COE premiums close higher, except for motorcycles

  SINGAPORE: Premiums for Certificates of Entitlement (COE) closed mostly higher at the end of the latest bidding exercise on Wednesday, the second bidding exercise for November.The COE price for small cars in category A rose by 0.1 per cent or $90 to $77,291, from $77,201 in the previous bidding exercise.That of big cars in category B rose by 0.7 per cent or $604 to $93,004, from...

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CPM leader M M Mani arrested in Kerala for political murders

KOCHI: In a highly clandestine operation, a Special Investigation Team (SIT) under Kochi range Inspector General K Padmakumar arrested senior CPM leader M M Mani on Wednesday early morning from his residence at Kunjithani under Rajakkad police station limits in Idukki. Padmakumar told ToI that Mani was arrested from his residence by around 5 am and he would be produced before Nedumkandam police...

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OB/GYNs back over-the-counter birth control pills

WASHINGTON (AP) — No prescription or doctor's exam needed: The nation's largest group of obstetricians and gynecologists says birth control pills should be sold over the counter, like condoms.Tuesday's surprise opinion from these gatekeepers of contraception could boost longtime efforts by women's advocates to make the pill more accessible.But no one expects the pill to be sold without a prescription...

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Ceasefire or 'De-Escalation'? Words Chosen Carefully

Nov 20, 2012 7:27pm AP Photo/Hatem MoussaAs news reports emerged Tuesday of a cease-fire or truce to end the crisis in Gaza, American officials made it a point not to use either of those terms.Instead, U.S. officials were  talking about “de-escalating” the violence in Gaza as a step toward a long-term resolution.Briefing White House reporters in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, ...

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World pressure for Gaza truce intensifies

GAZA/JERUSALEM (Reuters) - The U.N. chief called for an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton headed to the region with a message that escalation of the week-long conflict was in nobody's interest. Nevertheless, Palestinian rocket fire and Israeli air strikes continued for a seventh day. Hamas militants said they fired...

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Tokyo, Osaka bourses get merger green lights

TOKYO: The Tokyo Stock Exchange and Osaka Securities Exchange were given the nod from their shareholders on Tuesday for a merger that will create the world's third-largest bourse, the Tokyo exchange said."The TSE and the OSE each held an extraordinary shareholders' meetings today and got approvals for the merger," said a TSE spokeswoman.The exchanges will merge on January 1 and the combined...

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Jaganmohan's sister Sharmila takes over party's rein, Cong worried

HYDERABAD: Congress' belief that a prolonged jail for YSR Congress party president YS Jaganmohan Reddy may drain the enthusiasm of his supporters appears to have come to a nought, with his sister Sharmila also drawing huge crowds. Reddy, Kadapa MP and son of late Congress iron man YS Rajasekhara Reddy, is in jail for the last 175 days, after he was arrested by CBI on May 27, for alleged disproportionate...

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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...

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Clinton Heading to Middle East to Meet With Leaders

President Obama is sending Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to the Middle East with the hope that she can bring an end to the escalating violence that has gripped the region for the last week.A deputy White House national security adviser said Clinton will depart today from Cambodia, where she had accompanied Obama on a visit to Southeast Asia. Clinton is scheduled to arrive...

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Israel pounds Gaza as rocket fire wanes; talks in Egypt

GAZA/JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel bombed dozens of suspected guerrilla sites in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip on Monday and Palestinian rocket fire from the enclave dropped off as international efforts to broker a truce intensified. Ten civilians and two field commanders from the Islamic Jihad faction were killed and at least 30 other Palestinians were hurt in the new air strikes, hospital...

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