Osama’s Sudanese cook sentenced to 14 years in prison
Washington, Aug 12 : Al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden's cook has been sentenced to 14 years in prison, making it the first Guantanamo secret conviction under President Barack Obama.
Ibrahim al-Qosi (50), a native of Sudan, who worked for bin Laden for years before the September 11, 2001 terror attacks, pleaded guilty last month to conspiracy and material support for terrorism as part of a pre-trial agreement.
Only three detainees were convicted at Guantanamo under the Bush administration, and two of those have since been released. Qosi was among the first four detainees charged before a military commission in
2004.
New Hampshire Democrat criticized for publicly stating death wish for Palin
New York, Aug 12 : A New Hampshire Democrat is under severe criticism for saying that former Governor Sarah Palin should have crashed with Senator Ted Stevens.
Ted Stevens' died on Monday in a plane crash near a small fishing town on Alaska's Bristol Bay.
Keith Halloran, a Democratic candidate for state representative in New Hampshire, took a swipe at Palin on Facebook.
"Just wish Sarah and Levy were on board," Halloran wrote, apparently taking aim at the former Alaska Governor and her daughter's ex-fiancée, Levi Johnston.
The New Hampshire Republican Party quickly fired back with a statement denouncing the posting, the Daily News reports.
Calling Obama''s Democratic critics ''crazy'' forces spokesman Gibbs to apologise
Washington, Aug. 12 : White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs was forced to apologise after losing his temper and calling US President Barack Obama's critics "crazy" and saying they needed to be "drug tested".
Gibbs made the comments after Democratic Party left-wingers compared Obama to former US President George W Bush, The Telegraph reports.
Gibbs was quickly forced to apologise after conceding he was watching too much 24-hour cable television news that "gets frustrating" and had apparently clouded his judgement.
Calling Obama''s Democratic critics ''crazy'' forces spokesman Gibbs to apologise
Washington, Aug. 12 : White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs was forced to apologise after losing his temper and calling US President Barack Obama's critics "crazy" and saying they needed to be "drug tested".
Gibbs made the comments after Democratic Party left-wingers compared Obama to former US President George W Bush, The Telegraph reports.
Gibbs was quickly forced to apologise after conceding he was watching too much 24-hour cable television news that "gets frustrating" and had apparently clouded his judgement.
UN appeals for 460 million dollar emergency aid for Pak flood victims
New York, Aug 12 : UN humanitarian chief John Holmes has appealed for 460 million dollars in emergency aid for the flood-affected people in Pakistan.
Holmes called for help saying that the disaster was "one of the most challenging that any country has faced in recent years".
"We have a huge task in front of us to deliver all that is required as soon as possible," The Daily Times quoted Holmes, as saying.
Osama bin Laden's cook sent to 14 years in prison
Washington, Aug 12 - A Sudanese man accused of being Osama bin Laden's cook and driver and helping the Al Qaeda mastermind avoid capture has been sentenced to 14 years in prison.
Ibrahim Ahmed Mahmoud al Qosi, 50, pleaded guilty in July to two charges for his support to the Al Qaeda and for conspiring to plan terror acts from August 1996 till his capture in December 2001, Xinhua reported.
A military commission at the US Naval station in Guantanamo Bay gave the sentence, according to which Qosi agreed to a prison term that would be kept secret till the Pentagon reviews it.
US in dialogue on visa fee hike
Washington, Aug 12 (IANS) Amid growing voices against a "discriminatory" US legislation to hike visa fees for highly skilled professionals, Washington began a dialogue with lawmakers, business and within the government on the issue.
"This is an issue that we've had conversations with leaders on the Hill about," State Department spokesman Phillip J Crowley told reporters Wednesday when asked to comment on similar bills passed by both chambers of Congress.
Dogs affected by oil spill get new home
New York, Aug 12 - The oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico had 94 unexpected victims. Most of the residents living along the US coast decided to give up their dogs after their livelihood was affected. But now all of them have found a new home.
The 94 dogs of different sizes and types were transported from Louisiana to an animal care centre in New Jersey.
Heather Cammisa, president of the St. Hubert's Animal Welfare Centre, says the dogs are now available for viewing and possible adoption.
One in 12 babies born to illegal immigrants in US
Washington, Aug 12 : One of about every 12 babies born in the United States in 2008 was the offspring of illegal immigrants, says a new study sharpening a debate over a law that automatically makes them US citizens.
An estimated 340,000 of the 4.3 million babies born in the US in 2008 had parents who were in the country without legal documentation, a Pew Hispanic Centre study released Wednesday concluded.
The study did not give a country-wise break up, but according to official figures there are some 200,000 Indians among over 11 million illegal foreign residents in the US, making them the sixth largest source for unauthorised immigrants with Mexico with 6.7 million (62 per cent) at the top.
Obama sends best wishes to Muslims on Ramadan
Washington, Aug 12 - US President Barack Obama has extended his best wishes to Muslims around the world as Ramadan, the holy month of fasting, starts.
"On behalf of the American people, Michelle and I want to extend our best wishes to Muslims in America and around the world, " Obama said in a statement Wednesday.
"Ramadan is a celebration of a faith known for great diversity and racial equality. And here in the US, Ramadan is a reminder that Islam has always been part of America and that American Muslims have made extraordinary contributions to our country," Obama said.
