Syrian army on offensive in Aleppo after university blast

BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syrian armed forces launched a renewed offensive in the northern city of Aleppo on Wednesday, state media said, a day after 87 people were killed in explosions at the city's university. The state news agency SANA said the military had killed dozens of "terrorists" - a term Damascus uses for rebels trying to overthrow President Bashar al-Assad - in the new fighting....

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Japan mulling military equipment near disputed isles

TOKYO: Japan may station military equipment on islands near an archipelago at the centre of a dispute with China, officials said Wednesday, after a number of airborne near-confrontations.The defence ministry will ask for money in the next fiscal year to study the idea of putting mobile radars and communication systems on islands near the Japan-controlled Senkakus, which Beijing calls the...

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Salman Khurshid Trust case: HC seeks inquiry report from EOW

LUCKNOW: The Lucknow bench of the Allahabad high court on Wednesday, ordered the investigating agency Economic Offences Wing (EOW), Uttar Pradesh (UP) police, to present its report on the inquiry done so far into allegations of anomalies in the Salman Khurshid Trust case on February 1. The order was passed by a division bench comprising Justice Uma Nath and Justice Satish Chandra on a public interest...

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ER visits tied to energy drinks double since 2007

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A new government survey suggests the number of people seeking emergency treatment after consuming energy drinks has doubled nationwide during the past four years, the same period in which the supercharged drink industry has surged in popularity in convenience stores, bars and on college campuses.From 2007 to 2011, the government estimates the number of emergency room visits involving...

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NRA Ad Calls Obama 'Elitist Hypocrite'

Jan 16, 2013 12:04am Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP PhotoAs the White House prepares to unveil a sweeping plan aimed at curbing gun violence, the National Rifle Association has launched a preemptive, personal attack on President Obama, calling him an “elitist hypocrite” who, the group claims, is putting American children at risk.In 35-second video posted online Tuesday...

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France steps up Mali operation, Africans try to catch up

BAMAKO (Reuters) - France hit Islamist rebels in Mali with fresh air strikes and deployed armored cars on Tuesday, stepping up its intervention in the West African state as regional allies struggled to accelerate their plans to send in troops. Paris has poured hundreds of soldiers into Mali and carried out air raids since Friday in the northern half of the country, which was seized last...

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Extended smoking ban takes effect

SINGAPORE: The extended smoking ban in public areas kicked in on Tuesday. The National Environment Agency (NEA) said it will step up spot checks by about 70 per cent after three months, which is some 8,000 additional hours per month.In a spot check at Toa Payoh MRT station on Tuesday, seven smokers were caught in an hour for smoking where they were not supposed to.Smokers are now not allowed...

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PM has understood nation's mood, BJP says

NEW DELHI: The BJP lauded Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Tuesday for talking tough with Pakistan, saying he had understood the mood of the nation after the brutal killing of two Indian soldiers. Referring to the Jan 8 killing of two soldiers by Pakistanis near the Jammu and Kashmir border, BJP leader Sushma Swaraj said Manmohan Singh's "most important statement" was that there could no more business...

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Hospitals crack down on workers refusing flu shots

CHICAGO (AP) — Patients can refuse a flu shot. Should doctors and nurses have that right, too? That is the thorny question surfacing as U.S. hospitals increasingly crack down on employees who won't get flu shots, with some workers losing their jobs over their refusal."Where does it say that I am no longer a patient if I'm a nurse," wondered Carrie Calhoun, a longtime critical care nurse in suburban...

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Armstrong Admits Doping in Tour, Sources Say

Lance Armstrong today admitted to Oprah Winfrey that he used performance enhancing drugs to win the Tour de France, sources told ABC News.A government source tells ABC News that Armstrong is now talking with authorities about paying back some of the US Postal Service money from sponsoring his team. He is also talking to authorities about confessing and naming names, giving up...

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