Venezuela lawmakers elect Chavez ally as Assembly chief

CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuelan lawmakers re-elected a staunch ally of Hugo Chavez to head the National Assembly on Saturday, putting him in line to be caretaker president if the socialist leader does not recover from cancer surgery. By choosing the incumbent, Diosdado Cabello, the "Chavista"-dominated legislature cemented the combative ex-soldier's position as the third most powerful...

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Football: Lazio strike late to down nine-man Cagliari

MILAN, Italy: Lazio closed the gap on Serie A leaders Juventus to five points on Saturday thanks to two late goals in a dramatic 2-1 win over nine-man Cagliari.The Biancocelesti were kept on a level footing by the determined visitors from Sardinia in a comparatively incident-free first half.But Vladimir Petkovic's men made their intentions far clearer in a dominant second half when Abdoulay...

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M Karunanidhi suggests solitary confinement for rapists

CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa and DMK leader M Karunanidhi are at loggerheads on various issues, including, it seems, on punishment to rapists. While Jayalalithaa was the first among chief ministers to demand stringent punishment for rapists, including death penalty and chemical castration, the DMK chief, whose stand against capital punishment is well known, has suggested...

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FDA: New rules will make food safer

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Food and Drug Administration says its new guidelines would make the food Americans eat safer and help prevent the kinds of foodborne disease outbreaks that sicken or kill thousands of consumers each year.The rules, the most sweeping food safety guidelines in decades, would require farmers to take new precautions against contamination, to include making sure workers' hands are...

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Debt Limit Negotiating Tactic? No Negotiating

President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden walk away from the podium after Obama made a statement regarding the passage of the fiscal cliff bill in the Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House in Washington, Tuesday, Jan. 1, 2013. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)AnalysisNew for 2013: In the Washington, D.C. fiscal wars we’ve gone from everything must be on the table to politicians declaring...

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Abbas sees Palestinian unity as Fatah rallies in Gaza

GAZA (Reuters) - President Mahmoud Abbas predicted the end of a five-year split between the two big Palestinian factions as his Fatah movement staged its first mass rally in Gaza with the blessing of Hamas Islamists who rule the enclave. "Soon we will regain our unity," Abbas, whose authority has been limited to the Israeli-occupied West Bank since the 2007 civil war between the two factions,...

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Chavez suffers lung woes as aides allege 'psychological war'

CARACAS: Hugo Chavez's top aides have gone on the offensive, accusing the opposition and media of waging a "psychological war," as Venezuela's cancer-stricken president battles a serious lung infection.The closing of ranks followed a high-level gathering of top Venezuelan officials in Havana with Chavez, amid growing demands to know whether he will be fit on January 10 to take the oath...

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SC endorses chorus for deterrent punishment for crime against women

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Friday endorsed the clamour for deterrent punishment to offenders in cases of crime against women saying no leniency be shown while sentencing the guilty in such cases.The strong pitch for tougher punishment for those guilty of crime against women came as part of a judgment, where a bench of Justices P Sathasivam and Ranjan Gogoi upheld life imprisonment for two sisters...

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FDA proposes sweeping new food safety rules

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Food and Drug Administration on Friday proposed the most sweeping food safety rules in decades, requiring farmers and food companies to be more vigilant in the wake of deadly outbreaks in peanuts, cantaloupe and leafy greens.The long-overdue regulations are aimed at reducing the estimated 3,000 deaths a year from foodborne illness. Just since last summer, outbreaks of listeria...

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Quadruple Amputee Gets Two New Hands on Life

It's the simplest thing, the grasp of one hand in another. But Lindsay Ess will never see it that way, because her hands once belonged to someone else.Growing up in Texas and Virginia, Lindsay, 29, was always one of the pretty girls. She went to college, did some modeling and started building a career in fashion, with an eye on producing fashion shows.Then she lost her hands...

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Eleven dead in Damascus gas station blast

AZAZ, Syria (Reuters) - At least 11 people were killed and 40 wounded when a car bomb exploded at a crowded petrol station in the Syrian capital Damascus on Thursday, opposition activists said. The station was packed with people queuing for fuel that has become increasingly scarce during the country's 21-month-long insurgency aimed at overthrowing President Bashar al-Assad. ...

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New US Congress faces broader fiscal battles

WASHINGTON: The 113th US Congress, featuring dozens of new faces in the House and Senate, convened Thursday fresh from the year-end "fiscal cliff" fiasco, as lawmakers cast a wary eye towards the tough budget battles ahead.Twelve freshman senators and 82 newly-elected congressmen took the oath of office, with President Barack Obama's Democrats enjoying modest gains in both chambers.But...

