Tennis: Nadal out of Australian Open

MADRID: World number four Rafael Nadal pulled out of the Australian Open on Friday, claiming he was still suffering from the stomach virus which caused him to cancel his plans to return to action in the Gulf this week.Nadal, the 11-time Grand Slam title winner, has also withdrawn from the Qatar Open which starts on Monday and where he was due to play his first official tournament since...

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Delhi gang rape: Girl's condition deteriorates with severe organ failure, put on maximum life support

NEW DELHI: The 23-year-old Delhi gang-rape victim who is undergoing treatment in Mount Elizabeth Hospital in Singapore remains to be critical. The latest medical bulletin issued by the hospital on her health said that the condition of the girl has deteriorated with signs of severe organ failure. The girl has been put on maximum artificial ventilation support now. Dr Kelvin Loh, CEO of Mount Elizabeth...

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How to Live to a Ripe Old Age

Cento di questi giorni. May you have a hundred birthdays, the Italians say, and some of them do. So do other people in various spots around the world—in Blue Zones, so named by National Geographic Fellow Dan Buettner for the blue ink that outlines these special areas on maps developed over more than a decade. (National Geographic News is part of the National Geographic Society.)In his...

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Man Killed After Being Pushed in Front of NY Subway

Detectives in New York are searching for a female suspect who fled a subway station after a man was fatally pushed in front of a train on an elevated platform in Queens, N.Y.At 8:04 p.m. on Thursday an unnamed man was standing on the northbound platform at 40th Street and Queens Blvd., waiting for the 7 train. Witnesses told police that a woman was walking back and forth on...

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Egypt prosecutor orders probe into opposition "incitement"

CAIRO: Egypt's public prosecutor on Thursday ordered a probe into the top three leaders of the opposition on suspicion of trying to incite followers to overthrow President Mohamed Morsi, a legal source said.The prosecutor, Taalat Ibrahim Abdallah, who was appointed by Morsi late last month, signed the order against the leaders of the opposition National Salvation Front, which led protests...

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Subhash Tomar was beaten up by protesters, third witness says

NEW DELHI: In a fresh twist in the death of constable Subhash Tomar, a 30-year-old contractor on Thursday sought to debunk claims of two youths that the policeman was not injured and died of cardiac arrest and alleged that he saw a group of men attacking him. Salim Alvi, who belongs to Bulandshahr, recorded his statement before Delhi Crime Branch, which is investigating the case, claiming that...

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Space Pictures This Week: Green Lantern, Supersonic Star

Green LanternImage courtesy Caltech/SSI/NASAAnother glorious, backlit view of the planet Saturn and its rings has been captured by NASA's Cassini spacecraft, as seen in a picture...

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Newtown Shooter's DNA to Be Studied

Geneticists have been asked to study the DNA of Adam Lanza, the Connecticut man whose shooting rampage killed 27 people, including an entire first grade class.The study, which experts believe may be the first of its kind, is expected to be looking for abnormalities or mutations in Lanza's DNA.Connecticut Medical Examiner H. Wayne Carver has reached out to University of Connecticut's...

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Democrats push for tax cuts they once opposed

Democrats seeking a deal to avert the year-end “fiscal cliff” are trying to etch into stone the signature economic achievement of Republican President George W. Bush by permanently extending tax cuts enacted during his tenure. President Obama has put the extension of the tax cuts for most Americans at the top of his domestic agenda, a remarkable turnaround for Democrats, who had staunchly...

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US home prices up in October from year earlier

WASHINGTON: US home prices rose 4.3 percent in October as compared with last year, the fastest 12-month increase since May 2010, according to S&P/Case-Shiller statistics released on Wednesday.The 20-city price index declined 0.1 percent from September, according to data not adjusted for seasonal variations, but the group emphasized the strong year-on-year figures.On a seasonally-adjusted...

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Trai asked to reconsider Arasu TV issue expeditiously: Manish Tewari

NEW DELHI: With Tamil Nadu making a strong pitch for granting a license to state-owned Arasu TV to run its cable network, the Centre today said it has asked Trai to expeditiously reconsider its recommendation on allowing government entities into broadcasting and distribution. "... we have referred the matter back to the Trai for reconsideration as to whether the state government or the central...

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Space Pictures This Week: Green Lantern, Supersonic Star

Green LanternImage courtesy Caltech/SSI/NASAAnother glorious, backlit view of the planet Saturn and its rings has been captured by NASA's Cassini spacecraft, as seen in a picture...

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Storms Spawn 34 Tornado Reports Across South

Severe Christmas day weather tore across the deep South, spinning off 34 possible tornadoes and killing at least three people in its path, while extreme weather is forecast throughout today for parts of the East Coast.The storm first pounded Texas, then touched down in Louisiana and blasted through homes in Mississippi. In Mobile, Ala., a wide funnel cloud was barreled across...

