KATHMANDU: As he flipped the old albums of photographs of his life, it was evident that it was the journey he was destined for. The long yet successful years he marked since his birth in 2010 BS(1953) till 2068 BS (2011) could be witnessed in the photographs which included him as a child to those with his seniors, contemporaries and juniors with all the achievements he has gained. Though the album does not tell everything about his life, it makes a point that Deepak Jangam, who is widely known as a music composer, is a personality to be looked upon as a source of inspiration. Self learning pr...
Published On: 2011-11-04

MOSCOW: Pale but smiling, an international crew of researchers on Friday walked out of a set of windowless modules after a grueling 520-day simulation of a flight to Mars. The all-male crew of three Russians, a Frenchman, an Italian-Colombian and a Chinese slowly emerged from the western Moscow facility, which simulated the confinement, stress and fatigue of interplanetary travel — minus the weightlessness. Dressed in blue track suits emblazoned with the mission emblem, they carefully walked down a metal ladder to a greeting crowd of officials and journalists. "The crew has comple...
Published On: 2011-11-04

THIMPHU: The musician strummed his dragon-headed lute, launching a nervous young woman into a high-pitched, ululating song broadcast live across the remote Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan. The judges' were unsparing. She was out of synch with the music, one said. The other consulted historical scriptures and discovered she got the lyrics wrong. It's clear "Bhutan Star" is not just another low-budget knockoff of the "American Idol" juggernaut. This wildly popular show, which forces contestants to sing the nation's fading traditional songs, is Bhutan's most promising weapon in ...
Published On: 2011-11-04

LOS ANGELES: A manslaughter conviction against Michael Jackson's doctor would boost the late pop star's image and open opportunities for his estate in many markets, including family-oriented products, industry experts said. A Los Angeles jury begins deliberations on Friday in the six-week trial of Dr. Conrad Murray, who is charged with involuntary manslaughter over the singer's 2009 death from the anesthetic propofol and sedatives. Jackson is already the top-earning deceased celebrity, with sales of $170 million over the past year, according to a list released last month by financial website...
Published On: 2011-11-04

BRUSSELS: Countries are still squabbling over how much power a United Nations fund will have to help developing countries tackle climate change, just weeks ahead of a crunch summit in South Africa to work on a global climate deal, an EU negotiator said. Last year, countries agreed to create the "Green Climate Fund" to channel up to $100 billion a year by 2020 to help developing countries fight climate change. Last month, a U.N. committee completed the draft design of the fund at a meeting in South Africa. Negotiators from around the world will consider the proposals at a climate s...
Published On: 2011-11-04

LONDON: Ah, Mr. Bond, we've been waiting for you — and at last 007 is back, several years after his last screen adventure. Producers announced Thursday that filming has begun on "Skyfall," the delayed 23rd film in the series and Daniel Craig's third outing as the suave British superspy. Craig, who has brought a hard edge to his portrayal, told reporters that the movie, directed by Sam Mendes and shot in London, Scotland, Turkey and China, would be "Bond with a capital B." Craig said he was "tremendously excited" to be stepping back into the role for the f...
Published On: 2011-11-04

BEIJING: Police in eastern China have broken up a human trafficking gang that bought babies from poor families and sold them on for as much as $8,000, state media said Friday. Authorities in Shandong province last month detained 15 members of the gang who had paid women from other parts of China to bear children which they then sold to others, including couples unable to conceive and those wanting sons. In a microblog posting, police in Zoucheng city -- where the trafficking ring was uncovered -- said boys were sold for up to 50,000 yuan ($8,000) while girls could fetch up to 30,000 yuan. T...
Published On: 2011-11-04

BEIJING: Environmental authorities in Beijing have accused the US embassy of "hype" after its widely-publicised measurements of air quality in the Chinese capital sparked concern, state media said Friday. The embassy's readings, published on Twitter, often clash with official data. On Sunday, it rated Beijing's air as "hazardous" as thick smog blanketed the city, while official Chinese measurements said the pollution was "slight." "I'm not clear about their way and methods of monitoring or how they ensure the accuracy," said Du Shaozhong, spokesman for...
Published On: 2011-11-04

BEIJING: A hospital in south China has suspended four medical workers for mistakenly diagnosing a stillbirth and disposing of a baby that was alive, state press said Friday. Health authorities in Guangdong province have launched an investigation into the incident on October 26 at the Nanhai Red Cross Hospital in Foshan city, the Beijing News said. Liu Dongmei -- eight months pregnant -- had been rushed to the hospital with internal bleeding and stomach cramps. She later had an emergency birth, but the baby was neither breathing nor crying when it came out and its skin had turned purple, the...
Published On: 2011-11-04

LOS ANGELES: A Los Angeles police commander says his department could investigate an alleged sexual tryst between an underage Justin Bieber and a now 20-year-old woman because it violates California's statutory rape law. Cmdr. Andrew Smith said Thursday that no report has been taken about the October 2010 incident at Staples Center. However, police could look into the matter after various media outlets reported Mariah Yeater filed a paternity suit earlier this week against Bieber. Yeater had just turned 19 when she says she and Bieber, then 16, had a sexual encounter after one of his concert...
Published On: 2011-11-04