At least 22 die in Egyptian clashes over death sentences

PORT SAID, Egypt/CAIRO (Reuters) - At least 22 people died on Saturday when Egyptians rampaged in protest at the sentencing of 21 people to death over a soccer stadium disaster, adding to bloody street turmoil confronting Islamist President Mohamed Mursi. Armored vehicles and military police fanned through the streets of Port Said after the violence. The state news agency quoted a general...

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French-led troops in Mali seize airport at Islamist bastion

BAMAKO: French-led troops Saturday seized the airport and a key bridge serving the Islamist stronghold of Gao in a major boost to a 16-day-old offensive to rout Al Qaeda-linked rebels from Mali's sprawling desert north.The stunning advance came as the extremist Muslim group controlling Gao since June said it was ready for talks to free a 61-year-old French hostage kidnapped in November.In...

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BJP govt in majority: Karnataka governor

BANGALORE: In a relief to ruling BJP that faced threats of instability, Karnataka governor HR Bhardwaj on Saturday said the Jagadish Shettar government still enjoyed majority after 13 party MLAs anounced their resignation, but he would order a floor test if he felt it has been reduced to minority. "On the day on which the government comes into minority even with one MLA less, I will issue notice....

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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...

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Cops Using More Private Cameras to Nab Suspects

Philadelphia detectives were able to quickly make an arrest in the murder and burning of a female pediatrician by viewing surveillance video of nearby stores and a hospital that captured the suspect entering the doctor's home and later getting into his truck.In the hours after Dr. Melissa Ketunuti's body was found strangled and burning in her basement, city's Homicide Task Force...

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North Korea threatens war with South over U.N. sanctions

SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea threatened to attack rival South Korea if Seoul joined a new round of tightened U.N. sanctions, as Washington unveiled more of its own economic restrictions following Pyongyang's rocket launch last month. In a third straight day of fiery rhetoric, the North directed its verbal onslaught at its neighbor on Friday, saying: "'Sanctions' mean a war and a declaration...

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ECB chief hails euro relaunch at Davos

DAVOS, Switzerland: The head of the European Central Bank said on Friday that the embattled euro had been relaunched but that more had to be done to boost the eurozone's recession-wracked economy.Speaking to the world's top business and political leaders at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Mario Draghi also said that austerity measures being taken in crisis-hit countries were "unavoidable"...

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Delhi gang rape has left our hearts empty and minds in turmoil, President Pranab Mukherjee says

NEW DELHI: Delhi gang-rape incident has left our hearts empty and minds in turmoil, President Pranab Mukherjee said in his address to the nation on the eve of 64th Republic Day. Referring to the brutal gang-rape case, the President said, "When we brutalise a woman, we brutalise society". He said in the death of the victim "we lost more than a valuable life, we lost a dream." The President also had...

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Penalty could keep smokers out of health overhaul

WASHINGTON (AP) — Millions of smokers could be priced out of health insurance because of tobacco penalties in President Barack Obama's health care law, according to experts who are just now teasing out the potential impact of a little-noted provision in the massive legislation.The Affordable Care Act — "Obamacare" to its detractors — allows health insurers to charge smokers buying individual policies...

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Alleged Doctor Killer Had Anger Issues, Friend Says

Jason Smith, the Philadelphia exterminator who police say showed up at the home of Dr. Melissa Ketunuti this week to solve her rodent problem before strangling her, was a problem child as an adolescent, a family friend told ABC News.The family friend from many years ago, who asked for anonymity, said Smith, 36, had behavior and anger issues, and that he also liked to set things...

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North Korea to target U.S. with nuclear, rocket tests

SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea said on Thursday it would carry out further rocket launches and a nuclear test that would target the United States, dramatically stepping up its threats against a country it called its "sworn enemy". The announcement by the country's top military body came a day after the U.N. Security Council agreed to a U.S.-backed resolution to censure and sanction North...

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Taiwanese gets life sentence for election rally shooting

TAIPEI: Taiwan's supreme court ruled on Thursday that a man who opened fire at an election rally, killing one person and injuring a politician's son, must serve a life sentence.The top court confirmed a decision last year by the high court, which convicted Lin Cheng-wei, 48, of attempted murder and illegal possession of firearms and sentenced him to life.The high court had increased a...

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Cabinet clears extradition treaty with Bangladesh

NEW DELHI: The government on Thursday approved the extradition treaty with Bangladesh proposed to be signed during home minister Sushilkumar Shinde's visit to Dhaka beginning Monday. The long-awaited treaty was cleared by the Cabinet at its meeting, presided by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, after Bangladesh government made minor modifications in the draft. The extradition treaty is expected to...