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Federal workers feel unease over potential layoffs, furloughs unleashed by ‘fiscal cliff’

Federal employees have been skeptical for months that the biggest cuts to government spending in history could really happen. But with the “fiscal cliff” a week away, workers are now growing increasingly alarmed that their jobs and their missions could be on the line. President Obama and members of Congress headed out of town late last week for a Christmas break without reaching a deal...

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Tennis: Stomach virus rules Nadal out of Abu Dhabi return

MADRID: Former men's tennis world number one Rafael Nadal's long-awaited return after an agonising six-month knee injury battle has been put off because of a stomach infection, he revealed on his Twitter and Facebook sites on Tuesday.The 26-year-old Spaniard - who hasn't played since his shock second round exit to 100th-ranked Lukas Rosol at Wimbledon in June - had been due to play in...

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Kalyan's Rashtriya Jankranti Party to merge with BJP on Jan 21

LUCKNOW: Former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Kalyan Singh on Tuesday said his party Rashtriya Jankranti Party would merge with the BJP in a rally to be held here on January 21.Kalyan, who has made a re-entry into BJP, made the announcement while addressing a function to celebrate 88th birthday of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee at Gulala ghat as the chief guest.He said that Vajpayee...

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Photos: Humboldt Squid Have a Bad Day at the Beach

Photograph by Chris Elmenhurst, Surf the Spot Photography“Strandings have been taking place with increased frequency along the west coast over the past ten years,” noted NOAA’s Field, “as this population of squid seems to be expanding its range—likely a consequence of climate change—and can be very abundant at times.” (Learn about other jumbo squid strandings.)Humboldt squid are typically found in...

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Winter Storms, Tornado Threats for Christmas in US

Forecasts of snow, sleet and freezing rain threatened to complicate Christmas Day travel around the nation's midsection Tuesday as several Gulf Coast states braced for a chance of twisters and powerful thunderstorms.A blizzard watch was posted for parts of Indiana and western Kentucky for storms expected to develop Tuesday amid predictions of up to 4 to 7 inches of snow in...

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Two firefighters shot dead in New York state: media

NEW YORK: Two firefighters were shot dead and two others wounded in New York state on Monday when at least one gunman opened fire as the emergency personnel responded to a blaze, local media reported.The incident -- which comes as debate rages in the United States about gun control following the Newtown school massacre -- happened in Webster, a suburb of Rochester, the Democrat and Chronicle...

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Ananth Kumar attacks Yeddyuarappa, calls KJP a 'B team'

BANGALORE: After chief minister Jagadish Shettar, it was BJP national general secretary HN Ananth Kumar's turn to attack Karnataka Janata Party (KJP) president B S Yeddyurappa.Describing KJP as the 'B team' of Congress, created to trouble BJP in the assembly elections, Kumar said "Yeddyurappa became CM chanting Rama's name. Now he has embraced Rome by floating KJP on the birthday of Congress chief...

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Pictures: Fungi Get Into the Holiday Spirit

Photograph courtesy Stephanie Mounaud, J. Craig Venter InstituteMounaud combined different fungi to create a Santa hat and spell out a holiday message.Different fungal grow at different rates, so Mounaud's artwork rarely lasts for long. There's only a short window of time when they actually look like what they're suppose to."You do have to keep that in perspective when you're making these creations,"...

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4 Firefighters Shot, 2 Killed Responding to NY Blaze

Two firefighters were shot and killed and two others taken to a nearby hospital after a gunman opened fire on them as they responded to a house fire in Webster, N.Y., this morning, according to authorities and local media. Officials at Strong Memorial Hospital in Rochester, N.Y., told ABCNews.com that two men were taken there this morning and were in "guarded condition" after...

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Petitioners ask Obama to retaliate for Russia adoption ban

WASHINGTON: Tens of thousands of petitioners are calling for US President Barack Obama to escalate the diplomatic feud that led Moscow to propose a law barring Americans from adopting Russian children.Two petitions on the White House web site are asking for US sanctions on the Russian lawmakers who help pass the law that one of the petitions says will "jeopardize lives and well-being of...

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Road accidents claim 967 lives, militancy 95 in J&K in 2012

JAMMU: Road accidents have claimed ten times more lives than militancy in Jammu and Kashmir this year, according to official statistics.As many as 967 people were killed and 8,305 injured in road accidents in Jammu and Kashmir till October-end this year.A total of 95 people, including 58 ultras, were killed and 115 injured in militancy-related incidents in the state this year, the home ministry's...

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Pictures: Fungi Get Into the Holiday Spirit

Photograph courtesy Stephanie Mounaud, J. Craig Venter InstituteMounaud combined different fungi to create a Santa hat and spell out a holiday message.Different fungal grow at different rates, so Mounaud's artwork rarely lasts for long. There's only a short window of time when they actually look like what they're suppose to."You do have to keep that in perspective when you're making these creations,"...

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Departing Secretary of State Clinton's Legacy of Firsts

After 31 years of public service, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton leaves the limelight behind.On Friday, President Obama nominated Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., to take her place as secretary of state, leaving Clinton to help him move in and then bow out.Over the past three decades, Clinton has served her country in one way or another, a tenure that was full of firsts.She was...

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