Algeria Hostage Crisis Over, One American Dead

After the Algerian military's final assault on terrorists holding hostages at a gas complex, the four-day hostage crisis is over, but apparently with additional loss of life among the foreign hostages.One American, Fred Buttaccio of Texas, has been confirmed dead by the U.S. State Department. Two more U.S. hostages remain unaccounted for, with growing concern among U.S. officials...

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Foreigners still trapped in Sahara hostage crisis

ALGIERS/IN AMENAS, Algeria (Reuters) - More than 20 foreigners were captive or missing inside a desert gas plant on Saturday, nearly two days after the Algerian army launched an assault to free them that saw many hostages killed. The standoff between the Algerian army and al Qaeda-linked gunmen - one of the biggest international hostage crises in decades - entered its fourth day, having...

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Boeing suspends 787 Dreamliner deliveries

NEW YORK: US aerospace giant Boeing said late Friday it had suspended deliveries of its new 787 Dreamliner jet until a battery problem is resolved, but continues to build the plane."We will not deliver 787s until the FAA approves a means of compliance with their recent Airworthiness Directive concerning batteries and the approved approach has been implemented," a Boeing spokesman said...

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Bangalore student commits suicide in Germany

BANGALORE: A Bangalore student enrolled in a post-graduate course in Siegen University, Germany, died under mysterious circumstances. While German authorities said it was a clear case of suicide, the youth's family expressed doubts about it. The body of Likhith Shashidhar, 24, who was found hanging in his apartment in Kreuztal, allegedly by a computer cable tied around his neck on January 8, was...

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Flu season 'bad one for the elderly,' CDC says

The number of older people hospitalized with the flu has risen sharply, prompting federal officials to take unusual steps to make more flu medicines available and to urge wider use of them as soon as symptoms appear.The U.S. is about halfway through this flu season, and "it's shaping up to be a worse-than-average season" and a bad one for the elderly, said Dr. Thomas Frieden, director of the Centers...

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One American Confirmed Dead in Algeria

U.S. officials told ABC News that at least one American has been killed in the hostage standoff at an Algerian gas plant, and the family of the deceased American has been notified.An al Qaeda-linked group called the Masked Brigade and led by the one-eyed jihadi Mokhtar Belmokhtar raided the BP joint venture facility in In Amenas on Wednesday, taking an undetermined number of...

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Thirty hostages reported killed in Algeria assault

ALGIERS (Reuters) - Thirty hostages and at least 11 Islamist militants were killed on Thursday when Algerian forces stormed a desert gas plant in a bid to free many dozens of Western and local captives, an Algerian security source said. Details remained scant - including for Western governments, some of which did little to disguise irritation at being kept in the dark by Algeria before...

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Australia's Qantas cancels one Dreamliner, 14 still on order

SYDNEY: Australian airline Qantas Friday said it was cutting its order for Dreamliner aircraft by one, but said it had planned this move before the Boeing jets were grounded worldwide and still had 14 on order.Qantas had initially said it would not be changing its order for 15 of the fuel-efficient aircraft after a Japanese jet was forced into an emergency landing on Wednesday, triggering...

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Mulayam threatens changes in LS candidate list

LUCKNOW: In yet another denunciation of AkhileshYadav governance in Uttar Pradesh, Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav, on Thursday, said there were instances of those in power serving their "own interest" rather than focusing on "public interest". He also hinted the party may give a re-look to the list of 63 candidates it announced for the LokSabha elections scheduled in 2014."I am aware of...

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Will Obama's order lead to surge in gun research?

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Nearly as many Americans die from guns as from car crashes each year. We know plenty about the second problem and far less about the first. A scarcity of research on how to prevent gun violence has left policymakers shooting in the dark as they craft gun control measures without much evidence of what works.That could change with President Barack Obama's order Wednesday to ease research...

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