NASA's Mars rover examines rock altered by water Washington: NASA's Mars rover, Opportunity, has finished examining a fractured rock on the red planet intensely altered by water, providing evidence about a wet ancient environment possibly favourable for life. Opportunity is now driving to a new study area after a dramatic finish to 20 months on "Cape York."



The fractured rock, called "Esperance," provides evidence about a wet ancient environment possibly favourable for life, mission's principal investigator, Steve Squyres of Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, said.

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09:41 AM, May 20, 2013

AC Milan secure Champions League spot with dramatic win Milan: AC Milan secured third spot and a place in the Champions League after coming from behind to win 2-1 at Siena on Sunday in the final Serie A round of the season. Fiorentina crushed Pescara 5-1 but remained in fourth spot and will play in the Europa League next season. Mario Balotelli leveled for Milan after they were contentiously awarded penalty six minutes from fulltime, and Philippe Mexes scored...  
08:49 AM, May 20, 2013

Nigeria: 17 killed in military crackdown Abuja: At least 14 Islamist insurgents and three soldiers have been killed in Nigerian military crackdown on terrorists, as the restive Maiduguri city in northern state of Borno was placed under a 24-hour curfew. "After a mop up of scenes of battle (since Saturday), 14 terrorists were confirmed dead... Altogether three soldiers died, while seven are wounded and are being treated in a military medical facility," the defence ministry said...  
08:07 AM, May 20, 2013

Maken, Shukla differ over bringing BCCI under RTI Act New Delhi: Even as Law Minister Kapil Sibal proposed a new law to fight fixing in sports, his Cabinet colleagues Rajiv Shukla and Ajay Maken spoke in two different voices over the exemption of BCCI from the Right to Information Act. Union Minister Ajay Maken, who earlier held the sports portfolio, wants the BCCI brought under the Right to Information Act. He tweeted, "BCCI should agree to come under RTI....  
07:56 AM, May 20, 2013

AP: Congress leader, two other killed in road mishap Guntur: Three persons including Chilakaluripet Congress leader Mallela Satyanarayana, died when the car by which they were travelling collided with a truck at Chowdavaram, police said on Sunday. The incident occured in a suburb of Guntur, on the National Highway number five, they said. Andhra Pradesh Agriculture Minister K Lakshmi Narayana visited the scene of tragedy and condoled the death of Satyanarayana and two others. ...  
07:45 AM, May 20, 2013

Yahoo to buy Tumblr for $1.1. billion: 11 quick Tumblr facts New Delhi: Yahoo's board has approved a deal to buy blogging and social networking site Tumblr for $1.1 billion in cash. This is new Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer's largest deal since taking the helm of the once-iconic Internet company in July 2012. 10 facts about Tumblr: 1. 26-year-old David Karp is Tumblr's founder and CEO. 2. Tubmlr was launched in February 2007. 3. The company has 175 employees. 4. Tumblr...  
07:31 AM, May 20, 2013

Tornado levels homes in Oklahoma City trailer park Edmond: One of several tornadoes spawned by a powerful storm system rumbling through the Plains and Midwest has leveled several mobile homes in an area southeast of Oklahoma City. Reports of injuries in the mobile home park near Shawnee about 35 miles southeast of Oklahoma City couldn't immediately be confirmed. A storm spotter has told the National Weather Service that the tornado "scoured" the landscape in the park and an...  
07:03 AM, May 20, 2013

Yahoo's board approves $1.1 billion Tumblr acquisition San Francisco: Yahoo's board has approved a deal to buy blogging and social networking site Tumblr for $1.1 billion in cash, the Wall Street Journal cited people familiar with the matter as saying on Sunday. Such an acquisition would be Marissa Mayer's largest deal since taking the helm of the once-iconic Internet company in July 2012. Yahoo is keen on fast-growing Tumblr because its younger user base would bolster the...  
06:55 AM, May 20, 2013

Hezbollah steps up Syria battle, Israel threatens strikes Amman: Lebanese Hezbollah militants attacked a Syrian rebel-held town alongside Syrian troops on Sunday and Israel threatened more attacks on Syria to rein the militia in, highlighting the risks of a wider regional conflict if planned peace talks fail. Activists said it was the fiercest fighting in Syria's two year-old civil war involving Hezbollah, a Shi'ite group backed by Iran which they said appeared to be helping President Bashar al-Assad...  
06:23 AM, May 20, 2013

Li's visit: Chinese embassy, hotel turn into fortresses
by IANS
New Delhi: The Chinese embassy was on Sunday turned into a fortress as Premier Li Keqiang arrived on a state visit while a tight security ring was thrown around the Taj Palace Hotel where he is staying. Delhi Police have deployed more personnel and shut down certain roads, including those near the Chinese embassy, as a precautionary measure. All the inner roads leading to the hotel have been barricaded and...  
05:43 AM, May 20, 2013

