Egyptian military says only dialogue can avert disaster

CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt's military said on Saturday only dialogue could avert "catastrophe", stepping into a crisis pitting Islamist President Mohamed Mursi against opponents who accuse him of grabbing excessive power. State broadcasters interrupted their programs to read out an army statement telling feuding factions that a solution to the upheaval in the most populous Arab nation should...

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Egypt's Morsi preparing to modify decree

CAIRO: Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi is preparing to amend a controversial decree in which he assumed sweeping powers, Prime Minister Hisham Qandil said on Saturday. Morsi tasked six officials who met on Saturday with elements of the opposition to "modify the constitutional declaration" he issued on November 22, Qandil said on the private Al-Mihwar television channel. The officials,...

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India misguided, paranoid over China: Guha

MUMBAI: A good half-hour into the discussion on 'India, China and the World', historian Ramachandra Guha issued a disclaimer—all the three members on the panel had been to China only once. "We should learn their language, promote quality research, and have a panel on China driven by Chinese scholars," he said. And that was the general tenor of the debate—that the Indian attitude to China was influenced...

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Smokers celebrate as Wash. legalizes marijuana

SEATTLE (AP) — The crowds of happy people lighting joints under Seattle's Space Needle early Thursday morning with nary a police officer in sight bespoke the new reality: Marijuana is legal under Washington state law.Hundreds gathered at Seattle Center for a New Year's Eve-style countdown to 12 a.m., when the legalization measure passed by voters last month took effect. When the clock struck, they...

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Egypt Terror Leader Possibly Linked to Benghazi Attack Arrested

Dec 8, 2012 2:16pm Mohammad Hannon/AP PhotoThe leader of an Egyptian terrorist cell that planned attacks in Egypt and may be linked with the storming of the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya on Sept. 11 has been arrested by Egyptian intelligence officers, according to an official close to Egypt’s intelligence agency and a senior U.S. official.Mohammad Jamal Abdo Ahmed...

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Charter enshrining Shariah at core of Egypt crisis

CAIRO (AP) — One of Egypt's most prominent ultraconservative Muslim clerics had high praise for the country's draft constitution. Speaking to fellow clerics, he said this was the charter they had long wanted, ensuring that laws and rights would be strictly subordinated to Islamic law."This constitution has more complete restraints on rights than ever existed before in any Egyptian constitution," Sheik...

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Six more countries added to landmine-free list

GENEVA: Six more countries have been added to the list of nations that have eliminated "the scourge of landmines", organisers of a conference on the deadly weapons said Friday.Congo, Denmark, Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Jordan and Uganda have declared all mined areas in their territories cleared, said organisers at the end of a five-day meeting aimed at evaluating progress since the signing...

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Haryana plans to buy hydel power from Arunachal Pradesh

CHANDIGARH: Haryana power minister, Capt Ajay Singh Yadav said on Friday that the visit of Haryana chief minister, Bhupinder Singh Hooda to Bhutan in connection with the purchase of 2000 MW of hydel power is very significant step for making the state free of any power shortage in the coming times. Hooda would visit Bhutan from December 14 and 16 regarding purchase of 2000 MW hydel power from Bhutan....

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Smokers celebrate as Wash. legalizes marijuana

SEATTLE (AP) — The crowds of happy people lighting joints under Seattle's Space Needle early Thursday morning with nary a police officer in sight bespoke the new reality: Marijuana is legal under Washington state law.Hundreds gathered at Seattle Center for a New Year's Eve-style countdown to 12 a.m., when the legalization measure passed by voters last month took effect. When the clock struck, they...

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Royal Hoaxers Pulled Off Air After Nurse's Death

The two Australian radio hosts who prank called the hospital where Kate Middleton was being treated have been pulled off the air "until further notice" after the hoaxed nurse was found dead today."Southern Cross Austereo (SCA) and 2Day FM are deeply saddened by the tragic news of the death of nurse Jacintha Saldanha from King Edward VII's Hospital and we extend our deepest sympathies...

