Israel's Lieberman says Palestinian peace accord impossible

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel has no chance of signing a permanent peace accord with the Palestinians and should instead seek a long-term interim deal, the most powerful political partner of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Saturday. The remarks by Avigdor Lieberman, an ultranationalist whose joint party list with Netanyahu narrowly won a January 22 election while centrist challengers...

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Russian opposition activist put under house arrest: media

MOSCOW: A Russian court on Saturday put prominent opposition leader Sergei Udaltsov under house arrest amid accusations he incited mass disorder to overthrow President Vladimir Putin, local media reported.The Basmanny court in Moscow was responding to a request by investigators who said Udaltsov was not showing good behaviour and not cooperating with the authorities.The judge said that...

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Needless hysterectomies on poor women rampant across India: Study

MUMBAI: Is India witnessing a spurt in unnecessary hysterectomies? Data released by international charity organization Oxfam on February 6 says as much. The agency said that unnecessary hysterectomies were being performed in Indian private hospitals to economically exploit poor women as well as government-run insurance schemes.A right to information ( RTI) request filed by one of Oxfam's local NGOs...

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After early start, worst of flu season may be over

NEW YORK (AP) — The worst of the flu season appears to be over.The number of states reporting intense or widespread illnesses dropped again last week, and in a few states there was very little flu going around, U.S. health officials said Friday.The season started earlier than normal, first in the Southeast and then spreading. But now, by some measures, flu activity has been ebbing for at least four...

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After Blizzard, Northeast Begins to Dig Out

The Northeast began the arduous process of cleaning up after a fierce storm swept through the region leaving behind up to three feet of snow in some areas.By early this morning, 650,000 homes and businesses were without power and at least five deaths were being blamed on the storm: three in Canada, one in New York and one in Connecticut, The Associated Press reported.The storm...

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Violence mars funeral of Tunisian opposition leader

TUNIS (Reuters) - Tens of thousands of Tunisians turned out on Friday to mourn secular opposition leader Chokri Belaid, whose assassination has deepened a political crisis and led to violent protests against the Islamist-led government. Teargas and smoke from burning cars at times wafted over the Tunis cemetery where Belaid was buried in the country's biggest funeral since independence...

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HP tightens worker rules for China suppliers

SAN FRANCISCO: ELGAUS computer maker Hewlett-Packard said on Friday it is cracking down on abuses of student workers and temporary labor used by its suppliers in China.The move by HP came as Silicon Valley neighbor and rival Apple continued a program to improve conditions for employees at facilities in China that produce its coveted gadgets.HP announced new guidelines for student and temporary...

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Riots unfortunate, won't recur, Narendra Modi told EU envoys

NEW DELHI: German ambassador Michael Steiner on Friday declared that the European Union has ended its boycott of Narendra Modi in what marked a big step towards ending the diplomatic isolation the Gujarat chief minister has faced since the 2002 communal riots.The statement came a day after EU's ambassador to India Joao Cravinho announced the group's intention to engage with Modi. With the UK having...

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Health officials: Worst of flu season may be over

NEW YORK (AP) — The worst of the flu season appears to be over.The number of states reporting intense or widespread flu dropped again last week, U.S. health officials said Friday.The season started earlier than normal, spiking first in the Southeast and then spreading. But now, by some measures, flu activity has been ebbing for at least four weeks in much of the country. Flu and pneumonia...

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Blizzard of 2013: Monster Storm Bears Down

A blizzard of possibly historic proportions is set to strike the Northeast, starting today and bringing up to 2 feet of snow and strong winds that could shut down densely populated cities such as Boston and New York City.A storm from the west will join forces with one from the south to form a nor'easter that will sit and spin just off the East Coast, affecting more than 43 million...

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Khamenei rebuffs U.S. offer of direct talks

DUBAI (Reuters) - Iran's highest authority, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, on Thursday slapped down an offer of direct talks made by U.S. Vice President Joe Biden this week, saying they would not solve the problem between them. "Some naive people like the idea of negotiating with America, however, negotiations will not solve the problem," Khamenei said in a speech to officials and members of...

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Greenlight sues Apple, with eye on cash pile

NEW YORK: US hedge fund Greenlight Capital on Thursday filed suit against Apple as it boosted pressure on the tech giant to unleash to shareholders the value of its huge capital stockpile.Greenlight sued the maker of iPhones and iPads to block a shareholder vote that includes a proposal, supported by management, to make it impossible for the Apple board to decide to issue preferred stock.The...

