Tennis: Ice-cool Murray crushes Haase at Australian Open

MELBOURNE: Andy Murray brushed aside Dutchman Robin Haase in a clinical display to progress smoothly to the second round of the Australian Open.The third-seeded Scot had few problems with the 53rd-ranked Haase, winning 6-3, 6-1, 6-3 in 1hr 37min in warming temperatures on Rod Laver Arena.Murray, who broke through for his first Grand Slam title at last year's US Open, was always in charge...

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National Conference may induct Congress MLAs in J&K Cabinet

NEW DELHI: Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah can expand and reshuffle his ministry on Tuesday following a prod from AICC president Sonia Gandhi on Sunday evening. Congress leaders like Saifuddin Soz have been asking for more representation from their party in the Omar-led National Conference coalition government. Abdullah had dropped two Congress ministers, G A Saroori and Peerzada...

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Hospitals crack down on workers refusing flu shots

CHICAGO (AP) — Patients can refuse a flu shot. Should doctors and nurses have that right, too? That is the thorny question surfacing as U.S. hospitals increasingly crack down on employees who won't get flu shots, with some workers losing their jobs over their refusal."Where does it say that I am no longer a patient if I'm a nurse," wondered Carrie Calhoun, a longtime critical care nurse in suburban...

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Armstrong Admits Doping in Tour, Sources Say

Lance Armstrong today admitted to Oprah Winfrey that he used performance enhancing drugs to win the Tour de France, sources told ABC News.A goverment source tells ABC News that Armstrong is now talking with authorities about paying back some of the US Postal Service money from sponsoring his team. He is also talking to authorities about confessing and naming names, giving up...

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West African army chiefs to approve Mali troops plan

BAMAKO (Reuters) - West African defense chiefs will on Tuesday approve plans to speed up the deployment of African troops against Islamist rebels in northern Mali, with some regional soldiers seen arriving next week. France has already poured hundreds of troops into Mali and carried out days of air strikes in a vast desert area seized last year by an Islamist alliance that combines al...

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About 11,000 households to be involved in Household Expenditure Survey

SINGAPORE: About 11,000 households will be involved in a survey on household expenditure by the Department of Statistics (DOS).Their input is needed for the 10th Household Expenditure Survey (HES) from October 2012 to September 2013. The households are divided into 26 groups, with each group being surveyed over two weeks in stages.From 21 January, the 9th group will be surveyed, while...

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Declare Amritsar 'dry city', says Navjot Kaur Sidhu

AMRITSAR: Chief parliamentary secretary Navjot Kaur Sidhu on Sunday demanded from chief minister Parkash Singh Badal to declare Amritsar as " dry city". Kaur said that she had met Badal, urging him to declare holy city of Amritsar as "dry city" keeping in mind the city's holiness due to presence of various religious places, the most prominent being the Golden Temple.Joint drives to check corruption:...

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Flu more widespread in US; eases off in some areas

NEW YORK (AP) — Flu is now widespread in all but three states as the nation grapples with an earlier-than-normal season. But there was one bit of good news Friday: The number of hard-hit areas declined.The flu season in the U.S. got under way a month early, in December, driven by a strain that tends to make people sicker. That led to worries that it might be a bad season, following one of the mildest...

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Golden Globes Live Blog: Clinton's 'Lincoln' Moment

Tina Fey and Amy Poehler: The women of the night. Credit: Paul Drinkwater/NBC/AP Photo.10:00 p.m. ET: Despite her silence on her relationship status, Taylor Swift WILL NOT be spared: “You know what Taylor Swift, you stay away from Michael J. Fox’s son,” Fey says, ignoring Poehler’s objections. “She needs some me time to learn about herself.”9:58 p.m. ET: Fey and Poehler come back to...

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France bombs Islamist strongholds in north Mali

BAMAKO/PARIS (Reuters) - French fighter jets pounded Islamist rebel strongholds deep in northern Mali on Sunday as Paris poured more troops into the capital Bamako, awaiting a West African force to dislodge al Qaeda-linked insurgents from the country's north. The attacks on Islamist positions near the ancient desert trading town of Timbuktu and Gao, the largest city in the north, marked...

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