Environmental crusader Erin Brockovich is looking into how 15 US students developed a mystery illness with Tourette's-like symptoms.

Downtown Development Authority members this morning discussed the need for specific guidelines for events at Bridgepoint Plaza and the possibility of limiting events there. Members decided to have the promotions committee address the issue and come up with recommendations.Greg Sumner, chairman of the design committee, reported an effort in conjunction with city building inspectors to walk Broad Street block by block looking for ways to beautify downtown Rome.“The best way to do it was to put boots on the street,” Sumner, owner of Professional Screening & Information, said. The inspections will note businesses that could make improvements in outside appearance.When the effort is complete, Sumner said he would compile a report and diplomatically notify business owners of suggestions.Sumner noted the “common thread” of cooperation from the city and downtown businesses. “The building inspectors are very good. There are no territorial issues. It’s always, ‘What can we do to help?’”Sumner also provided an update on the annual law enforcement celebration scheduled for May 2 this year. The event will start with a memorial service at the Joint Law Enforcement Center at 11 a.m. Then a lone bagpiper will proceed from the center to Broad Street and on to The Forum for a barbecue. A color guard will follow at a distance. Justice Robert Benham of the state Supreme Court will be guest speaker, and two scholarships will be awarded, Sumner said.DDA Director Ann Arnold told the board of a change in collection policy for parking fines. The DDA now sends two letters to offenders, instead of three, that are more direct, she said.Elaine Abercrombie of Greene’s Jewelers and chairwoman of the promotions committee, announced that Wachovia Securities is sponsoring the First Friday concert series with a $1,000 donation, use of its parking lot, and covering the cost of T-shirts and fans.She also said the DDA’s Calendar of Events is in great demand as more people see it.Paula Blevins, owner of C&S Trophies, said that she even gave the calendar hanging in her store to a customer who asked where they were available.Blevins, chairwoman of the outreach committee, reported an orientation was held for eight block captains and another orientation will be conducted in May. She also said the next downtown coffee break will be April 25 at 8:30 a.m. at the Rome News-Tribune.Arnold said that the first sidewalk café approved under the DDA’s new guidelines, Great Harvest Bread Co., has been very popular and that owner Carol Rutledge has “set the standard high.” Other applications are pending.

The 63rd Republic Day unfolded on Thursday with a grand pageant showcasing a resurgent India's military power and culture kaleidoscope.

SHARE AND DISCUSSTweet KANPUR: Bollywood superstar Salman Khan has offered to pay the fine on behalf of about 400 inmates who are languishing in jail despite completing their term. Salman's charitable organistation Being Human has written to...

Two eminent doctors attached with the AMRI Hospital in different capacities were arrested on Friday in connection with the country's worst-ever hospital fire that claimed 93 lives on December 9 last. Both the doctors - Mani Chhetri and Pranab Dasgupta - who were earlier questioned by police, were arrested from their residences here this morning, Joint Commissioner of Police Damayanti Sen said. Chhetri and Dasgupta were also board members of the hospital. With them, 13 persons have so far been arrested in connection with the hospital fire in which 90 patients and three nurses died. Three board members are absconding. Related Articles Need bed, newspapers in jail, AMRI directors tell court Related Images

Two of Britain's most revered non-believers have come to blows over plans to build a £1 million "temple for atheists" in the City of London.

Elections in Punjab, Uttarakhand will be held on Jan 30 and Goa on Mar 3; UP will have 7-phase polls.

BECAUSE Cyrano weighs more than nine kilograms, amputating his cancer-weakened leg was out of the question.

Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment is Canada’s largest sports empire, but there is discontent about its high ticket prices and lackluster teams.

Two aid workers rescued in a U.S. military raid in Somalia need time out of the media spotlight to decompress and recover, the military said Friday, in outlining key steps in the reintegration process for the former captives.

DAVOS, Switzerland: Key policymakers from Europe and the United States thrashed out ideas for pulling the eurozone out of its debt crisis at the Davos forum, days ahead of a key European summit.

Zimbabwe face a huge battle in their cricket Test against New Zealand after being reduced to five for 20 in reply to their hosts' big first innings total.

