INDIA TODAY - Hindu leaders urge Selena Gomez to apologise for bindi error : Hollywood, News, Apr 17, 2013

 "Officials at the Universal Society of Hinduism have demanded an apology from Selena Gomez after she performed at the MTV Movie Awards with a religious bindi symbol on her forehead. The Hindu leaders have branded the pop star's appearance during her 'Come 'n' Get It' song "insensitive" and have urged her not to repeat it as she plans for an upcoming world tour, Contactmusic reported. Hindu statesman, Rajan Zed, said that the bindi on the forehead is an ancient tradition in Hinduism and has religious significance. Zed said that it is also sometimes referred to as the third eye and the flame, and it is an auspicious religious and spiritual symbol, which is not meant to be thrown around loosely for seductive effects or as a fashion accessory aiming at mercantile greed."
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IAFRICA - Were 'hobbits' island dwarves? Apr 17, 2013

 "Japanese scientists on Tuesday waded into a row over so-called "hobbit" hominids whose remains, found on a remote Indonesian island a decade ago, have unleashed one of the fiercest disputes in anthropology. The most detailed computerised scan of a skull of Homo floresiensis - "Man of Flores" - backs theories that the minute humans were a local product of evolution, they said. Marooned descendants of a hominid called Homo erectus, these people progressively "dwarfed," becoming smaller and smaller to match the availability of food on the island, they suggested. The findings are a knock to rival hypotheses that surfaced after an Australian-Indonesian team unearthed the bizarre remains in a cave in 2003. Dubbed after the wee folk in J.R.R. Tolkien's tale, the "hobbits" were just over a metre tall, weighed around 25 kilos and had a brain roughly the size of a chimp's, our closest primate relative."
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INDEPENDENT - United we stand: Bostonians unite in their quest for peace, Apr 17, 2013

 "Peace - that is the message on everybody’s lips. After unspeakable tragedy at what should have been a day of celebration, the famed Boston city marathon, Bostonians are simply hoping for life to resume to normal. Last night, at a candlelight vigil in Boston Common, hundreds gathered for hours to remember those who tragically lost their lives at the bombing, and for the hundreds whose lives have been forever changed. People of all ages - families, children, teenagers, students - and those of all races have come together in determination that this “act of terror” will not break their spirit."
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LA TIMES - Exploding giant star sent longest gamma-ray blast, astronomers say, Apr 17, 2013

 "The most powerful stellar explosion since the big bang has been linked to a newly discovered class of ultra-long gamma ray burst, astronomers said Tuesday at the 2013 Huntsville Gamma-Ray Burst Symposium in Nashville, Tenn. "We really think we’ve found this new class of gamma-ray bursts and a natural explanation for creating them in a type of star collapse that we haven’t previously talked about," said Andrew Levan, an astronomer at the University of Warwick in Coventry, England, who led a study on the phenomena. Gamma-ray bursts are the brightest explosions in the universe, shooting out powerful blasts of high-energy light, and they typically signal the death of a massive star collapsing to form a black hole."
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LA TIMES - Boston bombing victims Martin Richard, Krystle Campbell mourned, Apr 17, 2013

 "BOSTON — Martin Richard was a bright, sunny 8-year-old who loved to ride his bike and scored the winning goal for his soccer team in a championship game last year. Krystle Campbell, 29, was the vivacious assistant manager of a steakhouse who could instantly smooth over diners' complaints with her smile. They were cheering on the sidelines of the Boston Marathon on Monday when two bombs went off, firing a blizzard of nails, ball bearings and tiny daggers of shrapnel into the flesh of runners and spectators."
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Veteran sports broadcaster Pat Summerall dies at 82, Apr 17, 2013

"Over four decades, Summerall described some of the biggest games in America in his deep, resonant voice. Simple, spare, he delivered the details on 16 Super Bowls, the Masters and the U.S. Open tennis tournament with a simple, understated style that was the perfect complement for the "booms!" and "bangs!" of Madden, his football partner for the last half of the NFL player-turned-broadcaster's career. Summerall died Tuesday at age 82 of cardiac arrest, said University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center spokesman Jeff Carlton, speaking on behalf of Summerall's wife, Cheri."
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