NParks steps up checks to prevent falling trees during storms

SINGAPORE: The National Parks Board (NParks) has stepped up measures to ensure that fewer trees fall during storms. In the last five years, an average of 300 trees fell a year in bad weather. To ensure public safety, NParks has increased the number of checks on trees since the beginning of last year. Checks on trees near busy roads are now made once every 12 months, up from once every...

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Snowfall likely in Kashmir on New Year

SRINAGAR: If you are planning to head to the Kashmir Valley to usher in the New Year, you are most likely to be greeted by snowfall. "There is a possibility of widespread snowfall in the Valley from December 29," a spokesman of the MET office said on Wednesday. The news is sure to bring smiles on the faces of holiday-makers who are camping in the Valley especially the famous ski resort of Gulmarg...

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Predicting who's at risk for violence isn't easy

CHICAGO (AP) — It happened after Columbine, Virginia Tech, Aurora, Colo., and now Sandy Hook: People figure there surely were signs of impending violence. But experts say predicting who will be the next mass shooter is virtually impossible — partly because as commonplace as these calamities seem, they are relatively rare crimes.Still, a combination of risk factors in troubled kids or adults including...

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Winter Storms Spawn Tornadoes Across South

A nasty Christmastime storm system spawned blizzard conditions in some states and at least 15 reported tornadoes in the South, damaging homes, taking out power lines and dangerously snarling holiday travel.Severe weather swept across the United States during the Christmas holiday, bringing tornadoes and intense thunderstorms to the Gulf Coast, while dumping heavy snow and freezing...

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U.N. General Assembly voices concern for Myanmar's Muslims

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The U.N. General Assembly expressed serious concern on Monday over violence between Rohingya Muslims and Buddhists in Myanmar and called upon its government to address reports of human rights abuses by some authorities. The 193-nation General Assembly approved by consensus a non-binding resolution, which Myanmar said last month contained a "litany of sweeping...

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Syria peace envoy Brahimi meets opposition

DAMASCUS: International peace envoy Lakhdar Brahimi met Tuesday in Damascus with three opposition groups tolerated by the regime, a day after holding talks with President Bashar al-Assad, an AFP correspondent said.Brahimi, the UN-Arab League's special envoy to Syria, arrived in the country on Sunday to launch a fresh bid to end the country's spiralling conflict, which in almost two years...

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Narendra Modi to be sworn in as Gujarat chief minister on Wednesday

NEW DELHI: Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi, who returned to power in assembly elections for a third time, will be sworn in on Wednesday, party sources said on Tuesday. This will be the fourth swearing-in for the BJP leader, who has ruled the state since 2001. Modi will attend the National Development Council meeting in Delhi the next day. In Gujarat, the BJP bagged 115 seats, two short of its...

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Predicting who's at risk for violence isn't easy

CHICAGO (AP) — It happened after Columbine, Virginia Tech, Aurora, Colo., and now Sandy Hook: People figure there surely were signs of impending violence. But experts say predicting who will be the next mass shooter is virtually impossible — partly because as commonplace as these calamities seem, they are relatively rare crimes.Still, a combination of risk factors in troubled kids or adults including...

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Afghan policewoman kills U.S. adviser in police chief's compound

KABUL (Reuters) - An Afghan policewoman shot dead on Monday a U.S. forces member in the chief of police's compound in Kabul, police and NATO said, another "insider attack" that is bound to raise troubling questions about the direction of an unpopular war. It appeared to be the first time that a woman member of Afghanistan's security forces shot a member of the Western coalition force...

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S'pore's top social issues in 2012

SINGAPORE: Singaporeans are under significant environmental and psychological pressure, say sociologists. Stress from competitive workplaces and dense living conditions is just one reason people are showing more signs of intolerance and ungraciousness towards one another. As the population gets older and more diverse, Singapore will continue to grapple with its social consciousness in...

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