Egypt's constitution seen passing in referendum

CAIRO (Reuters) - Egyptians voted on a constitution drafted by Islamists on Saturday in a second round of balloting expected to approve the charter that opponents say will create deeper turmoil in Egypt. After a first round last week in which unofficial results showed 57 percent of those who voted approved the constitution, the opposition cried foul, saying a litany of alleged abuses...

Read More..

Agents to hire more Sri Lankan maids next year

SINGAPORE: Maid agents in Singapore are looking to hire more foreign domestic helpers from Sri Lanka.From next year, the Association of Employment Agencies plans to bring in between 500 and 1,000 Sri Lankan maids a month, up from the current 100 to 200 a month.Based on records from the Sri Lankan High Commission in Singapore, there are about 4,500 Sri Lankan maids here.The association...

Read More..

Italian naval guards: Flown out, never to return?

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: In the wee hours of Saturday, the two Italian naval guards charged with shooting dead two Indian fishermen flew out of Kochi airport in a chartered flight from Italy. The question most often asked here now is: Will they return, as promised, by Jan 10, 2013?The two Italians were charged with killing fishermen Ajesh Binki and Gelastine on February 15, allegedly taking them for pirates.The...

Read More..

Predicting who's at risk for violence isn't easy

CHICAGO (AP) — It happened after Columbine, Virginia Tech, Aurora, Colo., and now Sandy Hook: People figure there surely were signs of impending violence. But experts say predicting who will be the next mass shooter is virtually impossible — partly because as commonplace as these calamities seem, they are relatively rare crimes.Still, a combination of risk factors in troubled kids or adults including...

Read More..

Obama Still an 'Optimist' on Cliff Deal

Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty ImagesWASHINGTON D.C. – Ten days remain before the mandatory spending cuts and tax increases known as the “fiscal cliff” take effect, but President Obama said he is still a “hopeless optimist” that a federal budget deal can be reached before the year-end deadline that economists agree might plunge the country back into recession.“Even though Democrats and Republicans are...

Read More..

Syrian rebels fight for strategic town in Hama province

BEIRUT (Reuters) - Rebels began to push into a strategic town in Syria's central Hama province on Thursday and laid siege to at least one town dominated by President Bashar al-Assad's minority sect, activists said. The operation risks inflaming already raw sectarian tensions as the 21-month-old revolt against four decades of Assad family rule - during which the president's Alawite sect...

Read More..

SIA to spend S$95m upgrading B77-200ER cabins

SINGAPORE: Singapore Airlines said it will spend S$95 million refitting 10 Boeing 777-200ER aircraft with new long-haul cabin products.The improvements include seats that fold down into full-flat beds in Business Class and larger entertainment screens for both Business and Economy.A shift in seat layouts will allow every passenger in the Business Class direct access to the aisle.The first...

Read More..

CWG scam: Delhi court orders framing of charges against Suresh Kalmadi & others

NEW DELHI: A Delhi court today ordered framing of charges against sacked CWG organising committee chairman Suresh Kalmadi and others for offences of forgery, cheating and conspiracy in a games-related graft case.Special CBI Judge Talwant Singh passed the order on framing of charges against Kalmadi, former OC secretary general Lalit Bhanot and nine others for illegally awarding a contract to Swiss...

Read More..

AP IMPACT: Big Pharma cashes in on HGH abuse

A federal crackdown on illicit foreign supplies of human growth hormone has failed to stop rampant misuse, and instead has driven record sales of the drug by some of the world's biggest pharmaceutical companies, an Associated Press investigation shows.The crackdown, which began in 2006, reduced the illegal flow of unregulated supplies from China, India and Mexico.But since then, Big Pharma has been...

Read More..

Fiscal Cliff 'Plan B' Is Dead: Now What?

Dec 20, 2012 11:00pm The defeat of his Plan B — Republicans pulled it when it became clear it would be voted down — is a big defeat for Speaker of the House John Boehner.  It demonstrates definitively that there is no fiscal cliff deal that can pass the House on Republican votes alone.Boehner could not even muster the votes to pass something that would only allow...

Read More..

State Department security chief leaves post over Benghazi

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. State Department said on Wednesday its security chief had resigned from his post and three other officials had been relieved of their duties following a scathing official inquiry into the September 11 attack on the U.S. mission in Benghazi. Eric Boswell has resigned effective immediately as assistant secretary of state for diplomatic security, State Department...

Read More..

Train service on NEL resumes after disruption

SINGAPORE: Services on the North East Line (NEL) have resumed after a disruption due to train fault. SBS Transit said full operations resumed at 5.18pm on Thursday. Earlier, a statement from SBS Transit said there was no service between Punggol and Little India.Free bus rides were made available at designated bus stops near affected NEL stations. SBS Transit has apologised for the inconvenience...

Read More..

Kerala HC allows Italian naval guards to go home for Christmas

KOCHI: Two Italian naval guards charged with killing two fishermen off the coast of India will likely be allowed to spend Christmas in Italy, after a Kerala high court on Thursday accepted the sailors' plea to go home for the holiday season. The sailors are awaiting trial in connection with the shooting deaths in February, and the case has soured relations between New Delhi and Rome. Italy has challenged...

Read More..

AP IMPACT: Steroids loom in major-college football

WASHINGTON (AP) — With steroids easy to buy, testing weak and punishments inconsistent, college football players are packing on significant weight — 30 pounds or more in a single year, sometimes — without drawing much attention from their schools or the NCAA in a sport that earns tens of billions of dollars for teams.Rules vary so widely that, on any given game day, a team with a strict no-steroid...

Read More..

Obama Invokes Newtown on 'Cliff' Deal

Invoking the somber aftermath of the school massacre in Newtown, Conn., President Obama today appealed to congressional Republicans to embrace a standing "fair deal" on taxes and spending that would avert the fiscal cliff in 13 days."If there's one thing we should have after this week, it should be a sense of perspective about what's important," Obama said at a midday news conference."I...

Read More..