Palestinians turn to U.N. for state recognition

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The U.N. General Assembly is set to approve an implicit recognition of Palestinian statehood on Thursday despite threats by the United States and Israel to punish the Palestinian Authority by withholding funds for the West Bank government. A resolution that would lift the Palestinian Authority's U.N. observer status from "entity" to "non-member state," like...

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British inquiry urges new laws for "outrageous" press

LONDON: A British inquiry called Thursday for a tougher watchdog underpinned by new laws to curb the country's press in a damning verdict that sets up Prime Minister David Cameron for a political battle.Senior judge Brian Leveson, who led an eight-month inquiry sparked by the phone-hacking scandal at Rupert Murdoch's News of the World tabloid, said there should be an independent self-regulatory...

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Editors' arrests recall Emergency, Zee says

NEW DELHI: Even as the Zee group called it a move to gag the media "without an official declaration of emergency", the two arrested editors of the group were remanded to two days of police custody on Wednesday and chairman Subhas Chandra called by the police to join investigations. In a clear sign that the crime branch was ready to dig its heels in the case, top officials confirmed that they had...

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Simple measures cut infections caught in hospitals

CHICAGO (AP) — Preventing infections from surgery is a major concern for hospitals and it turns out some simple measures can make a big difference.A project at seven big hospitals reduced infections after colorectal surgeries by nearly one-third. It prevented an estimated 135 infections, saving almost $4 million.The measures included having patients shower with special germ-fighting soap before surgery,...

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Obama Taps Twitter for Tax-Cut Push

President Obama today sought to inject a dose of public pressure into the "fiscal cliff" debate, urging Americans who face an across-the-board tax hike in 34 days to lobby lawmakers by phone, email and Twitter."If there's one thing I've learned; when the American people speak loudly enough, lo and behold, Congress listens," Obama said from a White House auditorium.He was flanked...

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Egypt assembly seeks to wrap up constitution

CAIRO (Reuters) - The assembly writing Egypt's constitution said it could wrap up a final draft later on Wednesday, a move the Muslim Brotherhood sees as a way out of a crisis over a decree by President Mohamed Mursi that protesters say gives him dictatorial powers. But as Mursi's opponents staged a sixth day of protests in Tahrir Square, critics said the Islamist-dominated assembly's...

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Indian minister in strong attack on microfinance

NEW DELHI: Microfinance is a "discredited model" and to believe that poverty alleviation in India is possible through such methods is "c**p", Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh said Wednesday."Nothing can stop an idea whose time has gone," Ramesh told a microfinance conference in New Delhi, according to the Press Trust of India."It is a discredited model," he said, referring to the...

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Two Zee editors arrested for 'Rs 100-crore extortion bid'

NEW DELHI: The crime branch of Delhi Police on Tuesday arrested two editors of Zee group on charges of extortion based on a complaint filed by Congress MP Naveen Jindal. They are Sudhir Chaudhary, business head and editor of Zee News and Sameer Ahluwalia, head of Zee business, a senior police officer said.S B S Tyagi, DCP (Crime Branch), said: "Prima facie evidence of criminal conspiracy and extortion...

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CDC: HIV spread high in young gay males

NEW YORK (AP) — Health officials say 1 in 5 new HIV infections occur in a tiny segment of the population — young men who are gay or bisexual.The government on Tuesday released new numbers that spotlight how the spread of the AIDS virus is heavily concentrated in young males who have sex with other males. Only about a quarter of new infections in the 13-to-24 age group are from injecting drugs or heterosexual...

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GOP Senators More Troubled After Rice Meeting

United Nations Ambassador Susan Rice's attempts to make nice with a trio of Republican senators who have criticized her response to the Sept. 11 terror attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya, seem to have backfired.The senators said they left their face-to-face meeting with Rice this morning "more concerned" and "significantly troubled."The three Republicans, Sens....

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