Rebels seek funds and arms, Syria's Assad says winning

PARIS: The Syrian opposition appealed Monday for hundreds of millions of dollars to step up the revolt against Bashar al-Assad, as the president asserted his forces had made "significant gains" in the conflict.At an international meeting in Paris, the main opposition Syrian National Coalition (SNC) said it needs US$500 million in funding to set up an alternative government."With a state...

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Dalit panel sends notice to Rajasthan govt for not arresting Nandy

NEW DELHI: The national dalit panel has sent a notice to the Rajasthan government for not arresting sociologist Ashis Nandy for his "derogatory" remarks against backward classes, stirring the issue further despite clarifications from the renowned academic. P L Punia, chairman of National Commission for SCs, said he had sent a notice to the Rajasthan government asking why it had not arrested Nandy...

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Soldier who lost 4 limbs has double-arm transplant

The first soldier to survive after losing all four limbs in the Iraq war has received a double-arm transplant.Brendan Marrocco had the operation on Dec. 18 at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, his father said Monday. The 26-year-old Marrocco, who is from New York City, was injured by a roadside bomb in 2009.He also received bone marrow from the same dead donor who supplied his new arms. That novel...

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3 Arrested in Deadly Nightclub Fire, Fourth Sought

Brazilian authorities have arrested three people in connection to the fire that killed more than 230 people and injured hundreds at a nightclub in Santa Maria, Brazil, this weekend.The owner of the popular Kiss nightclub, a member of the band Gurizada Fandangueira and the club's security chief have been arrested and are being questioned by police, the BBC reported today.A fourth...

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Football: I must improve, says modest Messi

BUENOS AIRES: Barcelona and Argentina star Lionel Messi says he must improve on all fronts even as debate rages as to whether he is the best player ever."In everything we do in life we try to improve on all fronts and in football I am no exception," Messi told Clarin daily in an interview published Sunday.Messi, 25, claims to be mulling how to do even better despite having already won...

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New order: Global souls ‘displace’ settlers

JAIPUR: When American novelist JD Salinger sketched the first few novellas about the Glass family after the phenomenal success of the Catcher, he described them as a family of 'settlers' in twentieth-century New York. The connotation was hard to miss as it brought out an image of unchartered places and hardship. Salinger had spent years drawing characters into the Glass family but it was only in...

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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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Brazil Nightclub Fire: 232 Dead, Hundreds Injured

Flames raced through a crowded nightclub in southern Brazil early Sunday, killing more than 230 people as panicked partygoers gasped for breath in the smoke-filled air, stampeding toward a single exit partially blocked by those already dead. It appeared to be the world's deadliest nightclub fire in more than a decade.Witnesses said a flare or firework lit by band members may...

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At least 30 die in riots over Egyptian death sentences

PORT SAID, Egypt/CAIRO (Reuters) - At least 30 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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Fourth Norwegian dead in Algeria hostage crisis: Statoil

OSLO: Norwegian oil and gas company Statoil on Saturday confirmed the death of a fourth Norwegian employee at the In Amenas gas plant hostage-taking in Algeria this month."Today Statoil received the sad news that one more of our dear and highly valued colleagues who has been missing since the terrorist attack at In Amenas in Algeria is now confirmed dead," the group said in a statement.Statoil...

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