Advanced breast cancer detecting machine comes to India
by IANS
New Delhi: An advanced digital breast cancer detecting machine with the capability to see the lesions in breasts with much more clarity than ever before was unveiled in the national capital on Sunday. The mammography machine 'Amulet' by Fuji films is claimed to be India's first low dose resolution system. Speaking at the launch, Bharatiya Janata Party leader Sushma Swaraj said: "Every woman should be aware about ever growing breast...  
05:33 AM, May 20, 2013

SA president not involved in Gupta jet scandal: Minister
by IANS
Pretoria: South African President Jacob Zuma was not involved in a wedding scandal in which a private plane of the affluent and well-connected Indian Gupta family landed at a sensitive military airbase, an investigation revealed on Sunday, reported Xinhua. "In any event, the president is not involved in authorizing the landing or not landing of aircraft at airports," Justice and Constitutional Development Minister Jeff Radebe told reporters in Pretoria. There...  
04:16 AM, May 20, 2013

HP Cong chief asks party workers to prepare for LS polls Dharamsala: Himachal Pradesh Congress chief Sukhvinder Singh on Sunday asked party workers to start preparations for 2014 Lok Sabha elections, saying they should reach out to people and help solve their grievances. The Congress state chief told party members to work as a unified unit to help achieve desired results in the next Lok Sabha polls. Singh presided over the first meeting of Kangra District Congress Committe in Dharamsala to...  
03:41 AM, May 20, 2013

RTI won't check spot-fixing, says IPL chief Rajiv Shukla

IPL chief and Union minister Rajiv Shukla has opposed his cabinet colleague Ajay Maken's demand to bring the BCCI under the RTI's ambit. ...
11:10 PM, May 19, 2013

Bhiwandi: Protestors greet Sharad Pawar with black flags Thane: Union Agriculture Minister and NCP Chief Sharad Pawar was greeted with black flags by the Congress, the Shiv Sena, the SP and the BSP workers to protest wastage of water by the civic corporation in Thane on Sunday in Bhiwandi. Pawar inaugurated the Bhiwandi-Nizampur City Municipal Corporation's new administrative building, when protesters including three MLAs Rashid Tahir, Abu Azmi and Roopesh Mhatre waved black flags at him. The three...  
10:55 PM, May 19, 2013

Hyderabad: Youth held for creating obscene Facebook profile of a woman Hyderabad: A youth from Prakasam district of Andhra Pradesh was arrested on Sunday for creating a fake Facebook account of a female student and posting her morphed pictures, the police said. The youth, allegedly created a Facebook account of the girl and uploaded her morphed images along with obscene as well as false information, besides her contact number, the police said. The victim lodged a complaint with police after which...  
09:46 PM, May 19, 2013

Obama not involved in tax scandal: White House Washington: A top White House adviser insisted President Barack Obama learned that the federal tax collection agency had targeted conservative groups only "when it came out in the news" while Republicans continued to press the administration for answers on Sunday. The Obama administration has also been forced on the defensive over its handling of last September's terrorist attack in Benghazi, Libya, that killed the US ambassador and three other Americans,...  
09:20 PM, May 19, 2013

Tripura: 3 killed as armed men attack a newspaper's office Agartala: Three staff members of a newspaper in Tripura, Dainik Ganadoot, were killed on Sunday after armed men attacked the paper's office. The three non-journalist staff members were stabbed by the unknown assailants. According to police, the motorcycle-borne assailants barged into the office of 'Dainik Ganadoot' at the Palace Compound at about 3 pm and stabbed a proof reader and a driver on the ground floor before proceeding to the...  
08:19 PM, May 19, 2013

Sarabjit death: Pakistan judge may visit India Lahore: Pakistani judge Syed Mazahar Ali Akbar Naqvi probing the murder of Indian death row convict Sarabjit Singh may also visit India to complete the judicial inquiry. Justice Naqvi of the Lahore High Court is investigating the death of Sarabjit who died on May 2 following a brutal assault by prisoners on April 26 within Kot Lakhpat Jail in Lahore. The one-man inquiry tribunal has appealed to Indian nationals having...  
07:23 PM, May 19, 2013

British Sikh ex-MP found pig's head outside his home London: One of Britain's prominent Sikh politicians, Parmjit Dhanda, has told a probe panel inquiring into racism during elections that a pig's severed head was left outside his home. The former Labour MP made the revelation to an all-party inquiry into electoral conduct in the UK, which is recording racist abuse suffered during election campaigns in the country. Dhanda's children found the pig's head on the front drive while they...  
06:42 PM, May 19, 2013