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Chiranjeevi urges Vietnam to facilitate film shoots

NEW DELHI: Agreeing to ease visa restrictions between India and Vietnam, tourism minister K Chiranjeevi pitched for strengthening of ties with Hanoi and suggested the south-east Asian country assist in promoting Indian shoots in their country.Addressing a seminar on trade and investment organized by the Embassy of India in Hanoi in coordination with Ministry of Industry and Trade and Vietnam Chamber...

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CDC: 1 in 24 admit nodding off while driving

NEW YORK (AP) — This could give you nightmares: 1 in 24 U.S. adults say they recently fell asleep while driving.And health officials behind the study think the number is probably higher. That's because some people don't realize it when they nod off for a second or two behind the wheel."If I'm on the road, I'd be a little worried about the other drivers," said the study's lead author, Anne Wheaton...

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Senate Swears in Historic 20th Female Senator

Today the Senate will make history, swearing in a record-breaking 20 female senators -- four Republicans and 16 Democrats -- in office.As the 113th Congress is sworn in today on Capitol Hill, ABC "World News" anchor Diane Sawyer has an exclusive joint interview with the historic class of female senators.Diane Sawyer's complete interview will air on "World News" and "Nightline"...

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Central African Republic rebels halt advance, agree to peace talks

DAMARA, Central African Republic (Reuters) - Rebels in Central African Republic said they had halted their advance on the capital on Wednesday and agreed to start peace talks, averting a clash with regionally backed troops. The Seleka rebels had pushed to within striking distance of Bangui after a three-week onslaught and threatened to oust President Francois Bozize, accusing him of reneging...

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Al Jazeera eyes Gore-founded TV group: report

WASHINGTON: The Qatar-owned media group Al Jazeera is in talks to buy Current TV, a struggling cable channel founded by former US vice president Al Gore, The New York Times reported Wednesday.The deal could allow Al Jazeera broader entry into US homes, by acquiring the cable group available in around 60 million American households, the report said.Contacted by AFP, Current Media did not...

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Khurshid defends stay in Nilgiris resort

CHENNAI/UDHAGAMANDALAM: External affairs minister Salman Khurshid on Wednesday said there was nothing wrong in his staying in a private resort in the Nilgiris which was ordered to be closed by the Madras high court as it fell on the elephant corridor.Speaking to TOI, Khurshid said the Supreme Court had granted a stay on the high court order, allowing the resort to continue its operations. "If the...

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Brain image study: Fructose may spur overeating

This is your brain on sugar — for real. Scientists have used imaging tests to show for the first time that fructose, a sugar that saturates the American diet, can trigger brain changes that may lead to overeating.After drinking a fructose beverage, the brain doesn't register the feeling of being full as it does when simple glucose is consumed, researchers found.It's a small study and does not prove...

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Lawmakers Furious at Boehner Over Sandy 'Betrayal'

Republican lawmakers from New York and New Jersey whose storm-ravaged residents are desperate for federal aid are fuming at their party's leaders for refusing to hold a vote on a $60 billion disaster relief package despite promises that help was on the way."This was a betrayal," Rep. Michael Grimm, R-N.Y., told ABC News.com. "It's just reprehensible. It's an indefensible error...

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At least 61 crushed to death in Ivory Coast stampede

ABIDJAN (Reuters) - At least 61 people were crushed to death in a stampede after a New Year's Eve fireworks display at a stadium in Ivory Coast's main city Abidjan early on Tuesday, officials said. Witnesses said police had tried to control crowds around the Felix Houphouet-Boigny Stadium following the celebrations, triggering a panic in which scores were trampled. "The estimate...

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Motorcycle bomb kills four in Pakistan's Karachi

KARACHI: A motorcycle bomb exploded Tuesday near the venue of a major political rally in Pakistan's largest city Karachi, killing four people and injuring 42 others, officials said.The bombing appeared to be targeted at buses carrying supporters of the city's dominant political party, the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), which organised the rally attended by thousands of people."The latest...

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Cold kills 9 as mercury dips across north India

NEW DELHI: The cold wave intensified across north India and killed nine more people in Uttar Pradesh on Tuesday, pushing the death toll from it this season to around 110.Officials said three people died in Mirzapur, two each in Muzaffarnagar and Bareilly. One death each was reported from Moradabad and Amroha.Most cold-related deaths - 92 - have been reported from Uttar Pradesh, where Agra, with a...

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Brain image study: Fructose may spur overeating

This is your brain on sugar — for real. Scientists have used imaging tests to show for the first time that fructose, a sugar that saturates the American diet, can trigger brain changes that may lead to overeating.After drinking a fructose beverage, the brain doesn't register the feeling of being full as it does when simple glucose is consumed, researchers found.It's a small study and does not prove...

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