He also said he will host a dinner celebrating Ramadan at the White House later this week.
Clinton urges Republicans to support arms treaty with Russia
Washington, Aug 12 : US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton Wednesday urged Republican Senators to support the passage of a nuclear arms treaty with Russia, warning the failure of approval could hurt the country's national security.
Clinton said the Senate has enough time to review the detailed information of the treaty, it must act because the national security is at risk, Xinhua reported.
Last week, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee had delayed a vote on ratification of the treaty until the middle of September.
'US on track for Iraq withdrawal'
Washington, Aug 12 : The US military remains on track for ending combat operations in Iraq by the end of this month, the White House said Wednesday after President Barack Obama held a meeting with key advisors.
"Nothing was brought up with the president that would necessitate us needing to turn back," spokesman Robert Gibbs said.
Obama met with Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, Defence Secretary Robert Gates and via videoconference with General Ray Odierno, the top commander of US forces in Iraq.
Obama plans to end the US combat role by the end of August, which would bring the US presence there to about 50,000. All US forces are slated to be out of Iraq by the end of 2011.
Astronauts remove faulty pump outside ISS
Washington, Aug 12 - Two US astronauts successfully removed a stubborn cooling pump outside the International Space Station (ISS) Wednesday.
Doug Wheelock and Tracy Caldwell Dyson returned to the station after their 7-hour-26-minute spacewalk, where they were confined a bit longer in a secure airlock to make sure no dangerous ammonia had clung to their spacesuits.
During their sojourn, the two astronauts removed the defective pump on the outside of the orbiting ISS that has interfered with the station's cooling system since July 31. A new pump will be installed in the coming days.
NASA scientists discover fresh crater on Moon’s surface
Washington, Aug 11 : NASA has discovered a fresh crater on the Moon’s surface.
The impact occurred sometime between an image of the region taken by the Apollo program in 1971 and an image recently taken by the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO).
The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) is a spacecraft that is taking large amounts of data on the Moon''s terrain and mineralogy, as well as taking pictures of the Apollo landers and astronaut footsteps.
Caring for pets shaped human evolution: Study
Washington, Aug 11 : Dogs, cats, cows and other domesticated animals may have been vital to human evolution, a new theory suggests.
The uniquely human habit of taking in and employing animals -- even competitors like wolves -- spurred on human tool-making and language, which have both driven humanity''s success, paleoanthropologist Pat Shipman of Penn State University.says.
"Wherever you go in the world, whatever ecosystem, whatever culture, people live with animals," Discovery News quoted Shipman as saying.
For early humans, taking in and caring for animals would seem like a poor strategy for survival.
Now, a minicooker that saves water-damaged cell phones
New York, Aug 11 : Dropped your cell phone into the toilet? No problem. Heat it in the new mini cooker called ‘Dryer Box’ – which saves your phone from going kaput.
Manufactured by a Japanese gadget company, the minicooker costs 1,000 yen (about 12 dollars).
If they fail to rescue the device after 30 minutes, there''s no charge.
If they do hit the United States, they are bound to cause a rage.
"Me and phones don''t get along too well," The New York Daily News quoted Paolo Glaude, a 21-year-old student from Harlem, as saying.
His BlackBerry was once saved after a dousing but was never the same again.
Gondwana supercontinent underwent 60-degree rotation during Cambrian explosion
Washington, Aug 11 : New evidence uncovered by a team of Yale University geologists has revealed that the Gondwana supercontinent underwent a 60-degree rotation across Earth’s surface during the Early Cambrian period.
Gondwana made up the southern half of Pangaea, the giant supercontinent that constituted the Earth’s landmass before it broke up into the separate continents we see today.
The study has implications for the environmental conditions that existed at a crucial period in Earth’s evolutionary history called the Cambrian explosion, when most of the major groups of complex animals rapidly appeared.
How paint dries and peels off
Washington, Aug 11 : Yale University researchers have come up with a new technique that let’s them take a close look at the mechanics of coating as it dries and peels off.
Understanding how and why coatings fail has broad applications in the physical and biological sciences, said Eric Dufresne, the John J. Lee Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Yale and lead author of the study.
“Coatings protect almost every surface you encounter, from paint on a wall to Teflon on a frying pan to the skin on our own bodies. When coatings peel and crack they put the underlying material at risk,” Dufresne said.
Majestic spiral galaxy discovered within the Coma Cluster
Washington, Aug 11 : Images from Hubble Space Telescope show a majestic face-on spiral galaxy located deep within the Coma Cluster of galaxies, which lies 320 million light-years away in the northern constellation Coma Berenices.
The galaxy, known as NGC 4911, contains rich lanes of dust and gas near its centre.
These are silhouetted against glowing newborn star clusters and iridescent pink clouds of hydrogen, the existence of which indicates ongoing star formation.
85mn-year-old fossil of marine predator Mosasaur reveals new secrets
Washington, Aug 11 : Mosasaur Platecarpus, one of the most formidable marine predators, lived some 85 million years ago and was thought to have swum like an eel – a theory that has been debunked by latest research.
Johan Lindgren (Lund University, Lund, Sweden), Michael W. Caldwell, Takuya Konishi (University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada), and Luis M. Chiappe, Director of the Natural History Museum''s Dinosaur Institute conducted the study.
The mosasaur specimen discovered in 1969, contains four slabs, which make up a virtually complete, 20-foot specimen.