Venezuela lawmakers elect Chavez ally as Assembly chief

CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuelan lawmakers re-elected a staunch ally of Hugo Chavez to head the National Assembly on Saturday, putting him in line to be caretaker president if the socialist leader does not recover from cancer surgery. By choosing the incumbent, Diosdado Cabello, the "Chavista"-dominated legislature cemented the combative ex-soldier's position as the third most powerful...

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Community Policing System extended to 6 more NPCs

SINGAPORE: The Singapore Police Force will implement its Community Policing System (COPS) at six more Neighbourhood Police Centres (NPC) across the island.Minister at the Prime Minister's Office S Iswaran made the announcement at a community event on Sunday.The six NPCs are at Bishan, Punggol, Sengkang, Woodlands East, Woodlands West and Clementi.Mr Iswaran, who is also the Second Minister...

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Cold wave continues in J&K

SRINAGAR: There was no respite from the intense cold as the temperatures remained much below the freezing point in the Kashmir Valley and the Ladakh region of the state, said a weather official here Sunday. "The night temperature was minus 4.6 degrees celsius in Srinagar. It was minus 8.0 in Pahalgam and minus 9.0 degrees celsius in Gulmarg today (Sunday)," an official of the Met office told IANS....

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FDA: New rules will make food safer

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Food and Drug Administration says its new guidelines would make the food Americans eat safer and help prevent the kinds of foodborne disease outbreaks that sicken or kill thousands of consumers each year.The rules, the most sweeping food safety guidelines in decades, would require farmers to take new precautions against contamination, to include making sure workers' hands are...

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Gun Show Near Newtown Goes on Despite Anger

A little more than 40 miles from Sandy Hook Elementary School, where last month 20 first graders and six staff members were massacred, gun dealers and collectors alike ignored calls to cancel a gun show, and gathered for business in Stamford, Conn.Four other gun shows with an hour of Newtown, Conn., recently cancelled their events in the wake of the shootings, when 20-year-old...

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Chavez swearing-in can be delayed: Venezuelan VP

CARACAS (Reuters) - President Hugo Chavez's formal swearing-in for a new six-year term scheduled for January 10 can be postponed if he is unable to attend due to his battle to recover from cancer surgery, Venezuela's vice president said on Friday. Nicolas Maduro's comments were the clearest indication yet that the Venezuelan government is preparing to delay the swearing-in while avoiding...

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Man held as Philippines probes deadly gun rampage

MANILA: A man accused of helping a Philippine gunman kill seven people and wound 12 others has been detained as police investigate the motive for the drug-fuelled rampage, officials said Saturday.Witnesses told police the arrested suspect helped reload a semi-automatic pistol as the gunman, later shot dead by police, went house to house in search of people to attack at a slum neighbourhood...

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Himachal: 2 brothers of murder-accused MLA booked for harbouring him

PANCHKULA: Himachal police on Friday booked two brothers of HP Congress MLA, Ram Kumar Chaudhary, a suspect in the murder case of 24-year-old Jyoti, for allegedly harboring him with the motive of avoiding his arrest.Panchkula police have failed to arrest Chaudhary and 3 others during the 14-day validity of arrest warrant against them. The warrants were issued on December 20.The case was registered...

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FDA proposes sweeping new food safety rules

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Food and Drug Administration on Friday proposed the most sweeping food safety rules in decades, requiring farmers and food companies to be more vigilant in the wake of deadly outbreaks in peanuts, cantaloupe and leafy greens.The long-overdue regulations could cost businesses close to half a billion dollars a year to implement, but are expected to reduce the estimated 3,000 deaths...

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Quadruple Amputee Gets Two New Hands on Life

It's the simplest thing, the grasp of one hand in another. But Lindsay Ess will never see it that way, because her hands once belonged to someone else.Growing up in Texas and Virginia, Lindsay, 29, was always one of the pretty girls. She went to college, did some modeling and started building a career in fashion, with an eye on producing fashion shows.Then she lost her hands...

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Eleven dead in Damascus gas station blast

AZAZ, Syria (Reuters) - At least 11 people were killed and 40 wounded when a car bomb exploded at a crowded petrol station in the Syrian capital Damascus on Thursday, opposition activists said. The station was packed with people queuing for fuel that has become increasingly scarce during the country's 21-month-long insurgency aimed at overthrowing President Bashar al-Assad. ...

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Inter-agency group to look into family justice reforms

SINGAPORE: An inter-agency group is being set up to consider reforms when it come to dealing with family justice.The group will made up of Supreme Court judges and representatives from the Law Ministry and Social and Family Development Ministry. Singapore Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon said the reforms should be aimed at reducing acrimony which is inherent in family disputes.He was speaking...

