's Joe Belfiore has said that the software giant's Office team has not forgotten the Windows Phone.

Google marks end of 2014 with animated doodle

Google has celebrated the last day of the year 2014 with an animated doodle that gives a re-cap of the year's major events.

Samsung to launch its first all-in-one Desktop computer Ativ One 7 Curved

Samsung is preparing to launch its first new all-in-one desktop computer Ativ One 7 Curved that will have a curved screen just as its TVs.

Apple patents 'smart pen' capable of detecting hand movements

Tech giant Apple has been granted a patent for a stylus design of a smart pen capable of detecting hand movements that enables translation into digital line drawing s and text, adding into the list of their new innovations.

Sony hackers threaten cyber attack on US news organization

The group of hackers that breached Sony Pictures Entertainment has threatened to attack a US news organisation.

Soon, automatic charging system that slithers to cars like 'solid metal snake'

Researchers are working on an automatic car charging system that would slithers from the wall on its own and connect to a Model S like 'solid metal snake.'

AirAsia flight 'didn't fall out of the sky like an aeroplane,' says analyst

An analyst has said that the AirAsia flight QZ8501 climbed at a virtually impossible rate, which may have led to the plane being practically thrown down into the sea.

China stampede kills 35

At least 35 people were killed in a stampede in China's Shanghai city on Wednesday, media reports said on Thursday.

New 3-D culture system for pancreatic cancer developed

In a breakthrough, a new 3-D method to grow pancreatic tissue not only from laboratory mouse models but also from human patient tissue has been developed offering a path to personalised treatment approaches in the future.

Reducing physical activity hampers vascular function

Washington: A new research shows that reducing daily physical activity for even a few days leads to decrease in the functioning of inner lining of blood vessels in legs of young people.