Italians head to polls in crucial vote for euro zone

ROME (Reuters) - Italians vote on Sunday in one of the most closely watched elections in years with markets nervous about whether it will produce a strong government to pull Italy out of recession and help resolve the euro zone debt crisis. A huge final rally by anti-establishment-comedian-turned-politician Beppe Grillo on Friday before a campaigning ban kicked in has highlighted public...

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China gold output up nearly 12% in 2012: report

SHANGHAI: Gold production in China, the world's second largest market for the precious metal, surged nearly 12 percent year-on-year last year despite a slowdown in the domestic economy, state media reported.Output rose to 403.1 tonnes in 2012, up 11.66 percent from 2011, the official Xinhua news agency said late Saturday, quoting figures from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.China...

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19 swine flu cases reported in Himachal

SHIMLA: Swine flu (H1N1) continues to spread in Himachal Pradesh with 19 cases reported this year, an official said on Sunday. Two people have died of the disease this year in this hill state. At Shimla's Indira Gandhi Medical College and Hospital (IGMCH), 102 patients with symptoms of swine flu were reported from across the state, a health official told IANS. He said both the people who died...

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Las Vegas Strip Shooting Suspect ID'd

Las Vegas police identified a suspect today in a shooting on the strip that caused a Maserati to hit a taxi and burst into flames, killing three people.Ammar Harris, 26, has been named a suspect in the Thursday skirmish that killed three people, including rapper Kenny Clutch.The altercation between Harris and Clutch, 27, whose legal name was Kenneth Cherry Jr., is believed to...

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Abe vows to revive Japanese economy, sees no escalation with China

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told Americans on Friday "I am back and so is Japan" and vowed to get the world's third biggest economy growing again and to do more to bolster security and the rule of law in an Asia roiled by territorial disputes. Abe had firm words for China in a policy speech to a top Washington think-tank, but also tempered his remarks by...

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Taiwan ex-president's prison term extended

TAIPEI: Taiwan's former president Chen Shui-bian, jailed for corruption in 2009, has had his prison term extended by 18 months to 20 years due to a further bribery conviction.Chen, 62, was already serving an 18 1/2-year term for corruption and money-laundering convictions relating to his 2000-2008 presidency -- charges he says stem from a vendetta by the current Beijing-friendly government.The...

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59-hour countdown for Isro's PSLV-C20 begins

CHENNAI: The 59-hour countdown for the February 25 launch of Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle to put into orbit seven satellites, including Indo-French spacecraft SARAL, commenced at 6.56am today at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in the spaceport of Sriharikota. The Launch Authorisation Board earlier cleared the launch schedule for February 25 at 5.56 PM from the first launch pad in Sriharikota, about...

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FDA approves new targeted breast cancer drug

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Food and Drug Administration has approved a first-of-a-kind breast cancer medication that targets tumor cells while sparing healthy ones.The drug Kadcyla from Roche combines the established drug Herceptin with a powerful chemotherapy drug and a third chemical linking the medicines together. The chemical keeps the cocktail intact until it binds to a cancer cell, delivering a potent...

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Cyberattacks Bring Attention to Security Reform

Recent accusations of a large-scale cyber crime effort by the Chinese government left many wondering what immediate steps the president and Congress are taking to prevent these attacks from happening again.On Wednesday, the White House released the administration's Strategy on Mitigating the Theft of U.S. Trade Secrets as a follow-up to the president's executive order. The strategy...

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Syrian opposition says Assad cannot be part of deal

CAIRO (Reuters) - The opposition Syrian National Coalition is willing to negotiate a peace deal to end the country's civil war but President Bashar al-Assad must step down and cannot be a party to any settlement, members agreed after debating a controversial initiative by their president. The meeting of the 70-member Western, Arab and Turkish-backed coalition began on Thursday before...

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Man charged with outraging modesty of girl

SINGAPORE: A man has been charged with outraging the modesty of a 16-year-old girl. Toh Boon Cheong, 52, is accused of rubbing his groin area against the girl's hip on board the MRT train travelling from Choa Chu Kang station to Bukit Gombak station.The alleged incident occurred on 15 January, at about 6:50am.If convicted, Toh faces up to two years' jail and caning.- CNA/ck !-- Zone...

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Hyderabad bomb blast: Rajnath to meet families of blast victims

NEW DELHI: BJP president Rajnath Singh will visit Hyderabad on Friday to meet the injured and family members of those killed in the twin blasts in the city. Rajnath, accompanied by BJP MP and spokesperson Shahnawaz Hussain and party secretary Murlidhar Rao, is likely to visit the Dilsukhnagar area of Hyderabad where the two blasts took place on Thursday evening. The BJP leaders will also visit the...

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APNewsBreak: Govs to hear Oregon health care plan

SALEM, Ore. (AP) — Oregon Gov. John Kitzhaber will brief other state leaders this weekend on his plan to lower Medicaid costs, touting an overhaul that President Barack Obama highlighted in his State of the Union address for its potential to lower the deficit even as health care expenses climb.The Oregon Democrat leaves for Washington, D.C., on Friday to pitch his plan that changes the way doctors...

