Islamists to rally behind Mursi as Egypt's rifts widen

CAIRO (Reuters) - Islamists planned rallies across Egypt on Saturday in support of President Mohamed Mursi, who has rushed through a constitution to try to quench opposition fury over his newly expanded powers. Mursi was due to ratify the constitution, hastily approved by an Islamist-dominated drafting assembly on Friday, later in the day and to set a date for a referendum on it within...

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UMNO confident of wrestling lost seats

KUALA LUMPUR - The Federal Territory Umno and Barisan Nasional (BN) are confident of wresting the six seats that were lost to the opposition in the last general election.Deputy chairman of the Federal Territory Umno Liaison Body Datuk Raja Nong Chik Raja Zainal Abidin said he was also confident that besides defending the existing seats, BN would increase the number of seats in the 13th...

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FDI in retail to safeguard international market mafias' interest: BJP

NEW DELHI: India's main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) today said retail reform is a step taken by the Congress led-federal government to safeguard the interests of the international market mafias at the cost of national interest.BJP vice president Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said on Saturday that voting inside the parliament would decide as to who is in favour of national interest and who is working...

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South Africa makes progress in HIV/AIDS fight

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — In the early 90s when South Africa's Themba Lethu clinic could only treat HIV/AIDS patients for opportunistic diseases, many would come in on wheelchairs and keep coming to the health center until they died.Two decades later the clinic is the biggest ARV (anti-retroviral) treatment center in the country and sees between 600 to 800 patients a day from all over southern Africa. Those...

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Could Outgoing Republicans Hold Keys to 'Cliff' Deal?

Nov 30, 2012 1:45pm AP Photo/Carolyn KasterThe outlook for reaching some sort of bipartisan agreement on the so-called “fiscal cliff” before the Dec. 31 deadline is looking increasingly grim. Shortly after noon today, House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, appeared before the cameras to say the talks had reached a “stalemate.”But there may be a glimmer...

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Palestinians win de facto U.N. recognition of sovereign state

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The 193-nation U.N. General Assembly on Thursday overwhelmingly approved the de facto recognition of the sovereign state of Palestine after Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas called on the world body to issue its long overdue "birth certificate." The U.N. victory for the Palestinians was a diplomatic setback for the United States and Israel, which were joined...

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Khaw floats possibility of trying out SRO concept across S'pore

SINGAPORE: National Development Minister Khaw Boon Wan has floated the possibility of trying out the Singapore River Precinct concept in other areas of Singapore.Under the concept, the private sector stepped forwardly voluntarily to manage the business environment of the Singapore River.Mr Khaw said he is encouraged by the enthusiasm and the voluntarism of the members of Singapore River...

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Former prime minister Inder Kumar Gujral passes away

GURGAON: Former Prime Minister I K Gujral, who headed a rickety coalition government in the late 1990s, died on Friday after a brief illness. Gujral, 92, breathed his last at 3.27pm in a private hospital after a multi-organ failure. He was admitted to the hospital on November 19 with a lung infection, family sources said. The former Prime Minister, who was ventilator support, had been unwell for...

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Clinton releases road map for AIDS-free generation

WASHINGTON (AP) — In an ambitious road map for slashing the global spread of AIDS, the Obama administration says treating people sooner and more rapid expansion of other proven tools could help even the hardest-hit countries begin turning the tide of the epidemic over the next three to five years."An AIDS-free generation is not just a rallying cry — it is a goal that is within our reach," Secretary...

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Man Arrested in Fla. Girl's 1993 Disappearance

Police have arrested a 42-year-old man and charged him with murder in the case of a Florida girl who vanished almost 20 years ago.Andrea Gail Parsons, 10, of Port Salerno, Fla., was last seen on July 11, 1993, shortly after 6 p.m. She had just purchased candy and soda at a grocery store when she waved to a local couple as they drove by on an area street and honked, police said.Today,...

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Insight: Cash crisis, Arab ferment threaten Jordan's stability

AMMAN (Reuters) - Violent protests that shocked Jordan this month have mostly subsided, but unprecedented chants for the "fall of the regime" suggested a deeper malaise in a kingdom so far spared the revolts reshaping the Arab world. Anger over fuel subsidy cuts undoubtedly drove the unrest, in which police shot dead one man during a confrontation at a police station. The government's...

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Singapore stocks close 1.13% higher

SINGAPORE : Stocks in Singapore closed 1.13 per cent higher on Thursday, in line with most regional bourses and following overnight gains on Wall Street.The Straits Times Index rose 34.13 points to end at 3,045.90. Volume was 2.72 billion shares. Gainers led losers 279 to 137.Olam International climbed 4.0 per cent to S$1.56, Golden Agri-Resources advanced 4.7 per cent to S$0.665, Wilmar...

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SC seeks attorney general's help in deciding plea to amend IT Act

NEW DELHI: Concerned over recent incidents of arrest of people allegedly for posting offensive messages on social networking sites, the Supreme Court on Thursday agreed to hear a plea to amend the Information Technology Act and sought attorney general G E Vahanvati's help in deciding it.A bench headed by Chief Justice Altamas Kabir, however, refused the petitioner's plea that no coercive action should...

