France bombs Mali rebels as more troops arrive in Bamako

BAMAKO/PARIS (Reuters) - French fighter jets bombed Islamist rebels in Mali for a third day on Sunday as Paris poured more troops into the capital Bamako, awaiting the arrival of a West African force to dislodge al Qaeda-linked insurgents from the country's north. French Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said France's dramatic intervention on Friday to bomb a convoy of heavily armed...

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Gunmen attack Egypt protesters near presidential palace

CAIRO: Masked gunmen attacked protesters camped outside the presidential palace, hurling firebombs at their tents and firing birdshot in clashes that left policemen and civilians injured, a security official said on Sunday.The gunmen threw petrol bombs overnight and set fire to the tents of protesters -- opponents of Islamist President Mohamed Morsi -- who have been camping out for more...

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Pratibha Patil spent Rs 18 crore on her last trip as President, RTI query reveals

NEW DELHI: Notwithstanding a huge controversy over expenditure on her foreign travels, the then President Pratibha Patil ran up a bill of Rs 18.08 crore on her last trip abroad shortly before demitting office, according to official information accessed through RTI. The chartering of the Air India Boeing 747-400 jumbo for her two-nation trip to South Africa and Seychelles from April 29 to May 8 last...

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Flu more widespread in US; eases off in some areas

NEW YORK (AP) — Flu is now widespread in all but three states as the nation grapples with an earlier-than-normal season. But there was one bit of good news Friday: The number of hard-hit areas declined.The flu season in the U.S. got under way a month early, in December, driven by a strain that tends to make people sicker. That led to worries that it might be a bad season, following one of the mildest...

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Poisoned Lottery Winner's Kin Were Suspicious

Urooj Khan had just brought home his $425,000 lottery check when he unexpectedly died the following day. Now, certain members of Khan's family are speaking publicly about the mystery -- and his nephew told ABC News they knew something was not right."He was a healthy guy, you know?" said the nephew, Minhaj Khan. "He worked so hard. He was always going about his business and,...

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Obama, Karzai accelerate end of U.S. combat role in Afghanistan

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama and Afghan President Hamid Karzai agreed on Friday to speed up the handover of combat operations in Afghanistan to Afghan forces, raising the prospect of an accelerated U.S. withdrawal from the country and underscoring Obama's determination to wind down a long, unpopular war. Signaling a narrowing of differences, Karzai appeared to give ground...

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100 youth leaders engage in national conversation dialogue

SINGAPORE: Some 100 youth leaders and members from nine youth uniformed organisations engaged in an Our Singapore Conversation dialogue on Saturday morning. The event is part of the Inaugural Young Leaders' Forum organised by the Singapore Scout Association.Education Minister Heng Swee Keat was also present to listen in and have an open dialogue with the participants.Some of the topics...

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Govt will not give in to 'wild calls for revenge': Salman Khurshid

NEW DELHI: External affairs minister Salman Khurshid said on Saturday the government will not buckle to "wild calls for revenge and reaction" over the killing and beheading of two Indian soldiers by Pakistani troops.In an interview to a news channel, Khurshid said the heightened border tensions "demands very responsible and sensible and moderate behaviour"."We're not going to be pressurised by wild...

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Flu season puts businesses and employees in a bind

WASHINGTON (AP) — Nearly half the 70 employees at a Ford dealership in Clarksville, Ind., have been out sick at some point in the past month. It didn't have to be that way, the boss says."If people had stayed home in the first place, a lot of times that spread wouldn't have happened," says Marty Book, a vice president at Carriage Ford. "But people really want to get out and do their jobs, and sometimes...

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Poisoned Lottery Winner's Kin Were Suspicious

Urooj Khan had just brought home his $425,000 lottery check when he unexpectedly died the following day. Now, certain members of Khan's family are speaking publicly about the mystery -- and his nephew told ABC News they knew something was not right."He was a healthy guy, you know?" said the nephew, Minhaj Khan said. "He worked so hard. He was always going about his business...

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