Egyptian military says only dialogue can avert disaster

CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt's military, stepping into a crisis pitting Islamist President Mohamed Mursi against opponents who accuse him of grabbing excessive power, said on Saturday only dialogue could avert "catastrophe". State broadcasters interrupted their programs to read out an army statement telling feuding factions that a solution to the upheaval in the most populous Arab nation should...

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Egypt's Morsi annuls controversial decree

CAIRO: Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi on Saturday annulled a decree he issued last month expanding his powers, an official told a Cairo news conference."The constitutional decree is annulled from this moment," said Selim al-Awa, an Islamist politician acting as spokesman of a meeting Morsi held earlier with other political leaders.A referendum on a draft constitution would however still...

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India misguided, paranoid over China: Guha

MUMBAI: A good half-hour into the discussion on 'India, China and the World', historian Ramachandra Guha issued a disclaimer—all the three members on the panel had been to China only once. "We should learn their language, promote quality research, and have a panel on China driven by Chinese scholars," he said. And that was the general tenor of the debate—that the Indian attitude to China was influenced...

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Smokers celebrate as Wash. legalizes marijuana

SEATTLE (AP) — The crowds of happy people lighting joints under Seattle's Space Needle early Thursday morning with nary a police officer in sight bespoke the new reality: Marijuana is legal under Washington state law.Hundreds gathered at Seattle Center for a New Year's Eve-style countdown to 12 a.m., when the legalization measure passed by voters last month took effect. When the clock struck, they...

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Australian DJs Behind Prank Call Under Fire

An outpouring of anger is being directed today at the two Australian radio hosts after the death of a nurse who was caught in the DJs' prank call to hospital where Kate Middleton was treated earlier this week.Lord Glenarthur, the chairman of King Edward VII's Hospital - the U.K. hospital where the Duchess of Cambridge was receiving treatment, condemned the prank in a letter...

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Protesters surge around Egypt's presidential palace

CAIRO (Reuters) - Tens of thousands of Egyptian protesters surged around the presidential palace on Friday and the opposition rejected President Mohamed Mursi's call for dialogue to end a crisis that has polarized the nation and sparked deadly clashes. The Islamist leader's deputy said he could delay a December 15 referendum on a constitution that liberals opposed, although the concession...

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Lagarde says 'fiscal cliff' threatens US supremacy

WASHINGTON: IMF chief Christine Lagarde said Friday the looming "fiscal cliff" in the United States threatens the country's international supremacy and the fragile global recovery.In an interview with BBC World News, Lagarde noted the US fiscal cliff, a combination of severe tax increases and spending cuts due in January, would probably wipe out growth in the world's largest economy."The...

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Clash averted between UP, Haryana farmers

SONIPAT: An ongoing dispute over possession of agricultural land between two villages of Haryana and Uttar Pradesh threatened to turn violent on Friday. The tension, however, was eased after timely intervention by police and revenue officials from the two states, who have now decided to hold a joint meeting on December 12 to settle the dispute.Tension had been brewing between farmers of Jajal village...

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Smokers celebrate as Wash. legalizes marijuana

SEATTLE (AP) — The crowds of happy people lighting joints under Seattle's Space Needle early Thursday morning with nary a police officer in sight bespoke the new reality: Marijuana is legal under Washington state law.Hundreds gathered at Seattle Center for a New Year's Eve-style countdown to 12 a.m., when the legalization measure passed by voters last month took effect. When the clock struck, they...

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Nurse Duped by 'Queen's' Prank Call Found Dead

The hospital receptionist who was hoaxed by a prank call from a DJ claiming to be the queen asking about Kate Middleton has been found dead."It is with very deep sadness that we confirm the tragic death of a member of our nursing staff," the hospital said in a statement released today.The nurse was identified as Jacintha Saldanha. The hospital said that Saldanha worked at the...

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Egypt demonstrators reject Mursi call for dialogue

CAIRO (Reuters) - Demonstrators rejected a call from Egypt's Islamist President Mohamed Mursi for a national dialogue after deadly clashes around his palace, demanding the "downfall of the regime" - the chant that brought down Hosni Mubarak. Mursi said in a televised speech late on Thursday that plans were on track for a referendum on a new constitution on December 15 despite clashes...

