Ala. Standoff: Police Mum About Talks With Suspect

As a police standoff with an Alabama man accused of holding a 5-year-old boy hostage in an underground bunker entered its fifth day, authorities were saying little except that their talks with the 65-year-old loner were continuing through a ventilation pipe.Negotiators were still trying late Friday to persuade Jimmy Lee Dykes to surrender. Police have said they believe the...

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Spain's Rajoy says corruption allegations are false

MADRID (Reuters) - Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy strongly denied on Saturday allegations in the media that he and other leaders of his centre-right People's Party had for years received payments out of a secret slush fund. "I need only two words: it's false," Rajoy said in a televised address after an extraordinary meeting of party leaders to discuss the allegations. ...

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Football: Beckham's arrival creates headache for PSG coach

PARIS: The unveiling of David Beckham as a Paris Saint-Germain player was undoubtedly a major media event and marketing ploy but what can the Englishman, now 37, actually offer on the pitch?The fact that Beckham has signed only a five-month contract indicates that football is not the priority, especially as the French season finishes in mid-May and the player has admitted that he will...

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Mercury rises in several parts of north India

NEW DELHI: Most of north India today saw an upward surge in the mercury with minimum temperatures rising as sky remained overcast in many parts amid predictions of rains. Delhi got relief from the dense fog which had hit rail and air traffic yesterday, while temperatures rose above normal under partially cloudy skies. The maximum in Delhi was recorded three degrees above normal at 24.2 degrees...

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New rules aim to get rid of junk foods in schools

WASHINGTON (AP) — Most candy, high-calorie drinks and greasy meals could soon be on a food blacklist in the nation's schools.For the first time, the government is proposing broad new standards to make sure all foods sold in schools are more healthful.Under the new rules the Agriculture Department proposed Friday, foods like fatty chips, snack cakes, nachos and mozzarella sticks would be taken out...

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Police: Suicide Bombing Strikes US Embassy

A suspected suicide bomber detonated an explosive Friday in front of the U.S. Embassy in Ankara, killing himself and a guard at the entrance gate, officials said.U.S. Ambassador Francis Ricciardione told reporters that a Turkish citizen was also wounded in the 1:15 p.m. blast in the Turkish capital.There was no immediate claim of responsibility, but both Kurdish rebels and Islamic...

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Suicide bomber kills guard at U.S. embassy in Turkey

ANKARA (Reuters) - A suicide bomber killed a Turkish security guard at the U.S. embassy in Ankara on Friday, blowing the door off a side entrance and sending smoke and debris flying into the street. Ankara Governor Alaaddin Yuksel said the attacker was inside U.S. property when the explosives were detonated. The blast sent masonry spewing out of the wall of the side entrance, but there...

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Starbucks opens first store in Vietnam

HO CHI MINH CITY: Starbucks opened its first store in coffee-loving Vietnam on Friday, seeking to compete with local rivals in a country known for its strong cafe culture.Vietnam - the world's second-largest coffee producer - has dozens of local chains as well as small coffee shops on nearly every street corner, presenting a major challenge for Starbucks to break into the crowded market.Around...

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Trinamool MP calls Rushdie 'satan'

KOLKATA: Trinamool Congress MP Sultan Ahmed Friday called Salman Rushdie a "satan" and said West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee had done the right thing if she indeed blocked the writer's visit to Kolkata. "I have no knowledge of what actually happened. But if the chief minister has indeed ordered the police to block Rushdie's entry to the city, then she has done the right thing. We don't...

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Hedgehog Alert! Prickly pets can carry salmonella

NEW YORK (AP) — Add those cute little hedgehogs to the list of pets that can make you sick.In the last year, 20 people were infected by a rare but dangerous form of salmonella bacteria, and one person died in January. The illnesses were linked to contact with hedgehogs kept as pets, according to a report released Thursday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Health officials on Thursday...

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Obama Prods GOP on Immigration Negotiations

Jan 31, 2013 6:00am                                                                        ...

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Syrian rebels make slow headway in south

AMMAN (Reuters) - The revolt against President Bashar al-Assad first flared in Deraa, but the southern border city now epitomizes the bloody stalemate gripping Syria after 22 months of violence and 60,000 dead. Jordan next door has little sympathy with Assad, but is wary of spillover from the upheaval in its bigger neighbor. It has tightened control of its 370-km (230-mile) border with...

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Malaysia Airlines joins oneworld global airline alliance

KUALA LUMPUR: The oneworld global airline alliance on Thursday welcomed Malaysia flag carrier Malaysia Airlines (MAS) as its newest member.Oneworld's CEO Bruce Ashby said MAS will enhance the alliance's presence in Southeast Asia and turn Kuala Lumpur into its gateway to the region. Mr Ashby said: "We didn't have a member in Southeast Asia. We had Hong Kong, we had Sydney, but we were...

