Planets Smashed Into Dust Near Supermassive Black Holes

  Fat doughnut-shaped dust shrouds that obscure about half of supermassive black holes could be the result of high speed crashes between planets and asteroids, according to a new theory from an international team of astronomers. The scientists, led by Dr. Sergei Nayakshin of the University of Leicester, are publishing their results in the journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. Supermassive black holes reside in the central parts of most galaxies. Observations indicate...

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Siri comes to iPhone 4

  Apple fans who have been slobbering over the amazing voice technology known as Siri but who don't have enough cash to upgrade their iPhone 4 can now rejoice. Though not official, it looks like Siri can be executed successfully on the last generation iPhone device. Over the weekend, hackers Steve Troughton-Smith and Grant Paul managed to port the supposedly iPhone 4S-exclusive app to its predecessor. PC World quoted Troughton-Smith as saying, "It works just as well as the iPhone 4S,...

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Panasonic Lumix GX1 Micro Four Thirds camera surfaces in leaked photos

Panasonic just launched a whole new series of Micro Four Thirds lenses a couple of months ago, and it looks like it might soon also have a new Micro Four Thirds camera to take advantage of them. That photo you see above recently turned up on the Mobile01 forums with a bundle of others, showing a hereto unannounced Panasonic Lumix GX1 MFT camera, which looks like it could be a true successor to the GF1 (as opposed to the GF2 and GF3 that moved in a less pro-minded direction). Rumored...

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3 Australian soldiers killed in Afghanistan

SYDNEY — Three Australian soldiers and an Afghan interpreter were killed and seven other soldiers were wounded when a man wearing an Afghan army uniform opened fire during a parade at a patrol base in Afghanistan, officials said Sunday.The gunman in Saturday's attack was shot dead by Australian soldiers at the base in southern Kandahar province, Australian Defense Force chief Lt. Gen. David Hurley told reporters in the western Australian city of Perth. Of the seven wounded Australian soldiers, one was being treated for life-threatening injuries...

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Two Britons killed in Kabul attack

Two British contractors were among 13 foreigners who died when a Taliban car bomber struck a NATO convoy in the Afghan capital Kabul on Saturday, the Foreign Office in London said.Officials had said they were all Americans, but a spokeswoman for the Foreign Office said on Sunday that NATO now believed the 13 included two Britons and the Canadian soldier whose death had previously been announced. Four Afghans also died."We have learned that two British nationals were among the 13 killed...

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Assad predicts disaster if West meddles in Syria

  AMMAN - Western powers would cause an "earthquake" in the Middle East if they intervened in Syria, President Bashar al-Assad said in an interview published on Sunday, after protesters demanded outside protection from a crackdown that has killed 3,000 people. Syrian officials were to hold more talks in Qatar with delegates of the Arab League, which wants to convene a dialogue in Cairo between the Syrian authorities and their opponents.The League's two-week deadline for the planned...

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Three dead, three missing after Kansas grain elevator blast

Kansas - Three people were dead and three missing after a grain elevator explosion, an Atchison, Kansas, Fire Department official said on Sunday. The official, who did not want his name to be used, declined to give other details, but an earlier statement on the city's website described the 7 p.m. Saturday incident as "a large-scale explosion" at the Bartlett Grain elevator in Atchison."The percussion of the explosion could be felt at least three miles away," it said, adding that there was no threat to public safety.Police and fire units...

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'We are united', reiterates Team Anna; visits Hazare

Ralegan Siddhi (Maharashtra), Oct 30 (IANS) Putting up a united front, Team Anna Sunday said there were no differences among its core committee members and accused the Congress of trying to create rifts through a smear campaign.Team Anna members Sunday came here to meet activist Anna Hazare, a day after holding a core committee meeting in Ghaziabad.In the wake of graft allegations against some members, the group also decided to draft a code of conduct for its core committee members and anybody violating it would be removed from the committee.They...

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Sebastian Vettel wins inaugural Indian Grand Prix

  Greater Noida - World champion Sebastian Vettel made history by winning India's first ever Formula One with ease on Sunday as McLaren's Jenson Button tightened his grip on the championship's second place. Red Bull's Vettel led throughout for his 11th victory of the season, finishing some 8.4 seconds ahead of Button with Ferrari's Fernando Alonso third and Australian Mark Webber fourth. Seven-time champion Michael Schumacher battled to fifth but McLaren's Lewis Hamilton came in seventh...

