Body of India rape victim arrives home in New Delhi

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - The body of a woman whose gang rape provoked protests and rare national debate about violence against women in India arrived back in New Delhi early on Sunday. The unidentified 23-year-old medical student died from her injuries on Saturday, prompting promises of action from a government that has struggled to respond to public outrage. She had suffered...

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IMF, EU push for less drastic deficit cuts

PARIS: The International Monetary Fund and European Commission officials have encouraged France and its eurozone partners not to fixate on deficit reduction targets if it would exacerbate the bloc's debt crisis.The head of an IMF mission in France, Edward Gardner, urged officials in Paris last week to consider their 2013 budget targets "in a broader European context."The IMF and the EU...

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July blasts in Valley a terror strike: Cops

SRINAGAR: The Jammu & Kashmir police have claimed that two Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorists killed in an encounter on Friday in Pulwama were responsible for a blast on a bus that had killed four tourists in Anantnag in July. The claim contradicts their statement that ruled out a terror angle to the blast then and had said that an LPG cylinder inside the bus had exploded and killed the four women from...

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Kenya hospital imprisons new mothers with no money

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — The director of the Pumwani Maternity Hospital, located in a hardscrabble neighborhood of downtown Nairobi, freely acknowledges what he's accused of: detaining mothers who can't pay their bills. Lazarus Omondi says it's the only way he can keep his medical center running.Two mothers who live in a mud-wall and tin-roof slum a short walk from the maternity hospital, which is affiliated...

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Woman Charged With Murder in NYC Subway Push

A woman who allegedly told New York City police she pushed a man onto the subway tracks because she hated Hindus and Muslims has been charged with murder as a hate crime.Erica Menendez, 31, allegedly told police that she "pushed a Muslim off the train tracks because I hate Hindus and Muslims ever since 2001 when they put down the twin towers I've been beating them up."Menendez...

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India gang rape victim dies in Singapore hospital

SINGAPORE/NEW DELHI (Reuters) - An Indian woman whose gang rape in New Delhi triggered violent protests died of her injuries on Saturday in a Singapore hospital, bringing a security lockdown in Delhi and recognition from India's prime minister that social change is needed. The Indian capital braced for a new wave of protests, closing metro stations and banning vehicles from the city centre...

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China law says family members should visit elderly relatives

BEIJING: China has passed a new law stipulating that family members should pay regular visits to their elderly relatives, according to the government's official website.The ruling, approved by China's National People's Congress on Friday, is part of a package of amendments to the Protection of the Rights and Interests of the Elderly legislation and will come into force on July 1, 2013."Family...

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Govt will ensure India becomes demonstrably better and safer place for women: PM

NEW DELHI: Recognising the "emotions and energies" that the rape of the young woman in Delhi had generated in the capital and elsewhere, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Saturday, while condoling her death, said that "India genuinely desires change" and resolved that the government will ensure that it becomes "a demonstrably better and safer place for women to live in". "It was up to us all to ensure...

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Kenya hospital imprisons new mothers with no money

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — The director of the Pumwani Maternity Hospital, located in a hardscrabble neighborhood of downtown Nairobi, freely acknowledges what he's accused of: detaining mothers who can't pay their bills. Lazarus Omondi says it's the only way he can keep his medical center running.Two mothers who live in a mud-wall and tin-roof slum a short walk from the maternity hospital, which is affiliated...

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Epic Journey: Did Moses' Exodus Really Happen?

In the Bible, he is called Moses. In the Koran, he is the prophet Musa.Religious scholars have long questioned whether of the story of a prophet leading God's chosen people in a great exodus out of Egypt and the freedom it brought them afterwards was real, but the similarities between a pharaoh's ancient hymn and a psalm of David might hold the link to his existence.Tune in...

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CAR appeals for French help against rebels, Paris balks

BANGUI (Reuters) - The president of the Central African Republic appealed on Thursday for France and the United States to help push back rebels threatening his government and the capital, but Paris said its troops were only ready to protect French nationals. The exchanges came as regional African leaders tried to broker a ceasefire deal and as rebels said they had temporarily halted their...

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Clinton, still recovering, back at desk Monday

WASHINGTON: Outgoing US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who fell ill in early December and has not been seen in public since, will be back at her desk on Monday, her closest aide said."She's recuperating at home," and will take up her official duties again "next week", Philippe Reines wrote in brief email to AFP when asked about the health of Washington's most travelled top diplomat.Clinton,...

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Varun Gandhi likely to contest Lok Sabha 2014 from Sultanpur

LUCKNOW: Pilibhit MP of the Bharatiya Janata Party Varun Gandhi might contest 2014 Lok Sabha election from Sultanpur-the constituency adjoining Amethi represented by his cousin Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi. Congress' Sanjay Singh is the sitting MP from Sultanpur.So far, two things have actually given credence to the speculation that Varun might contest from Sultanpur. A team of around...

