Egyptians vote on divisive constitution

CAIRO/ALEXANDRIA (Reuters) - Egyptians queued to vote on Saturday on a constitution promoted by its Islamist backers as the way out of a prolonged political crisis and rejected by opponents as a recipe for further divisions in the Arab world's biggest nation. Soldiers joined police to secure the referendum after deadly protests during the buildup. Street brawls erupted again on Friday...

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Youths have similar ideals to govt, says ESM Goh

SINGAPORE: Singapore youths generally have the same ideals as that of the government, observed Emeritus Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong at the end of a national conversation session at the Marine Parade constituency.Mr Goh said this will make it easier for the government to work together with the generation of the future."Supposing they come up with very different ideals from what we think...

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Tension in UP town over construction of religious structure

LAKHIMPUR KHERI (UP): Tension prevailed in Nighasan area of the district over construction of a religious structure on a disputed piece of land. Members of one of the groups were against the construction work in Dubha village which led to the rival members staging demonstration against them, resulting in arguments between the two factions, SDM RP Singh said. "It also came to the fore that a legal...

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Fewer health care options for illegal immigrants

ALAMO, Texas (AP) — For years, Sonia Limas would drag her daughters to the emergency room whenever they fell sick. As an illegal immigrant, she had no health insurance, and the only place she knew to seek treatment was the hospital — the most expensive setting for those covering the cost.The family's options improved somewhat a decade ago with the expansion of community health clinics, which offered...

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School Shooting: Officials Seek Details on Gunman

The FBI is in at least three states interviewing relatives and friends of the elementary school gunman who killed 20 children, seven adults and himself, trying to put together a better picture of the shooter and uncover any possible explanation for the massacre, ABC News has learned.The authorities have fanned out to New Jersey, Connecticut and Massachusetts to interview relatives...

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U.S., rebels urge gloomy Moscow to help oust Assad

BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syria's rebel leadership and the United States seized on Russian pessimism over President Bashar al-Assad's future to urge Moscow to help push its ally into ceding power and end the battles closing in around his capital. "We want to commend the Russian government for finally waking up to the reality and acknowledging that the regime's days are numbered," the U.S. State...

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Two dead, 10 missing after South Korea barge capsizes

SEOUL: Two construction workers were confirmed killed late Friday and 10 others missing after a barge carrying a crane capsized off South Korea's southeast coast, the coastguard said.The 2,600-ton barge sank off the city of Ulsan after the 80-metre (264-foot) crane collapsed, Yonhap news agency quoted coastguard officials as saying.Twelve people have so far been rescued with two others...

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Pakistan jail staff suspects Indian prisoners and bars them from writing letters

AMRITSAR: Many Indian prisoners lodged in Pakistani jails are still suspected and are even not allowed to write letters to their dear ones in India. Revealing this, Pakistani advocate Awaish Sheikh , who is also contesting the case of Sarabjit Singh, informed TOI on Friday that during his meeting with Indian prisoner Kuldeep Singh in Central jail on December 13th the deputy superintendent of...

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Fewer health care options for illegal immigrants

ALAMO, Texas (AP) — For years, Sonia Limas would drag her daughters to the emergency room whenever they fell sick. As an illegal immigrant, she had no health insurance, and the only place she knew to seek treatment was the hospital — the most expensive setting for those covering the cost.The family's options improved somewhat a decade ago with the expansion of community health clinics, which offered...

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Critics Faulted Rice's Work on Benghazi, Africa

United Nations Ambassador Susan Rice removed herself from possible consideration as secretary of state after becoming yet another player in the divide between the left and right.Rice, who withdrew her name Thursday, has faced months of criticism over how she characterized the Sept. 11 attack on a U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya. She also has come under fire for her approach...

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Russia says Syrian rebels might win

MOSCOW/BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syrian rebels are gaining ground and might win, Russia's Middle East envoy said on Thursday, in the starkest such admission from a major ally of President Bashar al-Assad in 20 months of conflict. "One must look the facts in the face," Russia's state-run RIA quoted Mikhail Bogdanov as saying. "Unfortunately, the victory of the Syrian opposition cannot be ruled...

