Jan
13

France bombs Islamist strongholds deep in north Mali

BAMAKO/PARIS (Reuters) - French fighter jets pounded Islamist rebel strongholds deep in northern Mali on Sunday as Paris poured more troops into the capital Bamako, awaiting a West African force to dislodge al Qaeda-linked insurgents from the country's north. The attacks on Islamist positions near the ancient desert trading town of Timbuktu and Gao, the largest city in the north, marked a decisive...
Read More..
Jan
12

French air power stops Mali Islamist advance

BAMAKO: Mali's army took back a key town from Islamist rebels Saturday aided by French air power, opening a dramatic new phase in the conflict that France's leader declared is a battle against terrorism.International momentum to wrest northern Mali back from the control of Al-Qaeda-linked groups built after the French air raids helped reclaim the front-line town of Konna, with Burkina...
Read More..

Pakistan mum on brigadier-level talks

NEW DELHI: Almost 24 hours after it was suggested Pakistan was yet to respond to Indian recommendation for a brigadier-level flag meeting along the line of control (LoC), even as Army sources said there has been no major ceasefire violation since Thursday night. According to Army sources, until Saturday evening Pakistan had not responded to the Indian suggestion that both sides hold a flag meeting...
Read More..

Poisoned Lottery Winner's Kin Were Suspicious

Urooj Khan had just brought home his $425,000 lottery check when he unexpectedly died the following day. Now, certain members of Khan's family are speaking publicly about the mystery -- and his nephew told ABC News they knew something was not right."He was a healthy guy, you know?" said the nephew, Minhaj Khan. "He worked so hard. He was always going about his business and,...
Read More..

Russia rejects Assad exit as precondition for Syria deal

MOSCOW/BEIRUT (Reuters) - Russia voiced support on Saturday for international peace envoy Lakhdar Brahimi but insisted Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's exit cannot be a precondition for a deal to end the country's conflict. Some 60,000 Syrians have been killed during the 21-month-old revolt and world powers are divided over how to stop the escalating bloodshed. Government aircraft bombed...
Read More..
Jan
11

Oil prices slip on profit taking

NEW YORK: World oil prices fell Friday as investors booked profits from the previous day's rally amid sluggish global economic growth.New York's main West Texas Intermediate (WTI) contract, light sweet crude for February, settled 26 cents lower at $93.56 a barrel.In London, Brent North Sea crude for delivery in February closed at $110.64 a barrel, down $1.25 from Thursday's close."Today...
Read More..

Police get Owaisi's custody

NIRMAL: : Nirmal munsif magistrate K Ajesh Kumar on Friday granted the local police five days custody of MIM MLA Akbaruddin Owaisi. Arrested for delivering hate speeches on January 8, Akbaruddin has been lodged in the Adilabad district jail and is on judicial remand till January 22.The Nirmal police had sought 7-day custody of the MLA but the magistrate granted them 5- day custody beginning Saturday....
Read More..

Flu season puts businesses and employees in a bind

WASHINGTON (AP) — Nearly half the 70 employees at a Ford dealership in Clarksville, Ind., have been out sick at some point in the past month. It didn't have to be that way, the boss says."If people had stayed home in the first place, a lot of times that spread wouldn't have happened," says Marty Book, a vice president at Carriage Ford. "But people really want to get out and do their jobs, and sometimes...
Read More..

Poisoned Lottery Winner's Exhumation Approved

A judge has approved the exhumation of the Chicago lottery winner who died of cyanide poisoning.Judge Susan Coleman of the Probate Division of the Cook County Circuit Court in Illinois today approved the county medical examiner's request to exhume the body of Urooj Khan at Rosehill Cemetery in Chicago.Khan, 46, died July 20, 2012, from what was initially believed to be natural...
Read More..

Obama, Karzai agree to speed up Afghan military transition

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama and Afghan President Hamid Karzai agreed on Friday to speed up the handover of combat operations in Afghanistan to Afghan forces this year, underscoring Obama's determination to move decisively to wind down the long, unpopular war. Signaling a narrowing of differences, Karzai appeared to give ground in White House talks on U.S. demands for...
Read More..