The Competition Master

Dev Anand: The eternal romantic and charming Bollywood hero

Dev Anand: The eternal romantic and charming Bollywood hero

Evergreen romantic star Dev Anand, who has given classic films like 'Guide' and 'Hare Rama Hare Krishna' and epitomised t...

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New Egypt election results show Islamists leading

New Egypt election results show Islamists leading

Islamist parties captured more than 60 per cent of the vote in the first round of Egypt's parliamentary elections. The Islamic fundam...

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Planning Afghanistan's future beyond 2014

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div id="4982" style="display: block;"> <ul style="text-align: justify;"><li> A global conference in Germany to discuss Afghanistan's future beyond 2014 comes as the country faces political instability, an enduring Taliban-led insurgency and possible financial collapse following the planned drawdown of international troops and foreign aid. 
 
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<li> About 100 countries and international organizations will be represented at the gathering, with some 60 foreign ministers in attendance, among them U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton. 
 
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<li>  Pakistan, said it will boycott the conference to protest last month's NATO air assault carried out from Afghan territory that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers. 
 
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<li> Pakistan is seen as crucial player in the region because of its links and influence on insurgent groups that are battling Afghan government and foreign troops and that sometimes use Pakistan as a base for their operations. 
 
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<li> The Bonn conference is expected to address the transfer of security responsibility from international forces to Afghan security forces over the next three years, long-term prospects for international aid and a possible political settlement with the Taliban. 
</li>
</ul></div></div>

Planning Afghanistan's future beyond 2014

A global conference in Germany to discuss Afghanistan's future beyond 2014 comes as the cou...

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US starts vacating Shamsi airbase in Pakistan

US starts vacating Shamsi airbase in Pakistan

The US started pulling out its nationals from Shamsi airbase, reportedly used by CIA- operated drones, on the orders of Pakistan governmen...

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Latin America Forms Bloc Without U.S., Canada

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li> Latin American and Caribbean countries signed the “declaration of Caracas”  in Venezuela to formalize the creation of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States, an economic and political bloc that excludes the U.S. and Canada.  
 
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<li> Leaders and officials from 33 countries approved the declaration that pledges to improve ties in the region.  
 
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<li> The Celac, as it is known, which Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez says fulfills the dreams of Simon Bolivar and other liberators in the hemisphere, will seek to boost regional trade and integration and may create an international reserve fund to protect its members against the global economic crisis.  
 
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<li> Chile will assume the presidency of the group during its first year and the next summit will be held in Santiago at the end of 2012. 
 
 
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<li> Presidents from Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guayana and Peru were unable to attend the Celac meetings. 
</li>
</ul></div>

Latin America Forms Bloc Without U.S., Canada

Latin American and Caribbean countries signed the “declaration of Caracas” in Venezuela to formalize the creation of the Community of La...

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Kyoto Pledges Must Be Extended Past 2012 If China to Adopt a Binding Deal

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div id="4985" style="display: block;"> <ul style="text-align: justify;"><li> China set out its conditions for adopting a binding post-2020 greenhouse-gas commitment as part of a global deal, demanding an extension of current pledges by industrialized countries under the Kyoto Protocol beyond 2012. 
</li>
</ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li> China set out its conditions for adopting a binding post-2020 greenhouse-gas commitment as part of a global deal, demanding an extension of current pledges by industrialized countries under the Kyoto Protocol beyond 2012.  
 
</li>
<li> Developing nations should be allowed to stick to voluntary targets to limit pollution until a legally-binding treaty that could take effect after 2020 
 
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<li> The U.S. never ratified Kyoto. Japan, Russia and Canada are refusing to sign up to further commitments under Kyoto. The European Union says it will only extend the pact if all other nations agree to a “road map” pointing toward a new treaty that would regulate emissions from both industrial and developing countries. 
</li>
</ul></div></div>

Kyoto Pledges Must Be Extended Past 2012 If China to Adopt a Binding Deal

China set out its conditions for adopting a binding post-2020 greenhouse-gas commitme...

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Massive 18 new planets discovered

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div id="4987" style="display: block;"> <ul style="text-align: justify;"><li> Using twin telescopes at the Keck Observatory in Hawaii, astronomers have discovered 18 new Jupiter-like planets orbiting massive stars. 
 
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<li> Researchers at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), surveyed about 300 stars, and focussed on those dubbed “retired” A-type stars that are more than one and a half times more massive than the sun. 
 
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<li> These stars are just past the main stage of their life hence, “retired”, and are now puffing up into what’s called a subgiant star. 
 
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<li> The Kepler mission is a space telescope that has so far identified more than 1,200 possible planets, though the majority of those have not yet been confirmed. 
</li>
</ul></div></div>

Massive 18 new planets discovered

Using twin telescopes at the Keck Observatory in Hawaii, astronomers have discovered 18 ...

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Eco tourism centre in Haryana soon

Eco tourism centre in Haryana soon

A herbal park and eco tourism centre named after former prime minister late Rajiv Gandhi will soo...

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Delhi is first city to launch Hepatitis C screening

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li> Delhi became the first city in the country to begin screening for the `silent killer` Hepatitis C. 
 
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<li> An initiative of the Delhi Government, the screening is being conducted at the Institute of Liver and Biliary Sciences (ILBS) in order to prevent the spread of the deadly virus that manifests after 15 to 20 years as Cirrhosis and liver cancer in the infected person. 
 