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Italian naval guards return to Kerala

KOCHI: Italian naval guards, who were allowed to go to their native country to celebrate Christmas with their family, returned to Kochi on Friday. Naval guards Latore Massimiliano and Salvatore Gironi arrived at Cochin International Airport in a special flight. According to officials, they will proceed to Kollam magistrate court where they will surrender their passports. "We have kept our word...

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CDC: 1 in 24 admit nodding off while driving

NEW YORK (AP) — This could give you nightmares: 1 in 24 U.S. adults say they recently fell asleep while driving.And health officials behind the study think the number is probably higher. That's because some people don't realize it when they nod off for a second or two behind the wheel."If I'm on the road, I'd be a little worried about the other drivers," said the study's lead author, Anne Wheaton...

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Ex-USC Player: Painkiller Injections Caused Heart Attack

Despite stated label risks of possible fatal heart attack, stroke or organ failure, college football players across the country are still being given injections of a powerful painkiller on game days so they can play while injured, an ABC News investigation has found.The drug, a generic version of Toradol, is recommended for the short-term treatment of post-operative pain in...

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Central African Republic rebels halt advance, agree to peace talks

DAMARA, Central African Republic (Reuters) - Rebels in Central African Republic said they had halted their advance on the capital on Wednesday and agreed to start peace talks, averting a clash with regionally backed troops. The Seleka rebels had pushed to within striking distance of Bangui after a three-week onslaught and threatened to oust President Francois Bozize, accusing him of reneging...

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Republican leader vows to hold vote on stalled storm aid

WASHINGTON: A chastened US House Republican leadership scrambled Wednesday to tamp down seething bipartisan fury over a failure to approve emergency relief for victims of superstorm Sandy, saying a vote will now occur Friday.The Senate has already passed a $60.4 billion aid package put forward by the White House to help northeast US states still reeling in the wake of the killer late October...

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Brain image study: Fructose may spur overeating

This is your brain on sugar — for real. Scientists have used imaging tests to show for the first time that fructose, a sugar that saturates the American diet, can trigger brain changes that may lead to overeating.After drinking a fructose beverage, the brain doesn't register the feeling of being full as it does when simple glucose is consumed, researchers found.It's a small study and does not prove...

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Hillary Clinton Discharged From Hospital

Jan 2, 2013 7:18pm Hillary Clinton, rear center, leaving hospital. Frank Franklin II/AP Photo.Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has been released from the hospital following treatment for a blood clot in her head, the State Department confirmed on Wednesday.In a statement, Deputy Assistant Secretary Philippe Reines said Clinton’s medical team “advised her that she...

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At least 61 crushed to death in Ivory Coast stampede

ABIDJAN (Reuters) - At least 61 people were crushed to death in a stampede after a New Year's Eve fireworks display at a stadium in Ivory Coast's main city Abidjan early on Tuesday, officials said. Witnesses said police had tried to control crowds around the Felix Houphouet-Boigny Stadium following the celebrations, triggering a panic in which scores were trampled. "The estimate...

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Cricket: Brett Lee misconduct charges dropped

SYDNEY: Misconduct charges against veteran Australian fast bowler Brett Lee for criticising administrators have been withdrawn and a compromise agreed, cricket officials said Wednesday.Cricket New South Wales (NSW) reported Lee to Cricket Australia for alleged code of conduct breaches after he claimed that dumped NSW coach Anthony Stuart had been made the scapegoat for failings of the...

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NHAI slams GMR for termination notice for biggest highway project

NEW DELHI: National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has hit back at infrastructure major GMR on its termination notice for the country's biggest highway project worth at least Rs 6,000 crore. The Authority in its reply to GMR has said that the company did not give 90-day cure period (to rectify and address the deficiencies), and how it is in violation of the norms laid down in the concession...

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Brain image study: Fructose may spur overeating

This is your brain on sugar — for real. Scientists have used imaging tests to show for the first time that fructose, a sugar that saturates the American diet, can trigger brain changes that may lead to overeating.After drinking a fructose beverage, the brain doesn't register the feeling of being full as it does when simple glucose is consumed, researchers found.It's a small study and does not prove...

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House Approves 'Fiscal Cliff' Deal

The House of Representatives has approved a bipartisan Senate deal to avert the "fiscal cliff" and preserve Bush-era tax cuts for all Americans making less than $400,000 per year.The compromise is now on its way to President Obama for his signature.House Republicans agreed to the up-or-down vote Tuesday evening, despite earlier talk of trying to amend the Senate bill with more...

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North Korean leader, in rare address, seeks end to confrontation with South

SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korean leader Kim Jong-un called for an end to confrontation between the two Koreas, technically still at war in the absence of a peace treaty to end their 1950-53 conflict, in a surprise New Year speech broadcast on state media. The address by Kim, who took over power in the reclusive state after his father, Kim Jong-il, died in 2011, appeared to take the place...

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