Obama, Karzai accelerate end of U.S. combat role in Afghanistan

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama and Afghan President Hamid Karzai agreed on Friday to speed up the handover of combat operations in Afghanistan to Afghan forces, raising the prospect of an accelerated U.S. withdrawal from the country and underscoring Obama's determination to wind down a long, unpopular war. Signaling a narrowing of differences, Karzai appeared to give ground...

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WP says its focus is to offer choice to Punggol East voters

SINGAPORE: The Workers' Party (WP) has stated categorically that its focus continues to be fulfilling its promise to offer a choice to voters in Punggol East.The party made this point in response to a question from Channel NewsAsia with regards to its response to the latest proposal from the secretary-general of the Singapore Democratic Party (SDP).At a news conference on Friday night,...

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High alert, reports of troop build-up on both sides of Indo-Pak border

JAMMU: Tension continued to prevail along the Line of Control (LoC) between India and Pakistan on Saturday, a day after cross-LoC firing was reported on at least eight border posts. There are also reports of a troop build-up on both sides of the border. Pakistan has so far not responded to requests from India and its army for a flag meeting at the brigade level to de-escalate tension along the...

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Flu season puts businesses and employees in a bind

WASHINGTON (AP) — Nearly half the 70 employees at a Ford dealership in Clarksville, Ind., have been out sick at some point in the past month. It didn't have to be that way, the boss says."If people had stayed home in the first place, a lot of times that spread wouldn't have happened," says Marty Book, a vice president at Carriage Ford. "But people really want to get out and do their jobs, and sometimes...

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CDC: Flu Outbreak Could Be Waning

The flu season appears to be waning in some parts of the country, but that doesn't mean it won't make a comeback in the next few weeks, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Five fewer states reported high flu activity levels in the first week of January than the 29 that reported high activity levels in the last week of December, according to the CDC's...

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Afghan troop levels top agenda for Obama-Karzai talks

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama and Afghan President Hamid Karzai will hold a critical round of talks on Friday that could help determine how fast the United States withdraws troops from Afghanistan and whether it leaves a residual force after 2014. Hosting Karzai at the White House, Obama faces the challenge of pressing ahead with his re-election pledge to continue winding...

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India's industrial output dips 0.1% in November

MUMBAI: India's industrial output dipped marginally by 0.1 percent in November from a year ago, data showed on Friday, raising hopes that the central bank will soon cut interest rates to boost sluggish growth.The figure matched market expectations but was well below the previous month's 8.3 percent growth figure and underlines the challenges the government faces as it seeks to kickstart...

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Pakistan suspends Poonch-Rawalakot bus service

JAMMU: In yet another setback to cross-LoC travel, Pakistan today decided to suspend 'Paigam-e-Aman' bus service between Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (PoK) and Jammu and Kashmir. There would be no bus service on Monday. "Pakistan has suspended the cross-LoC bus service between Chakan-Da-Bagh (J and K) and Rawalakote (PoK) for the time being," Trade Facilitation Officer (TFO), Poonch, Abdul Hamid Sheikh...

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Flu season strikes early and, in some places, hard

NEW YORK (AP) — From the Rocky Mountains to New England, hospitals are swamped with people with flu symptoms. Some medical centers are turning away visitors or making them wear face masks, and one Pennsylvania hospital set up a tent outside its ER to deal with the feverish patients.Flu season in the U.S. has struck early and, in many places, hard.While flu normally doesn't blanket the country until...

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Judge: Holmes Can Face Trial for Aurora Shooting

Jan 10, 2013 8:45pm (Arapahoe County Sheriff/AP Photo)In a ruling that comes as little surprise, the judge overseeing the Aurora, Colo., theater massacre has ordered that there is enough evidence against James Holmes to proceed to a trial.In an order posted late Thursday, Judge William Sylvester wrote that “the People have carried their burden of proof and have established...

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Analysis: Modi's Gujarat growth model might not work across India

SURAT, India (Reuters) - Turning a single Indian state with a long tradition of entrepreneurship and a solid political majority into an investor-friendly economic powerhouse is one thing. Replicating that experience across a diverse country of 1.2 billion would be a tougher prospect for Narendra Modi, whose leadership of booming Gujarat state has led to his being touted as a potential...

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I 'liked' NUS law professor 'as a friend' at that time: Ex-student

SINGAPORE: The National University of Singapore law student at the centre of the sex-for-grades corruption trial was the first witness who took to the stand on Thursday morning.Ms Darrine Ko told the court that she knew law don, Associate Professor Tey Tsun Hang, well and this was the reason why she bought a Mont Blanc pen worth S$740 and gave it to him.She said that it was a "belated...

