Feinstein Proposes Assault Weapons Ban

Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP PhotoWith an AR-15 and nine other guns on her left, Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., introduced a bill today that would ban assault weapons and high capacity ammunition clips.The bill comes nearly 20 years after the first assault weapons ban was signed into law.“I remain horrified by the massacre committed at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., and I’m also...

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North Korea to target U.S. with nuclear, rocket tests

SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea said on Thursday it would carry out further rocket launches and a nuclear test that would target the United States, dramatically stepping up its threats against a country it called its "sworn enemy". The announcement by the country's top military body came a day after the U.N. Security Council agreed to a U.S.-backed resolution to censure and sanction North...

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US oil price slumps after pipeline cutback

NEW YORK: US crude oil prices closed sharply lower Wednesday, dragged down by news that a key pipeline had cut capacity due to a bottleneck.New York's main contract, West Texas Intermediate, for delivery in March, tumbled US$1.45 from Tuesday's close to settle at US$95.23 a barrel.In London trade, meanwhile, Brent North Sea crude for delivery in March settled at US$112.80 a barrel, an...

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Aam aadmi asked to pick up tab for overhaul in emergency response system

NEW DELHI: Justice J S Verma Committee has recommended largescale changes in the government's emergency response system, but has put its financial burden on aam aadmi's pocket.Calling into question the government's habit of announcing a new helpline every time some untoward incident happens, the Committee has recommended setting up of one central emergency response (ER) number for all exigencies,...

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Scientists to resume work with lab-bred bird flu

WASHINGTON (AP) — International scientists who last year halted controversial research with the deadly bird flu say they are resuming their work as countries adopt new rules to ensure safety.The outcry erupted when two labs — in the Netherlands and the U.S. — reported they had created easier-to-spread versions of bird flu. Amid fierce debate about the oversight of such research and whether it might...

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Pentagon to Allow Women in Combat

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta will lift a long-standing ban on women serving in combat, according to senior defense officials. The ensuing administrative process could mean women will serve in front line combat roles, but not until 2016.The move, first reported by the Associated Press, was not expected this week, although there has been a concerted effort by the Obama administration...

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Cameron promises Britons vote on EU exit

LONDON (Reuters) - Prime Minister David Cameron promised Britons a vote on quitting the European Union, rattling London's biggest allies and some investors by raising the prospect of uncertainty and upheaval. Cameron announced on Wednesday that the referendum would be held by the end of 2017 - provided he wins a second term - and said that while Britain did not want to retreat from the...

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White House gives grudging welcome to debt limit plan

WASHINGTON: The White House said Tuesday that President Barack Obama would not block a Republican plan to extend government borrowing authority by three months but would prefer a longer term debt ceiling hike.Defusing a showdown with Obama, Republican House leaders are ready to permit the government to borrow more money to meet its obligations until May 18, despite earlier demands that...

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Republic Day tableau calls disabled ‘powerless’

NEW DELHI: It's supposed to empower the disabled, but if the newly formed department of disability affairs has its way, it would call itself the 'department of the powerless'. At least that's the name it has given itself in Hindi — nishaktata karya vibhag. Now, to the anger of activists, even a tableau for people with disabilities that will be part of this year's Republic Day parade has the same...

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Flu season fuels debate over paid sick time laws

NEW YORK (AP) — Sniffling, groggy and afraid she had caught the flu, Diana Zavala dragged herself in to work anyway for a day she felt she couldn't afford to miss.A school speech therapist who works as an independent contractor, she doesn't have paid sick days. So the mother of two reported to work and hoped for the best — and was aching, shivering and coughing by the end of the day. She stayed home...

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