Sreeja VN

The Chinese New Year is the year of the Dragon. It is also the time of the Spring festival; the Lunar New Year is a 15-day fest celebrated with much fervour. There are several myths and traditions associated with this festival. One of the more important traditions is the observance of a Reunion day - when members of family gather for the celebrations. Here are the top Chinese foods to celebrate New Year...

Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul vowed to continue in the race, despite his last-place finish (with 13 percent of the votes) in the South Carolina primary. Paul spoke to his supporters in Columbia, S.C., and said he would not drop out of the contest any time soon.

The offer of a 30 percent discount on future cruises, made by the owners of the recently shipwrecked Costa Concordia (Costa Cruises), has been faced with a number of angry responses from passengers of the ill-fated luxury liner.

The grant of clemency to a number of convicts, by former Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour, was met with a barrage of strong criticism against such actions. A recent study by Reuters points to the possibility of racism in the Governor's action. Barbour's decision to pardon or commute the prison sentences of more than 200 convicts surprised many; primarily because the number was enormous, compared to pardons granted by his immediate predecessors.

The South Carolina Republican primary is just a few hours away. The scenario cannot be more dramatic than it is now in the Palmetto state. In a roller coaster campaign that saw sharp turns and twists in the top front runners' winning chances, the situation remains as unpredictable as it can be.

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney is in real trouble, as issues related to his wealth and tax returns have started rocking his otherwise smooth sailing campaign in the Republican race. Romney was forced to say that he would release his tax returns for the year in April, in the CNN-Charleston, South Carolina, debate.

The Republican presidential race is turning more dramatic with every passing day. The game-changing developments mark the 2012 Republican contest a tough one.

The CNN-Republican campaign debate so fiery moments as all the candidates attempted rip each other in order to take most advantage of the final debate, before the South Carolina primary.The Debate moderated by John King of CNN began just hours after the news of Rick Santorum replacing Mitt Romney as Iowa winner and Rick Perry's announcement of dropping out of the race- supporting Newt Gingrich came out. The debate reflected the uncertainty in Republican poll scenario on the right presid...

Mitt Romney is finding it hard to wade through the attacks from his Republican rivals over his tax returns. Romney's hesitance to disclose his tax returns and his wealth profile is costing him dearly in the polls. The recent CNN/Times poll shows that his margin with his nearest Republican rival Newt Gingrich has shrunk to 10 points. Romney had enjoyed a 19 point lead in the past week.

A recent Times/CBS News poll shows that President Barack Obama is losing support among the block of independent American voters. This should be a serious issue of concern for the President, as it is this stratum of voters who helped him to win the White House in 2008 elections.Now the question is who is going to benefit from this development? A quick glance at the poll trend would immediately point to Republican front runner Mitt Romney as the immediate beneficiary. The poll shows a statis....

The cowardly act of the Costa Concordia's captain, Francesco Schettino, who has been accused of abandoning the sinking ship, leaving more than 4,200 passengers onboard, has added another unsavory chapter to the less reputable parts of maritime history. Fortunately, the seas have examples of bravery as well. If the above cases pointed to instances of cowardice and shame, there are incidents where the heroism of the captains onboard sinking ships has become legendary.

The majority of Americans polled believe the governors of states ought not to have the right to pardon convicted killers, according to a Poll Position national scientific survey.

Martin Luther King III has announced his resignation from his post as president of The King Centre with immediate effect, in a statement published on Atlanta Business Chronicle website on Tuesday. The King center, founded in 1968 is a hub, that is devoted to the legacy of his father Dr. Martin Luther King, and is the largest repository of primary source material on him and American Civil Rights Movement in the world.

The momentum generated by Ron Paul's 2012 campaign for the Republican presidential race seems to have forced the media to consider him a serious contender. It is easy, on one level, to understand why sections of the media are less than happy at his success... after all, it was they who predicted he would do no better than stay on the fringes of the entire race.

Senator Tom Davis endorsed Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul at a campaign event in Myrtle Beach on Sunday night. Tom Davis, a South Carolina law maker and a Tea Party favorite, said he decided to endorse Paul because he was the only fiscal conservative Republican candidate with a commitment to American constitution.

The prayers of thousands remained unanswered as the twenty-month-old baby boy Tripp Roth died in his mother's arms on Saturday. Tripp Roth from Ponchatoula, Louisiana, suffered from Junctional Epidermolysis Bullosa or EB, a skin disorder with no cure.

Jon Huntsman will drop out of the Republican presidential race and will endorse frontrunner Mitt Romney, according to his campaign sources. He has informed his campaign advisers that he is quitting and is expected to make the announcement on Monday during a speech at Myrtle beach, South Carolina.

An amateur video shot by a passenger in the ill- fated Italian cruise ship Costa Concordia that ran aground on Friday shows the shocked passengers escaping. The raw video in YouTube was shot from the sinking ship after the disaster and shows the rescue operations. The divers located South Korean Couple from a cabin two decks down and another person a crew of the ship in Sunday morning. Divers are continuing their search for the missing people in the ship according to a CNN report.

Ron Paul is being discussed as phenomenon in the U.S. now. The support he is gathering among the younger Republicans as well as the independent voters is creating ripples in the GOP. The Republican leaders look astonished and confused on how to handle the Ron Paul Revolution.

Newt Gingrich might have denounced the errors in a Super PAC (political action committee) advertisement on Mitt Romney and asked them to withdraw it, but the trailer and the documentary titled King of Bain - When Mitt Romney Came to Town is still going viral on the Internet. The ad in the form of a 28-minute documentary was released by Winning our Future, a Super PAC that supports Gingrich.

Ron Paul 2012 campaign is gaining traction in South Carolina Republican primary according to the recent polls. A week is left until the South Carolina primary and the trends indicate a tight race for the Republican nomination among the top four candidates.According to recent poll results released by the American Research Group and Rasmussen, Texas Congressman Ron Paul has got the biggest boost in numbers.

Religion is an important issue to the Republican voters and this is posing a challenge to Republican front runner Mitt Romney in the conservative South Carolina state.

With convincing performances in Iowa and New Hampshire, Ron Paul has proved that he is here to stay. His momentum cannot go unnoticed anymore and whether the mainstream media likes it or not, it will be forced to write about him.

Ron Paul's supporters seem to have proved once again that they want to do things differently. They selected Star War movie's theme song as their campaign anthem at New Hampshire Wednesday.

An impressive second place win in the New Hampshire Republican presidential primary has cemented the Ron Paul Revolution. The mainstream media, which has so far cold-shouldered the Ron Paul 2012 campaign, will find it difficult to avoid him in future. With this performance, Ron Paul and his brigade have proved that they are no more on the fringes.

Huawei has unveiled what it claims is the world's thinnest Android smartphone - the Ascend P1 S, at the 2012 Consumer Electronics Show (CES), at Las Vegas.

First results are out from the New Hampshire primary presidential polls and it looks like a close race. Mitt Romney is leading by two votes and Ron Paul is in second place, according to the results from Dixville Notch and Hart's Location, two tiny villages with just 9 and 23 voters each.

The Ron Paul campaign 2012 is gaining momentum every single day. Even the media and political experts who had initially neglected Ron Paul are now warming up to the Ron Paul Revolution.

Republican presidential frontrunner Mitt Romney, in all probability, will lose the electability edge he has over his Republican rivals if he doesn't learn to get his stories right. His latest blunder - getting caught lying by his rivals - is the last thing that should happen to any electable candidate.