Egypt's Mursi faces judicial revolt over decree

CAIRO (Reuters) - Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi faced a rebellion from judges who accused him on Saturday of expanding his powers at their expense, deepening a crisis that has triggered violence in the street and exposed the country's deep divisions. The Judges' Club, a body representing judges across Egypt, called for a strike during a meeting interrupted with chants demanding the...

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Bangladesh factory fire death toll rises to 121

DHAKA: The death toll from a fire at a Bangladeshi factory was lowered from 121 to 104 on Sunday, the operations director of the fire brigade told AFP."There were some double counting as different fire teams were working on different floors," Major Mahbub, who uses only one name, said."But now we have a total of 104 dead bodies including several who jumped to their death. Most bodies were...

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Corporation related to IT works in Haryana gets fourth head in 6 months

CHANDIGARH: After shifting whistleblower IAS officer Ashok Khemka from Hartron, a corporation to handle IT-related projects, two months after his posting, the Haryana government on Friday transferred his successor Nitin Yadav just four months after he took charge. A Haryana civil services officer, Vivek Atrey, will be the next managing director of the corporation. With this appointment, the corporation...

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AP PHOTOS: Simple surgery heals blind Indonesians

PADANG SIDEMPUAN, Indonesia (AP) — They came from the remotest parts of Indonesia, taking crowded overnight ferries and riding for hours in cars or buses — all in the hope that a simple, and free, surgical procedure would restore their eyesight.Many patients were elderly and needed help to reach two hospitals in Sumatra where mass eye camps were held earlier this month by Nepalese surgeon Dr. Sanduk...

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After Sandy, World Hopes to Hear New US Voice on Climate Change

During a year with a monster storm and scorching heat waves, Americans have experienced the kind of freakish weather that many scientists say will occur more often on a warming planet.And as a re-elected president talks about global warming again, climate activists are cautiously optimistic that the U.S. will be more than a disinterested bystander when the U.N. climate talks resume...

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Violence in cities; Mubarak deja vu?

CAIRO (Reuters) - Angry youths hurled rocks at security forces and burned a police truck as thousands gathered in central Cairo to protest at Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi's decision to grab sweeping new powers. Police fired tear gas near Tahrir Square, heart of the 2011 uprising that toppled Hosni Mubarak at the height of the Arab Spring. Thousands demanded that Mursi should quit...

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Tibetan self-immolates in northwest China

BEIJING: A Tibetan villager has died after setting himself on fire, Chinese state media said on Saturday -- the latest death in a wave of protests against Beijing's rule.China's official Xinhua news agency said that the herdsman set himself on fire late on Friday in the northwest province of Qinghai.It quoted local authorities as saying that the 26-year-old, identified as Dazheng, set...

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Cash transfer: PM to play UPA-2's trump card on Monday

NEW DELHI: The Prime Minister is expected to formally kick off cash transfer of subsidies and entitlements, one of the most ambitious policy initiatives of UPA-2, on Monday. The scheme for cash transfers is visualized as a game-changer for UPA-2, like NREGA was for UPA-1, and is expected to give rich dividends at the elections.Manmohan Singh is expected to set January 1, 2013 as the launch date...

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AP PHOTOS: Simple surgery heals blind Indonesians

PADANG SIDEMPUAN, Indonesia (AP) — They came from the remotest parts of Indonesia, taking crowded overnight ferries and riding for hours in cars or buses — all in the hope that a simple, and free, surgical procedure would restore their eyesight.Many patients were elderly and needed help to reach two hospitals in Sumatra where mass eye camps were held earlier this month by Nepalese surgeon Dr. Sanduk...

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Gas Explosion Levels Buildings Like 'Missile Strike'

A natural gas explosion in one of New England's biggest cities on Friday leveled a strip club with a boom heard for miles and heavily damaged a dozen other buildings but didn't kill anyone, authorities said.Firefighters, police officers and gas company workers in the area because of an earlier gas leak and odor report were among the 18 people injured in the blast, authorities said."This...

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Gaza ceasefire holds but mistrust runs deep

GAZA/JERUSALEM (Reuters) - A ceasefire between Israel and Hamas held firm on Thursday with scenes of joy among the ruins in Gaza over what Palestinians hailed as a victory, and both sides saying their fingers were still on the trigger. In the sudden calm, Palestinians who had been under Israeli bombs for eight days poured into Gaza streets for a celebratory rally, walking past wrecked...

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APM 2012: Holding up a mirror to the Malay music industry

SINGAPORE: Anugerah Planet Muzik (APM) 2012 is one of the biggest events on the Malay music calendar this year.Held at the Singapore Expo's MAX Pavilion on December 15, the event will feature performances by many of the biggest names in the Malay music industry, from Ridho Rhoma to Malaysia's Queen of Jazz, Dato' Sheila Majid.But Brader Bo, the Executive Music Director of Malay radio stations...

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Six T-Cong MPs boycott Lok Sabha

NEW DELHI: Defying the directive issued by the party, six Congress MPs from Telangana boycotted the Parliamentary proceedings on Thursday, the first day of the winter session, and staged a protest in support of their demand for a separate state. The Congress had asked its MPs to be present in the House on the grounds that important business was scheduled to come up for discussion. However, demanding...

