Feb
13

Clues to why most survived China melamine scandal

WASHINGTON (AP) — Scientists wondering why some children and not others survived one of China's worst food safety scandals have uncovered a suspect: germs that live in the gut.In 2008, at least six babies died and 300,000 became sick after being fed infant formula that had been deliberately and illegally tainted with the industrial chemical melamine. There were some lingering puzzles: How did it cause...
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Feb
12

Fort Hood Hero Says President 'Betrayed' Victims

Three years after the White House arranged a hero's welcome at the State of the Union address for the Fort Hood police sergeant and her partner who stopped the deadly shooting there, Kimberly Munley says President Obama broke the promise he made to her that the victims would be well taken care of."Betrayed is a good word," former Sgt. Munley told ABC News in a tearful interview...
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North Korean nuclear test draws anger, including from China

SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea conducted its third nuclear test on Tuesday in defiance of U.N. resolutions, drawing condemnation from around the world, including from its only major ally, China, which summoned the North Korean ambassador to protest. Pyongyang said the test was an act of self-defense against "U.S. hostility" and threatened stronger steps if necessary. The test...
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Convicted French rogue trader seeks to reverse fine in court

PARIS: French rogue trader Jerome Kerviel said on Tuesday he was trying to render meaningless the 4.9 billion euros in damages he owes to Societe Generale by seeking the same amount from the bank in a labour court.Kerviel, convicted to three years in jail, said on RTL radio that he had filed a case in the Paris labour court seeking 4.9 billion euros ($6.6 billion) in damages from Societe...
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National Advisory Council to discuss cash transfer scheme

NEW DELHI: National Advisory Council chairperson Sonia Gandhi has agreed to discuss the cash transfer scheme at a meeting of the UPA's think tank after some members raised concerns about its efficacy and consequences for other social security schemes run by the government, especially the National Food Security Bill. The scheme is likely to be deliberated upon at the next meeting of the council...
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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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Feb
11

Controversy, Outreach Mark Pope Benedict's Reign

Pope Benedict XVI's unprecedented announcement today that he will resign Feb. 28 brings to a close one of the shortest papacies in history, for which the pontiff will leave a legacy as a leader with views in line with church tradition, but also as one who worked during a controversial reign to advance religious links cross the globe.The pope's decision, which he announced in...
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Pope's sudden resignation sends shockwaves through Church

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope Benedict stunned the Roman Catholic Church including his closest advisers on Monday when he announced he would stand down in the first papal abdication in 700 years, saying he no longer had the mental and physical strength to run the Church through a period of major crisis. Church officials tried to relay a climate of calm confidence in the running of a 2,000-year-old...
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Pope announces shock resignation in historic move

VATICAN CITY: Pope Benedict XVI announced on Monday he will resign this month because of his advancing age in a fast-changing world, becoming the first pontiff in 700 years to step down of his own free will.The 85-year-old said he will step down on February 28 after just eight years in office, making his one of the shortest pontificates in modern history and stunning the world's 1.1 billion...
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Don’t agonize over my death, Afzal Guru wrote in last letter

NEW DELHI: The morning that Afzal Guru was to be executed, he wrote a letter to his wife, Tabassum. Written in Urdu, he handed it over to jail officials before he was marched out for his execution. "He pressed the letter into the jail superintendent's handjust before he was asked to step out of his cell. All he said was that it was meant for his wife and to please ensure that it reached her safely,"...
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