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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