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UPA policies leading to jobless growth: Study by govt body

NEW DELHI: Not only has India witnessed jobless growth during the UPA's tenure, it has also seen millions pushed to become casual labour with little social security, the Institute of Applied Manpower Research (IAMR), a think-tank of the Planning Commission, has said in a recently published research paper, 'Joblessness and Informalization: Challenges to Inclusive Growth in India'. The report by the...

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Southern diet, fried foods, may raise stroke risk

Deep-fried foods may be causing trouble in the Deep South. People whose diets are heavy on them and sugary drinks like sweet tea and soda were more likely to suffer a stroke, a new study finds.It's the first big look at diet and strokes, and researchers say it might help explain why blacks in the Southeast — the nation's "stroke belt" — suffer more of them.Blacks were five times more likely than whites...

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Suspect Tried to Flee Country Before Cop Shooting

The fired ex-California cop who set off a region-wide manhunt after allegedly shooting three police officers this morning -- one fatally -- had initially gone to a yacht club near San Diego where police say he attempted to steal a boat and flee to Mexico.Police say that former police officer Christopher Jordan Dorner, 33, who officials believe posted an online manifesto outlining...

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Tunisian leader to form new government after activist shot

TUNIS (Reuters) - The killing of an outspoken critic of Tunisia's Islamist-led government on Wednesday sparked street protests by thousands who fear religious radicals are stifling freedoms won two years ago in the first of the Arab Spring uprisings. Chokri Belaid was shot at close range as he left for work by a gunmen who fled on the back of a motorcycle; crowds poured on to the streets...

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Football: Singapore lose to Jordan in opening 2015 Asian Cup qualifier

SINGAPORE: Singapore's quest to reach the 2015 Asian Cup got off on a disappointing note with a 4-0 defeat against Jordan in Amman on Wednesday.Two goals from Ahmad Hayel in the 54th and 73rd minutes, and one each from Abdallah Deeb (18th) and Khalil Zaid Baniateyah (52nd) gave Jordan the win over the reigning Southeast Asian champions at the Amman International Stadium.The win puts Jordan...

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Narendra Modi pitches for 'vibrant India', positions himself for 2014 polls

NEW DELHI: Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi made a powerful entry on the national centrestage by aggressively hawking his Gujarat model of development and governance as an alternative to the ruling coalition at the Centre, claiming his way would lift the despair enveloping the country and help it realize its potential. Modi's forceful performance at the country's top commerce college — Shri...

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Critics seek to delay NYC sugary drinks size limit

NEW YORK (AP) — Opponents are pressing to delay enforcement of the city's novel plan to crack down on supersized, sugary drinks, saying businesses shouldn't have to spend millions of dollars to comply until a court rules on whether the measure is legal.With the rule set to take effect March 12, beverage industry, restaurant and other business groups have asked a judge to put it on hold at least until...

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FBI Releases Alaska Serial Killer's Handwritten Notes

Serial killer Israel Keyes' blood smeared suicide letter, obtained by ABCNews.com, is a creepy ode to murder in which he clearly enjoys killing his victims and expresses his disgust with peoples' everyday lives."You may have been free, you loved loving your lie, fate had its own scheme, crushed like a bug you still die," Keyes wrote.At another point he writes about the "nervous...

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Iran's Ahmadinejad kissed and scolded in Egypt

CAIRO (Reuters) - Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was both kissed and scolded on Tuesday when he began the first visit to Egypt by an Iranian president since Tehran's 1979 Islamic revolution. The trip was meant to underline a thaw in relations since Egyptians elected an Islamist head of state, President Mohamed Mursi, last June. But it also highlighted deep theological and geopolitical differences....

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Obama unveils plans to avert budget cuts

WASHINGTON: US President Barack Obama Tuesday called for a balanced program of stop gap spending reductions and tax reforms to avert punishing multi-billion dollar automatic budget cuts due to kick in on March 1.Obama said the fragile US economy could not afford the hit from huge cuts to defense and other government programs, known as the sequester, and the jobs of Americans should not...

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President to visit Bangladesh next month

NEW DELHI: President Pranab Mukherjee will travel to Bangladesh next month in what is going to be his first visit abroad after taking over as president last year. Confirming the visit by Mukherjee, government sources said that foreign minister Salman Khurshid will visit Dhaka for the second joint consultative commission meeting with his Bangladeshi counterpart Dipu Moni later this month. During...

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Critics seek to delay NYC sugary drinks size limit

NEW YORK (AP) — Opponents are pressing to delay enforcement of the city's novel plan to crack down on supersized, sugary drinks, saying businesses shouldn't have to spend millions of dollars to comply until a court rules on whether the measure is legal.With the rule set to take effect March 12, beverage industry, restaurant and other business groups have asked a judge to put it on hold at least until...

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