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Adele to get throat surgery, cancels all 2011 dates Reuters

   British singer-songwriter Adele has been forced by impending surgery to cancel all her remaining tour dates and promotional appearances through the end of the year, her record label said on Friday. Columbia Records said in a statement that Adele, 23, was canceling the appearances with "deep regret." "She is to undergo surgery to alleviate the current issues with her throat and a full recovery is expected. As a result, doctors have ordered her to rest her voice and completely...

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'Romeo' Row: Prateik And Arjun Kapoor To Clash In Shakespeare Adaptation

   It was probably critically acclaimed director Vishal Bhardwaj who introduced the concept of localizing Shakespeare plays with his Maqbool and Omkara based on 'Macbeth' and 'Othello' and the trend seems to have caught on now. Young actors Prateik and Arjun Kapoor (son of Boney Kapoor) shall be seen playing Romeos in their forthcoming flicks Issaq and Ishaqzaade respectively, which are said to be desi adaptations of Shakespeare's tragic drama 'Romeo And Juliet'. However, the...

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Haunted Mumbai

  You can’t get to the 13th floor of the Trident Hotel at Nariman Point because there isn’t one. In fact, it is not uncommon for skyscrapers in Mumbai’s commercial district -- like Hoechst, Maker Chambers and Atlanta -- to exclude 13 when numbering their floors. However, urban legends and local superstitions in haunted Mumbai go beyond mere triskaidekaphobia. Stories of ghosts, unexplained serial suicides, abandoned mills, haunted houses and territorial widows in white saris determined...

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U.S. Market Is Vastly Outperforming the Rest of the World: Bespoke’s Hickey

The conventional wisdom for at least the last five years for American investors is this: Go abroad to find returns. Emerging markets like Brazil, India, and China, and even Europe are the places to seek gains. The only choice for those preferring to invest locally is through American multi-nationals that create jobs overseas and keep the earnings abroad to avoid taxes. Happily, for those of us clinging to the antiquated belief that America rocks, Paul Hickey, co-founder of Bespoke Investment Group, says the prevailing wisdom is wrong. "After...

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Gauging the Fallout of Another Rescue

Another European plan to fix its sovereign debt problem has initiated another sharp market rally. But will the enthusiasm over the latest rescue effort last longer than the optimism that greeted past plans, only to slowly fade away? The market’s quick embrace of the latest effort to tackle Greece’s mammoth debt burden and restore confidence in the Continent’s banks reflected hope that this plan was broader and more robust than previous ones. “It’s not a silver bullet, but it makes things manageable to some extent,” said Gilles Moec, co-head...

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Roush, Bayne try to negotiate through ‘team orders’ wreckage

Heart or head. Dreams or reality. Pleasure or business. When you've got to choose between them with a moment's notice, you may end up in the right place without much liking how you got there. Such was the dilemma of Trevor Bayne at Talladega.The Bayne/Jeff Gordon "team orders" story isn't going away, and it's not going away because some of the key players continue to make statements that fly directly in the face of their actions on Sunday night.Step back and put yourself in...

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Wozniacki, Kvitova start with wins at WTA finals

Top-ranked Caroline Wozniacki rallied to defeat Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland 5-7, 6-2, 6-4 Tuesday in their opening round-robin match at the WTA Championships.Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova and U.S. Open winner Sam Stosur also began the group stage with a victory at the season-ending tournament. Kvitova beat Vera Zvonareva of Russia 6-2, 6-4 in the Red Group—which also includes Wozniacki and Radwanska—while Stosur defeated Maria Sharapova 6-1, 7-5 in the White Group.Wozniacki wasted a 4-2 lead...

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Xavi lifts listless Barca to win at Granada

MADRID, Oct 25 - Xavi celebrated setting a club record for La Liga appearances when he netted a superb free kick to give an otherwise listless Barcelona a 1-0 win at Granada on Tuesday in a scrappy game in which the home side finished with nine men. The 31-year-old Spain midfielder, playing his 392nd league match, struck in the 33rd minute at Granada’s Los Carmenes stadium to lift the champions above surprise packages Levante and great rivals Real Madrid to the top of the standings.Xavi’s...

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300s In ODIs: India Break Australia's Record

It took India nearly 22 years of playing ODI cricket to cross 300 for the first time in a matchand they were the last major cricket team to reach that score. Even Zimbabwe had achieved the feat many years earlier. But once there, India have now made scores of 300 or more, more times than any other team. The Mohali ODI provided the 65th such instance, and India have now overtaken Australia at 64. Here's a list of ODI teams that have crossed 300 in an ODI at least once. Team300+ ScoresWonLostTiedNRHS India65521210414 Australia6459401434 Pakistan5347600385 South...

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