Thirty-one killed as militants attack Pakistan checkpoint

DERA ISMAIL KHAN, Pakistan (Reuters) - Militants attacked an isolated army checkpoint in Pakistan's restive northwest on Saturday, with at least 31 people killed in the initial assault, subsequent crossfire and a rocket attack on a house, officials said. The Pakistan Taliban claimed responsibility, saying the attack was in response to a U.S. drone strike in neighboring North Waziristan...

Read More..

India set to introduce death penalty in some rape cases

NEW DELHI - India's Cabinet has approved harsher punishments for rapists, including the death penalty, after a brutal gang-rape in New Delhi that sparked national outrage.A government-appointed panel recommended the changes to ministers after the death of a 23-year-old woman who was savagely raped and attacked in a bus on December 16 and died nearly two weeks later.The case ignited nationwide...

Read More..

Rahul Gandhi to visit Amethi on Feb 5 and 6

AMETHI: In his first visit after being elevated as Congress vice-president, Rahul Gandhi would tour his constituency of Amethi for two days during which he would also interact with party cadres. District Magistrate Vidya Bhushan today confirmed the two day visit of the local MP and said he would arrive here on February 5. Rahul, who will be here within a fortnight after being appointed the Congress...

Read More..

New rules aim to get rid of junk foods in schools

WASHINGTON (AP) — Most candy, high-calorie drinks and greasy meals could soon be on a food blacklist in the nation's schools.For the first time, the government is proposing broad new standards to make sure all foods sold in schools are more healthful.Under the new rules the Agriculture Department proposed Friday, foods like fatty chips, snack cakes, nachos and mozzarella sticks would be taken out...

Read More..

Gov's Handling of Sandusky Case Under Investigation

The newly-elected attorney general of Pennsylvania is going after the state's governor, Tom Corbett, who was attorney general when child sex allegations against Penn State coach Jerry Sandusky were first brought forward.Kathleen Kane, a Democrat who was sworn in as attorney general on Jan. 15, said that she will name a special prosecutor in the coming days to investigate Corbett's...

Read More..

Explosion at Mexican oil giant Pemex headquarters kills 25

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - A powerful explosion rocked the Mexico City headquarters of state-owned oil giant Pemex on Thursday, killing at least 25 people, injuring more than 100 and trapping others inside. The mid-afternoon blast in a neighboring building shattered the lower floors of the downtown tower, throwing debris into the streets and sending frightened workers running outside. ...

Read More..

A*STAR scientists solve century-old mystery in yeast infections

SINGAPORE: Scientists from the Agency for Science Technology And Research (A*STAR) have solved a century-old mystery in yeast infections.They constructed stable strains of Candida albicans, the most prevalent human fungal pathogen and a major cause of hospital acquired infection.A*STAR said on Friday that their discovery will help pave the way to develop drugs that effectively target and...

Read More..

Saibaba trust got Rs 275 crore donation in 2012

SHIRDI: The Saibaba Shirdi Sansthan Trust received a donation of Rs 274.71 crore from devotees last year, a senior trust official said. Devotees also donated 36 kg of gold in various forms in 2012, estimated to be worth Rs 11 crore, Sansthan's executive officer Kishor More said yesterday. However, the Sansthan received 373 kg of silver in the last calendar year, even as it received 440 kg of the...

Read More..

Hedgehog Alert! Prickly pets can carry salmonella

NEW YORK (AP) — Add those cute little hedgehogs to the list of pets that can make you sick.In the last year, 20 people were infected by a rare but dangerous form of salmonella bacteria, and one person died in January. The illnesses were linked to contact with hedgehogs kept as pets, according to a report released Thursday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Health officials on Thursday...

Read More..

Arias' Lawyer Shows Ex-Boyfriend's Lewd Photos

Accused murderer Jodi Arias was kept away from the Mormon friends of her lover Travis Alexander and their torrid sex affair was kept secret by Alexander, even as he sent lewd photos of himself to her online, according to court testimony today.The testimony in Arias' trial for killing Alexander in 2008 was intended to bolster the defense's argument that she killed him in self...

Read More..

Syrian rebels make slow headway in south

AMMAN (Reuters) - The revolt against President Bashar al-Assad first flared in Deraa, but the southern border city now epitomizes the bloody stalemate gripping Syria after 22 months of violence and 60,000 dead. Jordan next door has little sympathy with Assad, but is wary of spillover from the upheaval in its bigger neighbor. It has tightened control of its 370-km (230-mile) border with...

Read More..

SK Group head gets four-year jail sentence

SEOUL: The head of South Korea's third largest conglomerate, the SK Group, was sentenced to four years in prison on Thursday after being convicted of embezzling close to $50 million.The custodial sentence was seen as relatively tough in a country where convicted business tycoons are often given suspended prison terms in recognition of their apparent contribution to the national economy.The...

Read More..

Six Congress MPs from Telangana firm on resignations

HYDERABAD: Six Congress MPs from Telangana on Thursday made it clear that they will not take back their resignations over the delay in formation of a separate state. The MPs, who met here a day after reports of differences among them, claimed that resignations of seven MPs were Wednesday submitted to party president Sonia Gandhi's office. However, Madhu Yaskhi Goud, later stated that there is no...

Read More..

Sex to burn calories? Authors expose obesity myths

Fact or fiction? Sex burns a lot of calories. Snacking or skipping breakfast is bad. School gym classes make a big difference in kids' weight.All are myths or at least presumptions that may not be true, say researchers who reviewed the science behind some widely held obesity beliefs and found it lacking.Their report in Thursday's New England Journal of Medicine says dogma and fallacies are detracting...

