Algeria hostage toll rises with report of Japanese deaths

ALGIERS (Reuters) - Algerian forces have found the bodies of two Canadian Islamist fighters after a bloody siege at a desert gas plant, a security source said on Monday, as the death toll reached at least 80 after troops stormed the complex to end the hostage crisis. Algerian Prime Minister Abdelmalek Sellal is expected to give details on Monday about the siege near the town of In Amenas,...

Read More..

Parents-to-be welcome new pro-family incentives

SINGAPORE: From 1 May 2013, working fathers will be legally entitled to one week of paid paternity leave. Parents welcome the move, but some pro-family organisations are calling for bolder measures. Eileen Chan and Alvin Tan tied the knot two years ago. They are expecting their firstborn in April, and with that, the bumped-up Baby Bonus. "I think the extra S$2,000 will come in handy,...

Read More..

Hafiz Saeed seeks to exploit Shinde's Hindu terror remarks, BJP launches all-out attack

LAHORE/SILIGURI/JAMMU: Mumbai attacks mastermind and LeT founder Hafiz Saeed on Monday sought to exploit home minister Sushilkumar Shinde's jibe against RSS and BJP saying Indian "propaganda" against Pakistani organizations of spreading terror now stood "exposed". A day after Shinde accused BJP and RSS of running terror camps and indulging in Hindu terror, he went to the extend of levelling an...

Read More..

Flu season fuels debate over paid sick time laws

NEW YORK (AP) — Sniffling, groggy and afraid she had caught the flu, Diana Zavala dragged herself in to work anyway for a day she felt she couldn't afford to miss.A school speech therapist who works as an independent contractor, she doesn't have paid sick days. So the mother of two reported to work and hoped for the best — and was aching, shivering and coughing by the end of the day. She stayed home...

Read More..

Obama Second Inaugural: A Déjà vu Moment

At the height of the "fiscal cliff" showdown, the final political battle of his first term, President Barack Obama lamented the bitter persistence of Washington partisanship as "déjà vu all over again."Today, as Obama delivers his second inaugural address on the west front of the Capitol, he could say the same thing about the looming political battles of his new term.Four years...

Read More..

Hostage toll to rise after Algeria ends desert siege

ALGIERS/IN AMENAS, Algeria (Reuters) - Algeria warned on Sunday that the hostage death toll from a siege at a desert gas plant would rise, after its troops staged a final assault which killed all the remaining Islamist gunmen. Britain said at least three of its citizens had been killed in the crisis, ended when Algerian special forces stormed the In Amenas plant on Saturday. France acknowledged...

Read More..

Football: Clubs may be demoted over racism: Blatter

SAINT-PETERSBURG, Russia: FIFA president Sepp Blatter said in St Petersburg on Sunday that clubs where racist incidents occurred could face punishments of anything from points deduction or even demotion.The 76-year-old Swiss added that without heavy punishment racism would remain within the sport."The entire world fights against racism and discrimination," Blatter told a press conference."Football...

Read More..

Shinde's Hindu terror remarks 'oxygen' to Pakistan-sponsored terrorism: BJP

NEW DELHI: BJP on Sunday attacked home minister Sushilkumar Shinde for accusing it and RSS of running terror training camps and demanded an apology from Congress chief Sonia Gandhi for it. "Their (Congress's) destructive mindset is reflected in the statement of the home minister. The statement he has given at the chintan shivir (brainstorming camp) is very objectionable. It's not only unacceptable...

Read More..

More than 140 nations adopt treaty to cut mercury

GENEVA (AP) — A new and legally binding international treaty to reduce harmful emissions of mercury was adopted Saturday by more than 140 nations, capping four years of difficult negotiations but stopping short of some of the tougher measures that proponents had envisioned.The new accord aims to cut mercury pollution from mining, utility plants and a host of products and industrial processes, by setting...

Read More..

Obama to Be Sworn in for 2nd Term at White House

Formally embarking on his second term, President Barack Obama was set to take the oath of office Sunday surrounded by family in an intimate inauguration at the White House, 24 hours before re-enacting the ceremony in front of hundreds of thousands outside the Capitol.The subdued swearing-in at the White House Blue Room is a function of the calendar and the Constitution, which says...

Read More..