Honda Motor, the country's third-biggest carmaker, suffered a 20% plunge in its global production last year, it said Friday. Honda made 2.91 million vehicles not including motorbikes in 2011, it said, down 20.2% as auto manufacturers struggled with natural disasters, a rising yen and the European economic slowdown. The figures¦

First New Zealand Capital, working with Credit Suisse Australia, Macquarie Capital New Zealand, and Goldman Sachs New Zealand, have been anointed joint lead managers for the partial sale of Mighty River Power via an initial public...

WASHINGTON (AP) -- With the passage of the $700 billion rescue package, the financial industry will face greater congressional scrutiny in coming weeks and months.Further-reaching regulation is almost certain. Previously obscure corners of the industry now subject to few rules, such as complex derivatives and hedge funds, could face federal supervision for the first time.Meanwhile, heavily regulated sectors, such as banking and insurance, are likely to face greater oversight. Even some financial industry groups support federal oversight for the insurance industry, which is now regulated only at the state level."Clearly, next year we will have more regulation," said Scott Talbott, a lobbyist for the Financial Services Roundtable, a group of the 100 biggest companies in the industry.Having passed the bailout bill, Congress is now shifting its attention to its next steps."Passing this legislation is only the beginning of our work," said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., just before the House approved the package.Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., the Financial Services Committee chairman, said next year Congress will seek to overhaul housing policy and financial regulation in a legislative effort he likened to the New Deal."We were the EMTs rushing to the rescue of an economy that suddenly found itself choking, but now we have to perform more serious reform," Frank said.The bailout bill, approved by the Senate Wednesday, provides $700 billion to buy bad assets from banks and other institutions to shore up the financial industry.Hearings that begin Monday will examine the failures of current regulations. The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, chaired by Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., will hold two hearings on the causes and effects of Lehman Brothers' bankruptcy and on the $85 billion bailout of the giant insurer American International Group Inc.The committee will hold three more hearings this month on hedge funds, credit rating agencies and the role of regulators in the run-up to the crisis.Former Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan has been invited to testify at the third hearing, the committee said.Meanwhile, the House Agriculture Committee, which has some oversight of commodities and futures trading, plans to hold a hearing this month on a class of derivatives known as credit default swaps. AIG held huge amounts of credit default swaps, which act as insurance against bond defaults. The prospect that AIG wouldn't be able to pay out the swaps was a major reason the government took over the company.Hedge funds, which invest huge pools of money for wealthy investors and pension funds, are part of what some analysts call the "shadow banking" system that also included investment banks such as Lehman.The "shadow" system provided the capital for many subprime mortgage brokers by buying huge amounts of mortgage-backed securities and creating demand for more mortgage loans.Credit rating agencies such as Moody's Investors Service, Standard & Poor's and Fitch Ratings have been criticized for slapping their top ratings on complex mortgage-related securities that few investors are now willing to buy.The battle lines are already emerging for next year's fight. Industry lobbyists will push to consolidate the numerous financial regulatory agencies, similar to a proposal outlined by Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson earlier this year. To prevent future meltdowns, they want the Federal Reserve to focus on "systemic risk," or the risk that individual banks pose to the larger financial system. Currently, regulators focus too much on individual banks in isolation, Talbott said.Business groups also will push to loosen accounting standards that they blame for deepening the current crisis.Some consumer groups, meanwhile, argue that structural changes to the financial regulatory system aren't as important as having regulators enforce existing rules more strictly.If regulators had cracked down on abusive lending practices in the mortgage industry several years ago, much of the current meltdown could have been avoided, said Travis Plunkett, legislative director for the Consumer Federation of America."It was a failure of will on the part of existing agencies to use their existing authority that triggered this crisis," Plunkett said.For example, only this summer did the Federal Reserve issue rules that barred lenders from making loans to risky borrowers without proof of the borrower's income, long after "the horse was out of the barn," he said.Looking ahead, Plunkett said Congress should allow individual mortgages to be adjusted by judges in bankruptcy courts, a proposal opposed by the financial industry.Consumer groups sought to include such a provision in the bailout bill but failed.In addition, many regulatory agencies, such as the Office of Thrift Supervision, receive some of their funding from fees assessed on the companies they regulate, Plunkett said."That's a conflict of interest we need to reduce or eliminate," he said.Congress will also have to figure out the future of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the mortgage giants taken over by the government last month after sustaining huge losses.There's a broad consensus that the two companies' hybrid structure as government-backed entities and for-profit private companies put them in the difficult spot of serving two conflicting goals: provide financial support for the housing market while also maximizing shareholder profit.The two companies could end up as much smaller federal agencies, or they could be fully privatized, among other options.How the push for new regulations will play out depends, in part, on whether Republican presidential nominee Sen. John McCain or Democratic nominee Sen. Barack Obama wins the White House.But no matter who is president, the next set of officials at financial agencies such as the Office of Thrift Supervision, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and the Securities and Exchange Commission will likely be much tougher."In the future, I think we'll see fewer political hacks and industry mouthpieces and more competent regulators," said Howard Glaser, an industry consultant who has worked for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.--AP Business Writer Alan Zibel contributed to this report.

