Israel's Lieberman says Palestinian peace accord impossible

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel has no chance of signing a permanent peace accord with the Palestinians and should instead seek a long-term interim deal, the most powerful political partner of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Saturday. The remarks by Avigdor Lieberman, an ultranationalist whose joint party list with Netanyahu narrowly won a January 22 election while centrist challengers...

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Tennis: Czechs eye Fed Cup semi-finals, US, Japan fight back

PARIS: Defending champions the Czech Republic, bidding to become the first country in 18 years to capture three successive Fed Cup titles, opened a 2-0 lead over Australia in their first round clash on Saturday.Petra Kvitova gave the holders a convincing start in the eastern Czech city of Ostrava when the world number eight beat Australia's 168-ranked Jarmila Gajdosova 7-6 (7/2), 6-3.Lucie...

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Maoists plan to resurrect movement in Andhra Odisha Border

VISAKHAPATAM: CPI (Maoist ), the banned Naxalite outfit, is quietly working on a strategy to regain lost ground and resurrect the movement in Visakhapatnam and East Godavari districts. Top Maoist leaders are learnt to be seriously chalking out plans to reclaim control over the AOB (Andhra Odisha Border) that acts as a bridge for Maoists moving from Chhattisgarh to Odisha and northern Andhra Pradesh....

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After early start, worst of flu season may be over

NEW YORK (AP) — The worst of the flu season appears to be over.The number of states reporting intense or widespread illnesses dropped again last week, and in a few states there was very little flu going around, U.S. health officials said Friday.The season started earlier than normal, first in the Southeast and then spreading. But now, by some measures, flu activity has been ebbing for at least four...

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After Blizzard, Northeast Begins to Dig Out

The Northeast began the arduous process of cleaning up after a fierce storm swept through the region leaving behind up to three feet of snow in some areas.By early this morning, 650,000 homes and businesses were without power and at least five deaths were being blamed on the storm: three in Canada, one in New York and one in Connecticut, The Associated Press reported.The storm...

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China, Japan engage in new invective over disputed isles

BEIJING (Reuters) - China and Japan engaged on Friday in a fresh round of invective over military movements near a disputed group of uninhabited islands, fuelling tension that for months has bedeviled relations between the Asian powers. An increasingly muscular China has been repeatedly at odds with others in the region over rival claims to small clusters of islands, most recently with...

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Cricket: Pollard century fails to prevent easy Australian win

SYDNEY: Australia maintained their dominance over the West Indies cruising to a five-wicket victory to lead their one-day international series 4-0 at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Friday.Only a belligerent unbeaten century from man-of-the-match Kieron Pollard gave the West Indies a respectable score of 220 after they were 55 for six at one stage.But it was easily run down by the Australians,...

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Narendra Modi to stick to governance issues

NEW DELHI: As BJP faces the tricky task of dealing with the demand of a section of the Sangh Parivar to push a more pronounced Hindutva agenda, Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi is likely to stick to more neutral ground like the economy, jobs and development.Modi can be expected to speak on security and terrorism, a theme he touched on obliquely at a Delhi college on Wednesday when speaking of...

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Health officials: Worst of flu season may be over

NEW YORK (AP) — The worst of the flu season appears to be over.The number of states reporting intense or widespread flu dropped again last week, U.S. health officials said Friday.The season started earlier than normal, spiking first in the Southeast and then spreading. But now, by some measures, flu activity has been ebbing for at least four weeks in much of the country. Flu and pneumonia...

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Blizzard of 2013: Monster Storm Bears Down

A blizzard of possibly historic proportions is set to strike the Northeast, starting today and bringing up to 2 feet of snow and strong winds that could shut down densely populated cities such as Boston and New York City.A storm from the west will join forces with one from the south to form a nor'easter that will sit and spin just off the East Coast, affecting more than 43 million...

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Iran's Khamenei rebuffs U.S. offer of direct talks

DUBAI (Reuters) - Iran's highest authority, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, on Thursday slapped down an offer of direct talks made by U.S. Vice President Joe Biden last week, saying they would not solve the problem between them. "Some naive people like the idea of negotiating with America, however, negotiations will not solve the problem," Khamenei said in a speech to officials and members of...

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Gymnastics: Silver lining for Singapore gymnasts

SINGAPORE: Singapore's gymnasts may have missed out on the opportunity to compete in this year's South-east Asian (SEA) Games in Myanmar in December after their sport was axed by the hosts.However, they will still get to compete in two regional championships - of similar standard to the gymnastics competition at the biennial Games - at the tail end of the year.According to Singapore Gymnastics...

