Rugby: England end All Blacks' unbeaten run

LONDON: England ended world champions New Zealand's 20-match unbeaten run with a stunning 38-21 victory at Twickenham on Saturday.Tries from Brad Barritt, Chris Ashton and Manu Tuilagi helped England, who had been 15-0 up early in the second half, stave off an All Blacks fightback that saw the visitors close to within a point at 15-14.This was England's record margin of victory over the...

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FDI in retail to safeguard international market mafias' interest: BJP

NEW DELHI: India's main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) today said retail reform is a step taken by the Congress led-federal government to safeguard the interests of the international market mafias at the cost of national interest.BJP vice president Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said on Saturday that voting inside the parliament would decide as to who is in favour of national interest and who is working...

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South Africa makes progress in HIV, AIDS fight

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — In the early '90s when South Africa's Themba Lethu clinic could only treat HIV/AIDS patients for opportunistic diseases, many would come in on wheelchairs and keep coming to the health center until they died.Two decades later the clinic is the biggest anti-retroviral, or ARV, treatment center in the country and sees between 600 to 800 patients a day from all over southern Africa....

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Obama: Don't Hold Middle-Class Tax Cuts Hostage

Dec 1, 2012 6:00am AP Photo/Charles DharapakPresident Obama is urging Congress to extend tax breaks for the middle class, saying it’s “unacceptable for some Republicans in Congress to hold middle class tax cuts hostage simply because they refuse to let tax rates go up on the wealthiest Americans.”With the clock ticking toward the so-called “fiscal cliff,” Obama asked...

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Islamists rally behind Mursi as Egypt's rifts widen

CAIRO (Reuters) - At least 200,000 Islamists demonstrated in Cairo on Saturday in support of President Mohamed Mursi, who is rushing through a constitution to try to defuse opposition fury over his newly expanded powers. "The people want the implementation of God's law," chanted flag-waving demonstrators, many of them bused in from the countryside, who choked streets leading to Cairo...

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US Senate approves new sanctions on Iran

WASHINGTON: The US Senate unanimously approved new economic sanctions Friday aimed at further crippling Iran's energy, shipping and port sectors, a year after Congress passed tough restrictions against Tehran.The amendment, tacked on to a sweeping defense spending bill being debated by the chamber, passed 94-0 and should sail through the House of Representatives.It was introduced by Senator...

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CBI chargesheets arms dealer Abhishek Verma, wife, firm & ex-IAF man in OS Act case

NEW DELHI: The CBI today chargesheeted arms dealer Abhishek Verma, his Romanian wife Anca Maria Neacsu, their company M/s Ganton India Pvt Ltd and a former Wing Commander of the Indian Air Force for allegedly possessing secret defence documents and supplying them to foreign nationals in violation of the Official Secrets Act. They were charge sheeted under section 3 of the OSA (for passing...

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Clinton releases road map for AIDS-free generation

WASHINGTON (AP) — In an ambitious road map for slashing the global spread of AIDS, the Obama administration says treating people sooner and more rapid expansion of other proven tools could help even the hardest-hit countries begin turning the tide of the epidemic over the next three to five years."An AIDS-free generation is not just a rallying cry — it is a goal that is within our reach," Secretary...

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Fiscal Cliff Creeps Closer With Few Signs of Optimism

"Absurd" -- that's the word one top Republican Hill aide used to describe the plan that Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner presented to GOP leaders yesterday to avoid the fiscal cliff.And an aide to House Speaker Boehner described the White House's offer as "completely unrealistic" and "a break with reality."Meanwhile, a top Democratic insider complained to ABC's Jonathan Karl...

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Palestinians win de facto U.N. recognition of sovereign state

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The 193-nation U.N. General Assembly on Thursday overwhelmingly approved the de facto recognition of the sovereign state of Palestine after Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas called on the world body to issue its long overdue "birth certificate." The U.N. victory for the Palestinians was a diplomatic setback for the United States and Israel, which were joined...

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IAEA chief calls for "urgent" Iran diplomacy

VIENNA: The head of the UN atomic agency called Thursday for diplomatic "urgency" in the Iranian nuclear standoff, even as Tehran signalled its continued defiance of UN Security Council demands to suspend key activities."All countries, and the IAEA, are willing to find a diplomatic solution. If there is political will we can reach agreement," said International Atomic Energy Agency chief...

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Heavy snowfall in higher reaches of Uttarakhand

DEHRADUN: The higher reaches of the mountains in Kumaon and Garhwal regions of Uttarakhand today received the season's first heavy snowfall even as icy winds swept the plains. Incessant rains made way for heavy snowfall in Badrinath, Kedarnath, Gangotri, Yamnotri, Auli and Harsil in Garhwal and Dharchula and Munsyari in Kumaon. Rains lashed Dehradun in the afternoon making the day temperature...