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Kenya hospital imprisons new mothers with no money

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — The director of the Pumwani Maternity Hospital, located in a hardscrabble neighborhood of downtown Nairobi, freely acknowledges what he's accused of: detaining mothers who can't pay their bills. Lazarus Omondi says it's the only way he can keep his medical center running.Two mothers who live in a mud-wall and tin-roof slum a short walk from the maternity hospital, which is affiliated...

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Gen. 'Stormin' Norman Schwarzkopf Dead at 78

H. Norman Schwarzkopf, the retired general credited with leading U.S.-allied forces to a victory in the first Gulf War, died today at age 78.The man who Defense Secretary Leon Panetta today called "one of the great military giants of the 20th century" died in Tampa, Fla., where he lived in retirement, the Associated Press reported."The men and women of the Department of Defense...

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Mental illness, poverty haunted Afghan policewoman who killed American

KABUL (Reuters) - The Afghan policewoman suspected of killing a U.S. contractor at police headquarters in Kabul suffered from mental illness and was driven to suicidal despair by poverty, her children told Reuters on Wednesday. The woman was identified by authorities as Narges Rezaeimomenabad, a 40-year-old grandmother and mother of three who moved here from Iran 10 years ago and married...

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North Korea's China trade nearly triples in 4 years

SEOUL: North Korea's trade with China has nearly tripled since 2007, according to data published by South Korea, underlining the isolated state's deepening dependence on its only major ally.Bilateral trade jumped from $1.97 billion in 2007 to $5.6 billion last year, Statistics Korea said, with North Korean exports accounting for $2.44 billion against imports from China of $3.16 billion.Statistics...

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Gulvez thought NCC would help him become a cop

NEW DELHI: By the time Gulvez Ahmad reached the final year of his B Com Honours course, he had changed his mind. He had joined the NCC in school thinking it would boost his chances in a career in policing . But when his father, Kafeel Ahmad, saw him off on December 21, he was looking forward finishing college and joining an MBA programme . Ahmad was one of the five students from the Delhi unit of...

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Predicting who's at risk for violence isn't easy

CHICAGO (AP) — It happened after Columbine, Virginia Tech, Aurora, Colo., and now Sandy Hook: People figure there surely were signs of impending violence. But experts say predicting who will be the next mass shooter is virtually impossible — partly because as commonplace as these calamities seem, they are relatively rare crimes.Still, a combination of risk factors in troubled kids or adults including...

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Toyota Agrees to $1B Settlement in Acceleration Case

Toyota has agreed to pay more than $1 billion to customers to settle a class action lawsuit that alleged its vehicles accelerated dangerously and without warning, according to statements by the carmaker and the plaintiffs' attorney.The deal, which still needs approval by a federal judge in California, includes a $250 million fund to be paid to Toyota owners who sold their cars at...

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Egypt approves constitution drafted by Mursi allies

CAIRO (Reuters) - Egyptian voters overwhelmingly approved a constitution drafted by President Mohamed Mursi's allies, results announced on Tuesday showed, proving that liberals, leftists and Christians have been powerless to halt the march of Islamists in power. Final elections commission figures showed the constitution adopted with 63.8 percent of the vote in the referendum held over...

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Myanmar probes deadly plane crash-landing

HEHO, Myanmar: Myanmar was on Wednesday probing the cause of an air accident that left two people dead and 11 injured when a passenger jet packed with foreign tourists crash-landed and caught fire.The incident raised fresh questions about the safety standards of Myanmar's fast-growing but overstretched aviation and tourist industries as foreign visitors flock to the country which is emerging...

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Home ministry announces Rs 10 lakh ex-gratia for family of dead constable Subhash Tomar

NEW DELHI: The home ministry announced on Wednesday an ex-gratia of Rs 10 lakh to the next of kin of Delhi Police constable Subhash Chand Tomar, who died here on Tuesday morning. An ex-gratia of Rs 10 lakh will be given to the family of Tomar in addition to the financial and other relief announced by the Delhi Police, a home ministry spokesperson said. The 47-year-old constable, who was injured...

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Predicting who's at risk for violence isn't easy

CHICAGO (AP) — It happened after Columbine, Virginia Tech, Aurora, Colo., and now Sandy Hook: People figure there surely were signs of impending violence. But experts say predicting who will be the next mass shooter is virtually impossible — partly because as commonplace as these calamities seem, they are relatively rare crimes.Still, a combination of risk factors in troubled kids or adults including...

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