Foreigners still trapped in Sahara hostage crisis

ALGIERS/IN AMENAS, Algeria (Reuters) - More than 20 foreigners were captive or missing inside a desert gas plant on Saturday, nearly two days after the Algerian army launched an assault to free them that saw many hostages killed. The standoff between the army and al Qaeda-linked gunmen - one of the biggest international hostage crises in decades - entered its fourth day, having thrust...

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Getting the law to work for you

SINGAPORE: The National Trades Union Congress and the Law Society of Singapore have launched a new initiative to educate working people on their legal rights.The initiative called 'Law Works' will include a series of programmes that will be implemented to reach out to PMEs, working women and freelance professionals. The year-long campaign will see the publication of a 10-part quick guide...

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Chintan Shivir: Congress leaders pitch for Rahul Gandhi as PM candidate

JAIPUR: Amid talk that Rahul Gandhi will be given a larger responsibility, clamour for declaring the young leader as the Congress prime ministerial candidate grew louder at the party's Chintan Shivir on Saturday. Union ministers Jyotiraditya Scindia, Rajiv Shukla, Jitin Prasada, senior leader Manishankar Aiyar batted for larger responsibility for Rahul as the party recognised the need to respond...

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Lilly drug chosen for Alzheimer's prevention study

Researchers have chosen an experimental drug by Eli Lilly & Co. for a large federally funded study testing whether it's possible to prevent Alzheimer's disease in older people at high risk of developing it.The drug, called solanezumab (sol-ah-NAYZ-uh-mab), is designed to bind to and help clear the sticky deposits that clog patients' brains.Earlier studies found it did not help people with moderate...

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Armstrong Tearful Over Telling Kids Truth

Lance Armstrong, 41, began to cry today as he described finding out his son Luke, 13, was publicly defending him from accusations that he doped during his cycling career.Armstrong said that he knew, at that moment, that he would have to publicly admit to taking performance-enhancing drugs and having oxygen-boosting blood transfusions when competing in the Tour de France. He...

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Hostages still held after Sahara assault

ALGIERS (Reuters) - At least 22 foreign hostages remained unaccounted for on Friday after Algerian forces stormed a desert gas complex to free hundreds of captives taken by Islamist gunmen, an operation in which dozens of the hostages were killed. With Western leaders clamoring for details of the assault they said Algeria had launched on Thursday without consulting them, a local source...

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Palestinians brace for new rightwing Israeli govt

RAMALLAH, Palestinian Territories: The Palestinians are bracing for a new right-wing government that Israel's election is expected to produce, hoping that international and domestic moves will strengthen their position."There is complete ignorance and denial of the peace process and the two-state solution," warned Palestinian analyst Mahdi Abdul Hadi, director of the Passia think tank."Nobody...

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Congress is the only pan-India party: Sonia Gandhi

JAIPUR: Sonia Gandhi has said that Congress remains the most popular political party in India."Congress is the only pan-India party with presence in all cities and villages," Sonia Gandhi said.The Congress president also said that the party should look at its strengths and weaknesses."There is increased competition and inroads have been made in our traditional strongholds," Congress chief Sonia Gandhi...

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Food servers more vulnerable to legal threats

WASHINGTON (AP) — People with severe food allergies have a new tool in their attempt to find menus that fit their diet: federal disabilities law. And that could leave schools, restaurants and anyplace else that serves food more vulnerable to legal challenges over food sensitivities.A settlement stemming from a lack of gluten-free foods available to students at a Massachusetts university could serve...

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Armstrong Admits to Doping, 'One Big Lie'

Lance Armstrong, formerly cycling's most decorated champion and considered one of America's greatest athletes, confessed to cheating for at least a decade, admitting on Thursday that he owed all seven of his Tour de France titles and the millions of dollars in endorsements that followed to his use of illicit performance-enhancing drugs.After years of denying that he had taken...

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Sahara hostage siege turns Mali war global

ALGIERS/BAMAKO (Reuters) - Islamist gunmen holding dozens of Western hostages and scores of Algerians at a gas plant deep in the Sahara desert let some them speak to the media on Thursday to warn that they would be blown up if the site is stormed. Governments around the globe were holding emergency meetings to respond to one of the biggest international hostage crises in decades, which...

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Nokia to cut up to 300 jobs in IT unit

HELSINKI: Nokia said on Thursday it will cut up to 300 jobs in a restructuring of its global IT organisation."As part of the planned changes, Nokia plans to transfer certain activities and up to 820 employees to HCL Technologies and TATA Consultancy Services," the company said in a statement.The Espoo-based company said the majority of those affected by the changes were based in Finland.The...

