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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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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Pope shows lifetime jobs aren't always for life

The pope's announcement that he will resign has taken many people by surprise, but experts on aging say perhaps it shouldn't.They say that as people live longer, the physical and mental challenges of old age are catching up with more of those in positions of power. Many are choosing to step down instead of continuing in jobs traditionally held until death.Justices appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court...

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Paterno Family Fights 'Rush to Injustice'

The Paterno family is fighting to restore the legacy of former Penn State football coach Joe Paterno, flatly denying the allegations in the report by former FBI Director Louis Freeh that the legendary coach was complicit in a coverup of child sexual abuse by a former assistant coach."The Critique of the Freeh Report: The Rush to Injustice Regarding Joe Paterno," the report prepared...

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Gunbattle rocks Gao after rebels surprise French, Malians

GAO, Mali (Reuters) - Islamist insurgents launched a surprise raid in the heart of the Malian town of Gao on Sunday, battling French and local troops in a blow to efforts to secure Mali's recaptured north. Local residents hid in their homes or crouched behind walls as the crackle of gunfire from running street battles resounded through the sandy streets and mud-brick houses of the ancient...

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