Chavez suffers new post-surgery complications

CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is suffering more complications linked to a respiratory infection that hit him after his fourth cancer operation in Cuba, his vice president said in a somber broadcast on Sunday. Vice President Nicolas Maduro flew to Cuba to visit Chavez in the hospital as supporters' fears grew for the ailing 58-year-old socialist leader, who has not...

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Three China ships in waters around disputed islands: Japan

TOKYO: Three Chinese government ships on Monday entered territorial waters around East China Sea islands at the centre of a dispute with Tokyo, Japan's coastguard said.One of the surveillance ships entered waters around the islands known as Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China at around 1:32pm (0432 GMT), while another followed about 20 minutes later, the coastguard said.The third vessel...

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Provide leadership to society: Justice Katju asks media

INDORE: Justice Katju (Rtd), the chairman of the Press Council of India, has given a call to the media to provide leadership to society, rather than its role of mere informing. He was addressing a seminar on "Changing landscape of journalism and New Media" in Bhopal recently. He took the occasion to launch a new portal www.mppost.com. While hailing Sarman Nagele, editor of the portal, for his unique...

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Kenya hospital imprisons new mothers with no money

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — The director of the Pumwani Maternity Hospital, located in a hardscrabble neighborhood of downtown Nairobi, freely acknowledges what he's accused of: detaining mothers who can't pay their bills. Lazarus Omondi says it's the only way he can keep his medical center running.Two mothers who live in a mud-wall and tin-roof slum a short walk from the maternity hospital, which is affiliated...

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Hillary Clinton Hospitalized With Blood Clot

(MICHAL CIZEK/AFP/Getty Images)By DANA HUGHES and DEAN SCHABNERSecretary Hillary Clinton was hospitalized today after a doctors doing a follow-up exam discovered a blood clot had formed, stemming from the concussion she sustained several weeks ago.She is being treated with anti-coagulants and is at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital so that they can monitor the medication over the next 48 hours, Deputy...

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Body of India rape victim arrives home in New Delhi

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - The body of a woman whose gang rape provoked protests and rare national debate about violence against women in India arrived back in New Delhi early on Sunday and was quickly cremated at a private ceremony. The unidentified 23-year-old medical student died from her injuries on Saturday, prompting promises of action from a government that has struggled to respond...

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Measures to be taken to make Sengkang junction safer

SINGAPORE: The authorities will put in place several measures in the next two months to make the junction at Sengkang East Way and Sengkang East Drive safer for motorists, cyclists and residents.Caretaker Member of Parliament (MP) for Punggol East Single Member Constituency (SMC), Mr Teo Ser Luck, said he has discussed the measures with the Traffic Police and Land Transport Authority.Mr...

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Delhi gang rape: Protesters try to break police barricades at Jantar Mantar

NEW DELHI: Angry protesters at Jantar Mantar tried to break police barricades as they gathered to mourn the 23-year-old braveheart and demand speedy justice for her. The protesters clashed with the police, who are present at Jantar Mantar in large numbers, according to TV reports. Police have imposed prohibitory orders around India Gate and Raisina Hill and barricaded all roads leading to the area,...

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Kenya hospital imprisons new mothers with no money

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — The director of the Pumwani Maternity Hospital, located in a hardscrabble neighborhood of downtown Nairobi, freely acknowledges what he's accused of: detaining mothers who can't pay their bills. Lazarus Omondi says it's the only way he can keep his medical center running.Two mothers who live in a mud-wall and tin-roof slum a short walk from the maternity hospital, which is affiliated...

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Woman Charged With Murder in NYC Subway Push

A woman who allegedly told New York City police she pushed a man onto the subway tracks because she hated Hindus and Muslims has been charged with murder as a hate crime.Erica Menendez, 31, allegedly told police that she "pushed a Muslim off the train tracks because I hate Hindus and Muslims ever since 2001 when they put down the twin towers I've been beating them up."Menendez...

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Indian gang rape victim dies; New Delhi braces for protests

NEW DELHI/SINGAPORE (Reuters) - A woman whose gang rape sparked protests and a national debate about violence against women in India died of her injuries on Saturday, prompting a security lockdown in New Delhi and an acknowledgement from India's prime minister that social change is needed. Bracing for a new wave of protests, Indian authorities deployed thousands of policemen, closed 10...

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Pakistan expected to unblock YouTube

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan is expected to unblock access to the popular video sharing website YouTube Saturday after taking measures to filter blasphemous material and pornography, a cabinet minister said.Pakistani Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf in September ordered the blocking of YouTube after the US-based website refused to heed the government's call to remove a controversial anti-Islam...

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Japan's PM seeks security ties with India, Australia: Report

TOKYO: Japan's new Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has sought to expand the Japan-US security partnership to India and Australia as it faces a bitter territorial row with China."The Japan-US alliance is the cornerstone," Abe, sworn in as Prime Minister on Wednesday, said in an interview with the mass-circulation Yomiuri Shimbun published on Saturday."It's good to expand it to security cooperation among...