THE price of oil is higher after reports on jobs and manufacturing show an improving US economy that will need more oil and gas.

South Korea's Samsung Electronics on Friday reported a record operating profit of 5.3 trillion won ($4.72 billion) in the fourth quarter, thanks largely to booming smartphone sales. The company also announced a 25 trillion won investment in its chipmaking and panel-making business. However, the world's largest technology firm by revenue slipped to back second place behind rival Apple in terms of smartphone sales, according to research. Samsung's telecoms businesses accounted for 2.64 trillion won out of the total quarterly operating profit, with the flagship Galaxy S2 and Galaxy Note brands largely credited for the strong result. "Despite intensified competition amid the global economic slowdown, our telecommunications businesses continued to post solid earnings with an enhanced line-up of high-end smartphones, resulting in higher average selling price," said senior vice-president Robert Yi in a statement. Related Articles Samsung Electronics posts record operating profit in Q4 Samsung Group to invest record $41.56bn this year Related Images The overall quarterly operating profit figure, a 76 percent increase year-on-year, was largely in line with the earnings guidance issued early this month by the firm. Revenue in October-December was 47.3 trillion won, a 13 percent rise year-on-year. Net profit of four trillion won was up 17 percent on a year earlier. For the whole of last year the company logged a net profit of 13.7 trillion won, down 15 percent from the previous year. Revenue rose 6.7 percent to a record 165 trillion won and operating profit declined 6.05 percent to 16.2 trillion won. Samsung overtook Apple in the third quarter of last year to become the world's largest seller of smartphones. But Apple reclaimed the crown in the October-December period thanks to its new iPhone 4S, but the Korean firm was the top smartphone brand for all of 2011, according to data from two research firms. Apple reported fourth-quarter sales of 37 million units, while researcher Strategy Analytics estimated that Samsung shipped 36.5 million during October-December. Wayne Lam, senior analyst at IHS iSuppli, also said Apple topped fourth-quarter sales but added that Samsung for all of 2011 become the world's largest smartphone brand for the first time. It tipped the overall smartphone market to grow more than 30 percent this year. Samsung, the world's largest maker of flat panels, memory chips and flat-screen televisions, announced capital spending of 25 trillion won this year. Some 15 trillion won of the total would be invested in chipmaking, to improve production lines and upgrade technology. Another 6.6 trillion won would be spent on the display panel division. The firm also credited a stronger lineup of LED televisions for the improved quarter-on-quarter sales. It said its chip business sustained profitability in the fourth quarter despite weak market demand, thanks to a mixture of high-margin products and strong demand for NAND flash memory chips used in smartphones and tablets.

Brokerages turned cautious on Ranbaxy after the drug-maker agreed to make changes in its manufacturing facilities in India and US.

The New Yorker editor David Remnick spoke to us at the Jaipur Literature Festival about writing history and biography as reportage

Republican candidates in fiery campaign debate, feeding off attacks on each other over immigration, housing and their personal wealth

Online auction website eBay has taken a listing for Prime Minister Julia Gillard's missing shoe off the site.

Online auction website eBay has taken a listing for Prime Minister Julia Gillard's missing shoe off the site.

Source:Securities Technology Monitor and SourceMedia, IncIn adapting to the possibility of using new business entity identifiers, financial firms should do a lot more work than haphazardly adding a new code to their operating systems, says financial technol...

News of the Libyan tyrant Muammar Gaddafi being killed was received in Muscat last weekend with a clear sense of jubilation, not only among Libyans but also among a section of Arab expatriates in Oman.

