Indian gang rape victim dies; New Delhi braces for protests

NEW DELHI/SINGAPORE (Reuters) - A woman whose gang rape sparked protests and a national debate about violence against women in India died of her injuries on Saturday, prompting a security lockdown in New Delhi and an acknowledgement from India's prime minister that social change is needed. Bracing for a new wave of protests, Indian authorities deployed thousands of policemen, closed 10...

Read More..

Pakistan expected to unblock YouTube

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan is expected to unblock access to the popular video sharing website YouTube Saturday after taking measures to filter blasphemous material and pornography, a cabinet minister said.Pakistani Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf in September ordered the blocking of YouTube after the US-based website refused to heed the government's call to remove a controversial anti-Islam...

Read More..

New iOS app shows NY subway arrival times

Now arriving...(Credit:New York MTA)New York City's Metropolitan Transportation Authority finally joined the smartphone era today by releasing an iOS app showing train arrival times for seven subway lines.Available for the iPhone, theiPod Touch, and theiPad, MTA Subway Time will display train arrival times for 156 stations on the 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 lines and the S shuttle line. Though officially in...

Read More..

Police ID man pushed to death at NY subway station

Updated 10:27 PM ET NEW YORK New York City police have identified a man they say was shoved to his death in front of a subway train by a woman. Police said Friday that Sunando Sen was pushed from the platform the night before. The 46-year-old Sen was from India and lived alone in Queens. Investigators identified him through a smartphone and a prescription pill bottle he was carrying when he was...

Read More..

CAR appeals for French help against rebels, Paris balks

BANGUI (Reuters) - The president of the Central African Republic appealed on Thursday for France and the United States to help push back rebels threatening his government and the capital, but Paris said its troops were only ready to protect French nationals. The exchanges came as regional African leaders tried to broker a ceasefire deal and as rebels said they had temporarily halted their...

Read More..

Corporate spending on festive dining mixed: industry players

SINGAPORE: It is the time of the year when year-end office parties and corporate functions are in full swing, but players in the food and beverage (F&B) industry are reporting mixed demand from corporate customers this festive season as companies keep an eye on their budgets. F&B players also had to cope with manpower shortage and rising costs.Uncertainty in the world of business...

Read More..

Twitter: The five biggest stories of 2012

Let's face it: Twitter is an integral part of everyday life. And while that's been true for some time, 2012 was the year the microblogging service became truly mainstream. It was a vital tool during catastrophes, it was the medium of choice for presidential candidates, and it was at the center of political turmoil around the world.2012 was also a year of business battles for Twitter, with strife between...

Read More..

Another NYC "subway push" death

NEW YORK A mumbling woman pushed a man to his death in front of a subway train on Thursday night, the second time this month someone has been killed in such nightmarish fashion, police said. The man was standing on the elevated platform of a 7 train in Queens at about 8 p.m. when he was shoved by the woman, who witnesses said had been following him closely and mumbling to herself, New York Police...

Read More..

White House Says It Has No New Fiscal Cliff Plan

The White House said today it has no plans to offer new proposals to avoid the fiscal cliff which looms over the country's economy just five days from now, but will meet Friday with Congressional leaders in a last ditch effort to forge a deal.Republicans and Democrats made no conciliatory gestures in public today, despite the urgency.The White House said President Obama would...

Read More..

Mental illness, poverty haunted Afghan policewoman who killed American

KABUL (Reuters) - The Afghan policewoman suspected of killing a U.S. contractor at police headquarters in Kabul suffered from mental illness and was driven to suicidal despair by poverty, her children told Reuters on Wednesday. The woman was identified by authorities as Narges Rezaeimomenabad, a 40-year-old grandmother and mother of three who moved here from Iran 10 years ago and married...

Read More..

China's working adults still depend on parents for economic support

SHANGHAI: The growing number of young adults living off their parents is sparking concern in China.A study found that 30 per cent of working-age adults still depend on their parents for economic support.Experts worry this trend could become more pronounced with the second generation of children under the country's one-child policy.From pre-natal education, toddler care, pre-school, all...

Read More..

Mobile: 10 predictions for 2013

Verizon and HTC are just two companies that are expecting a busy 2013.(Credit:Sarah Tew/CNET)If nothing else, 2012 has shown that the mobile industry is a pretty tough business to be in. Many handset manufacturers, wireless carriers, and component suppliers felt the pressures of mobile business sink in, and as a result, there were a lot of shake-ups this year.The same pressures and competitive dynamics...

