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...

Read More..

Football: Wolves sack Solbakken after FA Cup exit

LONDON: Stale Solbakken was sacked as manager of Championship side Wolves on Saturday, just hours after the club had been dumped out of the FA Cup by non-league Luton.The struggling side, who were relegated from the Premier League last season, also terminated the contracts of assistant manager Johan Lange and Patrick Weiser, the first team coach.Wolves are currently 18th in the Championship,...

Read More..

Mamata breathes fire in Jangalmahal

MIDNAPORE: Chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday threatened to launch an agitation against the Centre and take it to New Delhi, if necessary, to demand an interest waiver on the state's over Rs 2 lakh crore debt. Mamata held out the threat while addressing youngsters from Jangalmahal at the Midnapore College Ground. On April 21 last year, Mamata had served a 15-day ultimatum to the centre...

Read More..

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...

Read More..

City Answers Gang-Rape Cover-Up Allegations

As Steubenville, Ohio, prepares for the high-profile rape trial of two high school football players, officials, battling allegations of a cover-up, announced the creation of a new website today to debunk rumors and create what they said would be a transparent resource for the community."This site is not designed to be a forum for how the Juvenile Court ought to rule in this matter,"...

Read More..

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,...

Read More..

Tennis: Tsonga withdraws from Sydney event with injury

SYDNEY: French tennis star Jo-Wilfried Tsonga has withdrawn from next week's Sydney International with a hamstring injury, tournament organisers said on Saturday.The world number eight pulled out of the last major leadup event to this month's Australian Open after suffering the injury playing for France in the mixed teams Hopman Cup in Perth on Friday."Unfortunately Jo-Wilfried Tsonga...

Read More..

Stop helping black money hoarders: Kejriwal to govt

NEW DELHI: Aam Aadmi Party convener Arvind Kejriwal on Friday accused the government of protecting Indians who laundered black money asking it to take a cue from the United States. The renewed offensive comes after reports that a Swiss bank had been forced to shut down after it pleaded guilty to helping Amercians evade taxes. The US government has also charged the bank $57.8 million as fine.News...

Read More..

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 could cost businesses close to half a billion dollars a year to implement, but are expected to reduce the estimated 3,000 deaths...

Read More..

Obama Poised to Name New Defense, Treasury Chiefs

With the "fiscal cliff" crisis behind him, President Obama is poised to name two new key players to his cabinet, with both announcements expected to come next week.Obama will name the replacement for outgoing Defense Secretary Leon Panetta as soon as Monday, sources told ABC News. Former Republican Sen. Chuck Hagel is the likely nominee, they said.Meanwhile, the president is...

Read More..

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. ...

Read More..

Olympics 100m bottle-thrower 'wanted Bolt to lose'

LONDON: A man screamed abuse at Usain Bolt before throwing a plastic beer bottle on to the track shortly before the men's 100 metres final at the London Olympics, prosecutors said at his trial on Thursday.Ashley Gill-Webb, 34, pushed his way to the front of an exclusive seating area without a ticket and shouted things like: "Usain, I want you to lose," Stratford Magistrates' Court in east...

Read More..

Punjabi songs deepening caste rift

JALANDHAR: When division on caste lines in Punjab especially in rural areas has been deepening, a good part of Punjabi songs have acted as a catalyst in the phenomena. After dozens of songs have been churned out eulogizing "jatt", his superiority in the past over two decades, this also caused a reaction among dalits with several songs coming out in the last three years revolving around a lower caste...

Read More..

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...

Read More..

Senate Panel Probes Bin Laden Movie Torture Scenes

The Senate Intelligence Committee has launched a new probe to determine how much the CIA may have influenced the portrayal of torture scenes shown in "Zero Dark Thirty," the Hollywood dramatization of the decade-long hunt for Osama bin Laden.The probe, as first reported by Reuters and confirmed to ABC News by a spokesperson for the committee's chairman, will attempt to answer two...

Read More..

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...

Read More..

Pentagon welcomes fiscal deal, warns against cuts

WASHINGTON: US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta on Wednesday welcomed a deal to avert automatic budget cuts that would have slashed military spending and caused "damaging" consequences.But the Pentagon chief urged more decisive action from Congress to remove the threat of mandatory cuts to defence spending that could be triggered in two months if lawmakers fail to break a stalemate over...

Read More..

SC notice to Centre and state on women safety

NEW DELHI: In the backdrop of Delhi's gruesome gang-rape and a spontaneous outpouring of public outrage, the Supreme Court on its first sitting in the New Year on Wednesday looked determined to make women feel safer and considered two PILs while seeking responses of the Centre and states in respect to one of them. If a bench headed by Chief Justice Altamas Kabir agreed to list for hearing on Thursday...

Read More..

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...

Read More..

Christie Calls Boehner's Sandy Decision 'Disgusting'

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie said today that it was "disgusting" that the House adjourned without voting on a $60 billion relief package for the victims of superstorm Sandy and put the blame squarely on a fellow Republican -- House Speaker John Boehner.Christie, who is considered a possible Republican presidential candidate four years from now, said there was "only one group...

Read More..

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...

Read More..

Britain urges bold G8 action on global economy

LONDON: British Prime Minister David Cameron called on his fellow G8 leaders on Wednesday to start work now on agreeing "bold steps" to help boost global economic growth, ahead of a summit he will host in June.In a letter marking the start of Britain's presidency of the Group of Eight richest nations, Cameron laid out his three priorities for the year: to extend free trade, tackle tax...

Read More..

Geetika suicide is a minor case: Haryana minister

CHANDIGARH: Haryana's minister of state for public relations and cultural affairs Shiv Charan Lal Sharma is under fire for describing Geetika Sharma as his former colleague Gopal Kanda's "mere servant". Kanda, a former Haryana home minister, is in jail for allegedly pushing Geetika to suicide.Sharma had also described Geetika's suicide as a "minor one" while speaking at a gathering in Sirsa to celebrate...

Read More..

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...

Read More..

House Hesitates, Cites Cliff Deal Spending

Top House Republicans today opposed a bipartisan compromise that passed the Senate in the wee hours of New Year's Day to avert the "fiscal cliff," amid concerns about the cost of spending and extending tax cuts in the plan.If House Republicans tweak the legislation, as they seem likely to do, there's no clear path for its return to the Senate before a new Congress is sworn in...

Read More..