The worldwide business process outsourcing market is forecast to grow by 6.3 per cent globally and 17.9 per cent in the Asia-Pacific during the year 2011, says a study by market research firm Gartner.

As India celebrates its 63rd Republic Day on Thursday, images of National Bravery Award winning children riding on the backs of decorated elephants are shown on the Google home page to mark the occasion.

A crime is witnessed on Skype - how much evidence remains?

SEATTLE (Reuters) - Facebook and the state of Washington sued a company on Thursday they accused of a practice called "clickjacking" that fools users of the world's top social network into visiting advertising sites, divulging personal information and spreading the scam to friends.

TABLETS powered by Google's Android software playing catch up, but the Apple giant is still dominating global sales.

Its investigative series about how our electronic gadgets are made could be a contender.

ABU DHABI: Former world number one Tiger Woods gave clear evidence he was back to his best after carefully plotting his way to a second-round 69 to move within two shots of the lead at the Abu Dhabi Championship yesterday.

Bob Bryan plays for his record 12th Grand Slam doubles title with his brother Mike today, but he's advising his wife Michelle not to watch on television at home in Miami.He doesn't want her to go into labour until he's back in the...

DETROIT — Raymar Morgan grinned and lifted his right arm high in the air, saluting a stadium filled with Michigan State fans with a little wave.The Spartans promised their downtrodden state something good, and boy, did they deliver.Morgan broke out of his late-season slump with 18 points, Kalin Lucas added 21 and the smaller Spartans ran roughshod over Hasheem Thabeet and Connecticut in an 82-73 upset in the Final Four on Saturday night. The Spartans will play the winner of Villanova-North Carolina for the NCAA title Monday night, a much-needed boost for a city and state hit harder than most by the economic crisis.It’s Michigan State’s first appearance in the title game since 2000, when the Spartans won their second title. And how’s this for some karma? Magic Johnson, Spartan-in-chief since leading Michigan State to its first title in 1979, will present the game ball before Monday’s title game along with Larry Bird.Flashbulbs were popping as the final seconds ticked down. After shaking hands with the UConn players, the Spartans went to center court and saluted the crowd of 72,456, the largest-ever for a Final Four, about two-thirds of which were wearing green. Lucas bearhugged coach Tom Izzo.The loss is the latest blow for UConn, the best team in the country until Jerome Dyson went down with a knee injury in mid-February. The Huskies have been dealing with distractions since last May, when coach Jim Calhoun was diagnosed with his third bout with cancer, and are now facing questions about alleged recruiting violations.The loss snapped Calhoun and Connecticut’s perfect run in the Final Four. They’d made it twice before — 1999 and 2004 — and went on to win the title each time.The UConn players walked slowly off the court, looking shell-shocked that their season had ended.This was expected to be a battle of big men. UConn’s Thabeet had been a one-man swat team, averaging a double-double and winning defensive player of the year in the burly Big East for a second straight year. Michigan State’s Goran Suton led the equally gritty Big Ten in rebounding and had averaged a double-double in the NCAA tournament.But the matchup never developed, with neither a factor. Izzo had said all week the Spartans planned to make the game a sprint to keep Thabeet out of his comfort zone. The 7-foot-3 junior certainly couldn’t keep up. He looked gassed from the opening tipoff, leaning over, tugging on his shorts and gasping for air not even six minutes into the game.He finished with 17 points and six rebounds. Suton, who had the main job of corraling Thabeet, didn’t score his first field goal until early in the second half and finished with four points and seven boards.Stanley Robinson and A.J. Price had 15 each for Connecticut, and Robinson added 13 rebounds.

Christos Hadjigeorgiou of Cyprus and Vasilisa Aponasenko of Russia earned the top billing for the International Tennis Federation Under-18 Championships

Hiroki Kuroda, a right-handed starter, wrapped up a one-year, $10 million deal, and reliever Boone Logan signed a one-year contract and avoided arbitration.

OLYMPIAN Sid Taberlay will start as favourite for this weekend's Pure Tasmania Wildside event.

Sydney Sixers captain Steve Smith is confident his charges have the mettle to overcome Perth's heat in Saturday night's Big Bash final.