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Amid tension, India returns Pakistani national

AMRITSAR: Notwithstanding the brimming tension across Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu following brutal killing of two Indian soldiers by Pakistani army, India on late Wednesday night repatriated a Pakistani national who had inadvertently crossed into India.A BSF official Shubhendu Bhardwaj informed TOI on Thursday that Sayed Naseem Hussain Shah, 28, was detained by BSF's Kissan Guard inside Indian...

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Large study confirms flu vaccine safe in pregnancy

NEW YORK (AP) — A large study offers reassuring news for pregnant women: It's safe to get a flu shot.The research found no evidence that the vaccine increases the risk of losing a fetus, and may prevent some deaths. Getting the flu while pregnant makes fetal death more likely, the Norwegian research showed.The flu vaccine has long been considered safe for pregnant women and their fetus. U.S. health...

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Notre Dame: Football Star Was 'Catfished' in Hoax

Notre Dame's athletic director and the star of its near-championship football team said the widely-reported death of the star's girlfriend from leukemia during the 2012 football season was apparently a hoax, and the player said he was duped by it as well.Manti Te'o, who led the Fighting Irish to the BCS championship game this year and finished second for the Heisman Trophy,...

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French, Malian troops encircle Islamist rebels in central Mali

BAMAKO/PARIS (Reuters) - French ground troops and Malian army forces encircled Islamist fighters in the central Malian town of Diabaly on Wednesday, military sources said, as France prepared to launch its first ground assault on the rebels. France, which has warned that Islamists' seizure of Mali's desert north last year represented a threat to the security of the West, moved a column...

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Man charged over Changi Village murder

SINGAPORE : A man has been charged with murder, following a fight at Changi Village that left a man dead.44-year-old Low Chuan Woo is alleged to have caused the death of 45-year-old Mohd Iskander Ishak on Monday night at a pub at Changi Village.Media reports quoted eyewitnesses who said Mr Mohd Iskander was stabbed repeatedly.He was taken to Changi General Hospital, but died from his injuries.In...

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Indian troops did not cross LoC: Army chief General Bikram Singh

KHAIRAIR (UP): Rejecting Pakistan's allegations, Army chief General Bikram Singh on Wednesday said Indian troops have not crossed the Line of Control (LoC) or indulged in unprovoked firing and that any casualty on the other side may have been due to retaliatory firing."Our jawans don't cross the LoC. We honour human rights. We fire in retaliation when provoked," he said here after meeting the family...

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ER visits tied to energy drinks double since 2007

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A new government survey suggests the number of people seeking emergency treatment after consuming energy drinks has doubled nationwide during the past four years, the same period in which the supercharged drink industry has surged in popularity in convenience stores, bars and on college campuses.From 2007 to 2011, the government estimates the number of emergency room visits involving...

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NRA Ad Calls Obama 'Elitist Hypocrite'

Jan 16, 2013 12:04am Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP PhotoAs the White House prepares to unveil a sweeping plan aimed at curbing gun violence, the National Rifle Association has launched a preemptive, personal attack on President Obama, calling him an “elitist hypocrite” who, the group claims, is putting American children at risk.In 35-second video posted online Tuesday...

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France keeps up Mali air strikes, African troop plan advances

BAMAKO (Reuters) - France kept up its air strikes against Islamist rebels in Mali as plans to deploy African troops gathered pace on Tuesday amid concerns that delays could endanger a wider mission to dislodge al Qaeda and its allies. France has already poured hundreds of troops into Mali and carried out days of air strikes since Friday in a vast desert area seized last year by an Islamist...

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Japan, US fighter planes in joint drill

TOKYO: US and Japanese fighter jets on Tuesday carried out joint air exercises, an official said, days after Chinese and Japanese military planes shadowed each other near disputed islands in the East China Sea.The five-day exercise involves six US FA-18 fighters and around 90 American personnel, along with four Japanese F-4 jets and an unspecified number of people, the official said.The...

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Lt Gen Parnaik: Three ceasefire violations after flag meet

AKHNOOR (J&K): India on Tuesday accused Pakistan of committing three ceasefire violations after a Brigadier-level flag meeting between the two countries but said it will "not act in haste or anger".Lt Gen K T Parnaik, General-Officer-in Command (Northern Command), said the Indian Army has a "lot of options" and is watching the developments closely.However, he said he does not think that a situation...

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Hospitals crack down on workers refusing flu shots

CHICAGO (AP) — Patients can refuse a flu shot. Should doctors and nurses have that right, too? That is the thorny question surfacing as U.S. hospitals increasingly crack down on employees who won't get flu shots, with some workers losing their jobs over their refusal."Where does it say that I am no longer a patient if I'm a nurse," wondered Carrie Calhoun, a longtime critical care nurse in suburban...

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