Jan
28

French seal off Mali's Timbuktu, rebels torch library

GAO, Mali (Reuters) - French and Malian troops retook control of Timbuktu, a UNESCO World Heritage site, on Monday after Islamist rebel occupiers fled the ancient Sahara trading town and torched several buildings, including a library holding priceless manuscripts. The United States and the European Union are backing a French-led intervention in Mali against al Qaeda-allied militants they...
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Jan
27

Govt to tighten law to better protect timeshare consumers

SINGAPORE: The government is tightening safeguards and plugging loopholes in the law to better protect consumers in timeshare deals.The Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) said on Monday that it is making the changes because timeshare businesses continue to account for the most number of consumer complaints. The number of timeshare cases totalled 389 in 2010 and 358 in 2011, according...
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Rajnath Singh meets Jagadish Shettar, says no crisis in Karnataka

NEW DELHI: Karnataka chief minister Jagadish Shettar met BJP president Rajnath Singh on Monday to discuss the political situation the southern state following the decision of 13 MLAs, loyal to BS Yeddyurappa, to quit.Talking to reporters after the meeting, Rajnath Singh said: "There is no crisis in Karnataka. Our government will complete its term."Describing his meeting as a courtesy call, Shettar...
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CDC: Flu seems to level off except in the West

New government figures show that flu cases seem to be leveling off nationwide. Flu activity is declining in most regions although still rising in the West.The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says hospitalizations and deaths spiked again last week, especially among the elderly. The CDC says quick treatment with antiviral medicines is important, in particular for the very...
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'Barrier of Bodies' Trapped Nightclub Fire Victims

A fast-moving fire roared through a crowded nightclub in southern Brazil early Sunday, within seconds filling the space with flames and a thick, toxic smoke that killed more than 230 panicked partygoers who gasped for breath and fought in a stampede to escape.It appeared to be the world's deadliest nightclub fire in more than a decade.Firefighters responding to the blaze at...
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Nightclub fire kills 233 in Brazil

SANTA MARIA, Brazil (Reuters) - A nightclub fire killed at least 233 people in southern Brazil on Sunday when a band's pyrotechnics show set the building ablaze and fleeing partygoers stampeded toward blocked exits in the ensuing panic. Most of those who died were suffocated by toxic fumes that rapidly filled the crowded club after sparks from pyrotechnics used by the band for visual...
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Jan
26

Latin America, Europe back free trade

SANTIAGO: European and Latin American leaders pledged here Saturday to shun protectionism and boost their strategic partnership to foster free trade.Some 60 countries are represented at the summit between the 27-member European Union and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC).Set up in Caracas in December 2011 at the behest of Venezuela, CELAC groups all nations from...
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Freedom of expression finds voices at literature festival

JAIPUR: To the Kashmiri, the British, the Scot and the Indian, freedom of speech and expression mean different things. Yet, on Saturday, their contexts coalesced at the Jaipur Literature Festival, where the debate circled around the ways in which governments and private interests reacted to free expression, especially on the World Wide Web. In a well-debated session panelists and the audience also...
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CDC: Flu seems to level off except in the West

New government figures show that flu cases seem to be leveling off nationwide. Flu activity is declining in most regions although still rising in the West.The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says hospitalizations and deaths spiked again last week, especially among the elderly. The CDC says quick treatment with antiviral medicines is important, in particular for the very...
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Newtown Families March for Gun Control in DC

Jan 26, 2013 4:59pm (YURI GRIPAS/AFP/Getty Images)WASHINGTON, D.C. — Near-freezing temperatures didn’t stop several thousand gun-control activists from bearing their pickets today, carrying signs emblazoned with “Ban Assault Weapons Now” and the names of gun violence victims in a demonstration organized as a response to the mass shooting in Newtown, Conn. last month.Walking...
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