Spain's ETA ready to disband if certain conditions met

MADRID: Spain's armed Basque separatist group ETA said Saturday it was ready to discuss disbanding and to negotiate with France and Spain if certain conditions are met, in a statement published on a Basque news site.The group, which last year said it had abandoned violence after a four-decade campaign for an independent homeland that claimed more than 800 lives, said one outstanding issue...

Read More..

Kejriwal names party after aam admi, mocks Congress

NEW DELHI: With ambitious plans of systemic change while outfitting themselves as an alternative to "corrupt" political establishment, Arvind Kejriwal and Prashant Bhushan on Saturday launched themselves as a political party, calling it the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). Although unveiled in the modest setting of a press conference, the AAP aims high, promising empowerment of the common man, decentralization...

Read More..

'Honey Trap' Professor Convicted of Drug Smuggling

A court in Argentina has convicted an Oxford educated University of North Carolina professor of attempting to smuggle four pounds of cocaine into the United States.Paul Frampton, a 68-year-old esteemed professor of physics and astronomy, says he thought he was flying to South America to meet with a bikini model but ended up getting caught in what they call a "honey trap."Frampton...

Read More..

Egypt's Mursi faces judicial revolt over decree

CAIRO (Reuters) - Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi faced a rebellion from judges who accused him on Saturday of expanding his powers at their expense, deepening a crisis that has triggered violence in the street and exposed the country's deep divisions. The Judges' Club, a body representing judges across Egypt, called for a strike during a meeting interrupted with chants demanding the...

Read More..

Frenzied US shoppers swarm stores on Black Friday

NEW YORK: Frenzied shoppers across the United States joined the Black Friday rush for bargains, the kick-off to the crucial holiday shopping season being closely watched amid a lackluster economy.Television images showed berserk buyers charging through doors as stores opened up for Black Friday sales on the day after the Thanksgiving holiday.Some stores opened at midnight, while others...

Read More..

India tests missile shield, DRDO says it will be operational by 2014

NEW DELHI: There were some big fireworks over the Bay of Bengal on Friday afternoon when India tested its experimental ballistic missile defence (BMD) system to intercept two "incoming hostile" missiles with interceptor missiles. Elated with the "bang-on accurate" test, the seventh time the BMD system has been tested successfully over the last six years, the Defence Research and Development Organization...

Read More..

AP PHOTOS: Simple surgery heals blind Indonesians

PADANG SIDEMPUAN, Indonesia (AP) — They came from the remotest parts of Indonesia, taking crowded overnight ferries and riding for hours in cars or buses — all in the hope that a simple, and free, surgical procedure would restore their eyesight.Many patients were elderly and needed help to reach two hospitals in Sumatra where mass eye camps were held earlier this month by Nepalese surgeon Dr. Sanduk...

Read More..

Black Friday Frenzy Brings Fights, Injuries

Two people were shot outside a Walmart in Florida today, one of a rash of fights, robberies and other incidents that have cropped up on one of the most ballyhooed shopping days of the year.The shooting took place at Walmart in Tallahasse about 12:30 p.m., said Dave Northway, public information officer for the Tallahassee Police Department.He said a scuffle outside the store...

Read More..

Violence in cities; Mubarak deja vu?

CAIRO (Reuters) - Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi's decision to assume sweeping powers caused fury amongst his opponents and prompted violent clashes in central Cairo and other cities on Friday. Police fired tear gas near Cairo's Tahrir Square, heart of the 2011 uprising that toppled Hosni Mubarak, where thousands demanded Mursi quit and accused him of launching a "coup". Angry youth hurled rocks...

Read More..

Police storm Japanese bank, arrest hostage-taker

TOKYO: Japanese police said Friday they had stormed a bank and arrested a man who took five people hostage, with local media reporting he had demanded Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda's cabinet resign.In a televised news conference, a police spokesman said the hostage-taker, identified as Koji Nagakubo, was arrested on suspicion of taking the five captive.The hostages, including one released...

Read More..

Railways looks to run Delhi-Mumbai trains at 200 kmph

NEW DELHI: Much before bullet trains become a reality, travel time between Delhi and Mumbai is likely to reduce substantially with railways planning to launch semi-high speed trains with a top speed of 200 kmph. A railway official said a study to identify the need to strengthen the infrastructure for this service was nearing completion and work would start soon. The services could start by 2017."A...

Read More..

Study finds mammograms lead to unneeded treatment

Mammograms have done surprisingly little to catch deadly breast cancers before they spread, a big U.S. study finds. At the same time, more than a million women have been treated for cancers that never would have threatened their lives, researchers estimate.Up to one-third of breast cancers, or 50,000 to 70,000 cases a year, don't need treatment, the study suggests.It's the most detailed look yet at...

Read More..

