US report exposes gaps in India’s counterterrorism apparatus

October 7th, 2009 WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama has vowed to continue targeting the Al Qaeda that is threatening the US from Pakistan and beyond, even as the terror network is said to have "lost operational capacity" after a series of recent missile strikes. "We know that Al Qaeda and its extremist allies threaten us from different corners of the globe-from Pakistan but also from East Africa and Southeast Asia; from Europe and the Gulf," Obama said in a visit Tuesday to the National Counterterrorism Centre just outside Washington in McLean, Virginia.

October 6th, 2009 President meets with lawmakers on Afghan policyWASHINGTON — President Barack Obama keeps his attention on global terror and security matters on Tuesday, as he continues a series of meetings with advisers and others on Afghanistan. In the morning, he'll visit the National Counterterrorism Center in Washington and meet with top officials there.

October 2nd, 2009 WASHINGTON - A new research by scientists has suggested that coal outbursts in underground mines occur through a process very similar to what happens during explosive volcanic eruptions. Worldwide, thousands of workers die every year from mining accidents, and instantaneous coal outbursts in underground mines are among the major killers.

September 24th, 2009 Hindus have demanded immediate resignation of India’s cricket coach Gary Kirsten for attacking the moral fiber of the country by reportedly encouraging sex indulgence among the nation’s cricket players in a dossier, claiming it increased performance. Acclaimed Hindu statesman Rajan Zed, in a statement in Nevada (USA) today, said that India’s youth looked up to the cricket players as kind of role models.

July 14th, 2009 Achievement gap divides black, white studentsWASHINGTON — Reading and math scores are rising for black students across the country, but not enough to close the gap between them and their better-scoring white peers, an Education Department report released Tuesday found. The gap in reading is especially dismal — only three states have managed to narrow the divide between black and white students in fourth grade, and no state has narrowed the gap in eighth grade.

July 12th, 2009 AP sources: Cheney told CIA not to discuss progamWASHINGTON — Government sources say Vice President Dick Cheney directed the CIA not to inform Congress about a nascent counterterrorism program eight years ago that CIA Director Leon Panetta terminated in June. Government officials with direct knowledge of Panetta's June 24 briefing to congressional intelligence committees confirmed that Cheney had told the CIA not to discuss the program with Congress yet.

July 2nd, 2009 Gap widening between indigenous, other AustraliansSYDNEY — Children in Australia's Aboriginal communities are six times as likely to be abused or neglected than the country's non-indigenous children, a government report said Thursday. The report, meant to measure social and economic improvements among Australia's most disadvantaged minority, instead highlights the continuned — and in some cases growing — discrepancies between their lives and those of other Australians.

June 25th, 2009 Napolitano to Europe, Kuwait for terrorism talksWASHINGTON — Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano leaves this weekend for meetings with officials in Europe and Kuwait on counterterrorism issues. At a meeting with reporters Thursday, Napolitano said she will be meeting with her counterparts in Britain as well as officials in Spain, Ireland and Portugal.

June 16th, 2009 Obama promises to close regulatory gapsWASHINGTON — As the Obama administration prepares to unveil an overhaul of the way financial institutions are regulated, President Barack Obama says the goal will be to fill a "series of regulatory gaps." Obama told reporters Tuesday there's been a "lack of oversight" that allowed what he termed "wild risk-taking." He says it led to conditions that have been "very dangerous" for the American people. Obama says rather than adding another layer of regulatory agencies, his approach will be to streamline and consolidate, and to add protections for consumers and investors.

June 1st, 2009 WASHINGTON - A new research by scientists has determined that the Pacific Ocean, occupying a third of the planet's area, faces threats that will render some coastal areas uninhabitable. According to a report in ENN (Environmental News Network), pollution such as sewage, runoff from land and toxic waste; habitat destruction; over-fishing; and climate change leading to sea level rise, ocean acidification and warming will all interact to damage the ocean's ecology and coastal economies.

May 1st, 2009 WASHINGTON - India is incapable of adequately responding to the threat of terrorism because of poor coordination between regional authorities and an inefficient legal system, the US State Department said in a report released Thursday. The State Department's annual report on global terrorism for 2008 said that India was among the world's top targets despite a strong government commitment to fighting terrorism.

May 1st, 2009 WASHINGTON - A series of terrorist attacks on India by Islamic extremist groups like the one on Mumbai were aimed at creating a breakdown in India-Pakistan relations and impeding India's economic resurgence, according to a US State Department report. India, one of world's most terrorism-afflicted countries in 2008, was the focus of numerous attacks from both externally-based terrorist organizations and internally-based separatist or terrorist entities, said the State Department's annual report on global terrorism released Thursday.

April 29th, 2009 Capitals plug gaps behind Rangers bench for Game 7WASHINGTON — The Washington Capitals have plugged the gaps in the glass, hoping to avoid a repeat of the nasty exchange with fans that led to New York Rangers coach John Tortorella's suspension. Before Tuesday night's Game 7, the Capitals filled the 1-inch spaces between the panes of glass behind the visitors' bench with seven I-shaped, Plexiglas stanchions.

April 15th, 2009 MUMBAI - Admitting that there were shortfalls in intelligence sharing among the country's various security agencies, Home Minister P. Chidambaram Wednesday said these 'gaps' have now been sealed to ensure better co-ordination.

March 8th, 2009 LONDON - Former 'Baywatch' star Pamela Anderson 'accidentally' did some exposing on stage while walking the ramp for the Paris Fashion Week. Anderson quickly covered up and continued on the ramp, contactmusic.com reports.