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No 'bad Muslims' in 'Vishwaroopam', can't paint terrorists white: Kamal Haasan

MUMBAI: Actor-filmmaker Kamal Haasan on Thursday said there are no "bad Muslims" in his movie " Vishwaroopam" but added there was no way he could portray terrorists as "white" characters."I have not shown bad Muslims in my film. The good Muslims in my film are Indian Muslims and the bad ones are terrorists," he told the media here."How can you expect me to paint terrorists white?" Kamal Haasan asked,...

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Sex to burn calories? Authors expose obesity myths

Fact or fiction? Sex burns a lot of calories. Snacking or skipping breakfast is bad. School gym classes make a big difference in kids' weight.All are myths or at least presumptions that may not be true, say researchers who reviewed the science behind some widely held obesity beliefs and found it lacking.Their report in Thursday's New England Journal of Medicine says dogma and fallacies are detracting...

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Gunman Kills Bus Driver, Takes Child as Hostage

A gunman shot and killed a school bus driver in Midland City, Ala., Tuesday afternoon and escaped the scene with a 6-year-old passenger, which has prompted a hostage situation that is still going on this morning.The suspected gunman is identified as Jimmy Lee Dykes, a 60-something military veteran, a police source told ABC News. Dykes and the child are in an underground bunker...

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Mursi heads to Germany on trip cut back by Egypt crisis

CAIRO/BERLIN (Reuters) - Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi flew to Germany on Wednesday to try to convince Europe of his democratic credentials, leaving behind a country in crisis after a week of violence that has killed more than 50 people. Two more protesters were shot dead before dawn near Cairo's central Tahrir Square on the seventh day of what has become the deadliest wave of unrest...

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New towns should take local characteristics into account: experts

SINGAPORE: Singapore will soon see a number of new towns in areas like Bidadari, Tengah and Tampines North.Experts said the development of these places should also take local characteristics and history into account, as this will not only retain the town's history and uniqueness, it will help create a more varied environment in Singapore.Punggol New Town has come a long way. Its transformation...

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India drops to 140th rank in press freedom, lowest since 2002

WASHINGTON: India has dropped nine places to 140th rank in the list of 179 countries in the latest World Press Freedom Index, which its authors said is the lowest for the "world's biggest democracy" since 2002."In Asia, India (140th, -9) is at its lowest since 2002 because of increasing impunity for violence against journalists and because internet censorship continues to grow," Reporters Without...

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Soldier with new arms determined to be independent

BALTIMORE (AP) — After weeks of round-the-clock medical care, Brendan Marrocco insisted on rolling his own wheelchair into a news conference using his new transplanted arms. Then he brushed his hair to one side.Such simple tasks would go unnoticed in most patients. But for Marrocco, who lost all four limbs while serving in Iraq, these little actions demonstrate how far he's come only six weeks after...

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5 Years Later, What's New on Immigration Reform?

The announcement of a proposal for immigration reform inspired renewed excitement for some involved in the fight Monday, but other players in the debate felt a sense of déjà vu.Monday afternoon, senators introduced a framework of changes previewed over the weekend, with President Obama and a secret group from the House of Representatives expected soon to follow suit.The press...

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Army says political tussle taking Egypt to brink

CAIRO, Egypt (Reuters) - Egypt's army chief said political strife was pushing the state to the brink of collapse - a stark warning from the institution that ran the country until last year as Cairo's first freely elected leader struggles to contain bloody street violence. General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, appointed by President Mohamed Mursi last year to head the military, added in a statement...

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Netizens call for better road safety after Tampines accident

SINGAPORE: Netizens are calling for better road safety following the horrific accident at Tampines on Monday evening which killed two boys. On January 28, two brothers died after they were hit by a cement truck near Dunman Secondary School at Tampines Street 45.The story grabbed attention online and gone viral overnight.Shortly after the accident, gruesome pictures of the aftermath were...

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Delhi still distant for BJP: Manish Tewari

NEW DELHI: Delhi is "still distant" for the BJP, which had lost last two parliamentary elections to Congress-led UPA, Union minster Manish Tewari on Tuesday said."As far as BJP is concerned, in 2004 Atal Behari Vajpayee was their PM candidate and BJP lost and in 2009, (L K) Advani ji was the prime ministerial candidate and it lost again. And presently 2014 is far and for BJP, Delhi is still distant,"...

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Soldier talks about his new arms after transplant

BALTIMORE (AP) — A soldier who lost all four limbs in an Iraq roadside bombing has two new arms following a double transplant at Johns Hopkins Hospital.Twenty-six-year-old Brendan Marrocco along with the surgeons who treated him will be at the Baltimore hospital on Tuesday to discuss the new limbs.The transplants are only the seventh double-hand or double-arm transplant ever conducted in the United...

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Gym Turned Into Morgue for Nightclub Fire Victims

Coffins lined a gymnasium in Santa Maria, Brazil, today as family members tried to identify their loved ones after a fast-moving fire tore through a crowded nightclub Sunday morning, killing more than 230 people and injuring hundreds more.A community gym near the popular Kiss nightclub has been converted to a temporary morgue were family members were led in one by one Sunday...

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