US stocks surge on fiscal cliff hopes, housing data

NEW YORK: US stocks surged Monday on upbeat housing data and hopes that politicians will find a way to avoid the so-called "fiscal cliff" of automatic tax hikes and spending cuts in January.The jump was underpinned by Apple, the most valuable public company, which took a 7.2 per cent bounce to $565.73, following weeks of losses.The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained a hefty 207.65 points...

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Ensure justice to Sikhs: Parkash Singh Badal to Manmohan Singh

CHANDIGARH: Punjab chief minister Parkash Singh Badal on Monday asked Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to direct the Delhi government to get the process of DSGMC polls completed by December-end this year, the deadline fixed by the Supreme Court. "I have already taken up the matter of DSGMC polls with the PM and hope he will ensure justice to Sikhs," he said. Badal asked the PM to direct the Delhi...

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EU drug regulator OKs Novartis' meningitis B shot

LONDON (AP) — Europe's top drug regulator has recommended approval for the first vaccine against meningitis B, made by Novartis AG.There are five types of bacterial meningitis. While vaccines exist to protect against the other four, none has previously been licensed for type B meningitis. In Europe, type B is the most common, causing 3,000 to 5,000 cases every year.Meningitis mainly affects infants...

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Israeli Airstrike Kills Top Islamic Jihad Commander

An Israeli strike on a Gaza City high-rise today has killed one of the top militant leaders of Islamic Jihad, the Palestinian militant group said.The second strike in two days on the downtown Gaza City building that houses the Hamas TV station, Al Aqsa, has killed Ramez Harb, who is a leading figure in Al Quds Brigades militant wing, according to a text message Islamic Jihad...

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Israel says prefers diplomacy but ready to invade Gaza

GAZA/JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel bombed dozens more targets in the Gaza Strip on Monday and said that, while it was prepared to step up its offensive by sending in troops, it preferred a diplomatic solution that would end Palestinian rocket fire. Egypt said a deal for a truce could be close, though by late evening there was no end to six days of heavy missile exchanges as Israeli Prime...

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Gaza's death toll rises in Israeli air raids

GAZA CITY, Palestinian Territories: New Israeli air raids killed three people in Gaza City on Sunday, taking the death toll to 26 on the bloodiest day of Israel's bombing campaign, Hamas said.Two of the deaths came in an air strike that targeted a motorbike in the Gaza City neighbourhood of Tal al-Hawa."Two Palestinians were killed in an air strike on the Tal al-Hawa neighbourhood," Hamas...

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EU drug regulator OKs Novartis' meningitis B shot

LONDON (AP) — Europe's top drug regulator has recommended approval for the first vaccine against meningitis B, made by Novartis AG.There are five types of bacterial meningitis. While vaccines exist to protect against the other four, none has previously been licensed for type B meningitis. In Europe, type B is the most common, causing 3,000 to 5,000 cases every year.Meningitis mainly affects infants...

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Officials: Israeli Strike Kills 11 Civilians in Gaza

An Israeli missile flattened a two-story house in a residential neighborhood of Gaza City on Sunday, killing at least 11 civilians, mostly women and children, Palestinian medical officials said, as Israel expanded a military offensive to target homes of wanted militants.The attack, which Israel said targeted a militant, was the single deadliest incident of the five-day-old Israeli...

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Israeli air strike kills 11 civilians in Gaza: Hamas

GAZA/JERUSALEM (Reuters) - An Israeli missile killed at least 11 Palestinian civilians including four children in Gaza on Sunday, medical officials said, apparently an attack on a top militant that brought a three-storey home crashing down. International pressure for a ceasefire seemed certain to mount in response to the deadliest single incident in five days of Palestinian rocket attacks...

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Israel Gaza raids kill 14, Arabs urge policy review

GAZA CITY, Palestinian Territories: Israeli air strikes on Gaza killed 14 Palestinians on Saturday and destroyed the Hamas government headquarters, prompting Arab leaders to call for a review of their entire policy on the Middle East peace process.Medics said 44 Gazans have been killed and more than 390 wounded since Israel launched its aerial campaign on Wednesday afternoon, with at least...

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