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Simple measures cut infections caught in hospitals

CHICAGO (AP) — Preventing surgery-linked infections is a major concern for hospitals and it turns out some simple measures can make a big difference.A project at seven big hospitals reduced infections after colorectal surgeries by nearly one-third. It prevented an estimated 135 infections, saving almost $4 million, the Joint Commission hospital regulating group and the American College of Surgeons...

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Death at School: Parents Protest Dangerous Discipline for Autistic, Disabled Kids

Thousands of autistic and disabled schoolchildren have been injured and dozens have died after being restrained by poorly trained teachers and school aides who tried to subdue them using at times unduly harsh techniques, an ABC News investigation has found.With no agreed upon national standards for how teachers can restrain an unruly child, school officials around the country...

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U.N. set to implicitly recognize Palestinian state, despite threats

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The U.N. General Assembly is set to implicitly recognize a sovereign state of Palestine on Thursday despite threats by the United States and Israel to punish the Palestinian Authority by withholding much-needed funds for the West Bank government. A resolution that would lift the Palestinian Authority's U.N. observer status from "entity" to "non-member state,"...

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Germany eyes September 22 for election

BERLIN: Germany will likely hold a federal election on September 22 next year, a government source told AFP on Wednesday, after the majority of the country's 16 states agreed on that date.The interior ministry would inform the political parties of the states' choice next week, the source added. The official date must be cleared by German President Joachim Gauck after a decision in cabinet.The...

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Amit Shah, former Gujarat home minister, gets BJP ticket

NEW DELHI: Former Gujarat home minister Amit Shah, accused in the Soharabuddin Sheikh and Tulsi Prajapati staged shootout cases, will contest in the upcoming state assembly elections. Shah will contest from Naranpura in Ahmedabad. His name features in the second list of candidates released by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the capital Wednesday. Shah won last time from Sarkhej assembly constituency...

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CDC: HIV spread high in young gay males

NEW YORK (AP) — Health officials say 1 in 5 new HIV infections occur in a tiny segment of the population — young men who are gay or bisexual.The government on Tuesday released new numbers that spotlight how the spread of the AIDS virus is heavily concentrated in young males who have sex with other males. Only about a quarter of new infections in the 13-to-24 age group are from injecting drugs or heterosexual...

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Susan Rice Made Allies, Enemies Before Benghazi

United Nations Ambassador Susan Rice, on Capitol Hill this week answering questions about her role after the U.S. consulate attack in Benghazi, has become yet another player in the divide between the left and right, with her possible nomination as the next Secretary of State hanging in the balance.But who was Susan Rice before she told ABC's "This Week" and other Sunday morning...

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Egypt protests continue in crisis over Mursi powers

CAIRO (Reuters) - Hundreds of demonstrators were in Cairo's Tahrir Square for a sixth day on Wednesday to demand that President Mohamed Mursi rescind a decree they say gives him dictatorial powers, and two of Egypt's top courts stopped work in protest. But in a move that one Muslim Brotherhood official said could help resolve the worst crisis of Mursi's five-month presidency, the assembly...

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Portuguese lawmakers clear biting 2013 austerity budget

LISBON: Bailed-out Portugal's lawmakers gave final approval Tuesday to a 2013 budget imposing an unprecedented austerity squeeze even as protesters massed outside.The budget, aimed at saving 5.3 billion euros ($6.9 billion), passed easily with the support of the centre-right government, which has an absolute majority.The government says the plan, which relies on higher taxes for 80 percent...

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Two senior Zee journalists arrested on extortion charges

NEW DELHI: Two senior journalists of Zee news channel were arrested here today on charges of trying to extort Rs 100 crore from Congress MP Naveen Jindal's group for not doing news reports on coal scam linking his firm. The arrests on charges of extortion came following the registration of a case about 45 days ago on a complaint filed by Jindal's company with Delhi Police's Crime Branch. Sudhir...

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Bounce houses a party hit but kids' injuries soar

CHICAGO (AP) — They may be a big hit at kids' birthday parties, but inflatable bounce houses can be dangerous, with the number of injuries soaring in recent years, a nationwide study found.Kids often crowd into bounce houses, and jumping up and down can send other children flying into the air, too.The numbers suggest 30 U.S. children a day are treated in emergency rooms for broken bones, sprains,...

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GOP Senators More Troubled After Rice Meeting

Three Republican senators who met Tuesday with U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice say they are more troubled now over her initial explanations about the deadly Sept. 11 raid in Libya.Rice met behind closed doors Tuesday with Sens. John McCain, Lindsey Graham and Kelly Ayotte — three of her harshest critics. Ayotte said Rice told them that her national television description...

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Greece, markets satisfied by EU-IMF Greek debt deal

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The Greek government and financial markets were cheered on Tuesday by an agreement between euro zone finance ministers and the International Monetary Fund to reduce Greece's debt, paving the way for the release of urgently needed aid loans. The deal, clinched at the third attempt after weeks of wrangling, removes the biggest risk of a sovereign default in the euro...

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