2 Dead, 50 to Hospital After 100-Car Pileup

At least two people died and nearly 50 were transported to the hospital after a 100-car pileup in Texas today, according to ABC affiliate KBMT-TV.A man and a woman died from their injuries, KBMT reported. Their names were not immediately available. Arkansas Girl, 6, Found Dead Inside Vacant House Watch Video Surprise...

Read More..

Gaza ceasefire holds but mistrust runs deep

GAZA/JERUSALEM (Reuters) - A ceasefire between Israel and Hamas held firm on Thursday with scenes of joy among the ruins in Gaza over what Palestinians hailed as a victory, and both sides saying their fingers were still on the trigger. In the sudden calm, Palestinians who had been under Israeli bombs for eight days poured into Gaza streets for a celebratory rally, walking past wrecked...

Read More..

Football: Real Madrid send Man City to another early exit

MANCHESTER, United Kingdom: Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho marked his 100th Champions League game with a 1-1 draw at Manchester City on Wednesday that sent his side into the last 16 at City's expense.City had to win to stand any chance of going through, so although Sergio Aguero's 73rd-minute penalty cancelled out Karim Benzema's early opener, the hosts went out in the group phase for...

Read More..

SC's 'one in a million tag' helped swift rejection of Kasab's clemency plea

NEW DELHI: The government did not waste much time in recommending to the President that Ajmal Kasab's clemency plea be rejected as the Supreme Court had said three months ago that if death sentence was to be imposed only in "one in a million case", then this was the one which deserved capital punishment.The court, upholding the decision of the trial court which was affirmed by the Bombay High Court,...

Read More..

US abortions fall 5 pct, biggest drop in a decade

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. abortions fell 5 percent during the recession and its aftermath in the biggest one-year decrease in at least a decade, perhaps because women are more careful to use birth control when times are tough, researchers say.The decline, detailed on Wednesday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, came in 2009, the most recent year for which statistics are available. Both...

Read More..

Rockets Fall Silent in Israel-Hamas Cease-Fire

The rockets and missiles fell silent over Gaza for the first time in eight days today, but gunfire erupted in the crowded streets of the Palestinian enclave to celebrate the announcement of a ceasefire in the bloody conflict between Israel and Hamas.The two sides fired final salvos at one another up until the final moments before the 2 p.m. ET cease-fire deadline. At least one...

Read More..

Egyptian-brokered Hamas-Israel ceasefire takes hold

CAIRO/GAZA (Reuters) - Israel and the Islamist Hamas movement ruling the Gaza Strip agreed on Wednesday to an Egyptian-sponsored ceasefire to halt an eight-day conflict that killed 162 Palestinians and five Israelis. Both sides fought right up to 9 p.m. (1900 GMT) when hostilities were due to stop, with several explosions shaking Gaza City and rockets hitting the Israeli city of Beersheba....

Read More..

Oil prices fall amid hopes for Mideast truce

NEW YORK: Oil prices slumped Tuesday on fresh economic strains in Europe and amid expectations -- still unfulfilled late in the day -- of a cease-fire between Israel and Gaza.New York's main contract, WTI light sweet crude for delivery in January, slid $2.53 from Monday to $86.75 a barrel.Brent North Sea crude for January shed $1.87 to $109.83 a barrel in London trade."Rumors abound today...

Read More..

NDA wants vote on FDI in retail in House

NEW DELHI: The BJP-led National Democratic Alliance on Tuesday decided to focus on moving a motion in Parliament under a voting provision to oppose FDI in multi-brand retail, leaving Trinamool Congress leader Mamata Banerjee isolated over her no-trust vote proposal.Banerjee was on the brink of a major embarrassment as NDA joined the Left in formally indicating that it finds opposing the government...

Read More..

New push for most in US to get at least 1 HIV test

WASHINGTON (AP) — There's a new push to make testing for the AIDS virus as common as cholesterol checks.Americans ages 15 to 64 should get an HIV test at least once — not just people considered at high risk for the virus, an independent panel that sets screening guidelines proposed Monday.The draft guidelines from the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force are the latest recommendations that aim to make...

Read More..

Hopes Rise for Gaza Ceasefire

Hopes for a ceasefire between between Israel and Islamic militants in Gaza rose today as Hamas declared that a ceasefire would be announced and Israel indicated that a deal was possible.Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri told ABC News the news would be announced at a press conference in Cairo where Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi has been trying to broker an end to the fighting.An...

Read More..

Clinton in Jerusalem as Gaza truce still elusive

GAZA/JERUSALEM (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was in Jerusalem for talks on Tuesday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as expectations rose of a ceasefire soon to end a week of fighting around the Gaza Strip. However, Gaza's rulers, the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas, revised a statement that a truce would start overnight, saying it was still waiting...

Read More..