Algeria hostage toll rises with report of Japanese deaths

ALGIERS, Algeria (Reuters) - The hostage death toll from a four-day siege at an Algerian gas plant deep in the Sahara has risen to almost 60, with at least nine Japanese nationals also reported killed in an attack claimed by a veteran Islamist fighter on behalf of al Qaeda. Algerian Prime Minister Abdelmalek Sellal is expected to give details at a Monday news conference about one of the...

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Business in Taiwan's Wowprime brisk despite slowing economy

TAIPEI: 2012 was a slow year for many industries in Taiwan except for the food and beverage industry, which bucked the trend.Leading the pack is Taiwan's biggest restaurant chain, Wowprime. It is aiming to cater to the rest of the world.Wowprime's Wang Steak restaurant is fully occupied almost all year round. Business did not seem to be affected by a slowing economy. Many customers visit...

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Shinde has become the darling of LeT, JuD: RSS

NEW DELHI: Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) spokesperson Ram Madhav said on Monday that Union home minister Sushil Kumar Shinde's comment on Hindu terror have made "real terrorists" like the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and the Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) very happy, and added that they have welcomed it. "Today, Jamaat ud Dawa etc. congratulated Shinde. Now, he has become the darling of real terrorists. It...

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Flu season fuels debate over paid sick time laws

NEW YORK (AP) — Sniffling, groggy and afraid she had caught the flu, Diana Zavala dragged herself in to work anyway for a day she felt she couldn't afford to miss.A school speech therapist who works as an independent contractor, she doesn't have paid sick days. So the mother of two reported to work and hoped for the best — and was aching, shivering and coughing by the end of the day. She stayed home...

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Obamas Share the Love, Even for Michelle's Bangs

Jan 20, 2013 10:49pm (Charles Dharapak/AP Photo)President Obama used the first public remarks of his second term to address what he called the “most significant” event of this weekend: his wife’s much-talked-about new haircut.“I love her bangs,” Obama told supporters at an inaugural reception at the National Building Museum. “She looks good. She always looks good.”First...

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Algeria ends desert siege with 23 hostages dead

ALGIERS/IN AMENAS, Algeria (Reuters) - Algerian troops ended a siege by Islamist militants at a gas plant in the Sahara desert where 23 hostages died, with a final assault which killed all the remaining hostage-takers. Believed to be among the 32 dead militants was their leader, Abdul Rahman al-Nigeri, a Nigerien close to al Qaeda-linked commander Mokhtar Belmokhtar, presumed mastermind...

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Thailand's Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn visits Singapore

SINGAPORE: Thailand's Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn called on Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong at the Istana on Sunday.She was hosted to lunch by PM Lee. The Princess, who arrived on January 19, also visited the Asian Civilisations Museum on Sunday morning. She was there to view a special exhibition, entitled, 'Enlightened Ways: The Many Streams of Buddhist Art in Thailand'.- CNA/fa !--...

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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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Algeria Hostage Crisis Over, One American Dead

After the Algerian military's final assault on terrorists holding hostages at a gas complex, the four-day hostage crisis is over, but apparently with additional loss of life among the foreign hostages.One American, Fred Buttaccio of Texas, has been confirmed dead by the U.S. State Department. Two more U.S. hostages remain unaccounted for, with growing concern among U.S. officials...

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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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