Exclusive: North Korea tells China of preparations for fresh nuclear test - source

BEIJING (Reuters) - North Korea has told its key ally, China, that it is prepared to stage one or even two more nuclear tests this year in an effort to force the United States into diplomatic talks, said a source with direct knowledge of the message. Further tests could also be accompanied this year by another rocket launch, said the source, who has direct access to the top levels of...

Read More..

Mystery gold gifts for tsunami-wracked Japan port

TOKYO: A Japanese city devastated by the 2011 tsunami has received anonymous gifts of gold worth more than $250,000 in a phenomenon dubbed a "goodwill gold rush" ahead of the second anniversary of the disaster.The president of the company which operates the port in the northeastern city of Ishinomaki last week received a parcel containing two slabs of gold each weighing one kilogram (2.2...

Read More..

Centre pays no heed to state leaders: Karunanidhi

CHENNAI: DMK president M Karunanidhi on Saturday charged the central government of not being bothered by statements from political leaders in the states on issues like the attack on Indian fishermen by Sri Lankan forces or fuel price hikes. Karunanidhi, whose party is a major constituent of the United Progressive Alliance ( UPA) government at the centre, said: "Every time fishermen from Tamil...

Read More..

UN warns risk of hepatitis E in S. Sudan grows

GENEVA (AP) — The United Nations says an outbreak of hepatitis E has killed 111 refugees in camps in South Sudan since July, and has become endemic in the region.U.N. refugee agency spokesman Adrian Edwards says the influx of people to the camps from neighboring Sudan is believed to be one of the factors in the rapid spread of the contagious, life-threatening inflammatory viral disease of the liver.Edwards...

Read More..

Carnival Cruise Ship Hit With First Lawsuit

The first lawsuit against Carnival Cruise Lines has been filed and it is expected to be the beginning of a wave of lawsuits against the ship's owners.Cassie Terry, 25, of Brazoria County, Texas, filed a lawsuit today in Miami federal court, calling the disabled Triumph cruise ship "a floating hell.""Plaintiff was forced to endure unbearable and horrendous odors on the filthy and...

Read More..

Meteorite hits central Russia, 400 hurt

YEKATERINBURG/CHELYABINSK, Russia (Reuters) - About 400 people were injured when a meteorite shot across the sky in central Russia on Friday sending fireballs crashing to Earth, smashing windows and setting off car alarms. Residents on their way to work in Chelyabinsk heard what sounded like an explosion, saw a bright light and then felt a shockwave, according to a Reuters correspondent...

Read More..

No health effects from Fukushima: Japan researcher

TOKYO: A Japanese government-backed researcher said Friday no health effects from radiation released by the stricken Fukushima nuclear plant have been seen in people living nearby.The pronouncement by Kazuo Sakai of Japan's National Institute of Radiological Sciences is the latest by authorities seeking to quell fears over the long-term effects of the disaster.But it was dismissed by campaign...

Read More..

Suryanelli rape case: Accused held in Karnataka

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Dharmarajan, the lone absconding convict in the Suryanelli gang rape case, was arrested on Friday by Kerala police from Karnataka.According to reports, he will be taken to Kottayam for questioning.Few days back, Kerala police had formed a team to nab Dharmarajan after he appeared on a Malayalam TV channel alleging P J Kurien's involvement in the case.Dharmarajan was among a...

Read More..

Study: Fish in drug-tainted water suffer reaction

BOSTON (AP) — What happens to fish that swim in waters tainted by traces of drugs that people take? When it's an anti-anxiety drug, they become hyper, anti-social and aggressive, a study found. They even get the munchies.It may sound funny, but it could threaten the fish population and upset the delicate dynamics of the marine environment, scientists say.The findings, published online Thursday in...

Read More..

Nightmare Ends: Passengers Leave Disabled Ship

After five days without power in the Gulf of Mexico, the more than 4, 000 people aboard the Carnival Triumph returned home to the U.S., with many of them telling their horror stories for the first time.Passengers began to disembark the damaged ship around 10:15 p.m. CT Thursday in Mobile, Ala. The last passenger disembarked the ship at 1 a.m. local time, according to Carnival's...

Read More..

Japan defense chief: could have pre-emptive strike ability in future

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan has the right to develop the ability to make a pre-emptive strike against an imminent attack given a changing security environment although it has no plan to do so now, the defense minister said on Thursday, days after North Korea conducted a third nuclear test. Any sign that Japan was moving to develop such a capability in response to North Korea's nuclear program...

Read More..

French medical body for euthanasia in "exceptional" cases

PARIS: France's medical ethics council said Thursday that euthanasia should be allowed in exceptional cases and when suffering patients make "persistent and lucid requests."Invoking a "duty to humanity," the body said that euthanasia should be reserved for "exceptional cases" like putting an end to "prolonged suffering", or "unbearable" pain.President Francois Hollande had referred a report...

