Washington, Jan 7: Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s proposed peace plan is far from reality and proves again that he must resign from his post, the US has said.

On Sunday, Assad proposed a plan to resolve the country’s crisis which includes a national reconciliation conference, the formation of a new government and an amnesty.

“Bashar al-Assad’s speech ...

Washington, Jan 7: Researchers say that if the actions of whistle-blowers become public through widely-circulated emails, it leaves them vulnerable to retaliation even if the law protects them from direct reprisals on the job.

Disclosure of an employee’s allegation of sexual harassment may be retaliatory, as well as when the disclosure will directly lead to threats and punitive ac...

Islamabad, Jan 7: In a year when 13 Pakistani journalists were killed in the line of action, attempts to muzzle the media by the state and “powerful individuals” and politicians continue unabated, a leading Pakistani daily said on Monday.

Citing the “South Asia Media Monitor Report, 2012”, the News International said in an editorial that 25 media personnel were k...

Islamabad, Jan 7: Kainat Riaz and Shazia Ramzan, the two fellow students who were injured when Taliban shot at teenaged rights activist Malala Yousafzai, are overwhelmed with the news of the rapid recovery of their 15-year-old friend in Britain.

Malala was shot by a Taliban assassin as she took a bus home from school in Pakistan’s northwest Swat region in October 2012. She was flo...

London, Jan 7: In a carelessness which could cost the British authorities dearly, a set of keys for 33 high-security court cells has gone missing. The keys can open every door in West London Magistrates’ Court, including the underground jail, The Sun reported. All criminals - including murderers, paedophiles and rapists - first appear in the magistrates’ court ahead of being transferre...

Beijing, Jan 7: China on Monday said it hopes India and Pakistan will hold talks and solve their differences in a calm and proper manner following a firing incident in Kashmir. As a neighbour and friend of both countries, China hopes India and Pakistan will work together to maintain peace and stability in south Asia, foreign ministry spokesman Hong Lei said at a daily press briefing, Xinhua report...

Islamabad, Jan 7: Pakistan on Monday protested to India over what it said was an unprovoked attack by the Indian Army on a Pakistani checkpost in the Kashmir region. India has denied the allegation. India’s Deputy High Commissioner Gopal Baglay was summoned to the foreign office and handed over a protest note, Geo News reported.

Pakistan said the attack in the Hajipir sector on S...

Beijing, Jan 7: An astounding 44,364 couples with at least one partner hailing from Chinese business hub Shanghai were divorced on last year, a Shanghai government bureau said. The number was up more than 5,100 from the figure in 2011, the Shanghai Daily cited the Shanghai Civil Affairs Bureau as saying. This was also the largest increase in recent years -- 13 per cent. The number in 2011 rose onl...

Beijing, Jan 7: China’s Wuhan city has slapped the first official ban in the country on eating, drinking, smoking or taking pets on a subway train. Eating or drinking even a sip of water on a train in the provincial capital of Hubei could cost passengers 200 yuan ($32), the China Daily reported on Monday. Wuhan’s subway opened on December 28. Spanning 27 km, it is central China’s...

Islamabad, Jan 7: A top Pakistani Taliban leader, said to be the chief of the terror outfit’s “fidai” or suicide wing, was among the 16 people killed in a drone strike in the country’s northwest tribal region, media reports said on Monday. Wali Muhammad alias Toofan Mehsud was believed to be killed in the attack in South Waziristan on Sunday, Xinhua reported citing local me...

London, Jan 7: In a novel approach to disseminate news, a Liberian newspaper is being produced on blackboards instead of publishing the news items in the traditional way. The handwritten paper -- Daily Talk -- is the brainchild of Alfred Sirleaf, a journalist who wanted to get daily news and information to citizens in Liberia who cannot afford a TV or radio, The Sun reported.  Every morning h...

Washington, Jan 7: Birds are synonymous with beaks of various shapes and sizes but new fossils unearthed by researchers show that their ancestors had even evolved teeth for specialized diets, according to a US study. For instance, Sulcavis geeorum, an enantiornithine bird from the Early Cretaceous (121-125 million years ago) of Liaoning province in China, had a durophagous diet, meaning that its t...

London, Jan 7: The humble kilogram - the standard measure of weighing - has become heavier, according to experts from a British university. The original kilogram is likely to be tens of micrograms heavier than it was when the first standard was set in 1875, experts using a state-of-the-art Theta-probe XPS machine -- the only one of its kind in the world - have said. Known as the International Prot...

Washington, Jan 7: Using cabbage leaves and tea bags to ease pain in breastfeeding are some folk remedies quite popular with new mothers. Drinking beer to produce more milk, for instance, is a folk tradition that singer Mariah Carey followed. She was accused of endangering her twins with that practice. This particular tradition could be traced back to at least the late 1800s. Jonathan Schaffir, ob...

London, Jan 7: Babies carried upright by their parents grow into more self-assured and poised kids compared to those who are just made to sit in prams, says a Pulitzer Prize-winning scientist. “We are struck by how emotionally secure, self-confident, curious and autonomous the members of those small-scale societies are, not only as adults but already as children,” said Jared Diamond in...