Romney says 2012 race was 'roller coaster'

WASHINGTON: In his first interview since losing his 2012 White House bid, Mitt Romney likened his experience as a presidential candidate to an unpredictable and bumpy roller coaster ride."We were on a roller coaster, exciting and thrilling, ups and downs. But the ride ends," Romney said, according to advance excerpts of the interview set to air on "Fox News Sunday.""And then you get off....

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Obama orders US$85b in budget cuts

WASHINGTON: President Barack Obama ordered $85 billion in budget cuts Friday that could slow the US economy and slash jobs, after blaming Republicans for refusing to stop the "dumb" spending cuts.Obama complied with his legal obligations and initiated the automatic, across-the-board cuts in domestic and defence spending, following the failure of efforts to clinch a deal with Republicans...

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White House backs gay marriage in Supreme Court brief

WASHINGTON: US President Barack Obama's administration threw its weight behind gay marriage on Thursday, urging the Supreme Court to strike down California's ban on same-sex unions.The court is set to examine the issue on March 26, when it will study the constitutionality of California's Proposition 8, a measure approved by a 2008 referendum that outlawed gay marriage in the most populous...

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Japan says three Chinese ships in disputed waters

TOKYO: Japan's coastguard said three Chinese surveillance ships were in the territorial waters of disputed islands in the East China Sea on Thursday.The three marine surveillance ships entered the 12-nautical-mile territorial zone off Uotsuri, one of the islands, shortly after 7:00 am (2200 GMT Wednesday), the Japan Coast Guard said in a statement.Beijing claims the Japanese-controlled...

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Pope readies for final audience on resignation eve

VATICAN CITY: Pope Benedict XVI will hold the last audience of his pontificate in St Peter's Square on Wednesday on the eve of his historic resignation as leader of the world's 1.2 billion Catholics.Tens of thousands of pilgrims are expected at the Vatican to bid a final farewell to an 85-year-old pope who abruptly cut short his pontificate by declaring he was too weak in body and mind...

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Motor Racing: Ecclestone wants Melbourne race for '50 years'

SYDNEY: Formula One ringmaster Bernie Ecclestone said Tuesday he would happily sign a contract for Melbourne to host the Grand Prix for 50 years, declaring "everybody loves Australia".The sport has a contract with Melbourne until 2015 but beyond that it is up in the air, and other cities have expressed interest in snapping up the event which Ecclestone has previously said is the "least...

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Japan to nominate ADB president as BoJ chief

TOKYO: The Japanese government of Shinzo Abe is set to nominate Asian Development Bank president Haruhiko Kuroda as governor of the central bank, reports said on Monday, sending the dollar surging against the yen.The greenback surged past 94 yen in early Asian trade from 93.37 yen in New York on Friday, with investors confident that there will be fresh aggressive easing steps by Abe's...

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Britain's top Catholic in 'inappropriate acts' row: report

LONDON: Britain's most senior Roman Catholic cleric, who is due to vote on Pope Benedict XVI's successor, has been reported to the Vatican over claims of inappropriate behaviour, the Observer reported on Sunday.Cardinal Keith O'Brien, leader of the Catholic Church in Scotland, contests allegations by three priests and a former priest which were sent to Rome a week before Pope Benedict's...

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US state sounds alarm over nuclear waste leaks

LOS ANGELES - At least six tanks containing radioactive waste in the US state of Washington are leaking, the state said Friday, urging more federal help to clean up a site used to make Cold War-era bombs.Washington governor Jay Inslee said that the extent of the leaks at the Hanford site -- which first produced fuel for nuclear bombs in World War II and closed down 25 years ago -- was...

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Uncertainty hangs heavy as Italy braces for elections

ROME: Italy was poised to hold its most important elections in a generation starting on Sunday, as financial markets warned an unclear outcome could plunge the eurozone's third economy back into crisis.Italians will cast their ballots as they grapple with the longest recession in two decades and several rounds of austerity cuts that have caused deep resentment and could favour a low turnout...

