Copter crash kills 16 in Afghanistan, NATO says

A helicopter crashed during takeoff from Kandahar airfield in southern Afghanistan on Sunday, killing 16 people, NATO said. The aircraft was a “civilian contracted” helicopter, not a military one, NATO’s International Security Assistance Force said in a statement. The helicopter was not shot down, ISAF said, adding that the exact cause of the crash was not known.

Clinton begins Asia trip on somber note

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s first day in India began on a solemn note as she signed a condolence book at a Mumbai luxury hotel ravaged last year by terrorists. Clinton also expressed sorrow over Friday’s bombings of the JW Marriott and Ritz-Carlton hotels in Jakarta, Indonesia, saying they serve as reminders that the threat of terrorism and extremism is real.

India’s space odyssey: Moon dreams move east

Flashback to 1984: As a child, I am glued to my family’s black-and-white television set for our daily dose of evening entertainment and news on India’s national broadcaster. But this is no ordinary newscast: Prime Minister Indira Gandhi is speaking via videolink with astronaut Rakesh Sharma, who is aboard a space station

Beckham’s U.S. spat raises questions over role

If all publicity really is good publicity then David Beckham, the Los Angeles Galaxy and Major League Soccer have had a really good week. But the publicity also raised questions about Beckham’s commitment to advancing soccer in the United States where other sports such as American football and baseball are the high profile money spinners

From doughnuts to lift off, Apollo 11 launch was blast

Just after midnight on July 16, 1969, Jack King kissed his wife goodbye at their Cocoa Beach, Florida home, jumped in his car, and drove to Dunkin Donuts for a doughnut and a cup of coffee. It was the start of a big day: the launch of a Saturn 5 rocket, lifting man from the face of the Earth to the face of the moon. King, the chief of public information at Kennedy Space Center, would become known that day as the voice of Apollo 11.