After the resolution to the Prince Fielder sweepstakes, Nationals General Manager Mike Rizzo said he wouldnt change his work schedule. He would keep arriving at Nationals Park at 8 a.m., he said, and he would leave at 10 p.m. The front offices work led the Nationals yesterday to Brad Lidge, a veteran to beef up their bullpen with experience. Read full article >>

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers made a surprise hire. Did they make a good one?

Mahela Jayawardene said he has taken up the Sri Lanka captaincy for a short term and rejected rumours that there was an internal bickering in the side.

Bollywood heartthrob Ranbir Kapoor is all praise for his father Rishi Kapoor's performance in Karan Johar's Agneepath and says it is the latter's passion for work that inspires him to do better. 

From Tom Hanks in Big to Jennifer Garner in 13 Going on 30 , the old trading bodies gag has a long and checkered history in Hollywood. But The Change-Up introduces a couple of new twists: This bod-swap tale involves two adult...

Sing Your Song: This HBO documentary about Harry Belafonte now playing at the Roxie is filled with the names of giants - Martin Luther King Jr., Robert and John Kennedy, Eleanor Roosevelt, Nelson Mandela - all men and...

Shirish Kunder's next directorial venture after JAAN-E-MANN is more or less complete, but very little is known about the content of the film. We are obviously referring to the Akshay Kumar-Sonakshi Sinha starrer, 3D venture JOKER. However apart from the above mentioned leads there are quite a few interesting characters in the film and amongst them is actor Arya Babbar, who has a special but madcap role in JOKER. Shedding light on his highly interesting character Arya reveals...

It's Friday! Let's all do a little dance to celebrate. I hope you all have big plans this weekend -- for now, I can offer a few headlines:

Raja Sen, a Top Gear fan, points out that the problem with the show's Indian edition wasn't the host's political incorrectness, but the fact that it lacked its characteristic bite.

LOS ANGELES: Fresh out of rehab and a 13-day stint in jail, Lindsay Lohan returned to Twitter on Thursday -- and blasted the paparazzi who have been following her every move.

As if launching her 'OWN' network is not enough, Oprah can add another prestigious title to her legacy. She has been chosen to be the godmother to Jay-Z and Beyoncé's newborn daughter.

Heres the scoop: Thanks to shows like œGossip Girl,� New York City had its biggest year ever on the small screen in 2011. And with œGossip Girl� set to air its 100th episode this Monday, Mayor Bloomberg had an excuse to visit the set Wednesday ” and get his picture taken with its sexy stars, Blake Lively, Kelly Rutherford and Kaylee DeFer.

A BLOGGER has been chastised for her article about the Obamas being the catalyst for a "'black fashion renaissance."

(Reuters) - A vast electricity blackout in the United States and Canada in 2003 led to the deaths of nearly 100 people, a study found, linking the deaths -- higher than official estimates -- to not only accidents caused by lack of power, but also underlying diseases.

Alzheimer’s has quickened its pace, snatching from Vincent more abilities than it had since his diagnosis three years earlier. But his humor and selfless core endure.

When children have high cholesterol or blood pressure, their parents may have increased risks of diabetes and heart disease down the road, a new study finds.

Tumor-targeted bioluminescent bacteria have been shown for the first time to provide accurate 3D images of tumors in mice, further advancing the potential for targeted cancer drug delivery, according to a study published in the Jan. 25 issue of the online journal PLoS ONE. The specially engineered probiotic bacteria, like those found in many yoghurts, were intravenously injected into mice with tumors, after which the researchers took full body bioluminescent images...

Chemical compounds widely used in fast-food packaging, waterproof clothing and non-stick frying pans were linked to lower immune response by young children to routine tetanus and diphtheria immunization shots.

Bring good fortune into your life and celebrate the Lunar New Year by wearing this lucky colour.

The Poisoners In Auckland Museum's exhibition The Poisoners, experts look at toxic surprises that may lurk in the bush or the bathroom. Today, the focus is on poisons around the home. Parents hankering to return to the

The Obama administration moved ahead with plans to require most employer health insurance to cover birth control without copayments, but gave religious employers an extra year to make the change.

On most days Giovanna Poli acts like a typical 12-year-old, but she is living with sickle cell disease.

A study has found that well-informed people stick to healthier eating patterns.