Italy election forecasts point to political gridlock

ROME (Reuters) - Conflicting early forecasts of the result of Italy's election on Monday raised the specter of deadlock in parliament that could paralyze a new government and re-ignite the euro zone crisis. Officials from both center and left warned that such gridlock could make Italy ungovernable and force new elections. Opinion polls have long pointed to the center-left...

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US special forces told to leave key Afghan province

KABUL: Afghanistan's president has ordered US special forces to leave a strategic province as he seeks tighter control over Afghan militia, exacerbating tensions before the 2014 withdrawal of NATO troops.Hamid Karzai on Sunday gave American special forces two weeks to pull out of Wardak, a hotbed of Taliban activity on the doorstep of Kabul, accusing Afghans they work with of torture and...

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Four IM men plotting strikes in India in return for ISI hospitality

NEW DELHI: They had fled to Pakistan to escape the long arm of the law in India. Now, they are plotting terror strikes on India with unflinching regularity as a trade-off for their own safety. Four top Indian Mujahideen (IM) operatives - Riyaz Bhatkal, Iqbal Bhatkal, Amir Raza Khan and Fayyaz Kagzi - have been enjoying Pakistani spy agency ISI's hospitality with a quid pro quo of carrying out attacks...

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Mediterranean-style diets found to cut heart risks

Pour on the olive oil, preferably over fish and vegetables: One of the longest and most scientific tests of a Mediterranean diet suggests this style of eating can cut the chance of suffering heart-related problems, especially strokes, in older people at high risk of them.The study lasted five years and involved about 7,500 people in Spain. Those who ate Mediterranean-style with lots of olive oil or...

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Secret Vatican Dossier for 'Pope's Eyes Only'

Feb 25, 2013 9:05am ROME – Pope Benedict XVI decided to keep secret the contents of an investigative report on the “Vatileaks” scandal, ruling that the only person who will get to see it will be the next pope.The top secret dossier details the findings of an internal investigation the pope launch last April into the so-called Vatileaks affair, in which Benedict’s...

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Gloomy Italians vote in election crucial for euro zone

ROME (Reuters) - Italy voted on Sunday in one of the most unpredictable elections in years, with many voters expressing rage against a discredited elite and doubt that a government will emerge strong enough to combat a severe economic crisis. "I am pessimistic. Nothing will change," said Luciana Li Mandri, 37, as she cast a ballot in the Sicilian capital Palermo on the first of two days...

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Calls mount for US action against Chinese hack attacks

WASHINGTON: Calls mounted Sunday for stiffer US action against Beijing for cyber spying and massive theft of US industrial secrets, allegedly by the Chinese military.Mike Rogers, the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, said it was "beyond a shadow of a doubt" that the Chinese military was behind a growing wave of hacking attacks on US businesses and institutions."They use their...

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PM expresses solidarity with blast victims

HYDERABAD: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Sunday expressed solidarity with the people of the city, shaken by the twin bomb blasts in Dilsukhnagar on Thursday. After visiting the blast site and the hospitals where the injured were being treated, the PM lauded the people for refusing to be provoked. Singh, who flew to Hyderabad from Delhi in a special IAF plane, paid a visit to Disukhnagar following...

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FDA approves new targeted breast cancer drug

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Food and Drug Administration has approved a first-of-a-kind breast cancer medication that targets tumor cells while sparing healthy ones.The drug Kadcyla from Roche combines the established drug Herceptin with a powerful chemotherapy drug and a third chemical linking the medicines together. The chemical keeps the cocktail intact until it binds to a cancer cell, delivering a potent...

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Pistorius' Brother Facing Own Homicide Trial

The attorney for Oscar Pistorius' family said today that the Olympian's brother is facing a culpable homicide charge relating to a 2008 road accident in which a motorcyclist was killed.Carl Pistorius, who sat behind his younger brother, Oscar, every day at his bail hearing, will now face his own homicide trial for the accident five years ago, which his attorney, Kenny Oldwage,...

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