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Simple measures cut infections caught in hospitals

CHICAGO (AP) — Preventing surgery-linked infections is a major concern for hospitals and it turns out some simple measures can make a big difference.A project at seven big hospitals reduced infections after colorectal surgeries by nearly one-third. It prevented an estimated 135 infections, saving almost $4 million, the Joint Commission hospital regulating group and the American College of Surgeons...

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Two Winners in Record Powerball Jackpot

Winning tickets for the record Powerball jackpot worth more than $587 million were purchased in Arizona and Missouri.Missouri Lottery official Susan Goedde confirmed to ABC News this morning that one of the winning tickets was purchased in the state, but they would not be announcing a town until later this morning.Arizona lottery officials said they had no information on that...

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Egypt protests continue in deadlock over Mursi powers

CAIRO (Reuters) - Hundreds of protesters were in Cairo's Tahrir Square for a sixth day on Wednesday, demanding that Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi rescind a decree they say gives him dictatorial powers. Five months into the Islamist leader's term, and in scenes reminiscent of the popular uprising that unseated predecessor Hosni Mubarak last year, police fired teargas at stone-throwers...

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Blasts kill 38 near Syria capital, second warplane downed

DAMASCUS: Simultaneous car bombings in a mostly Christian and Druze town near Damascus killed at least 38 people on Wednesday, as rebels downed a military aircraft for the second successive day.The blasts occurred when explosives-packed cars were detonated at daybreak in a pro-regime neighbourhood of the town of Jaramana, residents, state media and a rights watchdog reported.They were...

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HSBC secret accounts: Income Tax department to begin prosecution

NEW DELHI: The Income Tax department has decided to begin prosecution action against those having "substantial" amounts in their bank accounts in HSBC's Geneva branch.The department has now written to the finance ministry to suggest a benchmark for funds held on the basis of which the I-T department can initiate legal action for tax evasion and tax theft.Top sources said a benchmark of about Rs...

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CDC: HIV spread high in young gay males

NEW YORK (AP) — Health officials say 1 in 5 new HIV infections occur in a tiny segment of the population — young men who are gay or bisexual.The government on Tuesday released new numbers that spotlight how the spread of the AIDS virus is heavily concentrated in young males who have sex with other males. Only about a quarter of new infections in the 13-to-24 age group are from injecting drugs or heterosexual...

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Study Finds Most Pork Contaminated

Nov 27, 2012 6:24pm A sample of raw pork products from supermarkets around the United States found that yersinia enterocolitica, a lesser-known food-borne pathogen, was present in 69 percent of the products tested, according to a study released today by Consumer Reports.The  bacteria  infects more than 100,000 Americans a year, according to the Centers for...

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Arafat's grave opened for poison tests

RAMALLAH, West Bank (Reuters) - Forensic experts took samples from Yasser Arafat's buried corpse in the West Bank on Tuesday, trying to determine if he was murdered by Israeli agents using the hard-to-trace radioactive poison, Polonium. Palestinians witnessed the funeral of their hero and longtime leader eight years ago, but conspiracy theories surrounding his death have never been laid...

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Singapore stocks close mixed

SINGAPORE : Stocks in Singapore closed mixed on Tuesday after the eurozone and International Monetary Fund agreed to unlock 43.7 billion euros (US$56 billion) in loans to Greece.The Straits Times Index rose 7.41 points or 0.25 per cent to end at 3,011.91.Volume was 2.85 billion shares.In the broader market, losers led gainers 201 to 180. Among banks, UOB rose 1.16 per cent to S$18.26,...

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Caste violence rocks Tamil Nadu again; dalit colony attacked, 8 injured

CUDDALORE: An angry mob attacked a dalit colony and torched their houses and belongings at Pacharapakkam village near Vadalur in Cuddalore district in north Tamil Nadu on Tuesday morning. The provocation apparently was that a group of dalit men teased a non-dalit girl. Eight dalits were injured in the attack while eight houses and two two-wheelers were set on fire. The mob also damaged a van belong...

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Bounce houses a party hit but kids' injuries soar

CHICAGO (AP) — They may be a big hit at kids' birthday parties, but inflatable bounce houses can be dangerous, with the number of injuries soaring in recent years, a nationwide study found.Kids often crowd into bounce houses, and jumping up and down can send other children flying into the air, too.The numbers suggest 30 U.S. children a day are treated in emergency rooms for broken bones, sprains,...

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Co. Paying Just $1,200 for Each Factory Fire Life

A company that makes clothes for Sean Combs' clothing brand ENYCE and other U.S. labels reassured investors that a factory fire that killed 112 people over the weekend would not harm its balance sheet, and also pledged to pay the families of the dead $1,200 per victim.In an announcement Monday, Li & Fung Ltd., a middleman company that supplies clothes from Bangladesh factories...

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Egypt's Mursi to meet judges over power grab

CAIRO (Reuters) - Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi will meet senior judges on Monday to try to ease a crisis over his seizure of new powers which has set off violent protests reminiscent of last year's revolution which brought him to power. Egypt's stock market plunged on Sunday in its first day open since Mursi issued a decree late on Thursday temporarily widening his powers and shielding...

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