SOCIETY

A powerful earthquake rattled Pakistan early Wednesday with enough energy that that it was felt as far away as the Gulf of India.

Gardening in space has been part of the International Space Station (ISS) from the beginning. The latest experiment is Hydrotropism and Auxin-Inducible Gene expression in Roots Grown Under Microgravity Conditions, known as HydroTropi. HydroTropi is a Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA)-run study that looks at directional root growth.

For the inauguration of the Hotel Alpine Rock in St Moritz, Swiss actress and model, Xenia Tchoumitcheva was seen adorning de Grisogono jewelry.

NASA's hubble space telescope captured two dramatically different face-on views of the spiral galaxy Messier 51 or M51, dubbed the Whirlpool Galaxy.

A powerful earthquake of magnitude 7.2 shook southwestern Pakistan early on Wednesday, jolting residents of cities as far apart as Delhi and Dubai, but the epicentre was far from major population centres.

A suspicious backpack on the route of Monday's Martin Luther King Day parade held a radio controlled pipe bomb that could have caused numerous casualties.

One of the most egregious fashion trends of the past 15 to 20 years has undoubtedly been the proliferation of baseball caps – not just in the United States, but now across much of the world.

Two students at Gardena High School in southern California were shot this morning, when a gun concealed by a third student accidentally discharged, according to an official with the Los Angeles Unified School District.

Police authorities in California are saying the shooting incident inside a Los Angeles school is not deliberate and two students - a boy and a girl - were injured when a gun in a backpack accidentally discharged.

A New York City cigar smoker is being sued by his neighbors who claim that the odor and fumes of his stogies waft into their home and create an annoyance and a health hazard.

ARkStorm is a hypothetical winter storm scenario created by USGS's Multi-Hazards Demonstration Project for Southern California (MHDP) where experts have tried to forecast and assess the scientifically plausible physical event of a disastrous storm and the consequential secondary hazards as well as physical, social, and economic consequences.

Rusnano will invest $700 million in British Plastic technology firm Plastic Logic to produce basic plastic computer components in Russia.

The United States Geological Survey (USGS) issued a statement over the weekend saying a phenomenon called atmospheric river (AR) caused disastrous high winds and rains in northern California in October, but the information inadvertently touched a sensitive chord among anxious residents, triggering a flare-up of fears about massive natural calamities waiting in the wings.

Pirate attacks on ships worldwide hit a seven year high in 2010 and a record number of crew were taken hostage, a maritime watchdog body said, despite increased patrolling of the seas.

Wondering why everyone on Twitter and Facebook are feeling blue today? Well, it is the third Monday of the year or the first month of January, which makes January 17, 2011 the 'blue monday', supposedly the most depressing day of the year.

Rain, snow and ice are forecast through Friday in many parts of China and could disrupt travel plans for millions who aim to get on the road ahead of the Lunar New Year holidays, state media reported on Sunday.

A Chinese porcelain manufacturing company has won the order to make the official tableware to be used at the British royal wedding of Prince William and his fiancee Kate Middleton.

Astrology is fake and wrong, said Saint Augustine of Hippo 1,600 years ago.

Astronomer Parke Kunkle's debunking of astrology and the viral wave of theories and anti-theories about the 13th zodiac sign Ophiuchus confounded the followers of astrology the world over, but also dealt a lethal blow to astrologers who withdrew to their shell groping for answers. But now astrologers are striking back.

Dozens of Hindu devotees returning from Sabarimala shrine were killed after a road accident sparked a stampede in Kerala on Friday, TV news channels reported.

Now that Ophiuchus (the serpent holder) in the astrological picture, you're probably wondering if your suddenly-new sign means that you're supposed to have particular personality traits. The real answer is that, as an Ophiuchus (Ophiuchan?), your personality traits are in line with, well, your existing personality traits.

The death of Mohamed Bouazizi sparked a wave of massive protests that culminated in the ousting of Tunisian President Zine al-Abedine Ben Ali.

The late Pope John Paul II will be beatified this May, a key step on the path to sainthood, the Vatican announced on Friday.

The pep talk and horoscope agonies surrounding the so-called new zodiac sign Ophiuchus is unwarranted and misplaced. First and foremost there is nothing exactly new about Ophiuchus, the 13th zodiac sign - it was revealed and discussed years ago. Second, the whole exercise of looking up to the celestial position to know one' fate is just another anomaly in an otherwise scientific age. And finally, if you still think stars and their position do matter to what happens in your life, horos...

The media reports on the 13th zodiac sign, Ophiuchus, and the change in astronomy, horoscope and zodiac calender sent thousands into an astrological identity crisis. However, the real meaning seems to have been lost in translation.

China's first capsule hotel is set to open in Shanghai, targeting budget-conscious travelers in the country's glitzy commercial capital -- with rooms divided into different zones depending on snoring.

Internet search giant Google Inc. has joined India's celebration of Pongal or Makar Sankranti festival with new Doodle, which has painted kites and flying balloons on its homepage. Makar Sankranti is a major harvest festival celebrated in various parts of India.

The new sign Ophiuchus will cover those born between Nov. 29 and Dec. 17 while Sagittarius will move into the 13th position covering from Dec. 17 to Jan. 20.

Retired professor Chen Chongyu and his wife Liu Zhenjuan dreamed of coming back to China from their daughter's home in France, but until last year the couple had nowhere to go.