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Sandy, cliff point to bleak November US jobs data

WASHINGTON: The powerful storm that landed a blow to the US economy last month and worries over the fast-approaching "fiscal cliff" point to a bleak November reading from the Labor Department on Friday.Superstorm Sandy, which pummeled the northeastern coast in late October and early November, shutting down New York and other major cities, was expected to slash job creation in half."The...

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Farmers’ body calls off toll plaza protest

NEW DELHI/GHAZIABAD: In a big relief to the Centre and the Uttar Pradesh government, Bhartiya Kisan Union (BKU) on Thursday suspended its plan to take over more toll plazas in the state. The decision came after the Ghaziabad administration slapped a Rs 15 lakh notice on the organization for toll loss at Dasna plaza due to its protests. The Meerut DM and police chief forwarded CM Akhilesh Yadav's...

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Celebrations planned as Wash. legalizes marijuana

SEATTLE (AP) — Legal marijuana possession becomes a reality under Washington state law on Thursday, and some people planned to celebrate the new law by breaking it.Voters in Washington and Colorado last month made those the first states to decriminalize and regulate the recreational use of marijuana. Washington's law takes effect Thursday and allows adults to have up to an ounce of pot — but it bans...

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Winter Chill Descends on Frozen Fiscal Cliff Talks

A chill has descended on Washington just in time for tonight's lighting of the National Christmas Tree.President Obama will preside over an evening festival of star-studded carols and sparkling displays of holiday cheer on the White House Ellipse.But don't expect any of the holiday good will to warm the political frost over the fiscal cliff talks.The White House is mandating...

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Rivals clash as Mursi's deputy seeks end to Egypt crisis

CAIRO (Reuters) - Islamists battled with protesters outside Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi's palace on Thursday, after his vice president suggested amendments could be agreed to the draft constitution that has divided the nation. Fires burned in the streets near the palace perimeter where opponents and supporters of Mursi threw stones and petrol bombs. Riot police tried to separate...

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Football: Champions League holders Chelsea out despite rout

LONDON: Chelsea became the first Champions League holders to go out in the group phase despite a resounding 6-1 win at home to FC Nordsjaelland in their final Group E game on Wednesday.The much-maligned Fernando Torres scored twice, with David Luiz, Gary Cahill, Juan Mata and Oscar also on target, but Juventus' 1-0 win at Shakhtar Donetsk in the other group game put the Italians in the...

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A midnight raid that changed course of history

NEW DELHI: On the night of December 22-23, 1949, an idol of Ram Lalla "mysteriously" appeared inside Ayodhya's Babri Masjid, setting in motion a chain of events that was to change the course of Indian politics in later decades. Little is known about what happened on that fateful night. But a new book now reveals how the events unfolded and claims those who pulled the strings of the Ayodhya strategy...

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Study could spur wider use of prenatal gene tests

A new study sets the stage for wider use of gene testing in early pregnancy. Scanning the genes of a fetus reveals far more about potential health risks than current prenatal testing does, say researchers who compared both methods in thousands of pregnancies nationwide.A surprisingly high number — 6 percent — of certain fetuses declared normal by conventional testing were found to have genetic abnormalities...

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John McAfee Seeks Asylum, Thanks God for 'Sanity'

Eccentric software tycoon John McAfee, wanted for questioning in the shooting death of his neighbor, has made his escape from Belize to Guatemala, where he told ABC News he will be seeking asylum."Thank God I am in a place where there is some sanity," McAfee said. "I chose Guatemala carefully."McAfee, 67, has been on the run from police in the Central American country of Belize...

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NATO warns Syria not to use chemical weapons

BRUSSELS/BEIRUT (Reuters) - NATO told Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on Tuesday that any use of chemical weapons in his fight against encroaching rebel forces would be met by an immediate international response. The warning from NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen came as U.S. government sources said Washington had information that Syria was making what could be seen as preparations...

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Football: Real Madrid hit four as Ajax crumble

MADRID: Real Madrid made light work of Ajax with an emphatic 4-1 win on Tuesday, but still had to settle for second place in Champions League Group D.Goals from Cristiano Ronaldo, Kaka and a Jose Callejon double in the Santiago Bernabeu sealed the Spanish champions' victory, but top spot in the group went to Borussia Dortmund who beat Manchester City 1-0.Derk Boerrigter got the consolation...

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