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Military halts clashes as political crisis grips Egypt

CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt's Republican Guard restored order around the presidential palace on Thursday after clashes killed seven people, but passions ran high in a contest over the country's future. President Mohamed Mursi had been due to address the nation, but a presidential source said the Islamist leader, criticized by his opponents for his silence in the last few days, might speak...

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Football: FIFA extend Mohamed Bin Hammam provisional ban

PARIS: FIFA have extended the provisional ban of former Asian Football Confederation (AFC) president Mohamed Bin Hammam, world football's governing body said on Thursday.The 63-year-old Qatari had a lifetime ban overturned by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in July due to lack of evidence over corruption allegations, but was banned again provisionally by FIFA who launched a new...

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Cabinet approves amendments to Lokpal Bill

NEW DELHI: The government today gave ex post-facto approval to some official amendments to the Lokpal Bill moved in the Rajya Sabha earlier this year. One of the amendments included applicability of Lokpal Bill to a state only upon passing a resolution by the state legislature. These amendments were moved by the government on May 21 this year in Rajya Sabha before the bill was referred to a select...

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Celebrations planned as Wash. legalizes marijuana

SEATTLE (AP) — Legal marijuana possession becomes a reality under Washington state law on Thursday, and some people planned to celebrate the new law by breaking it.Voters in Washington and Colorado last month made those the first states to decriminalize and regulate the recreational use of marijuana. Washington's law takes effect Thursday and allows adults to have up to an ounce of pot — but it bans...

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Wash. Pot Smokers Celebrate as Feds Stand Back

Marijuana smokers breathed a puff of relief today as they lit up legally for the first time in Washington state and were not cited, ticketed, or arrested for what is still a federal offense."There are no federal agents out there busting people," Seattle police Sgt. Sean Whitcomb said today, hours after a new state law legalizing pot went into effect.Seattle police spokesman...

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Clashes erupt in Egypt despite proposal to end crisis

CAIRO (Reuters) - Islamists fought protesters outside the Egyptian president's palace on Wednesday, while inside the building his deputy proposed a way to end a crisis over a draft constitution that has split the most populous Arab nation. Stones and petrol bombs flew between opposition protesters and supporters of President Mohamed Mursi who had flocked to the palace in response to a...

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EADS unveils new structure to "simplify" group

PARIS: The European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company (EADS), which owns the plane maker Airbus, said on Wednesday that it has agreed to a new equity structure that will reduce the role of state shareholders while preserving their strategic interests.The deal will leave France and Germany each with 12-percent holdings and Spain with 4.0 percent, a statement said, as the German automaker...

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20th anniversary of Babri mosque demolition: The damage has not been undone as yet

LUCKNOW: Twenty years after demolition of Babri mosque, the Ayodhya debate is still on. The frenzy mob which razed the masjid to ground on December 6, 1992, perhaps had little or no inkling that the fanatic act would change the Indian politics for all times to come. Though the Ram Temple issue seems to have lost its electoral appeal, the damage has not been undone as yet and the efforts to polarise...

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Longer tamoxifen use cuts breast cancer deaths

Breast cancer patients taking the drug tamoxifen can cut their chances of having the disease come back or kill them if they stay on the pills for 10 years instead of five years as doctors recommend now, a major study finds.The results could change treatment, especially for younger women. The findings are a surprise because earlier research suggested that taking the hormone-blocking drug for longer...

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NYC Subway Pusher Charged With Murder

A New York City man was charged today with murder for shoving another man onto subway tracks where he was struck and killed by an oncoming train.Naeem Davis, 30, was charged after being questioned by police since Tuesday about the death of Ki-Suck Han, 58, of Queens, N.Y.The charges include murder second degree: intentional, as well as murder second degree: depraved indifference.He...

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NATO approves Turkey request for Syria border missiles

BRUSSELS: NATO on Tuesday agreed to deploy Patriot missiles along the border of member state Turkey as requested by Ankara to help it defend its territory against threats from Syria."NATO has agreed to augment Turkey's air defence capabilities in order to defend the population and territory of Turkey and to contribute to the de-escalation of the crisis along the alliance's border," a statement...

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