Gunbattle rocks Gao after rebels surprise French, Malians

GAO, Mali (Reuters) - Islamist insurgents launched a surprise raid in the heart of the Malian town of Gao on Sunday, battling French and local troops in a blow to efforts to secure Mali's recaptured north. Local residents hid in their homes or crouched behind walls as the crackle of gunfire from running street battles resounded through the sandy streets and mud-brick houses of the ancient...

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Philippines' Aquino visits rebel stronghold

SULTAN KUDARAT, Philippines: Philippine President Benigno Aquino paid a historic visit Monday to Muslim rebel territory in a bid to speed up efforts to end one of Asia's longest and deadliest insurgencies.Four months after his government agreed on a roadmap with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front for a final peace deal by 2016, Aquino travelled to the insurgents' stronghold in the far south...

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Two days after hanging, speed post reaches Afzal Guru's family

SRINAGAR: The speed post sent by Tihar Jail superintendent to Afzal Guru's family in Kashmir Valley's Sopore town was delivered Monday, two days after he was hanged in the national capital. The letter reached postal authorities here Saturday evening, several hours after he was executed. "A speed post letter has been delivered to us by postal authorities today. Tihar Jail authorities have sent this...

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What heals traumatized kids? Answers are lacking

CHICAGO (AP) — Shootings and other traumatic events involving children are not rare events, but there's a startling lack of scientific evidence on the best ways to help young survivors and witnesses heal, a government-funded analysis found.School-based counseling treatments showed the most promise, but there's no hard proof that anxiety drugs or other medication work and far more research is needed...

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Possible Dorner Sighting Leads to Store Evacuation

A Northridge, Calif., home improvement store was evacuated tonight because of a possible sighting of suspected cop-killer Christopher Dorner, just hours after police announced a $1 million reward for information leading to his arrest.As helicopters hovered overhead and a command center was established, police searched the Lowe's store and eventually told shoppers they could...

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Israel's Lieberman says Palestinian peace accord impossible

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel has no chance of signing a permanent peace accord with the Palestinians and should instead seek a long-term interim deal, the most powerful political partner of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Saturday. The remarks by Avigdor Lieberman, an ultranationalist whose joint party list with Netanyahu narrowly won a January 22 election while centrist challengers...

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Man arrested for allegedly molesting women on public bus

SINGAPORE: Police have arrested a man for allegedly outraging the modesty of two women on a public bus.The 29-year-old suspect was nabbed at about 2:45pm on Saturday.His victims, aged 21 and 35, were molested on separate occasions on board the same bus, in the vicinity of Ang Mo Kio Avenue 5.Upon being alerted of the incidents, the bus captain immediately stopped his vehicle and closed...

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Odisha to hand over 1554 acres of land to Posco

BHUBANESWAR: The Odisha government is all set to hand over 1554 acres of land to Posco-India for setting up its proposed mega steel project in Jagatsinghpur district, official sources said today. "The state government has already handed over 546 acre of land to Posco and rest 1,554 acres is ready to be handed over to the company," official sources said quoting recent status report on Posco-India...

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Japan may release data proving Chinese radar incident: media

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan may release data it says will prove a Chinese naval vessel directed its fire control radar at a Japanese destroyer near disputed islands in the East China Sea, local media reported. Japan has said a Chinese frigate on January 30 locked its targeting radar on a Japanese destroyer - a step that usually precedes the firing of weapons - but China insists that its vessel...

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Bilateral ties between S'pore, Germany are very strong & substantive: K Shanmugam

SINGAPORE: Germany and Singapore enjoy very strong and substantive bilateral ties, Foreign Affairs Minister, K Shanmugam said.Speaking to the media after a meeting with his German counterpart Minister Dr Guido Westerwelle in Singapore, Mr Shanmugam said Singapore looks forward to a stronger role, a greater role that Germany can play in this region.With Asia being an economically vibrant...

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