Manik Sarkar, son of tailor, to be Tripura chief minister again

AGARTALA: Tripura chief minister Manik Sarkar, set to assume office for a fourth time after leading the Left to a huge electoral win, is the son of a tailor who still washes his own clothes.An unassuming man, the 64-year-old got down to work no soon than he was declared the winner from Dhanpur constituency. He met CPM leaders and activists at Sonamura, 60km from here. On Thursday, the Communist...

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Huge study: 5 mental disorders share genetic links

WASHINGTON (AP) — The largest genetic study of mental illnesses to date finds five major disorders may not look much alike but they share some gene-based risks. The surprising discovery comes in the quest to unravel what causes psychiatric disorders and how to better diagnose and treat them.The disorders — autism, attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder or ADHD, bipolar disorder, major depressive...

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Benedict XVI's Tenure as Pope Ends

VATICAN CITY -- Benedict XVI's eight-year tenure as pope ended today, after he bade farewell to the faithful and departed the Vatican as the first pope to resign in six centuries."Thank you for your love and support," the pope tweeted from his Pontifex account. "May you always experience the joy that comes from putting Christ at the centre of your lives."With church bells ringing...

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Football: Drogba gets Euro clearance, Lazio fined

NYON, Switzerland: Didier Drogba will be allowed to play in Galatasaray's Champions League clash against Schalke after the German club had their objections over his eligibility thrown out by UEFA on Wednesday.Schalke, who came away from Istanbul with a 1-1 draw in the first leg of their last 16 clash, believed that the transfer of the former Chelsea striker from Shanghai Shenhua to the...

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Mumbai safest city in India, solo women travellers say

MUMBAI: Even as crimes against women are making headlines in the city, women, who travel alone, still consider Mumbai the safest city compared to other Indian metros, and Maharashtra the safest state. Not surprisingly, Delhi was tagged the least safest city in India. These findings were part of a countrywide survey that recorded the perception of solo woman travellers. "Due to the recent spate of...

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Bring on the Cuts: Some Want the Sequester

Mark Lucas wouldn't mind seeing America's defense budget cut by billions."There's quite a bit of waste within the military," Lucas, who serves as Iowa state director for the conservative group Americans for Prosperity (AFP), told ABC News. "Being in there for 10 years, I've seen quite a bit of it."With the budget sequester set to kick in on Friday, the former Army ranger is among...

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Italy parties seek way out of election stalemate

ROME (Reuters) - Italy's stunned political parties searched for a way forward on Tuesday after an inconclusive election gave none of them a parliamentary majority and threatened prolonged instability and a renewal of the European financial crisis. The results, notably the dramatic surge of the anti-establishment 5-Star Movement of comic Beppe Grillo, left the center-left bloc with a majority...

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Football: Security tight as Lippi's Guangzhou beat Reds

GUANGZHOU, China: Marcello Lippi's Guangzhou Evergrande swept aside Japan's Urawa Red Diamonds 3-0 in an AFC Champions League opener crackling with political tensions and played under heavy security on Tuesday.As the Asian competition got underway with goals and an outlandish "Panenka" penalty, the Chinese double-holders began their campaign in ominous style as they dispatched the 2007...

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Bansalonomics: High on substance, low on flourish

NEW DELHI: A meticulous parliamentarian, railway minister Pawan Kumar Bansal didn't seem too nervous before his maiden budget. But he did quickly glance through the list of business, as the Lok Sabha dispensed with routine pursuits, to check when it would be his turn. Just then, Bansal realized he needed to fix his lapel mike. Soon the wire was neatly concealed under his tunic while the wooden support...

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C. Everett Koop, 'rock star' surgeon general, dies

NEW YORK (AP) — Dr. C. Everett Koop has long been regarded as the nation's doctor— even though it has been nearly a quarter-century since he was surgeon general.Koop, who died Monday at his home in Hanover, N.H., at age 96, was by far the best known and most influential person to carry that title. Koop, a 6-foot-1 evangelical Presbyterian with a biblical prophet's beard, donned a public health uniform...

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