Algeria accuses Canadian, puts hostage toll at 38

ALGIERS (Reuters) - Algeria said on Monday it had confirmed the deaths of at least 38 workers, all but one foreign, at the Sahara gas plant its forces stormed two days ago and said the Islamist gunmen had been led by a man with Canadian citizenship. Named only as Chedad, a surname found among Arabs in North Africa, the Canadian was among 29 assailants from a local al Qaeda group killed...

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Football: Platini disagrees with Blatter over Boateng

PARIS: UEFA president Michel Platini differed with his FIFA counterpart Sepp Blatter on Monday in applauding Kevin-Prince Boateng leading his AC Milan team-mates off the pitch after receiving a torrent of racial abuse in a friendly earlier this month.Blatter had said players should not take matters into their own hands although he has since said that clubs whose fans are guilty of racial...

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Bhagat Singh Koshyari likely to be next Uttarakhand BJP chief

DEHRADUN: BJP national vice-president Bhagat Singh Koshyari is all set to be unanimously nominated as the next BJP chief in Uttarakhand with Tirath Singh Rawat and Trivendra Singh Rawat, two of the top contenders, withdrawing their nomination papers on Monday.Both the Rawats withdrew their nomination papers a day after they filed it for the poll for the post of state BJP chief.A source in BJP said...

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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...

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Live Updates: Obamas Watch Inaugural Parade

Four years and one day after President Obama first took his first oath of office, America is once again celebrating his Inauguration. This time the schedule includes performances by Beyonce and Katy Perry, a parade with more than 2,000 members of the military and two Inaugural balls.Refresh here for updates throughout the day.Tune in to the ABC News.com Live page on Monday morning starting at...

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Algeria hostage crisis death toll hits 80, could rise further

ALGIERS, Algeria (Reuters) - Algerian troops found 25 bodies of hostages at a bomb-littered gas plant deep in the Sahara desert on Sunday, a day after ending a four-day siege, a security source said, raising the death toll of militants and their captives to at least 80. Around 30 foreigners - including American, British, French, Japanese, Norwegian and Romanian citizens - are among those...

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Football: Madrid hand Valencia five-goal thrashing

MADRID: Real Madrid put their dismal first half of the season behind them as they tore Valencia apart for the first 45 minutes to win 5-0 and ease the pressure on coach Jose Mourinho.Cristiano Ronaldo and Angel Di Maria both hit braces and Gonzalo Higuain was also on target in a first-half goal romp.But there is still little hope of them retaining their title as they trail Barcelona by...

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Siddis celebrate as Obama formally becomes US President

GOLEHALLI, HALIYAL TALUK: Golehalli, a sleepy village tucked in the forested Haliyal taluk of Uttara Kannada district in Karnataka, wore a festive look on Sunday to mark Barack Obama's swearing-in as US president for the second time. The Siddi community, which believes that Obama shares their genetic roots, came together to celebrate this achievement in full force.Golehalli was decked with vibrant...

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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...

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Sasha's View: 'Good Job, Daddy. You Didn't Mess Up'

President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden today officially embarked on their second term, taking the Constitutionally mandated oath of office in two separate private ceremonies inside their homes.Shortly before noon in the Blue Room of the White House, Obama raised his right hand, with his left on a family Bible, reciting the oath administrated by Chief Justice John...

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