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US retail sales rebound in November

WASHINGTON: US retail sales rebounded in November, reversing October's decline as auto sales surged, the Commerce Department said on Thursday.Retail sales rose 0.3 percent after a 0.3 percent drop the prior month.Excluding automobile sales, up 1.4 percent after a 1.9 percent tumble in October, retail sales were unchanged from October.The Commerce Department said that Hurricane Sandy, which...

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Police plea for lie detector test on Zee journalists dismissed

NEW DELHI: A Delhi court on Thursday dismissed the police plea to subject two Zee news journalists, arrested for an alleged Rs 100-crore extortion bid, to a lie detector test, saying the duo cannot be compelled to undergo it without their consent. However, the court allowed the plea of Zee Group chief Subhash Chandra to undergo a lie detector test after advice of his doctor and in his lawyer's...

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Dozens sue pharmacy, but compensation uncertain

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Dennis O'Brien rubs his head as he details ailments triggered by the fungal meningitis he developed after a series of steroid shots in his neck: nausea, vomiting, dizziness, drowsiness, blurred vision, exhaustion and trouble with his speech and attention.He estimates the disease has cost him and his wife thousands of dollars in out-of-pocket expenses and her lost wages, including...

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Mall Shooter Quit Job, Was Hawaii Bound

In the days before he stole a semiautomatic weapon and stormed into an Oregon shopping mall, killing two people in a shooting spree, Jacob Roberts quit his job, sold his belongings and began to seem "numb" to those closest to him.Roberts' ex-girlfriend, Hannah Patricia Sansburn, 20, told ABC News today that the man who donned a hockey mask and opened fire on Christmas shoppers...

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North Korea launches rocket , raising nuclear arms stakes

SEOUL/TOKYO (Reuters) - North Korea successfully launched a rocket on Wednesday, boosting the credentials of its new leader and stepping up the threat the isolated and impoverished state poses to opponents. The rocket, which North Korea says put a weather satellite into orbit, has been labeled by the United States, South Korea and Japan as a test of technology that could one day deliver...

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Fed likely to expand QE with economy still slow

WASHINGTON: Economists expect the Federal Reserve (Fed) to add to its stimulus efforts with an expanded bond-buying program Wednesday when it concludes its last policy board meeting of 2012 amid still-slow growth.With the US economy still sluggish despite two years and hundreds of billions of US dollars of quantitative easing (QE) operations, the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) is...

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Fight for 'Right to Reject' after Lokpal: Hazare

VARANASI: Anna Hazare today said he will re-launch his agitation in Delhi if the government fails to bring a strong Lokpal law before 2014 and he will then focus on getting 'Right to Reject' for the people. The Gandhian, who is on a two-day visit here along with Former Army Chief V K Singh, said this while addressing a youth meet organised by student organisation of Mahatma Gandhi Kashi Vidyapeeth....

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DA investigating Texas' troubled $3B cancer agency

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Turmoil surrounding an unprecedented $3 billion cancer-fighting effort in Texas worsened Tuesday when its executive director offered his resignation and the state's chief public corruption prosecutor announced an investigation into the beleaguered agency.No specific criminal allegations are driving the latest probe into the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas, said...

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Mall Gunman Wanted to Kill 'Total Strangers'

The masked gunman who opened fire in the crowded Clackamas Town Center mall in suburban Portland, Ore., killing two and seriously injuring a third before killing himself, was trying to "kill as many people as possible."The shooter, wearing a white hockey mask, black clothing and a bullet proof vest, tore through the mall just before 3:30 p.m. Tuesday, entering through a Macy's...

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IMF loan to Egypt delayed amid political turmoil

CAIRO (Reuters) - A vital $4.8 billion International Monetary Fund loan to Egypt will be delayed until next month, its finance minister said on Tuesday, intensifying the political crisis gripping the Arab world's most populous nation. As rival factions gathered in Cairo for a new round of demonstrations, Finance Minister Mumtaz al-Said said the delay in the loan agreement was intended...

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