Algeria ends desert siege with 23 hostages dead

ALGIERS/IN AMENAS, Algeria (Reuters) - Algerian troops ended a siege by Islamist militants at a gas plant in the Sahara desert where 23 hostages died, with a final assault which killed all the remaining hostage-takers. Believed to be among the 32 dead militants was their leader, Abdul Rahman al-Nigeri, a Nigerien close to al Qaeda-linked commander Mokhtar Belmokhtar, presumed mastermind...

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WP will strengthen the voice of the opposition: Lee Li Lian

SINGAPORE: Workers' Party (WP) candidate for the Punggol East by-election, Lee Li Lian said having another WP member in Parliament will strengthen the voice of the opposition.It means more airtime for the opposition to ask more questions on behalf of Singaporeans and this, she said will definitely make a difference. Ms Lee refuted talk that having the WP members in Parliament did not make...

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Lilly drug chosen for Alzheimer's prevention study

Researchers have chosen an experimental drug by Eli Lilly & Co. for a large federally funded study testing whether it's possible to prevent Alzheimer's disease in older people at high risk of developing it.The drug, called solanezumab (sol-ah-NAYZ-uh-mab), is designed to bind to and help clear the sticky deposits that clog patients' brains.Earlier studies found it did not help people with moderate...

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Algeria Hostage Crisis Over, One American Dead

After the Algerian military's final assault on terrorists holding hostages at a gas complex, the four-day hostage crisis is over, but apparently with additional loss of life among the foreign hostages.One American, Fred Buttaccio of Texas, has been confirmed dead by the U.S. State Department. Two more U.S. hostages remain unaccounted for, with growing concern among U.S. officials...

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Foreigners still trapped in Sahara hostage crisis

ALGIERS/IN AMENAS, Algeria (Reuters) - More than 20 foreigners were captive or missing inside a desert gas plant on Saturday, nearly two days after the Algerian army launched an assault to free them that saw many hostages killed. The standoff between the Algerian army and al Qaeda-linked gunmen - one of the biggest international hostage crises in decades - entered its fourth day, having...

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Fate of two Malaysians unknown in Algerian crisis

KUALA LUMPUR: The fate of two Malaysians believed to have been caught up in the ongoing hostage crisis at a gas complex in the Algerian desert remains unknown, the foreign ministry said Saturday.It said that three other Malaysians who were working at the gas plant were safe. The embassy in Algeria "is still determining the fate" of the other two, the foreign ministry said in a statement.Al-Qaeda-linked...

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Indo-Pak LoC tension puts Gujarat farmers in a soup

AHMEDABAD: The heat on the Indo-Pak border has squashed tomato prices in Gujarat. Farmers in Kadi, about 40 km north of here, say if trade with the neighbouring nation does not normalize, they will land up in a... what else, tomato soup!Prices of tomatoes in the wholesale markets in Ahmedabad have plummeted from around Rs 300/20 kg on Saturday to Rs 80/20 kg on Thursday. The corresponding fall in...

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Lilly drug chosen for Alzheimer's prevention study

Researchers have chosen an experimental drug by Eli Lilly & Co. for a large federally funded study testing whether it's possible to prevent Alzheimer's disease in older people at high risk of developing it.The drug, called solanezumab (sol-ah-NAYZ-uh-mab), is designed to bind to and help clear the sticky deposits that clog patients' brains.Earlier studies found it did not help people with moderate...

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Armstrong Tearful Over Telling Kids Truth

Lance Armstrong, 41, began to cry today as he described finding out his son Luke, 13, was publicly defending him from accusations that he doped during his cycling career.Armstrong said that he knew, at that moment, that he would have to publicly admit to taking performance-enhancing drugs and having oxygen-boosting blood transfusions when competing in the Tour de France. He...

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Algeria ends desert siege, but dozens killed

ALGIERS (Reuters) - Algerian forces stormed a desert gas complex to free hundreds of hostages but 30, including several Westerners, were killed in the assault along with at least 11 of their Islamist captors, an Algerian security source told Reuters. Western leaders whose compatriots were being held did little to disguise their irritation at being kept in the dark by Algeria before the...

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Three dead in S. Korean fishing boat fire: Japan coastguard

TOKYO: Three people were dead and five missing Friday in a fishing boat fire in waters near islands at the centre of a dispute between Tokyo and Beijing, Japan's coastguard said."We have been informed by South Korean officials that three people died and five are missing from a South Korean fisheries ship that caught fire in waters near Uotsuri island," a spokesman said, referring to an...