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Arias Challenged On Pedophilia Claim

Accused murderer Jodi Arias was challenged today by phone records, text message records, and her own diary entries that appeared to contradict her claim that she caught her ex-boyfriend, Travis Alexander, looking at pictures of naked boys.Arias had said during her testimony that one afternoon in January 2008, she walked in on Alexander masturbating to pictures of naked boys....

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French general urges EU to equip "impoverished" Mali army

BAMAKO, Mali (Reuters) - The European Union should complement a mission to train Mali's army, routed by rebels last year, by providing equipment from uniforms to vehicles and communications technology, a French general said on Wednesday. General Francois Lecointre, appointed to head the EU training mission to Mali (EUTM) that was formally launched this week, said in Bamako equipping the...

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Del Piero signs for second season Down Under

MELBOURNE: Italian World Cup winner Alessandro Del Piero has signed on for a second season in Australia's A-League as his Sydney FC side push for a play-off place."I'm very happy about this news," the Juventus and Italy legend told a press conference after agreeing to activate the second year of a reported US$2 million-a-season contract."For sure it's a great moment for me, for Sydney...

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Day 2 of nationwide strike: Cops on alert in Noida; several states affected

NEW DELHI: Normal life in several parts of the country continued to remain affected on Day 2 of the nationwide strike called by the trade unions.Cops in Noida are on high alert, after widespread violence on the first day of the strike. According to TV reports, several schools and offices in Noida have been closed.The UP government has formed a two-member panel to probe the violence in Noida on the...

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Doc groups issue list of overused tests, therapies

WASHINGTON (AP) — Don't be afraid to question your doctor and ask, "Do I really need that?"That's the advice from leading medical groups who came up dozens of tests and treatments that physicians too often prescribe when they shouldn't.No worrisome stroke signs? Then don't screen a healthy person for a clogged neck artery, the family physicians say. It could lead to risky surgery for a blockage too...

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Arias Leaves Stand After Describing Killing, Her Lies

Jodi Arias stepped down from the witness stand today after mounting an emotional effort to save herself from death row, insisting to the Arizona jury that an explosive fight with ex-boyfriend Travis Alexander led to his death, and that her lies about killing him masked deep regret and plans to commit suicide.Arias, 32, will now face what is expected to be a withering cross-examination...

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Syria "Scud-type" missile said to kill 20 in Aleppo

AMMAN (Reuters) - A Syrian missile killed at least 20 people in a rebel-held district of Aleppo on Tuesday, opposition activists said, as the army turns to longer-range weapons after losing bases in the country's second-largest city. The use of what opposition activists said was a large missile of the same type as Russian-made Scuds against an Aleppo residential district came after rebels...

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Swimming: Trickett urges healing after "toxic" Games

SYDNEY: Australian swimmer Libby Trickett called for healing within the sport after reports exposed a "toxic" atmosphere at the London Olympics including drunkenness, deceit and bullying.Swimming Australia has vowed to restore its standing with the public after the country's much vaunted swimmers disappointed at the 2012 Olympics and inquiries into its culture revealed discipline was loose...

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Britain's Cameron visits Jallianwala Bagh massacre site, Golden Temple

AMRITSAR: British Prime Minister David Cameron laid a wreath on Wednesday at a memorial for the notorious Jallianwala Bagh massacre where he is reportedly set to express regret for the loss of life. Cameron, dressed in a dark suit and bowing his head, laid the flowers at the Jallianwala Bagh memorial in Amritsar, where hundreds of unarmed protesters were gunned down by British troops in 1919. Earlier,...

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Drug overdose deaths up for 11th consecutive year

CHICAGO (AP) — Drug overdose deaths rose for the 11th straight year, federal data show, and most of them were accidents involving addictive painkillers despite growing attention to risks from these medicines."The big picture is that this is a big problem that has gotten much worse quickly," said Dr. Thomas Frieden, head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which gathered and analyzed...

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Chavez back in Venezuela, on Twitter with four million followers

CARACAS (Reuters) - After Hugo Chavez spent two months out of the public eye for cancer surgery in Cuba, the Venezuelan government hailed his homecoming on Monday and said the president had achieved another milestone - four million followers on Twitter. The 58-year-old flew back from Havana before dawn and was taken to a military hospital. No new details were given on his health, and...

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S'pore, Malaysia agree on high-speed rail link

SINGAPORE: Singapore and Malaysia have agreed to build a high-speed rail link between Kuala Lumpur and Singapore, with a target to complete it by 2020.This was announced by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak on Tuesday during their annual Leaders' Retreat.With the new link, it will take about 90 minutes to get from Singapore to KL and vice versa.The...

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Nagaland home minister resigns after Rs 1cr cash, arms found in his car

KOHIMA, NAGALAND: Home minister Imkong L Imchen has resigned from the ruling Naga People's Front (NPF) government, a party official said Tuesday.Imchen put in his papers after the Election Commission authorities seized cash amounting to more than Rs one crore and weapons from his vehicle on Monday by troopers of Assam Rifles."I felt imperative to tender my resignation from the Council of Ministers...

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Hip implants a bit more likely to fail in women

CHICAGO (AP) — Hip replacements are slightly more likely to fail in women than in men, according to one of the largest studies of its kind in U.S. patients. The risk of the implants failing is low, but women were 29 percent more likely than men to need a repeat surgery within the first three years.The message for women considering hip replacement surgery remains unclear. It's not known which models...

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