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AP PHOTOS: Simple surgery heals blind Indonesians

PADANG SIDEMPUAN, Indonesia (AP) — They came from the remotest parts of Indonesia, taking crowded overnight ferries and riding for hours in cars or buses — all in the hope that a simple, and free, surgical procedure would restore their eyesight.Many patients were elderly and needed help to reach two hospitals in Sumatra where mass eye camps were held earlier this month by Nepalese surgeon Dr. Sanduk...

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Stores Work to Keep Black Friday Safe

With earlier-than-ever deals and 147 million people expected to hit the stores this holiday weekend, retailers such as Best Buy are taking extra steps to avoid the Black Friday shopper chaos -- and inevitable news stories -- of the past.Best Buy officials said they've been prepping for the madness for days.The retailer has created color-coded maps, moved merchandise around to...

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Hamas-Israel ceasefire takes hold but mistrust runs deep

CAIRO/GAZA (Reuters) - A ceasefire between Israel and Gaza's Hamas rulers took hold on Thursday after eight days of conflict, although deep mistrust on both sides cast doubt on how long the Egyptian-sponsored deal can last. Even after the ceasefire came into force late on Wednesday, a dozen rockets from the Gaza Strip landed in Israel, all in open areas, a police spokesman said. In Gaza,...

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S Korea's bus drivers call off national strike

SEOUL: Bus drivers in South Korea called off a threatened national strike on Thursday, staging only a brief walkout so as to avoid stranding millions of commuters, union officials said.Bus services in Seoul and other cities returned to normal for the morning rush hour after the two-hour walkout that began at 4:30am (1930 GMT Wednesday)."Drivers do not want to cause such great inconvenience...

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Kasab hanged day after UN vote on penalty

NEW DELHI: As chance would have it, India hanged Ajmal Kasab a day after opposing a UN resolution on abolition of the death penalty. On Tuesday, India joined 38 other countries to vote against a non-binding UN General Assembly resolution, calling for the removal of the death penalty, saying every nation had the "sovereign right" to determine its own legal system. The resolution called for a moratorium...

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Study finds mammograms lead to unneeded treatment

Mammograms have done surprisingly little to catch deadly breast cancers before they spread, a big U.S. study finds. At the same time, more than a million women have been treated for cancers that never would have threatened their lives, researchers estimate.Up to one-third of breast cancers, or 50,000 to 70,000 cases a year, don't need treatment, the study suggests.It's the most detailed look yet at...

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Cops: Murder Gun Found in 'John Doe's' Duffel Bag

The man known as "John Doe Duffel Bag" was arrested today in connection with the slayings of three shopkeepers of Middle Eastern descent in Brooklyn, N.Y. -- and police believe he likely would have struck again if he hadn't been caught.Salvatore Perrone, 63, was arrested following a long night of questioning by detectives.Officials told ABC News that Perrone is being charged...

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Gaza shakes, Israelis killed as Clinton seeks truce

GAZA/JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israeli air strikes shook the Gaza Strip and Palestinian rockets struck across the border as U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton held talks in Jerusalem in the early hours of Wednesday, seeking a truce that can hold back Israel's ground troops. Hamas, the Islamist movement controlling Gaza, and Egypt, whose new, Islamist government is trying to broker a...

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Australia returns 100 Sri Lankan asylum-seekers

SYDNEY: Australia on Wednesday sent 100 Sri Lankan men deemed not to be refugees back to their homeland, bringing to 426 the number involuntarily returned to Colombo in the past three months.The latest planeload is the ninth and largest this month as Canberra deals with an influx of more than 15,500 asylum-seekers who have arrived on boats since the beginning of this year."Our humanitarian...

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Kasab hanged: Timeline of events

PUNE: Nearly four years after the 26/11 Mumbai carnage, Pakistani terrorist Mohammed Ajmal Amir Kasab was today hanged in Yerawada Jail here. Following is the chronology of events leading to his hanging. Nov 26, 2008: Kasab and 9 terrorists launch commando raid in Mumbai. Nov 27, 2008: At 1.30am, Kasab caught and placed under arrest, admitted to Nair Hospital. Nov 29, 2008: All places under...

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OB/GYNs back over-the-counter birth control pills

WASHINGTON (AP) — No prescription or doctor's exam needed: The nation's largest group of obstetricians and gynecologists says birth control pills should be sold over the counter, like condoms.Tuesday's surprise opinion from these gatekeepers of contraception could boost longtime efforts by women's advocates to make the pill more accessible.But no one expects the pill to be sold without a prescription...

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Ceasefire or 'De-Escalation'? Words Chosen Carefully

Nov 20, 2012 7:27pm AP Photo/Hatem MoussaAs news reports emerged Tuesday of a cease-fire or truce to end the crisis in Gaza, American officials made it a point not to use either of those terms.Instead, U.S. officials were  talking about “de-escalating” the violence in Gaza as a step toward a long-term resolution.Briefing White House reporters in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, ...

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Gaza truce pressure builds, Cairo in focus

GAZA/JERUSALEM (Reuters) - International pressure for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip puts Egypt's new Islamist president in the spotlight on Tuesday after a sixth day of Palestinian rocket fire and Israeli air strikes that have killed over 100 people. Israel's leaders weighed the benefits and risks of sending tanks and infantry into the densely populated coastal enclave two months before...

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