At his Republic Day reception, President Pranab gives tradition a break

NEW DELHI: As a pleasant winter sun shone on the manicured lawns of the magnificent Rashtrapati Bhavan, President Pranab Mukherjee mingled with dignitaries at a reception he hosted here Saturday, and in a break from tradition, walked up to the guests and exchanged greetings with them.At the traditional reception, or " At Home", the President hosts on the occasion of Republic Day, Mukherjee did away...

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CDC: Flu seems to level off except in the West

New government figures show that flu cases seem to be leveling off nationwide. Flu activity is declining in most regions although still rising in the West.The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says hospitalizations and deaths spiked again last week, especially among the elderly. The CDC says quick treatment with antiviral medicines is important, in particular for the very...

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Anonymous Hijacks Federal Website Over Reddit Co-Founder's Suicide

Jan 26, 2013 12:27pm (AP Photo)Activists from the hacker collective known as Anonymous assumed control over the homepage of a federal judicial agency this morning.In a manifesto left on the defaced page, the group demanded reform to the American justice system and what the activists said are threats to the free flow of information.The lengthy essay largely mirrors...

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At least 30 killed in Egypt clashes over death sentences

PORT SAID, Egypt/CAIRO (Reuters) - At least 30 people were killed on Saturday when Egyptians rampaged in protest at the sentencing of 21 people to death over a soccer stadium disaster, violence that compounds a political crisis facing Islamist President Mohamed Mursi. Armored vehicles and military police fanned through the streets of Port Said, where gunshots rang out and protesters burned...

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Japan hits back at critics at Davos

DAVOS: Japan's economy minister on Saturday hit back at critics of Tokyo's new economic policies, saying they did not call into question the independence of its central bank.Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Akira Amari said the Bank of Japan had "voluntarily" decided with the government to introduce a new inflation target in a bid to boost the world's third-largest economy.The...

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Headley wouldn't have got a plea bargain in India: Experts

MUMBAI: Had Pakistani-American terror plotter David Coleman Headley been tried in India, he would not have been able to enter into a plea bargain, say legal experts. Plea bargaining is not allowed in India for serious offences that attract the death penalty. Headley plea bargained in the US in exchange for not getting the death sentence and escaping extradition to India in connection with the 26/11...

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Penalty could keep smokers out of health overhaul

WASHINGTON (AP) — Millions of smokers could be priced out of health insurance because of tobacco penalties in President Barack Obama's health care law, according to experts who are just now teasing out the potential impact of a little-noted provision in the massive legislation.The Affordable Care Act — "Obamacare" to its detractors — allows health insurers to charge smokers buying individual policies...

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Mars Rover Celebrates Milestone on Red Planet

It was never supposed to last this long. When the Mars rover Opportunity settled on the Martian surface nine years ago today, mission managers at NASA said they would be pleased if it lasted for 90 days.Instead, it's been 3,201 days, and still counting. The rover has driven 22.03 miles, mostly at a snail's pace, from one crater to another, stopping for months at a time in...

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Violence flares on anniversary of Egypt uprising

CAIRO/ALEXANDRIA, Egypt (Reuters) - Protesters clashed with police across Egypt on Friday on the second anniversary of the revolt that toppled Hosni Mubarak, taking to the streets against the elected Islamist president who they accuse of betraying the revolution. At least 91 civilians and 42 security personnel were hurt in violence across the country, officials said. Street battles erupted...

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Football: Thirteen cities to host Euro 2020

NYON: European football's governing body UEFA on Friday confirmed that the 2020 European Championship will be staged in 13 different cities across the continent.UEFA's executive committee rubber-stamped the proposals, which were first made public last month, for the 2020 finals to be the first "Euro for Europe".Previous tournaments have been held in one country or, as was the case at Euro...

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CDC: New version of stomach bug causing US illness

NEW YORK (AP) — Health officials say a new strain of stomach bug that's sweeping the globe is taking over in the U.S.In the last four months, more than 140 outbreaks in the U.S. have been caused by the new Sydney strain of norovirus. These kinds of contagious bugs cause bouts of diarrhea and vomiting.The new strain may not be unusually dangerous; some scientists don't think it is. But it is different,...