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AP Interview: UN wants better family planning

DAVOS, Switzerland (AP) — The U.N.'s top population official wants governments to do more to ensure that women have access to family planning.The U.N. says the world will add a billion people to its current population of some 7 billion within a decade, further straining the planet's resources.Babatunde Osotimehin, executive director of the U.N. Population Fund, says more than 220 million women in...

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N. Korea Vows More Nuke Tests Targeting U.S.

In a bellicose statement singling out the United States as the "sworn enemy" of the Korean people, North Korea today announced plans for a third nuclear test and continued rocket launches.The move is seen as a disappointment to those who hoped the country's new leader, Kim Jong-Un, might take a less aggressive path than his predecessor and father, Kim Jong-il.It is also seen...

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Cameron promises Britons straight choice on EU exit

LONDON (Reuters) - Prime Minister David Cameron promised on Wednesday to give Britons a referendum choice on whether to stay in the European Union or leave if he wins an election in 2015, placing a question mark over Britain's membership for years. Cameron ended months of speculation by announcing in a speech the plan for a vote sometime between 2015 and the end of 2017, shrugging off...

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China urges restraint on N Korea, cites possible nuke test

BEIJING: China called for restraint on Wednesday after the United Nations tightened sanctions on North Korea as punishment for a rocket launch, citing the possibility of another nuclear test by its wayward ally."The DPRK's (North Korea's) satellite launch as well as the possible nuclear test highlight the urgency and importance of settling relevant issues on the Korean peninsula," foreign...

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Too early to normalize relations with Pakistan: India

NEW DELHI: India on Wednesday said tensions on the line of control (LoC) have "reduced" after talks between the two DGMOs but there will be no hasty decisions for normalizing relations with Pakistan as it is "too early" to do so. Talking to reporters, defence minister AK Antony said infiltration attempts are going on even in extreme winters and wondered that "if this is the case now, what will be...

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Foes of NYC soda size limit doubt racial fairness

NEW YORK (AP) — Opponents of the city's limit on the size of sugary drinks are raising questions of racial fairness alongside other complaints as the novel restriction faces a court test.The NAACP's New York state branch and the Hispanic Federation have joined beverage makers and sellers in trying to stop the rule from taking effect March 12. With a hearing set Wednesday, critics are attacking what...

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Te'o Tells Couric He Briefly Lied About Girlfriend

Manti Te'o briefly lied to the media and the public after discovering his online girlfriend did not exist and was a part of an elaborate hoax, he admitted in an exclusive interview with ABC News' Katie Couric.The star Notre Dame linebacker, who has been hounded by the reporters since the story broke Jan. 16, told Couric in a taped interview Tuesday that he was not lying up until...

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Israel goes to polls, set to re-elect Netanyahu

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israelis voted on Tuesday in an election that is expected to hand hawkish Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a third term, opening the way for a showdown with Iran and bolstering opponents of Palestinian statehood. However, Netanyahu's own Likud party, running alongside the ultra-nationalist Yisrael Beitenu group, looks set to have fewer seats than in the previous...

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Chinese film fans decry censors' cuts in 'Skyfall'

BEIJING: Chinese cinema fans were up in arms Tuesday over cuts made to "Skyfall", complaining that the censors had ruined the latest film in the James Bond franchise, which hit screens this week.Some scenes from the movie, parts of which were filmed in Shanghai starring Daniel Craig in his third appearance as the British secret agent, were clearly too sensitive for the censors, especially...

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High drama in BJP on eve of presidential election

NEW DELHI: High drama unfolded in the BJP today on the eve of election of a new party president with Yashwant Sinha procuring a nomination form and Mahesh Jethmalani complaining he is being denied one even as Nitin Gadkari appeared set to get a second term. Gadkari, who shared the stage at a party programme in Utan in Maharashtra with senior leader L K Advani, will reach the capital tonight. He...

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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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Obama's Inauguration: A Night to Remember

President Barack Obama dances with first lady Michelle Obama at the Commander-in-Chief Ball, Jan. 21, 2013, in Washington, DC. Pres. Obama was sworn-in for his second term as president during a public ceremonial inauguration earlier in the day. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Imag...

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Algeria finds dead Canadian militants as siege toll rises

ALGIERS (Reuters) - Algerian forces have found the bodies of two Canadian Islamist fighters after a bloody siege at a desert gas plant, a security source said on Monday, as the death toll reached at least 80 after troops stormed the complex to end the hostage crisis. Algerian Prime Minister Abdelmalek Sellal is expected to give details on Monday about the siege near the town of In Amenas,...

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