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Kenya hospital imprisons new mothers with no money

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — The director of the Pumwani Maternity Hospital, located in a hardscrabble neighborhood of downtown Nairobi, freely acknowledges what he's accused of: detaining mothers who can't pay their bills. Lazarus Omondi says it's the only way he can keep his medical center running.Two mothers who live in a mud-wall and tin-roof slum a short walk from the maternity hospital, which is affiliated...

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CAR appeals for French help against rebels, Paris balks

BANGUI (Reuters) - The president of the Central African Republic appealed on Thursday for France and the United States to help push back rebels threatening his government and the capital, but Paris said its troops were only ready to protect French nationals. The exchanges came as regional African leaders tried to broker a ceasefire deal and as rebels said they had temporarily halted their...

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Corporate spending on festive dining mixed: industry players

SINGAPORE: It is the time of the year when year-end office parties and corporate functions are in full swing, but players in the food and beverage (F&B) industry are reporting mixed demand from corporate customers this festive season as companies keep an eye on their budgets. F&B players also had to cope with manpower shortage and rising costs.Uncertainty in the world of business...

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Shinde says decision on Telangana in one month; 'unhappy' TRS chief calls for shutdown on Saturday

NEW DELHI: Union home minister Sushil Kumar Shinde, who chaired a meeting of Andhra political parties on the Telangana issue on Friday, has said a decision on formation of the separate state will be taken in a month."I have said earlier that this will be the last all-party meeting on this issue. I have complete faith in the people of Andhra Pradesh and that some solution will be found," Shinde...

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Kenya hospital imprisons new mothers with no money

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — The director of the Pumwani Maternity Hospital, located in a hardscrabble neighborhood of downtown Nairobi, freely acknowledges what he's accused of: detaining mothers who can't pay their bills. Lazarus Omondi says it's the only way he can keep his medical center running.Two mothers who live in a mud-wall and tin-roof slum a short walk from the maternity hospital, which is affiliated...

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White House Says It Has No New Fiscal Cliff Plan

The White House said today it has no plans to offer new proposals to avoid the fiscal cliff which looms over the country's economy just five days from now, but will meet Friday with Congressional leaders in a last ditch effort to forge a deal.Republicans and Democrats made no conciliatory gestures in public today, despite the urgency.The White House said President Obama would...

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Mental illness, poverty haunted Afghan policewoman who killed American

KABUL (Reuters) - The Afghan policewoman suspected of killing a U.S. contractor at police headquarters in Kabul suffered from mental illness and was driven to suicidal despair by poverty, her children told Reuters on Wednesday. The woman was identified by authorities as Narges Rezaeimomenabad, a 40-year-old grandmother and mother of three who moved here from Iran 10 years ago and married...

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China's working adults still depend on parents for economic support

SHANGHAI: The growing number of young adults living off their parents is sparking concern in China.A study found that 30 per cent of working-age adults still depend on their parents for economic support.Experts worry this trend could become more pronounced with the second generation of children under the country's one-child policy.From pre-natal education, toddler care, pre-school, all...

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Narendra Modi slams Centre for 'lacking urgency' in tackling economic crises

NEW DELHI: Fresh from his electoral triumph, Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi on Thursday hit out at the Centre's policies which "lack urgency or seriousness" in tackling economic crises and the "sense of pessimism" in the 12th Plan. "It seems that there is no urgency or seriousness in tackling economic crises facing the country. There has been a virtual lack of direction in the macroeconomic...

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Predicting who's at risk for violence isn't easy

CHICAGO (AP) — It happened after Columbine, Virginia Tech, Aurora, Colo., and now Sandy Hook: People figure there surely were signs of impending violence. But experts say predicting who will be the next mass shooter is virtually impossible — partly because as commonplace as these calamities seem, they are relatively rare crimes.Still, a combination of risk factors in troubled kids or adults including...

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Okla. Senator Could Prevent Gun Control Changes

If there's one person most likely to keep new gun-control measures from passing Congress swiftly, it's Sen. Tom Coburn.Conservatives revere the Oklahoma Republican for his fiscal hawkishness and regular reports on government waste. But he's also a staunch gun-rights advocate, and he's shown a willingness to obstruct even popular legislation, something in the Senate that a single...

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Spring Wish denied as suicide bomber brings down Afghan juice empire

KABUL (Reuters) - When a Taliban suicide bomber killed two people on the edge of the Afghan capital this month, there was another casualty - a global fruit juice business optimistically called "Spring Wish" which provided work for thousands of farmers across the country. Mustafa Sadiq's empire had been expanding healthily, bringing in badly needed foreign capital, before the attack inflicted...

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