</li>
<li> As a preventive measure, hospitals in the city will soon have the latest specific measure -- nucleic acid testing (NAT)-- of all blood in order to reduce the residual risk of transmission of Hepatitis C 
</li>
</ul></div>

Delhi is first city to launch Hepatitis C screening

Delhi became the first city in the country to begin screening for the `silent killer` Hepatitis C. An initiative of the...

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New Delhi welcomes Aus Labour Party's decision to lift ban on Uranium sale to India

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><ul><li> <div style="text-align: justify;">Australia's ruling Labor party on Sunday backed Prime Minister Julia Gillard's bold move to overturn a long standing ban on uranium sale to India, paving the way for removal of a major irritant in bilateral ties. Delegates at the Australian Labor Party's national conference in Sydney favoured Gillard's decision to open up uranium sale to India despite the country being a non-signatory to the NPT after a heated discussion on the issue, with 206 members voting in favour and 185 against. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> 
</div> </li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"> Opponents to the move cited the Fukushima nuclear disaster that rocked Japan following a massive quake and tsunami in March. Gillard, while moving the motion said it would boost trade and enhance Australia's relationship with India. She said it was not rational that Australia sells uranium to China but not to India. Gillard said any agreement to sell uranium to India would include strict safeguards to minimise proliferation risks.</li>
</ul></div>

New Delhi welcomes Aus Labour Party's decision to lift ban on Uranium sale to India

Australia's ruling Labor party on Sunday backed Prime Minister Julia Gillard's bold move to overturn a long standing ...

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World snooker championhip

World snooker championhip

Iran’s Hossein Vafaei Ayouri won the World Snooker Championship beating Wales Lee Walker in the final.

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British Queen faces pay freeze until 2015

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div id="4992" style="display: block;"> <ul style="text-align: justify;"><li> The British Queen is all set to feel the pinch of the economic downturn as she faces a pay freeze until 2015 as part of austerity measures imposed in a shake up of the royal finances. 
 
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<li> The royal household is on course for six successive years of funding cuts -- affecting the Queen's income, which has dropped in real terms since 2009.  
 
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<li> Under the new arrangement, the Queen will receive 15 per cent of the profits made over two years from the Crown Estate, whose portfolio includes Regent Street, Windsor Great Park and more than half the country's shoreline.  
 
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<li> Chancellor George Osborne has imposed the freeze on the Queen's taxpayer funding -- setting payments at 30 million pounds per year until April 2013. But she will receive a further one-off payment of 1 million pounds to fund the cost of the diamond jubilee 
</li>
</ul></div></div>

British Queen faces pay freeze until 2015

The British Queen is all set to feel the pinch of the economic downturn as she faces a pay free...

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Syria unrest: Arab league issues new Sunday deadline

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li> Syria is facing a new Arab League deadline to accept proposals to allow observers into the strife-torn country.  
 
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<li> Arab foreign ministers said Damascus had until Sunday to agree to the league's plan. Further sanctions have been threatened. 
 
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<li> At their Cairo meeting, Arab ministers also confirmed economic sanctions against Damascus approved in the past week. 
 
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<li> These include cutting off transactions with Syria's central bank, freezing assets for 19 officials and aides of President Bashar al-Assad, and banning them from travelling to other Arab countries. 
</li>
</ul></div>

Syria unrest: Arab league issues new Sunday deadline

Syria is facing a new Arab League deadline to accept proposals to allow observers into the strife-torn country. Arab foreign ministers...

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Albania buries royal pretender Leka Zogu

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li> The self-proclaimed heir to the throne of Albania, Leka Zogu, has been buried in Tirana. 
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<li> Zogu, 72, was the son of Albanian King Ahmet Zogu, who ruled from 1928 until Italy's invasion in 1939. 
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<li> Albania's then-communist rulers abolished the monarchy in 1946 but Zogu maintained his claim to the throne. 
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<li> He died in Tirana. 
</li>
<li> Prime Minister Sali Berisha and President Bamir Topi were joined for the funeral by other political leaders, religious representatives and the president of neighbouring Kosovo, Atifete Jahjaga. 
</li>
</ul></div>

Albania buries royal pretender Leka Zogu

The self-proclaimed heir to the throne of Albania, Leka Zogu, has been buried in Tirana. Zogu, 72, was the son of Albanian King Ahmet Zo...

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Europe ends calls to stranded Mars probe

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li> The European Space Agency announced that it was now ceasing any further attempts to get a signal. 
</li>
<li> It was Esa's 15m antenna in Perth, Australia, that first managed to get a response from Phobos-Grunt on 22 and 23 November (GMT). That success was quickly followed by Russian ground controllers using a 0.5m dish in Baikonur, Kazakhstan. 
</li>
<li> Phobos-Grunt is currently moving in an orbit with an altitude that varies between 200km (perigee) and 340km (apogee). 
</li>
<li> Phobos-Grunt was built to land on the larger of Mars' two moons, Phobos, and scoop up rock to bring back to Earth. 
</li>
<li> The  mission is also notable because China's first Mars satellite, Yinghuo-1, has been launched piggy-back on the main Russian spacecraft. 
</li>
</ul></div>

Europe ends calls to stranded Mars probe

The European Space Agency announced that it was now ceasing any further attempts to get a signal. It was Esa's 15m a...

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