Read More..

Talks on Rafale deal progressing well, PM says after meeting French president

NEW DELHI: After his meeting with French President Francois Hollande on Thursday, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said that discussions for purchase of 126 Rafale fighter aircraft are "progressing well". India and France entered into exclusive negotiations for the purchase of medium multi role combat aircraft last year."Some progress has to be achieved and we hope we can reach a conclusion," said...

Read More..

Morning-after pill use up to 1 in 9 younger women

NEW YORK (AP) — About 1 in 9 younger women have used the morning-after pill after sex, according to the first government report to focus on emergency contraception since its approval 15 years ago.The results come from a survey of females ages 15 to 44. Eleven percent of those who'd had sex reported using a morning-after pill. That's up from 4 percent in 2002, only a few years after the pills went...

Read More..

Dorner Not IDed, But Manhunt Considered Over

Though they have not yet identified burned remains found at the scene of Tuesday's fiery, armed standoff, San Bernardino, Calif., officials consider the manhunt over for Christopher Dorner, the fugitive ex-cop accused of going on a killing spree."The events that occurred yesterday in the Big Bear area brought to close an extensive manhunt," San Bernardino County Sheriff John...

Read More..

Analysis: North Korea nuclear-test drama rehashes old script

WASHINGTON/BEIJING (Reuters) - A North Korean nuclear test draws international condemnation, modest U.N. sanctions and expressions of hope in the United States that China will finally rein in its brazen ally. Beijing chides North Korea, but nothing much happens. The world has seen this movie before and it's likely to witness another rerun after North Korea's third nuclear...

Read More..

Pope makes first appearance since shock resignation

VATICAN CITY: Pope Benedict XVI made his first public appearance Wednesday since the shock announcement of his resignation, sticking with his schedule by presiding over his weekly general audience.Tickets to the event in the Vatican's Paul VI auditorium were issued well in advance, so several thousand pilgrims experienced the historic moment out of sheer luck just two days after the 85-year-old...

Read More..

Assam panchayat poll violence toll rises to 15

GOALPARA: The toll in Assam's Goalpara district rose to 15 with violence continuing night-long even as indefinite curfew continued in Krishnai and Mornoi areas today and the army flag-marching affected areas. The toll in the police firing rose from 12 to 15 today, official sources said, without giving details. Defence sources said the army was conducting flag marches and working in close coordination...

Read More..

Study questions kidney cancer treatment in elderly

In a stunning example of when treatment might be worse than the disease, a large review of Medicare records finds that older people with small kidney tumors were much less likely to die over the next five years if doctors monitored them instead of operating right away.Even though nearly all of these tumors turned out to be cancer, they rarely proved fatal. And surgery roughly doubled patients' risk...

Read More..

North Korea conducts third nuclear test, drawing new sanctions threat

SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea conducted its third nuclear test on Tuesday in defiance of existing U.N. resolutions, angering the United States and Japan and prompting its only major ally, China, to call for calm. The North said the test had "greater explosive force" than the 2006 and 2009 tests that were widely seen as small-scale. Its KCNA news agency said it had used a "miniaturized"...

Read More..

Shocked world media speculates on pope's successor

MANILA: The world's media speculated on whether the next pontiff may come from the developing world, while paying mixed tributes to Pope Benedict XVI following his shock resignation announcement.The 85-year-old Benedict said on Monday that he would step down at the end of this month because of health reasons, becoming the first leader of the Catholic Church to resign of his own free will...

Read More..

Suryanelli gang-rape case: Kurien writes to Sonia Gandhi, Hamid Ansari

NEW DELHI: Facing the heat after fresh twists in the Suryanelli gang-rape case, Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman P J Kurien has written to Congress president Sonia Gandhi and Chairman of the Upper House Hamid Ansari explaining his position. Sources said he has explained his position to the party president and Ansari amid the Opposition demand for his resignation. He is understood to have explained...

Read More..

Pope shows lifetime jobs aren't always for life

The world seems surprised that an 85-year-old globe-trotting pope who just started tweeting wants to resign, but should it be? Maybe what should be surprising is that more leaders his age do not, considering the toll aging takes on bodies and minds amid a culture of constant communication and change.There may be more behind the story of why Pope Benedict XVI decided to leave a job normally held for...

Read More..

North Korea Says it Has Conducted a Nuclear Test

North Korea says it has successfully tested a miniaturized nuclear device Tuesday, according to state media.A large tremor measured at magnitude 4.9 was detected in North Korea and governments in the region scrambled to determine whether it was a nuclear test that the North Korean regime has vowed to carry out despite international protests.Official state media said the test...

Read More..