Jijo Jacob

Sri Lankan-born Hedge fund tycoon Raj Rajaratnam was sentenced to 11 years in prison for the biggest hedge fund insider trading case in the U.S., but the verdict was not as stringent as legal circles had predicted.

Severe seasonal melting has reduced ice floes, floating chunk of ice, in the Arctic Ocean to the thinnest on record, according to researchers. Changes in sea ice thickness and extent also have direct consequences for the ecosystem of the Arctic Ocean, the researchers said.

Overstretched Apple servers worldwide ground to a halt on Wednesday as iOS 5 upgrade requests from hundreds of thousands of users swamped the Web site. The geeky quest for the latest in tech drove the upgrade rush, but experts say ordinary people should also upgrade to iOS 5 to make their devices more secure.

Geologists will drill down more than 3,000 meters of ice to reach a sub-glacial lake in western Antarctic that is probably a million years old, in search of new species and clues about climate change.

If you count the negatives, there are a lot of reasons why Apple iPhone 4S would look unappealing. The geeks have raised many complaints about the latest iteration of Apple iPhone.

iPhone 4S sales did not take a cue from Apple shares in the aftermath of the death of Steve Jobs. Apple Inc. has been expected to fare badly when Jobs finally disappeared, but the latest iProduct that Jobs lived to see defied gloomy predictions and is now emerging as probably the greatest of 'em all in terms of sales.

The discovery that the Crab Pulsar is emitting the highest-energy gamma rays ever detected has prompted researchers to consider new theories about gamma-ray production and probe deeper into the mystery surrounding cosmic ray.

Apple Inc.'s iPhone 4S is up against yet another mighty rival, with news trickling in that the Samsung Stratosphere is round the corner. Engadget.com has reported that the new Samsung smartphone will be offered on Verizon Wireless starting Oct. 13.

The United States claimed Steve Jobs as one its national heroes, but the rest of the world loved him too much to let him go down in history as just an American genius. The outpouring of heart-felt grief across the world over his death was encapsulated by global media that tried to put Jobs' place in history in perspective. Here is a glimpse into how global media looked at Steve Jobs and his legacy:

Steve Jobs did not leave behind an autobiography as he embraced death, which he termed as the change agent in life. Many biographies have been written about him, some of them taking a cynical point of view about the man who revolutionized the modern electronics world.

The inevitable has at last come to pass. Sarah Palin has formally announced her decision to stay out of 2012 presidential race.

Apple Inc.'s Let's talk iPhone event on Tuesday wound up as a Let's Keep Guessing About iPhone 5 event, with Tim Cook showcasing just an improved version of the iPhone 4, dubbed the iPhone 4S, rather than the much talked-about new phone with a revolutionary design and a larger display.

President Barack Obama's chances of winning a second term are bleak, with only 37 percent of the voters believing that he will scrape through in 2012, the latest ABC News/Washington Post survey has found.

Apple Inc.'s next generation iPhone, dubbed iPhone 5, will be unveiled in hours in the United States, and is expected to break Apple's all previous launch-day sales records.

The iPhone 5 release frenzy has reached its zenith with barely hours left before Apple unveils the new gadget, but for the keener eye, the Tuesday event will be marked by how Apple lays out the iCloud and iOS 5. Many believe that being too engrossed with the specifications of upcoming iPhone 5 is equal to missing the wood for trees. The Tuesday event has more to do with Apple's long-term strategy than with gaining upper hand in the gadget market.

The killing of terrorist mastermind Anwar Al-Awlaki, in Yemen last week, by the United States has raised legal questions, with many international law experts saying that the ideal course of action would have been to bring Awlaki to a U.S. court.

Faced with mounting international pressure over the death sentence handed out to Christian pastor Yucef Nadarkhani, Iran has said the charges were not related to apostasy but rape, extortion and threat to national security.

The iPhone 5 release date frenzy is matched only by the curiosity over its features and specifications. According to the latest round of rumors, the next generation Apple phone will have 32GB memory, 8MP camera, 4-inch display, and it will be 4G-enabled.

Apple Inc.'s iPhone5 is coming. The tech world assumes the incoming device is a monster of a device, displaying all of Apple's game-changing capabilities and aesthetic finesse. The rival camps have reason to panic.

The fate of Christian pastor Yucef Nadarkhani hangs in the balance, with Iranian Supreme Court endorsing his death penalty on apostasy charges and giving him an ultimatum to recant his faith, failing which he will be hanged. Some Web sites have published articles that give a colorful account of his life, struggles with the Iranian establishment, the events leading up to his arrest in 2009 and the death sentence that looms over him now.

In a landmark verdict, a Hong Kong court ruled on Friday that a law barring foreign maids from applying for permanent residency was unconstitutional.

Christian pastor Yucef Nadarkhani, who is facing execution in Iran on apostasy charges, could be put to death any time as he has refused to recant his Christian faith in court three times so far this week.

House prices in the United States are about to end a five-year-long decline but a meaningful recovery is a number of years away owing to a structural deficit in demand, according to analysts.

Army defectors in Syria have reportedly started launching attacks on government forces, suggesting that the long drawn-out rebellion has reached an inflection point.

How palatable is the prospect of a new iPhone version being unveiled without the iconic leader having any role at all?

Jared Loughner, the suspect in the Arizona shooting that injured Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, should get four more months of psychiatric treatment, a federal judge has ordered.

In what can be termed as a swift and unprecedented reversal on some of its time-tested conservative social codes, Saudi Arabian King Abdullah has reportedly revoked a flogging sentence handed to a Saudi woman for driving.

The deadliest foodborne outbreak in the U.S. in a decade has killed 13 people, infected 72 and is spreading through the country, with the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention saying that cases have been reported from 18 states.

Saudi Arabia has called for the inclusion of Palestine in the United Nations, signaling that the United States is losing key support of many traditional allies in the Middle East.