Read More..

U.N.'s Ban decries "horrors" in Syria, urges end to war

KUWAIT (Reuters) - Denouncing "unrelenting horrors" in Syria's war, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon appealed on Wednesday for an end to the violence and urged more aid to address a situation he said was catastrophic and worsening by the day. "How many more people will be killed if the current situation continues?," Ban said, speaking at a conference of donors in Kuwait called to drum...

Read More..

S'pore moves up to 2nd spot in trust survey

SINGAPORE: Singapore has moved up to the number two spot for the most trusting nation in the world, according to the 2013 Edelman Trust Barometer. It was third in 2012 and seventh in 2011.Edelman, which measured levels of trust in institutions in 26 countries worldwide, said on Wednesday that Singapore's total trust score rose by nine points and is three points more than the global average...

Read More..

Govt will be prompt in pursuing Verma panel recommendations on rape laws: PM

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Wednesday said that the government will be prompt in pursuing the recommendations of J S Verma Committee to amend the law to deal effectively with cases of sexual assault against women. In a letter to Justice Verma, former Chief Justice of India, Manmohan Singh thanked him and other two members of the committee--Justice (retd) Leila Seth and former Solicitor...

Read More..

Soldier with new arms determined to be independent

BALTIMORE (AP) — After weeks of round-the-clock medical care, Brendan Marrocco insisted on rolling his own wheelchair into a news conference using his new transplanted arms. Then he brushed his hair to one side.Such simple tasks would go unnoticed in most patients. But for Marrocco, who lost all four limbs while serving in Iraq, these little actions demonstrate how far he's come only six weeks after...

Read More..

French seal off Mali's Timbuktu, rebels torch library

GAO, Mali (Reuters) - French and Malian troops retook control of Timbuktu, a UNESCO World Heritage site, on Monday after Islamist rebel occupiers fled the ancient Sahara trading town and torched several buildings, including a library holding priceless manuscripts. The United States and the European Union are backing a French-led intervention in Mali against al Qaeda-allied militants they...

Read More..

Infrastructure development to keep pace with population growth

SINGAPORE: The government is planning to build 700,000 new homes by 2030.That is one of the long-term plans to support the projected increase in population which is expected to hit 6.9 million in about 20 years.Some Singaporeans have observed that population growth in Singapore has outpaced infrastructure development in the last five years.The government is now planning and investing in...

Read More..

Chhattisgarh land acquisition, large-scale tree felling for NH four-laning sparks row

PITHORA: Massive land acquisition and indiscriminate tree felling for four-laning of National Highway-53 (NH-53) has sparked unrest among the locals, who are now up in arms against the state government.More than 55,000 trees are being cut on the stretch of 115 Kms from Aarang to Saraipali, not only affecting those in possession of the land and trees but also the environment as a whole. "Large number...

Read More..

Soldier talks about his new arms after transplant

BALTIMORE (AP) — A soldier who lost all four limbs in an Iraq roadside bombing has two new arms following a double transplant at Johns Hopkins Hospital.Twenty-six-year-old Brendan Marrocco along with the surgeons who treated him will be at the Baltimore hospital on Tuesday to discuss the new limbs.The transplants are only the seventh double-hand or double-arm transplant ever conducted in the United...

Read More..

Egypt's Mursi declares emergency after clashes kill dozens

CAIRO (Reuters) - Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi declared a month-long state of emergency in three cities on the Suez Canal, where dozens of people have been killed in protests that have swept the nation and deepened a political crisis facing the Islamist leader. Hundreds of demonstrators in Port Said, Suez and Ismailia turned out against the decision within moments of Mursi's announcement...

Read More..

Man in "trolley bag" case pleads guilty to failing to report death

SINGAPORE: The lover of a businessman acquitted of murder in the "trolley bag" case pleaded guilty to a charge of failing to report the death to the police.Pee Weai Hong, 33, admitted on Monday that he did not report the death of 28-year-old Dylan Wong Teck Siong on 2 April 2011 when he learnt about it the next day.Mr Wong's decomposed body was stuffed in a trolley bag and was found in...

Read More..

India, Pakistan resume bus service in Kashmir

SRINAGAR: An official on Monday said India and Pakistan have resumed a bus service in the disputed region of Kashmir near the area where their armies recently engaged in deadly skirmishes. Kashmir's home secretary Suresh Kumar said nearly 120 passengers from both sides of Kashmir crossed the transit point in the Poonch region on Monday. The bus service as well as trade between Indian and Pakistani...

Read More..

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...

Read More..

'Barrier of Bodies' Trapped Nightclub Fire Victims

The bodies of the young college students were found piled up just inside the entrance of the Kiss nightclub, among more than 230 people who died in a cloud of toxic smoke after a blaze enveloped the crowded locale within seconds and set off a panic.Hours later, the horrific chaos had transformed into a scene of tragic order, with row upon row of polished caskets of the dead...

Read More..

Egyptian youths, police clash in fourth day of street violence

CAIRO (Reuters) - Police fired tear gas at dozens of stone-throwing protesters in Cairo on Sunday in a fourth day of street violence that has killed at least 41 people and compounded the political challenges facing President Mohamed Mursi. The most deadly clashes flared up in Port Said where 32 people were killed on Saturday alone. That violence was provoked by a court verdict sentencing...

Read More..