Egyptian military says only dialogue can avert disaster

CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt's military said on Saturday only dialogue could avert "catastrophe", stepping into a crisis pitting Islamist President Mohamed Mursi against opponents who accuse him of grabbing excessive power. State broadcasters interrupted their programs to read out an army statement telling feuding factions that a solution to the upheaval in the most populous Arab nation should...

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Football: Comfortable Bayern cruise as Dortmund slip

BERLIN: Bayern Munich moved a step closer to the Bundesliga title on Saturday as they beat Augsburg 2-0 and extended their lead over two-time reigning champions Borussia Dortmund to 14 points.Thomas Mueller and Mario Gomez scored in Bayern's victory while 10-man Dortmund lost 3-2 at home against Wolfsburg. Munich jumped onto 41 points while Dortmund remained on 27 points one game day before...

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India misguided, paranoid over China: Guha

MUMBAI: A good half-hour into the discussion on 'India, China and the World', historian Ramachandra Guha issued a disclaimer—all the three members on the panel had been to China only once. "We should learn their language, promote quality research, and have a panel on China driven by Chinese scholars," he said. And that was the general tenor of the debate—that the Indian attitude to China was influenced...

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Smokers celebrate as Wash. legalizes marijuana

SEATTLE (AP) — The crowds of happy people lighting joints under Seattle's Space Needle early Thursday morning with nary a police officer in sight bespoke the new reality: Marijuana is legal under Washington state law.Hundreds gathered at Seattle Center for a New Year's Eve-style countdown to 12 a.m., when the legalization measure passed by voters last month took effect. When the clock struck, they...

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Australian DJs Behind Prank Call Under Fire

An outpouring of anger is being directed today at the two Australian radio hosts after the death of a nurse who was caught in the DJs' prank call to hospital where Kate Middleton was treated earlier this week.Lord Glenarthur, the chairman of King Edward VII's Hospital - the U.K. hospital where the Duchess of Cambridge was receiving treatment, condemned the prank in a letter...

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Egypt struggle seen costing Mursi, even if he wins

CAIRO (Reuters) - The crisis unleashed by President Mohamed Mursi's bid to wrap up Egypt's transition on his own terms has eroded his nation's faith in their nascent democracy and will complicate the already unenviable task of government. His effort to drive through a constitution against the wishes of major sections of society, including a Christian minority, has damaged prospects for...

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Football: City will benefit from European exit: Ferguson

MANCHESTER, United Kingdom: Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson says that Manchester City's European demise has given Roberto Mancini's side a clear advantage in the race for the Premier League title.City, who host leaders United on Sunday, failed to clinch a place in the Europa League after finishing bottom of their Champions League group following defeat by German side Borussia Dortmund...

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BJP has 15 leaders fit for PM job: MP minister

BHOPAL: We don't need Congress leader Digvijay Singh's certificate to decide who will be the BJP's Prime Ministerial candidate,'' Madhya Pradesh minister for industries Kailash Vijayavargiya said on Friday while reacting to AICC general secretary Digvijay Singh's observation on Thursday that Leader of Opposition Sushma Swaraj would be a better Prime Ministerial candidate that Gujarat chief minister...

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Smokers celebrate as Wash. legalizes marijuana

SEATTLE (AP) — The crowds of happy people lighting joints under Seattle's Space Needle early Thursday morning with nary a police officer in sight bespoke the new reality: Marijuana is legal under Washington state law.Hundreds gathered at Seattle Center for a New Year's Eve-style countdown to 12 a.m., when the legalization measure passed by voters last month took effect. When the clock struck, they...

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Nurse Duped by 'Queen's' Prank Call Found Dead

The hospital receptionist who was hoaxed by a prank call from a DJ claiming to be the queen asking about Kate Middleton has been found dead."It is with very deep sadness that we confirm the tragic death of a member of our nursing staff," the hospital said in a statement released today.The nurse was identified as Jacintha Saldanha. The hospital said that Saldanha worked at the...