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Politics hot up over minor girls' rape in Chhattisgarh, Jogi demands CBI probe

RAIPUR: Incident of sexual assault on minor girls at a tribal hostel in Chhattisgarh is now taking political twists with the opposition Congress and the ruling BJP locking horns over the death of a class four student whose mother had claimed two days ago that she was pregnant and died of related complications in August last year.The minor girl in question was staying in the girls' ashram, being...

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Retooling Pap test to spot more kinds of cancer

WASHINGTON (AP) — For years, doctors have lamented that there's no Pap test for deadly ovarian cancer. Wednesday, scientists reported encouraging signs that one day, there might be.Researchers are trying to retool the Pap, a test for cervical cancer that millions of women get, so that it could spot early signs of other gynecologic cancers, too.How? It turns out that cells can flake off of tumors in...

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Holmes 'Delighted' by Creepy Self-Portraits: Victims

After two days of apparent indifference, accused Aurora shooter James Holmessmiled and smirked at disturbing self-portraits and images of weapons shown in court today, according to the families of victims who watched him."When he sees himself, he gets very excited and his eyes crinkle," Caren Teves said outside of the courthouse, after the hearing. "Your eyes are the window...

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U.S. does not rule out removing all troops from Afghanistan

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Obama administration does not rule out a complete withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan after 2014, the White House said on Tuesday, just days before President Barack Obama is due to meet Afghan President Hamid Karzai. The comments by U.S. Deputy National Security Adviser Ben Rhodes were the clearest signal yet that, despite initial recommendations by the...

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Restaurant patrons relieve stress by smashing beer mugs

SINGAPORE: We're only just into the new year.But if you're already stressed out and need some release - you might as well have a smashing good time while you're at it!Over at District 10 restaurant at Star Vista, patrons have the option to booze... and lose some steam.And without having to break the bank either!A glass of beer goes for S$8 dollars - and once it's washed down - just step...

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Planned suburbanization required in India: Kamal Nath

KOCHI: The country requires planned suburbanisation to deal with the pressure of urbanization and subsequent transport requirements, said Kamal Nath, minister for urban development. Addressing the convention of the International Federation of Asian and Western Pacific Contractors' Association (IFAWPCA), the minister said that the suburbanization taking place in the country is by default and not...

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Report: Death rates from cancer still inching down

WASHINGTON (AP) — Death rates from cancer are continuing to inch down, researchers reported Monday.Now the question is how to hold onto those gains, and do even better, even as the population gets older and fatter, both risks for developing cancer."There has been clear progress," said Dr. Otis Brawley of the American Cancer Society, which compiled the annual cancer report with government and cancer...

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Dead Lotto Winner's Wife Seeks 'Truth'

The wife of a $1 million Chicago lottery winner who died of cyanide poisoning told ABC News that she was shocked to learn the true cause of his death and is cooperating with an ongoing homicide investigation."I want the truth to come out in the investigation, the sooner the better," said Shabana Ansari, 32, the wife of Urooj Khan, 46. "Who could be that person who hurt him?"It...

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Afghan peace efforts show flickers of life

WASHINGTON/ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - President Barack Obama and Afghan President Hamid Karzai will discuss matters of war, including future U.S. troop levels and Afghanistan's army, when they meet on Friday, but matters of peace may be the most delicate item on their long agenda. After nearly 10 months in limbo, tentative reconciliation efforts involving Taliban insurgents, the Karzai government...

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C. African government, opposition head for talks with rebels

BANGUI, Central African Republic: Central African Republic government and opposition delegations left on Tuesday to join rebels for talks later in the week in the Gabonese capital Libreville to end the conflict in their volatile nation.A delegation of the rebels who have seized key towns in the impoverished country arrived Monday, while government, opposition and civil society representatives...

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Pravasi Bharatiya Divas: Govt determined to turn setbacks into opportunity, PM says

KOCHI: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Tuesday said the government was determined to turn any setback into an opportunity to improve legal and regulatory frameworks in the context of a "surge of expectation" from an increasingly empowered and articulate public."There is now a surge of expectation from an increasingly empowered and articulate public, for more responsive, transparent, participative,...

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Report: Death rates from cancer still inching down

WASHINGTON (AP) — Death rates from cancer are continuing to inch down, researchers reported Monday.Now the question is how to hold onto those gains, and do even better, even as the population gets older and fatter, both risks for developing cancer."There has been clear progress," said Dr. Otis Brawley of the American Cancer Society, which compiled the annual cancer report with government and cancer...

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Meet Obama's Defense Secretary Nominee

President Obama nominated former Senator Chuck Hagel as the next U.S. secretary of defense. To those who haven't followed the Senate closely in the past decade, he's probably not a household name.Hagel is a former GOP senator from Nebraska and Purple-Heart-decorated Vietnam veteran, but he wouldn't necessarily be a popular pick with Republicans in Congress.At age 21, Hagel and...

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