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MHA inquiry finds PCR response could have swifter in Nirbhaya case

NEW DELHI: An inquiry by the home ministry into allegations made by Nirbhaya's friend about the "tardy" response of Delhi Police in reaching her to hospital has found that the response time could indeed have been better. The inquiry report by Veena Kumari Meena, a joint secretary in the home ministry, also said Dinesh Yadav, operator of the bus on which the gang rape took place, had been blatantly...

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Will Obama's order lead to surge in gun research?

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Nearly as many Americans die from guns as from car crashes each year. We know plenty about the second problem and far less about the first. A scarcity of research on how to prevent gun violence has left policymakers shooting in the dark as they craft gun control measures without much evidence of what works.That could change with President Barack Obama's order Wednesday to ease research...

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Lance Armstrong Confesses to Doping

Lance Armstrong, formerly cycling's most decorated champion and considered one of America's greatest athletes, confessed to cheating for at least a decade, admitting on Thursday that he owed all seven of his Tour de France titles and the millions of dollars in endorsements that followed to his use of illicit performance-enhancing drugs.After years of denying that he had taken...

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Sahara hostage siege turns Mali war global

ALGIERS/BAMAKO (Reuters) - Islamist fighters have opened an international front in Mali's civil war by taking dozens of Western hostages at a gas plant in the Algerian desert just as French troops launched an offensive against rebels in neighboring Mali. Nearly 24 hours after gunmen stormed the natural gas pumping site and workers' housing before dawn on Wednesday, little was certain...

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NUS prof Tey questions CPIB officer in "trial within a trial"

SINGAPORE: The law professor on trial for corruption in a sex-for-grades case is cross-examining an anti-graft officer on the admissibility of one of six statements -- in what is called a "trial within a trial".Tey Tsun Hang is questioning Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) Chief Special Investigator Bay Chun How to prove his case that the statement given to CPIB was made under...

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Tiff over liqour shop stake led to Hindu terror accused Joshi's murder?

NEW DELHI: There could be more personal and local reasons behind the murder of key Hindu terror accused Sunil Joshi than the larger motive of protecting the saffron module from being exposed. Investigations into the December 2007 murder case by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) have found that a liquor shop on Indore-Dewas road in Madhya Pradesh had become a bone of contention among saffron...

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Large study confirms flu vaccine safe in pregnancy

NEW YORK (AP) — A large study offers reassuring news for pregnant women: It's safe to get a flu shot.The research found no evidence that the vaccine increases the risk of losing a fetus, and may prevent some deaths. Getting the flu while pregnant makes fetal death more likely, the Norwegian research showed.The flu vaccine has long been considered safe for pregnant women and their fetus. U.S. health...

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FAA Grounds Boeing 787 Dreamliners

The Federal Aviation Administration has ordered the grounding of Boeing 787 Dreamliner jets until their U.S. operator proves that batteries on the planes are safe.United is the only U.S. carrier flying the Boeing 787s, which have been touted as the planes of the future. However, several operated by overseas airlines have run into recent trouble, the latest because of a feared...

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France to stay in Mali until stability restored

BAMAKO/DUBAI (Reuters) - France pledged on Tuesday to keep troops in Mali until stability returned to the West African country, raising the specter of a long campaign against al Qaeda-linked rebels who held their ground despite a fifth day of air strikes. Paris has poured hundreds of soldiers into Mali and carried out 50 bombing raids since Friday in the Islamist-controlled northern half...

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Foreign direct investment in China falls in 2012

BEIJING: Foreign direct investment in China fell 3.7 percent in 2012 to $111.72 billion, according to the government.For the month of December FDI also declined, slipping 4.5 percent from the same month in 2011 to $11.7 billion, the commerce ministry said on Wednesday.Investment from the European Union declined 3.8 percent to $6.11 billion, the ministry said.But investment from the United...

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Indian Army chief's statements "very hostile", says Pak foreign minister Hina Rabbani Khar

WASHINGTON: The disconnect between Pakistan's adrift and enfeebled civilian government and its out-of-control military was on show in the US last night when the country's foreign minister Hina Rabbani Khar insisted Islamabad wanted to resolve issues through dialogue rather than military actions despite the alleged depredations of its army resulting in the beheading of an Indian soldier.The Indian...

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Risk to all ages: 100 kids die of flu each year

NEW YORK (AP) — How bad is this flu season, exactly? Look to the children.Twenty flu-related deaths have been reported in kids so far this winter, one of the worst tolls this early in the year since the government started keeping track in 2004.But while such a tally is tragic, that does not mean this year will turn out to be unusually bad. Roughly 100 children die in an average flu season, and it's...

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