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Exterminator Charged in Pa. Doctor's Murder

An exterminator named Joseph Smith was arrested and charged today in the strangling and burning death of Philadelphia pediatrician Melissa Ketunuti.Smith, 36, had been sent to Ketunuti's home on a service call where the two got into "some kind of argument" in Ketunuti's basement on Monday, Capt. James Clark of the Philadelphia police department said this morning."At her home...

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North Korea to target U.S. with nuclear, rocket tests

SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea said on Thursday it would carry out further rocket launches and a nuclear test that would target the United States, dramatically stepping up its threats against a country it called its "sworn enemy". The announcement by the country's top military body came a day after the U.N. Security Council agreed to a U.S.-backed resolution to censure and sanction North...

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Keppel Corp's net profit falls 22% on-year in Q4

SINGAPORE: Falling margins from building oil rigs has hit the bottomline of Keppel Corp. Net profit for the world's leading rig builder fell 22 per cent on-year to S$305 million in the fourth quarter last year.Still, full year profit for the conglomerate came in 15 per cent to S$2.24 billion.Despite lower net profit in the three months ended Dec 31, Keppel Corp still declared a final dividend...

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Tamil Nadu bans screening of 'Vishwaroopam'

CHENNAI: The Tamil Nadu government on Wednesday evening banned the screening of Kamal Hassan's " Vishwaroopam" following strong protests from various Muslim organizations over alleged depiction of their community in a negative light. Official sources said the state government has asked the respective district collectors to invoke necessary legal provisions to maintain law and order. The ban came...

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Sickening fog settles over Salt Lake City area

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — A group of Utah doctors is declaring a health emergency over the Salt Lake City area's lingering air pollution problem.Utah Physicians for a Healthy Environment planned to deliver a petition Wednesday demanding immediate action by elected officials.The group wants Gov. Gary Herbert and mayors of northern Utah cities to cut the pollution.The doctors suggest lowering highway speed...

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Clinton Says Budget Cuts Undermine Security

An energized Secretary of State Hillary Clinton stood her ground today, telling the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that she has overseen plans to secure diplomatic outposts around the world while cuts in State Department funding undermine those efforts.Citing a report by the department's Accountability Review Board on the security failures that led to the deaths of four...

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Cameron promises Britons contentious vote on EU future

LONDON (Reuters) - Prime Minister David Cameron on Wednesday promised Britons a vote on whether the country should stay in the European Union or leave, rattling London's biggest allies and some investors by raising the prospect of uncertainty and upheaval. Cameron announced the referendum would be held by the end of 2017, provided he wins the next election, and said that while Britain...

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Emotional Clinton angrily denies Benghazi cover-up

WASHINGTON: Secretary of State Hillary Clinton came out guns blazing Wednesday, angrily dismissing Republican charges of a cover-up over the deadly Benghazi attack and warning of a rise in militant extremism.At times emotional and often fiery, Clinton gave no ground to congressional critics still seeking to determine why the administration at first blamed the September 11 attack on a protest...

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I'm opting out of race for BJP chief to save party: Gadkari

NEW DELHI: BJP president Nitin Gadkari today said he is opting out of the race for the top organizational post for a second time as he does not want the charges of financial impropriety levelled against him to adversely affect the party's interest. In a written statement, Gadkari said "I have committed no wrong or any impropriety either directly or indirectly. Yet, the UPA government has been making...

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Flu season fuels debate over paid sick time laws

NEW YORK (AP) — Sniffling, groggy and afraid she had caught the flu, Diana Zavala dragged herself in to work anyway for a day she felt she couldn't afford to miss.A school speech therapist who works as an independent contractor, she doesn't have paid sick days. So the mother of two reported to work and hoped for the best — and was aching, shivering and coughing by the end of the day. She stayed home...

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Teen Planned Walmart Attack After Killing Family

The New Mexico teenager who used an assault rifle to kill his mother, father and younger siblings told police he hoped to shoot up a Walmart after the family rampage and cause "mass destruction."Police said they are also considering charging the shooter's 12-year-old girlfriend.According to new information released by police today, Nehemiah Griego, the 15-year-old son of an...

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High turnout in Israeli election, Netanyahu frontrunner

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israelis voted in surprisingly high numbers on Tuesday in an election expected to hand hawkish Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a third term in office and bolster opponents of Palestinian statehood. However, the strong turnout, coming off the back of a long, lackluster election campaign, buoyed center-left parties which had pinned their hopes on energizing an army...

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