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Supreme Court permits Jafri to file fresh petition against Modi clean chit

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Thursday allowed Jakia Jafri to file a fresh petition challenging the SC-appointed Special Investigation Team's "clean chit" to Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi and others in her complaint accusing them of abdicating constitutional duty to stop the 2002 communal riots. A bench comprising Justices P Sathasivam, Aftab Alam and Ranjana P Desai set aside the trial...

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Southern diet, fried foods, may raise stroke risk

Deep-fried foods may be causing trouble in the Deep South. People whose diets are heavy on them and sugary drinks like sweet tea and soda were more likely to suffer a stroke, a new study finds.It's the first big look at diet and strokes, and researchers say it might help explain why blacks in the Southeast — the nation's "stroke belt" — suffer more of them.Blacks were five times more likely than whites...

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Suspect Tried to Flee Country Before Cop Shooting

The fired ex-California cop who set off a region-wide manhunt after allegedly shooting three police officers this morning -- one fatally -- had initially gone to a yacht club near San Diego where police say he attempted to steal a boat and flee to Mexico.Police say that former police officer Christopher Jordan Dorner, 33, who officials believe posted an online manifesto outlining...

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Tunisian leader to form new government after activist shot

TUNIS (Reuters) - The killing of an outspoken critic of Tunisia's Islamist-led government on Wednesday sparked street protests by thousands who fear religious radicals are stifling freedoms won two years ago in the first of the Arab Spring uprisings. Chokri Belaid was shot at close range as he left for work by a gunmen who fled on the back of a motorcycle; crowds poured on to the streets...

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Football: Pedro's double sees Spain past Uruguay

DOHA: World and European champions Spain stretched their unbeaten run at senior international level to 17 games with a 3-1 win over Uruguay on Wednesday thanks to two goals from Pedro Rodriguez.A goalkeeping error from Fernando Muslera gifted Spain the lead after just 16 minutes as he allowed Cesc Fabregas' long-range effort to slip through his grasp, but Uruguay were deservedly level...

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At Kumbh, Rajnath says Ram temple if BJP gets own majority

LUCKNOW/ALLAHABAD: BJP president Rajnath Singh on Wednesday assured seers and saints gathered for the Maha Kumbh Mela that a Ram temple at Ayodhya was a matter of faith for Hindus and that the BJP was committed to its construction "once it comes to power with a majority". "It was our pledge and will remain our pledge to build a Ram Temple in Ayodhya," Rajnath said while attending the Marg Darshan...

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FBI Releases Alaska Serial Killer's Handwritten Notes

Serial killer Israel Keyes' blood smeared suicide letter, obtained by ABCNews.com, is a creepy ode to murder in which he clearly enjoys killing his victims and expresses his disgust with peoples' everyday lives."You may have been free, you loved loving your lie, fate had its own scheme, crushed like a bug you still die," Keyes wrote.At another point he writes about the "nervous...

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Iran's Ahmadinejad kissed and scolded in Egypt

CAIRO (Reuters) - Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was both kissed and scolded on Tuesday when he began the first visit to Egypt by an Iranian president since Tehran's 1979 Islamic revolution. The trip was meant to underline a thaw in relations since Egyptians elected an Islamist head of state, President Mohamed Mursi, last June. But it also highlighted deep theological and geopolitical differences....

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Syria opposition talks offer suffers setbacks

DAMASCUS: An offer of talks by Syria's main opposition leader to President Bashar al-Assad suffered setbacks on Tuesday as state media said it was two years too late, and a principal opposing faction flatly rejected the idea.Assad himself has yet to comment on the offer from Ahmed Moaz al-Khatib of the opposition National Coalition who says "the ball is now in the regime's court".Khatib...

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Rs 10,000 crore cut in defence budget hits critical procurement deals

NEW DELHI: A deadly double whammy has hit the armed forces. As it is, the entire Indian defence procurement process is a long-winded, tortuous one. To make matters worse, it often gets derailed by allegations and complaints - some genuine but many motivated. And now, with the defence capital acquisitions budget being slashed by around Rs 10,000 crore — as was first reported by TOI last month — several...

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Critics seek to delay NYC sugary drinks size limit

NEW YORK (AP) — Opponents are pressing to delay enforcement of the city's novel plan to crack down on supersized, sugary drinks, saying businesses shouldn't have to spend millions of dollars to comply until a court rules on whether the measure is legal.With the rule set to take effect March 12, beverage industry, restaurant and other business groups have asked a judge to put it on hold at least until...

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Rescued Ala. Boy Watching Cartoons in Hospital

The 5-year-old held hostage in a nearly week-long standoff in Alabama is cheerfully watching Spongebob and posting sticky notes on everyone around him at the hospital as organizers plan a birthday party for him so big it may take place at a high school football stadium.The boy, identified only as Ethan, is apparently unharmed but is at the hospital for numerous evaluations,...

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