Jundal is an Indian operative: Rehman Malik

NEW DELHI: A day after he offended his hosts by seeking to draw a comparison between Babri demolition and Mumbai terror attack, Rehman Malik was at it again on Saturday. The visiting interior minister festered India's 26/11 wound by saying that Abu Jundal, who had coordinated the terror strikes of Ajmal Kasab and nine other Laskhar terrorists from the Karachi control room, worked for an Indian...

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Fewer health care options for illegal immigrants

ALAMO, Texas (AP) — For years, Sonia Limas would drag her daughters to the emergency room whenever they fell sick. As an illegal immigrant, she had no health insurance, and the only place she knew to seek treatment was the hospital — the most expensive setting for those covering the cost.The family's options improved somewhat a decade ago with the expansion of community health clinics, which offered...

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'Good Evidence' on Massacre Motive

Police indicated today they have "some very good evidence" about the motive behind Adam Lanza's massacre at the Sandy Hook Elementary School and said that the sole person to survive being shot by Lanza will be "instrumental" in the probe.Authorities also finished the grim task of identifying all of Lanza's 27 victims, which included 20 children. Families, who already feared...

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Egyptians vote on divisive constitution

CAIRO/ALEXANDRIA (Reuters) - Egyptians queued in long lines on Saturday to vote on a constitution promoted by its Islamist backers as the way out of a political crisis and rejected by opponents as a recipe for further divisions in the Arab world's biggest nation. Soldiers joined police to secure the referendum after deadly protests during the buildup. Street brawls erupted again on Friday...

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Hillary Clinton suffers concussion, recovering at home

WASHINGTON: Globe-trotting US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton hit her head and suffered a concussion while battling a nasty stomach bug, officials said on Saturday, forcing her to stay home for a second week."While suffering from a stomach virus, Secretary Clinton became dehydrated and fainted, sustaining a concussion," Clinton's top aide Philippe Reines said in a statement.The news...

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Turban pride restores as Sikhs wins school turban ban case against France in UN

AMRITSAR: The UN Human Rights Committee (UNHRC) has ruled that France's ban on the wearing of "conspicuous" religious symbols in schools - introduced in a law adopted in March 2004 - violated a Sikh student's right to manifest his religion, protected by the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). "The UNHRC has made our nine year wait for justice worthwhile, since the French...

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APNewsBreak: Texas cancer probe draws NCI scrutiny

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — The National Cancer Institute confirmed Friday that federal officials are taking a closer look at a troubled $3 billion cancer-fighting effort in Texas that is under a criminal investigation over a lucrative taxpayer-funded grant awarded by the state agency.The Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas has coveted status as an NCI-approved funding entity — an exclusive...

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At Least 27, Mostly Kids, Killed at Grade School

More than two dozen people, mostly elementary school children, were shot and killed at a Newtown, Conn., elementary school this morning, federal and state sources tell ABC News.The massacre involved two gunmen and prompted the town of Newtown to lock down all its schools and draw SWAT teams to the school, authorities said today.One shooter is dead and a manhunt is on for a second...

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U.S., rebels urge gloomy Moscow to help oust Assad

BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syria's rebel leadership and the United States seized on Russian pessimism over President Bashar al-Assad's future to urge Moscow to help push its ally into ceding power and end the battles closing in around his capital. "We want to commend the Russian government for finally waking up to the reality and acknowledging that the regime's days are numbered," the U.S. State...

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Deadly shooting erupts at US elementary school

NEW YORK: At least 27 people were killed, including 18 children, in a shooting Friday at a Connecticut elementary school, US media reported.Connecticut State Police spokesman Paul Vance would not give details, but confirmed "there was a shooting."CBS News cited law enforcement sources as saying that 27 people were killed, including 18 children. A White House spokesman said that President...

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Killing of fishermen: Italy summons Indian ambassador

ROME: Italy has summoned India's ambassador to insist that India's Supreme Court issue a decision soon concerning two Italian naval guards detained since February for the deaths of two Indian fishermen mistaken for pirates. Italy maintains the shooting occurred in international waters and that as a result, Rome should have jurisdiction. India claims the ship was in Indian territorial waters. The...

