Exclusive: North Korea tells China of preparations for fresh nuclear test - source

BEIJING (Reuters) - North Korea has told its key ally, China, that it is prepared to stage one or even two more nuclear tests this year in an effort to force the United States into diplomatic talks, said a source with direct knowledge of the message. Further tests could also be accompanied this year by another rocket launch, said the source, who has direct access to the top levels of...

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Spike in dengue cases in first months of 2013

SINGAPORE: Dengue cases have spiked in the first couple of months this year.In the first week of January, there were 100 cases. This number climbed to more than 300 cases last week.Within Punggol South, there have been more than 100 cases reported in seven clusters.To remind residents in the area to do their part in preventing dengue, Second Minister for the Environment and Water Resources...

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Sushilkumar Shinde should clarify on Arun Jaitley surveillance issue: BJP

NEW DELHI: Condemning the "unauthorised surveillance" on its leader Arun Jaitley, BJP on Saturday said it will not take things "lying down" and asked home minister Sushilkumar Shinde to clarify on who ordered the collection of his call details.BJP president Rajnath Singh also termed the issue as "serious" and demanded that all those involved in the incident should be brought to book. "Further investigations...

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UN warns risk of hepatitis E in S. Sudan grows

GENEVA (AP) — The United Nations says an outbreak of hepatitis E has killed 111 refugees in camps in South Sudan since July, and has become endemic in the region.U.N. refugee agency spokesman Adrian Edwards says the influx of people to the camps from neighboring Sudan is believed to be one of the factors in the rapid spread of the contagious, life-threatening inflammatory viral disease of the liver.Edwards...

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Carnival Cruise Ship Hit With First Lawsuit

The first lawsuit against Carnival Cruise Lines has been filed and it is expected to be the beginning of a wave of lawsuits against the ship's owners.Cassie Terry, 25, of Brazoria County, Texas, filed a lawsuit today in Miami federal court, calling the disabled Triumph cruise ship "a floating hell.""Plaintiff was forced to endure unbearable and horrendous odors on the filthy and...

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Meteorite hits central Russia, more than 500 people hurt

CHELYABINSK, Russia (Reuters) - More than 500 people were injured when a meteorite shot across the sky and exploded over central Russia on Friday, sending fireballs crashing to Earth, shattering windows and damaging buildings. People heading to work in Chelyabinsk heard what sounded like an explosion, saw a bright light and then felt a shockwave according to a Reuters correspondent in the industrial...

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66-year-old man arrested for alleged outrage of modesty

SINGAPORE: Police have arrested a 66-year-old male suspect for a case of outrage of modesty.Police were notified of the case on Friday evening when an 11-year-old victim reported that he was kissed and touched inappropriately by an unknown man in the vicinity of Yishun Street 11. Following the report, officers from Ang Mo Kio Police Division conducted extensive follow-up and managed to...

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Govt to scrap Rs 3,546 crore Finmecccanica chopper deal

NEW DELHI: The Rs 3,546 crore deal for 12 AgustaWestland AW-101 helicopters is going to be scrapped. The defence ministry on Friday initiated action for cancellation of the contract inked in February 2010. It issued a formal show-cause notice to the UK-based subsidiary of Finmeccanica to explain within a week why the contract should not be cancelled. The Times of India had reported on Thursday that...

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Study: Fish in drug-tainted water suffer reaction

BOSTON (AP) — What happens to fish that swim in waters tainted by traces of drugs that people take? When it's an anti-anxiety drug, they become hyper, anti-social and aggressive, a study found. They even get the munchies.It may sound funny, but it could threaten the fish population and upset the delicate dynamics of the marine environment, scientists say.The findings, published online Thursday in...

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Nightmare Ends: Passengers Leave Disabled Ship

After five days without power in the Gulf of Mexico, the more than 4,200 people aboard the Carnival Triumph returned home to the U.S., with many of them telling their horror stories for the first time.Passengers began to disembark the damaged ship around 10:15 p.m. CT Thursday in Mobile, Ala. The last passenger disembarked the ship at 1 a.m. local time, according to Carnival's...

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North Korea nuclear test prompts stern warnings from neighbors

SEOUL/TOKYO (Reuters) - South Korea sent a stern warning to North Korea on Thursday, two days after the North tested a nuclear bomb, saying it could strike the isolated state if it believed an attack was imminent as it deployed a new cruise missile to drive home its point. North Korea conducted its third nuclear test on Tuesday, in defiance of U.N. resolutions, pushing it further along...

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Athletics: Pistorius charged with murder

PRETORIA - South Africa's Olympic sprint star Oscar "Blade Runner" Pistorius has been charged with the Valentine's Day murder of his model girlfriend, police confirmed Thursday ahead of his expected court appearance."I can confirm that a suspect has been charged, he has been charged with murder," said Lieutenant-Colonel Katlego Mogale. Officials said there was no other suspect in the case. !--...

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TDP leader Chandrababu Naidu falls, suffers minor injuries

HYDERABAD: Telugu Desam Party (TDP) leader N Chandrababu Naidu suffered minor injuries when a makeshift dais collapsed while he was garlanding a statue in Guntur district on Thursday, a party leader has said.The incident took place at Kolakaluru village in Guntur district during Naidu's 'padyatra' (march).A TDP leader said Naidu escaped with minor injuries to his leg as his security guards tried...

