US 'welcomes' China participation in naval drills

BEIJING: The United States welcomes China's participation in US-led joint naval exercises next year, navy secretary Ray Mabus said Wednesday during an official visit to the country."We welcome China's participation in the Rim of the Pacific Exercise in 2014," Mabus said in a statement distributed by the US embassy in Beijing.The embassy could not confirm if China had formally accepted...

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Youth detained for posting 'abusive' comments against Raj Thackeray on Facebook

MUMBAI: While the Bal Thackery Facebook controversy that led to the arrest of two girls is still going on, another incident of detention of a 20-year-old computer student over his alleged abusive comments against Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS ) leader Raj Thackeray surfaced in Palghar city on Wednesday. The "abusive" comment came at a time when the Palghar taluka unit of the Shiv Sena had called...

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CDC: HIV spread high in young gay males

NEW YORK (AP) — Health officials say 1 in 5 new HIV infections occur in a tiny segment of the population — young men who are gay or bisexual.The government on Tuesday released new numbers that spotlight how the spread of the AIDS virus is heavily concentrated in young males who have sex with other males. Only about a quarter of new infections in the 13-to-24 age group are from injecting drugs or heterosexual...

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Powerball Fever Sweeps the Nation, Fuels Jackpot

The allure of the record $500 million Powerball jackpot has led to long lines across the nation at local mini-marts and gas stations, with Americans hoping their champagne and caviar dreams become a reality when the numbers are drawn tonight.The jackpot was boosted Tuesday from $425 million to the now historic $500 million sum, which is expected to get sweeter as millions of...

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Greece, markets satisfied by EU-IMF Greek debt deal

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The Greek government and financial markets were cheered on Tuesday by an agreement between euro zone finance ministers and the International Monetary Fund to reduce Greece's debt, paving the way for the release of urgently needed aid loans. The deal, clinched at the third attempt after weeks of wrangling, removes the biggest risk of a sovereign default in the euro...

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PM Lee sends condolences to Bangladesh PM over factory fire

SINGAPORE: Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has extended his condolences to Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina for the lives lost in the Ashulia garment factory fire and the Chittagong flyover collapse. Prime Minister Lee said he is confident that under Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's leadership, Bangladesh will pull together and recover from the tragedies.The factory fire...

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Alok Joshi to be new RAW chief

NEW DELHI: Alok Joshi, a 1976 batch IPS officer of Haryana cadre, has been appointed chief of India's external intelligence agency, the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW). Joshi has been appointed for a period of two years or until further orders, whichever is earlier by the Appointments Committee of the cabinet. He will replace S K Tripathi, who completes his tenure on Dec 29, according to an official...

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Bounce houses a party hit but kids' injuries soar

CHICAGO (AP) — They may be a big hit at kids' birthday parties, but inflatable bounce houses can be dangerous, with the number of injuries soaring in recent years, a nationwide study found.Kids often crowd into bounce houses, and jumping up and down can send other children flying into the air, too.The numbers suggest 30 U.S. children a day are treated in emergency rooms for broken bones, sprains,...

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Violating Norquist's No-Tax Pledge Could Hurt GOP

The most talked about name in the opening weeks of the fiscal cliff negotiations isn't Barack Obama, House Speaker John Boehner or Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. It's Grover Norquist.Norquist is not a publicly elected official or even a government appointee. The 56-year-old conservative leader is the founder and president of Americans for Tax Reform and promoter of the ...

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Egypt's Mursi to meet judges over power grab

CAIRO (Reuters) - Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi meets senior judges on Monday to try to ease a crisis over his seizure of new powers which has set off violent protests reminiscent of the revolution last year that led to the rise of his Islamist movement. The justice minister said he believed Mursi would agree with the country's highest judicial authority on its proposal to limit the...

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