Mali Islamists counter attack, promise France long war

BAMAKO/PARIS (Reuters) - Al Qaeda-linked Islamist rebels launched a counteroffensive in Mali on Monday after four days of French air strikes on their northern strongholds, seizing the central town of Diabaly and promising to drag France into a brutal Afghanistan-style war. France, which has poured hundreds of troops into the capital Bamako in recent days, carried out more air strikes...

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Bernanke urges Congress to lift debt ceiling

WASHINGTON: US Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke on Monday urged Congress to raise the nation's borrowing limit as Democrats and Republicans battle over the federal budget."It's very, very important that Congress take the necessary action to raise the debt ceiling to avoid the situation where the government doesn't pay its bills," Bernanke said at a University of Michigan forum.The...

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LoC killings may delay NIA visit to Pakistan

MUMBAI: The National Investigation Agency's (NIA) plan to visit Pakistan to collect voice samples of the 26/11 terror attack conspirators and the Pakistan's judicial commission's likely visit to Mumbai next month to cross-examine four witnesses may be delayed following the tension after the killings of two Indian soldiers.The NIA was planning to visit Pakistan collect the voice samples of six Laskhar-e-Taiba...

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Hospitals crack down on workers refusing flu shots

CHICAGO (AP) — Patients can refuse a flu shot. Should doctors and nurses have that right, too? That is the thorny question surfacing as U.S. hospitals increasingly crack down on employees who won't get flu shots, with some workers losing their jobs over their refusal."Where does it say that I am no longer a patient if I'm a nurse," wondered Carrie Calhoun, a longtime critical care nurse in suburban...

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Poll: After Newtown, Most Back Some Gun Controls

Getty ImagesA majority of Americans favor such gun control measures as banning assault weapons and expanding background checks on those who buy guns and ammunition, with support for banning high-capacity ammunition magazines at a new high in ABC News/Washington Post polls.With Vice President Joe Biden set to present recommendations that were prompted by the Newtown, Conn.,...

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France bombs Islamist strongholds in north Mali

BAMAKO/PARIS (Reuters) - French fighter jets pounded Islamist rebel strongholds deep in northern Mali on Sunday as Paris poured more troops into the capital Bamako, awaiting a West African force to dislodge al Qaeda-linked insurgents from the country's north. The attacks on Islamist positions near the ancient desert trading town of Timbuktu and Gao, the largest city in the north, marked a decisive...

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Pakistan sacks provincial government after Shiite killings

QUETTA: Pakistani Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf on Monday sacked the provincial government in Baluchistan after meeting Shiite Muslim protesters demanding protection after a massive bomb attack.Members of the minority community have refused to bury those killed on Thursday in Pakistan's worst sectarian bombings when suicide attackers killed 92 people at a crowded snooker hall in the...

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Stern test for Mamata, Congress in Bengal bypolls

NEW DELHI: The three byelections to the West Bengal assembly that will be held on February 23 could be the first test for the Mamata Banerjee-led ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) that came to office in May 2011 with a massive mandate on whether its popularity continues or has started to dip. The bypolls will be followed by panchayat elections in the state likely in May. The three byelections have...

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Flu more widespread in US; eases off in some areas

NEW YORK (AP) — Flu is now widespread in all but three states as the nation grapples with an earlier-than-normal season. But there was one bit of good news Friday: The number of hard-hit areas declined.The flu season in the U.S. got under way a month early, in December, driven by a strain that tends to make people sicker. That led to worries that it might be a bad season, following one of the mildest...

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Dreamliner Nightmare: Another 787 Fuel Leak

Japan Airlines said a Boeing 787 Dreamliner jet leaked fuel while undergoing tests today at the airport near Tokyo, marking the latest in a string of highly-publicized problems for the jetliner as it undergoes a safety review by the U.S. government.The Dreamliner being examined leaked around 25 gallons of fuel from a nozzle in the left wing, according to a spokesperson for Japan...

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