Read More..

Former President Bush in ICU

Updated 6:40 p.m. ETA "stubborn" fever that kept former President George H.W. Bush in a hospital over Christmas has gotten worse, and doctors have put him on a liquids-only diet, his spokesman said Wednesday, describing Bush's condition as guarded to CBS News. Jim McGrath, Bush's spokesman in Houston, had said earlier in the day that the fever had gone away, but he later corrected himself. "It's...

Read More..

Okla. Senator Could Prevent Gun Control Changes

If there's one person most likely to keep new gun-control measures from passing Congress swiftly, it's Sen. Tom Coburn.Conservatives revere the Oklahoma Republican for his fiscal hawkishness and regular reports on government waste. But he's also a staunch gun-rights advocate, and he's shown a willingness to obstruct even popular legislation, something in the Senate that a single...

Read More..

Spring Wish denied as suicide bomber brings down Afghan juice empire

KABUL (Reuters) - When a Taliban suicide bomber killed two people on the edge of the Afghan capital this month, there was another casualty - a global fruit juice business optimistically called "Spring Wish" which provided work for thousands of farmers across the country. Mustafa Sadiq's empire had been expanding healthily, bringing in badly needed foreign capital, before the attack inflicted...

Read More..

KKH to implement all recommendations by committee in baby mix-up case

SINGAPORE: A review committee has come up with 15 recommendations to prevent another baby mix-up at KK Women's and Children's Hospital (KKH).Two newborn babies were wrongly discharged to their mothers in an incident in November.The measures involve tightening processes regarding identification of newborns, ward operations, the discharge process, and implementing new technology.There will...

Read More..

Stuxnet attacks Iran again, reports say

An Iranian news agency says the country successfully fended off yet another attack by the Stuxnet worm, according to reports.The cyberattack targeted a power plant and other sites in southern Iran over the fall, the BBC and the Associated Press reported today.Discovered in June 2010, Stuxnet is believed to be the first malware targeted specifically at critical infrastructure systems. It's thought...

Read More..

Obama cuts Hawaii trip short to address "fiscal cliff"

KAILUA, Hawaii President Barack Obama is cutting short his traditional Christmas holiday in Hawaii to return to Washington as lawmakers consider how to prevent the economy from going over the so-called fiscal cliff, the White House said Tuesday. Obama will fly back to the nation's capital Wednesday night, just five days after arriving in Hawaii, White House officials said. In the past, the president's...

Read More..

Winter Storms Spawn Tornadoes Across South

A nasty Christmastime storm system spawned blizzard conditions in some states and at least 15 reported tornadoes in the South, damaging homes, taking out power lines and dangerously snarling holiday travel.Severe weather swept across the United States during the Christmas holiday, bringing tornadoes and intense thunderstorms to the Gulf Coast, while dumping heavy snow and freezing...

Read More..

U.N. General Assembly voices concern for Myanmar's Muslims

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The U.N. General Assembly expressed serious concern on Monday over violence between Rohingya Muslims and Buddhists in Myanmar and called upon its government to address reports of human rights abuses by some authorities. The 193-nation General Assembly approved by consensus a non-binding resolution, which Myanmar said last month contained a "litany of sweeping...

Read More..

Egg attack mars Indonesia Christmas celebration

BEKASI, Indonesia: More than 200 Indonesian Muslims threw rotten eggs at Christians wanting to hold a Christmas mass near land outside Jakarta where they plan to build a church, police and a witness said.Some 100 Christian worshippers intended to hold a mass near empty land where they hope to build a church, about 30 kilometres east of the capital, in a project barred by district government...

Read More..

LG's 2013 home theater line doubles down on sound bars, Bluetooth speakers

CES 2013 is still weeks away, but LG is getting a jump on the show by announcing its full line of home theater products on Christmas Day. Its home audio offerings are anchored by four new sound bar models, with all but the entry-level NB2030A featuring built-in Bluetooth and a wireless subwoofer. The top two models come in a new, larger size, designed to match 47-inch TVs, which reflects the rising...

Read More..

Extreme weather worries across U.S. on Christmas Day

Updated 12:05 a.m. ETBoth coasts of the country are dealing with unusual weather this week during an especially challenging time. An estimated 93 million Americans are expected to drive or fly more than 50 miles from home for the holidays. In the Sierra Mountains, they're dealing with three feet of snow in some spots. From the possibility of tornados to heavy snowfall, there is great potential...

Read More..