Riots over Egyptian death sentences kill at least 32

PORT SAID, Egypt/CAIRO (Reuters) - At least 32 people were killed on Saturday when Egyptians rampaged in protest at the sentencing of 21 people to death over a soccer stadium disaster, violence that compounds a political crisis facing Islamist President Mohamed Mursi. Armored vehicles and military police fanned through the streets of Port Said, where gunshots rang out and protesters burned...

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Sailing: Olympic sailing champion visits Singapore

SINGAPORE: Xu Lijia, the 25 year old who became the first Chinese to win a gold medal in the dinghy class after finishing first in the laser radial class at the 2012 London Olympics, is in town.The Chinese athlete shared her experiences with local sailors at a talk, which attracted 500 participants. The talk also saw the launch of the Character Development Through Sailing programme.The...

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Prescribe generic drugs: MCI to doctors

MUMBAI: The Union government and regulatory bodies appear to be serious in ending the pharma-doctor nexus and curb unethical marketing practices. In its latest effort, the Medical Council of India has directed doctors, hospitals and medical colleges to prescribe generic medicines as far as possible. Generic medicines are more affordable versions of branded medicines sold by companies. In its directive...

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CDC: Flu seems to level off except in the West

New government figures show that flu cases seem to be leveling off nationwide. Flu activity is declining in most regions although still rising in the West.The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says hospitalizations and deaths spiked again last week, especially among the elderly. The CDC says quick treatment with antiviral medicines is important, in particular for the very...

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Newtown Families March for Gun Control in DC

Jan 26, 2013 4:59pm (YURI GRIPAS/AFP/Getty Images)WASHINGTON, D.C. — Near-freezing temperatures didn’t stop several thousand gun-control activists from bearing their pickets today, carrying signs emblazoned with “Ban Assault Weapons Now” and the names of gun violence victims in a demonstration organized as a response to the mass shooting in Newtown, Conn. last month.Walking...

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North Korea threatens war with South over U.N. sanctions

SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea threatened to attack rival South Korea if Seoul joined a new round of tightened U.N. sanctions, as Washington unveiled more of its own economic restrictions following Pyongyang's rocket launch last month. In a third straight day of fiery rhetoric, the North directed its verbal onslaught at its neighbor on Friday, saying: "'Sanctions' mean a war and a declaration...

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Apple loses world's most valuable company crown

NEW YORK: Apple shares extended their losses Friday, ending a miserable week for the California tech giant as it surrendered its position as the world's biggest company based on market value.Apple ended down 2.36 per cent at US$439.88, giving it a market capitalisation of $413 billion -- while oil giant ExxonMobil rose 0.36 per cent to US$91.68 with a market cap of US$418 billion, to edge...

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Backroom dilemma on rape law report

KOLKATA: She is one of the 15 young lawyers who worked tirelessly behind the scenes - analyzing and interpreting legal provisions that could be used to nail rapists and impose the maximum possible penalty on them.Shwetasree Majumdar cherishes the experience with the JS Verma Commission report to help strengthen rape laws in the country. The 33-year-old Kolkata girl, now based in Bangalore, says she...

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CDC: Flu seems to level off except in the West

New government figures show that flu cases seem to be leveling off nationwide. Flu activity is declining in most regions although still rising in the West.The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says hospitalizations and deaths spiked again last week, especially among the elderly. The CDC says quick treatment with antiviral medicines is important, in particular for the very...

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Apple Drops Manufacturer Using Underage Workers

Apple has stopped doing business with a Chinese manufacturer after a report said it had employed 74 underage workers. According to Apple's Supplier Responsibility Report, which was released by the company Thursday, Guangdong Real Faith Pingzhou Electronics was employing workers under the age of 16."Our auditors were dismayed to discover 74 cases of workers under age 16 — a core...

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North Korea to target U.S. with nuclear, rocket tests

SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea said on Thursday it would carry out further rocket launches and a nuclear test that would target the United States, dramatically stepping up its threats against a country it called its "sworn enemy". The announcement by the country's top military body came a day after the U.N. Security Council agreed to a U.S.-backed resolution to censure and sanction North...

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Cooling-off Day for Punggol East by-election

SINGPORE: Friday is Cooling-off Day for the Punggol East by-election, which has seen nine days of vigorous campaigning by the four candidates contending in the polls.The Elections Department has reminded political parties and candidates that Friday has been set aside for voters to reflect rationally on various issues raised during the campaigning before they go to the polls on Saturday.The...