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Study: People worldwide living longer, but sicker

LONDON (AP) — Nearly everywhere around the world, people are living longer and fewer children are dying. But increasingly, people are grappling with the diseases and disabilities of modern life, according to the most expansive global look so far at life expectancy and the biggest health threats.The last comprehensive study was in 1990 and the top health problem then was the death of children under...

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Court: CIA Tortured German in Botched Rendition

Nearly a decade after a German man claimed he was snatched off the street, held in secret and tortured as part of the CIA's extraordinary rendition program -- all due to a case of mistaken identity -- a panel of international judges said today what Khaled El-Masri has been waiting to hear since 2004: We believe you.The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) handed down a unanimous...

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Russia says Syrian rebels might win

MOSCOW/BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syrian rebels are gaining ground and might win, Russia's Middle East envoy said on Thursday, in the starkest such admission from a major ally of President Bashar al-Assad in 20 months of conflict. "One must look the facts in the face," Russia's state-run RIA quoted Mikhail Bogdanov as saying. "Unfortunately, the victory of the Syrian opposition cannot be ruled...

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Thousands protest as mass Turkey coup plot trial nears end

ISTANBUL: Thousands of people protested Thursday outside a Turkish prison complex where the mass trial of almost 300 people accused of plotting to overthrow the Islamist-rooted government of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan entered its closing stages.Police used tear gas to prevent large crowds from bursting into the heavily-guarded Silivri compound near Istanbul where 275 defendants...

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Ravi Shankar harnessed folk tunes with equal felicity

NEW DELHI: Perhaps the finest novel written by Hindi-Urdu literary genius Munshi Premchand, Godan, was miserably adapted to the big screen by film director Trilok Jetley in 1963. Despite having proven performers like Raj Kumar and Kamini Kaushal in lead roles, the movie sank without a trace. But the film had at least one endearing footnote: a bunch of folksy compositions flavoured with the salt...

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Congress examines science behind HGH test for NFL

WASHINGTON (AP) — A congressional committee has opened a hearing to examine the science behind a human growth hormone test the NFL wants to start using on its players.Nearly two full seasons have passed since the league and the players' union signed a labor deal that set the stage for HGH testing.The NFL Players Association won't concede the validity of a test that's used by Olympic sports and Major...

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Mall Gunman Identified as Jacob Tyler Roberts

The masked gunman who killed two people in the crowded Clackamas Town Center mall in suburban Portland, Ore., was identified today as Jacob Tyler Roberts.Roberts, 22, was armed with a stolen AR-15 semi-automatic weapon, Sheriff Craig Roberts told a news conference today. He was not wearing a bullet-proof vest as previously reported.Earlier today the sheriff told "Good Morning...

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North Korea rocket launch raises nuclear stakes

SEOUL/TOKYO (Reuters) - North Korea successfully launched a rocket on Wednesday, boosting the credentials of its new leader and stepping up the threat the isolated and impoverished state poses to opponents. The rocket, which North Korea says put a weather satellite into orbit, has been labeled by the United States, South Korea and Japan as a test of technology that could one day deliver...

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New Mali PM crafts unity government to win back north

BAMAKO: Mali's new Prime Minister Diango Cissoko started drawing up a new unity government Wednesday that could bring the consensus needed to launch a foreign military intervention in the Islamist-occupied north.While Cissoko pledged to regain control of the country's north, international condemnation poured in over the ouster of his predecessor Cheick Modibo Diarra and meddling by a former...

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Dharna planned at Jantar Mantar against cash transfer plan

NEW DELHI: Over 1,000 people from 12 states are set to converge at Jantar Mantar in the Capital on Thursday to protest against the UID-driven cash transfer program and demand a more inclusive National Food Security Bill. The protest is being organised by The Right To Food Campaign, a grassroots organisations' network. The Right To Food Campaign has earlier criticized the categorization of beneficiaries...

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