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Morning-after pill use up to 1 in 9 younger women

NEW YORK (AP) — About 1 in 9 younger women have used the morning-after pill after sex, according to the first government report to focus on emergency contraception since its approval 15 years ago.The results come from a survey of females ages 15 to 44. Eleven percent of those who'd had sex reported using a morning-after pill. That's up from 4 percent in 2002, only a few years after the pills went...

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'Blade Runner' Charged With Murder of Girlfriend

Oscar Pistorius, the Olympic and Paralympic athlete known as the "blade runner," was taken into custody in South Africa today and charged with the murder of his girlfriend, who was fatally shot at his home.Police in the South African capital of Pretoria received a call around 3 a.m. Thursday that there had been a shooting at the home of 26-year-old Pistorius, Lt. Col. Katlego...

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Pope asks for support after decision to resign, says strength diminishing

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope Benedict, in his first public comments since he announced that he would become the first pontiff in centuries to resign, on Wednesday said he was fully aware of the gravity of his decision but confident that it would not hurt the Church. "Continue to pray for me, for the Church and for the future pope," he said in unscripted remarks at the start of his weekly...

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EU ministers to meet on horsemeat crisis

BRUSSELS: European Union farm ministers hold crisis talks in Brussels on Wednesday to agree a response to a scandal over mislabelled frozen meat products which is spreading across Europe.The snap talks come a day after British police searching for the source of horsemeat found in kebabs and burgers raided two meat plants, the first such operation in the row, and France became the second...

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2G scam: Rajnath Singh demands widening of probe

RAIPUR: Bharatiya Janata Party(BJP) president Rajnath Singh on Wednesday demanded widening of the scope of a probe into prosecutor-accused collusion in the 2G spectrum scam case saying he suspected involvement of more influential people. "A detailed probe is needed to find out who all were behind revealing the prosecution strategy with one of the accused. Even there may be some ministers and officers",...

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Charred Human Remains Found in Burned Cabin

Investigators have located charred human remains in the burned out cabin where they believe suspected cop killer and ex-LAPD officer Christopher Dorner was holed up as the structure burned to the ground, police said.The human remains were found within the debris of the burned cabin and identification will be attempted through forensic means, the San Bernardino County Sheriff-Coroner...

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China joins U.S., Japan, EU in condemning North Korea nuclear test

SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea conducted its third nuclear test on Tuesday in defiance of existing U.N. resolutions, drawing condemnation from the United States, Japan, Europe and Pyongyang's only major ally, China, which summoned the North Korean ambassador to protest. The North said the test had "greater explosive force" than the 2006 and 2009 tests. Its KCNA news agency said it had...

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North Korea threatens "stronger" action after nuke test

SEOUL: North Korea said its nuclear test on Tuesday was only a "first" step and warned of stronger action if it was faced with tougher sanctions as a result."The latest nuclear test was only the first action, with which we exercised as much self-restraint as possible," the foreign ministry said in a statement carried by the country's official news agency."If the US further complicates...

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Father wants son out of Kerala cabinet

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Kerala Congress (Pillai) leader R. Balakrishna Pillai Tuesday asked Chief Minister Oommen Chandy to drop his (Pillai's) son and minister K.B. Ganesh Kumar from the cabinet.The father and son have been at war for over a year. A letter making this demand was handed over to Chandy by an aide to the senior Pillai.Ganesh Kumar is the forest, sports and cinema minister.At a meeting...

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Pope shows lifetime jobs aren't always for life

The world seems surprised that an 85-year-old globe-trotting pope who just started tweeting wants to resign, but should it be? Maybe what should be surprising is that more leaders his age do not, considering the toll aging takes on bodies and minds amid a culture of constant communication and change.There may be more behind the story of why Pope Benedict XVI decided to leave a job normally held for...

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Obama Calls N. Korea Nuke Test 'Highly Provocative'

President Obama called North Korea's latest nuclear test "a highly provocative act" that undermines regional stability and threatens international peace.North Korea announced earlier today that it successfully tested a miniaturized nuclear device underground, according to state media.Official state media said the test was conducted in a safe manner and is aimed at coping with...

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Benedict to resign, first pontiff since Middle Ages to quit

ROME (Reuters) - Pope Benedict, leader of the world's 1.2 billion Catholics, said on Monday he will resign on Feb 28. because he no longer has the strength to fulfill the duties of his office, becoming the first pontiff since the Middle Ages to take such a step. The 85-year-old German-born Pope, hailed as a hero by conservative Catholics and viewed with suspicion by liberals, said he...

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US economy picks up, China might slow: OECD indicator

PARIS: Economic activity in the United States is rising, in the eurozone it is steadying, but in China and India the growth trend is slowing, leading indicators from the OECD showed on Monday.The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development said that its index of leading indicators suggested that economic growth in the United States was "firming".Activity in Britain was also firming...

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Railways struggling to deal with Kumbh rush as stampede toll reaches 36

ALLAHABAD: Frantic relatives mobbed officials on Monday seeking information about victims of Sunday's stampede which has claimed 36 lives even as the railways had a tough time dealing with the rush of three crore Kumbh devotees thronging the city. There were chaotic scenes at the railway station and local hospitals here treating the 39 injured in the tragedy with relatives running from pillar to...

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What heals traumatized kids? Answers are lacking

CHICAGO (AP) — Shootings and other traumatic events involving children are not rare events, but there's a startling lack of scientific evidence on the best ways to help young survivors and witnesses heal, a government-funded analysis found.School-based counseling treatments showed the most promise, but there's no hard proof that anxiety drugs or other medication work and far more research is needed...

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