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South India worst hit by diabetes

NEW DELHI: Diabetes and hypertension, traditionally seen as a rich man's disease, has made its way to the slums. Health ministry's fresh data shows one out of every four persons living in the urban slums of Chennai suffer from diabetes — which is three times higher than the national average of about 7%.In the slums of Bangalore the prevalence rate of diabetes was reported to be 14.77%, followed...

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Penalty could keep smokers out of health overhaul

WASHINGTON (AP) — Millions of smokers could be priced out of health insurance because of tobacco penalties in President Barack Obama's health care law, according to experts who are just now teasing out the potential impact of a little-noted provision in the massive legislation.The Affordable Care Act — "Obamacare" to its detractors — allows health insurers to charge smokers buying individual policies...

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Feinstein Proposes Assault Weapons Ban

Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP PhotoWith an AR-15 and nine other guns on her left, Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., introduced a bill today that would ban assault weapons and high capacity ammunition clips.The bill comes nearly 20 years after the first assault weapons ban was signed into law.“I remain horrified by the massacre committed at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., and I’m also...

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Cameron promises Britons vote on EU exit

LONDON (Reuters) - Prime Minister David Cameron promised Britons a vote on quitting the European Union, rattling London's biggest allies and some investors by raising the prospect of uncertainty and upheaval. Cameron announced on Wednesday that the referendum would be held by the end of 2017 - provided he wins a second term - and said that while Britain did not want to retreat from the...

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Football: Giroud fires five-star Arsenal in Hammers rout

LONDON: Olivier Giroud helped Arsenal silence their critics as the France striker's double inspired a much-needed 5-1 victory over West Ham on Wednesday.Arsene Wenger's side had been subjected to scathing criticism from fans and pundits after successive defeats against Manchester City and Chelsea seriously damaged their bid to finish in the Premier League's top four.Wenger was reported...

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Yet another case filed against Owaisi

KARIMNAGAR/Adilabad: Yet another case has been filed against MIM legislator Akbaruddin Owaisi. The Karimnagar Three Town police registered a case late on Tuesday night against Akbar for allegedly delivering a hate speech on 22 October, 2012 at the Arts College grounds. Circle inspector C Vijaya Raj said the case was registered as per the directions of the Ist additional judicial magistrate Kshamadesh...

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Women have caught up to men on lung cancer risk

Smoke like a man, die like a man.U.S. women who smoke today have a much greater risk of dying from lung cancer than they did decades ago, partly because they are starting younger and smoking more — that is, they are lighting up like men, new research shows.Women also have caught up with men in their risk of dying from smoking-related illnesses. Lung cancer risk leveled off in the 1980s for men but...

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Pentagon to Allow Women in Combat

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta will lift a longstanding ban on women serving in combat, according to senior defense officials.The services have until this May to come up with a plan to implement the change, according to a Defense Department official.That means the changes could come into effect as early as May. The services will have until January 2016 to complete the implementation...

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Netanyahu claims election win despite losses

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Hawkish Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu emerged the bruised winner of Israel's election on Tuesday, claiming victory despite unexpected losses to resurgent center-left challengers. Exit polls showed the Israeli leader's Likud party, yoked with the ultra-nationalist Yisrael Beitenu group, would still be the biggest bloc in the 120-member assembly with 31 seats,...

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Justin Bieber overtakes Lady Gaga in Twitter follower race

  By mid-day, the Biebs had 33,342,299 followers, against 33,333,682 for the Mother Monster, followed by Katy Perry, Rihanna and, a day after his public second-term inauguration, President Barack Obama with 26,183,711 followers.Last week Twitter Counter had forecasted that, according to its algorithms, Bieber would clinch first place last Sunday.Bieber and Lady Gaga -- who had led...

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EC suggests to Justice Verma panel to penalize MLAs filing false affidavits

NEW DELHI: The Election Commission (EC), in its suggestions to the Justice J S Verma committee tasked with reviewing the anti-rape laws, has proposed that legislators found to have filed false affidavits with their nomination papers, should be immediately disqualified and punished with imprisonment upto two years.The EC, whose representatives appeared before the Verma panel on Saturday, sought a tougher...

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