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Sony bills coming PS4 console as future of gaming

NEW YORK: Sony unveiled a new-generation PlayStation 4 (PS4) system on Wednesday and laid out its vision for the "future of gaming" in a world rich with mobile gadgets and play streamed from the Internet cloud.At a press event in New York, computer entertainment unit chief Andrew House said PS4 "represents a significant shift from thinking of PlayStation as a box or console to thinking...

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Retinal implants clear new hurdle

PARIS: German-designed implants aimed at restoring vision to patients blinded by retinal disease have succeeded in the second phase of trials, researchers reported on Wednesday.The device was tested for up to nine months among nine people with retinitis pigmentosa, an inherited disease in which light receptors on the back of the eyeball degenerate and eventually cease to function."Of the...

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Tennis: Mass security for Nadal's Mexico event

ACAPULCO, Mexico: A brutal gang rape and other crimes have prompted a massive security operation for Acapulco's tennis tournament, with 4,000 personnel to be deployed at an event headlined by Rafael Nadal.The Pacific port has become Mexico's deadliest city and local police have struggled to stem a brutal turf war between drug gangs where the intimidation of rivals includes the dumping...

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Could 9-year-old win youngest best actress Oscar?

LOS ANGELES: She landed the part by lying about her age: Quvenzhane Wallis was five, and the filmmakers were only auditioning girls at least six years old.But they believed her fib and tried her out -- and were blown away, giving her the starring role in the low-budget "Beasts of the Southern Wild" over 4,000 other hopefuls.And now she could become the youngest ever winner of the best...

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"Argo", "Lincoln" vie for Oscars crown in open race

LOS ANGELES - Steven Spielberg goes into next weekend's Oscars with the most nominations for his presidential "Lincoln" but the momentum is all with Ben Affleck's thriller "Argo" in the Academy Awards home straight.And while the Hollywood veteran and the young pretender vie for the Oscars best picture crown, several other frontrunners remain hard on their heels, in one of the least predictable...

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Alleged cop killer died from single shot to head

LOS ANGELES: Alleged US cop killer Christopher Dorner died from a single gunshot wound to the head that appeared to be self-inflicted, a coroner said.The doctor who examined the body concluded that "the cause of death was a single gunshot wound to the head," said San Bernardino County coroner Kevin Lacy, giving details from the results of a six-hour autopsy."We are not yet able to speak...

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COE second open bidding exercise 18 February

SINGAPORE: February's Certificates of Entitlement (COEs) second open bidding exercise opens on Monday at noon.The tender closes on Wednesday at 4pm.The total quota available for this tender exercise is 1,608.Non-transferable categories: Category A : Cars (1,600cc and below) - 333Category B : Cars (1,601cc and above) - 303Category D : Motorcycles 506Transferable categories: Category C...

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Athletics: Paralympic day to top off London Diamond

LONDON: London's Olympic Stadium will stage three days of athletics in July, including one devoted solely to Paralympic competition, British Athletics has announced.The London Anniversary Games, which will take place from July 26-28 and in the process mark a year since the opening ceremony of the 2012 Olympics, will incorporate the annual two-day Diamond League meeting on the Friday and...

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Peru archeologists find ancient temple

LIMA: Peruvian archaeologists have discovered a temple believed to be about 5,000 years old at the ancient archaeological site of El Paraiso in a valley just north of Lima, the Culture Ministry said Tuesday.If the date is confirmed, it would be among the oldest sites in the world, comparable to the ancient city of Caral, a coastal city some 200 kilometres (125 miles) to the north.The discovery,...

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American Express card users can shop at Twitter

SAN FRANCISCO: American Express began letting users of its payment cards make purchases with messages fired off at Twitter as the popular social network dabbles with making money from e-commerce.American Express announced that members who synchronize their cards with Twitter can take advantage of offers "tweeted" by the financial services company.American Express will promote products...

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