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Military halts clashes as political crisis grips Egypt

CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt's Republican Guard restored order around the presidential palace on Thursday after fierce clashes killed seven people, but passions ran high in a contest over the country's future. President Mohamed Mursi had been due to address the nation, but a presidential source said the Islamist leader, criticized by his opponents for his silence in the last few days, might...

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ECB slashes growth forecasts, keeps door open to rate cuts

FRANKFURT: The European Central Bank slashed its eurozone growth forecasts Thursday, keeping the door open to more interest rates cuts, even as it insisted it was up to governments to solve the debt crisis.As widely expected, the ECB's decision-making governing council voted to leave the bank's main refinancing rate at a historic low of 0.75 percent at its last policy meeting this year.But...

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PMO pushes for hike in rail fares after nine years

NEW DELHI: Get ready to pay more for rail travel by next March as the government is trying to set up of an independent tariff regulator. PM Manmohan Singh on Thursday stepped in to accelerate the much-awaited reforms in railways, which has been neglected for many years. The Prime Minister's Office (PMO) has set deadlines for railways' top brass to set up independent tariff regulator and implement...

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Celebrations planned as Wash. legalizes marijuana

SEATTLE (AP) — Legal marijuana possession becomes a reality under Washington state law on Thursday, and some people planned to celebrate the new law by breaking it.Voters in Washington and Colorado last month made those the first states to decriminalize and regulate the recreational use of marijuana. Washington's law takes effect Thursday and allows adults to have up to an ounce of pot — but it bans...

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Winter Chill Descends on Frozen Fiscal Cliff Talks

A chill has descended on Washington just in time for tonight's lighting of the National Christmas Tree.President Obama will preside over an evening festival of star-studded carols and sparkling displays of holiday cheer on the White House Ellipse.But don't expect any of the holiday good will to warm the political frost over the fiscal cliff talks.The White House is mandating...

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Egypt clashes erupt despite proposal to end crisis

CAIRO (Reuters) - Islamists fought protesters outside the Egyptian president's palace on Wednesday, while inside the building his deputy proposed a way to end a crisis over a draft constitution that has split the most populous Arab nation. Stones and petrol bombs flew between opposition protesters and supporters of President Mohamed Mursi who had flocked to the palace in response to a...

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Britain faces more austerity pain

LONDON: Finance minister George Osborne on Wednesday warned Britons that they faced an extra year of austerity measures and insisted that reversing his belt-tightening measures now would be a "disaster".Chancellor of the Exchequer Osborne said Britain would face spending cuts and tax hikes until 2018 -- after the coalition government led by Prime Minister David Cameron had already previously...

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Deoband fatwa describes perfume with alcohol, tattoo and women receptionists as un-Islamic

LUCKNOW: Two fatwas issued by leading Islamic seminary Darul Uloom Deoband in Muzaffarnagar in Uttar Pradesh in last two days have left many in Muslim community perplexed in the state. While a fatwa as described working of women as receptionists against sharia law, another termed tattoo and use of perfume with alcohol content as un-Islamic.A Pakistan-based company had asked whether it could appoint...

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John McAfee Seeks Asylum, Thanks God for 'Sanity'

Eccentric software tycoon John McAfee, wanted for questioning in the shooting death of his neighbor, has made his escape from Belize to Guatemala, where he told ABC News he will be seeking asylum."Thank God I am in a place where there is some sanity," McAfee said. "I chose Guatemala carefully."McAfee, 67, has been on the run from police in the Central American country of Belize...

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Egypt's Mursi leaves palace as police battle protesters

CAIRO (Reuters) - Egyptian police battled thousands of protesters outside President Mohamed Mursi's palace in Cairo on Tuesday, prompting the Islamist leader to leave the building, two presidential sources said. Police fired teargas at demonstrators angered by Mursi's drive to hold a referendum on a new constitution on December 15. Some broke through police lines around his palace and...

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